Sim's School of Wing Chun looked rather shabby in her opinion, no matter what the internet reviews said. The building was rather simple and antiquated in design. Clearly it was meant to look like a Chinese temple with stylized dragons and brilliant red paint, but it hadn't been maintained well. The paint was faded to a light dusty pink. The dragons, made out of untreated wood, had long since cracked the paint protecting it and the repeated swelling and shrinking left deep slits. One of the four that sat at the entrance was even missing it's head entirely. If it hadn't been for the 'OPEN' sign in the large window and the movement she could make out through the curtains, she'd have thought this place was closed down.

"Mom? What are we doing here?"

Inko looked down to her son and smiled. "We're here to learn how to fight. Remember? Your training to be a hero?" While it had been almost a week, there had been no word back from the police about that 'Hijack' villain who had gone missing and she hadn't bothered asking. To her, that lack of information was as good of an excuse as any to start self-defense classes and why she had been purchasing basic training equipment after researching on the internet. Yeah, that was it.

"Oh, that's right." Iuzku said, looking far less confused and much more excited now.

Her eyes drifted to his hand in hers. The zig-zagging scar that started at his fingers and went all the way up his arm hadn't faded. Without thinking, she rubbed away at her tingling thigh and took a deep breath. Yeah, there wasn't another reason why she was here.

"Hey, mom."

She jumped a little, realizing she was staring. "Yes?"

"Your tail?"

She looked behind them and felt a flush of embarrassment when she saw her tail entwining around her son's protectively. The thing had a mind of its own sometimes. Working her tail from the bind, and then wrapping it snugly around her waist just to be sure, she quickly led her son to the building's entrance.

It was roughly half an hour later when their lesson started. Apparently, she'd arrived early in the teacher was just finishing up a class and so they had to wait around for the next one to start. It didn't take long, Inko explained why her son and her were here and made the first payment for future lessons. Soon though, the next group of students arrive.

Inko and Izuku were seperated from the more experienced, standing off to the side of the main area of the dojo where the older disciples were busy drilling in their katas or sparring with one another. Now dressed in the classic white training gis, the mother and son pair however were being instructed by the sensei. He stood before them, slightly bent in a fighting stance, explaining the basic concepts of it to them.

"The first thing you need to learn about Wing Chun is the centerline," Samuo Sim was saying, holding his stance and waiting for them to assume the stance themselves. Once they did, he slid out of his and moved forward to gently correct their limb placements and posture. "You don't want to weave and wave too much to the sides. That causes you to lose your balance and open yourself to attacks. You want to make short, small movements whenever you do move to the side. Keep yourself centered forward at all times. Forget anything you've seen in movies, there are no special acrobatics"

He grasped Izuku's hand and gently opened it out of the fist he'd been holding. "This style is all about attacking to the center. Picture your arms like swords, but each part of your arm has a part. This part is offense—" he gestured to Izuku's hand and palm. "This part is defense—" he tapped the forearm. "And this part is the gate—" he grasped Izuku's upper arm and moved it slightly. "Where the force and mobility is generated. And, remember, always keep your elbow in the center with your rear leg to give you the power," Sim continued, glancing over at Inko to ensure that she was also paying as rapt attention as her son, nodding in satisfaction when he saw she was.

Stepping away from them, he resumed his stance again. "Remember, most people only have three limbs available for fighting: two arms and one leg. The second leg is always going to be used for standing. So, remember, you must have one arm for defending the high, one for the middle, and the leg for the low." He waved each limb briefly as he spoke them, demonstrating the centerline down the middle of his body."

Returning to his stance, he held up his open hands, one in front of the other. "This is your first line of defense." He tapped his front hand lightly before waving the back one slightly. "The second line of defense." Then he dropped the front hand. "The front one is taken out, the second one's still there. Then, it's just a matter of switching lines." He demonstrated this by bringing his downed hand back up, now in the second defense position as he slid the other into the front. "So, you're always covering here, in the center."

Despite himself, Sim couldn't help the small smile from spreading across his face as he saw the bright-eyed wonder and understanding light up the young boy's face, as well as the dawning realization in the mother's expression. This was his favorite part of teaching, when he sees his disciples grasping and understanding the concepts and principles of his style. But he didn't let that distract him from his instruction as he continued, "Now, remember how I said our arms are like swords? Most other fighting schools teach you to defend and attack." He showed this by using the front arm to seemingly ward off an oncoming strike before launching his other arm forward to counterattack. "As though we were carrying a sword and shield. But Wing Chun would be like a two-sword style, always thrusting for center mass." He showed this by sending a steam of punches forward. "Understand?"

Inko nodded grimly while Izuku grinned excitedly, already mirroring Sim's movements. And so went the first of many training sessions thereafter.

XXX

Three months later…

Master Samuo Sim was an elderly man. Aged though with a full head of gray hair, he had a slight lean forward when he walked, the result of a back injury that ended his short hero career. Instead of being bitter like most would have in his place he'd dedicated many years of his life to teaching others how to defend themselves. Hero or not, Quirk or not, there were going to be times that one would have to defend themselves.

But… On this occasion there was a small problem that needed addressing. So it was with great reluctance that he slowly rose from behind his desk, back creaking in response, left his office, and walked over to where two particular students were practicing away from the few other students.

"Miss Midoriya? We need to talk." He began as he approached her, as she worked through the forms on the wooden dummy. The fourth wooden dummy he'd had to buy to replace the ones she alone broke. Her enthusiastic son was already on his fifth. Actually, that was why he was nervous. He couldn't have asked for better students. Both tore into their lessons eagerly with few questions, and with no training in any other style, they had no bad habits that needed to be corrected. Even better, unlike many youngsters who'd come in with delusions of becoming a Kung Fu hero overnight as if any martial art was something you could master in a montage like in an old action movie, they both had been patient. Coming in not asking to learn 'cool moves' but about what techniques would be useful in certain situations that sometimes even he hadn't considered since he'd been a young hero. Most of which came from Izuku.

The boy in question was off to the side working his way through yet another large set of pushups.

The clacking of wood stopped as Inko, ever polite, stood straight, brought her hands together, palm over fist and bowed. "Master Sim? What can I help you with?"

With a nod and returning the gesture, he began speaking. He was reluctant to say what was needed but there was no point beating around the bush. "I believe you and your son should move on."

Her reaction was quick but not unexpected. Her face turned worried. "Sir, is this about the incident? I promise you that Izuku would've never—"

"No," he cut her off by shaking his head and putting a calming hand on her shoulder. "It isn't about that nor the equipment."

The incident she'd brought up was the main reason why the two Midoriya's were training alone, why everyone in his dojo were uncomfortable with them. When they first arrived, he and everyone else had thought them excitable and happy to learn. But what he originally saw as eagerness slowly revealed itself to be an…intensity over the short time he'd known the monkey-tailed mother and son. When they sparred with their fellow students or worked their way through forms, not only did they do it with smiles on their faces, but by their own words, they practiced…all the time. Their dedication had become unsettling even before the incident in question.

It had happened two weeks ago. Sim had decided that day to teach his class the Fa Jin, also known as the one-inch punch, popularized by a certain film star. Essentially, after he'd showed them the proper way to hold their fist and strike, he had split the class into pairs. One student would hold up a small punching bag no bigger than a pillow up to their chest and let the other student make three attempts at the punch before switching. He'd planned to put mother and son together to practice on each other since by that point, it was clear to almost everyone that the two had a hard time holding back their Quirks and they were the only ones who could take it if something went wrong.

He used the word 'almost' because of one man, Knucklehead, a nickname whispered behind his back. His actual name was Kenji somethingorother and he was a piece of work. A braggart and arrogant, he was always saying he was going to be a hero soon with his gravity Quirk, that he'd be able to beat anyone in class. Those were the least of his blowhard tirades that flew from his lips at the drop of a hat.

He'd only been taking lessons for a few days before Sim started regretting ever letting a man like him into his dojo. If Izuku and Inko were the best students he'd ever taught, then Knucklehead was the worst. He acted like a child… No, that was an insult to Izuku. The man had come in with the expectation of learning a few moves and becoming a master within a few days. When his expectations were proved wrong, he developed quite the attitude.

In some way, Sim understood why he was getting frustrated for the same reason most individuals with a battle ready Quirk did in his class on the rare times they applied. The Quirk did the all the work.

Kenji's Quirk allowed him to throw punches and kicks that, no matter how fast or slow, could knock someone off their feet. He probably never needed to dodge in a fight or know how to correctly brace himself to kick.

If Sim was honest, he still had no idea why the man even wanted lessons since he clearly wasn't ready to take his time and learn., but he tolerated the bad attitude for a variety of reasons. One of which was the money he was getting paid to teach. It helped keep the lights on after all.

But it was Knucklehead's dislike for anything taking away attention from him that had really irked Sim about the man, and both Midoriyas did that regularly. Their dedication and practice always left Sim with some kind of praise on his lips reserved for them. And, for some reason, the man had thought that because he wasn't getting that praise, it meant that the two were getting shown the 'cool moves.'

Even suspecting that, Sim had been shocked when Knucklehead had said he'd take one of the Midoriya's as a partner. At that point, his other students had all seen both Izuku and Inko break the training equipment, usually by accident. But Knucklehead, being a late comer, had not. Before he could try to convince the man to reconsider, Izuku had jumped up, hand up in the air as if in class and burning to answer a question. "Oh. OH! ME! I'll do it!"

Knucklehead had looked at the boy and snorted. "Yeah? You know what, kid? I'll let you go first. In fact, you knock me down, I'll quit this whole thing."

The boy had shrugged, clearly not caring one way or the other. Rather than disperse into pairs to start the exercise, all the disciples remained in their positions. All focus was on the boy and the man several times his size. Knucklehead snatched up the bag and put it at stomach level so Izuku could hit it. "Give it yer best shot, runt."

It was as the green haired boy got to his feet that he noticed Knucklehead's body sink slightly into the mat on the floor in a very unnatural way. Again, Sim was about to object to the sneaky Quirk usage but the boy had sharp eyes and beat him to the punch.

"Hey," he pointed an accusing finger, tail twitching in agitation. "You're using your Quirk! That's not fair."

Again, another snort was followed by a derisive sneer. "So what, kid? You use yours. Let's see that power I've been hearin' about."

That had made the boy nervous. He looked at his mother then to Sim, as if braced to be chastised for the very idea. "Can I?"

Inko nodded from where she was seated, apparently fine with the situation. For Sim himself…he was quite unsure, but after a moment's thought hesitantly nodded. The boy's face brightened like a Christmas tree.

"Be careful," Inko had warned belatedly, as if it were an afterthought.

"Heh, suuure," Kenji drawled out in a conceited voice as he glanced over at her. "I'll be careful when it's my tu—" He never got to finish.

Sim would never forget what happened next. The boy practically skipped over to the man, reached out with index and middle fingers straight, touched the tips to the bag to measure the distance like he'd been shown, closed his fist and—PUF-BOOM! The punching bag exploded from the force like a firecracker, sending it's material into the air like a fluffy grenade. Izuku's small balled fist had gone through the thing, coming out the other end and digging slight into the man's stomach. At first, it had looked like it did nothing. Then with a groan, Knucklehead folded like a deck of cards, falling backward into the dojo's wall and, because of his Quirk increasing his weight, crashing through it.

It was that day that Sim had been made aware just how much strength the two had been reining in.

"No," Sim stated reassuringly to Ms. Midoriya. "It is about you and your son. I believe you to should leave my class to learn another martial art." At Inko's confused look, he expanded. "You two have a talent for absorbing the information I've been teaching. And considering you told me you wanted your boy to have the training to be a hero, it would be a great disservice to you both to constrain you to a single fighting style."

He put a bit extra weight on 'boy' for a specific reason. It was to emphasize that her son was still a child, and that this process shouldn't be rushed. During the few moments he'd gotten to talk with Izuku, he'd found the kid had a passion for heroes and everything to do with them. Bring up All Might around him and you might as well get settled in for a long seminar…or presentation was the better word. Yet he'd also bring up his training at home and it stunned him. If Sim hadn't seen the strength of the two personally, he'd consider Inko insane for what she put herself and her son through on a daily basis. The hundreds of pushups, of situps, and weight training alone made his back twinge in pain just considering it!

"Wing Chun is a good foundation but there are weaknesses to it." It wasn't an easy thing for him to admit but his martial art had flaws, more than he wanted to say. From his own personal experience, it was indeed one of those weaknesses that had left him open to taking the injury that ended his own hero career early.

"B-B-But should we really stop now?" The woman scratched at something on her thigh in agitation, a habit of hers he'd seen in the rare moments she got worked up. "Surely, you have more we can learn?"

Again, Sim shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Even in this short time I've taught you, I can see my lessons can only take you so far. My suggestion for you now is that both of you learn as many styles as you can. Become jacks-of-all-trades as it were. Become proficient enough in them and your son will more often than not be ready for any situation you could face." He smiled, to keep the mood a little less serious. "Take it from an ex-hero, it's better to be over-prepared than under-equipped. And don't think I'm just sending you off with little more than a wave and ta-ta, I do have some recommendations for good teachers."

And that was how Master Sim, once Slim Striker: the Flashing Fist Hero, had a hand in setting up two of the strongest people he'd ever met.

XXX

One year later…

"Woooww! That's so cool, Kaachan!" Izuku gushed as he watched his friend make explosions from his hands. Sure, that wasn't anything new but the size of the explosions were. The last time he'd seen Katsuki do this, back around the time that he and his mommy had started really getting serious in their playfighting, the largest Katsuki could make was about the size of a baseball. But the blast that Izuku had just seen was easily bigger than a beachball! "You must've been training really hard, huh?!"

"Pfft, as if I needed to!" Katsuki said, grinning conceitedly at the mere thought of it, even as he ate up the awe and praise that Izuku and the other three kids were dishing out. "The best Heroes are so good that they don't have to practice because they're just that good!"

Despite himself, Izuku felt himself deflate a little bit. Kaachan's logic made sense to the young boy. After all, with so many Quirks out there, some were just naturally better than others. And those rare few really probably didn't need to train too intensely in order to use them. By that logic, his and mommy's Quirks were very, very bad Quirks because they had to train constantly in order to improve them and grow stronger. Not to say that Izuku didn't like training, he absolutely loved it! But still…

"What about you, Deku?" Katsuki asked, snapping Izuku from his musings. There was a superior grin on his face even as he said that, already fully believing that nothing Izuku showed him would be all that impressive. After all, just how useful could having a simple monkey tail be in battle? "We haven't seen you around much since your Quirk appeared. And you still haven't shown us what it can do."

"Yeah, show us!" one of the other boys piped up.

"Come on, Deku!" agreed a second.

Izuku looked indecisive for a moment. He probably could show them something, but he'd promised his mommy he wouldn't. "I…I can't. I promised my mommy I wouldn't."

"What? Why?" the third boy asked, looking confused.

"Because I can't really control it yet," Izuku admitted sheepishly.

That got a laugh out of all four boys, especially Katsuki. "Haahahahahaha! Jeez, Deku, your Quirk really must be useless if you can't even control it!" And, to be fair, their amusement was somewhat understandable. Most children could gain control over their Quirks very quickly and easily once they manifested since they were very much a part of their being. It was like learning to control an extra limb they'd neglected to practice with. Only kids with Quirks that were really complex or had very potent drawbacks had trouble using and controlling them.

Regardless, Izuku's pride had been prickled. He reflexively puffed up his chest, put his hands on his waist, and glared at the group in anger. "It's not like that! I can use it and control it just fine! It's just very…dangerous."

"Oh yeah? Show me!" Katsuki challenged. "Unless you really are a Deku!"

"Yeah! Show us! Show us! Show us!" the other boys chanted, all grinning and laughing at Deku, who's face quickly turned red in anger and his tail started thrashing about in agitation.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"FINE!" Izuku yelled after a moment. Thankfully, the chanting boys quieted down.

Bringing his hands up to his chest, Izuku cupped them slightly as he closed his eyes and looked inwards. Katsuki and the other boys watched with interest as, after a moment of intense concentration, a faint aura of light began to emit from the Deku. This aura first covered his body entirely, but then it started moving, gathering into the space between Izuku's hands. A faint, flickering bead of energy ignited between those cupped hands. It could've taken only a few moments, or even a few minutes, they didn't really know. All they knew for certain was that once that bead of light had formed, it started to grow steadily brighter as it began growing in size. Once it was as large as a baseball and shining as brightly as a lightbulb, did Deku open his eyes again and smile wanly at the boys, all of whom were gawking at the sight.

But after just a moment, Katsuki recovered from his gawk and sneered at Izuku. "So, you can make a little sun between your hands? Big deal! Can it do anything useful? Like explode?!" He accentuated his question by making twin blasts go off in his palms, causing the three other boys to flinch back in surprise and fear at Katsuki's unexpected aggression.

"Yup!" Izuku chirped, grinning wider.

Before Katsuki could fully comprehend that statement, the Deku demonstrated by cupping the ball in his hands and thrusting it upwards. The ball flew maybe five meters straight up before it suddenly lit up and exploded like a bomb. The boys all had to shield their eyes from the momentary bright flash of light as the ball blew, thankfully only lasting a moment.

"Whoaaa," one of the boys gawked again, looking back upwards towards where the ball had been. "That's even cooler than Katsuki's Quirk!"

At that remark, something snapped in Katsuki's mind. His anger, already simmering, came surging to the forefront and he immediately acted on it. With a loud cry of rage, he launched himself forward and tackled Izuku to the ground, his fists already moving as little popping bursts of fire squeaked out from around his fingers. But he paid those no mind as he began punching and hitting at the Deku with all of his strength. How could this – this – this worthless pretender dare try to copy his own Quirk?! He was gonna pay for that!

Despite being caught by surprise, Izuku just laughed, his grin growing excited. He lifted his hands up into a defensive posture, using his grappling training to do a very admirable job of warding off Katsuki's hands. Finally, something fun was happening! Katsuki could see and hear Izuku's amusement, which only added fuel to his rage as, instead of thinking it as mocking laughter instead of the very real joy it was. In his enraged state, Katsuki didn't notice as one of the boys ran off in the direction they'd come from only a few minutes earlier.

"Inko…" The woman in question looked up from the book in her lap and over to Mitsuki who was sitting on the park bench next to her. It was the weekly playdate for Izuku and Katsuki, during the summer break period. Both boys had done well in their classes so there was no remedial classes for either of them. She caught glimpses of the two in the far distance as they were running around in the jungle gym with the other boys. Playing tag, if she had to guess.

It wasn't her friend saying her name that got her attention. It was the tone of it that snatched her mind away from the training manual. She closed it softly and set the grip trainer she'd been working with in her free hand down on top of it.

Mitsuki Bakugo sounded nervous. Mitsuki never sounded nervous. In all the years Inko had known her, which was pretty much since almost the day that Izuku and Katsuki met, she'd always been bold, opinionated, and never scared to get in someone's face when they upset her. With wild blonde hair and a face that could pull off some fierce expressions, she was like Inko's opposite in every way. It was a quality that Inko had respected her for and, honestly, envied. Had their roles been reversed a few years ago, Mitsuki would've never allowed that thief to threaten her child. And had she been told that Katsuki had been Quirkless, she wouldn't have just sat there and let the doctor verbally beat down his dream. Inko was certain of that. Even when she visited them in the hospital a year ago, Mitsuki had been just loud enough to be herself but not get thrown out by the staff.

Mitsuki was never nervous. Angry, sometimes. Excitable? Certainly. But never nervous.

So, it was a great surprise when Inko heard that tone from her when she said her name and an even greater one when she saw Mitsuki's eyes tell that the tone wasn't directed at something or someone else but at her. It made her tail twitch. The woman bit her lip, as if unsure she wanted to speak. If she hadn't had Inko's full attention before, she did now.

"Don't you think this is a bit much?" She finally managed.

"Uh, is 'what' a bit much?" Inko asked, curious and feeling somehow nervous despite herself.

"E-Everything," Mitsuki answered, sending a hesitant glance at her friend. Seeing Inko's honest confusion, Mitsuki took a short but deep breath to gather her courage before turning to fully face her friend. "I mean, all the training, the fighting, the martial arts, the new diets, quitting your old job, everything. You're so much more aggressive about everything. You always were such a passive person. Once, when this jackass cut you off from making a turn into a parking lot, forcing you to circle around the block six times before you found a new one, you didn't so much as complain. And you didn't even glare at him! Now, if anyone so much as looks at you sideways, you practically get up into their faces and beg them to attack you."

"I don't do that," Inko objected, but with a lot more hesitancy than she'd expected. After all, she knew that Mitsuki did technically have a point. She'd gotten more assertive but surely she wasn't leaping onto strangers. "I don't…do I?"

"And that's not even bringing up how Izuku's changed," Mitsuki continued, snapping Inko out of her internal musing instantly. "Have you seen how he acts nowadays? Two days ago, I saw him getting into an actual fistfight with a group of kids who must've been at least five years older than him! They were fighting in that alleyway right over there." Mitsuki gestured towards the darkened strip between two nearby buildings on the other side of the street from them. "I don't know what caused it or why he was fighting, but I've never known Izuku to be so violent before."

"Izuku-chan told me about that," Inko stated, feeling relieved that he had. It was reassuring to know that her son wasn't keeping secrets from her…not too many just yet, at least. "He found those ruffians beating on one of the students from his class with their Quirks. Apparently, the girl didn't have a very strong or 'flashy' enough Quirk and the kids thought that hitting her would make them 'cool' to their friends. Izuku was basically just defending her from some Villains-in-training."

Mitsuki frowned slightly at what Inko just said. Her expression was clearly torn between disapproval of Izuku involving himself in a street fight, pleased that he'd stand up and defend others who couldn't defend themselves, and worried over how Inko had phrased her response. Mitsuki knew that Inko had lost a great deal of respect for the Hero system and had started becoming obsessed with the idea of Villains lurking about everywhere, just waiting for a second's weakness to spring out and attack her and Izuku again. Given what had happened to them with Hijack, Mitsuki couldn't really fault her. But it still there was reasonable worry and this chronic paranoia that showed in her preparations.

"And what about all of those martial arts schools?" Mitsuki pressed, determined to get just one of her points across. "I've heard that you've visited or attended all of the dojos in the district, even getting banned from most of them. In fact, word has it that the most recent one was because neither you nor Izuku were holding back on your Quirks."

KRR-KKK!

The loud snap of breaking plastic pierced the air around them, startling both women into looking down at the source of the noise. It was the grip strengthener that Inko had been absentmindedly flexing throughout their conversation. What was left of it in Inko's hand had been crushed and warped into a nearly unrecognizable lump of plastic and metal. Rather than stammer and apologize, as she normally would've done before all of this started, Inko just sighed in annoyed resignation. This was hardly the first time something like this had happened, and was unlikely to be the last either. She deposited the broken tool into her nearby purse and pulled out the spare she'd brought along out of habit.

As she was doing that, she'd turned back to Mitsuki and replied with, "That incident wasn't entirely our fault. We had warned the sensei and his class that that might've happened. It's sometimes hard to control our strength, especially when we start getting…excited."

Mitsuki's expression became slightly guarded as she sent a cautious glance at Inko. "And what about…him?" Inko's face immediately darkened, already knowing just who her friend was referring to. "You've also…changed in other ways. Like being so willing to file for divorce. And so soon after the incident."

"Technically, I still haven't divorced him," Inko growled in a bitter tone as she glared off to the side. "I know he's still alive because we keep getting a percentage of his paycheck. He just didn't deign to show up to the court on the scheduled day to sign the papers."

"And that's what I'm talking about," Mitsuki said. "You never would've tried to do something like this before it happened." Seeing Inko send her a small glare, Mitsuki glanced away for a moment before letting out a low sigh. "But…I do understand why you tried. He should be ashamed of himself for neglecting Izuku and you like he has been!" That quiet admittance brought a small smile to Inko's face in return. "Still, it seems like something has changed that now brings out a lot of anger from you whenever he's brought up nowadays."

Inko looked away as Mitsuki looked at her with a searching, almost pleading expression on her lovely face. After several long, strained moments of quiet between them, Inko finally let loose a long, low sigh as she relaxed her grip, having come close to almost crushing the second grip strengthener. Glancing over at Mitsuki, she quietly said, "It's just that… It was recently pointed out to me that…he reminds me of someone I'd much rather not ever think about ever again."

Mitsuki blinked slightly in surprise. This was something new. Something she'd never heard about from her friend before. That there was someone she clearly hated with such a deep passion that she never wanted any reminders of again. And that, somehow, some way, her husband's recent inaction had forcefully brought those repressed memories back to the forefront. While Mitsuki had never really been a gossiper before in her life, she did enjoy solving mysteries and working out puzzles. And this seemed like a particularly interesting one at that!

"Midoriya-san! Bakugo-san!" a young voice cried out in panic from up ahead in the playground. Both mothers immediately turned and watched as a small group of kids ran towards them. The desperation and fear in their faces and actions caused both mothers to immediately rise to their feet, already knowing that something bad was happening. They would have to finish their conversation later, it would seem.

XXX

Six years later…

"Boop."

The moment Bakugo heard that damn word, he knew there would be trouble. He glanced up from his notebook, turning around to the one who'd said it. He wasn't surprised to see Jinto and his little band of leeches, nor was he surprised to see that it was Tamana they were bothering. The two of them were as different as chalk was from cheese.

Jinto Tamai, with his ugly as hell, thick-lipped, square jawed self, liked to cause trouble with the ones who wouldn't fight back by 'boop'-ing other people's things. Small shit like flipping a page in a notebook when you're writing, moving a chair as you're about to sit down, Bakugo had personally put up with that little 'boop' game for all of -0.02 of a second before he blasted the asshole into next week.

In Tamana Ichinose's case, this round was being played on her keyboard. Her Quirk was programming or something stupid like that, so it wasn't usual to find her here on any given day with her fingers hammering away and glasses locked on the screen. The blonde looked around for a teacher but didn't expect to see any. Knowing Jinto and his buddies, they'd waited and then gathered around her as soon as the librarian had left to do something. As far as he could tell, he was the only other person in the room.

So, Bakugo watched, the clacking of keys filling the silence for a second or two before a hand would reach down, 'boop' a random button, and brought everything to a halt. Tamana would then backspace to clear out the error and continue on like nothing happened. Only for it to repeat itself.

Bakugo could almost hear Jinto testing his luck. But not with Tamana. Instead, it was with the trouble that he knew would show up soon. After all, Deku always popped into these situations like a bad—

"Oh, this looks like a fun game. Can I play?"

As if pulled out the damn ether, Izuku was behind Jinto, his fingers locked around the bigger boy's wrist.

"What the—Let me go! You—aahg!" Jinto's snarl turned into a yelp of pain as Bakugo watched Deku's fingers close together a little.

And here we go.

One of Jinto's cronies kicked at the monkey-tailed boy who simply raised his own foot and brought it down on the other's, pinning his attacker to the floor. Another threw a sucker-punch at the back of his head and, without looking—that fucking showoff—Deku twitched his head to the side just enough to let it pass before clamping the bully's wrist between his jaw and shoulder, holding the guy in place like his arm was a phone. The final one tried to tackle him but ended up putting himself in perfect line for the tail to lash out and catch him by the neck like it was some kind of living rope. He still tried to throw some sloppy mix of an uppercut and a jab which was caught in the crook of Deku's knee of his only free leg, leaving him balancing on one foot. A foot that had another boy trying to pull his own free from his weight.

"Wow, this is fun, guys," Deku said as they all bounced in place like some kind of many armed, many legged human octopus. Laughing, Deku then pressed the heel of his free hand into Jinto's nose. "Boop."

"What is the meaning of this?!" was the shouted question as the librarian entered, followed by a thumping as everyone toppled over. Some excuses were made and were met with a reprimand not to play around in the library.

Bakugo didn't miss the angry whisper Jinto aimed at Deku when the woman's back was turned. He immediately knew what it was by the way the showoff's face grew a wide smile and the nod that followed. As Jinto and his hanger-ons left, Izuku went right up to Tamana instead of leaving. The girl was looking at him with wide eyes, her smile grateful and a slight redness to her cheeks. The blonde never heard what was said but clearly it was friendly.

Damn, Deku, always playing the—

Bakugo closed his eyes and took a deep breath then went back to writing. "Fucking showoff," he hissed.

It didn't take long for him to figure out what Jinto had said and that idiot agreed to, not that it would've taken Bakugo long to guess. Jinto's cronies made sure everyone knew about the fight that was going to happen after school behind the gym. By the time school was out, it seemed like that's all anyone could talk about. Somehow, the teachers weren't already at the grassy spot between the Gym wall and the fence, detentions at the ready for whoever showed up. And, surprisingly, even those who showed up were few and far between. Bakugo counted maybe 12 watchers, not including himself.

He took a spot on a pile of dirty gym equipment, high enough for him to have a perfect view of Deku, already standing in the open area, freckled face beaming excitedly. Soon, Jinto arrived, parting his way through the onlookers and making right for Deku.

Oh, Bakugo already knew how this would end. Just not if it was gonna be quick or not.

"I'll flatten you!" Jinto wasted no time.

With a snort, his Quirk: Bull Rush came alive and a jet of steam shot from his nose. He raked his foot along the dirt, bracing for a charge. With a final blast of steam from his nose, he stormed at Izuku to literally knock him flat. Only when he reached the spot where Deku should've been, he wasn't there. The boy was instead several feet to the left, watching Jinto as he thundered passed. The other boy, realizing he missed, slid to a stop, turned around and charged again. He wound his arm back this time, ready to put a ton of momentum into a punch. Deku dodged again. Using the boy's arm like a gymnasium bar, he flipped over Jinto and landed on his feet. And again, Jinto came to a sliding stop that dug tracks into the ground, did a 180, and tried again.

That set the tone for most of the rest of the fight.

Jinto would try to use his Quirk to run his opponent down and Deku would weave around it. When after three more times, Jinto finally figured his tactic wasn't working, he tried to fight like anyone would but ended up looking like he was trying to fight a human shaped curtain. Izuku moved around those large fists and heavy feet as if he was made of water. Katsuki knew from experience that the bastard's fighting style was all over the place. One second he'd hop around, doing flips and kicks like he was in a damn Wushu film and the next, he was stock still and barely moving any more than when he had to.

It was the latter style that followed the high kick. When it made contact, there was no follow through. Deku's entire body, on that one leg, became a solid pillar, a wall. His movement may have stopped but the momentum carried his opponent like he was caught off his feet right as a wave crashed down on him. It didn't carry the poor bastard far, barely three feet if that. But the moment he landed, he dropped to his knees gasping, hands clutching at his chest. And as casual as if he had nowhere to be, the green haired idiot slowly lowered his leg, his eyes gleaming like it was Christmas goddamn morning. "Wanna keep going?"

Yeah, the fight was over. These guys just didn't know it yet.

Bakugo hopped down from his spot and began to walk away. He walked and tried not to think of the disappointment that had been growing on Izuku's face as he began to realize the same. Something wasn't quite right with that bastard. And he should know since he'd known the guy since they were small children. He knew all about the incident with that Villain that had awoken a pair of recessive Quirks in the Deku and his mom. Even though that bastard Villain hadn't been seen in Japan since then, the impact he'd made was still quite apparent.

Before the incident, Deku had been a very quiet and soft-spoken kid. He had big dreams of being like or better All Might, but what kid their age hadn't? In fact, his bright-eyed enthusiasm about Heroes was only outweighed by the sickening amount of compassion he had. He always put the needs and safety of others before his own. Something that annoyed, infuriated, and unsettled Bakugo to an immense degree. But one thing he had never been was confrontational. He hated fighting and always did his best to keep other kids around him happy, so violence didn't happen. And should violence ever break out, he'd reluctantly and fearfully put himself between it in order to stop it, regardless of who was fighting and all of that changed when he and his mom grew their tails.

After that had happened, Deku had changed seemingly overnight. He became hyper-focused on training his body and Quirk, strengthening both to their limits and then pushing beyond. He became passively aggressive, eager to jump into the center of fights. He found joy and pleasure in combat now. And his strength truly had grown to a tremendous degree. Bakugo had seen it happen constantly, even felt it numerous times himself in the early days afterwards. At the start, the Deku had been very much weaker and below him, making the fight an easy win for him. But each time he won, the Deku always seemed to come back stronger the next time they fought. And that had pissed Bakugo off. How could this Quirk-copying trash become strong enough to threaten his domain as the best in the school so quickly and easily?! So, in order to keep his title as the best potential Hero and fighter in the school, Bakugo had been forced to do something he'd never thought he'd been forced to do before he entered into Yuuei Koko. He'd been forced to start training himself.

Despite himself and how much he hated that copycat for stealing his Quirk, that was perhaps the one thing he was grateful about from those early days. Bakugo had been forced to start training his Quirk and body very hard in order to stay ahead of the Deku. He had learned the importance of stretching his muscles, staying in shape, maintaining a regular and consistent training regimen, and how developing a strong fighting style would enhance his Quirk and abilities. The fights he had with Deku over the years since had become increasingly more violent and destructive as they both improved. And it was from those fights that Bakugo had come to know the type of person his childhood annoyance had grown into. He had seen the sheer joy in his eyes whenever they fought. He saw the way his eyes just lit up like a fucking firework each time he got punched or thrown the ground. The Deku had become single-minded, obsessed with improving his fighting skills and many martial arts techniques. All in a bid for his ultimate dream of fighting All Might.

That, in itself, was the reason Bakugo knew just how unhinged the Deku had become. And that... That's what bothered him the most. When he was first told him about that want years ago, the blonde treated it with the scorn and dismissive-ness such an idea like that deserved. Oh sure, he fully understood wanting to be the next All Might but fighting him? That was stupid, ludicrous, damn idiotic. He treated it as Deku being the Deku they both knew he was.

Even their classmates then and now had laughed at him because even for a joke, it was funny. How could he ever think he could take on All Might?

However, over time Katsuki had stopped scoffing and his dry chuckling had turned even drier as like looming clouds on the horizon, he began to realize Izuku was a serious as the plague.

The green haired boy stop talking about it in public or out loud in general yet Bakugo never forgot the edge to those words, the sharpness of something unidentifiable in his eyes.

If Deku was still joking, the punchline had long grown stale.

While he himself knew that Explosion Murder-cide-No, that didn't work, was truly destined to be the next big thing after All Might, if not even better, Bakugo was under no delusions of who would win in a fight between them should he try to fight his favorite Hero. Nor did he want to go out of his way to fight him either! Bakugo knew himself well enough to know that he could be a very aggressive asshole at times, even more so nowadays with the idiot Deku always pushing his pushing his buttons. But he wasn't stupid or suicidal, and wanting to fight the #1 Hero of the world was exactly that!

'Maybe the Deku's truly lost it? Maybe he wants to fight All Might so badly because he wants to become a Villain? The realization froze him in mid step. By now he was more than halfway home and just about to pass under a bridge to get to his part of town, the simmering frustration he carried in his mind guttering out like a candle in the wind. The following thoughts chilled him to the bone is suddenly all the pieces fell into place.

That bastard didn't just like fighting, no, it wasn't just that. He wanted to fight heroes.

For moment, Bakugo wanted to scream at himself for being so blind, so fucking stupid. It made so much sense now. The hero journals and guides he was always writing, how he would start debates with others about possible strengths and weaknesses of certain hero teams, and even their constant fights.

He was gathering info. Would it be that far of a jump to think that the asshole would use it for his own ends?

Worse, he'd given that Deku so much about himself on a silver goddamn platter.

Looking up from the sidewalk he'd been traveling absentmindedly, Bakugo spotted his home up ahead. Good, he was tried of thinking about his own previous idiocy. It was too late to do anything about it now. In fact, right now he needed to prepare. Maybe he should double his training? He had become a very good judge of just how powerful the weakling had become, and he wasn't about to let that potential Villain overtake him!