'His strikes are amplified now.' All Might thought to himself as he and Sukuna fought once again.
'What is this? A new Quirk?' All Might thought, immediately throwing the thought away. 'No, perhaps this is the true nature of his Quirk.' He thought, before widening his eyes, as Sukuna's now amplified punches sent him skidding back a little.
'I did something then without knowing what it was.' Sukuna thought to himself, true to remember the feeling of landing the Black Flash attack on the Nomu during the USJ.
Back then, as he landed a strike that felt sharper, that gave him ecstacy, Sukuna had only chalked it up to pure superiority since he's already used to overwhelming dominance. But now things were different, due to All Might irritating him, forcing introspection from Sukuna, he was now conscious of his own biology now.
'But how did I do it? Was it only because of pure chance?' Sukuna thought, concentrating further as he delivered a punch to All Might.
'No. That wasn't it. Not even close!' Sukuna thought to himself, before a fist slammed into his face.
"Ho?" All Might stared, noticing Sukuna only skidding back a little. The pink haired teen placed a palm on the right side of face, red from the punch.
'If I hadn't enhanced that side of my face in time, I would've been sent flying...' He thought to himself, staring down All Might before he went in again.
'Brute force won't work.' Sukuna came to the conclusion as he then tried to switch strategies, now consciously counting the timing. But it still failed.
'Am I too slow?' He quickly concluded that Black Flash lived in the reflex layer below thought, not wanting to waste time with meaningless attempts.
'What are you thinking, young Sukuna?' All Might noticed the frustrated expression on the teen's face.
'Tch. I can't do it.' Sukuna silently admitted, though he didn't like it. The first Black Flash at USJ happened because he wasn't thinking. He was in a state of pure flow. But now that he's aware of the system, his awareness became friction for him.
Then he had a thought, a thought that almost made him snort. What if he just stops trying and let it happen? Clearly deliberation and calculation is useless. So he should just, in a silly way, let the magic happen.
'Huh—' He saw as All Might charged past him, straight towards Izuku and Bakugo who were super close to the exit.
"Get over here!" All Might shouted, hands reaching out to grab the two teens. But Sukuna appeared before him, delivering a punch straight at his chest.
"You again?!" All Might grabbed Sukuna's hand and threw him away. Sukuna slammed into a pole. Grunting, he sliced the pole using Dismantle before he threw it towards the Symbol of Peace.
All Might was forced to let Izuku and Bakugo go before he turned around and punched the street pole away, only to be met with Sukuna again.
'Why am I so into this? It's just a test. Since when did I start caring about how clean the strike feels?'' Sukuna suddenly thought to himself.
All Might lunged at him. The area between them exploded as Sukuna blocked All Might's punch. The shockwave drove him backward, his red shoes carving trenches into the concrete.
'I should be bored. I should be focused on escaping. I know I have no chance against All Might! So why...' Sukuna felt resistance, real resistance. Something inside him felt thrilled by it. He wasn't excited by the test. He was excited by his own limit. Dominance used to be effortless, but here before him, was an impact that deserved an answer.
'So this is what it feels like to notice your own chains. Heh, in such a low stakes moment too.'
For the first time in this world, Ryomen Sukuna felt challenged.
He disappeared, using his energy to boost his speed up to levels he hadn't shown beforehand. He appeared before All Might, his fist already midway to the man's chest.
The instant his fist struck forward, something inside him snapped into alignment. His energy surged forward, and the air around him fractured but it didn't sound like thunder.
The distortion arrived a fraction of a heartbeat after the punch itself. Black lightning ripped from his knuckles as the ground below them collapsed while All Might, who blocked the punch, was sent skidding far back, grunting in pain all the while.
'Ah... There it is...' Sukuna thought calmly before exhaling in satisfaction.
"So it was that simple? Heh." He whispered in amusement. He understood it now. The understanding of his energy's essence, compared to before, was like heaven and earth. He felt like a deity, like everything revolved around him at the moment.
The second later, All Might had appeared before him, unscathed except for his torn hero outfit. Calmly, Sukuna looked at him, before quickly reacting, raising his fist as the air distorted once again.
'What the—' All Might widened his eyes in disbelief as he was hit with the same black lightning attack once again, and this time it was a lot more stronger than the first. The attack had sent the number one hero blasting into multiple buildings.
Sukuna stared at the scene silently, hearing Izuku and Bakugo running towards the exit. He hoped All Might would just pretend to be down and let them win, despite he himself being terrifyingly energized from the two Black Flashes.
Sukuna quickly learned that life doesn't go the way he wants to.
All Might walked out, slowly. The weights on his hands and shins were destroyed from the impact of Sukuna's punch. He was still grinning, showing no signs of visible pain.
"HAHAHAHAHA! You think you have defeated me?! No! Because I am here!"
"Impossible...The Nomu was knocked out from just one... And you took two of them..." Sukuna breathed out, staring at the Symbol of Peace with an expression of pure disbelief. He tried his hardest, exceeding his limits, even on the verge of overusing his Quirk, but All Might was still standing.
"Stand down, young Sukuna!" All Might raised his hand, noticing that Sukuna was on the verge of crashing out. He pointed at a certain distance past him.
Sukuna glanced, noticing Izuku and Bakugo standing at the exit. Izuku was waving at him, while clutching his injured stomach, while Bakugo was lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
"There is no reason for us to fight anymore young man! You pass!" All Might's grin somehow brightened, as he gave Sukuna a thumbs up. Sukuna stared at him for a moment.
"Oh..." He whispered, his black markings fading gradually as his vision blurred. He didn't have the energy to say anything while his body screamed in pain from breaking his quirk's limits for too long. He fell forward, but All Might caught him in time.
"Your pride is going to kill you one day, young man."
...
"You don't know what restraint means do ya, Toshinori!" Recovery Girl scolded All Might who coughed awkwardly, looking away. Izuku and Bakugo silently cheered for Recovery Girl on the side.
"If you'd hit Bakugo and Midoriya a little harder it would've been something you can't take back! And he won't come to for a while!" She then pointed at Sukuna, lying on one of the beds, unconscious.
"The young man was so stubborn I—"
"Oh don't pull that excuse! You and I both know that you could've just let them off easy!" All Might sighed, he had a ton of explanations for Recovery Girl but held off, fearing he'd only dig a bigger hole for himself.
"Uh, Recovery Girl, is it okay if I watch the others fight?" Izuku asked politely, raising his hand.
"But you're still hurting, you must get some sleep." Recovery Girl shook her head.
"No, no, I'm alright really. It's just, there aren't maby chances to watch and analyze fights involving the pros and my classmates so..."
The elderly lady sighed. "Alright fine, if you insist that much, but don't overexert yourself. But to be honest, there's actually a fair few chances for you to do so."
"Oh well, it's just a hobby of mine." Izuku laughed a little. Bakugo silently listened, crossing his arms. All Might had silently taken the opportunity to sneak out of the tent. You'd think they'd all notice an over 7 foot tall giant leaving, but the divine was on All Might's side today.
All Might silently walked to a far away place, stepping into an alleyway. He stood there for a while, before he coughed out blood and started to shrink, returning to his Small Might form.
"Young Sukuna... That black lightning punch of yours... If I didn't have superb acting skills, I would've revealed my true form then and there..." All Might coughed, wiping the blood off his mouth before he grinned.
"Heh... This generation is in good hands..."
To be continued...