As soon as I said those words, I regretted it.

The look on his face told me that I had hit a sore spot. He first looked shocked, like the words hadn't properly registered in his mind, as if something like this happening was entirely out of the realms of possibility. Then came the anger, which I'm slowly learning is the primary emotion he feels.

The look he gave me was full of pure aggression.

So before he could say or do anything else, I sidestepped around him and almost jogged back to the group, because I wanted to cry.

I just wanted to cry.

Even if it turned out like this, a small part of me was proud of myself that I stood up to him. Maybe I wasn't such a coward after all.

As soon as I went to stand next to Jiro, Bakugou yelled.

"LISTEN HERE," He yelled, so loud that I think everyone flinched. "My name is Bakugou Katsuki. BA-KU-GOU KA-TSU-KI. Remember it because that's going to be the next name of the top hero!"

I hesitantly turned around and realised he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at everyone, not targeting a specific person, but the group as a whole. Was this some kind of pride thing? I couldn't tell you.

But I couldn't lie and say I didn't admire him in a weird sort of way. I would never have the confidence to stand in front of everyone and yell something so self-motivating like that. He was so sure of himself, and I wish I had something like that.

He was still a jerk, though.

There were a few bits of muttering here and there, wondering where this came from all of a sudden. Even so, he didn't mind it at all as he rejoined the crowd. If anything, he looked pleased that people were talking about it. Aizawa just looked bored, waiting for whatever this was to be over.

Aizawa cleared his throat, "While that was very interesting and amusing, let's not get off task. Midoriya, step up."

He began to walk in the circle, giving me a nervous glance and I tried my best to give him a reassuring smile. It made me really happy that he turned to me for a little comfort. It made me really, really, happy.

Izuku was stood in the centre of the circle, body trembling and sweat pouring down his face. He looked just like how I first saw him: scared, anxious, nervous, but with hidden determination.

I watched as he picked himself up and threw the ball with all his might.

I watched anxiously as I heard a beep, then Aizawa called out the score. "46m."

Crap.

Izuku stared at the machine in horror, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was shaking, "Eh? Huh? I was definitely trying to use it just now..."

Seeing the fear and anxiety on his face made me feel as if something was wrong. I glanced over at Aizawa, and my suspicions were, unfortunately, accurate. Like the sadist he is, he erased his quirk. It was strange. Sure, Aizawa likes to tease people, but this seemed like he had some sort of personal vendetta.

"I erased your quirk, that entrance exam was not rational enough." He shook his head in disapproval, "Even a kid like you was accepted."

Izuku stood there, in shook. Slowly but surely, he realised who was standing before him. All the colour drained from his face, and his mouth slacked open in shock.

Aizawa ignored him and crossed his arms, "From what I can tell, you can't control your quirk, can you?"

Izuku gasped and fumbled a bit, confirming his accusations. After recovering from my shock, I realised Aizawa is saying this in front of the whole class. I thought they looked like hyenas with the way they were all looking at him. I thought it was terrifying. School is terrifying.

"Do you intend to become incapacitated again, and have someone save you?"

"Th-That's not my intention-"

With the way he was cowering and backing off, Izuku looked like a kicked puppy while Aizawa was doing the kicking. I didn't like seeing something like this, because he always confused me. Is this the same person who eats cereal out of the box? I don't know.

Other than that, there have been a pair of eyes glued to the back of my head for a while. I think his name was Kami... something or other?

Every time I would casually glance in his direction, he would make a big show of doing something else, avoiding looking in my direction at all. But as soon as a turned my head, this sparkling eyes focused on me once more.

I didn't know what to do, so I just ignored it, hoping he would stop.

Please stop.

"It doesn't matter what your intentions are. If you're too weak and incapable then you don't have a choice! At this rate, you'll never be a hero."

I couldn't tell if he was being harsh, or mean or anything like that. I think this was a little much because everyone looked very uncomfortable. He isn't usually like this. He's a big old softie with a little bit of a cat obsession. If it was like this, I would rather someone else as my teacher.

No, no, I didn't mean that. It's just weird, I just need to get used to it.

Aizawa then turned back to Izuku and yawned, "You have two turns for the ball throw. Hurry up and get it over with."

I focused on Izuku instead. He picked himself up, his eyes shining as he, once again, threw the ball with all his might. As the ball whizzed into the air, I tried to fight the smile crawling up on my face. I watched in awe as the ball flew, and flew, and flew until I couldn't see it anymore.

705.3m

A huge smirk spread on my face and Jiro looked at me, a little worried. "Oi, what's with that smirk?"

"What's the meaning of this?" Bakugou growled as if he didn't get enough attention today. He stormed towards Izuku. But this time, instead of being angry, he looked betrayed.

I should start to get used to this. I should begin to expect this. I made a mental note. Bakugou likes to yell and be the centre of attention.

"Hey! Tell me what's going on! Deku, you bastard!"

Izuku looked utterly horrified. He cringed back into what looked like a demented Phoenix pose, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears. Aizawa lashed out with his bandages, restricting Bakugou and giving him quite the death stare.

"What the- These cloths are hard!" He struggled as he tried to break free.

Don't I know? I've tried time and time again to break free, but never once have I succeed it. If I couldn't break free, there was no one anyone else was able to.

"Don't keep making me use my quirk again and again and again. I have dry eye!"

Izuku awkwardly shuffled around Bakugou, scared of triggering him again. I chewed the inside of my cheek to fight off a laugh.

This was exhausting.

~~~

"Izuku!"

I saw him turn around in confusion before his look of shock changed into one of recognition as he saw me walking towards him. I didn't even know what to say to him, but I knew I had to say something. It looked like he was nervous too because his eyes kept on darting around and he was fidgeting a lot.

"Are you-"

He waved his hands in front of my face, trying to stop me from talking. He bent his head down a little, covering as much of his face as possible without making it seem like he was bowing, "I just wanted to th-thank you. N-No one has ever defended me like that. I just w-wanted to tell you th-thank you, and that I'm r-really jealous of you."

I could do nothing but blink as I stared at him in anticipation.

Eventually, I managed to open my mouth, "You heard all that?"

"I walked a little closer! B-Because you seemed r-really anxious!"

He placed a hand on his heart and took a deep breath as if he was rebooting his system.

"I've n-never been able to stand up for myself like that." He seemed to get a little more serious, "In middle school, everyone would always laugh at me when I tell them I want to be a hero and I-I could never say anything so I, um, a-admire you... a lot, and I'm grateful."

I shook my head and awkwardly scratched my cheek, "I'm not as confident as you think. Before I knew it, I just started talking and I couldn't stop... I was still scared. But you can count on me from now on."

"N-No! E-Even so, I don't have the courage to do that... deep down, you do!"

As both of us had nothing else to said, silence filled the air. This was a touching moment, but I was so tired. A lot had happened for just one day of school, and I just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. I was happy, and my heart couldn't stop racing, but this was more than enough for one day.

I quickly changed the topic, "I don't know why Aizawa Sensei was so mean to you, he isn't usually like this."

He looked a little surprised, "Y-You know him? Personally?"

"A little," I admitted, which was a little bit of a lie. I didn't want him to think Aizawa would favour me in any way, so I didn't give him all the details. "He and my Uncle sometimes work together, so I see him here and there."

He nodded a few too many times and rubbed his chin, muttering under his breath and deep in thought. All of this is just brought back a bad feeling. Usually, a memory would come with this feeling, but that wasn't the case. It was like there was a pit in my stomach, and I couldn't stop fidgeting.

I'll get used to it. I have to.

~~~

"I'll quickly tell you the results. The total is simply the marks you got from each test. It's such a waste of time to explain verbally, so I'll show you the results all at once." He scratched his head in annoyance.

Here it is. The moment of truth. Please, I don't want to go down in history.

I skimmed the list, starting from the bottom because I just assumed I'd be somewhere in the middle. But as my eyes travelled further and further up the screen, I began to sweat and my fingernails lodged themselves comfortably in my palms.

4th.

Just after Bakugou.

He coincidentally stood next to me, his chest puffed out with a smug smile plastered onto his face. I could feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. After checking my score, I turned and walked off, not wanting to let him know how much it bothered me.

I just wished I was lower down.

At my nonchalant reaction, a fuse burst in his head, and his hair stood up on its end like a bomb.

This was kind of fun.

~~~

So um, you likey?

I love you

Ryuu and Izuku's relationship is so cute and cute but omg it's so cringy to go back and reread so if you cringed THAT'S GOOD DO NOT WORRY

Hope everyone is staying safe of gosh especially with this new travel ban and new strain of covid please stay safe! <3