BEEEP!
" Team Koda, Jiro, Belladonna, Fukidashi and Monoma. Ready and go !"
A thunderous shout sudden;y rippled through the forest
"ARE YOU KIDDOS COMIN', OR SHOULD I START BELTIN' OUT A CONCERT SOLO!?"
Even though Present Mic's voice wasn't at full power, the sound still rolled through the trees like a wave, rattling branches and sending flocks of birds bursting into the air.
But he was far.
Ridiculously far.
From their position, Team Jiro could see him only as a bright yellow shape leaning casually against the metal exit gate on the opposite end of the enormous forest arena. The distance between them had to be at least a hundred meters—maybe more—separated by dense trees, uneven terrain, and thick underbrush.
He wasn't coming to them.
He didn't have to.
The pro hero simply stood there at the exit, arms crossed, foot tapping a rhythm against the steel frame in impatience.
"Wow..." Blake muttered, shading her eyes to see better. "He's just... standing there. Like a final boss waiting for us to enter the arena."
Jiro groaned.
"That's exactly the problem. He doesn't need to move. If we get within his range, we're toast."
Monoma smirked.
"Well yes, that's what happens when you attempt an escape plan built entirely on 'running away.' Eventually, you still reach the enemy."
Manga conjured a floating word:
"ENOUGH!"
It hovered over his head and broke apart like shattered glass, dissolving into the forest air.
Koda fidgeted nervously. "H-he's so far away... b-but if he yells at full volume... w-we won't stand a chance..."
Jiro nodded. "Exactly. That's why we need to stay quiet and keep our distance. If we slip between the trees and move fast, he won't know our exact location until we're already close."
Blake let her ears sweep the forest again.
"There are a ton of insects and birds—our movement noises might blend in. But if he hears a single broken branch or a misstep, he'll lock onto us."
"And then," Jiro added grimly, "he'll blast us straight back into the underbrush."
Monoma folded his arms.
"Well, if that happens, I suppose we can all blame Class A's resident strategist for her brilliant idea to infiltrate instead of fight."
"You're impossible!" Jiro snapped.
"And you're excessively jumpy," Monoma shot back. "Must be all that delicate auditory sensitivity, hm?"
Blake's tail puffed.
"Say one more word about people's hearing," she warned.
Monoma opened his mouth.
Manga didn't even wait—he instantly generated a giant floating "SHHHHH!" that slammed into Monoma's face like a giant foam finger.
"ACK—! What is wrong with all of you!?"
Jiro took a deep breath, forcing herself calm.
"Look. We can argue later. Right now, we have one goal—get around him and slip through the exit."
She pointed through the forest.
"See those trees leaning together like an arch? That's our first cover line. Then we move diagonally toward that fallen log. Blake, you take point—you're the quietest and you can keep watch with those ears."
Blake nodded, focused. "Got it."
"Koda, behind Blake," Jiro continued. "Monoma behind Koda. Manga behind me."
Monoma raised a brow. "Afraid I'll run off?"
"Afraid you'll start another argument," Blake muttered.
Monoma sniffed but didn't deny it.
Jiro raised her jacks to the soil again. "I can't sense Mic's movement from this far out—the forest noise is too thick. So assume he's listening. Always."
Present Mic's distant shout rumbled again, though softened by distance:
"Aight kids, I can HEAR ya bickerin' from here! Sound travels, y'know! Let's make this exam a hit single, yeah?"
The echo rolled through the trees, sending leaves fluttering and a cloud of startled insects buzzing upward.
Koda whimpered. "H-he heard us..."
Jiro grit her teeth. "Then let's move before he has a reason to start shouting harder."
Blake crouched low and melted into a sprint, slipping between the pines with unnervingly silent grace. Her black bow bobbed lightly—hiding her Faunus ears from normal eyes, though the twitch of their movement was still noticeable to her teammates.
Jiro followed, signaling the others.
They moved.
Quiet.
Low.
Through roots and tall grass.
Past the buzzing insects and chirping cicadas.
Every step felt like it echoed—even though Blake moved silently, and Jiro's team tried to follow her example.
Meanwhile, across the arena...
Observation Room
Izuku leaned forward, eyes wide. "They're already arguing—and Present Mic can hear them from all the way across the field? That's not good."
Rokuro: you'd think they'd be quieter ?
Ruby folded her arms. "It's a forest battlefield; everything echoes differently. And Blake's team has two enhanced-hearing students, one vibration sensor, one sound-based quirk user, and one guy who literally shouts words." She winced. "This matchup is brutal."
Yang cracked her knuckles. "It's like the teachers want to screw them over."
Elizabeth nodded softly. "This is a battlefield that punishes their strengths and amplifies their weaknesses."
Momo frowned. "And for Monoma... if he copies any of their quirks, he'll inherit all of those drawbacks. His hearing will be a liability too."
Tsuyu's tongue flicked once. "Ribbit. They've gotta sneak... but their opponent... is the loudest hero alive."
Iida adjusted his glasses. "It seems clear the teachers are intentionally pairing students with opponents best suited to counter their abilities. This test is as psychological as it is practical!"
Recovery Girl mumbled. "Well, that's the point of these exams—stress reveals character."
Izuku watched the monitors intensely as Blake led the team across the dense forest.
"She's doing great, keeping them stable. If they can get close enough before Present Mic detects them... they might make it."
Ruby smiled softly. "Go Blake... you got this."
Back in the Forest:
Blake halted, raising a hand.
Everyone froze behind her.
Present Mic was still far in the distance, still leaning casually at the exit.
But his head had turned.
His smile widened.
He cupped one hand to his ear.
"Heyyy... I hear footsteps~"
Blake's blood ran cold.
Jiro swallowed.
Monoma's eyes widened.
Koda whimpered.
Manga conjured a shaky "UH OH!"
Present Mic stood upright.
Straightened his jacket.
And took a deep breath.
"Let's crank up the volume!!"
Jiro shouted:
"DOWN! TAKE COVER!"
And the forest exploded with sound.
"YEAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"
The sonic scream blasted through the forest directly at the team causing them to scream in agony and cover their ears but that did little to nothing to block the shockwaves ripping through them.
Jiro: It's so loud !!
Present Mic's amplified voice ripped through the forest like a shockwave, bending branches, scattering clouds of insects, and slamming Team Jiro flat to the ground.
Jiro hit the dirt hard, her hands clamped desperately over her ears.
Blake folded in on herself, tail bristling, cat ears flattened tight against her skull.
Monoma screamed—not in pain, but in outrage.
Manga's eyes spun like spirals as he wobbled sideways.
Koda was curled up, whimpering, trembling like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
When the sonic blast finally faded, the forest hummed again with its normal wildlife.
Jiro groaned and forced herself upright. Her ears throbbed painfully.
"K-Koda!" she shouted, even though her voice sounded muffled to her own vibrating eardrums. "Can your quirk control animals!? Birds—bugs—anything!? We need something to distract him!"
Koda shook his head violently, hands flying in frantic signs.
I can—but I can't talk—birds can't hear me—I'm too scared—they won't respond!
Jiro blinked. "You... you have to talk? You've never talked?"
Koda hunched deeper, mortified.
Monoma scoffed and marched right up to him.
"Oh honestly, Class A... even your animal boy is useless unless someone else does the work for him."
He slapped a hand onto Koda's shoulder.
Blue sparks flickered.
ANIVOICE—COPIED.
Monoma spun, cupped his hands to his mouth, and yelled up at the treetops:
"YOU THERE! BIRDS! ATTACK PRESENT MIC THIS INSTANT! I COMMAND YOU!"
The birds stared down silently.
One of them tilted its head.
Another blinked slowly.
Then a small sparrow fluttered down, hovered above Monoma...
...and pooped directly onto his forehead.
Monoma froze.
His face contorted.
A strangled shriek tore from his lungs.
"AAAAAAGH! DISGUSTING! FILTHY! UNCIVILIZED CREATURES!!"
Blake burst into laughter before slapping a hand over her mouth.
Manga didn't bother hiding it—his "HAHAHAHAHA!" appeared as a giant floating word that vibrated with each chuckle.
Jiro wiped her eyes, half-laughing, half-dying of stress. "Okay—okay—everyone calm down. We need to focus. Present Mic's quirk is basically a death amp, like a super-powered speaker designed to atomize our ears. If we can't get close—"
Right on cue, Present Mic's voice ripped through the trees again:
"HURRY UP AND COME OUT! I'M GETTING BORED!!!"
The blast hit them even harder.
Jiro screamed, grabbing her ears. Warm liquid trickled down her neck—blood.
Blake staggered, ears ringing violently.
Monoma fell to his knees clutching his skull.
Manga collapsed backward, dizzy and slurring.
Koda watched them with huge horrified eyes.
He wasn't injured.
But they were.
Badly.
Jiro gasped through clenched teeth. "W-we... we need a plan..."
Blake trembled. "I-I can't... think... everything's spinning..."
Manga crawled weakly and tapped their shoulders. He held up a tiny ant on his fingertip, then used his quirk:
"ASK KODA IF HE CAN CONTROL BUGS!"
Jiro blinked in shock, then her face lit up.
"Koda! Bugs! Can you control insects!?"
The moment Koda saw the ant—
He shrieked, bolting behind a tree.
"N-N-NO! BUGS! TOO SCARY!"
Another sonic wave exploded.
The team collapsed again, now barely able to stand.
Blood beaded at Jiro's ears.
Blake's vision blurred.
Monoma was pale and shaking.
Manga lay on the ground mumbling nonsense.
Koda trembled so hard his teeth chattered.
Jiro forced herself up, adrenaline overriding pain.
She slammed her Earphone Jacks into a boulder—
CRACK!
The stone split open.
A swarm of insects burst out—ants, beetles, centipedes, spiders, and more—scattering in every direction.
Blake took several horrified steps back, tail frizzing.
"Oh NOPE. Nope nope nope nope—nope!"
Jiro waved her arms frantically. "Koda! Please! Can you control them or not!?"
Koda gulped and raised a trembling thumb.
Monoma staggered forward again.
"Oh, move aside, I'll show you how Class B handles this." He inhaled and shouted, "ALL OF YOU! ATTACK OUR ENEMY AT THE GATE—NOW!"
The bugs ignored him completely.
One beetle crawled lazily over his shoe.
Monoma screamed again.
"I–I HATE THIS EXAM!"
Another sonic blast hit.
This one shredded the forest floor, snapping branches and knocking everyone flat.
It was the strongest yet.
Jiro and Blake's ears burst, blood dripping freely.
Manga's vision spun into double images.
Monoma collapsed on all fours, shaking violently.
Koda watched them suffer—watched the people he cared about and Monoma stand up again and again just to be knocked down.
His heart pounded like a trapped animal.
Blake looked up at him, barely keeping her eyes open.
"K-Koda... we b-believe in you..."
Jiro forced a smile through the pain.
"No one... can use your quirk better than you can."
"W-we need you..." Blake whispered.
Koda froze.
His breath hitched.
Then—
He saw the blood on their faces.
He saw Jiro collapse.
He saw Blake's ears dripping red.
He saw Monoma shaking uncontrollably.
He saw Manga struggling to lift his head.
And something inside him snapped.
Not in fear.
In resolve.
His mind flashed back—
His mother hugging him after his acceptance letter arrived.
Her words:
"You're going to be a hero, Koji. A real one."
He remembered Izuku—his classmate—the same age as him—pushing past fear over and over again.
Plus Ultra...
Koda stumbled forward.
Then fell to his knees.
Then pressed both palms to the dirt.
His voice shook—
But he used it.
"T-tiny ones... p-please... lend us your help...!"
His voice grew stronger.
"Help us defeat our enemy...! We... we need you!"
Blake's eyes widened.
Jiro stared in shock.
"DID... DID YOU JUST TALK!?"
But it didn't matter.
Because it worked.
Across the arena, Present Mic leaned against the exit gate, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Man, they're taking foreve—"
CRRRRRRACK
The soil next to him split open.
A dark wave surged out.
Thousands—tens of thousands—maybe hundreds of thousands of insects erupted from underground like a living tidal wave.
They crawled up his boots.
His legs.
His jacket.
His shoulders.
His face.
Present Mic looked down—saw the swarm—
And unleashed a scream of pure, genuine, high-pitched horror.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—
NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE—
GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!!"
He flailed, spun, staggered—
And collapsed backward in a faint.
The bugs swarmed triumphantly over his unconscious form.
Team Jiro, bloodied and barely conscious, stared in stunned silence.
Then Blake whispered:
"...Koda... remind me never to piss you off."
In the monitoring room, the group stared in absolute horror at what had just happened.
Izuku: Wow Koda, harsh move...
His voice strained with shock and a little disgust.
Iida: That's tough, even for a pro...
Recovery girl: He let a few bugs beat him.
She mocked, angered and annoyed.
BANG!
A bullet punched into the side of their cover pillar, breaking off chunks of concrete.
Shoji flattened his massive frame over the team. "He's already locked onto us. Stay behind me."
Rin braced himself, lizard-like scales sprouting along his arms and jawline. "H-How does he already know exactly where we are!?"
Hagakure waved her gloved hands. "Duh—sound echoes in here! And he's a gun expert!"
Komori peeked around Shoji's arm, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Wowww! Corridor environments are perfect for ambush shrooms!"
Another shot rang out.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The pillar they hid behind cracked dramatically.
Shoji reacted instantly—his Dupli-Arms wrapping around everyone as the pillar collapsed, sending rubble crashing to the ground.
Hagakure coughed through the dust. "We need a plan before he swiss-cheeses us!"
Another bullet whizzed past Rin's shoulder, curving around debris.
Rin froze. "H-how does he even shoot AROUND things!?"
Shoji answered grimly, "Because he's Snipe. We can't outrun his accuracy—we need to break his line of sight entirely."
Komori perked up. "Oho! This is a great chance to use my Mushrooooom tactic!"
Shoji turned to her. "Ideas?"
Komori held up one finger.
"Well, first—if I spread my spores behind a pillar down the hallway... shroom-shroom... I can block his view with a mushroom patch! Or grow big chunky shrooms he has to shoot through!"
Hagakure gasped. "YES! Mushroom smoke screen!"
Rin nodded. His scales thickened with determination. "Then I'll step forward to draw his fire. My Scales can take a few hits if they're not direct."
Shoji added, "I'll throw pillar debris to force him to reposition."
Hagakure lifted her gloved hands—
"I'll remove my gloves and shoes and go fully invisible. Once we distract him enough—bam—I get behind him and slap on the cuffs!"
The plan was set.
And they had no time to waste.
Komori jumped up with both arms raised.
"Time to shroooom~!"
She released a thick puff of spores.
A cloud of white mist drifted down the corridor—landing on walls, broken pillars, and floor cracks. In seconds—
FWOOMP
Mushrooms sprouted everywhere.
Tall ones. Wide ones. Fuzzy ones. Bright-colored ones.
The entire corridor turned into a fungal forest.
Rin stepped forward, scales coating his torso like armor.
"Here goes nothing—RRAH!"
He sprinted out briefly, letting Snipe see him.
BANG!
The bullet hit Rin's scales, bouncing away.
Rin staggered. "Ow—okay—he definitely saw that—but I'm alive!"
Shoji then used three Dupli-Arms to grab a chunk of fallen pillar and hurl it down the hall.
CRASH!
Dust exploded everywhere.
Snipe's muffled voice echoed:
"Now what in tarnation—!? The heck is goin' on over there!?"
Komori giggled. "Heehee! He's confused! Shroom success!
Hagakure slipped off her gloves.
Then her shoes.
Now fully invisible.
"You guys keep distracting him. I'm going!"
Shoji nodded. "Be careful."
Rin gave a thumbs up. "Kick his butt!"
Komori whispered, "Good luck, Miss Invisi-shroo~!"
While the others kept up noise, dust, spores, and debris—
Hagakure silently tiptoed down the corridor.
Snipe fired another shot, but it went wide—his vision blocked by massive mushrooms and clouds of spores.
"Hnnh—dang spores're stickin' to my visor—! Can't see squat!"
He stepped away from the pillar for a clearer look—
Right as Hagakure reached him.
She raised the cuffs.
"Gotcha—!"
CLICK!
The metal locked around his wrists instantly.
"Wha—HEY! Who—!? Where—!?"
Hagakure proudly declared, "You're captured, Snipe-sensei!"
Snipe looked down at the cuffs, bewildered.
"Well I'll be! Guess ya kids actually outsmarted—"
He turned—
And his elbow accidentally bumped into her chest.
Right into a very invisible but very present boob.
Hagakure gasped.
The whole team froze.
Snipe froze.
"...did... did you just elbow my BOOB!?"
Snipe panicked instantly.
"WH-WHAT!? NO—MA'AM—I—THAT WASN'T— I DIDN'T—!!"
Shoji ran up just as Hagakure started flailing in indignation.
"You—! You perv! You totally touched me!"
Snipe held up his cuffed hands defensively.
"I SWEAR ON MY HERO LICENSE—I RESPECT WOMEN!!"
Komori giggled uncontrollably. "S-shroom-sensei is so red in the face!"
Rin wheezed, "P-please don't expel us—!"
Snipe cried out, "IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I PROMISE—PLEASE STOP YELLIN'!"
Shoji sighed deeply. "Hagakure... maybe take a step back before his heart gives out."
Hagakure huffed, crossing invisible arms.
"Fine. But still! Watch where you swing those elbows, mister!"
Snipe wilted like a scolded child.
"Y-yes ma'am..."
Team Shoji: VICTORY
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