Midoriya stared at the screen literally without blinking. He was sure that if he closed his eyes for even a second, he would miss some moment of the scene he was watching.
His brain simply could not accept what he was seeing.
"This… this is insane!" Sero shouted beside him, pointing at the screen. "Takeda's fighting All Might evenly!"
"I knew he was strong," Jiro replied, hugging her own body, tense, "but not at this level…"
With every exchange of blows, the image shook. Then, it went black.
Another camera would take its place.
Black again.
Recovery Girl furrowed her brow, clearly irritated.
"Tsk…" she typed quickly on the panel in front of her. "The cameras are being destroyed one after the other."
On the secondary screen, a map of Gamma Field showed several green dots… which began blinking red.
"Just as I thought," she muttered. "How do they expect me to monitor the evaluation if those two are demolishing all the equipment?!"
"But… doesn't that count as collateral damage from the test?" Sero laughed, somewhat awkwardly.
Recovery Girl slowly turned her head.
"Boy… don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."
"O-okay! Sorry!" Sero raised his hands, immediately backing off.
Midoriya kept staring fixedly at the screen.
Right at the moment the image returned, Ryo appeared enveloped in green energy, opening the palm of his hand. The ensuing blast swept across entire city blocks, swallowing All Might in a cloud of destruction before the screen turn black again.
Midoriya's heart leapt.
"…All Might."
He swallowed dryly, feeling a lump form in his throat.
"Why… Why is it that the closer I get to Takeda…" he murmured, almost to himself, "…the further away I feel from reaching him?"
Outside, Bakugou gazed at the horizon from where he could hear the explosions and tremors, clicking his tongue before go somewhere else.
----------------------------------------
Ryo and All Might stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.
The skeletal man was breathing irregularly, his chest rising and falling with difficulty. He opened his mouth, somewhat awkwardly.
"I… I'm not All Might," he said, confused. "What are you talking abo—"
The sentence died there, because an absurdly large amount of blood exploded from his mouth, splattering the broken floor.
"H-Hey!" Ryo's eyes widened, and he rushed forward immediately. "Are you okay?!"
All Might brought his hand to his mouth, wiping the blood with the back of his hand, trying to smile.
"I'm…" he hesitated. "I mean… no. I mean... yes! I mean... But…" he furrowed his brow, clearly disoriented. "My name isn't All Might. I… I don't know how I ended up here. Where… where am I?"
Ryo stopped for a moment.
Then he continued walking toward him, carefully, navigating around the debris.
"I know it's you," he said quietly. "You're still wearing the suit."
All Might looked down.
The uniform, once tight and imposing, now hung loose on his emaciated body, torn and dirty. He let out a tired sigh.
"Yeah… it seems I can't fool you."
Before Ryo could respond, Frozone's voice echoed through All Might's intercom.
"Guys? Everything okay over there? We saw that huge ass explosion from here."
Ryo turned his head toward the sound.
"Go," said All Might, raising a weak hand. "You still have an exam to finish."
Ryo looked back at him, assessing his condition.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah," replied All Might with a short nod. "I'll call Midnight… she'll help me."
Ryo hesitated.
The weight of what he had done was finally catching up to him.
"…Sorry," he murmured, almost inaudible.
Then he turned and disappeared at high speed, leaving All Might alone, kneeling amidst the debris of the destroyed building.
All Might brought his hand to the communicator on his chest.
"Midnight…" his voice came out hoarse. "I've reached my limit. I need cover."
"Already?!" her voice responded, surprised.
"Yeah… That fight against young Takeda…" he took a deep breath. "It drained everything in a very short time."
"Got it… I'm on my way," she said, ending the communication.
All Might coughed and covered his mouth with his fist, and when he pulled his hand away, he was met with a smear of blood.
"…I'm getting weaker and weaker," he murmured to himself. "How much longer can I hold on…?"
Outside, Frozone was sliding smoothly over the ice he created, still trying to figure out what that green explosion had been moments before.
When suddenly—
WHOOSH
Something green passed by him at extremely high speed, so close it nearly knocked him off balance.
"What… what the hell was that?!" he asked, his eyes wide.
Ryo was racing across the field without stopping.
The wind tore around his body, but his mind was stuck on something else.
The image of an injured All Might wouldn't leave his head.
Especially that wound he saw on the left side of All Might's torso… the fabric stained with fresh blood, betraying how serious the situation was.
"I'm sorry…" he murmured as he ran. "I didn't want it to get to this point… I really slipped up..."
He passed like a green blur by Mr. Incredible, who turned his head in surprise just in time to see only the trail of energy crossing the finish line gate.
Ryo passed through the gate, slowing down gradually until he skidded to a stop on the ground.
He turned to look at the gate behind him with a heavy, distant gaze.
"Takeda!!"
Dash appeared out of nowhere beside him and hugged him tightly, almost knocking him over.
"You did it!" he said excitedly. "You actually managed to get past All Might and make it here!"
He pulled back a little but kept his hands on his friend's shoulders.
"We did it, dude! We passed this impossible exam!"
Dash tried to smile, but soon stopped and frowned when he saw his friend's dejected expression.
"…Hey. What's wrong?"
Ryo opened his mouth, tried to speak… got stuck.
The words wouldn't come out.
So he lowered his head.
"I…" his voice came out low. "I messed up..."
----------------------------------------
After Ryo and Dash finished their exam, the other matchups also started wrapping up. One by one, students and teachers returned to the large makeshift tent set up by Recovery Girl. Once everyone was gathered, Aizawa stepped forward, getting the class's attention.
"Due to a minor incident during the Takeda and Dash exam…" he paused briefly, "…All Might will no longer be able to participate in the remainder of the finals."
An immediate buzz filled the tent.
"What?!" several voices overlapped.
Kirishima, all beat up after being defeated by Cementoss and failing his exam, quickly turned to Ryo.
"Hey, man… what went down on your end?"
Ryo averted his gaze.
"I screwed up…"
"…Huh?"
Before Kirishima could press further, Aizawa continued:
"With All Might stepping out, we'll need to make a slight adjustment to the Midoriya and Bakugo exam."
Mr. Incredible and Frozone stepped forward at the same time.
"You two," Aizawa pointed at Izuku and Katsuki, "will be facing Mr. Incredible and Frozone."
Midoriya and Bakugo's eyes widened.
"I know this probably doesn't come close to what All Might meant to them," Aizawa went on, "but don't underestimate your new opponents. They are the current number two and three heroes of the United States."
"WHAT?!" Kaminari nearly yelled. "I thought they were just some random guys All Might called in!"
Shoji tilted his head slightly toward him.
"If All Might called them, they're not exactly 'random.'"
Kaminari swallowed hard and then looked at Ryo and Dash… just like many of the other students did.
"So does that mean…" he murmured, "those two passed their exam facing a team with Japan's number one hero… and the US's number two and three…?"
Todoroki frowned, serious.
He remembered very well how much he struggled just facing Aizawa.
"What the hell are those two made of…?"
Midoriya, on the other hand, stared at Bob and Lucius with a dry throat.
"This… this is crazy… Not one… but both of them?"
Bakugo gritted his teeth, fists clenched, his whole body trembling with rage as he glared at Ryo and Dash.
Aizawa then turned his gaze to Sero and Jiro.
"You two will face Midnight without issue. With that, give it your all. That's it."
With that, the tension began to gradually dissipate. Teachers and students started dispersing. Some headed straight for Recovery Girl's tent to get patched up. Others just… walked away.
Ryo was one of them.
He quietly distanced himself from the group, desperately needing time to think about his actions today.
Bob and Lucius watched Midoriya and Bakugo boarding the bus that would take them to the exam field.
Lucius let out a long sigh.
"Man… thank God we got a second shot. 'Cause, let me keep it a buck with you…" he shook his head, "…we did *nothin'* in that last thing. Like, zero. No shine. No vibe. We lost all our aura back there."
Bob arched an eyebrow.
"Man… quit talkin' like a teenager on the internet."
"Ey, ey, ey," Lucius raised a hand, "aura has been a thing way before that, big fella. Same as chad, sigma… that's just culture now."
"Yeah…" Bob sighed, "and it comes with all that 67 talk?"
Lucius immediately put a hand on Bob's shoulder, his face going completely serious out of nowhere.
"Never say that shit again."
Bob blinked twice.
"…Okay."
Lucius smiled, satisfied.
"That's what I like to hear."
After some time, already inside their test area, Midoriya and Bakugo walked through the fake city toward the starting point. The sound of their footsteps echoed between the artificial buildings, creating an uncomfortable silence.
"Stop following me, Deku!" Bakugo snarled, not even bothering to look back.
"K-Kacchan…" Midoriya tried, "we're supposed to be together at the starting point, it's part of the exa—"
"I KNOW THAT!" Bakugo cut him off, annoyed. "I just don't want you up on me!"
Midoriya swallowed the words that were about to come out. Without arguing, he slowed his pace and dropped back about two meters, continuing to follow him in silence.
On the other side of the fake city, Frozone looked around the area, letting out a relieved sigh.
"Whew… finally get some room to breathe," he said. "That other place was nothin' but rubble all over. Couldn't even move right."
"Yeah," Bob replied, observing the buildings around them. "How many facilities like this does this school have? Never seen a setup this big. Not even the All-In-One Hero School where Violet graduated from came close to this."
Lucius let out a short laugh.
"See, that's what I'm sayin', big man. These folks over here swimmin' in money."
Before they could continue, Recovery Girl's voice echoed through the comms.
"Everyone in position?" she asked. "The final exam for the pairs Midoriya and Bakugo… and Sero and Jiro… will begin now. Ready…"
There was a brief silence.
"Begin!"
----------------------------------------
The moment the signal was given, Midoriya tried to open his mouth.
"K-Kacchan, maybe it's better if we avoid a direct confrontation and focus on gettin' out—"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Bakugo cut him off, already blasting off.
A short detonation shook the ground and threw Midoriya back.
"I do what I want!" Bakugo screamed, rocketing forward like a human missile. "And I wanna kick those two foreigners' asses!"
Midoriya tumbled on the ground, still feeling the impact of the blast, and looked up just in time to see Bakugo disappearing into the horizon of the fake city, propelled by continuous explosions.
"Kacchan!" he called out, but it was too late.
Bakugo was already long gone.
Midoriya clenched his fists, his jaw tight.
"It's okay…" he muttered to himself.
Green energy crackled over his body as he activated Full Cowl, and in the next instant, he took off running after Bakugo.
Further ahead, Bob was walking down the wide avenue of the fake city, alert, his senses sharp.
"How's it lookin' up there?" Lucius's voice came through the intercom on his chest.
"Way more peaceful than that other mess back there," Bob replied. "No contact yet."
"Heh. Alright then." Lucius chuckled on the other end. "Just wrapped up my thing over here. Headin' your way now."
"Got it," Bob responded.
The communication cut off.
A few seconds later, the distant sound of explosions echoed through the air.
Bob frowned and looked up, staring at the horizon above the road ahead.
He saw Bakugo flying straight toward him, propelled by increasingly powerful blasts.
"FOUND YOU!" the kid roared. "Hero number two or three, don't matter! I'm gonna blow you all the same with my explo—"
The sentence died in the air as a car came flying right at him.
Bakugo's eyes went wide and he barely dodged, using lateral blasts to escape, but in the next instant, he felt another large shadow swallow him up.
Mr. Incredible was right in front of him, in the air.
Bob had used the car as a distraction, leaping immediately after to reach Bakugo mid-air. His huge hand closed around the kid's head, and in one brutal motion, he slammed him back down to earth, driving him into the asphalt.
"Ghh!" Bakugo grunted in pain as the impact cracked the ground.
Bob kept his hand firm, pinning him down as he spoke calmly into the intercom.
"Got one."
"Nice," Lucius's voice came back. "Hold tight, I'm almost there."
The call ended.
Bob looked down, eyeing Bakugo with a mix of seriousness and curiosity.
"That was a mighty foolish move," he said. "Charging in like that, with no plan at all…"
He lifted his gaze, scanning the surroundings.
"…or you two got one?"
At that moment, Bakugo brought his hand to Bob's chest.
"DIE!" he screamed.
The explosion was violent, the blast echoing for several blocks as a thick cloud of smoke enveloped the area.
A few blocks away, Midoriya skidded to a halt.
"He found them?" He turned his face toward the sound.
His eyes narrowed.
"I'll cut through."
He ducked into a narrow alley, ran a few steps, kicked off the side walls, and vaulted onto a rooftop, beginning to leap from building to building.
In the center of the smoke, Bakugo was breathing heavily, glaring at the silhouette in front of him.
The dust began to clear.
Mr. Incredible was standing.
Unharmed.
He wiped his free hand across his eyes.
"Kid… your lil' fireworks sure are bright as hell."
Bakugo's eyes widened with pure rage.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He bit the hand still gripping his head and started exploding non-stop, screaming as he fired blast after blast. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Bob raised his free arm to shield his face.
In a quick motion, his other hand grabbed Bakugo's arm—the one firing the explosions—interlacing his fingers and squeezing hard, completely muffling the detonations.
"You got yourself a real powerful Quirk," Bob said, his voice steady. "But you ain't got the brains. The strategy. The sense to use it right."
Bakugo snarled, raising his other hand.
"SHUT UP—"
Before he could finish, Bob drove his head even harder into the ground.
"Ghh!" Bakugo groaned in pain.
"You'd have better luck if you were with your—"
DETROIT SMASH!!
Midoriya's fist connected squarely with Bob's face.
The impact sent him flying back, skidding several meters across the asphalt before he could stop himself.
Bob looked up, surprised.
In front of him, Midoriya was in a fighting stance, his body wreathed in green energy, his eyes steady and determined, while Bakugo remained on the ground behind him.
"I don't know if you asked about me…" Midoriya said, his voice serious, not breaking eye contact. "But if you did…"
He clenched his fist, raising it toward Bob.
"I'm here!"
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A/N:I saw some comments asking me to start posting chapters more quickly. Thing is, I already post chapters daily, which, honestly, isn't that easy to find around here. Still, I got thinking… maybe it would be a good idea to set up those stone goals I see in other fics on the site. That way, you could earn extra chapters if you manage to reach them.
I don't know why I never thought of this before, maybe because I'm still a bit of a newbie to this whole gem and ranking system… or maybe because I'm not that desperate for stones myself.
Anyway, the idea is out there. There won't be a chapter tomorrow, but now we have goals established (I confess: I get this idea from a very particular famous fanfic here...).
Stone Goals:
500 PS – Not Complete
1000 PS – Not Complete
2000 PS – Not Complete
I don't know if these numbers are too high, but I hope so. I'd rather they aren't hit too quickly and I end up owing you all later...