Flames Intertwining (Katsuki Bakugou Love Story)

The Practical Exam

The written exams came way too quickly. I felt like we hardly had any time to revise, but I knew we did. It was just nerves talking. Everyone looked exactly the same: prepared but extremely worried. As the three days went on, our minds were completely focused on our tests. No one spoke to each other before or after the exams. No one wanted to be distracted.
"Pencils down, everyone," announced Aizawa on the end of day 3, "the last person in each row, collect the answer sheets and bring them here." I stood up and started to collect my row's exams, handing them to Aizawa and heading back to my seat.
"Thanks, Yao-momo!" squealed Mina, her body almost colliding with mine. I held her up against me.
"I didn't leave anything blank, at least!" screamed Kaminari. I saw Momo smile as she watched her two students jump up and down excitedly, Mina jumping up on me and hugging me tightly.
"Todoroki, thanks for helping me with studying those topics!" grinned Kirishima, coming up behind Mina, "and to Bakugou, too," he added, glancing at the angry boy. He let out a grunt. I sighed and turned to Kirishima.
"He was happy to help," I said, smiling. Bakugou glanced at me and huffed again, but I could tell in his eyes that he meant what I said.
It was now the day of the practical exam. Everyone was more excited about this than the written exam. We all gathered in our hero costumes in front of the Practical Exam Area with most of the pro hero teachers in front of us.
"Now, we will begin the practical exam," announced Aizawa, "of course, it is possible to fail this exam. If you want to go to the training camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes. I expect that you all have gathered information ahead of time and have some idea of what you will be doing."
"We're fighting robot warriors like at the entrance exam, right?" chuckled Kaminari.
"Fireworks! Curry! Test of Courage!" boomed Mina, waving her arms in the air.
"Too bad!" chuckled a little voice, "for various reasons, the exam will be different starting this time!" From out of Aizawa's scarves, popped Principal Nezu, his little face excited for the exam. "From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting. So, we'll have you form teams of two against one teacher!" Everyone gasped, instantly getting nervous.
"Against... the teachers?" worried Ochacho.
"In addition, the pairs and who each pair will be up against have already been decided," added Aizawa, "these were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships, so here they are:
Shouto Todoroki + Momo Yaoyorozu vs Eraser Head
Izuku Midoriya + Katsuki Bakugou vs All Might
Eijiro Kirishima + Rikido Sato vs Cementoss
Tsuyu Asui + Fumikage Tokoyami vs Ectoplasm
Tenya Iida + Mashirao Ojiro vs Power Loader
Ochacho Uraraka + Yuga Aoyama vs Thirteen
Mina Ashido + Denki Kaminari vs Nezu
Kyoka Jiro + Koji Koda vs Present Mic
Mezo Shoji + Homura Todoroki + Toru Hagakure vs Snipe
Hanta Sero + Minoru Mineta vs Midnight
"The time limit for the exam is thirty minutes," announced Nezu, "your objective is either to put these handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage!"
"Capture the teacher or escape," mumbled Kaminari, "it's kind of like the combat training."
"Is it really okay to run away?" Mina asked.
"Yep!" replied Nezu, giving the thumbs up.
"But it'll be different from the combat training!" shouted Present Mic, "you'll be up against someone waaaay better than you!"
"This time, your exam will be very similar to a real battle," explained Thirteen, "please think of us as villains."
"Assuming you come across the enemy," warned Snipe, "if you think you can win a fight against them, that's fine. However..."
"In cases where there's too big a difference in your abilities, it would be easier to run away and get help," continued Aizawa, "Todoroki, Iida, Midoriya, I'm sure you three understand this well." I glanced over at the three of them, as they all mumbled to themselves in confidence and self awareness.
"That's right!" shouted All Might, "Your decision-making skills are being tested! But with these rules, you're probably thinking the only choice is to run, right? That's why we had the support course make these for us! Ultra compressed weights! We'll put on about half our own body weight. It's to give you a handicap. It's old fashioned, but it makes it hard to move and eats up stamina! By the way, there was a competition to decide on the design, and we ended up using Young Hatsume's."
"To allow us to consider fighting you, huh?" mumbled Bakugou. My eyes shifted to his direction, immediately sensing something was going on in his head. "You're underestimating us." All Might laughed and grinned at Bakugou.
"I wonder," he sneered.
"All right, each team will take the practical exam in order on the prepared stage," announced Aizawa, "Sato, Kirishima, get ready. Those waiting their turn can watch the exams or think of strategies as a team. Do what you want. That's all." We watched the pro heroes walk into the building.
"Ojiro, I would like to see what we can do with our Quirks," said Iida.
"Of course," he replied.
"Tokoyami, let's come up with a plan," said Tsu.
"Very well," he mumbled.
"The problem is how to strip Ms. Midnight, right?" grinned Mineta.
"No. You're such a scumbag," sighed Sero.
"Guys, let's think of a plan!" said Toru. Shoji nodded and began walking with her. I glanced once again at Bakugou. I watched Midoriya try and talk to him, but he immediately walked away. I sighed and turned back to Toru and Shoji. There was no point talking to him. He'll only get mad. I need to focus on my exam. The three of us organised a plan while listening to the announcements made by the other teams.
Team Sato and Kirishima retires due to both members losing consciousness.
Team Asui and Tokoyami have passed!
Team Iida and Ojiro have passed!
I couldn't help but listen carefully when Shouto was announced to start his exam. I was too busy planning to watch the battle, but I kept my ear open. I was delighted when I heard the announcement.
Team Todoroki and Yaoyorozu have passed!
Team Aoyama and Uraraka have passed!
Team Ashido and Kaminari retires due to running out of time.
Team Koda and Jiro have passed!
It was now our turn for our exam. A little nervous, I walked with Toru and Shoji towards our battle zone. It was a huge room with huge pillars. It was perfect enough for our plan. When the buzzer went off, Shoji immediately created an ear and eye. He scanned the area.
"He's over..." he started, but didn't have time to finish. Multiple gunshots were fired in our direction. Each of us dived in different directions, immediately separating us. The bullets hit the wall against us. We could barely hear our own heartbeats ringing in our ears. I glanced at Shoji, but the bullets kept hitting his wall so he couldn't peep out and check where Snipe was. I glanced over and noticed Toru hiding near Shoji, and took a mental note. Quickly, I flooded the floor around me with fire, creating a hot wall of my own so the three of us could regroup. The wall was so hot that I knew it was the right temperature to melt bullets. Toru immediately ran across to Shoji, standing close to him. I began to run towards them, when a sharp pain hit my leg. I staggered and hit the floor. I glanced down at my leg and saw a pool of blood gushing from my calf. I noticed I was beginning to lose concentration on the wall of fire, and quickly rose the wall so Shoji could come and pick me up. He lowered me to the ground and tucked me into one of his arms. Very faintly, we heard Snipe talk.
"It was a good plan to get you all together, but your fire has no effect on my bullets," he said, his gun clicking as he reloaded, "these are specially made for my Quirk. They can go through anything." Tutting, I gripped my leg.
"Are you okay?!" asked Shoji, his voice filled with worry.
"Yes, yes, don't worry about me," I lied, but clenched my teeth to ignore the pain. I began to take out my first aid kit that I kept on my belt, but Toru took it from me.
"Let me do it! Don't waste your energy," said Toru, lowering herself to my level. She began to wrap my wound up and stop the bleeding. I felt less pain, but the throbbing feeling never left.
"Thank you, guys," I said as Toru finished wrapping my wound. Shoji created a mouth and smiled at me. He then created an eye and started to peek behind the wall. More bullets we're going off as soon as he did that.
"Guys, at this rate, we won't be able to move much!" said Toru, and I felt her gaze turn to me, "Oh, no offence!" I smiled at her.
"Oh, don't worry about me. We just need to pass this exam," I said, then glanced up at Shoji. He had created an eye and ear to know where Snipe was.
"Calm down, it's just a diversion," he said, his focus on the oncoming bullets, "even so, escaping now will be a Herculean task. The only consolation is that our opponent's movements are slowed by the weights. Now that Todoroki's injured, she's not as powerful." I looked down, thinking what we could do. Our original plan was now ruined, and we had to think of one fast. Suddenly, a smoke bomb went off. I peeked around the corner and couldn't see the exit gate anymore. Was he trying to hide himself or obstruct our view? Suddenly, I made up a plan.
"Guys! I have a pl-" I started, but I was interrupted by the wall we were hiding behind had started to crack.
"Look out!" Shoji warned, and picked me up. I instinctively held Toru close to me, and Shoji carried us away from the collapsing wall. He ran to another one, and stopped, setting us down on the ground. "Are you guys alright?" he asked, and I felt Toru nod her head. I nodded with her.
"Homura, what were you saying earlier?" she asked, her attention turning to me. I let her go and turned to Shoji.
"Shoji, if Toru takes her gloves and shoes off, are you able to still see or hear where she is?" I asked. He seemed taken aback by this, but answered quickly as more bullets started hitting our wall.
"Yes. I'll be able to hear her footsteps," he said, and I smiled to myself.
"Perfect, then we've got ourselves a plan," I said. I handed Toru the handcuffs. "Instead of escaping, we'll need to cuff Snipe. Toru, I want you to run behind each wall, getting as close to Snipe as you can without catching his attention. Shoji, I want you to tell me exactly where she is at all times so I can create a path for her. Meanwhile, this whole floor will be covered in fire, making it harder for Snipe to find out where we are. I'll create bigger flames around different places away from Toru so we can cause a distraction and his aim won't hit her. Does that sound okay with you two?" Both of them nodded in agreement. Shoji created duplicate ears, several eyes and one mouth. He informed me that Snipe was standing in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Toru took off her gloves and shoes and set them down next to me. When they were done, I glanced at them to make sure they were ready. When they nodded again, the entire floor became flooded with fire, all except from the middle. We heard Snipe's voice rise in confusion, but Shoji stated he was still prepared. Before Toru started running, I created duplicate figures of us running somewhere away from the wall we were currently standing behind.
"Didn't you hear what I said? My bullets aren't effected by your flames!" yelled Snipe over the roaring fire, gunshots immediately following. Just as I planned, the gunshots were away from us, and I gave Toru a look and she was ready to go. We heard her footsteps leave us, the handcuffs floating away. With every step that she took, Shoji told me, and I separated the flames for her to move forward. St the same time, I kept creating duplicates of us running around to confuse Snipe. This continued for a few minutes and I realised my hands started to sting a little, even though my special material was constantly cooling my hands. I thought that since I was injured and concentrating a lot on my hands, it must be too much, but I kept it up until we heard Toru's voice ring out from from the flames.
"Got him!" she yelled, and I immediately dropped the flames, letting out a sigh of relief. The stinging sensation slowly went away as the material soothes my skin back to normal. Shoji picked me up and walked towards Toru and the now caught teacher. We noticed Snipe was very confused.
"When did you-" he started, but he paused and looked at his elbow, "Bounce?" he mumbled, and we heard Toru's voice increase.
"Mr. Snipe!" she yelled, the handcuffs moving away from Snipe as I could tell she was about to hit him. Snipe began to wave his free hand around.
"It was a misunderstanding! It was beyond my control! I didn't do it on purpose!" he squealed, visible sweat leaping from his head. Me and Shoji glanced at each other and sighed nervously.
Team Hagakure, Shoji and Todoroki have passed!
As Snipe was released and Toru had gotten her shoes and gloves back on, the four of us gathered around.
"Todoroki, I apologise for any pain I may have caused you. Luckily I got your leg and Recovery Girl will heal it up easily," explained Snipe, bowing slightly.
"It's fine, it was part of the exam," I said, rubbing the wound and Shoji continued to carry me.
"Right, the plan was very well organised. Your communication skills worked through this, and it's a very important skill when becoming a hero. Even if it's just to warn each other of an incoming attack, every word counts. Toru, I apologise but well done for being brave and quiet. Shoji, well done letting Todoroki aware of Toru's location, and for genuinely being aware of everyone around you. Todoroki, very well done in controlling your Quirk carefully. I can see you've come a long way and have modified your costume to deal with the negative drawbacks of your Quirk. Overall, congratulations on passing! You may go now. One of you take Todoroki to Recovery Girl." With that, we all left Snipe and the exam room. Shoji carried me all the way to Recovery Girl's office and set me down on a bed.
"Thanks, Shoji," I said, smiling at him. A duplicate mouth smiled back and he left the room as Recovery Girl entered.
"Well done on passing today, even though you got injured. Honestly, he needs to be more carefully!" she started to mumble as she walked closer to me. She took a chair and stood on it and took a look at my leg. "Ah, good thinking for taking care of the bleeding. It shouldn't take long for this to heal now." She began to unwrap the bloody cloth I had one, and replace it after cleaning the wound so it wouldn't get infected. After finishing, she extended her lips, and kissed my calf. I felt all the energy leave my body, and I laid back against the bed. "There, that should do it. Now, stay here for an hour, then you may go!" said Recovery Girl, jumping down from her chair.
"Thank you, Recovery Girl," I said. She smiled and left the room. I let out a sigh and glanced down at my leg. I didn't feel any pain anymore, which was a good sign, but I knew I couldn't move for a while so took this time to relax and let out the remaining stress from these exams. No more than a few minutes but I heard the door open. I expected it to be Recovery Girl again, but I saw an explosion of ash blond hair come through the door.
"Bakugou? What are you doing here? Isn't your exam-" I said, but I didn't have time to finish as his lips crashed into mine. I found myself melt into the kiss before he parted.
"What idiot goes and gets themselves shot like that?" he yelled, returning to his usual self. I grunted at him.
"Shut up, I passed so it doesn't matter," I grumbled.
"Tch... congrats," he mumbled, but his eyes turned soft, giving me a proud look. I smiled and shook my head.
"Isn't your exam the last one?" I asked, finishing my sentence from before. He then turned his head to the side, pouting.
"Tch, with that nerd," he growled, his eyes turning angry. I had the urge to ask him why he hated Midoriya but I couldn't bring myself to. Maybe one day he'll tell me.
"Please don't let your personal feelings get in the way of your exam," I warned, giving him a serious look. He glanced at me but looked away and poured again.
"Damn Deku," he mumbled to himself.
"Tch, can you stop hating him for this one exam? Then you can feel whatever you want for him," I sighed, getting tired of it.
"Huh?" he growled, his face turning back to me. I glared at him but closed my eyes and sighed once more.
"Whatever you're feeling for him now, it'll probably never come up again when you're a hero. You shouldn't hold onto a grudge for so long and don't let it take over your mind from thinking about it too much," I said, my hand softly grazing against his shoulder. He stayed silent for a long time.
Team Mineta and Sero have passed!
My eyes darted upwards to the speaker that hung in the corner of the room. When my eyes fell back on Bakugou, his back was already to me, his heavy footsteps getting quieter as he walked away. "Ba-Katsuki!" I said, pausing and correcting myself. Bakugou immediately stopped and turned around, his eyes extremely angry but slightly surprised at what I had said. "Please don't fail," I said softly, half looking down. The room was silent for a minute, before I heard him smirk, making me look up.
"I'm going to be number one. I never lose," he growled, his grin smirking me as he turned around and left the room. I was alone once again. I stared the door with worry. Please don't do something stupid.