fortune favors the gold

2

Izuku is so absorbed in writing down notes from a gryphon sighting that he has almost completely zoned out the rest of the class. They're talking about highschool applications, and Izuku has already applied to Yuuei and Shinketsu, along with a good amount of non-hero schools. He has his bases covered.

"Ah yeah, Midoriya wanted to go to Yuuei too, right?" The teacher asks, breaking through Izuku's daze. He stops writing in code and slowly raises his head amongst jeers and insults. Just as he feared, Kacchan has turned in his direction and is glaring holes into his head. Izuku is briefly glad that his quirk is explosions not lasers.

"I'm applying for Shinketsu and other schools too, Sensei." Izuku says when his classmates are finished. He keeps eye contact with Kacchan. Looking away is showing weakness. "Hero course isn't the only thing Yuuei is good for."

"You damn Quirkless extra, hero course is the only thing worth going for!" Kacchan yells, mini explosions popping along his palms. Izuku has a theory that he does it, not to just be intimidating, but because all of his sweat is literally nitroglycerin and he's got to burn it off somehow. "And you better not try for the fuckin hero course, because I'm going to be the only one from this shitty school to get into it!"

"Okay, Kacchan." Izuku agrees, noting that his declaration has changed from 'only one to get into Yuuei.' It's his way of saying 'you can come too,' not that Izuku needs his permission. Kacchan huffs and finally gets down off his desk. The rest of homeroom is full of whispers, and Izuku packs up to avoid listening to them.

For once, Izuku isn't the first one out of class. Kacchan has his two lackeys parked there, letting everyone else out but promising a confrontation if Izuku tries. He eyes the open window, calculating the worth of escaping that way. He's never been to an official parkour class, but he does have experience jumping and climbing buildings. It would probably be fine.

Kacchan takes this moment to pull the hairpin yari from Izuku's ponytail. Izuku's hands jerk up to grab his wrist but he stops himself midway, lowering them to his sides. If Kacchan sees the aborted movement, which he must have, he doesn't say anything. Instead he moves in front of the window, most likely anticipating Izuku's thought process.

"I'm not kidding around, shitty Deku. Don't fucking think about taking that hero exam, got that?!" He barks. Izuku holds his silence for just a beat longer than necessary and then nods. Kacchan scoffs and tosses Izuku's yari hairpin over his shoulder, out the window. Izuku has to lock his knees so he doesn't try and impulsively jump after it, reminding himself that it will reappear in his hair soon. Kacchan bumps shoulders with him on his way out. "Let's go, fuckers."

"Wait, that's it?" One of the lackeys asks as Izuku gathers his things and Kacchan stalks out the door. The lackeys follow after him quickly, Izuku trailing behind them by ten or so feet. "We're not even going to rough him up a little?"

Izuku snorts, quiet enough that Kacchan can pretend he didn't hear it. Kacchan doesn't attack him anymore. Izuku had proven that he could hold his own in a it, and then proven he could take care of Kacchan's quirk with a baking-soda-water concoction in a spray bottle. There was no reason for him to keep attacking when he knew Izuku was strong enough to take care of himself.

"Shuddap, you fucking extras!" Kacchan snaps, pushing open the doors of the school. Izuku catches it when they're all through. His yari hairpin reappears while he waits for them to disappear from sight, and when they're gone, he continues on his way.

Bakugo and his two are probably going to town to hang around until curfew, but Izuku has training today. Ethan, his trainer, told him that they'd be working on monster weaknesses-basically where he could hit with his yari to get maximum dust poof. Half of Izuku's training is demigod based, and the other half is just general training for the quirked world. All of it is intense and satisfyingly hard.