Energy (D.P./M.H.A.)

. 1 1 .

On Monday morning, they were back in their training outfits. After Danny had 'shown off' as Sam had called it, they had talked for hours about the best heroes according to Midoriya. He explained how the ranking worked and which heroes were in which spot. The boy knew all about the system and how it worked.

They had tried to get him to talk about his Quirk, but Midoriya had managed to change the subject or turn the question back. Danny was amazed at how good he was at that.

When they had gotten back to their own apartment after a long talk about all kinds of things, they got a message from Clockwork. Though it was obvious Danielle has sent it. She had asked how it felt to be one year younger than she was now, which raised some questions. Clockwork had explained how since everyone in class 1-A was 14 or 15, he had to do some tweaking. So the 17-year-olds were 14 again, which caused Dani to be greatly amused.

"No funny business over there, younglings."

Danny had promised he'd get back to her for that.

"I can't believe we didn't notice that before this," Tucker said as they walked into the indoor training room. "I mean, we're three years younger than we were weeks ago and didn't notice. That's probably also why we're looked at so weirdly. Three 14-year-olds in one apartment? Please."

"I'm gonna be 15 in a few weeks," Danny said with faux excitement. "My eighteenth birthday, and I'm stuck here."

"You're saving people."

Danny sighed as they lined up in front of Aizawa, who was tiredly glancing over the class. "True."

"You're going to be doing some warming-up and then you're sparring," he said as he took his yellow sleeping bag out of nowhere. "This is to get to know different fighting styles of your classmates. While you fight out who is against who, I'll be in the office at the entrance. No Quirks, no real punches and no major injuries. The old lady will have my head." Aizawa waved them off and strolled towards the entrance.

Iida was complaining to Uraraka about how bad the teaching was while she tried explaining what they were supposed to be doing. Midoriya stood besides them, getting uncomfortable.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Danny said to his friends. "Try to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid and end up with someone that wants to kill him."

"Deku!"

Danny groaned and rolled his eyes in annoyance as Bakugou stalked towards the panicked teen. "You, me. Field three. Five minutes."

"O-of course, Kacchan!"

And he stalked off again.

"You have to stop letting him boss you around like that, Deku!" Uraraka tried to talk courage into him.

"Letting yourself be commanded by peers like that is not good for you, Midoriya," Iida added. "You have to stand up for yourself and take matters into your own hands."

"They're right, you know," Danny said as he walked up to them, hands in his pockets and a relaxed smile on his face. "He can't keep on doing that forever unless you let him. Are you really going to let yourself be bossed around like that? Stand up for yourself and make a statement. Like you did in the exercise last week."

"Wait, you heard that?" Midoriya asked, eyes wide.

Danny gestured to the first field. "Wanna spar with me instead?"

Shooting a hesitant glance at Bakugou, he saw how he was looking at him, glaring and obviously waiting to kick his ass. Did he really want to do this?

"Hmm?"

He turned back to Danny with a small excited smile. "Yes, please!"

Bakugou was fuming with sheer anger as he saw the two of them start warming up, laughing with each other. He crossed his arms and sank his head between his shoulders, trying to contain his rage. As he saw Shitty Hair running towards him with a concerned smile on his face, he rolled his eyes and groaned. "What do you want?"

"Bakugou! I noticed you were all alone here so I thought I'd pay a visit. Wanna spar?"

"Hell no!" Bakugou yelled out. "Go back to whatever hole you came out of and leave me alone!"

"You need time, gotcha," he finger gunned at him. "I'll be back. Maybe get Kaminari as well. And Sero and Ashido, they're pretty cool. Catch ya later bro!" he yelled as he ran off to the rest of the class, who were standing near the entrance, also warming up.

Midoriya rolled his head and planted his feet firmly on the ground. He watched as Danny did the same, seeming way more comfortable in the situation. Danny was tense, but better at hiding it. He really didn't want to hurt Midoriya, so holding back was kind of an only option. The two shared a look as some cheers and shouts of encouragement came from the edge of the field, and Midoriya caught sight of Bakugou watching from the left as well. He gulped as Tucker appeared at the right side and held one hand up.

"Whoever's first to get the other one on the ground wins! No Quirks, no K.O. punches and no feet! Ready? Go!" He moved his arm downward, and they were both on the move in an instant.

The few feet that were between them was quickly covered as they both stepped forward. Midoriya rolled to the side as Danny tried to grab his arm, and was fast enough to stand back up in time before Danny could throw another attack at the ground. Midoriya went for a punch, but Danny moved his body back and grabbed Midoriya's wrist with his hand.

Midoriya jabbed the region between his torso and shoulder, resulting in Danny yelping and letting go of his wrist. Midoriya saw his opportunity and grabbed Danny's right wrist. He moved along his right, pulling Danny's arm over his own head, essentially locking Danny in with his own arm.

Danny grabbed hold of Midoriya's arm with his left hand and twisted his body until they were face to face again, both holding on to each other's wrists.

"This is...interesting," Sam muttered to Tucker "He's trying to show people Midoriya can actually spar without hurting himself. He planned this. See Bakugou?" she asked, pointing at the blond. "He's surprised to see them last that long against each other."

A collective "ouch" resonated though the onlookers that had stopped working for themselves as Midoriya hit Danny. Said teen stumbled two steps back, clutching one arm over his stomach, even though he was grinning. "Good hit."

"I am so sorry!" Midoriya exclaimed as he put his hands over his mouth. "Rush of the moment. Please forgive me."

"We're sparring, remember?" Danny said as he got back in a stance and gestured at Midoriya. "Keep them coming."

Midoriya nodded and went back to focusing on the fight again. This time, Midoriya moved first, coming at Danny with a right hook aimed at his arm. Danny sidestepped the attack and made a 270 before grabbing hold of his arm and moving it down. Midoriya yelped as he —semi-softly— hit the ground, one arm behind his back and Danny on top of him.

"Danny wins!" Tucker yelled out, cheering his friend on.

Danny let go of Midoriya's arm and helped him stand up. "Good match. I can't wait to do it again when we can use our Quirks, though. I'm curious."

"Same here," Midoriya smiled back.

Aizawa sighed in his office as the two of them were praised by the rest of the class. He should've seen it coming. The two involuntary attention-seekers had teamed up and were the center of the class. It would take weeks before this...match was forgotten, and by then, they'd done twenty other things.

He could only imagine Present Mic and All Might in those places when they were 14.

Two oblivious teenagers who knew nothing of the world and its challenges, responsibilities and dangers. Unaware of the future and not guaranteed anything, despite wanting to be the best. He huffed in amusement and kept watching how the others started doing something as well.

Those two were going to be trouble, and he could already tell.