Double chapter due to editing mistake. Enjoy


-x- Shoto -x-

The students got the rest of the week off to decompress. Shoto spent it moping. "Shoto, are you still upset about what All Might said?" Mikaela asked. He nodded. "He didn't mean it how it sounded."

"Yes he did." She sighed. "They don't trust me. Not even to be around my classmates for longer than six hours at a time. They should have never gone digging how they did. It wasn't right or fair or probably legal."

"It was not okay, but we can't do anything about it now. You don't need to prove yourself to anybody. They'll see with time regardless." Shoto still wasn't happy. All Might had messaged him an apology, but he hadn't know what to say, so he'd sent a simple "ok". The hero didn't press, which he was both glad and upset about.

Why couldn't he be normal, or at least half normal, like Izuku? He looked down at his burnt arm, and wrapped both around his knees. Mikaela knew words probably wouldn't work, and headed into the kitchen to make him a treat.

He went up to his room and decided to write a letter to Rei, explaining what had happened. He went into detail, and was only done when two full pages were filled with his neat handwriting. He folded it up, put it in the envelop, and put the bird postal stamp on it. He took it to their mailbox and set it inside, putting the flag up to show there was mail to be sent.

Walking back inside, he got some blood brownies. They were good, but didn't cure his mood. He didn't know what would.

-x- Izuku -x-

Everyone was buzzed about the announcement that they would be having the sports festival, though it was pushed back a week due to what happened with the first years. It was nerve wracking, after the villains and that one who left lingering issues. But it was a UA tradition, they did it every year.

Izuku had watched it at home so many times. Since he was young and still powerless. But now, he was going to take part in it. He hoped to go up against Shoto so he could go all out and know there would be no permanent damage or death. And Shoto could go all out as well. Show off to the best of their ability.

Aizawa was back, and covered in bandages. He'd been severely injured, and his eye sight was a bit worse than before. But he came anyways, and apologized for not being available when they needed him. Of course, the class forgave him. He was more hurt than they were, after all. Much more hurt.

Izuku was glad he'd moved on after that so he didn't need to think about when he had been unable to help, hadn't gotten there soon enough to help. Nobody had, he'd faced the monster alone. And since it was dead and gone, nothing left, there was no way to figure out what the heck it was.

At lunch, though, Izuku had something he needed to do. He took Uraraka aside, and she looked like she was uncomfortable. "I wanted to tell you I'm not mad at you, or dislike you. It's not personal, I don't like most people to touch me." This was not true, as he'd never had anyone he didn't like touch him like that. Not that he didn't like her, he just didn't know her enough, hadn't known her long enough, to have her do something like that. Maybe it was stupid, he wasn't sure.

"Okay… I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable," she said. "Can we still be friends?"

"Of course," Izuku nodded. She smiled brightly, and they headed back to the table. Shoto was still bummed about All Might's words. He picked at his food, even though Izuku heard his stomach growl. He was in a deep funk.

When Aizawa came into the room and called him over, the current human listened in. The conversation was the homeroom teacher assuring him that they did trust him. Why would they have let him in if they didn't? All Might just worded it wrong. "You're welcome here, just like anybody else," he said firmly.

"Okay…"

"And we trust you to not be too rough with the students in the sports festival. Both you and Midoriya."

"Okay. We know how to control ourselves. Though going against each other would be more ideal."

"We don't know who we're pitting against one anther yet. That will be decided that day once we find out who is left. Have you seen it on TV before?" Izuku assumed Shoto nodded. "Then you should be prepared for the battle segment. I'll remind both of you to be safe and careful then. I expect you to do so."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, go back to lunch." Shoto left and came back. When he sat down, he ate his food. Hopefully that helped.

After school, Iida came up to Izuku on his way out. "Midoriya-kun, will you help me train?" He was surprised. "You have speed with your quirk, and I would like to race you and perhaps battle."

"Well, sure. Kacchan and Shoto don't know what to do to practice, so it would be fun to get everyone together!" Izuku said brightly. Some others came over, hearing this, and thought it would be fun to do group training as well. "We'll plan soon. We have this week off to practice." So much time off. Only the third week and they'd had a whole week of it with no school. Of course it made sense, but still. It felt they were missing out.

At least they all knew the reality of fighting villains. Bad things could happen after doing seemingly good deeds. Nobody blamed Sato for the situation, as it was in the past, hopefully for good. But Izuku did think they learned a good lesson through experience, even if it was an unfortunate situation for sure.

When he told his two friends, Kacchan was fine with it, but Shoto seemed hesitant. Izuku understood why, as he couldn't go full out around other people. Maybe it was rude to plan it anyways. "We're gonna be opponents. Showing off our moves might be bad for us."

"We won't be showing off all our moves. I'll keep my air force secret. You can keep the extent of your ice powers secret. Kacchan-"

"I'm gonna show those irrelevants that they should be scared to fight me," he said with a sadistic grin, punching his fists together. Izuku smiled and nodded. So, they all planned to meet in the back field behind the main building to train.

The next day, they did all meet, and the fighting began. Izuku did indeed fight Iida, race him. He ended up kicking too hard and denting one of his engines. But at least his leg didn't break. Izuku fixed it, pulling on it to pop it back into place like you could to dents on cars. Shoto was fighting long range and short range, only he was dodge practicing.

It was Tokoyami fighting him, using his awesome quirk to attack him. When he ducked down, he bent backwards until he was on and upside down bridge, and then brought himself back up with a flip, perfectly in breath.

"Whoa, that was awesome!" Kaminari shouted. It was nearly everyone there. It did feel that they grew closer based on the shared suffering. All supporting one another, taking care of those that passed out, catching them or at least getting them somewhere comfortable. Distributing food to those who were too weak to leave the bed.

It felt nice. Felt like a big family. Extended, of course. They weren't close enough to be considered similar to how he felt for his best friends and his mother. Even Shoto and Bakugo's families felt close to him, especially Shoto's, as they'd helped him when he wasn't able to control his strength.

"Where'd you learn to be that flexible?!" Kirishima asked.

"Myself," he said simply.

"Can you teach us?" Hagakure asked.

"No. It takes months or years to learn," Shoto replied honestly. He turned back to Tokoyami, who helped him dodge. Then he went to Sato to dodge short range dodging. He ate a shit ton of candy and cakes to get strong. Izuku watched in interest, glad Shoto was taking part in it. He still was awkward and quiet, but was participating.

Shoto ended up missing a dodge, and got nailed in the face, knocked down. He got right back up, and formed an ice club in his hand. It wasn't fancy in any way, but didn't have a sharp edge. He slammed it into Sato's side, knocking him down. "Ugh, you're pretty strong, jeez."

"Lots of training," he replied, which was true, but not the whole truth in any way. Then he went to Aoyama, whose naval laser was much faster that Dark Shadow. Shoto get hit by it in the arm, but had formed an ice cast around it. He was lathered up in sunblock, and was wearing short sleeves with wraps on them to protect him but not get in the way.

"What's with the wraps, Midoriya?" Mineta wondered.

"He has sensitive skin," he replied. Izuku was fine with more revealing clothes since he was in human form right now and all, and had sunblock on. He wouldn't die from the sun like this. He went back to training, but with Ojiro this time, whose tail was powerful. It knocked him back a bit, and Izuku was careful with hitting too hard and breaking his extra appendage.

It seemed like it would get in the way a lot. With sitting especially. Izuku was lucky his power had no real physical drawbacks, functionality or appearance.

After it started to get late, and all the onigiris were finished, they all headed home. The three headed to Shoto's house. When they got there, Izuku and Shoto went all out, beating the shit out of each other, blood flying, bruises healing over. "Shit, you better not fight that way at the festival if you're picked against each other."

"We can pretend Recovery Girl helped us," Shoto said as a front tooth regrew.

"Still, you'll come across hella violent."

"Or physically tough," Izuku said, his broken nose righting itself. "It's not like you ever hold back with your explosions, even when it's not against us. You're as brutal as we are."

"Hah, guess that's true." His phone beeped, and he looked at it. Shoto asked if it was Kirishima again. "Yeah. I don't get why he wants to hang with me," he said honestly.

"Maybe he sees through your angry attitude. Sees the good person," Izuku said with a smile.

"Shut up," Bakugo said in annoyance, and probably a bit embarrassment. "That bitch is just crazy and stupid."

"Maybe," Izuku said.

Shoto sat down on the back deck, resting his arms on his thighs. "I'm surprised they're letting me participate. Everyone will have their blood pumping, and no doubt students will bleed." Kacchan reminded him that they let him in for a reason. They did trust him. "Okay." He'd shut down, but Bakugo didn't stop for once.

"How long are you going to keep moping? All Might fucked up his speech. You shouldn't stay mad at him."

"He was right, though."

"To praise you?"

"To not trust me." Bakugo sighed in annoyance, and rubbed his hands down his face. "When I got home, I realized just how bad my throat was hurting. I didn't notice it from the stress. If I didn't even notice it, couldn't I have just freaked, unprepared?" he explained honestly, brows furrowed and face expressing such sadness. Izuku walked to him and leaned against his side.

"If you didn't notice, and nothing happened, doesn't that show that you need little effort to control it?"

"I was tired. What if I hadn't been exhausted."

"Stop with the what ifs! Just move on, you didn't fuck up, shouldn't you be happy with that?" Kacchan asked, getting truly annoyed.

"You have no idea what it feels like. Either of you."

"I do understand-"

"You don't, Izuku. It's been, what, five years?! Six including my time in the basement. I should be better, like you are! You have no issues, no control problems! I've been a vampire almost as long as Haru and he has no issues!" he shouted. He rarely rose his voice, so this surprised both Shoto and Bakugo. "I just want to be normal…" he said, voice turning quiet and small.

Kacchan said, "You will never be normal, Shoto." Izuku sharply said his name. "Maybe someday you'll get whatever the hell is up with him. Even then, you still murdered people. You still were abused and starved. You'll always have those issues, that's your past! You can't run from it!" Shoto glared at him, a rare emotion that was played on his face.

"You can only accept it and try to live with it."

"You think I don't try? I still see Admin, all that's really improved over the years is I don't see you as food! Part of me still thinks humans are just food."

"But you've never attacked me or even made a move to."

"That's because I love you like my family. I never have any urges with your family, or Inko either, only because they matter to me," he explained. Bakugo's face softened when Shoto said that. He looked guilty now.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I was inconsiderate. We just want you to not hate yourself. I get it'll take time, but you should just try to enjoy the present, right? Not worry over tomorrow, or the next day. You should remember that thing around your neck, and the rings around your wrists. You haven't needed them in a very long time. You are safe, okay? As a vampire, your automatically dangerous in a way, but as a person, you are not. As long as you stay healthy, you are not a threat."

Shoto didn't argue. He finally shut down, "Okay", and Kacchan no longer pressed. It was a tense situation, and it was broken when dinner was announced. Everyone in the house no doubt heard the argument. Izuku was just glad things like this didn't tear them apart. Shoto might still be upset over what Bakugo said, but he didn't hate him, didn't kick him out or just ignore him.

He shut down, which was never personal.

-x- Shoto -x-

After the third layer of sunblock was applied, Shoto got the ace bandages and wrapped them around his limbs, up to his underarms and mid thighs. They weren't uncomfortable. He had short sleeves on, and his special shoes on. He walked out of the bathroom and into the main room where his class was waiting.

Some were trying to destress, others were talking quietly. "What's with the wraps?" Mineta asked rudely. Shoto ignored him, which annoyed him. "Isn't that cheating?"

"He already asked Aizawa-sensei," Izuku said. "It's not cheating."

"You stink, too. Like chemicals."

"Would you stop? Seriously," Hagakure said. Shoto did not reply, just went to the wall and leaned against it. He didn't plan on pulling punches, they were all opponents. The three had agreed they were enemies. They wouldn't be helping one another out. Shoto wasn't nervous about it too much. He had faith in himself enough to think he wouldn't do terrible. He was only nervous about there being so many people. So many cameras. He knew he needed to be seen to get anywhere as a hero. But he was nervous.

Everyone seemed to be. Even Bakugo was tapping his foot quickly, his leg nearly bouncing up and down. The vampire could hear the screaming from outside, cheering, everyone excited. Izuku looked very nervous, more scared than anything. Shoto walked over to him, and took some of his longest hair near the base of his neck and braided it, taking his elastic band out and tying his off, though it was much shorter than Shoto's.

"Just do your best," he said quietly. "There's more chances after this." Izuku smiled softly and nodded, body relaxing a bit.

"Awww," Ashido mumbled. Shoto returned back to the wall until Iida opened the door, and as class representative, told them it was time. They walked out, and Izuku looped his arm with Shoto's like they often did. Bakugo never got annoyed that those two showed a lot more physical affection. He hated being touched.

They walked out with all the other first year classes, not just the hero course. Shoto recognized a few from the entrance exam, from the test mostly. Well, some of the more unique looking other hero course students looked familiar. It felt like so long ago, but it had only been a few months. So much had happened, but at the same time, so little.

Walking into the stadium was overwhelming. So many people. So many heroes. He breathed deeply and was glad Endeavor wasn't there. He was listening closely for it before catching his own voice being said. "Shoto. Endeavor was barred from coming." It was Aizawa from he narrator box, where Present Mic was.

Shoto gave a curt nod, feeling better, feeling respected. It felt nice. Izuku let go of his arm, and moved his hand to fiddle with the tiny braid. "It is a good fidget, you're right," he said lightly, even though his voice trembled just barely. The students all gathered, and Shoto was glad he was on recommendation so wasn't called up to make the pledge.

Bakugo was. What would he say? Shoto had no idea.

"I swear I'll be number one," he said in a bored voice. Well, it wasn't too surprising. Their class was angry, but Izuku just shook his head and slightly rolled his eyes. Shoto said nothing, too. He returned to the crowd of 1-A students.

"Now you made them hate us all!"

"Fuck off. I'll surpass all you bitches." Kirishima was the only one to laugh.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Izuku mumbled. Shoto nodded. Midnight then gave them the meanest and most discouraging speech she could probably come up with. Claiming they would be shedding tears of blood by the end. It really wasn't encouraging or positive even if she looked thoroughly happy giving then a hazing speech.

"The first activity is…" and she thrust her flogger up and the screen showed what she shouted. "An obstacle course! The course is around the stadium! No rules, as long as you stay on the path! It'll start in two minutes!" she shouted. The three friends sprinted at a normal, human pace so they were at the front.

Other students realized being in the front would be the best, and went running after them. Soon the tunnel was filled to the brim, students trapped in the crowd. When the bell went off, announcing the start, those in front sprinted off. Shoto didn't wait to act, and covered the ground in ice spikes.

When they came across the first obstacle almost immediately, it was machinery that looked like animals. If he was unable to smell or hear the proof they weren't really living creatures, he'd think they were real. Best to keep them an obstacle for the others, who were doing their own ways to get past the ice spikes, he made to duck under before Izuku rushed past.

He was going to get first place just by his running speed. Shoto picked up the pace, creating an instant staircase and jumping over the smallest animal. Many were still trapped in the tunnel. Shoto melted the ice and then went running on his way. Bakugo was behind him, going fast with his explosions to propel him forward faster.

Shoto formed an ice wall right in front of him, and he bypassed it with a quick yank to the side. Shoto wanted second place, and sprinted faster, fast for a human but not a vampire. His heart was pumping in his ears, adrenaline rushing through him, perhaps a bit of excitement, too. So he couldn't make out what Present Mic was saying, the commentator.

Shoto and Bakugo came across the next obstacle, which was a pit with rope tied between random pillars of stone. Man, people really could die doing this obstacle course. Bakugo went blasting past it while Shoto ran along the rope with perfect balance. He used ice to slice it to prevent others from coming next.

"You asshole!" they shouted. But some got past, not nearly all. Only those with certain quirks or being creative could make it. He severed the second rope. Well, there were other paths they could take, but not as convenient as the one he'd ruined.

Bakugo stopped using his explosions, no doubt needing to conserve his power so he didn't wreck his hands in the first round. The first couple dozens of people who made it back would make it to the next stage. So they didn't need to take the top places. The next obstacle were what looked like serrated worms on the ground that could slice feet. Shit.

Shoto made an ice bridge and made his way across. "What are you, fuckin' Elsa?" Bakugo cackled.

"Didn't know you watched princess movies!" Shoto called.

"Don't you fucking say that to anybody!" Shoto didn't reply, but thought it was silly. Once he got past the worms, he melted the bridge. It didn't take long at all to get to the next obstacle. Land mines. He could smell the chemical. Not gun powder, so they weren't normal bombs. Bakugo passed them by flying through with his explosions.

Shoto could no doubt jump the distance if he used his real strength, but couldn't give himself away. He wanted to show his agility and athletic abilities, and ran through, looking down as he stepps between the mines. He did step on one and it blew up, throwing him down, but he got back up, and just sprinted through them, ignoring the pain in his feet. They weren't dangerous enough to damage his expensive shoes, though.

He made it past them, but had taken awhile and so more students came past. He could tell they were mostly his classmates. Good for them. He ran, not out of breath, and made third place. When he got out the tunnel, he pretended to be physically tired. Cheers were made. "And top three of the obstacle course are the best friends!"

"You got first place, Izuku," Shoto congratulated. Bakugo looked sour but not surprised. Izuku had tears in his eyes, and Shoto gave him a smile. It barely reached his eyes, but it did and that was what mattered. Other hero course students filtered through, and he watched as most of his classmates made it.

Many of 1-B also made it, and a handful of the general studies and support course made it in. They were all panting, but happy to pass it. Shoto counted, and they were all there but for a few. They did well. Yaoyorozu came over, her shirt open and quickly buttoning it up. "Good job, Shoto-san."

"Yeah. You, too," Shoto replied.

Once they were all there, those that did not appear on the projector filtered out and into the stadium where their classes were assigned after a short water break, Shoto wishing he had some blood powder, but had no place on him to stash it. And it could be considered cheating, like taking an enhancement drug.

"Alright, good job to those who made it!" Midnight said. "But it won't get easier from here on out! Now, spin the wheel!" The monitor, massive and multiple being placed around the stadium ring so everyone could see better, know what was going on when the students looked tiny to those furthest from the middle. Shoto was sure the seats nearest to the open part had a high price to pay.

The monitor showed cavalry battle. Shoto had no idea what that was, so he was glad she explained in detail. The moment she finished the explanation, and they had fifteen minutes to choose their teams, he was planning. He, Izuku and Bakugo all shared looks, and went off their separate ways. They weren't team members, they were opponents. Shoto gathered the people he thought would be the best. Yaoyorozu, Kaminari and Iida. One was his friend, another was an all around social guy and Iida apparently wanted to fight Izuku when he refused to participate with him.

When Shoto explained his plan, all three were shocked. "I've never heard you talk so much!" Kaminari said, rudely pointing at him.

"Well, he'd need to explain his plan," Iida reasoned. "It's a good one, I'm in." Yoayorozu remained quiet, but agreed to the plan.

"Sounds fun!" Kaminari said with a thumbs up. Shoto felt weird, talking so much to someone he didn't consider family in some way. He heard Izuku having trouble pairing with anyone as he was the number one target, making it first place. He was the most valuable with his headband. Shoto was third, but his score was much lower than his friend's.

He was paired with Uraraka, Tokoyami and a girl from the support course. The only one to make it. She had plenty of gadgets, and Shoto wondered lightly what she'd use. Bakugo had Kirishima, which was unsurprising, Ashido and Sero. A balanced team. He chose well. No, others chose him, but he accepted the right people.

"Ready! Get set!" Midnight called. Everyone got in position, Shoto on top, Iida as the front and the other two the sides. Many had trouble balancing at first. When he saw a floating headband with nothing below it, Shoto realized Hagakure had taken her top off. That was… dedication. Good thing Mineta wasn't in her group.

"START!"

Iida shot at Izuku's group at a fast pace, but he diverged, his plan being to keep a distance and retain their points. Present Mic wondered why Shoto was going after his best friend. "It would be disrespectful to pull his punches on him. Just because some are friends doesn't mean they can't be opponents," Aizawa said, sounding much more bored than the other teacher.

Shoto didn't discriminate, and they went after others. Bakugo's group were coming up behind them. Shoto froze the ground and then managed to melt it by leaning over Kaminari. "Kaminari, now," he said, and the electricity user used his quirk and hit the wet ground, electrocuting multiple groups as Iida rushed them out of the way.

"Go get them while they're distracted," Shoto said. He sounded so calm. Iida did, and they zoomed past other groups still reeling from the shock. Shoto was fast enough to be able to yank them, even at Iida's speed.

He collected four headbands, and tied them around his neck. "Good job," Shoto said. Bakugo came up and moved to attacked them. "Yaoyorozu," Shoto said. She created a metal pole, and Shoto shot ice along it, catching Sero's arm, who cried out. He plugged one of his tape elbows. "Iida." He zoomed them away.

"And Shoto's group is using perfect teamwork to nab the second most points! But will Midoriya's team keep their headband and win first place?!"

"Shoto is usually very quiet, but he's leading the team flawlessly," Aizawa commented. Shoto was a bit embarrassed but didn't show it.

He called for Yaoyorozu to make another pole. She knew her stuff and created one of copper. Shoto held it and covered the top and his hand in ice to protect himself. "Kaminari." He directed some electricity to the pole, shooting it out at a class 1-B group, forcing them to pause. Shoto nabbed another headband, them not being at five.

"And Shoto's team seems like the science team!" Present Mic called. The vampire was tuning them out, only focusing when he heard his own name.

"Both Yaoyorozu and Shoto are the top of the class. Yaoyorozu's quirk requires her to be proficient at understanding certain types of science." She gave a small smile, and Shoto was glad for her. Kaminari was running out of energy.

"Iida, we're going after Izuku, now. Yaoyorozu make a mesh net." She did so, and he took it. "Iida, go as fast as you can."

"Right!" He powered up his legs, and Shoto could feel the heat and energy coming off of them before the four were rushed forward. Shoto wrapped Izuku in the net and made to grab his headband, but the net was ripped apart and Shoto was shoved away.

"Yaoyorozu, balance!" Shoto shouted as their group started to topple. She created a beam from her arm that supported them and stopped them from falling over. Shoto shot ice at Izuku's group, trapping one of Uraraka's support boots. But before he and Bakugo, who was nearing too, two headbands on his own neck, the timer went off.

His group besides Shoto were panting.

Izuku kept his headband and got first, Shoto's getting second, Bakugo third and one with a general studies student as the rider got fourth. Shoto climbed off of his classmates. "You guys were awesome," he said in a bland voice. "Your quirks are very useful."

"It was thanks to you and Yaoyorozu's smarts," Kaminari said. "We made it second place!" he said brightly.

"Still, you guys were good to work with." Shoto crouched and put covered his hand in ice, and helped cool down Iida's engine legs, as they were shaking and red. They cooled off, and Iida thanked him. Shoto nodded, and went to see Izuku.

Kaminari said, "He's actually a good dude!" in surprise. It seemed Shoto did come across as an asshole for being so quiet and bland.

"Shoto, your team was so smart!" Izuku cheered.

"They all did well, it wasn't just me," Shoto replied. "Good job keeping your headband." He nodded with bright smile. "We're going to the third match, then?"

"All three of us." They looked to the side and saw Bakugo screaming at the ground for getting third place. He glared up at his two friend/opponents.

"I'm taking you bitches down a notch! I'll win!" he shouted.

"Okay," Shoto said. Izuku smiled.

"My little braid came out," he said, sounding a bit annoyed. "Well, I don't have another band." Shoto looked around the ground, focusing on any reflection of light off the white elastic band. He found it and went to pick it up, and redid Izuku's braid in front of everyone. Then he pat his back, and went to watch Midnight's new speech.

"And the teachers are now picking out the matches! This will take twenty minutes, so we'll be having intermission sports! If you're hungry, go get some food! Then we'll be starting the final battles between students."

Shoto and Izuku went to the stadium to chill. "I'm gonna sleep really well after this," Izuku sighed. "Even if it's just from the adrenaline." Shoto nodded, agreeing but not needing to say anything. A few others came in, and Mineta looked at both of them in disgust. Shoto shared a look with Izuku, who had one eyebrow cocked.

Those who hadn't made it came in, most with some sort of food or drink. Shoto knew, if he fought Izuku, he'd probably get pummeled and just throw up any food if he was punched in the stomach. Just a precaution, though he did get a drink of water on their way up.

"Mineta, what's your problem?" Kaminari wondered.

"Are you two gay?" he snapped at Izuku and Shoto. Both shared a baffled look.

"Why would you say that?" Izuku asked in confusion.

"Because he braided your hair and held your hand!" Mineta accused, pointing at Shoto rudely. Why was he being pointed at so much today? It was annoying.

"We're just best friends," Izuku said.

"Mineta, just because you have no friends doesn't mean everyone who does is gay," Sero laughed.

"Shut up! You gotta see it, too!"

Shoto looked away, not that bothered. He'd never been interested in anybody, male or female. And the insult didn't really seem that bad. What was wrong with liking a guy? He leaned more into the comfortable seat. It was like a movie theater seat, not normal stadium benches. Everything at UA was high quality.

"I mean, I don't think that's being gay…" Kirishima said, walking in.

"You, too! You and Bakugo are gay, I bet, also!"

"It's sad that you're so desperate for both friends and a little bitch that you accuse any guys who get along as gay. Can't score a guy or girl. How sad," Bakugo mocked. "Lil' homophobe." Mineta grew angry but seemed to not want to fight with Bakugo when he made a threatening explosion in his hand with a sadistic grin. That sure shut him up.

When the list of fights were displayed, both Shoto and Izuku grinned. Well, Shoto showed just barely any teeth. They were against one another if they both passed their first matches, then they would battle. "We gotta make it to the second round," Izuku said in a low voice. Shoto nodded.

Ojiro walked over to Izuku, seeming very sad. "What's wrong, Ojiro-kun?" the current human asked.

"I gave up my spot. So did someone from class 1-B. They were substituted by others. I was under a quirk the whole cavalry battle, so I don't really feel like I deserved to make it this far. I wanted to warn you about the guy you'll be battling. When I replied to him, I fell under a trance and did anything he wanted." Everyone was surprised with this, and sad with his choice. "What knocked me out was a bump. I think you'll be fine if you don't answer him. Don't talk back."

"Oh, thanks for the warning," Izuku said sincerely. "I'll win."

"Will you and Izuku actually fight?" Yaoyorozu asked Shoto, sitting beside him. "The cavalry battle was one thing, but a battle… it might get violent."

"Neither of us will die. Recovery Girl can fix us up later," Shoto replied. The others were surprised by this.

"Heh, and I'll get to fight one of them once I win my matches," Bakugo said smugly. "I'll still end up on top."

Izuku just laughed good naturedly. "But you're all friends!" Hagakure said, not understanding. Tokoyami did, though. Perfectly.

"It would be disrespectful to the other if one pulled punches. They know one another's skills more than anyone else. I doubt either will go easy. We must respect their choice."

"Don't worry so much!" Izuku said brightly. "I won't punch too hard," he said, sounding amused, looking at Shoto.

"Okay."

"You always sound so bored!" Ashido commented. "Aren't you excited?" Shoto didn't want to talk about this. Not answering would be rude.

"I am."

"Then why don't you show it?"

"Bet he's drugged out," Mineta said viciously. Shoto just nodded. He was on pills, they made him dull. But he did feel this was who he was as well. He wasn't a scared little kid, or a vicious monster anymore. This was fine, he was fine like this. "Oh, what are you on?"

Bakugo grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him easily. "Listen, Lil' Homophobe. Maybe you shouldn't go messing with the top of the class. Hmm? How'd you even make it here with that shit quirk? It's not like you're physically strong either, midget." And he shoved him into his seat, and sat next to Izuku. Neither commented on that. Mineta was silent, the whole class that was there was dead silent. It was awkward and Shoto was glad when Midnight announced the battles would be commencing.

"I'm up first," Izuku said, standing up.

"Remember what I said. Don't talk to him," Ojiro insisted. Shoto wished him luck, and he nodded, looking nervous.

-x- Izuku -x-

Izuku just had to make sure not to reply. He just needed to not be reactive and stupid. It would be better to tie something around his mouth, maybe gag him, but that could be cheating and make him look like he couldn't keep his mouth shut. It was lucky Ojiro gave him this information. He had to make it to the next round, to fight Shoto and make both of them look good.

Shinso, as Present Mic announced, started off immediately. He had no physical strength, so he started with words. "It would be easy for you to knock me out, someone gifted with everything. With an amazing quirk, and friends. Though that mute one you hang out with, what's wrong with him? What makes a person look like they have no soul? Someone with no personality shouldn't be a hero."

"Shut up!" he shouted, knowing Shoto could hear. But then he froze. Shit! He messed up right at the start. He started to breathe a bit heavily, trying to break out of the spell, to do anything. He couldt lose like this! For being stupid and reactive!

For being so protective over Shoto that he doomed himself instantly. He could hear Present Mic wonder why he froze, but it was like he was hearing through jelly, thick water. Or maybe through a bunch of walls, as one wall would not block his sense of sound. "Now, walk out of the ring," Shinso ordered.

Izuku was panicking inside, but he didn't show it outside. "Izu-!"

"Izuku! Wake up!"

"You have to fight me!"

"Don't leave me hanging like that!"

It was Shoto's voice, breaking through the fog. He started to slow. He focused on his best friend's voice. He heard others shouting his name, he could hear Mineta telling Shoto it was pointless, he couldn't hear him.

"Don't fail me!" Shoto's voice said sharply. In front of him, he saw Shoto standing there. It was foggy. He couldn't fail him. Like he said. He couldn't let him be the reason Izuku lost. It would crush him, that his best friend failed just because an insult was said about him. No, the vampire wouldn't be so easily swayed by an insult about his lack of emotion towards others.

Shoto's figure, which, inside, Izuku knew was not actually him, put his hand out. Izuku reached his hand out, wiping his finger on his pants on the way up. When his arm reached where Shoto's form was, his friend reaching out, too, his plan succeeded. He hadn't even thought of it. His body did it.

He felt the sharp pain of his finger burning, the sunscreen rubbed off by the sweat and wiping it on his thigh roughly. He was startled out of his trance, finding he was right at the edge. He wasn't a vampire right now, so the burn was superficial and did not hurt him badly. His foot stomped down, embedded into the ground, stopping him while the fog cleared.

"Good job!" Shoto's voice echoed. His head was finally cleared, and he jerked around. He didn't wait a second, not wanting his big mouth to screw him over a second time. He used his speed and pushed Shinso out of the ring, throwing him ten feet back and rolling onto the grass. Izuku was panting, eyes wide.

"And Midoriya wins!" Present Mic announced. The crowd roared, and Izuku looked up at their box, and could see Shoto's face. He looked proud. His voice had been what helped him. It was thanks to him he won. If it had been anyone else, he knew it wouldn't have worked. Even not from Kacchan. He gave a small smile and a short nod. The teen then walked to Shinso and helped him up.

He knew it was for his quirk to work, and he might not be an asshole that mocked others, so Izuku gave him the benefit of the doubt. He helped him up, reaching his hand out. "Your quirk is amazing, Shinso-kun," Izuku praised.

"How did you break out?" Shinso asked, holding his chest. Maybe Izuku shoved him too hard. "You didn't touch anything."

Izuku held out his hand, showing the burn. "I have an extreme skin condition where the sun can give me sunburns." Shinso sighed, and nodded. He'd lost completely. "But your quirk could be so useful! You should try to get into the hero course."

"...That was the point of this. You might want to get that checked," he said, sounding disappointed but his expression showing a kind of embarrassed bashfulness.

"Let's go get checked out together. I probably bruised you pretty badly. Sorry, I didn't hold back enough."

"You could be so destructive."

"Oh, yes, I know," Izuku laughed. He headed inside to get his burn treated. He was holding off the healing, which was incredibly difficult. He also needed more sunblock. They headed to the nurse's office, and both got healed. Had marks had indeed already bruised badly on Shinso's chest. A wake up call that normal humans could be fragile. He had to be more careful.

After he had his finger healed, he got more sunblock that the nurse had on her, and redid some of the areas of his skin. He heard Shoto and Bakugo hurrying down, and met him outside the infirmary door. Shinso was inside, recovering since he was out of breath still. "I made it."

"You dumbass, that tail guy told you not to talk back!" Izuku's face turned a bit red, embarrassed. "You're just lucky Shoto started shouting at you."

"I know… Thanks, Shoto."

"Yeah. It was smart to burn your finger," he said. "Insults like that guy's don't work on me, you should know that." He wasn't quite scolding. Izuku nodded. He wouldn't say that he'd reached out to an imaginary Shoto ghost. It was embarrassing, even if he was truly thankful for his friend's words.

He only heard his, nobody else in the stadium. Everything had started to go quiet before his voice barged into his head, like crashing through glass, breaking down the fog that had flooded his mind like poison gas. It was a strong quirk, but terrible to be on the other end of. He couldn't control his body. It reminded him of a dark time. But he tried not to think about that.

"Here, put on some sunblock onto your hands and face," Izuku said, handing the vampire the bottle. He did as he was instructed. "It's your match up next, right?"

"Against Sero," Shoto nodded. "I'll be back up after, I'll finish it fast," he said. The other two branched off, and headed to the stadium to watch. On their way up, Bakugo questioned him.

"Did you hear my voice? Or only Shoto's?"

"Only Shoto's. The whole world went quiet. It wasn't just his voice, he chose the right words, too." He looked to his other best friend, who looked unbothered. "Did it upset you?"

"No. Besides, he was the one to shout first, not me. He heard what happened before anyone else noticed you'd frozen. Then he started shouting, and all the others thought he was being stupid, that you coudnt hear him. So don't comment on that, they'll know some shit is up. Not everyone is Shitty Hair and can keep their mouths shut and judgment down."

Izuku nodded. "I saw him. Like a ghost, he was standing in front of me."

"You were hallucinating?" Izuku nodded again. "Shit. Is that why you reached out?"

"Yeah, but nobody told me to use the sun. My body did it on it's own. I was even surprised when my finger started to burn." He looked down at it. "So easily. It wiped off so easily. If I were in my other body, I could have burnt. Burnt black," he said in a disturbed voice. Bakugo put a hand on his shoulder.

"You didn't," he said simply. "Shoto deals with that every day. He doesn't live in fear, and it's even already happened to him. You should… think of his arm if you ever get scared or some shit. He went through it but still lives his life outside." Izuku agreed, and they made it back to the stadium box.

"I told you, Midoriya!" Ojiro said in annoyance. Izuku sheepishly apologized. "What knocked you out of it?"

"Pain," he said simply. "I told you all about the sun issue. I wiped my finger on my pants, and let the sun burn it. It worked! Hah," he laughed in good nature. He at back down in his seat, Uraraka there.

"Could you hear Shoto that far away?"

"I couldn't hear anything. It all went silent. His quirk is awesome, but awful to be on the receiving end." Ojiro agreed. "Sorry I worried everyone, but I won!"

Looking over the railing, Midnight shouted at them to start. It was over in an instant. Sero didn't stand a chance, a huge, huge chunk of ice shot forward and encompassed him, swallowing him completely but for his head.

"Shoto wins!" He went and melted the ice.

"Sorry," Shoto said. "I want to make it to the next round." When Sero was still shivering, even after he was out of the ice, Shoto put his hand on his shoulder. Izuku assumed he was giving him some heat. Showing again, that he was kind. He wasn't unfeeling. But poor Sero didn't stand a chance.

Some in the crowd felt sorry for him, but Izuku knew that would hurt him even more. Receiving pity like that. They both made their ways back up, Shoto still having his hand on Sero's shoulder. When they got to the area, Shoto released his hold. "Thanks, man," Sero said, not shivering anymore.

"Good job," Izuku said. Shoto nodded, and sat down beside him.

"That was crazy," Sato said. "We've never seen you go that far!"

"I need to show off," Shoto said bluntly.

"Still, you could have speared somebody," Uraraka said slowly.

"He didn't," Bakugo snapped.

"I knew the distance."

"You're saying it was controlled?" Mineta asked. Izuku was annoyed with people targeting him. But he had made allies through the cavalry battle, and Sero was on his side after he deliberately warmed him up after their match. He was a very good sport and wasn't angry at all.

"Just leave him alone, what is the point of this?" Iida said, surprising them all with the pure annoyance in his voice. "Uraraka-san, Shoto-kun has control over his quirk, and nobody got hurt. That's what matters, right?" Her face was bright red and she looked down at her lap.

Izuku was really, really getting tired of her passive aggressive slights towards his best friend. He felt he needed to say something, and not in private this time. "Uraraka-san, please leave Shoto alone. I am not blind that you don't like him, and neither is he. But he did nothing to you, and has always been polite ever since we met."

She looked extremely embarrassed, near tears, but Izuku found… he didn't care. He was tired of the jabs, no matter how minor they seemed to be. "I didn't mean to-"

"You already said that before but it keeps happening," Izuku pointed out, interrupting her. Both Bakugo and Shoto were watching in surprise. Mild, on Shoto's face, though. "My friends mean the world to me, and I don't want people being rude to them for no reason. Kacchan can be an asshole, yes."

"Damn straight," Bakugo agreed.

"But Shoto is not. Yet you mostly target him, it seems." She finally got up and hurried out, Tsu going after her. Izuku could hear them in the hallway.

"Th-that stupid mute r-ruins everything," she said angrily.

"Ochako-chan, calm down. Shoto hasn't done anything," she said. "Maybe you should try to be nice, and repair any relationship you have with Midoriya-chan." Shoto could hear, too. They both were listening in.

They came back in, and Shoto shared a glance with Izuku, who shook his head slowly. They watched the next few matches, resulting in Kaminari's loss, and Iida's win. Then Kirishima had a draw with a class 1-B student that was similar to him in both quirk and attitude. "Don't fucking lose, Shitty Hair!" Bakugo raged when he passed out. He crossed his arms. "Fucking dumbass."

It did seem that he really cared about Kirishima, and it was kind of adorable. He made another friend! Izuku glanced behind him at Uraraka, and sighed. Well, he had Iida. it seemed it just wasn't going to work out with Uraraka. He gave up, truly. She blamed Shoto for Izuku's choice, and it just was too much.

He cared too much for Shoto and his self-respect than to hang out with someone who clearly disliked him for no good reason.

Soon, it was Bakugo vs Uraraka, and Izuku wasn't sure what her plan was or how aggressive Kacchan was going to be. He was angry with her, would he take it out on her physically? Now was the best time, it was a match and both of them were meaning to win, no matter how hard to go.

Izuku could not see how Uraraka could ever win against the explosive teen, one of the top in the class. So he watched closely, hoping for things to not go too far. For Bakugo not to beat her senseless out of a grudge or annoyance. Izuku could tell Shoto was tense as well. They both knew how strong and how ruthless their other best friend could be.

The match started, and he did not hesitate to attack. He went in on it instantly. He blew up over and over as she tried to get away. She did managed to grab him, making him weightless. He stared to float, but he grinned wickedly. Present Mic was siding with Uraraka, even if she was losing. Maybe the crowd felt bad for her.

Maybe the thought of a girl going up against the monster that was Bakugo Katsuki was too much. Which wasn't any better than when Sero was given pity by everyone else. "Think that'll work?!" and Kacchan used explosions to get him back on the ground, and roughly grab her, throwing her up above him.

She made herself weightless. "Don't you get sick if you do that?!" he taunted. He tilted in midair, one hand facing the ground, the other Uraraka above him. He let out two blasts, the one on his left hand just strong enough to keep him from slamming down into the ground too hard, and the other large enough to explode the whole area, Uraraka inside.

Everyone gasped, but Bakugo fell down, meaning she'd released her quirk. She fell down after him. She was burnt on the arm and leg. It looked painful. She wasn't screaming in agony, so it wasn't as bad as the sun for a full vampire. "Give up yet?" Bakugo taunted. The explosions were taking a toll on him as well, but only Izuku could tell from years of recognizing it.

Instead of his whole arms shaking, it was always his pinky finger twitching. He had to finish this soon. He put both hands out, and made a huge explosion, throwing her far. But she activated her gravity power to not hit the ground. But he ran through the explosion's debris, the smoke, and grabbed onto her leg, tossing her out of the ring with a powerful throw.

When she released her power, she was out of bounds, and then collapsed. Barely anyone cheered. It seemed excessive, and it really was. His own class was silent. "Holy shit," Jiro muttered. "Overkill much?!"

Bakugo walked right past her like she wasn't there, and headed back inside while a stretcher and some robots were to take her back inside. "Bakugo wins and advances to the next round!"

"Aizawa, he's ruthless, what did you teach him?!"

"I taught him none of that. Something happened." And he kept it at that. It wasn't too long before Kacchan came back into their area, and sat back in his spot.

"Uh… Nice technique," Izuku said.

"Creative," Shoto added. "You didn't need to do that for me."

"What makes you think that was for you? I need to show I'm smart against even the weirdest quirks," he said in a solid voice. Izuku knew it was a lie, he took out anger on her, at least in some amount. After a bit, Kirishima was up. "Don't fucking lose, Shitty Hair."

"I don't really want to be blown up, but I'm not backing down either!" and he left. He won the arm wresting competition. By the end, it was pretty clear he made friends with Tetsutetsu. That was his given and sur name.

"Do you think his middle name is Testsutetsu?" Shoto quietly asked seriously, a hand on his chin. Bakugo snorted and Izuku laughed. "I'm actually curious, though."

"Your guys' turn," Sato said. Shoto and Izuku stood up together and walked out. "Try not to kill each other."

"Will do," Izuku said. When they were in the hallway, Shoto asked, "How much vampire stuff can I use without it being unfair to you?"

"Enough that is not noticeable. It's not cheating or unfair," Izuku said. They went to the opposite sides. Izuku said, "Don't hold back. But I'm going to win."

"Okay." But his voice was hard and determined. "Talk to you in the infirmary."

"Deal." They both walked out to the stage on opposite sides. They were enemies right now. Opponents.

"And it's the two friends! What will they do? Is this an undesired match? Who will win!?"

"I doubt either of them are going to hold back," Aizawa said. "We should be ready for an intense fight."

"Now if it's anything but, everyone will be disappointed," Present Mic pointed out. Their voices echoed around. Midnight rose her flogger and slammed it downwards, announcing the beginning of the match. Shoto wasted no time send a huge wave of ice at him. As he did so, he ran forward.

Izuku didn't want him to get too close at first. He wanted to try and tire him out, though he was good at dodging. When Izuku used his finger move, it destroyed the ice before it reached him. He knew where Shoto was, and when he created spears, and chucked them at him. Izuku ducked and sent another finger wave.

Shoto dodged nimbly, and formed a wall around Izuku, sliding against it. His face was hard and determined. When Izuku shot forward, Shoto twisted in midair, and made to punch down on Izuku with an ice covered fist, he jumped out of the way, and kicked up, nailing Shoto in the stomach and throwing him up in the air.

"Ooh! Direct hit!" Present Mic called. Shote created an ice wall with spikes on it and dropped it on Izuku, who used a finger blast to send it away. Shoto landed and made another spear, trying to stab him, only he bent backwards. Shoto froze a leg, but Izuku easily broke out. His heart was beating a mile a minute.

His leg was cut, but it healed. Though the blood could be seen and no doubt smelled by Shoto. But he didn't react to it, and instead, froze the ground so when Izuku landed, he might slip. But he didn't, he slammed a foot into the ground, shattering the rock, creating an uneven surface.

"Now it'll be harder for Shoto to make Midoriya slip," Aizawa commented. Shoto retreated back a bit, not out of breath. Neither were. He sent another huge ice wall at him, but Izuku blew it away. Shoto would send a huge ice wall, and then while Izuku had blasted it back, he used his left hand to warm his frostbitten arm.

Izuku's fingers were starting to burn, so he wanted to be on the offense. He broke through Shoto's ice wall and nailed him back, sending him flying out of bounds, only he created an ice spear and slammed it into the ground, catapulting himself back into the ring. He created a huge ice boulder, and dropped it down.

He sent an entire arm blast up, throwing it into Shoto, who braced against it, and kicked off, landing on the opposite side behind Izuku. He sent more ice before breaking through himself and punching Izuku in the face with a ice covered fist, throwing him down. He ot a spear and stabbed down, but Izuku rolled over, and did a roundhouse kick to Shoto's face.

Both were bloody in some place by now. The match had been on five minutes. The longest out of all of them so far. And the most intense on both ends. When Izuku sent another arm blast at him, he forced an ice wall behind him. He maneuver himself so his feet were what touched the ice wall, and he kicked off, but not hard enough to be obvious.

It was pretty clear Shoto was athletic, but he wasn't being too obvious. He was great at this, at making sure it wasn't transparent that he wasn't normal. It was impressive, how well he could regulate his strength.

The stage was in shambles by now, broken rock and shards of ice everywhere. Shoto forced ice spikes on the ground, and Izuku stepped on one. He winced as it stabbed into his foot. Shoto took advantage of this and nailed Izuku in the neck, making him cough, and grab at it, only to grab Shoto's face and slam it into the ground.

"Oooh!" Present Mic shouted in pain.

Shoto reached up and froze Izuku's leg while he was down. The ice traveled up his leg until he jerked away. Shoto stood up, his face bloody, but of course just fine. Izuku's foot had healed by now. This could go on for a long time. Shoto put his hands on the ground, and ice erupted out of all the cracks, giving Izuku no way to run while Shoto covered his path with ice, sprinting at him, face showing determination. Of course none of the teachers stopped this, knowing both could heal. Present Mic was just playing the part, he knew as well.

The crowd were wondering if this was okay, though. Shoto had the advantage now, being able to make his own footing while it was hard for Izuku. "Good strategy, he's taken advantage of the environment." Izuku knew he was now fucked if he didn't think fast.

But Shoto and him both landed the same blow, only Izuku's was a fist and Shoto's was a ice pipe. Nailed it straight into the other's head. Both of them grunted, their bodies tiring instantly. Both of them swayed, and fell, passed out. There was no winner. A draw, like with Kirishima and Tetsutetsu.

The crowd was quiet, waiting for them to wake up. Neither were injured knocked out, just exhausted and it caught up with them instantly. The fight had lasted fifteen minutes, and neither had stopped for even a breath during it.

"A-And it's a draw!"

There was blood on both of them, and blood on the stone and ice. But the match was already over when Shoto rose to his feet, panting. "The match has already been decided, once Midoriya is good to fight again, there will be a tie breaker!" Midnight called. Shoto moved and picked Izuku up carefully and carried him off, legs slow and heavy.

Everyone cheered, screaming at the intense fight. When Izuku woke up, he saw Shoto on the other bed, sleeping. Izuku sat up, confused. "You are both fools. There's such a thing as moderation. You aren't both invincible just because you are tough!" Recovery Girl shouted at the awake teen.

"Wha…" Izuku was confused.

"Neither of you woke up for the last match. It's been three hours." Izuku was horrified. He stood up and went to Shoto, who was sleeping, didn't look in pain. He looked quite comfortable, hugging the pillow to his chest. "Let this be a good lesson to you both," Recovery Girl said firmly.

"Oh, no… how angry is Kacchan?" Izuku asked slowly.

"They had to chain him down to give him the first place award." Izuku turned pale. God, he must really hate them right now. He shook Shoto awake.

"Wake up, we messed up." Shoto refused. "I have blood brownies from Mikaela." Shoto opened his eyes. His stomach rumbled, and he was given a glass of blood, and drank it. He looked much better after that. "We missed the last match."

"Oh. Bakugo's pissed…"

"Apparently they had to chain him to accept first place." Shoto looked bothered and rubbed his forehead. "Looks like we messed up, and went to hard."

"It doesn't 'look' that way, it is. Now, go home," she said, still sounding annoyed. Izuku and Shoto got up and left. Both felt fine now, after sleeping. They collected their things from the locker rooms, and changed into their normal clothes. Izuku called Kacchan.

"Fuckers, you woke up?! I WON AGAINST THOSE SHIT HEADS, THEY WERE NOTHING!" he raged.

"It's not like we wanted to sleep through it!" Izuku defended.

"Sorry, Bakugo," Shoto said. "I didn't think I would be out that long, either."

"You aren't invincible, got that?! You can die, you can get tired and hurt! Fucking remember this you motherfucker bitch ass jackass assholes!"

They both let him rage for a good three minutes before he stopped, breathing heavily. "There's always next y-"

"Don't you finish that sentence! Our class thinks both of you are homicidal against one another. Lil' Homophobe is calling it a fetish."

"It's not, though."

"I know that!"

"Please don't be angry. We're not happy about this either," Izuku said as they walked back to the main school building. Shoto looked so tired. Much more tired than the other did. Maybe his body couldn't handle the super strength as well as Izuku's? Even in human form. He started to tilt to the side. "Shoto? You okay?"

"Tired," he mumbled. Izuku put his backpack on backwards.

"Kacchan, I'm gonna go. I can't hold the phone and carry Shoto at the same time." He grew worried, and asked if he was okay. "He's falling asleep while walking. Can I call you later and you can scream some more."

"No, I'm done. You guys are assholes, you better have learned from this."

"Yeah. It's a big lesson and I'm not happy with it." He hung up, and Shoto climbed into his back and slumped, asleep. He wasn't heavy to Izuku, so carrying him was no issue. He started to breath in Izuku's scent at his neck. Even in his sleep he couldn't help it. Well, it was no issue as long as he didn't bite out in public. And he didn't.

He found Inko and Shoto's foster mother's cars were there. Maybe Recovery Girl called them? The cars smelled like they'd just been running. He walked into the parking lot and the two women looked up. They were talking together, both seeming worried. When they saw the two, the mothers looked furious.

Shoto woke up to the angry scolding from their parents. Both drooped. Of course they were watching and saw them beat one another unconscious. "We're sorry, we thought we'd do better," Izuku whined, Shoto nodding, too.

"You are not invincible. Get in the car," Inko said. Shoto moped to his car, too, and the sports festival day ended very poorly.

-x- Shoto -x-

When they returned to school the next day, their class stared at them with uncertain eyes. "How are you guys not dead?" Sero asked. "Overkill much?"

"Recovery Girl," Shoto said bluntly. "We didn't wake up until afternoon when everyone was gone."

"That was too much, you two. You were all bloody, and none of the teachers stopped you!" Ashido exclaimed.

"They didn't stop Bakugo beating the shit out of Uraraka, either," Sato pointed out.

"Hah, but you sure made Bakugo look friendly! Haha!" Sero mocked. "Muzzled, chained up! Hahaha!"

Shoto wasn't happy when he saw them muzzle Bakugo for no good reason. It was upsetting, as he'd been muzzled many times. It wasn't something that should just be done to anybody for just any reason.

He sat at his desk quietly. Everyone was healed from any injuries. Uraraka had no burns, so Recovery Girl fixed her up. When Shoto was caught looking at her, she pointedly looked away. Awesome, maybe she'd leave him alone now. Izuku didn't have any desire to be her friend anymore, so there wasn't any reason to hate him.

"I gotta say, you can both take a beating," Jiro said.

"It wasn't very appealing to watch, though. Probably would be for tough guys, but not most," Shoji said.

"I thought it showed their strengths very well. It might have just shown their methods too aggressive," Yaoyorozu said. But then Aizawa walked in, no longer looking injured in any way, which was nice. It was good to see everyone in good shape.

But he said, "All of your opinions are wrong about this. Shoto got the highest rate of offers out of all of the first years. Midoriya came second. They got what they were aiming for." Shoto felt happy, that it wasn't all for nothing. That he didn't beat his best friend for no reason. Even though it was consented on both sides, and they healed up, it still, looking back, wasn't a pleasant memory.

"Here's the results," the teacher said, and a screen came down from the ceiling, showing a graph of the offers. Izuku was the second highest, Tokoyami the third highest, and then Bakugo. Mineta shouted how they hadn't even made it to the last round. So why were they so high. "People like what they like. Both of them showed physical agility, their mastery of their quirks, and their teamwork efforts."

"Mineta, you didn't even make it to the battles," Hagakure said. Her voice showed frustration even if they couldn't see it on her face.

Aizawa ignored this and handed Iida the pile of paper he was carrying. The class rep passed them out to who they belonged to. They were offers, lists of those who sent for them. Shoto scanned through the first page, and saw he'd gotten a request from a number of top ranking heroes.

He was glad there was no "Endeavor agency" on the list or he'd fucking lose it. But one stood out to him. Hawks. He asked Izuku if he got Hawks, too.

"Yeah. I got a few top heroes. I wonder why he offered for us? Kacchan, who'd you get?"

"No Hawks, but I got Best Jeanist. You get him?" They shook their heads. "I'm takin' him, he's the highest bidder."

Shoto looked to Izuku, not really wanting to go anywhere by himself. He nodded. They would go to Hawks. Everyone else got lower ranking heroes and their agencies. Shoto was glad he didn't alienate everyone with how aggressive they'd been. He actually got more offers that way. Well, they'd done what they aimed for.

It wasn't as if they enjoyed beating each other. They'd fought countless times, that was not the only time they went all out. They only did it to backpack off of each other, sell both of them. How much they could handle and how much damage they could do. "You'll all be interning for a week. Choose wisely. And those who got no offers, there are still plenty of agencies that take anyone. Just because you weren't showy or got far in the festival doesn't mean you won't have an internship."

Shoto didn't know what to expect with Hawks. He was completely opposite of him. Laid back, unrestricted, light hearted, he smiled a lot. He was a people person. So why would he request Shoto? Just because of his quirk? Just because of how durable he was? Maybe it wasn't apparent to everyone that Shoto wasn't the most interesting on a surface level.

Bakugo was much more interesting, though he no doubt put a lot of heroes off with how aggressive he was and the whole needing to be chained up to receive his award. That could not have looked good, but at least he got Best Jeanist, so he couldn't complain about the other two getting a hero in the Top 10.

Number three, one spot beneath Endeavor, an two spots behind All Might. Shoto hadn't seen him too much other than at class. He didn't see him around school at all. Was he okay? Shoto hoped so. He didn't want to be nosy, so he probably wouldn't ask him if he was okay. Shoto was just a student. One he knew before school, but was never anything special.

They had some normal class after that, and when they went to hero training, All Might refused that anything was wrong. Which was suspicious, but Shoto wasn't nosy, and just nodded, and walked away. He didn't bother asking again.

The next day, they were heading to their offered internships. Class 1-A and Aizawa were all at the train station. It felt like a field trip, but wasn't when they all went the separate ways. Shoto and Izuku's trip was the only to Kyushu. Shoto fell asleep on the way there, and Izuku made sure he was fine.

When they got there, Izuku woke him up. Both were nervous. The number 3 hero, it was a big deal. Plus, it was just nerve wracking to put yourself out there, no matter who it was. They walked to the bus station, as the agency building was not close to the train. They rode the bus, Shoto falling asleep once again. Bus and train rides just knocked him out. He was only able to sleep probably because he knew he could trust his friend to keep him safe.

The bus stopped right across the street from the agency. Fiddling with the tiny braid behind his ear, Shoto tried to calm himself. He took some deep breaths, and a rub of hand through his hair from Izuku calmed him down. "Why'd you do that? You've never done that before."

"You always run your hand through your hair when you're stressed. So I thought maybe it felt nice." Shoto shrugged, but it was a nice sentiment. They walked to the door, and Hawks came waltzing down the sidewalk. They turned around before he turned the corner. He smiled at seeing them there.

"My little interns are here, aw so cute."

"Thank you, sir!" Izuku said stiffly.

"Hah, no need for that. Come, come," he said walking inside. "I'd like to talk to you both and stamp your papers. I never do interns." Shoto didn't ask if it was because he'd only been a pro hero for four years, starting his agency at 18, which was crazy, honestly. "So you two are special!"

"Because we beat the crap out of each other?" Shoto asked, following him beside Izuku, who was looking at everything with wide, bright eyes. He was mumbling to himself, but neither other paid any attention.

"Of course not!" Hawks said, ushering them into a room with a large couch. He used his feathers to get inside their backpacks. It was like telekinesis. Looked very useful. He took out their papers. "I brought you here because I noticed some things while watching you guys." Izuku was no longer mumbling to himself, and looked more serious.

Hawks was smiling and said, "Do your classmates know?"

"... Know what?" Izuku asked, terrible at hiding his nervousness. Shoto looked serious, but not overly worried.

"That you're both vampires. Hey! I'm not gonna tell anybody, it's not my secret to share. I'm good with secrets, you know." He stopped them when they were about to leave. "Don't be so worried, I won't spill it, promise."

"So you chose us because you think we're vampires?" Izuku asked, looking and sounding sad.

"Because I thought you were interesting. And not just because of that. Your ice powers were incredible." Shoto stiffly thanked him. "And your strength was kind of alarming, to be honest."

"Alarming?"

"Like All Might's powers. If there's a budding mini All Might out there, of course I want to scoop you up first!" Izuku flushed at being compared to his number one idol. "I want to teach you two how to patrol while having your senses. Obviously, vampires have fantastic senses, which I am jealous about, honestly. I wouldn't trade my wings for that, or want to be one. Don't feel like roasting in the sun."

Shoto was kind of annoyed. This felt like a joke. "So what do you want us to do? I can't go around jumping from building to building like Izuku. Nobody knows, and I don't want anybody to know," he said firmly. No nonsense.

"Well, clearly. If you wanted people to know, your teachers would have put up that little bit of information. But you might not need to jump from building to building. I watched your performance in the obstacle course. You're able to create bridges. You can no doubt made slides. And then you were able to quickly melt away the ice.

"With your senses and your ice, you could easily make your way around any city without wings or able to jump around like a frightened deer. Just make yourself some roads. Use your ice to your advantage in patrols which isn't fighting villains. I thought it would be interesting to try," Hawks explained with a manufactured shrug.

Izuku had his hand on his chin. "That sounds like a smart idea! Learning to maneuver around with your ice might actually be really helpful!"

"Yay, one of you gets it!" Hawks said. His feather stamped on their papers and slipped them back in their backpacks. "We're starting immediately, go get changed. Hurry, hurry, no dilly dallying." They took their briefcases to the changing room.

Shoto said, "He seems exhausting."

"That's what you say about all cheerful and noisy people."

"Because that's true," Shoto said. He put more sunblock on his face and neck. Izuku was in vampire body right now, so he accepted more sunblock. Shoto put it back in his pocket. When they walked out, dressed in their costumes, Hawks brought them to a kitchen area.

"You must always be ready for a fight. Which means well fed and well rested. You're worth shit if you don't go into patrolling feeling up to the task. I got some blood powder. What? I already could tell what you were, of course I prepared!" he said, near bragging. Shoto looked at the huge supply. "Surprised? I am quite rich," he said.

Exhausting.

After they drank some blood and were feeling ready, Hawks flew out, forcing them to catch up. He landed on a building, and called for them to come up. Shoto latched onto Izuku's back, and he climbed up. Shoto really could not afford being caught by anyone. He didn't want them to know. Not yet. The world didn't need to know, and especially his classmates.

When they got up, Hawks said, "By the way, why do you go by your first name everywhere? Is it trademarked?"

"Shoto is my first name."

"Can't take a joke."

"I'm not good at humor," he said honestly. "I go by my first name because I don't want my mom or dad's last name."

"Oh, why not?"

"One of them is abusive and a hero so everyone would know I'm connected to him. My mom is none of your business."

"Do I know your dad? Let me in on the scoop."

"I have no issue ratting him out. He's the number two hero," Shoto replied. Hawks' face drained of color. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, abusive?"

"Do you honestly want to know?"

"I do. I'd like to know my coworker. Besides, you just said you don't mind ratting him out, right!" it as false happiness.

"Well, when I was first turned as a child, he locked me in the basement for about a year and refused me blood, saying I could get over it. That made me go insane and do some regrettable things. Can we just get to doing whatever you wanted me to do?" Hawks showed a face of disappointment before it disappeared. Fake.

"Alright, I want you to make a bridge to that building," he said, not sounding upset at all. He was good at hiding emotion on purpose. Shoto didn't do it on purpose. He created a bridge to the next building. "Run across it. See if it breaks."

"You want me to see if it's study while a hundred meters in the air?"

"Don't worry, don't worry! My feathers will catch you if it doesn't work," Hawks said. Shoto sighed and went running across it. Hawks flew over, grabbing Izuku, who screamed as he was flown to the next building. "Isn't flying fun? I bet your jealous, now."

"That was scary!"

"Hmph, you have bad taste then. Flying is the best thing in the world!" he bragged. Shoto thought he was pretty full of himself. Kind of annoying, really. Well, only a week of this. But he did make it across. "Melt it, if you can. Can't have random chunks of ice hangin' around, now can we?"

Shoto touched the ice and sent a blast of heat, making it disappear into mist. "So you have ice and heat, then? Why'd you never use the heat?"

"Endeavor uses fire. I don't want that," Shoto replied. "Now what? And isn't Izuku gonna do anything?"

"Don't worry, Shoto. I can already jump around, I want you to be able to move easily, as well," Izuku said brightly.

"Aw, that's adorable! You're both so adorable, I want to keep you. Now, try making a slide down to that building." Shoto had no idea what to think of him. He was so… weird. So Shoto did as he said, and he ended up going around the city like that. It was actually fun, sliding around like a surfer from building to building.

Izuku did it, too, just for fun and because he wasn't doing anything overly special. "Oh, someone smiled!" Hawks said, flying beside Shoto as he slid around. Shoto's face turned a bit pink. "You could have your hero costume boots modified so they're easier to slide around in. With your agility that comes from being a vampire, you could be highly successful in getting around this way.

"It's more fun than running, so that's a plus, too!"

"Shoto is already very flexible and can do flips and things like that."

"I saw him do one fighting you. Quite interesting. If I didn't love my quirk so much, maybe I'd be jealous of yours! They stopped on a building to take a break. It was getting later and darker and they had to be on the train by 8:00 to make it to the rendezvous place on time. "I'm not gonna press, and you do barely know me, and it's clearly a sore subject, but you could be a better hero by using your fire. This is a pro hero talking, not some guy with an opinion."

"But you are."

"Hmm?"

"You're a guy with an opinion," Shoto said. Izuku pressed his lips together to not laugh.

"Fuck you're so awkward and adorable!" Hawks squealed. "Well, you don't need to take those words to heart if you're so averse to using your fire, but I just thought it should be said. It's getting late, let me treat you to dinner."

"Aizawa-sensei would get mad if we went out to eat…"

"You're interning at my place, I can take you to food if I want. Besides, it's a place for heroes only. So no paparazzi or media people being there. Just slide on that way, and follow me," and he flew away, Shoto following. It was a blast, honestly. He really enjoyed the first day, even if he didn't have a solid opinion of Hawks. His idea was useful, but he still was weird.

The place they went was indeed private. There were some heroes there, sidekicks. Everyone dressed in their hero costumes. Hawks ordered an almost alarming amount of food. Almost all of it was chicken. Shoto got some cold soba, and Izuku got some ramen. "I'm treating, this place gives me discounts for posting their food on Instagram," he said honestly.

"Is it cannibalism?" Shoto wondered. "You're eating birds."

"You're not even trying to joke, are you?"

"But you have wings, and chickens had wings," Shoto said.

"Yes, but I am not a chicken. I'm a hawk." Izuku started laughing. "Hawks hunt chickens, too. So there's no issue of me eating as much of my favorite food as I want." And he ate some more. After dinner, he took them to the agency to get their things and then to the station, having Shoto slide his way there with Izuku clinging to his back. When they got to the station, Hawks said, "And that concludes my first ever first day interning! Get some sleep, chicklets, see you in the morning." And he flew away.

They were quiet on the train until Izuku said, "I like him! He's entertaining and smart and knows what he's doing."

"He seemed kind of fake. But I… I did really like his idea. I wonder why he was so sad about Endeavor," Shoto mused. "I won't tell the public or they'd go fishing and the world would know. Plus… UA found out when they weren't supposed to."

"Hey! Kids!" they looked towards the voice. Someone standing beside them that had been quiet until then. "I watched your fight at the sports festival. You were awesome, but I wonder how you're still alive." Izuku's face turned pink and he was pleased with the words. Others were bought to attention and were telling them how awesome they were.

"It was an awful fight. How are you friends, you nearly killed one another," a snappish woman said, glaring at them. Some others dismissed her flippantly. It turned into an argument, and the two were glad when their station came and they could get off. Aizawa was there, signing off the students to go outside to their parents waiting for them.

Shoto and Izuku were both driven home by their mothers, but stayed texting for hours. When they texted Bakugo, it was clear his internship didn't go nearly as well. I'm going to kill Best Jeanist someday!

Better not put that in writing, Kacchan.

What happened?

He only chose me cause he wants to make me not angry! And he fucked my hair up and made me wear tight jeans! His minions are so annoying, such kiss asses. Just doing whatever he says!

They are sidekicks, that's their job…

Can it, Shoto! How'd yours go, huh?!

Hawks was weird. Fun, but hard to read. He heard briefly of Endeavor's abuse, and seemed so sad. He took us out to dinner and then we went back to the train station. He's hard to figure out, Izuku messaged. He summed it up pretty well.

He gave me a good idea, and we worked on that. Izuku didn't get to do much.

It's fine! I had fun and it was useful for you.

FUCK YOU BOTH I'M GOING TO BED.

Maybe tomorrow will be better, Shoto messaged, but his blonde friend left him on read. Poor guy. Shoto felt sorry for him, and wondered how everyone else had done. There was no group chat about it, and Shoto assumed they would talk about it in person when they got back. Shoto went to bed, too, wondering if him telling Hawks was the right thing.

He seemed… just so sad.

The next morning, they did the same, only this time added patrol. The day before, Hawks had stoped his hero work to work with the interns. He had his sidekicks deal with things. So the two had to keep up with him, and were doing just fine. When Shoto would slide, he would melt the ice right behind him and use extra speed to get to the other side before the remnants of the bridges and roads collapsed.

They followed their senses, Hawks taking their lead, and helped out a bit. A car chase was going on, and from a building roof, Shoto used his quirk and locked the car in a chunk of ice. Hawks let Izuku get him out, tearing apart the ice and the car door. He yanked him out and ziptied his wrists until he could get cuffed.

"Very nice! You guys work well together, have you considered being hero partners?" Hawks asked.

"We at least want to work at the same agency with Kacchan," Izuku said.

"If he learns to control himself, I'll welcome him if it brings you two, as well."

"We'll only go to an agency where Bakugo will be treated equally. He's our best friend, and won't have him join just so you can have us," Shoto said, Izuku nodding. Hawks gave a sincere smile.

"You two a loyal. Great hero trait," Hawks praised. "Time for dinner. Tomorrow we're doing a night patrol in Hosu."

"Hosu? That's where the Hero Killer is," Shoto said. "Why are we going there?"

"We're sniffing him out," he said in a whisper. Shoto didn't know if that was safe or a good idea. "Trust me, we'll be just fine. Besides, I can easily evacuate you two if I must. And you shouldn't be worried for me, I'm top ranking, bitches! Hah! Now, dinner time! This time, no cold soba, both of you try something new."

And they headed back to his hero restaurant, and ate a hearty serving. Shoto had a packet of blood powder and put in in his soda. He shared it with Izuku, a large glass with two straws. "How long have you guys been friends?" Hawks wondered around his takoyaki, trying something new this time. Though there was still chicken dishes in front of him.

"We met in vampire rehab five years ago," Izuku said. Shoto ate his ramen and nodded. "We stayed best friends after that, and Kacchan joined us, too."

"Mutual trauma, then?"

"At first."

"You guys seem very different. Especially how Bakugo acted at the sports festival, and Shoto's completely calm demeanor," he pointed out curiously.

"I know I'm boring."

"I didn't say boring. Just calm. Do you know why? Is it from your childhood?" Shoto wasn't going to talk about that for Hawks' sake. He assumed he had some personal connection to Endeavor, and Shoto soiled it. He didn't feel bad if his father lost a valuable ally, but he'd felt bad remembering Hawks' expression.

But he shook his head. "It was the medicine at first. But I think this is just how I am, now." He took a gulp of the blood soda. "My classmates have always commented on it, calling me boring and rude and emotionless just cause I don't talk that much and usually look sleepy," he said, looking at his food.

"Well, I don't think that's a flaw. It's unique, at least, isn't it? Besides you don't seem like a dick, just quiet. After all, most people would probably say fuck off if a stranger asked about a messed up childhood. I'm sorry you had to go through that, man. But it struggle helps make a hero know how the masses can feel."

"I'd rather not have to drink a lot to function properly," Shoto replied. "I would be perfectly happy to not be this way. But there's nothing to do about it, so I try to ignore it." He decided to show him how the sun worked. Shoto slid his sleeve up, and showed the black skin. Hawks furrowed his brows in confusion. "A burn from the sun." And he moved his sleeve down.

Hawks looked a bit pale. "And you still want to be a hero? You don't hide inside?"

"No. Neither of us do, though Izuku has no lasting burns. Izuku always wanted to be a hero, and I just wanted to tag along. I'd like to be one, but not a high ranking one. I'm okay being a little hero," he said with a shrug. Izuku was just listening, surprised with how much Shoto was saying. He just felt he could tell Hawks about this. He didn't know why.

Hawks just smiled, and looked at his watch. "Time to go," he said. They boxed up their food, and the hero gave them his chicken he hadn't touched. "In case you get hungry on the train." They thanked him, and made their ways to the station, which wasn't far from the restaurant at all. Getting on the train, Hawks waved goodbye, this smile on his face that Shoto couldn't place.

"You like him. Said so much," Izuku said, voice sounding like praise. Shoto nodded. Hawks seemed trustworthy, and he didn't look disgusted or horrified. Only a bit shocked, and pale. But it faded, and he just listened and asked not too intrusive questions. It was an almost comfortable conversation. "I doubt he'll tell anybody else."

"Yeah, I don't think he would, either. We should eat this before we get there and Aizawa-sensei sees we got foo." Shoto nodded and they ate the fried chicken with honey mustard.

He walked out onto stage.