Chapter Text
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When Bakugou Katsuki was thirteen years old, he became painfully aware of his pathetic, desperate, loser feelings.
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He had detention. Again.
Apparently, calling your worthless classmate a “useless fucking extra” isn’t allowed. Which was total bullshit, because he absolutely is a useless fucking extra.
Stupid fucking school. Stupid fucking rules.
But really man, what was he supposed to do? The kid was basically begging for it. It’s not like Broccoli Head or whatever his name is was actually being useful. Someone had to knock some sense into him.
Deku was too polite, he wasn’t actually sure if Nose could speak, and all Sparkles did was look at her nails and put on mascara.
Sue him.
Sparkles was definitely an extra, but she actually did somewhat reliable shit so he couldn’t be mad at her. Nose was almost as much as a nerd of Deku, but never spoke. Throw in Broccoli Head and Deku, and his group was almost okay.
All they had to do was make a presentation.
All Broccoli Head had to do was make one (1) slide.
He didn’t. For 2 weeks.
What kind of fucking imbecile can’t make a single fucking slide?
So maybe he got mad.
And called him a useless fucking extra.
And maybe he was now sitting in detention, running scenarios in his head about decking Broccoli Head in the nuts.
A detention that was almost done, so he could go home and do something actually productive, like I don’t know, homework? Or maybe he’d just train. Who knows really.
Brrrring.
There it was. His ticket to freedom. He could leave, no longer shackled by this hellhole that claimed itself to be one of Tokyo’s top learning centers. Learning center his ass. Him and Deku could have passed these courses when they were eight.
He glanced to his right, weighing his options.
What the hell, why not.
Stride, stride, stride, leap.
“Bakugou-kun!” Shit, he forgot about his teacher.
“I’m fine. Light work.”
“Bakugou-kun, you cannot jump out of windows!”
“Try and stop me, you hag!”
He took off, sprinting towards the main street that he usually walked with Deku. The nerd was probably done with all of his homework, so they would most likely train when he got back. If he recalled correctly, Touya-nii was also coming to visit tonight.
They’d be able to fight in a three-way, exponentially harder than a one on one. He’d definitely be able to take down Touya-nii, but Deku would prove to be more of a challenge. The nerd was fast as fuck, and knew his attack pattern by heart (stupid observer) so their tussles usually ended in Katsuki on his ass. Not this time though. This time, Katsuki was going to-
A scream cut off his train of thought, snapping him back into reality.
It came from a block or two ahead, and he could see a large group of people clustered up. How had he not noticed it before?
Skidding to a stop, he pushed through the crowd, taking in the scene before him.
It was the nerd, at the center of the mess.
It was Deku, being swallowed alive by some sludge monster.
It was Izuku, who looked like he was drowning.
The floor fell out from under him, or at least it felt like it did. His vision became fuzzy, and a cold feeling dripped throughout him. He heard another scream, but maybe it was himself. His legs were giving out, the ground was swallowing him, he was drowning just as much as Izuku was.
An elbow dug into his side, jostling him.
A shuffle, a stumble, and suddenly he was running at Izuku at full speed, eyes wet and limbs numb.
Someone yelled for him to stop, but maybe they didn’t.
He didn’t stop; he couldn’t stop.
I can’t lose him again. My Izuku.
He blasted himself upwards as a tendril of slime whipped out at him, narrowly avoiding grazing his arm. Flipping around he blasted smaller explosions at its face, careful to not hit where his Izuku was enveloped.
It roared, eyes bulging as it sent out more tendrils, trying to surround Katsuki while he was midair.
He screamed, raising his palms and blasting its eyes clean off. Retracting all of its tentacles, it appeared to writhe in pain, making watery noises as he landed on the ground. Bracing his wrist with his left hand, he released the strongest explosion he could, splattering half of its body onto the ground.
It gurgled, wailed, and coughed up his Izuku.
He let off explosion after explosion, hands stricken with needles of pain as the sludge villain fell apart piece by piece.
It stopped moving, and he stumbled over to Izuku, wincing slightly as his knees hit the hard ground. Izuku wasn’t breathing, let alone moving. Nausea swirled in his gut, his stomach threatening to expel itself.
Shakily, he pressed his hands to Izuku’s chest, pumping once, twice, thrice. Over and over, again and again.
Some desperate, pathetic noise escaped him as Izuku didn’t wake up. Clumsily grabbing his face, he inhaled, leaning down to press their lips together as he breathed into Izuku’s lungs. Giving him his air.
Pump, pump, breathe in, connect, breathe out. Repeat.
He wasn’t sure how many times he did this, only that his tears were falling freely, and that nobody had approached them yet.
Nobody had come to help, and his Izuku was dying. The love of his entire fucking miserable life was dying, right in front of him. His Izuku was dying and they’d only been together for thirteen years. His Izuku was dying and they would never-
Izuku’s eyes shot open, mouth parting as he suddenly heaved for air. His heart under Katsuki’s hand beat wildly, and he had to choke in a sob.
“I’m- so- hic- glad you’re-”
He couldn’t finish his sentence, tipping forward as he slipped into the darkness's cold embrace.
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Toshinori had run out of time.
It happened far more often then he liked nowadays. At least twice a week, an amount that made him rather uncomfortable. He’d had to return to Japan, unable to keep up with the States’ crime rate.
So here he was, standing on a rooftop in Tokyo, scouring the city below. Looking for a successor to One for All.
Looking for someone who had the soul of a hero.
How hard could it be, really? Surely a good number of young ones had some good heroism within them.
At least a few.
A flash caught his eye, and he turned to look down, peering at what appeared to be a school. Was that… a student, jumping down three stories? And then proceeding to land safely? Perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Squinting, he realized it was a student, a young teen if he was guessing. He had started running, unbothered by his risky jump, a teacher leaning out the window to yell at him.
How curious.
Toshinori started to follow, carefully maneuvering his way across the rooftops, eyes never straying from the spiky blond hair.
The boy eventually slowed down, swallowed by a throng of people. Crossing onto the next rooftop, he could see what they were looking at.
It was another boy, drifting idly in a villain made of sludge.
Shit.
He had to go down to help, to rescue this boy, to-
The blond took off, launching himself at the sludge villain, palms exploding.
Ah, I’ve found him.
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Yagi had found some time, dashing down to pick up Katsuki and Izuku, hurrying them to UA
after shooing away the crowd that gathered around him.
He burst into Recovery Girl’s office, instantly deflating as he laid them on the medical beds in front of her.
“Toshino-”
“Blond one, successor. Both need help. Some sludge villain.” He wheezed, bending over to put his hands on his knees. “I’m getting too old for this.”
Recovery Girl hurried over to the boys, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead. Izuku sighed, settling deeper into unconsciousness as the angry red marks the villain had left on him dissipated. Katsuki didn’t appear to change, only flinching slightly and clenching his fist.
Exasperated, Recovery Girl side eyed Yagi, pursing her lips. “And who, exactly, are these boys?”
Yagi hunched in on himself, somehow making his seven foot frame seem small. “I, uh, was watching the blond one, and he threw himself into a fight to help the green one. He, uhm, seems to have the qualities I am looking for in a successor.”
“God help me Toshinori, you can’t just steal random children!” She picked up a newspaper on her desk, whacking him on the hip.
“I wasn’t stealing them! I was rescuing them from danger! Stop hitting me!” Yagi scurried towards the window, taking cover behind a chair. “I really do believe he has the qualities to become my successor.”
Recovery Girl sighed, placing her newspaper back on her desk as she took a seat on her chair. “I’ll allow you to stay, but you need to get them back home once they wake up.”
“Thank you, Chiyo-san.”
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Katsuki awoke, uncomfortable and unfamiliar with his surroundings. He was on the wrong side of the room, the light was different, and it smelled of… antiseptic?
Jolting up, he looked around with panicked eyes, darting over every surface in the room.
On his left was Izuku, in a bed which was similar to his. In the middle of the beds was a blond man, slumped over in a chair. To his right was a desk, covered in papers and various medical supplies.
A hospital room? But who was the guy in the chair?
The last thing he remembered was seeing Izuku’s eyes open, then everything after that was unknown.
But fuck, there he was, in his green, nerdy glory, snoring away to his left. Unscathed, perfectly intact, and maybe even glowing. His Izuku, safe and sound, breathing deep clear breaths. Haloed in light, looking like an angel descended from heaven or whatever sappy bullshit those losers on TV said.
More importantly actually was the dude sitting in the chair.
He silently pulled his covers off, slinking out of bed over to Izuku’s. Holy shit, the floor was fucking freezing. And why the fuck didn’t he have socks on?
Crouching he tapped Izuku’s cheek once, twice, thrice. Breath stuttering, Izuku peeked an eye open at him, and Katsuki put his finger to his lips, pointing towards the man in the chair. Izuku fully opened his eyes now, silently sitting up and sliding his feet out of the bed.
Katsuki stood up, and Izuku inched behind him as they approached the man. He seemed… awfully thin yet also very- long? Tall?
“Oi.” Why the fuck was his voice so gravelly? “Who the hell are you?”
The man jolted awake, face lifting as sunken eyes looked at Katsuki and Izuku. Holy fuck, that was kinda creepy. He shot up suddenly, towering over the two.
And maybe they took a step back. But he wasn’t fucking scared. Fuck you.
“Ah! I apologize. You may know me…” the man trailed off, placing his hands on his hips as he suddenly… expanded? “I AM HERE!”
What the fuck-
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“So let me get this straight. You’re All Might.”
“Correct, Bakugou-shounen.” Yagi folded his hands into his lap, nodding his head.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes, looking the man up and down “And you’re dying.”
“Kacchan!” Izuku hissed.
“Not quite. My body is, ah, losing its ability to hold my Quirk.”
“Right, right, your Quirk. Which you want to pass on to me. Your Quirk.” He pursed his lips, the sarcastic remark coming off with some heat.
“Kacchan, it’s All Might! Are you going to say no to All Might?!”
“I’m just saying! Multiple people being able to pass on Quirks is fucking weird!”
This brought the conversation to a halt.
“...Multiple people?” Yagi looked at them, concerned.
Izuku perked up, smiling brightly “Ah! I was Quirkless until I was nine. Then my father kidnapped me and gave me three Quirks!”
“Oh,” Yagi said faintly.
“You can’t just fucking tell people that Izuku!” Katsuki hissed at his friend, poking him in the side.
“Kaaaacchan it’s All Might! Why the hell would I not tell him? What’s he going to do, kidnap me?”
“If I may cut in-”
“Don’t joke about that! It’s already fucking happened, people keep trying to kill you!”
The boys started squabbling, poking and prodding at each other.
“Bakugou-shounen, Midoriya-shounen!”
They looked over at him, Katsuki looking disgruntled while Izuku smiled.
“Sorry, All Might-san! What did you say?”
Yagi cleared his throat, “Oh, ah, it’s quite alright. Did you say this man is your father?”
“Deadbeat fucking dad, but yeah. He’s Izuku’s father.”
“Oh my…”
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After their enlightening talk with All Might, Katsuki and Izuku found themselves returned to their doorstep, with a request to meet him at Takoba Beach the next day.
They went around the side of the house, creeping up through the window into their room.
Katsuki dropped his bag at the foot of his bed, pulling off his shirt and making to grab a t-shirt when Izuku gasped softly. His head whipped around, eyes wide.
Izuku walked over, hand reaching out as it glided along Katsuki’s back, tracing brand new scars. They traveled from his neck to the small of his back, crisscrossing and interweaving into a picture of pain.
“Your back…” he barely breathed it, but Katsuki tensed up.
“Can you…?”
Izuku nodded slightly, lightly pushing Katsuki into a sitting position on the blond’s bed. Kneeling behind him, Izuku traced his finger along each scar, using Reform to knit the skin back together.
“Thank you, Kacchan. For saving me.”
“Of course, nerd.” It was the kindest thing Katsuki had ever said, each word dripping with care.
The green haired boys fingers ghosted along Katsuki’s back, hovering over his pedicles as he erased mark after mark. “Did you know, they say we used to have wings? This is all that’s left, the only sign of our bodies yearning for flight…”
“A billion Hawks’, huh? Touya-nii would hate it.”
Izuku laughed, a short huff of breath. “But wouldn’t it be cool? Being able to see everything from so high up, gliding over mountains and oceans?”
“You'd be the sun, then.”
Izuku hummed, whisking his fingers over Katsuki's shoulders, “And why's that?”
“Because I'd fly towards you until I die.”
Izuku blushed, removing his hand as he made to get up, “All done, Kacchan.”
Katsuki reached out grabbing the other's wrist. “Stay. Please.”
“Okay.”
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They found themselves, the next morning, at Takoba Beach with Yagi next to them.
“Is it always so… full of litter?”
“I thought you were going to give me your Quirk, old man.”
Yagi laughed loudly, then bent over as he started coughing. “Quite the- eugh- spirit my boys!” Some blood dripped down his chin, splattering on the ground. “First I must make sure your body can handle it.” He stood back up, wiping the blood off with his sleeve.
Katsuki sneered, glaring up at the thin man. “What’s that supposed to mean? Do you think I’m weak or some shit?”
“Ah, nothing of the sort, Bakugou-shounen! Simply if you are unprepared your limbs may explode!”
Katsuki visibly paled, the thought of losing his arms humbling him. “Oh.”
“Wow Kacchan, do you think I can regrow limbs?” Izuku seemed a little too happy for the situation.
“We are not fucking trying that. What do I need to do, geezer?”
Yagi smiled brightly, placing his hands on his hips as he transformed into All Might. “MY BOYS! SIMPLY CLEAN THIS BEACH OF IT’S LITTER AND I WILL CONSIDER YOU PREPARED!”
Izuku and Katsuki slowly turned around, taking in the beach before them. The beach that easily spanned several kilometers, every square meter covered in garbage.
“That’s- uh, that’s quite a lot of trash to clear…”
“Don’t wimp out on my nerd, can’t have you turning into a slacker, now can we?” Katsuki glanced over at his friend, a smirk growing on his face.
“Slacker? Who do you think you’re calling a damn slacker? I’ll clean this entire fucking beach, just watch me.”
Katsuki’s smirk sharpened into a full blown grin, canines slipping through his lips. “You’re on, nerd!”
The two took off, sprinting down the beach’s stairs, dashing towards the heaps of trash.
Yagi deflated, watching in mute disbelief as his new protegés set to work on a task that would have daunted even him.
He’d certainly made the right choice.
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Every day for a week they came to Takoba Beach after school, cleaning as much as they could as Yagi supervised. Together they were able to clean about a kilometer or two a day, before both collapsed from exhaustion.
Yagi drove them home, introducing himself as their new trainer to Inko and Mitsuki. After being eyed suspiciously, he was invited in for dinner and welcomed into the family.
(“...Kacchan-”
“Ma, do not let him into our room.”
“Please, Auntie.”)
Izuku and Katsuki finished the clean up in the week, Yagi staring slack jawed as he took in the sparkly, litter free beach and the two sweaty, proud boys in front of him.
Clearing his throat, he straightened up. “Good job, my boys. Tomorrow, Bakugou-shounen, I will pass along One for All. Tonight however, you both must rest well.”
And with a pat on the back, that was that.
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“The process isn’t, ah, the most orthodox you see…”
“What, do I have to jump around three times and say I’m stupid?”
“Kacchan!”
“No, you have to ingest my DNA.”
“Like blood? Gross!”
“I was thinking more like a hair…”
“So I choke to death?”
“Kacchan!”
“I hadn’t thought about that, but you certainly could I suppose-”
“That’s- just give me the fucking hair.”
He swallowed the hair.
“Oh- fuck- that’s so nasty I’m never doing that again eugh-”
“Give it an hour Bakugou-shounen, then you should feel it!”
“Kacchan stop acting like you’re going to die, it was just a hair.”
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An hour later they were back at UA, Ground Beta at All Might’s disposal. Katsuki stood there in his mock hero costume, Izuku sitting on a curb as he observed them.
“So just like- throw a punch?”
“Yes, though we could also try your original Quirk to see if anything changed.” Yagi stood in inflated form, grin upon his face and hands clasped behind him. “Give it a go, my boy.”
Katsuki shifted into an offensive stance, pulling his arm back before throwing all his energy into it as he punched.
“FUCK!”
His arm broke- no, it shattered. Izuku leapt up as the blond crumbled to the ground, racing over to fix it. Smoothing his hands delicately over Katsuki’s arm, the bones knitted themselves back together, the purple bruising that had sprung up dissipating.
“Oh dear!” Yagi deflated, kneeling down as he placed a hand on Katsuki’s back. “Are you alright, Bakugou-shounen? Thank you, Midoriya-shounen.”
“Shiiiiiiit…”
“May I, uh, offer something based on what I saw?” Izuku raised the question, looking at Yagi timidly.
“Of course, my boy. Bakugou-shounen, are you quite sure you’re alright?”
“Fuuuuck I ain’t doing that shit again man…”
“Kacchan, I think I know what went wrong!”
“Nerd, it better be damn good.”
“Well One for All is the power of eight previous users, right? And all that power is stored up. When you threw that punch you put the equivalent of probably three All Might’s full power. Your arm just couldn’t handle it! Now, I think that the main problem was that you concentrated all of the power in your arm!” Izuku lifted Katsuki’s arm, letting it flop loosely, “If you, say, used less of the power, maybe we turn it into percentages, or channeled it through your whole body, I think that you could use One for All without the repercussions!”
“Thassa lotta words, Izukkun… say, m’ head feels fuzzy…” Katsuki swayed, shoulders relaxing as his eyes rolled back and he passed out onto Izuku’s lap.
“Ah, I forgot I can’t take away pain.”
“Perhaps we call it a day and revisit this tomorrow, my boy.”
“That would probably be best, All Might-san.”
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Hawks was, what the kids say, going to fucking kill himself if this damn representative didn’t hurry up his stupid presentation and let him get back to his agency.
He had shit to do. He didn't care about a marketing strategy, that was for the actual desk workers of his agency to deal with.
He didn't even know it was possible to have a voice so dull and flat as this reps.
Also, if he was here why wasn't Touya? They'd become hero partners, so he should have to deal with this bullshit too.
Oh, Touya. His best friend, the guy he was totally in love with, and his hero partner.
How could you not be in love with Midoriya Touya?
He was beautiful in every way, from his personality to his face to his Quirk.
Hawks may have fallen in love the second he walked into the agency, if he was being honest. He sauntered in, brimming with confidence and swagger. His power blew away all other sidekick candidates, and his smile got Hawks hook, line, and sinker.
It'd been 2 years since he met Touya, and Hawks had never been so happy for so long.
Touya, with his ever changing hair color, sharp laugh, and glowing eyes. Touya, who once took an actual bullet for him. Touya, who-
“Hawks-san?”
Right, he was in a meeting.
“Yeah, that all sounds great.” He glanced down at his dark phone, face lifting in faux surprise. “Duty calls guys. I'm sure you can handle this.”
He grabbed his coat, sprinting out of the conference room, consequences be damned. Reaching the nearest balcony, he leapt off, wings opening as he glided away from the Aerie.
The wind blew through his feathers, ruffling them as he flew over the city. The sharp wind always calmed him, biting into his terrible thoughts and ripping them to pieces.
Never Touya though. They could never get rid of Touya.
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In the following weeks, Izuku and Katsuki trained One for All everyday with Yagi.
Deciding to forgo vigilantism until Katsuki got the new Quirk under control (Touya was suspicious), they now had much more time. Day and night, whenever they didn’t have school, they were training.
It took a week or two, but Katsuki stopped breaking things, and was able to hold One for All throughout his body at about 25%. Perks of having extremely good Quirk control, Izuku guessed.
They decided to call it Countdown, in the idea that once Katsuki got to 100% he’d be lethal. Yagi told them to not tell other people about that part.
Countdown was also the cover story for One for All, a sub manifestation of Katsuki’s already powerful Explosion. It showed up, and now he was stronger. Very believable.
A week after Katsuki got a handle on 25%, he and Izuku started sparring, full force, all Quirks used.
They couldn’t do this too often, as they would usually end up in Recovery Girls office a few hours after beating the shit out of each other.
(“If you show up one more time, I am banning you from this office, you hear me?”
“Aww, but Chiyo-san, we’re gonna go to UA for high school!”
“Not if you die before that!”
“Come on Granny, how else are we supposed to train?”
“That’s not my problem, now is it?”)
They had to pull back, deciding to train full power separately and scale it down when they were together.
Now, fighting together was a different story.
They were unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with, completely undefeated. Touya, Hawks, All Might, nobody had beat the two of them, though All Might had been extremely close.
He was also old and hacking up blood and dying, but whatever.
Soon they had to tell their parents.
And oh joy, what a fun time that would be.
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“Hag, I need you to not say jackshit until we’re done explaining.”
Izuku and Katsuki had gathered everyone, and had sat them on the couch, All Might behind, face grave.
“What? Did you kill someone? Did you get someone pregnant? Had Izuku been kidnapped again and replaced with a skinwalker?”
“PREGN- what the fuck?!” Katsuki turned bright red and started sputtering, hands sparkling.
Izuku stepped forward, a nervous smile on his face, “Nothing of the sort, Auntie, we just have something to tell you. And I’m not a skinwalker.”
“Me? With a woman? I think I’d rather kill myself, why was that your first thought, oh my God that's fucking disgusting-” He started gagging, coughing into his hand as he turned away from the group sitting in front of him.a
“Yeah, Auntie, how could you even think Kats is straight? Look at his homo ass, bumbling over any guy with a nice set of abs?” Touya cut in, a cheeky smirk on his face.
“Touya-nii! Auntie, it’s nothing like that, It’s got to do with All Might and his Quirk actually.” Izuku thumped Katsuki on the back, and the blond turned around, looking a little paler than usual.
“Jesus fucking Christ. Anyways, I have All Might's Quirk.”
“WHAT?!”
“Oh my.”
“How interesting…”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
The reactions were mixed to say the least. Mitsuki stood straight up, stepping towards her son as she grabbed him by the collar and lifted him slightly, growling at him. Inko cupped her hand to her face, staring at All Might. Masaru had his eyes closed, thinking. Touya’s mouth was agape, staring at Katsuki with wide eyes.
“Ah, Auntie, please put him down.”
“What the fuck do you mean you have All Mights Quirk?!”
“Shit- Ma! I have his Quirk! He gave it to me! Fuck!”
Mitsuki dropped her son, and he fell onto his ass, arms flailing. Izuku hunched over, giving him an arm to hoist himself up. “It’s like mine, Auntie. A Quirk that can be given.”
“This is my fault, Bakugou-san. I should have told you, but I’ll explain it now.” All Might bowed, then deflated into his skeletal form.
“JESUS FUCK-”
“Let me explain! I am All Might, yes, but I was injured some five years ago. My ability to use my Quirk is diminishing, and I saw your son as a promising young successor. I made sure he was prepared, then passed on my Quirk.”
“Auntie, why don’t you sit down?”
______________
After a very, very long discussion, many apologies, and a demonstration, Mitsuki was still pissed off, but less so. Sue her, it’s All Might and her baby brat is the next one. Whoop dee fucking do.
Masaru seemed content, leaving part way through to make dinner for the family after ruffling Katsuki’s hair. He’d be filled in later, he claimed.
Inko listened with interest, happy for Katsuki and his future endeavors (heroism).
Touya was, well, Touya. Sat there with an open mouth, presumably catching flies as he realized that this was why Katsuki seemed so much stronger last time they fought. Next All Might, go figure.
As for Katsuki and Izuku?
They were looking forward to that entrance exam.
______________
Katsuki Bakugou was thirteen years old, and he was the next All Might, goddammit.
Midoriya Izuku was thirteen years old, and he was having the time of his life.
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