The episode started with the door to the test area closing ominously behind Midoriya and Bakugo. Internally, Bakugo remembered how Deku seemed to be copying his moves, and how much he'd improved over the internship compared to himself.

"Wait..." Sero said slowly, as he took in the images and memories. "Is Bakugo jealous of Midoriya?"

"I am not jealous of the nerd! I'm just angry that my internship was so shitty!"

"So, you're angry that Midoriya has something you want or got something you didn't. Isn't that what jealousy is?"

"Shut up!"

The thoughts stoked his anger and he glared at Deku while thinking that he wouldn't accept another 'half-assed' victory like he got at the Sports Festival. Their scores here would show who was better, whether Deku liked it or not.

"You know, I get the feeling that seeing who is better isn't what Midoriya actually cares about here." Jirou muttered dryly.

Ignoring her, Izuku dared to look over at Bakugo. "Um, Kaachan? I know I said I wanted to beat you before, and I do! Because your amazing with your quirk! But, uh, that doesn't mean I want to be better than you, I mean, that's not really how that works I think..."

Bakugo's first instinct was to argue, loudly, but then he recalled his recent talk with All Might. Wasn't this similar to what All Might was saying? That other people failing, or at least not being first, didn't make them bad heroes or whatever, and that he should apply that to himself too?

He'd always hated how Deku would get back up after every failure to defend himself or someone else during their elementary and middle school days. It was like he was ignoring what was obvious, that Bakugo was better. And if Bakugo wasn't better, then that meant Deku thought he himself was better, despite all evidence to the contrary, and was therefore looking down on Bakugo despite having no right to do so. But what if, all this time, Deku had been thinking like All Might? If Deku didn't see failure the same way Bakugo did...then what did that mean for the two of them?

When Bakugo didn't respond, aside from staring at him with a neutral, thoughtful expression, Izuku awkwardly turned back to the screen.

Midoriya looked distressed when Bakugo glared at him. Bakugo marched forward without a word to Midoriya, determined that his victory would be indisputable.

"Bakugo, bro, as manly as you determination levels are here, I don't think you're gonna get a perfect score this way. I'm pretty sure teamwork is a part of the grade, and ignoring your partner isn't gonna help with that." Kirishima pointed out. Bakugo snorted.

"Other me either doesn't get that or doesn't care. He's too caught up in...other thoughts, and will probably dismiss that part of it as long as he gets the better score overall." He'd done that in his old schools a couple times, when they'd been forced to do group projects. Most students didn't dare show any sign that he was being 'uncooperative', but the few times it had impacted his score he'd dismissed it as the teacher or students being wusses. Who cared how the others felt about him as long as he did all his own shit right? Except he was starting to get the feeling that those things would matter in the world of pro heroes...

When the exam started, Bakugo strode ahead while Midoriya followed warily behind. Midoriya knew that had to try and work together for this, so he screwed up his courage and hurried up so he could walk at Bakugo side. He tried to talk to Bakugo about deciding whether to fight or run for the exit, but Bakugo sped up and ignored him. When Midoriya tried to talk to him again, Bakugo yelled to stop following him. Midoriya pointed out that just going straight would definitely make them run into All Might, and Bakugo said he wanted to run into him so they could beat him up.

Bakugo grit his teeth when he noticed how many of his classmates were looking at him like he was crazy.

They couldn't help it. Even with the weights and how his time had been cut down, trying to go against All Might directly sounded like a recipe for disaster. And the Bakugo on screen only knew about the weights! Bakugo was definitely strong, but All Might was still on a way different level, even compared to the other teachers.

"Okay...ignoring your partner isn't good, but at least you implied you were gonna beat All Might up together rather than insisting on doing it alone. That's something." Kirishima argued weakly.

"Bakugo, I understand you probably feel like you've got a lot to prove here, but I don't think this is the correct way to go about it." Momo, strangely enough, found herself sympathizing with Bakugo. She too had had an unsatisfactory showing at the Sports Festival, and a disappointing internship, and thus had a lot more feelings that normal about her performance during the test.

"I know my 'teamwork' score is going to be bad for this, you don't need to keep reminding me!" Bakugo growled.

Momo sighed, that hadn't been entirely what she meant, but there wasn't time to explain before things continued.

Midoriya desperately tried to argue that they should try to avoid All Might instead. Bakugo yelled back that they would just tire him out and then beat him up.

"That strategy could make sense if this Bakugo knew about the time limit, but he does not. And whether or not you could use up his time depends greatly on how much time he used earlier, which you can't really know." Iida said.

Izuku idly wondered if his other self was thinking something similar. With each argument, Izuku had sunk a little further into his seat. Pushing Kaachan always lead to bad things, in his experience, and his body prepared for retaliation without conscious thought.

Midoriya appeared at a loss for a moment, and internally complained about how hard Kaachan was to deal with. Still, he gathered up his determination and tried again. He ran after Bakugo, reminding him of who they were up against. He said there was no way Bakugo could beat All Might.

When Midoriya got close enough, Bakugo turned and slammed his grenade gauntlet into Midoriya's face.

"AH!" Izuku yelped in pain. His hand automatically moved to cover nose, which felt like it might be broken.

"Deku!" "Midoriya!" Uraraka and Iida cried out in alarm, not expecting any injuries until the pair ran into All Might.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Kirishima asked. The words were quiet, but brimming with emotion. Bakugo did not get a chance to answer before the rest of the students got over their surprise and started yelling similar sentiments. Todoroki had similar thoughts, but just sat there sending a death glare instead of yelling.

"He was just trying to talk to you! You didn't have to hit him!" Hagakure shouted.

"He wasn't just talking! He said I couldn't do it!"

"Only after you ignored his other tries to get you to listen! Also, um, duh? He's All Might!"

"All Might isn't unbeatable! We've seen that!"

"That's true, but the other you hasn't seen that. He only knows about the weights slowing him down. After seeing him at the USJ, you can't think that will be enough to really diminish his power." Tsuyu pointed out.

"I...I had a plan. I was gonna let him get tired out first." Bakugo said, not sounding quite as sure of himself as before.

"Well, yeah, but like Iida said, the other you can't know that's anywhere close to a working strategy." Ojiro argued.

"Plus, if anyone was gonna know if that would work, wouldn't it be Midoriya? I mean, he's got just about everything about All Might memorized." Mineta pointed out. Ashido nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! He knows every fight All Might has publicly been in, so he probably knows about villains that tried that and lost!"

"There were a couple." Izuku managed to mumble through the pain in his face.

"Okay fine! It's not a great plan! There, you happy? I said it! But what do you expect me to do about it! I can't change what the me up there does!" Bakugo conceded in frustration.

"That is a good point." Aizawa said, his voice causing the rest of the class to quiet. While they had been arguing with Bakugo, All Might and Recovery Girl had gone over to comfort and check up on Izuku respectively, and Todoroki was now getting up too. Aizawa continued "We can't do anything about what just happened here, so there's no use arguing about it more now." Aizawa's leveled a look at Bakugo. "However, after this is done, you and I will be having a talk about not attacking our classmates outside of sparring scenarios."

"Yes sir." Bakugo said, not managing to look Aizawa in the eye. Bakugo looked over to where Deku was being fussed over by his friends and mentor, and looked away quickly.

The hit was hard enough to knock Izuku to the ground, and he lay there shaking while Bakugo spoke. He told Deku to shut up, and that just because he doing better recently didn't mean he got to talk. In the observation room, the students watching looked on with great concern, and Recovery Girl sighed in disappointment. She voiced a thought similar to what Izuku had said, wondering if they knew who they were up against.

"I'm sorry my boy, I should have argued against this pairing when Aizawa brought it up. I definitely would have if I'd known things would end up like this." Yagi said.

"It's okay." Izuku said, voice slightly muffled due to still having his hands over his face. "You didn't know much more than Aizawa did about how me and him were like before UA."

"Even so, it seems like it should have been clear that, whatever issues you did have, they were perpetuated much more by Bakugo then by yourself. And either way, I feel I should have argued that this was not the right way to try and correct the issue."

"Yes, in retrospect, this was not an issue to force during a test that already made tensions high." Aizawa admitted. It had worked well with Momo and Todoroki, but the individual issues they were having weren't nearly as long standing and layered as the one's between Bakugo and Midoriya were. Plus, the two of them weren't nearly as stubborn as Bakugo.

"Honestly, I should have known better than to tell him he couldn't do something, even if I thought it was true. He always hates that." Izuku said. Uraraka gave him a stern look.

"Don't put the blame for this on yourself! You saw the look in Bakugo's eyes just now! He probably would have hit you eventually no matter what you said, just to get you to stop talking, and that's not okay!"

"While I'm uncertain whether Bakugo was always planning to hit you, the point stands. No matter what wording you chose, you should not have been struck for simply trying to communicate and come up with an improved plan. It is not appropriate to strike those on your team, no matter what." Iida said. Todoroki nodded from his place on the floor.

"Not even my old man hits his side kicks when he finds them annoying. He yells sometimes, but he's never hit them. He knows it would make him look bad, and that it wouldn't help. Bakugo shouldn't have hit your either, you were just trying to stop him from doing something dumb."

Izuku found himself tearing up. Not from pain, but gratitude. Having people willing to speak up for him when Bakugo hurt him was a pretty new concept for him still. So few people seemed to have a problem with it before, that it had almost felt normal during his earlier school days. It was a little overwhelming to have so many people agree that it shouldn't have happened. "Thank you."

Bakugo sat in his seat, his mind whirling with what Recovery Girl had just said on screen, and everything else that had just happened and had been said. Everyone seemed to agree that going up against All Might like his other self was planning was a dumb plan...and he didn't exactly disagree with them. It sounded like a dumb plan when his other self said it. Deku wasn't the only one who knew a lot about All Might, he'd watched every fight he could too. So Bakugo also knew there were villains who had tried tiring All Might out and had failed. Granted he was better than some low life villain, but still, the plan seemed too simplistic. Did his other self have more planned and just didn't want to tell Deku because he wanted to win mainly by himself? He could see that happening.

He thought about hitting Deku. And then promptly decided not to. Aizawa was gonna make him think about it later anyway. Right now he just wanted to see if his other self actually had a secret plan or not.

All Might was seen, preparing to start his part in the test. Back with the boys, Midoriya continued to plead with Bakugo to listen so they could pass the test.

Uraraka felt both fondness and exasperation well up in her when Deku kept trying to work with Bakugo, despite what he just did. It was so much like Deku to keep trying no matter what, but a part of her wished he'd give Bakugo a taste of his own medicine and leave him there to see just how well his plan worked out for him. They didn't need both of them to escape to pass after all, so Deku could let Bakugo distract All Might while he himself ran for the gate. 'I swear, if they fail and other Aizawa tells Deku that it's because he didn't try hard enough to get past his 'grudge' then I'm gonna float him into orbit. I don't care if he doesn't technically exist, I'll find a way.'

As the two fell into yelling once again, they were cut off by the blow back of one of All Might's punches. They had to brace themselves to avoid flying away with the debris that was kicked up. When the dust settled, a huge swath had been taken out of the surrounding buildings. As All Might strode toward them, both boys were overwhelmed by the feeling of intimidation they suddenly got in his presence.

The ripples of both eagerness and unease traveled through the room. On the one hand, seeing two of their most powerful classmates going up against All Might was definitely going to be a fantastic spectacle. On the other, they hadn't come up with a real plan, and that was a lot of power to go up against. Especially considering one of the students doing it had only just recently figured out how to stop breaking their own bones when using his quirk.

"Don't get carried away big guy." Mic said to All Might.

"You made Jirou's ears bleed." Aizawa pointed out.

"I mean, that's true, but she has more sensitive hearing than normal, so it was probably harder for me to gauge how much was too much. And it's not like I damaged the forest with what I did. Plus, I know how fun playing the villain role for an hour can be, and we're trying to be realistic, but you gotta make sure not to fall into too far, you know? That can get dangerous real quick." Plus he was pretty sure that, Midoriya at least, already had a good idea of how dangerous villains were and what they might be up against in the future. He fought both the Nomu and Stain after all.

Midoriya's other self must have gotten over the shock of Bakugo's hit, because his pain didn't feel quite as bad now. Plus, he was distracted by seeing All Might like this, and by Bakugo's expression. 'He's just as intimidated like me, but he's still smiling. I wonder if its for the same reason that All Might said he always smiles.'

All Might challenged them to come at him with everything they had, and rushed at them. Midoriya got up to run, saying they couldn't take him head on. But Bakugo stayed put, yelling for Midoriya not to order him around.

Aizawa watched the interaction closely. He'd pointed out earlier that, like Gran Torino said, Midoriya was a little too caught up in All Might's legacy, and that this might have been part of the reason he set this pair up against All Might. While Midoriya had gotten past his quirk's 'specialness' enough to use it like a normal quirk, the panic Midoriya was showing here could be a sign that he still had a ways to go when it came to not letting his hero worship affect him. Aizawa also wondered what Midoriya would do now. With his partner refusing to back down, would Midoriya stay and try to fight All Might together, or flee in the hopes of ending the match sooner?

There was the issue of Bakugo too of course. Would the boy be flexible enough to switch his strategy if his opponent proved to be too powerful? Or would he give into his stubbornness and keep attacking head on no matter what? Was there any hope of Bakugo actually working with Midoriya?

Bakugo used his 'stun grenade' move. The bright light that resulted made All Might stop and shield his eyes. Bakugo jumped to take advantage of the opening, but was brought up short by All Might grabbing his face. Bakugo's other hand was now close to All Might's face though, and he used it to set up a series of close up explosions. All Might's thoughts showed he now understood how single minded Bakugo was in regards to beating him.

Bakugo couldn't help grinning when his first attack seemed to go well. It faded a bit when he was caught before getting a chance to strike, but returned when he set off explosions in All Might's face and heard the man saying 'ow!' over and over. Pain didn't distract him much, since the grip on his face wasn't that painful, though he could feel the strain in his neck from being held up that way.

He did feel a little guilty when he heard small noises of pain coming from the real All Might in the room, still sitting near Midoriya. But the nerd was quick to start fussing over him, so that wasn't too bad either.

Then All Might gripped the boy's face harder so he could slam him into the ground. He said the attacks had only stung, then turned his attention to Midoriya. In a flash, All Might was looming over his student, and asking if he was planning to run off and leave his partner. A jolt seemed to go up Midoriya's spine, and Stain's face flashed through his mind. He thought 'why am I reminded of the hero killer?!'

Bakugo felt all the air go out of him as his other self was slammed down, but that didn't hurt nearly as much as how unbothered All Might seemed by his explosions. Not to mention how he just laid there gasping after the hit. If that had been a real fight, and his opponent hadn't decided to switch targets that could have been the end of him.

The real Midoriya had let out a squeak when All Might suddenly appeared behind him, which everyone found amusing right up until the point where he flashed back to thoughts of Stain. All Might, who had only made a few sounds and shifted uncomfortably when he was being attacked by Bakugo, flinched when young Midoriya's thoughts were heard. If he was truly reminding the boy of a time when his life and his friends lives were in danger, then maybe young Yamada had a point. He might be leaning too far into his villain persona.

"I-I'm sorry All Might! I probably just thought of him because of how intimidating you were acting! And, and because that was my last big fight! I didn't mean anything bad!"

"It's quite alright, my boy. I'm well aware that part of the reason I'm so successful as the Symbol of Peace is how intimidating others can find me, it makes sense it would affect you." 'I just didn't expect it to affect you that much...' the thought of young Midoriya being afraid of him was highly unpleasant.

Izuku powered up his quirk and used it to jump away from All Might. Unfortunately, Bakugo had also recovered and leaped toward All Might right at the same time, and the two ended up hitting each other mid air.

Both boys let out a grunt when the impact happened, and then another when their bodies were shown hitting the ground.

"S-sorry!" Izuku stammered.

"Whatever." Bakugo growled, as another shot of anger was added to the cocktail of emotions swirling in his brain.

Recovery Girl commented on how opposite the two boys goals were at this point, with one focused solely on fighting and the other solely on fleeing. She theorized that Midoriya was getting too caught up in how much he admired All Might, but wasn't sure about why Bakugo was acting the way he was.

Midoriya frowned when he heard what Recovery Girl was saying. Before he came here, he would never have thought that admiring All Might could ever be considered a bad thing. Yet, both Gran Torino and Recovery Girl had pointed it out as something that was holding him back. He scribbled a note to himself, to remind himself to think more on that later. He'd probably spend the next break time doing everything to avoid Bakugo anyway, so that would be a good time for it.

Bakugo was pretty sure he knew why he was 'in a hurry' as Recovery Girl put it. He'd failed to have a complete victory at the Sports Festival, and then went on to an internship where he failed. Even if his other self hadn't thought much of what Best Jeanist was trying to teach him, he knew he wouldn't like the fact that he'd failed at it. He even felt he failed somewhat at the USJ, since he didn't stop the warp gate fucker from running off with Handsy. His other self was desperate to prove that he could win at something, completely and wholly, even if he had to go through All Might to do it.

'What would I do in this fight if there were actual people in the city, and not just Deku? Would I still try and win against All Might, even if there were people getting hurt?' he asked himself, thinking of All Might's hypothetical. With the mindset his other self was in, he wasn't sure which he would do.

As Bakugo marched back to All Might, Izuku tried to tell him once again not to face him head on. Bakugo said he would win, because that's what it meant to be a hero. The words made Izuku flashback to a childhood memory of a young Bakugo saying how cool All Might was.

"Awww! Look at baby Bakugo fanboying over All Might! No wonder he and Midoriya used to get along." Kaminari teased.

"I do not fanboy!" Bakugo argued.

"Ah, I see. With you equating victory with being a pro hero, you believe that completely beating your opponent is how you will become a hero yourself." Nedzu inferred. He turned to address the class as a whole. "It is true that winning is an important part of being a hero. However, victory cannot be so narrowly defined as beating and dominating your opponent. This test, after all, has two ways to win: facing your opponent, or retreating to safety. Many real life battles are like that too. Saving civilians is also a type of victory, as is mitigating property damage. If you focus on only one of these types to the detriment of the others, then your hero career will suffer. Remember that children."

"Yes sir!"

Izuku tried talking to Bakugo again, but was cut off by All Might. He said he had 'a gift for the one who wants to run away' and proceeded to slam a fence down onto Midoriya. With Midoriya pinned to the ground, All Might then rushed forward and punched Bakugo so hard in the stomach that he was sent flying backwards. He vomited in midair, and went skidding across the ground when he landed.

Bakugo nearly fell out of his seat at the sudden onslaught of pain and nausea. Kirishima managed to catch him by the shoulder before that happened, and shifted him so he could lay back against the couch. Recovery Girl was soon hustling over, grumbling to herself about people who didn't know how the hold back.

Students looked at each other in worry, and some found themselves agreeing with Recovery Girl. The fights against the other teachers had been hard, but none of them had been this physically violent and painful.

Izuku rubbed his back. For once, he'd had the less painful injury. The impact of the fence had hurt, but it had mostly knocked the breath out of him. He turned to Uraraka when she gave a breathy uncomfortable laugh.

"You know, for a second there, I thought one of the fence posts went through your back. But that was silly! All Might's more responsible than that! It was just a bad angle is all."

"Of course! All Might wouldn't do something like that just for a test." Izuku agreed.

"Thank you for your confidence. Though I fear that I may have picked up more from Gran Torino than I thought if I hit young Bakugo so hard for the sake of a test." Yagi said with a grimace. He turned to the blonde boy. "My apologies for the pain, young Bakugo."

"Whatever, it didn't hurt that bad." he said, despite his voice still being strained from pain.

"I'd accept an apology for making it out like fleeing is a lesser option." Aizawa said dryly. "We gave them two options for a reason, both solutions are valid."

"Ah, yes, my apologies, I'm sure my other self just meant it would be poor form to choose to flee if they hadn't agreed on that together."

Seeing Bakugo on the ground made Izuku flashback to his childhood again. It was the same memory as before, but more of it was seen now. A young Bakugo gushed over All Might, and how he won, no matter how much trouble he was in. Back in the present, it made Midoriya think about how Bakugo always did everything he could to win as well, and how he'd always admired Bakugo for that.

Bakugo ignored the repeated teasing for him 'fanboying', and focused on Midoriya instead as their other selves started forcing themselves back up, and on All Might. His younger self thought of All Might as the greatest hero because he never lost, but now he'd seen evidence that he had. Yet, he still thought of All Might as the greatest hero. Even when he'd gotten weaker from that injury, All Might was still so much stronger than others, and still managed to win against beings like the Nomu. If All Might could do that, despite not having complete victory against that All for One fucker that gave him that scar, didn't that mean that Bakugo could also still become number one even if some of his victories weren't 'complete'?

All Might approached Bakugo, but talked to him rather than attacking him again. He guessed that Bakugo was angry because Midoriya had improved so rapidly, and pointed out that you couldn't expect someone who already had a lot of experience to grow at the same rate as someone at the beginner level. He told Bakugo he had plenty of room to grow still, but Bakugo told him to shut up. He declared that if he had to get help from the likes of Deku, then he'd rather lose.

Izuku stiffened when Bakugo said that last line. He'd been nodding a bit in agreement while All Might talked. He'd never considered himself better than Bakugo, he didn't even think his other self was on the same level as him yet. He was still in the process of making up for lost time, condensing all the practice he would have gotten if he'd had a quirk as a little kid into his time at UA, similar to his condensed physical training into those 10 months. But then Bakugo said he'd rather lose, and thoughts like that shut down in the face of his indignation. Bakugo...he wasn't supposed to say things like that. He was the one that won no matter what! How dare he say he'd rather lose if the help of a 'deku' was the only option!?

Bakugo himself thought that All Might's words made the state of things seem obvious, but he doubted his other self would like the idea of Deku closing the gap between them no matter what the cause. Despite everything, it made even him uneasy. Though not as uneasy as hearing his own voice say he'd rather lose. Maybe winning wasn't everything, but it was still a heck of a lot better than choosing to lose!

Seeing that Bakugo wasn't listening or moving, All Might prepared to hit him again. But Bakugo was pushed out of the way by a punch from Midoriya instead. He yelled at Bakugo for saying he'd rather lose, then grabbed him and used his quirk to quickly hop away.

"OW!" Bakugo yelled, the punch sending a wave of pain through his face, followed by the lesser impacts of rolling across the ground.

"S-sorry Kacchan! It's just-"

"Don't apologize, I deserve a good hit after spewing shit like that. Plus I hit you for saying something I didn't like earlier too, so this just makes it even."

Midoriya gaped at the other boy. Had Kaachan really not gotten angry after being hit and yelled at? By himself? Midoriya wasn't sure he could ever remember that happening.

Ashido giggled a little despite the intense atmosphere. "The way Midoriya moved just now, didn't it kinda look like a bunny hop?"

"The most bad ass bunny hop ever!" Kaminari laughed.

While All Might lamented letting his guard down, Midoriya continued to make his way down the alley. Bakugo demanded to be put down, though Midoriya didn't do it until Bakugo smacked him on the back.

"Must things always end in violence with you two?" Recovery Girl demanded in exasperation. Both boys muttered apologies.

When they had both stopped, Midoriya admitted he couldn't think of a way to win or escape, but said that Bakugo should still try using him instead of just giving up! Winning no matter what was a part of who Bakugo was! This sentiment was strengthened with a memory of Bakugo standing up to two older boys at school, and still managing to win. In the memory, he said the most amazing hero always wins in the end. In the present, Midoriya demanded how Bakugo could just give up. Bakugo got made and swung his arm out while using his quirk. This time the blow landed purprosfully next to Midoriya rather than on him.

The class had stiffened when Bakugo lashed out, then let out a collective breath of relief when they saw he'd just punched the wall instead. Bakugo was surprised when he was among those who felt relief when he saw he hadn't punched Deku.

He'd always thought Deku was looking down on him, but in the flashbacks here, Deku was always looking at him in awe. It was almost the same look he sometimes gave to All Might. Bakugo wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Bakugo said he'd repeat himself, and said that with All Might's speed there was no way you would be able to avoid fighting even if they did run and hide.

Kirishima frowned. "Okay, I can see that you might have meant that earlier, but that's definitely not what you said."

"Yeah, you just kept saying that you were gonna fight All Might, you never said why running wasn't an option." Jirou pointed out.

"If Deku knew so much about All Might then maybe it should have been obvious." Bakugo muttered half-heartedly. Because how could he expect Deku to have made that connection when not even he himself had known what his other self was thinking when he said that?

"Remember, proper communication is an important part of being on any team. You gotta be clear when strategizing and giving orders. Even partners that have worked together for years can have misunderstandings if you don't make things clear enough. Most people aren't mind readers after all." Present Mic lectured.

Izuku still tried to argue that they couldn't fight him either. Bakugo yelled at him to shut up again, but then actually started thinking through the problem by pointing out what he learned from his previous attacks against All Might. Before he could continue, the scene switched to All Might running around and trying to find where the students had gone. Bakugo suddenly appeared behind him, and set off a few explosions at him, internally railing about the situation the whole time. When All Might turned to face Bakugo, Izuku appeared behind him, wearing one of Bakugo's gauntlets. Bakugo's voice explained that the plan was to hit All Might hard with everything they had, then try to gain some distance.

"Oooo do I spy some actual teamwork?" Kaminari asked eagerly.

"They actually managed to have a real conversation! And make a plan! It's a miracle!" Sero said between loud, fake sobs.

"Oh shut it Elbows!" Bakugo yelled.

"Heh, maybe there's some hope for you yet." Jirou said with a slight smile.

"Thanks for trusting me, Kacchan." Izuku said sincerely. Bakugo's snarl flattened out into a more neutral expression.

"Yeah, whatever."

Izuku apologized to All Might and pulled the pin on the gauntlet. The explosion engulfed All Might, and Izuku was pushed back by the force of it. He was shocked at how much his shoulder hurt afterward, and marveled at the fact that Kaachan had been using that the whole time.

"What? You can break your bones three times over but you think I can't handle a sore shoulder?" Bakugo challenged.

"No! Not at all!" Izuku rushed to clarify, ignoring the pain in his arm and the guilt he felt for All Might flinching just a few moments before. "I just didn't expect it is all, you never gave any sign that it hurt like this."

"Well duh, I'm setting off explosions, of course that has some drawbacks." Bakugo's annoyed look shifted into something more amused. "Besides, figured you'd get that part. You don't let broken bones slow you down after all."

A look of surprise flashed across Izuku's face, then he smiled. "Well, you've got me there."

Bakugo flew over Izuku using his explosions, which prompted Izuku to power up OfA and start fleeing too. Bakugo's thoughts showed that Izuku's scolding from earlier was still running through his head.

Bakugo scoffed lightly and hunched his shoulders a bit, embarrassed that the show had revealed just how much the nerd's words were getting to him.

All Might gave himself some time to recover from the blast as the dust settled. He admitted that the middle ground they found between fighting and running was a good one, given how quick they had to think of it. They even remembered to limit property damage. He thought to himself that they were both clever.

Despite how different they were in personality, both Midoriya and Bakugo felt themselves puff up with pride at the compliment from the number one hero.

"Sorry again about the blast All Might." Izuku said.

"Quite alright my boy, it happens in tests such as these. Also, I stand by what my other self said, despite the rough start, you are both showing quick improvement."

"Th-thank you!"

Aizawa found himself nodding. He still thought that this wasn't the best way to tackle the problem he'd meant to tackle, but he was glad to see they were able to work together eventually. There was still plenty of work to be done on that front, but it showed hope for their future progress.

All Might mused that, despite their individual talents, they tended to fall apart when it came to each other. There were so many layers to their feelings about each other that they didn't know how to interact anymore. It wasn't something that could be fixed in a day, but he saw this as an important first step in their future cooperation. He coughed, and some blood landed on his hand.

Aizawa's eyebrows rose in surprise. Maybe All Might wasn't as oblivious as he'd thought, at least not when it came to this. In this possible future, the man might understand Bakugo and Midoriya's relationship better than Aizawa himself did.

Izuku and Bakugo both felt self conscious over being kind of sort of psycho analyzed like that in front of the whole class. Izuku's feelings on that were shoved aside when he saw the blood on the other All Might's hand. He started to ask if he was alright again, and All Might quickly waved him off.

"I'm fine my boy, I'm fine, you boys are just giving me a work out is all."

That protestation didn't stop Recovery Girl from pulling him down to her level so she could give him a quick look over.

All Might declared he would do his best as well, looking quite menacing as he did so.

"Are they about to die?" Mineta asked warily, feeling the waves of intimidation coming off All Might again.

"Please my small friend, the dramatics are not suited for this moment. You must wait for just the right time for maximum flare." Aoyama said, which Mineta interpreted as the other boy saying he was overreacting.

Bakugo and Midoriya ran down the street, the exit gate now within sight. Midoriya noticed that All Might didn't seem to be following them, and wondered if they had actually knocked him out. Bakugo angrily pointed out that Midoriya was the one who had kept saying they couldn't win by fighting him. Bakugo said when he did show back up they'd blast him with the other gauntlet. Just as he finished saying that, All Might suddenly appeared right next to Bakugo, asking what the next step after that was.

Mineta let out a small shriek at All Might appearing from seemingly nowhere. He wasn't the only one to make a noise of surprise, though he was certainly the loudest.

Aoyama nudged Mineta and pointed at the screen "You see! That right there was the perfect amount of dramatic flare!"

Upon seeing All Might, Uraraka and Iida were already manuevering Izuku into a safer and more comfortable position, while also handing him a towel to bite on. Yagi was both warmed by how much young Midoriya's friends cared for him, and distressed that prepping for young Midoriya's pain had become so routine for them. And that wasn't even touching on the fact that he was about to be the cause of said pain.

Bakugo saw what was happening over with Deku, muttered something that sounded like 'fuck it', then got up and grabbed another towel and shoved it between his teeth as he sat back down.

Bakugo tried to use his other gauntlet, but All Might broke it with one hit, and stunned Midoriya with another. Then he kneed Bakugo so hard in the chest he flew into a building. He grabbed Midoriya by the wrist, then slammed him into Bakugo when the blonde tried to counter attack. Both hit the ground so hard it caused a shock wave.

Some students winced or fidgeted in worry as the test got even more violent than before, while other students just stared in awe at the display of power.

Bakugo and Midoriya became very grateful for the precautions they had taken moments before as waves of pain washed through them, their jaws already starting to ache with how hard they were biting down. Their cries of pain only somewhat muffled by the fabric in their mouths.

"What. Part. Of. This. Being. A. Test. Did. You. Not. Under. Stand?!" Recovering Girl, who had been examining All Might just moments ago, was now holding him by the collar and shaking him as roughly as her little arms were capable of.

While Izuku hung limply from All Might's hand and All Might's boot pushed down on Bakugo's back, All Might complimented them on being able to come together to face him. However, he also pointed out that was the minimum of what they should have done.

"Well, I guess that is true, but they were so against each other before that it still feels like a big accomplishment." Hagakure said. Ashido nodded along.

"Yeah, isn't that kinda like what All Might was saying to Bakugo earlier? You know about how Midoriya was progressing faster because he started further back?"

"Hm, that is a good point. All the other teams had far fewer obstacles to working together compared to this pairing, so them achieving any amount of teamwork is still important." Momo agreed.

"Hey Big guy, I'm all for taking advantage of teaching moments when they come up, but I'm not sure this is the best time for it." Present Mic pointed out.

"Given the stakes, I'm sure they are paying attention..." All Might argued weakly, rubbing his sore neck. Recovery Girl was stronger than she looked.

"Midoriya looks like he might be unconscious." Recovery Girl pointed out archly. All Might grimaced, Midoriya did look a bit out of it right now, and she shook her head. She'd been so hopeful when she saw how few injuries the other matches incurred, she should have known this grouping would be the exception.

Bakugo, of course, was doing everything within his power not show how painful the pressure on his back was becoming.

While Bakugo was pressed to the ground, he remembered the power All Might had shown off at the USJ. All Might's power really was the highest goal to aspire to, the worlds greatest hero!

"Okay, I know we get on Midoriya a lot for being a fanboy, but considering that Bakugo is thinking stuff like that while All Might grinding him into the ground I'm pretty sure he's a major fanboy too." Kaminari pointed out.

"Oh yeah, those flashbacks to him being a kid confirmed it, he's just learned to hide it better compared to Midoriya." Sero agreed.

"Shut it extras." Bakugo said through teeth that were definitely clenched in annoyance and not pain, and Bakugo would explode anyone who said otherwise. Some of the intimidating affect was lost due to the words being muddled from the cloth still in his mouth.

Midoriya tried to struggle out of All Might's grip, but the hero just made a comment on his expression and threw him away before he could manage it. All Might said that, now that the gauntlets were destroyed and they lost their best firepower the fight was surely over. Bakugo took great offense to that, and turned his palm up to blast All Might away.

Students cheered at the sudden turn around. They too had been worried things had been over after the pair was caught and the gauntlets destroyed, but were now ecstatic to be proven wrong.

The ones that didn't cheer were the ones that realized the longer this fight went on then the more chance Midoriya and Bakugo had of getting hurt while they tried to reach their goals.

Bakugo's jaw creaked as his muscles managed to tense even more. His explosions made him sore on a normal day, but that blast had been strong and he being against the ground meant he took more of the blowback than usual from the explosion.

Yagi flinched hard and his hand automatically went up to his mouth, ready to catch any blood that he may cough up. Thankfully none did.

"You okay, All Might?" Midoriya managed to ask around the cloth.

"I'm quite alright, my boy. I should be asking that of you. I've put in quite a few hits on you..."

"It's fine, I'm fine, gotta go plus ultra for the test."

"Yes, well, as invigorating as the school motto is, I should be showing more restraint. It is still just a test at the end of the day."

Recovery Girl gave a 'hmph!' of agreement. The teachers really did rely too much on her healing abilities sometimes. As much as everyone worried about the what the world would do when All Might retired, she was beginning to wonder what the school would do when she eventually retired.

Meanwhile, Midoriya found himself getting more caught up in All Might's comment about his expression rather than the pain of his injuries. All Might always smiled to hide his fear, but Izuku really hadn't been doing that at all through this fight. He'd put his fear of fighting All Might on full display instead, he'd have to work on that.

Bakugo managed to get up and make his way over to where Midoriya had fallen. He grabbed Midoriya by the chin and chest, told him he was gonna send him flying, then used his explosions to do send Midoriya soaring towards the escape gate.

Some students whooped at the unexpected move, while others just gaped at the screen in shock.

"If you wish for civilians and fellow heroes not to associate you with darkness, it may help not to yell 'die' while you are holding them in close proximity." Tokoyami pointed out. Bakugo ignored him, too distracted by the spike of pain that had gone through his arm just after he launched the nerd. A grunt escaped from him despite his best efforts. Kirishima looked at him, and put a hand on his shoulder in silent support.

Once Izuku had realized what was about to happen, he'd grabbed Uraraka's hand in one of his and Iida's in the other. He squeezed them both as the burn and pull from the explosion washed over him.

Izuku tried to angle himself toward the gate. All Might used a smash to dissipate the smoke around him, and send himself flying toward Midoriya. All Might's body slammed into Midoriya's back, making the boy scream in pain. Midoriya slammed into a bus, then bounced along the ground a few times.

It was a good thing Midoriya hadn't stopped holding his friends' hands, because if he'd only had the cloth in his mouth to take his pain out on there was a good chance he would have caused actual injury to himself. His cry of pain was muffled, but no less intense than the one onscreen had been. Uraraka and Iida winced at the tight grip, but had no intention of trying to make Midoriya let go, not if it helped him. Todoroki looked up at his friend in worry, wishing there was something he could do, and ended up leaning against his legs, unknowingly providing an extra bit of grounding pressure.

"Holy shit." Sato murmured, staring at the screen in horror. Every student that wasn't directly involved was staring at the screen, wide eyed and pale.

"This is exactly what I was trying to warn you about!" Present Mic yelled.

Yagi wanted to comfort young Midoriya like his friends were doing, but felt unworthy of it seeing as he was the one causing the pain in the first place. He would honestly be concerned if the boy easily forgave him for this.

Bakugo launched himself up and blasted All Might again. He revealed that the gauntlets just let him use max power safely, and proceeded to blast All Might with max power anyway despite how painful it was. Bakugo yelled at Izuku to go, and Izuku tried, but his back was still very much hurting from All Might's blow so it was slow going. Bakugo leaped in to intercept All Might when he tried to go for Midoriya again, and All Might slammed Bakugo into the ground in a shower of gravel and pavement. He told Bakugo to sleep, saying that he felt a little traumatized when students destroyed their own bodies to fight.

"So your solution to that was to destroy their bodies for them?!" Recovery Girl yelled, frustration boiling over after seeing these two students get smashed into buildings and vehicles and roads one too many times. "If they wouldn't give up when they hurt themselves to this point what makes you think they would give up after you hurt them to this point instead?!" These two being so willing to hurt themselves to achieve a victory in something that wasn't life threatening was a can of worms she would have to open at another time, or hand it off to a therapist to attempt opening. Yagi opened his mouth to say something, but stopped at a gesture from Recovery Girl. "We can discuss it after this portion is done and the students are no longer in pain."

Bakugo's voice was strained, but he still managed to refute All Might. He said he would break and twist himself if it meant winning the way he chose to. He bit All Might's hand in a show of defiance. Midoriya was stirred by the words, and activated OfA. But instead of leaping for the gate, he went back for Bakugo. He managed a strained smile as he smashed All Might's face, and grabbed Bakugo. He ran for the gate. All Might started to go after him, but was brought up short by his body beginning to steam. All Might wondered at the fact that Midoriya had gone back for Bakugo despite how he could have won by just going through the gate on his own. But the boy had always been like that hadn't he? He couldn't help rescuing those who needed it.

Izuku himself, despite the pain he was in, smiled too. He'd done it, smiled through his pain and fear, just like All Might. He really could do it, the proof was right here!

The students watched in awe, first at Bakugo's defiance and then at Izuku giving his all against All Might.

Bakugo's body cleared of pain as his other self fell unconscious, but his mind still whirled from recent developments, unsure of how to deal with everything that this episode had brought about so far. He heard Kirishima snort next to him, and turned to the redhead in confusion.

"I just realized, you guys kinda made your 'original' plan work. You actually did manage to tire him out so much he couldn't go after you!"

Upon realizing what Kirishima meant, Bakugo let out a bark of a laugh himself.

Midoriya got himself and Bakugo through the escape gate. Those watching in the observation room clapped and rejoiced at the victory, and the end of of Class 1A's practical exams was announced.

The students in the room reacted very similarly. Some applauded such an epic ending, while others gave high fives or bounced in excitement. Kirishima bumped Bakugo on the shoulder. Some, mainly those around Midoriya, could only slump in relief.

The scene changed to Recovery Girl's office, where she kissed Midoriya to heal his wounds. He thanked her. Then Recovery Girl went over to scold All Might. She said that if he'd gone any further then there would have been permanent damage, she'd barely been able to heal Midoriya's back! She went on to say that Bakugo wouldn't wake for a while, and they should both stay here to recover for a while. Midoriya thanked her again.

The blood drained from Yagi's face when he heard what he'd almost done to his young charge. "Midoriya, my boy, I'm so sorry! I never meant to..."

"It's okay, you guys were all thinking of making it real to prep us for villains right?" Midoriya had taken the cloth out of his mouth by now. His pain levels were much better than before, but he felt very drained as a result of Recovery Girl's quirk, and the fatigue was evident in his voice.

"I still should have been more careful than this! Giving you a challenge is one thing, risking permanent damage to you is something else entirely! I swear, if this event ever happens in real life, I will be much more prudent in how I use my strength." he sighed and looked down for a moment. Then he lifted his eyes back up and pinned Midoriya with a sincere look. "There are going to be plenty of people in this world ready and willing to harm you. I would never want to count myself among them, especially not for something like a school exam. I swear, I will do better."

The feelings that welled up in Midoriya at that moment were so potent that he almost couldn't speak around the lump they formed in his throat. After a moment, he managed to say a soft "Thank you."

All Might stared down at Midoriya. He thought to himself that young Midoriya had grown so strong since he'd met him that the boy he knew now was hardly recognizable from the boy he knew back then. He was also impressed with Bakugo, since he was able to smile in the face of all the challenges he met. He knew they could both become even stronger yet.

This time, Midoriya couldn't quite speak around the depth of his emotions, but he did give All Might a watery smile. 'I will do it. I'll be better too, I'll become stronger, and do it without hurting myself and causing pain to others. If you believe in me like that, I know I can!'

Bakugo swallowed, an uncomfortable level of emotions welling up in his own chest. He'd had to work with the nerd for this victory, which he normally would have considered a loss, yet All Might only saw his strength. All Might saw him smiling against every challenge and thought he could get even stronger than he was.

Izuku's voice over explained that a lot happened during the final exams. Some learned from their weaknesses and learned to move forward, some were taught what was necessary to be a hero, some were stopped by the height of their walls, some learned there were things they were powerless against, some moved toward new goals. The exams ended with those bittersweet feelings.

Those that had made strides during the test felt the warm glow of satisfaction fill them. They had just seen proof of what they could overcome, or would someday be able to overcome.

Those that had failed the final exams were reminded of it, and suddenly felt down on themselves again.

"Well, just another reminder to find ways to do better and move forward, right?" Sato said. Kirishima nodded.

"Yeah, we just gotta learn from all this, and use it to do better next time!"

"What are we supposed to learn from almost getting crushed by a crane?" Ashido asked glumly.

"Beware of cranes, I suppose." Aoyama joked. "And perhaps be more aware of your environment, no matter how dull it seems."

The scene suddenly switched to the villains' bar. Kurogiri asked Shigaraki if he was curious about Midoriya, since he was still holding the picture of him from the Sports festival. Before he could answer, a gray haired man name Giran entered. Due to the League getting talked about so much recently, he had new recruits for them. Shigaraki destroyed the picture as he turned to face them.

Izuku gulped. He was wide awake now that his injured self wasn't on screen, but didn't feel all that good about it. Neither did anyone else that had gathered around him. Shigaraki's consistent focus on Midoriya was concerning, to say the least.

Aizawa and the other teachers not gathered around Midoriya frowned. They knew something like this was likely to happen, the League getting new members due to their sudden notoriety from the implied connection with Stain. That didn't make them any happier to actually see it happening.

A boy with burns and staples all over him was one of them. He said Shigaraki looked gross. The other was a girl who was dressed in a high school uniform. She bounced in excitement from the League knowing 'Stainy' and begged to join. The episode ended on a shot of them all standing in the bar.

Once again, the good mood, or at least relaxed mood for those feeling down about their losses, vanished at the sight of the villains.

"They really are getting more people!" Mineta wailed. "If only they'd gotten Stain saying something against the League on camera! Then people wouldn't go to them just because they liked Stain."

"Hm, if we could manage that, then it might even be worth waiting long enough to catch Stain so he can meet Shigaraki and form his unfavorable opinion of him." Nedzu mused. "But that can be planned out another time. Now, let's have another break."


"I strongly urge all of you to really think about how we frame things to the students from now on, and on how intense training gets." Recovery Girl lectured the teachers and principal. "Going 'plus ultra' is all well and good, one's reach should always extend beyond one's grasp when it comes to learning, but we're in real danger of taking it too far in the future."

"I feel that's mainly my fault for having so little experience in holding back." All Might said, shoulders hunched in shame.

"Perhaps for this school year, yes, but it's a trend I've seen occurring over the last few years, really. I get too many kids sent to me with bad injuries during training. I'm not going to be around forever you know! Healing quirks as effective as mine are rare, and it won't be easy to replace me. If you're all not careful in the future, then it could lead to disaster in the future!"

Recovery Girl continued for a while longer, only stopping when Nedzu promised to start looking into apprentices and assistants for her, to make her job right now easier and to better transition for when she eventually retired. The teachers also agreed to try to think of ways to keep the exams and such challenging, while also reducing the risk of major injury. They would have to find a better balance between encouraging going above and beyond, while also making sure the students knew how to take care of themselves and didn't extend to the point of hurting themselves.


Todoroki stuck close to Midoriya after the episode was over. The intense exam with All Might had reminded him of how bad some of his training sessions with his father could get, and he felt the need to ensure Midoriya was alright afterwards. He was glad he had heard All Might's promise to do better in the future when it came to such things, because it had balanced things out a bit. He couldn't imagine his father apologizing so sincerely to him after hurting him during a training session, so it helped him separate the two pros in his mind. He'd definitely be keeping a close eye on the relationship between his friend and the Number 1 pro hero though. Just to be on the safe side.

Todoroki's protectiveness meant he was also with Midoriya when Bakugo tentatively approached him. And wasn't that a sight he thought he'd never see, Bakugo being uncertain and hesitant.

Midoriya himself was uncertain about what to do when Kaachan approached. He'd originally thought he'd be avoiding him and his temper, but he didn't seem to have much of one right now.

"Icyhot can stay." Bakugo said, seeing the nerd shift uneasily from one foot to the other. "Just wanted to make sure. We actually even with the hitting? Since we both hit each other?"

"Oh, um, I guess so. Like you said, we both hit each other for saying something the other didn't like."

Bakugo grunted, and hesitated before saying. "Make sure to keep it even."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. If I hit you, you hit me back. I'll...try not to hit teammates in the future, but if I do, then have some self respect and make me pay for it."

Bakugo didn't give Midoriya a chance to respond before walking away. Todoroki watched him go for a minute, then looked back at the wide-eyed Midoriya. Hm, so All Might wasn't the only one managing to separate himself from Endeavor.

After that was done, Uraraka and Iida came back with some food. Momo also came over. True to his word, Midoriya started consulting both her, and Todoroki about ideas in his current notebook. He'd already started to come up with a few ideas for what the quirks of the new League members might be. He didn't have much for the high school girl yet, but all of them got in on theorizing what Dabi's scars meant, or if Giran had a quirk that helped him with being an informant. Todoroki was surprised by how much he enjoyed interacting in a group like that. He didn't do many group activities before, and the few he did do had just been annoying.

He liked this though. He hoped he could do more of it in the future. The real future.


A.N.

All Might, internally while using Izuku to hit Bakugo: I'm gonna beat a motherfucker with another motherfucker!