Today was the start of the dreaded week of written exams, I had spent the whole of yesterday training and studying with Shinso who was planning to take the Hero Course Entrance exam which was invitation only. He had nonchalantly shown me the letter which had been left on his doorstep a mere week ago, I had been excited enough for both of us - it was such a rare occurrence and I had no doubt that Shinso would get in. Partly because of his skill and partly because Aizawa had taken a liking to him. It's not the talented who succeed after all but those with connections. 

I glanced around the classroom, everyone was a bundle of nerves with worry rolling off of them as they stared at the stack of papers in Aizawa's hands as one would a starved predator. Those intimidating stacks of flattened, bleached, dead trees were the second language exam - English. In two hours we would be tested on diction, grammar, comprehension, creative writing and analysis of poems and short stories. I could feel my hand and head pounding already; I clutched my Smart Pen tighter. 
The papers were handed out and what was dubbed as 'Hell week' began. Nine subjects, one week. Even with my Smart Pen this is going to be difficult. 

Although to be fair nine subjects is nothing compared to the General studies fourteen or the Support classes eleven. 

When I had gone over to Shinso's dorm, everyone had bags under their eyes rivaling his and were drowning in notes and textbooks. They had to study the basic subjects like Japanese, Maths, English, History, Geography, Life skills and the Sciences (Biology, Physics and Psychology all wrapped up in one little package) as well as the specialised subjects: Hero politics, General politics, Quirk analysis, Debating and Discussions, Business studies, the Dramatic Arts - teaches self control - and Coding. I'm glad I'm not them. 

Turning my attention back to the paper in front of me, I internally cringed, I hate English...and every other subject actually and just school in general but that's neither here nor there. Biting down on my tongue to suppress a sigh I begin the six paged nightmare, the promise that I would soon be burning this school to the ground was the only thing carrying me through. 

•~•

The week passed in a flurry of papers, coffee cups and curses and then it was the practical exams, as I had guessed we weren't facing robots, but our teachers instead. Who were sadly or thankfully, I haven't decided yet, handicapped. 

My heart hammered in my chest and my face went white in anger as they announced the teams, I'm with Bakugo Katsuki! That blasted, stubborn Pomeraian wouldn't cooperate with me if his life depended on it and what is even worse, if that's possible, is that we will be fighting against All Might so Bakugo will be trying to show off the whole time like a preschooler in a playground. He will try to defeat All Might head-on to 'prove his superiority' or something and not even bother with trying to do anything else.

Battling to keep my emotions under wraps, I grit my teeth and clench my fists wishing the hot, viscous anger to go away. It wasn't working.

“Bunny calm down.” A very quiet voice, almost as if it was in my head, purrs sounding suspiciously like Sparky. I whip my head around and standing there is Kaminari, who had a dumb smile on his face and was nodding appreciatively at Yaoyorozu's Hero costume. Was I just imagining what he said? Was it all in my head? 

“Come on, lead into the bus single file please.” Iida bellows, ushering us into the bus like a traffic cop - all he needed now was a whistle and white gloves and the image would be complete. 

The bus still had that new smell about it and everything was sparkly clean and sleek in design. My assigned seat partner for this trip was Kaminari, hence why he stood behind me in the line, who was kind enough to give me the seat by the window. He was chatting amicably with Kirishima who was standing by us and had yet to be forced to sit down. 

"All right everyone please be seated and do not try to communicate with your exam partner. You will be given time to strategise before the exam." Aizawa announced in his usual monotone before sitting back down. And we were off.

I peered out the crystal clear window and tried to keep my mind in a blank state. 

“Are you alright?” Kaminari asks. 
I slowly nod.

The awkward tension between us was back and my heart ached as I remembered how things used to be. 

“So…" I start, gathering up my thoughts, "you'll be going up against Nezu.”

“Yeah, I am.” He says abruptly, brushing off my move to start up a conversation.

I sigh and try again. “Do you have a plan?” I ask, my notebook in hand as if I was ready to bombard him with possible strategies if he so asked.

“Yes.” He states, a certain steel in his voice but his easy going expression barely changed. I look up at him with a questioning look in my eyes and cock my head, silently asking for him to explain. He doesn't catch the hint. 

"What is it?" I prompt.

“I'm paired up with Mina, someone who has also bad grades and we are facing the Principle who is undoubtedly one of the smartest people...animal...thing…in all of Japan. It would be extremely suspicious and rather impossible for the two dumbest students to beat him, even if he is handicapped.” He says.

"So I'm going to lose. In style!" He strikes a ridiculous pose and has a crazy grin on his face. Silence overtakes us once again and it's even more unbearable than the last.

Why are you acting like an idiot? I scribbled on the back of a piece paper I had found crumpled in my shirt pocket.

He looked at me confused before taking my pen and writing, why do you want to know?

I felt my insides twist.

Because not even your luck is this good. The chances of us meeting again was zero to none. 

So I'm curious 

He nodded in understanding before picking up the pen. 

So I could find you. I sputtered and turned red at that. 

Had heard down the grape vine that the Reaper was going to be attending the top Hero school so here I am. 

“Bullshit.” The curse slips out on accident but thankfully no one heard or cared. 

His face is blank, "I could be telling the truth." 

"Yeah and I could be a Magical Girl." I retort, crossing my arms with a huff. 

“Well I guess it sums up to how much you trust me.” He shrugs before leaning back and plugging in an old pair of barely working earphones. 

Why won't you tell me anything! 

“Would you tell Prism?” I asked, knowing he could still hear me, he hadn't plugged his earphones in yet.

“She's not here.” He grunts. 

“She is.” 

He lurches up and stares me down, his eyes a live wire, "What do you mean." He hisses and I feel my fear rise.

 “Well you see - ” I start, but was interrupted by Iida who was ushering us off the bus. Saved by the bell! A very loud bell.

Aizawa and the other teachers separate us into our pairs and lead each group to a separate room so we could plan.
In our allotted ten minutes all that happened was a bunch of harsh staring and me being shut up.

“Deku!” An enraged Bakugo growls at me, "For the last time I don't need your shitty plans!” I quietly walk behind him with my head hung low.

“Y-Yes Kacchan.” I stutter softly just like I used to do when we were kids. 

He glares at me and clicks his tongue before dragging me to the waiting room. 

'Huh no explosion? Character development!' A part of my mind observes/announces.

First up was Tsuyu and Tokoyami versus Ectoplasm. It was an interesting match up, they complimented each other well and I wasn't the only one who thought so - Mina was muttering something about ships and dating. I'm not to sure what they have to do with one another but clearly her mind was elsewhere. They managed to defeat Ectoplasm when Dark Shadow slapped the cuffs on while the teacher was distracted. 

Todoroki and I started to talk about battle strategies as the tests went on. 

Uraraka and Aoyama v.s 13 - win
Kirishima and Rikido v.s Cementos - defeat.
Jirou and Koda v.s Present Mic - win

I smirk before commenting to Todoroki, "They have really out done themselves this time. The students with compatible Quirks or personalities are matched up and pitted against teachers who are the perfect opponents. And so far it seems that the teachers aren't holding back much, providing us with a challenge."

"Next contestant please." A robotic voice announces over the intercom. 

I wave and smile as Todoroki walks into the elevator and disappears. 

Now here comes the match I've been waiting for, Todoroki and Momo versus Eraserhead. Momo is rather intelligent, can memorize things easily and is detail oriented and most likely came top of the grade but her confidence is extremely lackluster, so she doesn't trust her abilities and lets Todoroki run the show. Todoroki though is pretty much useless without his Quirk and is hardly a match physically for our home room teacher and is not too good with the whole strategy thing. He's a front-line fighter, powerful, strong and good in combat. What this team lacks is communication, as neither individual is experienced in voicing their thoughts due to their higher class upbringing. 

Thankfully they pull through at the end and Todoroki inspires Yaoyorozu who regains her confidence, and they defeat Aizawa by using his own tricks against him. Brilliant 

“Hooray! They did it.” I celebrate alongside Uraraka, who is jumping up and down with glee. 

Internally I smirk, the pieces are falling into place and when I'm done what will Endeavour do, when I use his weapon against him. I let out an excited giggle and anxiously watch the next test which was Sero and Mineta versus Midnight.

Great, two perverts against a sex symbol. This will be interesting to watch. 

•~•

"Midnight knocks Mineta out with her intoxicating knock-out gas. Sero is hiding behind the rocks, he seems to be putting tape over his mouth and nose, so he doesn't breathe in the gas. He then swings himself between the peaks of the mountain and cocoons Midnight in his tape, blocking her pores and stopping the release of her gas. He then cuffs Midnight and she admits defeat." I summarise for Todoroki who had been getting patched up by Recovery Girl.

Kaminari and Mina v.s Principal Nezu - loss. As Sparky had predicted.
Ojiro and Iida v.s Powerloader - win.
Mezo and Toru v.s Snipe - win.

“The next examinees please head to the front gate. Thank you.” That robotic voice intoned over the intercom.

“Kacchan now please don't attack All Might. The smarter course of action would be to just avoid him.” I plead with him when we are alone in the elevator.

“Shut up.” He commands me. That stubborn bastard - no, I am calm and collected. I am calm and collected. 

We walk into the fake cityscape.

“Fine it's your funeral.” I tell him in a defeated voice and march off in the opposite direction. He just stares dumbstruck at my retreating figure. I then power up my Quirk and leap away. That is when I spot All Might, rushing through the streets cackling madly. 
I perch on top of a building and wait for All Might to notice me, which thankfully doesn't take long. As soon as he spots my glowing green body he bounds up and tries to punch me but I move just in time, and he obliterated the building instead. What if people had been in there? If our roles were reversed would his strategy have been any different? Doubt it.

I catch him off guard and knock him to the ground, delivering All Might right to an enraged Bakugo's feet.

Activating Analyst I quickly formulate a plan, it's not very heroic but it's the only way.

Before I put it into action though, I'll try one more time to convince Bakugo. I slide down a flag pole and spring to where they were fighting, actually let me rephrase, where Bakugo was getting pummelled into the tar by All Might.

“Bakugo stop, you can't win like that.” I shout at him while keeping my distance.

“Shut up! Dammit! I can do this, just watch.” He yells at me before rushing back bloodied and with broken arms to All Might who was very deep into his acting. I growl, okay then, I gave you your choice. 

After Bakugo gets flung back into a building, I peel him off the floor and hoist him onto my back but halfway towards the gate, he stirs awake and when he realises my plan, he struggles against my grip and elbowed me between my ribs, knocking the air out of me.

“NO! We are not RUNNING AWAY! Like a bunch of COWARDLY extras.” He screeched at me. I pick myself off the floor, a poisonous green energy floating around me like whisps of cigarette smoke. 

My anger bubbles over, “You fucking idiot! You don't get it do you?” I rasp as the air chills. Bakugo was trembling. 

"I'm trying to SAVE YOU!" I yell and lash out appearing in front of him and slapping him across the face which made him stumble to the ground. That's going to leave a mark. 

“Whatever, do as you please. Just like you always have.” I whisper before running away.
 
“Bloody Deku, I'll show you. I'll prove that I am still better than you. Don't forget you're just a mere pebble in my path!" Bakugo growled after me.

All Might then entered the scene and almost crushed me. 

“I am here, to destroy you all!” He yelled out and cackled again. This guy tries way too hard.

I duck and dive in alleyways and leap over roofs as All Might chased me, herding me away from Bakugo. 
I'm cursing and screaming in my head when I realise something, 'Wait, only one team member has to cross the line!'

With a new plan in mind, I swiftly change directions and speed off in the towards the gate.

•~•

“What is Deku doing? Why is he abandoning Bakugo?” Uraraka asks no one in particular.

“Most probably because Bakugo is being a stubborn prick who won't listen to reason. So Midoriya is taking the best and most efficient course of action.” Todoroki said knowledgeably. 

"Yeah it's the smartest option." Kaminari agrees with the cold yet hot boy. 

“As if you would know.” Jirou scoffs at him.

Kaminari just shrugs and walks over to the vending machine. 

"Kirishima~" He calls, "I forgot my money can you spot me?" He whines, crocodile tears in his eyes. The distracted red-head tosses his wallet to the boy, whose own money is actually in his bag. 

•~•

“Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo - Pass.” The robot announced.

Bakugo and All Might stop fighting immediately; surprised and confused. They spin around and spot me leaning against the gate.

“You bloody Deku!” An enraged Bakugo propels himself at me at a furious speed, crossing a hundred metres in mere minutes.

I easily dodge his sloppy punch and quickly immobilize him by pinning him to the ground. “Listen up Bakugou,” I hiss into his ear, “If you want an answer just ask like a normal person and I will tell!” I grumbled at him and get a begrudging response.

I sigh and loosen my grip around his wrists before speaking again, “You were being a stubborn ass, who refused to co-operate and didn't see the need to come up with a plan. You assumed that if you went in guns ablazing that things would just work out!” I scolded him. 

He had finally stopped squirming and was hopefully listening. All Might was there now and was simply watching, not even bothering to lift a finger to discipline his student or assisting me in putting this toddler in his place whom I foolishly believed had matured.

“Get of your high horse! You aren't that amazing, there is always someone better. Everyone might have worshipped you because of your amazingly powerful Quirk, but news flash a powerful Quirk doesn't make a Hero. And Bakugo at the rate you are going you are never going to be a Hero unless you fix your shitty attitude! Learn to cooperate with others or else people will abandon you like I did today and you can't become a Hero on your own.” I watched gleefully as the words I had ripped him with sunk into that thick skull of his and hopefully stayed there this time.

"Please get off him now Young Midoriya." All Might said, unsurely. Clearly out of his element. 

I got off of him and watched as he sat up but before I left I made one final remark.

“A Quirk doesn't define a hero, your actions do.”

I discreetly flash a dirty look at All Might before I calmly walk out the gateway towards the bus, where my 'friends' eagerly awaited my arrival.