After yesterday's… events, Hitoshi was glad that he had the night off to fully calm down before the final exam. Once they'd returned home he'd felt nothing but sheer embarrassment and shame for how he'd acted. How dare he make Hizashi and Shouta feel like they hadn't given him the world? Stupid Hitoshi, so fucking selfish.

Hizashi had left food for him outside his room which he ate with Jelly and Cream curled up beside him, earphones in listening to an old Put Your Hands Up podcast.

They'd placed him on a team with Kacchan and Zuku.

He couldn't let them down.

He wouldn't.

He needed to give it his all and make up for what he'd done.

His mask felt tight as he nervously walked towards the starting gate of the practice area. He noticed Kacchan already there and waiting, he turned to him as he approached.

"So he is taking part after all." His cousin smiled, slapping him on the back. "We're not gonna' need you 'cause I'm gonna' take down All Might all on my own but it's nice to know you're there anyway." Kacchan smirked.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes.

"When you get your dumb ass captured I'm not coming to untie you."

"Yeah right…"

"Hey!" Zuku ran over.

"You're late, Deku…" Kacchan stated.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Whatever, just get ready."

Things seemed frosty between the two of them, had something happened? Hitoshi knew that Kacchan was always softer in how he treated him, that hadn't changed since he'd defended him back at the USJ, but he wasn't usually this abrupt with Zuku, they were cousins and they fought a lot but they still cared about each other.

A horn sounded.

This was a bad time for a family fight, they had to face All Might and Hitoshi was sure that even with the three of them it was still going to be a challenge. He needed them at their best but if they were going to be at each other's throats the entire time they were never going to pass.

"Team Midoriya, Bakugou, and Shinsou Practical Exam. Ready, go!"

The gates slowly opened.

They walked inside.

"So what's the plan?" Hitoshi asked, jumping a little as they slammed closed behind them.

"Well normally I'd suggest that we analyse the hero's combat ability and choose to fight them based on that, but in this case the villain is All Might so we don't need to think about it because combat is out of the question. It would be impossible to beat him in a fight." Zuku explained. "All Might is probably waiting for us on this main road, we should take another route."

"I'm not going to run away from this fight." Kacchan stated. "It will look better if we blast that smile off his face."

Hitoshi furrowed an eyebrow.

"You want to fight All Might?"

"We should avoid fighting him no matter what it takes!" Zuku continued.

"I'm gonna' toy with him until time is almost up and then knock him unconscious for real."

"Think about this, you know what All Might can do. Even with those handicap weights, it's impossible for you to win in a fight against him."

"Just because you think you're getting stronger doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do!"

Hitoshi was in disbelief as he looked between his cousins.

"We don't have time for this!"

"All I'm trying to do is get us to pass the final; this is for the three of us." Zuku spoke up.

"I TOLD YOU WE DON'T NEED YOUR DUMB POWER TO PASS; I CAN WIN IT ALL BY MYSELF!" Kacchan screamed.

"WILL YOU STOP YELLING?!" Zuku retorted, by yelling…

Hitoshi took a breath trying to stay calm as his moronic teammates seemed more interested in fighting each other than their teacher. He was just about to intervene when a gust of wind blew them all of their feet, the buildings and cars around them truly being destroyed as they tumbled to the ground metres away.

He coughed as the wind was knocked out of him on impact.

"Ow." Hitoshi winced as he picked himself up. His arms and face were scraped up and bleeding with road rash from skidding along the concrete, his gym uniform already looking worse for wear.

Looking around he couldn't see shit through the enormous dust cloud engulfing what had been the main street.

"Who cares if I destroy this city?" A booming voice announced.

Oh great, All Might was here…

And where the fuck were Kacchan and Zuku?

Seeing a side street through the clearing he ducked into it and threw himself flat against the wall hoping the number one wouldn't notice him. He quickly slid down the mask to allow him to breathe more effectively.

All Might stomped down on the ground, the new, smaller gust of wind blowing away the dust in seconds revealing his cousins.

"If you think of this as an exam and not a real fight you'll be sorry. I'm a villain now heroes, remember that."

The fight between him and All For One, he remembered the boss talking about how even though he'd taken great damage the number one had faired far worse, even going as far to say that his days as a hero would be numbered. What did he mean by that? What had happened that made All For One smile so much even in defeat?

Was there some kind of weakness he could exploit?

"You better come at me with everything you've got, I won't pull my punches."

Maybe he hadn't even noticed he was missing.

"And where's that little friend of yours?"

Oh boy…

"It's over if we fight him head on." Zuku stated as he got to his feet. "Let's run!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kacchan echoed from earlier.

Zuku took off running.

All Might charged at the two of them.

"Kacchan no!"

"How about a stun grenade?!"

His cousin pulled the pin on his arm gauntlet

"You want everything I've got All Might, like that wasn't my plan! I-."

Kacchan was cut off as the number one grabbed him by the face.

Despite the numerous blasts he fired in the hero's face All Might was undeterred as he let out a chuckle. In a matter of seconds he adjusted his grip, grabbing Kacchan's arm and swinging him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

Hitoshi couldn't help the gasp that burst from his lips as he felt the impact.

Kacchan gasped for air.

He shoved the mask back on.

"Hey All Might?!" He called out, imitating Zuku's voice.

"Oh I'm sorry I promise you're next."

Gotcha.

Hitoshi grabbed control of the number one but it felt different. He was so mentally strong, he had minutes at best.

"We need a fucking plan and we need it now!" He shouted, his breathing harsh as he screwed his eyes closed against the pins and needles stabbing at his brain. "Fuck!"

Kacchan was on his feet once again.

"Kacchan!"

"Out of the way!"

Hitoshi was ready to kill the pair of them.

"Haven't you been listening to me? It would be insane to fight him head on."

"Shut it! I will win this! That's what it means to be a hero, Deku!"

"At the very least we should be trying to avoid him."

"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Hitoshi screamed as he collapsed to his knees, the number one finally having fought his way back to control.

Zuku's eyes widened.

"Hitoshi…" His breathy tone called.

All Might became animated once again, zooming off in seconds. They were unbeknown to his position until…

"Incoming, heroes!"

A large span of broken fencing was thrust into the ground trapping the two heroes against the ground.

"Hmm." The number one walked into the alley and grabbed Hitoshi by the throat, lifting him from the ground and making his way over to Zuku and Kacchan. He held him out like it was nothing as Hitoshi kicked and squirmed, hands trying and of course failing to make All Might release his grip.

"Nice trick you've got there, shame it has such a small time limit, and I now know what to look out for next time so you're basically out of ideas."

It felt familiar which only made Hitoshi feel sick deep inside. But this time, he was stronger. He could fight back.

"Zuku…" He forced out.

"Hitoshi." The fearful tone of his cousin replied.

"Use your quirk and lift that thing off you."

Zuku's eyes blanked as he took control, it felt as if he was giving himself a haemorrhage but his idea seemed to be working.

"Ah, ah, ah, that's not going to cut it." All Might covered his eyes with his hand.

"It… doesn't work through sightline."

Zuku, aided by Kacchan, was making quick work of the railing.

The hero genuinely looked a little stumped.

"I know you saw me at the sports festival, how I used it in my fight against Zuku, but you clearly weren't paying attention."

"Ahhhhhh!" His cousins roared as they were finally free.

Hitoshi released control, his head feeling lighter.

A few seconds later, he was flying through the air before he collided harshly with the wall of one of the buildings.

"Gahhh…" He cried out on impact.

"HITOSHI!"

He slumped down to the ground, falling on all fours as he barely had the strength to keep himself upright. He could hear Zuku cry out once again.

"YOU BASTARD!" Kacchan bellowed.

Hitoshi managed to pull his head up just in time to see Zuku trapped once again beneath the railing. His gaze was stolen however by the sight of All Might landing an extremely heavy punch dead centre into Kacchan's stomach. He flew through the air, before landing a few feet away where he violently threw up.

"KACCHAN!" He screamed, the anger building up inside he powering him to his feet and back out into the fray.

His cousin had yet to move.

All Might was stalking up to him slowly and menacingly.

"Hah, I know why you're so angry, young Bakugou; because of young Midoriya's sudden improvement, right? But you have to remember each of your rankings when the year first began. It's much easier to level up when you're a novice. You're wasting your full potential. Do you see that?"

"Shut up, All Might…" Kacchan spoke up. "If I can't win without relying on Zuku, then I'd rather lose this, do you hear me?"

"I see."

"Don't you dare say that you'd rather lose, let's win this, Kacchan!" Zuku shouted as he blasted through the air.

Hitoshi found himself swooped into his hold, his cousin grabbing Kacchan too before he took them down one of the side streets far out of reach of the number one.

"Drop me you bastard!"

Kacchan fought his way free from Zuku's grasp.

Hitoshi, who wasn't too thrilled about being carried either, also righted himself before panting heavily against the wall.

"Kacchan…" Zuku began, equally out of breath. "I can't think of a way for us to beat All Might, or to make a clean getaway without him swooping in and stopping us. But before you give up, we can at least try using my power, you can't say you're okay with losing! You're you because you never give in, you're always fighting. 'The most amazing hero always wins'; you've been saying those words since we were little kids. How can you give up now?"

Kacchan growled before causing a blast into the wall beside Zuku.

"Listen because I won't say it again, nerd. All Might's speed is insane, no matter where you try to run and hide there's no way you could avoid fighting him."

"Yeah but we don't stand a chance in combat, I mean you saw him back there."

"Shut the hell up!" Kacchan shouted, effectively silencing Zuku. "He won't be stopped by anything less than a full power attack; I learnt that earlier with my mini blasts. So, we give him everything we've got at point blank range. Our only option is to inflict damage and then put some distance between us."

Hitoshi took a breath as he counted down.

Kacchan flew from the side street just as All Might passed.

"You're going the wrong way!"

He fired a blast directly in the number one's face, a cloud of smoke shrouding him before he followed it up with concussive fire.

"DEKU!"

Zuku flew in from behind, Kacchan's gauntlet on his arm.

"So that's your game."

"Shoot now!" Kacchan bellowed.

Zuku pulled the pin as fire erupted through the street and his cousin was thrown backwards.

"Gah!"

"Purple hair!"

"Right." Hitoshi nodded, repeating their tactic from the sports festival and flying through the air with Kacchan's blasts.

"Run you idiot!" Kacchan instructed Zuku down below.

By time they'd made it halfway the three of them all knew something wasn't right.

"Where the hell is he? There's no way that attack K.O.'d him." His cousin stated.

But apparently they'd spoken too soon.

"Incoming!"

"Woah!" Kacchan was plucked from his back causing him to fall to the ground without the propulsion of the blasts.

He felt his arm snap as he hit the concrete.

"Arghhh!"

There was a shatter as All Might's punch shattered Kacchan's gauntlets.

The number one laughed.

"All right heroes, it's time for you both to die."

Hitoshi could barely see what had happened in the seconds that followed, only hearing Zuku's scream of his cousin's name. As the dust cloud cleared it revealed Kacchan on the ground, All Might's boot keeping him down, and Zuku held by his wrist in the air.

"Damn it…" Zuku squirmed as he tried to get free.

"What kind of face is that to make young Midoriya?"

He threw him across the ground like it was nothing.

"You planned to get away from me using maximum fire power and then make a run for the escape gate. It wasn't a terrible strategy but I can't help but notice that you failed to include Master Shinsou in your plan. However, now that I've destroyed Bakugou's gauntlets you've lost your heavy attack; you're helpless. This is over."

"SHUTTT UPPPPP!" Kacchan fired a large blast straight into the number one's face sending him flying. He quickly grabbed Zuku. "Get ready to fly."

"Huh?!"

"I don't like the idea of running, but with the crap that we're in right now this is the only way to pass the practical."

Within seconds Kacchan had launched his cousin through the air towards the finish gate.

"NEW HAMPSHIRE, SMASH!"

All Might collided with Zuku's back causing him to cry out in pain.

Hitoshi's eyes widened.

He had to help!

"Those gauntlets were only so I could use maximum fire power with no risk, but now I see that was stupid. If I don't take any risks there's no way I can beat you, right All Might?!"

The blast which erupted was ridiculous in size and unsurprisingly his cousin looked spent after it, the sheer agony written in Kacchan's face.

"Deku go! Hurry up!"

But Zuku wasn't going anywhere; there was definitely something really wrong with his back.

Hitoshi held his useless arm to his chest as he sprinted towards Kacchan.

All Might had other plans though as he grabbed his cousin and once again slammed him into the ground, this time more definitively.

"It's time to sleep, boy."

'boy'

It was so close to…

"What's the matter, pet?"

Hitoshi's eyes blew wide.

No.

"Hurry up and go you damn nerd... I'll keep fighting, I'll break myself, even if there's nothing left of me, I will win the way I want to. I'll destroy myself before I accept defeat at your hands…" Kacchan's weak tone spoke up.

No!

Hitoshi sprinted over, placing himself between the number one and Kacchan on the ground.

"I don't care who you are, I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU HURT THEM."

All Might laughed.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Hitoshi smiled.

"That's the problem with you villains; you really like the sound of your own voice."

He took control and this time, the number one didn't have the same strength.

"It may have took me a while but I figured it out. After you took on All For One he mentioned a weakness he could exploit, I always thought he meant it figuratively but it turns out it was actually literal. I saw you coughing after Kacchan's blast, you can't hold out in fights like you used to which means you're not getting free from me this time."

Hitoshi looked down at Kacchan, his cousin unconscious at his feet and he hadn't heard anything out of Zuku in a while. Rage grew inside him as he glared at the number one.

"I don't know much about heroes, not like Zuku, but I know enough to understand what they're supposed to do and I don't think beating up kids until they're unconscious or their backs are broken fits the description. So did it finally make you feel powerful again after all those years, All Might?." He shook his head. "They look up to you and this is what you do?"

Hitoshi winced as he reached behind to his belt with his not broken arm.

"I don't care if you were just playing a part, everyone has their true colours and I know that better than most. The way you fought them like they were beneath you, you could fit right in with the League. You hurt my family." Hitoshi stated through gritted teeth. "And you'll never be a hero to me."

He threw the handcuffs down in front of the number one.

"Now put them on."

The horn sounded a few seconds after the click of metal.

"Team Midoriya, Bakugou, and Shinsou have completed the exam." The announcing voice stated.

Hitoshi released his control.

"Master Shinsou… I-."

He crouched down and pulled his unconscious cousin across his back before standing upright.

"Go to hell All Might."