4 Amelioration

After the revelation of Izuku's new found power, and the terrifying discovery of Izuku's hidden failsafe, spending time in a normal rhythm was a welcome change of pace.

Katsuki's and Izuku's training continued even after school was out for the summer, the long summer days providing endless opportunities for both boys to learn. And they still had two more years before they could take the UA Entrance Exam. They were aiming for the top, so stopping wasn't an option.

"God DAMNIT, DEKU! GET BACK HERE!"

Katsuki was shouting up at his friend while trying to catch up, using explosion after explosion to race along the track at their high school.

Toshinori had pulled some strings to get them access to the yard and let the boys use their quirks, as long as nothing was destroyed.

"Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over how much faster I am!"

Izuku flashed back and forth in front of his friend, throwing palm bursts back and forth to weave a meter or so off the ground, infuriating the blonde boy.

"GOD DAMN IT, NERD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Izuku laughed maniacally, "YOU HAVE TO CATCH ME FIRST, HERO!"

They raced around and around the track, Izuku the faster and more nimble, Katsuki the ever persistent and dedicated.

Katsuki had had enough. He pulled his arm back, focused and pulled out his biggest explosion yet, aiming right where Deku was going to be.

A colossal explosion ripped through the air.

Heat and fire ripped past Izuku, then sped back to him, settling into his skin.

He was thrown back, however, and landed on the grass on his back, laughing heartily.

"Well done, Hero! You managed to hit me!"

He sat up, a wild grin on his face.

"It's about time too. I was starting to get BORED!"

At that exact moment, he threw up his palm and launched an Impulse Strike right at Katsuki's chest, sending him flying backwards.

The blonde teen landed hard, but twisted on the bounce, and got to his feet, crouched down, arms primed for another assault.

'FUCKING NERD and his stupid long range attacks.'

Katsuki was breathing hard, the wind knocked out of him from the concussive strike on his chest.

It hurt, but Katsuki knew Izuku was pulling his punches.

'If he really wanted to, he could kill me an instant.'

The thought flashed through his head before he could stop it.

'BUT. SO. CAN. I.'

He launched himself into the air, and started blasting and spinning.

He had been working on this move for a while in secret, and now was as good a time as any.

He aimed at Izuku, who had an interested and bemused look on his face.

'He's pissing me off! I can't wait to wipe that smile off his face!"

"HOWITZER IMPACT!"

The spinning explosions forced the teen to collide with Izuku and through the fire and smoke, he knew he had hit something.

"That was good, Kacchan! You improvised a new move!"

Katsuki looked up in shock.

He had expected Izuku to be further away, sent backwards by the explosion and force, not right next to him.

Izuku was standing just a meter away, hair and face covered in soot, clothes ripped, but otherwise unharmed.

He yawned and popped his ears.

He looked back down at his friend.

"Tell me, how do you feel after spinning like that? It's gotta do terrible things to your sense of balance."

Izuku's smile was absolutely infuriating.

Katsuki reached out, hand shaking, to grab Izuku.

"Easy now, Young Bakugo." Toshinori had walked up from his watchful post by the side of the

field.

"That was an impressive move. It takes a lot of skill to be able to control the rotation like that."

Katsuki looked back at Toshinori, a grin flicked to his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It was tough at first. I don't know how many times I puked before I got the hang of it."

He released Izuku's shirt and dropped his hands.

Izuku still had the stupid smile.

"It really was cool, Kacchan. It just shows how much you are improving."

Izuku was always sincere towards his friend when it came to praise. Katsuki knew that.

But it was still really annoying.

Katsuki smirked and turned to step away from Izuku.

"Alright, nerd, it's your turn. What do you have to show me? And it better be better than that weird shield thing you thought up last time. The static made your hair look even more stupid."

Katsuki grinned wildly at the memory of Izuku's hair standing straight up as he tried to surround himself with his shield.

Izuku chuckled, "No no, I have something better I think."

He turned to Toshinori, and gave him a pointed look. Toshinori nodded.

"Alright, Kacchan. I'll show you. Step back a little."

Katsuki didn't move. 'Whatever it is, this oughta be good.' , he thought with a grin.

Izuku focused for a second, then put his arms down at his sides, hands facing down, pointed out.

"Ignition,'' he mumbled.

Twin rings of green light burst into existence in his palms, collapsed then exploded downward into a conical stream of heat and light.

Izuku focused and attenuated the flow, slowly increasing the power, the stream getting larger.

Izuku started to rise, slowly, then under his boots, another set of rings formed, and ignited.

He rose quickly, gaining 3 meters of altitude.

He attenuated the flow again, making small adjustments with his arms and legs, steadying himself.

And there he was, hovering above the ground, energy pulsing out of his hands and feet.

Katsuki's face was one of shock and amazement.

'He mentioned the possibility of flight, but this...is not what I expected!'

Izuku looked down at his friend, a large smile across his face.

"And this isn't even the best part."

He released the flow for just a second, falling a bit, much to Katsuki's worry.

Then he ignited again, more power this time, and launched into the sky, rapidly gained altitude.

Katsuki watched him closely.

'The damn nerd figured out how to fly. Of course he did.'

He followed Izuku closely as he swooped back down and did a lazy circle around the field.

Katsuki started laughing, his best friend, a human rocket.

Izuku started his descent, angling down, then leveling out a couple meters from the ground. He kicked his hands and legs forward to slow down, then firing bursts of energy to counter balance, landed rather smoothly on the grass.

He was grinning widely as he walked over the Toshinori and Katski.

"So yeah, I can fly!" He started laughing heartily. It was such an exhilarating feeling, so free and fast.

Katsuki started laughing too, though he was also pointing at Izuku, and started to buckle over, unable to stop.

"W-what's so funny, Kacchan?"

Katsuki took a deep breath, and then trying to talk through the laughter,

"You look so stupid, Deku! Your hair!"

He keeled over again, rolling on the ground, laughing harder than he had in awhile.

Izuku reached up to feel his hair, but it wasn't right there on his forehead where it normally was.

He moved his hand back, and felt his entire head of hair had been whipped back across his scalp, and was pointing straight back.

Izuku felt it all over, then started to laugh with his friend.

"Guess I need a helmet when I fly!"

Toshinori was chuckling with the two boys, letting them relax a bit before continuing with their training.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You figured how to FLY by forcing your energy to combust the air in the middle of your palm, then getting launched across the beach by the sheer force of it?"

Katsuki was looking at Izuku like he had two heads.

"I can launch myself with explosions, but even to me, that's just insane."

He shook his head.

Izuku just smiled while they did light sparring, no powers.

"I mean, it makes sense. Flight is just using thrust to overcome drag, right?"

He ducked under Katsuki's right hook.

"I just needed to control the thrust. I'm even working on a design for a set of gauntlets and greaves so I can better control the flight."

He threw a left uppercut to get Katsuki to step back a bit.

"I need more control surfaces so I can steer better."

He blocked Katsuki's left jab.

Katsuki nodded, then blocked Izuku's right jab.

"How much power does that use, anyway? You told me that you increased the amount you can use, and with the training for control, you managed to make it last longer."

He threw another jab, missing Izuku's cheek by a couple centimeters.

Izuku flinched away from the near miss, and followed with a hit to Katsuki's gloved hands in front of his face.

"It's gotten a lot easier since I have started practicing, but even with the increase, I can only fly for a couple of minutes at a time. The sunlight helps, obviously, but even that isn't enough for endless flight."

He stood back a bit as Katsuki swiped in with another right hook.

"Still, a couple minutes of flight time is awesome to have."

Izuku definitely agreed with his friend's statement, but Katuki didn't know the half of it.

'I really wish I could tell him just how far I've come. It's so much better than that.'

Toshinori had made Izuku promise to limit how much he was showing Katsuki. He didn't want the boy to get suspicious.

In the short couple of months that Izuku had One for All, he was already more powerful than All Might in his prime. Able to tank any hit All Might could throw at him when they sparred on the beach, even running faster than All Might could.

'Thank god I got to him before someone else did. His power is too great to let fall into the wrong hands.' Toshinori marvelled, watching his students.

But Izuku hadn't just improved in power and speed. His abilities and his body improved beyond anything they had imagined. Energy wavelength detection and Kinetic Soles for silent running, for starters. And they still had two years to go before Izuku could really prove himself.

Those two years passed by in what seemed like an instant on the day of the Entrance Exam.

Izuku, now 18, was feeling confident, but still nervous and excited. He couldn't wait to get in and start on his path to becoming a hero.

He woke up that morning bright eyed, and full of energy. All Might had impressed upon him the importance of being fully charged, even though that wasn't really possible for Izuku now.

"Good luck, Izuku. I'm proud of you!", his mom had said as he walked out the door.

"Thanks, Mom. I love you!"

He waved goodbye to her as he walked out.

Just a quick train ride to the school, and he was in front of the UA Gates.

His eyes shined with happiness and excited energy.

'I'm here! It's finally time!'

"Oi, Deku! Took you long enough!" Katsuki walked up to him, hand out for a high five.

"We're crushing this."

"Damn Straight." Izuku clapped his friend's hand and turned to walk into the school.

And his boot clipped an uneven paver.

'Or I'll just die here'

Just as he was about to stop himself though, gravity vanished from his body, and he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

He paused and looked down. 'Floating, but not flying. Huh.'

He looked up, and saw a beautiful face with rosy cheeks, brown hair and a warm smile. Her eyes had a look of concern.

"Sorry about that. I used my Quirk without asking first. It's bad luck to fall before a test, so I stopped you." She smiled broadly at Izuku's own smile.

"N-No thank you! You have a very useful quirk!" he managed to get out, before she touched him again. Gravity returned.

'That's a very weird feeling. An energy surge, then gravity release. Interesting.'

He settled down on the ground and then bowed.

"I'm Izuku Midoriya. Thank you for stopping my fall!"

He looked up at the angel who helped him.

She was blushing slightly and looked at Izuku, then Katsuki, who was a couple steps ahead, looking back with amusement. She then focused back on Izuku.

"I'm sorry but I thought it was Deku? He called you that just a minute ago."

"Oh yeah," He chuckled a little, "Deku is a name my friend gave me when we were kids."

"Oh sorry! I like it though. Sounds like 'You can do it!'" She said with a wide smile.

'He's so tall and cute! I'm glad I helped him.'

Izuku turned to Katsuki and grinned widely, Katsuki raised an eyebrow and smirk appeared on his face.

"Anyway, I'm Ochako Uraraka! Pleased to meet you!" She bowed slightly.

"Pleased to meet you too, Uraraka! My friend is Katsuki Bakugo." At that Katsuki waved a hand and turned to the school.

"Stop flirting, Deku, exam starts soon!"

"Ah, yeah, sure thing, Kacchan!"

Izuku turned to Ochako, who had started blushing harder. 'Flirting? With me?'

"Well, good luck, Uraraka! I hope to see you on the other side! Thank you again!"

Then he turned and followed after Katsuki.

Ochako stood still for a second, then followed too. 'Was he really flirting with me?'

"Gotta focus." She said to herself, shaking her head.

Inside the Exam room, Katsuki was already sitting, ready for the test. Izuku filed in next to him, and got ready.

The exam began a couple of minutes later, and was scheduled to take 2 hours. Covering everything from Science and Mathematics, to English Comprehension. Katsuki and Izuku had spent the last month cramming the entire time and aced every mock test Toshinori had thrown at them.

This exam was going to be the easiest part of the Entrance Test for the two students.

After the two hour mark, pencils were put down, exam sheets collected, and the lights were turned off.

At the lectern, Present Mic made his appearance.

Izuku started muttering about his radio show and how cool his Quirk was.

"Shut up, Deku!" Katsuki hissed.

"WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW, EXAMINEES!" He launched right into his radio voice, loud

and room-filling. Several test-takers jumped at the noise.

"EVERYBODY SAY HEY!" Izuku had to fight hard to keep from responding, Katsuki giving him an evil look and a smirk. No one else said anything.

"KEEPING IT MELLOW, EH? THAT'S COOL, TOO! I KNOW EVERYONE IS EXCITED TO FINISH THE TESTING, SO LET'S MOVE ONTO THE GUIDELINES!"

"YOU'LL BE FIGHTING MOCK VILLAINS A CLASSIC URBAN JUNGLE SETTING! IT'LL BE METAL VS METTLE IN THIS SUPER INTENSE SCENARIO."

He gestured up at the screen behind him.

"YOU'LL BE GOING OFF TO 8 DIFFERENT REPLICA CITYSCAPES, WHERE YOU'LL

HAVE TEN MINUTES TO FIGHT AS MANY ROBOTIC VILLAINS AS POSSIBLE! THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT KINDS AND EACH ONE HAS A DIFFERENT SCORE!"

"Excuse me! May I ask a question?"

A tall muscular student with black hair and glasses stood up.

"On the handout, there are 4 types of villains listed, but you said 3. Such an error from this establishment is inexcusable. We seek to gain guidance from the best heroes, and this level of ineptitude is appalling."

'Is this guy for real?' Katsuki and Izuku shared a glance and a shrug.

"Also, you with the messy hair!" The examinee pointed to Izuku, "You have been muttering loud enough that we can hear you. If you aren't going to take this seriously, leave."

Izuku looked back at the man with a look of apology, and bowed slightly.

"Told you." Katsuki said with a smirk.

Present Mic continued.

"THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT, EXAMINEE 7111. THAT FOURTH VILLAIN IS

JUST AN OBSTACLE, SOMETHING THAT WILL GET IN YOUR WAY, BUT WON'T GET YOU ANYWHERE. IT'S BETTER TO JUST AVOID IT."

"My apologies for interrupting."

The man bowed and sat back down.

"NO PROBLEM! NOW THAT WE HAVE THE BASICS COVERED, HEAD ON OUT TO THE BUSSES AND GET READY TO RUMBLE!"

With that, Katsuki and Izuku stood up with the others and walked out of the testing room.

The walk to the busses was quick. Katsuki and Izuku went over last minute ideas and strategies, before splitting off to their busses.

Izuku watched Katsuki walk away, and then felt a familiar presence behind him.

"Hi, Ochako!" He said before turning to see her face, lit up with a smile, and a bit of shock.

"H-Hi! How did you know it was me?" She blushed a bit more, now that he was looking at her.

'His eyes are so pretty!'

"Well, my quirk is rather unique. I can feel the energy people give off, and yours is somewhat familiar now. So I knew it was you." He chuckled.

"Wow, that's really neat! What else can you do?" The look of excitement on her face was intoxicating.

They continued to talk while they boarded the bus, and all through the quick bus ride to the testing site.

Izuku noted the man that had called him out was also on the bus, and was shooting him looks every now and then. But Izuku didn't give it any thought.

Once they got to the testing site, they unloaded, and started to stretch and warm up.

Izuku showed Uraraka a stretching form for her back that helped loosen her up. His hand felt cool to the touch as he pushed gently on her back.

She shivered at his touch, but kept a straight face.

After they were done stretching, Izuku took off his sweater and shirt, letting the sunlight hit him directly. Uraraka's breath caught in her throat, and stared at his bare chest and abs. She glanced away and blushed deeply when he turned to look at her. He smiled slightly.

"S-so, um, Good luck, Deku!" Uraraka was still trying not to stare and failing to focus. She walked over the starting line, trying to collect her nerves.

"Good luck to you too, Ochako!" He said with a grin.

He turned to the sun, and let his body drink in the light. After a minute or two, he focused, and took a look around. No one was in range, but everyone could see him.

He walked over the asphalt and concrete of the parking lot, feeling with his hands, searching for the hotspots.

'Found one.' He concentrated hard, and pulled hard at the residual radiation he could feel in the concrete.

To anyone looking, they wouldn't see anything. But to Izuku, the parking lot was glowing brightly, and the light was rushing toward him.

He drew as much as he could from the mass of processed rock and metal, and then turned to the starting line.

His body felt tingly, full of so much power. He focused and contained the power and moved it around, stretching the pull around his body to ease the tension and increase the flow.

'Stretching the muscles helps with strength, but stretching the pull helps with flow,' he reflected.

As he settled, he noticed some of the other testers watching him carefully. He smirked and turned back to the starting line, ready to launch.

"AND BEGIN! GO GO GO!"

As soon as the gate opened, Izuku kicked off, sprinting towards the street in front of him.

He didn't want to flash through the exam and waste all of his energy, so he did it slow and right.

He sprinted into a couple of one pointers, and took them out with quick flicks of his middle fingers, the light and heat blasting them apart.

Then a two pointer came around the corner, and Izuku hurled another finger blast to knock into a wall, then swiftly punched through it.

He sped around the corner, getting distance from the others now that they were in the battle too.

'4 points and only 10 seconds in. Good start. Let's go faster.'

With that, he started flashing between enemies, a couple of two pointers and 3 pointer that had something to say about his fellow robots getting shredded.

'11 points.'

He turned another corner and found a line of robots rumbling towards him. A quick count showed 10 bots in a straight line.

'Turkey shoot.' He chuckled.

He pulled back his arm, took a chunk of power and pulled it into his palm.

He took careful aim and let loose a bright green beam of light and heat from the Impulse Strike, skewering all ten bots in a single shot. Two 3 pointers in the back, 3 2 pointers, and 5 one pointers fell in a single attack.

'Too easy. 28 points. 1 minute down.'

He didn't see any more bots on this street, but he heard some in the distance. He felt for any power sources, but the city structures were proving to be good at blocking his search.

'Well, then. Time to fly.'

He started running toward the sound, lept up, and then ignited his feet and hands into his flight configuration.

He flew over to the loudest group and checked out how they were doing.

'Decent amount of robots piling into their area. I'll leave them to it.'

He saw the brown hair of Ochako, and watched her for a second. She took down two one pointers at the same time, and dropped them on a two pointer with ease, though it seemed to be bothering her. She was breathing hard, and looked a little sick.

'I'll check with her after the test. Make sure she's ok.'

Izuku turned, still hovering over the city to a quiet area he noticed. He felt a tug in that direct, lots of power moving around.

He immediately blasted over to it, and saw a large assortment of robots rolling towards the other testers.

'Well, might as well show off a little.'

He lined up his shot and started picking off the robots with Impulse Strikes. A couple of two pointers launched rockets at him, but he flicked them away, and let them explode.

After 10 one pointers, another pair of 3 pointers, and a few of 2 pointers were melted metal, he surveyed his work.

'Good power consumption. Still feel good. Legs are getting tired though.'

His score of 54 was pretty good, but he wanted to get a couple more.

He flew back over to where the other testers were and started picking off straggler bots, several one pointers and a pair of 2 pointers that managed to flank the group. Now up to 65 points, he felt confident in his score.

He flew down and landed on one of the rooftops near the group, and started observing. With more than 5 minutes left in the exam, he didn't need to worry.

He was more interested in some of the quirks that were on display. One student shot a bright blue beam out of his stomach, spearing a couple of bots. Izuku swore he heard him say something in another language.

He watched Ochako for a little bit, before turning to watch the stiff man from the exam room. He was kicking and running at a rapid pace. Izuku noted the stream of steam coming off his calves.

In the observation room for the test, the faculty was watching with interest. Many switched from screen to screen. Some watched a singular monitor.

At the front of the group, a short being that could be a mouse or a dog or a really small bear with white fur smiled to himself.

"This group is very lively. They are pulling out tricks and doing very well."

He switched to a different view, the monitor now showing Katsuki blasting two robots into the air.

"A strict time limit, unknown numbers of villains, and a battleground of unknown size are variables that one must consider when being a hero." he finished.

"Insight into the situation, observing and understanding." A woman wearing a space suit with a black visor said, watching a man with six arms and multiple eyes on one of the monitors. "Judgment, snap decisions in the heat of battle." said by a man wearing a cowboy hat and gas mask.

"And sheer fighting power and potential..." trailing off into silence, was a woman dressed in black, with a grey scarf wrapped around her neck.

"These things can all be tested, but the point system will really tell us how they handle these skills." The mouse/bear/dog finished.

"This isn't even the real test." Said a man with long blonde hair, and a gaunt face. His piercing blue eyes were focused on Izuku flying around the arena, the occasional bright light illuminating his face. He smiled.

'This is it, kid. Show them who you are.'

"The real test starts now." as he leaned forward and pressed a huge red button.

Izuku looked up, and noticed a couple more stragglers down the street, and three more 2 pointers locking onto the students with their rockets.

He jumped and launched himself towards the oncoming rows of 1 pointers, hitting them with powerful flicks, smashing them out of the way, while looking at the 2 pointers about to fire. He slammed into the lead 2 pointer, and then threw it body into the second, demolishing both, before throwing a punch at the third and pinning it to the side of the building and smashing it to pieces.

'Another 17 points. 82. Hopefully Kacchan is doing well.'

Turning from the downed bots, he turned to others. He slowly lifted off and flew over to another rooftop, and then sat down to watch, resting his legs, and absorbing the sunlight.

He spent the next two minutes just watching and resting.

'The others are doing well. Uraraka should have quite a few points.'

He looked around for her, and saw her fighting two one pointers down the street. They flew up and then back down, smashing themselves against the road.

Then, all at once, Izuku felt a huge surge of power. A giant source just kicked into production. He looked around, but didn't see anything. Then the building began to shake.

A shadow passed over him, and he looked up.

A huge, towering robot, with a large 0 painted on its chest and head had climbed out of a massive hole that had opened up.

'Uh, yeah, that's a bit overkill.' But he did notice that it was the power source he felt.

'Best leave it alone. Don't need to worry about it.'

Then he heard Ochako. A cry of pain, and heaving breathing.

He scanned for her, and saw her pinned under some rubble down the street.

Right in the path of the giant rolling robot.

'Come on, get up.' He stood up. She wasn't moving from where she was at.

'Not good. Let's get over there.'

He jumped off the building, ignited his palms and feet, and rocketed toward her.

He was just 100 meters away when the robot saw her, and started to pull back a fist for the killing blow. It started to swing down as he got to 50 meters away

'Oh no you don't!'

He increased his flow rate and flashed to the fist, right as it was about to collide with the ground.

Ochako had covered her head in fear, but when no crunch or pain came, she looked up.

Standing over her, hands pushing against the robot's massive arm, was Izuku. His legs were tensed and pushing into the asphalt from the sheer weight of the robot.

"Hey there! This guy bothering you?" He said with a grin, straining against the robots weight.

She just looked at him, dumbfounded, unable to answer.

"Well, I think he's being rude, so give me a second to deal with him. Are you hurt?"

She snapped out of her stupor and replied, "I think my ankle is broken, it hurts really bad."

"Okay, we'll get that looked at in just a minute. I'll be right back, okay?"

He turned from her, his fist pressed into the robot's arm. He focused on the power in his belly, and spread it into his arms and hands. Pure heat and power flooded into the robots hand, turning red, then bright orange. The metal weakened, Izuku pulled back a single arm.

He looked down at Ochako, another look of shock on her face.

"Cover your ears, Uraraka. This is going to hurt."

'Him, not me.' he chuckled to himself.

She slapped her hands against her ears and covered herself as best as she could.

The robot's arm was starting to groan under the heat and strain.

"Now, big guy, it's rude to hit ladies. I'll have to put you in your place."

He double checked Ochako was covered, and then he pushed back against the arm of the robot with a large shove and blast from his palm. The hand of the robot shattered, sending the robot recoiling a little. As it was trying to recover, Izuku focused deep. From his feet, to his thigh, into his stomach.

"Everything is fine now."

From his stomach to his chest, and into his shoulder. He cocked his arm back, tensed the power building, and flooded it into his arm.

"Because I am here!"

He let his arm loose.

"IMPULSE SMASH!"

There was a deafening explosion and blinding light as the power rocketed out of his fist towards the robot.

The whole top half of the robot vanished in an instant. The light dimmed, and the smoke cleared.

All that was left was the treads of the robot. Huge furrows had dug into the concrete on either side of Izuku and Ochako.

Inside the observation room, only one person wasn't staring at the screen with their mouths agape.

He chuckled lightly as he looked around the room, and then focused back on the screen.

'Well done, my boy. Well done, indeed.'

Izuku was steaming. The heat coming off of his body was making the air wavy.

He took a deep, steadying breath, and willed the energy back into his body.

The air immediately began to cool, condensation forming on the ground.

He looked down at Ochako, she was looking up at him with shock.

He smiled and leaned down to give her a hand up.

"Can you stand?" He asked quietly.

She nodded, and then tried putting weight on her foot, but let out a cry of pain.

Izuku caught her before she fell, and picked her up under her knees.

She was light, and easy to carry.

"Let's get you some help for that leg, okay?"

She nodded, and then looked up at him. He was smiling kindly at her.

Her heart fluttered at the sight. His kind, caring eyes, his messy hair, his wide smile.

And he was so gentle. His hands were so soft, arms strong and steady.

He carried her through the crowd of students who were just as shocked as she was. They had seen everything and many still couldn't believe their eyes.

The stiff man from earlier observed him with wide eyes, studying him intently.

'Did I miss something? I would have done the same if it was real.'

Just as Izuku and Ochako reached the gate, they were greeted by a small, older woman.

"Oh dear, got a little banged up?" She asked Ochako, who nodded sheepishly.

"Just set her down here, sonny. How about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, ma'am. Maybe a little tired, but good."

"Good, here have some gummies. You sure put on an impressive show."

"Thank you!"

Izuku took the gummies and knocked them back, his stomach happy for even these little bits of chemical energy.

"I'm Recovery Girl, and I'll get you fixed up, good as new." She said to Ochako, who was sitting on a bench near the entrance.

Recovery Girl gave Ochako a kiss on the cheek, and Ochako's brave face hiding the pain settled into relief as her ankle was healed.

'She looks exhausted and hungry.' Right on queue, Izuku's stomach rumbled loudly.

Izuku started to chuckle as Ochako looked up at him with a smile.

"Say, Uraraka, wanna get some food? I think we could both do with a good meal."

Ochako looked down for a second, seemingly in thought.

"Yeah ok, Deku, that sounds good!" She said with a smile.

She stood up and started walking next to him, talking animatedly about how cool his punch was, and how fast he moved. She was really interested in how he was flying, telling him she noticed him fly over a couple of times.

Once everyone had gathered on the bus, they travelled back to the main building. The other students on their bus kept quiet after Izuku's show of power, not having anything to really say about it. Ochako kept raving about his performance to which Izuku was just blushing and smiling to himself.

Once they got off the bus, Izuku spotted Katsuki, and walked over, Ochako in tow.

"Hey Kacchan, how did your test go?"

"How do you think, nerd? Those robots didn't stand a chance. I probably got the best score out of anyone here!" He said as he turned to leave.

"Actually-" Ochako started, before she noticed a look from Izuku, silently pleading with her not to say anything.

"Oh um, Kacchan, was it? Would you like to join us for lunch? Izuku and I are feeling pretty hungry."

At the mention of his nickname, he stopped.

"Oh, um sorry. Bakugo, would you like to get food with us?" Ochako corrected.

Katsuki looked back at Izuku, who nodded and smiled.

He then glanced back at Ochako

"Fine, lets get some noodles. I know a good spot that has them cheap."

Izuku silently thanked his friend, and looked over at Ochako, who was a little taken back.

He leaned in, "He's really okay once you get to know him. He's prickly, but he cares a lot. Just give it time."

"Are you sure? It's almost like he doesn't like me." She whispered back.

"HEY! Love birds, let's go! Are you hungry or not!?" Katsuki yelled back, not even looking at them.

Ochako blushed deeply. Izuku smiled and shook his head.

"Come on, let's go." He chuckled as they sped up to catch up to Katsuki.