Chapter 5. Using a quirk to the fullest. Releasing the flame.

They often say animals have a sixth sense of natural disasters, how others seem to be able to feel the danger. How others can feel sickness or incoming changes. The same way nature has given animals the innate ability for this. Nature had given Izuku Midoriya the innate ability to know when Katsuki Bakugou was at her boiling point.

He had tried to avoid the issue. However, he knew there was no running away. Plus his mom had betrayed him by trapping him in a hug as she cried in happiness.

"My Izuku is growing!"

Said the pleasant voice of his mother. She was happy and hugging him, inadvertently keeping him safe from the fury of Katsuki.

"That's not the point! A girl just kissed your son in the cheek! A girl whom you have not approved of!"

Katsuki was holding her hands together in a tight grip. Forcing herself to not hit or explode anything. Izuku thought this was the equivalent of a crocodile refusing to open his jaw. He could not maul anyone if its jaw was close... but nature ordered for him to open it. And he knew Katsuki would need to blow out some steam after this.

His mother kept gushing on how he was growing. So deciding he would need to face the ox by the horns he spoke.

"We are free tomorrow still… why don't we have a spar tomorrow at the beach?"

The words did their desired effect on the target. Katsuki hands broke out of their grip, only to close again, this time in a praying manner.

"You mean it!? We haven't sparred in a while!"

She was smiling in glee. And he found himself nodding at her. The explosive girl shouted in victory saying they needed a slice of cake to celebrate.


Izuku and Katsuki had spars. Mostly to never lose practice. But this would be their first spar with both having quirks. She always used her while sparring with him. But his training was more focused on evading and exploiting weaknesses.

Therefore, this would be an interesting spar for both of them.

The fourth day of their free week started by meeting in the beach where All Might had helped Izuku train. They decided the place would be a good spot to spar. Plus Kacchan insisted that it wouldn't be a good idea to go to their usual spot. Mostly cause she thought it would be dangerous with the tall grass this season.

They didn't need a second reprimand of the firefighters.

So they met and looked at the other. Katsuki had her short hair out of her face and looking ready. Izuku was wearing his gym uniform, stretching and looking at her. She had her usual wild smile.

"Well! You know the rules Deku! First to fall down three times loses. No poking the eyes, no kick to the groin, and the winner gets a kiss from the loser!"

The last part took Izuku by surprise.

"I… I don't remember that being part of our usual rules Kacchan…"

She smiled at him. Izuku would be lying if he didn't say he found her smile cute.

"I know! But you got a quirk now, so I had to change the rules."

He didn't point out that the new rule didn't have anything to do with quirks. So he simply nodded at her and got ready. The spar was simple. Make the other fall three times. In the past Izuku would manage this by making her lose her footing or catching her arm when she motioned for an explosion.

So far, the score between them was one hundred seventeen to one hundred sixteen. However, who was keeping count?

Both of them actually.

As usual, they would start counting in unison.

"Three!" "Three!"

"Two" "Two!"

"One!" "One!"

"Die!" "Go!"

They rushed towards the other, Izuku running and sliding to the right of Katsuki. Meanwhile, she expected that, so she made an explosion to push herself to the right. In the momentum of the explosion, she positioned herself in front. Managing to catch Izuku, spin him around and make him fall in the sand.

"First blood goes to me!"

Izuku found himself laughing.

"That it does Kacchan."

As he stood up he rushed forward catching her off guard, managing to take her legs for a takedown, making her fall in the sand.

"But you forgot that the spar is still going."

He smiled at her, then proceeded to back away so she could stand. She smiled wildly.

"Oh Deku, so mighty! Time to fall again!"

She rushed forward with an explosion behind her to catch him. Izuku knowing this move simply made a jump for the left while going towards her. Knowing she wouldn't maneuver quick enough. Izuku knew Kacchan had a particular problem. Her movement was as a vector.

Meaning, she was great moving in straight lines, but circular motions were not easy to pull out with her quirk. She needed to maneuver with her explosions, and that wasn't easy. She was becoming better, but for now, that was something he could make use.

Katsuki found herself making an explosion in front of her to get back to Izuku, but he was ready, and the moment she was about to release the explosion, she felt the hands of Izuku guiding her towards the ground.

Izuku noticed there was a small, hover period, in which Katsuki was in the air with no energy, or explosive momentum, so she could just be guided to the floor.

"Second fall Kacchan, I might just get the tie!"

In his own sense of happiness, he failed to follow his own advice and keep his attention on the spar. So when Kacchan got his feet and pulled him, he was not ready and ended up falling directly in his bottom.

"Well, well, I dare say someone got cocky."

Both smiled to the other as they stood up. They were looking at the other. And Izuku decided to try something. He tried to picture One for All, the energy going through his legs… picturing the energy.

The result wasn't what he or Katsuki expected. They understood how All Might managed to go from one place to the next so quickly. By increasing the strength of his legs, he could make jumps and sprints that covered big distances. But with loose footing in the beach, the result was Izuku going forward towards the ground crashing with Katsuki who was doing her best in keeping him stable.

Once the momentum died. They were both in the ground. Laughing at the mess of sand they caused. Through the laughs, Katsuki spoke.

"Well, I guess this is your win, I fell first."

Deku smiled at her waving her off.

"Not at all, you stopped me from going farther, you won."

She smiled hugging him. He hugged her

Their sparrings would usually go that way. A long series of ties and given victories to the other. The kindest sparring out there. Sparring that had been going for long. Between a girl with a quirk and a quirkless boy. Even though the two had quirks now, it had yet to lose its kind nature.


The day for Izuku and Katsuki was going in a simple manner. After their spar, they decided they needed to take a bath. Which Inko Midoriya kindly reminded Katsuki only children and married couples could bath together. And she didn't fit that bill.

So Katsuki begrudgingly accepted to take a bath after Izuku. Inko had her suspicions at the kindness act. So decided that while Izuku bathed she would make guard in the door. Katsuki stood at the side of the door chatting with her.

"So… still no?"

Inko smiled nodding.

"No indeed. As I said before, either you get married and live alone. Or no bathing together."

She sighed.

"We were allowed to take baths together before!"

Inko chuckled at that statement. It could be misunderstood by many others.

"You were both children, and it wasn't like you always did it."

Katsuki knew she wouldn't budge.

"Okay, you win mother in law…"

Katsuki was silent and Inko actually got worried. She could deal with an angry Katsuki, even a sad, or desperate one. Happy too when it happened. But she was not used to such a silent one.

"Katsuki. Are you all right?"

She sighed and nodded.

"Yukiko said she is going to try to get Izuku to like her…I am just thinking. Maybe if I took a part-time job, and started saving… I could have enough money for an engagement band…"

Inko Midoriya found herself sighing. It wasn't anything serious. Just Katsuki being herself….

"Did you say Yukiko is interested in Izuku?"

At this Katsuki nodded, never losing her thinking expression. Inko just found herself surprised.

"You are taking it rather well…"

At this Katsuki looked at Inko before smiling.

"I don't need to worry! Izuku loves me, and I love him. We have been best friends since ever. Why should I worry about a girl that just appeared? Sure, she has long hair, and looks pretty. But, come on mother in law! There is no way I am losing."

Inko remembered in moments like this how cute Katsuki could be. She was too honest for her own good, and at times that honesty could be seen as a blunt movement. But thing is, she was like that. Simple and honest.

No doubt why she was Izuku best friend.


Yukiko Todoroki found herself helping her sister. Mostly, in the form of holding the yarn, she was working with. So far it had been easy, chatting with her sister in the end was consistent of mostly listening to what she was saying. The usual routine was for her to ask a question, then her sister would let out all the information she had.

"So yeah. That's pretty much all I know about hairstyling."

Yukiko found herself nodding. It had been an interesting one hour chat. Mostly listen, nod, and keep any trivia info for herself. Thinking it might be useful someday.

"So. Enough about me… I heard dad has been meaning to find you a date again…"

She found herself flinching. She didn't want to show it affected her. But it did….

"Look… I been… chatting with him… he actually asked my opinion… I saw the names of your… partners for… you know"

This time she couldn't stay silent.

"Arranged marriage. You can say it the way it is. He is arranging a marriage so I can be more popular."

Heroes fought for popularity. Others didn't. But the truth was, they weren't afraid of playing any card to be the more popular hero. Her father believed it would do wonders for her to be married. To make the world see her as a strong woman who also had time for love…

He didn't know a thing for love…. Her mother….

She didn't want to go there.

"… yes. I couldn't convince him of stopping the whole thing… but I did manage to make all the other options go away. So you will only need to know one candidate."

This brought relief to Yukiko. One candidate. That meant she could reject him or freeze him. Moreover, that would put her dad back into looking candidates, which would take time.

"Did you saw his name?"

Her sister nodded.

"Yeah. In fact, he goes to UA. He was the number one candidate on the entrance exam. His name is Izuku Midoriya."

The suddenness of the surprise, the shock in itself, made her release both parts of her quirk in her hands. Essentially freezing half of the yarn while the other half got in flames.

"Yukiko!"


They often say animals have the ability to sense the danger. Katsuki Bakugou got this sense while bathing.

"….No…. I don't know why… but I am greatly angered with Yukiko…."

Once said girl finished her bath and got dry. She changed clothes. Inko Midoriya knew of the girl constants visits. So she thought it would be okay to let the girl have a space for her clothes in the house. This proved to be a good investment, for with this problem solved she got rid of Katsuki intents on using Izuku clothes saying she needed clothes.

Thing is, Katsuki hair was still wet, but this was because of a tradition from long ago.

She sat in front of Izuku.

"Dry my hair!"

She said this excitedly as Izuku accepted the small towel she brought with her. The boy simply laughed before doing as told. It had become a ritual between them, just like sparring. He would help her dry her hair. And she would help him too when the need appeared.

Small rituals. Small things that they did every time.

Friends that lived pretty much joined by their hips.

And yet for Katsuki this wasn't enough.

Izuku noticed the lack of comments from his friend.

"Kacchan? Are you okay?"

He asked with worry in his voice. Katsuki looked at him and brought him into a hug. He didn't know what was going on. But he guessed the right thing to do was ignore his own blush and just take the hug.

"I am okay Deku… I am okay."


The next day was just training for Izuku, a hoodie in place and running. He decided to go for a run in the morning, stamina was an important aspect to build… he honestly had been hoping to spend the day with Kacchan. However, she said she would be doing some training on her own. He suspected whatever was going on was something personal. Therefore, he decided to respect her space.

As he kept running through his usual road, he saw something he never saw before.

Ice sculptures. Different form, different in sizes… and he saw the ability in them, Todoroki seemingly was training her quirk it seemed. He decided it was a good chance to learn more about his classmate quirk.

As he approached, she noticed Todoroki was wearing her long hair in a ponytail, seemingly keeping her face clear of any distraction.

"Hey! Todoroki!"

He waved at her, he thought it would be better to approach her loudly and make his presence known. It was never good to approach someone who was using a quirk without making one known. Accidents could happen.

Said girl looked at Izuku, she waved back. And Izuku took notice of the state the girl was at, frostbite seemed to be around her. He worriedly approached her.

"Todoroki! Are you okay?"

Said girl nodded and sat on the floor. She breathed before answering.

"Yeah… just… training…control…"

She was shivering and Izuku removed the hoodie he was wearing and used to cover The said Said girl muttered a small thanks. At this Izuku was in thought.

"Todoroki… your quirk freezes you… if you used your left side, shouldn't it start warming you up?"

Said girl immediately tensed at the mention of her left side. And spoke in what Izuku thought was anger.

"I refuse… to use his quirk….."

Izuku saw the shivering girl. He couldn't understand what she meant.

"I… I don't know much about you honestly… but I am willing to listen."

He sat in the floor next to her. The dirt around him not bothering him in the slightest. He took notice she was seemingly breathing and hugging herself with the hoodie. Trying to warm herself. Izuku sighed before she started to speak again after a long silence.

"My quirk… is the result of the marriage… of my mother… and Endeavor."

Izuku took notice of how she didn't mention Endeavor as her father, but rather as if someone else named someone they disliked.

"You…. Heard of quirk marriages?"

Izuku let out a soft yes. He knew of them… everyone knew…

Quirk marriages… they came to be around the second generation of quirk users or third. It really changed depending on what source you choose to believe. But the end was the same… they were marriages between people looking to develop a new quirk. Hoping their offspring would result in a quirk fusion of both of them.

People started to look for candidates… people with strong quirks looked for people with flexible quirks. Others looked for more powerful quirks… it really was a hard time. Especially for the children of such marriages. As when they didn't got the quirk their parents expected…

Wel,l it wasn't pretty…

"Endeavor… married my mother because of her quirk. She made ice… so…"

Izuku got the rest. The perfect combination of such quirks. One that made ice, but seemingly had the disadvantage of freezing the body. Moreover, if his own notes of Endeavor were right, a fire quirk that heated the body. Forcing him to avoid using flashy moves and focus itself…

So a quirk that heats the body, and one that freezes it…. Meaning Todoroki having both was essentially a cooling system. She could freeze her body and then use her flame quirk to regain her temperature. If she started using flames constantly, she just needed to use her ice quirk to lower it…

A quirk marriage that essentially had attained the best result possible…

"I… I promised to never use his quirk…"

Izuku took notice of how she seemingly touched the burn mark in her face…

"I…I don't know about your… situation. I can't say I understand it… but I believe… you are lucky of having both of your parents."

This took Yukiko by surprise. Who placed her focus at Izuku.

"My mom has always taken care of me. And she is the best!"

He spoke in glee. Glee that turned sour after a few moments.

"But… she has always been forced to do her best. I don't know anything about my dad. Mom speaks about him. Nevertheless, I have never seen him… I haven't seen a photo of the three of us…"

Izuku sighed.

"My mom married my dad because she said they were in love… but was my dad love so fickle he abandoned us just like that?"

He looked at the sculptures of Ice around them. Works of art made by Yukiko.

"I didn't even have his quirk… I can't say I have something of my dad…you have the best of your mom and of your dad…"

He smiled then looking at her. Remembering those same words he was told before…

A young Izuku was saddened. And his sadness was met with a loud explosion in front of his face made from a girl who didn't like seeing him sad.

"So! What if your dad is not with you Deku!? You already have the best of your mom and of your dad! Don't go taking on the worse of them!"

"You already have the best of them. Do not take on the worse of them… maybe you are the result of a quirk marriage. But you are your own person. You are not Endeavor. You are not your mother. You are Yukiko Todoroki."

Said girl eyes were fully open. Absorbing what she just heard. She wasn't Endeavor. She wasn't her mother. She was her own person…

Her own person. With her own unique quirk. It wasn't Endeavor. It wasn't her mother quirk either. It was hers…

She stood up. Removing the hoodie and giving it at Izuku. Said boy was looking with surprise in his eyes at how the girl seemed to have steel in her eyes as she suddenly breathed and started making an ice sculpture. This one without the detail of the others. It was rowdy. It looked ugly. It was a badly done ice sculpture of Endeavor.

She looked at it and then at Izuku.

"Please. Come behind me, this could accidentally hurt you."

Izuku didn't question her and stood up,the hoodie in tow as he positioned himself behind Yukiko.

The girl breathed and Izuku saw her left arm flare to life. Then it seemingly followed as her hair too lit on fire. Only the half. The red half of her hair. Izuku took notice of how the signs of frostbite on her seemingly were gone.

Then without a warning, a small blast of fire was launched from her hand. Blowing the Endeavor figure in pieces.

"Yes! Take that!"

She shouted in glee. In happiness at the destruction of the figure. So happy, that she found herself embarrassed at the fact she remembered she was not alone. She looked embarrassedly at Izuku. Her embarrassment turning into a blush seeing the amazement in his eyes.

"That was amazing! You can actually get your temperature back in place! There is no more frostbite and!"

Yukiko was surprised. He kept rambling on her quirk. There was no disdain. No nothing. Only fun and amazement. She found herself doing something she didn't remember doing maybe since she was a child.

She started laughing. A soft laugh that turned into a loud laugh. She couldn't really remember laughing like this before. But she couldn't stop, and she kept going until tears started coming out of her eyes at the happiness she was feeling.

Izuku rambling stopped. And while he couldn't understand what was so funny. He was happy of seeing Yukiko being so relaxed.

After a while, both students decided to part ways. Yukiko had to go back home. And Izuku still wanted to see Kacchan. Yukiko seemed to frown a bit at the mention of his friend. Still they parted ways with the promise of seeing each other again in school. And with a second promise in it too. She would use her flame quirk more.

She would use it. But she would practice in secret. Away from the eyes of her father.

She had fun destroying the sculpture. She would make more of them to practice.


Meanwhile Izuku found himself knocking the door of a house he knew well. He was received with a smile from the woman in the door.

"Ah Izuku. Looking for Kacchan?"

He nodded and she motioned for her room. Izuku not noticing her mischievous smile.

"She is right there, you know the path."

He thanked her and walked to the room without knocking. He knew the routine, if the door was closed, knock. If it was slightly open, don't knock. He found himself surprised at seeing his friend struggling with a brush and her hair.

"Stay down dammit!"

When said girl noticed the door opening she spoke without looking in the direction.

"Not now old hag! I can do this alone!"

The cough of Izuku made her look. Her eyes as if she was a deer caught in the lights of a vehicle.

"Deku!"

"Kacchan…"

Both were in a standstill. Before she rushed forward trying to close the door only to see how Izuku simply walked forward stopping the door.

"You saw nothing you hear me! You saw nothing Deku!"

He found himself chuckling entering the room. He took notice of the usual stuff of Kacchan lying around. Videogames, magazines, school material. The usual stuff lying around her room that while not exactly in order, wasn't messy either. What surprised him was to see the styling products and the brushes lying around.

He recognized that as stuff that she didn't use at all. Mostly cause he knew her room.

"I was… trying something new."

She said dejectedly at being caught. However, Izuku knew the right way to cheer her.

"Want to play something? We got time, plus, I would like to spend the day with you Kacchan."

Said girl smirked, her smile turning wild and any feelings of shame and embarrassment gone through the window.

"Oh! Someone is feeling brave? Believe you can actually win this time?"

He smiled back at her with a nod.

"I know I can win."

She laughed loudly before bringing out the controllers. A game turning on.

Maybe he didn't know what was going on with Kacchan. Maybe he didn't really understand the pain of Yukiko.

That wasn't going to stop him of trying. To keep being better. And to keep being a better friend for them. To be the sort of friend that brought smiles with him…


CUT!

Well, my apologies for the delay there! All of you well? Hope so! I am back in activity though! Wait for more! See ya all soon in the next chapter.

Chapter 6. Explosions, cold hands and a knife. Trust is earned with hard work.