Izuku knew he was in trouble the second he stepped out of the changing room.
He had just finished talking to Todoroki about doing a sparring session later that day after they had both changed into their hero costumes. The two had fallen a bit behind the main group of students that were walking to Gym Gamma when Izuku felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, dude," Kaminari greeted, a friendly look on his face. "Is it okay if I ask you something real quick?"
Normally, Izuku wouldn't think anything of it. Ever since he had helped the electric blonde discover more uses for his quirk, he had come to ask Izuku tons of questions about improving; but something in his gut told him that was not the case that morning.
"Sure, what's up?" he replied tentatively.
Kamari's smile turned into a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"I just wanted to know how things went with Uraraka last night."
Immediately, Izuku's cheeks turned rosy.
"What are you talking about?" he squeaked out.
"Ashido may have mentioned something about you and Uraraka hanging out in the middle of the night. As your wingman, I gotta know this stuff!"
"It wasn't a planned thing," Izuku hastily explained, "I was just getting some water then Ochaco came down to grab some milk and-"
"Ochaco?" Kaminari echoed smugly. "So you two are together."
"It's not like that!" Izuku shouted, drawing a few eyes from his other classmates.
He lowered his voice, the red in his cheeks never fading. "We just… we're close friends and it all just kind of happened at the hospital. Then last night was just an accidental meeting; I was getting some water and Ochaco was going to get some warm milk and we ended up talking."
Kaminari's smugness turned into something softer. "Whatever you say dude, but like I told you yesterday, you should go for it."
Izuku debated whether or not he should tell his friend that he actually did almost 'go for it'. He had been so close to admitting to not only his best friend but newly remembered childhood friend as well that he liked her.
It was when the two of them were on the elevator that Izuku had found a moment to try and confess his feelings.
Yet the second he was about to tell Ochaco, the elevator dinged and he chickened out.
It didn't help that soon afterward, Izuku kissed her hand as a way of saying good night. It just felt natural at the time and the moment he got back to his dorm room he was thinking up a bunch of different ways to apologize to Ochaco. He was lucky that she even still wanted to talk with him.
He was going to attempt to say sorry that morning but didn't get a chance to before Ashido cornered him.
But Kaminari didn't know any of that and based on the amount of teasing he was already enduring from both him and Ashido, Izuku doubted it would do any good.
"Thanks, Kaminari," he responded. "Um, you're not going to tell Ashido about me using Ochaco's given name are you?"
"Course not. I already know how easily flustered you get, Midoriya. I won't give our favorite gossip any more ammo to tease you with. Trust me, I've seen the way she teases Kir- our other classmates and I would not wish that upon anybody," the blonde chuckled.
Izuku couldn't help but laugh along with his friend. Though when his eyes wondered where the rest of their group were, he realized how far behind they had gotten during their conversation.
"We should probably catch up, I don't think Mr. Aizawa would want us being late for our first class this week."
Kaminari nodded his agreement. "Yeah, he'd have my head on a plate if I'm late again. So let's get going, dude!"
Izuku followed the electric quirk user as they both jogged to catch up to their classmates. Kaminari quickly fell into line with Kirishima and Sero while Izuku caught up with Iida and Todoroki.
"It will be exciting to see who we all get paired up with," Iida said, an energizing spring in his step. "I'm sure we will all improve greatly with this exercise! Who do you think you'll get paired up with Midoriya?"
Izuku wasn't sure. On one hand, it would be great to get paired up with Ochaco since they've been discussing how to utilize the Gravity Smash move they came up with. But Izuku was also looking forward to working with some of his other classmates as well. They all had such amazing quirks and trying to figure out new moves or just improving with them seemed like a blast.
"I don't know. It might be fun to get paired up with Sero. He could help me with new ways to use Black Whip since his tape works similarly."
But while Izuku was all for getting even closer to mastering the new aspect of One for All, there was a small part of him that was nervous about Pyrokinesis.
After getting the memories revolving around his quirk back, Izuku felt like he had never lost it. As soon as he woke up the previous night, he had practiced some of the techniques he remembered from his father and was pleasantly surprised to see that he still had good control over his quirk. Of course, he would have to train it a lot to regain some of the muscle memory, but otherwise, he had his quirk back.
Izuku just hoped he wouldn't accidentally use it during training.
He doubted Kacchan would be very happy about it considering Izuku was believed to be quirkless for all of his childhood. One more quirk out of the blue would create a lot of questions that Izuku desperately did want to answer yet. Especially since the explosive blonde would immediately believe it had something to do with One for All.
Hopefully, after Izuku and Ochaco regained all their memories, those questions would be easier to answer.
His musings were cut short as the looming building of Gym Gamma came into view and in front stood Mr. Aizawa dressed in his usual attire aside from his yellow goggles that hung around his neck.
"Good morning class," their teacher greeted, holding a clipboard in his hands. "I'm glad to see you all arrived in a quick manner. All Might will be joining us later; he had a meeting with Principal Nedzu to discuss potential training ideas. In the meantime, let's head in so I can give partner assignments."
With that, Mr. Aizawa led his group of students to the inside of the expansive training building.
Izuku's eyes filled with wonder as he noticed the gym was set up with multiple platforms and different rope courses as well. That was probably so those with quirks that made them more agile could enhance their skills! It would also be a good way to practice his speed when using Full Cowling, though that was only if his training partner also wanted to work on something similar. But what if their quirks weren't compatible and they couldn't come up with a team attack? Did that mean-
"Midoriya," Sero whispered, nudging Izuku's shoulder with his own. "You're muttering again, dude."
Snapping out of his stupor, the green-haired teen sheepishly smiled. "Sorry."
Sero shrugged it off and both boys returned their gaze to their teacher, who looked to be fondly exasperated at his students.
"Before I pair you up, a reminder that today is about collaboration and enhancing your abilities. Some quirks aren't always suitable for team attacks and in case that happens today with your partners, I want you all to try and help one another in improving your quirks and skills. Once I call out the partners you're free to go wherever you like in the gym. Cementoss and I have prepared multiple ropes courses and other obstacles to help train so feel free to use them. Any questions?"
Silence.
"Good," Mr. Aizawa then began calling out the teams. "Sato and Todoroki. Bakugou and Kirishima. Uraraka and Sero…"
Izuku wondered what combination Ochaco and Sero could come up with. Both of his friends were clever and would no doubt find an awesome combo move!
"...Midoriya and Jirou…"
Once he heard his name called, Izuku looked for his classmate in the crowd of students.
Luckily he didn't have to look far as he saw Jirou near the back of the group next to Yaoyorozu.
Both teens shared a quick nod in greeting before they walked to one of the taller platforms within Gym Gamma. While not the training partner he was expecting, Izuku was still beyond excited! Jirou's quirk had tons of potential and he was sure they could figure out an awesome combo move! He had a couple of ideas already!
"So Midoroya," Jirou started, casually twirling one of her earphone jacks, "Did you have ideas for a combo move? I know Kaminari said that you were pretty good when it came to quirks."
Izuku nodded vigorously. "Yeah, actually! But we're going to need a target to see if it's going to work so we should probably wait until Mr. Aizawa is done calling out names so we get a better view of the Gym and where everyone will be at; we don't want anyone getting hurt after all."
"Right. But what did you have in mind?"
"Well, I know you can make some pretty big shockwaves and tremors when you use your quirk on the ground and I've been able to get a decent grip on using air-based attacks with mine. So if we both concentrated on one target while simultaneously using our quirks, we'd have a pretty powerful offense, both above and below. I'm not too sure what else we could do with it, but that's what practice is for!"
Jirou looked momentarily stunned by his idea before a determined grin settled on her face. "That sounds like a great idea! Wow, Jamming Whey was right when he said you knew your stuff."
Izuku immediately tried to brush the compliment off. "Thanks, but it's really nothing much."
"Give yourself some credit, dude." Jirou lightly punched him in the shoulder. "You've got some pretty insane knowledge about this stuff. Look, I think Mr. Aizawa's done announcing teams."
Jirou was right as Izuku then saw the rest of his classmates paired up and headed towards different parts of the gym.
Izuku caught sight of Ochaco walking with Sero towards a large open area in the building, no doubt needing some room for whatever move they had in mind.
He offered a small wave as they passed, which Ochaco enthusiastically returned.
"Good luck with your combo moves guys!" the brunette called out, a cheerful look on her face. "You'll do awesome!"
"Thanks, you too!"
Izuku turned back towards Jirou. "Alright. So from the looks of it, there are some training dummies over by the wall; those will be perfect!"
"Alright, then let's get to it," his friend agreed.
It didn't take long for the two of them to make it to their destination. Izuku was excited to see if his idea would work. The combination of both of their quirks could be pretty powerful, but he also wanted to make sure there weren't any too many repercussions.
A powerful wind blast to the face was not the most pleasant thing.
Sure enough, both teenagers came up to a group of training dummies nestled near the far wall of Gym Gamma. All of them were pretty worn, no doubt from years after other heroes-in-training enhanced their skills.
"Alright so I'll fire off an attack with Air Force from up top and you use your Heartbeat Surround on the terrain. Does that sound okay?"
Jirou nodded. "Got it, but I don't have too much control over how much ground my attack can cover, so we should probably warn anyone around us to watch out."
"Agreed."
This led to Izuku surveying the surrounding training area. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any of their classmates nearby.
"We're all set!" he announced.
"Cool. Let's do this!"
Jirou took position about twenty feet from the training dummy, while Izuku went a little higher on a nearby platform.
"On the count of three!" Jirou called out, black eyes trained on their target. "One!"
Izuku felt the telltale power of One for All surge into his body. He started to put the energy more towards his hands and marveled at how much easier it had gotten.
"Two!"
In the corner of his eyes, he could make out Jirou getting ready to plug her ear jacks into the ground.
"Three!"
The built-up pressure of power in his hands was quickly flicked towards the battered target and Izuku watched in amazement as the gust of wind he created simultaneously hit the dummy along with the tremors Jirou had sent into the ground.
The second both attacks reached the intended target, it blew straight into the wall and embedded itself into the cement.
There was a pause as both Izuku and Jirou stared at the indent they had just made.
The tremors from Jirou's attack had stopped and the energy of One for All toned down.
Slowly, both teenagers turned to face each other with wide grins.
"Now that was cool," Jirou admitted.
Izuku laughed at just how powerful that attack had turned out and immediately he and Jirou began sprouting out new ideas and techniques to try to improve.
After several more attempts at their new move they had dubbed Sonic Rush, the two switched tactics and tried to find ways to improve their quirks. Izuku was ecstatic to learn that Jirou had a couple of ideas for controlling Air Force better. In turn, he helped her come up with some new ways to utilize her heartbeat when it came to offense and defense.
Before Izuku knew it, Mr. Aizawa had called for a small break; he showed off a table filled with cups of water and protein bars.
Class 1-A all flittered to the table, everyone chatting about their new moves or improvements to their quirks.
Izuku was about to grab a cup of water when he heard someone shout for him.
"Deku!"
Ochaco was beaming from ear to ear as she waved him down.
"You won't believe the stuff me and Sero came up with! I think we've got an awesome new move!" she cheered, moving to grab her own cup of water, making sure to keep her pinky up. "What did you and Jirou come up with?"
"We came up with a move called Sonic Rush that combines my air attack and the vibrations Jirou makes when she plugs her earphone jacks into her boots. From what we've tried it's pretty useful! What about you and Sero?"
Ochaco's beaming face didn't falter as she rapidly explained how she and their tape-wielding classmate came up with a catapult-type move that involved shooting out rubble Ochaco would float with Sero making a sling-shot with his tape. Once the rubble would be high in the air, Ochaco would release and all the debris would come flying down.
"We don't have a name for it yet, but I'm sure we'll think of something. I was hoping to do some quirk-enhancement today too," the brunette explained. "I've been wanting to work on my reaction time on how fast I can catch myself from falling in midair. Sero said he'd be happy to make a net so I won't fall so I think it'll turn out well! Wow! I'm already pumped to get back to training!"
Ochaco's determination was infectious and Izuku found himself wanting to get back to training even sooner.
"That sounds amazing Och-"
"Hey, Midoriya, Uraraka!" a new voice joined in. "I saw some of that move you and Jirou did, that was so manly!"
"Hi, Kirishima," both teens greeted.
Said redhead was walking over, Bakugou grumpily trailing behind. "Me and Bakugou were practicing some of our combos when I saw the training dummy go flying! Super manly dude! And Uraraka, that sling-shot with Sero looked awesome!
"'Tch'. Damn nerd got lucky, for getting partnered with Ears," Bakugou grumbled, red eyes narrowing at his rival. "I bet I could make a better combo with my eyes closed."
Instead of the usual agreement Izuku would normally give to appease the blonde's temper, he found himself slightly irritated.
"Okay, Kacchan," Izuku commented, ignoring the way the explosion user's eyes narrowed even further and the slight smell of burnt caramel.
Everything was always a competition with the blonde and while Izuku was glad to have a rival to keep him on his toes, it was a little annoying to always be trying to outdo one another. Couldn't Izuku improve without having it being compared to Kacchan?
"C'mon Bakubro," Kirishima lightly chided, doing his best to lighten the mood. "We're all doing our best, no need to make it a contest."
That only earned a scoff from before the angry blonde. "Doesn't matter. Our move is gonna be way better anyway. C'mon Shitty Hair, let's get back to training."
"Oh, sure. Sorry to cut this short, you guys."
Ochaco waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You two have fun."
Kirishima offered a small wave as he left to go trail after the retreating form of Bakugou, leaving Izuku alone with Ochaco.
"Well, that seemed like a typical Bakugou encounter," the brunette snorted beside him.
"Yeah," Izuku chuckled. "And that was him on a good day."
"Well, I guess that's because he gets to hang out with Kirishima. They balance each other out, you know?"
It was then Izuku noticed just how close Ochaco had gotten to him during their conversation. Instead of being a couple of feet away like he had previously thought, the two ended up directly side by side, kind of like they just naturally drifted to one another.
It was nice.
"Yeah, they do. It reminds me why I'm so lucky to have you."
The words tumbled out of Izuku's mouth before he got the chance to realize what he was saying.
Instantly, his own face turned scarlet along with Ochaco's, though Izuku noticed she was still smiling.
"I'm so sorry!" he bowed.
Ochaco, while still blushing, shook her head in amusement. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Deku. I'm lucky to have you too."
There was a strange sense of disappointment when Izuku heard his nickname. He had grown used to Ochaco using his given name and while he understood why his friend didn't say it (who knows what kind of teasing the two would endure), he still felt a little saddened.
"Erm, Uraraka?" Izuku asked, the sound of her surname sounding almost foreign on his tongue.
Said brunette tilted her head slightly, an action Izuku decided was unfairly adorable. "Yes?"
"Would it be okay, I mean, you definitely don't have to if you're uncomfortable with it, but would it be okay if you kept using my given name, even when we're not alone? I mean, I know we'll get teased a lot by Ashido, but I like being able to use your name without having to change it around other people." he all but blurted out.
He watched as Ochaco's eyes grew wide before she shyly nodded. Izuku felt his heart flip in his chest. Was he dreaming and none of the last twenty-four hours had happened? It was surreal how close the two of them had gotten since the memory quirk had hit, but Izuku wouldn't trade it for anything.
"I'd be happy to use your name, but that means you have to use mine too," Ochaco declared, bumping her shoulder against his. "This goes two ways, you know."
"Yeah! Of course!"
Izuku watched his best friend's smile turn even bigger and his heart warmed. He really was lucky to have her in his life.
"Alright," Mr. Aizawa gruffly called out from his spot near the entrance doors. "The break is over, get back to training."
There were a couple of grumbles from students, but those were quickly shut down with one stern look for their teacher.
In the corner of Izuku's eye, he caught sight of Jirou motioning for him to hurry up.
"Well, I guess we'll have to catch up later. Good luck with your reaction time training, Ocha!" the greenette called out as he began making his way towards his violet-haired classmate.
"You too, Izuku!"
Both teens then went their separate ways and the moment Izuku had reached Jirou, he knew it was going to be a long training session.
"So," the earphone jack user smirked, "Seems like you and Uraraka have gotten pretty close."
"Oh, uh, yeah, we're just really good friends," Izuku stammered, fearing his face was even redder than before.
Jirou raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Midoriya. But it's none of my business, so I won't say anything else. Let's head back to training. You were saying something about using my quirk more for a direct offense before the break started, right?"
"Yes!" Izuku replied, grateful for the change of topic. "I think there's tons of cool stuff you could do!"
As they made their way to their training spot, the two passed by Kirishima and Katsuki, the latter glaring holes at his classmates.
"You and Ears may have come up with a decent combo move, but Shitty Hair and I are going to come up with the best one out of the entire class," Kacchan announced, hands smoking. "And it's gonna be way better than anything you extras can come up with!"
Jirou rolled her eyes. "Whatever dude. Everybody already knows about your competitive streak. I mean, we've all seen the aftermath of Kaminari beating you at Mario Kart."
That comment served to make the explosive blonde growl before returning his attention back to his training.
Kirishima offered an awkward chuckle. "Sorry about him."
Izuku told the redhead there was no need to worry, that's just how Kacchan always was.
Jirou just laughed it off and told the two good luck on their training.
The next thirty minutes consisted of a lot of trial and error for all the students of class 1-A. Izuku noticed that Iida and Ashido had come up with some impressive new speed techniques with the use of her acid and Iida's engines whereas other classmates such as Tokoyami and Aoyama were having a harder time figuring out combo moves due to the opposing quirks.
Izuku and Jirou continued to work on improving their quirks and both seemed to have improved even if only a little bit; Izuku was working on getting better control over the power of his Air Force while Jirou was working on using her quirk for sharper attacks and extending her range for how long they could grow.
The greenette also caught sight of Ochaco practicing catching herself in mid-air with Sero working on strengthening his tape. But Izuku also noticed that his friend was looking a little green in the face.
'She must be nearing her limit. She's probably going to have to stop soon and recuperate. But still, that's way longer than the last time she was doing endurance training.'
Low and behold, Izuku heard the brunette calling out to Sero about dropping down for good, to which the tape-themed hero-in-training gave a thumbs up.
On Izuku's left, he saw Kachaan and Kirhsima working on precise movements and blows and noticed that his rival seemed to be getting a little more off-target while his blasts were getting bigger.
But it wasn't until he heard the sound of tape breaking that he realized how off Kacchan was in his last blast.
"Uraraka!" Sero yelled.
Ochaco, who had just released the effects of her quirk, was plummeting towards the ground.
Izuku's legs moved on their own.
Green lightning crackled around him as he rushed to get to his destination.
Faster.
Ochaco was falling now, and Izuku noticed the jets on her costume were stalling as she tried to propel herself up.
Faster.
The second Ochaco was in range, Izuku activated Blacwhip.
Instantly, the black tendrils of energy wrapped around the brunette's frame and pulled her directly to him.
It wasn't until Ochaco was safely secured in his arms that Izuku began his descent back to the ground.
Worried green eyes met confused brown ones.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked, noticing checking over Ochaco for any injuries, not noticing that Black Whip was still activated, tethering the two together.
Said brunette blinked owlishly before offering a shaky smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. But you know I could've just used my quirk, right?"
"My legs kind of moved on their own," Izuku admitted bashfully. "I couldn't just watch you fall."
Ochaco's eyes glimmered with something Izuku couldn't quite make out.
"Well, even so, thanks for catching me."
"Of course-"
"Thanks for catching me Izuku! But you know you don't have to, right?" Ochaco giggled through their hug. "I can just use my quirk silly!"
Izuku nodded.
"I know Ocha, but I want to be there just in case. I don't want to see you get hurt." the green-haired child stared at his best friend with determination. "But I'm gonna do my best to be there to catch you when you need it!"
Flashes of a different time passed through Izuku's mind and based on the astonished look on Ochaco's face, he guessed she saw something similar.
"Did you see…?"
"Yeah."
That must have been another memory, but why did it come right at that moment? From what he experienced the memories had only come when he or Ochaco was asleep. Were there certain actions or words that could trigger one? Were there other possible ways to rekindle mem-
"Midoriya," Mr. Aizawa called out, effectively cutting off Izuku's internal ramble. "Nice work, but you can put Uraraka down now."
"Huh?"
Looking down, Izuku noticed that he still had Ochaco in his arms… and that he was holding her bridal style… and that the rest of the class was staring at them.
In his arms, Ochaco had turned a color that could have rivaled Kirishima's hair as she also noticed the position the two were in. Then there was the sound of Ashido's squeals in the background that only fueled the embarrassment further.
Izuku felt his face begin to burn and hastily set Ochaco on the ground and deactivated Black Whip.
"Now that that's over with," Mr. Aizawa declared, turning to address the rest of the class. "Let this be a reminder to pay attention to-"
Izuku felt his quirk activate on its own accord and before he could control it, saw the black tendrils of Black Whip wrap around Ochaco and bring her closer to his side.
Mr. Aizawa raised an eyebrow.
Stuttering apologies, Izuku tried to deactivate his quirk and move away from his best friend… only for his quirk to activate again and bring Ochaco even closer.
Izuku could hear Kaminari and Sero trying to hold in cackles while a couple of his other classmates snickered.
"I'm not doing this on purpose!" Izuku pleaded, doing his best to separate from Ochaco, but to no avail.
What was happening with One for All?! He wasn't activating his quirk, so what was going on?!
"I'm so sorry!"
Meanwhile, Ochaco turned a shade redder every time his quirk pulled her to him again.
After a few more failed attempts at disentangling themselves from one another, their homeroom teacher had enough and used his quirk.
Finally, Izuku felt One for All fully deactivate and quickly scooted as far away from Ochaco as he could.
He was lucky if his friend ever wanted to talk to him again.
"As I was saying," Mr. Aizawa grumbled, "Let this be a reminder that you all should pay close attention to your surroundings. I've seen a lot of heroes cause more harm than good to civilians because they weren't careful. Bakugou."
The blonde perked up.
"Don't let your competitive streak keep you from performing at your best. You were distracted and could have caused injuries. Remember that."
Kacchan nodded stiffly, red eyes trained on the floor.
Aizawa motioned his head towards the greenette. "Another reminder that quirks can be unpredictable, especially when emotions are involved, intentionally or not. It's important to get good control over both to succeed. Class dismissed."
Katsuki stared at the floor in rage.
He had gotten careless.
He was supposed to be the next number one hero and there he was getting distracted by something as dumb as a combo move.
He and Shitty Hair had been doing good, but the thought of Deku, his irritably determined rival doing better than him, sent Katsuki up the wall.
He had gotten careless and made a mistake.
It would not be happening again.
He didn't need the damn nerd to save Round Face either. He was about to run off and help the second he realized he had blasted the tape before Deku swooped in.
It also didn't escape Katuski's notice that Deku had been spending a lot more time with the brunette extra. Even if they were attacked by a villain and the fucking nerd had a crush on her, it didn't explain how oddly in sync the two of them had gotten.
But that was a mystery for later. Katsuki was focused on not letting a mistake like that happen again. If there was time later in the day after he and Shitty Hair got done sparring, he would get Deku to spar so he could get a victory over the greenette for the day.
No way was he gonna let Deku beat him at anything else.
Katuski watched as the damn nerd was talking to Round Face, no doubt trying to wuss out an apology of One for All acting funny.
Tch.
If Katsuki had that quirk, he would have mastered it with no mishaps; unlike Deku.
His rival must have been done apologizing as the brunette gave him a quick hug.
Those idiots were hopeless.
But after the embrace, Deku looked straight at Katsuki with a fire burning his eyes, and for the first time in a while, Katuski Bakugou felt the smallest twinge of panic.