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If only for his smile

Walking out of the ring, the crowd's roar washes away behind him, a cacophony of excited shouts and cheers resonating throughout the corridor leading out of the arena. Dimming with each step he takes towards the locker room. He should probably go to the infirmary, yet, he can't help but seek a couple more minutes of peace before submitting himself to recovery girl's lecture. Looking down at his bruised and battered arms, he figures he probably deserves it.

Pushing the door open, he hisses as pain blooms and races across the limb. He had almost been successful in ignoring the ache up until now. Almost.

The moment he steps in, someone collides with him. His gut throbs at the impact and his fall is abruptly stopped by an outstretched hand. Twisting and wrinkling the fabric with the effort to keep him upright.

Angry red eyes glare down on him, almost shining with intensity. Katsuki, it seems, has been waiting for him here.

"What the hell was that out there" The blond hisses, low and dangerous, almost fuming as he pulls Izuku towards him, knuckles white as he tightens the grip around the rumpled gym shirt. "Are you looking down on us, damn nerd?!" He shouts.

Izuku sighs, already feeling the headache he's been sporting intensify as the teen's voice resounds through the room. He just wanted a few moments of quiet. Was that too much to ask?

Raising his hands in mock surrender, he hopes the boy in front of him realizes just how tired he was.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Kacchan." He sees the explosive teen's eyes hone in on the bruises marring his arm and feels the deathly grip loosen as Bakugou suddenly decides to let him go. Stepping back as if he's been burnt.

"Why did you throw the fight?" His voice is low as he speaks, an echo of the angry shouting he's been doing mere moments ago.

He takes a moment to think about his answer.

He knows why, he just... Can't find the right words to convey his reasoning. This was just a game, after all, a school tournament. There were no higher stakes, no lives on the line. So there was no logical reason for him to go all out. It's not like he didn't fight. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to his opponent. In the end, nobody wanted to fight with a monster. "I don't see what the problem is." He says finally, voice firm as he bypasses the blonde, making his way back out the door. "Nobody died, right?" Nobody died, today was a good day.

With that, he takes his leave. It seems his lecture would come earlier than he expected. He just hopes Recovery girl will go easy on him.

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Rubbing his cheek, he wonders how someone could ever make a healing kiss be passive-aggressive at the same time. As expected, Recovery girl chewed him out for his recklessness. Healing his injuries three-quarters of the way to teach him a lesson. Honestly, he doesn't get what all the fuss was about. All the injuries he sustained were deliberate, they were necessary for him to clear his quest. People just didn't understand that out here. Maybe they never would.

Huffing slightly, he turns the corner, wanting to get back to the stands. Watch the rest of the matches.

He doubts Todoroki will instantly be comfortable using his fire, however, he believes that his actions today at least encourage the half and half user to reconsider his beliefs. He just hopes Bakugou doesn't take it too personally when the teen inevitably gets distracted.

The corridors aren't empty he notes, faintly he hears someone talking. The voice is familiar, the conversation one-sided, a phone call, his mind concludes.

He shouldn't eavesdrop, it was unethical and rude. However, the faint panic he hears in the boy's voice is enough to convince him otherwise. In the end, his curiosity wins out.