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Left, right, jump, kick, counter.
Left, right, jump, kick, counter.
Left, right, jump, kick-
“Agh!” face plant.
Midoriya groaned as his cheek made contact with the gym mat for the 13th time today.
“My apologies! I must have progressed with the next move too soon, I-”
“No, it’s okay Iida-kun.” Izuku sighed, accepting his sparring partner’s hand.
“You’re timing is perfect,” Izuku assured him, “I just can’t seem to land this kick.”
Izuku looked around the gym at his fellow classmates as they spared in pairs and rolled around on mats. Round the room came sounds of swearing and cries of frustration, but not a single quirk was activated.
Aizawa likes to do that sometimes.
As a hero whose quirk is to, well, erase quirks, he knows firsthand how defenseless people become as soon as their source of power is removed.
As a result, Aizawa sensei would occasionally hold everyone’s quirks so that they could practice skills and hand to hand combat without relying on their talents.
Looking around the room, Izuku realized how behind he and his partner had become. Everyone else had moved on to the other combat exercises.
Izuku flushed with embarrassment.
“Oh goodness, I didn’t realize how caught up I got in that move! I’m so sorry Iida, you must be bored doing the same combo over and over again, I don’t know what’s gotten into me!” Izuku smiled a wide, nervous smile and rubbed the back of his neck.
I could have sworn I would have gotten it this time around. Could it be the amount of force I used to push off the ground? Was it too much? Maybe it’s the angle of my legs in relation to the surface of the mat, or maybe I didn’t use enough force or maybe-
“Judging by the cries of pain reverberating around the room, I’d say you all have had enough for today.”
Izuku’s thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sensation of Aizawa sensei releasing his hold on their quirks.
An explosion was immediately heard from the other side of the room.
“You couldn’t give us a damn warning?! Fuck.”
An eruption of laughter was heard from Kirishima as Kacchan continued to curse under his breath.
Kaminari, Kacchan’s sparring partner, was not assumed.
As the class settled down and people began to gather their belongings, Izuku turned to Iida and bowed so quickly, he saw spots.
“Iida-kun! I’m so sorry! I wasted all of your training time and you didn’t even get a turn attacking! You shouldn’t have let me go on, I could have-”
“Izuku.”
Izuku looked up at his friend and was filled with a sense of relief and gratitude.
Iida smiled at him, stood up tall and adjusted his glasses.
“As class rep it is my responsibility to ensure that everyone gets the optimal amount of training necessary! It is also my responsibility as a friend to ensure you are never without assistance.”
Izuku beamed at Iida and was about to return the sentiment when Uraraka sprang up between the two of them, hooking her arms around their necks.
“Who’s in the mood for some ramen?!” she asked, voice filled with both exhaustion and anticipation.
“Absolutely!”
“Maybe next time…”
Both Iida and Uraraka looked at their friend in question.
“Is everything okay, Izuku?” Uraraka asked, having detected the sense of disappointment in his tone.
Izuku cheered up immediately.
“Oh yes, yes I’m fine! It’s just, this combo, I’m so sure I can get it if I just keep trying a little longer. I’m so close to figuring it out, I just know it!”
Uraraka smiled at Izuku with a soft expression.
“Alright,” she responded.
“Just don’t work yourself too hard, okay? You can get a little overly… determined about stuff. Just make sure you’re in one piece for tomorrow! We’ve got a study party, remember?”
“Study group,” Iida corrected her.
Izuku laughed and grabbed at the hair at the base of his nape.
“Right! Yeah, study group, I’ll be there. In one piece.”
Satisfied with his answer, the trio left the gym and continued on their separate ways. Iida and Uraraka moved toward the school’s exit while Izuku took a detour toward the main office to get permission for after-hours training in the gym.
By the time he filled out the paperwork and was given the all clear, an hour had passed and he had already come up with 7 new techniques to approach the combo set with.
He couldn’t help but think back to what Uraraka had said before she and Iida left the gym.
“Just don’t work yourself too hard, okay? You can get a little overly… determined about stuff.”
Right, Izuku thought to himself, determined.
He appreciated how she had chosen to word her observation.
“Determination,” he mumbled to himself as he left the office to head back to the gym. That was a nice way to look at it.
Uraraka had tried to sugarcoat his tendencies, though choosing the word ‘determination’ made it seem a lot less inconvenient than it was.
The truth of the matter was that, well…
Midoriya Izuku has an obsessive personality. It’s a trait that seems to have been with him since birth, though it didn’t begin to affect his life until late grade school.
His nervous, rampant mumbling began to make itself known the more his classmates manifested their quirks. There were times when young Izuku would lie in bed, eyes wet with tears, as he desperately tried to entertain the notion that his overthinking was a quirk in itself.
Those ideas never actually held true, he knew that.
Quirks were useful, incredible even. Obsessive over thinking, that was… That was something you took pills for.
There was a time when his school teachers contacted his mom and suggested he “take something” to help his school performance, but the thought of medication was something that terrified his mother. They didn’t so much as keep aspirin in the house.
The worse his overthinking got, the worse the bullying got and Izuku had to figure out a way to silence his mind a bit.
That’s how he found his love for writing. The more he wrote down, the less he found himself mumbling out loud.
Mind you, the mumbling still happens on a regular basis, but it was worse before. Much worse.
His obsessive tendencies have done him some good in his life though.
Like that time when he needed to pull a spoon out of the garbage disposal in the sink and his brain began to imagine what would happen if it spontaneously turned on while he was wrist deep in the contraption and how his life would be over because he wouldn’t be able to tie his shoes or wear gloves, hell, he can’t even hold a pencil in his left hand, how is he supposed to live without his right hand….
Thanks to that train of thought, Izuku is now ambidextrous. That skill comes in handy every once in a while.
There have been times when his obsessive habits have even saved his life.
Hours spent researching and notetaking seemed like a waste of time to the classmates that mocked him in the past, but those late nights of sketching and analyzing have paid off now that he was training to become a hero.
It isn’t so bad, he thought to himself with a smile.
Besides, he’s gotten really good and using his ability to analyze to his advantage.
Turning the last corner in the hallway, Izuku was met with the doors to the gym only to see that the light was still on.
That’s weird.
The office aids had told him that the cleaning crew wouldn’t come through for another few hours.
Izuku made his way through the doors and was met by a familiar head of ash blonde hair.
Kacchan?
In the far corner of the gym, Bakugo Katsuki was set up on a mat going over the combat combinations from class.
He hadn’t noticed Izuku’s presence.
Izuku stayed rooted to his spot by the door, partially hidden by stacked bleachers, as he watched Katsuki move.
Izuku was entranced.
The Kacchan he was used to seeing every day in class was always so loud, always smiling with that grin of mischief and chaos. Usually, every punch or kick was accompanied with a cry of some profanity or declaration of murder. Every move was as sure as the sun is hot.
But this Kacchan was different with no one around to instigate him. His mouth was shut in a tight line of concentration and his stance was light. Not the usual grounded form that spoke of the confidence in his abilities.
Instead, Izuku noticed that he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, shifting from side to side.
Izuku loved the moments when he got to see a new side of Kacchan. It’s incredible to think about how far they’ve come in their friendship after a year and a half at U.A.
Yes, that’s right, friendship.
Kacchan still yelled at him, still insulted him, still challenged him and snapped at him as much as ever. But it was different from before. It was less… venomous.
Kacchan’s tolerance for Izuku hasn’t changed much, but at least he didn’t ignore him anymore.
Whenever Izuku would wish him a good morning, Kacchan would answer somewhere along the lines of “Fuck this morning, what’s so great about it?” as he brushed passed Izuku without making eye contact.
It wasn’t the friendliest response. But it was a response none the less. And that was enough for Izuku.
Izuku watched as Kacchan worked through the first combat combo.
It was the same as the one demonstrated in class, but different. Each move was clearly thought out, but with a casual flair to them that was so unmistakably… Kacchan.
Izuku watched as he effortless propelled himself in the air to kick his imaginary opponent before landing in a crouch with the grace of a Savanah cat.
As soon as he landed, Kacchan was quick to bounce right back up to begin the cycle anew. This time, with significantly more confidence.
Izuku lost track of how long he’d been watching Katsuki move. By now, Kacchan’s moves had started to incorporate his quirk as well.
Every now and then a spark would be immitted from his palms as he dodged and struck.
Once again, Kacchan flipped through the air and executed the kick and landing that had Izuku back at the gym in the first place. Izuku furrowed his eyebrows as Kacchan rose from his crouch.
Shifting his eyes from his classmate to the gym’s hardwood floors, Izuku replayed Katsuki’s movements in his head.
Wait a second… He’s crouching… Have I been crouching? No, I haven’t, not to that extent. Is that where my flaw is? Maybe it’s the momentum of my movement! I still have too much momentum from my kick! If I crouch down as I land, I’ll be sending all that extra momentum to the ground and I’ll stick! Maybe I could-
Izuku’s train of thought was suddenly stopped by an overwhelming sense of danger.
The room was way too quiet.
Izuku’s gaze slowly rose from the floor up to his training classmate who was no longer moving. Instead, he was glaring at Izuku with murderous intent in his eyes.
“Deku,” Katsuki snarled through his teeth, fists balled at his side, “there better be a damn good reason why you’re spying on me, you shitty nerd.”
Izuku’s face lit up a thousand shades of red and he instantly began to stutter out a defense as Katsuki stomped over to him.
“K-Kacchan! I’m not- no, I was just… I uh, I came to- um, you were already-”
Izuku yelped as Katsuki grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
“Did you think you’d be able to one-up me in battle if you watched me for long enough?” Katsuki snarled into his face. “It’s gonna take more than stalking me to give you any kind of advantage you piece of-”
“The areal kick!” Izuku shouted with desperation, hands clutching Katsuki’s wrists at his collar.
“I just… I couldn’t land the areal kick in class so I- I came here to practice. You were already in here going over the same thing so… I thought that- um- if I watched it could… Figure it out…”
Izuku gulped and watched with wide eyes as Kacchan searched his face for any hint of dishonesty.
He must have found what he was looking for because he roughly released Izuku with a huff.
“Figures shitty Deku would take the easy path instead of figuring it out himself.”
Kacchan gave Izuku a once over before turning on his heal and returning to his mat.
Izuku tried not to let Kacchan’s words get to him. He knew he wasn’t taking any kind of shortcut or easy way out. That’s why he stayed after class in the first place.
“Just stay the fuck out of my way and quit staring at me.”
With that, Katsuki continued on with his drills.
An hour had passed in silence since Izuku first entered the gym and the results of his hard work were beginning to show.
After watching Katsuki’s technique and applying his own twist to it, Izuku was finally landing correctly. It only took him about 15 minutes to get it right, so he’d been using the rest of his time to go over the combinations he didn’t get to try in class.
That’s when he noticed what Kacchan was doing in his corner of the gym.
Since their confrontation when Izuku first made himself known, they’d both done a good job at concentrating on their training.
Izuku almost forgot Kacchan was there.
It wasn’t until Katsuki started softly cursing under his breath that Izuku remembered he wasn’t alone.
Having discarded his T-shirt half an hour ago, a shirtless Katsuki was panting and grinding his teeth in what appeared to be absolute frustration.
Curious, Izuku watched as Kacchan excellently executed an attack.
“Shit!”
This curse was a little louder than the rest but Izuku doesn’t think Kacchan noticed. In fact, it looked like Katsuki was trapped in his own world (seeing as how he wasn’t yelling at Izuku to stop looking at him).
Again and again, Katsuki performed the same move and remained unsatisfied with every outcome.
Izuku couldn’t understand his frustration.
The move was simple enough, a classic even. Kacchan would crouch low to the ground and swing his left leg out as if trying to trip an opponent. Once the leg completed his swing, he would tuck it under himself to pop up and quickly strike his right leg out, presumably to kick the victim who was just knocked off balance.
Another curse flew from Katsuki’s lips.
Izuku didn’t get it.
Kacchan’s form looked absolutely perfect, beautiful even. The way he’s able to blend the entire attack together so that there was barely a time gap between the trip and the kick, his poster, the way every single muscle on his torso was engaged to give him that extra power and stability, hell, even the way he was breathing was so in sync with his movement, how was he-
An explosion brought Izuku to his senses.
Smoke filled Katsuki’s half of the gym and Izuku couldn’t help but cough a bit as it spread throughout the room, thinning out.
Katsuki was furious, that much was clear. His eyes were screwed shut and his shaking fists were clenched at his side.
Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat.
“If you. Don’t shut the fuck up, I swear to God I am going to rip your tongue out of your mouth and shove it up your ass.”
Izuku was left speechless and more than a little confused. Had he been… Talking out loud?
“Of course my form is fucking perfect. I’m the best fighter in this damn class.” Katsuki spat out in reply to Izuku’s inner monologue which turned out to not be in his head.
“Why then?” Izuku asked.
Katsuki was clearly upset with his performance and Izuku had no idea why.
“If you know your form is perfect, what’s wrong?”
Kacchan looked at Izuku for about 3 seconds before ripping his gaze away and walking over to his belongings to angrily pack up his things.
“Fuck you, Deku! Like I’m gonna sit here and waste my time complaining to you about my reaction speed. I’m not a fucking pussy, I don’t need any help. Especially not from-”
“You wanna be faster?” Izuku interrupted.
Hmm, that makes sense.
Katsuki’s eyes grew wide as he realized he unintentionally told Izuku exactly what he needed to know.
Izuku watched as Kacchan’s cheeks turned the slightest bit of pink before a scowl was placed right back onto his features.
“Fuck you.”
Katsuki swung his bag over his shoulder and walked past Izuku toward the exit.
“Kacchan, wait!”
Before he could stop himself, Izuku reached out and grabbed Katsuki’s wrist.
With his back still to Izuku, Katsuki stopped moving and tensed up.
Izuku’s eyes bulged as he realized what he’d just done.
“You have 3 seconds to get your fucking hands-”
“You’re using your right leg to kick,” Izuku rushed out.
Katsuki stopped his threat but remained turned away from Izuku, shoulders tense and fists clenched.
“I- I mean duh, you’re right handed so of course, you would use your right side more, it’s your strongest. But your left side is quickest. When you fight, your attacks from the right are always well controlled and strong and filled with intent, but your left side is just as adequate since it responds on instinct to whatever maneuver you’ve started.
Your right side leads the way and your left always fills in the gap. So, uh, maybe if you try using your right leg for the initial swing, you’ll have more power to pop up and your left leg will quickly follow to deliver the final blow.”
Izuku took a deep breath when finished. He didn’t realize how fast he was talking or how hard his heart was beating.
They stood there, in silence, until Izuku realized that his hand was stilled wrapped around an angry Kacchan.
He immediately let go of Katsuki’s wrist as he felt all of his blood rush to his face.
He can’t believe he had the courage to grab Bakugo Katsuki, let alone give him advice.
More unbelievable was the fact that Katsuki let him do it.
“Uh, aha, I- um- I’m sorry, I just-”
Finally free of Izuku’s grip, Katsuki continued on his walk to the exit as if he had never been stopped in the first place. He didn’t even look back at Izuku.
Izuku felt his heart drop at that. Okay, so maybe saying he and Katsuki were friends was a bit of a stretch.
“Deku,” Katsuki called as he held the door to the gym open.
Izuku’s head shot up.
“What you said, just now,” Katsuki began, finally making eye contact.
Izuku’s eyes went wide. Was Kacchan about to… thank him?
Katsuki’s face flushed as he looked away.
Oh my god I’m gonna die, was all Izuku could think.
“Y-yeah, Kacchan?”
Katsuki cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at Izuku.
“Um, yeah, that stuff about my fighting habits?” Katsuki finally looked at Izuku again.
“Yeah, that was creepy as fuck. Don’t say shit like that to me ever again. If anyone else would have heard you, they’d think you’re obsessed with me.”
Katsuki was out of the door before Izuku had a chance to react.
At least Kacchan wouldn’t have to witness Izuku’s death as he choked on his own saliva.