Himiko tensed her entire body and watched Katsuki's every move as the young hero took to the air. Though the fleshy appendage sprouting from her waistline was certainly unfamiliar to her, she felt ready to use it at a moment's notice. With a mighty heave, she brought her new tail around and swung hard for where her opponent was descending… only to miss Katsuki entirely and drag herself into an involuntary spin as she found that her target was somehow missing in action. A high-pitched ringing in Himiko's ears told her that another explosion had gone off above her head, and as she completed her stumbling turn, she saw Katsuki hanging upside-down in the air in front of her.

"How in the h-"

Another small blast went off as Katsuki flung himself shoulder-first into Himiko's chest like a missile, sending her flying and rolling backwards across the mats in a crumpled heap.

"Toga!" Mashirao cried, his attention locked on the girl as Daisuke wasted no time charging him down. He barely managed to get his guard up to turn aside an overhead axe kick. He stepped backward to try to get some space, only for Daisuke to continue advancing with a series of punches. "Turn your head after your tail! You've gotta track him while he's in the air!"

"Basics of any turn," Katsuki emphasized as he landed in a skid on all fours, his palms smoking. "That should be basic combat knowledge!"

Mashirao met Daisuke's punches with a series of blocks, turning his forearms to brush aside the other boy's blows. Though his martial experience was immediately obvious to everyone in the room, he was far less prepared for Daisuke to rapidly glide along the ground on a current of wind and circle to his back. Before Mashirao could process what was going on, Katsuki was flying through the air once again with a hand pulled back for a vicious haymaker aimed directly at him. Mashirao sucked in a breath and ducked low just as Katsuki reached him. He swung out his tail in a backward sweep, hoping to catch Daisuke as the other blond soared over his head. A rush of wind echoed behind him as Daisuke just barely jumped the limb, and Mashirao was quick to snap his tail into the floor mats and fling himself off to the side to avoid being sandwiched between his opponents.

"Got your back!" Himiko called as she ran back into the fray, pumping her arms as she ran. "They're way more mobile than we are!"

"But we've got more muscle," Mashirao pointed out. "Land a clean hit on Aki, and it'll count for a lot!"

"Good luck with that!" Daisuke taunted as he took to the air, hovering just out of reach. "And I've got a decent amount of muscle…"

"No one cares. Leave the real one to me," Katsuki insisted as he raised his fists and looked at his teammate. "I can take him on the ground."

"That's all well and good, but uh… which one's the real one?" Daisuke asked as he continued to hover in place. "I sorta… lost track in midair, and they just moved around a bunch…"

Mashirao and Himiko stood back-to-back once again in identical stances, and neither opened their mouths as they exchanged a look. With a pair of nods, the two heroes split off, each heading for a different opponent. Katsuki took an aggressive step forward before bobbing his head back as his opponent went for a quick strike with the side of their hand. The moment they stumbled and didn't use their tail to rebalance themselves, Katsuki looked up toward Daisuke.

"Watch yourself! You're up against him!"

Daisuke dived back down toward the mats as Mashirao launched himself into the air. The blond boy went for a midair grab, narrowly missing his rival as Daisuke slid along the ground and stopped himself using his weighty tail. Daisuke extended a hand and let off a blast of roiling viridian wind that collided sharply with Mashirao's back and knocked him into the nearby wall. As Mashirao slid down the mat with a pained hiss, Daisuke turned back toward Katsuki and flicked two fingers toward himself.

"Coming in with the assist!"

Himiko didn't notice the green streaks manifesting upon the floor as she began to sprint, but she certainly felt their effects as she was dragged backward and down into the mats. The girl let out a furious growl as Katsuki leapt over her, blasting himself forward and past Daisuke while his partner ran up to face her once again.

"Guess who's back?" Daisuke asked with a mocking bow of his head.

With a mighty push, Himiko pressed her palms down into the mats and righted herself, whirling to face the boy with a venomous look.

"I'm not a pushover, you know!"

"Are you implying that I am, by going for you instead of Ojiro?" Daisuke asked, remaining calm. "Bakugo is better suited to dealing with him. His tail… and close combat skills… outclass mine."

"Or you're just scared," Himiko accused as she lashed her tail back and forth while raising her fists. "I'll give you something to be afraid of."

Daisuke pulled a face as Himiko rushed in yet again. To her credit, the girl followed her partner's advice as she spun into a tail whip, tracking her target and slinging her head around at the last second as Daisuke tried to deflect the limb with an open palm. He sucked in a breath after feeling the force of the blow, his entire hand stinging as he made a mental note never to try the move again, and especially not against Mashirao. As Himiko began to throw punches, Daisuke met each with his opposite arm, catching the blows until one slipped through and struck him in the center of the chest to send him sliding backward a few inches.

"Not bad," Daisuke encouraged as he shook out his stinging hand. "My turn."

Without giving Himiko time to breathe, Daisuke launched into an assault of his own to a soundtrack of small explosions behind him. Though he made no use of his Quirk, his punches and kicks were practiced enough on their own that the girl had trouble keeping up. Himiko grew more and more frustrated with the glancing blows and guaranteed bruises that she knew would result. With an animalistic noise, she clenched her teeth and turned her torso in an exaggerated motion. The telegraph was enough for Daisuke to be ready to duck the whipping tail that came around for his head, and he sank a meaty uppercut into Himiko's stomach that nearly lifted her off the ground.

Daisuke wasted no time following up, his feet gliding hastily across the ground as a summoned local wind carried him to Himiko. He spun into a hard kick to send Himiko down to the mats once again, only for her to roll and spring back off the ground using her tail. Daisuke backpedaled toward Katsuki as the other boy landed and used a quick slide to get into his friend's line of sight.

"Gimme a quick blast and I can help you out!"

Katsuki whipped his head around to see Himiko in hot pursuit and extended a hand outward to blow her backward. Without bothering to check the result, he turned his attention back to Mashirao as his opponent's foot was thrust out toward his face. Daisuke blew the limb off course with a quick burst of wind, and Mashirao saved himself from falling by bouncing his tail off the floor. The other two boys were on him in a flash, and Mashirao began to back off while doing his best to defend himself from the tandem assault.

"She's getting up," Daisuke pointed out as he launched himself over Mashirao to attempt a kick to the back of the boy's head. "Be right b-"

The crack of Mashirao's tail against Daisuke's face was thunderous. With a cry of pain, the boy spun through the air and barely managed to right himself before hitting the ground. A trickle of blood worked its way down his cheek, and he used the back of his hand to wipe it away as he faced down Himiko. She approached slowly, her mouth wide in a mischievous grin that didn't look quite human.

"Ready for round three?"

"Are you?" Daisuke asked as he launched himself toward the girl.

Still more explosions rang out within the gym as Katsuki let off a series of blasts in a line to put space between himself and Mashirao. Both of the boys were sweating hard, and they each had bruises forming on their forearms from blocking nearly full-force blows. Though Katsuki looked more annoyed than anything, Mashirao was in high spirits as he circled around in a light jog.

"I'm impressed- you've got some hand-to-hand experience."

"No shit," Katsuki snapped as he took a moment to flex out his aching fingers. "We're heroes in training at U.A. University. Everyone here should be capable up close."

"Maybe so, but you're a cut above," Mashirao praised. "That Quirk of yours is pretty strong, too. I've got a feeling you'll be top of your class."

"Whatever," Katsuki said dismissively as he began a slow, grounded approach in an effort to give his hands a moment to recover. "What does it matter to you? You're 1-B."

"We're still all in this together," Mashirao reminded. "Speaking of- you two work together pretty well. Keep practicing and you'll be the duo to beat around here."

"Stop just… talking!" Katsuki roared as he moved in with a feint, followed by a pushing kick. "There's no reason to talk during a fight, especially if it's just pointless bullshit!"

"Bakugo!" Daisuke cried out from somewhere behind him. "She licked me!"

"Shut up! Stop being an idiot!" Katsuki replied as he maintained his focus on the enemy in front of him. "Why does nobody here take anything s-"

For the first time in the fight, or really, any other, Katsuki was caught completely off guard. What started as a simple unbalancing that he attributed to a momentary lapse in concentration soon became something else entirely as a strong wind held him back from attacking. While being buffeted by the odd sensation, another gust hit him in the chest from below as if a section of the floor had risen up to meet him. Katsuki was sent soaring upward and barely had time to counterbalance the force with a pair of explosions that sent him into a backflip. As he hit the floor and landed on one knee, he looked up to see Daisuke barreling down on him with a murderous look in his eyes.

"What, you're going to be a fucking child about it!?" Katsuki yelled as he rose up with a glare. "Fine, I'll fight all three of you!"

"That's not me!"

Katsuki whipped his head to the left to see Daisuke standing off to the side with a panicked look on his face. He turned his attention back to the other Daisuke in a fit of momentary confusion, and barely got his hands up in time to shield his face from a leaping kick. As Himiko landed before him, Katsuki bit his lip and began to look over the girl masquerading as his friend.

"Shit," Katsuki cursed as he threw a punch for the girl's face, only to have her dance out of the way. "How do I tell you two apart!?"

"I've got a cut on my face!" Daisuke offered as Mashirao moved to engage him. "That's how she got my blood!"

"That gives me an idea," Mashirao said as he thrust out a palm, only for Katsuki to bat it away before it could impact his face. "Toga! I'll get Bakugo to bleed!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Like hell you will!" Katsuki retorted. "Aki, stay with your double! I'm not holding back my fire!"

"Got it!" came the reply, under considerably more stress than usual.

"You good?" Mashirao asked, momentarily backing off as he watched Katsuki's fingers twitching under obvious strain.

"Shut it!" Katuski ordered as he clenched his hands into fists. "You're going down!"

Author's Note:

And then they all kissed.

-RD