Coco: Hey, guys, I am here yet again with a chapter update. It's a holiday, so how can I not post, am I right? XD But don't go much to say this time around, so let's just go ahead and get started, ya dig? XD

Ayano looked around frantically as she tried to find Katsuki and Izuku's minds. She was huffing for air, but she didn't care if her lungs were burning or that her feet hurt from running barefooted against the pavement. She had to find them.

"Where are they?" She wondered.

She then heard an explosion and turned her head to see it came from Ground Beta. That's where those idiots went. She turned direction to try and get there before things went too far. As she ran, her heart would clench with every explosion that rung out.

'I know you're upset right now, Katsuki,' Ayano thought as she ran. 'And I'm sorry I didn't see it before. I'm such a terrible person. I claim we're so close. I claim I know you almost better than anyone else, but I didn't even know how much you were hurting until tonight. I can't apologize enough. This is all my fault.'

Ayano got to the front gates of Ground Beta and as she neared, she felt the very ground shake underneath her feet with every explosion. She cut through some of the alleyways to get to where the boys were sooner, and as she finally came to the scene, her heart stopped. Izuku was going to help the fallen Katsuki up, but Katsuki slapped his hand away.

"Don't you dare worry about me!" Katsuki snapped then stood up. "Attack me! Why won't you fight back? Why did I have to end up chasing after someone who was always so far behind me?! Why did a damn small fry like you get strong? And become the No. 1 Hero's sidekick?! His favorite. You got so much better, and I destroyed All Might! I admired him so much, but it's because of me that he ended up losing his power. If I had been stronger…If I hadn't let Ayano and me be kidnapped by villains then it never would have happened."

At his words, Ayano's heart clenched painfully tight. She moved forward to stop all of this. She wanted things to just be talked out. She didn't want these two fighting anymore. However, before she could go any farther, a hand on her shoulder brought her pause. She turned her head seeing All Might standing there. He shook his head. A sign she needed to remain put.

'They need to work this out once and for all.' All Might told her. 'I know it won't be easy to watch, Young Ishida. You can return to the dorms if you wish. I will watch over them.'

Ayano frowned. She didn't want to leave them. Even if she couldn't stop them, she didn't want to leave their sides. Even if it was painful to watch, she couldn't just turn her back on them. Her friends. The two who have been with her for her whole life.

'I can't,' She thought.

All Might nodded in understanding before the two looked back to Katsuki and Izuku.

"All Might knows it was my fault, but hasn't said anything," Katsuki continued as he tried to rid his eyes of tears. "Everyone has to know though. I can't get it out of my head! It's like it's constantly playing on loop. Even talking to Aya didn't help! Even when she told me that it wasn't my fault. That I shouldn't shoulder the blame, the feeling didn't go away! So, what the hell am I supposed to do?!"

Ayano wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she felt her own eyes well up in tears. She didn't help him. She wasn't strong enough to take away his pain. How could she let him walk around feeling this way? How did she let things get to this? She was supposed to be there for both of them. Always the one to support them and help carry their burdens, but yet…she failed completely this time. And when Katsuki's needed her most.

The boys then readied to continue the fight, and Ayano saw for the first time that Izuku wasn't going to cower. He wasn't going to try and talk Katsuki out of it. He was ready to fight just as hard as the blonde. And as they met in the middle and clashed, Ayano flinched.

"If I'm going to do this, I'm going all out," Izuku said after he managed to land a firm kick on Katsuki's face. "I refuse to be your punching bag, Kacchan. Let's go."

It was tense and still between the two as they were gearing up for the real fight to begin. Katsuki started it as he launched himself up into the air with an explosion. Izuku immediately followed his movement, and though he knew where Katsuki was coming from, he wasn't fast enough to fully counter. Only dodge when Katsuki used another explosion to send him flying back towards the ground.

As they fought, it took all the self-control Ayano had not to go out there. To not stop them. She hated seeing them fight, and with every punch. Every attack. Every hiss of pain, Ayano's heart stopped for a split second or her body flinched. All Might kept his arm around the girl's shoulders in support as one hand gripped her right shoulder. A sign that he was here. A small comfort, but it was appreciated.

Izuku gagged as Katsuki delivered a well-placed punch to the gut that sent him flying. He landed right into one of the railings alongside the sidewalk that bent from impact. Izuku couldn't sit there stunned for long as Katsuki was after him in a second. The greenette flipped over the railing to avoid the explosion Katsuki sent at him, but didn't get away completely as Katsuki managed to snag his wrist.

He then sent Izuku flying again as he slung the green-haired boy off to the side. Katsuki lost his bearings during that throw and landed against the railing Izuku had hit as said greenette landed on the street hard. Despite the fact that it had to hurt, Izuku stood…and smiled. Something that really pissed Katsuki off.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Izuku said. "That we've both been getting stronger."

His smile grew as he said this, which had a growl of annoyance coming from Katsuki.

"What are you smiling about, huh?!" Katsuki demanded to know as he used explosions to propel himself forward.

He swept his arm forward with Izuku stumbling back to dodge Katsuki's explosion. It wasn't graceful in the slightest, but he got out of there unscathed.

"I thought you weren't going to be my punching bag!" Katsuki mocked the boy.

"I'm not!" Izuku said as he stood up.

He then launched himself towards Katsuki who looked ready and waiting for what Izuku might have planned.

"I bet you've got some kind of plan up your sleeve." Katsuki said as he used his Stun Gernade to blind Izuku, which allowed Katsuki to punch him. "That's one of the things that I hate most about you!"

Katsuki tried to tag Izuku with another explosion, but Izuku went up in the air at the last second. He took some brunt of the attack, but managed to avoid the full force of it.

"I can never tell what you're thinking." Katsuki continued. "No matter how much I beat you up, you keep coming back! It's obvious that you've always looked down on me! Even when we were kids!"

His words had Izuku gasping in surprise as he looked at Katsuki in disbelief. Where she stood watching with All Might, Ayano sighed.

"He couldn't be more wrong," She said softly, so she wouldn't be noticed by the boys. "Izuku always chased after Katsuki because he thought there was no one like than him. Even despite Katsuki always being mean to him, Izuku followed because he wanted—no, wants more than anything to see what kind of hero Katsuki will become. People praised Katsuki all his life. Told him how amazing he was, but no one truly saw him as Izuku did."

All Might could see that. Even if not being there when these three children grew, he could see how they work. How they feel towards each other. What caused them to treat each other as they do.

"You think you're better than me!" Katsuki snapped as Izuku landed on his feet. "But if you seriously believe you're going to surpass me as a hero even with your new power, you better think again, Deku!"

"Wait…" Izuku murmured. "Is that what you actually believed? All this time? Think about it, Kacchan, if I looked down on you, I wouldn't want anything to do with you anymore. But I'm still here. I noticed things you couldn't all these years because I had nothing at first. There were things I hated about you, sure. But I could clearly see how amazing you were. You had so much going for you that I didn't have. All Might was my hero, but you were the one actually in my life!"

He shot forward faster than before, which surprised Katsuki who knew he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. So, instead he brought up his arms to block the blow.

"I thought you were incredible, Kacchan. I wanted to see what you'd become," Izuku said as he landed the kick. "That's the reason I kept chasing after you!"

Katsuki almost managed to block the attack, but the force behind Izuku's moves broke through his defense. It forced him back a few feet with his scowl deepening as it happened. After that the fighting seemed to become even more intense as the two clashed again. It was a struggle at first for both sides at the sudden shift in tempo in their movements.

They even sent each other flying back, but were soon back to rushing each other. They both went up to the air with Katsuki ready to block Izuku's kick. However, Izuku changed at last minute to throw a punch on the side that Katsuki wasn't ready to defend. His punch landed with blood flying from Katsuki's mouth at impact. It was a good move, but Katsuki didn't let it deter him as he made a move of his own.

"I won't lose to you!" Katsuki shouted as he grabbed Izuku's sleeve.

Katsuki then kicked Izuku hard in the gut to knock Izuku off balance and stun him long enough for Katsuki to prepare his next play. As he forced Izuku below him, he put his free hand up in the air and let off a powerful explosion that sent both boys plummeting to the ground. They hit it hard with dust and debris kicking up and making it impossible to see them. Ayano stepped forward subconsciously out of concern.

When the dust finally did clear, Katsuki had Izuku pinned down. He had one hand pressed threateningly against Izuku's face as the other held out his arm at an odd angle. Then one of his feet was pressed against Izuku's other hand to keep it pinned against the ground. Lastly, his free leg had Izuku's trapped against the pavement. Izuku wouldn't be able to get out of that. Not without risking an explosion to his face. So, the winner was Katsuki.

"That's it." Katsuki said between pants. "We're done here. I won this fight. You have All Might's power, but even using his strength…even after making it your own, you still manage to lose to me. Why? How could you lose?"

Izuku didn't answer as he laid panting on the ground, and seeing that the fight was really over, All Might finally moved out from the alleyway to confront the boys.

"Stop this right now," He told them as Ayano held back for a moment. "Both of you. I'm sorry, but I've heard what you've said."

Katsuki got off of Izuku as he stood in surprise at the sight of All Might being there.

"All Might," Katsuki murmured.

"When did you get here?" Izuku asked.

All Might didn't reply at first as he kept walking towards the two first years while Katsuki took a few steps away from Izuku.

"I didn't notice before," All Might said. "I should have."

"It's too late now," Katsuki said as he looked away from his idol. "Why did you pick, Deku? It started with the sludge villain, didn't it? So, why him?"

He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Why All Might picked Izuku. Why the boy who had always been so far behind him seemed worthy of All Might's power.

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

"But now you know that I'm weak too." Katsuki forced out. "I always wanted to be like you, which meant being as strong as possible. But look at what I did to you. Because I'm not good enough."

Ayano stepped completely out of the alleyway at Katsuki's broken tone, but still kept her distance as she didn't want to interrupt. She couldn't help Katsuki with her words earlier, but maybe All Might could.

"This is not your fault, Young Bakugo." All Might assured the ash-blonde. "I was always going to lose my power. You couldn't do anything to change that. You are strong, but I focused too much on your physical strength and overlooked something important."

The Symbol of Peace then brought the distraught Katsuki into his arms as the blonde was trying to hold back tears.

"This wasn't your burden." All Might told him. "I apologize. Sometimes I forget that you're children."

Katsuki, who felt it hard to keep his emotions back, shoved All Might away as he turned his back to him.

"After being a hero for so many years, you learn a few things." All Might said. "Striving to be the best—like, you, Young Bakugo—and caring deeply about people, about rescuing those in trouble—like, you, Young Midoriya—both of those feelings are necessary in a hero. Otherwise they'll never be able to truly represent justice. That's why you admire his strength so much, Young Midoriya. And I know that's why you've always feared his heart, Young Bakugo. Now that you've laid your feelings down on the table, maybe you can understand each other. If you have mutual respect and focus on making one another stronger, I have no doubt that you'll become the ultimate heroes; winning and saving people at the same time."

Katsuki and Izuku looked at each other in uncertainty at All Might's words before Katsuki just sighed.

"Dammit," He said then fell back to sit on the ground. "That isn't what I wanted to hear."

He then looked up in surprise when seeing Ayano standing a few feet behind All Might. Izuku followed his gaze and his own eyes widened when seeing Ayano as well. Her head was down, so they couldn't clearly see her expression as she slowly walked forward.

"Aya/Ayano…" Both boys said in unison.

Ayano stopped in front of both of them, and Izuku was sure she was going to lecture them for being reckless. However, what she did shocked both boys. She felt to her knees in front of them with both boys moving forward in concern.

"Hey," Katsuki said as he touched her arm.

"You okay?" Izuku asked her.

They then stiffened when she moved to wrap her arms around both their necks to bring them close. They sat there in silence as Ayano tightened her hold. This had both boys' cheeks pressed against the space between her neck and shoulders.

"You…idiots." She whispered as her shoulders started to shake. "Why do you have to always do this to me?"

Izuku's eyes widened as he realized she was crying. Guilt filled his chest as he used one arm to hug her in return. Katsuki held her with one of his arms as well as he turned his head to put his face into the crook of her neck. Her familiar scent soothing the last of his pain and anger.

"You can never just have a simple conversation." Ayano continued as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's always fighting with you two…don't you know how much you worry me? How much I hate it to have to stand on the sidelines helplessly watching you two hurt each other?"

Izuku tightened his hold on Ayano as she spoke as he never really thought about it before. He never knew it bothered her so much. When they were younger, she would have stepped between them and put herself in physical danger to keep them apart. Of course, back then Katsuki was the one being aggressive. Back then Izuku would have never dreamed of actually fighting Katsuki. There were those few times he stepped in as he was trying to protect someone else, but Ayano was always there to take over in the end.

"You two have been like this since we were kids." Ayano said. "But things have changed so much. It's not the same, and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help either of you. I feel like I'm not strong enough to help you carry your burdens…that I can't keep up. I'm sorry."

Her voice cracked as she apologized to the both of them from the bottom of her heart.

"I promise…I promise that I'll become stronger, so that I can be with you every step of the way," Ayano said. "Even during the darkest of times, I'll be there to help you. So, please, in return…promise me that you won't fight anymore. Not like this. Please, promise."

She didn't think her heart could take it if they ever did something like this again. All their fights seem to escalate every time they have a new one, and she didn't want to even think how far they'd go if things got to this point again. Katsuki lifted his head partially as he pressed it against hers. Izuku was nodding his head as both boys held her closer.

"I promise." He and Izuku said simultaneously.

After everything was over, All Might finally explained everything about One for All to Katsuki who had basically figured out the gist of it for himself. He told Katsuki about how One for All was connected to All for One. How One for All is passed from generation to generation in hopes that one day one of its wielders would be strong enough to defeat All for One. And how during a battle with the old villain that All Might was severely wounded.

That it was only a matter of time before he couldn't be the Symbol of Peace anymore. And how that time became even shorter after he passed along his power to Izuku. Moreover, since All Might had come out and told Katsuki everything about One for All, Ayano finally told Izuku about Hive and about her own family's connection to All for One. And how Hive had been dormant until recently and the reason behind her sometimes-odd behavior.

She was tired of keeping so many secrets, and even if it might not be time to tell all her friends about Hive, at least the two people she cares about most in the world now aren't in the dark anymore. All and all it had been a pretty emotional night, but then it came time…to face the punishment.

So, here Ayano stood behind the angered Aizawa who had Katsuki and Izuku tightly wrapped up in his capture weapon. Both boys had been given minor medical attention before Aizawa wrapped them up at least. Though Ayano could tell the two were in pain based on their expressions.

"You fought the night you finished the provisional hero licensing exam," Aizawa growled in annoyance. "I'm glad to see that you two have so much energy."

Ayano gave the boys a sympathetic look, but at the same time the idiots did kind of deserve it. They were the ones who broke curfew, went to Ground Beta without permission, and fought.

"Aizawa, wait," All Might said. "Hold up with those restraints. It's my fault they sparred in the first place."

Aizawa turned his annoyed glare onto All Might as his eye twitched slightly. Ayano made sure to keep to her teacher's back the entire time as she didn't want to be faced with such an expression.

"Your fault?" Aizawa repeated. "And how was that?"

He turned his glare back on the boys who stiffened and tried to lean back as far as the capture weapon would allow them. All Might stepped up to Aizawa to whisper to the younger man what happened as the three teens waited on the verdict. After All Might finished talking, Aizawa though still looking annoyed looked thoughtful as well. He then loosened his hold on the boys, which surprised him.

"I understand that they felt like they had to break the rules." Aizawa said. "But this isn't just something I can ignore. There must be a suitable punishment. Who threw the first punch?"

"I did." Katsuki replied as he looked off to the side.

He acted like it wasn't a big deal, which had Ayano giving him a look. One he promptly rolled his eyes at.

"I also went pretty hard too." Izuku said. "It wasn't just him."

Aizawa thought about it for a moment, but it didn't take him long to decide on their punishment.

"You're both on house arrest! Four days for Bakugo, and three for Midoriya! During that time, you will clean all the common areas in the dorm morning and night! Plus, I want a written apology," Aizawa listed off as he finally released them completely from his capture weapon. "If your injuries need to be checked out, head to the infirmary, but don't rely on the old lady's quirk this time! Figure out a way to heal yourselves!"

Aizawa gave a sigh once he finished with those two before turning towards Ayano who jumped. He didn't look as angry with her, but the annoyance was still clearly there.

"As for you, Ishida, you should have come and got me the second you realized what these two idiots were doing." Aizawa said. "I know you were worried, but what you did wasn't the right thing to do. You also broke curfew and went to Ground Beta without permission."

"Yes, sir." Ayano said as she hung her head apologetically. "I know."

Aizawa sighed once more as he scratched the top of his head. He had to think of a punishment for her as well. She didn't do as much as Katsuki and Izuku, but she still broke the rules.

"I'm going to give you one day of house arrest." Aizawa said. "You won't have to write an apology, but you do have to help with the cleaning. And you can't use your quirk. That goes for all three of you."

He then dismissed the three students who were quick to get away from him as fast as possible. As he watched them go, he shook his head. He got stuck with such problem children with this class. Those three being at the top of the list.

Ayano walked slightly ahead of the boys as they entered the common space in the 1-A dorms. It was silent between them. Izuku didn't know what to say and was almost afraid of opening his mouth. He could feel the tension between him and Katsuki return. Though it wasn't the same as it always has been. Though what really had him tense was how quiet Ayano was being. After they all had their heart to heart and she managed to stop crying, she hasn't really spoke to either him or Katsuki. Something both boys had noticed. Ayano walked over to the elevator that would take her up to her floor on the girl's side of the dormitory.

"I guess I'll see you two in the morning." Ayano said as she hit the button to the elevator. "The sooner we get to cleaning the sooner we're done. I'd like to get through my day of house arrest quickly. Especially since you two are the ones to blame."

She turned to give them both an annoyed look, which had Izuku flinching slightly.

"Huh? I didn't make you come after us, Aya!" Katsuki snapped.

He then grunted in pain alongside Izuku as they were smacked over their heads with familiar psionic hands.

"As if I wouldn't go looking for you, stupid." Ayano said as she turned away. "Now, goodnight."

She disappeared within the elevator once the doors opened, and after she was gone, silence fell between Katsuki and Izuku. Despite the ache in his head, Izuku smiled slightly.

"What are you smiling about, moron?" Katsuki asked.

"…I'm just glad…she isn't sad anymore." Izuku replied.

Katsuki just scoffed as he walked forward. Though if he was being honesty, he was glad too.

Coco: And that brings another end to yet another chapter. It was a pretty heavy one to write, but I hope you all liked it. We're two episodes away from the end of this season. Though episode 24 won't be used much in this story, so more like only one episode. Then we'll be hitting season 4. Something I've been looking forward to and dreading at the same time.

But more on that depressing topic later, today's chapter bonus is a Halloween Special that was requested by 13thRebels via PM. It's a bit different than the idea you suggested, but I still hope it's to your liking. After this there are two more requests that have already been sent in. I'm really enjoying writing these with you guys' suggestions! So, please, keep them coming!

!Chapter Bonus!

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"I feel stupid." Katsuki grumbled as he stood next to Ayano.

Ayano rolled her eyes at her irritated boyfriend as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I think you look great." Ayumi said. "We're totally going to rock this Halloween Costume Contest! We're going to have the best group costumes."

Katsuki scoffed looking away from the members of said group. It was that time of year—Halloween—and to give the students something fun to do the faculty set up a Halloween Festival. There were booths set up that were selling yummy fall treats and other warm foods. All sorts of games to play and prizes to win. There was also a haunted house that Class 1-E was asked to put together since they did so great on the first one, they did during the U.A. Festival.

Some students even got together to play music, but the real highlight was the costume contest to take place at the end of the night. There were different categories to sign up for like single costume entries, group costumes, couple costumes, who has the scariest costume, coolest, cutest etc.

Katsuki hadn't wanted to enter or deal with it at all, but when Ayumi begged Ayano to join her and Shoto for a group costume, he had gotten pulled along. Then Ayumi signed Ayano and Katsuki up for the couple costume contest too. He just wanted to walk around the festival in peace and maybe play a few games and eat with Ayano. Not go through all of this.

Not to mention the costume idea just seemed dumb to him. They were new heroes—now that they had their provisional licenses—and for Halloween they dressed up as heroes. And comic book heroes at that. Ayumi was dressed as Quicksilver from the X-Men franchise, but not just any Quicksilver. She made sure to dress up as the one from the Days of Future Past. She had gone all out to get the details just right. Even fixed her hair, so it was pinned up to fall around her chin like the actor's character had looked.

Ayano was dressed as Jean Grey. Green spandex and everything, and even though she already has ginger hair like the character, Ayano wore a wig that was much longer than her own hair, so to fit the character more. And as the second half of the couple costume, Katsuki was forced into a Scott Summers—or rather Cyclops—costume. He didn't like the feel of spandex and these stupid googles on his face looked ridiculous.

Finally, Shoto was actually two different characters. As a creative way to tie in his quirk, Shoto was Iceman on his right side while his left side was dressed as Pyro from the movieverse. Really it was just a Pyro costume as a whole, but Shoto covered his entire right side with ice, so it looked like he was really the two different characters.

"Is it just the four of us?" Ayano asked Ayumi.

"Actually, I asked for some help from Class 1-B." Ayumi said. "I though the more members we had the better, ya know?"

Ayano nodded guessing that made sense. There was then a voice cleared, so the group turned to see Tetsutetsu and Jurota. Tetsutetsu was dressed up as Colossus and Jurota had temporarily died all his hair blue and looked like quite the convincing Beast.

"Sorry we're late," Tetsutetsu said. "Monoma was kind of mad we decided to team up with you guys for the contest."

But Tetsutetsu didn't mind Class A that much, and when Ayumi told him and Jurota about her idea, he thought it was neat. Tetsutetsu's quirk isn't exactly like the comic book hero's mutation, but it would be enough to go along with the costume and look cool. And Jurota was perfect for Beast, so he was pretty confident in their win.

"You guys look amazing!" Ayumi congratulated them. "That prize is as good as ours!"

—Spoiler Alert—

They didn't win. Izuku group's Teen Titan costumes beat them by one vote with Izuku, who was fully painted green, as Beast Boy, Ochaco as Starfire, Tenya as Cyborg, and Fumikage as Raven. Katsuki hadn't been happy, and of course, caused a scene. He only became angrier when he and Ayano lost the couple costume contest to Denki and Kyoka who were dressed as Pikachu and Ash Ketchum.

"I hate this dumb holiday!" Katsuki shouted as he had to be pulled from the stage by Eijiro and Izuku.

Ayano sighed shaking her head before she turned her head as if she was looking right at someone.

"We hope you have happy Halloween, everyone." Ayano said. "Remember to stay safe out there and have fun, yeah?"