MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL!

Tokage kicked her feet back and forth lazily, sitting on Kendo's desk as if she owned it. Tetsutetsu watched, just knowing she'd end up on the floor like a Monoma when the class representative walked in. He'd tried to warn her, but she'd just popped her shoulders and neck off, hiding them on the ceiling for a bit to show she'd be okay.

The door slid open, and the woman herself strolled in, noticing the loiterer instantly. She frowned, and made her way right over. Sitting back, Tetsutetsu waited to see Tokage proven wrong and in a pile on the floor.

"Tokage… why are you on my desk?" Kendo asked politely.

"'Cause I feel like it," Tokage grinned, holding up her legs as if to tease the other girl with her skirt, "Don't you like me on your desk?"

"I would, but it's almost class time. Come on, get down."

Tokage leaned forward, using her patented and almost constant flirtatious grin.

"Make me, cutie."

Normally, this would lead to something like Kendo walking over and cracking Tokage's neck with a chop, but instead, she simply smiled back. Tokage blinked, a bit of surprise in her eyes.

Stepping forward, Kendo smiled the most brilliant and honest smile Tetsutetsu had ever seen out of her. She brought a hand up, and rather than attacking with it, slid the fingers down Tokage's dark green tresses in a loving manner. The viridette seemed to be stalling out in the head at the unexpected change.

"You look very lovely today, Setsuna…" Kendo breathed, the whisper carrying through the room without effort.

"I- th-thank you, I-"

Kendo leaned closer to one of her ears, and suddenly Tokage's entire face was scarlet.

"I- You-"

Then Kendo winked, stepping around and taking her chair directly behind the other girl. Tokage held together for perhaps another three seconds, before doing something just as unexpected as what Kendo had just done. Her body broke apart into as miniscule parts as Tetsutetsu had ever seen, almost literally melting into a blushing puddle. The most flirtatious girl of all time, reduced to that by the care-free tomboy in all of eleven seconds.

"What did Uwabami teach you?!" Tsuburaba asked, shocked.

Kendo smiled her usual grin this time, shrugging.

"Something my fists can't do."

"So… what'dya think?" Kyoka asked, keeping her eyes adamantly on her left shoe.

She'd taken the last of her bandages off, and worried what Yaomomo thought of her new battle damage. Still, even with some new control over her emotions and a few tricks to maybe get Yaomomo swooning too, Kyoka was still of the opinion that avoiding an attack was better than enduring it. She had to resist the urge to play with her jack for the next few days, wrapping it around her finger like usual, but at least she didn't have to wrap it now.

"Does it… hurt?" Yaomomo asked, her hand extending on instinct to brush the spot, but hesitating at the last second.

Kyoka reached up and took her jack in her hand, extending the line a bit but leaving it slack to prevent her from damaging it. She held it out and rested the object in Yaomomo's hand, feeling their fingers brush for a moment and feeling a sudden rush of thanks to Uwabami that she didn't freeze up or panic as the thrill of giddiness rushed into her from the simple touch of digits.

"Not anymore," she admitted, letting go and resting her hands together in her lap, "When it happened though… I was in hysterics. Getting it put back together hurt like you wouldn't believe. Especially the second time."

Yaomomo hummed in contemplation as she brushed the shiny scar, tenderly caressing the skin. Her fingers drifted up from the ragged line to the first tattoo. A series of integral symbols circling around her skin, colored into sections of the purple, yellow, and green of Uwabami's snakes. Then she touched the single, electrical-styled ring above that, in a much more aquiline green. She raised her eyebrows, looking up at Kyoka.

"The only reason I made it through that fight at all was because Uwabami taught me some stuff," she mumbled, embarrassed, "and Midoriya put it back together so the techs could save it, so… I figured I'd keep a little memento."

For a moment, they stayed silent. Then, Yaomomo slid her hand down to the metal part of her jack, rolling it between two fingers for a moment and making Kyoka shiver. She let go, and it retracted to its usual spot, though much slower than usual.

"I think it's beautiful, just like you," Yaomomo said, blushing and turning to walk over to her chair.

Why oh why did she have to be surrounded by a class full of beautiful and amazing people?

"It's been a while, boys and girls! How is everyone?!" All Might boomed, grinning broadly.

"Not really much of an entrance…" Aoyama muttered.

"Maybe he ran out of shticks?" Tsuyu offered.

"Run out? Never. My Schtick supply is inexhaustible," All Might smirked, "As an immediate follow up to your internships, today's activity is a playful one. A Rescue-Training Race!"

He went on to explain the rules, and why they weren't at the USJ, but rather at Field Gamma, an impossibly dense maze of structures, factories, construction, & other events to make a labyrinth for them to navigate. It seemed really rather straightforward. There was, of course, just one problem. A problem which seemed to be vibrating for joy at seeing All Might's Golden Age costume.

"All Might," Ochako asked, raising her hand, "Deku can fly. How will it be fair to anyone else in a race against him?"

He pointed to her, tilting his head back to laugh a little.

"Excellent point, Young Uraraka!" he boomed, "But when facing villains who can fly or have superior abilities, one must be prepared to pursue and overtake them! As such, I'd like the following students to come forward. Midoriya, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugo."

The quartet stepped up, and All Might spaced them out evenly.

"For lack of a better term, these four are your Team Captains! Each of them has a unique talent which you may find difficult to compete with, and I'd like each of you to form up a group of five including one of them. Choose who you would like, but know that whoever you choose will push you to your limits!"

Ochako considered, watching the other students take a moment as well. They knew not to hesitate, but they also knew to make important decisions with careful consideration. Deku could fly, certainly, but he wasn't very quick or agile about it. He'd probably have a lot of time on the ground too. Tokoyami was probably the slowest, but Dark Shadow might make a mess of things, regardless of All Might's request to keep the damage minimal. Yaoyorozu was wearing some new boots which might have boosters or tricks in them, and with extra gear at her beck and call: she was a top tier threat.

Which left Bakugo. He was brash, arrogant, and had a lot of firepower. But he wasn't an idiot. He played up the delinquent angle, but he was a lot better at tactics than most of them gave him credit for. Plus, he could attack and fly at the same time, which made him a major threat.

She settled on Tokoyami's group, alongside Jiro, Ojiro, & Kaminari.

Deku was set with Todoroki, Ida, Sero, & Mina.

Yaoyorozu would face off with Sato, Koda, Hagakure, & Tsuyu.

Lastly, Bakugo got stuck with Kirishima, Shoji, Mineta, & Aoyama.

Everyone not racing took seats in front of the five large screens which would track each person. Most of the others were starting to take bets. Ochako settled next to Tsuyu, Jiro, & Yaoyorozu, staring up at Deku's screen. He seemed to be stretching a lot for someone who'd be flying.

"I think Todoroki will emerge victorious," Yaomomo said, smiling affectionately up at the monitors, "He's quite amazing, and his ice grants him excellent mobility."

Jiro snorted a little.

"Just you watch, Midori's got this in the bag," she assured them, bumping Yaomomo's arm with hers.

Midori? Ochako thought, frowning at the almost-nickname, When did that happen?

"I think Ida's probably the most likely to succeed, seeing as he's the racer of the class," Tsuyu offered, glancing to Ochako, "Does this mean you're voting for Sero or Mina, kero?"

"No, I think they're at the disadvantage," she admitted.

"Then it's Midoriya like usual for you," Tsu clarified, turning back to the monitors.

Blushing angrily, Ochako held her hand towards her friend's face.

"Don't make me float you!" she threatened, half-teasing, "It's not just because I like him!"

Simultaneously, the girls around her and a few of the other students turned to look at her, dead silent but with raised eyebrows, all. Some seemed surprised, while others were smug. Ochako frowned at them all. Yes, she'd meant it that way, but they didn't know that.

"He's my best friend. Does anyone but Kat-chan not like their best friend?"

"You wanna start something, Round Cheeks?!" Bakugo roared, Kirishima trying to hold him back.

"To be fair-" Yaomomo and Mina started at the same time.

Mina blinked and looked away, her eyes flicking momentarily toward the exploding boy and his conscience, while Jiro cut off Momo with her left jack.

"Don't, you'll interrupt Uraraka's teasing."

Nodding, the two went back to watching everyone around them. Ochako folded her arms and looked back at the screen, pouting a bit that they couldn't just let her love life well enough alone.

"START!" came All Might's shout, along with an indicator as to his position.

The five launched off their marks in a single motion, each of them attempting a different strategy. Mina took to a wall instantly, trying to climb to higher ground and slide her way back down. Todoroki just lifted off the ground on an expanding ice ramp, gliding effortlessly towards the spot. Ida was gone so fast, the camera was trying to locate him again. Sero seemed to have the quickest acceleration, having snagged a distant pipe and rocketed over and ahead of the others'.

"Holy- is that Midoriya?!"

"When did he learn to fly face-down?!"

"What's with the lightning, dude?!"

"Deku…!"

Ochako stayed silent. She wasn't quite as stunned, but… well, he'd certainly leapt head and shoulders past where he'd been! Had Jiro seen him fly like this on their internships? They hadn't really talked about it yet, so she didn't know what had happened other than a few students got… oddly quiet when people mentioned patrolling and villains.

"Just wait until he stops flying, he's even more crazy then," Jiro snorted, leaning against Yaomomo's shoulder and causing her to flare up in a red blush, though Jiro wasn't much better.

"Why wouldn't he just fly right to All Might, Kero?"

They got their answer as he neared their teacher's location, dropping from the sky into a twist of pipes and electrical boxes. It seemed to be a way into a building near the signal, though it was still a bit off from it. Deku didn't even slow down. He compressed into a crouch against one of the pipes, before launching off with blinding speed, bouncing from spot to spot like some kind of insect or bouncy ball.

"Kero! It's like he's copying me!" Tsuyu pointed out, surprised and what sounded like a little proud.

"Damn bastard is stealing my flight style from the Sports Festival!"

Ochako thought it was a little of both. His arms certainly seemed to sway behind him like Bakugo's did, while his crouches were very Froppy-like.

"It seems he's not the only one who progressed," Yaomomo pointed out, nudging her best friend a little with the shoulder she was laying on.

Ida and Todoroki certainly weren't falling behind. The racing Hero Student shot through the same gap with similar speed, crouching and sliding rather than bouncing, but he was soon inside as well. The double-sided trainee meanwhile had melted one of the industrial windows, before gliding inside on one of his slopes. Sero and Mina were a ways behind, but not exactly out of it yet. They certainly weren't giving up, at any rate.

After a few moments, the cameras cut out on Deku, Ida, and Todoroki. They watched the other two slip in after, Sero gaining the last remnants of the lead while Mina took up the rear.

"FINISH!"

As it happened, Ida took the top spot, slipping in a win past Deku at the last moment. He didn't seem smug about it, and Deku wasn't bitter, congratulating him on his victory. Mina was punching both of them very slowly, doing her usual exaggerated whine of defeat. They were good natured enough to pat her shoulders and apologize.

"Well," Jiro sighed, standing up and stretching, "Looks like it's our turn. Wish us luck."

Yaomomo nodded and made a gentle clap of her hands, tilting her head adorably.

"Do your best, everyone!"

Jiro's composure broke and she blushed a deeper scarlet than Kirishima's hair. She turned and ran for her starting position, leaving Yaomomo confused. Ochako just giggled and headed toward Field Gamma's entrance herself.

Momo held her hands together, fingers brushing her chin as she waited for the second round. Jiro was about to race against two rather agile warriors and Tokoyami's prodigious firepower. She might not have felt so worried if not for the conflict going on in her chest.

Out there, her crush, best friend, and possibly almost-girlfriend was getting ready, and being flirted with by Kaminari, like usual. Yet, she wasn't shutting him down as she did without fail on other days. On top of that, Todoroki had sat down beside her, and she didn't even want to think of what was going on in her head when someone as amazing as him decided to hang around her. All she needed was for Shiozaki to come out of nowhere and look at her with those big, dark, compassionate green eyes, and she'd be down and out for the count.

Slapping her cheeks to steady herself, Momo shook her head. No, she was a Hero in training, and her feelings could wait until after she'd learned the lessons today could offer. Air Jet had taught her to act without thinking so she could think and act at once, and now she had to apply those skills in reverse. She had to neither think nor act, but simply observe.

"Conventional wisdom says Ojiro has the advantage," Todoroki offered, conversationally.

"But Uraraka can fly over hard obstacles," Tsuyu countered, "And Tokoyami can break through everything."

"Dunce Face and Ears will be last. They don't have any mobility skills," Bakugo grumbled, "They're even worse than Racoon Eyes."

"Hey!" Ashido protested, stopping thanks only to Kirishiima stepping in between his two closest friends.

A soft sound to Momo's left caught her attention, and she turned to see Midoriya off by himself, muttering and making odd motions with his hands. She furrowed her brow, imagining a pencil and notebook in his hands, and realized he was writing notes in the air. Glancing around, she decided to test something.

Making a basic pencil and sketch pad, she stepped over to Midoriya and gauged the right moment. She slid them into his fingers, before stepping back, imagining she was like the movie protagonist Ashido had shown the class on her phone a few weeks back, almost bedecking herself with a fedora on instinct to match him. Midoriya accepted the gifts without pausing, starting mid-sentence. She noticed his words became more clear and distinct as he started putting them down.

"...won't be able to propel herself while in the air, since she doesn't have any support items for course correction or propulsion. However, if she uses it merely for height, she could gain a major advantage against the others. Tokoyami might have picked up a mobility advantage during his internship, since he both went to Hawks' Agency and already said he wanted to learn to fly. Ojiro is mobile with his bounces, but he requires a clear goal, which All Might was actively avoiding making by hiding inside something. Kaminari could have an information advantage, able to locate the signal more precisely with his gear, but that's unlikely. Jiro probably has the most obvious advantage from what I can see, since she'll be able to use Uwabami's training to stun at least one of the others long enough to sabotage them, if she decides to. All Might never said we couldn't, which might have been an oversight on his part, but seems more like a deliberate omission to allow others to use it-"

He suddenly paused. Midoriya blinked at the items in his hands, before turning to look around. Momo started, realizing she'd been paying him the same wrapped attention she usually did to their teachers during a lecture. His combination of writing as well as speaking more clearly had somehow made his muttering at least marginally possible to follow, and she'd slipped into listening on habit. She was just standing there, watching him without a single care or bit of shame.

"M-my apologies, Midoriya!" she said, suddenly straightening and bowing, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop! I simply became caught up in your analysis, and forgot myself!"

Midoriya stood, dropping the notepad and pencil so his hands could flail around in an effort of some kind. He seemed just as flustered as she felt.

"It's quite alright, Yaoyorozu! I didn't realize I was muttering again, so that's my bad! Thank you for the materials to help put my thoughts down for later; I haven't found a good spot to hide an analysis notebook in this suit yet! I should be the one apologizing for distracting you!"

Looking up at him, she gave him a small smile, still not totally certain she wasn't in the wrong, but amused by his reaction. He gave an awkward laugh, looking away and itching at the back of his head.

"Well… I don't think there's anything to forgive… and if you think you should be the one apologizing, rather than I… then I suppose neither of us have to make amends?" she proposed.

"Y-yeah…" he agreed, looking at his feet.

Realizing she'd never really reached out to this, one of the more intelligent of her classmates, she sat down beside the dropped notebook, offering it back to him. Midoriya accepted and sat down, a respectable distance between them.

"So… you said you believed Jiro has the most prominent advantage?" Momo asked, trying to get him to relax a little so she could get to know him.

Midoriya seemed to ease up almost immediately, flipping to a new page and scribbling again as he nodded.

"Yeah. When we were… on our last day, I encountered a villain. Jiro ended up coming to back me up, since we couldn't retreat from the spot, and she showed off an interesting style of combat where she held her jacks behind her like Uwabami's snakes, and struck with immense speed without telegraphing her attacks. But she also managed to use some acting ability to make him hesitate so we could get in some heavier attacks."

"Jiro told me you two were involved in some action," Momo offered, smiling at him, "The ones I fought were rather low in skill, but she said whoever it was had quite the ability, and would have killed both of you had it not been for some circumstances she didn't go into."

"Yeah… we're not really supposed to talk about what happened," Midoriya mumbled, "It wasn't a good thing… we didn't have full permission, and in the end I think she's right. If he wanted to kill us… I don't think I could have stopped him."

Momo considered how things might be different if Midoriya hadn't helped Jiro both survive and then restore herself. It made her shiver.

"Midoriya… for whatever worth this is: I think you did excellently, and I thank you for saving my best friend."

Midoriya blushed, looking down at his hands.

"Sh-she was really the one who saved me. If she hadn't flinched at him, right when we needed him to, I wouldn't have been able to hit him full-on, and she would have probably lost more than her jack."

Reaching over, Momo touched his hand, making him jump. Midoriya looked over at her, startled. She stared back, an expression of utter sincerity in her eyes.

"Midoriya, don't self-deprecate," she chided, "The two of you helped prevent one another from being lost to us. That action deserves praise. You and she ensured that I didn't have to mourn my first real friend, nor miss out on reaching out to you, which I had yet to do before now. Had I learned after your passing who I'd failed to become acquainted with, I would have been devastated. So for surviving too: I thank you."

He seemed a little starstruck, and nodded. Momo grinned a little wider. He was so genuine, much like Jiro. No facades or rough exteriors, just a person doing his best.

"Though, I have to admit," she said, getting them back on topic, "I don't see how acting will allow her to win."

Midoriya pointed with his eraser at the screen, which Momo followed to Kaminari, who seemed even more giddy than ever.

"She's letting him flirt and quietly egging him on," Midoriya pointed out, "He's focusing on her instead of getting ready. And the two of them are drawing Ojiro's attention. Jiro figured out how to act very convincingly, and I think she has a basic grasp on emotional manipulation now. I think she's going to do something when the match starts to get the two of them to stall or become confused, and then she'll sabotage or knock them out. With two of them out of the picture, she can focus on Tokoyami and Senchan. Senchan probably won't be as easily affected, and Tokoyami is the more obvious threat, so I think she'll go after him next. She has the range to hit him with a stun blast, and while Dark Shadow isn't weakened by sound like she is by light, Tokoyami's ears are bird-like in shape, and will be more easily affected by changes in air-pressure, probably causing him to lose balance."

Nodding along, Momo was surprised at how easy he was to follow when he was speaking to her rather than simply to himself. He also brought up some good points.

"But… why would her skills be less effective on Uraraka?" she asked, not seeing where that led in.

Midoriya blinked at her, surprised.

"Jiro studied with Uwabami," he explained, a bit confused by his tone, "Uwabami's a popular Hero who has a large physical appeal factor, like Midnight but less weaponized. Jiro would have picked up skills related to seduction most prominently, I'd guess. She seemed to be improvising when she used panic against S- against the villain. So she won't be able to trick Senchan as easily."

Momo still didn't follow.

"Why wouldn't she be able to… If she can attack both Kaminari and Ojiro at once, then why wouldn't…?"

"Senchan's the only one on that field who isn't attracted to women," Midoriya said bluntly, as if explaining what he'd thought was obvious but worried he'd been mistaken about, "Jiro can't seduce a straight girl. At least… I'm pretty sure she can't. Then again, her tomboyish and punk-rock style might make her able to at least fluster her… and if she learned some other forms of acting she could implement those…"

"I see…" Momo muttered, looking up at how Jiro was laughing at Kaminari's latest joke.

It made her feel a little… jealous. A touch of worry was present as well.

"Midoriya?" she asked into his muttering, "Is she… do you think she's using this acting outside of class?"

"I suppose she might be practicing at home or with someone, like you would with any skill?" he answered readily enough, "Why?"

"I just… nevermind, it's a foolish thought," Momo dismissed it.

Midoriya stayed silent for a moment while her thoughts began to spiral around. Was she acting around her? Was she merely a practice dummy to Jiro?

"You really like her, huh?" Midoriya poked into her thoughts, mirroring her own question earlier.

Momo started, before blushing and twirling a finger through her front bang.

"During the Sports Festival we… we admitted we were at least physically attracted to one another, and had a sort of emotional draw and comfort around one another. We intended to go on a date of sorts. Shiozaki, from Class 1-B, seemed to be… conflicted, but possibly would have joined us for the outing."

"But now you have to wonder if it's all her practicing or trying to seduce you dishonestly?" he asked, showing a sudden wisdom she hadn't expected from the boy who seemed oblivious to Uraraka's feelings and stalled around almost every female who came near him.

Momo turned to him, nodding silently. She noticed his eyes seemed a little duller than usual, perhaps merely with more grey than his usual vibrant green. Then he blinked, and the effect was gone.

"I don't suppose you can ever be sure," Midoriya admitted, looking down at his notes and tapping them patiently, "but… Jiro doesn't strike me as someone dishonest like that. Ruthless in combat, sure, and willing to use her whole kit, but… I don't think she'd play with your emotions. I think she really does like you, and probably wanted to learn how to act under pressure so she could be herself around you, instead of panicking and being so flustered."

He shook his head, doodling something at the edge of the paper.

Considering his words, Momo looked back to the screens, wondering what the truth was.

"START!"

As smooth as butter, Jiro turned to Ojiro and shot him a wink and pursed her lips. The tailed hero was about to slam his tail down to leap up, but fumbled, instead knocking himself over. Kaminari meanwhile was utterly blindsided by her sudden switch-up. Her left jack snapped out and quickly quelled his dismay, free to knock out Ojiro by the time he recovered. The maneuver was quick, efficient, and devastating. It was marginally less impressive when her method of escape was to look around in confusion and a bit of nervousness, before jogging towards the signal's general direction.

Momo couldn't suppress a giggle, seeing her friend's entire demeanor drop from flirtatious to anxiety the moment it wasn't needed. Blinking at her screen a little, Momo tried to put words to how she knew the latter emotions weren't acting too. It wasn't her posture or appearance, certainly, Jiro had those down-pat. It was more than wishful thinking, or at least she hoped it was. So what was it that made her feel less worried in seeing Jiro bite her finger, worried and innocent?

"Whoa… Tokoyami's been progressing much faster than I'd expected," Midoriya's muttering cut into her thoughts.

She shifted her perspective to the aforementioned's screen. Tokoyami was… flying. Could all of the team captains fly?! Her boots, Midoriya's Quirk, Bakugo's Naruto running, and now Tokoyami just… riding Dark Shadow like a sled? Well, people would start expecting her to fly now. She'd have to come up with something else to surprise them.

"Notice how her arms are extended on either side," Momo pointed out, drawing Midoriya's attention, "Do you think it's an aesthetic choice or perhaps they have difficulty in controlling their flight without the additional surface control?"

"I think it's probably a little of that, but based on how I started flying, it might be a subconscious inhibition. He thinks he needs wings, so he does. I remember that before I unlocked Float more fully, I assumed it was just up and down, and I thought of it as a sort of on/off switch."

"Your internship helped you to break through your mental blocks then?" a new voice put in, drawing their attention.

Todoroki had come over and sat behind them, watching their discussion rather than the screens. Momo beamed at him. He was very astute.

"Oh! Um… yeah. He sparred with me a bit, then threw ketchup in my eyes while I was muttering, and I accidentally floated into an odd position and orientation without meaning to," Midoriya explained, seeming just as eager to talk to him as he was to her.

Todoroki nodded. Very stoic, as always. He didn't flinch or blink at even the most odd of concepts. Truly, if anyone proved they were in the highest quality of Hero Education, his presence did.

Something pink caught Momo's eye, and she pointed up at the screen.

"Uraraka!"

Midoriya's head snapped around to see what she meant, which made her suppress a grin. Uraraka had come from nowhere onto Tokoyami's screen, tagging the boy's beak before continuing on towards the end. It was such an outwardly useless action, seeing as he could fly, but Momo recognized the logic behind it.

Tokoyami was constantly fighting gravity as he flew, just like Momo herself or Bakugo did (though Midoriya seemed to be a special case, so she couldn't speak for him). To have it suddenly removed, his entire outlook would change. And indeed, for a moment it seemed to have worked.

Tokoyami shot right upward into the sky, as if he'd been on some elastic tether to the sun. He flailed quite animatedly, with Dark Shadow trying to shift her wings to control their shift in maneuverability. They seemed to be recovering somewhat, at least stabilizing their upward fall, but it would be a significant time before he could fly with any of his former precision, which left the two girls to sprint toward the goal for the remainder.

"She's more agile in her movements," Midoriya pointed out, to which Todoroki made a sound of agreement.

"There's an air of martial arts and street-fighting to her leaps," he muttered, nodding, "Yet, she's not abandoning her old style of combat. That leap from behind the air vents was clearly intended to strike him when he would be intentionally leaning toward the airflow."

Momo frowned. That didn't seem right. They weren't producing nearly enough air pressure, and he hadn't quite reached them when she'd leapt out.

"No," she said, pointing at the way Uraraka seemed to look around before sprinting from spot to spot, "She's using the sound."

Midoriya nodded in agreement, while Todoroki took a moment to look closer before frowning in mild confusion. Momo smiled kindly, doubting he'd ever dealt with many sound-based Quirks or Quirk users, seeing as his domain was more that of temperature.

"Tokoyami's head is the shape of a bird," she prefaced, "And his ears are similarly shaped and molded to detect air pressure and sound changes to help him maneuver through the air between trees and whatnot. He was intentionally not paying the air vents attention as they likely bothered him, so Uraraka hid next to one where she'd be able to surprise him. Now she's continuing to use them as her points of rest so she can avoid being easily detected by Jiro, who might find it similarly hard to identify movements and sounds close to them."

"Might?" Todoroki asked, following everything else with his usual cool expression.

Momo smirked and glanced over to Midoriya, who was staring at the screens with an expression of deep concern. It wasn't difficult to see why.

Jiro was crouched behind a wall, her screen making it evident she was lying in ambush for Uraraka, having either seen through her ruse or otherwise predicted how she'd get into the final building. Uraraka didn't seem to have noticed that she was in danger. She came within three meters when Jiro pounced.

She slid out of concealment with a bright smile and a clap of her hands, saying something they couldn't hear. Uraraka barely flinched at her arrival, charging her directly. Jiro muttered something else, before her expression turned to worry and confusion. She extended her left jack, firing it in an unprepared manner. Clearly, Jiro had intended to defeat Uraraka with her skill rather than her strength.

Uraraka sidestepped the attack in a fluid motion which shocked Momo, gently gripping the tendril for a moment before ducking down and sliding right under Jiro's guard. This match had been one of sabotage and planning, and Jiro had miscalculated. She'd attempted to shock where she ought to have used the obvious to confuse. It was a mistake she wouldn't make again, but… she also probably wouldn't win the match at this rate either.

"Jeez… that was so tense!" Senchan sighed, sitting down beside Izuku with her "Thanks for Saving Me" sash and a layer of sweat she was patting dry with a towel, "I thought I was done for when Jiro popped up! And Dark Shadow was even scarier than usual when she peeked out at me! Her eyes were all red and glowy!"

Izuku listened to her with rapt attention. She was so genuine and bubbly, even when exhausted. It was pretty cute, if he was being honest. Had he been any less comfortable around her from weeks of best friendship, he might have broken down from overload of girl nearby.

"I thought you did really well!" he praised, pulling over his new notepad, "Especially not panicking when Jiro tried to trick you. I would have been toast."

"Nah," Senchan said, waving a hand dismissively, "You'd be able to hold together long enough to win! I believe in you!"

Izuku felt his cheeks warm as he recalled how Jiro had thanked him a few nights prior, and how quickly he'd gone to pieces.

"I… don't think so…"

She'd evidently noticed his reaction and frowned at him, suspicion etched into every line of her still cute face.

"Oh? And why's that, Deku?"

Girls were so scary when they talked like that. Why did they have this power over him?!

"I-it's nothing!" he protested, shaking with anxiety, "I just… Jiro's jack got hurt during the internships, and I helped put it back together, that's all!"

Senchan narrowed her eyes, turning to see Jiro giving a mumbled and evidently half-hearted apology to Ojiro and Kaminari. Holding up a finger, she turned and cupped her hands.

"Jiro!" she called over to the pair.

The Hearing Hero glanced over, a bit annoyed, seeing Uraraka gesturing for her to come over. She rolled her eyes and slid her hands into her pockets, strolling over with as much urgency as a sleepwalker.

"Yeah?" she asked, coming to a stop and folding her arms.

"I hear Deku helped fix your jacks a few nights ago."

"Sure he did. It was pretty chill," Jiro confirmed easily.

"From what he's not saying, I assume you thanked him in some way? Something that's made him hesitant to tell his best friend?" Sencahn accused.

Jiro smirked and winked at Izuku, but rather than making him blush deeper: he paled in anticipation of how Senchan would take it.

"I gave him a kiss," Jiro said, without shame, "Just one on the cheek, but since you weren't going to make a move, I decided to show him what happens when Heroes save nice girls."

Senchan turned bright red and sputtered, to which Jiro merely shook her head, dropping to her pockets on the spot to watch Yaoyorozu's screen. Izuku reached up and tapped Uraraka's hand, making her jump. He patted the ground beside him, before looking away, embarrassed. He was grateful when she sat down, huffing only a little.

"It… it wasn't anything big," he mumbled, "I think she was mostly trying to tease… me."

Uraraka sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, shocking Izuku. It wasn't just her action, but the look of worry and awkwardness which glowed from her beautiful face as she attempted it.

"I suppose… I can't blame her," Senchan sighed, "You are pretty cool, Deku… and it's not like I exactly took you off the market."

"Took- market-!?" Izuku squeaked.

Senchan giggled, shaking her head a little and nuzzling his shoulder in the process.

"Not important. I knew you'd be out and about during your internships, and I should have expected you to have at least one run in with either a villain or a cute girl. I'm just surprised you managed both. I wouldn't even be surprised if you were asked for a merch deal at this point."

Izuku chuckled at the concept. Who would buy a Deku figure? He wasn't even a real Pro yet. He couldn't even apply to get a Rookie Hologram Card yet! Though her words did remind him of something.

"Oh! I win the bet!" he said suddenly.

"Bet?" Senchan checked, lifting her head and glancing to him.

For a moment she seemed confused, but then her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers.

"The bet! Wait, not one Hero asked for your autograph?!" she asked, mild outrage in her voice, "But you're super cool!"

Izuku shrugged. She seemed to be confusing him with another Hero again.

"I don't know what to tell you, I barely got Edgeshot's at the last second."

A mild pout came onto her face, and Izuku felt his own tighten up as his heart squeezed at how downright adorable she seemed. She sighed, resting against him again.

"Well, a deal's a deal. I guess it's about time anyway," Senchan muttered to herself, shifting around as she got comfy.

"So… when should we train?" he asked, not entirely sure what she had in mind, "You never said what you would help me train."

Izuku wasn't sure he liked how she laughed at that. Don't get him wrong, it was a wonderful sound he wanted to hear more of, but in context it was kinda scary.

"Jiro already pointed it out," she said, sounding much more positive about it, "You clam up around girls. So, since I'm a girl, I'll help you learn to keep calm and relax."

"Y-you what?!" Izuku choked out, stunned at the very concept.

"See? Totally distracted," Senchan laughed, "We'll start simple, so you don't turn to mush. First thing's probably getting you to relax. What do you say to a training date after school this weekend? Nice and simple, and then we can get food after you're already calm, and get you used to hanging out?"

Izuku tried to answer, but his words came out more as a babble of consonants and a few assenting nods. She hummed happily, and didn't say anything else, letting them pay more attention to Yaoyorozu and Tsuyu fighting for the last few meters.

To most of their surprise, Yaoyorozu was flying quite readily, her stance and balance reminiscent of her Internship Mentor. Tsuyu meanwhile, was using her usual hop and tongue style to whip her way after her quite adeptly. The other three seemed to have already given up.

"Bet Yaomomo will win," Jiro put in, leaning forward to grin around Senchan.

"She hasn't been using her Quirk yet," Izuku admitted, "Except possibly for fuel. Tsuyu's struggling just to keep up with her more consistent flight."

"Poor Tsuyu. She always tries so hard," Senchan sighed in agreement.

"So, who do you think's gonna win-"

"Bakugo."

"Bakugo."

"Kacchan."

"Blasty."

"Bakugo."

"Bakugo."

"Bakugo."

"Bakugo."

"Lord Explosion Murder."

Mina wasn't really sure what she'd been expecting. It was to no one's surprise that Midoriya had faith in Bakugo's victory, almost constantly praising him or comparing feats of skill to his level, and Mina was just impressed Uraraka still took no crap from him, but the unanimous agreement from everyone else, including Yaomomo and Todoroki, wasn't expected. Of course, Kaminari's addition at the end made most people look at him in confusion.

"What? I thought it was a cool name!" he protested.

"Yeah, whatever," Mina shook her head, "He had so many more options though."

"Like?"

"Blasty Boy," Uraraka yawned.

"Fatal Impact," Yaomomo offered.

"Ground Zero," Todoroki put in.

"Dynamight," Deku supposed.

"Kacchan," Ida supplied, evidently taking evidence from the reverse version of the name working out.

"Grand Howitzer," Jiro tried.

"Captain Crabby," Mina finished, not really suggesting anything but enjoying getting in on the fun.

Laughter echoed through the little watching area, which made everything feel a little more like friends than just classmates. Mina liked having lots of different friends like that. Sure, Mineta and Kaminari weren't exactly great to have around for a slumber party, but they were alright, really. You just had to get past their… eccentricities. And severe lack of self control.

"Speaking of the Explosive Evicerater," Yaomomo put in, "It looks like he's… not flying."

Everyone turned to look up at the screens, having not really been paying attention to how Aoyama and Mineta would be attempting to keep up with the muscular Kirishima and Shoji, who in turn were likely to be fighting for second against Bakugo's usual way of propulsion. But the heiress was right. He wasn't in first. He wasn't even in second.

Bakugo was doing his Naruto run, releasing bursts to speed him on and gain him in jumps, but… not to fly. Shoji had taken the lead, gliding from a perch towards a building he would be able to climb a little easier. They realized why a moment later, when a brilliant, blue beam shot up and knocked Shoji out of the air, followed by an arcing assault of purple spheres.

"Aoyama and Mineta teamed up?!" Hagakure squeaked, "That's against the rules, isn't it?!"

All the eggheads in class shook them in an almost synchronous movement. Uraraka and Jiro even frowned at the same time as they had to readjust when their headrests shifted from their comfortable positions. Jeez, Mina needed to pick up the pace with her shipping attacks. Eiji hadn't even asked her out yet, and the two OTP's of the class still had the "will-they/won't-they"s. Heck, she was pretty sure the pairs had begun a rivalry, with Jiro and Yaomomo starting to steal Midoriya away from Uraraka, knowingly and unknowingly. It simply wouldn't do!

Mina frowned and looked around the area. She needed a staying action. A pairing she could push that would show everyone a model love pairing and motivate them to get down to finding their partner for life. If she waited too long, the power couple of Fame & Fortune might dissolve into a DekuHarem! The poor boy would be overwhelmed and crack under his perfectionist need to give all of them affection, love, and devotion. Both his Hero training and his health would dive bomb! Even worse, Jiro's sudden burst of confidence was encouraging Kaminari to look her way more consistently.

If Midoriya's Harem would be bad for his health, one built on false confidence and with the self-conscious Jiro in the center would spell broken hearts and shattered friendships for all involved! They needed stable relationships, ones they could build into either the intimate and single-minded pairings of fairy tales, or interdependent Polycules that would be able to weather the stress and strain of their own size.

A tap came to her shoulder, and Mina started with her usual comical over-reaction, leaping from her sitting position and flailing her arms around into a macabre-karate chopping pose. Luckily, she didn't hit Midoriya, who had been the one to break into her machinations. He was certainly leaning back from her though, an expression of confusion, worry, and awkwardness almost literally gushing from his eyes and cheeks. The poor guy just couldn't chill around girls, could he?

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking away, "I just… you're scaring Sero."

"Scaring... Sero?" Mina asked, not entirely sure how either of those words related to one another and her at the same time.

Glancing over at him, she blinked at the tape-user. He was hiding behind Sato, peeking out at her.

"Is it contagious?" he asked in a carrying whisper.

"What exactly?"

"You, um… you were muttering, kind of like I do sometimes?" Midoriya explained, far too apologetically, "Sero thinks it's spreading, and kind of panicked? If you could, um, reassure him or something, that would probably prevent him from coming to the rest of classes in a Hazmat suit."

"That does sound funny though…" Mina admitted, imagining Sero in such gear while Aizawa taught them something or other, "Sensei probably wouldn't bat an eye. 'Cept for Cementos. He's pretty down-to-earth."

Midoriya shrugged, but oddly enough he didn't say anything or go back to his spot. Mina waited for him to, but he just… didn't. He seemed to be fighting himself on glancing back at… Uraraka?

Mina leaned sideways to see if she was doing anything. From what she could tell, Uraraka was just chatting with Yaomomo, Tsu, Jiro, & Todoroki. She seemed a little bummed her headrest was gone, but- Oh.

"Midoriya?" Mina asked, giving him a serious look, "Do you… not like it when Uraraka rests against you? You could ask her to stop, if you don't."

Well, that couldn't be it. Midoriya's cheeks turned to fire, and he started waving his hands around in a panic of denial.

"I-it's not that I don't like it!" he protested, "I just, um… I don't really know why she's doing it, and I don't want to do something really dumb… She's my first real friend, and… I really don't want to lose her. But I don't want to seem distant, especially with, well..."

Nodding sagely, Mina folded her arms and smiled.

"Jiro's teasing and Yaomomo's getting close to you are worrying you, and you don't want Uraraka to think you're interested in them and not her if she's interested in you," she guessed, correctly since he made a small "eep" noise and began twiddling his thumbs.

Throwing an arm around him, Mina pulled him around and toward his girl.

"Don't you worry your anxiety-filled, plain-looking, broccoli head, buddy!" Mina directed him loudly, drawing everyone's attention, "I've got my sights on a much tougher boy right about now, so you don't have to worry about my making any moves. So you just sit down with your Senchan and let Captain Mina help you two set sail."

Midoriya might have looked dead to everyone as she shoved him back down; patting his head once and easing Uraraka's back onto his shoulder, but before too long he was looking much better! The girls who were not Uraraka collectively smirked, seeing how much her physical contact helped to restore his vitality, and collectively letting their hearts flutter at the adorable factor of it.

Jiro and Yaomomo were the subtlest about it though. The rocker-girl just glanced up at her heiress, who's smile seemed to get a little more subdued before reaching an arm around to give Jiro an assuring squeeze. They turned back to watch the screens, but Mina couldn't help but wonder what that had all been about.

Maybe Midnight could give her some tips on how to get the couples onto safer ground?

Shota glanced over the class schedule for the rest of term. It wasn't promising. Assuming nothing would interrupt their time (he wasn't an optimist, he just had to cram a lot of crap into their time and couldn't find a way to do that with more days off), his students had a little under a month before final exams. Nezu being the taskmaster he was, they'd already come up with a new and unique way to break them all down and then (presumably) build them back up into proper Heroes.

The entirety of June sat before him, and they'd need every second of it. Oddly enough, to catch up with 1-B. Yes, his students had dealt with more danger, more real-world and first-hand experience, but at the same time they'd been neglecting their studies, becoming set on habits which would only serve them so far, and would be a step behind the students who'd developed physically along with mentally. Normally, the training camp left the students feeling powerful, if exhausted. Now though… his kids would probably think they were dead, and delay their super-move development schedule out of self-confidence issues.

Groaning, he began to plan out a new regiment to help them get some quiet training in and hopefully prepare them. He'd set things in motion by telling them to be ready for the final exams and to be prepared not to go to the summer camp, but something told him Kaminari and Ashido wouldn't be ready anyways. The most troubling thing was, really, that he couldn't prepare them for their practical exams.

Nezu had taken note of how their interpersonal relationships were growing and spreading apart at an exceptional rate, especially for first-years. They couldn't be allowed to solidify into packs this early on, or they'd start stagnating and developing unhealthy rivalries. Right now, the classes needed to be united at least within themselves, and eventually with one another.

Step one would probably have to be getting them to acknowledge people outside of their own groups. The little knots around the ringleaders, unintentionally or otherwise, had to be woven into the others. Midoriya, Bakugo, Yaoyorozu, Ojiro and Kaminari were the big ones. The biggest problem being: they were already starting to fracture and merge.

Midoriya's sudden burst of confidence, along with Jiro's sudden social aid, had begun to draw in various other parties that weren't interested before. Yaoyorozu's group was dissolving into Midoriya's. Bakugo's, meanwhile, was starting to solidify into a hard divide of two or three, seperate from the rest. Ojiro and Kaminari were incidental centers of attention, mostly attracting others by way of their positive and friendly demeanor, which meant the rest of the students mostly flowed to and from them without thinking or barriers, but they also weren't forming the strong ties that would prepare them to work with Heroes who wouldn't be so uniform as those they hang around with.

Shota sighed and looked out at the empty classroom. He didn't know. He really didn't know how to help them with this. He could put them into teams outside of their social groups, assign homework and study projects with people they didn't usually get along with, but… if they were resentful, it would be even worse. He'd just have to tell it to them straight, and hope they figured themselves out.

"Hey, um… Yanagi?"

The pale-haired girl blinked, tilting her head as if unsure she'd just heard someone talk to her of all people. Pony pursed her lips, worried her nerve wouldn't hold. Just… jeez, some of the people in her class were kinda scary, but they were super cool.

"Hello, Tsunotori."

She said it so suddenly, without any build up in her posture. No turning to look at her, or a smile, or a curious expression. No, she just started saying it out of the blue. Frell, Pony wished Dark Shadow was there to cheer her on.

"Okay, you can do this, Ponn," she swallowed, steeling her nerves.

"Hi. I was just… wanting to ask you, about things. Things like… being friends. And like studying."

Yanagi finally turned to look at her, the arctic blue meeting the warmer sky color. Pony felt a stirring of pride that she didn't shiver openly as their gazes locked into place.

"You wish to be bound in the infinite and intimate wrappings of mutual compassion and affection, learning through the institution's knowledge as one, despite that I am a most unsavory appearanced one who others have abandoned to the wayside of association?" she clarified, head slowly titling in what Pony was sure was just a way to intentionally unnerve and/or tease her.

"I-" Pony choked, not entirely sure what the heck the other had just said.

She was pretty sure she'd have trouble understanding Yanagi's sentence even if she was better-versed in Japanese. Which meant she needed someone smart. Someone who would help without judging her… Well, that left one of two people.

"K-Kendo!" she called across the room, catching the red-head's attention instantly.

Smiling awkwardly to the proxy big sister of the class, Pony gestured for her to come over, pointing at Yanagi.

"Translate?" she asked apologetically.

Kendo snapped her fingers, forming them into a gun shape before standing up and strolling over. She greeted Yanagi far more familarly than Pony, and received something long and convoluted in return, but it looked like she understood it okay. Pony sighed in relief.

"I um… I don't know all the words she talks," she apologized, placing her hands together in thanks and apology, "I was asking her if we could be friends and if we could studying together, but I don't know if I said it right, or what she said back to me."

"Study, not studying," Kendo corrected gently, helping her recognize the tenses, "And sure, I can help you out!"

"Thank you!" Pony bowed, before turning to Yanagi, who was just as straight-faced as before.

"Um… so…?"

Yanagi blinked before looking up at Kendo.

"She seeks to unite our souls in camaraderie, yet we cannot converse so simply."

"She says," Kendo translated, "You wanna be friends, but you can't really talk on your own yet."

"I know," Pony admitted, "But I just… Very much want to not be an egg."

"Pony says she wants to break out of her shell," Kendo clarified, "But I think you both would have an easier time if you just relaxed. Ya know, just FYI."

"I try to talk right," Pony protested, "I just do not want to sound like a small child and be treated like fragile glass!"

"I cannot risk showing unto the world my fragility," Yanagi agreed.

"Rei, she's not gonna bite. She's American, not a monster. You can let down the fancy stuff around us," Kendo assured her.

Yanagi didn't seem so sure.

"Ah heck, this was a bad idea, wasn't it?" Pony mumbled to herself, using English out of habit as she brushed her hair back, "I shouldn't have started with someone so cool. I mean, what did I expect, that one of the most powerful students would just, what, be totally down for becoming besties? I could kick myself right now…"

Yanagi seemed unphased by her words, but blinked and looked up at Kendo as if in confirmation. She got a shrug.

"Tsunotori…"

Pony looked up, surprised at how much emotion there was in the one word. Yanagi seemed… almost always dead. But when she'd said her name, there was a timidity there Pony hadn't heard in almost anyone before. It wasn't what she'd call obvious, but for Yanagi it was like she'd screamed the emotion.

"I… I would be, greatly honored, to be your friend," she said, keeping her voice steady and slow, but not condescendingly so, "And if you think studying Japanese with me will be fun or instructive, then I would be happy to help as well."

Trying very hard not to pull the other into a hug, Pony screwed up her courage and pulled together everything she could.

"Thank you, Yanagi," she bowed, praying she was doing this right, "I know that a master of the language, like yourself, will be the best of helps. And thank you for allowing me to become your friend."

Kendo patted their heads, a little bit sarcastically. They both managed a glare at her.

"What, you're dummies who could have solved that in two seconds without me," she protested, smirking, "Seriously, just act like normal kids for a minute and you won't panic and call for a translator on the first hurdle."

"Thank you for your help, Itsuka," Pony said, flipping her off while genuinely smiling in gratitude, "We'll be fine now."

It earned her another head-pat, but it was probably worth it.

"So what do… friends do?" Yanagi asked, her voice back to the emotionless calm it had been at, though the pause spoke to her emotions.

Pony considered. She hadn't expected to get this far, honestly.

"Well… There is that upcoming test on formal Japanese for Mic-sensei," she considered, "Something speaks to me that you know lots about that… but I don't want to look like I am using our friendship for my own endings."

"It is a converging battle of both your tongue and mine," Yanagi admitted, folding her arms, "We could consider it a mutual advantage relationship, and lend our strength through alliance to one another?"

"... I think you're saying we should help each other with the reverse of language," Pony clarified, her mind a little caught up on figuring out what had been said that she was phrasing really poorly.

"Precisely."

"Cool!" Pony agreed, giving Yanagi finger guns, "I can give you my phone number, so we can set a time, if you want to have it? I'm usually better at reading and typing than hearing and speaking."

Yanagi held out her phone, a contact already open. Dang, she was scary good. Mental pun totally intended.

Tsuyu tapped her lower lip, evidently deep in thought.

"Well, I'd say the depth charges hurt the most, but the dance was definitely the hardest. So many different forms to master, kero."

"Right, I forgot you got to dance in the aquatics show!" Ochako remembered, beaming in wonder at her best girl friend, "You said you really liked showing off for the kids, right?"

"Kero Kero," Tsu agreed.

"Wow… I didn't really get to interact with the public much. Gunhead wanted to train up my combat abilities, and he does patrol as more of a scheduled thing so he's in fighting shape for when they need him."

Tsuyu shrugged, and they continued on towards the changing rooms. It was a training period next, which meant they'd be able to just spend some time either studying or practicing their new skills. Luckily, U.A. had correctly allocated them a full two hours of time with buffers for travel time, so they were able to focus on their work and not their watches.

Ochako wasn't actually sure what she'd do, if she was being honest. She wanted to spar, maybe, but her Quirk had kinda been neglected during the last week. If only she had someone who could fight her in midair… someone obvious… someone who wouldn't say no… someone who wouldn't pick up on the hints she'd been dropping about it all day, evidently.

"Hey, Deku!" she called over her shoulder.

The plain-looking, yet strikingly handsome boy looked up from his conversation with Ida, closing his notebook instantly as his eyes found hers. Dang but if that didn't make her feel special.

"Yes, Senchan?" he asked, giving her his full attention.

"You have your chessboard on you?"

He frowned, finally realizing what she was getting at and realizing that: no, he did not have his chessboard today. Ochako had already checked, but she wanted him to ask her about what she really wanted. It wasn't that she couldn't ask herself, of course, but she liked the light feeling in her chest when he was the one to ask her things. It was like her Quirk was active but only on her heart.

"I… I think it's at home," Deku apologized, rummaging in his backpack, "I should have realized you'd want to have another match. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'll just have to beat you up instead," she beamed.

Deku must have had something on his mind, because it took him a minute to pick up on what she was saying again. He was a bit socially awkward, but this was ridiculous.

"Oh!" he finally got it, brightening instantly, "That's an excellent idea, Senchan! I wonder how our styles will compare? Gunhead martial arts are very grapple and subdual-based evasion, while Edgeshot's variants are much more about quick strikes and distracting movements. I suppose that without Quirks really a factor, since we'll be on the ceiling again, I'll have the advantage. Then again, if I use Full Cowl, it'll be no fair, and Senchan's attacks will d-destabilize me the more she gets in. I guess-"

And just like that, he was off to the races, all-you-can-hear mutter storm. Ochako noticed Tsu winding up to smack him with her tongue and tell him he was being scary again. She held out a hand to her friend, giving her shoulder a gentle tap with a trio of fingers.

"Just watch."

Tsu blinked at her, turning to see what she meant. It didn't take long to reveal what Ochako was waiting for.

Deku had opened his book back up, writing down his ideas like a madman. After about ten seconds though, he stopped mid pencil stroke. Setting it down in his book with deliberate slowness, he closed back up and looked to the others around him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that," he apologized, bowing a little, "I promise to get better about it."

As expected, Tsuyu was stunned. Now Ochako got to feel pride bubbling around in herself, which was just all kinds of awesome.

Slipping into the changing rooms, the girls started getting into their gym clothes, pointedly ignoring the plug Yaomomo had inserted into the wall the day prior. Still, they didn't waste time getting changed. It would be a while before they could relax there anymore.

"So, you and Midori are gonna be wrestling on the ceiling? Where everyone can see?" Jiro prodded, knocking her shoes together to make sure they were empty.

Ochako sighed, turning to her just in time to see her teasing grin. Oh, she thought she was being funny, was she?

"Must you do that in class?" Yaomomo asked, an odd hesitancy in her voice that caught everyone's attention.

Jiro's entire posture did a 180 in about a second, her confidence vanishing and being replaced by concern and nerves. Ochako's annoyance performed a similar transformation, turning into worry for her friends. They'd been getting closer, but ever since Jiro had been flirting around and teasing to quote "practice her acting for Uwabami," Yaomomo had been becoming more and more withdrawn.

"I-" Jiro's words seemed to catch in her throat, before she swallowed and continued, "I'm sorry, Yaomomo. I got carried away. There's no excuse."

She turned to Ochako and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry for teasing, Uraraka. I'm nervous and letting my emotions control me again."

"It's- um, ya know, it's not that big a deal," Ochako managed, itching her head and looking away to zip up her jacket, "I am kinda… really obvious, aren't I?"

"At least if you're obvious you can… ya know, be honest about your mistakes," Jiro mumbled, leading to a lot of the room going quiet.

It wasn't hard to see that Yaomomo and Jiro were kinda interested in one another, and probably knew it themselves. Ochako realized why she'd shut down so suddenly. Jiro was still using false confidence when she acted, and once it was challenged by the girl she liked… she was scared of scaring her off or having misunderstandings. Everyone knew Ochako was crushing hard on Deku, and they teased her about it and offered advice. But no one dared help Jiro and Yaomomo because… they weren't letting themselves talk about it.

Dang it, Ochako really didn't want to step in right now, but...

Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a Hero.

"Ya know, Jiro…" Ochako mumbled, tapping her fingers together a little anxiously, "I'm not really… great with relationships, ya know? But um… I think the biggest thing is probably to talk to them? Like… with your partner? About your problems and stuff. Deku… I think the closest I ever felt to him was when I apologized for the Sports Festival over the phone. He was just so understanding, and getting it off my chest helped me not to get in my own head too much."

Sighing, she stepped over and held her arms out just a bit, offering a hug without making it too overt.

"I know, I'm probably not helping, but if you need to talk about stuff or help with…" she glanced at Yaomomo, indicating she was both the topic and included in the offer, "anything, I'm here for you guys."

Jiro frowned at her for a moment, almost suspiciously, before taking the hug. Mina grinned like a madwoman and quickly snatched the pair of them up for a brief moment, before pulling them apart.

"Mina, what-" Jiro protested.

The rosette smirked and started pushing her towards Yaomomo's corner, both of them turning a fluorescent red as they realized what she was doing.

"Hug your own girl!" Mina laughed, "Midori's called dibs on Ochako!"

"Mina, don't!" Ochako protested, trying to stop her but realizing that Mina was actually a lot stronger than she gave her credit for, "You can't force love!"

"But I can force them to acknowledge they're in love!" Mina squealed, positively mad with power, "Now away with you, before I do the same to you and your Deku."

Ochako froze up, and in the brief pause: Mina managed to finish throwing Jiro into Yaomomo's arms. They couldn't do anything but stare as the two looked at one another, Jiro firmly facing the ceiling so she could both look at Yaomomo's face and not at eye-level where some… more sensitive materials were apparent.

Leaning up, Jiro whispered something, and Yaomomo's expression turned to one of confusion, then of embarrassment. Still, she nodded. Reaching around, Yaomomo wrapped Jiro in a half hug, spinning her around to point at Mina with her free hand.

"D-d-don't push m-my girl around," she stammered out, Jiro smothering her face in Yaomomo's arm to hide her explosive blush.

Spinning on her heel, Mina held out her arms as if to say "See?" She found Ochako had vanished, only getting a few heartbeats before five fingertips pressed against the back of her neck and she was floating into the air.

Everyone, including Mina, laughed as she impacted the ceiling, standing up and doing a little, bouncing dance as the centrifugal forces pushed her up and her legs pushed her down. However, as the other girls got changed without her and started filing out of the room, the pink-skinned girl started to panic.

"O-okay guys," she laughed, a bit of fear in her jovial voice, "can ya let me down now?"

"See you after!" Ochako called, walking out herself, "I'll be sparring with Deku, so don't worry about being dropped until he knocks me out."

Izuku was shaking. He wasn't sure Senchan realized how absolutely terrified he was right now. Sure, they were just gonna meet up and spar now, but after that she was coming over to his home! She was going to meet his mother! What if Inko said something crazy, like asking about grandkids?! He couldn't survive that!

Oh no. She'd said she wanted to hang out and study. Senchan would be in his room. A girl. Would be. In. His. Room.

"Kami take me now…" he exhaled, drifting along the empty gym.

"Deku?" a voice called, echoing through the open space.

Izuku didn't answer, continuing to Float in midair, his face buried in his arms. Maybe a bolt of lightning would cut through the ceiling and kill him? Instead, a wooden object bonked his head.

"It's time for our chess game, Dek-kun," she teased, getting him to peek at her, "I'll hide your pieces if you don't help me set up."

"Sorry, I just… thinking."

Senchan smirked, handing him the zero-gravity box and patting his cheek playfully.

"I'm sure you'll survive. Come on, I'll let you be white."

As she walked over to grab a few things from her bag, Izuku came back to the ground, falling into step beside her out of habit. He felt fine now of course, but as soon as the weekend training turned into the study da- session, study session, he'd turn back into a wreck.

Senchan pulled out a bag of mini pretzels (having finally graduated from "vomit the moment I zero-g myself" to "salt calms my tummy down"), a pair of juice boxes (as water bottles couldn't be drunk without gravity), and a throw pillow. As she tossed them onto the ceiling, she paused and looked at Izuku, frowning as if confused. Reaching out, she gave him a little push, almost like she was testing if he was real.

Izuku wobbled back for a moment, but managed to keep his balance.

"What was-"

"How are you standing right now?" she asked, a bit of warriness in her voice.

He blinked, looking down at his body. Izuku took a tentative jump, then a step back and forth. He felt… like always.

"Maybe you didn't get me?" he supposed, only for Senchan to reach out and take his hand, showing all five digits firmly planted on his skin.

"You're not messing with me right now, are you?" Senchan checked, frowning with suspicion, "Like, Floating and making it look like you're walking just to scare me?"

"I wouldn't do that!" he protested, "Here, look."

Pushing off from the ground, he held himself a foot in the air, before letting his power go. Oddly enough, he didn't fall. Mentally, he checked his power, but it wasn't active. Izuku considered for a moment, before forcing himself back to the ground.

"Quick, say something distracting," he prompted.

"Oh! Okay, um… your hair is fluffy like a kitty's and I want to stroke it."

Izuku blinked, stunned out of his mind. A wave of red rose up from either of their necks and over their faces. She didn't take it back, and he didn't call her out on it. The idea she wanted to touch him, his hair specifically but him at all, was inconceivable. No one liked touching him. He wasn't… wasn't someone people liked getting close to.

But this was Senchan. The girl who'd asked him to give her a nickname. The girl who'd accepted him without question or judgement, even after explaining his Quirk hadn't been with him for very long. She wouldn't lie to him, and she did care about him. Which meant...

After a few moments of standing in awkward silence, he remembered why he had her distract him. Furrowing his brow, Izuku felt his Float again. It was active. He hadn't meant to leave it on, and hadn't been commanding it with his mind. It had become… like breathing. It was starting to self-regulate, and only fell into his control when he thought about it.

Izuku started crying, as a shocker to everyone. His Quirk was finally becoming his own. Not All Might's, not Nana's, not One-for-All's, but his. Sure, it was just the one fragment, but it was a piece he'd been missing for so long he couldn't hold back the emotion of pure relief and joy.

I'm not broken anymore.

"Deku!" Senchan cried, alarmed at his sudden tears, "What's wrong?! If it's what I said, I-"

He pulled her into a hug.

"It isn't about what you said," he assured her, "I'm… honored you think so highly of me, but… this is something else."

Hugging him back tentatively, she tilted her head to try and keep her voice heard.

"Then this is…?"

"My Quirk!" he beamed, letting go and jumping back into the air, "It's regulating itself!"

"Um… okay?" she replied, clearly confused.

"Nononono," Izuku explained, getting back down and taking her hands in his, "Think about Todoroki for a sec. If he uses his Quirk, he can shoot out those huge icebergs and fire streams or just have them turned off, right?"

"Right?"

"But sometimes he has little increments, like freezing a building or melting ice."

"M'Kay, with you so far."

"And he also has that way where he just kind of lights himself on fire, but it doesn't burn him and his ice is ambient too, so it regulates," Izuku concluded, making sure she had the visual in mind.

She gave him a nod that said "Okay, and this means?"

"Float's just like that!" he exclaimed, "When I met you, it was 100% all the time, right? Or it was turned off. But then I got a little bit of the hang of it, and could fly slowly or kinda quick, like I did before internships."

Then she got it.

"So you're saying you… you can just leave it on, and it doesn't do anything until you say?" Senchan clarified.

"Exactly!"

Looking down at her hands, Senchan frowned in thought for a moment before stepping forward and planting a hand firmly on his head. Izuku felt his brain go into the blue screen of death. Error, Izuku has stopped working, would you like to send a report to One-for-All?

Don't any of you say a word, this is precious.

The errant thought which didn't belong to him snapped Izuku back to reality. Senchan was still playing with his hair, an oddly distracted look in her eyes. It felt… wow, he felt really happy to have her do that. This wasn't something he'd ever expected to look forward to, but he'd have to ask her to do this again.

"I knew it," she mumbled.

"Knew-"

"Eep!"

His voice seemed to break the spell that had come into her face, and she leapt back so quickly that he was worried Ida had come by and pulled her away.

"Sorry, I… got distracted," she mumbled, "I've never been able to do that before without people… well, you know."

"Y-yeah," he mumbled, looking away, "It was… it was nice."

They fell back into the awkward silence from before. He coughed, really not sure what had happened just now.

"You, um… wanna play chess?"

"Let's do that."

Senchan floated herself and drifted towards the ceiling, while Izuku took a second to make sure they had everything nulled before joining her. She'd already set up and taken Black, tapping her fingers together individually as if in some kind of intangible piano concert. Izuku could just feel how bad this was going.

They made it through five games with the only words being exchanged: "check" and "checkmate." Senchan was getting better; able to win one of them. She'd used the pillow for her chest, laying down while she played. It seemed more comfortable to her, so he didn't mention it.

Supposedly today was about helping him become more comfortable around girls, but… now he was feeling more awkward around this girl, the one he'd actually been pretty okay with most of the time! How was he going to be able to even keep conscious when they went back to his house to study? His mother would send Senchan home while he was taken to the hospital! He would never be able to apologize enough for it!

"Se- Ur-" he sighed, swallowed and tried again, "Ochako. I want you to- That is, if you want to-"

Groaning, Izuku dug his palms into his eyes, trying to get his words to line up for once.

"Ochako," he tried again, "I wasn't bothered when you touched my hair. I… you're my best friend, and I don't want things to be weird because you can finally touch someone. If I'm… if I'm being honest with myself, and with you… Ochako, you're the prettiest girl I've ever met. You're special to me, in a lot of ways. I'm really glad you're trying to help me be more comfortable around girls, but if I have to be honest…"

Izuku inhaled, closing his eyes and shouting the last few words.

"If I could only ever be comfortable around one girl, I'd want it to be you! Please don't hate me!"

For a second, everything was quiet. Then the worst possible sound in the world came from before him. Ochako was laughing.

She- she's laughing at me, he felt his heart plummet.

He'd thought she was… he'd thought she was different.

Suddenly, he was caught in a flying leap, strong arms wrapping around his torso.

"Deku, I couldn't ever hate you!" Ochako promised, nuzzling her head into his chest, "You're special to me too!"

Why do I keep underestimating Ochako? She's too perfect to be that mean.

She shifted her head to look up at him, but oddly he didn't feel the need to blush too much. There was a little redness, but it was mostly just in his cheekbones.

"Deku… I really liked touching your hair," she admitted, the pink dusting over her face telling him she was holding it together as best she could, "And I- I always want to be the girl you're comfortable around. Can we… can we stay like this? For a bit?"

"For a bit, but then I need to beat you in another game."

"Hm…"

Shuffling around a bit, Izuku laid down on the ceiling, letting Senchan rest on him. He smiled and closed his eyes, letting the bush take over and burn out his face and consciousness.

Inko hummed to herself, finishing up the katsudon they'd be having for dinner. It was Izuku's favorite, after all, and if he was bringing a friend over: she wanted to show off her very best.

Hopefully they weren't like a second Katsuki. Mitsuki had called her, in tears that could have made her blush in other circumstances, so many times with news that she'd heard about her son insulting and beating on poor Izuku. No matter what either of them tried, both boys refused to change. It broke her heart.

"Mom? I'm home, and I brought S- Uraraka" a voice called from the hallway, pushing Inko's dark thoughts to the back of her mind.

"I'm in the kitchen, sweety!" she shouted back, noticing how he'd been about to say something else but letting it pass. If he had something to tell her, he would. Izuku was a good boy, and she trusted him.

After a few moments, Inko put the final touches on things and turned around to greet her son and guest properly. She was a bit stunned to find a beautiful young woman standing next to Izuku, with a bob of chocolate brown hair and bright, compassionate eyes. Looking at Izuku, he seemed… absolutely at ease. Who was this girl, and how had she made her Izuku so calm around her?

The visitor bowed, smiling brightly.

"Hello, I'm Uraraka Ochako," she introduced herself, "Thank you for letting me into your home."

Making a small incline of her back as well, Inko beamed at her polite guest.

"It's wonderful to meet one of Izuku's friends. You're quite welcome, Uraraka. Please, call me Inko."

That seemed to startle Uraraka, but she gave another bow of acceptance and didn't say anything.

"Dinner's almost ready," Inko explained, stepping over to the stove again, "Izuku, why don't you show your friend some of your collection you're so proud of while I wrap up?"

Now that seemed to catch his attention and make him awkward around Uraraka. She was more surprised to see Izuku's friend become just as flustered. Their faces were a matching pink and red swirl, and both began protesting at once.

"W-we can help you set the table instead, mom," Izuku objected.

"Me in… Deku's room? I- oh my…"

Inko laughed and shooed them off, pausing as they went around the corner. Uraraka had called her boy "Deku." That was Katsuki's insult. Was she really another bully? Had his terrorism of Izuku begun to spread through this new school?

A spitting laugh came from Izuku's room, stalling Inko's thoughts.

"Dek-kun! You're such an Otaku!" Uraraka's giggles echoed out to her.

"S-sen-chan!" he sputtered back, sounding both embarrassed and… happy?

Stepping closer, Inko listened to their conversation, wondering what exactly their relationship was to have him be able to call her by a nickname, and his own derogatory title now some kind of… token of affection.

For a few moments, everything was quiet again. Then, a small creak came from the bed as someone sat down.

"Deku, your mom's so sweet," Uraraka praised, "I can see where your compassionate side comes from."

A sigh from Izuku.

"She's… she's the best, yeah," he admitted, making Inko's heart squeeze a little with love for her son.

A giggle from Uraraka.

"You know, her hair's a little darker than yours."

"Yeah, mine'll probably get darker too eventually."

"That's not what I meant," Uraraka said, a bit of cheekiness in her tone, "I meant I recognized the shade. On your costume, your highest color ring. It's one of the big ones too."

That tiny squeak was either a very loud mouse or a very flustered Izuku.

"W-well… yeah…"

"So, do they all stand for people?"

"Mhm… They're my Heroes. The people who've helped me in my life the most. My mom… she's the best. She's always supported me, even when she didn't know how. She'll always be my #1 Hero."

Oh no, she was tearing up now. If Izuku saw he'd be worried about her and wonder why.

Inko grabbed some of the clean parts of her apron and dabbed at her eyes.

"Aw… that's sweet, Deku," Uraraka cooed, "What about the other ones?"

"Oh!" Izuku said, suddenly sounding much brighter, "The gold's for my mentor! And we've got blue for Ida, black for Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, indigo like Shinso, red for Todoroki, and a few new ones from my internship! Um… Oh yeah, a yellow one for the Hero who taught me: Gran Torino, with a really super thin maroon for Edgeshot, and that purple-ish color Jiro has in her hair!"

Ida? Tokoyami? Shinso? Todoroki? Jiro? Were these… other friends then? Was her Izuku finally making friends and… being happy?

"Who's the last one for? The red one on the other arm. It's all raggety."

The silence felt… oddly tense all of the sudden.

"It's for… the villain who we fought on our internships," Izuku sighed, making Inko's heart seize up in fear.

He'd fought a villain? Not just seen, but fought? And why was he marking this villain on his Hero costume?

"I… I probably shouldn't be saying this, but… I'll tell you, Sen-chan," he continued, the creak of the bed coming again as he sat down, "I passed over Hosu. Endeavor, Uwabami, and Gran Torino were knocked out or affected by his Quirk, and Jiro and I were the only ones there to protect them. It was… it was Stain. The Hero Killer."

Inko's blood ran cold, and only hid her gasp of surprise and horror because Uraraka made the same sound.

"Dek-kun…"

"The thing is… he had so much conviction," Izuku continued, as if he couldn't stop himself, "His Quirk let him freeze people by licking their blood, but at the end… he was able to freeze us all, Pros included, just with his voice. Fighting him was so scary, I- I don't want to forget how bad it is when you're up against the real thing."

And then there came the sound of tears.

"I- I had everything in that fight!" he protested, though no one had accused him, "I had control of the terrain, the enhanced strength and speed, and even the training from two Heroes, but… but I still could barely distract him while Jiro had to do the actual fighting. I'm so weak… and I can't even protect my friends from a normal guy with a knife…"

The way the weight on the bed shifted, Inko prayed Uraraka was leaning over and hugging Izuku. The shift in the sobs and slowing of his breathing said she probably was, and Inko suddenly wanted to give Uraraka a hug too for taking care of her boy.

"It's okay, Izuku…" Uraraka whispered, "You did your best, and that's all anyone can ask. You always expect too much of yourself. Deku, we- I… I think you're already a wonderful Hero. Just let yourself be human too."

"Y-you're pretty wonderful too, Ochako…"

"Is that why the third band is pink?" she teased softly.

"It is. You're the girl who helped me unlock my Quirk. You're the one who… who makes me feel like it's okay to be Deku."

The sniffles slowed down, and Inko realized she had nothing to worry about. Uraraka would be taking care of her Izuku when she couldn't.

Things are building up! Some Green Tea fluff with Mama Midoriya on hand to ship with us! Merry Christmas!

(Small little thing, but... I'm going to be taking a small hiatus for health and scheduling reasons until sometime in January. I hope you understand.)

Be safe out there!

Love you All so, SO Much!