Trust (Part 2)

Several hours later, Jason and Chris were inside their testing zone: a very large city. They weren't the first team to go test. They had watched Shoto and Momo use strategy and quick thinking to catch Aizawa off guard. Kirishima and Sato failed, trying to brute force their way through the exam. Tsuyu and Tokoyami passed by tricking Ectoplasm. Now it was their turn. Chris looked to Jason. "We can't win in a head on fight." "Agreed." "You have a plan?" Jason smirked. "Why am I always coming up with a plan?" Chris shrugged with a smile. "You've always been the planner." "True. And yes, I have a plan." "Oh thank god." Jason finished stretching. "Let's start walking. I'll explain as we go."

The heroes in training were walking down the fake road, on their way to the escape gate. "Alright, Chris. You're the fastest out of us two. When we run into All Might, I'll restrict his movement and you book it to the gate." Chris stopped walking. Jason didn't notice. "I can buy you at least 30 seconds. After that, you'll need to evade and-" "Jason, why am I always running?" Jason stopped and turned around. "What?" Chris wasn't happy, and his expression showed it. "Back at the USJ attack, you told me to run. I'm stronger than you, faster than you, and you told me to run while you went to go fight Shigaraki." Jason sighed, as if annoyed. "It's because I-" "And again, when we fought Stain." "What?" "I was there, I was helping, and we beat him together. You told me to run that time too!" "Chris, this is neither the time or place." "You know what, Jason?! You've always been in charge ever since we were kids! So yea, let's do this now!" Jason was getting angry now. "Stop it, Chris." "Even after I got a quirk, you've always been keeping me out of the fight! What, are you scared that I'll become better than you?! Or are you afraid that I'm already better?!" "Chris, that's beyond ridiculous!" "Then what?! Why are you always keeping me down?! Why am I always being told to run away?!" Jason grabbed Chris and shouted back at him. "Because I can't lose you too!"

They were interrupted by a sudden rumbling. The ground began to shake. Looking further down the street, they could see an incoming shockwave. Chris and Jason both instinctively ducked down, staying close to the ground as the shockwave wrecked the street. As the dust settled, they heard All Might's booming voice. "Who cares what happens to this city?!" A sudden chill hit both students as they looked up at the number one hero. He glared down at them as he approached. "If you two only think of this as an exam, you'll probably die." Jason stood up. "You feel it too?" Chris got back on his feet. "...Yea… The overwhelming sense of dread…" All Might clenched his fists. "I am a villain, heroes." All Might slammed his foot down, creating another intimidating shockwave. "Come at me with all you got!"

Jason was quick to back up. "Let's book it." Chris would've normally listened. Every urge in his body was telling him to run. However, not this time. "How about you stop telling me what to do!" All Might sped past Chris and grabbed Jason by the face. "No running for you." Jason grabbed All Might's arm. At first, it seemed like desperation. However, it was for support. He brought his leg up and kneed All Might's arm directly on a pressure point, forcing the hero to let go. Jason landed and rolled right as Chris tackled All Might. The intent was to restrict the hero, but All Might's reaction time was too quick. He slammed his elbow down on Chris's back, slamming the hero in training down into the street. Jason tried to rush All Might, but got a kick to the gut, knocking the wind out of him. "You are far too weak to even try to face me, heroes!" Jason gasped for air, clawing the dirt. Chris tried to stand up. All Might grabbed Jason by the neck and lifted him up. "You should never have tried to step up to me, heroes!" Jason and Chris locked eyes with each other. They may be angry at each other, they may not want to listen to the other at the moment, but they had to at least escape All Might.

The Number One Hero reared his arm back. "Goodbye!" Jason threw the dirt he was holding at All Might's eyes. All Might reflexively protected his face. It was only for a split second, but it was all that Chris needed to spring up and punch All Might in the side. Jason was now free. He landed on his feet. Both heroes in training ran in opposite directions, cutting in between the buildings. All Might sighed. "I got carried away. Those two really don't quit. But it will take a lot more than cheap tricks to win this challenge." All Might began to readjust the weights on his wrists. "Still, why are these things so heavy?"

Chris caught his breath. He had to sprint around the buildings to ensure he wouldn't be detected by All Might and still find Jason. Chris looked over to his best friend, who was also out of breath. "...He was far stronger than I ever could've imagined…" Chris nodded in agreement. "...No wonder he's the Number One Hero… that feeling of dread… the terror…" Jason stood up straight. "We've lost the element of surprise." Chris stood up straight as well. "Jason, what did you mean when you said 'You can't lose me too'? Are you alright?" Jason remained silent. Chris took the hint and sighed. "...Please tell me you have another plan…" Jason thought for a bit and nodded. "I do. Listen carefully."

All Might ran down the street. "Are they making their way to the escape gate? I wonder if I underestimated Chris's speed. However, I would've seen him even from this distance. I wonder if-" Chris jumped out from one of the buildings. "All Might!" One for All charged through his body as he got ready to punch the Number One Hero. All Might smiled. "You chose to stand and fight, didn't you?! A brave but foolish decision!" Chris remembered Jason's plan: "You will jump out in front of him. He'll be ready for you." Jason jumped out of a building just two stories above All Might. "Then I will come in and provide the first strike. He'll realize that you were just a distraction." Jason landed on All Might's shoulders and brought an elbow strike onto the hero's head. All Might faltered slightly and went to grab Jason. "Then we hit him with everything we've got." Chris charged forward and landed a powerful hit on the Hero's chest. All Might fell backwards. Jason jumped off of All Might and reached out to Chris, who took his friend's arm. He spun around and threw Jason at All Might at full force. Jason slammed into All Might's gut. Before the Number One Hero could react, Chris jumped forward and slammed his fist into All Might's face. Jason jumped off once again. Chris grabbed his friend's leg and spun him around again, throwing Jason into All Might once more. Jason was flung into All Might's chest again. All Might went to protect his face, but Jason jumped off and the two heroes in training slammed their fists into All Might's gut. The Number One Hero finally fell. Jason reached out to Chris. "Book it!" Chris grabbed Jason, spun around, and threw him in the direction of the escape gate before sprinting in that direction.

All Might coughed into his elbow. "Damn. That really hurt." All Might slowly stood up. "Amazing. They managed to come together, despite what I thought. Chris managed to listen to Jason, and Jason finally trusted Chris enough to not just include him in the plan, but to use him as the primary weapon." All Might smiled. "Now it's time for me, as your teacher, to do my best."

Chris threw Jason into the air again. Jason shouted. "There's the gate!" Chris looked behind himself as he ran. "He hasn't chased us down! You think we knocked him out?!" Jason landed, rolled to keep the momentum, and kept sprinting. "If we were strong enough to beat All Might, he wouldn't be the best hero in the country!" Chris caught up to Jason, grabbed him, and threw him again. This was how the two heroes moved at high speeds. "And what do we do when he catches up to us?!" Jason landed and rolled. "We improvise!" All Might was now in between them. "I can't wait to see what you two have up your sleeves." Jason reacted first. He raised his arms just in time to block All Might's punch. Jason was sent flying. Chris stopped and turned to fight, but got punched in the face. "You two heroes fought well! I really am impressed by your teamwork! But I wouldn't be a good teacher if I just let you win!" Jason slowly stood up and made a dead sprint towards the escape gate. All Might caught up in half a second, grabbing Jason's leg. Out of the corner of his eye, All Might saw Chris sprint towards the gate. Due to One for All, Chris was much faster. All Might threw Jason at Chris. The young men were sent flying. The escape gate was only 50 meters away now. So close, yet so far. Not giving them the chance to recuperate, All Might grabbed Jason by the arm and lifted him up once again. Chris began standing up, but got kicked into a bus, tearing right through the metal. All Might looked at Jason. "I'm impressed. Despite being quirkless, you have put up a fight greater than most villains I have faced." Jason went to knee All Might's arm again, but All Might simply tightened his grip. Jason screamed as the bones in his arm shattered into bits. Chris was struggling to get up. All Might dropped Jason. The hero in training was on his knees, holding his shattered right arm. All Might looked down at him. "Never forget what you learned today. Next time, try to-" All Might heard Chris leave the ground. He assumed that the young man was making a break for the gate. He turned to chase Chris down, but was shocked to see Chris was charging forward, One for All coursing through his arm. "Detroit…" All Might began raising his arms to block the attack. Then he felt a sharp, searing pain in his left side. He had to keep his mouth closed to prevent blood from splattering everywhere. Jason had gotten up and, with his left arm, punched the hero as hard as he could. It was no mistake that Jason had aimed for All Might's injury. The pain was just enough of a distraction of Chris's punch to land. "...Smash!" The punch, upon landing, created a shockwave that sent debris flying. Chris landed next to Jason, who picked him up with his only good arm. The two began carrying each other, both running on fumes. All Might saw them running towards the escape gate. "No! I won't-" All Might was too dizzy to stand up. He fell back onto the ground, steam emanating from his body. "...No… I'm done…" He coughed up blood into his mouth. "...Those two drained everything out of me today…" He couldn't help but smile. "Those two have grown an exceptional amount on such short notice. Jason, finally letting go of his fears, and Chris, finally using his head instead of charging in." All Might looked at the two as they successfully made it through the escape gate, passing the test.

"Those two are going to be the greatest heroes the world has ever seen."