Chapter 3

A/N: Poor Katsuki just wants to be a gruff badass, and stupid Deku keeps being unreasonably adorable and making him lower his defenses.

Over the next few days, Izuku settled into his new high school routine. In the mornings, it was just like any other school; they were taught English by Present Mic, along with all sort of normal subjects. However, their afternoons were dedicated entirely to hero work. For at least an hour every day they had a physical conditioning class conducted by All Might. It was beyond bizarre to see his mentor dressed up in a tweed suit, trying to pass himself off as a normal teacher. However, Izuku managed to look kind of cool and aloof for once; he was one of the few students able to talk with All Might without stammering. Luckily Izuku'd had the benefit of being coached by All Might for nearly a year, else he'd be the biggest fanboy of them all. Of course, the afternoon hero courses weren't just physical. They also learned about laws and regulations of heroics, how to run a hero agency, and first aid, amongst other things. Plus, every once in a while, they'd have a special event, kind of like the one happening tomorrow.

"Aren't you excited Kacchan? Battle training sounds really neat! I wonder what All Might's going to have us do."

"I'm looking forward to crushing all those extras in our class, yeah."

Izuku turned his gaze skyward in exasperation. After nearly a week of high school, Kacchan still didn't know a single one of their classmates' names. Plus, he continued his trend of calling them 'extras' to their faces. All in all, it didn't win him too many friends. It was really strange for Izuku to be more popular than Kacchan, but at least Kaminari and Kirishima didn't seem too put-off by Kacchan's prickliness.

The two of them were on the train again. Kacchan was standing unnecessarily close, holding onto Izuku's backpack again. Izuku wasn't sure what was going on. He and Kacchan didn't talk much at school. Kacchan preferred to read or do homework during lunch, even though he'd sit with them all. Instead, Izuku started spending more time with his classmates, particularly Iida, Uraraka, and Tsuyu. However, the more he hung out with his other friends, the more Kacchan sulked, even though Izuku always tried to include him, and was inevitably turned down. Then, as soon as school let out, Kacchan crowded close to him on the train. The handle of Izuku's backpack became Kacchan's favorite place to hold onto, and they'd spend their commute home brushing against each other before heading to one of their apartments to do homework.

"You shouldn't be so cocky, Kacchan! Everyone in our class is amazing, and we all passed the same entrance exam. You never know what they might be capable of."

Kacchan scoffed. "Tch. As if any of them could even make me sweat." He leaned a little more of his weight against Izuku.

His pulse quickened. "O-okay. If you say so, Kacchan." He hoped his voice didn't tremble from the odd feeling in his stomach.

Izuku really wasn't certain what was going on with them… but he knew it was nice. Standing there with Kacchan leaning against him- it gave Izuku a weird feeling in his chest. It was like his ribs were too tight, but also like he could float away if Kacchan weren't tethering him down. Every time they brushed against each other, his skin tingled and he had to suppress a shiver. Izuku had always been in awe of Kacchan, but this sensation was new. It was strange and uncomfortable, but in a good way. He wanted Kacchan's eyes on him, and he wanted Kacchan to stand too close to him. So it was beyond frustrating when Kacchan scowled at him and retreated whenever Izuku brushed their shoulders together at school, but then crowded up against him as soon as their classmates were out of sight.

Plus, tension had been building during the past week. Kacchan sulkiness got worse as time passed. Part of Izuku wanted to just throw his hands up and let Kacchan figure it out himself; paying attention to him didn't work, and not paying attention to him was even worse. However, the bigger part of him knew that he really liked the, uh- whatever they were doing. And he was afraid that if he left Kacchan to deal with it on his own, things would just blow up in their faces (that was the blonde's specialty, after all). So he thought he knew what he had to do, and he was pretty sure he had to do it soon. Izuku just… tended to wimp out every time he tried.

The problem was that after school, Kacchan was always the one reaching out to him- to grab him or lean on him or, uh, whatever. And even though it was more than just… um. Kacchan always made sure to keep things well within the boundaries of, er. The thing was, Izuku knew that it wasn't just- uh. And Kacchan wasn't dumb. He must know that Izuku knew. God, Izuku couldn't even think it, let alone say it. And anyway Kacchan was the brave one, always blazing a path ahead without any hesitation. But still, it must be hard for him to keep, uh, doing stuff when he wasn't even sure if Izuku even… you know… back.

"Oh my god, Deku. Stop fucking mumbling. People are staring at us."

Oh no. Izuku finally noticed that Kacchan was stiff as a board next to him, grip white on the support pole. People were indeed giving him weird looks, but that wasn't the issue. Izuku's mumbling was definitely off-putting and a bit incoherent, but pretty easy to decipher if one stood as close to him as Kacchan was currently. His face burned and was probably glowing like a neon light. If he'd said all that out loud… if Kacchan had heard all that, then. There was a difference between Kacchan probably knowing that Izuku knew and knowing that Izuku knew.

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could see Kacchan's jaw clench, and feel him start to shift away to put space between them. Before he could think about it, or consider the pros and cons and do in depth analysis… most importantly, before he could wimp out, Izuku's arm wrapped itself around Kacchan's waist. Oh god. If he'd thought his face was burning before, that was nothing. Izuku wasn't even entirely sure that he was breathing- nope. He was definitely not breathing. He should probably start breathing again.

"Jesus fuck, Deku. Take a fucking breath; I'm not going to kill you."

Izuku sucked in a lungful of air, and dared to peek at Kacchan through his fringe. The other boy was glowering at him, but Izuku knew the difference between his 'I want to kill you' scowl, and his 'Bakugo Katsuki is too cool to smile, so I'm scowling instead' scowl. One the terror abated, Izuku started to feel… good. Really good, actually. He didn't even notice that he was beaming at Kacchan until the blonde blushed and looked away.

"It's just a hug, Deku, not a million bucks," Kacchan muttered.

"It, uh, kinda feels like a million bucks to me," Izuku admitted shyly.

Kacchan stared at him, before barking out a laugh. "Deku that was the cheesiest shit I've ever heard in real life." Except, Kacchan shifted his arm so that instead of grabbing onto his backpack, it was slung around his shoulders; Izuku counted it as a win. He still had no freaking idea what to make of their… everything, but the weird tension between them seemed to have gone away. It was like Izuku let out a massive breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding. Izuku wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision, but he didn't regret it. How could he with Kacchan's arm a line of heat across his shoulders? Still, this might make everything go up in flames. Izuku shivered when the train hit a bump, causing Kacchan's grip to tighten reflexively. Well, whatever happened, Izuku was going along for the ride.

Their commute into school the next day was really… nice. When Izuku bid goodbye to his mom and clomped down the stairs to the ground floor of his apartment complex, he found Kacchan waiting for him out front. Kacchan had casually wrapped his arm around Izuku's shoulders as if he did that every day, and Izuku timidly put his own around the boy's waist. They'd stayed in that position for more or less the entire trip, chatting about what battle training would entail. On a related note, Izuku grinned for almost the whole train ride. However, once they got to the train station by school, Kacchan stiffened and slid smoothly away from Izuku, making his way outside.

Izuku was disappointed, but it was kind a big deal to saunter into high school like that, especially since they hadn't bothered talking about… anything, yet. He worried his bottom lip and caught up to Kacchan, who was standing by the station's entrance and looking back at him in exasperation. Heh. He'd probably been muttering again. The closer they got to school, though, the deeper Kacchan's scowl became. The blonde brushed against Izuku a few times, arm twitching as if it wanted to return to its previous spot. Izuku's breath caught every time it happened, secretly hoping that Kacchan would do it.

By the time Yuuei's gates were in sight, Izuku and Kacchan were walking so closely that their shoulders bumped against each other with every step, but still Kacchan didn't go any further than that. Izuku mustered up his courage long enough to say "Kacchan," but his words failed him after that. You couldn't just tell someone that you wanted them to put their arms around you. That would be horrifically, indescribably awkward. But Izuku miscalculated, because he'd already gotten Kacchan's attention, so he had to say something. Instead, Izuku compromised by staring at Kacchan's arm, and then the school gates, and then back at the arm, all while kind of shrugging his shoulders. He thought it was a pretty decent pantomime, but apparently his message didn't get across correctly, because Kacchan looked almost… hurt, for an instant, before his expression returned to his standard scowl, and he took a step away from Izuku.

"Fine, Deku. If the thought of-"

"No!" blurted Izuku. He had no idea what Kacchan was going to say, but there was no way the blonde was interpreting what Izuku 'thought of' correctly. Izuku's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, but no sound came out. He physically could not make himself say the words, like they were stuck behind his teeth. He was running out of time though, because Kacchan was looking more and more irritated, shoulders hunching up defensively. "U-um, you see… It's just- you. And I, also. We, that is. Uh. K-kacchan, wait!"

Kacchan didn't wait. Instead, he began pivoting back towards the school. Desperately, Izuku's hand shot out and… sort of… grabbed onto Kacchan's hand. And, uh, stayed there. Kacchan froze, but his hand reflexively tightened around Izuku's. He couldn't see Kacchan's expression, since his friend was turned away from him.

Oh god. If there was truly an all-powerful, benevolent higher power in this universe, then it should smite him where he stood. Really, it'd be an act of mercy. He—Midoriya Izuku—was holding Bakugo Katsuki's hand, and there was no way this was going to end well for him.

"Uh, I just, um. Thought. You probably don't want to. But if you did. Want to, that is…" Izuku had started out basically mumbling but by the end he'd trailed off into a decibel audible to only dormice. Stupid, stupid, stupid. God, Deku. Way to ruin everything. To make things even worse, he could feel his eyes welling up with tears. Why did he have to be such a crybaby all the time? Izuku couldn't imagine anything more humiliating than standing in front of his high school and crying because Kacchan wouldn't hold his hand. Unbidden, a single sniff escaped him, cutting the thick silence like a knife.

Suddenly, Izuku was tugged forward, but Kacchan didn't let go of his hand. His eyes darted up to Kacchan's face, and the other boy looked almost… fond. "Deku." Izuku had never heard Kacchan say his nickname so tenderly. Kacchan was probably embarrassed that he sounded so soppy, because he cleared his throat and tried to scowl. It didn't quite come out right though, still looking a little bit like a smile. "We're going to be late, c'mon," Kacchan said gruffly, before tugging him towards Yuuei.

It took Izuku a few steps to realize that Kacchan pulling him by his hand meant that Kacchan was still holding his hand, and by the time they got through the gates into school, he understood that Kacchan had no intention of letting go of his hand.

"Oh. Oh wow. Wow. Kacchan's holding my hand. Okay. No problem. Just remember to breathe, keep putting one foot in front of the other-"

"Deku you're mumbling again."

Izuku giggled nervously and cut himself off, but instead of being embarrassed he felt euphoric. He'd had no idea that his hand was directly connected to so many dopamine receptors in his brain. Izuku was walking in school, with Kacchan, holding hands, and Kacchan didn't even look angry. Well, whenever someone's gaze lingered on them for too long, Kacchan shot them a truly murderous glare that quickly sent them scurrying on their way, but other than that he didn't seem angry. Izuku's head was so far in the clouds that they'd walked into class 1A before he realized that he wasn't completely sure he wanted to deal with the fallout of his entire class seeing him and Kacchan like that.

He didn't have time to consider what to do next before Kirishima waved at them. "Hey Baku-whoa! Bakugo and Midoriya are holding hands!"

It was eerie how quickly everyone else's conversations ground to an instant halt, while all the heads in the room swiveled towards the door simultaneously.

Kacchan bristled. "Yeah? You got a fucking problem with it, Shit-for-Brains?"

Kirishima raised his hands, palms facing outwards. "No way, dude. I was just surprised, is all. I mean, I knew Midoriya's quirk was pretty cool, but I didn't realize it was so strong."

Izuku and Kacchan glanced at each other, confused. "Um. My quirk?" Izuku asked tentatively.

"Yeah!" agreed Kirishima brightly. "It must make you invincible. I mean, I can turn my whole body into stone but even I'd be too afraid of getting my arm blown off to hold hands with Bakugo."

The classroom was absolutely silent while everyone processed that statement, before Kacchan exploded. "You fucker! I'll kill you!" He let go of Izuku and lunged towards the redhead. Kirishima cackled and dodged out of the way.

Izuku gaped at the two of them for a moment, before Uraraka prodded him in the side. She and Iida had sidled up to him while Kacchan was distracted.

"So," she grinned. "You and Bakugo, huh?"

At this point, Izuku was pretty sure that his face would turn permanently red. "What? Me and Kacchan? What about us? You're wondering if we're really good friends? Because we are, you know, really good friends. We grew up together. We've always been great friends even if our relationship- I mean, not relationship. Friendship, you know? Even if it was sometimes pretty explosive. Haha. Get it? Explosive? Haaaaaa…"

Uraraka seemed stunned by his deluge of words. Her mouth opened, but she paused and turned to Iida. Iida shrugged. The girl visibly gathered herself before trying again. "Uh, Deku. Of course we know that you and Bakugo are good friends. And me and Iida don't care if you and him are friends or, um, other things. It's just, uh." She coughed. "Boy friends don't usually hold hands."

"Boyfriends," Izuku squeaked shrilly. "Who said anything about- Oh! You mean boy friends." Izuku enunciated the last two words far more than necessary. "As in friends-who-are-boys. Boy friends—I mean—friends-who-are-boys hold hands all the time." Desperately, Izuku grabbed Iida's hand. "See? Iida and I are friends-who-are-boys and we're holding hands right now."

Iida's face colored, but just as fast as the blush appeared, it drained away. He stared in horror over Izuku's shoulder. Izuku suddenly realized that he couldn't hear Kacchan's chant of "Die, die, die, die!" anymore. He gulped and turned his head slowly. In the back of the classroom, Kacchan had caught Kirishima and had one hand clenched in the redhead's shirt, and the other raised into a fist. Kacchan's eyes, however, were laser locked on Iida and Izuku's joined hands.

"Private School," Kacchan hissed out his nickname for Iida. "What are you doing holding Deku's hand?"

Iida jerked out of Izuku's grasp like it burned. "U-u-um, I wasn't," the bespectacled boy said eloquently.

"Oh yeah, totally normal friends-who-are-boys behavior, here," muttered Uraraka.

Kacchan dropped Kirishima and stalked towards Iida. "Re-ally?" drawled Kacchan darkly. "Because it sure looked like-"

"As fascinating as this all is, it's time for class to start." Mr. Aizawa was slumped against the lectern at the front of the room, sleeping bag zipped up to his chin. Izuku hadn't seen or heard him enter at all. "And actually I don't care at all about your angst."

Kacchan stopped in his tracks, scowling at Iida, and slid his finger against his neck in the classic "you're dead" motion. Iida got to his seat so fast that he must've used his quirk. Once the bespectacled boy's back was turned, Kacchan's lips twitched, betraying his mirth. Seeing it kind of made Izuku feel like Uraraka had used her quirk on just his insides, so he brushed his hand against Kacchan's intentionally as they made their way to their seats. He smiled up at the blonde through his bangs. "Thanks, Kacchan," Izuku whispered. He didn't even know what for. He just knew that despite his embarrassment, he was really happy.

Kacchan 'hmphed' and looked away, but he totally failed at scowling. Plus, his face-

"Whoa, Bakugo! Are you blushing?" Kirishima apparently had literally zero self-preservation instincts.

"Shut the fuck up, you bastard!" roared Kacchan, who lunged at Kirishima again. The redhead squawked and flinched backwards, but Mr. Aizawa's scarf wrapped itself around Kacchan and restrained him.

"Seriously!" barked Mr. Aizawa. "Shut up and sit down! I can and will give you detention, to be served this afternoon."

Their first battle trial was supposed to be this afternoon. As far as threats went, it was extremely effective.

"Great," muttered Aizawa once they were all seated and attentive. "Now that that's all taken care of, let's get started."

It had been minor torture, sitting there like it was a perfectly normal day, as though every student in class 1A weren't staring at the clock, waiting for the afternoon to come. It seemed like enough hours passed to fill three school days when All Might finally took over. In the locker room, Izuku absentmindedly wondered what everyone else's costumes would look like, until he accidentally glimpsed Kacchan's bare chest. Blushing bright red, Izuku stammered something that even he thought was incoherent, before turning back to his own locker and hurriedly donning his hero costume. He'd mainly kept the design that his mother made for him, given that she worked so hard on it, but he asked the support department for armored gauntlets and boots. Punching and kicking those robots during the entrance exam had stung something fierce.

Izuku was pretty pleased to end up on a team with Uraraka, even though she gave him a sly look like she wanted to continue their conversation from the morning. Luckily she didn't have a chance, since they were selected for the first battle. He gulped when he realized that they were going to face off against Kacchan and Iida.

"Are you nervous to fight your- uh, to fight Bakugo?" Uraraka asked as they were setting up.

Izuku frowned. "Yeah, a little," he admitted. Their whatever was so new, and he wasn't sure it'd survive a fight so soon. "But I'm more excited. I-uh, haven't told anyone in high school, but I didn't actually develop my quirk until last year."

Uraraka gasped. "Really? That's so rare."

"Yeah," nodded Izuku. "And… you have to understand, Kacchan is incredible." He looked over to see Uraraka hiding a smile behind her hand. "N-no, I'm not just saying that because of, uh, you know. And I know that he's surly and hard to get along with, but he's amazing. He's always been effortlessly strong, and unbelievably smart. He's ambitious, and confident no matter what challenge he faces. For as long as I've known him, he's always been at the top of, well, everything: grades, athletics, you name it. I've followed him around our whole lives, just to… bask in his glory, kind of. He's always been my measuring stick- my goal."

Izuku swallowed and stared at the ground. "It's kind of strange, to say it out loud, but we've been waiting for this forever. You know how quickly he judges people."

"Oh yeah," Uraraka snorted. "I've definitely seen that."

He blushed and chuckled. "He's always been that way- about everyone… everyone except for me. I could always challenge him in academics, but hero stuff? We never really got a chance to see about that. So instead we just… waited, and while we waited we became friends- real friends. And I just. I don't want him to see me the way he sees everyone else. I watch him all the time, and he's always so cool." Izuku bit his lip and shrugged. "I want him to… look at me that way too, you know?"

When he raised his eyes, Izuku saw that Uraraka was holding her hands in front of her mouth, and had stars in her eyes. "Deku," she said, and her expression morphed to one of intense determination. "We're going to win! You already are amazing. The way you took out that zero-point bot to save me in the entrance exam… it was incredible!" She punched the air, as if in demonstration. "When we beat Bakugo and Iida, he'll be forced to see it too! True love will prevail!"

"Wuahh!" flailed Izuku. "True love?" His voice was an octave higher than intended. "Haha, that's a little hasty, don't you think? We've barely even held hands. Besides, we're just friends."

Uraraka sighed. "Boys."

Luckily, he was saved by the bell (or in this case, All Might's voice). "Indoor battle trial… begin!"

He and Uraraka's eyes met, and they nodded determinedly. Using Uraraka's quirk, they floated up to the third floor, sneaking in through a window. They tried to sleuth stealthily through the hallways, and Izuku thought they were doing pretty well until Kacchan appeared in a burst of flame. He'd been prepared to use One for All, its energy humming just beneath his skin this whole time. Therefore, Izuku was able to grab Uraraka and dodge backwards without getting hit. He stared grimly at the scorch marks on the wall. He hadn't suspected that Kacchan would hold back at all, even considering their, uh, thing. But still, it was intimidating to see his hunch confirmed.

"That's a pretty cool power, Deku," Kacchan smirked. "You think it can stand up to mine?" There was a glint of hunger in his gaze, and normally that'd freak Izuku out, but right now… he understood completely. He'd spent so many years watching Kacchan and waiting, but now Kacchan's gaze was on him and him alone. Izuku thought he was just as desperate for this fight as Kacchan.

"Uraraka," Izuku said, not once taking his eyes off their enemy. "Try to find Iida. I'll take care of this."

She agreed and ran off in the other direction. Kacchan didn't even twitch. "You're gonna take care of me, huh? Got a quirk and all the sudden you became a cocky little shit."

Anyone else would be insulted, but Izuku could see how pleased Kacchan was. "I've been observing you for years. I know all your moves, but you don't know any of mine!"

"Maybe you should put your money where your mouth is, Deku!" Yelled Kacchan as he sprinted forward.

He felt the energy of his quirk thrumming inside of him, and Izuku was anxious to move. Still, he was patient until Kacchan cocked back his right arm. Izuku slid his left foot backwards, preparing to pivot the other boy over his shoulder. Before the blow could connect, though, Kacchan let out an explosion from his right hand. That didn't make sense! It was too early-

Izuku slammed into the wall. Of course. The explosion had changed Kacchan's direction, allowing him to punch out with his left hand instead. He didn't have time to think though, because Kacchan was on him in an instant. Izuku was forced to backpaddle, desperately blocking Kacchan's flurry of blows. He could shield himself with One for All so that the explosions didn't hurt, but the force of them still sent him reeling.

"Thanks for warning me that you knew all my moves, Deku! I figured I'd switch things up," cackled Kacchan.

Izuku scowled. Damn. His big mouth had given away his greatest advantage. Well, two could play at that game. Instead of blocking the next explosion, he focused more energy to his front and let it hit him head on. Izuku rolled backwards with the force of it. Sure enough, Kacchan hesitated for just a moment, surprised at the sudden change. Kacchan had backed him up against a corner, and when he completed his roll, Izuku's feet were braced against the wall. Skin crackling with power, he uncoiled and shot forward, tackling Kacchan around his middle.

The blonde grunted as he hit the ground below him, and Izuku fumbled for the 'capture' tape that would tag Kacchan out. Before he could though, Kacchan stretched his arms out above his head and used his explosions to propel himself out from underneath Izuku. Then, he used Izuku's trick and bounced off the wall towards him, but Izuku ducked in time.

Izuku took a breath and calmed himself down. This wasn't working. "Catch me if you can, Kacchan!" He turned around and sprinted away through the maze. Kacchan might be able to keep up with his top speed, but he wasn't as maneuverable as Izuku through the tight corners. Kacchan was right. He'd been way too cocky, assuming that his foreknowledge of Kacchan's fighting style and One for All would even out their gap in skill. But standing tall and blasting through any challenge had always been Kacchan's strength. Izuku did his best when he had time to plan and analyze, so as he ran he tried to strategize.

"The tight confines are both an advantage and disadvantage," mumbled Izuku. "It gives Kacchan clear lines of sight to use his explosions. It's hard to fight him head on because he can blast the whole area in front of him. But it also means that I'm more maneuverable than him, and with my quirk all I need is one direct hit to incapacitate him." He thought about how he'd caught Kacchan off guard before, by kicking off the wall. "Huh… that might-"

"Deku!" Izuku jumped before he realized that it was Uraraka, speaking through their headsets, not Kacchan. "I found the bomb. It's on the middle room on the fifth floor, but Iida removed everything from the room that I could use my quirk on. Come up when you get the chance!"

Before he could respond, there was an explosion in front of him, as Kacchan appeared from around the next corner. "Stop running, Deku!"

Instead of stopping, Izuku jumped up and somersaulted over Kacchan. The flabbergasted look on his face was priceless. When he was completely upside down, Izuku kicked off the ceiling and punched downwards. Kacchan managed to avoid getting decked in the head, but Izuku grazed his front and sent the blonde stumbling. He pressed the advantage, advancing on Kacchan. The other boy was much better on his heels than Izuku had been, and used his explosions judiciously to keep from being overwhelmed. Still, he was clearly disadvantaged. Kacchan could only create explosions from his palms, and so he had to move his whole arm to aim for Izuku's constantly shifting position.

Izuku stepped up onto the wall and kicked out with his other foot. Kacchan blocked that, but Izuku landed a punch onto the boy's shoulder. Because of the awkward angle, there wasn't enough force for it to be debilitating, but even a glancing blow strengthened by One for All would majorly smart. "You have to point and shoot, Kacchan, but I can strike from any direction!"

Kacchan didn't reply, too busy keeping track off Izuku's erratic, springing movements. He was wearing Kacchan down. He was going to win! Finally, Kacchan overextended himself. Izuku had tripped him up so that he was stumbling backwards, and had gotten inside his guard. There it was, his chance! Izuku's fist was cocked back; a punch to the face would-

His punch didn't connect. It wasn't because Kacchan blocked it; Izuku's plan had been perfect. He'd… hesitated. Despite it all, Izuku didn't want to hurt Kacchan. He could've knocked Kacchan out, but head blows were dangerous even without taking One for All into account. Kacchan hadn't needed more than that split second of indecision to create space between them. Instead of counterattacking though, he stood still, fists clenched.

"Deku…" Until this moment, Kacchan hadn't looked genuinely angry. "What the hell was that?"

Izuku flinched. He understood Kacchan's fury. If their roles had been reversed… if Kacchan had stopped just short of victory… it'd be humiliating. He didn't want Kacchan to take pity on him, and he knew that Kacchan felt the same way. "I don't know. My body just… reacted before I could think." As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. The last time something like that had happened was when Kacchan had been captured by the slime villain- one of the boy's lowest moments.

"Damnit Deku, I don't need you to pull your punches! Don't think that you can beat me without giving it your all! Just because I let you hold my hand doesn't mean that I'm going to go easy on you."

Before Izuku could respond, Kacchan ran forward. Izuku clenched his fists and prepared to dodge; he wouldn't disrespect Kacchan again. He'd end this in one blow!

When Kacchan was about three meters away, he leapt into the air, grinding all of Izuku's careful plans to dust. What was Kacchan thinking!? He was too far away to jump unaided. He'd have to put his hands behind him to propel himself forward, which would put him at an immediate disadvantage.

By the time Izuku realized what was happening, all he could do was brace himself with as much of One for All's power as he could handle. A controlled burst of flames erupted from Kacchan's boots, propelling him forward- probably at a pace even faster than Iida could manage. He grunted as Kacchan slammed into him, pushing him back, back, back. Izuku had never experienced a blow so strong, but he turned all his focus to defense. He could do it. He had to do it!

It was still jarring when he hit the wall. Kacchan, genius that he was, disengaged his boots and created explosions in his hands an instant before impact. The blasts killed his own momentum while adding to Izuku's. The collision knocked the wind out of him… but Izuku was fine. He slumped down the wall and curled up while he tried to catch his breath. The shock of the blow plus his own shock at surviving unscathed made him tremble. "Stupid," Izuku gasped. "How could I forget your feet? I was the one who discovered it in the first place."

"My gauntlets collect sweat from my palms, and my boots collect sweat from my feet. I can use them to create incredibly powerful blasts. You did good, Deku. I wasn't going to use them because it's too dangerous, but you forced me to stop holding back. Still, you're just not on my level yet."

Later, Izuku would look back on that 'yet' and be flattered. Kacchan was trying to say that he recognized Izuku's potential. In that moment, however, he was incredibly incensed. He got even more peeved when he looked up and saw the concern and guilt on Kacchan's face. It was subtle, but Kacchan couldn't hide anything from him. Izuku suddenly realized how he must look, hunched over and shaking. Kacchan was worried about him, so much that he'd let his guard down completely, so much that he was blind to the lack of pain in Izuku's expression.

It was kind of cowardly, taking advantage of that concern, but nothing pissed Izuku off more than when Kacchan was a massive freaking hypocrite. "Kacchan," he wheezed, playing up his breathlessness. "You were right. I shouldn't have underestimated you. I'm sorry."

Kacchan's gaze softened. "It's fine, Deku. I get it-"

"But you should've taken your own advice!" Izuku roared as he sprang upwards and clocked Kacchan right in the jaw. He didn't enhance his blow at all, but he was still really strong without One for All. Kacchan reeled back from the force of it, stunned. He'd be down for at least a little while. Izuku sprinted full speed towards the room that Uraraka had mentioned. They didn't have much time left.

When he got there, he saw Uraraka chasing Iida in an awkward game of cat and mouse. Before Iida could see him, Izuku started punching and kicking the columns around him, creating rubble and debris. Iida was faster than him, too, so joining in the chase wouldn't help. "Uraraka!" He called when he'd busted up enough stone. "Switch with me! Make all this float so that Iida can't run around as freely!" If Iida was forced to maneuver around all the floating rubble, Izuku and Uraraka might be able to pin him down.

Slowly but surely, Izuku's plan started to work. The two of them forced Iida into a corner, and Uraraka wrapped the capture tape around him. "We did it!" she cried, high fiving Izuku.

"Yeah!" agreed Izuku, as he reached for the bomb.

"Stop!"

Kacchan stood at the entrance of the room, panting. A nasty bruise was beginning to form on his cheek, and he had one hand extended towards them, his other holding a pin on his grenade gauntlet.

"You've seen what this does from my feet, Deku. You know that my gauntlets will be ten times stronger."

He did. Izuku gulped. Kacchan's explosions had never leveled out between his hands and feet. If he'd been capable of such an impressive blast from the latter… the explosion from his gauntlets would be truly incredible.

"You can't do that!" cried Uraraka. "Your partner is in the way!"

Kacchan just smirked. "You forget, Round-face. I'm playing the villain here." He let out a villainous-sounding laugh, before his grin grew even wider. "But sure. I don't want to kill you scrubs. That'd look bad on my record." There was a glint in Kacchan's eye, and he shifted his aim slightly, so instead he was pointing at the bomb. "However, in this game, that's a nuclear bomb. If you don't surrender, I'll blow it up."

"But that will- uh, would kill you too!" Izuku blurted.

"Maybe," Kacchan allowed. "But it would definitely kill all innocent civilians in the city. So what's it going to be, heroes? Are you going to try to win, even if it means risking millions of hypothetical lives?"

Time was ticking down. Surely they had less than a minute left in the exercise. Izuku thought as fast as he could, but he couldn't see a path to victory for them.

Uraraka clenched her fists. "No! We won't surrender!" She ran towards the bomb, and Kacchan's fingers twitched on the pin of his grenade gauntlet, but Izuku acted faster than either of them.

Everyone—Iida included—gaped at him in surprise when he wrapped the capture tape around Uraraka.

"Deku!" she cried, dismayed.

"I'm sorry," he gritted, glaring at the floor. "But Kacchan's right. Even if we dodged, even if he didn't blow up the bomb this time… we're talking about fighting a guy who makes explosions, in a room with a nuclear bomb. It's guaranteed to go off eventually. There's no way this fight ends without the whole city going up in flames."

Izuku raised his eyes and scowled at Kacchan, who appeared to be just getting over his shock. "We surrender."

There was a long silence, before All Might's voice sounded over the loudspeakers. "Ah, in this round… victory goes to Team D!"

Uraraka huffed and ripped the capture tape off, stalking out of the door angrily. Iida had also removed his tape, and seem unsure whether to congratulate his partner or scold him. "That was very unheroic! Although, I suppose we were villains and I am very glad to win. Thank you! But… were you really willing to explode me?" Iida asked plaintively.

Kacchan barely glanced at him. "Fuck off, Private School. I want to talk to Deku."

Iida meeped and retreated, throwing an apologetic look over his shoulder at Izuku.

Izuku couldn't even look at Kacchan. He was furious at himself. He'd forgotten all about the capture tape until the very end. If he'd used it on Kacchan instead of being self-righteous and punching the boy, then he and Uraraka would've won the challenge. Kacchan must think that Izuku was a total idiot.

Kacchan's feet entered Izuku's field of vision. "Hey Deku," he called. Izuku looked up. There was a weird glint in Kacchan's eyes that Izuku didn't recognize. "I'm pretty pissed. That Rocket Thrust was my second-best move and you shook it off like it was nothing. I'm fucking furious that I had to use a dirty trick to beat you." Kacchan smirked. "But, then again you had to resort to tricks to beat me so I guess we're even."

Izuku finally understood what he was seeing. We're even. He didn't just mean even… he meant equal. The strange look in Kacchan's eyes was respect.

Izuku's bottom lip trembled, and his eyes watered. "K-Kacchan…"

Kacchan blushed and reached out hesitantly, like he wasn't sure what to do. After a moment, he decided on ruffling Izuku's hair. "Jesus, Deku. It was hardly even a compliment. Don't cry about it or anything."

Izuku gulped and wiped at his eyes. "R-right. It's just- Kacchan, we studied a lot together in middle school. I know it made me do my best, and… it did for you too." Tellingly, Kacchan didn't deny it. "So, let's do that again now in high school. Let's get stronger together, so that the next time we face each other… neither of us have to hold back!"

Amazingly, Kacchan smiled at him- a real smile, not a smirk. "I look forward to it, Deku."

When they got back to home base, their classmates were waiting to congratulate them. Kirishima and Kaminari gushed over Kacchan's performance, while Tsuyu pulled Izuku aside.

"That was amazing. Ribbit. I wouldn't have lasted two minutes against Bakugo and you beat him, kind of."

Izuku chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, thanks, Tsuyu. I still lost though."

"Even so," interjected Yaoyorozu. "Your logic was correct. Fighting with Bakugo in the same room as the bomb would have been inexcusably reckless. Any real hero would've made the same choice as you."

"Yeah," agreed Uraraka, who was looking sheepish. "Ah, sorry for getting mad, Deku. I was so pumped up about the challenge! But Yaoyorozu's right. It was reckless of me to keep fighting like that. If that had been real, and you hadn't stopped me, I would've gotten everyone killed."

"Oh! Thanks Yaoyorozu! Thanks Uraraka!" beamed Izuku.

"Plus," Kaminari called over from next to Kacchan. "You totally kicked Bakugo's ass! He didn't stand a chance against- ack!"

"Say that to my face you bastard!" roared Kacchan, who had a fistful of Kaminari's shirt.

"Midoriya's quirk is rather impressive," agreed Yaoyorozu, as if there weren't any commotion going on behind her.

"Students!" cried All Might, shocking Kacchan into dropping Kaminari. "Such comradery! It's truly commendable; however, it's time to analyze Team A and Team D's challenge."

The class proceeded to discuss their battle, although much of the conversation was focused on Kacchan and Izuku's individual spar. Pretty much everyone was impressed at their fighting prowess.

"And now," began All Might. "The time has come to award the title of match MVP! For the first battle, the MVP is… Midoriya Izuku!"

His mouth fell open. "Wha-What? But All Might, I lost!"

All Might grinned at him. "Perhaps, and trust me, I strongly considered Bakugo for his brilliant bluff with the bomb."

"It wasn't a bluff," growled Kacchan.

"But!" continued All Might. "In the end, I think you taught everyone here a valuable lesson, young Midoriya." All Might's expression sobered. "Listen carefully, students." They shifted uneasily, recognizing that the mood had changed. "You will find that there are times in a hero's career where the price of victory is higher than that of defeat. What if a villain was holding hostages, and you had to decide between letting the villain escape or saving the hostages' lives?"

All Might looked at them all gravely, meeting their eyes one by one. "A true hero understands that victory is meaningless if it comes at the expense of innocent people. Sometimes you must be willing to sacrifice your pride… you must be willing to lose for the greater good. So, for that reason, although he was on the losing team, the prize of MVP is Midoriya's!"

"A-All Might…" Izuku was openly sobbing, so much that Uraraka and Tsuyu inched away from him to keep themselves dry. "I pr-promise. I won't f-forget this!"

"Excellent! Keep making me proud, my boy!"

Izuku sniffled, wiping at his eyes. "Yes, sir!"

After the next group made their way to the arena, Uraraka got a sly look on her face. "Aw, Deku. Come over here." She pulled him into a hug, and pushed his head down to her shoulder. Uraraka stroked his hair. They'd never hugged before. It was pretty nice. "There, there, Deku. You did great."

"Thanks, Uraraka," Izuku mumbled.

"Call me Ochaco!"

"I'll call you Dead Fucking Meat if you don't stop pawing at Deku."

Izuku was suddenly pulled from Ochaco's arms. Before he really understood what was happening, Kacchan had an arm wrapped around his shoulders and was scowling down at Ochaco. Rather than look upset, however, Uraraka grinned smugly like the canary that got the cream.

Kacchan realized that the whole thing was a ploy to make him jealous at about the same time that Izuku did, but Izuku wrapped an arm around his waist before he could pull away. Izuku made a mental note to remember how sneaky Ochaco could be. "Heh. Thanks for, uh, rescuing me Kacchan," Izuku teased.

Kacchan glowered mutinously, but his arm didn't leave Izuku's shoulders. "Whatever, Deku," he muttered.

As they settled in to watch the rest of the matches, Izuku couldn't help but smile to himself. Today he'd held Kacchan's hand, earned his respect in battle, made All Might proud of him, and impressed a bunch of new friends from class. He was one step closer to achieving his dream.

A/N: Hello everyone! So this is the fluffiest thing I've ever seen, and probably will be the fluffiest chapter of this fic. Things take something of a more serious turn next chapter, where PLOT™ starts happening.

There will be a short update in a day or two, very brief, just Kacchan and Deku's first date!