Chapter 37 – Why

"There's no way Monoma could have... you know... I don't know, can he even do that?"

"Even if he could copy All Might's quirk, he possibly can't compare, right? Not that he's weak himself, it's just that it's... it's All Might we are talking about, after all."

Denial took over the minds of most of the students spectating the fight. They all hoped that Nanami and Monoma would pull through using some smart out-of-this-world tactic. But, none of them even considered that those two would try to take All Might's quirk.

Nanami couldn't not harm herself without any training, so it was out of the question for her to do so. But Monoma could. Most thought he won't be brave enough to try it, but he was there, with his hand on All Might's shoulder!

"Even if he can copy All Might's quirk, All Might is still a superior fighter in all respects. Even A-Section's Bakougo, could counter Monoma with the same quirk... it'll be them some time?", Kendo vocalised her assessment of the situation. Despite not visibly panicking at the development, they were all taken aback.

"But Bakougo wasn't holding back, All Might has to carry half of his body weight during this fight, that might tilt the fight in their favour", Setsuna added.

All of them were brainstorming, but it was all based on one assumption, that Monoma could copy One for All!

"Huh? I expected to feel a bit stronger you know", Monoma wasn't really sure what to expect.

"Tell me, young Monoma, are there any quirks which you can't copy?", All Might had braced himself for a strong hit but it seemed like that wouldn't be necessary anymore.

"Uh... mutation-type quirks I suppose...", this didn't add up.

"All Might has a mutation type quirk? That makes no sense or...", Monoma started panicking and hoped that Nanami woke up soon. But he had to verify something before giving up.

He tried to summon Tetsutetsu's quirk, i.e. the fifth last quirk he had copied before this fight.

"I see... so his quirk isn't just simply super strength. Makes some sense I guess. I hope I bought Nanami enough time at least. Jeez, what a bother, at least we outperformed A Section... heh!"

Monoma seemed to be driven by his desire to beat his opponent, whoever they might be. It probably had something more beneath the surface, but irrespective of any deep-rooted malice, or misplaced heroism, he felt strong at the moment he touched All Might's shoulder. It wasn't physical strength, it was a noble feeling of sorts. Maybe he felt, for the first time in his life, how it felt to be a hero. But that feeling was very short-lived...

"That was a good try, but I suppose you couldn't copy my quirk!", All Might said in the same tone as he did all the time. He didn't seem the least bit exhausted and now he was about to knock out Monoma for the rest of the fight.

Most of the spectators figured out what happened. It was unfortunate, but at least it helped them keep their worldview, which they had come to cherish.

All Might couldn't be beaten!

The match was unfair from the beginning, they told themselves. And so with a hit, Monoma was down, it didn't seem that he'd get back up anytime soon. Nanami, however, managed to get up back on her feet and she proclaimed, as she snapped her fingers, "All Might, I'm the one you need to worry about!"

She wasn't serious, she just wanted to distract the 'villain' from her downed partner. Or was that all she wanted?

The students watched as the match approached its conclusion, but at a moment's notice, Monoma disappeared into thin air! Nanami stumbled seemingly on the spot, completely out of breath as she snapped her fingers again.

When Tetsuya started manifesting his quirk, it was a lot more dangerous as it kept getting activated at the slightest provocations. Throughout his first few years at school, he had broken multiple pencils as a result.

But at the given moment, as Nanami was struggling against All Might, he was in his math class. Now, he had a better command of his quirk but anxiety can't just be 'solved' with practice. There were still instances when his quirk activated without him wanting it to.

As his mind dozed off, his teacher called upon him to solve the question on the board. This sudden request came as a surprise to a sleepy Tetsuya. But even more so, he was worried about his pen's ink spilling...

Nothing happened.

"I guess I've gotten better at controlling it... or maybe she's using it. Beats me, at least I don't have to buy another pen."

His second guess was rather on point.

That, however, did not explain where Monoma disappeared to. That was until the students noticed something flying off towards the exit gate.

All Might had spotted that quite some time ago. But just when he was about to leap into the air to catch up to Monoma, he was held back by Nanami.

Her muscles enlarged as she struggled to keep the number 1 hero grounded, but it was not meant to be. The power difference was far too great, and there was a limit to the strength she could get from the quirk before she blacked out.

"TO HELL WITH THAT LIMIT"

Nanami shouted as her muscles bulged to a point where her hands and legs started bleeding. No matter what All Might tried, she didn't intend to let him take off!

"YES! YES! These are the kinds of heroes I wish to see in the future. All of them! I'm sorry... for holding back till now, I can not deny your desire to grow anymore! I will give it my all too!", All Might's time limit for the day was approaching too. But with a sheer display of strength, the number 1 hero took off despite Nanami's best efforts.

She was intent on not letting All Might go, but she was even more hell-bent on not fainting. But as it seemed like she failed to achieve her first goal, the victory congratulation music started playing!

An unconscious Monoma had crossed the exit gate to grant his team the victory!

"Jeez I'm worried about her...", Kendo sighed

"Well, she would definitely have pulled through! She is one of the manliest people I have ever met!", Tetsutetsu was as proud as he could be!

"Why does she push herself so hard..."