Sanji Inochi

VROOOM!

"The conditions for you to win are as follows: you must place these handcuffs on me or one of you, and I shall repeat again, one of you must escape the designated battlefield. One of these conditions must be fulfilled within thirty minutes. By fulfilling these conditions, you will pass your Final Exam. Don't fret, my young Heroes! I will be wearing super compacted weight bracelets to limit my strength!

"Now, just because I am your teacher doesn't mean I won't hold back, for I am the Symbol of Peace! I must judge you on your heroics and your ability to fight against overwhelming odds! Especially you, Young Inochi! I shall not relent my strength because you are Quirkless! I expect strength on the same level as a true Pro Hero! And for you, Young Kendo, I expect the strength of your father and your grandfather from your very fists!

"You were only made a pair because of your excellent capability, yet your power lacks when compared to mine! Can you find a way to defeat me, All Might, and prove yourselves as Heroes?! That is the question I hope you will answer! So please, show me your Plus Ultra! Show me your heart!"

"Speed limiters: disabled!

"Shift: completed!

"Jets: activated!

"Take flight—!"

YUME-NO-KAMI UDE: MOVEMENT SHIFT - FLIGHT!

"—my Yume-no-Kami Ude!" Yume-no-Kami Ude—let's shorten that to Ude—soars above the uninhabited training city, above buildings, reaching high into the air. A plexiglass shell forms around me, shielding me from the harsh winds that could hinder my ability to fight. At the back, a jet-like engine is blasting me through the air with wings extended out from the middle and the end of the chassis. Here, I activated one of its features—Movement Shift: Flight—which allows Ude to fly like a jet. I need to be careful and not give myself too many Gs, or else I'll quickly go unconscious and crash. That's...never good.

Movement Shift: Flight is one of the many features I have. Compared to Golden Hand, Ude is the only one capable of flight. But in exchange for mobility and speed, it lacks punch compared to Golden Hand. I'm not complaining though! Flying like this is fun!

Beep beep!

Ah, Battle Fist is calling me on my bracer—Hayami says we need to call it the "HK-Bracer" with HK being her initials. I accept the call, which quickly transfers to the console on Ude. I exclaim, "Battle Fist! Are you ready to commence Operation Childhood Hero ?!"

"I never agreed to that name!" Itsuka replies as I hear a loud gush of wind blowing into the microphone. She's on the ground navigating the streets. This is the first part of Operation Childhood Hero! We quickly created this operation while on the ride to this training city right after Hayami explained the features to our motorcycles! "But yeah, I'm ready! Armory, you sure you know how to fly, right?! This is the first time ever that you're using that feature!"

"I'll be fine! Don't be so concerned! Just do your part and I'll do mine! You're the brawn of this operation, so I'm counting on you to take down All Might!" I say as I swipe the icon of Itsuka to the left, bringing up the area map of the city. There's two dots: one green and one red. The green dot is labeled "Battle Fist" and the red is labeled "Villain"—that's All Might. He's approximately 1.524 kilometers away from me, about northeast of my position. Itsuka is way over to the west, going the long way around to All Might's side. Thank you, Hayami, for giving me this gift!

"Hey you two, be sure to give All Might a helluva fight! Remember, he might be the greatest Hero, but he's still a man!"

Don't worry, I'll show him what I'm capable of! We will show him!

Right now, I'm approaching All Might's position fast! I predict that I'll reach him in less than a minute. Currently, the onscreen timer states that I have 28 minutes and 26 seconds until I fail the Exam! With how obvious my position is, there is no way for All Might to not notice me! I need him to give me all of his attention, his focus! I'm—!

TEXAS SMASH!

WHOOOSH!

"Geh—?!" Damnit, he noticed me already! He used Texas Smash to create large amounts of wind pressure that's pushing me away! I'm spinning in the air uncontrollably! I can't discern up from down! Focus! Even though you're spinning a hundred revolutions a second, there's still a way to get out of this sticky situation! If I power off the jets, I'll be able to give myself more control over the steering as I start to slow down! That's what I have to do!

WRRRrrrrr…

"Armory, are you okay?!" Itsuka yells through the console. "I heard a large blast of wind!"

"I'm hanging in there!" I say as my jets power off completely, turning against my velocity, causing it to slow. I begin to use the wings to glide through the air as gravity gradually begins to bring me close to the earth. The wind dies down, finally letting me to hear anything other than deafening wind. I manage to position myself downwards, my position about 1.2 kilometers away from All Might! I have eyes on him! He's standing menacingly on the open street with his fists clenched at his hips, his golden smile now becoming a smile to be intimidated of. He's my Hero, but for the next thirty minutes, he's my Villain.

His mouth moves, then time seems to slow. All Might begins to raise his right arm, leaning his body forward! He's about to launch another attack, charging right at me!

wrrrrRRRRR!

"Jets: activated!" I say as I tilt Ude upwards, the jets immediately blasting into the skies once again! I—!

"TEXAS SMASH—!"

SMASH!

WHOOOSH!

All Might releases another blast of wind pressure at the spot where I once was, a large gust of destructive wind tearing through the open street, concrete and light poles flying away in broken pieces like a tornado tearing through the city. I barely avoided the wind, but I wasn't able to avoid the shockwave that came with it! It wobbles me as I soar up in the air, but I manage to correct myself so I wouldn't have to deal with what happened last time. Luckily though, my plan is working! I still have contact with Itsuka, luckily! "Battle Fist, I definitely got his attention! Please do your best!"

I'm not able to hear her response.

Below me, All Might turns his head and we lock eyes—well I can barely see his. God, that glare is turning my blood cold. Is this how it feels like for a Villain? Having this overwhelmingly powerful man fighting you? It's almost impossible to defeat him. We have to restrain him with handcuffs or escape, and we're not escaping. Hayami is watching, and I know Master Kendo expects great things from us! There's no way we can let them down! "Hey All Might—!"

LEAP!

He leapt! Even his jumps can shatter the ground! Just about every action he takes is earth-shattering! He's approaching quick, faster than even Ude in flight! Before I know it, he reaches me and grabs the plexiglass shell, immediately tearing it off! He puts his hand on my left, a sinister smile overtaking him. We slow down in the air due to the extra weight. All Might yells with the intensity of his voice matching the wind itself, "Young Inochi, how arrogant of you to think that you can outmatch me in speed! Is this your grand plan, Hero ?!"

The wind dies down slightly as I return a glare. I can feel his hand starting to crush my left fist, and pain is starting to well up like a dam. "All Might—!"

"Farewell, Young Inochi!" He reels his right fist back like before! I won't be defeated this easily!

I exclaim before he strikes, "—Please take care of yourself!"

"Huh—?!"

SPIN!

I spin Ude horizontally in the air like a metal rod, forcing All Might to lose his grip on my left fist and detaching him from me completely. The motion is enough to make my stomach sick, and it's nearly impossible to see straight without the plexiglass shell protecting me from the wind! That's my biggest hindrance now: the wind! I brace my body against Ude, ensuring that I won't fall off! Despite the struggle to see, I open my eyes and look around for All Might as I'm turned horizontally! There was no way he would give up that easily!

Aha! There he is! Just below! He's correcting himself in the air with small punches that produce tiny gusts of wind! He has a great technique with his Quirk! Again, I see the same similarities with Midoriya's Quirk as well, but this isn't the time to focus on that. All Might manages to spin himself where he's facing me. Then again, he pulls his right arm back.

"NEBRASKA SMASH!"

SMASH!

"—Uguh?!"

WHROOOOO!

A tornado! I rarely seen Nebraska Smash in action before! When throwing a punch, All Might rotates his arm to create a tornado that sucks anything nearby in! Wait, there were two punches! The building below him has its roof completely obliterated with wind! There has to be two punches! One of them was Nebraska Smash with his right arm! But the other, his left, also punched the air as well! He's trying to stabilize himself in the air! Nebraska Smash surely would've created recoil that would send All Might faster towards the ground, so he punched with his left to negate the recoil created by Nebraska Smash!

Crap though, I'm right in the tornado's range! All Might's sucking me in! My jets are sputtering as they try to push me out of the tornado's grasp, but it's no use! It's getting damaged from the pull alone, so I turn it off! I can't afford to have it damaged! It'll mean that I'll only get sucked in faster, yes, but that's what I'm counting on! If All Might wants to pull me then, then he'll have me!

I let go of Ude's right handle, my right hand free! I aim my bike's front wheel towards the center of the tornado—All Might's right arm. My velocity increases as the tornado pulls me in, the wind clashing against my body, threatening me to pull me off. Quickly, without hesitating, I raise my right arm as my crossbow emerges from my right bracer. I loaded explosive bolts in beforehand, knowing that they will be the most useful in this situation, and here we are, All Might!

Sorry about this!

THWHIP!

"Eh—?!"

BOOM!

Contact, there we go! The explosive bolt hit All Might and the tornado stops, ending his Nebraska Smash! A cloud of red and black separates us from each other's vision, the surrounding air heating up from the explosion for a brief moment. But I know that, on the other side, All Might is there. He expects me to flee after countering his attack, but I have him right where I want him! There's no reason for me to run!

wrrrrRRRRR!

I turn on the jets once again! I'm pointed towards the center of the cloud like a javelin being thrown by the strongest man in the world. "Rrrraah—!"

BLAST!

I blasted myself through the cloud, emerging on the other side where All Might is. He sees me just a millisecond before I strike. A flash of surprise runs through his body, knowing that for his speed, he isn't fast enough to react. And so—!

BAM!

With the front wheel of Yume-no-Kami Ude, I strike him in the center of his chest! The amount of momentum and velocity I had is enough to break every single rib in a normal man's chest, threatening serious injury. But All Might isn't any normal man! He doesn't seem to react in pain, but only in shock! Damnit, he's a lot more durable than I can begin to imagine, but this isn't the end!

He shouts in anger, "Young Inochi—!" All Might reaches out for me with his left hand. I ease off the pedal. Afterwards, I spin around like before, using the wings of Ude, which are made out of sharp metal, and slice at his hand, not letting him grab me again! My jet engine is right up against his chest!

"Take me away, Yume-no-Kami Ude!" I floor it, stepping on the pedal and activating my jets once again, directly into his chest—!

WRRRRR!

I send myself further into the skies, and at the same time, my jets blast All Might down into the buildings below us! He crashes into the damaged building before, destroying a majority of it! It collapses in on itself and buries All Might in tons of debris! Only the outside foundation is still standing alongside the remnants of what used to be floors and a roof. I circle around it about a hundred meters in the air. Something like that won't defeat him. Nothing would. To win a battle against him, it's again, the handcuffs. The handcuffs are the key here.

Rumble!

Ah, there he is! The debris is moving! I see All Might's hand emerging from the wreckage as he stands up, pushing the chunks of concrete off of him. He sees me flying around him, his body posture telling me he's more hostile than ever, angrier too. Stomping his foot, he shouts, "You should be fleeing, Young Inochi! You and your partner! Young Midoriya and Bakugo fled their fight against me and passed! What are you trying to prove here against a man like me?!"

Jeez…

No matter what I answer, it won't be fitting enough. My life, leading up to this moment, it's too much. I need a novel to say my thoughts, so how could a single sentence properly convey them? So, no amount of words can properly answer his question. But my eyes, they say a thousand words with a single glance. Maybe he could see my eyes, and thus, see my answer.

"Yes, anyonecan be a Hero! You can be a Hero, you, you, and you! Anyone!"

Those are the very words that inspired me to become a Hero, All Might. Those are the very words you said. "Anyone" can be a Hero. Though, on that Day, you didn't really mean "anyone" did you? That the "anyone" didn't apply to people like me, those who are Quirkless, legally or not. The only way for Quirkless to have such an impact on the world is through miracles. Miracles of chance, miracles of fate. Miracles that defy statistical odds and challenge the boundaries of impossibility. I can already count the amount of impossible things that occured since my time in Mutusafu.

Being under the care of Master Kendo.

Being placed in Class 1-B through a transcript error.

Being here, facing you.

And most of all…

Having friends to call my own.

I am an anomaly, All Might. There is no possible way to explain my existence other than random chance. My life isn't like Setsuna's, who was determined by birth; my life isn't like Itsuka's, who was determined by birth as well; I am an anomaly.

My family, they're only blurry images.

My Quirk, I can only access my Mindscape, not the full scope of its power. In the vast sea of white surrounded by mirrors, I don't have one to gaze into.

But my heart, that is the only piece of me that can be explained. This heroic heart, you implanted the flames, and so I vow that I'll save everyone who needs saving without reward. Being a Hero is the best way to achieve that goal. I'll do it, even if I have to sacrifice everything. So far, I…

I train every night until my muscles go sore.

I devote myself to martial arts, mastering any weapon I get my hands on.

I push my battle instinct to new heights, bridging the gap between me and you.

And all of that comes at a sacrifice: my body. After all…

There's nothing more noble than self-sacrifice, is there?

All Might challenges me, his voice powerful enough to part the clouds, "Young Inochi, do you aim to match me?!"

It's like he wants to intimidate me.

No. That's wrong. His body may show hostility, his actions, his facial expressions, even his words, but never the underlying tone. He said it as if to instil faith in me, to instil hope and trust, the simple things that the previous generation gives to the next. All Might, he's watching me reach heights that he could never reach before.

I shut my eyes. "All Might…"

"All men are fated to be what they are meant to be! You were meant to be a great Hero! Your words, your actions, your heart defines the heroism boiling in your blood!"

"It was never 'do you aim to match me'..."

I open my eyes!

"It's you who has to match me —!"

WRRRRR!

Faster, faster, and beyond that! I'm pushing my jets to the highest speed it can go! The wind is blowing in my ears so much that it can tear them off, being able to make me utterly deaf!

All Might grabs a piece of concrete as large as me and tosses it with incredible strength! I aim my crossbow at him, firing—!

BOOM!

Destroyed! All Might does it again!

BOOM!

Again!

BOOM!

And again!

BOOM!

All Might, I'll give my all in this battle!

He throws another chunk of debris towards me! I'm all out of bolts! I don't have enough time to reload! That means I need to evade and get closer to All Might! Here I come! "Closer, Yume-no-Kami Ude!"

I duck away from the first projectile, letting it fly past me! All Might sees me coming and grabs more debris, tossing them like baseballs with breakneck speeds! He doesn't stop! He's throwing anything and everything to take me out! But through it all, I keep avoiding each and every piece, no matter how impossible it may seem! Flying under, over, spinning around, everything I can to get closer! From the large amount of hasty maneuvers, I almost get thrown off countless times by my own hand, but I still hang on!

I get so much closer to All Might after fifteen seconds, my velocity only accelerating! He picks up the largest piece he can find, so large that he needs two hands to pick it up. That's not good! I won't be able to avoid it from the amount of time I have! None of the features is fast enough to activate in time! But—!

"—Take this, Young Inochi!"

TOSS!

Shit—!

"—Guh?!"

CRASH!

"Forgive me, boy. You should've—Huh?!"

I focus into view above All Might with my katana raised over my head! "All Might—!" I made it past the debris by jumping off of Ude and over it, letting Ude take the hit! There's no way I could ride again in this fight! I need to make this opportunity count! "Rrraaaaaah—!"

CLASH!

All Might raised his left arm just as when I bring down my blade onto his metal weights, clashing steel against steel! He grunts as we impact, grounding his feet against the unstable ground below us. I ease my katana off and spin myself around, sending my right foot into his head. I spin a few more in the air, my feet finally finding solid ground, sliding across the various pieces of debris. All Might doesn't seem fazed by my kick. Figured. If he could take a small explosion from my crossbow, then my kicks wouldn't do anything to him. He's the embodiment of strength!

But…

I stand up straight, sheathing my katana. I won't use my sword unless it's absolutely necessary.

"Young Inochi," All Might says my name, wiping dirt off of where I kicked him, "sheathing your blade? I'm insulted. You aren't willing to fight at your full potential. You're holding yourself back, and that'll be ample reason for your defeat."

Glancing around the new battlefield of the ruined building, I reply, "Maybe, but if I lose, then effort wouldn't be the reason why." The building still has some foundations up. There's still somewhat of a roof over our heads, but with a gentle tap, it will all come crashing down.

All Might argues, "But recklessness will. Fighting me by yourself, while Quirkless , is such a bold strategy, young man. Where is your partner?"

"Do you expect me to reveal that?" I rhetorically ask, smirking. " Operation Childhood Hero requires me to keep a secret."

"Is that how you perceive me?" All Might tilts his head.

Raising my left arm and diagonally crossing it over my chest, I respond, "Who doesn't, All Might? But I'm talking to you as your opponent, not your fan. Prepare yourself—!"

I thrust my left arm forward, activating the grappling hook! I fire it towards the foundations behind All Might, missing him by a mile. It hooks onto a nearly-destroyed pillar, exactly what I was aiming at. All Might turns around and sees where I hooked onto, then he sighs. "Oh dear—"

COLLAPSE!

I collapse All Might's side of the building on top of him! I—Actually never mind, I'm wrong. All Might puts his hands up and catches the foundations from falling on him, bending his knees to crumple the weight and the force. The dust quickly settles as All Might groans, raising his head to hit me with a glare like none other! "Young Inochi, you need to fight much better than that!"

"Damnit!" I swear as All Might starts to lift the debris off of him. This gives me enough time. I raise the screen of my HK-Bracer. I still have 25 minutes and 35 seconds remaining. Good thing to note, but what's even better is that Yume-no-Kami Ude is still functional! It wasn't completely destroyed from All Might's attack!

Movement Shift: Road!

Auto-Pilot: on!

Setting target: All Might!

RRRR!

"Grrah—!" All Might throws the debris off to the side, stepping his right foot back. Here he comes!

Within a split second, All Might lunges forward with his right fist coming towards me like a truck, his feet raised off the ground! But before he turns me into paste, Yume-no-Kami Ude emerges from the wreckage and hits All Might with its front wheel, knocking him out of the building and into the open street. Thank God that worked! If All Might's feet was still planted to the ground, then Ude would've done nothing to send him back!

I really need to thank Hayami after this! Auto-Pilot is a feature that both Itsuka and I have on our bikes. We can set a destination, or a target, for our motorcycles to go to, taking the most direct path there.

All Might is sent into the open street with Ude in front of him, its engines revving. I join All Might in the open street. To my left, the Escape Gate is about thirty or forty meters away. That's not my focus right now. My focus is All Might! He's on one knee, gasping for air. Did I hurt him? What? No, he must be shocked again. Ude's charge was a lot less powerful than the one in the air. There's no way that he could be hurt.

With All Might on one knee, I activate another feature of Yume-no-Kami Ude.

Wire Gun: release!

As All Might begins to stand himself up, Ude fires a wire with two counterweights on each end. It wraps around All Might's legs three times, restricting his mobility. You'd think that All Might is strong enough to tear them apart with his legs, but if he tries to move, then it'll only get tighter. Compared to Golden Hand, it has a different version of Wire Gun.

All Might sees the predicament he's in, sighing. "Well then, your motorcycle's a lot more troublesome than I imagine, heh… It's a pity that I can easily get myself out, Young Inochi!"

He raises his right fist towards the wire—?! No, towards me! Damnit, I'm not in range of his attack, but I'm definitely in range of the wind pressure that will be generated! But, he's too late. This is exactly what we planned!

GRAPPLE!

"Sorry, mind if I join in?"

There she is! She used her version of Wire Gun that's built into Golden Hand! In her version, it's a wire launcher that wraps around someone much like my Wire Gun, but it's attached to the motorcycle itself! Because Golden Hand is a much more powerful bike than Yume-no-Kami Ude, it can hold Villains in place by being heavier and by reversing itself against their pull. Ude can't replicate the amount of horsepower Golden Hand has, which is why Hayami opted for the projectile version of the Wire Gun.

With Itsuka's Wire Gun, she fired it around All Might's right fist, using Golden Hand reverse itself, ultimately pulling All Might's arm back towards her. Though, Golden Hand is using every bit of its strength to fight against All Might's. It's like a little child trying to pull away a bodybuilder.

Ultimately though, this is Step One of Operation Childhood Hero. I acted as a decoy for All Might, leading him into this exact location in the battlefield. Itsuka would hide in an alleyway as I lead him here. If all went according to plan, then Itsuka would use her Wire Gun to restrain All Might. It went better than planned, because I also restrained him with mine!

I see Itsuka on the other side, standing right next to Golden Fist looking amazing as ever. We share a brief moment of eye contact and a smile, enough to warm my heart. Our job isn't over yet though. We need to handcuff him!

"There you are, Young Kendo!" All Might exclaims with a sinister smile. "Such a massive effort to restrain me, yet a waste!"

He raises his left arm, aiming at Itsuka. I immediately counter by whipping the wire of my own grappling hook around his arm, using all of my strength to pull him back! It's barely enough to prevent him from letting out a punch that would destroy the entire block! I step backwards inch by inch, using both of my hands to grab onto my wire and pull All Might's left arm back! We're restraining every limb of his! It's just enough! It's just enough to defeat him and pass the Final Exam!

"Itsuka!" I yell at the top of my lungs, "this is it! You need to handcuff him!" That's how we'll win! We won't win by running away, but by handcuffing All Might himself!

Itsuka takes out the handcuffs given to us and runs up to All Might's right arm, the one that's being pulled back by All Might! "We pass, All Might—!"

She flashes the handcuffs and—?!

"—Sorry young ones, it won't be this easy! Oklahoma—!"

—He whirls his body?!

OKLAHOMA SMASH!

WHOOOSH!

All Might breaks free of every restraint on him, except for my grappling hook. He whirls his body around and around, generating enough force to create a vortex that sends everything flying, damaging the buildings around us. I can barely see Ude and Golden Hand being sent away from the winds, flying off far away, probably out of the battlefield itself. When they land, they will be rendered useless for the rest of the fight. I hear Itsuka screaming before the winds grow louder than her. As for me, All Might's Super Move—I don't know the name—spins me around him. I cannot detach myself from the whirlwind due to my grappling hook, so I'm trapped inside. He keeps spinning, spinning so fast that it's enough to turn my stomach inside out. My body makes contact with the ground countless times, battering, crashing against it, constantly hitting my back and limbs almost to the point where they shatter.

My brain can't process what I'm seeing or feeling. It's impossible for it to process what's going on. The only thing I feel is massive winds, sickness, and pain. But after ten seconds of this nightmare, All Might stops, standing tall with me laying on the ground beside him, my grappling hook still wrapped around his left arm—no, I'm wrong… It's been unwrapped all along, but he's been holding me by the hook. He wanted me to stay within the whirlwind. Ugh, my insides feel like they've been turned inside out…

Where's… Where's Itsuka? I can't see her…

"Haah… Haah…" Itsuka… I see her… She's...stepping out of an open hole of a building, blood staining her hair and face…

"Itsuka…" I reach out to her, but damn… When was she so far away…?

Guess Operation Childhood Hero is a bust…

All Might laughs and lifts the hook up, raising me off the ground. "That was a solid plan, Young Inochi. You tried your best, and now, it seems you have to fail."

Itsuka yells, "Sanji—!"

Without remorse, All Might swings me into a nearby building, throwing me through multiple concrete walls and foundations. Pain flares throughout my entire body, my left shoulder is dislocated, and blood is covering my right eye. But still… He's holding onto me. While I'm inside a building laying on the floor, All Might slowly drags me towards the hole that I made, and then he yanks me out with a high amount of force and velocity.

Time seems to slow down, slower than before. I soar through the air with the center of rotation being All Might. For a brief second, I look down and see Itsuka running towards All Might with her Quirk activated. Then I see the impeding ground beneath me, coming closer as if the earth is rising up to greet me with a kind hug.

And all I see next is darkness.


Manga Fukidashi

WAPOW!

YEEEEEEEEEAH!

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!"

Yup yup, that's it! Present Mic's Quirk is a lot stronger than mine! No good! We're freaking screwed! Haha, why did I ever decide to go to U.A. in the first place?! I bet Inochi and Kendo are having a better time at fighting All Might than I am, because this absolutely sucks! Why did I have to fight Present Mic?! His Quirk makes my ears bleed! Arg, I'm in so much freaking pain right now dangit! I blame Shojo for getting me into this situation!

"Ahhhhhh—!" Komori screams right next to me! As if I don't have enough things to make me deaf forever! She looks at me, covering her ears with her hands. "—!" What the heck did she say?!

"WHAT?! I DIDN'T HEAR WHAT YOU SAID!" I scream right back at her while Present Mic's Quirk destroys our eardrums. I thought teachers aren't supposed to permanently mutilate their students?!

"—FUN!"

"FUN—?!"

"—NO! RUN!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT EARLIER—?!"

"—I HATE YOU, MANGA!"

Why was that the clearest thing she said so far?! But ugh! That's right! We gotta run! Run like the freaking wind! That's our grand strategy! Present Mic can blow our ears off with his Quirk, and we can't fight if we're deaf! I can't even get a chance to use Comic from how loud Voice is! Wait, this is why I'm forced to fight him, right?! My Quirk is inferior to his, so U.A. thought it'll be a good idea to make an inferior guy go against his superior! Like that helps anything! What about Komori?! Why is she here?! All she's crazy about is mushrooms!

"C'MON, I'M TAKING US OUTTA HERE!" she shouts at the top of her lungs as Present Mic's Quirk still rings throughout the forest, bouncing off of every object and into our ears! Komori, without my consent, decides to take my wrist and drag me away from Present Mic, deeper into the forest! Now I'm more worried about her than him! She's pulling me so hard that my arm might dislocate! I think she's cutting off the blood flow to my hand too! Ah crap, she is ! My hand feels a lot more tingly! My entire body feels tingly actually! Aw why did I come to school today?! If I had known that I'd lose my sense of hearing, I would've never come in the first place! If Shojo was here, she would laugh in my face!

WHACK!

Ow! Komori dragged my head into a tree branch! She's gonna do more damage to me than Present Mic!

BUMP!

How the hell did a rock hit me across the face?! "Komori, you—!"

TRIP!

"—Ahhhhh!"

THUD!

"Manga, you're such a useless guy! Why do I hafta carry you through this shrooming forest?!" Komori drags me along the awful and disgusting dirt and grass. It tastes terrible, it feels terrible, it smells terrible, everything's terrible! Especially since Komori, of all people, is insulting me! I'm trying my best here! She hasn't done anything except run with me towards the Escape Gate! I'm the one who's been using my Quirk, which that plan didn't work out, and risked my behind for this crap!

She drags me for a good thirty seconds before letting go of my arm, flopping down against a rock, breathing heavily… How long did we run? Jeez, at least Present Mic stopped using his Quirk. I think I won't lose my sense of hearing. Well, if I had lost it, then it would be kinda beneficial 'cause I wouldn't get to hear Shojo's annoying voice anymore. Though, I would hafta read subtitles in animes for the rest of my life…

I pick my head up. Oh, I can't even see out of my stupid mask. It's all covered in dirt! I toss the damn thing away. Maybe I'll see a bear wearing my mask; that'll be a funny thing to see. To my right, Komori's laying against a rock like it's a comfortable chair. She's raising her hand to the glimpse of sunlight that beams down on her. It's one of the only rays of sunlights that manages to make its way through tree branches and leaves. I think she's trying to act like a princess in need of a prince. Considering that I'm the guy here, I'm the prince.

I can't be a prince. I'll leave that job up to the bear.

"Hah," I pant, slowly getting back on my feet. I'm—!

THUD!

I'm not getting back on my feet! At least I'm not laying face-down into dirt, and the grass isn't the hardest thing in the world. Komori giggles at my fall, lowering her hand. "Manga, we're positively shroomtastically screwed!" She sounds a lot more happier than I anticipated! Before this, she was panicking!

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod I'm gonna fail I'm gonna fail I'm gonna fail what am I gonna do Manga what I am I gonna do?!"

That was exactly what she said!

"You were freaking hysterical before we started this crappy deathmatch of an exam! Why do you sound so happy now?!" I exclaim as Komori starts to wave her head back and forth like she's a child in daycare! Oh God, she lost her sanity! Was she even sane in the first place? Shrooms musta gotten into her head! It's like that American zombie game where fungi took over people's brains and turned them into terrifying creatures!

"I'm always happy! I, Shemage, am the happiest girl in the world!" Komori jumps up and starts skipping around the place. She sees a small dandelion and snaps its stem, smelling its aroma and probably inhaling a nasty plume of pollen. I'm pretty sure she's trying to replicate a beautiful forest scene from a story book, but I can't help but feel that this has a grim undertone to it. Like crows are gonna come out of the blue and peck her eyes out, if she has eyes in the first place. They're hiding behind her bangs like Mantora's, though she doesn't look like a hentai protagonist.

I tell her, "You're disturbing me more than usual."

"That's a rude thing to say to a lady!" Komori stops in her tracks and points right at me, who's laying on the ground still. "All those mangas seriously screwed up your ability to socialize with girls!"

This jerk! "Hey! I can talk to girls! I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?!"

"Not very well! Look at us, Manga! We're hiding from Present Mic who's guarding the Escape Gate! That's our only way outta here! I don't even know how much time we have left! Is it fifty—?!"

"—We were only given thirty minutes!"

"You can't correct me because I wasn't listening! I am so out of it that I might as well ascend to heaven where I belong! There, I could sing my heart out to the angels! Amen!" At the last part, she puts her palms together and prays like Shiozaki. I...I hear birds chirping and the sun is shining brighter… How is that possible?! Is that Komori's second Quirk or something?!

I look at her. "..."

"Say it."

"Say what?"

"'Amen'."

"...No."

"Shrooming coward."

My face goes blank, and I mean literally blank. There's no facial expression on my stupid comic-head whatsoever. I manage to sit myself up. My head's pounding from getting whacked by a branch earlier… I bet Inochi doesn't get hurt as much as me. He's really durable. Fighting Present Mic, I'm sure he would find a way to escape, maybe even defeat him. He could tough it out; he could tough almost anything out. Back in Golden Week, he was punched by Mirio Togata, one of the most powerful seniors in U.A.! And he was able to recover faster than most people! With an extraordinary ability like that, he's the shonen protagonist of 1-B. Even when life—pun not intended—hits him hard, he's still going strong. He won't let his ideals become tarnished by the antagonists; instead, he'll push through them and become more powerful with each arc. And now, we're in the Final Exams arc.

I'm not him.

What can I do?

What would he do?

What would...

I mutter, "What would Inochi do?"

"What would Itsuka do?" mutters...Komori?

We look at each other.

"Did you say what I think you said?" we end up asking each other! We got the words and tone exactly alike too! A few seconds of silence happens, then Komori grins. Oh gosh, her eyes are twinkling menacingly! It's that "I see an opportunity" look!

Komori grabs my hand and forces me to stand up again! She lets go and spins around on the balls of her feet like a ballerina. "We were thinking about the two greatest people in U.A.! Oh shroom yes! You were thinking about Inochi 'cuz he's your best friend, while I was thinking about Itsuka 'cuz she's my best friend! They inspired us! C'mon Manga, what would they do?! How would they overcome this challenge?! I'm certain that if they can do it, then so can we!"

How would they…? How would they fight Present Mic?

We could—

No.

Maybe we could—

No.

They would—

No, they wouldn't.

I don't know what they would do.

It's impossible to figure out what they would do.

Komori tilts her head in confusion, no idea why I went silent. "Manga, why are you shaking your head so much? You gotta have some shroom-ling of an idea in that comical head of yours! Our grade depends on it! I don't wanna take supplementary classes! Vlad King's gonna hit us so hard with 'em! What would they—?!"

"I don't have a freaking idea!" I snap. I can't stand this anymore! "Why do we hafta obsess over what they would do?! That's stupid of me to even think that in the first place!"

"Manga—!"

"Komori, we aren't them! We can never be Kendo and Inochi! Unless we can transport our minds into their bodies, it's impossible! You can't be Kendo because you aren't as strong as her! I can't be Inochi because I'm afraid of everything, and he isn't afraid of anything! There is no possible way that we could know what they'd do! Even if we did, we don't have what it takes to carry the plan out!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Komori shouts back, her spit splattering across my face. "Itsuka's such an amazing woman! She's a badass and a half! She knows what she wants and how she'll get it! There's nothing she could do! But what about me?! I'm trying my shrooming best to be a dang Hero, but I'm not smart enough for it! The only thing I'm smart in is music, and that's it! Kuroiro has to help me study almost everyday for this exam! I don't wanna be dependent on him to pass; I wanna pass with me and my shrooms alone! And after that, I'll create music that wows the entire world! Music is the soul of the people's hearts; without it, we're nothing!"

"I'm glad you know what your theme is! You sound like you'll be a great Hero! What about me?! I'm not—!"

"That's utter shroom-crap!" she interrupts me, yelling. "You defeated Catharsis right?! You punched him across the face! Everyone makes fun of you for being a nerd, but you're one of the strongest guys here! Your Quirk is so freaking powerful! Even Inochi thinks so! Heck, you keep calling him by his last name even though he told you he wanted to be on a first-name basis with you!"

"Please, you should call me by my first name now. We've been friends long enough."

Right…

"...Do I have to?"

"What in the shroom d'ya mean?"

"I mean, uhm, I mean: Do I have to compare myself to him in every exercise? I can't help myself. You do it too, but with Kendo," I say, looking down. It's hard to not compare yourself to someone like them. They're better than the average Hero, and they'll be better than the average Hero. And we, the rest of us, have to ask: What does that say about us?

Komori raises a finger. "Well, let's compare you and him then!"

"Wait—"

"Both of you inspire children: check.

"Both of you have an uber-powerful Quirk: check.

"Both of you are great men: check."

"Komori—"

"And~! Both of you have a reason for fighting, don't you? It's not something self-centered like some of the other guys in the Hero Course. But, it's super noble and super heroic, right?"

"I…"

"Then I'll change the world! We're the next generation, Catharsis! Not only will we become the pillars that hold up Japan, we'll change society for the better! I won't stop until my voice pierces the skies and go beyond that! Y'know why?! Because we're Heroes!"

Looks like I have to face what I said... That's the lip service I put out. I'll be a hypocrite if I don't make that lip service into a reality. I can do it though. I think I can. Ever since Catharsis, I think I was changing little by little. I'm still the scared man everyone knows me as, but I've been facing my fears.

I was scared of tutoring little kids, but it turned out to be amazing. I was scared of being partners with Suzuki, but we're friends believe it or not. And now, I'm here. Komori and I ran away because we were afraid of losing. That's a demerit already. But we can't run away anymore. I'm not Inochi—I'm not Sanji but…

"Like I said, you're an inspirational man. That's the difference between us. You said it yourself: I'm fearless. Manga, you can inspire others using your fear as a tool. I can't do that. Imagine if we have to fight a Villain, and you're the first man running in. What does that say to everyone else? It says, 'If Manga, the man who's afraid of everything, is the first person who runs in, then what does that say about us? Let's follow him.' That's your power. It's the power unique to only Manga Fukidashi and no one else, especially Sanji Inochi and All Might."

Heh…

What does that say about us?

I turn towards the direction of Present Mic, towards the Escape Gate. "Hey Komori, you said that you wanted to pass with you and your shrooms alone, right?"

"Yeah," she answers with a smile on her voice, "that's right…."

"Then stop thinking about what Kendo would do. It's time to think about what Shemage would do. We're not Battle Fist and Armory, but we are ourselves. I wanna change the world so it won't be filled with insults and hate, the very world that Shojo and I had to live through. I wanna see children's smiles, just like the ones I see every time I go tutoring."

At first, I wanted to be a Hero so I could protect my idiot of a sister. Grandmaster helped me realize that dream. Now, after Catharsis, that dream isn't large enough to solve the problem altogether. It isn't enough to heal what Japan is most infamous for. I have to change the world so bullying—and suicide too—could become non-existant. It's impossible, but there's something heroic in trying.

Because, if I could save lives… If I could have smiling children, then everything would be worth it. My arms aren't strong enough to lift the world, but it doesn't mean I won't try.

I glance back at Komori, standing as tall as I can. "Shemage—"

"Comicman," she says, but she's wrong.

"Remember, I'm not Comicman anymore."

I look forward into the crowd of trees ahead.

"My name is Kodomo, The Children Hero."

Shojo gave me that new name, and I loved it. Everyone else doesn't know my new name except for Suzuki. I told him the last tutoring session before our Finals. He said, "That isn't a terrible name for you, Fukidashi! Maybe you can grow a spine after all!"

Idiot, I always had a spine. I just needed a way to use it.

"Kodomo," Komori calls for me as her partner, standing beside me looking out into the same scene I'm seeing, "I think I actually have an idea! It required all of my brain cells to come up with this plan!"

"So two brain cells?"

"Yup!"

"Let's hear it—?!"

"TEAM YOSETSU AWASE AND KOJIRO BONDO HAVE CUFFED MIDNIGHT! THEY PASSED THEIR EXAM!" an announcement goes off, ringing in the forest.

Wait, it's only been about seven minutes! They passed their exam already ?!


Yosetsu Awase

"..."

"..."

"Bondo dude."

"Y-Yeah…?"

"We're fucked."

"That's, uh, that's a bad word…."

"I feel like a bad word."

"Please don't! You're a, uhm, you're a great guy!"

"Thanks."

We're fucked.

We are 100% fucked. Ya wanna know why? 'Cause we can't get close to Midnight. We tried for the past five minutes and she used her freaking Quirk to chase us away! It's useless! Our Quirks are made for close-ranged and Midnight is the perfect counter to us! We can't even run to the Escape Gate because she's guarding that too! We can't sneak around her because Bondo's too tall for his own good!

Damnit, what the hell do I do?! I've been put in check so I gotta come up with a way so I don't get checkmated! Think! Midnight's Quirk is called Somnambulist! It can produce a gas that can put people to sleep through ingestion! It can only take effect when someone breathes in the gas and nothing else! It's a helluva lot more effective on guys than girls, so we'll be knocked out faster!

There has to be a way to not breathe in her Quirk! I…

Sting!

"Ack! Damnit! Sweat got in my eye!" God damnit, of course this happened while I was thinking! My stupid headband should've—!

Wait a second!

That's it! We're fighting in a rocky terrain for our Final Exam! My headband could prevent me from breathing in Midnight's gas! But that won't be really effective! What I do need is… Aha! This!

"Awase, why are you, uhm, grabbing those black pebbles?" Bondo asks, and hell, I'm really glad he did! In his eyes, he musta be thinking that I'm collecting rocks or some shit! Well, these are technically rocks, but the good kind of rocks!

I fucking answer him, "It's charcoal! Filters use charcoal in them because toxic particles and toxins in general bind to them! Do you know what else is toxic? It's not Tsuburaba's singing, it's Midnight's Quirk! I—Ugh, this stupid piece of crap!"

Damnit all, this headband won't do me any good when it's still a band!

RIP!

Now, it's just a piece of cloth! Bondo yelps and grabs some of the charcoal off the ground. "W-Wait, we can make gas masks out of these?"

"Hell yeah! It won't be good gas masks, but it'll be enough to counter Midnight and get the hell outta here!" But that doesn't solve the problem for our eyes. We don't have any protection for 'em! Midnight's gas stings our eyes too, but it isn't debilitating. It's just really annoying and gonna pose a disadvantage to us.

Anyway, using Weld, I bind the charcoal to the inside of what-used-to-be-my headband. Okay, that's one step done! I need a piece of cotton or something that I can put my mouth on! Luckily for me, I have a knife that I can cut my costume with! From my belt, I whip out my utility knife and my arm. I—!

"Are you gonna cut yourself?!" Bondo suddenly exclaims. Then he realizes that we are kinda hiding from Midnight, whimpering. He whispers, "Please don't cut yourself! You have so much to live for!"

"I'm not gonna cut myself! I just need something to put on my mouth when I breathe!" I cut a piece of cloth off, binding that to the other side of the charcoal and making sure that none of these bastards will fall out. There we go! Just wrap it around my mouth, Weld it, and all good! Hell yeah! I'm a fucking genius! Midnight can't stand a chance against this now!

"Is that it?" Bondo asks. I nod, cutting off more pieces of my costume.

"It's your turn, dude. Give me a few seconds." I do the same for Bondo. For him, I had to cut a bigger piece out because his mouth is a lot bigger than mine. But I did it. Both of our mouths are covered by my makeshift masks. We can't do shit about our eyes, but it'll have to do. I wish everyone is watching us so they can see just how badly we outplayed Midnight! I'm not the smartest guy in class, but I'm far from the dumbest guy in the world!

Now everything is ready! Welder is here and ready to kick ass with Plamo! "Hey Plamo, ready to get the hell outta here?!"

"Y-Yeah! I'm ready!" he says all hyped up! This will be great! We'll be the first team to pass our exam! Just you wait!

"Let's—!"

"Oh boys~!" Well shit! "My youthful darlings, we have twenty-five minutes left! Did you really think I'd be content guarding the Escape Gate? I'd die of boredom! So playing this game of hide and seek really riled me up."

Behind us, Midnight approaches with her whip in hand. She's twenty meters away and she's getting closer. Fuck, we let our guard down. She prolly found us because we talked way too loudly. Bondo whimpers, but I stand in front. "You're not gonna win, you stupid sexy woman!"

Midnight giggles, putting a hand on her lips. "Oh dear, if that was any other woman, you'd be sexually harassing them. But I'm not just any other woman. I can't wait to see that strong side of you break . The thought makes my sadism go wild ."

This chick is crazy!

And I'm pretty sure she's sexually harassing us now!

Wait, if she's here, then the Escape Gate is open! "Bondo, we gotta get out of dodge quick! This is our chance!"

Hisssss!

Here comes the gas! It's spreading quickly! It'll prolly take a few seconds to reach us! Midnight taunts, "How bold of you to assume that my Quirk is the only thing you'll have to worry about~"

"Bondo, run—!"

WHIP!

Fuck! Her whip! She got my left arm! It's like a bear is gripping me! Bondo yells, "Awase—!"

"Just fucking run! Get to the Escape Gate! I'll catch up with you there!"

"But—!

"Don't argue with me! Just run!"

Bondo cries tears of glue before scampering away towards the Escape Gate. Thank God… If someone has to fail, then it better be me! Midnight's gas reaches my position and I take a deep breath in. I don't pass out. My eyes sting, but I don't pass out. Good, my mask works! But I got another problem that's biting me in the ass: Midnight. I can tell where she's at because of her whip. She's right in front of me, and judging from her footsteps, she's getting closer!

"Aw, you're fighting alone? I expected such youth from a man like yourself, Awase. For such a foul-mouthed man, you have a chivalrous and pure heart. And I will corrupt it! C'mere!" Midnight yanks me towards her, putting me off-balanced. Wait, I'm going towards her! Close combat is my forte! Hell yeah!

With my right hand, I take out a steel log from my pack. Midnight finally appears in front of me! She's licking her lips! Why the heck is she licking her lips like that?! Look, I'm a virgin, but I don't want my first time to be with her! I feel like she'll do things that I won't like! She yells, "There you are~!"

"Here I am—!"

I thrust my right hand forward with the steel log! Midnight sees it and her eyes go wide! Aha! She knows that she'll lose when I'm right in front of her! The grip on my left arm loosens before her whip lets go of me completely! Midnight jumps back and growls, shaking her head. Okay, that's great! That's really freaking great! I have the advantage! Midnight can't rip off my mask because that'll rip off my skin too! My mask is welded to my face! All I need to do is bridge the distance!

"It seems you're at a stalemate, boy! I won't retreat again!" Midnight says. So that's why she jumped back! When I approached her, she didn't realize that I could restrain her using Weld. 'Cuz of that, she retreated and began to reassess her options. Now she has, and we're in a "stalemate". "If you run away, I'll simply catch you. If you run towards me, I'll simply subdue you with my close combat skills. You're stuck where you are, Yosetsu Awase!"

Heh…

"Hey Inochi dude! I got a favor to ask ya. Seeing you fight and all, a light bulb lit up in my head. I was wondering if you could teach me something..."

WELD! WELD! WELD!

"What are you—?!"

CONSTRUCTION-DONE-KIWK: STEEL BEAM!

"Hyaah—!"

WHIFF!

Damnit, I missed!

But fucking A! This is how I'll bridge the distance! If she says that I can't run up, then I'll just make a freaking Steel Beam to reach her! Inochi, that amazing guy, inspired me! I'm focused on restraining, but that doesn't cut it in every situation! I need to learn how to fight when worse comes to worst! With Steel Beam and the bojutsu skills that Inochi taught me, I'll be able to fight!

And with Weld, I can weld my Steel Beam to Midnight even when I'm not even close to her!

"What is that?!" Midnight yells, clearly surprised by my new technique! I step forward, spinning the Steel Beam around my arms and I—!

BAM!

Crack it right against her hip! She yelps in pain, stumbling back! Haha! Midnight may have training in close combat, but she's useless when it comes to this! That's right, you can't beat me! I'm one of the biggest badasses in 1-B!

It's all thanks to Inochi! 'Cuz of him, I'm pretty good with a bo staff now! He's the kind of guy who doesn't hesitate to help his friends, and I'm the same kind of guy too! No way in hell that I'll let my friends down! I'm not gonna let anyone down! Everyone's counting on me to pass this exam, 'specially Inochi! Everyone sees him as the man-to-be! Well, someone gotta be the one who has his back, and that guy is me!

I don't have a complicated backstory like Kamakiri or whoever; I'm just a normal guy! But no one said that a normal guy can't do extraordinary things! I am doing everything it takes to win against Midnight!

Here I come!

"You annoying boy—!"

"—Midnight!"

Midnight swings her whip around, telegraphing that she's trying to swipe me big and wide! I bend backwards letting the whip go right above me while simultaneously spinning my Steel Beam around my arms. As I straighten myself out, the Beam twirls around my neck before my arms catch it, bringing it down on top of her skull!

BAM!

"—Ghrk!"

Another hit! Hell yeah!

Midnight grabs my Beam, trying to pull it off her, but she can't! I already welded it to her hair, and now, her hand too! "Huh?!"

I jump towards her while still holding my Beam, then I land a good kick at her hip where I just smacked her earlier! I keep my foot there while unwelding my Beam from her hair and hand, taking it back and leaning it against my shoulder! After that, I spin around, and using my trusty weapon, I whack her again in the side! Midnight staggers, gasping in pain and stuff like that! "Midnight, you lost! Don't underestimate me!"

"Hehe… I shouldn't have, you're right… But—!"

"Haah—?!"

I can't breathe! What the hell?! My vision's fading! I'm...getting sleepier… What… What's going on… My mask's… My mask's supposed to work…

Clink!

Shit… dropped my.. .whatever the hell… that's called…

Fuck… I need to… keep standing… I can't… lose…

"Mid...night…" I gasp out, then I fall to my knees… I can't sleep… I don't wanna sleep…

"I increased the potency of my sleep-inducing aroma. Your ragtag gas mask can only do so much to keep the toxins out. But jeez, I don't like doing this. It makes me tired myself y'know! So I'll just keep it at this level until you go unconscious. Sweetheart, you did a good job, but you fail."

She...walks up to me and...taps me…

I fall flat…

And…

And…

Fuck…

Everything's...dark…

Sorry… guys…

Guess I'm not… going on that… cool summer trip…

I shut my eyes…

"Ah…! Finally…! Where's that boy...Bondo?" I can barely...hear her voice…

Guess I lose…

"I-I feel really safe around you… Y-You're my hero, Awase."

Sorry… Shojo…

"Ehhhhhh—?!"

GLUE SPLURGE!

"Awase….!"

Huh…?

Someone's...shaking me…

"Awase…!"

So freaking loud… I just wanna sleep…

"Awase—!"

SMACK!

"Ow! What the hell, man?! Why did you…? Eh?!" Midnight's covered in glue! What the hell?! I thought I lost! Did… Did Bondo come back for me? I thought I told him to run away! Did he really come back for me?! Holy shit, I'm so glad that he didn't listen to me! That's my man! I always knew Bondo was a cool dude! This made him even cooler! "Bondo—!"

"I'm so sorry for slapping you! I'm so sorry for coming back! I didn't mean to! I felt like it was really really really wrong for me to leave you alone! So I came back, but I saw you unconscious! So I, uhm, I just, I just kinda spewed glue all over Midnight when she wasn't looking! I'm sososososo sorry that I didn't listen to you! Please forgive me!"

"Dude, why would I be mad?! You saved our exam! We both pass because of you! Hell yeah!" I stand up and take Bondo's arm, raising it in the air!

"Give it up for Plamo, you bastards! He's the real Hero here!"

("Oh my, I adore the youth~!")


Manga Fukidashi

...I'll just find out later.

Back on me and Komori, we're almost there! I can see the open path towards the Escape Gate! Present Mic is leaning against the doorway whistling. Good, I don't think he sees us! Komori and I duck behind a bush, poking our heads out. Okay, it's just a straight road to Present Mic, but we gotta be careful! If we lose the element of surprise, we might lose!

We have mushrooms in our ears! And I mean that literally! We literally have mushrooms in our ear canals! This is for extra muffling protection just in case our plan doesn't work out. It doesn't hurt to be safe, 'cause I don't wanna be sorry. Komori mouths, We gotta take our chance now, Manga! It's now or never!

Now? I respond, pointing towards Present Mic who's just whistling. Think it's the right time? He might be whistling, but he's completely aware of his surroundings!

Yes, now! Use your Quirk to distract him! Remember the Onomatopoeia you used to destroy an entire street? Use that!

I'm going to kill Present Mic if I do that!

Do it softly!

Ugh! This is a terrible idea, but this may be our only shot! I look towards Present Mic. He has his head leaning up at the sky, sighing in simple pleasure. I don't know how this is simple, but he's Present Mic… He says something, but I can't hear him. It's probably about how us kids are cowards and all, and how much we're gonna lose.

I look back at Komori; she's nodding for me to go. Alright… I can't turn back now! Just gotta blow the heck outta Present Mic. Best case scenario: he gets defeated and we get to go home without our plan actually being enacted! But knowing U.A., and especially my teachers, that isn't going to be the case…

Ugh, I need to do this!

I stand up and take a deep breath in. The bush I was hiding behind rustles in the wind, and Present Mic's eyes shoot open. Sorry about this—!

BLAM!

My Onomatopoeia, BLAM, launches forward like a missile, immediately tearing apart the earth. The trees in front of me are uprooted, being casted aside like skinny little branches as it moves forward towards Present Mic, towering over him thricefold. He shouts something in surprise—I still can't hear him—and readies his counterattack! Okay, distraction made! Time for our next step in our plan!

Despite the mushrooms in my ears, I hear Present Mic yelling, "YEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHH—!"

His Voice breaks through BLAM and shatters it into pieces. But behind BLAM is another Onomatopoeia that Komori reminded me of! Shojo and I usually have headphones so we can watch anime in peace! It blocks out any outside noise, but the action of "muffling out noise" has a sound itself! Because of that, I can recreate it! Everyone forgot about my special power! Well, it's not really a "power" but a skill, but I consider it a "power"! I can recreate any sounds I hear, even if it's just once! I'm like Sanji in that way!

Heh…

Because of that, he'd say I'm just as strong as him.

And Komori too! She's the one who came up with this plan! She's the one who shed light to our secret weapon, the weapon that will take us to victory! It's better than Present Mic's skill, even though he's much stronger in terms of offense! But that's it! He has no defensive capability, he has nothing for defense! That's how we win! Defense is the best offense!

"Present Mic—!" I shout as BLAM is shattered. His sound waves are solidified in yellow, coming at Komori and I, exponentially expanding too fast for the naked eye to process. But my next move is already made! He fell for my trap, all according to plan !

Flimpflimp!

Flimpflimp , acting like a wall, becomes a shield for me and Komori. Present Mic's Voice collides with the Onomatopoeia, but the yellow sound waves doesn't go through it! Present Mic sends his sound waves directly towards us, and my Onomatopoeia absorbs it all, rendering his attack useless! Behind me, Komori hops around yelling—she's probably yelling about how much of a genius she is. It goes on for a few seconds before Present Mic stops his Quirk. I can't see beyond the Onomatopoeia, but I think he knows that he's been countered perfectly! That means—!

" YEEEEEEEAAAHH! "

What the—?!

BURST!

My Onomatopoeia! I—!

"Guh—!" Too loud! Present Mic broke Flimpflimp ! How?! How did he break it so easily?! Damnit, even with the mushrooms in our ears, it's not enough to shield it from his Voice! I fall down to my knees, clutching my head! It's like a nuclear bomb going off right next to my ear! I feel something wet and warm coming out—my blood! Damnit! Damnit! How can we win now?! I feel off-balanced, so I can't get up and run a marathon! I would only fall flat on my stupid face!

Komori runs up to me, but she falls too, her cap falling off of her head. She screams in pain dragging her hands through the dirt, letting it pile up in her fingernails. She's in as much pain as I am. Damnit, I promised that we would win! But here we are, utterly screwed! Komori can't fight! I'm barely hanging in there as it is! Ugh, we weren't good enough! I think I know how Present Mic beat us! He wasn't using his Quirk seriously! Sure, we muffled his first attack, but he simply increased the volume of his voice and broke through Flimpflimp !

I hate my life!

"Grrraah—!" I tear the mushrooms out of my ears, slamming it on the ground. It barely changes how loud Present Mic's Voice is. Since my hands aren't clogging my ears, blood is trickling down my head and neck…

We'll lose! There's no doubt about it! But—

"Oh, who says I'm not afraid? I am freaking terrified, but we gotta do it despite our fear."

That's right! I have to do it! I have to do what I need to do despite everything! Even if all hope is lost, I still have to fight! I need to stand! It's no good to lay down and accept defeat! I'd rather fall down standing more than anything else in the world!

Despite the blaring noise that makes my head ring, I put my hands flat on the dirt and push myself up slowly. I'm off-balanced, but I can still move my legs. My feet are firmly placed on the ground, moving with my hands to stand myself up! I'm moving like a baby who's learning how to walk, but this is the only way I can stand up!

Komori looks at me with tears in her eyes. She tries to stand up too, but she doesn't have the strength to pull her hands off of her ears. With my face, I assure her, Don't worry, if we'll lose, then we'll lose because we're weaker, not because we're lazy.

Like a snail, with every weak muscle in my body, I pull myself up to my feet. Mic's Voice gets worse actually. It's more than enough to give me permanent hearing loss, but I don't care. As Heroes, we sacrifice our bodies everyday to preserve the world! No matter what, I need to keep fighting! With all of my friends, I need to create a world where no one has to be bullied because they're different!

Class 1-B, we are made up of outsiders! We were bullied, made fun of because of our differences!

We have:

Sanji Inochi, the legally Quirkless student who's training day and night, never caring about himself!

Setsuna Tokage, the rich heiress who everyone sees as a selfish egomaniac!

Togaru Kamakiri, the son of Executioner Wasp, a Villain!

Pony Tsunotori, she was bullied for her mutations!

Juzo Honenuki was the same!

Neito Monoma, he was constantly harassed for his Quirk!

Everyone else too, especially me and Shojo!

We were put together for a reason, so we could find similarities in our differences! This is the reason why we're a more united class than 1-A! Even though the world might hate us, we still have each other! As friends who truly understand each other's pain, we could part the skies and destroy any obstacle in our way! There is no Katsuki Bakugo or Izuku Midoriya here, the two powerhouses who can do everything themselves! Monoma would say that the story is about them, but this story is about us!

No matter how powerful we might become, we will always need each other to save the day! This world cannot be preserved by one person! It has to be a coalition of Heroes! It has to be us! We need each other!

That's why I'll stand! I'm standing right now against all odds! Komori might be crying, she might be laying down, I don't blame her, because she's trying to stand! She feels the same thing I'm feeling right now!

For her, I'll hold out as long as I can, because I am Kodomo, The Children Hero!

WAPOW!

With the last bit of strength, I use my Quirk to launch another Onomatopoeia towards Present Mic! It's small, but fast-moving! It soars through the air, and he sees it coming! He immediately stops using his Quirk and avoids Wapow before it hits, letting it crash into the Escape Gate behind him! He clears his throat and claps, grinning.

"My goodness gracious, Kodomo! You managed to stand! I was being louder than usual, and you managed to stand! That kind of strength is impressive!" he compliments me, but I could barely hear him. There's a bell in my head that won't shut up! "But you're on your last legs! Y'think you can still beat me or escape? That's not gonna happen! There's no way that you could win in that state! Impossible! Zero chance! Absolutely zilch! Just give up now so I can take you two to Recovery Girl! I'm—!"

"Shut up!" I snap, yelling at the top of my lungs, "I'm not gonna give up! If you care about us so badly, then make us deaf! Do it! We're your enemies, right?! Then show us no mercy! I might be terrified of the pain that's about to come, but let it come! I promised to myself that I won't be the one holding my own chains, and I'm looking to see it through! So do it, Present Mic! You gotta do it! "

For a second or two, Present Mic doesn't say anything. He looks so surprised that those words came out as they did. Honestly, I didn't mean to snap at him like that, but he pissed me off, kinda like how my favorite manga character betrayed the entire party— that was terrible and I dropped the manga. But my point still stands. This is the promise I made to myself. I want to see a better world, and this is the only way I know how. I'm known to be spineless, so constant pain—whether it be physical or mental—is the best way for me to grow one.

Finally, after an excruciatingly long time—though it was only seconds—he says, "Alright… I'll do it, Kodomo."

Present Mic chuckles, muttering, "I knew this generation of Heroes were special. I told you so, Shota." He brings out his arms, about to perform the wonderful attack that will do me in. "Now, as your Villain, I won't hold anything back! C'mon my Listeners, let's hear these piggies sque—EEEK?!"

Present Mic immediately falls face-first.

Uhm, what?

What just happened?

Komori stands up and frantically runs towards Mic. "I'm sorry, Present Mic! I had to do it! We had to win, and this was literally my last option! I didn't think we would come to this, but we did! Can you forgive me?!"

"Gak—! Fhrk—! Whyyyy—?!" Present Mic says through choked breaths… He coughs out...bloody mushrooms?! He's coughing out mushrooms?! What the hell?! Did Komori literally grow mushrooms in his throat and lungs?!

"Drink lots of water, okay?!" Komori says before turning to me. "C'mon Manga, we need to get the heck outta here!"

She smiles and gestures towards the Escape Gate.

Heh, right…

We still have to win.

Actually, I'm kinda wrong.

We already won .

I gave Komori enough time to grow mushrooms in Present Mic's lungs.

Heh, I knew standing up for myself would do something good.


Sanji Inochi

"TEAM MANGA FUKIDASHI AND KINOKO KOMORI ESCAPED PRESENT MIC'S REACH! THEY PASSED THEIR EXAM!"

Huh…?

"Hyah—!"

DOUBLE JUMBO FIST!

"Detroit Smash—!"

SMASH!

Itsuka! How long has she been fighting?! How long have I been unconscious for?! Damnit, I need to help her! My God, she's fighting All Might! She's bleeding! She's exhausted! How is she constantly dodging his attacks and the wind pressure generated from it?! She's not fit to dodge and move around like I do! Itsuka isn't that kind of fighter! It's taking a toll already; I can see her punches are getting weaker and weaker with each attack! Her body can't hold up for much longer! I need to get up—?!

"Gah—guh!" Damnit, each time I move a muscle, pain shoots up from every inch in my body! Before I went unconscious, All Might used my grappling hook to slam me against the concrete. Considering that I'm laying down in a crater, he did it pretty hard! Ugh, half of my vision is stained red, almost like I'm looking through a crimson-colored mirror. I need to calm down… I can't let my emotions get the better of me. I need to push through the pain and stand up… Up, and up!

C'mon Sanji…

"—Geh, guh…" I groan as I start standing up. Every muscle in my body decides that it's a good time to supply me with enough pain to make the toughest man cry. I can't even stand up correctly too. All Might slammed me onto my back—my spine . I can't stand up straight; I'm standing up bent over like an old man. At least I'm standing, that's what matters. Itsuka and All Might are fighting in front of me. All Might tries to land a punch down towards Itsuka, but she weaves to his left and lands a punch to his side with her normal-sized fists. She's fighting without her Quirk. She either must be extremely exhausted to the point where she can't carry her Big Fists anymore, or she wants to fight Quirkless—the former is much more likely. To think that she's fighting for me, fighting against All Might himself… I don't know how I ended up with a partner like her.

I walk forward—!

"Teh—!" Never mind! I almost fell! Damnit, I still gotta move! As All Might and Itsuka fight, I hobble towards them; they haven't noticed me yet.

"Gotta be kidding me…" Itsuka mutters, seeing as her torn corset is getting in the way. She takes the torn edge and tears the corset off of her costume, throwing it aside. Her qipao is looser, swaying in the wind in front of All Might. He chuckles as if he's about to squash the ant in front of him, and he pulls his right hand back.

It's another punch, Itsuka! A jab!

Itsuka sees the telegraphed attack and immediately goes underneath All Might's legs, sliding behind him as his right jab punches where Itsuka once was. He turns around and takes another punch, but Itsuka isn't there again. She knew that he would turn around and instead pivot to his right. During her pivot, she swings her left fist into the back of All Might, but it isn't a strong punch!

All Might throws his left hand back like a hammer slamming down on a nail; Itsuka barely manages to hop back before she gets hammered in. All Might's fist cracks into the concrete, creating a small gust of wind. He turns around and telegraphs another right-hand punch. Itsuka—!

"—Shit!" she swears! Crap, she tried to leap backwards again, but she trips! She won't be able to avoid All Might's punch! I'm almost there though, but what can I do?! My grappling hook is busted thanks to All Might, and I'm pretty sure I'm out of ammo for my crossbow! My wakizashi and katana are sheathed, but I don't have enough time to unsheathe them and attack!

That means I just need to get there!

"Sorry, Young Kendo!" All Might apologizes before sending his arm forward. Itsuka shuts her eyes as he yells, "Smaaash—!"

I reach them! "Itsuka—!"

SMASH!

"Ghrk—!"

"—Sanji?!"

"Young Inochi—?!"

…BAM!

Before All Might struck, I managed to reach them… Just barely, I pushed Itsuka out of the way, putting myself in her spot. All Might realized I was conscious at the last second, but it was too late for him to relent his attack. His fist collides against my steel chestplate, sending me backwards, tumbling through the air and tumbling through the street before I crash against a bus with my back slamming against it first. My head snaps back, banging against the iron and steel of the bus with enough force to dent it, probably giving me a concussion. Then I fall back on the ground, back at square one. All sorts of pain start to scream like venom in my nerves. It's a miracle that I'm conscious, not going into shock yet.

My chest nearly caves in from All Might's punch though. If it wasn't for my steel chestplate, then my ribs would be broken and would pierce into my lungs, but they're only cracked. Either way, it's hard for me to breathe now. I look ahead, gasping in pain. Itsuka lays on the ground with exhaustion finally catching up to her. A small smile forms on her lips, but then a frown. She knows that exhaustion has caught up to her; she can't move her body. All Might looks at her, then at me.

"Are you two done?" he asks.

Itsuka looks at me. Sanji—

I shake my head. Don't worry, you did great. Just rest, I can fight All Might now.

She nods and rests her head against the pavement.

To answer All Might, I pull myself back up to my feet, this time much easier than before. I clutch my chestplate, the one thing that protected me from defeat. clutching my chestplate. It's bent inwards, cutting into my chest. No good, it's useless now. I go around my back and untie it, throwing the armor aside. It clatters upon impact, letting All Might see my black and white kimono stained with blood and dirt. He lowers his head, sighing in disappointment. "So be it."

Here it is: Sanji Inochi versus All Might, round two.

A Quirkless man against the greatest Pro Hero in the world.

I'm injured. My ribs are fractured, cracked skull, countless bruises, countless cuts, damaged back… I think I covered all of it. And All Might? Barely any scratches on his body.

I am fighting against a Hero who achieved mastery over his Quirk, who fought thousands of Villains and defeated thousands, who can destroy an entire city with just one punch. That is the kind of Hero he is: a legend. I don't mean that ironically, I mean it unironically . He is a legendary figure that will be remembered in history. He's the kind of hero that we would read in epics, like The Odyssey or the Epic of Gilgamesh .

It begs a question…

How do I defeat a legend?

I look down at my HK-Bracer. The screen is cracked, but it's still functional. I have 21 minutes and 13 seconds left. I doubt that Yume-no-Kami Ude is able to be remote-controlled though, so using that is out of the question.

Hayami got me this far. Without her, none of this would've happened. She said something before, what was it…?

"Hey you two, be sure to give All Might a helluva fight! Remember, he might be the greatest Hero, but he's still a man!"

"Ah, that's it…" I say, smiling.

All Might tilts his head with curiosity striking his face. "What was that, young man?"

I step forward just a few centimeters. "Remind me, All Might… What's your name?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your real name. May I have it?"

He hesitates; he hesitates for a couple of moments. But, he concedes, "Toshinori Yagi. Why do you want my name?"

I tilt my head to the side, blood dripping down one half of my face. "That's the name of a man."

If I can't defeat the legend named All Might, then I'll defeat the man named Toshinori Yagi. The veil is removed. There's no more wool covering my eyes, just for this moment at least. Toshinori Yagi is a man; he's able to be defeated, because every man has a weakness, especially him.

Toshinori Yagi, the man standing before me, decides that we talked enough. His body tenses. I know what he's going to do. He'll leap forward towards me with incredible speed that it's impossible to react to, but I know his destination. That's pretty obvious, but what he'll do at this destination? What he always been doing: punching. Did he ever kick? Did he ever use anything other than his two fists?

No. I haven't seen how Toshinori Yagi fights firsthand, but I experienced how Midoriya fights. Midoriya only uses his fists as well. His technique is unrefined, too narrow in scope. With that information, I can use it to win, because I know exactly what Toshinori Yagi will do…

"Heh, I'm glad you figured out your own shortcomings. Your human body is limited, but not your mind. By predicting your opponent's next attack, you're basically playing chess but with punches and kicks."

Thank you, Master Kendo… You taught me how to properly predict attacks before they happen. For my opponent who loves his fists, he will punch me with his right hand after lunging forward as if he's wind itself.

All within less than a second—!

"—Young Inochi!"

WHOOSH!

BAM!

Toshinori Yagi dashed forward with his right arm pulled back, then it snapped forward towards my head. I jerked my head to the side, letting his fist fly right past me and into the bus behind. The impact is powerful enough that the bus gets blown backwards into the walls of the Escape Gate, destroying the wall completely and the bus too. But for me? I'm standing without a scratch.

I glance up at my opponent, smirking. "Sorry, Toshinori Yagi. You're too slow." He's too fast actually. I only said that so he could believe that my reaction time matches his; when in reality, I'm far below his level.

"Young—guh?!" I open my left hand and crash my palm against the side of his knee, forcing him to bend down slightly. Even though he's a durable man, knees usually bend if you hit it hard enough and at the right place. Before he could throw another punch at me, since he's close to my height, I clench my right fist and drive it up towards his chin, giving him an uppercut that Itsuka would be proud of. His head snaps up, his face is in no visible pain.

He's scowling.

I only made him angrier.

Toshinori Yagi grits his teeth, and he'll slam his head against mine. It'll be a collision similar to an eighteen-wheeler crashing against an itty bitty car; guess which vehicle will remain mostly intact? That won't happen! Because with the few moments where he has his eyes off of me, I go in-between his legs and come out behind him just like how Itsuka did earlier! Toshinori Yagi swings his head down and realizes I'm not there. He knows that I'm not to his left or his right due to peripheral vision, so the only possibility will be that I'm behind him!

"Detroit—!" he yells! Now he's just giving me his next attack! Midoriya uses Detroit Smash a lot during our spars! It's just a simple forward punch using an overwhelming amount of strength to defeat a Villain! But at his angle, the only effective way to punch me is by punching downwards! "—Smash!"

LEAP!

DETROIT SMASH!

Just as Toshinori Yagi turns around, I jump into the air with the timing absolutely perfect, allowing me to narrowly avoid his Detroit Smash! His fist impacts the ground where I was, shattering the road! I flip around, using the momentum to slam my right heel against the top of his head! It hits him square in his skull, and I bounce off of him like he's a trampoline, flipping backwards and landing back onto my feet! That's my first charge complete. The distance between us gets longer, about three meters apart total.

He doesn't give me time to rest, already stepping forward. It's another right hook. I duck underneath and slam the side of my left elbow into his stomach, following the attack up with a right jab at his kidney. I jump backwards, giving myself distance so he doesn't grab me. I gave myself more than three meters this time, around seven or eight! Toshinori Yagi clenches his left fist and lets it fly towards the earth!

WEST VIRGINIA SMASH!

His fist collides with the ground, creating a crater with his fist at the epicenter. As a result of his punch, the earth in front of him is broken up into sharp spikes that rush towards me like a swarm of ants. I hop up in the air, avoiding the spikes from impaling my body. Toshinori Yagi grits his teeth and raises his right foot—he's using his feet, that's pretty rare—then stomping it down!

As his foot is slammed against the ground, right where he punched earlier, all of the spikes coming forth immediately shattered at the base, no longer rooted to the earth! It flies up a meter or two before he pulls his right fist back again—!

OREGON SMASH!

He thrusts his fist forward like a blade stabbing flesh, a burst of wind pressure coming to life from his Super Move! The spikes turn into fast-moving projectiles capable of taking my head clean off. I unsheathe my two blades, letting them soak in the sunlight—right hand: katana; left hand: wakizashi! "Grrraaaah—!"

SHATTER!

BREAK!

I spin in the air, building up enough momentum to destroy these spikes with one slash! There's so many in my sight, but I can't focus on that! There's no way I can be worried about the amount of projectiles! I need to concentrate and conserve my energy to constantly smash these spikes into dust! If I miss even one, then I'll lose this battle!

"Toshinori Yagi—!"

SLASH!

CRUMBLE!

CRACK!

That's it! That's all of the spikes! I destroyed all of them while in the air! Toshinori Yagi stands a few meters away from me, shocked! Through the pile of pebbles and rocks in the air, I spin around one last time and throw my wakizashi towards his chest! "You—?!"

CLINK!

I hear the sound of metal clashing against metal; he deflected it with his metal weights. I knew he would do that! Throwing my wakizashi was simply a cover for my advance! Once it hits him, I'm right in front of the man once again! Toshinori Yagi finally sees me and steps back as I raise my blade with only my right hand! Pulling his left hand back, he—!

BAM!

He used the back of his hand and slams it against the flat end of my katana, splintering the blade in half. I knew he would do that too! When you fight a man with a sword, you would focus on the thing that reflects sunlight, rather than what he has in his other hand! At the same time as he breaks my katana, I had a magazine of explosive bolts in my left, the ones I use to load my crossbow with!

"Catch!" I tell him, tossing the magazine at him; I flip backwards right after I tossed it, because I'd rather not get caught in the blast zone!

"What the—?!" he exclaims after I make a full revolution in the air, starting on my second. Facing him, I throw my broken stump of a katana towards the pack of explosive bolts. In an instant—!

BOOM!

I land back on the ground again. My left foot steps on a broken shard of a spike I broke earlier, digging through my boot and into the sole. I wince in pain, already feeling blood coming out. That's yet another injury I have to deal with. After the cloud, which the explosion generated, dissipates, Toshinori Yagi comes out unscathed, although he's a lot dirtier. His costume is covered in dirt and soot.

I look down at my HK-Bracer. 20 minutes and 10 seconds. I've been fighting Toshinori Yagi for a minute.

I aim to fight longer.

"If you really desire to become a Pro Hero, then prepare yourself, Young Inochi—!"

He rushes forward.

SMASH!

DODGE!

I land another few hits in! Keep predicting!

PUNCH!

PIVOT!

More! Toshinori Yagi's technique is so simple!

STRIKE!

WEAVE!

More hits! He doesn't need to be complicated with so much power at his hands!

BLAM!

WHIFF!

Because of it, his technique is laughably predictable! It consists of punching and rarely anything else!

WHAM!

SPIN!

By fighting with him up close, the odds are in my favor, not his! He won't be able to unleash his wind pressure at this small of a distance!

No matter what—!

DETROIT SMASH!

LEAP!

—Never give up!

LAND!

"It's been four minutes…" I say, my feet sliding on the broken concrete after I dodged another Detroit Smash. "It's been four minutes and thirty-six seconds ever since we started…"

I pant, heavily breathing. But, despite being tired, I smile. "Never in my life would I imagine that we would be standing here, brawling…" I look back at Itsuka; she's still resting, but she looks amazed. That's right, I'm doing this for her. She would've told me to flee towards the Escape Gate, but I stayed and fought.

"You should've ran away, Young Inochi," Toshinori Yagi tells me with anger in his voice. "You should've—!"

"And leave Itsuka behind?!" I shout with a piece of my waist armor in my way. I grab it. "There's no way in hell that I'll leave her here! If she's going down, then I'm going down with her, no two ways about it!"

My resolve is clear.

My mind is clear.

No doubts are plaguing my body; the pain of my injuries purified me of those doubts.

This fight will only end with only one of two outcomes.

One is just as likely as the sun rising everyday, while the other is just as likely as when pigs fly.

Even then, I have the power of Dreams in my body! I'm legally Quirkless—I've always been—but the power is still within me this entire time! Because dreams, they are the items that go beyond impossibility, beyond statistical likelihood and achieve what no one believed was possible! That is what I'm fighting for!

No matter what, I will find Toshinori Yagi's weakness and exploit it!

"So c'mon, Toshinori Yagi! We aren't done fighting!" I throw away another piece of my piece of armor! It'll only hinder me!

"If you must—!" he concedes, giving into my hardened resolve. Toshinori Yagi, like before so many times, takes control and leaps towards me once again. He has his right fist fist back, doing the same old punching. Did he learn how I'm able to fight him for this long yet? It doesn't matter, I need to react properly!

WHIFF!

I weave my head just at the last moment, letting his fist fly past my head again! I pull back my own right fist and punch him at the left side of his chest—!

BLAM!

"Ghrk—?!"

"—!"

Toshinori Yagi coughs out blood.

His face twitches in pain.

So this man can feel pain, he can bleed.

I knew it.

The left side of his chest must be his weakness!

Toshinori Yagi takes a few steps back, looking down at where I punched him. His pain turns into surprise and bewilderment. I don't know if he's surprised that it caused him a lot of pain, or because I punched it. Whatever he's surprised about, he'll be even more surprised when I defeat him!

I dash forward!

He sees me coming and quickly, in panic, thrusts his left arm forward. I tilt myself sideways, balancing myself on one leg going inside of the punch. It flies past me, and at the same second, I swing my left fist forward and punch the same spot as before! Toshinori Yagi sputters out more blood, getting all over my costume. Before he has a chance to punch me in return, I retreat a few meters, letting him make sense of the situation.

With a cough, he shakes his head, his face being firmer.

Oh God, he's getting serious .

Toshinori Yagi decides to slowly move his right hand back. He doesn't look like he'll charge forward, then crap! This must mean he's going to attack me with purely wind pressure and nothing else!

"Texas…"

I need to dodge!

"...SMASH—!"

LEAP!

TEXAS SMASH!

Not good enough. My legs were clipped by the gust of wind, clashing against them. From the velocity of the wind, I twirl around in the air uncontrollably, the world spinning around like I'm at a carnival. I fly back until I reach a surprisingly still-upright streetlamp. Somehow, through sheer luck, I manage to grab hold of it and spin around it, slowing down my velocity, but Toshinori Yagi doesn't give me time to breathe. He charges at me with another right punch reeled backwards. Before he punches me, I let go of the streetlamp and narrowly avoid his attack, letting him strike into the building behind me.

He glances over his shoulder to look at me; it only takes him less than a tenth of a second to see where I am. Then—!

SMASH!

BOOM!

Barely dodged it! I managed to roll to the side, preventing myself from being turned into a red mush. I knew he would come at me again, but he's getting faster and stronger! He's getting desperate to end the fight!

"Missouri Smash—!"

SMASH!

DODGE!

Even faster than before! My brain is barely able to keep up with him! The wind pressure is increasing too! Not only I need to dodge the punch itself, I need to dodge the wind pressure to avoid being thrown back!

"Do you think you can win, Young Inochi—?!"

SMASH!

JUMP!

"I showed restraint when fighting you—!"

SMASH!

LEAP!

"I showed mercy, but from now on, you will not get any of it—!"

SMASH!

EVADE!

"Do you hear me, Young Inochi—?!"

SMASH!

DODGE!

I don't respond to his taunts. I only focus on avoiding each and every attack for two minutes and five seconds. I can't count the amount of times where I nearly tripped or where Toshinori Yagi just misses my body. I can feel my heart pounding against my chest; I'm panting my lungs out. Ever since I attacked the left side of his chest, I wasn't able to get another punch in. Before my body gives out, I need to land at least one more hit!

Toshinori Yagi stands twenty meters from me. In a single bound—

"Face me—!"

He reaches me within the second, foreshadowing another straight right jab. I weave underneath his right arm, letting the wind pressure fly out of his fist. Thankfully, I'm not in the danger zone. With embers of my strength still dwelling in my muscles, I sling around my right arm and hurl my fist into the left side of his chest, causing him to cough out more blood.

There!

Don't relent!

I don't even see what kind of punch Toshinori Yagi throws next. I spin around to his back; he whiffs; I backflip over him; he whiffs. He turns around and throws a blind punch, and I duck under it, slamming my hand against the same spot. His chest flares up, and due to the pain, Toshinori Yagi stumbles back a couple of steps, almost getting on one knee.

This is it! He's hesitating to attack!

"—Farewell, Toshinori Yagi!" I charge in with my right arm thrown back!

My fist is thrusted forward; Toshinori Yagi stops in his tracks.

My resolve was strong. I did the impossible: fight the greatest Hero in the world and thrive. This fight can't be replicated again. Everything that happened here, if it had happened differently—even just one tiny event—then the outcome would be different.

And maybe that's why…

That's why my heart stopped.

Despite my last, final attack, I'm not able to carry it through. My arm is thrusted forward towards his chest, where his weakness lies, yet there's only a ten centimeter gap between my fist and his body. This gap cannot be closed, like the distance between Earth and space. My eyes bulge and my heart feels like it'll explode. My lungs spatter and gag in pain. And I couldn't help—

"Ghrk—! Hak—! Hak—!" I cough.

I drop to my knees coughing, holding my hands to my mouth. I feel blood coming out. Tears well in my eyes, threatening to spill out, threatening to mix with the sweat that covers my entire face. My vital organs are pulsating, seemingly growing twice as large before shrinking down to half its original size.

"Hak—! Hak—! Hak—!"

These symptoms say that I reached my limit. Everyone has a "limit" where they create for themselves. I tire my muscles out every night when I train, reaching a certain "limit" every night, but that isn't a limit at all. It's rather a mental limit that I impose on myself, preventing me from seriously harming myself to the point that I risk death. What I'm experiencing right now is the true limit for my body. It's screaming at me, I can't go on any longer! If you go past this point, you'll die!

I can't fight anymore. My body won't allow it. I can feel my muscles turning limp one by one, strand by strand. Toshinori Yagi sees me in this state and stands up, wiping the blood off his lips. "Young Inochi…"

"Hak—! Hak—! Hak—!"

"I suppose that's the limit of the human body. Well, the limit of a Quirkless body. Quirks themselves, they passively increase the limits where you can take your body. From the very beginning, you were at a disadvantage, yet…"

"Hak—! Hak—! Hak—!"

"Yet, you still persisted on. Truly, time was our greatest enemy." Toshinori Yagi slowly brings his right fist up, aiming for my head. "You will need to rest for a long time with Recovery Girl. Congratulations, Young Inochi— no. Congratulations, Armory. You have my respect."

I look up towards the greatest Pro Hero who casts a shadow over me. Briefly, as if it's a still image, I see his large fist.

Then in the next—

THUMP!

"..."

"...So it seems the fight isn't over."

"Like hell it is, All Might. You fought a battle of who has the higher endurance and durability, but this will be the battle of strength! You'll be facing Battle Fist!" After Itsuka caught Toshinori Yagi's punch with her enlarged right hand, she throws him back with her overpowering strength, forcing him to concede a few footsteps, a precious distance away.

She looks back at me and smiles, almost like she's saying, I'll end this fight, Sanji. You don't have to push yourself anymore.

...That's my only choice. I don't like it; I want to fight with her, but this is my only option.

Please… I'm counting on you, Itsuka.

Don't you worry, because I'll be your fist!


Itsuka Kendo

"Yo, what's up everybody?! The People's Fist is here and ready to rock your world!"

"...Kaito, why are you so freaking loud?" Mom yelled at Dad, who just came out of his room after a two-hour long nap. He came back after an exhausting patrol, so he still wore his Hero Costume, which was mainly gold and green—two of his favorite colors. Mom made it herself and she "heavily edited it" so he wouldn't look stupid. Even with her input, Dad still looked ridiculous. Beside me, Grandpa sighed and went back to drinking tea and watching cable TV. Unlike Mom, he kept his annoyance and frustration t o himself.

Dad looked at me. He frowned at Mom and said, "Language! Itsuka's sitting right here!" I had a goofy smile on my face, solely because I was pretty young back then. I only knew the really bad words like "pooper" and "taxes". (In my defense, Dad convinced me to never say "taxes" around him.)

With a sharp tongue as ever, Mom replied, "'Freaking' is not a bad word. How about I punch you instead?"

"Nah! How 'bout we save that for later in you-know-where?" Dad said with a wink. I was an innocent girl, completely unable to comprehend the innuendo he made. Grandpa scoffed, knowing full well that Dad shouldn't have said that while I was in the room.

"You're a masochist." Mom dramatically groaned, turning her attention back to dinner.

"Sorry, you can't insult me if I don't know what that word means!" Dad exclaimed, causing Mom to sputter. She stopped herself from laughing by pinching her arm. No way in hell would she show any kind of affection for Dad. She was the kind of woman who showed love through insults and punches. But she let some love seep through, because she smiled. It made my heart warm up. I loved seeing Mom and Dad argue, because it was when I knew that they were happy.

"...Why am I married to you again?" Mom teased him, acting like she didn't have a bit of love for Dad, but she couldn't hide the smile in her voice. Dad came up with a witty comeback and Mom shot back with one of her own. Grandpa though, he looked like he wanted to shoot them with a gun.

He snapped his fingers at me, getting my attention. "Itsuka, those are your parents."

"Uh huh!" I said, bouncing up and down on the couch. "I love them so much! Don't you, Grandpa?"

"Sweetheart, 'love' is a really strong word," Grandpa said. For him, it was hard to tell that he actually cared about my parents, especially Dad. But like Mom, I knew he loved them more than anything—even when he threatened Dad on a daily basis.

"Quiet! You love them almost as much as I do!" I exposed him. What can I say? I was a smart little girl. "And you love me too! You can't deny it, Grandpa! I can see right through you!"

"Really? Can you?" he challenged me, putting down his tea.

"Uh huh! Like a window!" I replied.

"Then prove it!" Grandpa said, smirking. "What am I thinking right now? I'll give you three choices:

"A: 'My granddaughter is the most adorable girl in the world.'
"B: 'Itsuka Kendo is too smart for her own good.'

"C: 'I know my granddaughter better than herself.'"

I, being a pint-sized know-it-all, jumped up and exclaimed, "B! It's gotta be B, 'cuz I be smart!" Grandpa smiled a devious smile and shook his head. All at once, my illusions shattered like glass. My life was ruined, utterly devastated. Grandpa killed my dream effortlessly, taking in joy from my despair.

"It was C. I know you better than you know yourself. Wanna know why?" I nod. "'Cause you're my daughter's daughter, and you're that lughead's daughter too. Tell me, sweetheart, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" Grandpa knew the answer to that question. Of course, I knew it too. If I didn't, then I wouldn't be here right now.

It was obvious what I wanted to be. Grandma Tatemi, Magnum Opus, was a Pro Hero; Grandpa Sasaki, Master Kendo, was a Pro Hero; and Dad, Golden Hand, was a Pro Hero. Mom was only a support scientist, but she still worked in the heroism industry. Since I was born, my future was decided for me. I was surrounded by great influences in my life, one of which was the greatest of them all: my dad. He was the definition of an extroverted Hero, working for the betterment of the people with a pure-hearted message as his rallying banner.

Like how All Might was the Symbol of Peace, Dad was The People's Fist.

"I'll be your fist!" That was his catchphrase, like "I am here!" is All Might's catchphrase. I repeat that to myself everyday to remind myself why I'm doing this. It's for Dad. He was too good for this world, and so the world took him away from me.

So, little Itsuka Kendo looked at her grandfather, one of the most famous Heroes in Japan, and told him, "I wanna be a Hero just like you and Dad"

Her words brought her mom and dad out of their bickering, turning their attention to their pride and joy. Kaito Kendo, her role model, grinned, picking his daughter up and placed her in his arms. He planted a loving kiss on her forehead, happy that she said the words he always wanted to hear. "Y'hear that, Hayami? Looks like there'll be a second Golden Hand in the family, another Hero to make the Kendos great!"

Her mom smiled, but there was a small frown hiding behind it. "That's amazing, Itsuka… I knew you would try to be like your idiot father. It almost makes me cry…" She actually cried a little, wiping a tear away.

He saw her cry and walked over to her, bringing an arm around her shoulder. "Look what you did, Itsuka! You made your own mother cry! I think this calls for one thing and one thing only!"

"Group hug!" Itsuka and her dad exclaimed, immediately wrapping their arms around the poor mother, giving her too much love that she would die. Luckily, she didn't. It was a surprise actually, because her family didn't let go. They didn't want to let go. The dreams were high and so was the future. At that time, the impossible was possible.

And it started with me.

On the couch, Grandpa stared at us and smiled. He didn't join the hug, but he gave us love from afar. He sat there during the entirety of the hug, content with drinking tea and watching cable TV.


"Grandpa."

"Something wrong, sweetheart?"

"This…Inochi guy, why are you taking him in?"

"Instinct."

"Is that it? No logic? You're usually a logical man. It's hard to believe that your decision is made purely on instinct and instinct alone."

"'Cause my instinct is always right. This will be good for everyone, especially him."

"How is it good for me? I failed the Recommendations Exam, so my focus has to be centered on the Entrance Exam! And my training too! Yui thinks this is outrageous—"

"What about that Tokage?"

"Oh, like always, she supports the idea of having a new guy to flirt with. That isn't the point though. What if Inochi is an awful no-good delinquent?"

"Then you'll be his fist."

"Wha—? Grandpa—"

"If he is a good person just like how Gin says he is, then you'll be his fist then. You'll be surprised when Sanji Inochi is a promising individual."

"But he's legally Quirkless."

"Itsuka, put some faith in him. God knows he needs it. The world beats him down on the daily, and I won't allow you to be the one holding the stick. I get that he's sort of an outsider, but some day…"

"And leave Itsuka behind?!"

"He'll be an important Hero."

"There's no way in hell that I'll leave her here! If she's going down, then I'm going down with her, no two ways about it!"

"Hell, he could be important to you."

"Sanji…"

He's lasting a lot longer than I did. I only fought him for a minute, maybe a minute and a half. Sanji, he's fighting All Might for over four minutes now, and he's still trying to go on longer. Somehow, in some way, he's performing the impossible—fighting All Might as an equal. He changed how he looked at him for sure. Before, Sanji absolutely admired him, even naming this operation "Childhood Hero" . He wanted to be the bait for All Might so I could sneak up on him and restrain him with Golden Hand, but that plan obviously didn't work out. And now, we're improvising.

We could've escaped too, but we didn't. Sanji insisted on fighting All Might head-on and didn't tell me why, but I went with his plan. He rarely asked for anything, so I had to do it. Heh, I heard that Bakugo and Midoriya fought All Might too. I wondered how they dealt with him. But I'm not worried about them at the moment.

I'm worried about Sanji.

I need to—!

"Gah—!" Damnit, I'm still hurting. It's a miracle that nothing's broken. It's more of a miracle that I was able to even last against All Might for as long as I did; naturally, Sanji is showing me up because he's Sanji. Whenever he does something, he goes beyond the call and amazes everyone! That's how he is!

He's…

"Fine… You guys talk about how great Inochi is, don't get me wrong, he's one of the best guys I know, but he's reckless. I think you know that he barely gets any sleep, one or two hours a night. After that, he trains and exercises like his life depends on it. Every morning, I see him coming through the door sweaty and wincing under any little touch…"

...an idiot.

You're an idiot, Sanji. You train too much.

"We have only our fists, but we can handle any Villain our way—no matter who they are."

You are so hopeful.

"You can count on me, Battle Fist."

Even when fighting Villains like Catharsis.

"You don't have to do it alone! You… You… We… We're fighting for the same thing; all of us are—you, me, Master Kendo, Hayami, everyone."

Even when supporting your friends…

"She does so much for me, so it isn't fair if I don't do the same for her. But, I'd be lying if that was my only reason. I admire her so much, even though I don't say it or show it as much as I want to. I guess… I guess I'm trying to say that she's really important to me. That's the truth."

When you support me … Even when you don't remember your family…

"They brought me into this world for a reason, no matter how cruel it is. I like to think that's why our family name is 'Inochi'. We bring life to the world we live in."

You're still so optimistic... You are so noble…

"I… I wanted to have some space away from Sanji. N-Not because I hate him, but because I needed to sort my feelings about him. Guess you were right, Mom…"

We vowed that we'll be partners, that we'll fight against the League of Villains, that we'll support each other no matter what. I'm the one who constantly holds you back from hurting yourself, and you're the one who constantly holds me back from hurting others, namely Monoma. I wished that, when you came into my life, I wasn't such a mean person. Grandpa really predicted it, didn't he? Everyone did. Setsuna kept nagging us, Mom gave me teasing stares, Yui hummed whenever we acted "like that", practically the entire country thinks we're together.

It only took a hospital trip to get me to realize it. When you almost died, I was terrified. Then, that's when I knew that my life would be a lot worse if you hadn't been in it. Not because you make me happy, but because you're an inspiration despite being so much of an idiot. You inspire everyone because of who you are. The world doesn't give you enough praise, so we will. When the storm soaks you to the bone, we'll still support you throughout it all. There's no doubt that, just by your mere presence, you made us better people. You really are the best of us.

I guess…

I guess that's why I love you.

I watch you, Sanji… I watch you fight All Might for two more minutes. You found his weakness: the left side of his chest. It must be from a previous injury he sustained. But did you really have to move around so damn much?! Some of All Might's attacks are blowing wind in my direction! I'm barely able to keep myself rooted!

You really are—!

"—Farewell, Toshinori Yagi!"

He's—!

"Hak—! Hak—! Hak—!"

Damnit, he's such a freaking dumbass! He brought himself to his limit! His body literally refuses to go any further! For six minutes, he fought All Might, continuously pushing himself until he almost dies from exhaustion! Thank God that his body said otherwise, because if it didn't, he would die right here and right now! Is fighting All Might that important to him?! That it's worth risking death over?! There's no way I can let him fight now! All Might could tap him with his pinky finger and would still kill Sanji!

I rested enough! I can fight now!

I stand up, letting jolts of pain surge through my body. My muscles are sore and due to some of All Might's attacks, I have some physical trauma here and there. Adrenaline will ignore the pain; I need to force my brain to induce it, and the only way to do that is by fighting the Hero of the Hour. I'm not so rested that I can have my Big Fists activated constantly; I can't carry the extra weight. Like before, I need to use it in short bursts to maximize my output damage and minimize self-harm!

I run towards Sanji and All Might! They haven't noticed me yet! Sanji falls to his knees and All Might lectures him about limits or whatever! I don't give a damn about that! He knows that Sanji is the best fighter in 1-B! He has to be impressed by him! Ugh, I can't get myself worked up for this! I need to reach them! I won't allow Sanji to get hurt any further!

"Congratulations, Armory. You have my respect," All Might says, reelings his right fist back! I won't let him! I'll protect Sanji!

THUMP!

"..."

"...So it seems the fight isn't over."

"Like hell it is, All Might. You fought a battle of who has the higher endurance and durability, but this will be the battle of strength!" I yell. I managed to catch All Might's fist by enlarging my right hand, letting it take the impact of his punch. Pain surges throughout my right arm, almost fracturing the bone, but it's not broken. I throw him back a couple of steps, his eyes going wide from my strength.

Behind me, Sanji looks up. Heh, that's my idiot. He always needs me to save his ass. I glance back, giving him the biggest smile I could muster. I'll end this fight, Sanji. You don't have to push yourself anymore.

With his eyes, Sanji frowns, but he knows this is his only option. Please… I'm counting on you, Itsuka.

Don't you worry, because I'll be your fist! That is my declaration!

I turn back to All Might who stands in front of me, only a meter away. I can't fight him here. Sanji is way too close to us; he'll get caught in the crossfire. So I start walking towards the middle of the street, or what used to be the street. All Might sees what I'm doing and follows my lead, none of us making the first move yet.

Because here, the first move will be the most important.

Unlike Sanji's fight, which dragged out for a long time, mine will be quick.

All Might and Sanji are like David and Goliath. In their fight, it's prolonged due to Sanji's agility and evasion. He kept dodging and dodging. As a matter of fact, that is the only reason how I managed to fight All Might for a minute before Sanji woke up—I focused heavily on evasion, which isn't my speciality and without Sanji intervening, I wouldn't be standing.

But with the fight that's about to happen, I'm putting everything into strength. As a result, the outcome will be decided within mere seconds.

All Might and I are both Goliath. We're both weakened, exhausted. In our state, we're glass cannons. With a single hit—a few if we're lucky—we'll be defeated in a heartbeat. We have to be fast enough to ensure that we land a blow first, strong enough to ensure that the blow would down the other. We know this. We both know this.

"Young Kendo, this fight will not be like your partner's, will it?" All Might asks, seeing the conclusion I reached in my eyes.

I nod. "Yeah, who knew that my No-Life Sanji would have that high of an endurance? All that stupid training paid off." To have Sanji fight for six minutes while both Quirkless and injured all to protect me… I don't know how I ended up with a partner like him.

"Seems so. What about yours? Mastering both your father's Quirk and your grandfather's technique must be a challenge. Will you be able to defeat me here?" All Might asks another question, stopping five meters in front of me.

I answer, "Of course. I'm my family's fist."

"And Young Inochi's fist."

" Especially him, and he's my blade. He fought you until his body couldn't, and I'll do the same."

"He influenced you."

"Guess so, but then again…" I glance at him, watching us with worried eyes. My eyes rest on All Might again, a smile forming on my face. Shaking my head, I mutter so quietly that Sanji wouldn't hear me, "You'll do anything for the people you love."

All Might exhales from my words, can't help but to smile. "Indeed, Young Kendo. But that won't win this battle, for strength will—!"

He readies himself, initiating the first move. His right arm is raised: a straight jab. He could cross the five meters with a single step, stretching himself forward. Even with those movements combined, it will still take less time than for me to punch him. He's simply that fast. Thus, the best I could do is either dodge or somehow parry his attack. They will put me in a position where I won't be harmed and I'll have the advantageous position. But, both of those options are impossible. I am not Sanji. I can't dodge like he can, and I'm not deft enough to parry All Might's punch. In order to keep myself standing, I need to stop his fist with my own.

That comes at a cost: I will not be able to use the arm that stops All Might's punch afterwards. Considering his strength—considering that he won't hold back compared to before, when he tried to punch Sanji—it will render that arm completely useless.

So it has to be my right.

It was the same arm that I used to catch his last punch. The punch almost fractured my arm, but it's the right choice. If I pick my left arm, then I'll have a weakened right to punch with, and that's not ideal. Thus, I will destroy my weakened arm, leaving me with my left which has full strength.

But here comes another choice: Big Fists. This is an obvious one. I will activate Big Fists for my right. Look, blocking All Might's punch with my normal right hand will not only break my arm, but the punch will absolutely sever it from my body.

That's not happening.

"Smash—!" All Might shouts at the top of his lungs, sending his right fist forward. I immediately return the favor, using my own right fist to collide with his. As soon as I raise it, I activate Big Fists and push my body back, then in conjunction, I send my arm forward!

Fist to fist!
Knuckle to knuckle!

SMASH!

JUMBO FIST !

BOOM!

The collision sounded like an explosion went off. Immediately, All Might's punch creates a gust of wind that threatens to send me back, but I root my feet to the ground like a tree, keeping still as I get battered and beaten. The street behind me is guaranteed to be destroyed, fracturing the walls of some of the buildings caught in the crossfire. My right arm is utterly and completely ruined. It's colored black and blue, purple and red. I feel my bones shattering into pieces, but I go! I can't describe how much pain I'm feeling, but the job isn't done yet!

I only blocked his first attack by sacrificing an arm! That only leaves my left to rely on!

As All Might fights back against my right fist trying to overwhelm me in this clinch, I step forward and throw my left fist up, enlarging it at the last second—!

BAM!

It strikes him across his chin! It's not good enough! There wasn't enough power in that punch! All it did was make All Might stumble back and pull his right fist away! Shit, my right arm is spent. My right hand shrinks back to its original size. Can't focus on that! I need to punch again! Harder, with more conviction this time! I pull my left arm back! "All Might—!"

"Sm—!"

—Shit!

"—ash!"

SMASH!

He throws his left fist forward this time, aiming for the left side of my body. I turn on the balls of my feet, leaning on my right to avoid the punch. It flies through the air, narrowly avoiding coming into contact with me. My body just moved on its own, thank goodness for that. Because I just barely avoided it, I'm out of range to be hit by his wind pressure! But this leaves me with a whole new dilema! Because he tried to punch the left side of my body right as I pulled that arm back, he's forcing his arm to practically slide against mine! I don't have a good position to punch with it! That only leaves me with my broken right!

I'm put into check! Once All Might throws his third punch, then I'll be in checkmate! Damnit, what the hell can I do in this situation?! What the hell can I do?! I'm—!

"You almost always beat me in spars, Itsuka. Heh, I think you're the better martial artist here, and it'll stay like that."

Sanji… He's counting on me.

"Itsuka sweetie, you really are your father's daughter. He might've been an idiot, but you have his heart. Every time I look at you, I see him."

Mom…

"There's no doubt that you'll be a great Hero along with Sanji. I might be a senile old man, but I have enough sense to know that. You two are gifted, practically prodigies. Someday, you two will overshadow me, and I'll be happy."

Grandpa…

"Do you know what it means to be The People's Fist, honey?"

Dad—

"It means that you have to protect the weak! That's the role of the strong! The strong needs to protect the weak, so the weak could be the strong! No matter what, you have to fight for something greater than yourself, whether it be your friends, Japan, or even the entire world! The world might be cruel, but with our Big Fists, we are meant to carry the world like Atlas!"

Carry the world…

"Y'know Battle Fist, we were a little rocky coming into this school year, but I'm glad we're friends. I, the glorious Setsuna Tokage, will hereby be your best friend until I die, or when I get tired of you, hehe."

"Mmm, you're pretty great, Itsuka."

"Ohoho Kendo! No matter how many times you may assault me, I know you're fond of this little thief!"

"Gotta say Kendo, you really give everyone a hand! You...get the pun, right? Stop staring at me like that."

"Ya ain't that bad, Fists. Hate to admit it, but you an' the rest of our idiots knocked some sense into me. Thanks for that. If ya tell anyone this, 'specially Horns, then I'mma gut ya."

"Thanks Kendo. Ever since Shojo started to go to school again, you helped her by being her friend. You really don't know what good this has been for us. I really don't know how to repay you and Inochi."

Everyone…

I have to fight for everyone.

That's why I'm doing this.

The secret that All Might has, the man right in front of me… It's the secret that will put my friends in so much danger that Catharsis doesn't even compare. It killed Nana Shimura and my grandmother, I know it. Whatever's hiding, I will make sure that everyone comes out alive, especially Sanji!

He wants to make the world a better place, and I'm protecting the people who live in it! He wants to be a Hero because of All Might; I want to be a Hero because of my father!

But throughout it all—!

I don't care what happens! I will protect everyone I love, I will carry their burdens, be the shoulder that they cry on, all of it!

I do it all because I'm Battle Fist!

I'll be your fist, All Might!

I'll—?!

"—Hah?!"

The nerves in my arms feel like they're on fire, but the feeling subsides quickly after. Something is coursing through them, its power comparable to a large wave. It sweeps down from my shoulders, sending tingly shocks throughout each muscle, each tendon, each strand of flesh. My heart races a hundred kilometers a second.

My vision starts to blur slightly, then everything is clear. It's so clear; I can see the world so much better than before. Despite the pain I'm experiencing, I'm also experiencing a newfound clarity—a newfound energy. The wave that stormed across my arms, it reached to my fists—no, my right fist, the one that's broken and bruised. It's energy. I can feel it pulsating in my hand, almost like it's going to explode.

It's so much energy too, almost like I carry a nuclear bomb in my hand… Where did I get this energy? It didn't come from me. There's no way I could ever produce this much force with my punches.

But here, does that matter?

It doesn't.

I have this energy at my disposal. To let it go to waste… The obvious would happen…

I can't pass up this opportunity!

I have to destroy my right arm even more, but that's the sacrifice I'm willing to make!

"Hyaaah—!"

"—You?!"

Again, once again! I swing my right arm upwards, fighting against the pain that's telling me to stop! All Might is helpless watching my fist come right at him! I step forward and activate Big Fists, making my right hand be so much larger than before, all my fingers clenched and ready!

"Now this is farewell, All Might!"

JUMBO FIST REVERSAL—!

—My fist collided with his head.

Then, then…

WHOOSH!

From my punch, I generate so much wind pressure that All Might literally flies away with the force of a tornado throwing him back. He gets launched into a nearby building, going through the concrete foundations and into the building behind that, and the building behind that. The wind pressure follows after him, destroying entire buildings—entire blocks —and then… I can't see All Might anymore. All that's left of the sight in front of me is rubble.

The damage I caused…

It's on the same level as one of his punches…

Almost like… Almost like I took the energy from his punch and…

"Ah—…"

Sorry Grandpa…

"Sorry, All Might…"

In the battle that lasted for only ten seconds…

"We are the victors."

That's right… That's right…

"Itsu...ka…"

Sanji!

I turn around and Sanji's crawling over to me! I need to—!

THUD!

I fall on my knees. My right arm is tingly… I look down and…

Oh, that's not good…

It's not supposed to be that color…

I'm so glad that I don't feel this pain now…

"San...ji…" I say, my voice faint. I look at him and he's… He's unconscious.

The world turns ten shades darker before everything goes dark completely.


The Blade and Fist have defeated All Might, and so in the next chapter, you will meet A Shadow's Light!

Post-Chapter Business:

Sanji & Itsuka v. All Might: How in the actual hell did these two *beat* All Might? Well, like I said in the chapter, the events that happened in their fight led to this outcome. If it had happened differently, then it would end completely different. For Sanji, his fight was completely endurance. He didn't have the strength to beat All Might unlike Itsuka. He used his prediction skills to predict All Might's attacks, properly evade them, then counter with his own attacks. You may ask, "Well, it's All Might! It's impossible!" Actually no, it's really predictable. I mean, at this point of the story, Midoriya is almost a mirror image of All Might, and he *only* punches until he learns Shoot Style. His technique is predictable, and so All Might's technique is predictable. All Might is just a lot stronger and faster, which is the only reason why he wins fights. Who needs technique when you can level an entire city block with one punch? With Sanji, he realizes this and takes advantage. You see, he doesn't need to dodge All Might's attacks himself. With prediction, he knows exactly where All Might will hit and can dodge that way. With calling him "Toshinori Yagi", he is changing how he thinks. By constantly thinking that All Might is an undefeatable legend, Sanji would lose. By equating All Might as a man, then he would believe that even AM could be defeated.

Really, once Sanji started to attack All Might's injury, the one AfO gave him with, the battle officially became a question of "Who can tire out first?". Obviously, Sanji did. With his previous injuries in his first fight with AM, his body gave out literally at the last punch. But we should appreciate the fact that Sanji went 6 and a half minutes with AM alone, just relying on his prediction and his agility. He constantly charged AM, preventing him from using his wind pressure attacks, and just kept at it until Itsuka came along.

And with Itsuka, she overpowered All Might with a battle of strength, which only lasted for 10 seconds. To compare her fight with Sanji's is like comparing apples to oranges. You should admire Sanji's endurance and Itsuka's strength. And yes, Itsuka experienced a Quirk Awakening that pulled her through. With a Quirk Awakening, it only happens when in a state of exhaustion and near-death, and this fight definitely filled those requirements. As a result, Itsuka awakens to a new aspect of her Quirk: Reversal. She is now able to use Reversal, Master Kendo's Quirk, in conjunction with Big Fists, which means *extra* power, leading to All Might's defeat. All Might was defeated with her punch alongside the fact that Sanji weakened him by attacking his injury.

It was a team effort.

Manga Fukidashi & Kinoko Komori: I wanted Komori to freaking choke Present Mic out. That was my intention all along. Poor Mic. He got bugged by Koda and now Komori ruined his life. He's totally gonna complain about this to Aizawa later. Anyway, Manga has to remind himself of what he's fighting for. He reminded himself that he is not Sanji or Itsuka, but rather himself, and that's great. He grew a massive spine and told Mic off for being lenient towards him. It takes major balls to do that, so props to Manga! Also, with his new Hero Name, Kodomo, I came up with it since the name for *children mangas* (like Pokemon) are "kodomo". It's a nice parallel, and with how Manga adores children, it's really fitting.

Yosetsu Awase & Kojiro Bondo: Awase finally gets his time to shine! Compared to canon material, he's a lot more quiet. Here, in DoS, I kinda threw that out the window. Why? Well, everyone needs a bro, and Awase is it. Whenever you need a shoulder, he's there. With his fight against Midnight, you get to see that he's pretty damn clever, and he's not idle about his training. By training with Sanji, he now can use his Steel Beam to restrain people from afar without having the need to getting in close. Here, this *shows* that 1-B is inspired by Sanji instead of just telling you every damn chapter. Not only Sanji will be powerful, but I'm also buffing 1-B, as you can see with Itsuka's Quirk Awakening.

A Shadow's Light: That's the next chapter of DoS, Chapter 41! With my school being closed due to the virus, I should have more time to write, but again, Chapter 41 will come out in two weeks. With the title, you can guess that it will be centered around Kuroiro and his backstory. Three other fights will be highlighted as well, namely Togaru Kamakiri & Pony Tsunotori v. Snipe! Look forward to it!

I hope you enjoy the chapter y'all! Leave a review, favorite, or whatever!