Eijiro was not feeling well, a subtle sense of discomfort had crept into him, like a snake among the blades of grass. He couldn't find his best friend, and in his heart he knew where he could had been.

Besides, how could he blame him? Very few would had resisted such an attractive girl, of good family, attentive to heroes' problems.

The second year had just begun and he already felt powerless.

He looked towards the corner of the class opposite to his, in which Midoriya and Uraraka were chatting amiably: the girl's interest in him was clearly seen, badly kept at bay by the brunette and Izuku didn't seem to disdain it, on the contrary...

For them there would certainly had been a happy ending, perhaps not immediately, more towards the end of the study course, to avoid distractions. But it was only a matter of time. For him, instead...

He sighed: how long had he been in love with Bakugou? How long had he stopped considering him the explosive friend to hold off, the one who puts all the names of the world on you and then comes up with a concrete fact?

The boy's red eyes, so penetrating yet different from those equally dyed of his friend, were filled with melancholy: too much time had passed and their relationship had evolved too quickly. Or maybe not?

What did it matter? By now it was self-evident that the blonde was not interested in him except as a right-hand man and friend, and to say that he had under his sad eyes all the symptoms to begin suspecting a rivalry in that sense.

To begin with, he and that older girl, who had arrived at the end of the first year and stayed with them for all the summer holidays, had had a strange and apparently laughable look game with him at all the time. Kirishima was the first to pay no attention to it, also because his friend had always been the usual one and that other one was hanging out with Midoriya or the girls, so much so that at first he had even thought she was in love with him. How wrong he was...

And then, just that day, during the break... Katsuki's cell phone vibrated on the desk and he had thrown an eye at it, petrifying himself while reading his interlocutor. His friend wasn't in class, luckily... he would had torn him to pieces if he caught him peeking at his phone.

"Katsuki, I'll be back on I-Island tonight. Please join me at the park."

Melissa had felt very strange when she pressed the send button of that message as brief as concise. Now she couldn't go back, she was exposed and now she had to give an account to her feelings.

Feelings... could be cursed. When she met Deku she had been very sure to fall in love with him, his sweetness and his passion. And instead... fate had made plans for her without her permission, leading her to Musutafu and making her stay in U.A. to supplement her studies as a scientist. By now, she was close to university and was determined to observe and take notes on how heroes trained, to underline the problems they faced, from irritating suits to the worst injuries.

She really didn't want that low blow. She wanted Midoriya's good from the bottom of her soul, he would had always been her best friend, but... that schoolmate of his, that fierce-eyed blond with granite determination had taken hold of her.

Melissa smiled, remembering the shocked faces of Ochako and Izuku at her confession.

"WHAT?! BUT... MELISSA! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT ARE YOU BUYING! "

She had giggled.

"Well... I could see that he is an... explosive personality!"

Ochako could say anything except that she wasn't admired; she had felt a hint of jealousy during their stay on the island, due to the closeness that had quickly developed between her and her beloved greenish, but now... now she was free from that suffocating feeling and could finally see Melissa as a genuine friend and root for her.

She had taken her hand and told her to write to him; Melissa had the numbers of the whole class, during the months of presence at the U.A. she was committed to reinforcing the weaknesses of their customs and by doing so she could promptly communicate the changes to them.

Footsteps. The jolting heart.

It was late afternoon and everything around her was damn romantic, even though the boy who stood before her was anything but a chivalrous soul.

Melissa blushed and greeted him.

"You took some time! I was beginning to believe that you wanted to make fun of me with all those shy looks and messages!"

"Er... I didn't want to look bold!"

Katsuki grinned; she had been bold, she had ensnared him against all his will, and the most splashy thing was that... she was Quirkless! How did a creature without powers make him feel attracted, how? Where was it written?

Just him, who had tormented Izuku for his boring normality!

"Anyway…"

She had started talking again, the bold girl, with her fist clenched in front of her chest, as if she wanted to metaphorically speak wearing her heart on her sleeve.

"Thank you for the great time, everybody..."

"Tsk! Did you also thank Deku?"

"Well, of course…"

"Pfui!"

Melissa smiled, amused, but then she approached him and took his hands in hers.

"I... I hope we can still see each other..."

"What speeches! You don't live on the moon!"

"Well no, but..."

"Big useless deal! Sometimes I will come to you and vice versa. Where's the problem?"

"Wow... I'd like to be point-blank like you..."

"Just don't ask me to marry you!"

This joke, half serious and half not, tore a passionate laugh from the rosy lips of the eighteen-year-old.

"No, for now I'll make you focus on your grenades!"

They said nothing more; Melissa silently asked him for permission to curl up against his chest and tie her arms behind his back. Permission granted, and even Katsuki's hands rested lightly on her back.

They greeted each other soon after. No kisses, because with Katsuki it was like this: one weakness at a time.

When Kirishima saw him return to the dorm at dinner time he immediately understood: he had become hers, of Melissa Shield. There was no hope for him.

Mina would had jumped for joy, in that complicated multi-sided figure that was their love life, but he wasn't ready: he couldn't forget a love so quickly, especially if it responded to the name of Bakugou Katsuki.