"Eraser really approved this?," Shinso asked again. He wore a hoodie under a denim jacket, and loose jeans. Senji wore a somewhat flashier outfit, an old purple tank top over a fishnet t-shirt with some ripped skinny jeans.

"He did. Quit acting like we're doing something weird already," the girl shot him a look before addressing the employee at the counter. She made payments, and after a short exchange she turned back around. They walked to a private karaoke room and sat down on the somewhat worn out couch.

"We're s'posed to be having fun, Mr. Grumps. So have some fun," she shoved the tablet for picking songs into his hands, prompting a defeated sigh as he scrolled through the long list of options. Their drinks and food arrived a while later, and the two of them belted out a range of songs. Most of Senji's were anime-related, with a little bit of harder rock mixed in. Shinso was still surprised with her taste in music, even after hearing it so many times.

"I've heard there's more rumors floating around. Online, and even at school I mean. Does that really not bother you?," Shinso started up a conversation during their down time, after eating. Senji swiped one of his wings, eating it with lightning speed before answering.

"Monoma tell you about it the other day?," she asked, nearly choking on the chicken she had stolen.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well," she chugged her drink down, clearing her throat. "Does it bother you? Hanging out with someone people talk about so much, I mean."

Shinso stopped to think about that for a few minutes, while Senji cleaned off the remaining plates and stacked them up. He sipped his own drink, then gave an answer that surprised her a little bit.

"Not really, no. People have said a lot of weird stuff about my Quirk, before. So I guess it's not much worse than that. Plenty of pros get hack articles about them, too."

"Hm," Senji studied his face, but didn't see any signs of a lie. She smiled softly, then jumped to her feet and stretched. Her hair hid her face from Shinso's gaze, but he could still see traces of a grin. He followed her, rising up off the sofa and collecting his phone. The two headed out, waving at the guy running the counter, and made their way into the alleyway. They shared some playful banter, and Senji lightly walloped Shinso's head.

"Huh?," her hand was stuck firmly to his hair. There was a familiar voice from behind the two, triggering a half-forgotten memory. She dissipated most of her scales that made up the stuck hand, and reformed it, leaving some glittering blue in the boy's purple hair.

"Oh, lookie there! I've found you again, you dirty pro wannabe," an older man, clearly buzzed on booze, stumbled out of the shadows. Shinso was visibly confused, and Senji stepped between him and the approaching man.

"Oh~ I remember you, too. From the Sports Festival. This is great, I can ruin you and your little friend together," the man kept moving forward.

Before he could process or ask anything, Senji pushed Shinso against the stone wall and used her scales to pull his hood down low. Hiding his face, and pressing herself close, with her right hand stuck firmly to his chest. She watched the man closely, glancing at her friend's bewildered face for just a moment.

"Sorry. There was an…incident with this dude before. I smashed his phone and..maybe his face?"

"What-"

"Anyway. Um, his quirk makes it so wherever people touch, they get stuck. He's a pervy bastard, too. Likes to pose people and take risky pics," she explained quietly, and Shinso understood the situation somewhat. He couldn't get why Senji had purposely put them in such a position, though, and his face warmed up a little despite the crisp air.

"That's right! And look at you two, sneaking around just before dark. I'll have some real fun this time, so fight it real hard for me," the man swooned, now within reaching distance. Senji's own cheeks burned pink, but the dark lighting as night fell over the city kept Shinso from noticing it. She turned her face back toward him, brows furrowed and lost in thought.

"Um," Shinso tried to say something. He thought to use his Quirk on the man, to release them if possible. The man didn't respond to him at all, though.

"He likes it when you resist, huh? Fine then," Senji thought aloud. Shinso raised an arm to her shoulder, as the man pushed their bodies closer together. Panicking a little, while still thinking ahead, Senji's tail whipped around and the end covered Shinso's mouth. This meant he couldn't attempt brainwashing again, but at least they couldn't be forced into a kiss either.

The man snapped a ton of pictures, trying to get a good angle of Shinso's face as well. Senji moved closer though, blocking that and glaring daggers through the man as he snapped picture after picture. Shinso could see Senji's jaw tighten with each snap of the camera shutter, and her nails dug into his chest through the hoodie as she grew more and more stressed.

"Ah~ These are good, but that expression is so..not good," the man critiqued his own work. He moved closer, taking Shinso's other hand and pushing it up under the girl's shirt. Senji used her scale-arm to smack the guy, but his reflexes were much improved over last time she had seen him. He grabbed her arm, pulling it down and placing it uncomfortably close to her friend's groin. His final piece was ramming Senji's face forward, until the only thing separating their lips was the thin strip of Senji's tail.

"Hey! What's this?"

"Ugueh!"

The man snapping pictures squealed in surprise, while another man stepped out from the karaoke bar and moved toward them. Senji recognized the voice from the agonizingly dull math class she often fell asleep in. Ectoplasm.

"Nothing, sir! Ah, an actual pro hero! Shit!," the man took off running, Ectoplasm sending a clone after him. He turned toward the pair of students in front of him, who were now freed from their forced embrace. Senji had collapsed onto her knees, face buried in her hands while Shinso knelt down to check on her. Both faces were painted scarlet, and the hero noted the minor tremor the girl had.

"Aizawa…and Shinso? Ah, Eraser told me about that. Let's get you back to school grounds for now, and we'll have you give a full report once that pervert is caught."

"Okay," the two responded with strained voices. They stood back up, and followed behind him in tense silence. Climbing into the back seat of the teacher's borrowed car, they fidgeted and stared out the windows at passing traffic. They pulled onto school grounds, dropped off near the dorm buildings while Ectoplasm headed off to report the criminal. Shinso looked over at Senji, whose arm still shook a little bit.

"Hey. Um, I'm sorry."

"Don't…"

Senji took a breath, then turned to face him. Her face was still rosy, but she looked much better than earlier. She looked at Shinso with a determined expression, and his voice caught in his throat.

"Sorry! I..messed up huge on this one. You probably could have used your Quirk if I hadn't blocked it..and I made that enemy ages ago. You," she stepped closer to him, fidgeting and staring at the ground once she got close again. She reached out, maybe for his hand, but just held his sleeve instead. He could tell she was still shaking, and put his other hand over hers. "You didn't do anything wrong."

And with that, she spun on her heels and hurried into her towering dorm building.