Arriving back at the test center, and stepping off the bus, Izuku and Katsuki parted ways with a nod, Katsuki headed towards the monitor room as Izuku headed towards the waiting area.
Stepping through the doors into the room, Katsuki was greeted by the sight of Aoyama and Yaoyorozu fleeing through the streets of a suburban area, With Aoyama firing lasers at Aizawa as he closed in on them.
Momo managed to make Aizawa back off with a flashbang she threw to disrupt his position, then pulled Aoyama aside for a planning session.
After a couple moments of Aoyama seeming to dismiss Momo's words, he finally nodded.
Soon after, the duo split up in their rush towards the exit.
A few minutes later Aizawa closed in on Momo as the girl moved towards the exit, diving down from the rooftop to capture her in his capture scarf.
Suddenly Momo let out a yell over the footage, Aizawa backing off in response, to both of their obvious surprise however, nothing happened in response to Momo's shout.
Recovery Girl frowned as she watched the cameras.
Taking a look at the other monitors for the frenchie, it quickly became obvious that he was rushing towards the exit, and was closing in fairly fast.
A moment later, Momo set off a flashbang to disrupt Aizawa's vision and attempted to flee the teacher.
Instead of attempting to pursue Momo, Aizawa moved to begin rushing towards the exit. Unwilling to let him disengage that easily, Momo quickly fired a hastily created grapple gun that snagged the teacher's scarf.
Not expecting the sudden pull on his balance mid-jump, Aizawa lost his balance.
The attempt stalled the teacher for around a minute until he managed to get his scarf loose, but Katsuki wasn't sure that was going to be enough.
Watching the cameras, it became obvious that Aoyama was trying to use his quirk to launch himself towards the exit.
Aizawa entered range, but the sparkly student managed to stumble across the finish line right before Aizawa caught up with his capture scarf.
"Team Aoyama and Yaororozu have passed!"
Katsuki could see Yaoyorozu visibly relaxing over the cameras at the announcement.
Katsuki just had a bad taste in his mouth. And from what Katsuki could make out over the cameras, so did Aizawa.
Recovery Girl clicked her tongue from the chair beside Katsuki.
"Abandoning your teammate mid-plan is a recipe for failure. Without Yaoyorozu's stalling, Aoyama was much too far away to reach that exit."
Katsuki nodded at the evaluation, watching as the monitors shifted to the next examination area.
This time it looked like Ochaco and Todoroki would be facing All Might in a massive city center.
A couple minutes later, the starting buzzer rang out.
Immediately Shoto and Ochaco began rushing towards the exit as fast as they could.
A couple moments later, a massive blast of air from All Might's smash moved down the main street.
Stepping in front of Ochaco, Todoroki created a wall of ice to shield them from the blast.
After a moment the pressure wave subsided, and the hero team stepped out from behind the icy barrier.
As they looked towards the exit, the figure of All Might became visible through the dust cloud.
Moving in front of Ochaco, Shoto seemed to be telling her to run while he stalled the number one hero with a massive wave of ice.
Ochaco seemed unconvinced but moved to follow Todoroki's plan when the number one hero shattered their rough plan, and Shoto's ice wall along with it, with a single Smash from his fists.
Shoto simply tried again with another wave of ice, but this time Ochaco refused to retreat, rushing forward behind the cover of the ice towards All Might.
The hero was caught off guard as Ochaco attempted to catch him with her quirk as he wound up for a smash.
Grabbing her wrists, All Might threw her back towards Todoroki.
Ochaco managed to slow her fall by using her quirk, tucking to control her spiral, then releasing it to land on her feet next to Todoroki as they faced down the number 1 hero.
Ochaco yelled something inaudible at Todoroki as she faced the number one hero.
Todoroki seemed fixated on stopping the pro hero using his ice however, even when the strategy had proven ineffective.
Suddenly, All Might blurred forward, grabbing Ochaco by the back of her costume and throwing her spiraling down the street away from the fight and the exit.
Confronted by All Might up close, Todoroki attempted another wave of ice, a far more anemic one, when All Might shattered it with another smash.
Todoroki was visibly shivering over the cameras at this point, but still staring at the number one hero, saying something that couldn't be heard over the camera system.
Suddenly they were both surprised by Ochaco jetting through the air towards All Might at high speed using the new jets that had been added to her costume post internship, releasing her quirk as she approached from above.
Before All Might couold respond, Ochaco managed to get a hand on one of his arms and sent the hero spiraling into the air.
Landing on the ground breathing hard, Ochaco pulled the shivering Todoroki along behind her as she rushed the exit.
Before they could reach the exit however, All Might managed to force himself to the ground with a Smash that propelled him through the air.
Standing from his fall as the dust cleared, Katsuki could see All Might holding a massive piece of the street in his hands to weigh himself down.
As All Might taunted the duo once again, Shoto seemed to realize it was do-or-die, letting out another blast of ice at the hero.
All Might countered with another Smash, however during that moment where his sight was broken, Uraraka activated her quirk on herself and began jetting towards the exit.
That wasn't quite enough however, All Might cutting her off with a punch to the stomach that shoved her off course.
At this point Uraraka was clearly struggling to maintain her quirk. After a moment she released it and was left sprawled prone on the ground as she barfed across the pavement.
No longer requiring the chunk of road as a weight, All Might dropped it and began to advance on the freezing hero student. Panicked, Shoto attempted to retreat, only for his legs to collapse under him, leaving him on his back.
With the current camera displayed on the monitor, Katsuki could easily read All Might's lips.
'What will you do?'
Shoto's response was cut off by an announcement over the system.
"Team Todoroki and Uraraka have passed."
Both of them looked over to see Ochaco, her costume still splattered with her own stomach fluids, prone on the ground outside the gate and breathing hard.
Katsuki felt a massive smile growing on his face at the results, the other students in the monitor room also celebrating the victory.
Looking at the monitors Katsuki could see Ochaco getting picked up by a pair of nurse-bots and taken to the bus.
Also visible was All Might pulling Shoto aside before they got on the bus, Todoroki warming up his body.
Katsuki had no idea what they were talking about, but it seemed serious.
Just before the cameras changed, Katsuki could see Shoto nod, head lowered, as All Might pulled him into an embrace.
The next matchup displayed on the screen was Mina and Kaminari vs Principal Nezu.
The principal quickly set the tone of the engagement by setting off chain collapses and reactions throughout the training ground.
Katsuki watched on in awe as the simulation progressed, Nezu effortlessly corralling the duo. The sheer scope of these chain reactions seemed almost implausible…
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Suddenly Katsuki had a thought.
"Recovery Girl?"
The Heroine answered without looking away from the screen as Mina and Kaminari fled the collapses.
"Yes Bakugo?"
"Who was the one who designed this training ground?"
At that, the heroine looked over briefly with a wry smile.
"Why, the principal did himself, a couple years ago."
Katsuki looked over at the monitor image of Nezu hysterically guzzling tea as he engaged in pinpoint demolition of his surroundings with a crane.
'I should never get on the principal's bad side…'
After that it wasn't much of a surprise that Mina and Kaminari lost their match by running out of time.
Though Katsuki honestly questioned if that final building collapse on the duo had been necessary.
"Team Ashido and Kaminari retires due to running out of time."
The next match was relatively simple, Koda and Jiro were matched up with Present Mic.
The match began with Present Mic attempting to shout the duo into submission from the exit to the arena. It continued in that vein until Jiro managed to talk Koda into something to do with some bugs under a rock she powdered using her jacks.
After a minute or two of panic, Koda crouched over the newly exposed critters and began giving them orders.
A couple minutes later, Koda and Jiro had gotten closer to Present Mic's position without him noticing them.
Suddenly Mic found himself beset by a swarm of insects from below the ground that swarmed over his body.
Everyone in the observation room let out a shiver at the sight.
After a very visible scream as the the pro was engulfed in insects, Present Mic slumped to the ground passed out.
Recovery Girl let out a sigh as the duo escaped out the exit.
"How pathetic. To be defeated by bugs…"
The rest of the room looked at her incredulously after the statement.
Kirishima, who had recovered after his team's loss, was the one who summed up what the rest of the room was thinking.
"I don't know about you Recovery Girl, but if it were me, I would have fled in terror. A directed swarm of bugs is terrifying."
Katsuki heard Tokoyami speaking up from the side.
"What a mad banquet of darkness…"
Katsuki looked over and the bird headed student and his partner, and noticed that Tsuyu seemed to be drooling slightly at the thought…
The next match was a face off between Shoji, Tooru and Snipe inside a large room filled with pillars.
It began with Snipe keeping the duo pinned behind one of the pillars in the arena as he blocked off the exit.
A few minutes later Snipe set off a smoke grenade to block the hero team's vision as he closed in.
After a brief chase, Snipe managed to corner Shoji, who quickly raised his hands in surrender.
Just when snip thought he had Shoji trapped however, the capture cuffs they'd received at the start of the lesson quickly wrapped around his extended arm.
As the room cheered, Katsuki noted that Snipe seemed to have tried to feel out Tooru's location, then started backing off in panic a moment later.
With that match out of the way, only 2 more rounds were left.
The next match got off to an…interesting start, as Sero and Mineta were ambushed by Midnight.
Sero managed to throw Mineta clear, but was too slow in arranging his own escape as the heroine opened his mask and he quickly succumbed to the soporific effects of her quirk.
Katsuki noted that Mineta was crying tears of blood after viewing Sero getting a lap pillow from the teacher.
Recovery Girl spoke up from the side.
"It might be hard for a kid like that to survive in UA."
Katsuki turned to the teacher.
"Why do you say that?"
"UA is constantly preparing obstacles, then making the students overcome them. In order to keep improving and striving without losing steam, the student needs to have a concrete goal to focus on.
"It's not so easy a path that one can climb it with vague feelings of wanting to be a hero. And even if they do become heroes, people whose end goal is to simply become a hero have no future.
"In the end, is there a goal in that child's heart he can focus on and draw strength from?"
Katsuki thought about that as he continued watching the footage of Mineta fleeing towards the center of the arena.
After a few minutes of Mineta thinking, he was suddenly struck from behind by Midnight's whip. The impact sent him flying forwards.
The next minute involved Mineta fleeing the sadistic heroine, until he finally took cover behind one of the rock outcroppings.
After a moment, Mineta rushed out from behind the rocks towards Midnight, Sero's tape being used to cover his nose and mouth.
As he did so, Mineta pelted her with balls that trapped her whip against the ground and stuck her hand to the whip.
With Midnight immobilized, Mineta rushed towards the exit gate. On the way, he hauled one of Sero's arms over his shoulder and dragged him out along with him.
Katsuki had to admit, as much as he didn't like the hairball, that was a pretty smart strategy.
The buzzer rang out over the PA system.
"Team Mineta and Sero have passed!"
With that round done, the only remaining round was Iida and Ojiro against Cementoss.
The round took place in a massive city, with Cementoss sitting in the open near the center of the town.
When Iida and Ojiro saw the hero, as they rushed down the street, it was already too late.
Instantly a concrete wall shot up behind them to block their escape.
Iida instantly realized the danger and immediately signaled for Ojiro and him to rush for an alleyway, but they weren't quite going to make it.
In spite of the obstacle, Iida wound up and fired off a kick into the newly created wall with his engines.
The force was just enough to get past the barrier, letting the two escape into the alleyway.
Unfortunately for the duo, Cementoss rode a wave of controlled cement into the alleyway beside him, moving to cut off their path towards the exit.
The next few minutes involved Iida and Ojiro attempting to make their way through the city as Cementoss cut off their paths.
After a few minutes of this, Iida signaled for Ojiro to get on his back.
Soon after the tailed student climbed on, the continued their rush through the streets until they encountered Cementoss once more.
Instead of trying to escape however, Iida used his engines to launch them both into the air, then launched Ojiro over the barriers towards Cementoss.
Not expecting the aerial assault, Ojiro was able to smash through the hurriedly erected barrier and slap the capture cuffs on the hero.
The monitor room cheered at the maneuver as the final announcement sounded out.
"Team Iida and Ojiro have passed! All matches for Class 1-A's practical exams have been completed!"
Suddenly everyone in the monitor room heard Aizawa's voice from the entrance to the room coughing to get their attention.
Spinning around, they all turned to face the homeroom teacher.
"Now that the exams have been completed, you are all free to go home for the day. Your final results will be given to you on the first day back after the weekend. Rest up. After these last few days, those who have passed will need to get ready for the upcoming training camp."
"Yes Sir!"
At that the teacher walked out and dismissed the class for the day.
Katsuki let out a sigh as he walked off of the UA campus. Today had definitely been a struggle, but one that he'd overcome.
As he walked off campus, he saw Izuku talking with Mina and Kaminari near the exit.
For a moment, their gaze met. Then Izuku gave him a wave, a small smile on his face.
A wry smile on his own face, Katsuki returned the gesture before he turned and started his walk home.
Yeah.
Today had been good.
----------------------------------------
[Chiyo Shuzenji (Recovery Girl) POV]
In the aftermath of 1A's exams, Chiyo reviewed the data that had been transmitted by Bakugo's medical monitor.
At the same time, she synced the data up with the footage of Bakugo's exam.
The results were as puzzling as they were fascinating. Young Bakugo was performing above and beyond what anyone had believed humanly possible without a quirk. Not just in one area either.
Over the past few decades, the Olympics as an institution had been rocked by several scandals, as top athletes exhibited record shattering performances, but almost without fail, such feats had been linked to performance enhancing drugs or quirks.
There were a couple exceptions however, where drug use had not been proven, but the majority of the public believed that the athletes were taking advantage of some quirk as a method to improve their placement.
But there had never been a recorded case quite like Katsuki's. Chiyo's concerns had arose when he'd exhibited a lack of tiredness after being subjected to her Heal quirk. Chiyo knew her quirk better then anyone. Even pro heroes had been exhausted and knocked out after receiving healing from her. Not to mention how her quirk targeted his entire body by default…
Despite her concerns however, every test Chiyo was running for possible chemical or quirk enhancement was coming up negative, in spite of any evidence to the contrary.
And the medical monitor she'd given him only supported those tests.
As she continued to analyze the data, she heard the door to the infirmary open. Turning, Chiyo watched as Principal Nezu stepped inside.
"So, have you drawn any conclusions from the data Shuzenji?"
Chiyo remembered when she had first approached Nezu with her concerns about young Bakugo's performance. Despite her concerns, the principal had decided to give Bakugo the benefit of the doubt.
The Principals decision had been vindicated by Bakugo's performance and all the medical data they had gathered, but that still had left plenty of questions.
"Nothing we didn't already know. Bakugo's body is performing above and beyond anything ever recorded by an unassisted quirkless person. I have no idea what started this surge of growth and strength during his development, but it isn't slowing down. Not at all."
Chiyo pulled up a chart she had made of Bakugo's development. The line was trending upwards at a constant slope.
Nezu sat up on one of the chairs as he examined the graph. After a moment of silence, he spoke up.
"Are you at all familiar with the Quirk Singularity Doomsday theory Shuzenji?"
Chiyo scoffed at the reference.
"You mean that theory presented by that quack Haroki? The one laughed out of academia 70 years ago?"
Nezu nodded to her.
"The very same. The theory posits that quirks are evolving faster then the human body can adapt to them, and that as time goes on, eventually quirks will grow too powerful and complex for humans to control them.
"Hence, the end of society will arise from the birth of uncontrollable quirks. Or so the theory says."
Chiyo nodded.
"Yes, I'm familiar with it. And I also know that theory was laughed out of the scientific community, Doctor Haroki himself disappearing a few years later."
Nezu raised a hand.
"Ah, but I've been reviewing that theory recently, and it does present some findings that I believe shed some light on this mystery we have.
"The idea that quirks will end the world by growing too powerful for the human body is an entirely seperate discussion and thought for another day, but I have been looking over some medical documentation recently.
"And an interesting theory I've seen floating around, is that what the modern person refers to as 'required secondary quirks', don't actually exist."
Chiyo sat back at that.
"See, doctors in the early days of quirks, realized that most quirks had accompanying adaptations that allowed the user to use them safely.
"Some examples from our own students, are Midoriya's fire resistant throat that allows him to produce fire, and the lesser resistance across his entire body.
"Or Mina Ashido's resistance to her own produced acid. A more esoteric example would be Momo Yaoyorozu's mental capabilities for the purpose of using her own quirk. Without them, she would struggle to create anything at all, even with the extensive training she has undergone."
Chiyo was starting to see where Nezu was going with this.
"So you're saying, that what early doctors referred to as secondary quirks,-"
"-Were actually just the body adapting to its quirk factor! Now, lets go back to the theory. Note that even as it states that quirks are changing over time, it also posits that the human body has also been improving as a whole!"
Chiyo turned back to the data on Bakugo as Nezu continued.
"Doing some research on the Bakugo family, I was able to discover, with a fairly high degree of accuracy, that he is decended from a lineage of quirks at least 7 or more generations long on both sides! The fact he was quirkless seems to be something of a genetic fluke, but his body itself is still very much primed for the same adaptations that any other human with a quirk is!
"When young Katsuki began pushing his body beyond its limits, and beyond what most medical professionals would recommend might I add, his body adapted to the strain he was placing it under, and got better just that bit faster then what anyone would expect.
"And then as time went on…"
Nezu trailed off in a leading fashion as Chiyo continued to stare at the graph displaying Katsuki's growth.
"The growth continued."
Nezu had a massive smile grow on his face, and unnerving glint in his eye.
"Exactly. I must admit that I am extremely curious just how far young Bakugo can go."
Chiyo had to admit, at least to herself, so was she. Still…
"I don't have the equipment necessary for studies like this. There are very few places in the world that do."
Nezu's grin only seemed to grow larger at Chiyo's question.