Dress Our Children in War Paint

By: bunnyscribe (AO3)

When the bell rings for the final class of Mob's second day at U.A., All Might storms into the room like a hurricane. He's a lot more energetic in person than he is on television, enough so that Mob almost finds it overwhelming despite how similar it is to his master.

He can't dwell on his energy for too long though, as a card with the words 'Battle Training' is thrust into the air to the jubilant response of the students. Then, before Mob knows it, he's being herded out to the changing rooms by his fellow classmates.

In the locker room, all the boys seem to be throwing on their costumes as fast as possible, loudly clamoring among themselves as they rush to get ready. There are discarded uniforms flying in every direction, piling up on the concrete floors. Even Midoriya beside him seems to be hurrying, struggling to put on his mask in just the right way with such fervor that it jiggles the belt half tied around his waist.

Meanwhile, Mob stares down at his costume, unmoving. It's a pretty plain compared to the rest of his classmates; an all-black suit with a black mask and black boots. The only pop of color is his belt which his master had insisted be the same bright pink of his tie so he "was a recognizable member of the Heroic Consultation Office." His master had smiled when he said that.

Mob must drift off more than he means to because the next thing he knows is Midoriya tapping on his shoulder with a concerned look on his face. All the other boys are gone. "Are you ok?"

Mob thinks he's ok. He tries to express this to Midoriya. "I'm fine," he says.

Midoriya smiles at him, concern shifting into something Mob can't pinpoint. He looks down at Mob's costume, draped over the bench. "I like your costume," he says softly. "The belt is a cool color."

"My master picked it out."

"I really like it, I think it'll look good on you."

Mob isn't too sure why Midoriya is telling this but nods all the same. "I'll tell him that you said that," he says. "He'll like that."

Midoriya turns back to him, that same smile on his face and rests a hand on Mob's shoulder. He finds he doesn't mind that much when Midoriya touches him like that. It's like when Ritsu does it, but different. "I'm gonna go outside," Midoriya says. "Try not to take too long. We're supposed to get started soon I think."

"Ok," Mob says.

Midoriya pats his shoulder one more time and then disappears around the lockers.

Mob changes after that. The suit is a little too tight and a weird texture against his skin. He finds himself wishing that he could just wear his gym clothes. He likes the belt though. He likes the feeling of bringing something with him to this new and unfamiliar place, and the belt makes him feel like he's brought something of the Heroic Consultation Office.

Fifteen.

"Ooh, Mob!" Uraraka exclaims when she sees him walking outside. She waves furiously at him, as though he's not standing but five feet away. She's the closest to the gate and quite a distance away from the rest of their classmates, almost like she was waiting for something. "I love your costume!"

Mob blushes, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck. "You do?"

"Yeah!" Uraraka says, pumping a fist into the air. "It's really sleek!"

Mob goes to thank her but is interrupted by the loud booming voice of All Might. "Students!" It's hard not to be drawn in by his voice, Mob finds, despite the way the volume grates on his ears. "Are you ready for battle training?"

All Might goes on to explain all the rules of the activity they'll be doing. Mob finds himself feeling more and more pressure inside his chest with each word.

Mob raises his hand after the explanation. "So we'll actually be fighting each other?" he asks.

The atmosphere surrounding All Might appears to stutter after he asks. Mob thinks maybe it wasn't a question he was expecting. He starts to sweat when all his classmates turn to look at him, all with that familiar face that lets him know that he missed something.

All Might coughs into his hand, bring attention back to himself. "Yes, well," All Might says, "Combat situations will only come in the form of capturing your opponent! The goal is not to actually cause harm, it is simply to wrap tape around the other person as sufficient proof of the capture. Excessive violence will result in an immediate disqualification."

Mob turns this over in head a few times, till the rough edges of the thought smooth out like a river stone. He still doesn't like it, but he nods anyway.

All Might nods with him. "Thank you Kageyama, that's probably something very important to know for this exercise."

Twenty-nine.

Mob feels the pressure inside him bubbling. He doesn't have time to think about why though, as All Might starts drawing lots to decide teams.

His name and Uraraka's come up immediately as Team A.

Uraraka is visibly thrilled about this. "All right!" she yells, grabbing Mob's hand and shaking it around in a burst of excitement. "This will be so much more fun with a friend!"

Mob blushes again, gently taking his hand away when she's done.

The lots are continually pulled. People who he doesn't recognize are paired with people he does, going down the list until the hits Team F.

"Bakugou and Midoriya!" All Might says.

Mob glances over to see Midoriya's reaction and is greeted with a pained, pale expression and clenched fists. He glances over to see Bakugou's reaction and is met with a face so red that it reminds him of the cheeks on smiling masks.

It was rather obvious to Mob that there was bad blood between the two of them, though he never pried Midoriya to find out as to why. He wonders if he should have. He looks back and forth between them and something sad shuffles around in his chest for both of them. He's not too sure what to do with it.

Before he even has a chance, All Might has moved on from picking teams and is on to draw lots to decide the battles themselves.

When Team A and Team F come out first, Mob gets a very, very bad feeling.

"It's us!" Uraraka says with a small gasp. "Wow, that's a lot of pressure. Going first I mean."

Mob stares over towards Bakugou and Midoriya, who have moved closer together but are still pointedly not looking at each other. Both are shaking, but Mob guesses it's for very different reasons. "Yeah," he says slowly, "Yeah, it is."

Uraraka tilts her head with a small frown and follows his gaze. "Oh," she says, her expression shifting. "You don't have to worry Mob. I'm sure things will be ok." Her voice is soothing, it reminds him of his mother when he was young enough to have his back rubbed and told words of comfort.

Mob nods. "You're right," he says, voice sounding hollow even to his own ears.

"Sure I am," Uraraka says with a nod of confidence. "Now." She steps in front of Mob, a little too close for his comfort, and blocks his view of the other two boys. "We need to strategize!"

Mob takes a half step back while allowing himself time to process that last bit. "I don't think I'm going to be very good at that," he says. " I'm not very smart."

Uraraka expression quickly shifts into something so disgusted that Mob feels his stomach drop straight into a vat of the emotions that have built up inside of him. Did she not realize that before? Maybe she's just now realizing how bad it is that they're on a team together.

"Who-" she says, voice thin and upset- "told you that?"

Mob blinks, not having expected that kind of response. "A lot of people," he says. Her expression moves into a territory he cannot read. "My grades aren't very good," he adds for good measure, wanting her to smile again.

If anything, she just looks more off-put. Her brows furrow more and mouth tilts down. "Mob," she says slowly. "I've never had good grades either. Would you assume I'm not smart?"

"No," Mob says immediately.

"Then why would you think that about yourself?"

Mob uncomfortably shifts his weight to his other foot. He can feel the heat rising to his face. "It's different," he says because it is. Mob didn't succeed in any of his goals to win over Tsubomi, at least not fully. The journey was important, just as his master said, but he still has a long way to go.

Uraraka lets out a deep breath, her shoulders shaking on the way back down. "Just- rethink about it," she says. "Please."

"Ok," Mob tells her, only because he can't think of anything else to say.

.-.-.

Mob crawls in through the window, trying to go slow so as not to cut himself on the glass shards scattered across the floor. Uraraka reaches out to help him, being careful not to touch him with all of her fingers.

"Alright!" she whispers once Mob's on his feet. She crouches down and spreads her arms out in an almost comical way. "Infiltration completed!"

Mob hums and looks around. They're surrounded by hallways made of cold, unforgiving gray tile just like the blueprints showed. The floors are sparkling like they've been cleaned recently or maybe never even touched since the building's construction. There's only one loose tile on the ceiling, hanging down low enough to see the black gap above it.

"So, what next Mob-kun?" Uraraka says as she stands back up. She throws him a pointed look that goes right over his head.

"Oh." Mob scrambles to find an answer that will appease her, looking at each individual hallway. He wonders what she's expecting from him. He doesn't know, but he tries anyway. "We...start moving?"

Uraraka beams at him and relief hits Mob in a small wave, washing over the collection of other emotions. "Ok," she says. "Let's start moving then."

They only get a few steps down the second hallway, about to turn down the next, when Bakugou flings out from behind the corner.

It's so surprising that Mob doesn't have time to think when an explosion is fired at him and Uraraka.

He flings Uraraka away with his powers at the same time he trips over his own two feet in an attempt to get away. Uraraka sails down the hallway they just came from, landing flat on her back. Mob's shoulder gets burnt before he hits the floor.

"You," Bakugou says, rounding on Mob. "You're the Bowl for Brains that scored higher than me on the exam."

Mob starts to push himself up. Bakugou walks over and puts a foot on his burnt shoulder to push him down again. It hurts.

Twenty-two.

He sneers at Mob, looking down on him. "You beat me at the entrance exam," he says and pushes down his foot harder. Mob winces.

"And then you go on and on about how we're all equal as classmates!" Bakugou shouts. "You didn't even try on quirk apprehension test, did you?! God-" he pushes his hair back, and glares with the one eye not covered by his hand- "you piss me off. Do you even think you'll be able to become a hero if you don't fight?"

Mob can hardly process through the pain, let alone respond. The foot shifts and Mob lets out a small gasp.

Forty-five.

His fingers twitch towards his capture tape. Bakugou sees this and presses him further into the tile.

A piece of debris comes flying down the hall, hitting Bakugou squarely in the head. "Leave him alone, you big bully!" Uraraka yells.

Bakugou scowls, throwing a scathing look in her direction. His foot eases off Mob's shoulder enough that he can move his arms. "Shut up, Round Face! Stay out of this!"

Fifty-nine.

Mob takes full advantage of the momentary distraction. He grabs Bakugou's leg and pushes it off of him with all the strength he can muster.

Bakugou goes stumbling backward and Mob scrambles to get up. Self-defense techniques his master taught him start to fill his head. He throws a kick at Bakugou.

Bakugou grabs his leg, fire sputtering out of his palms. Mob grabs for his neck and throws his leg down at the same time, breaking out of the hold. He gets behind Bakugou and pushes him away.

Bakugou recovers quickly, throwing another punch at Mob the second he regains his balance. Mob dodges out of the way and the explosive punch leaves a small crater in the wall instead.

"Use your quirk already!" Bakugou rages, spit flying out of his mouth.

"No," Mob says. "I don't want to hurt you."

This is the wrong thing to say apparently, as Bakugou roars and rears back to throw another punch at him. It misses, brushing right above Mob's head as he goes floating upwards.

Uraraka stands behind the spot where he was originally, hand still raised from where it touched him. She seems out of breath.

Bakugou wordlessly screeches, raising a hand of his own, and starts a series of explosions that sends him twisting like a fiery tornado.

Sixty-two.

Time seems to slow down for Mob. With how close Uraraka is standing, the flames will burn her pretty badly. Mob can't let that happen. And so, without conscious thought, he surrounds Bakugou's hands with two telekinetic bubbles.

Bakugou screams again and whirls in the air towards Mob. "Take me seriously!" he demands.

Eighty-five.

"Stop trying to hurt others," Mob says coldly, pulling the capture tape out of his pocket, "and maybe I will."

For all the struggling, the capture tape wraps around Bakugou's leg surprisingly easily. A buzzer goes off. "Bakugou has officially been captured!" All Might's voice booms.

.-.-.

"Bakugou has officially been captured!"

The words shake Izuku to his very core. He's been keeping track of the clock since the timer started clicking down, it had only been about six of the fifteen minutes allotted and already Kacchan was down? He wasn't sure what the outcome he was expecting with Mob and Kacchan facing off, but it certainly wasn't this.

After the shock comes the embarrassment. The entire time they had been meant to strategize, the entire walk to the bomb and Izuku couldn't even bring himself to try and collaborate with the other boy. Then again, Kacchan had seemed in no mood to talk to him either, but Izuku strongly suspected that was more out of concentrated rage rather than unrestrained fear.

When the counter had started and Kacchan darted off, Izuku didn't move to follow him or even contact him over the earpieces they were given. He kind of wishes he had now if only to see how Mob and Uraraka had used their quirks to combat Kacchan. Was there any fear at all? Any hesitation on their end? He wishes he knew.

However, while shaken up, the news does spur Izuku into action again. Now is his chance. He has the desperate need to prove himself, to All Might, to his classmates, to Mob.

He knows the other two will be headed here next, they have to get the bomb before the time limit is up. Having analyzed and talked to Mob so much, he knows the other boy most likely won't try to use his quirk at all. That means all he's up against is Mob's base strength and Uraraka's quirk.

The fact that Mob isn't using his quirk doesn't give him too much of an edge though, as he can't really use his either. Any attempt would render him effectively useless and probably kill someone if it landed a hit at one hundred percent.

Plus Mob's base strength is higher than his and also he's been working along a pro-hero for who knows how long. That fact combined with Uraraka's quirk probably will make for a rather challenging combination, especially if they have a good enough strategy to take down Kacchan behind it.

Ok, so this is going to be more difficult than he thought.

He looks around, taking stock of the room. There's not too much inside of it, just a lot of boxes with a paper mache bomb sitting in the middle of the room. He quickly notes that the boxes could pose somewhat of a problem with Uraraka's quirk and hurriedly starts clearing them out of the room while trying to think of a plan.

He's going to be easily overwhelmed if both of them come onto him at once and he knows that they know that, which mean it's probably their current strategy. And that means that Izuku's going to have to find some way to split them up or, even better, take one of them down instantly. But is there anything he can even use to do something like that?

The plan that forms in his head is haphazard at best and downright reckless at worst, but it's a plan all the same and the only idea he can form under the pressure.

He stacks two boxes in front of each of the three entrances, leaping over the last stack and darting to the stairwell closest to the main one. He ducks down, making himself as small as possible in case they come this way, and waits.

He counts the time, sixty-eight seconds pass until he hears the shuffling of a box come from one of the side entrances. Then he's off, rushing towards it and leaving a flurry of footsteps in his wake.

When he reaches the entrance, both of the boxes have been pushed to the side. He lifts a hand, clutching his index finger with his thumb. Uraraka and Mob both turn to look at him. "Deku-kun?" Uraraka asks.

He concentrates All for One into his finger and shoots it at the wall closest to Mob. A boom of air rushes forward with the force of it and leaves a gaping hole in the wall. Mob is consequently sucked towards the opening as well, but not directly hit by the blow. Uraraka stays standing, but just barely.

Izuku doesn't give himself time to think about pain or strategy, instead pulling out his capture tape and rushing towards Uraraka.

Uraraka, more focused on getting to Mob, doesn't notice Izuku till it's too late. She squeals, lifting up a hand to smack against him, but Izuku has already wrapped the capture tape around Uraraka's wrist and knots it shut.

The buzzer goes off again. "Uraraka has been captured!"

Izuku can't believe that worked.

"You got me!" Uraraka says, looking at her arm in surprise and then down at Izuku's finger. She frowns. "How did you do that?"

"I- I didn't think that was going to work honestly," he says with a wobbly grin. He starts positioning himself back in a fighting stance as Mob starts to get back up. He's very very careful with his index finger. "If you had reacted a second earlier, I would've been done for."

"Ahh, shoot," Uraraka says with a huff. A determined fire suddenly enters her eyes. "Well, I'll get you next time, that's a promise. And next time," she says, worry snapping back into her face. "Please be more careful."

Then she looks towards Mob, and her expression flickers through so many different emotions so quickly that even Izuku can't register them all. Izuku follows her eyes.

Mob finishes staggering upright, and for the first time, Izuku gets a good look at his shoulder. It's covered in a familiar type of burn that Izuku's seen too many times before, had too many times before, and Izuku winces with sympathy pain. Mob's hand hovers cautiously over top of it and he's breathing heavily, and Izuku can only hope he didn't skid on it.

"Midoriya," Mob says. There's a look in his eyes that Izuku almost misses, as its so subtly different from his usually blank expression. It's unnaturally cold though and that's enough to unsettle Izuku.

He starts to ease out of his fighting stance without thinking about it. "Ye-Yeah?" he asks, nerves suddenly skyrocketing.

Mob glances at Uraraka, then to Izuku, and then to Izuku's hand. "I don't like this."

"It's ok, Mob-kun," Uraraka says softly. "I'm not hurt, thanks to you. It's just an exercise." The words are practiced like she's repeated them multiple times on the way up here. Izuku imagines that she has had to if the look in Mob's eyes is any indication.

Mob's whole body starts shaking, fist clenched tightly. It's the most emotional Izuku has ever seen him, and he's not quite sure how to deal with it. "I don't like it," Mob repeats, "so I won't fight you."

"M-Mob…" Izuku says, body relaxing entirely. He takes a step towards him.

"We shouldn't try to really hurt each other. We're just students," Mob says. "It's not right."

"It's ok, Mob," Izuku says, taking another step forward. His finger starts to sting, adrenaline fading. "It's just training."

"It's not right," Mob says.

And then the buzzer rings again, announcing that times up.

.-.-.

All Might is taking his time getting used to teaching. But with U.A.'s fast-paced education, it seems like time is a luxury he cannot afford.

The rest of the battle training exercises go well, despite the nightmare that is the first round. Midoriya and Kageyama were the only ones seriously injured in the class, the rest managing to make it out unscathed. All in all that's not too bad, he had seen far worse when he was a student.

He can still hear Kageyama's voice in his ear. "It's not right," he had said.

Perhaps battle training had not been the best exercise for the second day of school. He had just wanted to show the students what they had to look forward to in the future, but in Kageyama's case, it might have backfired.

Perhaps in Bakugou's case as well. The boy had an inflated ego, but All Might knew well that those tended to burst spectacularly. He had watched the rest of the fights with a stormy sort of silence, but his mind seemed to be else. If All Might has to guess, it was probably back in the training building, playing his loss over and over again.

His time runs out almost immediately after class, leaving him darting away from his students in a rush. There's a popping sound the second he gets far enough away, and suddenly his clothes are loosely draped over him as he returns to his true form.

"Dammit," he says.

He makes his way over to the nurse's office, where he had sent Midoriya and Kageyama after their fight. The door is ajar, so he peeks in, and finds Midoriya and Kageyama sitting on their respective beds. They are both silent.

As if sensing his presence, the door opens and slams shut, leaving an irate Recovery Girl standing in front of him.

"How could you let this happen?" she demands. "This is the second day of school, and yet you keep sending students here! Your successor has been here three times!"

"I know," All Might says, rubbing his hands together. "I should have stopped it when I notice how upset Kageyama was getting, but I hesitated because I wanted to give Midoriya a chance in combat."

"Well, I hope it was worth it," Recovery Girl says with a huff. Then she softens, rubbing against her temple. "Look, I know he's your favorite, but you can't sacrifice other students' well beings to further his development."

All Might feels the offense down to his bones. "That's not what I was trying to do!" he says.

"Yes, well that's what you did!" Recovery Girl says. "The boy hasn't talked since he's been in here, despite the other trying to get him to open up." She sighs. "I don't know what happened, but he's not doing well."

The offense disappears, replaced immediately by the feeling on his nonexistent stomach falling to his feet. He knew Kageyama didn't like fighting or using his quirk, he had observed as much on the first day of school and at the beach. And yet, he had still pushed him to do so, perhaps not directly but as a mentor.

"May I," he wrings his hand together, bouncing back for foot to foot. "May I talk to them?"

Recovery stares at him sharply, like she's trying to reach inside him and pull him apart. She seems to find what she's looking for as her gaze softens. "All right," she says, "but don't push yourself."

All Might doesn't respond, instead puffing himself up using the last dredges of his hero form, and opens the door.

Midoriya snaps to attention the second he steps inside, "All Might!"

Kageyama is much slower to look up, barely lifting his head. A shadow from his hair covers most of his face, leaving only his eyes showing underneath.

"Midoriya! Kageyama! How are your injuries?"

There's a pause where Midoriya throws a worried glance at Kageyama, almost like he's waiting for him to respond. "We're fine," Midoriya says when Kageyama doesn't.

All Might frowns. He walks over to Kageyama's bed, towering over him. Kageyama looks up, the shadows lifting from his face to reveal a blank face. He looks vastly more impassive than he did on the video screens, but there's still a cold something lingering in his eyes.

"Kageyama," All Might says. "It seems I have done something unjust to you today."

"...It's fine," Kageyama finally says.

"No, I don't think it is," All Might say, reaching down to put a hand on Kageyama's shoulder. The boy flinches, so he immediately removes it. "I have seen how you don't enjoy violence. I watched you grow more and more upset over the course of the training, yet I did not ask how you were nor did I stop the exercise. And for that-" he sighs, kneeling down so he's more Kageyama's height- "I am deeply sorry."

Something shifts in the room, there's a little pop of pressure and the feeling of static runs through All Might. He looks up as the lights flicker. When he glances back down at Kageyama, the look in his eyes has shifted from something cold to something more contemplative.

"All Might," he says gravely.

"Yes?"

"Will I be able to become a hero if I don't like fighting?"

"My boy, none of the great heroes enjoy fighting," All Might says, "and the fighting is not what makes great heroes. Great heroes are great because they have strict morals and their desire to help others. And you, you have shown that you have both of those today. He stands up to his full height, puffing out his chest and smiling wide. "You are already on your first step to becoming a great pro without even trying."

Something seems to click in Kageyama's head as the tension in his posture eases. He hums. "Why make us fight each other then? If we're not supposed to like it?"

All Might hums, "It's for...for…real-world experience, I suppose." He gestures outward, spreading his arms. "The wider array of quirks that you encounter in battle, the easier time you'll have adapting to new ones as needed."

"So we'll have to keep doing this," Kageyama says flatly.

"Well, yes," All Might says. "But we'll ease into it."

"Do-Don't worry, Mob," Midoriya says, cutting in with a wobbly smile and teary eyes. "I have to work on getting stronger without my quirk, and if you have to practice getting used to fighting then you can help me right? So we'll practice together, alright?"

Kageyama stares at Midoriya for a few moments longer than necessary, then his lips quirk up. "I would like that."

Midoriya looks so enthused that his friend is talking to him again that he actually starts crying in earnest. All Might laughs and claps him hard on the back, Midoriya hiccuping with the hit.

All Might counts this moment as one crisis temporarily averted. "I will let you two have a few minutes to talk then!" he says, "But don't take too long! Class is already over and if you're home too late your parents will worry!"

The boys barely seem to notice him, which is all too handy in slipping out of the room unnoticed. Smoke drifts down the hallway as he transforms back into his skeletal self.

"Nice job," Recovery Girl tells him.

.-.-.

Everyone seems to want to talk to Izuku and Mob once they get back to the classroom. They are crowded in the doorway pretty much as soon as they open it, and Izuku can feel himself tensing from all the attention.

"You guys fight was so wild dude!" A boy with red, spiky hair says. "I'm Kirishima, it's nice to meetcha!"

"Your moves were so awesome!" says a pink girl who introduces herself as Ashido. "So awesome!"

"I'm Tsuyu Asui," says the frog girl in a voice that reminds Izuku of Mob. "You can call me Tsuyu."

Kacchan shoulders his way in front of the group, coming eye to eye with Izuku. They stare at each other for a moment before Kacchan huffs and pushes in between Mob and Izuku to get out the door.

Izuku stares after him as he saunters away. He turns to Mob, who is also watching Kacchan with that blank stare that Izuku can never read. Mob blinks, feeling the stare, and looks at Izuku.

"I'll be right back," Izuku says, and he's off before the other boy has a chance to say anything.

He doesn't catch up with Kacchan until they reach the courtyard. "Kacchan!" Izuku calls out, and the boy freezes like he had just been struck.

"What do you want Deku?" he growls, throwing a dirty look over his shoulder.

"Look!" Izuku says. He can feel himself starting to tremble again, that urge to be afraid so ingrained when it comes to Kacchan. "I'm not- I'm not going to be your punching bag anymore!"

"Ehh?" Kacchan turns to him fully and it's all Izuku can do to keep from tucking tail and running. He thinks of the cool level headed Mob. He thinks of Uraraka cheerfully reclaiming his nickname. He thinks of All Might's overwhelming strength. He tries to channel all of that into his words.

"Yeah, from now on I'm go-going to be the Deku who does his best! An-And I just wanted to tell you...that I haven't been tricking you. I got this power, from someone else." He waves his hands wildly in front of him. "I can't say who! It's just…"

He steels himself, feeling all the strength he has in him bubbling up into his vocal cords. "I'm going to make this power my own and then I'm going to overcome you with it."

Kacchan stares at him, gobsmacked. Izuku feels himself going red. He didn't mean to say the last bit, didn't expect that it to come out of him so calmly. It's the truth, but he had only meant to get as far as telling Kacchan that he wasn't tricking him.

"What the fuck are you on about Deku?" The air between them grows tense enough that Izuku takes a step back. "First Bowl for Brains and now you? What is with all you weaklings today? I mean what the hell?"

Kacchan clenches his fist so hard that Izuku can see them turning white from where he's standing. "You just keep, making a fool of me! Earning us some half-assed victory that you didn't even have to work for because your dweeby friend is too much of a fucking pacifist. And what's worse, is that I lost to him today!"

Kacchan throws out his hands, angry tears collecting in the corners of his eyes as he yells. "And that Icyhot bastard, I-I know I couldn't measure up to him either. Da-Damnit...Damnit!"

He points at Izuku so suddenly that Izuku squeaks. "Just know this Deku! I refuse to lose again, not to you, not to anybody!"

"Bakugou!" All Might says, rushing out of the school and leaving only dust behind him. He comes upon Bakugou, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You did great work today. It's nothing to be ashamed of-"

"Get off of me All Might," Kacchan says, warning in his voice.

All Might lets him go.

Kacchan starts walking away again but throws a glance back at All Might. "I'm going to become a hero who surpasses even you someday! Just you watch me!"

Izuku turns away, feeling eyes on the back of his neck and looks up towards the windows in front of his classroom. There he finds Ashido, Uraraka, and Mob staring down at him. Izuku meets Mob's eyes and nods.

Mob pauses and then nods back.

To be continued…

Me, three months later with Starbucks(TM): Hello friends, I have an update.

In all seriousness though, I do apologize for the long wait times between these chapters, life keeps on getting in the way. Just know that I still love this fic with all of my wee little heart! It's always in the back of my brain somewhere, and I do have big massive plans for it. I hope you all really enjoy this chapter, I love love love writing action scenes and I hope it shows.