About ten years later, the sun once again awoke from its slumber, moving slowly over the horizon and announcing the start of yet another day for residents of Japan. Warm rays of sunshine, messengers of this magnificent celestial body, found their way to many places, and among those was the residence of the Bakugo family.

With their glass unobscured, windows allowed this light to reach inside the various rooms, including one specific room where a massive body slept on an adequately giant bed. The room itself seemed childish, at least to some extent - walls were almost impossible to see under a mass of hero posters, their contents ranging from All Might, the number one himself, to some more obscure heroes, and even a few posters glorifying the idea of the hero itself instead of a specific person. Few shelves in the room were visibly bending under the weight of figurines depicting the same people as those that could be found on posters. Even the top of the bigger-than-usual wardrobe was occupied by similar objects praising heroes and their deeds.

Other than that, there was a single computer awaiting its use on a desk sprawled with a multitude of books, ranging from school subjects to hero fiction. Beyond this, however, it was a typical bedroom of a young person. And since it was Monday, that meant that the peace of this room would soon end.

"I AM HERE! TO WAKE YOU UP! I AM HERE! TO WAKE YOU UP! I AM HERE!..."

Phone lying on a nightstand would have kept on spewing All Might's words at max volume until the end of times, if not for a giant, rather grotesque hand that was slapped right on top of it. At first, the sound kept on going, even if muted by a mass of flesh blocking its path, but soon after that these big fingers started blindly searching for a correct button on a device, and when they did find and pressed it, sound finally stopped.

What followed was the groaning of metal responsible for holding the bed together, as the mass on top of it started shifting under the sheets. It took a few moments for this bloated caricature of a human being to slip out of bed, but when they did, their size - one that would dwarf All Might - became even more apparent. They stretched, hands easily reaching the ceiling, and soon after that six eyes opened, each pair displaying slightly different emotions.

(Good morning boys)

[Morning sweetie, hello Izuku]

{Hey mom, hey dad}

[({I love you})]

This was their special morning ritual, one they honored and cherished every day for almost ten years since they became Midoriya. They never had dreams since that point, instead just waking up on the next day, with emotions and feelings that they were unable to describe with words, for even most beautiful poems seemed dim in comparison to This. That's why this exchange seemed so important to them, as it acknowledged this special something that they nowadays shared.

[So, what's the plan for today?]

(breakfast, school, and after that, we have an appointment with Emi in the evening. Then homework as per usual.)

{It's been a year already? Huh.}

[Time sure flies, doesn't it? I almost forgot if i have to be honest.]

(You mean you completely forgot and i reminded you just now, didn't i?.)

[...Maybe?]

While this exchange was going on in their head, they made sure to drag themselves into the bathroom and get ready for the remainder of the day. Once that was done, it was only a matter of getting their adequately sized school uniform, its yellow buttons so shiny on the black background one might accuse Midoriya of polishing them in their spare time, and that would be correct. They learned long ago to compensate for their uncanny appearance by making sure that their clothes always present themselves in a way that screams "law-abiding citizen" to eliminate incidents where people jump to conclusions based on their looks alone.

Once they pretty much crawled out of their room - for their current size made any other way of moving past standard doorways either extremely uncomfortable or very prone to accidents - they made their way to the dining room, where Mitsuki was already eating her breakfast with a scowl on her face. Meanwhile, Masaru seemed completely unbothered by this fact despite the fact he was sitting next to her, his plate already empty and hands busy with something on his phone.

Over the ten years since they became part of the Bakugo family, those two changed ever so slightly. Mitsuki, despite her legendary temper persisting to this day, managed to learn how to avoid cursing out loud, at least when she knew someone was listening. Masaru meanwhile, well, he changed quite a lot. After all these years of living with his wife, and then being exposed to both Katsuki's explosive personality as well as Midoriya's uncanny voice and looks daily, man either broke him or allowed him to ascend into a higher plane of existence, as nowadays he seems to be calm and relaxed despite everything around him. This also made him act rationally most of the time, to the point where even Katsuki doesn't argue with him, knowing it was a battle one could win by neither wit nor brute force.

Midoriya walked towards them, their smile wide and sincere, the smell of food coming from the kitchen becoming stronger with each step.

"Good morning. What's for breakfast?"

"There were some leftovers from yesterday's dinner. Not enough for today's dinner, but should be about right for fast breakfast" Masaru responded, acknowledging their smile with his own, even if whatever was on his phone seemed to take away most of his attention. "Mitsuki heated everything, should be still warm in the kitchen."

"Alright, thanks for the meal mom!"

Mitsuki didn't offer her verbal response, too busy with shoving food down her throat with aggression worthy of a bloodthirsty barbarian. And yet she still found a moment for a quick nod towards them, a simple gesture to acknowledge gratitude from an adopted member of the family.

Midoriya quickly took to the kitchen and started taking their portion onto the plate. After so much time together in one body, Izuku, Inko, and Hisashi became synchronized to the point where most of the tasks they could perform without thinking about working with each other. At least as long as they did something similar before, and only as long as strong emotions, be it positive or negative, didn't make them out of sync. They were still three separate minds even after all these years and things like anger, or worry affected them differently, thus making them think and act differently.

{Strange, Kacchan isn't up yet. Usually, he's done eating before we even get our own breakfast}

(He came home late yesterday, maybe his friends tired him out.)

[Inko, he's, vulgar, quirk-happy, and filled with more anger than Mitsuki. He would sooner wipe them out of his face of the earth than let them tire him out. I bet he just trained more than he should have and has some difficulty getting up.]

As if reacting to thoughts going on in Midoriya's head, the sudden sound of doors being opened with too much force resounded across the house. Right after that sounds of someone stomping as if burning with vengeance towards the floor itself slowly became louder, as the person responsible for all this noise moved towards the dining room.

"KATSUKI, WHAT DID I TOLD YOU ABOUT NOT ACTING LIKE AN UNCIVILISED BRUTE?"

"SHUT UP OLD HAG!"

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH OR I WILL GIVE YOU A REASON TO KEEP IT CLOSED!"

Midoriya sighed upon hearing this. Their explosive-prone friend had a very… unique personality, one they slowly managed to decipher over the ten years spent together. Him being loud and aggressive? That's his 'norm'. Anything other than that usually means that something is bothering him. And if he's completely silent and avoiding conflict, that's when something is very wrong and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Midoriya finally managed to grab everything they needed and went back to the dining room. As they moved out of the kitchen, they passed Katsuki his face adorned with typical glare and scowl, as if he was about to murder the next person he would see. This was pretty much proven true as the owner of Explosion quirk decided to stare at them the moment they were in front of each other. If looks could kill, Izuku and his parents would be dead thrice over.

"Move aside, Fatass"

"Nice to see you too, Kacchan."

His reaction was the same as always - for a moment he seemed furious and about to rip their heart out with his bare hands, but instead, they were just rewarded with an angry 'tch' from the ash-blond boy, who moved past them and disappeared in the kitchen.

[Lovely as always, eh?]

(Hisashi, don't even start when we are about to eat. The last thing we need is to be hungry because you and Izuku started disagreeing about Katsuki's behavior. Again.)

[Alright.]

{He's doing his best dad. I can see this, and I think you can too.}

(Izuku, food first, talk later.)

{Okay, mom.}

From there it only took them a moment to join their adoptive parents. Years ago it was strange for all of them to think about this, for different reasons. Izuku still had his parents, after all, possibly closer than ever before, while Inko and Hisashi had to adjust to someone their age serving as their legal guardians. Thankfully Masaru was patient and gave them time to adjust, while Mitsuki somehow managed to joke about being "their mommy" so much that at some point they just started accepting it with a smile.

Midoriya, instead of sitting in the chair, simply kneeled next to the table. They were big enough that even their current position made the table in front of them seem too small to accommodate them. Carefully setting down their food, they started eating slowly, just as Katsuki came back with his plate. The table shook and the chair groaned when the ash-blonde boy seemed hell-bent on making sure that furniture suffered his wrath. Mitsuki reacted to this in her typical way, staring at her son with a promise of pain and suffering. Of course, the explosive boy just returned the favor, at least until the moment when Masaru spoke, breaking the silence.

"Katsuki, Mitsuki, please eat. One of you has school and the other one will be late even considering the possibility of breaking a few speed limits along the way."

Masaru's calmness was almost uncanny, to the point where other members of the family sometimes wondered what apocalypse will be brought upon this world if someone manages to bring out Masaru's anger. That's why neither his son nor his wife protested, instead of focusing on their breakfasts as if their life depended on them. Masaru smiled upon seeing this and decided to move his attention to Midoriya.

"I hope that you all remember that appointment with Doctor Takagi is for today, pretty much right after school, right?"

"We are aware of that. Who will drive us there?"

Midoriya knew that going there on foot brought up more issues than the simple possibility of being late, so assuming that someone will drive them wasn't such an absurd notion. Not everyone was reasonable in this world, and their appearance just begged for someone to confuse them with a villain hellbent on eating someone's children.

"Well, about that…'' Masaru took a deep breath, making everyone focus his attention on him. Mitsuki stopped chewing as aggressively as before, while Katsuki's attempts at making his food explode under the force of his stare also were abandoned for the time being. "I'm afraid you will have to go there on your own. Mitsuki has her entire day scheduled with posing and whatnot, similar story on my side."

"That's not what you told me yesterday" Mitsuki suddenly said, she didn't seem mad, at least not yet, just suspicious.

"I received an email today in the morning that project i have been working on for a while now must be pushed out faster. They expect it to be done yesterday or sooner. Midoriya will have to walk there."

"That's stupid." Fact that Katsuki joined this conversation was surprising, but only for a short moment, since he didn't wait to clarify his thoughts. "Fatass will get in trouble with some half-brained idiot in the best case, in the worst case you will have to get them out of the police station. I won't need extras from school to go after me like flies to shit just because rumors that Fatass killed someone or something."

"This time will be different." Masaru smiled confidently, nothing indicating the bombshell he was about to drop. "And that's because you, Katsuki, will go with Midoriya and keep them company."

"WHAT?!"

"DAD WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"...?!"

"Katsuki will serve as the perfect bodyguard." Masaru continued, somehow not deaf from the screams he was forced to survive just moments ago. "Threatening enough at first sight to discourage anyone smart enough, and if someone stupid manages to try something, i have no doubt Katsuki will be grateful for some live target practice with his quirk." His attempt at a joke didn't work, as everyone still looked at him in disbelief.

"Masaru, are you out of your mind? Those two get about as good as fire and nitroglycerin! The last thing I need is for both of them to argue and get arrested for fighting in the streets!"

"I WON'T BE A FUCKING NANNY FOR THESE REANIMATED FLAPS OF FAT, NOT IN A MILLION YEARS"

Silence from Midoriya and a chaotic mix of emotions across their eyes was only proof of heavy debate within their mind.

{Dad, come on, this is perfect! This will be an occasion to finally talk to him away from school or home!}

[Last time we tried to talk to him like that we almost ended on the receiving end of his Quirk!]

(Hisashi, we need to start addressing issues between us and Katsuki someday. Maybe not in the way Izuku is suggesting, but...)

Masaru gave everyone a moment to cool off, before speaking once again, his face serious and without the smile he previously had.

"Katsuki. Heroes sometimes act as bodyguards for important people. You won't become a good hero, or hero at all if you refuse to save people because of your issues." Masaru moved onto Mitsuki, a smile reappearing on his face, this one expressing emotional exhaustion that was so well hidden previously. "We can't act as if nothing is happening honey. They have issues, and they need to resolve them. This might as well be their first step towards it."

Finally, his stare moved onto Midoriya, and they instantly stopped arguing in their little world as soon as Masaru did that.

"Inko, Hisashi… Izuku." Katsuki tensed upon hearing this, and it didn't go unnoticed even after he tried to hide it. "I don't want to see you like that. I remember to this day how you described to me how happy and fulfilled you are by being together, and yet here you are, falling apart right in front of me. If this keeps going, Midoriya will be no more. And I don't mean it only as a metaphor."

"...Being a hero is stressful. If we keep locking up just because of Katsuki, then we might as well freeze in the middle of disaster, or villain fight, or…" Their solemn choir of voices spoke out after a moment, voicing out loud the conclusion they reached.

Midoriya slowly looked at the Katsuki, his face hard to read. Was he angry, deep in thought, or overwhelmed upon hearing that they might lead to their demise at this rate? This didn't matter, because Masaru broke the silence once again, his voice surprisingly jolly after such a serious discussion.

"Not to ruin the mood, but I'm pretty sure that we all are about to be late, don't you agree?"

This had an instant effect, as Katsuki and Mitsuki shot out of their chairs, sprinting to their rooms to get ready for leaving. Midoriya were not far behind them, managing one rushed "Thanks dad!" before going for their belongings. Meanwhile, Masaru reached out under the table, pulling out a suitcase he prepared beforehand and going directly to the front door.

"You are all third years now."

One of many classes in Aldera Junior High was silent, and some half-asleep, some focused on their teacher, and few were hovering in-between those two states. Among them was Katsuki, somewhere near the middle of class, his head hanging down. Meanwhile at one of the desks in the back was occupied by Midoriya, their chair moved aside as they simply sat on the floor, their size once again making normal-sized things seem completely inadequate.

"You might not know it, but this is the time where your future starts. This is also why you should start seriously thinking about what you will be doing."

Some stirred, visibly affected by such a notion. Others not so much, either carefree or already sure about their path in life.

"For this reason, I have some future career forms with me, however, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. I respect your time and value mine, so let's not waste it on something as pointless as this. After all… You all want to become heroes, don't you?"

Almost everyone in the class took this as a sign to show off their quirks as a confirmation of the teacher's words. The chaos caused by this lasted a few moments, while the teacher tried to get class under control.

"I understand your excitement, but please remember the rules. Quirks are not toys, and someone else would be tempted to punish you harshly for using them in class just for the sake of it. Besides, no need to show off like that, I'm fully aware that all of you have great quirks, fitting for great future heroes."

It was at this moment that Katsuki stood up and jumped on his desk to put down hopes of those extras. They all were cannon fodder at best and guaranteed casualties at worst for him. Normally he would do so by simply asserting his dominance, stomping out any hopes of those losers becoming heroes. However, what he heard this morning was still echoing in his head, changing his delivery, even if only slightly.

"Great Quirks? Don't make me laugh, teach. THEY ARE LESS THAN NOTHING."

His classmates were about to protest, but before they even could, he spoke again, his eyes wandering around.

"You are a bunch of stupid, unprepared extras! Do you want to be heroes? You shouldn't even think about it! Actual heroes like me would have to save you as you piss yourselves in front of a villain, so the last thing I need is for you to drag me down by getting yourselves onto the line of fire, you sentient wastes of space!"

Even bigger outrage grew amongst teenagers, but before they could lynch Katsuki, the teacher spoke again, hellbent on stopping the conflict from escalating. In theory, he should punish Katsuki first of all, but that would put a mark on his flawless record, something everyone teaching in Aldera avoided like plague.

"Ah, Bakugo Katsuki. Your goal is U.A. High, isn't it?"

This managed to do the job, as everyone instantly started chattering just how hard, if not impossible, being accepted to U.A. seemed.

"THAT'S RIGHT I AM!" Katsuki's shout silenced the class once again. "And I'm the only one worthy of actually going there! I will surpass All Might and become the new number one! Fame, riches, and glory will be all mine!"

"Oh, but isn't your sibling aiming for the U.A. as well?" The teacher's voice resounded once again, and what he said made everyone in the class freeze.

Everybody knew that Midoriya and Bakugo, despite being siblings, or at least adoptive siblings as some were aware of this fact, didn't get along with each other. They almost always avoided each other, and when they didn't, obscenities and explosions were always present. No wonder then that everyone tried to either hide under desks or inch away as far from the direct line between explosive boy and multi-eyed abomination. Katsuki stared at Midoriya, his face blank, as if calm before the storm. Midoriya however stood their ground, all their eyes staring at Katsuki, determination burning in their eyes with ferocity like none before. Few tense seconds of silence followed, only for the smaller of the two to speak once again.

"Fatass won't stand a chance even if they try. But they are at least sturdy enough to stay alive when they inevitably get put down to their place as extras. Everyone else on the other hand is lost cause or worse, so you better not litter the entrance exam with your presence or I will explode what's left of you into the previous century!"

Other than discreet whispers between other classmates, no one dared to respond to this. Katsuki got back into his seat, class calmed down, and the teacher finally decided to leave this topic behind. And so lessons continued, with some social interactions in between, until the last class came to an end. Almost everyone got up, some joining their friends and leaving with them until only four members of the class were left behind.

Both members of the Bakugo family were still in their seats. Midoriya stared into the spot where the ash-blonde boy sat, deciding that Katsuki still can decide whether he wants to walk with them or not. Meanwhile, two boys, one lanky with a quirk that gives extendable fingers and another pudgy, big leather wings held close to not get caught onto one of the desks, decided to walk up next to Katsuki.

"Ey, Bakugo, wanna go to the arcade?" Fat kid started

"Ye, let's leave the monster behind and have some fun!" Added the second one, not noticing that Katsuki's hands started twitching. Of course, these words, not quiet at all, reached Midoriya as well, and all parts of them agreed that they wouldn't react to it, even if fire warmed their insides in response to their emotions.

For a moment there was silence, and when Katsuki stood up and looked at his 'friends', they both jumped back. His face made it clear - Katsuki was about to murder someone in cold blood and his face wouldn't even twitch.

"You are forgetting your place, extras." The noise of his quirk and smoke started coming off his closed fists. "Get the fuck away, go drown in shit for all i care. I won't spend a second longer tolerating your sorry asses dragging me down and wasting my time."

Both of them seemed too scared to move, instead, they just started shivering, as if expecting to get blasted off at moment's notice.

"Did I stutter you fucks?!" Katsuki's patience wore thin as he got his hands up, palms open wide, small explosions resounding across the room. "SCATTER BEFORE I HELP YOU WITH IT!"

They were gone before he finished speaking. And once he was sure they were far enough, he stopped using his quirk and turned to Midoriya, who was observing in silence even after witnessing his outburst. Even from here, however, he could see their eyes staring into him, various, somewhat conflicting emotions displayed by each pair.

"Are you waiting for a fucking written invitation, Fatass?" Katsuki spoke, at first glance, as angry at them as he was at those he scared away just moments ago. "Old Hag will blame me if you are late, so let's get moving."

"Okay, Kacchan."

This time there was no reaction to his childhood nickname. In silence, they took their belongings and left class, and not long after that school itself. Midoriya followed Katsuki, who stomped forward in a hurry. Explosive boy's expression kept on scaring everyone into staying as far as possible and if someone tried to stare at the merged trio, the ash-blond boy would retaliate with his murderous glare, his unspoken "MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS!" clear to anyone on the receiving end. Walk itself would take some time, and Katsuki would have preferred to keep silent, but Midoriya seemed to have other plans.

"Hey, Kacchan."

There was no response nor reaction once again, and Midoriya took it as a sign that they can continue.

"There was a giant villain in the city in the morning."

"Eh? And what? If you think that's about you, don't flatter yourself. You are fat, not giant."

"Kamui Woods was there. And someone called Mt. Lady debuted."

"I fucking know. Extras couldn't stop talking about it during breaks. Some idiots focusing on that new bitch's looks. Tch, idiots, all of them."

"Too bad we didn't have time to see them in action. It wasn't far away from our route to school."

"Oh please shut up, will you?!" Their words caught Katsuki's nerve, as he stopped and turned to face them, his demeanor angry, or at least angrier than usual. "Like wasting time to watch some third-rate heroes would be worth it! They are all trash, all of them!"

There was a tense few seconds of silence before Katsuki turned around and once again kept going towards their destination. Midoriya stood there for a few seconds, inner turmoil making moving almost impossible, but it didn't take long for Izuku, Inko, and Hisashi to calm each other. They once again followed Katsuki, however this time they kept a slightly bigger distance, and didn't try to talk to him, at least for now.

Thankfully there were no other surprises along the way, so they soon reached the hospital, where a lady at the reception informed them that doctor Emiyo Tagaki was already awaiting them in the Quirk Gym at the basement level. One of the nurses assisted them with getting there, as it wasn't possible to go there without a member of the hospital's staff. Once there, they found her at one of the training fields, exercise equipment, and measuring devices waiting to be used as they had done every year for the last ten years.

"Midoriya, good to see you! And Katsuki, grumpy as usual I see. How are you two?"

"Stop talking and let's get over it already, Eyebrain!" Bakugo's humor was nastier than usual since usually, he tried to at least act civilized when in hospital.

"Everything is okay Emi. Kacchan was pretty much talked into going with us, so maybe let's start? We don't want to hold him there for too long."

"Eh, you're no fun Midoriya, but fine, let's be done with it. Get changed into some spare gym clothes first, however, I won't let you tire yourself in school uniform."

First were some basic tests and exercises intended to check on their physical condition. Results were as usual for them. They were big, and that naturally came with higher than normal strength and endurance, as well as the drawback of being overall slower than the non-quirk average. Ten years ago that wasn't very significant, but nowadays these aspects have increased in magnitude. Their precision and maneuverability, be it during running or other activities, were however unimpeded, even if big hands gave some trouble with handling some of the equipment.

"And done!" Emiya shouted, Midoriya taking it as a signal to sit down and catch their breath. They took a glance at Katsuki, who seemed to observe everyone else present in this place. They were pretty sure he was saying something along the lines of "stupid extras", but before their curiosity pushed them to ask about it, Doctor Tagaki's voice announced the results. "So far everything seems perfect. You are healthy, your condition and body mass seem adequate, especially for a hero wannabe, and I found no abnormalities. Let's see how your Quirks are doing."

These last words managed to catch the explosive boy's attention since he walked next to 'Eyebrain' as he called her, and observed together with her for the next few minutes. When it came to Pull, Midoriya first showcased control over it - getting lightweight objects to their hand from various distances and with any speed they desired. After that, they pulled onto heavier and heavier things, and with each new one the drawback of Pull became more and more visible - at some point they tried to pull an object which was too big for them to handle, pulling them towards the object instead, mostly resulting in them stumbling. Once they tried to pull onto weight that made them fall forward, Emiyo considered testing for Pull finished.

For Fire Breathing it was very similar - They had to maintain different amounts of fire for as long as possible or showcase their range and accuracy. After that, it was simply a matter of them trying to make the hottest blast of flames they could handle without hurting themselves. In both parts of testing, they surpassed results from a year ago, not surprising as this was the case every time it came to testing the growth of their quirks.

"Seems like everything is fine here as well." With that being said, Doctor Tagaki finished her notes, a smile on her face. "Thank you for your time Midoriya, i hope to see you again next year."

"What, what the fuck, that's it?!" Katsuki suddenly shouted. , getting the attention of not only Emiyo and Midoriya but also several other people present in Quirk Gym, as his voice echoed around, reaching even those who were as far away from them as it was possible. "How can you call it a quirk test? They barely did anything!"

"Well, Katsuki, if you have to know…" Emiyo seemed amused by Katsuki's reaction. She was aware that it was his first time seeing these tests. She knew him from a few meetings outside of the hospital, mostly as she visited Bakugo family on certain holidays. "This testing is for their health, not to measure their capabilities. I was looking for any anomalous results that would indicate that their merged body is not acting as it should be. Compex and unusual quirks, like one Izuku, was blessed with, tend to come with their share of problems, so better to be safe than sorry."

"Tch."

"Emiyo." It was clear from their tone of voice they wanted to apologize for Katsuki's behavior, as he would sooner eat his hair than do so.

"Don't sweat it Midoriya, not the first time I've seen such a reaction. Besides, he might be onto something."

These words stumped both siblings of the Bakugo family. They looked first at Emiyo, then at each other, both not sure how to proceed.

"Midoriya, you are planning to be a hero, and heroes are often subjected to extreme levels of stress and adrenaline. It would be beneficial to see how you handle such things, especially considering your issues that arise from your internal disagreement."

"Ah, okay. So what do we have to do? Like it will be some harsh training or?"

"You will be sparing with a willing assistant of mine. Speaking off..." The three-eyed doctor turned to Katsuki, a mischievous smile on her face being only warning that whatever she came up with won't be pleasant. "Katsuki, my grumpy boy, are you ready to kick some ass for the greater good?"

At this moment two things happened. Katsuki took a second to process these words and once he did, a feral grin adorned his face.

"Can I use my quirk?" That was the only question he asked, eagerness in his voice almost frightening Midoriya.

"Do your worst. Of course, try avoiding any serious or permanent harm. We are under the hospital, but that doesn't mean i will tolerate you butchering Midoriya. Plus again, go get changed first, I won't have Mitsuki scream my ear off if you destroy your clothes."

"Ye ye, whatever, i'm in." He pretty much ran to and back from changing room. Once he came back, he was ready, and the fact that he decided to smack his fist into his palm and created a small explosion at the point of impact showed his desire to do some justified violence.

"Okay then." Emiyo walked aside, giving them an entire training field for them to maneuver on. "Midoriya, are you ready?"

Only silence responded as Midoriya was standing as they stood just a few moments ago, except that their entire body seemed to be shaking, muscles convulsing under a barrage of conflicting signals. Inside their mind, what just moments ago was a bunch of incoherent screaming slowly evolved into a debate between Inko and Hisashi.

(She can't be serious! She expects us to use our quirks on Katsuki? What if we hurt him?)

[Honey, are you seriously worried about him? Worry about us! He will tear us apart the moment he'll receive permission!]

(He never hurt us seriously Hisashi, not even once! We meanwhile just have to set him on fire once and his sweat will detonate!)

[He never hurt us because he's scared of consequences, not because he's not willing to!]

{Mom, dad, STOP IT!}

Silence in their mindscape was deafening. Never before Izuku screamed at them like that.

{We need to do this. We will do this.}

(Sweetie…)

[Izuku, he's...]

{He's like a brother to me! He's our brother as far as i'm concerned! And that's why we need to fight him because that's exactly what we've been avoiding for all this time.}

Izuku didn't need to clarify what he meant, as his father soon followed up on it.

[...We are stupid, aren't we? Katsuki respects strength, he always did, so of course, he hates our guts if all we did since we became one is evading him when he started challenging us.]

(That can't be all, he's still having issues with the fact that we used to be separate, but… I can't disagree with that. The first thing he did after he came over his initial shock of seeing us like that is play heroes and villains with us. And we refused. And he tried many times after that, and we always were too worried to agree. He might hate us for it for all we know.)

{We can't undo all those mistakes, but maybe this confrontation will be the first step to make this right.}

[Alright. Then let's do this as always.]

(Together.)

"We are ready."

This took Katsuki by surprise. He expected them to lock up for the rest of the day and excuse themselves out of it. This however doesn't mean his grin didn't widen when he heard their declaration.

"Alright, on my mark go for it. Please keep to this training field, we don't want to put anyone else here in the line of fire of your quirks." Emiyo announced.

[Plan of action?]

{Kacchan always started with a right hook in school when someone was brave enough to fight him. We can avoid the initial attack and send him staggering to the ground if we hit him.}

(Sounds… painful, but i can't disagree. We will have to deal some pain out as heroes, might as well start with punching Katsuki. He will forgive us… Hopefully.)

[If he's still up after that, let's keep him off balance with Pull and deal with him by hand. if we blast him with fire it might end in disaster, since for all we know he might detonate like a small bomb.]

{We can still use fire, just not as a direct attack. A short-range puff of flames could serve as a deterrent or visual cover to hide our action.}

(Let's aim for his legs with Pull. He's using hands for his quirk, so this way we will either make him miss or, if we pull fast enough, make him completely unable to retaliate)

[({Alright!})]

"Okay… go!"

Blast and flash of air was all the warning they got before Bakugo was in front of them. Despite their plan, they were taken by surprise with his quirk-enhanced speed, and a wide right hook from Katsuki landed right into their side, resulting in an explosion sending them off their feet and to the ground, where they tumbled for a second, ending up

(That hurts. He is trying to put us down, isn't he?)

{We underestimated him. Of course, he's not fighting like in school against others. He's going all out.}

[Focus! INCOMING!]

Their eyes managed to focus on Katsuki who blasted himself into the air, now clearly onto the collision course with them. They brought up their arm, open palm aimed at Katsuki's foot. However their opponent wasn't ignorant, and before even they managed to visualize chains, ash-blonde boosted himself to the side with a powerful explosion. Midoriya tried again, but the same thing happened - before they even could use Pull, explosions would fill the air, and their target would be somewhere else. Their body had no problem following with movement, nor was he too fast for them to follow with their eyes, Pull simply required moments of concentration they were not given in this scenario.

Before they could even discuss their plan falling apart, Katsuki finally got close enough to blast them again, sending them further towards the edge of the training field. This discouraged Katsuki from following up, instead, he backed off, landing on the opposite side, his grin long gone and replaced with what they could only guess was an utter disappointment. It hadn't been a minute, and already they got hit twice. With shaking legs they got up. Their gym clothes had few holes burned into them from explosions, and they could feel the effects of those on parts of skin that were exposed. They took only two hits, but that was enough to make their body hurt. Katsuki for some reason didn't attack again, at least for now, so they looked around as if wondering if something had happened. Other than a lot of gawking, there was nothing noteworthy, so they focused back on their currently idle opponent.

{He's too mobile for Pull, and Fire Breathing is out of the picture as a direct attack… What can we even do?}

[Surprise? Distraction? Play dirty?]

(What do you mean, 'play dirty'? Like kicking between legs or something?)

[Or something. Aiming for jewels is reserved as a last resort in life and death situations.]

{It's an open field, there's not much to surprise him with, and I don't believe anything can distract Kacchan from the fight, he loves winning after all. Also, I don't think I want to anger him more with underhanded tactics. What if...}

"YOU ARE READY? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! YOU ARE PATHETIC! YOU ARE WORTHLESS, YOU ARE NOTHING!"

That broke them out of their discussion. They tensed, readying for any attack that might soon follow, but instead, Katsuki kept on monologuing. From word to word, he seemed angrier and angrier, and it wasn't the type of anger that happy Katsuki liked to display. There was seething hatred in his eyes.

"You know why!? You are weak! Weaker than Deku! Weaker than Auntie Inko! Weaker than uncle Hisashi!"

An explosive boy started walking towards them, but they didn't react. It was the first time since forever that those names left Katsuki's mouth, and it made them forget that they were in the middle of fighting with him.

"Deku I remember could blind with his smile when heroes were mentioned, yet you barely got excited when talking about Mt. Lady debut! Auntie I remember would berate the ever-living hell out of me for cursing, and yet you act as if it was normal! Uncle i remember was cool, and he was in the U.A. once, so he would clean this floor with me, and yet you are failing so spectacularly I feel pity when i look at you!"

Once he was a few meters away from them, he stopped, aiming both his palms towards them.

"And you know what? I know your biggest weakness. You have to think about everything. You are agreeing upon everything. You cannot follow instincts, because that would just freeze you up, like a computer with bugged-out software. That's why you take longer than a normal person to talk, or to do anything. You think you can be a hero when you can't keep up with everyone else?!"

{He's wrong. We are stronger than ever. I won't let his words get to me.}

(Neither will i.)

[I'm with you]

{We need to outmaneuver him, do something he would never expect.}

(... He likes to call us 'Fatass' and says we are slow. Well, let's show him just how fast our glorious ass can get.)

[Inko, your inner Mitsuki is showing. But yes, let's do this.]

"COME ON, TALK TO ME YOU FATASS!" Katsuki was getting impatient when they sighed. The anger-filled boy took that as a sign of defeat, at least until the moment when all six eyes started burning with newfound determination, just as they breathed in more air than would be necessary.

Not taking any chances, he let the explosions fill the air in front of him just as a blaze of fire was sent in his direction. Two forces collided, and while the stream of fire sent his way was powerful enough for the heat to be felt by everyone in the vicinity, his explosions had more concussive force behind them, tearing into the fire without issue. Something however wasn't right, as no scream or any other indication of Midoriya being hit by the time explosion reached way past their location.

"Kacchan!"

Katsuki looked up in disbelief. Midoriya was flying… No, they were using Pull, their arms aimed at the ceiling. This is how they evaded his explosion, using the fact that they experience the same but opposite force as their target. And since the ceiling could support their weight without budging, the entire force of quirk was instead redirected onto them.

"For the dream that we share… we shall become the greatest hero the world has ever seen!"

Their arms moved, Pull no longer active as they started falling. Now both their palms were aimed at him, but even as Katsuki used explosions to move back, they kept their palms locked in place. It was then that he noticed they weren't aiming at him. Instead, they aimed well past him.

"ALL MIGHT STYLE!"

At this moment, their body shot forward, pulled with ridiculous force onto the collision course with Explosion user. Mid-air, they moved their arms, one still stretched forward, accelerating them more and more, while the other pulled back, clearly an improvised imitation of the hero they just mentioned.

"SMASH!"

Be it a surprise, awe, or just unwillingness to back out of such a challenge, Katsuki didn't even try to evade, instead of greeting their arrival with yet another explosion just before their first connection. Cloud of smoke obscured the results, but not for long, as soon two figures lying on their backs were visible, groans of pain loud and clear. It was clear that both final attacks connected,

"Well, that went well. No more fighting, okay? I think we have already established that Midoriya can handle high-stress situations." Doctor Tagaki said, as her main goal of getting these two to talk with each other was fulfilled. However, seeing how only the response she received was more groans of pain, she might have waited too long before stepping in.

After getting both of them patched up on the ground floor, Emiyo walked them to the hospital's entrance. Both Midoriya and Katsuki were back in their school uniforms, with no sign of fight on their bodies, even if both felt sore and hurt all over. Thankfully other doctors and nurses working at the hospital didn't question what happened to them too much, as fight in a controlled environment weren't something unusual, even if they rarely caused such results

"Come again soon, of course as visitors, not patients, okay?"

"Whatever, Eyebrain." Katsuki seemed to be happy despite what just happened, as his sneer seemed dismissive instead of bloodthirsty.

"Maybe Mitsuki will find an excuse to get you over for dinner someday, okay?"

"Sure, as long as you don't mention what happened there today!"

Both Katsuki and Midoriya sweatdropped as they saw badly hidden panic on Emiyo's face. It was clear she didn't want them to end up as they did, even if their altercation left no lasting marks on either of them. Once Emiyo went back inside, they started walking back. It was late, as getting them healed up took much more time than expected, so there was no time for detours. They had to get back home and face the wrath of Mitsuki as well as the inhuman calm of Masaru. This time however they walked side by side, both deep in thought over what happened as they fought.

"It was his idea, wasn't it?" Katsuki suddenly spoke. Neither of them stopped moving, but Midoriya's confusion made it clear that they had no idea what he meant.

"What?"

"That 'Smash' you did, it was Deku's idea to imitate All Might." This wasn't a question anymore, but a statement and the merged trio could only smile faintly as they responded.

"Yes, yes it was."

"God, even after all these fucking years he's such a nerd."

"Language, young man" They responded playfully, even as embarrassment caused one pair of green eyes to close.

"I missed you too auntie. And what about uncle Hisashi?"

"He wants to kick your sorry ass into oblivion next time we fight."

"Sounds about right."

As they kept going forward, pleasant silence followed them. at least until Midoriya decided there was one more thing they needed to talk about.

"Kacchan… Everything's fine between us, right?"

"You are stupid, are you Fatass?"

"Eh?"

"Of course everything's fine! We are family, you dumbass! But don't expect me going easy on you because of that!"

"...Thanks."

"Now shut up and help me come up with an excuse as to why we are late. If we don't snitch on Eyebrain, maybe she will allow us to use this whole Quirk gym to get ready for U.A. You sure as hell need it if you don't want to end up as just another pebble in my path."

"Okay, what about this…"