'Kacchan isn't fighting it.
Well, he's obviously mad about it,
But he's not dead set against us not being partners for the project.
Maybe- maybe, this means he doesn't hate me.
…Or he'll start tolerating me again?
I can work with tolerance, right?
Maybe this is my chance to at least become friends again…'
It had been a long time since Izuku had actually held hope in his heart that Kacchan would ever consider talking at a normal level or hanging out with him again, even if it was only during class and for a project. It was a start and he had six hours a week for the rest of the school year to make their friendship a reality, on top of studying and progressing his quirk enough for him and Kacchan to reach the top together. Every minute of their three hours today counted, and he couldn't let Katsuki just walk away today frustrated about the partnership.
"Ok! Let's start today Kacchan!"
A look of surprise drifted over the bomber's face at Izuku's words, apparently caught off guard that he'd want to start working today.
"If today is one of the five workdays, we should definitely start figuring out what I can do to use my power at lower levels so it doesn't harm me…" Midoriya mused curiosuly, looking up at his partner, "What changes the level of your explosions, Kacchan?"
The bomber scoffed, and began staring at the clouds passing over again, leaning back onto his hands.
"My quirk and its explosions are because of the nitroglycerin like sweat I create. Obviously when it's fucking hotter and I'm sweatier, it's gonna be fuckin stronger…" The anger in Katsuki's voice slowly dissipated passing to boredom. "But you're right, I can still control the amount of burst I use. Typically, it's based off of my emotions or wants since the amount of fire I emit at the time to light the fire, will determine the type of blast."
Mumbling to himself, Midoriya went over the options he had in mind that he'd been mulling over before the project had even been assigned to them. "Maybe if I scrap the microwave method and try things with different emotions, or focusing smaller parts of my body that just an entire finger... If I could just finally use the quirk at less than 100%... But there's still the problem of not having someone or something to practice on. It'll be like the tests- tests! Maybe that's it?"
Katsuki rolled over from staring at the sky to raise an eyebrow at Izuku as if to say "okay, go on…" Hope built in the emerald student's heart at the sight of the blonde taking an interest in his ideas.
"Today what if we start off with tests like the fitness tests!" Too excited about the possibility of working with Kacchan today, Izuku began pacing using large hand gestures as he talked excitedly about the project to progress his quirk. "Just like during the fitness exam Aizawa held on the first day of classes. If I try out different ideas to use my quirk without hurting myself, I might be able to slowly adjust until I can!"
Narrowing his eyes quickly, Katsuki scoffed, "but you still hurt yourself, dumbass. Your finger was out of commission and had to be healed by Recovery Girl. We can't have you sent to the nurse's office every time you try a new fucking idea."
Midoriya's eyes darted away, the hope that had built in his heart sinking quick, "I know, Kacchan. But I don't know what else to do besides just test out everything that comes to mind until I finally find a result that works…"
Izuku didn't know what to do by this point. His idea of the microwave obviously wasn't working, what else could he think of? Besides deciding where to concentrate his quirk, he didn't have much control over it. Plus, it was difficult for him to focus while Katsuki was here. The excitement about being able to work with Kacchan again was a little too much for Izuku to process at the moment.
"Deku, you dumbass. Have you never done any research on training strength enhancement quirks? You adjust by trying NOT to fuck something up completely while still using your quirk."
What was Kacchan talking about? Of course he'd done a lot of research, but there was nothing on All Might's quirk because it wasn't public knowledge. Plus, All Might was never much help on explaining how to adjust his levels besides saying "good luck" or "you'll figure it out".
Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Katsuki continued, "You're supposed to train your quirk, activate it without using it for ill intent and adjust to the feel, level, and shit. I bet anything based off how you fucking use it, it's only ever been when you absolutely need to and with the intention of smashing something to fucking pieces."
Holding out his hand, Kacchan lit tiny explosions in his palm. They almost looked like fireworks and the emerald hero was mesmerized by how pretty the bomber's quirk was when he wasn't using it with ill intention towards something.
"No one starts with perfect control over their quirk. I blew up all fucking kinds of shit on accident testing it out when I was a kid. Didn't know what I was fuckin doing most of the time, but it gave me a better understanding of my abilities and limitations." Kacchan ceased the mini explosions before sneering at Izuku once more. "Now fuckin try and activate your god damn quirk. Keep it up till it's a muscle memory or whatever, but do not fucking use it one anything or so help me. I do not want to drag you to the god damn nurse's office cause you destroyed your arm or some shit."
Though Midoriya was still quite nervous and wary of Kacchan's mood swings, he was starting to feel calmer around him. Relaxing, Izuku activated One for All in one of his fingers and held the power there. After a few moments, he restlessly stretched out his fingers and then pulled them into a fist. After repeating the motion a few times, he released his new quirk.
To the hero trainee's amazement, he was fine. Perfectly unharmed. Izuku had never thought to adjust to the feeling of One for All this way, and he was astounded that the route to understanding All Might's quirk could be as simple as this. Maybe the fear of knowing what happens when he activated his quirk deterred him from the idea of practicing all together.
He'd definitely reached an achievement, but he wasn't done yet. He'd need to activate and deactivate without using the quirk until it was muscle memory. From there he should be able to have better control over how much power he uses with One for All. Dazed the emerald hero looked up at Kacchan, only to be taken aback by the smug look that seemed to wash over the bombers face. The last thing Midoriya had expected from his partner was for him to be happy about any improvements.
'Kacchan… why are you so utterly confusing,' crossed Midoriya's mind as he smiled despite himself. However, as soon as the smiled graced Izuku's face, the bomber wrenched himself off the floor and grabbed his bag.
"Great. Now that you're able to do this, it means we're fuckin done working together today. Practice more. Don't. Fucking. Use it. I'm going home." Traipsing past Midoriya, Katsuki headed for the door to leave the roof.
"Ka-Kacchan! Wait!"
Kacchan whipped around, glaring hard at his partner. "What fucking now, Deku!?"
Nervously biting his lip, Izuku's eyes darted to the ground. "Could we… possibly walk home together? If you aren't staying, I should go home too then. I mean, this was our last class and we are neighbors…"
His voice trailed off towards the end, and Kacchan seemed livid.
"Just because we're partners," Katsuki ground out. "Doesn't mean that I want to spend 24/7 with you Deku. We aren't fucking friends, got it? I just don't want to fucking fail this project."
And with that, he stormed out. He left the roof leaving Midoriya to mull over his thoughts.
"Did I do something wrong?"
He spoke the words aloud, willing for someone to answer the question he'd been asking for years. What had he done for Katsuki to revoke their friendship. At first he'd thought it had been because he was quirkless, but that obviously wasn't the case any longer.
What in the world had he done to make Kacchan hate him so?
Maybe once Kacchan could see him as something other than a quirkless nuisance, they could be friends again. Maybe once he can control One for All he'll have the nerve to at least ask his partner why he decided to hate him so vehemently.
AN: Sooooo... to anyone who may have read the accidental upload of the unedited version, I'm sorry . I'm not sure how I managed to do that...
I'm quickly noticing that I much prefer typing Kacchan's inner perspective more than Izuku's, but that's ok. I think it's because I think of Izuku as super innocent, where as Deku is like Kacchan's playtoy? I don't know how to explain it... It just means that next chapter will be hella gay tho. Well... not as gay as I'd like. I'm saving that until they can finally fight with each other c:
On another note, I'm kind of starting to find a writing style I like? I'm not sure just yet. We shall see where the next couple chapters take us.
Hope you enjoyed everything so far! :D
*MeriHara*