Katsuki stirred the miso soup as Eijirou came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist, kissing his neck. Katsuki leant into the touch, tilting his head to give Eijirou better access. The redhead pressed feather light kisses over healing bruises and bitemarks.

"You two are fucking disgusting." Hitoshi said, taking a bite of his toast. "Some of us are trying to eat."

"You're disgusting, talking with your mouth full." Eijirou said.

"Says you." Hitoshi snorted. "I'm surprised you haven't accidentally bitten through Katsuki's carotid artery."

"That is a legitimate concern." Katsuki mumbled, stirring the soup. Eijirou laughed into Katsuki's shoulder, an adorable sound that made the blond's heart ache, this boy was too pure. "What's up with you anyway? You're not normally up this early."

"Technically I never went to bed." Shinsou replied. "I helped tidy up after the party and then kinda just hung around. I couldn't sleep."

"Oh." Eijirou said. "How come?"

"Insomnia's a bitch." Hitoshi shrugged. "I hung out with Denki a bit, before he went to bed. I'll go up and try again in a bit. I'll eventually pass out."

"You should go to Recovery Girl, get some pills or something."

"She gave me some, but they give me headaches. I'd rather just be tired." Hitoshi said. "You're not normally up this early, are you Kirishima?"

"I get up with Katsu', have breakfast with him and then go back to bed for an hour or so after he leaves." Eijirou replied.

"Lazy." Katsuki teased. "How's the rice doing?" Eijirou glanced over to the rice cooker, shrugging.

"Fine, I think."

"Do you want some soup, Hitoshi?"

"Erm, sure, might be weird with jam." Hitoshi laughed, taking another bite of his toast. Katsuki served up the food, giving a bowl to the two other boys and handing one to Shouto when he came downstairs.

"Erg, all you morning people are annoying." Hitoshi grumbled. Shouto frowned, clearly confused by the statement.

"Thanks Katsuki." Shouto said. Katsuki shrugged, his phone vibrating in his pocket.

From Hawks:

Bring ur hero cstme

From Bakugou:

Learn to spell.

From Hawks

Rood

From Bakugou:

I will hurt you.

From Hawks:

Fine.

Good morrow, good Sir, if pleases you, I require you to bring the costume in which you perform hero duties into work with you today. It will make training all the more appropriate.

Regards,

Takami Keigo

From Bakugou:

Asshole.

From Hawks:

There's no pleasing you.

From Bakugou:

I'll bring the damn costume.

From Hawks:

Yay.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, tucking his phone away. Eijirou watched.

"Who was that?"

"Hawks, he wants me to bring my hero costume." Katsuki said.

"Oh, you'll be doing some proper training then?" Shouto asked and Katsuki shrugged.

"I don't know." Katsuki said. "Hawks is weird as fuck."

"Is he?" Shouto asked. "I know he sometimes works with my Father."

"He's a good guy, just a little intense, you know? Excitable." Katsuki said. "But that makes sense if you think about it. He didn't really have a childhood."

"I can relate." Shouto huffed.

"Maybe you can be friends." Eijirou said, Shouto hummed.

After eating, Katsuki went back up to his room to get changed for work. Eijirou followed him, climbing back into the bed. He buried his head in the pillows, watching Katsuki with one eye.

"I don't remember the last time I slept in my bed." Eijirou laughed.

"Neither do I." Katsuki replied.

"Does it bother you? That I sleep here, not in my room?"

"No. Eiji, I struggle to sleep without you. I love sleeping together, cuddling and waking up together." Katsuki said. "I mean, if you want to go back to your room, I understand, but, I like you here." Eijirou smiled.

"I like being here too. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't annoying you, taking up your space and what not."

"I don't mind." Katsuki said, putting on his neckerchief. He leant down, kissing Eijirou. "Love you."

"Love you too." Eijirou said.

Katsuki turned to pet Hoshi who was sat on his desk. She purred as he ran his hand down her body. Katsuki bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Love you three, Hoshi." He said, cupping her face in his hands, running his thumbs over her ears. Her purrs grew louder.

"Pass her here, I want to cuddle her." Eijirou said, pulling the duvet back. Katsuki picked Hoshi up, causing her to meow. He placed her on to the bed. Eijirou wrapped the duvet around her, pulling her into a hug; the purring started up again almost immediately.

"Bye, Red" Katsuki said, heading towards the door.

"Bye Kitsune." Eijirou replied, Katsuki huffed.

All Might was waiting for him, outside of the dorms, in his car. Katsuki climbed in, blushing, putting his hero costume case in the footwell.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Katsuki said.

"It's fine, Young Bakugou. I wasn't waiting long." All Might said.

"Oh, okay."

"I wanted to apologise to you." All Might said as they started to drive. "Recovery Girl has pointed out to me that I should be more attentive when supervising fights. I should have stepped in before either you or young Midoriya got seriously hurt."

"I didn't mind you not stepping in." Katsuki shrugged. "I think you were right, Izuku and I needed to fight uninhibited. He needed the confidence boost of beating me, and I needed to lose to know how to improve."

"I see." All Might said "I will admit, I wanted to see how far young Midoriya progressed. I wanted to see how he was learning."

"He's come a long way." Katsuki agreed.

"So have you, Young Bakugou." All Might said. "Maybe in a different way, but there's a lot more to being a hero than physical strength and combat skill."

"I know. Fighting has always been something I'm good at, and I know that if we were outside, I would have been able to use more of my strength; bigger moves that would have taken him out. I need to work on being quicker, more precise." Katsuki said. "I've spent a lot of time working on myself, mentally, getting myself to a happier, more stable place. I know that I needed to do that, and I know I've benefited from it. I still have issues, they're not just going to go away. But I know how to deal with them, how to be a better person."

"You've worked hard, and I promise you, it'll pay off." All Might said. "You're a smart boy, with a lot of talent and determination. You'll go far."

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you." Katsuki said.

"I mean every word of it."

Every interaction Katsuki had with All Might was surreal. He'd managed, somewhat, to let go of the guilt he felt over All Might's retirement, knowing there wasn't much that would have stopped All Might from losing his Quirk. But at the same time, to receive praise and direction from his former idol, well… it was strange. Katsuki didn't really know how to talk to the man, and every conversation ended up as some motivational speech.

"Thanks, All Might." Katsuki said when he got out of the car.

"You're welcome, Young Bakugou." All Might said. "Is Hakamata-san bringing you back?"

"I believe so." Katsuki said.

"Let me know if you need me to pick you up."

"I will. Thank you." Katsuki said, nodding slightly and closing the car door. All Might offered him a wave before he went inside of Genius. Thimble was on the phone and his desk, he looked somewhat annoyed, writing things aggressively in a notebook.

"I apologise, Sir. If you return the product Genius is willing to offer a full refund." Thimble said, nodding as the person on the other end of the phone spoke. "No, I can't do that. You have to return the product in order to get a refund. If you wish to keep the product, we're done here." Katsuki approached the desk, Thimble smiled up at him.

"No you listen here, Sir. Our jeans are tested under extreme conditions, the denim is top of the range and is exposed to intense heat and cold, soaked in water, acid and other liquids. They are designed for comfort and wear ability for people of a variety of Quirks. There is no way your pair got ripped in postage." Thimble snapped.

"Here's what I believe has happened. You've bought a pair of jeans you don't want to pay for, and now you're trying to pull a fast one. You can't have the clothes and your money back."

Katsuki cocked his head to the side as he watched Thimble.

"You want to speak to my manager? I am the fucking manager." Thimble said before slamming the phone back into the receiver, turning to smile at Katsuki again. "Good morning Bakugou."

"Thimble." Bakugou nodded. "Having fun?"

"Oh, yeah. Dealing with assholes is part of my job." Thimble said with a shrug. "I mean technically refunds are Needles' job, but my phone is the main number, so they get me first, and I weed out the assholes. Because Needles is a stressed bean who does too much."

"I see." Katsuki said. "Everyone upstairs?"

"Nah, Jeanist, Fallacy and Transcript are out, some case. Spectre and Sleuth should be patrolling soon." Thimble said. "Hawks is scheduled to come in later."

"Oh. Hakamata's allowed to work in the field?"

"Not really, he's interviewing someone or something. I don't know." Thimble said. "Flash is waiting for you though."

"Okay, thanks Thim." Katsuki said, heading towards the stairs as the phone began to ring. Thimble picked it up.

"Hello, Genius Agency and Fashion House, Thimble speaking, how can I help?" He said in an overly cheerful voice before his demeanour shifting. "Yes it's "this bitch" again, who else did you expect, it's the same number, idiot."

Katsuki snorted going up to the office. As Thimble had said, Spectre and Sleuth were preparing to leave for patrol. Flashback was at his computer, Ezume stood next to him, holding Cashmere. Katsuki ruffled Ezume's hair as he passed, the boy squawked in protest. Katsuki laughed, petting Cashmere before going to his seat.

"Don't get comfortable." Flashback said, "We're training."

"We are?"

"Yep, all day. You've got me, then Hawks and then Hakamata if you feel up to it." Flashback said.

"Yeah, I can do that. Hakamata is coming back then?"

"Yeah, he's got to come get this little guy." Ezume said, stroking Cashmere behind the ear.

"Yeah, he's just gone to interview someone for a case." Flash said.

"Pulse?"

"No." Flashback sighed. "The Commission, the new one, have recommended that Genius remove themselves from the case. Due to the break in at U.A. they believe we should distance ourselves. Hakamata agreed… Officially."

"Officially?"

"Pulse made it personal, Bakugou, there's no way he'd let it go." Flashback said. "On paper, Edgeshot has regained sole control over the mission. But he keeps us in the loop."

"Oh okay." Katsuki frowned. "I guess I'll go and change."

"I'll meet you there in a second." Flashback nodded.

Katsuki went and changed quickly before heading into the training room, being tripped up by Sleuth as they passed one another. Katsuki glowered at her as she cackled like a mad woman. He went into the training room and began to do several warmups stretches.

He felt a little over dressed in his hero costume, but he hadn't brought his normal gym clothes, he hadn't seen the point. Besides Flashback was wearing his costume. It wasn't weird. Right?

Flashback came in after around ten minutes, looking a little flustered.

"Sorry, I had to go sort out a situation downstairs, someone staring a fight with Thim."

"The guy who wanted a refund?"

"Yes, Thim was three seconds away from shoving a cactus down his throat."

"He came in?"

"And got a legal disciplinary for it." Flashback said, throwing a blindfold at Katsuki. "Put that on." Katsuki complied, tying the fabric over his eyes. "I just want to go through some Shotokan Katas with you. I know your form is pretty perfect normally, I want to see how or if that changes when you can't see."

"Should it?"

"Technically no, you don't necessarily look at yourself when performing these moves, however blindfolding yourself may change your balance and thus how comfortable you are performing each Kata." Flashback said. "I'm assuming you know them all? I've seen you train with them but…"

"I've been doing martial arts almost all of my life. Yeah, I know them." Katsuki said.

"Brilliant." Flashback said.

The training was tedious. Katsuki grew bored relatively quickly. He was so over the whole being blindfolded thing. He got that it was supposed to help, and he had to admit, it did push his awareness further. It was annoying not being able to see.

Flashback would randomly call out the name of a Kata and Katsuki would have approximately two seconds to get into position before the sidekick would snap at him for taking too long. Flashback would then correct his form, if he needed it, which he often didn't.

Occasionally, Flashback would hit him, or kick at his legs, to test his awareness. Thankfully, Katsuki was able to feel the slight changes in air movement and hear the rustle of clothes before Flash stuck, allowing him enough time to move out of the way or block.

"I hate how fast you learn." Flashback grumbled, pulling Katsuki's blindfold up, making the other hiss with the sudden light burning his eyes. "Every week you go further than I expected."

"I just did what you told me to?" Katsuki asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I know. But I kind of wanted you to be bad at it." Flashback said with a laugh. "I'll admit it, I'm jealous of you, Bakugou. You have this big flashy Quirk and this amazing drive to learn. You have this passion and the ability to apply yourself completely."

"I just work hard." Katsuki said, shrugging.

"I know. And no one can take that away from you." Flashback said. "You're a very bright boy, I'm glad Hakamata offered you a place with us. Even if you're learning what took me years in a matter of weeks."

"I have a great teacher." Katsuki shrugged again.

"Flattery will get you everywhere with me." Flashback said. "Put your blindfold back on, we're going to spar."

Now that went as well as anyone expected. Katsuki was able to apply what he had learnt from Flashback a little, but in reality it was just a session for Flash to beat the shit out of Katsuki. Of course, the sidekick was gentle, and Katsuki was in no way hurt.

The was a large difference between practicing fighting stances and positions blind, and fighting blind. But Katsuki managed to keep his balance, for the most of it. He even managed to hit Flashback twice.

"I feel like you have an unfair advantage." Katsuki said, dodging another blow. At least he thought he was, he had no real way of knowing.

"If you're having to use this training, you're not in a fair fight." Flashback retorted, kicking Katsuki in the stomach, just hard enough to push him back.

"I guess." Katsuki panted. "But still."

"Stop for a second." Flashback said, pulling off Katsuki blindfold off once again, tying it over his own eyes. "Okay, carry on."

Katsuki hesitated for a moment before lunging at Flash, who dodged easily. Katsuki grunted as he was kicked in the back, falling forwards onto his hands and knees. He stumbled onto his feet, barely missing another blow.

He went to punch Flashback's shoulder, but before his fist could make contact a hand grabbed his wrist, tightening around him. Flashback kicked Katsuki's feet out from underneath him, using the grip on his wrist to twist him in the air. Pain shot through his shoulder at the action, making him yelp as his back met the floor with a crash.

Flashback stopped, lifting the blindfold.

"Are you okay?" he asked, staring down at him.

"My shoulder. It'll be fine." Katsuki said, shaking his head, standing up.

"That's enough for today, but I proved my point, right? It can be done; I'm not trying to force you to do the impossible."

"I know it's possible. I've seen you train like it before." Katsuki said, massaging his shoulder. "It's just difficult."

"Well, everyone would do it if it was easy." Flashback teased. "I'm impressed though. Sorry if I hurt your arm?"

"It's fine." Katsuki said, rolling his shoulders back. "You should have seen the other week where I almost died in training." He snorted. "Technically I can join Jeanist's little punctured lung club. Obviously, mine wasn't as severe as his and could be healed by Recovery Girl, but still."

"Training at U.A. is fucked." Flashback shook his head. "Speaking of training, get a drink and a snack. Hawks wants you."

Katsuki did as he was told, going to his back and draining his water bottle, before heading over to the kitchen area to fill it back up. Hawks came in behind him whilst he was eating a cereal bar. Katsuki waved at him half-heartedly as he chewed, Hawks smiled.

"You better drink all of that, because I'm going to be pushing your Quirk."

"In here?" Katsuki said. "It wouldn't be safe."

"On the roof, silly, how else can you fly?" Hawks said, his feathers ruffling behind him. "Let's go, Chick."

"Chick?"

"Well I've been calling you Fledgling, but they can fly so…"

"Really leaning into the whole bird thing?" Katsuki asked, following Hawks to the stairs that led to the roof.

"Might as well." Hawks shrugged, tucking his wings in tighter to fit up the stairs. Katsuki followed after, having to wait a few seconds so he wouldn't have a mouthful of feathers.

The wind was biting when they got to the roof of Genius. It wasn't the tallest building around but it was tall enough. At least that's what Katsuki thought. Hawks didn't agree.

"This won't do at all." He said before walking behind Katsuki, grabbing his forearms.

"What the fuck are you—" Katsuki cut himself off when Hawks jumped into the air, wings flapping hard to get lift, carrying Katsuki with him.

Katsuki would deny he squeaked until his dying day.

Hawks flew up to a taller high-rise just a few streets away. Katsuki screwed his eyes shut and tried not to imagine what would happen if Hawks dropped him. They were nearly the same height after all, Hawk just a quarter of an inch taller.

Before Katsuki knew it, he was being plonked on the roof of another building. He squeaked again, as his knees hit the concrete.

"You're lighter than I thought you'd be." Hawks said.

"Fuck you." Katsuki panted.

"Well, that's just rude." Hawks sniffed, his wings twitching. "Sorry, probably should have asked before I picked you up."

"It would have been nice." Katsuki frowned, rising to full height. "Asshole."

"We need to be high up to practice flying." Hawks shrugged.

"Do we have to be so high?" Katsuki said, looking over the edge. The cars looked tiny, more like toys then any real vehicle.

"Mhm." Hawks hummed. "If we're not high enough you won't be able to stabilise yourself in the air. You'll go splat." He smacked his hands together, as if to illustrate his point. Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the action.

"Nice." He sighed.

"The higher you are, the easier it'll be for you to catch the wind." Hawks said, stretching out his wings.

"What would I need to catch the wind for?"

"In this world, you fly or you die, bitch."

"Why?" Katsuki asked.

Hawks huffed, walking up to Katsuki, the teen watching, taking a step back slightly. He looked over his shoulder, seeing how close he was to the edge.

"Sorry about this, Kiddo." Hawks said.

"Wha—"

Katsuki yelped as Hawks pushed him off the roof.

Panic spiked through his as he fell through the air. His body turned in the air. Katsuki screwed his eyes shut and tried to think. He tried to right his position, find the ground, figure out which way the sky was.

He struggled to focus. The wind rush by his ears and he felt sick. Sweat pooled in his palms and Katsuki set off his Quirk, blindly trying to slow his descent. Explosions altered his path, forcing him into the concrete of another building. He yelped and continued to fall.

A rustling of feathers and a hand on the back of his shirt startled him. He was suddenly yanked up wards, being pulled through the air until he was once again placed on the roof of the building. He lay on the floor, panting heavily. His entire body was shaking.

"What the actual fuck, Keigo?" Katsuki spat.

"It's how baby birds are taught to fly."

"I am not a fucking bird."

"I wanted to see what you'd do." Hawks said. "You kinda just panicked."

"No shit." Katsuki forced himself to his feet. "I can't believe you just pushed me off the fucking roof.

"If it makes you feel any better, I did exactly the same thing to Tokoyami. Dark Shadow saved him before I had to."

"You're a dick, you know that?"

"I'd gathered as much." Hawks shrugged. "But here's what I learnt."

"You learnt shit from your attempted murder."

"Oh hush." Hawks said. "You have absolutely no control when you're in the air."

"I could have told you that."

"You believe you need to use your Quirk to change your direction. You don't."

"What?"

"Ok so, you need to see your Quirk as an accelerant, not a stirring system. Okay? Think of jet planes and stuff, does the engine steer it? No. The way you need to turn and stuff is through shifting your body weight, leaning in other directions."

"I don't know how to do that." Katsuki said.

"That's what I'm here." Takami said. "Use gravity to your advantage. You'll waste energy hovering and stuff, I don't think it would be an efficient way for your to move, however, if you get high and you use your Quirk to move laterally across the sky instead of trying to maintain height."

"I see." Katsuki nodded.

"You can also use your Quirk to increase the speed of turns and stuff. You'll get quicker with time, but for now, I think we should try and get the basics down." Takami said. "We should try and get you from here, down to the floor safely. Use your Quirk to blast downwards to slow your descent. No big blasts, just small and frequent, until you get to a height you can drop without hurting yourself."

"Okay."

"I'll fly next to you and I'll catch you if you need me again."

"So you just want me to jump off the roof?" Katsuki asked.

"Yep." Hawks said, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Why? You scared?"

"You'll catch me, right?"

"Of course." Hawks said, stilling and suddenly becoming serious. "I'm sorry I scared you. I won't let you get hurt. I'll either catch you or use my feathers."

"Okay." Katsuki said, standing to look over the edge of the roof. He felt sick, he'd told Izuku to do this. To take a swan dive off of an admittedly lower roof. And now he was going to do it. Of course he wouldn't die, if Hawks kept his word at least, but still.

"We could try something different if you don't want to try?" Hawks said.

"No. I can do it." Katsuki said.

"Take your time." Hawks said.

Katsuki growled, taking a deep breath in and stepped off the roof. He was falling again, this time much more controlled. He heard Hawks jump off of the building, following behind. Katsuki placed his hands by his side, setting off a series of smaller explosions, just as Hawks had said. They gave him a lot more control than he'd previously had.

It was difficult. Too big of an explosion would send him shooting up too far, too small of an explosion wouldn't slow him down enough. Katsuki's heart beat fast in his chest, painfully so and he found it hard to breath. But eventually he reached the ground.

Hawks landed next to him seconds later. He was smiling. Katsuki breathed heavily, his body shaking with adrenaline. Hawks put a hand on his shoulder.

"You did it." Hawks said.

"That or I died and this is the afterlife."

"Pretty shit afterlife." Hawks mused,

"Yeah, especially if you're in it with me." Katsuki said,

"You know what, I don't think I like you."

"Aw the feeling's mutual." Katsuki said.

"Seriously though, well done. You wanna go again?"

They repeated the exercise a few more times, Hawks even helping Katsuki fly up to the roof with explosions in between. It was a tiring process, and a slow one. But Katsuki got used to it, he was able to do what was expected of him at least. By the end, when Hawks got bored, Katsuki was tired and his arms hurt, especially the one Flashback had injured earlier.

The two of them flew back to Genius' office, Katsuki having to do as Hawks said and direct his body by shifting his weight. But he did it. When they got back to the main floor Katsuki was cold, and sleepy, as well as in desperate need of a shower.

"Katsuki, with me." Hakamata called as soon as he saw him emerge from the staircase. "We're training."

"But I'm tired." Katsuki whined.

"Tough." Hakamata retorted.

"But Dad…"

"Nope, that's not going to work."

"Fuck you." Katsuki grumbled.

"Training room, now. Go." Hakamata said, putting his hand on Katsuki's shoulder, guiding him to the training room.

"Hah." Hawks pointed and laughed.

"Keigo, go home,"

"But Dad…" Hawks whined and Tsunagu rolled his eyes.

"You know what, do what you want."

Katsuki sighed, trudging into the glass walled room. Hakamata followed him, Hawks disappearing to God knows where.

"What are we doing?" Katsuki asked.

"Take off your boots." Hakamata said in lieu of answering. "Just put them over there." He pointed to the corner. Tsunagu was wearing some thick yoga pants and a cotton T-shirt, no shoes. Katsuki did as he was told.

It felt very strange to be wearing his hero costume without his boots, but he didn't protest. Katsuki joined Tsunagu in the middle of the room.

"We're going to spar. Hand to hand, no Quirks."

"Okay." Katsuki nodded. The two of them had never sparred before, with or without Quirks. During his internship, Tsunagu didn't want to encourage displays of aggression and since the start of his employment Hakamata had been too injured to train physically. "Have you been cleared by your doctor?"

"You're worse than Fallacy and Flashback combined." Tsunagu snorted. "Yes, I've been cleared, for light physical training. So just don't actually try and hurt me."

"Okay." Katsuki said, stifling a yawn.

"I've been thinking, since you came here, you've worked on you issues regarding your neck being touched."

"Yeah?"

"Well you've been wearing things tighter around your neck; your tie, your neckerchief, etcetera." Tsunagu said. "I want to try pushing you further."

"Meaning?" Katsuki asked.

"The objective of our training, is for me to choke you. You have to try and avoid me." Tsunagu said simply. "Once I get a hold of you, tap my arm twice and I'll let you go, that is if you don't want to try and free yourself, that is."

"Okay." Katsuki said.

"Are you comfortable with this?"

"Not really, but I wasn't comfortable with jumping off the roof either, but Hawks made me do that."

"I'm not even going to ask." Tsunagu said with a laugh. "You ready?"

"Let's do this."

Hakamata Tsunagu was deceptively strong for the string bean he was. He packed a punch and although he was going easy on Katsuki, there was no mistaking who was the Pro. Tsunagu moved with the grace of a ballet dancer, he had full, calculated, control over his long limbs and had the speed and fluidity of a man who had trained for years.

Katsuki, with his Quirk and fully rested, was quicker. But after doing two workouts that day already, and having only a cereal bar for lunch, he wasn't at his best. He tried to fight, but he found himself on the defensive more often than not; dodging Tsunagu's blows and backing up out of his way.

He threw a punch, managing to hit Tsunagu's stomach, but asides from a low grunt, Hakamata stood strong. Katsuki wasn't all that sure how it happened. How his legs had been swept out from under him, how his back was now flush with Tsunagu's chest, how there was an arm around his neck.

There was a moment's hesitation from Hakamata. A fraction of a second were he allowed Katsuki to take a breath before he tightened his grip and cut of Katsuki's oxygen. Almost instinctually, Katsuki's hands went to claw and the flesh of Tsunagu's arms. He dragged his nails across his skin, creating deep red divots.

He tried to twist in his mentor's grip, he kicked at his legs, but Tsunagu wouldn't budge. Katsuki choked, his heart beating fast and his lungs burning. He brought his hand up and tapped over the top of his nail marks. Hakamata immediately let him go.

"Ow." He said softly, looking down at his bloody arm. "Well done."

"I couldn't get out." Katsuki said.

"I didn't expect you to." Hakamata said, still staring at his bloody arm. "But you kept mostly calm and attempted to escape my grip. That's all I wanted."

"Oh." Katsuki said.

"You ready to go again?"

"I suppose." Katsuki said, slipping into a fighting stance.

"I thought you'd show more enthusiasm at finally getting to fight me." Tsunagu laughed.

"Yeah well, my arms hurt and I'm tired, so forgive me for not leaping with joy." Katsuki said. Tsunagu snorted before launching into an attack.

Katsuki kicked out at his mentor, his bare foot slamming into Tsunagu's thigh. Best Jeanist stumbled slightly but he continued his assault. He tripped Katsuki, punching him hard in the stomach. As Katsuki stumbled forwards and Hakamata immediately grabbed him around his throat, squeezing it straight away.

Katsuki elbowed Tsunagu in the ribs, standing on his mentor's foot. The pair of them fell backwards, Katsuki on top of Tsunagu. Still Hakamata's grip on Katsuki's neck didn't waver. The teen tried to use their new position to his advantage and free himself but it didn't work, forcing him to tap out again.

Hakamata rose to his feet as soon as he'd let go of Katsuki, but the teen remained on the floor, panting.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just gonna have a heart attack real quick." Katsuki said, Hakamata snorted.

"Come on, again."

Katsuki pushed himself up and they went again. Three more times they sparred, and three more times Katsuki was choked to the point of tapping out. In the end, Hakamata let them stop, realising to what extent Katsuki was tired.

"Go shower, kiddo, I'll take you home."

"Okay." Katsuki nodded. His legs ached as he stood, trembling slightly. Tsunagu held a hand out, read to grab him if he fell, but he didn't. He made his way to the showers, washing himself completely and changing into his normal clothes.

He went to meet Tsunagu in the main office, the man had changed into jeans and a shirt. He smiled at Katsuki.

"Come on, you ready?" Tsunagu asked.

"Yeah." Katsuki said, walking over to his desk and grabbing his bag. "Where's Cashmere?"

"Hawks took him home." Tsunagu said, as they began to walk out of the building, waving at they passed any other employee still working. The made their way to the carpark, unlocking the car. Katsuki climbed inside, resting his head against the window after putting on his seatbelt.

Tsunagu started the car and began to drive down the road.

"Are you okay? Did I push you too far?"

"I'm fine, just tired." Katsuki sighed, bringing a hand up to rub his face. "I wasn't expecting on doing three workouts today, and then I kind hurt my arm with Flash, and had to use my Quirk loads with Hawks, putting strain on my shoulder. I guess it took more out of my then I thought."

"I see."

"I know being a hero means pushing your limits, Plus Ultra and all that shit but… Maybe I've pushed them enough for today."

"Knowing when to stop is an important skill to have. There's no point destroying yourself in a battle in a vain attempt to try and prove you're strong. An injured hero is another person to rescue, another potential casualty. There's no shame in knowing you need a break."

"I think I'll have a bath when I get in." Katsuki said. "Relax my muscles or whatever."

"The dorms have a bath?"

"Mhm, I don't really use it much… or ever. I've got better things to do than sit in a communal puddle. But it might be good for me."

"It would, take care of yourself." Tsunagu said.

"I will." Katsuki replied, looking out the window. "Where are we going? U.A.'s the other way?"

"We're going for dinner, it's the least I can do." Tsunagu said.

"Oh, thanks."

"No problem."

They went to a sushi restaurant, sitting together in a secluded area at the back of the restaurant. The ordered their food and when it came, the tucked in.

"I wanted to apologise, Katsuki."

"What for?" Katsuki asked

"Ever since you started at Genius, I've been neglecting your needs." Tsunagu said. "I promised you a chance to train, to improve physically, and I haven't done that. Instead I've just got you involved in too many cases and put you in danger."

"I think that's been helping me learn. Maybe not in the way you intended, but I'm learning, nonetheless. I don't think you have to apologise."

"I just… I wanted every week to be like this. You know, different people training you, teaching you different things." Hakamata said.

"You've taught me a lot, Tsunagu. About kindness, about being a better person. That's been invaluable to me." Katsuki said.

"It means a lot that you believe that." Tsunagu said. "I want to help you become the Number One Hero."

"It means a lot that you believe in me." Katsuki said with a smile.

"Always, Katsuki." Tsunagu said softly. "How have you been anyway?"

"I'm okay. We had a Halloween party; I met Eri, Aizawa's kid. She's cute. I think you would have liked everyone's costumes."

"What did people go as?"

"Well Izuku was a ghost, the whole bed sheet with holes cut in it."

"Oh Gods." Tsunagu laughed.

"I was a werewolf, Eiji was Red Riding Hood."

"Genderbent or?"

"No, he wore a dress." Katsuki smiled. "I have no idea where he got it from, but he looked surprisingly good."

"Brilliant." Tsunagu said.

"Yeah, he had a little apron and stockings." Katsuki laughed, "He was cute."

"You light up when you talk about him." Tsunagu said.

"I love him." Katsuki shrugged.

"It's sweet."

"What about you? What have you been doing?"

"Making sure Takami doesn't kill himself with a sugar rush." Tsunagu said. "He's never been able to celebrate Halloween so he went a little overboard with the sweets."

"Cute." Katsuki said.

"He is." Tsunagu said. "He's like a child. I'm dreading Christmas."