Bakugo released the arm cable, allowing the weights to fall down the bottom of the rack with a loud metal clang. He finished working out the majority of his back muscles with the pull bar, and now it was time to move on to the push rack. He made his way over to the bench and eyed the many sizes to choose from. Clutching his water bottle, he took a quick swig before he set it down on the ground and went to pick up the circular weights and lock them on the ends of the bar. He really needed to get his head on straight. There was so much going on at one time that he was starting to get overwhelmed, and like always, his only means of finding some kind of release was through a good, intense workout. Once he found his preferred weight amount, he laid his back down on the rest, clasped on the bar, and began to lift and push, counting off the reps in his head... One... Two... Three...

Kirishima curiously stared at him from across the room, just as he had been doing every so often this week. He couldn't help it. Something was going on with his friend and he just couldn't put his finger on it. It was normal for Bakugo to be a little tense, but something was clearly going on. Before, it was mostly because of his pissing contest with Midoriya, but that didn't seem like the right assumption, at least not for right now. As crazy as it sounds, he didn't seem to focus on Midoriya that much at all this week. If anything, he'd find every possible way to yell at him or pick a fight, but no. It was as if he just all of a sudden stopped doing that. It was so weird. He wanted to believe that maybe he made amends with Deku and decided to lay off. Kirishima quickly dismissed that idea. It just didn't sound like something Bakugo would do. Perhaps the internship really did something to him that he can't say out loud, that's been weighing on his mind. Or maybe it's something else. He just didn't know. Knowing Bakugo, if he asked, he wouldn't give him a straight answer. He never did like the idea of letting others get close to him. It took Kirishima almost two months before he got around to answering how his day was. Still, Kirishima wanted to know, and he made it very clear that Bakugo could come to him for anything. He just never did.

"You good, Kiri?"

He averted his gaze back to Kaminari standing beside him, lifting the dumbells in his arms, and paused. "Yea. It's just - have you noticed something different about Bakugo?"

"What'dya mean?"

"I dunno, he just seems... off."

"I haven't really noticed, to be honest." He switched the dumbell to the other arm. "How's he being 'off'?"

Kirishima lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "Y'know, how he's been so distant lately? He hasn't said a word practically all day."

The electric boy raised an eyebrow to him. "You say that like it's a bad thing. It's kinda nice not having him bite everyone's head off, for once."

"Yea, but don't you think that's weird?"

"I guess... Maybe he's just stressed out. I mean, the finals are coming up next week. If the number three kid in our class is worried about that, then it's gotta be hard, right?"

"I guess, but I dunno if that's really it."

"Then why don't you just ask him?"

"You know Bakugo, he keeps to himself with that kinda stuff." Kiri explained, glancing back to the blonde, who he noticed was now starting to struggle lifting the bar. He set aside his dumbells and immediately went over to help him in case he couldn't fully put it up on the rack.

Kaminari quietly sighed through his nose, watching them. Despite everything they've been through all this time, Bakugo still won't let Kirishima in. It's gotta be crushing. That's probably why he was asking him, maybe so he could find a way to get a second opinion without seeming too overbearing.

They secured the bar, allowing Bakugo to sit up. He went to grab his drink and took another sip. With his arm muscles fully worn out, it was time to move on to the leg exercises. He followed the red-head back to the rack of dumbells, where the leg-pull machine stood beside it, and began to adjust the settings.

"So Bakugo?" Kaminari called. "How's it going?"

He ignored him.

"Is everything okay?"

He grunted. "Whad'you care, Sparkplug?"

"Well, you haven't told any of us to go die in a while... soooooo? You good? You're not stressing out, are ya?"

Bakugo immediately stopped and gave them a dumbfuck look. Since when did they care about this crap before? "What're ya talkin' about? I'm fine!"

"See, Kiri, he's fine. What're you getting so worked up for?"

Bakugo turned to his friend, who immediately looked away, now feeling a little guilty for not asking him straight up. That was definitely not very manly of him. He never intended to come off so cowardly, hiding behind Kaminari, but it's not like he told him to ask about it. He balled his hand into a fist and decided to just explain himself.

"You've been pretty wound up lately, and... I wasn't sure how to ask. I got worried..." he rubbed a hand behind his head, but kept his gaze to the ground. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too upset.

"Is it about the finals next week? I hear it's gonna be tough this year." Kaminari interjected.

"No."

"Well, in any case, I could really use some help studying."

Bakugo scoffed and went back to the machine. "Tch. Shut up! It's not the damn test! If you need help studying, go find a group who cares!"

Suddenly, the lightbulb went off in Kirishima's head, to which he beamed with a hearty smile. That's it! He probably just needed some guy time. "Hey, we should do a study session this weekend. We can stay overnight in one of our dorms and hang out. I'll bring snacks!"

"That'd be great. I can come too, right? I seriously need help in Chemistry."

"Sure, the more the merrier, man. You in too, Bakugo?"

He stood there with his back turned to them, but didn't say a word. It took a moment before they realized he wasn't even messing with the machine anymore. Something made him stop, but what? They followed the direction of his gaze towards the elevator door that had just opened. They didn't even hear it ding, but they saw the girls step on out, Hattori and Uraraka. The two of them appeared to be too caught up in their own private conversation to even send them a passing glance, as they walked on over to the step scale.

"Bakugo?" Kiri called a bit louder. Bakugo quickly snapped out of it and growled under his breath for staring. He smacked the pin in the number block and mounted the machine.

"Do whatever you extras want, I don't care." he said as he tucked his legs under the bar to begin lifting his sets.

"Alright, then it's settled. This weekend."

With the conversation dulled down, Kaminari took the opportunity to check out the girls. He couldn't help it. Once some cute chicks show up, no matter where he was or what was going on, he just had to look. Hattori gestured her hand to the scale and back to Uraraka all while changing various parts of her body to the bulky red muscle. He could only assume that she was explaining the difference between muscle weight compared to her normal weight, without using her quirk. It was good to see that she was adjusting well with his classmates. Though the incident they had before left him skeptical of going near her, she was still pretty to look at from afar. At some point, he'll have to properly thank her for the bag of candy she got him and Mineta, and for apologizing. Despite that aggressive side of her, she was a really sweet girl. No doubt, he would never want to get on her bad side.

Eventually, he shifted his focus back to his guy friends, thinking about what else they should do for the study session. It would be nice if they had a weekend that wasn't just for studying. Maybe they could play some video games or go out and do something fun right after, just have some bro time. Knowing him, he'd get very bored sitting in the room all day with his face planted in a text book. Kaminari never did have a good attention span. If he wasn't captivated, there'd be no use trying. He was about to ask Kirishima about it when he suddenly caught glance of Bakugo. His brow creased in confusion when he noticed how, just like him, Bakugo was watching the girls. What the hell? Why was he doing that? It wasn't like him to do that kind of thing before, especially considering that they weren't doing anything remotely interesting at all. Weird...

After a few moments, Bakugo went back to focus on his workout, but halted midway when he felt Sparkplug's eyes baring into him. Kaminari could feel the instant panic, as if he had just caught him in an unspeakable act, but it quickly faded when Bakugo gave him the death glare. His piercing red eyes were telling him to fuck off already, but his mouth remained buttoned shut. That wasn't like him either. Why wasn't he screaming at him, like he always did? The blonde then snapped his head in a different direction, trying to play it off as if nothing happened. As he did, Sparkplug noticed something. something that he never would've expected to see, not in a million years. Katsuki's ears and the edges of his cheeks were turning pink!

Kaminari may be a little dim when it comes to school work, but he wasn't an idiot when it came to reading the room. The surprise flicked like a switch, and a devilish smile curl his lips. No way! Bakugo actually likes someone! Finally, the great, scary, almighty Bakugo has a weakness. This was perfect... now he could mess with him.

"Y'know, Kirishima, Valentine's day is this Friday. Are you thinking about confessing to someone special this year? Maybe give away some chocolate?" He projected loudly to make sure Bakugo had no choice but to hear him.

"Oh, ummm... I dunno. There's someone I've kinda been thinking about asking out for V-day, but I'm not sure what they'll say."

"I'm gonna hand some candy off to all the hot girls in this school and see if that goes anywhere."

"You're gonna give multiple confessions?"

"Not really. I'm just gonna let them know I'm interested. Ya gotta bait the hook, y'know?" he said with a sly smile. "I wonder how many do you think they'll get?" he pointed over to the girls.

"Who, Uraraka?" Kiri asked.

"And Hattori. No doubt, she'd have the most. I'm almost tempted to give her some chocolates as well."

His blood boiled to the point where a vein popped on the side of his head. Those damn idiots! Bakugo dropped his legs and the weights slammed back down with a loud clang that turned everyone's heads. He was painfully fighting the urge to blow his ass up. Why couldn't he just shut the hell up?! Deep down, Bakugo knew it would only give it away that he cared if he actually fought him, but this was getting so damn difficult!

"Stop talkin' about that mushy bullshit!"

Kaminari raised his brow in disbelief. Really?...

"Hey, guys!" Uraraka waved as she and Hattori stepped over to them. "How's it hanging?"

Without a word, Bakugo walked off to another machine. He wasn't going to waste anymore time on these fools, especially not with her around. He didn't want to give him the chance to embarrass him again. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out.

Kaminari put his smile back on. "Just talking about Valentine's Day coming up. Got any special plans for it?"

Uraraka froze. The pale color in her cheeks turned a dark red the longer she thought about it. When she could no longer contain it, the brunette clasped her face and stumbled on her words. "U-ummmm... well, you see-"

He chuckled. "Relax. Ya don't really havta say who. Besides, I bet you two will get lots of love letters this year."

Uraraka slumped her shoulders with ease. At least they stopped prying about it. "I'm sure you'll get one too... Actually, we wanted to ask if you heard the news about Class C?

"What news?" Kiri asked.

"About them getting new transfer students this week?"

"What?"

"Really? Does that mean we're gonna have to train them too?" Kirishima asked, since everyone was essentially thinking the same thing.

"We don't know yet. Two are coming tomorrow, one from the Business department and one from the Service department. Apparently, they had special training with our teachers for the last few weeks."

"And they said we'll be getting ten more the coming year." Akane finished quietly.

"So then, are they gonna be in the Sports Tournament too?"

"Most likely. They still need a full class representing the Hero department to participate. They too will probably get training from the teachers." said Uraraka.

"But won't that put you at a disadvantage?" Kaminari blurted. Sure, training with the top hero class in the school would help them out, but they weren't pros just yet, they were still students. The teachers, on the other hand, were not amateurs.

"Not if I beat them..." Akane muttered.

Bakugo distantly listened in, his lips smirked from hearing her. She was starting to sound more confident, or was that cockiness? Either way, that was a definite improvement from what she was before. If she kept on training at the pace she was going, there's no way that those idiots would stand a chance. No matter what training they would go through, even with the teachers, she was further ahead than they were.

Uraraka turned to her. "Ready to head back?"

"Actually, I think I'll stay here a bit. I gotta get my workout in before the day's out anyways."

"Alright, but please don't leave the headlight on when you study tonight. Use the table lamp or something so it won't keep me up all night."

"Right. Sorry."

"Seeya, Uraraka." Kaminari nodded.

She gave them a wave goodbye before walking away, and soon disappeared behind the elevator door. Hattori then headed over to a small table near the back, where the school staff laid out complimentary water bottles for the students, and grabbed a fresh unopened one. There was a black sharpie sitting right next to it for them to write their names to avoid a mixup. She flipped the bottom side up and wrote a giant H, turned it back over and put a big dot on the top of the cap for good measure. When she turned around, she was immediately drawn to her favorite, hard-headed group mate making his way to the next equipment. He got back a couple days ago, but she still wasn't able to get a minute to chat with him about his internship. It was mostly because he looked tired and needed time to recuperate back to school. It also didn't help that everyone else kept badgering him with their own questions about the internship. She thought about texting him, but figured he would be too burnt out from telling the same story over and over and decided to just leave him be. Still, that didn't mean she didn't want to talk.

Now that he was finally settled back into the dorms and no one crowding around him, now was probably as good a time as any. She motioned to the machine right next to him, set down her water on the floor, and took a seat. When he finally noticed her, she gave him a small wave and smiled. The tough guy did his best to ignore that dumb look and go back to what he was doing.

"Hey, how did the internship go?"

"It was fine, I guess... It taught me a lot, but not much more than I already knew."

"Like what?"

"Well... I know I've got to push even harder to get on the same level as that Fire Bastard. He definitely showed me what it takes to be number one." He paused, thinking back to that horrible dinner him and Deku had with Icyhot's family. Just when he thought the car ride was tense enough, it was even worse at his actual house. Not that he cared, but now it made sense why Todoroki was so messed up. It's crazy to think All Might thought him and Endeavor were so similar. If that were him, he wouldn't have let his family get so out of whack, but... he kind of understood why All Might wanted him to go. The lengths Endeavor had to go through and it still wasn't enough for him to be number one. He had to rely on All Might's retirement to become it.

"Anything big happen while you were there?"

"Not really. What happened was pretty much how I described it the last time. Nothing new."

"I see... In any case, I'm glad you're back safe." she smiled again.

He suppressed that sickening feeling in his chest with a scoff. "Whatever."

She paused to adjust the weights to their maximum setting before she placed her legs around the thigh blaster machine. When it was set, she started to move, not really counting the reps in her head, but more like - trying to think of something else to talk about. For a while, the only sound was the sound of the weights rising and falling back on the rack. From the corner of his eye, he eminently watched her open and close the gap between her thighs, and instantly stilled. It was mind-blowing, the amount of weight she could move without straining. It never occured to him before, but if she wanted to, she could crush an enemy's skull with those thighs. The realization immediately hit him at what he just did. Bakugo metaphorically kicked himself for thinking such things. He needed to stop. This was getting worse.

There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Hey, can I borrow your evaluation book? I need it to finish my essay by the end of the week."

"Yea, you got my notes from the last test too, right?"

She nodded.

"Alright. I'll give 'em to you at training tomorrow."

"Okay."

Kaminari carefully watched the two of them from afar, too drawn from that small blush Bakugo made to even give a damn about his own workout anymore. Not that getting buff really mattered to him before, but now, there were bigger things going on. I mean, it's Bakugo! Bakugo, the hot-headed, jerky tough guy in all of 1-A, was actually blushing?! And all because he caught him staring at the girls! It was so unreal, he couldn't believe it, so he needed to be absolutely sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

The two of them continued to sit side by side each other, doing some small talk here and there, but nothing that would appear out of the ordinary. Bakugo appeared to go back to his somewhat calmer self. After a while, Denki started to think that maybe it was Uraraka that he had a crush on. He hadn't blushed that hard since she left, so maybe that was it, but for some reason, Kaminari couldn't wrap his head around the thought of those two ending up together. They were total opposites, and it was pretty damn obvious that Uraraka liked Deku or Ida. She was always hanging around those two, and the mere mentioning of them turns her into a flustered mess. Besides, how could a girl like Uraraka ever fall for someone like him? How could any girl be bold enough to like him? Soon, his eyes drifted over to Hattori. Somehow, seeing her sitting next to him, just talking comfortably with each other, like normal friends,... they looked good together. Then again, she'd look good with anyone. She was definintely pretty, and appeared to have a lot of patience if she was able to get around his shitty attitude. She probably had to in order for them to get along at group training, but still! The idea was just too bizarre! Any guy would be lucky to have her, and it just blew his mind that she hasn't had a boyfriend all this time. That was as far as he knew, thanks to Mineta being a pervy stalker. So even if Bakugo did like her, he'd doubt she'd return his feelings. Hattori deserves to be with a great-looking guy, a guy with a great quirk, or with lots of money or power. Someone like... Todoroki! But definitely not Bakugo.

A moment later, Hattori leaned over to the side to pick up her water bottle, but did so without looking and ended up taking Bakugo's. It was a small mistake, since it was the same brand of water the school provided with the same label and all. She didn't even look before she took a small sip. Kaminari's mouth parted in surprise. When she went to screw the cap back on, that's when she noticed the letter B written on top in black marker. Bakugo also leaned down to pick up his water, but before she could get his attention to stop him, he had already downed a big gulp of it. Shit! She held her breath and tapped on his shoulder.

"Huh?"

He watched as she held up the bottle, revealing the letter he had written. Shock unfurled him as he stared at the bottle in his hand. There wasn't a letter on the cap, only a giant black dot. How did he not see that before?! The air became hot as his chest tightened from the growing embarrassment. He quickly snatched his bottle from her hand and threw hers back. Kaminari's jaw dropped even lower. They just shared an indirect kiss?!

"I don't want your damn germs!" Bakugo projected as he went to wipe the excess water off his chin.

Hattori let out a small snort to contain her laugh. "Sorry. Want me to get you a new one?"

Bakugo felt his face burn red as he glared down angrily at his half-empty bottle of water. He bit the side of his cheek to keep from losing it. If she only looked, this wouldn't have happened, but it wasn't exactly her fault. "It's fine. Just forget about it... And don't do that shit again, got it?!"

She nodded.

"Denki?... Yo, Denki?!"

Kaminari jerked his head back to Kirishima. He had completely forgot that he was there. Was he talking to him this whole time and just didn't notice? Now he kind of felt shitty, since he must've ignored him this whole time.

"You good, Man?" he asked.

"Yea. I just..." he trailed off, still unsure if what he saw was true.

"Hm?"

Kaminari leaned in closer so that only Kirishima could hear. "I think I know what's up with Bakugo."

"What?"

"I think he likes someone."

Kirishima almost lost the grip on his dumbells when he instantly froze. "W-what? What'dya mean? Like - like someone or like-like someone?"

"Like, as in crush." he clarified.

Kirishima remained silent, looking at him like he was crazy.

Denki decided to explain. "Look, it makes perfect sense. He's not focusing in class, he's keeping to himself, even more now, he's on edge all the time. Think about it."

"Are we talking about the same Bakugo?"

"I'm being serious, Dude."

"C'mon, y'know Bakugo's not like that." Kirishima waved his response in the air and went back to working out.

Kaminari hushed his tone. He needed to be secretive for what he was about to disclose. "It sure doesn't look that way. His face turned red just as the girls walked in. I caught him staring and he got all embarrassed. It was freakin' adorable."

Kirishima narrowed his eyes in a disgusted look. "Now I know we're not talking about the same Bakugo."

Now Denki was getting annoyed. "Oh yea, well if you're so sure, then why don't you ask him?"

"He doesn't like it when I ask personal questions."

"Then I guess you'll just have to keep wondering. But I'm telling you, Dude, I saw what I saw."

The red-haired boy curiously gazed back at the two of them. It wasn't often that Bakugo would talk to others so casually, but he looked comfortable talking with Hattori. That wasn't like him before. Since the beginning, he assumed he hated her, that being forced into this group training together was nothing but a burden to him. And yet, seeing them now... they're so different. He wanted to assume that maybe they started to become friends, but this soon? They'd only been here for a few months. It took almost a year for him to even care to say a word to him outside class. For some reason, the longer he watched them, the tighter his stomach churned.

"So... which girl do you think it is?"

"Huh?" Denki asked, a bit surprised he wanted to jump back in on it.

"Which one do you think it is?"

He panicked a bit, unsure of telling the truth. He understood that Kirishima wouldn't like whichever name came out of his mouth. He knew that from a distance, Kirishima had strong feelings for Bakugo for a long time. This would only make things worse. He rolled his doubts off his shoulders with a shrug.

"Who knows..."

Kirishima stared at the back of her lucious red hair. "I think I know..."

Suddenly, Hattori stood up from her spot.

"I'm gonna go grab a towel. Want one?" she offered him.

"Sure."

With that said, she walked off into the girl's locker room offset the wall. Now was the time to ask while she was gone. The two of them quietly approached the hot-head.

"So Bakugo? We're gonna do the study session Friday night, if that's cool. Well, unless we have any Valentine's Day dates getting in the way. Then we'll have to change it to Saturday, 'kay?" Denki smiled.

"I said for you extras to do what you want, just leave me the hell outa it."

"Why? You got any big plans for Valentine's Day?"

"No, you idiot! Why the hell would I be a part of that stupid crap?!"

"Hey, Man. There's nothing wrong with dating, or telling the person you like how you feel. That's the whole point of the holiday, for people to work up the courage to actually do something about it." Kirishima advised. If only he could take a chapter from his own advice book.

"Then what the hell does that havta do with me, huh?!" he shouted back. They really should just drop it already.

"Who is it, Bakugo?" Denki smirked.

"Hahh?"

"Who do you have a crush on?"

"The fuck are you talkin' about?! I don't like anybody!"

"Denial only makes it worse." Denki pointed out, which only made Bakugo seethe with rage.

He straightened his back and got up into his face. "You're really pushing me to my limit, you Bastard! Drop it before I blow your head off!"

"Okay, okay!" he held his hands up in defeat.

"I'm gonna be the number one hero, I don't have time to waste on stupid things, like dating n' shit. That kinda crap would only hold me back."

"But there's gotta be more to what you want than that. What about in the future, after we graduate? What about settling down and getting hitched? And having kids?"

"Shut up!" He turned away from them. He had enough.

"Bakugo, you seriously only care about being top hero? Who knows how long that'll take. By then, you could be an old man who'll have missed out." Kirishima butted in. It was still hard to say it out loud, knowing Bakugo might not really be into this.

"I don't care!"

"If you think about it, if he's top hero, he can get whoever he wants." Kaminari whispered closely to him.

"I don't want anyone! Just shut up and drop it!" Bakugo shouted.

"That's so weird that you would want to be alone. None of us want that kind of empty life."

He quickly turned to face them directly. "Well not me! I will never ever fall in love!"

The entire floor went quiet. Akane leaned her back against the tiled wall just before she reached the doorway to go back out. She had heard every word he said. She stared at the two towels held in her hands and bit down hard on her trembling lip. There was an uneasy stirring growing from the depths of her stomach and it worked its way up to her chest, almost as if she had been hit repeatedly over and over again. Who was she kidding? Getting her hopes up like this... But she didn't expect that it would hurt this much. They weren't even together and it feels like he just stomped on her heart until it broke into a million pieces. Carefully, she took in a few breaths to try and calm herself down, but it was a futile attempt. Unfortnately, there wasn't any other exit on this floor, and as much as she truly didn't want to, she had to go back out there. She needed to get away.

Akane dropped the towels to the floor, sucked in a breath of bravery, and turned out the doorway. The boys all turned their heads to the sound of her footsteps and she immediately regretted her decision. The moment she caught his firey red eyes, her vision became blurry. She hid her eyes away and bolted to the door.

"Hattori, you okay?" Denki called.

"I'm sorry. I just remembered there's somewhere I have to be." Her voice cracked. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood to prevent herself from crying as she pushed the button to the elevator door. It opened right away and she stepped in and pushed the button to close it shut.

There was a long awkward pause that seemed to drag on for a while as they all gazed at where she last stood. That was unusual, what she did. Kaminari and Kirishima exchanged glances. Their faces asked the exact same question even though they hadn't spoken a word. Did she hear all that just now? Did she leave because she heard? Just as they were going to ask Bakugo what he thought, they stopped when they noticed the pained look on his face. He was still staring at the closed doors.

Hey, guys. I just updated the chapter again. I took a nice long vacation away from my computer, and when I returned, I was so excited to write this new chapter that I did it too quickly. After re-reading my chapter, I wasn't happy, so I made some changes. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for sticking by me all this time.

It's great to be back.

-Reneereaper39