The eliminated students from yesterdays simulation had reported to gym Gamma as instructed. However it had been over an hour since and it seemed that the planned exercise for that morning was endurance. Squabbling at the center of the room were their homeroom teachers, who had taken the morning to chat amongst themselves. Aizawa and Kan were in a middle of a fierce disagreement when a deflated Almight made an entrance.

Bakugou, who hadn't been able to sleep after his late night escapade had been suited since 5am and was now fuming. "Wished they'd do that on their own fucking time," he grumbled, wishing the two buffoons could hurry it along. The teen was aching in places he never knew existed before last night, and now understood the full extent of the term rip you a new one.

An irritating voice sounded over his shoulders, "If you had no desire to train under someone of their caliber you should have passed the preliminary match." It was Monoma who seemed irritably gleeful. The blonde sashayed passed him with the flip of his fringe. "So much bolstering with little to show."

"Is that right you little weasel," Bakugou arched a brow "think I forgot about you," he threatened with the slight of his head.

Before the two had a chance to escalate things Almight cleared his throat hobbling towards them. The man raised his arm-sling, a notion of greeting, still a bit roughed up from his fight with All-for-One. "Good morning students, I see some familiar faces," he looked at Bakugou then over to Monoma. "While others I have yet to meet. I know most of you must be disappointed, but don't be so hard on yourselves. Take this next week as an opportunity to improve upon your ability to adapt."

Almight shuffled over to Aizawa and Kan with a disapproving glare. "The students who are not here, were those who combined their unique skills and took the lot of you down," he shifted his gaze onto the two blondes as he continued, "as a team. This is great example of how heroes overcome and adapt in order to achieve success. More frequent then not, you all, as heroes will be expected to work with others outside your agency. Sometimes civilians who want to contribute will intervene and can either be detrimental to your success or vital depending on how you react to the extra set of hands. All heroes must be prepared for the unimaginable. Villains, civilians, even heroes are all unpredictable and because of this it takes a meticulous person to achieve success without casualties. Notice I said person not hero, because it doesn't matter who you are as long as you have the fundamentals down pat you can make things happen, this even applies to villains."

Almight turned to Bakugou who adverted his gaze, mortified at the extent of the damaged he sustained from his tryst with the league of villains. "I know it might be difficult to imagine how mingling with other heroes can help you improve on your own skills, but it will allow you to maneuver in a crowd of heroes and be useful to the mission. In conclusion knowing what others can bring to the table is vital. Unlike yesterday, todays exercise will be about cooperation and communication so you won't be up against each other but will be put into teams."

The word team sent Midoriya into a world of guilt. There was this heaviness in his heart when he thought about yesterdays mishap. The greenette looked over to Bakugou, their eyes meeting.

Bakugou crossed his hands and looked over to Kirishima who seemed to be too absorbed in the speech. The blonde was restless and if he didn't vent he would soon fall back into his thoughts. Of course Kirishima had been that shoulder to lean on since he arrived at Yuuei, so of course he turned his attention to him. "This blows, look at all these nobodies," he ridiculed knowing it'd incite a scolding from the redhead.

Kirishima never let the trash talk slide, but curiously he was silent, still fixed on Almight. Bakugou wondered if he had even heard him, or was he intentionally ignoring him? It wasn't like him to let his vulgar remarks stand. Was it possible he was mad at him about last night? It sure wasn't like Kirishima to hold a grudge.

Although last night Bakugou had it in his mind that it'd be best to distance himself from his friend, he hadn't realized until now, as it was playing out how much it would devastate him to be without his moral compass.

As the speech headed towards a close Almight began to call out names and broke the ones he called on into groups. As he went through the list of names he finally landed on the angry blonde. "Bakugou, Monoma, Rin and Todoroki group 5."

"You got to be kidding me," Bakugou scoffed not at all thrilled. The blonde looked over to Monoma who seemed to already be on defense. And with a sneer he retorted, "he's just a useless leech with no quirk of his own."

A moment after he let the sentence roll off his tongue Midoriya popped into his mind, the projection causing him to turn his attention towards the greenette. Midoriya froze, and it was as if time had stopped completely, and it was just the two of them in that space alone. Bakugou broke eye contact first and wrinkled his upper lip, turning to Almight but this time with accusing eyes.

The giant of a man gulped and right before he found his voice Aizawa interjected "because you two have made your animosity towards each other very clear," he said responding to Bakugou's earlier grievance. Though his expression was unwavering, there was a hint of elation in his tone. Of course it pleased Aizawa to know his students were as miserable as he was.

Kirishima tried his hardest to ignore the two, but he had noticed the exchange, and oh was it a sight for sore eyes. Bakugou saw red whenever it came to Midoriya. A glance alone could shift his entire disposition. So blinded with rage it was starting to impede on their friendship. And upon reflection, Kirishima was somewhat relieved that he'd be paired with someone other than Bakugou.

Aizawa looked over at the disruptive students. "Now for starters I want to make it clear why we've separated you the way we have. Let's start with the chatty ones over here. Bakugou, Todoroki both of you are long-range fighters, however there will be a time where that will become a disadvantage. You will all need to have a great understanding of your quirks and be able to utilize it in any setting. For today both of you will not take to the air and will remain in the 5 meter zone. I want close combat and if needed hand to hand exchange. Monoma at this point everyone here knows your quirk and will avoid being tagged at all cost, how will you over come it? Rin though your scales are durable how stable can they be against explosion? The question is not how long they can hold out but how you utilize them to overcome offensive quirks."

Bakugou grinned, "hmph we're gonna crush you two and then after that I'm coming for you half and half," he pointed his gauntlet at Todoroki.

Monoma snorted "huh, class A's flunkies are gonna best us?"

"All that trash talk, yet you still fucking winded up here just like the rest of us."

"Just a hiccup in the grand scheme of things. All that matters is the fact that Class B has more students getting new gear this month," Monoma poked.

Again Aizawa intervened "the both of you cut it out," his eyes now blazing red. "Neither of you macho men need to worry about who has the upper hand, because the both of you will make up team 1 while Rin and Todoroki will be team 2."

Aizawa turned to the rest of the students. "Listen all of you. The teams of 4 will be subdivided into teams of 2 that will face off against each other to claim a flag that will be secured to each member. The first team to collect both flags and place them on their poles will move on to the next stage while the loser will being doing this exercise again tomorrow."

The matchup caused Midoriya to whip his head around, now worried that Bakugou would make it his mission to take out Todoroki. The greenette was certain that he had sustained some cracked ribs during yesterday's exam and figured he'd be at a disadvantage. But of course that wouldn't deter him from a rematch. Midoriya had witness this one to many times and knew Bakugou would break himself before admitting defeat.

Midoriya headed over to Bakugou with a look of desperation. "Kacchan could we talk?"

There it was those worrisome greens that irked the blonde the most. Bakugou tilted his head exposing his chin, the extent of Dabi's temper marked all over him. There was this wave of horror that rode up Midoriya's spine, unaware that the marks happened after class was dismissed. The greenette looked over to Aizawa and wanted to call out to him, but knew Bakugou would be furious. After all it was his fault Bakugou was in the condition he was in to start with.

Bakugou realized where those greens lingered and hastily adjusted his shoulder attachments so that it hid his collarbone. Earlier he had refused to see the nurse, the marks serving as a reminder of what he had to lose. The kid vowed that he'd never let anyone else get hurt because of him again. This hardship he bore, he'd bare it alone until either he annihilated the league or his time ran out.

"What?" Bakugou said lowly not sure where the conversation would head too.

"I just," Midoriya lower his head "about yesterday," his face became hot thinking about last night. Heck, but that wasn't what he was supposed to be getting at. "I mean during the exam, I-I," he found his hand in his curls as he searched for the proper words to express his concerns when Aizawa called from over his shoulder.

"Kirishima, Midoriya, Tetsutetsu and Sen group 8," Aizawa looked up from his clipboard "and that concludes our teams."

Bakugou used the opportunity to shoo away Mr. nosey-body knowing all to well how perceptive Midoriya was. "Why don't you stop fucking around and join your band of misfits."

"But Kacchan?"

"Get lost you pissant," he growled. It was useless to mend things now after all this time. Even if he had wanted to the nerd was a forbidden commodity. Bakugou understood the importance of distance to avoid any collateral damage. Yesterday was proof of how easy it'd be to just nab him and he couldn't allow anyone else to be dragged into his mess. If he hadn't been so obnoxious and wild he would not have attracted the league but it was too late now and he was stuck.

The blonde watched as the greenette miserably joined his team. Todoroki who had been observing followed where his gaze lingered wondering why the bad blood?

Tetsutetsu was first to greet the newest members. "Kirishima," he introduced, presenting the redhead to Sen. The teen then looked over at Midoriya with a perplexed look. "Eh and Kirishima's friend," he raked his brain for the other's name but came up short. Tetsutetsu then gestured towards his chest wanting to properly become acquainted with the greenette and hoping that his candidness would compensate for his lack of etiquettes, "remember me?"

Midoriya half-heartedly smiled, "how could we forget. Midoriya Izuku."

"Well Mr. doom and gloom over there is Sen," he said slinging his arm over his friend "he's great," he boasted patting at Sen's chest. The dark haired teen just stared unamused with no intention on interacting more than needed.

Aizawa amplified his voice so that it carried over the lively students. "So Kirishima and Sen will be team 1, while Midoriya and Tetsutetsu will be team 2." The man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before he continued. "Now I know you're all wondering why I've matched Kirishima and Tetsutetsu after the last two standstills. This is because there needs to be a definitive defeat," he grumbled at them "so that moving forward you two won't be so preoccupied with squabbling."

Midoriya perked up at the thought of a victor. Those greens were now glazed over and he dared to raise his hand. "I'm a bit curious too?"

"That's the spirit man," Tetsutesu approved throwing finger pistols, "but remember we're a team now, so that means I expect you to root for me."

Seeing Midoriya integrate so easily brought back all those childhood insecurities. It solidified what Bakugou had already believed, that his social ineptness would hinder his chance at really resonating with the people. Everything he lacked the other acquired so easily, strength, friends, support, oh how easily Midoriya could win the hearts of anyone. The kid realized a little too late that he relied too heavily on his quirk, that he squandered his opportunities to create the whole image of a hero.

These thoughts irritated Bakugou, but he didn't let that distract him from the excitement of exacting revenge on Todoroki. Before he could dedicate all his attention to the battle ahead Kan sounded across the crowd.

"Oh, we got a straggler," Kan hollered, gesturing for Awase to come over. "Awase you can join, Yanagi and the other students of class A," he said looking around.

The call of his name started the thrumming in Bakugou's chest and his heart sank when he made eye contact with the student with the bandana. It was not long before he was pulled out of his stupor watching in horror as the greenette dashed over to the class 1B student.

"Oh, no you don't," Bakugou wrinkled his nose firing a beam in between the two to halt contact.

Midoriya and the class 1B student leapt back looking at him in bewilderment as he approached. Bakugou was furious.

"What do you think you're doing nerd?"

"Kacchan?" Midoriya blinked sheepishly.

"How many times do I have to tell ya to mind you goddamn business?" he snarled tugging at his suit forcing him onto his tiptoes.

Awase looked at the two in confusion wondering what he had just stepped into. "What are we fighting about?" Of course he could sense the tension in the air without even knowing the history between the two.

"But Kachan," Midoriya began before he was cut off.

"Yeah, you don't want to Awase to mop the floor with you." The obnoxious blonde sounded over their shoulders. Monoma was walking over. Once he inserted himself into the conversation, he slung his arm over the black haired teen. "Again."

"Huh?" Awase brows furrowed in confusion.

"Don't be so modest," Monoma said patting at his chest with encouragement.

Bakugou folded his arms over his chest perking a brow "was our fight that lame you forgot?" his attention adverted, turning to him accusingly.

"Actually last thing I remember about yesterday is downing brownies. If Kendo hadn't told me I'd participated in the royale I'd have never of known." Awase wondered if he got a laced batch, unable to recall anything afterwards.

Bakugou was mad at the insinuation that he didn't even leave a scratch and couldn't even defend his title knowing it was Toga he'd fought. So, instead he turned his frustration back onto Midoriya.

"I ask again, what do you think you're doing?"

The question rhetorical, because the two knew exactly what he was getting at. Since they were little, Midoriya inserted himself into any and all squabbles he deemed onesided. That meant anytime Bakugou was involved he was there, over his shoulder like a hound, villainizing him at every chance.

"Bakugou did you forget your fights with me?" Todoroki intervened moving through the crowd that had formed behind them.

"Yeah, well he shouldn't be sticking his nose into places it doesn't belong."

Although Todoroki was curious about yesterday's tryst, he knew this wasn't the appropriate time for whatever was about to go down.

"BREAK. NOW." Aizawa had on his teacher voice. "Either we get our acts together or we'll all be back here tomorrow.

The crowd dispersed back into their designated teams awaiting further instructions.

Bakugou had his arms folded. That fucking idiot, their interactions always left him in irritable mood. Bakugou recognized that he wasn't the typical type of person Midoriya surrounded himself with, and all he could ever offer was trouble. So why even bother?

Monoma shuffled over to where he stood. "Ahem," he coughed to catch his attention.

"What do you want Asshole?"

"This dilemma of yours is inconsequential to me, but I need your head in the game."

Bakugou had completely forgotten he was paired with Asshat over here and now redirected his focus on the shifting grounds before him. Cementoss, had his palms pressed against the concrete altering the shape of the room. The boulderlike man created a labyrinth out of pillars of mound that stretched far out into the distance.

"From what I've observed, you're a 'go in guns a blazing' type, however that's not gonna fly this time around."

"Heh, and whys that?"

"For starters, I'm one for plans. Secondly we need to act accordingly, especially with dual power guy over there."

"So, we're accommodating you…" he trailed off with a raise of a brow. "Got to compensate for your nonexistence quirk?"

"You can talk shit all you want, but do you want to being doing this all over again tomorrow?" There was a seriousness to his usually obnoxious tone. "Or can you grit your teeth through this one session of cooperation?"

Bakugou folded, with a nod of his head "What you got in mind?"

"Well, we ain't working with much, but I guess we can make do."

"What does that mean?"

Monoma ignored the question inspecting his partner. "These gauntlets?"

"For housing sweat. It can amplify the output of the explosive discharges."

"Gross."

"Effective."

"I guess. Rin's quirk is scales."

"Like Kirishima?"

"Not quite, they're more fluid and can be used as projectiles. As well as armor, not as sophisticated as Tetsutesu but is something to be aware of when attacking."

"Noted."

Monoma waited for the other to divulge, but after a minute of silence he spoke again. "And…" he trailed off, waiting for a reciprocated intel.

"And, what?"

"The scoop on the monster we're about to face, what do you mean and."

"What's there to say? Ima crush him."

"Ah, that's your strategy."

"Ain't no need, I'll manage."

"Except it's a team effort. Do we got to go over this again?" Monoma was impressed how dense this guy was. The teen expected more after he'd seen him at the sports festival.

"You're annoying."

"As are you. Dimwit."

"That's my line bangs."

"Bangs? What does that even mean?"

"It means I'll give you a taste of my quirk and you can experience my awesomeness. At least for this battle."

Monoma was cautious about divulging his quirk limitation, and definitely wouldn't dare and mention it to a guy like him. This meant he'd have to be strategic.

"I guess we should take on our classmates. It'd be easier fighting against someone we're familiar with." Monoma didn't dare take on Todoroki, he'd seen what he accomplished during the festival. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't even sure Bakugou could overpower him. In the back of his mind first place was just a fluke. Plus the immense drawback of Bakugou's quirk that almost left him with a broken arm last time.

It was a good thing he had Awase and Rin's quirks in his repository. The teen unsuspectingly duplicated their powers when he came into contact earlier. The teen knew not to duplicate his teammates until the last minute eager to get this show on the road.

"So how we doing this?" Bakugou wondered now a bit conscious about the quirk transfer.

"I'll take a bite when I'm in need," the blonde cued looking out onto the field.

Bakugou shuddered at the thought, turning towards the arena gearing up for the battle ahead.