I don't know how long I was unconscious. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the excruciating pain in every inch of my body. It felt as if every one of my ribs was cracked and every muscle had been stretched to its limit. The second thing I noticed was the sterile white ceiling of the U.A. infirmary and the very, very displeased face of Recovery Girl looking down at me.
"You really have a talent for ending up in here, don't you, young man?" she said in a sharp tone, though I could see a flicker of concern in her eyes. "Cracked ribs, severe internal bruising, and extreme Quirk exhaustion. A 'light' punch from All Might, even when blocked by that strange armor of yours, is no joke. You're very lucky."
She gave me a healing kiss on the forehead, and I felt a wave of soothing, warm energy begin to knit my broken body back together. The process was still painful, but much better than before. I glanced at the bed across the room. There lay Katsuki Bakugo, his arms heavily bandaged, sound asleep—or perhaps passed out from exhaustion. He had clearly put all his strength into that final Howitzer Impact.
The door opened, and Aizawa-sensei entered, followed by All Might in his skinny form. Aizawa's expression was, as usual, flat and tired. But All Might... he looked like a father who had just watched his son nearly get hit by a car. His face was filled with deep guilt and concern.
"Young Tatsumi," he said, his voice hoarse. "I... I am sorry. I miscalculated. I didn't expect you to take that hit directly. I almost..."
"You didn't do anything wrong, All Might," I interrupted, my voice still weak. "You did exactly what we expected. You acted like a hero. That was the only way we could win."
Aizawa grunted, a sound that was a mixture of annoyance and a hint of respect. "Your plan was insane, reckless, and highly irrational," he said. "You relied on psychological manipulation, foolish self-sacrifice, and barely-there teamwork. It was a terrible strategy." He paused for a moment, and the corner of his lip twitched upward slightly. "And it worked perfectly. You both pass."
He looked at both of us lying in our beds. "The most important lesson you can take from this is this: in a fight against a far superior enemy, raw power is meaningless without strategy. And strategy is meaningless without the will to cooperate, even with the person you hate the most." He glanced at the still-unconscious Bakugo. "That lesson might take a little longer to sink in for him."
After they left, I was left alone with my thoughts. I thought about the fight. I had succeeded. I had proven that I could control Incursio tactically. I had managed to work with Bakugo. But the victory felt hollow. I had won by cheating, by pretending to be weak, by manipulating the heroic nature of the world's greatest hero. Was this truly the path of a hero?
A few hours later, when I was able to sit up, the door opened again. This time, my friends from "Team Ryukyu"—Nejire, Uraraka, and Tsuyu—entered cautiously, carrying a bag of fruit.
"We heard you were awake!" Nejire said, trying to sound cheerful, though I could see the worry in her eyes. "We watched your fight! It was... wow! You really jumped in front of All Might's punch! Are you crazy? What did it feel like? Did you see stars? Did your armor really crack? Can you make it thicker next time?"
"Hado-senpai," Tsuyu interjected calmly. "Let him breathe, kero."
"We were so worried, Tatsumi-kun," Uraraka said, her large eyes looking at me sincerely. "But... it was an amazing plan. The way you and Bakugo-kun worked together... even though you looked like you were about to kill each other... it was incredible."
I smiled faintly. "It was more luck than a plan."
"Don't be modest," Tsuyu said. "You read All Might like a book. You knew exactly how he would react. That wasn't luck. It was a deep understanding of what it means to be a hero. You used his best nature against him."
Her words made me think. Maybe she was right. Maybe I hadn't just cheated. Maybe I had just used my unique knowledge to create a solution that no one else could have thought of.
Just then, a low growl came from across the room. Bakugo was waking up. He sat up slowly, holding his dizzy head. His red eyes scanned the room, then stopped and locked onto me. I braced myself for an explosion of rage.
He got out of his bed and walked toward me. My friends tensed, ready to intervene if necessary. He stood beside my bed, looking down at me. A tense silence filled the room.
"You..." he growled.
"Yes?" I replied calmly.
"You tricked me," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "You said this was my stage. You said this was my chance to shine. But in the end, you were the one who crossed the finish line. You were the one who technically 'won.' You made me look like your stupid distraction."
I looked straight into his eyes. "I gave you what I promised, Bakugo. I gave you one golden opportunity to land your strongest attack on All Might. Did you take that chance?"
He fell silent, unable to deny it.
"The plan was to pass," I continued. "And we passed. Together. I couldn't have done it without you, and you couldn't have done it without me. That's a fact."
He stared at me for a long time, anger and confusion warring in his eyes. He hated me for outsmarting him. But he also couldn't deny that my strategy had worked. He couldn't deny that for a moment, we had been an effective team. With a final frustrated growl, he turned away.
"This isn't over," he said as he walked out of the room. "I'll still prove I'm the strongest."
It wasn't an apology or a thank you. But from someone like Bakugo, it was the highest level of acknowledgment I could hope for. He no longer saw me as just a cheater; he saw me as a clever rival.
After that long day, we all returned to the dorms. The news of our fight had spread throughout the class. I received respectful nods from Kirishima, an admiring smile from Kaminari, and a long, analytical look from Momo. I had proven something to all of them today.
That night, as I was reviewing the fight footage in my room, my phone vibrated. A message from an unknown number. My heart pounded as I opened it. It was from Akame.
No words. Just an image. A photo taken from a great distance, showing a secluded training camp in the middle of a dense forest. Below it, there was a single line of text:
"They will attack here. Be ready."
I stared at the image, a cold chill running down my spine. I knew exactly what that place was. The Class 1-A Summer Training Camp.
I had just survived a fight against the Symbol of Peace. But the message was clear. The real test was about to begin. And this time, the opponent wasn't a teacher holding back. The opponent was the League of Villains, and they were coming for war. I turned off my phone, feeling the calm but alert heartbeat of the dragon in my chest. My break was over.