Izuku rests his head on his hand, propped up by an arm. The boy's gaze is cast down at the lead of the pencil in his other hand that scribbles back and forth. Instead of taking notes during his classes, he's currently doodling on the paper atop his desk. Today is proving no better a day of school than yesterday despite the regular lessons thus far. He can't focus with his mother's poor health on his mind either.

When Present Mic urges everyone to participate, "Alrighty! Everybody get those hands up if you know the answer to the question! Show me some spirit!", Izuku keeps his head down like everybody else. The hero does his best to make the lessons as entertaining as possible, but Izuku just isn't in the mood.

It's not until the afternoon when hero training is scheduled that the boy becomes more alert. A gust of wind blowing through the door instead of the window raises the hairs on his neck. Heavy footfalls announcing a huge presence catches his ears. The green in his eyes becomes more vibrant when he looks upwards. The number one hero, All Might, enters the classroom. Izuku's favorite idol is enough to lift his spirits, perking him right up.

"I AM HERE!", the symbol of peace announces his arrival with an extravagant flourish of the cape that trails behind his brisk movements, "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" The boisterous boom of the massive man's voice travels through the room, getting the class pumped like a crowd at a concert.

"It's All Might!", Eijiro excitedly exclaims the obvious with an eager lean forward. Stars dance in his eyes, beaming as bright as his pointed grin.

"Incredible! As expected of U.A!", Tenya claps his hands together in an effort to get a standing ovation from the rest of the class. He's the only one that gives a round of applause.

"Is he really gonna teach us?!", Hanta smiles a bit more broadly than Eijiro as he glances around the room to gauge everybody else's reactions to All Might as their teacher.

The pink girl with horns adorning the top of her head points out the outdated suit that the hero chose to wear, "That's his silver age costume!" It's a uniform that gives nostalgia but a questionable choice during the modern day.

A red and yellow mismatch of muscle expands and contracts as the mighty hero gives a hearty guffaw in response to the children's reactions. Izuku marvels as his idol silences them all by sheer laughter alone, commanding respect without throwing around his authoritative position. "It's good that you're all so lively! You're going to need that energy for today's activity!", All Might reaches behind his back before brandishing two cards in each hand.

Kanji reads 'Training' on the left and 'Battle' on the right. All Might sweatdrops before switching the two and correcting his presentation. "Battle Training!", the announcement gets the class hyped enough to completely overlook and dismiss the mistake much to the hero's relief. "No time to dally! Basic hero training is a class that will put you through all sorts of exercises to mold you into heroes!", he rolls with the crowd's wave of cheers before tossing the labeled cards over his massive shoulders and replacing them with a tiny remote.

"You were wondering why I wore my old costume? Well, because today you'll be adorning your own outfits!", All Might presses a button on the small device and cubicle lockers begin descending from the ceiling over each respective student's desk. A round of awe overcomes the teens when they witness the spectacle of technology. "In accordance with the quirk registry and the special request forms that all of you filled out before being admitted, these are..", All Might tells them all what's inside each of their private containers before they even have the opportunity to look inside them.

"COSTUMES!", a large margin of the class cheer together while they each begin opening their lockers. Vacuum sealed bags lay stacked atop the other in the bins, clothes distributed evenly and any support items stowed away in a separate slot.

Izuku clutches his own uniform's bagging closely to his chest. He remembers a time when he was younger that he had fantasized what his hero suit would look like. Being such an All Might fanboy, most of his early designs were just rehashes or cheap replicas of the number one hero. After getting his quirk and maturing with age though, Izuku started to think more practically.

Izuku rolls up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, folding them at the cuff and then refolding them until they reach his elbows. It was either a zipper or buttons for him to have easy access to the ripcord fixed to his chest. He went with a button down considering the look could be less conspicuous than a straight up jumpsuit. To appear a little more formal, Izuku included a black tie. His father had never taught him how to wear one properly that it hangs loosely, but it matches the untucked hem of his shirt in a sense of style.

When Izuku reconjoins with everybody else, he's relieved to see a variety of peers that went both ways so he doesn't have to worry about feeling like the odd one out. He's especially glad to find out Kyoka's costume is much like his own in terms of appearing like ordinary clothes. The girl wears a black leather jacket despite the sweltering sun's heat, which makes the boy chuckle. Her boots have stereos built into their shafts, no doubt for her quirk's optimization. And Izuku's eyes can't help but be drawn to the choker around her neck.

Kyoka gives him a once over during the same time that he takes in her fashion sense. "Plain approach, huh.. ?", her smile turns slightly sly as her eyes travel towards his messy tie, "Suits you" Having had prior experience fixing her father's ties, she adjusts it properly for him. "Though this looks a bit better", Izuku blushes only a little bit much to his credit when she invades his space to help him.

The boy tries to redirect his gaze elsewhere while he mumbles in his defense, "Your clothes are pretty normal too, ya know.."

Kyoka raises a single eyebrow before backing away, "That's not very nice" Her hands go on her hips while she feigns offense, "Shouldn't you know that you're always supposed to tell a girl she looks nice?"

Izuku blinks when he returns his gaze to her. He has to quickly look away again. "You do..", his next mumble comes with a blush that has Kyoka keeping her brow raised. Izuku shifts from foot to foot before clarifying, "Look nice, I mean."

Kyoka's blush matches the same hue as her salmon pink shirt. It's her turn to look away, completely embarrassed by the compliment. "Sh- Shut it!", she raises her jacks as a threat when she senses his eyes still on her.

"Not the neck!", Izuku covers his throat with his hands to avoid getting jabbed by the weaponized jacks. However, by defending only that part of his body, he leaves his torso exposed. "MY KIDNEY!", he feels a jolt go through him when Kyoka uses her quirk to blast his side with the vibration of her heartbeat.

While Izuku cradles in on himself, he completely misses the arrival of another. "Whoa, looking fancy!", a feminine voice aimed at him is his only way of knowing somebody else has joined him and Kyoka in their conversation. He hadn't anticipated that. "Didn't expect that from you, Deku", but nothing could have prepared him for that same girl to use his childhood nickname either.

Izuku sits up, the pain in his side from Kyoka's attack long forgotten. "Wh- What did you just call me?", his voice sounds distant from him while he tries to catch up with what he just heard a classmate address him as.

It's the girl with a brunette bob, the one that he rescued from the Zero Pointer. She's wearing some sort of skintight black and pink space themed suit that shows off her body's shape. "Deku? Isn't that your name?", but Izuku is more fixated on the words leaving her mouth rather than the rest of her.

"Why would you think that?", he can't help but let some of his frustration slip into his tone when he recalls all the years of bullying he had to endure with that nickname.

The girl picks up on his mood and loses her oblivious bubbliness, joy bursted by nerves. She anxiously wrings her hands together while saying, "Bakugo was calling you that earlier, so I thought–"

"It's a cruel nickname that means useless", but Izuku hears enough that he stops her mid sentence. He's not sure if his former friend is spreading rumors or trying to start trouble, but he shoots the blonde a glare regardless. Katsuki returns the look with a glower of his own.

Noticing the tension between the two boys and realizing that she made a grave mistake, the brunette hastily tries to apologize. She steps towards Izuku to grab his arm, "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't–"

"Shall we begin, zygotes?!", but All Might crashing down like a comet interrupts any and all conversations that Class 1-A is having. An epic pickup of dust sweeps through the small crowd, anyone with capes or hair exposed having both blown into disarray. All Might shouts over everyone's coughing as they fan away the fine particles, "Onto indoor anti-personnel battle training!"

"But we're outdoors..", the girl resembling a frog tentatively raises her hand to gain All Might's attention. She notably wears a green wetsuit to match her theme and overall aesthetic.

All Might scratches the top of his head, between the two large tufts of hair that spring up like a set of bunny ears. "Er, well, villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors.. However! Statistically, the most heinous of villains are more likely to hide away indoors!", he gestures to the buildings that they'll soon be entering as though that resolves the girl's comment.

But all the hero does is pose more potential inquiries. "They are?", a disembodied voice comes from somewhere amongst the collection of students. It takes All Might a moment to realize the person that spoke is completely invisible, only a pair of shoes and gloves to prove their existence.

"How come we never hear anything about that?", a boy with a fit physique like his teacher glances around at his peers as though they might know the answer to his question.

"Black market deals, house arrest, the works! The clever villains lurk in the shadows! Trust me!", but All Might beats them to the punch. Before any more interruptions can stall his momentum, the hero carries on with his lesson, "You'll now be split into hero teams and villain teams so you can face off in two on two indoor battles!"

"So no basic training?", the frog girl tilts her head to the side inquisitively without raising her hand for permission to speak this time.

All Might clenches his fist as though he's crushing a stress ball that nobody else can see while he blows off the question with the answer, "Practical experience teaches you the basics!"

"Like the robots during the Entrance Exam?", the shortest of the class draws All Might's heightened gaze downwards towards the boy with balls atop his head.

All Might flicks his index finger forward to point at the boy, singling him out to state firmly, "The distinct difference being that you WON'T be fighting robots, young man!" Izuku finds himself subconsciously nodding, thinking about the damage that can be done with his quirk and the intense contrast between machine and human.

"Fuck the difference", but not everybody in his class shares that same sentiment. Especially not Katsuki Bakugo. Izuku frowns when he sees his childhood bully popping off a few sparks via explosive quirk, "Can't I just blow everyone away?"

All Might opens his mouth to respond to the blonde, but gets interrupted by the girl with the pointed ponytail, "What determines victory?" At least she has the decency to raise her hand.

"Are you going to threaten to expel someone like Mister Aizawa did?", not like the brunette girl who keeps her arms tight at her sides. She nervously looks up at All Might, expecting the same treatment as their homeroom teacher.

"How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?", Tenya chops in a straight solid line with his hand as though he's splitting the groups himself. He stands at the center of the class, trying to draw All Might's attention from the other questions to have his own answered.

"How fabulous is my cape?", but a boy covered in glitter and sparkling armor outshines Tenya like a living spotlight. The shawl in question flails around with extravagant gestures to draw everybody's eyes.

"Holy shit, these kids are killing me faster than my injury", All Might grumbles through gritted teeth as he places a heavy hand over his left side. Before anyone else can bombard him with any more questions, he shouts over them all, "Just a moment!" And takes the time to flip through a manual. Everyone is shocked to see the teaching booklet that the number one hero frantically searches for answers, "Uhh.. Umm.." But what shocks them even more is when he snaps it shut to reclaim control of the situation, "Listen up! Here's the deal! The villains have a bomb to guard and the heroes have to retrieve it! There's a limited amount of time for either team to successfully capture the other or achieve those objectives!"

The frog-like girl slowly starts raising her hand from her crouched position, "What about– ?"

"Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots!", but All Might cuts her off when he pulls a set of boxes seemingly out of thin air. "Any other questions before we proceed?", the hero is just as quick to end the string of inquiries before anyone else can try interjecting, "No? GREAT!"

Much to the frog girl's disdain, "But–"

"The first team is comprised of Midoriya and Uraraka!", All Might draws two balls from the first box to begin creating duos. Izuku looks around his classmates before identifying Uraraka as the brunette girl he's already relatively acquainted with. "They will be..", All Might reaches into the other small crate before announcing, "Villains!"

Izuku feels a twinge in his chest. He tells himself it's all by chance, not done deliberately. Yet, he can't help but succumb to a mood swing. Any excitement he had felt about technically meeting All Might and engaging with his classmates during hero training dissipates. All he can see is Katsuki's cocky grin aimed his way. All he can hear is the echo in the back of his mind that he's on the villain team.

"They'll be up against..", and the situation only worsens for him when All Might announces his opponent, "Bakugo!" Izuku almost misses hearing who Katsuki's teammate will be, "And Iida!", his mind falling further into a spiral of distraught emotions.

He doesn't listen to All Might declaring the other teams nor does he fully comprehend going through the motions of preparing for the start of the first round. He vaguely recalls Kyoka's encouragement when he finally comes to at the actual battle grounds, but by then it's too late to thank her. His partner, Uraraka looks at him with concern as she removes the visor covering her face.

"Are you okay?", she stares at him with auburn eyes that seem sincere enough to Izuku that he relaxes in her company. Though anxiety lingers over him still due to Bakugo.

"Yeah", Izuku's response is an unconvincing whisper that keeps Uraraka staring. He clears his throat and tries sounding more resolved as he says louder, "Thanks for asking."

The brunette takes the hint, nodding. "So.. Bakugo is the one that gave you that mean nickname, huh?", she surprises Izuku when she expresses herself as having a lot of energy with a fist pump, "Let's use this as an opportunity to get back at him!" The boy blinks back his shock as she explains, "I don't like that he tricked me into calling you something you don't like, so I'd like a little payback myself."

"It won't be so easy", but Izuku diverts his focus from her to the dark hallway ahead of them. He half expects his enemy to come flying out of it already. "He'll be coming for me regardless of what Iida says", the boy's gaze flicks back to the fake nuclear weapon that they're supposed to guard, "Plus we've got the bomb to protect."

"So it's like you and Bakugo are fated rivals then! You two will duke it out one on one!", Uraraka mimes having a boxing match by jabbing at the air. When she sees Izuku isn't quite as enthused by the prospect of fighting his childhood bully, she simmers down. "Does that.. mean you'll be using your quirk?", the girl tries to be as delicate as possible as she treads the topic of his quirk like thin ice.

Izuku looks down at himself, placing a hand over his chest. He feels the rise and fall of it as he breathes. "Probably not", his voice is distant while his mind wanders to the past, "Ka– I mean, Bakugo.. He's a jerk, but I can't risk killing him" When he's finally finished reflecting, Izuku drops his hand and refocuses on Uraraka to ask, "What about you? What's your quirk?"

At that, the brunette perks right back up. "Oh! I can make things float!", she lightly taps on the fake nuke to demonstrate. The object lifts into the air and levitates in place just like she said. "So long as all five of my fingers touch the item", each digit twiddles on her hand before she brings them together and deactivates her quirk.

Izuku hums as he places his hand to his chin to come up with a strategy. "The bomb is made of paper mache, so it's not too heavy already, but that'll help make it a bit more mobile..", he thinks aloud so that his partner can follow along, "Iida is fast.. I recognize his name as part of the Ingenium family–"

"Whoa, really?!", she interrupts with an exclamation of shock upon discovering her classmate is related to a pro hero.

Izuku nods and gestures for her to settle down. "Yes, but listen.. He's fast, so you're gonna have to stay ahead of him and not sit in one place if we're to split up", he glances over his shoulder to look down the hallway ahead of them. He suddenly wishes they had explored the facility a bit more to know the layout better.

"Got it! That's a good plan!", Uraraka nods along and gives her teammate a thumbs up in approval of his idea. She doesn't share his concerns about going into the battle ill prepared.

And he doesn't have the chance to change that problem since the buzzing alarm that indicates the match has begun goes off right then and there. "I'm glad you think so, cause we just ran out of time to come up with another one", he sighs solemnly as he runs a hand through his hair in worry.

"Good luck!", Uraraka remains optimistic though. She uses her quirk on the paper mache nuke and starts carrying it upstairs.

"You too", he responds just loud enough for her to hear before heading in the opposite direction. He figures the least he could do is try luring the enemy team away from her to stall for time.

Izuku waits until he's descended a few floors before pausing to remove his shoes. He hopes that this will stop his footfalls from echoing every time he steps on the concrete ground. He also stops to undo his tie, wrapping the cloth around a hand before closing it into a fist. The moment of preparation quells some of his nerves before he continues moving stealthily down the stairs.

When Izuku rounds the next corner though, he has only a mere second to react. An explosion aimed right at his face blinds him as he ducks down to avoid taking the full brunt of the blast. The force of the detonation drives him back and some of the fire is just too close to avoid that his clothes get singed along with his hair. Through the ash and soot is none other than Katsuki Bakugo, the blonde boy's outfit comprised of grenade gauntlets and tactical military gear.

"Nice dodging, Deku..", Katsuki grinds out a sarcastic snarl through gritted teeth. Izuku spares a look behind the savage boy to see if Tenya is with him but figures the blonde must have gone rogue when finding nobody.

"I knew you'd come for me alone", Izuku doesn't know whether to smile or sneer back at his old friend turned bully. He settles for a bitter laugh while getting into a fighting stance.

Katsuki rears his right arm back, winding up for a punch. "I'll fuck you up just enough not to get disqualified!", but his cocky approach is intercepted by Izuku grabbing onto the arm and using it against him. The blonde is hoisted over Izuku's shoulder and flipped onto his back.

"You always lead with a right hook", Izuku explains how he was able to see the boy's move coming from a mile away before raising his fists to continue the fight and fixing his opponent with a glare, "I've seen it enough times to know."

"You fucker!", Katsuki angrily gets to his feet to attack again. The rage fueled charge is something Izuku sees coming in advance too. He pulls his tie through each hand to extend it while bending low to counter Katsuki. Izuku then uses the thin cloth to trip the blonde by wrapping it around his ankle and pulling.

Katsuki stumbles, landing on his shoulder before righting himself. The blonde's instinct takes over and he lets off a controlled blast to ward Izuku away. Though small, the explosion takes its toll and blows Izuku into the nearest wall. Smoke billows between both boys as they heave themselves to standing positions.

"Use your shitty dog's quirk already!", Katsuki lashes out with more miniature bursts. Izuku leans away from them, avoiding the full force of the blasts. His clothes continue to get scorched though, along with the blemishes across his skin. A boot plants itself between Izuku's ribs, kicking him into the handrail of the staircase they're by. "You don't belong here with that villainous quirk!", Katsuki's shouts are louder than the ringing in Izuku's ears as he dodges the next assault.

"I'M the villain?!", Izuku gasps as he staggers back. His face contorts into an angry expression that challenges Katsuki's. "YOU'RE the one who can create explosions and used them to terrorize me when we were younger!", his bitter bite is met by a roar from the blonde before another eruption of flame destroys a wall's foundation.

Izuku rolls across the floor, fragments of cement pelting him when he lands on his back. He hardly has the time to turn over before Katsuki pursues him with another assault. "I'm gonna bring the villain outta ya and show you!", Izuku takes a punch that rattles his jaw before being blown into another room. The explosions coming from Katsuki up till now were deliberate, each one meant to destroy the cameras recording their battle as much as they had been directed towards Izuku. "If you're worried about everyone else seeing, don't worry, I only want YOU to realize the truth about yourself", Katsuki stomps towards the impact hole he created to yell into it.

He hoists the heavy gauntlet attached to his arm upwards to rest in his other hand. The pin to the grenade shaped device rests on his finger like a trigger. The dark smog wafting from the damaged infrastructure conceals Izuku but Katsuki knows the boy is somewhere in there. "Come here, Deku! Let me teach you how we do battle in the hero course!", Katsuki yells into the void again to goad his enemy.

A grin overcomes the blonde's facial features when he hears vitriolic vengeance reverberating as the sound of a chainsaw's ignition. The flurry of spinning metal teeth that barrels through the smoke yells back, "Come on then! Teach me!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

It's time for Izuku VS Reze- er, I mean Izuku VS Katsuki.

It's also time for review reading!

To guestyperson:

Precisely! There's small caveats to the regen ability that I think are necessary to keep him from being too OP.

Until next time, gang!