You quickly slip your shoes on and sneak out the front door, bringing your rice with you. The two boys are far enough ahead that they don't notice you tailing them as you eat. Bakugou seems to be leading Midoriya somewhere, and wherever it is, it's a decent walk. Eating as you walk, you recognize the way to Ground Beta. This is where we had our first battle exercise... The two boys disappear into the grounds, and you carefully sneak after them. It's a few minutes before you catch up, and although you can hear their voices, it's hard to tell where they are. That is, until you hear the familiar boom of Bakugou's quirk. Oh my god, they're seriously fighting?!

Following the sounds of explosions and shouting, you finally spot the two boys. Bakugou stumbles backward, landing on his ass. It's hard to make out what they're talking about, so you sneak closer, ducking into an alley. Finally, you can understand them.

"Why?! Why was it me who put an end to All Might?!!" Your heart drops as you hear the crack in Bakugou's voice. "If I'd only been stronger... If I hadn't gotten kidnapped by those stupid villains...! Everything would have still been fine!! All Might's acting all tough still, and everyone is moving past it! Even Y/n has been feeling better, and she got freaking tortured!!! And that guy...!!!" Bakugou wipes his eyes with the back of his hand, and you want to run and give him a hug, but it's not your place. "If I try to forget about it... It all just comes rushing back! I've got no freaking idea what I'm supposed to do!!" His voice cracks again, and it comes out in a strangled sob.

I shouldn't eavesdrop... You give Bakugou one last fleeting look and turn away. That's when you spot him. "All Might?!" You whisper-shout. He's in the alley next to you. He sees you and shushes you. Bakugou and Midoriya begin fighting again, and All Might hurries over towards you. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that. Aizawa and I both got notified by a security robot saying that two students from 1A were out here. I didn't think you'd be here, too." All Might says.

"I saw them hurry off when I went downstairs to get food. I was worried they would be fighting over the exam today, but when I got here... Well... You heard Bakugou." You say. "I don't know if it's right for us to interrupt right now, I mean, he's actually being honest about his feelings for once and asking for help. Especially from Midoriya..."

"I don't plan on stopping them unless they do anything drastic. Damn... I didn't realize just how bad he was hurting."

"Me either..." You sigh. It feels inappropriate now to be eating your rice, but you're so hungry you can't not. "Wow... They're really going at it, huh?" The two boys are screaming at each other as they fire attack after attack, and it's hard to keep your eyes focused on them.

All Might nods. "I believe this is the first time they've actually talked about their honest feelings together."

"Might be the first time they actually had a conversation, period." You say, taking another bite of your food. Bakugou shouts at Midoriya, surprising all of you by saying Midoriya was always following him in order to one day surpass him and that Midoriya's looked down on him since they were kids. Midoriya looks dumbfounded. "Bakugou can be kind of dense, huh?" You say to All Might, who nods. "Ask anyone and they'll tell you Midoriya is Bakugou's number one fan."

"Unfortunately, Young Bakugou doesn't seem to realize that."

"I wonder how things would have gone differently for them growing up if they had this conversation a decade ago..."

"They would be quite the duo..." All Might nods.

"I could only admire All Might from a distance, but you were always right there! This amazing person in my life!!!" Midoriya screams. He races towards Bakugou, faster than usual. "That's why I always chased you, Kacchan!!!!"

"Woah!! They're really going at it!" You and All Might watch the two fight intently, getting dizzy from following them jumping around. "You can tell Midoriya grew up admiring Bakugou, I mean just look at their expressions. They're both making the same angry glare at each other and screaming exactly the same way."

"Yes, Young Midoriya does tend to act like Young Bakugou when he lets loose." All Might agrees.

"Hah, is that all you've got?!!!" Midoriya races at Bakugou, egging him on.

"Huh?!!! You want more?!!"

"Yeah, they really are the same at their core." You chuckle. Eating another bite of rice, you watch them grapple in the air. Midoriya smashes his fist into Bakugou's face. "Ouch."

"I ain't gonna lose!!!!!" Bakugou takes the hit like a champ, and grabs onto Midoriya's shirt. While still midair, he throws Midoriya to the ground with a giant explosion. The smoke blocks your view, and you and All Might take it as a sign to come out of hiding. It slowly clears, revealing Bakugou as the victor. He kneels on top of Midoriya, holding him down. "It's my win. All Might's power... Even with it... After making it your own... You still lost to me. Why did you lose...?"

"That's enough, you two!!" All Might shouts as you both run over. "Apologies, but we heard everything."

"All Might...?" The two boys look towards the two of you, and spot you behind your instructor. "Y/n? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry... I followed you two..." You apologize.

"I'm so very sorry that I never realized, Young Bakugou." All Might says. "I know, it's too little too late."

Uncertain of what you know, Bakugou looks between All Might and you. Midoriya speaks up. "She knows..."

Bakugou turns away from all of you before speaking. "So why Deku...? Ever since the sludge villain... Why...? Why him, of all people?"

"Even powerless... He was more of a hero than anyone else on the scene. None of us heroes could do a thing, and even I was watching, unwilling to make a move. But when I saw this quirkless middle school boy go rushing in against a villain that had already almost killed him to save his friend..." Bakugou lifts his head up when he hears that. "Well, I couldn't ignore it. I could tell you were strong. You were already on your way in the world, so I decided to give him the chance to walk that path, too."

"Nah... You've got it all wrong, All Might. I'm weak..." Bakugou sniffs and wipes dirt from his face with the back of his hand.

"Bakugou...!" You step forward. "That's not true at all!!"

"This whole time, I wanted to be strong like you, All Might!!! But I was weak...! And I caused you to wind up like that!! And the guy who tortured Y/n was right in front of me...!!! I could have done something!!!!"

All Might steps closer towards Bakugou. "This is not your fault. I was fast approaching my limit either way. It didn't matter if it was in Kamino or a few months from now, fighting a convenience store robber. This was always my destiny. And Y/n is right. You are strong. I was distracted by your strength, and burdened you with it." All Might pulls Bakugou into a hug. "I'm sorry. You, too, are only a boy." Bakugou pulls away from All Might, wiping his face. "Being a hero for all of these years has taught me something. I love to win, just like you, Bakugou. And like Midoriya, I strive to save those in need. If either aspect had been missing, I never could have stood for justice in the way that I did. Being the Symbol of Peace required me to not only strive to save, but fight to win. Midoriya looks up to your strength, Bakugou. And Midoriya, Bakugou fears your spirit. You've both just laid everything bare, so can't you see now? If you learn to respect each other and lift each other up, then you two can become the ultimate heroes. Ones who save by winning, and win by saving."

"You think... That's what I wanted to hear from you...?" Bakugou sniffles and drops down to sit on the ground.

"Bakugou..." You step closer. "I'm glad you didn't try to fight Dabi."

"Deku. The strongest guy there is put you on the fast track, and you still lost to me."

"I'll get stronger. Strong enough to beat you." Midoriya nods, and it's quiet for a moment.

"So... Y/n obviously knows the deal between you two. Who else?" Bakugou hides his head between his knees, with his arms resting on top of them.

All Might sighs. "Recovery Girl... The principal... My old mentor, Gran Torino... You're the only other student to know."

"And you don't want the word getting out... Right, All Might?" Bakugou scratches his head. "If you're still trying to hide it, then I won't breathe a word. I'm not going to go spilling the beans like stupid Deku here. I'll keep your secret."

"I'm terribly sorry to ask you to do this for me." All Might says to Bakugou.

"I ain't doing it for you. Besides, blabbing about it would do more harm than good."

"Now that it's come to this point, Bakugou... It only makes sense to explain everything else as well." All Might says.

"Before that though..." You walk over to Bakugou and offer him your hand. "Everyone in the class looks up to your strength, Bakugou. Especially Midoriya and I. I overheard you saying to Midoriya that even I'm doing better, but honestly, I just didn't want everyone to keep worrying about me." Bakugou looks up at you as you speak. "I poured myself into my training since we moved in here because it meant I wasn't thinking about what happened... And during the exam today... At one point Shoto's fire blew towards me, and I just froze up in fear... I've been getting nightmares, too... What I'm trying to say is... You're not alone."

Bakugou looks at your hand, and back up at your face. Letting out a long shaky breath, he takes your hand in his, and accepts your help standing up. You keep your hand in his as he wipes the tears from his face and smile up at him. He sniffs, and meets your gaze.

"By the way... Why the hell do you have a bowl of rice?"