The first hairline crack in their facade of innocence appeared when all of them decided to watch
the first match.
Izuku noticed Recovery Girl looking at them all curiously as they crowded into the observation room, silent and focused on the screen projecting several shots of the combat stage from various angles. It seemed that the teachers were going to be starting the teams off in the center of the arenas rather than the farthest point from the gate, which Izuku supposed made sense. It wouldn't really be fair to start the students off with their backs already to the wall.
It had been an immense relief when the teachers pulled out Hatsume's ultra compressed weights and locked them on. No one mentioned anything about adjustments having to be made, not even Power Loader, so it seemed that Hatsume's secondary handicap had slipped by. Now it was a matter of when and how they chose to reveal it. Izuku gave Recovery Girl a nervous smile, and she settled into her chair more comfortably, looking up at the screen. Thankfully she was the only teacher there, but that didn't mean she couldn't get in contact with the others if she needed to.
A loud buzzer sounded, and an automated voice rang through the building. "Team Satou and Kirishima. Practical Exam. Ready? Go!"
The environment for the first match was a cityscape, so Kirishima and Satou started off running down the largest street, which stretched across the middle of the stage from one end to the other. Izuku knew that Kirishima wouldn't want to run away, and neither would Satou. They would want to fight and capture the villain. They were up against Cementoss, which was a particularly bad match up for them, but only if they didn't use their heads. Izuku knew they could win if they were smart about it.
Kirishima and Satou were brought to an abrupt halt when a cement wall sprang up in front of them. The shot widened until the observers could see Cementoss, crouched a few hundred yards ahead of his opponents. For a moment Satou and Kirishima conferred among themselves, then Satou opened a pocket of his utility belt and pulled out a little tub of sugar, downing the whole thing like a shot. Between the first wall and Cementoss a veritable forest of small walls erupted, blocking their path to the teacher and making a full frontal assault nearly impossible.
Not that they had any intention of getting through that way.
Kirishima hardened the skin of his whole body, then reached out a hand to Satou. Satou took Kirishima's hand in both of his, then pulled him off his feet and swung him around in a circle like a sack of potatoes. He circled a few more times, swinging Kirishima around and around to build up momentum, then when he was satisfied he threw Kirishima as hard as he could.
With the force of Satou's super strong toss Kirishima sailed high over the cement walls. Satou's aim had been good too, by the time he was halfway across it looked like he would come down
directly on top of his opponent. Cementoss had clearly not been expecting that, and he hesitated a moment before acting, but before long the walls in Kirishima's path began to rise up higher into the air to block his progress.
It was almost imperceptible when Cementoss gave a little jolt, but the effect was much more obvious. The sections of the cement walls that were rising higher wobbled and collapsed, leaving Kirishima's path clear. He came down exactly where he meant to, and Cementoss had to cover himself in a dome of cement to avoid being knocked over by Kirishima's landing. Hardened skin met solid cement at terminal velocity. The cement gave.
"What on Earth?" Recovery Girl cried, eyes wide behind her visor.
"C'mon you guys, you totally got him!" Uraraka gave a little hop of excitement. Izuku focused on the screen, trying not to give anything away.
As Kirishima broke through Cementoss's shield, Satou began carving a path through the jungle of low walls. It was tricky what with all the wet cement that had fallen from above in the way, but he managed, and soon enough was through to the other side. Cementoss had been too focused on fighting Kirishima to notice the approach from behind, so he was taken completely by surprise when Satou grabbed him around the middle and lifted him into the air. Disconnected from the ground it was harder for him to use his quirk, and Kirishima was able to dart around behind Satou and lock the cuffs onto his flailing limbs.
"Team Satou and Kirishima have passed the final!" announced the cheerful automated voice.
There was a round of cheering from the audience as on the screen Satou and Kirishima jumped up and down and punched the air. Izuku, however, was looking at Recovery Girl. She was staring at the screen in disbelief, obviously confused about what she had just witnessed, but eventually her eyes narrowed and she turned to look at Izuku. Hurriedly Izuku began to join in the celebration, but out of the corner of his eye he could already see her pulling out her phone.
There was no hearing what she said over the noise, but she had a quick and hushed conversation with whoever she had called. Then she put the phone away and turned to the students.
"Alright, alright," she called, bringing the assembly to something like order, "that's enough celebration. It's not impossible to pass as you can see, now the next team had better get to their testing arena."
Tokoyami and Asui nodded their understanding and hurried from the room. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, and he could hear it echoed in many of the others as they began to file out more sedately. Recovery Girl hadn't said anything about cheating or demanded they give up their advantage, which meant that Nezu was willing to allow it. Izuku had been pretty sure he would, but it was nice to know for sure, so they could all start their own planning around the use of the buttons.
"Looks like your plan is a success," Hitoshi whispered as the door closed behind them.
"I'm just glad Kirishima and Satou remembered what I told everyone about Cementoss's weakness," Izuku sighed.
"You're gonna get this whole class through the final single-handed," Hitoshi smiled crookedly. "Everyone except us that is."
Izuku blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Are you serious?" Hitoshi demanded with wide eyes. "We're up against the Number One Hero! There's no way we're going to win, even with two advantages!"
Then it was Hitoshi's turn to blink in confusion as Izuku grinned. "Don't be so sure about that."
"You've got a plan?" Hitoshi asked hopefully.
"Always," Izuku assured him, still grinning. "Aizawa-sensei will have paired us up based on what he thinks our weaknesses are. I'm pretty sure he just wanted us to have to fight an opponent with a physical quirk, when neither of us have anything like that to fall back on. What he doesn't realize is that he's accidentally made the ideal team for defeating All Might without throwing a single punch."
"How?" Hitoshi wondered, staring at Izuku with wide eyes.
Izuku couldn't suppress a tiny laugh. "Just do exactly what I tell you, and everything will be fine."
The rest of the matches went pretty much like Izuku expected them to.
Tokoyami and Asui discovered that when Ectoplasm lost focus due to being shocked, his clones destabilized a bit, and were able to use that to their advantage. They got most of the way through without using the button much, relying heavily on a reciprocal escape strategy that made good use of their environment, but when a single giant clone captured them near the escape gate they had to use their advantage to free themselves. Of course getting around the big clone was easy once they were on the ground, as it was very slow moving, and they were able to get the clone to trip over Ectoplasm's real body. This allowed them to cuff him while he was distracted, winning them their match.
Iida and Ojiro's match didn't take very long. Iida outran the traps Power Loader placed between them and their escape, and a single use of the button kept their opponent underground long enough for Iida to bypass him altogether. They couldn't avoid the single massive trap just in front of the gate, but between the versatility of Ojiro's tail and the power of Iida's reciproburst they were able to help each other get out of the ring together. Izuku was a bit worried about Shouto and Yaoyorozu's match, but the Class President took charge right away. All they had to do was find Aizawa, then one use of the button made him blink and a giant ice wall kept him at bay while Yaoyorozu created the things they would need. The catapult trick was truly inspired in Izuku's opinion, and they pulled it off flawlessly, ending the match with Aizawa in cuffs.
Uraraka and Aoyama used the button more than most of the teams, as they figured out early that Thirteen would instinctively clam up and seal their suit every time they were shocked. With that advantage Uraraka was able to use Thirteen's quirk to get in close, with Aoyama hitting the button just before she got within dangerous range, and her training from her internship helped her cuff her opponent easily. Jirou and Koda also used the button a lot, and Izuku felt a bit bad for the way Mic got shocked every time he started to use his voice, but it bought enough time for them to come up with a plan to use bugs as a distraction so they could escape. Hagakure and Shouji realized right away that the shocks wouldn't interfere with Snipe's aim, but they would make him grunt loudly, which helped Hagakure find and sneak up on him after he threw a smoke bomb. Sero's team were impressive against Midnight, and also used their button to great effect to be able to pass.
Ashido and Kaminari were the real stars though.
Both of them had been practicing long and hard with the techniques Izuku had designed for them,
and as soon as the buzzer sounded they put their plan into action. Kaminari used the button to shock Nezu, and was able to track the electrical signal to hunt down their opponent. The industrial environment was ideal for his electromagnetic climbing skills, and with Ashido on his back he got them to high ground and across the metal terrain until they found the principal's hiding spot. From there it was a piece of cake. All Ashido had to do was melt the chain on the wrecking ball and Nezu's equipment was rendered useless, and Kaminari was able to make the climb up to the cab without much trouble. In the tight space it was a bit of a scuffle, but once Ashido climbed up the other side of the crane with acid-made handholds, the fight was two against one. They cuffed Nezu before their time was even halfway up.
Once Sero's team had left the field though, it was time for Izuku and Hitoshi to make their way to their combat stage for their own final exam.
It was another urban environment, like the first match. All Might's preferred terrain. Not like any other terrain would make it any easier, but Aizawa certainly wasn't pulling any punches. Like all the others they started off in the center of the stage, but it was a straight shot to the escape gate. All they had to do was follow the one path in front of them.
"You OK?" Izuku asked Hitoshi as they waited for the buzzer.
"As well as can be expected," Hitoshi said, his usual mask of disaffected boredom sporting more than a few cracks. "You?"
Izuku took a deep breath, then let it out. In truth his stomach was in knots and his heart felt like a heavy ball of lead. He wasn't going to let that stop him though. When he'd been a child All Might had seemed like a god, all powerful and impossible to defeat. But he had weaknesses. Izuku thought back to their conversation on the roof, comparing All Might's assessment of him to what he had accomplished now. All Might could be wrong. All Might could be beaten.
"We can do this," he said calmly. "That's all that matters."
"You sure?" Hitoshi asked, and Izuku could tell that he was really scared.
Izuku touched the heart on his cheek with one finger, carefully not to smudge it. "Do you know what this means?"
"Love and peace?" Hitoshi guessed dully.
"It's the hearts of everyone cheering for us," Izuku told him. "We can't let them down, so we have to win. No matter how bad it seems, no matter how much we want to give up, we have to keep trying. As long as that heart's still there, I'll keep fighting. Will you?"
Hitoshi sighed, then nodded. "If you're still fighting, I'll keep trying. I won't leave you out there by yourself."
Izuku felt the heavy weight of his heart lift somewhat. His fear wasn't gone, but it was lessened. He looked at Hitoshi and smiled, and shakily Hitoshi smiled back.
"Team Midoriya and Shinsou. Practical Exam. Ready? Go!"
Immediately Izuku and Hitoshi tapped their heels together and took off. Hatsume had upgraded both their boots with an improved version of her compressed air propulsion system just before the final, so right away they were going at a pretty good clip. They stayed close to each other, hands occasionally brushing as they swayed slightly with their foot movements. Going down the main road, they would be at the gate in a matter of minutes unless they were interrupted.
As expected, they were interrupted.
The breaking of a foot traffic bridge just ahead of them was all the warning they got. Izuku seized Hitoshi's hand and Hitoshi grabbed his capture weapon, and the scarf shot out and wrapped around a lamp post just before the wave of air hit them. It was like stepping into a typhoon, one moment sunny skies and the next a shockwave of pressurized air that knocked him off his feet. His arm jerked violently as his grip on Hitoshi's hand was tested and held strong, the two of them clinging to each other for dear life as they were blown backward like a flag on a pole. Around them whole walls of buildings were sheering away like tissue paper. The lamp post they were tethered to warped under the strain, but it wasn't directly in the path of the strike, so it bent but didn't break.
When the wind died down they fell in a heap, flat on the ground beside each other. In the next instant there was a heavy thud that shook the ground like a meteor falling to Earth, and Izuku looked up to see All Might standing in front of them.
This wasn't the Number One Hero. This wasn't the Symbol of Peace. This wasn't even their heroics teacher, the man who bumbled his way through encouraging speeches and fake laughed rather than answer awkward questions. This was just a man with power, so much power it was immeasurable, so strong and so capable he put every possible combatant to shame. He was beyond intimidating, and Izuku felt bile crawl up his throat as All Might opened his mouth to speak.
"Nice weather we're having!" Hitoshi yelped in a panicky voice before All Might could say anything.
All Might's eyes narrowed. He closed his mouth, but his smile didn't falter. Still, that was all the confirmation Izuku needed.
All Might was afraid of Hitoshi's quirk. They were going to win.
All Might drew back his fist for another smash, but Hitoshi and Izuku pushed themselves to their feet before he could strike. They separated, Izuku veering left and Hitoshi skating around to the right, forcing All Might to pick which one of them he would go after.
"Can't be in two places at once can you?" Hitoshi taunted.
All Might said nothing.
With their compressed air propulsion going once more they made a convincing show of going for the escape gate, but All Might was quicker than they would ever be. Izuku felt rather than saw All Might come to a stop beside him, and he didn't even have time to look before he was being grabbed and lifted into the air. He struggled and kicked, but before he could connect with anything he was being thrown, and a split second later he was crashing into Hitoshi. The two of them rolled and landed in a jumbled heap.
"OK," Hitoshi groaned in obvious pain, "apparently you can. Don't you think that's a little unfair?"
By way of answer All Might disappeared, then reappeared right in front of them. Izuku's body didn't want to move, but he forced it to roll one direction while Hitoshi rolled the other. Not that it made much difference. All Might's smash came down on the pavement instead, and the two of them were blown apart once more.
"Don't you ever hold back?" Hitoshi shouted, a bare moment after Izuku had stopped sliding along
the ground and long before he'd gotten his breath back.
All Might didn't reply to that either, but Izuku used the sensation of being impressed by Hitoshi's collectedness to ignore the smarting of the scrapes along the entire right side of his face. His jeans had been upgraded to include body armor of their own, and his jacket had taken the worst of the damage, but his sunglasses were long gone. Izuku took a moment to be thankful the heart was on his left cheek before pulling his force lance out of his pocket. He planted one end on the ground and extended it, using his grip to drag himself upwards.
Still gasping, he stood and faced All Might.
"Is that all you got!?" he shouted, as soon as he had the breath.
All Might wasn't taking any chances. He remained silent as he disappeared again, moving so fast there was no predicting where he would stop, then reappeared directly in front of Izuku. He grabbed Izuku's face, lifting him up by the head, and between his fingers Izuku could still glimpse his vicious smile.
Izuku dug his force lance into All Might's wrist and activated the taser.
It shocked him too of course, but it got All Might to let go. Izuku fell to the ground, crumpling to his knees when his legs refused to support him, and barely managed to use the force lace to keep his torso the right way up. He looked up at All Might to see a fist just above him, preparing to smash straight down. Before it could do so however, strips of white cloth wrapped around the forearm, and All Might looked up to see what had caught him.
"Pick on someone your own size!" Hitoshi called angrily.
All Might yanked, and between his legs Izuku watched Hitoshi go flying. He was jerked off his feet and high into the air, but before he could pass All Might another yank sent him straight down. He crashed into Izuku, both of them crying out in pain as they were smashed still further into the ground.
Hitoshi coughed but said nothing. All Might apparently wasn't taking any chances, and still didn't reply.
Instead he drew back a hand to smash them again, and Izuku wondered a moment if All Might actually planned to kill them if they weren't good enough to pass the exam. The thought gave him enough energy to leap out of the way, shoving Hitoshi off him in the other direction. They both scrambled to get their feet under them, but All Might apparently didn't care who or what he hit. The punch to the ground sent another shockwave sweeping away from the point of impact, and Izuku and Hithoshi were sent tumbling end over end away from him.
Izuku sat up, head spinning, body aching. It took a moment for his vision to clear enough that he could see what was in front of him. All Might stood with his fist buried a few inches in the ground. Hitoshi was on the other side of the street, pushed up on his arms but with legs laying limp behind him. One of them was bent at a funny angle. Izuku doubted he'd be able to walk.
It was show time.
As All Might turned to look at Izuku, a predatory gleam in his sunken eyes, Izuku slipped his left hand into his pocket and looked straight at Hitoshi. Across the street Hitoshi nodded his understanding. All Might stood and turned to Izuku, clearly intent on going after him again next. Then Hitoshi spoke.
"Isn't your time almost up, All Might?" he called, voice a harsh croak of exhaustion.
Izuku watched All Might's reaction as though in slow motion. His eyes widened, and he began to turn his head toward Hitoshi. His lips parted, like he wanted to speak, but no sound came out yet.
Izuku hit the button. "WHAT?!" All Might shouted.
Then his eyes went blank. His body went totally still, frozen and unable to move. He was under Hitoshi's control.
Izuku forced his aching body to its feet and took off running. The cuffs were in his left pocket too, and he pulled them out as he ran. He was only a few hundred feet from All Might, but who knew how long Hitoshi would be able to keep the Number One Hero trapped with his quirk? Izuku wasn't taking the chance. He didn't dare use his skates and risk bumping into his opponent, so he simply ran as fast as he could.
"Make him hold out his hands!" he called to Hitoshi as his footfalls ate up the distance.
"Hold your hands . . . out in front . . . of you . . ." Hitoshi gasped. He was either in a lot of pain or exerting a lot of effort.
All Might held out his wrists, ready to be cuffed, but Izuku could see the muscles in his arms straining. He couldn't move in any way he hadn't been directed, but he was trying.
"Hold him!" Izuku cried as he reached the halfway point, pushing himself to go faster and faster. "He's . . . fighting . . ." Hitoshi replied, sounding like he was speaking through gritted teeth. Almost there, Izuku chanted to himself. Almost there! Almost there! Almost-
He slammed the cuffs onto All Might wrists, hearing them rattle closed. In the next instant he heard Hitoshi and All Might both gasp, then pant like they'd been holding their breath. All Might looked down at his hands, blinking in confusion.
He was cuffed.
"Team Midoriya and Shinsou have passed the final!" announced the chipper automated voice.
Izuku's right knee buckled, and he had to plant his force lance to keep himself upright. His head fell forward, hanging down in front of him as his body tried to curl in on itself. His legs felt like jelly, and he wasn't sure he would be on his feet for very long. He wanted to go to Hitoshi right away, but his body wouldn't obey him.
"Are you alright, young Midoriya?" asked All Might in concern.
"Hi-Hitoshi!" Izuku stammered, trying to lift his head and failing.
There was a rush of air, and All Might vanished from his side.
"Young Shinsou?" All Might's voice came from the general vicinity of where Hitoshi had fallen. "Are you badly hurt?"
"My leg hurts," Hitoshi admitted, "but I can move it, so I don't think it's broken. I don't think I can walk though."
Izuku sagged even further in relief. He didn't think he could walk either, to be fair. His body felt like one big bruise. He was sure he'd broken something, although everything hurt almost equally so he wasn't sure what, and if he had to guess at what internal bleeding felt like, he would guess the feeling in his abdomen right now. Still, it was over.
They'd passed the final. They'd won.
All Might somehow freed himself from the cuffs, likely because they were cheap and breakable, and he reappeared in front of Izuku. With a lot of effort Izuku raised his head, to find that All Might had Hitoshi cradled in one arm. He pulled Izuku into the other, and then there was a rush of wind
as he took off running, but almost immediately he stopped again. Izuku wondered if they were already in Recovery Girl's office, but then All Might was bending down, and Izuku forced his eyes open to see that his left hand was dangling limply just above the ground. Laying a few inches from his fingers were his silver sunglasses.
"Don't forget those, young Midoriya," All Might said softly. "They're a part of your hero uniform, and you should wear them with pride."
Izuku nodded, wincing at the pain even that elicited, and picked up the sunglasses. They were, miraculously, completely intact, not even scratched or cracked from the fight. As they sped off again he held them up, looking at himself in the reflective surface. He looked beaten to hell, bruised and bloody and broken.
But the heart on his cheek was still there.
It hadn't been pleasant for Shouto, watching his two closest friends fight All Might.
His own exam had been easy, just following Yaoyorozu's instructions and using Izuku's secret weapon to their advantage. Hitoshi and Izuku, however, had a much harder time. He had reason to be thankful he was still in his costume as he watched All Might toss them around like broken toys. Every part of him ached to go and help them, and his quirk reacted sympathetically, frost creeping up his right side and heat rising off his left. It took Asui pointing out that he was starting to give off steam for him to realize he was losing his grip on himself.
"Sorry," he said quietly, taking his eyes off the screen for a moment to get himself back under control.
He couldn't stop himself from looking back right away.
He needn't have worried though. Hitoshi's quirk was strong and Izuku's plan was flawless, and after lulling All Might into a false sense of security they sprang their trap. They cuffed him -- All Might, the Number One Hero -- and a round of cheering louder than at Kirishima and Satou's victory rose up from the class. Shouto let out a shuddering breath and tried to calm his racing heart.
It was over.
They'd won.
He didn't need to ice the whole building over.
After the exam was done All Might picked up his two opponents and raced off screen with them.
A few moments later a rush of wind swept through the observation room and Recovery Girl's office door banged open and then closed. The class all tried to crowd in after her, but she waved her cane at them and told them to be patient, so they all waited anxiously outside. After a few minutes and the sound of two smacking, grandmotherly kisses, the door came open again and Izuku and Hitoshi stepped out.
Both of them were swathed in bandages, with huge pads of gauze taped over too many cuts and scrapes. Hitoshi's shirt was in tatters and Izuku's jacket was draped around his shoulders so as not to put too much pressure on his wounds. They both looked exhausted, but they were smiling, and they smiled wider when they saw Shouto. Izuku raised a fist into the air in imitation of All Might's signature victory stance.
Shouto couldn't take it anymore.
He shoved his way blindly through the crowd of students and down the handful of stairs to where the office door was, then threw his arms around his friends. His right arm hooked around Izuku's neck and his left arm went around Hitoshi's, and he pulled them both close. He ended up with his face buried in both their shoulders, hiding his eyes in Izuku's jacket and Hitoshi's capture weapon, and he shuddered when he felt both their arms go around him as well.
"It's OK Shouto," Izuku said quietly. "We won."
"Did you really doubt us that much?" Hitoshi challenged, but his voice was teasing.
Shouto let out a noise that was half laugh, half sob and clung to them tighter.
"Damn Todoroki, you don't have to get so worked up about it," Kaminari laughed.
"Of course they were gonna win!" Ashido chirped. "Did anyone really think they wouldn't?" "You did look pretty scared there for a minute Mina, ribbit," Asui pointed out.
"Such passion in the face of adversity," Tokoyami intoned sagely. "Truly remarkable."
"It was almost as cool as our fight!" Dark Shadow chimed in approvingly.
As the rest of the class continued to chatter, Shouto tried to find it in himself to let go. It was very hard, he found. His hands clutched at their clothes and didn't seem to want to release them. Izuku's hand was rubbing soothing circles on his back, and he could feel Hitoshi's fingers flexing against the fabric of his costume, gripping and releasing rhythmically. He didn't want to lose that feeling. The idea of backing away seemed almost physically painful. He couldn't bring himself to let go.
"Shouto," Izuku whispered against his hair. "Look at me."
With a lot of effort, Shouto lifted his head and backed off enough to look Izuku in the eye. He let his hands slide to their shoulders, but he didn't release the other two. Both of his friends looked at him with warmth and affection in their eyes, Hitoshi smiling crookedly and Izuku peering over the rims of his reflective sunglasses. Izuku's eyeliner heart peeked cutely out from behind the silver frames. Shouto's real heart did funny little flips at the sight of it.
"You don't have to worry about us," Izuku said, just as soft and low as before, meant for the three of them only. "I always have a plan, and Hitoshi's stronger than you think. I know it's scary, but we-"
"I don't think you're not strong," Shouto whispered, looking back and forth between Izuku and
Hitoshi. "I just . . . what am I supposed to use my power for if not to protect you?" "After that giant ice wall you'd think you'd slow down a bit," Hitoshi joked quietly.
Shouto shook his head, lowering his eyes as he made his confession. "Growing up, I never wanted to use my quirk like Endeavor did. He would flare up and frighten my mother in response to his every mood. I've never used my quirk just because I wanted to, but watching you fight . . . I wanted to. I wanted to so bad I could barely contain it."
"You know that's a good sign, right?" Hitoshi said teasingly.
"Is it?" Shouto couldn't help the way his voice shook as he spoke.
"It is," Izuku told him fondly. "It means you know what your power is for. And you're starting to believe it."
Shouto took a deep breath, then reluctantly let go of the other two. He stepped back a bit, and around him came a flood of classmates eager to congratulate the victorious duo. Everyone was talking over each other, all wanting to be the first to point out some impressive part of the fight or other, and Izuku and Hitoshi bore their newfound fame admirably. It actually took Shouto a couple of minutes to realize what was missing.
Normally Uraraka would be at the front of the group, loudly expressing her admiration, especially for Izuku. Now Shouto had to look for her. His eyes scanned the crowd and found her hanging back, watching the celebration from afar. Usually she would be using her quirk to jump around and draw attention to herself, but now she was twisting her hands in front of her, fiddling with the armored fingerless gloves Izuku had insisted she add to her costume. Her knees were pressed together in an unstable stance that conveyed shyness, and her arms were drawn in as though to make herself small. She was watching Izuku and Hitoshi . . . no, just Izuku, with a sad sort of look in her eyes.
Shouto didn't know what to make of that.
Toshinori had to think very carefully about how much of his power he was going to use for Izuku's exam match.
He had been instructed to hold back, to leave a way for Izuku and Shinsou to win against him, but he wasn't entirely sure Aizawa knew what he was asking. Obviously Toshinori knew how to restrain himself enough to not kill his opponents, but even that level of strength had never failed him. How far should he back off from that level? He didn't want the fight to be too easy, to be an insult to Izuku's planning skills, and he refused to hold back more against these two than he would against students with physical quirks. It wouldn't be fair, to them or the others.
He was still floundering for an answer when the fight began, but upon seeing the boys' plan was to run, he had decided to err on the side of going too hard. He didn't want them to feel they'd made the wrong choice in deciding to find help, so he gave them an opponent to merit their fear. They continued to prioritize evasion rather than striking back at him, further securing him in the idea that he shouldn't play the part of someone they could beat. Even when he'd grabbed Izuku by the face and the boy had attacked instead of trying to free himself, Toshinori merely let himself be impressed rather than question his decision.
Then the boys had revealed their secret weapon, and Toshinori had been caught completely off
guard.
When it was over and he emerged from the fog in his brain to find his hands cuffed in front of him, he'd begun to regret his decision not to hold back more. Both boys were in rough shape, and Shinsou hadn't been in any state to walk, so Toshinori had carried them both to Recovery Girl. He felt compelled to apologize once they were all bandaged up, being instructed to wait days before they could resume training, but he held off. Weighing heavier on his mind was the specific way in which he'd been captured.
Shinsou had mentioned his time limit. He shouldn't know about that.
"Young Midoriya," Toshinori called as the class was leaving the observation room in one excited knot. "Please hang back a moment."
Izuku paused, looking back at Toshinori curiously, but he said a quick goodbye to Asui and turned to walk back into the room. Shinsou and Todoroki turned as well, falling into step behind him and flanking him on each side.
"Just young Midoriya, please," Toshinori said, smiling apologetically. "Young Todoroki, young Shinsou, please give us a moment alone."
Todoroki and Shinsou looked at each other, then at Izuku.
"It's fine guys," Izuku waved them off. "I'm pretty sure I know what this is about."
The two of them looked at each other again, and seemed to have an entire conversation in complete silence. Then Shinsou said, "We'll wait for you," and the two of them left, letting the door slide shut behind them.
"Congratulations young Midoriya!" Toshinori boomed, beaming down at him. "You did very well on your final exam! I imagine it was your plan you and young Shinsou used to beat me? Excellent work!"
"It was," Izuku nodded, and Toshinori noticed with pleasure that he was no longer shy about his accomplishment, meeting Toshinori's eye instead of averting his gaze. "Hitoshi's quirk was the real star though, without it we never would have won."
"Speaking of young Shinsou's quirk-" Toshinori began.
"You want to know how he knew what to say to you," Izuku finished for him.
Toshinori coughed loudly, feeling his body collapse in on itself until he was a fraction of his hero form's size. He wheezed a few more times, wiping blood off on his sleeve, then turned to face Izuku again.
"What exactly did you tell him, young Midoriya?" he asked seriously, hating the way his voice was lower and rougher in this form.
"Nothing about your time limit," Izuku assured him, shaking his head. "I only told him that he should say your time was up. I made it sound like I meant your career as a hero, or your streak as Number One. I didn't tell him anything that's a secret."
"Good," Toshinori sighed, feeling the tension inside him ease somewhat. "That's good. I figured I
could count on you, but I did need to make sure."
"I understand," Izuku nodded. "It's an important secret, and I know you didn't even mean to tell me in the first place. You can't trust just anyone with it."
"You aren't just anyone though," Toshinori told him, and smiled a little when Izuku looked at him in confusion. "You're an extremely bright and talented young man, sure to make an unstoppable and inspiring hero."
Izuku went a bit pink and looked away.
"You did extremely well today," Toshinori went on, determined to make Izuku believe it. "To have won an exercise like this against such a powerful opponent, and by capturing your enemy instead of running away, is a truly impressive feat. I did my utmost to convince you to flee, but you were actually able to subdue me, and win the exercise by defeating me. Not just anyone can do that."
"You were holding back," Izuku looked at the floor, cheeks growing steadily redder. "You had to have been."
"Not as much as you think," Toshinori insisted.
"You probably could have broken out of Shinsou's quirk if you wanted to," Izuku said, peeking up at Toshinori through his eyelashes.
Toshinori paused a moment. He wasn't entirely sure how to explain to Izuku what he'd seen while he was under the influence of Shinsou's brainwashing. Izuku knew the secret of One for All, but knowing was different than experiencing the quirk for himself. Still, Toshinori wanted him to know.
"No, I couldn't have," he said, making Izuku look up at him more fully. "When I was being controlled, I was fighting as hard as I could, and I experienced something I hadn't in a long time. I saw a kind of vision, one I remembered from my younger days when I first inherited One for All. In this vision was my Master, my predecessor in this legacy, and all of those who came before her. I've long believed that echoes of them still exist within this quirk, even though they are long passed. They reached out to me, to protect me and help me break free. But they couldn't."
Izuku gaped at him, and Toshinori chuckled. The mysteries of One for All certainly had a way of enchanting youngsters. He wondered if he should have revealed more of its secrets to Izuku before asking him to accept it, but put that from his mind. Toogata was his successor now.
"It's possible that there's no one in the world strong enough to break out of young Shinsou's quirk," Toshinori concluded with a smile.
"I can break out of it," Izuku corrected, wide-eyed. Toshinori blinked. "You can?"
"I mean, knowing that you couldn't do it puts some information into perspective a little," Izuku said hurriedly, waving his hands as though to ward off a misunderstanding. "I had wondered if he was holding back against me and just letting me go, and I think that's probably the case given that he could hold onto someone like you, and-"
Toshinori cut him off with a laugh, louder and fuller than he usually managed in this form. It almost sounded like his All Might laugh, if he was generous with himself.
"Don't sell yourself short young Midoriya!" he said, grinning wider than he usually did in this form. "I'm sure a strong mind and indomitable will like yours are more effective against young Shinsou's quirk than you think!"
"Maybe," Izuku said shakily, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, is that all?"
"Go catch up with your friends," Toshinori waved a hand. "And be sure to tell young Shinsou that he really was quite impressive out there too!"
"I will!" Izuku said, then turned and scurried out the door into the hall, where Toshinori could see Shinsou and Todoroki waiting for him.