Their Hero Academia – Chapter 57: Overdue Conversations

"Still can't believe you were right there on the front lines, Haimawari! It's like you're one of the main characters or something!"

Isamu gave Anime Fukidashi a curious look. Kana Tetstutetsu, had invited him over to her dorm to study and then to hang out. The studying had gone pretty well (Their classes were on pretty much the same schedule, thankfully.), but then her floormates had invited themselves in and what should have been a nice, semi-private moment (It wasn't like they were going to make out or anything! He wasn't even sure when the right time to talk about that kind of thing was!) turned into hanging out with them.

Still, he was grateful for the time spent with her. They hadn't had a lot of it, but they had clicked and clicked well. She was attractive, certainly, with her orange-red hair and her muscular physique. But she was also kind, friendly, and looked out for her classmates the same way Midoriya looked out for 1-A.

Of course, Mineta had pointed out—frequently—that she was basically the less violent version of Kirishima-Bakugo, but he was trying very hard not to think about that or what it said about him.

"You keep talking like our lives are some kind of TV show," he said instead. He'd been cautioned that she was a little strange, and looking like some kind of living piece of animation only added to that. But all kinds of people looked a little different these days. He himself had pink stripes in his hair at this temples. No, what made her strange was the fact that she talked like life was some kind of, well, anime. "And even if it was, I'm definitely not main character material."

"Don't be so sure of yourself," Fukidashi said. "Let's just say I've got a feeling about you. I even heard You Say Run during the Sports Festival when you won!"

Tetsutetsu waved a hand dismissively. "Ignore her when she gets like that. We all do."

"The way I hear," Rika Bondo, a girl made of blue-green slime, said, "your class was there at most of the big fighting." She was semi-translucent and her clothes actually seemed to be made of some kind of rubberized material. She'd brought popcorn to share, though she had her own bowl of it. She extended her fingers, picking up a piece and tossing it into her mouth. The pieces seemed to just dissolve in her mouth when she ate them. It was weird, but he was trying not to judge.

For a moment, Isamu's mind snapped back to watching the Nomu fight Deku. He'd been certain, even if just for a minute, that he was going to witness the death of the Number One Hero. Fortunately, that had turned out not to be the case. He closed his eyes for a second and let out a breath.

Tetsutetsu put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Some people should know better." She punctuated this with a glare in Fukidashi and Bondo's direction.

He waved it off. "I'm fine," he said. "Getting past it. Scary, but part of the job, you know? Not all going to be fun and games."

"Pretty sure Tetsutetsu and Monoma were the only ones from our class who saw any action," Kitiara Kaniyashiki said. She was a redhead, with her hair in two vaguely claw-shaped pigtails. She apparently had some kind of scissor Quirk, though he hadn't seen her use it. "I was on the whole other side of the country. Aunt Monika says the police had a hell of a time cleaning up after it was all over. Lots of small league Villains trying to take advantage of the chaos and the big name Heroes being hurt or busy."

"Don't remind me," Tetsutetsu said. "Uncle Neito got pretty banged up by one of those things. But Dad made it out without a scratch, at least."

"How's our Monoma doing, by the way?" Kaniyashiki asked. "I mean, not that I don't appreciate the quiet—that guy's like a little screaming gremlin—but it's too quiet, you know?"

"Like somebody turned off the background music!" Fukidashi piped in.

"At least he's talking again," Bondo said. "He wasn't even doing that a few days ago."

"Blame Mika for that one," Tetsutetsu said. "She gave him a little kick in the pants."

Isamu hadn't had much to do with Shiro Monoma, other than having witnessed him attempt to taunt some of his classmates from time to time. But he knew he was friends with Koda and Mineta, and had a particularly antagonistic relationship with Kirishima-Bakugo. Granted, Kirishima-Bakugo seemed to have an antagonistic relationship with everyone except for Midoirya and Izumi, but there seemed to be a greater degree of bad blood there.

Still, he supposed he couldn't blame the guy for being shaken. Some of his classmates still weren't really talking about what went down and Shinso had been gone all week before finally coming back. The place really hadn't been the same without the little guy, so Isamu was glad to see him again.

Isamu himself had mostly made peace with what he'd seen and was trying to stay focused on the good that had happened during his Internship. And not the horror. And definitely not the creeping worry about what it meant that someone had the resources to drop that many monsters on the city.

"Girls," Tetsutetsu said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "can we talk about something that's not depressing? Like I was doing with my boyfriend before you all barged in?"

"I like the sound of thaaaaaa…" Isamu started to say, but then his mind seized up. They'd hung out a bunch and gotten food and watched movies together and texted and talked on the phone a lot, but that didn't make them…! They hadn't talked about…!

Before he could shift his brain back into gear, Fukidashi seized on the moment. She leaned forward in her chair, her eyes briefly replaced by cartoon hearts. "Ooooh! He didn't know! Is this like He Doesn't Know He's My Boyfriend (But I'm Trying to Tell Him?)"

"Why did you say the parenthesis?" Kaniyashiki asked.

"Don't let Monoma hear you say that he's your boyfriend," Bondo said, "he'll flip his lip about 1-A again…"

"Out!" Tetsutetsu shouted, pointing to the door. "All of you!"

Isamu started to get up, but she put a hand against his chest. "Not you!"

When the other girls had filed out, he broke the silence. "So… I'm your boyfriend?"

Tetsutetsu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sorry, Haimawari, that really just slipped out. I shouldn't have… We haven't talked… I'm really not usually that impulsive; I swear Mika is rubbing off on me… And please don't tell her I said that, because she'll take it the wrong way and the right way and be even more insufferable."

She looked up. "But I do really like you. So maybe it's too quick, but…"

Isamu smiled. "I really like you too," he said. "A lot. We click. So… why not? Call me your boyfriend. And Isamu too."

Akaya frowned as she looked up from her book. She and several others had started an impromptu study session in the Common Room. Though the final exams had not yet been announced—they were expecting that on Tuesday—many of them sensed that they needed to start preparing early. She was not especially worried; her grades put her towards the tail end of the upper third of the class, but she knew well that overconfidence often led to failure. And so studying was absolutely a requirement. English was a particularly tricky subject. She could read the language well enough, from studying one of the copies of the Bible her mother had in the language, but the rules to it were far less easy to grasp.

By coincidence, everyone at the table had a somewhat unusual appearance: Mika, Kaminari, Shoji, and Aoyama. It drew Akaya back to the events of her Internship. While she had been away from the action and violence that hung over most of her classmates, her own experiences still weighed upon her mind. Hound Dog had sympathized when she'd spoken to him about it and had shared experiences of his own. He had suggested that she might find some commonality in it with her classmates and friends. Unsure of how to broach the subject, the winding down of the study session gave her the moment she required.

"Ugh," Mika said, sticking out her tongue. "I have to go get new shoes tomorrow after the funeral. That's gonna take most of the rest of the day."

Monday would be the funeral for the late Principal Nezu, who had died a week ago. They were being given the day off to attend and reflect. Akaya could not claim to have known him at all, other than seeing him speak occasionally, but the loss was always a tragedy. She trusted in God's plan, but sometimes, it was difficult to see.

"Going to the mall?" Kaminari asked. "Can I come? I could go for some new boots too."

Mika raised an eyebrow. "To the farrier, Chi."

"Huh?"

Mika swung around in her chair, bringing her legs out from under the table. "Hooves, Chi."

"Oh. Right. I knew that."

Akaya opened her mouth, but quickly closed it again. No, she needed to do this. She closed her eyes for just a moment, said a silent prayer for courage.

"Friends," she began, cautiously, "may I ask you a question?"

"What's up, Akaya?" Mika asked. "Is this the birds and bees talk? Because while I'm qualified to give it…"

Kaminari swatted Mika upside the head with one her Cords, shooting their mutual friend an annoyed look. "Stop that. This is serious."

"Crude as ever," Aoyama muttered.

"Dealing with you later," Mika told Aoyama. But she had the momentary sense to look apologetic. "Sorry, Akaya, what's up?"

Akaya hesitated for a moment, but pressed on. These were her friends and classmates. She could tell them anything. "Have any of you ever experienced any harsh words or actions because of your appearance?"

There was a long moment of silence.

"Akaya," Shoji said slowly, concern marring his handsome features, "did something happen?"

"Whose ass do I need to kick?" Mika asked. She jumped up out of her chair, brought her fists up, and started punching the air. "Just point me in the right direction! I'm not afraid to fight dirty!"

Kaminari swatted her again. "Rein it in there, cowgirl," she said. She reached up and touched her left Extension Cord. "I can't say that I have," she said, actually answering Akaya's question. "But my Quirk's not really all that noticeable. Most people don't even pay much attention to them."

She sounded sympathetic and concerned, but, Akaya reflected, Kaminari's Quirk was hardly noticeable at all. She didn't have the kinds of experiences necessary to really process this. While there was no longer a definition of "normal," there was certainly still a baseline that the majority of people fit into. And she was well within its bounds in a way Akaya was not.

"Sorry," Mika said. "Um, I mean, I'm pretty sure somebody's called me a horse or a cow or something like that over the years, but that's really it. People have said some shit about my body, but not usually about the horns or the hooves."

Of course. Akaya bore her friend no malice, but Mika was very conventionally attractive. Something she was well aware of and used to her advantage. She might carry her own burdens, but she could not truly understand.

"There was the time in middle school somebody put a bale of hay on my desk… or the pail full of milk… Boy, was Shiro pissed…"

Or perhaps she had thought too soon.

"Not me, so much, but Dad," Shoji said. It was true, Shoji was… distractingly attractive, Akaya would admit, with handsome features, silver hair, and a powerful build. Even Akaya would confess to wishing to be cradled in those strong six arms of his. "He usually makes the list for Top Ten Heroes Who Look Like Villains. Tries not to let it get to him, but sometimes… Yeah, you can tell. And some people still scream when they see him. It's why he used to wear the mask. But he decided he didn't want to hide anymore."

Shoji was not particularly talkative. That might have been the most words Akaya had heard him string together at once. He must have felt very strongly about it.

"Koda," Aoyama said, "please, tell us your troubles. We are your friends." Though his appearance was typically baseline, the fact that most of the time, he was glowing, gave him his own bit of strangeness.

Akaya frowned. But she had come this far. She might as well go a few steps farther. "During my Internship, some of the people we rescued were," she hesitated for a moment, "very prejudiced against those with Mutant-type Quirks or Mutant characteristics. They said some very unkind things towards myself and the ship's crew. The ones our age made rather… ugly and suggestive comments about me."

Her cheeks flushed and she hung her head. But it was out there. She needed to tell someone, anyone. At least she had her friends here.

The silence that followed was even more palpable. But much shorter lasting.

"Qui étaient-ils? Donnez-moi des noms! Je les tuerai! Je vais les faire souffrir!" Aoyama exploded into rapid-fire, angry French, his glow pulsating with his words. Akaya didn't understand any of it, but she certainly understood the emotion behind it.

"I don't speak your crazy moon language, Frenchie," Mika said, "but I know what it sounds like when someone's winding up to deliver an ass kicking! Count me in!"

"Both of you, no," Kaminari said, facepalming at their outbursts. "You can't just go beat someone up like that." Sparks danced on the ends of her Cords. "No matter how much you'd like to."

Even Shoji's implacable calm was being broken by this. Akaya could see the slight twitch of the muscles in his jaw as he ground his teeth. All six of his fists were tightly clenched, making veins bulge in his muscular arms. "Koda," he said, as he approached her, "you know people like that are rare, right? And idiots, too?"

She nodded. "My crewmates and Aunt Tsu said as much. I had thought myself over it, but…"

"It sticks with you," he said. And she nodded in response. "Can I give you a hug?"

Akaya jerked slightly in surprise. "I… yes," she said. "I'd like that."

Shoji wrapped his arms around her. The only one of their class bigger than her, his arms fit around her large frame easily. His muscles were ever so firm. She wrapped her own arms around him and returned the hug. And then let out a breath, releasing some of her stress. "Thank you, Shoji." She looked at the others when the hug broke. "And thank all of you, for your support."

Aoayam nodded. "I am serious about the offer of violence. To defend your honor, I would even fight beside Mineta."

Mika ignored the barb for once. "If you can't kick ass for your friends, who can you kick ass for?"

"You okay for now?" Shoji asked, somber and serious.

She nodded. "I am. I cannot guarantee the mood will not overtake me again, but…"

"We'll be here when it does," Mika confirmed.

When the group actually did break up, Mika held back with Akaya. "That's not everything, is it though?"

Akaya gave her a curious look. "You're being unusually perceptive today."

"I have my moments. Now, what's up?"

Akaya sighed. "The vileness of it all bothers me, of course, but it did also stir up old feelings. While I know that people like me do often find love, as my own family shows… It brought up old fears that no one would find me attractive."

Mika got a strange look upon her face, something Akaya could not quite identify. "Leave everything to me." And with that, she took off like a shot, hooves makings a steady clip-clop sound.

"Mka!" Akaya shouted after her. "Explain yourself!"

Later that day, Daisuke held open the door to the dorm and let Emiko inside. The Common Room wasn't currently occupied. Good. It wasn't as though as was trying to hide his relationship; he and Emiko both simply preferred their privacy. Of course, if they really wanted their privacy, they could have just gone to the library or somewhere else. Though if they had, he'd still have had to check that Ojiro wasn't followed them. So this definitely wasn't hiding. It just wasn't going out of their way to make a thing of it. Few of her own classmates knew either. It definitely wasn't hiding it, even though they'd met during the first week of school, had been dating since the second, and hadn't really told anyone. But it had been her idea to study at his dorm, so he was not inclined to object.

Emiko looked around. "So this is how the Hero Course lives?" she asked. With the dark glasses she wore, it was hard to tell where exactly she was looking. A side effect of her Quirk—Perfect Night Vision—was that she required eye protection against brighter lights.

"It's not that much different than yours," he replied.

She gave him an affectionate jab in the side with her elbow. "I'm teasing you, Hero."

"Yes, well…"

Daisuke stopped. He could hear faint sounds in the distance. "Someone's coming down the stairs."

For a second, his heart thundered in his chest. He was so used to everyone not knowing, so used to keeping the details of his life private. He'd enjoyed it, in a way. No invasive questions, no attempts at judgement.

She touched his arm. "It was bound to happen," she said. "Let it."

Of course, it was the worst possible combination of his classmates: Sato, Sero, and Ojiro.

"Where are we going again?" Sero asked.

"To see the kid!" Ojiro bubbled. The sleeves of her t-shirt waved through the air in excitement, as she bounced from foot to foot.

"What kid?" Sero asked.

"Doctor Izumi's kid!"

"Was she expecting?" Sero asked. "I mean, I know you're not supposed to ask if a lady's pregnant, but she didn't look…"

"Dude," Sato said, giving the pink-skinned boy a look. "Kimmie told us. Doctor Izumi and Water Spout adopted, remember?"

"See, Kenta remembers!" Ojiro said. And then, as was common, she started hitting Sero, pummeling him with both fists. "WHY DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHEN I TELL YOU THINGS?!"

"Ow! Ow! Kimmie! Stop! I'm sorry!"

It was, honestly, the perfect distraction and Daisuke made a motion for Emiko to follow him around the feuding trio. But Sato proved to be far more observant. "Oh, hey, Shoji," he said. "Who's your friend?"

The smacking immediately stopped. And though he could not see her face, Daisuke was immediately aware that Ojiro was staring at him and Emiko. And then she started vibrating, emitting a very high pitched "squee."

"Is… is she okay?" Emiko asked, pulling a strand of blue-hair back behind her ear.

"Oh, no…" he said, feeling that sinking feeling come on.

"Shoji!" Ojiro shouted, arms waving frantically. "Why didn't you tell us you had a girlfriend?! I can't believe you were trying to hide her! She's so cute! What is wrong with you?! Don't you like us?! Why don't you want to share?!"

And, of course, then the smacking began, her tiny fists thudding against his arm. Why did he think he was going to get away with this?

"Kimmie, maybe give the guy a chance to talk?" Sero said. He flinched. "Please don't hit me."

The hitting stopped, fortunately. Ojiro crossed her arms. "You better have a damn good explanation, Shoji!"

Daisuke looked over at Emiko, who gave him a small nod. At least she hadn't bolted at the nonsense. "This is Emiko Shiryoku. My girlfriend. Emiko, this is Sato, Sero, and Ojiro."

She gave them a small smile. "Nice to meet you. You're the ones with the webshows, right?"

Sero positively beamed. "You've seen us?"

Emiko shook her head. "I can't actually watch electronic screens. Too bright. But people do talk, and I still enjoy listening to Gossip Corner."

And there went that high pitched squee-ing again.

"Do you guys have any sponsors yet? Or are you making any money from ads?" Emiko asked. "If not, I can suggest a few ways to bump yourself up in the algorithms and goose your ratings a little, maybe get a little cash for bigger videos… You could probably even get a sponsor for combining unboxing videos with Sato's show…"

Sero's jaw dropped. "Okay, I'm gay, so I never thought I'd say this to a girl, but where have you been all my life?" Next to him and out of his line of sight, Sato facepalmed.

"The Business Course," Emiko told him.

Ojiro finally stopped squeezing though and put her hands on her hips, huffing indignantly. "I can't believe you've been keeping her from us, Shoji! And all the times I talked you up as eligible on the show!"

"I didn't ask you to that," he reminded her.

"It's a free service!"

"Yes, well," Emiko said, "now that you do know, I would prefer you don't announce it to the world. Daisuke and I really don't want a lot of attention. I'm still trying to make a name for myself and I don't want it to be just because I'm dating a future Hero."

"The world has a right to know!" Ojiro said, stomping her foot. "This is premium content! The number one voted on the hottest guys in the Hero Course, off the market!"

Daisuke let out a groan. That damned list again. He'd been dreading it coming up ever since Monoma had mentioned it. He was hoping to talk to Emiko about it, but…

"…The what?" Emiko said, shooting him a look. Even being unable to see her eyes, he knew he was in for an earful.

"Didn't you say something about a kid?" Daisuke tried, at least hoping to get some kind of privacy and really hoping to avoid a lengthy conversation with the would-be internet stars.

"Omigosh!" Ojiro said. "Right! C'mon, boys!" Sero followed after her, but Sato stayed behind for a moment.

"Sorry about that," he said. "Kimmie gets a little crazy sometimes, but she means well. …Mostly well." He turned to follow them. "Nice meeting you!"

Daisuke was still being glared at. "I swear, Emiko, I only just found out about the list last week…"

"Last week?" she challenged.

Maybe there was a shovel in the supply closet. It would be faster at this point. "I…"

She took his hand. "Guess this means I hooked a real winner then."

He just shook his head. "You planned this, didn't you? You wanted us to get caught."

Emiko smiled. "I may have already known about the list. And the way she talked about you on her show. I thought if I got 'caught', I might have a chance to get some of that to stop."

Daisuke felt a smile tug on his lips. "Yeah, you're going to be rich someday with a mind like that."

"I'll need a boy toy when that happens, you know…"

"Emiko…!"

"So, ah, hey, Kimiko," Kenta said, standing in her doorway. Takuma had gone ahead and gone back to his room already. He had to admit, Kimmie had been right. Water Spout and Doc Clock's adopted kid had been adorable. Definitely still settling in, but she'd looked happy.

"What's up, Kenta?" she asked, powering up her computer. Probably getting ready to scour the internet for the latest gossip.

Of course, she was currently sitting on the biggest piece of gossip of the year (Her words, not his.), which she had vocally complained about most of the walk over and back It had covered topics from the unfairness of it all, to how dare they keep her from sharing it, to laments that one of the hottest guys in school was officially off the market. While both he and Takuma had had the good sense to just let her rant and stay out of swatting range, Takuma had agreed with the last part and had to be reminded that he already had a boyfriend.

"Still feeling down about Shoji?" he asked.

Kimiko threw her hands up in the air. "You have no idea. How can I call myself the Gossip Queen of U.A. if I not only missed out on the best gossip of all time, but I can't share it with anyone?! Not to mention, it's freaking Shoji! And he's out of the running!"

Kenta winced at that. He was in good shape, he knew, but he was no Shoji. Still, he took the lack of protest to his presence as an invitation and walked inside. "Well, what if I gave you some gossip to make up for it?"

That got her attention. She practically spun around in her desk chair to look at him. "I'm going to need details and I'm going to need them fast." She looked at her computer. Waving a fist threateningly at it. "Boot up faster! How can I take notes if you don't boot up!?"

She turned back to him again. "Okay, how did you get gossip and who's it about? Oooh? Is it Todoroki? Please tell me it's Todoroki! She'd be, like, the gossip motherlode! She's not on anybody's radar! Secret boyfriend? Secret girlfriend? Tell me!"

"It's not about Todoroki," Kenta said. Now or never, he supposed. "It's about me."

That got a jolt of surprise from her. "About you? And you're coming to me first? Getting ahead of the gossip train is very smart, Kenta!" She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees and supporting her head in her hands (Or at least that's what it looked like.). "Any girl'd be lucky to have you! Who's the lucky lady? Is it Kocho? Or somebody more surprising? What are you keeping from me, Kenta?!"

"Well, I, ah, don't actually think she knows I like her yet. So maybe this is pre-gossip?" His heart was starting to pound in his chest. He could do this. He could do this. He'd been planning on doing this before the Nomu thing.

Kenta had had some productive sessions with Hound Dog and gotten his head back on a little straighter, especially with support from his friends. If he backed out now, if he was afraid to talk to a girl who'd been one of his best friends for nearly all his life, how big a coward was he?

Kimiko sat up and crossed her arms. "Still gossip," she said, though she sounded disappointed. "But it's not nearly Shoji level gossip. And you still haven't told me who!"

Kenta gulped. "It's, ah, it's you, Kimmie."

There was a long, way too long, silent moment. Kenta could usually read Kimiko like a book, in spite of her invisibility. And right now, there was a growing moment, like the calm before the storm. A very primeval part of his brain was screaming at him that he needed to run and run fast. Finally, Kimiko exploded out of her chair, fists flying. He quickly got his hands up to protect his face.

"THAT'S SO MEAN, KENTA! WHY WOULD YOU JOKE AROUND LIKE THAT?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE NICE ONE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

He was probably going to have bruises after this. Kimiko's pummelings were always unfocused, but she could put a lot of power behind them. "Kimmie," he said, dodging blows, "Kimmie, stop! Stop! Kimmie! It's the truth!"

The pummeling suddenly stopped.

"You… you like me like me?" Kimiko asked.

"Yeah," he said. "You're one of my best friends. And the prettiest girl I know too."

Kimiko let out another high pitched squee. Being at ground zero, Kenta had to cover his ears for a second. "Does this mean you like me too?" he asked.

"OF COURSE I LIKE YOU, YOU BIG GOOF!" she shouted, arms flailing again. "Wait a minute… DID YOU THINK I WOULDN'T? DON'T YOU KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW IF I LIKE YOU? DID YOU THINK I WOULDN'T? WHY DON'T YOU HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSLEF?!"

He was going to take that as a yes.

Fortunately, this time at least, she wasn't hitting him, just flailing. "You know me, Kimmie," he said. "Always gotta second guess myself."

"Well that stops right now," Kimiko said. "No guy I'm dating is going to be a sad sack! You're going to have confidence, do you hear me?"

"Ah…yes," he said.

"Good!" Kimmie bubbled, clapping her hands. She threw her arms around him. "We've got to tell Takuma, though. Otherwise he's just going to third wheel himself onto our dates and we'll never have a moment's peace. Because he is not going to get the hint."

"Do we tell him before or after everyone else?"

"A personal gossip announcement? Do I dare?" Kimiko asked, breaking away. It wasn't what he meant, but there was no stopping her when she was on a roll. "Is that even gossip or just oversharing? Who cares, I'm telling everybody anyway! Here comes a very special episode!"

Sora became aware of shaky hands on her shoulders, forcing her towards wakefulness. She head snapped up. "It's so simple!" she shouted. Surely, if she was just able to put that breakthrough she had been dreaming of into practice, why then she could… could…

She sagged in defeat. Whatever it was that had been going through her unconscious mind, it was gone now. But she was so certain she had been so close to solving it! It was fundamentally unfair that she had to be woken up in the middle of her greatest discovery! Who had…?

"What's so simple?" Sora realized that her waker had been her boyfriend, Toshi. She had been slumped over on her small workbench in her dorm room, blueprints and a half-completed device spread out in front of her.

She shook her head. "I do not recall, possibly the solution to this," Sora said, indicating the device in a half-assembled state. It was supposed to be a small spy drone that could relay information back to her costume's helmet, but she was having difficulties getting it to fly without exploding.

"Oh," Toshi said, then smiled. He looked so cute when he did, the pink patches on his cheeks standing out among his freckles. "Can I help?"

Sora shook her head. "I do not think so. As loathe as I am to admit it, the solution is at a loss for now. Also, I am at a loss as to why you are in my room?"

Toshi's face when bright red at that. "I…! The door was open, we were going to get together with some of the others to watch a movie and you weren't there and so I just…"

That made her frown. "Oh, no! Toshi, I am sorry! I became too engrossed in my work and forgot we had plans!" Her arms chopped rapidly through the air. I have failed in my girlfriend duties!"

He waved his hands quickly at that. "No, no! It's okay! I know you get busy! You get so focused on everything! It happens!"

"You are sure?" she asked, uncertainly. She was still very new to this, and she wanted very much to get it right.

"I'm sure," Toshi said. "Besides, you're awake now. Asuka and Shota said they'd wait."

That was a relief! Sora jumped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around Toshi, pulling him close. As she was a good fifteen centimeters taller than he was, this did make for a slightly awkward embrace. And this, predictably, led to Toshi shaking and being very uncertain where his hands should go.

It was, truthfully, very curious behavior. He very rarely initiated physical contact and was often anxious when she did so herself. She let him go. "Toshi," she said, very seriously, "do you not like it when I touch you?"

Toshi winced at that. "No," he said, "it's not that. But I was, ah, hoping you wouldn't notice."

She crossed her arms. "Toshi, I am an engineer. Observation is a vital skill."

He smiled sheepishly at that. "Right. Of course. And I like that! Good skill for a Hero too…" Toshi trailed off. "Sorry, I don't really ramble like that too much, unless I'm nervous…"

"Toshi," Sora repeated, softly. She tried to formulate a hypothesis for his behavior, and the only common factor she could find was herself. "Do I make you nervous?"

"Sorta?" he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, it's not exactly like I'm scared of girls. I grew up around Katsumi after all. I mean, I am scared of her, but that's for entirely different reasons. Or Mineta, but she's her own kind of scary. But I talk to Asuka just fine or Izumi, or you, before we started dating…"

He trailed off again, but Sora just let him gather his thoughts. Sometimes, it took a little bit of rambling to get ideas out. She understood this well.

"Look," he said, "I know we're young and all, but I didn't exactly date much… or at all before this. Outside of all of you, I had a lot of trouble with not knowing if people really wanted to be my friend for real or because of who Dad is. So I really don't know what's right or, well, anything about how this kind of thing works. I really don't know what I'm comfortable with or what I should go along with or what's too much and… And you're so amazing and beautiful and…"

He thought she was beautiful? Sora was used to be being thought of as many different things, but that was not one of them. She was well enough aware that her breast size made her an object of lust for some. But beautiful? Fairy tale princesses were not usually the kind to wear a mechanic's overalls or have a face covered with grease.

"Then I must apologize," she said. "I did not think to consider your boundaries. I have been told I may be a bit demonstrative…"

Toshi smiled. "It's okay. And, I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. I thought I could maybe just get used to it but…"

Sora started to reach out, then stopped. "May I?" she asked. When Toshi nodded, she took his hand. "I like you, Toshi. Very much. But I am very aware I do not quite think like other people do. But you are very good at keeping me focused on what is in front of me. I like that. And I would very much still like to be your girlfriend. But I am told a good relationship requires clear communication. Can we both do that?"

He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze, moving a little closer to her. "Yeah. I can… I can do that."

There was a closeness in the air and Toshi came in a little bit closer, nervous and shaking, and Sora felt her own heart flutter in her chest, well above the average number of beats per minute. "Toshi, I wish to…"

"Me too," Toshi said, and he leaned in even closer, bringing his lips to meet hers. They were warm and soft and everything she knew about biology was completely disregarded for the moment.

"Oi! Toshi!" A sharp voice broke the moment before it got any further. "…What the fuck?!"

"Katsumi!" Toshi shrieked, and indeed, it was Kirishima-Bakugo standing in her doorway.

"Bird Girl and Loud Kid were getting worried about you so they asked me to check up on you two lovebirds. But now I'm getting out of here before I see something I can't unsee."

And Toshi started shaking again. "Katsumi! It's not what it looks like!"

"It is not?" Sora asked. "Was I doing it wrong?"

"Nope, nope, nope," Kirishima-Bakugo said, backing out the door very quickly. "I don't wanna know!"