A/N: Here's another update for you all to enjoy. So, I am jumping around in this chapter a little, so I apologize if its confusing or hard to follow. In my mind it makes sense but if you are having trouble following let me know so I can try to fix it and answer questions. And once again, thank you for your comments, they really do keep me going. Thanks, and happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia

Manliness was not just a word to live by, but instead Kirishima's whole worldview and philosophy. The unbreakable teen tried to bring a little manliness into everything he did. Bakugou needs to release his pent-up stress in explosive combat before he can simmer down? Kirishima's the man for the job. An innocent creature of the forest is about to be ruthlessly flattened by a recklessly speeding chunk of steel? He'll gladly step in and save the little floof. Mina needs to be forcibly subdued from jumping Shogi's bones? He'll take that bullet. But when his fellow classmates determine they've waited long enough and must continue, leaving two comrades behind to catch up and follow their makeshift trail of breadcrumbs? That's not manly at all and let the record show he fought that decision tooth and nail.

Sadly, he was outnumbered which was why he now followed closely behind the group with his head hung low, his guilt pressing forcibly down upon his shoulders. It was unnatural, actively choosing to leave someone behind. Especially when that someone was his main bro Bakugou and the very manly Midoriya. He kept playing the whole ordeal over and over again in his head, feeling more shame each time he did.

They waited and waited and waited for the two to come back, Midoriya's words still ringing clearly in his ears. "If we aren't back by morning you should continue on. We'll catch up." As the hours passed by so too did their hope for a swift return. Eventually, the sky cracked opened and soaked them to the bone in one of the most smothering torrential downpours he had ever experienced. To add salt to the wound, they were literally stuck in those trees during the whole course of it. Without their quirks, they had no way to get down safely and if they did get down, they would have been practically helpless against an attack of any kind.

It would have been comical, to be a fly on the wall looking in instead of the one actually experiencing it. They looked like a pack of wet dogs, their hair smattered around their heads, their clothing soggy and for some, practically see-through. Good thing Mineta wasn't there for that because of course the two wearing white were Ochaco and Mina. Sero had actually packed a little umbrella but like, it was raining sideways so that pretty much did nothing for him. By the time the rain stopped it was morning and after about an hour of waiting, their quirks slowly returned to normal.

"Okay guys, so we all agree from now on we are going to make covers over our beds at night, right?" Mina looked meaningfully to the grouchy crew around her. "Because if we are going to be stuck in those hammocks all night, I so do not need to go through that again. It was cold and wet and now I smell weird. Never again!" She shook her head with finality, leaving no room for any opposition.

"Agreed!" Ochaco chirped, her fingers raking through her short bob of brown hair in a vain attempt to get it under control. Eventually, she gave up on taming the knots and opted to smooth it back and out of her face instead. "What about Deku and Bakugou? Deku said he'd be back by now…."

"Actually, he said if he wasn't back, we should keep going." Shogi added.

"What?! No way!" She seemed affronted by the mere idea of moving ahead, and Kirishima whole heartedly agreed.

"That's not the manly thing to do. We should wait for them."

"Please, those two will be just fine. They will have no trouble catching back up to us" Mina added as she ran her fingers through Ochaco's hair in an attempt to help the brunette subdue the knots she had apparently given up on fixing.

"How will they find us then? Its not like they know their way around the jungle or anything" Ochaco wondered as Mina continued to fuss over her hair. Mina was a saint for even trying and Ochaco was glad she was there to help.

"I have an idea! I could use my tape and mark the trees with an "X" as we go. They're smart, they'll know it's a trail for them to follow."

"That's a clever idea, Hanta. I must say I was on the fence, but I believe if we leave them a trail to follow then there's no reason why we can't continue forward. Speaking of moving forward, Shogi?" Iida glanced in Shogi's direction a burning question he'd been meaning to ask at the tip of his tongue.

"Hmm?"

"How exactly do you know where you're going? You are almost as new to this place as we are so I can't help but wonder what's guiding you?"

Shogi was thoughtful for a minute before answering Iida's question. "When I was attempting to make modifications to the device, I luckily had the foresight to attach a tracking chip." He pulled out a small, metallic box with a two-inch screen on the front and a bunch of grey, rubberized buttons underneath.

"That is good thinking. Okay, with that question answered I believe as class rep it should be my call as to whether we venture on or wait for their return. As such, I will lean in favor of the majority. Mina, Sero, Shogi, and I feel we should continue forth while Ochaco and Kirishima want to stay. Therefore, we shall continue onward, while marking the trees so they can catch up to us."

"No way!" Ochaco and Kirishima spoke in tandem, both in complete disbelief that their classmates would leave the two behind.

A rare glare marred Kirishima's usually gleeful features. "Leaving them behind isn't right. It isn't about whether they can follow us or take care of themselves. We'd be abandoning them! Heroes do not abandon anyone!" He was shaking with emotion as he spoke, outrage pouring into every spoken word.

"He's right. They deserve better than that. What if Bakugou still isn't okay? We would be leaving poor Deku to just, what? Figure it out!?" Kirishima nodded along as Ochaco spoke, thrilled she pointed out something no one else seemed to want to touch on, Bakugou's mental state.

"Actually, after your friend ran off, I noticed there was a luminescent mushroom growing just above his head. I had a rather, er… unfortunate bout of hallucinations and the like after trying to consume some a few weeks, or uh, days ago. It wore off after a few hours for me and since he did not ingest any, I would assume it would take even less time for him."

"No one asked you" Ochaco ground out with more venom then anyone thought she could muster.

"Rude! Don't be upset with Shogi for giving us the facts. I know you want to stay, and I wish we could, but this isn't going to be over until we get that device" Mina retorted, her pink hands stilling in the unruly mop of brunette strands before shaking her head and continuing.

"Mina's right. Uraraka, Kirishima, we need to keep moving so we can return home." With that, Iida slung his backpack over his broad shoulders while Sero quickly taped a large X on the trunk of the great tree supporting their hammocks.

Kirishima had a bad feeling about leaving them. He didn't like it one bit.

XXXX

"Okay, okay, okay. Just… just hear me out Kacchan. There's an almost endless number of ingredients you can add to it to change its flavor and even texture! You want it smooth, stick with chocolate or caramel or something. You want some crunchies, add a candy bar or some cookies. I mean, did you know there are specialty shops that will add a whole slice of cake? Think about that… a WHOLE slice of cake, Kacchan!"

"Sounds like a whole slice of diabetes to me" Kacchan muttered as he pushed past a branch hanging in his path, leaving it to whip behind him. Izuku saw it coming and ducked just in time to avoid getting hit in the face. He continued with his train of thought as he followed, not quite as closely, behind the blond.

"Not to mention the base flavors. There's so many! Chocolate, vanilla, caramel, strawberry, mint chocolate chip… Kacchan, I miss food. Like, I really miss food. If I have to play bug roulette with you one more time, praying it won't be the poisonous kind as I throw it into my mouth, I think I might cry."

"I don't see how that's any different from your normal, Deku. Such a damn crybaby…"

"That's not nice, Kacchan!" Izuku continued, ignoring Katsuki's attempt to rain on his parade. "Anyway, there's even options for grouches like you. There's such a thing as Mexican chocolate, you know. You could throw a few scoops of chocolate in there and drown it in your spicy chipotle powder."

His ears perked at the mention of spicy chocolate and Katsuki had to admit that did sound like something he would enjoy. Not that he'd say that to the nerd. It was bad enough Deku had been droning on and on about food he missed for two days straight. No way was he going to encourage it further. Still, with the heat and humidity they'd been subjected to for several days now, a Mexican chocolate milkshake did sound good. He could even make some homemade chipotle and honey whipped cream to top it off with, crafting the perfect hot weather treat.

To be fair, he was also tired of guessing which bugs and plants were safe to eat. The food they brought had run out two days in but luckily with the help of Shogi's journal, they were able to pinpoint some safe and not so safe things to eat, but it wasn't enough information to live off of. Therefore, they'd often find themselves hopefully guessing. He hadn't gotten sick yet, but the shitty nerd tossed chunks on more then one occasion. And that was just their food troubles. They also had to figure out how and where to get water, so they didn't fucking die from dehydration. As it turned out, it rained almost every night so that problem was solved each morning when they would go out and collect rainwater from broadleaves and other vegetation throughout the terrain.

"Hey, look over there." Deku's voice pulled him from his thoughts, leading Katsuki to follow in the direction he was pointing. "That tree has the tapped "X" on it. Its been a while since we saw one. I was beginning to worry we made a wrong turn somewhere."

"Tsk. My internal compass is infuckingfallible. I could find them even without tape dispenser's little "X's" marked everywhere." It was true, he'd be able to track them down off his own gut instincts and directional sense, no problem. The fact their friends thought they needed the extra support was just fucking insulting. He'd let them know as much as soon as they caught up with them.

Five days ago, he and Izuku returned to their camp to find it unsurprisingly empty. The "X" tapped to the tree caught both pairs of eyes immediately and after some discussion they agreed it would be better to follow the group ahead instead of trying to find their way back to the dorms. Especially because of fucking course, Deku was the only one with a functioning quirk at night. It was kind of ironic really, but whatever.

At first, it was a little awkward. Izuku couldn't seem to meet Katsuki's eyes which was just fine with him because he wasn't sure he could meet the nerd's gaze either. Any exchange they had was quick and to the point, leaving them to wander in uncomfortable silence. The blond didn't mind the quiet, but he could tell it was killing the nerd, who pretty much wore his emotions on his sleeve. He knew Deku wanted to talk about that kiss, but he wasn't even sure what to say about it. He had no clue what led him to do it, but he recalled how he felt like pandora's box had been opened immediately after the fact.

Suppressed feelings and desires crowded around in his head and suddenly he was noticing things he refused to acknowledge before. Things like how Deku drooled a little in his sleep and when he woke up in the morning there was almost always a dried trail leading from the corner of his mouth to his chin. The way his entire face lit up when he talked about Heroes, especially Almight. Then there were his cute freckles. He knew they were all over his face but due to recent events he could now attest to them thoroughly covering his arms and legs and likely his back and chest too. Then there was how Izuku seemed to love animals almost as much as that extra Koda did.

Any time they found any kind of animal, even what he now referred to as the squirrel demons, little fuckers who looked like squirrels, but their claws were long and fierce and their fangs were jagged and disproportionally huge, Izuku always pointed it out with enthusiasm. In some cases, such as with the squirrel demons, he tried to pick them up to pet them. Needless to say, Deku was gifted with four-inch claw marks raked across his forearm and two, needle sized holes in that fleshy part of his hand between his thumb and index finger. He told him not to try and hold them, but Izuku insisted, damn nerd.

For every little thing he noticed, an unfamiliar feeling would accompany it. He was becoming accustomed to the nerd's mumbling voice, constantly going on about something or other, lately food. One time it grew quiet long enough that Katsuki actually stopped in his tracks to check for Deku, feelings of worry racing through his blood, causing his heart to momentarily stutter. He found him not too far behind, sprawled on his stomach with Shogi's journal in hand and writing furiously as he ogled an unusual looking plant. To be fair, it was strange with its silky, purple leaves which jutted out of an especially thick, eggplant colored stalk. The leaves themselves were long and fuzzy, while some kind of golden dew collected on its surface. The leaves were also harboring a bunch of tiny black bugs, all of which congregated around the pools of the dew.

Sometimes he'd catch himself thinking back to their kiss, the memory causing warmth to bloom in his gut. He wasn't used to feeling that way about anyone and was less then pleased with his hormones choosing now of all times to become active. Still, a foreign sense of longing seemed to invade his senses during those times and at some point, he started wondering if Izuku thought about the same kind of things. If he did, he would never admit to it. That left Katsuki with two options. He could shake it off and deal with his feelings silently or he could corner the nerd and force him into a confrontation of sorts. Katsuki did like confrontation, so it really wasn't a difficult choice to make.

He recalled how the two of them were sitting across from each other, eating what was left of their packed food. Izuku was munching on a matcha tea flavored Kit Kat bar while Katsuki took a few swigs of his water. When Katsuki finished, he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, collecting the leftover moisture from his drink. He noticed how Deku seemed to have watched the movement with interest before realizing he had been caught, and quickly diverting his eyes back down to the green candy bar in his hands.

A smirk tugged at the corners of Katsuki's lips, and deciding it was then or never he leaned into the other, capturing Deku's chin between his index finger and thumb and pressing his lips against the nerd's. A surprised "eep" came from the smaller teen, Izuku pressing his lips together into a hard line. Katsuki persisted, going as far as wrapping his free hand around the back of Deku's head, his fingers carding through the nerd's dampened, green tresses. Katsuki waited patiently for a little give from the other, and finally, finally finding it when Deku's rigid body relaxed and his lips melded with Katsuki's instead of fighting them.

Heat creeped over Katsuki's face, transforming his normally pallor complexion into a bright cherry red. A peek from his eye told him Deku was in the same state but despite that he felt the other hum… contentedly? Yes, contentedly against his lips. He felt as Deku tentatively shifted his body, inching closer to Katsuki so he could place his open palms against Kacchan's chest. At first Katsuki was worried the nerd was going to try to push him away, but he didn't. Instead, for a little while at least, they were able to just enjoy each other. The feeling of Izuku's soft and warm lips, the very distant scent of mint mingling with the hint of green tea still lingering on the smaller teen. The way his green curls wrapped around his fingers and the feeling of his impressive bicep beneath Katsuki's roaming touch. It wasn't nearly as impressive as his own of course but he still had to give credit where it was due.

When they finally broke apart Izuku looked dumbstruck, skittish even while Katsuki felt smugly satisfied. He wasn't sure where it was going to go or how long it would last, but for the time he was content, happy with what seemed to be a new chapter for both of them.

"Kacchan? Hey Kacchan, are you listening to me?"

Izuku calling him had broken Katsuki from his silent reverie and he quickly turned to pin the nerd with an expectant glare. "Haah? What are you going on about?"

Izuku continued, exasperated with having to repeat himself. "I'm trying to tell you about how I want to eat new foods when we get back home. I feel like I've taken it all for granted, you know?" His overly earnest expression and serious tone about such a simple subject was frankly cute and endearing. Funny how he never noticed how adorable Deku could be sometimes.

Katsuki smiled knowingly. "I think I could concoct a few new things for you to try when we get back home."

Izuku found his Cheshire grin to be very suspicious. "Spicy?"

"Is there any other way to eat food?" The blond thought that much would have been obvious. Deku frowned disapprovingly before sticking his tongue out at him and continuing onward, the little shit. With a sigh, Katsuki relented, "Yeah, yeah okay fine. I'll make you some of that sweet shit you like but only if you at least try the spicy stuff."

That caught Deku's attention, and he stopped mid step over a fallen branch to inquire further. "How spicy are we talking, Kacchan? You know I don't like spicy."

"For you, it'll probably feel like your fucking taste buds are burning off. For the rest of the world, it could be categorized as medium heat."

"I'm not a wimp Kacchan. I can handle medium heat."

A laugh, and Katsuki was retracing his steps back to Deku. He kissed him lightly before pulling away to whisper, "We'll see about that, shitty nerd."

Izuku rocked up to his toes and returned Katsuki's kiss, his lips lingering before making a declaration of his own. "Challenge accepted" he whispered back into his ear, nibbling slightly on his lobe and bounding off to find the next "X."