Disclaimer: I do not own BNHA or any of its character.

AN: I suck at fighting scenes, I know. Enjoy, anyway. Thanks for reading!

The atmosphere in the changing room visibly lightens once Midoriya leaves, Bakugou almost tails after him with a strong of insults in his excitement when Kirishima holds him back. The rest of class 1-A's boys watch different parts of him because as expressive Bakugou might seem, he's by far as difficult to read as their fellow classmates Todoroki and Midoriya. Anger is his mask and a very effective one at that.

Some see how his fists clench and unclench, while another notes the steady rise of his chest; no visible sweat runs down the column of his neck. Good, Bakugou is about as calm as can be, the operation is safe to proceed. Denki barely chokes back the anxious gasp that threatens to spill.

The red-head swings an arm around his shoulders, hardening Quirk activated even before the action. His eyes are curved upwards, making Bakugou give an instinctive growl at anything remotely related to positive emotion. Silently, the blond dubs him as Sacrificial Lamb 2.0, but immediately corrects the blunder. It's Guy Sacrificial Lamb 1.0.

How the fuck do they even come up with plans like these is beyond him; some sort of weird telepathic shit must be going on and Katsuki thanks his fucking stars that none of that shit has reached him. It's barely been a week since they became a class. The voodoo's creepy as hell.

"The hell do you dipshits want?" He asks, rather civilly, compared to the sharp strikes of the words he'd aimed at Midoriya not moments ago. Consider it a half-baked insurance, Bakugou will try to rile Midoriya up even if the well-intended meaning results in an assured probability of failure. Kirishima's stiff skin flattens. He has this.

For the class, for Iida, for-

"Midoriya's your dude, yeah?" Kirishima blurts. Bakugou denies the half-question, very vehemently, like the world might end if he doesn't make it a point to curse Midoriya's name at least three times in every sentence. "But he listens to you!" Mineta cries annoyingly. Bakugou wants to flay the skin off the little shit's face.

Silence reigns, Tokoyami unhelpfully insert of "Darkness resides deep inside Midoriya's soul. I can feel the sluggardly slow crawl of the abyss that has found home. We are not at peace." Make people stare, Todoroki's mouth even opens to question- second arm into his costume's sleeve- when Katsuki delivers a harsh glare at all of them.

"So fucking what?" Bakugou spits, before shoving Kirishima's arm off of him with a well-aimed elbow. The red-head dodges with ease, though, leaving him more pissed on top of Deku-pissed.

"We just wanna know what his Quirk does." Kirishima admits, rubbing his forearm. "Whatever happened to Iida was…" Unmanly, but not really, "-scary"

Bakugou wants to brush them off, drop a (he knows it) rude 'Whatever.' And fuck off from this goddamned changing room when hesitation clogs his throat. Not like it'll make a difference anyway, he reasons, fairly confident he'll be set up against Deku by some animal sixth-sense.

"3 Wise Monkeys, you useless asses. If he sees you, blindness: hears you, deafness. Get fucking mute too." Bakugou doesn't bother with any rude gestures or a bye when he's out through the door.

They have 3 minutes to spare when everyone's out. Deku's looking out blankly into the distance when Katsuki points a fingers to his chest. There's more force involved than necessary and Deku might be more puzzled at the smoke that's coming from his costume than anything else. Katsuki growls menacingly, all up in the other teen's space.

"You better not fucking hold back on me, Deku."

"I couldn't try, Kacchan." The green-head assures.

It's not like he even understood mercy anymore. Izuku's policy might as well be 'take everything with a grain of salt' at this point of time. He lets one Villain off because it looked like too much and the prey escapes. Frustration isn't a thing anymore, but it bothers Izuku more than he'd like to admit.

Like an itch left un-soothed. Unless All Might orders a stop or Kacchan forfeits, everything's pretty much up on the table.

Mineta is muted right before All Might makes them draw lots. For good measure, Izuku blinds him too, setting the time at approximately 6 to 12 hours. Every single second is well deserved. The Ball-Quirked student is thus out of commission and the issue regarding Iida's absence is solved easily. The numbers are even again.

All Might turns a comical blind eye when Izuku claims it as an accident. The newly installed teacher had already set plans when he caught the perving. All Might's never been one for spite, yet he thinks that this will make a good lesson for the young Mineta.

As he predicted, Katsuki gives a triumphant smirk when he's paired against Deku in an ironic game of Villain versus Hero. In a way, it may not even be considered as ironic at all. Vigilantes were technically heroes in their own right, only with more self-righteousness than lawfully acceptable. Katsuki figures Deku would've laughed sheepishly were he in his pre-quirk state.

Deku has Chipmunk Face who looks half terrified and determined. Katsuki's stuck with the girl with invisibility. Her Quirk is possible the worst pair up Deku can have, since if he can't see her, the blinding effect of his Quirk can't take place. Even better if she's stealthy, then he can't deafen her. A bonus if she manages to shut up the whole way too, as muting will prove impossible.

Holy shit, if this girl plays her cards right, she'll be anything but dead weight.

A conflict of thoughts clashes within him, however. He wants to fight Deku by himself, but also watch how the nerd fares against his Quirk's worst enemy. Logically, he's also more suited to guard the bomb. Decisions, decisions.

The dilemma lasts for little over 10 seconds.

Fuck all if he doesn't get what he wants. Settled comfortably in a position to sprint at a moment's notice, Katsuki easily ditches both his brain's higher thinking and flasher girl with the bomb in favour of charging towards Deku with surprising stealth.

Chipmunk face isn't with Deku. Katsuki honestly doesn't give a shit about that right now- or so he tells himself, and forces the factor to register anyway. His main focus tunnels towards Deku nevertheless, charging forward with carefully constructed recklessness. He pulls a right swing which Deku catches easily, "I've told you plenty of times, Kacchan." The nerd drawls mockingly, "You become predictable if you always start with your right."

Katsuki would rather choke on his retort than let Deku land his Quirk on him. He does exactly that, not allowing a single sound to escape. For a battle junkie he may be, but a fool he was not. He won't let Deku get a hold of his senses so easily. Villains strike him down with thunder if he lets it become a habit.

Crimson eyes narrow dangerously. The blond leaps back in an impressive show of perception, Deku's shoulder throw failing as he puts a blast through the space in between his opponent's ears. Flinching, Deku draws back, head tilting to say something into the radio by his shoulder. Katsuki's can't hear it, he can't hear anything.

It takes a moment when the memory registers. God curse his footsteps to hell. Jumping back made the soles of his feet scratch, Katsuki feigns a punch, twisting his body into a literally explosive kick at the very last second which Deku takes in muted surprise. Smoke surrounds them, chunks of the wall fallen here and there. Katsuki's back tenses when nothing emerges from the smoke, he had heard something fall, and the quiet feels unsettling.

Crackling sparks light the darkened area, Deku's gone, Katsuki realises. The shit-nerd fucking ran away! He chases, mouth zipped throughout it all. He hasn't been blinded yet, the old Deku quietly showing himself when the deaf and blind combo always becomes rare when it involves the blond.

There's never a problem if all three are gradually applied to Villains- nooo. Deku's still fucking soft.

("Why won't you take me seriously?!" Katsuki roared during one of their frequent spars. "I am, Kacchan." He gets. "Or, I'm trying."

"Then fucking do it already! I ain't fucking glass you shitty fuck!"

Deku looks at him. Really looks at him, and Katsuki can't understand what that means. Picking apart emotions is already hard enough on a good day. The flicker in Deku's every micro-expression feels impossible.

Katsuki wants it to hurt, he wants everything. So why can't Deku just listen? What was the point of winning if it wasn't even real?

"I'm trying, Kacchan. I'm trying.")

He tracks the shit at one of the countless of rooms on the lower bottom floors. Deku's back faces him, the expanse of his neck smooth with sweat. He's even panting slightly, freckled cheeks flushing with the excited flow of blood.

Katsuki wants to monologue, he really does. Spew some taunting words that would get normal people worked up or intimidated or generally uncomfortable. He can't do that here with Deku. The grenades on his arms have collected quite the amount of natural fuel. He'll win this fucking thing with an unforgettable 'Bang!'.

Caution thrown to the wind, "FIGHT ME, DEKU!" Katsuki yells at the top of his lungs.

Half of the building crumbles in the face of Katsuki's explosion. Deku dreams in the soft bed at the infirmary and Chipmunk Face doesn't quite succeed in wrangling the bomb from his partner's protection. It's half luck, half skill when Hagakure pulls off a successful ambush, knocking out Ochako. The Villains are declared winners.

One Monkey, that's all he's fucking worth. After the nerd gave his word even. Katsuki stews in the thought for hours. Something cold and harsh grows in the very core of his being – Berating him, mocking him. Laughing and laughing and questioning. The final word doesn't belong to him. His brain reasons despite the heavy clouds of fog. The answer has been there all along.

This isn't enough. He isn't enough.

You need to move forward. Go, go, go! Discard your fear! Eyes on the prize, then take it. For the right is yours. The one born to be king.

In the end, Deku valued the mission's objective over him. And Katsuki can't tolerate that. Not when Deku's world revolves around him since forever and beyond. A pebble the nerd might've been, but at least the pebble lies on a road Katsuki walks. Does he need to grow stronger? Is that it? What will it fucking take to defeat the ever-loving shit out of you, Deku?

Friday rolls in, Katsuki joins Deku on his prowl once more.