#Good luck kacchan

[starie-art]

Kacchan please, he’s trying to teach algebra.

[oshiawaseni]

People be saying that Izuku would go feral when anyone gets hurt... and I'm like are you sure you ain't talking bout Tokoyami. Tokoyami went feral when Shoji had one of his arms chopped off during the end of the Forest Summer Camp arc and when Mina got stabbed in the second MHA movie. We don't see many of Tokoyami 's interactions, so it is safe to assume. Deku's ferals moments only happen when BAKUGO KATSUKI is hurt or going to be hurt. Bro, I mean like what?

Sure, 1-A are all very protective over each other. But if that's all certain fans think is between BkDk, then their understanding of the content is so basic. I can't for the life of me figure out why they don't see the very pronounced difference in the way Izuku feels/acts towards Kacchan vs the way he feels/acts towards everyone else.

Izuku feels so much empathy for Katsuki that he takes everything that happens to him so damn personal. Like it were an affront to his own honour, dignity, pride, heart and life. It's so clear that Katsuki has been taking up so much space in his whole heart for hundreds of chapters now, and here they are, still denying it. Why?

The reason Izuku's heart is feral only for Kacchan is becoming so sooo obvious too now, like. I mean, seriously..! Can Hori spell it out for them anymore louder than he has been doing already?

There is no one who can take the place of Izuku's Kacchan. He is irreplaceable. Just like there is no other possible love interest that has been built up as beautifully as he. Because Katsuki is it. He's the only one Izuku's ever needed and fought to protect, like his whole soul was on the line.

At the end of the day we know the truth of them and the others can think what they think and become shocked pikachu face when Hori finally lets BkDk love each other the way they were always meant to and has them kiss or something. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[clawz-loopz]

contemplating!!!

bonus:

[kajinovaa]

im over here acting as if i aint a gremlin either so i dont know what kinda fucking point im tryna prooooovvvveeeee OTL

[gaypinebabe]

*is going to be cringe* Thank you 4.20, offiziell weed day, Thursday the 20, out of touch Thursday, and Ramadan and most importantly (for me) bakugo katsukis birthday, for being a luck bringer and bringing us the call that confirmed that we got an appointment only after half years of searching

[mey-star]

Deku wearing a suit, but he takes a smol Kacchan plushie with him for good luck

(can someone give me some headcanon ideas or something I wanna doodle)

[silverynight]

Recharge

Based on the mha manga finale

"Your childhood friend is taking too many extra shifts; he'll pass out soon at this rate."

Aizawa does that a lot lately; he casually walks into Izuku's classroom or his office, only to drop random information about Katsuki. It's usually something Aizawa disapproves of.

Izuku sighs, looking up at the window from all the essays he has to grade. Lately, Katsuki is making him worry too much.

The funny thing is that Aizawa believes he has some secret power to make pro hero Katsuki stop or change his mind; sure, they're friends, and he often listens to Izuku (yes, he also pays him a lot of visits) but it's not like the young teacher can work miracles.

"I'll talk to him," he promises. This time, he needs to think about something to make him take a break. He doesn't want Katsuki to end up hurt during one of his missions because he's too tired to focus.

Izuku spends a couple of minutes staring down at his phone; thinking about what to text Katsuki. The truth is that they see each other pretty much every week, and he's the one who usually asks Izuku if he can go to his apartment or hang out with him.

Izuku never reaches out first and it's not because he doesn't want to; the only reason he doesn't ask Katsuki to come is because he's aware how hard it's for pro heroes to make time for social stuff. Besides, he doesn't want to bother him.

Now, it's been two weeks since he last saw Katsuki; Izuku has been thinking about it even before Aizawa approached him, but he refused to mention anything about that to Katsuki because he didn't want to annoy him. He had decided to wait because it was obvious Katsuki hadn't contacted him for a reason.

However, if it's because he's been overworking himself on purpose, Izuku needs to make him stop before he collapses or at least try to talk to him out of it.

Hi, Kacchan!

Do you have time today to hang out with me? We can stay at my place and order takeout!

He sends it before he regrets it. Izuku bites his bottom lip, but forces himself to look at the works he's grading because he seriously needs to get back to it.

Katsuki answers just a few minutes later, and it's a bit surprising considering how busy Aizawa said he was.

I have another patrol later today. I won't be free until 2 am. But maybe I can come over in two days?

Is it his second one in a day or his third? Izuku's mind fills itself with anxious thoughts and wonders when was the last time Katsuki had a proper night's sleep. Why is he overworking himself? Pro heroes make good money, he shouldn't be struggling financially...

He doesn't ask any of those questions or tells Katsuki to reschedule. Izuku has no idea why Aizawa is always so sure he can make Katsuki change his mind. His friend has more important things to do now; honestly, it's a miracle he finds the time to hang out with Izuku once a week.

He shouldn't insist, but Izuku decides to be honest.

Don't worry about it! We can see each other when you have more time!

I just miss you, that's all! Good luck with your patrol, Kacchan!

Izuku leaves his phone next to him on the table, takes a deep breath, and gets determined not to worry about his friend for a while.

An hour later, he gets another text from Katsuki.

Ashido is going to take that last patrol. I'll be at your place at 6 pm.

Izuku grins before going back to his own work, determined to finish everything by 5; he'll have enough time to take a shower and tidy his apartment a bit before Katsuki arrives.

Just when he's done with the essays, he gets another message.

I miss you too.

Izuku has to cover his face after that one; he's not sure why it makes him blush.

***

Izuku is more or less satisfied with his work when there's a knock at his door. Katsuki is at the other side, hair still dripping wet from his shower, wearing casual clothes and carrying a few boxes of takeout.

"Kacchan!" Izuku beams, making his friend smile in response. He takes the boxes from his hands and walks towards his little kitchen as the pro hero takes his boots off and leaves them at the entrance.

He's still way taller than Izuku, even without the boots.

"You brought katsudon!" The excitement in his voice is obvious, but he doesn't try to hide it. "Thank you, I–Kacchan?"

He turns around, only to be pulled into a tight embrace; Katsuki tilts his head down in order to nuzzle against Izuku's green curls. He takes a deep breath.

"I missed you so much, nerd," he mumbles, sincerely, almost like he can't stop himself from doing it.

Izuku giggles, hoping the blush on his cheeks is not too obvious, and he tries to step away, only for Katsuki to pull him right back into his arms with a grumpy huff.

"Wait. I need to recharge," the pro hero insists, resting his head on the teacher's shoulder. "Alright. I'm better now. Besides, you must be hungry."

Only when Izuku takes a few steps back he notices how tired Katsuki actually looks. There are shadows under his eyes, his face has a few cuts, and Izuku just knows his muscles must be killing him.

Narrowing his eyes, the green haired teacher cups his friend's face, watching as Katsuki closes his eyes and surrenders into the touch.

"I'll fix those scratches, and I bring you something for the sore muscles. Sit here," Sometimes Izuku gets a little bit bossy when he's worried, but he doesn't realize it until it's too late.

Besides, Katsuki never complains, in fact, he does as Izuku asks without hesitation.

After he patches the pro hero up, trying not to get distracted by his intense stare, Izuku sets a few plates and arranges the counter so they can eat together.

They eat mostly in silence, although it's difficult for him to focus just on his delicious food because Katsuki keeps staring at him.

His face is slightly warm, and he gets so flustered he decides to talk about his students and then ask about Katsuki's day.

When Katsuki starts mentioning his shifts and patrols, Izuku decides to bring up the topic that has been worrying him the most.

"So you've been taking extra shifts?"

Katsuki nods, exhaustion visible on his features.

"You should take a break, Kacchan. Maybe a day off."

"I'm fine."

Even though Katsuki has changed, he's still as stubborn as he was when they were teenagers.

Izuku tries not to roll his eyes.

"I'd like to see you more often," he mumbles, feeling nervous. "I miss you when you're not here."

It's completely true, but part of him regrets saying it; it's not like Katsuki has time to make Izuku feel better. They're just friends.

"I'll try not to take too many shifts," Katsuki surprises him saying. His cheeks are slightly pink too. "So we can hang out more."

The young teacher beams in response, unable to hide his joy. Katsuki smiles back, leaning closer, looking flustered too.

"It's just... I have a project," he says after a while. "And I need to save a lot of money for it. It's... really important to me."

Oh. Izuku understands and he also has the feeling Katsuki doesn't want to give him too much information about it; it's okay. He'd do the same if he wasn't sure he was going to make it happen.

He can see how important it is for him in the way his red eyes shine. Izuku is almost sure Katsuki is going to open his own agency! It must be that!

"Will you tell me more once it's ready?"

Katsuki grins from ear to ear before getting closer to him; for a moment, his exhaustion vanishes as those red eyes meet Izuku's. He grabs both his hands in his.

"I promise. I can't wait for you to see it, Izuku."

There's something about the way Katsuki says his name that has Izuku blushing even more; his eyes stare at him with something close to adoration, but he's not sure and he certainly doesn't want to get the wrong idea so the teacher decides to ignore it.

He jumps from his seat and starts cleaning the counter before doing the dishes instead.

Katsuki offers to help, but Izuku asks him to wait in the living room while he finishes.

"You should stay tonight," he whispers next to him, leaning over the couch after a couple of minutes. He catches Katsuki dozing off.

The pro hero must be truly exhausted.

"What?" Red eyes blink back open in a second. The words seem to have caught him off guard. "You mean..."

"Yes," Izuku smiles, noticing that Katsuki is leaning closer. "Stay with me."

"But what... I mean, we should at least talk about it first," the pro hero blurts out, flustered, his face turning into a deep shade of red that makes the teacher worry. "I don't want this to be a casual thing. Besides, I have never–"

"What do you mean casual?" He cuts the blond off, feeling completely lost. "Well... If you want to, we can have regular sleepovers! What about every two weeks or so?"

It's perfect! That way, Katsuki wouldn't be able to take that many extra shifts!

The noise of Katsuki facepalming himself is so loud it startles Izuku. That big hand slides down his features like he's trying to gather some patience and strength at the same time.

"Of course you were talking about a sleepover," he mumbles so quietly the teacher wonders if he heard it wrong. Then, staring back at Izuku, he adds: "Yes, we can do that."

"Great!"

***

"I'm not wearing that!"

"Come on, Kacchan!" Izuku pouts, looking at the oversized All Might t-shirt and the pants that might not go along with it, but they're the same brand and are, in fact, very comfortable.

"Listen, I own a few things that are All Might themed too, but this is just awful," Katsuki grimaces, looking at the clothes like they have offended him personally.

"You can't sleep on those jeans," the green haired teacher protests. "You won't be able to sleep properly. Besides, this is the only thing I have that you can wear. My clothes are too small for you. I promise this really comfy! I love to wear these to sleep!"

Katsuki visibly relaxes when Izuku says that last bit; he looks from him to the clothes a couple of times.

"You wear these to sleep? Aren't they too big for you?"

"Yes, but I love oversized clothes!" Izuku smiles.

The pro hero stares down at him for a couple of seconds without saying anything; Izuku wonders if he forgot about what they were talking about when he suddenly blinks, snapping himself out of it, and then turns slightly pink.

"Fine. I'll see if I have something else–"

"No," Katsuki yanks the clothes right from Izuku's hands. "I'll wear them."

When Katsuki joins him in the living room again, he admits to himself that his friend was absolutely right about the clothes.

They fit him, but they don't look like his style at all.

"You look like a nerd, Kacchan," Izuku says before bursting into laughter.

"You little shit! This was all a trap to make me wear this crime against fashion! My parents would have a stroke if they saw me in this!" He lunges towards Izuku, making the teacher laugh even harder.

When Katsuki catches him in his arms, prompting them to fall over the couch, Izuku realizes the pro hero is chuckling too.

However, when the laughter dies, they're still wrapped around one another on the couch, and Katsuki refuses to look away from Izuku; the younger teacher gets too flustered he pushes his friend away.

"Let's watch a movie!"

Katsuki insists he needs to recharge first and the best way to do that is if he's as close to Izuku as possible so he ends up with the pro hero's head over his lap.

They only watch the first half of the movie, and Izuku is not sure Katsuki watched it at all because he caught the pro hero staring up at him a couple of times instead.

Katsuki falls asleep quickly after Izuku starts running his fingers through his blond hair.

The teacher sighs, turns the TV off and checks his mail on his phone while Katsuki sleeps. He reads a few of his students' works for a while before carefully waking Katsuki up.

They have a "discussion" about who gets to sleep on Izuku's bed, and the teacher ends up losing, so he brings an extra futon to the living room so Katsuki can sleep comfortably.

The pro hero wakes up first and is already making breakfast for two when Izuku walks out of his bedroom.

They chat for a while before Katsuki gets ready for work.

At the entrance, he hesitates right after putting his boots on before turning around again and pulling Izuku into a hug.

"Recharging?" He chuckles, hugging him back.

"More like getting some extra energy for the day." He whispers as he nuzzles against Izuku's curls.

"Okay, Kacchan."

"Let's do this next week," he says, smiling down at him, thumb stroking the teacher's scar on his right cheek.

"Yes!"

"I'll see you this Friday, Izuku."

***

As soon as he sees Ashido's smirk at the other side of the break room, Katsuki sighs, but he still walks towards her.

"I'm guessing it went really well with Midoriya. You haven't stopped smiling since you got here."

Katsuki is really bad at hiding his true feelings for Izuku, which is why he finds it ridiculous and frustrating how the nerdy teacher hasn't realized it himself yet.

"Yeah."

"I don't know if I should feel glad because it looks like you slept through the night or sorry because he didn't keep you awake."

Ashido wiggles her eyebrows in such a way Katsuki is not sure why he keeps falling for her stupid teasing.

But he blushes anyway and swears he'll never tell her that for a moment he thought Izuku wanted to sleep with him.

He would have done it gladly, but he would have professed his undying love for Izuku first because Katsuki doesn't do things by halves.

Loving Izuku is a lifetime commitment.

"SHUT UP!"

"Fine," she makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. "You're no fun."

Katsuki grabs the bento Izuku shoved into his hands that morning, as he made him promise he'd take a lunch break.

That's the only reason he's there.

"How's the suit going?" Ashido asks then, prompting Katsuki to smile again.

"Great. Hatsume is finally done with Izuku's gauntlets. I'll see her this afternoon to test them myself."

"He's going to love it," she assures him, putting a hand over his shoulder.

"I know," Katsuki mumbles, smiling down at his bento.

He can't wait to show it to Izuku. To see him wearing it.

It's going to take a while, but he'll get there eventually; he'll help Izuku fulfill his dream.

***

Patreon

[k3r0deku]

deku wears his shitty “t-shirt” graphic tees until he and kacchan get together. after that, good luck finding him wearing anything except one of kacchan’s skull shirts or dynamight merch.

[aristarr]

College AU, in which after the war Bakugou applies himself and Izuku to an American exchange program to help Izuku cope with his feelings and get his passion back. 

“Kacchan, I look ridiculous in that.”

“Stop the whining, nerd. I was the one dressing you - you simply cannot look ridiculous.”

Izuku laughs softly, looking at Bakugou’s hands on his tie. “That’s neat”

“Of course, it is,” Katsuki smirks, adding final touches to Izuku’s look. “Here, you’re ready”

“I’m definitely not.” Midoriya shakes his head, tightening the grip on his papers. “I’m feeling like I’m going to fail.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes, sighing loudly. “Here, listen to me, Izuku.” He takes the papers out of Izuku’s hands, places them on the bed, and takes now free hands in his. 

“You know I’m not the one to give encouraging speeches. But I know that out of all the people in that damn conference hall, you worked the most. I don't know a person who's even an inch close to how passionate you are about all that. You deserve to be there, Izuku. And you also deserve the fucking prize.”

“There's no prize, Kacchan, it's just a student conference,” Izuku says, his eyes full of tears now. Katsuki wipes them away, cradling Midoriya’s face in his hands. 

“Then we'll come up with something. Now take your things - I don't want you to be late.”

“Don’t make me go in there, please” Izuku pleads, turning away ready to leave. But Katsuki stops him, returning him to his spot. 

“You know I can’t go with you, but I’ll be there. In the crowd. Cheering for you as a goddamn cheerleader” Bakugou says and Izuku smiles, looking fondly at the other man. “Will you use pom poms too?”

“No fucking way” Katsuki scoffs, pushing Midoriya to the door. “Now go, they start in two minutes.” He looks at the other man’s back for a while and then shouts out as if remembering something. “Good luck there, Izuku”

“You should say “Break a leg, Izuku” Kacchan”

“Don’t you ever use the word “break” in the same sentence with you”

Izuku laughs, and finally goes in, turning one last time to look at Bakugou. “Sure, Kacchan. And thank you. I’ll need that luck.”

Katsuki nods, but Midoriya doesn't see that, already mingling in the crowd of students, revising their presentation notes. He stays in the hall for a while, trying to find Izuku's figure in the crowd though he knows it's pointless: he’s presenting in the very beginning and probably already went backstage, checking out everything he needs. Katsuki smirks and goes to another door, entering the guest part of the conference hall and taking the free seat. It's too far from the stage but it's too late to change it: the music starts playing and one of the students he saw in the crowd appears on stage, his entrance followed by a wave of applause. 

“Welcome everyone to our annual international student conference. This year our theme is the following: Hero Costumes Creation and its Dependence on Quirk Peculiarities. Today, we’re glad to announce an impressive number of presenters - we have 46 speakers today! Let's give them all an encouraging applause!”

The hall goes on clapping and the student smiles, joining the crowd. After a minute he continues his speech. 

“Now, I think we're ready to start. Let me present to you the first speaker of today - Jeanette O’Murrey. The stage is yours” The girl gets on stage and the host student welcomes her, handing her his microphone, and then hides behind the curtains. Jeanette greets everyone and immediately gets into the presentation. She’s visibly nervous, her hands slightly shaking when she’s changing the slides. She goes on, rambling about some hero costume designs she came up with, but Katsuki doesn’t listen. He just looks at the stage, blankly, waiting for Izuku's entrance. Speakers go on and off stage, and the crowd cheers for everyone, some of the guests asking questions from time to time. 

The seventh person finishes their speech and the host student is back again, ready to announce the next speaker. 

“Thank you Mr. Valet for your amazing presentation. The next speaker we’d like to invite on stage is,” he looks at his notes to make sure he pronounces the name right, “Midoriya Izuku.”

Katsuki straightens up, now fully aware of everything going on on the stage. He’s now looking right at Izuku, following his every movement. 

“Hello everyone,” Izuku starts, tightening the grip on his notes, “my name’s Izuku Midoriya, but I guess you already know that. Today, I want to present to you my research paper on how we can improve hero costumes for those, whose quirks fall into a category of “mutation quirks”. 

He turns the page, reading his notes. Switching the slides of his presentation, he takes a deep breath, looking at the crowd. He’s searching, carefully, for the specific pair of eyes, whose gaze can soothe him better than anything. And they’re already looking at him. Katsuki is looking. They look at each other for just a second, but that’s enough for Katsuki to mouth an encouraging “You got this”. 

So Izuku takes it, going back to his speech. 

The shaking ceases, his voice becoming steady with every word he says. And Katsuki just watches him, with a smile on his face for the whole presentation. He’s so proud of him at this moment. He really is. And he wants to let Izuku know about it. Here and now. 

It takes them 8 hours to listen to everyone and Izuku’s absolutely drained. He gets out of the hall the second he gets the opportunity and immediately goes to the guest door, wanting to catch Katsuki there. He looks at the crowd of people searching for a familiar face. 

“Looking for someone?” Midoriya turns around, locking his eyes with Bakugou’s. Katsuki’s standing far from the rest of the people, smiling softly at Izuku. Izuku smiles back, running toward him, folding him in his arms. 

“Have you seen me?” He starts, his eyes full of tears but his voice happy, “I did it, Kacchan! I did it!”

“Yes, Izuku. I’ve seen everything. You did it. And you were amazing. You really were.”

And so I'm finally ready to present one of the pieces I've been working on for BNHA Secret Santa held by @kacchanot-fucking-deal-with-this!! This gift is specifically for @natsuzaki and I was so happy to work on this one. You've asked for some fluff and college AU with these two and I couldn't resist some bakudeku fluff - I'm always up for it!! I hope I did a good job showing that part of them and I really hope you like it!! And so sorry it took me so long.

Merry belated Christmas!! Hope you enjoy your gift!

[kimmie2me]

Greeny Ghost

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𓂅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ghost!Midoriya Izuku x AFAB!Reader

.....

The alley stretched out longer than you’d thought, shadows swallowing the corners, broken only by dim streetlights. You’d walked down plenty of places like this before, but this one was unnervingly quiet. Your friends were supposed to be with you, daring you into the so-called “haunted” alley, but when you turned back, you saw—no one. Just empty space.

“Those jerks,” you muttered, kicking a stray pebble with an irritated huff. Just your luck to get abandoned in the middle of a ghost story.

That’s when you saw him: a faintly glowing figure at the far end of the alley, barely visible in the low light, his form flickering like static on an old TV. He wore a junior high uniform, like he was frozen in time, but it was his eyes, wide and curious, that had you rooted to the spot.

"What the hell." You blurted out, which caused the ghost to jump a bit.

“You… you can see me?” he asked, sounding more surprised than you felt.

“Guess so,” you replied warily, feeling your fists clench. You took a step back, but he stayed still, watching you with something close to wonder. “A-are you the… ghost? Y'know.. that one ghost?”

“No. I mean, yes, but… not like… like an evil ghost!” he said, frowning as he waved his hands in the air, trying to seem harmless. “I don’t hurt anyone or anything. I just… hang around.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? So why are there all those rumors about people going missing in this alley?”

He let out a dramatic sigh. “I have no idea! I’ve been here for years, and no one ever went missing because of me.” His arms crossed, and he gave you an indignant look, clearly offended. “I keep watch over the place. There’s a run-down building nearby, and sketchy people use it for… whatever sketchy people do. I’m just here observing them, making notes sometimes.”

“Uh-huh,” you said, unconvinced. “Sounds like something an evil ghost would say. Plus, why would anyone believe some… green-haired ghost taking notes?”

His frown deepened and he sighed. "Really? 'Green-haired ghost? I have a name and identity, you know? My name is Midoriya Izuku."

You shrugged, giving him a skeptical look. “Sure, whatever. and I'm giving you a new identity: ‘Greeny Ghost.’ Also, how am supposed to trust you? You're a ghost and the movies basically explain what you're supposed to do. Just don't haunt me or I'll pour holy water down your throat.”

He threw his hands up. “Why are you making this harder than it has to be? I’m just here because I, well, exist here.” His voice softened a bit, frustration giving way to a hint of sadness. “It’s not like I can go anywhere else.”

“Yeah, and every creepy spirit says that before they drag you into some other world and keep you locked up for eternity,” you replied with a smirk, folding your arms in a show of exaggerated defiance. “Sorry, but I’m not falling for the ‘poor trapped ghost’ act.”

Izuku groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as if your words were physically painful. “You remind me so much of Kacchan! In a bad way!”

You raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Uh-huh. And what, or who, the hell is ‘Kacchan’?”

Izuku looked at you, his face twisting into an expression halfway between exasperation and resignation. “Kacchan! My… a friend from junior high. Sort of. He’s… well, actually, no, he’s nothing like you.” Izuku seemed to rethink this, blinking in realization. “He’s a lot worse.”

“Wow. So you’re saying I’m less tolerable than some guy named Kacchan, who, by the sound of it, doesn’t sound like someone with a good rep?” you said with mock offense, pressing a hand to your chest. “Way to compliment a girl, Greeny-Ghost.”

He looked like he was about three seconds away from floating back through the alley wall, giving up on this ridiculous exchange.

You look at him a bit more closer, and you note he looked about your age, but… different. Ghostly, of course, but there was something else, something in his eyes that almost seemed… lonely. You didn’t know if you believed him, but something about him made you stay.

“What’re you even doing here?” you finally asked, taking a careful step forward. "Are you trapped here or something?"

“Besides not being evil?” he shot back, still salty. But when he saw you weren’t about to leave, he sighed, softening. “A villain got me… in this alley. I was just a kid, and I never really… left, I guess. People pass by now and then, but nobody usually sees me.” He shifted, looking suddenly uncertain. “Actually, you’re the first one to ever talk to me.”

You studied him, noticing the worn edges of his uniform, the tired, resigned look in his eyes. He seemed less scary and more… well, kind of tragic. Still, you weren’t about to let your guard down. “Yeah, well, maybe people hear the creepy noises you make,” you challenged. “Y'know it freaks them out.”

He blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Oh! You mean the notes? I’m trying to keep track of the activity around here,” he said defensively. “Besides, no one told me my note-taking was creepy.”

“Right,” you said, biting back a smirk. “So you’re a scholarly ghost, huh?”

A light blush appeared on his cheeks. “Look, I don’t get many hobbies! Ghosts don’t have a lot to do except observe.” He crossed his arms, giving you a quick glare before his expression softened again. “Anyway, I’m not the villain here. The creepy noises? That’s just me muttering to myself or something.”

Your arms relaxed a bit, the eerie feeling of the alley giving way to something else entirely. His earnestness was unexpected, and honestly, a little endearing.

“Alright, Greeny,” you relented, softening just a little. “Maybe you’re not as evil as they say.”

He sighed, looking relieved but still a little skeptical himself. “That’s… comforting, I guess.”

You shrugged, shoving your hands in your pockets. “Guess I’ll see you around.” You turned, giving him a small wave as you walked away, his faint figure watching you until you disappeared around the corner.

.....

Three days later, you found yourself back at the alley. You weren’t sure why—maybe it was the way he’d looked at you, or that stupid hopefulness in his voice. This time, you came with something: a small letter in your hand, the ink smudged slightly where you’d clutched it nervously.

You called out, half-expecting him not to show, but he appeared, looking pleasantly surprised.

“Back already?” he teased, a lopsided smile on his face. "

“Don’t get too excited,” you shot back, trying to keep your tone casual. You extended the letter. “It’s… from your mom. I found her, told her I met you… and I convinced her to write something for you. Don't ask why I did it. You looked so miserable here, it made me miserable.”

His mouth dropped open, his expression turning from surprise to something you couldn’t quite name. He took the letter in shaking hands, his gaze fixed on it like it was the most precious thing in the world.

“She… she actually remembered me?” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. He looked up, tears pooling in his eyes. “Thank you… I can’t believe you’d go out of your way for… for me.”

You shrugged, feeling a little awkward under the weight of his gratitude. “Figured you could use a reminder that you’re not just… some alley ghost.”

He laughed a little through his tears, wiping his eyes. “I’m really not an evil ghost,” he said, voice soft and grateful.

“Yeah, well,” you replied, rolling your eyes with a small grin. “You’re still Greeny Ghost to me.”

Izuku blinked, visibly surprised by your small grin, and for a second he just stood there, processing it. Then, with an awkward but excited energy, he smiled back.

“D-do you want to, uh… stick around for a bit? I could, um, show you what I’ve written down,” he stammered, gesturing to a tattered notebook that materialized in his hands.

You chuckled. “Sure. Show me what a scholarly ghost looks like.”

He lit up, practically vibrating with excitement as he began flipping through his notes, talking fast as he pointed out every bit of information he’d gathered. You listened, half amused and half impressed by his careful, detailed observations. Each page was crammed with tiny, meticulous handwriting that covered everything from people he’d seen pass by to strange objects left in the alley over the years.

“I try to keep track of everything,” he explained earnestly. “It’s not like anyone really notices me, so I figured… maybe someday, if someone needed to know anything about this area, I’d have it all written down.”

“Sounds like you take your ghostly duties pretty seriously, huh?” you teased, glancing through his observations. "Well, I try to be a hero in my own way" He replied with a small smile. As you skimmed a particularly eerie note about some “sludge villain” incident that had occurred nearby, a thought hit you.

“Wait, was it… the sludge villain? Was that what got you here?” you asked, looking up to find his expression turn somber, yet resigned.

“Yeah,” he murmured, a shadow passing over his face. “It all happened so fast. I didn’t even see him coming. They said… All Might couldn’t get there in time.” He paused, then shrugged, as if he’d long made peace with it. “Guess it’s just the way it happened.”

You looked at him thoughtfully, and something in you softened. “You know… I think All Might was really sad about what happened to you.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide, almost panicked, like you’d just told him he’d accidentally disappointed a beloved friend. “S-sad? I didn’t want him to feel sad! I mean, All Might is my hero! He’s… he’s… I never wanted to make him feel like that. I was always cheering him on!”

You attempt to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, which failed as it phases right through. After a second try, you deem the gesture to be futile. “Hey, it’s okay. All Might probably knew that. And who knows? I bet he even came to your funeral.”

Izuku looked up, the panic giving way to a kind of hopeful wonder. “You… you think so?”

“Of course,” you said, grinning a bit. “And hey, maybe that ‘Kacchan’ guy you mentioned showed up too. You’re not as alone as you’d imagine, Greeny.”

He looked at you, eyes brimming with a strange mixture of gratitude and disbelief, as if no one had ever told him something like that before. “Thank you,” he whispered, voice soft and full of warmth. “For saying that. It… it actually means a lot.”

You shrugged it off, feeling a little flustered under his earnest gaze. “Yeah, well, can’t leave a ghost like you feeling down, right?”

Izuku chuckled, the sound light and unexpectedly comforting. “I guess not,” he agreed, eyes still shining with gratitude as he turned back to his notes, flipping to a fresh page. “You mind if I write down that you came back? I think… I think I’d like to remember it.” You nod.

"Yeah, sure you can."

From that moment on, he followed you like a quiet shadow, slipping into conversations, teasing you as much as you teased him, and reminding you of the friend you’d found in the most unexpected of places.

[izukusjuicythighs]

bkdk fics i read because was it ever casual

Horikoshi keeps feeding us bkdk crumbs like wtf??at this point they HAVE to be canon bkdk hospital kiss confirmed I was izukus freckle ALSO IM KINDA IN A BLOCK RN whenever I finish a fic my yappin brain always has something to say but rn its real quiet so uh🤡

left me no choice(but to stay here forever)

summary: Izuku learns early on in life that the people he loves will always leave him.

So when Kacchan asks him to be his boyfriend, Izuku kisses him and starts grieving for the inevitable.

words: 6,925

chapters: 3/4(updating)

notes: im quite aware that its a bitchy move to inflict pain on ppl but jm gonna do it anyways lol READ THIS AND WEEP I literally wanted to gorge my heart out and then slap all of my love into izuku idk it evokes complicated feelings??normally hate reading unfinished fics BUT THIS!!gave me a life changing experience within 7000words dammit

be my good luck charm

summary: See, the thing is, Midoriya Izuku had been born with a curse. It’s not a curse that’s particularly visible. He doesn’t have horns, or a tortured face, and it’s not the kind of silly curse like a friend of his had way down south in Diagnor, wherein the girl had been born without the ability to say the word duck. Midoriya Izuku is just extremely unlucky.

(Or the AU in which Izuku's the world's unluckiest traveling merchant, and Katsuki is someone who may be able to help him. For a price, that is.)

words: 6785

chapters: 1/1

notes: cute lil oneshot for yall cuz mha fans r in dire need of fluff rn yknow why🤭 how to date a hottie101 by bkg: set ur crush on fire to show ur undying love(WRITE IT DOWN WRITE IT DOWN)

Barberries and Variegated Knotweeds

summary: The Fight Another Day Agreement is a required legal document for all professional heroes. In the event of a life-threatening injury and the hero and their proxies are unable to respond on their behalf, medical professionals may do whatever it takes to keep the hero alive.

For Izuku, whatever it takes means removing flowers from his lungs, forcing him to forget about the love of his life. The aftermath leaves Izuku bewildered at the sight of a man with spiky blond hair and red eyes the color of Japanese barberries.

words: 19,286

chapters: 4/4

notes: YET ANOTHER HANAHAKI FIC WITH IZUKU WHUMP I just love seeing my favs go through it🤠I've read so many hanahaki fics ud think I'd be used to it but NOPE THIS SHIT HAD ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT was ready to downgrade 1 dimension to solve this shitstorm myself

If It's You

summary: “You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me,” Katsuki said. “You did not just ask me—me—to try and date your loser step-brother.”

He wasn’t even going to say Deku’s name out loud. Wasn’t giving him the time of day, even in a conversation about him. That weird awkward virgin was not worth his precious time, and certainly not what Kirishima was suggesting.

“But Bakugouuu,” Kirishima wailed, hanging off Katsuki’s arm with monster meathead jock strength. “My dad said I can’t date if Deku doesn’t date. Do you understand what that means?”

“Less chance of knocking someone up and creating more of you in the world?”

words: 16,863

chapters: 1/1

notes: 10 things I hate about you but make it bkdk I LOVE THIS SHIT angsty dramatic misunderstanding high school aus are my JAM also somewhat gives off from the sidelines vibes so if ur into that defo read

Down the Red Line

summary: His mom is the first person to know about it. She finds out when Izuku asks ( in a very cute three-year-old way) why can’t he see the red line that connected him to Kacchan in the last picture they've taken. The one where they were about to enter Kindergarten on their first day.

"Red line?"

"Yeah, Mamma. This," Little Izuku says, raising his pinky finger to show her the thing tied to it.

Izuku has been able to see the red strings of fate since birth. It's no surprise that his is connected to Katsuki.

words: 7,804

chapters: 1/1

notes: one of my absolute favs since 2021 MAKES ME SO FUKCIN MAD I have to put my phone down and contemplate life for a few mjns while reading it but it's so good??my red string is tied to thjs fic pls

[jekacatrina]

Thanks to my lovely Pink @thatpinkbetch I have the plot of my Bakudeku fic for August 9th (Pink does not aprove of the reason for this day to be Bakudeku day but I think is hilarious).

I know the ending of BNHA might steer in another direction, but nobody is taking my Delulu hat while I write what could have been, and here's what I've written so far:

"Is Round Face okay?"

Izuku looked up abruptly. He hadn’t seen Kacchan on his way down. He had left Uraraka to deal with her grief for a bit before she could come down, but his friend apparently hadn’t lost his touch to hover around the right places.

"She is..." Izuku trailed off.

Nothing about Uraraka said okay. Not the way she had clutched her side as she finally snapped, or how the sobs seemed to be ripped from her with every breath. Her words as she clutched at Izuku and trembled in his hug 'I couldn’t save her. She saved me and now she's gone, and nobody but me seems to be broken by that'.

"She is not, but I think it’s okay not to be," Izuku settled on.

Kacchan frowned for a moment before he sighed and looked away.

"It's fine, I guess. Nobody else is exactly peachy," he said, gripping his right arm, stiff and unresponsive.

Izuku's gaze went immediately to the scar crossing his face. Clad in his winter suit, it was the only visible mark of the war, and yet, Izuku could trace the rest of the scars that marred his body from memory alone. The ones in his shoulder and stomach from saving Izuku. The scar spreading across his chest from trying to win a fight for Izuku. The multiple scars in his arm from all the surgeries to fix it, an arm that had been destroyed all because of what Kacchan meant to Izuku in particular.

Uraraka's cries came back to him as he stared at Kacchan. She had lost someone she cared about because Toga had chosen to save her, but nobody had tried to save Toga.

Izuku had been luckier than her. Ridiculously lucky. Lucky that Mirio and Best Jeanist were there to keep Kacchan out of harm's way. Lucky that Edgeshot had been ready to sacrifice himself for his friend. So lucky that Kacchan had perfected his quirk to the point he restarted his own heart and kept Izuku’s own heart from stopping as well.

Overwhelmed by the weight of his luck, his body moved on its own. Kacchan stayed put despite the frantic way Izuku was crossing the distance between them. He threw his arms around him, mindful of his wounded arm.

"I'm so happy you're here," Izuku whispered into his neck, hugging him harder.

Kacchan returned the hug with his good arm, clutching his back and pushing Izuku closer.

"Right back at you, nerd."

They had lost so much in the war, but they hadn’t lost each other, and that was enough for Izuku to start healing. As long as he had Kacchan, everything would be okay.

[fujoshirat]

+Strawberry Magic! ♡ 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!♡+

Chapter 3: A Little Help (Shouto Todoroki, Japan’s Hottest Hero, Is a Virgin)

Summary: When virgin Pro Hero Shouto turns 30, he gains the magical ability to read the minds of people that he touches. After finding out that his personal assistant has a crush on him, everything changes and Shouto finds himself lost in the stressful game called love.

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Warnings: Aged up characters, cursing (you will see who does so :)), mentions of virginity, entire fic is and will be written in Shouto's POV

"What's got you in a pissy mood, huh?"

"Kacchan! That's not very nice!"

"It's good to see you too, Kacchan."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Turning to Shouto, Izuku smiles sheepishly and waves.

"Shouto! It's been a while since we've gotten together!" The dual-haired man bows slightly and waves back. He looks at Katsuki, whose face is adorned with a glare. "Hey." The blonde scoffs at the greeting.

The three of them are ushered to a private booth, the makeshift noren keeping their identities private. Their server hands them an ordering tablet and table number before running off to serve other customers.

Once they settle down and place their orders, Katsuki rests his elbow on the table and holds his chin in his hand.

"Oi, what's with the sudden request?"

Izuku looks at Shouto curiously as well, awaiting his response.

"You're both 29, right?"

"Mhm!" "So?"

Biting his lip, Shouto continues speaking.

"Have you ever met a person who developed a quirk at 30?" Both of his friends look at him with puzzled expressions. Eventually, the emerald-eyed man chimes in first.

"Developed as in manifested at age 5? Or did the quirk get passed down?" Shouto shakes his head. "Developed, as in Katsuki developing his quirk at 5." The man in question speaks up.

"That's not possible. Quirks only develop at around a young age. Unless it's passed down..." He looks at his childhood friend, who smiles awkwardly.

"We've never met people like that."

Taking a deep breath, Shouto asks them a favor.

"I need both of you to think of a number from one to thirty, without telling me." Confused, the duo whisper to each other and decide on a number. Shouto leans over and touches both of their shoulders. He hears their familiar voices in his mind.

'22.'

"The number you both are thinking of is 22."

Katsuki's jaw drops and Izuku gasps.

"Huh!?"

"Shouto! How did you guess it?"

Their server brings them their beers and kushikatsu sticks. Thanking him, Shouto makes sure that he leaves before continuing.

"After I turned thirty, I've been able to read the minds of people that I touch."

Katsuki scoffs, "No way! That was probably luck." Shouto touches his shoulder again. "You're thinking about asking the server for extra fried lotus root once Izuku eats all of it."

"What the hell!?"

"Hey! I won't eat all of the lotus root!"

After finishing a stick of fried quail eggs, Shouto responds.

"I don't know why or how this happened, but I have my suspicions."

With a stoic face, (which was probably not the best one for the moment,) he looks at his best friends.

"It's because I'm a virgin."

...

"Icyhot! Are you stupid?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"S-shouto! That's crazier than the hand-crushing comment!"

"I-I'm not kidding! I saw it on a poster at the bookstore!"

"What kind of crazy shit are you reading!? BAHAHAHA!"

"S-shut it! I'm not kidding!" Covering his pink cheeks with his hands, he starts talking again.

"Today, I apprehended a villain and I was able to read his mind!"

Izuku's eyes light up. "Oh! I saw that on the news!"

Shouto nods. "Yes, reading his mind was how I found the missing women, I'm serious!" "Okay, wait. So you can read minds. But what makes you think that not screwing around is the cause of your ability?" The spiky-haired man shoves fried pork belly into his mouth.

"It was on the poster, remember?"

Katsuki rolls his eyes. "Icyhot, you're thirty. Have you never done stuff with a girl before?" Shouto thinks back on all of his romantic experiences- wait...

Complete silence fills their booth.

And that's when it clicked in all of their heads.

Todoroki Shouto, winner of Japan's Hottest Hero polls for five years in a row straight,

is a virgin.

...

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

"Half and half! Don't tell me that you stink so bad at dating that the universe is giving you an extra power boost!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

"Shut up!" Shouto crosses his arms and glares at the laughing men.

"Just wait! Katsuki, with your personality, I bet that it's going to happen to you in three months!"

Izuku and Katsuki exchange awkward glances before looking at Shouto, who looks very unimpressed.

"Wow."

After a momentary period of awkward silence, Shouto clears his throat.

"There's also something I wanted to ask you guys about." When his friends stare at him inquisitively, he takes this as a signal to carry on.

"With this mind reading thing, I've found out that my assistant has a crush on me. What should I do?" Izuku reaches over to get a chicken skewer. "Oh! That must have been the nice lady that I gave your present to on your birthday! L/N-san, correct?" Shouto nods. Suddenly, Katsuki puts his beer down and points at him.

"So what if she has a crush on you? What difference does it make and why should it affect you?"

Shouto looks at the blondie with a puzzled expression.

"Kacchan's right, Shouto. You've got thousands of fangirls with obsessive crushes on you across the globe. If L/N-san does have a crush on you, why is she different?"

'Why is she different? Hm...'

"Well, I can't think of anything-"

"Do you like her back?" Katsuki's voice cuts Shouto's off. His red eyes stare at Shouto's heterochromatic ones.

"It's no different from high school. You don't like her, reject her. It's not like you have anything to lose. She's no longer a schoolgirl, she's an adult. She should be able to get over rejection and shit."

Shouto remains silent for a minute, pondering his friend's response.

"Thanks, both of you, for the advice. I really needed it."

The blondie rolls his eyes. "For someone who rejected all of the confessions he received in high school, you're oblivious as fuck."

"Kacchan!"

A smirk creeps onto Shouto's face. "Katsuki, you're quite knowledgeable in dealing with romantic affairs."

"SHUT UP!"

Grabbing a stick of fried fishcake, he smiles.

'I'm glad that Izuku and Katsuki are my friends.'

♡ 1 hour later ♡

After paying for dinner, Shouto joins his friends outside. Izuku greets him with a smile.

"Look, Shouto! It's snowing!"

Little snowflakes fall from the sky and slowly land on the pavement. Katsuki checks the weather app.

"Zero degrees, 'says that it's gonna snow for the next two hours."

As Shouto opens his phone, he is surprised to see an email from the Japan Heroes Association.

"Ah, check your emails."

"Huh? Oh! Another hero gala!"

"Ugh, again?"

----

To you, esteemed hero and guest,

Good evening all! You are cordially invited to the XXXX Winter Hero Gala. The gala will take place in Ballroom 3 of Moonstone Hotel on January 27 from 8pm to 12am. You are allowed a plus-one to this event. Please privately respond to this email if you are opting out of the gala or if you are not bringing a plus one. Attached below is the address of the venue.

The XXXX Winter Gala will be accepting donations to raise money for foster children in foster care homes around the country. 14 representatives from different foster care homes will be representing their care home.

If you have any questions, please contact XXX-XXXX. Thank you and have a wonderful evening!

Best regards,

Japan Heroes Association Board

Address: ____________

A/N: That's the end of chapter 3! I hope you enjoyed reading it <3 I'm not very good at writing for Midoriya and Bakugou, so I hope they didn't sound too OOC >o< This chapter did not feature the reader but don't worry! Chapter 4 will feature the reader PLUS more will happen >:)

As always, thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this little indulgence of mine ^w^ Per usual, chapter 4 is in the works and I'll try to remain consistent with uploading the next parts! School might come and bite me in the butt since it starts soon :( but I'll try my best to upload the series as consistently and eloquently as possible!!

~entire fic and notes written by me: fujoshirat!

Taglist (thank u so much!!): @boogiemansbitch

[spinji]

Katsuki is the type to give the silent treatment when he's jealous bc the entire time he had to acknowledge Rody existed close to Deku he just sat there seething like "i want him GONE.... i want him DEAD.... "

Hmmm, I wouldn't exactly call it a silent treatment because he makes it very clear when he doesn't like someone (from the outset or because they did something to make him mad). Normally, he wouldn't give a flying fuck and just curse people out but with more intimate subjects it's more underplayed. A scowl here, a shoulder check there, to both Rody and Izuku.

The only thing he keeps silent is why he's so pissy out of nowhere and it will take nothing short of a wrestling match for Izuku to get him to actually admit it. We would've gotten a Deku vs Kacchan part three right there if being out of Otheon didn't instanly calm him back down. Good luck getting a chance now, birdbrain.

[takingchences]

𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐩𝐭. 𝟏𝟑

Where the descendant of a legendary quirk longs to rewrite history by becoming a hero. But in order to fulfill her dream, she must first face off against ghosts from her past and a growing attraction for the insufferable Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.

Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x fem!oc

Warnings: mature language

series masterlist + my masterlist

Sana ended up placing fourth in the first event, having been blown back by the wind of Midoriya's impressive display in the last leg of the race. All in all, she was just happy to have made it in the top 5 so early on in the competition. There was still plenty of time to climb to the number one spot.

The second event was a cavalry battle—a team challenge.

As Midnight explained how the points would be assigned, Sana heaved a sigh of relief. She'd never been more grateful not to come in first place than this very moment. Ten million points was too much. Everyone would be gunning for Midoriya in the upcoming challenge. At least with all eyes on him, she could slip through to the finals with ease, saving as much of her energy—and special attacks—as possible. She didn't want to show too much too soon and give her competition time to plan counterattacks for the one on one fights.

No, she would give the heroes watching a show they'd never forget. She would give the Sakano name a new meaning; one of victory and hope, and no longer a synonym of oppression.

The students were given a few minutes to divide into teams. I have to think about this carefully. Any wrong decision could cost me a spot in the finals. Who do I want-

"Umm... e-excuse me, S-Sakano...?"

Sana turned to face a faint-looking Midoriya. The poor boy was trembling from head to toe, his large puppy eyes swimming with tears. His naturally pale complexion was now gray and ashen, with sweat rolling down his face like rain.

"Midoriya," she hesitated, having a terrible feeling of why he was approaching her. He's so pitiful that I almost want to say yes. Uraraka lingered behind him, her hands fidgeting nervously.

"Your quirk is incredibly useful." He babbled nervously. "It can be great for close combat or long range attacks, defense or offense." He took a deep breath. "I was wondering if- uh, well... if you would-"

Sana yelped in surprise, her body moving against her wishes.

For the second time that day, a hand had grabbed her out of nowhere. She was whirled around, only to come nose to nose with a scowling Katsuki Bakugou. Big surprise. They were so close that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek, his chest brushing against her's with every rise and fall. Those ruby eyes will be the death of me.

"The hell are you doin' with Deku? You wanna fuckin' lose?"

"W-wait, Kacchan-" Bakugou stormed away from the desperate greenette, ignoring his protests as he dragged Sana behind him.

"Sorry, Midoriya!" She called over her shoulder. "Good luck!" Now, to confront her kidnapper. "There are nicer ways to get a girl's attention, you know?" She remarked dryly.

"Shut it." Sana rolled her eyes with a huff.

Bakugou came to a stop in front of a large gathering of people. Some of them she recognized, but overall, most of the faces were unfamiliar. Students from every course were vying for a spot on the explosive blonde's team. Sana herself wasn't sure how well this would turn out. After all, the words "team player" don't often come to mind when describing Bakugou.

"Tell me your names and quirks again." He demanded, crossing his arms. Sana turned away, snickering into her hand. Typical Bakugou behavior. Unless he deemed you important enough to remember, you were nothing but an extra in his eyes.

Mina's hands flew to her hips, her cheerful voice now full of ire. "Seriously?"

The Sakano girl easily spotted Eijiro and Sero among the crowd. Denki, Sana noted, was surprisingly absent. He's probably running around trying to join an all girl's team, she giggled to herself.

Kirishima was the first to earn himself a spot on the team. The strawberry blonde wondered why Bakugou had basically forced her to join his team in the first place when he had so many people to choose from. Was it because of how well their quirks worked together, or something more? Maybe he just did it to spite Midoriya, she grimaced. Or is it because I wasn't begging to join like so many others? Was he hoping I'd come to him on my own, only to get tired of waiting?

Had she had more time to form a strategy, maybe she might've approached him. Who knows what might've been. Instead, he'd made the decision for her. Sana wasn't sure if she should be grateful or not. I guess we'll see how the next round goes.

Bakugou debated between Mina and Sero before ultimately ruling in the raven-haired boy's favor. Mina, being the good sport she is, didn't take it to heart, and quickly ran off to find Hagakure, but not before vowing to "knock that gremlin flat on his ass."

"That'd be a sight to see," Sana giggled.

Like Kirishima, being able to withstand prolonged exposure to the ash blonde's quirk gave them an advantage, but she needed her hands free if she was going to cause any damage to their opponents. So it was decided that Sana would be the front horse, while Sero and Kirishima manned the side positions.

Midnight signaled for everyone to get ready.

The boys lifted the blonde with ease. Two large, unnaturally hot hands settled on her shoulders. Sana tilted her head back to gaze up at Bakugou. Her eyes traced the underside of his sharp jawline. He looked surprisingly calm, his fiery irises locked on Midoriya's thrown together team. He gave her a squeeze, silently telling her to focus.

There was less than a minute left on the clock now. She faced forward and willed her quirk to flood through her body.

"BEGIN!" Midnight exclaimed excitedly.

With resounding battle cries, the teams surged forward, almost all of them aiming for Midoriya. Uraraka, together with a pink-haired girl Sana didn't know the name of, quickly took their team to the skies, where they continued to hover in midair. Until Midoriya came down, or until someone went up to claim his headband, it was a waiting game for the ones left on the ground.

Damn, Sana cursed. Well, at least Bakugou didn't-

She spoke too soon.

The blonde disconnected from his team to chase after Midoriya hundeds of feet above the field. With startled shouts, her and her friends scrambled to keep up with his shadow. "You idiot!" She shrieked. "Get back here!"

I swear, Sana seethed. If that little shit gets us disqualified, I'll murder his ass.

She was confident that Mina would help her bury the body, no questions asked. Denki too, maybe, if she promised him a kiss or something equally as cheesy. Neither Shinso and Sero would help out... they would, however, use whatever knowledge they had to blackmail her for free shit. Which... yeah, she would probably do the same if the roles were reversed. It should go without saying that Kirishima wouldn't be involved. Her baby shark was far too innocent to get wrapped up in such things. But that was all after the fact. Killing Bakugou would be her burden and joy alone if he screwed this up for them.

Come on, Bakugou!

Midoriya's team evaded each of the blonde's attacks, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow successfully pushing him back. With some quick thinking from Sero, a rope of tape wrapped around the blonde's waist and pulled him down to earth. They caught him just before his boots could touch the ground.

Sana released a breath of relief after Midnight ruled it a fair save, meaning they were still in the competition.

For now.

"Don't pull stupid stunts like that," Sana hissed through clenched teeth, fully regretting not having fought harder to be their team's rider. "It's not just your ass on the line!"

"Forget about Midoriya," Kirishima suggested. "There's plenty of points down here-"

Bakugou silenced him with a smack to the head. "I want an indisputable win, Shitty Hair!"

"And we'll get one," Sero agreed, surprisingly levelheaded whenever Denki wasn't around. Is his derpy personality contagious? The peach haired girl blanched. Ahh, it's too late. I've already been exposed. "But until then, we should take out as many of the other teams as possible."

"We don't know how long Midoriya will be up there," Kirishima pointed out, acting as another voice of reason.

"Until Uraraka pukes." Sana wrinkles her nose, her and the other girls of 1-A having stayed behind after Hero Basics enough times to know. It was to the point where Class Mom Momo had taken to creating saltine crackers with her quirk to help settle the brunette's stomach. "But even then, we don't know what the point cutoff will be." The strawberry blonde chanced a glance over her shoulder, willing him to listen to his team—his friends. "We have to secure a place in the finals... with or without the ten million."

Bakugou grunted, begrudgingly urging them forward. She was sure he'd only agreed so as not to waste any more time, but he'd go after Midoriya again before the round was over.

They quickly picked off the teams around them, collecting as many headbands as possible as the clock continued to run out. They'd even faced off against a few of their classmates, including Shoji, Tsu, and Mineta. Sana had to throw up a solid wall of light to keep them from following after them.

They were one of the top teams until-

"What the hell?" The redhead exclaimed. They looked down to see a gray goo climbing up his right leg. Whatever it was was thick and heavy looking, making it hard for them to move forward. A light breeze blew past them.

"Well, well, well..." A lilting voice cooed.

A blonde boy with periwinkle eyes gave them a mocking smile, their headbands dangling from his index finger. "What do we have here?"

"No..." the three horses gasped.

"Class A is much too simple-minded," the blonde tutted, his team eagerly agreeing like the lackeys they were.

"What'd you say, bastard?" The ash blonde snapped, bracing himself on her shoulders to lean forward menacingly. "Give that back! I'll kill you!"

"You're famous, aren't you?" The unknown blonde scratched his chin, tilting his head as though pretending to think hard on it. Then, he snapped, pointing at Bakugou with a wide grin. "Ah, the victim of the sludge incident! Tell me... how does it feel to be attacked by villains once a year?"

Sana stiffened, remembering how poorly the angry boy had reacted the last time such a sensitive topic had been brought up. "Bakugou," she warned, glancing at him worriedly out of the corner of her eye.

"Of course!" The stranger exclaimed with a haughty laugh. "Who could forget the famous Sakanos?" Something shifted in his tone as he said her name, a hidden emotion in his pale irises. "Well," he paused for dramatic effect. "There is one that people forget about... but she didn't really count, did she?" He tilted his head, shooting her a bright, empty smile.

All the air left her lungs, as though she'd been punched.

"It's kind of ironic, isn't it?" The unknown boy continued. "That the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows." The blonde acted playful, but there was hardness that hadn't been there before, when he was onky trying to provoke Bakugou. This felt personal somehow. "That's a pretty accurate comparison, wouldn't you say?"

The strawberry blonde locked her jaw, refusing to engage in whatever game the blonde boy was trying so hard to win. She could feel her teammates watching her, their concern unnecessary but appreciated nonetheless.

"Hey, Sakano," he spoke quietly, as though he was getting ready to share a secret. "Everyone knows your family, and your dad is always on TV. But I'm curious..." The class B boy's eyes darkened, his face carefully blank. She suddenly felt uneasy. Whatever he was about to say, she had a feeling that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

And she was right.

"...where's your mom?" His playful tone was long gone, replaced by icy indifference.

Her entire body tensed, pupils blowing wide in shock and anger. Bakugou surely felt the change in her, with the two being in constant contact. His hold on her tightened. "It's just that," the periwinkle-eyed boy shrugged. "I've heard the craziest rumors, and no one seems to agree on what happened to her. I want to hear the real story from you, Sakano."

"You know, that big mouth of yours is seriously starting to piss me off." Her veins glowed with power. The longer the bastard ran his mouth, the shorter the leash on her quirk became. Who the hell is this guy anyway?

He smirked, his pale eyes glittering with mischief. "You should really muzzle your dog, Sludge Kid."

Oh, HELL no-

"Sana, Kirishima, change of plan..." their rider's face was cast in shadow, his voice low and deceptively calm. The three of them shared oh shit looks. Bakugou not using the stupid nicknames he'd given them, but their actual names? He must be seriously—no, royally—pissed.

Shit was about to go down. Sana was just grateful not to be on the receiving end of the ash blonde's white-hot fury. Lord knows how Midoriya survived it for so long.

"Monoma, don't provoke him!" A member of the other team pleaded, eyeing the demonic aura radiating off Bakugou warily. So, Asswipe's name is Monoma, huh? Good to know in case a Death Note conveniently falls out of the sky at this very moment.

"Huh?" The blonde looked around, perplexed. "I was only saying that bitches-"

Bakugou snarled, his face contorted inhumanly. "DIE!" He surged forward, quirk activated, but somehow Monoma managed to dodge. His hand brushed against Bakugou's arm, setting off his own explosion in the ash blonde's face.

"Bakugou!" His team yelled.

Monoma's next move was so fast that Sana almost didn't catch him smacking Kirishima's forehead. Multiple explosions went off from both parties, but when the smoke cleared, it revealed a completely unharmed Monoma... now using Eijiro's quirk. This guy-

"You both have impressive quirks." He acknowledged. "But I think you'll agree that mine's better."

"He copied them."

"That's right!" The class B student gave their group a close eyed smile. "I'll be going now," his brightly colored eyes now hooded. "And I'll be taking these," He waved the stolen headbands around tauntingly. "With me."

Noticing Bakugou's growing fury, he scolded him. "Oh, don't get mad at me. You're the one who provoked us, remember? What did you say for the pledge again?" He tapped his chin. "That embarrassing thing... let me think..." He chortled. "Oh well, you've done enough for today!" His team quickly retreated.

"Go after them, dammit!" Bakugou ordered.

"I can't!" Frustration replaced the redhead's normally lively tone. He gestured down to his leg, which was still encased in the gray goo. "It's solidifying."

"I'm on it!" Sana lowered herself down on one knee, careful not to knock Bakugou off balance. The ash blonde placed a palm on top of her head to stabilize himself. Sana gripped Eijiro's trapped leg and activating her quirk. She channeled all the heat into her hand and pushed it outward, hoping to melt the gunk off of her friend as quickly and painlessly as possible. The redhead—still in his hardened form—winced at the uncomfortable spike in temperature, but didn't protest.

"Guys, just a friendly reminder that we've got zero points right now." Sero's attention was torn between watching her progress and the dwindling timer. "Hurry!"

"Almost there." After a solid minute, the hard shell cracked, allowing Kirishima to step out. "Alright, we're good. Let's go!"

Monoma's team didn't notice them approaching until Bakugou started screaming obscenities. The class B boy didn't even bother turning around until it was too late. "So persistent-" An explosion to the face cut him off, Bakugou once again abandoning his position as rider to throw himself into the fight.

"Don't act on your own, Bakubro!"

"Tsuburaba!" Monoma coughed out, his hair singed and face covered in soot. One of his team members, a boy with brown hair, blew a gust of air towards Bakugou, encasing him in a solidified air bubble. The opposing team laughed at the sight of the ash blonde relentlessly pounding his fist against the hardened air. They turned their backs to them, moving to walk away.

But they made a grave mistake.

They underestimated the tenacity of Katsuki Bakugou.

The sound of glass breaking was the only warning they got before a large, smoking hand sliced through the air, clutching the headbands around Monoma's neck in a death grip. Bakugou, still in midair, kicked off of the remaining air shield, propelling his body backwards... and ripping two of the bands free. Sero's tape once again saved the day, catching their teammate and tugging him back to the group.

"Team Bakugou seizes two headbands to move to third place!" Present Mic and the thousands of spectators were in an uproar over the last minute redemption of Team Bakugou.

Kirishima punched the air in celebration. "We'll definitely move on to the next round-"

Bakugou banged his fist against the redhead's skull once again. "I told you! We're gonna get an indisputable first place!" He insisted. "We'll get our points back plus the ten million! Flat Face! Tape!"

"It's Sero," the raven-haired boy reminded him with a determined grin, all of them clearly remembering the blonde using their names only minutes ago... except for Bakugou himself, apparently. Nonetheless, he shot a long length of tape forward. It wrapped around the ankle of one of Monoma's horses.

"Flashlight," he grunted, a heated palm moving to cup the exposed nape of her neck. She smirked, realizing what he wanted. My quirk isn't so shitty now, huh? But she obliged, sending him scorching hot energy through the small point of contact. He blasted forward remarkably fast, slamming into Monoma, who unsuccessfully tried to deflect the explosion with another air shield. The ash blonde snatched the rest of their headbands in one swift move.

"Bakugou is merciless!" The Pro commentator squealed into the microphone. The volume of the crowd was now deafening.

They caught up just in time to catch Bakugou. He caressed her skin once more, returning the small amount of energy she'd gifted him, only hotter and more charged than before. "Your turn," he whispered gruffly into her ear.

She grinned devilishly. "Hold on tight!"

Sero wrapped thick layers of tape around their group, their hands gripping her shoulders and arms tightly. Her skin steamed as she readied her quirk. At the speed of light, they zoomed past Monoma's team, the force of their speed knocking them to the ground like bowling pins.

Present Mic's voice oohed and aahed over the move, the rest of the observers echoing his excitement as the clock raced closer to zero. In the blink of an eye, they were across the field, right next to the large walls of ice Todoroki threw up to cage Midoriya in. "Now the ten million!" Bakugou wore a feral smile.

But just as he burst through the ice walls and launched himself at the two fighting teams, the timer went off, concluding the event.

Bakugou landed face down in the dirt, his body shaking violently with full-blown rage. His own team didn't flinch as he screeched in fury at the ground. They exchanged amused looks. Classic Bakugou.

The team, excluding Bakugou, celebrated the success, high-fiving and cheering before squeezing the ash blonde into a group hug.

Across the field, Sana spotted Monoma storming off, his team trailing behind him.

She still didn't know what to make of him, honestly. With Bakugou, his strategy was obvious: provoke him until he slips up. Which he'd done, attacking without thinking only to quite literally have it backfire in his face. But for some reason, it felt personal whenever he'd addressed her. He spoke as though he knew her family personally. Maybe he did.

But then why so many mentions of her mother? It didn't make any sense. The whole thing just didn't sit well with her. She watched the class B student until he was out of sight. Who are you, Monoma?

With some difficulty, they got Bakugou to settle down enough so that his vocal chords wouldn't be permanently damaged (if they weren't already). Sana bumped her shoulder with his, the group of four headed towards the exit.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" He pouted, still in tantrum mode.

"You used my quirk," she reminded him. "I didn't think you'd do that today. Figured you'd think I was weakening you again or something." She rolled her eyes with a laugh, remembering their first day of school.

Bakugou grunted, kicking at the grass with his hands in his pockets. "Idiot. How many times have I got to say it?" His eyes caught the light just right that they appeared to glow. "I wanna fight you at your strongest. If that means giving you a boost, then so be it. I'll still come out on top no matter what."

Sana smiled, shaking her head. "I can't wait to win our bet."

[five-rivers]

Gambler's Fallacy

AO3

Izuku’s expected path down, face-first into the concrete, halted.  He floated, staring at the retreating sidewalk, uncomprehending.  

“Sorry!” said an unfamiliar voice.  “I hope you don’t mind, I used my quirk on you!  Falling would be bad luck, wouldn’t it?”

“Um,” said Izuku, not sure how to explain that was the point to this very pretty girl with this super cool quirk, oh, no, why was she even talking to him?

She tapped her fingers together, and her quirk let him go.  “Good luck on the exam!” she said, walking away.

“Uh-um, y-yeah,” said Izuku.  

Crap.  Did that interaction count as good luck or bad?  Obviously, Kacchan literally running into him on the way in was bad luck, and tripping was bad luck, but a cute girl rescuing him?  And then Izuku completely humiliating himself by not being able to say thank you?  If only his quirk took other people’s actions into account more, maybe he’d be able to tell.  Especially when he was trying to save up his bad luck by pulling on the negative side of his quirk.  

Speaking of which, he had an entrance exam to get to, and this would be the biggest test of his quirk since the day with the sludge villain.  That day had been awful.  He’d burned through his ‘stored’ luck and then some when All Might rescued him, bit his tongue so hard he wasn’t able to ask the man any questions, and then on the way home, he’d run into the sludge villain again, but this time, it was attacking Kacchan, and he’d had to tip his quirk balance even further into ‘debt’ for the luck to stab the villain in the eye with his pencil.  When he finally got the chance to go home after that, when the heroes (except for All Might) were debating whether to berate him for quirk use, or interrogate him over his ‘clearly fake’ quirk, only constant vigilance kept him from being run over by a car or kidnapped.  

(Luck only took you so far.  Skill and hard work closed the gap.)

But he was far more prepared today!  The last time he’d spent a significant amount of luck all at once was when he met Mr. Yagi, who’d been organizing a community volunteer event to clean up Dagobah beach.  Izuku had… needed a pick-me-up after his quirk registration had been audited again.  He was glad he did.  Mr. Yagi was the sort of guy who was so uncool he sort of rolled over into being cool again, and he worked at Might Tower.  Izuku really liked Mr. Yagi.  Even if he did sometimes look at Izuku as if he were debating saying something life-altering.  

Point being, he had a bunch of luck saved up, and he’d keep saving it all the way until he was taking the exam, leaning on his quirk just enough to make himself moderately unlucky until then.  

It worked pretty well, in his opinion.  The random seating for the written exam and for the practical orientation both put him next to Kacchan, he somehow grabbed the attention of someone confident uptight enough to scold him for muttering in front of a whole auditorium of people, he kept getting hit by doors, the robot bus driver somehow decided to register him as a bush, instead of a human, he tripped getting off the bus, the uptight guy scolded him again, and then–

“Start!” screamed Present Mic, from the announcer’s box.  

Izuku didn’t have to be told twice.

.

Izuku didn’t actually mind having bad luck.  

Not usually.  Not as long as it was only a little bad luck.  After all, what you did with your luck was what dictated your fate.  Plus, most small unlucky events, like spills, tears, and lost items, could be countered with only a little forethought.  Izuku had two of everything that was really important, and carried a mini sewing and stain removal kit with him almost all the time!

But… good luck was freedom.  Good luck made him feel as if he was invincible, as if he was flying, a thousand miles up and only getting higher.  Good luck was amazing.  

Good luck was an almost ideal weapon in his hand the minute he stepped into the fake city, a piece of pipe that was just the right length, the right height, the right width for him to hold onto easily. 

Good luck was catching sight of other students hitting the weak points of robots so clearly he knew he would be able to target them as well.  

Good luck was partially-destroyed but still functional robots practically offering themselves up to him for points.  

Good luck was being able to dodge every attack and stray friendly fire without even trying.  

Good luck was spotting when people were in trouble before they even knew it, and pulling them out of the way.  

Good luck was seeing that nice girl trapped under rubble, and throwing his pipe, spear-like, at the zero-pointer and having it hit something so vital that its progress ground to a stop.  

Good luck was… rapidly running out.  Actually, he’d burned through his saved buffer of bad luck a while ago.  

Oops.  

He didn’t even see the bit of rubble that fell on his head.  

He didn’t see anything until hours later when Recovery Girl woke him up in the infirmary.  

He didn’t even get to talk to the nice girl again.  

But… he thought he’d done well.  He could only hope he’d done well enough.  

.

He had!

.

Izuku checked to make sure he wasn’t leaning on the negative side of his quirk too hard.  A quirk assessment?  A physical quirk assessment?  On the first day?  One with expulsion as a possible consequence?

He was going to die.  

It wasn’t like he’d neglected physical training.  Mr. Yagi had even given him some suggestions for it!  (It turned out that before he’d been a secretary, he’d been a personal trainer… who knew?)  But, naturally, he’d focused on his quirk, and his quirk was anything but physical.  In a class with Kacchan and people with enhancement-type quirks…

Kacchan promptly underlined the point by blasting a baseball hundreds of meters away in the ball toss while shouting “DIE!” at the top of his lungs.

He was really going to die.  

Unless… unless everyone else lost.

He raised his hand.  “Mr. Aizawa, do you mean we can do anything to make our scores better in comparison with our classmates?”

“As long as you don’t injure anyone, yes.”

Well.  He’d learned long ago that good luck for him sometimes meant bad luck for other people.  He… really didn’t want to be expelled.  But could he do that to his new classmates?  Could he sabotage them like that?

.

The answer was, no, he couldn’t.  But he could, apparently, get one of UA’s observation drones to go haywire, catching his baseball at the top of its arc and then zooming off to who-knew-where over a kilometer away at high speed.  

He could also promptly get plowed into by another drone, which had suffered from the same AI malfunction as the first, and have to go to Recovery Girl for the resultant broken arm.  

.

Sometimes, Izuku wondered if his quirk had a mind of its own, and, if so, what was up with its sense of humor.  

No one was expelled.  

.

Izuku stared at the numbered ball in his hand.  He’d decided to take it easy in the luck department today, not leaning on it either way, but, really, this was far too much, just to make things even.  

Next to him, stood Uraraka, who he might finally have a real conversation with.  Across from him, stood Kacchan, who was definitely going to take this opportunity to beat the crap out of him.  

Thank goodness nothing big was riding on this Battle Trial.  Even if All Might kept looking at him like he was going to say something life-altering.  

Actually…  Was All Might related to Mr. Yagi?  No, that was silly.  Just because two people worked in the same place and had similar mannerisms, and the same color of hair, and the same color of eyes, and the same smile, and similar heights, didn’t mean… um…  Hm.  

That was a thought for later.  

For now…

“My quirk is called Gambler’s Fallacy,” said Izuku.  “It lets me manipulate my luck.  I can store up bad things that happen to me, and then use them to make me lucky later, or, if I don’t have any luck stored, I can make myself lucky now, but I have to pay for it later.  I can also make myself unlucky on purpose, and store up the bad things that happen because of that.  But I don’t have anything stored up right now, since I spent it all yesterday, during the quirk assessment.”

“Wow,” said Uraraka, “that sounds really complicated.  So, you could just… make us win?”

“Not exactly.  If winning or losing was based entirely on chance, then, yes, but it isn’t.  This is mostly skill and ability.”  

“Mm,” said Uraraka.  “So we’ll just have to be more skilled!  Anyway, even if you can’t make us win, we’ll know that we didn’t lose just because of dumb luck, right?”

Izuku nodded.  “You’re right!  I, um, I do have a plan.”

“Let’s hear it!”

.

Izuku’s quirk apparently thought winning  was worth breaking an arm (again).  Maybe if he factored in Recovery Girl’s quirk, he could understand that.  

But it still hurt.  

(And Kacchan was still angry.  Izuku wished he’d stop blaming all of his bad luck on him.  Even if it was Izuku, this time.)

.

Getting trampled twice in one day, first by reporters, then by people running away from reporters, was definitely bad luck.  

.

“I tend to say whatever is on my mind,” said Asui– No.  Tsu.  She said to call her Tsu.

“Okay?” said Izuku.  

“Your quirk is very hard to understand.”

“Ah, yeah,” said Izuku, rubbing the back of his neck.  “It is.  I’m really glad quirks grow with you.  If I was able to push my luck then as much as I can now, I probably would have died.”  As it was, he'd gotten into a few bad situations over the years.  Once, while operating with neutral luck, he'd won a contest that was apparently more chance-based than advertised, and the results had been… interesting.

('Interesting' being code for terrifying.)

“Hah!” scoffed Kacchan.  “There’s nothing hard to understand about it!  He just sabotages everyone around him!”

“Like you’re any better,” said Kaminari, as Izuku slouched down in his seat, trying to disappear.  “If you don’t tone things down, all of us will be deaf by the time we graduate!”

“I could make you some earplugs, if you think that would help,” offered Yaoyorozu.  

.

As it turned out, being attacked by a whole league of villains during the first field trip of the school year was so absolutely, unmitigatedly bad that it topped off Izuku’s ‘gauge.’  The last time that had happened, he’d been in elementary school.  

It meant that he danced around the first attacks with ease, and when he did fall through a portal, it deposited him right outside a very clearly labeled maintenance door.  It was locked, but Izuku’s costume didn’t include a utility belt just for aesthetics.  He pulled a set of ‘universal’ keys out of one of the pouches, jammed the first one he grabbed into the lock, and grinned as he heard all the tumblers click home.  

Random chance was his friend today.

He ran up, into a sort of control room.  Several of the screens were blinking, warning that the system had lost connection to the main campus.  He cleared the warnings and swept his eyes over the controls.  There was a set of headphones on one of the monitors, and he put them on.  They’d been sized for someone bigger than him, but that was fine.  There were sounds coming through them, so… There.  He could switch freely between hidden microphones in a number of places, apparently.

More importantly, at the moment, he could control vital aspects of a number of the simulations.  He got to work, draining the shipwreck zone, strategically flaring the fires in the conflagration zone, activating a landslide in the landslide zone, ‘rebuilding’ collapsed houses in the typhoon zone…  Anything he could think of, to damage the chances of villains and let his classmates escape.  

Then, his elbow hit the microphone button, switching what the headphone channel to the central plaza just in time to hear ‘Shigaraki Tomura’ order ‘Nomu’ to kill Mr. Aizawa.  

.

All Might burst through the doors before Izuku could even begin to come up with a plan to escape the frankly horrifying Nomu, and never before had Izuku been so relieved to feel his luck drain away and equalize.  

All Might was here - and that was apparently equal to the villains in the eyes of his quirk.  They’d be safe, now.  They were saved.  

Izuku almost cried.  

Then he really did cry as Nomu and the portal villain actually proved to be a challenge.  If Nomu could hold All Might still, and the portal villain could portal one of All Might’s limbs to Shigaraki Tomura…  Or even if the portal villain could close a portal with something in transit…  

But that didn’t happen.  

Instead, All Might punched Nomu through the roof of the USJ.

Izuku tracked Nomu’s meteoric rise with a sense of wonder.  His quirk was great and all, but he’d never, ever be able to do anything like that.  

The rest of the teachers piled through the hole All Might had made in the side of the USJ, and the portal villain swept himself and Shigaraki Tomura away.  Izuku, finally, let himself relax, loosening his grip on his quirk.  

He… didn't think that anyone had died.  That was as lucky as they could possibly expect to be.

.

The problem with the sports festival was that the positive Izuku’s quirk was only effective for short periods of time.

Could he constantly maintain a low level of good luck, like he could with the bad?  Technically, yes.  He’d been tempted to do just that more than once.  But if he ever lost grip on his quirk while he was carrying around a big luck debt…  Well.  It was better to be owed luck than to owe it.  When not being actively managed, his quirk tended to just equalize.  

Could he save up and then slowly spend his good luck?  Again, technically, yes, but… and this was something Izuku was embarrassed to admit…

He was bad at spending good luck slowly.  In fact, not only did he usually push his good luck to happen faster than it usually would, when he was using that side of his quirk, he tended to overshoot.  By a lot.  Hence incidents like at the end of the entrance practical.  

(He was glad he hadn’t overdrawn his luck at the USJ.  He’d probably have had Nomu fall on him or something.)

If he wanted to do well in the sports festival, he couldn’t do that.  It wouldn’t do him any good to win, say, a relay race, like they’d done for the second event  a couple years ago, and then step on his shoelace and concuss himself before he could do anything for the next event.  

So.  He had to figure out how to either regulate his quirk use better, or how to pass at least one event without using it.  Preferably both.  

.

Izuku kept his quirk in neutral until the minefield.  Who decided that a minefield was a good idea for a school sports festival?  Well…  Plus Ultra, he supposed.  

He had an idea.  

He had an idea he needed to be lucky for.  But he'd only have to be lucky for a minute.  Maybe even less.  

He put his scrap metal shield aside, and started stacking mines.  When he figured he had enough, and had them in more or less the right shape, he picked up his scrap metal and, using it to shield himself, jumped on the mines.  

He went soaring.  It was exhilarating.  It was terrifying.  It was working.  

Kacchan and Todoroki were in sight.  He was gaining on them.  He was–

Getting hit by a bird. 

He tumbled sideways, away from Todoroki and Kacchan.  Barely, he managed to get the shield under him again, before he hit the ground and another mine went off, sending him shooting in the other direction.  He landed back in the path Todoroki and Kacchan had cleared, which was weird if his luck had run out…

It hadn’t run out.  

Then where had the bird…?  Why…?

It didn’t matter.  What mattered was that he wasn’t going to try that again, but he need to get a move on if he wanted to finish this race.  He wrenched his quirk back to neutral, and started running.  

He came in third, and collapsed in the waiting area.  Yeah.  Running.  Being exploded.  Still hard.  

It took a while for everyone else to cross the finish line.  A while during which Izuku wondered why he’d been hit by that bird.  Maybe Kouda…?  No, he was nowhere nearby, and he usually didn’t make his helpers commit suicide runs which… that probably was, unfortunately.  Was his quirk just broken?  He didn’t like the thought of that.  His quirk screwed him over in a lot of ways, but it had never backstabbed him or failed to work.  

But as soon as Midnight announced the results…

Yeah.  

His quirk wasn’t broken.  

(He’d have to burn some incense for that poor bird, though.  Yikes.)

He, in third place, had a headband worth two hundred points for the next event.  Kacchan had one worth two hundred and five.  

Todoroki’s was worth ten million.  

.

Izuku’s calvary team was made up of Uraraka, Tokoyami, and Hatsume, an unfamiliar girl from the support course.  Hatsume was the rider.  Izuku didn’t have any offensive quirk that being rider would let him leverage, Uraraka didn’t want to be in a position where she would have to use her quirk on herself, and Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were strong together.  Hatsume, meanwhile, had all sorts of unbelievable gadgets that she could operate from the rider position.  

Between her and Tokoyami, their ability to collect headbands shouldn’t be bad.  While everyone else went after Todoroki and Kacchan, they should be able to snag smaller point values.  Once they got a comfortable number, they could use Hatsume’s jetpacks and hide out in the air until the clocks ran down.

“I’m impressed,” she said, after Izuku finished explaining the plan.  

“It’s nothing fancy.”

“Not that, third place.  I’m impressed you’re letting someone else take the spotlight.”

“Well,” said Izuku, “I’m… probably not going to be a spotlight hero, honestly.  My quirk isn’t all that fancy.”

“Hm.  Maybe.  I feel like we’ll be surprised.”

And maybe she was right.

The more chaos inherent in a system, the more Izuku’s quirk could do.  The cavalry battle had a lot of chaos.

So, when Izuku flared his quirk to give them just that little edge, trying to keep their points out of Iida’s hands–

Rin’s team and Kamakiri’s team slipped and fell as Honenuki overshot his quirk use, becoming immediately disqualified.  Monoma brushed against Todoroki… while he already was holding Kacchan’s quirk.  The explosion wasn’t the biggest Izuku had ever seen, but it wasn’t small.  Kaminari, startled, shocked Iida, who stumbled, and almost capsized their whole team, letting Kacchan almost grab the ten million point headband, except that Todoroki suddenly caught on fire.  

Izuku shut his quirk off.  He’d used more luck than he intended, but he still has some for later, and for now…

“Take us up, Hatsume!”

“Thought you’d never ask, third place!”

.

When they landed, they hadn’t finished in first place, but they were far from dropping out, which was a true relief.  

The third event was single combat, which, hm.  Yeah.  His odds weren’t good on this.  He was planning on losing a lot of the recreational games between the second and third rounds, but the stakes of those were low, so he wouldn’t get a lot of luck from them.  In a bare concrete ring, one on one, skill against skill, with almost no outside variables…  It was possible for his quirk to make someone trip over their own feet, or get weird muscle spasms, but under these circumstances, it would be expensive.

Well, there was a little interlude even before that, so he was going to go freshen up…

.

Neither Izuku nor his quirk could decide what kind of luck overhearing all that counted as.  First Todoroki trying to have some kind of rivalry heart-to-heart with Kacchan, where he heavily implied he was the result of a eugenics project, and then whatever that was with his father.  Should he report this?  Who would he even report this to?  Who would believe him?  

He was kind of freaking out.  

And Todoroki’s quirk.

“I thought I was the only one who had self sabotage as part of my quirk,” he whispered.  

Actually, he was pretty angry about that.  Edging into fury, really.  It wasn’t like Todoroki was the only one who’d been dealt a bad hand when it came to fathers, but Izuku wasn’t refusing to use his quirk over it, even though his father’s permanent departure had been the inciting incident for his quirk’s first activation.

(His father abandoning them had, actually, given Izuku a small reserve of good luck that took several days to naturally deplete.  It was something Izuku was perversely grateful for, knowing what his quirk might have done to him otherwise.)

But what could he do?

Except, maybe…  He’d used his fire instinctively, in the cavalry battle.  Maybe if someone could pressure him…

Could Izuku do that?  

No.  Probably not.  Not without a lot of luck. 

… this was going to be painful later.  

.

Of course, he couldn’t beat sense into Todoroki unless he actually made it to the second round of battles.  Making it to the second round of battles seemed… unlikely, at the moment.  His quirk couldn’t protect him from his own stupid decisions, after all.

He was walking towards the edge of the ring, not in control of his body, barely in control of his quirk, which he had turned on as much as he could.  

He tripped.  Over his own feet, as it so happened.

Before Shinsou could react, he was back on his feet and attacking.  Shinsou’s story sounded… sad.  Lonely.  But Izuku had lived the same life!  He’d been called bad luck and a vampire ever since he’d first fully explained his quirk!  He wanted to commiserate!  To comfort!  To empathize!

But, right now, it was time to fight, and he threw Shinsou out of the ring.  

.

Unfortunately, getting out of Shinsou’s grip had come at the cost of his remaining luck.  That meant that if he used any for the fight with Todoroki - a fight he was almost certain to lose anyway - he’d be paying for it later.  

But could he really leave this alone?  Being a hero was risky.  Being a hero while using only half your quirk was worse.  

The match started, and Izuku jumped.  He was lucky, of course.  Todoroki had pretty good control of his ice, but there were, naturally, random peaks and valleys in the less-controlled parts, and Izuku happened to fall into a valley.  He also managed to break off an ice spike on the way down.  

Lacking other weapons, he threw it at Todoroki.  

“You know,” said Izuku, managing to hide from ice behind yet more ice, and acquiring a few more projectiles while he was at it, “if you used your fire to melt these, you wouldn’t have to dodge!”

This actually stopped Todoroki dead in his tracks.  “You–”

“I overheard your conversation with Kacchan!”  Izuku dodged again.  “Do you really think you can be a hero using only half a quirk?  When all the rest of us are trying our–”

He was forced to dodge again.  This went on for some time.  Izuku, barely manage to dodge, Todoroki whipping another, more fragile, glacier at him, Izuku throwing ice and words he barely heard himself back at him.

Izuku, though… He was wearing down.  The temperature was getting to him, and Todoroki had winged him a few times.  

“I won’t do it!” declared Todoroki through gritted teeth.  “I won’t use his quirk!  I’ll show him–”

“It’s not his!  It’s yours!  Use your quirk, Todoroki!  Show me your power!”

Through the ice, Izuku saw orange flare from the tips of Todoroki’s fingers.

The thought crossed Izuku’s mind that suddenly heating up this much cold air might not go very well.  For the very first time in his life, Izuku’s survival instinct decided to do its job and he threw himself out of the ring just in time for Cementoss to raise the blast walls to contain Todoroki’s explosion.

“Uh,” said Midnight a minute later.  “Todoroki, wins?”

Izuku was just as surprised as she was that he hadn’t been turned into a fine paste.  Of course, that could still happen.  He had a massive bout of bad luck coming up.  

Still.  Lying here next to two Pro Heroes, he was probably safe.

.

Izuku tripped going down the stairs leaving the ring.  

“How do you break so many bones going down stairs?” asked Recovery Girl, incredulously.  

Izuku grunted.  Broken bones could be healed.  So could frostbite.  

But, for him at least, the sports festival was over.  He just had to hope he’d made a good impression.

.

(Todoroki joined him in the infirmary an hour later.

“Bakugou is extremely violent,” he said, by way of explanation.

“Yeah, he’s kind of…  Yeah.”

“You’re still friends.”

“Uh,” said Izuku.  “Maybe?”

“What’s your phone number?”

Somehow, Izuku wound up adding Todoroki to the class group chat.)

.

“Who sent your recommendation?” asked Uraraka, over lunch.  

“Native!” said Izuku, vibrating with excitement.  His quirk was kind of boring, visually, and hard to understand, so he hadn’t expected to get any offers at all!

“Native?” asked Uraraka, her face dropping.  “Isn’t he kind of, um.  His whole image is a bit…”

“Appropriative?” filled in Iida.  

“That’s a misconception,” said Izuku.  “He actually is native.  His father is Japanese, obviously, but he’s Ainu, and his mother is from an indigenous North American tribe.  They met at some kind of conference for displaced indigenous peoples, I think?  The documentary was really interesting, but it’s been a while…  I think there was later some kind of controversy with his mother, but I don’t really understand American politics…”

“Oh!” said Uraraka.  “I didn’t know that!  I guess I should try to research, before just assuming things.”

“It’s…  It’s a common misconception,” said Izuku, waving his hands.  “A company he’d investigated for illegal quirk experimentation ran a really nasty smear campaign against him, and, uh, his public persona isn’t really great.”  Which was the polite way to say that he got irritated at reporters (and everyone else) really easily.  “The important thing is, you know now.”

“Mhm!  I guess so!  That’s a really good way to put it.”  She leaned forward.  “I really like your hero name!  It’s super cute!”

“Thanks!” said Izuku, brightly.  “I’ve wanted to use it since I was a little kid!”

.

The ride to Hosu was painfully awkward.  Mainly because every attempt Izuku made to try and start a conversation with Iida fell flatter than a pancake.  

Not that he blamed Iida!  He probably had a lot on his mind, after all.

.

“He-hello, sir!” said Izuku, bowing deeply to Native, who had been leaning up against the front desk of his agency, talking to the secretary.  “I’m Clover!  Y-your intern!  Please take care of me!”

“Hey, hey,” said Native, “there’s really no reason to be like that, it’s irritating.  You need to loosen up a little, kid.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Native sighed.  “Okay, anyway, you good here, Satsumi?”

“Yes, I think I have all the information,” said the secretary.  

“Great.  So, I guess I can give you the tour and the intern talk.”

Native’s agency wasn’t anything fancy.  A lot of things in it were worn out.  Old.  But, then, after the smear campaign, it was probably hard for him to get sponsorships.

“So, Clover,” said Native, after he had given him a rundown of the temporary dorms and the main common areas, “why did you decide to intern with me?”

“W-well,” said Izuku, “for a couple reasons.  The first is that you’re the only one who requested me, specifically, as opposed to agencies that just have general agreements with UA, so I figured there was probably a reason for that.”

“Uh huh,” said Native, sounding unimpressed, “what else?”

“Well, you also have a strictly mental quirk.  Not a lot of heroes have that, not the ones on UA’s open internship list.  Ragdoll and Mandalay from the Wild Wild Pussycats are the only other ones, and… I’d be worried about being a liability in a rescue situation.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t think so?  Of course, your record was–”

“Nothing else that might have been in the news?”

“Um.  No?”

Native nodded. “I’m surprised anyone took me up on my offer this year, honestly.”

“Be-because of the smear campaign? I, um, I never believed it.  I remembered your interview when you talked about your parents, so…”

“Ah.  Okay.  That makes sense.  Sorry.  Just had to make sure you weren’t one of those weirdos who try to congratulate me for ‘sticking it’ to an already oppressed group.”  He sighed.  “You’d think we’d have solved at least some of these problems, since we got superpowers, but no, we just came up with even more ways to be awful.”

“O-oh,” said Izuku.  “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Native, waving off the apology.  “So.  Tell me about your quirk.”

.

Native’s quirk, compared to Izuku’s, was simple.  It affected his perception.  Not his senses themselves, but the way his brain processed the data from those senses.  His eyes and ears weren’t any sharper than a normal person’s, but what he could process about what he could see and hear was.  And he could do it fast.  He could glance at a full page of writing for a second, and know everything that was written on it.  

It wasn’t terribly like Izuku’s quirk, and didn’t affect the outside world, like Izuku’s did, but like Izuku’s, the activation and management of the quirk were all in his head.  Which meant that he could advise Izuku on how to better use it.  

Unfortunately, Native seemed more interested in the stockpile aspect of his quirk.

“So,” said Native, “hypothetically, if something bad happened to you that had nothing to do with luck, would that count?  Like, if someone decided to hit you.”

“Um, not really.  Like, whenever someone throws a punch, there’s a small amount of chance involved in it hitting at all, but that’s, um, negligible, as far as I’ve been able to tell.”

“So you couldn’t bank luck by, say, purposefully getting assigned crappy paperwork?”

“Uh,” said Izuku, “no.  Not unless the paperwork was randomly assigned and I was leaning on the negative side of my quirk to get it.”

“Okay.  And, then, what if you traded the paperwork to someone else, afterwards?”

“I think I…  I’m not sure?  If I’d set the trade up before hand, probably, um, it’d just do whatever would get me the bad paperwork?”

“What if you needed the bad paperwork for some reason?”

“Then I’d have to use good luck, otherwise I wouldn’t get it.”

“What if you needed something bad to happen to you for some reason?  Like, you wanted to break your arm or get sick to get out of a school assignment?”

“Oh, I actually tried… something like that a few times.”  Not to avoid school work, but to avoid bullies.  “It only worked once, and I really regretted it.”

“Got really sick, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Izuku.  

“Okay,” said Native.  “I’ve got to go out on patrol soon, but I’ve asked Satsumi to give you the basic operational rundown.  Pro-tip?  It’s always the secretaries who are really running the show.”

“I-I’ll remember that, sir!”

“Yeah, yeah.  Anyway, enjoy the break, because I already have some training ideas for tomorrow.”

.

“So,” said Native as Izuku ran through his costume checklist.  “The thing is, even though our quirks are pretty different, there are still some similarities in– Hey, are you paying attention?”

“Yes, s-sir!”

“Uh huh.  There are some similarities in how we have to fight because of them.  Both of us have to rely heavily on the environment and respond to changes in it quickly.  Me, because that’s the only advantage I have, you, because even if your quirk gives you the best opening possible, you still have to move to take advantage of it.  So.”  He gestured at the crowded room, packed full of various random items.  “That’s what we’re doing.  Simulating a changeable environment for you to keep track of.  You ready?”

“Yes!”

.

“I’m going to take you out on patrol today,” said Native.

“R-really?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t going to.  There’s a limited amount you can learn from sparring and helping Satsumi with the paperwork - The paperwork is really important, though.  If you screw it up enough, it can break you.  Mainly because of insurance problems.  You don’t want insurance problems.  Or Hero Commission problems.  If they decide they don’t like you, they’ll jump on anything they can to get rid of you.”

Izuku made note of this important fact.  

“Anyway, unless I give you permission, or you’re directly attacked, you are not to engage any villains or criminals, got it?  And if I tell you to run, you run.”

“I-I’ve got it!”

“Cool.  So.  Ready to make your debut, Clover?”

“Yes!”

“Great.  Oh, and bring those marbles.  They worked well for you in yesterday’s session.”

.

The first few hours of patrol went more or less the way Izuku expected it to.  There wasn’t a whole lot of crime in Hosu at this time of day.  Native caught an older teenager trying to break into a car, and gave him a warning for a first offense, they were called to a four-year-old’s somewhat awkward and chaotic quirk awakening - which Izuku helped with! - and a welfare check for an older couple who had missed a book club meeting (they were fine, they had just gotten the date wrong).  Otherwise, it was just walking around Hosu, including some really sketchy alleyways, Native pointing out things to keep an eye on and how to spot trouble in specific places.

But, then… things exploded.  

It wasn’t like Izuku was unused to explosions.  He’d gone to school with Kacchan.  But this explosion was bigger, and had a different character than Danny was used to.  It was also, thankfully, further away.  

Still, the middle of a city like this was not a good place for an explosion.  He started forward, towards the source of the sound, but Native caught his arm.  

“Never,” he said, pulling out his phone (a HeroGrade 32!  They weren’t available to the public, yet!), “never run blind into a situation when you can gather info first.”

“But–” 

“There are other heroes with closer routes,” said Native.  “We can be more useful if we know what’s going on first.  Crap.  Looks like a mass villain attack.”  He flipped his phone to face Izuku. A HeroNet video was playing on it.

He caught sight of exposed brain matter and gasped.  “Nomu?”

“You know one of these guys?”

“No,” said Izuku, “but they look just like one of the villains that attacked the USJ!  Maybe they’re relatives?”

“Any weaknesses?”

“No, they were really strong.  All Might had trouble, even.”

“Crap.  Hopefully, these guys don’t have the same kind of quirk.  Come on, now that we know what we’re up against, the faster we get there, the better.”  He started running.  “I want you to work with on-site sidekicks clearing civilians from the area.  You can use your quirk, but if your stockpile runs out, evacuate with the civilians.  If you get cornered, I give you permission to fight, but only if you get cornered.  Otherwise, run, got it?”

“Ye-yes!” said Izuku.  It was easier for him to keep up with Native than he’d thought it would be, but he didn’t quite have the lung capacity to respond with full sentences.

They turned into an alley and– 

Native stopped dead, scanning the area.  

“Uh, Native?” said Izuku.  “Is–?”

Native pulled him to one side as something fell on them from above.  No.  Not something.  Someone.  Someone– Vest, bandaged arms, scarf, swords–

Native, naturally, processed the information much faster than Izuku.  

“Stain!”

Oh. 

Izuku pulled on his quirk instinctively and reached for his belt, grabbing the first thing that came to hand and throwing it at Stain.  The handful of marbles hit the side of Stain’s beaten katana and knocked it aside enough for Native to dodge.  

But Stain had another knife, and it flicked against Native’s stomach, cutting through his suit and drawing blood.  The wound looked shallow, though, so–

Stain licked his knife, and Native stiffened mid-step and started to fall.  Izuku caught him, then pulled him back, out of Stain’s immediate reach.

“I-I can’t move!” said Native, sounding shocked.

“A… sidekick?” said Stain.  

“He’s just-”  Native’s breath caught.  “He’s a student.  An intern.  I’ve only known him for a day.  Don’t–”

“A day is more than long enough for the rot to creep in.  Well, boy, do you stand by this fake, or will you give up his lies?”

“Clover, run!” 

“I-” said Izuku, “I won’t leave you!”  He also wasn’t sure if he’d make it, even if he did run.  Stain was good, as shown by how he’d still managed to stab Native, even though Izuku was using his quirk, and with the way the alley was constructed, they were standing in a corner, the direct path to the street blocked and blinded by buildings.  

“Then you, too, will be culled.”

Izuku jumped back from the lunge, unfortunately sacrificing his phone to deflect the blade.  Hopefully, the text he’d been making behind his back had gone through… he might not be connected to HeroNet, but he did have a network, and he knew at least two of them were in this city.

He hoped this worked.  

Then, faster than could be believed, it did.  Iida came racing around the corner and–

–apparently didn’t notice Izuku and Native fighting for their lives at all, but Izuku was willing to give him a pass, because he was a) there, b) clearly really upset by what happened to his brother, and c) took Stain’s attention off of him and Native.  Whatever.  But he also narrowly missed getting decapitated, and only avoided getting paralyzed by Stain because Izuku had picked up Iida’s helmet and beaned Stain over the back of the head with it.  

“What are you doing here?” demanded Iida.  

This was such a ridiculous question that Izuku didn’t answer it.  He was getting attacked by a serial killer.  That should’ve been obvious.

“Take Native and leave, this is my business.”

“You take Native and leave!” 

Iida could maintain a viable escape speed while carrying Native, unlike Izuku, and then Izuku could also run, no longer having to worry about whether or not he was leaving someone to their death.  Unfortunately, Stain did not wait for Izuku to explain this to Iida.  

What followed could have been a slapstick comedy.  Stain lunged, but put his foot down on a marble, which let Izuku and Iida dodge.  He recovered quickly, however, and swiped at Iida, who he called a fake hero - this was technically correct, as neither Iida nor Izuku had their licenses yet - but the blade was deflected by Iida’s armor, and all the blow accomplished was to knock a piece of Iida’s armor loose.  

(Izuku had to wonder if Iida’s costume manufacturer had skimped on the connective parts of his armor.  Parts of a costume shouldn’t just come off like that, except for capes, for safety reasons.)

But loose metal junk was one of Izuku’s favorite weapons, and when the bracer landed in his hand, he didn’t waste time throwing it at Stain’s face.  Then he pulled out his other favorite weapon.  A telescoping baton.  

He didn’t have it during the USJ, but after the sports festival…  Yeah.  He’d realized he needed something, and Mei had been all too happy to fulfill that need.  Literally too happy.  Powerloader had nixed most of her ideas and given Izuku a standard baton until he could work out potential bugs.  

Anyway.  

He alternated between throwing trash at Stain (the alley had a lot of trash) and trying to smack him with the baton.  Iida, meanwhile, tried to kick his face off.  The only reason they weren’t dead - or paralyzed like Native - was that Stain kept slipping on marbles and getting weapons stuck in the alley walls.  They were not, in any way, winning.  

Then Todoroki arrived like a divine spirit descending from heaven, and froze Stain solid.  

Well.  He didn’t freeze Stain immediately.  There was quite a bit of back and forth, because it turned out that the dodging technique Izuku had lucked into during the sports festival was something Stain could do at will.  And he tried to kill Todoroki too, a few times.  And there was some stabbing involved, but with Todoroki there, they could freeze the blood, and Iida was only paralyzed for a little bit, and all the while everyone was yelling about their personal philosophies, and heroism, and All Might, and–

His point was, after Todoroki showed up, it felt like the fight went really fast.  

But with Stain frozen, Izuku felt like he could relax just a little…

… and lose his grip on his quirk, which was very far in the red.  

Claws closed around his torso, and he was swiftly lifted from the alley.  Swiftly enough that his head cracked on the side of one of the buildings and he lost consciousness.  

.

Later, he learned that the nomu (which was apparently a class of being and not a family or personal name) had carried him around, apparently confused, for fifteen minutes before a flight-capable hero named Gran Torino rescued him.

He was, naturally, brought to the hospital, and, equally naturally, was the most injured out of the four people in that alleyway (not counting Stain, who they had really beaten the crap out of, apparently).  

He was relieved to hear that everyone had lived, and the nomu attack had only resulted in a few serious injuries, due to the strong hero presence in Hosu.  

He was significantly less relieved to hear that the police were thinking about charging him with vigilantism.  

.

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Native, who had evidently overheard the police chief while taking a walk down the hallway.  “Clover had my permission to fight, if he was cornered.  Which he was.  I don’t know about the other two, but legally speaking, my intern is in the clear.” 

Izuku sighed in relief.  He didn’t think he and his mother could afford to go to court. 

“And kid?”

“Y-yes?”

“Stop using your quirk while you’re this beat up.  I know it’s instinctive, but I don’t want you to wind up getting an air embolism or something stupid from the kickback.”

“Oh,” said Izuku.  “Yes, sir.”

.

In preparation for the first term’s final exam, Izuku eased himself back into days where everything was just a little bit awful.  

He tore a hole in his favorite sweater.  He fell off a building during the Rescue Training Race.  Mr. Yagi kept staring at him with that weird expression when he went to volunteer.  He got every question he guessed on wrong on the mock exam.  He let himself get fleeced by Uraraka in small-scale gambling games.  He lost every round of rock-paper-scissors he played.  His mother sneezed and accidentally cut off way too much of his hair while giving him a trim, and Monoma started calling him a sheared sheep.  All Might kept staring at him with that weird expression during heroics lessons.  He lost a lot of in-class fights for silly reasons, like the elastic in his pants giving way, or, in one case, random neutrino interaction with the program controlling a simulation.  

It was good practice for when - not if, when - his quirk decided to screw him over in the middle of a real fight.  

But, maybe, Izuku should have realized that decisions about the final would be made significantly in advance of the final actually happening, and he wouldn’t have kept his quirk going until the last minute.  

Maybe then he wouldn’t have been paired with Kacchan.  Maybe then, they wouldn’t be facing All Might himself.  

Maybe then he wouldn’t be lying on the ground, bleeding, with Kacchan screaming at him to take his ‘stupid bad luck deku self’ and go away.  

In the end, however, Kacchan was the one who stomped away.  Izuku was left to slowly sit up, still feeling stunned.  Part of him couldn’t believe Kacchan still held a grudge over childhood quirk slip ups, especially considering what he had done to Izuku with his quirk.  Part of him… very much could.  

Kacchan was a jerk.  

Although… Izuku probably should have tried to come up with a plan more palatable than ‘run away.’  He’d known that Kacchan would never accept anything less than a perfect victory after the sports festival.

He shook his head, even though that made his ears ring, and pulled a coin out of one of his suit’s pouches.  In theory, this should work.  He had pretty good evidence of this usually working, for less vital things.

He flared his quirk and flipped the coin.  Heads, he’d go with his original plan, and try to escape.  Tails, he’d try to back up Kacchan.    

Heads.  

Well, then.  

.

It turned out that Izuku’s quirk was pretty good for stealth, given a large enough playing field.  

.

Izuku let go of his quirk as soon as he stepped through the gate, pleased to note that he still had some luck left.  Intending to keep it that way, and not spend it trying not to get murdered by Kacchan, he decided to jog back to where the other groups were waiting. 

Judging by the explosions behind him, this was a wise choice.  

He didn’t go back to his usual low grade bad luck until he was home safe, with the knowledge that he would be going to the training camp, and Kacchan wouldn’t be.

.

Except it turned out the students who had failed were going on the trip after all.  Yay.

.

Low grade bad luck was not supposed to include Shigaraki Tomura crashing a shopping trip, and yet.  

At least the ridiculous threat to his life - how had Shigaraki even recognized him?  He’d spent most of the time in the USJ in the maintenance room! - meant that he had a bit of extra luck to lean into, and he was hoping that Mr. Aizawa, or, heck, even All Might had decided this was a good day to shop, too.

But as the conversation wore on, it became obvious that his current quasi-kidnapped state was a direct result of his last kidnapping.  Shigaraki wanted to know “What did you do to my nomu?” and “What did you do to Stain?” and, most importantly, “Why do people pay attention to Stain and not me?” 

Which, in Izuku’s opinion, was a pretty petty thing for a supervillain to worry about, but this supervillain did have a dangerous quirk pointed at Izuku’s throat, so he wasn’t about to say that.  

“W-well,” he said, instead, “Stain is… understandable.  He has goals.  And even if you don’t agree with his goals, they’re pretty clear.  What he wants is… normal.  And the source of his conviction– It’s All Might!  It’s like that for a lot of people.  Even if the way he’s going about fulfilling his goals isn’t something people can accept.  You…  I don’t think anyone understands what you want.  What your, um, ideals are…”

“Ha,” said Shigaraki.  “Ha.”  

Izuku didn’t dare move.  He didn’t dare swallow.  Shigaraki’s middle finger was so close to his throat…

“I get it now,” he said, a horrible smile-like thing on his face.  “It’s all so clear now.  It all makes sense.  It’s so obvious why the hero killer is so irritating.  It’s all because of All Might.”  He laughed again.  “Right?  Right.  That’s the conclusion.  Man.  Of course it was All Might.  It’s always him.  The reason all these idiots can smile– It’s him!  Him, smiling, as if there’s no one he can’t save!”

At this point, Izuku started to tune him out, because it was hard to pay attention to something as trivial as words when you’re actively being strangled.  

And then, right when he was sure he was going to die one way or the other, Uraraka showed up.  

.

“I think I hate that guy,” said Izuku to Uraraka, later.  

“Yeah,” she said.  “Me too.”

.

Well, the training camp was going well.  And by well, Izuku meant he sure was training.  A lot.  

He was also, for some reason, catching a small ball-punching child who had been knocked off a wall by a pervert.  

They really should come up with some method to stop Mineta before he took things too far…  Some of his stunts were getting scary. 

But that was a task for tomorrow!  The task for today was listening to the story of a horrible family tragedy and then passing out.  

But then it turned out that the task for tomorrow was more training, and then–

And then the Test of Courage was crashed by a bunch of villains.  

.

The forest was filled with toxic gasses and fire, and there was a grade schooler somewhere on the mountain, but this was fine!  Totally fine!  Izuku had this handled!  And there were actual adults, trained heroes, who were not paralyzed, here, so, really, this was more like the USJ than the fight with Stain!

… Shockingly, this observation didn’t make him feel better.  

Finding Kouta did make him feel better.  

Encountering Muscular seconds later didn’t.  

Nor did discovering that the villains planned to kidnap Kacchan and Tokoyami.  At least Kacchan was safe back with the other people who’d failed the test.  Tokoyami, not so much.  

He had mixed feelings about the results of throwing the nearest stick at Muscular.  He’d prefer that he not be known as the hero who habitually put out people’s eyes, but if he complained about it, that would mean he survived to complain about it.

He took the opportunity to run.  

.

Izuku would very much like to know why Kacchan was out here and not safely back in the buildings with Vlad King and Mr. Aizawa.  

.

Why was Moonfish here?  Didn't Shigaraki know the reason Moonfish got caught was because he tried to eat his accomplice?

.

There was a shape-shifter involved.  This explained nothing.  

.

Why didn't this guy become a stage magician or something?

.

Izuku managed to catch the right orb and break Kacchan free, but even the best luck in the world couldn't save you from stupidity.  Stupidity in this case being Kacchan immediately shoving Izuku away and getting caught by the villains again. 

So.

Kacchan got kidnapped. 

The villains left.

A tree fell on Izuku.

He was, of course, sent to the hospital.

.

In the hospital, he wondered if Kacchan’s last words to him before he was hauled into that portal were right.  If he was just bad luck.  If he should just stay away.  

If Kacchan's shove had kept *Izuku* from being taken.  

.

They were on a rescue mission, and none of that mattered.  They were going to Kamino Ward.

.

They were hiding behind a wall about a meter high.  It had been much taller a second ago.  

Izuku's quirk was screaming at him.  It had never done that before.  

They could hear All Might and the villain talking, and it was terrible, terrible what he'd done to Ragdoll, but… it filled in so many gaps.  It explained the nomu.  It explained Shigaraki’s hatred of All Might.  It explained why this villain was so powerful.

But.

None of that mattered right now.  What mattered was saving Kacchan. 

.

They were soaring high above the battlefield, and Kirishima held out his hand - the chances were one in a million or less, but– 

Kacchan was with them, and they were running.  

They made it out, made it away, and Izuku kept a tight grip on his quirk, because he wouldn't, couldn't, let any bad luck happen now.  Not when it could spill over onto that battle.  

Then he saw the screen.

Izuku looked at All for One, standing in the ruins of Kamino Ward, standing above All Might, Mr. Yagi, who struggled to stand, to make one more attack, protect one more person, and he knew–

All for One was a person with a lifetime’s worth of good luck.  

He was practically made of luck.  From his quirk, which had to be the best quirk Izuku had ever heard of - the ability to take and give quirks?  Really?  That was a thing? - to having found the right quirks to live for centuries, to surviving that ‘last’ fight with All Might that he’d mentioned, to flying under the hero world’s radar for so long.  He’d won the lottery of life.  

If Izuku ever got luck like that, it’d kill him.

He slowed, stopping behind his classmates and–

And he turned.

And he ran. 

He ran, and cranked his quirk up as high as it would go.  Made himself as lucky as he possibly could.  The luck, not having anywhere else to go, spilled out, touching everyone around him with its glow.  

The small cluster of cancer cells in a man he passed spontaneously died.  

A woman fumbled her phone and sent a text message that would one day radically change her life for the better.

Hospitals nearby recorded a practically unheard of rash of Lazarus Syndrome cases.  

Rubble from the battlefield shifted just enough that a family of four were able to crawl out of the ruins of their living room.

Uraraka's father won the lottery- a fact he wouldn't notice for another week, too worried about his daughter to check his prize.  

Damage in Iida Tensei's spine inexplicably reversed itself.  It was only by a small amount, but even if he'd still never walk, he'd be able to move and feel his legs.

None of the attacks All for One launched hit his target.  Not a single one.

Izuku was a shooting star.  A brilliant light, burning into nothing.  Izuku had never before accumulated so much debt on his quirk.  One way or another, he knew he never would again.  

He ran across fields of rubble that should have sent him sprawling.  He dodged stray attacks from a combatant who might not even register his presence.  He got closer and closer, impossibility unscathed, until he slid between Mr. Yagi and All for One just as Mr. Yagi was caught under the crushed walls of a building.

He bowed, the crown of his head touching broken concrete.  "Please!  Please don't kill him!  I- I- Take my quirk, do anything you want to me, but please don't kill him."

"No!  Young Midoriya!  Get out of here!"

"And why should I take your quirk?" asked All for One, sounding amused.  

"Because- Because my quirk is luck.  I just got across this battlefield, unscathed.  If you take my quirk, you'll never have to worry about- about the kinds of injuries you have again." That was a bit of a guess, but if he had to risk things on a guess, it would be now, with his quirk blazing inside him.  "No one would get lucky enough to even touch you.  Please.  Take it."

Because All for One's quirk had to work one of two ways.  Either it took a quirk as it had been when it first manifested, or it took it as it currently was.  

Izuku's quirk had taken into account his prior luck when it first manifested, and he was building up a massive debt, now.  His quirk was the perfect poison pill.  He just needed All for One to take it.  

"Well," said All for One.  "I don't know about sparing All Might, but I could never refuse a quirk offered up so nicely."

Izuku felt All for One's hand on his head.

What followed was agony, and after that, an aching, hollowness, and the sound of someone crying.  

Was… was Mr. Yagi crying over him?  That was silly.  He wasn't dead, and his plan was going great.  

"Now," said All for One, "All Might-"

A horrid orange light and a deafening crack filled the air, and when Izuku could see again, the top half of All for One's body was gone, and there was a smoking crater a few meters behind the legs.  Everything smelled faintly burnt.

"What," croaked All Might.

"Oh," said Izuku, faintly.  "I always worried something like that would happen to me."

He promptly passed out.  

.

Izuku stared up at the ceiling of his hospital room.  This would be the last time he could blame getting hurt on his quirk.  His quirk, which was well and truly gone, now, along with Ragdoll’s and countless others.  Not that he could’ve gotten it back from All for One if his plan hadn’t worked but…

He was quirkless now.  

Kacchan had always been a jerk, and there were more than a few people in his class that were jerks along with him, really believing that Izuku was giving them bad luck every time they failed a test.  But he’d had a few casual friends in middle school despite that, and except for the teachers who thought he’d been falsifying his quirk, they usually stopped Kacchan before he went too far.  

But he knew how they all talked about quirkless people.  He knew the statistics.  He… hadn’t really been thinking of the consequences when he came up with the plan.  Not that he regretted it!  He didn’t.  But he knew it would be hard to be a hero without a quirk.  

Or would it?  Would living like this be like his quirk was always in neutral?  Or would it be something entirely different?  It already felt like something different.  It felt… weird.  Not being aware of how his luck was going.  Like being blind.  And he knew his luck was just random, now.  Knew that bad luck wouldn’t mean good luck to follow, and good luck didn’t mean bad luck to follow but…  Even thinking that felt alien to him.  

He could have good luck forever.  He could have bad luck forever.  That was statistically unlikely, of course.  Either way, he had no control over it.

“Oh, Izuku!”

“H-hi, Mom,” he said, and let his mother fuss over him.  He wasn’t up for much conversation at the moment, unfortunately.  

Behind her, Mr. Yagi, walked in and quietly shut the door.  

“Um,” said Izuku, “a-am I in trouble?  I mean, I know, I know that I technically killed someone with my quirk, but, uh.  I did do that.  Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh, you’re here to arrest me, I–”

“Nonsense, Young Izuku!  If anyone tries to charge you for that man accidentally killing himself with his own quirk, I will simply eat them.”

“And that’s if they get through me, first,” said his mother, pleasantly.  

“Oh,” said Izuku.  “So, why…?”

“Two reasons,” said Mr. Yagi.  “First, I wanted to thank you.  I’ve spent my entire career trying to get rid of that man.”

Izuku nodded.  ‘Get rid of’ was pretty ambiguous, here, but Izuku was the last person who could blame him for trying to kill the guy.  

“The other thing I wanted to talk to you about…”  Here, Mr. Yagi got that look on his face.  “I want to talk to you about a quirk called One for All.”