---

Hitomi felt happy. She didn't show it -she never did-. But she was it.

If she were a regular girl, she'd be smiling like an idiot.

'Hey, you feel like this because you are walking with a guy you find attractive and like him to a certain extent. Deep inside, you are just a normie like everyone else.' She couldn't negate her feelings but tried not to think about them for the moment. 'Suck it up, future me. This mess is your problem'.

Suddenly, Izuku stopped walking, and when she looked in the same direction as him, she found someone she didn't expect to meet again so soon.

"Hmm, I found you," said Todoroki in a neutral voice.

She almost snapped at the guy again but decided to better remain an observer.

Todoroki didn't seem confrontational, so she would let Izuku deal with him for now. But if the prick tried to do anything funny, he'd seriously regret it.

Todoroki and Izuku got closer and after a moment of silence...

"I apologize!" "I'm sorry," they said at the same time.

"Why are you apologizing? You were right." Todoroki frowned in confusion. "I thought about it, and as much as it frustrates me, it's true I need to use my fire-side if I really want to surpass All Might and my father someday." A smile inched on Izuku's face; his words had reached Todoroki.

"I meant what I said. Both fire and ice are part of your Quirk, so you should use them. There's no reason you should restrict yourself. But I don't know your circumstances, so I shouldn't have been so harsh about it. So sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'd have ignored you otherwise." People rarely said stuff like that. The guy was too blunt for his own good.

"Good...?" Izuku muttered, uncertain on how to interact with someone as socially awkward as him in his old-times.

Todoroki nodded. "That's kinda the reason I came here, to say sorry and thank you for your help."

"It was no problem." He extended his hand to the taller guy, who looked at him weirdly before finally shaking his hand.

'God, was I like this before...? Yes, I was,' he thought. 'I still kinda behave like that around Hitomi.'

"Hmm. I should go." Todoroki took a few steps but paused after noticing Hitomi.

"What?" she asked while the guy just looked at her in silence.

"Sorry for leaving you frozen." She glowered at him, but if Todoroki noticed, he obviously couldn't care less because he just walked away.

"That guy is too much..." She sighed in exasperation. Dealing with him was going to give her an ulcer or something.

"He is not that bad. I know someone a lot worse..."

"Right," said Hitomi, incredulous. "At least everything ended pacifically. I'm almost disappointed."

"E-eh? Did you expect things to go wrong?" She smirked maliciously at him. "D-don't answer that question..."

Looking at her watch, Hitomi noticed there were only some minutes left for the end of recess.

"Thanks for accepting my invitation, Midoriya." Hanging out with him was enjoyable, even when they just talked about random stuff. She definitely wanted to make it a routine. "Would you mind eating together tomorrow?"

"O-of course not! I told you, y-you are always welcome!" He gave her that stupidly handsome smile of his that made it difficult for her to remain calm.

"Cool," Hitomi said, flustered, and walked to her classroom, too distracted to notice the blond idiot running in her direction before it was too late.

"DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME, YOU FUCKING HALF AND HALF!" The dirty-mouthed swine that could only be Bakugo Katsuki collided with Hitomi at full speed, knocking her down, and continued forwards without even sparing her a glance. "GET BACK HERE!" He disappeared in the same direction as Todoroki, leaving her sprawled on the floor.

"W-what the-? Look at where you go!" she yelled, despite knowing the guy was too far to hear her.

"A-are you okay?!" Izuku helped her up. "Did you hurt anything?" He scanned her up and down, worried and upset in equal parts.

"No." She shook her head. "I am fine, but that damned idiot-..."

That damned idiot was walking back to them.

For a moment, she thought he had heard her but discarded the idea because Katsuki's attention was on Izuku and not her.

"Deku," he grunted with disdain, "what the fuck are you doing here?"

Izuku looked unimpressed, though, barely lifting an eyebrow at the sociopath in front of him.

"Studying...?" He shrugged. "Unlike you, my classroom is on this floor. You are the only one out of place, Kacchan." Bakugo's eye twitched in irritation at hearing the childish nickname, and by how Izuku said it, that was clearly what he intended.

She would gladly give him a hand.

"Kacchan," she repeated, holding her laugher. "Such a cute nickname doesn't suit him, Midoriya."

"Don't meddle in this!" Bakugo yelled and tried to approach, but Izuku got in the middle to shield her.

"Stop! Just say whatever you want to say and go away."

"HUH?! You got some nerve if you think you can order me what to fucking do, nerd!" The guy cackled madly.

"Said the pot to the kettle," she muttered with displeasure.

"Kacchan, this is not the place for this so listen to me-."

"No, YOU listen to me! UA only accepted you because they felt sorry for your useless ass, so get down that stupid cloud you are on! Don't believe yourself the big shit only because now you are fucking this humongous bitch!" His eyes shifted to Hitomi.

She ground her teeth, looking at Bakugo with despise, and the bastard dared to smirk at her as if believing she wouldn't do anything.

How wrong he was. He knew nothing of her and the inescapable wrath of a teenage girl... But before she could brainwash him and humiliate him in the worst way possible, Izuku intervened.

"Go back to your classroom, you cocky jerk," Izuku said, and by his expression, he felt incredibly pissed off. "Don't take it on us just because the Sports Festival didn't go as you wanted."

"WHAT?!" Bakugo and grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt. "REPEAT THAT, YOU FUCKING NERD! I FUCKING DARE YOU!"

"Hah. You don't learn anything, do you...?" Izuku's felt a bit of pity for Bakugo, but more than anything, he was disappointed. Izuku thought the guy would mature and chill a little after entering UA, but no, he was the same prick than always. "I don't fear you anymore." He grabbed Bakugo's hands and slowly unmade the hold he had on his shirt. The way Bakugo winced betrayed the crushing strength behind Izuku's grasp. The green-haired boy didn't yield, despite the sizzling sweat that burned his fingers. "Unlike our previous school, UA is NOT your playground. You can't just go around doing whatever you want, assuming the teachers will just look aside because you have a strong Quirk. That ended!"

"Shut up," Bakugo grunted, uselessly trying to escape from Izuku's vice grip, but somehow he was being overwhelmed by the same boy he used to push around when they were younger. It was incomprehensible, ridiculous, and it made him rage even more. "JUST FUCKING SHUT UP!" When pulling and pushing didn't work, he did the next best thing: Headbutting his opponent repeatedly. But if that hurt Izuku, the little guy didn't show any signs.

"I thought by now you would understand the world doesn't revolve around you. Seems I was wrong."

"BACK OFF!" Bakugo tried to kick him or knee him in the guts, but Izuku's footwork was superior and blocked him, finishing with a swipe that brought Bakugo to his knees.

"You aren't the stronger student in this school," said Izuku, glaring at Bakugou with his intense green eyes. "You are not even the strongest in your own class." He pushed Bakugo, making him fall on his back. "Get it in your head and grow up!"

It was then that Bakugo noticed that at least a dozen students had witnessed their quarrel. He stood up immediately, seething in anger because of such humiliation.

"Do it," said Izuku, unaffected despite the hateful glare he was receiving. "Do your worst. I'll fight back. But remember, you are a student from the Hero Course, besides this year's representative, and champion of the Sports Festival, starting a fight with the recommended Quirkless student from the General Course. So think if it's worth it because you're the only one that'll lose something from this."

Bakugo was seething in anger, as a boiler about to explode, but he didn't attack Izuku.

"You'll pay for this, Deku..." he said through his gritted teeth.

"Stop talking like an anime villain and just leave," Izuku responded, while the infuriated guy abandoned the scene.

The students present -some of them, Izuku's classmates- looked at him in astonishment. Fortunately, the school bell chimed then, and they fled back to their classrooms, so only Izuku and Hitomi remained.

He took a tentative glance at the girl, and she was staring at him, both impressed and worried.

"It's the first time I see someone winning a dispute despite being the only one injured."

Hitomi wasn't wrong; he had some burns on his hands, and his forehead was bleeding slightly. They were only superficial injuries, though.

"I should g-go to the infirmary. Um, see you later, Shinso-san-..."

"I'll go with you." She immediately started following him.

"You d-don't have to."

"Hey, you acted like a gentleman and defended my honor, defeating the ugly blond dog that badmouthed me," she said, half-joking. "I owe you one. Besides, the infirmary is not this way." Izuku stopped short. "You are going in the wrong direction."

"I k-know." He looked sheepish.

"Oh... You are not going to the infirmary, are you?" She squinted her eyes at him.

"N-no. See, these w-wounds aren't that bad, Shinso-san. I have first-aids training and a k-kit in the clubroom. I can treat them myself," he explained, making her frown.

"So, the teachers won't know what happened? Midoriya, you can't protect that bastard-!"

"I'm not protecting him." He interrupted her. "My classmates saw everything, Shinso-san, so they'll tell our teacher about it. And t-there are hidden cameras everywhere, so I'm sure that by next class, both the Headmaster and Bakugo's homeroom teacher will know what happened." He smiled encouragingly. "So go to class and don't worry about me. I'll fix m-myself and rest for a while in the clubroom, and then we can practice with your Quirk after classes."

"Hmm. If you say so..." Hitomi would prefer someone professionally qualified to treat him. But she had the feeling Izuku didn't want to show other people he was hurt. It was probably one of those 'guys show no weaknesses' kind of things. However, there was something she found curious. "You mentioned resting?"

"Y-yeah." He nodded. "Dealing with Bakugo is always m-mentally exhausting. So I'll take a rest."

"For how much?" she asked, feeling inquisitive.

"F-for the entire class period. I just don't feel like I'll be able t-to concentrate even if I try."

"Ah." She was speechless for a moment. "Let me understand this. You are going to skip class?" He nodded while avoiding her gaze. "Isn't that going to get you in trouble? I mean, you are a recommended student and stuff."

"Actually, I have a p-permit to skip classes if I need to. The teachers don't mind as long as I maintain my good grades."

"Man. You are my hero." Izuku laughed a bit. "Well, I'll go with you, anyway."

"Are y-you sure?"

"Yeah, why not?" She put her arm around his shoulder and smirked at him. "Let's be school delinquents together."

---

Hitomi was lying down on the couch of the clubroom, observing lazily how Izuku finished bandaging his fingers.

"Done?" Izuku just stood there looking at his hands without saying a word. "Izuku?"

"A-ah, what?" He looked at her, disoriented.

"Are you fine...?"

"Yeah." He flexed his fingers. "They'll b-be fine by tomorrow."

"If you say so..." She sat down and stared at him, feeling somewhat awkward. "Izuku, I want to ask you something."

"Oh, w-what is it?"

"About Bakugo." Izuku's expression turned rigid. "Listen, I normally keep myself out of people's business... Though, that's because I normally don't interact with anybody at all," she muttered, realizing how sad that sounded. "Anyway, my point is this time I couldn't. I would lie if I said I'm not curious, but mainly I'm worried about you and whatever is Bakugo's problem with you." Izuku's eyes widened in surprise.

"You are w-worried about me?" he asked. His cheeks blushed.

"Of course, I am. You are..." 'He is what?' Her stupid mind fought against itself to decide how to phrase it. "My ally." It sounded so awkward. Anyone else would call him a 'friend', but in her case, that word made her cringe. "You have helped me a lot, so the least I can do is to keep an eye on you and see you're fine. And since you mentioned Bakugo yesterday, I felt as if something was off."

"What do you mean?" He tilted his head.

"I just couldn't imagine you being Bakugo's friend, and you said you fought him before. So, after seeing how hostile he was to you, I can only assume the worst..."

"Your a-assumptions are probably right." He gave her a sad smile. So there was bullying involved... Next time, she would make Bakugou suffer like never before... "Though you are wrong in something."

"Uh...? In what?"

"Would you believe me if I told you Bakugo, and I used t-to be friends?"

"No," she answered immediately. Just the idea was bizarre; two people so different just couldn't get along.

"Well, you are wrong." He grinned in amusement. "We are neighbors, and our m-mothers are friends, so we hanged out a lot when we were kids. We even had the same dream of being heroes like All Might, so we became close friends, at least on my part. Maybe I was just a lackey to him..." He shrugged. "I know is hard to imagine, but despite being brash, Bakugo wasn't that bad when he was younger."

"You are right. I found it hard to imagine a mini-Bakugo not being the spawn of Satan."

"Understandable... He was rough around the edges, no doubt, but still a decent kid. The problems started after he got his Quirk, and I was diagnosed Quirkless. From the start, the other boys respected him greatly and followed him everywhere because of his energy and braveness, but when he got his Quirk, even the adults praised him for everything he did. That only exacerbated all the negative traits of his personality until he turned into the guy he is now..."

"So he got a big-head because everyone kissed the floor on which he walked?" she asked for confirmation.

"Basically. And he started acting hostile to anyone he thought was offending him or threatening his standing as the N°1 in the school."

"And that was you?"

"Y-yes. If only because I wanted to be like him. But I was Quirkless, the weakest of the weakest in Bakugo's mind, so he thought I was underestimating him and believing myself better."

"That's not a belief, but a fact. You are better than him."

"E-eh? T-thanks." He turned red again. For such a great guy, he sucked at taking compliments. Or maybe only when it was she who gave them. "In any c-case, we distanced from each other after that. Though I still call him by his childhood nickname, if only to annoy him." He chuckled softly.

"Hehe, you gutsy bastard." She smirked. "You would be a better hero than that jerk." Izuku's expression darkened suddenly.

"N-not necessarily." He avoided her eyes again.

"Eh?" His sudden change of demeanor perplexed her, but then she remembered...

'...to others who can be what I can't...' The day they met, Izuku said that about his reason to help others to be heroes.

Even though it was obvious, she hadn't given it much thought. Just like her, Izuku wanted to be a hero, or at least used to.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Midoriya. I apologize." She tried to bow, but Izuku shook his head.

"It's n-not that. You didn't say a-anything bad. It's just..." He looked at his hands, deep in thought. Then he nodded as if having decided what to do. "Um, Shinso-san?"

"Yes?"

"Does the 'sludge villain incident' sound familiar to you?" Izuku looked nervous but determined.

"Sorry, it doesn't."

"It's f-fine. It was just a small villain attack that occurred on Musutafu about a year ago." Izuku moved to the club PC and started typing. "H-here it is. They recorded the whole thing." He stood up so she could sit. "You should t-take a look."

A HeroTube video was on the current tab. 'All Might defeats sludge villain' was its title. She pressed the play button.

Someone between the multitude of people observing the chaos recorded the video.

There were pro-heroes in the scene, but they simply kept the civilians at a safe distance of the villain while it used the explosion Quirk of its hostage to destroy the surroundings.

Such Quirk revealed the identity of the blond kid squirming desperately inside the mass of sludge.

Then a green-haired boy started moving through the multitude towards the villain's direction. She recognized it was Izuku immediately and understood he intended to save Bakugo.

But one of the pro-heroes stopped the boy and dragged him away from the danger.

Izuku yelled between sobs, asking for someone to help his classmate, and tried to escape from the hero's hold to do something himself, but it was useless. He could only observe while his childhood friend got closer and closer to drowning.

It was an unnerving and heart-wrenching scene to see.

But when everything seemed hopeless, All Might appeared and attacked the villain, defeating it with only one punch, while also freeing Bakugo with no harm done.

Then the video finished.

"P-pathetic, isn't it?" muttered Izuku, with a self-deprecating smile.

"Of course not! There were four pro-heroes there, and none of them did anything. At least you tried."

"And f-failed... But t-that's not the point. What happened was my fault."

"How could that be possibly your fault?" she questioned him.

"Shinso-san, Bakugo w-wasn't the first boy attacked by that villain. T-that was me. All Might saved me and t-trapped the villain in a bottle about 15 minutes before. That should have been the end of the villain's rampage..."

"But it escaped," she muttered.

"I got a hold on All Might's shirt when he attempted to fly off the scene. It was f-for being focused on me he didn't notice when the bottle fell and broke, letting the villain free again. And Bakugo almost died for my fault." Izuku's eyes spoke of anger and frustration at his own past actions, but also acceptation of his mistakes.

Hitomi didn't know what to say.

Objectively speaking, it was true, Izuku was partially responsible for the incident occurring. But ultimately, it was the villain itself who committed such villainous actions, not Izuku.

However, she was pretty sure nothing she said would convince Izuku to forget about his fault on the matter.

"You know the worst part?" She shook her head. "The reason I didn't let All Might go was that I wanted to ask him if I c-could be a hero despite being Quirkless... That was the t-turning point in my life, and All Might said no."

"He did?" She didn't expect that. Wasnt All Might the one who always said anyone could be a hero if they tried it hard enough?

"Yeah. He put the facts on the table and explained why it was too dangerous for me to be a hero. He wasn't mean about it, just realistic. He even gave me some job options to consider if I really wanted to help people, and after rescuing Bakugo, he even apologized for being so blunt. So thinking about it now, I can only feel grateful for his sincere words... But at the time, I felt u-utterly useless. Being a hero had been my greatest dream and motivation, the reason I gained an interest in Quirk analysis, so after I lost that, I didn't know what to do with myself..." Izuku breathed deeply. "However, after almost two months of dwelling in that pit of emptiness, I had an epiphany."

"About what?" Hitomi asked, fearing the answer. She already knew Izuku had it tough that was a sad certainty for everyone Quirkless in the current era. She had even been told about it...

But putting herself in Izuku's place made her heart hurt indescribably.

"I realized All Might's words weren't what broke me. I was already like that from the start... All those years, I let every insult and abuse get to me. Every day, I kept saying I would be a hero again and again, but deep inside, I lost any ounce of confidence I had on that being possible. So I just lived on inertia, only doing the bare minimum, while tricking myself into believing everything would be fine when actually I was just waiting for the last drop in the glass that would let me stop with that pitiful charade and accept the truth."

"You mean your encounter with All Might," she muttered, and he nodded.

"Then I understood how weak I was... And I hated it. I felt disgusted at myself and how gullible I had been to think I could be a hero without making any effort. I wanted to change, to be better. So I did everything I could to show Bakugo and everyone else that they were wrong when they said I was hopeless..."

"Huh. I can sympathize with that feeling."

"Y-yes. It's one thing we have in common. And that's the story, Shinso-san." Izuku noticed the complicated expression on Hitomi's face. The story had clearly affected her. "Are you disappointed?" he asked, trying to hide his apprehension.

"What-? No!" She shook her head, feeling upset.

"It's j-just... I noticed you seem to have a really good opinion of me, but I have messed up a lot before, and I still do, just like everyone else."

"I know you are not perfect." She looked at him with comprehension. "Nobody is. But what rubs me in the wrong way is the implications..."

"W-what about it?"

"You just said it. I have you in high esteem." She looked aside. "But even you gave up your dream. So, what is going to happen to me?" She felt uncertain about her future.

"Oh, t-that's easy." He smiled gently. "You'll be a great hero. I just told you before, y-you are stronger than me. So don't have any doubts about it."

"Hmm. Whatever you say." She frowned, but on the inside, she was melting. 'Stupid Izuku and his stupid nice words. I don't know how to deal with this stupid warmness...'

"If it helps you to see things in a more positive light. Despite how it bothers me to be reminded of the past me -which happens every time I cross paths with Bakugo-, I don't feel any regrets. All those experiences molded me into the person I am now. But want to know something else?" He spoke in an eager tone.

"Yeah?"

"After being accepted in UA -feeling more confident about myself-, I actually thought about taking part in the Sports Festival to get transferred to the Hero Course. And I think it could have worked if I had tried."

"Then why you didn't?" She couldn't see any reason not to. The guy was smart and strong, so with the help of support items, he could be a very efficient underground hero.

"By the time the Sports Festival came around, I just didn't wish to do so anymore." Seeing her confusion, Izuku explained. "I received my UA recommendation because of an essay about Quirk analysis I did during middle school and taking part in the Quirk Research Club was one requirement my mentor set for me to be accepted definitely. So even if doing Quirk analysis was my hobby, all this," he waved his arms, indicating the whole room, "was forced upon me... But now, here I am. Finally happy with my life, and I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. And it was because I understood this: There are millions of heroes out there, and I know most of them can do the same things than me and probably better, except for understanding Quirks as I do. So I'll let the pros take care of heroics, and I'll help them reach their maximum potential instead. After all, despite all the good they do, there are few people that heroes can count on, and I want to be one of them."

"Well... You are doing a good job on that."

"Y-you too."

The rest of the day -Quirk training aside- was uneventful, but by the end, Hitomi felt a lot closer to Izuku.

She couldn't wait for tomorrow.

---

---

Hitomi: I know I told you to put me down, but I didn't mean this...

Izuku: E-EH?! Better l-lets continue sparring before Kendo kills us!

Hitomi: I hate you so much right now.

Next Chapter: Karate girl - No pain, no gain.

Hitomi: At this rate, you'll turn me into a masochist. I hope you assume responsibility...