A few days have passed.
It had been hellish. Arisa was losing sleep from the amount of content she has to cover for the written tests. She used to lose sleep because of her quirk malfunction and how she saw people in her sleep instead of her fictional men but after she died and came back, she didn't struggle with that anymore but she did struggle trying to stop consuming the sleeping pills. Even in the hospital, when Aizawa wasn't looking, she'd consume it to help her sleep but that was all in the past. She was just enjoying the return of her ability to sleep when exam season slapped her in the face. She refused to drop ranks in class so she did her best. Three cups of coffee each day, she had heart palpitations and passed out once which earned her a scolding from Aizawa. He disliked it when she drank coffee because of the setting-hair-on-fire incident but she was fine this time. She used all the energy for work.
"Stop being self-destructive," he said.
Did she listen?
No. She was a student. Lack of sleep was part of that package.
Anyway, the written tests were done and finally came the day of the practical tests. She was now standing amongst her classmates, dressed in her costume, a black, sleeveless bodysuit that covered her neck. The bodice was repaired from the tear it received during her horrific internship. The necklace Hawks gave was kept safely in her locker because she had a feeling that it would get damaged if she were to wear it.
Arisa was barely awake.
Her eyeballs were shifting underneath her eyelids as she tried her best to keep them open. Bakugou smacked the back of her head lightly and she stumbled slightly, mumbling, "I'm awake."
"My ass. Focus, fuckin' rainbow eyes. The fuck is the matter with you?"
"I didn't sleep enough this week," she mumbled as she reached underneath the cloth around her eyes, scratching them. She looked forward to see many teachers gathered, "Why are there so many teachers?"
Bakugou didn't say anything. She could feel someone nudge her from behind and she turned to see Sato smiling at her, holding up a piece of what seemed to be candy, "Here. It's coffee flavoured. You look like you need it."
Arisa smiled, "Thank you!"
"Right," Aizawa suddenly spoke amongst the many teachers that have gathered, "The test will begin shortly. Obviously, you can fail this test too. So, if you want to head to the forest lodge, then we'd better not see any pitiful blunders from you."
Arisa was now growing curious of what the exam entailed. She could have read Aizawa's thoughts at home but she was still not used to the sensation so even at home, she kept the fabric around her eyes at all times.
"I have no doubt that you tried to learn as much as you can regarding the test beforehand. So, I think all hold a vague notion of what you're about to do."
Arisa yawned and sneakily tried to sleep on her feet. She convinced herself that a few seconds power nap would be able to get her through the day. She honestly believed that. She could hear Kaminari and Mina exclaimed confidently that they'd be dealing with robots but she looked up, surprised to see Nezu popping out of Aizawa's scarf, a paw in the air, "Sorry, I'm afraid not! Due to various reasons, we're changing the contents of the test, starting today!"
He jumped off Aizawa's shoulder, "We will have you form pairs to engage combat with one of these educators here!"
Arisa was immediately awake.
A challenge!
Momo raised a hand, "Um, sir but our numbers are odd. There will be an extra student left."
Nezu smiled, albeit mischievous, "Valid point, miss Yaoyorozu. I've thought that as well," his beady eyes fell on Arisa and she suddenly had a bad feeling, "Which is why one of you will be going against two of these educators here. The unlucky student will be Hayashi Arisa."
WHAT? WHY ME?
Her thoughts were clear as day on her face. Her classmates looked at the principal in shock, probably questioning his sanity. Her classmates looked to her, all shocked.
WHY ARE YOU SINGLING ME OUT LIKE THIS?
"Why is that," she calmed herself, "Sir?"
"Yeah, one is already too much but two?"
"Shut it, you extras, she can do it!"
Arisa looked to Bakugou, placing on his incredibly muscular shoulder, "I appreciate your overwhelming support but it's a no from me."
He shrugged her hand off angrily, "Who said I'm supporting you, you freak."
Nezu only smiled at her instead of answering and let Aizawa do the talking. Aizawa began announcing the pairs, "Now, the pairs have been decided. First off, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu will be going against me," he grinned eerily before calling out more names, "Bakugou and Midoriya," the two boys looked at each other, shocked, "Your opponent will be..."
A shadow loomed over them and she turned to see All Might, a menacing smile on his face, "I am here to oblige. Now, cooperate and come at me to win, you wonder duo!"
Rest in peace, my two friends.
Arisa always liked being around All Might because he was warm in a grandpa way but having him as an enemy was one of her worst nightmares. He was incredibly large, incredibly strong and being chased by him would be trauma-inducing.
"The ten pairs will be starting in their respective stages simultaneously. Aside from Hayashi," Aizawa informed, "You will be going against myself and Ectoplasm. Do your best not to die."
"Oh, how comforting."
Kaminari placed a hand on her shoulder, "RIP. Sorry, Hayashi. You're dead. Would've been nice if we went on a date beforehand."
Kyouka stabbed his hand with her ear jacks and he yelped, "Stop it, you're not helping."
Meanwhile, Aizawa continued explaining, "The general outline of the test will be explained by each of the teachers you'll be battling. You're to be transported by the campus buses. Time is precious so get in them promptly," everyone immediately dispersed and headed towards their respective buses. Aizawa turned to Arisa, "You're coming with me."
She obeyed and Momo along with Shoto trailed after her.
"Are you nervous, Arisa?"
"I feel like I'm gonna die again," Arisa admitted and Momo smacked her arm lightly, "Don't say that. I'm sure you'll be fine. You're Arisa after all," she turned to the boy on the opposite of herself, "Right, Todoroki-kun?"
"Yeah. You'll be okay, Arisa."
It didn't sound too convincing.
The three boarded the bus and the three sat separately, all drowning in their own thoughts. Arisa was half-asleep before but was now, unfortunately, fully awake due to her unfortunate situation. Arisa was already strategizing within her mind, mentally simulating the battle, trying to find a the easiest way to win. She was aware that Ectoplasm had a quirk that allowed him to make clones of himself. It would be troublesome. But Aizawa would be more troublesome with his quirk. Arisa was thinking of ways to overpower him and she mentally smacked herself across the face — why was she nervous? She was an assassin. Unfavourable odds was her forte. It had been a while since she carried out a full assassination. She looked forward to today.
Was this why Nezu organized this? Because he knew that it would unfair for her to play like the others given her history? If so, was it really a wise decision? She was drawing way too much attention on her lately and she was worried. If the general public knew of her true identity, it'll be over for both UA and her.
I feel like I'm in a movie LMAOAOA.
"We're here."
She peered out the window to see one of the many battle simulation areas that UA had. This one was what seemed to be a typical suburban area.
Aizawa was standing at the front of the bus, explaining the rules, "You will have thirty minutes. To win you either need to pin these handcuffs on me," the male held up said handcuffs, "Or for either one of you to escape this stage. Think of me as an actual villain and if you think the power gap is too big, it's wiser to run and call for backup rather than stay, fight and lose," the chronically tired male looked to Shoto, "Todoroki, you of all people should know what I mean."
A question mark popped over her head. She'll just bug him later.
"Anyway, to make things fair," he held up something that looked like wristbands, "The teachers will all be using compression weights to give us handicaps," he slipped them on and turned away, "Todoroki, Yaoyoruzu. Come on. Hayashi, you're to remain outside the gate until they're done. Don't do anything sketchy."
Sketchy? I don't think it's possible to cheat with this exam.
They unboarded the bus and the three moved but she halted Momo by gripping her wrist. The girl turned surprised and Arisa held her gaze, "Don't be afraid to speak. I've noticed long ago. You're not useless. You're intelligent, the very girl I can't seem to beat when it comes to intelligence. You can do it. You're not worth less than Shoto nor anyone else."
Arisa was quick to notice the changes in people and when it came to Momo, the girl that sat beside her in class everyday, it wasn't difficult to see that the girl's confidence had long disappeared. Arisa wasn't sure when but the point was, she wasn't confident. She didn't say anything because Arisa was awkward with social cues but she figured this was the perfect moment.
Momo's eyes glistened and she looked surprised. She looked away, a soft smile on her lips, "Yeah. Thank you, Arisa."
Aizawa looked to her for a moment and Arisa held up a thumb. He wordlessly walked away with the two students trailing after him.
And so the thirty minutes began and she was making gravel float around her, deep in thought.
What was the best course of action?
Should I take down Ectoplasm first? Aizawa would be tricky. Like myself, he was used to working in the shadows. What do I do?
She could try locating them the moment she stepped in but with her eyes covered, her range would be limited. She could take it off but it was still overwhelming for her. Until she could bear with her own upgraded power output, taking her eye cover wasn't an option and Aizawa will be aware of this. Her only weakness. Ah, crap.
She looked up when she felt the ground vibrate and saw Shoto's famous large, ice glacier.
How cool. It's so pretty.
Arisa floated on her back, gazing at the blue sky, trying to calm herself because the moment they were done, she was next.
I hate this. Should've made me go with someone instead of me against two teachers.
She slept. Somehow. While floating.
She was woken up by a sudden restraint around her torso and her eyes snapped open and she turned to see her guardian, looking unamused, "Take this seriously. Why are you sleeping?"
She wiggled around within his scarf that wrapped itself around her into an unwanted embrace, "It's called harnessing energy, dad. Now, let me go."
His expression rippled slightly at the term of endearment — sarcastic but it was still an endearment and quickly let her go. She landed on her two feet and scanned her surroundings to see Ectoplasm just arriving on scene. Momo and Shoto were nowhere to be seen so she assumed that they have already left.
"Give it your all, kid," Aizawa gave her back a firm pat, "This won't be like our usual training. We'll both be coming after you with the intention to destroy you."
"I appreciate the odds."
The two teachers disappeared into the mock town, leaving her alone by the entrance. Arisa tugged on the cloth around her eyes nervously, waiting for her cue to begin. She had thirty minutes. She needed to be fast. Unlike her usual assassinations, she would be going in blind on this one. No intel, no initial scoping of the area and just information on her two opponents' quirks.
Somewhere, the rest of Class 1-A were watching. Some were unconscious and were undergoing treatment from their rigorous battles but the ones conscious were watching and they were all nervous for her.
There was a large noise, signalling for her to begin and she quickly moved.
Phase one, eliminate Ectoplasm. Locate his original body and take him out. Arisa was given two handcuffs earlier on and they were hanging loosely on her hip. Arisa realized that dealing with Aizawa first would take a long time and during their scuffle, Ectoplasm could intervene and take her out.
Arisa had to be vigilant and careful.
She was in her element. She was raised into this. She can do this.
The girl entered the house that had the highest vantage point and spread her quirk all around the area, detecting any movement that would alert her of the two pros' locations. The blue mist spread around the area, invisible to the eyes, her most useful ability. She kept low and took note of her surroundings — there were three buildings that were higher than the rest. Knowing Aizawa, he'd scour them because he knew her thinking pattern. As of now, her priority was locating Ectoplasm.
PING!
A mental sound echoed through her mind as she felt movement just a few ways away from where she was looking. In the distance, she could see multiple figures on the rooftops.
Ectoplasm located.
But where was Aizawa?
She sensed movement and concluded it was him.
Chances were that the moment she came out, Aizawa would spot her. Arisa bit her lip in thought as she stared at the many figures of Ectoplasm in the distance. Chances were that the original body wasn't even there. Arisa let out a quiet, pressured chuckle as a single drop of sweat rolled down her left temple, "This feels like a deadly game of chess."
The first one to make a flimsy move, they were the first to fall.
Aizawa should be on somewhere with a higher vantage point to oversee the entire area.
She stretched her quirk further and further, the mist just enough to reach the gate. She could feel it. Someone standing by the exit. Ectoplasm from the feel of it.
Okay, plan formulated. Time to execute.
She looked to the time. Six minutes have passed.
Taking a deep breath, she leapt out the window and stealthily headed towards where Ectoplasm was. The forceful tutoring of her family set in and her steps became soundless as she kept to the shadows. She kept low and ignored the Ectoplasm by the gate — it was clearly a trick to lure her out. Arisa instead took down the Ectoplasm standing behind a wall, easily jumping over the concrete wall and pierced her hand enhanced by her blue energy directly into his chest at the moment of impact.
Silent and clean.
She managed to rummage through his thoughts just before he died and located the original body.
The Ectoplasm underneath her melted away. She stood up, wringing her hand covered with the remnants of the man as her eyes flitted around, cautious of Aizawa. Chances were they'd clash in a melee if she wasn't careful.
Unknown to her, the rest of Class 1-A were watching nervously, all tense as they watched her move skillfully, silencing their urge to comment at how precise and quick she was.
Arisa jumped from window to window, nimble and quick. She could see Ectoplasm's original body when —
"Going somewhere, little hero?"
Aizawa found her first.