Ensure Some Friendly Competition

Katsuki Bakugo and Todoroki Shoto were at a level of power that seemed frankly unfair for their age. You could hardly talk, of course, but it was odd to see other nineteen-year-olds with such explosive power. From what you'd glimpsed of Izuku's surface thoughts, these were the best rivals he currently had. There were some other people who he was far closer to, but from what she’d seen, Bakugo was his oldest friend.

And therein lay the issue.

Every memory Izuku had of the man was, quite frankly, horrific. An elitist narcissistic bully who should’ve fallen to the side of villainy a long time ago. Yet, he hadn’t. Even when taken by the league of villains, he hadn’t seemed remotely interested in becoming a villain. That at least warranted an investigation into his psyche.

“Uh, Ren?” Izuku asked, still blushing adorably as you clung to his arm, head resting in the crook of his neck.

“Yes, dear?”

“You’ve been staring at Todoroki and Bakugo for a while now, is something wrong?”

“They’re rather powerful, aren’t they? Are they your rivals?” His brain seized up at the question, analysing every inch of his relationship to the two men.

After a moment he stammered out a “Y-yes, I guess.”

“Well, I’ll have to introduce myself, won’t I?” You extracted yourself from your hold on Izuku, blowing him a kiss and spinning around to walk over to the still duelling duo. Mineta rushed over to Izuku as soon as you left, bombarding him with questions about how the two of you had met, what colour your underwear were, why I’d chosen Izuku, and if he could steal one of your bras to give to the purple haired boy.

While you weren’t worried about Izuku’s responses, you were rather annoyed by Mineta’s inability to understand basic courtesy. You had bigger issues at hand though, as you began to examine the two men’s minds in front of you. Rivals were important for developing any skillset. You yourself had many rivals in your past, before you had lost passion for modelling and just crushed them with your mind control ability.

Todoroki was interesting. Definitely some festering rage in there, all seemingly directed at his father. From the look of things, he was invested in defeating Izuku because he saw him as All-Might’s successor. While you would have preferred wanting to defeat Izuku out of mutual respect, this was something you were willing to leave alone, for now.

Bakugo, however, was fascinating. The man had an inferiority complex that was constantly screaming to him that anything less than first may as well be last. His whole mindscape was a tangled web of inadequacies and self doubt interlocking with narcissism and superiority.

Was he a shitty person? Absolutely. Could he change? Over time, probably. With your help now? Without a doubt.

You finally reached the two of them, who turned to you as you approached.

“What?” Bakugo asked, tone biting.

“I’m Ren Yamada, Izuku’s girlfriend. I heard you two were his rivals, and I wanted to come say hi!”

Todoroki stared for a moment, then blinked. “Hello.” He turned his head back to examine the ice he’d used during the fight. The man was not well socially adjusted, but given what you knew of his childhood, you could understand why.

“The fuck is Deku doing with someone like you?” Your rage flared at the question. “Always figured he’d end up with someone just as nerdy as he is.” You calmed yourself a little.

Focusing on some of the crowd control abilities All For One had, you turned attention away from yourself and Bakugo, and began to speak.