Chapter Thirty: Chamber of Reflection

Oh and the universe most certainly did. Izuku stood beside Bakugou as All Might towered in front of the two of them with his all intensive trademark cheshire grin. In most instances the smile would be a symbol of comfort, but only now with these two boys would it strike fear into their hearts.

Suddenly a certain raven-haired girl made her way over, quickly grabbing onto the ash blond's shoulder in order to grab his attention. Bakugou would slowly turn around, his eyes widening in surprise as it was Momo Yaoyorozu of all people who had dared interrupt.

"U-Uhm… N-Not that you needed it or anything, but I-I just wanted to say good luck, Bakugou-san." She stated, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she attempted to avert her gaze from the boy. Izuku watched in surprise as the blond's expression went from his usual anger-filled expression to one of confusion.

"Thanks? I don't need it, ponytail, but… Thanks. I'll show these clowns who's gonna be number one." He expressed, nodding to her as he turned back to the 7 foot tall man that stood before him. Momo would turn to Izuku with sparkly eyes of joy that his plan had actually worked.

Izuku smiled and gave the girl a thumbs up before she walked to her test location with a warm smile on her face. As the greenette turned back to All Might the man had pulled out an odd looking wristband out of… Izuku didn't even want to think about where he was hiding it.

"We had those down at the support course department make us these ultra compressed weighted bracelets. This handicap weighs me down with a whole fifty percent of my actual body weight!" He explained, strapping the wristbands on. "It's a tried-and-true method of slowing movement and draining stamina!"

"But All Might you weigh like-" Izuku attempted to interject.

"Fear not, young Midoriya! This is nothing I can't handle!" He exclaimed, silently wishing that he didn't have to fake this. The weights were really fucking heavy.

"You're trying to bring down the level of this fight? I feel insulted." Bakugou stated, causing All Might's smile to widen sadistically. His blue eyes shined in the shadow of his brow and the man laughed.

"We'll see about that!"

"Would you quit following me!?" Bakugou shouted, angrily stomping around the city block of their training field. Izuku had been trying to get the blond to cooperate but no matter what he just refused to even come up with a plan with the greenette.

"B-But just aimlessly walking into this is moronic! W-We need to-" He attempted to explain before being interrupted by a crackle of an explosion in the blond's hand, causing Izuku to flinch instinctively.

"But nothing! Obviously beating down that old fart is the best option, and I'm not gonna let you slow me down, useless Deku!" Bakugou berated, continuing to stomp through the street. "We'll just tire him out and beat him to a BLOODY PULP!"

"Hhhhh…" Izuku groaned as his patience was beginning to run thin with the blonde. It seemed that he was aware that with All Might's old age he was beginning to slow down and was on the ropes more times than he'd like to admit. "Still, this is All Might we're talking about! Even with his handicap neither you, nor I could beat him, Kacchan!"

Bakugou's eye twitched with annoyance and before anything else could have been said Bakugou swung his gauntlet covered arm as hard as he could straight for Izuku's face in an attempt to slap the absolute shit out of him.

Izuku was quick to react, grabbing onto the blond's arm in an act reminiscent of their first battle training., and made quick work of slamming the blonde onto his back. Something inside of the greenette had snapped, and as he looked at the blonde on the concrete beneath him all he could see was red.

"You just tried to hit me!? This is a team exercise you MORON!" Izuku shouted, quickly pinning the blond's arms down with his knees as he began to slam his fist into Bakugou's face. No quirk needed, the greenette was dealing out harsh blow after blow.

"How-" Another strike. "MANY-" Two more punches. "-YEARS!? HOW MANY YEARS, BAKUGOU!?"

The blond remained silent. He couldn't bring himself to talk, both out of the assault he just suffered, and his own lack of words. He didn't know how to respond, and so he said nothing. The silence continued to feed Izuku's anger.

"THINK, BAKUGOU, THINK! DID YOU EVER STOP TO CONSIDER THAT I WANTED TO BE YOUR FRIEND, I WANTED TO WORK TOGETHER WITH YOU ON THIS IN HOPES THAT WE COULD RECONCILE, BUT ALL YOU'VE WANTED TO DO IS IGNORE AND BELITTLE ME! I'M TIRED OF IT! NOW YOU CAN EITHER GET YOUR ASS UP, OR I CAN FAIL THE BOTH OF US! I HAVE THAT MAN'S QUIRK, YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW HOW HE WORKS!? YOU THINK IT'S BETTER TO NOT LISTEN TO THE FANBOY!? YOU THINK IT MAKES YOU BETTER THAN ME BY REFUSING TO COOPERATE!?"

Bakugou stared at the boy in awe, and through his own admittance the greenette fell silent. Bakugou paused as the word's that Izuku had spoken began to set in. "Deku… What did you just say? You have his quirk?"

"It doesn't matter." He replied, his eyes falling in despair as he yanked the blond up to his feet, shoving him into a nearby wall. Bakugou's normally angry eyes now were filled with such a strange plea for forgiveness, and Izuku's rage went away. He couldn't continue anymore, the anger had left him and he just wanted this to be over. Damn his kindness. What a display for the spectator, Recovery Girl, hell, he even accidentally spilled the beans about One For All.

There was a pause. "...Let's go. I'll listen to your plan." Bakugou mumbled, his eyes returning with the same vibrance of his normal cocky attitude. He couldn't argue with what Izuku was saying, he knew that he had fucked up from the start, but perhaps helping the two of them pass would somewhat help the start of redemption that he needed.

Izuku's eyes widened in surprise, but he gave a silent nod to the blond before a massive gust of wind blew past them and all of the surrounding buildings had been obliterated in a moment's notice. Seems the greenettes shouting had alerted a certain hero.

"Now…" All Might's voice echoed through the destruction of all the buildings. Rubble crumbled around the two as Izuku was the only one left standing on his feet. "Prepare to have a really bad time, you two. I'm not going to hold back!"

"A-All Might…" Izuku uttered through his labored breaths. Seeing the man's display of power really just put the two boys into their respective fight-or-flight responses. It was all or nothing now, and they had no time to even come up with a proper plan.

"That's right, though I'm no hero right now…" He started, slowly stepping towards the two as his smile grew sadistically. "I'm a villain, heroes. So give me all you've got."

Suddenly the man rushed the two of them, yet instead of running the greenette shot towards him to meet him halfway, activating 10% of One For All to just barely reach the man.

"Full Cowling… Jade Bullet: Polished!" Izuku shouted, dashing straight into the man as the two locked their grips onto each other's hands, surprisingly All Might was having a bit of struggle overpowering the greenette, and as they tussled for dominance Izuku quickly turned his head. "BAKUGOU, YOUR GAUNTLET!"

Nodding, the blonde blasted his way over, gripping onto the pin of his gauntlet as his hand was positioned right in front of All Might's face. It appeared as though the world began to move in slow motion as Izuku quickly kicked All Might in his shin, forcing the man to his knee as the gauntlet illuminated with the release of the pin.

A sudden shockwave would echo throughout the arena, and a massive explosion would follow shortly after. Through the massive puff of smoke Izuku would leap out along with Bakugou, watching… No, they were waiting. They were well aware that All Might wouldn't have gone down just like that, they knew that he'd rise from the smoke of the explosion.

Izuku coughed and prepared himself for one of the hardest fights he had been in. The fact alone that the weights had been tying the man down was enough to keep him down with his own amass of strength, but he knew if they were to go at arms like that again he would be physically tossed aside like garbage.

"That was a bold move, Kid. Really surprised you managed to work together there." The man's deep voice spoke through the surrounding smoke cloud, and Izuku's eyes widened in fear. They had just accidentally given All Might an advantage, a smoke screen to hide his massive form.

"Deku, run!" Bakugou shouted before All Might's massive fist was slammed straight into his abdomen, causing the blonde to throw up his lunch. The blonde was sent flying, and as much as Izuku wanted to check on him and make sure that he was okay, if he dared glance away from All Might it would be over.

"It was a surprise to hear you shouting of all people, my boy. What was that all about?" All Might questioned as he stood at a standstill with the greenette, with his pupil. Izuku showed the man a shaky smile as he got into his fighting stance.

"I-It was all a part of the plan!" He exclaimed, rushing the man once more, hoping that his lie would be enough to intimidate him. All Might's cheshire grin widened and he dashed forward in an attempt to outpace the greenette, though unfortunately for him the weights really were slowing him down.

Izuku charged eight percent of One For All throughout his body and reeled his fist back, throwing it forward as it connected to his teacher's jaw, successfully managing to do some real damage to it.

"Full Cowling Emerald Shatter: Polished!" He shouted as his fist connected. The move that he had made in place of Detroit smash; it's purpose would be to connect to someone's jaw and cause it to rupture upon impact, successfully rattling their brain without doing any severe damage. (Though it may dislocate it depending on the strength of the attack).

All Might's face quickly whipped back to Izuku and he rubbed his jaw. That strike really hurt… That was good! Izuku's strength was phenomenal! "Well done, Young Midoriya!"

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" Bakugou's voice reeled as the blond had at some point positioned himself above All Might, and Izuku quickly jumped back to get away from the blast, though not before clenching something in his hand. Bakugou fired a near equal explosion of the gauntlet with his hands, flinching as the pain shot through his entire arm.

All Might reeled his fist back as if he was going to punch the incoming explosion, and as he swung his arm upward, twisting it as he did so, a tornado formed and engulfed both the explosion, and Bakugou within it, creating a fire tornado. "NEBRASKA SMASH!"

"You shouldn't have looked away, All Might."

All Might quickly turned his head around to see Izuku had rolled a smaller grenade with its pin pulled right beneath his feet. It was already too late. The grenade exploded, shrapnel littering cuts all over the man's massive body, though unfortunately some of it had flown back at Izuku.

'But how..!?' All Might thought, questioning how in the hell the two were able to formulate their plan like this, the two had been fighting for years and now they were just working together? How did Izuku even get a grenade?

All Might's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. Bakugou had thrown Izuku the grenade before he hit him with the Nebraska Smash! Bakugou knew that he wouldn't fall for the same thing twice!

Unfortunately for the two boys, it still wasn't enough. The impact hurt, but what was about to come next was going to hurt a helluva lot more. "HOWITZER-"

The number one quickly turned around to see that Bakugou had already used the rotation of the fire tornado as his own and made quick work of using it against the man. He was done for.

"IMPACT!"

Another massive shockwave sounded throughout the arena after the massive explosion, and as All Might coughed and struggled to bring himself to his feet he heard a small clicking noise behind him, and he was pinned to the ground.

Turning his head he saw the tuft of green hair holding one of his arms down, and Bakugou the other. Their legs resting on the man's back, pushing him into the ground. They had worked together and successfully contained All Might, a feat which some villains could only dream of.

The three men continued to breathe and attempted to catch their breath in the mass of smoke, and as the smoke and dust cleared Izuku raised a fist into the air. Through his labored breaths he spoke:

"...We… W-Win."

'Young Midoriya…' All Might thought as the greenette gazed into his mentor's eyes. He had actually beat him, and despite his frustrations… He was proud. Proud that he was able to overcome even his master, proud that he overcame the harsh reality of being forced to work with Bakugou. He was proud because once again he had shown All Might what it meant to be a hero. To overcome these struggles.

"Haah..!" The two boys groaned as they flopped onto the pavement. The exhaustion and pain of the battle had begun to set in, and through the tears and rips of their costumes the three men relented themselves to being carried out by the stretcher bots. All Might especially, as he felt a bit dazed still from Izuku's strike to his jaw.

"You two…" All Might spoke, coughing up blood as his time was nearing its end. "You two will be great heroes."

The greenette smiled brightly from the praise while Bakugou huffed in annoyance, though deep down the praise was appreciated. Soon enough the stretcher bots would come, and the three men would be carried out.

Izuku, who had suffered the least amount of damage, was free to head over to the spectator room and watch the other matches after his rather light healing. Recovery Girl had been there spectating, but since she was needed, he'd be there on his own for a few minutes.

The greenette followed the stretcher bot carrying Bakugou, stopping it abruptly as All Might was wheeled off.

"Listen, Ka- Bakugou. What you heard in that battle has to stay between us, please? It's important to the safety of the school, hell, maybe even the world. If what you heard got out… We'd all be in danger." Izuku started, watching as the blonde's scowl grew in annoyance. He huffed and sat up, shoving the greenette out of the way as he remained silent.

Izuku watched the blond be carried away and panic began to set in. Though somehow Izuku knew that meant that the blond had agreed. He sighed, opting to just leave it and head back into the spectator's area.

There were other fights he wanted to analyze.

As Izuku sat in the spectator room, the door behind him opened, revealing Recovery Girl in all her "youthful" glory.

"He has more than those few knicks from that altercation with All Might. Anything you want to tell me, boy?" She questioned, walking over to the greenette as she sat down in the chair in front of the screens.

"...No, you already know. I know you do." He stated, sighing as he looked down at his hands. The hands he had used to basically assault the blond who had no means to defend himself. The hands he used to assault his childhood tormentor, though it was deserved.

"Mmm…" She hummed. Turning to the greenette with worry present on her face. "We knew you two weren't on good terms, but-"

"It's fine… I-It's fine."

"...If you say so. Though maybe you should speak to Hounddog, he can help you if you want to switch to the B class." She informed, watching as the greenettes scowl deepened. He huffed in annoyance.

"No…" He mumbled, "No, I have to face this. Let's just watch the matches."

"The first team to pass is Izuku Midoriya, and Katsuki Bakugou."

"Seriously..? Those two are full of surprises…" Yaoyorozu murmured, lightly jogging after Todoroki as she began creating...

"I know I said anything, but what are those?" Todoroki questioned as Momo, who had been jogging behind him, was creating Russian Matroyshka dolls.

"Russian Matroyshka dolls. They're one of the few things I can make without even really giving it much thought." She replied, looking down at her dolls while deep in thought. The fact that the dual-haired boy had been able to come up with a plan of his own so quickly… It was amazing.

"Right." He replied, crackling ice over his hands. "Just yell if your quirk starts acting weird."

"Of course… I-It's amazing how you and the other powerhouses of the class are able to work on your feet like this." She voiced, following Todoroki as the two kept their eyes out for their homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa.

"'Powerhouses'? What are you talking about?" Todoroki questions, turning his head back to look at her as they continue their trek through the streets of the false suburbia.

"You, Midoriya, and Bakugou. You're all so amazing, so… Made for this, and then there's the rest of us. Then there's me… I-I can hardly keep up." She starts, beginning to delve deeper into her own insecurities. "You and the others are able to hammer out strategies and just… act. And I myself can hardly keep up. I can't even be the person that I wish I could be as a hero."

"...It's nothing special. We all face struggles, but if this is about B-" Todoroki starts, before being cut off by the realization that Momo's quirk had stopped working. "Your matryoshkas… HE'S HERE!"

"O-Oh god! I-I'm sorry I-"

"Yeah, you should have realized it sooner. Very disappointing." Aizawa spoke, hanging off of the power lines above them with his capture weapon. "Seems your plan wasn't good enough."

Todoroki swiped his right side at Aizawa in an attempt to make the man back off with his flames, but to no avail, he had already erased the boy's quirk.

"Focus on escaping! Run Yaoyorozu!" The boy shouted, urging the ravenette to make a break for it. Yaoyorozu nodded, giving the boy one final look of apology before dashing off to escape their teacher.

"Fine by me!" Aizawa stated, quickly tying Todoroki up, and binding him to a nearby streetlamp as the girl ran off. "You were the offense of this team, so capturing you was top priority."

"Do you really think this will hold me?" Todoroki questioned, beginning to struggle against the bindings as his quirk was already erased. "Once you chase after Yaoyorozu, I'll break out of this and make a break for the exit."

"Do whatever you want." Aizawa replied, throwing down caltraps onto the ground as he finally allowed himself to blink. "Just watch your fall. Really, you should have listened to what your teammate had to say."

"What?" Todoroki questioned, appalled that the man had insinuated that he hadn't listened to anything Yaoyorozu had to add.

"You took on your fair share with this plan, but you essentially disregarded her. She was your best bet at victory, and you failed to realize it. She got in through recommendations for a reason, just like you. She's more than qualified to be an asset to your strategy, but you didn't think of her thoughts, did you?"

"I-I…"

"You nothing. Learn your place, you are no pro hero." The man exclaimed rather harshly before dashing off to the rooftops in order to catch up to Yaoyorozu.

The ravenette had been running for quite some time, never stopping to think or gather her thoughts. Everything was beginning to crumble and it seemed that the plan in mind was no more. She needed to find the gate and get the hell out of there before Aizawa caught up to her. She knew she needed to run for it, but could she even make it in time? What could she do? Why was she even still running? Was it really okay for her to just run for it, just like that? What if there was a shorter route?

'Where am I even running!? Why am I doing this..? If I were someone like Bakugou…' She thought erratically before her eyes widened in realization. 'Wait… If I were Bakugou!'

"Your loss in self-confidence is rather evident. You've certainly lost your composure as well." Aizawa's voice berated from behind her. Seemed he was gaining on her, but she wasn't going down that easily!

"GO TO HELL!" She shouted, shocking her homeroom teacher at her rather crude outburst before realizing that she was throwing netting at him. She must have made quick work to create it right before turning to face him… The change was odd, but was definitely an improvement towards her quick thinking.

The man would quickly unsheathe his knife, cutting through the netting before realizing that the girl had disappeared. She must have made a break for the gate again!

"God damnit!" He groaned in annoyance before dashing off to presumably give chase to the ravenette. Little did the teacher know that she was headed in the opposite direction in order to regroup with her captured teammate, Shouto Todoroki.

"Todoroki!" She called as she finally reached the dangling peppermint. "I'm sorry, I failed you before, but I gave Aizawa the slip so we could regroup and come up with a plan!"

"No, I should apologize to you! You had a plan, didn't you? I should have listened to what you had to say, and I'm sorry!" He countered, apologizing for never truly letting her voice her opinions during their initial planning. "What have you got?"

"I-I… I dunno, I'm not as good at this as he is..!" She mumbled, looking down out of shame for her feelings of inferiority. Todoroki's expression changed to one of confusion.

"He"? Who is "He"- Did she mean Bakugou? Sure he had seen her wish him good luck before their own match, but for this to be affecting her now was foolish.

"You mean Bakugou, don't you?" He questioned, causing the ravenette to blush up a storm as she freed him from his bindings. "You can do this, I know you can! You got three votes during the class presidential election, remember? It was me and Bakugou! He voted for you, and so did I because we see that you are fit to lead! You can do this!"

"Are you finished?" Aizawa's voice spoke as the man appeared from above the two, readying himself to strike. Yaoyorozu may have tricked him once, but he wasn't going to let it happen again.

Yaoyorozu began to feel herself rise with confidence, and as Aizawa neared the two teens, ready to strike, she threw up a bunch of her matryoshka dolls. She could do this- No, she had to do this in order to catch up to him. To prove that she too was no pushover. She wasn't some sheltered little girl!

"Close your eyes, Todoroki!" She shouted as the matryoshka dolls split apart, revealing that they were filled with flashbangs. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu closed their eyes in tandem as the flash burst forth, successfully blinding their eyesight oriented pursuer. "I've got a plan, just bear with me."

Todoroki nodded, readying himself for battle as Aizawa rubbed his blurry eyes with a sadistic smile on his leered at the teens with hostile intent and the duo opted to make a break for it. "Now that's what I like to see..!"

"What's your plan, Yaoyorozu?" Todoroki questioned, dashing through the narrow alleys of the suburbia in order to try and lose their teacher.

"Sensei's eyes haven't been as dependable lately due to his injury during the USJ!" She explained, sidestepping in order to dodge their pursuing teachers' capture weapon.

"So we're taking advantage of it?" He questioned once more, turning back to see their teacher was still hot on their tail.

"Not exactly. We just need to escape his line of sight first and prepare!" She continued, waiting for a small interval. Due to the goggles over their teachers eyes it was hard to know exactly when it would happen. "There's a time limit, a short time span from when he blinks where we can use our quirks again, and when that happens I want you to unleash that massive ice wall that you used during the Sports Festival!"

Todoorki nodded, attempting to activate his quirk consistently until the fraction of a second where he could use his right side in order to wall them off from their teacher's line of sight. Waiting silently for the perfect time to-

"NOW!" Todoroki shouted, feeling as the ice manifested on his arm and with a swift swaying motion a massive wall of ice separated them from their homeroom teacher. "Alright, I've walled him off. You should be able to use your quirk now, though you'd better explain the full pla-"

Todoroki stopped his sentence as he quickly turned back around. She was creating something rather large and was also rather… Exposed, at the moment. He was raised better than to peek.

"What are you making?" He questioned, idly playing with his hands as he waited for the go ahead to turn back around.

"A plethora of things actually. Mainly things to aid in our attempt at capturing Sensei." She explained, finishing off the rest of the replica of Aizawa's capture weapon. "This isn't exactly like what he has, but it's something I think I can work with. It's my own sort of concoction, but will you trust me?"

Todoroki nods, "Of course."

Aizawa stood on a rooftop, watching… Waiting for the students to make a move. He knew that the gate was behind him, and if they truly wanted to escape instead of capture him, they'd need to pass the giant ice wall in order to get by, and that's when they'll get in his line of sight. He just has to play the waiting game.

Suddenly a smoke grenade was rolled out past the wall of ice, though Aizawa was no fool. It was most likely a feint in order to keep the man distracted, and continue to disrupt his vision. That could only mean they'd be coming from the other side.

Sure enough two cloaked figures would dash from the other end of the mountain of ice, but Aizawa was faster. He made quick work of throwing out his capture weapon, quickly using it to slam the two heads of the students together in an attempt to knock them unconscious, but one of the cloaks completely dropped as if there was nothing in it in the first place.

Suddenly Todoroki appeared behind the man, tossing out more flashbangs as Yaoyorozu threw off her cloak to reveal that she had a catapult at the ready. Keeping the man occupied with two threats at once ensured that he'd have difficulty escaping the situation, but the man could only smile with pride. It seemed his students were improving as they fought.

"But it's still not enough!" The man exclaimed, kicking back the false flashbangs. The canisters opened like Yaoyorozu's matryoshka dolls, revealing that they were duds the whole time, and before Aizawa could turn around to deal with the ravenette she had already fired her catapult.

"Loose coils aren't going to-"

"Todoroki, now!" She shouted, before Aizawa could erase the dual-haired boy's quirk. Todoroki shot off a blast of fire from his left side, careful not to singe their teacher, and the "Loose coils" suddenly tightened around their now outsmarted homeroom teacher.

"How-"

"Nitinol Alloy. It's an alloy with shape memory." Yaoyorozu explained, watching as Todoroki quickly placed the handcuffs onto their teacher. "How does it feel to lose to the best?"

Aizawa sighed, hiding a prideful smile in his capture weapon as he gave his eyes a rest from the battle. "It's nice to see your confidence back. I take it that little stunt back there was what really made me stumble. You sounded just like Bakugou and it surprised me."

Yaoyorozu blushed, "O-Oh, y-you think? I-I was just trying to act a bit more… A-Aggressive, I suppose."

Todoroki side eyed her with a blank expression on his face, though the ravenette could tell it was one of judgement. Seriously, she was head over heels for that guy? To each their own.

"Right, well your plan worked. I could hardly keep my eye on both of you coming in different directions. Those duds of yours were smart, forced me to blink and try to deal with them so you could fire off that catapult. If it weren't for these narrow roads, though, you guys would have been toast."

"Yeah, well, at least we won." Todoroki exclaimed, sighing in exhaustion. Yaoyorozu nodded with pride, and thought back to the announcement earlier concerning the two childhood friends…

How did they win against All Might of all people?

"Well, it seems that Yaomomo won. I'm honestly surprised that she was able to overwhelm Aizawa-Sensei like that." Izuku commented, cupping his chin as he frantically began to take notes in his notebook.

"Yes, it is quite the spectacle." Recovery girl added, glaring at the greenette as he had begun going on a mumbling fit. "Personally I feel it was her change in demeanor that threw him off. I wonder who she got the idea from."

Izuku sucked his teeth and looked away. He knew exactly where she had gotten it from, but Recovery Girl didn't need to know that.

"They told me to come here when I woke up." A certain blonde's voice rang throughout the room, bandages littered across his face and abdomen.

Izuku and Bakugou locked eyes, with Izuku being filled with concern before guilt. Bakugou's scowl deepened as he watched the boy grow increasingly pensive, especially after what had transpired on that battlefield.

"Deku." The blonde greeted, silently walking past the greenette and resting himself onto one of the chairs scattered in the room, leaning his head back as he closed his eyes. Izuku nodded in return, taking a deep breath before turning back to the screens and tuning into the fights.

Recovery Girl watched the two interact rather cautiously, sighing in relief as they seemed to not hold anymore aggression towards one another. With all of the teachers busy she'd be the one left to deal with these two and she for sure wasn't trying to go toe-to-toe with these two powerhouses.

Suddenly the door to the spectating room opened once more, and in stepped Momo Yaoyorozu with Shouto Todoroki trailing behind her. Todoroki made his way over to Izuku, placing a hand supportively on his shoulder as he reached him. He knew for a fact being on a team with Bakugou had truly brought up some bad blood between the two as they just couldn't get along for the life of them.

Yaoyorozu scanned the room before her eyes locked onto her target: A bandaged and bruised Katsuki Bakugou. She was rather apprehensive to approach him, but after her victory against Aizawa she was riding a confidence high, and god damnit would she put it to good use!

"U-Uhm, Baku-"

"Did you win?" Bakugou interrupted, tilting his head back in his chair as he began to stretch out and relax his rather sore body.

"Ehrm, wh-wh-"

"Answer the fucking question, Ponytail! Did you, or did you not win your match!?" Bakugou snapped, snarling at her as if he were some rabid animal. Though realistically it's this wild side that she likes about him.

"Y-Yes, w-with both of our efforts-" She paused. That isn't something Bakugou would want to hear, he doesn't want to hear about Todoroki. Quite the opposite, he wanted to hear about her. He wanted to hear about her victory, "Yes. With my strategy and planning we were able to defeat Aizawa-Sensei with relative ease. We had actually almost failed due to our blunder at the start, but-"

"I don't wanna hear about any of that!" He snapped once more, suddenly holding a hand out to the ravenette as his face tinted with a dust of pink before returning to their normal color. "Congrats. Go rub it in that snob's face for me."

Yaoyorozu stood appalled, being urged to take the blond's glove-covered hand was something she could have only dreamed of before, but perhaps there was a softer side to him. Maybe he wasn't just a brute, and above all else perhaps this was her chance to really get closer to him.

Taking his hand she smiled vibrantly, the two of them unknowingly growing blushes upon their faces, and Yaoyorozu nodded in confirmation. "Will do!"

Izuku watched the two with a small smile gracing his lips. Perhaps with her getting to him he'd have a better chance at talking to him, though that was only a small hope. It was very unlikely.

Almost as unlikely as him not watching Kyouka's test next.

"Jirou, you've got any sort of plan in mind here? Thirteen's quirk could be rather difficult." Uraraka voiced, following after the purplette as the duo made their way to their exam site.

"You think I'm like Izuku? I can't just make plans up on the spot like this, I need time to figure out her quirk and strong suits." She replied begrudgingly. Uraraka could tell that Kyouka was rather irritated, though she couldn't quite pin why. Perhaps it was because she wasn't paired up with Deku?

"Oh that reminds me! You're super close with Deku, right?" She questioned, causing Kyouka to turn to the girl with a rather suspicious gaze.

"Yeah? Why do you ask..?"

"W-Well, I just…" Uraraka paused, a deep blush beginning to adorn her already rather rosy cheeks. "D-Do you k-know what kinds o-of girls he's i-into?"

Kyouka could feel the anger rise within her as the world around her turned into a deafening silence. What was the usual sound of idle chatter and the atmosphere around them, was now replaced with the sounds of tinnitus. A constant deafening ringing in her ears as she tuned out of reality.

That question only confirmed her growing suspicions of the brunette, and now it seemed that since she wasn't aware of them dating she might just make a move on her man.

'My man..? He's not mine, why did I even think that…' She pondered, looking down at her hands. It seemed as if the world had begun to move slower and slower as she delved deeper into her thoughts. 'What is this pain? This anger? I know that I can be a bit jealous, but… If given the chance, would Izuku choose her over me..?'

Kyouka turned to face the blushing brunette who only looked at the purplette coyly, and with confusion. She was waiting for an answer, but Kyouka didn't know how to respond. If her showing interest in Izuku meant anything then perhaps she was trying to confess. Trying to steal him…

"Um… Jirou?" Uraraka questioned, waving a hand in front of the absent minded girl, snapping her back into reality. "You okay?"

"H-Huh!? O-Oh, yeah, um…" She sputtered out as she was brought back into the present. Everything seemed to move back into normal motion and the girl was freed for but a moment from her own mind. "Y-You really shouldn't ask me, I-I don't really know myself…"

It seemed that Uraraka was content with that response as she nodded understandingly and made her way into the exam arena. Kyouka slacked behind her, looking down the path towards the many other testing areas.

'What kind of girl is your type, Izuku..?'

"THIS WENT REAL BAD, REAL FAST!" Uraraka exclaimed, hanging onto the handrail for dear life as Thirteen continued to use her quirk, "Blackhole" against her and Kyouka. "And we were so close too!"

"You two really almost had me! Thank god I was able to catch you two in a trap like this." Thirteen exclaimed, making the motion to wipe down her head of sweat despite the fact that she was currently residing in her suit. "Seriously, I hate being one to fight. I'm a rescue hero!"

"Yeah, you don't have to recap like this is an anime!" Kyouka shouted over the whirling vacuum of Thirteen's quirk, while simultaneously berating Uraraka for her needless comment. She was seriously starting to get on her nerves more and more. "We need a plan..! w-we need…"

"What!? What do we need!? Do you have a plan!?" Uraraka urged on, essentially shouting at Kyouka to hurry the fuck up! Unfortunately that would have the reverse effect as all of the noise and commotion happening all at once was limiting her ability to properly come up with a plan.

"Agh! I can't think of anything with all of this commotion, everything is so damn overwhelming!" Kyouka shouted, groaning in annoyance as she wished for nothing other than to cover her ears and think.

"Geez, how are we going to do this!? If only Deku were here…" Uraraka mumbled to herself, looking down in shame as she felt herself beginning to slowly lose her grip. They needed a plan and fast.

"Deku this! Deku that! Is that all you can think about!? Can you please shut up so I can-" Kyouka started before pausing entirely. Once again, the world around her seemed to slow down and she entered a realm of her own mind. The lone sounds of constant ringing begin to distort her views of the world.

Perhaps this was a long time coming, but she finally began to realize something. Throughout her time with Izuku she truly realized how amazing he had been, admiring him to a point that seemed almost a bit obsessive, though it was always within reason as he returned it in kind. Matter of fact, he returned it ten-fold with all of the affection he could muster.

But seeing it from another perspective she realized that he really was amazing. And she wasn't ever going to be the only one to realize that. She wouldn't be the only one to love him for him, and… Witnessing Uraraka act like this, it made her see the truth to that.

She couldn't allow herself to become like that, but at the same time she couldn't allow someone else to love him like she did. Something inside of her was screaming at her to shout to the world that Izuku was hers. To tell Uraraka to buzz off, but… She was afraid.

What if Izuku wanted to love someone else? What if he wasn't truly happy in the relationship? What if he didn't like her looks, or her personality? What if everything that he had said to her was a lie? What if it all could change in the blink of an eye? Would that even ruin their friendship? What if everything they had worked for together… Was gone?

It hurts. It hurts to think about losing him. It hurts to think about others loving him. It hurts to think about her own faults. It hurts to compare herself to others. It hurts to try and love herself when someone like Izuku could love someone else just as easily. It hurt to sit here and witness Uraraka act as she did. It hurt to hide what they had. It hurts. Pain hurts... And she couldn't deal with this pain.

Slowly the world would begin to move as normal, and Ochako watched with wide eyes as Kyouka's eyes seemed lifeless, and she released her grip on the railing. Allowing herself to fall victim to the effects of Thirteen's quirk, though this time the world would be filled with a deafening silence.

"JIROU!"

Jirou's eyes would snap back to life and she quickly swiveled her body around, following the torque of the vortex as Thirteen's eyes widened in fear for her student's life, forcing her to quickly deactivate her quirk, though it was already too late.

Kyouka had used the rotation force of the quirk in order to land a devastating spinning heel kick to Thirteen's head, successfully rattling her head against the helmet to her suit, though it wasn't quite enough.

She sucked her teeth in annoyance as she landed. She knew she would hate having to use this now, but after her internship with Present Mic it was her best bet as it only took a moment for Thirteen's quirk to reactivate. A moment she couldn't take a chance with trying to get her jacks to reach.

Kyouka's jacks would extend to her neck, inserting themselves into her throat as she took a deep breath and braced herself for the pain to come along with what she was about to attempt. A move she liked to call, "Vocal Presentation".

"Shoji and Hagakure have finished their exam!" The intercom announced as Kyouka braced herself.

"STAY DOWN!" She shouted, pumping the vibration of her heart through her throat causing Kyouka to shout at a volume that rivaled Present Mic. Kyouka could feel the rip and tear of her vocal chords, but at this point she didn't care.

She had nothing else to lose, and all she cared about was winning. Nothing else in her mind mattered in that moment, but with her own self sacrifice came a vision. A premonition, some would say, of her green haired lover's smiling face. Truly, by doing this she was acting like him, destroying her body for the sake of the win. How ironic that she had hated him doing this, and yet she was no better.

Thirteen's helmet shattered, along with her own eardrums getting a treatment only known to those who truly pissed off Present Mic. The sound blast happening directly in front of her ruptured her eardrums, rendering the rescue hero unconscious, and securing the victory for her and Uraraka.

Said brunette had crumbled to her knees, planting them on the ground, appalled by what Kyouka had just done. It took someone who was absolutely insane to destroy themself like that, though it was a sight all too familiar, and one that pained her to realize. It was Deku that had made her act like this. It had always been that way, and truly she felt that her question prior had only been getting in the way of what they had, but she couldn't help how she felt. She couldn't help that she wasn't the one for Deku.

Suddenly Kyouka began coughing violently as blood began to pool from her throat. Ochako watched with horror as Kyouka slumped to the ground, beginning to choke and gag. She gasped for air, and only a small amount would enter at once, she needed medical attention, and fast.

Ochako rushed over to her, watching as the stretcher bots were dispatched, rushing their way over to the now sputtering purplette. "Just hang on, Jirou! You're gonna be alright! Hold on!"

Jirou's eyes slowly began to shut as the pain took over her, her throat filled with her own blood as she lay limp. She felt herself get rolled over to her side, and once again Izuku's face became present in her mind, but what scared her most was the change in his image.

He wasn't smiling anymore.

Kyouka awoke in a white room. Her throat ached as she rose from her laying position, and the memories of her exam with Uraraka and Thirteen washed back through her mind. Her throat…

She tried to speak, yet all that came out was a fresh heap of nothing. She whimpered in pain as the results of her using Vocal Presentation had set in once again. She looked around the empty room for someone, anyone, to help her.

But that's when a realization set in. Izuku wasn't here. He didn't wait with her like he usually did. Like she had done for him. Did he… Did he forget about her? Maybe this whole thing was a misunderstanding, there was no way that he would. He probably was forced back to class, right? Right!?

Kyouka shot up from her bed, quickly making her way out of the nurse's office to find her green-haired companion. Stumbling through the hallways, hazy due to her own pain, she somehow finds her way to the spectators room. She assumed this is where he would reside in order to analyze all the matches, though as she entered she saw that all of her classmates had finished their exams and were just idly waiting in the spectator room.

And then she saw him. In all his nerdy glory, there he was, writing away in his notebook as he analyzed his fellow classmates. She stumbled through the threshold of the room and began making her way towards him.

"I-Izu..ku…" She croaked out, her throat hissing in pain as she called out to the greenette. Izuku quickly shut his notebook and pivoted on his heel, swiftly turning around to face Kyouka with wide eyes. She was finally awake! What was she doing here!?

"Kyouka!" He shouted, dashing towards her at full speed before stopping directly in front of her with tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "You're awake! Thank god!"

Kyouka stared at the greenette, appalled that he was even worried for her. Perhaps her fears were unwarranted, even if he didn't stay to watch over her like he normally would. Though she still wondered why. Why had he not been there? Did Recovery Girl try to kick him out?

"You have no idea how worried I was! I was going to go to see you, but Uraraka told me that Recovery Girl didn't want me to come by and bother her." He explained, beginning to realize the growing scowl on the purplette's face. She was not happy to hear that.

Uraraka had blatantly tried to keep Izuku away from her, and for what? For her own selfish desires? She did it so that she could gain some sort of leeway into the greenette's heart? Kyouka wasn't about to just let that happen.

There were eyes on the two of them, some out of concern for Kyouka, and some were less than happy to see her interacting with Izuku. (A certain brunette came to mind). She could feel others staring, but her fears from her exam would flood back into her mind and all she wanted was to block them out.

Kyouka suddenly embraced the greenette tightly, causing him to blush as their surrounding classmates gasped at her boldness. One in particular glared at the purplette with conviction, but Izuku was too flustered to realize.

"Wh-Wh-What are y-you doing, K-Kyouka!?" The greenette questioned, noticing that he couldn't escape her grasp no matter how much he struggled or shook in embarrassment. She gazed up at him with tired, tearful eyes. She looked so fragile and in pain that Izuku snapped out of whatever embarrassed stupor that he was in and got right into hero mode, willing to do anything that she needed.

"...Hu...H…" She attempted to speak, only able to let out a croak before she was forced to heave and cough in pain. Izuku quickly grabbed her as she stumbled forward, falling into him even more than before as the tears that built up in the corner of her eyes began to streak down her face. "...Hu...Hug…M-Me…P-Plea...se…"

"Kyouka…" Izuku mumbled breathlessly as his eyes scanned her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, hazy even due to the amount of pain it took for her to even speak, and yet she was making the attempt in order to convey how she was feeling. She must have been truly suffering as she appeared broken and confused. It seemed like anything would break her world and Izuku couldn't figure out why, and all he could do, all she wanted was for him… To Hug her.

And he complied, scanning the room to see all of their classmates watching them, he couldn't care about the teasing that would come with this, but it wasn't like this was the first time they had seen the two hug one another. And so he hugged her, he embraced her with all of his being, and comforted her as best as he could with no words said.

He clutched onto her and she did the same almost as if it would be the last time ever. The two had sat there embracing one another in their hero costumes, and while Izuku was more concerned for Kyouka's own mental strain, she only needed Izuku to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. That he wasn't going to leave her.

'Please… Please say it…' She thought, feeling more tears stream down her face and onto the greenettes chest as he hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her.

Stroking her hair, he spoke, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I don't know what's wrong, but I'm here. I'm here and everything's going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere, Kyouka. I'll sit here with you as long as you need me to."

Kyouka gazed up at the greenette with thankful eyes before hiding herself in the embrace once more. Of course he wouldn't know what was wrong, but no matter what he would say just what she needed to hear. He would make her feel better if she needed it no matter the consequences of it. He was just that amazing.

Perhaps a bit too amazing.

The students would soon be freed from their class and allowed to go home, with Kyouka and Izuku staying behind so that Recovery Girl could inform her of some proper precautions and just look over her condition before she went home.

The teens obviously had changed out of their hero costumes, and after a small speech from Aizawa, they were permitted to head off so that they could A) See Recovery Girl, and B) Check on All Might.

"Now, you're going to go without speaking for a few days, but if you come and see me tomorrow you should be alright. A little raspy, but it's nothing a few cough drops won't fix." She stated, peering down at a clipboard before placing it onto her desk. Izuku found it oddly funny that her desk was quite a few ways taller than her, but he knew that getting shorter came with old age.

"Is there anything I should do to help her? I assume explaining this to her parents falls onto me?" He comments, noticing a little nod from Kyouka as she had the same question. "You also might need a notebook or something for communication… Or texting might work."

Kyouka nodded once more in agreement, pulling out her phone to type a quick message in her notes app to show to Izuku, "Think you can keep some cough drops on you? I'll probably forget them."

"Yes, well, that can fall onto you, but you two said you wanted to see that irrational idiot, right? He woke up a few minutes ago and got a phone call. I assume he also went to change, so he'll be back shortly." Recovery Girl explained as Izuku read over Kyouka's note, nodding in both confirmation and understanding to both women. "And Midoriya, if you really feel as though you need to, please go see Hound-"

"I'll be fine." Izuku interrupted, his hand gripping onto Kyouka's as Recovery Girl hummed in affirmation. "Thank you though, but I can handle it myself."

Kyouka turned to the greenette with a raised brow of confusion before the door to the nurse's office opened to reveal All Might in his normal state.

"Oh, Young Midoriya, Jirou, I was just looking for the two of you!" He stated, clad in his rather loose fitting black suit with a red tie. Izuku stood at attention as the man entered the room, his body was littered with small bandages, but as far as he was aware he was just fine. "You two need a ride home? I actually have something to discuss with both of you, so if you wouldn't mind coming with me?"

The couple looked at one another questioningly and shrugged. There wasn't really much stopping them from getting a ride from him, but Izuku was concerned about what All Might wanted to talk about. He wasn't going to tell her about All For One, was he? Izuku had already beaten him to the punch.

Kyouka then held her phone up to the greenette to read, "Let's just see what he has to say, I really don't feel like getting on the train today anyways. Too tired."

The greenette nods before turning to All Might, "Yeah, a-as long as she's alright with it, so am I."

All Might smiles and gestures to the door so that the two kids can join him, "Great! Also, I've got to say you did admirably during that exam, Young Midoriya. You really caught me off guard back there!"

"A-Ah, well, I-I just tried to do my best…" Izuku started, looking back on the exam. He thought particularly back to the moment he snapped at Bakugou. "B-Besides, I-I hardly did much other than build o-off of what Bakugou wanted to do."

Kyouka perked up at the mention of the blonde, rather she was more invested in the conversation after Izuku had referred to him as "Bakugou" and not "Kacchan". That was a new development.

Tapping his shoulder she looked at him out of concern, but the greenette only looked away and shrugged off her finger. Waving a hand to signify that he'd tell her later when All Might wasn't around. Her concern increased, though she opted to leave it for now.

The two would continue to talk about the exam, and Kyouka would look between the two men before sighing in annoyance. Not that she minded the conversation, she was more upset she couldn't contribute to it, or just ask a few questions that she had on her mind. Looking down she noticed Izuku's hand being held out for her to take.

He was rather nervous to try and do this after what had happened in the spectators room earlier, but he figured that after having a manic episode/panic attack a nice or small gesture such as this might bring her some sort of comfort.

"Y-Yeah, but I was really thinking since I'm green and shimmer with electricity as I use my quirk, i-it would make sense that the moves are named after-" Izuku started before pausing as he felt Kyouka's hand intertwine with his own. He glanced back to see her giving a coy smile in return with her face reddening softly. Seemed her outburst from before was caused by stress and anxiety, but he was glad that she was starting to feel better.

Kyouka herself knew that eventually she would have to talk to Izuku about all of this. She knew she would have to convey to him how deep her feelings for him had truly run, but for now she could rest easy with this. She knew that she wasn't the only one to love him, but just being here with him now was enough. Just having him try to be as affectionate as possible without pushing a boundary after her "moment" put her heart at ease. Even if only temporarily.

The three of them soon arrived at All Might's car, and hopped in to discuss whatever that All Might had wanted to talk to them about. "A-Anyways, you said you wanted to talk to us about something? What's up, All Might?"

"Right. Well, first thing's first, I have a question for the two of you..." All Might started, turning on the car and pulling out of the teacher's personal lot with a rather excited smile gracing his lips. The couple looked to one another in confusion before peering into the rear view mirror to see All Might's Cheshire grin.

"Have you two heard of I-Island?"

And that's chapter 30 of Stuck In The Middle!

With this chapter we see the full exams of Izuku, Bakugou, Momo, Todoroki, Jirou, and Uraraka! During these battles we hope to see them grow and just truly show off what they have learned in just a short amount of time!

Oh, but none of this comes without a price as there's some deep angst brewing within these characters!

Along with the story we also have an announcement!

That's right! I will be writing out the first MHA movie: Two Heroes! I personally didn't think I would, but after some heavy peer pressure from a few of my other IzuJirou colleagues, I figured that I kinda have to! (I mean it's canon after all).

Anyways, please look forward to it guys, and I really hope you enjoyed this mega-chapter of Stuck In The Middle!

I'll see you all for the release of the first part of the movie, and please feel free to check out this IzuJirou server that I'm apart of! It'd be great to have a few of you guys in the server!

/4X25Sk5aZH