Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Kacchan, I’m quirkless.”

“Hah? The hell d’you mean?”

"I went to the doctor and he said! I don’t have a quirk!”

“Oh. Guess I’ll just hafta protect you then, Izuku!”

“Wha-Kacchan! I can protect myself!”

“How? You’re quirkless, you can’t be a hero! Obviously I hafta keep you safe!”

“No! I can still be a hero! Right, Kacchan? I can be a quirkless hero!”

“Ha! Come on, Izuku, don’t be stupid. You can’t be a hero without a quirk!”

“Yes I can! We’ll still be heroes together, Kacchan!”

“Tch. Keep dreaming, stupid Deku.”

“Kacchan, you know I don’ like that name!”

“Well it fits you now, dontcha think? Tryna be a hero quirkless! Just be somethin’ else, Deku, and I’ll be the hero and protect us! Lemme protect ya, Deku!”

“No way, Kacchan! I can protect myself, and you too! I can be a hero!”

“Shut up, Deku! You’re wrong! You’re fuckin’ wrong! You can’t be a hero!”

“I will be a hero, Kacchan! I’ll be the first quirkless hero, you’ll see! That’ll show you! I’ll become a hero and prove you wrong, Kacchan! I will!”

“Fine, shitty Deku. Have fun being quirkless without me to protect you!”

“Wha-Kacchan! Where’re you goin’? Kacchan, wait! Kacchan-”

“Kacchan, are you hurt? It coulda been bad if you’d hit your head!”

“I don‘t need your help, shitty Deku!”

“Take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in your next life!”

“Deku?”

“You looked like you needed saving!”

“I don’t need your help! Stay away from me!”

“I AM HERE!”

----------

“You can be a hero too,” All Might says. 

All Might, Izuku’s hero, one of two people he’s looked up to his entire life, the person who only a couple hours previously completely crushed his dreams. All Might tells Izuku he can be a hero right after countless other pros scolded him for rushing headfirst into danger to save Kacchan from the sludge villain. 

Kacchan, Izuku’s personal hero. The second person he’s looked up to his entire life, the person who constantly tries to crush Izuku’s dreams, but he refuses to listen. Izuku wants nothing more than to prove Kacchan wrong, show Kacchan that they can both be heroes just like they said they would all those years ago. When they were three and four and only Kacchan had his wonderful quirk. When they were best friends, taking over the world together.

And now, Izuku wonders if he can truly follow Kacchan to UA, take the world by stride without him, because now he has All Might’s approval. All Might is here, standing in front of him as he kneels and sobs, telling Izuku that he can become a hero too, even if he doesn’t have a quirk. Even if he’s a useless Deku. And now Izuku’s old dreams from a naive childhood are coming back, his fantasy of becoming the first quirkless hero, to show quirkless kids everywhere that they can be a hero too. They can follow their dreams just like Izuku did.

Izuku cries. He can be a hero without a quirk.

“I can give you my quirk.”

What?

Izuku jolts. He slowly wipes his eyes, looking up at the man he calls his hero and wondering if he got everything wrong. He’d thought All Might was saying he could be a hero without a quirk, that he’d changed his mind after Izuku’s body moved without hesitation. But no, apparently. All Might thinks Izuku can be a hero, but of course, he still needs a quirk. Why had he thought things would be different?

Except...you can’t just give someone a quirk.

So Izuku hears All Might out. He learns the secret of One for All, a quirk passed down from generation to generation, and learns that All Might is looking for an heir, a successor. Someone to become the new symbol of peace. And despite how amazing that sounds, Izuku knows that he’s never wanted that for himself. He wants to be the first quirkless hero. Izuku’s sure All Might can find some other successor, right? Izuku doesn’t want a quirk, he wants to be a hero despite being quirkless. How is he supposed to prove Kacchan wrong if he has a quirk? 

“So, Young Midoriya,” All Might finishes, “that is how One for All can be yours. That is how you can be a hero, the next Symbol of Peace.”

The next symbol of peace. The words add a weight to Izuku’s heart. His mind is screaming at him to refuse, because this is wrong. Izuku’s just a kid, he’s a kid who is used to running on impulsivity and recklessness because he’s always wanted nothing more than to be like Kacchan. But now, Izuku thinks this decision through. Having a quirk like One for All could save people, sure. But it's also arguably the biggest secret known to hero society. And Izuku is just a fourteen year old kid. He’s not supposed to have this kind of burden on his shoulders. He doesn’t want this kind of burden on his shoulders. Izuku’s had enough hardship already.

Really, the decision is easy.

“No.”

All Might falters. “No?”

“I want to be the first quirkless hero,” Izuku states firmly, “I don’t want a quirk. I thought you were telling me I could be a quirkless hero.”

All Might smiles, though it’s sad. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“I don't believe you,” Izuku replies. The nerd part of his mind is freaking out over the idea of talking to All Might like this, but Izuku is realizing that he might have to rethink the nerd part of himself. Somehow, what All Might is saying is worse than anything Kacchan has ever done to him. At least Kacchan is honest.

“I want to save people with a smile just like you do,” Izuku says, “but I want to do all of that quirkless. So, thank you so much for telling me I can be a hero, All Might. I’m going to be a hero, I’m just going to do it without a quirk.”

All Might looks disappointed, almost. But he simply nods with an odd amount of acceptance. Honestly, he can’t have expected a complete stranger, a little kid, to just agree to take his quirk without hesitation, right? Izuku may love All Might more than anything, and he loves and looks up to heroes. He knows All Might is a trustworthy person. But still, Izuku doesn’t want to take his quirk.

“That’s alright,” All Might tells Izuku, “I understand where you are coming from. I still don’t think you will be able to become a hero quirkless, but I admire your determination and willingness to try. I will simply find a different successor for my quirk. I wish you the best of luck, Young Midoriya.”

“Th-thank you!” Izuku says, appreciative of how All Might didn’t try and convince him anymore. All Might gives Izuku one more kind nod, before taking off back into the air. Izuku watches him go, something odd forming in his heart. He feels cold at the idea that All Might doesn’t believe he can be a hero, but he also feels something warm growing. The familiar need to prove someone wrong.

Except this time, it's not Kacchan.

It’s All Might.

Izuku will become a hero.

“Kacchan!” Izuku runs down the hallway, backpack bouncing up and down as he races to catch up to his childhood friend turned bully turned-honestly he’s not sure what their relationship is now. The last time Izuku spoke to Kacchan, it was when he’d confronted Izuku after he was scolded by the heroes at the sludge villain incident. While Kacchan was praised for withstanding suffocation for that long. Kacchan spent twenty minutes in there, and Izuku was the only person who tried to save him. Izuku will never forget how the heroes just stood around doing nothing, and then yelled at Izuku for having the guts to do something.

Kacchan is at the end of the hallway, talking to his friends (well, more like his lackeys). Izuku’s been working up the courage to talk to him for the last week, during which Kacchan surprisingly just ignored his presence. Kacchan turns around at the sound of Izuku’s voice, and Izuku sees the familiar annoyance and anger in his eyes. His expression is more bored than anything, and he rolls his eyes as Izuku comes forward. But Izuku also sees the way he seems more agitated. His foot is tapping, his eyes are darting around, and he’s viewing Izuku almost like a threat. Izuku also notices how Kacchan is backed up to the wall, as if trying to make sure he can see everyone and everything. Making sure there are no surprises.

No villains, no attacks, no near-death experiences.

Oh, Kacchan.

Kacchan looks at Izuku and narrows his eyes. “What, Deku.”

Weird, Izuku thinks, he went easy on me. Normally Izuku greeting Kacchan would have resulted in swearing and yelling, Kacchan glaring at him before telling him to go away. Izuku’s never gotten any kind of invitation to keep talking.

“Um, I just wanted to make sure you were okay?” Izuku says, still a bit startled at Kacchan’s milder behavior. “After the sludge villain and everything?”

“I’m fine, nerd,” Kacchan rolls his eyes. His lackeys also laugh a bit.

“Of course Katsuki is okay,” one of them says, “he’s not weak like you.”

Izuku frowns. Strong people need help sometimes too, right?

“Right,” Izuku mutters, ignoring the snorts of Kacchan’s friends. Kacchan doesn’t say anything, just watches as Izuku turns away and walks to class. Izuku can feel Kacchan’s eyes boring holes into his back, as if he knows Izuku is hiding something. As if he knows something has been weighing on him, because it has. Izuku is considering doing something, but he doesn’t know if he should. 

He spends most of the day considering it, listens to his teachers’ lectures and flips through the pages of his burnt notebook. He looks at all the analysis he has on every hero he’s ever looked up to, scans over every page he made a note about Kacchan on. Whether it was comparing a pro's moves to his, or saying Kacchan’s approach to a situation would have been better, Kacchan is all over his notes.

So is All Might. But the difference between All Might and Kacchan is that Izuku knows Kacchan. Kacchan’s probably still processing the villain attack from last week, which is why he’s going easier on Izuku. Maybe, somewhere in his mind, he’s actually grateful to Izuku for helping when nobody else would. Or maybe that’s just Izuku’s wishful thinking. Either way, Izuku knows Kacchan and he knows himself. Izuku knows how he is when it comes to Kacchan. He’s never kept a secret from Kacchan in his life; the very idea of doing that feels wrong to Izuku.

And maybe, just maybe, Kacchan might agree to help him.

After school, Izuku decides to follow through with his decision. Kacchan always walks home in the same direction Izuku does, but tends to stay multiple feet in front of him. This time, however, Izuku runs to catch up with Kacchan.

“Kacchan!” Izuku calls, panting as he gets closer to him.

Kacchan turns around and looks at Izuku, now right at his heels. Kacchan doesn’t say anything, but he does slow down imperceptibly. Izuku takes it as another invitation to keep talking, even though it probably wasn’t. 

“I need to tell you something,” Izuku says, staring at Kacchan’s shoulder, watching his back like he always does. Kacchan’s gone back to staring forward as he walks, and Izuku waits patiently for a reply.

“Just say it, Deku,” Kacchan says tiredly. Izuku perks up, eyes shining with excitement. He can’t remember the last time Kacchan agreed to listen to him.

“I met All Might yesterday!” Izuku tells Kacchan, and that gets his attention. He swivels around to face Izuku, and Izuku stops walking.

“What the hell? When?”

“Before the-” Izuku pauses, “the-you know. Um, that villain got me too, but only for a few seconds, really, nothing like it was with you, that was awful-”

“Deku.” Kacchan groans, exasperated. “Get to the damn point. I’m losing my fucking patience. You got ten seconds, and then I’m leaving.”

Izuku gulps. He’s never been good at getting to the point. But he really wants Kacchan to hear him out, so he just nods and clears his throat.

“So All Might saved me from the sludge villain, and after he did I asked him if I could be a hero even without a quirk and he said no-”

“Of course he did, shitty Deku. Because you can’t.”

Izuku looks at the ground, stares at the cracks in the pavement. He’d forgotten that Kacchan believes the same thing as All Might for a moment.

“But-” Izuku continues, looking back up and forcing himself to make eye contact with Kacchan, “then after the, you know, All Might said he thought it was heroic of me to try and help you and he told me that I could be a hero-”

“-He said what?”

“-and he offered to give me his quirk-”

“-give you his- what?”

“He offered to give me his quirk,” Izuku repeats.

“Yeah, I heard that,” Kacchan dismisses, “but you do realize that’s bullshit, right? Do you really expect me to believe you? You can’t give someone a quirk, idiot! This is some kinda pathetic wishful thinking of yours, Deku.”

“No, it isn’t!” Izuku argues, “I’m not lying to you, Kacchan! I never lie to you! All Might’s quirk is called One for All, and it’s been passed down through generations! He offered to make me his successor by giving me the quirk! It’s this huge secret, All Might made me swear not to tell anyone.”

“Then why the hell are you telling me?” Kacchan raises an eyebrow.

“Well, because you’re Kacchan,” Izuku replies, having no better anwer. Kacchan looks momentarily taken aback, before he returns to himself.

“Okay, Deku,” Kacchan runs a hand through his hair, and Izuku finds himself momentarily distracted by how the blond spikes bend down and stick back up.

“Let’s say I believe you,” Kacchan says, “All Might offers you, Deku, his quirk. Which isn’t possible. What did you do about it? You take it?”

Izuku crosses his arms. “It is possible, Kacchan, I swear. And no, I didn't.”

Kacchan’s eyes narrow. “Why the hell not?”

“Because it was ridiculous!” Izuku yells, aggravated, “All Might lied to me! He told me I could be a hero without a quirk and then offered me a quirk! He’s just like everyone else, someone I have to prove wrong! He’s just like you!”

“He’s right, Deku!” Kacchan yells back, the familiar anger returning to his voice, “fine, I believe you, okay? Whatever. You should’ve taken the goddamn quirk, Deku! At least that way you could've been a goddamn hero! Isn’t that what you want?”

“I want to be a hero quirkless!” Izuku screams, “quirkless, Kacchan!”

“You can’t be a hero, Deku!” Kacchan’s voice cracks as he yells, “don’t you fucking get it, Deku? You can’t be a hero because you’re fucking quirkless!”

“Why not, Kacchan? Why the hell can’t I be a hero?”

“Because you’ll die, you fucking idiot!”

Izuku’s retort dies in his mouth. His eyes water as he falls silent, breathing hard and staring right into Kacchan’s eyes. Kacchan isn’t doing any better, inhaling deeply through his nose as he looks back at Izuku, challenging.

But also fearfully vulnerable.

“What?” Izuku whispers, “what do you mean, Kacchan?”

“A quirkless hero will die,” Kacchan’s voice is monotone, like he’s simply stating facts. And maybe he is, Izuku thinks. Kacchan’s reasoning for why he has to constantly crush Izuku’s hopes makes more sense the longer Kacchan explains. 

“Villains have quirks. Villains will kill you in seconds. All you do is write in your notebook and stare at other people, Deku. You’d at least have a fucking chance if you actually worked hard to be a hero like I have, like everyone else who wants to be a hero does, but you don’t. You just make analyses and hope for the best. But even if you did somehow miraculously get into UA, it would be the dumbest decision you could possibly make because the moment you fought a villain you’d be dead. You’re deluding yourself, Deku. You can’t be a hero.”

Izuku’s eyes spill over. Kacchan's eyes widen. “Deku-”

“You’re right,” Izuku laughs humorlessly, “you’re right, Kacchan, you’ve been right all this time. I can’t be a hero quirkless, can I? I was being an idiot.”

“Deku,” Kacchan says again, heaving a sigh. “Maybe-maybe I was the idiot.”

“Huh?” Izuku wipes at his eyes, “what does that mean?”

“You-” Kacchan chokes on his words, like they’re hard for him to say, causing him actual pain to get out- “maybe you aren’t totally fucking useless, nerd.”

Izuku smiles. He’d never expected Kacchan to say anything like that. Never in his life had he thought Kacchan would change his opinions until Izuku actually proved him wrong. But maybe the sludge villain incident changed him more than Izuku, more than anyone realized. Telling Kacchan was the right thing to do.

“I never thought I’d get to hear you say that, Kacchan,” Izuku tells him sincerely, “do you really mean it? You don’t think I’m a-a Deku anymore?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Kacchan scoffs, “you’re still Deku as hell. And you can’t be a hero, Deku. I’m just sayin’ you’re not useless. Or weak. Mentally, at least. You’re still a weak little fucker when it comes to physical strength.”

“Wow, thanks Kacchan,” Izuku mutters, “nice apology.”

“That wasn’t an apology!”

Izuku crosses his arms, eyes glinting. “Are you going to apologize?”

Kacchan looks down, fists clenching at his sides. “The roof thing.”

“What?”

“The roof comment-from yesterday-that was shitty.”

“Yeah, it was,” Izuku agrees, “I’m glad you know that. But you do know that’s not the only shitty thing you’ve done to me?”

“Obviously,” Kacchan hisses, “but the roof shit was too far or whatever. The other stuff was-shit. How ‘bout this, Deku. I'll-shit-apologize, by getting you into UA.”

Izuku recoils as if shocked. “By what?”

“I can get you in,” Kacchan says, with all the certainty and confidence Izuku is used to seeing in him, “if I train you, you’ll get in. I don’t think you’ll ever become a hero alone, but if you’re with me, well-you might actually get somewhere.”

Izuku lights up with new hope. “You want me beside you?”

“Want is a little much,” Kacchan rolls his eyes, “but you refused a quirk from fucking All Might because you want to be a quirkless fuckin’ hero. And I don’t want you to die, Deku. Even if I yell it at you all the fucking time.”

“I always knew that, Kacchan,” Izuku’s grin is lopsided, “thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kacchan dismisses, “you’re gonna regret this after the shit I put you through. If I’m gonna get you strong, Deku, you’re gonna have to work for it.”

“Okay, Kacchan!” Izuku agrees, “I’ll do whatever it takes to be a hero!”

Kacchan turns back around and keeps walking towards their houses. Izuku walks right next to him, and Kacchan doesn’t comment or walk faster.

Instead, he just sighs. “Yeah, Deku. I know.”

School passes by the same. Izuku walks into class with a bit of pep in his step, and he can’t stop smiling at the idea that Kacchan is going to willingly spend time with him. He’d given Izuku his number the other day in front of Izuku’s apartment complex, and this morning he’d texted Izuku and Izuku had freaked out and almost dropped his phone from the sheer exhilaration of it all.

Kacchan!! <3

(don’t judge him, okay? Kacchan will never see his phone).

< meet me at the gates after school. i’ll start training you.

> ok, Kacchan! you’re really ok with people seeing us together?

< like i care about those extras’ opinions

> sounds good Kacchan! i’ll see you there!

< why is kacchan the only thing you bother capitalizing

> bc its your name!

< whatever, deku

> Kacchan!

Izuku thinks it was the longest conversation he’s had over text probably ever. Him and his mom usually call each other when they need to talk, and Izuku has no friends. He’s not even sure if he can call Kacchan a friend. Hopefully one day, right? They’re going to be spending time together, Kacchan is even joking around with him! Izuku clenches his fists in determination. He will become Kacchan’s friend.

Izuku enters the hallway and makes his way to his locker. He sees Kacchan on the way, talking with his friends and tapping his foot anxiously like he’s been doing ever since the sludge villain. He’s also taken to sitting in the back row, always facing the door and watching windows. He startles at loud noises, such as when teachers call on him, and he refuses to let anybody go near his neck.

Izuku bypasses his locker and goes up to Kacchan, the old fear of getting yelled at vanishing now that he knows Kacchan at least understands that the bullying was wrong. Kacchan basically admitted as much. Kacchan’s friends see Izuku as he walks up to them and nudge Kacchan, sniggering, but Kacchan does nothing. Just looks at Izuku expectantly as he stops in front of Kacchan.

“Good morning, Kacchan!” Izuku smiles.

Kacchan gives him a small nod. “Deku.”

Izuku beams. Kacchan’s friends look mildly surprised, which only makes Izuku smile wider. Kacchan just rolls his eyes, but it seems more fond than annoyed. Butterflies erupt in Izuku’s stomach, which makes him promptly turn red. Not wanting Kacchan to see him blush, Izuku quickly turns around and walks back to his locker. He grabs onto the blue lock, turning the gear to the right numbers and praying that this time it opens. The school locks are awful.

And of course it doesn’t open.

“Need some help, Deku?”

“Wah-cchan!” Izuku jumps, startled and a little terrified, and turns around to see Kacchan smirking down at him, one arm propping himself up on the lockers. Izuku flushes tomato red, looking down at his shoes.

“My lock isn’t opening…”

“What a Deku,” Kacchan comments, before shoving him out of the way to open Izuku’s lock. He gets it open in one smooth try. Izuku gapes.

“Kacchan is amazing!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kacchan dismisses, “you got weights at home, nerd?”

“Um,” Izuku thinks, “no, I don’t think so.”

“You got anything?” Kacchan asks, “gym mat, exercise ball, anything?”

“What are we using an exercise ball for?”

“Core strength,” Kacchan replies immediately, “so you’ve got nothing.”

“I, uh, don’t really work out,” Izuku admits.

“And you want to be a hero,” Kacchan scoffs. “Fine. We’ll use my shit. You know where to meet me, yeah? And I want to see you right after school. Be on time, nerd. Or I’ll fucking kill you. Eat your blood like soup.”

“No you won’t,” Izuku laughs, “creative threat, though.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Kacchan slams Izuku’s locker door shut, and leaves. 

Izuku smiles dopily after him.

It’s honestly weird how easy Izuku and Kacchan revert back into how they were when they were kids. Izuku sits in the back with Kacchan and Kacchan just lets him, Izuku leans over to try and copy his notes and Kacchan kicks him in the shins. The entire grade is confused as to what could have possibly transpired to make this development happen, and sometimes Izuku worries that Kacchan is going to push him away and go back to bullying him to save his image. But he doesn’t, not for the whole entire day. Not even when Izuku braves eating lunch in the cafeteria, albeit alone, and Kacchan gives Izuku a nod from his own friend-filled table.

Izuku still sits alone, but whenever he looks in Kacchan’s direction Kacchan is always looking back, always ready to offer him another somewhat-friendly nod. It makes Izuku’s heart sing.

The end of the school day comes quickly. Their last period is quirk control, during which Izuku sits in the library and reads a book. While normally he spends this period wallowing in the small amount of self-pity he lets himself feel, today he’s too busy thinking about training with Kacchan. So he gets lost in a fantasy book until the bell rings, and then he swings his bag over his shoulder, changes into gym clothes in the bathroom, and races to the school gates.

Kacchan is waiting for him, tapping his foot as usual and scowling as he scrolls through his phone. Izuku walks up to him, standing next to his shoulder and pouting to himself over the height difference. Can he get as tall as Kacchan?

“Hi, Kacchan!” Izuku says brightly. Kacchan yells and almost drops his phone.

“Jesus fuck, Deku! give a guy a goddamn warning!”

“Sorry!” Izuku cringes, “I’m sorry, Kacchan!”

“Stop apologizing, it’s whatever,” Kacchan replies, scanning him up and down, “good, you had the fucking sense to wear proper clothes. Glad you’re not a total idiot. Now come on.”

“Where are we going?” Izuku asks, following behind Kacchan as they walk. 

“Stopping at my place first,” Kacchan says, “and then to the park.”

“The park where we used to play as kids?” Izuku blinks, surprised, “I used to love that park! But what are we gonna do there?”

“Work out, obviously,” Kacchan snaps, “what else would we do?”

“But-” Izuku argues, “people will see us!”

“So? Why the hell should I care?”

“It’s just weird!” Izuku hisses. Kacchan rolls his eyes and doesn’t reply.

They stop at Kacchan’s house and Kacchan refuses to let Izuku go in. Izuku agrees, staying outside and standing awkwardly on the front porch. Inside, Izuku hears screaming, something metal clanking to the floor, a couple doors slamming, and Kacchan swearing multiple times. Just another day at the Bakugou household, Izuku figures. Although he hasn’t been there in a long, long time. Kacchan finally comes out holding a black duffel bag, also out of his uniform and into gym clothes.  He kicks his front door closed and gestures for Izuku to follow him. Izuku does.

Izuku gets more and more nervous as they get to the park. There’s kids playing on the swings and the slide, a group of middle-aged women doing yoga on the grass, and some highschoolers playing basketball on the court. Izuku avoids them all and hides behind Kacchan, who confidently walks through a couple trees and into a secluded spot on the grass. He immediately kneels down and starts taking stuff out of his bag, and Izuku stays standing, hovering.

“Here,” Kacchan shoves a mat into Izuku’s hands, “roll that out.”

Izuku does, spreading the mat out onto the grass. Kacchan puts his own mat down next to Izuku’s and then brings out some equipment. Izuku sees a jump-rope, some stretchy rope thing with handles at the end, and a small weighted band.

“Your body’s probably all stiff and shit,” Kacchan explains, “so I’m startin’ you off small. We’re gonna stretch first, come on.”

Izuku nods dumbly and watches as Kacchan gets into position on his mat. They warm up for a while, Izuku following what Kacchan does and marveling at how good at everything he is. Izuku can’t even touch his toes.

“Wow, Kacchan, you’re so flexible!”

“Yeah, ‘cause I work hard, dumbass.”

After stretching for a while, Izuku feels sore and burnt out. But then Kacchan hands him the rope thingy, and Izuku stares confusedly down at it.

“It’s a pull rope,” Kacchan explains, exasperated, “here’s how you use it.”

Kacchan shows Izuku different exercises with the pull rope, and damn if those don’t hurt his limbs. Next Kacchan has Izuku put the tight band around his legs, makes him squat, and forces him to walk back and forth across the grass. It hurts. Next comes Kacchan making squats and crunches into a competition that Izuku quickly loses, and then Kacchan laughs at Izuku when he can’t do a push-up. The last thing they do is the jump-rope, which Kacchan just makes Izuku do for a bit to wear him out and make him even more tired, apparently.

Finally they finish, and Izuku collapses on the ground, face flushed as he chugs the water bottle Kacchan hands him. He’s exhausted.

“We’re going running in the morning,” Kacchan informs him, “it’s a weekend so we’ll meet at eight. School days, we meet at six. Be on time, nerd.”

“What?” Izuku pants, “running and working out?”

“You need to get strong,” Kacchan shrugs, “so you need cardio and strength. Just wait ‘till I take you swimming. Shit, you’re gonna fucking hate that.”

Izuku buries his face in his hands. “Oh God.”

“Come on, nerd,” Kacchan gets up, dusting himself off, “quit whinin’.”

“I’m too tired,” Izuku says, holding out his arms, “help me up?”

Kacchan groans, but he does roughly pull Izuku up, which makes him grin. Kacchan blinks, stepping back from Izuku’s apparently blinding smile.

“You can go,” Kacchan says, “I’m working out a bit more. But you can’t watch me, you fucking creep. I’ll see you tomorrow at eight, Deku. Be there.”

The or else is a given.

“Okay, Kacchan!” Izuku wipes the sweat off his forehead and turns around as he walks, giving Kacchan a wave as he looks back. “See you tomorrow!”

Kacchan just nods and turns away.

The next couple of months are grueling. Kacchan’s workouts are intense and unforgiving, zapping the energy out of Izuku and leaving him sore and exhausted for the rest of the day. Somedays Kacchan has Izuku run and then work out again later in the afternoon, and those days Izuku comes home with wobbly legs and collapses into bed without eating dinner. Or at least, he did until the morning Kacchan found out that sometimes Izuku skips meals because he's too tired. Kacchan glared at him for the next five minutes. Izuku thinks it's nice that Kacchan cares about his health, but he’s also kind of worried because Kacchan didn’t say a thing after that and Izuku is kind of scared for what’s going to happen.

What happens is Izuku sits at his new desk in the back next to Kacchan, which is where he normally eats lunch since the teachers eat in their own breakroom and nobody wants to frequent a random empty classroom. But sometimes Kacchan joins him back here, even if they just sit in silence or Kacchan wants to talk to him about what they’re doing for training. Today is one of the days Kacchan is joining him, as he walks into the classroom a few minutes after Izuku gets settled. He’s holding his backpack in one hand and a bento box in the other. Izuku perks up at the color of it, red just like his shoes and Kacchan’s eyes.

“I like your new box, Kacchan!” Izuku says, “that’s my favorite color!”

To Izuku’s surprise, Kacchan turns the slightest bit pink and looks away, sliding the box onto Izuku’s desk. “It’s for you, stupid.”

“Really?” Izuku grins, “thanks, Kacchan! But I already have lunch, see?”  Izuku holds out his own box of food, and Kacchan grimaces at it. Probably not healthy enough for him. But Izuku likes his microwave lunches, so.

“You’ll fucking die if you keep eating one meal a day,” Kacchan replies, “and the food’s for after today’s training. Eat it, then give the box to me again.”

“You’ll refill it for me?” Izuku beams, “I get to eat your food every day?”

Kacchan shrugs. Izuku takes it as the yes that it is.

“Wow,” Izuku hums, “you’re being so nice, Kacchan. Why?”

Kacchan, who was taking out his books and setting them on his desk, swivels around to face Izuku. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you know,” Izuku shrinks back a little, “you kind of bullied me for a decade, and then after the sludge villain you offered to train me and everything. I guess I’m just wondering why, you know? What prompted you to start going easy on me, to say that I’m not useless, to help me get stronger and become a hero?”

“Right,” Kacchan leans back in his seat, “I dunno, nerd. After the sludge shit I realized that you’ve been fucking serious about this hero shit the whole time. You really ran in there to save me even though you’re fucking quirkless. And I hated that about you, I wanted you to not fucking rush into danger all the damn time. 

“But I never fucking realized how badly you wanted this until then. And I figured if you’re gonna go to UA and die at eighteen anyway, me yelling at you every five minutes ain’t gonna help much. And the roof thing really made me realize how awful I’ve been to you all this time, cause it was the opposite of what I wanted. I don’t want you to fucking die, Deku, that was literally what bullying you was supposed to fucking prevent.”

“No offense, Kacchan,” Izuku says, “but-”

“It’s a really shitty reason to bully someone, I know,” Kacchan gripes, lowering his head and avoiding eye contact with Izuku, “I know, Deku. But I’m just a dumbass kid, you know? I was raised by my mother, and all we do is yell. Being friends with you when we were brats was weird, ‘cause you were all nice and shit. And nobody’s ever been nice to me in my entire life except you, yeah? And I want to be the best, the strongest, so I saw your kindness as pity. I still do, sometimes. But when we were little and you were quirkless and defenseless and weak but you still wanted to be a hero, the only thing I could think of to prevent it was to bully it out of you. I never wanted you to die, Deku. What I really want is to protect you.”

Izuku wraps his arms around his legs, pulling them up to his chest. “So all this time, you just didn’t want me to die. You didn’t actually think I can’t be a hero, you knew I could be a hero and you were...afraid of me being killed in the field?”

Kacchan winces. “Don’t make me say all that sappy shit again.”

Izuku sighs. “Okay, Kacchan. I get it, you know. I still think a different method would have been nicer, because you really hurt me, but you’re right. There’s nothing in the world that would stop me from trying to be a hero. Not All Might, not even you, Kacchan. I’m going to be a hero no matter what anyone says. So how about we make a deal?”

Kacchan narrows his eyes. “What kinda deal?”

“If you agree to be my friend again,” Izuku says, “no bullying, treating me like an equal, then I’ll promise not to be so reckless and-and let you protect me. Because yeah, I know I’ll die as a quirkless hero. But if we work together and I have your quirk on my side, I won’t. That’s just the sad truth of it, you said so yourself. And if we’re gonna work together, I want us to be friends like we used to be.”

“When we were kids without quirks?” Kacchan blinks, “you want that?”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Izuku replies honestly, “I’ve always wanted to be your best friend again. You’ve always been my best friend. I just want us again.”

Kacchan looks up, makes eye contact with Izuku. “And you won’t die?”

“I’ll try my best,” Izuku promises. Kacchan is silent for a few minutes, before he finally reaches out his hand, wrapped into a fist. Izuku bumps it, grinning.

“Okay, Deku,” Kacchan says, “deal.”

True to his word, Kacchan does take Izuku swimming. They go to the local gym, which Kacchan has a membership for and told Izuku to get one as well. Izuku did, so now Kacchan is graduating Izuku from whatever equipment he has at his house to the actual gym. Izuku just hopes swimming is going to be easier than running.

The problem, Izuku thinks, is that the gym has much better lighting than the park. Sunlight streams through the window at one in the afternoon on a late summer Saturday. Kacchan strides through the gym a step in front of Izuku in his tank top and sweatpants. Izuku’s just wearing a thin shirt and basketball shorts, which is significantly less heart rate-increasing as Kacchan’s whole outfit. It was a lot easier to look away in the shaded canopies of their spot in the park, but right now Izuku is surrounded by a decent amount of attractive teeangers working out and he can only stare at Kacchan. 

Kacchan, who knows Izuku doesn’t like being near other people while working out and went to the emptiest room he could find to set up their mats. Kacchan, who doesn’t even hesitate before rolling Izuku’s out for him. Kacchan, who’s been a lot nicer since they struck up their deal. Izuku loves it. Summer vacation is so much more fun when he has Kacchan to spend it with, even if they do spend a lot of it training. Still, it’s time with Kacchan and Izuku cherishes it.

Except for when Kacchan’s demonstrating weights.

How is he lifting those things up? They look so heavy!

“Deku! You watching?” Kacchan barks, interrupting Izuku from his thoughts, “you gotta watch this shit, otherwise you aren’t gonna do it right!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry!” Izuku says, “so what are we doing?”

Kacchan sighs, shoving a kettlebell into his hands. “Squats. Go.”

“Holding this?” Izuku almost topples over from the weight, “it’s heavy!”

“So are bricks falling from collapsing buildings!” Kacchan shoots back, “I wanna see fifteen reps, no stopping! Fucking go, shitty Deku!”

“Ah!” Izuku screeches, dropping into a squat position. Kacchan crosses his arms and watches him like a very disgruntled coach. After squats Kacchan demonstrates overhead presses, which Izuku can actually do pretty well. Bicep curls and exercises with the medicine ball (Izuku has no idea why they’re named that) are also fairly simple, but deadlifts are hard. Kacchan, of course, can do them easily. Kacchan finishes Izuku’s workout eventually, and then moves into the room with the equipment to do a couple reps of his own stuff. Because they still have to swim after, Kacchan makes Izuku spot him on the benchpress instead of leaving. Izuku, resigned to his fate, stands behind Kacchan while he gets ready.

Izuku’s eyes widen when Kacchan puts an impressive amount of weights on the bar. Kacchan can also deadlift a ton, but benchpressing, in Izuku’s opinion, is even harder. So he stands nervously behind Kacchan to spot him, praying he doesn’t pop an awkward boner from the way Kacchan’s shirt rides up as he lifts the bar up above his chest. Izuku watches in awe as Kacchan lifts the bar, unfairly toned arms shaking the tiniest bit (Izuku wisely chooses not to mention it), and Izuku almost sobs when Kacchan lets out a weirdly attractive grunt while bringing the bar back down to his chest, all with an ease Izuku envies. At this point, Izuku’s sure that as long as it’s Kacchan doing it, anything will turn him on.

Well, Izuku thinks. Hopefully swimming will be better.

Swimming is not better. How did Izuku forget they’re both going to be shirtless? Izuku and his unimpressive abs plus Kacchan’s insane ones. This is the worst day of Izuku’s life. Kacchan comes out of the locker room in swim trunks (thank God it wasn’t a speedo or else Izuku would have cried), with a towel wrapped around his neck. Izuku has old trunks from when he was a kid, and Kacchan snorts. Izuku does not appreciate it and whacks Kacchan with his towel. This dissolves into a towel-fight that ends when Kacchan pushes Izuku into the pool.

Once they emerge from the end of their water fight (Kacchan is victorious, of course), Kacchan tells Izuku the set and swims it with him. The problem is that Kacchan is much faster, and won’t stop judging Izuku for how slow he is. The good thing is that all the running and strength training has upped his stamina a lot, even if he’s still slower than Kacchan he can keep swimming for a pretty long time. Kacchan notes it too, praising him and making Izuku smile.

“You’re gettin’ better, nerd,” Kacchan says when they’re finished swimming, “I’ll definitely be able to get you ready before entrance exams.”

Izuku’s smile stretches wider. “Thanks, Kacchan! I hope you know how much I appreciate you doing this for me! Your faith in me becoming a hero is one of the things that makes me the happiest! I liked proving you wrong, but having you on my side is even more wonderful. Thank you for everything, Kacchan. Really.” 

Kacchan, momentarily speechless, blinks pool water out of his eyes. Then he swims a little closer to Izuku, reaching out and ruffling his soaked hair. Izuku closes his eyes, leaning into the touch and melting into the water a little.

“Feels good, Kacchan,” Izuku informs him. Kacchan, hand still on Izuku’s head and probably not leaving anytime soon (good) turns a little pink.

“You’re welcome, Deku,” Kacchan says quietly, “for everything.”

School starts pretty soon after that. Izuku and Kacchan spent most of summer vacation with each other, although surprisingly never at either of their houses. Kacchan lets Izuku go inside his house to say hi to Mitsuki and Masaru, since they love Izuku and Izuku loves them, but Kacchan always waits outside for Izuku to finish. Sometimes Izuku asks why, but when Kacchan doesn’t reply Izuku doesn’t press. Izuku doesn’t take Kacchan to his house only because his mom is always working and Izuku doesn’t like bringing people over if his mom doesn’t know about it. It’s not a matter of Inko disliking Kacchan; Izuku already told her all about how him and Kacchan are friends again. Best friends, as Izuku keeps reminding Kacchan, and he gets no denial in response. 

Inko likes Kacchan, always did, especially when they were kids. They have a lot in common, especially the deep-seated need to protect Izuku. Inko really wants to invite Kacchan over, which is how Izuku got Kacchan to come over after school on his mom’s day off, and maybe they could go for food or something before. Kacchan, surprisingly enough, agrees. Maybe because of Izuku’s irresistible puppy eyes.

Coming back to school with Kacchan as his friend was one of the weirder experiences of Izuku’s life. They walk to school side by side, Izuku rambling about some hero fight they saw on the way and scribbling down notes in his notebook. Izuku still uses the burnt one, even though Kacchan did offer to buy him a new one. Izuku doesn’t mind, though, he hates wasting paper. 

So Kacchan just walks by his side, rolling his eyes and ruffling his hair because he knows Izuku likes it, and for some reason Kacchan likes touching his hair. Sometimes during class or in the hallways, Kacchan will just put his hand on Izuku’s head and stand there, unmoving. Izuku doesn’t mind; he loves the feeling of Kacchan’s warm, calloused hand on his hair, protecting him from the crowds of people swarming through the school. There’s just something about it.

It probably has to do with Izuku’s huge crush on Kacchan.

Everything does, these days.

At school, Kacchan and Izuku commandeer the back row of their classroom and an empty table in the lunchroom. Kacchan abandons his lackeys, which Izuku personally thinks is rude of him, but it’s not like Kacchan to care about that. Kacchan glares down people who laugh at and bully Izuku, steering him away from mean notes on his locker or jeers of ‘quirkless loser.’ Kacchan is still the same Kacchan, slamming doors with his feet and yelling at anyone who comes within a few feet of him, harsh and abrasive and blunt and explosive. But he’s calmer around the edges, a lot nicer to Izuku, softer and sweeter like he was when they were kids. Like a warm, crackling fire, like the feeling of coming home.

Kacchan’s presence beside him makes the actual walk home from school even better than it normally is. Because now Izuku isn’t just escaping school, escaping the bullies and the taunts. Now, Izuku is going back home with his best friend. Izuku feels like a normal kid with a crush, butterflies in his stomach as he brings the boy he’s in love with over to his house for the first time since they were five.

Kacchan seems oddly nervous, even though Izuku reassures him that Inko has forgiven him for hurting her son. Especially since Izuku forgave Kacchan so easily, Inko sees no reason why she shouldn’t as well. So Izuku walks confidently to the door of his apartment, unlocking the door and swinging it open.

“Mom!” Izuku calls, “we’re home!”

Izuku hears footsteps coming from inside the house, and Inko appears from the hallway as Izuku is closing the door behind him. 

“Hi, Izuku!” Inko says, giving him a hug, and then looking behind him at Kacchan. She lets go of Izuku and beams at him, opening her arms.

“It’s so good to see you, Katsuki,” Inko smiles, “I’m so happy you and Izuku are friends again. You were so close as children, I’m glad you’ve been able to repair your friendship. And don’t look so nervous, you’ve always been family!”

Kacchan starts at the word family, looking surprised. He turns to Izuku as if asking for help, and Izuku just shrugs at him. Hesitantly, Kacchan steps into Inko’s arms and lets her hug him. Eventually, Kacchan leans into it. When Inko lets go, Kacchan goes back to standing next to Izuku, but stops fidgeting as much. His foot stops tapping and he seems much more self-assured. Izuku’s glad for that.

They do their homework in Izuku’s room, where Kacchan snorts at the amount of All Might merchandise Izuku has. Kacchan calls it tacky, Izuku disagrees. They bicker about that for a while before settling in to study. They sit next to each other on the floor, leaning against the bed with their shoulders pressed against each other. Kacchan finishes his homework first and starts scrolling on his phone, and when Izuku finishes five minutes later he decides to try a risky move. Carefully, Izuku puts his books down and leans his head down, hovering right over Kacchan’s shoulder. Kacchan looks at him once, blinks, and then turns away. Izuku takes it as approval and puts his head right on Kacchan’s shoulder, yawning and staring at Kacchan’s phone screen.

“Whatcha looking at?”

“Laws for quirkless people going into hero schools,” Kacchan replies.

Izuku hadn’t been expecting that, but knowing how much thought Kacchan is putting into this makes Izuku smile. “Aw, Kacchan! You’re so sweet.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Kacchan rolls his eyes, “just don’t want all this training to be for nothing. And I sure as hell ain’t sweet, Deku.”

“I think you are,” Izuku disagrees, “now, anyway. And what are the laws, actually? I never really looked at them. Afraid of what I’d find, I guess.”

“Well, you’re in fucking luck,” Kacchan says, “because I’ve been looking since I’m not a Deku like you, and turns out the laws have a damn good loophole.”

“Really?” Izuku gets closer to Kacchan, hugging Kacchan’s free arm and scooting further into Kacchan’s side, “what is it?”

“Well,” Kacchan explains, “support items are allowed for people whose quirks require it. So, for example, I’m gonna get grenades from the support department at UA. They'll store sweat inside so I can use my quirk better. I’m also gonna ask for the closest thing they have to indestructible hearing aids, because God knows my parents won’t believe me if I say I need them, but UA will.”

Izuku frowns, momentarily distracted. “Why not?”

“The hag’ll think I’m weak and won’t let me do it,” Kacchan replies, face contorting in distaste, “but my quirk keeps blowing out my ears so UA better get me ones that-hey, we were supposed to be talkin’ about you!”

“Sorry!” Izuku says, “keep going?”

Kacchan sighs in frustration. “Anyway, there’s no actual law saying quirkless people can’t go to hero schools because some quirks come late, or they’re really asymptomatic or something glitched on their quirk registration. So there’s nothing saying you couldn’t just tell UA that your quirk, or lack of one in this case, is what requires support gear. And support gear is allowed for most hero school entrance exams as long as you state a valid reason on your application, one of which being UA. So if you got some cool fucking support gear from a company, it would way up your chances of getting into UA.”

Izuku thinks on that. “What kind of support gear?”

“I’d go for a type of weapon,” Kacchan says, “I’m gonna try and get hand grenades along with the gauntlets on my costume, for example.  You could go for a tranquilizer gun, some kind of armor-like protection for your body, an ensemble of knives if you want me to teach you how to throw ‘em-”

“I want Kacchan to teach me how to throw knives!”

“Okay, fine, we’ll do that sometime. But you get what I’m sayin,’ right? The max amount of support gear is two, so you could even do two weapons.”

“Weapons sound fun,” Izuku says excitedly, and Kacchan pokes him roughly in the cheek. Kacchan likes poking Izuku’s cheeks. It’s weird.

“It’s not supposed to be fun, shitty Deku!”

“Sorry,” Izuku mumbles, “but yeah! I definitely wanna buy some support gear! But you’re gonna have to convince my mom to let me buy weapons.”

“Well,” Kacchan smirks, “good thing she’s in the next room.”

“I cannot believe you actually told my mom that weapons were safer,” Izuku tells Kacchan as they walk through the doors of one of the coolest support gear stores, Inko walking worriedly behind them. 

“They are,” Kacchan says, “otherwise you’d be fucking dead.”

“Kacchan!” Izuku hisses, “don’t swear in front of my mom!”

“It’s fine, Katsuki!” Inko calls cheerily. Katsuki snorts.

“Wow!” Izuku changes the subject, “this place is so cool!”

“I know, right,” Kacchan’s eyes are darting all over the place, “shit, they have real guns. Shit, Deku, look at the explosives section. Damn. This is the place UA gets their support gear from, so I better get stuff this awesome.”

“It is pretty great,” Izuku agrees, and then gasps, pulling on Kacchan’s arm, “look Kacchan! Look at the knives! An entire wall of just knives!”

“You really want a knife, huh,” Kacchan smirks, “we can do that, Deku.”

Izuku jumps up and down once in excitement. Kacchan rolls his eyes, but it’s fond.

“My little baby,” Inko shakes her head, “buying his first knife.”

“Come on, Deku,” Kacchan drags Izuku by the arm over to the selection of tranquilizer guns, which makes Izuku whine and look longingly back at the knives.

“You’re not as excited about these fuckers,” Kacchan explains, “but you sure as hell need one. So we’re gonna pick one out, and then you can freak over knives.”

“Sounds good!” Izuku nods. Kacchan is way more into the guns than Izuku, so in the end Izuku lets Kacchan pick one for him. It ends up being a smooth silver metal, heavy-duty and strong. Izuku tests it in his hands for size and makes sure the safety and trigger are easy for him to work, and then Kacchan steers Izuku by the shoulders over to the knife wall. Izuku lights up looking at them.

“So whaddya want, Deku?” Kacchan asks, “Throwing knives? Finger knives? Daggers? Machete? I could probably find a sword if you asked…want a chainsaw?”

“Kacchan, I don’t want a chainsaw!” Izuku screeches, “stop getting excited about weapons! And I thought I was the one who liked knives…”

“Oh, shut up and pick what you want.” Kacchan pokes Izuku’s biggest freckle.

“Okay, Kacchan,” Izuku giggles, peering up at the selection, “I’m gonna want something close range, since I have a long-distance tranq gun, right? Although throwing knives could be really helpful...finger knives definitely wouldn’t work because they’re way too close range, I wouldn’t be able to hold my own...a machete-type knife would probably work? A dagger might be too close range as well…”

“Will you stop fucking muttering,” Kacchan gripes.

After a long half an hour of more muttering, during which Kacchan gets to look at the explosives and comes back with a set of throwing knives, Izuku finally decides on a knife. He gets three of the same kind, just in case: a twenty-inch machete with an easy to grip black blade, one edge serrated and the other smooth. Inko almost cries when she sees it, fingers trembling as she hands over her ID to prove that these fifteen-year-olds buying weapons have the approval to do so. They finally leave the shop with the promise that their items would be shipped to them within the next few days, and Kacchan high-fives Izuku on their way out.

Izuku grins, and Kacchan slings an arm around his shoulder.

“How does it feel?” Kacchan asks, “you’re gettin’ into UA, nerd.”

Izuku nods, determined. “I’m getting into UA.”

Izuku and Kacchan’s first sleepover since they were four years old is nine months after the sludge villain incident and six months after they became real friends again. Their classmates have all gotten used to the odd shift in dynamic, the way the power hierarchy has crumbled without Kacchan at the top of it. The normal popular boys and girls take it over, and the school goes back to becoming a regular gossip mill, since there’s no Kacchan to instill fear in them.

Not that he doesn’t instill fear. But nowadays, Kacchan instills fear in Izuku’s old bullies, in Izuku’s teachers who laugh at his dreams of heroism. Kacchan instills fear in himself. He tells himself that if he isn’t absolutely perfect, one hundred percent the best, he will never get into UA. Izuku sees it much more as his friend, watches how Kacchan stays up all night to study for a test, giving that as a reason for leaving Izuku on read the next day at six in the morning when Kacchan shows up to their morning run with concealer-covered bags under his eyes. 

Izuku sees how Kacchan trains his anger these days. How Kacchan tries his damndest to be calm while stopping Izuku from being reckless, pulling him back from the brink of wishful thinking by reminding him that if he isn’t realistic he’ll actually die. Kacchan remembers how ineffective bullying was, and Izuku can see and appreciate so much that Kacchan is trying. Kacchan is trying so hard. And Izuku has never needed an apology as much as he needed that, needed the actual proof that Kacchan finally realizes and understands that what he did was wrong, it was a horrible thing to do and he hurt Izuku quite a lot. And Kacchan has done that, and tries his best to be better every single day. Izuku’s so proud of him.

So Izuku really doesn’t think twice when happily inviting Kacchan over for a sleepover while walking back from the gym. Kacchan raises his eyebrow in surprise and asks Izuku why the hell they would do that, and Izuku pouts and says he just wants to be Kacchan’s best friend forever again, and best friends forever have sleepovers. Kacchan agrees after that, blushing a bit at ‘best friends forever,’ that’s a new development, Izuku’s noticed. Kacchan is a lot more human now. Well, that’s incorrect. Kacchan’s always been human, unflinchingly so, possibly the most human person Izuku has ever known. There’s nothing more human than making irreversible mistakes and somehow finding a way to make up for them.

The difference is that now, Kacchan lets Izuku see how human he is. Izuku gets to see Kacchan’s vulnerable side like he did when they were kids, when they were learning to read and write and Kacchan wouldn’t be able to get a particular word right, no matter how hard he tried. So, even at four years old, he would shut himself in his room until he could pronounce it perfectly, write it down perfectly. And now Izuku sees it in the way Kacchan works to be the best, the best hero and, more recently, the best person. Kacchan is a perfectionist, and he will not stop until he’s gotten to the top, become the best. He won’t stop until he believes he’s won.

Izuku always thought Kacchan knew Izuku forgave him. Izuku forgave Kacchan the moment he saw that Kacchan finally understood that he was wrong. Izuku genuinely thought Kacchan knew that Izuku thinks he’s amazing.

Izuku was wrong.

The day goes great. Izuku and Kacchan pass notes to each other in class, which mostly consists of Izuku writing Kacchan sugoi!!! with a multitude of big hearts around it, and Kacchan passes back shitty nerd with a very accurate drawing of a middle finger. Another thing Kacchan is unfairly good at: drawing hands. They eat lunch together like they always do, and then they finish school and walk to the gym together. They change in the locker room, Kacchan directs Izuku through his workout for the day, and then Izuku goes and runs on the treadmill while Kacchan does his workout. Then they shower and change, and walk back to Izuku’s.

Inko greets them with snacks, which Kacchan devours while Izuku thanks his mom for both of them. They do their homework in Izuku’s room in the new way they’ve been doing it, pressed against each other, Izuku leaning on Kacchan’s shoulder when he gets tired. Kacchan doesn’t even stiffen at the touch anymore. Once that’s done, Kacchan takes them to their old area of the park to do a new part of their training regiment: teaching Izuku how to use weapons. Izuku honestly isn’t sure how Kacchan knows how to use a knife so well, but it only took a month for Izuku to get the hang of it with Kacchan’s teaching expertise.

Kacchan would be a great teacher when he retires from heroics.

They walk back to Izuku’s house, Kacchan helps Izuku’s mom cook dinner, and then they go to bed. Well, Kacchan goes to bed. He plops himself on Izuku’s bed without a second thought, and Izuku stands awkwardly above him.

“Kacchan? Do you want me to sleep on the floor or…”

“Get on the bed, Deku,” Kacchan rolls his eyes at the scandalized look Izuku gives him, “What? Like I give a shit. You’ll be sore when you wake up if you sleep on the floor anyways, and we don’t want that shit before the entrance exam.”

“The entrance exam is in a month, Kacchan.”

“I don’t fucking care, just sleep on the bed, Deku.”

So Izuku does. Kacchan falls asleep within ten minutes, and Izuku stays awake scrolling through his phone for about an hour after. Eventually even Izuku gets tired, the new routine of working out tiring him out much more. Now Izuku understands how Kacchan goes to sleep so early. So Izuku puts his phone for charging on his nightstand, lies down, and goes to sleep. Somehow, sleeping next to Kacchan doesn't distract him; sleeping next to his crush doesn't freak him out. It actually feels nice, strangely right. Izuku has always known that he belongs right beside Kacchan, and Kacchan is supposed to be right beside him.

Izuku and Kacchan were always meant to be together.

Izuku falls asleep to Kacchan’s breathing.

He wakes up to Kacchan’s scream.

Izuku jolts awake as quickly as Kacchan must have, because he’s sheet white and gripping the comforter as tight as he can with both hands. He screams once, loud enough to wake Izuku up but quiet enough that Inko stays asleep. Izuku sits up in bed, eyes locking onto Kacchan as he rubs at his face. Kacchan’s eyes are shiny with unshed tears, and he’s refusing to make eye contact with Izuku.

“Kacchan?” Izuku whispers, wanting to reach out but too unsure of how Kacchan would react to touch, “what happened? Did you have a nightmare?”

“It’s nothing, Deku,” Kacchan’s hoarse voice replies, “go back to sleep.”

“No,” Izuku replies stubbornly, “tell me what’s wrong, Kacchan. Please?”

Kacchan turns and looks at Izuku, then, and sighs. Runs a hand through his hair. He leans back against the pillows, and Izuku waits patiently.

“Yeah, it was a nightmare,” Kacchan says, and Izuku’s eyes widen, “I get them once a week or so, ever since the fucking sludge villain.”

“Oh, Kacchan,” Izuku sighs, “do you want to talk about it.”

“No,” Kacchan says immediately.

Izuku pauses, contemplating his next words. “Have you... ever talked about it?”

“Who the hell would I talk to about it?”

“Me,” Izuku replies, “we’re best friends again, remember? You’re supposed to be able to tell me anything, the same way I would tell you anything. All I want is to help you, Kacchan. Please let me help you?”

Kacchan sighs. “Fine, shitty Deku, you wanna know what I dreamed about? I was back in that stupid fucking alleyway getting suffocated by that stupid fucking sludge villain, except this time you didn’t try to run in and save me.”

Izuku frowns. “Why wouldn’t I try to save you?”

“Because I told you to kill yourself not even a fucking hour earlier!” Kacchan raises his voice, and then winces the moment Izuku flinches, “listen, Deku. One of the reasons I told myself to go easy on you after the sludge villain was because even though I was convinced you were looking down on me, even though anytime I saw your concern for me I was sure it was pity, I think some tiny part of me also had to acknowledge that a person who drops everything to save their bully has to care about their bully to some extent. I had to accept that despite everything I’ve done to you, even though it’s absolutely undeserved, you still care about me.”

“Of course I still care about you,” Izuku says firmly, “you’ve always been someone I care about, Kacchan, someone I admire and thought of as a friend no matter how awful you were to me. It hurt, when you told me to kill myself. You know that. And you also know that you were wrong to do it. So honestly, Kacchan, I see no reason why you wouldn’t deserve to be cared about by me. You were awful to me, but Kacchan, I forgave you the moment you told me you know what you did to me is wrong. Because that’s all I ever wanted, to get my best friend back again.”

“In the nightmare-” Kacchan draws in a haggard breath, “-in the nightmare you didn’t save me. You just stood there and watched as I died. And-and the look in your eyes, it was mirroring exactly what I was thinking at that moment. That-that if I died, it would be for the better. Because I fucking deserved it. It would've been karma, dying by a villain when I claim that I’ll always win against any and every villain. Karma, because it would have proved that you’re the hero, not me.”

“Do you-” Izuku blinks the tears out of his eyes, “Kacchan, do you-believe that? That if the sludge villain had killed you, you would deserve it?”

Kacchan shrugs. “Sometimes, I guess. But it’s stupid. I didn’t die, I’m here now, and I’m fixing the shit I broke between us. That’s better than dying, ain’t it?”

“Yes,” Izuku whispers through his sniffles, “yes, Kacchan. Being alive to right your wrongs and make me so happy every day by being my friend, that’s so much better than dying. And just so you know, Kacchan-if I hadn’t saved you from the sludge villain, it would be the least heroic thing I could do. But even then, I didn’t save you to be a hero, I saved you because you’re Kacchan, my childhood and current best friend. And I guess somewhere inside me, I always knew you’d come back to me, that we’d fix our relationship. Please don’t think you’re better off dead, Kacchan. Because you’re not. I can’t imagine a world without Kacchan.”

“I ain’t gonna die, Deku,” Kacchan scoffs wetly, “I’ve gotta be number one.”

“And I’ve gotta steal the spot from you,” Izuku agrees, “please don’t be so guilty, Kacchan. You know what you did was wrong. You can’t take back the past, so acknowledging your mistakes is the best thing you could have ever done. I don’t need an apology, I know you’re sorry through everything you’ve done for me during these last nine months. That’s all I need, Kacchan. You’re all I need.”

“I hurt you,” Kacchan says back, knees drawn up to his chest, shrinking in on himself, “for ten years. That guilt ain’t gonna go away overnight, Deku.”

“I know,” Izuku nods, “and the hurt you caused me isn’t going to go away overnight, either. But we have each other right? So-we can heal together.”

Kacchan’s exhale comes out as a sob, lashes wet with tears. Izuku hasn’t seen Kacchan cry in over a decade, and it's the last straw for him. He reaches out before he can think about it, pulling Kacchan carefully into his arms. Kacchan stiffens for a moment, and Izuku rubs his back, trying to get him to relax. Eventually Kacchan does, winding his own arms around Izuku’s waist, providing his own comfort. It’s just like Kacchan to refuse to be taken care of unless he’s returning the favor, Izuku thinks fondly. Kacchan is still crying, and unlike Izuku he doesn't make noise as he does. His frame shakes, wracked with silent sobs, muffled into Izuku’s shoulder. 

“I want-” Kacchan murmurs, “I want to be a hero.”

“You are a hero,” Izuku says back, “you are.”

“Can’t be a hero if I’m a bad person.”

The statement is so false that Izuku immediately shakes his head, despite knowing Kacchan won’t be able to see it. “You’re not, Kacchan.”

Kacchan shakes his head too, fiercely as he cries into Izuku’s shirt. Tears escape Izuku’s eyes too, thinking about Kacchan yelling insults at him and exploding his notebook. But also thinking about Kacchan helping him train and cooking him food every single day, red eyes slight with mirth when Izuku makes a lame joke, the faint tinge of pink on his cheeks when Izuku latches onto his arm and tugs him around, the way Kacchan went comically limp the first time Izuku hugged him.

“You’re not a bad person, and I’m not a weak person,” Izuku tells Kacchan through his own tears, “you are good and I am strong. We’re heroes.”

A month later brings Izuku and Kacchan to the UA entrance exams. They’ve been practicing for every possible situation they could be faced with in the exam. Izuku’s analytical prowess allows him to come up with every single possibility for the practical part of the exam, while Kacchan’s knowledge of the actual application of quirks and weapons from experience helps him come up with plans and strategies. Izuku’s notes are incredibly helpful, but they can’t beat Kacchan’s personal knowledge based on the quirk he’s had since he was barely four years old.

Kacchan waits in the lobby of Izuku’s apartment for him to finish getting ready, and when Izuku finally comes downstairs, Kacchan turns around and they start their journey to UA. Izuku and Kacchan are both tapping their feet on the train, and Izuku is going over all of his notes while Kacchan shoves his headphones in and tries to get into a proper headspace. Izuku’s always been a crammer, a nervous test-taker, while Kacchan spaces out his studying and forces himself to be as calm as possible. Seeing Kacchan calm is always weird, but not when he’s taking a test. Especially something as crucial as the UA entrance exam.

“Oh God, Kacchan,” Izuku clutches his stomach as they walk through the UA gates, “I’m so nervous, I’m freaking out. Oh my God, Kacchan-”

“Deku,” Kacchan ruffles Izuku’s hair, keeping his palm resting there, the way Izuku likes it, “where the hell do you get off on underestimating me?”

“Wha-Kacchan! I wasn’t-”

“You think my training won’t get you in? Jesus, Deku!” 

“Oh,” Izuku shakes his head, smiling at the ground, “no, Kacchan, of course not. Your training is the reason I’m here right now, your research is the reason UA accepted my application for support gear. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me, and I’m sure I’ll get into UA with all your help!”

“There you go,” Kacchan nods, “come on, shitty Deku. We’ll be fine.”

“Well, obviously you’ll be fine, Kacchan is amazing!”

“Damn right I am,” Kacchan agrees smugly. He uses the hand on Izuku’s head to steer him on the path, “now let’s go crush the hell out of this exam.”

“Yeah!” Izuku pumps a fist in the air, “I won’t let anything get me down-whoa!” Izuku trips over a crack in the concrete and before he knows it, he’s falling down. He’s going to die. “Oh God, Kacchan, I’m gonna die a failure-”

“Deku, I swear to God- oi, who the hell are you?”

Izuku suddenly finds himself upright, and he almost screeches in terror when he realizes that he is essentially floating in midair. “Kacchan?”

“Sorry!” an unfamiliar feminine voice giggles, “I used my quirk on you! I make things float, I figured it would keep you from hurting yourself!”

“Well, can you get him the fuck down?”

“Hah, yeah, sorry,” the girl has big brown eyes and pink cheeks, and she taps her fingers together. Izuku lands on the ground with a yelp, Kacchan’s hand immediately coming to steady him. “Are you okay?”

“Ah-” Izuku says, choking on all his words, “um-”

“Man, I’m so nervous for this exam,” the girl continues speaking over him, “I’m Ochako Uraraka, by the way! What are your names?”

Kacchan shoves Izulu with his shoulder. “Introduce yourself, dumbass.”

“Oh, um, right!” Izuku straightens, “I’m Izuku Midoriya, and this is Kacchan!”

“Katsuki Bakugou,” Kacchan snarls, “call me Kacchan and you’re dead.”

Izuku sighs. “ Kacchan. Be nice, you just met her!”

“Oh, it’s okay,” the girl-Uraraka, laughs as she starts to walk away, “I think having a special nickname for your boyfriend is cute! Anyway, it was nice to meet you two! Good luck on the exam, I hope we all get in! See you around!” 

“Wait, what?” Izuku flails his arms around, “We’re not a-”

“She’s gone, Deku, it doesn’t matter,” Kacchan rolls his eyes. Izuku looks up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. 

“You don’t care that she thought we were dating?”

“Like I care about some extra’s opinion.”

“Kacchan! Stop calling everyone an extra!” Izuku cries, and Kacchan just scoffs and leads them back towards the front doors of UA. Izuku smiles to himself. A year before, Kacchan wouldn’t have wanted to be seen with Izuku unless it was as his tormentor. Now, Kacchan doesn’t even care if someone who could potentially be their classmate for three years thinks they’re a couple. He’s come so far.

“Deku, what the hell are you smiling at?”

“You,” Izuku answers honestly. Kacchan turns bright red. Izuku just laughs as they near the doors. The exam can’t possibly be so bad with Kacchan by his side.

They put Izuku and Kacchan in different exam rooms. Izuku is officially freaking out. Obviously they’d prepared for the possibility that Izuku and Kacchan wouldn’t be tested together, but that doesn’t mean Izuku isn’t freaking out. Thankfully, Kacchan really has trained him well. Izuku’s wearing basketball shorts and a hoodie, but he’s got a holster to keep his gun and machete both fastened to his waist. The test is robots, as Present Mic told them earlier, so tranquilizers won’t help much. Still, Izuku wants both of his weapons with him just in case. His knife will probably be the most helpful in this case; he can cut wires and smaller metal parts of the robots with it. Confident enough to know he’ll do pretty good on this exam, hopefully, Izuku steels himself and tries to quell his nervousness.

The buzzer sounds and the robots start, and before Izuku can overthink his every move, he’s off. Immediately everybody around him starts using their quirks to dispel the robots the best ways they know how to, and Izuku can’t help but gape. There’s people with all kinds of amazing quirks, and in that moment Izuku wants nothing more than to grab his notebook and write all of them down. But Izuku shakes his head and remembers where he is. He’s Izuku Midoriya, and he’s going to be the first quirkless hero. He’s going to get into UA without a quirk and prove All Might wrong, show Kacchan how well his training has paid off, how much stronger he’s become. Izuku will get into UA, and he will become a hero quirkless.

“Okay, Izuku,” he mutters to himself while hiding behind a wall to deliberate his options, “you have yourself, a knife, and a tranq gun. What can you do?” Izuku slowly shuffles out from behind the wall, looking out at the vast sea of robots and people destroying them. “What can I do?”

I can do anything, Izuku thinks to himself. He’s Izuku Midoriya, a quirkless kid who’s been put down and laughed at and bullied his entire life.

But he’s also Izuku Midoriya, and he’s Deku.

Kacchan’s Deku.

I can do this.

Izuku brings out his knife and makes his way into the building he was hiding behind, quickly running up the stairs and trying to gain access to the roofs somehow. He finds steps to the top floor quickly, and in less than a minute he’s made his way up to the roof. This way he’s closer to the robots, able to get closer to where their power circuits are. Izuku’s surprised nobody else is up on the roofs.

But then again, they have quirks to rely on. Izuku doesn't.

Izuku runs across the long roof, trying to find a robot nobody else is occupying. He finds one quickly, right next to a bot that a guy with engines for legs is trying to deal with. Izuku crouches down, using the squat position and the leg strength Kacchan built up in him, and Izuku jumps. He soars through the air, and for one terrifying moment Izuku thinks he won’t make it. But then, right as the robot turns and registers him, Izuku reaches out and grabs. He lands with his arms dangling around the neck of the robot, which immediately thrashes Izuku around, trying to throw him off. But Izuku stays strong, pulling himself up onto the robot’s shoulder and holding it with one hand while searching for a power circuit with another. Izuku knows that it’ll be on the robot’s head; all he has to do is somehow stay upright and cut the right wires, and he’ll short circuit the robot.

Izuku does some searching, legs trembling with the effort to latch onto the robot while it tries in vain to shove him off. Izuku raises his knife and brings it to the head of the robot. He finds a mass of green and red wires under a panel Izuku manages to pry open, and he grins. He’s hit the jackpot. So he holds on with one hand as tight as he possibly can, and he raises his knife up and brings it down on the wires as fast as he can. He hacks right through them, and immediately the robot is winding down, shaking and buzzing with electricity that would probably kill Izuku. So he quickly jumps off the robot, making sure to land back on the roof of the building. He sighs in relief as he watches the robot crumple to the floor, and he smiles to himself. He’s doing it! He’s really doing it.

Kacchan’s gonna be so proud of him.

Izuku’s proud of himself, too.

So he keeps going. He actually manages to short circuit a second robot, except that this time the power panel was in its leg so as to trick Izuku. But he was able to crawl down the robot’s torso by sticking his knife in crevices and using them as handholds to reach the legs. After that, Izuku’s on a roll. With his new and pretty much foolproof strategy, he manages to take down a total of seven bots.

After the last one, which also had a panel on its leg, Izuku finds himself on the ground again, so he dodges in between the robots’ legs and watches as other people destroy robots around him. Izuku catches sight of the girl with the brown hair from earlier, the one who saved him from an embarrassing fall. Uraraka, he remembers. Izuku’s about to bypass her, try and get to the robot next to the one she’s dealing with, until he sees what’s about to happen to her. The robot is aiming its arm towards her, and if she gets hit she’ll collapse and hurt herself badly.

“Shit!” Izuku curses, “I’m on the ground...what can I do?”

Izuku breaks out running, getting to the robot as fast as he can. He latches onto the robot's leg, shimmying up it so as to try and reach the arm that’s going to come down on Uraraka in less than thirty seconds, if Izuku timed it right. Izuku manages to get up to the robot’s torso, but that’s enough. Izuku holds strong with his legs once again and brings out his gun from its holster, holding it by the handle up above his head. He watches as the arm comes down, and Uraraka, not having noticed him yet, widens her eyes in fear. But Izuku’s ready, so as the robot arm reaches towards her Izuku brings down his gun, swinging as hard as he possibly can and hitting the robot’s arm with hard, heavy-duty metal. 

It does its job. The arm goes bent, swinging around and narrowly missing Izuku’s head. Izuku takes advantage of that and grabs onto the arm, using it to climb onto the robot’s shoulder and find the power panel. He finds it in the shoulder, and as soon as his gun smashes the panel open Izuku cuts the wires with his knife. The robot once again circuits and dies, and Izuku jumps off of the arm as fast as he can and lands roughly on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Izuku scans the area for Uraraka, and finds her splayed out on a pile of debris, looking nauseous. 

“Are you okay?” Izuku calls out.

“I think so!” Uraraka yells back, “thank you so much!”

“Of course!” Izuku says, nodding, and then turns around and starts running, trying to get rid of more robots as fast as he can-but then the buzzer sounds again. 

Izuku’s knees give out, and he sinks to the ground, breathing hard.

The UA entrance exam is over.

“Kacchan!” Izuku calls as soon as he sees him, leaning against the wall of the UA building with his arms crossed, waiting for Izuku, “Kacchan!”

Kacchan turns at the sound of Izuku’s voice. “Took you long enough, Deku.”

“Hi, Kacchan!” Izuku says breathlessly, “how’d you do on the exam?”

“Awesome, obviously,” Kacchan scoffs, “how’d yours go?”

“Oh my God, Kacchan,” Izuku gears up to rant excitedly, “the weapons were such a smart decision! I ended up climbing on top of the robots and using my knife to short-circuit the robots using the wires under their power panels, and I actually got rid of six robots like that! And then I got a seventh because the robot’s arm was about to hit Uraraka so I saved her and then short-circuited the robot-”

“Okay, Deku, I get it,” Kacchan cuts him off, “you saved someone?”

“Yeah! That girl from earlier, she almost got hit by the robot!”

“Shit,” Kacchan says, “so you got seven bots down, huh Deku?”

“Yeah!”

“Nice,” Kacchan holds out his fist, and Izuku bumps it, “I got over twenty.”

Izuku sighs as they start walking. “Of course you did.”

“Come on, Deku,” Kacchan nudges him, “you’re not weak like you used to be. You got seven bots, which is probably more than some people with quirks got.”

“Yeah,” Izuku agrees, “hey, have you ever thought about your hero name?”

Kacchan turns and looks at Izuku as their shoes crunch over the gravel path, “of course I have, Deku. King Explosion Murder, Lord Explosion Murder…”

“Those are all gonna get rejected, Kacchan,” Izuku giggles.

“Hah?” Kacchan whirls towards him, eyes blazing, “the hell did you say, Deku? Why the hell would they reject King Explosion Murder God?”

“I don’t know,” Izuku raises an eyebrow, “you tell me, Kacchan.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Kacchan says with no bite, “why’d you ask, anyway?”

“I’ve been thinking about what I could make mine,” Izuku replies.

“Oh yeah?” Kacchan raises an eyebrow, intrigued, “what’ve you got?”

“Well,” Izuku sets back his shoulders in determination, “I want to be Deku!”

Kacchan’s eyebrow raises further, this time in utter disbelief as he blinks at Izuku with his judgemental eyes. “You want your hero name to be useless?”

“It doesn’t mean useless anymore!” Izuku protests.

“No, Deku, that’s the literal translation of the word, that’s how you read it-”

“It’s a metaphor, Kacchan! It’s about the symbolism! And you totally knew that, stop messing with me! It’s about how I started as someone who wanted a hero but had no idea how to get there, who never worked for it. But then I started training, getting stronger, and now I’m not a useless Deku, I’m the Deku who rose above uselessness and became a hero despite what everyone told me. I’m taking Deku and turning it into the name of a hero, to show everyone who ridiculed me that I’m not just some useless quirkless person. I’m the Deku who does his best!”

Kacchan is silent for a moment, processing, and then he smirks. “Damn right you are, Deku. Now I’m kind of glad I gave you that shitty nickname.”

“Nah, I like it now!” Izuku says, “every time someone uses it in the field, I’ll be reminded of you. Because you know Kacchan,” Izuku reaches for Kacchan’s arm to hug it close to him, like he tends to do when he wants Kacchan right next to him, “No matter how many people end up using the name Deku, it’ll always have been yours first. When people ask me where I got my hero name, I get to say my best friend gave it to me! Because I’ll soon become Deku the hero, but I’ve always been your Deku.”

Kacchan turns a pretty shade of pink and tries to shove Izuku off of him, spluttering as he does. Izuku just laughs brightly, and they continue their way home like that. Laughing, bickering, and smiling. As real friends do.

“Kacchan!” Izuku shrieks over the phone, “it came! It came, it came, it came-”

“I know Deku!” Kacchan screeches back, “I got it too. I’ll be there in five.”

“Aw, we’re gonna open them together?” Izuku smiles to himself, “you’re so sweet, Kacchan. But I’m glad you’ll be with me because I’m so freaking nervous-”

“I’m coming, Deku! Also, stop calling me sweet! I am not!”

“You’re literally running to my house right now so that we can open the letters from our dream schools together. That’s sweet, Kacchan.”

Kacchan hangs up on him. Izuku figures it’s what he deserves.

Either way, Kacchan is at his door in less than ten minutes. Inko lets him in since Izuku is too nervous to leave his room, and as soon as the door opens Izuku lets out a loud surprised yelp before sighing in relief when he sees Kacchan.

“Wow, you’re strung up,” Kacchan snorts, “it’ll be fine, Deku. Come on.” 

Kacchan moves to sit on the floor next to Izuku. “Just fucking open it.”

“Okay, okay!” Izuku wheezes out, hands over his envelope, shaking as he gets ready to open it, “on the count of three, okay Kacchan?”

“I’m counting,” Kacchan argues, “one, two-”

“Wait!” Izuku screeches, “I’m gonna throw up!”

“No, you’re not,” Kacchan pulls Izuku by the back of his shirt before Izuku can get to the bathroom, “sit down, Deku. Now come on. One, two, three!”

Izuku lets out a loud scream as he tears his envelope open and pulls the contents out, except he immediately drops them as if they burned him. Kacchan is much calmer, though the tremors in his hand give away his nervousness. Kacchan snorts at Izuku’s freakout and then looks down at the contents in his hand.

“What is this, a disc?” Kacchan frowns at the small circle.

“I think it’s going to project something if we press this button here,” Izuku says back, “can you go first, Kacchan? I’m too scared.”

“Alright, Deku,” Kacchan replies, and presses the button on the disc in his hand. Immediately the screen lights up, and both of the people in the room gasp when they see All Might light up on it, saying “I am here...as a projection!” (Kacchan snorts at that). “And starting this year, I will be teaching at UA!”

“All Might’s teaching at UA?” Izuku frowns, confused, “huh.”

“Shh, he’s talking,” Kacchan hisses. Izuku shuts up.

All Might goes through some long speech explaining Kacchan’s stats in the exam. He got first place in the practical exam rankings with 77 points. He also got a perfect score on the written exam. Kacchan was basically a shoo-in, and Izuku isn’t surprised at all when All Might announces that Kacchan got in.

Kacchan, however, stares at the All Might projection in shock. “Holy shit.”

“You got in!” Izuku says excitedly, “congratulations, Kacchan! I’m so proud of you! I always knew you could do it, Kacchan is amazing, after all!”

That seems to bring Kacchan out of his trance, and then he’s grinning at Deku, the fire in his eyes coming back to life. “Fuck yeah! I fucking got in!”

“Yay, Kacchan!” Izuku flings his arms around Kacchan, almost knocking him down in the process. Kacchan glares at him, and then hands Izuku’s disc to him.

“You can do it, Deku,” Kacchan tells him. “Just do it.”

“Okay,” Izuku takes a deep breath in. Kacchan senses his fear and puts his hand on Izuku’s head, ruffling his hair once and keeping it there. Izuku relaxes at the touch, calms enough to take his disc and press the button. The same All Might projection lights up on his wall, and Izuku watches in anticipation as All Might starts to talk. The resentment for the hero who told Izuku that he couldn't be one is still there, but the adoration for the top hero is still there as well. Izuku’s breaths are long and labored as All Might opens his mouth and begins to speak.

“Izuku Midoriya,” All Might starts, “I can see that you’ve been working hard to get into UA! You were able to take down seven bots in total by short-circuiting them with your approved support items! An amazing strategy! However, that only equals to fifteen villain points total, which is unfortunately not enough to pass.”

Izuku’s heart drops. Kacchan’s already muttering angrily.

“But-” comes All Might’s voice, and then both of their heads are snapping up, Izuku’s eyes widening in astonishment, “villain points are not the only ones awarded! Part of being a hero is also about rescuing others, which is why the practical exams are also scored with rescue pints! And you saved Ochako Uraraka and fully took down a robot in the process, which got you 60 rescue points, the most rescue points of all the examinees this year. This brings your total points to 75 and puts you in second place in the exam rankings, right below Katsuki Bakugou, the young man who you tried so bravely to save during the sludge villain attack. You are a true hero, Young Midoriya. Welcome to UA, the most prestigious hero school in Japan!”

All Might’s projection disappears, leaving Izuku and Kacchan alone in the dark. Izuku’s knees tremble, and he puts his hands on the disc, shaking.

“Oh my God,” Izuku says quietly, “oh my God.”

“You got in,” Kacchan tells him, with so much pride in his voice, “you got in, Deku. You fucking did it, and you did it quirkless. You got into UA, Deku!”

“I got in!” Izuku realizes, eyes wide as he yells, “oh my God, holy shit, Kacchan, I got into UA! I got in-I got in quirkless, I got in!”

Kacchan grins at him. “Fuck yeah you did, Deku.”

“Kacchan!” Izuku yells one more time, tears spilling out of his eyes as he launches forward. Kacchan moves at the same time, both of their arms out as Izuku falls right onto Kacchan’s lap, throwing his arms around his neck and holding Kacchan as tightly as he can, crying happy tears into his shoulder. Kacchan’s laugh as he holds Izuku back sends a shudder throughout Izuku’s entire body, and Izuku’s face stretches into its own wide grin, pressed into Kacchan’s shoulder.

“I got in,” Izuku says, muffled into Kacchan’s shirt sleeve, “I proved everyone wrong, I proved All Might wrong. I’m gonna be a hero. A quirkless hero.”

“Deku, the first quirkless hero,” Kacchan declares, “I like the sound of that.”

Izuku pulls back, just enough to keep his hands on Kacchan’s shoulders, Kacchan’s fingers gripping his waist, and Izuku presses their foreheads together, too exhilarated and overjoyed to care about physical closeness.

“Thank you, Kacchan,” Izuku says breathlessly, “I couldn’t have done any of this without you, without your training and your support. Thank you.”

“I helped, sure,” Kacchan replies, “but this was all you, Deku. You’re a hero.”

“I’m a hero,” Izuku repeats, one more tear slipping out of his eye. Kacchan reaches up and wipes it away with his thumb, almost lovingly, and Izuku breaks.

Izuku grabs Kacchan’s face with both hands and kisses him. 

Predictably Kacchan stiffens for a moment, but then he’s relaxing, and he’s kissing back, and then he’s quickly taking control, not that Izuku minds. Izuku’s content to put his arms back around Kacchan’s neck and melt into his warmth. Izuku is the first to pull away, but only because there are words threatening to rip out of him and he can’t go for even another moment without saying them.

Izuku presses their foreheads together again, Kacchan staring at him with wide, dark eyes, both of them red and breathing hard. Izuku smiles.

“I love you, Kacchan.”

Kacchan’s face constricts with guilt. Izuku wants to rub the crease out of his forehead, so he does. Izuku also wants to reach inside Kacchan’s heart and pull the guilt out of him, take away every bit of his self-hatred and doubt.

But Izuku can’t do that. All he can do is save Kacchan with a smile.

“I promise,” Izuku says, “please don’t be guilty, or scared. You don’t have to say it back until you’re ready. I love you so much, Kacchan.”

“I-” Kacchan hesitates for the first time in his life, “I don’t know how I feel.”

“Okay,” Izuku nods, “that’s okay, Kacchan. We’ll figure it out together.”

“I just know I want to be with you,” Kacchan confesses, “can I show you?”

Izuku smiles and boops Kacchan’s nose, getting the cutest little nose scrunch Izuku has ever seen in return. It's his new favorite Kacchan-face. Izuku giggles. “Yeah, Kacchan. I know you prefer actions over words, that’s how you apologized to me. You don’t have to tell me how you feel until you know the right words for it, Kacchan. For now, just showing me is perfect.”

Kacchan nods, pulls Izuku in by the hand on his hair, and kisses him.

Yeah. Izuku is Kacchan’s Deku.

“What if they all hate me, Kacchan?”

“They’re not gonna hate you, Deku,” Kacchan rolls his eyes. It’s their first day at UA, and Izuku is getting more and more nervous the closer they get to their classroom. Kacchan, being Kacchan, doesn’t care at all. And while Izuku loves and admires that about him, he’s also deeply envious of it. Because he is freaking out and absolutely terrified that all of these people will despise him. Because sure, Izuku’s quirkless, but people aren’t discriminatory towards quirkless people, especially because they’re such a minority people tend to forget they exist. People tend to think Kacchan bullied Izuku because he was quirkless, but no. It was because Izuku was quirkless and trying to be a hero. If Izuku had given into Kacchan’s superiority complex, that would be a completely different story.

In the end, Izuku thinks both of them are glad he didn’t.

“But what if they do?” Izuku worries, “what if they think I’m too nerdy or too much of a crybaby or they think I’m lame or weak or something?”

“If you keep fucking whining, I will turn these off,” Kacchan tells him, reaching towards the new black hearing aids in his ears. He got them from the UA support department last week, and Izuku has never been prouder of Kacchan. Figuring out that he’s hard of hearing, accepting help, buying hearing aids, Izuku’s just so happy to finally see Kacchan getting and wearing them.

“Kacchan!” Izuku pouts, “seriously. What if they judge me for being quirkless, or think I don’t deserve to be in the hero class or something?”

“Then I’ll kick their fucking asses,” Kacchan says easily as they reach the Class A door. Izuku can hear the voices coming from behind it.

Izuku smiles. “Aw, thanks Kacchan. Kiss for good luck?”

“No,” Kacchan replies. He hates PDA. Izuku pouts, so Kacchan ruffles his hair instead. Izuku leans into the touch like he always does, humming contentedly.

“Alright, Deku. Stop being a fucking wimp,” Kacchan says, keeping his hand on Izuku’s head and opening the door, directing Izuku into the classroom. Immediately Izuku’s vision is pointed towards a man with shaggy black hair in a yellow sleeping bag, and the surprise of it makes Izuku screech a little.

“Hello,” the man says, “I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa.”

“Oh!” Izuku nods, “good morning!”

Kacchan just nods.

“Hey! Midoriya, right?” a familiar voice makes Izuku turn around, and he sees the congregation of students gathered in the corner of the room, making introductions and waiting for class to start. Uraraka stands at the edge of it, waving excitedly to them. “Oh, and Bakugou! Hi, guys!”

Kacchan, hand still on Izuku’s head, steers them to the circle of students. 

“Morning, Uraraka!” Izuku says, and then turns to the rest of the students, looking at them expectantly, “um, I’m Izuku Midoriya and this is Kacchan!”

“But don’t call him that,” Uraraka informs, “only his booooyfriend can.”

“Bakubro!” yells a boy with spiky red hair who apparently knows Kacchan, “you didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend! That’s so manly, dude!”

“Dude, who the hell would date you?” a kid with a lightning bolt in his hair says, and then backtracks when Kacchan glares at him, “just kidding! Chill out, man! You know I think you’re cool as hell, all badass with your explosions.”

The lightning bolt kid turns to the rest of the students and stage-whispers, “the thing about Bakubro is that you have to constantly feed his ego.”

“Will you two shut the fuck up?” Kacchan finally loses his temper, “and I told you two morons to stop calling me that! Jesus!”

“Aw, Kacchan,” Izuku grins, “you made friends! When did you make friends?”

“At the entrance exam,” Kacchan grunts but doesn’t deny that they’re his friends, which Izuku counts as a huge win, “idiots wouldn’t shut the fuck up.”

“He loves us,” the redhead says, “he just won’t admit it.”

“It takes him some time,” Izuku agrees, “took us fifteen years.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Deku.”

Uraraka gasps. “He has a nickname too! So cute!”

“You’ve known each other your whole lives?” some pink girl says, “that’s so cute! Are you childhood friends? Oh my God, how long have you been dating?”

“Like, two weeks?” Izuku shrugs, “but we are childhood friends.”

“So cute!” Uraraka squeals to the guy with engine legs.

“So you’re Midoriya, right?” the spiky hair guy speaks up again, “I’m Eijirou Kirishima! And any friend of Bakubro’s is a friend of mine!”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Izuku smiles.

“I’m Denki Kaminari!” the lightning guy says, shooting Izuku finger guns.

“So…” and finally the dreaded question comes along, from a girl in the class who seems to be invisible, “Midoriya and Bakugou, right? What are you guys’ quirks? I’m invisible, Kirishima can harden his skin, Kaminari shoots lightning-”

“Wait, wait, slow down!” Izuku yelps, whipping out his notebook to start writing all of this down. Kacchan peers over his shoulder.

“Is that a sexy version of my hero costume?”

Izuku blushes bright red. The class aww’s. Kacchan snorts. 

“Kacchan!” Izuku admonishes, and then turns back to the rest of the class, “sorry about that, guys. We were talking about quirks, right?”

“Are you gonna write down our quirks?” Kirishima asks, “do you have some kind of quirk that requires you to process information? That’s pretty cool!”

“Um, actually,” Izuku says, wringing his hands together. Kacchan’s hand moves down to lace their fingers together, squeezing in support. Izuku smiles.

Kacchan will kick their asses, and Izuku can always stab them.

“I’m...quirkless,” Izuku confesses, and then brightens, “it was always my dream to become the first quirkless hero, and now my journey is starting! Apparently I’m the first ever quirkless person to be admitted to UA!”

Izuku cringes at himself. He overshared, didn’t he?

“That’s so manly!”

Izuku looks up in surprise. Kirishima is beaming at him.

“You got second in the entrance exam, you beat me by one point!” Kirishima continues, “and you did that quirkless? That’s crazy awesome, dude!”

“I was wondering why you had the knife and gun!” Uraraka exclaims, “man, I wish we were allowed to have weapons!”

“He has a knife and a gun?” Kaminari gawks, “that’s so fucking cool.”

Izuku turns to Kacchan, gaping. Kacchan just smirks at him. 

“Yeah,” Izuku giggles and tells his classmates, “actually, it was Kacchan who looked up the laws for quirkless people going into hero schools! He helped me with training and buying me proper weapons and teaching me how to use them and everything! Kacchan is so amazing, once he realized how badly I wanted to get into UA he supported me with everything he had! Kacchan’s amazing, he’s half of the reason I got in, you know. He’s part of why I’m gonna be the first quirkless hero! Also, Kacchan’s quirk is explosion, did you guys know that? Probably not, since we just met you all, but it’s so cool! Kacchan sweats nitroglycerin and makes explosions with it, and he has this one move where he-”

“Deku,” Kacchan grits out, “stop fanboying over me!”

“Sorry,” Izuku mumbles, and the whole class giggles at him. But unlike his middle school, they're not laughing at him. They’re laughing with him, and Izuku is able to look at Kacchan’s flustered expression and laugh with them too.

“I think,” Uraraka says once the moment’s over, “that you’re definitely going to be the first quirkless hero, Midoriya! And we’ll all be cheering you on!”

“Yeah!” Kirishima pumps a fist in the air, and Kaminari wolf-whistles. 

“Look at that,” Kacchan nudges him, “they all love you.”

And then, a little quieter, “how could they not?”

“Kacchan!” Izuku’s eyes water over, “I love you too!”

Kacchan just rolls his eyes as the class aww’s again. But he also squeezes Izuku’s hand, and Izuku grins because that means I love you. True to his word, Kacchan shows his love through actions, not words. Izuku adores it.

“I AM HERE!”

The whole class startles, and they turn around to see All Might walking into the room. Kacchan’s eyes widen and then narrow, probably remembering what he said to Izuku a year ago. Izuku tries to take him down from his anger.

“It’s not worth it, Kacchan,” Izuku whispers, “I already proved him wrong.”

Kacchan just nods, but he does give All Might the stink eye.

“Take your seats,” comes Aizawa’s voice from the front of the room, and as the bell rings everyone scrambles to their assigned seats. Izuku is pleasantly surprised to see that Kacchan is right in front of him, so Izuku can stare all day.

“Starting this year, All Might will be teaching heroics classes at UA,” Aizawa explains, “to get to know you all, he’s going to ask you some questions.”

“Hello, students!” All Might says brightly, “let's go around the room and share our names, quirks, and your goal as a student in the hero course here at UA!”

Izuku smiles. He can answer those questions easily. He listens as everyone in the class introduces themselves, and makes sure to write all their quirks down.

“I’m Ochako Uraraka, my quirk is that I can make things float! My goal as a hero student is to eventually become a hero that can support my family!”

“I’m Shouto Todoroki. I can create ice on my right side and fire on my left. My goal is to surpass my father, Endeavor, and become a better hero than him.”

“I’m Denki Kaminari, and my quirk is electrification, which I think is pretty self-explanatory! My goal is to become an awesome hero who makes people laugh, and rank as high as I possibly can! You know I came eleventh in the entrance exam ranks? Eleventh! I was so close to being on the scoreboard!”

“I’m Eijirou Kirishima! My quirk is hardening! I get hard! Uh, not like that. I wanna become the manliest hero there is, like my hero Crimson Riot!”

“Katsuki Bakugou. Explosion. I’m gonna be the number one hero.”

“I’m Izuku Midoriya!” Izuku looks right into All Might’s eyes as he says it, giving him the best I proved you wrong look he possibly can. All Might definitely gets the message, because he shrinks back a little and Izuku hears Kacchan snort.

“I’m quirkless,” Izuku announces proudly, for the first time in his life, “instead I use my own strength and my support gear, a knife and a tranquilizer gun. I also have Kacchan!"

Izuku doesn't explain any further. Kacchan is explanatory enough, anyone can see how amazing he is and why Izuku loves him and is so grateful to have him on his team.

"And my goal as a hero student? Well, I’m already the first quirkless person to get into UA, so my goal is the same as it always was, since the very day I learned I was quirkless.”

Izuku sits up straight in his chair, sees the way All Might’s expression says, I’m sorry for underestimating you. Sees the way his classmates smile encouragingly at him. Izuku sees Kacchan look at him with nothing but pride and love in his eyes, and Izuku smiles back at him with just as much love, if not more.

Izuku is not weak. He is quirkless, and he is strong. Izuku is a hero who saves people with a smile. He’s the Deku who does his best. He’s Kacchan’s Deku.

He’s Deku.

“I will become the very first quirkless hero!”