Izuku's still not a hundred percent sure why Kacchan kicked him in the park the other day, but at least she's not ignoring or bullying him like everybody else. These past few months have honestly been terrible but at least she's there with him. And Akako-chan, too, but she talks to him way less then Kacchan does and Izuku doesn't think that she honestly likes him all that much.

"Izukkun!" Kacchan's as loud as ever and, like always, she's demanding his attention, standing on the top of the slide.

"Yes, Kacchan?" His response was automatic. He flipped to the next page of his book without even glancing up and Kacchan slid down and bounded over to him.

"Don't you 'yes, Kacchan' me!" She grabbed his shirt to pull him closer. "Pay attention when I'm talking to you, dammit!"

"I-I have been paying a-attention!" He insisted, knowing that his stutter was probably not helping him convince her.

"Uh huh." She let go of his shirt after a moment, and, instead of the glare he'd been receiving moments ago, she gave him a small smile and her face radiated a kindness and tranquility he knew wasn't there. She backed away from him a few steps and her eyes left his to look at something behind him.

"What? What are you looking at?" Izuku started to turn his head to look behind him, but Kacchan grabbed his head and stopped it from moving.

"No!" Her voice lowered. "Don't look over there! They'll know that we're watching them!"

"Who?"

"Azami-chan and Chika-chan!" Kacchan looked uncharacteristically nervous and quickly let go of him again, rubbing her hands together and absentmindedly creating a few sparks.

"And I should care, because...?" Sure, Izuku knew how bad that would probably sound to a passerby, but he had no real reason to care about the other people at his school, not after the way that they'd treated him all this time.

"Because their popular!" Kacchan's response was quick and confident and Izuku raised an eyebrow at her.

"Aren't you popular, too, Kacchan?"

"No, not since you-" became Quirkless. She shut her mouth before finishing, but Izuku knew what she'd meant. "Uh, I mean-"

"It's fine, really, Kacchan." He waved his hand to assure her nothing was wrong, but his mind was racing. Was Kacchan finally leaving him? Did she finally think he was Deku, just like everybody else? No, no, this couldn't be happening- He and Kacchan had been friends forever- Why would she-?

"Izukkun, calm down." Unlike most of what she said, this came out softly. Izuku glanced up at her and realized that he could barely see her through his tears. "I really don't mean that, Izukkun. I don't blame you." Izuku nodded slowly and Kacchan reached out hesitantly, cupping his face in her hands and bringing her forehead to his. "I really don't, okay?"

"O-okay." He hiccuped and they stayed like that for a little while.

"So..." Both of them jumped and twisted to face the source of the voice. "Am I interrupting something?" A small, silver-haired girl stood, snickering behind a smirking tan-skinned girl with short, dark green hair.

Y'all are all enablers :p

Names & Meanings

Azami- thistle flower

Chika- wisdom

Their names are huge hints towards their quirks, so fell free to guess 'em.

Review Answers

(cherryblossom321) if you mean what's up with the POV change, I plan to do that every chapter