Chapter Text
Once the two had finished cleaning the common room, they went back to their respective rooms to recover and reflect.
That’s when Katsuki finally pulled out his untouched box from under his bed. The one he had packed before they moved into the dorms, hoping for a brighter day to open it. The one that contained his All Might merch – the ones that were assigned to a memory of an emotional breakdown after Kamino.
“It was my choice to run out of my power the way I did, like I said, that wasn’t your fault.”
Today was a good day to finish setting up his room.
Opening the box, he saw posters lining the top – bright and colourful. Katsuki smirked, with the bland colour palette of his room, this would stick out like a sore thumb.
He plastered them to the walls lining his bed.
“Being a hero for all these years has taught me something. I love to win, just like you, Bakugo-shounen. And like Midoriya-shounen, I strive to save those in need. If either aspect had been missing, I never could have stood for justice in the way I did.”
Katsuki felt a small smile on his face, as he pulled out merchandise. He set them up on his shelves, his desk, his bedside table – recalling fond memories of being an excited fan. Begging his parents to buy these, saving up his own pocket money for these…
“The way Midoriya-shounen looks up to your strength, Bakugo-shounen. And the way Bakugo-shounen fears your heart, Midoriya-shounen… you’ve both just laid everything bare, so can’t you see now??”
Katsuki pulled out his All Might hoodies – he had already pulled some out, but this was now his entire collection. He liked wearing them to sleep in the winter, when it was extra chilly. He set them up in a corner of his closet, on hangers.
Then he took a step back and assessed his room.
“If you can learn to respect each other and lift each other up… you can become the ultimate heroes. Ones who save to win and win to save.”
Save to win and win to save.
Katsuki wanted to be a hero like All Might, but he was only looking at one half of what made him so great. Deku naturally ran after the other half, a boy that symbolised the heart to save.
He even saved Katsuki. Several times too.
They were two halves of the same coin. Winning and saving.
“I COULD ADMIRE ALL MIGHT FROM A DISTANCE, BUT YOU WERE RIGHT THERE!! THIS AMAZING PERSON IN MY LIFE!! THAT’S WHY… I ALWAYS…!! I ALWAYS…CHASED AFTER YOU!!!!”
A memory resurfaced. An extended hand, eyes of concern.
“Are you okay? Can you stand?”
Katsuki inhaled, pulling out his rare All Might card from his pocket. The one he won with Deku, together. He walked over to the drawer at his desk and pulled out wet wipes. He began to clean his most prized possession.
When Deku reached out to him when they were kids, he only looked at him with admiration and the desire to help, didn’t he?
Katsuki had been so caught up in being perfect, being the best, being tough – that he misunderstood the intention entirely. There were probably several moments like that throughout their childhood.
He watched the card glisten back at him and knew that he’d watch Deku even more carefully from now on. He understood what was wrong. He had a direction to go to become better.
He’s walked backwards long enough.
Katsuki would work on his heart to save, and he’d start chasing after Deku.
~~~
When everyone came home from school, it was time for evening chores – which was gathering everyone’s rubbish, organising dinner and doing the dishes. Katsuki walked down to the common room and saw his classmates gathering there.
“Hm…” Small Fry jeered, sliding his finger along the floor, “care to explain this dust, Bakugo???”
Flat Face began laughing uncontrollably.
“THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEKU’S JOB, SO SHUT THE HELL UP!!” Katsuki screamed, angrily turning to the stupid nerd gathering rubbish on the floor, “HEY, YOU!! CAN YOU EVEN CLEAN RIGHT??!”
“Sorry!!” Deku gasped apologetically, “if you guys could all put your garbage outside your doors, I’ll collect it.”
Katsuki’s eyes watched Deku for a second longer, even if his raw instinct told him to forget about him. He noticed that the nerd was already paying attention to other people’s conversations. Kirishima and Big Lips were discussing Present Mic’s class, and he realised that they were talking about content they had missed.
“I had no clue about some of those sentence patterns, but he was using them like it was no big deal,” said Big Lips.
“Yeah!! Took me by surprise too!!” Kirishima agreed.
“It’s what happens when we forget to prepare for class…” Big Lips commented.
“Trip up just once and following along after suddenly gets tough…” Kirishima muttered.
And how do they think he and Deku felt?? Speaking of the nerd, his eyes were already on another conversation.
“Y’know, those work studies? I never got scouted, but I’d still like to try,” Ears said.
“Same here,” said Tail.
“I wonder if we’d be able to get placed under the same heroes that we did our internships with,” invisible girl pondered.
What the fuck were work studies?!
“It’s only been a day and I’m already falling behind!!!” Glasses approached them, “it’s written on your face, House Arrest-kun!”
“House Arrest-kun?? That’s just mean!!” Deku protested, “but what’s this work study thing anyway, Iida-kun??”
“Yes, well, I’m still angry!! And sensei forbade us from telling you two anything from our classes!!” Glasses complained, and Katsuki grimaced at the notion, “I’m sorry, but this is just an experience you have to endure!! Are you listening, Bakugo-kun??”
“YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW – SO SHUT UP, STUPID GLASSES!!” Katsuki muttered angrily, turning away, “hmph.”
He wasn’t pleased that not only he missed four days of class, but he also couldn’t catch up on those days. Aizawa-sensei was brutal.
Katsuki wanted to know what work studies were. He wanted to know what the hell Kirishima was complaining about for English class. He wanted to know what he missed!!
Again. He brought it upon himself. He sighed and decided to start prepping dinner.
~~~
Over the next two days of house arrest, Deku and Katsuki had slowly established a new normal between them. Katsuki slowly became comfortable with snapping at the Deku’s inexperience at cleaning. Meanwhile, Deku settled with enthusiastic comebacks or apologies – scrambling to get his work done. After spending months avoiding Deku, the banter was refreshing; like a huge storm that finally began to settle.
And then Deku went back to school on the fourth day. Katsuki chose to work on his apology letter to Aizawa-sensei, but he found himself not regretting any of it. He felt so much better after that – maybe it meant nothing to Deku – and-
No.
It meant something to Deku. He could see it whenever they exchanged eye-contact with each other.
This was important to them.
So how the hell did he apologise for that?
Well. He apologised for breaking the rules, for breaking curfew and picking a fight. He mentioned that he had been released from everything that held him down and declared that he’d climb now. That he won’t hesitate to climb again.
He also promised to never do it again. And he won’t – Katsuki felt like his head was cleared, like he could breathe fresh air and enjoy it.
He considered adding a petty section to complain about the house arrest but decided against it.
He gave it to Aizawa-sensei, when he had come to check on him during afternoon classes. The teacher’s expression softened upon reading it.
“Bakugo,” he huffed, “I need to apologise to you too.”
“Huh?” Katsuki questioned, a little shocked, “the hell do you gotta apologise for?”
Aizawa-sensei knelt to his level, his expression grim.
“Well, I didn’t put enough effort into making sure you were okay after you’d been kidnapped,” his teacher expressed, his voice uncharacteristically gentle, “and as a result, you were forced to carry a huge emotional burden. As a teacher, I should’ve been more reliable.”
Katsuki smirked at that, “if we’d both done something wrong, then maybe you shouldn’t have placed me on house arrest.”
His teacher’s eyebrows furrowed, “no. I’m putting my foot down for that. You don’t sound like you have the slightest bit of regret.”
“And I told you why in my apology letter too,” Katsuki nodded, “but missing four days of school really sucked, thanks a lot.”
Aizawa-sensei smirked back, lifting himself back up to stand.
“I know you won’t stop climbing,” his teacher looked at him, “I’ll look forward to what I see from you, from now on. Because even if you didn’t regret it, it does sound like you’ve reflected. I’ll take my leave.”
Katsuki watched him turn to walk away.
“Hey, sensei.”
“What??” Aizawa-sensei stopped at the door. Katsuki clenched his fists and closed his eyes.
“I appreciate it,” he exhaled, turning away to go back to the lift. And he meant that for the press conference and for this moment too.
Aizawa-sensei continued out the door, saying nothing.
~~~
“Wonder what’s gonna happen… sensei said they’re still on the fence about letting first years do work studies…” Round Face discussed with the girls, as Katsuki collected trash from his classmates that afternoon.
“From Togata-senpai’s speech at the end there, sounds like being the best is pretty epic,” Raccoon Eyes said.
“All we can do is wait for Aizawa-sensei’s approval…” Ponytail - who released her ponytail – sighed.
They’re talking about work studies again, damn it. It’s like a once per day topic at school. He hated being in the dark – and now even Deku might be mumbling about it.
“GOT GARBAGE?! HAND IT OVERRR!!!” Katsuki roared from the middle of the common room.
Bird Brain and many others began beelining to him with his trash bags. They amass too much of it in a single day, and Katsuki swore that Dunce Face, Small Fry and some others were doing it on purpose.
~~~
Katsuki arrived at school the next day and worked vigorously hard to find out what he missed. He already began screaming at Kirishima and Dunce Face, who began to tease him, when Todoroki showed up at his desk.
“The hell do you want?!?!” he gritted.
“To catch you up,” Todoroki responded, taking a seat at the desk in front of him and shifting his chair back, “and to tell you about the provisional license stuff.”
“Well??? Hurry the hell up then,” Katsuki spat, placing his head on his palm.
“So, work studies are a more advanced version of our internships from last semester,” Todoroki explained, “the people with provisional licenses can now participate in hero work, kind of like a sidekick. It’s like a fast-track to gain experience outside of school.”
“That means those guys are gonna get ahead?!” Katsuki questioned angrily.
“Yeah, well, the teachers haven’t approved of first-years doing it yet, but we have to catch up,” Todoroki nodded, and the admission was irritating, “yesterday, we met UA’s Big 3: Togata-senpai, Nejire-senpai and Amajiki-senpai; and they told us about work studies. Togata-senpai singlehandedly defeated our entire class with what he had learned.”
“I could’ve won,” Katsuki grumbled, “the hell were you losing for?”
“I didn’t participate,” Todoroki responded, “maybe they could’ve won with us there, but without our licenses, I think we didn’t have place. So, we need to catch up with these work studies.”
“DAH! SHUT UP! I GET IT!!” Katsuki shouted, and he heard Flat Face laughing at him nearby.
“Finally, Aizawa-sensei’s called us over to talk after lunch,” Todoroki finished, standing in his spot and moving back to his seat, “our provisional license course starts tomorrow, and he’s gonna oversee escorting us there. So, let’s do well.”
“Tch,” Katsuki grumbled as the bell began to ring.
~~~
“So, we had a conference about potential work studies for first-years yesterday,” Aizawa-sensei began homeroom, “plenty of teachers, even the principal, said don’t even think about it.”
Heh. Good.
“HUH? EVEN AFTER THAT WHOLE DEMONSTRATION WE GOT?!” Kirishima exclaimed.
“It makes sense, though, given what led to the dorm system in the first place…” Dunce Face mumbled.
“TAKE THAT!!” Katsuki chuckled.
“You’re just saying that cuz you wouldn’t be allowed to do it anyway…” invisible girl commented.
“BUT!” Aizawa-sensei continued, “some believed the overprotective direction we’re going in won’t foster strong heroes. As such, we will allow agencies with proven track records that offer work studies to take on first years. That’s our decision.”
“CRAP!!” Katsuki reacted with disdain – as the classmates brimmed to life about their old internships.
DAHHH! They’d just get far ahead!!
Especially Deku – so much for saying that he’d surpass him when there was this much disparity between having a license and not!!
~~~
“Now that Bakugo’s back, I can finally talk to you two about the license exams,” Aizawa-sensei said, sitting in front of Katsuki and Todoroki after class.
“Yeah,” Todoroki nodded.
“Mm,” Katsuki responded.
“So, your training going to start tomorrow, and every weekend you’ll go to the HPSC venue for the next three months,” Aizawa-sensei explained, “it’ll be full days of intensive training, you won’t have a break for a while. It’ll be hell.”
He paused, as if he was expecting a response. Todoroki and Katsuki stayed quiet.
“I saw your results,” he sighed, “honestly in terms of raw skill and combat technique, you’ve far surpassed the bar of passing the exam. Your abilities upon strengthening your work are rapidly improving, and you think rationally about the natural next step of your progression. I can tell that you have a clear aim, but a shaky path to get there.”
“Yeah,” Todoroki agreed, “but after that exam, I figured out what I need to confront.”
“Yes, you know what you need to confront,” Aizawa-sensei agreed, “and even if you went about it irrationally, I know that you know what you need to confront too, Bakugo.”
“I’m gonna make everything my own and keep rising, even higher than you, the chosen one.”
“Okay, then I’m gonna rise even higher than that. I’ve gotta keep growing too!!”
Katsuki nodded, thinking of Deku and his desire to surpass him, “yeah.”
“This license training will show you how to get there,” Aizawa-sensei explained, looking at them both confidently, “you’ll be fighting with yourself, not each other. It’s a totally different kind of battle than what UA can provide. But you know what you need to work on, and before you know it, you’ll be standing with them. So do your best out there.”
Katsuki smirked, “of course. I’ll win that fight.”
“We’ll catch up,” Todoroki added.
“I’ll see you both tomorrow morning, in front of the dorms, then,” sensei finished.
~~~
The next morning was an early start. While everyone else were relaxing, drowsily waking up and pondering over the activities of their day off, Todoroki and Katsuki had an early breakfast before leaving the building. They were both early risers anyway; it was a timing that was earlier than school.
“You should be grateful that Aizawa-sensei didn’t revoke this privilege,” Todoroki said, as they exited Heights Alliance together while carrying their hero costumes in suitcases.
“Shove it…” Katsuki grimaced.
“We’d better hurry and catch up to everyone else,” Todoroki added.
“I SAID SHOVE IT, YOU!! AND HOW ABOUT YOU WALK TWO STEPS BEHIND ME!!” Katsuki snapped.
He then jolted as Deku charged past them at top speeds.
“MORNING TODOROKI-KUN!! MORNING KACCHAN!!” he yelled, “ENJOY YOUR DAY!!”
“Why’s he in such a rush??” Todoroki pondered.
Katsuki snorted, “he needs to be in more of a rush. Or else I’d beat him.”
He wondered if Deku thought about their fight and felt a sense of urgency. Katsuki hoped he did, he hoped it wasn’t just him.
But he didn’t feel like he was taking on the world alone anymore. They’d both push each other to become stronger, to become better – and they’ll both aim for being heroes like All Might.
Together.