The meeting to outline the parameters of the final exams had been going on for quite some time. Clarifying who would be facing who, what shortcomings the students would be proving they had overcome.
"Saisei and Midoriya?" All Might asked. "Are you sure about that?" The number one hero could tell from a glance at Midnight that he wasn't the only one with misgivings.
"Midoriya should be obvious," Nezu answered first, "She looks up to you a great deal, All Might. To the point it might have a deleterious effect on her growth as a hero in her own right. She sees you as the ideal, as the pinnacle of being a hero. She does her best to emulate you and in doing so she confines herself, defines her path as being one that leads to being just like you. When really you should be someone to surpass as she becomes her own hero, whatever that may turn out to be."
"As for Saisei," Aizawa took over for the principal, "Kid's had an arrogant streak in him a mile wide since long before he came to this school. He doesn't see you as an ideal. He sees you as a brick wall, same as he sees the other powerful student in his class. He sees people he can't beat and loses motivation to even try. His little speech on winning the sports festival told us that much. Getting a little inspiration in the moment didn't hammer the lesson home though. He needs to show that even if a situation looks impossible he'll fight through it anyway."
Midnight shook her head. "That's all well and good, but Midoriya and Saisei were romantically involved only a week ago. You really think they'll be able to work together despite that? It seems unfair to force them to cooperate when they probably have some pretty bad friction right now."
Aizawa gave his colleague a flat look. "What, you think we should switch someone else in, undermine the whole point of this because some kids had a bad breakup? That's not rational." He shook his head. "No. They sink or swim, that's just how it is in our profession. And if they can't hack it for being too busy dealing with a lovers' spat? Well then they'll learn a whole different lesson, won't they?"
-(-)-
The atmosphere in the mock-downtown training zone could be best described as charged. For the exam taking place, for the stress the students were under, for the anticipation of who they were about to face... And for the friction between them that unfortunately hadn't gone away for the duration of the exam.
"So how do you want to handle this, Izuku?" Saiki asked. Difficult as it might be, they had to figure a way through this together.
"That should be obvious, Evo."
Hero names. It was... Not inappropriate, but he knew there was more to it than just wanting to play along with the spirit of the exam. "Alright," he sighed. The plan was pretty obvious. They didn't have many options. "I'll hold him off for as long as I can."
He expected that would be the end of it. What he didn't expect was for her to whirl on him and look at him like he had lost his mind. "Are you crazy?! It's All Might! I nearly knocked you out and I'm not even a tenth as strong as he is!"
"Then I'll do my best to not get hit."
"Listen, I don't care what your ego is telling you to do, you can't beat him! He'll crush you in an instant! Our best chance is to both run for it, avoid him for as long as we can until–"
"Until?" The booming voice sent a chill of fear down both teens' backs. As they felt the presence of the looming shape behind them. "Well? Go on. I'm all ears."
Izuku froze like a deer caught in headlights. Her entire life she had been safe in the knowledge that All Might was a hero. That even as much of a force of nature as he was, she would never come to harm at his hands. All Might only punished the bad guys. And now in this moment, as she stared up at the towering figure, that hope-giving smile was no longer a comfort. It was a threat. A promise of what was to come. This was why villains feared him so much, she realised. Because on seeing that smile, she knew it was already over.
Saiki on the other hand cared not at all for any of that. Because his hero internship had focused on one thing above all else. Once you were in the shit, no matter how bad the odds were the only way out was to fight your way out. He didn't have the adoration for All Might that Izuku did even if he understood the fear. But at the same time, his training demanded he put that fear aside and act.
A rain of body blows. Fast, compact, yet powerful. Enough to make several men named Jo nod in approval. But even that was only enough to make the towering hero flinch and take a single step back. He didn't bother to guard. Just showed exactly how futile Saiki's efforts were.
But that wasn't what Saiki took away from it.
He flinched.
And he stepped back.
That was all the encouragement he needed. The gap between him and the number one hero was enormous, but it wasn't insurmountable. He kept going, fist after fist striking home until All Might decided he had enough, made a grab for the boy. Saiki barely slipped around it. Jumped to avoid a knee but realised his mistake far too late. His leg swung out to make one final strike before the inevitable. One kick to the hero's chiselled jaw all he managed before he got grabbed out of the air in one meaty fist.
"Well now, I'll give you a little credit, hero. I almost felt a couple of those!" the hero sneered, playing the villain. "BUT NOT ENOUGH!" His grip adjusted to palm the back of his student's head before slamming him face first into the pavement hard enough to make a small crater, then dig a furrow through the asphalt using Saiki as a human sledgehammer. "RrrrrRAH!" The hulking hero teacher used the momentum of his run as the lead-in to throwing the boy as far away from the escape gate as he could. But the boy didn't fly. He didn't go anywhere. "Hmm? Is that tenacity or desperation?" the teacher asked as he saw his blue-haired student clinging desperately onto his arm.
Bloodied, bruised, chunks of cement embedded in his face. "Run, Izuku–!" Saiki tried to shout, interrupted as the arm he clung to slammed into the ground. "Guah!" His arms came loose from All Might's. His body went limp.
"Saiki!" Izuku whispered, her few fearful steps turn into a terrified, quirk-assisted sprint as she realised she was next.
But he was already on her. "Oh right! This one wanted to run and hide, didn't she?" She yelped as he pulled her along in the direction she was already going to slam her into a lamp post. "Can't have that." Tearing the metal pole from out of the concrete, he bent and warps the metal to coil it around her until she couldn't move.
"Alright!" the villainous hero grunted, dusting off his hands as he turned around walking back to where he left the other one. "Back to busine–. Huh." No longer there. "Quick little guy when he wants to be. Quiet too." He could see the smear of blood from where he smashed the kid into the asphalt. A short trail, and then nothing. "Hrrm, well, that's a problem. Kid's regeneration must be something else! I thought it was supposed to be slow! Well, at least I have young Midoriya to use as–" He turned around, walked back around the corner to see Izuku was gone too. "... How did he even do that? Oh well. I don't know where they are but I at least know where they're going."
Inside a nearby building, Saiki carried Izuku still wrapped up in a bent lamp post as he ascended to higher and higher floors. "You're the All Might expert," he spoke softly, "Does he have super hearing or anything?"
"Not really," she answered just as quietly, "Better than most maybe but not like Kyoka or anything."
He thought it over for a moment, looked around before deciding to move to the centre of this floor of the building. "This'll have to do for now," he continued to speak quietly as he got to work uncoiling the metal pole. What All Might could do in seconds was a much more drawn out process for Saiki, especially doing it quietly. "Once you're back on your feet, we can get back to doing what we should've done in the first place."
"What's wrong with you?"
"A lot of things probably. You'd know better than most," he spoke, wincing as the pole creaked loudly. "So the plan. I fight him to keep him distracted and you never get in his sights until after you already win this for us."
"Why do you want to fight him so badly?!" she demanded, her voice raising enough that he covered her mouth. Something that only earned him a glare. "He'll just beat you again. It's pointless."
"I'll fight him because you won't," he answered simply. "You're terrified of him. I mean I get why, but I also don't. Whatever the reason is it doesn't matter." He looked away, feeling a little too vulnerable and not in a physical sense. It was a feeling he avoided for nearly his whole life. "You inspired me once. More than anyone ever has. So it's time for me to return the favour. My turn to be your hero."
"I don't want you to be my hero!" she retorted sharply. She wasn't sure how much was from not wanting a hero, not wanting it to be him, and how much was for how much she could see had been done to him just for pursuing that goal. Much as she wished she wouldn't care about him, it still hurt her to see him so beat to hell.
He sniffed, regretfully. "Yeah... I know," he admitted. Right at that moment there was nothing she wanted from him. If she had the choice she'd be here with literally anyone else. But, "I can't really help that part. The only way around me being your hero is to stop being the kind of person who needs one."
With a final tug, the metal pole unwound enough that Izuku could kick the rest off. Once free, she follows Saiki to the windows as he peered out of them.
"Looks like we lost him," he observed with a grimace. "So he went to the one place he knew we'd have to go." He sighed. "Okay. You better keep up, Deku. You might not get a second chance if you take too long." He took off in a sprint.
"Saiki!"
"See you on the other side," he waved back at her before diving out of a window in the direction of the escape gate.
As he hopped from building to building, there wasn't any part of him that believed this attempt would go any better than the first. He wasn't on All Might's level yet. He wasn't supposed to be. And really, as a hero he wouldn't always have the option of staying away from fights he couldn't handle, but he'd have to handle them anyway. He couldn't stop training, couldn't stop seeking strength. If he kept going, he'd be able to live the satisfying life he dreamed of. Fame and success would give him the finer things in life. He wouldn't be the dirt of Japan anymore, a cast-off of a wastrel and a runaway. That wouldn't matter. He'd be an icon. Someone to inspire–
... No.
The usual speech to hype himself up didn't seem to work this time. It rang hollow even to himself. He wanted to be more than what he was, to have more than what the world believed he deserved. But in this moment as his eyes landed on All Might for the fraction of a second he was in view between jumps. In this moment it barely felt like it was about himself at all. More than anything, he hoped that Izuku was behind him. Because if he was being honest with himself. Really, truly honest?
...
All Might waited patiently around fifty feet away from the escape gate. The area around him was the corner of two city blocks. He could wait there and guarantee to catch his students before they could get through the gate. It was all a matter of waiting for them to come to him, or to fail by the time limit.
He didn't have to wait long. He raised an arm and braced as Saiki came down on him with one leg outstretched in a multi-story axe kick. "Ngh! Young Saisei! Welcome back to your exam! Did you have a nice rest?" He looked up past his student to where Saiki must have come from. "Nice aim by the way! Twenty foot jump from," he blocked the other leg aiming for his head with his other arm, shoving his student away to land. "From the fourth floor I'm guessing? Not bad. Takes practice. But I think we both know that kick hurt you about as much as it hurt me."
Saiki didn't respond. There was no point. If Izuku followed him she'd be looking for an opening. Standing around talking wouldn't give her one. He charged the much larger man, only to slide between his legs to aim fists at the kidneys of the number one hero. He got in two punches before All Might's leg came up in a back-kick that knocked Saiki into the arena wall.
"Whoops!" the big man shouted, leaping from his position guarding the gate to Saiki, grabbed the dazed boy and leapt right back to where he started. "You see young Saisei, I can tell what you're hoping for. But if I know what you're doing you can't do it. All I have to do is stand right here, keep an eye out for young Midoriya to make sure she can't sneak past and that's the end of it. Being this obvious? Not a smart plan." The only response he got from Saiki was another attempt at a punch to his face, even while being held. The hero sighed. "This is starting to get a little sad. Well, since you're so determined to be a nuisance.." He grabbed the teenager by the legs and–
Slam!
"I have to wonder-"
Slam!
"Just how many-"
Slam!
"Of these it will take!"
Slam!
"But I'm sure we can-"
Slam!
"Have fun figuring it out together!" He looked down at the limp, broken form of his student hanging in his hand. "Five, huh? More than I thought. I'll be honest, probably took a little more satisfaction from that than I should as your teacher. Oh well! Time to get you out of the way!" He reared back his arm as though to pitch the boy down the road and far away from the exit.
Rapid, staccato steps. The only warning before- "Smaaaaaash!"
"Ngh!" The same damn arm as Saisei hit, right in the same spot, while he wasn't tensing for it! His grip loosened early, sending the boy tumbling down the road in the exact wrong direction. "Young Midoriya! Was wondering when you would pop back up!" he said, trying not to let it show that her blow actually kind of smarted a bit.
"I'm not going to let you do as you like anymore, All Might!" she exclaimed with determination, standing between him and the badly beaten boy. "I'm stopping you right here!"
"Is that so?" he asked with humour, that same terrifying grin appearing once more. "Well, come on then."
She knew he was stronger than her. Faster than her. More durable than her. More skilled. More experienced. The greatest to ever live. None of that mattered. Because in this moment he was the one standing in her way. She couldn't fight him head on. So... She stepped. And again. Ten feet with one. Fifteen the next. Dart in, feint, dart out, five, five, five to circle behind him, duck under the arm, move again, dodge the leg, keep circling, there! His limbs were out of place and she was in an awkward position for him to hit! This was her moment! "Detroit...!"
Unseen from her low position at his side, she couldn't see the beaming smile on his face. She studied him maybe more than any other hero, the little fangirl. Trust her to have picked out a weakness. Or at least... What she thought was a weakness. "Detroit...!"
From that position?! Deku panicked, but it was too late! Her fist swung forward aiming for her idol's face, "SMASH!"
And then his head, his body, both were out of her field of view as his fist came down to meet hers, "SMASH!"
"Gyagh!" she yelped in pain as she felt the bones in her hand, her arm, break all at once, just like when she first started using One for All. She spun as the extra force All Might brought to bear drove her to the ground.
"Hah, hah, a valiant attempt, young Midoriya," he squatted down in front of her as she squinted to clear her vision. "Feel like trying again?" His proud smile turned to a slight frown as he realised she was smiling too.
And also... Not looking at him. Looking past him.
The hero cursed himself. Him again. All Might couldn't help but feel he should have seen this coming. The boy had pulled the same stunt earlier in the exam. Sure enough, as he looked behind him, he saw Saisei crawling for the escape gate. He had to admit, Midoriya successfully distracted him for a while. But he couldn't just let them win.
"Excuse me while I go deal with something," the hero requested as he performed a quick about face, lunging away to chase down the fleeing student still not well enough to do more than crawl.
No! Izuku kicked off the ground herself to chase down her mentor before he could go after Saiki again. It felt strange that keeping pace with him until she felt the pain in her legs building up. In the moment, she couldn't bring herself to care about that! She wouldn't let him hurt her–!
She wouldn't let him–!
It didn't matter! She'd stop him!
"Sorry about this young Saisei! Carolina...!"
"Wyoming...!"
"Oh, shit," the hero muttered as he saw the shadow of his successor.
"SMAAAAAASH!" Izuku brought both fists down on the back of her airborne mentor's head, driving him solidly back down to the ground and arresting his momentum. "GO SAIKI!"
Bleeding, exhausted, with multiple broken bones, the boy managed to cross the escape line by his head and shoulders.
A horn blared to signal the end of the exam.
"Saiki!" Izuku fretted, running over to him and rolling him over onto his back. "Are you okay?!"
"Heh, heheh!" he coughed while laughing. "Can't really... Inspire the warm fuzzies like you can," he slurred, "But I sure know how spite can get people motivated! Heh... Heh... I'm just gonna sleep for a bit..."