Chapter Text
"Todoroki-kun, you have threes next."
Iida's unnecessary reminder cut through the tense silence of the table. Midoriya found himself leaning forward, holding his breath as his gaze cut to the two remaining cards held in Todoroki's hand.
Everyone's eyes were on him, but Todoroki was calmly examining those cards, then the sizable discard pile sitting in the middle of the table, then back to his cards. His face remained a stoic mask, not so much as a nervous twitch to speak of.
Then, ever so confidently, he reached forward, both cards still held tightly. He carefully placed them both on top of the pile, smoothly ignoring the instant eruption of disbelieving gasps around him.
Expression as flat as ever, he glanced up and looked right at Bakugou when he said, "Two threes."
Kaminari snickered.
“Bullshit!” Bakugou roared. “There’s no fucking way you’ve got those cards! Just look at his stupid face! Smug bastard!” Explosions crackled across his palms as Todoroki looked on, empty hands folded neatly atop the table. “Round face already played two threes the last go around. Are you telling me you’re just that fucking lucky? Huh? Is that what you’re saying?”
Todoroki's lip curled in the slightest of sneers, but he made no move to flip over the cards.
Midoriya, eyes wide, looked frantically between Todoroki and Bakugou. He tugged on Bakugou's sleeve, muttering urgently.
"W-Wait, Kacchan, I think he might be telling the truth, or at least, it's possible that he is, because the person who had threes the round before Uraraka-san was Iida-kun, and he said he didn't have any instead of trying to lie, and no one who's been exposed for lying has played any threes since at least two rounds before that, so--"
He cut off with a startled yelp when Kirishima clapped him on the back. "Well, it's too bad Bakugou already called it before you said all that, then!"
"A brash miscalculation, indeed," Iida said gravely.
“What the fuck did you just say, four-eyes?” Bakugou turned to sneer at Iida. “If you don’t know how to play, then just fold your hand. Idiot.”
“Bakugou-kun, that’s so rude!” Uraraka puffed out her cheeks, then upon noticing his smirk, deflated them with a defiant glare. “Not to mention, what do you even mean?”
Asui spoke up with a finger to her chin. “I think he means that we should realize not challenging Todoroki-chan at this juncture means losing the game.”
“Of course!” Iida declared with a clenched fist. “A bold finishing move, in a desperate attempt to stop the victorious Todoroki-kun in his tracks!”
“But what about second place, dude?” Kaminari said. A vein popped in Bakugou’s temple as he gave him a good-natured slap on the shoulder. “If you’re wrong, you’ll probably come in last, you know?”
Bakugou looked ready to erupt. “Who the actual fuck cares about what happens after we lose, sparky?”
"Yeah, yeah!" Uraraka chirped, flexing her arms and grinning. "It's first place or nothing! Plus ultra!"
"In that case, we should probably figure out who won, kero," Asui said with a pointed glance at the discard pile.
"I already did," Todoroki said.
Midoriya laughed nervously, already reaching for the cards. "Ah, well, let's just find out..."
He took a quick glance at them before his gaze immediately snapped to Bakugou, then away again just as fast. "Oh..."
A banging noise punctuated by a loud crash followed his declaration as the table went flying towards Todoroki, who stone-facedly leaned to the left to avoid the impact and let it smash into the wall behind him. The cards atop it were thrown in every direction in a flurry of smoke and explosions.
“What the hell, man? That’s our game table!” Kaminari exclaimed, waving the smoke away from his face. “It’s for game nights!”
“You bastard,” Bakugou seethed, pointing at Todoroki from across the now empty space between them. “I tell you to come at me with all you’ve got, and you give me this shit?” He maneuvered smoothly out of his chair and sent it flying at Todoroki’s head. Uraraka reached out and grabbed it as it flew past, sending it floating up harmlessly to the ceiling.
“It’s so obvious when you’re lying, so you had to go a whole round with a perfect hand, huh?”
“What,” Uraraka said flatly. “Todoroki? Obvious?”
They all turned to look at Todoroki’s infamous poker face in unison.
"I think it's more like it's obvious to him," Midoriya put in. "Kacchan's always been really good at reading people, and with Shoucchan, it's almost like he can read his mind on the battle field. They just have a connection like that."
"Aww," Uraraka cooed, clasping her hands together, "so adorable! It's like you're destined for each other."
"Yes, it's such a deep and abiding bond," Todoroki intoned as he continued to stare flatly at Bakugou. "That's why he tries to kill me whenever I play the right cards."
"Bro," Kirishima whispered, voice hushed with awe. "That's how you can tell. When Bakugou throws hands--"
"--that's when Todoroki is telling the truth!" Kaminari finished, equally dumbstruck. "Man... we just totally cracked the code! We're in!"
Midoriya laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, that's too bad. I guess I'm not the only one who can use that strategy now..."
“Huh? What are you grinning for when you’re relying on me, shitty Deku?” Bakugou yelled, eyes bulging out of his head in outrage. “Get a better strategy! You’re over there counting cards and you still can’t win? What’s wrong with you?”
Midoriya ducked his head in embarrassment. “K-Kacchan, you know I’m just unlucky.... It doesn’t matter if I count everything if I never get the right cards.”
“What kind of hypocritical position is that, anyway?” Todoroki spoke up, rolling his eyes at Bakugou. “You say it like you don’t rely on Midoriya, too.”
Uraraka tilted her head in confusion. “What? But... no offense, but Deku-kun is really easy for everyone to read, isn’t he?”
Midoriya winced. “Ouch. Anyway, I think Shoucchan is overstating it a bit—“
“No, I’m not,” Todoroki interrupted. “Bakugou takes his cues from you on when to call bullshit.”
“N-Not all the time!” Midoriya rushed to clarify, waving his hands around frantically. “He’s better at synthesizing the data from the cards with his observations about people lying, so even if he can only get a general sense of what I know, he’s still better at making judgments and taking risks than I am...”
“You bet your ass, I am,” Bakugou said, rolling his eyes. “Reading your information from other people is how you’re supposed to win this game. That’s my strategy,” he finished, an unspoken and it’s the best one left to his cocky body language.
“So, relying on other people,” Todoroki stated. “Relying on other people is your strategy.”
“Call it whatever the fuck you want, Icyhot,” he grumbled. “But next time...”
Bakugou released another series of obnoxious explosions. “Next time, there won’t be any holes in my play style! I’m gonna get so lucky, you won’t even be able to go a full round!” he declared at the top of his lungs, glaring fiercely at Todoroki.
“Now, rematch me! Fucking loser!”
Kaminari wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “Ah, Kacchan... He’s come so far since the days of failing the provisional license exam.”
Kirishima joined him in his dramatics, throwing an arm around Bakugou’s shoulders. “It really warms your heart to see him acting like such a... team player.”
Uraraka took one look at Bakugou’s reddening face and seemed to make an executive decision.
“Ah, why don’t we play a different game now?”
“I don’t care what we play so long as half’n’half’s in,” Bakugou growled, glaring mutinously at Kirishima but making no move to shove him off.
Asui retrieved the table with her tongue and set it back in its proper position. “What game should we play next, kero?”
“I suggest a game that will allow us to improve our teamwork skills in a more overt manner,” Iida said, straightening his glasses.
“I don’t know, there aren’t a lot of team-based card games,” Uraraka said doubtfully.
Kaminari snapped his fingers. “Hey, hey, how about Blingo? That’s gotta be competitive enough for a Todoroki vs. Kacchan rematch, right?”
Bakugou was already grinning menacingly and cracking his knuckles. “Deku, you’re with me,” he announced, holding Todoroki’s gaze.
Todoroki returned the stare for a beat before looking away. “Then I—“
“Dibs on Iida-kun!” Uraraka blurted out.
Iida bowed slightly. “I promise I will not let you down!”
“Oi, Kaminari,” Kirishima called, slamming his hands on the table, “want to try that killer strategy we came up with last time?”
Kaminari shot him a thumbs up. “You bet, bro! This time we’ll win for sure!”
An increasingly harrowed Todoroki turned to Asui. “I suppose that leaves us.”
Asui put a finger to her chin. “How do you play this game, kero?”
“Why even bother explaining? You ain’t winning.” Bakugou was smiling viciously at them.
“It’s a simple game, Asui-kun! I’m sure you’ll catch on quickly,” Iida said, completely ignoring him. “We each form a partnership, and everyone is dealt four cards to start. Every round, four cards are flipped over in the center”—here he waved his arms about choppily, supposedly to demonstrate flipping—“and anyone playing can switch a card from their hand with one on the table, if they get to it first. Once your partner has four of kind, you must declare ‘blingo’ with all your might in order to claim victory!”
“How will you know what your partner’s hand has?” Asui asked with a slight head tilt. “Do you have to devise some way of transmitting that information without the others knowing?”
“Yeah, you gotta make a signal,” Uraraka piped up. “And if you think someone else has four of a kind, you yell ‘CUT!’” She made a vigorous chopping motion with her arm, and Iida nodded approvingly.
“Whatever, idiots. Learn the rules or don’t—you’re out of your league. Come on, Deku,” Bakugou said, grabbing his partner by the wrist and pulling him away from the table.
“Good luck, everyone!” Midoriya called over his shoulder as he was tugged away.
He followed after Bakugou, shifting their hands so that they were linked together as they sought a private place to concoct their plans. He tugged them both to a stop in the kitchen, already launching into a mumbled consideration of their possible tactics.
“So, I think the biggest problem is going to be that we team up a lot, so everyone will be familiar with our communication patterns. We also win a lot, so they’ll probably want to target us right from the beginning, which could actually work to our advantage if we work that into the signal somehow...”
“Shut up,” Bakugou said, loudly, then continued in a more even tone, “When I get four of a kind, I won’t take any cards for two turns and then I’ll tell Icyhot what cards he has.
“And don’t fucking look at me. It’s gross,” he added, using the hand not holding Midoriya’s to scratch his cheek. He didn’t need to say it, because they both knew that Midoriya was infamous for making eye contact with Bakugou as soon as he had a winning hand, regardless of what their signal was, or even which partners they had.
Midoriya blinked at him. “Um... you’re right that I do that too much, but you don’t mean I should make that my signal, do you? It’s kind of way too obvious...”
Bakugou yanked his hand away in disgust. “You don’t get a signal, moron. I’m gonna win and you’re gonna follow my lead.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and started making his way back to the table with everyone else.
“Just fucking focus this time, stupid nerd,” he spat over his shoulder, voice laced with vitriol and impatience.
“W-Wait, Kacchan,” Midoriya exclaimed, scrambling to catch up to him, “that’s not a plan we can rely on! We need to... figure out...”
He was forced to trail off when Bakugou had marched them right back into earshot of the other players. If he tried to come up with a strategy now, he wouldn’t even be able to use it! Why would Bakugou handicap himself (and by extension, Midoriya) so recklessly?
Understanding hit him like a bolt of lightning. He paused with his hand outstretched to tug Bakugou back, eyes widening as they snapped back over to his boyfriend.
Kacchan wouldn’t make it harder for himself to win just so he could one-up Shoucchan and I, he thought to himself. At least, not the Kacchan of today. So that must mean...
Midoriya was certain about it: Bakugou thought they had a better chance of winning if he couldn’t try to signal at all. That is, Midoriya, with his obvious tells and total inability to lie, was a bigger handicap to their success than removing half of their win conditions entirely. When he thought about their statistics even briefly—Bakugou got four of a kind a little more than 60% of the time, but Midoriya was the reason they lost at least nine times out of ten—he realized that it wasn’t even too risky of a gamble. He really was more of a liability than an asset in that regard, and yet Bakugou still chose to team up with him instantly as the person who would help him win the fastest.
He swallowed, staring at the back of Bakugou’s neck as his partner settled in at the table. He understood his role a lot better now, and just how much Bakugou was counting on him.
“Welcome back, Midoriya-kun!” Iida called from where he was seated at the table, Uraraka bouncing in her seat across from him. “Are you and Bakugou-kun ready to play?”
Midoriya paused where he was settling into his seat. He took one look at Bakugou’s sneering face and smiled just a bit nervously. “Y-Yeah, we’re good to go. Right, Kacchan?”
“Listen up, fuckers,” Bakugou called, slamming his crossed feet down onto the table and leaning back in his chair. “If you even made a signal, you’re being too obvious.”
Uraraka slapped her hands down on the table, leaning into Midoriya’s space so that he was forced to lean back. “I knew it! The two of you really can read each other’s minds!”
“No, no,” Midoriya rushed to assure her, “that’s really not how it is...”
“Uh-huh,” Uraraka said, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Sure it’s not. And I’ll bet Todoroki-kun’s not in on it, either.”
“I assure you that I’ll keep a close eye on them,” Todoroki said as he re-joined the group with Asui in tow. He bowed slightly to Uraraka before settling down beside Midoriya, their shoulders brushing as he sent Bakugou a significant look. “They’re not that hard to read, you know.”
Still feeling like the weak link in that regard, Midoriya felt his face going red. He clenched his hands into fists. “W-Well, don’t forget I’ll be watching you, too! Bring your best effort to this game, too, because Kacchan and I won’t hold back!”
“Shut up, Deku,” Bakugou said, but he was grinning, planting his feet firmly back on the ground and rolling his shoulders like he was itching for a fight.
“Yo, that’s everyone!” Kirishima said, practically vibrating with excitement. “Let’s do it! Class pres, deal us in!”
“Do your best, everyone!” Uraraka cheered, pumping a fist in the air as Iida began shuffling the cards.
Midoriya found himself smiling, too, caught up in the anticipation of the moment.
Just focus on helping Kacchan get blingo, he thought with as much determination as he could muster. He felt the beginnings of a now-familiar resolve growing inside his chest. Make sure he gets four of a kind first, and you’ll be sure to win.
Two botched rounds later, however, all of that confidence had dissipated as he found himself staring bleakly down at all four aces in his trembling hands. This was truly the worst-case scenario.
Everyone was on edge because the past two rounds had ended in utter chaos—the first time because it turned out that Kirishima and Kaminari’s secret strategy was to make their signal yelling “Blingo!” which was blatantly against the rules, and the second time because Bakugou had called cut on Todoroki, who in fact had Blingo but hadn’t even been trying to signal yet, leading to an explosive accusation of cheating that nearly destroyed half the deck in the crossfire. No one had won yet, and everyone was hyper-focused on catching anything that smelled even remotely of foul play. For someone like Midoriya, who was hopelessly bad at being subtle even during more casual rounds, things couldn’t have been worse.
He dutifully avoided looking right at Bakugou despite the instinct telling him to risk it on Bakugou’s reaction being faster than everyone else’s. Then he realized staring at his cards was suspicious, too and he snapped his gaze up to look at Asui, who was watching him unblinkingly.
“Um...” he tried, “is everyone done with these cards?”
Todoroki narrowed his eyes, glancing sideways at Midoriya. He opened his mouth, about to speak, but Bakugou beat him to the punch.
“Hey, Todoroki,” he said, voice dangerously low. “Are you looking at Deku’s shitty cards?”
Midoriya quickly pulled his cards to his chest, leaning away from Todoroki so fast that he almost toppled into Kaminari.
“I should hope not!” Iida spoke up loudly. He chopped the air with his hand for emphasis, flashing has hand of two eights, a five, and a jack for all to see. Uraraka groaned. “Must I remind you all for a third time the rules of this very simple game?”
Todoroki still watched Bakugou with an intense expression as he said, “I don’t need to cheat to win.”
Midoriya sucked in a breath while Kirishima laughed nervously and said, “Hey now, no need to start that again...”
Bakugou grinned at Todoroki, but it looked strained. Almost savage. “You even cheat like a fucking halfwit. Deku doesn’t have any cards that aren’t shitty. I’m the one with a fucking ace up my sleeve. Still looking for that fourth king?” His grin widened a small fraction, and he leaned in a few centimeters farther over the table. “Huh, Todoroki?”
Midoriya's eyes shot over to fix on Bakugou before he could stop himself. That mention of the "ace"... Could it be...?
Todoroki caught the movement, of course, but he seemed torn between Midoriya's erratic behavior and Bakugou's sudden targeted antagonism, frowning like he was working out a puzzle. He pursed his lips, poised to do something.
"But Kacchan, you don't have any sleeves," Kaminari called.
“And you don’t have a brain, dunce face,” Bakugou snapped.
“Oh, come on! The real ace in the hole is Deku, right?” Uraraka said. “He’s the one who knows all the cards and stuff.”
“Huh? Shitty Deku?” He turned to glare across the table at his partner. “Fucking say it, then. Tell us what Icyhot’s cards are.” It sounded almost like a taunt.
“That would be a highly inappropriate and unsportsmanlike maneuver!” Iida yelled, frowning mightily in Midoriya’s direction.
Midoriya was too busy hyper-focused on Bakugou to care much. He has to know...
“But it’s not explicitly against the rules, is it, kero?” Asui asked.
Midoriya slammed his hands on the table and met Bakugou’s glare with his most intense look. “He’s got at least two kings, probably a third although it could be a four, and his last card is either a jack or an eight.”
He’d barely gotten the words out before Todoroki was opening his mouth to put an end to all of this. “C—“
“BLINGO, ASSHATS,” Bakugou declared, launching his cards at Todoroki’s face in a victorious crackle of explosions. “You hear that? Fuck you.”
“Do not destroy the cards—!” Iida began, just before Todoroki incinerated them all in midair.
Midoriya lowered his hand to reveal all four aces, grinning blindingly at Bakugou. “Sorry about the cards, Iida-kun...”
Uraraka lowered her face to the table, slamming her hand down repeatedly. “It not fair!”
Kirishima slumped forward as well, careening into Kaminari so hard that they almost toppled over. “Why,” he wailed, “why are they always so damn good at this? I didn’t even know he was signaling!”
Midoriya sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. “Ah, that’s because... I didn’t actually have a signal...”
“What?! Then, Todoroki-kun knew somehow even though there was no signal?!” Uraraka’s head had shot up from the table. “I knew it! I totally did!”
Todoroki was looking off to the side, a small frown on his face. Some, if they were to be uncharitable but perhaps accurate, might say he was pouting.
“Tch. Serves you right,” Bakugou muttered, crossing his arms and glaring at some point to the right of Todoroki. Midoriya noticed their legs touching underneath the table and gave a soft smile.
“So, you didn’t even have to tell him for Bakugou to know you had all four aces?” Kaminari whined. “Get the fuck outta here, Midoriya...”
Midoriya opened his mouth to respond, still smiling, but he never got the chance.
Over his shoulder, the room seemed to ripple and warp until it fractured entirely. A fissure opened up in midair and grew wider, crackling with a bright purple energy as it rushed forward to consume Midoriya.
He had just a split second, enough time for his eyes to widen as they frantically sought out Bakugou’s across the table. Then he was being swallowed by the vortex, which ate him up and blinked out of existence so fast that that it almost seemed like nothing had happened—except that Midoriya’s seat was empty, and Todoroki’s hand was outstretched, inches from the spot where Midoriya’s shoulder had been an instant before.
For a single, stunned moment, no one moved.
Then Bakugou was rising from the table, chair knocking back with a clatter.
“What the fuck did you just do, sparky?” he growled, explosions sparking at his hands menacingly.
“W-Wait, me?!” Kaminari practically squeaked. “I didn’t know I could do that! I have no idea what’s going on!”
“Calm down, Bakugou-kun!” Iida said, but his face was very pale. “Kaminari-kun cannot just wish people out of existence. There is clearly something else going on here. We need to—Wait, Todoroki-kun! Where are you going?”
The group turned to look at Todoroki, who had paused for a moment on his way out the door. “To find Midoriya,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Iida was getting flustered. “Todoroki-kun, we can’t just—“
“Not without me, you’re not,” Bakugou spat, already on his way to the door.
“Bakugou-kun! Listen to me! We can’t just go off on our own again!” The color was returning to Iida’s face—it was looking very red. “We need to tell Aizawa-sensei and—“
“Like I’m fucking waiting for that asshole,” Bakugou called, glancing over his shoulder. “You tell him. I’m gonna get Deku back.”
Todoroki placed a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder and glanced sideways at him. “It looked different than that villain’s warp quirk,” he said quietly. Bakugou scoffed and whirled back around, frenetic energy pouring off of him in waves.
Todoroki’s other hand was clenched into a fist at his side, white-knuckled and shaking.
“This is not the time to panic. We need to tell All Might and Aizawa-sensei,” Asui said.
“They’d probably know what kind of villain has that quirk, right?” Kirishima put in, looking expectantly at Bakugou. “They’re our best bet.”
“Then hurry the fuck up,” Bakugou said. He and Todoroki had already started moving again. “I’m not waiting for any of you.”
“Let’s go,” Uraraka said, not even trying to hide the worry in her voice. “Wherever he is, I’m sure Deku-kun needs our help.”
At that same moment, Midoriya was stumbling out of the portal which abruptly spat him back out just as quickly as it had snatched him up. He fell to his hands and knees before he could catch himself, mind already scrambling to get his bearings even as his body lagged behind.
Dizzy and disoriented though he was, he whipped his head around to get a sense of his surroundings. He didn’t get much of a look, though—just enough to tell that it was dark, and he was in some kind of large department store—before something far more pressing caught his eye.
Halfway through pushing himself to his feet, he found himself falling back heavily on his ass. His thoughts, which had been whirling around at lightning speed a second earlier, all screeched to a clattering halt. Eyes wide, his mouth opened and closed several times before he mustered up the ability to speak in the face of such an impossible situation.
“Y-You...!”
“Ah, it looks like I did it!” said Midoriya Izuku.
Or, it was at least someone who looked and sounded exactly like Midoriya Izuku. Gazing up at him was like looking in a mirror, except for those few tiny details that Midoriya took notice of right away—the yellow bandage on his cheek, the beginnings of a scar peeking out from the collar of his t-shirt, or his hands, which lacked any of his own deformities.
As Midoriya watched, dumbstruck, his look-alike slid down from atop the electronics display where he had been perched. He pulled a bright blue lollipop out of his mouth with a pop, and his eyes glinted electric blue like the glow of the monitors on display around them.
He smiled down at Midoriya, still sprawled on the ground, and offered his hand out to him.
“Welcome to my world, One for All.”