37 Chapter 37

My written exams went swimmingly.

They were simple and quite easy.

On the other hand, we were pitted against the teachers themselves in the practical exams. The teams were just like the ones in canon. I was paired with my dramatic, darkness loving batchmate, Tokoyami.

"Tokoyami."

"Asui-san?"

"How good are you at close combat."

The man rubbed his beak and said, "To be honest, I never really thought about me fighting. Dark Shadow is more than enough for us to be hero."

"Aye sir!"

I raised a brow and asked, "What if you are attacked from multiple sides and Dark Shadow is too slow to save you?"

The man and his shadow looked at one another and found themselves out of words.

I took a deep breath and explained, "Alright, here's my plan. Ectoplasm creates clones, so, he has the numbers. But, we have strength and range. You are good at ranged attacks, while, I'm a decent enough all rounder. I'll be the vanguard and tackle anything Ectoplasm throws at us. You and Dark Shadow will take care of our rear guard. Our primary goal will be to cross the finish line. Locating Ectoplasm amongst his clones with be tough, so, trying to capture him will only waste our time."

Tokoyami blinked a few times and said, "You've given it some thought. That is a good plan."

I nodded sagely and said, "The world is dark and full of terrors. We won't survive as heroes without planning beforehand."

"Indeed, the darkness can be harrowing. But, it is darkness that forges the strongest of men."

"Everyone has darkness inside them. It's only after we understand and embrace it, can we become better."

.

.

.

Ectoplasm drove us to the examination site while we exchanged anecdotes of dakness and the night. It felt like we were kindered spirits... Only, he was much more stable and sane than me.

It was a building which looked more like a mall.

Ectoplasm then addressed us about the restrictions placed on the examiners. As it was about to begin, Tokoyami said, "So, the test takers, that is us, start at the center?"

"Stay vigilant, Tokoyami. Ectoplasm could be anywhere. He can create clones, so, it's highly possible that he'll attack with his clones the moment the test starts."

Tokoyami's shoulders folded in as his back bent a little. He was rrady to fight. A water shuriken appeared on my back and was ready to be unleashed. My vine whips and my stingers were out as well.

[Everyone in position? Let's begin the final exam for U.A.'s first year students! Ready? Go!!!]

Immediately, clones upon clones of Ectoplasm errupted from the floor around us.

"I forgot to mention... We teachers will be giving our all to utterly crush you students."

I was ready and as soon as the clones appeared , I grabbed my water shuriken with my vine whip and attacked the nearest clone.

The shuriken did its work and destroyed three clones.

"Tokoyami!"

I grabbed him by his waist using my vine whips and threw him high up. Then, as the clones got closer, I unleashed an wave of 'Dark Pulse'. The menacing dark energy was brutal against the clones and ripped them apart.

As every clone around me was twisted and ripped away, I jumped after Tokoyami and said to the new clone that had appeared, "You may have handicapped yourselves by those restrictive bracelets, but, that doesn't mean we will hold back as well. Plus, you are clones. I have no reason to fear giving them fatal injuries."

I grabbed Tokoyami again and we reached the floor above. As soon as we got our footing, More clones came running towards us.

"Tokoyami! Hold them back for a bit! I'll locate Ectoplasm's real body!"

"Got it!"

As Dark Shadow got to work, I sent a quake through the building using 'Magnitude: 2'.

'Found him!'

I turned around and helped Tokoyami and Dark Shadow fight off the clones.

"You really need to learn close combat techniques!"

"I do realize that now! Dark Shadow isn't that strong in daylight!"

'Vacuum wave!'

A massive palm of energy crashed through the rally of clones and crushed them away. Meanwhile, Dark Shadow proved to be a good fighter despite of his weakness. But, Extoplasm was no slouch and his clones managed to out-maneuver it and got closer to Tokoyami.

I had to intervene before the bird got hit.

'Snipe shot.'

The water bullet struck true and destroyed the clone closest to Tokoyami.

'We need to create some distance from Ectoplasm. Sadly, I don't remember his maximum limit of clones, or, if he even has a limit.'

"Tokoyami, get ready!"

"Alright!"

I yanked him towards me and trew him of the railing. Then, I looked at the remaining clones and used 'Hyper voice' which was enough to destroy them. Then, I jumped towards the ground floor as well.

While we were in the air, a massive head errupted from the ground floor. It was Ectoplasm's gigantic clone with its jaw wide open!

"What?!" x2

A guttural sound escaped my throat and I threw Tokoyami towards the first floor while I remain in the air, falling towards the ascending maw of Ectoplasm's clone.

'Blazing ace!'

It was a combination move that comprised of aerial ace and blaze kick.

Fire roared around my leg as I decended faster than the speed of sound. My kick connected with the philtrum of the clone and in a glorious explosion, the clone was blasted into smithereens.

My impact through the clone and into the floor was hard, but, I was strong enough to endure the strain on my legs and I ended up at the center of a small crater. I took a breath and looked directly towards Ectoplasm who had come out of hiding.

With the help of Dark Shadow, Tokoyami also made it to the ground floor and we were ready to face the teacher.

"He's the real one. I can 'hear' his heartbeat."

Tokoyami took out the handcuffs from under his cloak and handed them to me. I grabbed them with one of my vine whips and we waited with caution for more clones.

"No more clones, huh? Guess creating that huge clone was quite taxing."

Ectoplasm then said, "You would be right in assuming that. But, it does not mean that you won. I'm still standing between the two of you and the exit."

"Let's go, Asui!"

We attacked together and it was an exciting rumble.

Ectoplasm mainly used his legs to attack, expertly using kicks from Tae Kwon Do, Capoeira and even Karate. His kicks were precise and packed some devastating momentum behind them.

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were overwhelmed easily. Meanwhile, I understood that I need to take the fight really close to Ectoplasm. With power coursing through my legs, I pushed off the ground and charged at him to unleash a flurry of punches.

I attacked him with combinations of hooks and upper cuts mixed with body blows. Ectoplasm managed to block the body blows with his knees while he dodged the punches oe blocked them with his arms. In response, Ectoplasm managed to land an elbow hit to my jaw and a knee to my gutt.

'Faster... I need to attack faster!'

I felt energy flow all across my body and into my arms and fists.

'Close combat!!!'

With punches thrice as fast, Ectoplasm had no way of blocking my attacks and I pulverized his torso with body blows. Swaying from side to side, I attacked him with devastating hooks. Is guard was blown open by my bare fists and my punch landed cleanly on his jaw.

*Thwak!*

Ectoplasm was thrown off his legs. Dark Shadow quickly plucked him from the air and I locked cuffs on his wrist.

Ectoplasm sagged on the floor as the cuffs clicked and Tokoyami and I bumped our fists together.

[Tokoyami and Asui have passed the exam!]

(APIBNHA)

A/N: Philtrum is the groove above the upper lip and below the nose.

Enjoy. New chapter. Imma study. It's 12:15 am on sunday. Gotta study #TheGrindIsReal.