Izuku entered the classroom and as usual his class was lively and loud. Shoto had reached him before Katsuki could notice his presence.

"There was something I just had to talk to you about. Sit right... here." Shoto said as he blocked Izuku from Katsuki's sight.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"A new technique with my quirks. Watch." said Shoto as he started to use both on an object he had placed down.

"Hey, icyhot! What're you doing over there!?" Katsuki shouted from his seat.

"Mind your business and continue chatting with your like minded friends." Shoto replied, hiding Izuku more.

"Hey, Deku...!" Ochako said as she stopped by Shoto's desk.

"Midoriya!" Tenya said as he stopped over as well.

Shoto silently simmered as his plan was falling apart. Katsuki would be arriving within seconds of hearing them call out to him.

"That damn nerd is here, huh?" Katsuki said as he walked over to Shoto's desk.

He knew something was up, especially with the way he standing. He didn't understand why he always kept Izuku away from him, but each and every time it pissed him off. He pushed past the others then slammed his palms against the desk.

"Kacchan..." Izuku stammered, wondering what insults he'd shout this time.

"You, me and your loser friends. Together at lunch." Katsuki said before walking away with his usual swagger.

Those who were present weren't sure what happened. Shoto squinted at Katsuki with disdain. He'd just have try again later. Izuku looked between Shoto and Katsuki with worry. They both had started acting weird recently. Katsuki was slightly nicer than his usual nice while Shoto couldn't seem to stand his presence.

"Switch seats with me today." said Shoto with a pleading look.

"Sure but-" Izuku started but Shoto had walked off.

"Man, they're weird these days..." Ochako muttered then shook her head. "Anyway, I heard we'd be doing rescue training today!"

"Right, that's what we came to talk about. Let's work together, the three of us." Tenya said with a smile.

"I'd like that a lot." Izuku replied with his innocent smile.

Katsuki glanced back at Izuku who chatted happily with his friends. Did Izuku always have that bright of a smile? He shook his head and push the thoughts away. Deku was his name. He was still useless in his eyes.

˗ˏˋ❀ˋˏ ˏˋ❀ˋˏ˗

Mr. Aizawa walked the students over to the new USJ building where they were to practice their rescuing skills. After a lengthy explanation from the teachers, they were random put into teams of three by lot drawing. To Izuku's dismay, his group consisted of Katsuki and Tsuyu. He and Tsuyu shared a look as everyone knew how Katsuki got when it came to training.

They were put in the landslide zone and a total of five people had been caught in it. Tsuyu and Izuku expected Katsuki to go off on his own, but he stayed put.

"What are you extras looking at? Especially you nerd." Katsuki spat.

"Well, we expected you to go off on your own... But if you're staying, the plan is we try minimizing damage, especially since everything is unstable. Meaning you shouldn't use your quirk." Izuku said then continued to explain his plan.

Tsuyu couldn't help but notice how attentive Katsuki was being to Izuku. Something like that was a big rare occurrence. She decided not to mention it to Izuku until training was over.

˗ˏˋ❀ˋˏ ˏˋ❀ˋˏ˗

Tsuyu found herself and Izuku alone helping the last person out of the landslide.

"Izuku, this may not be the ideal time to talk about it, but after... could we?" she asked as they carried the "person" to safety.

"Yeah, of course." Izuku replied as they reached where Katsuki awaited with the other injured.

An alarm blared, signaling training was over. Everyone headed to the plaza and awaited their results. After the long explanations, they were told to change back into their uniforms and head to lunch.

"Izuku." Tsuyu said as she pulled him off to the side. "Didn't it feel weird seeing Katsuki listening to you? After all these years?"

"Well yeah. But I consider it a silver lining since we were about to finish quicker." said Izuku with a small smile.

"You always know how to look at the bright side of things. That's all I wanted to say, sorry for taking up your time." apologized Tsuyu as they moved to catch up with the others.

"Don't worry about it. I appreciate you looking out for me." Izuku replied.

˗ˏˋ❀ˋˏ ˏˋ❀ˋˏ˗

Izuku carried his tray over to where he usually sat then noticed Katsuki was sitting in his spot. He didn't feel like arguing over it, so he sat on the other end. Tenya looked at Izuku then at Katsuki who seemed ticked off. What did he expect when there wasn't any space on this end for him?

"Damn nerd! Why're you sitting over there?" Katsuki fussed.

"Uh, there's space here-" said Izuku but was talked over by Katsuki.

"Move over you extras! Now there's space, Deku." said Katsuki.

Izuku left his spot then slowly sat down beside Katsuki. The last thing he wanted was to lose his lunch to Katsuki. Strangely, he didn't make any moves towards taking his lunch.

"Uh, Kacchan..." Izuku weakly called out. Katsuki remained unresponsive. "Why the sudden change in lunch seating?"

"Do you have a problem with it, Deku?" Katsuki asked while glaring.

"I-" he started then noticed Katsuki's food had frozen over.

Shoto glared at Katsuki who in turn returned said glare. Everyone at the table could feel the tense air between them.

"Why don't you go back to hanging out with your idiot friends?" Shoto said with a sneer. "I thought the sheer hint of Izuku's presence irked you."

"Shut up, damn icyhot. You've been getting on my nerves." Katsuki shouted angrily.

"Because I'm hitting you where it hurts." said Shoto with a shrug.

"I dare you to say that again. I'll kill you!" an enraged Katsuki said.

"Kacchan... maybe you should take a walk... blow off some steam." Izuku said quietly, disliking his classmates fighting.

Katsuki sucked his teeth then shoved Izuku out of his, only to grab him by the wrist and drag him out of the cafeteria. Shoto cursed under his breath and went after them. He couldn't let anything progress between the two. He wanted Katsuki to feel anguish and loss. Painful feelings really.

Izuku struggled to get him to loosen his grip and eventually gave up.

"I really hate that smartass icyhot guy." Katsuki said quietly.

Izuku was surprised by this quieter tone of voice. He didn't think he was capable of going that low.

"Why?" Izuku asked, feeling Katsuki's grip loosen and allowing him to slip free.

"He constantly belittles me and makes fun of me. It's annoying." Katsuki replied as they walked down the hall.

"The bully becoming the bullied. How the tables have turned." said Izuku while giggling.

Katsuki opened his mouth to make a rude remark, but closed his mouth instead. He didn't feel like saying something rude to him at the moment. Shoto watched from a distance for an opening.

"Shoto really seems to favor you, since he's always hiding you from me and all." said Katsuki as he thought about it.

It was then Shoto quietly snuck up behind them and pulled Izuku back away from Katsuki. Izuku didn't know what to do, whether to call out and go with Shoto. It had taken a while for Katsuki to notice Izuku was gone and by the time he realized it, Shoto was already far away with Izuku.

"Fucking..." Katsuki muttered as he kicked a wall.