Chapter 13 - U.A Written Exams

The classroom buzzed with nervous energy as students filed in one by one, the weight of the upcoming written exams hanging heavy in the air. The sunlight streaming through the tall windows did nothing to ease the tension—if anything, it seemed to make the moment feel more intense, like even the sky was watching to see who would pass or fail. Yuuki sat at her desk, clutching her pencil tightly and bouncing her leg beneath the table. Her notebook was open, filled with colorful highlights and neat notes from her study session with Bakugo the night before—notes she was too embarrassed to even look at without blushing.

Around her, the rest of Class 1-A was in their usual form. Mina was tapping her pen on her desk, muttering something about formulas; Jirou was leaning back in her chair, earjacks lazily swaying as she read over her notes; and Kaminari was already slumped forward, groaning dramatically.

"Man, I hate written tests," he whined. "Why can't they just test us on how awesome our quirks are? I'd totally ace that!"

"Yeah, you and your shocking intelligence," Jirou teased, smirking as Kaminari groaned louder.

Yuuki tried to stifle a small giggle, but her amusement was quickly cut off when she noticed Mineta turn in his seat, his beady eyes locking onto her. Uh oh.

"Hey, Yuuki," Mineta said, leaning forward on his desk with that all-too-familiar sleazy grin. "If I pass this exam—no, when I pass this exam—you should totally reward me with a kiss!"

Yuuki froze, her eyes going wide as her face turned bright pink. "W-what?!" she squeaked, clutching her notebook to her chest. "M-Mineta, no way!"

"Aw, come on! A little motivation never hurt anybody!" Mineta said, grinning smugly.

Before Yuuki could even think of a response, a sharp bzzt! echoed through the room, followed by Mineta yelping in pain and falling backward out of his chair. Kaminari stood beside him with smoke curling from his fingertips, wearing a triumphant grin.

"Back off, grape-head," Kaminari said, his tone half-playful, half-serious. "If anyone's gonna snag a kiss from Yuuki, it's gonna be me!"

"W-what?!" Yuuki yelped again, her face somehow turning an even deeper shade of red. "Kaminari!"

The two boys immediately started arguing, Mineta flailing his tiny fists and Kaminari laughing like an idiot.

"You fried me, you walking lightbulb!" Mineta shouted. "She'd never kiss you!"

"Oh yeah? She'd totally pick me over you!" Kaminari shot back.

"As if you have a chance!" Mineta barked, stomping his foot.

Before things could escalate further, a booming, authoritative voice cut through the noise. "That's enough!"

Tenya Iida stood beside them, hands chopping through the air in frustration, his glasses gleaming under the light. "This is a classroom, not some kind of—of dating show! We are here to focus on our written exams! And furthermore—" He adjusted his glasses dramatically. "—no one is kissing anyone!"

The room went quiet for a moment, everyone watching as Iida continued to scold them, his voice echoing off the walls. Kaminari groaned and slumped in his seat, muttering something about Iida's "buzzkill speeches," while Mineta pouted and rubbed his arm where he'd been zapped.

Yuuki hid her face behind her notebook, wishing she could disappear into thin air. "Why does this always happen to me..." she mumbled under her breath, cheeks still burning.

Then the door slid open.

The room fell silent instantly, as if everyone could sense the sudden shift in energy. Katsuki Bakugo strode in, his usual scowl in place, his backpack slung over one shoulder. The confident swagger in his step made it clear that, unlike most of the class, he wasn't worried about the exam in the slightest.

"Yo, Bakugo!" Kirishima called from his desk, grinning wide. "You ready for these exams, bro?"

"Tch, obviously," Bakugo replied, tossing his bag down and dropping into his seat with a thud. "I don't need to be ready. I'm gonna crush this test like I crush everything else."

"Spoken like Bakugo," Todoroki said in his usual calm tone, flipping through his notes without looking up. "You sound confident."

Bakugo smirked, leaning back in his chair. "I am confident. You all should be more worried about keeping up."

Yuuki couldn't help glancing his way. He looked completely relaxed, arms crossed, like the test was nothing to him. Meanwhile, her heart was racing, her palms sweaty, and her thoughts scattered everywhere. She tried to look back down at her notes, but she could feel his eyes suddenly shift toward her.

And then, in true Bakugo fashion—he yelled.

"Hey, Extra!"

She jumped, nearly dropping her pencil as every head in the room turned toward her.

Bakugo's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone sharp but not cruel. "All that studying last night better not've been for nothing! You'd better ace this thing, got it?!"

The whole room went silent for a second before a few people snickered softly. Mina hid her grin behind her hand, and Uraraka shot Yuuki a teasing look.

Yuuki's entire face went red as she fidgeted with her pen, trying to find her voice. "Y-y-yes, Bakugo! I-I'll try my best!" she stammered, her voice cracking.

Bakugo clicked his tongue and looked away, muttering something like, "You'd better," under his breath.

As Aizawa finally entered the room and the chatter died down, Yuuki couldn't stop herself from sneaking one more glance in Bakugo's direction.

•••

Mr. Aizawa stood at the front of the classroom, his tired gaze sweeping over the students as the sound of paper rustling filled the air. His scarf shifted slightly as he moved, dropping a heavy stack of exam packets on the front desk. "Alright, listen up," he said in his usual monotone voice. "You have two hours to finish your exams. Once you're done, you can head to the lunch room to relax or eat. No talking, no cheating, and no using your quirks. Understood?"

A faint chorus of "Yes, sir," echoed through the room, though some sounded more confident than others. Aizawa began handing out the test papers, his eyes half-lidded but sharp enough to catch even the slightest whisper or movement. When he reached Bakugo's desk, Bakugo gave his trademark smirk, already cracking his knuckles like he was about to fight the paper instead of write on it. Aizawa didn't even react—he'd seen it all before.

Yuuki sat up a little straighter when her exam was placed on her desk. "Thank you," she said softly, though Aizawa had already moved on to the next student. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her fingers trembling just a bit as she picked up her pencil. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, but she reminded herself of what Bakugo had said earlier—well, yelled earlier. All that studying better not have been for nothing.

She smiled faintly to herself, shaking her head. I'll do my best, she thought.

Around her, the classroom was quiet except for the scratching of pencils and the occasional sigh of frustration. The sound of turning pages filled the space, steady and rhythmic. Yuuki glanced around briefly—Midoriya was already deep in thought, mumbling softly under his breath while writing furiously.

"Question seven connects to question twelve, which means... hmm... maybe if I cross-reference the data—"

"Midoriya," Aizawa's flat voice interrupted, and Midoriya froze mid-sentence, his pencil still hovering over the page. "Stop mumbling. Focus."

Midoriya jumped slightly, his face turning red. "S-sorry, Aizawa-sensei!"

A few quiet giggles escaped from Mina and Kaminari's direction, but they quickly went back to pretending to focus when Aizawa's gaze landed on them. Yuuki smiled softly at the small moment, the tension in her chest easing a little. She looked down at her paper again and began answering the first question.

She decided to take it slow—one problem at a time. She wrote carefully, her handwriting neat and precise. Every time she started to overthink, she'd close her eyes and repeat to herself, slow down, you can do this. It wasn't a race, and Bakugo's intimidating presence (even from across the room) wasn't going to shake her.

Still, she couldn't help glancing over once in a while. Bakugo sat at his desk, totally focused. His brows were furrowed, his pencil moving quickly but confidently. He wasn't hunched over like everyone else; he looked relaxed, composed, even... calm. Somehow, that made Yuuki want to work harder.

Mina, sitting one row ahead, had her head propped up on her hand, whispering under her breath as she tried to remember an answer. Jirou was silently tapping her pencil against her desk in rhythm with her thoughts. Kirishima stretched in his seat, mouthing the words to a problem as if saying them would make the answer come to him. Kaminari, on the other hand, already looked like he was in trouble—his eyes darting between the questions and the ceiling as if divine intervention would help.

Yuuki stifled a small laugh behind her hand and turned back to her paper. Bit by bit, the questions started to feel less intimidating. Her pencil flowed more smoothly across the page. The room's silence became a kind of calm rhythm—scratch, turn page, scratch, deep breath, and repeat.

Aizawa occasionally paced the aisles, his scarf trailing behind him. His eyes scanned each student's desk carefully, making sure no one was slacking off or trying anything suspicious. When he passed by Yuuki's desk, she stiffened slightly, but he said nothing—just gave her a subtle nod, which she took as silent approval.

She smiled faintly and kept writing.

After a while, time seemed to melt away. The tension of the test began to fade as she got into a steady rhythm. Every once in a while, she'd take a small peek around the room—Midoriya still muttering quietly to himself (though much softer now), Uraraka chewing her pencil eraser, Todoroki writing methodically without a hint of worry, and Bakugo... still completely in control.

As the clock ticked on, Yuuki reached her final question. Her hand was sore, but her heart was lighter than it had been all morning. She looked it over, double-checked her answers, and took one last deep breath. She'd done it.

When the two hours finally came to an end, Aizawa spoke again from the front of the room. "Alright. Time's up. Put your pencils down and bring your exams to the front."

Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone got up at once, stretching and groaning like they'd just run a marathon. Yuuki stood up too, feeling both exhausted and proud as she carried her exam up to Aizawa's desk.

He collected it without a word, flipping through a few pages briefly before setting it on the growing pile. "You're all free to go," he said dully. "Lunch room's open. Don't cause trouble."

As everyone started filing out, Yuuki caught sight of Bakugo at the back of the room, arms crossed and a faint smirk tugging at his lips. Their eyes met for a second—just one second—and he gave a small, proud huff.