The following morning, Kirishima brushed his hair thoroughly. The next step would usually be gel, which he would use to spike it up. But today he was going for a more natural look. He kept it down, adding only a little water to help tame it. Once he was done, he looked himself over in the mirror.

"Let's hope this works."

He couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious as he left his room. It wasn't until high school that he had even begun spiking his hair, but his friends were used to the new look. He did of course wear it down after he bathed in the evening, and sometimes hung out with the other students when it was like this. But he thought it would seem out of place during school hours.

Would anyone mention it? What would his excuse be? It's not like he would tell anyone the real reason he decided to stray from his usual style. He was so busy thinking that he didn't pay attention to where he was going, and before he realized it he had bumped right into Kaminari.

The blond stumbled a bit, but caught himself before he could fall. "Whoa, careful!" He turned around to see who had run into him. "Oh, Kirishima."

"Hey, sorry about that. I wasn't looking ahead," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's alright. Hey, you're wearing your hair down today."

"Yeah, I..." He struggled to come up with an explanation. "I, uh, overslept! By the time I woke up, I didn't have time to fix it." He chuckled nervously.

"Oh. Well, it's a good thing you made it to class on time." Kaminari opened the door to the classroom and held it, gesturing for Kirishima to go ahead of him.

"Thanks." Slightly embarrassed, he quickly walked into the room and took his seat. 'He noticed! That's a good start.'

When lunchtime came around, Kirishima was sitting with Bakugou on his left, Sero on his right, and Ashido in front of them. He was a little surprised when Kaminari and Ojiro walked up to the table.

"Hey guys!" Kaminari beamed. "Ojiro's gonna sit with us today, if that's cool."

"Of course it is! Welcome to the Bakusquad!" Mina laughed.

"Stop calling us that!" Bakugou complained.

"Oh come on. You know you like our group being named after you," Sero teased, reaching behind Kirishima to elbow the angry blond, who smacked his arm in retaliation.

Kirishima shook his head with a little smile. It had been awhile since Kaminari had sat with them, and he couldn't be happier to have him back. Although, having Ojiro there too wasn't... He stopped the negative thought from finishing. Ojiro was one of the kindest, and most respectful people he knew. There was absolutely no reason to be angry with him. Kaminari was allowed to have other friends outside of their group, and he could hang out with them on his own if he wanted.

"Thanks for having me," Ojiro smiled warmly as he sat down beside Kaminari, who had taken his place next to Mina.

"We haven't seen you for awhile man," Sero stated. "You gettin' tired of us?"

"Never! I just think Ojiro is really cool, and we've been getting closer lately. I still love you guys though, so don't worry," he chuckled.

"It's okay. I guess we can be a little too awesome to handle sometimes," Mina joked, wrapping an arm around Kaminari.

"I don't blame you for wanting a break Sparky. These idiots are annoying as hell."

"Hey, I'm one of those idiots too Bakugou!" Kaminari pouted. "I act just as lively and goofy as they do."

"Well hopefully hanging out with Tail is helping you to calm down."

"I think your personality is great as it is, Kaminari," Ojiro said, turning to smile at him.

"Aw, you're too nice."

Kirishima glared down at his food, taking a bite that was more forceful than necessary.

"And hey, speaking of tails, have you guys felt how soft his is?" Kaminari took ahold of Ojiro's tail and moved it over the center of the table so that it was within reach of everyone.

Sero and Ashido didn't hesitate and reached out immediately, eyes widening.

"Wow! It really is soft!" Ashido remarked.

"Yeah! If it was a little bigger you could use it as a pillow!" Sero added.

"Oh c'mon guys. It's not that big of a deal." A slight blush came to Ojiro's cheeks as he looked away.

A few pieces of hair were falling off of his tail and onto the table. Bakugou quickly grabbed his tray, picking it up and moving it away. "Hey! You better not get any of that shit on my food!"

Kaminari, Sero and Ashido just laughed.

"Hey, Kirishima, you've been silent this entire time. You alright?" Kaminari asked.

"Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine. I just have a headache," he lied, looking up.

"Sorry to hear that. You know what?"

"What?"

"Touching Ojiro's tail might make you feel better!"

'How could that possibly help? Not that I actually have a headache, but if I did, what good would this do?' His bitterness was halted when he saw the bright smile on Kaminari's face. How could he say no to that?

"...Alright." He slowly reached out and felt the hair. He gasped as his fingers touched the silky strands. There was no point denying it. This tail was the softest thing he had ever felt. "It-It's great." He gave a fake smile, letting go.

"Now you all know what you've been missing out on!" Kaminari beamed. "You wanna know his secret for ultimate softness?"

"Kaminari, don't!" Ojiro warned.

"He shampoos, conditions, and brushes his tail daily!"

Ojiro's eyes widened in horror as Kaminari brought the end of the tail up to his nose and inhaled deeply. "Of course that means that it smells great too!"

Ojiro's blush darkened and he turned to whisper in Kaminari's ear. "You weren't supposed to tell everyone that!"

"Oops."

Ojiro sighed and put his face in his hands as the others, minus Bakugou and Kirishima, laughed hysterically.

Kirishima took a strand of his own hair between his thumb and index finger, rubbing it a few times. His hopes shattered as he realized that it didn't come anywhere near Ojiro's tail in quality. It was like sandpaper in comparison. That would have to be fixed as soon as possible.

Kirishima waited until school had ended, and everyone was in their rooms. This was going to seem very weird, he had no doubt. But it had to be done.

He made his way to Ojiro's room and knocked, standing there stiffly as he waited. The door soon opened, Ojiro greeting him with a smile.

"What a surprise seeing you here Kirishima! Please come in!" Ojiro greeted.

"Thanks. Sorry for showing up without notice. I wanted to ask you-"

"Kiri's here?" A familiar voice called out.

Oh no.

Kaminari looked over from the bed he was sitting on, smiling widely with a game controller in his hand.

"You should stay and play games with us!"

'So they're hanging out in each other's rooms now, playing video games together? That was our thing!' Kirishima plastered a fake grin onto his face. "Oh, that's alright. I don't wanna bother you guys."

"You won't be bothering us at all!" Ojiro reassured.

"Come on Kiri! Let's do 1v1!" He was currently in the middle of a car racing game.

"Well, okay." He gave in and sat down next to Kaminari. He should have been ecstatic, getting to play games side by side with his best friend, like they had done so many times before. But he couldn't help but feel betrayed that he hadn't been invited prior. If he hadn't shown up on his own, he wouldn't be sitting here right now.

He tried so hard not to feel animosity towards Ojiro. None of this was his fault. Kaminari wasn't doing anything wrong either. They were just friends enjoying one another's company. But the pain in his chest told a different story.

"By the way Kirishima, you wanted to ask me something?" Ojiro asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Forget it," Kirishima responded, hoping the subject would be dropped. There was no way he could ask now that Kaminari was here.

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know."

The three of them continued to play games until it was time for dinner. They headed to the cafeteria together, and for the first time, sat as a trio as they ate.

Kirishima's mood had improved quite a bit since he first arrived at Ojiro's door. He was spending time with Kaminari again, and getting to know Ojiro more in the process.

Ojiro was pretty amazing, he had to admit. His calmness created a relaxing atmosphere to be around. The fact that Kirishima had let this whole tail ordeal upset him was silly now that he thought about it.

"H-hey, stop it!"

Kirishima's content smile dropped when he looked up. Ojiro was using his tail to tickle Kaminari's cheek.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ojiro said with a slight smirk, his tail now behind him as he pretended to be innocent.

Kirishima suddenly lost his appetite.

A/N: I can't actually remember what nickname(s) Bakugou has for Ojiro. I did some research and found that Tail and Monkey are apparently used. If anyone can confirm that, or give me more nicknames, whether canon or not, please do!

And ugh, poor Kiri. I wanna give him a big hug.