PLEASE READ! I made a mistake while writing this chapter! I mistook the long jump for a pole vault. Do not ask how or why. I only just found this out as I was putting finishing touches on this chapter. So, It's gonna stay the pole vault because I actually need it to be the pole vault as Izuku will not be showing off One-for-All in this chapter and the pole vault will be the one to showcase what else he can do and The Pitch test is for Hitoshi. (It'll make sense.)

P.S: Since I have ya'lls attention. I've been debating with myself here. A part of me almost wants to make the pairing Bakudeku on top of Tododeku, be it a love triangle or a poly relationship. but I don't know if I should go that far! Please, let me know what you think in the comments

By the time Izuku and Hitoshi managed to get to the changing rooms, Bakugo had already gotten changed and was gone. 'Thank goodness.' Izuku thought. Kaminari was waiting for them.

"Dude, did you two get in trouble?" Kaminari asked as the two of them got to their lockers and started to strip.

"No, he just wanted to know what the ruckus was." Hitoshi answered first as he took his shirt off and tossed it haphazardly into his locker.

Izuku was a little more polite as he neatly folded his shirt.

"Uhhhh-" Kaminari stuttered and Izuku was sure his brain literally short-circuited. Izuku looked over his shoulder to see Kaminari, red in the face, steam practically coming out of his ears as he stared intensely at Hitoshi's shirtless form.

'Interesting reaction.' Izuku thought. 'He better get out of here, he might faint if he sees Hichan without his pants.' Izuku started to unbutton his own pants as he thought this.

"Hm, I like this fabric." Hitoshi mumbled to himself as he rubbed the hem of the gym shirt between his thumb and index finger. "Breathable and cool."

Izuku could see what his brother meant. The fabric did feel nice. It was comfortable, but it wasn't unsurprising, UA is anything but cheap when it comes to their uniforms. All of their clothing was comfortable. The school even went as far as to make sensory friendly clothing for those with sensory issues.

Kaminari stayed when Hitoshi was taking off his pants and sure enough-

There was the sound of electricity buzzing before Kaminari let out a surprise yelp of pain. Izuku was already in his gym pants by the time he spun around. Kaminari's nose was lightly bleeding, and his hair stuck up a little crazier now. He was giving them a shaky thumbs up. "I'm fine! I'm- hoo! It's hot in here, y'know. I gotta- I gotta go!" Kaminari then made his grand escape as he ran away, not before running right into Tokoyami.

"Sorry!" Kaminari yelped as he backed up and ran.

"What is his problem?" Hitoshi inquired as he finished putting on his shoes.

"No clue." Izuku lied while he felt a tiny smile play on his lips. "No clue at all. You ready?"

"Yep!"

Izuku and Hitoshi were the last two out of the changing room, but they weren't too far behind everyone else. Eventually everyone was all lined up and waiting on their instructions. Their teacher stood in front of everyone with his hands in his pockets.

Hearing a growl, Izuku looked to see Bakugo glaring enraged daggers at him. Like Izuku personally snubbed him or something to that effect. 'Sorry for breathing…' Was all Izuku could think as he looked away from Bakugo.

Once all twenty students were standing there in front of him, Mr. Aizawa simply pulled out a tennis ball and walked up to Bakugo.

Bakugo reached out and took the ball from the teacher. "I want you to throw this as hard as you can, using your quirk."

There were happy gasps amongst the crowd. Nobody spoke as Bakugo looked at the ball in his hand before his face broke out into a grin. Bakugo strolled a little forward, cocked his arm back, and Izuku watched as Bakugo's hand started to glow a bright orange before-

BOOM!

"Die!" Bakugo had all but screamed as he sent the tennis ball flying. An explosion leaving the palm of his hand as it looked like his ball was on fire as it streaked across the sky. There was a wave of heat that blasted everyone in the face as an after shock.

"Die?" Izuku asked in his confusion as he looked at Hitoshi.

"Sociopath." Hitoshi huffed and put his hands in his pocket.

Mr. Aizawa showed them a score. Izuku blinked in surprise. Seven hundred meters. The same amount Izuku managed to do the day before when he broke two fingers on his right hand. Some other students gasped out in surprise.

"It's good, but it can be better. You all haven't been able to test your quirks to their limits because they don't want middle schoolers using their quirks. Well, that ends today. I will be scoring you all on your fifty meter dash, strength grip, Pole vault, sit ups, and as you all just saw, the pitch." Mr. Aizawa said.

"You mean, from now on we can finally use our quirks!?" Kirishima had gasped happily.

"Awesome!" Kaminari clapped his hands in his excitement.

Mr. Aizawa suddenly got a dark look over his face as the students continued to cheer happily. Only Izuku and Hitoshi stayed quiet. They knew their father. Mr. Aizawa was planning something and it made Izuku reach over and hold Hitoshi's hand. Hitoshi clasped his fingers around Izuku's and they waited for the shoe to drop.

"So, you think it'll be all fun and games now, do you?" Mr. Aizawa growled as he shoved his hands into his pockets and glowered at the students. "Well, if you think you're here to have a good time then you can leave. You are here to be heroes and I will train you as such. This isn't a fun retreat. Let's up the stakes: The person who scores the lowest in this class will be expelled."

Oh. The silence was heavy.

"Y-You can't do that… Can you?" The Frenchman, Aoyama, asked in a scared whisper as he stared a head with wide eyes.

'He can and he very much will.' Izuku thought as he stared ahead a million miles away. He and Hitoshi looked at each other once more. He then looked back at his father. For a moment he caught his dad's eye. Izuku was never one to back down from a challenge, especially not ones his father gave him and Hitoshi. And Aizawa has given them a lot of challenges throughout the years. Aizawa narrowed his eyes at Izuku.

Izuku responded by nodding. 'Challenge accepted, old man. I'll beat your test. Hitoshi and I both.'

The fifty meter dash was first. Everyone had to go in to groups of four and wait their turns. All of these kids had some impressive quirks. Izuku had to say he felt honored to be by their side as he watched them use their quirks to their advantage. Bakugo surprised him when he used his quirk to fly across the finish line.

Izuku was itching for his pen and journal.

Hitoshi had an advantage when it came to the meter. His legs. So, between the two of them, he won the dash. Izuku wasn't dead last, second to last wasn't too bad…

Izuku did better than Hitoshi on the grip strength. But he didn't stand a chance compared to Shouji, Kirishima, and Sato. Unfortunately, Hitoshi came in last on that one, he gave it his all despite knowing he wouldn't do too good. Izuku quietly patted his shoulder. "You did your best."

"It doesn't feel fair." Hitoshi grumbled a little in a whisper as they walked away.

"I know, but think about it. It's not just us right now. Kaminari and Hagakure don't have quirks that can help them out during this test either." Izuku whispered. "We're all on our own basically. We just have to try our very best… and pray."

"Yeah, you're right. At least a pole vault should be a breeze, right?"

"With our acrobatic experience? You bet!"

Hitoshi loved showing off. That's one of the first things Izuku learned about Hitoshi. So, whenever an opportunity arose that allowed Hitoshi to show himself off he never missed it. Hitoshi was smiling as he stared down the pole vault.

The vault itself wasn't big, not like the one used in the olympics anyways. It was smaller so basically anyone could vault over it as long as they knew what to do.

Hitoshi held the stick close to his chest before he charged. He ran fast, his training kicking in before he struck the pole into the ground and lifted himself off the ground.

Izuku couldn't hide his smile as Hitoshi flew up and looked absolutely weightless as he spun in the air, once, twice, three times before he landed. Clearly his gymnastics took over, but he still got pretty far. Hell, a couple of students clapped for him when he landed almost perfectly. Gymnastics really took over when he held his arms out as he landed.

"Psh." Bakugo huffed in irritation. Izuku felt a bit of agitation rise up in his chest.

"You did great, Hichan!" Izuku immediately called out. Honestly, he did it just to piss Bakugo off and it worked as Bakugo's eyebrows furrowed almost comically as a large vein looked ready to pop on his forehead. Izuku smugly grinned at Bakugo. "Something wrong?"

"No, because you'll be out of this class soon enough." Bakugo snarled as he bit on his tongue to keep himself from yelling most likely.

"Heh, that's what you think." Izuku narrowed his own eyes at Bakugo. 'I want to beat him at something. Just to wipe that stupid look off of his stupid smug face.'

Hitoshi walked up and tossed the pole at Izuku. "Your turn."

Izuku was a little less confident in his abilities to pole jump. Hitoshi was great at acrobatics and gymnastics alike, Izuku was good but he didn't feel he was as good as his twin. Clearly this must have been shown on his face because Hitoshi bumped his hip into Izuku. "Don't forget, you have something of an advantage in this one. Not just with your knowledge of acrobatics either."

'I have an advantage…' Izuku thought as he looked at the pole in his hands. 'Not just with acrobatics…what could he mean by that?... oh.' The idea struck him and Izuku spun to his brother. Izuku then hugged Hitoshi tightly.

"You're a genius!" He couldn't hide his grin. Now fully pumped and excited, Izuku practically ran to the starting point.

"Eh? What does that mean, 'Toshi." Kaminari had been the one to ask.

"-What does it matter?! Deku will be the first one out of here and I'm sure you'll be directly behind him, Eyebags!" Bakugo interrupted before Hitoshi could speak. "He's quir-

Izuku didn't hear what was said next as his blood was pumping directly in his ears, drowning everyone out. A plan was forming in his head and he knew he had to time it right. Then he charged. He ran as fast as he possibly could. Izuku ran past his father, and Izuku couldn't help it, he smiled brightly at his dad before he used the pole to catapult himself up into the air.

Like with Hitoshi, Izuku did show off, just a little as he did a flip. The flip was needed so he was back facing the pole. The world felt like it was moving in slow motion as he watched the pole lifelessly start to fall towards the ground. Izuku reached his hand out for the pole.

It stilled for a moment before it came flying towards him.

This was the tricky part. Izuku had to be facing the pole as the end came flying towards him like a rocket. Izuku held his breath as he continued to slowly fall; he reached both of his arms up and above his head, causing the pole to follow his movements. Closer and closer it was coming until-

"I got it- Wah!" Izuku caught it between both of his hands, but the trajectory and the velocity of the pole caused him to go flying back so suddenly that he flipped backwards. "Gah!" Izuku cried out in pain as he slammed the pole back into the ground so suddenly that it caused the wooden stick to jam into his stomach. He only used this to his advantage and pushed himself off of the pole. Using this new momentum to make him go even farther than he would have normally.

The next thing he knew he was staring at the sky before his father was suddenly in his vision.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… heh. That was wild." Izuku grinned. "I never thought of trying that!" He threw his hands up in triumph.

"Way to go!" Ochako clapped.

"Rather smart, if not reckless!" Iida gave a little laugh as he clapped as well.

His dad didn't want to show it. Not with the other children watching, but Izuku could see it. A teeny tiny little smile. "Let's try and keep the injuries to a minimum." He offered his hand out and Izuku took it.

He got his wish in the end with his little move. He did a longer and farther jump than Bakugou. However, the cost was the perfectly round bruise embedded into his stomach.

However, when he finally got up to his feet, he noticed something interesting. Bakugo's face.

He was shocked.

'Is this guy such an egomaniac that he doesn't think he can be beaten at something?' Izuku thought as he gave Bakugo the side eye before Izuku returned to Hitoshi. "Zuku, I knew you had a quirk!" Kaminari came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Izuku's shoulders in a hug. "I knew that pen floated up into your hand! You've been holding out on me, man!"

'The pen…' Izuku blinked at Kaminari's words. 'That's right, a while back Kaminari mentioned how a pen floated into my hand. I hadn't realized it, but then it proves it. This object attraction quirk. It's mine.' Izuku looked at his hands.

'But what caused it to surface? Why hadn't I realized it before?'

Izuku wanted to think more about it, but he couldn't not while the assessment test was still in full swing.

After the pole vault test, came the sit-up test. Ochako offered to spot him, while Kaminari spotted Hitoshi. Izuku didn't come in last. No, Hitoshi did with Izuku second to last. They both felt rather awful. Izuku felt his father's eyes bore into them. 'Is he ashamed? Should we be at the top of the list?' Izuku had thought as he looked away from his dad. As usual, his father was just emotionless, not letting any emotion show on his face anywhere.

Eventually came time for the final test. The pitch.

Because Katsuki had demonstrated, he didn't have to go again. So, one by one students threw their balls to the best of their abilities. Izuku watched, amazed, as Ochako's ball slowly floated up, up, up, up-

"Infinity!?" Everyone had yelled as Aizawa showed them her score. Ochako happily skipped back so she was beside Izuku.

'Well, we know who's gonna win this one.' Izuku smiled back at Ochako. He went up next. Izuku was tempted to use one-for-all in an attempt to bring his score up. But he knew, oh how Izuku knew if he would to use that quirk without his dad's permission he'd be running the yard until he collapsed.

So, Izuku simply levitated the ball to him and threw it as far as possible. He was dead last with a measly sixity meter throw.

Hitoshi was next.

He grabbed the ball out of Aizawa's hand, but he didn't get to step up to the plate as Bakugo suddenly opened his mouth. "Make your last pitch, quirkless loser. You're clearly gonna go, next to you that is." Bakugo turned to Izuku.

Hitoshi stopped and glared at Bakugo from over his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" Izuku spat quickly in Bakugo's direction. "One: Hichan has a quirk! Two: We're not going anywhere."

"If he has a quirk then why hasn't he used it? At least you used your quirk, as lame as it is."

"My quirk isn't combat based." Hitoshi spoke next. "But I will be more than happy to give you a demonstration." Hitoshi brought his arm down as his teeth gnashed together. "God knows I've been dying to show it to you."

"Heh! Give it your best shot-" Bakugo's eyes went vacant. His red irises turned milky in color as his jaw went slack.

"Good, since you like to run that mouth of yours so much, why don't you come here and take this ball for me." Hitoshi demanded as he held the ball out. Bakugo slowly trudged over and obediently took the ball from Hitoshi. "Throw it like you had earlier, with the explosion." Hitoshi put his hands on his hips as he backed away from Bakugo.

Like from earlier, Bakugo's right hand started to glow a striking orange color before he swung his arm out violently.

BOOM!

Like before, there was a wave of heat that hit them all directly in the face as there was a wide arch of fire before the ball went flying off in the distance and vanished.

There was a silence as their classmates just stared in shock and awe at what just happened. "I can brainwash people. That's my quirk. Judge me if you want, but I was born with this quirk and I plan on using it to become a hero." Before Hitoshi could cut the connection between him and Bakugo, Aizawa showed the class his score.

The exact same score as Bakugo's.

"But, Sensei! Hitoshi didn't even throw the ball himself. He used Bakugo to do it!" A blonde boy, Ojiro, had quickly spoken up.

"You're right. That being said, he used his quirk to his advantage. How is this any different than Izuku bringing the pole back to him so he can jump longer? Or Iida using his boosters to run farther in the fifty meter dash? Don't forget. I'm assessing your quirks." Aizawa lowered the score counter so it was facing the ground now.

"But his quirk is dan-" Hagakure had started to say and Izuku cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"It's not 'dangerous'. The only thing that makes a quirk dangerous is the holder." Izuku quickly spoke up on his brother's behalf. "Look at Ochako for example. She could easily send any one of you to space, but she won't. What makes Hichan any different?"

A few people broke out in mutters while others nodded along, agreeing with what Izuku had just said.

Hitoshi started to walk away and towards Izuku, but he was stopped by Aizawa. "Tora H, are you going to release Bakugo?"

"Oh, right. Silly me, I almost forgot." Hitoshi smiled a little smugly as he said this. "It was almost too quiet." He then blinked and Bakugo was released.

He stood there, confused as he frantically looked around. "What the fuck- who the fuck? What did you do to me, Eyebags!" Bakugo, once again, charged directly for Hitoshi. Bakugo used his explosions to fly his way towards Hitoshi to try and get there quicker than he would normally.

Hitoshi seemed to bristle and he brought his hands up, ready to throw down with Bakugo. "Bring it! I'll beat your ass, you pomeranian fuck-"

It never got that far. Aizawa's scarf wrapped around not only Bakugo, but Hitoshi as well. Bakugo was stopped dead in his tracks and found, fairly quickly, that he couldn't fight against Aizawa's capture weapon. Aizawa had personally wrapped his scarf around Hitoshi's mouth. Hitoshi didn't even try to fight it. He just sighed and allowed his arms to fall to the side.

"Let me make one thing personally clear amongst all of you. I don't tolerate fighting nor bullying. You are future heros and you are to act like it. Am I clear?"

The rest of class 1-A mumbled their response of: "yes, sir."

"Good." Aizawa released Hitoshi and Bakugo. Bakugo fell face first to the ground once he was let go. Hitoshi only huffed in slight irritation before returning to Izuku. Bakugo got right back up to his feet and grumbled in anger before storming back to the rest of the class.

"Alright, let's go. Your scores should be up."

Aizawa then stalked past the class with his hands in his pockets. The air turned to stress in seconds. Who was going to be expelled.

"It might be me." Hitoshi whispered solemnly as they walked together.

Izuku thought about what Akisho had said back in the bathrooms. "If you go. I go. We'll both be together. No matter what." Izuku squeezed Hitoshi's hand.

So all together, class 1-A huddled around a holographic scoreboard. Izuku felt Hitoshi squeeze his hand just a little tighter. "Zuchan… I'm last." Hitoshi squeaked, the fear evident in his voice.

Izuku felt his throat tighten as he reached over with his other hand to pat Hitoshi's hand. Izuku wasn't much better really as he was second to last. "I stand by what I said, Hichan. If you go. I go." He couldn't believe his time in the hero course was so short.

A couple of students gave Hitoshi pitying looks. and Izuku feels anger boil in his blood. 'What the hell were you thinking, dad? Were you just long-conning Hichan and me this whole time?' Izuku could only think in frustration.

As if to answer his thoughts, Aizawa spoke. "The results are clear as day. The student being expelled is…"

Hitoshi swallowed hard and Izuku put his head on his brother's shoulder. "It was so short lived…" Hitoshi whispered in anger.

"...No one!" Aizawa smiled that damned smile that he's given Izuku and Hitoshi many times. That flat smile showing off his teeth. "It was a logical ruseTM !"

"Are you kidding!?" Izuku had suddenly screamed out in defiance and he wasn't the only one as other students also screamed their frustration.

"I am not. I wanted you all to try your best on this and what better motivation than the fear of being expelled?" Mr. Aizawa had said with that same smile still plastered on his face.

"Am I the only one who knew that?" A girl with thick dark black hair put up into a ponytail had asked with a slight scoff.

Izuku couldn't really pay too much attention to her as Hitoshi had simply leaned in and hugged him. "Holy shit, out of all the things…" Hitoshi had whispered to him. "God, scared the crap out of me."

"I know what you're saying- oh-" Izuku gasped when his shoulder was bumped. He looked up to see Bakugo.

"This isn't over, Deku." Bakugo hissed at him before stalking away-

'Who walks like that casually?' Izuku thought as he watched Bakugo walk, squat, knees bent, with his shoulders back.

It almost made Izuku laugh, but he managed to keep his composure.

Aizawa's smile fell from his face and he went back to being emotionless. "Alright, go get changed. The bell's gonna ring soon and I'm not writing you guys late passes."


They had Present Mic for an English teacher, and Midnight was their Math teacher, but seeing how it's the first day of school most of their other classes just handed out the syllabus and instructed how they wanted the class to act for the school year.

Lunch came, and Izuku was ready to go to the roof with Hichan, as they would usually. Izuku kind of figured that any friendship potential was destroyed when they learned about how Hitoshi's quirk worked, but surprisingly-

"Deku, come eat with me and Iida!" Ochako suddenly jumped into Izuku's field of vision. "You too Hichan!"

Hitoshi immediately tensed.

"I'm sorry, Deku?" Izuku blinked innocently at Ochako.

"Oh? Is that not your name? I just figured because that one boy calls you that all the time-"

"It's an insult." Hitoshi chimed in. "He's calling Izuku 'useless'. I don't even know why. We don't know the guy." Hitoshi growled. "Also, It's Hitoshi. Only Izuku can call me Hichan. No offense or anything…" He then turned away from Ochako.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Ochako frowned. She turned slightly forlorn and Izuku immediately jumped in.

"A common mistake! And please don't let Hichan get to you. He's always blunt with people. You can call me-"

"-'Zuku!" Kaminari came up and placed his chin on the top of Izuku's head. He let his whole body go limp, placing a lot of weight on Izuku. "I'm too tired to go to the rooftop."

" 'Zuku… I like that! It has such a nice ring to it!" Ochako smiled and Izuku immediately blushed a bright red.

" 'Zuku it is!" He agreed.

"You three should eat with Iida and I! C'mon, it's gotta be better than eating on the rooftop!" Ochako suddenly said with a smile.

And for the first time since elementary school, Hitoshi and Izuku actually ate in the cafeteria with other people. It was almost insane to think about.

"Ah, Tora, I wanted to ask. How's your stomach? That pole had to hurt." Iida had inquired as he started to eat his lunch. Izuku had just opened his bento and grabbed a riceball. Quietly he dunked it into his little tupperware of soy sauce before he answered.

"Sore. Really sore actually. I didn't think my plan would actually work!" Izuku laughed before taking a bite out of his riceball. His mouth was slightly full when he spoke and so he put his hand in front of his mouth so as not to seem rude.

"I should really be thanking Hichan! I hadn't even considered using my object attraction quirk to my advantage."

"Oh! that reminds me," Kaminari swiftly turned to Hitoshi. "'Toshi! That spin you did when you vaulted over the bar was insane! You didn't tell me you were a gymnast!"

Hitoshi blushed a very light pink and swallowed down his mouth full of food. "Zuchan and I do acrobatics on the weekends. Gymnastics is one of them."

"Oh! That's so smart!" Ochako suddenly chirped happily. "You two must be really flexible!"

"Acrobatics, I never thought of that…" Iida commented as he looked at his own arms. "Heaven knows I could be a little more flexible."

"If gymnastics is one, what other one do you two do?" Kaminari inquired.

"I can answer that. We also do silk acrobatics as well as trapeze, however, those are only on the occasion."

"Wow!" Ochako looked absolutely impressed. "Can we see you two trapeze act! That would be so cool."

"She's right! That would be amazing, 'Toshi! Watching you and Izuku swinging around in the air!"

Izuku blushed this time around as he took another bite of his rice ball. "I dunno about that. We're not as good at trapeze as we are at gymnastics."

"He's right. We're still constantly letting go of one another. I don't think you'd like to see us just falling into a safety net the whole time." Hitoshi also took a bite of his food as he spoke. He wasn't as polite as Izuku as he spoke without covering his mouth.

Izuku felt eyes on him. He turned his head over his shoulder to see Bakugo. The sociopath was just glowering at Izuku. Bakugo was eating his food slowly and deliberately while he glared at Izuku the whole time. It was, in all honesty, a little off putting.

"Son of a bitch. What is this guy's problem?" Hitoshi slammed his fist down in irritation.

"You guys say he doesn't know you… then how'd he know 'Zuku was quirkless before?" Kaminari suddenly asked and Izuku turned to him in surprise.

"What? When did this happen?" Izuku asked and Kaminari looked a little confused before turning to Hitoshi.

"You didn't tell him? It was during the pole vault. As you were jumping, Bakugo said, and I quote: "Deku will be the first one out of here and I'm sure you'll be directly behind him, Eyebags. He's quirkless!" Kaminari did a pretty funny job of mocking Bakugo's rough and gruff voice.

"Oh yeah!" Ochako snapped her fingers. "And Hitoshi said: "You can't possibly know that, you angry mutt." Ochako's impression of Hitoshi wasn't spot on, but she did use her chopsticks to mimic Hitoshi's eyebrows at the time and made them into an angry V shape over her own eyes. And it made her burst into a fit of giggles. Which made Izuku laugh a little as well.

"Yep! And then Izuku brought the pole to him and you should have seen Bakugo's face. He looked so stunned. It shut him up, for once today."

Izuku looked at Hitoshi before standing up. "Okay, that's it." Izuku suddenly said as he grabbed his bento box. "I'm going to talk to him."

"Whoa, there's no need-" Hitoshi spoke up next but was cut off by Izuku.

"He clearly knows something, Hichan. I don't think he's just being a bully to be a bully. I'm going to talk to him." Hitoshi went to stand, but Izuku stopped him. "By myself." Izuku put his hand up to stop his brother.

Hitoshi pursed his lips to the side before sitting back down. "Very well."

"I'll be back." He whispered. Izuku turned towards Bakugo. The moment they made eye contact with each other Bakugo's eyes turned white in color and turned comically angry while he gnashed his teeth.

"Don't you dare-!" Bakugo started to yell, but it fell on deaf ears as Izuku put his food down at the seat across from Bakugo.

There was a beat of silence as Bakugo looked from the bento then back to Izuku, who sat down. "Are you hard of hearing, Deku!" Bakugo all but roared. He roared so loudly that the cafeteria immediately quieted down as people stared in their direction.

"No. But are you?" Izuku honestly asked as he grabbed his half-eaten rice ball.

"Do you want to die?!"

"I'm being serious. Are you hard of hearing? It seems like it with how much you yell and scream. Those explosions of yours might be making you hard of hearing."

"I'll kill you!"

Izuku heard a chair scrape from behind him and he raised his hand up. A signal. Hitoshi stopped before he rose from his chair. "We're fine."

Hitoshi grumbled and must have sat right back down.

Izuku then focused back at Bakugo. "Rice Ball?" He offered one of his two remaining rice ball's to Bakugo. Bakugo stuttered for a moment before his eyes returned to normal.

"Keep your shitty food." Bakugo waved Izuku off with an angry huff. Izuku shrugged and continued to eat.

"So, you know I have to ask. Do I know you? Or, do you know me? It seems like you know me, but… I don't know you." Izuku asked after he swallowed his food down.

"Tch." Bakugo huffed again as he looked down at his own food. "I don't know." Bakugo admitted. "You just- you fucking look like someone I knew once, okay? But, you can't possibly be him." Bakugo stabbed his food with his chopsticks.

"Why can't I be him?"

"He's quirkless, for starters, and… he's dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Izuku frowned at the news given to him.

"Don't you fucking pity me!"

"I'm not." Izuku put his hands up in front of him. "I swear… I assume his name was Deku?" Izuku thought for a moment before he grimaced. 'Who names their kid Deku?'

"Tch." There was that noise again. "Idiot. Here's the thing. You look identical to him. Curly green hair, freckles, the works. You- you even share his name. Izuku. But, like I said. He is- was quirkless." Bakugo growled. "It's like my mom says, if it look like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's a fucking duck!" He slammed his fist down in anger and his chopsticks rattled from the impact.

"You say… he's dead?" Izuku felt a buzzing in the back of his skull. It felt like fuzz was slowly starting to fill his brain. It itched and tickled a little. Something was wrong.

"... I look at you- I can't say. I really can't. You look like you could be his twin."

"But…Hichan is my twin." Izuku mumbled softly as his brain continued to feel fuzzy and there was a soft ringing in his ears.

Bakugo snorted. "Yeah, whatever, and All Might is my uncle." He rolled his eyes. He then looked at Izuku. "Are you sure you don't remember me? I don't look familiar to you in the slightest?" Bakugo inquired and for a solid second the two of them just stared at each other.

He did look familiar. That's the thing. Izuku was certain he knew Bakugo from somewhere! He looked so familiar and the longer Izuku looked the more intense the static and ringing became.

Then the fuzziness, the static feeling, and the ringing stopped. "I'm missing the first five years of my memories." Izuku said almost as if he was on autopilot. His voice was monotone and he wondered if he was under Hitoshi's control with how emotionless he had become.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Bakugo's voice turned tense as Izuku started to rise up to his feet.

"I-I probably shouldn't ha-have- I'm sorry- I-" Izuku's mind was suddenly flooded with panic after being so void of emotion just moments before. His mind was telling him to run and far away from Bakugo Katsuki-

'I can't pronounce your name, so from now on you'll be K̸͎̩͗̒a̶̩̺̯͍͌͂ặ̵͌c̸͈͍̊̃̌̚ḧ̶̗̹́͆͠͝a̸̡̳͖̅̿́̈́n̸̠̺̪͔̈́̌͊- Hichan! and you're gonna be my bestest friend ever!'

Izuku's hand automatically slapped over his mouth to stop himself from yelling out as the memory physically hurt his head. Sweat poured down the back of his neck and he felt his whole body tense up. Bakugo sat up almost immediately at this wild movement. "I have to go!" Izuku then bolted. Not just from Bakugo, but out of the cafeteria entirely.

"Zuchan!" Izuku heard the sound of a clattering chair, before the sound of footsteps immediately chasing after him.

Izuku had made it out of the cafeteria and down the hallway before Hitoshi caught up with him. It didn't take much with Hitoshi's long legs to his advantage. Hitoshi had grabbed Izuku by the shoulder first before he managed to grab Izuku's arm with his other hand. He tugged Izuku, forcing him to a stop and to take a wild step back. This almost made Izuku fall to his butt, but Hitoshi kept a steady grip on his arm.

"Wh-what happened?" Hitoshi breathed in and out heavily in surprise.

"I-I don't know!" Izuku grabbed onto his head and tangled his fingers into his wild curly hair. His chest heaved up and down, be it from the running or an oncoming panic attack. "I don't know! I don't know, Hichan!" Izuku then attached himself to Hitoshi's chest and grabbed onto the back of his brother's jacket.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here." Hitoshi whispered as he lightly patted Izuku's back.

There's a name on the tip of Izuku's tongue. It was right there. Like a word someone would know but just didn't know the name of. Just like Bakugo. A person he knew but didn't know at the same time.

'Kaac-… Kaa-...Ka-...Katsuki. Bakugo Katsuki.'


"C'mon Zuchan!" Little four-year-old Hitoshi yelled from a distance as he waved Izuku down. "Are you scared 'cause you know I'll beat you?" Hitoshi had continued to yell.

Izuku hesitantly shook his head. "Nah-uh!"

Suddenly two different kids appeared behind Hitoshi. They had no faces, just blank slates. "Then c'mon!"

Izuku hurried so he was right behind Hitoshi. Even as a little four year-old Hitoshi had such long legs and made it hard to keep up with. Not that it mattered, everytime Izuku tried to get too close the three of them would all take off in a run, trying to get away from him.

"Ew! He's quirkless, don't let him touch me. I don't want to be quirkless!" One boy yelled out as he ran.

"He-hey! That's not nice! Hichan! Tell them that's not nice!" Izuku whined as he continued to chase after the trio. Usually, Hitoshi would defend his twin. He had more than a few bruises to show for that fact, but he didn't, not today.

"You know it's true, you make everybody you touch quirkless, because you're quirkless, a curse!"

"I do not! Stop being mean, Ka-" Hitoshi's image flickers for a second. No longer purple haired and purple eyed, but red eyed and blonde haired. His smirk turned into a malicious smile. Before he flickered back to normal. "Hichan, I'm gonna tell my mommy!" Izuku had scrambled to keep up with the three of them. He tripped on more than one occasion.

The scene almost seemed to change as they were all now running on a fallen tree right above a flowing crystal blue river. Hitoshi then stopped running and twisted his body around so suddenly that it caused some of the bark beneath his feet to break off.

"Stupid, quirkless, crybaby, Deku- Wah!" Suddenly one of his feet slipped along with a slick piece of moss and down Hitoshi-

No.

Down Bakugo went into the river.

"Kaa-"

"Wake up!"

Izuku's eyes snapped open as a fearful scream left his mouth. Hitoshi was above him, he had Izuku's arms pinned above his head. Hitoshi was breathing heavily, his eyes wide with fear as he looked down at Izuku. Hitoshi's hands trembled as he held on tightly to Izuku's wrists. "Ar-... are you back with me?" Hitoshi whispered fearfully. Izuku licked his dry lips as he took note that his brother was still in his own PJ's. So, Izuku looked at his alarm clock by his bed, gifted by his father after he took Izuku's phone. It was only four in the morning.

"What happened?" Izuku whispered back to his brother. Fear laced in Izuku's voice.

"You were thrashing in your sleep." Hitoshi finally let go of Izuku's wrist and slowly lowered himself back down to the floor beside Izuku's bed. "I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself. Are you okay?"

"I… that dream was… It felt so real. I think it was." Izuku sat up in his bed and put his hand to his face. "A stupid, quirkless, crybaby Deku..." He whispered back to himself.

"Bakugo." Hitoshi growled in anger. "Clearly that bully just got under your skin today." Hitoshi huffed before he suddenly crawled into bed with Izuku. Izuku sank back down into his covers and together the two of them threw the covers over their heads.

"I don't think so, Hichan. I think it's more than that. I think…I actually knew him." Izuku murmured to his brother.

"Maybe you did, but clearly he wasn't your friend."

Izuku opened his mouth ready to dispute, but he thought better of it. He didn't have all the facts. "I don't know." He settled on saying. "I really don't. All I do know is that it's giving me one hell of a headache." He gave a dry laugh before resting his head on Hitoshi's shoulder. "And I feel like I'm going crazy."

"You're not."

"He said his friend was dead, that he looked exactly like me."

"Well, you're not dead last I checked."

"No, but I am missing."

There was a beat of silence before Hitoshi shook his head. "No. They had a chance to claim you up. They gave up that right five years ago. I think you just have the misfortune of looking like his dead friend and he's taking it out on you. God knows how many times I thought I saw my mom or dad in a crowd."

"It's too many coincidences."

There was another beat of silence between the two before Hitoshi hummed. "Besides. You have to think about it. It's always been you and I. Who is he to come barging in and claim you to be his deceased friend all of a sudden?"

"...Yeah. You're right. It does seem strange. Besides. You give better hugs and cuddles." Izuku shifted so he was now wrapped up into Hitoshi's arms.

"Damn right. Bakugo is about as cuddly as a damn cactus."

Together they stayed like that under the covers until they both fell into a much easier sleep in one another's arms. Until their father came in a few hours later and yanked the covers off them.

"Don't you two think you're getting a little too old to be sleeping in one another's bed?" Was the question their father posed once they stirred.

Neither boy had an answer.