*** author's note: After some REALLY crazy and long deliberation, I ended up redoing a big chunk of this chapter, and have settled on how this fic will move forward from here on, since its getting close to when Dabi shows up in cannon... Thank you! Hope you enjoy the redone chapter! ***

Also: I've edited a few more earlier on chapters, so I'll get them updated soon~

"It's our go, Ki." Shouto called as they waited in the stage they were in, Shouto seeing Naoki's eye colour and stopping as he'd prepared to move. "Ki? You alright? You're nervous, huh. Don't be, we've got this. I can see why you are, given our opponent is Eraser Head, but like I said, with us, he's not going to have it easy. Besides, I have a plan for the two of us." When he saw the eye colour still not changing, his demeanour also shifted, confused why Naoki was still hesitant, still anxious, now more than before he'd tried to reassure him.

With a sigh, he approached Naoki, "Naoki. How about we do this. Why are you nervous and anxious? Is there something bothering you about the final we are in?"

Naoki nodded as he began. "I can't reason out why he pit us against him, or why he put us together. I don't have any real issues with you, we get along... And he knows I've borrowed Erasure... So... That leaves me questioning if he noticed I get worn out from using combinations... And if he did, then I start worrying about what else he has noticed and from there it all piles up and goes rampant... I feel this won't be nearly as easy as you think..." Naoki answered.

"You're overthinking too much. I've already got a plan in mind, so let's go with it." Shouto replied, still seeing hesitation in Naoki's eyes, but a little lessened, though it was replaced with a different look he didn't quite get, since the eyes remained the same.

Naoki opened his mouth, closing it again, the nodded. "Right. Let's go for it." He agreed, biting back what he actually intended to say. The tone for the match to begin sounded and they took off.

"Alright. I'm going to keep my ice going on the ground beneath me as we run. So, keep cancelling out my ice. If I stop making it or it grows too much, then we know he's close. Tell me the if you feel your Quirk acting strangely. Should you see him first, erase his Quirk and tell me. The key to winning this lies in who finds who first. If he finds us first, then I'll lure him to me and give you the chance to use Ricochet and get out as fast as you can. Got it?" Shouto answered as they were running, taking off with Naoki in tow, towards the gate.

"Yeah." Naoki answered as he followed. He wasn't cut out for running far and fast in combination, and he could feel it already. Breathing was becoming more difficult as they kept going.

He noticed that the distance between him and Shouto was also growing, though Shouto hadn't yet as he spoke out, "It's a good thing I know as much as I do about your Quirks, given the past, but those flames are a wildcard... Ki?" He called, not hearing a response. He stopped and turned around, seeing Naoki's had stopped a ways back, bent over with his hands on his knees.

"Hey! What happened? Naoki?" He started running back, stopping near Naoki, and the realising his ice hadn't been erased since Naoki had stopped. "You stopped cancelling my ice!" Shouto frantically looked around, not seeing Eraser Head, but felt Naoki's hand close around his, Shouto stunned how light a grasp it was, despite how much his muscles and hands seemed to be trying to grip. I knew Naoki said his grip was weak... I just never knew it was this bad... He can barely hold on to my hand at all, even with the obvious effort...

"Had... To..." Naoki was still catching his breath. But he looked up and seemed a bit better when he continued. "I had to stop and catch my breath..." He paused to breath a bit. "I don't do well running... So far and fast... At once... Using Time atop that... Sorry..." Naoki was able to return to fully standing upright, seeing a few mixed emotions from Shouto.

"What are you saying? You seemed fine at the festival and I know you could before. Why-" He stopped, "Never mind. We need to stay focused. Let's just keep going. Try to keep up, but if you need to stop, then at least tell me." Shouto finished as he turned to take off, his ice still slowly spreading across the ground.

"Wait- Shou-san... Ricochet-" Naoki called out.

"He's here!" Shouto finished, looking up to see the Pro dangled from the telephone wires.

"If you know I'm here then you should be acting." He dropped, landing right behind them. "I would suggest you prioritise evasion, but its already too late for that." Aizawa shot his weapon out, seemingly aiming for Shouto, who had also thrown a kick.

"Run, Naoki!" Shouto yelled, seeing Naoki hesitate.

"Not so fast." The weapon changed directions, going once around Shouto, then straight for Naoki, who was still hesitating to run, even despite Shouto's call. It snared them both, their bodies slammed together from the capture scarf tightening, and continuing to wrap around them. Naoki's back was to Shouto's front, Aizawa explaining. "Todoroki, you rely too much on what you know of Naoki from the past, and what you fail to recognise, you try to see by his eye, since it shows his emotion. Naoki struggles to communicate, so ends up letting you continue to do so. Both of you have difficulties communicating, and aside from that, one of you never seems to hesitate, while the other never fails to hesitate. You'd both have a better chance at this if you'd be better able to communicate, rather than assuming what you thought was or wasn't true about one another. You share a bit of your past, sure, but you've both grown and time has still moved since then. So, let's see if you can still figure this out. You've got fifteen minutes left on the clock or so..." Aizawa explained, putting in eye drops.

"You think you've caught me? I can incinerate or freeze these restraints in an instant. Ki can get out even faster. These are nothing." Shouto challenged. His eyes widened, though, when he felt Naoki's breath hitch at his words to Aizawa. Even more off-putting to Shouto was Naoki's frequent shudders, alongside each breath.

"Sure. Whatever you do, though, be careful where you land. And, do keep in mind you are restrained to your partner." Aizawa advised, tossing a couple dozen caltrops below them, adding more until the ground before them from one side of the street to the other, and a good eight feet in either direction was also trapped.

"You should talk that kind of thing over before just doing it. Besides, you don't think I haven't erased his Quirk? Assess the situation, Todoroki." Aizawa hinted when he disengaged, strolling a ways away before walking around a corner.

Shouto was confused about a lot of what was going on. Why would he tell me that? And even if he's erased Naoki's Quirk to capture him, he just looked away. If Naoki sees him again, he can just do the same right back. But... Why is Naoki shaking so much? I can't move to see much but-

Shouto realised Naoki's eyes were covered by the capture weapon, having moved so he could try and see more. And, looking down better, he could see Naoki's usual rod and blunt blade were gone too. Thinking back, Aizawa had his free hand occupied when he dropped behind us. Don't tell me he took them then...

"Ki? Can you hear what I'm saying? Talk to me. What's going on and why are you shaking so much?" Shouto asked, aware his own hands were pressed between himself and Naoki's back, but bound tight enough that using that to push them apart wouldn't be easy, if it was even possible at all.

"Not fire... Please don't use your fire... Not w-when I can't see... And if y-you use your ice-" Naoki began, only to be cut off.

"You know I won't hurt you. Do you really think I'd do that?" He asked, feeling as Naoki tensed up again, and feeling hurt himself from the reaction.

"I-If you use your ice, the likelihood of it causing damage or harm is o-over eighty percent, thirty of which i-is permanent... The chance it'll impede Blood Tempter's abilities is closer to ninety five..." Naoki seemed to be randomly rambling, to Shouto, who was getting a little frustrated.

"What are you trying to say by all of that? Make sense will you? Talk to me instead of just spouting nons-" Shouto stopped when he realised how similar it was to Izuku's muttering, just... Different. "I get it. You're thinking... But like Midoriya, you process information by speaking it... Okay. So, what do you mean permanent? You know I won't hurt you, but you said the same in reguards to me using my fire." Shouto asked.

"Permanent damage... Would be in reference to the burns that cover my back. Either too much heat near them, or being cooled so much so fast would do it... As it is, the area that's burned is only held on by metal fixings with a melting point of just above aluminum... They're more heat-sensitive than his are... Haven't gotten them changed out... And, using ice that close in general to me without precautions interferes with Blood Tempter, it's functions are significantly impeded by lower temperatures. I can't use Erasure blinded, and without proper calculations, using Ricochet in such close range to you risks near deadly repercussions to you. Using Time Manipulation would work on the restraints since I am in contact with them, but with whatever he put beneath us-"

"Caltrops. A lot of them." Shouto interrupted.

"Right. With caltrops under us, we'd both risk significant injury by that method. My rod is gone, so using it to channel the excess of either Ricochet or Time Manipulation is not safe, or relatively difficult, near impossible... Percentages of safety are less than a tenth of a percent... I can't see the caltrops, nor am I in any kind of contact with them, so I can't reverse them, nor can I use Ricochet safely to move them. My blade is also gone, so unless I am injured by an outside source, which is incredibly dangerous and risks another situation like after Stain, I can't use it safely to help here... Even if I'm not using it when injured, I still have the risk of injury reflection, which, since I'm in contact with you means neither of us will be unscathed. While I may be able to survive your injuries, you can't possible survive mine. The last Quirk I have is... His... Which may be the safest for us both, but-"

"Didn't you just tell me not to use my own flames? How are ones that obviously burn hotter, and burn you, going to be any different?" Shouto asked, a little frustrated and annoyed at the lack of sense.

"I can combine them with Ricochet to shield myself. Since I know my own body so well, its the safest way to use Ricochet at all. We've worked on that a lot. I can shield you better the more I am able to calculate, but, for the excess, your ice is your best shield. If I keep the blue fire aimed away from you, outward from my front, and toward the ground where the caltrops are, even just enough space to land, then landing isn't a big deal. The only issue here is that they are the variable. I know nothing about them. Size is relative here, but what kind or kinds of metal, so, their melting point... But, anyway, burning the ground and towards my front, since you are taller, won't completely avoid hitting you, so, using Ricochet and your own ice to shield yourself is the best. I can put Ricochet between us, but only where there is contact, since I can calculate that based on feeling... Further up or down isn't as easy, though I can still try. Its best to have something as even more back up - hence the ice. Even so, angling yourself to be as distanced from me as possible will increase the chances of you not being harmed by over seventeen percent, and using your ice in addition, raises the total to ninety-one. Though, with the ice, the chances of what I referred to earlier about Blood Tempter and damage to the burns is still there, just, now only at seventy seven percent - for Blood Tempter. I need your weight and height to do the calculations better..." Shouto gave them, and Naoki continued speaking, as if unaffected while calculating so much.

"So, after that explanation, Shou-san. I need to know what your side is. He said we had fifteen minutes left. We're down to seven if that was true. Once we are out of this, I do have a plan to still get us to pass... But it depends on a few things so I'm not sure-" Naoki was cut off

"Do it. Just hurry." When Naoki still hesitated, Shouto tried a different tone. "Naoki! Do it! There's a lot about that I've assumed because of the past, but one thing hasn't changed that I'm 100 percent sure of. You're still concerned with the safety of everyone around you, because of that, there's another thing that hasn't changed about us from back then! I trust you! Naoki! So trust me in return and do it!" With that, Shouto felt the air and the person in front of him heat, almost too hot, but not more than what he'd felt from his own flames, as the area in front of Naoki, and below them both erupted in an azure glowing blue from the flames. Shouto felt his feet heat up far faster once the flames hit the ground, but they were still dangling, as if the restraining weapon hadn't been destroyed yet.

After a half-minute, the flames near the ground ebbed away and there was a short few seconds of burning heat closer as the restraints around Naoki's front burned to ash, Naoki yelling as they did, "Hold on-" He didn't quite finish, but Shouto got the idea, grasping the coat his hands had been pressed against, Naoki's back still to him.

With that, they landed quick and hard, Shouto hearing Naoki hiss a bit when they did as his footing gave out. From that, Shouto shot his own legs out to the ground, catching them both.

"You alright?" He asked Naoki, looking at the blackened ground, puddles of molten metal out a few feet from them as he separated from Naoki, who was trying to rein in his shaking, taking calming breaths.

"Just... Landed badly. Thanks..." Naoki answered.

Shouto looked down, seeing Naoki's left leg had been what gave out, but nothing seemed out of place.

"Just bad joints, Shou-san. Come on." Naoki grabbed Shouto's hand, seeing Aizawa run towards them from above again. "Perfect. Came to us." Naoki muttered not trying to run. "Here's the plan, Shouto. He'll be wary of me trying to erase his Quirk, but I don't intend to. That's one of his weaknesses in this. I can fight him without a Quirk, and without his too. Try to make yourself the primary target he'll focus on erasing. Also, back me up so I can get in close."

"Get in close? You struggled to run earlier so-"

"Fast speed and long distance in combination kill me. I excel at short and fast, or long distances, slow pace. Just trust me. I know I'm asking for a lot from you. Sorry." Naoki shoved Shouto a bit as Aizawa's scarf plunged downward toward them, getting Shouto out of it's range. He'd seen Tomura able to catch it, which meant it was possible.

"I didn't honestly expect you to get out, but I planned for it nonetheless. Glad I did. But there's still a lot you two don't yet understand."

As the scarf changed to go toward Naoki, Shouto stomped a foot, a wall of ice diverting it's path as Naoki ran closer, Shouto's Quirk stopped from getting closer to Aizawa, Shouto having made his ice continue towards their teacher.

Aizawa noticed Naoki before erasing Shouto, and even with his eyes on Shouto, he sent the capture weapon at Naoki, who was hoping for it this time. He side-stepped it, snatching his hand out and grabbing it, giving it a reinforced yank, using Ricochet to increase the force behind the pull, Aizawa's attention pulled from Shouto to lock Erasure on Naoki, Ricochet now dormant.

But a force in motion stays in motion until stopped by an outside force... Even a forced motion from Ricochet~ Naoki smirked, even as Aizawa tried to slow or stop his approach. Shouto blew away the ice with a spray of flames, the steam making a pretty good screen, and making Aizawa close his eyes from the heated water.

He'd pulled away harshly enough that he wasn't coming closer to Naoki now, giving him a shock when Naoki ran towards him again. His capture weapon giving him even more os a surprise when it stopped after moving only a few feet, retracting back to where it was when Naoki had ahold of it, the angles and position exactly the same, even with Naoki's hand no longer grasping it.

Time Manipulation, huh? Guess it has its uses in battle too. He's used it the least, so my knowledge of it is fairly limited.

Aizawa aimed to back away, freezing when he saw the caltrops that had been melted now returned, surrounding him, the only clear path was where Naoki was coming from.

"Really think I'm trapped, huh?" Aizawa made to jump, stopping when ice built over the top of where he'd have jumped, a wall of fire behind him and to either side. It wasn't nearly hot enough to melt the caltrops, yet the ice wasn't as lucky. It wasn't immediate, but was melting fast.

"How about now, sir~" Naoki called, seeing Aizawa's attention switch from the ice and fire trapping him, to the only path he had out, where Naoki was approaching, slower now, more a quick walk, leaving him wondering what Naoki's plan was.

Aizawa lowered his head, eyes locked on Naoki, his Quirk almost locking, then seeing the smallest shift in the air before him - the steam wasn't moving the same where Naoki was as right beside it. Using a vector to hide his approach or at least interfere with what I can see. But, that means I can't see where he actually is. Todoroki seems to be focusing on helping Naoki get in close - which means-

Shouto noticed Aizawa's hesitation to use Erasure, Naoki's request ringing in his head. Try to make yourself the primary target he'll focus on erasing. Shouto had been trying to back Naoki up, but didn't worry about that part as much. He'd been closing Aizawa in with fire he'd had to keep going, so, tried to build up walls of ice behind it so he could release the fire. It was timing he was worried about. Naoki had a vector up, but if Aizawa just happened to catch him, the truth would become apparent They were also running short of time as well.

"Shouto! Now!" Naoki yelled, giving his location away as he dropped that vector, but Aizawa's attention shot to Shouto, who was taken aback, but getting the idea, he sent ice across the ground toward Aizawa as fast as he could, until his Quirk was erased.

Naoki, though, used the ice to get closer to Aizawa without excess effort, using a vector to stay upright. When he passed through the vector hiding his approach, he was moving too fast for Aizawa, who tried to use his scarf again and again, each new end being sent straight back as it got within a foot of Naoki.

Aizawa kept his eyes locked to Shouto, but knew Naoki was a problem, yet, if he let Todoroki have his Quirk, he'd be frozen in place in a matter of seconds. Why is Naoki not using Erasure against me? He has it, and I thought he'd use it for sure. So why isn't he?"

Naoki slid closer and closer, once the ice was gone, he seamlessly switched to running, the pace had him at Aizawa in seconds, the ice walls shattered with a single tap from Naoki, who needed the room to move freely and dodge the capture weapon, grabbing one after another, and also sending them back when he couldn't dodge or grab. With a second's space between them, Aizawa changed tactics, even as Shouto approached, eyes swapped to Naoki, stunned when he was still able to dodge the weapon even at such close range.

He threw a kick when there wasn't enough space to use the scarf, landing, but Naoki's own physical attacks were weaker than a child's, even so, it distracted Aizawa enough that Shouto had closed in, now following the same. His kick, Aizawa knew, wouldn't be as weak, and with Naoki still holding on to a hefty sum of the weapon at Aizawa's neck, he had little room to run or out maneuver, but, Naoki's grip was weaker than a child's, and he knew that, which was an explanation for why he was also binding it from thumb to elbow and around as much as he could.

Shouto stopped his kick last second, activating his ice from it, which Aizawa stopped, changing his erased target with seconds to spare. With this small space of time, Naoki was able to touch Aizawa's wrist with a confidence that surprised Aizawa, the words from Naoki even more so, "Got ya~" Still, Aizawa pulled away, his scarf wrapping around Shouto, who wasn't as nimble, and unable to dodge. Once captured, he used Shouto to try and get some distance from the two. While pulling away he added a small lecture.

"Just because you 'got me' doesn't mean anything, Nao-" He froze, feeling a weight on his wrist as it was pulled back rather forcefully, forcing him back as well, a clinking sound as metal closed around something. He turned to see the handcuffs around Naoki's wrist, and his own, the one Naoki had touched.

"Sorry, sir~" Naoki said, eyes closed and head tilted in a smile.

"Team Naoki and Todoroki have won the match!" The announcer gave, the tone sounding off as the voice wrang out.

"Ki? When did you..." Shouto was confused.

"I'd like an explanation as well, and, why does your partner seem as confused as I am?" Aizawa asked.

"I figured you had to be listening from around the corner, so I didn't tell him. When I stopped running earlier, I'd been out of breath, sure, but I'd also stopped to hide the cuffs... Threw them with Ricochet so I could tell exactly where they were... And, because of that, staying here was essential... This exact spot, actually... When I tapped your wrist, I'd closed this one on it, but it had been on mine until then. After that, I just reversed it back to where it had been on my wrist. I'd cuffed my wrist when Shouto made to kick you and stopped to switch to ice, I had just reversed it being thrown, caught and closed it. Reversed the closing and cuffed you, hiding it with Ricochet, and then reversed it back to being closed against my wrist..." Naoki explained, reversing the damage done by his fire and the small battle there had been during the match to the area right there, since it had almost all been there. "I was counting on him catching up to us, though, the way he captured us... Scared me... I can admit that... Still... I am sorry, Shou-san..." Naoki had to turn around and face away from them when he gave the last bit.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a plan? You just let-" Shouto stopped, recalling how nervous and hesitant Naoki had been, and when it should have been easy to tell he wanted to say something at the beginning, then what Aizawa had said. Todoroki, you rely too much on what you know of Naoki from the past, and what you fail to recognise, you try to see by his eye, since it shows his emotion. Naoki struggles to communicate, so ends up letting you continue to do so. Both of you have difficulties communicating, and aside from that, one of you never seems to hesitate, while the other never fails to hesitate. "You let me continue because... You hesitated to talk... To me?" Shouto asked.

He saw a shaky and hesitant nod from Naoki.

Aizawa filled in. "It's more than that. Most of the teachers have seen it from the beginning, but Naoki doesn't have any self-confidence, and despite you two having a past and getting along well, you still have one thing that terrifies Naoki. Getting him on edge, stressed out, and then taking his sight, which is one way he is able to tell a difference between you and that one thing was a goal of mine. I wanted him to be forced to face part of the fear, knowing he wouldn't be endangered, but, the environment still enough to have him on edge. Your brashness and reliance on your Quirk only fed that. The first things out of your mouth are proof of that. Still, I was surprised you two escaped, and how well you countered, even with such little communication."

"S-Shouto g-gave me the confidence to do it... And even though the past we have isn't much, yet he relies on it to understand me, it is what allowed him to catch my meanings when I gave less than reasonable requests and orders... But s-sti-ll... I'm not entirely the same as back then..." Naoki added.

"I did? How? I didn't see any of that before. How didn't I know any of that?" Shouto asked.

"You said you trusted me, and then told me to do the same, but... Idiot... You didn't even use your ice..." Naoki trailed off, wanting to say more, but, Aizawa wasn't that patient.

"I suggest you two have some time to talk things out, just not here right now. There are more exams going on and you have passed, so why not hurry back already?" Aizawa said, wringing the wrist that was restrained until then.

"Eh... Aizawa... Are you injured at all? I can-" Naoki asked, reaching out, but cut off by Aizawa's curt reply.

"I'm fine, Naoki. You have that to work on as well. You shouldn't focus so much on everyone else's injuries. I know for a fact you broke your leg when you landed, and you haven't had Blood Tempter active. Your blade and rod are around the corner, but I suggest having Recovery Girl tend to it since you've kept moving so much on it. There's bound to be more damaged than the bones now."

"Ah-Eh... Yeah... I-" Naoki was cut off again,

"Naoki! Why didn't you tell me? You said it was bad joints! Idiot!" Shouto called, immediately following by hoisting Naoki up and carrying him.

"Please put me down... This is embarrassing..." Naoki tried.

"It's not the first time I've carried you, even like this. So quiet down. Consider this retribution for lying about it." Shouto reasoned as they left the stage as well.

--

"That was completely foolish. I know you can heal yourself, Naoki, but this is ridiculous. Between you and Midoriya, I'm going to be spending a lot of time as a nurse, compared to other years." Recovery Girl ranted, finishing wrapping Naoki's leg in bandages and bracing it. "Now, I've done what I can for now. Unless you want permanent recoil like your shoulder and hands, let this recover properly." She ordered. "And tell that boyfriend of yours to tone it down on the-" Naoki scrambled, throwing a pillow toward her, apologising as he did..

"Shhhh... Sorry... For throwing that... But... He's not doing anything outside that and kissing... Won't even if I ask... Can you keep it down about those... They're personal...." Naoki whispered the last part, aware Shouto was still in the room, just on the other side of the curtain, since Naoki had swapped his hero costume for the P.E. Uniform.

"Alright. I'm glad to hear. Even so, here you go. Hajime Shinshou did send me your tests from the other day, so I assume he's sent them out to the other place too. Make sure you get there on time." She added, pulling the curtain aside as she left.

"Uh - Sorry you had to - Hey!" Naoki called as Shouto came right up to him.

"What did she mean by all of that? If you don't want to answer, I'll only have to assume, but I won't spread it around." Shouto asked, pulling Naoki back down to sit. "I'm not that kind of person, I'm just worried..."

"Just... I don't really know what to call them... That doesn't sound inappropriate... But I swear he hasn't gone much further than that, and I won't lie that I enjoyed it... Remember... Last week when Mina asked her ridiculous question? I told you that..." Naoki stopped, seeing if Shouto would recall. When it seemed he had, Naoki continued. "Well, it wasn't j-just kissing on the lips or making out... Kinda... Everywhere... And a little more than kissing..." Naoki finished, red flushing his face as he unzipped the top of the P.E. Top, showing one of the one that he hadn't healed, one of only five bites, and seven marks total, the others were smaller insignificant burns that he knew would recover on their own.

"Oh. I see. I was worried... Thank goodness it's just that..." Shouto admitted, surprising Naoki, even though Shouto was flushed too now. I was going to lecture Naoki and give that boyfriend a piece of my mind... But... I don't have much against that, nor any room to call them out when I've left a few on...

"So... What did she give you then?" Shouto asked, already figuring the answer when Naoki showed the wrapped, sealed and unopened box, nodding. "I see... Well-" Naoki and Shouto flinched, Naoki scrambling to hide the box when they heard a cough resound behind them.

"I-Izumi...? Oh thank god..." Naoki sighed as if he'd lost a million pounds of stress, Shouto, though was even more tense.

"I was wondering why you didn't come back right away... Are you alright, Naoki? I've never seen you have to be bandaged up before." Izuku came over, looking between the leg and Naoki's eyes.

"Yeah... And Recovery Girl found- Ah fuck it... She found where Aoi's left... Marks... Like kissing but not, and not on my lips... Huh?"

"Oh! There's nothing wrong with those kinds of things. Then I take it she also gave you..." Izuku asked, sitting down on Naoki's open side, reaching behind Naoki to meet the hand also reaching for his.

"Yeah... That was what I was trying to hide in case someone who didn't know was coming in... He's never gone that far, even if I say I'm okay with it... But I know why..." Naoki's cheeks weren't as red, but he was still embarrassed.

With a sigh, he flopped backwards, discomfort flashing as he landed on a clump, seeing both Shouto and Izuku faces shocked, and connecting dots.

"Oh..." Was all he could say.

"Yeah... Sorry, Naoki. We wanted to keep it from spreading around too much, but were planning to tell you over the weekend, it just skipped out of forethought..." Izuku explained, pulling his hand free, now fiddling with them as he grew nervous.

"Wait... You and Shou-san... Are... That's bloody amazing! Shouto's a great person, and you are such a good match for him! You're a big ball of sunshine and happiness, and he's always so aloof, and distant, but that's perfect! I'm so happy!" Naoki jumped up, hugging them each, then both. "I'm a little surprised, but not as much as others, I guess. Still! You guys are my best friends, how can I not ship the shit outta you both!" Naoki finished. "And, don't worry at all. I'm not fond of ruining relationships and hate telling other's secrets. I won't tell a soul, though... To be fair... I will admit Aoi is gonna call it in an instant when we hang out together... He's insanely observant, but, he's not a complete ass either, so he won't just say something like that out loud." Naoki finished, calmly humming out a satisfied sound as he went a different way. "We should head back. I wanna watch the rest of them... Who was up when you came in, Izumi?" Naoki asked.

"Oh. Kaminari and Ashido were up when I headed down here. I'd like to return as well." Izuku explained, heading out as Naoki was already making for the door.

Shouto reached out and caught Izuku, asking, "Hey, Izuku... You aren't upset that I-"

Izuku turned to face him, nothing but smiles and understanding. "Why would I be? You were helping your teammate. I know you may not notice as easily, but Naoki's first reaction to someone asking if he's hurt - even hurting emotionally - is to brush it off and feign being okay. So, I've grown to understand if he's shown any sign of discomfort or replies in anything but admitting he is - that he's not. That he's hurt. I know its not the best thing to do, but then I can always be in the mindset that he is, and keep it in mind from there on in case something does happen. And, besides. I've seen him and Aoi together often enough to know it wouldn't ever cross his mind to do something like that. Also, I know you well enough to see the same in you. But, you'd also question yourself in a case like this, so I wanted to curb that by showing I'm not angry, or jealous or anything like that, because there's no need to be. I don't distrust you nor do I have any doubt Naoki is completely loyal to his partner. The only thing I worried about was that you were worried about it, and that Naoki was probably more hurt than he let on. I was right about both. Let's' go back, Shouto." Izuku calmly explained, ending with a quick kiss to Shouto's forehead, right as Naoki reentered, smiling and waiting for them.

--

The rest of the exams went by fairly well. Aizawa had been worried about Yaoyarozu, and had instructed Midnight to help her get confidence - which Midnight had no shortage of - in herself. Despite the idea of using masks to counter Midnight's abilities being fairly obvious, she didn't have the confidence to do it, instead, tried following Sero's plan, ending in him unconscious, and Midnight pursuing Yaoyarozu, who had fled, and panicked, but, in that, was able to calmly reassess the situation once she'd gotten a good distance.

She had also known that Midnight's Quirk was more effective against males, making her wonder how it would fair against someone like Naoki. She saw during his match that he also struggled with confidence, and despite having a solid plan, his lack of confidence almost cost them both, since he shoved his own lan aside. She'd seen Naoki struggle with self-confidence so much, but when he was in combat, had a completely different attitude. She'd often wondered how, but, after talking with Midoriya before, while the green was assessing the match, learned what Naoki did and why.

"Naoki's always been the kind of person with absolutely no self-confidence, and that's obvious to most, but... When he's in combat, he changes that, only because he can often spot an opponent's own personality flaws and weaknesses. At the USJ, he taunted and mocked Shigaraki, later saying he was reminiscent of a child not getting his way and throwing a tantrum. Naoki saw that, and used it to chip away at Shigaraki's own confidence, undermining him however he could, because the angrier Shigaraki got, the more irrational and rash Shigaraki got, making him more predictable for someone like Naoki. He never really admits, but he's incredibly intelligent, and, is wise in his own right. Ricochet requires incredibly complex calculations. I think if he tried, he could compete with Principal Nezu on that... Not sure who'd come out though... I've also caught him botching his own answers on tests and homework, even stuff he can do easily, he'll botch on intentionally... In Juniour high, that was so Kaachan wouldn't be angry, but I don't know why he keeps doing it here... So, being observant and making plans upon plans upon back up plans and options is easy for him. He just doesn't put any worth in himself. He either has to get it from someone, by their own choice, or, get it by wearing down his opponent until he feels confident it will work... In that sense, his confidence in combat is a total mask, it's all for show because he really doesn't have any... But I've seen him toe-to-toe wit Kaachan, without using his Quirk, and still able to dodge and outmaneuver Kaachan... So I know he's skilled without a Quirk. I don't know if Aizawa was aware of it or not... If Naoki wasn't able to spot an enemy's personal weakness, he'd hide his plan and sit back, taking orders because in his mind, he's lesser than everyone around him. That's what's happening here... It means one of three things - he either can't find such a weakness in Aizawa, sees that either way, Todoroki will always be the better of them, or both... Although, the possibility could be that he's overthinking so much that he can't see the traits he can use."

"If I had any guess, its all three. Aizawa pit him alongside Todoroki and against himself for a reason, and Naoki may be too focused on what that reason is to see anything much outside it. And, putting him with Todoroki, who Naoki knew in the past was also aimed at those weaknesses you've mentioned. Additionally, Todoroki has a bit of a superior mindset, given how he was raised,so, even without realising it, by taking charge, Todoroki's only shown Naoki that his belief in Todoroki's being superior to him is not wrong. I do wonder how this will turn out. As it is, they only have fifteen minutes left, and they've been dangling while I'm sure Aizawa is giving them a few words." Recovery Girl gave them.

So, Momo realised she and Naoki had a bit in common there, comparing themselves to Todoroki, and automatically considering themselves the lessers to him. She could learn from that, given how Naoki had turned their match around, she was determined to do the same.

With a huff of breath to cement her confirmation, her confidence in herself, she settled for her plan, and made ready to go for it. Midnight, afterall, was also brimming with confidence. A lot of it.

Chipping away at an opponent's confidence to build his own... Its not entirely heroic, and a little underhanded, but not a bad method in the beginning. And unlike him, I have had my own confidence before. I can get it back my own way too.

She listened for her opponent's approach, and, when it was heard, she came out on her own, face covered in a mask, and another prepared for Sero, and a butane torch lit, aerosol can positioned, aimed at the ground as she sprayed.

She'd used a metal-infused cloth, the property of the metal interwoven made it return to its original shape when heated in an instant.

She'd already lain it out, and since Midnight was right in the middle of the large coil Yaoyarozu had also hidden under what was essentially tissue paper with flammable liquid on it, it took only a small amount of fire to light it, from there, it returned to a tightened coil around Midnight, who was not prepared for being restrained, having seen the mask and back up, and assuming Yaoyarozu would try to get close and fight,then run first chance she got.

She nearly single-handedly restrained and defeated a well-know, highly-praised Pro. She also gained her confidence back, all on her own.

When Izuku and Katsuki were up against All Might, Naoki was watching, eyes glued to the screen, worry and fear, pain and anxiety all spilling out of him in troves. Shouto was far more relaxed in appearance, but he was also just as tense as Naoki.

When All Might used a New Hampshire Smash and flew into Izuku, Naoki's anger was matched with a pained worry. "Are you fucking serious! He could have destroyed his spine... That level of force... DUMBASS! I'm gonna lecture the hell outta him for that! And Izuku too! Still going after such a hit!" Naoki whispered, still coming out louder a few places, but, his features dropped when Izuku landed a solid hit on All Might, full-powered, and plainly able to see the blood the Pro coughed up, his body smoking and unable to get up afterwards. "D-Dad..." It was barely audible, but it was obvious he was worried.

With that, Naoki was up and trying to head out, Shouto stopping him. "Calm down, Ki... Together. I'll go with you." He pulled Naoki's left arm over his shoulder. "Compromise between helping and fully carrying." He explained as he walked, the class taken not as taken aback as they had been when he'd done it before, both earlier that day, and at the USJ.

--

Recovery Girl was tending to Izuku, Katsuki was unconscious, and the room was varying amounts of uncomfortable as Naoki came in, Shouto helping him.

"Not so fast, Naoki. You're still not recovered completely either. They'll be fine, so-" Recovery Girl tried, only for Naoki to sit on a bed and glare at All Might, obviously fighting the urge to yell at the Pro.

After a few minutes of discomfort, Naoki had calmed relatively well. "Don't do that again. I know you've no ability to hold back, but, he's not built like you, dad... You would have killed anyone else... Hit me with that level of force and I'd be broken in two... Seriously... And in the shape you're in..." He muttered the last part quieter as he sat up, pointing to All Might, then the the bed in front of him. "I'd be lucky to ever leave one of these if I didn't have Ricochet ready... You know, I calculated the amount of force in the attacks I've seen you use, and that's a frightening number... Anyway... I should head out... Its late as it is... Will I- Um... Never mind..." Naoki heaved a sigh, then pulled himself up and left the room, Shouto following since Izuku was out cold.

"Naoki? I've noticed you and All Might seem to be having a fight of some sort... Is there a reason and is there anything I can do to help, even if it's just talking it out..." Shouto asked.

"We are, yet we're not... It's mainly that I just don't know how to express what I want to say, and don't want to hurt his feelings or make it worse by wording it badly... I feel like I've upset and disappointed him, but I'm also hurt by some of the things he's said or done... And.... I know he won't apologise, nor will they stop until he gets... Until everyone gets answers... But... They're not mine to give..." Naoki trailed off, seeing Shouto had connected enough dots.

"Well... I don't know how to help with something like that... I'm not the best when it comes to fatherly relationships... That much is obvious." Shouto returned. "Well, I'm gonna head out. See ya later, Ki. Tomorrow, right? After class?"

"Uh - Yeah!" Naoki answered, waving to Shouto, and heading his own way, messaging Dabi that he was heading out.

"Hey, baby boy. How did you do?" He heard as he walked out the U.A. Barrier, Dabi sneaking up behind him when his mind was swarmed with a flood of battling thoughts, seeing Naoki stressed in an instant, and ending his questions with arms wrapped around Naoki, a kiss to his forehead, taking full advantage of their height difference.

"I passed. I was set against Aizawa, and alongside Shou-san... I couldn't figure out why and got stressed out, but we still passed." Naoki answered, looking up to the masked face, hand reached up to tug on the spiky black locks down toward him so he could get a better kiss.

"Let's get home. We need to rest up well for the coming days." Dabi explained after giving Naoki the kiss he wanted, his mask now dangling from an ear, Naoki reaching up now to rehook it over his ear.

--

That night, after eating, showering, having a conversation about the day, the finals, and ending the night in bed, Naoki curled to Dabi's chest like usual, just relaxing for the moment.

"Hey, Touya... I know it's.... Only been a week... But..." He sighed at his clumsiness and loss for words. "God... How does someone even ask this kind of thing! Like is there a book, or a cheat sheet... Never mind..." He groaned when he looked to see Dabi with his eyes closed, his breathing slower and evened out.

A small chuckle resounded in the chest he was pressed against. "Yes~ Baby boy~ How does one ask that kind of question~" Dabi teased, earning a small fist to his chest, nothing hard, just Naoki retaliating at being mocked for that.

"That's not nice... I'm not even... I mean... Outside the other night... I've never..." Naoki sighed, a thought bouncing through his mind then, that slowly started killing him from the inside. He seemed like... He knew exactly what he was doing... And he already had stuff... I've never noticed him buying it, or even interested in it when we do go to get groceries... There's... Little chance he's never done it with how confident he was, or how much he knew...

As usual, Dabi picked up on Naoki's change in emotion, even with the smaller raven's head downcast and tucked against him, eyes hidden. With a small sigh of realisation, and determination to fix whatever kind of thoughts had turned Naoki's emotions sour, Dabi hugged Naoki closer, pulling them both to sitting, Dabi leaned against the wall, Naoki against his chest again.

"Hey, Nao. Talk. What's gotten you upset?" When Naoki refused, he pulled him back to try and look at his face, which Naoki kept down, obviously biting the insides of his mouth while his hands were either cracking knuckles or picking at his nail beds. Nervous, anxious, worried and fearful of what the response to his worry will be. Dabi assessed.

With that in mind, his own thought to different things presented in the last few minutes that would have triggered it, sighing as he realised what it was.

"Hey. Look at me." He tried to move Naoki's chin, the other turning his head to get out, since Dabi never let his grip get too tight when he was trying to maneuver Naoki like that. "Alright. I'll still say it. I just wanted you to be able to look me in the eyes when I did." After giving Naoki a small interval to change his own gaze, and he didn't, Dabi pulled Naoki closer, his head pressed to Dabi's chest, above the heart, instead. "You are worried about what I did with you not being the first time I've done anything like that. You're anxious and nervous about the answer hurting you, and scared about how it would possibly change what we have, but also, that I'll lie and cover what has happened to spare your feelings."

When he felt Naoki tense, then relax and tears on his shirt soaking through, he tightened his grip, "I won't lie. Not to you. While I'd been on my last string of faith and with some other fucked up shit going on, I went out with a friend of mine. She's a fucking psycho, but she knew I wasn't into girls, and had this idea that maybe if I went out with her, I'd find someone to at least get my mind off of you. I had a few drinks, not enough to be entirely shit-faced, but, still not just a buzz. There was a guy who noticed my discomfort at the others at the table, mostly being typical couples making out, and my completely ignoring girls flirting, or straight up threatening to burn them alive when they didn't get the hint and tried anything further.

One chick just could not get the picture and got as far as undoing my belt and zipper before I was aware... Fucking Quirk let the girl's hands not be registered by things unless another part of her bare skin came in contact with other bare skin. She was clumsy and stupid for wearing such an exposing shirt, her chest rubbed my knee through a burned through spot, and I about killed her. Thankfully, one of my friend's friends got her the fuck away before then... Anyway... He offered me a drink, saying he completely understood, I looked at him and said essentially, 'I doubt you understand being in love with someone who you knew as a kid, and died from your inability to protect him.' I know I had inferred to your gender at some point. Anyways... Turned out he was as straight as a circle, and his Quirk cost him the person he'd loved at one point. It wasn't even a bad Quirk, just something that let him manipulate polarity. His workplace was robbed, shot up, and he deflected the bullets away from most of the people, not knowing his partner was right in the area a few had been sent, not even aware anyone was in that section of the building. Sorry, sidetracked again. Anyway, after that, we talked a bit more, he hadn't even given me alcohol, just fucking soda, so I joked, asking if he thought I was a kid, and his reply caught me off guard. Said the concept of getting someone a drink of alcohol is contradictory, why risk the person you are buying it for being too inebriated to remember if they enjoyed the time you spent together. Said the concept of buying books to pick people up made so much more sense, but at a bar, soda was a good alternative. Then I asked if he was trying to pick me up, he shook his head, said I just looked like I could use someone to talk to that wasn't interested in getting in my pants. I laughed my ass off at that, since the girl from earlier was already in someone else's, and they were too damn drunk to care. He introduced himself, though, I'm sure it wasn't his real name, but I never gave him mine either.

After that night, I kept going with my friend, avoiding getting drunk, and generally not drinking at all. He'd always let me know if he was there by having a barkeeper bring me a soda. It went like that for a few weeks, and we got close, closer than I'd have thought. I was relaxed, let my guard drop around the guy, and the friend said I always seemed more relaxed when the night was done, though she was always pretty scarce throughout. At any rate, after Toriko's death, I was pretty fucking eager to talk to someone about what had happened that day, and waited at the bar for him. Got hit on, flirted with and ended up drinking because of losing someone who was like a mother to me after the shit with that bastard. I didn't see him come in once, nor had I gotten a soda. Then this friend showed up and saw me there, asked why. Told her it was none of her damn business and I was waiting for the guy, she was a little shocked then ran off.

After about ten minutes, the bar tender brought me a soda, pointing to the table a ways away, and it never occurred until later that I'd never seen him come in. When I sat down, he was as patient as always, and when I was done talking, he still acted the same as he always did, calm, rational, gave me some cheering up, then asked if I was going to be alright getting home, given I was intoxicated more than he'd seen me before. Told him I'd be fine, only to almost fall on my face as soon as I stood. He ended up helping me, but, not to my home. My friend's, which was right over there-" Dabi paused, pointing toward the wall opposite where he'd inferred Toriko had lived before. "I didn't even realise it then... But, anyway. He didn't even touch me, just left me to rest it off. When I woke up, I flipped shit, being in her apartment left way too many questions, and I wasn't stopping until I got the answers. Turned out she'd been the guy every time after the first. And, that he bullshitted every single fucking thing. The third soda he'd gotten me that night was fucking drugged, and after it, I didn't remember anything, but she told me what happened. As soon as she noticed him there with me, she went on alert. I'm sure you know this neighborhood wouldn't exactly have reputable bar-goers. So, she waited until he'd gotten me, then followed him out as he was taking my unconscious ass god know where, to do what I'd rather not consider... And then killed him. Her Quirk let's her keep someone's appearance when she's got their blood. But, she'd also realised I'd been relaxed enough around him to open up, so, finding out it was a fucked up lie would end in that never happening again. So, she kept shifting and talking to me because it seemed to help me. I wasn't as upset, but I was still angry, both at myself for believing anyone that good could even just stumble into my life at a fucking bar, especially in this area, and her for lying, but, I was also thankful... After that, she and I talked, and the curiosity if I was entirely uninterested in girls got her psycho brain pondering, she kissed me, I threatened to cremate her, she explained, then asked if I'd ever even been intimate before. I told her what we had done, which never progressed much further than pretty intense make-out sessions, me leaving hickies on you in the past, and habitually kissing every single scar you had back then... Yeah... Anyway, she was horrified, and asked if I even knew how two guys have sex. I did not. She fan-girl screamed and freaked out, insisting I needed to know that kind of thing for when I found you. Then came the BL, porn, doujin, sex-ed from my female friend, her changing in to different guys she'd gotten DNA from to give me an idea of what the gist was, without ever having to do it myself-" He shuddered, "God that was embarrassing and weird ass shit... She never insisted I try anything myself, but said experience was one of the best ways to make sure I didn't hurt you and make it as pleasurable as possible when we did get there, but, it was up to me, and she wasn't going to decide for me. She also told me she had another friend who could make clones that weren't even alive, so there was that option. Gave me a rundown of the necessities, and the not so necessary ones - what they were for, how to use them and where to get them that was reputable. What not to do, as much as she could info-dump on me, she did... But, I was the one who made the call to that friend." He stopped, glancing at Naoki as he continued. "Because when I found you, I didn't want to end up hurting you our first time because I didn't know how to do it without hurting you... And had been too chicken shit to learn. They weren't real, and I know that, but that's always going to weigh on you if you let it. I know its fucked up in a lot of ways... But... I had a reason, and I don't want to regret it, but I do. Because it's hurting you now... And the whole point was to avoid hurting you... I told you I wouldn't lie. I won't betray you like that, but, that was something that feels a lot like betrayal to me right now... So I'm sorry, and I hope you can forgive me, my little prince." He kissed the top of Naoki's head, sighing as he relaxed to wait for a response.

After nearly fifteen minutes, Naoki stirred, Dabi keeping quiet and still, but a sharp, pained cry jumped from his throat when Naoki bit down on his pectoral. He looked down to Naoki, seeing Naoki wiping a line of blood off his chin.

"You're an ass... But an honest one... And a thoughtful one... And while I'm a little embarrassed you fucked clones using some guy's Quirk so you wouldn't end up hurting me, its not worth being upset about. You are worth more to me than that... But..." Naoki looked, up, a small whimper-turned-chuckle, "I feel terrible for those first few clones..." Naoki mocked, ending ina laugh from him and Dabi.

"Oh god. So do I... I made the first one fucking cry..." Dabi was fully laughing, his staples seeping blood at the strain on his features from the movement.

"Damn... What the hell did you do?"

"Them... Obviously badly..." They couldn't stop.

They were interrupted by a resounding knock on the front door, Dabi's guard immediately up, his entire aura and attitude flipped like a switch.

"Stay here. Trust instincts, Nao." Dabi warned as he got up and left the bedroom. Naoki heard the front door open, then a confused response from his partner. "The fuck?"

There was a simple box, no addresses or shipping information. Nothing. Nothing but a note Dabi picked up and read as Naoki came out.

It was simple.

Try them on and have fun~

Dabi sighed and chuckled, catching something Naoki didn't see. "We're good. I know who this is from. Little psycho's handwriting is the same as always." Dabi picked up the box, and they followed the directions to try the contents on.

--

"Well... At least there was a receipt... But... Fuck... Where the hell do people wear these kinds of outfits anymore?" Dabi asked, not complaining, since he enjoyed the view of the clothing on his lover, who was equally fascinated at Dabi's outfit.

Both wore intricately designed and coordinated themed yukatas. Dabi's was mostly effects of turquoise and pale silver. It had an ombre of sorts, the turquoise closer to the bottom, silver towards the top, but in a design reminiscent of rainfall. Along the bottom half-foot of the fabric was red flowers, some looked akin to spider lilies, some tulips, and a few reminiscent of roses. Along the bottom few inches was the appearance of the turquoise rain, swirled with red, like blood being washed away by the rain. The obi was black, the cord red.

Naoki's was equally mesmerising. The main colours were red and black, and the ombre started black at the top, red closer to the bottom, the transition highlighted by designs reminiscent of turquoise flames dancing throughout the transition. With the last half foot, the turquoise became less flame-like, more swirling mist intermingled with the red, and the last few inches giving the same impression of rainfall, along with the occasional flower petal, blackened at their tips, and still unmarred at their base, a turquoise-tinted smoke coming from the base, rather than the blackened tips, and all looking to be drifting in the rain, descending with it. His obi was an identical pale silver to the colours in Dabi's attire, the cord the same turquoise hue.

There had been a length of turquoise ribbon, which now held Naoki's hair. The two masks were swapped between them, not matching the ears they wore. Dabi had the cat ears, and fox mask - Naoki had the cat mask and fox ears, both masks around their head, but moved to the sides, away from their faces, Naoki's fastened with red, Dabi's with the turquoise, perfectly matched to the tie in Naoki's hair.

After giving them a good look, Dabi let out a sigh heavy with confused exhaustion. "Anyway, c'mon, baby boy. You need to sleep. You've still got a class tomorrow. Then spending the whole day with classmates... You're gonna need all the rest you can get."

"Okay!" Naoki saluted, both helping the other shed the formal wear, then, both collapsing to the bed and curling up to sleep.