--Friday, July 3, 2172
[Izuku Midoriya & Katsuki Bakugo, practical exam… Ready, go!]
In the middle of a city packed with towering buildings, the starting announcement echoed as Bakugo marched swiftly down a road, fists and teeth clenched tight. With a look torn between doubt and determination, Midoriya gritted his teeth and approached Bakugo, speaking with a slightly nervous voice.
"Kacchan! In this exam, we need to assess the teacher's ability and decide whether to fight or flee. But against All Might, our best option is to run!"
Hearing Midoriya, Bakugo clicked his tongue in annoyance and sped up without saying a word. Determined to pass the exam, Midoriya quickened his pace, calling out loudly.
"Wait, Kacchan!"
"Stop following me!"
Bakugo shouted, full of hatred, without slowing down, leaving Midoriya frozen in place. But unwilling to give up, Midoriya quickly reacted and started walking again as he spoke.
"If we keep going straight, All Might will be waiting for us! We need to turn around here—"
"Why should I run?!" Bakugo cut Midoriya off, his voice dripping with arrogance. "It'll definitely be better to beat him!"
"We have to avoid fighting! All Might isn't someone we can defeat!" Midoriya shouted back, and Bakugo raised his voice even louder in response.
"We'll drag it out, and I'll finish him when he's tired!"
"You don't get it! You've never faced someone like All Might! You don't know what it's like to go up against someone so overwhelmingly strong! Tire him out? That's never gonna happen!"
Midoriya yelled back, recalling his constant battles against Kai, where no matter what he did, how much stronger he got, or how much of One For All's power he used, it was useless. Kai was invincible, and All Might had regained his strength thanks to that terrifying blue-eyed young man. The All Might they faced now was at 100%, not the weakened version who fought at USJ.
"Shut up! I've got nothing to do with a coward!" Bakugo roared, his throat straining from the volume. But Midoriya shouted back with a force Bakugo hadn't seen before.
"Coward? Do you even know who All Might is?! Even with an advantage, you'll never be able to—"
Before Midoriya could finish, Bakugo swung a punch at him, hitting him square in the face with the giant grenade-shaped gauntlets on his forearms, sending the green-haired boy crashing to the ground. At that moment, with a face showing nothing but hatred and murderous intent, Bakugo growled in a chilling voice.
"Not another word! You're getting cocky just 'cause you've improved a little! You're nothing but a useless Deku! Your very existence pisses me off! Get lost!"
…
"What a disaster of teamwork…"
In the observation room, Recovery Girl commented with a visibly disappointed tone, while Kai jotted something down on his phone with a calm expression. Curious, Momo craned her neck slightly to peek at the device, only to see Kai had entered a -1 on a strange counter tied to Midoriya's profile in an app he'd created.
"What's that counter for?" Momo asked, intrigued. Kai replied in a relaxed tone.
"Ah, nothing special. Just a little tracker to decide if I keep training Midoriya. The guy's got talent and all, but his attitude really grates on me, so I'm keeping tabs. When it hits 0, I'm done with him. I'm not wasting my time on someone with no spine."
"I see…" Momo murmured, glancing at the somewhat uneasy expressions of her classmates in the room, who had overheard Kai and now shifted their gazes between the screens and him.
At that moment, All Might appeared on the screens, stretching with a dark look on his face before unleashing a powerful punch that sent a brutal shockwave ripping straight ahead. Unable to withstand the raw power of the number one hero, buildings, bridges, and everything in the shockwave's path shattered and flew toward Bakugo and Midoriya.
In the middle of the road, Midoriya, struggling to get back on his feet, and Bakugo turned to see the wave of destruction bearing down on them, mouths agape. Unable to react, they were swept away like leaves in a storm.
Or so Bakugo thought. Just before the pressure wave hit them, Midoriya's expression hardened. He shot forward at incredible speed, positioning himself in front of Bakugo in an instant. Before landing, Midoriya flipped mid-air, then touched down with a kick, spinning on his axis as he shouted.
"Smash!!!"
Midoriya's brutal force unleashed a colossal rotating shockwave that struck the ground before rising, shielding them from the impact while redirecting part of the power skyward. Meanwhile, Bakugo stood there, jaw dropped, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"What the hell does destroying the city matter?"
At that instant, a dark, heavy voice resonated through the area as All Might emerged, walking slowly toward them through the thick cloud of smoke caused by the destruction. But to Bakugo, what stood before him wasn't the Symbol of Peace—it was something else. His body began to tremble slightly, as if his instincts screamed that he was facing an unstoppable predator.
(What is this intimidation…?)
Bakugo clenched his teeth and glared at the Symbol of Peace, who, upon arriving, stomped the ground, sending a shockwave that blew away the dust cloud, clearing the area while forcing Bakugo to stagger back a few steps.
"If you think this is just a simple exam, you'll regret it… I'm a villain, heroes. Come at me with everything you've got!" With a deep, dark voice, All Might declared, his smile—normally heroic and inspiring—now looking sinister and mocking.
"We can't face him. Let's run!"
In that moment, Midoriya instructed with a grave expression, then turned and leapt away at high speed with a single bound. But to Midoriya's surprise, Bakugo shouted loudly while stepping forward.
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"Kacchan!" Midoriya, already several meters away, turned to look at Bakugo just as All Might lunged forward at blinding speed.
"Stun Grenade!" With his feet planted firmly on the ground, Bakugo raised his right hand in front of him and pulled the pin on the giant gauntlet on his forearm, announcing loudly.
As he released the pin, a powerful explosion shot toward All Might, so bright and intense it dazzled Midoriya. Bakugo prepared to charge forward, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"You want us to come at you with everything, All Might? Even without you saying it, that's exac—"
But before he could finish, a massive hand pierced through the explosion and seized his face. Before Bakugo could react, he was slammed into the ground with tremendous force, creating a huge crater. As Bakugo felt his skull and spine being crushed, instead of defending himself, he extended both hands toward his attacker and unleashed rapid bursts of explosions with every ounce of strength he had.
"Looks like you really think you can beat me, huh?"
"AHHH!!!!"
At that moment, All Might commented in a calm but heavy tone, completely unaffected by the point-blank explosions, and began to squeeze Bakugo's skull harder. Feeling like his head was about to burst, Bakugo screamed with all his might, pouring every bit of himself into creating explosions from his hands, fully prepared to die before admitting defeat.
"But those weak, consecutive hits won't even mess up my hair."
All Might remarked mockingly, preparing to apply just a bit more force to knock Bakugo unconscious. But in that split second, his instincts made him glance ahead, just in time to see Midoriya almost upon him, fist cocked back with an incredible amount of power, ready to strike his face.
(Though ruthless, your methods are truly effective, Kai-shonen.)
"Smash!!!"
As his smile widened with pride for his successor, All Might took a direct hit to the face and was sent flying back several meters. Instead of pursuing, Midoriya landed beside Bakugo, hoisted him up, and leapt with all his strength toward a nearby alley, running for his life while shouting.
"I'm sorry, All Might!"
…
"Deku-kun is incredible!!!"
In the observation room, Uraraka exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, while the others stared at the screen with their mouths open. Midoriya, that short, insecure boy, had done something unbelievable. He'd blocked an attack from All Might, then sent him reeling with a single punch and rescued Bakugo—all without a scratch. An absurd feat that probably only Kai or Momo could pull off in their entire class.
"That's the result of that hell…?" Mina, who had just entered the room and witnessed everything, couldn't help but comment, visibly shocked as she looked at Kai.
"His reaction speed and strength are lacking, but it's not bad. At least he did something." Kai replied casually while jotting something on his phone. Though Momo easily noticed him discreetly adding a +1 to Midoriya's profile counter, which brought an amused smile to her face.
…
"Put me down…!"
With a weak voice, Bakugo growled over Midoriya's shoulder, struggling with the little strength he had left. Midoriya glanced at Bakugo out of the corner of his eye while moving at high speed through the alleys.
"Kacchan!"
"Drop me, dumbass!" Bakugo shouted, full of rage, and kneed Midoriya in the back, causing the boy to grunt in pain and let him fall.
After rolling across the ground and slamming into a wall, Bakugo tried to stand, dragging himself up with the wall's support. Meanwhile, Midoriya, who had lost his balance and rolled a few meters, got to his feet and spoke with a hint of irritation in his voice.
"Kacchan! I can't think of a way to beat All Might—it's impossible! Our only option is to try escaping, even if that's just as unlikely to work. It's still better than nothing!"
"Shut up! I'm gonna win! That's what heroes do! They WIN!" Bakugo snapped, his face twisted with rage, resentment, and frustration. At that moment, Midoriya took a step toward Bakugo and replied.
"Then all the more reason we should—"
Before Midoriya could finish, Bakugo lunged at him and created an explosion with his hand against the wall behind Midoriya, speaking in a near-guttural voice, as if every word bled from his very being.
"I'm not saying it twice, you shitty nerd… Against that insane speed, it doesn't matter if you run—you can't avoid fighting… and he doesn't even feel my attacks… he's just toying with us. So here's what we're gonna do next…"
…
(That hit was pretty good, though my power really has returned. All that strength barely did anything to me. I'm truly indebted to you, Kai-shonen.)
Still standing in the middle of the destroyed road, All Might rubbed his jaw as he reflected deeply. At the same time, he could feel his gratitude toward Kai growing. Though he knew his power had been restored, only now, using it in battle, could he fully grasp it.
While his current power didn't match his prime, it wasn't far off either, making him several times stronger than when he fought at USJ. But while that was wonderful for him, it was also terrifying.
Kai had managed, almost out of nowhere, to restore his power to near-prime levels, which meant that this morally ambiguous young man could potentially grant others power comparable to his own if he chose to.
(But you become more dangerous with each passing day…)
Caught between conflicting feelings, All Might began jogging at a steady pace toward the exit, assuming Bakugo and Midoriya would head that way. But halfway there, Bakugo leapt out from an alley behind him, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Where are you looking?!!!"
"So you're coming from behind, huh?" All Might remarked with a smirk, glancing over his shoulder to see Bakugo aiming one of his giant gauntlets at him, his face on the verge of tears from frustration.
Quickly, Bakugo pulled the pin on his gauntlet, unleashing a massive directed explosion that forced All Might to shield himself. In that moment, Bakugo dropped to the ground and, aiming at All Might from below, triggered the second gauntlet's blast. As he covered himself, All Might's eyes widened slightly in surprise as the second explosion lifted him into the air.
"Deku!!!" Bakugo shouted with all his might.
From behind All Might, Midoriya leapt out of an alley with a deadly serious expression, spinning mid-air at high speed before unleashing a powerful kick into the air as he roared.
"Smash!!!!!!!!!!"
Midoriya's kick sent a whip-like shockwave crashing into the defenseless All Might mid-air, launching him at high speed. At that moment, Bakugo shot into the air and yelled with everything he had.
"Run, dumbass!"
With Bakugo's reminder, Midoriya bolted toward the exit with all his strength, displaying incredible speed that left Bakugo hovering in the air, teeth clenched in rage and frustration.
…
"They got me…"
Far from Midoriya and Bakugo, All Might emerged from a half-destroyed building, shrouded in a thick cloud of smoke, commenting with a smile.
(A choice between fighting and escaping… For an impromptu plan, it's not bad at all. They even minimized damage to the city by sending me to a place I'd already wrecked… Just as I taught them in the first class… They're really sharp kids, even if they fall apart when they're together.)
All Might scanned his surroundings, nodding in satisfaction, before stretching his back and muttering to himself with a 'villainous' grin.
"Though there are too many complicated feelings between you two, and they won't be resolved quickly, I'm certain cooperating here will be a huge step for the future. So, it's time for this teacher to get serious!"
***
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