For Want of Izuku's Toe Joint

by Raeigh

Since he only had one joint in his pinky toe, the doctor explained, there was a very high chance his quirk would manifest eventually. Years passed without any sign of it though, leaving Izuku to wonder if he could become a hero even without a quirk. Nevertheless, Izuku does have a subtle, but extremely powerful ability - the kind that could make him the greatest hero of all time.

8. Chapter 7

Ch 7

A/N: I realized that people anglicize Katsuki's surname to "Bakugou," not "Bakugo" as I've been doing. I'll go back and fix that… um, eventually.

When Izuku arrived at the address that All Might sent to him, he couldn't help but boggle. It was actually a bit more modest than he'd expected. There weren't any frills, or signs anywhere proclaiming that it belonged to the number one hero. Still, for a kid who grew up in an apartment complex, it was incredible that someone owned a whole huge building and only used it to exercise without being gawked at.

Feeling a bit intimidated, Izuku approached the door and knocked tentatively. It opened and one of All Might's blue eyes peeked out. "Get in quickly. No one knows that this place belongs to me. I'd like to keep it that way."

Izuku slipped inside and gawked at his surroundings. Every gym he'd ever seen had been designed for multiple people to use simultaneously. However, this room obviously was not. There were only one of each kind of exercise machine, pushed to the sides of the room. Most of the space was dedicated to an open floor dojo, though a running track wound around the perimeter.

"This is..." Izuku goggled.

All Might chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "It's a lot, yeah. I can't really work out with other people, or else it just becomes a show. Especially now that I'm injured, I don't want to waste my strength putting on a performance for bystanders.

"Oh, right." Of course All Might couldn't exercise in company. How would he explain his smaller form and reduced strength?

"So, young Midoriya, what was it that you wanted to show me?"

Izuku perked up. "Well, I think I found out a new trick to One for All, but it's hard to test out by myself." He proceeded to explain his theory about using their quirk's energy in its inert state to bolster his defense. "But there's no good way to find out if it's working other than to throw myself in front of a car or something, and that'd be super irresponsible."

"Right you are, my boy," chuckled All Might. "Your brilliance never ceases to astound me. I never bothered with something like that, just enhanced my strength to the point of near invulnerability. That would've been handy when I was younger though."

"Thanks, All Might!" blushed Izuku.

"Okay! Let's get started!" Smoke drifted up from All Might's shoulders as he grew into his stronger form.

Izuku nodded, turning his attention inwards. After activating Full Cowl, he focused on threading the energy throughout his body. He imagined it wrapping around his bones and tendons, and pooling just underneath his skin like padding. When he was ready, Izuku gave his mentor a thumbs up.

All Might cautiously leaned down and punched his shoulder. Izuku barely felt it. Grinning, his mentor circled him, blows getting gradually stronger. It took a while, but inevitably Izuku found himself gritting his teeth at the force of them. Just before it genuinely started to hurt, All Might stopped and faced him.

"Incredible, my boy! It seems that you can withstand nearly a quarter of my power."

"R-really?" squeaked Izuku. He had confidence that his technique would work, but it was another thing to have it confirmed.

"Really. Now, let's see how well you can hold it up in a spar."

"A s-spar?" Izuku sputtered.

"Yes! Prepare yourself!" All Might only gave him a moment before beginning.

Izuku somehow managed to reel in his panic and jump away. It wasn't at all like a real fight. All Might hit pretty hard, but it lacked a certain... intensity that he'd come to associate with fighting, even fake ones like the battle trial against Kacchan. After his adrenaline had faded, it became kind of fun. He and All Might were grinning and teasing each other through their bout.

Izuku was no match for All Might, even given the man's self-imposed handicap. Izuku's ability to reinforce his defense far surpassed his capability to enhance his strength. He could withstand All Might's punches, but his own counterattacks must feel like butterfly kisses to the man. Nevertheless, their spar continued until Izuku lost his footing, and in his surprise also lost his grip on One for All. It happened right as All Might punched at him. Oh no. Without reinforcing himself, there was no way he'd withstand twenty-five percent of All Might's strength!

The man's fist halted millimeters from Izuku's chest. "You've got to practice making that trick instinctive, my boy, lest it fail at an inopportune time." All Might chuckled. "Let's call this an important lesson about why those of us with enhanced strength must always remain vigilant. We could cause harm to others even with our weakest blows."

"R-right, All Might."

"Hm," the man said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We might also want to think about teaching you some martial arts. Right now you're more of a brawler than anything. Regardless, that is an incredible skill you developed, young Midoriya! Focus your energy on perfecting it- but not at the cost of your physical training, of course."

Izuku nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"Well, if that's all, you should probably get home and do your assignments for tomorrow."

Biting his lip, Izuku raised his hand like he would in class. All Might laughed.

"Young Midoriya, you don't have to do that when it's just the two of us."

"Heh, it's uh, habit. Sorry. Just- I had one more thing I wanted to show you, if you have time." Izuku peeked up at his mentor through his fringe.

"Go on then," said All Might, smiling indulgently.

"Okay!"

Izuku turned to the wall, setting his feet hips-width apart and bracing himself. This attack took all of his concentration, still. He took a deep breath. "Smash!" Izuku yelled, thrusting his arm forward, palm first.

Across the room, a punching bag swayed in the wind. Izuku grinned. The bag was at least twenty meters away!

"I know it doesn't look like much," admitted Izuku, "but when I figured it out yesterday I wouldn't've even been able to use it to blow-dry my hair!"

When he turned back to his mentor, he found All Might staring at him. "Um. Oh, was it… not good?" Izuku asked tentatively.

"Not…?" All Might chuckled and shook his head. "My boy, I've had this quirk for over a decade, and I never even imagined that it could be used in such a way. A Smash is an expression of pure strength, when you use one hundred percent of your power and break through the barriers your body imposes on you. I never considered adapting it to a weaker form in order to get around any physical limitations. At some point I'm going to stop being amazed when you do the impossible."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's- it's nothing like your strength though. All these tricks… they're just to make up for how weak I am. They wouldn't do me any good if I could channel One for All's full power the way you can."

"You're wrong," refuted All Might. "Like you, I have always been limited by the capabilities of my body. I raised those limits by making myself stronger and stronger, but even now I have only realized a fraction of One for All's true potential. You see these techniques as crutches, but in truth they are innovations that no other wielder of our quirk ever conceived of. Indeed- I have no doubt, young Midoriya, that you will surpass me one day."

Izuku felt his jaw tremble and tears spill out of the corners of his eyes. "I- That means… it means everything to me, All Might."

His mentor clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Of course, we'll have to work on your tendency to cry every time to you get a compliment," he said gently.

"R-right." Izuku wiped at his face with his sleeve.

"Now then, I truly have kept you here too long. Is there anything else? Perhaps you've figured out how to fly or shoot laser beams from your eyes?"

Izuku hesitated. He considered telling All Might about how strangely his friends had been acting, and that he suspected his classmates might know more about their relationship they should. Too late, he saw All Might's eyes widening and remembered what the man had last asked. "N-no! It's nothing like that. I just, had something to talk about."

All Might looked relieved. "Well, what is it?"

"Um. Actually, it's nothing." Izuku didn't really know if his friends had figured anything out. He could be letting his own interpretation of the matter cloud his judgement. He didn't want to worry All Might over nothing.

"Are you sure?" asked All Might dubiously.

"Yeah," nodded Izuku. "I think it's something I want to work out on my own, if that's okay."

"Of course," his mentor said, before hesitating. "If… that is…" All Might cringed and seemed to gather himself. "I understand that you don't really have- that your, uh, father isn't in the picture. And you may have- er. Questions, about… things. Especially now that you and young Bakugo are, uh, presumably, that is, doing-"

"NO! No, no, no!" shrieked Izuku, clapping his hands over his ears. "It's not about that at all! Me and Kacchan aren't even- well, we are… but not that kind of- we haven't even kissed!" Izuku finally blurted. Oh god. Was there some way to delete this whole mortifying experience from his memory banks permanently?

"Oh thank god," All Might sighed gustily. He coughed. "Um. I mean, of course I am here for you if you ever needed it. I'd much rather you got your information from a trustworthy adult rather than some dodgy website-"

"I get it!" Izuku squeaked. "I'll definitely come to you if I ever, um, that." He had literally zero intention of fulfilling that promise.

All Might rubbed his forehead sheepishly. "Heh. Okay, okay. I'll have mercy on you." He paused. "Although I really must stress how important it is to, um, be safe, even though pregnancy isn't a concern. Remember to use a condom every time, no excuses."

"Oh my god. This can't be happening. Goodbye, All Might!" While Izuku still had a single scrap of dignity left, he turned tail and ran away like a coward. He felt no shame in his retreat. After all, it was only natural that Izuku would flee from the singularly most humiliating conversation of his entire life.

All Might laughed at his back. Hmph. Good riddance.

Ochaco kept her word, and Izuku didn't hear even a whisper of a rumor about him and All Might. His classmates still gave him the occasional odd look, but that died down after a little while. Time seemed to fly by; they were constantly working hard and pushing themselves to improve. Izuku was busy trying to increase his physical fitness and work on his new techniques, so the days seemed to pass especially quickly for him.

In no time at all, excited chatter began about Yuuei's annual sports festival. It was a huge event, so much so that other students in their year came to gawk at and try to intimidate them.

"Can you believe it?" Izuku huffed. "How incredibly rude! Who do they think they are, saying that we aren't anything special just because we've fought villains?"

At first, Izuku had been really ticked off at the blatant disrespect. They must've known that class 1A didn't come out of that confrontation unscathed. He couldn't make himself too angry though, because those other students kind of seemed liked children to him. They were just... trying to do well in school, and wanted to trash talk like they were on a playground. They hadn't seen real, true evil like Izuku and his classmates had. He knew that he shouldn't underestimate them, but Izuku had better things to do than waste his time worrying about kids like that. The only person whom Izuku hadn't been mad at was Mineta. Apparently after hearing about what happened at USJ, the purple boy had decided that heroics wasn't for him, and wasn't even competing in the sports festival at all. He tried to channel his frustration into his running.

"Forget about those scrubs," Kacchan wheezed. Even he couldn't manage to look cool and aloof during exercise. "They aren't even worth the dirt on your feet."

"Thanks, Kacchan!" Izuku said brightly. Normally he'd scold his friend for saying something so mean, but he was feeling kind of vindictive at the moment.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and the two of them were running laps around a local park. Izuku found that Kacchan made an excellent exercise partner. They were both competitive enough that neither of them were willing to slack off. Izuku ended up being pushed to his limits every time. (A tiny, tiny part of him could admit that he also enjoyed the way Kacchan looked covered in a sheen of sweat.) Unfortunately, they couldn't help each other practice with their quirks. Not only would it be illegal, but also highly irresponsible considering the destructive nature of their powers. Plus, they kind of had a tendency to get... uh, carried away.

Actually, things between him and Kacchan had gotten a little… tense wasn't really the right word. They still held hands, and occasionally kissed each other's cheeks, and Izuku often caught Kacchan gazing at his lips, like maybe he wanted to kiss more than just Izuku's cheek. Perhaps it would have been fine like that, except the other day Mom asked him whether or not Kacchan was his boyfriend, and acted like she thought he was lying when he told her no. And Izuku understood- really, he did. But he couldn't just unilaterally decide that they were, um, more than friends. What if it got back to Kacchan that Izuku was saying that, and it caused a problem?

The thing was- Izuku was pretty sure that Kacchan wouldn't say no if he asked. But… what if he did? What if Izuku ruined everything because he'd rushed the blonde? He was way too much of a wimp. The worst thing would be if Izuku asking that led to his and Kacchan's friendship suffering. Would their classmates be forced to choose sides? No. Better off keeping it to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by Kacchan sighing explosively. "What?" Kacchan asked gruffly.

"I, uh. I didn't say anything?"

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "You don't need to. It's obvious that you have something on your mind."

Izuku gulped. He really, truly almost came out and just asked, but his doubts silenced him. "Uh. N-no. There's nothing."

Kacchan looked disappointed for a split second before his expression morphed into one of annoyance. "Really? There's absolutely nothing?"

"You seem kind of…" Izuku decided that he was better off not finishing that sentence. Telling an exploding boy that he seemed tense probably wasn't the best decision. "Um. Is this- were you wanting to talk about me and All-"

"No!" Now Kacchan really looked annoyed. "I told you not to talk about that shit, especially not in public, Deku."

Izuku still had no idea whether Kacchan knew about him and All Might. The uncertainty was kind of killing him, but every time he tried to subtly wheedle information out of the blonde, Kacchan shut him down. "Well, if not that then what?"

"I don't know," gritted Kacchan. "You're the one who was thinking it. Do you have something to confess to me?"

A confession? Kacchan was seriously looking for Izuku to confess his feelings? It would've been easier to just nip this argument in the bud and ask the question that had been on his mind for weeks. Except, nothing got Izuku's back up like Kacchan being a hypocrite. Why did Izuku have to be the one to confess? Kacchan told him all the time how utterly transparent he was. The blonde must know how Izuku felt, so why didn't he just man up and ask, himself!

"It kind of sounds like you're the one that has a question for me, Kacchan," said Izuku mulishly.

This was a total train wreck. Izuku could see from the look in Kacchan's eyes that he'd just made it into a competition. Kacchan wasn't good at emotions in the best of times; asking for Izuku to ask in the first place was probably his idea of an olive branch. Izuku knew it, and Kacchan probably knew that Izuku knew it. So, in a weird way, Kacchan likely interpreted Izuku not asking as Izuku knowingly rejecting his pseudo-offer. You had to bend your mind in ten dimensions to get it, but apparently for Kacchan that was the sort of thing that passed as a confession.

Kacchan set his jaw and got a glint in his eye. Uh oh. Izuku had practically grown up with Kacchan. He knew exactly what the boy looked like when he'd decided to say something cruel. "Actually, Deku, I don't have anything to ask you. And the only thing I have to confess is how annoying I find you right now."

He didn't mean it. Izuku knew that he didn't mean it. Still, the words hurt him anyway. For a moment, Kacchan looked like he wanted to take it back, but he didn't. Of course he didn't. Since when would Bakugou Katsuki ever admit that he was wrong just to spare someone else's feelings? Izuku was so mad that he could feel his eyes prickling with tears, which only made him madder. Would it be too much to ask to go through a single stressful moment without crying? "Well," Izuku hissed. "I guess if I'm annoying you so much, it'd be better if I left."

"I could do with fewer crybabies in the vicinity, yeah."

Izuku's jaw dropped, and to his humiliation a tear escaped him. He understood. He'd decided to make it a fight, and if Kacchan was anything, he was ruthless in pursuit of triumph. "A-alright. You win. Bye, Kacchan."

He didn't even get fifty meters away before the cursing and explosions started. Izuku wasn't surprised; Kacchan hadn't looked happy about his victory, but Izuku couldn't bring himself to care. Kacchan was someone else's problem now.

The week leading up to the sports festival was miserable. Izuku's worst fears were confirmed. Not only were he and Kacchan not talking, but the strain was bleeding over into class 1A's interactions. His classmates had begun to realize that they'd only ever seen Kacchan in relatively good moods. Even the normally unflappable Kirishima was starting to look like he was feeling the strain of Kacchan's incessant surliness. No one was immune to Kacchan's fits of anger except for Izuku, who was treated to a constant and conspicuous silence.

"Man, it's not super surprising to see Bakugou being a prickly jerk, but it's really weird to see you moping so much, Midoriya," said Kirishima.

Izuku ducked his head. "Ah, s-sorry Kirishima."

"Um. Did you and Bakugou have a fight?" Ochaco asked gently.

"Yeah," he admitted morosely.

There was a pointed silence as his friends exchanged glances. "Excuse me for asking, Midoriya!" Iida proclaimed. "I know that it is rude to inquire about such sensitive personal matters. It's only that as your friends, we would like to help you, but cannot do so unless we know what caused this rift between you and Bakugou to grow so tumultuously."

Izuku almost smiled at Iida's overly-formal manner of speaking. "Oh, um. You guys will think it's stupid. I mean, it is stupid…"

"I'm sure it's not stupid, Deku," encouraged Ochaco.

"Well…" Izuku cringed. "You'll change your mind soon. Um. Me and Kacchan are fighting because, uh. He kind of… wants me to confess my feelings for him first, but I think he should have to make the first move for once." Everyone at the lunch table stared at him, blank faced. "I know! I know it's dumb. I told you that it's dumb. But—it's just—we had a fight about it, and then Kacchan said some things that were kind of mean, and I got mad and we haven't talked since."

"I knew it was Bakugou's fault," grinned Kirishima.

"No!" protested Izuku. "Well, I mean, it is a little, but… I kind of started it, too. I knew that it would be hard for him and I could've solved all our problems so easily, but I got stubborn."

"That's funny," mused Kirishima. "'Cause earlier he seemed pretty convinced that it was all his fault and that he didn't deserve you."

Izuku gaped at the redhead. "You… he said that?"

"Weeeell," Kirishima prevaricated. "Not using those exact words, but that was the gist of it. It's kind of funny that you both blame yourselves."

"Wait, hold on," interrupted Ochaco. "I'm confused, Deku. I thought you and Bakugou were already boyfriends."

"We are!" It wasn't until he said it that Izuku realized how true it was. "We really, really are. Except neither one of us can man up enough to just freaking admit it!" Now that the words were out, it was like he couldn't stop them. "We do everything that b-boyfriends would do, and he's the best friend I've ever had, and I hate that we're both so stubborn that we ruined everything."

To his utter humiliation, Izuku felt tears well up in his eyes. "A-and. And the worst part is that I get it. I know that Kacchan is bad at stuff like this, and he hates being bad at anything. That's why he always lets me make the first move. He-he's probably so much madder at himself for this stupid fight than I am. And he must've been so p-pissed at himself every time he tried to say something before it and didn't know how."

Izuku knuckled at his eyes. "B-but. It's just… It's not easy for me either, talking about this stuff. And I wish he'd just take over for once and not make me have to translate all these subtle cues and the 'do-I don't-I?' moments. Or if he'd just apologize with real words, that'd be nice too."

His friends looked stunned at his deluge. Izuku didn't normally speak so much except when he was muttering, but his mutter storms weren't half as passionate. "Of course it's not fair!" cried Ochaco supportively. "You shouldn't have to try to navigate Bakugou's weird moods. And he should definitely apologize if he said nasty things to you!"

Izuku was about to thank Ochaco when Iida's hand slammed down on the table. "Midoriya! I sincerely apologize for how rude these words will be, but I believe you are being incredibly immature!"

Everyone gaped at Iida. "Wh-what?" stammered Izuku.

"Of course, Uraraka is correct in what she said. The blame does not solely rest on your shoulders." He stared Izuku directly in the eyes. "However, if what you say is correct, then you are fully aware of Bakugou's feelings for you, and you also return those feelings! The only thing holding you back from achieving a happy resolution is your own pride." Iida bowed his head. "Please forgive my harsh words, but my brother—the great hero Ingenium!—once told me that it is foolish to surrender the war in order to win a single battle. Even if Bakugou is in the wrong, you must decide whether being right on this occasion is worth risking your friendship and relationship."

"That's… really harsh, Iida," chided Ochaco.

"No!" said Izuku. "He's right. I am being childish. I know what I have to do to fix things with Kacchan." He was pretty sure he could even get a genuine apology from Kacchan if he went about it the right way. "I just… I really wanted Kacchan to admit that I'm right. But that's not worth all this trouble." Izuku clapped a hand onto Iida's shoulder. "Thanks Iida! You reminded me that I have to keep focused on what I really care about, not just what feels good in the moment."

"I did?" said Iida. "I-I mean, of course I did! The words of the great hero Ingenium could never be wrong! I am grateful that my brother's wisdom inspired us to find a resolution to this calamitous quandary!"

"I am overjoyed to see such a display of heroic comradery in our great halls!"

"All Might?!" chorused the baffled students.

"Um. What are you doing in the cafeteria, All Might?" asked Izuku.

"Young Midoriya! If it is not too much trouble, I was wondering if you might be interested in eating your rice with me in the teacher's lounge?" All Might held up his bag of rice, which looked comically small in comparison to his huge frame.

His classmates' faces went blank so quickly that it was scary. Iida opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say cut off into a wheeze when Ochaco elbowed him—hard—in the stomach. "I wasn't going to-" Iida hissed out, before being elbowed again.

"Oh, you must be wanting to talk to Deku about his results on the fitness tests you gave us yesterday," Ochaco said just a touch too loudly.

"Yeah, definitely," agreed Izuku, and before anyone else could say something silly, he got up and followed All Might out of the cafeteria.

"What was that all about?" his mentor whispered to him.

Izuku shrugged. "They've been acting weird ever since- um. Ever since USJ."

All Might's face fell. "Ah. I hope that they weren't disillusioned with my prowess as a hero after those terrible events."

"I'm sure it's not that!" Izuku assured him. "They- they're probably just teasing me." He was pretty certain that there was more to it than that, but he definitely wasn't ready to admit that his classmates might've somehow learned about All Might passing on his quirk to Izuku.

His mentor peered at him searchingly for a moment before nodding and closing the door to the teacher's lounge behind them. As soon as they were cut off from the rest of the school, he immediately reverted to his smaller form with a sigh. "You're probably wondering why I pulled you away from your friends, so I'll make this quick." His expression sobered.

"We last spoke of this right after the events at USJ. That day… you were so burdened already by what had taken place, that I didn't want to put any more pressure on you." All Might looked at him solemnly. "But the truth is that you were right. I gave One for All to you because I intended to make you my successor to the mantle of the Symbol of Peace. You know that I don't have much time left, and there are villains out there who are waiting for the day that I can no longer protect the world. Young Midoriya… after USJ, you told me that you were willing to accept the burden of being my successor and all that it entails. You said that you wanted to be the kind of hero that brings hope to the world. Do you still feel that way?"

Izuku clenched his fists where they rested on his thighs. "Yes," he said. He thought of Tsuyu, of all the sorrow that Evil could cause once All Might was forced to retire. "More than anything else in the world, yes."

"Even more than repairing your relationship with young Bakugou?"

He looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"

"My boy," began All Might solemnly. "Yuuei's sports festival is a rare opportunity. It's a chance for you to make a statement. Given recent events, all eyes will be on the freshmen this year. You can tell the world "I'm here"."

Izuku swallowed heavily. "Like… like saying "Yeah, All Might may be gone soon, but Midoriya Izuku's going to take his place."?"

All Might nodded. "Exactly like that. This chance may not come around again, so you cannot afford to be distracted by anything, not even matters of the heart." He sighed. "I know that things between you and Bakugo are tense right now." Yeah, anyone with eyes could see that. "But I must ask you to hold off on dealing with those stressful emotions until after the sports festival has been completed, lest they hinder your performance."

He bit his lip, but nodded. "O-okay, All Might."

His mentor clasped his shoulder. "I am sorry for asking this of you. If it's any consolation, though, I am certain that your showing during the sports festival will make me very proud."

"Thank you, All Might." Izuku said, determined. "I won't let you down."

To his friend's bafflement, Izuku did as he promised and didn't talk with Kacchan before the sports festival- even though he was dying to. All Might was right. His future as a hero… it was more important than anything. Lives could be at stake, and Izuku had promised never to let anyone else die because of him. When the beginning of the festival finally arrived, Izuku was more relieved than nervous. Part of him just wanted to get it over with. Therefore, he was more nonplussed than anything when Todoroki called him out in front of everyone.

"Midoriya!"

He turned around. "Hm? What is it?"

"On an objective basis, I think I may be stronger than you, at least in practical terms."

Normally, Izuku would agree. Todoroki's quirk was incredible, and he didn't even use the power that he'd inherited from his dad, the number two hero in Japan. However, today was going to be the day that he showed the world just who Midoriya Izuku was, so he couldn't afford to be cowed. He raised his chin defiantly. "Maybe," allowed Izuku. "But I wouldn't be so sure."

Todoroki paused. Clearly he'd been expecting Izuku to behave self-depreciatingly like he normally did. "Hm. Perhaps. You do have All Might's power after all."

There was a gasp from somewhere behind him. Todoroki had blown the lid right off that thing that the whole class had been keeping a secret for weeks. Izuku fought the urge to stutter and deny it, knowing it wouldn't do any good now. Luckily, he didn't have to because Kacchan stalked up to them.

"Will you shut the fuck up, you half-and-half bastard?" Kacchan snarled.

Todoroki blinked, somewhat taken aback. "I just wanted to let Midoriya know that I'm going to beat him, regardless of whose powers he inherited."

Kacchan looked furious. "God, will you stop waving your dick around for one fucking second? Obviously you inherited a massive fucking inferiority complex from your shitty, perpetual number-two dad."

"Oh shit," Kaminari muttered. "This is gonna get good."

Now it's was Todoroki's turn to sputter. "You- you can't say- You don't know anything about me!"

"I can say whatever the fuck I want, and obviously you feel the same way, or else you wouldn't go around flapping your gab without even spending a half a second thinking about the goddamn consequences. Maybe someday you'll learn that it's not okay to say shit just to soothe your own fragile ego, but Deku doesn't need another arrogant bastard using him for that. So just leave him the fuck alone."

As if he'd timed it, before anyone could respond there was an announcement for the freshmen to make their way to the main arena. Izuku stumbled through the tunnel despite his efforts to appear cool and aloof. He was way too distracted by Kacchan's words. Another arrogant bastard…? Had he been talking about…?

Izuku was so distracted by his thoughts that he missed most of Midnight's speech. He snapped out of it when Kacchan was called up to the stage. The blonde skulked up the steps and grabbed the microphone from the teacher's hands before pausing. He seemed to center himself before mumbling something so inaudible that even the mic couldn't pick it up.

"What was that, young man? Don't be shy," encouraged Midnight.

"I'm not shy!" Kacchan glowered. "I just wanted to say… Deku!"

Izuku jumped, and pointed towards himself incredulously, as if there were another 'Deku' at Yuuei.

"I'm sorry. I said some stupid shit that I shouldn't have said, and made you sad. You're the best friend I ever had and I don't want to ruin that just because I'm an arrogant asshole." Kacchan scowled. "Oh and also I'm going to crush all you extras. You'll make great stepping stones."

Izuku could barely think beyond the buzzing in his mind. Kacchan had apologized to him, in front of thousands of people… millions, if you counted the ones watching on TV. More than that though, Izuku knew that Kacchan was trying to piss everyone off, to make them come at him with everything they had. Except, even though the other classes were annoyed at Kacchan, none of them were really taking him seriously. Some people were even teasing him for being sappy on national television. Kacchan had… he'd given up his biggest chance to make a good first impression, all for Izuku.

"All Might… I'm sorry," he mumbled softly. He looked up and met Kacchan's eyes determinedly when the other boy tried to pass him in the crowd. "Kacchan!" he called.

The blonde turned to him, an inscrutable expression on his face.

"Um. I know we're about to start, so I'll be quick. I'm also sorry for being too proud to reach out to you first. I was hoping- that is… Will you be my boyfriend!"

Kacchan's lips twitched upwards, but he only nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"WHAT!" screamed Ochaco before Izuku could reply. "After all that… you're just going to say 'yeah, sure'!?"

Kacchan shrugged. "I already said everything I wanted to say."

"Oh. My. God. BOYS!" wailed Ochaco.

Izuku blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah. Um. Good. I'm glad. It's only…"

"What, you expected something else?" Kacchan asked.

"O-oh," Izuku blushed. "Well, I was kind of… hoping for a kiss, maybe?"

Kacchan gaped just slightly, and Izuku crowed internally about truly catching him off guard.

"Well!" interjected Midnight. "As much as I enjoy this youthful display of passion—and really, I genuinely do—save it for after the sports festival, boys!"

Izuku chuckled, but when his eyes met Kacchan's, he saw that his… his boyfriend had the same determination he felt. Midnight didn't give them a chance to talk, explaining the obstacle course, but that was okay. He and Kacchan didn't need any more words. They both understood that things were resolved between them. Contrary to what All Might had said, Izuku didn't feel distracted at all. Izuku had been competing with Kacchan his whole life in one way or another, and returning to their previous dynamic—even with this new element—grounded him. He felt ready to tackle any challenges that they could throw at him.

"Just because we're boyfriends now doesn't mean I'm going to hold anything back, Deku."

Izuku just grinned. "You know what, Kacchan? Today's gonna be the day that I finally beat you."

It didn't matter what anyone else thought. It didn't matter who else had challenged him. In the end, it was going to come down to him and Kacchan. Izuku could feel it.

"You wish," goaded Kacchan.

Izuku didn't have a chance to respond before Midnight cried:

"Ready? START!"

A/N: As I rule, I don't believe in character bashing. (Sorry if this ruffles feathers but-) Honestly I think that "character bashing" is a waste of characters, and generally leads to the protagonist being portrayed as flawless and perfect while the "bashed" character is assigned blame for everything wrong in the story. There's nothing inherently wrong with character bashing in fanfic (it's your fic, do what you want), but it detracts from the narrative, in my opinion. Therefore, I will NEVER character bash anyone in this fic. However, due to this nature of this story being written from a single perspective, some people will be portrayed in negative lights. Since we don't have an omniscient narrator, we won't immediately understand everyone's motivations. It isn't just Todoroki (it's going to happen more, later on), but for example, Todoroki being a jerk here in no way signifies my opinions of him as a character, and for all you Todoroki fans out there, don't worry. His moment is coming, just like in canon.