so i've been going through some very annoying writer's block, so i decided to ignore all my usual fandoms and just begin a new project, and i somehow wrote five chapters of this story in one day, so yay inspiration. regardless, i'll hope to upload once a week, but no promises.
Spoiler Warning: heavy manga spoilers up to and including the joint training arc, so read at your own risk!
The beginning of their second year at UA had been remarkably silent. Though there were still many threats in the world, even the league had been awfully quiet. Many reports had found that Shigaraki and his followers had been challenging another group of villainous individuals of which the police force and a few select heroes were keeping a close eye.
However, despite the temporary peace, tensions were still high and Izuku, as well as many others, was starting to feel worn down. Between school and internships, there was never a moment to unwind, and while Izuku would always find great pleasure in getting good grades and saving people even from the smallest of threats, he did feel that he was in desperate need of a break.
Today, especially, the class was tired. With a gruesome math test awaiting them after lunch, all twenty of them had stayed up most of the night to study or tutor - depending on how good one's math was. Due to the dormitory system, the whole of Class 2-A had gotten very close, even the most asocial ones of their classmates would attend group activities - even if that activity was studying. Shinsou, who had been installed into their class at the beginning of the school year, had quickly become part of their class, despite his declaration that he wasn't there to make friends. The usual silent Koda was getting more talkative by the day, and Kacchan, for all his harsh words and short temper, was having civil conversations with people outside of his immediate friend group.
"Look alive," Aizawa said, as he entered the classroom and was met with various groans from his students. Even Iida could only manage to straighten up a little, but he still looked as tired as the rest of them. "Today we have one important thing to discuss: The Sports Festival."
The class perked up, their attention now fully on their teacher. Izuku had kind of forgotten about the festival, and was getting slowly excited about it. He had a few regrets from last year, and wanted to redeem himself. In front of him, Kacchan was clearly getting excited as well, as he, out of everyone, was the least satisfied with last year's results.
"As you all have the experience of last year, we'll skip the details and move right on to the important stuff." Aizawa began shuffling with some papers, and Ashido rose from her seat.
"Sensei!" She called as she raised her hand, "Is it really okay for us to have the festival?"
Aizawa looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and sighed before answering: "It is true that some would rather see UA spend their time and effort in resolving conflicts, but the festival is vital exactly because of our brittle peace. People need distractions, and by the looks of it, so do all of you."
The class looked only somewhat satisfied by the answer, so Aizawa continued:
"Unlike The School Festival, there is no argument to be made that it benefits those outside of the hero course… except perhaps for a few individuals," Hatsume Mei's name hung in the air, "Nevertheless, it is an important event for upcoming heroes. This isn't just an event for you to win, but one to promote yourselves.
"Last year was an opportunity for you to get scouted for work studies. Of course, many of you are already involved with internships, so as far as scouting goes, it will be mainly Shinsho who will benefit. However, Asui and Midoriya, I believe you too could benefit from making a few connections."
After Nighteye, an opportunity had come for Izuku to intern for Kamui Woods, and for months, he and Tsu, who had also gotten the offer, had been at his hero agency. But after the summer vacation, Kamui Woods' agency would move to Fukuoka, so Izuku and Tsu would be out of an internship as they couldn't exactly follow along.
"This year's goal is to expose yourselves as heroes. If you make it to the final stage of the event, you will be introduced with your hero name, and you actions will reflect how you will be viewed in the future. Of course, some of you have already made a name for yourself, but I would advise you to not take anything for granted. Use this event to the best of your abilities."
Aizawa shuffled through some notes, the class letting the information sink in. It seemed that this year, it would be even more important to make it to the final stage.
"Furthermore," Aizawa continued, "There will be a speech by Bakugo."
"Why?" Kacchan questioned, clearly not wanting to hold another speech - if what he said last year could even be considered as such.
"It is tradition for the previous winner to open the festival. It doesn't have to be long, just a couple of opening words, but I'd highly suggest that you do not repeat what you said last year."
"Tch," Kacchan scoffed, "You should get Todoroki to do it."
"I don't care how you feel about your victory. You are to open the event, bearing in mind that your every word will reflect your hero name."
Kacchan sank a little closer into his seat, "Fine."
Class resumed as Aizawa continued to orient them about the festival, informing Shinsou on work studies, encouraging the girls to not show up in cheerleader uniforms this year, and so on.
Izuku listened somewhat to what Aizawa was saying, picking out whatever information was important to him. But Izuku was still more focused on the math test. Between other, more interesting subjects, and working for Kamui Woods, Izuku felt nervous for this test. Math was among his worst subjects, and while he wasn't exactly on the verge of failing, his grades could certainly look better. Therefore, Izuku was sitting with his math notes, skimming over them whenever it seemed that Aizawa was explaining something less relevant to him.
Directly in front of him, Kacchan also seemed to be studying, though not for their math test - no, Kacchan had amazing grades in math, as he was bested only be Iida in that particular subject - he was studying Chinese. For students of the hero course, electoral subjects were offered to students with high grades in both academics and physical studies. For class 2-A, those offers had been given to Yaoyorozu, Iida, Todoroki, Tsu, Kacchan and himself. Izuku had not had to think twice about taking the class: The History of Heroes, which he attended with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, but Kacchan had chosen Chinese.
As it had been the first country with a recorded quirk, China was one of the hero capitals of the world, and many heroes from Japan would often choose to spend a year or two there. Which was likely why Kacchan was taking the class. A few people from their class had already talked about where they would go after UA, and Izuku too was getting tempted by the idea of leaving Japan for a couple of years. His initial idea had been to follow in All Might's footsteps and go to America, but following Kacchan was a luring idea in and of itself.
Izuku would figure it out when the time came, and he went back to reading through his math notes.
At lunch, the whole of Class 2-A seemed to swarming Yaoyorozu, Iida and Kacchan for some last instructions before the test. Izuku smiled at the annoyed look on Kacchan's face as he helped out Kirishima and Kaminari - the latter of which was in tears, already feeling doomed to fail. Half a year ago, Kacchan would not have been as willing to help, and though he still looked like someone who had been forced to, he did make Kaminari feel like all was not lost.
Izuku looked away from the scene as he felt someone poke his arm. He turned to find a notebook held up by Uraraka, her face only inches from his and with a pleading look in her eyes.
"Help me," she almost begged, and Izuku ignored his lunch to help his friend.
Only a few tears were shed during the test.
The day before The Sports Festival, Izuku was brimming with excitement, his whole body buzzing with an almost nervous energy. Izuku wasn't the only one. Many of his classmates were moving about in the common area, unable to focus on one thing for long.
Izuku was contemplating sleep, as he wanted to be well-rested for the festival, but it was barely eight, so trying to sleep would likely result in a sleepless night. Perhaps he should go for a jog, just to get the energy out.
A buzz from his pocket grabbed Izuku's attention, and he opened his phone to find a message from Kacchan - one of few from his childhood friend, though they were becoming more frequent.
'I reserved gym A' was all the message said, but coming from Kacchan, it was a pretty obvious invitation to spar.
Looking around, Izuku found that Kacchan indeed weren't to be found in the common area, and while it wasn't weird for Kacchan to be asleep - being an incredibly early riser and all - Izuku was certain that Kacchan was also far too excited to even think about rest.
With a smile on his face, Izuku practically sprinted to his room to change into something he could spar in. It wasn't many minutes before he was back in the common area, making a few people look his way.
"Deku-kun?" Uraraka questioned as Izuku made ready to leave, tying his shoes by the door, "Where are you going?"
"Practice," he said simply. Sparring sessions with Kacchan were only really a secret when All Might and the subject of One for All was involved, but Izuku liked that they had their own little thing. It was perhaps a little childish, but even when they were young, the two of them never had a thing that was just theirs, and perhaps these secret sparring session could become that. It was a bit of a silly thought, but Izuku treasured it nonetheless.
Izuku was quickly out of the door, and ran as fast as he could to the gym Kacchan had booked for them.
"That was quick," Kacchan commented as Izuku entered through the door, finding his friend in front of what had probably been a high wall of cement, but was now mostly rubble.
"I didn't want you to wait," Izuku smiled, while Kacchan frowned lightly. That probably meant that he was in a good mood.
Kacchan gestured for Izuku to come closer, and they begun. At first, they moved slowly, Kacchan allowing for Izuku to warm up his joints and muscles. They exchanged no words, just slowly increasing the intensity of the fight at a natural pace. When they began to get really into it, Izuku applied five percent of his power, while Kacchan's movements get sharper, his gaze more focused as he studied his opponent. Sparring with Kacchan was never dull, because Izuku could never quite predict him, and at the same time, Izuku made sure that Kacchan could never quite read him either.
As Deku slowly increased the amount of One for All he had coursing through his body, he began to notice that Kacchan wasn't using his quirk to fight him, and he retreated a few paces.
"That's rude," Izuku snapped, though he wasn't really mad at Kacchan. In the back of his mind, Izuku was thinking of the various strategic advantages there was to Kacchan not using his quirk yet. Kacchan on the on the hand seemed slightly confused by the comment.
"What is, you nerd?" He said with no real bite behind his words.
"You're not using your quirk!"
"Neither are you."
This time, it was Izuku's turn to be confused: "Huh?" He exclaimed intelligibly, and Kacchan sighed.
"Your black whips. You've gained enough control with them to fight me, so I thought you would show them off at the festival."
The black whips; Izuku's second quirk. It had gone from being completely uncontrollable to Izuku kind of being able to use them, though only in controlled environments with Kacchan as his opponent. He had attempted to use them a couple of times to catch falling rocks and such, but had been able to do nothing except summon them, which had hardly been helpful. And even in fights where he had used them with some measure of control, Kacchan had always come out on top. Kacchan had told him that when he used them, his movements became slow and predictable, so Izuku hadn't even thought of using it outside of their secret sparring sessions.
"I don't think I can use it..." Izuku said honestly, but Kacchan didn't give him time to feel sorry for himself.
"Shut it, Deku, of course you can," Though Kacchan said it as an insult, Deku felt weirdly motivated by his words, "Just because you can't use them against me, doesn't mean that it won't work on others. Now, come at me with everything you got."
And who was Izuku to turn down a challenge? He lunged forward at twenty percent, and called out his black whips. 'Capture Kacchan' he commanded, and they shot out of him towards Kacchan… who simply stepped aside and watched Izuku fly past him.
"Come on!" Kacchan yelled, "You're better than this!"
Izuku let out a frustrated yell, letting Kacchan rile him up. He lunged for him again, attempting to corner him with the whips, while then aiming to kick him, when he had nowhere to go. But knowing of Izuku's lack of control, Kacchan still dodged him easily, finding his way behind Izuku and pushes him lightly to make him lose his balance.
"Kacchan!" Izuku yelled again. He wanted to make Kacchan use his damn quirk! The gap between them shouldn't be so big as to have Izuku use two of his quirks, while Kacchan fought him using none at all.
Izuku put thirty percent of his power into his legs, ripping the ground beneath him, as he closed the gap between the two of them. A smirk appeared on Kacchan's face as he moved swiftly to dodge the assault, but this time, Izuku was ahead. He sent his black whips to capture him, while he was still in the air, forcing Kacchan to use his quirk to escape.
"About time, nerd!" Kacchan yelled from the air, and Izuku smiled as well. The fight had just begun.
With Kacchan's attention finally on him, Izuku couldn't let up the attacks. He used flicks to create wind pressure, when Kacchan was in the air, forcing him to move in a predictable direction, while he used his shoot style when Kacchan get close enough to him. Kacchan, of course, was not just on the defensive, and sent a succession of explosions his way, forcing Izuku back whenever he got too close, while giving Kacchan a momentary control of the fight.
Izuku saw his opening as the back wall of the gym caught his eye, and he began to formulate a strategy. With the help of his whips and relentless attacking, he forced Kacchan against the wall, giving him no escape. As Izuku sent a kick his way, Kacchan tried to dodge, but after having repeated the motion so many times by now, Kacchan wouldn't have anticipated that Izuku was merely using the kick as a distraction, to grab him with his whip. As soon as he had Kacchan in his grasp, he threw him onto the ground, propelling himself downwards as well, to grab hold of Kacchan's wrists, pinning them above his head, while Izuku forced his weight on top of Kacchan's, in the way that he had learned to best keep him from using his quirk to free himself. As Kacchan relaxed beneath him, he knew that he had won.
Izuku rose to his feet and extended a hand to Kacchan to help him up, and a warm sensation went through him as Kacchan accepted his help without hesitation.
"Don't hold back during the festival," Kacchan said as they attempted to tidy the practice room just a little bit, though Cementoss would be forced to repair most of it regardless, "The only one I'll allow you to lose against is me, got it?"
"I think I'll settle for not losing at all," Izuku said rather confidently, but he got no response from Kacchan. Last year, their only chance at fighting against each other during the last event had been the finals, but Izuku had lost in his second match. He was determined to not let that happen again. Whether it was the finals, or the opening preliminaries, or however else they might be put against each other, Izuku wanted to fight Kacchan, and he wanted to win.
And Izuku thought, if he did win by using his black whips like he had done tonight, it would be entirely thanks to Kacchan. When Izuku had first awakened his quirk and the two of them, with All Might's assistance, had begun to train it, Kacchan and All Might had been at odds - all while Izuku was still trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened that day.
From All Might's perspective, the best thing to do was for Izuku to learn to control it to the point where it would no longer come out unexpectedly. Izuku still had a long way to go with the raw power of One for All, and it would do him no good to practice two things at once. Kacchan had disagreed rather strongly.
Kacchan believed that One for All grew with Izuku, and Izuku would therefore grow into the power the more he used it, while the black whips could be trained to a purpose. He had argued that there was absolutely no point in Izuku having a power that he wasn't using, especially one that seemed so fundamentally different from the pure power of One for All.
In the beginning, Izuku had followed All Might's teachings, seeing as he was his mentor and the previous holder of the power. But then Kacchan had begun to invite him out to practice without All Might around, and his control of the whips had improved the more he had used them. As far as Izuku was aware, All Might still knew nothing of the secret practices they had together, and Izuku almost preferred it that way.
All Might was his idol, his hero, but he was also one who had held the power before him. Kacchan was different. Kacchan had an outside perspective, and seemed to understand Izuku's power differently from the two of them. Of course, Izuku also knew that Kacchan was motivated by the idea of fighting Izuku when he was at his strongest (and then winning said fight), but if that was his goal, then that also meant that Kacchan truly believed that Izuku would become the strongest if could fully utilize this new power. And unlike All Might, Izuku had never known Kacchan to be wrong about anything.
Kacchan sent Izuku back by himself, while he went to drop off the key to the gym. As Izuku returned to the dorms, most of his classmates seemed to have gone to bed, but there were still a few people hanging out, talking lightly among themselves.
"Midoriya?" Kirishima seemed to question as Izuku moved across the room, wanting to take a shower before he headed to bed, "Were you in a fight?" He sounded slightly concerned, and Deku looked down on himself, finding that his previously white t-shirt was now anything but white. There was a hole at the side, where Kacchan had aimed an explosion just strong enough to singe the shirt, but not enough to leave a mark on Izuku's skin. There were some light scratches all across his body, though, again, in the morning it would hardly be visible. He didn't actually look that bad, just, you know, a little dirty and worn out.
"Um… I guess," Izuku said, and just as he did, Kacchan entered the room as well, looking not quite as beat up as Izuku, even though he had lost their fight.
"Did you get into another fight?" Iida, who had not been in the room before, questioned loudly and with a tone of disapproval.
"No!" Izuku said quickly, while Kacchan promptly ignored the whole situation and just slid out of the room in the direction of the showers, "We were just sparring."
"Looks like Bakugo won," Kaminari mumbled, and Izuku looked in the direction Kacchan had gone.
"Don't be so sure," he said, a small smile on his face, and he bid his classmates good night, as he left in the same direction as his friend.
"Have you thought about what to say tomorrow?" Izuku questioned as they exited the bath, Kacchan lingering at the second floor, where Izuku's room was.
"I have an idea," he said, seeming in thought. He was clearly tired, and though Izuku should probably let him go, he really treasured every moment he got with him. Still, they had an important day tomorrow.
"Good luck," Izuku said and made for his room, yet, he still caught Kacchan's soft reply.
"You too, Deku."
Izuku slept well that night, and soon he found himself with the rest of class 2-A in his gym wear, waiting to be called onto the stage. Present Mic welcomed the audience and the atmosphere was electric as he finally began the introduction.
"First up, from the hero course, classes 2-A and 2-B!"
Though the light was blinding and the cheers deafening, Izuku felt as excited as ever, impatient as the rest of the classes from their year were introduced.
"And now," Present Mic said as he rounded off the general introductions, "A word from last year's winner from class 2-A! Bakugo Katsuki!"
Kacchan hopped onto the stage, looking not quite as arrogant as last year, though the word humble could hardly describe him either.
"For this year's festival," he said, already off to a better start than last year, "I want to encourage everyone to try their best, so that both winners and losers will feel satisfied. Thank you." The note of gratitude by the end seemed slightly forced, and something in the way Kacchan had said everything had made it feel quite rehearsed. However, Izuku was certain that he would be the only one to pick up on that.
"Well..." Uraraka said somewhere behind him, "That was unexpectedly good."
To their left, Kirishima snicked, "Good? Maybe, but it seems to be that Bakugo is just pissed off about last year. That message practically had Todoroki's name on it."
Izuku smiled, having to agree with that. In the end, he was just happy that Kacchan didn't manage to piss anyone off this time around. It was progress.
"And now, second years!" Mic yelled as Kacchan had left the stage, "It is time to move, as I am afraid that this arena is far too small for the first event!"
Izuku tilted his head in confusion.
