chapter xxi.
( old friends vs the symbol of peace )
So... where did we stop?
Oh, right. When All Might is about to hit Bakugou again.
The pain on Keiko's side was lessening already as Astran started to heal it. All Might had Izuku pinned to the ground with a piece of metal fencing as he punched Bakugou's stomach, pushing him back and making him vomit.
It seemed that All Might was avoiding her, which was a good strategy, considering the fact that these two are the ones who are really put to the test. It still annoyed Keiko that she couldn't get the same amount of fun the other two were getting.
Yes, she still cared for having fun in a situation like this. It's Aiko's influence.
Keiko leaped once more and shot All Might's side, unknowingly hitting his weak spot.
She ducked when All Might tried to hit her, sliding across the ground and kicking him hard on the other side.
All Might directs a quick punch to her face, making Keiko's eyes widen when she discovers that she won't be able to dodge.
Astran give me strength!
The punch hit its mark, waves of air rippling around. Glass shards from empty window frames flew back, along with stray pieces of metal, dirt, and concrete.
Keiko! Midoriya gritted his teeth, struggling against the fence as he tries to break through. Even if it was just training, he couldn't bare to see the ravenette get hurt.
The dust settled once more, revealing Keiko, who was standing a few feet in front of Bakugou, with her arms in an x in front of her face. The sleeves on the arms were ripped off from the force, revealing her arms that were now turning purple from the previous impact.
"Jesus..." Keiko groaned, closing her arms and bringing them closer to her body. She stepped back from the hero, internally screaming from the pain on her forearms.
I though I asked you to back me up there!
It would have taken more energy from you than to heal your hands almost completely back to health.
"Almost?" Oh wow...
All Might looked at the girl in surprise. He was slightly worried from her injuries, but he still had to play his part as the villain. "You caught the punch instead of dodging, yet you're still standing. Impressive, young Kobayashi."
She wasn't given a chance to respond, since she was too busy dodging the upcoming hit directed at her stomach.
I can't use my hands, so I'll use my legs!
Keiko jumped using one foot and delivering a kick to the back of All Might's head with the other, her arms still cradled close to her chest.
The hero caught her foot before it made contact, wrapping his large hand around her ankle and throwing her down on the ground.
"Hah..." Keiko wheezed, her back aching as she rested on a mini crater.
This man is actually trying to kill me.
"You're quick, young Kobayashi, but not quick enough."
All Might then made his approach to the ash blonde, who was struggling to stand up as a puddle of vomit rested beside him.
He decided to talk a little, giving them a small chance of redeeming their previous mistakes to pass the test.
"I know why you're angry," All Might started. "It's because of young Midoriya's sudden improvement."
Bakugou froze when the words escaped the pro's mouth.
Of course, it was obvious that he felt threatened by Midoriya's upgrades when it comes to handling his quirk, but for some reason, it put Bakugou to a halt when hearing it come out of someone else's mouth.
"But, a level one power and a level fifty power will obviously improve at different speeds, right?
You're wasting you capabilities, do you know that? You know that, right? You've still got a lot to learn. But that's not about strength —"
"Shut up, All Might..." Bakugou rasped out. "If I have to use that scum's strength, then I'd... I'd rather lose."
Keiko huffed, steam coming out of her nose as she stands up once more, flexing her arms and cracking her neck as her jacket falls to the ground with a thud.
This idiot's really stupid for someone who got first place in the sports festival.
"Is that so..." All Might rose his fist. "Then you better not regret your choice."
At the same time, Keiko and Midoriya shot off towards them, Midoriya's fist hitting Bakugou's cheek while Keiko's knees hit All Might's ribcage.
Stop it, that's my weak spot! All Might grunted a little as he held his side briefly in pain, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the girl, who was taking a stance.
"Don't you dare say you'd rather lose!" Midoriya screamed. Once Bakugou landed, Midoriya picked him up and they retreated to a nearby alley.
Midoriya glanced back. Bringing Keiko along wasn't part of his plan, unfortunately. He hoped that she would find her own way out.
"I didn't expect young Midoriya to interfere," All Might muttered. He turned to the remaining student, his smile widening a little at the quiet determination that was prominent in her figure.
"Get through me first if you wanna go to them," Keiko grinned, spitting out some leftover blood in her mouth.
"If that's what you want, young Kobayashi."
They both jumped at each other at the same time, fists ready to collide with each other.
Keiko purposefully missed, letting her body glide past All Might's arm and bringing her elbow up to his shoulder. She landed behind him, cheering internally when he saw All Might clutch his shoulder.
I just have to keep hitting him where it hurts until those two can think of a plan. Let's just hope that they can talk to each other without screams and yells.
The pro turned around, only to be met with a foot. He jumped back and landed heavily on the ground, pushing the girl back from the sheer force of the wind.
He knows I'm not that efficient if I don't fight on the ground, which is why he's aiming to unbalance me. I just have to overwhelm him until those to show up.
Do you need a power up? I can lend you some of my power.
Sure. I have a feeling that this fight won't take that long.
Keiko wiped her mouth, a glow starting to emit on her fists as she felt Astran's power flow through her..
All Might's smile widened at the change in her stance. "There's only one thing left to do."
Keiko rose a brow, getting ready to jump at the pro hero. "And that is?"
The pro hero turned around and ran away to find the other two. "NIGERUNDAYO! KOBAYASHI!"
Keiko deadpanned, watching All Might retreat after using the iconic line.
I don't get paid enough for this...
Go after him Keiko! Until those two have a plan, you must hold him down.
Keiko groaned and sped after him, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of the two boys.
She kept a distance between her and All Might, just in case he decides to turn around and beat the shit out of her. It was pointless to try and defeat All Might, so she just decided to follow him and regain her energy, but it was futile.
It seems that you don't need my power here after all.
Oh, shut up. We both know sooner or later we're actually going have to fight him seriously.
All Might glanced around, trying to spot his young successor, until the ash blonde shot out of an alley from behind him. "What are you looking at?!"
The hero looked over his shoulder. "So you were behind me, eh?"
Keiko simply watched as Bakugou aimed an explosion at All Might's face, seeing as she wasn't part of their plan at all.
"DEKU!" Bakugou shouted, and out of the smoke, the greenette appeared, wearing the bulky grenade of Bakugou on one of his arms.
Bakugou shot to the sky and yelled, "Shoot it! Deku!"
Keiko got the message and jumped high as well, hoping to avoid the incoming explosion.
"Gomennasai, All Might!" Midoriya pulled the pin, releasing a powerful explosion at point blank range.
"Run you idiots!" Bakugou screeched as he blasted off towards the exit, Keiko running right below him.
Midoriya soon followed, holding his shoulder for a brief moment as he ran beside the ravenette.
The three of them ran and didn't look back, but they kept their hearing sharp for any sign that All Might was going to approach them.
"We're close. The exit is right there," Midoriya said, pointing out the obvious.
"Just keep running," Keiko panted. Unlike the other two, she was actually fighting All Might directly. She had lesser energy stored in her than them.
"All Might isn't following us. Do you think he fainted?"
"Nope," Keiko said, unnaturally cheerful.
"You're the one that kept saying that we can't defeat him!" Bakugou barked. "Of course that won't take him down, you idiot! If he catches up, I'll blow him up with my gauntlet!"
All Might suddenly appeared in between Keiko and Bakugou. "And then?"
Bakugou aimed his gauntlet at him, but he broke it to pieces. Keiko dodged his other fist, but it also smashed the gauntlet Midoriya had.
Fuck, he's quick.
"Even with this, I'm not at my fastest because of the weights," All Might said. He let out a chuckle. "Now, go to hell, you heroes!"
All Might brought his knee up to Bakugou's chin, launching him upward and into a building.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya shouted, starting to run towards him, but All Might grabbed Keiko's wrist again and slammed her into him.
"As if I would!" Bakugou said, rapidly closing in on their opponent, but All Might — using Keiko as a sort of toy — slammed her down on the ash blonde.
This is just like the Nomu fight, but even worse.
"Well done, young men and woman," All Might praised. He held Keiko and Midoriya, while Bakugou was pinned to the ground under his shoe.
"You unwittingly cooperated to fight against me. But, you three, this is a prerequisite for this exam."
Keiko considered dashing out his hold and turning intangible, but it was nearly impossible to execute with her feet not on the ground.
Any ideas on how to get out of this?
There is one way, but for this to affect All Might, it needs to be powerful.
Let's do it.
"What is it with that face, young Midoriya?" All Might said. The greenette was struggling to loosen the hero's grip on him. All Might tossed him away.
"Blowing me away with maximum firepower and passing through the gate... that seemed to be your solution, but since I broke young Bakugou's gauntlet, that maximum firepower is gone. This is the end."
"Not today," Keiko grumbled as she opened her mouth, the insides of her mouth and her eyes glowing white.
All Might's eyes widened as he watched Keiko rapidly generating energy at the back of her throat, her jaw opening wider as the energy glowed brighter.
She inhaled deeply, and exhaled sharply through her mouth, releasing the energy and hitting All Might's shoulder.
"DIE!"
The impact was enough to push All Might back, surrounding the area with dust and releasing Bakugou from his hold.
Keiko dropped to the ground, wheezing as smoke came out of her mouth. It felt like her lungs and her throat were fried.
"Get to Izuku," Keiko said raspily to her classmate. For once, the pomeranian heeded her words and grabbed Midoriya by thr mask that hung from his neck.
The next thing Keiko knew, Midoriya was flung into the air, right towards the exit.
"New Hampshire Smash!" All Might barreled after him, hitting Midoriya's back with his own. The boy slammed onto a broken bus and landed on the floor.
Keiko ran forward, Bakugou in the air beside her.
"The gauntlets were for me to use my firepower without any risk," Bakugou said. "That was stupid of me."
The ash blonde placed his hands in front of him as his palms started to light up. "There's no way I could win against you without taking any risks."
As Bakugou lost altitude, he shouted. "Go, Deku!"
Midoriya tried to stand up, but pain flared on his back.
"Come on."
Midoriya looked up to see Keiko reaching out a hand to her.
Midoriya didn't want to burden her with his weight, but she rolled her eyes and seized his arm, placing his arm pit over her shoulder and doing the same to the other.
"I don't leave anyone behind," Keiko said softly. "Wrap your arms around my neck."
He did as told, securing himself to her. She grabbed his thighs, bent down, and jumped, trying to put as much distance between them and All Might as possible.
There was a big smash from behind, and Keiko couldn't help but look back.
Thank goodness she did that.
If not, she wouldn't have seen the trouble going on behind her.
"I'm leaving it to you, Izuku," Keiko said, setting him down on the ground. "Get through the gate. I'll follow along with Bakugou."
Midoriya was about to protest, until Keiko shot him down. "I can handle this. Go!"
She just started to see him limping away when her fists lit up, signalling the income of a heavy hit from the girl.
I'm coming, Bakugou.
With the last of her strength, Keiko jumped forward, heading straight for the number one hero.
"I won't let you stop us, All Might!" Keiko grinned maniacally, partially because of Astran's joy in a final hit.
"CHAA!" Keiko's fist connected with his cheek, once again pushing him back.
While All Might was distracted, Keiko grabbed Bakugou and set off.
Keiko cursed when her vision started to dim.
Not yet, not yet.
You have exerted too much energy, Keiko.
Fuck it. We haven't won yet. You can't rest until the battle's over.
But Keiko's knees already buckled; her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed.
Before she hit the floor, however, her chin hit a soft surface.
Keiko forced her eyes open, and muttered, "Izuku?"
"It's okay," Midoriya said, looking over his shoulder and showing Keiko his smile. "It's going to be okay."
Keiko smiled lazily, forcing herself to stand. "Can you carry Bakugou? I don't think I can handle his weight."
Midoriya nodded, letting Keiko slip Bakugou's body onto his own, and they set off, Keiko repeatedly punching her legs to keep them awake.
All Might coughed into his fist, blood staining the back of his palm.
They could have just crossed the finish by themselves, but they came back for youn Bakugou. It's of course in young Midoriya's instincts to help those in need, but I assumed that young Kobayashi would end the match by crossing on her own.
It seems that she changed.
"Team Midoriya, Bakugou, and Kobayashi pass the exam. All the final exams for the first year class A have been completed."
Keiko smiled, dropping to her knees.
The torture's over. It's finally over.
[ author's corner ]
That's it for the final exams. As I said before, I'm not good with fight scenes, but I've been trying out the shit going on in this book and envisioning it as realistically as I can. This is about as good as I can do, but I'll fix my fighting scene problem soon.
I think we'll be doing some summer break chapters soon. I hope you're enjoying this book so far. Thank you for the support I've been getting. See you soon now ((:
- R