UA was the top hero school in Japan, and possibly the world. It had been the alma mater of several top heroes. However, in recent times, its reputation had taken a hit from the concentrated attacks of the League of villains. Despite that, the school soldiered on, becoming a boarding school, amping up security and doing everything it could to protect it students, though regaining the trust of the public was still a goal, it just wasn't the main one. Such an aim was lofty.

It was in this spirit that UA and three other hero schools (Ketsubutsu, Shiketsu, and Isamu) decided to hold a mixer for students and teachers, allowing them to interact in a semi-formal setting, do some networking, and build unity among the hero schools. UA's damaged reputation reflected not just on the school itself, but on hero society overall, so after several talks, a gathering of solidarity and professionalism was devised. Given how large each school was, however, only the hero program was represented in this venue. Separate mixers were held for the other programs. Otherwise, the venue would be packed. It was held at Furoramu Convention center, in an adjacent prefecture.

It was at this gathering that Eijirou Kirishima waited in line to get some food. It was the main reason he was here. Meeting other heroes, getting his name out there, being among friends, and seeing how other schools operated were all good and valid reasons, but he was feeling out of place. His quirk wasn't the showiest, he still felt he had a long way to go towards being a great man and a greater hero, and, though he hated to admit it, he felt like a third wheel among some of his friends, many of whom were entering relationships.

He himself had harbored feelings for a friend, one who was abrasive and angry, but seemed like he wasn't a bad guy. However, things started to sour. Kirishima learned just how bad Bakugou's past with Izuku Midoriya was. He learned that the napalm blonde was not interested in a romantic relationship, and if he were, not with him. Between finding out your crush didn't like you and that they had told one of your friends to kill themselves and laughed it off, that was a lotto deal with. And the only way he knew to deal with it, other than apologizing to Izuku (for something he didn't even do himself), was drown his frustrations in meat.

He would see if Tetsutetsu wanted to hang out, but the steel hero was in the corner talking to Kendou on her way back to her table with refreshments for her and her girlfriend, Yaoyorozu. The two made quite a pair, even if it had taken them a while to get there. Honestly, Kirishima couldn't feel jealous, or rather, he didn't want to. He was happy for his friends and classmates for finding someone. Envy was for cowards, and though he had carried guilt for things he felt were unmanly and craven, he didn't want to be that kind of guy. Adding to that pile of guilt and regret was not what he wanted. He would much rather build a pile of Korean BBQ on his plate, and maybe a cutlet bowl or two.

He stood in line for the buffet. It wasn't that he didn't love being with his buds or meeting new people, heroes and students alike. He recognized how beneficial this could be. However, if he was being honest with himself, the food was the main thing keeping him here. He waited in line behind Todoroki, who was chatting away with that one wind dude from the license exam. The two had failed initially but had succeeded the second time around. Kirishima was certainly proud of his friend, and the other guy was apparently the sort of hotblooded manly dude the sharp-toothed boy would associate with, but he had an interview to get to, regarding a position in his stomach that he wanted filled. He could talk to people later.

The spiky redhead flinched slightly as a finger tapped his shoulder, accompanied by a soft yet chipper female voice. "Um."

"Hmmm?" he came face to face with a girl from Ketsubutsu Academy, one of the schools participating. She had spikey hair and sharp teeth, not unlike himself, only it was green and appeared to be more natural. What's more, it was mostly spiky in the back, with a bang covering her right eye mostly. He remembered seeing her during the license exam but was preoccupied at the time. "Hey. What's up? You're from the Provisional exam, right?"

She nodded, enthusiastic, yet trying to maintain some modesty and tact. "Yeah. You're from class 1-a at UA, right?"

"That's… a lot more specific than what I said. Ha-ha." He rubbed the back of his head, causing her to blush slightly and look away. He could see her head sink down into her neck a little.

"Hey, relax. No need to retreat. Neat quirk. Anyway, how can I help."

"Oh, well…can I have an autograph."

"Wow…um…sure? I don't really know what to say." He smiled earnestly. He was rather flattered.

"Oh…um…sorry. I meant to ask if you could get Todoroki-kun's autograph for me…sorry.

And there it was. The hardening hero's shoulders slumped, and his head drooped as he smiled in defeat. "Of course. Well, I mean, he's in my class and my friend group, but we don't talk much. Plus, to be honest, I think that whole aspect of it isn't really on his radar."

"I see. Sorry to bother you…"

"Hey, no bother at all. I'm just waiting in line for the buffet. I can try and get his autograph later, I guess. Are you looking to get some food too or was it just the autograph?" he chuckled teasingly. He wasn't sure of how good a judge of character he was currently, but he sensed no ill will from this girl. She wasn't being disingenuous like her one classmate with the earthquake quirk or a ball of seething rage like Bakugou.

"Oh. I was here for food too. And the autograph. Food…and…an autograph. Yeah. Sorry."

"Hey, no worries…what was your name again?"

"Nakagame. Tatami Nakagame. You're the one with the hardening quirk, right? The one from the sports festival! And that raid on the Yakuza hideout! Tetsutetsu, right?"

This girl was going to be the death of him and they had just introduced themselves. He wasn't sure if she was messing with him or not, until he looked her in the eye. He sighed again when he realized she was being completely honest.

"No. That's my buddy. I'm Eijirou Kirishima" he extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Nakagame. Formally at least. We saw each other at the license exam, remember?"

Kirishima sat down at his table. His friends were all busy elsewhere, mingling with each other or other students. Yaomomo and Kendo were talking to other class representatives from other schools. The conversation seemed lively, but it looked like the two pony-tailed girls were looking to break off and get some food and beverages. Asui was holding hands with her childhood friend Habuko Mongoose while conversing with the latter's classmates, including that zombie guy with the bad attitude. Ashido and Midoriya were up to some sort of antics. Across the room, it looked like Jirou was hiding her face and trying not to laugh at her girlfriend's ridiculous cup tower and its new dinosaur tenants. It was hard to believe that class 1a's resident punk girl was dating Tokage from 1b, but they seemed to get along rather well. Not unlike Ashido and Midoriya, they were a strange pair that surprisingly fit once you started hanging with them.

Other than several of the students intermingling, Kirishima noticed several pros who were staff of the various schools. He could see his homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa (AKA the hero, Eraserhead) talking to a teacher from another school, Ms. Joke. They apparently had a history with each other and Kirishima didn't wish to pry, especially since he doubted he would get any answers out of the perpetually tired but highly intimidating presence of his super logical teacher. Besides, even if he was just ruminating on odd couples, he still was having trouble wrapping his head around the possibility of Aizawa-sensei married to a woman like the laughing hero. It was jarring, and romance had made his head hurt enough as is at times.

"This seat taken?" the same voice from before snapped Kirishima out of his thoughts again as the green-haired girl waved sheepishly and offered an equally sheepish smile.

"Nah. You're fine. Just having myself a meal.

"So Nakagame. What brings you here, other than getting Todoroki's autograph?"

"I…we got off on the wrong foot, Kirishima. I wanted to apologize. You were really cool too. You might not have placed or faced the hero killer"

"Man, you know how to sweet talk a guy."

The girl withdrew into herself with her quirk.

"Hey. Kidding. Relax. You're fine. Continue." He smiled softly, taking a piece of meat and taking a bite out of it. It was juicy and dripping with sauce. He stopped as he noticed Nakagame looking at him like he had something on his face, which he did.

"I wish my quirk was flashier, like yours" the turtle girl admitted.

This caused the spiky-haired teen next to her to raise an eyebrow as he took another bite, swallowing it after a few incredulous chews. "Are you sure you're not pulling my leg? Not cool."

"What? No! I... You can punch stuff and resist blasts and stuff, and I can...well...hide"

"Look. You got your provisional license, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then your quirk is fine. It's not about the quirk. It's about who you are as a person and what you do." He felt slightly hypocritical in saying that, but it did bring a slight smile to his lips, paraphrasing the words of his favorite hero, the one who had inspired both who he wished to be and what he called himself. Even his trademark hair was adapted from Crimson Riot. He supposed he would have to heed that advice further and go back to his roots. One day.

"Anyway, guess I'll see about getting Todoroki's autograph."

", can I have yours?" she asked softly, a tinge of pink in her cheeks.

"Um...sure...why?"

"I dunno. You're nice. Those words helped a bit."

He smiled at her and obliged, signing his name in her autograph book and sliding it back to her as his attention drifted back toward Bakugou, who was stomping away as Camie gave chase, along with Ochako. He shook his head and sighed, which did not escape Tatami's attention.

"That's the winner of the Sports Festival your first year, right? The guy who failed the license exam first time around?"

"Don't let him hear you say stuff like that….SO did Todoroki…and yeah. He's…he was my friend…He's…it's complicated. Can't believe I liked the guy…. Eh, no point dragging a stranger into that junk."

"You and him, huh?" she looked at the red-haired boy, feeling a tinge of disappointment building in her stomach.

"Oh, we never dated. I asked him…it didn't work out…for a few reasons." Kirishima looked away. He wasn't sure why he was opening up about this. He figured since bottling things up wouldn't help and since she asked, he supposed he might as well give some answers, even if they weren't all that detailed. He wasn't going to say "Oh yeah, I had a crush on my buddy who turned out to be a bully and told my other friend to kill himself before they even attended UA. Fun times!"

"I see. Yes. Cool. So, you're… "

"Eh, depends, really."

"The girl perked up, but then retreated into herself again, like a turtle, trying to save face by hiding hers.

Awesome!

"What?"

"What?"

"Well, didn't expect to be flirted with today. That's new." He felt his cheeks heat up a bit as he looked down to his plate and held up a sparerib. "Um…Want some?"

"I'm good, thanks. It was nice of you to offer though. I …actually prefer fish. And salad. Fish and salad."

How was this girl almost as big of a dork as Midoriya? He supposed he would have to let his injury-prone friend know there was a new nerd on the block.

Speaking of the man himself, he was being held up by Mina as he attempted to run about, talking to various hero students and teachers about their quirks. He certainly seemed a lot more outgoing than usual, though the fanboying wasn't anything new. He saw Mina hold him up as he tripped over himself.

Kirishima's eyes widened in realization and he smacked his forehead as he started laughing. He didn't know how, but his horn buddy had gotten her boyfriend drunk at a school event. He had always thought she would be a better hero than he would, but it turned out she was an evil mastermind.

"Oh! That's the kid who faced Todoroki! Midoriya, right? Is he ok?" she asked with concern. She knew he was a bit reckless, given his impressive showing against Todoroki at the Sports Festival and further exploits afterward. Still, he looked a bit out of it.

"Yeah. He's probably fine. He's with his girlfriend right now."

"Awwww. They're cute."

"Yeah, they're something." He laughed. "They're good friends of mine. I'll introduce you sometime."

"I'd like that. Thank you, Kirishima-kun."

"No problem, Nakagame. I'll introduce you to Tetsutetsu too. Gotta share our winning smiled after all." He joked, flashing his sharp teeth at the green-haired girl, who flashed hers back in return.

"That sounds great…Um…Hold on." She fished through her purse, a dark-green bag shaped like a turtle shell. He had to appreciate her for picking a theme. She grabbed her phone and pulled it out. Once again, sticking to a theme, her phone case was covered in small, cartoonish turtles. "What's your number…" she paused, realizing she might have come off as too forward. She slowly withdrew her phone and put it back into her purse. "Sorry. I didn't mean to come off as too eager."

"Hey. No complaints from me. You're fine."

"Good! Glad to hear!"

Kirishima took out his own phone and recited his number, with his companion doing the same. Once the contact info was exchanged, they resumed their conversation.

"So, since you probably know my taste in guys is bad, do you have a type?" he asked. He admitted he was about as smooth with this sort of thing as his skin was with his quirk activated, but he decided to power through.

"I mean, I think…. Todoroki is really cute. I mean, not that you aren't but, he's kind of to your class what Makabe is to mine."

"No offense taken. The dude's kind of our local heartthrob, even if he doesn't quite realize it. He has his own stuff going on." Kirishima took a drink of water and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Which one is Makabe again?"

"Oh…. well, he's one of the handsomest boys in our class…not to make you jealous…not that you should be jealous…because we're just talk"

"Nakagame! Chill. We just met formally. Slow down." He reassured her. Despite her turtle gimmick, she did seem to get flustered rather swiftly.

"Right. Sorry. He's bald. Kind of looks like a turtle, actually…. He can harden things. Kind of like you, but like, objects instead of his body."

"Heh. Looks like I have competition." the unnatural redhead playfully nudged his new friend.

"I mean, you might have won." She grinned.

Realizing the implications of this conversation and how neither of them were natural flirts, they stopped and looked at each other, blushing before Kirishima cleared his throat to speak again as he averted his gaze.

"Sorry. Probably came off weird. It's ok."

"Right…right... Same" she looked away, feeling that twitching of disappointment again, as well as embarrassment at her own awkwardness in this situation. "Anyway. I guess I like guys that are heroic and brave, but also sweet and fun. Boring answer I know. But again, I"

"If you call your yourself boring again, I swear!"

"W-what will you do?" she felt her heart race, and she wasn't sure why. Actually, she was. It was nerves.

"I'll think of something…. Just don't do it, k?"

"K." The turtle girl's answer brought a smile to her companion's face as he offered a fist for her to bump. She was reluctant at first, but soon complied with a warm smile.

Not long after, they were joined by Kaminari and Sero. Sato wasn't far behind, but he had decided to stop by the dessert table and even chat with the catering staff about the delicacies on display. He may have been here to top shop about heroics, but baking was a passion he could not deny, and if he could score a few recipes, his night would be made.

The remaining two to have taken remedials during the summer trip in year one had sat down at the table on opposite sides of the two sharp-toothed teenagers.

"Kirishima, there you are. We were looking for you." Sero smiled, relieved to find his friend in the sea of future heroes.

"Looks like you have yourself some company." Kaminari chimed in, giving his friend a sly look, causing Nakagame to withdraw bashfully as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Guys, it's not what it looks like. Chill." Kirishima exhaled.

"Looks like you're talking to a girl and exchanging phone numbers." Kaminari wasn't buying it for a second.

"So? This is a mixer. Networking, dude. That's what these things are for."

"You use words like "Networking"? You sound smart." Sero quipped.

"Can it, man!" Kirishima punched his friend's arm in annoyance then turned to the girl next to him. "These two are my buddies. Sato might join us too, if you're cool with that. Sorry about them."

"It's fine. I mean, we did exchange contact info. Meeting more of 1a is pretty sweet!" she smiled softly, before waving to his classmates. "Hi. I'm Tatami. I was just talking to Kirishima. I got his autograph."

Kaminari and Sero started smirking. They knew very well that this probably didn't mean anything, but they were teenagers and one of their friends was talking to someone cute. They felt obligated to rib their friend. Besides, given how he almost skipped this event to spend time in the gym, they were happy he came along, even if it was mainly for food and to talk to some friends.

Sato soon joined them, bringing with him a plate of cheesecake, some Castella, and a couple Cannolis.

"They really went international with some of their dessert choices. I managed go grab some recipes. I tell you what, boys, even if I manage not to hear from other heroes and hero students, I at least have more pages for my cookbook." Noticing the lone girl at the table, waving gently, Sato smiled.

"Hi there. You from one of the other schools?"

"Yeah! Ketsubutsu! My homeroom teacher is Ms. Joke. I heard rumors about her and your homeroom teacher, Eraserhead. From my teacher of course. Not sure how true they are."

Sero chimed in with a shrug "Not to doubt a pro like her, but I think Aizawa-sensei is in a committed relationship with his sleeping bag."

"Why, because he's always inside it?"

"So, you guys talk to any pros so far?"

"I got to talk to Gang Orca, but he kept yelling something about Guidance to some …um livelier students." Tatami spoke up. "I also got to meet Sirius and Selkie, and Ryukyu! So that was cool!"

Kaminari and Sero took out some business cards they had received. They only had about five between the two of them. "We only had a few agencies interested. Not too bad, I guess.

"Oi! Nakagame! Over here!" a voice rang out from the crowd, belonging to one of the collapsible hero's female classmates. "Where've you been! The rest of us are comparing contact info so far! I got you some sashimi!"

Tatami froze and smiled bashfully. "Ah! That's my friend. Sorry to leave you guys. It was nice meeting you all, especially you, Kirishima-kun! Call me later! Or I can call you. Or text! K, bye!" and with that, she was off.

All eyes fell on Kirishima as he started to sink into his chair and place his hands on his temples. "Aaaaand here comes the interrogation…"

X

Overall, the mixer was a success. Barring some embarrassing instances involving Bakugou starting at least five fights and Izuku's mysterious and embarrassing bout of drunkenness that only Mina knew the mystery of, it was a good stress reliever. Several pros rubbed elbows with each other and many promising hero students who looked to represent a grand new generation of heroics. It was actually rather surprising that no villains had attacked this event, given how smoothly things had gone in the past. Nevertheless, not a single individual left without at least one new contact. Even Mineta got a few, though one of them ended up just being a dummy number that led to something called the "Freak Phone". Needless to say, the boy was displeased by that one.

Kirishima walked over to Mina and Izuku and offered to help his inebriated friend, while others departed to get on their respective busses to go to their respective schools. Various staff and students wished each other well and vowed to keep in touch as they hopped on board to leave. Before Kirishima had a chance to get to his pals and their ride, he was stopped.

"Hey again!" the familiar voice rang out in a soft sing-song tone, with a hint of timidity mixed with sociability. It was an odd cocktail, but Kirishima had seen it before.

"Nakagame! Hey." Kirishima smiled at her, not expecting to see her this soon. "I figured you would just text."

"I was. I am. I just thought saying "see ya" in person while we're still here made more sense. Sorry for darting off. I kind of have a whole turtle thing going on because of my quirk, but I need to learn to slow down."

"Relax. But yeah. Slow and steady, right?"

"Right. Well, um…" the girl blushes and tries thinking of what to do. Unfortunately, she botches the dismount and offers a high five, perplexing Kirishima at first, but gaining a warm reception from him a few seconds later.

"Ha-ha. Alright. See you later, Nakagame."

"Later!"

And with that, she boarded the bus back to her school. Mina smirked at Kirishima as he sighed again, turning to help her pick up and carry Izuku to the bus.

"How the hell did you get him drunk, and why?"

"Yer horns are fake~ Mina'sre prettier~ Sweet soft, Mimi…" Izuku drunkenly reached for Kirishima's hair and batted at the spikes in his hair. It was barely a minute when the freckled boy started crying about how wonderful his girlfriend was and how he met so many cool heroes that night. "Not cute…fake…" Izuku bellowed before passing out, mumbling in his sleep, not unlike his behavior while sober.

"Someone's lucky…I guess? Not sure how to even react to this, Ashido."

"I'm just surprised he didn't throw up or that we didn't get reprimanded too badly by Caterpillar-sensei." Mina sighed as well, carrying her boyfriend up the steps of the bus with Kirishima's help and to their assigned seat.

"What's the saying, Kirishima? A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts?" the hardening quirk user turned around to see Itsuka, who had come to see Momo off before heading to the 1B bus. Setsuna had tagged along as well to see her girlfriend off, as well as to witness the grandeur that was drunken Midoriya. She certainly got a laugh and her money's worth when Mina stumbled and almost dropped her boyfriend.

"Shit! Kiri, help!" luckily, the sleeping beauty on her shoulder was out like a light and she was not far from where they were seated. She would still have words with her horn buddy after.

Meanwhile, Setsuna was smacked by a jack for giggling too much at developments before receiving a "I'll see you back at school, you dork" kiss.

"By the way, heard you got a phone number." Momo chimed in as she held her girlfriend's hand, not wanting to part, but knowing they would see each other on Campus.

"Word gets around fast, huh? It's just a number. Doesn't mean anything. This was a mixer after all." The redhead protested, to no avail. "Besides, I got a few more numbers from pros too. Even got to talk to a guy who knew Crimson Riot!" Kirishima responded. That was certainly a highlight of the evening: getting to talk about his favorite hero of all time with somebody who knew him personally.

As he went to get on the bus, Bakugou brushes past him and they both shared a look. It's as if time freezes for a moment and everything that there was between them flashed in an instant and was gone. The explosive teen took his seat and Kirishima shook his head, turning back to Kendou.

"We'll see you at UA campus then." He said as he boarded the bus, followed by Jirou and Momo. He checked to see if Midoriya and Ashido were alright before sitting down and slumped into his seat next to Sato.

"Thanks for leaving me to lug my boyfriend to his seat on my own, dude." She teased, putting on a fake pout that soon dissolved when she could no longer contain her questions. "So, you got a number, eh?"

Kirishima pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at his passed-out friend, head rested on Ashido's shoulder.

"He has the right idea." Kirishima thought before taking out his phone and staring at it. As all the students and staff boarded, the engine roared to life and they hit the road, ready to go back to UA.