The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, casting the city in a blanket of deep navy blue, speckled with the warm glow of streetlights. I was sprawled out on my bed, my notebooks scattered around me as I tried to piece together everything from today's chaos. The mock battle had been intense, and my body still hummed with residual energy, but my mind? That was on overdrive.

I was in the middle of jotting down some strategies for future scenarios—just in case—when my phone buzzed on the nightstand, the screen lighting up with a name I didn't expect to see.

Kacchan.

For a second, I just stared at it, like the thing might explode in my hand. Bakugo... calling me? This had to be a mistake. Maybe he accidentally hit the wrong contact. Or maybe this was some elaborate prank. But no, the buzzing persisted, and the ID didn't change.

I hesitated before answering, my voice cautious. "Hello?"

"Deku," came the familiar growl from the other end, rough and impatient, but there was something different in it. It wasn't the usual venom he spat my way.

"Kacchan?" I sat up, confused. "Why are you—"

"Meet me at the park," he cut me off, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The one we used to play at when we were kids."

"What?" I blinked, utterly baffled. "Why would I—"

"Just do it," he snapped, but then, almost immediately, his voice softened—just a fraction. "I mean... I wanna talk. And train."

I froze. Train? Bakugo wanted to train? With me? This had to be a setup. There was no way he, of all people, was actually reaching out like this.

"No," I said firmly, surprising even myself. "It's late, and I don't think—"

"You were right," he interrupted again, his voice quieter this time. "About today. You weren't lucky. It wasn't some fluke. You were good. Skilled."

That threw me for a loop. Kacchan, admitting I was good at something? I checked my phone screen to make sure this wasn't some dream-induced hallucination.

"Look," he continued, and for the first time, I caught a note of something... genuine? "I reflected on it, alright? I'm not gonna say it again, so don't get used to it. But I... I wanna train. Together."

I hesitated. This was all so surreal. But then, because I can't help myself, I added, "Train with me? Really?"

"Shut up," he barked, and there was the familiar Kacchan I knew. "Are you coming or not?"

I opened my mouth to refuse again, but then an idea struck me. If Kacchan wanted to train, fine. But we were going to do it my way.

"Alright," I said finally. "But we're not training the way you think."

"What do you mean?" he asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"I mean, we're doing parkour," I replied, grinning to myself.

There was a long pause. "Parkour? You're joking."

"Nope. You said you wanted to train, and this is how I train. Take it or leave it."

Another pause, longer this time, and then, to my utter shock, he said, "Fine. Whatever. Just get to the park."

And just like that, the call ended, leaving me sitting there in stunned silence.

When I arrived at the park, the air was cool and crisp, the kind of night that made everything feel sharper and more alive. The old playground was just as I remembered it, though the swings creaked a little louder now, and the slide looked like it had seen better days.

Kacchan was already there, leaning against the jungle gym with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked as tense as ever, his scowl firmly in place, but there was an energy about him that I couldn't quite place.

"You're late," he grumbled as I approached.

"I'm not," I said simply, checking my watch for dramatic effect. "You're just early."

He snorted but didn't argue, which was probably the closest thing to a victory I'd get tonight.

"Alright, Deku," he said, straightening up. "What's the plan? You gonna teach me how to climb monkey bars or something?"

"Not exactly," I replied, ignoring the jab. "We're going to start with the basics. Follow me."

I led him over to a low wall near the edge of the park, motioning for him to watch as I vaulted over it with ease. "Parkour's all about efficiency," I explained. "Getting from point A to point B as quickly and smoothly as possible. It's not about showing off; it's about movement."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're seriously telling me this is training?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "You wanna be faster, more agile, harder to predict in a fight? This is how you do it. Now, your turn."

He stared at the wall for a moment, his jaw clenched like he was debating whether to argue. But then, without a word, he launched himself at it.

To his credit, he made it over—barely. His landing was clumsy, and he scowled as he straightened up. "That was stupid."

"No, that was progress," I said, grinning. "Now let's try something else."

For the next hour, we moved through the park, using everything from the playground equipment to the picnic tables as makeshift obstacles. At first, Kacchan grumbled nonstop, calling it "pointless" and "a waste of time." But as we went on, something changed.

He started to get it.

I watched as he climbed, jumped, and rolled with growing confidence, his movements becoming smoother and more deliberate. He wasn't just brute-forcing his way through things anymore; he was thinking, adapting.

"Not bad," I said as he landed a particularly tricky jump.

"Shut up, Deku," he shot back, though there was no real heat in his voice.

By the time we finally stopped, both of us were out of breath, sweat dripping down our faces. We collapsed onto the grass, staring up at the stars in silence for a while.

"You know," Kacchan said eventually, his voice quieter than usual, "you're not as useless as I thought."

I turned my head to look at him, surprised. "Uh... thanks?"

"Don't get cocky," he added quickly, but there was a hint of a smirk on his face.

We stayed there for a little while longer, the tension between us not gone entirely but... different. Softer, maybe.

And as I looked up at the stars, I couldn't help but feel like tonight was the start of something new. Something good.