It actually hits him right during the Entrance Exam lecture.

"Psst," he whispers at Kacchan. "Kacchan."

" What, Deku. "

" Go out with me. "

Kacchan's head swivels around so fast that Izuku has to flinch back to stop it from colliding with his. Then he sees Kacchan's eyes, so wide and shocked, just staring at him speechlessly.

Oh. Kacchan had not been expecting that.

" What the hell are you talking about, " Katsuki mutters furiously, he grabs Izuku's arm and twists the gakuran's cheap fabric. "Huh? Are you making fun of me again, Deku?!"

"Wait, Kacchan - you got the wrong idea! I like you! Go out with me!"

"YOU TWO!"

Izuku and Katsuki, stupefied, blink as the spotlight focuses on them. Izuku has to shut his eyes to get used to direct fluorescent. The one that's pointing at them is a tall, broad-shouldered boy with rectangular glasses and short, choppy movements. He's… scolding them?

"You're interrupting the session! Not to mention PDA is offensive in a professional establishment such as U.A!"

"The fuck did you say, asshole ?! You wanna fucking go?!"

"Kacchan! He didn't mean that!"

The boy adjusts his glasses, straightening his posture in righteousness, "You should listen to your partner, please act as befitting of a person who will be sitting the U.A.'s exam!"

"I'll gladly show you how to act like that, you pompous-" Izuku cuts in just in time to apologize for his childhood friend. In the end, the strict boy and the spotlight's attention is deflected from the two and they're left to quietly talk it out.

Kacchan turns to him with a disbelieving scowl. It makes Izuku's stomach do knots but he swallows his wariness and attacks directly to the matter at hand,

"Listen to me," he says. "I'm not trying to do anything. I just realized it, but I really like you, Kacchan! You're awesome, clever, and skilled; I admire your drive, your determination, and your ambition! Please go out with me! "

Katsuki is silent in the face of such a declaration, from someone he had never expected. He turns to stare to the letter on the paper, hunching in on himself.

"I don't know," he answers. Izuku notices his shifty eyes that refuse to meet his. "Don't you have better people to confess to or something?"

Izuku's mind turns static, like a broken TV.

'What thenxhdhdjsjjdnsnsn-'

"...What are you talking about, Kacchan?"

Katsuki makes a 'tsk' sound, "You have many options to choose from, you dumb nerd. And… Well. You had to choose failure like me?"

Izuku just… stops functioning. What is Kacchan saying?! How could he have come to that conclusion? With Izuku, teachers, classmates and even strangers praising him, how can he have such a low esteem of himself? This is unacceptable!

He pins Kacchan with his gaze, his childhood friend stilling as he eyes Izuku. He leans into Kacchan's personal bubble, getting into his face and making him flush at the attention.

"Kacchan," he demands. "Go out with me."

Katsuki gulps at him, expression dumbfounded. Eventually, he caves in and averts his eyes.

"Okay," he says without any ire. Izuku's whole face illuminates with victory and happiness, beaming with a beautiful smile.

Fuck. Katsuki might have bitten more than he can chew. Ah, who cares. At least the packaging is cute.

"Oi," he mutters, pinching the nerd's annoyingly sweet, plump cheek. "Don't get cocky, you think you can beat me? In your dreams ."

"Ehhh-" Izuku pouts as his cheek is left stinging and red. He rubs over the soreness. "-What does that have to do with us dating?"

"It doesn't - someone's gotta keep that ego reined though!"

" You are telling me…!"

They get called out during the lecture again, for making too much noise. Izuku sheepishly scratches his nape while Katsuki makes a rude thumbs-down at the boy from earlier. Izuku doesn't mind as much as he should, which makes him feel a bit guilty. He shouldn't be allowing Kacchan to rub off on him so much!

After parting ways reluctantly -

"Well… Good luck, Deku. Can you even get a decent score?"

"Kacchan! Don't worry, I've got it handled. I'll get into UA with you, for sure!"

- Izuku has some time to take in the peer pressure and his own anxious thoughts. From the corner of his eyes, he gets a glimpse of the girl from earlier, who is very, very cute with her flushed cheeks and looking even more anxious than him. He enthusiastically walks over to raise her spirits when suddenly he's held back by an insistent grip on his shoulder.

As he turns his head back, he realizes it's the formal-looking boy from the lecture, who had shouted at Kacchan and him. He seemed disapproving and mad, so Izuku hunched I'm in himself self consciously.

"Such disappointing attitude," the boy chided, reminding Izuku of some really short tempered primary school teacher. "Were you trying to distract her? As you can see, that girl is attempting to focus on her examination preparations! Perhaps you were going to try and sabotage her?!"

"Of - Of course not!"

But it's too late for him; as everyone begin to mutter amongst themselves, Izuku notices quickly that he is being dismissed by the other competitors.

"Not a challenge at all."

"Heh, free points for us!"

"He looks so scared. Look at him!"

Before Izuku can even utter a word of denial, a loud, ear-torturing siren blares right above them, near the giant gates. A pause from everyone, as if the world has simply frozen over.

"What's the issue?" Present Mic's voice asks them, seeing that no one moved yet. "In real life, there is no countdown! Early bird gets the worm!'

And with that, Izuku is left in the dust as everyone scrambles off to rack up as many points as possible. He coughs a bit, disoriented. Oh darn, he is late! He rushes off frantically, trying to spot a robot, any robot, with no luck at all. It's as if the opponents have all suddenly disappeared, now that there are other competitors around!

Izuku, to his fortune, finds a two-pointer on his way. Panicking, he attempts to remember if All Might had actually instructed him in how to activate One For All, realizing with a cold shudder that no, he had done no such thing.

And, about to scream, he's saved by a wayward laser beam that comes from directly left. His head snaps to look where there's now a young blond boy in extravagant clothing.

"Oh, mon dieu," the boy says as he fans himself. He points a finger at Izuku, startling him. "We were quite the team, don't you think? But unfortunately, this will be the last collaboration of ours! Adieu, Monsieur…!"

He zips away with a flash of laser, leaving Izuku in an even bigger worry before.

'This is bad!' he furiously thinks. 'I don't know how to use One For All! I'm as good as Quirkless in this exam!'

And out of the blue, a massive quiver shakes the ground! When he raises his eyes, they nearly pop out with the shock of what he's seeing.

A giant - A giant -

A giant robot…!

It's a colossal, impossible machinery. One red, cursed optic stares at the participants with emotionless regard.

Then it begins moving.

Izuku can faintly hear the frightened cries as everyone evacuates the invaded city. But he's almost stuck to where he stands, body motionless after the fear of seeing something so overwhelming.

That's - That's just an overkill! How do they expect us to fight that thing? I need to -

Someone is wriggling in the rubble ahead.

Izuku, to his horror, realizes it's the girl who helped him. She struggles bravely, but ultimately fails to get the rubble off.

It's involuntary. He doesn't notice he's running until after the sheer overpowering force of One For All wrecks his legs. He doesn't feel the pain until he's pulling back his fist and punching the robot in the head with a Smash. He doesn't dread until he sees the ground approaching as he falls to his defeat.

And, suddenly -

SLAP!

Everything freezes, slows down, world waits as he floats in the air. Suspended, he realizes the girl had been the one to save him from his fall.

Then, with a move of her hands, he plops down into the ground.

"Oof."

"Ah, I'm sorry! I forgot you were flying!"

"I-It's okay…"

People crowd around Izuku, staring in awe at the unassuming boy who broke the zero-pointer.

Among them, Iida Tenya - aspiring Hero. He feels ashamed of both his earlier actions and his behavior during the exam.

'This is not the kind of thing a delinquent does,' he realizes, disappointed in himself. 'He obviously means well, and he saved that girl. He was probably trying to encourage her as well, before. It seems I was in the wrong! And during the examination, I had forgotten the values a Hero must live up to. This boy -' He gazes at the green haired, injured boy as he's taken away by the nurses. 'He's on a whole other level of noble! Such courageous actions, such spirit! It's no wonder he was the one to destroy the robot.

'But,' he remembers in distaste. 'It was the zero-pointer. And even for his admirable effort, he will not be given any points for this rescue.'

Such a waste of a good person. What are the Heroes thinking?!

Ah. The boy might be pretty beat-up, but he still looked gorgeous in a simple way. Certainly -

What am I thinking?! Get a hold of yourself, Tenya, he has a boyfriend! A very belligerent boyfriend! It's not like you to get between those who love each other.

"Excuse me!" the girl from earlier comes up to him. "You know him, right? The green boy?"

"Ah," Tenya blinks, surprised that she had approached him. "Yes, that's true. Albeit not friendly, we have been acquainted."

"Thank God! I was thinking we could visit him by his bed, where they keep him. I really want to thank him for saving me!"

'Oh,' Tenya muses out of balance, shaken at the sight of a beautiful girl smiling so brightly at him. 'This must be karma for earlier, then.'

"I would love to accompany you!" he accepts, tearful. What else could he say at the face of such an otherworldly person?

Karma, Tenya. This is your karma coming to haunt you. You shouldn't have admired that boy's fair and adorable countenance. This is your punishment.

"Oh!" Izuku exclaims around a faceful of flowers. He hugs the bouquet close, cheeks flushing warmly at the thoughtful gesture. "Thank you Kacchan! I love them!"

"It's whatever. Put it in a vase and stare at it for all I care. You okay?"

"Hm?" Izuku turns to look at him, distracted by the gorgeous wildflowers. "I'm okay! I love these, Kacchan, this is the first bouquet you've ever given me."

Katsuki snorts, "Psh, you think that's a bouquet? You haven't seen anything. Old hag would have your head if you said that. Then again-" He stops to pause. "She might not. She adores you."

"Mmm. How is Aunty?"

" Fine, what do you think? It hasn't been that long since you saw her."

"No," Izuku denies, thinking hard. "It has. Oh my God, Kacchan, it's been almost a year!"

"Has it?"

" Yes!"

Right at that moment, knocks on the infirmary door sound, saving Katsuki from a scolding.

It opens without a sound, revealing the boy from the lecture and the girl Izuku saved.

"Oh! You're-"

"Yes! Ah, I've been wanting to talk to you!"

"'Wanting' is not grammatically correct as it is a modal verb," the boy informs, sighing when he sees his explanation has gone unnoticed with the girl and Izuku conversing amiably. He turns to Katsuki, bowing.

"Hello," he greets. "I'm Iida Tenya from Soumei Private Academy! I am glad to meet you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Katsuki says in turn. "Stop bending. It's fucking annoying."

Tenya stares at him in dumbfounded silence, astonished at the heights of his rudeness. Katsuki sneers at his state.

"I'm Bakugou," he offers reluctantly under Izuku's watchful eye. "I'm not fucking glad to meet you."

"Ah… I had gathered."

"I should introduce myself," the girl says. "Nice to meet you! I'm Uraraka Ochako!"

"Midoriya Izuku! And this-" He beckons Kacchan near him with a huge, effervescent smile. "-is Kacchan! I mean, Bakugou Katsuki."

He leaned in with a mischievous expression, "He's also my boyfriend!"

"Uwah!" Ochako coos at them, biting her lips. "That's so cute! Like, the bad boy and the cutie getting together thing?"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A BAD BOY?!"

"Ah-" Tenya interrupts just as another argument almost began. "The reason we have visited-"

"Oh yes!" Ochako exclaimed sheepishly. "I wanted to thank you for rescuing me, that was so brave of you!"

"You saved her?" Katsuki asked him, face unreadable before turning irritable. "Idiot Deku! This is competition, saving some random chick ain't gonna win you the Hero Course!"

"That's right!" Tenya agrees, adjusting his glasses. "Ah - but I must give credit when it's due. Your actions today were befitting of a true Hero! Midoriya-san, please let us exchange numbers. I would like to stay in touch even if we don't end up in the same classes."

'I hope that wasn't terribly forward of me!' Tenya worries in secret. He is sweating buckets just imagining what Bakugou might react to him asking for Midoriya's number.

"Oh oh!" Ochako perks up at that. She had been intrigued by this cute, chivalrous boy; even if he has a boyfriend. It is a big letdown for her but she supposes she might still be his friend! "Please! Me too! I wanna be friends too!"

Turning to Bakugou, she thinks it might be a worthy endeavor to befriend the boyfriend too. In case he tries to make a fuss about Midoriya talking to her.

"Give me your number too, Baku!" she demands brazenly. It embarrasses her a bit, but Ochako's a tough girl! She can handle a bit of shame! "We can make a group chat with all of us in it!"

Katsuki ends up giving his phone up just to let Izuku stop whining.

"It's been such a long day, Kacchan," Izuku sighes, morose as he muses about his examination. "I botched up everything. Couldn't hit a single robot."

" Dummy. Never mind, we can just go on dates instead of hanging out at school."

"But I wanted to be a Hero with you!" Izuku cries through the phone call. He is in severe distress here! Severe! If only Kacchan would comfort him like a normal boyfriend should. "You're my boyfriend, aren't you supposed to envelop me in your gentle embrace and kiss my tears away?"

"I have two questions: Where the fuck did you hear that shit from and why do I have to hear it?"

"There, that's why Ochako called you a bad boy, Kacchan! You're so not gentle."

"If you wanted gentle you should have gone and asked out Romeo, you fucking Julietto."

"Eh - no way! Romeo killed himself, Kacchan! Why would I ask him out?"

"I don't fucking know. Why would you?"

"That's… Wait a minute. You're trying to confuse me! Why are you trying to confuse me?!"

"Heh," sounds from the phone, just as Izuku hears some commotion downstairs. "You caught me. Come answer the door, dummy."

"Ka… Kacchan? Are you really..." Izuku breathes out in wonder.

"Moron. What are you waiting for? You were the one sobbing in your pillow all day. Come get me!"

Izuku rushes to the door.

Kacchan can be real sweet, sometimes.