Technical Support

Chapter 28

Unbeknownst to Bakugou, she had smiled at him like that on plenty of occasions before. He just wasn't looking most of the time.

The blond grit his teeth, growling. If his anger at Kirishima and Sero didn't fix his hair before, his anger now certainly would have.

He pushed his way through the classmates he called extras and made a grab at the back of Ayano's collar. The sudden constriction caused her to release her grip on Todoroki's hand. "Bakugou. Release me." "Don't you have your own class to be in!?" He shouted before nearly throwing her through the doors.

Deciding better than to argue with him since homeroom was going to begin soon, she looked past his shoulder at Todoroki. "You can look through the rest of the designs on your own. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me." The door was promptly slammed shut by Bakugou.

The class was silent until Kirishima spoke up. "Bakugou...Jealousy isn't very manly, you know!" "WHO THE FUCK SAID I'M JEALOUS?!!"

"Getting all defensive like that only makes you more suspicious!" Kaminari joked. "SHUT UP, DUNCE FACE!!!"

"You're really not helping your case at all, man!" Sero added, inciting some explosions from the ash blond.

Meanwhile, Ayano stood outside the door listening to the whole thing. She gave a breathy laugh as she walked to her own classroom. To think that Bakugou would get teased like this!

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A new dilemma was coming as the final exam period was drawing closer. During homeroom, Junk Master took time to explain what the final exam would entail.

"Like always, there will be a written portion and a practical portion just like in the entrance exams. We're shaking it up this year though with the practical exam! This year's practical will have two separate parts and will be continuous. In other words, you can consider yourselves to be in the middle of the practical exam from now on."

The students were all confused as well as scared. "Now, don't give me those looks! This is U.A. remember? Wouldn't do anybody any good if we went easy on you." He smiled devilishly, causing some of the students to shiver.

"First part of the practical! Each of you will have to design something that will serve as a handicap for a strong hero!" At the questioning looks of his students, Junk Master laughed.

"Think of it this way. Let's say a hero wants to train their sidekick. One way to do that is to go all out, forcing the sidekick to go past their limits in order to match them. But what if the hero is far too powerful? They need a way to hold back..." He pointed at his students. "...and that's where you kiddos come in! Your task is to design something that will hold that type of hero back: a handicap."

A student raised their hand. "But how do we know what type of handicap to give the hero if we don't know their quirk?" Junk Master laughed again. "That's the point of this test! It'd be far too easy if I told you all the details, now wouldn't it?" The student groaned.

"Keep in mind that this is an individual assignment. You're free to discuss amongst yourselves since there's no way for me to control that, but I don't think you'll want to. Us judges will be ranking your designs, and obviously you want to rank higher on the list. If you fall below a certain rank, you fail. If you share your ideas with each other, it will only lessen your chances at being at the top."

"Again, it'd be far too easy if I told you all the details, so I won't tell you what rank you have to be in order to pass. You'll just have to do your best and hope that you rank enough above your classmates!"

"That will be due the final week of June, one week before the written portion of the final exams. Now! The second part of the practical will be done in pre-assigned pairs. Your task will be to design a support item to enhance a quirk. Now, that doesn't sound too difficult at first, but you'll be designing it for an already established pro-hero. In fact, it will be one of the teachers here at U.A. and which teacher you get will be decided by lots."

Fujiyoshi Yuudai mumbled to himself. "Why is everything in this school decided by lots?!" Junk Master, however, heard him. "Excellent question, Fujiyoshi-kun!" The boy flinched, averting his eyes in embarrassment.

"Of course, popular support companies can have their pick of the litter when it comes to clients since they'll be flooded with them. But if you're a smaller support company? You won't have the freedom to do that. You'll take what you can get, even if it means dealing with a quirk you have no idea how to make a support item for. Even if you are a big support company, you don't want to offend the wrong hero by refusing their request of a support item." The man smirked.

"This test is harder than you might think. Already being an established hero, some for a long time, you'll have to compete with a professional support company's designs. You have to make a support item that will work for them after they've already had a hero costume for ages and after they've already become accustomed to that costume. Preferences and habits are very hard to break. I wonder if you kids can top the support items that us heroes have used for years?" His smirk turned into a sort of maniacal one.

"One more thing; you might find that you and your partner's ideas clash. This test was also designed with that in mind. Support companies rarely ever send only one person for an order or a job. They send out a team. If you ever hope to have a future in this business, you'll have to learn how to work with people, even the ones you don't like." Junk Master released a breathy sigh after talking for so long. "Well then! I think that's enough explanation. I'll be announcing the pairs now. For this assignment, you're free to work on it from now until Summer Break!"

The man pulled out his list of student pairs and read the first line.

"Sasaki Ayano will be paired with Fujiyoshi Yuudai!"