We were barely out of the UA gates when Kacchan decided it was time to remind me why he was the bane of my existence. Not that I'd forgotten—it's hard to forget someone who spends most of their waking hours making sure you know how inferior you are.

"Oi, Deku!" he barked, stomping toward me like a man on a mission. "You survive in there, or did you end up crying in a corner? Wait, don't tell me—you tripped, landed on your face, and got negative points, huh?"

"Nice to see you too, Kacchan," I muttered, already feeling the beginnings of a headache. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Fine?" he repeated, barking out a laugh. "You're fine? Deku, you probably didn't even make it past the first five seconds. What'd you do, try to reason with the robots? 'Oh, please, Mr. Murder Machine, don't step on me, I'm fragile!'" He mimicked my voice, making it high-pitched and whiny, which was just insulting because I do not sound like that.

I sighed. "Yep, that's exactly what I did, Kacchan. You caught me."

"And what's this crap about you wanting to get into UA's hero course?" he continued, ignoring me entirely. "You think just because you scribble in those stupid notebooks of yours, you've got what it takes? Newsflash, Deku: being a hero takes a quirk. Something you don't have. You're just a pathetic, quirkless loser who's got no business even being here."

I clenched my fists but forced myself to stay calm. This was Kacchan, after all. If I let him get to me, he'd just push harder.

"I know, I know," I said, my tone flat. "I've heard it all before. Thanks for the reminder, though. I almost forgot."

That wasn't enough for him, of course. "You're a waste of space, Deku. Always have been, always will be. I don't even know why they let you take the exam. Probably just needed someone to make the rest of us look better."

"Thanks, Kacchan," I replied dryly. "Your support means the world to me."

He snorted. "Don't get used to it, nerd. Because when I'm the Number One Hero, you'll be stuck cleaning toilets or something."

And that's when I decided I'd had enough. With a quick brush of my hand over the spade mark on my palm, I activated Kacchan's transformation.

It happened so fast, he didn't even notice at first. One second, he was standing there, full of his usual smug confidence, and the next, poof. Pink tutu, sparkly tights, glittering fairy wings, and a tiara that looked like it belonged to a six-year-old's birthday party.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kacchan screeched, staring down at himself in horror. His arms flailed as he tried to rip the tutu off, but it was useless. The magic girl outfit wasn't going anywhere until I said so. "DEKU! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"Me?" I asked innocently, fighting to keep a straight face. "I didn't do anything. You must've triggered some kind of latent quirk. Congrats, Kacchan. You're finally living your dream."

He rounded on me, his face as red as his eyes. "Fix this! Now!"

I tapped my chin, pretending to think. "Hmm. I don't know, Kacchan. You were just making fun of me for being quirkless, and now here you are, looking like the star of a magical girl ballet. Karma's funny like that, huh?"

"DEKU!" he roared, lunging at me, but the transformation had other ideas. Instead of landing a hit, he ended up spinning in a perfect pirouette, complete with a little sparkle trail.

That was it. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I doubled over, clutching my stomach as laughter burst out of me. "Oh—oh my god—Kacchan—you're—" I could barely get the words out. "You're a princess! Princess Explosia!"

"Shut up!" he yelled, but it was hard to take him seriously when he was stomping around in a tutu, leaving glittery footprints in his wake. "Change me back, you bastard! I swear, when I get my hands on you—"

"Uh-huh," I said between gasps for air. "You're gonna what? Throw a glitter bomb at me? Do a pirouette of doom?"

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Oh no, Princess Explosia's gonna get me," I teased, wiping tears from my eyes. "Whatever shall I do?"

"DEKU!"

Finally, I decided to take pity on him. With another swipe over my mark, I released the transformation. The tutu and glitter vanished, leaving Kacchan in his normal clothes—but his dignity? That was long gone.

He stood there, breathing heavily, his fists clenched at his sides. For a moment, I thought he was going to explode—literally—but then, to my surprise, he bowed his head slightly.

"...Fine," he muttered through gritted teeth. "You win. Just—just don't ever do that again."

"Oh, I don't know," I said, grinning. "I think Princess Explosia has a nice ring to it."

He glared at me, but there was no real fire behind it. "You're a dead man, Deku. You hear me? Dead."

"Love you too, Kacchan," I said cheerfully.

He stormed off, muttering curses under his breath, but I could tell he was more embarrassed than angry. And honestly? That was the best part. All those years of bullying, and now I had the ultimate trump card.

As I followed him toward the station, I couldn't help but smile. Maybe the entrance exam hadn't gone perfectly, and maybe I wouldn't make it into the hero course, but for once, I didn't feel like a total failure. Because no matter what happened, I'd always have the memory of Kacchan in a tutu. And that? That was priceless.