I walk quietly with a soft smile back to the dorm. Earlier today I successfully passed the Hero Provisional Licensing Exam. I grab my phone to look at the time. When we of Class 1A returned to the dorms it was only 4:30 in the afternoon. Now the sun has dipped fully below the horizon. 10:30 at night. Well after Iida's self-appointed "mandatory sleeping time" or whatever he called it. As I make my way back to the dorm I catch a glimpse of blond hair walking away from it, green hair follows after. Midoriya? I trail what I think are Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya, I start texting Mr. Aizawa as I do. I know snitching isn't cool, but he should at least be kept aware of what's going on. I'm sure everyone's asleep by now. I'm just close enough to hear Midoriya speak as they keep walking.

"Kachan. How far are we going? We shouldn't be walking around in the middle of the night." Midoriya says concerned. Bakugo doesn't respond or look back. "Hello?" His voice is growing with more concern. I follow them reporting to Aizawa that the three of us are Ground Beta. "You brought us to Ground Beta?"

"This is the place where we had our first combat training, where I fought you and lost." Bakugo finally speaks, I sneak inside one of the buildings nearby, and using the darkness to my advantage I record the pair, making sure they can be heard. Midoriya gasps. "You've always made me sick. You know that, right, Deku?" Bakugo still hasn't turned to look at Midoriya, neither of them has properly taken in their surroundings. "You were useless. No power at all. A joke. So now you're gonna tell me how you managed to get into this damn school with a brand new quirk that appeared outta nowhere. I didn't understand what you meant back then because what you were saying made no sense. But still, you kept climbing higher and higher, always looking so satisfied with yourself." Bakugo exhales, I watch as he balls his fist, lowering his head a bit to stare at the ground now. "Ever since that sludge villain. No, it actually started when All Might came to town. Better and better, until finally, you passed the licensing exam while I failed. How the hell is that even possible?"

"That wasn't a matter of ability, though." Midoriya tries to reason with an ever increasingly emotional Bakugo. I don't like where this is going.

"Shut up and listen, you damn nerd." Bakugo shouts.

"Sorry."

"It pissed me off that I'd been beaten by such a pathetic weakling. But after seeing what happened to All Might at Camino Ward, I began to understand." Bakugo finally turns glancing at Midoriya. "I've been giving it a lot of thought. You got your quirk from All Might, didn't you? He gave you his power. Raijin and I heard about the boss villain. Apparently, he has the ability to steal a person's quirk and give it to somebody else. Which sounds kinda crazy, but then one of those old cat ladies had her power taken from her and can't work anymore. And then you met All Might. And you started changing. Then he lost his power and had to retire, just like her. I remember what he said after he beat the big bad. We all heard it. Back then, you were the only one who really understood what he meant. There's more evidence, too. Like how those Nomu monsters had multiple quirks, even though it seemed impossible. Besides... All Might and that boss villain knew each other. Before that fight. Quirks can move from one person to another. All Might knew the guy who could do it. And somehow it's all connected to what you said about getting your quirk from someone else." Midoriya stands there, letting Bakugo rattle on about his theory, My eyes must've been as wide as dinner plates as I listened. I stopped the recording earlier during Bakugo's speech, my phone is shaking, no, it's not my phone, it's my hands. "I asked All Might about this, in a way, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. That's why you're gonna tell me the truth." Midoriya looks down now as Bakugo turns to fully face him. "You're not trying to deny anything. Which means I must be right. So say it." Bakugo declares.

Now, Midoriya clenches his fists, he's shaking, trembling even. He finally raises his head to look back up to Bakugo. "Okay. What if it's true?"

"You and I both wanted to be just like All Might when we were growing up. But I was the one who had the potential. Then somehow, a little nobody like you was singled out by the person I admired most, and I didn't even realize it. That's why we're here. You and I are settling this. Right here. Right now."

I tune them out at that exact moment. This is a problem, one that needs to be solved now by a teacher. I quickly hid deeper in the building and called Aizawa, it took a moment, but he was swift in his answer.

"What, Raijin? It's like 10:30."

"You need to come to Ground Beta."

"Why?"

"Cause Bakugo & Midoriya are about to fight here."

"Why are you there?"

"Cause I caught them sneaking out."

"And you couldn't have reported them sooner?"

"I was curious why they were sneaking out. I know the reason, though you might not believe it, but now Bakugo wants to fight Midoriya and something tells me he's not going to say no." I say full of annoyance. "If you're not here soon I will use my quirk to stop them."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Aizawa's voice is as tired as it usually is. By the time I end the call, I can already hear small explosions, the fights already begun.

Chapter 28: We're Not Alright

Kyoreki Raijin sighs exiting the building, he stares at the destruction caused by Bakugo specifically. He turns his head as Bakugo shouts.

"Don't you dare worry about me! Attack me! Why won't you fight back? Why did I end up having to chase after someone who was always so far behind me? Why did a damn small fry like you get strong and become the number-one hero's sidekick? His favorite." His voice is breaking, like something inside is broken unable to repair itself. "You got so much better, and I destroyed All Might. I admired him so much. But it's because of me that he ended up losing his power! If I had been stronger... if I hadn't been kidnapped by villains, then it never would have happened. All Might knows it was my fault, but hasn't said anything. Everyone has to know, though! I can't get it out of my head. It's like it's constantly playing on loop. So, what the hell am I supposed to do?" Raijin pauses, his gaze lingers on Bakugo, the sadness in his voice. Even Raijin can feel it, the anguish and pain in Bakugo. His pause gave the two enough time to rush each other a few times.

Raijin takes a deep breath and finally steps out of the shadows. His quirk lights the area up like a Christmas tree, Lightning cords of green and red surround Midoriya and Bakugo respectively. "Sorry boys. But save this for a class where you're allowed to fight." The boys turn their full attention to Raijin who keeps his gaze glued to them. "Believe me, I've had theories about how All Might came about, and after meeting All For One, it confirmed a few of them. But knowing that All Might's quirk was passed onto you Midoriya, explains everything I ever thought about you." Raijin steps forward the beams of electricity grow tighter and tighter in their trapping of the pair. "You, the fanboy, who met All Might just before the sludge villain captured Bakugo. You, the fanboy, who trained and trained hard after that meeting. You, the fucking fanboy, who received his blessing to be his successor." His glare grows with each moment and step. "Initially, I thought you just had a power quirk that your body couldn't handle. But no. Now I get it. All Might's incredible power comes from a pile of corpses. And the only reason yours is as strong as it is must be because All Might gave it to you, the fanboy. Someone who already worshipped him. Sure you have a good pure heart. But you being a fanboy must've made that decision so much easier." The cords now start to wrap themselves around Bakugo & Midoriya, it's then he takes a deep breath and loosens the restrictions, and footsteps are running toward the three students. "I've already detained them, Mr. Aizawa."

"Let them go, young Raijin." All Might's voice breaks the silence. All of them turn to the teacher. "I'm sorry, but I've heard what you said."

"All Might." Bakugo mutters,

"Fuckin." Raijin scoffs releasing the pair.

"When did you get here?" Midoriya asks.

"I didn't notice before. I should have."

"It's too late now." Bakugo turns away from the blonde teacher. "Why did you pick Deku?" Bakugo asks. "It started when the sludge villain came, didn't it? So why him?"

"He was powerless. But still more heroic than anyone else. I knew you were strong. That much was obvious. You were someone who could already fight. So, I decided that he should have a chance to stand in the ring."

"But now you know I'm weak, too."

"You call yourself weak?" Raijin asks, semi-mockingly. "Idiot. You're arguably second if not third strongest in this class. Behind myself and maybe IcyHot."

"I always wanted to be like All Might, which meant being as strong as possible. But look what I did to you." Bakugo's attention first on Raijin turns to All Might as he speaks. "Because I'm not strong enough." Tears form in his eyes.

"This is not your fault, Young Bakugo. I was always going to lose my power. You couldn't do anything to change that. You are strong. But I focused too much on your physical strength and overlooked what was important. This isn't your burden." All Might brings Bakugo into a hug, placing a reassuring hand on the student's head and shoulder allowing Bakugo to cry into his chest. "I apologize. Sometimes I forget that you're children." Bakugo slaps away the hand pushing himself away from All Might. "After being a hero for so many years, you learn a few things. Striving to be the best, like you, young Bakugo, and caring deeply about people, about rescuing those in trouble, like you, Young Midoriya, both of those feelings are necessary in a hero. Otherwise, they'll never truly be able to represent justice. That's why you admire his strength so much, Young Midoriya. And I know that's why you've always feared his heart and spirit, young Bakugo. Now that you've laid your feelings out on the table, maybe you can understand each other. If you have mutual respect and focus on making one another stronger, I've no doubt you'll become the ultimate heroes, winning and saving people at the same time." As All Might speaks Raijin looks down to his wrist, there's no watch there, but he understands the symbolism of what he's doing.

"Damn it. That's not what I wanted to hear." Bakugo grumbles falling to the floor, now sitting near Midoriya. "You." He speaks, clearly to Midoriya though any of them could be the receiver of the message. "You had the strongest guy in the world lay the groundwork for you. Don't you dare lose again."

"I'll work harder so that I can beat you." Midoriya declares.

"Okay, talk. Who knows about you two?" Bakugo asks.

"Recovery girl and Principle Nezu do. As far as students go, only you and Young Raijin now." All Might answers.

"And you don't want this to get out. 'Cause that would be bad." Bakugo ponders the new reality of what they've learned. "Don't worry your secrets safe with me. I won't tell anyone what's going on."

"Yeah, I don't give a fuck about this shit, it has nothing to do with Akashi and the Ring of Fire so don't bother me with this shit." Raijin says still looking at his watchless wrist. "Besides, unlike the Deku Shrub, I can keep my mouth shut."

"Thanks Kachan, Raijin." Midoriya says softly.

"I don't deserve this." All Might says softly. "I should be down on my hands and knees begging for you to keep this secret for me. Yet here you both are being considerate and helping me out. Thank you."

"You should be on your hands and knees, but, it's not that I'm being considerate, oaf. It's that I want as little to do with you as possible. And the less I know, the less I have to tell my therapist this coming Monday after class." Raijin says.

"I'm not doing this for you." Bakugo stands. "It would just be a real pain if this got out and messed stuff up."

"Now that it's come to this, I can explain what's happened between me and young Midoriya. That's only fair."

"The only part I'm curious about is your quirk. What, is it the opposite of All For One, ya know the Three Musketeers and all that? One For All and All For One?"

"Yup." All Might shrugs.

"You've gotta be fucking shitting me." Raijin deadpans at the teacher. After, Raijin made his way back to the school ahead of the others, far enough that he couldn't hear them. As he did he deleted the videos of Bakugo speaking about One For All. He arrived well before the others did and was met by Aizawa at the front door of the dorms. Once the others arrived Aizawa was ready and waiting. Raijin was so happy he got to see Aizawa wrap Bakugo and Midoriya in his scarf.

"You fought the night you finished the Preliminary Hero Licensing Exam? I'm glad you two have so much energy."

"Aizawa, wait, hold up with those restraints." All Might panics. "It's my fault that they sparred in the first place."

"Huh?" Aizawa's gaze turns to All Might.

Raijin sighs. "To be fair, I'm the one who called for Aizawa to show up. It is why I was looking at my non-existent watch most of that conversation."

"Your fault? And how is that?" Aizawa asks. All Might steps forward whispering into his fellow teacher's ear, none of the students can hear what was said. Aizawa's response is a grunt and releasing the two troublemakers. "I understand that they felt they had to break the rules. But this is something I just can't ignore. There must be a suitable punishment. Who threw the first punch?"

"I did." Bakugo declares.

"I also went pretty hard. It wasn't just him." Midoriya says, not making eye contact.

"You're both on house arrest. Four days for Bakugo, and three for Midoriya. As for you Raijin."

"Oi, all I did was to speak to Yui Kodai of 1B. I broke no rules you let me go talk to her."

"Fair, but you'll join in some punishment for not being back before curfew. During the time of their house arrest, you three will all clean the common areas in the dorm, morning and night. Plus, I want a written apology from Bakugo and Midoriya. If your injuries need to be checked out, head to the infirmary. But don't rely on the old lady's quirk this time. Figure out a way to heal yourselves." Aizawa finishes before sighing. "That's all. Go."

Raijin shrugs following Aizawa's order to leave. He heads to the kitchen and makes a light dinner he cuts up two hotdogs and uses them along with four eggs to make two breakfast tacos. He cleans the dishes used after and makes sure the kitchen is entirely clean, once done he heads to his room. But instead of sleeping he grabs his acoustic guitar and heads to the roof, he strums on the guitar he tries a few notes then stops after making a mistake. "Fuck." He mutters before trying again, he sings the song while longingly staring at the moon. (The song is Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day)

The following morning Raijin sighed as he stood away from the class and watched as everyone else reacted to the news of Midoriya and Bakugo's orders.

"What?" They all say surprised.

"You guys threw down?" Mina Ashido asks.

"And now you're under house arrest?" Toru Hagakure adds.

"Hilarious." Denki Kaminari says nudging Yuga Aoyama who hums in agreement. "Tres tragique." "You're both morons." Hanta Sero deadpans. "The pinnacle of stupidity." Fumikage Tokoyami crosses his arms.

"So did you guys make up after?" Ochaco Uraraka asks, as she and Tenya Iida walks up to Midoriya in specific.

"Well, it wasn't exactly that we made up, exactly." Midoriya turns away from the pair. "It's kinda hard to put into words."

"You're lucky you two got away with house arrest. Though this does mean you'll miss the opening ceremony we're going to right now." Iida declares.

"Believe me, Iida." Raijin steps forward with Aka Bokasu with him. "I'd rather be under house arrest than have to stand for an hour while people speak my ears off. You are maybe the only person actually excited about this, and I wish I had a gun to shout myself with so I could miss it."

"Bakugo, what about our extra classes?" Shoto Todoroki asks.

"Shut up, Icy Hot! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Kay, well, thanks for cleaning up!" Kaminari says walking past the pair. All of the other students leave, only Midoriya and Bakugo remain in the dorm.

Kyoreki sighed as he stood with his classmates, slowly making their way through the halls toward the opening ceremonies for the second semester. His sigh grows into a groan hearing the obnoxious laughter of Class 1B's Neito Monoma.

"I heard a little rumor about Class 1A. Two people! You had two people fail the licensing exam, you losers!

Raijin scoffs. "So, you had three. Dumbass." He steps forward standing at the front of the class. "Besides, it's not a competition. If you make it one, then I'll slap some sense to you. Like Kendo does. Maybe then you'll learn to shut up. Just a thought."

"I'm sure you're one of those who failed." Monoma points at Raijin.

"Wrong. I passed. Near the top of my class actually. Though, Kodai told me something interesting, you're one of the three who failed. How embarrassing."

"Accordin' ta teacher Vlad we'll have classes together this semester- doesn't that sound like it'll be fun? I'm looking forward to it." Pony Tsunotori says as she joins Monoma.

"Well, I think we should move out of the way, don't you agree, Hitoshi Shinso." Raijin says loudly to everyone in classes A and B. "Mind if I have a word." He says glancing at the purple-haired boy.

"What is it?"

"A word privately." Everyone walks on without the pair leaving them in the hall while everyone else is gone.

"Well?" He asks

Raijin sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know you don't like Class 1A. We've caused you and the rest of the school a lot of problems. I am to blame for some of them. So allow me to apologize for any and all inconveniences that have happened. I'd also like to ask if you wouldn't mind if you could show me your workout routine. You see I'm trying to increase my strength without my quirk. But none of the workout methods I've tried have helped."

Shinso shrugs, 'Sure, I'll think about it. And about your apology, I'm not the only one you have to apologize to."

"Then tell the school about my apology. And tell them, during the school festival that's coming up, I'm gonna blow them off their feet with a song done by me and me alone."

Shinso hums. "Yeah, sure. Shouldn't we go?"

Raijin chuckles. "Yeah, Mr. Aizawa will get pissed if I'm late. I hate that man sometimes.". He says walking past Shinso and down the hall to join his class again.

He joins his class standing at the back of the entire class with Bokasu directly in front of him. The two notice Principle Nezu standing at a podium with teachers and heroes all standing near him.

"Hi there! It's the adorable small mammal you all know and love, the principle. You may notice the fur I'm so proud of has deteriorated in quality. I haven't been taking care of it. This is something that can happen to humans, too. Even if you eat a balanced diet full of vitamins and minerals, you won't have a mane of luscious locks unless you're getting lots of sleep. That's the secret. Disturbances in your normal resting patterns are terrible for your hair. So if you want to improve your fur's ..."

"Is this fucking necessary?" Bokasu mutters from in front of Raijin.

"Probably not." Raijin answers.

"My own sleep cycle has been upset by the incidents that took place over summer vacation, which I'm sure everyone here knows about already. We lost a pillar of hope, the ramifications of which have appeared faster than I could have ever imagined. And there will likely be even more chaos throughout our world in the near future. In particular, this will be most apparent to those of you studying in the Hero Course. You must approach extracurricular activities, like the Hero Work Studies available to second and third years, with a greater sense of caution and attentiveness than before."

"Hero Work Studies?" Bokasu mutters.

"It's basically the internships, but we actually get to help and do stuff with our provisional licenses." Raijin explains quietly.

"The air always feels heavy when we talk about gloomy subjects. But, rest assured, your teachers are working hard to remove this weight from your shoulders. I'd like all of you to learn from their diligence, and remember that hard work will help you develop into capable heroes. Whether hero core, support, business, or general studies. I don't want any of you to forget that you're the ones who will inherit our society."

"Well spoken. Thank you, Principle Nezu." Vlad King says as Nezu steps away from the podium. "Now well here from the extra-curricular guidance teacher. Please give Mr. Hound Dog your attention." Vlad announces. He steps to the side allowing Hound Dog to take the stand.

"Yesterday..." His words are barely understandable he raves on snarling and barking, the best most people caught were "Two Students" before it became completely unclear to anyone.

"All right." Vlad steps forward. "As you just heard, there were students fighting last night. I know you're not used to life in the dorms, but let's all be a little more respectful moving forward. That's it. Back to the classrooms starting with the third-years."

Raijin shrugs he glances over to Class 1B, he notices Yui watching him he smirks and sticks his tongue out at her a bit and wiggles his fingers, she smiles softly and turns away from him. His smirk becomes a full grin, one that Yaoyorozu and Bokasu both notice.

Chapter End.

Post Chapter Scene
Life In The Dorms Part...?
Midoriya quietly closes a door, or rather he tries to be quiet but squeaks as he sees Kaminari coming out of a nearby room. "Kaminari? What are you doing in Jiro's room at this hour?"

"What were you doing in Uraraka's room at this hour?"

"What?" Midoriya asks. "We fell asleep studying. That's all we did."

"If it was anyone else, I wouldn't believe it."

Midoriya rolls his eyes. "Oh, and you're about to convince me that you were studying in there?"

"Dude, harsh." Kaminari holds a hand over his chest.

"Good point, sorry."

"I left my headphones in her room, okay."

"That's pretty sus, bro." Kirishima says walking out of Ashido's room.

"Kirishima! What were you doing in Ashido's room?!" Kaminari asks.

"Oh, I got lost." Kirishima smiles, his good-boy nature is just perfect.

There's a momentary pause as Midoriya and Kaminari glance at each other. "Could happen." Midoriya comments. "No, yeah. I could see a world where it would." Kaminari agrees.

"While I was lost, Mina texted me saying she got stuck crawling under her bed, so I went in and unstuck her."

"See now he's losing me." Kaminari ponders.

"Why don't I ever get those text messages?" Mineta asks approaching from Midoriya's room.

"Mineta?!" Midoriya nearly shouts. "Wait. Mineta, what were you doing coming out of my room?"

Mineta nods, staying silent momentarily. "See, now I don't think it's worth discussing."

"Well, now I definitely wanna discuss it."

"No, my young padawan, don't seek answers to questions you shouldn't ask."

"Okay. Possible lawsuits aside. I think-" Kaminari was speaking but stopped as two places opened simultaneously. First, was Yaoyorozu exiting Todoroki's room, and the second was Raijin entering through a window from class 1B's dorm with his goggles over his neck.

"Gentlemen." Yaoyorozu says as she walks past everyone, she stops at Raijin and hums. "Congrats."

"Thanks YaoMomo." Raijin grins.

"Um, Todoroki?" Kaminari would turn towards Todoroki's door.

"I asked her to kill a spider." He says bluntly before closing his door.

"Raijin?" Kirishima would ask.

"I was making out with Yui from 1B." He shrugs walking past them all to his dorm and closes the door.

"Okay." Midoriya speaks up. "We've all been caught in a compromising situation, but I don't think anyone's done anything wrong, except maybe Mineta."

"Show me the law."

"Maybe later. So, I think we should just go back to our rooms and never speak of this-"

"Boys!" They all look down to Aizawa who lies on the floor glaring at them all. "I'm gonna count to ten."

Post Chapter Scene End.

I would say this is non-canon, but like... RaijinXYui is the ship that I'm going for. Like... my guide for this book is a slow build romance with those two. Now the question is, will I blue ball the audience again?