For a short while, you had this strange feeling that maybe you should have thought of something else. In the end, during the festival, he made it clear that you cannot count on anything more than just an ordinary friendship, even if he has developed some feelings for you.
And now, when you looked at his face, his facial expression still remained unchanged, you felt more confirmed in this belief.
It probably wasn't the best idea, you thought, of course he won't agree.
And when you were about to give up on this idea, out of the corner of your eye you noticed how the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and after a while, he burst out laughing. It completely made you speechless, you had no idea how you should react to it, so while standing still, you waited until he will speak.
"Okay, we have a deal then." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. You let the air out of your mouth, feeling like a giant weight's been taken off your shoulders, like all uncertainty just vanished, suddenly replaced by disbelief.
''You... are not kidding... right?"
He shook his head, sending you such a serious and wide smile that for a moment you doubted whether he was really telling the truth. You felt like he was making fun of you.
"But... really?" You asked again, unable to get rid of the feeling that it was just a joke. He laughed once more.
''Yes, really. You have my word."
You nodded slowly.
''O-okay... but there is still another issue.'' You started uncertainly, breaking eye contact. You fixed your eyes somewhere far away, those trees growing a few feet behind him seemed to you more interesting than his face at that moment. "I still don't know what I will have to do if I lose."
"Oh, it's quite simple." He answered, and after a second he added, winking at you. "I will not tell you."
''What? Why? That's not how a bet should work. Both sides should agree to the terms, both sides should know what is the price for losing, in this case, it's not fa--'' You started, but he stopped you in mid-sentence.
"Yes, according to you it might be not fair, but let's start with the fact that your request was... selfish. You know well what I think about dating you, and yet... Anyway, I want to be selfish too. And your punishment for losing will be exactly what I just said, you will not know what awaits you until the very end. So I think it IS fair."
''But...!"
''If you want me to agree to your term, you have no choice but to agree to mine."
You felt like he was stabbing you with a needle. You raised your head nervously and looked at All Might's face. His eyes were half-closed and fixed on you, his gaze so intense that it seemed to pierce you through. He knew that what he had just said confused you and you didn't know why he demanded something like that. For a moment, he saw that you couldn't even find the right words, but as soon as you took a deep breath you knew exactly what you wanted to tell him.
"I don't think I have a choice." You muttered softly, giving him a faint smile.
''Exactly. Now get ready. You only have one chance." He replied and immediately changed his attitude. He looked quite like a tiger preparing to attack his prey.
What to do?, you thought feverishly. Predicting the future? I don't have enough time to try to do it. Even if I succeed, I will not stop him when he approaches. All Might... is experienced in combat and will certainly predict my every move. So what should I...?
But suddenly you heard a sound, like if something with incredible speed pierced through the air. Before you could notice what was its source, you saw someone's shape in your field of view. Your body reacted instinctively, which was something almost impossible to you, and unable to understand how you did it, you managed to jump aside, avoiding direct contact with your opponent. With all the effort of your will, you focused on your target, on his movements, on his figure, waiting for him to attack you again.
All Might was amazed. He didn't expect that. He thought you would rather stand still and that you would try to use your Quirk, as you did before. Your action certainly took him by surprise. But ... with this, you will not win the bet. You had to stop him, not avoid his attack. And for now, it looked like you had no idea how to do it. Actually, he had the feeling that you couldn't quite understand how you managed to react so quickly, that your own action made you confused. And he intended to use it against you.
You could barely stand on your feet, shaking with nervousness, still unable to believe how you managed to do it.
Those were seconds!
Quickly, however, you shook off these thoughts and concentrated on All Might still standing nearby and watching you with that strange look on his face. It was... unreadable.
At least for a second.
Then he smirked.
And it was invitational.
It was a smirk that obviously said ''come, attack me."
But before you could make any move, before you could even blink, he flew at you.
You noticed his hands reaching towards you, so without thinking, you ducked, making a quick jump to the left. You felt his fingers gently brushing your arm, missing its target. A wave of heat and incredible excitement flooded you. Somehow it worked.
You quickly withdrew, increasing the distance between you. The longer you managed to keep him away from you, the higher was your chance of winning.
"Not bad," He said. ''But that's not enough. You cannot run forever."
"Of course I can." You answered, breathing quickly. You felt your heart like a hammer pounding in your chest.
He smiled once more.
''Is that so?"
While saying this, he took a slow step forward, which instantly made you take a step backward. You instinctively raised your hands as if you were afraid that he would attack you again at any moment.
And you were right.
In a second he was right next to you, towering over you and smiling like someone who is sure of his victory. It took just a second for his hand to tighten on your wrist and gently pulled it towards him. With his other hand he embraced you lightly and pressed to his chest so that you couldn't even make any move.
You already knew that you lost the fight. You knew it at the moment when you instinctively covered yourself with your hands. You didn't even try to resist. You closed your eyes and sighed quietly.
"Guess I lost again."
''You could have won. Why didn't you use your power? You managed to take me by surprise. You could use it against me." He replied slowly, letting you out of his embrace. Reflexively, you stepped back and shrugged.
''I don't know, all of this was going too fast. I acted instinctively. You could say that... I forgot I have any power... I just wanted to keep you as far away from me."
''With just running away you can't win a fight. You must attack."
"I know that, but during the fight, attacking wasn't the most important thing to me. That's why I lost."
''You lost not only the fight but also the bet.''
You laughed.
"You really don't know how to comfort people." You replied loudly, looking him straight in the eye.
''This has never been my strong point." He said. "I hope that this loss will not make you give up."
''Give up? No. Maybe it seems impossible now, but one day I will be able to defeat you. And then you'll have to go on a date with me."
''And who said I would agree to such a bet again?"
"You will agree."
''How can you be so sure?"
''Because no matter what, you WILL agree.''
''Is that so? Why?"
''Because you're sure that you will also win the next time, so you have nothing to fear.'' You answered and after a short pause, you added with amusement. ''Pride."
He laughed, staring at you with curiosity. He crossed his arms over his chest, his face became suddenly serious, and said:
''I think there will be no need to bet again." You blinked quickly several times, not quite understanding what he meant. He added after a moment. ''Because as a reward for my victory... I want you to never ask about that again."
You felt as if someone had tied something heavy to your leg and threw you into the abyss. You were about to open your mouth to protest when he interrupted you with one gesture of his hand:
''I think that would be the best, but this is something I cannot do." He said. "Instead I want you to close your eyes."
''Wha--?"
''Just do it. Or I will start to regret it."
''But wh--?"
But before you could finish, he raised his hand and covered your eyes. You didn't even have a moment to react...
...because...
...you felt something that you didn't expect to feel at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HI !!! I'm back! I'm sorry that you had to wait so long.
I promised that I will end this story. In fact, it's almost coming to an end.
I hope you like it so far. And if you see any grammatical mistakes, let me know.