….
The weeks leading to final exams had been brutal for the Class 1-A.
Dabi's training sessions with Bakugo and Todoroki continued daily; but they weren't the only ones pushing toward a breaking point.
The entire class had thrown themselves into improvement with single-minded determination.
Because Dabi had made one thing very clear during a class meeting two weeks before exams:
"In the upcoming finals, I expect a hundred percent pass rate from Class 1-A." he had said, his voice flat and absolute. "Both written and practical."
"If anyone fails..." Another pause, longer this time. "Well. Use your imagination about what happens then."
The threat was never articulated, which only made it more terrifying, and no one wanted to find out what Dabi's version of 'summer school' looked like.
So, they studied until their eyes bled.
Yaoyorozu took her class representative role to extreme responsibility, organizing marathon study groups for Jiro, Kaminari, Ashido, Ojiro, and Sero.
She lectured them on theory, drilled them on applications, created practice problems that mimicked the exam format. Midoriya's notebook collection expanded exponentially as he documented every conceivable scenario they might face.
Even Bakugo, who normally refused group study, could be found aggressively drilling Kirishima on hero law.
His excuse? "I am not letting your dumbass drag down the class average, Shitty Hair!"
The written exams arrived with the weight of accumulated preparation behind them.
Three hours, multiple subjects; Hero law, quirk theory, rescue protocols, villain psychology, ethics and philosophy of heroism.
When results were posted two days later, the entire class gathered around the board.
[Class 1-A: 100% Pass Rate]
Cheers erupted, Kaminari actually sobbed with relief while Ashido tackled Yaoyorozu into a hug that nearly sent them both to the floor.
….
The practical exam briefing took place the following morning; all of Class 1-A assembled in the auditorium, eagerly waiting to finally learn the practical exam concept.
They have heard from Class 1-B that the practical exam was a repeat of the entrance trials. Large-scale combat against mechanical opponents, difficult but straightforward.
Principal Nezu stepped onto the stage, his cheerful smile appearing significantly more predatory than usual.
"Good morning, students! My heartfelt congratulations on your written performance! Now, let's discuss the practical examination."
The class leaned forward attentively.
"You will be fighting in pairs against-" Nezu paused for dramatic effect. "-the U.A. teaching staff!"
Silence, then chaos.
"WHAT?!"
"The teachers?! Are you serious?!"
"But 1-B said it was robots!"
"We lied to 1-B." Aizawa's gravelly voice cut through the panic. He was leaning against the back wall, looking as exhausted as ever. "We fed them false intel to ensure you couldn't prepare. Lesson one: never trust a source you haven't verified yourself with."
The betrayal felt physical and several students looked like they had been slapped.
"The matchups are as follows." Nezu continued, pulling up a screen. "Asui and Tokoyami versus Ectoplasm. Iida and Ojiro versus Power Loader. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu versus Dabi–"
Todoroki's head snapped up. His eyes immediately sought out the back of the room, locking onto Dabi's silhouette.
Their gazes met, Dabi's expression was unreadable, but Todoroki's was intense, focused, almost hungry.
"-and finally." Nezu's voice rose over the murmurs. "Midoriya and Bakugo versus All Might."
That announcement sent another murmur wave through the room, but Todoroki barely registered it.
After weeks of brutal training, learning to properly integrate his fire and ice and pushing himself harder than he had ever pushed before.
This wasn't just an exam.
It's a rematch…
Or more like re-re-re… rematch.
But this time, Shoto didn't intend to lose.
….
After the briefing ended, the auditorium emptied into a flurry of frantic prepping amongst the students.
However, Shoto remained anchored to his seat, his mismatched eyes fixed on a specific matchup.
"Todoroki? You've been silent for five minutes."
Yaoyorozu sat beside him, her posture poised but her eyes betrayed a flicker of the same anxiety gripping the rest of the class.
She was his partner; alas, only if he didn't seem too lost in his own world, they could have been the perfect team.
"I am fine." Shoto replied.
"Thinking about fighting our battle with Dabi-sensei?" she guessed.
"...yes."
Yaoyorozu was quiet for a moment. "He's been training you specifically for weeks. Do you think that gives us an advantage or a disadvantage?"
"Both." Shoto said honestly. "He knows exactly how I fight now. But I have been watching him, too. I also know how he thinks, analyzes and what he expects."
"That's amazing–"
"We won't stand a chance."
The bluntness of his words stalled her. "...We can't just give up before–"
"It is impossible to win against him if he is even ten percent serious." Shoto interrupted, his gaze finally shifting to hers. "And with his attitude... I am positive he will give himself an 'extra' handicap to make it 'fair.' But even then, if we use normal methods, our failure is certain."
'Aren't the teachers already wearing super compact weighted bracelets as handicaps?' Is what Yaoyorozu wanted to ask. But she could guess, Todoriki knew it too.
"...." she went silent, unable to find a counter-argument to the grim conviction in his voice.
"Our method has to be the crudest possible." Shoto continued.
"I see. An unconventional approach." she murmured, her hand reaching for a notepad. "Then we must plan as carefully as–"
"No, Yaoyorozu. That is exactly what he expects from us."
She blinked, her pen hovering mid-air. "Then... What are you suggesting we do?"
"Trust."
"Trust?" she repeated, the word feeling foreign in the context of a high-stakes combat exam.
"Hm." Shoto nodded. "I am trusting you to come up with something in the middle of the fight. My only responsibility is to hold his attention. I have to make him focus on me so completely that he forgets you… at least momentarily."
Yaoyorozu hadn't expected such a reckless proposal from the usually stoic Todoroki, but it laid bare the depth of his desperation to defeat Dabi.
For Shoto, his pairing felt like destiny; a re-match again after the intense training he went through in an unofficial setting.
For him this won't be just another exam, but a confrontation he had been waiting for, craving, even, since the moment his eldest brother had returned to their lives.
He wanted to fight Toya, to prove himself and defeat him, no matter the cost.
And Dabi? He knew he would be even less merciful, since this is an official setting.
Yaoyorozu let out a slow, bracing breath. "It makes sense. Especially without knowing what kind of handicap he will choose... Haa, I suppose a desperate gamble is the best plan we have."
….
The paired students were given a preparation window, before the battle began.
And even though they choose to not plan anything; Momo Yaoyorozu couldn't help but itch for data. She needed to understand the monster they were about to face.
"Dabi-sensei is a tougher opponent than even All Might in some respects." Shoto said, his voice dropping into a somber, warning tone.
According to him: All Might's devastating power was largely close-range, reliant on overwhelming physical prowess. A one-trick pony at the absolute peak of that trick, but still fundamentally limited in tactical flexibility.
Though if you ask Dabi it is more likely he would not agree to this…
But Dabi?
He had long-range firepower that could control entire battlefields.
On top of it, he has close-combat skills that match most veterans, and a tactical mind that identifies your weaknesses before you even realize you've exposed them.
In all these weeks, Todoroki hasn't found a single exploitable opening.
….
As he finished his grim breakdown, Shoto turned and began walking toward the industrial zone of the testing grounds
"Wait!" Momo called out, jogging to catch up with him. "Where are you going? We haven't even received his coordinates yet. The exam area is massive; we need to establish a systematic search grid."
For the first time, Todoroki's expression shifted, a ghost of a knowing smile crossing his stoic features.
"I know exactly where he is." Shoto said without turning back. "He must be at the exit gate. Maybe even taking a nap."
The observation was so unexpectedly perceptive, so rooted in a deep understanding of their instructor's character rather than just his Quirk, that Momo found herself genuinely impressed despite her frustration.
"How can you possibly be so sure?" she asked.
"Because it's what he would do." Shoto said simply. "Why waste energy searching for us when we have to come to him eventually? The gate is the objective. He will just wait for us to exhaust ourselves getting there, then make us go through him to finish it."
….
They found him exactly where Shoto predicted.
Dabi sat on the ground near the exit gate, one leg crossed casually over the other, looking completely at ease.
But he wasn't sleeping, or meditating.
Instead, he had his phone pressed to his ear; even from a distance, they could hear the softer tone in his voice, that was so different from his usual harsh teaching style.
"...Yeah, I know, bunny. I will be careful... Mhm... No, they are not here yet... Yeah, probably another few minutes... Miss you too."
Shoto didn't need to ask who was on the other end.
Nobody else in the world could make Dabi's voice go that soft except Rumi Usagiyama.
The moment Dabi noticed their approach, likely triggered by his Spider-Sense, Dabi wrapped up the call with a quick goodbye.
He pocketed the phone and rose to his feet in one jump. The transition back to 'Instructor Mode' was instantaneous.
"Took you longer than expected." he said, and before he had even finished speaking, blue flames erupted from his skin.
The fire spread across the ground in a perfect circle around him, maybe three meters in radius; it was a clear boundary marker.
The heat radiating from those flames was immediately oppressive and distorting the haze that made the exit gate behind him look like a fever dream.
"Rules are simple." Dabi continued. "If I step outside this circle, you win. Either cuff me or get one of you past the gate within thirty minutes. That's it."
The gate stood directly behind him, and suddenly the task sounded simple.
Just ran past him and couldn't leave the circle.
Except Dabi would never make it that easy.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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