It rankled Eijirou that he hadn't been able to do anything at the USJ. Well, he'd been able to help Satou prop the door open long enough for Iida to escape and get help, but that was it. He hadn't been able to protect his classmates, and three of them had ended up in the hospital and four others had needed attention from Recovery Girl. And he had just… watched. Watched and waited while his best friend headed over to the plaza and actually tried to help. And Uraraka… Man, that girl might have been the manliest person in the facility. Well, aside from the teachers. But she actually managed to take down one of the villains! And then she immediately set about trying to help the others! She really was going to be an incredible hero one day; that much was obvious. Eijirou was glad that he could count her as a friend.

And speaking of friends, he was worried about Bakugou. Everyone was, not that they'd say it to the guy's face. (Well maybe Kaminari would-Eijirou could swear that guy had a death wish-but he'd been too out of it to comment on much of anything yesterday.) As crass and abrasive and reckless as he could be, he knew that everyone in their class admired him to some extent, even after only a week of knowing each other. He'd placed first in the entrance exam, demonstrated incredible control and power in the quirk assessment test, and he genuinely cared about people in his own, surly way. So the look in his eyes when they'd separated to head home had been… scary. Lost and trapped and dark in a way that Eijirou had never seen before.

That was why he found himself walking to Bakugou's house around 14:00 the day after the USJ attack. UA had given them the weekend off of school, which was nice and all, but he needed to move or he was going to scream from all of the thoughts that were trying to cram themselves into his head. Namely about what Uraraka had whispered to him the day before.

That Izuku had been among the ranks of the villains.

Nobody answered the door when Eijirou knocked. That was… unusual. Masaru might be in the office, but Mitsuki almost always worked from home-perks of being a fashion designer. Had the family gone out for the day? Considering how badly the attack yesterday had messed him up, he wouldn't be too surprised if Bakugou's parents decided he needed a distraction, but he doubted that his best bud would've felt very up to being in public. But maybe…

On an impulse, Eijirou hopped off the front steps and turned further up the street, heading towards the nearby apartment complex. Even if he hadn't slept over at her house with Bakugou a couple of nights before, the route to Inko-san's apartment was impossible to forget. She was that kind of motherly figure that spontaneously adopted every single kid she met and opened her door and her heart to anyone in need of a home. He frowned when he caught sight of a police car parked outside, but there didn't appear to be any kind of emergency happening. There were no flashing lights, no shouting, no loud sounds of any kind, really. Still, he found himself walking a little bit faster than normal as he headed up the stairs to his best friend's obasan's apartment.

He heard familiar voices shouting from the end of the walkway. While that wasn't exactly uncommon for the Bakugou household, combined with the police car out front and his recent experiences, Eijirou felt a surge of panic hit him and his fast walk broke into a run. But before he could reach the apartment door, it suddenly burst open and Bakugou himself came tumbling out. Eijirou didn't even have a chance to ask what was wrong before his best friend was off like a shot, tearing past him fast enough to put Ingenium to shame.

"Oi, get back here, brat!" yelled an ash blond woman as she appeared in the doorframe, her crimson eyes dark with worry.

"Baku-kasan?"

"Oh- Eijirou." Bakugou's mom managed a weak smile, but she didn't smirk and playfully whack him upside the head the way she usually did when he called her that. She must really be worried then.

"Should I…?" Eijirou began hesitantly, pointing after his friend.

"…Yeah. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. Better hurry if you wanna catch him."

"Yeah. Later!"

Eijirou always forgot just how fast Bakugou could run until he had to chase him. Then the memory always flooded back. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, his friend had already completely disappeared from sight. The redhead grimaced slightly and pulled out his phone. He knew that old Blasty would never answer him if he tried to text or call, so he skipped both options and simply pulled up their shared 'Find My Friends' app. Once he saw the direction the cartoony bomb (he couldn't resist the moment he saw it was an option) was headed on his map, he set off after him.

It still took awhile to find him-the app had a hard time once Bakugou went off-road. But he managed it eventually, spotting the ash blonde seated on a wooden log acting like a makeshift bridge over a shallow stream, staring glumly down at the fast-running water. Eijirou didn't bother saying anything. Didn't even make any extra noise to announce his presence. He just walked carefully onto the wide log and cautiously sat down beside him, ancient and termite-riddled though the wood was. Bakugou didn't react, so Eijirou didn't try to force a conversation-he knew better than that by now. Instead, he tilted his head back and enjoyed the cool breeze off the water, taking in the crystal clear sky and listening to the birdsong on either bank. He wasn't certain how long they remained in that position, but eventually Eijirou allowed his eyes to slip closed, lulled by the warmth of the sun on his shoulder and the soft rushing of the water, only the need to maintain his balance keeping him from dozing off where he sat.

"I…"

Eijirou's eyes snapped open, instantly alert at the sound of Bakugou's tight, tear-strained voice. He watched his best friend swallow hard, his fingers interlacing and his palms pressing together, his fist clenched so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"I think… I should drop out of UA."

Eijirou stared at him, his jaw dropping in blank shock. "You… You want to… What?!"

"Quit gaping, Kirishima. You heard me loud and clear."

A cold chill ran down Eijirou's spine. Bakugou calling him by his actual name? That was never a good sign. So he snapped his mouth shut, took a deep breath, shoved down his rising panic, and forced his voice not to waver. "You've always wanted to be a hero, ever since the day I met you. What changed?" he asked when he was reasonably certain he wasn't going to screech with the shock again.

"Nothing changed," Bakugou replied, "but I can't be a hero. Not anymore."

"Why?"

"Because heroes are supposed to stop villains, not create them."

Whatever Eijirou had been expecting Bakugou to say, that most certainly wasn't it. He opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, closed it, swallowed, and tried again. "Bakugou… You aren't responsible for Izuku's choice-"

"Bullshit."

"…Why?"

Bakugou didn't respond right away. He just stared at the river, that dark, lost look creeping back into his eyes. "I hated him," he whispered abruptly. The words startled Eijirou enough, but it was his tone that was as disconcerting as anything. His default for any emotion was screaming. But right now, he just seemed… drained. Exhausted. Matter-of-fact.

"Hated who?"

"Izuku."

"…What?" Eijirou stared blankly. (He seemed to be doing that a lot today.) "I thought you guys were best friends?"

"We were best friends, sure," the blonde sighed, still not looking at him, "but that was a long time ago."

"…What happened?"

"A lot of things. I got a quirk. I got praise. An ego bigger than I was. And Izuku… didn't. He was an easy target. The ultimate measure for how much better I was," Bakugou spat venomously, his fingernails digging into his palms. The darkness in his eyes was almost overwhelming now. "Started with teasing. 'Deku' was one of those. It was a different pronunciation of his name. I called 'im that 'cause it meant 'worthless'. But it was just the start. Before long, it got physical. Bruises. Burns. But the little bastard always managed to stand up and keep going. Then, one day, I fell."

"Fell?"

"Right here," he nodded, lightly tapping the log bridge. "I was out with a group of kids from the neighborhood, and I slipped and fell into the water. Just for a second, I was terrified. I wasn't as used to falling back then, not to mention when I hit the water, I landed on some rocks and scraped myself up pretty bad. But I was the best. The strongest. I couldn't show fear or pain. When I came up, the other kids were all talking like I was fine, like I could handle anything.

"All of them except Izuku."

Eijirou watched with bated breath as Bakugou heaved a shaky breath, subtly blinking back tears. "Izuku came straight down from the bridge to make sure that I was okay. It didn't matter to him if I was strong or weak. All that mattered to him was that I was his friend, and he wanted to make sure I wasn't hurt. And I hated him for it, because in my mind, it meant that he had seen right through me. He knew, on some level, that I wasn't as strong as I wanted everyone to think I was. In that moment, he proved that he was a better hero than I could ever be, and I spent the rest of my school years trying to prove otherwise. But all I ended up doing was prove how much of a worthless pile of shit I really was."

The tears were falling freely down Bakugou's face now. Honestly, Eijirou could feel them pricking at his eyes as well, but the fact went unacknowledged by either of them. "No matter what I did, he refused to give up. He was always back on his feet by the next time I saw him, mumbling about heroes and quirks and scribbling in those damn notebooks of his. He wanted to go to UA, too; nothing was gonna stand in his way, not even being quirkless. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I screamed at him to… to go jump off the roof. Then a couple of days later I found out that Izuku had disappeared, and the police were saying it was suicide."

"Bakugou…"

"Now suddenly he's back. He's back and he's alive and I finally have a chance to apologize and tell him how wrong I was and that he can be a hero, and it turns out he's gone and turned into a Goddamn villain!" He was gasping for breath now, his voice caught somewhere between a snarl and a sob. "And that's why… That's why I can't be a hero. I don't deserve it."

Everything about the blonde's posture radiated defeat. It was honestly terrifying. Bakugou was the guy who didn't care about the odds. He was the guy who fought and clawed his way to the top. The guy who never gave up. The guy who was determined to see his dreams through. Seeing him like this was so… not Bakugou it… it just felt wrong.

"If you want to leave," his friend whispered as the silence stretched, "I wouldn't blame you."

There was more than one meaning to that. Bakugou wasn't just talking about the here and the now. He meant forever. He was offering to let him cut ties, now that he knew the truth.

If Eijirou hadn't been so worried about him, he might have felt insulted.

"Katsuki," he said quietly, noting how the boy twitched at the sound of his given name, "we've all made mistakes. I'm not saying that what you did was okay because hell… that's messed up, man. But that doesn't mean you can't change. It doesn't mean that you haven't changed already. If you hadn't recognized your mistakes, then I might've walked away. But dude, I've seen you fight like a lion to get a handle on your temper these past few years, and I can't even count the number of times you've stood up to bullies in the past. Yeah, you made one hell of a mistake. But you've learned from it. You haven't let it hold you back. And that might just be the manliest thing a person can do."

Bakugou's eyes seemed to bore into his, swimming in a mixture of shock, confusion, and-thank the Gods-hope. Then the blonde glanced away, something like fear flickering across his face. "I… I don't know if I can fix this, Kirishima. Izuku's still a villain. Even if I become a hero, I'll have to fight him eventually. One way or another, the situation's gone to hell."

"So the only two options are become a hero and beat Izuku, or don't become a hero and Izuku takes over the world or something?"

Bakugou huffed softly. A weak replacement for laughter, but Eijirou would take it. "Good, so we know what the losing scenarios are. So what would make it a win?"

"…Izuku becomes a hero with me."

"Well that's good to hear," Eijirou grinned, and his friend shot him a frown.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, the Bakugou Katsuki I know is the guy who doesn't stop fighting until he wins," the redhead shrugged. "If anyone can beat the odds, then it's you."

"He said that he was 'past saving', ya' idiot. I think it's pretty obvious Izuku wants to stay where he is."

"Okay, that's one way to look at it."

"Then what's the other way?"

"A challenge to prove him wrong."

Bakugou stared at him blankly for a moment, then abruptly snorted, reaching up to swipe at his eyes as he tried to hide a small smile by turning to look back at the stream. "I guess you have a point there, Weird Hair."

Eijirou grinned at the nickname. "There's the Bakugou I know," he chuckled, returning his attention to the river as well while leaning back against his hands to stretch out the tight muscles in his back. He watched his friend hesitate out of the corner of his eye, reaching up to awkwardly rub the back of his head.

"Actually," he began hesitantly, "you can call me Katsuki if you want. I mean, you basically know all my darkest secrets now. Feels kinda weird to act all formal still."

The redhead's grin practically split his face in two. It was as close to a 'thank you' as he would ever get from the abrasive blonde. "Well in that case, you can call me Eijirou."

"Nah, I think I'll stick with Weird Hair. It suits you better."

"Whatever you say, man. Whatever you say."

.oOo.

The police car was gone by the time they got back. Baku-kasan spent a good hour yelling at Katsuki for making her worry about him while Inko-san just yanked them both into bone-breaking hugs before plying them with tea, cookies, and anything else that she could think of. They spent the rest of the weekend beating each other at videogames, spending the night at each other's houses, and avoiding the news at all costs. (Neither of them much wanted to see 'Deku's' face plastered over every channel in existence with warnings about how dangerous of a criminal he was and how anyone with information should come forward.) At some point Bak- Katuski had offhandedly mentioned that they had homework due Monday. All it had taken was a pointed stare for the blonde to shrug and mumble, "Don't cry to me when Aizawa kills you," before having his game character pound Eijirou's into the ground.

He was right of course. Monday morning came with an air of impending doom, and Eijirou had no one to blame but himself. But that didn't seem to matter as much as it maybe should, because his best bro was smiling again, albeit in a very Katsuki kind of way, snorting and baring his teeth at a MeTube video of epic quirk-stunt fails as they rode the train to UA. They got a few awkward stares along the way by people who recognized their uniform, but nobody tried to ask them about the USJ-Katsuki had a way of warning people off with little more than a look. Normally Eijirou would scold him for that, but today he was just glad that he didn't have to try and fend off any uncomfortable questions.

"…I doubt anybody noticed me in the background," Hagakure was sighing as they walked into class.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to stand out when you're just gloves," Ojirou agreed, scratching his cheek with an awkward expression.

"Yeah, we're kinda famous now," Kaminari agreed, "although I wish we were famous for something other than getting pounded into the ground."

"Oh hey! Kiri! Blasty! You guys doing alright?" Mina called eagerly, waving to them as they headed towards their desks. She was practically brimming with energy, her smile bright and eager, although her golden eyes were still dark with worry.

"Yeah," Eijirou reassured her as he walked past her desk. "The break was good for us, I think. Had a chance to clear our heads and all that."

"Glad to hear it," Mina smiled, her eyes softening, and in the process making Eijirou's stomach flip. But he grinned through the sensation and took his seat, getting settled as Iida marched into the room, calling for everyone to take their seats for the start of homeroom.

"Iida, you're the only one still standing," Jirou sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose at the antics of her overzealous fellow class officer.

"Dang it…!"

"Don't sweat it!"

"Morning, class."

"Good morning, teach!" Mina cried cheerfully, waving as their manly teacher entered the room, closely followed by Todoroki, who seemed even more closed-off than usual. He made his way to his desk without a word, avoiding eye contact, so Eijirou decided that he might as well turn back to their teacher.

Mina's earlier energy was a stark contrast to how exhausted he looked, rubbing his forehead between his eyes, the bruise-like marks underneath them even darker than usual. He frowned, wondering if he was alright, and found his thoughts spoken aloud by Asui.

"Aizawa-sensei, are you feeling okay?" she called in her usual blunt manner, frowning slightly, her finger resting thoughtfully against her chin.

"My well-being is irrelevant," their teacher replied flatly as he walked to the podium. "The important thing is that your fight isn't over yet. The UA Sports Festival is coming up."

"Aw, yeah!" Sero whooped, "Let's go kick some ass!" Normally Kirishima would be just as excited as the dark-haired boy, but this year, all he could do was shoot a worried glance in Bakugou's direction, remembering recent events.

"Wait a second," Kaminari spoke up, echoing his unspoken thought.

"Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Jirou agreed, frowning deeply.

"Yeah, they could attack once we're all in the same place!"

"If that was the villain's intention, then they would have just attacked the school at large, not the USJ," Aizawa-sensei sighed, but even as he did, there was an angry glint in his eyes. "But you do have a point. The UA Sports Festival is one of the biggest events in the world. Everyone who has even the slightest interest in competition watches it. It's a huge opportunity for Hero Course students such as you-after all, the Sports Festival is where you get scouted by pro heroes looking to take on interns and eventually sidekicks-so apparently we can't afford to simply cancel the event outright. But having you all on such blatant display is also incredibly dangerous given recent events. Which is why, this year, we'll be making a few changes."

"Changes?" Yaoyorozu frowned, quirking her head to one side. "What sorts of changes?"

"To start with, the Festival will not be broadcast this year."

"What?!" the class yelped in collective shock.

"But… But then how is anyone gonna have a chance at being scouted?! Not to mention my parents won't be able to see it; they can't afford live tickets to the Festival!" Hagakure squawked, the sleeves of her uniform indicating how wildly her arms were flailing.

"That's another change. The Festival will not be open to the public. Only heroes and support company representatives will be allowed, and only by private invitation."

"WHAT?!"

"The administration is also going to have extra security around the stadium, both pro heroes and members of the police force. The villains that attacked the USJ have already demonstrated an unusual amount of interest in UA as a whole, and certain members of this so-called League of Villains have been shown to have considerable skill in quirk and fighting style analysis. As such, the administration has decided to avoid giving villains the opportunity to get any more information than they already have. Additionally, just in case any of you are concerned with the possibility of villains viewing the Festival regardless, this year you are allowed to opt out of the Festival entirely. If you choose that option, I'll need to get your name on a list, so come talk to me."

"Dang. The top brass aren't kidding around here, are they," Kaminari muttered. Eijirou couldn't see his face from where he was seated, but he imagined that the blonde's expression was similar to his: wide-eyed and staring at Aizawa-sensei with something like shock.

"Personally, I wanted to cancel it altogether," their teacher shrugged, shuffling through some papers. "As it is, the Festival got pushed back an extra week to give us time to make the appropriate accommodations. Anyway, this was the compromise, so consider your choice carefully."

"Sensei."

"Yes Shinsou, what is it?"

"I'd like to opt out of the Festival," the indigo-haired boy said in his usual, quiet way.

"What?! Dude, do you realize what kind of opportunity you could be throwing away?!" Sero gaped at him.

Shinsou's response was to shoot a flat stare in the dark-haired boy's direction. "I was going to ask about dropping out anyway. Villains or not, the Sports Festival attracts too much attention for someone with a quirk like mine."

"Shinsou-kun, is this about people saying you have a villainous quirk?" Uraraka asked quietly, her expression twisted in worry.

"Not at all. I'm already in the Hero Course; I've got nothing to prove. It's just that I plan on being an underground hero when I go pro. Face it, my quirk is more effective if nobody knows how it works. So I'd rather not give anyone any potential clues to figure it out."

"A logical decision," Aizawa-sensei nodded. "See me at the end of the day. We'll talk about how to proceed with internships then. Class dismissed."

When lunch rolled around, the only thing that anyone could think about was the Sports Festival and the unusual circumstances surrounding the yearly competition. Nobody other than Shinsou had openly declared their intent to drop out so far, but Eijirou knew that a few people were considering it. He… honestly wasn't sure.

"So Katsuki-"

"Katsuki?!" Mina interrupted, half-squealing as she paid for her lunch. "Since when were you two so intimate? Is this a budding high school romance I see?!"

Eijirou rolled his eyes at her while Katsuki scoffed. "As if," he snorted.

"Give my taste in personalities more credit, Ashido."

"Oi!"

"Well fine, if you guys say so. This seat taken?" Mina asked, shooting a grin at Jirou.

"Nah, go for it," the other girl shrugged, jabbing Kaminari with her earphone jack as he tried to sneak one of her dumplings while her head was turned

"Ouch!" the blonde yelped, rubbing his ribs. "Was that really necessary?"

"You're the one trying to steal my food," Jirou replied flatly, taking another bite of her noodles.

"So what're you guys doing for the Festival?" Sero asked as Katsuki set down his plate next to him.

"I'm taking first place; what else, moron?"

"My, someone's feeling confident," Kaminari grinned. "I think I'm gonna go for it, too. I mean, the security's gonna be insane, so I figured why the heck not, you know? And if they do attack again, we'll be surrounded by pros. No civilians to worry about."

"Kinda disappointing that they aren't gonna broadcast it, though," Mina sighed. "My mom's gonna be ticked she can't see me compete."

"Heck everyone's gonna be ticked that they can't see us compete. This is the biggest sporting event in the world, you know."

"It makes sense, though. Even if the villains seem to know a lot about our class, they probably don't know as much about the others. It's damage control," Jirou commented.

"So what are you guys gonna do?"

"I'm totally in," Sero grinned, "and I'm gonna be gunning for the top spot, so don't get too comfy Bakugou."

"Get in my way and I'll destroy you."

"I think I'm gonna pass."

"What! Why, Kyoka?!"

"Look, I get why the Festival's important, I really do, but those villains' stealth capabilities are insane. They probably know that I can hear really tiny sounds by now, but Pikachu here managed to electrocute all the guys attacking us before the warp guy could spirit them away, so I doubt they know about my sound wave attacks yet. If there's any chance of the villains sneaking in, I just don't wanna risk revealing my hand too soon, you know? What about you, Kirishima?"

The redhead glanced towards the blonde seated next to him. He could guess Katsuki's reasons for being in the festival. On the practical side of things, with Izuku in the League of Villains, they probably already knew everything that there was to know about Katsuki's quirk. And anyway, if he ever wanted to get his friend back, then he had to start building his name and career now. "I guess I'm in, too," Eijirou shrugged, baring his teeth in a grin. He had helped Katsuki start this path. He wanted to help him finish it.

"Sweet! Guess I'll be seeing you in the finals then," Sero grinned.

"What do you think the others are gonna do?"

"Well, Satou's joining in no questions asked, and Tooru's probably gonna be there too judging by her chat with Ojirou earlier," Mina mused through a mouthful of rice. "Tsu-chan's in, but Yaomomo's considering dropping out-something about family connections and keeping her quirk on the downlow-and I think Ochaco's on the fence about it. Speaking of, who's that guy she's talking to?"

Eijirou twisted in his seat, following Mina's gaze to where their brunette classmate was standing by the door on the far side of the cafeteria, chatting to a tall, skinny blond man with a slight slouch and blue eyes that he could see from half-way across the room. As he watched, Uraraka nodded, said something to Iida, Shinsou, (her usual lunch group), and Kouda (when had he started hanging out with them?) and followed the man out the door, taking lunch with her. "No clue," he shrugged. "Must be some kind of faculty though, right?"

"The guy does seem familiar for some reason," Katsuki frowned, his eyes kind of thoughtful and far away.

"Hm. Well, whatever. So what did you guys think about Cementoss's lesson today?"

Lunch and the rest of the afternoon passed relatively quickly. Everyone was still in a flux about the Sports Festival though, and it seemed that their class wasn't the only one.

"What… What the heck is this?!" Uraraka yelped as she opened the door to leave the room and found the hallway literally crammed with students. "Um, why are you all here?!"

"Do you students have some sort of business with our class?"

"Yeah, no offense, but you look like an angry mob…"

"They're probably scouting the competition," Todoroki's low voice sounded through the room as he walked quietly towards the door. "We're the class that drove off a real villain attack. They wanted to see us with their own eyes. Now move. You're in my way."

"Todoroki-kun, don't be rude!"

"So this is the infamous Class 1-A. I heard you were impressive, but you just sound like a bunch of arrogant bastards!"

Eijirou blinked, frowning at a blond boy that had managed to shove his way to the front of the crowd, his grey eyes containing an almost manic glint as he grinned at them. "Scouting the competition?" he jeered. "Don't make me laugh! If any of us in General Studies do well in the Sports Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us into the Hero Course, and they'll have to transfer people out to make room! Those of us that were cast aside in favor of the quirkless and villainous will soon see just how superior we are! Consider this a declaration of war, Class 1-A! You'd best watch out, because I, Monoma Neito, am coming for you!"

Eijirou felt himself bristle in anger as the obnoxious blonde cackled wildly, and he most certainly wasn't the only one. Uraraka had an expression like a spitting cat as she moved protectively in front of a glaring Shinsou, and Katsuki simmered like a pot about to boil over.

"Yeah, is this the class with the quirkless kid in it?" someone else in the hall muttered.

"I'd heard that they let a quirkless kid into the Hero Course this year. Is that why you only have nineteen people? 'Cause the quirkless guy got himself killed during the villain attack?"

"All of you extras shut the hell up; you're giving me a headache," Katsuki snarled, his temper finally snapping. The entire hallway fell silent as sparks crackled across his palms, burning off the nitroglycerin buildup before he could be tempted to unleash it on the crowd. Then he rose to his feet, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and marching up to the grey-eyed warmonger.

"Let's get one thing straight here, Hero Course Reject: nobody here's impressed by your quirk elitist bullshit, you got that? Especially considering that you obviously can't back it up if you were shoved off into General Studies. You wanna hate on the quirkless? Fine. That'll make it all the better when that kid kicks your ass in the Festival. And as for the rest of you extras, if you wanna scout the competition or declare war or whatever the hell it is you're trying to do, that's fine by me. Just know that you'd better give it all you got, 'cause we sure as hell aren't gonna pull our punches just 'cause you're Gen Ed." He grinned, and Eijirou couldn't help but snicker when the front row of students flinched back a little bit. "You may think you've got a good reason to fight, but so do we. So don't expect us to roll over just because you tell us to.

"In the end, the one who's right'll be the one that's standing at the top."

Outtake:

It was the first day back after the USJ incident. Shouta still wasn't happy with the board's decision to continue with the Sports Festival, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

There was, however, one other matter that was bothering him.

He couldn't remember a whole ton of his conversation or fight with Deku. Considering the force and severity of his concussion, it was remarkable that he remembered anything at all. But, there was one glaringly important detail that refused to leave his mind. That was why, instead of napping in the teacher's lounge as he usual would when he got to school this early, he was sitting outside of his classroom, watching with half an eye as his students passed by him until he saw the one he needed to talk to.

"Todoroki."

The heterochromatic boy startled slightly at the single word, then rapidly schooled his features and glanced towards him.

"Sensei?"

"May I have a word?"

Now that he was watching for it, he could almost see it as the panic flashed through his student's eyes while he tried to remember what he might have done wrong.

It made Shouta's blood boil.

Todoroki composed himself quickly, nodding stiffly and allowing Shouta to lead him to his office. Once there, the boy looked to him uncertainly, clearly unsure of what to do next without some kind of direction. The underground hero bit back a sigh and indicated for Todoroki to sit in his office's only comfortable chair while he took a metal fold-out for himself. Then he took a moment simply to watch Todoroki, watching the subtle way that his fingers curled and uncurled, growing increasingly agitated as the silence stretched.

"You're not in trouble, Todoroki," he said quietly.

The boy nodded again, but he didn't look convinced.

"Something came up during the USJ attack that I felt needed addressing. Before I say anything else, I want you to know that as both your teacher and a pro hero I care about you and want to help you if you will let me."

This time, something like curiosity passed across the boy's face, mixed with confusion and a flicker of-concerningly-defensiveness.

Shouta took a deep breath.

"Todoroki, would you be willing to tell me the story behind that scar?"

Okay, again, this was a middle-of-the-chapter outtake, at least chronologically. And in case you guys couldn't already guess, Todoroki does NOT tell Aizawa about the scar. At least not yet. :)

Anyway, I hope that I managed to pull off the hear-to-heart between Kirishima and Bakugou relatively in character. I realize that it probably wouldn't happen that way in canon, but I don't think it's off course for this AU.

Next chapter we dive into the Sports Festival, as well as a little bit of Class 1-B! We'll see you on June 30th. Until then, go beyond! Plus ultra!