Katsuki was startled awake by the shrill beeping of Eijirou's alarm. For a moment panic ran through his body at the unfamiliar sound. Eijirou groaned next to him, reaching out to turn it off. It took a second for Katsuki's brain to catch up and remember where he was. When he did, he sighed, lying back down for a second.

"Fuck you Eijirou." Hikaru groaned from his own bed, rolling over to go back to sleep. Eijirou laughed sleepily, bringing his arm, which had been pinned underneath Katsuki's body, up to rest in blond hair. Katsuki rolled into Eijirou. Their legs had become entangled in their sleep.

Eijirou kissed Katsuki's forehead as he slowly blinked, waking up properly. Katsuki leant into the embrace, resting his hand on Eijirou's chest. They lay awake, for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of each other and the blanket cocooned around them.

"Come on Baby, we have to get up." Eijirou said, running his hand up and down Katsuki's arm. "You can shower first, if you want. I'll put the futon away."

"Okay." Katsuki said, making no effort to move.

"Katsuki." Eijirou said, laughing again. "We have to get up. We have to catch the train." Katsuki growled to himself softly, forcing himself to sit up. Eijirou followed.

"I hate you." Katsuki grumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"No you don't." Eijirou said. "Now go shower, or I will, and I'll use up all of the hot water."

"Rude." Katsuki said, getting to his feet. He went to his bag, taking out his school uniform, that was a little creased from behind folded up for so long, as well as his toiletries and his fresh plasters.

"There's a pile of towels in the cabinet." Eijirou said, grabbing his phone. "Use whatever."

"Okay. Pass me my hearing aids." He said, and Eijirou did so.

Katsuki left the bedroom, moving quietly across to the bathroom. As Eijirou had said there were a pile of purple towels stacked in a cabinet. Katsuki took one and placed in next to the shower. He then, after making sure the lid was down, sat on the toilet, pushing his trousers down to reveal the plasters on his thigh.

He carefully peeled them off, revealing angry red skin and black stitches. Dried blood crusted around the stitches and Katsuki couldn't help but hiss at the unpleasant feeling of the air against the wound. He put the old plasters in the little bathroom bin and went ahead with showering and brushing his teeth.

He then reapplied the plasters, after ensuring his wound was clean. He got into his school uniform, leaving the top button of his shirt once again, undone. He rubbed his hair dry with the towel and put it in the laundry hamper when he was finished.

When he headed out into the main room, he was surprised to see Eijirou and his mother talking, they both smiled at him as he approached. Katsuki put his toiletry bag down on the table before putting in his hearing aids.

"There he is, all showered and clean." Eijirou said, placing a kiss on Katsuki's cheek. "Do you want to take these? I don't know if it's a good idea if they make you sleepy?" He said, holding out the painkillers Jeanist had given him. Katsuki took them in his hand.

"Do you have any ibuprofen or something… less strong." Katsuki asked. "If I'm going to Recovery Girl I don't need these, but it stings like hell after cleaning it."

"I have some, just in this cupboard." Sayuri said, turning around to open it. "Eijirou, go shower, you're stinking up my kitchen."

"I don't smell." Eijirou pouted. "Do I babe?"

"Eijirou, go." His mother laughed.

"You know you could just say you wanted to talk to Kats alone, you're terrible at subtlety."

"Kirishima Eijirou, I will hit you with a spoon." Sayuri said causing the boy to roll his eyes and head toward the bathroom. Sayuri handed Katsuki the ibuprofen and a glass of water. "Ei told me you got hurt?"

"Yeah. A guy with a bird Quirk dug his talons into my leg. It's all sewn up now." Katsuki shrugged, taking two of the offered pills.

"I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable last night." Sayuri said after a few moments, pulling out a carton of eggs from the fridge.

"It's alright. Like I said, I expected something about my reputation to come up. I'm working hard to move away from what's being said about me." Katsuki said. "You have one emotional breakdown on TV and suddenly you've been kidnapped and everyone is saying you're going to kill your friends." He laughed mirthlessly, making Sayuri frown.

"It must have been difficult for you."

"Eiji helped. Along with some other friends, and my parents and teachers, of course." Katsuki replied.

"I'm glad my son was there for you, as you are for him."

"He saved my life." Katsuki said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

"He's a good boy." Sayuri nodded.

"Do you need any help?" Katsuki asked as Sayuri began to crack eggs into a bowl.

"Oh, I'm just making omelettes for everyone."

"I can help." Katsuki said and Sayuri nodded.

The pair of them cooked together quietly, Sayuri asking the typical mom things like how was school and the like. When Eijirou returned, all dressed and ready for the day, he too tried to help, but ended up getting in the way.

Katsuki and Eijirou ate their omelettes before anyone else's was done, and as they returned to the bedroom, Eijirou woke up his brothers to go get their own breakfast. They then packed up their things and got ready to leave.

Eijirou shared long hugs with his parents before they left, with Nikko give Katsuki a pat on the back and Sayuri kissing his cheek. Namiyo seemed heartbroken at the idea of Katsuki leaving, demanding a cuddle from him before she would let him leave.

"I don't know what it is," Eijirou said later when they were on the almost empty train to U.A. "But seeing you interact with my sister. I don't know. I makes me… warm?"

"Weirdo." Katsuki snorted.

"I don't know why. Maybe it's some deep-seated biological urge telling me you'd make a great Dad."

"Eijirou, I'm terrible with kids. I made three cry by just talking to them at my internship." Katsuki laughed.

"You didn't make Namiyo cry, or Naoki. And there was that girl you said you helped at the train station? The one you reunited with her dad."

"She wouldn't stop crying."

"Because she was scared and lost, not because of you." Eijirou pointed out.

"I think you just have weird kinks that you need to sort out." Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"Not turned on warm, like happy warm. You pervert."

"Whatever." Katsuki rolled his eyes.

Once they got to U.A. they headed straight for Recovery Girl's office. The old woman was typing something on her computer when they came in, disdain colouring her features.

"An injury? Already? It's not even eight." She said with a tut, jumping off of her chair.

"I got hurt yesterday, training with Best Jeanist. He said to come here."

"Best Jeanist? In his condition he should be on bed rest, not out training."

"It was one of his sidekicks, not him." Katsuki corrected. "He sewed me up."

"Well let's see then." She said, and Katsuki undid his belt, pushing down his trousers to reveal the plasters. "Sit on the bed, dear. I'll have to take the stitches out before I can heal you." Katsuki did as she asked.

"What do you mean, his condition?"

"Hakamata's lung was terribly damaged. I couldn't really do anything to help him, which shows what a lost cause it is. I recommended removal of the lung, but some young doctor said she could save it. I believe it was his brother that chose to try and save it. Hakamata himself was in no condition to make the decision." Recovery Girl shook her head.

"I was hopeful. But it hasn't been healing well and he's already had to have one corrective surgery. The chance of his lung collapsing is high, and the healing process is long. Although leaving him with only one lung would have been a drastic change for him, he probably would be feeling much better now if we he had gone for it."

"He shouldn't be working?" Katsuki asked.

"In my professional opinion, absolutely not. He shouldn't be putting his body under any additional stress. I would say his best option would be in bed with a ventilator to maintain a regular breathing pattern."

"Oh." Katsuki said.

"This is going to sting." Recovery Girl said after she had cleaned his wound, grabbing a pair of scissors and tweezers Katsuki hissed as she began to work. Eijirou moved around the side of the bed to take Katsuki's hand.

"I'm fucking fine, shitty hair." Katsuki snapped.

"I know." Eijirou shrugged, still holding on to Katsuki's hand.

Recovery Girl worked quickly and efficiently, fixing Katsuki's injury in no time.

"It's strange." She mumbled. Taking Katsuki's hand, examining his wrist.

"What is?" Katsuki asked.

"Your wrists, looking at them, they look burnt, or at least inflamed. But to my Quirk, there's nothing wrong. Do they hurt?"

"A little. They're more sore than anything. I've got used to it. I'm sure they'll heal in time." Katsuki shrugged. Recovery Girl tutted, heading towards her cupboards. She pulled out a tub of burn cream.

"Apply this, every couple of hours. It should soothe it, at least." She said, handing Katsuki the cream.

The two boys were then dismissed by the nurse, just in time to head towards class. However, on the way there, they were stopped by someone calling Katsuki's name. They turned to see Aizawa and Hakamata heading towards the classroom.

"I brought your costume." Hakamata said, holding up the case. "The trousers should be able to provide you more protection against sharp blades now. I had Spectre test them out."

"Thanks." Katsuki mumbled, taking the case.

"What's wrong?" Hakamata asked, cocking his head to thee side. "Don't you like it? I kept your old ones, if you want them. I patched them."

"It's not that." Katsuki said. "Recovery Girl… She said that your lung could collapse. That you should be on bed rest. You said you'd be okay. You lied to me."

"Katsuki no. I will be okay." Hakamata said.

"Recovery Girl—"

"Isn't my doctor. I don't doubt that she has great skill. But I regularly meet with my doctors, I'm fine." Hakamata said, placing his hand on Katsuki's shoulder. "Yes there's a risk of collapse. But there's always a risk."

"She said you should be in bed." Katsuki said in a small voice.

"If I felt bad, I would be." Hakamata said. "I am okay to work as long as I feel up to it. I'm not allowed to work in the field, but that's it. I didn't lie to you, Katsuki, I wouldn't."

"Oh." Katsuki said.

"Recovery Girl is often over cautious." Aizawa said. "After the USJ she said I should have stayed in bed until my bandages came off. But I didn't. I was teaching within the week."

"I'm sorry." Katsuki said, Hakamata laughed.

"You've nothing to be sorry for. You're just looking out for me." Hakamata said. "I appreciate it."

"I shouldn't have accused you of lying." Hakamata shook his head and snorted.

"Come here." He said, opening his arms, embracing Katsuki. The younger blond didn't fight the hug, instead he leant into it. "Stop worrying so much. You'll get frown lines."

The next couple of weeks pass in a similar fashion to the weeks prior, at least for Katsuki. Classes were intense, especially in relation to training. Multiple times a week they were forced to train until they almost passed out from exhaustion.

Academically, Katsuki coped well with their progression, and with the help of Momo, Iida, Shouto and Midoriya, Eijirou climbed up the class ranking in terms of average grade. Everyone else maintained their progress and thankfully no one fell behind.

Everyone managed to create at least one special move and those who wanted to, made changes to their costumes. Aizawa seemed impressed by all of the class, as threatens of expulsion fell to once a week.

Katsuki carried on going to work every Sunday. He continued to practice writing up reports and Flashback began to teach him correct interview practices; he had done several mock interviews with Fallacy, Sleuth and Transcript.

Hakamata did as he said he would and eventually adopted a cat from the small café Aizawa had recommended. He had visited several times, falling in love with a little grey sphynx cat with a torn ear. It had been called Cashmere and Hakamata took that a sign. He often put the cat in little jackets to keep it warm as Autumn approached.

Katsuki believed the creature looked like a rat or some kind of naked mole, but he had only voiced this opinion to Hakamata once. It had offended the man greatly and Katsuki was forced to apologise. Hakamata brought Cashmere to work with him daily, to make sure the cat got the attention it's high social need required.

Katsuki couldn't deny that Hakamata had become happier since adopting the cat, it was like he had been able to save someone, even if it was a cat. It allowed him to feel worth something again. Everyone else at the office seemed to love Cashmere. The cat was beyond spoilt and the office was now sporadically filled with cat toys and trees.

Unfortunately, they were no closer to finding the missing children. The heroes were still unable to find very many leads and despite the fact that two more children had gone missing, all Flashback was able to find out was that they were dealing with a tall man, who wore a purple cape and a mask. He seemed to appear and disappear as quick as a flash, taking the children before they had chance to fight back.

Edgeshot had theorized that he had some kind of teleportation Quirk, but that had yet to be confirmed. They had no answer for the power outages. They still had no idea what this man was doing with the children nor what his motive was. Hawks had nicknamed him the Snatcher for the time being. Katsuki thought it was a stupid name, but he didn't have anything better.

Yokoyama Hiroki and Yamaguichi Ebiko had been taken in a similar manner to the other victims, whilst they were walking alone to and from school. Yokoyama had a weight manipulation Quirk and he was nine. Yamaguichi's Quirk was listed as "Electric Eel." But she was only five.

Katsuki felt helpless in the whole thing, he couldn't go to the abduction site because he wasn't licenced hero, and there were only so many times he could help theorise about the information they had.

Katsuki and Eijirou's relationship, on the other hand, was going steady. They had gone to see a movie together one Saturday. But Katsuki had no idea what they had gone to see, as they had spent the entire time making out with one another, completely under the cover of darkness at the back of the movie theatre.

They had yet to progress further in regard to their sexual relationship. They could kiss for hours; they had become comfortable around each other and trusted one another completely. They would snuggle together, wearing only underwear and refamiliarize themselves with each other's body, taking breaks to "cool off" or to head away and deal with their problem separately.

Katsuki had yet to build up the courage to tell Eijirou that he loved him. There were many occasions, where the words were on the tip of his tongue. But he would always, without fail chicken out at the last second. He'd never considered himself a coward, but every time he failed to admit his true feelings to his boyfriend, it was the word that came to mind.

In the days to come, he would wish he had said it sooner.

Before any of them really knew it, the day of the Provisional License Exam was upon them. The 19 of them stood outside of the dorms, early in the morning. They all wore their school uniforms, with their hero costumes at hand. They were waiting for Aizawa and the coach that would take them to the exam.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Mina whined. "I'm so nervous, why did you make me eat?"

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Ashido." Iida said. "And we have a big day ahead of us. We must be ready for anything."

"Yeah, you don't want to be halfway through the exam and be hungry." Momo said.

"Oh there's nothing worse than being in a written exam and having a rumbly tummy." Izuku said with a nod.

"Wait written exam? Who said anything about a written exam?" Kaminari asked, panicked.

"No, there's no written exam. I was just making a point." Izuku said, waving his hands in front of him.

"Don't scare me like that, Midoriya." Mina said, punching Izuku in the arm.

"Ow." Izuku pouted, rubbing his arm.

"Hey, that's 100 ¥ for the unnecessary violence jar." Sero said.

"The what?" Tsu asked.

"The unnecessary violence jar. It's like a swear jar, but it's designed to stop Blasty killing Kaminari." Jirou explained.

"Or at least make him pay for my funeral." Kaminari said.

"Surprisingly, Mina is the biggest contributor." Kirishima said.

"What can I say, I like to hit." Mina shrugged.

"And that's why you've got no money." Katsuki drawled.

"Alright rich boy." Mina scowled.

"Ah yes, because I'm the most affluent member of the class." Katsuki replied, staring directly at Shouto who was staring off blankly into the distance.

"You've got more money than me." Mina pouted.

"Because I don't have to give all of my money to the unnecessary violence jar." Katsuki pointed out, Eijirou smiled.

Aizawa eventually appeared, with Shinsou trailing behind. The purple haired boy looked a little confused but mostly sleepy. He had a bag with him, and he too was wearing his uniform. He came to stand next to Katsuki and Eijirou. Kaminari waved at him and Shouto greeted him with a nod.

"Alright." Aizawa said. "Is everyone ready?"

"Why's Shinsou here?" Kaminari asked.

"He's sitting the exam too." Aizawa said. "I've been trying to approve him to join the class to replace Mineta. Nezu has agreed that this will be his assessment to see if he can join us."

"Did you know about this?" Katsuki asked Shinsou, who shrugged.

"I knew it was a possibility. But it was only confirmed this morning." Shinsou said. "I feel really underprepared."

"Damn." Kirishima said.

"You'll be okay." Katsuki said. "Just try your best."

"Yeah, I will."

"That's all I ask off of you." Aizawa responded. "There will be multiple chances again in the future to take it again. Remember, all of you are taking it much sooner than you normally would."

"Yes Sensei." The class chorused.

"That being said, you should all be ready for this exam, as I have given you all of the tools needed to pass it. Remember you represent U.A. and right now we could use all of the good publicity we can get. Understood?"

"Yes." The class repeated.

"Alright, on the coach." Aizawa said.

Thanks to Iida they sat in a similar manner to their in-class seating chart, the way they sat when heading to the USJ for the first time. That meant Katsuki was between the window and Jirou. She promptly began to listen to music. Katsuki didn't blame her.

"Oi, Kacchan. Are you nervous for the exam?" Kaminari asked.

"No." Katsuki said.

"Are you sure? You look nervous." Sero called from the back of the bus.

"How do you know? You can't see me." Katsuki said.

"Are you admitting that you are, in fact, nervous?" Kaminari asked.

"Fuck off, I'm not fucking nervous." Katsuki growled.

"See, that sounds exactly like what a nervous person would say." Kaminari said.

"I'll take my fucking hearing aids out." Katsuki sad.

"You can still hear me if I talk loud enough."

"Shut up."

"Nope."

"Shinsou use your Quirk on him or something." Katsuki snapped.

"I'm not allowed." Shinsou replied, somewhat forlornly.

"Fuck you both." Katsuki growled.

"Everyone, calm down." Aizawa said from the front of the coach. "Save your energy for the exam."

"Exactly, listen to him, fuckers." Katsuki grumbled.

"Bakugou, watch your language during the exam please." Aizawa said tiredly.

"Yeah, Yeah." Katsuki said, resting his head against the window.

Both of his parents had text him that morning, wishing him good luck and making his promise to behave himself. Katsuki had rolled his eyes at the statement. He'd behave as long as everyone else did. His uncle, Masaru's brother, and both sets of grandparents had also sent their well wishes, clogging up Katsuki's phone with words of encouragement.

His phone vibrated with yet another message and Katsuki scowled. What other family member had come out of the woodwork to text him this time? He was somewhat surprised to see it was Hakamata, not his family, who had messaged him.

He had sent a picture of three or four sheets of paper. At first Katsuki couldn't read what was on the paper, that was until he zoomed in. "Work Studies Sidekick Application" was printed across the top in bold.

From Hakamata Tsunagu:

It's all here for you when you pass.

Katsuki smiled softly at the message.

From Bakugou Katsuki:

You really think I'll pass?

From Hakamata Tsunagu:

Of course I do.

But if you don't, it'll still be waiting for when you do.

Once they were at the venue for the exam, things got hectic. As soon as they were out of the coach they were surrounded by throngs of students, all trying to get a look at them. There was one asshole who tried to wish them well, but his smile didn't quiet reach his eyes. He'd tried to touch Katsuki, making him snap and forcing Kirishima to instinctively apologise on his behalf.

Katsuki scowled at that. There was no need to apologise, nothing he said was untrue. This boy, who ever he was, could not be trusted. This was an exam after all, it was a competition.

He came with an annoying turquoise haired woman, who was both somehow louder and more excitable than Present Mic. Which was a feat that Katsuki didn't know was possible. She flirted with Aizawa, either not knowing the man was gay and married, or not caring. Either way, it amused Katsuki slightly to see his teacher continuously have to put her down.

On top of all of that, there was another fucker who just couldn't keep his nose out. Just as the class had come together, in some little show of comradery, to annoyingly parrot the school motto, he came up behind them and shouted. He was a big goliath of a man, but his stupid uniform told him he was from Shiketsu.

Katsuki had briefly, briefly, entertained the idea of applying for Shiketsu. It had been shortly after the Sludge Villain incident and he had doubted himself. Of course, he had quickly come to his senses, knowing that U.A. was the only school for him. That and hats really weren't his style.

Aizawa had once again reaffirmed his class, offering them all a rare half smile before ushering them to get changed. Katsuki hated the fact that they were forced to change along side the other school. It made him feel vulnerable and claustrophobic.

Jeanist had made several little changed to Katsuki's costume over the weeks. The biggest being his trousers. They were a lot less baggy than he originally had wanted, but he'd gotten used to the way they now clung to his legs. Plus, they made his arse look great, which Eijirou enjoyed very much.

He had also embroidered the words "Genius Agency" into the left cuff of the trousers, which thankfully no one could see when he wore his boots, as well as on the inside of his shirt. Katsuki could help but think back to when Aizawa had mentioned Jeanist plastering him in a "property of Hakamata Tsunagu" sticker, well the man had actually gone one further and practically sewn it into him.

He had asked before hand and Katsuki didn't mind. He liked the idea of belonging to an agency, the idea that someone wanted him in a professional capacity. That and the trousers were comfy, especially just to lounge around in.

Shinsou changed into his P.E. uniform next to him, his cheeks tinged pink as he looked around him at other people's costumes.

"I hope I pass this, just to get a real hero costume." He muttered.

"You got any ideas for one?" Katsuki asked.

"A few, nothing's really set in stone. It's got to work well with my support items."

"You have support items?" Kirishima asked. Shinsou nodded, opening his bag wider so they could see inside.

"Is that Aizawa's scarf?" Sero asked.

"Not his exact one but it's the same material. He's been training me to use it." Shinsou said.

"Are you any good?" Kaminari asked.

"I'm okay." Shinsou shrugged. "I need more practice."

"What's that?" Sero pointed to another item in the bag.

"A mask."

"What's it do?" Kaminari asked.

"You'll see."

"I'm looking forward to a chance to use my new pointer and shooter." Kaminari said. "It helps me aim my electricity." Shinsou nodded at his enthusiasm.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Iida called from the door. "We must all get into position and wait for further instruction."

"Yeah, Iida, let's go." Katsuki said. "Let's show these fucking extras how badass 1A are."

"So manly." Kirishima laughed. The boys began to leave the changing room, after securing all of their belongings in lockers. However, as Katsuki was leaving, his hand was grabbed, and he was pulled back.

"Eijirou?" Katsuki asked as his boyfriend pulled him flush against his body.

"I just wanted to say good luck out there." He said softly. "I know you don't need it, but I wanted to say it anyway."

"Good luck to you too." Katsuki said. He smiled. He had to twisted his head more than usual to kiss Eijirou's lips due to the mask he wore to protect his nose. "We'll win this together, Red."

"Yeah, together."

AN/ thanks to those of you who reviewed. I hadn't recieved a comment in four chapters so I was starting to get worried.