Chapter 9 - Preparing for UA

(A few days later...)

Haru was up early for his morning run. Actually, his 'run' consisted of a short jog to the nearby beach to perform some martial arts training.

As close as they were, Haru and Katsuki didn't train together on a general basis. They had an understanding when it came to training.

A) Never hold back

B) Always work to improve their techniques

C) Work on special skills alone

In other words, they worked to develop their own unique fighting style separate from each other. They may be brothers but neither wanted to act as a shadow for the other. They were both stronger together but they were also separate individuals.

Haru was just arriving at the beach when he suddenly heard a series of grunts and groans coming from the trash heap that had been gathering over the years. Thinking it was just a bunch of weirdos messing around, Haru decided to go and see what was up.

He was... mostly right?

"Hey, hey, hey! It's pretty comfy on this fridge! How are you doing down there?"

Haru blinked at the sight before him, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing.

Izuku was trying to haul a massive fridge across the sand while All Might sat on top of it. The hero was in casual wear, laughing loudly as the green-haired teen collapsed on the ground. What was going on?

"People move these every day, you know," All Might pointed out, "And most of them don't have super strength."

Izuku ġrȯȧnėd as he propped himself up on his arms to look at the hero, "Well, yeah, but there's an extra 600 pounds with you sitting on top of it."

All Might seemed a little miffed about Izuku mentioning his heaviness, "Nah, I've lost weight, so I'm down to 560 these days."

Haru eye hooded over as he took in the strange scene, "Great. That's much better."

"Oh dear," All Might whispered.

"Haru-chan!" Izuku yelped.

Haru used his chakra to jumped down to the duo, "Sorry, about asking, but... what's going on?"

Izuku hesitated, "Uuuuuuuuuuh..."

Haru raised an eyebrow at All Might, "This will be good. I can tell."

The blonde hero began to sweat profusely, "We can explain!"

Haru tilted his head, "Which part?"

Izuku felt a chill at his friend's tone, "W-what do you mean?"

Haru shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe why you are trying to drag a fridge with All Might on it? Maybe why you are both acting as if I discovered some secret," he glanced at All Might from the corner of his eyes, "Or why my sensory is telling me that this All Might is not in his true form,"

A stream of paper shot from a nearby trash heap and formed into a katana in Haru's hand.

Izuku panicked, "Haru-chan!"

All Might raised his hands nervously, "Whoa! Whoa! We can talk this out!"

Haru placed himself in front of Izuku, holding the weapon in a defensive position across his body, "Who are you?"

The hero looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Izuku grabbed Haru's arm, "Haru-chan, it really is All Might! His Quirk changes his body!"

The katana instantly dispersed as Haru relaxed, "Okay, what does he normally look like?"

An explosion of smoke poofed where All Might was sitting and a tired-looking skeleton appeared in his place.

"Looks like another person discovered my secret," he sighed, "And I have the impression you don't like me."

Haru's demeanor shifted a little as he gave both All Might and Izuku a small smile, "Is that what you're worried about? I just wanted to make sure you were the real All Might. Your chakra signature is the same in this form, so you're good."

All Might squinted curiously at the teen, "Chakra?"

Izuku tried to explain, "Haru-chan's Quirk uses energy called chakra and he can use it to identify people."

All Might suddenly snapped his fingers as he realized something, "Wait, chakra, a paper Quirk, and if Haru's your nickname..." he poofed into his buff form again, "You must be Haruko Uzumaki!"

Izuku glanced at Haru, "Uzumaki?"

Haru nodded, "Uzumaki is my birth name. I go by Bakugo."

All Might nodded apologetically, "Yes, yes! Sorry. It's been a while since I was shown your file. Best Jeanist spoke highly of you!"

Izuku's eyes widened, "Best Jeanist?"

All Might saw Haru's slightly annoyed expression, "Oops."

Haru sighed, "Jeanist was the hero who dealt with my parent's murder case. He occasionally checks in on me."

Izuku muttered a quiet 'oh' and settled with that as Haru obviously didn't want to talk about it.

Haru changed the subject, "Anyhow, what's with the fridge?"

All Might hopped to the ground, giving another hearty laugh, "I am Young Midoriya's trainer!"

Haru's face was blank for a moment, "Okay."

Izuku was surprised, "Wait, you're fine with it?"

Haru shrugged, "Why not? The number one hero is training you. That is..." a grin broke out on his face, "Absolutely epic!"

The other two sighed in relief.

"Young Midoriya mentioned that you knew what I said to him the other day," All Might said, a hint a regret in his voice, "He also told me that despite that, you still stood up for me while encouraging him," the hero raised a hand to shake, "You give me too much credit, Young Bakugo."

Haru gave All Might a smile before accepting the handshake, a very American gesture to be expected from All Might, "We are all human, sir. You inspired my brother and me to be heroes. You gave us a goal to work towards."

All Might cleared his throat, "About my secret..."

Haru held a mischievous look in his eyes, "Hmm... I don't know."

All Might and Izuku looked shocked, "WHAT?"

Haru held his chin as if thinking hard, "I may keep the secret for a price."

Izuku sweatdropped, "Haru-chan, I never took you for a mercenary."

All Might held a resigned look, "How much?

Haru pulled out his phone a shit-eating grin on his face, "One autograph and one selfie with me."

***

(Several months later...)

Things had been moving along like scheduled. Izuku trained while All Might monitored him. Haru would also train on the beach but opted out of interfering, only stepping in to teach Izuku some basic self-defense moves when asked. All Might had also offered to create a training plan for him, but Haru insisted that Izuku receive all the focus the pro hero could give him. It was obvious there was something more happening about the training, but Haru ignored it, if they wanted him to know, they would tell him. Otherwise, it wasn't his business.

So it had gone for all those months. Izuku had trained and strengthened his boy by cleaning the debris on the beach. Haru had done his training separately, giving the occasional fighting lesson. All Might helped Izuku and would occasionally give Haru a few pointers.

At the moment, All Might had called Izuku to take a short break to watch Haru perform Tai Chi. It was Chen style, slow and beautiful, especially when Haru used his Quirk in sync with it.

"His control is amazing," he muttered in awe, "I've seldom seen this much focus in someone this young."

Izuku hummed in agreement, "Haru-chan worked really hard to master his Quirk. He told me his primary goal in his fighting style was flexibility and core strength."

All Might gave a slow nod, "Even when forced into close combat without a Quirk, he'd still be a formidable opponent. He is utilizing the strengths his body was born with and exploiting them. Even against a physically strong opponent, he'd be able to hold his own with his evasiveness."

Haru had broken out of his slow movements and flowed into a series of fighting sequences from various fighting styles, mostly a combination of kicks and acrobatics.

Every kick and spin was performed with the precise grace Haru used in every aspect of his movements. His body seemed weightless as he performed flips, back handsprings, and triple spins kicks across the beach.

"Is he self-trained?" All Might asked Izuku.

Midoriya shook his head, "Haru-chan received lessons in all the basics and proper movements for a couple of years. He's also got a membership at a small dojo near our school."

Haru finished his final sequence, his ċhėst heaving slightly from the intense exercise.

"Most impressive, Young Bakugo!" All Might cheered.

Haru nodded thanks as he took a sip from his water bottle.

Izuku's fanboy came out as he praised his friend, "Your fighting style is so cool, Haru-chan! Your kicks probably have enough force to take down multiple villains at once! You take advantage of your natural lightness to–" His voice trailed off into low mumbles.

Haru smiled fondly as he poked Izuku's cheek, "Hello? Earth to Izu. You can finish nerding out after school."

Izuku shook himself, "O-oh! Yeah! Right!"

Haru suddenly looked concerned about the bags under Izuku's eyes, "Are you okay? You seem tired."

The smaller boy tried to smile reassuredly, but failed as he gave a big yawn, "Yeah, I'm fine."

All Might's eyebrows furrowed, "I hope you are keeping your sleeping schedule, Young Midoriya. You can't afford to improvise on your schedule. It will have the opposite effect."

Izuku picked up his things and began to walk away, "Sure. I'll do that."

He left the beach, leaving the other two to watch his receding figure with looks of worry.

"I'm worried about him," Haru said.

All Might poofed back into his skinny form, "I really hope he's not trying to improve on his plan."

Haru shook his head in resignation, "Trust me. He already has."

"We have to get him back on track."

"As much as I agree, isn't that your job?"

All Might grimaced at the slight rebuke, but suddenly chuckled, "He's got a lot of fighting spirit."

Haru gave the number one hero a closed-eyed smile, "He does, doesn't he?"

***

(At school...)

Haru was focusing on his lesson, hoping Izuku was doing the same. He never had to worry about Katsuki. Much to everyone's surprise, the elder Bakugo was actually a brilliant student. Haru, of course, used this fact to tease Katsuki several times over the years.

A sudden outburst of mumbling made Haru look up in dismay as the entire class gaped at a certain head of green hair.

'Oh no...'

Izuku was mumbling very hard about some random details on his training that could only be understood by Haru as he already knew what it was. Even then it took deciphering.

"Hey, Midoriya!" the teacher hand-chopped down on the boy's head, causing everyone else to flinch.

Izuku gasped and covered his mouth when he realized what had happened.

The teacher looked at him a little apologetically, "I know you had a run-in with a villain, but pull yourself together, kid! If you really want to get into UA you might actually have to know something!"

Several of the students started laughing.

"You hear him? He's nuts!"

"Idio–mmrf"

All the laughing students found themselves silenced by several paper masks gagging their lips.

The teacher looked over at the younger Bakugo, "Haruko. Please refrain from using your Quirk on people."

Haru looked up from the notes he had been writing, an innocent smile on his face, "Sorry, teach. I was distracted by the noise and didn't realize."

'Liar.' Everyone thought.

Haru snapped his fingers and the gags disappeared.

***

(Later that day...)

Katsuki and Haru kicked off their shoes as they enter their house, "We're home!"

Mitsuki appeared from upstairs excitedly holding several envelopes in her hand, "Boy's you both got a lot of mail!"

Haru took the bundle and began sorting through, handing Katsuki the letter that concerned him while reading them off, "Ok. You got one from Shiketsu, Isamu, a few others not worth mentioning."

Katsuki grunted as he peered at Haru's stack, "Who wrote you?"

Haru riffled through his stack, "Another Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, a few I should mention but... I don't care."

Mitsuki shrugged her shoulders as if it weren't a big deal and left the room.

Haru used his Quirk to levitate all his mail and open the envelopes, pulling the letters into a single stack to his hands. He sat on the couch next to a sleeping Bumi (yes they let the dog on the couch) and proceeded to scratch the canine's ears as he read.

Katsuki sat on the other couch and read through his own letters.

After a few minutes, Haru sighed and set the mail down, "Can you believe this?"

Katsuki scoffed, "Why bother asking us to consider their shitty schools if we can already go into UA?"

Haru gave a small smile, counting off on his fingers, "UA has a low acceptance rate; they don't know we plan on going there; most other students would be thrilled by being recognized by any hero school; Shiketsu is also a high-grade school... Take your pick. I have more."

He caught the pillow Katsuki threw at him.

"Shut up, idiot!"

"It takes on to know one," Haru quipped.

Mitsuki walked by the living room door, a smile on her face, "I happy to know you two are receiving so much acknowledgment," she gave them both a meaningful glare, "Don't let it go to your heads."

Haru grinned, "You know, you're not exactly a model of humility yourself, Mom," he said jokingly.

Mitsuki gave him a soft smack on the head, "Less of the sass, brat."

Katsuki clicked his tongue as he tossed the letters on the table, "They should all stop trying to act as if they had any say on where we're going. We're going to UA, not some shitty second rate school."

Mitsuki giggled, "A friend of mine said that the students of Seiai Academy were asking for an exception to be made in the rules of it being an all-girl school for you two. Of course, their principle refused, although reluctantly."

Katsuki and Haru both made a disgusted face at the thought of being the only two males in a school full of rabid high school females.

Mitsuki tilted her head placing a finger to her cheek thoughtfully, "It might not be a bad idea. Maybe you two will finally get some girlfriends. I want some grandkids sometime this decade."

Haru backed away from her, "Ew! Mom! Not awkward at all!"

Katsuki gave his mother an annoyed look, "What are you saying? That I'm not capable of getting a girlfriend?"

Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, "As if any girl would put up with your crappy attitude. Haru just acts so aloof, the girls at his school treat him like the unapproachable guru."

Haru chuckled nervously, "I think guru isn't the best way to put it. More like a rabbit in open season."

Katsuki scoffed, "None of them are worth your time anyway."

Haru looked at his brother from the corner of his eye, "Why do I suddenly get the feeling that you may be the reason no one has approached me that last couple of years despite my single status."

Katsuki quickly looked away, "You're delusional!"

Haru and Mitsuki gaped at him, "Katsuki you didn't!"

Katsuki's hair stuck out even more, if that was even possible, as he started to yell, "WHAT? YOU THINK I'D THREATEN PEOPLE SO THEY WOULDN'T DARE APPROACH YOU OR SOMETHING?"

Haru pinched the bridge of his nose. "It sounds like just the thing you'd do," he looked up again, "Though I appreciate the thought, don't do that again."

Katsuki ġrȯȧnėd, "Fine..."

Mitsuku shook a finger at him, not about to let the matter go, "What were you thinking?"

Haru placed a reassuring hand on his mother's arm, "It's okay, Mom. I wasn't planning on dating anyone in Junior High anyway."

Mitsuki calmed down, "Okay. If you say so." She gripped Haru's shoulders, "Get a girl within the year."

Haru sweatdropped, "Geez, Mom. Thanks for not forcing me into a relationship."

The front door was heard to shut quietly as a familiar voice called out from the hallway, "I'm home."

Haru brightened, "Dad!"

He hurried from the room and gave a warm hug to the slightly taller man.

Masaru Bakugo smiled at his younger son as he returned the hug, "You seem unusually happy to see me today."

Haru sighed. "Mom's at it again," he whispered.

Masaru instantly understood and ruffled Haru's hair comfortingly, "Still on you about getting a girlfriend."

Haru pulled away, smoothing his hair down again, "She even gave me a deadline."

Mitsuki crossed her arms defiantly, "And I'll hold him to it."

Masaru kissed his wife, keeping an arm around Haru's shoulder, "I never tried to get a girlfriend, but I found you, remember?"

Mitsuki shook her head in mock disappointment, "I had to do all the work in our relationship."

Her husband let go of Haru as he pulled Mitsuki into a hug so their foreheads were touching, "It still worked out, didn't it?"

His wife giggled.

Haru and Katuski suddenly felt awkward as they watched their parents have a romantic moment.

"Geez, get a room," Katsuki finally growled.

Mitsuki's smile instantly dropped as she sent a glare at her son, "Shut up, you little shit! We can do what we like!"

Katsuki's hands began to spark as he sank into an aggressive stance, "Why would we want to see you making out in the living room. Do it somewhere else, Old Hag!"

Mitsuki rolled up her sleeves, "Don't you think about using your Quirk on me, Katsuki.

Haru and Masaru were left watching the two ash-blonde clash as they wondered if they should try to break it up.

Finally, Haru glanced at his father, "Should you and I make dinner?"

Masaru looked at him, giving him a nod.. It looked like they'd leave the arts of diplomacy for another time.