As their classmates' battles played out on the monitors, Monoma quietly edged closer to Shiozaki's side, careful not to draw attention. The viewing room smelled faintly of sweat, nervous energy, and desperation.On-screen, someone got launched. And at the same time, somewhere else, someone barely made it through a gate. The room flinched in little waves, reacting half a second late, like the whole class was sharing one nervous system.
In his head, Monoma sighed.Whoever made these matchups didn't just want him to struggle. They wanted him to suffer creatively.He couldn't copy Vines. It was a mutation Quirk. So no "activation," no clean way of borrowing it. He couldn't copy One For All in any meaningful way, even if he managed to touch it, because what was he supposed to steal? A battery with nothing in it?It was the worst of both worlds. His Quirk, specifically designed to cheat, had been placed into the one scenario where cheating required effort.He scratched the side of his nose, casual body language that never fooled anyone who actually knew him."So," he started, aiming for relaxed and landing somewhere near doomed. "About the plan."Shiozaki looked at him with calm, understanding eyes, as if she'd already prayed over the outcome and received a disappointing but inevitable answer.
"The Lord gives His toughest tasks to His strongest soldiers."
Monoma blinked once.
Then again.
"…So that's a no, then."
"It is so," Shiozaki replied, and there was a tightness to her mouth that made it obvious she hated agreeing with herself.
"Then we use my backup plan," he said, a little too quickly.
Shiozaki's gaze sharpened. "Shameless, Monoma-kun. What you're suggesting is a sin in itself." She lowered her voice, scandalized. "To take advantage of the Symbol of Peace's kind heart…"
"But you know it as well as I do," Monoma murmured back, still staring at the monitor like it had answers printed in the pixels. "Even if we go all out, even with the restrictions, there's no world where we beat All Might head-on."
His mind flicked through his memories like a long One Piece recap, when they wanted to remind you just how strong the villain was.All Might's overwhelming presence. That impossible strength. The way the air itself felt heavier when he was nearby, like your lungs needed permission to work.
This wasn't his prime, sure.
But it was still All Might.
Even without the big finishers, even without any state-name smashes, raw power would be enough to fold them. Two Class B students, with no plot armor, no miracle quirk awakening, and no protagonist screaming about bonds.
He would crush them with raw power alone.
They'd look like the Straw Hats at Sabaody facing down Kuma, outclassed before the fight even properly started.
Like Aizen staring down at the Captains, that awful moment when you realize the gap is so wide it isn't even funny anymore.
Deku and Bakugo versus All Might in the show, except without the privilege of being the series leads.
Just Monoma and Shiozaki getting erased on a screen while Class 1-B watched in horrified silence.
Monoma finally turned to her, determination flashing in his eyes. "You promised me, Shiozaki. If the task was impossible… you'd do this with me."
Shiozaki hesitated.
For the first time, something like guilt softened her expression. Like an angel standing at the edge of a very questionable shortcut and hating the fact that it existed.
"…Fine," she said at last, barely above a whisper. "Have it your way, Monoma-kun."Her shoulders sank."But this is truly sinful."Monoma nodded once, as if he'd just gotten approval from the Pope himself.By the time the other matches wrapped up, the room buzzed with the exhausted kind of excitement that came after surviving something terrifying. Some teams scraped through. Some won cleanly. Everyone looked wrung out anyway.
Then the speakers crackled.
"Monoma. Shiozaki. Report to the Typhoon Zone."The room went quiet for half a second. A few heads turned. Not even mocking, just… pitying.Monoma stood with a practiced calm that didn't match the pounding in his chest. In costume, he looked like he belonged on a poster. In reality, he felt like he was walking into a boss fight one hundred levels too early.Three small pocket watches looped across his fingers, each set to five minutes.He told himself he looked composed.
But he didn't feel composed at all.
Outside, Shiozaki was already waiting in her own gear. Against the training grounds, she looked almost unreal, composed and radiant and calm in a way that felt unfair to people with functioning anxiety. Vines framed her face like nature itself had decided to be modest and holy at the same time. Like someone who belonged in a dramatic cut-in shot with soft lighting and choral music.
Monoma's brain tried to comment.
But it wasn't the time for that.
He forced himself to inhale slowly. Deep breaths.
He leaned in. "Remember the plan."
Shiozaki gave the smallest nod, like she was signing a confession.The wind in the Typhoon Zone hissed through vents and fans, constant and angry, as the rain poured down heavily on them.
Then Present Mic's voice detonated overhead like a starting pistol.
"START!"
The instant the exam began, Monoma moved.
He sprinted forward and, without hesitation, threw himself into the ground.
It wasn't graceful. It wasn't heroic. It was an iconic collapse, the kind you only did if you'd watched enough Dragon Ball to know exactly how tragic and humiliating you could look on purpose.He hit the concrete and folded into it like a sacrifice.Dust puffed. The impact chipped the surface.Monoma landed in the Yamcha pose so perfectly that it almost deserved applause."Ugh…" Monoma groaned, committing fully to the performance.
Shiozaki stared down at him for a beat, then murmured like she was watching a tragedy unfold. "May the Lord have mercy…"
Then she raised her voice, loud, trembling, and way too convincingly.
"ALL MIGHT-SENSEI! Something's wrong with Monoma-kun!" she cried, eyes shimmering with tears that looked heartbreakingly real.
All Might's head snapped toward them instantly.
"What?!" he boomed, already moving fast even with the weights, concern written into every step. "Young man!"
He closed the distance in a few massive steps, the wind barely slowing him, like the rain was nothing before him. Even weighted down, he moved like a force of nature, not choosing to be polite.Monoma counted meters in his head.
Closer.
Closer.
Just a little more.
The moment All Might stepped into range, Monoma's eyes snapped open.
"NOW, SHIOZAKI!"
Shiozaki flinched like she'd been struck by divine lightning.
"Via Dolorosa!" she shouted.
Vines surged.
They didn't "grow" so much as erupt. One foot caught, then the other. Tendrils wrapped and anchored, sharp living restraints snapping into place with frightening speed. All Might's movement stalled as the vines tightened and pinned him down in an instant.
"Agh?!" All Might yelped, startled despite himself. "Young Shiozaki… Young Monoma… you…!"
Shiozaki's face twisted with guilt, hands clasping, begging for forgiveness in real time. "Forgive me, sensei! Please forgive us… forgive us…!"
And while she apologized like a saint committing her first crime, Monoma sprang up from the crater with shameless energy. His "injury" vanished so fast it would've made Recovery Girl file paperwork out of spite.
Underhanded?
Absolutely.
But Monoma didn't even hesitate.
Because if there was any chance of beating a restricted All Might who still had most of his power intact…
This was the only opening they were ever going to get.