Chapter 256: Another one.

--Friday, July 3, 2172

“First confrontation and I already have to work…”

In the observation room, Recovery Girl commented with a small sigh as she hopped off her chair, while Uraraka and Midoriya stared at the screen with serious expressions. But soon, the next match was announced, and it was one that caught the attention of Kai and Momo.

[Fumikage Tokoyami & Tsuyu Asui, practical exam… Ready, go!]

Right with the announcement, Kai could see on the screen as several slime-like masses formed around the frog girl and the bird-headed boy. The slime-like masses soon took the shape of the teacher Ectoplasm.

The hero wore a trench coat that covered most of his body, revealing only his black helmet, a neck covered by a black suit with yellow vines, and his exposed teeth. Along with what seemed to be two peg legs instead of regular ones.

[What’s his quirk, Sage?]

Curious, Kai glanced at the hero for a few seconds and asked his trusty assistant, the beautiful invisible fairy sitting on his free shoulder, working with several holographic screens around her. The gorgeous fairy quickly created a screen in front of her master and began explaining in a calm tone through their shared mental connection.

[In the government registry, it’s listed as Clones, master. He can spit out what they call ‘ectoplasm,’ which he can turn into clones and send wherever he wants. Though according to the records, he can only create around 30 at a time, but it might be a bit more. Also, the clones aren’t very durable and can only withstand a couple of hits before disappearing.]

[I see… looks interesting…] Kai commented as he watched Tsuyu use her long tongue and Tokoyami his dark specter to pull each other away from a group of clones.

On the screens, Tsuyu and Tokoyami managed to destroy Ectoplasm’s clones with relative ease and advanced until they found the real one. At that moment, the teacher opened his enormous mouth to release a massive amount of ectoplasm, which took the form of a giant version of himself. The giant clone opened its mouth to swallow the student pair in one bite.

By destroying the second floor where Tsuyu and Tokoyami stood, a cloud of smoke formed, which soon cleared, revealing Tokoyami trapped and immobilized in the giant’s body. But Tsuyu, showcasing her reflexes, strength, and agility enhanced by training, managed to avoid that fate and started running toward the exit guarded by the teacher, who looked at the girl in surprise.

But just as the teacher prepared to intercept her, Tokoyami’s shadow specter reached him and initiated a fight. The teacher hesitated for a couple of seconds, debating whether to dissolve the giant to create more clones or to send the specter away. At that moment, Tsuyu, instead of running toward the door, extended her tongue, aiming for his supporting leg while stretching the other to kick the dark specter.

Caught by surprise, the teacher was forced to jump backward, at which point the giant clone began to slowly dissolve. But while he was in the air, the specter and the tongue attacked simultaneously, forcing him to spin to kick. Though he managed to send both the tongue and the specter flying, the teacher showed a small smile and commented while looking at the handcuffs on one of his legs.

“Well done.” The teacher couldn’t help but sincerely praise them, at which point the robotic voice announced the result for everyone to hear.

[Fumikage Tokoyami & Tsuyu Asui, passed!]

“That was very clever; you really caught me off guard. Congratulations.” The teacher approached the pair of youngsters and spoke in a distorted, almost robotic voice, which made Tsuyu smile happily, unable to hold back her little frog sound.

“Kero-kero.”

“It’s an honor.” Tokoyami, on the other hand, closed his eyes and announced in a calm voice, sounding somewhat like a knight. At that moment, the dark shadow appeared, announcing smugly and happily.

“It was thanks to me!”

…

“Does the specter have its own consciousness?” In the observation room, Kai couldn’t help but comment curiously as he took notes on his phone, which led Momo to look at him and remark amusedly.

“And you’re just noticing this now?”

“I never paid much attention to it.” Kai replied with a shrug. Momo couldn’t help but show a helpless smile and then asked curiously.

“How did Tsuyu-san do?”

“It was decent, not enough to deserve praise, but it avoids punishment.” Kai commented casually as he turned to look at another screen.

On the screen, Ojiro was riding on Iida’s back, who was running at full speed across a collapsing floor. Halfway to the exit, the ground completely gave way, at which point a look of panic formed on Ojiro’s face.

But keeping his calm, Iida ordered Ojiro to wrap his tail around his leg. Then the bespectacled young man began spinning at high speed before launching Ojiro toward the exit. Mid-flight, Power Loader, the teacher who had given Kai his workshop and was in what looked like a mining exoskeleton, extended his giant robotic hand to stop the young man.

With a serious expression, Ojiro twisted in the air and, using his powerful tail, managed to push away Power Loader’s enormous robotic hand. Soon, he crossed the exit, at which point the robotic voice announced his victory. But in the observation room, Kai frowned and commented while jotting down notes in his phone.

“This one seems to need more training…”

“But he passed…” Uraraka couldn’t help but comment with visible apprehension, to which Kai replied casually.

“Yeah, but thanks to four-eyes. He didn’t do anything noteworthy. Though, to be honest, I don't understand why you guys get so worked up.” Kai looked Uraraka in the eyes and spoke in a calm voice.

“If you don’t want to train, just stop coming to my house. I’m not forcing anyone. Hell, I haven’t even charged you a cent. So you’ve got nothing to lose, and I’ve got no obligation. If you disagree with my methods, you’re free to stop coming and do things your way.”

“… Sorry.”

Uraraka lowered her head and apologized sincerely, visibly embarrassed, which prompted Midoriya to lift his head, wanting to say something but not finding the words. At that moment, Momo commented in a warm and friendly voice.

“Kai isn’t criticizing you or anything. He’s just a bit rough with his words. What he means is that he wants the best for you in his own way, but ultimately, it’s up to you whether you want to follow him or not. He doesn’t want to force you in any way.”

“I understand, and I really apologize. I overstepped a bit. Though Saito-kun’s methods are Spartan, they’re very effective. I’m much stronger now than before.” Hearing Momo, Uraraka lifted her head while clenching her fists, speaking in a firmer voice.

“It’s true. Though the training has been tough, the improvement is incredible. I never thought I could reach the level I’m at in such a short time.” Midoriya quickly added, clenching his fists similarly to Uraraka. Momo smiled proudly and replied in a visibly happy voice.

“Fufu, it’s good to hear that.”

“I’m not rough with my words.” Kai retorted, somewhat annoyed, which led Momo to give him a tender kiss on the cheek and reply affectionately.

“You’re not. You’re the sweetest in the world.”

“Cut it out; it’s annoying.” Kai commented, a bit irritated by the way Momo was smiling. She gave him another kiss on the cheek and said.

“You’re just too cute!”

While Kai huffed alongside Salem, Midoriya and Uraraka blushed deeply and looked away, though both couldn’t help but sneak glances at each other, only deepening their embarrassment.

“So much sweetness isn’t suitable for an old lady like me…” Recovery Girl, who had returned from healing the students, commented with a bit of amusement as she sat back in her chair. Momo blushed slightly and turned to look at the screens with a small smile.

…

Soon, everyone’s attention on the screen shifted to where Todoroki and Sero were facing off against Aizawa. From the start, Sero tried to use his tape to escape the area while Todoroki covered him with fire. But defying the youngsters’ expectations, Aizawa broke through the wall of fire and looked at Sero, causing his tape to stop working and making him fall to the ground.

In the same motion, Aizawa looked at Todoroki and erased his quirk, causing the wall of fire to disappear. At that moment, Todoroki shouted at Sero to run while he prepared for hand-to-hand combat with Aizawa. In a rush, Sero started running while Todoroki positioned himself between him and Aizawa, taking a fighting stance.

“In this case, you should’ve avoided me.”

Aizawa commented in a flat voice before charging toward Todoroki, who quickly shifted his body to the side, dodging Aizawa’s arm, then jumping and doing a backflip to avoid the teacher’s bindings. Though a bit surprised by the young man’s movements, Aizawa quickly lunged at him while letting his bindings move through the air.

This time, Todoroki ducked completely and spun on himself to deliver a low kick, forcing Aizawa to jump. At that moment, instead of following him, Todoroki took a step back and raised his guard. Without blinking, Aizawa landed on the ground and looked at Todoroki while commenting.

“You move well, better than I expected.”

“I learned the hard way.” Todoroki replied in a somewhat bitter voice, still feeling a phantom itch in the spots where Kai’s ruthless fists had struck his body.

Aizawa stayed silent and quickly turned to pursue Sero, but at that moment, he saw Todoroki turn around and start running with all his might, which inevitably brought a smile to his lips. Using his superhuman strength, Aizawa jumped onto a wire hanging between two tall poles, using it to propel himself to follow Todoroki from above.

As the young man turned a corner, Aizawa threw one of his bindings to catch the unsuspecting boy, but just at that instant, Todoroki leapt forward with all his strength, avoiding it. After rolling on the ground, Todoroki sprang up and took his guard again, looking at Aizawa with a calm expression.

“So, buying time, huh?” Aizawa commented as he charged at Todoroki again, who quickly moved to the side while throwing dirt in his face.

With no other choice, Aizawa quickly covered his face with his right forearm while blocking Todoroki’s kick with his left arm, which inevitably forced him to step back. When Aizawa lowered his right arm, he once again saw Todoroki running with all his strength, with no intention of engaging in direct combat with him.

“Even resorting to tricks like that… I wonder how Kai is training them.”

Slamming the ground, Aizawa jumped onto a house and from there saw Todoroki’s position, who was running in the opposite direction of Sero, something that inevitably made the hero nod. But unfortunately, he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer and was forced to blink.

As Aizawa’s hair fell, a fire explosion occurred in the distance. At that moment, Aizawa opened his eyes, determined to change tactics. Moving stealthily, Aizawa soon got close enough to Sero, who was using his tape to propel himself forward without swinging between buildings, likely out of fear that his quirk would be erased.

Instead of erasing Sero’s quirk, Aizawa waited for the exact moment when Sero was gaining momentum to trap him with his bindings, wrapping them tightly around the spots where Sero could release his tape, then hanging him from a pole. Seeing Aizawa spread sharp spikes below him, Sero couldn’t help but comment with a somewhat ironic smile.

“Are you a ninja or what, Sensei?”

“I know my enemies, their quirks, and their weaknesses, so I prepared well, though it seems I underestimated you a bit.” Aizawa replied in a calm tone before applying eye drops, at which point an announcement echoed through the area.

[Shoto Todoroki & Hanta Sero, passed!]

“Heh, looks like Todoroki managed to escape.” Sero commented with a wide grin while looking into the distance. At that moment, Aizawa asked in a calm voice while glancing toward the exit.

“Did you plan this from the start?”

“Something like that. Though everyone assumes I’m more agile and faster, in reality, Todoroki has a trick up his sleeve to move really fast. So we agreed that if we got separated, we’d go in different directions but always aim for the exit. That way, no matter who got caught, one of us could escape if we gave it our all.” Sero answered with a hint of pride in his tone. Aizawa nodded and commented while lowering Sero.

“I see, well done.”

…

“Another one.” In the observation room, Kai commented in a calm voice while writing in his notebook, which inevitably made Momo laugh.

Quietly, Kai turned to look at another screen where Jiro and a classmate he didn’t know, Koji Koda, were trying to stand their ground amidst Present Mic’s powerful shouts. Though in the end, Jiro somewhat countered the teacher’s shouts with her amplified heartbeat through the boots Kai had made, they ultimately won thanks to Koji Koda.

The young man, who could communicate with and control animals, controlled a large number of insects after Jiro convinced him. These insects crawled up Present Mic’s leg, and perhaps triggering some phobia, the teacher fainted on the ground, earning a huff from Recovery Girl.

As the announcement that Jiro and Koda had passed echoed through the area, Momo looked at one of the screens and commented with a smile while pointing at it, simultaneously squeezing Kai’s arm tighter to get his attention.

“Oh, looks like Onee-chan is going to fight.”

“Nemuri?”

***

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