They had arrived at the cooldown room about ten minutes prior when the intercom lit up with the voice of the tired old man from the start. Their entire class had made it through the first round, which would be a cause for celebration; if not for the images they were all stood staring at on the screen, and the massive explosive that had just erupted outside.

"There's only one more round to the exam, and your goal is simple: undertake rescue exercises and save the bystanders who are trapped in these disaster sites."

Despite knowing that it was all just a simulation, and that the explosive itself had just been a prop to aid in the look of a disaster, Hitoshi still struggled to find the breaths he needed, eyes wide as he stared blank at nothing in particular.

"Hey…" The soft, quiet voice of Kacchan began as he approached. "I'm gonna' put my hand on your back and guide you to the side of the room okay; there's less people over there. No one's noticed, just me, maybe Deku, but there's nothing to worry about that way, okay Tosh?"

He nodded.

Guided across the room his gaze rose to meet that of his cousin's.

"'M sorry… I'm not much of a hero if I can't even hear fucking loud noises. What if I was out on the streets and I froze up like this, I'd be useless, a fucking waste of space."

"Hey." Kacchan's tone was firmer, a scowl on his face. "You are not a waste of space, don't fucking let me hear you say that again, you're going through some shit now but in time this crap will just go away, right, that's what Hizashi said about when they lost their friend. Yeah they still miss him, and they wish things had gone differently, but Hizashi can use his quirk again, and they both still became heroes, so don't beat yourself down for something that's out of your control. You're gonna' be a hero even if I have to beat up the entire damn commission to make it happen."

Hitoshi smirked.

"Please don't do that."

Kacchan smiled.

"This exercise is rescue; it's perfect for you, so go show everyone assessing just how awesome you are."

He nodded.

"Thanks."

"Toshi!"

Zuku walked over.

"You okay, we need to start?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He turned to Kacchan.

"You coming?"

"I'll catch up."

"Right."

Hitoshi headed off with Zuku.

Kacchan waited until his cousins were out of sight before stumbling a few steps, wrapping an arm around his stomach. His breathing heavy, seconds later he was bent double throwing up violently.

"Dammit… why did it have to be rescue?" His voice shook. "And why fucking explosions?"

The mask he had worn when talking to Hitoshi had seemed to work as intended, hiding away the pure fear and anxiety coursing through him due to the same factors triggering his cousin. To say either of them were running on all cylinders would be a lie, not when the surroundings of the exam stage looked so damn familiar… it was like being back in that city all over again only with better lighting.

"Hey!"

A hand grabbed his arm.

Kacchan's eyes widened as he swung a charged punch, fist colliding heavily with its target, eyes blown wide.

A thump followed as his attacker hit the floor, hard.

"Katsuki?"

He gasped, the air contents of his lungs leaving him sharply.

No.

As his vision cleared he saw Kirishima lying on the ground, blood pouring from a broken nose.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

He flung himself to his knees as he began fussing over his boyfriend, terrified and panicked.

"Candidate number 6247815 Katsuki Bakugou, is that correct?"

Kacchan jumped at the new voice, turning to see a man in a suit standing over them.

"You are hereby disqualified for the exam pending investigation, get changed, your teacher has been notified."

He looked to the stands surrounding the arena and as stated Shouta was gone, even Ms. Joke looked concerned a few seats down from his brother's now vacated seat.

"But that's bullshit, he didn't do anything!" Kirishima argued.

"You have a broken nose, rookie."

"So what, if anything it's my fault for not using my quirk to block his swing. And anyway, how could he fail an exercise he hasn't even started, Bakugou had even left the room yet, therefore anything that has happened in here can't be assessed in the same way as the exam."

"Kid, just give it a rest will ya'?"

"The hell I will!"

"Eijirou…" Kacchan began. "Go do the exam, I'll be fine."

"But they're gonna'-."

"Go, I don't want you to fail too, not because I've been an idiot."

"You can't fight with a broken nose." The guy in the suit stated.

Kirishima scoffed.

"I've had worse but thanks for your fake concern."

Their eyes met before the hardening hero gave a smile.

"You damn better fight them on this, okay?"

Kacchan nodded.

"I will."

Liar.

Kirishima ran off.

"What the hell is going on?"

Shouta.

"We just watched via the video link one of your students assaulting another candidate."

His brother seemed to consider the words stated to him.

"Would you mind forwarding me a copy of this video?"

"Of course, not a problem." The guy in the suit got out his phone.

Shouta walked over to him, crouching down to be at his height.

"Are you okay?"

He hadn't been expecting such a soft tone, he'd expected anger, and shouting, and a threat of expulsion, but the sincere worry directed towards him only made it all feel so much worse.

He'd hurt Eijirou…

As he felt tears coming to his eyes he made a beeline for the exit and didn't look back as the voices of Shouta and the assessment guy shouted for him. Tearing off pieces of costume as he went, he was left in just the base elements as he threw open the door of the exit and sprinted off down the road into the city.


Hizashi was having a pretty good day until his phone buzzed.

"Why do you never answer your damn phone when something big's gone down?! Fuck… Kacchan is missing, he punched Kirishima and got disqualified from the exam. He left all of his gear here but I have no idea where he's headed and that worries me in the state he's in. Just call me back when you can alright?"

His eyes widened as he quickly hit return call.

"Shou?!"

"Did you get my voicemail?"

"Yeah, I just finished my last class; I'll go drive around and see if I can spot him."

"Okay, keep me updated."

"Of course."


The klaxon sounded to signal the end of the exam and Hitoshi nearly dropped to the ground beneath him in sheer exhaustion from the events of the day. Congregating back with the rest of his class he noticed them all crowding around something, or someone.

"I meant to ask during the exercise but didn't have time, what the hell happened to your nose, man?" Kaminari spoke up.

"Yeah… about that…"

That was when Hitoshi noticed who was missing.

"Where's Kacchan?" He asked as he reached the group.


Three Hours Later

Sat in his office in the dorm block Shouta was busy writing up an appeal form to submit to the Commission. Although his brother hadn't reportedly returned to the campus as of yet, numerous heroes had spotted him down by the docks sat on a bench just cooling off enjoying the views of the bay.

Kacchan wasn't one to put how he was feeling into words half the time, and his anger was something that had regularly gotten him into trouble over the years, but the kid was pretty good at calming himself down which typically saw him going off on his own someplace.

This time though he was sure there would be more to it than watching some seagulls could fix.

"Mr. Aizawa, three of your students are breaking curfew at Ground Beta and two of them are fighting." Came the robotic voice of the security bot.

Someone was really testing him today…

He exhaled.

"Aizawa."

Toshinori.

It just got better and better…

"Let me guess..."

"It's Midoriya and Bakugou."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "And by any chance is the one not fighting Hitoshi?"

"Yes."

"Of course it is."

"Leave this to me."

Shouta stood up from his chair.

"At a base level Katsuki is in my class and he just assaulted another student before running away from an examination without prior permission, on top of that he is also my little brother who is being stupidly reckless out of fear, if you think I'm just going to sit here and let you handle it then you're mistaken."

"You're too close to this, please, allow me to deescalate the situation, I fear him seeing his brother would only make matters worse."

"Fine... just don't go all soft on them; they need to know how big of deal this actually is."

"Of course."


Kacchan had come bursting into Zuku's dorm room and practically pulled him out to Ground Beta. He hadn't been making much sense but he was clearly looking for a fight.

Hitoshi wished he'd been wrong about his deduction but as soon as they'd stepped foot into the training area it had all erupted.

One second they were just talking, the next the two of them were screaming at each other, and before long a fight had broken out with his cousins charging up their quirks and going at one another with everything they had.

"Please, you have to stop fighting! You're family!"

"Stay out of this, Purple Hair!"

The instruction only infuriated Hitoshi further.

"You're being ridiculous, this is just stupid! What are you trying to achieve by beating the crap out of each other?!"

"You don't understand!"

"Then help me to."

Kacchan ignored him though instead proceeding to trade further blows with Zuku, the two of them already bleeding as they charged in.

A blast ignited before they were thrown against the railings at the side of the street.

"Why won't you fight back? Why did I end up having to chase after someone who was so far behind me? Why did a damn small fry like you get strong and become the number one hero's sidekick, his favourite? You got so much better, and I couldn't even protect Toshi." Kacchan's voice broke.

Hitoshi's eyes widened.

"Kacchan..."

"It's because of me that you ended up losing your eye. If I had been stronger, if I had stopped you getting kidnapped by the pricks that hurt you for all those years, then it never would have happened."

Kacchan wiped blood from his nose with a shaking hand.

"You know it's my fault you just haven't said anything. I wasn't paying attention when Shigaraki went over to you… I didn't stop him and I could've. And I wasn't strong enough to break free of your control like Deku was in the sports festival so I fucking left you out there."

His breathing shook as he continued.

"When we were at that damm facility I had to just sit and wait for them to drag you back and every day it got worse. I've never felt more useless. You purposely endured all that crap just so I wouldn't have to. And after all of that you still had to save my ass. You took me out of the fight because you knew I wasn't good enough."

"Kacchan, no..."

"I had to friggin' watch you lie there bleeding out, again... and even then, despite everything you were going through, you still managed to get through to All Might and help him win against All For One. Everyone knows how weak I was! Everyone at school, hell the entire country; the news won't stop talking about it, that picture of you and All Might is everywhere. I fucking close my eyes and all I see is Shigaraki cutting you..." His lip trembled as he tried to hold onto his composure. "I can't get it out of my head! It's like it's constantly playing on loop. So, what the hell am I supposed to do?!" Kacchan screamed, raw and emotional.

Hitoshi's eyes were wide.

Kacchan had been carrying that guilt with him for so long. He blamed himself for what happened despite none of it being his fault. There was nothing he could have done to change the outcome of what took place in Kamino Ward.

In that moment, Hitoshi realised he was the only person in the world who understood how Kacchan felt.

He carried his own guilt for having dragged his cousin into the dark waters of his past, their week in the League's facility having left them both with deep psychological scars which neither of them had really attempted to address. They couldn't even sleep apart for the first month or so after their rescue, all that had changed was Kirishima had slowly come to replace him at Kacchan's side during the night after the two of them became closer. Despite that there were still times when the nightmares were just too real to deal with alone which would see the two of them curled up together on the couch in the common room watching movies or reruns of sports that he knew nothing about.

The problem lay in the fact that an unspoken rule seemed to have come into existence somewhere along the line where they both seemed to agree to not bring up what happened during their captivity and just move on, something that clearly hadn't proved healthy in the long run, and the results of that were explosively unravelling in front of him both figuratively and literally. They needed to have talked about what happened; both the events at the facility and the fight at Kamino. They needed to have listened to each other. But it was so hard, and the nightmares were already so vivid and terrifying that the concept seemed too tall of a feat to tackle.

Everyone in their class, all their friends, the teachers at UA, they had all been so good about giving them space after what had happened that it almost felt like they were alone in it all. They didn't know what to say so they just didn't say anything at all which only made the two of them feel worse, as if something was wrong with them. And maybe there was.

It wasn't a ridiculous conclusion to make. The two teens who entered that facility through Kurogiri's warp gate weren't the same teens who left. Hell, they weren't even the same teens who were on that battlefield. They'd changed inside that place and maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Despite the nightmares and the lingering fear of the rug behind ripped out from under them at any point, they were both stronger; they had to be in there; that was the whole reason they made it out in the first place.

They'd stepped up their training bigtime in the last month or so and were better heroes than they ever had been because of it; but it would be a lie to say that any of that was particularly healthy, and that's because it wasn't. Hiding away in gyms and training facilities, having conversations which only revolved around quirks, and practice, and improving themselves to beat the next assignment, exam, or opponent, yes it was going to help in the long run, but in the short term, they were drowning.

They were drowning so bad.

And maybe Hitoshi was just as deep as Kacchan without even realising how much he needed to gasp for air.

"Kacchan, we need to talk about this, about everything that happened. Why don't we go back to the dorms and..."

But Kacchan and Zuku were already charging at each other once again.

"I thought you were incredible, Kacchan. I want to see, what you'd become. That's the reason I kept chasing after you. All Might was my hero, but you were the one actually in my life!"

The two fought in the air, Zuku landing a blow across Kacchan's face using his quirk.

"I won't lose to you!"

Kacchan grabbed Zuku and fired his blast sending them both crashing into the ground.

Hitoshi's eyes widened.

"KACCHAN! ZUKU!"

He sprinted over.

As the dust cloud lifted Kacchan had Zuku pinned.

"That's it, we're done here; I won this fight." Kacchan stated, heavily out of breath.

"Stop this, right now, both of you."

Hitoshi jumped at the new voice.

All Might.

"I'm sorry, but I've heard what you've said."

"When did you get here?" Zuku asked.

"I didn't notice before, but I should have."

"It's too late now." Kacchan replied as he got to his feet.

All Might glanced at him before back at his cousins.

Feeling the muteness clawing at his throat he knew he couldn't break through this time.

'SOMETHING OFF BOTH YOU SINCE EXAM' He signed. 'GOING ON WHAT?'

Zuku's gaze moved to the pro as if seeking guidance.

"It's your decision to make, young Midoriya."

His cousin took a breath.

"There's something we need to tell you…"


When All Might and Zuku had finished explaining, Hitoshi's eyes were wide.

He turned to Kacchan expecting to see a similar expression but didn't.

So Kacchan had known too, or at least had an inkling about it.

"Why did you pick Deku?" Kacchan spoke up. "It started when the sludge villain came, didn't it; so why him?"

"He was powerless, but still more heroic than anyone else. I knew you were strong, that much was obvious. You were someone who could already fight. So I decided that he should have a chance to stand in the ring." All Might explained.

Kacchan grit his teeth as he held back clear emotion.

"But now you know I'm weak too. I always wanted to be like you which meant being as strong as possible. But look what I did to Toshi… because I'm not good enough."

Hitoshi walked over and wordlessly guided Kacchan against him, holding his cousin tight as he shook, so close to tears but unwilling to let them fall.

"This is not your fault; you boys looked after each other during your trials and you fought hard to survive. What happened to Master Shinsou could not have been anticipated, not even by a pro. You were not to blame for what happened that night, young Bakugou and I'm sure your cousin would agree."

Hitoshi nodded.

Kacchan pushed away from his hold, turning to face away from the three of them.

"You admire Bakugou's strength, young Midoriya, and you fear your cousin's heart and spirit, young Bakugou. And as for you Master Shinsou, your devotion to your morals and those you love binds the three of you together. Laying your feelings out on the table would help you understand each other. You're family, if you use your bond to focus on making each other stronger I have no doubt you'll become the ultimate heroes, winning and saving people at the same time."

"Dammit, that's not what I wanted to hear."

Kacchan slumped down to sit on the ground, arms resting on his knees as he buried his face down.

"You… you had the strongest guy in the world lay the groundwork for you. Don't you dare lose again."

"I'll work harder so that I can beat you."

Kacchan sighed.

"Okay, so talk. Who knows about you two?"

"Recovery Girl and Principal Nezu; as far as students go, only you and Master Shinsou."

"And you don't want this to get out because that would be bad." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me, I won't tell anyone what's going on. Unlike Deku I can keep my mouth shut. This will stay between us."

"Thanks, Kacchan." Zuku spoke up.

"I don't deserve this. I should be down on my hands and knees begging for you to keep this secret for me, yet here you are being considerate and helping me out; thank you."

"I'm not doing this for you. It would be a real pain if this got out and messed stuff up."

All Might turned to Hitoshi.

He quickly nodded.

'SECRET SAFE ME'

The pro smiled.

'THANK YOU'

Hitoshi's eyes widened.

'WAIT SIGN YOU?'

All Might gave a small smile with a nod.

'ALL MIGHT HERO FOR ALL'

He noticed the pro use the name sign he'd created and wondered which of them had taught him it, probably Zuku.

'NEED COMMUNICATE EVERYONE'

It was Hitoshi's turn to smile.


Ground Beta was bigger than he'd remembered it being. It felt as if they'd been walking for miles on their way back to the dorms.

Hitoshi was walking upfront with the number one hero while his cousins were behind at a slightly slower pace thanks to their accrued injuries from the fight.

"If this got out people'd be confused and they'd start wondering where the power is." Kacchan spoke up. "You idiot, what were you thinking when you first told me about it?"

Zuku grumbled.

"Anyway, it doesn't change what I have to do, I'm still gonna' be the number one hero around here." He paused. "Things aren't gonna' be the same though Deku, you got that? You've been watching me and everyone around you, absorbing what you see to get stronger; well I can do the exact same thing and keep getting better myself. I'll go higher than even you, Chosen One ."

"Right, then I guess I'll just have to be better than that." Zuku replied.

"You what?"

"I have to go higher than you."

Kacchan grunted.

"Dammit, nerd!" He shouted. "I just said I was gonna' be the one to surpass you!"

"I know! And now I'm saying that I'm gonna' go beyond that level."

"What?!"

Hitoshi, who had just been minding his own business, noticed the number one look down and offer a smirk to him.

He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck before signing.

'COUSINS RIGHT?'

All Might chuckled.

'DAD KNOW I HERE?'

The pro nodded.

Oh boy…

Well there went his plan to sneak back to the house and pretend he was never there.


"You fought the night you finished the preliminary hero licensing exam?! I'm glad to see that you two have so much energy."

They'd returned back to the dorms under All Might's escort to find an extremely angry Shouta accompanied by an only slightly less annoyed Hizashi, the two heroes had practically dragged them inside, his cousins finding themselves captured by Shouta's scarf for good measure too.

All Might's arm had come to wrap around his shoulders providing him reassurance that he'd had no idea he needed so badly at that moment.

"Zashi, take Toshi back to the house, I'll be there as soon as I'm done dealing with a family matter."

But he knew he couldn't leave it like this, not without saying something first.

He walked over and tapped Shouta on the arm before beginning to sign so Zashi could see.

"It's my fault they fought. Kacchan blames himself for me losing my eye and I didn't notice. I should have because it's not his fault. I would have noticed if we'd talked but we didn't and that's my fault too. He had to do the exam with all this going on in his head and it all became too much." The voice hero translated for him.

"You didn't make them attack each other; they made that choice not you. They decided to fight on school property after curfew without a faculty member present, not you." Shouta explained. "Yes there are reasons behind why this happened but it doesn't excuse such blatant rule breaking and I can't just ignore it.

He did release his scarf's hold on the two of them though.

"Now like I said, go home."

Hitoshi tried to smile at his cousins but couldn't, his gaze staying low as he followed Hizashi out the building.

The voice hero moved in close and wrapped his arm around him.

"Shouta may seem like he's being harsh but he loves his little brothers to death. I know you were standing up for your cousins but they need to understand that being as reckless as they were tonight has consequences." He shook his head. "I mean what were they thinking going out there alone, after everything that's happened this year. And why would you go along with them?"

His throat felt clear for the first time since the fight.

"Because I thought I could stop them from fighting, but I guess I couldn't."

"I think we both know that you absolutely could."

"I don't control people without consent, not unless it's life or death, those days are over, I'm not doing it anymore, and especially not on family." Hitoshi exhaled deeply. "I broke Kacchan enough by using it at Kamino Ward; and I wasn't lying when I said this was my fault. Yeah I rescued him but he's been tormenting himself for not being strong enough to save me, allow those emotions to fester for a month and there's your result."

"You know that Shou's only gonna' give them like house arrest for a few days, right; he's not gonna' expel them or anything, even he's not that mean. They're gonna' be fine, kiddo, there's really nothing for you to worry about."

"You didn't hear what Kacchan said…" He admitted; his voice incredibly small.

Hizashi sighed.

"Back when we lost Oboro, our parents signed Shouta and I up for some therapy sessions, I know we went to grief counselling and all so it's not really the same thing as what you guy's need but I don't think it would hurt."

"Hurt?"

"That was the worst word I could have used." He felt the voice hero squeeze him a little tighter as he offered a smile. "All I mean to say is that there are people who help you talk about things to ultimately allow you to feel better."

Hitoshi nodded.

"I want to help Kacchan so… so I'll talk to someone."

Hizashi shook his head.

"What are we going to do with you? You were there too, Tosh, it's as much for you as it is for him."

He went to speak but Zashi interrupted.

"And don't say anything along the lines of: 'you don't matter' or 'Kacchan's more important' or I'll have to resort to the ultimate punishment of telling my listeners how big of a Present Mic fan my son is, and all about how he has all the merch…"

Hitoshi burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay, I won't say it."

The voice hero smiled before ruffling his hair.

"Good, see my approach is better than Shou's right?"

Hitoshi nodded.

"Definitely, you're way scarier."

"Exactly, Toshi."


Walking into the dorm he didn't stop as he passed the common room full of his fellow classmates, all of whom stared as they entered, clearly wanting the details of what had happened. He just kept his focus on the corridor which led to the staircase, and then he would be free of their judgement.

Reaching his room he clicked open the door before walking inside, not bothering to turn on the light as he slumped to sit on the bed and buried his head as he pulled at his hair with a tearful sob.

The light flicked on a few seconds later before soft, slow footsteps approached, the mattress dipping slightly as they sat down beside him.

Pulled against a familiar scent he only broke down further as gently arms enveloped him in a warm, desperate embrace, a kiss pressing to his cheek.

"You're okay, Katsuki… you're gonna' be okay…"

"I'm so sorry, Eijirou." He shook his head. "I hurt you and I'm so sorry."

"You lost yourself a little back there but listen to me and look." Kirishima began. "Katsuki, look at me."

He forced his gaze to meet that of his boyfriend's expecting to see anger but only finding forgiveness and love.

"I forgive you."

A sob broke from his throat as he buried himself closer.

"I will say though, how you managed to break my nose with such a weak ass punch I'll never know, you got lucky, short ass."

Kacchan laughed before a smile came to his face.

"I love you; I want you to know that."

Kirishima smiled too.

"I love you too, Katsuki."