When Izuku looked up, he saw there was a planet trailing behind the Moon.

Bright, he thought, puzzled. I guess it's not red-looking enough to be Mars, and too high in the sky for Venus. It must be Jupiter, then. The moon was pretty close to half-full, facing downward to the horizon where the sun had disappeared several hours prior. Though it was only nine; it felt much later. Winter had a way of making one feel that way when the sun set so early.

The reason Izuku knew how to distinguish the planets at all was because of Uraraka. Uraraka liked space. She had often talked about it in his presence, though maybe gushed was a better term for how it went. I should pay better attention when she's talking. Especially in regards to things she's passionate about.

"Midoriya," said Todoroki, blinking at him. "Stop standing still."

Izuku looked back down to ground level. Todoroki and Iida were both looking back at him from the steps of the dorm building, about to head inside. Warm yellow light was streaming out of the windows, promising and welcoming.

The three of them had just returned from some very late training. Apparently, Class B was here tonight, and Sato had made dinner for all forty of them. Since it was the last Friday before winter break.

"What are you thinking about, Midoriya?" Iida asked him.

Izuku smiled. "How we'll be third-years soon."

Todoroki blinked again. "Time does fly. When I think about how many things we've been through together, it seems like it should all have felt much longer than it has."

"As much as I would love to reminisce," said Iida, adjusting his glasses, "they are likely waiting for us within. It would be rude to linger and make Sato wait even longer before putting the food in the refrigerator."

Iida had a point as always.

They went inside, and Izuku was greeted by a wave of noise. It being nine already, most everyone had finished eating, and were now scattered around the common room. It seemed the largest group of people, both Class A and B, were sitting cross-legged in a circle to the left, playing some party game. Ashido and Tokage were leading it, predictably. Another smaller group was at the TV to the right, playing a video game. Or rather, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were playing it against each other while the others watched. Then there were other pockets of socialization happening around the room.

Yaoyorozu lifted her head; she had been talking to Jiro and Kendo next to the kitchen counter. "There they are!"

"Sorry we're so late," said Izuku, scratching his neck sheepishly. "We got carried away…"

"Don't worry about it." Momo's eyes passed over Todoroki, and she blushed for a moment before carrying on. "Sato left you three some stuff out on the counter. You must be starving."

They walked over and picked up their food. Jiro noticed them. "The Late Training Trio has made their grand appearance. Now we've got all forty-one." That extra one was Shinso, who had joined Class A at the start of this year. He was currently watching the video game on the TV.

Kendo shook her head sadly. "No, we don't. Kodai wandered off somewhere, you know how she is."

Kodai? Izuku furrowed his brow before remembering who that was. Yui Kodai. She had been on the opposing team in his match during that first Joint Training between the two classes, a million years ago. A quiet girl. She must not like big crowds. He could relate to that. He didn't much like them either, though he was better than he used to be.

It was his last big hurdle to jump if he wanted to become the number 1 hero. He was nearly as strong as All Might, and had taken part in many now-famous incidents, elevating him and some of his classmates to celebrity status…but he still just wasn't as strong of a public figure as his predecessor. His anxiety continually got the better of him when he had to do interviews, even if they were just practice.

And he still wasn't great at talking to girls.

Iida and Todoroki were both sitting at the counter to eat, while partaking in Yaoyorozu and Kendo's conversation. The former, because he had a class rep position like the other two, and the latter, because he had a crush on Yaoyorozu. Izuku only knew that because Todoroki had randomly trusted him with the information one time. He would have never figured it out otherwise. When it came to figuring out people's feelings about one another, he was pretty hopeless. And knew it.

Todoroki patted the empty seat next to him, seeing Izuku still standing there with his food. Izuku shook his head, smiled, and said, "I think I'm going to go see what Ashido and them are doing."

Todoroki shrugged with his mouth full, as if to say suit yourself, and turned back to look at Yaoyorozu.

If he likes her, why doesn't he just say something? He's not like me. She'd actually say yes if he asked. Maybe. I dunno.

These thoughts in mind, Izuku plopped himself down in one of the seats near the big circle to eat.

Ashido noticed him. "Midori!" she exclaimed. "Would you like to join us? Go on, Komori-chan, scoot over and make room for him!"

"That's alright." Izuku lifted a hand. "I'll just watch for a bit while I'm eating. Might join when I'm finished."

Mina pursed her lips. "Al-right fine. That way you can know how it's played without us having to explain it to you, I guess. Anyway, next person!"

The game appeared to entail some kind of box of cards which was being passed around the circle. Each card had something written on it. The next person to receive it was Kaminari, who pulled out a card and said, "Has kissed someone of their own gender for the hell of it."

The Class A half of the circle all said "Ashido" at the same time that the Class B half all said "Tokage."

Mina and Setsuna looked at each other, smirking. "Rock, paper, scissors for it?" the lizard girl suggested.

"You're on."

Ashido won, and swiped the card from Kaminari with a proud expression. He raised his eyebrows, baffled. "Wait, did you actually want the card? I thought the winner was whoever had the least."

"Maybe I did," said Mina. "Why? Want to see me kiss a girl, Kaminari?"

"Oooooooh," several of the girls let out at once. Tokage whistled. Izuku felt a pang of panic spike through his system, despite not even being involved in the conversation. His cheeks flushed.

Kaminari sputtered. "I m-mean, I…moving on!"

He slid the box over to the person next to him, which happened to be Tsuyu. She read a card. "Has a secret coin collection. Ribbit."

"Hmm." Ashido scanned the faces in the circle. "It's Shoji. I've declared it."

"I collect nothing," Shoji protested. "I am a minimalist."

"Nonetheless, does anyone else oppose?"

No one spoke up, and so Tsuyu handed the card to Shoji, who sighed and accepted it good-naturedly.

I get it, thought Izuku. It's a "who is most likely to" type thing. Each card has a scenario on it. All the players vote on which player is most likely to end up in that scenario. Accumulating cards means you're more of a…quirky character, I guess. So the most boring or most mysterious person would likely be the winner.

Izuku sighed. He could probably win this game really easily.

He plopped down next to Komori and crossed his legs.

Mina perked up. "Ready to join us now, Midori? It's so fun, just wait!"

Next the box went to Sero, who read out, "Is the type to come into a conversation super late and ask, 'what's going on?'"

"Probably Pony," said Tokage. Next to Izuku, Komori hummed in agreement.

Pony said something angrily in English, but took the card anyway.

Next, the box went to Tokage herself, who slipped a card out, flipped it in her fingers, and grinned while reading. "Works out just for the flex. Midoriya on the money!"

"Hey!" Izuku complained. He hadn't expected to get singled out so quickly. "It is not just for the flex…it's more of a habit than anything…"

"Still," said Kaminari, "it does fit you best."

"Do you deny that you're a beefcake?" Setsuna asked him in a faux serious voice.

His blush deepened. "I don't have to answer that."

"No, but you do have to take this card." She threw it at him, and he snatched it out of the air, frowning at her.

Setsuna passed the box over to Mina, but her eyes remained on Izuku. "You don't stutter anymore. You used to stutter, right? Maybe I should look for someone else in your class that's easy to tease." She winked at him.

He had to break eye contact. "Good luck finding them," he murmured.

Ashido picked out a card, and her golden eyes twinkled in a way that Izuku instantly disliked. This one is going to be embarrassing, I just know it.

"It's a double gain for Midori," she snorted, and then read, "Has taken way too long to confess to someone."

Everyone else in the circle laughed, and Izuku's face immediately got even redder. "Hey, what? Why is that mine too?"

"Come on, don't play dumb." Mina stuck her tongue out at him. "It's almost our third year, and you and Uraraka are still dancing around each other like you're hot coals!"

"We don't…dance…around each other…" Izuku's eyes flashed over to the TV, where Uraraka was watching the video game. She was not within earshot of this conversation, thank God.

"Midoriya, bro…" said Sero, crossing his arms. "Even us guys have figured it out, and we're supposed to be the stupid ones. When are you gonna start going out already?"

"Huh? Me? With Uraraka?" Izuku blinked. "But…I don't…"

"Oh my God," said Setsuna in surprise. "He actually is that dumb."

That upset him. He didn't like how everyone was laughing at him, like they were privy on some joke and leaving him out of it intentionally.

He stood up abruptly, his face red. "I changed my mind. I don't think I'm going to play after all."

He turned, and started walking toward the stairs.

"Huh? Hey, Midoriya wait, I was just joking!" Sero called in panic.

"Now you went and did it, ribbit," Tsuyu scolded Mina and Setsuna.

"We didn't…"

He passed Todoroki and Iida and Yaoyorozu on the way up, and they looked at him with concern. He just broke past them, annoyed. The instant I try to stick my nose out there and do something fun and social.

He had felt so uncomfortable in that circle, like a bunch of insects were crawling all over him. He hadn't felt like that since Kacchan and the other middle schoolers had all harassed him about being Quirkless. It was not a good feeling to be reminded of.

Izuku slowed his breathing as he climbed up the stairs, leaving the noise of the party behind. It didn't seem like anyone was coming after him. That was fine, though it also stung a little. Even when he really did want to get away from everyone.

They're just gonna go right back to doing what they were doing before. They don't care about me that much. He wasn't necessarily upset about that fact, though. They were not obligated to be worried about his well-being.

Slowly, the horrible prickly feeling on his body faded away, and he at least physiologically returned to calm, though his brain was still tumbling over and over. His heart rate slowed. Now, the regret was starting to creep in. I shouldn't have stormed off like that. I should have just…just sat there and taken it. I should have…just pretended I understood what they were talking about, and laughed with it. I had the worst possible response. Argh! I'll never have a good interview at this rate!

What if a similar situation happened in public? As a hero, he couldn't just run off…though All Might had certainly run off from situations before. For All Might, though, it had just added to that bewitching enigma factor. With himself, Izuku could only imagine it as being…awkward. Just like everything else about him.

For some reason, he kept walking when he reached his room. He knew at the end of this hall, there were more stairs. Stairs that led further up. At the top of these stairs was a trapdoor that led to the roof.

Izuku peered up at it, and blinked. The trapdoor was slightly open. He had never seen it open.

There was something shining on the top step. He picked it up and scanned it. It was a padlock, but it was tiny. This was attached to the trapdoor, but it was…it was shrunken. Shrunken right off the door.

He stepped up onto the roof.

The evening was clear, breezy, and cold. The dark woods that bound UA's campus on the south and east were moving and rustling in waves, while Musutafu twinkled down the hill to the right. Sitting on the edge of the roof was a person silhouetted by moonlight. Their head was tilted up to the sky, and their arms were wrapped around their chest. They had medium-length silky dark hair.

It's Kodai, Izuku thought, disquieted.

She must have heard him, because she tilted her head even further, leaning back so she was now looking at him upside-down. Her eyes immediately jumped out to him; they were a fierce, piercing blue. When they made eye contact, he instantly felt as if she knew everything about him. That disquieted him even more.

"You," she said, not in an accusing manner or anything.

He held up the shrunken padlock. "Did you do this?"

She just kept staring at him upside-down, and Izuku randomly felt like a goof. Of course she had done it. The answer was self-evident, and therefore she did not feel the need to say it. She never says anything if it's not necessary to say.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked.

"I…I'm not sure," he answered honestly.

"You were not sent by Setsuna or Itsuka?"

He shook his head. "Why would they send me of all people?"

Yui seemed to consider that for a moment. "I don't know."

"Well, I promise they didn't. I…my feet just kind of took me here."

Her blue eyes widened, and the corners of her full lips might have turned up a bit. In the shifting moonlight, it was hard to tell. "That's interesting," she said. "My feet did the same thing."

Even though the comment was sort of funny in context, Izuku sensed no coyness or intention behind her words. She was just stating the truth.

Then, he noticed, she was shivering a little. Of course she was; it was cold out here, and she was hugging herself about the chest. All she was wearing was her school uniform.

Izuku, on the other hand, was wearing a sweatshirt. It read "sweatshirt" on the front.

"Are you planning on staying up here for a while?" he asked her.

She turned away from him, to look back at the moon. "There is no plan. But…probably. I will be up here. Yes."

"Well, you should be warmer, then." He walked over to her position, taking off his sweatshirt and holding it out to her.

She looked at it blankly, and then gave him a sort of dubious glance.

"You d-don't have to if you don't want to, of course!" he added quickly, his heart picking up speed a little. "But I would suggest it. Don't worry, I only put it on after finishing training a little while ago. It's basically as clean as it would be fresh out of the dryer."

Her slender, pale hand slowly reached out and took the sweatshirt from him. "I am not going to wear it," she muttered, and he honestly wasn't sure if she was even talking to him. She did, however, place the crumbled-up sweatshirt in her lap and lean over it slightly, hugging it as if to spread its warmth through her body.

Izuku sat down next to her, hanging his legs off the side of the roof.

She raised her eyebrows, her mouth opening a little. "Are you…staying?"

"Well, yeah. I'm gonna need that back when you're done with it." He pointed at the sweatshirt.

Yui paled. She seemed put out by this statement.

"Also, you're breaking the rules by being up here. And you broke a padlock. That's sabotage of school property. Someone really ought to keep an eye on you."

"...Is that supposed to be a joke?"

Izuku hung his head. "Yeah, I guess."

"That girl from your class with the big boobs can just make a new padlock."

Izuku blushed. "Her name's Yaoyorozu."

They went silent for a while after that. Kodai had been watching the sky, so Izuku did the same thing. He looked up at the moon, and that planet that was trailing behind it. The stars were starting to come out in force, as well.

After what felt like an eternity, he sensed her eyes upon him again.

"You…" Kodai coughed. "You wouldn't actually report me for breaking rules, would you?"

"What? No. N-no, not something like this. I'm not that k-kind of person." His old stutter had returned a bit. Great. Hopeless.

She nodded her head, as if accepting this, and looked back up at the sky again.

"Do you like the stars?" Izuku ventured.

"Not really."

"...Oh." He shut his mouth. He was already bad at talking to girls, and this one was just…very difficult to read. She seemed confused by him, as well, and yet…

The two of them continued to sit there in silence, watching the celestial bodies move across the sky. Minutes passed. Perhaps hours. Centuries. Izuku felt his own chest rise and fall. He was getting a little cold, but that was fine as long as Kodai was warm. He could even hear her soft breathing, barely audible over the rustling of the trees beneath them.

"Why are you still here?" Yui asked, finally.

I don't know, he thought. "Because I feel like it," he said.

She gasped. It was a small gasp, soft, but there nonetheless. For some reason, that put Izuku at ease, and he smiled.

He pointed at the planet behind the moon. "Did you know that's Jupiter?"

"No. I didn't know that. Is it really?"

"At least, I think so. I might be wrong."

"Hmm."

That was the last thing either of them said to each other.

Another lifetime later, Yui stood up, dropped the sweatshirt into Izuku's lap, and walked back toward the trapdoor.

Izuku did not see her again that evening, except in his mind. Long after the party had died down to nothing, long after he'd returned to his dorm room, long after he'd climbed into bed to get some rest, Yui Kodai filled his head.

…

Uhhh…hi.