Well, it's time for the event you've all been waiting for: the last practical portion of the finals! I'm super excited to get into this, along with what's to follow in the last two chapters of Season 2! But first, I'd like to point out a few things.
For one, I've noticed that guest reviews lately have all been directed toward the first chapter, yet are written like the most recent update was read. So here's my proposal. Future guest reviews that do reference recently updated material will count towards a review to that chapter. That way, the story can keep on going.
Next, I'd like to mention that "The Challenge of a Lifetime" recently updated. For those unaware, it's my Pokémon story of Ash's kids journeying in the Alola Region. I'm only bringing this up because it still needs a few reviews to its latest chapter before the Q&As in the forum can be opened. For those curious, the link to my forum is in my profile page.
That's about it for news, so let's get into the chapter!
This was not going well at all. Rebecca winced as she held her right arm gingerly. She had just seen Izuku get pinned under a broken guardrail, followed by Katsuki having to endure a punch to his gut from All Might, resulting in him practically puking his whole lunch up. And it was pretty much because of him that the whole trio was failing to work together as a team.
His insistence on challenging the Number One Hero resulted in each of them conflicting, with Rebecca wanting to just get away, Izuku wanting to bring Katsuki with them, and the Explosion Quirk user wanting to defeat All Might. They were all in practically different mindsets as to what they could do. There seemed to be no way that they could work together.
"Your compassion is admirable, Young Bakugo!" the number one hero complimented, "But of course, you still have much to learn," he pointed out, "You can't always expect to be enough of a force against a villain," he told him, "And I know you're frustrated that both Young Midoriya and Young Bluegarden are climbing up to your level," he mentioned, "but you can't expect them to stay the same forever," he added seriously, "It's important to know that when the time calls for it, you may need help from-"
"Shut up... All Might..." Katsuki interjected in frustration, evidently worn from the damage he had taken, "If I have to rely on their stupid powers to save me..." he started to say, "then I'd rather lose..." he confessed. Izuku's expression shifted into one of frustration, while Rebecca angrily frowned.
"...Very well then," All Might said, "Just remember, this is what you wanted..." he remarked, rearing his right fist back for a quick knockout punch.
'Damn it...!' Katsuki inwardly cursed, ready to receive the blow. But instead, he wound up taking a punch from Izuku, which knocked him out of the way in time. Both Rebecca and All Might widened their eyes.
"Don't you dare say that you'd rather lose!" he shouted out, "Let's win this, Kacchan!" he exclaimed. Afterwards, he grabbed his rival and leapt down into an alleyway. "Rebecca!" he called out, causing his best friend to perk up.
"R-Right!" she stammered, quickly getting to her feet and chasing after them. All Might, who had been caught off guard, didn't follow. A troubled smile remained upon his face. But he was hopeful that the trio facing him would cooperate with each other.
"Hey... let me go!" Katsuki yelled as he was still being carried down the alley by his rival.
"Kacchan, we can't fight All Might!" he pointed out, glancing back to see Rebecca catching up to them, "Not if you're gonna be so uncooperative!" he added seriously.
"I said put me down!" the Explosion Quirk user yelled, slamming his right arm onto Izuku's back, causing him to reflexively drop his rival as he fell over.
"Izuku!" Rebecca cried out, running over to the boys. Immediately, she outstretched her arms defensively in front of her best friend, glaring down at Katsuki. He stood up and took notice, scoffing in frustration.
"Same as always..." he muttered, "Why the hell do you always protect the damn nerd?" he questioned of the Leaper Quirk user.
"Because he's my friend!" she yelled in response, "And he was yours at one point, too!" she pointed out angrily to his surprise, "There was a time you didn't needlessly bully him just because he didn't have a Quirk or anything..." she recalled, "In fact..." she continued, glancing down in thought, "I actually thought you were kinda cool..." she admitted. Katsuki blinked. He knew what she was talking about.
FLASHBACK
Being a second-year at Aldera Junior High, Katsuki was still focused on getting into U.A. before the next semester rolled around. Whether he'd somehow get recommended or have to pass through the trials enlisted, he wasn't going to shy away from the top hero school in Japan. He rounded a corner, having an annoyed look upon his face as he looked at some text messages sent by his parents. He merely pocketed the device away, looking ahead to find a rather surprising sight.
"Come on, how much is Midoriya paying you?" one boy asked.
"Bet it's enough to make sure you're always around him whenever he wants..." another suggested as a response.
"Three of us would be glad to pay double to come on a date..." one more teen mentioned with a smirk. The three boys were surrounding a nervous-looking Rebecca. Based on how they were talking and the fact they brought up Izuku's name, Katsuki could deduce that they wanted to try and spend time with the Leaper Quirk user.
"Listen, Izuku's not paying me anything..." she told the boys, "He's my friend, so that's stupid to think I'm just hanging out with him for money..." she muttered out, starting to walk off.
"Hey, hold on a sec!" one of the boys yelled, grabbing her by her wrist and pulling her back as she yelped, "You gonna at least hang out with us for a small fee?" he inquired.
"I wouldn't even take a million yen from jerks like you!" she shouted, trying to pull herself away, "Now let me go!" she demanded. Katsuki found himself urged to step in, especially as it seemed like the three boys were about to gang up on Rebecca. However, someone else beat him to it.
"Rebecca!" Izuku cried out, hurrying over from the other end of the hall.
"Izuku!" Rebecca exclaimed, seeing him coming. Unfortunately, the trio of boys did as well. One of them went over and slammed his left fist into the Quirkless boy's stomach, followed by shoving him down onto the floor with his left foot and pinning him there by using it.
"Ergh...!" he grunted out, trying but failing to get the boy's foot off of him.
"Hey, let him go!" Rebecca shouted, trying desperately to break free of the hold of the other two boys.
"Say, Midoriya..." the one pinning the freckled teen began, "you wouldn't mind if we hung out with your girlfriend for a few hours, would you?" he questioned curiously to his surprise, "Don't worry, we'll take good care of her," he promised with an ominous smirk.
"Hey," Katsuki's voice chimed in, getting the boy's attention as he looked over to see the Explosion Quirk user there, "You got a death wish or something?" he inquired as he glared. The boy's bravado vanished as he sweated madly. So did his friends.
"N-N-N-No!" he stammered in reply, "W-We'll leave them alone!" he promised, quickly running off. The other two followed him, having let go of Rebecca.
"Tch," Katsuki scoffed.
"Izuku!" the Leaper Quirk user cried out, jogging over and crouching down to check on her best friend, who sat up with a groan.
"Kacchan..." he uttered, looking up at his rival, who turned around.
"Heroes are supposed to do whatever it takes to save people, right?" he inferred to the freckled teen's surprise, "So if a Quirkless nobody like you still wants to be a hero..." he continued, "then you better figure out how to at least save people like your ditz of a friend," he told him.
"Ditz?!" Rebecca repeated, sounding offended. In the meantime, Izuku took on a determined expression. He was going to take those words to heart.
END FLASHBACK
"Tsk..." Katsuki scoffed, "Didn't think you'd even remember dumb crap like that..." he grumbled out.
"Izuku saved you whether or not you wanna admit it," Rebecca noted, crossing her arms over her chest, "And I helped save both of you that one time," she mentioned, "So at the very least, you can work with us instead of against us," she insisted firmly. The Explosion Quirk user didn't say a word, sighing with frustration. He then stood back up fully.
"When I used those blasts earlier, I saw that he could handle them without a problem..." he told his teammates, "Little crap like that isn't gonna be enough to stop him..." he added in frustration.
"Then we need to run!" Rebecca advised seriously.
"No, we can't," Izuku responded to her surprise, "All Might would be able to catch up with us easily unless we managed to incapacitate him for even a few moments..." he explained, putting his gloved left hand onto his chin.
"That's where I come in," Katsuki chimed in, causing his teammates to look over and see him hold up his right grenade-like gauntlet, "I wasn't taking all those attacks for nothing, you know..." he pointed out as sweat trickled down his arm. Both Izuku and Rebecca looked to each other, wondering if such a strategy would work out between the three of them. But if they were going to pass, they needed to cooperate.
All Might was running down the destroyed street in search of his foes, thinking that they were in one of the nearby alleyways. He passed by the one that Katsuki blasted himself out of, aiming his gauntlet-less right hand his way and firing off small blasts to get his attention. Tears were in his eyes. He was frustrated with himself for being weak in the face of the Number One Hero, but even more than that, he loathed having to work alongside two people he had considered beneath him.
"DEKU!" he called out. Coming out from one of the upcoming alleyways, Izuku had his rival's gauntlet over his right arm. "SHOOT NOW!" the Explosion Quirk user bellowed.
"Sorry, All Might!" Izuku apologized in advance, pulling the pin to unleash a massive blast that engulfed their teacher. From afar as she was running ahead, Rebecca glanced back to see the plume of smoke erupting.
'Okay, now it's time to meet up!' she realized, activating her Quirk as her wing-like markings appeared upon her legs. She hurried off into the distance. The plan was simple. Izuku and Katsuki would lure All Might away long enough for her to reach the escape gate unimpeded. At least... that's what was intended. But she had a very uneasy feeling that the two of them would be no match for the Number One Hero, even if their plan was meant to keep him away.
And she was unfortunately right. All Might caught up to both boys, having Izuku held up by his right arm in his left hand, while Katsuki was pinned to the ground by his right foot. She had arrived just in time to see them there, widening her eyes. And the number one hero took notice of her.
"Hello, Young Bluegarden!" he greeted, zipping up to her. Reflexively, she made the markings upon her legs glow a bright blue. And in that instant, she found herself running along the street.
'Okay, I Reversed...' she realized, grimacing worriedly. She veered into an alleyway and hurried as quickly as she could.
"Once we get close enough, I'll blast you through the gate so we can end this!" Katsuki told Izuku as they were still heading down the street, "All Might's not gonna be taken down by my blasts, even if they're full-powered..." he admitted, "but they'll be enough to slow him down long enough for the cat ditz to get through!" he pointed out.
"Kacchan, her name's-!"
"Guys!" Rebecca's voice suddenly cried out, causing both boys to look ahead and see Rebecca zip out ahead of them.
"R-Rebecca?!" her best friend stuttered in shock.
"What the hell?!" Katsuki shouted, "Why aren't you at the damn gate?!" he questioned angrily.
"He's coming! Right behind you!" the Leaper Quirk user quickly warned. With that, both boys widened their eyes. If the Explosion Quirk hadn't whipped around in time, he wouldn't have seen the Number One Hero about to come up to him and his teammates. He quickly pulled the pin of his bracer, firing off a massive blast that seemingly engulfed him.
"GO!" he yelled to his teammates, enticing them to run. However, there was a sudden change in the air. The smoke from the blast blew apart as All Might launched himself down at the ground. Upon colliding with it, an enormous plume of dust and dirt erupted, causing everyone to go flying from its force. Afterwards, they all found themselves caught in the Number One Hero's grasp. Rebecca saw that it was like before, though this time, she herself was caught as she was held upside down by her left leg in her foe's brawny hand.
"I commend you all for cooperating with each other, given your history!" he complimented, "But that said, cooperation was only a prerequisite for passing this exam!" he pointed out. All three of the student heroes grimaced. Rebecca was especially shocked.
'Do I use Reverse again?!' she inwardly wondered, 'If I do, we could still end up in this situation!' she noted to herself, tearing up a little in fright and frustration.
"Now what kinds of faces are those to make, Young Midoriya and Young Bluegarden?" All Might questioned of his two foes in his hands, getting their attentions. He then tossed them both aside, causing them to both tumble across the ground. They came to a stop upon their stomachs, struggling to push themselves up. They were completely outmatched in this situation. And they needed to hurry.
All of a sudden, a powerful blast unleashed by Katsuki engulfed the Number One Hero in a plume of smoke. In spite of the pain building in his arms, he kept firing off blasts to fend off the man he looked up to as a kid. With his help, Izuku hobbled his way to the gate. Rebecca came over and held his right arm over her shoulders.
All Might was doing his best to try and stop them, but Katsuki continued to get in his way, even with all of the damage he had been taking. It came to the point where the Number One Hero grabbed him by his head and slammed him hard against the ground. Both Izuku and Rebecca looked back in shock.
"That's enough, Young Bakugo..." All Might said as he held his foe down. However, the Explosion Quirk user didn't relent, grabbing onto his opponent's arm. He said that even if he was breaking down and bleeding, he'd still fight and win. That's what he ultimately wanted.
'Kacchan...!' Izuku exclaimed inwardly, activating his Full Cowling. At the same time, Rebecca readied her Quirk as well.
"Whoops!" All Might yelped in realization, "Don't think I forgot about-!" He whipped his head around to see both Izuku and Rebecca coming towards him. And the former, despite being scared, put a smile on his face.
"Please move aside... All Might!" he exclaimed, "SSSSMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he bellowed, landing a powerful punch to his mentor's face, while Rebecca snatched Katsuki and pulled him away. Afterwards, they each draped an arm of his over their shoulders as they hurried to the escape gate. He was unfortunately unconscious. But together, the three of them made it through.
"You three really gave it everything you had, huh?" the Number One Hero noted aloud as steam wafted off from his body, "Now that's what it means to be Plus Ultra," he mentioned proudly. And with that, the final exams were over.
And there you have it! Finals are over! Up next, we're getting the results and preparing for the upcoming summer camp! Also, someone's on the hunt for Rebecca...?!
Thanks for reading!