U.A Academy was cursed with hot and painfully humid weather today as Class 1-A ran along the race track. Today's hero training was managing speed and stamina; students had to successfully run two miles in under nine minutes without relying on their quirks or passing out along the way.

Todoroki comfortably ran the lead a while before Bakugo sprinted up to him armed with gritted teeth and a death glare. "You're going down, Half-and-Half!" he declared triumphantly, "Eat my dust!" He flexed his leg muscles and ran off with a cackle.

Todoroki, expectedly unfazed, let out a quiet sigh and also picked up his speed after the hot-headed teen.

Just behind those two, another group approached, beads of sweat dripping from their faces. "Those guys are something else," an exhausted Kaminari commented, "It's the last lap and they still have so much energy!"

"Not like we should expect anything less from our top two," Kirishima nodded in agreement, "They're definitely men among men!" Grinning, he pushed forward with his own newfound burst of speed.

Behind them trailed a clumped group consisting of Tokoyami, Ojiro, Sero and after that Mina, Asui, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu.

While the class gained momentum for the finish, an out of breath Uraraka jogged from behind, her face flushed and glistening in sweat. Midoriya and Iida ran just beside her, equally as red. A smile spread across her face as she felt a sense of encouragement well up from inside at having her friends next to her on this last lap. "Don't give up!"she urged them, "We've almost caught up!"

However, that feeling was short lived when Iida's glasses flashed a glint. He took to a starting pose, ready for a sprint. And sure enough, as soon as he said, "Midoriya, Uraraka- do your best!" he took off in a lightning dash. He passed his classmates with ease, rivaling for first place along with Bakugo and Todoroki.

From afar, Aizawa momentarily activated his quirk to ensure the usually honest-to-goodness class representative did not use his quirk to gain sudden tremendous speed. Turned out the boy was just a natural sprinter. Figures.

Uraraka's breath left her as she watched Iida's form disappear behind a cloud of dust. All that encouragement she felt a moment ago had all but dissipated now. "No way!" she panted, "How is Iida still so fast at this point?"

"You..c-ca...can do it...Ur-Ura-raka!" Midoriya wheezed out.

Uraraka glanced back at the curly-haired boy and smiled at the sight. Here she was groaning about being left behind, but Midoriya still ran beside her with much gusto.

His eyes were wide and frantic and his arms swung at sharp angles as he struggled to keep his form, but the boy showed no signs of giving up. On the other hand, he looked more determined than ever. She liked that the most about him.

For once, Uraraka was glad she was already red from the heat so her giddy blush could not be distinguished. "Yeah!" she cheered, turning her attention back on the track, "Let's go for the win, Deku! Fight on!"

...

"Pathetic," Aizawa grumbled with a scowl.

Midoriya, Uraraka, Aoyama and Mineta bent over and desperately panted for air before him, having just crawled in at last place.

"Your times all exceeded fifteen minutes. And I'm talking to you lot, too." Aizawa offered the same scowl to the previous clumped groups. "First comer times barely touched twelve minutes so you're not that much better. Your citizens in distress would all be pudding out there."

The three top runners shifted uncomfortably, Bakugo audibly cursing under his breath. After taking in the disappointment, Aizawa heaved a sigh and announced, "Go clean up and prepare for your next class. All Might has been going on about some new lesson for you in heroics. You'd better lose weight and gain leg muscles by tomorrow. Dismissed!" He shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged away, grumbling about how dry his eyes felt or something.

Class 1-A cheered, having already forgotten their fatigue. Life returned as they talked among their peers in anticipation for All Might's lesson. Steadily, they made their way back to their respective locker rooms.

"Hell yeah, it's All Might next!" Kirishima shouted, clapping Bakugo on the shoulder. "Let's give it our all, Bakugo!"

"Who the hell said you could touch me?" Bakugo snarled and the crimson-haired teen immediately stepped away, grinning meekly. The mention of All Might caused the blonde to take a quick glance at Midoriya who strode rather stiffly, chatting away with the doe-eyed, round-faced girl who always hung around him.

Bakugo remembered her- Ochaco Uraraka. Compared to the hardy, fiery look she had during the Sports Festival some time ago, now she seemed...grossly girlish. She always got this way, Bakugo noticed, whenever she was around the damn nerd. She'd get all fidgety, had a stupid, starstruck look on her face, and her voice would go up a pitch. As for Deku...well, he was always like that to begin with. But the boy did blush and stammer a lot more around the gravity manipulator. It was just too damn obvious!

"I'm so glad we actually survived that without our quirks," he heard Uraraka comment, a relieved smile on her face. "I still have ways to go before I can catch up to you though, Deku."

A blush glowed from Midoriya's cheeks as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I-I-It was no-nothing!" he stuttered, "You really encouraged me, Uraraka. I couldn't have made it without your support. So, um, thank you!"

It was Uraraka's turn to blush. "Not at all!" she squeaked and turned away before the curly-haired boy noticed her embarrassment. "What are friends for?" She unconsciously winced a little at the mention of 'friends,' but kept her composure for the most part.

Bakugo rolled his eyes in disgust, suddenly feeling rage burn from his gut. Here they all were, competing with one another to be the best of the best and there the damn shit stain of an All Might successor Deku stood, just stupidly trying to score a girlfriend. "Listen up, Deku bastard!" he suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. Silence hung in the air as the other students began to stare. "I'm going to be number one!" He made sure to direct his glare at the bumbling pair who also stared at him with wide, startled eyes. He smirked. "With your lame-ass time, you'll never catch up to me. Better start moving in, because it seems like you're happy settling for last place!"

Midoriya flinched at Bakugo's harsh words, suddenly feeling self conscious. "Kacchan, that...that's not-" Bakugo had a point. He came in last place in a class activity again and he was able to walk away from it without too much thought. Had he been too carefree? Did he let down his guard so much that he no longer cared about falling behind? Was he really settling? He froze in his tracks, shoulders trembling.

"That's not true!" Uraraka positioned herself between the two, spreading her arms in an attempt to shield Midoriya from Bakugo's menacing glare. "Deku might not be naturally talented at running or jumping, but he never gives up. He's also better at plenty of other stuff than you, so...you can't talk to him that way!" She mentally slapped herself as she watched Bakugo rigidly turn his body to completely face her, his blood-red eyes practically glowing with fury.

"The hell did you just say to me, bitch?" he growled and curled his fingers. Oddly enough, there was an underlying feeling of amusement mixed with his annoyance. He mused at the fact that, in contrast to his lanky rival, this deceivingly cherubic girl loved giving him that familiar heated and tenacious look. This look was for him and him alone. It burned him inside and he wanted nothing more than to personally wipe it off her face.

The atmosphere had turned heavy, the students whispering about whether to break apart this potential fight or call a teacher for help. "That's quite enough!" Iida bravely stated, though his words fell on deaf ears. "Bakugo! Uraraka!"

"Uraraka..." Midoriya was at a loss for words. He knew he had to stop the situation from escalating, but her sudden decision to protect him ironically paralyzed him.

"Okay, okay," Kirishima finally intervened, turning and nudging Bakugo to keep walking. Unlike the others, he was too used to the explosive teen's sudden outbursts and learned, through trial and error, how to deal with the violent mood swings. Luckily, his hardening quirk defended him fairly well against the blasts, making him the only one able to get close enough to cool Bakugo's ego. "We all know you have a competitive spirit, so no need to pick fights. C'mmon, let's clean up and change for All Might's class!"

Bakugo's mess of a hair frizzed in sync with his annoyance. "Quit touchin' me, turtle boy!" he snarled again.

The class, save the usually serious Todoroki and Tokoyami, chuckled at the nickname. At least the tension was gone. "...Tu-turtle...?" Kirishima repeated disappointedly.

Uraraka exhaled a relieved sigh when the boys entered their own locker room. As Midoriya walked by, they shared a nod and he mouthed a shy 'thank you' before disappearing behind the door. She pat her chest to soothe her rapidly beating heart, thankful that Midoriya's smile was the last thing she would remember instead of Bakugo's murderous scowl. Seriously, how was that guy studying to become a hero? She shook her thoughts away and followed the other girls to their locker room.

The shower steam lifted to reveal already-dressed girls wiping the last bits of water from their heads. They circled around Uraraka, curious and full of comments about the earlier spectacle.

"Guuut-sy!" Jiro winked at the brunette. "You've got balls, Uraraka, I'll give you that."

"That was really bold of you-ribit," Asui added, "Iida and I almost went to get a teacher. We thought you and Bakugo were really going to fight it out-ribit."

"We were so scared for you!" The floating uniform, which could only be assumed to belong to Toru, shook in fright.

Uraraka blinked innocently at them, offering a reassuring smile. "Aw, you girls are sweet," she purred, "Thank you for your concern, but I was totally okay! I knew I'd be safe...somehow." A frown replaced her smile as she delved deeper in thought. "I just couldn't stand Bakugo talking to Deku like that, you know? I had to do something!"

The girls smirked and nodded knowingly at each other. "You sure care for Midoriya a lot, don't you?" Mina pointed out with a mischievous grin. Their suspicions were confirmed when Uraraka reflexively dropped her hair brush, yelped, and turned a bright shade of red from neck to ear.

"Wh-wh-wha-what are you saying?!" the brunette cheeped, frantically collecting her hair brush from the tiled floor. "W-we're friends so o-of course I care! Deku is a shy and awkward guy after all...someone has to, er, look out for him. It's the heroic thing to do!"

"Suuure..." the girls simultaenously cooed.

"Just don't make a habit of being a martyr for him," Yaoyorozu advised with a warm smile, "It's not good to spoil your guy."

Uraraka brought her hands to her cheeks, her heart thumping again. "I know," she whispered hoarsely, just low enough for the girls not to hear.

.

.

.

.

Back in the classroom, Uraraka made sure to keep her distance from Bakugo. To her contentment, he was back to being his normal, brooding self and just stared out the window as they awaited All Might's arrival. She secretly wondered if he did that to fantasize about blasting birds from the sky and giggled at the possibility.

Suddenly, Bakugo whipped his head towards her with his default evil eye. She jumped in her seat, noticeably spooked. Finding her nerve, she shot him an equally detestable look and turned her attention to doodling in her notebook. Midoriya noticed the exchange and pursed his lips in uneasiness.

"Fret not- for I AM HERE!" The doors swung open as the last word was announced, a beaming and muscular All Might strolling inside. Though, as soon as he took his second step, he reverted to his gangly form, coughing up blood and unwittingly scaring the students. "It seems I really can't hold that form for too long after all," he sadly admitted.

Midoriya gazed worriedly at his hero. This was the reason he had to- no matter how hard- surpass Bakugo and be number one. All Might had passed the torch of "Symbol of Peace" to him and he had the important duty to keep that flame burning bright and strong. Stronger even. He clenched his hands into fists, his chest aching at the sight of the weakened man struggling to just catch his breath.

Uraraka caught wind of the freckled boy's vexation and sighed. She knew Midoriya admired All Might more than anyone and could not imagine the amount of pain he felt seeing All Might like this. Feeling snoopy, she stole a glance at Bakugo back to staring out the window, head resting on his knuckle in disinterest. Despite that these two boys grew up together and looked up to the same hero, they had very different reactions.

Asui raised her hand. "You don't have to keep transforming for us," she said, "We know about and understand your health condition. We just want you to be our teacher-ribit." The class nodded in silent agreement.

All Might looked over his students, very much touched by their unwavering respect and consideration. "...Thank you...all of you..." he grunted, "Truly."

Iida cleared his throat and raised his hand as well. "Sir," he spoke in a more assertive and formal tone, "Mr. Aizawa mentioned that you have a hero assignment for us. Can you kindly discuss it with us in further detail?"

Everyone mentally thanked their ever-diligent class president in steering them away from the awkward subject of All Might's deteriorating health. The golden-haired man's expression immediately brightened at the reference. "Ah, yes!" he piped, "Today's hero lesson will be-" He picked up the dry erase marker and drew long, dark strokes across the board. "Hero Analysis and Application!"

"Hero Analysis and Application?" Iida repeated.

"That's right, young man!" All Might pointed to them. "You will each be assigned a partner at random. In the course of three months, you will keep a journal about said partner and write down, in detail, everything about them from the technicalities of their quirks and combat style down to their favorite snacks and hobbies."

"Whaaaaat?!" the class cried in unison.

"That's what I do!" Midoriya shamelessly blurted in realization.

All Might nodded. "Precisely!" he said, "And it is a very good technique for both studying villains and/or your fellow teammates. It makes all the difference in victory or failure during battle. Speaking of which, after the three months are up, you and your partner will be pitted against another team at random for your Final. You will be graded based on, of course, how effectively you utilize your quirks and most importantly, how well you work as a team."

"How are the teams chosen?" Kirishima asked.

All Might brought out a simple black box. "Inside this box are twenty sealed cards," he articulated, "You are to each take one and quietly return to your seats until everyone receives their card and further instructions are given. Do not peek in the card as you and your potential teammate will be automatically disqualified and failed for this assignment. If any attempts to peek before I give the instructions are made, the red seal will instantly rip and disintegrate the card. So do be cautious."

The students warily left their seats to receive their cards. Then, just as instructed, they took quiet steps in returning to their seats in anticipation of the next phase. After the last card was given, All Might placed the box on the floor and clasped his hands together. "You may now open your cards!"

To their surprise, the cards did not disintegrate. Sheets shuffled as the cards revealed their own colored circles. Midoriya and Uraraka looked at one another, puzzled as could be but still not daring to speak.

"The person whose color matches yours will be your partner," All Might explained, "These partners cannot be switched. Keep the cards with you for the duration of the project as they will be accounted for in the Final. If any attempts to switch the cards are made, again, those cards will disintegrate upon contact- resulting in an automatic fail. After you find your partners, move your seating arrangements to sit next to each other."

And with that, the teens packed their things and began their search and transfer. It did not take long for them to find their partners: Ojiro with Shoji, Asui with Koda, Iida with Kirishima, Sero with Sato, Kaminari with Jiro, Yaoyorozu with Tokoyami, Toru with Mineta, Aoyama with Mina, and Midoriya with Todoroki.

"Not you again!" Mina groaned at the long-lashed blonde, "Why is it always you?!"

"Je ne sais pas," Aoyama simply shrugged, "But I will ensure our team shines the brightest! Let us work closely together."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Oh, joy..."

Midoriya waved fumblingly to Todoroki as he took a seat at the desk next to the hybrid boy. "Le-let's get along, Todoroki," he stammered.

"Sure," came Todoroki's simple answer.

Kirishima ran over to Iida and cheered, "Iida! Looks like I'll be working with you from now on. Please take care of me, class rep!"

"It's a pleasure to be your teammate, Kirishima," Iida bowed respectfully, "Let us be fruitful in our endeavors."

Uraraka's eyes darted first between Midoriya and Iida then to Asui, Jiro, and Mina. "Hold on," she muttered nervously to herself, "Everyone seems to already have a partner. Wait a minute, that just leaves-"

"Oy," came a deep, gruff voice.

There was no time to finish her thought as Uraraka's dread was realized. She turned to her side to lock eyes with a glowering Bakugo. His almost canine teeth smashed violently as he plopped into the seat next to hers with a huff. She gave him her best smile. "Looking forward to working with you," she managed to squeak out.

"Shut up and show me your damn card right now!" Bakugo snapped and held up his own to show a blaring, obnoxious red circle.

Uraraka curled her lips in annoyance and revealed her matching red circle.

"Tch!" Bakugo shoved his card into his pocket and slumped back into his new seat. "Of all the people, I had to end up with the president of the Deku fan club."

"Excuse me?!" Uraraka gasped, clearly offended.

"Just stay outta my way, round-face! And if I hear you talk about that Deku bastard even once around me, I swear I'll blast your face to oblivion!"

"That isn't what the assignment is about at all!" Uraraka protested, her anger now rising. "It's Hero Analysis and Application. How are we supposed to make a detailed analysis of each other if we keep out of the other's way at all times?"

"Fuck, if I care," Bakugo spat, "You figure it out."

"You want to have us fail?!"

"I happen to be a decent bullshitter, mind you. I don't need your help to get passing grades- get over yourself, miss goody-two-shoes! Just keep kissing Deku's ass like you've been doing." He held back a smirk as he watched the gravity manipulator's saintly features morph into that of raw, demonic animosity.

"You...you...!" Uraraka nearly screamed as her face glowed red from frustration.

"Do your best to work together, new generation of heroes!" All Might announced, "You are dismissed early today to bond with your new partners and get a head start on this project. Learn each other well as there will be a midpoint check-in six weeks from now which you will be graded for." He gave them a thumbs up and exited the room.

Bakugo kicked himself from the desk and threw on his satchel. "Don't bust your head too much on this," he sneered, "U-ra-ra-ka." His tongue played at each syllable as he stood up and left as well.

The mocking tone of Bakugo's voice rang abhorrently in her ears. Not only did the ash-blonde psycho completely ignore the crucial concept of the assignment but he had the audacity to accuse her of being obsessed and unprofessional in her relationship with Midoriya. She was not letting that go. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed her bag and school blazer and sprinted after her 'partner.' "Bakugo!" she yelled as she ran down the hallway, "Don't even think about running away from this!"

The rest of Class 1-A were in the middle of packing their things before quieting down and noticing Uraraka's predicament with her unfortunate match-up of a partner. "I wish that poor Uraraka a lot of luck," Kirishima chuckled, "Bakugo is not an easy guy to get along with. Not to mention he takes for-ever to 'warm up' to people. And that's to only greet them with a grunt in the morning."

"Don't you guys think it's pretty weird that Uraraka's name is the only one he really remembers and addresses?" Kaminari pointed out. He earned curious looks form his peers. "What, you mean you guys never noticed?"

"You have a really good point," Mina mumbled, "Even during the cavalry battle, he called us all sorts of nicknames. But he called Uraraka by her actual name both during the Sports Festival and just now. Huh, I wonder why that is..."

Midoriya's brows furrowed, uncertain as to where this discussion was going. Furthermore, he had never seen Uraraka worked up like that before. "Kacchan respects Uraraka as a classmate and rival after gauging her strength," he quickly defended, "I'm pretty sure of it." His shoulders felt lighter as he saw his classmates reluctantly nod to agree. For as long as he'd known Bakugo, the temperamental boy only bothered to memorize the names of those either close to or respected by him. Uraraka could only fit the latter, therefore it was the only logical explanation. He shook his head. Now was not the time to worry about these sorts of things.