Sato and Kirishima were doing stretches. "So do you have a plan after spending all that time with the class hotshot?" He asked.
"We take a page out of his book, go in full force." The red head grinned with shark teeth. "We both have quirks that make us super tough, so we just need to close the distance and get some hits in."
"Wouldn't Cementos also be tough?" He looks like he's made of cement.
"Exactly! Cement is just a bunch of tiny rocks meshed together! At full strength, it'll be no problem getting past him!" Made sense, smashing rocks was the first thing he ever used his quirk for.
"I guess if we're both though it shouldn't be that bad of a problem." Sato reasoned.
"Your time starts now!" Looks like that was all the time they had for strategy. Regardless he ran in with Kirishima, already ripping open a few sugar packets in preparation.
"LETS CRUSH THIS TEST!" He yelled out, his mind already feeling a bit fuzzy as he charged ahead with his manly classmate! Yeah, this'll be no problem! Tiny pebbles had nothing on him!
"So you've decided on a direct approach?" Pebble-sensei asked as he was standing in the middle of the road like a speed bump. Hah! Easy target, they were going to smash him just like Bunny-sensei would!
==
"Go horn-buddy, you've got this!" Raccoon eyes shouted out. While each test was going on the class was allowed to watch on the monitors. And with each passing second, he could tell more and more how the fights were chosen. "Smash those rocks, punch your way to victory!"
"Go Sato! Punch, Punch, Punch!" Dodger cheered right beside Raccoon eyes, proving more and more why he was at the bottom of the class when it came to anything other than heroics.
"They're gonna lose." He stated clearly. Everyone turned to him.
"Wow, and here I thought you actually cared about Kirishima." Half and Half deadpanned.
"Who the fuck said I cared about any of you extras? Shitty hair just happens to be a little tougher than the rest of you." He rolled his eyes. He could take the explosions almost better than dek- "Just look at what the teacher is doing." He pointed to the screen.
"He's…not doing much." Uraraka tilted her head.
"Exactly, he's not expending energy or taking damage. Manipulators don't NEED to do anything because they don't waste energy making the damn object." Bakugo stated.
"And Kirishima and Sato both lose stamina with their quirks on." Ponytail was catching on.
"I see, this is a deliberate action on the teacher's part." Glasses summed up. "Their pairing us up against enemies we would have a specific weakness against. They're trying to get us to acknowledge our shortcomings and find ways to overcome them."
"Which Krisihima and Sato are both unaware of and are falling right into." Half and Half finished.
"Wait, how does Rat-principle fit my shortcomings?" Dodger asked.
"He's the smartest creature in Japan, possibly the world, and you're a complete dumbass." Bakugo spelled it out for him. Dodger may have shortened the gap by gaining control of his shitty power, but Bakugo still surpassed him in intelligence and common sense.
"Hey, he's not a Dumbass!" Invisigirl screamed out. All he did was give her general direction a 'really?' look. A few seconds later she answered again. "Not a complete one anyway …"
"Um, Recovery Girl." Raccoon eyes asked. "How dangerous, would you say, Nedzu is?"
"He was experimented on by humans once as a lab rat, now he likes to take revenge and torture them when he has the chance." He doesn't know why, but Bakugo feels like he dodged a bullet.
==
Kirishima breathes heavily, arms bruised from the constant debris. They were completely surrounded now, needing to attack on all sides just to not be enveloped. "Sato, status report!"
"Dooooo." Well that was a definite 'we're screwed'.
"Damn it, damn it!" He kept punching the walls, the cracks he made in each one only got smaller and smaller with every attack. "No matter how many we destroy, there's always more! It's never ending!" This was starting to feel like his fight with Bakugo, the longer the fight went on, the more energy he…kept…losing..
That was the point of the test! "Sato! Get up, we need to get out before..!"
"Awa …." Right, not in the mood for conversation. Kirishima growled, trying to make a hit … and failed. His hand was bleeding.
"I'm out!" And then the walls increased even further, enveloping them both inside of liquid cement, hardening and trapping them from the neck down.
"Neither of you do well in long term battles." Cementoss lectured them, still in the crouching position he was in when they engaged them, not even looking like he blinked for the past ten minutes. "In a fight, you must be aware of exactly how far you can push your limits. That can be the difference between life and death."
"Yes Cementos-sensei." Damn it! He was so caught up in fighting he didn't even realize fighting wasn't the answer here.
"Baaooooo."
"... Make sure to relay this to Sato when he's in the right mind."
"Yes Cementos-sensei."
==
"Most determined guy in the class lost to our literature teacher …" Iruma turned to Kaminari, huddled in a corner. "We're all gonna die …"
"Wait, so will the teachers kill us?" Iruma asked his classmates. "I know most of them are scary, but they're trying to teach us something, so they won't commit murder, right?" He hasn't been in school long enough to know if that was possible.
"He doesn't mean literally, at least I hope not for our case." Mina looked really scared. "He means he thinks none of us stand a chance at this rate."
"What are you talking about, of course we stand a chance!" His friends were talking silly. "We fought villains before, and it's not like the teachers WANT us to fail. We're training to be heroes, so that means there's always a chance for us to win somehow."
"You do realize they purposely placed us against teachers that go against our specialties, right?" Sero asked him.
"Then we just need to go Plus Ultra!" Especially since his opponent was gonna be super smart. That means he must have had a really good plan. "Okay, so if Rat-sensei is an animal that thinks like people, then I should be a person that thinks like an animal!"
"Iruma-kun, I'm glad I could see you smile even when foreboding doom is coming your way." Toru hugged him. "Just know if I don't see you again after today, I've always loved you!" She hugged him even tighter.
"You're a great friend Toru. I love you too." For some reason she screamed. "Oh, did I step on your toe or something?"
"Nope nope, just fine. Really."
"I'm regretting staying here already." Bakugo deadpanned. Iruma blinked in confusion.
"Hey Bakugo." He had the explosive boy's attention. "If all the teachers are based on what we're bad at, why did you get Bunny-sensei?"
"Obviously because only the best in class can fight the strongest teacher here!"
"Then wouldn't Momo get Bunny-sensei instead of Aizawa-sensei?" Bakugo got really twitchy for some reason after that.
"Iruma, it's nice that you think that but … I'm not the best in the class." She waved off as people looked at her. "I would never be able to keep up against All Might."
"But you scored the highest!"
"A score doesn't mean much in the field. You can't think fast if you have too many options …" He blinked at that, a small hint of an idea there …
==
"Dear Lord in heaven, with your glorious kingdom, I ask you for a simple prayer." She knelt in front of a window. "One of you messengers of purity is marching forward on a road of trial and harshness. He struggles with many things in his life, but he keeps delivering your good grace with a delightful smile on his face. I ask, not for my sake, but for his, and for the good he'll no doubt do for people as a hero, for him to succeed and overcome this hurdle life has placed in his way."
"Ibara, you coming?" Kendo asked from the classroom door, the room itself being entirely empty otherwise.
"Just a minute, some last minute prayer for the day." She smiled at the girl.
"Right, sure." Kendo nodded with a grin, shutting the door behind her.
"I plead for him to grow into a fine angel for your mighty kingdom of purity and grace. In the name of the father, son, and the holy spirit, amen." She stood up and walked to the door, a smile on her face. Her angel would do fine, he would pass this trial like all others.