Koda paced around in his room, reading the words on a little wrinkled piece of paper aloud. Each word came out with a stutter, a stumbling of the tongue. Some of the syllables melded together, changing the sentence entirely. The longer it went, the more frustrating it became and tears started springing out from his eyes. In a fit, he wadded up the paper and pitched it across the room before slumping to the floor.

His pet bunny, Yuwai, hopped over to his master's feet. He looked up at the young boy, realizing that something was wrong. Koda tried his best to feign a smile though even that proved difficult for him in the moment before reaching over to give the rabbit some tender rubs.

"Are you worried about me, Yuwai-chan?" Koda asked, careful not make any of his sentences into commands. "I'm fine."

Yuwai's little nose twitched and he nuzzled his face against Koda's exposed legs. The fur was soft and it tickled his skin, causing him to giggle. So the boy picked up his pet, sat down on the edge of the bed, and placed Yuwai down on his lap. That way, he could pet him while forlornly staring at the crumpled up ball of paper at the same time.

Five minutes passed and there was a knock at the door, prompting Koda to look up. "Come in."

The door opened a crack and Tokoyami peeked in. "Hey, is it okay if we talk?"

This wasn't an uncommon occurrence. It became an unspoken agreement that if any of the guys were having personal issues, then they could come to Koda's room which became a safe space. Even the girls walked all the way over from their side for a quick vent session. Koda wasn't good at conversation but everyone could depend on him to listen to their problems without fearing that he'd use it against them.

Tokoyami was one of his more frequent visitors and the person who inadvertently started this dorm tradition. The birdman suffered from nightmares related to his Quirk so he'd swing by to talk things out and play with Yuwai. Koda felt like he knew everyone's secrets at this point. Even Bakugou's and a few of Todoroki's though they preferred to talk to Kirishima and Midoriya respectively instead.

Yuwai's ears perked up at the sight of Tokoyami who was carrying a plastic bag of sliced apples. A liking he shared in common with the boy.

"What's wrong?" Koda prodded gently.

Tokoyami sat down on the floor, cross-legged. "Nothing really. I just… don't want to be alone right now."

Koda nodded in understanding. He sat down across from his friend and let Yuwai bound over to the feathered classmate. With some semblance of a smile on his beak, Tokoyami opened up the bag and started feeding the bunny under the watchful gaze of the owner. For both of them, talking usually meant just sitting in a comfortable, tranquil silence in one another's company.

The crumpled up ball could be seen just over Tokoyami's shoulder. Koda wondered if maybe he could bring up his own problems for once instead of having to listen to someone else's issues. After all, he never had the chance to ever bring up anything overly personal with his friends before. He barely had friends before.

"Tokoyami-san," said Koda, "do you like anyone? Romantically, I mean."

The birdman seemed surprised by the question. He turned his head to the side, as if searching for the reply hiding somewhere in the room, and shut his eyes. From the profile view, it was easier to see the puffiness under his eyes so it was clear that he had been losing sleep recently. "I can't say for certain," Tokoyami finally stated, "but I may have feelings for Shouji… or perhaps even you."

Koda blushed at the outright revelation, feeling the heat rise to his face. "O-Oh."

"Don't be too alarmed," Tokoyami chuckled. "My feelings for you may be trivial as I simply trust you more than most others." He returned his focus on Yuwai who was nibbling on an apple slice and he took on a more somber tone if that was somehow possible. "I'm not sure I can say the same about Shouji though."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—."

"Do you like someone, Koda?"

It was the obvious follow-up question and the thing that Koda wanted to broach to begin with but it still caught him off guard. Like when he had been reading off the paper, he made a poor attempt at constructing a coherent sentence though it came out in multiple nonsensical fragments. Tokoyami exhaled a little in bemusement though he didn't poke fun at the other boy.

"Is it Jirou?" Tokoyami asked. "I've noticed the way you look at her."

Koda's peach skin took on a more strawberry tone. "I-Is it obvious?"

"Probably not to her," Tokoyami chuckled. "And possibly only to me."

Koda looked down at his hands, fidgeting with his fingers as he tried to figure where to go from there. He wanted to get advice or at least share with someone else about how he was feeling but this wasn't something he was accustomed to. If he ever had issues, then he'd talk to his mother about it. She always made sure he was open about the things that bothered him. But this would be the first time doing this with a friend.

"I've been thinking," said Koda, "about confessing to her."

Tokoyami paused. "Are you okay with the possibility of rejection?"

"Because she probably likes Kaminari-san, right?" Koda muttered.

The other boy figured it would be a bad idea to stay on this topic judging from the downcast expression on his face. "I'm guessing you started liking her after you guys took your finals together," said Tokoyami, knowing how much more talkative with his classmates Koda had become afterwards."But what made you want to confess?"

—X—

On the day everyone was first heading towards the new dormitory, they were still shaken up from the Kamino incident. Still everybody was more than determined to convince their parents that they wanted to stay at U.A. high school. Koda's mother was especially distressed after the chaotic battle between All Might and All for One. But if he wanted to continue seeing his friends, then he had to keep going to his dream school despite the danger.

Recent events made Koda realize how easily things could disappear. Heroes could so easily crumble to dust against powerful villains. And there had been a strong possibility that his mother could've pulled him out of school. The new people he met, the friendships he had made, they could have vanished from right before his very eyes.

So when he saw Jirou across the street on their way to school, he was hyper aware of the distance. He might've never seen her again.

Whenever they passed by a car or a tree, Koda wondered if she would appear on the other side. He would involuntarily release his breath every time he saw her again. Should he call out to her? Should they just keep walking in silence? With the distance between them?

Jirou suddenly stopped and looked up, making eye contact with Koda who turned bright red. She gave him smile. "Hey."

"G-G-Good morning, J-Jirou-san!" Koda stammered.

Jirou unplugged a jack from her phone, stuffing it into her pocket before looking both ways and running across the street to join him. "You should've said something," she chuckled, "I didn't even know we had the same route to school."

"W-Well, I wasn't sure if it was you," said Koda.

"You know another girl in this uniform and haircut?"

"I—Well, I mean…"

Jirou noticed the way he avoided looking at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to tease." She looked back ahead. "Do you want to walk together? Maybe talk about some things. I mean, I can just talk if you'd rather…" She took a breath. "A lot has changed since we took our final exam together, huh?"

Koda nodded shyly. "Are you okay? Well, that is, I haven't seen you since the hospital."

"You're very sweet, Koda," Jirou chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. The gas attack wasn't too bad. Hagakure and I got out just fine." She became quiet then. "Still, I can't believe all that happened while we were out of commission. I didn't even know Bakugou was… abducted. I know it's stupid to think that I could've done something but I still feel guilty…"

"It was scary," admitted Koda. "I was scared for everyone."

"Yeah… I was too."

They talked about this and that, mostly things pertaining to recent events. They were part of the class group chat that blew up while they were watching the news. No one could believe that Midoriya and four others had actually gone to Kamino, let alone their rule-following class rep. But they soon moved on to other things. Subjects that regular teenagers talked about like music or classes or weekend plans.

"It'll be fun living together with everyone," Koda brought up. "I like being with everyone in person."

This took Jirou by surprise. She figured that someone so quiet normally would prefer screen-to-screen communication. "We'll make lots of great new memories together," she smiled. "Let's continue to get along, Koda."

"Right."

—X—

"I want her to know," said Koda, "how I feel… before she disappears from my life."

Dark Shadow popped out and snatched up the paper ball, carefully unraveling it. The crinkling caused Koda's head to snap out of his daydreamy state and he frantically attempted to take back his secret letter. While Tokoyami would usually be on the side of his friend instead of his sentient Quirk in a case like this, he was also curious about what was written on it so he kept Koda at bay.

"You should use this," said Dark Shadow.

Koda blinked. "Eh?"

"It's well written and honest," Shadow explained. "I think you should give this to her if you're too scared to tell her directly."

Tokoyami took the paper and it himself. "For once… I agree with Shadow."

Koda looked at his words over the other boy's shoulder. In the end, it would all be his decision whether or not he wanted to profess his feelings to Jirou. He felt something soft bump into his ankle and looking down, he could see Yuwai returning his gaze. His Quirk only allowed him to order animals so it wasn't like he could understand the bunny. Yet it felt as if Yuwai was saying go for it.

"Okay," Koda nodded, "let me just rewrite it on another paper."

The girls were just getting out of their bath and heading back to their respective rooms. Usually, some of them would be joining Jirou for a late night jam session but she was too tired to play anything that night. She was about to close her door after saying goodnight to Hagakure on the same floor when she noticed a little puff of white hopping in her direction from the other side of the hall.

"Yuwai-chan?" Jirou called. "Did you escape Koda's room again?"

The rabbit's tiny nose twitched as he hopped into her outstretched arms. She lifted him up and saw a rolled up piece of paper tied around his neck with a tag addressed to her. Slowly, she opened up the sheet and it read:

"Jirou-san, I know we've only known each other for a few months and we haven't spoken too often, mostly because I get really shy around you, but I think you're an amazing person. You're strong, kind, talented, and really pretty. You don't have to respond to my feelings right away but I wanted you to know that I like you. I really like you, Jirou-san." — Koda Koji.

It was the first time anyone had ever confessed to Jirou. And she could guess that it was probably Koda's first time confessing. The way the note was written, she could tell that it took a lot of courage and the fact that she could so easily hear his timid voice saying everything he wrote made her smile.

"Yuwai-chan," said Jirou, "can you wait right here?"

Koda paced back and forth in his room while Tokoyami watched him with heavy eyelids. He would've left as soon as they let the pet bunny loose into the dorm but Koda needed emotional support. After a couple minutes had passed, the open door started creaking open and there was Yuwai with another note tied around his fluffy neck.

"She responded!" Dark Shadow cheered.

"Hush," Tokoyami hissed.

Koda's hands trembled as he reached down and took the reply in his hands. But all it said was, "Come into the hall."

Jirou had her hands stuffed into her shorts pockets when Koda peeked outside, his rock-like face colored pink. Since he was suddenly much shorter than her, she figured that he was still on his knees from when he went down to Yuwai's level. She flashed a quick smile at him as he stepped out of his room, telling his guest to watch over Yuwai.

"Sorry for calling you out here," said Jirou once the door was closed. "I just didn't want Tokoyami to be listening in."

"You knew he was here?" Koda asked.

The heroine-in-training chuckled a bit. "I figured someone encouraged you to go through with sending a note like that to me. It was really sweet by the way." She leaned back against the wall. "To be honest, no one's ever told me that they liked me before."

"Really?" Koda blinked. "I figured… since you're so cool and all…"

A blush rose to Jirou's cheeks as she waved off the compliment. "I'm seriously not. Just ask Tokoyami." They apparently knew each other before U.A. although they only met once at the birdman's middle school culture festival since she was friends with one of his classmates. "That is… Koda, I think you're really kind and strong but… like you said, we haven't spoken much."

Koda looked down. "Sorry…"

"So get to know me better."

"…Huh?"

Koda looked up from the floor in time to see her laugh, her hand raised to partially cover the cute little smile on her face and her earphone jacks floating just a bit in reaction. It brought another round of blushing to his own face. But he didn't—couldn't—look away from her.

"Koda," said Jirou, "we're still teenagers. We've got our whole lives ahead of us. Why rush romance?"

He wondered for a moment if he should tell her about his fear of losing people. Of understanding how easily heroes died in the line of duty and how people can be pulled from their dream school. But none of those things came to mind. All he could see was Jirou's smile. Even if it was temporary, it was there. And he'd protect it.

"Okay," Koda smiled. "Let's continue to get along, Jirou-san!"

Jirou returned the expression. "Right!"