'What's up with Kacchan?
I'm used to his mood swings.
But this is something else entirely.
It's almost as if he's throwing a child's tantrum…
Looks like Kacchan can be cute in his own way too.'
Staring in awe for what was probably a simple exercise for Kacchan, Izuku wondered what it'd be like to practice with his own quirk so casually. The emerald student couldn't wait for the day when he would be able to activate One for All and use various non-dangerous levels.
Smiling happily to himself, Izuku watched the bomber hoping he wouldn't catch him staring. Katsuki was always calmest when using his quirk. It was like the only thing that ever seemed to fully distract him or clear his head-
"DEKU! Stop fucking watching me and figure out your own damn quirk!"
Eyes widening at being caught while stealing a glance at Katsuki, Midoriya tried his best not to stutter as he heavily blushed. "Ah! Yes! Sorry Kacchan. It just looked like a lot of fun, and you looked really cool. I'll get to work right away!"
Now concentrating intently on his partner's orange, Izuku tried his best to not think of Kacchan, and discover a thought process that would prevent him from using a dangerous level of One for All. Mumbling quietly Izuku spoke aloud the different ideas in his head in an attempt to work out the best possibility.
"Scrap the microwave idea entirely as it's obviously not working… Maybe I could think of someone else when I activate One for All. Like my mom or Ka- No. Not a good idea… What to do... Maybe using different levels of my natural muscle strength could carry over into different strengths of the quirk? For instance, I use 10% of my actual muscle strength when squeezing, and if I use One for All with that muscle memory it might not use the full power of One for All."
Though Izuku had still been staring hard at the orange throughout his entire speech, the emerald student had taken to pacing while murmuring wildly to himself. The pacing had slowly drawn in Kacchan's interest, until he'd stopped his own drills entirely to place a hand on Midoriya's shoulder.
"Deku. Stop fucking pacing and just talk with me about what's going through your nerdy mind."
Heat flamed through Izuku's face at the close proximity of himself and Kacchan.
"Ka-Kacch-Kacchan! When did you-" Taking a deep breath, Izuku turned around to face the bomber, trying to will away his blush.
"Well… My idea- it was that I might be able to control the amount of power behind my quirk by adjusting the amount of muscle force I use… I know it doesn't sound like much, but I'm hoping that I can make it work…" Izuku trailed off, nervously glancing to the side as he waited for Katsuki's usually explosive response.
"It could fucking work," Kacchan's voice was harsh per usual, but there was a light behind his eyes that usually wasn't present. "But if you for a damn second think it might fucking hurt you, stop. I don't want to exert any extra fucking energy getting Recovery Girl to you."
Nodding lightly, Izuku pulled One for All into his right hand. Both Kacchan and the emerald student were intently staring at the fruit in his palm, wondering with deep fascination if it could really be this simple. Drawing in a deep breath, Deku finally released his quirk as he lightly squeezed the orange in hand.
For a moment, the partners stared on together unblinkingly before realizing that it wasn't that simple. Nothing was happening, and the orange was in tact still. This idea had been just another bust.
"Fuck! Dammit. I thought it could fuckin work." Kacchan exhaled the breath he'd been holding with a string of curse words. Izuku continued staring without processing.
'Why didn't it work? I was positive it would. I didn't turn off One for All. I could have sworn I'd used it. Didn't I use it? Where did the power go if I did? Wait… The power. It dissipated when activated without harming me.'
The small boy's mind was reeling with questions before it finally hit him. "Kacchan! It did work! I used my quirk without getting hurt! It was just at, well… a really low output!"
A grin erupted on Izuku's face, his arms shooting up in the air the orange dropping onto the floor, and Katsuki couldn't help the ecstatic smirk that erupted on his face.
"So you mean to fuckin tell me, that in the span of three days you're able to use your damn quirk without harming yourself. Granted it's fuckin useless at this level, but it's a damn good start! We can get to work in no time."
Izuku's heart sank at the quick realization that Kacchan might only be interested in his progress because they were partners and not him personally. Breathing in deeply, Izuku forced out his continuous smile.
'It's okay… this is a start. He's not yelling with ill intentions which means we're going somewhere positive…hopefully.' The emerald student couldn't block the slightly negative thoughts from his head, but with this new turn in store. They might progress as friends faster than the nervous hero trainee was expecting.
"I'll keep up with practicing this outside of class time. Was there anything else you wanted to do today, Kacchan?"
The bomber looked at Izuku inquisitively, before tutting quietly to himself.
"We should probably practice sparring without using our quirks. Get used to each other's movements so it'll actually be a fucking challenge once we need to start the improvement stage."
A small smile graced Midoriya's face. He hadn't seen this side of Kacchan in a while. The bomber tended to keep his hardworking side hidden, always wanting to appear as though he were effortlessly on top.
Though most of Kacchan's strength, power, and apt mind were natural instinct, Izuku had noticed that he always paid attention and tried his best no matter how small an assignment was.
"Okay Kacchan! Let's go."
Taking up a balanced stance immediately, Izuku sat back and waited for Kacchan to make the first move. The only way he could ever last against the bomber even without their quirks was to keep a balanced head during the fight and try to out maneuver him.
Not to disappoint Katsuki moved in fast, ducking under the right block Izuku put up tackling Izuku to the ground.
"You're pretty fuckin easy once I know your tricks Deku. Next time keep your damn tricks to yourself. I remember everything."
The smirk on the proud bomber's face was almost too much for Izuku. Turning his head to the side quickly, the emerald student tried not to think about the sudden close proximity of his partner.
"I sh-shoulda kept that right hook to myself then, right? Guess I was too hyped up in the moment to think about such things." Keeping the nervous stutter out of his voice, he looked back up at Kacchan. His partner's face was mere inches from his own, and Izuku had never been so confused in his life. Since when did Kacchan's anger come off this playfully?
Izuku tried desperately to ignore the fact that his childhood crush was pinning his shoulders down while straddling him, but that was growing harder and harder with each passing second.
"Ka-Kacchan! Let's try again!"
The bomber looked taken aback for a few moments before his eyes flew wide open and he finally jumped off his partner. It hadn't even been full minute, but the close contact left both parties head's reeling.
"Yes. Let's fuckin do it again. But come at me you damned nerd. Don't just sit back. You'll learn more at this fucking point trying to attack than defend."
Midoriya was shocked for a moment. There had never been a time in his life that he could recall Kacchan even taking up the defensive, but it seemed like today was the day. The bomber slid down into a grounded stance, his arms moving out protectively.
"Come at me, dumbass," Katsuki sneered out.
For a moment, Izuku was lost on what to do, but quickly rid himself of his fears. A huge smile breaking out on his face, the emerald student took off towards his partner.
A/N: FINALLY IT'S DONE! This was way harder to write than I thought it would be, but I'm kind of happy with how it turned out? I don't know. The next chapter should be much easier to write… I hope . It'll be from Kacchan's perspective which is fun!
Hope you enjoyed!
*MeriHara*