The matches were more interesting to watch then I expected.

Only a handful of them failed. It was intriguing though. But I wasn't really able to watch them as properly as I should.

The reason being our match. I kept on thinking of ways to pull us together, just for thirty minutes.

But I knew no matter what there was no way. I can't bring those two to work together. I haven't been able to come up with a reason for them other then the obvious.

Kacchan, Izu, and I stood in front of the gates to our arena. The tension is so thick, it feels like I can suffocate in it.

This isn't good. We can't possibly win. I haven't been able to mend their friendship and I've been with them for eleven years.

If I can't remind them why we were all friends how can I get them to cooperate with one another.

This relationship is already strained. And if this exam goes on any longer then it'll completely shatter.

I don't want that. They're my best friends. My family.

But this exam is going to tear us apart.

The gates opened and we walked in, still keeping silent. My mind began racing, trying to think of something to get them to work together.

I know Izu is willing to make it work. He wants to pass. And he still thinks of Kacchan as a friend.

But Kacchan . . . ugh! What a shitty exam!

Kacchan began to walk further in. Izu looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. I don't blame him. So we just followed after him.

As we walked I took in our surroundings. A city. So we can't be making a lot of damage. That'll be a little difficult with Izu's and Kacchan's Quirks.

Izu does have Full Cowl, so that'll be helpful, but against All Might he's going to need to up the punches.

Now that I think about it, this reminds me of our city. It must be modeled off of it. This can be a huge advantage. I know the back alleys like the back of my hand.

If the design is similar, then I could use them to sneak up on him while they have his attention.

Would he be expecting it? Maybe. Maybe not. Hm.

Izu quickly jogged over to Kacchan, determined to work together.

"K-Kacchan, for this exam, the teacher is the Villain and we're the Heroes. So we need to keep in mind the Villain's combat ability and choose to either fight or run. But in our case the Villain is All Might, and fighting against him is dangerous. I think it's a really bad idea anyway-"

Kacchan walked faster, ignoring Izu. But Izu is persistent and caught up again. "Wait Kacchan!" Izu tried, he really did. "Stop following me!" Kacchan shouted.

I frowned and jogged over to the two. "Kacchan, now's not the time to be doing this. Look, we should take the back alley ways. The space is a disadvantage to his large body." I started.

I know the outcome of it though. Unfortunately.

"She's right. I-If we keep going straight, All Might will probably be waiting for us. We should take a detour!" Izu pitched his idea.

"Why should we run away? It'd definitely be better if we beat him up!" I clenched my fists. Damn it.

What the hell is wrong with him?! With them?!

God damn it! "We should avoid combat if we can no matter what!" Izu had to shout to get it to Kacchan. "We'll toy with him until it's almost over and then once he's tired out, I'll beat him up!"

Izu stopped walking and watched as Kacchan continued. I hesitated, looking back at him then Kacchan.

Damn it. "Kacchan, come on! I know you're a genius, so use your head." I shouted, jogging after him. Izu did as well.

"Who do you think All Might is? Even with the handicap, you can't win against him!" As Izu neared Kacchan swung his arm back and his gauntlet smacked Izu in the face, making him fall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shoved him away before going to Izu's aid.

"Don't say another word. Just because things are going better for you doesn't mean you should talk. It's pissing me off."

I grit my teeth and stood, walking over to him. Snatching his collar, I brought him close to me. "The goal is to pass the exam. Not determine who's the best. Calm down."

He swung his leg and I jumped back and away from it.

This is why I'm anxious. It's tearing.

He clicked his tongue. "Shut up Kiri. If you want to baby him, go ahead. But don't get in my way." His voice is pitched with anger. And there's a warning in there.

He turned and began to walk again. "Wait Kacchan! I'm saying this so we can pass the test! Listen Kacchan!" Izu tried, sitting up. Kacchan turned to yell. "I told you, your power isn't needed to pass-"

"Stop yelling! That's why we can never have a real conversation!" Izu interrupted with a shout.

I stood between the two, unable to do anything.

And then I sensed it. I grabbed Izu and Kacchan and quickly dove into an alley, avoiding a huge wind blast created by All Might's punch.

Buildings, stairs, the street, and the walkway over the street broke and shattered at the intensity of his power.

A long trail of destruction in his wake.

Shit.

Kacchan quickly ran out of the alley to face him. "Kacchan!" Izu called, going after.

Damn it! I followed after, taking in the damage he did.

"Who gives a damn about damaging the city?" Getting into his role already. He's giving off waves of intimidation, doing his best to play the part as a Villain, our adversary.

He stomped on the ground and the wind picked up, making us block our eyes so dirt wouldn't enter. "If you think of this as an exam you'll be sorry. I am a Villain, Heroes. Come at me with everything you've got!"

Tch. He's not even holding back. This is going to be a difficult battle. "We can't take him head on. Let's run!"

Izu and I began to run off, but Kacchan remained put. "Don't tell me what to do!"

All Might lunged. Forward. We stopped, turning. "Kacchan!" We shouted for our friend. "Stun Grenade!" He held his hand out and created an explosion that produced a bright light.

I had to shut my eyes tight because of it.

Kacchan! "'Come at me' you said, All Might? Even if you didn't say anything, I was gonna do that!"

The light died down and I peeled my eyes open to see Kacchan heading straight for the Number One Hero.

All Might however stopped his assault by grabbing his face and holding him in the air.

"Kacchan!" I started to rush over, but Kachan held his hands towards him and shot off an array of explosions. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

I guess it's a good thing Kacchan isn't normal, at least in this situation. Normally if you grab someone's face, they reflexively try to move your hand away.

But Kacchan's reflexes are to hit his target, no matter what.

All Might moved one of Kacchan's arms away and turned, slamming him into the ground.

I moved quickly, unravelling the wire hidden in my sleeve and jumped up. I threw the loop around his head, landed on his shoulder, and pulled, cutting off his airway.

All Might reached up and grabbed hold of the wire and pulled.

I lurched forward and let go before he could throw me to the ground and flipped onto my feet, ten feet away.

Instead of coming after me like I wanted, he moved inhumanely fast and appeared behind Izu. "You're not off the hook either, Young Midoriya. Are you leaving your teammate and running away?"

Kacchan got up and jumped high into the air, heading their way with explosions.

Green sparks danced across Izu and he jumped up and away, but unfortunately headed straight for Kacchan. "Whoops! That's no good." All Might warned.

"Move!" Kacchan shouted, but the two collided anyway. "Izu! Kacchan!"

I quickly grabbed the wire and pulled it up my sleeve as I ran over to the two. This isn't going to work.

One wants to defeat All Might, the other wants to run away. Then there's me, the one whose concerned with them.

This isn't going to work. Kacchan stood and began walking towards All Might. "Kacchan wait!" I ran over, but once I was in reach he shoved me away.

God damnit! Izu stood to stop him as well. "Move." Kacchan growled.

Clenching my jaw I jogged over to him. "I told you, there's no way you can win facing him head on!" Izu tried to explain. "Shut up. I'll win. That's what it means to be a Hero."

Ah.

"Wow! All Might really is cool!" Kacchan's young voice floated into my mind and the image of us watching the Hero on TV flashed through my eyes. We watched it together, because we were friends.

Friends.

"Then it's even more important to avoid-" Izu grabbed Kacchan's arm but Kacchan shook him loose. "Let go, don't touch me!"

"Guys!" I tried, but was interrupted by All Might. "For now, here's a present for the one who wants to run away!" Huh?

Looking up, All Might descended down on Izu with a broken railing and pinned him to the ground. "Izu!"

All Might jumped down and punched Kacchan so hard he soared high into the air and emptied out the contents of his stomach. "Kacchan!" Izu and I screamed.

Before I knew it All Might's in front of me. His fist came near my face.

I bent backwards, barely avoiding it and backflipped away. But he kicked a piece of rubble and it launched towards me.

I only had time to block my face and it collided, breaking upon contact with my arms and sending me flying back at the intensity.

I rolled a couple times. "Kiri-Nee!" Son of a bitch that hurt.

Ah! "Kacchan!" I looked over at him to see him twitching a bit. Damn it all! I stood and quickly ran towards him.

"Kiri did you see?! He won! Four against one and he totally beat them! That's the kind of Hero I'm going to be!" His small voice held so much excitement.

The image of the smiling child burned into my mind.

Katsuki!

He began to stand with great effort, but stood nonetheless.

As he stood, All Might walked over to him. "I know why you're so angry. It's because Young Midoriya's sudden improvement, right?" Kacchan stiffened at his words and I stopped.

"But there's no way Level 1 power and Level 50 power can improve at the same rate. There's so much wasted potential in you. Do you understand? You do, right? You still have so much room to grow! But I'm not talking about power-"

"Shut up, All Might. If I have to get help from that scum, then I'd rather lose."

Eh? Lose? But . . . I clenched my fists tightly.

Katsuki, you liar. "I see. Don't regret this." All Might went to hit him, but Izu soared across the clearing and punched Kacchan instead.

My eyes widened in shock at the action. Kacchan flew and hit the ground roughly, and Izu glared at him.

"Don't you say that you'd rather lose!" Izuku.

Izu grabbed Kacchan and motioned me to follow as he took off down the alley. I quickly followed after.

Hidden n my Hero costume are some smoke screens.

I took out three and threw them on the ground and we continued turning into different alleys as smoke separated us from him.

I ran behind Izu who carried Kacchan over his shoulder. "Bastard, put me down." Kacchan grounded out. "It's fine." Izu persisted, still running.

Kachan raised his fist. "I said put me down!" He punched Izu's spine, making him fall and drop Kacchan.

The two stood, in pain. "STOP!" I screamed.

The two jumped at my voice and I grabbed my head. My emotions are rising too fast. There's so much.

Pushing them back and into a box in my chest I took a shaky breath. "Do either of you have a plan?" I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"No. Kacchan, I really can't think of a way to beat All Might, or a way to make a clean escape." Izu spoke.

I don't blame him. This does seem impossible. "Before you give up, at least try using me! Us!" Izu gestured to me.

"Don't say that you're okay with losing! You're you because you never give up on winning, right?" I looked down at my feet.

Kacchan has never given up.

Not when the older kids were picking on us, not when he was outnumbered, he never gave up no matter how beat up he got. That's the thing that I always admired about him.

Because he was determined to win or die trying.

That is the Kacchan I admire. "'A Hero always wins in the end'. You've been saying that since we were kids. How can you give up?" Kacchan shouted and punched, setting off an explosion.

But he just hit the wall next to Izu.

"I won't say it again, fucking nerd. Against that crazy speed, no matter how you run and hide, you won't be able to avoid fighting."

He's right. But . . . "But we don't have a chance in a fight. Not against All Might-"

Kacchan interrupted him. "Shut up bastard! I'll kill you!" Izu jumped a bit in fear. "He won't budge with half-assed power. I figured that out earlier with those consecutive hits. So . . ."

After a thorough explanation I nodded and we set out.

Kacchan got his attention and I threw the thin wire in place and waited for the signal.

I watched as Izu popped up behind All Might who is distracted by Kacchan. Kacchan blasted him enough to where he stepped in my trap. "Deku!" He roared.

My fingers twitched and I pulled up a bit and yanked, securing the wires around his ankles so he could be delayed long enough for Izu to attack. "Shoot!" Kacchan shouted, fleeing to the sky.

Izu readied the gauntlet Kacchan gave him and pulled the pin, firing the stored explosion at him and he skid back at the recoil.

At point blank it should do some damage.

I quickly tied the other wire in position and took off in the direction of the gate.

Kacchan flew over me "Run idiot!" Kacchan shouted as he flew over Izu.

Izu activated Full Cowl and ran with me as Kacchan soared above our heads.

After a bit, I heard the unmistakable sound of steel hitting pavement and a grunt of pain.

"He's coming!" I warned. I had created an few blades and found loose pipes to rig a trap. It looks like it was meant to hit him, but it was really to alert me that he's moving again.

We moved faster. "Almost there! Almost at the escape gate!" Izu called as the gate came into view. Just a little further.

Kacchan lowered himself so he's next to us, but chose flying with the explosions regardless.

"We might just make it!" Izu said, hope in his voice.

I don't know. The trap was tripped. He could be here any minute. "When he catches up, it'll be my turn to blow him away with my gauntlet!" Kacchan declared.

"Yes, yes. And then?" All Might appeared between Izu and Kacchan.

Kacchan turned and aimed, but All Might punched and broke his gauntlet with ease. He punched Izu's gauntlet next, breaking it. I see. He had to.

It was enough to do harm. He eliminated the threat.

Kacchan and Izu stood next to each other and All Might swung for both.

I lunged, shoving the two away. All Might's fist connected with my stomach and an intense pain spread out through my body and I flew up and broke through a buildings wall.

I coughed up blood and crumpled to the ground. My body shook as violent shots of pain spread throughout my body.

That hurt! I looked up in time to see All Might use Izu to bat Kacchan.

No. Stop hurting them. Don't touch them! What can I do?! I need to get his undivided attention. I have to distract him. The only way to do that is to . . . .

Pursing my lips, I struggled to stand and walked away from the hole he created with me.

"ALL MIGHT!" I screamed. The Hero turned to me, releasing Izu's wrist. I took a deep breath. "Izu, Kacchan! I'll distract him. You two win. And make sure . . . just win!"

All Might looked beyond confused.

I took another deep breath, my nerves trembled with worry. Slowly, I brought my hands to my head.

"Kiri. You must remember to control your emotions. The smallest break and the other you will take hold, and it's hard to handle. It takes years of training. So be careful." My mother's words played in my mind.

I bit my lip, pressing my head harder. "Emotions are a sign of weakness. I do not need a weak tool." A familiar males voice played next.

Images of my training flashed quickly through my mind. "Do not cry!" Pain. so much pain. "You don't need this emotion!" It hurts. Stop.

The metallic scent of blood flooded my nose as my head and body throbbed in pain. The memory is so vivid it feels like I'm reliving it.

"I will give you advice. These emotions you feel, imagine locking them in a little box and bury it deep within you."

An image of a small box formed in my mind. "Be careful. Because your Quirk will feed off certain strong emotions. You will hurt others and yourself." My mother warned.

I have to. For Izu and for Kacchan. If it's for them, then I don't mind a little pain.

Pain is a state of mind.

With that in mind, I imagined the box opening. Happiness, joy, sadness, depression, disgust, anger, rage, bloodlust. All of the emotions flooded out.

I gripped my head tightly and repressed a scream as they overwhelmed me. I quickly zoned in on anger, hatred, and bloodlust.

I must be very careful. I have to be careful.

I always keep my emotions tightly locked up. Because emotions are useless. And also they are a double edged sword for me. Because of that, I can't control Berserker as well since I learned to always suppress them.

I know my eyes are glowing blood red and I can sense my aura do the same as Berserker activated.

I lunged forward and slammed my fist into his face, flinging him back.

I wobbled a bit and chuckled. He crashed into a wall and quickly stood again. Then he's in front of me and slammed me into the ground.

But pain never came.

In the back of my mind, I remember my Quirk. Berserker. It locks onto strong emotions. The user has enhanced strength and speed. Their sensors to pain are cut off for as long as they are lost in their Quirk.

However the damage they do to their body is as real as the damage they do to others.

In this state, the user usually acts first before thinking of a plan.

I can control this Quirk well enough. However I don't use this Quirk very often, so it can be tricky to control.

If I let my emotions run rampage like this, it can consume me in this mode. But I need to let it take control a little more so than usual. So I let go of the reigns.

All Might. Fight All Might.

I can only see red.

My body moved and I struck my leg out, connecting with All Might's chest. He's flung back and I follow, delivering a series of punches, forcing him back more and more.

He brought his elbow down and struck my spine, making me hit the ground.

Kacchan lunged over and All Might slammed him to the ground. In his desire to escape, he set off a large scale explosion, forcing All Might up. I moved and struck, hitting him in the solar plexus.

He gasped out and hit me, flinging me into a car.

My body hit it, and I felt something.

Although I don't feel pain in this form, there's only so much my body will take before even that breaks. Enough pain allows me to feel it, even in this state.

I looked over to see Kacchan holding Izu's shirt and pulling back. "DIE!" He roared. He used an explosion and set Izu flying into the sky.

All Might went after. Anger boiled and I launched up and into the air. He rammed straight into Izu's back, bending him in an awkward angle and slamming him straight into a bus.

I jumped up and grabbed All Might. Using all my anger I held tight and nose dived straight for the ground.

He struggled in my hold and when he was about to escape, I let go, but my wires are wrapped around him.

"AHHH!" I swung, slamming him into the ground. The ground broke beneath him and I tugged the wires, making him arch up before slamming my feet on his stomach, right where his wound is.

In some part of my mind I screamed for myself to stop. He can die if I attack this spot.

But being in Berserker mode made me want to target it more.

He coughed blood and I stepped off and delivered a strong punch to the same spot.

Because of his fear of his injury, he hit me with much more strength then before and it broke the pain barrier.

I flew straight back and right through a building.

"Pain is a state of mind."

I stood, walking out of the building. My Berserker Quirk still in action. But my anger is no longer the cause. It's my need to win.

Looking up, I see both Izu and Kacchan are trying to fight. I could send my weapons and cut them all down. Then I'll win. I have to win!

"There are only two endings in a fight. Victory or death." I have to win.

"Kiri-Nee!"

"Kiri!"

Images of two little boys popped in my mind.

Ah. No! I shut my eyes tight and clutched my head in my hands. I can't do that. I can't. I could kill them! I can't kill them. I won't.

Damn it! I can't stay in Berserker. I can't. It's too risky and I obviously have little control.

Calm down. Calm down. Do what Kei taught you. Imagine the box. Press all of those deep in and lock it. I gripped my hair tightly.

Push it all back. I don't need emotions. I DON'T NEED EMOTIONS!

In the distance, I hear the boys shouts. They're working together.

I closed out all the sounds and focused on my heartbeat, only listening to it.

Kei may be a bastard, but he was a good teacher.

I counted each beat. From it going rapidly until slow and steady. Any strong emotions I was feeling gone, locked away where it belongs.

"Kiriya. Berserker isn't something to fear. You just need to understand it. So don't be afraid. And don't be afraid of feeling emotions. Because they are a beautiful thing. A natural thing. Ignoring them is not the key to controlling it." My mother would always say that.

But she was wrong

You're wrong. That's not why I mustn't have them.

Weapons can't have emotions.

I slowly opened my eyes, in full control. The boys are working together, but All Might has done some damage to them.

Think. What can you do? You have to help them. You weren't the only one taking risks.

Kacchan shoved Izu. "Go, Deku! Hurry up and go!" He charged at All Might, firing large scale explosions. But those explosions do damage to him.

Izu began to limp towards the gate. Only one of us needs to cross it.

I began to walk and my eye twitched. I didn't realize how bad I was beaten because of Berserker. But I can feel some of my ribs and my right arm are definitely broken.

Maybe more. "Pain is a state of mind." That's right. It's a state of mind.

I moved, much to my body's protest. I have to move. Because I need to help.

All Might went for a limping Izu, but Kacchan flew over and intercepted.

All Might grabbed his face and fell, slamming him to the ground. I jumped into an alleyway and quickly scaled the building closest to them.

"Go to sleep, Young Bakugo. Sorry, but as a teacher, I'm a little traumatized when you destroy your own body to fight." I snuck up to the edge and peered down at them.

Kacchan grabbed All Might's arm and tried to set off an explosion, but it's tiny. He's out of it.

"Hurry up . . . go . . . fucking nerd. I break . . . and break myself. Even if it means twisting myself, I'll win the way I choose. I won't accept that I can't even beat you like that. No way!" He rasped out before biting into All Might's hand weakly.

I hopped off, not letting a sound escape. I dove straight towards All Might's back. A blade formed in my hair and I grabbed it. As I neared, I tore it out as I slashed.

However All Might heard and turned. Punching it. The blade shattered and I was about to be flung up, but with his free hand he grabbed my ankle and slammed me into the ground next to Kacchan.

I gasped at the impact, coughing up something. "Your actions are also disturbing, Young Nozomi."

I grit my teeth, and struggled to sit up. My ribs burned and screamed at the constant abuse, but I blocked that out.

"Let go of Katsuki." I growled.

All of the strands of my hair turned into a sharp weapon and lunged at him. However he swiped, grabbing ahold of them at the base and tore it straight out. My eyes widened.

My now short hair fell back down, useless. "These are dangerous."

No way.

In an instant.

I went to throw a punch, but he grabbed my arm and slammed it into the ground.

Damn it all. "Let go of Katsuki! If you stand in their way, I will take you down!" I struck my leg out, but he moved his torso to avoid it.

Suddenly he looked back as if he remembered something. "Whoops, I won't let you!" But Izu had stopped running for the gate.

He soared across the gap, fist pulled back. "Please move, All Might!" He slammed his fist into All Might's face and my eyes widened in surprise.

"SMASH!"

He . . . he hit him. He just hit his Hero. The person he looks up to like a God.

It was strong enough that he moved back, and Izu grabbed Kacchan, flinging him over his shoulder, and grabbing my hand with his free one before taking off to the gate.

I reached into my pocket and pulled three throwing knives and threw them, striking the Hero in his leg as he coughed on the ground from his injuries. Then I threw some smoke bombs.

Any inconvenience, big or small, is worth a lot.

I looked over the two. Even in his state, Izu is running strong, but Kacchan is knocked unconscious.

Well, he faced the worst of it.

As we neared the goal I slowed down. Izu looked at me, but seemed to understand.

We arranged Kacchan so he's between us, his arm over our shoulders as we quickly left.

The three of us together, just like old times.

I glanced at Izu. Izu.

You really are amazing. Getting Kacchan to snap into his senses, working together with him even after all these years, and always saving him, no matter your opponent.

You have always been that way, but when we enrolled, you've changed drastically. You don't need me saving you. You don't need anyone saving you. Because now you can save yourself.

Yet you always save others before yourself.

No matter who, no matter their opponent, even if it's themselves, you are the one who pulls them out and saves them.

Hey, Izu. I don't believe in Heroes. But . . . you'll be the greatest one. I know it.

With that in mind, we jumped through the gates.