It was 5AM the following morning, and class 1-A was hard at work. Everyone continuously pushed their quirks to their maximum stamina limits, and Ai was no exception. As she manipulated her own body cells in order to maintain a sprint across the mountainous terrain, her goal was to get a hand on each of her fellow peers. Every contact restored their lifeforce while simultaneously draining hers. It was up to willpower at this point for her not to drop dead.

"Damn it!" Bakugo roared as he lifted his hands from the hot water barrel and shot up an explosion from his palms. When the exhaustion was hitting him, he barely noticed the touch on his arm until the familiar feeling of healing warmth surged throughout his body. The scowl didn't leave his face when he looked down at Ai. "Who the hell said I needed your help?!" It took a lot out of Ai just to retaliate, but she still did so out of impulse.

"You sure looked like you needed it," Ai said, giving a short chuckle before Bakugo grabbed her collar. She made no effort to get out of his hold, for she took the moment to get her breathing under control.

"Damn pipsqueak," Bakugo growled, though he stopped any other threats once he got a good look at Ai. The elevations of her chest were inconsistent, and she seemed like she could collapse at any given moment despite the determination on her face. "Don't you dare pass out on me." His other hand grabbed Ai's elbow and steadied her on her feet. "Carrying you is just gonna be another pain in my ass." His complaint was met with a toothy grin once he released her collar, though his grip on her arm remained.

"We've got each other's backs, right?" Ai remembered their ten month long workout montage at the park. After overdoing it on occasion, Bakugo would piggyback Ai to her old apartment whenever her legs no longer functioned correctly. It was those vulnerable times that changed her perspective of the cold hearted middle schooler, and in turn, changed Bakugo's perspective of Ai as well.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, fully letting her go.

After their separation, the trickiest students Ai had to get to were the ones who had long range quirks. Aizawa advised to stay away from Tokoyami because it was too dangerous for her to go into the cave herself, and when it came to Todoroki, Ai had to find the right timing so that she wasn't frozen or burnt to death. She opted for recreating the shoes from the obstacle course at the UA sports festival, running over the ice cast out from Todoroki's spot. He refrained from mindlessly summoning fire once he noticed how close she was. Ai dropped to her knees next to his bathwater bucket, and Todoroki let out a slow simmer from his left side to carefully melt the ice she rested on. The two were panting from their overexertion, but Ai still managed to reach out and grip his left hand that dangled out of the bucket, giving a tired smile when the fatigue melted away from his face.

Todoroki wanted to properly thank Ai for restoring his energy, but his voice caught in his throat when her head fell on his shoulder. Her hand was about to drop from its grasp, but Todoroki intertwined their fingers and kept a tight grip on her. Though her eyes were closed, he knew that she wasn't unconscious yet. "You need to rest," he finally said, to which he could feel her shaking her head.

"Everyone's," Ai panted, "giving it… their all…" She let out a relieved sigh when Todoroki reached over with his right hand and placed a cooling sensation on her burning forehead. "I can't slack now, Ice King. Especially not now." She finally opened her eyes when Todoroki subconsciously brushed her bangs to the side, dropping his right hand back onto the edge of the bucket. If it weren't for her already flushed face, the prolonged eye contact would have done the trick. "I, um… I should… go…"

"Yeah," Todoroki said, though unwavering of his grip on her hand. However, Ai soon felt something wrap around her arms and waist, hoisting her body up and away from Todoroki's bucket and onto her feet.

"Did you mistake this training camp for a dating camp?" Aizawa's voice was deathly low as he glared at the two students, releasing Ai from his scarf's hold, and watching her posture immediately straighten.

"No sensei," Ai exclaimed, quickly bowing as the surge of adrenaline from her newly driven fear gave her the energy to run again. "Sorry sensei!" She left just as quickly as she spoke, causing the teacher to sigh at her disappearing figure. He glanced back at Todoroki, who was also staring in the direction of Ai's form.

"Get back to work," Aizawa said.

"Hai," Todoroki said, his gaze dropping back to his lap as he slammed a hand down against the bucket, once again summoning between ice and fire with his reestablished energy.

Eventually, class 1-B joined the hero course in their training. When it was finally time for dinner, Bakugo's prediction had been correct, and he was holding onto a barely conscious Ai that lied against his back. "You were barely making it through with our class," Bakugo growled, his low voice only audible to her as it was drowned out by the groans of the other students. "The hell did you expect to happen when you try to heal every damn extra here?!" Ai gripped onto his shirt, the only force she could currently manage as her chin rested on his shoulder.

"I'll heal everyone," Ai said. "I won't let anyone drop before I do." A squeal escaped her lips when Bakugo's hold underneath her legs released, and her bum hit the ground. Ai wanted to glare up at him, but her gaze softened at the sight of his hand.

"Get up," Bakugo said. "You'll only look weak if I keep carrying you." Although it was more effort on Bakugo's part to get Ai on her feet, he did everything within his power to make her keep walking. It was because she was determined that he was hard on her. It was because she was strong that he assisted her. It was because, even though he didn't want to admit it, she meant a lot to him that he let her go, for he was aware of the bicolored gaze that had been watching them.

Ai had a slight limp as she continued, and because of that, she was less focused on her surroundings. As she leaned on Bakugo to join everyone with the dinner preparations, she was oblivious when he had turned his attention away from her. Bakugo's stare met Todoroki's, and the two glared at each other for very long seconds. However, as much as the sight of Half and Half pissed Bakugo off, it was the sight of Ai's smile that overwhelmed him even more so.

She likes Icy Hot. Bakugo had come to this conclusion a long time ago. It was never his goal to date anyone. It was never his intention to even like anyone. Hell, he never even thought he'd have a close friend who was a girl. He wasn't going to let anything or anyone get in the way of his path to becoming the number one hero. He held onto this aspiration… a little too tightly. It's better this way, Bakugo thought.

Why did I have to like her in the first place?

The following day was rougher on everyone's bodies because they were supposed to overexert themselves on top of prior fatigue. However, they were relieved to hear that the nighttime activities were going to be a more creative and fun venture. Or so they thought.

It was class 1-B versus class 1-A tonight: those who scared versus those to be scared. Five of class 1-A's students were to attend extra lessons with Aizawa, therefore splitting the remaining students in equal partners for the first time. Ai was glad to have been partnered up with Midoriya, unaware of the rising tension between two certain boys.

When it was Bakugo and Todoroki's turn to walk through the forest haunted by class 1-B, a heavy silence weighed on them until Bakugo felt as if he were about to burst. However, just as the blond opened his mouth, Todoroki spoke first.

"I like Ai." Todoroki spoke casually with his hands in his pockets as he stared down the almost raging Bakugo.

"Do you think I give a damn about who you like?!" Heat was radiating off of Bakugo's body, and it took everything within his power to not shove an explosion down Todoroki's throat.

"No," Todoroki said, "if it wasn't Ai." His statement merely made more veins pop up on Bakugo's skin. "I wouldn't be bringing this up if I wasn't sure that you like her too, but it's pretty obvious that you do."

"Stop talking like you know me," Bakugo exclaimed. Todoroki's expression was unphased even as Bakugo approached and snatched him by the collar.

"I don't know much about you," Todoroki responded, "but you're pretty transparent. You want to be the number one hero. You'll crush anyone who stands in your way. You hate being looked down on. You. Like. Ai." When Bakugo's grip tightened, that's when Todoroki's hand came up and grabbed his wrist. "The only thing I can't figure out is your intention with her." Bakugo could feel the stinging sensation of ice against his skin. "If you plan on being anything more to her than just a friend," Todoroki ripped Bakugo's hand off of his shirt and pushed it away, "know that I won't lose to you."

It was the declaration of war that Bakugo had wanted back at the sports festival. It made his blood boil, for not only was this the wrong reason he wanted to be challenged, but Todoroki's words made Bakugo's previous epiphany of letting Ai go that much more regrettable. A mad grin spread across Bakugo's lips, one that brought to life his sharp canines underneath the moonlight.

"If you think I'll lose to you," Bakugo declared, "then you can think again, damn Half and Half bastard."

A head popped out of the ground that cut their conversation short, making both boys freeze up and stare absentmindedly at it. It was the very first time that they both agreed on something: walk away.

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read and giving your opinion (: You can also find this story by searching its title on these other platforms, or going to my profiles:

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