A fight had indeed broken out between Erasure Head and Sand.
Aizawa's advantage of erasing his opponent's Quirk, and then finishing the job by forcing him in a close combat, was useless against someone like Sand.
Despite both being highly efficient martial arts practitioners, Sand's skill set lay in targeted strikes, aiming to neutralize or incapacitate the target. It gave him an unprecedented advantage over Aizawa, who wasn't used to going all the way in when it came to fighting non-Villains.
Surprisingly, Aizawa had no such restraints while fighting Sand.
Before things could go out of hand, and seeing Sand land an untraceable blow on Aizawa's head, Principal Nezu and All Might had put an end to the fight.
Mr. Principal had then provided an alternative solution to both of the teachers.
What Aizawa had said about Todoroki and Momo was true.
Todoroki tended to brute force his way through a situation, while Momo, though an all-rounder, struggled against unexpected situations. One thing was common between them, though. They both depended too much on their Quirks.
That's why Erasure Head had suggested he would erase their Quirks.
However, there was another way to tackle the same situation.
What if they countered brute force with brute force, instead?! What if they put someone against Todoroki and Momo who could force them to think outside the box?!
That's where Sand came into the picture.
Meanwhile, with Erasure Head not allotted to any student, they could pair Luke with Midoriya and Bakugo and put two teachers against them. Even though Luke and Midoriya got along well, Bakugo didn't go along with any of them.
There was no point in focusing on Midoriya and Bakugo's relationship alone when they could take care of Luke and Bakugo's, too.
All Might, standing in front of three shocked boys, grinned, remembering all that.
"Work together to beat me, you three!" All Might said, making a fist. "But… don't count on us showing you mercy…"
"Alright!" Nezu squeaked cheerfully. "Let's go over all the pairs of students and teachers for the Practical Exams!!"
The first match was between Cementoss vs Sato and Eijiro Kirishima.
For the second match, Tsuyu and Fumikage would be going against Ectoplasm.
Tenya Ida and Ojiro would take on Power Loader for the third match, while Todoroki and Momo would face Sand in the fourth.
Pro Hero Thirteen, with Quirk — Black Hole, who was active during the USJ incident, would take on Uraraka and Toru for the fifth match.
The sixth match would see the pairing of Principal Nezu himself with Mina and Kaminari.
At the seventh, Kyoka and Yuga Aoyama would be fighting Present Mic.
For the eighth, the teachers had decided to pair the remaining three students as well. In it, Shoji, Mineta, and Hanta Sero would be going against Midnight and Snipe.
However, unlike Erasure Head, Snipe's role would be much milder. He wouldn't be actively going after the students themselves and would instead be acting as a support for Midnight, leveling the field.
At last, the ninth match would see All Might and Erasure Head against Luke, Midoriya, and Bakugo.
"The time limit for each match will be thirty minutes," Nezu explained. "The students will be given a pair of handcuffs. Their objective will be to either put those handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage!"
Going through his own thoughts, Luke held his chin. He was contemplating how much effort to put into this Practical Exam. He didn't want to fail, as that would negatively impact his scorecard.
Scorecard wasn't something he really cared about, but he wasn't just here as Luke.
He was Renji Saionji, the adopted son of the Chairman of the Saionji Group.
If he didn't fit the image put up by Aina and Rikuya, then there was no saying what their mother, Ms. Misaki Saionji, would do to him. For now, she had remained out of the picture, as Luke's studies and actions didn't affect her kids. And he wanted to keep the status quo as far as she was concerned.
Contrary to his will not to fail, Luke also knew they stood no chance of winning against both All Might and Erasure Head. Unless, of course, he decided to go all out with Nyx's public Quirks, combining them with his Beyonder Abilities.
Such a thing could pose its own problems, though.
The more he showcased his abilities, the more he stood a chance of being found out.
All Might and Erasure Head were Pros among Pros. No matter how well he tried to hide his Dr. Blessed identity, there always remained a variable of unpredictability, Luke knew.
Neither Divination nor Manipulations were all-powerful.
So, if Luke wanted to come out of this Practical Exam unscathed, then he could neither go all in nor could he go half-heartedly.
That meant — he must depend upon his teammates.
Luke looked at Midoriya and Bakugo, and his mouth twitched as he found the latter still staring daggers at both of them.
Why not just pair me with All Might alone?! Luke lampooned. At least then I could have a valid reason to fail… Wait…
"Sir!" Luke raised his hand, looking at Nezu. "Is it really OK to just run away?"
I had a feeling it would be him asking this question first… Erasure Head thought, almost rolling his eyes.
Nezu gave Luke a thumbs-up. "Yes! If… you can…"
Luke's face held a silly grin, making Midoriya step away from him as well.
"This time, your exam will be very much like real battles," Thirteen warned. "Please think of us as Villains, because… we will not be going easy on any of you."
Uraraka and Toru looked at each other and gulped.
"I won't make the same mistakes again…" Tenya mumbled, remembering Stain. "When the enemy is overwhelmingly powerful than you, it's better to run and get help — for others' sake."
"Bingo!" Nezu squeaked in agreement. "That's right! It's your decision-making skills that will be tested the most in this Exam."
"Don't worry," All Might suddenly said, taking out metallic bracelets. "To give you guys a fighting chance, we will be putting on half of our body weights."
"All right!" Erasure Head as the teachers turned around. "First team, get ready. The rest can either watch the match or think of a strategy. Do whatever you want…"
A hand fell on Luke's shoulder, weighing much heavier than it should be. He looked over his shoulder and found Sand, eying him flatly.
"I know…" Luke quipped. "I will not be snapping this time…"
"Too bad, then," Sand said, suddenly grinning. "Because, if you didn't win, the surveillance on you will…
"… become permanent."
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