A/N: Alright, seems like the entrance exam is actually the next chapter … Oops. Instead, we got a small training arc with Katsuki and Izuku. I know, not as glamorous, but it does allow me the opportunity to flesh out their characters along with part of their skill sets and strengths at this point in time. So, onwards we go! Cue up some Rocky music folks!

-Ignition-

Tribulations

" … Hey, Kacchan?"

" … The hell do you want, Deku?"

Setting down his pencil, Izuku leaned back and flopped on the floor with a sigh, stretching his arms in the air before letting them flop above his head. It had been a day since the slime incident, since they had fought for their lives and met All Might. After arriving at their homes, they'd informed their parents about what had happened. Predictably, their parents had expressed their concern rather vocally, whether by shouting or by tears. It took much reassurance (and shouting from Katsuki for his mother to stop nagging), but eventually their parents understood that yes, their children were fine and that they could go on with their normal lives.

But that was the problem. After their experience yesterday, their normal routine … it was simply too dull. Could anyone blame them? In the span of a day, they'd pumped more adrenaline in their systems than they'd probably done in months, got to personally witness their idol, the number one hero, in action, and even gotten to speak with him and get autographs! To go from that back to boring old assignments and lectures … it didn't take a genius to figure out that the duo were restless.

" … I think we should ramp up our training, I think we both know our usual routine isn't cutting it."

Katsuki scoffed. "Way ahead of you dumbass."

Izuku shot him an inquisitive glance, causing the bomber to roll his eyes.

"I already planned to up my training schedule to prepare for the entrance exams. Like hell I'm going to let any extras outshine my ass."

'Not to mention he's probably still hung up over the slime villain.' Izuku thought, noting how Katsuki tried to subtly rub the area of his forearm where the slime had latched onto him, clenching and unclenching his hands in the meanwhile.

"Are you alright with me tagging along?"

"You do you Deku, you do you." Pausing for a moment between his precalculus problems, he chuckled. "Heh, still following me around, really, how do you even function when you leave my house every day?"

Ignoring his friend's riff with the practiced ease of 14 years of friendship, Izuku continued on with his questioning. "So what're you planning on doing, then?"

"Probably find some quirk gym to practice my moves and get a good workout."

"Aren't those expensive though?"

It was a valid question, given the sheer amount of equipment and specialized licenses needed to run one of those establishments. Where normal gyms could make do with machines that were basically able to be used by anyone, quirk gyms served to be specifically tailored to people of quirks of all shapes and sizes. Naturally, this required special permits and equipment to be ordered, not to mention the cost of maintenance and repairs to any damages caused by the occasional instance of overzealous quirk usage.

"Yeah, but I can probably get the old hag to pay for it if I nag her hard enough."

" … Kacchan, that doesn't sound like a really good plan … "

"Psssh, just watch me."

-Ignition-

"Nope, not happening Brat, and that's final. You realize that a month's subscription costs half my paycheck, right? Go ask your father. Any more nagging I'll lock up all your consoles and ground your ass."

"Sorry Katsuki, but I have to agree with your mother … "

'Called it.' Thought Izuku as his friend stomped out of the house.

"Deku … Don't you dare say it … "

"Well," Izuku began, a small smile forming on his face at his friend's glower, "I won't say I told you so … But I called it."

Boom!

Dodging the fist that swung at his face, Izuku chuckled as he dropped into a ready stance and rolled up his sleeves. Like clockwork, Katsuki had exploded, deciding to vent out his frustrations with an impromptu sparring session that he'd no doubt justify later as training for an unexpected villain attack. It wasn't exactly malicious, the blond knew his friend could take it and expected him to dish it back just as well, it was just something they'd developed over the years to redirect Katsuki's volatile impulses away from anyone that was ill-prepared to take an explosion to the face. A classic Katsuki maneuver.

'Well,' Izuku thought, igniting the ground underneath Katsuki, 'I did say I wanted to up my training … might as well make the most of this.'

Several minutes later, the two teens were laid on the ground, panting heavily.

"You … you good now, Kacchan?"

"Tch … I still want … to rearrange your ugly-ass face … but I guess this is good enough."

"I love you too, Kacchan."

Chuckling at his friends growl in response, Izuku took a few more deep breaths before sitting up, yelping at the pain and sore muscles that flared as he got up. Looking around, he grimaced at the damage they'd inflicted to the Bakugo's backyard. Parts of the ground was scorched, potholes littered the area from the explosions, and dirt was everywhere. Yeah, they definitely needed a new training ground.

'Plus,' Izuku noticed, glancing at the marks and bruises forming on his forearms, 'I was definitely right about needing more training. I knew a lot of the attacks were coming, but I was too slow to dodge and had to block.'

Walking back into the house with Katsuki by his side, he gave Uncle Masaru a quick greeting before heading up to grab some spare clothes he'd left at Katsuki's place for this exact scenario. After a quick argument with Katsuki over who got to shower first, which he managed to win by reminding his friend that exactly who'd thrown the first punch, Izuku stepped into the steaming shower. As he lathered shampoo onto his green mop, he began to think about a solution for their predicament.

Firstly, they needed a place where they could spar without worrying about collateral damage. Second, the place needed to be cheap, and be somewhere where they could exercise and strengthen their bodies. Calisthenics was an option, but it just wouldn't be enough if they truly wanted to push their limits and grow. Third, it had to be somewhere they could freely use their quirks, they were training to be heroes, after all. Lastly, the place couldn't be too far away.

'Think brain, think! What place could possibly fit that description … wait … I think I might know a place!'

Quickly finishing up his shower and dressing up, Izuku left the bathroom, calling out to Katsuki that he had an idea for their dilemma, before clarifying that he had to check it out first when the blond asked what it was. Noticing that it was getting pretty late, he bade his friend a goodbye, though not before agreeing to show him the place tomorrow, and went home.

'I hope this works…'

-Ignition-

"Deku … " Katsuki growled as he saw their destination, "What the fuck am I looking at … "

"This, Kacchan," Izuku began, gesturing at the gargantuan piles of junk that littered their destination, "Is Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. Remember when we were kids and sometimes our parents would bring us here in the summer? Well, apparently all the junk from the ocean ends up here, so it became a junkyard over the years."

"And why the fuck are we here?"

"Think for a second, we can use our quirks all we want here, we don't have to worry about destroying junk, and we can work out by cleaning all the trash! Plus, it's only like 20 minutes away from us, and best of all, it's free!"

"It smells like shit … "

"Well, unless you have a better idea, this is what we're stuck with."

"Tch, fine."

Walking over to one of the nearby piles of junk, Izuku began picking up objects and depositing them off to the side. Picking up a beat up microwave, he grinned as he felt his muscles somewhat stain at the weight of the metallic husk. Good, this could work. Placing it down, he noticed Katsuki reluctantly moving to another pile, deciding to work on his lonesome after some grumbling about the location. An Idea popped into his mind to motivate his friend.

"Hey, Kacchan! I bet I can clean out more trash than you can!"

"Oh hell no, you're on Deku! I'll clean out this whole fucking beach myself!"

Time remaining until the entrance exam: ten months.

-Ignition-

" - Midoriya, pay attention!"

"Ack - Sorry sensei!"

Refocusing on the lecture, Izuku zoned out the sound of his classmate's laughter as he tried to fight off the overwhelming urge to drop face first into his notebook once more and begin drooling like he'd been earlier. He thought of the past few months of training he'd undertaken.

When he'd first began the training regiment, he hadn't expected to work himself to the bone, but his bet with Katsuki had motivated him to go even further beyond. He'd thought he was fairly fit, at least above average for his grade as he'd been regularly dragged along for Katsuki's workout sessions, but months on his own self imposed training schedule showed that his physicality just wasn't enough. At least, not when compared to Katsuki, who had begun working out at an even younger age to handle the recoil of his quirk, which would break his body if he wasn't sufficiently built to handle the recoil. So, he had doubled down, intensifying his training time in order to compete with his best friend and rival. In response, Katsuki had doubled his training as well, which led to Izuku intensifying once more, and onwards it escalated. Although…

"Bakugo, don't think I can't see you sleeping over there too! Pay attention!"

"Fuck off!"

… It seemed his friend wasn't fairing so well either.

'I guess this just comes with trying to be a hero, huh?'

Shaking his head, Izuku redirected his attention to the lecture. After all, he can't very well get into U.A with bad grades. Although … sleep was sounding like a very tempting alternative …

Time remaining until the entrance exam: six months.

-Ignition-

It was a typical Friday afternoon. The birds were singing, children were laughing, the sun was shining -

"DIE!"

BOOM!

And Bakugo Katsuki was going all out in a spar against his friend. All was well in the world.

Thump!

Izuku's world spun as he hit the sand of the beach, the point blank explosion to his face disorientating his senses and leaving him dazed. Shaking his head, he only partially succeeded in clearing his vision and recovering, forcing back the exhaustion that pervaded his being with sheer willpower. Still, his arms and legs very much felt weak and feeble as they scrambled to support his weight, the hours of cleaning junk and the current sparring session catching up to him.

As part of their training, the two had incorporated daily sparring into their routines, adding them to the end of their training sessions so as to allow them to clean the beach first before they were too exhausted or injured. Plus, it allowed them to simulate fighting while exhausted, something they figured would assist them in the future.

Sure, it was frankly insane, but insanity and overcompetitiveness was nothing new for the two heroes-to-be.

"Get up, Deku! If you think villains are going to wait for your sorry ass then I must've hit you harder than I thought!"

Latching on to the sound of Katsuki's voice, Izuku weighed his options, his exhausted mind still attempting to analyze the situation for any actions he could take to turn the spar to his favor. The environment worked against him here, the individual granules of sand not allowing him to use his quirk to transfer through the floor and ignite sections of terrain as he normally would with solid ground. In short, he couldn't fight the way he usually would, having to now adapt on the fly and fight his friend in close quarters. His friend … who had full access to his quirk … far greater natural instincts and reaction speed … was familiar with all of his habits … and could dodge most of his punches or grabs before he could activate his quirk and ignite him … Yeah, it was a rough few months …

Frankly, Katsuki had the major advantage here, as his quirk had no such limitations, allowing him to use his quirk as his heart desired. With access to his usual fighting style, he could negate the usual movement difficulties when it came to loose terrain, using explosions to propel him over the sand in quick bursts to maneuver around Izuku while blasting him with explosions. Despite this, Katsuki still had to be cautious, as Izuku only needed to touch him once to end the spar, but his ranged options and reflexes made the occurrence rather difficult to pull off. Still, that didn't mean Izuku was out of options.

'Let's hope this works … '

Across from his downed friend, Katsuki also panted heavily, his vision blurring at the edges from exhaustion that he stubbornly resisted. His body ached, his muscles begging him to stop and take a rest, a noise that he had grown used to ignoring over the last couple of months. Noticing Izuku had stopped trying to get up, he moved over to check on his friend -

Only for his instincts, slow as they currently were, to blare.

Acting as fast as he could, he let off an explosion in front of him to create space, but it wasn't fast enough, exhaustion slowing his movements just enough for the sand Izuku had thrown to enter his eyes. As he attempted to get the sand out, he didn't notice Izuku's approach until he felt a kick connect with his legs, sweeping him off his feet and into the sand. He felt a hand close around his wrist, signifying his loss.

He'd fallen for the oldest trick in the fucking book. Of all the things, playing dead and pocket sand to the eyes was what Deku had gone with. Worst of all, it had worked! Sure, he was tired as hell, months worth of brutal punishment compounding to form his current sorry state, but none of that mattered to his pride.

"MOTHERFU-"

"Villains … aren't going to … wait for you … Kacchan!" Izuku cheekily bit out between pants, slowly pushing himself up as he wiped sand and sweat from his brow.

… Oh, it was on.

"DEKUUUUUUUUU - "

Time remaining until the entrance exam: four months.

-Ignition-

"Sweetie?"

As he slowly opened his bleary eyes, the first thing Izuku noted was the concerned look on his mother's face as she lightly shook him awake. As he looked around, noting the distinct lack of posters and All Might figurines that would normally adorn his room, the second thing he noticed was his location, splayed out on the small two-seater couch that was in his living room. Lastly, he took note of the light shining through the curtains on the side. Looking up at the clock on the living room wall, Izuku saw that it displayed a time of 10 AM, six hours past his usual time to wake up and meet Katsuki at the beach.

Looking down on himself, he saw that he was still in his clothes from the day prior, still scuffed up and sandy from the beach cleaning - It seemed he came home late last night and passed out on the couch before he could clean up. As he shook his head to clear his thoughts, he felt a cloud of sand emerge from his messy locks, drifting around before finding their rest on the floor.

'Ah … I'll have to vacuum that later … '

"Izuku, Are you okay? I got up this morning and saw you sleeping on the couch and I just … "

Right, his mom was still there, fretting over him …

" ... Yeah, I'm fine mom, I'll be up in a bit … just give me a second - " Izuku grimaced as he tried to sit up, distinctly feeling the deep aches of his bones echoing around his body, intensifying whenever he attempted to move. His muscles didn't help either, stiff as boards while also calling for him to cease his movements in that instant. Dropping down, Izuku could only sigh as he gave a small nod and a wave to his concerned mother, the current extent of his physical abilities.

"Izuku, just look at you - you aren't well!" Leaning closer to her son's face, Inko saw that he was unnaturally pale. As she placed her hand on his forehead, her concern skyrocketed - her son was burning up! "Sweetie, you're sick! Oh no - Stay here, I'll go get some ice and make you some soup okay?"

"No - Mom, I'm fine!" Izuku hurriedly replied, struggling once more to get up, ignoring the roaring of his mind and the protests of his beaten and battered body as he tried to dissuade his mother, "I'm just tired and I'm already late to my meeting with Kacchan, you don't have to - "

"NO!" Startled at the panicked cry, Izuku looked to his mother, only to freeze at the sight of the withheld tears in the corners of her eyes - His mother was holding back tears. "Izuku - don't move, please, stay right there."

Without another word, Inko turned and moved into the kitchen, leaving a shocked Izuku to slowly comply with his mother's plea, laying back down as he stared to the exit of the living room. Distantly, he could hear his mother's movements in the kitchen, the pitter pattering of her slippers against the wooden floor as she undoubtedly scrambled, the small sounds of rapid chopping and cooking as he heard the tell tale clicks that signified the turning on of the stove. It likely only took a few minutes, but to Izuku it felt like an eternity as he laid on the couch before he saw his mother re-enter the living room, holding in one hand a small bowl of chicken soup and a spoon, while in the other a small bucket of water and a soaked cloth.

Placing everything down, she quickly folded and set the wet cloth on his head, before picking up the bowl of soup and scooping a spoonful which she held next to his mouth. After a small moment of hesitation - along with a small glare from his mother - Izuku opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him. It only took a few minutes for the meal to be finished, with his mother periodically switching to change the cloth that rested on his head. Afterwards, silence reigned, with only the sound of his occasional groan and his mother's shifting to break it.

" ... I was happy … " Inko began in a low voice, drawing her son's attention as she continued to wring out the towel and replace it, "Seven months ago, I noticed you and Katsuki going out more often, and I was glad … really, I was! My son was going out to be with his friends, to work on his dream! What more could a mother want? But … but … "

As Inko took a deep breath to steady her voice, Izuku looked - truly looked - at his mother for the first time in ages. He looked at her skin, which looked pallid and clammy, the dark rings that had begun to form under her eyes - undoubtedly from trouble sleeping - the way she hugged herself, rubbing her upper arms, the red scratch marks from where her nails undoubtedly dug just that tiny bit too deeply …

The smudges of ice cream around her mouth … how her face was just that bit noticeably pudgier …

It was as if a blindfold had been ripped off of Izuku's eyes, revealing what he had been too blind, too ignorant, too inconsiderate to see over the past few months.

'She's stress eating! How - how could I have missed this … '

"As the months went on, you started to stay out later and later, coming home late and sometimes missing dinner ... I couldn't help but be a little worried … " She looked down, clasping her hands and massaging them, moving her thumbs in circular motions to soothe her nerves. "I told myself that I was overreacting, but it just kept getting worse! One day I saw how you were just - just so tired! You look like a zombie, you have bags under your eyes Izuku! I notice you spacing out a lot when I try to talk to you and you even fell asleep a week ago when we were eating dinner and I just - I don't know anymore! What am I supposed to do as a mother?"

"M - Mom! It's okay! I'm just a little - "

"YOU'RE NOT FINE! IZUKU!" Inko began to sob into her hands, unable to hold back any longer. "I - I'm your mother! It's my job to take care of you, to make sure my son is happy and healthy, and …. and … I CAN'T EVEN DO THAT! I should've done something sooner! Oh gods, I … I'm a terrible mother … "

"Wha - no! Mom, you're an angel!" Izuku reached out, grasping his mother's hand, pulling himself up and drawing her into a hug. He suppressed a grimace as he moved, shoving the pain to the deepest recesses of his mind as he focused on comforting his mother. He felt her arms encircle him as he drew circles on his back, grasping him in a tight hug as she sobbed on his shoulder. He thought of the pain she must have gone through, silently watching as her inconsiderate son slowly destroyed himself, paralyzed as to what actions to take. He thought of how long she had endured while he was none the wiser, of how he neglected her as he focused completely on his rivalry with Katsuki, on his dream to be a hero …

A hero …

' ... What kind of a hero makes his mother cry?'

Minutes passed as Izuku stayed there, simply embracing his mother, listening as her sobs began to lessen into small hiccups as her grip weakened. He watched as the clock ticked past 11, hearing the rhythmic clicks of the internal mechanisms continuing to do their duty, unaffected by the sorrows of the mother and son duo.

"… Do you remember when I was four," He began, speaking in a soft tone as his mother's cries faded, "how you'd always play heroes with me? I'd always be All Might, and you would always be the victim I'd save from the blanket monster … You always had time for me, no matter how late it was or how tired you were, you'd always do your best to make my day the best it could be! Whenever I'm sad, you'd cook katsudon or buy some All Might merch to cheer me up, you took time off work whenever I was sick, heck, even now! You're the best mom I could ask for!"

Izuku slowly lessened his embrace, releasing his hold and gently sliding away. His mother's eyes were puffy and red from crying … tear stains ran down her cheeks as she wiped away the remnants with her sleeve ... her breathing still shaky from her earlier sobs … All of this, caused by his negligence of her feelings.

No more. He couldn't let this continue. He took a deep breath.

" ... I'm sorry, there's no excuse I - just, Kacchan and I, you know how competitive we are and - and … I wanted to beat him, and I - no, we got too carried away. We always had to one up each other, always had to train longer, train harder than the other … we didn't care about how hard it was on us, we just want to win, we want to be heroes … "

"Izuku, this can't continue! You're destroying your bodies and I - "

" - Mom, I agree with you! I know this can't continue, but … if Kacchan and I want to get into U.A, we need all the help we can get - "

" - And that's okay, sweetie, I understand, I really do, but you need to set boundaries for yourselves! You have to take care of yourselves! Please, take the next week off to rest, you need it … "

" … Okay, I understand … " Releasing a shaky breath, Izuku slowly sank back onto the couch, before briefly pausing as a thought crossed his mind. "What about Kacchan? He's probably still at the beach, training … "

"I'll call Mitsuki, just please, lay back down … now, where did the towel go?"

-Ignition-

" … This fucking blows."

Izuku facepalmed as Katsuki expressed his discontent for the umpteenth time. "It's our own fault for overdoing it, so deal with it Kacchan."

It'd been a few days since his emotional bout with his mother, where they'd agreed on some boundaries for the teens' training sessions. After Mitsuki had dragged a ragged but still raving Katsuki home and forced to him to rest for a few days, the blond bomber had gotten fed up being cooped in his home, nagging his mother until she decided to just dump him on Inko, knowing full well Katsuki wouldn't disrespect his favorite bonafide aunt. Fast forward three hours and here they were, lazing around his All Might museum of a room.

Lifting his hand from his face, Izuku watched as Katsuki threw his phone onto his bed, deeming the plebs too easy for him to destroy to satisfy his craving for competition. Honestly, his friend just couldn't sit still and enjoy a break, always needing something to compete in, to prove his superiority and improve himself on his journey to being the number one hero.

Though … it wasn't like he had any room himself to criticize his friend, looking down at the notebook in his hands. He'd also been restless, though he'd managed to restrain his physical impulses enough to enjoy the week long break and allow himself to recuperate. Instead, he'd reasoned that just because he was physically out of commission for a week didn't mean he was mentally out as well, nor did it mean he couldn't prepare for once his mandated rest was over.

Thus, he'd surfed the internet for any and all resources on exercising, recovering, and dieting. Never again would he allow himself to fall into the same rabbit hole of self destruction, so he decided to put the mind that his teachers had so praised to use. So, over the past three days, he researched and compiled a 20 page fitness regimen for what he would do for the next three months, planning out his days so as to maximize his exercise and recovery time to ensure maximum gains. He'd push himself just enough to be at the brink, but made damn sure not go over as he had done for the past seven months.

He wouldn't allow himself to bring his mother to tears a second time.

'Honestly, why didn't I do this sooner … Oh wait, I got distracted by my bet with Kacchan … we're both idiots.'

"OI! Deku, what the fuck is this!?"

Startled, Izuku looked over at Katsuki, only to see his friend holding open a page of one of his Hero Analysis journals. In fact, it was open to a very specific page …

"What?" Replied a confused Izuku, "That's the design for my costume."

" … " Izuku's confusion only grew as Katsuki stared at him for a long moment before looking back at the costume design. When his friend facepalmed, he knew something had to be wrong.

" … You've got to be shitting me nerd … "

"Wha - "

"YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKING RABBIT!" Katsuki roared, all but shoved the notebook into his face, aggressively pointing at the costume's head covering. "Are you trying to be a hero or a god damn zoo exhibit!?"

"Excuse me!? That's clearly All Might's hair - "

" - And who the fuck is going to see that you fucking nerd!? Fuck, if people see you wearing that next to me, they'll fucking laugh themselves to death before I can kill them! Like hell am I going to allow you to drag me down with your shitty fashion sense!"

"My fashion sense isn't - "

" - BITCH DO I NEED TO REMIND YOU ABOUT YOUR SHITTY T-SHIRTS!?"

… shit, he really didn't have a comeback there. He loved his punny t-shirts, but even he could see how everyone cringed when they laid eyes on them after they realized that was all he would wear. Hell, even mom, his kind and ever accepting mother, would cringe at the terrible jokes every time she saw him wearing one. Defeated, he reluctantly leaned back in his seat as Katsuki snatched a pencil and got to work from his bed, grabbing his most recent hero analysis notebook off the shelf and flipping to a new page to begin his redesign.

"Fine," He sighed, "Mind if I see your costume? I think I have some ideas that I can add to it if it's the same as the last time I saw it."

" ... Tch, you better not fuck it up Deku."

"I won't Kacchan, you have my word."

Time remaining until the entrance exam: three months.

-Ignition-

"It's a bit cold today … "

As he rubbed his hands together to generate some warmth, Izuku took the time to gaze around at where he currently stood.

Truly, he had picked a great spot.

As he exhaled a cloud of mist into the cold January evening, taking in the sight of the twinkling stars in the sky as the sun set, listening to the rustling of leaves and the soft melody of the running river, Izuku couldn't help but admire the ambiance of the environment around him. It'd been many years since they'd discovered this spot, he and Katsuki, back then they had been little kids, irresponsibly playing in the forest without adult supervision. Even now, the fallen log from almost a decade past still stood, providing an unstable crossing across the shallow straights.

He chuckled as a specific memory replayed in his mind, the time when Katsuki had decided that he was above such lowly trivialities like traction or danger, only to slip and fall into the creek. He'd lashed out at Izuku, having his ego bruised, but the duo had ended up reconciling shortly thereafter when Izuku emphasized just how close Katsuki had come to smashing his head into the rocks that lined the shallow waters.

Now, he couldn't help but thank their past selves for their recklessness. Their exploration into the unknown had yielded this perfect spot for him to train alone without worry. Sure, the mere fact that he was doing this additional training was skirting a line for the promise he'd made his mother, but given that he had specifically taken it easy every Friday from then on and left the beach an hour early to come here and train, he felt he hadn't crossed any lines. Besides, he'd still make sure to be back by dinnertime.

He walked towards the river, stopping just by the edge of the water, gazing down at his reflection in the crystal clear water, noting all the differences he could see in his physique compared to nine months prior. Even clad in his All Might hoodie, signs of musculature shone through, the previously baggy hoodie becoming noticeably more snug against his body. Sure, he likely wouldn't be winning any body-building competitions anytime in the near future, but that wasn't the goal of the training was it?

The past nine months … in a word, he supposed he would describe it as 'hell'. The first seven especially … even now, the sight of his mother, sobbing as she laid out the depths of her insecurities as a mother and pain … it wouldn't leave him. At least now, in the past two months, he'd managed to strike up a healthy balance, no longer looking like a vampire that would burn in the sunlight if he forgot to cover up. Even with the … complications … experienced in the first seven months, the training had thus far proven to be fruitful in their returns. Not just physically, but mentally as well, which led him to where he was now, and what he had been doing every Friday for the past two months.

His daily spars had provided quite a lot of insight for him to build from, now that he had a clear and well rested mind. Particularly, his troubles when faced with a less than ideal environment against an opponent that had numerous advantages against him. The beach showed he couldn't just rely on his usual style of combat everywhere, using his flames to redirect opponents and control the terrain they would fight on. He needed a way to close the distance when opponents would maneuver around him, and a way to dodge ranged attacks. It all came back to one crucial component.

Speed. Speed and maneuverability were the areas he needed to improve the most, with an auxiliary skill being high speed close quarters combat capabilities. Without improvements to these areas, even if he had access to a more suitable environment, opponents like Katsuki would have no issues dancing around him, peppering him with untold numbers of attacks whilst he was a sitting duck, unable to move fast enough to attack them or dodge their attacks. In an open field, where flames weren't enough to restrict and route enemy movements, he needed a way to match them.

Thus, he decided to vary his training to overcome these issues, opting to train in secret away from Katsuki so that he'd be able to surprise him come their final bout before the exam date.

He was close … extremely close. He almost had the output and control down, last session had proven that. Now, he was in the final stages of refining these factors before he'd test it against Katsuki. Counting this session, he had four more sessions to train this before their final spar.

Plenty of time.

Slipping a pair of black, fingerless leather gloves onto his hand, Izuku took one last breath to steel his nerves and gather his thoughts, rerouting all his mental resources to this task. He'd get it done.

"Let's do this." He took a deep breath.

He exhaled.

"Ignite!"

Time remaining until the entrance exam: one month.

-Ignition-

"Ready Kacchan?"

"Tch - I was born ready Deku."

Katsuki settled into his stance, muscles taunt and at the ready as he watched Izuku grab a pebble. He surveyed the battlefield one last time before the bout began, noting the progress they'd made on the cleaning.

Where ten months prior Dagobah Municipal Beach Park had been filled with heaping piles of junk that encompassed the entire beach now stood an entirely almost clean beach, the only section left being where they now stood. They'd decided to temporarily hold off on cleaning the area in order to have one final spar, using the last remaining piles of junk as a varied battlefield. Afterwards, they would clean it up in the remaining days, recover, and head towards the entrance exams, leaving an entirely renovated beach in their wake for anyone to use at their leisure.

Despite himself, Katsuki couldn't help but feel some glimmers of pride at the notion.

"Alright, same rules?"

"Get on with it." He growled, shoving aside his previous musings to focus on the task at hand: handing Izuku his ass on a rusty and broken platter.

"Alright alright … jeez Kacchan … "

As Izuku got into position, rock in hand, Katsuki's anticipation only grew. Locking his eyes with his opponent, he watched as the greenette threw the rock in the air, refusing to break eye contact as the pyrokinetic settled into his own stance. He took a deep breath, settling the pounding of his heart, channeling all of his focus, his anticipation, his excitement, and his aggression into what was to come.

When the rock made contact with the sand, the duo exploded into action.

BOOM!

Immediately, he unleashed a large blast at Izuku, aiming to disrupt his movements and perhaps scoring an easy victory, though Katsuki knew this wouldn't be the case. He was proven correct as his target ducked, having anticipated the attack, allowing the main shockwave of the blast to flow over him as he quickly swiped his hand across the sand.

FWOOSH!

In an instant, a wall of viridescent flames roared into existence, obscuring him from Katsuki's sight. The blond immediately charged in, not willing to allow him time to maneuver and prepare a potential counterplan. The more time Izuku had to move and manipulate the terrain, the more the match would move in his favor. Katsuki needed to move fast, to create pressure and not allow his friend to enact any plans.

Unleashing duel blasts of explosion to propel him above the barrier, he quickly scanned the terrain from above, searching for where the flame wielder had gone.

'Found you!'

He spotted Izuku near one of the piles of junk they'd put off cleaning, rapidly running his hands over the objects in order to initiate his quirk at any moment. He couldn't allow this to continue.

"FACE ME LIKE A MAN DEKU!"

Reorienting himself mid-air, Katsuki unleashed another powerful blast, closing the distance in an instant. He let loose a large explosion in front of him as he neared, watching as Izuku quickly grabbed a nearby piece of scrap - perhaps a part of a car door? - and ignited it, forming a makeshift shield that guarded against the explosion. However, this did nothing against the kinetic force of the explosion, sending the teen careening backwards, who quickly rolled with the force before digging his hands and feet into the sand to stop his momentum, ditching the scrap metal off to the side. Instantly, he locked his gaze onto Katsuki, widely grinning ear to ear.

"COME AND GET ME KACCHAN!"

Katsuki's instincts blared as various items in the pile surrounding him flared to life as emerald flames coated their surface, rapidly generating flames that each grew to the size of bonfires. Geysers of flame spewed forth, roaring in the blond's direction under the manipulation of their master. He quickly spun, propelling himself through and around the beams of fire, expertly dodging the attacks while closing the distance on his opponent.

Ramping up his acceleration, Katsuki began to gather his sweat in his palm, ready to unleash the final explosion to end the spar in his victory. Izuku was out in the open, with nothing around him to ignite to interfere with the bomber's charge, barring the sand which he had touched, which would be easily manuevered around. Sure enough, a second barrier of flames erupted from the ground, which Katsuki immediately boosted over.

This was it. He aimed his palm, ready to fire down at the vulnerable form of his friend and end the round -

Only for his instincts to scream. Something was wrong. In the milliseconds before his explosion detonated, he scanned Izuku's form. It seemed … too relaxed. No frantic movements to try to dodge the blast … no panicked expression … nothing. As he detonated the blast, Katsuki moved his other arm to the side, ready to dodge should anything happen -

Bzzzzt!

Only to nearly fail as a green blur blitzed around the explosion, just barely missing Katsuki's head as he tilted it off to the side and blasted away from his previous position.

'What the fuck!?'

His fingers chafed as they dug against the sands, halting the momentum leftover from his repositioning. He heard movement to his right, immediately snapping his eyes over, only for them to widen as he took in the sight before him. Twenty meters away, Izuku crouched low to the floor on all fours, with sizable gouges present in the terrain leading directly to the object of Katsuki's surprise.

Izuku's hands and feet were on fire.

'No, that's not right … ' Katsuki thought as he took a closer inspection of his friend.

Instead, rather than lighting his appendages aflame, his keen eyes saw that his friend had somehow pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves amidst the chaos and lit those aflame, leveraging his immunity to his own flames. As for his legs, it was far more accurate to say Izuku had ignited his shoes, coating his red sneakers in his signature flames. He must've done it directly after his first barrier, utilizing the obscured sight line to pull on the gloves before Katsuki had reentered the battle.

A maniacal grin grew on Katsuki's face as his blood began pumping once more in anticipation.

"You fucking bastard!" He laughed, clenching his fists as he prepared to continue the bout, "You've been holding out on me Deku!"

His friend chuckled. "Sorry Kacchan! I only got it to work a few days ago, though my control's still a bit shoddy."

Left unsaid but understood was his desire to save it as a trump card for their final training clash.

"Let's put it to the test!" He shouted, immediately propelling himself to the side as he began to circle around Izuku at high speed. "Think you can keep up!?"

He didn't wait for a reply, opting to shoot a barrage of rapid fire explosions at his friend from one hand as the other assisted his movement. Sure enough, Izuku dodged out of the way, sending back a barrage of flames from his hands that he evaded with relative ease. As they continued to clash, Katsuki began to take note of his friend's movements.

They were fast, yes … but they were predictable and sporadic, unrefined. Linear dashes to the left and right, deep gouges as his hands and feet dug into the sand to stop his movements before he shot off once more, a delay between each burst of speed or barrages of fire … His friend wasn't yet used to high speed combat like he himself was. He was likely thinking before each movement, which was impressive given how short his delays were, but they were still glaringly obvious to someone like Katsuki, whose movements were ingrained in his instincts. In fact, he was willing to bet that Izuku was currently fighting to keep his lunch in his stomach, likely suffering from whiplash and tunnel vision if his head shaking during each pause was anything to go by … the exact same issues Katsuki had faced when he first began experimenting with using his quirk as a means of assisted movement.

Still, his increased speed still made him a much more challenging opponent to face. Challenging, but not unbeatable. After all, he wasn't the only one who'd trained in secrecy.

Dodging yet another barrage of emerald flames, Katsuki disengaged from the bout, boosting backwards to gain distance from the flame wielder. He planned on baiting his friend into a dash, which his friend did a moment later, blitzing at him with insane speed.

'Perfect.'

He timed his dodge to the last possible moment, releasing a weak explosion and leaning to the right as his friend flew straight past him. He quickly spun as he gathered sweat in his palm, watching as Izuku once more dug his limbs into the sand to decelerate himself. Now, his friend was only five meters away, the perfect distance for his next move.

He quickly held both hands together in front of him, facing his palms towards Izuku as he began to detonate his sweat. This time, however, he focused on his detonation, maximizing the brightness and sound while toning down the concussive force. His palms glowed a fiery red for an instant as he shouted the name of his newest super move.

"STUN GRENADE!"

BANG! FLASH!

Izuku had no time to react. In an instant, a blinding flash of light encompassed his vision as the roar of the explosion deafened his ears, destabilizing his balance. His balance failed, sending him tumbling and crashing down into the sand. Wasting no time, Katsuki immediately closed the distance and grabbed Izuku, wrenching his arms into a hold behind his back while holding a palm to the back of his head, geared and ready to unleash a mild concussive blast should his friend be stubborn.

Luckily that wasn't the case as the effects of the stun grenade faded from his friend. He saw Izuku take a moment to gather the situation around him, undoubtedly trying to think of a way to overcome the scenario, before reluctantly sighing and giving in.

"You got me Kacchan … I give … "

Katsuki rolled his shoulders as he stood up, working off the kinks from the amount of pressure he'd placed on both his arms from his constant movement. Beneath him, he noticed that Izuku had a difficult time standing, trying unsuccessfully to get his limbs beneath him, still shaking off the aftereffects of the point blank stun grenade to the face. He rolled his eyes.

"Tch - Here, take my hand." Holding out his hand, he grunted as he pulled Izuku up to his feet, allowing him to briefly lean on his shoulder as the greenette adjusted to his new position. It took a few moments, but eventually Izuku gathered his bearings and managed to shakily stand by himself, lighty shaking his head and dusting himself off from the copious amount of sand that clung to his body.

"Thanks Kacchan … Man … I thought I could get you this time … "

Katsuki only rolled his eyes.

"Your movement was sloppy as hell Deku. You kept going in straight lines and you paused everytime you changed direction … You really need to work on that."

"Yeah … " Izuku sighed, dropping his hands to his side and he looked up at the sky, pondering his next course of action.

Katsuki sighed when he saw his friend's expression.

" … Just give it time." He looked at his hands, thinking back to when he had first begun to experiment with augmenting his movements with explosions, "It took me a few months for my body to fully adjust when I started."

" … Oh!" Izuku perked up, looking back at Katsuki as he thought back to the ending of their fight. "What was that move you did at the end? I couldn't catch the name because … well, you know why."

"Later," He replied, "I still want to clean up the beach before the exam. I'll explain as we clean."

"Ah, alright then."

As Izuku headed off to the nearest junk pile to begin cleaning, something caught the corner of Katsuki's eye. Picking it up, he realized it was the piece of scrap that Izuku had initially used to block his first close-ranged explosion. Looking at it, he found something odd - there was only a negligible blast mark on the metal from the blast, which shouldn't have been the case with the amount of power he had put into the explosion. Deciding to test something, he let out an explosion where he'd previously hit it. Despite the blast being far less powerful than the first explosion, the metal warped and bent where he'd hit it.

"Something happening over there Kacchan?" He heard Izuku call out.

"Don't worry about it!"

So he hadn't been wrong about his suspicions. Noting the observation for later, he carried the metal over to the pile of junk, ready to complete the task they'd begun all those months ago.

After all, the entrance exam was in three days, and he wanted the beach sparkling.

Time remaining until the entrance exam: three days.

-Ignition-

"Well … this is it … time to make it or break it … "

Indeed … standing in front of the main building at U.A High School, Izuku couldn't but gulp at the sight before him. This was it … the school of his dreams … the place where the top heroes were made. His performance on the exams in minutes would determine whether he would join the echelons of hopefuls, whether he had the potential to be a top hero … it was time. Time to prove he could be a hero.

"Oi, Deku."

Snapping out of his trance, he glanced at his friend. While outwardly Katsuki projected confidence and assuredness, years of friendship allowed him to see the little ticks that revealed his friend's true feelings. The little twitches of his thumbs as he shoved them into his pockets … the way he slightly ground his teeth in his jaw … the tenseness in his shoulders that wasn't usually present unless it was a high stakes scenario … Katsuki was feeling somewhat nervous. Undoubtedly, he was confident in his skills to pass, but even he felt the pressure emanating from the building before them.

"What is it?"

"Let's make a bet. You know those limited edition signed All Might jerseys that recently got announced? Whoever doesn't get first place has to buy one for the other."

Ah. It seemed Katsuki was still a bit hung up over the outcome of their last bet. When the cleaning was over, they remembered the bet Izuku had proposed at the beginning. They tried to figure out a way to tally who'd cleaned more junk, but, well, they hadn't really been keeping track. In the end, they had to just declare it a draw, as they had no way of really determining a winner. They hadn't really staked anything on it, but even that fact didn't satisfy Katsuki.

Still, he couldn't help but think of Katsuki's phrasing. 'Whoever doesn't get first place' … He was really confident that one of them would be the top scorer, huh?

' … Well, we might as well now that we're here.'

"Sure. Bump on it?"

Holding out his fist, he barely waited a moment before he felt it be bumped and Katsuki began to walk off. Letting out a small chuckle, Izuku quickly caught up with his friend, stepping into the building to prepare for the written portion of the exams.

'Let's do this.'

Time remaining until the entrance exam: zero.

-Ignition-

A/N: IT'S REVEALED! THE PAIRING IS … KATSUKI X IZUKU!

Okay okay settle down, that was a JOKE. Keyword: JOKE! Oh boy, hope I didn't alienate too many readers before they read this message … wait, what do you mean viewership skyrocketed and then dipped … fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu -

Anyways, how'd you guys like the chapter? Did I do well on the mama Inko scene? How about the fight scene? I felt that it came out pretty well! And a bit of foreshadowing for the future at the end of it!

On another note, damn, I doubled my chapter size, again. First chapter was barely 2k words, the second chapter was 4k, and now this one is 8k. Sooner or later this pattern has to stop xD

This chapter took about ten days to write. In all honesty, if I took the time to sit down and concentrate solely on writing the chapter, I could have probably hammered it out in similar time to the second chapter. Sadly, the bane of my existence, gacha games came back. Castoria is nigh all you FGO players, and I need SQ to get her. Along with that, one of my friends was experiencing a lot of personal issues and I had to help her with them, which further hampered writing progress. Last but not least, exam season is coming soon. I'm not too worried about them, but … well … they're exams. What else do I need to say?

Feel free to leave any corrections and nitpicks in the reviews, I'd love to see them! Up next, the entrance exams! Till then, DestinySkyDemon, signing out!