Chapter 40: (Episode 35: Yaoyorozu Momo: Rising)
"Team Asui and Tokoyami, practical exam. Ready, go."
Another buzzer sounded before the students could do anything, as they were immediately surrounded by multiple clones of their opponent. Behind, the pro hero appeared, forcing them to watch their backs.
"I forgot to tell you. We teachers are also trying to crush you with everything we have."
With his warning, Asui and Tokoyami felt prepared to pass this exam.
The opening theme commences.
"I wish we got information on Ectoplasm instead of a short recap, kero."
"At least it was something relating to what we were doing… Instead of it being… How the hell would you even describe what we watched last episode…?" Mina asked out loud, and while nobody knew what the answer could be, Minoru sank into the cushions after hearing it being brought up again.
"Let me like what I like in peace, please…"
"Nobody's telling you to stop doing what you like… But when we see what you're doing - what you like to do - we're free to judge it, cause both of us didn't want to see that."
"I hope they show you doing something embarrassing next, Sero…!"
"Man, chill out! We're supposed to be partners…!"
Being forced to listen to their argument, Shoto narrowed his gaze, as he mumbled, "Why do they have to be loud…?"
"I am afraid that an indoor voice is foreign to a few of our peers…"
"I will mention that Sero-kun has a point." Tenya also agreed that their personal interests shouldn't make them ashamed to do them. But, he also didn't like the fact that they had no say in what was shown of their lives, adding with a sigh, "However, there are certainly events in our history that would be better not shown…"
"Completely agree with you there, Iida-kun…"
Peeking past Shoto to where the other two boys sat, Momo thinned her lip, as she thought, 'Iida-san and Ojiro-san's exam is before our exam… And Asui-san's exam is going accordingly, and once they have both concluded, it will soon be their exam with… Gosh, I forgot who they are against, but Todoroki-san and I…'
She hoped their exam wouldn't be for a few more episodes, but it felt closer than she would like.
"Do you want to talk about a strategy?"
"Pardon…?!" Momo slightly jolted at hearing his voice, frantically blinking into Shoto's calm gaze.
"I can tell you're thinking about something."
"Yes- Yes, I was, bu-but it was… I was simply recalling how soon our exam will be upon us."
Shoto regarded her words, before inputting his own, "Yes, but there's still Iida's before ours."
"That… is true…! That was what I was thinking, exactly! You have a very keen memory, Todoroki-san…! Excellent- It is wonderful that I can rely on someone like you for our exam." Momo hoped that would be the end of this difficult conversation, as she laid her back against the couch, trying to keep her eyes ahead, and not make a sound.
Shoto studied her for a moment more, before glancing back up to the TV screen as well. Catching the ending visuals of the song, he also noted to himself about how the pairs were a hint toward their final exams. If only they had figured that out sooner.
"Prepare… your determination and resolve." Ectoplasm warned, before his clones went to attack the pair at once.
"Go, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami, without hesitation, called upon his power, using it to grab his classmate. With Asui secured in Dark Shadow's claws, he alerted his partner, "Asui, I'm throwing you…!"
"Tokoyami-chan!"
As the clones observed her flying through the air, Asui also reacted on her instincts, waiting to land, before she shot out her tongue to wrap around Tokoyami's waist, and hoist him to her level. Safely placing him down on the floor, she hopped onto the railing to crouch down, and look over the multiplying figures below.
"Good thing we figured this out beforehand."
"Yeah."
Watching their showdown, Uraraka shook her fists together, praising, "They're good…!"
"An escape only those two could pull off."
"Communication skills." Recovery Girl stated simply, causing the students' attention to turn to her, as she entered back into the room, listening to her continue to explain, "In this society, it's a simple but important skill for heroes to have. More than being able to pull off the perfect team play with a specific sidekick, it's better to be able to achieve a certain standard with anyone."
"I think it could also be that we were partners before during the battle training on the first day, kero. Therefore, we know each other's abilities a little bit better than the other teams."
"We were?" Fumikage attempted to recall this information, but nothing came to mind.
"Kero. I don't know how we did in the exercise since the focus was mostly on Bakugo-chan, but I think we were the hero team."
"Interesting…" Fumikage almost missed what was being said on screen if he didn't hear his name spoken.
"-for Tokoyami Fumikage."
Not understanding how Ectoplasm would be a bad matchup for her classmate, Uraraka inquired the hero, "Why is that?"
"You'll see." Recovery Girl's answer made the two look back to the camera angle, hoping to find the answer as they watched.
"You're avoiding a fight after all, huh? However…" Ectoplasm observed the way the students' fled, with the pro hero gathering this data, despite standing by the exit gate.
"Ectoplasm. Quirk: Clones. He produces ectoplasm from his mouth, which he turns into clones of himself that he can put anywhere. He can produce about thirty at once. But after singing two or three songs at karaoke, his limit increased to thirty-six!"
"I was right, kero."
"Damn, if you know what ectoplasm is before fighting him, you could probably figure out his quirk, then."
"Not necessarily." Tsuyu corrected her friend, going on to explain to Mina, "Ectoplasm is a clear, outer shell to the cytoplasm of amoeboid cells, which are also just white blood cells, kero."
Momo wanted to add that ectoplasm had another definition where the substance could leave the body, and take the form of a spirit, which is most likely what the pro hero's power is. However, she didn't feel it was her place to speak.
With the clones of their teacher starting to dodge Dark Shadow's advance, this worried Tokoyami, as he jumped back. Widening his eyes when something wrapped around his chest, the boy was flung upward by Asui's tongue, the two of them making it to the top floor.
"They just keep coming."
"Indeed."
While she had hoped moving forward would mean they had time before the clones found them, both hero students were shocked to find that they were already materializing before them.
"Tokoyami Fumikage's strength is his quick attack and range that lets him keep his distance. But looking at it another way, he won't hold up if something does get in close."
'Dammit, I still need to work on not depending on Dark Shadow…' Fumikage was glad he figured out that weakness before, but he wished his future self had seen it as well. Maybe another sparring session wouldn't hurt.
"Tokoyami-kun had a weakness like that…?" Uraraka had only recalled the light resistance for Dark Shadow, but had never thought about a flaw like that in her classmate.
"So that's why he's up against Ectoplasm Sensei with his many clones that can appear unexpectedly…"
"On the other hand, Asui Tsuyu…" Recovery Girl watched the girl stick to the walls, smiling at her quick nature in taking out her opponent's quirk, praising, "An excellent student with no clear weaknesses. Therefore, she must provide support to her ally, who, as you said, is powerful and has few weaknesses. Her ability to keep calm can provide emotional support to others in a crisis."
"Like- Like at the USJ Attack…!"
"You were still crying your eyes out."
"Better one of us than two of us."
"Frog's got plenty of weaknesses…" Tomura spat, remembering how he could have easily killed her if someone had not interfered.
'Do your best, Asui-san, Tokoyami-kun.' Midoriya prayed for their success, especially after seeing how far they had come.
Knocking out the last clone in their way, Dark Shadow recoiled back to Tokoyami's side, as Asui dropped from the ceiling.
"That was the twenty-eighth one.
"Tokoyami-chan, I can see the goal, and what is probably his real body."
"Good job getting past all the others. But what'll you do against this?!" Ectoplasm first acknowledged their feat, before expanding his throat, letting out a large amount of ectoplasm, as it slowly began to form into a gigantic clone of himself, shouting, "GIANT BITE DETENTION!"
While the students feared about their classmates getting eaten alive, Shota hummed, 'I didn't think he would use this move against the students, as once villains are caught in it, they hardly ever get out… But seeing as they are both skilled in long-distance fighting, Ectoplasm's still giving them a winning shot.'
"What the heck is that…?!"
"I thought this was supposed to be an exam, not a death sentence!"
"-this one will be enough."
"Dodge, Asui!"
Her body froze on his spot, but with quick thinking, she grabbed for their handcuffs, while Tokoyami moved to shield her from the attack, as the gigantic clone chomped his teeth into where they stood, creating a cloud of dust around him.
Midoriya and Uraraka were horrified from what they saw, as they couldn't believe their teacher would pull a move like this on them.
Capturing the teens in his clone, Ectoplasm grinned at the boy's struggle, before asking his students, "Only I can release my clones. Now, what will you do?"
"What an all-powerful quirk…!"
"I'm the same." Dark Shadow emerged from his hold, free, helping Tokoyami craft an idea.
"Dark Shadow, you at least need to get through the gate."
"Got it!"
"Would that count, kero?" Tsuyu asked, though before she could get an answer from Fumikage, she went on, "The rules stated that at least one of us needed to get past the gate in order for both to pass. But would Dark Shadow be included? Because it's the quirk that's making it through, not actually one of us."
"I would imagine so, as our foe is fighting Dark Shadow attentively."
"Kero." Tsuyu could see that now, and hoped that the quirk would make it through.
"Have Dark Shadow take this, Tokoyami-chan."
"'This'? What?"
"Don't… look too closely…" Asui hiccuped, causing concern to cross his expression, until he heard his partner choke out, "Sensei… will notice… Besides, it's… really… gross…"
"Kero…!" Tsuyu croaked, figuring out what her other self was doing. She had noticed her snatching the handcuffs before, but she didn't pay much attention to that detail, as she was more worried about countering Ectoplasm's attack.
Unable to get back the pro hero, Dark Shadow kept getting kicked backwards, getting further from the gate to win.
"Can you keep this up until time runs out? What I want is the shine of heroes who can do away with adversity…!"
"Is he trying to mock us…? Like what Iida did when he acted like a villain?"
"No. Ectoplasm is basically telling Tokoyami-kun that if he can't get out of this situation, he shouldn't be a hero…"
"Harsh, man…!"
"That was not a good look, Tsuyu-chan…" Mina cringed at the saliva across the girl's lips, hoping she was okay, while Fumikage focused more on Hanta and Mashirao's conversation from behind.
Ectoplasm wasn't sure what his two students were planning to do, but his duty as a teacher right now was to push them beyond their limits. Leaping to meet Dark Shadow's fist, the hero matched the quirk's force, overpowering it, as Tokoyami's power flew backwards. However, he noticed something, as his eyes widened in surprise.
"If we became unable to move, then this would be the only way to win, so I swallowed them right away. I can take things in and out of my stomach."
Looking at the handcuffs on his left leg, Ectoplasm was pleased with this battle.
"LET'S GO!"
"Tsuyu-chan, that was amazing- You both were awesome…!"
"Kero, kero!"
Fumikage softly smiled at their shared passing, however, he knew Chiyo was right, stating this to her, "Asui, this victory could not have been achieved without you."
"Thank you, kero. And call me Tsuyu-chan."
"Of course."
"You and Dark Shadow did good, too." Tsuyu grinned at the bird-headed boy, who matched her expressions, while relishing in their peers' praise.
"I don't think I noticed before, but are his legs… just sticks…?"
"Ectoplasm lost both his legs in a villain attack a few years ago. I forgot who he was fighting, but those are his prosthetic legs." Izuku informed his purple-haired friend, with Ochaco listening as well.
"Oh my gosh, that's awful…"
"It is, yeah… He was at first unsure if he should continue pursuing heroics. But after the loss of his limbs, his fans started to increase, and cheer for him to return as a hero. Before the attack, he didn't have many supporters, as most people thought he looked too scar-"
"Fucking shut up…!" Katsuki scoffed, cutting him off before he could start to ramble about the pro, causing Izuku to flinch, before straightening up in his seat, with Hitoshi glaring at the blond.
Since they hadn't been paying attention, Ochaco was surprised when they caught sight of Tenya's exam, before she hollered out, "GO IIDA-KUN! GO OJIRO-KUN…!"
"Yeah!" Mashirao and Tenya both yelled back to her, which brought a smile to her lips.
"In order to keep damage down to a minimum and defeat him, I think going to find a hero with a quirk advantageous against the opponent is the best choice."
"In other words, we should run, right?" Ojiro gathered from what his partner said, receiving a nod from Iida. However, the exit was on the opposite side, and flinging a spare rock into the open field, he noted, "But there are pitfalls all the way to the gate. And we don't know where Power Loader Sensei will attack us from."
"Even so, we can do it." Iida wouldn't let his partner think so negatively, hoping to make the best solution out of a bad situation, as he declared, "As long as we work together."
"All right…!"
"Fusion!"
Climbing onto Iida's back, with his class rep taking this seriously, Ojiro couldn't stop himself from blushing, "This is really embarrassing…"
"There is nothing embarrassing about wanting to pass our final exam, Ojiro-kun!"
"That's… not what I meant…" Mashirao hadn't realized what he meant at the time, but apparently, Tenya wanted to see how well their quirks worked together literally.
"It's definitely kind of funny…!" Hanta cackled, which didn't make the tail-boy feel better about it, while Minoru grumbled to himself about hoping someone else did something embarrassing next.
'-the holes are forming…!' Ojiro gritted his teeth, holding on tight to his rep's shoulders so he didn't fly off, while noting about his partner's speed. Hopeful now, he was starting to believe they had a shot at passing, 'If we keep going like this-'
"I wonder…!" the pro hero they were up against, Power Loader, appeared from underground, a construction costume hiding his expression, but his chuckle could be heard, and it didn't sound good.
"Oh, no!" Midorya exclaimed, with the brunette beside him growing worried for their classmates.
The ground ahead of them broke apart, with Ojiro beginning to panic, as he shouted, "We're gonna fall!"
'Find the best solution, Tenya…!' he understood that at the speed he was going, there was no way he could stop safely in time, but there was also no way around either. Taking a leap of faith, he managed to jump clear over the gaping hole, but they were still a distance away from the gate, forcing him to improvise, as he called out to Ojiro, "Wrap your tail around my leg!"
Despite being unsure about what he had in mind, his partner did as he was asked, with Iida using the last bit of his power in this swing, "Recipro Extend!"
"What the…?!" Power Loader, taken aback by their quick action, reached out with his machinery to catch him, only for Ojiro to use it as an extra boost to get through the gate.
"Team Iida and Ojiro have passed!"
"That wasn't that hard…!" Mashirao managed to say before a hard slap landed on his back, sending him forward, but he thankfully stopped himself from falling over the couch.
"Fucking Jungleboy…!" Tomura cried out, but he was overshadowed by the joyous cheering of the students.
Grabbing the brunette's attention, Hitoshi whispered into her ear, "Is it just me, or was their exam cut a little short…?"
"You mean you think it wasn't shown all the way through like Tsuyu-chan's?" Ochaco clarified, getting a quick nod from her friend, which made her think out loud, humming, "I can see what you mean… I guess they didn't have much of a struggle with theirs, is my guess."
"But, isn't Iida… important? I don't mean this to sound mean, but we haven't seen much of the other two."
Ochaco opened her mouth to argue his words, until she stopped herself, recalling the importance Tsuyu and Fumikage held. Only to realize they had one big moment, and it was mostly centered about Izuku, as they both helped motivate him further.
"Either way, it's probably just hurrying along to get to Midoriya's exam." Hitoshi had not meant for his tone to sound so harsh, realizing this after it was said, but he felt too embarrassed to say anything.
Meanwhile, Izuku felt slightly responsible for his friend's final exam ending quickly. But he tried to look at the positive side of it, like Ochaco told him to, and was glad that his peers' could pass.
"-can't get out."
Getting a close look at Iida stuck in the ground, with only his head popping up for oxygen, Midoriya, after complimenting his friend, had to be honest with himself, 'That's kind of uncool, though.'
Right when he was starting to think positive, his future self had to ruin it for him. It also didn't help that Katsuki let out a snort next to him.
Thankfully, Tenya thought the moment was very comedic timing, and didn't hold any ill feelings towards Izuku.
"SHOTOOOOO!" Enji made his presence known, surprising every single one of them, with a few going to cover their ears. His son's exam was underway, and Shoto better make sure to know he wouldn't have another failure from him.
After being dropped off at their assigned location for the exam, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu entered through the gates of the fake suburban city, and finding their starting line, waited to start.
"Team Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, practical exam. Ready, go!"
"It's our turn. Let's go." Todoroki called after hearing the buzzer go off, jolting his partner from her thoughts, as they began to dash through the alleyways. Checking in on Yaoyorozu, he glanced back at her, while asking, "Are you nervous?"
"N-No…"
"Sorry. You looked lost in thought." Todoroki looked ahead to make their next move, before understanding how she felt about the exam, as he sympathized, "Well, considering who we're up against… But, it'll be okay. I have an idea."
Shota was very inquired to hear about this idea that this boy had, narrowing his eyes, and wondering what she would say to that. Momo understood the reason for them being paired up with their homeroom teacher, seeing as they both relied on their quirks like a crutch. But if Shoto had an idea on how to defeat the hero, she knew it could work, as he wasn't a recommendation student for nothing.
"You do? What might be your idea, Todoroki-san?"
"Try to keep making small objects. It doesn't matter what. When you can't make them anymore, that means Aizawa Sensei is close." Todoroki explained the first part of his plan, with Yaoyorozu listening attentively, until she heard his next idea, "This exam will depend on who finds the other first. Once we can see him, I'll draw him to me. Then, you should run to the escape gate. Stay with me until then."
Hearing a sigh from her, Todoroki glanced back behind him, as he reminded his teammate, "What's wrong? Can you not create anything?"
Before he could get too alarmed, Yaoyorozu quickly went to reassure him, "I-It's not that…! I apologize for my hesitation…"
Holding out her hand, a small matryoshka appeared, before she placed it under her belt loop, while Todoroki watched more pop out from her skin.
"I know I said anything, but what are those?"
"Russian matryoshka dolls."
"Russian… martyr- what…?"
"Matryoshka dolls. It was the first item I created when my quirk manifested, and it is one of the few objects I can create without thinking about its components." Momo explained to the invisible girl in front of her, with Shoto choosing to listen as well, seeing as they were partners, and needed to know each other's abilities well.
"I see. A good choice, as it's both a small object, and you can think for yourself."
"Yes… Indeed."
"-nothing special." Todoroki responded after hearing out the girl's praise for his plan.
However, Yaoyorozu didn't think so, causing them to stop in their path, as she continued to say, "Nothing special…? As students who got into U.A. through recommendations, we started from the same place, but in terms of the practical skills a hero needs, I haven't done anything that stands out."
"What do you mean- You were so cool during the USJ attack…!" Denki came to defend her name, but this only caused her to cover her face.
'Why must I speak of this now…?! I need to focus on the exam instead!'
"In my own fight, I lost before I could do anything against Tokoyami-san." Yaoyorozu noted about her partner's excellent leadership, as she had fallen short when she needed to stand on her own.
While observing her shrink upon herself, Todoroki came to realize something, "Yaoyorozu, your matryoshkas…"
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu hadn't become aware that she stopped being able to make them.
"He's coming!"
"Sorry-"
"If you realize that, then you should immediately start acting…!" Aizawa, hanging from the power lines above them, reminded his set of students, helping Todoroki to move, as he dropped in between the two, noting, "In this case, you should prioritize evasion since I've got the upperhand."
"Dang, it got dramatic fast…" Toru gaped, completely forgetting about what was said previously, while Fumikage beside her couldn't get over what was revealed about Momo's insecurities. And how he had unintentionally caused it.
Unsure what to do, Yaoyorozu took a step back, not wanting to leave her teammate behind to fight alone. But, without another plan of action, she didn't know what to do aside from what was already decided. So, she ran in the opposite direction, leaving Todoroki to defeat their opponent.
"Is that what your plan was?" Aizawa began to put the pieces together, before dashing past his male student, and with one tug of his scarf, he had Todoroki hanging from the power line.
"Todoroki-san…!"
Spitting through gritted teeth, Shoto couldn't believe he was defeated that easily, 'Dammit, he didn't give us a second to think…'
"Aizawa Sensei, that was impressive…! I mean, you had Shoto-kun in the air in seconds!"
"It was the logical thing to do." Shota replied, before turning his gaze to Momo, as he wondered, 'Now, how is my future self going to react to her…?'
"-or freeze these restraints in an instant-" Todoroki contradicted his opponent, knowing he wasn't captured once Aizawa left to go after his partner.
"I don't care which you do. Just be careful of where you fall."
After digging through his pocket, Todoroki watched how his teacher tossed a bunch of tiny parts under him, narrowing his eyes further to figure them out to be: "Caltrops?"
"That's what they're called…? Huh…"
"Coming up with such an unpleasant countermeasure-"
"It's different from the time with the hero killer." Aizawa cut off the kid once more, pulling out something else from his pocket, as he leaned his head back to use his eyedropper, while continuing to lecture, "I know the quirks and numbers of the heroes. I'm perfectly prepared to intercept you."
"But we had no idea we would be facing you for our exams…"
"Correct." Shota stated simply, knowing the girl was right, but also hoping she would figure out the answer as to why on her own, though Ochaco blinked at his one-word response.
"It's nice to try and be considerate to the girl, but maybe you should've talked it over more." Aizawa, leaving him with that last bit of advice, sprinted off to track down the other hero.
'Talked it over…?' Todoroki wasn't sure what he meant by that, though, he had nothing else to do but think.
Panting, Yaoyorozu had no idea where she was going, as her thoughts almost began to consume her, 'How much farther until the escape gate? Is there a shorter route? Is Todoroki-san all right? Is this okay? Should I make something to help me go faster at the expense of time? Is this okay? Will I be able to get out like this? Where am I running? No… Why?'
Seeing her distressed expression, Momo went back to hiding, hoping that everyone would move on, and simply let the episode continue. She pleaded that nobody would say the word.
"I'm sorry I didn't take your ideas into consideration."
Taken aback by what he said, Momo took her hands away from her face, in order to look at Shoto, "Pardon…?"
"I'm sorry I didn't take-"
"I-I heard what you said, Todoroki-san…! I am… I am just unsure… why you are apologizing-"
"Because I didn't think about getting your opinion on a plan. I don't know if we talked before our exam, but we should have. I'm realizing that now." Shoto looked up to meet her gaze, as he asked for her insight, "What kind of plan do you have in mind?"
Momo didn't know what to say. She had part of an idea on how to defeat their opponent, but since her partner's plan didn't play out well, she didn't think hers would be much help. Even though they were both recommendation students, they couldn't figure out how to take down one person when their classmates could. They were falling behind - she was being pathetic. They needed a plan, but she couldn't give Shoto part of a plan, he needed all the parts in order to act it out. How were they going to pass this exam if she couldn't figure out a simple plan-
"Yaoyorozu." Shoto's voice broke her out of her thoughts, causing her eyes to open wide, as she heard him say next, "I understand if you can't think of one right now. You're good at coming up with ideas when you're calm. Tell me when you've calmed down."
Even though his tone sounded insensitive, Momo appreciated his attention had moved away from her and back to the front. Meanwhile, Toru wanted to go over and hug her friend, but looking up to Mezo to see him shaking his head made her stay put. Kyoka also felt a similar way, but didn't want to overwhelm her, as they had learned that lesson.
'-direction?' Aizawa, after confronting the young girl, watched how she began to dash back where she came, slowly beginning to put the pieces together, and understanding why that was, 'She's left all the decision-making to him. Comparing herself to Todoroki, she's decided that he's better than her. Watching Todoroki, who for better or for worse doesn't hesitate much, she's become unable to have confidence in her own thinking, huh? Emotionally, she's still a child of fifteen. Giving her back her confidence is my role as a 'villain', isn't it?'
"Aizawa-kun…"
"They all still have the rest of school to believe in themselves before they become official heroes. Logically, I'm simply hoping to build back what was lost." Shota tried to explain himself, but Toshinori could read between the lines of what he was saying, which brought a smile to his lips.
"Todoroki-san!"
Finding his teammate running back for him, Todoroki put his thoughts to the side, as he called out, "Yaoyorozu-"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't-"
"Aizawa Sensei's coming…!" Todoroki cut her off in order to warn her, however, this only caused his partner to spiral again, noticing it in the way Yaoyorozu turned around, but froze.
'Should I save Todoroki-san? Or run? What should I do…?! What should I…?'
Practically hearing her thoughts, Todoroki shouted out to catch her attention, "Yaoyorozu…! You've got a plan, right? Sorry, I should've asked earlier if the plan was okay…! You have an idea, right…?!"
"But your plan didn't work, so how could my idea…?"
"It's fine, just tell me! I'm saying that you're the one more suited to this stuff." Todoroki tried to encourage her, and when seeing her head turn up to look at him, he thought about their first week at school, as he revealed to Yaoyorozu, "When we were voting for class rep, you had two votes, right? One of those votes was mine because I thought you'd be good at it!"
Momo covered her mouth when she gasped, as tears welled up in her eyes. Meanwhile, Shoto hadn't expected himself to vote for anyone in the class that first week of knowing them.
"Oh, Shoto…!"
"I don't think we saw Shoto-chan's score of zero votes, or someone would have said something, kero."
"Truth be told."
Overhearing, Shoto glanced over to his partner, noticing the water about to spill over her eyelids, before looking away, as he stated, "Even though I didn't know at the time, I'm glad I was right."
Momo silently let her tears fall, as her lip quivered with what was spoken.
'But…' Yaoyorozu, deciding she had enough of doing nothing, grabbed a handful of the dolls around her waist band, throwing them up toward their opponent, while crying out, "Todoroki-san, close your eyes!"
"What are these…?" Aizawa swiped at the matryoshka dolls nearby, only for a fuse to be lit, as a pin was released to shine a bright light in his eyes, closing them instinctively, realizing, 'Flash grenades…?!'
"I do have an idea, Todoroki-san…!" Yaoyorozu answered, using this opening to let her teammate down from his bindings, standing guard over him so he could untie himself, while declaring with pride, "I have a plan- A special operation just to beat Aizawa Sensei!"
Proud that she was using his weakness to her advantage, Aizawa smirked at the brilliance his student possessed.
"What is it?" Shoto also thought that meant she had a plan, too.
Still flustered over what he said, Momo didn't know how to answer that, despite wanting to let him know that she had something in mind. Either way, her silence gave Shoto the answer that she didn't have one yet, so he didn't try to overwhelm her about it, as it would soon be explained on the TV.
"A special operation?"
"Yes. I was actually thinking about this from the beginning…!"
"Great. Just tell me already." Todoroki remarked, before their attention was drawn to their opponent on the move, as their homeroom teacher scaled up top of one of the fake houses.
Still rubbing his eyes, Aizawa thought about what his injury from the USJ Incident cost him, "The aftereffects of USJ… A decrease in time I can use my quirk, and an increased interval between uses. Well, if she's attacking because she noticed that, then she's pretty good."
While Momo blushed at the pro hero's praise, everyone else was distracted by the laughter coming from the other side of the theater, with Shota glaring at the villain that caused this whole mess.
Running a hand down his chin, Tomura grinned toward the dark-haired hero, "Sorry, Eraser Head… But thanks for the information, it'll be used wisely."
"I despise these episodes…" Shota grumbled, thankfully that at least it wasn't one of the students' weaknesses being revealed, while Toshinori nodded along in agreement. Though, he'd have to get the scar first in order for that weakness to be relevant.
Meanwhile, Enji was disappointed that this girl was taking away his son's spotlight.
As the two began their escape from the opponent's sight, Yaoyorozu began to explain the reasons for her plan, "Aizawa Sensei's eyes have become a bit unstable."
"Because of his injuries at USJ? So, we're going to exploit that?"
"No, for now, we must get out of his field of vision. It's just a matter of time… We can win…!"
"Time… Get out of his field of vision…?" Todoroki started to see what she meant, glancing back to see how far the hero was, before asking with uncertainty, "How do we do that without our quirks?"
"I'm starting to think that you have a countermeasure for that." Shoto looked over to see if he could tell what his partner was thinking, but Momo's expression appeared more thoughtful, as if she was coming up with an idea herself.
"When he blinks, in that period of time, before he can use his quirk again, we will need to conjure up something between us- Something like a wall, or… or-" Momo blinked, turning her eyes to catch a glimpse of his right arm, brewing with ideas, "Ice!"
"Yes. I also have fire."
"Your fire will be used later…!" Momo's thoughts were beginning to come together into the works of a plan, wondering what kind of material Shota's scarf was made of.
"-when Aizawa Sensei blinks before he can look at us again…"
Frost crept up Todoroki's skin, alerting him that their opponent's quirk had deactivated, 'Here it is!'
"You can pull it off in that moment, right? That giant ice wall you showed us at the Sports Festival." Yaoyorozu spun around to witness this move once more, observing the glaciers that cut off his route to capture them.
'They were waiting for this…' Aizawa couldn't hold back himself from grinning, allowing it to show, as he commended his students, 'The enemy's weakness is meant to be exploited.'
"Let's go, Yao-momo…!"
"They haven't won yet, kero."
"Sure, but they have the upperhand now, I know it!" Mina cheered for her friends' victory, with others following in support, while Momo blushed at their joined voices, her mouth turned upwards into a wobbly smile.
"Tell me the rest of the plan while we…" Todoroki, lighting up his left side to combat the frost on the right side of his body, turned around to talk to his partner, only to pause when he saw her creating something from her breasts. Giving her privacy, he commented on the item Yaoyorozu was making, "Aizawa Sensei's weapon?"
"And what a gentleman, too…! We love you, Shoto."
Unsure how to feel about what Mina said, the boy didn't respond, but he was also confused on why she said it, seeing as they had hardly spoken, and barely knew each other.
"-made, so it's not exactly the same, but I made my own version with a certain material woven into it. Since this is a residential area, we must keep damage to a minimum. And he moves quickly with those restraining bonds, making him hard to catch…" Yaoyorozu began to list off the difficulties with battling their opponent head on, finishing up her Creation, before turning back to Todoroki, stating, "This is my plan."
"Why isn't Aizawa Sensei going after them?"
"Oh, I kind of forgot we're watching them, too…" Ochaco chuckled at hearing her own voice, scratching her cheek at her own absent-mindness.
"Doesn't your exam start next, though?" Hitoshi noted about the order he remembered seeing, watching the girl nod, with Yuga sparkling with worry beside her.
Placing the bindings on the bucket throwing arm of the catapult, Yaoyorozu wondered about her partner's input when she added, "I believe this has a higher chance of succeeding than trying to escape from Aizawa Sensei… It will be decided in an instant. Is that all right with you?"
"Yeah. No complaints here."
"But I don't know what the plan is, so how can I have no complaints with it?"
"Apologies, Todoroki-san… Your future self must know, and while I am not sure if this is the same plan, I can at least explain what I believe will-"
"No! No spoilers! You'll find out like everyone else…!" Toru yelled back at the two of them, catching the other girl by surprise, while Shoto sat quietly, accepting it.
"Okay."
Smirking at the young hero's declaration, Aizawa's eye soon caught movement before him, watching two blanketed figures move from behind the large glacier. Despite the exit gate being behind him, they went in the opposite direction, however, he decided to follow them anyway, seeing as they needed to learn one way or another.
"Cloth, huh? It's true that if I can't see them, I can't erase their quirks." Aizawa leaped from the roof of the home, heading straight for the two, as he shouted out in warning, "But there are a lot of disadvantages to that, too…!"
Launching one end of his scarf to rope them together, Aizawa crashed the two students' heads together, or at least what he thought were their heads. Coming from under the cloth, Yaoyorozu revealed herself, and the catapult beside her, with one of her hands holding up a created dummy to act as a person.
'Their upper bodies were mannequins?' Aizawa released when he caught wind of what was happening, almost missing the contraption beside the girl.
'There's just one thing to do…!' Yaoyorozu, making a blind swipe for the bar, missed completely.
"NO!"
'How could I miss…?!' Momo had set this whole operation up, only for her to fail in their moment of need.
Shota could understand what she was trying to accomplish, and wondered how his future self would react in this situation. If he saw her panic, he would need to realize that the catapult was the necessary object needed to defeat him, however, if his observational skills missed Momo's expression, he might see it as a distraction. Either way, this would be an interesting conclusion for who defeats who first.
'A catapult…!' Aizawa, with his instincts on high alert, took note of the device, and jumped back to give him some space, which gave Yaoyorozu the necessary time to fix her mistake, and launch the created rope. As it expanded and surrounded him, the pro hero wasn't sure where this plan was leading, 'A diversion…?'
"Todoroki-san! Blast your flames low…!"
As told, fire bursted from underneath the whole blanketed sheet, which caught Aizawa off guard, as he took notice, 'He's not aiming for me? What are they…?'
'I don't know if we can beat Aizawa Sensei in a battle of quirks… That's why…'
Observing how the created weapon began to harden, the pro hero heard Yaoyorozu ask, "Have you heard of nitinol alloy? When heated, it returns to its original shape in an instant. It's a shape memory alloy…!"
Packed into a ball once more, with Aizawa in between its bindings, he smirked, admitting his defeat, "That's impressive."
The students broke out into congratulations when the next shot showed Shota in handcuffs, Toru and Mina dashing over to crowd the girl with hugs, causing tears to build up in Momo's eyes. However, they were from relief this time.
"That was so amazing, actually…!"
"I never heard of that material before!"
"You both were great!"
Shoto appreciated the praise from the girls, but his attention was more to what was happening on screen.
"Honestly, it is inexplicable. When I was about to launch the catapult, I made a mistake…" Yaoyorozu thought back to her miscalculation with the plan, almost costing them their win, while she continued to say, "Aizawa Sensei noticed but still jumped away, even though he could have stopped it in that opening. It looked like he was allowing himself to be taken in by my plan on purpose."
Hearing that left a sour taste in her mouth, as Momo didn't want this win to be handed to her. However, her eyes widened at what she heard next from Shota.
"I was just being careful of Todoroki next to you. I could see you, but Todoroki had a cloth over him. I thought he'd freeze me. So I backed off, thinking that was the best course of action, and then played right into your hands."
Sighing after listening to all that, Todoroki remembered what she said, as he voiced his gratitude, "It really was only a matter of time, like you said… Thanks."
Yaoyorozu couldn't believe what she heard, as she had somehow managed to outsmart her own teacher. Placing a hand over her mouth, she could feel her tears threatening to overflow, as she stared down at Aizawa with admiration.
Noticing the hand to her lips, Todoroki grew concerned for his classmate, "What's wrong? Do you feel sick?"
"I-It's nothing…!"
"If you feel nauseous, there's a pressure point on the instep of your foot-"
"I said, it's nothing!"
Chuckling to herself, Recovery Girl noted about the usual strict teacher of U.A., "Oh my… When all's said and done, that man sure is a big softie deep down."
Shota glared at the nurse of their school, his eye twitching as quiet laughter began to echo through the room. He was getting really tired of these episodes exposing them.
Noticing the title of the episode, Tenya widened his eyes at how the girl also got a 'Rising' moment in the series, smiling to himself, and happy for Momo. It seemed that even though they were supposed to lead their classmates and bring them together, they first needed to teach themselves how to stand, so they could support their peers together.
"Yaoyorozu, how are you feeling?" Shoto may not have been familiar with her name before, but his future self said it quite a lot throughout their exam. Plus, he wanted to make sure she was okay here as well.
"I'm… feeling perfectly fine, Todoroki-san. Thank you for your consideration." Momo felt a squeeze at her side, smiling down at Toru, before she turned back to her partner, stating, "I apologize for burdening you with… my personal internal turmoil… towards the beginning of our examination. However, I am thankful for your kind words. And I hope to become the class representative you see in me."
"You don't need to say that. You already are what I see in you."
What he said caught the three girls completely off guard, as Momo's cheeks turned a slight shade of red, while Mina and Toru audibly gasped. Of course, Shoto was confused by their reactions, but he didn't stare at them for long when he noticed someone behind them.
"Yaoyorozu." Shota softly called, forcing her to turn her body around to face him, before he began to tell her, "Don't let that mistake you made with the catapult get you down. Lots of professional heroes still make rookie decisions well into their career. You happened to witness one with my choice of jumping back instead of trying to pursue you students."
"You fell right into their trap, huh, Aizawa Sensei…?!"
"Or, should we call you 'big softie' from now on!"
"Stop! You're ruining my badass image of Eraser Head…!"
Ignoring Tomura, and narrowing his eyes down to the two, they quickly averted his stare by rushing back to their original seats with their partners, preparing for their own exam. Turning back to who he was speaking to, Shota almost lost his balance when something rammed into his chest. Until he realized it was Momo hugging him, her fingers digging into his clothes.
"Thank you… Aizawa Sensei…!"
"You have nothing to thank me for. You passed all on your own with Shoto."
Momo knew that was a blatant lie, but she managed a wet laugh, before releasing her grip on him. Still teary-eyed, but smiling nonetheless, Shota placed a hand on her shoulder, and looking to Shoto behind her, gave the two a firm nod.
"Good job to the both of you. I'm expecting more when your real exams come into play."
"Yes, sir…!"
Sniffing at the wholesome moment below, Ochaco jumped out of her skin at the tap on her shoulder, before she heard Izuku's frantic voice, "I-I'm so sorry, Uraraka-san…! I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to- to wish you lu-luck…!"
"Oh, Deku-kun, you didn't scare me…! And thanks, I could use the luck."
"Let us sparkle like the stars in our exam, Uraraka!" Yuga thought the luck was for both of them, but really, Ochaco was still a little salty that he was more worried about his flowing cape than passing.