Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Uh, heeeeey, Katsuki, whatcha got there?”

Looking up briefly from his phone, the angry blonde let out an annoyed huffed, tightening his grip on his cargo. “None of your business, Pants.”

“Uh huh…” The happier blonde was still smiling as usual, but his eyes were certainly concerned, head tilting slightly as he and the others watched on in almost morbid curiosity as their friend continued to stalk through the dorms to the elevator.

“I don’t want to be involved,” Tamaki muttered, sinking down into the couch and clutching his tea closer.

“I think what Mirio is trying to ask,” Hado chimed in brightly, but no less concerned. “Is why are you kidnapping a first year to your dorm room?”

That drew an amused snort from their friend, who finally looked up from his phone with a shit eating grin. “Oh, him?” He jostled the boy in question who had been scowling from his spot slung over the larger teen’s shoulder the whole time with a petulant but resigned look on his face. “Nah, this isn’t kidnapping.”

“Considering you grabbed me against my will, I think this is technically kidnapping,” the green-haired, green-eyed boy snipped from his spot draped over the explosive teen’s shoulder. Dressed in his gym clothes, the others can only assume that the boy had just survived Aizawa’s dreaded quirk test since all other first years would still be in uniform from the assembly. The boy’s face was bright red in embarrassment from his current predicament, highlighting the ridiculous amount of freckles on his face.

The kid was kind of adorable.

Which emphasized the whole ‘why the hell was Bakugou Katsuki kidnapping this innocent first year, what did he do ?!’

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You said you wanted to hang out today.”

“I didn’t mean for you to come steal me from my homeroom!”

“Hobo-sensei won’t mind-”

“Did you see the looks on my classmates’ faces?!”

He had the audacity to laugh, which made the poor boy go from red with embarrassment to red with anger (which was like seeing an angry bunny but still). “Yeah, that was fucking hilarious-”

“ Kacchan! ”

Tamaki choked on his drink as the other two went wide eyed. “What did you call him?” Mirio asked slowly, his grin growing as he finally realized who exactly their friend was stealing.

Seeing the looks on the trios’ faces, Bakugou scowled. “Not a damn word, extras.” The elevator dinged, causing him to mutter a ‘finally’ before stepping on. “None of you better bother Deku and I.”

Everything finally clicked for Hado. “Wait, Katsuki! Is that-”

The elevator shut to the sounds of the bonde and greenette arguing, leaving the trio behind to share knowing glances. “Well now,” Mirio began with a slight chuckle. “Who knew that Katsuki’s mystery childhood friend would be our Kohai.”

“Are we just going to ignore the fact that he kidnapped the kid?” asked another member of the class who had silently been watching from the other side of the room.

“Do you want to be the one to get him to let him go?”

No one said a word. They all knew better. No one could really stop Bakugou Katsuki from doing what he wanted, not that the boy ever truly did anything too concerning.

There was a reason why the boy was All Might’s first ever intern. 

The Previous Evening

Bakugou Katsuki was skilled at many things.

Now in his third and final year at UA, top of his class and training at a higher level than any other student, he knew that he was arguably the best to come out of UA next to All Might. Add in the fact that the Symbol of Peace was his mentor, and he was a force to be reckoned with, one that everyone had their eye out for, expecting him to break the top ten within the year of graduating.

Unfortunately for him, one thing he had never quite mastered was patience . 

The past couple weeks had been hectic. Working a bit of overtime at the agency to get in some extra hours before classes start as well as assisting All Might with his lesson plans (he still isn’t sure how anyone thought it was a good idea to let the man teach: his heart was in the right place but teaching was not the Pro’s forte), Bakugou had very little time for himself.

Which meant that he had seen little to none of Midoriya Izuku over the past weeks.

Everyone could usually tell when the pair were not able to see each other often. Bakugou became surlier whereas according to Auntie Inko, Izuku became more withdrawn. Both seemed to cope by throwing themselves into their work, preferring to drown their thoughts rather than focus on healthier outlets. Honestly, the codependence was probably unhealthy, he knew this, but after the last incident that left them not speaking for several months…

Yeah, anyone who had an issue with them could go fuck themselves.

Safe to say, Bakugou had no intention of prolonging their separation. Texting was fine, and phone calls were decent, but having the boy next to him was the only thing that truly calmed his nerves. So, the fact that the rat had implemented an optional dorm system on campus that year meant that Bakugou intended to spend as much time as he could with the greenette. 

The greenette seemed to have other ideas. 

“What do you mean you can’t hang out?” he growled into the phone as he paced the length of his room.

“Kacchan, I need to finish unpacking-”

“I can help-”

“You know very well that you are just going to distract me for attention, and we won’t get anything done.”

“...is that a bad thing?”

“ Kacchan .”

The older boy relented. “Why are you still unpacking anyway? It's past seven for crying out loud!”

“Sorry, I got here late. Mom kept prolonging me leaving, and we lost track of time.” A loud thump sounded in the background. “Shoot, let me put you on speaker.” Some shuffling sounds and then he heard a slightly muffled voice, “There, better. But yeah, I’m still unpacking everything, and by the time I’m done and settled, it’ll be past nine.”

“Dorm curfew is ten.”

“And we all know how insufferable you get if you aren’t in bed by 9:30 at the latest .”

“...damn logical brat.” Bakugou flopped on his bed with a huff. “Stop being fucking smart.”

“One of us has to have common sense.”

“ Oi !”

He could hear the boy laughing at him, but as much as he wanted to be irritated, he missed that sound.Shaking his head, he barked out, “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I’m seeing you tomorrow, though, once assembly and everything is done. You don’t have a choice.”

“ Fine , if I have to…” Izuku drawled in a cheeky tone. “I-”

Loud knocking could be heard, filled by a muffled, “ Midoriya, everyone is convening in the common room for dinner !”

“Just a sec, Iida!” Then, he heard the phone be picked up and the speaker function turned off. “Hey, I gotta go, Kacchan.”

“Fine, nerd. Go eat,” he ordered, though some fondness slipped through.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kacchan!”

“See you then, Deku.”

Hanging up, he sighed loudly, throwing his arm over his eyes. He knew that this year would be... different ...with Izuku finally going to UA, but he had not fully thought about it until this point. Now is when he needed to focus more than ever, and he thought that having Izuku nearby would make things easier, but…

“I’m fucking screwed.”

Chapter Text

Bakugou Katsuki met Midoriya Izuku when he was two years old. Izuku, respectively, was only two days old at the time. While Bakugou cannot remember the encounter, his mother always liked to tell him how much of a fit he threw about having to go wait at the hospital for their turn to see Auntie Inko. He was bored from the moment they sat in the car all the way up till the moment they stepped into the room with the new mother and son.

And apparently, he threw an even worse tantrum when they left because he all but refused to leave Izuku’s side.

He’s not sure why he was so attached to the boy so early on. All his mom could get out of the surly toddler was that Izuku was ‘so small’ and that he needed Katsuki. Some type of twisted up toddler logic that made him demand to see the boy weekly, and then almost daily once the boy was up and mobile and able to actually play with Katsuki. 

Mitsuki thought that her son would outgrow his attachment to the tiny Midoriya child, but it just grew stronger to the point that separating the two was difficult. And when Bakugou started school, the two mothers realized exactly how bad it had gotten.

“Inko, please, for the love of God,” Mitsuki pleaded over the phone, the muffled sound of a tantrum complete with tiny explosions happening in the background. “Can I steal your child for a few days before my hellspawn burns down the living room?”

And thus began the vicious cycle of the pair alternating houses, only separating for a few hours a day for classes. In retrospect, the women realized that they probably should have not encouraged this codependent behavior. The older the two got, the more prevalent the issues of their friendship became. But honestly, seeing how content and happy, how balanced the two were together kept them from trying to discourage the two.

While Katsuki was fiery and passionate and driven, Izuku was calming and compassionate and determined. They were balanced, too balanced, and neither mother could really bring themselves to separate the two and cause them pain. If they had anything to say in the matter, the two would always be together.

Unfortunately, things do not always work out as you plan. 

And that nearly cost them dearly.

Today was Izuku’s first day of class, and he woke up feeling like he was going to throw up.

The greenette had always been an anxious person. Growing up quirkless and treated like a social pariah can do that to a person, though he was fairly fortunate. For most of those years, he at least had a friend around to help him. Not all of the time, seeing as how he was older and in a different grade, but a friend nonetheless, one that no one wanted to cross.

But then the time came for said friend to go to high school, to bigger and better things, and Izuku found himself drowning .

Shaking his head from those thoughts, he focused back on getting his uniform straightened out. Thinking about those years would help no one, and if he lets himself work his head into a funk, then Kacchan would surely notice when they met up later. Kacchan would notice, Kacchan would pester to find out what was wrong, and then he would realize and old wounds would be clawed open on both of them. Neither like to think about those years, and it would not be fair of him to hurt Kacchan like that again.

Smacking his cheeks a little to help him focus, he set about quickly grabbing his bag and making his way downstairs. Today was his first day in the Heroics Course: he had no time to be thinking about before . Now, everything was great and wonderful, and nothing could go wrong.

“Holy shit, is that Bakugou Katsuki standing outside our dorm?!” 

Izuku nearly fell on his face as he skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, staring wide-eyed at the distant windows for the front of the dorms. There, a familiar head of spikey blonde hair could be seen, a small scowl planted on the older teen’s face as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to casually text with one hand. 

Bakugou had grown much taller than Izuku over the past few years, and his face had grown more sharp and angular. He certainly was attractive, not that Izuku would ever admit it to his friend’s face, and that paired with his rep as a force to be reckoned with had garnered him almost celebrity status even though he was still just a student. His personality certainly was not for everyone, but people quickly grew used to the prickly exterior. Some compared it to Endeavor, but others were quick to point out that Bakugou actually seemed to care about those he saved, and whereas Endeavor was just cruel to everyone, Bakugou was kind when needed, especially around kids. A bad boy with a heart, and the media just ate it up.

But everyone knew that he certainly had an unmatched temper when angry.

“What is All Might’s intern doing at our dorm?” another boy, Sero, Izuku thinks, asks the room.

Iida began to swing his arm in the air, loudly declaring, “Perhaps he has come as an ambassador from the teachers to lead us to class today!”

Izuku’s phone buzzed as Kirishima chimed in, “I dunno, wouldn’t the teachers have let us know to expect him then? That way he’s not just waiting around for us all to show up?...”

Reading his text, Izuku sighs loudly, drawing the attention of the room. Letting out an eep, he nervously laughs as he says, “I, umm...I think he’s here for me…”

A loud scoff came from the otherside of the room as a tiny, purple headed boy chimed in, “Oh yeah? And why would you think that ?”

“...because he just texted me and told me to hurry up?...”

Silence.

And then about a dozen voices began shouting at him at once in various states of disbelief.

Shrinking back away from them all, he lets out a startled yelp as he starts to fall back on the stairs, arms pinwheeling at his sides, only to be caught at the last second. Looking up in confusion, he sees the bored gaze of Todoroki, clearly looking like he does not want to be involved in any of this. Yelping again , Midoriya scrambles out of the expressionless boy’s arms, stuttering out a plethora of apologies, only to be interrupted by the front door to the dorms slamming open.

“Oi, ‘Zuku! Are these extras bothering you?”

All the shouts around him died as everyone stared at the third year that had just burst into their dorm...only to call them all extras. Face heating up bright red, Midoriya quickly replied, “Kacchan! Be nice!”

From somewhere in the crowd of his classmates, he could hear someone mutter, “Kacchan?...” causing his face to grow even redder.

The blonde simply chuckled as he strolled towards the group, ignoring them all and grinning in an almost vicious manner that would make most wary. Or at least, those who did not know the boy. “Eh, they haven’t earned it yet. Let’s see if they survive the first day.” Stopping directly in front of Izuku, his neck craning down to look at the boy that was nearly a foot shorter than him, he scooped up the smaller boy’s bag while throwing an arm over his shoulder while steering him towards the door. “C’mon, let's move it already! I’m walking you to class, nerd.”

Trying to process what was going on while all of his classmates watched in stunned silence, Izuku manages to stutter out, “B-but I haven’t even eaten yet!-” A bento is unceremoniously shoved into his arms. “Oh.” His face feels warm again.

“You can eat that in the classroom,” Bakugou explained as he opened the door and guided the smaller boy out, throwing a shit eating grin over his shoulder towards the rest of the first years as he tightened his grip on Izuku’s shoulders as they left. “The teachers don’t mind so long as you don’t make a mess.”

“Oh my god, he made him a bento...” he could hear Mina loudly whisper from somewhere behind him.

Scowling up at the taller boy as they headed down the steps, Izuku snipped, “You just had to make an entrance, didn’t you?”

Shrugging, the blonde casually quips, “Wasn’t planning on coming in, but I looked in the window and saw that the extras were getting too grabby...thought I’d give you a hand.”

Midoriya was confused, but then half shouted, “Wait, you mean Todoroki catching me? Kacchan, I was falling! He was being nice!”

Bakugou huffed. “Yeah, yeah. But the others were swarming you, so I figured it probably had something to do with me. I know you aren’t used to that kind of attention, so…”

Any lingering irritation melted away, and the greenette smiled softly at his friend. “Thanks for the bento…”

“Get used to those,” he replied with a grin. “Now that you live basically next door, I have an excuse to cook for more than myself or the Big Three. Besides, you need all the help you can get.” Releasing his shoulders to ruffle the boy’s hair despite protests, he teases, “You know, since you can’t cook for shit.”

“Why are you so mean ?” Izuku whines in a tone that clearly shows that he doesn’t believe what he’s saying.

“Someone has to keep you in check, unless you want to cause another fire.”

“That was one time!”

“You were making salad! ”

“I apologized !”

Chapter Text

“Uh, Kacchan?”

“Hah?”

“Shouldn’t you, you know, be heading to class?...”

“Oh, that,” he replied absently as he looked up from his phone. He was slouched in a chair between Midoriya and the window, having apparently decided that whoever was in seat nineteen behind Izuku did not deserve a chair. “I already got permission from Snipe to skip homeroom. They weren’t going over anything important before heading to the assembly.”

Izuku tilted his head in confusion, trying to ignore the stares of his other classmates as they all settled into their desks around the pair. Shoving another bite of rice from his bento in his mouth, he ignored Bakugou taking a not subtle picture of the two of them (it was probably for their moms or something) and asked, “And he just...let you skip?...”

Bakugou shrugged, tapping away on his phone before shoving it in his pocket. “I’m pretty much free study when it comes to Homeroom and Heroics Classes ‘cause of my work study, and academic classes don’t start till tomorrow. So, he doesn’t really give a shit so long as I, quote, ‘don’t blow up another building or something.’”

“...has that happened before?!”

“Once or twice.”

“...well, okay then.”

Smirking, Bakugou leaned forward, resting his elbow on Izuku’s desk and propping his chin in his hand. “It was during training, nerd. I don’t cause property damage for the hell of it.”

“I-I knew that!”

“Sure you did,” the blonde drawled, leaning back in his chair as he propped his feet up on Izuku’s desk, just to irritate the boy. 

Izuku did not even have a chance to tell Bakugou to move his feet before Iida lept in, apparently intent on doing it himself. “That is not proper behavior for a classroom setting! Upperclassman or not, you should not be disrespecting our school’s property by putting your feet where they do not belong!”

Bakugou quirked a brow but made no move to remove his feet. “Who in the hell put you in charge?”

Iida straightened at that, his arm chopping through the air. Mineta had walked in at some point, walking up to desk 19 and looking indignant at the lack of a chair. He seemed ready to complain, but couldn’t get a word in before Iida. “I am not in charge, but what you are doing is highly disrespectful-”

“And how the fuck would you know?” Arms crossing over his chest, an irritated scowl grew on the older boy’s face. “You come in here, interrupt someone else’s conversation, and verbally chastise someone about how to behave in a school that the other person has been attending for two fucking years when you’ve barely been in class for ten damn minutes. So, tell me, what gives you the god damn right to try and scold me like a fucking dog?”

“Kacchan…” Izuku began warily, eyes darting between him and the shell shocked Iida. Mineta just seemed resigned to his fate at this point, too scared of the explosive blonde to complain about the ‘borrowed chair’ and simply sat on the floor. “He didn’t mean any harm by it…”

“It doesn’t fucking matter if he meant any harm by it or not,” Bakugou replied in a stiff tone, never taking his gaze off Iida. “The fact is that he needs to learn that not everyone is going to just sit by and take his fucking attitude. I may be crass, but some people actually like that. No one likes someone with a stick up their-”

“ Kacchan. ”

“Tch.” Dropping his feet to the floor, Bakugou leaned forward onto Izuku’s desk. “Well, got anything else to say?”

Iida seemed at a loss for words, struggling to figure out how to reply before looking helplessly at Izuku. “I...am sorry for being rude.”

“It's fine, Iida, really. But we accept the apology, right Kacchan?” Then, after no reply from the blonde, Izuku not so subtly kicks the older boy in the leg, earning a wince. “ Right , Kacchan?”

Grumbling, Bakugou replied, “Yeah, it's whatever.”

Slowly, Iida began to head back to his desk, and Izuku went back to trying to ignore the stares of his classmates. Bakugou absently began to massage his wrists in a practiced way, rolling them on occasion. His quirk put quite a lot of pressure on his arms, and while he was yet to have any permanent damage done, they still ached from time to time.

Silently, Izuku took one of the older boy’s wrists, ignoring the eyes on him, and began to methodically kneed the muscles in Bakugou’s hand and wrist, pressing precise motions into particular areas. He had learned these motions long ago, back when they were little, worried about Bakugou causing permanent damage. 

Between the gentle massage and the proper ear protection, Izuku was proud that Bakugou had yet to cause any lasting damage to himself from his quirk. Explosion was a difficult quirk to use, and an even easier one to use incorrectly. He monitored and documented any and all aspects of the quirk over the years, intent on keeping his friend as safe as possible.

Switching to the other wrist, he heard whispers pick up around him but overall ignored it, focusing on the task at hand. Had he been more observant, he would have noticed the small, soft smile that crept on his friend’s face as he continued his motions.

He also might have noticed the bright yellow caterpillar man slowly inching across the floor into the room.

Unfortunately, he did notice the loud gasp, and barely looked up in time to see Mina skid to a halt next to his desk, grinning triumphantly as she shoved a phone in his face. “I knew it! You’re SmallMight!”

Izuku yelped and jumped back away from the phone in his face. “I...what?!” Finally looking at the phone, he sees that it's showing a tweet from Bakugou’s official hero account. Izuku’s twitter account is tagged, and as usual whenever Kacchan posts a pic of them, Izuku’s face is blocked out by a sticker, this time one of All Might’s face. It's the selfie Bakugou took a few minutes ago with Izuku eating the bento, and the caption read, “ @SmallMight ’s finally here at UA with me. Just a few more years, and villains are going to have to watch the fuck out for us.”

“Kacchan, you tagged me? Again?” Izuku asked tiredly. “My notifications are going to blow up…”

Bakugou shrugged. “Your account is still getting established. The attention and being tied to mine will make it easier to get the thing verified after the Sports Festival.”

“So it's true?!” Mina practically screeched, nearly jumping in place. “All these years, your mysterious childhood friend wasn’t going to another high school like everyone thought, he was just younger than you?!”

Izuku grimaced. “Please keep this between us…” Glancing around the room at the rest of the class staring, he sighs again. “Or, well, between the class, I guess.”

“The publicist at All Might’s agency wants us to keep it vague with no face or name reveal till after the Sports Festival,” Bakugou chimed in, giving everyone stern stares. “We plan on doing a few small posts here and there about him at UA, but we don’t want people swarming him until after he’s had a chance to prove himself without mine and All Might’s name attached.”

“Wait a minute,” Uraraka chimed in, looking between the two with wide eyes. “Are you working with All Might too?”

Izuku sighed dramatically, dropping his head on the desk. “It's not because of Kacchan…”

“Izuku met him on accident and impressed him,” Bakugou chimed in with an almost proud grin. “The old man offered to help with Izuku’s training before I even knew about it, and ‘Zuku was too damn shy and starstruck to mention that he knew me at the time.”

“ Kacchan …” Izuku muttered, burying his face in his arms to hide the burning in his cheeks.

“Wow, you two are quite the Wonder Duo,” Kaminari chimed in with a cheeky grin.

“So manly…” Kirishima mumbled.

“If you are just here to make friends,” a new voice chimed in from the front, causing several members of the class to jump. All eyes turned to the bright yellow caterpillar monstrosity laying in the middle of the floor. “Then you can go ahead and leave now.”

Everyone scattered to their seats, sitting at attention as the man crawled out of the sleeping bag. He drained a jelly pouch and gave them all a bored expression as he introduced himself. “My name is Aizawa Shouta, and I will be your homeroom instructor this year. Now-” 

He paused, eyes narrowing as he stared at the older teen sitting next to Izuku. With a very tired sigh, he closed his eyes and asked, “Bakugou. Why are you here?”

“Wanted to see how ‘Zuku did during his first day of class with you,” the boy responded with a shrug, causing Izuku to shrink in his seat.

Glaring at the blonde, Aizawa turned his attention to the class. Pulling a stack of gym uniforms out of his sleeping bag, he barked out, “Get changed and meet me out at the training fields. Be quick about it before I expel the whole lot of you.” That got everyone’s attention, and they all scrambled to grab the uniforms and head out. As Izuku and Katsuki began to pass, however, Aizawa grabbed the older teen by the shoulder. “Bakugou, a word?”

Izuku seemed to hesitate, glancing between the pair, but his friend just gave him a grin and stated, “I’ll meet you at the training field, ‘Zuku.” With one last concerned glance, the greenette slowly made his way out before jogging off after his classmates.

Turning his attention towards Bakugou, Aizawa slowly asked, “Give me one good reason why I should allow you to stay during the quirk assessment test. I finally got rid of you, you’re supposed to be Snipe and All Might’s Problem Child now.”

“Because I’m going to introduce you to my analyst once you're done with them.”

That certainly seemed to get the man’s attention. “You’ve been keeping tight-lipped about the man for years: why announce him now?”

“His situation has changed, and revealing himself would benefit him,” Bakugou elaborated, grinning in a way that showed he knew he won. “Well?”

“... immediately after the assessment.”

“I’m a man of my word, sensei.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes before pushing the blonde towards the door. “Don’t be a smartass, I can still give you detention.” Then, grinning, he added, “And if you want to hang around, you get to be my assistant today.”

Bakugou let out a snort. “You say that like I’m not gonna enjoy getting to help mess with your brats.”

“One of them is apparently your brat.”

“Oh no, he’s not my brat,” Bakugou replies with a smirk as he heads out of the room. “He’s your newest Problem Child.”

“...shit.”

Chapter Text

“Dude, I can’t believe you’re friends with Bakugou Katsuki !”

Midoriya shrunk a bit, looking a bit unnerved with all the attention turned towards him. He’d managed to avoid it for the most part on the walk towards the locker rooms, letting Uraraka drag him into a mindless discussion about the dorms, but now that they were changing, it seemed like everyone was descending with their questions. 

Trying to focus on changing quickly, he yanked off his tie while muttering, “It’s really not that big of a deal…he’s just my childhood friend.”

“To you, maybe,” Kaminari continued with a grin, not even attempting to change as he grilled the poor greenette. “To us, he’s the next top ten hopeful! And you call him Kacchan .”

Frowning, Midoriya bluntly stated, “Don’t call him that, please. He doesn’t like people to use it.”

“But he definitely doesn’t mind you using it.”

Green eyes narrowed as he began to unbutton his shirt, not quite liking his tone. “I mean, I’ve been using it since we were toddlers so…”

“It’s so manly that you two have been friends for so long!” Kirishima chimed in, practically darting between the two. Part of it felt like him just being friendly, but something in his face made Midoriya feel like he was also trying to keep Kaminari from pestering him too much. Midoriya was grateful for this and gave the red head a small smile of appreciation, to which the redhead practically beamed.

Unfortunately, others decided to jump into the conversation. “You must be really strong to be his friend,” Sero added. “You both got into UA, and he got you mentored by All Might!”

Frowning, Midoriya countered, “I don’t think that has anything to do with our friendship. We were friends before we got our quirks and well before we got into UA.” Then, with more irritation leaking into his voice as he started to pull off his shirt, he ground out, “And I said earlier, I’m not working with All Might because of Kacchan.”

Kaminari’s grin widened. “Well yeah but-“

His words halted, a small choked sound as he stared at Midoriya with wide eyes and just the slightest hint of panic. Confused, the smaller boy asked, “What?” That’s when he noticed that the entire locker room had gone quiet, all eyes on him. “Uh…is something wrong?…” But then he realized that they were all focused on his torso, and everything clicked. “Oh.”

They were staring at his scars.

He knew that they looked rather… uncomfortable . The marred skin spread all along the upper left side of his chest, spreading out over the top of his shoulder and even a little up his neck, having barely been covered by the collar of his shirt. Truthfully, the skin ached some still, even with the accident being nearly two years ago, but he told himself that he wasn’t bothered by it anymore. 

He knew that was a lie every time he saw the starbursts staring back at him in the mirror.

“Midoriya…” Sero began, eyes wide and obvious concern in his voice. “Are you okay?…”

He quickly snatched up his compression sleeves from his backpack and yanked them. “I’m fine. They are from an old quirk accident.”

Ojiro grimaced, his eyes shining with pity. “They look rather…painful.”

His jaw clenched. “I told you, its fine -“

“Dude, those look super nasty.”

If the room was silent before, it grew even quieter besides a few hisses of shock and discomfort. Midoriya froze in place, hand grasping uselessly at his gym shirt as the words rang through his head, before a voice cut through the silence. 

“Do you have something against scars, Mineta?”

All eyes swiveled to the two toned boy in the far corner, and they all flinched at the sight of the glare fixed on his face. Staring coldly towards Mineta who was now scrambling to try and explain himself, Todoroki pressed on. “Midoriya’s scars are not something for us to comment on nor stare at. It also does not appear to be something that he wishes to discuss.” His eyes drift to meet Midoriya’s, and while he could have been imagining it…he swears he might have seen something like understanding flash in his mismatched eyes and on his equally scarred face. “They are his , and you should show him some basic respect and keep your opinions to yourself.”

Blinking in surprise, Midoriya stared at the boy who defended him. He seemed to be done with the conversation, turning his back on the group as whole and continuing to change. Midoriya found himself following suit, yanking the gym shirt on and quickly speeding up to change the rest of his outfit. Everyone else took that as a cue to continue changing as well, an awkward silence falling on the group.

Slamming his locker door shut with a bit too much force, he practically darted from the room, not realizing that he was followed.

“Midoriya.” The toneless voice startled him, and he skid to a halt to see Todoroki approach him. “May I walk with you?”

“Oh, uh, of course,” he replied awkwardly. The boy merely nodded, and they set off, a fast walk away from the growing voices within the locker room. Midoriya wanted to put as much space as possible between him and that place, and Todoroki seemed to understand, or at the very least, did not seem to mind the pace he set.

After some silence, the boy broke the silence, blurting out, “I know what it’s like.”

Midoriya nearly tripped and fell on his face. “Oh! Uh…”

Todoroki grimaced, seeming out of place, and struggled to find the right words. “I know what it's like to live in someone’s shadow and face the attention that comes with it. The expectations, the questions…”

A tension he did not even realize he was carrying began to lift off his shoulders. “It’s…it’s a lot…”

“You are new to it,” Todoroki continued, no pity on his face as he spoke. “And I felt the need to give you some advice.” Not waiting for a response, his face grew tight as he bluntly replied, “You are too weak.”

Midoriya visibly flinched .

The tightness in his face softened, and he looked a bit guilty over what he said, but he did not stop. “Most heroes have the luxury of growing into the attention they receive. They can learn who they are, who to trust, who has their best interests in heart. People like you and I do not have this luxury. If you choose to stay close to Bakugou, you must learn this, or the world will eat you alive before you even get a chance to be something.” 

Shaking his head, he dryly added, “Being tied to someone like Bakugou is almost more of a curse than being the child of hero. At least I have the benefit of being a child in comparison to a seasoned pro. With him, however, you are closer in age. You will always be in his shadow, chasing after him to catch up. Someone like him…I do not know your skill level, but you might honestly never catch up. Being tied to him will always drag you down. You could possibly surpass him one day, but you will never get out from under legacy. From the comparisons, from those who blame your success and victory on him. His legacy will suffocate you.”

Silent, Midoriya’s gaze dropped to the ground, thoughts swirling in his head. He knew the truth behind Todoroki’s words, he had been feeling these sentiments slowly grow as the years progressed, as Bakugou’s fame grew and as Midoriya took on the burden of All Might’s legacy. Staying tied to Bakugou would likely hinder any chance to really become his own person. Still…

“I know that I’m not the strongest person, both physically and mentally…” he began slowly, keeping his eyes straight ahead as they walked, ignoring the blue and grey eyes that he felt boring into his head. “But I want to learn…I need to learn. And I won’t stop until I can walk along side him. I’ve known him for so long, been through so much with him that the thought of parting from him just to make things a little easier...it's not even an option.

“I appreciate your concern, really. And it means a lot to have someone who can understand. But I’m not backing away from Bakugou. I can’t .” Todoroki’s face is carefully blank, but his eyes were sad but resigned, as if he knew that Midoriya would answer this way despite his advice. “And if that means I have to carry the burden of his legacy to stand at his side…then so be it.”

Quiet, and then a soft sigh. “So be it.”

Something had happened with Izuku. 

He had arrived at the field first, Endeavor’s kid trailing after him like a lost puppy. Bakugou watched the pair silently, his friend muttering softly towards the boy, slowly growing more animated as he spoke, barely pausing to breathe. The other seemed to slowly grow more uncomfortable, not in a way that spoke negatively of Izuku, but in a way that appeared as if he were internally panicking over what to say. He gave off the same blank ice prince persona that he had been sporting all morning, but Bakugou knew the truth behind that look, had seen it in Tamaki plenty of times. 

The boy was fucking awkward as hell.

He held back a laugh, burying it in a cough that got him a side eyed look from Aizawa. Carefully tilting his head towards the pair, Aizawa honed in on them, watching silently for a bit, before Bakugou could see the slightest of smirks grow as the man tucked his face into his capture weapon. Obviously, he had noticed as well.

Bakugou couldn’t help but snicker then.

The others of the class finally began to trickle in, with all of the girls arriving before more than half the boys. The explosive blonde did not think much of it at first, until he noticed the nervous energy rolling off the boys and the confusion coming from the girls. Then, the biggest sign that something had happened was when one of the boys, the blonde one with a black lightning bolt in his hair, tried to cautiously approach Izuku, only to skid to a halt when Todoroki shifted forward, fixing a heavy glare on the kid.

“What the fuck…” he muttered quietly, watching the boy backpedal and retreat to the others, Izuku none the wiser about the interaction. Glancing over towards the teacher who had seen the protective display as well, Bakugou noted how exhausted he looked over the prospect of drama within the class already, and he couldn’t exactly blame him. It shouldn’t be a surprise that it involved Izuku, the kid attracted trouble as if it was his quirk, but still. Thankfully, he remained oblivious, still rambling away while Todoroki shifted closer, nodding along to whatever the boy said.

The ice prince was a little too close for Bakugou’s liking, but he couldn’t exactly do anything without causing a scene.

“Alright, everyone,” Aizawa called out, snapping everyone’s attention towards him. “We are going to do a quirk assessment test.”

“But sir!” a shorter brunette called out. “What about the entrance ceremony?”

“If you care more about entrance ceremonies and awards, then you have no place in heroics,” he replied harshly, causing several shocked looks from the group. “You will find that teachers at UA have more free reign to teach classes however they see fit.” He gave a purposeful glance towards Bakugou who was clearly an example of this rule considering how he hijacked their class for the day. 

“Today, we are going to be testing your limits and potential. Midoriya.” The greenette in question let out a small yelp as he stiffened in place, practically sweating bullets over being called out in from of the group. Aizawa ignored how nervous the boy was and asked, “You had the highest score during the placement exam.” Several whispers broke out among the group, and Aizawa’s eye visibly twitched as he continued. “What was your farthest throw in the ball toss during middle school?”

“Uh…f-fifty nine meters, sir!”

Nodding, Aizawa simply tossed a ball at him which Midoriya barely caught. “Try throwing that with your quirk. Anything goes so long as you stay in the circle.”

Hesitantly nodding, the boy darted over to the circle, shifting nervously under everyone’s gaze. Staring at the ball in hands, his brows furrowed, lost in thought before slowly muttering to himself, debating to himself how exactly to go about this best. Everyone watched on, not knowing what to say as the boy’s muttering devolved more and more, and Bakugou could not help but speak up. 

“Zuku!” The greenette’s head snapped up, eyes wide as Bakugou continued. “Don’t overthink it. Just throw the damn thing.” Then, with a feral grin, he added, “Don’t forget to show off a little for the extras.”

The nerves practically melted off the boy who rolled his eyes at the comment about showing off. Then, a familiar, determined look set in Izuku’s eyes as he stood in the thrower’s circle. Shoulders straightened, stance dropped, and fingers flexed before suddenly, he lit up.

Emerald colored lightning crackled along his skin, his eyes flaring brightly and glowing a heavy, toxic green. He began to spin in the circle, his body blurring faster than anyone’s eyes could keep up with and no one could do more than gasp before he launched off several dozen meters off the ground, arm snapping out with so much force that he full body flipped midair. And as he launched the ball, a loud, thunderous boom cracked through the air, the force of the throw shooting air currents all around him, knocking several of the students back. Bakugou barely kept to his feet himself, only lasting because he had braced in expectation of the throw.

As quickly as it happened, the moment ended, Izuku dropping into a crouch within the circle, lightning crackling out of existence, only a faint toxic glow remaining in his irises. The small smirk had grown into a feral grin that could rival his own, and Bakugou could not help the immense feeling of pride towards his friend sweeping in his chest.

And the look of complete and utter exhaustion on Aizawa’s face only served to make him burst out into cackling laughter.

Chapter Text

The whole situation was technically a misunderstanding.

During Bakugou’s first year, Aizawa quickly noticed the binder that the explosive blonde seemed to reference frequently between training sessions. It rarely left his side, and the boy never made notes in it, only flipping through what appeared to be diagrams and pages of already written notes. Occasionally, the binder would disappear for a few days, but then it would reappear with even more pages and sticky notes galore stuffed in it.

Then, Bakugou requested permission to train in one of the quirk resistant gyms after school, as well as requesting permission to film the training session. When pressed, he merely shrugged and said it was to work on his quirk, refusing to elaborate. Aizawa, wanting to understand the puzzle that was his newest Problem Child, agreed to the stipulations so long as he was present to monitor the training.

He received a lot of grumbling over the request, but the terms were agreed upon. 

Leaning off to the side, Aizawa watched with silent intrigue as the boy worked through what was frankly some highly advanced moves with his quirk. It was obvious that compared to most of the rest of the class, he had put in more work training physically before coming to UA: his entrance exam had reflected as much. However, his quirk had needed refinement due to being unable to use it fully until he joined the school. 

But only a month into the term, and Shouta could admit that the progress was unheard of, and he had an inkling of how that came to be. Watching the boy practice for several minutes, the camera set to film the move sets he put into motion, the only pauses he took were to rehydrate or to flip through that damn binder.

So naturally, when Bakugou was distracted with a more complicated move set, Aizawa decided to snoop.

He was expecting the notes, that was a given. What he was not expecting was the quality of the notes. The advanced analysis combined with detailed diagrams and sketches went into detail that Aizawa had barely ever seen even with professional analysts. Pages upon pages of detailed scrawl, scrawl that he knew was not Bakugou’s handwriting. So the question remained: who the fuck wrote this?

When the kid finally noticed Aizawa flipping through the binder, the teacher had expected the usual surly and explosive response. Instead, he got a feral grin and what looked like pride as the boy drawled, “So, what’s the verdict?”

“This is some of the most detailed and well written analysis I have ever seen,” Aizawa answered honestly, barely glancing up as he continued going through the notes. There was an intensely detailed section on his weaknesses even, going into detail on how he could be taken down, what types of quirks he was weak against, and even sections on how to take him down without a quirk. It was... overwhelming . “How on Earth did you get a professional analyst to help you-”

He was cut off by a loud, boisterous laugh. “Deku ain’t a professional analyst.” Scooping up his water bottle and taking a long drink, he added, “He’s...a family friend I guess who is a fanboy when it comes to quirks. Especially Hero quirks.” Then, he cheekily added, “You should see the shit he’s written about you .”

“ Me? ”

“How the fuck do you think I recognized you the first day?” Moving over towards the binder, he flipped to look at a particular diagram, one labeled “AP Shot”, while he absently continued to talk. “He’s a fan of yours, scrounges the internet for whatever clips he can get of you and your quirk.”

“Bakugou.” The tone of his voice must have clued the boy into the seriousness of the situation. “This level of analysis can be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

After some hesitation, Bakugou snipped, “He only ever shows me his damn notes. He ain’t gonna let some villain see his work.”

“I want to meet him.”

“No.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you understand-”

“And you definitely don’t understand Deku’s position.” Scowling, hackles raised, a fierce and protective look sat on the boy’s face. “If you want to talk to him, you can talk to him through me .”

They stood off like that for a few minutes, neither wanting to back down. But sensing that he would need to tread carefully to get the boy’s trust, Aizawa finally relented with a sigh. “Fine. I want the analysis on me and any member of staff that he’s made on my desk by Monday.”

The feral grin was back. “I can arrange that.”

And come Monday morning, Aizawa had several folders full of analysis waiting for him on every single member of the staff, each complete with extensive notes on how to improve and even sections on how to take them out... permanently . It was then that he marched into Nedzu’s office and demanded that he order the good coffee for the next year so that he could survive the shit show that Bakugou Katsuki had brought into his life.

Two years later, Aizawa found himself struggling to focus on the present and not the overwhelming feeling of dread over the thought of finally putting a face to Bakugou’s mystery analyst. Deku had become a bit of a Thing in the hero community, and the explosive blonde had received both praise and rebuke over the fact that he remained the main contact point for the analyst. 

Requests poured in, but the blonde was quick to turn down any that were not urgent or that he deemed to not be worth Deku’s time. Aizawa eventually had insisted that the analyst be paid for his work, but Bakugou said that Deku was still not in the place to accept the payment, thus Aizawa became the contact point before Bakugou, and anyone’s request accepted by Bakugou would go through Aizawa to create a fund for the payments. Apparently, Deku could eventually accept the payments, but currently, he needed to remain anonymous. For some unknown reason.

But apparently, that reason ended today.

Staring intently at the training field as his newest batch of students began to finish up their last tests, his mind drifted towards what was likely going to be his newest problem child. Bakugou’s childhood friend: Izuku Midoriya. 

Aizawa could not help but think that perhaps the boy was involved in this Deku business too. He felt like a similar case to Bakugou’s: an extremely high level of physical fitness going into the entrance exam and a flashy quirk that earned him an abnormally high amount of villain points. The only difference being the boy also earning an equally high amount of rescue points.

The boy’s quirk was in a similar boat too. He knew enough to control it and not injure himself or others, but refinement through practice was definitely needed. Shouta absently wondered if the boy would show up with his own binder tomorrow like Bakugou, and he felt as if that were a given. But the fact that Bakugou’s friend started UA today and Bakugou decided that he could finally reveal the analyst’s identity seemed all too coincidental.

“So.” Said explosive blonde glanced over towards the tired teacher with a questioning brow raised as Aizawa asked, “Is your friend related to Deku?”

A slow smirk grew. “You could say that,” came the smug reply.

“His parent, perhaps?”

Bakugou let out a snort. “Auntie doesn’t like hero stuff, and who the fuck knows where Zuku’s dad fucked off to.” That statement raised so many red flags that Aizawa’s head began to spin. “Shouldn’t you be announcing results to the brats?”

Taking a deep breath, Aizawa turned back to the matter at hand. He could deal with Bakugou later, after he had expelled a student.

“I can’t believe he actually expelled someone,” Uraraka whispered in shock, watching as Aizawa drag a sobbing Mineta away with his capture weapon. 

“I…” Momo began, staring at the ground in confusion. “I thought it was just a ruse…”

Shaking his head, Midoriya found himself chiming in. “I mean, he expelled his entire class last year, so…”

All eyes snapped to him as around a dozen voices began to cry out in shock and disbelief. Shrinking away from the attention, he found himself being saved thankfully by another voice breaking through the chatter.

“The hobo is strict, but he knows what the hell he’s doing,” Bakugou stated bluntly, giving them all an almost bored look, though Izuku knew better. “He keeps those he sees potential in. It's not his job to motivate you to want to learn. It's his job to teach you how to not die in the field. He’s not going to keep anyone that isn’t dedicated to doing what’s necessary to survive as a hero.”

“But still…” Kaminari began hesitantly. “Expelling him on the first day seems a bit harsh…”

“Well, considering he spent the entire test being a pervy little shit towards the girls, I think it's perfectly justified,” Bakugou snapped back with a scowl, earning a flinch from the boy. “Not only was he not taking this seriously, but sexual harassment will not be tolerated.”

Jirou stepped forward with a sour look. “He found a hole in the wall between the locker rooms and tried to watch us change into our uniforms as well.”

Cursing under his breath, Bakugou pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll let the hobo know. That should help with the paperwork so that the board can’t protest this. And we’ll get that hole fixed immediately.”

“You know, you act really mean and tough, but you’re actually really nice, Senpai!~” Mina cooed with a bright grin.

“Keep telling yourself that, Racoon Eyes,” he barked back as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Now, let’s head back to the classroom. Don’t bother changing, Aizawa will meet us there shortly. The rat is handling the perv.”

As they all began to file back towards the room, the explosive blonde moved to fall into step with his friend. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he bluntly asked, “So, what happened?”

“Huh?” Izuku asked, blinking in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that,” Bakugou griped. “Something happened with the guys. You’ve been acting off, and Half and Half has been playing guard dog whenever the others try to approach you. So. What happened?”

Izuku had a panicked look on his face and seemed to be trying to figure out what to say, but Todoroki, who had been silently trailing near the pair, spoke up. “Several of them have no tact when it comes to scars.”

Oh. 

Oh .

“Fucking hell…” he muttered with a hiss, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to ignore the clusterfuck of emotions that statement brought him. The protective rage, the bitter tiredness, the guilt .

His friend seemed to notice the not so nice path of thoughts that were swelling up inside of him. “I’m fine, Kacchan, really.” He grabbed the older boy’s forearm and gave it a comforting squeeze as he pulled the hand away from Bakugou’s face. “I was more caught off guard than anything. And Todoroki-kun pointed out that they were being rude, and they backed off.”

A heavy sigh fell from him. “If you say so...we’ll talk about it later.” The greenette did not seem too pleased over that prospect, but did not protest it, thankfully.

Glancing at the dual haired boy, he added, “And I guess thanks for not being a dick to ‘Zuku like the others, Half and half.”

The boy’s brows furrowed. “You’re welcome?...”

Izuku suddenly had an epiphany. “Wait, what did you mean about Todoroki being a guard dog?”

Aizawa was tired.

More so than usual.

All he wanted was to crawl into his sleeping bag and pass out for a few hours until he had to go on patrol later tonight. Unfortunately, Bakugou decided today would be the day to answer a question that has been hounding him for the past two years. So, sleep would have to wait.

Slamming open the door to the classroom, he ignored the startled shrieks of his students. “Bakugou. Front and center.”

The boy in question stood from where he was perched on his childhood friend’s desk, flashing a knowing grin that seemed to be mocking Aizawa. “Something I can help you with, sensei?”

His eyebrow twitched. Everyone in the classroom besides his current source of irritation shrunk away. “I am tired. I want to sleep. But unfortunately, you are a dramatic little shit-” he pointedly ignored the scandalized gasp from Tensei’s little brother “So. I have to deal with you a little longer. I want to meet your analyst. Now .”

The blonde shrugged. “Fine then.” Glancing over his shoulder, he called out, “Hey, Deku, our teacher wants to meet you.”

Aizawa is usually a calm, logical creature that only expresses mild bouts of irritation as well as severe bouts of exhaustion. But when he saw the tiny, green haired child stand up from his desk in confusion to walk up to the pair, he could not help the complete and utter disbelief in his voice. “ What is this? ”

Grinning like a god damn proud parent showing off his straight A child, Bakugou proudly declared, “Hobo-sensei, meet Deku. My analyst.”

Staring at the very confused child, Aizawa accidentally blurted out, “...I should have never let the rat talk me into taking this job.”

Chapter Text

“I told you he was your newest Problem Child.”

“Take him back.”

“Hell no,” Bakugou replied with a wide grin. “This is gonna be way too much fucking fun.”

Aizawa glared with enough venom that most people would cower under. Unfortunately for him, Bakugou had always been immune. “I still have the ability to expel you.”

“And given my status with All Might, you would likely cause a national incident over it.”

“Do you really think I care?”

“No. But the rat does.”

Aizawa bit back a cry of frustration. “ God damn it …”

“Um...excuse me?” Both sets of eyes turned towards the very confused greenette standing next to them. “I feel like I’m missing something?...”

Everything began to click into place, and Shouta turned his glare back on his older student. “For the love of God, please tell me he knows.”

Bakugou had the decency to look a bit ashamed but in no way remorseful about this. “I told him I was borrowing notes for class. By the time this took off, I figured I’d keep it a surprise until he got into UA.”

“Keep what a surprise?”

Oh. Oh, the tiny boy sounded miffed. Aizawa in no way found him intimidating, but the effort was impressive and seemed to even make Bakugou look a tad bit regretful of his spectacular fuck up. Fortunately for himself, Aizawa bore none of the guilt and had no qualms of throwing the prideful third year under a metaphorical bus. “Bakugou has been sharing your analysis and alluding that you were his personal professional analyst for the past two years.”

Wide green eyes blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Your work has been passed around through hundreds of hero agencies, and you have garnered a reputation as the most exclusive and sought after hero analyst in the business.” He paused for a beat, then deadpanned, “Congrats.”

“... WHAT. ” Green lightning crackled along the boy’s skin, causing several members of the class to take very large steps back as Midoriya rounded on the explosive blonde. “You shared my notes without my permission?”

Bakugou refused to meet his eyes. “I didn’t think it was supposed to be a secret-”

“It’s not a secret, it's private !” Midoriya snapped, throwing his arms in the air. “You know how much I worry about others’ opinions about my notes!-”

“And you know how often I tell you that your shit is good!” Bakugou shouted back, a snarl on his face though Midoriya didn’t even flinch. “You damn well should know by now that your work is solid, and this just confirms it! I don’t fucking understand why you won’t accept it-”

“Because you weren’t the one who grew up being treated like a freak for writing them!”

You could hear a pin drop in the room. Everyone stared wide eyed and shocked at Izuku, who visibly shifted from rage filled to confused to mild horror at what he had admitted. “I…”

Bakugou moved quickly. Scooping up the greenette and ignoring the shouts of protest, he barked out to Aizawa, “Deku and I are going to finish this conversation in private.” Slinging Izuku over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and using his free hand to scoop up the boy’s bag, he added, “We can discuss everything more later.”

Sighing, Aizawa groans out, “Fine...I need to discuss this with Nedzu anyway…” Not that he wanted to do that. The fact that the analyst was a student and within that sadistic rat’s reach just made his headache even worse. “You two better not destroy a building or anything.”

With a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes, Bakugou quips, “I’ll text you if we need to commandeer a training ground or something to burn off steam.” And with that, the blonde turned and made his way out of the room, Izuku shouting out protests and trying to wiggle out of Bakugou’s hold the entire way. Thankfully, the crackling green lightning did not reappear, so he had a small bit of hope that nothing would be destroyed...for now.

Finally turning his attention back to the stunned silent class, Aizawa barks out, “Show’s over, head back to the dorms.”

“Um…” Some of the members of class had begun to disperse at his orders, but Uraraka hesitantly stepped forward and spoke up. “Will Midoriya be okay?...Bakugou-Senpai won’t...”

Sighing heavily, Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. “Bakugou is a lot of things, but he’s a good kid. From what I’ve heard from his friends as well, his ‘childhood friend’ has him wrapped around their finger, so I doubt he would ever actually hurt Deku. He just has a lot of groveling to do.”

She seemed a little satisfied with his response, nodding slowly before heading back to her desk to gather her things and follow after the others. Surprisingly, the last person to leave was the ever silent Todoroki. The boy slowly made his way to the exit, only to hesitate. Glancing over his shoulder, he bluntly called out, “Are you sure that Midoriya is safe?”

“Of course,” Aizawa replied swiftly. “Bakugou is in the hero course for a reason. Why do you-”

“Midoriya has scars.” The words seemed to slip out before Todoroki could help it, eyes fixed pointedly on the floor. “Large, fresh scars, maybe a year or so old. They look like starbursts along his shoulder. Like the kind caused by fireworks...or explosions.” The boy’s fists tightened at his side, his face twisting up into a snarl before bitterly barking out. “Not all heroes have good intentions.”

Before Aizawa could even begin to unload that bombshell of concerning statements, Todoroki was out the door in a flash. This left Aizawa to slump into his desk chair, contemplating when his life had gotten this out of control. 

“Kacchan. Kacchan, put me down now.”

“Not until we are in my dorm room.”

“We’re in an elevator . Where am I even going to go ?!”

Scowling, Bakugou quietly mutters, “You aren’t going to bolt the moment the doors open, right?” The greenette was silent, which was enough of an answer for the blonde. “We’re almost there, then I will set you down and we can talk.”

The boy just huffs, lightly thunking his forehead against Bakugou’s back as he slumps in defeat. While both were strong from their excessive training regimes, Bakugou had a heavy emphasis on his arms to combat the blow back from his quirk. The hold he had poor Izuku in was ironclad, and no amount of wiggling was going to break him free. He technically could break free with his quirk, but the risk of injury to either of them and damage to the surrounding buildings was enough of a deterrent to just suck it up.

But still…

“This is so embarrassing ,” Midoriya groaned as the elevator doors finally chimed.

Chuckling as he strolled out into the hallway, Bakugou drawled, “Trust me, this campus has seen weirder. Mirio has had to cross campus with nothing but some random item to cover his goods more times than I can count.”

Izuku perked up for a moment. “Wait, he’s the one with the permeation quirk, right? Did they finally get him a set of DNA infused gym clothes?”

“Yeah, thank god,” Bakugou replies with a heavy sigh as they stop outside of the last door in the hall. “If I had to go through one more Sports Festival in which he ended up popping up out of the ground buck ass naked, I would have revolted.”

Door unlocked, Bakugou tossed Izuku’s bag into the room before purposefully shutting and locking the door. Only then did he carefully drop the greenette onto the bed. “Don’t even think about running, got it?”

Sighing in defeat, Izuku slumped back onto the blankets, running the meticulously folded sheets, not that Katsuki minded. “Forgive me for not being in the best mood to talk after realizing everything I’m gonna have to explain to my classmates later.” Grabbing a pillow, he pulled it close to his chest, wrapping his arms around it tightly and burying his face partly into it. “They were already being pushy about me knowing you, and now with this analyst business…”

“Tell them to fuck off,” Bakugou easily replied, moving to snatch up his laptop off his desk and lightly drop it on the bed. “You don’t owe them shit.”

Not meeting his friend’s eyes, Izuku hugged the pillow tighter. “I just...wanted to make friends this year…” 

Bakugou, who had been moving to drag out his snack stash from under his desk, paused before letting out a heavy sigh. “If the shit that came up today is enough to make them judge you or treat you differently, then they didn’t deserve you in the first place.” Resuming his rummaging, he added, “I doubt that all of them are going to be judgemental shits...Besides, worst case, my three idiots are bound to adopt you.”

Izuku hummed non-committedly, staring over the pillow at his lap. Seeing how the boy made no move to continue speaking, Bakugou grimaced before quickly finishing up gathering up the snacks to toss on the bed as well. 

The younger boy looked surprised at the pile of chip bags and sugary treats, causing Bakugou to grumble, “Don’t get used to it. We are having a cheat day just this once: the old man knows we deserve it.” Lighting up like a kid on Christmas, Izuku snatched up a bag of sweets and practically tore it open. After yanking open the mini fridge to rummage around, Bakugou added, “And don’t get fucking used to eating in my bed! I don’t want any damn crumbs left behind!”

With that, Bakugou tossed the boy a can of soda, smirking as Izuku fumbled to catch the drink before moving to flop on the bed beside the greenette. “Alright, we’re watching a movie,” he states as he picks up the laptop, opening up a streaming website with ease. “Your choice. Consider this all a late celebration of you getting into UA.”

They both knew it was a lie, but Izuku was not going to turn down an excuse to hold off on talking and calm his nerves from the day he had. Popping a chocolate in his mouth and chewing slowly, he swallowed before hesitantly asking, “...can we watch the new All Might documentary that came out last week?”

“We literally see the old man nearly everyday, and you want to watch another damn documentary on him?!”

“ Of course!” Izuku brightly chirps, practically blinding Katsuki with his smile. “He’s our favorite hero, Kacchan!”

“For now.”

Straightening, the younger boy practically flailed. “ What ?! Why would he ever not be our favorite?!”

Then, with a way too casual tone, his eyes sliding towards the greenette in a way that felt far too dangerous, especially paired with that smirk… “Because soon, you’ll be a licensed hero. And what kind of competition could All Might be to that?” 

Izuku lit up like a strawberry, and Katsuki was enjoying that flustered look far too much. “ Kacchan! You can’t just say things like that!”

“I can say it easily,” he drawled. Ever so slowly, he leaned in closer as the movie cued up, letting his face get closer to the smaller boy...he watched as the boy froze in place, face bright red, his breath hitching as Katsuki hovered his mouth only a few inches away. Katsuki’s hands reached out, one braced on the wall while the other reached across Izuku who seemed to forget how to breathe...only to pull away at the last second and pop a pilfered chocolate from Izuku’s candy bag in his mouth. His smirk growing wider into an almost feral grin as Izuku’s jaw dropped , he innocently asked, “And are you saying that when I’m licensed, I won’t be your favorite hero?”

Turning even redder, torn between being embarrassed and miffed, Izuku shouted, “Kacchan, you’re so mean !”

“Well, I think you’re both adorable!”

The two friends froze, slowly turning towards the sound of the voice...from right behind them.

Staring back at them was a disembodied, smiling face. “Hi there, Deku! Nice to finally meet-”

Said greenette yelped and in a flash, lit up with green lightning...before punching a frankly giant hole in the wall where the face was.

Bakugou leapt to his feet on the bed and let out a slew of swears while Izuku began to profusely apologize through the hole in the wall. All the while, Bakugou could hear from the otherside of the hole in Mirio’s room was said permeation user brightly chirping a “Whoops!” while Hado cackling joyfully and Tamaki muttered, “I told you this wasn’t going to end well.”

Chapter Text

“It’s been one day into the school term. One. Day.”

Bakugou let out a snort. “Are you surprised?” 

Snipe’s shoulders slumped. “Not really. Damn it, I should have known I would lose the betting pool…”

Head tilted in confusion, Izuku nervously asked, “Betting pool?…”

“…you didn’t hear about that.” Bakugou gave the Pro a pointed stare. “…the teachers’ all bet on whose kids would damage the dorms first. I thought for sure the first year Support Course would lose…”

“Well, the day is still young, Snipe-Sensei!” Mirio brightly chimed in. “And I personally would not mind dealing with a hole in my wall for a few days if it means helping you out!”

Snipe somehow managed to look hopeful behind his mask as he turned to Bakugou. The surly blonde simply crossed his arms and let out the most tired sigh. “It's not like Pants doesn’t just walk through the walls whenever he likes anyway. I know that’s why you put him in between Shy Boy and I.” Shifting his hands to his hips, he barked out, “I can deal with the impromptu window for a few days. Just no detention for any of us.”

“Deal!-“

“ And not a word of this to Hobo-Sensei. Deku’s already dealing with enough shit right now, he doesn’t need the hermit lecturing him about property damage.”

The Pro was already waving him off before he even finished. “Like hell am I admitting this to Aizawa, no worries- Wait .” Snipe does a double take between the small greenette and the blonde. “Did you just say Deku ?! As in the analyst-“

“And you’re leaving: now .” Izuku stood still, jaw dropped, as his friend all but shoved the sputtering Pro out of the room before slamming said door in the man’s face. “Nosy gossip.”

“You are the only one brave enough to mouth off to a teacher,” Tamaki muttered from his spot on Mirio’s bed, knees drawn up close. Usually, he did not speak much around new people, but he and Izuku had shared a look amongst the earlier chaos of Katsuki screaming and Mirio laughing, and they both simultaneously a look that screamed, ‘ ah yes, the mutual connection of crippling social anxiety .’

“It's not like I’m really involved much in classes anymore,” came the gruff reply. “You know besides a few core classes, I’m just essentially waiting till the year ends and I’m allowed to get my license.”

Brows furrowed, Izuku asked, “What do you mean?”

“Katsuki has basically garnered way too big of an image in the publicn eye compared to us normal students,” Mirio explained. “Because of how well known he is and how he essentially acts as a Pro already despite only having his provisional license, he’s sort of been put into an almost permanent work study status rather than continuing heroics classes here, kind of like the looser course structure at Shiketsu.”

“In short,” Hadou chimed in, floating over to the greenette with a bright smile. “Katsuki here has outgrown UA.” Wrapping her arms around the smaller boy’s shoulders, she added, “That’s why we’re the Big Three, and Katsuki is not a part of it: everyone on campus calls him UA’s Symbol of Victory!”

Izuku’s jaw dropped as he stared at his friend. “You never mentioned that…”

“It's not a big deal,” the older boy muttered, sheepishly scratching his head while scowling at Hadou. “It's just easier with me being the old man’s intern.”

“You are also not eligible for the Sport’s Festival this year,” Tamaki chimed in softly. 

Bakugou growled. “Ugh, don’t remind me.” 

“Wait!” Izuku interjected. “That’s hardly fair-“

“Well, it's not like I need the publicity,” Bakugou drawled. “And the rat has already been drafting alternative ideas to let me show off, so it's not a complete loss.”

“Hey, at least this means that the rest of us finally have a chance to win,” Mirio chirped brightly. “And you will have more free time so you can watch your little Kohai here compete!”

“Oh! Yes, yes, yes !” Hadou brightly cheered, nearly choking the poor flailing Izuku as she hugged him tightly. “We all have to cheer this little green bean on!”

Katsuki watched with an amused smirk as his childhood friend flailed in the girl’s grip. “He’s not going to do much competing if you choke him to death, for fuck’s sake…”

She immediately let him go, and Izuku dropped to the ground. “Whoops!”

Tamaki shot the gasping boy a blank look and deadpanned, “Run while you still can.”

Mirio pulled the boy to his feet and heartedly patted him on the back, nearly sending the boy sprawling. “As if we couldn’t catch him!”

Izuku sent a pleading look to Katsuki, and the blonde just gave him a feral grin. “I warned you that the idiots would forcefully adopt you.”

“I thought you were exaggerating .”

A short while later found Hadou dragging Izuku off to help her get everyone food, chattering on at a speed that drawled any of Izuku’s muttering rants. Before Bakugou could go after them, Tamaki waved him off, trailing after the pleading boy while giving Katsuki a look that said he would do his best to reign in the girl’s incessant questions.

As soon as the door shut, Bakugou rounded on Mirio who sat innocently on his bed, leaning against the wall next to the freshly made hole. “Alright, you got me alone, what do you want to ask?”

Mirio simply smiled. “I have no idea what you are talking about!… Kacchan .”

“God fucking damn it…” Dragging a hand down his face, he yanked out the desk chair and dropped down into it before barking out, “Ask before I leave to find Deku and hide him you three forever.” 

“Aww, don’t be like that!” Then Mirio leaned forward. “First question: Are you two dating?”

“No.”

“I figured-“

“What the hell does that mean?!-“

“Moving on!” Mirio’s grin grew. “Second question: When are you planning on asking him out?”

Bakugou tensed, gaze dropping to the ground as he gritted his teeth. “I…don’t know…maybe never.”

Mirio did a double take. “Wait, really?” He scooted forward to the edge of the bed, a rare serious look on his face. “You clearly care about him, and I’m fairly certain it's mutual too. Since when do you not go for what you want?”

Bakugou refused to lift his gaze. “It’s not a matter of want : it’s a matter of what I deserve.” Burying his hands in his hair, his tone was deflated. “Izuku and I…have some tense history. Shit happened to him because of me, and I just…”

Mirio blinked. “So you decided not to try because of something in the past?” As the explosion user practically snarled, hands crackling with small explosions, Mirio quickly held up his hands in defense. “Easy, buddy! I’m just trying to understand! You aren’t one to just give up.”

“Yeah, well I’m lucky that Izuku even still tolerates me after what I did to him!” Bakugou snapped back. “I ain’t gonna even consider pushing my luck.”

“Even if there is the chance that he wants the same?”

Bakugou didn’t reply.

Mirio decided to change tactics. “Is he the reason you were out of school for nearly a month the end of our first year?”

“This discussion is over .”

Mirio did not push after that. 

The utterly broken look on Bakugou’s face was answer enough.

Chapter Text

Aizawa did not want to have this conversation.

Quite frankly, he was dreading the very idea of this conversation.

Yet here he was, standing at the entrance to Satan’s office, resisting the urge to turn tail and run to take a nap in a distant corner of the building. But unfortunately for him, he hesitated for too long and the door buzzed open, leaving him to sigh heavily and resign himself to his fate.

When he entered the office, Nedzu was perched on his chair on top of a pile of books, busy typing away, focused on his laptop. A fresh and still steaming cup of tea sat on the desk, and further towards the edge, a still warm cup of coffee sat waiting for himself.

Ah, so the rat was expecting me.

Keeping his face neutral as usual, he moved to sit as Nedzu cheerfully chirped, “Come in, Aizawa-kun! I’m just finishing up the expulsion paperwork for Mineta Minoru.”

Aizawa paused in confusion before it clicked. “Ah, so that’s the pervert’s name.”

Nedzu chuckled lightly as he continued to type, not even glancing towards the man. “You really must make an effort to learn your students' names, Aizawa-kun.”

Picking up the coffee and taking a cautious sip, he let out an audible sigh when he realized it was the good stuff. Then, looking lazily over towards Nedzu, he replied, “I will remember their names when they’ve earned it.” Scowling, he bitterly remarked, “That damn pervert did not earn it.”

“I guess I can concede to that point.” Finally seeming satisfied with what he had typed, Nedzu pushed away the laptop. “Did you know that Mineta’s uncle was on the board?”

Aizawa’s grip on the cup tightened. “I will not be taking back that pervert —“

“Oh heavens no!” Nedzu cut in, still just as cheery. “I would never allow him back in the course! I merely was mentioning his background.” Reaching for his tea, he giggled to himself. “The man was foolish enough to threaten my budget over this. So, I merely mentioned that UA’s Symbol of Victory was present for the expulsion.” 

A vicious gleam flickered through the rat’s eyes, and it was one of the many moments that Aizawa was reminded that despite his looks, Nedzu was more predator than prey. “I reminded him of how active the boy is online and how he rallies behind just causes, always with All Might’s backing. Imagine what a scandal it would be for our Symbol of Victory to speak out about UA keeping a sexual harasser in school simply because he had family on the board?”

Aizawa took another sip of his coffee. “You know Bakugou does not like being used in your schemes.”

“But he hates injustice far more.” Sitting the tea cup down with a clink, he continued. “Between this and several other instances, the board member will be resigning by the end of the week. I’m already looking into replacements.”

Nedzu was nothing if not efficient.

“Now, unfortunately, due to this annoyance, I was unable to watch your assessment tests this year,” Nedzu added, shifting forward a bit in his seat. “I was simply going to watch it back later, but seeing as you are here in my office, I assume something of interest occurred?…”

Aizawa carefully replied, “…perhaps.”

“Oh?”

“…Bakugou introduced me to his analyst.”

Silence fell between the pair, and Aizawa’s dread grew. This was a mistake. The rat would do nothing but turn his problem child into The Problem Child. He should take the boy and run. Maybe convince him to transfer schools. Shiketsu was a good school, just as prestigious and without little Satan rats in power.

But he knew that Nedzu would find out eventually.

Taking his cup of coffee, Aizawa proceeded to power chug the entire thing, all while Nedzu watched him intently with those beady little eyes of his. Cup thoroughly drained, Aizawa slammed it down on the desk. “It's his childhood friend. One of my students. Midoriya Izuku.”

Nedzu went rigid, and the usual smile fell completely off his face.”

“…Midoriya?”

“Yep.”

“… All Might’s Midoriya?”

Aizawa shrugged. “I guess?…”

Nedzu stared in shock, before a small chuckle bubbled out of him.

Then another.

Then another.

And Aizawa could only watch in horror as the rat’s laughter only grew to alarming levels, him violently shaking and bouncing around on top of his stack of books. Amongst the laughter, the rat managed to say, “O-oh my , oh my ! Oh, All Might, you do not know what you have set loose on the world!” Throwing his head back and cackling , he declared, “Oh, the world is not ready for the likes of Midoriya Izuku!”

Aizawa could only silently watch his boss as he devolved into more insane cackling. Briefly, he glanced at his now empty cup of coffee. He wished he had more.

“She…she isn’t o-overwhelming you…right?”

The words were spoken so softly that had he not been standing right next to Tamaki, he would have missed it. But, he was here, half hiding behind the boy as Hadou went on a mad dash around the kitchen, trying to figure out what type of food she wanted to make. Izuku was on edge, not liking the prying eyes of the other third years in the common area, and he felt bad for using someone who seemed as equally nervous about attention as him as a shield.

But it was either him or Hadou, and she was more terrifying than the prying eyes.

Mustering up a smile as Hadou gasped in delight and began pulling various easy make food out of the cabinets, he nervously replied, “It's fine, really. She means well.”

Tamaki hummed in a way that suggested he did not believe him, but that was fine. They were both extreme introverts. They often put up with uncomfortable situations but would bolt if they were truly uncomfortable. 

“Still…” Tamaki began, a little more confidence in his tone. “Do not hesitate to ask if you need help.” Hadou now was staring intently at two different boxes of easy make ramen, mulling it over like it was a life or death situation. “Hadou is respectful if you ask her to tone it down. She does not get offended easily.”

“It really is fine.” With a stronger smile, Izuku commented, “I tend to be just as bad as her sometimes when I hear about a quirk I like.”

“Oh?”

He hummed in a similar way to Tamaki. “Yes, though I tend to lose steam fairly quickly if they seem uncomfortable. I…don’t have the same confidence as her.”

Tamaki snorted at that. “No one has the same confidence as her, not even Katsuki.”

Izuku couldn’t help but snicker at that. “That’s quite a bit of confidence.”

“She has a particular set of skills in that area.”

A companionable silence fell between the two, and Izuku began to think back on the day. Finding out about the whole Deku thing had been a bit of a punch to the gut, the scene he made in front of his class even worse, but at least, if anything, he thinks he made a friend. If not with his classmates they know now, they know he’s a freak, they know how creepy he is, soon they’ll know how worthless , then at least with Tamaki-senpai. 

Hopefully. 

If the fight he and Kacchan were due to have once they had some privacy said anything, he doesn’t think Tamaki-Senpai would choose him over Kacchan if it came down to it.

As if sensing the souring of his thoughts, Tamaki-senpai attempted to start small talk, awkwardly asking, “So…uh…quirks?…” He cleared his throat. “You like talking about them?”

Izuku carefully schooled his face as something clicked into his memory. “Um…yes…” Nervously tapping his fingers on his leg, he cautiously said, “Kacchan mentioned that your quirk let’s you transform parts into whatever you’ve eaten?…”

Hadou in the background had clearly given up on her half made food, tossing the whole lot into the trash and then dragging out a pile of pre made junk and microwaveable freezer food. “Oh…yes. Yes it does.”

“…may I ask some questions about it?…”

“…sure.”

Izuku turned to face him fully, schooling his face into as serious of an expression as possible. Then, without a hint of the nerves he was feeling, he asked his question.

The door to Mirio’s room burst open, and before Bakugou could yell about knocking, Hadou burst through, laughing her ass off, trying and failing to form complete sentences. A red faced Tamaki trailed in after her, with a frantic and equally embarrassed Izuku following him, spewing out a litany of apologies.

“What the fuck happened?” Bakugou shouted, only causing Hadou to renew her cackling even more fiercely. He looked towards the other two, but Tamaki had already collapsed face down on Mirio’s bed, ignoring any attempts of the chipper blonde to get answers, and Izuku was still apologizing, but it was barely understandable at this point.

“Seriously, what the—“

Hadou finally seemed to find words, calling out in a sing song voice in between wild laughter. “Izuchan asked Tama-kun a question about his quirk .”

Oh. Oh that was a loaded statement. “What did he ask to cause this ?!” Bakugou snapped, gesturing wildly at the borderline catatonic Tamaki.”

Red faced Izuku quickly cut in, “I meant like if he swallowed a hair or something!”

And then it clicked. “Izuku, did you ask if Shy Boy could use someone else’s quirk?”

A slow, hesitant nod.

Mirio finally chimed in with a soft, “Oh…oh is this about the Permeation inci—“

Tamaki’ s head shot up off the bed to quietly snap, “We do not talk about the Permeation incident.”

Ah. That. 

Izuku looked terrified. Hadou was still cackling as she floated towards the ceiling. Tamaki resumed his attempts to smother himself with a pillow, while Mirio went red in the face and looked anywhere but at his Kohai. 

Bakugou just looked directly at Izuku and sighed dramatically. With a deep breath, he could not help but comment. “It takes a lot of DNA to use someone’s quirk—“

The shouts of outrage from Tamaki and Mirio as well as the look of absolute mortification on Izuku’s face was more than worth any retribution he might face later on.