"Can we talk somewhere, Izuku-kun?"

"Y-Yes, of course!"

"Great! Come with me."

She turned with a chipper bounce while Izuku fumbled with his fingers, trying to ignore the gentle sway of Manami's hips as she led the way through U.A.'s halls. She wasn't doing that on purpose, right?

He shook his head, clearing it of any wayward thoughts and focusing on the matter at hand. Izuku had a pretty good idea what their coming conversation would entail; Manami's promise from two months prior had been in the back of his mind ever since she'd called out to him during the softball toss.

"I really like you, Izuku-kun!"

Truthfully, his low self-esteem had managed to place him under the assumption the girl would have changed her mind sometime between then and now. Maybe she wanted to clear things up? 'I'm sorry, Izuku, but I've come to realize you're sort of a loser.' That was what most people thought of him, after all. He shook his head. After everything that had happened this morning, it made no sense for her to say something like that; it was just his self-doubt talking. She'd come close to risking her education for his sake. Not to mention-

"Izuku-kun?"

"S-Sorry?" He looked around, wondering when they'd abandoned the main building and found their way onto the training field from that morning. There were still divots in the sand from when he'd fallen over after being stripped of the boost from Manami's quirk.

"You were spaced out and mumbling." She was the only one who never looked at him differently after one of his episodes; even his mother tended to spare him a worrisome glance now and again when he lost track of his thoughts around her. Manami, on the other hand, always seemed ready with a reassuring smile as if to say 'everything will be okay.'

"Sorry." He repeated.

"You don't have to apologize." She shook her head, still smiling that same smile. He noticed her playing with the ends of her hair. "D-Do you remember our conversation two months ago?"

"Of course." Izuku nodded dumbly. He felt stupid, worrying himself over whether or not she'd changed her mind between then and now. Manami was just as nervous as him, judging by that habit of hers showing itself, but here she was putting on a smile just to make him feel at ease. He swallowed thickly, forcing down his own nerves; if she was going to try so hard for his sake, he would do the same.

"I made a promise to you that I'd become a hero you could be proud of. It… I did it because when I'm with you, you make me feel like I can do anything; that everything will turn out alright in the end. I want to be able to give that same hope to other people in return." They made eye contact, Izuku working against the nervous voice in the back of his mind urging him to look away as he spoke.

"You can do it. There's nothing I believe in more. You were the first person I ever saved using my quirk. The first person who ever thought of me as their hero. I-It's selfish, but I don't want to lose that. I want to remember that time, always, and make you proud. Because everyone else I'm able to rescue will be because you gave me that confidence. That hope that you want to give to others, Manami-san… you've already given to me." The words spilled out of his mouth without much thought, her smile widening now that he was taking part in the conversation as well.

"You thinking of me like that… makes me happy." Manami finally broke eye contact, looking to the side with her cheeks flushing a pretty shade of pink, "I remembered that promise today, when Aizawa-sensei was telling us why he threatened to send us home. It wasn't just that we were willing to fight against his rules that convinced him; it's that we were willing to fight for each other. To me, fighting for someone other than yourself is what being a hero is all about. I couldn't help but think that by trying to sacrifice your spot in the class for mine, once again you were my hero… and I wanted you to feel the same way."

"I did. When you used your quirk on me, when Aizawa-sensei explained how it worked, I felt so warm and protected. I'm lucky to have people in my life that believe in my dreams, but for you to be willing to risk your own for my sake… it's almost too much."

Manami shook her head.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I couldn't let you risk it all if I wasn't willing to do the same for you." She stepped forward, taking his hands in her own. She gave them a gentle squeeze, smiling shyly. "I told you something else that day, too. You held my hands like this… and when you realized what you'd done, you let them go and I caught myself wishing you hadn't."

Izuku felt his face heat up further, remembering his embarrassment when he'd realized that he'd taken hold of Manami's hands without thinking to return her promise.

"You don't have to look so bashful, Izuku-kun! It's kind of cute when you forget yourself. Just like when you checked me over for injuries the first time we met." She laughed at the incredulity on his face. The sound was like music to his ears, and he found himself cracking a smile in spite of his embarrassment, "Anyway… I-I guess you remember that too?"

How could he forget? It'd kept him awake at night for weeks. What would he say? What should he do? Manami had been fun to talk to as well as attractive, but it wasn't like they had known each other very well at the time. Then again, wasn't that the point of dating? To get to know someone better? People who barely knew each other from his class had gone on dates in middle school all the time. And really, how little could you know someone after going through a life-threatening experience together? He must have gone over a hundred different scenarios before making up his mind.

"Sounds like you put a lot of thought into this." Manami's voice trembled slightly, her nerves finally getting to her. Izuku realized that he'd once again taken to voicing his thoughts aloud. "Well, since your mind's been made up, then I'll just go for it: Izuku Midoriya, will you please go out with me?" She bowed her head after asking, probably not wanting to look him in the face in case he rejected her. As if he would.

"Y-Yes."

"Yes?"

Her head snapped up, eyes locking into his in disbelief. Had she really believed he would say no?

"Yes. I-I'd love to go out with you, Manami-san. M-Maybe we can go out this weekend if you're free?"

Her surprised face morphed into a smile.

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Manami launched herself into Izuku with surprising force, wrapping her arms around his middle and burying her face into the lower half of his chest, the highest point she could reach.

"I feel like I should be the one thanking you." He told her honestly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in turn. "You're amazing, you know? Confident, smart, b-beautiful. I'm lucky to have caught your eye."

"Pft." She snorted into his chest, the noise muffled by his jacket, "You act like you aren't some gentlemanly Adonis that totally saved me from a mugging all by yourself. You're like a catch and a half, Izukun."

Izuku didn't know how to reply to something like that. Sure, he'd been training hard, and yes, he'd saved Manami from that criminal, but 'gentlemanly Adonis?' Also…

"Izukun?" He asked. Manami finally peeled her face away from his torso, her cheeks still with a hint of red tinge. She looked up at him with a nervous smile.

"Do you mind? I heard you call Tiny-Eyes 'Kacchan' this morning after he got back from the softball toss. I thought it sounded kind of cute." Gods, those eyes could have been an influencer-class quirk in and of themselves.

"N-Not at all!" He ignored the fact that Manami had called his childhood frenemy 'Tiny-Eyes' for the moment, instead thinking back to the last time they'd spoke, when she'd told him not to push himself, "I-In that case, may I still call you Manami-chan?"

Manami suddenly turning bright red and pressing her face back into his chest wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"You're too cute, Izukun."


"I am… walking through the doorway like a normal person!"

Izuku gushed along with the rest of class 1-A as All Might himself swaggered through the classroom's giant door, clad in his classic hero costume. The students erupted into excited whispers while he swaggered over to the teachers' desk.

"S-So cool!"

"Look at that retro costume design; those popping colors and solid lines! You don't see anything like that these days."

"I've never seen him in person before! How lucky are we?"

"I knew he was teaching here since he did our acceptance letters, but seeing him in the flesh is almost too much!"

And on they went.

"Wonderful! I'm glad to see you all so excited for my class." All Might's booming voice was enough to silence the class even if he wasn't looking to do so, the hero-hopefuls hanging on his every word. "As you all have seen in your class schedules, I will be your teacher for the 'Heroics 101' course! In this class, we will go over everything you need to form the basics of heroics, including tactics, training, quirk improvement, and today's exercise… combat training!"

"'Bout damn time I get to blow someone up." Katsuki exulted from the desk in front of Izuku.

'I don't know if I should be excited or terrified.' The green-haired boy took a look around. The pervasive sentiment throughout the room seemed to be that of excitement, although a select few like the purple-ball-haired boy didn't seem so enthused.

"I wonder what I'm going to do…" Manami, sitting to Izuku's right, seemed torn between the two. As much as she had a drive to better herself, her combat skills would be severely lacking given her lack of training. She knew that going up against somebody like Izuku or Katsuki, both of whom she'd seen fighting at least once, she had no chance of winning. Then again, how else to improve but to fail?

"Just do your best. I'll be rooting for you!" Izuku gave her a reassuring smile, prompting her to mimic his upbeat expression. Yeah, she'd be fine as long as Izuku was there.

All Might pressed a button on the teacher's desk at the front of the room, causing hidden panels to slide out of the far wall, each stacked with containers designated by numbers.

"Of course, one of the most fundamental parts of a hero is also their most distinguishing feature: their costume!" All Might pointed to the containers, the class' whispering growing in volume as they realized what lied within, "U.A.'s engineers have been hard at work bringing to life the designs you all submitted along with your registration forms to the school, along with any support items you asked for! Please find the case labeled with your student number and head off to the locker rooms to change! I will meet you all at Ground Beta, our on-campus training ground!"

Izuku waited patiently for the flood of students to thin before getting up to grab his case, everyone excited to see their costumes outside of their heads for the very first time. He himself wouldn't find much in the way of clothing inside, that honor already taken by his backpack for the time being.

"Izuku?"

Yes, mom?"

Izuku turned the tv off, leaning his head over the couch so he could see his mother. She hid something behind her back, a soft smile on her face.

"I know… I know you said you didn't want me to worry about you when you started your training last year, but it's not that easy to just turn off that motherly instinct, you know?" She held his gaze intently, his mom's eyes shining with pride, "I was so scared when you went off to those exams. Even more so when you came home worried about passing. When I went to check on you that night you were fast asleep at your desk. You were laying on top of your notebook; I couldn't resist taking a look after putting you in bed."

Inko finally brought her hands from behind her back, brandishing the item she held proudly.

It was a jumpsuit, heavily modified and done so by hand judging by the stitching. Its base was a dark turquoise, with black stripes across the torso and legs highlighted with red in the center. The garment's sleeves had been carefully torn off leaving behind ragged edges, the costume intended to be worn with bandages covering the arms similar to Stendhal's outfit. Across the shoulders, a tattered white scarf made of thin material was wound, another homage to Izuku's teacher. A jury-rigged red toolbelt wrapped around the waist, with enough pouches for anything he could ever need and an industrial black buckle that clicked into place.

"Mom, I…" Tears welled up in his eyes. It was almost exactly as he'd designed.

"Izuku, even if you don't use it, it's okay." Inko's eyes were also brimming with tears. She rested the bundle of clothing over the couch, moving to wrap her arms around Izuku. "I only did it because I want you to know that I'm behind you one-hundred percent. Whatever you want to do. Always."

"It's perfect, mom." He shook his head, dismissing the idea that he wouldn't use it.

"I've told you before, Izuku, you're going to be an amazing hero, no matter what you do. It's who you are. And I'll always love and support you."

Izuku wrapped his arms tighter around his mother.

"I love you too, mom."

He'd made it to the locker room before he knew it, his trip down memory lane occupying his mind as he'd walked through the halls. He quickly replaced his school uniform with his hero costume. Sure, it didn't fit properly in some places and maybe the material wasn't as durable as something U.A. would have created, but it was woven with his mother's love; that was more than enough for the moment.

Once he'd slipped his shoes back on, not yet feeling a need to switch his signature red trainers out for anything else since they looked just fine with his costume, Izuku made to open his costume case. Inside, the container was bare save for a single pair of unassuming white gloves and a wad of similarly ordinary-seeming gauze. He first took the gauze, winding the material around his arms from wrist to mid-bicep. He checked himself over in the mirror, making sure everything was in its proper place and his scarf was secured. Izuku smiled.

He was ready.


Izuku tried not to feel intimidated, walking towards the large entrance to Ground Beta he could see at the end of the hallway. He shifted his gaze left and right, taking in the varied and colorful costumes of his classmates and mentally compared them to his relatively bland attire in comparison.

'Maybe I should have gone for a more colorful look after all…'

"Goodness, Izukun, I thought this when you were wearing the gym uniform yesterday too but seriously, where have you been hiding those things?"

"Hm?" Izuku looked to his left, where Manami had finally caught up to him. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks flushed pink with a teasing smile on her lips. She, like the rest of the students, had changed into the costume she'd designed prior to registering for the exams.

Manami's hero outfit began with a pair of shiny high-heeled boots, adding a few inches to her petite frame. Tucked neatly into her shoes was a pair of skin-tight white pants, held up by a black leather utility belt with a pink heart-shaped buckle. A royal purple long-sleeved blouse covered her upper half, sewn into which was a similarly-colored under-bust corset with black trim, cinching her waist and, to Izuku's dismay, pushing up and emphasizing her chest which was tightly bound by the blouse's pink buttons up to her collar, around which she wore a white bow-tie. Her hands were covered by white gloves similar to Izuku's, although hers flared out slightly with lace and pink jewels instead of strapping tightly to her arms. She'd kept her hair in its usual twin-tailed style with her bangs pushed to the right, accessorizing with a pair of shiny pink heart-shaped earrings.

"I asked where you've been hiding these," she made a show of grabbing at one of his biceps, her small hand not even able to encircle half of the muscle, something that probably would have been possible a year ago if Izuku was being honest. His training had certainly done a lot for his physique. "I wasn't joking about that Adonis thing yesterday, Izukun."

"O-Oh…" Izuku's brain was still struggling to reboot itself. Sure, the outfits of the others girls in his class he'd seen—barring Kyoka Jirou, whose costume mimicked a punk rock aesthetic—were similarly form-fitting, as most hero costumes were, but seeing Manami, the girl he was scheduled to go on a date with in a few short days, wearing something like that was almost too much for him to handle.

"Hello, earth to Izukun! Are you alright?" Manami stretched an arm up to wave her hand in his face.

'Get yourself together, Izuku! Most heroes wear tight clothes or spandex for ease of mobility and so their outfits don't get caught on anything as they move. Get used to it!' The reprimanding voice in his head sounded oddly like Stendhal. The thought served to both calm his nerves and terrify him.

"I-I'm fine, sorry. I like your hero outfit. Y-You look nice." That was a neutral enough compliment, right? They hadn't been on an official date yet, after all. Or was he being too distant? He'd never even given much thought to dating before, but this was all too confusing!

"Don't think too hard about it, Izukun. There aren't any wrong answers; I'd tell you if there were." Her hand reached for his, bringing the young hero-in-training down from his nervous haze. She smiled sweetly at him, her eyes shining brightly. "I like your hero costume too. Very handsome."

"Deku, if you and Shortstack are done flirting with each other, some of us would like to get to class."

Suddenly reminded that the two weren't the only ones occupying the hallway, they turned their heads, coming face-to-face with an irritated-looking Katsuki, his red eyes more striking than usual behind the black mask he wore as part of his hero costume.

"R-Right. Sorry, Kacchan." Izuku's face was doing its best impression of Manami's hair while the girl herself simply glared right back at the blonde-haired bomber.

"Does it look like any of your business, Tiny-Eyes?"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"And I told you not to call me 'Shortstack!'"

"Well you are one!"

"And you have tiny eyes!"

"Okay, maybe we should all just let it be and go to class."

Izuku tried to plaster a disarming smile onto his face as he stepped between the two, who each looked one word away from throwing fists. It actually sort of amazed him how aggressive Manami could act when provoked. Then again, Katsuki always seemed able to bring out the worst in anyone with his brash attitude.

"Tch. Whatever." Katsuki growled, stalking away without another glance at either one of them. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his hero costume, a sure sign that he was trying to stop himself from using his quirk to vent his rage.

Izuku sighed; crisis averted.

"Now that I think of it, how do you even know that jerk?"

Izuku turned his gaze back to Manami, who glared after his frenemy with her arms crossed under her chest.

"Oh, we're um… friends?" She gave him a disbelieving look that he probably deserved; he wasn't very confident in his words, after all. "Mine and Kacchan's moms are childhood friends, so we played together a lot when we were younger. We um… grew distant after developing our quirks." Izuku half-hoped she would leave it at that, turning away and looking around for All Might. He said he'd meet them there, didn't he? Where was the Symbol of Peace to save him from this awkward conversation?

"Okay, so you were friends as kids and now he's a bastard, but what is 'Deku' supposed to mean? I get 'Kacchan' as a nickname, but where did that one come from?" No dice. He knew for a fact that Manami wasn't going to like his explanation, but the look in her eyes told him she wasn't about to let him off without answers.

"I-It um…" Izuku paused, wishing All Might would show up already and save him from this confession. "It's another reading of my name, 'Deku' instead of Izuku. Kacchan noticed it once when we were little. A few years later, he decided it was short for 'Dekunobu.' Useless."

He wanted to cringe, hearing himself admit that fact out loud. It was a sore spot he'd long since gotten over, accepting Katsuki's lashing out as something normal for the two of them, despite it being anything but. Then again, with his quirk being what it was, it wasn't like the adults at school were willing to help him put a stop to it, and telling either of the boy's mothers would only lead to his mom worrying even more over his well-being and potentially fighting with her best friend.

"That's…" Manami clenched her fists, her gaze turning even colder if that was even possible, "How could you let him do something like that to you and still call him a 'friend?'"

"I… don't really know, honestly." Izuku wasn't sure what exactly he felt, seeing Manami care more for the way Katsuki treated him than he himself did. Shame, maybe? Guilt? With so much undefined about their relationship it was always hard to tell where hatred ended and friendship began, even if it was only the dregs remaining from their time in Kindergarten. "Kacchan's always been a little abrasive, even when we were little, but sometimes I can't help but wonder whether or not he's as much a victim of societal norms as I was. Then again, maybe that's just the way he is. Either way, I don't harbor any grudges against him for the things he's done, even if it hurt me sometimes."

She looked at him incredulously, no doubt wondering how in the world Katsuki of all people could ever be a victim, but Izuku decided to leave the topic alone for now. Anything she was about to say was interrupted by All Might finally arriving.

"Look at you all, so decked out!" the pro hero's voice boomed, the man himself falling from the air to land in a heroic pose in front of his stunned students, "I apologize for my lateness! There was some… business that needed to be taken care of."

Izuku eyed the symbol of peace carefully. Did he seem a little winded?

"Now then, since we're getting a bit of a late start, let's get right into today's lesson: practical combat and team tactics!" All Might pulled a tablet from a case attached to his belt, showing it to the class with gusto, "This program will randomize you all into teams of two for this exercise. I will then randomize the assigned teams into groups of 'heroes' and 'villains' to decide your roles. The rules will be simple: The 'villains' will be tasked to protect their objective for twenty minutes, during which time the 'heroes' must work together in order to reach said objective and touch it, 'disarming' the opposing team's weapon. You may not damage or destroy the objective, nor may you move it once you've decided upon its position, 'arming' the weapon. Any questions so far?"

No hands raised, so All Might continued his explanation, holding up a roll of white ribbon.

"Both teams will be given this 'capture tape.' Tying one of your opponents up takes them out of the game, so to speak. Capture both opponents and you win by default. I should note that while this is combat practice, excessive force will not be tolerated. I will disqualify you if things get too rough. You will have free reign over the use of your quirks as well as any support items you've had created for your costumes. The villains will also be given two-way radio transmitters to allow for a wider array of strategies. This will test not only your combat abilities but also your planning skills and capability for teamwork."

Izuku was almost shaking in excitement, along with most of the rest of class 1-A. Finally, a real test of his abilities versus his peers, in an environment where his quirk would actually be useful. Beside him, Manami's thoughts were similar, although she focused on how she could help given a teammate like Katsuki, whom her quirk would barely boost given her distaste for him and his attitude.

"Let's roll our first matchup, shall we?" All Might tapped the tablet's screen a few times, names beginning to shuffle in two separate brackets on its screen, "Looks like our first team of villains will be… Toru Hagakure and Katsuki Bakugou!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Izuku heard the tell-tale sound of Katsuki's sparking hands letting off small explosions in his excitement, no doubt just as interested in testing the boundaries of his quirk as Izuku was. Their teacher tapped the screen once more, randomizing another two names.

"And our first team of heroes… Izuku Midoriya and Minoru Mineta!"

Minoru? Izuku had been trying to learn his classmates' names, starting with Aizawa calling their names out for yesterday's quirk exam, but that one didn't ring a bell. He looked left and right, noticing the piteous looks some of the others were giving him. That was strange, right?

"Looks like it's you and me, buddy." Minoru's voice came from closer than expected, Izuku stepping back and looking down at his temporary partner.

"Um, yeah. Let's try our best!" He smiled confidently, holding out a hand for the much smaller boy to shake. A quick glance told him that even Manami had a few inches on their classmate, which was shocking, to say the least.

"Excellent! Our heroes and villains will have ten minutes to make their plans and/or set up traps." He handed a pair of small earphone-like objects to Katsuki, "Here are your communication devices; make your way up whenever you are ready. Everyone else, please follow me to the observation booth just over here…" All Might's voice faded away, along with the whispers of the rest of his classmates. Manami squeezed his hand with a smile, wishing him luck before joining them.

"Good luck! Oh, and do your best to beat Tiny-Eyes into the ground for me, won't you Izukun?"

"I-I'll do my best. Thanks, Manami-chan." He watched her walk away with wide eyes. She was surprisingly vicious when she wanted to be.

"Oh man, I love the hero course. You're so lucky, my dude."

The other boy's voice reminded Izuku that his partner was still standing next to him, his eyes half-lidded behind the mask that blended into his strange hair. Izuku followed his gaze to Manami's retreating form, specifically her lower half.

'I…' something uncomfortable welled up inside the green-haired boy's chest. He couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion. Anger? Jealousy? Possessiveness? His relationship with Manami may have been new and still somewhat undefined, but one thing he knew for sure was that he didn't like the idea of his classmate debasing her in such a fashion.

"Mineta-san." The smaller boy turned to face him. Izuku's face was all smiles, but the cold look in his eyes betrayed his amiable expression. "I would appreciate it greatly if you'd keep Manami-chan out of those thoughts of yours. Is that okay?"

His face growing pale, Minoru took a step back, suddenly feeling like prey standing in front of an apex predator. The smile on Izuku's face hadn't dulled in the least, but the chill in the air… something told Minoru that he'd made a grave mistake. He backpedaled immediately.

"N-No problem!"

"Great." Izuku's presence softened, a more genuine expression coming across his features. "In that case, why don't we take the time to strategize; what is your quirk?"


Meanwhile, on the fifteenth floor of the building All Might had designated for this exercise, Katsuki and Toru had finally decided upon the location for their papier mache 'nuke.'

"Far enough from the top that they can't climb the walls and get there instantly, but not so far down that getting here will be easy either." Katsuki gave his partner a nod, partially hiding their objective behind a pillar facing away from the door. Lucky for them, this interior room didn't have windows to worry about. "Not bad, Invisalign."

"Well thanks, I really—hey!"

"Hm?"

"My name is Toru. To-ru! Who said you could give me a nickname?" Especially one so backhanded, somehow referring to both her quirk and appearance at once; how he even noticed the invisible girl had braces from that far away—and in the dark—was beyond her comprehension, to be honest. As an external object, they were technically always visible, but only if she opened her mouth wide enough while talking… even then they were hard to see unless you were looking directly at her face. She hadn't thought much of it when Katsuki had commented on the necessity of braces on an invisible girl a few minutes earlier, but he must have decided on the nickname shortly thereafter. Unlike many people she met, he seemed completely unbothered that his partner appeared to be a pair of floating gloves and shoes, turning to face Toru directly with his eyes narrowed.

"You're damn lucky as it is that I'm not calling you an extra like the rest of them. Get over it." He ignored her growl of frustration, leisurely walking towards the door and checking how well he'd hidden the faux bomb. Apparently satisfied, he walked back over to Toru, whose arms were crossed over her chest judging by the position of her gloves.

"Y'know, complimenting a girl's intelligence and then giving her a rude nickname in the same sentence isn't a very attractive quality."

"Do I look like I care?" He really didn't, but she wasn't going to admit that out loud.

"You should! We're going to be in the same class for the next three years, you know. Antagonizing the people who are going to be a part of your group projects and training isn't the brightest of ideas."

Katsuki snorted.

"Like I'd rely on any of those extras for my grades. I'll bowl every single one of you over if I have to. You want me to call you by your name? Earn it."

It felt like he was actually staring at her, which was an uncommon occurrence for the invisible girl; she felt her face growing warm. Toru, despite her partner's brashness, found the challenge enticing. He wanted to be impressed? She could do that. Invisibility may have been her quirk, but she was nothing if not determined to stand out amongst her peers.

"Fine, but I expect you to call me by my name when I take down one of them."

"You've got yourself a deal, Invisalign." He was doing it on purpose now, judging by that arrogant smirk on his lips. Before she could snap back, however, his face grew serious, "How do you want to play this? I'm obviously the offensive type, but I imagine your quirk's much more useful for surprise attacks."

Toru blinked in surprise. It took her a minute to remember that he couldn't see her reaction, and was therefore waiting for a reply.

"Well, I'm no slouch in hand-to-hand once they know I'm there, otherwise I wouldn't be much use considering I can't use support equipment." She waved a hand in front of her unclothed body, feeling heat rising to her cheeks when his eyes followed it even though she knew he could only see her gloves. "That said, it's probably best to try to pick off whoever's easier and then tackle the other one together. I won't be much help defending if they actually get up to the objective, especially if either of them is faster than me."

"You're probably right." Katsuki averted his eyes from her, taking a deep breath. Was he stressed about this? "Deku's definitely the harder target. He's a damn nerd but he'd been coming to school beat to hell for the last year. My best guess would be training."

"Which one's Deku?"

"Green hair, looks one shock away from an aneurism. If you get hurt and start bleeding, don't let him near you."

"Does his quirk have something to do with blood?" Toru shivered. She'd never met anybody with a quirk like that, but the stories she'd heard hadn't been pleasant. From what she'd seen, Izuku looked harmless enough, but she wondered what kind of person lied beneath the surface.

"More like everything." Katsuki scoffed, his eyes fixed firmly on the doorway, "If he gets a taste of your blood, he'll be able to control it. I was there when he found out about it, but I haven't seen him use it since, for obvious reasons. Don't let your guard down. Shit's dangerous, especially because I have no idea how much he's trained with it or what else it can do."

"Got it." Toru didn't voice her opinion that if either of them were to fall victim to Izuku's quirk, it'd probably be Katsuki, considering the green-haired boy wouldn't even be able to see her. Then again, she did need to get up close and personal to fight, unlike her partner. "Your quirk lets you make fire from your hands, right? So you're a midrange fighter?"

"No." the blonde-haired boy answered, shaking his head, "Explosions. I sweat nitroglycerin and ignite it at will. It's more suited to close-range combat unless I'm looking to take the entire building down with me."

Explosive sweat? Now that was an interesting one. Toru didn't try to hide the fact that she was staring at his hands, knowing that he couldn't see her anyway. They didn't seem slick; then again, he did say 'at will.'

"Staring's rude."

He was glowering right at her when she turned her head up, looking into his eyes in surprise. That had to be a coincidence, right? She was wearing her gloves still, so he must have guesstimated where her face was.

"H-How did you-?"

"You're way too obvious. No, I don't secrete the nitroglycerin constantly. If I did, I would have a hard time interacting with way too many everyday objects. This shit practically ignites in a stiff breeze, much less rough training or the heat from a stove."

"Oh."

"Science lesson over." Katsuki checked the time on his watch, confirming that they had less than two minutes left before their mock battle would begin. "I'm going to go out on a limb and assume Grape Balls can't climb walls, but better safe than sorry. You scout the first-floor entrance and radio me if they come in that way, I'll stay here in case they make for the roof."

"Sounds like a plan." Toru wasn't going to argue with a good strategy, especially one that took into account both of their strengths. Arrogant he may have been, but Katsuki Bakugo seemed to take things seriously where it counted.

She left her gloves and shoes by the door, clenching her hand around the capture tape All Might had given her. It disappeared within her grasp, one of the few ways she could make something other than her own body invisible, even though she technically was just using her hands to block vision of the still-visible ribbon. All Might's voice boomed over the training ground's speakers as she reached the first floor.

"Heroes versus villains capture test: begin!"


We officially hit 30 reviews as of a few days ago. You guys are the actual greatest! Thank you for all your kind words and support and apologies in advance for the long author's note!

I was genuinely expecting to get to the actual 'combat' portion of combat training this chapter. Other things got in the way though. I realized that I should probably make Manami and Izuku interact a little more, so they got a bonus scene showing off their costumes and getting their awkward flirt on. Then Katsuki and Toru stole the show for a bit. They're precious. I love them.

No one's surprised that I changed up their hero outfits a little, I hope? Honestly, it's nothing too huge. Izuku got some red stripes on his canon costume, traded his sleeves for bandages, and started wearing a scarf to emulate his teacher, not unlike what he does in canon with All Might. This is all based on his 'Costume Beta' if you needed a reference. These changes were made with his quirk and future fighting style in mind.

On the other hand, Manami's outfit was a massive struggle. She doesn't know Gentle in this story, so I tried to keep her 'feminine/love' theme the same while removing the elements that I attributed more to his particular style, like her poofy pants. I then felt the need to change her golden corset-belt to a full under bust corset because I didn't think the belt would look right with her new, tighter pants. Honestly, looking at what the other girls in BNHA wear, it's not that out of line, especially because unlike spandex suits people actually wear corsets as normal clothing—they were trending in fashion like 2 years ago or something, I think. That said if my description sucks feel free to imagine her in something else. I spent more time than I'd like to admit googling women's clothing/fashion for this chapter already and it's not getting any better.

Speaking of clothing (or lack thereof), writing Toru's kind of fun. I had this hilarious idea in my head regarding her and Katsuki, so it's a thing now, I guess. This story has somehow become a haven for weird/underused characters to shine. I wasn't planning on any of this, but it feels right. If you're curious about the whole braces thing, I just wanted to give her a little more 'personality.' For now, it's something cute I can do to add to her character without changing too much, plus it serves as a great example of her quirk's limitations and a little something extra with Katsuki. I took a bit of creative license with the way their quirks work and the science of nitroglycerin. Expect me to change physics and canon to fit my whims as necessary.

Next chapter for realsies: Combat! What do Izuku's gloves do? Will Mineta Actually be useful? Who wins!? Find out next time on Bloodstained Hero!

Oh, also. Leave reviews. Please. I love you. They sustain my immortal soul.