Be Careful What You Wish For

Determination

Everything happened so fast, Izuku barely had time to register it. As soon as they hit the ground, Kacchan was already on the offensive. His attention honed in on All Might, and with a feint and a surprise attack, it almost looked like he could make it.

He didn't.

Before either boy could blink, All Might had already countered the attack, and Kacchan was back on the ground. Izuku had no doubt who would be next, when All Might ominously and deliberately turned his powerful body in his direction.

"Are you going to fight?" he smiled, but there was no kindness behind it. "Or will you abandon your friend and run?"

It was tempting, so fucking tempting to just bolt and leave Kacchan with this mess he was so keen to get himself into. And it wasn't like all those other times—he could run, and Kacchan would be fine. Perhaps a few bruises, some broken bones at most, but he would be fine.

Because All Might was no real villain, as much as he tried to play the part. Because Izuku had seen what real villains do, and it's a kind of evil no one who didn't truly mean it could emulate.

But, in the end, the instincts which had been so painfully beaten into him with each additional reset he had to endure won out. He could run, but if the only way Izuku could win this was by leaving someone behind, he didn't want to. Don't misunderstand, it wasn't that he felt some kind of obligation toward Kacchan to stay. Rather, with the loud mouthed blonde by his side or not, Izuku had already made his decision.

Because he knew, that sooner or later, he would have to face a foe stronger than a weakened All Might playing pretend bad guy. And unlike his teacher, they weren't going to hold back. And they sure as hell wouldn't show any mercy.

So, he stayed. Even if it meant he would fail the exam, he stayed. For there were worse things out there than a bad grade and his idol's disappointment.

"As if," he bit out scornfully, the power of One for All lighting up the dusty battlefield with hues of bright green. Charging All Might head on was out of the question—Kacchan tried, and despite his rather (admittedly) clever tactic, All Might had countered it with minimal effort.

If Izuku wanted to win, he needed to be smart. Smarter than Kacchan, and smarter than All Might.

For the moment, he dashed backwards, just as Kacchan flew over his head with a series of explosions launching him forward, like a malfunctioning rocketship. And this, despite Kacchan's best intentions, left Izuku with a opportunity too perfect, he'd be damned if he missed it.

Not unexpected, All Might made quick work of the explosive user's frontal assault. The blonde had attempted another faint, before thrusting a hand downwards and with a boom, launched himself into the air in an attempt to catch the pretend-villain in the back. It reminded Izuku of their first battle trial, when Izuku had played the hero and Kacchan the villain, except this time, it wasn't as successful. Because All Might was the Number One Hero, not just some Deku.

All Might ducked the explosion that flew overhead, singing a few of his golden blond strands, before grabbing a hold of the attacking teen's wrist and flung him to the side like dirty laundry. When his attention turned back to Izuku, the boy was nowhere to be found.

"Did the little hero run after all?" he questioned out loud, scratching his chin. "That doesn't seem right..."

His head snapped to the right, smashing the huge slab of concrete coming his way just in time before it could cause any damage.

"Smart, but you're going to have to try better than that, my boy..."

All Might didn't have time to finish his sentence, because before the hero-villain even opened his lips, Izuku was already putting his next move into action. Too distracted by the flying piece of cement, All Might didn't realize that by the time the projectile had been launched, Izuku had already left his position long ago.