The Exchange Hero

Episode 21

The day of the practical exam was bright and sunny. There was a gentle breeze coming from the east. We were all a bit surprised to see large number of teachers present for the event. Scuttlebutt was saying the exam would be a battle with robots similar to those in the obstacle course. But, I didn't see any robots.

When Kocho-sensei appeared out of Aizawa-sensei's neck wrapping – a disturbing image I was determined not to think about – and said, "For various reasons the exam will be different this time. From now on we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting."

I had some experience with actual fighting, as did several others in the class. This did not sound fun.

"So ..." continued the dog-bear-rat in a suit. "We'll have you form teams of two to fight against one teacher!"

Nope. Not fun. Aizawa-sensei had me paired with Red Riot against Cementoss. Oh joy ... a Brick Bash! Even better we were to go first so we had no time to plan or to see how the rest of the class did.

"The time limit for the exam is thirty minutes," explained the principal. "Your objective is to either put these handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage!"

"Capture the teacher or escape ..." Kaminari pondered, an unusual look for him.

"Is it really ok to run away?" Ashido inquired of the teachers. Kocho-senei's positive response got everyone thinking. Teamwork and choices. This was not just a test of fighting ability.

"Remember, you'll be up against someone waaaaay better than you!" Present Mic rapped.

Kyoka-chan's response of "I can't really imagine that," upset him for some reason.

I had to agree with her. I had seen Eraser Head, Ectoplasm, and All Might in action. While they were impressive, I was not certain that Todoroki, Midoriya, and others might not be more powerful. The fact that the teachers were handicapping themselves with ultra-compressed weights to slow them down made it even more likely that some of the students could match some of the teachers. I started thinking about what I knew of Cementoss.

"Armstrong, Kirishima, get ready," Aizawa-sensei ordered. "Those waiting their turn can watch the exams or think of strategies as a team. Do what you want. That's all." I watched as some of the other teams either went off to plan.

"Armstrong. Let's go." Kirishima barked. He and I had never had much to do with each other. We had never socialized. He was always at least tangentially in Bakugo's orbit. And since the end of the internships, the two had been study partners. Combine that with envy that Crimson Riot, who Kirishima had named himself after, had been my mentor, and we were not on teammate terms.

"Team Armstrong and Kirishima, practical exam. Ready, go!" The last words from the loudspeaker were in English. I was distracted thinking about why they would use English for a moment while Kirishima started jogging towards the center of the stage.

"Hey, chijin, keep up." My teammate yelled.

"Any thoughts on what we should do? Fight or run?" I asked once I was beside him.

"For this exam, we'll definitely get a higher score by capturing rather than running, right?"

"I'm not certain. But, it shouldn't be any less if we can pull it off." I replied. Before he could speak further a cement wall sprouted out of the street before us, knocking us back.

"Cementoss-sensei moves slowly," posited Kirishima. That pop-goes-the-wall didn't seem very slow to me. "Let's break through from the front and aim for a high score!" Activating his hardening power, Red Riot slammed his arms together with a metallic clash.