Kirishima(looking at Bakugo): I wonder who's apologizing...

Gran Torino: It had better be Toshinori.

Hawks: I rather it be both.

Izuku stared at the match-ups numbly. That was it. Nezu was a sociopathic rat that got entertainment from torturing humanity and was not to be trusted.

Mitsuki: Well we all knew that but what happened that Izuku finally realizes it?

Hero students(remembering the exams): Oh. Oh boy.

He'd find some other hyper-intelligent hero to teach him, because there was no way Nezu was still sane if he thought these match-ups were a good idea.

All Might vs. Midoriya & Bakugo

Everyone else: Oh boy.

Mt. Lady: Seriously Nezu?! How did you think that was a good idea?!

Izuku hadn't had a lot of interaction with Katsuki since the whole fiasco with the battle exercise at the beginning of the year and it had been bliss. The teachers had made sure they weren't paired with or against each other during exercises and neither of them had sought each other out for anything, so Izuku had no idea why Nezu had thought this matchup was going to be a good idea. Of course, Katsuki had been going to therapy, but Izuku didn't want to get his hopes up.

Sero: He's been getting really better though!

And to make it worse, the two of them were going to be paired against All Might, the one hero that hated him, because of course that made perfect sense. Izuku wouldn't put it beyond the number one hero to go harder on them than he was supposed to just to make sure they failed and prove that a quirkless kid could never be a hero. The alternative was that he'd go super easy on them out of some misguided sense of pity, which would be even worse because it would piss Katsuki off and he'd blame Izuku. Either way, he was screwed.

Hagakure: Huh he hasn't caught up on everything.

Dabi: Well yeah, he's been avoiding the both of them.

Izuku glared at Nezu, who simply smiled knowingly, which wasn't any help at all. He sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat as all the students were all shuffled onto different buses and taken to the battle grounds. Eraser wouldn't let Nezu fail him, right? Even if everything went wrong, it wouldn't be his fault and it didn't seem fair for him not to be able to go to the summer camp alongside the rest of the class. It wouldn't be logical.

Aizawa: Problem child you'll be fine.

Izuku forced himself to take a deep breath. Thankfully, the bus was large enough that he didn't have to sit right next to Katsuki, who had set up camp at the back of the bus, or All Might, who had stuck to the front. Sure, that left Izuku to awkwardly find a seat in the middle, but it was better than whatever forced small talk was the alternative. Seriously, what had that rat been thinking?!

Nezu: A lot. But to explain my whole thought process would take a while.

Aoyama: Several paragraphs that the author does not have time for.

As the bus drove on in silence, Izuku tried to focus on strategies he could use. He knew some of All Might's weaknesses, and Katsuki's, should he need them, but it was still hard to plan when he didn't even know if Katsuki would be willing to put aside everything and actually fight alongside him, or whether Izuku would be fighting two enemies instead of one. The only thing he knew he could count on was that All Might was going to underestimate him, but that still left him with a sour taste in his mouth. Joy.

Mei: Yeah I don't like it either but you'll be fine, Izu-kun.

It simultaneously felt like it took forever and no time at all for the bus to pull up to the fake city. Izuku grimaced and got off the bus, determinedly ignoring All Might as he hesitantly left to prepare for the battle. Katsuki hovered a few feet away from him in surly silence until All Might was out of sight.

"So, Deku." Katsuki huffed unexpectedly. "You're the strategist. What's the plan?"

Midoriya(gaping): He actually asked me for help!

Shouta could appreciate the logic in Nezu's pairing, but the part of him that wasn't a teacher was still gnashing its teeth at pairing Deku with his bully. Former bully, he reminded himself forcefully. Hound Dog had given a glowing recommendation on Bakugo's progress and Nezu wouldn't have dreamed of moving forward if he believed doing so would put a student in danger, so Shouta had swallowed his pride and let the match go forward. He just hoped they wouldn't regret it.

Still, he would pay money to see All Might's face when the quirkless student beat him. The oaf deserved a good hit to his pride at this point.

Recovery Girl: Oh yes he does.

Izuku blinked at Katsuki in shock, "... What?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "Isn't that your whole thing? Being smart and @#*&$? So what's the plan?"

"I..." Izuku took a moment to reboot, "You're asking me for the plan?! You?!"

Bakugo: Aren't you supposed to be smart? Yeah I'm asking you for a plan just go with it!

"Look, I know that I was !$#&* to you growing up and I'm sorry." Katsuki growled. "But I'm trying to get stronger and be the best hero I can be, so stop complaining and let's strategize already!"

(everyone cheered)

Mina: He apologized!

Bakugo(embarrassed): Stop making it all about me!

Izuku stared at him in disbelief for a long moment, "... What did you just say?"

"I said we're wasting time." Katsuki grumbled.

Izuku shook his head, "No, before that."

Bakugo: You heard me once you don't have to make me say it again!

Katsuki glared at him, but Izuku could see he almost looked embarrassed, "You know what I said, I'm not gonna repeat myself. Now are we gonna beat All Might or not?!"

Izuku had never expected Katsuki to apologize. He'd never expected him to even realize that anything was wrong with his behavior, but well, for some reason it was weirdly fitting for him to just throw the apology out and leave it without any further explanation like he would do with anything else. It was just there, take it or leave it and that was that.

Mitsuki: Yep, he'd probably do that. Not that I'd know, because he never apologizes for anything.

Bakugo: Oh shut it you old hag.

He found himself smiling hesitantly, "Well, he is the number one hero, so it would make the most sense to run away..."

Thirteen: But he's not going to do that isn't he?

He trailed off and Katsuki's eyes narrowed, "But we're not gonna do that, are we?"

Izuku grinned, relieved that Katsuki was willing to work with him, even if Izuku was still suspicious of him and wasn't quite willing to trust him again yet. "No, we're not."

Toshinori waited in the fake city, nervously fiddling with the weights that the support department had given him. Nezu hadn't really given him a chance to say 'no' when he'd presented this pairing and for some reason that made Toshinori even more nervous. Also... well, he'd spent so long with the belief that a quirkless kid could never be a hero that he hadn't truly paid attention to what Deku's limits were. He knew young Midoriya had impressed a lot of heroes and helped take down Stain, but he'd been so preoccupied with his own blind prejudice and internalized insecurities that he wasn't exactly sure what the boy was capable of. Bakugo was easier, although still a wild card because he usually didn't do well with teamwork and was changing rapidly from what Hound Dog had informed them. Even with the unknowns, though, All Might was the number one hero, so he didn't expect they would give him too many problems.

All Might(sighing): And I'm underestimating him anyway.

Aizawa: Good, now the problem child will win.

The signal that the match had started rang out over the empty streets and Toshinori started scanning the streets for any movement. If the two were going to try to escape, which was the only choice, considering their opponent, they'd probably stick together and rely on stealth, which would be significantly more challenging for Bakugo than for Midoriya. He'd find the louder of the two, then use that to find the other and attack!

Gran Torino: They'll find you first, Toshinori.

All Might: I know.

He was expecting to have to wait a bit longer, but after only a minute or two, Bakugo came sauntering out onto the street he was on, making no attempt to hide his movements. Toshinori watched him suspiciously, but even though Bakugo had obviously seen him and was walking straight toward him, he didn't show any indication of attacking. Was he a distraction? Would Bakugo even be willing to act as bait? And where was Midoriya, shouldn't they be attacking him together if they were going to try to beat him?

Shinso: Nah, he's going to attack you from somewhere you'll never expect.

Toshinori pasted a large smile on his face and laughed, "Young Bakugo! Come to fight me, hero? What about your friend?"

"Deku?" Bakugo snarled. "That weakling is probably snivelling in a corner. This is our fight All Might! He doesn't stand a chance!"

Inko: That's an easy lie.

Kaminari: Yeah Bakugo says stuff like that a lot.

Toshinori's first instinct was to sigh in relief that young Midoriya wouldn't get hurt, but something about Bakugo's words set off warning bells in his head. Midoriya was many things. Intelligent? Obviously. Reckless? Definitely.

Midoriya: I'm not-

Everyone: Yes you are.

But a coward? No, Midoriya would never cower in a corner. He would find a way to think around a problem or he would face it head on, but if he hadn't run from the league or Stain, he wouldn't run from this fight either.

Bakugo was the distraction.

Endeavor: Just because you know that it's a distraction doesn't mean it won't work.

"The game is up, young man." Toshinori informed him. "I know you're trying to distract me and it's not going to work. Where's your partner?"

To his surprise, Bakugo just smiled, "Knowing it's a distraction doesn't seem like it's doing you much good. You still don't know where Deku is, but whatever. Maybe he'll show you."

Toshinori started to lunge forward to begin the fight, but he froze when he heard a sudden bang and then there was a sudden pain exploding in his side, right where his injury was. His eyes widened as he remembered that young Midoriya knew about his smaller form and therefore knew about his injury and was apparently fully willing to take advantage of it. He rushed to look around and find him, but a louder boom and burning pain took precedence. Bakugo smirked at him viciously as he set off explosion after explosion right on his injury as well.

(a lot of people winced as Shigaraki started cackling. They understood that Midoriya had to take advantage of every weakness to beat All Might but this was still pretty brutal. Literal bullets in an injury that was still making All Might cough up blood, not to mention the explosions.)

Toshinori growled and grabbed Bakugo by the collar, tossing him like a ragdoll down the street and turned his attention to finding Midoriya. Another gunshot echoed through the street and he had to ignore the pain to focus on tracking the bullet. As soon as he had a general direction, he fired up One for All and covered the distance to the most likely building in one leap, landing heavily on the roof only to find it empty.

Recovery Girl(shrieking): Toshinori what are you trying to do, kill him?!

All Might: No!

Recovery Girl: Well it looks otherwise!

"Come out and face me, young Midoriya." Toshinori called out, tearing the door to the building from its hinges. "You say that you're capable of being a hero? Well, prove it!"

"Deku doesn't have to prove @*#&($ to you." Bakugo yelled above the sound of his explosions as he finally caught up and started attacking again. "We might not be heroes yet, but we're strong enough to beat you!"

Bakugo: Heh, definitely.

There was another gunshot and Toshinori hissed. How Midoriya was able to still aim for his injury even while Bakugo was attacking him and not hitting his classmate was admittedly impressive, but Toshinori couldn't give up yet. He grabbed Bakugo again, this time by the arm and tossed him across the roof.

Recovery Girl(screaming): That would've at least broken his arm you idiot!

All Might: I-

Mitsuki: Shut up you nincompoop!

He almost went inside the building before he realized that Midoriya needed to have a clear line of shot, so he must be on one of the other rooftops.

Gran Torino: Took you long enough.

Toshinori bent at the knees and launched himself into the air, hoping to get a bird's eye view. Most of the rooftops seemed empty, but one of them was slightly taller than the others and had a patch of shadows that appeared just slightly too solid compared to the rest of the city. Toshinori immediately shifted his body and let himself fall toward that one, landing with a heavy thud as the concrete cracked slightly beneath him.

He grinned when he saw Midoriya crouching beside the railing, his eyes widening slightly as he realized that his cover was now useless, "Well, Deku, I've found you! What's your next move, hero."

Midoriya blinked in shock, then slowly grinned, "Tell me, All Might, has your time limit gone down since giving your quirk to Mirio?"

Mirio: It should have right?

Tamaki: I think so...

Toshinori froze, but only for a moment. When he saw Midoriya reach for something in his tool belt, he rushed to grab him, but started coughing as the rooftop filled with smoke. The chemicals, combined with how much blunt force trauma he'd taken to his injury in the last few minutes, made the coughing so much worse than it usually was, and Toshinori could taste blood as he punched the air to blow the smoke away so he could see his opponent again.

Inko(wincing): Oh, poor All Might.

Shigaraki: Die!

Spinner: Sheesh you're starting to sound like Bakugo.

"I think it is." Midoriya spoke from behind him and when Toshinori whirled around to face him, he was met with another shot to his side. "I think that passing on your quirk and going over your limits at the USJ has cut down the time you can fight significantly. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, that steam I see is a sign that you're almost done for the day."

Toshinori's eyes widened. He didn't feel close to his limits, but sure enough, steam was wafting around him, which meant that he needed to wrap this up quickly, "Ah, you may be intelligent young Midoriya, but I'm stronger!"

Nezu(chuckling): Hm, I wonder how much of that is real...

"Yeah right!" Bakugo slammed open the door to the roof and ran onto the rooftop, already launching an explosion at Toshinori's weak spot. "Die!"

"Katsuki!" Midoriya cried out. "What took you so long?!"

"@!#&*( broke my arm. So I had to walk instead of fly." Bakugo growled. Sure enough, he looked slightly worse for wear and one arm hung uselessly at his side. Toshinori winced. He hadn't meant to hurt him!

Mitsuki: Well look what happened anyway!

There was movement behind him and Toshinori whirled around, growing desperate as the steam grew thicker. He couldn't deflate in front of young Bakugo! Another shot to his side told him which direction Midoriya was hiding in and it was only a split second before he had him in hand, "Give up, young Midoriya. I win."

Midoriya just looked up at him and smirked, "Do you?"

Uraraka: Go Deku!

Kirishima: Come on, Bakugo!

An explosion sounded to his right and Toshinori turned to face young Bakugo, only to find smoke blowing away on the empty rooftop, "Where...?"

A loud bell echoed over the fake city, "All Might has been captured. Bakugo and Midoriya pass."

(everyone cheered)

Toshinori turned back in shock. Midoriya was still tight in his hold, grinning, but young Bakugo was standing right next to him, a confident smirk on his face as he tightened the cuffs a little more around Toshinori's wrist, "You already knew I was the distraction, heh? Well I guess you forgot I'm not the only thing that explodes."

"It wasn't too hard to use smoke bombs and flashbangs to make you think Katsuki was on the other side of the roof." Midoriya said proudly. "Your fight earlier was more than enough time to set up the trap and the pain from your weak point was enough to make it hard to feel when Katsuki got you with the cuffs on that same side. We win."

Kurogiri: Note to self, potentially use this strategy against those with similar quirks...

Toshinori took a deep breath and let go of him, "Yes, young Midoriya, I believe you do. Now, young Bakugo, why don't you run on ahead? I'm sure that Recovery Girl will give me an earful about your arm later and it will be better to get that healed sooner rather than later."

Recovery Girl: Oh I'm definitely giving you an earful about that.

Bakugo scoffed and rolled his eyes, but left Toshinori and Midoriya to follow along behind him, "Slowpokes."

Toshinori sighed in relief and started making his way down the stairs, "I was worried he was going to see my other form... you didn't tell him, did you?"

Midoriya smiled and shook his head, "I just told him to aim for your left side, not that you were close to your limit anyway."

A lot of people: Wait what?

(Nezu started laughing.)

Toshinori stopped, "... What?"

Midoriya smirked and turned to look back at him, "What? Did you think I could fake an explosion, but not a little steam? Nezu says to never underestimate the power of psychological manipulation."

Nezu: Oh the other me is quite right.

Toshinori froze and looked around. Now that they were off the rooftop, none of the steam that he'd seen before was present. He'd assumed that it was adrenaline keeping him from trusting his body's energy, but no. "It was a trap."

Toga: Mm-hm! Izu-kun's so smart!

"Yep." Midoriya's eyes were filled with a silent challenge. "How's that for a quirkless weakling?"

Toshinori winced, "I suppose I owe you an apology, don't I? I was blinded by my own experiences before receiving One for All. I... well, you see, I used to be quirkless myself. I remember how hard it was and how weak... anyway, I personally could not have become a hero without my mentor's help, but maybe you can."

Dabi(snorting): One, terrible apology, and two, you didn't even say 'sorry'.

The silence was deafening and Toshinori searched Midoriya's face expectantly for any sign of a reaction, but was instead met with a carefully stony expression. He grew a little more anxious as he realized that he had no idea how young Midoriya felt about his apology. He was about to give in and apologize again, if only to have something to do, when Midoriya broke the silence.

"You hurt me." Midoriya said simply. "When you said that I couldn't be a hero, something inside me broke and if it hadn't have been for Eraserhead and the support of the hero underground behind me, I would probably never have recovered."

Inko(sadly): Oh Izuku...

Midoriya: It's okay mom, I'm fine now.

Midoriya took a deep breath and continued, his eyes filled with anger, hurt, and some other emotion that Toshinori couldn't identify, "You crushed my dream and left me on a rooftop, All Might. Knowing why you did it doesn't erase that it happened and doesn't erase all the other times you tried to get me to give up. Even if you think you were justified or protecting me, that still doesn't excuse the way you've been treating me since the day we met. I'm grateful