Hello everybody! Welcome to the next chapter. I'm still in awe of how much support this story is getting. It's insane to me. Thank you to everyone. Onto questions, for the DragonBard, I originally did not know much about the planned sequel before this comment. After finding the script online (it is available along with an earlier version of the first movie), it made things more clear. While time travel won't be a part of Izuku's repertoire, accelerated healing might be. Am I teasing for the sake of it? Yes. Now, onto the chapter!

In retrospect, Izuku had an alright first day of school in UA. Sure, it wasn't ideal: he had to deal with old childhood troubles with Kacchan, and the threat of expulsion was slightly overboard. But he did manage to pass the Quirk assessment test, and he didn't get a nosebleed at all! Plus, nobody got expelled!

Izuku even made friends! Uraraka was really kind and energetic and cute all at the same time. It was nice to have someone be there to support him that wasn't his mom. Iida and Izuku started off on the wrong foot, but Iida shown himself to be acknowledging to his own faults and trying to improve them. Sure, Iida might be uptight and too serious for his own good, but what are friends if they're not perfect.

The second day of school was really weird compared to the first. Mainly because it was an actual school day. Compared to the high school Anime Izuku watched, UA was very similar. Of course, there was less daily drama involved, for now.

Plus, all the teachers were actual Pro Heroes. It was weird seeing these larger-than-life heroes teaching something basic like math or English. Although some of these teachers were way too into their personas to be teaching a class. Present Mic, as much as Izuku like him, was way too energetic for a morning English class. Modern Art History didn't sound like a bad class on paper, but it was taught by Midnight, the R-rated Heroine. Most of the footage Izuku had seen of her had to be taken from websites where he had to lie about his age. Normally being attractive wasn't the problem, oh no. It was the fact that she made inuendoes constantly during class made most of the students, the boys especially, slightly uncomfortable.

Still, classes went on and eventually, class 1-A shifted to lunch period. The novelty of heroes being part of the staff was still there, as the food was made and served by Lunch Rush. And, for the first time in a long time, Izuku sat with friends for lunch. Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida all sat and discussed their opinions of the classes, the teachers, the amount of homework they had been given. However, all three were excited about an upcoming subject. One that would begin right after lunch.

After arriving at their homeroom, the students of 1-A sat and waited for their next teacher. Most of the students were talking amongst themselves, wondering who was going to lead their next course.

"Settle down," Aizawa ordered through his sleeping bag. "Your teacher will be here shortly. Assuming he's on time." He added under his breath.

A few seconds later, a resounding voice echoed into the classroom.

"I AM HERE…!"

The class turned to the doorway. The door slammed open with a mighty thud.

"…WALKING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" All Might leaned into the classroom.

1-A went wild with cheers. Everybody was surprised that All Might, the Number One Hero, was here to teach. Well, almost everyone.

Izuku already knew beforehand, but he was still caught up in the excitement of it all. He was grinning ear to ear at the sight of his mentor. All Might was wearing his Silver Age costume, the one that was mostly red, blue, and silver. It was the last one to have a cape before the Bronze Age costume changed that.

"Settle down," Aizawa warned from his seat. This got the class to lower the volume a bit.

"Ha, ha! Seems I need no introduction," All Might mused. "Greetings, kids! Welcome to the Foundational Hero Studies, aka Heroics 101! Today, we'll be commencing…!"

All Might dug into his costume before pulling out a card that read "Battle Trial" on it.

"…The Trial of Battle!"

Once more the class erupted into applause, with some of the more aggressive students joining in as well.

"Love the enthusiasm! Before we begin, one must remember that a hero's success is not just in their Quirk or skills, but in how they appear!"

All Might then proceeds to pull twenty suitcases and lay them flat along the table.

"Before you enrolled into this academy, you all submitted designs for your costumes! With your designs and the combined effort of costume corporations and UA's own support department, your next step to becoming a Pro Hero is right at your fingertips. Each of your costumes are assigned based on your seating position. Grab them, get changed, and meet me in Ground Beta," All Might instructed.

"And remember our school motto: Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!" All Might finished.

"PLUS ULTRA!" The class shouted back.

As the students rushed to grab their suits, Izuku was a bit more than apprehensive about getting his. He barely remembered submitting his costume during all the training. Izuku let out a gulp as he picked up his, number eighteen. As he followed the rest of his classmates to the locker rooms, he silently prayed that his costume was not embarrassing.

Oh god, it was worse. It was so much worse.

As Izuku stared at the costume that laid before him, the memories of designing…this came back to mind. Before he got his powers, Izuku designed his costume that was…heavily inspired by All Might. The outfit was to emulate comic book and manga heroes of old, mixing it with All Might iconography, and adding a touch of personal design. It looked really good on paper. In practice, not so much.

The spandex-like material felt like it was too light to provide substantial defense. The turquoise coloring made him stand out like a sore thumb. He had a mouth guard that was supposed to simulate All Might's ever-present smile, but instead it came off looking like a deranged cartoon character. His hood contained twin spikes that were supposed to be like All Might's iconic tuffs of hair but came off as spiky rabbit ears. The knee pads and elbow guards were a nice touch, but the gloves made him feel even more like a cartoon. The belt had something not in the original design, a pouch containing tissues in case Izuku ever had to deal with a nosebleed.

However, what topped this cake of embarrassment was small letter inside from his mom, who revealed she personally made this during her off time. While Izuku loved his mom and would never say otherwise, he cringed at the thought of one of his classmates finding out the letter.

As he changed, luckily none of the other boys seemed to care about Izuku's costume. Most were admiring their own or someone else's. And to be fair, Izuku did think most of them looked better than his. Some, like Kaminari the electric guy, opted for a more practical style of costume. Some, like Aoyama, the French guy with the belly button laser, had more elaborate and armored outfits. One guy, Kirishima, seemed to have had his costume based off an older Hero, Crimson Riot. But his was better than Izuku's. And was Mineta wearing a diaper?

Of course, Kacchan would style himself after a literal explosion. And he had two grenade-shaped gauntlets on his arms. And Todoroki wore a simple plain white dress shirt and slacks combo, but with his right side being covered in ice barring the face.

As everyone finished getting dressed, the boys met up with their female classmates in Ground Beta. The girls also had a range of costume choices from practical to elaborate. As Izuku took mental notes of them, he noticed that some of the girl's costumes were more revealing than others. Then he got to Hagakure, whose only piece of visible clothing were gloves and boots. If Izuku recalled correctly, then her Quirk was permeant invisibility that doesn't affect clothes, so that would mean…

Izuku turned before his hormones acted. He did not want to think about how one of his classmates was potentially naked right now.

"Hey, Deku! That's a nice costume!"

Izuku turned to see Uraraka, who was wearing a pink and black costume that seemed to resemble an astronaut.

"Oh, thanks," Izuku stammered. "You look good too."

"Yeah, I guess. Just wish I could have been more specific about somethings." Uraraka tugged at parts of her costume. "Some parts of this are really skintight."

Izuku followed to the areas she was tugging too. Uraraka's complaints were not unfounded, as the black spandex gripped her body tight. Really tight. Uncomfortably tight.

Izuku was thankful for the mask hiding his blush and turned away before it got worse.

"Y-y-you know, the Support department can, uh, you know, refit it, I think," Izuku tried to keep his eyes on Uraraka's face.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Uraraka noted. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"I see you two have already started comparing costumes."

The two turned to see Iida. He was decked what Izuku could describe as a mix of a knight's armor and an engine block. Like Izuku's costume, it covered Iida head to toe.

"How's your costume, Iida," Uraraka asked. "I think mine needs to be refitted a bit."

"I am sorry to hear that," Iida apologized. "However, I can safely say that my costume fits perfectly. I must thank the Support Department for their excellent work. How about yours, Midoriya?"

"Oh, it's alright, I guess. Everyone else's are cooler anyway."

"Hey, don't say that." Uraraka said. "I think it looks sort of cool. Like in a do-it-yourself kind of way. Are those supposed to be rabbit ears?"

Izuku resisted the urge to grab the "ears" in shame.

"No," Izuku admitted. "Honestly, they were supposed to resemble All Might's hair."

Izuku briefly caught the man himself looking in his direction. Despite the eternal smile on his face, Izuku could tell that All Might was cringing on the inside. God, Izuku could feel the second-hand embarrassment from here. All Might was probably silently judging right now. Oh, this day couldn't get any worse.

"Looking spiffy!" All Might addressed the class. "They say clothes make the man and you all prove it!" All Might raised a thumbs up. "Very cool!"

"All Might, sir!" Iida raised his hand. "Will this be similar to the entrance exam?"

"Excellent question, young Iida! However, instead of fighting robots outside, this lesson will put you against other humans indoors!"

"Uh, sir, isn't that a bit ahead of the syllabus?" A student asked.

"That just means we're getting straight to the point!" All Might explained. "While most covered Villain fights happen outdoors, statistically, most Villains make their move in the dark. Home invasions, warehouse deals, and other such things are much more common. For this exercise, each of you will be split into teams of two and those teams will be categorized as either Heroes or Villains."

"And how will we be paired?" Iida asked.

"By random chance!"

All Might revealed a wheel that was used for old bingo games. Inside were different colored balls that had different letters labeled on them.

"Sir, not to be rude, but wouldn't it be more effective for us to team up based on our abilities?" Iida asked.

"Actually, it's more realistic this way," Izuku spoke up. "A lot of Hero team ups are random and the usual way they meet up is because two Heroes are in the same neighborhood."

"Correct, young Midoriya! Now then before we start, any other questions?" All Might asked.

"How will we be graded on this?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"How much can we hurt the other team?" Kacchan asked dangerously.

"Will we get expelled if we fail this?" Uraraka asked nervously.

"Does this cape make me loo magnifique?" Aoyama twirled around and sparkled?

"I can't answer you if you all speak at once!" All Might shouted. He pulled out a set of notecards and began to read from them.

"Here's the situation: a group of Villains are currently holding a nuclear bomb inside one of the buildings set to detonate in ten minutes. It's the Heroes job to find and disarm it. Both teams get five minutes of prep time to plan and strategize. The Heroes win if they capture the Villains or touch the bomb. The Villains win if they capture the Heroes or wait out the time limit. You won't be expelled if you succeed or fail, we will stop if things get too violent, and that cape sparkles brilliantly."

"With that all out of the way, step up and draw your lot." All Might gestured to the machine.

One by one, students grabbed a ball by random. Izuku got a ball with the letter "A" on it. Turns out, Uraraka and him both were in a team together. Nice.

"For our first matchup," All Might spun the wheel and pulled out two balls. "It'll be Team A as the Heroes and Team D as the Villains!"

Ok, so it will be him and Uraraka up first, Izuku thought. He looked for the enemy team. Their opponents were Iida…and Kacchan. Oh, man, it got worse. Izuku sweated under his suit. Of all the things he didn't want to do, fighting Kacchan was high up there.

"Heroes and Villains make their way to their positions in the field! Everyone else, follow me to the observation deck!" All Might waved over the rest of the students.

Later, Izuku and Uraraka stood outside one of the buildings. It was around five-stories tall and bland as can be. Then again, it was designed to be an average Villain hideout, so hiding in plain sight was a given. All the participants were given three items: a roll of capture tape that was meant to subdue a Hero or Villain, and small earbuds used to keep in contact with their partner. The last was a map of the entire building's floor plan.

Uraraka was fiddling with hers while Izuku was making sure his capture tape clung to his belt. He was squatting down trying to read the blueprints.

"So, what should our plan be?" Uraraka asked.

"Well," Izuku started. "Kacchan will most likely go after me first."

"Yeah, he really seems to have it out for you."

Izuku shrugged. "Can't be helped. That means Kacchan will leave Iida to defend the bomb."

Izuku rubbed his chin. "Alright, here's the plan: I'll distract Kacchan and you go get the bomb from Iida."

"Okay, and anything a bit more specific?" Uraraka asked.

"Well, I mean, Iida would primarily use his legs for combat, so you should incapacitate those first. If not, uh, use the capture tape to wrap around him."

"And what will you do about Bakugo?"

"He's made for longer battles. My best bet is to try and subdue him early. Honestly, both of our Quirks rely on other things being present to fully work." Izuku sighed. "Hopefully, there will be enough stuff lying around to work with."

"Well, good luck to us, right?" Uraraka smiled.

Izuku nodded.

"Hey, do you think we can try and get some reconnaissance before-?"

"Prep time is over!" All Might boomed over the loudspeakers. "Heroes, get in there and go for it!"

"Oh, never mind then!"

With that, Izuku and Uraraka scrambled inside. The first floor was mostly baren in terms of design. There were only some tables, chairs and boxes lying around. Farther down were corridors that would lead to the upper levels.

"Come on! This way!" Izuku pointed to the stairs. He and Uraraka ran for them while searching for the bomb.

"I don't see it!" Uraraka cried out.

"Me neither!" Izuku added. "Go up!"

After climbing the stairs, they entered another series of corridors and rooms. They continued to run and look at every room before entering another main hall type of area.

Izuku was getting worried. He knew Kacchan would attack, but when? As the two started making their way to the next set of stairs, Izuku felt an impeding sense of dread come over him.

"DEKU!"

"Look out!" Izuku push Uraraka aside as an explosion rang out near the left side of his face. The two got back up to see Bakugo standing in a fighting position.

"Uraraka, go on ahead!" Izuku ordered. Uraraka nodded and ran for the stairs. Izuku feared that Kacchan would take an opportunity to attack her, but instead, he let her go to focus on Izuku.

"Ok, now it's just him and me," Izuku mumbled under his breath. The realization of him being alone with his childhood bully soon dawned on him. "Great, now it's just him and me." Izuku added nervously.

"Die! Take this!" Kacchan charged in with a right hook.

However, Izuku spent years facing that same attack. Kacchan was getting too close for a telekinetic attack, so Izuku relied on some basic martial arts. When Bakugo threw the punch, Izuku grabbed the wrist and arm and used Bakugo's momentum to throw him to the ground. This didn't take him out though, as Bakugo rolled back up again.

"This isn't going to be the same as before." Izuku tried to sound confident. "I know how you fight. You don't scare me."

"You're going to wish you were scared when I'm done with you." Kacchan threatened.

Bakugo charged in again with Izuku backing up to keep the distance between them. Izuku would grab a nearby table or chair with his Quirk and throw it at Kacchan, but the blonde would blow it to smithereens before it hit him. This game of explosive cat and mouse would continue for a while.

"You haven't changed, Deku!" Kacchan roared. "Always trying to be the Hero in the weakest way possible. Trying to put up a fight even when you know you can't! I know your secret, you damn nerd! You've been lying all this time because you're looking down on me!"

Izuku threw up his barrier as an explosion thundered on his right side. Kacchan's words were starting to register.

"Looking down on you?" Izuku said in disbelief. "I looked up to you. Everyone did. You were cool, confident, and your Quirk is amazing. Why would I ever think I was better than you?"

"Because of this!" Kacchan gestured to the situation they were in. "You've acted like you were weak all your life! And suddenly, you got yourself this lame Quirk. Now you think you can stand up to me! I'm not like any of these extras; I know who you were before this. And I don't care how long you've been hiding this from me. Because I already know I'm stronger than you. I just need to beat into so hard into your goddamn head you'll never forget it!"

Bakugo charged a knee into Izuku's gut. He didn't even wait for the green hair telekinetic to recover before following it up with a headbutt and an explosion straight into Izuku's chest.

Izuku slowly recovered. He tried to suck in air, but his brunt chest was making it hard. The headache from the headbutt didn't help either. As his vision got clearer, Izuku saw Kacchan charging in for another attack. Izuku stumbled and rolled his way out of the attacks.

Izuku could see that any debris left was too small to be useful. Any tables or chairs had been reduced to splinters. Izuku could have tried to stop Kacchan with his telekinesis, but Izuku had no idea how that would affect Kacchan. Then, Izuku remember his barrier. He could coat himself with his telekinesis to protect himself. What if instead of using it defensively, he used it offensively. Boost his strength instead of his endurance.

Izuku summoned his barrier and waiting for Kacchan to attack. He didn't have to wait long as the blonde bomber was going in for another right hook.

Time seemed to slow down for the both of them as Izuku ducked under Kacchan's arm. He pulled back his arms, and using his right arm to help his left, Izuku uppercut Kacchan with his elbow. As Kacchan was stunned from this, Izuku followed up with a straight right into Kacchn's gut, sending the boy rolling backwards.

Izuku didn't have to worry about using too much of his strength. Bakugo's Quirk gave him the necessary durability to handle the recoil of his explosions. So, it didn't relieve Izuku as much when Kacchan got up.

The blonde wiped off a bit of drool that came out of his mouth. When looking at it, he didn't react with the same fiery temper as usual. This was longer, like a spark racing towards dynamite.

"I finally figured it out." Kacchan said dangerously calm. "You're not just looking down on me." He clenched his fist and roared. "You're holding yourself back!"

Izuku was stunned at this accusation, letting Bakugo make his case.

"I should have seen it earlier! How you almost got first place in the entrance exam despite your trashy Villain score. How you almost got into the top tens in that stupid Quirk test but didn't! You're not just looking down on me! You think you're better than everyone else!"

It was insane, unreal. Izuku would never dream of thinking that he was somehow superior to anyone. Those examples were him getting by just through the skin of his teeth. He put in as much effort as anyone else did.

But, thinking back then, did he? He didn't fully use his flight during the entrance exam when it could have helped him score more points. When he tried the grip strength challenge, he stopped before testing how far he could have crushed the machine. Was he afraid of his own power? Scared of it?

Izuku came to a realization that it wasn't superiority nor fear of his powers that caused him to hold back. No, Izuku realized he wanted to fit in. To be normal. UA was going to be different than Aldrea Middle. He wasn't going to be the odd man out, the Quirkless loser with no friends. It was going to be different.

"I trained my whole life to get here!" Kacchan continued. "And I'm not going to let some crybaby weakling who thinks suddenly having a Quirk means he's better than me ruin it! I don't care how Glasses and Round Cheeks battle it out, but believe me, by the time we're through, only one of us is going to be standing, and it sure won't be some spineless loser who won't fight at full strength!"

Another proverbial slap to the face for Izuku. Only this time, Izuku knew he couldn't let his old bully come out on top. He trained just as hard to get here, and even if Kacchan

"You were right," Izuku stated. "About me holding back. But you're wrong about the reasoning! I think, even if I tell you the truth, you won't believe my words. So, I promise you this, I'll defeat you with my all. You want me to go at full power, Kacchan? Is that what you want?!"

Kacchan smiled dangerously. "It'll make it all the more satisfying to put you back on the ground where you belong." He flicked his fingers in a "come-get-me" motion.

Izuku charged. Instead of throwing a punch, Izuku grabbed Kacchan and slammed him into a wall. He threw some punches, some connecting, some cracking the wall behind Kacchan. Bakugo, in turn, would knock Izuku into another wall of a corridor. He grabbed Izuku's cowl and ripped it off before swinging in a left hook that hit.

The two would struggle in the corridor. Any semblance of this being a spectacle fight were long gone. There was no technique involved. It was a lot of punching, kicking, hitting, and grappling. It was a fight in the most down-to-earth, dirty and brutal way possible.

During this, Izuku overheard snippets of messages from Uraraka. Turns out, she found the bomb and Iida was in fact guarding it. From what he remembered, Izuku learned that Iida took the role of a hammy Villain serious, much to Uraraka's amusement. However, it didn't matter to Izuku then. The world revolved around him beating Kacchan, proving he wasn't who the explosion user said he was. With a final shove, Izuku pushed Kacchan down further in the corridor.

The two boys stood there, panting in exhaustion. Both were covered in bruises and scrapes, and for Izuku, burn marks. Izuku fought against his tired arms to keep them up in case Kacchan tried for another rush. Yet, he didn't. Kacchan was chuckling to himself.

"Heh, heh," Kacchan smirked. "You know, for someone so smart, you can be so stupid."

Izuku narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"I know you've been taking notes of me," Kacchan continued. "Ever since I got my Quirk, you've been following me like a damn stalker and writing everything down in those notebooks of yours. You already know how my Quirk works."

Izuku agreed silently but was still confused of what was Kacchan's endgame.

"Here's a refresher course: my sweat contains nitroglycerin in it. I can make it explode. The more I sweat, the more powerful my explosions are."

"See these things?" Kacchan pointed the grenade shaped gauntlets on his forearms. "They store up sweat when I fight. Now, think of all that sweat, that nitroglycerin, and think of what happens if I release it."

It dawned on Izuku right as Kacchan smirked. "That's right, one big boom. I'm going to have to thank the nerds in the Support Department if this works."

Kacchan raised his right arm and pointed it straight at Izuku. His left hand was dangerously close to the pin of the gauntlet.

"No, young Bakugo! Don't use it!" The voice of All Might blared through the loudspeakers. "You'll kill him at this range!"

"He'll live if he dodges!" Bakugo barked back.

Izuku froze. Every rational thought screamed at him to move out of the way. It only made sense. There was no way he would survive if he took the blast head on.

Yet, a growing voice told him not to. It wanted him to take the blast; his barrier could take it. Even more, it would show Kacchan that he wasn't weak. That he wasn't holding back.

"Take this! DIE!" Bakugo pulled the trigger.

Izuku turned on his barrier and crossed his arms for good measure as the blast washed over him.

The heat was intense. Even with his shield up, he could feel the flames course over him. The sound made his ears ring, and he was sure he felt the building shake from the vibrations. What felt like minutes only lasted seconds as the flames dispersed and all that was left was smoke.

Bakugo's arms fell limply. He took concentrated breaths, careful not to breath in his own smoke. His right arm tingled after a blast that big. Damn, what an explosion that was. That was the biggest Bakugo ever made, and you better believe he was proud of it.

As the smoke dissipate, pride dropped for anger as Bakugo saw Deku still standing. The nerd looked completely unscathed. Only wisps of smoke trailed from his Hero costume. Deku lowered his arms as well. Blood was already starting to drip out of his nose.

Bakugo sneered before remembering he still had one big blast left.

He grinned. "Good thing there's two of these!"

He raised his left arm and tried to pull the pin with his right. Before he could reach the pin, his arms froze in place.

No matter how hard he pushed, Bakugo could not move his arms. They were caught in invisible chains, and nothing Bakugo could do would move them.

He turned his attention to Deku, who had his right arm up and his hand stretched in a claw position. Bakugo put two and two together: Deku was using his Quirk to paralyze Katsuki's arms.

Before Bakugo could make a verbal retort, Izuku suddenly pulled his left arm back. With his palm open, Izuku thrust the arm forward.

The push was devastating. Bakugo was sent flying through several walls and disappeared out of sight. The near sonic boom rattled the entire building, and everyone in the observation deck most likely heard it as well.

Izuku stood there, still having his left arm out. Blood was now freely waterfalling out of Izuku's nose. He stood there for several seconds before he jolted back up. It seemed like Izuku's demeanor flipped like a switch. Izuku looked like he just recognized where he was and what he did.

Izuku immediately ran through the holes in the wall. He fumbled trying to get a tissue while also looking for Kacchan. Izuku became more afraid as he saw the wake of his attack. That pushed send Kacchan through more than five walls.

Finally, Izuku found Kacchan slumped up against a wall. Luckily, it was the wall leading to the outside and Kacchan didn't break through it. Izuku ran to check up on Kacchan. He wasn't moving, and Izuku could barely guess if he was even breathing.

Izuku's brain raced for something to help him. He couldn't have… No, Izuku didn't want to consider that possibility. He tried to remember all the countless Hero interviews he saw. There had to be something about how to check if someone was still alive.

Izuku put his head to Kacchan's chest. He could barely hear breathing, but it was still there. Izuku sighed in relief but knew he couldn't stop now. He remembered that you could check a person's wrist to find their pulse. Izuku couldn't exactly reach it with Kacchan's gauntlets in the way, so he had to find another place. The neck. Izuku placed a finger on Kacchan's neck, trying to find a pulse. Finally, he found it. It was still beating. Kacchan was alive.

Izuku fell on his butt in relief. But he couldn't just leave Kacchan there. He needed medical attention. Izuku needed to get Kacchan out of the building, but how? Izuku remembered how they could use the capture tape to make a student "out". Izuku grabbed the tape and just wrapped it around Kacchan's hands like handcuffs.

"Katuski Bakugo has been captured!" All Might's voice came over the loudspeakers again. "Don't worry, young Midoryia, medic bots will arrive to take him to the infirmary."

Izuku nodded. He stayed with Kacchan till the medic bots came. It didn't take very long, but it was enough time for Izuku to plug up his nose with tissues. After the robots took Kacchan away, Izuku made his way upstairs. He took the time to radio in

"Uraraka," Izuku said with his stuffed nose. "Where are you?"

"Deku, I'm fighting Iida on the fifth floor!" Uraraka called in. "What the heck were you and Bakugo doing down there?! Felt like there were two earthquakes back-to-back!"

"Sorry," Izuku mumbled. "I'll try to be up there as soon as possible."

"Not to rush you or anything, but Iida's – Whoa!"

The call ended suddenly. Izuku thought she had been eliminated, but there was no announcement. He picked up the pace up the stairs. He threw away the two bloodied tissues before making it up top.

There Uraraka was making a mad dash for the bomb with Iida about to give chase. Izuku decided to make himself the distraction.

"Hey, Iida!"

Iida suddenly turned around at the sudden sight of Izuku.

"What's this?!" Iida cried out. Uraraka was right. He really did take this seriously. "You may have bested my compatriot, but nothing will stop you Heroes from disarming my bomb!"

"Heroes have captured the bomb! The Hero team wins!"

Both boys turned to look at Uraraka, who was holding onto the fake bomb like her life depended on it.

"Curses! Foiled by the champions of justice!" Iida cried out before resuming his standard professional self. "Well done, Uraraka and Midoriya, you have won."

"Um, thank Iida?" Izuku said after a while.

Uraraka, who was still holding onto the bomb, opened her eyes.

"Did, did we win?" She asked.

Later, after a quirk trip to the infirmary to make sure Izuku's nose wouldn't be bleeding anytime soon, all four made it back to the observation room. Kacchan was already up, but he wouldn't be participating in anything else physical today. They all took their seats as All Might addressed them.

"You all did well on the exercise today. However, I should remind everyone that destruction of a building one is in is not only foolish for Heroes, but also Villains." All Might stated it like it was a generic piece of advice, but Izuku knew the Symbol of Peace was speaking to both Kacchan and Izuku.

"At the end of every round, I will appoint the MVP of the match. And for our first match, I would like to award the title to young Iida!"

The armored Hero-in-training was a bit surprised at his title, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Now," All Might turned to the rest of the class. "Would anyone like to explain why I chose young Iida?"

A hand shot up.

"Yes, young Yaoyorozu?" All Might pointed to her.

The pony-tailed girl stood up and gave her reasoning. "Iida was awarded the title of MVP because he was the only one who fully committed to the scenario. Bakugo ran off to deal with his personal feud with Midoriya and recklessly caused damaged to the structure of the building."

Bakugo growled but did nothing.

"Midoriya, likewise, also engaged with his feud with Bakugo. His defense against Bakugo's explosion was, while impressive, also incredibly risky. While checking to make sure a Villain was not fatally injured was a good idea, Midoriya wasted too much time waiting for the paramedics before helping his comrade."

Izuku shrunk under Yaoyorozu's words. He knew she was right, yet it still felt bad to hear them.

"Uraraka, while her plan of action ultimately won out in the end, she also didn't take Iida's performance seriously, which could have led her to underestimate Iida's Villain persona and cause more damage."

Uraraka gave a pleading look to Yaoyorozu, like how could she have taken Iida seriously with that performance.

"Iida was the only one who understood his role and performed it to the best of his abilities. And that is why he won MVP." Yaoyorozu finished.

All Might sweat dropped. Clearly, he didn't expect her to go that full into detail like that.

"Well, that, uh, that was exactly what I was thinking, young Yaoyorozu. Thank you."

She took her seat as All Might rolled for the next two teams.

As the matches went on, Izuku got compliments from some of his classmates. A spiky red head named Kirishima called his endurance of Bakugo's explosion "manly". While the compliments were all well and good, Izuku couldn't stop thinking about Kacchan. He had been silent ever since he was let out of the infirmary. It worried Izuku, thinking that their fight had changed something in the boy. Even as the rest of the matches played out, Kacchan would make a sound besides a growl or answer when he was called on.

What did Izuku do to him?

Bakugo straightened out his back. He could hear his bone pop as he tried not to slouch. The old hag in the infirmary healed him up after getting knocked down by Deku. He silently made a pledge to not get sent back there again. The hag's Quirk was gross, even if it did help him recover.

Now he was sitting, watching all the other extras complete the exercise. He couldn't care about any of them. Well, most of them. This cold bastard with half-white half-red hair froze the entire building by himself and won. He was going to be trouble.

No, the one person on Bakugo's mind was Deku. Quirkless, weak Deku who knocked him out after taking Bakugo's strongest attack. It didn't made sense. There was a way the world worked in the eyes of Katsuki Bakugo; the strong make their way while making sure the weak didn't get themselves killed. And for the longest time, there was no kid stronger than Bakugo.

It made sense in middle school. Bakugo had the strongest Quirk and Deku had nothing. Now, it was different. Deku has a Quirk now, and its strong. His punches were more impactful than they should have. And that push completely knocked Bakugo out.

How? How did worthless Deku get a strong Quirk? A Villain? No, that's impossible. You can't give Quirks to people. Was Deku a late bloomer? That his Quirk came in around puberty. Bakugo dismissed that theory as well. This wasn't some dumb manga where people got powers by random accidents. This was real life!

Bakugo smoldered in his seat. Apparently, Deku grew a spine after middle school if he was willing to stand up to Bakugo. That much was certain. Throughout the entire fight, it was like he was fighting two sides of Deku: the weak crybaby and someone who was willing to fight back. Yet, it was after Bakugo unleashed his gauntlet blast (He needed to name it), something inside Deku changed in his eyes.

Bakugo wasn't the most poetic guy. However, he did not waste hours of studying poetry for an A in school only for it be useless later. So, he tried to use that "eyes are the window to the soul" metaphor and internally describe how Deku changed.

Deku's eyes were like streams with rocks in them. Most of the time, it was like rushing water over the smooth surface of a rock. Even when Deku manned up and fought Bakugo, he stilled had the watery quality to his eyes. Only the sturdy rock was much clearer.

After Deku withstood Bakugo's attack, something in his eyes changed. Deku's eyes were sharper, more focused, and yet not entirely there. A crystalline glaze over darker rocks. It was like something else took over him. Some kind of instinct that pushed the nerd to not hold back.

It felt insane. A Quirk taking over somebody sounded ridiculous. Then again, Bird-Head had a sentient shadow monster for his Quirk, so who could judge.

Still, it looked like it was the most right. Something else was in the driver's seat when Deku defeated Bakugo. He even overheard some extras gossiping how Deku looked like he out of it until after he knocked out Bakugo.

The working theory was this: Deku somehow got a Quirk. An admittingly powerful Quirk that seems to be more than meets the eye. There's something else inside Deku. Something that calls the shots sometimes when it paralyzed Bakugo and pushed him through some walls.

Bakugo glared at Deku. The useless nerd was now a threat to Bakugo. And yet, Deku continued to act like Deku, mumbling and taking notes. This wasn't the same Deku who fought Bakugo in that building. This wasn't the Deku who went all out on Bakugo and won. How? How did this happen?

"What the hell happened to you, Deku?" Bakugo thought.

And that is it for this chapter! Thank you to everyone who has read this so far! I wish I would have had this out sooner, but school has been swamping me lately. But thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently.

Leave a comment if you want. I'm pleased to hear back from you guys. One more chapter before the USJ arc, and trust me, I think you guys are going to like it.

That's all I have for now. See ya next time!