It was Monday, July 1 and it was the first day of final written exams. Ruka and Izuku and the rest of the class had done all they could to prepare for them. Mr. Aizawa and Class 1-A were waiting for Ruka. The bell hadn't rung yet so she wasn't technically late. Just then, Ruka slid open the classroom door. All Might was the one dropping her off this time since Mr. Aizawa had to be in the classroom early to prepare the classroom for final exams. All Might leaned down to Ruka at eye level and cupped his hand to her ear.
"Good luck Young Ryuutou. I have faith that you'll pass with flying colors." All Might said as Ruka smiled.
"Thanks All Might." Ruka said then continued walking to her seat and sat down. There was an All Might themed twist-eraser mechanical pencil that had "I am here!" stamped on the side, eraser and pencil lead refills, and the written exam packet for Language Arts: Classical Japanese flipped over backwards on her desk. Ruka smiled at the All Might pencil and refills on her desk. They were definitely from Izuku. Students were required to bring their own writing utensils to the exam. Ruka had brought hers but it was a standard No. 2 pencil with a small eraser that would eventually need sharpening. She came prepared with a sharpener and an extra eraser, but a mechanical pencil with an eraser she could extend by twisting it would be much more convenient. Plus, Izuku even thought about the possibility of wearing down the eraser or running out of pencil lead and provided her with refills.
'Aww he's so thoughtful and sweet.' Ruka thought to herself as she glanced back at Izuku briefly who noticed and smiled widely back.
"Okay class, when I say, you may turn over your packets and start the exam." Mr. Aizawa said as everyone picked up their pencils and placed their fingers on the edge of the papers, ready to flip them over.
"You may start." Mr. Aizawa said as the classroom filled with the sound of packets being flipped over and scratching of pencil on paper. A couple hours later, there was a break period of fifteen minutes for the students to put down their pencils and rest. After break was over, Mr. Aizawa signaled the start of the rest of the exam. Ruka finished her exam a bit early along with Yaoyorozu. She sat back in her chair with her arms behind her head until Mr. Aizawa announced that time was up.
"Alright, put your pencils down. Last person in each row, pass your answer sheets to me." Mr. Aizawa said as the class did as he said. Ruka was the only one in her row, or rather single desk at the front middle of the classroom between rows, so she just got up and handed Mr. Aizawa her exam packet. Because it was finals week, most of the days were going to be short. Just exams in the morning, then the rest of the day off, with the exception of tomorrow. Tuesday's schedule would consist of the math exam in the morning, lunch, then the science exam in the afternoon. Wednesday's exam was going to be Foreign Languages: English, Thursday's exam was going to be History/Social Studies, and Friday was the final practical exam. Ruka approached Izuku with the All Might pencil in hand.
"Thanks for this. It's a lot better than my standard ol' No. 2 pencil." Ruka thanked Izuku, twirling the All Might pencil all around over her fingers with practiced ease.
"Oh, you're welcome Ruka. I noticed all the pencils you had were those standard ones so I figured you could use an upgrade... even if it may be a bit dorky." Izuku said, grinning sheepishly as Ruka laughed.
"You know, you're fairly perceptive yourself Izuku. But you overthink things sometimes, going off on little mumbling rants." Ruka pointed out as Izuku blushed from embarrassment.
"Oh sorry." Izuku apologized.
"It's not exactly a bad thing. You're just analyzing things out loud. It's just how you process information. Plus, I think it's kind of adorable." Ruka said as Izuku blushed slightly.
"Really? Most people think it's annoying or creepy." Izuku said as Ruka rolled her eyes in a playful manner.
"They just don't understand your thought process." Ruka said as she clapped her hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"You're the only one that's said something like that to me." Izuku said with a soft smile. Ruka smiled back and lightly squeezed his shoulder.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Okay Izuku?" Ruka said as Izuku nodded.
"Yeah, see you Ruka." Izuku responded in kind of a trance. She slid her hand off of his shoulder and left the classroom with Mr. Aizawa following behind her. Izuku stared in the direction that Ruka disappeared, autonomously putting his hand on his shoulder where her hand was. He then shook his head and left the classroom to go home for the day.
~Time Skip~
It was now Friday, July 5 and it was the biggest day of finals week: practical exam day. Class 1-A was dressed in their hero costumes, gathered in front of one of the training grounds. There were several U.A. teachers gathered behind Mr. Aizawa. Ruka had a feeling the practical test wasn't going to be against robots. Otherwise Principal Nezu wouldn't have allowed her and Izuku to fight them over the weekend.
"Now then, let's begin the last test. Remember, it's possible to fail this final. If you wanna go to camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes." Mr. Aizawa said as Jirou raised her hand.
"Uh, why are all the teachers here?" Jirou asked.
"I expect many of you have gathered information and believe you have some idea of what you'll be faced with today." Mr. Aizawa said as Kaminari didn't miss a beat.
"We're fightin' those big ol' metal robots!" Kaminari said excitedly.
"Fireworks, s'mores, here we come!" Ashido said, pumping her fist with excitement. Suddenly, Mr. Aizawa's scarf started to move on its own.
"This year's tests will be completely different for various reasons." Principal Nezu said, popping out of Mr. Aizawa's scarf.
"Principal Nezu?!" Several of Ruka's classmates said simultaneously in surprise.
"You're changing things?!" Yaoyorozu said, sounding concerned.
"The tests now have a new focus. There will be hero work of course, but also teamwork and combat against actual people. So what does that mean for you? You students will be working in pairs and your opponents will be one of our esteemed U.A. teachers. Isn't that fabulous?" Principal Nezu announced as everyone got uneasy looks on their faces.
"We're... fighting the teachers?" Uraraka said in a worried tone.
"Additionally, your partners and your opponents have already been chosen. They were determined at my discretion based on various factors including fighting styles, grades, and interpersonal relationships. First Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are a team... against me. Then we have Midoriya paired with Bakugo and Ryuutou. And their opponent is..." Mr. Aizawa said as if right on cue, All Might came down from the sky and landed on his feet with a heavy thud.
"I am here to fight!" All Might said.
"We're up against All Might?!" Izuku and Bakugo said in unison, seeming very concerned. Ruka didn't really say anything. She was concerned, but not as much as Izuku and Bakugo because she had fought All Might seriously before. Granted she lost, but at least she had experience fighting him.
"You're gonna have to work together... if you want to win." All Might said, probably mainly referring to the boys since they had a strained interpersonal relationship from years of Bakugo bullying Izuku.
"And now, let's announced the teams and who they'll be fighting in order." Principal Nezu said as he listed the pairings and their opponents. First it was Kirishima and Sato vs Cementoss, then Asui and Tokoyami vs Ectoplasm, then Iida and Ojiro vs Power Loader, then Yaoyorozu and Todoroki vs Mr. Aizawa, then Uraraka and Aoyama vs Thirteen, then Ashido and Kaminari vs Principal Nezu, then Jirou and Koda vs Present Mic, then Hagakure and Shoji vs Snipe, then Sero and Mineta vs Midnight, and finally Ruka, Izuku, and Bakugo vs All Might.
"To complete the exam, you'll have 30 minutes. In order to win, your objective is to put these handcuffs on your teacher or you can win if one of you manages to escape the combat stage." Principal Nezu explained the conditions of the exam.
"So we either have to capture the teacher or run away. It's basically like the combat training." Kaminari said, cupping his chin in his hand.
"Yeah but is it really okay to just jet?" Ashido asked.
"Yep!" Principal Nezu answered Ashido with a thumbs up.
"It's gonna be much different than that combat training y'all went through earlier. After all, you up against people who are WAY better than you." Present Mic said.
"Better? Really? Wait, aren't you just the announcer?" Jirou said as Koda quietly gestured for her to pipe down.
"Hey! Watch your mouth girl! Have some respect!" Present Mic yelled at Jirou.
"This time your exam will be very similar to a real battle. As strange as it is, please think of us as villains." Thirteen told the students.
"As soon as you come across you enemy, if you think you can win against them, then fight. However..." Snipe started to say.
"In instances where you're outmatched, it would be smarter to run away and find help. Todoroki, Iida, Midoriya, Ryuutou... I'm sure the four of you understand." Mr. Aizawa said referring to the three boys for their encounter with the Hero Killer Stain, and Ruka because of her experience as an assassin. There were times when she had to abandon her assignments because she was outmatched, but the Shadow Organization didn't care. They still punished her severely.
"I won't make that mistake again. I will pass this test and prove that I'm a hero." Iida said, clenching his fist in determination.
"Same. I'll prove that I am hero material, despite what others may think of me based on my past." Ruka said, a fierce glint of determination flashed in her eyes. Izuku smiled at her, proud of her resolve.
"So we fight to win or run to win." Izuku said turning his attention forward.
"That's right! It's a test of your decision making skills. But with these rules, you're probably thinking your only real choice is to flee. That's why the support course made these super clever accessories for us." All Might said, pulling out special cuffs from a hidden pocket in his hero costume.
"Behold! Ultra compressed weights!" Present Mic said with enthusiasm.
"These babies will add about half our body weight to our physiques. It's not much, but they will eat up our stamina and make it harder for us to move around. Oof! Oh shoot! These are heavier than I thought." All Might said as he finished fastening the last cuff onto his left wrist.
"We had a contest just to come up with these designs and Young Hatsume ended up winning it." All Might said.
"Wow, good for Hatsume." Izuku said as Bakugo's frown darkened.
"You think we need a handicap to win against you? Think again." Bakugo said, irritated and overconfident as always.
"Ha ha ha ha. This'll be fun." All Might laughed his hearty laugh as his expression darkened.
"Let's begin. The teams will take the practical exam in the order you were called. We have a stage prepared for you. Sato, Kirishima, you're up." Mr. Aizawa said.
"Yes sir!" Kirishima and Sato said together.
"Those waiting their turn to fight can either watch the exams or try to strategize together as a team. It's your choice. That's all." Mr. Aizawa said as he and the other teachers started heading to their designated stages. Most of the teams decided to go and try coming up with strategies to pass the exam. Ruka, Izuku, and Uraraka decided to watch the exams since Bakugo wasn't willing to talk strategies with Izuku and Ruka, and Aoyama was too preoccupied with himself to pay any attention to Uraraka. Plus Izuku wanted to see his classmates fight against the teachers. As they watched the first battle, Ruka and Izuku realized that Mr. Aizawa put everyone against teachers that they'd have a hard time against. They would have to realize their weaknesses and think about their compatibility with the teacher they were up against in order to win. Recover Girl confirmed their observation. Kirishima and Sato ended up failing the practical.
~Time Skip~
Everyone had taken their practical exams except for Izuku, Bakugo, and Ruka. The results were as follows:
Kirishima Eijiro and Sato Rikido vs Cementoss - failed
Asui Tsuyu and Tokoyami Fumikage vs Ectoplasm - passed
Iida Tenya and Ojiro Mashirao vs Power Loader - passed
Yaoyorozu Momo and Todoroki Shoto vs Mr. Aizawa - passed
Uraraka Ochako and Aoyama Yuga vs Thirteen - passed
then Ashido Mina and Kaminari Denki vs Principal Nezu - failed
Jirou Kyoka and Koda Koji vs Present Mic - passed
Hagakure Toru and Shoji Mezo vs Snipe - passed
Sero Hanta and Mineta Minoru vs Midnight - Sero failed, Mineta passed
The giant doors to Ground Beta closed behind Izuku, Bakugo, and Ruka. The buzzer sounded and the exam began. Bakugo started speed walking away from Izuku who tried to reason with him, saying that their best chance at winning was to try and escape instead of fighting All Might head on. But Bakugo was intent on fighting the number one hero and defeating him. Despite getting nowhere with Bakugo, Izuku still tried to reason with him. Bakugo was starting to get extremely pissed off and punched Izuku in the face. Ruka rushed to Izuku's side.
"Izuku! Are you okay?!" Ruka said, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Ow... that really hurt." Izuku said as he covered his nose with his hand. Ruka then flashed Bakugo a death glare which made him freeze out of fear for a moment. If looks could kill, her icy stare would've killed Bakugo a million times over.
"Listen to me Bakugo! I don't exactly know what went on between you and Izuku in the past, but you need to shove those issues aside and work together with both of us to figure out how to pass the exam. Now listen! If anyone should fight him, it should be me! I'm the only one of us that has fought All Might seriously before. I can hold him off for a bit while you and Izuku dash for the escape gate." Ruka raised her voice at Bakugo who just got even more irritated.
"Shut up Ryuutou! I don't take orders from some damn villain who's pretending to become a hero!" Bakugo shouted back at her as Izuku was starting to get upset with him for calling Ruka a villain.
"Kachhan! Apologize to Ruka right now!" Izuku yelled angrily.
"Shut up you useless nerd! I'm not apologizing to anybody! Especially not to that villai-" Bakugo started to say until he noticed the menacing blue aura starting to emanate from Ruka.
"You... You fucking little shit! Look at you! Your attitude is worse than anyone I've ever met! And I came from a world of villains! Now if you want to call me a villain, fine! But just know, you're much worse than me... so what would that make you, huh?" Ruka said as she stared daggers at Bakugo.
"The fuck did you say to me?!" Bakugo yelled back at Ruka, a fiery aura of his own fuming off of him. Ruka and Bakugo started bickering back and forth. Izuku started to get nervous as the atmosphere around them grew more and more intense between them.
"Umm guys? We really shouldn't be arguing at a time like this." Izuku said right as an extremely strong burst of air tore through the street, completely throwing the three of them back and tearing the pavement off of the road. When the dust cleared, All Might was seen walking intimidatingly in their direction. Ruka immediately turned her attention to All Might.
"If you think of this as an exam and not a real fight, you'll be sorry. I'm a villain now, heroes. Remember that. You better come at me with everything you've got. I won't pull my punches." All Might said with a villainous smile on his face.
"It's over if we fight him head on, let's run!" Izuku said as he started to take off.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Bakugo yelled at Izuku.
"How about a stun grenade?! You want everything I've got, All Might? Like that wasn't my plan! I never hold back! Damn it!" Bakugo yelled as his face was grabbed by All Might's massive hand. He didn't hesitate to blast All Might with his explosions which didn't seem to damage him in the slightest. Then he proceeded to slam Bakugo into the ground forcefully, making him cough. Then All Might's attention turned to Izuku who activated One For All and jumped backwards. Ruka saw that Izuku was going to collide with Bakugo who had jumped to attack All Might again. Ruka quickly sprouted her dragon wings and tail and took off after Izuku, snatching him up right as he was about to smash into Bakugo. Then she used her tail and smashed it into Bakugo's torso sending him back. She had seen how mismatched Bakugo was against All Might. As much as she disliked the guy, she didn't want him to get beaten up to a pulp. And if she let him continue on that trajectory, he would've landed right into All Might's fist.
"You seriously need to rethink how to approach this Bakugo!" Ruka yelled as she started lowering herself and Izuku to the ground.
"Thanks Ruka." Izuku said as Ruka landed with him a ways away from All Might. Bakugo had gotten up from the ground and started walking back towards All Might. Izuku tried to reason with him again, but he just wasn't having it.
"Shut up scum! I will win this! That's what it means to be a hero, Deku!" Bakugo said, walking past Izuku who followed him, still trying to reason with him. Ruka sighed at the lack of teamwork between the two boys. Just then All Might came down from above and trapped Izuku and Ruka under a piece of a steel fence while they were distracted. Then he delivered a powerful punch to Bakugo's gut which forced his lunch out of his mouth and sent him flying.
"Kacchan!" Izuku yelled out of concern.
"Dragon Soul: Physical Enhancement!" Ruka said as she briefly glowed a blue energy and tried to force the steel fence off of her and Izuku. But the fence was in the ground deep. Bakugo slowly stood up as All Might walked up next to him, trying to give him some words of wisdom. But rather than taking those words to heart, Bakugo said he'd rather lose than get helped by a weakling like Izuku as he put it.
"I see. Just remember that's what you said hero." All Might said as he lifted his fist to deal the finishing blow. Just as he was about to smash Bakugo into the ground, Izuku and Ruka managed to free themselves. Izuku then lunged towards Bakugo and punched him out the way.
"Don't you dare say that you'd rather lose! Let's win this Kacchan!" Izuku said as he grabbed Bakugo and hopped away into an alleyway with him slung over his shoulder, Ruka following close behind. Bakugo wasn't very happy about it.
"Drop me you bastard!" Bakugo said as Izuku kept running, ignoring him.
"I got you." Izuku said, continuing to run with Bakugo on his shoulder.
"I told you to put me down, damn it!" Bakugo said as he hit Izuku which caused him to fall down and drop him. They both panted as Izuku tried to give Bakugo a bit of a pep talk, reminding him the words he'd been saying since they were little kids.
"The most amazing hero always wins. You've been saying those words since we were little kids. How can you give up now?" Izuku said as Bakugo let out an enraged roar and exploded his hand into the wall right next to Izuku's head. Then Bakugo said that All Might's speed was insane so fighting him was inevitable. But then Izuku brought up they had no chance in a fight against him which made Bakugo mad again.
"Shut the hell up before I kill you!" Bakugo yelled at Izuku before starting to explain a plan he devised. They would use his gauntlets to land a powerful sneak attack on All Might and then have Ruka's Dragon Soul: Spirit Summon serve as a distraction as the three of them would quickly flee towards the escape gate. They found the number one pro hero jogging around looking for them. Bakugo then jumped out from the alleyway behind him.
"You're going the wrong way!" Bakugo yelled as he let off a blast right in his face. Then Izuku came out on his other side and released a huge blast using Bakugo's gauntlet, the recoil threw out his shoulder a little. Bakugo and Izuku then fled the scene as Ruka summoned the dragon spirit then joined them, flying alongside them using her wings from her partial transformation.
"We're almost there. We just have to make it to the gate. A little further. It looks kinda ridiculous, but if we can get through, we'll pass the final exam." Izuku said, starting to look a little hopeful.
"It doesn't look like All Might is chasing us. Don't tell me we actually knocked him out back there." Izuku said as Bakugo got annoyed.
"Of course not! You're the one who keeps crying about how it's impossible to actually beat him. There's no way that attack KOed him. When he catches up to us, it'll be my turn to blast him to hell with a gauntlet!" Bakugo said as Ruka felt the dragon spirit return to her. Then before she could even warn Izuku and Bakugo, All Might practically appeared below her.
"Interesting. And then what will you do?" All Might asked as he ran alongside them. Before Bakugo could react, All Might punched his gauntlet which broke it into pieces. Then he punched the gauntlet Izuku was wearing and broke that one too. Ruka's eyes widened.
"Alright heroes, it's time for you all to die!" All Might said as he punched up towards Ruka who got caught in the wind pressure and was forced upwards into the bottom of a bridge above, knocking the wind out of her. Then he kneed Bakugo in the chin and sent him flying into a building a ways away. Izuku tried to go after him, but All Might caught him by the arm.
"That's my line!" Bakugo said as he bounced back towards All Might, but All Might used Izuku like a fly swatter to slam Bakugo into the ground. When the dust cleared, Izuku was seen dangling by his arm in All Might's grasp and Bakugo was under his foot. He explained that the little bit of teamwork that they showed wasn't enough because teamwork was a requirement of the exam, not an option. He then saw Izuku struggling to get free, so he threw him. He rolled a few times after hitting the ground. All Might then said it was over to which Bakugo told him to shut up and made a huge explosion directed right up at All Might. Then he grabbed Izuku and threw him as he went to face All Might himself, setting off huge blast after huge blast. Ruka then sprung into action, sprouting her dragon wings again and grabbing Izuku and flying him towards the escape gate. But just then, All Might crashed into Izuku, ripping him out of her grasp and messing up his back in the process. Izuku was sent flying into a bus. Ruka rushed over to him and slung his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk. All Might was focused on Bakugo, having pinned him against the ground. Bakugo was barely staying conscious, his explosions just puffs of smoke now. Izuku activated One For All again.
"Ruka, I'm gonna attack All Might then grab Kacchan and make a run for the escape gate. I need you to stall All Might long enough for us to make it to the gate. Then, when you see an opening, make a break for it yourself." Izuku said as Ruka nodded and Izuku took off towards All Might.
"Please get out of the way! Move All Might! SMASH!" Izuku said as he delivered a powerful punch to All Might's face. Then he grabbed Bakugo who was now unconscious and ran with him towards the escape gate. All Might got up and turned around but was faced with Ruka in her full dragon form with the dragon spirit by her side.
"I am not going to let you pass." Ruka said firmly as she and the dragon spirit stood their ground, both towering above All Might. He didn't attack, he just covered his mouth with his hand and coughed as his body began to steam. Ruka noticed blood on the hand that he had used to cover his mouth. All Might was at his limit. Knowing that, Ruka turned around and took to the sky, flying above the escape gate, returning to her base human form after passing over the gate. Then she called back the dragon spirit. The three of them had passed the practical exam.