Izuku opened the door to 1-A and everyone immediately quieted down. Everyone was looking at him. He noticed Shoto and Katsuki hadn't arrived yet. It was Tenya who had taken one for the team.

"Hanta said he heard you shout yesterday. He went down from Mashiro's room to see what was going on and saw you running away... Did something happen?" Tenya asked as he led Izuku to his seat.

"I saw Shoto too! Did you two...?" Hanta asked while making a kissing gesture.

Izuku's face turned bright red. Where were they getting those ideas from? They had no interest in each other whatsoever. At least on his end anyway.

"Absolutely not! You're all letting your imagination's run too wild." Izuku said with a huff.

Shoto entered the room and soon the girls had surrounded him and whispered something to him. His face turned bright red as well. Everyone watched as he stammered, unable to get a word out. Katsuki entered soon after. He locked eyes with Izuku then quickly averted his gaze. Soon he was sitting in Eijiro's seat.

"Hey, when did you switch seats, Bakugo?" Shoto commented. "Why aren't you at your seat?"

"Lay off it, icyhot." Katsuki said flatly.

"Wow, is the almighty Bakugo losing his razor edge? No rude remarks? No cursing me out? Ha, I wonder why." said Shoto, making an insinuation that he had done something.

The other students started to murmur, wondering if Shoto was hinting at something. Izuku wasn't sure whether to step in or butt out. Katsuki didn't respond to Shoto.

"Wow, you really have been tamed haven't you? Who did it? Mr. Aizawa? All Might? Best Jeanist? Iz-" Shoto said then found himself underneath Katsuki in an instant.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up. You half half bastard." Katsuki said angrily.

"Did I strike a nerve? Wasn't my intention." said Shoto as he could see the malice in his eyes.

"I will end you in training today to the point you won't be able to walk anymore." Katsuki threatened before releasing him.

"That's basically kissing your way to being a pro hero goodbye. Just how stupid are you?" Shoto said then laughed. "Oh wait, we already know."

"Shoto, that's far enough." Izuku said.

"Izuku's right, Shoto. We let it go under the guise of banter, but you're crossing the line lately." Tsuyu said with concern.

Other students agreed. Shoto sighed then apologized to everyone, including Katsuki. Katsuki kept his head down as he fought back a small smile. Deku had stood up for him. Even if it wasn't directly to help him out, he still appreciated the gesture. Mr. Aizawa finally entered the classroom and began homeroom.

˗ˏˋ❀ˋˏ ˏˋ❀ˋˏ˗

Izuku stretched out as combat training was starting. The teacher had paired them up beforehand, so students couldn't choose their opponents.

"Starting first are... Bakugo and Todoroki." the teacher said.

All of the students looked at the both of them with worry. Of all the luck, they had to be put together. After what happened earlier in class, everyone was unsure about the match up.

"I have a question-suggestion!" Tenya said, gaining the teacher's attention. "Could they fight different people? They're not quite on good terms and we might see a bloodbath..."

"Some people communicate better with actions rather than words. But no, we're not changing the lineups." the teacher said then had the other students watch from the monitor room.

Izuku could feel his uneasiness rising. Everyone knew what both were capable of when they saw red. Ochako patted his back as the two were given the go ahead. Izuku couldn't watch. He quickly fled the room and ducked into the bathroom. He couldn't imagine what was going on out there. He didn't want to imagine.

"Izuku!? Are you in here!?" Denki called out.

He glanced under the stall doors and caught a glimpse of Izuku's costume. There had to be more to homeroom if he was acting like this.

"It's just me, Denki. I'm not going to force you to talk, but I'll wait in here until you're ready to speak. I promise I won't say a word to anyone." said Denki as he leaned against the stall.

Izuku kept silent as he wondered if both were being carried to Recovery Girl at this point.

"If you want updates, neither are seriously injured. Plenty of scratches and small wounds though." said Denki.

"About what Hanta saw yesterday... I had caught them fighting in my room. They ruined my posters and broke a figurine. I don't know what they were fighting about, but that might be related to earlier..." Izuku confessed as he finally came out of the stall.

"I see. I can understand why you're more upset than the others. Don't worry so much. They know a teacher is watching so they can't go all out." Denki said as he walked him back to the monitor room.

A loud explosion filled their ears just as they opened the door to the room. The teacher had said something then rushed out of the room. The other students looked horrified.

"What happened?" Izuku asked as dust and smoke covered their view.

"They went overboard..." Eijirou said with a disappointed look.

The smoke and dust started to clear, revealing a worn out Katsuki breathing heavily and Shoto on the verge of collapsing. The teacher arrived on the scene and pulled Katsuki off first while another took Shoto.

"I guess that's the end of their fight. Who's next?" Ochako said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I think we all lost our will to fight after that." Tsuyu said with a shake of her head.

˗ˏˋ❀ˋˏ ˏˋ❀ˋˏ˗

Izuku popped into the nurse's office and saw Shoto asleep while Katsuki was awake. Recovery Girl was out. Katsuki noticed him but didn't say anything. He was too tired to fuss around.

"You both fought hard. A bit too hard if you ask me." said Izuku worriedly.

"No one asked you. Stop looking down on me, it's getting old." said Katsuki as he faced away from Izuku.

"I was just worried about your injuries. They look more serious up close..." commented Izuku.

"What's it to you? It's not like you can fix anything. Get lost." Katsuki said in annoyance.

Izuku sighed then turned to leave. He had hoped too much. Katsuki would always be Katsuki. The person who hated him because even before receiving One for All, he was persistent with his goals of getting into U.A and studying heroes, because the person he used as a punching bag had now become an actual opponent, because he started rising above him after receiving the quirk.

"Deku." Katsuki called out just as he reached the door. "Keep me company or I'll hurt you."

"What? Me do what with you?" Izuku asked in utter confusion. "Didn't you tell me to get lost?"

"I didn't mean it literally." said Katsuki as he kept his back to the door.

Izuku walked back over then noticed Katsuki made space on the bed for him to sit. In all honesty, he'd would've preferred to steer clear of being anywhere near him. Especially as close as they were now like that one day during lunch.

"When is it your turn to fight?" Katsuki asked.

"Second to last. I'm not too thrilled on fighting Tsuyu. She doesn't have many weaknesses." Izuku said as he recalled her quirk.

"If you keep thinking that way you'll never get anywhere." Katsuki said, glancing over at Shoto. "Always aim to be best no matter what."

"That's so like you, Kacchan..." Izuku said with a smile of slight admiration.

Katsuki felt his cheeks burn hot at the sight. He stared at him, mouth agape, unsure of what to say. His mind had gone blank. Izuku blinked in confusion at his current state.

"Izuku..." Katsuki called out softly.

"W- What did you..." Izuku stammered in embarrassment. "Kacchan...?"

It had been years since Katsuki called him Izuku. The duo stared at each other, feeling more awkward and unsure of what to say or do. Katsuki finally made a move and cleared his throat.

"You should go see if your turn is up. It'd be embarrassing if you let her win by default, Deku." Katsuki sneered as he looked away.

Izuku silently left his spot and exited through the door. Katsuki covered his face as he was certain Izuku had seen how flushed he had gotten. Though, there wouldn't be much of an issue as Izuku was always slightly oblivious when it came to reading the mood and emotions.

"The hell I went and called him Izuku for? Deku, Deku, Deku, Deku, Deku..." he thought then stopped. "Izuku..."

Izuku glanced back towards the infirmary then covered his cheeks. Why was Katsuki's face flushed after calling him by his name? Was he embarrassed after not using it for so long? Was he getting sick? Was he already sick? He wanted to know. The curiosity was killing him.