Round 10 - Hideki & Itsuka VS All Might
Satoru slowly walked to the gate, waiting for it to open.
"Hideki-kun!" Itsuka reached him. "Are you ready?"
"Of course I am," said Satoru. "What about you?"
"I'm more than ready!" Setsuna exclaimed. "What's your strategy for passing the exam?"
"We'll handcuff him," said Satoru. "I know what you're thinking: he's All Might, we can't beat him. And you're right. But I don't want to run away."
"Hideki-kun, I... will help you."
"I'm glad. As soon as All Might appears, hide. I'll fight him alone. Come out only when I tell you, got it?"
"Got it."
"Oh, anyway, I see you got a girlfriend..."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry if I ran away that day, I didn't want her to see you."
"I see... you could at least tell me you liked Hatsume."
"Why do you care so much?"
(Oh, crap, he doesn't have to know!)
"Because... I'm happy you found someone who loves you."
"Thank you, Itsuka. Now we should focus on the exam."
"Okay."
(You should thank the fact we have to cooperate, or else, I'd beat you up.)
The gate opened.
"Team Shirakawa-Kendo, Practical Exam: Ready, Go."
Satoru and Itsuka entered the pitch.
"Where is All Might..." Satoru wondered.
"Right here!" Suddenly, All Might appeared from behind.
"Itsuka, hide!" Satoru created a shield of darkness that blocked All Might's attack. Satoru flew away.
"Hideki-kun!" Itsuka exclaimed.
"Worrying for girls, Shirakawa?" All Might reached Satoru. "That's very heroic!"
(I'm facing All Might, I can think it'll be easy to handcuff him...) Satoru reacted and dodged before All Might could obliterate him with his punch.
(I wonder where Itsuka is right now...) Satoru landed on the floor and wrapped his punches in darkness. "Bring it on, All Might!"
(He's challenging me with a lot of confidence... I like that!)
"Texas Smash!"
BOOM!
All Might punched the floor.
"Y'know, All Might," Satoru whispered. "In this week of internship, Oro-sensei taught me a new technique inspired by you!"
"Really? Show me!"
"Not yet!"
BOOM!
All Might's punch collided with Satoru's.
(He's keeping up with me... at least, for now... I wonder what Hikaru taught him...)
"Dark Punch: 80%!" Satoru punched All Might in the gut, but he blocked.
(I'm getting the upper hand... I must handcuff him now-)
But when he searched in his pocket, he didn't find anything.
(Shit!)
"Itsuka, wherever you are, come out and give me the hancu-"
SBAM! All Might punched Satoru in the stomach. "You lowered your guard, Shirakawa!"
Satoru flew kilometers away and spat blood.
(Goddammit... I lowered my guard for a mere second, and I almost spat my organs from my mouth...)
"You're exactly how they describe you, All Might..." Satoru slowly got up. "The strongest hero of this generation..."
Satoru spat more blood. "Tch... that punch still affects my organs..."
Suddenly, he got dragged away by one of Itsuka's enlarged hands.
"Hideki-kun, are you okay?" she asked once they hid in an alley. "Sorry, I forgot to give you the handcuffs..."
"It... doesn't matter..." said Satoru, still clutching his stomach. "Give them to me now."
Itsuka gave Satoru the handcuffs.
"I fought against him for less than a minute," Satoru whispered. "But it was enough for me to understand we need to cooperate if we want to win."
"What am I supposed to do, Hideki-kun?"
"Cover my back."
"Got it."
"His fighting style is very similar to Oro-sensei's... if I manage to resemble Oro's movements, let's say I can keep up with him for at least five minutes..."
"Come out, Shirakawa and his friend!" All Might shouted.
"Now!" Satoru came out of the alley and wrapped his fists with darkness.
"Oh, there you are!" All Might clenched his fist and charged it against Satoru.
(Right hook... just like Oro-sensei!)
Satoru lowered himself and punched All Might right in the face.
(He did it!) Itsuka came out as well. (He hit All Might, he hit All Might!)
"Now I'll put these handcuffs on you!"
But before Satoru could handcuff All Might, the Symbol of Peace elbowed him in the face.
"Ouch!" Satoru stumbled backwards. "Compared to the punch you gave me earlier, this was a caress!"
He planted his feet on the floor. "It's time to show you my new technique, All Might!"
"What makes you think I won't dodge?"
"And what makes you think we'd let you?"
All Might looked at his feet and noticed they were blocked by Itsuka.
"Good job, Itsuka! Now it's time for..."
"DAARRKKK.... SMASH!"
BOOOOOOOOM!
The entire surface trembled due to the shockwave of the punch.
(He took my 'Smash' and transformed it into a technique of his own... amazing...) All Might smashed against the floor.
Satoru trapped All Might in dark ropes. "Handcuffs, Itsuka."
Itsuka passed him the handcuffs. Satoru handcuffed All Might.
(They... managed to 'defeat' me... am I losing my touch? Or is that Shirakawa got incredibly stronger after the training with Hikaru...?)
"Team Shirakawa-Kendo: Exam Completed."
"Yay!" Satoru jumped in the air. "High five, bro!"
"Yay!" Itsuka and Satoru gave each other a high five.
(And with that, the practical exam is done. All Might... is slowly losing his strength. He would've defeated both of us in his prime.)
__________
The Next Day
"Sent us your pictures from the Training Camp!" said Kinoko.
"We will," said Yui.
Vlad King entered the room. "The bell rang. Sit down."
Everyone sat down.
"I have an important announcement to make," said Vlad King. "For those who didn't pass the practical exam... you'll join the Training Camp anyway!"
"YAAAAY!" Jurota, Kinoko, and Sen exclaimed in unison.
"I'm sorry to disappoint y'all," said Satoru. "But as I said a couple of days ago, I won't participate in the Training Camp."
"You're missing a golden opportunity, Hid," said Tetsutetsu.
"I know," said Satoru. "But I have a very important engagement."
"Your loss, Shirakawa," said Vlad King.
(Tch... It's all Tomura's fault... I would have had a blast there.)
"However," Vlad King continued. "An insufficiency remains such. You'll have to study a lot more than the others."
"It did seem too cool..." Sen rolled his eyes.
(Tets, Tokage... sorry if I won't join you, but... my villainous duty awaits, unfortunately.)
Chapter 26 - End