I'm alive! Hello everyone, missed me? No? Okay then... Anyway, I'm back and bringing another chapter from your favorite (or not) harem fic, starring our dear cinnamon roll of sunshine. Hope you like it~

One to Protect, One to Drive Me Mad

"What should I try now?"

The short blond girl asked herself, humming happily as the clothes and pieces of colored fabric flew over her head. She woke up early this morning by herself just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before it, and so on. Since that night, since that promise he made, there was one recurring thought in Tsunotori's head: "What will I dress in for him?"

She used every extra minute she had to search through her old works, look at the few cosplays she managed to get to the dorms in that chest. The blondie rewatched and reread some of her favorite series, trying to come up with something that would cause a good impression and get the green teen hooked up on watching/ reading it too. It wasn't like she wanted to force her tastes on Midoriya but he did agree to talk to her about it sometime, and Tsunotori looked forward to it.

Finally, someone to share her thoughts, to discuss her likings and opinions. Not that she didn't enjoy or treasure the many friends online she had, they had been with her since the beginning, but something about talking to someone in person felt different. Once again she had Midoriya to thank for it. Not only he promised to keep her not-so-shameful secret, but he also offered to spend some time just so she could be her kinda dumb self, fawning over fictional characters and binging whatever new anime or manga got released. A little part of Tsunotori hoped the emerald child would eventually convert into a weeb like her.

"Well, I think he's the biggest All Might fan I've ever met so… who knows, right?~" She said to no one in particular as she put the fabrics back into the box and her clothes organized on her wardrobe.

Hair combed and horns polished, she headed out of her room and downstairs to make her breakfast, humming a happy tune and with a small smile adorning her face.

Meanwhile, at the 1-A dorms…

She woke up earlier than she expected. The last session of interrogation took a lot longer than expected and she had to stick around while the police guys carried out an operation to dismantle a shady network or whatever. Something related to human traffic, the detective said? Anyway, she wanted to sleep more but that would mean problems. Mainly, she would have less time to admire from afar the object of her adoration, the reason why she lived, in more than one way. Okay, maybe she didn't admire him from afar all the time, but can you blame her? Izuku was just so huggable and adorable and… prone to a stabbing. She also would lose the morning teasing with her friends, that would be a shame. Oh yeah, there's school too. This she could pass any time if it wasn't for her current situation.

Himiko rubbed her eyes groggily, groaning as the alarm clock just started to buzz that loud and obnoxious noise. She missed precious minutes here. Bed sheets tossed over, she flinched as her feet touched the rather cold floor. Should she ask Aizawa-sensei for a carpet? She had been a good girl lately, at least in her opinion. Nevermind what her friends might have to say on that.

The blonde got up and wobbly walked to the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror for a moment. She noted the small marks under her tired eyes, signs of her more nocturnal habits. If there was one thing that bothered her about this whole situation was having to sleep through the night. Himiko used to have so much fun at night, wandering around dark alleys and taking out strangers on her dates. The city streets looked so pretty, full of bright lights and with much less noise and boring people. There was eventually a lonely random person coming late from work or some poor drunk soul that lost its way home. There were also other villains and what you could call "bad persons", doing just what she used to.

But no more, Toga Himiko was a new person. She was past her days of stabbing and slitting throats here and there, tying people up and making them bleed beautifully to the last drop. That was the lie she put up to please her love. Splashing some water from the sink in her face, Himiko looked at the mirror intensely, slowly widening a smile that turned into a fanged grin. These shiny white beauties were the last view of many. She heard before that it made her look like a psycho, which was probably true.

"That won't do, then"

The blondie tilted her head slightly, changing her expression to one less intimidating, quite bland, in her opinion. She straightened her bangs and tied up her hair into two messy buns. If you didn't know her at all, you could say she was just some cute looking highschool girl, exactly what she needed. But today she simply felt like not, untying the buns and letting her hair fall free. It went a little past shoulder length and it was a mess, but she never bothered too much with combing it.

"Good morning everyone! … Too happy? Morning guys~ Too friendly...? ~yawn~ Whasup, bitches? Nah, lame. I'm gonna just jump on Izuku as always, then~" She giggled, leaving her room with the practiced smile.

"You look so radiant this morning, Tsunotori-chan. What a blessed view this early"

The short girl turned around on her heels, hands behind her and a bright smile on her lips.

"Thank you, Shiozaki-chan~"

"Ho, did something interesting happen?" Asked the lizard girl with a mischievous grin.

"Well, you can say that... Hmhm~" Tsunotori walked ahead, humming an unknown tone, leaving her friends puzzled and curious. It wasn't unusual to see the short blond in a happy mood but she looked extra radiant these days and her classmates couldn't help but wonder.

The dark green-haired girl had a guess already, and an opportunity to tease her foreign friend. She got by her side, wrapping a floating arm around Tsunotori's shoulders.

"So, who is it?"

"Eh?" She looked up at her friend.

"The guy. Who is it? It's from our class?"

"I don't get it-"

"Come on, Tsunotori, you had this smile for a while now. Either you got the best scores on History or… someone found a special someone~" This made Tsunotori slow down her pace. "So, is him from our class?~ It's him?~ Hah? Haah?~"

She kept nudging the short girl and Yanagi shook her head slightly, watching from behind.

"You know, Tokage, not everything must be related to boys"

"That's why I asked if it was a guy" She replied with a wink.

"I like to think that each day is a gift to be treasured. Tsunotori-chan's attitude is very inspiring" Added the vine head.

"We are doing fine on the hero training, I see that as a good reason. We even got a working combined move"

"Of course that's your reason, you really love to fight, Kamakiri" Said the lizard girl. "Not everything must be related to fighting"

"Well, if she feels happy, then it is enough" Shishida spoke from behind.

"Yeah, do you really need to have a reason?" Added Rin.

Before they could discuss further, the students reached their classroom. Tsunotori stopped in front of the door for a moment before deciding to speak.

"Actually, Tokage-chan, sorry to disappoint but I'm not dating anyone" There wasn't a single hint of sadness in her voice. "I just feel so happy these days~ There are so many things I want to do that I don't know where to start" At this moment, every teen present swore the short blondie was shining like the sun.

"Ugh, what an eyesore so early in the morning…" Ashido grumbled with a small frown on her lips as they headed to the classroom.

"Yeah, I also can't get used to it" Sero agreed as he looked forward.

Walking ahead of them were Midoriya, Hagakure and the inconvenience called Toga Himiko. If it wasn't enough having to watch the annoying blondie getting all clingy around him during breakfast and being her insufferable self, now she was trying to walk by his side, hugging his arm. Of course, Midoriya pushed her aside, more than once and sometimes quite harshly, but she was that stubborn. Since the first thing Ashido heard after waking up was that cursed nickname Toga gave her, Hagakure agreed that it would be best if she took care of Midoriya. Not risking an "accident" with corrosive substances. It should be noted, though, that the invisible girl seemed on the verge of assaulting the blondie, while Midoriya somehow pushed through the mild pulling from both sides.

"Don't be so uptight, Hentai-chan. How do they say? Sharing is caring~" Whined the blondie as she hugged his right arm.

"One. I don't care about you. Two. Let go of him, you freak!" She pulled him closer while using one arm to push her face away from Midoriya.

"You're putting up with this quite well, you know?" Nana's voice echoed inside his mind.

"I'm really trying to ignore her presence as a whole. maybe this way she'll eventually get tired" He thought, his tone matching the apathetic expression he had right now.

"Don't even try this with me, I know you're on the edge. Mindreader, remember?"

"Then you know how I wanted to Detroit Smash her unconscious"

"I have bad news for you kid, these feelings don't root too deep"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how do I explain? it's like I can kinda sense how you're feeling. When you're angry it's like everything is on fire. When you're sad it rains"

"Wait, for real?"

"No, silly, that's just how I understand it, I guess. Anyway, I can feel the intensity too"

"The intensity?"

"Hmm… an example, I can tell the difference between you being slightly aroused and extremely horny. Like, the lights go crazy and all I can think of is getting a big juicy-"

"A-alright, that's enough detail" He let out a tired sigh, finally reaching the classroom. At least with Aizawa-sensei here to enforce good behavior, Midoriya could have some peace of mind for a while.

For today's hero training, Aizawa told everyone to get their costumes and head to Ground Omega. Everyone got excited because using their hero costumes normally meant a different kind of training, one that does not involve spartan methods of getting stronger. It was like every time something bad happened to them, Aizawa would double the amount of training they had to do. On a daily basis. Yes, the results were clear but they were still teenagers. Plus, it was kinda hard to not compare how much can you lift with your tail and the size of the iceberg you can create.

There was a minor problem, however, and it came in the form of an overly excited blondie in a green and black suit.

"~sigh~ This is ridiculous. Why do we have to put up with this?" Uraraka frowned as she glared daggers at Toga from a distance. Seeing her in a costume that resembled so much of Deku's was an insult. She was either mocking her with this or tormenting her dear Izuku, and the brunette wouldn't have any of these.

Despite the general dislike for her, there wasn't much Uraraka or any of them could do about it. It was Midoriya's decision and like it or not, she proved herself useful. Damn it, she even started to get high grades on the normal classes, and no one could deny her fighting skills. None of this could erase what she did, what she was, Uraraka knew it. She balled her hands into tight fists, eyes burning holes on the skull of that annoyance incarnated. Then, she felt something rest on his shoulder. She looked to the side and saw a small shadowy raven, quietly nested and apparently cleaning its wings.

"When you stare too much into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you" The raven head teen spoke as he stood beside the brunette.

"Huh?" She looked at Tokoyami as he kept looking forward, arms crossed and watching Himiko running around with Ashido hot on her heels.

"The abyss whispers to those who come near. It is your choice to heed the calling or not" There was a minute of silence between them. Meanwhile, Dark Shadow ruffled his feathers.

"Ahem. I think what Tokoyami-kun means is that we should not take hasty actions, Uraraka-san" Iida joined them, the tall teen clad in armor also staring at Unit epsilon like a sentinel. She knew what they were talking about.

"I don't plan to do anything like this. It's just… argh, I can't stand her" She stomped her foot in anger, making the black creature on her shoulder "fly" away and nest itself again on top of her head. Funny how it behaved like a real bird, despite still being attached to Tokoyami. "Umm, sorry"

"It's fine. Dark Shadow thrives the dark. He lurks in the shadows and he'll seek those who had seen into the abyss" Then, the black raven extended one wing and patted her head. "It must be particularly hard for you, Uraraka-san"

"E-eh? For me? No, I mean, we all are upset about it, right?" She said nervously. She didn't let her relationship with Midoriya get too obvious, did she?

"Uraraka-san, we know you had it harsh, considering what happened" Iida added.

She swallowed dry. Did they found out about them? Kyoka looked at her with widened eyes, asking silently what should they do now.

"I-I don't know what you guys are talking about, I-"

"Sometimes the evil can only be fought with another kind of evil. For the sake of those you vowed to protect, would you give in to the abyss?"

There was another minute of silence, but it was more because everyone was trying to process what Dark Shadow just said.

"~cough~ In other words, you saw first hand how bad she hurt Midoriya. It is only natural that you would react in a worse manner" Tokoyami said, translating the words of his companion.

"Revelry in the Dark..."

Kyoka got by the brunette's side and slowly reached to hold her hand.

"You okay?"

Uraraka took a deep breath and released.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm good. I have to deal with it like everyone else"

On the other side of the entrance, class 1-B arrived, all wearing their costumes too.

"Oi bro, look at who's coming" Kirishima pointed at the groups getting to them.

"Tch, a bunch of extras ready to get their sorry ass kicked again"

"Hahahaha! Defiant as always, Bakugo! Those who look up high… always trip and fall"

Monoma was the first to arrive and he simply had to provoke the eternal rivals of his class. At least on his head.

"Hah?! I can't hear you under all that bullshit, shitty copycat!"

"I'll just let you know beforehand that we're far stronger than last time we fought. This time… our victory shall be absolute!"

"I'm even stronger than all you losers combined!"

"He didn't bother to say we got stronger too..." Kaminari commented, from a safe distance.

"You know how he is..." Kirishima said, in defense of his bro.

"Just wait and behold, 1-A. We shall decide what class is- ouch!" Before he could continue, the class rep of 1-B intervened via karate chop.

"How did you get here so fast...? Oh, sorry for Monoma acting up again. Good to see you all" Kendo said politely, already dragging the unconscious teen with her.

"Tch, whatever. Put on a damn leash on him already, orange head" Bakugo said, turning around and stomping his way back to his team.

While Kendo returned to her own team, she passed by Epsilon, giving a quick wave at them. Well, it was more directed at a certain green-haired teen, but she was on good terms with everyone from 1-A.

"~sigh~ I wish Monoma didn't cause me so much trouble. Bondo-kun, can you carry him while the exercise doesn't start?"

"Uh, sure" Said the tall teen as he picked up his friend.

"Well, it wouldn't be Monoma if he didn't do that" Said the mushroom loving girl, Komori.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I just feel like I have to apologize for him every time we see 1-A"

"Kendo-chan is such a good class rep~" Komori then looked around finding her target nearby. She got closer to the orange-haired girl and began to whisper "By the way, did you see Toga? She's still using that ripoff of Izuku's costume" She said, indignant.

"When you think you saw everything… I still can't believe he goes through the entire day with her around"

"Yeah, I feel sorry for the girls too… maybe if we talked with the Principal, then-"

"No, that wouldn't work. If I got that right, there's some kind of deal and she's doing her part" They sighed in frustration and kept silent for a moment before Komori perked up again.

"Oh yes, I got to know something awesome"

"What?"

"I was kinda thinking about what Setsuna said the other night. About including everyone"

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. I get that we don't actively add anyone but I couldn't stop thinking about Tsunotori-chan so I went and asked her"

"You what?!-" Kendo looked around and luckily she didn't draw any attention. Returning to whispers, she inquired the short brunette. "You really asked if she wanted to join a harem, Kinoko?!"

"What? NO, I just asked if she would go out with Izuku. As in, if he wasn't dating you and all"

"Oh, thank god. And… what did she say? Out of curiosity"

"Well, yes. She said he looked cute and a pretty decent guy"

"That sounds about right. But we don't know how would she react to this whole harem thing"

"Yeah, I didn't even mention that"

"So let's keep it that way"

"Why? I mean, there's a chance she already has a crush on him"

"Maybe, but we shouldn't interfere. Better let things take their own way. Plus, Ochako would send us into orbit"

"Oh yeah, that too"

The hustle of teenagers died as their homeroom teachers got in front of the gate.

"Alright, quiet down, everyone. The training is about to start, but I have other things to do so, as usual, All Might will be conducting this one, with Vlad accompanying-"

"I'M HERE TO CARRY OUT THE HERO TRAINING- ~cough~ Very well, my young men and women... who's ready to go plus ultra?" The former number one hero received a loud cry as the students cheered up, while Aizawa quietly left with his hands on his pockets.

"Ho, All Might looks so energetic today, right?" Fukidashi said, his head in the form of a spiked balloon.

"Yeah, I wonder what we're going to do today" Tsuburaba wondered.

"Hah! No matter what, we'll have the best performance. This is the turning point for 1-A and- ouch!"

"~sigh~ If you're going to make noise, you better keep sleeping, Monoma" The class rep was quick to knock out her blond friend.

"Kendo-chan, won't it be bad if Monoma doesn't listen?" Tsunotori asked with a worried face.

"Nah, we tell him later"

"Ahem, I'll be overseeing today's lesson but another person is going to carry it out and as such, she will explain it. ~whispers~ You can enter now"

Suddenly, from behind the skeletal man exploded a tall cloud of pink smoke, startling everyone. Then a loud and familiar voice boomed.

"I'm here!" The smoke cleared out to reveal none other than Mt. Lady, hands on her hips and with a wide grin plastered in her face. "~whispers~ How was that?"

"~It was good~"

"~Really? Oh, thank heavens~"

"~Now explain the exercise~"

"~Oh, right~ Ahem… Yo. I'm here to, umm, give you guys a lesson!" She shouted with her chest puffed out and a closed fist raised. Be it the shock of the entrance or the phrase she just let out, both classes remained silent for a minute or so.

"... Actually it's not that kind of lesson. I meant training. Yeah, I'm here to give you all the training!" Well, that's odd, they kept in silence and staring at her. Yu was used to being in front of the cameras, why talking to a bunch of kids turned out to be so hard? A dozen different thoughts started to cross her mind at once and she didn't know where to look at, but before panic could install within her, a gloved hand rose in the midst of students staring at her.

"Umm, Mt. Lady-san" Her head snapped at the direction of the voice, one she knew very well.

"You there, with the green costume!" She pointed at the green mop of hair.

"I'm curious about what skill we'll be focusing on today" Midoriya said, showing genuine interest in it, but also focusing to not smile too much.

The blonde young woman sighed in relief inside, thank him for helping her out on this.

"Glad you asked. This training will focus on your ability to cooperate under stressful situations" She said with a tiny hint of pride. She actually practiced a few phrases for cases like this. In her humble opinion, it was flawless.

"Oh, so it's another teamwork exercise" Kirishima commented with Bakugo.

"Tch. Stuck with a bunch of extras again"

"Oh" "Another exercise? I thought it was a good idea… nevermind, it's okay to repeat a lesson under a new light" "Well, good to see you're familiar with it, but just to make things more interesting, we'll be selecting random teams to-"

"Mt. Lady-san, I thought we would be sticking with our teams all the time" Awase cut her, receiving a few nods from his classmates.

"O-oh, I see..." "Shit, I completely forgot about that! Aah, come on Yu, think of something" "Okay, we… we can work with that. The objective is simple, you just have to pick the-"

"Pardon my intromission, Mt. Lady-san, but I believe we're going to use the capture the flag model today, correct?" Iida asked, once again cutting her. Yu flinched a bit and froze. She was holding a small ball that she would use as the flag right behind her.

"Oh hell no, that too?! Come on, there's gotta be something you didn't do already, you precocious brats!"

"Aaah haha..." Yu looked around nervously, her eyes jumping from one face to another, more than once focusing on her love for some kind of answer that never came. She turned slightly around, ready to give in and let All Might take the lead. It was his idea after all. But when she looked at him, his face told her one thing: calm down, you can do this. The man simply smiled at her and gave a thumbs up. Well, if the Symbol of Peace said Yu could do this, who was she to deny, right? With a new wind of courage, she breathed out slowly, eyes closed for a brief moment.

"Okay brats, here's what we're going to do, a little game of tag. One team against another" She said, tossing the ball up and down with a smirk crossing her lips.

"For real? Man, when was the last time I played tag?" Sato wondered, with Shoji agreeing by his side.

"Oi, I'm not a fucking kid to play stupid games-"

"Sorry, Mt. Lady-sensei. ~Come on, BakuBro, it can be fun~"

"MMM- Let go! And shut up!"

Despite the comments, Yu didn't lose her composure.

"Yes, I know. That's why there are a few different rules. One, there's gonna be only one person running. The others are pursuers"

"Mt. Lady-sensei, doesn't it makes things too hard?"

"Yeah, and how do we play this with two teams?"

Shiozaki and Rin asked. Internally, Yu started to feel a little giddy with the students calling her sensei. No, she wasn't officially a teacher but it kinda felt cool.

"I never said you would be chasing your teammates. The pursuers of each team have to catch the target player. Quirks are free to use and any tactic is valid. You'll have ten minutes"

Before Yu could discreetly release the breath she was holding, another hand was raised.

"Ribbit. Sensei, what is stopping us from simply run until the time ends?"

"Well, Tsu- Asui-san, at the mark of five minutes a small… surprise event will appear"

"I see… So we have to weigh our options between running and chasing our target, and the time is important too. Depending on the team matches there will be many points to consider, and that will affect the strategies we can use and..."

"Oh, Deku-kun entered the Mumbling Zone again, Kyoka-chan"

"Should we tell him or..."

"Hahaha! Amazingly perfect! This time we'll definitely dethrone these false kings from-"

"Monoma, do you want me to hit you again...?"

"... ~cof~ That won't be necessary"

Yu watched with newfound happiness as the teens huddled into their units to form plans or simply chat, all of them excited with the exercise. The one she made herself, even if it wasn't her original plan. Then she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looking to the side, she found the former number one hero smiling at her kindly.

"See? It wasn't that hard, was it?"

"Pfft, are you serious? I was terrified"

"Hahaha, I can imagine. Teaching is quite different from what we do normally, but I sense you have some talent for this"

"You mean it, All Might?"

"Toshinori, please. And yes, I believe you have much to offer to these young heroes. I might be mistaken a little but to me… the most important is the passion to teach"

"Hmm… you may be right, after all"

"I know, right? Nah hahahaha Ah hahaha- ~cough cough~"

And so the teams got sorted out. Unit Alpha versus Unit Iota, with Monoma and Tsuyu as targets. Next match, Zeta versus Delta, with Aoyama and Tsuburaba being chased. Third match, Units Beta and Theta, with Shishida and Uraraka as targets. The fourth match would be between Gamma and Kappa, Mineta and Shoda being the targets. And the final match would be Eta versus Epsilon. Due to the Epsilon team having one extra person, the other team could pick up anyone they wished to even the numbers.

Yu told the first two teams to enter the tree forest and split, going as far as they wanted or could within five minutes, then the game would begin. Meanwhile, the remaining students and All Might headed to the observatory room. Whenever they had these kinds of competition, they couldn't help but feel excited and anxious to go, albeit it could also be related to the lack of threats from a certain scruffy looking teacher.

"Oi, Tetsubro, we're on the same match!"

"Yosha! I won't lose to you, Kiribro!"

"I won't lose either!"

"Kirishima! Stop getting along with these extras!"

"Bakugo-kun, refrain from shouting with your classmates!"

"Iida-kun, you're kind of screaming too..."

"I'm deeply sorry, Uraraka-san!"

"Uuh..."

"Huh, where is Mt. Lady-sensei?" The sudden question from the pink-skinned girl made everyone look around and realize she was nowhere to be found.

"Honestly I don't know if that's good or bad…?" Mineta said, holding himself as if he was shivering, earning a concerned and weird look from Kaminari.

"Dude, you okay?"

"Takeyama-san will be joining us at the right time. for now, let's watch your classmates" All Might told them, turning the attention to the main monitor. In the forest, both teams were ready and in position. "Very well, the tag game starts… now!"

The horn echoed across the forest, giving the start signal to the first match. Shoji lead the way through the trees, using his senses to find the location of the other team. From the moment the teams were picked, Yaoyorozu started to form a plan, one which would certainly carry them to victory. Beginning with the person chosen to be the target, Tusyu. She was the most agile from the group and she could blend better with her camouflage. That said, It was clear that Shoji would be their eyes and ears and Sato would play the offensive role. That left her with the role of support, something she was pretty good at.

The difficult part was the team they ended against. Since it was a forest, Komori could spread her mushrooms dangerously fast and Kendo had a strong combination of attack and defense. She didn't believe capturing Monoma would be difficult if they launched an attack fast enough, but there was Bondo on their team, which only made things more complicated. She had time to think and all the paths seemed to end in them losing. In that situation, there was only one thing to do.

"Yaoyorozu-san, I found them" Shoji said, stopping and hiding behind a tree. Sato and Yaoyorozu did the same, waiting for his signal as the tall, masked teen looked closer with an eye-limb. He showed three fingers and an OK sign, which meant Monoma was there with two more people. They peeked out and saw him at a clearing, looking at the sky and apparently talking alone. The raven-haired girl could imagine the topic since Kendo hit him on the head, without knocking him out. Bondo stood as a sentinel, scanning the surroundings.

"Alright, I predicted it could be a possibility" Yaoyorozu signaled Sato and Shoji to move around and strike together. They nodded and began to sneak around, trying to not make any noises.

At the clearing, Kendo sighed as Monoma wouldn't stop talking about how they would ultimately surpass class 1-A. She had to act cool and natural, after all, she knew exactly who she was facing. By this time Shoji would have located them and they would be preparing to attack, which she expected to happen as soon as possible, hence why they started at this open place. They already fought like this one time and Kendo was sure she wouldn't resist the bait. She knew Yaoyorozu very… intimately.

because of this, her reaction was nothing less than lightspeed once the bushes rustled and they got attacked by both sides, two tall and muscular teens charging at Monoma. Bondo got in the way of Sato, quickly using his glue to stick the buff teen to the floor, but he really got surprised so the best he could do was a fist covered in glue. At least that softened the punch he got to his sides. Meanwhile, Shoji was practically reaching Monoma when Kendo jumped in between, using her Double Jumbo Fist to knock him back. He skidded to a halt much faster than she expected.

"Tsk, so all that size is not only to show" She said, taking a defensive stance.

"I would like to spare with you, Kendo-san, but you're not the priority" Shoji replied, running back to the forest to chase Monoma, who dashed away.

"Unfortunately for you, you'll have to pass over me first" She said while her large fists locked the way.

"Give me a break..."

Something was off, she thought while trying to land a solid hit on Shoji. She expected a direct attack and it happened, but why didn't she show up? They could have ended it here and there. Of course, Kendo wouldn't simply let them win but still, they had the advantage.

"Unless..." "Komori!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. They didn't want to use it so soon because honestly, it was a bit dangerous, but she understood what Yaoyorozu had in mind.

"That girl- oof!" She received a hard punch to the guts when she looked around for a second.

"Oi, Kendo-san, I would like if you focused on the opponent in front of you" He taunted her, and she could almost see the smile on his face. Never mind, one of the limbs was a grinning mouth.

"To think she would chase Monoma alone and leave you as bait… Yeah, I thought Yaoyorozu could do that. That's why..."

That's why she told Komori to hide deep in the forest and monoma to memorize a certain path. That way she could plant spores around and make traps for when the blonde ran away. Plus, she had Komori to plant a few spores around here too so they only had to hold these two long enough for the mushrooms to sprout. The fungi fan gave them some kind of repellent that killed the spores, much to her dismay. Once Shoji and Sato were neutralized, they simply had to find Tsuyu, which wouldn't be much hard once Monoma got Shoji's Quirk.

"Sorry, Kendo-san, but I really have to pass. I don't want to let Yaoyorozu-san do all the hard work"

"I have all the time in the world"

"Thought so. Which means you want us to stay in here for a while. Sato!"

Both teens pulled out gas masks, right when the spores started to disperse in the clearing.

"She predicted that move too?! Shit, time for plan B" "Bondo-kun- Eeh?!"

Kendo had to duck as Bondo flew above her, hitting the floor and then a tree with a loud oof. She looked across the clearing and saw Sato with half of his body covered in glue.

"Sorry, Bondo! I think I ate one extra bar- hgn!" He shouted another apology while trying to pry from his prison. Apparently Bondo got hit on the guts and a lot of glue shot out when he got launched.

Kendo lost a few seconds in confusion, but that was enough for Shoji to pass around her. With that new surprise, she had to make a decision: follow them or go after Tsuyu. She glanced at the two directions quickly, then shook her head in frustration.

"Aaah, plan B then" And so she darted into the trees, roughly at the direction Shoji and Sato came from.

Back to monoma, he was running through the woods with ease, having memorized each path with perfection. He set his clocks and he had plenty of time to use Mushroom, Big Fist, and Cemedine, so he wasn't really worried about having to fight. Considering what happened and that kendo didn't return yet, she probably went with plan B, which meant he had a new task now.

"Now, class 1-A, let's see how you deal with this"

As he ran through the forest, small mushrooms of many types started to grow right behind him at a fast pace, leaving a fine could of dangerous spores as his trail. he laughed at the ingenuity of the plan, leading the so-called top students into a trap by exposing themselves, then making a run. They would certainly chase him and fall prey to the spores while kendo and Bondo took care of Asui. If he managed to neutralize them, Monoma could make it even easier using Shoji's Dupli-arms.

"Oh, I can already feel the taste of victory… and the shame of them! Hahahaha- what?!" he tripped. Suddenly his legs got stuck on something and he fell facefirst on the dirt. He tried to get up but his let remained stuck. That's when he noticed something rolled around his ankles, some ropes with balls on the ends. "A... bola…?"

"Well, it took me more time than I expected. You're fast, Monoma-kun" He turned around once he heard the voice of a girl. It sounded muffled and he could clearly see why. Yaoyorozu had a gas mask, making the spores useless against her.

"... So you predicted even that move?" Monoma said as he pulled himself up and sat against a tree.

"Don't be so surprised. All things considered, each team is balanced against the other but there's only one way for us to win" She said, ready to touch the blonde on the floor.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed. Yaoyorozu looked to the sky through the canopies. A column of green smoke going up the sky, the flare gun she gave Tsuyu. That meant…

"No, focus" When she turned around, Yaoyorozu could only see a pair of giant fists hitting her and sending her flying through some bushes. Monoma untied the knots on his legs and quickly scrambled away, laughing out loud once he got a safe distance from the raven-haired girl.

"Ha- hahahahaha! Not this time, 1-A!"

Yaoyorozu got up rubbing her head and then looked again at the direction of the smoke. Something was off here, the chances of Kendo finding Tsuyu were too low and she could easily outmaneuver their orange-haired friend. So what could have happened to force Tsuyu to use the-

"No way..." What she was was a very familiar figure. In fact, she was one of the women Yaoyorozu shared her dearest Izuku with. "Why is Yu here too?!"

Back to the frog girl, Tsuyu found a good spot to camouflage and hide once her team left, so she stood quietly. However, after five minutes or so she got bored and decided that keep moving could be a good strategy too. She jumped from branches to bushes, keeping a low profile and attentive to her surroundings. Then, out of the blue, she saw someone she knew.

"Mt. Lady-sensei? Ribbit, shouldn't you be at the observation deck- ribbit?!" She just jumped out of the way since Yu tried to tackle her football-style.

"Guess what, Asui-san? The surprise event is… me"

"What?!"

She didn't have time to think as the woman gave chase, running after her.

"Just to clarify, if I catch any of you it's game over!"

"Are you kidding? Ribbit"

"Get ready Asui, I'm coming for you"

And so the frog girl leaped across the forest, trying to evade the blond woman, but when she thought she made some space between them, a large hand unrooted the tree she hid behind. At that moment she used the flare gun Yaoyorozu gave her at the beginning of the match. It was only for emergencies but last time Tsuyu checked a giant chasing you fell into that category. Unfortunately, her team would not be the only one to see this. Kendo immediately made a sharp turn to the right once she saw the smoke. Turns out she would find Tsuyu if the frog girl didn't move from her initial spot.

Kendo moved through the trees fast, not caring about furtiveness, she was against the clock now. She heard a few loud sounds ahead but she couldn't identify what it was until the trees opened to a larger clearing. There, she saw none other than in her giant form, apparently chasing something within the trees. The bad part was that she also spotted Kendo.

"Oh, you seem easier to catch. Get ready Kendo, this is your game over!"

The teen looked with wide eyes as the giantess moved towards her. Kendo quickly snapped out of it and turned around on her heels, darting back to the forest.

"Oh no, I didn't sign for this!"

On the other side, Tsuyu breathed in relief for a second before hearing the voice of the blonde. "I'll be back soon, Tsuyu. Don't move~" She gulped and instantly ran in the other direction.

With Unit Iota, Monoma just found Komori, who looked at his dirty face and clothes with worry.

"Monoma-kun, what happened? Where's Kendo and-"

"The plan A failed, Kendo and Bondo are probably going with B, but I just saw- ~huff~"

"Hey, breathe first"

"One minute ~deep breath~ Mt. Lady-sensei appeared out of nowhere"

"Wait, why?"

"I don't know but I think I know where our target it. That green smoke is a signal"

"So does it mean their plan failed?"

"I… I d-doubt it..." Komori couldn't help but smile nervously at the struggle of his friend to face the fact that he almost lost to 1-A. Again. "Anyway, we can still turn this to our favor. Let's head to that direction"

"But won't we meet them this way?"

"If we use the surprise element now, it is our advantage. We have to go now"

"R-right!"

Somewhere else in the forest, Yaoyorozu worried while she ran towards the signal. What was happening? She didn't take this into account when she made her plan. Suddenly a shadow moved closer and she was ready to create-draw a staff when she noticed who it was.

"Shoji-kun. You managed to stop Kendo, then?"

"Not really. She must have headed to where Asui-san was. Sorry"

"It's okay. Mt. Lady-sensei got me surprised too"

"What do you think it means?"

"She said there would be an event during the match..."

"So she's the "small" surprise? In any case, I think she's here to get in our way"

"That means we have to take Tsuyu out of there and find Monoma"

"You didn't make it to him?"

"I hate to say it but I let him escape. I got distracted..."

"We'll make it somehow. With all that noise, I bet I can find them in no time" He assured her and she nodded back.

"Then we have no time to lose-"

"Waah! Passing by!"

Kendo just ran by them as if her life depended on it. Shoji heard loud noises coming from the direction she came.

"Are these… footsteps?"

"Oh no..."

"Oho? Two more students for me to catch? Bad news for you, once I get my hands on you it's game over~" Said the giant lady as she kneeled to pick them. Both teens exchanged glances briefly.

"Run?"

"Run!"

They split paths to reduce the chance of being captured by Yu, who decided to follow Yaoyorozu. Seeing this, she almost thought about bad luck but a new idea formed. Yaoyorozu made a turn and sprinted faster. In no time she was running side by side with Kendo, who looked surprised at her and then at the giant lady.

"Hey, that's cheating"

"Not really, she can catch any of us"

"Or one of my teammates since I'm trying to get back to them"

"That's all up to you, Kendo"

"Oh no, we're not doing this, YaoMomo"

Meanwhile, Yu laughed internally while she watched the two girls pulling at each other and running like there was no tomorrow. She could make an effort and capture them now but she was actually having fun doing this, playing the slow giantess.

One minute remaining, Shoji found Tsuyu and they began to run at the general direction Monoma went first. Meanwhile, Monoma and Komori converged to the same spot, following the faded green smoke. Bondo was still out cold and Sato was desperately trying to hide under a tree once he saw the giant woman walking around, towering over the forest. That proved to be quite difficult since he had to drag a pile of dirt and glue along while he only had one free arm and leg. Kendo and Yaoyorozu made a final effort to run faster and hide from Yu while they tried to outsmart each other.

Time was almost over when Shoji and Tsuyu met Monoma and Komori. The tall teen instantly put the gas mask and stood in front of Tsuyu, while Monoma started to spit glue at his direction to block the path. At that moment, both Yaoyorozu and Kendo came from the trees. There was a second where they glanced at each other before running as fast as possible. Towards their respective targets. Yaoyorozu used a wooden pole to vault over the glue while Kendo charged at Shoji, growing her fists quickly to knock him aside. They were mere meters away from Tsuyu and Monoma, one jumping away with bad timing and the other stuck on the glue he laid out. Then, the horn buzzed again, marking the end of the match. Due to momentum, there were two crashes and a blonde woman suppressing her laughs.

In the observation room, everyone looked at the monitors with varying degrees of shock. No one expected that outcome, even less the pro hero suddenly appearing and chasing everyone. So that meant…

"Ne, it was just this time... right?" Mineta asked, his face already pale.

"~cof~ It wouldn't be fair if the first two teams were the only ones" "Though I wish she had informed me before..." "So, did you learn something from your classmates?"

"Hai! Both teams showed great skills in planning ahead and predicting the next steps" Iida said, almost speaking like a machine.

"Hmm, I guess they know how to improvise when the plan blows up" Awase added.

"Haah, how boring..." Everyone turned around and looked at the blondie with messy buns. "Oh, sorry. Umm, I think they, uh, know how to set their priorities...?" All Might stared at her for a moment in silence.

"Can you please elaborate, Young Toga?"

"Yeah, it's like… when Miss Mount Fuji appeared, they stopped trying to tag each other and decided to either run or find their teammates. There was a bigger threat than the opposite team" Everyone stared at her in silence as if she had grown a second head. "What? Did I say something offensive? ~I hope so~"

"No, actually, ahem..."

"That was kinda impressive" Now everyone was looking weird at Midoriya, who just said what was in everyone's mind. The problem was, why did HE say that? Well, Himiko wasn't going to let that opportunity pass.

"Oh, you like it when I'm a smart girl?~" She said, getting closer to him while Midoriya took a step back and moved his head away.

"Just stay away from my personal space"

"Aw, but I want to hug you. You made a compliment about me~" That bright smile made him both anxious and angry.

"No, I… ah, just get off me"

"Okay, okay, we can go on a date later. Let's hear more from All Might-Sensei, then~" And just like that, she turned around, shifting the focus of the classes back to him.

"Hmm, yes, Young Toga made a good observation. Defining the priority list is fundamental for a hero, even more, if you're working with a team. One extra variable and you might need to change your course of action completely"

"Hey, we're back! So, who's next?" Mt. Lady entered the observation room with the two teams behind her. "Oh yeah, Ashido, can you help poor Sato here? I think this glue is not coming off any time soon"

"Oh, okay"

She looked around for a second and found her favorite green-haired boy. However, no amount of eye candy could balance the sore vision that was seeing the little psycho so close to him. It was slightly noticeable in his face, the distress. Yu wanted to do something, and she would later, but what she wanted right now was something to make Izuku feel better, release some of that tension. Then, she watched with curious eyes as the short blondie from 1-B approached him. She said something quickly and he looked surprised, then nodded and she got all happy.

"Huh, could they… nah" "Alright brats, time for the next match. Teams Delta and Zeta, down to the gate. You have five minutes to get ready"

The next matches went as well as she expected. Yu never ceased to be amused at the stunts these kids pulled out at such a young age. Also, she found a new kind of fun in seeing the students running from her. Some were brave or dumb enough to actually try and stop her. Not that didn't happen, they could do amazing things together, but she didn't simply fall without a good fight.

So about the second match, a victory for Unit Zeta. Being a forest, Kuroiro had plenty of shadows to move around and Tsuburaba simply locked himself into a solid air cube when Todoroki and Ojiro tried to capture him. Yu, however, got her feet stuck on ice much longer than she would like. The Half and Half teen apologized for that.

The third match was interesting. Iida and Tokoyami formed a powerful offensive that managed to grab Shishida before Yu could enter the game and Uraraka showed some of the results from her training, keeping afloat since the beginning of the match. Kyoka managed to keep her safe from Yanagi's poltergeist range and Shiozaki's vines via a mild deafening sonic blast.

The fourth match was an all-out battle that the giantess couldn't mess with much. Bakugo, being the hothead he is, went straight for the offensive, dragging his team along with impressive yet questionable leadership skills. He was all over the place, blasting anything that got into his way, Yu included. Eventually, things boiled down to four separate duels. Tetsutetsu won this time against Kirishima, at the cost of being completely exhausted. Awase managed to weld Kaminari with tree branches but after that Kaminari used his pointer to hit the boy, so both were out too. Meanwhile, Kodai slowed Bakugo by forcing him to explode tree after giant tree, leaving to Yu the task of preventing a widespread fire.

Curiously, Mineta and Shota ended bumping on each other. No one said they couldn't chase the other target so they spent most of the time running after each other, actually playing tag like two kids. In the end, Bakugo got really pissed and pulled a Howitzer Impact, effectively destroying a large section of the trees. In Shoda's words, it was like seeing a demon coming from the deepest ring of Hell, emerging from flames to catch him. Both him and Mineta surrendered. As for Kodai, she took a safe distance once she noticed Bakugo was getting angrier than normal, so she was fine.

So, not considering the loss for the environment, the exercise was doing extremely well. To think she would come up with such an awesome idea.

"I bet Nemuri will feel jealous, I can't wait to see her face~"

Now it was time for the last match, delayed while Todoroki helped to extinguish the fire. While he didn't show it, Midoriya felt nervous about it. Not because the exercise was different or because there was something at risk here. His chest felt a little heavy every time he heard her voice, every time she got near him, every time she made a smart comment or joked around as if she was part of the class. Himiko openly told him this was her mask, a declared ruse to confuse his thoughts. She didn't change anything, except perhaps for the fact that she actually loved him, in her own twisted way.

"Hey, don't think too much of this. You can't torture yourself over something that's her fault" Nana's voice echoed inside his mind. Despite being the first time she spoke to him since the hero training started, Midoriya could feel her somehow calming him down, putting his mind at ease. If he focused enough he could almost sense her caressing his head while he rested it on her lap.

"Don't get too comfy, you have to focus~"

"Y-yeah, you're right. Focus"

Focus on the matter at hand, pass on this exercise, completely ignoring the obnoxious blonde with a permanent blush if possible. He cleared his mind as teams Epsilon and Eta headed to the main gate. On the 1-B side, Tokage chose Shishida to even the teams.

"Oi, Midoriya! Don't expect me to go on easy on you just because you're dating Kendo~" She shouted from her side, making the green-haired teen get a red hue on his face.

"W-what are you t-talking about?!" He stammered but quickly recovered. "Well, we won't hold back eider"

They exchanged a quick knowing glance. She just loved to tease him.

"So who's going to be the one running?" Hagakure asked.

"Oh, oh, I have a plan! I have a plan!" Himiko jumped in place with her hand up, earning a few weird looks from the other members.

"And… what is it?" Midoriya asked hesitantly.

"Let's put you as the runner"

"Huh? Really? Wouldn't it be better to have someone fast chasing them?" Sero questioned her.

"Yes, but here's the catch" She started, hugging his arm suddenly and whispering. "I'm going to transform and they'll go after me. In the worst case, they have two targets to chase, and the path will be open for you. So, isn't it brilliant?~" Himiko seemed really proud pf her plan, so much that she didn't notice the murderous looks of Ashido and Hagakure.

"Umm, don't you need, well, blood to use your Quirk?" The tape boy wouldn't admit that it was clever, but what made him feel more nervous about that course of action was the implications of letting Himiko user her peculiarity. His eyes wandered slightly to the boy she was currently holding.

"Well..." Her face got an inch closer to his, all the while Midoriya kept a neutral expression. "It can't be helped, right, Izuku?~" If it wasn't clear already, the smile crossing her face showed exactly what was her intentions behind this plan. But the only response she got was Midoriya lightly pushing her away and releasing his arm.

"No, we need another plan"

"Eh? Why? My plan is awesome. They will never expect and-"

"We need another plan" She didn't expect his voice to sound so cold right now. It was like even the anger or usual tiredness vanished completely. The slightest of the smiles formed on the corners of her mouth.

"Umm, what if I'm the target, Midoriya-kun?" The invisible girl suggested.

"That's right! Tooru-chan will be practically impossible to find" Ashido added.

"Sounds good but we have to be careful with Shishida, he has powerful senses. Also, we still need to think about how to deal with them. Judging by the formation, Tokage-san will be the target and she can blend in pretty well"

"About that, just bring me to where she is and I can solve this" Sero said with confidence.

Unit epsilon cheered as they began to form a more solid plan. The details Midoriya would explain later but now they had five minutes to find a starting point. And while they moved, a certain blonde couldn't help but feel left out. From the observing room, a pair of brown eyes focused on her figure with intent to kill.

"The fifth match starts… now!"

The horn sounded and both teams started to run. Midoriya lead the way through the trees, using Full Cowl to jump from branch to branch. A little behind him, Sero and Ashido watched and tried to follow his pace.

"He's… fast..."

A little further behind, Himiko simply ran at an easy pace, not bothering much to follow them, simply keeping the team in her field of vision. Be it the exercise itself or her plan not being the one picked up, she looked bothered. After all the hard she put into making a plan that didn't involve a killing spree, they simply put her aside like she didn't exist.

"Well, I just need to show off myself again" She sighed, but then suddenly halted, looking around. Her eyes darted left and right quickly before she shouted to the three ahead of her. "Hey! From the left!"

Sero and Ashido reacted a bit sooner, spotting a shadow moving through some bushes. Midoriya was mid-air and he just turned his attention to the blonde. Then he caught a glimpse of something flying towards him. Unfortunately, he moved a second too late. A pair of horns hit him and pinned Midoriya to a tree, immobilizing his arms. At the same time, Kamariki jumped at Sero and Ashido, blades ready to strike. A few seconds later and the blonde wouldn't have made it.

"Yare yare… aren't you guys eager to end this game?~" Himiko said as she held Kamakiri's blades back, using a combat knife. She shifted her weight and spun around to hit him, but he managed to dodge by jumping back.

"What?! I thought you couldn't use any weapons" Kamakiri adopted a defensive stance, arms crossed and blades ready.

"Oh, this? Relax, it ain't sharp, sadly. It's just a very durable piece of steel carbon, really" She said, spinning the thing that resembled a knife skillfully. "I just wanted something to remind me of the real deal. Don't want to lose the feeling, right?~" Himiko grinned as she watched the teen facing her struggle to not look nervous.

She quickly glanced at Sero and Ashido behind her. Oh, how she wanted to have a picture of their faces right now, shocked and kinda angry. More important, izuku was pinned on the wall but without a scratch. Awesome, her time to show off her skills to him.

"I'll hold this one here. Tape-kun and Bitch-chan, get Izuku and keep going. They cant be far from here with that reaction time"

"What was that?!-"

"Not now, Ashido. But what do you mean, reaction-" Sero couldn't complete the phrase as his left feet suddenly sunk on the dirt like it was water, or mud, specifically.

"Tsk, so annoying" Himiko didn't have to look around again. She knew who was coming, so she decided to charge at Kamakiri, striking quickly and forcing the teen to back off. "Just follow the plan!"

Sero and Ashido panicked slightly before the tape hero reacted, holding her hand and wrapping tape around a tall branch, lifting them from the mud trap.

"Well, I didn't expect her to notice me so fast. Like it or not, this Toga Himiko is no joke" THe floor of the forest wavered like a pond and Honekuni slowly rose. The trees nearby tilted left and right as the soil became like mud.

"Damn it. That girl really saved us there" Ashido said reluctantly. "Sero-kun, let's get Midoriya and go ahead"

Sero jumped from a tree another tree, making it topple as he landed. Honekuni swam on the floor after him but Ashido blocked the way using her acid. They reached the tree Midoriya got stuck and pulled out the horns.

"Thanks, guys. We have to move quickly now"

"Well, it's not easy with Honekuni down there" Sero pointed out, also noticing that the extra weight was making the tree sink.

"Just don't touch the ground and we'll be fine. Ashido-san, I'll carry you" He said as Ashido climbed on his back.

"OI, I'm still here listening" Honekuni touched the bark, making the whole tree soft like mud, but not before they could jump to the next branch, quickly gaining distance from him.

"Not that I care much, Midoriya, but what about Toga?" Sero asked as he swung around using his tape.

"~sigh~ Like it or not, she knows how to take care of her. We have to focus on finding Tokage before-"

"YOSH! Five minutes have passed. Mt. Lady is joining the game!" The pro hero's voice echoed through the forest. She appeared already in giant form, looking down and searching for any movement.

"That's bad. We don't even know where that lizard girl is hiding" The tape boy groaned.

"Actually, I think we do. Himiko did say their reaction time was quick. If they got to us so fast, then Tokage-san must be nearby and judging by the direction of those horns… there!"

Midoriya made a sharp turn with Sero right after him. They landed on a small dirt path with trees making an ark above it. And right ahead of them was the lizard girl or at least eighty percent of her. Tokage was missing an eye, an ear, and her right arm.

"Oh, you found me pretty quick. Well, can't say Ii didn't expect that" She said with a sly grin plastered in her face.

"We got you, sis. There's no way you're running away from us" Ashido said as she let go of Midoriya and prepared to run after her.

"Oh, really?" Tokage then snapped her fingers.

"Thunder Horn!" Suddenly a pair of flying horns passed by them, taking Ashido away into the air as she screamed. None other than Tsunotori came from a bush, flying on another pair of horns.

"Ashido! Tsk, Midoriya, let's get her"

"Oh, are you sure you have time to worry about me?" The green-haired girl taunted them.

"Huh?"

"Tsunotori and I are here, and Honekuni can't be far. Do you know where everyone is…?"

Midoriya stopped to think a moment.

"Kamakiri is fighting Himiko, so… Shishida!"

"Pin pon, you're right~ Now, where do you think he is right now?"

The realization hit Midoriya and Sero. Hagakure might be invisible but the guy was pretty much her weakness.

"Now, before you go to the rescue, do you think you can pass by Mt. Lady-sensei that easily?"

"I got it, Tsunotori is drawing attention" He concluded, looking up and seeing the blonde and the pink-skinned girl in the air. It seems that Yu also noticed them and was coming to capture them. His attention turned back to Tokage as she laughed lightly. Now she had her right arm back.

"One more thing… how are you going to decide which part of me chase?" And as she sid that, Tokage split into many parts that scattered around.

"Damn it, that's bad. Sero-san, can you go after her?"

"Leave it to me, I have the perfect play ready for her" He said, giving Midoriya a thumbs up and dashing after the lizard girl. "Get back here!"

And for the emerald child, Midoriya looked up and took aim and fired. "Delaware Smash: Air Force!"

The compressed air flew up fast, passing close enough to Tsunotori so she lost her balance and her concentration. The horns that were carrying Ashido fell and she couldn't help but scream again as the trees got closer and closer. Then, Midoriya burst through the canopies, having jumped as high as he could to pick her. He landed and quickly checked if she was alright.

"Whew~ That was kinda scary"

"Ashido-san, I have to go back to Hagakure. Sero went after Tokage"

"Okay, I'll hold the blondie here"

"And be careful, is in the game already"

And so he dashed away, trying to make the way around Yu's path. Ashido barely recovered, she had to duck as another pair of horns flew above her head. She quickly spotted Tsunotori and went after the blondie using her acid to slide through the forest.

A few minutes before, Hagakure simply walked around, trying to be as aware as possible of her surroundings. She heard the rustling of leaves and quickly hid behind a tree, covering her mouth and nose. Not a second later, Shishida revealed himself in his beast form, scanning the dense region of the forest.

"Hmmm... Being invisible won't help much, Hagakure-san. I can sense your smell around here"

"Hmpf! Is it something you say to a girl?" Albeit a little offended, Hagakure started to move around stealthily, being careful not to make any noises. The teen seemed like a beast from where she could see, almost like a giant dog as Shishida seemed to patrol the perimeter. She was almost at her goal, a small dirt road that would give her time sufficient to run from him when Hagakure stepped on a twig.

"There!" She ducked and a second later Shishida flew above her, landing on the dirt road and looking at her general direction. He sniffed repeatedly, looking at the bushes and trees.

"I would give up if I were you, Hagakure-san. You can't really outrun me" The tall and furry teen said, menacingly walking towards her.

"Lucky for me, I'm not you! Light Refraction!" He reacted to the voice but his eyes got blinded by the sudden flash. Shishida covered his eyes by instinct while Hagakure took her cue to run.

"He's not wrong, I can't hope to be faster, but I can win some time on my own. Aw, I wish Cutie was here..." At that moment, Hagakure heard a loud boom and then she saw Yu right in front of her.

"Oh, come on!"

Between the giant woman and the hound after her, she would rather risk being stepped on. After all, no one would dare to keep near Yu, so that was actually the perfect spot to hide. Meanwhile, blades crossed in another part of the forest.

"Tch, you're tougher than you look" Kamakiri said with a grunt. He wouldn't admit that for any foe he faced, but Toga really put him against the wall. Besides, even lacking an edge, her naturality using a knife made the teen even warier. Be it a real-life situation, Kamakiri wasn't completely sure he could win. And to make things even worse, he had help.

"Aah, this mud thingy is not funny. Not a single bit!" Himiko shouted as she leaped to another tree, the one she was sinking into the ground. Bellow her, Honekuni made his way through the floor, aiming for another surprise attack, but getting this girl off guard proved to be a hard task.

"Damn it, damn it all! I can't believe I'm still stuck here" Himiko complained internally as she landed another sequence of attacks on Kamakiri, being forced to retreat because of his partner. "I'm wasting time here while Izuku is somewhere else. And I didn't even get to show myself to him!"

"Kamakiri, can you still go on?"

"What are you talking about? I just warmed up"

Both teens exchanged a quick glance and nodded, going after the ex-villain. Honekuni dived while Kamakiri went straight to the offensive. He slashed time and time again, and Himiko didn't have any difficulty on either dodge or parry, to the point that her grin made him even angrier.

"Don't think you can take me down easily!" Her grin only widened.

"Ha! Even if I had a real knife, I wouldn't use it on you! Your bleeding must be boring too"

"I see you don't take me seriously"

"What makes you think that?~"

Kamakiri kept advancing with his flurry of attacks, not giving a single breach for a counter-attack. He hated to admit it but Toga Himiko really was on another league when it came to combat.

"You really seem to know how to take care of yourself alone"

"Yes, I do. At another time… you would be dead by now, alone and helpless" She jumped back, flashing a sadic grin at the teen as he recovered his breath.

"Yeah… probably… but that's your problem… you're alone" Before Himiko could even say her next snarky comment her feet sunk on the floor, rather they were dragged down by a pair of hands. Honekuni dived deep enough that she wouldn't notice while Kamakiri drove her to the exact spot to trap her.

The fanged teen grinned as he drew his blades. Of course, the edges were dull but it would still hurt when he hit her.

"Tsk tsk, and you were saying some shit about me being dead by now? Villain or ex-villain, I don't care. I won't lose to kinds like you-"

"Aah… this lost the fun already..."

It happened in a flash, so fast that they barely registered. In one moment, Honekuni had her knees deep into the mud-like soil. The other, he was out of it and Himiko landed a powerful kick to his head, strong enough to disorient him and deactivate his Quirk. She had her back to a tree, so Himiko bent back, sinking her fake blade on the bark and lifting her legs from the mud along with Honekuni, a feat of strength for someone her size.

"It's not funny, it's not funny at all..."

Her voice sounded flat and monotone as if she couldn't be more bored. When she looked up again, her eyes lacked that psychotic glee of hers. She seemed much sober and menacing now. Without noticing, Kamakiri took a step back. It was like she could really kill him right here and there with that dull knife.

"My Izuku is out there being cool and I can't even watch him… all because I have to hold you two here, that's not fair, that's not funny..." She mumbled to herself.

"Oi oi, are you serious…? Honekuni, are you okay?" Kamakiri shouted when he saw his friend getting up.

"Shit… that's gonna leave a mark" They surrounded her and prepared to attack. But it was different this time.

"I don't like it..." She kept mumbling.

Unlike the other times, Himiko didn't even try a defensive stance. She just kept there, stopped and with her head a little low. Did she surrender, or was she planning to run? It passed almost four minutes since Mt. Lady-sensei appeared. They could still make a run for it and help Shishida to find Hagakure. Plus, the giant teacher seemed to have focused on Tsunotori and Ashido since she went after them. Speaking of which.

"You won't escape!"

"Why am I being chased?!" Ashido skidded with Tsunotori hot on her heels. No matter what sharp turns and vaults over fallen trees she did, the pony girl kept coming after her and shooting those flying horns. It was honestly unnerving being chased like that by a girl running on all fours.

"I can't let you get to Tokage-chan!" The blondie said as she launched yet another horn at the pink-skinned girl, missing by a few centimeters and getting stuck on a tree.

The plan was to let Shishida find Hagakure and if they happened to find team epsilon, they had to keep them busy as long as they could. If they managed to defeat or incapacitate them somehow, they could help to find the invisible girl. Tokage was completely confident that the beast teen could do the job, and she trusted everyone else to protect her. Tsunotori had to do her part.

However, it was considerably harder with Mt. Lady-sensei also after them. the lizard girl was right in using her as bait since Tsunotori could run faster, but having a giant after you didn't add any pressure, right? As for the huge blonde, Yu simply chased them for the fun and because she honestly didn't find anyone else. Midoriya appeared for a moment and then vanished. What a shame.

"That's bad, Yu is after me and this girl is making me waste time. I have to do something" Ashido tried to think of a plan. So far their strategy was working, Sero was after Tokage. The main problem was that they got scattered, and so she couldn't help but imagine where Midoriya was. Then, a giant hand landed on the floor right in front of her. She skidded to a halt and rolled before it could grab her.

"Oh, I missed" Yu said faking a whine.

Tsunotori jumped over a bush and also stopped dead on her tracks once she saw the pro hero, now looking down at her.

"Oh, no no no no" She immediately turned around to leave the scene but then Shishida came out of nowhere, crashing next to her. She heard a high pitched cry and something moving through the dust the bestial teen raised.

"Tooru?!"

"Hagakure-chan?!"

Both she and Ashido said.

"Mina-chan! Where's everyone?" The invisible girl asked as she ran to her friend.

"We got separated. Sero is after Tokage, and we have to move, now!" But before they could take another step, Mt. Lady blocked their path.

"Oh, going somewhere?~"

They turned around and found Shishida and Tsunotori blocking their way out. They were trapped. It was either being captured by Yu or them catching Tooru. What should Ashido do now?

"Hagakure-san! Flashbang!" They heard someone shout, someone they knew.

"Light Refraction!" The invisible girl used her signature move again, making the area much brighter.

"Ashido-san, cover her!"

"Hai!" Ashido, with her eyes closed, held Hagakure's hand and dashed forward. "Out of the way! Acid Veil!"

"That trick won't work on me twice- oof!" Shishida shielded his eyes in time and he told Tsunotori to do the same, but before he could try and capture the ghost of 1-A, he received a strong kick that sent him flying. Midoriya just arrived, joining the girls as they ran away.

"Well, why am I not surprised?~" Yu looked at the teens running as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Midoriya-kun, you came at the best time!" Hagakure said as he carried her on his back, Ashido skidding right after him.

"My bad, I didn't consider that they could use someone as bait to get the sensei's attention. That way they only had to stall us and let Shishida find you"

"I'm going to tell ya, this dude has an awesome nose. It's kinda scary..."

"Midoriya, what do we do now?" Ashido asked, and right after a horn passed by them at high speed.

"We keep Hagakure away from them. We must have a minute or so"

"But what about Tokage, Midoriya-kun?"

"Don't worry, Hagakure-san, Sero got this"

"Really?"

"He said so" Midoriya replied with a confident smile.

So let's see our tape hero. Sero moved through the trees with speed, using his tape to swing around. His target wasn't particularly fast but her ability to split made things a lot harder for him. Whenever he was close to catching her, Tokage divided her body at the last second.

"Hahahaha, sorry Sero-kun, but I can't let you catch me. My team is almost winning!"

"You're following them with one of your eyes, right? That's how you knew Shishida was after Hagakure" He said as he passed straight through her yet again.

"Yeah. not that I like to brag but I made a plan specifically to stop you guys" She taunted him, wagging one finger and running away again.

"Oho, is that so? Then I have to do my best!"

Sero then shot two strips of tape on the nearby trees, walking back while slowly reeling in the tape, increasing the tension. He chased her around and he even thought about leading her to a trap, but she could split into parts small enough to avoid it. The answer was to move faster than she could react, but it was like she knew exactly where he was. She probably used her Quirk to locate him while she ran away. Lucky for the tape hero, this area here was much less dense and he had a straight line, albeit narrow.

While studying with Midoriya, they watched a few videos of Kamui Woods and Best Jeanist, under the green-haired teen's recommendation. They were pro heroes highly specialized in capturing their enemies, and he thought that Sero could incorporate a few techniques on his arsenal.

"Well, it's now or never… Adhesive Slingshot!" Sero quickly reeled in the tape back to his elbows, launching him like a bullet forward. He held the tip of tape coming from one of his elbows and prepared.

"The secret to capturing someone..."

He pulled a long strip with his hand while shooting tape with his free arm, gluing it on a branch. The small pull from it made him spin fast in the air.

"... is being the fastest to react! Cellophane Whip Snare!" He let go of the tape, causing it to spin around him like a whip. Tokage found it weird that he stopped chasing her all of a sudden, then in a matter of seconds, the guy came flying in her direction.

The lizard girl got surprised and split in as many parts as she could. No way he could aim correctly at her from that distance and with that speed, a precise shoot would be nigh impossible. However, she didn't count with the guy spinning his tape around, effectively sweeping the entire area. She didn't have enough time to react and there was a limit to how precisely she could control her split body around. Too many individual movements to do at the same time.

"Like I would give up!" Tokage, still split, made all the parts disperse, getting out of Sero's range. The dude kept flying with the huge amount of momentum he had, eventually crashing on a tree. Good thing he hit the canopy, which kind of cushioned the impact. She reassembled and quickly walked to where he landed. It didn't matter that he was chasing her, she had to check if he was okay. Fortunately, Sero was still in one piece, scratching his head as he slowly got to his feet.

"Man, I gotta say, that was quite the stunt you did"

"Yeah, I never tested it so it still needs some work" He said in a relaxed way.

"As cool as it was, I have to say that you missed me again. Good try, nonetheless" She said with a smug grin crossing her lips.

"Well, about that..." He rolled his shoulders, a smile forming on his face. "I have to disagree" Then he lifted his hand, showing a small round thing, like a thick slice of meat. Tokage looked at it, then at her right arm. There was a small section of it missing. Everything happened so fast she didn't even notice.

"No way..."

"That's right… tag, you're it!" Sero shouted with the widest grin on his mouth, pointing at the sky in a victory pose.

The horn sounded again and All Might's voice echoed through the speakers.

"End of game, victory of Unit Epsilon!"

"Eeh?! It can't be" Tsunotori skidded to a halt when she heard the announcement. Shishida a little ahead of her also stopped, albeit via tripping on a root. Yu simply stopped chasing the teens and returned to her normal size, quickly joining them. Ashido, Midoriya, and Hagakure sighed in relief, not having to run around anymore.

In no time they gathered at the gate, team Eta with defeated expressions while Epsilon cheered for the victory. Of course, one could almost see Sero shining as he walked with a proud look. The only ones left were Kamakiri, Honekuni and…

"O-oi, what is this?!" Shishida pointed at the gate, where Himiko emerged from the trees dragging both teens with her. She held a completely neutral face until she laid her eyes on Midoriya, letting go of the boys and sprinting towards him.

"Izuku! The plan worked, we won!~ Oh, silly me, of course it worked, you made it, after all~" She got shoved away from him as fast as she grabbed his arm.

"Himiko, what did you do to them?" Midoriya didn't hesitate into showing his displeasure with her presence.

"Oh, that? Relax, they're still alive. Maybe a little unconscious but their hearts are beating. Anyway, I was thinking if we could-"

"Are you joking or what?!" Suddenly Tokage spun Himiko around, holding her by the collar.

"Hey! Let go, you're going to mess up my costume"

"Grrrr..." Tokage was about to land a punch but Midoriya got in her way, separating the two.

"Izu- Midoriya?"

"I know, Tokage-san. Himiko, this went too far"

"Oh? but wasn't that the objective?" She asked, sounding almost clueless. If it wasn't for his self-control, Midoriya would send her flying with a single kick.

"You can't hurt them like this! We're training"

"Heh, then they have a looong way ahead of them. It was so boring that I had to end this quick-"

"Listen here, it may be a game for you but we take this seriously" He took a step ahead, looking at her right in the eyes. His emerald eyes seemed to burn like a furnace, his anger reaching boiling point inside him. It always amazed her when he showed his emotions like this. A sly smile formed on her lips as Himiko stared back at Midoriya.

"Please, if I really wanted them dead they would be, even with this joke here" She said, spinning the dull knife in her hand. That clearly made Midoriya even more pissed off. "I also take this seriously, Izuku. I wanted to show you everything I can do, but they got in the way. I had to remove them. Plus, I didn't break any rules"

"And what if I trigger the collar on your neck, huh?" He threatened in a low voice.

"Wow, wow, slow down, Izuku" Nana's voice echoed inside his mind.

Himiko leaned closer, enough that their noses were centimeters apart.

"Oh Izuku, I'm not a masochist but I'd love to see you try~ I didn't kill anyone, didn't cause permanent damage, didn't break a single bone of them. I just knocked them unconscious with basic combat skills. Do you still want to punish me for playing fair?~ Or… do you just want to make me suffer?~ Either way, I don't care. I just want to see you like this… flooding with emotions~ it makes me feel… so hot~"

Midoriya had his fists clenched until now, but he took a step back. She was provoking him, playing with his emotions again. So that was her game now. She knew he wouldn't harm her without a reason. This was basically against everything a hero should do. She knew that and she practically threw that at his face.

"Izuku, don't let her trick you into her game. Calm down and think through this"

"I know, Nana-san. I just- argh, she's so annoying all the time! She acts like a normal person but I know deep down she's still bad. And the worst part is that sometimes I..."

"You forget about it?"

"... ~sigh~ yes"

"Look, this girl is an expert on manipulating others, but she can't fool you because you know what she's capable of"

"That's the problem, Nana-san. Every time I think I understood her, she does something that completely throws me off"

"And why is there a need to understand her?"

"I don't know either. Maybe… I'm trying to find a reason for her to like me so much"

"Do you actually believe in her when she says she loves you?"

"No, I don't. But… after everything she did, I can't help but feel that something changed within her. Even if a tiny amount"

"Look, I know you feel that everyone has something good inside them, but some people are incorrigible. This girl, Toga Himiko, is broken beyond repair"

Nana was right, there was no way Himiko would turn into a normal and decent person, let alone a hero. It was like fighting her own twisted and dark nature. So why did she try so much? She even told it was a mask so why bother to keep faking she was changing for him? He told her so many times that he hated her and would never forgive her for what she did, it was getting tiring already. Yet, she kept coming closer and adapting more to this new situation. Bit by bit, Himiko was turning into a normal highschool girl, even as a fake. Midoriya simply couldn't wrap his head around it. Why?

That situation aside, Kamakiri and Honekuni were okay and everyone returned to the observation room. Needless to say, everyone kept a certain distance from Toga. They saw how she alone defeated the two students, at a speed that even scared some. Uraraka felt her heart beat faster, as she saw on first hand just how dangerous the girl could be when she got serious.

And as everyone avoided Himiko, the students from 1-A and 1-B gathered around the stars or the fifth match. Sero failed to hide his pride and confidence while Tokage accepted the compliments with a happy expression. However, Midoriya didn't expect a certain short blondie to come to him out of a sudden.

"Midoriya, congrats for the match. That entrance at the last minute was so cool!"

"Oh, umm, thanks Tsunotori-san. It wasn't that much, though" He said sheepishly.

"Don't say that. You were so awesome, like, I'm here to save you! Monoma would be mad if he heard me saying this but… I think you all from 1-A are incredible… but you, well, you're j-just a tiny bit more awesome..."

"T-thanks again, I guess..."

There was a minute of awkward silence between them before Tsunotori spoke again.

"Umm, Midoriya-san" She got a little closer and spoke lower. "Can you come tonight to my room? There's something I want you to see"

"Ah… sure. Is it one of your cosplays?" He asked back, also in a whisper. Her face instantly lit with happiness.

"Yes! I mean… yeah, I think you'll like it"

"I'm sure I will. See you later, then" He told her with a gentle smile.

The dark veil of the night concealed his figure as he moved across the campus. Sneaking around really became a habit to him. Midoriya hid behind a bush, looking at the windows from the 1-B dorms. No lights on, apparently meaning no one was awake, excepts for the person who called him here. He simply took some impulse and jumped up to the balcony using his Quirk, landing with the stealth of a ninja. Three knocks at the glass door were the code they decided to use. The lights came on and the door quickly opened. He was greeted by a short blondie holding the brightest of the smiles.

"Midoriya, you came!" She said in excited whispers.

"Of course I came. Why wouldn't I?" He said back with a gentle smile crossing his lips.

"I know, it's just… I kinda… thought that you could have given up or..." Tsunotori shook her head, making the signs of worry that briefly showed in her face disappear. "Anyway, come in. I have to change, so wait for just a little, okay?" She headed to the bathroom, leaving Midoriya alone.

He sat on the bed, looking around aimlessly. At another time, he would be absolutely terrified and anxious about being in a girl's room but that obviously wasn't a problem anymore. However, aside from Setsuna, he never saw a room from 1-B and even then it was a quick glance since he had more "pressing matters" to deal with at the time. Midoriya didn't exactly know Tsunotori through and through, despite the secret she confided to him, so it was amusing seeing what kind of girl she was.

The room itself looked rather simple, nothing to draw a lot of attention, but it had some charm to it. There was a big mirror there across the bed, which he supposed she would use to check on her outfits, and a few empty shelves. Her closet seemed larger than the average, probably meant to keep all the clothes she made. Being from the United States, he kind of expected a flag, maybe a team sign or something, but it was probably him overthinking. Curiously, Midoriya didn't spot a single thing related to anime. Given what Tsunotori told him, he supposed she liked anime a lot, but there wasn't a single thing related around.

"Just because a person likes something, doesn't mean she has to decorate her room after it, right mister #1 fan?~" Midoriya stiffened a bit as Nana laughed at his reaction.

"W-well, I suppose not, but it would be a shame to keep all that quality merch in a box on my closet, right?"

"Hahahahaha, yeah, probably. Anyway, you're handling it pretty well, Izuku"

"Huh? Handling what?"

"You know, being alone with a girl in her room… in the middle of the night~"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, I'm here just to see Tsunotori cosplay" He replied in a shy manner.

"You know I can sense your embarrassment, right?"

"Yeah, that's quite annoying, honestly" He admitted in defeat.

"Hehe, don't be like that, Izuku, it's not funny if I tease you and you get sad. But doesn't this situation makes you wonder?~ What if?~"

"What if what...?"

"What if..." He could feel Nana getting closer to him, whispering close to his ears. "things got a little steamy?~"

"H-how would t-that even happen?"

"I don't know, how about this? She comes up with some really good looking outfit, a battle bunny, for example~"

"Oh no..." Just the memory of what happened inside his mind was enough to make Midoriya blush.

"Imagine it. She's standing there right in front of you, showing off that amazing cosplay and you can't focus on anything else. She starts acting shy and embarrassed because you keep staring but at the same time she wants you to look at her. You two slowly get near each other, just so you can "see" it better. She keeps looking at your eyes and you know she wants something from you. The room gets hot, or is it you two?~ Then she brings you closer and you feel her softness against you~ She looks so beautiful that you can't hold back anymore and pulls out your hard-"

"Okay, t-that's enough fanfiction from you, Nana-san!" Midoriya cut her, his heart beating faster than he was comfortable with.

"Aw, but I was getting to the best part~"

"We're just friends, Nana-san. Besides, I don't have to… get laid with every girl I know"

"Even if reality contradicts your statement, no you don't. Actually that makes me wonder if I can get technically get laid with you"

"Wait, what?!"

"Yeah, you know that common question about having sex with your clone? In our case, would it be masturbation or nah?"

"How is that a common question?"

"I'm literally the living memories of someone contained in your mind. What do you expect?"

"But why would you want to have, umm, sex, anyway?"

"Hey, I might be a bunch of synapses but I still remember the feeling, okay? Even more, now that I'm aware of myself. What do you think I do all day while you go around?"

"Please don't tell me you do what I think you're implying in the back of my head"

"No, Izuku, I don't. As funny as it might sound, fingering yourself for hours straight is not my definition of pleasure- aw, you're getting so flustered right now. How cute~"

Being caught up in the soft laughs and teasing echoing inside his mind, Midoriya didn't notice the owner of the room poking her head from the bathroom. Tsunotori watched with a hint of curiosity as the green-haired teen looked down, his legs pressed together and his arms between. He mumbled something but it was like he felt agitated or something.

"Umm, Midoriya, is everything okay?" He kept looking down, saying something under his breath from time to time, almost like he was talking to someone. "Midoriya?"

"Heads up, she's back"

"What?!" "A-ah, Tsunotori-san" He turned around to look at her, struggling to hide his embarrassment.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm completely fine"

"... I understand if you have to go, we can do this another night, I think…" Before her face could show any more traits of sadness, Midoriya immediately reacted.

"No no, it's fine, really" He assured her.

"Oh" Relief filled her heart upon hearing this.

"Besides… you looked so excited today, I would hate to miss it" He said, scratching his cheek with a finger. The thing is, Tsunotori didn't expect it at all.

"O-oh, yeah, umm..." She felt her face heat up a little. Did she really look so happy when she invited him earlier? It wasn't her intention. What if he just came here so she wouldn't feel sad? She didn't want Midoriya to stick around simply out of pity.

"No no, you're overthinking it, Pony. Midiriya is an awesome guy, he would never do something like this" "So… are… are you ready?" Midoriya nodded, then closed his eyes and waited.

It took Tsunotori more of her will than she initially thought. Showing off her work for a real person really felt different. It was like that uneasiness when you get to present something in front of a crowd, but different at the same time. There was this small weird feeling at the pit of her stomach, a constant thought worrying about whether he would like it or not. Pushing these things aside, Tsunotori stepped out of the bathroom, standing in front of Midoriya and putting up the best smile she could while pretending to not be nervous.

"H-here it is"

Midoriya slowly opened his eyes and stood still for a moment as he had his first glance at Tsunotori. Then his eyes widened in awe as he looked at her outfit more and more. She was using a light pink kimono with a pattern of lines that vaguely resembled stars. There was a checkered red and white obi around her waist, with a green band under it and tied by an orange thread. She also wore a dark brown haori over it and her lower legs were wrapped in black cloth. What got his attention more were the long black wig with vermilion tips past the elbows and the small bamboo piece she had in her mouth, secured in place by a red strip of cloth.

Tsunotori removed the bamboo gag and asked him, avoiding looking at him directly. "So? What do you think?"

"Wow..." Was his response, followed by a minute or so of silence.

"Yeah, that's totally the answer she was expecting, big boy" Nana's voice sounded inside his head.

"I-I mean, it looks… you're so..."

"It's… weird?"

"No no, what I meant is, you look really… cute"

The lack of response made her nervous before, and now Tsunotori felt even more with that answer.

"You… you mean it? It doesn't look odd at all?"

"I really mean it, it's kinda hard to put in words, actually"

If they stopped to look at each other directly, they would notice a faint blush making its way on their faces.

"Here, let me show the original so you can compare" The blondie then crouched near her bed and pulled a large box from underneath it. Midoriya looked in amazement as she searched through lots and lots of mangas and picked up one in specific to show him.

"This one. Her name is Nezuko, and she is from this manga called Kimetsu no Yaiba. The anime adaptation was so well done that it practically owned all the awards when it came out. Like all of them, and everyone kept talking about it, Demon Slayer this, Demon Slayer that. Everyone liked it, and I won't even mention the tons of fanart we got and… s-sorry, Midoriya-san, my English slipped again!"

"No problem. I can see it was pretty famous when it aired, right?"

"Yes! My sis told me to watch it when I started to get into anime and it is simply one of the best to me" She talked excitedly.

Midoriya then looked at the character and at her, scanning Tsunotori from head to toe. She put so much effort into this, he noticed. The outfit was practically the same as in the manga, down to the smallest details, and it was pretty well made. He dared to compare it to the pro hero costumes. However, as he kept admiring her cosplay, Midoriya lost track of time, spending a good amount of it staring intently at her. While Tsunotori didn't mind at all in the beginning, by the three minutes mark she felt really anxious.

"Well, Mi… Midoriya-san..."

"Yes?" He said absently.

"Can you… don't… ah, I think you're… s-staring too much..." Not only she said that in the shyest and cutest way possible, realizing he didn't move his eyes from her for a long time triggered the usual bashful nature of Midoriya, and he instantly apologized.

"S-s-sorry, Tsunotori-san! I didn't mean to embarrass you"

"It's fine! I just… I'm not used to it yet, I think..."

Both teens looked away after this tiny panic attack, not knowing what to say next.

"I, uh, I guess we have to do this more often then, hehe" "What the hell did I just say?!" The words escaped his lips before Midoriya could process the meaning behind them.

"O-oh, I… I can't wait for the next time, then" Tsunotori replied with a smile but she was internally screaming. "Why did I have to say it like this?!"

"Izuku?~ Are you seeing this? I think I'm seeing a trend here~~" Nana teased him, making the boy even more flustered.

"Not now, Nana-san" He said, almost in a pleading.

"If not now, then when? Fufufu~"

The silence between them became overwhelming, but both found it hard to say anything right now. Then, Midoriya decided to risk and change the topic a bit.

"Ne, Tsunotori-san, why do you keep all your manga under your bed?" he made an effort to ask this in a neutral voice, but for some reason, she flinched upon mentioning her collection.

"Well, you see, I thought that it would be better if no one knew I liked anime and manga. I even have some figurines on my closet and a few blu-rays, but I kept them hidden since we moved to the dorms system" She told him shyly.

"You think they would find it weird?"

"Yeah, that too. Back at home, my sis was the only one who really talked to me about this and… I don't know, I thought no one would be interested so why to bother showing, right?"

"I think you should show it"

"Seriously? Why?"

at this moment they managed to look at each other's faces.

"Well, it is what you like, it's a part of you. I kind of relate, being a huge fan of All Might myself"

"Really? So you have figurines of All Might in your room?"

"Not only figurines. Posters, toys, rare collectibles, all that stuff. I couldn't bring everything I have so most of it is back at home" He admitted with an uneasy smile.

"Wow… I wish I could be so open about it like you..."

"It's kinda hard to me sometimes, honestly, but I know you can do it too. It's part of who you are, something you like. there's no reason to feel ashamed of it. Plus, I'm sure everyone here wouldn't mind at all"

"You think?"

"If not, you could even get a few of them into anime too"

Hearing this put Tsunotori much more at ease. She could really count on Midoriya to help her take these steps. He was right, she was being silly for hiding her true likes from everyone.

"Well, I probably shouldn't show absolutely everything but..."

Then, Midoriya got up and picked the large box, carrying it across the room and putting it on a desk.

"Why don't we start small and just fill in these shelves?" He offered, showing a warm smile.

Tsunotori looked in awe for a moment before agreeing with enthusiasm. She pulled another box from under her bed and so they started sorting the many volumes she had into the shelves, talking about this or that series. It didn't take them more than fifteen minutes since Tsunotori kept everything well organized, but it felt like hours passed while they talked to each other in a low voice.

They sat on the bed, looking at the now full shelves. She had many more stored in her closet, and now she couldn't way to put them on the wall and bring back to light her treasured collection. Doing this made her feel much better, and she hoped Midoriya could help out with this too.

Ah yes, Midoriya. Her eyes trailed to the mirror in front of them, looking at the reflection. They sat a few centimeters apart, and he had the purest of the smiles crossing his lips as if he was really satisfied with their work. He didn't exactly like anime or manga, yet he didn't hesitate to partake in this with her, even agreeing to watch anything she recommended so they could talk about it. That only made Tsunotori feel silly for hiding it from her friends. But while she felt more confident about it and truly wished to share it with everyone, for now, the blondie felt that keeping this between Midoriya and her was better. A tiny part of her felt this thrill of sharing a secret with one person and no one else. Or was it because of Midoriya?

Well, she could only discover when she finally revealed her secret to all her friends. However, that raised a question. What would she do if that feeling didn't pass?

"Hmmm, whatever. It's not like this is a big deal, right? But I kinda like that Midoriya was the first person I got to talk about this~"

End of Chapter

There we go, another chapter done. Boy, it does feel good when I finish them. I know, I know, it took me forever to update and I said many times I wouldn't take long. I got no excuses aside from my lazy self and maybe being a little depressed lately (though I hate to admit). My ability to output a few thousand words in one sit has been hindered lately and whether it is the famous block or my sanity and regret catching up to me, I can't tell.

I do intent to finish this, with consistent quality if possible. I just finished the lastest chapter from Her Treasure and began working on this here but then I simply couldn't type four sentences straight. I don't know, maybe I need a small break. I have a few smaller and more simple ideas in mind for some time, maybe I'll execute them, but I digress.

As always, thanks for reading. If you have been following this for a while, your support is really appreciated. It's nice to see how much it grew up. See y'all in the next update, guy leaves.