"C'mon, Midoriya, please?" Ashido looked at him with sparkling eyes along with the rest of the girls in the class and even a few of the guys, namely those closer with Kacchan.

"Guys, seriously, I feel bad," Izuku pleaded.

"Don't. Bakugou never cares what any of us think of him. Hey, Bakugou!" Ashido called. "Do you care if we make Deku say cute stuff as you?"

"Just don't fucking record it," he grumbled back, immersed in finishing up his notes from class.

"See?" She pressed her hands to Izuku's desktop. "So, c'mon. Say it," she demanded softly.

Izuku sighed, looking to his desk with a red face, knowing he was giving them exactly what they wanted with his embarrassment. He raised his eyes to look into Ashido's. "Please… don't leave me alone right now," he said smally, voice slightly shaking with real fear that Kacchan would change his mind about not caring.

"Oh my god!" Ashido squealed. "YES. That legit made my heart skip a beat, Midoriya. You rule. Okay, who else has one?" She turned and asked the rest of the group.

Izuku pressed his forehead to the desk. It had been a week since waking up as Kacchan. Humans were surprisingly adaptable and he was already starting to get used to hearing Kacchan's voice every time he spoke, being able to reach things on shelves he couldn't before, and even touching and bathing his childhood friend's body (although he still couldn't bring himself to look down during those moments without feeling faint from the blood rushing to his head). Their forms weren't that different, after all. They were both males with bodies that could keep up with hero training. But he hadn't yet gotten the chance to adapt to his classmates' pining after the mix of Kacchan's face and his own expressions. It's not like he didn't understand it on a level. He did. But it deeply embarrassed him all the same.

"What about, what about," Kirishima started excitedly, "'I know it might not mean much… but I'm here for you. Whatever you need." The red-haired boy acted it out with perfect coyness, breaking back into his rambunctious smile afterwards.

"Oh my god, yes. That's perfect. Midoriya, go," Ashido ordered.

Izuku gave a strained whine from the back of his throat but eventually repeated the words, not needing to act to give them the shy performance they were hoping for, this time glancing to Kirishima with the last line.

"Wow, now that is just precious," Kirishima spoke with a serious expression, like he was assessing the grade of a diamond. "Dude," he barked at Kacchan, feigning indignation, "why aren't you ever this cute around me, huh? Am I not pretty enough? Do I not make you feel safe enough?" Kirishima had a way of making fun of Kacchan that was too friendly to be offensive. Izuku wished he could learn to crack that code.

"Shut the fuck up," Kacchan barked back. He began closing his notebooks and putting them in his backpack. "Why the hell are you all so obsessed with this shit?" he asked as he stood up and walked over to the group. Peering over the crowd, he looked at Izuku with confusion.

"Because, Bakugou," Ashido explained. "Okay, think of the strongest, sexiest, most confident girl you know of. Never shows weakness or distress."

"Got it," Kacchan replied immediately.

"Alright, that was a little too quick for my comfort but I'll let it slide. Now," Ashido continued, her tone changing to a more serious one, "think of that same girl looking to you with big, tearful eyes, readying herself to open her heart to you. You're the only one she's comfortable tearing her walls down around. A few tears let loose and she hides her face bashfully but can't help but look back to you for reassurance. 'I'm sorry,' she says to you softly, 'I just feel so safe around you, I can't help it.'" Ashido finished her reenactment, holding her hands over her heart, preventing it from beating out of her chest.

Kacchan's face had morphed with disgust over the time she spoke. "Why the hell would I want that?"

"What do you mean?" Kaminari asked, appalled. "That's, like, the ultimate relationship. Hard to get but once you have them they're yours."

Kacchan looked at his friend with genuine confusion. "I don't want someone so fucking weak that they're crying to me all the goddamn time. Especially if she's fucking hiding it around everyone else. Then I'm the one who has to fucking deal with all of that shit."

"Bakugou," Uraraka started with disappointment, "everyone has weaknesses. Everyone cries. Showing those things doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. So the pull is the idea that this person will only truly show all of themselves to you."

Kacchan paused, obviously not getting it. "Okay, whatever, but then how does making Deku say weird shit make any fucking sense. I've never said shit like that in my life. That's not me."

"Well, duh," Hagakure interjected. "That's what makes it fun. This isn't like you. At all. You're not cute. At all. But it'd be endearing if you were sometimes."

Wrinkling his brow in thought, Kacchan paused for a moment, but seemingly came up with nothing. "Whatever. I'm out. Don't let these idiots trick you into making out with them, Deku." He went to leave the classroom but stopped at the door as another figure appeared in his path.

"You two, follow me," Aizawa-sensei gestured to Izuku and Kacchan.

"What's going on, Sensei?" Izuku asked as he scooped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulders.

"Quirk training. Special-select for our Freaky Friday duo."

Izuku's eyes widened and his heart beat hard in his chest as he followed his sensei and Kacchan out of the classroom and down the hall. With all of the nervousness and guilt he'd been experiencing over the past week, the idea of getting to try out Kacchan's quirk was the one spark of excitement that shone through. For as long as he could remember, Izuku had been in awe of that quirk. Searing and flashy and loud and destructive it was the embodiment of Kacchan and everything that Izuku looked up to as a child. Even now, his personality might not exactly be sparkling but damn if Kacchan wasn't his favorite thing to look at when he used his quirk in tandem with his skillful, practiced movements. Powerful and unyielding, he took over everything in his space in a flash. It was breathtaking every time.

Izuku, on the other hand, still felt clumsy with One For All, no matter how much progress he made. He always felt like he was walking on eggshells, one step away from complete destruction of his body or the environment around him. It could be a scary thing to yield and he relished the idea of actually having fun while using a quirk.

Although a bouquet of balloons wasn't exactly the type of "fun" he was thinking of. But that was one of the two things waiting for him and Kacchan in one of the athletics fields outside of the school building. About twenty feet apart were forty or so rainbow balloons and a basic training dummy that students used to practice new moves on.

"Alright, you two," Aizawa-sensei said, "we're starting things simple. Midoriya-kun, all you need to do is pop all of these balloons with one use of Bakugou-kun's quirk. Bakugou-kun, you just need to knock over this dummy without injuring yourself. Strength only. No black whip. We're doing this one at a time, Midoriya-kun going first. I want you both to help each other with any tips you might have. Dig deep and think about the essence of your quirk. So, Bakugou-kun, any words of advice for your classmate?" he asked like he'd already given up.

Kacchan plopped down on the ground, crossing his legs and pressing his chin into his palm. "I don't fucking know. I could use it when I was four. I just make my palm hot and it goes 'BLAM!' It's not fucking hard."

"Very helpful," Aizawa replied dryly. "Do with that what you will, Midoriya-kun."

Izuku stared at the balloons in front of him, slowly shuffling in the cool breeze, mimicking the airy feeling in his chest. 'Hot'. That word repeated in his brain, attempting to connect to something Izuku already knew but was too excited to recognize. He dragged his fingers down his slippery palms, slick with whatever viscous substance Kacchan's body produced to explode violently. Izuku wondered if he'd be more powerful with a quirk like this since he was constantly sweating from nervousness. He raised his arm in front of him, locking his elbow and holding his palm perpendicular to the ground, facing the balloons. His left foot slid backward, bracing himself. 'Make my palm hot', he turned the words over in his mind. Was it like when he used One For All? That moment when he concentrated his quirk into one finger or a single leg could feel searing. Taking a deep breath, he put strength into his palm.

1%. Nothing. Not a surprise. The amount of power produced by Kacchan's explosions was certainly more than he produced using 1% of One For All. Their production of power probably wasn't 1:1, considering the strength that One For All could produce in the hands of someone like All Might. But it probably wasn't 1:100 either.

5%. Still nothing.

10%. More nothing. Izuku looked to his palm with concern. Going over 10% always meant hurting himself badly. This time he would feel the pain but it would be Kacchan's body taking the damage if he messed up. He clenched his eyes shut and held his breath. He could feel the sweat dripping down his forehead.

20%. Nothing still. 'Would this even work?' he began to ask himself. It was the only way he knew.

30%.

40%.

50%-

BOOM!

Izuku gasped for breath as his back slammed into the ground ten feet away from where he had been standing. He clutched his arm that had taken the full brunt of the explosion, bones reverberating like a wooden bat after striking a blazing pitch. Groaning, he sat up and looked to where he once stood, balloons eviscerated and ground behind them charred and flaming. Izuku looked to his palm and burst out in laughter.

"Wooo!" he yelled, raising both fists in the air and continuing to laugh. He fell backward onto the cool ground, exhilarated and taking in deep breaths that filled his lungs until his chest hurt. He was shaking. "Your quirk is so COOL, Kacchan!" he yelled. Izuku had just released so much power with barely any pain to accompany it. He marvelled at the idea that he could one day use his own quirk with such freedom.

"Fuck yeah it is," Kacchan called back with a cocky smile. They met eyes for the first time since meeting in Aizawa-sensei's office a week ago. Izuku felt a fire in his chest.

Izuku sat up. "Sensei, can I do it again? I really think I can go way bigger." The idea of sharing this experience with Kacchan thrilled him and lit a competitive spark in him that wanted to defy all of the bullying he had endured over the years. If he could use the quirk like Kacchan, would that show his worth as a hero, as a person? It didn't entirely matter, Izuku just desperately wanted to feel that power come through his palm once more.

"Like I said, we're starting simple." Aizawa put his hands in his pockets. "You've completed your task. You're done with the quirk for today. Any tips for Bakugou-kun?"

"Yes!" Izuku stood and jogged back to where he was, sitting back on the ground when he was comfortable with the visibility of Kacchan and the dummy he'd be facing. "You said your palm gets hot when you use your quirk, Kacchan. I equated that to the feeling I get when I apply mine, and it worked. But I had to go about halfway up my scale, way past the point where I would normally hurt myself, to get it to work. So apply the feeling you normally get in your palm to the body part you want to use, I-I'd recommend a finger to start with, just in case, and use as little power as you can. Then build up from there." Izuku smiled as he spoke, even when Kacchan's eyes started to seethe with anger. He was too excited, too filled with adrenaline to stop. "Just take your time and be calm and you'll definitely get it."

Kacchan scoffed in response. "Maybe you have to worry about that shit, but I'm not a fucking nerd that just got my quirk half a year ago. Shut the fuck up and watch how it's done." Kacchan stood and started stretching his arms across his chest, squaring up to the practice dummy. He took a fighting stance and cocked his fist.

"Kacchan, wait!" Izuku called, terror in his voice.

A tan fist slammed into the unmoving dummy.

"Fucking, fucking, fuck!" Kacchan screamed at his fist, specks of blood creeping out from under the torn skin of his knuckles. "What the hell, Aizawa?"

"If it were your own body, I would have let you learn your lesson. But Midoriya-kun's arms are already in a delicate state. If I feel that you're going to impart lasting damage onto his body then I will stop the use of his quirk."

"It would have been fucking fine!" Kacchan barked. "Just cause he can't fucking control it doesn't mean that I can't. Fucking idiot got blown back by a blast I could handle in second grade, I can deal with his quirk."

Izuku's excitement faded, floating heart dropping to his diaphragm.

"Say that after you've tried learning to use a quirk from scratch at your age," Aizawa-sensei spoke coldly. "The older you get, the harder it is to even activate a quirk for the first time. A man who grows up in the woods has a quirk to control sand. He goes to the beach for the first time at thirty years old and continues to think he is quirkless because at that point he's lost the instinct on activating it. Recognizing a quirk for the first time at fifteen is extremely rare, and mastering it after that point is nearly impossible. Yet Midoriya-kun here is showing incredible progress that surely even you have taken note of. I was hoping this switch might have a silver lining in getting you to understand what a feat that is, but, if what Midoriya-kun says is correct, it seems that the mechanisms of activation for your quirks feel similar, so I'm afraid this was fruitless. Regardless, we're done for today. Bakugou-kun, you will continue to sit out of quirk training for the next week as punishment for your reckless behaviour. Midoriya-kun, you can begin to participate starting tomorrow. Head back to your dorm. I'll clean things up here." Aizawa-sensei didn't take his eyes off of Kacchan the entire time he spoke, and even when Izuku looked back on their way to the dorm he could see his sensei facing their way, scarf blowing in the breeze.

Before Izuku could think of anything to say, Kacchan had stomped off ahead of him. It was probably for the best. Anytime Izuku tried to quell Kacchan's bad moods they only turned out worse. Plus, Izuku had a feeling that if he'd actually tried to put any of his feelings into words, tears would come with them, his mouth the floodgate to his emotions. One of Kacchan's great skills was making him cry. He was the best at it. Always had been and probably always would be. Because Izuku would always admire him. Always. Even when he said hurtful things, even when he was condescending, even when he spared no thought to the pain he was causing. He was like a beaten dog that kept running back, clinging on to how his master once was, despite that person never existing in the first place.

Izuku sighed and continued his trudge to the dorm building, eventually entering his room and slamming the door behind him. He had been grateful for Aizawa-sensei's defense, but wondered if it really applied to him. Could One For All really be compared to other quirks? Wasn't he just lucky? He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his uniform, borrowed from Kacchan so that it would actually fit. When he first changed into Kacchan's clothes the smell, a campfire on a starry night, washed over him. Now his entire room had that smell and the sensation had been lost to normalcy. He slipped on a pair of red pajama bottoms and a black T-shirt and grabbed his things to go take a shower. Whether people noticed how downtrodden he felt or not he didn't know because he ignored everyone on the way.

The sounds of his feet hitting the cold, damp tile echoed in the empty room. He stripped his clothes off again, threw them in a locker, and walked into one of the shower stalls. He stood under the showerhead and turned it on, grimacing as he was hit by ice cold water. Heart hitching and breaths deep, he waited for the water to warm up, experiencing the gradual change in temperature from icy to nearly boiling. Kacchan's skin hated cold but loved searing heat. Izuku let the water drip down his face, wet hair covering his eyes. It became impossible to tell the shower water from the tears flowing down his cheeks. Reaching for his body wash, the room shook when a large crash came from above him in the dorms. Faintly, he heard himself screaming in pain.

Kacchan… don't tell me… Oh no.