Chapter Text
Izuku stood by quietly as he watched the fourth round conclude, Monoma’s team had managed to just barely get the best of the Class 1A team led by the cute brown haired girl from the entrance exam and a black haired kid with a headband.
“1-1-2. Ready to bring it home, Midori?” Teased Tokage, coming up behind her classmate and rubbing his shoulders.
Izuku glanced over at his competition. He, Tokage, Bondo, and Kamakiri would be going up against a guy with tape dispensers in his elbows, a guy in a yellow costume that Izuku was pretty sure had some kind of strength quirk if he remembered right, Shinso, from Class 1C, his old Aldera acquaintance, Jiro, and of course, Kacchan. He knew that one’s quirk, personality, and tactics inside and out.
Izuku turned to face his friend, a new competitive fire in his eyes. “Let’s just say this fight is one that’s been a long time coming.”
“Oh? How long are we talking?” Tokage smirked, she was intrigued, she wasn’t familiar with this side of Midoriya but she liked it.
Izuku smirked. “I’ve known that kid since we were in diapers.”
“Which one? The punk, the yellow guy, the tape guy, the gen ed kid, or explosion jackass?”
“The last one,” Izuku chuckled. “And he was my bully from about the time a hack doctor mistakenly told me I had a joint in my pinky toes until just before we got here.”
“Oh shit! He’s that asshole?”
Izuku nodded.
“Okay new plan then,” Tokage suggested.
“You, Kamakiri, and Bondo pick off the rest, and you guys leave me enough space to wipe the floor with Bakugo?”
“Correctamundo!” Tokage replied, prompting a small chuckle from the two teens.
“Petty feuds aside, that might actually be a good plan, Bakugo’s been known to have Deku tunnel vision. If he sees me jumping around and trying to pick off his teammates, he’ll come straight for me,” Izuku noted, folding his arms and cupping his chin as he cycled through his thoughts.
“Yeah yeah, you’re right,” Tokage noted, putting a hand on her hip and placing a hand on her own chin as she organized her own mind.
“Bakugo’s also a powerhouse too, so it might be good to draw his fire as well. Keep him distracted until 3 v 4 and 1 v 1 turns into 4 v 1.”
“This is why I like you,” Tokage noted, her face breaking into a goofy grin that showed off her sharp teeth.
Izuku blushed. “Oh, uh, I like you too, Tokage.”
Tokage’s face broke out into a blush of her own. “Okay, we’ll interrogate this later, right now we need to kick Class A’s ass.”
“That might just be the most intelligent thing you’ve ever said, Tokage!” Declared a third voice.
The budding love birds then turned to see their pompous blonde haired friend.
“And you’ve said quite a few intelligent things since I’ve known you!” Monoma added.
Tokage rolled her eyes. “You narrowly avoided disaster with that addendum."
“He’s really great at delivering remarks that sound like insults but are really compliments,” Izuku cracked, offering his friend a handshake.
“It’s part of my charm,” Monoma replied, giving dap to his closest friend since joining UA.
“Is that what you want to call it?” Izuku teased.
“You see that Tokage? This is how this rude young man regards his best friends!” Monoma joked.
Tokage rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up. Just go cheer for us with everyone else.”
“I shall retrieve my pompoms!” The blonde cracked. His pompous grin faded into a more sincere expression. “Joking aside, Midoriya, are you ready to face him?”
Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath then slowly released it. “Yeah, yeah I’m ready.”
Monoma grinned proudly. “Give him hell then my friend!”
“What he said, tell him to fuck off and die!” Tokage agreed.
“You both know that’s nowhere near my style,” Midoriya chuckled, giving them both a puzzled expression.
“And not very heroic!” Added a fourth voice.
The trio then looked up to their class president. Izuku grinned. “I couldn’t agree more, Kendo.”
“Thank you, Midoriya,” the redhead nodded.
“Two peas in a pod as ever,” Monoma remarked.
“You know prez, your veep and I were just starting to make a connection before this one showed up, should any of us be worried?” Tokage teased.
“Only if you two don’t get going, Bondo and Kamakiri are both waiting up ahead for you.”
“Very good point! Shall we, Mr. Vice President?”
“Yes, let’s Ms. Tokage!” Izuku agreed as the two ran off to join their friends at the entrance to the arena.
Katsuki glanced at his watch. Was Shitty Deku really going to make him wait? The one time he actually wanted that little bastard around and he was running late?!
“They’re here!” Hollered Ears.
“‘Bout fucking time,” Katsuki muttered.
“Sorry we’re late! Kamakiri forgot where he put his whetstone and Midoriya got caught up talking to All Might, but we’re ready now!” Apologized the lizard girl who looked like she could be Shitty Hair or Deku’s sister based on the hair and the teeth.
“Whatever, let’s just get to the damn field,” Katsuki muttered.
“You were right Midoriya, he really is a charmer,” snorted the bug boy.
“The fuck did you say?” Katsuki growled, stepping up to the smart mouth.
Deku stepped between them. “Don’t talk to him, he’s not worth your time.”
Katsuki’s eyes lit up with rage. “Don’t tell me what to-“
“I was talking to Kamakiri.”
That actually made him even more pissed. “Are you saying I’m not worth-!”
“Yes.”
I am going to drag this damn nerd’s face all over the concrete!
Katsuki suddenly felt a strong hand around his arm.
“Save it for the match,” grumbled the baker-douche.
Katsuki took a deep breath. He was right, he didn’t like it, but he was right. “You’re a lot more bold than you used to be, Deku.”
“Don’t call me that,” Deku huffed.
Katsuki blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You know my name. It’s either Izuku, Midoriya, or my hero name, Paradigm Shift.”
“Paradigm Shift?” Katsuki repeated, incredulously. “That’s your hero name?”
“And yours?”
“It’s still pending, they didn’t like my first idea,” Katsuki grumbled, looking embarrassed.
Deku paused. “Please tell me you didn’t try to call yourself King Explosion Murder?”
“He did,” replied Ears, Baker-Douche, and Soy Face.
“Seriously?” Questioned Eyebags, looking baffled.
“Fuck all of you.”
Deku shook his head. “Honestly Kacchan, would you believe me if I said I was looking forward to this match?”
Katsuki looked back at Deku with confusion. “Why? You think you’re gonna pay me back for everything that went down before we got here?”
Deku shook his head. “It’s less about payback and more about just finally being able to separate the ties that bind us.”
“Huh?”
“We go way back, Kacchan, and there’s a bridge between us, and despite my best efforts to maintain it, you’ve gone out of your way to torch it since we were four. So today, I’m going to blast it all to hell.”
Katsuki gave his former friend a bewildered look. “Okay, what the hell does any of that mean?”
“He means you’re just a fuck,” piped in Deku and Shitty Hair’s love child.
“Excuse me?!”
“I’d explain more but I don’t feel like it… Because you suuuuuuuuck,” she replied in a sing-song voice.
“Ditto,” added five other voices.
“I just met this guy today and I think he sucks,” added Shinso.
“CAN IT EYEBAGS!”
“Whatever man.”