"How could you say something like that, Katsuki-kun...?"

You stared up at him, knees collapsed and eyes overflowing with tears. Katsuki coughed and wheezed. He was no longer staring at the hero before him, and even All Might made no motion to move.

Of all people, Bakugou Katsuki was willing to surrender—simply because he was unwilling to cooperate with his teammate. Here he was, the boy who faced all obstacles with everything he had, even if the odds of winning were low and pressures high. You'd seen him be less afraid of villains than working together with Izuku.

What a load of shit.

"[Name]," he began, barely croaking out his words, "I just can't—"

"Pull yourself together, already...!!"

Out of nowhere, Izuku's form came soaring through the air, fist colliding square with the blonde's jaw. The force sent Katsuki spinning a few meters back, and Izuku rushed forward in turn, grappling him by the arm. His emerald eyes flickered back towards your form.

"[Name]-chan!" he cried out, "follow us, now!"

You didn't have energy in spades, and there was probably only a select few times at most that you could safely use your life-speed without collapsing from fatigue. Nonetheless, this was the best opening you'd had in a long time. Katsuki was still groggy and disoriented, and didn't have the strength to shake off Izuku's grip. You sped past All Might, matching your allies' pace. If you could just get out of the hero's sights for a few moments and regroup, maybe you still had a chance at salvaging this thing.

"Get the fuck...off me," Katsuki muttered, flailing weakly in Izuku's arms. "I said get off me, Deku you little—"

"Katsuki-kun, shut up."

His head lolled forward, eyes widening into saucers as he looked up at you. Unlike earlier, your voice no longer rang gentle and concerned. Your irritation was as plain as day, but at this point, you were past hiding it.

"She's right," Izuku frowned. "Giving up doesn't sound like you at all. Why not at least try using me before jumping the gun like that? I definitely don't want to hear you of all people saying that it's fine to lose!"

Katsuki grimaced, but didn't manage a retort. You'd managed to put some distance in between yourselves and All Might, though it was more than likely he was just toying with you and allowing you a bit of a head-start. The time you had was incredibly limited, for sure.

"As of now, we've still got a ways to go until we reach the exit gate. All Might will find us in no time before we even get close." You'd hidden in the narrow alley in between two buildings. You and Izuku were standing upright on one side; Katsuki was slowly regaining control of his body and steadying himself on his feet. "We can't afford to keep messing around anymore," you spoke, narrowing your eyes in Katsuki's direction. "I know I'd said I'd support you, Katsuki-kun, but I refuse to do it if means that you're just going to give up. I didn't sign up for this. I expected you to try your very best, right up until the end."

He pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

"I don't care what it takes," you went on, "or how hard we have to work for it. I just want to leave here knowing that none of us will have any regrets about not giving it our all."

You took a step forward. Katsuki was averting your gaze, reacting only when he felt your fingers cup his cheek. You offered him a small smile.

"Please, Katsuki-kun. I know you have it in you to do this."

He cursed under his breath, but didn't try to shake you off. You pulled away and nodded back in Izuku's direction. All Might was drawing close—you could hear him.

I know this can't be easy for him.

Katsuki's shoulders trembled.

The relationship between them is so broken that they can barely even look each other in the eye.

He moved to remove the gauntlet on his left arm, placing it in Izuku's hands.

This must be stripping him of all his pride, and making him burn on the inside, but still.

All Might's footsteps pounded away at the concrete; you all moved to your respective positions around the building.

If he can do the thing that's been eating him up all these years, then he can do anything.

Your body emerged from behind All Might, along with Katsuki's. The hero glanced back hurriedly, as Katsuki drew up a smoke-screen with one of his explosions. You both whipped to the side, just as Katsuki's voice rang out.

"DEKU — SHOOT!!!"

[...]

"I'm only gonna explain this once, you fucking nerd. Even though you're shaking in your boots, running and hiding's not gonna do squat against that crazy speed of his. Even [Name] has a limit on the amount of times she can go fast; we won't be able to avoid a fight, no matter what."

"But we still...won't be any match against All Might if—"

"Shut your damn mouth or I'll shut it for you! This much should be fucking obvious, isn't it? No half-assed attack is gonna faze him, so it's gotta be full power and at the closest possible range. While he's hurting from that attack, we'll put some distance between us. It's the only way."

Izuku nodded hurriedly, watching as Katsuki moved to sling off his gauntlet. You pressed your lips together. Katsuki glanced back in your direction with furrowed brows.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," you smiled, "just...thank you."

[...]

"I'm sorry...All Might!!"

Izuku winced, removing the pin in the gauntlet and letting the hell-borne explosion burst forth right in All Might's face. You and Katsuki had moved out of the way with mere moments to spare—the pavement cracked under the pressure, nearby windows shattered from the force, and your freckled ally almost popped his shoulder out of place trying to endure the recoil.

"Run!" Katsuki cried out, speaking to you and Izuku alike. "Get your asses in gear now!"

You nodded, sprinting forward at full-force. You would have to stagger out the amount of times you activated your light-speed in order to zip ahead and conserve as much energy as possible. You were already cutting things close as was, and the last thing you wanted to do was face off against All Might with nothing in your arsenal.

Izuku was by your side in almost no time, and you didn't even glance back over your shoulder to ascertain that All Might was down. Every moment counted. You couldn't afford to lag behind your teammates.

"We should be getting closer to the gate now. [Name]," Katsuki rasped, sparing a glance in your direction, "if it comes down to it, you'll probably have to be the one to pass through. Out of all three of us, you're capable of the most burst. Make sure you save some energy in case you need to rush the gate, and we'll hold All Might back to buy you some time."

"Right," you agreed, breathing heavily. "I can do it, I promise."

Your bodies clambered through the jagged terrain, turning past bends and zigzagging around dilapidated buildings. Finally, you saw it.

For the purposes of this exercise, it seemed rather needlessly cute—with Nezu's grinning face decked across—but the point was that it was now well within your sights. Right now, it was still a fair distance away, too far for you to reach in one burst, but if you got a bit closer...

"Doesn't look like All Might's in pursuit," Izuku breathed, craning his neck to the side. The wind had picked up again, so there were clouds of dust mostly everywhere preventing you from getting any good vision. In any case, you couldn't hear him, which had to be good news, right...?

You nibbled on your lower lip. "Still...there's no way that attack knocked him back for that long. I'm worried."

"He's probably planning something," Katsuki muttered, "that fucker. If he comes at us again, he'll get a taste of my gauntlet this time. That'll teach him."

"Hm, hm. And then what?"

When did he—?!

"Why so shocked?" All Might chuckled. "This isn't even close to my top speed, you know."

Katsuki reflexively lifted up his right arm to shield his face, but the hero merely gave it a light tap before it crumbled into dust. So much of your defensive plan had been riding on that last gauntlet, and he'd just shattered it with practically a flick of his wrist. Katsuki's arm was still poised mid-air, but before he could move to get a hit in, All Might had already pummeled him into the ground.

Now, his bright pupils were staring at you.

"You're their ace card, huh?" he chuckled. "Well, then...we can't exactly let you roam free, now can we?"

"Don't—!"

Your breath caught in your throat right as All Might's fist connected with your left arm—the same arm which housed your wounded shoulder. You sucked in sharply, cutting your high-pitched scream short. The force blew you back and had you seeing stars. You felt your left shoulder throb viciously, then burn. Then, you stopped feeling it at all.

Warm tears spilled over your cheeks and dribbled down your chin. Your face was kissing the ground, nose was smeared with dirt. You were starting to see things as a blur now because of the pain, though you still had a general idea of what was happening. One of All Might's hands dangled Izuku in the air and prevented him from breaking free; his foot was stepping down on Katsuki's back.

You blinked weakly, spilling more tears onto the jagged soil.

We're so...weak. So this is the Number One Hero, huh...?

All Might clenched his jaw. "Miss [Name] probably won't be able to do much for you the way she is right now. You were hoping to hit me with your strongest attack and give create an opportunity for her to get to the gate, hm? At least, it looks like that's what you came up with, but now—"

He tossed Izuku aside and straightened up.

"—It's over, young ones!"

"Quit runnin' your damn mouth..."

Katsuki's palm shifted across the ground to point upwards towards the hero towering above him. All Might's eyes widened as the flash of light came forth; even he didn't have enough time to evade the explosion from such close-quarters.

You didn't think he had any strength remaining, but even so, Katsuki still stood up. His limbs were aching, no doubt, and you could see the way his forearms were seizing uncontrollably now but still, he stood up.

You had to stand up, too.

I have to go now, while they're keeping him occupied...!

The sharp look Katsuki flashed you was one of concern, exhaustion, and urgency all at once. Nonetheless, you knew what you had to do. Even with your left arm hanging limply by your side, this was your one and only chance—for victory.

You lurched forward for a moment, having to slap yourself on the cheek with your good hand to jolt your body upright. Your energy was an all-time low. It would likely sap everything you had left out of you, but you had to resolve this and get to the exit gate, all in one go.

I have to get to the goal, I have to get to the goal. The goal, the goal—

"New Hampshire...SMAAASH!!"

The body colliding against your own nearly knocked your soul right out your chest. For a second, you were sure you blacked out. You went skidding across the ground again; this time, you knew you had nearly no chance of getting back up again. Everything hurt, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.

"All Might, you son of a bitch!" Katsuki roared. "Get the fuck away from her already...!!"

He propelled himself back over, teeth grinding together. You watched as he brought both of his palms together and outstretched them in All Might's direction. His veins were throbbing and standing taut under the fabric of his costume.

"Those gauntlets let me go at full power with no risk," he muttered, "but that was dumb of me. I could never hope of beating you without taking some damn risks."

The explosion that came surging forth was reminiscent of that huge blast he'd used against Uraraka during the Sports Festival. Its trajectory was inclined just barely out of your reach, though it was clear that much was intentional. From close range, again—it actually stunned All Might in place for a moment.

"Deku, you little asshole! What the fuck have you even been doing while [Name]'s been gettin' beaten into the ground over here?! Either help her out or run to the gate yourself! Make yourself useful, you piece of shit...!"

"S-sorry, I'm—!"

"Can't have any of you escaping, now!" All Might trilled. He kicked at the ground, bringing forth a cloud of dust that obscured Izuku's vision and knocked him off his feet. You were still the closest to the gate, by far, and yet you just couldn't move.

We're all heavily injured, you thought bitterly, but I'm the only one who's sitting around here. Fuck—it hurts, but...I can...

You spluttered and wheezed, a fresh wave of tears stinging at your eyes. Your left arm was totally out of commission, and your back was still searing with pain from earlier. You had to get up. No matter how viciously your nerves were burning, you were too close to call it quits now. Your legs felt like jello as you tried to pull yourself upright. Had you been paralyzed from the fear, the pain, or both?

"Stop trying to move, Miss [Name]!"

You were just crawling at this point, really, but All Might had picked up on even that little motion. You whimpered, glancing back over your shoulder to see him leaping through the air and ready to descend upon you at full-force. His fists were poised and ready.

Your eyes widened. A figure had come surging forward to intercept the blow.

Katsuki.

All Might brought his already-mangled body crashing down into the ground; you'd lost track of how many times it had happened by now. The sickening crack coming from Katsuki's frame made your stomach lurch. You couldn't bear to watch him get hurt because of you any more. This was a nightmare.

You thought you were a goner, and that All Might would knock you out for good this time, but then you realized he'd stopped moving. The cloud of dust cleared to reveal that his fist was still adhered to the ground—or rather, Katsuki.

You watched as Katsuki's trembling hands gripped All Might by the wrist. He tried to activate his Quirk, but the explosion that came out was meager and weak; his power was all gone. Out of desperation, Katsuki sunk his teeth into the hero's palm, willing to do anything so long as he could hold him in place.

"H-urry up and...go," he rasped, only just barely conscious. "Get o-out of here...[Name]...don't look at me when I'm being this fucking pathetic. Shitty nerd, you too...I'll bend, and twist myself into a damn pretzel if that's what it takes...Coz if even this isn't enough, I w-wouldn't be able...to accept it..."

You broke out into tears yet again, more violently than ever before. The truth was that you didn't want to look; you couldn't bear to look. To see the strong Katsuki, breaking himself down into nothing for your sake—it made your chest feel like imploding. He'd wanted to win so badly, all this time. He was willing to go this far.

All Might stared down at him sullenly. "I think it's time I put you to rest. Quite frankly, your destructive behavior is a little traumatic for me to watch, as your teacher." He raised his other fist in the air, ready to deliver the finishing blow. A flash of light burst in front of him. His eyes widened.

You crouched over Katsuki's body, which had now gone completely limp. Your right arm was raised above your head, though you were more than aware it would do you no good. You weren't even entirely sure how you'd managed to move. The adrenaline, the desperation, the fear of watching Katsuki break—it had just been too much for you to sit idle.

Your eyelids hung heavy as you clutched Katsuki's head flush against your chest, shielding him in your arms. "Don't you dare," you sobbed. "Don't you dare hurt him any more."

All Might was too stunned for words. You too were just as battered and bruised as Katsuki, if not more. Perhaps the image of your weak frame so desperately trying to protect Katsuki's own was just so sad, he took mercy on you both. You couldn't be sure. Regardless, he remained still and stiff, even as Izuku came thundering back in to grab both of your bodies out of the way.

"Please move aside...All Might."

He furrowed his brows, helping drag you and Katsuki forward. You didn't have the energy remaining to look back and see if All Might was following. Somehow, you got the feeling he wasn't.

You were sure you'd never felt a bigger sense of relief than when your three battered bodies pass through the exit gate. Izuku crumbled to the floor; you followed just behind him, breathing raggedly. Katsuki's stiff body was still in your arms.

You mustered up just enough strength to press a fleeting kiss to his cold forehead before closing your eyes and seeing black.