Holy shit, I'm alive! Betchu weren't expecting that. Tbh, I'm not sure I was either. Sorry that it took so long. I was just so excited to get to this chapter, and then it didn't turn the way I had envisioned and I kinda lost motivation. :( Well, it's out now. Let's see how long I can keep going.
"This is fucking crazy," Kacchan muttered, but the sharp grin on his face was telling. "This is fucking crazy."
"So… you're actually going along with it?" Izuku knew the question ran the risk of pissing the other teen off, but he never expected Kacchan to look so excited.
"The fucking expression on his face is going to be priceless," he said, and Izuku wasn't sure if it was an answer to the question, or the blonde just thinking aloud and ignoring him completely. Kacchan nodded his messy hair of spikes silently, as if already imagining it. Which, knowing him, he probably was. "Just don't fuck this up, because I sure as hell ain't gonna carry you out of there."
"So long we get All Might, it's fine," Izuku assured. "Then you can just run for the exit."
Kacchan looked at him, as if offended. "Always the same self-sacrificing asshole," he sneered, and Izuku realized his mistake.
Quickly, before he had the time to work himself into a rage, Izuku corrected himself. Meeting the crimson gaze glaring daggers into him, he answered in a tone with unwavering resolve laced around every letter. "I'm not gonna fail, Kacchan."
"That's what I fucking thought," he answered with a nod. "Now come on—let's fucking destroy him."
All Might scratched his chin, eyes scanning the concrete rubbles and crumpling buildings that made up the destroyed landscape around him. "Hmm… now where could those two be hiding…?"
One ear perking up, he gyrated his broad body to greet approaching footsteps. "Ah, Midoriya, my boy!" he welcomed, before tilting his head to the side and cupping his chin thoughtfully. "Now let's see, where is that angry friend of yours?"
"Not here," Izuku replied, not missing a beat. His lips were pressed tight together in a thin line of displeasure, and he eyed his teacher cautiously. "You know, pairing the two of us together was really cruel, All Might."
His name was uttered like a dirty word, and All Might forced a strained chuckle, eyes flickering nervously from the boy in front of him to the many jagged piles of debris scattering the destroyed battle grounds. "Not my idea, young man! But you know, a professional hero must have the ability to adapt to any situation—even unsavory teammates!"
"Oh—so I'm the one that needs to adapt?" Izuku walked with leisurely steps toward the not-villain, gravel crunching under his heel with every meticulous step. He paused by a wrinkled guard railing, which despite all the abuse it had endured, was still valiantly fighting to stand in the cracked concrete ground, as everything else fell apart around it. Izuku ran his gloved fingers over it carefully, feeling it shift precariously beneath them. "That's funny. I'm not the one who attacked his ally when things didn't go my way. Ah—but I did fight back. Was that wrong of me? Am I not allowed to defend myself? Should I have just let him keep punching me until he was satisfied?" Izuku smiled sardonically, hand closing around the metal bar resting between his fingers.
All Might coughed into his fist awkwardly. "Now now, that's not what I—" he started, before cutting himself off when he realized he didn't know how to proceed. "What I mean is… what I'm trying to say—"
The hero's teeth clamped painfully over the tip of his tongue in surprise when a deafeningly loud explosion rang out behind him. Instantly, his head whipped backwards hard enough to give him whiplash, but Izuku forced the attention back on him with a loud shout and a gust of wind.
"Don't turn your back on me, All Might!"
It was just in time that his teacher managed to concentrate his focus back on his student, and his reflexes forced his arms up to shield him from the worst of the damage, while his heels dug deeply into the ground to dampen the effect of the windy assault.
Izuku's teeth bit down on the inside of his cheek, and he flinched in pain as his finger turned a mottled purple, skin and muscle swelling unevenly around the broken bone.
"Khhh—" he held back the urge to curse, focusing instead on his next course of action. He couldn't waste any time; he needed to move, now!
Another explosion, and Izuku ripped out the barely standing railing, which was still being held tight in his grip, before charging his opponent with soulful determination. Despite himself, All Might's attention had been stolen away from Izuku a second time that day, and his blue gaze was searching for a loud mouthed blonde he was sure to find hiding somewhere between the jagged edges of ruined houses.
Izuku grinned, almost manic from all the adrenaline pumping through his veins. With uncontained excitement, he whispered, "I warned you, All Might…" before wrapping steel bars around the muscular arms and torso of his hero, creating a makeshift prison, and caging the Symbol of Peace inside. But, just as easily as Izuku folded the fence to his will, as easily would it be for All Might to break free.
Despite that, the short amount of time Izuku would buy from All Might attempting to break away from his grasp was their only hope. Every tiny little second counted. It just had to be enough.
Because that was all he needed. A second—just a second, once he let go. But for now, he needed a few more.
So, he holds on. With all the strength he could muster, he squeezes the person in his arms as hard as he possibly could. With his legs, his arms, his whole body, he holds on to the golden hero for dear life.
Just a little longer.
He could feel his bones creaking and muscles stretch, far enough that he swore he could the tiny fibres in them tearing as All Might continued to struggle.
Just a little longer.
A final blast of fire and smoke, and finally, it's falling. Kacchan had done it. Izuku watched in awe and fear, eyes wide and mouth agape as the giant skyscraper broke in two. Almost as if in slow motion, it began to fall, and Izuku found himself frozen by the sight. It was pure destruction, glass and stone alike breaking apart and soaring through the air in a hail of debris, with the giant shadow of the remaining building just beneath, blocking out the sun and highlighting the carnage.
Izuku couldn't hold on any longer. It was time to let go.
His fingers unclasped from skin tight spandex, limbs relaxing and crying with pain and relief all at once as he dropped to the ground. As soon as he felt the first contact of his heavy boots touching the floor, he dug his heels in and let his legs fall into a squat, before springing like a coil. His dark green curls lashed against his cheeks as he thrusted backwards, and in morbid amazement, he watched as pieces of heavy concrete, both tiny and small, crashed like meteors in a shower of rubble. When they hit the ground, it kicked up both dust and shrapnel, which surrounded All Might and hid the hero in a sandy cloak. Izuku had to squint hard as tears sprung into the corners of his eyes, doing their best to ease the burning irritation caused by the polluted air.
It worked, he realized, the thought moving sluggishly in a dense pool of disbelief. But when it finally reached him, the awe and incredulously washed away to uncover a hiccuping laugh that made his chest feel like it was filled with soda, bubbling with amazement. Because finally, there was a chance. The mad plan he and Kacchan had struggled together with actually worked.
They might actually beat All Might.
As soon as his body hit the ground, he ran. With all the strength his legs could carry, he ran, never once daring to look back. He didn't know if the shattered building had pulled the hero down with it, trapping him beneath the rubble. He didn't know if All Might had already managed to dig himself free.
A pit in his stomach, like vacuum inhaling everything around it, made him hollow with the worry that, maybe this was too far? Were they making a mistake? It was a concern he didn't want to feed, because this was All Might. Of course he'll be fine. Was he really so conceited as to think he could seriously harm the Number One Hero?
And more than that, it was the nervous flutter in his limbs that licked his flesh in warm, pleasant tickles that didn't want to—didn't want to consider how dangerous this plan might actually be. Because it was the only thing he could think of. It was the only thing that might give them a chance.
In the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash of blonde as Kacchan joined him by his side. A crazy grin cracked across his face, and he cackled in delight. "Holy shit," he swore, eyes meeting Izuku's. "Did you see that shit?"
It was a rhetorical question of course, so Izuku settled to answer it with a wide smile of his own. For one moment, whatever past they might have didn't matter, as they shared in each other's success, laughing in victorious glee.
The laughter stopped as Kacchan suddenly pulled to a stop, and whipping his head back, he cursed. "Fuck." Izuku joined him in halted movements, gaze joining the blonde's and grimacing at the sight of All Might speeding toward them. His imposing form was covered in bleeding scrapes and bruises, his costume torn in several places and just the tiniest hint of a limp left leg. His smile was strained, clashing sharply with the bright anticipation lighting up the vivid blue of his eyes. He was watching his students with acute focus, growing ever larger the more he closed in on them.
"Get behind me!" Kacchan shouted brashly, bringing his hands up in front of him and squaring his stance. Izuku followed without a word, knowing better than to ask questions. "I'm gonna give this fucker an explosion big enough that he won't have a choice but to dodge!" He grinned, narrow pupils fixated on the rapidly approaching form of their opponent. "When I tell you to, pull the pins of both of my gauntlets! You got that, you overly obsessed fanboy?!"
"Got it," Izuku acknowledged, brushing off the insult and maneuvered his arms under Kacchan's, preparing the grenade like gloves the same way he'd seen the other do so many times. His fingers curled around the metal loops, cold against his sweaty skin, and ready to pull at any moment.
All Might's eyes increased in size, seemingly having caught on to their plan, but it was too late. "Now!" Kacchan screamed, and Izuku's senses quite literally exploded in a mix of heat, noise and blinding light as both Kacchan's hands went off at once, which joined the gauntlets in creating a massive blaze made out of pure glory and destruction, consuming all in it's path.
The power was enough to bring both students down with it, forcing their feet off of the ground and up into the air. But Izuku, having taught himself to never let a bad situation go to waste, seized the opportunity.
The exit was at their backs, but even with the force of the explosion, it would not be enough to carry them to victory. So, he gritted his teeth, and while he could still feel his toes touching the ground, pushed off as hard as he could. With the power of One for All and the burning backlash of Kacchan's quirk, they were sailing toward the exit at a dangerous speed. Wrapping his arms ever tighter around his partner's torso, all Izuku could do was pray, please let this be enough.
"Fuck," Kacchan choked as Izuku's limbs dug into his torso, and he probably would have turned his head to glare at him if he could. "Give me a fucking warning next time before you pull some shit like that, would you?!"
"No time," Izuku dismissed, squinting through blonde strands. He'd lost feeling in the lower half of his feet, but it was easy to ignore with the adrenaline fueling his mind and body. "Can you see him? Did you get him?"
"Of course I got him," Kacchan replied with a huff, but his eyes surveyed the horizon intently for a telltale flash of golden blonde or electric blue. It was hard to see anything through the hair lashing across their faces and the black smoke still floating like a thick curtain over the fake city, but their senses were set on high alert for the first sign of trouble.
Izuku looked behind him, and saw the hard ground approaching rapidly. "Time to land," he warned, bracing his legs. After that, it was only a few more meters to the exit, and they would be home free. Assuming he didn't break his legs before then, that is.
His soles slammed into the unforgiving asphalt, sending shocks of pain rocking throughout his bones. The smell of burnt rubber entered his nose as his feet skid along the ground, and he locked his teeth together in a pained grimace as he fought against gravity's best attempts to topple them over like pink domino pieces.
"What the fuck—" Kacchan hissed, and Izuku yelped as the back of his heel caught in an uneven crevasse in the ground. Their bodies tilted backwards, just barely missing the large piece of rubble flying over their heads.
The air was forcefully stolen from Izuku's lungs as his back hit the ground, and Kacchan crashing on top of him. The blonde quickly rolled off, cursing loudly all the while. "Jesus Christ, that fucker just doesn't give up, does he?!" he blared, throwing a heated glare toward the rock that just missed them by a few centimeters. Then, he turned it towards the dark cloud it escaped from.
A dark chuckle reverberated through the broken streets and black dust as the towering silhouette of All Might could just be hinted at through the smoke, before it cut off to a muffled cough. Izuku stared intently into the darkness, opening his mouth.
"He can't have much more in him," he said, his eyes a wild green and gleaming with the words he kept repeating in his head. Can't give up, can't give up, gotta win, gott .
"Then why the fuck are we still standing here?" Kacchan snarled, pulling him to his feet. "We're almost there. If we lose now, I swear I'm gonna kill you."
Izuku snorted, casting his eyes to Kacchan's sour expression. "Yeah, that might work."
They ran. His feet felt numb, yet every step shot sparks of pain through his legs. He was sure to get an earful from Recovery Girl later. He glimpsed behind him, and was met with the cold blue eyes of All Might bearing down on them.
He didn't say anything. He just grabbed Kacchan by the black of his tank top, and feeling the electric rush of One for All pour through his arm, he threw.
Kacchan made a strangled noise of surprise as he gravitated into the air, only a few more steps from the exit. All Might reached his arm out, large looming hand rapidly closing in on his green haired student.
"Oh no, you fucking don't!" Izuku could hear Kacchan shout in front of him, as he twisted his body mid-air. "Duck!"
He did. The stench of burning hair invaded his nostrils, and beads of sweat broke out across his scalp like salty raindrops. Scorchingly hot air filled the space above him and he blinked his eyes, attempting to soothe the burning dryness. Then, he righted his back and continued to run, and he could feel the hovering presence of All Might disappearing behind him.
His mind blank of everything but reaching the exit with Kacchan. He can do it. He can. Both he and Kacchan will make it out of here, no retries, no resets. No one left behind.
A bloodied and blistered hand reached out to him. His brain had shut down long ago, and his body was running on autopilot. The edges of his vision were dotted with black, and all he could see was that hand. He'd forgotten who it belong to, but it didn't matter.
He took it.
Kacchan pulled, and they both lost their balance and tumbled on top of each other. The blonde sputtered in indignation, but Izuku was too damn exhausted to do anything about it. His throat burned as he breathed, and he was inhaling so much air he thought his lungs might burst, with limbs like jelly.
Kacchan pushed him off harshly and let him roll on to his back. "Get off you twerp!" he complained, but he was too winded to put any real bite behind it. Instead, he opted to join Izuku in the frantic attempts to catch his breath, which formed an almost companionable silence, aside from the heavy breathing that tainted it.
The sound of gravel scraping against each other entered their ears, and All Might was looking down at them. A giant smile lit up his face, a complete dissonance with the rest of his marred and battered appearance.
"Congratulations!" he boomed, smile stretching impossibly wider. Bright crimson reflected of his teeth and dripped slowly down the corner of his mouth, but he didn't even seem to notice. "You both pass!"