To Stand by Your Side (DekuBaku)

Chapter 3: Round One

Katsuki rolled his eyes and snorted. "He's not bad, but I wouldn't say perfect. You go around assuming everyone with a decent ass is gonna be the fuckin' love of my life. That ain't how this works, y'know."

Well, I mean, he's really nice looking and all, but he's just... my hero. Plus, he ain't interested in that shit.

"Fine, fine, don't admit it." Camie patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "It's okay, babe. I know it's hard to admit that you're head over heels for him. You'll come around one day."

He made a fake choking noise in return, but let himself laugh a little. If nothing else had come out of him being at U.A., he'd finally seemed to make a half-decent friend or two.

"Alright, better get going." Katsuki stood from his chair, stretching out. "I know you wanna be first in line to see Gale, after all."

"Ooh, you know it!" Camie followed suit, a finger coming up to her lip. "Then, we'll be the first ones to smash that pretty face in too. Isn't that what we do now, Baku?"

"Oh, hell yes." Katsuki grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go."

It was a short trip from the classroom to get changed and head down to the entrance to the training grounds, and along the way, Katsuki and Camie ran into their other two teammates. Kaminari was a bit glad to have been found by the group, supposedly having lost his way already, while Yaoyorozu seemed a little uncertain and a bit unhappy with the group she had been assigned to. It probably hadn't helped that he had walked up to her in the middle of Camie rambling about a few not-so safe-for-work fantasies involving her and Gale that Katsuki couldn't help but entertain.

Yaoyorozu took one look over the lot of them and sighed. "Let's just... get going, I suppose."

In no time they rejoined the big group of students and heroes, though their guests were stationed a bit further away from the class, talking amongst themselves. It was the first time Deku's eyes hadn't been fixated on him since he arrived, and Katsuki found it a bit strange to see him so far away like this, despite only ever seeing him on TV or in magazines for months. But, now...

I might get to fight Deku. I might get to spar with Deku.

More than anything else, he was excited. Despite knowing just how strong Deku was from personal experience, this was the kind of training he needed. If nothing else, there was no way he'd go down without a good fight. Already the fire was pumping through his veins, revving him up with excitement. This first round was just that- a first round. And though in no way was it something to be taken lightly, it also wasn't the main event. Hopefully.

But, for now, his attention had to be on Gale. Even if it wasn't Deku, he knew from occasional news reports and internet headlines that he had also been making some serious impact among the new wave of heroes, and was quickly rising to the higher ranks alongside Deku and others like Uravity. She too had shown some incredible tactics and moves in recent times, relying more on strategy involving the surrounding environment to secure victory in a fight. It was fun to watch her perform at times, and she did often work alongside Deku, so it wasn't as if he was unfamiliar with her.

But, anyway. Gale.

"Team A." Aizawa's voice came from behind them, along with the remainder of the students. "You'll be starting in the south end of Ground Alpha. After you're done with round one, Team D will replace..."

Katsuki tapped his foot, trying to think about strategy as Aizawa got them situated. His usual simple explosive power likely wouldn't cut it here due to the literal blowback of Gale's quirk, and getting anywhere close to him would definitely be a challenge. As much as he hated to admit it, this might be one fight he couldn't take the lead on. Well. Physical lead, anyway. Though, the challenge then would be getting Yaoyorozu to work with him effectively...