Izuku made his way back to his bedroom in a bit of a daze. He...could hardly believe what had just gone down in Mister Aizawa's office.

He and Kacchan...were going to be forced to be roommates?

Was Mister Aizawa out of his mind? Did he have some sort of death wish for Izuku?

Had their sneaking out the other night really been such an offensive disregard of the rules as to warrant a death sentence? Because Izuku was pretty certain his death was the only foreseeable outcome to the conditions Mister Aizawa had laid out.

Kacchan would kill him within the first night. He knew Kacchan's outrage over this whole thing would be unrelenting. Especially seeing how Kacchan was still trying to come to terms with his most recent resentment towards Izuku—his realization that Izuku had caught up to his skill level. ...And his confirmation of Izuku's connection to All Might. How was Izuku supposed to deal with a Kacchan who was still processing all that?

Kacchan's spiteful words from the other night suddenly came to the forefront of Izuku's mind, despite his repeated attempts to keep them at bay.

"...I'll go higher than even you, Chosen One..."

Izuku inwardly winced. 'Chosen one...' Really? He knew Kacchan had mostly thrown it out as a sarcastic dig at him, but he also knew it was likely that Kacchan was really going to view him as such from then on, sarcasm aside or not. It was...not a comfortable thought. Izuku would never consider himself a 'chosen one' of any sort. Not at any point in his life, not even when he'd received All Might's powers. The idea almost made him scoff. Contrary to what Kacchan might think, Izuku had worked extremely hard to get to where he was. And he certainly didn't think he was in any way better than Kacchan, or anyone else for that matter, as the inheritor of All Might's powers. But regardless of whether or not he really was some kind of 'Chosen One' in Kaccan's eyes, the resentment was real, and Kacchan had promised to up his game even further because of everything he'd learned. And Izuku knew it was imperative that he keep right up with him.

The thing was, though, Izuku was hoping their competing could continue at as much of a distance from each other as possible. He was hoping to have at least a couple weeks of minimal to no interaction with Kacchan for things to cool down after the night at Ground Beta. But here they were, being forced to face each other again. Being forced to address everything that had happened.

Izuku knew it would have to be addressed. And he also knew Kacchan would not be agreeable to the idea. He knew exactly how things would go down: he would tentatively attempt to engage Kacchan in a civil conversation and Kacchan would immediately shut him down with a few choice words. Well, hopefully he only used words. If things got physical again... Izuku shuddered at the prospect, a fleeting glimpse of Mister Aizawa's livid face crossing his mind.

But if they were seriously going to be forced to live together, Izuku couldn't stand the thought of still having so many ignored, unsaid things between them. Kacchan's resentment and dislike would only continue to build further, if that were possible, and Izuku hated to think of what would happen the next time things came to a head. The confrontation at Ground Beta had been a small start of sorts. There was still such a long ways to go though. Izuku vaguely wondered if progress between the two of them was something that would even be feasible. He knew he wasn't kidding himself by admitting he and Kacchan could never actually be friends again. Their relationship was too far gone. There was too much hurt and too much hate—hurt on his end, hate on Kacchan's. And it wasn't that he couldn't forgive Kacchan—he could. Fairly easily, too. But he knew Kacchan would never ask for nor want his forgiveness. The idea would only infuriate him. Izuku truly believed Kacchan was incapable of seeing all the wrong he'd done over the years. He knew Kacchan was smart and observant, but his all-encompassing pride inhibited a lot of his perception. And how could anyone feel remorse for wrongs committed blindly?

With the possibility of friendship off the table, maybe they could at least fix things to the point where Kacchan wouldn't want to murder Izuku anytime he laid eyes on him? That would definitely be a step forward.

As much as he hated admitting it though, Aizawa was right, in a way. His and Kacchan's animosity was too much of a distraction. A destructive one. And as much as Izuku wanted to brush off the blame and chalk it up to Kacchan just being an impossible person who couldn't stand him, he knew he was going to have to shoulder a bulk of the responsibility of fixing things. More perhaps, since he was the one that actually cared.

He sighed.

Ah, as much as this was going to suck, Izuku was still going to try. Because that's what he did. He wasn't one to back down from a challenge. And he wasn't nearly as afraid of Kacchan as he used to be. They were actually evenly matched now.

Izuku couldn't help the smallest spark of pride that suddenly came to light inside him at that thought. He was actually capable of holding his own against the boy who had so relentlessly tormented him growing up; who had looked down on him so completely. Izuku had come so far. And no one, not even Kacchan was going to stop him on his path to becoming the next number one hero. Even if he was forced to face him literally every hour of every day. He could do this. He could.

Izuku snapped back to the present. He'd arrived at his room, and he hadn't noticed Mineta was peeking out his door again, talking to him.

"...Well?"

"Huh?" Izuku asked, having missed his question.

"What was that all about?" Mineta repeated impatiently.

"Oh, uh...," Izuku wasn't sure how to reply. He didn't want to completely brush Mineta off, but he also didn't want to voice the prospect of Kacchan moving in with him, because that would just make it all that much more real, and he wanted to stay in denial over it for at least the next hour.

"Aizawa just...needed to talk to us...," Izuku trailed off vaguely, opening his door and disappearing inside before Mineta could grill him further.

"'Us?'" he heard Mineta question down the hall. He didn't have as much beef with Mineta as most of their class did, but yeah, he supposed the guy could be a little nosy.

Izuku dropped his backpack with a disheartened sigh. And he'd thought things had been looking up since his house arrest had ended. Kacchan had been so much less confrontational than usual, he'd somehow caught the attention of the head of UA's Big Three, and he'd felt such a renewed sense of determination and...confidence, almost.

And now...now he was just feeling all around crappy.

Life with Kacchan...was not going to be fun, to put it bluntly. But Izuku could hold his own now. He'd proven that. And Kacchan had actually acknowledged it. He'd have to remind himself of it again and again.

He shouldn't be as scared as he was... He shouldn't be as filled with dread as he was.

Two hours. He had close to two remaining hours of a relatively happy life to take advantage of. He knew Kacchan would push the move off as close to the time limit as possible. And that was fine with Izuku.

He glanced around the room. He really needed to start studying, but he supposed it might be helpful to get going on rearranging some of the furniture.

Izuku swiped up handfuls of All Might action figures, tossing them in a box in his closet. He pulled his lamp's cord from the wall and started maneuvering his desk under the window. Kacchan's could form a corner with it, while leaving enough room for a second bed along the wall opposite his.

Shoulders drooped, Izuku tried to stifle another sigh. This just...sucked. He'd loved living on campus. He'd loved his room. The peace and quiet of it. Despite the brightly colored All Might memorabilia. That was what he liked most about it, actually. It had been a haven of sorts that had made him really happy the last several weeks.

...And now it was going to be a prison of sorts. A cell he'd share with the one person who hated him most in the world.

He sighed again (and he didn't sniff just then), and bent to gather his backpack. Dejected, he made his way to his desk and pulled out his homework.

It was only a few minutes later when a polite knock sounded at his door. It definitely wasn't a Kacchan knock, luckily. He got up to open it.

Two maintenance staff members greeted him, carrying a bed frame between them. Izuku motioned them in, trying to come across more courteous than he felt at the moment.

They entered the room and lowered the frame to the space Izuku had cleared. It was small—only a twin size, when the rest of the students' were fulls. Izuku suspected they'd borrowed furniture from one of the unoccupied dorm rooms the school had furnished as potential guest rooms if ever needed.

The workers disappeared and came back several minutes later with a mattress. And then again with a small desk and dresser.

Izuku's heart grew a little heavier each time they returned with something new in tow. The next addition to his former safe haven would be Kacchan himself.

Izuku stared at his homework, wondering why it briefly looked a little blurry. He was finding it difficult to concentrate. He had been so optimistic about getting all caught up that night. But of course all this had to happen instead.

Ugh. Focus. Stay on task. None of this really mattered when there was work be done. ...It didn't matter if Kacchan was potentially going to blow his door away at any moment. Just concentrate.

The minutes ticked by and Izuku's nerves only became more and more on edge. It was making studying impossible. He almost wished Kacchan would just show up already and put an end to his tense apprehension.

He sighed, half-heartedly tossing his pencil against the notebook. He leaned back, stretching his cramped muscles.

There was a knock at the door. And it actually...didn't sound quite as hostile as Izuku was expecting.

That didn't stop his stomach from completely dropping, though. He turned in his chair. "...Come in," Izuku said, wishing his voice sounded a whole lot steadier than it did.

The door opened, and there was Kacchan—arms full of a large stack of clothes, face wrought with a look that just dared anyone to make eye contact with him.

Why was it suddenly so hard for Izuku to swallow? "...Hey," he said, half-way drawing to his feet.

Kacchan continued to glower at him from the doorway for what felt like way longer than the brief moment it was, and finally stepped inside, ignoring Izuku as he pulled his eyes away and turned towards the extra dresser.

Wordlessly, he began piling his clothes in the drawers.

Izuku stood, all hesitation. "Do you...do you need any help? With the rest of your things, I mean?"

Kacchan stopped for a moment, shoulders tight. Izuku could hear his sharp breathing across the room. He stood there unmoving, before turning to lock crimson eyes with Izuku once more. "No."

As brief of an answer as it was, it certainly wasn't lacking in seething vehemence.

Izuku willed himself not to stutter in response. "Okay," he said, surprisingly close to evenly. "I'm just...gonna get back to my homework, then..." He turned his back to Kacchan and sat back down, retrieving his pencil and hoping he might actually find some focus now that the Dreaded Moment had officially passed.

Kacchan quietly resumed his task behind him, opening and closing drawers, and silently leaving at intervals, going back and forth between the fourth floor. The closet opened several times between his reappearances, and then eventually the bathroom.

Finally, the move apparently complete, Kacchan drew up next to Izuku, dropping his books on the smaller desk with a thud. He wasn't gentle as he pulled the chair out to take a seat.

Izuku glanced at him from the corner of his eye, a little relieved and a little wary at Kacchan's continued silence. It was like Ground Beta had really messed with him, or something. He was so difficult to get a read on lately. But as long as he was intent on getting right to his homework without interruption, Izuku was fine with that. He turned his attention back to his book.

They worked next to each other for a good fifteen to twenty minutes, neither speaking or even glancing at each other.

Every so often though, Izuku would notice Kacchan's pencil immediately stop, his shoulders drawing in, tightening. Izuku eyed him nervously out of the corner of his eye every time that happened, but mostly he pretended not to notice.

It occurred at frequent intervals, perhaps every five to ten minutes, and Izuku could swear Kacchan's shoulders had started to shake the last time he'd paused. Izuku hesitated briefly before going back to work, his own pencil more tentative than before.

It was about another five minutes later that Kacchan finally snapped.

He suddenly drew to his feet with an angry growl, grabbing at the nearest All Might poster on the wall. He tore it down, ripping at a piece of tape that had held it in place, and rounded on Izuku, shoving it squarely against his mouth.

It happened so fast, Izuku could barely blink. And he failed to hold back the muffled gasp of alarm that escaped him.

"Shut up!" Kacchan yelled in his face.

Thoroughly startled, Izuku raised a hand to his face, aiming to free his mouth as quickly as it had been obstructed. He felt immediately indignant at the tape's uncalled for intrusion. Why had Kacchan done that?!

Kacchan noticed him reaching for the tape and immediately snagged his wrist in a vice-like grip. "Don't you dare take that off, Deku," Kacchan warned, his voice low and dangerous.

Well, so much for Kacchan's perplexing silent treatment. This was more like the Kacchan Izuku knew. Although that didn't make the situation any less maddening.

Izuku reached up with his other hand, and again, Kacchan instantly seized it in an unyielding grip. "Did you hear what I said?!"

Izuku let a muffled protest escape him and flushed in anger and embarrassment. What was Kacchan's problem? He hadn't even done anything!

He tried to tug his wrists free, but Kacchan's grip was painfully solid. "Did you hear me?!" Kacchan demanded again as Izuku attempted twisting towards his thumbs to break free. There was no give. "Did you?! Stop fighting, you goddamn piece of shit!"

Izuku started getting a little frantic, because honestly, Kacchan was scaring him a little. He pushed back as far as his chair allowed, hoping to pull free, but it just wasn't happening.

He wasn't sure if he made the conscious decision or not, but before he even realized what he was doing, his arms were alight with One For All. He'd just needed a little strength to free himself from Kacchan's grasp.

Kacchan noticed and immediately released him, causing Izuku to fall backwards and crash to the floor with a loud clatter, his shout of alarm hindered by the tape.

Kacchan was straight away in battle stance, palms flipped upward and sparking. A dangerous grin stole across his face. "Is that how you want to play this, Deku?!"

Izuku rolled to his back and immediately ripped the tape off his mouth. "Kacchan!" he demanded, drawing his elbows under him. He was vaguely surprised it was indignant anger he was addressing Kacchan with, not fear. "Stop! What's your problem?!" He had let go of One For All as soon as Kacchan had released him.

Kacchan didn't relax his stance. His palms continued sparking. "Come on, you little shit, you wanna go?!"

"No—calm down, geez," Izuku replied, pushing himself to his seat and rubbing the back of his head. "What the heck did I even do to you?" As vulnerable as he was on the ground, and with One for All released, Izuku was fairly certain any threats of a fight wouldn't amount to much. Kacchan wouldn't attack him at a disadvantage like that. Not in the dorms. Not when they were already in trouble.

Kacchan's palms stopped sparking, but he didn't exactly relax his stance. "You wouldn't. shut. up. God, just shut up!"

"I wasn't even saying anything!"

"You were mumbling, you goddamn moron. Always the goddamn mumbling."

"I—" Izuku blinked. Had he been mumbling as he was studying? He hadn't even noticed. "I...didn't realize," Izuku admitted, a little embarrassed. "But geez, all you had to do was ask me to stop."

"Tch," Kacchan spat, flinging his chair back in place before plopping back down in it. "Why don't you just keep your goddamn mouth shut and save me the trouble, asshole."

Izuku hung his head a moment, exasperated. Could there have possibly been a more demonstrative preview of what life with Kacchan was going to be like?

He sighed. Kacchan shot him a glare. "The hell's your problem?"

"Nothing," Izuku responded, stifling another sigh.

Kacchan huffed again before returning to his homework, and Izuku righted his chair, pulling it back into place and straightening the books that had been knocked askew during the ruckus. He attempted to get back to his work, his head stinging mildly, and his pride a little wounded.

It wasn't a couple minutes later that there was a knock at the door.

"Midoriya?" It was Kirishima's voice.

They both glanced over their shoulder, and Izuku stood to answer.

Kacchan went back to his homework, glaring. He likely knew the timing of the visit was no coincidence.

Izuku drew the door open, revealing Todoroki and a concerned-looking Kirishima. The two had become fairly decent friends since Kamino Ward. Likely to the dismay of Kacchan. He never acted possessive over Kirishima, preferring to pretend the red head actually didn't mean much to him, but Izuku suspected Kacchan hated that Todoroki attempted friendliness with his best friend. It was actually kind of ironic that it was the mutual desire to rescue Kacchan that brought them together in the first place.

"Can we come in?" Kirishima asked, as Izuku gestured them in. A quick glance across the room saw Kacchan's shoulders tightening again as he stayed hunched over his homework.

"Is everything all right in here?" Todoroki asked, getting right to the point as he crossed the threshold.

"Yeah," Izuku responded, playing off the question as if he didn't understand why they were asking.

"We heard a commotion from downstairs," Todoroki continued, eyeing Kacchan with the faintest trace of accusation etched amongst the stoicism.

Kacchan suddenly whirled around, slamming his pencil against his notebook. "Why don't you mind your own goddamn business, Half 'n' Half?!"

"Hey, Bakugo!" Kirishima waved cheerfully, approaching him and claiming Izuku's seat for a moment.

"What do you want, Shitty Hair?"

"Iida filled us in on this whole 'Part Two' of your guys' punishment," Kirishima explained, a hint of condolences behind his voice.

"Yeah, it sucks ass, what the hell do you care?"

"Aizawa's a bit of a hardass, isn't he?" Kirishima smirked, having maybe just a little fun with Kacchan's flustered state.

"Stop talking to me."

"Although, gotta admit," Kirishima went on, still grinning. Izuku admired the heck out of the guy for never being the least bit intimidated by Kacchan. "Midoriya's definitely the one getting the worse end of the deal here. Being stuck with you for who knows how long? Man..."

"What the hell do you know, you goddamn idiot?! Why are you even here?!"

Kirishima laughed.

Todoroki was briefly studying Izuku, looking for any obvious signs of abuse. Izuku avoided his gaze, pretending not to notice.

He was grateful to his friends for being willing to look out for him, but he kind of wished they wouldn't. He feared it would only draw further resentment from Kacchan. And plus, he could handle his own now. They'd already had their first physical altercation, and Izuku had survived just fine. He could do this.

Todoroki conversed quietly with Izuku for a bit while Kirishima went back to poking the proverbial bear with a stick. He kept at it until Kacchan finally snapped.

"How the hell am I supposed to get any of my fucking work done, when all you stupid fuckers won't leave me the fuck alone?! Get out!"

Kirishima snickered on his way out, his work done there for the evening. Before leaving, Todoroki gave Izuku what only he could interpret as an encouraging nod. Anyone else would have just called it a barely noticeable inclination of the head.

An hour passed in relative and productive peace, before Kacchan finally put his pencil down and stood, disappearing into the bathroom. And upon re-emerging ten minutes later, he made his way straight to Izuku's desk and flipped off his lamp.

"Hey, I'm not done yet."

"Yeah, you are. I'm not going to sleep later than ten-thirty."

Izuku stood with a resigned sigh, figuring it was no use. He may as well get ready and go to bed.

Kacchan whipped back around to face him once more, and Izuku nearly bumped into him. Kacchan stuck a harsh finger in his chest. "Stop with the goddamn sighing."

Izuku raised his hands defensively. "All right, geez."

"And stop saying 'geez' every two seconds like a little bitch."

Izuku fumed faintly. "Okay, Kacchan, any other requests, Your Worship?" Had he seriously just mouthed off to Kacchan? What was he thinking?

Kacchan glared. "Yeah. Don't get smart, you piece of shit. And keep your goddamn mouth shut. I swear to God, if I wake up to any mumbling tonight..."

Izuku was a little glad he didn't finish that threat. He made his way to the bathroom and got ready, trying to keep his thoughts from reeling as much as they were.

He climbed into bed a short time later, yawning and kneading his pillow. He rolled to his side. He pushed the blanket off him a fraction, too hot. Then pulled it back as a draft snuck in. Unsatisfied, he rolled to his other side.

"Stop moving."

Izuku tried to still himself, but it was no good. He could never fall asleep without going through his usual fifteen minute adjustment period.

A moment later he flipped his pillow over and rolled to his stomach. It was still no good. He rolled to his back once more, arms drawing up to cradle his head.

"Hey, shithead, if you don't stop moving, I swear to God I'll tie you down to that bed so tight you can't even breathe."

Izuku didn't reply. But luckily, he was comfy enough to finally stay still.

"Kacchan," Izuku spoke a moment later, sleep inching its way around his eyes. "I'm not gonna let you hold me back," he stated through a poorly-stifled yawn.

Kacchan was silent for a moment and Izuku wasn't expecting a reply. "...Great. Now shut up the hell up and go to sleep."

Another long moment passed.

"And...I don't want to hold you back either." Sleep was more threatening now, dulling his thoughts and speech. "I'm—" Another yawn. "I'm...sorry about all this..."

...

"...Go to sleep, shitty Deku."

So, since I was pretty surprised and grateful for the initial interest expressed in this fic, I decided to get going on chapter 2 pretty quickly for you guys. And new fics are just so exciting in the early chapters, it's hard not to keep writing away at it.

Well, the boys are officially roommates now. Poor Izuku, I felt pretty bad for him throughout this chapter. Kirishima was right—he's definitely on the worse end of the deal here.

I hope the characterizations came across as believable. That's always my main goal. I'm trying to show a bit more confidence than we're used to seeing on Izuku's end, because I really think he would have gained a fairly significant amount after Ground Beta.

And Kacchan is kind of in a weird place right now with his own confidence. Again, because of Ground Beta. I hope it's somewhat coming across that way.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As always with multi-chapter fics, comments are pretty vital (and very appreciated!) for keeping writing motivation up. And I really want to stay motivated with this one because it's going to get really fun down the road.

Thanks for reading!