When Denki got back home and pulled out his notebook to study, he was reminded by the neatly scrawled digits in the corner of the page that he still needed to arrange a time to meet with Todoroki. He said to tell him when I'm free, right? So, any time outside school except Tuesday and Friday.

He made sure to leave his name so Todoroki wouldn't be confused, and texted him when he was free. Todoroki's response came in a few minutes and was short and professional.

TS: Can you come to my house on Saturday?

Denki grinned. Saturday? Great, school even on the weekend. I'm down, though. Especially since it's just going to be us. He responded enthusiastically, already getting excited. Oh man, it's going to be just me and Todoroki. At his house. Well, maybe he has siblings. Oh god, what if his dad's there? I can't face Endeavor! Is his mom nice? I bet she is. He felt giddy, even though he knew it was just studying. He didn't think Todoroki even knew he existed, but now he thought maybe they could be friends and that was something that put Denki on cloud nine.

Todoroki confirmed the time and gave him the address and Denki thought that, to be safe, he should probably refrain from texting Todoroki just to chat. It took all his self-control, but he managed to resist the urge and put his phone away. Not yet. You still don't know each other very well. Don't take advantage of your phone number privileges. Study.

But though he turned his eyes to the notes, his mind lingered on Todoroki and the upcoming tutoring session. I wonder if he's going to be strict. Endeavor must be, I mean, I've seen the guy on TV and damn. Wonder if Todoroki's going to follow suit with this. That'd be scary. I'd probably feel like poor Kirishima when Bakugou was tutoring him.

Well, no, Kirishima liked that. So like if I was being tutored by Bakugou. Yikes. But Todoroki isn't like that, right? At the very least there'll be less yelling. And that's good.

Will he be all super excited about it like Yaomomo? That would be so cute. Oh god, what if he is and I can't focus because he's too cute? I don't have everyone else to cover it up, there's no way I could get away with that. Though I guess that is the point. It'd just be so embarrassing.

Yeesh, it still feels weird to get personal attention from Todoroki though. Like, I'm pretty sure none of this is real? If I go to sleep, when I wake up tomorrow will I just have my terrible notes and I'll look on my phone and there's no conversation with him and this all ended up being some bizzare fever dream? Probably. I probably like, got taken out in hero class or something and this is all just an elaborate trick my mind is playing on me because I accidentally shocked him earlier.

Ahh, I'm going to hurt my brain. Let's just get to studying.

Although… I wonder where he lives. I could look up the address. For later, of course. It's best to have these things planned out in advance you know. I should make sure I know my route. He shifted to his computer, typing in the address Todoroki had sent him. Yeah. He'd probably be irritated if I didn't prepare properly and got there late because I didn't think ahead.

Wait, that's not even that far from here. Denki looked closer, zooming in on the map. Like, I could skate there. Actually… I think I know exactly where this is.

Wait, Endeavor has been living right around the corner all this time?! What the heck… The number two hero lives twenty minutes away from me. Oh my god, I'm going to hyperventilate.

Okay, Denki. Deep breaths. It's not a big deal. You'll just never be able to go down that street ever again is all. Not a big deal.

I bet Endeavor is like, a grumpy old man. Shaking his fiery fist at these young whippersnappers doing kickflips in the street.

I'm the young whippersnapper doing kickflips in the street. Oh my god, Endeavor hates me.

His phone vibrated, and he was surprised to see it was a message from Todoroki.

TS: Remember to study.
KD: dude we live? really close?
TS: Really?
KD: yeah ur like 20 min away!
KD: im like 98% sure ive skated past ur house before
TS: Odd.
KD: right
TS: Regardless, please study as much as you can. The more you have down, the better our sessions will be. It is a bit impractical to try and cover a week of classes in a few hours.
KD: you have no faith in me
TS: I'm sorry. I just thought I should remind you. I didn't mean to offend.
KD: im just joking dude! i kno what u meant
KD: dont worry im gonna do my best!
KD: i wont let u down dude! :D
TS: Oh, good. I'll let you get back to it then.
KD: yeah see u tomorrow!

Note to self: be careful about joking with Todoroki. He takes things seriously. Denki put his phone down and covered his face. God, that was bad. But otherwise I think it went okay.

Man, but now I really do need to study. I've got to have at least the stuff I got from him today. No excuses. You have Yaomomo's tutoring after school tomorrow so you've got to get this right. Like, now.

Steeling his resolve, he dragged himself back to his notebook and dutifully began reading over the notes. Only about halfway down the page, he started thinking about Todoroki again. It's after Yaomomo's tutoring, so hopefully I have a better grasp of this stuff by then. I feel like I should ask her about this, but the stuff I don't have great notes on should probably be the priority for that.

Yeah, I should get help from Yaomomo to review the stuff, so that I can fill out what I didn't get a little more, and then I'll only need Todoroki to help me study. Speaking of! Focus! Finish the page, at least.

He spent a few hours with intermittent studying. If he were totally honest, he spent more time taking breaks than actually reviewing the notes, but by the end of it he did come out with a slightly better grasp of the material, so it wasn't a complete bust. He had a few questions for Yaoyorozu prepared, and he even managed to trudge through a few of his other, much worse, notes. He had many more questions on that material.

With a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast, Denki set out for school once more. It was all routine as ever. Pack into a crowded train (he kept an eye out for Todoroki, unsure if there was a chance they both took the same train, since they live so close by), pass through the school gates, chat with his friends. Classes went as well as they usually did, but he was always aware of Todoroki behind him. He felt like he was being watched, and that ended up just distracting him even more from the lecture. Luckily, it also had the opposite effect of making him more aware of when he was getting off track, since he was self-conscious about it. All in all, it was disconcerting, but evened out as far as his notes and retention were concerned.

When the day came to a close, Denki found the usual study group and they all found a place to set up. Yaoyorozu had already begun reviewing the lectures from Monday when Todoroki silently trod up to them and took a place among the other students. At first, Denki was stupefied. Why is he here? He's like fifth in class, there's no way he needs Yaomomo to teach him. But Todoroki noticed his puzzled stare quickly and gestured for him to pay attention to Yaoyorozu again. Fuck, right.

It was an uneasy few minutes, since Yaoyorozu seemed to be the only one not thrown off by Todoroki's sudden presence. No one said anything until Yaoyorozu finished talking, but once she had and asked for questions, Ashido raised her hand. "What's Todoroki doing here?" She asked. "Uh, I mean, not that we aren't happy to see you, I just mean you don't really need tutoring, do you?"

Todoroki just pursed his lips and replied. "I wanted to observe. I can leave if I'm distracting."

He's here for me. Denki realized. He wants to see how Yaomomo tutors. And maybe to watch me? Aw, he's actually really serious about it. Denki couldn't keep the bubbling giddiness down. He really cares! As odd as it was for Todoroki to be there at their tutoring session, and even odder it was for him to conceive that Todoroki was there for him, to help him specifically, Denki was really touched. "It's fine." He said. "Right guys?" He looked to everyone else for back up. "It's good to have you here."

Yaoyorozu eagerly repeated the sentiment, followed by everyone else's more wary agreements. It didn't take too long for everyone to get back into the studying mindset, but Todoroki's presence was still acutely felt, especially by Denki. More often than not, the thing that tore his attention from Yaoyorozu was Todoroki, and he smiled when he noticed the other boy beginning to participate in the tutoring session rather than passively watching. He was still quiet, and required much less attention on Yaoyorozu's part than anyone else there, but he did frequently ask questions, a few of which Yaoyorozu didn't even have the answer to.

He noticed a few of his classmates occasionally looking over at Todoroki as well, but they continued as normal despite obviously wondering what his purpose was. Ashido, bless her heart, seemed to come to the same conclusion as Denki did for why Todoroki was there, and kept sending him suggestive looks over her books. He didn't particularly mind, because even though he obviously couldn't be totally sure that Todoroki was there to learn how to tutor him better, that's what he chose to believe. And he couldn't stop grinning like a fool the entire time because of it.

Todoroki didn't talk to nearly anyone but Yaoyorozu, though. Once or twice, he answered a question while Yaoyorozu was busy with another classmate, but he seemed to only be using the time to watch everyone and to study. Denki was pretty sure that he spent more time watching him than any of their classmates, except Yaoyorozu, which was further evidence to support his suspicions about Todoroki's motives. But by the end of their tutoring session, Todoroki was mostly just what he said he would be: an observer. He even left a few minutes early, apologizing for being a distraction before he did so. Yaoyorozu, and the others, now accustomed to his presence, insisted that he was always welcome.

Ashido saddled up to Denki once Yaoyorozu released them all. "So, tutoring, huh?"

Denki could barely manage more than an incoherent squeal. "I can't believe he did that!"

"He's clearly taking it seriously!" She slapped his back. "Which means you better appreciate him!"

"I am! I'm going to make him glad he decided to tutor me!"

Ashido waggled her eyebrows. "Are you?"

"Not like that!" She cackled as his face turned red. "Stop that!"

"Okay, okay, but only because you're adorable. But geez, it makes me wish I thought of asking Todoroki. He's really going to set you straight!"

"Straight is the last thing he's going to make me."

"You can't tell me to stop it and then say things like that, man."

He giggled. "Okay, that's fair. Let's both stop it."

"You got it, but you better not be planning to leave me in the dust when Todoroki turns you into a genius! Let's both move up and make Aoyama last in the class!"

"Yeah! I'm getting excited!"

"Ooh, by the way, when are you meeting with Todoroki?"

"Tomorrow!"

"What? Saturday?"

"Mhmm!" Denki stood proudly. "He invited me to his place so we can work together."

Ashido shook her head and sighed. "You're making it very hard not to tease you, you know. But you're actually going to study on Saturday?! Yikes."

"Well I need to pick up my grades! We both know it's the only way I'll make any progress."

"Geez, you really are excited about this. Now I know you're going to leave me behind."

Denki stopped and looked at her as seriously as he could manage. "Mina, I will drag you up to eighteenth in class with me if I have to. I am never going to leave you behind."

"Aw!" She wrapped him up in a tight hug. "You're the best friend I could hope for."

"I know."

She smacked him on the arm for his retort. "But seriously, why are you suddenly so serious about your grades?"

Denki shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just don't want to let him down, you know? Todoroki. He volunteered his free time to help me and I can't let him feel like it's for nothing, so I have to do well! I need to show him some improvement!"

Ashido nodded. "I get it. I'll try extra hard too, so I can keep up."

They grinned at each other and slipped into other topics as they made their way off campus and eventually separated to head towards their respective homes.

When Denki finally settled down to sleep, he found that he was restless, his thoughts filled with thoughts about how the next day would go. When he did finally nod off, though, he slept peacefully.

It seemed like no time at all before Denki was packing up his bag in preparation for his journey to Todoroki's house. He double-checked that he had everything he would need and then double-checked his own reflection, examining his clothes, fixing his hair, changing his shirt, re-fixing his hair. Calm down, it's just for studying.

But, like, you have to make a good impression if his family's there, right? Right. He chuckled nervously at his own reflection and checked the time for the umpteenth time that minute. But what if it weirds out Todoroki? I'm not exactly a dressy guy. But I don't want to look bad in front of his mom or Endeavor. Ugh, what am I supposed to do?

I mean, has Todoroki even seen me outside of my school uniform? I could pull off a button-up, right? Yeah. Right? I do wear this casually, so it should count. It's just… nice casual. Yeah, this is fine. He left the top two buttons of his grey shirt unbuttoned, to stay casual, fussed with his hair one last time, and tore himself away from the mirror. I remembered to pack my notebook, right?

He checked once more and picked up his bag and skateboard and forced himself to leave the house. And you're out the door. No more worrying. You look freaking great and the whole Todoroki household is going to love you and everything will be wonderful.

Shit, should I really skate there? What if I'm exposing myself to Endeavor – or to Todoroki – as the young whippersnapper doing kickflips in the street? Oh my god, I'm going to die.

He shook his head. No, whatever. It's fine. Just chill, you're only going to study. It's not like it really matters if his family thinks I'm worthless. He's tutoring me. Him being better than me is kind of the point.

I wonder if this is as weird to them as it is to me. I suppose they would know him better, but… ah, I suppose it doesn't matter. I just need to focus on getting everything straight so I can make him proud.

Geez, I'm super nervous though.

He texted Todoroki when he was nearly there and grinned and waved as he rolled up, spotting Todoroki just coming out of the front door. Without missing a beat, Denki jumped to the ground, scooped up his skateboard and ran up to the house. "Hey! Good morning, dude!"

"Good morning." Todoroki said. He eyed Denki's skateboard curiously. "You really do live close."

Denki grinned. "Yeah, pretty much a straight shot down that way. It's actually a pretty nice ride."

Todoroki gave him that gentle, faint smile and turned to walk back inside. "Well, come in. I'm glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it." Denki kicked off his shoes and bent over to arrange them neatly alongside the others, then propped his skateboard up in the entranceway as well. Todoroki gestured for him to follow him deeper into the house, and Denki whistled as he looked around. "Nice place. Traditional. I like it."

Todoroki just shrugged. "Number two hero."

"Speaking of, I have to ask."

"He's not here. My big sister, Fuyumi, is the responsible adult for today."

As he said that, they passed into another large room, where a short woman was lounging on a sofa, watching the news. Denki took note of her snowy hair and the red streaks in it. Well I know she's a Todoroki, at least. "You must be Shouto's friend!" She beamed when she caught sight of him. "Make yourself at home."

Denki chuckled nervously. "Ah, thank you." Wait…

"Come on." Todoroki said. "We'll study in my room." Wait, did he make a joke? Denki couldn't help the smile that slowly widened on his face.

Todoroki's room was similar to the rest of the house. Neat, stark, with a traditional style that made Denki feel like he was walking through an entirely different world. It wasn't so out of place that it would put him off, though. On the contrary, he liked the change of pace. But the décor was still not something he saw in such quantities on any sort of regular basis.

But unlike the rest of the house, save the one area where Todoroki's sister was relaxing, his room shows signs of being lived in. There were books pulled off the shelves and left on desks, his desk chair was left askew instead of pushed in, the sheets on his bed were just a little rumpled, as if he made the bed but didn't put much effort into it. "Sit anywhere." Todoroki said, making a beeline for his desk and fixing some of the papers on it.

Denki plopped down on the bed, shrugging his own bag off his shoulders so he could take out his supplies. Todoroki hesitated when he picked up a large stack of index cards, but turned and held them out. "These are for you." Denki blinked and looked them over. On one side, a name or a concept or a date. On the other, a list of facts relevant to it. "I was watching you work in class and with Yaoyorozu. I thought that the best way to hold your focus is to have multiple sources of information. That is, those aren't for you to try to memorize and quiz yourself through. They're so you can look at them as I quiz you." He coughed uncomfortably. "Forgive me if I'm a bit awkward. I'm not used to this either."

"Hey, you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with."

"And yet, I think this is how you'll learn best. I tried to make it as interactive as possible." He cleared his throat. "Why don't we start with your favorite subject? To make this as painless as possible." Denki chuckled, feeling warm knowing that Todoroki was pushing himself for this. "Um, what is your favorite subject?"

"Modern Lit!"

Todoroki's eyes widened. "Really?"

Denki hesitated, feeling his cheeks grow warm under Todoroki's surprised stare. "Well, yeah. I actually kind of like Orwell, though I hear a lot of students don't like his books. Oh! And Hemingway. I love Hemingway. Some people say he's a realist though, but we do read him in Modern Lit so like, I don't know. I just like it!"

Todoroki had an odd expression. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been surprised. It just didn't occur to me that you'd be much of a reader."

Denki grinned. "Oh no, I love reading! I'm super slow though, so I usually can't if it's just the break times at school or anything. That's why you don't see me reading too much."

"Are you good at English, then?"

"Eh… I wouldn't say 'good'. I always just read translations. But I did get a few books in English since I thought it would help. I can get through them, but I'm a slow reader at the best of times so trying to figure out all the grammar and everything is just… ugh. English is one of my better subjects, though."

"I see."

"I really suck at Hero Informatics, though. There's just so many laws around us."

"If you're aiming to be a hero, you need to know all of those laws."

"I know, but it's just so much!"

Todoroki smiled faintly. "I won't pretend it's not dry, though. I understand the difficulty." He shuffled through his notes, marking them a little with his pen. "Why don't we start with Modern Literature, then, for today. To get comfortable. Then we'll go to Hero Informatics and work our way through the subjects to English if we have time."

"Works for me!" Denki shuffled through the stack of index cards, finding that they were arranged by subject and helpfully coded with the name of the subject in the corner. He found the Modern Literature stack and set the others aside, pulling his notebook onto his lap to replace them.

When Todoroki said he wanted to keep the session as interactive as possible, he wasn't kidding. Denki found that he was nearly always engaged just because Todoroki wouldn't let him focus on anything else. He would ask questions all the time, even just a "do you understand" interrupting a particularly long explanation. He had Denki write down key facts. He made Denki provide examples. Denki sometimes felt like he was cheating when he (often) had to look at one of the index cards for an answer, but as they repeated and repeated information, he relied on them less. Whenever he answered correctly, Todoroki would give him that sliver of a smile or tell him he did well and Denki carried that feeling with him through the session. He also had seemingly infinite patience, quashing very quickly Denki's fears of a Bakugou-esque strictness.

The chatter between them, surprisingly, almost never stopped throughout the entire session. Denki could tell that Todoroki was sometimes struggling with what to say, especially when he wasn't just going over more information, but still he would always ensure the dialogue was open. He started talking Denki through math problems he had a hard time figuring out, prompting him with small hints when he needed to remember a fact, or arguing scenarios with him for a strategy. Of course, Denki still did the lion's share of talking when Todoroki wasn't explaining things to him, but Todoroki never let him stray off topic for long. Any tangents would be brought swiftly back to the subject (usually) without making him feel like an idiot in the process.

It started in Modern Literature, when Denki had the most to say that was actually relevant, but Todoroki seemed to let him go off if it actually pertained to the subject. He'd give his own input to tie it together, which helped Denki remember everything. By the time they reached their second subject, Todoroki seemed to be looking for those opportunities, and he nearly always used Denki's wandering mind to his benefit, cutting him off from straying too far, but using the anecdotes or wonderings to reinforce the material. He was the first one Denki had studied with that said, "that's a good point, see how it relates?" instead of, "stop getting off topic", and Denki found that he ended up enjoying his time studying with Todoroki quite a lot. It felt like a conversation rather than a chore, and Denki felt encouraged instead of stupid.

Halfway through their English review, Todoroki's question was cut off by an alarm. His eyes went wide as he hurried to turn it off, and Denki used the break to check the time himself. What, really? It's been that long? "Ah, I'm sorry, Kaminari. I have something to do later, so that's all the time I have today." Todoroki said.

Denki blinked. "Yeah! Of course, dude." He started gathering his scattered materials.

"Take the index cards. They might help you review on your own."

"Thanks, Todoroki." He threw everything in his bag and stood.

Todoroki straightened his own notes and escorted Denki to the entranceway. "So," he said hesitantly, "did I do okay?"

Denki paused wrestling with his shoes to look up at Todoroki. "Are you kidding? I've never felt better about school. You're the best tutor I've ever had! As a matter of fact, could you please continue to help me? I think with your help I might actually be able to get my grades off the ground, you know?"

Todoroki smiled, a much wider one than Denki was used to seeing. "Good. I would be happy to keep helping you."

"Aw, yeah. I can't wait! I'm going to prove I'm not the dumbest in class!"

Todoroki shook his head. "I never thought you were the dumbest." Denki froze, unsure if he had heard correctly. Louder, Todoroki said, "Since we live so close by, it might be more prudent to have more smaller sessions rather than one weekly that lasts all morning. What do you think?"

"Huh? Oh, sure. I can really come over anytime I don't have after school stuff."

"How does two per week sound? One on Wednesday after school and one on Saturdays like today. Then we only have to cover half the week. You said you're free on Wednesdays, right?"

"Sure am! Wednesday works great for me. Just, like, text me the time or whatever, yeah?"

"Right. Well, I need to start getting ready."

"Of course. And dude, thanks again. I had a lot of fun today, and learned a lot, too!" Denki grinned wildly as he grabbed his skateboard and waved goodbye.

Todoroki seemed surprised, but gave him a "you're welcome" before Denki was out the door and skating back towards his own home.

Denki felt like he was vibrating. The bubbles in his chest kept popping and sending his entire body through little shockwave after shockwave. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep the dumb grin off his face. He did that! All that! For me! "Ahhhhhhh!" Denki covered his face for a moment as he skated along the road. Okay. Okay, we're cool. He took a deep breath. Don't freak out yet. Get the best grades you've ever gotten before. Back up what you said with real results. Prove that Todoroki's effort was worth it.

He hardened his gaze and his giddy grin turned into one of confidence and determination. You've got this.