"... and that's the game." Izuku said, as Nezu beat him once again, placing Izuku's king into checkmate. Izuku had been able to defeat Nezu a few times at this point, but they were rare and not very often. However, most of their matches nowadays are always quite close, with many pieces taken on both sides and it always getting down to the wire.

Nezu nodded, taking a sip of his tea. "Well done, Izuku! If you had moved this piece to D6 five turns ago, you would have been able to take my queen here, and then checkmate me on turn 14, it was a really close match." Nezu pointed to the board while talking, making Izuku sigh with realisation, knowing that the opportunity missed his eyes. "However..." Nezu continued to speak, making Izuku's eyes flicker back up to him. "You are the only person I've played against that has ever beaten me before, or even come close. I greatly anticipate our future matches together!"

"O- oh, thank you, Sir..." Izuku smiles, Nezu says this, or something similar, every time, and yet whenever he does it makes Izuku smile. Nezu isn't a liar, so if he says Izuku is talented, then he really is. He's gotten to the point of being able to talk to Nezu normally, however compliments still make him stammer. His phone beeped – noting that Hitoshi was asking how much longer until he was done with his after school 'class' – and Izuku got up, intending to leave.

Nezu held up a hand to stop him. "Wait, Izuku." His kind, but commanding voice, made Izuku halt in his tracks, looking at Nezu with questioning eyes, unsure what Nezu wanted. "I did say you are quite talented at chess... so, why not hold a chess competition for your class? It would be a great way for everyone to bond. Being heroes is not just about physical strength, it's also about being strong on the inside, having mental prowess, just like you and me."

Izuku ignored the slight bragging tone Nezu had when comparing him and Izuku to Class 1A. "A chess competition? What would the prize be?" He wasn't sure what would make everyone work so hard to succeed, and – especially on Bakugou's end – he wasn't sure what would make everyone want to even join in to begin with.

Nezu's eyes glinted. "The winner would get to compete against you. If they win that game, they get full exclusion from every exam and test for this entire year and will get full marks for all of them!" He then went on to list all the exams, including the incredibly important summer exams which would be at the end of the year. This would be a very big deal.

"S- Sir-! Is something like that even possible?? We need those exams to run smoothly!" Izuku protested, looking concerned. Was beating himself at chess really such an ample display of wisdom – enough to get them out of all exams in the near future?

But after a bit more back and forth, Izuku relented. It wasn't like it was hurting anyone, and if Nezu was so desperate to see more chess within school, then so be it. "This is a school too, is it not? Of course we must have events like this!" Nezu had said when Izuku asked him about why he wanted a chess tournament in a place like this - for heroes to learn. Izuku couldn't really say no to that, so after a little more conversation, he left, grabbed Hitoshi and Shoto from the library, and then they headed home together, with Izuku explaining Nezu's thought process.

"A chess competition... with the opportunity to get out of all exams for the year on the line?" Hitoshi seemed quite excited by the prospect. However, when he learned that Izuku was the 'final boss', he quickly deflated. "Guess I'd still be in for the bragging rights."

"Father would want me to participate." Shoto seemed to not care about the tournament, but Izuku could tell from his slightly upturned lips that he's also looking forward to it. "Although if I won, he'd probably still want me to compete in the exams." Izuku and Hitoshi sent Shoto annoyed and exasperated looks, both of them wishing something could be done about his father. So far, nothing had been. Izuku was a hero yes, but he still needed proof before he could take down the second best hero in the entire country.

"So, you guys are both in, then?" Izuku cheerfully asked, smiling when both responded in the affirmative. Once they separated from Shoto – Izuku and Shoto sharing a small kiss as they parted – and got home, their dads seemed quite interested in the prospect of a chess competition, nodding as Izuku recounted that Nezu said wisdom and logic were also incredibly important for a hero. Although Shouta became quite annoyed once Izuku mentioned they could win the right to not participate in exams.

It took Izuku mentioning that the winner had to beat him at chess to gain the right to not participating, for him to calm down. "Not having to worry about exams is illogical, they won't keep up their training, they'll relax and grow comfortable and easy." He couldn't help but scoff at Nezu's thinking. "At least you'll stop the winner from doing that, kiddo." He ruffled Izuku's hair fondly, before going back to the couch and playing with Luna, while Hizashi continued cooking.

The compliment made Izuku pause for a second. Of course he was complimented often: by his family, by his fans and peers, by his friends. However, his past still made him struggle accepting such praise. Even now, his past remains a constant negative light in his life. But he had yet to properly vocalise his issues, instead simply smiling and verbally accepting the compliment he's been given. "I'll certainly do my best to, Dad." The word 'dad' was now entirely natural, and in a way: perfect. He'd never consider either Shouta or Hizashi to be anything else.

Shoto's expression seemed to turn slightly, a small frown on his face, as if concentrating. However when questioned, he returned to his usual neutral position, saying that he was just thinking. Izuku, with his almost infinite skill in analysis, somehow failed to notice the occasional concerned glances Shoto threw his way. Instead he decided to focus on some hero based paperwork he still has yet to do – he must've acquired his love of procrastination from Shouta – the tip of the pen that Shoto gifted to Izuku months ago stuck in Izuku's mouth while he thought about how to most accurately file the paperwork Nezu had assigned him. He was a hero first, before anything else.

And that was the thought that pushed him onwards, as Shoto left to head back home, as Hitoshi retreated to his bedroom to do some homework with Luna dutifully following him, as Shouta and Hizashi cuddled up together on the sofa to watch a movie, and as the sky slowly darkened around them. It was only when the moon had risen high into the sky, that Izuku finally retreated to bed.

---TimeSkip---

"A chess competition?! You must be joking!" Bakugou yelled irritatedly at Deku and Eraserhead, his eyebrows twitching with suppressed anger, as he was clearly trying to not flip a desk like he used to. In a way, he was probably improving. Izuku had to admit he felt slightly impressed with the improvements he'd been showing lately.

"Cmon dude, it'll be fun!" Kirishima wrapped an arm across the back of Bakugou's shoulders as he teasingly grinned at him. While it was obvious Kirishima was messing with Bakugou, he also had a sparkle in his eyes that showed he was also quite excited about a chess competition, and genuinely wanted Bakugou to participate.

Bakugou opened his mouth to retort back, but found himself staring at Kirishima, Kaminari and Sato's pleading faces. "Cmon pleaaaaaase? The winner even gets to be exempt from all the future exams! So cool!!" Kaminari begged, while Jirou who was standing off to the side, sighed fondly at Kaminari's foolishness.

"That's only IF the winner beats Deku – and I heard he's Nezu's right-hand hero!" She quickly added. Her words made Kaminari and Sato's faces pale, but Kirishima was determined to convince them all to participate, focusing on persuading Bakugou. He recklessly pulled Bakugou back to him, not even minding when Bakugou quickly forced himself out of Kirishima's arms. "Who cares if the winner has to beat Deku! I'm more interested in finding out who the most skilled person in our class is at chess!" Kirishima tightly clenched both his fists and pound them together, clearly excited, as he turned the focus away from the prize and more on the competitive nature of all the students here.

"......." Bakugou was silent for a minute, and the group started to look nervous – mayyybe they went too far with- "Fine. But don't complain when I beat your asses at chess!" He finally yelled in response, making the entire class cheer. Deku smiled, it being hidden under his head mask. Shouta seemed fairly bored, asking if anyone else had any objections. There was none.

Because of Nezu's meddling, it seemed they were all going to become involved in a grand chess tournament.

New chapter out!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

*Ahem* anyway – hi everyone!! I've been busier than I thought I would be, with my summer job and our holiday, and now I'm packing my bags to return to University! However I'm going to try my best to get a few more chapters out before I return, school is just so so busy -_-

But anyways! It's really nice finding some time to be able to write again, I've missed it so much! I hope you guys are enjoying the updates as much as I enjoy writing them! You can't see my word document or anything but it says that right now I'm on page 212 and on word 85,360 – which... is a lot! I'm not sure whether to be terrified, since there's still so much to go, or impressed at how much I've done XD

Can't wait to see you guys again soon!!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊