So, I realized there were some worldbuilding issues I haven't stated outright here, and I don't feel the need to in-universe since they're things that are considered normal.

Namely: since it's the future, and world-wide understanding is pretty evident, we're operating on Owl House rules (there's no such thing as homophobia, transphobia, racism, or any of that noise. Anything that seems like it is accidental, and unintended from both in and out of universe. If you see it: tell me so I can address it.)

Otherwise:

Warning: WICKED Lyrics inbound.

I do not own Wicked. I do not own Boku no Hero Academia. I'm just a fan fic writer.

"Okay, so, your new "super Uwabami powers" mean you can pretty much control anyone like you did for Tokage, right?" Tetsutetsu checked, leaning oddly in someone else's vacated seat so he could look at Kendo while they talked.

"I mean… kinda? It works differently depending on the situation and stuff. Plus, I only know like… a tiny bit of what she can probably do. I can't act scary or sad yet, and stuff like that."

"But you've got seduction down," Tetsutetsu confirmed, "Which means you can have anyone you want in either class. No way they could resist you now, right?"

Kendo folded her arms, frowning at him, clearly unimpressed. Tetsutetsu waved his arms a little, smiling to get her at ease.

"I'm not saying you'll start sleepin' around or nothin', I'm saying that if you want to date somebody, anybody, you've got it in the bag!"

"...possibly," she conceded.

Pumping his fist in victory, Tetsutetsu waved her on. Now they were getting somewhere

"So, who's on your list?"

"List?" Kendo asked, clearly bewildered.

Sagging in his chair, Tetsutetsu let out the most over-dramatic groan he could manage, trying to get her to either laugh or apply her considerable intellect to the problem. At least the former effect was accomplished.

"Your List!" he sighed, "Who do you want to date in this place? What are you looking for? C'mon girl, give me all the manly details!"

A few weeks ago, people might have taken offense to his use of the term "manly" in conjunction with someone's crushes, but by now everyone knew better. Tetsutetsu and Kirishima had both explained it to their respective classes a few times now: Manliness wasn't regulated to just men, but to anyone and anything that couldn't be described in any other terms. Boldness, self-determining, spectacle, pride, justice, and righteousness all wrapped up into one word.

"I dunno."

Tetsutetsu actually fell out of his chair at that.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" he balked, getting back up, "You said you had a crush on Jiro during the internships, what about her?"

Kendo smirked, looking off into the distance.

"Yeah, she was pretty "manly" I suppose," she teased, "I guess you could put her on there, but with the big astrix that she's not really interested."

"Well, what made you think she was worth going after before she turned you down?" Tetsutetsu prompted.

She seemed to consider for a moment, making a cute little frown and nodding to herself after a moment.

"Confidence," Kendo decided, resting her lip on a finger, "and… sass. It was really fun to tease her back and forth. I'd like that in a partner, I guess."

Clapping and shooting Kendo a pair of finger guns, Tetsutetsu grinned broadly.

"That's a start!" he cheered, "So who else fits that description? I think Tokage's probably on the table, yeah?"

"Set's cool," Kendo agreed, counting off a finger, "So's Ashido from what I hear. Kirishima and you check the first box, but I don't know about the second so we can put you two down as maybe. Maybe Todoroki, but I feel like he's kind of… too deadpan? I don't know, I guess he could be there. We'll have him share space with Jiro."

"Bakugo and Yaoyorozu might fit in."

Kendo laughed and shook her head.

"Mr. "I'm gonna win"? No thank you. That's not confidence and sass, that's arrogance and pigheadedness. And Yaoyorozu… I'm gonna mark her down as "potentially taken.""

Tetsutetsu noticed her glance past him for a brief moment, turning in his chair a little to see Shiozaki behind him, working on some paper without paying them any attention. That was… she didn't look like she was paying them attention, but her pencil wasn't moving.

"Tsuburaba and Kaibara fit too, but they seem… well, I won't write them off yet, but I won't get my hopes up either," Kendo continued, as if they hadn't paused in their conversation, "and I think that's everyone who stands out with that description."

Nodding to get himself back into the flow of things, Tetsutetsu considered the seven options she'd laid out. It was a pretty good list.

"So, who are you gonna ask first?"

"First?"

"Psh," Tetsutetsu smirked, "You've gotta start asking some of them out. C'mon Kendo, if you don't even check to see if they're interested, you'll lose your shot."

"Tetsu, we're in High School. I seriously doubt they'll be pairing off-"

"Kendo, please hear yourself," he cut her off, "We have two-hundred and twenty students in our year alone, and everyone's over fourteen. I guarantee some of them are gonna be married and/or have kids before we graduate."

Her expression fell, becoming sullen as the reality sunk in. It sucked to see her have that face. Not manly at all.

"Hopefully the Hero Course will be a little more self-controlled," he tried to assure her, "I mean, getting pregnant when we have to do Hero practice every day would be… the worst. Gotta keep in shape, yeah? Plus, with Tsuburaba and Mineta collectively making everyone fear being alone, it shouldn't be a crazy-quick matching game."

"Still… I suppose you're right," Kendo sighed, "People are gonna start finding partners sooner rather than later. Midnight, Mina, and Set are gonna make sure at least one wedding happens on campus, if we're being fair."

"Any bets on who's it'll be though?" Tetsutetsu teased.

Kendo laughed, brightening a little.

"If it isn't Jiro and her partner… I think she mentioned a lot of people in 1-A are shipping Midoriya and Uraraka."

"Midoriya!" Tetsutetsu snapped his fingers, "Why isn't he on your list?"

She seemed shocked at the concept. It took a few false starts as she tried to compose the words to say something.

"Because I haven't met the guy, and even I know he fits neither confidence nor sass?" she eventually managed.

Tetsutetsu shrugged.

"Kirishima says he's a whole different person when you get to know him. I bet if you got into a fight with him, you'd be smitten."

That earned a snort.

"Oh please, I've never been smitten by anyone. Besides, I have a strict "no dating people already pairing off" policy."

Unable to resist teasing her just a little more, Tetsutetsu grinned evilly and leaned a little closer.

"Uraraka might share."

Had he not hardened his head into steel at that moment, she might have knocked him clean out. Kendo was sputtering more than her phone when she watched videos on how to fix broken motorcycles, but Tetsutetsu's attention was drawn elsewhere. Crunched over like he was, he was able to see Shiozaki half-staring at them with a pronounced blush. Was she about to lecture him on polygamy being unholy or something?

"He's not a meal at a fast food joint!" Kendo was shouting, "You can't just "share" someone!"

At Kendo's words, Shiozaki seemed to flinch and curl in on herself a little. He tried to get back into a normal sitting position, turning to check on her.

"You okay, Shiozaki?

Ibara shook herself, recalling her mind to the present and glancing up at Jiro. She gave her a reassuring smile and nodded.

"Yes, I was merely… lost in thought. My apologies."

"Uh-huh," Jiro said, clearly not believing it but not calling her out for some reason.

Glancing back down at her Japanese homework, Ibara tried to put Kendo's words out of her mind. She wouldn't be dating one person, let alone two, so it shouldn't matter what anyone's opinions on polyamory were. Still… it hurt a little to hear how she was attracted to people talked about as though it was… well, immoral.

Without thinking, Ibara started humming quietly to herself, trying to use the music from one of her favorite songs to help ease her heart and clear her head. She started with a hymn, but it was a little slow for studying. She switched over to something with a little more bounce, namely one of her favorite songs from a musical produced in the pre-Quirk era. She might have been half-whispering the lyrics, but the solitude of the study room was enough to help her relax.

Jiro flicked her eyes up at her when she started, but remained quiet, only bothering her with a question about a kanji that had been a little smudged on her copy of the homework. The second song however, she started swaying her jacks to the beat. Ibara noticed and picked up the volume just a little for the next number, being sure to hide her actions by getting through a few more lines.

It became something of a game between them. Ibara would make the music to the best of her ability, while at the same time: challenging Jiro silently by pushing through the homework faster than the other girl. Jiro didn't seem to be fighting back for a little bit, but as Ibara's murmured tune hit the end of the track, Jiro started doing the same. She'd picked some more modern pop songs, but ones Ibara had heard a few times and either enjoyed or was indifferent about.

By the time they finished Japanese and got on to algebra, they'd gotten loud enough the lyrics had to be deliberately muddled in order for them not to be fully sung. It was kind of fun, making this music with Jiro. She felt closer to her friend than usual, and wondered at it. Music was wonderful, one of the best parts of her life, but she hadn't expected it to become significant between her and someone else in the Hero Course of all places.

Feeling a little more bold, now that they were comfortable, Ibara decided to try actually singing. But what song? It would have to be something the vocals could hold, so musicals were her best bet.

Smirking to herself, Ibara decided she'd show off a little. She'd been in the women's choir for several years now, and was rather proud of the gift her Father in Heaven had bestowed upon her, which she had since refined. She'd sing a duet on her own.

""There's been some confusion over rooming, here at Shiz,"" she sighed, keeping her voice quiet enough to prevent Jiro from being startled as she drew out her quadratic equations, ""But of course I'll care for Nessa." "But of course, I'll rise above it." "For I know that's how you'd want me to respond, yes.""

Jiro's jacks didn't sway this time. They seemed to snap rigid, the scarred and tattooed tendril standing out on her right side. Still, she didn't object, so Ibara pressed on.

""There's been some confusion, for you see my roommate is…" "Unusually and exceedingly peculiar, and altogether quite impossible to describe.""

Ibara took a small pause for breath, just as the song demanded, and in the instant she was about to speak, Jiro put in a word.

"Vines."

Tilting her head up, but keeping her eyes down, Ibara flicked them up to look at Jiro in time with the imaginary beat in her head. She was smirking at her paper, daring her to go on. Jiro tapped her pencil twice, while Ibara clicked her papers together in her hands to straighten them, but only twice. Jiro mimicked her first actions, their eyes meeting.

""What is this feeling, so sudden, and new?"" Ibara probed, noticing Jiro had decided to take up Elphaba's role but not sure if it had just been a lucky guess.

""I felt the moment I laid eyes on you,"" Jiro continued easily, her voice more speaking than singing.

""My pulse is rushing.""

""My head is reeling.""

""My face is flushing,"" Ibara grinned, certain it actually was from finding someone who could finally sing Wicked with her.

""What is this feeling?"" they asked in perfect sync, ""Fervid as a flame, does it have a name? YeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEs!""

Ibara held the note just a touch longer than they should have, testing Jiro's lungs. She matched it perfectly, but in the moment she actually started singing, Ibara felt her heart skip a bit. Jiro couldn't just sing; she was gifted. Not merely talented or well-practiced, but had the mixture of both that told the world: "this is my domain."

""Loathing. Unadulterated Loathing,"" they sang, getting into the swing of it and carrying joy as opposed to even annoyance.

""For your face,"" Ibara teased.

""Your voice,"" Jiro praised.

""Your clothing,"" Ibara finished out, gesturing to Jiro's school uniform sarcastically as if it was something she'd picked out.

""Let's just say: I loathe it all.""

Now they were both smiling far too much. It was more than just a song. The faint connection they'd made with the tunes, having Jiro share some of her life on that Sunday, and even her comforting Ibara after their match, none of them felt quite the same. This was deeper. A sensation of oneness with each other; this common interest now blossoming into a bond of respect and giddiness.

""Every little trait, however small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl. With simple, utter loathing; there's a strange exhilaration, in such total detestation. It's so pure, so strong! Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last! And I will be loathing, loathing you, my whooooole liiiiiife long.""

Ibara almost continued into the backup lyrics, when Jiro lifted her phone up, tapping her thumb to the play button and letting a karaoke version of the song start playing, filling in the music and the voices of the crowd they'd been missing. Maybe she should send Uwabami some flowers? As a thank you for helping Jiro become confident and suave enough to pull something like that.

Standing to open up her lungs more, Ibara stood side-on to Jiro as she went into the next bit, a solo line she was going to use to tease her friend just a little.

""Well," she smirked, "These things were sent to tryyyyyy uuuuus.""

Jiro didn't take it lying down, standing up and stepping around the table, wiggling her jacks in a mock-menacing fashion as she approached.

""What is this feeling, so sudden and new? I felt the moment I laid eyes on you. My pulse is rushing. My head is reeling. Oh what is this feeling?!""

She was right next to her now, toe-to-toe and staring up at Ibara's face as they came to the climax. Ibara didn't flinch back, shifting her neck so she could still get her air while looking down a little.

""Does it have a name? Yeeeeeeees. aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA! Loathing! There's a strange exhilaration! In such total detestation! It's so pure, so strong! Though I do admit it came on fast; still I do believe that it can last! And I will be loathing, for forever loathing, truly deeply, loathing yooooooou! My Whole Life Long!""

They nearly belted out the last lines, hitting their notes and almost tempting the other to see how far out of the study room they could be heard. Ibara even held her arms out to the side, getting a little too into the number and almost starting to do some actions.

No one came running, and they held position until well after the music had ended. Jiro hadn't said the final line, and Ibara hadn't screamed. For a moment the air became tense, and Ibara worried Jiro had become caught up in the music and was regretting her singing.

"Boop."

Ibara squeaked in surprise, her since-faded blush returning in an instant as Jiro's jack had swung around to tap her nose while its owner had slid on a bright grin.

"Gotcha," Jiro teased.

"Wh-bdgjha-" Ibara jumbled, "You can't just change the song to scare me! That's against the rules!"

"What rules?" Jiro laughed, folding her arms and accidentally brushing her knuckles along Ibara's stomach due to their proximity, "And I started the song by getting a word wrong, what are you complaining about?"

"You- this- not- I-" Ibara sputtered, turning continually more red.

Shaking her head, Jiro turned and went to sit back down, leaving Ibara few options but to take her own seat, most certainly not pouting as she pulled her trig papers over.

They stayed silent for a little longer, getting back to their work. Ibara felt… a little hollow now. There'd been a bright moment of connection, then suddenly it was gone, leaving her heart feeling oddly empty.

"So… you like Wicked too."

Jiro's earlier confidence about cheating on the last line had vanished, and the more timid and gentle girl from before Uwabami was again present. Ibara set down her pencil, looking up so she could show that Jiro had her full attention.

"I do," she confirmed, rolling one of her vines between her fingers, "Among other pre-Quirk music."

"It's pretty cool…"

"I think so. Not a lot of people have heard of it though."

"Yeah. Makes it special when you meet another fan."

"Special… yeah…"

Oh no… now the silence is even more awkward. Heavenly Father: please take me now before I choke on the tension in the air.

"Ugh!" Jiro groaned, jamming her face into the heels of her palms, "Why is this so hard?! I thought I figured out how to do this!"

"Do-?"

"Talk to people who make me flustered!" she explained, brushing her fingers up her forehead and through her hair, "Uwabami had me learn not to go to pieces around you and Yaomomo, and I still can't have a freaking conversation with you! F- freakin', we just sang a gay duet without fail!"

Ibara blinked in surprise. Jiro's composure had seemed to skyrocket, but if that was just her attempt at acting around it…

"I suppose… having a heart-to-heart requires you to let your true feelings out," she offered, not really sure it was helpful or not, "and if you're holding up a facade of calm and cool… it gets in the way?"

The noirette frowned in contemplation, nodding her head to either side.

"I guess. Still, it's annoying. You and I just freaking sung a number from Wicked together, no prep time, and it was amazing. I should be, like, just gushing over music with you right now, but instead I'm trying not to pass out."

She couldn't deny that talking about music sounded very appealing, especially with Jiro. But if she was finding it hard… maybe Ibara had to take the first step.

Letting go of her hair, Ibara slid her hand into her jacket pocket, removing her phone and opening the music app she used to store her favorites. She selected an icon and held the screen over towards Jiro.

"Th-these are my favorite artists," she managed, waiting to see if Jiro would react to one of them.

Jiro scrolled through a few of them silently, before pausing and tapping one.

"Why am I not surprised you listen to the Piano Guys?"

Ibara pulled her phone back, frowning as she waited for an explanation as to what that was about. Jiro gave her a tiny, genuine smile, reaching over and tapping the screen again, starting one of the songs. Ibara could stop it in a heartbeat, of course, but instead she hit the shuffle key to the side so the next song would be a mystery on this playlist.

"Do you have a problem with their music?" she asked, placing her phone face-down so they wouldn't know what was playing.

"No, I just… I should have expected it. They're pretty good, as far as that style goes, and you're…"

The way Jiro cut herself off made Ibara sigh.

"Jiro, I'm okay with you mentioning my religion," she assured her, "And yes, that is where I was introduced to them."

"It's not-" Jiro cut herself off before starting again, "I just didn't want to assume anything. You're kind of an unknown, ya know?"

"An unknown?"

Jiro nodded, shrugging apologetically.

"You're really dedicated to your beliefs, but you also are really calm about being against them. Ya know, being openly lesbian and polyamorous, when apparently those are against the rules from Big- from up top. You're really kinda scary when you're fighting and mad, but you're also really gentle and timid most other times. You kinda… don't seem very consistent, I guess?"

Her first instinct was to immediately correct Jiro's statements, but Ibara had better self control than that. Instead she tried to see it from her perspective, considering. Yes, she did have a bit of a contradictory appearance, she supposed.

"It's… not against the rules to be anything," she said, taking her time to allow Jiro to cut her off at any time, "I just can't… act, on these feelings. I can freely say: you and Yaoyorozu are the kinds of girls I'd want to fall in love with and be with, but if I actually pursued you… I might be in some trouble. Both with my beliefs, and because I'd be head-over-heels for a pair of Heroes who are quite frankly out of my league."

"Oh, psh!" Jiro waved the comment aside, "Yaomomo, maybe, but me? I'm just a punk-rocker who likes fightin' villains and saving the day."

Ibara reached out and took ahold of Jiro's hand, catching her attention as she gave her a stern look.

"You're much more than that," she assured her, almost scolding, "You fought a villain in your first term at U.A. and came out on top. You shine so bright, I- I sometimes wonder how you even saw someone as dull as me."

"Hey, sometimes someone comes along and you're just kinda… interested."

Nodding, Ibara let go, knowing precisely the feeling.

"It starts simple. A cute smile, a nice figure, a gentle word…"

"A crying girl bleeding from her scalp?"

Ibara coughed out a laugh at that.

"To each their own," she conceded.

"You're darn right," Jiro clicked a finger gun at her, winking.

For some reason, it didn't feel as fake as Jiro's usual acting that time. Maybe it was how quickly and easily it faded away, or just that she was getting better? Still, it made Ibara consider something she hadn't really thought about before.

"Jiro," Ibara asked, frowning as the tried to phrase everything right, "Why do you try to act confident?"

"Hm? Oh, you know…" she mumbled, not meeting the viridette's eyes.

"I'm afraid I don't know. Hence… why I asked."

"Oh! Yeah. Sure…"

Ibara waited for her to say something, but Jiro didn't seem to be inclined to say anything else. Normally she wouldn't push on something like this, but… say she felt prompted to reach out.

"I think you look prettiest when you're not acting," Ibara said, closing her eyes and expecting to be slapped.

"Wh-what?"

Peeking out at Jiro, she found a very pink face staring back at her, and realized she wasn't getting out of it that easily.

"I- um… when you're genuinely happy, or enthusiastic, or timid, or… whatever," Ibara clarified, clasping her hands behind her own neck to prevent them from fidgeting, "Those are the times I would have to say make you seem… the most stunning."

The pink moved past red and straight into maroon, and Ibara backpedaled with all the speed she could, worried she'd pissed off the other singer.

"N-n-not to say your acting's bad or anything! You're quite talented, especially when you were singing! I just- oh, I'm just making it worse aren't I?"

"I wouldn't say worse…" Jiro whispered, looking away and tapping her jacks together nervously, "I um… I guess I'm just used to being overlooked."

Ibara was about to protest the very idea, when Jiro spoke up a little, and she shut herself up to give the noirette her time.

"You and Yaomomo… you're really cool," she sighed, her eyes firmly on the table, "So many people… they're just really spectacular. And somehow, all these amazing people are looking at me like I'm somebody worth knowing and being friends with. Heck, even being… together with. My heart gets faster just thinking about Yaomomo taking me on a date, or holding your hand, or when I kissed Midori, or if one of the guys compliments me unexpectedly. And I… I don't- ...I just think that if they really knew how lame I was, you'd all just stop really caring and go back to just being friendly instead of friends. I can't flirt back if I can't speak from being flustered, and if everyone thinks I'm not interested… They might not even get to see how lame I am."

Placing her hands on the table, Ibara stood back up, her eyes cast in shadow as she stalked around to Jiro's side. The other girl seemed a little scared, but she didn't run.

"Jiro," Ibara said, trying to keep her voice in check, "I'm going to hug you now. I'm going to squeeze you with so much affection that you'll never think you're lame ever again. And then I'm going to compliment you as the wonderful Daughter of God and the Divine Princess you are. When that's done, I'm going to help you ask out Yaoyorozu so she can tell you how amazing you are too."

"O-okay."

That was all the confirmation she needed. Reaching down with her vines, Ibara lifted Jiro out of her chair and wrapped her into a warm embrace. Jiro's chin found her shoulder, and Ibara's cheek found hers. She squeezed just tight enough to keep it from hurting, trying to pour her affection into Jiro like water from a basin. Both her hands and jacks had found Ibara's back, hugging back as she let out a ragged and oddly relieved sigh.

They stayed like that for a moment, before pulling back and smiling at one another, a little sheepishly. Ibara swallowed once before leveling a finger at Jiro's nose.

"Y-you," she stammered, "You are a spectacular person, Kyoka, and you will never ever be lame. You are going to ask Yaoyorozu on a date, and she is going to say: yes."

Jiro swallowed and nodded obediently.

"Good. Now, how will you smile when you ask her?"

Sighing, Jiro relaxed for a moment before smirking and looking back up at Ibara.

"Utter loathing!" she beamed, not a trace of falsehood in her smile.

"J-jiro! You can't just smile like that!" Yaomomo protested, slapping her shoulder gently with a laugh. Kyoka put away her best Aizawa impression, glad both ends of the spectrum for her grins could get a reaction out of her date.

After Shiozaki had hyped her up, Kyoka had indeed gone to find Yaomomo, confirming the date she'd offered two weeks earlier and giving today as the concrete day and time. She'd been able to show off her genuine smile and had won the heiress over in an instant, which had been a relief even with Shiozaki's pep talk.

Sliding her hands into her pockets, but leaving her pinkies out, Kyoka did her best to keep up with Yaomomo's longer legs. They'd decided to keep it simple and just have a Friday afternoon at the mall, much like their Saturday before going to Shiozaki's church. The difference being, of course, the lack of their vine-haired friend and having made it clear beforehand that this was romantic in nature.

Despite how casual it was, they'd both found ways to dress up just a bit, probably trying to impress the other without going overboard. Kyoka had abandoned her usual jackets for a simple, barely oversized t-shirt over a tank top, paired with some dark leggings and short shorts (which weren't actually covering anything, but she liked having pockets). Yaomomo meanwhile, had taken to a blouse of some kind, with adorable frills down the center and long sleeves that looked pretty snug on her wrists. Add to that a pair of jeans that looked way too good on her, and Kyoka was fighting to remember how Uwabami had explained heart-control.

"So, where we hittin' up?" Kyoka asked, flicking her eyes up from where they'd been resting (she hadn't even realized she was staring, oh Kami what was wrong with her?!) to Yaomomo's bouncy-bubbly grin, "Movie, food, clothes, tat shop, food?"

Yaomomo glanced over at her, smiling mysteriously.

"Are you hungry, Jiro?" she teased.

"No, but you have nineteen centimeters on me, and that's just vertical," Kyoka grumbled, kicking at the empty sidewalk.

The taller girl's expression fell, and Kyoka felt her own spirits drop. Just wonderful, she'd already ruined their first date.

"Jiro…" Yaomomo asked, her voice timid, "Are you self-conscious about your height? I've noticed you tend to… fixate on some of our class and wear a sullen expression."

Sighing, Jiro looked up at the sky, not really sure how to answer that. She was, but… it would bum Yaomomo out to hear that.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie," Kyoka said, intending to at least shade the truth a little, "I'm not really jazzed about being the fourth shortest in class, and… well, let's just say I'm a little bitter that if the entire class got sex-swapped: you wouldn't be able to tell the difference on me."

Normally, Yaoyorozu trying to respond to something and coming up speechless would be kind of funny. Right now? More along the lines of depressing.

Shaking her head, Kyoka stepped past a little.

"I mean, it's no big deal," she continued on, lacing her hands behind her head and leaning back a bit, "I'm just a bit jealous is all. I'm sure I'll get over it sooner or later, and in the meantime I can practice being stealthy or somethin'. I'm gonna be a Hero, not a model, despite what Uwabami would like everyone to believe."

"I could tell."

Kyoka turned around, frowning in confusion.

"Tell?"

Yaoyorozu was blushing and frowning, staring firmly at her left shoe.

"If our class had our physical sexes reversed," she clarified, "I would be able to tell the differences in you."

"Yaomomo, that was just-" Kyoka started, trying to play it off as a joke.

"Your eyes wouldn't be as soft," Yaoyorozu cut her off.

She decided to shut her mouth and listen to what the heiress had to say, wondering if she'd just dug herself a social grave. Yaoyorozu stepped forward, reaching down to take one of Kyoka's hands and giving it a little brush with her thumb.

"Your hands would be different. Not as… cute."

Letting go, Yaoyorozu clasped her own digits together, her cheeks firmly stuck at the same shade as her costume. Kyoka felt her own resolve not to let her face turn into an approximation of Mina's starting to waver, seeing how adorably Yaomomo held herself when she was embarrassed.

"My eyes and my hands, huh?" she confirmed, looking away and trying not to seem terrified, "I guess they are pretty girly… Black nail polish isn't doing me any favors though. Just makes me look like an edgy delinquent."

Yaomomo let a small chuckle escape her.

"T-to be fair…" she mumbled, as if only half-sure she wanted Kyoka to hear it.

Why couldn't my jacks have an off switch for casual conversation? she wondered silently. Aloud, she just laughed and shook her head.

"Hey, I've consistently hit seventh in class," Kyoka teased back, "I might not be some super genius like you, but I do alright."

That seemed to help Yaomomo get out of her sad mode. She pouted way too adorably, folding her arms over her chest. Kyoka fought not to let her eyes be drawn to the motion.

"I am not a super genius!" she protested, "My IQ is only 138, which barely qualifies for a standard genius."

Kyoka was calling bull on that right out of the gate.

"Really?" she asked, stretching the word out a bit, "And when did you get that score, out of curiosity?"

"I- that was my entrance exam score for middle school! It was officially proctored and beyond refute!"

That made Kyoka grin.

"So it's, what… three years out of date?" she asked innocently.

Yaomomo pursed her lips, doubling down on her pout and making Kyoka's heart flutter at the adorability of it.

"Well, I- if my numbers are out of date, then so are yours!" she countered, clearly flailing to buy time.

"128," Kyoka said easily, "and that's my U.A. entrance exam score, thank you very much. I'm up there, but not crazy. You beat me out years ago."

The implication seemed to bother Yaoyorozu. She didn't seem angry, necessarily, but… she certainly didn't seem like she was going to agree with the assessment. Kyoka realized she was laser-focusing on intellect as the measuring factor, and probably starting to think about the other ways Kyoka was, well… behind her.

Kyoka was surprised how warm it made her to see Yaomomo unhappy about her considering herself sub-par. She wanted to fix that.

"Hey, it's okay," she reassured Yaoyorozu, placing a hand on her arm, "I've got my own things goin' on. You can handle the big thinking, and I'll be your loyal Spymaster or something, a'ight Qween Yaomomo?"

"Irregardless, I dislike the idea you believe yourself of a lesser caliber than I," Yaomomo grumbled, "You are excellent in field work from what I hear, and while you claim to only be moderately gifted, you pick up on concepts very quickly. Your acting, for instance. You've already begun to improvise and improve, despite only having a week's training!"

Placing one of her hands over her mouth, Kyoka tried to restrain her giggles.

"I-irregardless?" she asked, losing the battle and laughing aloud, "Yaomomo, I know something else I can do: know when a word is freakin' dead. I know you've got your whole "beautiful, elegant, and unstoppable princess badass" vibe going, but I can't take you seriously when you use a word that literally doesn't work."

Pressing on, Kyoka grinned and gestured with her hands a little.

"Regardless, irregardless? They're the same word, but one literally has a prefix that says: "the opposite of this next bit." I mean, even you've gotta admit: that's kinda dumb."

"You… think I'm beautiful?"

Kyoka froze, turning around to look at her date. Yaoyorozu's eyes were flicking form Kyoka's face to her shoes, a mixture of hopeful and worry in her stance and expression.

Well, if I'm off the cliff; might as well try to fly.

"A-and elegant," Kyoka confirmed, "And unstoppable, and badass, and cultured, and smart, and pretty, and bubbly, and friendly, and… and so many things. How could I not? You're Yaoyorozu Momo! Recommendation Student; Queen of the Class."

Yaomomo's face became more and more flushed with embarrassment and something that was probably best described as "a compliment? For me? This means so much! Thank you, I will treasure it always!", up until Kyoka finished off the last sentence. Then her face seemed to cool down, shifting to one of confusion.

"Queen? You called me a Princess earlier as well. Are you under the impression I'm of a royal bloodline, Jiro?" she asked, the genuine confusion evidently driving out all other emotions for the moment.

"Well duh," Kyoka chuckled, gesturing at Yaomomo with her jacks, "You're the heiress to some super company or something, right? Taught from a young age to be proper and stuff? Plus, you just kind of have that, I dunno, aura? That sort of vibe that says "I can buy and sell you and all you hold dear, destroy your body with a thought, or simply frown at you with disappointment and shatter your spirit, but I won't because I'm too sweet," ya know?"

"I most certainly do not!"

"Yeah, and saying "most certainly" in conversation is gonna help your argument," Kyoka snarked playfully, glad Yaomomo was smiling her usual bright grin again.

They continued to bicker happily as they went along the various levels of the mall. Each time they changed direction, the topic seemed to shift as well, bouncing from complaining about Aizawa's "logical deceptions" on an escalator to discussing the possibility of new support items in an elevator, not even bothering to direct their path anywhere. Eventually they found themselves going around in a circle, lost in their conversation.

"Okay, I give up," Kyoka sighed, holding her hands and jacks up to indicate surrender.

"Say it," Yaomomo dared her, smirking.

"No way!"

"Then I suppose it isn't over," the taller girl shrugged, "I'll have to continue to convince you."

"Fine, I'll say it!" Kyoka grumbled, inhaling to try and dull the blow, ""The prettiest Pussycat is Ragdoll…""

"That's right," Yaomomo smirked in victory.

"ButMandalay'sstillthesexiest!"

"Hey! You can't-!"

Kyoka winked and sprinted for the food court, intent on finding a table to use as a shield. Her date was in hot pursuit, longer legs meaning she was gaining quickly. Luckily, they were close enough Kyoka managed to slide around one of the circular dining aids before her chaser.

Crouching a little, Kyoka grabbed either edge of the table, intent on leaning opposite to whichever way Yaomomo was going to run. If she could keep the table between them, she could technically evade her for the next hour without burning out her legs or leaving conversation range. At least, that was the theory.

In practice however, Yaomomo's internship had evidently given her more on-the-street training than Uwabami had offered. She didn't even slow as Kyoka got her guard in place, instead: sprinting at her usual pace. At the last moment, she dropped to the ground on her left hip, sliding underneath the wide-spread legs of the table and crashing into Kyoka's. The jockin' Hero Student felt her feet whip away from the ground for a single moment before she crashed into something very soft. Namely: Yaoyorozu.

"Mhff…" she grumbled into the blouse.

"I believe you have a correction to make?" Yaomomo teased, not getting up and evidently quite smug with herself as she caught Kyoka in a hug around the midriff.

"Nnnnfrr!" Kyoka retaliated, "Mndlyy ss uu ssyss!"

"I can't understand you when your face is pressed against my chest, Jiro-chan," Yaomomo informed her.

If Kyoka had leapt up and backed into the nearest table any faster, she might have expected Midori's lightning to be leaping off her skin. She felt her face turn bright crimson, terribly contrasting her hair and outfit's darker hues, but that was the last of her concerns. She'd thought she'd hit the shoulder, the collar, or the stomach, but somehow when she'd landed: Kyoka's face had been- what was this, a harem anime?!

Yaomomo's expression was one of confusion, which shifted to hurt as she probably leapt to the worse conclusion of: "Jiro finds me repulsive to touch" before a sudden bolt of understanding lit her features and she clapped her hands to her mouth, utter distraught in her eyes.

"Oh no! I forgot you were self-conscious about our differing mammary glands! Please forgive me, Jiro, I didn't mean to rub your face in them, figuratively or literally!"

The Heiress rotated onto her knees and fell into a full dogeza. Kyoka's desire not to make a scene and hatred of seeing Yaomomo so embarrassed and emotionally low overrode her own feelings. She was back beside her date in an instant, grabbing her shoulders and lifting her out of her bow.

"Don't- don't do that…" she mumbled, looking away a bit.

"But I-"

"I… I don't hate… l-large chests," Kyoka whispered, firmly staring at a chair a few tables away, "I'm not so petty I'd be mad because you're bigger than me. I'm just… nevermind, just forget it."

Letting go and standing up, Kyoka clasped her hands before her waist, glaring at her shoes as she tried not to dig herself any deeper. This date kept going horribly, with every bright spot quickly marred by some stupid mistake, and now she'd just revealed how perverted her mind was; admitting to finding Yaoyorozu's breasts appealing. Kami, she was never going to live this down.

A pair of gentle hands found her shoulders, but Kyoka didn't let herself look up.

"Jiro… you keep withdrawing when things of a physical nature come up in conversation," Yaoyorozu said, her tone gentle and almost loving, "you say you aren't jealous, and I'm inclined to believe you are truthful with me, but... "

She trailed off, and a quick flick of Kyoka's eyes up revealed she was biting her lip. Normally, the action would have been adorable, but right now… it was kinda scary that Yaoyorozu was worried about her next words.

"Jiro… do you find me physically attractive?" she asked, point-blank.

Kyoka was wondering if she could stab herself through the eye fast enough to kill herself before Yaoyorozu's question could raise a blush that would give away the answer. She doubted she could, so instead she just had to answer.

"I- yes. Yes, Yaoyorozu, I think you're very pretty. I think you're… when you're in the school skirt, you're totally the sexiest Pussycat," Kyoka blurted out, locking her eyes on a cracked tile so she wouldn't have to see the look of utter disgust no doubt rising over her date's face.

Now her best friend, probably former-best friend at this point, knew she was as lecherous as Kaminari, if not Mineta. She'd probably be abandoned today and never be allowed to speak to Yaoyorozu again. Sure enough, the gentle fingers had released her shoulders.

Kyoka was unable to restrain the squeak of embarrassment and surprise as her hand was clasped tightly. She was yanked forward and into the soft embrace of Yaoyorozu's arms and chest once again, but this time with her chin above the line of utter embarrassment.

"I'm flattered you think so highly of my figure," Yaomomo whispered into her ear, "I know you've been doing your best not to draw attention to it, but I know you're not some despicable heathen who sees only my physical attributes. You're easy-going, and kind, and full of light, and when you compliment me… I don't feel unclean or exposed. I feel beautiful. Please don't feel as though you've erred in telling me how you feel. Truth be told… I think your lithe form is much better to hold the title of most attractive Heroine."

She- about me- but Yaomomo- only B- not even tall-

Kyoka's brain was starting to fry itself, unable to understand such a genuine and personal compliment being offered by the class beauty. More confusing still: how did admitting she'd stared at someone's body lead to a hug? She should be receiving a slap in the face, or a lecture on how she was despicable, not… affection.

"I- I don't-"

"Jiro, I don't blame you for your opinions," Yaoyorozu reiterated, "You're human, and you have the same imperatives as anyone else. You've always been respectful about how you feel, and I asked you directly to tell me. You are not in the wrong."

With that, Kyoka's resolve broke and she hugged back.

"I'm… sorry I've made our date kinda crap," she apologized, nuzzling into Yaomomo's shoulder, "You're just so awesome I keep- ...freak, I'm acting like Midori. I'm second-guessing everything today."

Yaomomo broke the hug, smiling broadly as she brought her arm up to poke Kyoka's forehead.

"You took the leap to ask me out, remember? I wasn't even that brave. You're doing fine, Jiro. There'll be more dates you can make perfect. I think this one's already quite wonderful."

"How?" Kyoka asked, bewildered, "All we've done is argue around a building on what other women are the sexiest and then make an emotional scene in a food court!"

""How?" Why, because you're here with me, of course."

"Do you think I was too forward? Does she think I was implying that I wish to consummate our relationship? I admitted to finding her attractive, but did I push her too hard to reveal her feelings?"

Yaoyorozu was panicking, and Izuku was… honestly kind of freaking out too. She was supposed to be the calm and collected one, the genius of the class, and yet: she was sputtering more nonsense than he did when muttering. Even her attacks were a bit odd; her usual steel pole replaced by some sort of cross-tipped spear, which she was instantly slashing with instead of stabbing.

They'd taken to sparring together on Saturdays, seeing as Senchan had to shop on that day for deals and sales, and Yaoyorozu was one of the few students who could keep up with his fast-paced style of thinking and fighting. Or rather, he could try to keep up with her. Full Cowl helped boost his perception and reaction time enough to roughly balance out, but even so she could hold a full conversation with herself while countering every one of his strategies when he was at 4%.

"Yaoyorozu, I'm pretty sure Jiro isn't going to hate you for admitting how you feel," Izuku reassured her, pushing up to 5% to try and catch her attention from her pessimism, "She was smiling all this week, and whenever she looked away from you: it was much more relaxed than usual."

"Looked away?" the noirette asked, performing a spinning block with her weapon as Izuku tried to confuse her with a barrel roll approach.

He twisted and caught the blade on one of his metal soles, pushing off to pause in midair. Normally he wouldn't dare combine his martial arts with floating in a sparring match, what with his limited experience in the former, but against her: if he didn't have any choice but to mix and match.

"Yeah," he responded, dodging back as she threw a few exploding Matryoshka dolls at him, sending clouds of chalk or other colorized powder into the air and limiting his vision.

"She-" Izuku coughed mid-sentence, not quite evading the entire wave of deterrent, "Jiro steals looks back at you in class when you talk, and she usually looks away like she's afraid of being caught. Now though, it's more like a blush and then relaxing as she turns around."

The butt end of the pole came out of a pink cloud, and Izuku only just caught it, pushing the end away from his face and pulling to try and get her back into the open air.

"And how do you know so much about what Jiro looks like when she's gazing at me?" Yaoyorozu accused, swinging a punch into his jaw as she came along, clearly intending to use his motion before he'd even done it.

"She looks past me, remember?!" he shouted back, recoiling and letting go as he placed a hand to the impact point, "Plus, I… you tend to notice a girl more when she teases you, okay?"

"Teases? She usually preys on Kaminari for her humor."

"For normal stuff, yeah, but she likes to practice her acting on me. She knows I'm not good around girls in general... " Izuku grumbled, "Plus, I think she's trying to see if she can give me a heart-attack."

Yaoyorozu made a disbelieving sound, dropping her weapon and producing a pair of steel shields over either arm.

"You claim to be easily flustered, yet I've noticed you improve in your ability to speak to me quite readily, even after including altitude tactics to your sparring," she accused.

Izuku actually laughed at that, dropping to the ground and rushing her with a straight punch.

"That's because you're able to plan around me too quickly," he explained, his knuckles meeting the metal with dull thuds, "My brain doesn't have time to register any of the chemicals rushing through it from being less than a foot away from someone of the opposite sex. Once the adrenaline dies out in the locker room: I usually have to fight not to pass out."

The Heiress didn't strike back much, instead just letting him pummel her guard while she considered his words. At one point she swung a hook at him, but he was able to guard it quite easily. It was mostly just a gesture, rather than an actual attack. A way to keep him from getting too reliant on attacks.

"Very well, I'll grant that," she finally said, "But you say she's attempting to claim your life? She could certainly do it without resorting to cardiac arrest."

"I guess it's more of a challenge this way," Izuku guessed, switching to some more kick-based strikes before his legs got too tired, "first she kisses me after we take out Stain, then she gets my color in a tattoo, and now she's started making implications about me and Senchan! I almost wonder if I should have left her jack in pieces so she'd resent me and leave me alone."

"No you don't," Yaoyorozu smirked, calling him on his bluff he could ignore his "must help everyone" instincts for even one night, "And she's trying to get the pair of you to admit your feelings for one another."

Yaoyorozu getting into the mood to throw shade, as well as edge into Ashido's shipping territory was a sign he was giving her too much time to think again. Winding up, Izuku poured 6% into his arm, feeling it tense and strain as he pushed past his safety barrier and batted one of her shields aside, sending it spinning towards a wall.

"I don't have anything to admit!" he protested, leaping in under her guard as he tried to ignore the pain, "She's my best friend, and I won't let anything take her away from me! Not a villain, and certainly not my being stupid and acting on a crush!"

"I thought that way too once!" Yaoyorozu countered, releasing a steel beam from her stomach and launching Izuku back as it impacted his ribs, "If I'd let myself believe lies like that, I wouldn't have been able to accept Jiro's feelings, and she'd be heartbroken. Your heart won't let you chain it down, so just be free for once! What's stopping you? Why won't you apply your dedication to something so simple?"

Recovering from the hit, Izuku felt the emotions bubbling in his chest start to spill out of his arms in the dark energy again, streaming behind his fists as he leapt forward to crash into her final shield, snapping it in half but only succeeding in screeching past her as she expertly evaded and let him have the target. In his adrenaline-filled rush, he'd aimed for the shield instead of the girl.

"Because I'm afraid!" Izuku admitted, feeling the metal tear against his gloves.

He skidded to a stop, the admission striking to his core as he realized what he'd been feeling throughout the conversation. Fear. He was afraid of losing one of the few friends he'd ever been able to call his own, and to something so simple as a crush that would no doubt fade, even if reciprocated. Senchan was worth more to him than a few dates could ever match. If they tried it, and then decided not to pursue one another… he'd never be able to look her in the eye again, and he'd have lost the first person to really make him feel… free. Even pragmatically, he might never be able to Float again.

"I'm afraid… of losing her. Of waking up one day and knowing she won't smile at me and say hello when I see her. It's stupid; I've only known her for two months, and she's… she's important to me. More than I can risk."

He sagged, falling to his knees. How pathetic was he, attached to the first girl who'd ever shown him attention? He wasn't panicking over Ida or Tokoyami reacting that way, even though he couldn't date either of them.

"It isn't stupid. It's human," Yaoyorozu said, kneeling beside him, "Ida mentioned a few weeks back that… that you didn't unlock your Quirk until she used hers on you during the Entrance Exam. Was that correct?"

Izuku nodded numbly, some distant part of his mind glad that the rumor was spreading quietly enough to dissuade casual interest.

"Then she's more important than just a friend," she continued, "She was the key to a part of yourself you'd been missing all your life. I know how many people treat those who are Quirkless, despite our best efforts to quell such actions. Someone who treated you kindly, perhaps for the first time in your life, is a connection you'd never had before."

Creating a pair of Matryoshka dolls which seemed to be themed after himself and Senchan, Yaoyorozu placed the two before herself and opened them. The pink doll had four layers, while the green was missing the second largest.

"Uraraka is a part of your life that you've been without for so long, of course you don't want her gone. Her actions and friendship have filled a gap in you," she explained, taking Senchan's section and placing his two smaller parts within, before hiding them all in the green doll.

"But at the same time, you've inspired all of us with your work ethic and strength. I was most impressed with how well you did in our first assignment, and I very much doubt I was alone," she continued, making the missing green portion and using it to complete the Senchan doll, "The concept of losing part of yourself, as well as losing someone who carries some of you as well, is something no one should be burdened with. No one will blame you for admitting you wish to remain whole."

Picking up the green toy, Izuku considered her words for a minute. He supposed it made sense. In fact… Yaoyorozu might have just outsmarted herself.

"Don't you think Jiro feels the same way?"

The flare of a blush across the Heiress' cheeks was all the confirmation he needed.

"I'm not sure what you-"

Izuku cut her off with a disbelieving look. He might be dense as osmium when it came to anything not Hero related, but Yaoyorozu most certainly didn't have such blindspots. She knew it, he knew it, and despite her excellent mind: she couldn't really… lie. It was actually kind of amazing how awful she was at lying.

With a sigh, she relented.

"Very well. I suppose I am… overthinking things regarding Jiro," Yaoyorozu admitted, "I simply don't have any experience in romance. I don't know where I'm doing well or where I'm causing further issues."

Laughing, Izuku rotated his legs so he could sit cross-legged.

"And you think I do?" he asked, bemused.

"I suppose not," she admitted, frowning a little more, "Despite the affirmations of others as to your merit as a partner, your reaction to women does seem to support a lack of experience."

Izuku nodded approvingly, before blinking and registering what she'd said.

"Wait, what others?"

Yaoyorozu waved the question away.

"It is not my place to reveal secrets which are not my own," she said, standing up again, "Come, let us train our Quirks before concluding our practice."

Very much wanting to get back to the topic of these "others" who'd evidently said or done something to indicate they'd like to date him, which he was having a hard time wrapping his brain around, Izuku didn't notice as Yaoyorozu began to produce more dolls. They seemed to be themed after their classmates, though one was notably absent, replaced by an All Might. He did notice when she started throwing them.

The Sero doll bounced off his head, cracking open and landing in a small pile by his legs. It didn't hurt terribly, but Izuku did slap a hand to the point of impact and hiss in pain anyway.

"You've just had a civilian thrown at you so hard: they died," Yaoyorozu criticized him, "Now what will you do when more are given similar treatment?"

With that, she started hurling the wooden implements at Izuku with all the force her arms could muster. He was able to catch most of them with his hands, setting them down before they broke, but Tsuyu, Hagakure, Sato, Kirishima, and Todoroki all found themselves in pieces beside Sero by the end of the first batch.

"Your hands aren't fast enough," she scolded, "You'll have to use your third Quirk power."

"I can barely make tweezers with it!" Izuku protested, holding up a scissors hand and showing off the fine barbs of darkness.

They were much more defined now, appearing more solid than mist, but still they were difficult to use, and hurt when he stretched them. He'd realized that he could produce a small length from each finger, as well as a slightly larger one from either palm, but they lacked finesse and control at any size more than what he'd used to fix Jiro's jack.

"Then "tweeze" them until you can grab them!"

More dolls started appearing on Yaoyorozu's arms, which she began to hurl in groups. Izuku leveled a finger gun at one of the clusters, firing the tendril out and wincing as it strained his arm. He managed to hit one, but it just broke apart. He swung it to another, trying to wrap it like Tsu's tongue, but he crushed that one too. By the time he went to grab a third: they'd all hit the ground.

Yaoyorozu kept throwing Matryoshka Dolls, continuing to show off his classmates, friends, and favorite Heroes being crushed in wooden form. She even started creating glass Minetas, but instead of letting him train with them: she smashed them to the ground beside her, shattering them in what was probably a form of catharsis.

Izuku stared at the broken remains, feeling a wave of failure rushing through him.

"Midoriya… why are you still making scissor-fingers?" she asked into his thoughts.

Glancing down, he saw that he was indeed still holding his dominant and middle fingers out in a pair of v-shapes.

"It's… how I figured out the way to control this power," he explained, stretching his palms a little, "When Jiro's jack was cut, I needed something sterile and with a fine point to fix her up, so I thought of… well, of tweezers."

He smiled at the lame analogy, but Yaoyorozu seemed intrigued. Stepping over to him, she placed a finger to the end of one of the tendrils. Izuku flinched as she bumped up against the sensitive Quirk. She took notice and withdrew, but nodded in what might have been understanding.

"Midoriya, could you keep these extended while clenching your whole fist?"

"I… guess?" he said, closing his hand and trying to keep the tendrils out.

They ended up emerging from his knuckles instead of his fingertips that time, but otherwise weren't that different.

"Now, how about one from each knuckle?"

He did as instructed, producing four, roughly finger-like protrusions. She grinned and held out her hand, letting him rest one of them on each of her fingertips.

"Now, close your eyes and think of these like you would your fingers," Yaoyorozu instructed him, "They're sensitive enough you can feel my grip, so use that as reference. If you start to hurt, tell me at once."

Izuku obeyed, closing his eyes and trying to visualize each of the tendrils against her fingers, much like they were his own. She curled them a little giving a slight pull, and he nodded through the discomfort. He could take a little pain.

After a moment, a gasp escaped him as they felt strained, as if an arm tugged too far. She stopped curling her hand and let go.

"Now, try to move them."

He wiggled the tendrils like he would to beckon someone closer, feeling them respond.

"Open your eyes."

Blinking a bit, Izuku glanced down at his hand to see his workmanship. He was surprised to find the tendrils were not finger length, but almost as long as his arm, reaching out to where Yaoyorozu now stood, smiling kindly.

"Wish to begin again?"

Nodding, he got his arms into a ready position, determined to succeed this time. Yaoyorozu grinned and started making more dolls. Izuku continued to try and grab them, his new technique of thinking improving little by little. Eventually he recognized that the dark aspect of his Quirk had a few properties.

If he wanted, it could be fairly sticky, able to simply impact the object and seal to it until he let it dissolve. It could remain solid and lack adhesive properties, at which point he could wrap it or strike with it, though it carried little power after the initial impact, better for pulling or swinging. He also found that the dexterity with each tendril was vaguely proportional to whichever knuckle he projected it from.

Still, his minimal ability was starting to bother him. Each tendril hurt when it went a certain distance or carried more than two dolls' weight. More confusingly: the more he tried to fight them into submission: the more they retaliated and the stronger they seemed to get. At one point, he saw a trio of Kacchans he was going to miss and tried to snatch them with his pinky's whip, only to see the line split into three at the end and punch through them with enough force not only to break them open, but to splinter the wood. Power he could have used to grasp or lift, but not present when he wanted it.

"Hold!" Yaoyorozu called.

Izuku sighed and let the dark energy retract into his body. He felt like a failure.

"Midoriya… when you fly, how fast do you go?"

The question was kind of out there, but Izuku went along with it.

"I don't know," he admitted, "I haven't had a chance to definitively measure it. Plus, it's harder to tell the percentages these days."

"Percentages?"

Snapping his fingers, Izuku remembered that not everyone knew how he counted his Quirk output, even if they were in on the secret.

"Yeah, my Quirk is kind of… like a battery," he explained, trying to clarify it as best he could, "When I use one of the unlocked portions, I can only use it at 0% or 100%. On or off. That's why Float sent me shooting off into the sky at first. I got the hang of keeping it around 1% to do the thing where I sit still or drift like Uraraka does, so when I unlocked the Stockpiling power I could restrain it to 30% at first. It still shredded my muscles and pulverized my bones after, but it didn't, ya know, blow my arm off. I've been trying to control it at around 4 or 5% since my internship, which is why the lightning changed color to green instead of violet."

Yaoyorozu nodded, not offering any questions that might have made him worry about giving away his big secret. Clearly she was able to put the pieces together from what she'd observed through their handful of adventures.

"But you said you're having a more difficult time of it?" she clarified.

"Not quite difficult. More… unconscious use. And just with Float," Izuku amended, "It was my first, and it feels the most natural. I've been using it so often at low levels, and trained with it for a while. After I started using 8% against Todoroki and got full control of it, I haven't had to think about percentages and manually adjust its output. I just kind of… go. Why do you ask?"

"Does your dark aspect have a name? You called your flying "Float" and the lightning "Stockpile.""

"Um… let me check real quick."

Izuku frowned and closed his eyes, trying to tap into the sort of dark box where Nana's presence seemed to come from periodically within his mind. He couldn't really talk to her, or she to him on command, but he'd heard her voice periodically when he was focusing on something else. Maybe if he could get the vestige who'd owned the power to at least feel his question…

Holding up his arms, Izuku fired a tendril from either hand up at the ceiling, sticking to it. He pulled himself up with his arms, clenching his teeth so he wouldn't scream at the anguish from the tendrils as they protested in waves of soreness and sharp jabs of pain. If this didn't get their attention…

Blackwhip! Call it Blackwhip, and for the love of Kami stop doing whatever you're doing to my Quirk! I can feel that!

It was a male voice, very gruff but with a sort of lightness to the tone that told Izuku the guy was usually pretty fun to hang around if you didn't piss him off.

"Blackwhip!" Izuku agreed with a gasp, letting go and dropping to the ground.

Yaoyorozu had stepped over in concern when he didn't get back up instantly, but he just gave her a rough smile.

"S-sorry," he apologized, "These powers seem to have their own names. When I strain them a little, I get a sort of feeling as to what they're supposed to be and how they relate to who unlocked them."

Nodding, she took a protein bar out of her pouch and munched on it, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"You gained Float due to Uraraka removing your gravity," she mused, "She was kind to you and took away the burdens of your past for a moment. She literally embodied freedom for you, so your Quirk's first aspect was a way to grant you true freedom: full control of your body in three dimensional space. So, as you allow yourself to be more free: you control higher percentages and more finesse. Stockpile could have come from a number of people, and seems to be rooted in your drive to push yourself and others to be true Heroes. It seems vaguely like All Might's strength, though not acclimatized to your body. I would guess it's imitating him, and so is connected to your heart and the power to achieve feats like his. So, as you continue to perform Heroic acts and feel more comfortable as a Hero, it will similarly transition to a subconscious use."

Following her train of thought, Izuku nodded and thought back.

"Tokoyami and Dark Shadow unlocked Blackwhip," he recalled, "I first used it to hold my body together when I was being torn apart by Stockpile against Todoroki. I felt so… angry that he wasn't giving it his all."

"But you didn't lash out at him," Yaoyorozu pointed out, "You fought to draw out his power. And while I might have guessed before that it's some kind of connection to your determination and an ability to hold yourself together, now I believe it springs from your righteous fury and is in fact a power to reach out to others. Hence the whip-like nature."

Yaoyorozu made a doll like the hand-covered villain and threw it. Izuku leveled his fist and fired a single whip at the thing, which slashed through the wood in an instant, his disgust at the man-child coming out through his Quirk. Oddly, it didn't hurt that time, but it didn't obey him either. Izuku had meant to pierce it and then let the tendril fade away, but instead it had slashed and then continued to flail until he'd begun to panic and it had dissipated.

"It's anger alright," Izuku agreed, "But I don't know how well that's gonna help... "

"You had difficulty controlling it," she noticed, "Your anger at that villain is something you lack control over, so the percentage control is off."

That was right! Why hadn't he been regulating percentages with Blackwhip too? He hadn't even considered that it operated on the same principles as the other two, seeing as it was tangible and not an enhancement.

Stretching out again, Izuku tried to think of the output in his usual way, instead of as a new appendage. He'd probably have to think backwards from there later, but he wasn't too worried about it. He tried the comfortable 5%, and the tendrils reached about thrice his arm length. He had one per knuckle, losing his thumb connections, and while they were tender: they didn't hurt.

"They're shorter than I've seen before, and less numerous," Yaoyorozu noticed, watching him wave them through the air a bit.

"Yeah, but… I can focus on them now and not the pain. It's kind of like… I don't know, they're soft now, not sharp? It's hard to describe," Izuku apologized, sticking and unsticking to a few objects as he tried to test his dexterity.

Annoyingly, he found he wasn't able to control them individually without neglecting the others, and if he tried to split the ends of one like he had on accident before: the same number of whips vanished entirely from his other hand.

"They're like flesh," Yaoyorozu decided, breaking into his thoughts.

"F-flesh?!"

The Heiress nodded.

"When you go beyond your means, they're like exposed flesh. Easily damaged and sending signals of imminent damage to the brain via pain, even when only in the air. At your limit, they're like soft skin: sensitive but not in active pain. In essence: you need to grow calluses. In that same vein, you're right handed. This Quirk is like another pair of limbs. You have to practice with it to become ambidextrous."

Izuku had never been in love before UA. Senchan was edging fairly close to the definition, despite how much he tried to hide it, but beyond that he had only some vague awkwardness and panic around females. However, feeling his heart skip a beat at a girl not only analyzing a Quirk like he would, but also using an analogy as awful and precise as his… oh dear, he wasn't going to be able to train with her anymore without turning into a blushing mess, was he?

Luckily, she wasn't going to give him the time to think about it. Yaoyorozu produced another series of their classmates, throwing them away from him this time.

"Now: save the poor citizens!" she commanded, smashing the Mineta doll just for fun.

"Oh dear, it sounds very much like how my hair reacted when I was young," Shiozaki sighed, shaking her head in mild distress, "Do you think he would benefit from my aid in mastering this dark energy of his?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't say no," Momo assured her, following her friend into the church building once again, "I'd be happy to make the introductions."

Shiozaki gave a small bow of the head in thanks, before straightening up and giving her boots a small pair of kicks against the entry mats. Momo attempted to imitate her, but her softer flats weren't really as sturdy.

"My apologies, Yaomomo," the vine-haired girl jumped in, noticing her shoes bend a bit, "This isn't a religious action. I simply have a habit of knocking my shoes at this doorway. I first received them as a Christmas present some years ago, and when I had to come in from the snow: I found this method quickest to remove the excess."

"Oh… right, of course!" Momo beamed, recovering from her obvious mistake and stepping inside.

She hadn't heard Shiozaki giggle before, and it took a moment for her to register the sound from behind her. Momo turned to look back, incredulous, but her friend's face was as passive as ever. Had she imagined it?

"Again, I must beg your pardon," Shiozaki smiled apologetically, "I wasn't meaning to laugh at you, merely how sincere your reaction was. If I offended you, I-"

"Nono! It's fine!" Momo cut her off, "I simply… haven't heard you laugh before."

Shiozaki's face scrunched up a little, as if confused.

"I'm certain I've- haven't I?"

The two girls thought back, but came up blank. They broke into little grins, a few more giggles cutting through their attempts to restrain them.

"Well, now you have," she pointed out, controlling her humor once again, "Is it a nice laugh?"

"I think it's very cute," Momo assured her, placing her hands together over her casual skirt.

The complement seemed to illuminate Shiozaki's whole figure, summoning her heavenly light from behind and she didn't hold back her smile. Nodding again in thanks, she turned and began to walk down the halls towards one of the rooms Momo and Jiro had visited a few Sundays prior. As she followed, Momo noticed Shiozaki tense up her shoulders and let out an almost inaudible squeak, before relaxing and making no mention of it. Hopefully that was also not a religious event, because Momo doubted she could make a sound that adorable on command.

"So, you said we would be helping a member of the community," she asked instead, taking a few longer steps to get up beside Shiozaki, "Why are we here instead?"

"Ah, because we have to coordinate first," the religious girl explained, "This is an activity the young women of my ward have asked to perform, and as such we must begin with an explanation for those who only know to turn up at this time each week. We'll have a brief meeting, perhaps five minutes long, and then head over to the home in question."

"I see. Quite accommodating," Momo agreed, "Who's home is it?"

"I'm not certain myself," Shiozaki admitted, "They're not a member, from what I understand. An elderly woman who is moving away and needs help packing up her belongings onto the truck."

"It sounds almost like Hero work, aiding someone simply because you can."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Evidently Shiozaki was capable of smugness and teasing. Momo hadn't expected that. She just seemed so… wholesome. Aetherial.

"Speaking of Hero Work," Shiozaki asked, back to her usual aura, "what about your own training? Have you developed any new abilities or techniques since your internship?"

"Nothing particularly new," she admitted, "but I do believe I've become more effective."

As they entered the RS room, various other girls around their age glanced over. Momo was actually a bit shocked at their reactions to their entering. Some seemed delighted to see Shiozaki (as well they should be) and stepped over to greet her. Others almost stood up before noticing Momo, at which point they frowned in either disdain or sorrow and sat back down. A few paid them no mind, paired with a trio who threw Shiozaki looks which could most kindly be described as unredeeming.

"It's wonderful to see you too," the vine-haired girl responded to the more friendly greetings, "Please, this is Yaoyorozu Momo, a friend of mine from UA. She's agreed to come and help us with the move tonight."

Now even the friendly ones were shooting sly glances at Momo, before smirking at Shiozaki playfully. Her companion turned bright red, not saying anything to counter the looks. One of the girls, her rabbit head making it difficult to guess her age, turned to Momo and bowed in greeting.

"I'm Totemo Bani," she said with a polite smile, "Are you Ibara-nee's girlfriend?"

Momo noticed the older sister honorific that both she and several other girls had begun to attach to Shiozaki's name. She'd noticed her religion seemed to promote a sense of family by doing so, at least outwardly. There weren't any "father" or "mother" additives though, which made her wonder if maybe she was misinterpreting.

"B-Bani!" the accused stammered, making Momo smile affectionately.

"I'm afraid not, Totemo-san," Momo said, "Shiozaki merely asked me if I would like to help her aid in your activity tonight, and I agreed. Though… I suppose I wouldn't reject her out of hand if she asked for a date."

The last sentence she'd lowered her voice, so only she and Totemo could hear, earning a small laugh from the latter.

"Too bad. You sound like a princess, and Ibara deserves royalty after all she's gone through," Totemo confided in a similar tone, "But I'm glad she's at least got a friend at her new school."

"She has many friends. I'm just one of them."

Totemo beamed and nodded, turning back to the group. Shiozaki clapped her hands once and everyone seemed to focus on her with a different, more business-like gaze.

"Well, that's everyone!" she called, stepping over to a wooden podium and leaning against it while she glanced around, "first thing's first: It's good to see you all tonight! I know it's been a bit hectic, what with school for everyone, but I'm glad you could make it out this evening."

"It's good to see you as well, Shiozaki," Yuto greeted the young woman sitting opposite him, "I take it your Hero classes are everything you've dreamed?"

Shiozaki's bright, yet subdued smile flickered briefly.

"The classes themselves have been wonderful, yes," she confirmed, "However, I… I've been somewhat conflicted as of late."

"You've certainly come to the correct place then. It's a Bishop's job to care for those in need. Remember though, you're only human, and you aren't here to be criticized or judged. I know you can be… a bit hard on yourself sometimes."

Shiozaki nodded, fiddling with a loose vine in her hands. He hadn't seen her do that in a while. This must be something very serious.

"You see, Bishop Kobayashi… I'm sure you're aware of how I… feel, about the church," she began, very hesitantly, "As well as… my orientation."

Yuto nodded, feeling a bit of worry drop into his stomach. Shiozaki was one of the most steadfast and faithful members of his ward, proud of both her faith and herself. She endured her trials with her head held high, and accepted her blessings with humility. She was the model saint. Through it all, she'd never once denied either her faith or who she was.

"As I recall, you've never once hidden the fact that you're romantic and physical attractions lean only towards females," he clarified, not expecting it to have changed but wanting to be polite, "and while you've never flaunted it, you've never shied away from the fact it is one of your trials, and part of who you are."

"That's correct, sir," she nodded.

"I take it then you've… met someone? Someone who's made you begin to question your choice to remain celebate?" Yuto asked, trying not to sound accusatory but also get the truth without any of his own bias or uncertainty cloud the advice he would have to give her.

"I- I believe I could continue to keep that covenant," Shiozaki said, a bit of determination in her voice, "I have classes with the R-rated Heroine: Midnight, which have been… difficult, but through God's grace, I have begun to prevail. No, I simply… they- ...oh…"

Her confidence was falling apart at the end there. Yuto hadn't ever seen her so conflicted before. She'd never once wavered in her decisions or faith, and yet now: she was tensing up more and more with each word.

"Shiozaki," Yuto soothed, "Take your time. I won't judge you for how you feel, and I want to help you as best I can. Just relax and explain whatever you feel you can."

Swallowing, she nodded and looked back up at him, her forest green eyes meeting his duller brown ones. The fire she'd always possessed, both in her duties and her conviction, burned as bright as always.

"I've met someone," she confirmed, "Two someones, in fact. They're both… wonderful women. They comforted me after my outburst during the sports festival, and we've become… friends. I won't deny I find them attractive in a physical sense, but… emotionally, I feel a more intimate connection towards them. I know it's not wrong to have such feelings, but-"

The fire flickered, dulling as uncertainty crept in.

"The longer I know them, the deeper I feel… drawn to either of them. I don't want to lose them. Even if I have to fight each day to keep myself silent and remain only friends, I don't want to be deprived of their company."

Angry tears were appearing at the edges of Shiozaki's eyes as she fought to maintain her composure.

"But keeping this secret… is agony," she said, her voice cracking just a little, "I've always been open about who I am. I'm a daughter of God, and while I'm a lesbian: I've chosen to keep his commandments. I've never denied these facts, and I never will. But now I have another truth that's growing in my heart, which I can't tell. Not out of shame, but because to tell would be to ruin all."

"Shiozaki, you may have to tell them eventually," Yuto said apologetically, "Opening up may be the only way to move on from these feelings, if you choose to."

"I can't tell them though! They'd become repulsed by my presence, knowing that I look at them in such a manner, yet won't act to assure them of my sincerity or celibacy. I would never be able to remain their friend later, and should they begin to date one another: I would be forever the third wheel, lessening their love with my presence."

She seemed to register the second part of his suggestion, and blinked in confusion.

"Bishop Kobayashi, I won't-"

"I'm not saying to leave the church or your ideals," Yuto assured her, "but I am saying there is a path you could take. A painful path, yes, but one that might bring you some measure of peace."

It hurt him how much desperation came into her eyes, mixed by the reignited flames of her will. She wiped at her eyes, folding her hands and sitting up straighter.

"Please, I can overcome this trial. I have the strength of our Lord behind me. I just need to know what to do."

"Then you'll have to explain this to them."

A flicker of fear came into Shiozaki's expression, but she merely nodded for him to continue.

"I take it the two young women you mean are the ones you brought to sacrament meeting around a month ago?" he asked, wanting to be sure she understood the depth of her choice.

"They are. Yaoyorozu Momo and Jiro Kyoka. Both are in class 1-A of the Hero course."

"If they're intelligent and pure of heart enough to be Heroes, they will understand this if you tell them," Yuto assured her, "Explain your feelings and your constraints. Explain that God has decreed that sexual relations are only to be undertaken in marriage, and that marriage is still to be exclusively between one woman and one man under his direction."

Shiozaki didn't interrupt him, but hearing him remind her of their statutes did make her conviction visually stiffen.

"Then… if they are open to it, ask them if they're willing to date you under those constraints."

"But… to seek temptation-"

Yuto politely held up his hand, asking for her to hold her comment.

"Ibara," he said, his voice filled with all the compassion he could bring to bear, "You're a wonderful young woman. No one could claim to try harder than you at keeping to your ideals and covenants. I know how much this is tearing you up inside. I was young and in love with people who didn't fit the rules once. One of two things is going to inevitably happen. Either you'll find a way to compromise things, or you'll fall onto one side or the other. Unhappy but secure in the knowledge you chose the path your Father in Heaven set for you, or Content but with regrets in your heart for having what others are allowed to have but you would have been denied in this life. I hope you'll be able to find the middle road, and I believe you can walk it."

Shiozaki seemed surprised at his explanation, but the stoic understanding in her eyes told him she'd listened to every word.

""The pleasant paths have crumbled,"" Yuto sighed, "Shiozaki, you were burdened with the trial of solitude from the day you were born, both by choice and by request of those you follow. Now you have two people you feel safe around, even enough to fall for them. In my view: you've been alone a long time, and they might help you be happy, however you decide."

""It is not good for man to be alone,"" Shiozaki sighed in agreement.

"I'm sorry I didn't have a simple answer for you. I've been looking into it for the last few years, expecting one day you'd… well. Let's just say I didn't find you an exception note," he apologized.

Oddly, she seemed a bit affronted by the idea.

"I would never ask for special treatment," she protested, "I simply… don't wish to become torn between two places when I cannot see good without sorrow and evil without joy."

"Loving someone isn't evil," the Bishop reassured her, "And if anyone deserves one exception: you're on that list."

Nodding, she bowed her head in acceptance. Standing up, Shiozaki made her way to the door.

"Thank you for your time, Bishop Kobayashi."

"Always, Shiozaki," he returned, "get home safely."

Bowing slightly, she closed his door and stepped into the hallway towards the foyer.

Wondering if he'd just set the brightest future towards misery or peace, Yuto pulled out his phone and dialed his mother, Ilulu. She didn't understand the dilemma, but her blunt way of thinking always seemed to make the world a little simpler.

["Hello?"]

"Jiro!" Uwabami exclaimed, sitting back in her makeup chair as the line connected, "How's my second-favorite student doing?"

["Hello, Uwabami,"] the student sighed, before suddenly getting affronted, ["Wait, second?!"]

"Didn't you hear?" Uwabami grinned, imagining her pupil's expression, "Kendo was able to make a girl literally melt just the other day. I'd say someone's putting my training to better work."

["Wh- you- I- I took on the freaking Hero Killer!"]

"But that was so long ago," she mock-lamented, "I mean, what have you done recently? Whipped your class into an orgy? Received love letters? Denied proposals?"

["...do you want to know how the date went, or don't you?"] Jiro deadpanned.

"A date!" Uwabami gasped, pretending very hard to be surprised at the news, "With whom? Was it that pretty vine-haired lady you fought in the tournament or the tall one? Where did you go? What did you do?"

["First: what are you giving me for it?"]

She was a sly one alright. Kendo had only remembered halfway through. Luckily, Uwabami had been prepared to give it to them anyway on this one.

"I've already texted you a document and a few videos on how to erase your presence," she promised, "You should find them very helpful for sneaking up on others, as well as for listening in on… steamy conversations."

["I'm not a pervert, Uwabami,"] Jiro deadpanned.

"No, but if your girls start talking about what they'd like for a present or how they'd like your erotic jacks to move in bed-"

["I'm about a second from hanging up, and I already have your leverage. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."]

Uwabami let out a long, dramatic sigh of defeat.

"Oh, fine… tell me about the date and I won't tease anymore. I'll be the perfect, supportive mentor."

["Good,"] Jiro grumbled, ["I suppose… I should start with how I asked her out…"]

"Please," Uwabami prompted, readjusting her position so she could start adding a few touch ups to her look before the photo shoot.

["Well, Shiozaki and I… were studying together. And, ah… she started humming some songs."]

Grinning, the Pro Heroine recognized how much that gesture would have meant to her protégée. Music was an obvious influencer and major component of Jiro's life. Someone who appreciated it would have an advantage getting into her heart.

["And then we kind of… sang a duet,"] Jiro mumbled, her blush evident even across the phone.

"How romantic," Uwabami cooed, shifting her phone to the other ear and grabbing a brush from beside the mirror, "And then you popped the question?"

["About that… Shiozaki actually… totally blew me away with compliments and a hug and… then helped me ask out Yaomomo."]

That gave her pause. Uwabami was a little disappointed in her student for not being the one to go for the initiative, but… she'd thought Jiro had been building up to a confession by the former girl, not a sudden wingwoman spin.

"Then she rebuffed your advances?"

["I don't… think so? I didn't really make a move on her, and… she admitted Yaomomo and I were… I guess, who she wanted to fall in love with? But she says she can't date us because of her beliefs."]

A thousand curses on whichever deity that vine-girl worshiped! She'd forgotten about the "no gays" rule some of them still held onto.

"Well, I'll have to teach you some extra special tricks to help change her mind," Uwabami promised, "But at least you had a good time on your date with the other one."

["Well, except for the middle, yeah. We went to the mall. Just sort of hung out. Got into an argument about which Pussycat was the hottest."]

"Mandalay?"

["Mandalay was my first choice,"] Jiro admitted, ["But then… well, Yaomomo kind of forced me to confront my feelings for her, and… well, I said that if she wore a skirt she'd have the top spot for me… oh Kami, I must have sounded so stupid…"]

Uwabami laughed, forgetting her preparations entirely so she could listen to Jiro's worries. This Yaoyorozu girl was quite the bold one, pushing Jiro to confess. If only she'd come to the internship. She would have no doubt been clever enough to see through the facade Uwabami created around herself, and had they not gone to fight the Hero Killer, she could have stayed with her usual schedule and simply let the girl teach herself. But perhaps not.

"And what happened after that?"

["We got food… Pizza, which was fine. She cut hers up with a knife and fork, and then ate the bits with chopsticks. It was adorable. Then she dragged me into a goth clothing shop to try and buy me some stuff."]

"Spikes and torn clothes, all of it black and mopey?"

["Only little ones!"] Jiro protested, ["And there are other colors! Purples and reds, a few blues, ya feel?"]

"Just teasing."

["We had an agreement on that, Uwabami!"]

"It's too much fun with you!" she protested, faux-wounded, "You're always doing cute things, and you're all serious about it! All punk-rock and stuff, but you're a big softie deep down."

["...Please don't agree with my girlfriend like that ever again."]

That made Uwabami sit up straight.

"You actually sealed the deal?!"

["Well, we talked and decided on having more dates, so I guess that makes us-"]

"Let me stop you right there, hon," Uwabami cut in, "That's just dating. You're dating now. She isn't your girlfriend unless you're the one she's dating almost exclusively."

["Almost?"]

"I'm gonna get you that Shiozaki girl, even if I have to come over there, wrap her up, and put her in your christmas stocking."

["Right. So then… we're not girlfriends yet?"]

"No, Jiro. Not until you vocally confirm it."

["Cool. I'll save that for the second date."]

"If you think you can handle it," Uwabami yawned.

["I'm not asking for advice on this. I'm not gonna burn a practical lesson for a way to ask out the girl I'm already together with."]

"Whatever you say, dear," the snake-haired lady assured her, preparing to pull out her ace in the hole, "Just try to remember that conviction when you start wondering how to get Shiozaki to kiss you."

["Wha-?!"]

"Bye Jiro!"

Hanging up, Uwabami stretched and got out of her chair, heading over to the door and heading into the empty studio where they were going to be shooting. She liked arriving first. It made her look so effortlessly perfect much more easily, which played into her hands quite nicely.

"You're slacking, Racoon Eyes!" Bakugo roared, flying down with a pair of explosions, "It's laziness like this that made you lose the second round!"

"Jeez, let that go, will ya?!" Mina cried, tossing acid globs up at him and missing by miles, "You didn't even make it in!"

"I'll let it go when you prove you can beat Deku and Roundface!" he screamed, landing and punching her in the gut.

Mina gasped as he hit her, trying to melt him in retaliation but too slow again. Kiri seemed like he wanted to help, but the guy was already blasting him away, knowing he could get away with some heavier hits against Hardening. Somehow he was winning a two-on-one.

"Dude, it isn't manly to hit a girl!"

"Manly? Manly?! What, you gonna let all the pretty villains go, -ty Hair?!"

"No way, man! I just mean-"

"When you get manly enough to beat me, I might listen to your advice, but until then: shut up and get back to work! I won't let either of you die out there because these good-for-nothing teachers coddle you! Not on my watch! You're gonna be the most badass Heroes of all time when we get outta here, and when they see you ridin' in as my sidekicks: you're gonna make all the villains piss 'emselves!"

The sheer… faith Bakugo had in them, insults aside, was kind of surprising. It almost seemed like he was… worried about them. Maybe that whole villain fight was going to his head?

"Of course, that's gonna be after I turn you into charcoal!" Bakugo continued, blasting back at them, "So unless you wanna change your name to Dusty Queen and Burt Riot: I suggest you start thinking more!"

"Why did we agree to spar this early?!" Mina wailed, getting the biggest dollop of acid she could and preparing to fling it at Bakugo at the last second.

"Because he said it would be four hours after he woke up," Kiri grumbled, getting his stance back up, "I didn't know he never slept!"

"It's already 9:30, you pansies! If you can't wake up before 5, you shouldn't be staying up so late!"

Another concussive blast knocked Mina back a step, and as she tried to throw her goop, Bakugo's boot met her back. It hurt like all get out, that was for sure, but he wasn't trying to actually hurt her.

Letting herself fall to her chest, Mina pressed her hands on the ground and pushed off, using the fall's momentum to get her into an airwise roll. If she couldn't box with Bakugo, she'd have to dance with the dunce. The problem was, she couldn't exactly throw acid like this. She needed her hands and her legs to dance. So… she'd just use her mouth! Who said Alien Queen was a bad name?!

Oh right… she couldn't spit acid. It came from her skin.

Still, using her break-dancing moves, she might be able to hold out until she could come up with… something.

Bouncing a little, thinking about it like a dance battle, Mina waited for Bakugo's next attack and then gave a little spin around his right hook. She felt the heat of his last-second explosion, but no actual pain. Okay… she could do this! Sometimes Heroes had to, ya know, buy time and stuff! Get other people to fight the big bad. If Kiri wasn't worrying about her, she could help tire out ol' blasty, and then he could deck him!

"Yeah!" Mina cheered, building up a little momentum and sliding under Bakugo's next kaboom.

He turned around and went after her again, not switching to Kiri that time though, which meant she needed to dodge again. Luckily, while normal people would have to throw their legs to get up, or have help spinning, Mina's low viscosity acid meant she could set herself like a top and spin around her hip with just a little nudge.

The whirring was a little faster than even she'd expected, getting her kinda dizzy before she managed to kick her feet over and back under her. Bakugo'd missed the second shot, but while she'd been spinning: he'd taken the chance to whack Kiri again and took advantage of her unbalanced spell. His boot hit her chin, and she was back on her rump.

"Shi-"

"No damn swearing until you land a mother-f***ing hit!" Bakugo reprimanded, grabbing her by her face and belt and hurling her right into Kiri.

They collided into a pile of limbs, her bestest buddy trying to break her fall but only ending up getting knocked over too. That was just about when she gave up, laying her head down on his chest and waving a little white flag of surrender.

"Who said you could quit?!"

"Perhaps…" a voice called across the gym, "they could take a short break?"

Managing to tear her face up from the impressively soft torso of her horn buddy, Mina glanced over to see who it was.

"Yaomomo! JiroJack!" she tried to cheer, before losing energy and falling back down onto her Kiripillow.

"It's good to see you too, Mina," Jiro called back, "Think you can tear yourself off your boyfriend for a sec and give us a hand with something?"

"Not really…" she groaned, "He's too cuddly, see?"

She managed to pull his arm a little over the back of her left knee before giving up.

"See? Totally trapped. I'll just have to live here forever."

"Tch! Just go have your girl powwow already! I'll kick your **s off Shittyhair if I have to!"

Truly, it was worthwhile making friends with Bakugo, Mina thought sarcastically.

Dragging herself off Kiri, the rosette staggered over her girl friends, leaning an arm on Jiro's shoulder to both rest and annoy the pair. She smirked for a little as a touch of what might have been jealousy pricked Yaomomo's eyes, but was quickly suppressed. Girl had it bad, that was for sure.

"'SssssssuuuuuuuuP?" Mina drew out, popping the "p" at the end to make it appear even sharper.

"This was a bad idea," Jiro decided, pushing her off, "Let's go try Hagakure instead. Or Tsuyu. I think she mentioned an uncle who-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mina interrupted, catching onto the second picks, "This has to do with ship stuff? Why didn't you open with that?! Give me all your woes, my chicks!"

"Yeah, definitely a bad idea."

"I told you she would be willing to help!"

The two lovebirds blinked as they realized they'd spoken over each other with pretty much the opposite reaction. To Mina's surprise, they didn't seem all that worried about it. Jiro just kind of sighed and kind of waved her on, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Meanwhile, Yaomomo hid her giggles behind her hand in that rich-girl way of hers. How she managed to pull that aura off without coming across as smug, Mina would never understand.

"Okay…?" she asked after a few seconds of blushing silence she wasn't able to get in on.

"Oh! My apologies, I became distracted," Yaomomo started, coming back to herself.

"Hey, I charge by the hour. You can get lost in Jiro's eyes all day for all I care."

"Moving on!" Jiro cut in before anything else could distract her or turn their faces red enough to go twinsies with Mina, "We need you to give us some… date ideas…"

Later that day, Bakugo would swear she'd developed a second Quirk: the same as Acid, except that she generated agonizing sounds instead of liquid. She couldn't exactly fault him; her squee of joy wasn't exactly quiet.

"Oh my kami!" she screamed, grabbing them one after the other to shake them in joy, "You're together?! You need my help with date ideas?! I knew you'd be the first OTP! I've gotta tell everyone about this! The first girlfriends in class 1-A!"

"Mina."

"You'll be able to go out to movies and karaoke-"

"Excuse me, Mina?"

"-and beach days- Oh! We've gotta get you two matching suits so you can ogle all day!-"

"-Mina, we're not-"

"-We'll have to hold you two apart in any onsens from now on, so you don't jump one ano-"

"MINA!" Jiro shouted, her voice reverberating just a little bit like her speakers did.

The pink-stained Hero paused, realizing they'd been trying to catch her attention as she'd rambled about her date ideas and let out her enthusiasm for their finally getting together. Maybe she was being a titch loud…

"Mina, we're not… we're not actually, totally, together… yet," Jiro explained, her voice suddenly much more quiet and a hand moving up to rub at her vocal chords, "We're just… looking for some second date ideas. We went to the mall for the first and it kind of…"

"It sucked?"

"It was a bit too casual," Yaomomo amended, smiling awkwardly, "I think we'd like some ideas on how to spend time together and get to know one another. As much as I care for Jiro and we enjoy one another's company, how well we actually perform together as a couple is… unknown to us."

"Okay, I can do a slow-burn," Mina nodded, thinking quickly.

They needed some formal dating, yeah? Something classic, which would help them get closer to actually get together instead of just "dating." She could do that. She could play the long game. Kiri was evidence of that.

"Jiro, what's your favorite thing to do when you're relaxing?" she asked suddenly.

The jack-Hero student considered for a moment, frowning and tapping her jacks against her collarbone unthinkingly. Then she nodded, smiling a bit as she answered.

"I like to get the music pumpin'."

"Cool, cool. What about you, Yaomomo?"

"Oh! I find it most instructive to read up on new chemicals and engineering schematics," the Heiress beamed.

"No, not what you study in the off-time," Mina scolded playfully, "What do you do for fun?"

"But… reading is fun?"

The poor girl sounded so confused. Oh, Kami help this poor, sheltered, innocent child and her punk girlfriend.

"Then what's the most entertaining thing you've ever read?" Mina tried.

"..."

If Yaomomo had been blushing at any time before today, Mina had evidently not seen it properly. Her entire head seemed to be giving off steam with how much blood was flowing into it. Grinning like a cheshire cat, Mina glanced at Jiro, who hadn't missed the sudden effect the question had caused.

"Well color me surprised, our supposedly innocent Yaomomo reads-"

"It's not what you think!" she protested, waving her hands wildly, "They just all try so hard, and their stories are variants on the same premise, so I can more easily read them and evaluate the personalities of the writers."

It didn't sound like most of the erotica series Mina had heard of.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" she verified.

"I know it's uncouth to read unpublished works, especially those labeled as fan fictions, but I just… they're so unique!" Yaomomo cried, shaking her head as she held her face.

"Oh. Well, that's not so bad," Mina sighed, "I thought you meant naughtier books."

While Jiro reassured her girl that it was okay to read fan fictions, Mina tried to put together a few ideas for them. She was dead set on Karaoke, but that would only work if they felt like they had options. She couldn't push them into accepting help from an outside source, oh nonono.

Once they'd calmed down a little, Mina held up four fingers, two on either hand.

"Alrighty, here's what I got," she explained, wiggling one as she explained the idea attached.

"First: Mixed date," Mina offered, "Super fancy dinner date for Yaomomo to show you how her world works in fame and riches, followed by the grungiest karaoke bar you can find so Jiro can let you experience the joys of her music."

They seemed pretty surprised her option was so tame, which she supposed spoke to how awesome she was! She'd not only got a rep as the cool, over-the-top girl, but she also could hold herself back for her friends. How rad was that?

"Second," she continued, wiggling the next finger, "Negative date. Pick something both of you hate or both don't know anything about so you can experience it together."

Okay, they were a little more iffy on that one, but she could see some wheels turning.

"I've, ah… never gone rock-climbing?" Jiro tried.

Yaomomo smiled and nodded, her practical side clearly going into full tilt, enthusiasm burning in her eyes. Somehow though, she managed to just smile and nod.

"Last: two dates, one for either person," Mina finished, "A study date for Yaomomo to strut her stuff, and then a rock concert date for Jiro to jam out with you."

That one they didn't really like.

"I don't want to just drop her in like that!" Jiro complained, "You have to work up to concerts!"

"If Jiro becomes disinterested, I won't be able to think back on the date with any level of confidence!"

Mina laughed, shaking her head at the poor sweethearts.

"You can work up to a date too, ya know," she told them, "Hang out at your place and put on some soft rock for her or something. Hang out after class so you get a feel at how she studies. Just go do stuff together. It doesn't have to always be a date."

"I mean… yeah…"

"You are correct there, Mina."

"'Course I'm right!" Mina cheered, "And FYI: ask Shiozaki along for date three."

As expected, that sent their faces into an emotional spiral. Jiro went from confused to understanding to agreement to shock and then to panic so quick it was kind of amazing. Yaomomo was a little slower, so she could enjoy the show a bit more. First came the uncertainty, the polite curiosity, then the lightbulb over her head (could she make one of those just to show of? Prob'ly could, all things considered…), followed by that little purse of the lips of uncertainty.

"I don't think-"

"GIrls, I know she's head over heels for you and fighting a losing battle," Mina deadpanned, "I also know you two aren't exactly against her making you the OT3. You don't have to date her, but just… she's gotta be the best chaperone on the planet, so you'll be able to get away with more time. Plus, it'll make you all feel better about the whole thing, instead of always getting those guilty looks when you catch one another's eyes. Seriously, you were all perfect back at the Sports festival, bein' all cute and together, and now you're like, scared of each other or somethin'."

They looked like they were processing, but before Mina could pull out the big guns, Bakugo started screaming again.

"Well, looks like I need to go get beaten into the dirt again," she apologized, "Anyway, tell me how it goes. Call me. All that jazz. Or, I guess rock since it's you, Jiro? I dunno. Later!"

With that, Mina bounced over to her horn-buddy, slapping his shoulder and getting onto the balls of her feet so she could get back to her dance-fighting. He managed a weak grin, not as invigorated.

Oh, I just thought a big word just now, she thought, smirking, Yaomomo makes you smarter by just being nearby. Jiro's gonna be a ****in genius! And ****ing a genius!

Mina giggled to herself at the kinda-pun, starting to dodge as Bakugo came after her and the girls walked away.

Am I doing an inner monologue? This is even cooler than the time I discovered I had legs! I wonder if I can imagine an echo? Hello! Hello, hello, hello, -lo, -lo, lo…

Cool.

I feel like a comic Hero! Next time Bakugo hits me, I can put my hands on my cheeks and just do this echo-y "No the pain!" without risking biting my tongue!

As it happened, when Bakugo hit her again, she did not get the chance to regret it mentally. He just knocked her out.

Lots of things happening! Lots of flirting and romance, touches of plot, a few action scenes, and a few more hints as to the future.

So, to clarify: in the anime and manga, the entire month of June is literally skipped, barring the last week which gets a brief "and then they studied for finals" shot before they move onto July. The closest thing I could find to be happening then is the Training of the Dead OVA, which happens at the end of May. So, I gave myself a free arc to screw around in and try stuff out.

Each chapter of the June Arc will go through a different style I'm trying out.

FYI: all of the segments in this arc are out of order with each other (you can play a matching game to figure out what goes where! How cool am I?) I'll post the actual order of what happens when at the end of the arc.

I'd love to hear all your thoughts and what you think's going down, which styles you liked, and anything else you want to chat about. I try to reply to all reviews so we can discuss things, and Guests are always welcome to review as well (so long as you leave some way for me to reach out and discuss your thoughts).

Love you All!