The morning after the cafeteria dinner, Izuku was almost feeling good before he remembered that it was also the morning after Kodai's birthday. The morning after he'd accidentally handed her the journal.

What if she thinks I intentionally gave it to her as a birthday present? That would mean that I asked someone when her birthday is, or did some kind of snooping…that's so creepy! Added on TOP of the journal itself…there's no way she doesn't hate my guts!

He was currently laid out on the common room couch, dressed in sweatpants and a sleep shirt. His arms hung limp off the side. No one was downstairs yet except for Yaoyorozu and Sato, who were making breakfast. They weren't paying him any attention, though.

Izuku wondered what had transpired since he'd seen her and Yanagi leafing through the book in the cafeteria. Had they shared it with the rest of the girls in Class B? Or maybe even the whole class? Oh no, if that was true, then Monoma was sure to do something.

It was over. It was all over.

He groaned and looked up at the ceiling, blinking his dead eyes.

"Deku, what the fuck is up with you?"

Izuku tilted his head a little. Bakugo had come down the stairs and was now standing nearby, scowling at him.

"Kacchan…I want to die."

"Really? Well, give me your Quirk first, then."

A long, awkward pause passed between them. Izuku looked over toward Yaoyorozu and Sato, bug-eyed. They weren't listening.

"That was a joke, you dillweed," Bakugo said after a moment.

"Still, you shouldn't even bring that up around people who don't know…"

"Fuck off. You and All Might sneak off from group exercises constantly and I'm the one who has to tell you to be more discreet. Anyway, you don't really want to die. Suck it up."

"You don't get it…this isn't even related to hero stuff or anything…"

Bakugo laughed. "As if! I've never seen you so dour about anything that wasn't hero-related. Next you'll tell me it's about a fucking girl or something."

Izuku blinked.

Bakugo's humored grin slowly faded, as the silence ticked on, longer and longer.

"No way," he muttered, even more under his breath than he'd made the One for All joke. "No fucking way that's what it is."

"Kacchan…"

"Nah, Deku, I'm out. Ask Ura…ask Round Face for advice on this kind of shit if you ask anyone. Bye." Hands in his pockets, Bakugo shuffled off out the door, presumably to go get some early morning exercise in.

Izuku sighed and leaned back. I should go, too. All the snow's melted off and the sun's out. Still pretty crisp, but altogether a brilliant morning. Maybe that will lift my spirits.

But it was only delaying the inevitable, wasn't it? One way or another, he would have to face Kodai again.

He remained on the sofa as more of his classmates came down for the morning. Happy discussion, greetings, plans for the day all around. The sound of clinking plates and glasses echoed around the room as people ate breakfast. A shout of "Sero! Come help clean up!" and then laughter. Izuku kept staring at the ceiling through all of it. No one came over to see what was wrong, until…

"Midoriya? Is everything okay?"

He looked up. It was Hagakure again. He obviously couldn't tell from her face, but her voice sounded very concerned.

"You've been laying over here for a while," she said. "Did something happen?"

"Uhh…well, yes," Izuku answered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "But it's nothing you should concern yourself with, Hagakure. I'll be fine."

"But I'm worried about you," she said. It almost sounded like she was pouting. "Is it something to do with your notebook?"

His eyes widened. "How did you kno-"

There was a knock on the common room door. Everyone downstairs turned to look in surprise; not a lot of people who would ever come to the Class A building would actually bother to knock on the door. Besides, their form was clearly visible through the glass.

It was Kodai.

Izuku's heart stopped. He felt such a strong grip of terror that his feet almost fled him up the stairs. The only thing that kept him in place was that Hagakure was in his way, and he didn't want to knock her over.

Yaoyorozu furrowed her brow and walked over to the door to open it for Kodai. When it opened, Izuku got a clearer look at what Kodai was wearing.

A red-and-white running jacket, the same pattern and colors as her hero costume. And a pair of black yoga pants. Her hair was also up in a ponytail, which he had never seen before.

A blush spread across his face, adding to the panic.

"Kodai? What are you doing here?" Momo asked her. "Have you business with us?"

Yui gave the other black-haired girl a dead stare. "I'm going running today," she said.

"Ah…I see." Yaoyorozu pressed her hands together, looking the other girl up and down. "And…?"

Yui's head turned, and her gaze fixed straight upon Izuku. He froze up like a deer in headlights.

Kodai pointed. "He's coming with me."

All eyes went to Izuku.

He opened and closed his mouth, sputtering. His cheeks had never felt so hot. "I…I am?" he stammered.

Kodai nodded.

Oh God oh God she wants to talk to me about the notebook personally to tell me to stop being a creep and leave her alone but she's nice enough to not do it in front of everyone so she's using this as an excuse…

…She really was too nice. He didn't deserve that, did he?

Momo looked sternly at Izuku, hands on her hips. "Well, Midoriya? Are you going to keep her waiting, or what?"

"Well, I…I mean, we didn't…"

"You didn't plan this?" Hagakure finished for him helpfully.

"Ah…yeah."

Hagakure seemed to be looking back and forth between him and Yui a lot. "Well, you can't possibly expect him to come along if you just spring it on him like tha-"

Suddenly, Ashido sprang up from behind the invisible girl, got one hand around her chest to keep her still, and planted her other palm over where the girl's mouth was to keep her quiet. She grinned widely and evilly, and then looked back at Kodai. "Don't worry, Kodai-chan! Midori's coming, isn't he?" She looked back at Izuku expectedly.

"Uhh…well, I…" Izuku couldn't tear his eyes away from Yui's. She was just continuing to stare at him with a dead expression.

"You're already dressed to run anyway, dude," Sero said. Kirishima and Sato hummed in agreement.

"Yeah…haha…" Robotically, Izuku shuffled over toward the door, passing a few of his classmates on the way. His eyes were wide in terror, but he kept a nervous smile fixed on his face. He passed the threshold, took one step down the stairs, and then turned back around, to look at Yaoyorozu again.

"Well, have fun!" she told the two of them, and closed the door on them.

…

Toru wrenched herself from Mina's iron grasp, panting. "Mina…" she growled. "Why did you do that?" She knew she was letting some of her obsession creep out, just a little…but these were desperate times, and it called for it.

"Why, because they're so cute together!" Mina gushed. "She likes him for sure! I know it's impossible to tell what she's thinking, but I can just feel it! And he…well, Midori's a bit of a doorknob when it comes to this stuff, but I'm sure he'll come around with a bit of push-and-shove, and that's exactly what I just did!"

"Yeah, but…" Toru cut herself off, frustrated. The irony with Mina's supposed love expertise is that she had never quite figured out who her best friend, Toru, was really attracted to, and that was by Toru's design. It would not do to ruin that carefully crafted shield of deception now…

"But…he just seemed kind of uncomfortable…"

"Of course he did! He always looks like that at first, but he's the type who starts enjoying himself really quickly!"

Of course, I know that. That's why this is so dangerous. Her window of opportunity was slipping away. If only she'd had a little bit more time to talk to him before Kodai had shown up…a moment of absolute bad luck.

I have to make a plan. A plan of action, to enact immediately as soon as it's ready…

"What's going on?" Uraraka asked, yawning. She and Tsuyu were just coming down the stairs. Another thing: Toru had counted on talking to Izuku without the two of them around, because they were the biggest two threats besides Kodai.

The rest of the common room was busy with activity, so Mina perked up and answered, "I just sent Midori out for the time of his life!"

Uraraka and Tsuyu both stared in surprise, shared a glance, and then looked back at Mina.

"Was it…"

"...with Yui Kodai?"

…

She hadn't said anything yet. Why wasn't she talking?

Come on, say ANYTHING, Yui Kodai told herself. All they'd done was start walking toward the running trails, which were a short distance away from the Class A dorm. Izuku was following her silently, but he seemed absolutely terrified. Of course he was. He didn't know what she thought of the notebook. He was worried. I have to let him know that I like it without freaking him out even more!

And that wasn't even all she wanted to do. The plan was eventually to get over that barrier of awkwardness and learn even more about him. She wanted to get comfortable enough with him to laugh and talk casually and just…feel at ease. She wanted that very much.

And none of that would be accomplished today if she just kept up this silence!

As it turned out, Izuku was the one who broke it. "N-n-nice day, isn't it?" he stammered, his eyes darting toward the sky, and anywhere but her.

Yui nodded, then cringed inwardly. Don't just nod! Respond verbally! SPEAK! "Yes," she said with a paradoxically calm voice that she did not feel on the inside at all. "I like the sun, though I'm a bit disappointed that all the snow melted." Wow. That was a lot. A whole sentence. Way to go, Yui. What if he thinks you're weird?

As she feared, he was now staring at her, dumbfounded for a moment. Then, that nervous grin returned, and he averted his eyes, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, there c-could always be more s-s-snow. M-m-maybe w-w-w-..." He stopped, closed his eyes hard, and took a deep breath. Yui tilted her head at him, confused. "Maybe we'll get some more for Christmas," he finally said, not stuttering at all.

He…he was trying to talk without stuttering. Yui smiled at him, lifting up her lips as far as she was used to. "Maybe so," she half-whispered.

It seemed to her that Izuku's own smile seemed a little less fake, too…a little less nervous. And was she crazy, or was the sun a little brighter?

They made it to the head of the running trails.

"So," he spoke up again, taking a deep breath. "Do…do you come running often?"

Yui shook her head, cringed inwardly again, and said out loud, "Not as often as I'd like to." We're breaking the barrier. Slowly, surely, we're breaking it. Keep going!

"Right…well…to be honest…same." He was still looking away from her, and he was still forcing his words out slowly to prevent stuttering. "I always…shorthand myself with cardio, I guess. I get really focused on just lifting weights sometimes."

Progress! Yes! Yui smiled a little. "I think…most people have the opposite problem. Or don't exercise at all. So you're doing better than most…Midoriya."

Izuku stared at her for a long moment, that shocked expression on his face again. She could practically see the gears turning in his head. "Erm…Kodai?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"You're not…mad at me? Or…c-c-c…creeped out, or anything?"

The last piece of barrier, and the hardest to break. If we want to keep moving forward, this must be acknowledged. And if he's gonna be brave enough to ask, I have to be brave enough to answer! And she had to answer completely, with as many specific words as possible. To ensure that he didn't doubt a thing.

"Izuku Midoriya, I'm not mad at you or creeped out. If you're asking about the notebook specifically, then I'll have you know that I actually quite liked it. And if you're talking about anything else, I can't remember it, which means it didn't creep me out or make me mad either. I invited you on this run because I wanted to go on a run with you."

She took a long gasping breath when she was done, the effort of saying so much causing her to sway with fatigue. She didn't think she'd let out so many words at once since…since Saya.

And now, she looked expectantly at Izuku. His mouth was opening and closing, his eyes widened in complete surprise. Four seconds. Five. Six. Seven.

Then, his face finally relaxed. His shoulders lowered.

"Thanks…Kodai. I'm…kind of relieved."

…

Kodai nodded, acknowledging what he said, and then turned back to look at the trail before them. Izuku was in awe at how much she'd just said to him. He couldn't believe it. He had even more trouble believing the actual words she said, but…

It's like Uraraka said. I have to trust her, too.

Kodai lowered herself to the ground and began to stretch. Right, stretching. That was what you were supposed to do before a run. Izuku copied her movements, lowering himself and putting his legs out straight on the ground, leaning forward and touching his toes.

He wondered why she wasn't talking now. Perhaps that speech had been tough on her? Could she only use so many words in a certain span of time, like she was refilling a tank? That was cute, and sort of funny. He looked over at her, concentrating on her stretches, and smiled in admiration without realizing it.

She noticed him looking, tilted her head up, and smiled back. He blushed, realizing he'd been caught, and then Kodai nodded at his legs, as if telling him to keep stretching. He did so, a bit bashfully.

Well, if she was a bit tired of talking, then he'd fill in the gaps. It was the respectful, gentlemanly thing to do.

"Crocheted anything interesting recently?" he asked.

Her eyes widened a bit, as if she was surprised he remembered that, and then she shook her head, and moved on to a different stretch.

"Ah. I see." He copied her movement. "Well, you seem awfully good at this stretching thing. Even when I do go for runs, I often take this stuff for granted."

She clicked her teeth and shook her head at him, almost playfully. Izuku's smile widened. Who knew she had so much personality? Did anyone know? Yanagi, probably. But this felt like she was showing it just for him, and that made his heart flutter.

A few more minutes of stretching. Kodai stood up and bent down, touching her toes while in a standing position. Izuku's eyes flicked down to her rear, and then quickly darted away. Wait, what am I thinking? I can't see her like that. I don't.

He coughed, his ears turning red, and asked, "Is that everything?"

She stood back up straight, her ponytail flipping. "Mmhmm," she answered, and turned back to look at the trail. "Let's go."

She began to jog, and Izuku followed, matching pace to come up next to her.

It was a bit harder to talk with them bouncing up and down while running. No, don't think about the word bounce. His eyes threatened to stray down toward her chest. Instead, he focused on her ponytail, which was flipping around in the wind.

"I've never seen you with your hair up," he commented randomly.

Yui raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you haven't," she said, apparently fine with talking again now.

"It…it suits you."

She lagged behind him for a second, as if missing a running step. Then, her lips turned up a little. "Thanks," she said, more quietly. "Maybe I'll do it more often. Itsuka might complain that I'm stealing her look, though."

Izuku laughed at that. It wasn't his nervous laughter, either…a genuine laugh had escaped him. "Say, you're pretty close with her, huh?"

"I guess." Kodai had a thoughtful expression for a moment. "But I didn't show her the notebook or anything, if you were wondering that. No one has seen but Yanagi and me."

That was a whole new relief. Of course she didn't show anyone else, stupid Deku. She's better than that. Trust her. Trust her.

"Well, still…I'm…sorry for springing it on you like that and just running off…"

"Don't be sorry. Would you…" Yui paused for a moment, and seemed a bit more down. "Would you like it back? I can go get it after this if you want…"

"No, that's okay! Keep it as long as you like!" he blurted. "Wait, I m-mean…as long as you w-want to, of course…" Dammit, she seemed so sad that I just…

Yui giggled. "We can talk about something else other than the notebook if you want."

"Ah. Uhh…okay." What to talk about, though? I can't think of anything. His brain stirred. He'd already asked her about crocheting. What else was there? He…he'd seen…

He'd seen Ultraman on her television in her room. Her and Yanagi had been watching it.

"There is something I've been meaning to ask, actually…"

She raised her eyebrows.

"...Are you…is your costume, I mean…oh, you probably saw this in the notebook, since I mentioned it…is your costume inspired by Ultraman?"

This time, when Yui smiled, she almost showed teeth. It was easily the brightest and most genuine expression he'd seen from her. "Yes," she answered. "Are you…are you a…a fan? Of it?" The question was paradoxically timid.

Izuku nodded. "When I was younger, I went through a phase of pre-Quirk-era superhero media. Ultraman was one of those things. It's been a few years since I was really into it, but…" He paused for a moment, looking straight at Yui as they ran. Her blue eyes were shimmering with hope and expectation.

He chuckled a little nervously, and continued. "...But, actually the show inspired me a lot. Most of my hero costume ideas were, erm…very inspired by All Might. But because of Ultraman, I had this phase where I designed some other stuff…based on Tohl Narita's original theory of monster design that he used for the original Ultraman show. I just thought his three rules of design were really interesting. Don't just make monsters ghosts with extra heads or limbs, don't…"

"...just make them animals, and don't give them exposed body parts," Yui finished for him. "Narita-san was a genius. He's the reason a lot of those monsters are so unique looking and aren't just Godzilla ripoffs."

"Yes!" Izuku gushed. "Exactly! Of course, I eventually just settled back into copying All Might, so I don't know if Narita's ideals really rubbed off on me properly…"

Yui laughed, as they turned a corner of the trail. "...Midoriya?"

"Hmm?"

"These monster designs of yours…are they in a notebook?"

"Ah, umm, yes. An older one. I still have it, umm…actually, it might be at my house and not at the dorm. But…"

Her blue eyes were still filled with bright hope. "Could…I look at that too sometime?"

Izuku took a deep breath. For a moment, there was a pure panic in his mind: back at Aldera, quite a few girls had tricked him with similar setups, trying to get him to display his notebooks and look like a total idiot. Was that what Yui was doing? Lying to him about the first notebook to put him in a sense of ease, and then go double-or-nothing?

There's no way she could like me after all, I'm just a worthless Deku-

Uraraka's voice again. Trust her.

"...Of course, Kodai." His answer came out a little hesitant and strained, but he'd answered.

…

Yui had noticed.

He still, still doesn't trust me fully. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Even though this had gone so well so far, she couldn't expect for him to be aware of her romantically that quickly. It would take much more time.

Of course, now that they'd had that conversation about Ultraman…she knew it was worth it. Izuku Midoriya, not only do I like you, but I think you might be perfect. Oh, how I can't wait to make you aware of what you're doing to me. It's tantalizing. But she would have to keep working at it.

"Midoriya? Would you like to run with me again? If there's another…another day like this?"

"...Alright," he answered. "Sure."

She smiled. "I'm glad."

"Oh! By the way, Kodai…"

"Hmm?"

"...I didn't know until late last night, but…happy birthday."

She forced her head down, knowing that heat was rushing up through her face. "Thank you," she breathed.

…

Meanwhile, from the bushes, Neito Monoma watched them run past. And he stewed with fury.

This cannot continue! An absolute disgrace on all fronts. Izuku Midoriya…I'll make you regret this.