The steel security gate groaned as it rolled shut behind them with a heavy clang.
The last battlefield.
Unlike the others, this section of the mock city felt strangely empty. The streets stretched forward between abandoned office buildings, intersections, elevated walkways, and narrow alleyways that cast long shadows across the pavement. Somewhere within those streets was the exit gate.
Somewhere else...
...was the Symbol of Peace.
A mechanical voice echoed overhead.
"Exercise Nine. All Might versus Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya. Commence."
For a few seconds, neither boy moved.
Izuku instinctively scanned every rooftop and every blind corner, already trying to imagine where All Might would appear from.
Bakugo cracked his neck.
His palms sparked.
Tiny orange explosions repeatedly ignited and extinguished within his hands—not outward, but inward. Tiny controlled bursts compressed into his palms before expanding again in an endless cycle.
The result was simple.
Pressure.
Power.
Control.
Bakugo exhaled once.
"...Let's go."
He immediately began walking deeper into the city.
Izuku hurried after him.
"Kacchan, wait."
No response.
"We should think this through first."
Still nothing.
Izuku's eyes darted around the city.
Every previous battle replayed itself inside his head.
Cementoss.
Nezu.
Present Mic.
Aizawa.
Every teacher had been selected for one purpose.
To expose weaknesses.
And if that was true...
"...All Might isn't here to test whether we can defeat him."
Bakugo stopped.
"...He's here to test whether we can make the right decision."
Bakugo slowly looked over his shoulder.
"...Meaning?"
Izuku took a breath.
"There are two victory conditions."
"Either handcuff All Might..."
"...or escape."
"The obvious answer is escaping."
Bakugo's expression remained completely blank.
Izuku continued.
"We've both seen him fight."
"I-Island..."
His fists unconsciously tightened.
"He defeated Wolfram while seriously injured."
"He destroyed an entire floating fortress."
"He fought through being impaled."
"He kept going after everything."
Izuku looked directly at Bakugo.
"If we fight him..."
"...we lose."
"The exit is our win condition."
"So let's avoid him."
Silence.
The breeze drifted between the empty buildings.
Bakugo lowered his head.
"...You done?"
Izuku blinked.
"...What?"
"I asked if you're finished."
The explosions inside Bakugo's palms became louder.
"So your entire plan..."
"...is to run."
Izuku frowned.
"No—"
"You called it the 'right decision.'"
"I called it the smart decision."
Bakugo laughed.
It wasn't amused.
It wasn't loud.
It was almost disappointed.
"Smart?"
He turned completely.
"You think I'm here to run from somebody?"
"Kacchan, listen—"
"You think the strongest student in U.A. should look at one opponent and immediately think..."
His voice dripped with contempt.
"'Impossible.'"
Izuku tried again.
"That's not what I'm saying!"
"It is."
Bakugo pointed directly at him.
"You're saying we've already lost."
"I'm saying we should pass!"
"I'm saying I'd rather fail!"
The words echoed through the empty street.
Bakugo's eyes burned.
"What the hell kind of hero starts thinking about escape before throwing a punch?"
Izuku stared.
"Kacchan..."
"You're treating this like real life."
"It is real life!"
"No."
Izuku's voice became firmer.
"It's an exam."
"We're being graded."
"They're looking for judgment."
"They're looking to see if we'll make the correct decision."
Bakugo scoffed.
"The correct decision?"
He stepped closer.
"The correct decision is proving you're stronger."
Izuku shook his head.
"That's exactly why—"
His sentence never finished.
Bakugo grabbed the front of Izuku's shirt.
"You've always been like this."
Izuku looked up.
"When things get scary..."
"...you start making excuses."
Izuku's eyebrows furrowed.
"They're not excuses."
"They're reality."
Bakugo shoved him backward.
"No."
"They're surrender."
Izuku stumbled.
"I've seen All Might fight!"
"So have I!"
"I-Island proved—"
"I KNOW WHAT IT PROVED!"
Bakugo roared.
"It proved he's stronger than us!"
"Then why fight him?!"
"Because that's what heroes do!"
Izuku stared.
Bakugo continued.
"You don't get stronger running from the strongest guy in the room."
"You surpass him."
"You beat him."
"You become better."
Izuku clenched his fists.
"Kacchan..."
"You can't beat All Might."
Bakugo froze.
For a brief second...
...everything became silent.
The tiny sparks around his palms disappeared.
His expression became unreadable.
"What..."
His voice was quiet.
"...did you say?"
Izuku swallowed.
"You can't."
"No one in our class can."
"We aren't at that level yet."
"We don't have to prove we can beat him."
"We just have to pass."
Bakugo slowly walked toward him.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
"You really believe that."
"I do."
"So."
Bakugo stopped directly in front of him.
"You've already decided."
Izuku didn't answer.
"You've decided I'm too weak."
"I never said that!"
"You did."
"No!"
"You just called fighting him impossible."
"I called it unrealistic!"
"For you."
Izuku's eyes widened.
"Kacchan, that's not—"
SMACK!
Bakugo's palm slammed into Izuku's chest.
Not an explosion.
Just raw force.
Izuku hit the pavement and rolled across the street before stoppincoming to a stopt a broken curb.
Bakugo stood over him.
"Stop."
His voice was low.
"Ever."
"Telling me."
"When."
"To."
"Give."
"Up."
Izuku slowly pushed himself upright.
His breathing had become heavier.
"I..."
"...want us..."
"...to pass."
Bakugo stared.
"And I don't need your help."
"I can pass this exam myself."
"You don't understand!"
"No."
Bakugo pointed directly at him.
"You don't."
"You think everyone's supposed to agree with you."
"You think because your notebook says something..."
"...that makes it true."
Izuku finally stood.
His own frustration surfaced.
"No."
"I think you're too angry to think."
Bakugo's eye twitched.
"You charge at everything."
"You never listen."
"You never cooperate."
"You yell at everyone."
"You push people away."
"And then you wonder why nobody likes you!"
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Bakugo's expression became frighteningly still.
Far above them...
A massive shadow moved.
Neither boy noticed.
From the roof of a nearby skyscraper...
All Might looked down.
His expression held none of his usual smile.
"They're wasting precious time."
His voice was quiet.
"This isn't a test of power."
"...It's a test of whether they'll become heroes together."
He sighed.
"I suppose..."
"...I'll have to remind them."
He vanished.
A sonic boom split the air.
Izuku's instincts screamed.
His head snapped upward.
"Kacchan—!"
Too late.
All Might descended like a meteor.
His fist drew back.
Wind exploded around him.
The sheer pressure alone shattered every window along the street.
"CAROLINA..."
Izuku's pupils shrank.
"KACCHAN!"
"SMASH!!"
The punch never touched either student.
It struck the street between them.
The world erupted.
Concrete disintegrated.
A hurricane of compressed air blasted outward.
Roads buckled.
Streetlights bent in half.
Cars were launched through storefronts.
The shockwave tore across several city blocks.
Izuku felt himself lifted completely off his feet.
"Kgh—!"
He was thrown through the air before crashing through the side of a building, rubble collapsing around him.
Bakugo skidded dozens of meters across broken asphalt before digging one hand into the ground, explosions finally stopping his momentum.
Dust consumed the battlefield.
Silence followed.
Then...
Heavy footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Emerging from the settling cloud...
All Might walked toward them.
Not smiling.
Not joking.
Every footstep cracked the ruined pavement beneath him.
His cape fluttered behind him.
His eyes remained fixed on the two first-years.
His deep voice echoed across the devastated street.
"Young Midoriya."
"Young Bakugo."
"You may disagree."
"You may argue."
"You may even fight."
He stopped.
"But while a villain stands before you..."
"...heroes do not turn their backs on one another."
His massive hands slowly clenched into fists.
"So."
A familiar smile returned.
Not gentle.
Determined.
"Come."
"Show me."
"What the two of you..."
"...can accomplish together."
______________________________________________________________________
[Auther: Every time I look at the pacing, I go...I need to hurry up, but then I go, just a tad more detail and this happens.]