With a quick look to aim, Kuro pointed and fired. A white compressed line of Ki shot right at Cementoss, striking him right in the back. At that moment, all the controlled cement stalled with his temporary shock.
Kuro didn't hesitate.
The instant Kirishima regained his footing, the two launched forward again.
No discussion.
No countdown.
Just instinct born from fighting side by side for the last several minutes.
The white aura around Kuro shimmered softly as he shot through the air.
Cementoss immediately answered.
Massive cement arms erupted from the streets, sweeping across the battlefield to intercept him.
Instead of weaving around them—
Kuro drove straight through.
A shoulder slammed into one arm, shattering it.
Another grabbed for him.
He tore through that one as well, paying no attention to the chunks of concrete scraping across his gi.
His only objective was simple.
"Keep the teacher looking at me."
Behind him—
Kirishima understood immediately.
With Cementoss's attention occupied, he lowered his center of gravity and charged.
His hardened feet cracked the pavement beneath every step.
The distance closed.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Cementoss didn't even look.
Instead, one wall rose directly before Kirishima's fist.
It looked...
wrong.
Not rigid.
Not reinforced.
It sagged ever so slightly under its own weight.
Kirishima didn't have time to question it.
"RAAAAH!"
His hardened fist crashed into the barrier.
Instead of shattering—
His punch disappeared into it.
Like striking an enormous cushion.
The wall compressed.
Folded inward.
Absorbed nearly the entirety of the impact.
Then—
BOING.
The stored force rebounded.
Kirishima's eyes widened.
"...Huh?"
The wall launched him backward.
His own strength sent him flying.
At that exact instant—
Another construct emerged.
Not a wall.
A gigantic cement fist.
WHAM!
It connected squarely with Kirishima's chest, sending him hurtling through the side of a nearby building in an explosion of brick, plaster, and dust.
The observation room collectively winced.
Ashido covered her mouth.
"Ooh... that looked like it hurt..."
Todoroki calmly took another bite of soba.
"Cementoss-sensei adapted."
Back on the field, Cementoss spoke evenly as though giving a lecture.
"Cement is not merely hard."
Another wave of softer material flowed around his feet.
"When transported, fresh cement must remain in constant motion."
It rolled like thick clay before slowly settling.
"My quirk does not create only hardened concrete."
He raised one hand.
"It allows me to manipulate cement in various states."
The soft wall gradually stiffened.
"I simply favour hardened structures because they are generally more practical."
Kuro finally broke through the last defensive limb.
"Kirishima!"
He immediately changed direction, flying toward the collapsed building.
Exactly as Cementoss expected.
"...Predictable."
The streets beneath Kuro rippled.
Hands emerged.
Not hard.
Soft.
Dozens of thick cement arms reached upward.
They wrapped around Kuro's legs.
His waist.
His arms.
He instinctively flexed.
Normally, overwhelming force would solve the problem.
Instead, the material stretched.
It yielded.
Refusing to crack.
Every attempt to pull free only allowed more of it to wrap around him.
Then—
The texture changed.
The moisture disappeared.
The soft cement rapidly cured.
Hardened.
Locked.
Within seconds, Kuro found himself completely encased from the shoulders down inside a solid block of concrete.
"...Oh."
He blinked.
"...That's clever."
Cementoss lowered his hands.
The battlefield became still.
Dust drifted lazily through the quiet streets.
Kirishima slowly pushed himself from the rubble, coughing.
He took one step.
Then another.
Before stopping.
...
Cementoss remained calm.
Even now.
Even after his fortress had been broken.
Even after adapting multiple times.
Even after being forced into ranges and responses that most students could never reach.
Because this was not combat.
This was an evaluation.
And evaluation demanded objectivity.
Kurokami Tenshin and Eijiro Kirishima had performed excellently.
They adapted quickly.
Created synergy.
Improvised.
Demonstrated restraint.
Demonstrated growth.
But growth did not mean success.
And now—
The flaw had finally appeared.
Kuro's mobility enabled Kirishima.
Kirishima's pressure enabled Kuro.
Separate them—
and the system collapsed.
Simple.
Effective.
Professional.
Cementoss watched the trapped Kuro quietly.
Solid concrete had formed over his limbs and torso.
Not enough to injure.
Enough to immobilize.
Kirishima was embedded in a building several streets away.
His Hardening was still active—
But he wasn't moving.
Cementoss stood atop his pillar.
The cement arms are slowly retracting.
"You did extremely well, students."
His tone wasn't mocking.
If anything—
It was approved.
"I was thoroughly challenged."
He folded his arms.
"And though escape was a valid victory condition…"
His eyes moved to Kuro.
"…you chose confrontation."
Then Kirishima.
"…despite understanding I possessed the advantage."
A pause.
His eyes softened slightly.
"That resolve is admirable."
Observation deck.
A few students looked disappointed.
Denki leaned forward.
"…Wait."
Mina blinked.
"Did they lose?"
All Might watched quietly.
Aizawa crossed his arms.
Neither spoke.
Back below—
Kuro was quiet.
Concrete restrained him completely.
Only his face remained visible.
A small nosebleed ran down his lip.
His expression was unreadable.
Cementoss continued.
"However."
His voice remained steady.
"You failed both objectives."
No escape.
No capture.
No remaining options.
The teacher gave a small nod.
"You may take pride in your growth."
Silence.
Then—
Kuro looked up.
Blink.
Blink.
With that, Cementoss on a feeling of unease, immediately moved; however, not to mention he wasn't the fastest and with heavy restraints, he naturally wasn't going to be able to dodge. "COMING FROM THE TOP ROPES!"
As Kirishima, who obviously never gives up, came from the top rope with a chokehold. "Ack!" Cementoss immediately hit Kirishima with another fist of cement. He paused, noticing the odd tape around his neck.[1]
Cementoss exhaled slowly.
Not in frustration.
Not in defeat.
More like the measured breath of a man correcting a miscalculation that had already finished playing out.
Kirishima's impact had been clean—improvised, heavy, and timed just outside the rhythm Cementoss had been controlling. Even now, the aftershock of hardened weight still pressed against his back, briefly disrupting his stance.
Kuro had already slipped free.
The concrete restraints that had formed around him cracked from the inside—not through brute force, but through sudden internal pressure shifts in the white ki coating his body. A controlled burst, not an explosion.
A correction.
Cementoss glanced down at the cracked ground beneath them.
"…I see."
His voice was quieter now.
Not because the situation demanded silence.
But because he was thinking.
Kirishima slowly pushed himself upright from the rubble, shaking his arms out.
"Ugh… okay, that actually hurt."
He looked at Cementoss.
Then grinned.
"But it worked, right?"
Cementoss didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he raised one hand slightly.
The surrounding structures began to stabilize again—slower this time, less aggressive.
Controlled.
He was no longer escalating.
He was evaluating.
Kuro landed nearby, rolling once before standing.
He glanced at the broken restraints still hanging from his arms.
Then at Kirishima.
Then at Cementoss.
"Oh."
A pause.
"…We won?"
Cementoss closed his eyes briefly.
"No."
Kuro blinked.
Cementoss opened them again.
"You met one of the win conditions."
A slight gesture toward the field.
"Kirishima immobilized me long enough for a practical capture scenario."
He exhaled.
"But you did not complete a clean restraint, nor did you secure escape conditions."
Kirishima scratched his head.
"So… half?"
Cementoss considered that.
Then nodded once.
"Functionally… yes."
He stepped down from the pillar, the concrete dissolving into harmless dust as it returned to inert form.
The battlefield began to settle back into normal architecture.
No longer a maze.
Just a damaged training city.
Cementoss looked at them both.
"You are dangerous in combination."
Kuro perked up.
"That sounds cool."
Kirishima nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I like that."
Cementoss continued.
"But individually, you compensate for each other's weaknesses in a way that is… unusually efficient for first-years."
A pause.
Then, more formally:
"You will both pass this portion of the assessment."
Kirishima let out a relieved sound.
"YES—!"
Kuro immediately raised a fist.
"Nice."
Cementoss watched them for a moment longer.
Then added, more quietly:
"In a real engagement… You would need better restraint discipline."
Kuro tilted his head.
"Like… more punching?"
"No."
"…Less punching?"
"Closer."
Kirishima nodded as he understood.
He definitely did not.
Cementoss turned slightly, preparing to leave.
But paused.
"…Still."
He looked back at them once.
"That final maneuver was not something you improvised."
Kuro smiled innocently.
"It kinda was."
Cementoss didn't look convinced.
But he didn't press further.
Instead—
He simply walked away.
Leaving the two standing in the ruined segment of the city.
Kirishima stretched.
"So… we pass?"
Kuro nodded.
"Pretty sure."
A beat.
Then Kuro added:
"I think we did well."
Kirishima grinned.
"Yeah."
From the observation deck above, Aizawa quietly exhaled.
"…They're going to be a problem."
All Might laughed nervously.
"A good kind of problem!"
Aizawa stared at him.
"…That's what worries me."
And below—
Kuro looked up at the sky over the broken training city.
Still smiling.
Completely unaware that Cementoss's last thought wasn't about failure—
But about how uneasy he felt staring at that face.
_______________________________________________________________
[Auther: If I remember correctly, my memory is bad, but there was 2 ways of victory. Escape and Restraint. Usually, defeating the teacher would be nigh impossible, so those two make sense to me.]
[1] "If you're unaware, I believe this tape was in the anime and meant to mean capture."