There … there was something … off.

"The … future prime minister?" Itsuka repeated, staring at the man before her in surprise as he straightened his back and smiled pleasantly down at her. But rather than feel assured by that smile, she couldn't help but feel like there was a chill running down her spine that refused to go away. Almost as though her entire body was screaming at her that she was in danger right now, and that, of course, simply put her on her guard before him.

And it might have been due to the intense match she had just been in, but it almost felt like there was something sharp stabbing into her head as she stared up at the tall man, who, for some reason, continued to glance between her and Nejire and only occasionally glancing at Shouto and Momo, almost as though he couldn't focus on just one of them.

"Indeed," Mugen Shigaraki chuckled sheepishly as he raised his free hand to scratch the side of his head, "I know that some would call it presumptuous to immediately presume victory, but … well, I have plenty of good feelings about this upcoming November. Granted, I assume that you four probably wouldn't have much interest in politics, seeing as you're just starting high school - besides, UA presumably keeps you all busy enough not to worry about a couple of old farts like myself."

"You're … a politician?" Momo repeated, feeling her brow crinkle as Shigaraki turned to glance at her again. "I … apologize, but I don't believe that I've … ever heard of you."

"Well, I am announcing my campaign run tomorrow night," Shigaraki explained as he put his hands into his coat pockets, "my campaign manager had the thought that everyone would be far more concerned with the sports festival today, and rightfully so - I didn't want to end up stealing anybody's thunder. Still though, I thought I would come along and watch, so that I could congratulate the winners."

"Oh!" Nejire linked, looking a bit surprised. "Well, I guess that's good! But, uh - isn't that a little strange? I didn't think that politicians usually had anything to do with heroes? Or has that always been a thing? I don't really pay attention to government stuff, but my dad does, since he's a lawyer, and he says that politicians usually don't care about heroes unless they do something bad. Like, bad, bad. Like, do something bad that would make a politician look good when he criticizes heroes, bad. Which is what my dad says."

Beside her, Itsuka winced and cringed as her partner dug herself deeper and deeper. Luckily for Nejire, however, Shigaraki looked more amused by her rambling than anything.

"No, you're correct, my dear," He chuckled as Nejire looked around at him again, shaken out of her gossiping, "usually politicians don't focus on the hero system unless it's due to some kind of controversy - usually, we're content with letting heroes be and passing whatever law the HPSC wants. Don't fix what isn't broken, I believe the saying goes."

"Oh! I've heard that saying!"

"Still though," He tilted his head, "I am running on a pro-hero campaign - heh, pardon the pun. I'm in favor of giving the heroes more power - that will be the basis of my campaign."

"Is … that right?" Itsuka tilted her head a bit, confused.

"Indeed. I'm in the interest of making sure that the heroes have more power to better assist the day to day citizens. For example, are you aware that heroes can't legally lead the police? They can only work with the police force, not properly lead them - they have the responsibility of apprehending and de-escalating villains, but they're not allowed to arrest them or incarcerate them - just standing aside so that the police can come in and make the arrest. Well, under my party, I would have it that heroes are allowed to personally lead teams of police to do more to save lives."

"Huh …" Itsuka felt herself sweat a bit, that same uneasy feeling making her tremble a bit, "… well, I … never really thought of it like that. I just … assumed the police were there to help?"

"Yes, well … ah, what am I saying?" Shigaraki laughed as he took a step back from the four teenagers. "I'm sure that you all would rather be doing anything else than talk to an old man such as myself about the exciting adventures of politics."

"I mean, it … sounded interesting!" Nejire tried to assure him. "Nothing I would actually talk about normally, but - yeah! It sounded interesting!"

"Well, my dear, I'm relieved you thought so. Still though, you all still have your award show to get to, and then I assume you're all off to have a well deserved rest, so I shouldn't keep you. In any case, Miss Yaoyorozu," He turned to smile gently at Momo, "I do have a meeting with your father coming up relatively soon - I'll let him know that you and I have properly met now. Perhaps we could even arrange a dinner party somewhere down the line, so that we could talk more about your marriage - with you in the room this time."

Momo felt her heart stop briefly at that.

"A-ah," She managed to get out through slightly gritted teeth, "yes, my - yes."

Shouto felt his eyes narrow a bit at Momo's obviously stiff reaction to that, and he turned back to look up at Shigaraki with a slightly cross look.

"Pardon my bluntness," He said in a short voice, "but may I ask how you know about that? I wasn't aware that our … parents' marriage plans for us … were made public."

"Oh, they're not," Shigaraki shook his head, turning slightly on his heel, "Daikoku simply mentioned them to me. Wanting you two to marry once you both place high enough on the hero charts - ah, yes, that would be an excellent strategy, wouldn't it? Just in time for him to announce his own movement into politics."

Both Shouto and Momo felt their eyes widen, while Itsuka and Nejire glanced between them and the politician before them.

"Wait …" Momo managed to get out, feeling herself shake, "… my … father intends for us to marry … so he can move into politics? B-but - but why?"

"Oh, well, I'm afraid I'm not sure," Shigaraki raised an eyebrow, "he only mentioned it to me in passing. You'll probably have to bring it up with him, my dear - I'm sure that he'll gladly tell you if you simply ask, Miss Yaoyorozu. Your father does speak quite highly of you, after all."

Momo slowly nodded at that, her face becoming troubled. Before Itsuka could ask, or at least check to make sure her fellow class representative was okay, Shigaraki let out a small sigh, pulling out a hat from underneath his arm and putting it on top of his head, turning to give Itsuka another amused look - and why she couldn't help but feel her brain ache when her eyes briefly met his red ones, she had no idea, but it was enough that her entire body was starting to hurt from the unexpected anxiety raining down on her.

"Now then, I should probably return to the VIP box," He chuckled as he adjusted his hat on his head, "no need to make my bodyguards search for me more than they probably are now, is there? You four enjoy your weekend - I'm sure that we'll eventually meet again somewhere down the road. Especially," He glanced between Itsuka and Nejire again, "if you'll continue to go down the path you're on."

With that vague statement, Shigaraki raised his hand in farewell - giving Itsuka a split second to glance up at his palm, and feeling her brow wrinkle when she saw what looked like a hole dug into it - and then turned to start walking back down the hall and around the corner. The four teenagers stared after him with clear signs of discomfort - Momo looking unnerved, Shouto put off, Nejire hesitant and Itsuka feeling her brow furrow as the politician walked away -

- and then they heard a familiar laugh behind them.

"Ah! There you all are!"

Jumping a bit in surprise, they all looked around to see All Might strolling into the tunnel from the field, throwing his head back and laughing some more as he came underneath the shade. Behind him, they could make out the distant sight of Midnight and Tenko walking over towards the entrance as well, both of them dripping wet while Midnight glowered, completely covered in mud while the teaching assistant tried to appease her. Beyond them, back out in the field, Thirteen continued to wave up to the cheering crowd.

"I was wondering where you all had gone off to!" The Number One Hero strolled right up to them, beaming down to the four students. "I was going to offer to walk off with you all, but … well, Midnight's in a bit of a bad mood right now, so I thought I would stay behind and help Tenko calm her down. It'd be wise to try and stay on her good side from here on out."

"Er … right," Itsuka nodded unsurely, glancing behind All Might to see the scowl on Midnight's face, and gulping nervously.

"Now then," All Might clapped his hands together happily, his dark eyes trailing upwards beyond the students, "I suppose we should be heading downstairs now, to get you all ready for the awards ceremony! We'll be having Aizawa reach … out … to …"

As All Might suddenly trailed off, Itsuka glanced back from out in the field towards her mentor's face, feeling her eyebrow raise as All Might suddenly went quiet - and then she felt herself falter as, for the first time since the USJ, she saw the proud grin All Might always wore falter as he spotted something behind her.

Feeling her brow crinkle, she quickly looked around her towards what All Might could be looking at, and saw the shoe of Shigaraki disappear around the corner and down the hallway. Realizing that All Might must have thought that the politician was some reporter, she looked back around at him, opening her mouth to explain who that was - but before she could speak, All Might suddenly moved.

"Uh -" Nejire blinked in concern as All Might suddenly pushed his way through the both of them - and by 'push', that really just meant they were gently pushed aside by his large hands. But still, seeing All Might suddenly move so quickly caused the four teenagers to quickly back up as All Might all but ran - ran! - over towards the corner, quickly bringing his hand up to the wall and looking around it with such intensity, Itsuka felt the jitters from before, that had been fading away a bit, return in full force.

Feeling herself move without thinking, Itsuka broke through her other three classmates, aware of Shouto glancing between her and All Might but choosing to ignore it, and she moved to look around the corner where All Might was staring -

- to see that Shigaraki had completely vanished.

As in, the hallway was completely empty, even if the other rooms were far enough down the hall, and seeing as the politician had just moved around the corner, it was as though he had disappeared into thin air. Feeling herself blink, she looked back up at All Might, and felt her brow crinkle when she saw that her mentor looked … disturbed.

Almost as though he had seen a ghost.

"All Might?" She asked in an uncertain voice, staring up at her teacher. "Are you okay?"

"I …" All Might paused for a long moment - and then he shook his head and looked back down at her, his smile returning to his face - although she could catch how strained it suddenly looked.

"… er, forgive me, Young Kendou," He let out a forced laugh, "I was … thinking that I saw something. Never mind! I think it's been quite a long day for all of us … now then, let's head off to get you all ready for the awards show! We'll have Aizawa reach out to Young Midoriya, Young Uraraka, Young Tokoyami and Young Bakugou and tell them where to meet us. Come along now, you four!"

With that, he gestured with his large hand, and the four competitors were quick to jump and begin following him down the opposite hall, presumably towards an elevator that they would have to take in order to get down to the stage.

Still though, Itsuka couldn't help but feel a pit of worry opening in her stomach, and looked back around at where Shigaraki had disappeared to, the slight stabbing in her head beginning to lessen … and was unaware of All Might likewise glancing over his own shoulder, a chill moving down his back.

And of course, none of them were aware of what looked to be gray sludge sliding down the nearby wall and into the sewer grate.


"…"

"…"

"… do you think," Ochako said in a blank voice as they walked down the hallway together, "that was how Itsuka felt when she had to watch us fight Bakugou?"

"Yeah," Izuku said blankly as well, feeling his arms continue to shake as he put his hands in his pockets, "that … probably was. Yeah."

"… we should get her something nice."

"I'm already planning something great for her birthday."

"Mm-hm."

At the current moment, the two of them had just gotten out of the elevator that led to the bottom of the field - presumably in the giant pit that had opened during the first round - and were walking down the hallway towards where they had been told to meet with the other winners of the sports festival. Fumikage was walking ahead of them, his head bowed and his arms folded while Dark Shadow poked out from behind his shoulder and gave his feathered cheek a small poke, while behind them, Katsuki continued to walk in an almost scary silence, not having looked at any of them while they rode the elevator down and stared down at his shoes.

Izuku and Ochako, meanwhile, walked together, still looking a bit shocked at the outcome of the last match - in which their best friend had won the entire freaking sports festival after both Shouto and Momo threw in the towel. They had no idea how she would be feeling at the moment, but … but they knew that she wasn't going to be complaining, at least. While it might hurt her chances of internships as a lot of the crowd didn't see what was happening behind the wall of ice, and the other team pretty much gave up before they could see anything happen (other than Shouto's impressive melting of his ice cavern), they knew that, due to Itsuka's slightly bruised and bloodied face and Shouto's broken nose, there was a physical altercation between the two when no one had been looking.

And as much as it made Izuku's insides squeeze in terror at the thought, he knew that Itsuka wouldn't let Shouto walk all over her. And judging by that teal lightning that had been flickering around her … it was clear that she had been using One for All in there, and that could only mean that there had been a fight. A fight Izuku hoped that Itsuka had won, and judging from Shouto using his fire, Izuku wanted to lean towards saying that she did win.

It was just … well …

"Do you think … okay," Izuku shook his head, "am I the only one who's still kind of anxious?"

"I - no, you're not," Ochako agreed with him while shivering, tapping a bit on her bandaged arm and wincing, "I mean, I'm anxious for Itsuka, obviously …"

"Oh, of course."

"She's - she was okay when she left, right? She wasn't limping or anything?"

"O-other than her kind of stumbling, no, but - but Hadou helped her before she fell."

"R-right! Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yeaaah …"

"…"

"…"

"… not gonna lie, I'm also kinda anxious about going out in front of everyone to get our medals." Izuku admitted quickly and with shame.

Luckily for him, Ochako nodded timidly in agreement.

"It's just, uh … it's something we'll have to - to get used to, Deku," She gulped a bit, trying to reassure her best friend even if she felt as nervous as he did, having to go out and stand there while getting the undivided attention of everyone in the arena (even if they had already done that several times that day), "if - if we end up becoming part of the Top 10 someday, it'll probably be … you know … just like this."

"Y-yeah." Izuku agreed in a stammering voice. "Just … instead it'll be in front of … every hero … who didn't get up there."

"… like … how we're getting medals … in front of everyone who - who didn't win today."

"…"

"…"

"… is it too late to go back upstairs and sit with our parents and Eri?"

"I …" Izuku chuckled a bit nervously, "… think it is."

"Oh, joy," Ochako groaned, unable to stop herself from giggling nervously along with Izuku as they all finally approached the door at the end of the hall, watching Fumikage slip inside, and together, they both opened the door and moved into the room that they had been summoned to by Aizawa.

Quickly looking around for their friends in the large, empty room, their eyes were quickly drawn to Itsuka and Nejire - they were both being guided towards the second to the left circle embedded in the ground by Vlad King, who stood them both side by side while Shouto and Momo stood together over near another wall, waiting for their turn. Still though, both Izuku and Ochako blinked when their eyes found their best friend - and saw the big black sweater she was wearing, the hood pulled over her head and letting some of her dyed black hair pool near her shoulders and out from the hood.

Still though, at least she looked okay, with some bandages on her face but otherwise looking unwell, as she glanced their way, smiled brightly, and gave them a small wave while Nejire bounced on the podium beside them.

On the side, Nezu was arguing with a lizard man with purple hair and a wearing a black suit, who was standing beside what looked to be a stone pillar with heavy metal handcuffs and a muzzle attached to it, and Tenko was quick to approach Katsuki and stand beside him when the lizard man looked around at the young man and pointed straight at him. In front of them, letting out a small noise of happiness at their appearance, Thirteen approached Izuku and Ochako and patted their arms to get their attention.

"Ah, there you two are," She greeted them both with a light voice, gesturing towards the circle just beside Itsuka and Nejire's on their left, "come this way, please - I'm going to make sure you two are ready for once the awards show, and then one Midnight gives us the cue, we'll raise you up to the stadium."

Nodding (although they both had to stop themselves from shaking obviously), both Izuku and Ochako followed Thirteen over to the podium beside Itsuka and Nejire's, the rescue hero carefully posing them so that they didn't fall off when the podiums lifted up. As she readied them, both training partners looked over towards where Itsuka and Nejire were standing, looking over at them as Vlad King moved to start getting Shouto and Momo over to their own podium, and beside them, Tenko arranged both Fumikage and Katsuki.

"Er … hey," Izuku waved to her a bit awkwardly.

"Hi," Itsuka smiled at them both and waved back, although she did wince from how fast she moved her arm, "ow."

"Hello!" Nejire happily greeted them as well with a wave - and then winced when she likewise moved too fast. "Ow."

"Yeah," Ochako giggled a bit despite herself, "ow."

"Er … so, uh … what's with the hoodie, Kendou?" Izuku raised his eyebrow as he glanced down at it, seeing some random band name on the front but not recognizing it as anything Itsuka would listen to. Blinking a bit when she realized what he was asking, Itsuka smiled a bit awkwardly.

"Well, uh … do you guys remember all that water that landed on me? Thanks to Todoroki?"

"Yeah …?"

"Well …" She then pulled down the hood, and both Izuku and Ochako blinked when they saw, rather than a full head of black hair, several blotches of orange that had been washed in. Grimacing a bit, Itsuka raised the hood back over her head.

"So basically," She giggled, "Tenko-sensei leant me his hoodie to wear until after the ceremony, and then after we get back to the school, I'm gonna wash the rest of the dye out of my hair. God, it's gonna feel crusty for the entire weekend at this point."

"Oh, don't worry!" Nejire patted her shoulder happily. "I can give you a bit of conditioner tomorrow, if you want! It helps Yuuyu whenever she dyes her hair and it feels weird."

"I … yeah. Thanks, Nejire."

"Still, uh …" Ochako leaned over Izuku, unable to stop herself from smiling at them both, "… congratulations, you two."

"Thanks," Itsuka giggled a bit, "it was, uh - it was kinda touch and go for a sec, but -"

"Oh, please."

The quiet mutter from behind Izuku and Ochako made the four of them stop talking, blinking a bit as they looked around. Still staring at the floor, Katsuki didn't look up at any of them, but there was a scowl on his face as he clenched his fists.

"You didn't win," He growled quietly, but with a lot of the venom that they were all used to, "the icy hot bastard gave up. You didn't win shit today, Ginger, especially not the final round."

Itsuka merely raised an eyebrow while Izuku and Ochako started to glower - and then she looked back around at the front, putting her hands in her pockets.

"If you think so," She shrugged her shoulders, making both her training partners whirl around at her in shock, "I don't really care, Bakugou. If that's what you wanna think, go ahead - I'm counting today as a win in my book."

Katsuki didn't respond to that, thankfully, merely gritting his teeth as he closed his mouth. Off to the side near the podium, Tenko nodded at something he was listening to over the phone, and then leaned over to the wall to press a button.

At once, the floors beneath them jumped a bit, making everyone look down at them in alarm, and Ochako was quick to grab Izuku's shoulder as they started rising off of the ground.

"Okay!" Tenko gave the eight teenagers a thumbs up, while the ceiling above them opened a bit to reveal daylight shining in on them, and they distantly heard the sound of Midnight saying something into a microphone and fireworks popping far into the sky. "They're all ready for you guys! Good luck!"

With that, Izuku gulped, trying to push his annoyance at Katsuki out of his mind as he straightened his back, and Ochako likewise tried to smooth out her hair a bit. Itsuka tried not to look too nervous as she secured the hood on her head, and Nejire looked like she wanted to hop up and down, only restraining herself so as not to fall off the podium. Shouto and Momo were quiet, staying still on the rising podium as Momo stared down at her shoes and Shouto tried not to glance to his left at the other four. Katsuki, meanwhile, merely glared off at nothing while Fumikage folded his arms.

And finally, they all rose up into the stadium.

"… we will begin the awards ceremony!" Midnight joyfully announced, and as more fireworks exploded in the sky as the crowds began cheering again, and an explosion of fog and confetti burst out before the eight teenagers, making them all wince a bit as they were pushed up by the podiums into the arena. Once the fog faded away, they all winced at the sight before them - everyone in their class, with some of the guys and girls still wearing their cheerleader uniforms, along with everyone in Class 1B and the other courses, were staring up at them, with several reporters snapping pictures behind an impromptu fence some ways away, and every camera in the arena was focused on them.

"Oh, jeez …" Itsuka gulped nervously, adjusting her hood again just to be safe.

On her left, however, Izuku felt his smile fall as he scanned through the crowd of students before them. He still felt a bit nervous, however, but … well, he couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness pass through him when he had glanced between Yui and Setsuna, seeing a space there that one of their classmates was supposed to be in. He knew that it really couldn't be helped, but …

… but still, he remembered what Yui had told him and Ochako before they had left for the awards ceremony.

"… he had to leave early," Yui told them, still wearing her cheerleader outfit but not looking all that positive as she leaned against the wall, Izuku and Ochako each holding Eri's hand as they stood out in the hallway above their booth, "said that there was a … a family emergency. Something to do with his brother."

"Huh?" Ochako blinked, looking alarmed and shocked while Izuku started a bit. "You mean Ingenium-sensei? Do you know how he's doing?"

"No," Yui shook her head, still frowning, "but … whatever it was shook him up pretty bad. I … know that everyone's probably going to the beach tomorrow, but I've been texting Iida - I'm gonna figure out which hospital they're at, and head over there tomorrow. Try not to text him over the weekend, okay? I don't know the details, but …"

"… but it sounds bad?" Izuku guessed.

"Yeah. It sounds … pretty bad."

If Tensei was injured … Izuku felt himself shrink a bit as he stared down at the ground. The pro hero that had comforted them after the nightmare at the USJ, who stayed with them for the week afterwards, who had been a ball of positivity … someone who Tenya clearly admired and loved so much … and if something had … happened to him …

… he could only pray that his substitute teacher was alright.

"Now then!" Midnight continued on with her speech, looking cleaned up and in a new hero costume that wasn't ripped to shreds and covered in grass and mud (although Itsuka and Nejire felt a bit fearful at the small scowl she shot their way before she shook her head and fixed her smile back on her face). "With the first-year events for this year's UA Sports Festival completed, we'll be awarding the medals to our eight lucky winners! And who better than to present them with their rewards, than this man!"

Far above the stadium, the crowds heard the familiar sound of a booming laugh, and quickly and eagerly turned to see the distant silhouette of a buff man with twin twirls of hair on his head on the top of his head, standing on top of the stadium and holding his hands to his hips as he roared with laughter.

"It's All Might!" Several members of the crowd cheered excitedly, watching as All Might quickly leapt off the highest wall of the stadium dramatically and began flipping in somersaults down to the field below.

"I am here to give our champions their medals -!"

"Welcome back to the stage, All Might!"

There was a long pause as All Might landed heavily on the field in his hero costume, Midnight throwing her hand over to gesture to the stage as she likewise froze. The crowd of students watched in confusion for a moment as All Might remained hunched over - and then he slowly turned to look at Midnight as she clapped her hands together in apology, cringing while All Might shook in barely restrained frustration.

"I talked over you …" She weakly said, "… ruined that for you, didn't I?"

"Tch," All Might managed to get out, before quickly getting back up and straightening up to look around at his coworker as she quickly walked over to the podium on the side, taking the panel holding eight medals and walking them back over to the Number One Hero.

"Er - now that you're here, All Might," She managed to get them back on track, "and not wearing that … very flattering cheerleader's outfit -"

The students amassed around them winced at Midnight's attempt to say that through her gritted teeth.

"- why don't we get started with the presentation? Starting with fourth place, of course."

"I don't mind if I do!" All Might laughed good-naturedly, moving down to take the two bronze medals on the first side. Without further ado, he turned to quickly walk up the lowest podium where Fumikage and Katsuki were standing, Fumikage staring up at All Might with a serious expression and Katsuki continuing to stare blankly at the floor.

"Ha, ha, ha!" All Might grinned, moving down and smiling when Fumikage lowered his neck to accept the bronze medal as the pro hero wrapped it around his head. "Young Tokoyami - congratulations. I have to say, you and your shadow were quite spectacular today."

"Thank you, All Might," Fumikage straightened himself up, nodding in respect, "your words are too kind."

"But," All Might suddenly stepped in, and the crowd of students blinked as the large man enveloped Fumikage in a hug, the bird-headed boy straightening up and going a bit red behind his feathers from embarrassment, while Reiko merely smiled up at him, "in order to fight well against different types of quirks, you shouldn't try to rely only on your quirk. Once you've trained your own strength more, you'll have plenty more options for any kind of fight you may be involved in."

All Might then moved back, patting Fumikage's back one more time as the raven-headed boy gave him a hum of acknowledgement. With that, he turned over towards where Katsuki was staring dully ahead, which caused the pro hero to nod to himself. Knowing better than to treat Katsuki with the same carefree-ness, he instead opted to reach out with the other medal, and after a moment, Katsuki slowly looked over, and lifted his hand up to take the bronze medal out of All Might's hand.

"Young Bakugou," All Might tried to keep his smile straight, "my congratulations as well. I know that this is probably not how you might have preferred today to go, but know that -"

He didn't get a chance to finish his advice, however, as Katsuki gave the medal a long look for a moment - and then he aimlessly threw it behind his shoulder and off the podium where he was standing, letting it fall to the grass with a small thud.

Around them, the crowd began murmuring amongst themselves as All Might faltered, and the students behind them cringed at the action. Midnight raised her eyebrow, Izuku winced while Ochako rolled her eyes, and Itsuka quirked her own eyebrow up while Nejire looked unimpressed. After a moment, All Might merely let out a sigh, and gave Katsuki's shoulder a small pat.

"Very well," He said simply.

Without further ado, he turned back around and walked back down the podium to where Midnight was standing with the rest of the medals, taking the other two bronze ones waiting for him, and began to walk over to Izuku and Ochako's podiums. As he began to climb the stairs towards them, Ochako and Izuku quickly tried to shake off their moods from Katsuki's immaturity, straightening up as All Might let out another soft laugh.

"Young Midoriya," He said with a grin as he first reached down to put one of the bronze medals around his protege's neck, and then turned to Ochako to do the same to her as she bowed her head, "and Young Uraraka - congratulations. You both were extraordinary out there."

"T-thank you, All Might," Ochako smiled weakly while Izuku merely gave their mentor a wobbly grin, tears beginning to build in his eyes. The pro hero merely shook his head in affectionate exasperation at the both of them, and then took both of them by the shoulders so that he could bring them in for a group hug, patting them both on the back.

"I know that you both might not have wanted this to be the end of the sports festival like you wanted," He said in a kind tone, "but I am extremely proud of both of you. For how well you both worked together today, and how far you've both come. You still have much to work on, of course, but I know that you can both overcome anything as long as you're both together."

Izuku nodded a bit stiffly, tears continuing to threaten to leak from his eyes, while Ochako merely smiled and patted All Might's side. With that, and no more needing to be said at the moment, All Might stepped off the podium again, walking over to take the two silver medals from Midnight, and stepped up to the second place contestants.

"Young Todoroki," He put the first silver medal around Shouto's neck, and then turned to Momo as she likewise bowed, allowing him to put the second ribbon around her own neck, "and Young Yaoyorozu - congratulations. You both did extremely well out there today."

"I …" Momo trailed off, not looking entirely convinced of what her teacher said as she glanced off to the side, and then muttered, "… thank you."

"Young Todoroki," All Might turned to the young man, although not before shooting a small, concerned look at Momo, "I believe it's safe to assume that there was a reason you didn't use your left side during the final round?"

"… yes," Shouto nodded, speaking for the first time in about twenty minutes and staring down at the floor of the podium, "I … had an opportunity to defeat Kendou with it. But … I was unsure of myself, so I didn't take it. I think it's because … to be honest, All Might, I think it's because there's a part of me that understands a little bit about why you're so interested in her."

"Is … that right?" All Might furrowed his brow, unsure about what that was supposed to mean, as Shouto looked up at him.

"It's been a while," He gave his teacher a much softer look than the one All Might had been experienced with while teaching Shouto basic training, "but I remember, when I was young, that I wanted to be a hero like you. But I didn't think it would be right for me to become one. There's … still a few things I have to settle, but … but I think that one day, I'd like to dream about that again."

All Might slowly nodded, a proud look coming to his face.

"I have to say," He commented, "the look on your face is completely different than before, young man."

With that, before either Shouto or Momo could respond, he took both their shoulders and brought them in for a hug like he had done with Izuku and Ochako, wrapping his large arms around them both.

"I won't ask for the details," He assured Shouto kindly, before glancing over at Momo, "and I won't ask you to tell me something you might not want to. But if either of you need someone to listen to you, I'll be there."

"Yes, sir." Shouto nodded.

"T-thank you," Momo likewise muttered.

With that, All Might took a step back, patting their shoulders, and walked off the podium, finally taking the last two gold medals and moving up to the first place podium. Itsuka gave All Might a small, happy grin, while Nejire expectedly threw her arms out, clearly hoping for a hug as well. All Might, for his part, simply laughed a bit and moved to put the gold medals around both girls' necks.

"Young Kendou, Young Hadou," He gave them a look of pride, "congratulations for your victory today. You have both accomplished something to be proud of - showing that you can both stand up in front of the entire world and declare, 'we are here'! You have shown many of us today that the future is indeed bright!"

Nejire nodded a bit, her face falling - and then she stretched her arms out again, pouting slightly in impatience. Letting out another laugh, All Might decided to humor her, and brought both girls in for a strong hug, Nejire's arms wrapping around his neck and Itsuka awkwardly patting his side.

"Remember the difficulties that it took for you both to get here," He told them quietly, "and know that you should both be proud of yourselves."

With that, he let go of both girls and took a step down from the podium, turning to give a beam to the crowd.

"And there you have it! These eight are the winners of this years' first year sports festival!" All Might told the cheering crowds, but then directed his attention down to the group of students below him. "But listen here! Any of you could have ended up on one of these podiums. This year's events showed the importance of this festival - competition! Improving each other! Climbing even further than before! The next generation of heroes is definitely sprouting, and I couldn't be prouder!"

Throwing his hand up, he pointed at the sky.

"So! I have only one more thing to say, and I'd like everyone to say it with me, if you would! Ready … one! Two! Three!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

"Thank you for your hard work!"

The stadium fell into a brief silence as All Might went a bit stiff, staring blankly ahead as he realized that he and the crowds weren't exactly on the same page. And then the boos began.

"HUH?!" Several people screamed at him. "YOU SAID THE WRONG THING, ALL MIGHT!"

"Oh, I, uh … I just … thought everyone did a good job …"

While several of the citizens and less experienced heroes continued to boo, other experienced heroes in the crowd, on the other hand, merely shook their heads at the Symbol of Peace's earnestness, clapping politely in any case. On one end of the crowd, Rock Lock nodded to himself and closed his folder, content with who he was scouting as he stood up to leave, taking his pregnant wife's hand to help her up. Above him, Fat Gum nodded as well in contentment, smiling widely as he finished jotting down his own notes.

On the other side of the arena, Uwabami continued to jot down her own notes, glancing up at the jumbotron in front of her, while on the side, Selkie flashed a cute smile to Sirius while she rolled her eyes and went back to texting her girlfriend. And above them all, Endeavor merely scowled at his son on the second place podium before shaking his head and beginning to walk away from his spot on the wall.

But off to the side, none of them were having the … well … reaction of one bunny-eared young woman, repeatedly banging her head against the head of the seat in front of her, while her friend beside her smirked knowingly.

"So," Ryukyu tucked her notepad and pen underneath her arm, "made up your mind yet?"

"Fuck you," Miruko growled, "and fuck me. Fuck me right in the ass!"

Ryukyu merely hummed, although her eyes did trail down as Miruko leaned forward in her seat, and tried not to blush at the sight of a bunny tail and dark skin peeking out from how her shirt pulled up. She also had to restrain herself from saying 'buy me dinner first'.

"So on one hand," Miruko raised one of her fingers while glaring down at the winners on the field below them, "that Kendou chick? She's a fuckin' spitfire. I can fucking tell."

"Mm-hm …"

"She's got a fucking temper, and that'd be fucking amazing to see her get control of that. She'd probably be tearing idiots left and right apart, and I know I can get that temper out of her."

"And …" Ryukyu raised her eyebrow, "… on the other hand?"

"On the other hand, I don't wanna teach a kid!" She whined, stomping her foot childishly against the floor. "This fucking sucks! She's gonna get recruited by some idiot she doesn't know and they'll be all, 'ooh, you're so good at fighting!'" She imitated a high-pitched, sniveling voice, "'Come intern with me so I can give you mid skills'! And they won't know! They won't know that they got an amazon fighting to get out of her!"

"So," Ryukyu smiled knowingly, "if you want the amazon to get out …"

"But I don't wanna do it!"

"Well," Ryukyu grunted as she stood up, stretching her back before leaning down to scratch Miruko behind the ear, and smirked when she heard her friend's foot thump automatically against the ground, "you can think a bit more about it during the weekend, Rumi - I know that we have to send our applications by Monday at the latest, so that can give you a bit of time to think about it, can't it?"

"Ah, man," Miruko scowled, "so I gotta worry about hooking up with what's-his-face tomorrow night, and this on top of it? Fuck my life."

"Yes," Ryukyu nodded, although a small pout appeared on her face as she turned towards the stairs, "I'd imagine you'll be able to get ready for your … 'date' … and figure out if you want to send a request for Kendou. Doesn't hurt to think about, does it?"

While Miruko moped and moaned a bit more, around them, everyone watched as the students were led out through the tunnels they had come into this morning, and slowly but surely, everyone leaned back and watched as a few more speakers took the field. They all watched a group of people wearing suits walking out towards a stage, surrounding a smug looking blonde woman holding a briefcase, but seeing as the HPSC always took a moment to talk every year, they were all pretty much ready to ride it out until it was officially time to go.

Up in their own seats, Taiyo and Miwa leaned back in their seats, sighing as they both rubbed their eyes. The Kendous had been quiet for a while, with Tenohira and Hakushu muttering to themselves as they glanced down at their daughter, and Teko tapped his foot against the floor, while Hisashi leaned back and lightly snored and Inko continued to glance over at All Might down on the field with a strange look, for some reason. Eri, who had been dropped off by Izuku and Ochako a while ago, was likewise napping, leaning against Hisashi and breathing in lightly, so it was pretty clear that, once they were done celebrating at the Midoriyas, she would have to go home right to bed.

So … well …

"Well," Taiyo wiped his brow, "tha' was only slightly traumatizin', wasn't it, dear?"

Miwa let out a small laugh at that.

"Mildly, Taiyo," She patted his arm, stretching slightly, "and just think, we only have two more of these to watch next year and the year after next!"

"Oh, god. Well, I hope it ain't as long as this one was."

"Well … okay, yes, I'll admit that this dragged on a bit longer than I -"

Before she could finish that, though, they were both distracted by the sound of Taiyo's phone buzzing in his pocket. Blinking, he glanced down to his coat pocket, quickly fishing around it for a moment before he pulled out his phone.

"Hm?" He opened the flip phone, glancing at the text, and then furrowed his brow. Miwa, glancing at her husband's face and feeling her brow furrow at the confused look, leaned over to read the text.

UNKNOWN

look up

to the left

Both of them stared down at the phone for a second, and then glanced back at each other in confusion. Wrinkling their brows, they both turned to the left and looked up, their eyes moving around to the people above them in the arena as their gaze flickered from box to box in confusion -

- and then, at the same time, they both spotted her.

At once, both Urarakas straightened up, their eyes widening. Taiyo felt his jaw drop a bit as he stared up at her, and Miwa felt her grip on her purse slip a bit, sending it falling in between her legs. Above them in the box, the woman nodded a bit, and then turned her attention back to her phone, writing something, and Taiyo felt the phone in his hand vibrate again.

Almost unable to tear their gazes away, they both glanced down at the messages in time for the woman above them to put her phone back in her pocket, and move away from the railing above them and out of view.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Falcon Hotel, top floor, room 840

9:00

one of you or both of you, doesn't matter

meet me

Taiyo sputtered a bit, still staring at the phone in shock, while Miwa glanced back up at the place she had been and felt herself falter when she didn't see her anywhere in sight. There was a moment's pause as Taiyo glanced at his wife, and Miwa stared blankly up at the spot - and then she suddenly stood, causing a few of their seatmates to look around at her.

"Er … Miwa?" Inko asked in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She confirmed, although her voice sounded a bit blank, "but … well, I'm going to go back to Recovery Girl's office. She had a copy of Ochako's medical files, and … I'm thinking it would probably be a good idea to have our own copy. Just to be safe."

With that, she moved out of the seat and began hurrying up the stairs. Taiyo, for his part, merely watched his wife move up the stairs and out of sight for a moment in silence - and then he let out a small sigh, and looked back down to the text messages, reading them through again.

"Alrigh'," He muttered to himself, "guess that's what we're doin' tonight."


Okay … okay. Shower felt good.

With a long, relieved sigh, Itsuka slowly turned under the showerhead in the stall, scrubbing her hair and squeezing her eyes shut so that the dye didn't get in her eyes. While Shouto's unexpected shower had only bled some of the hair dye out, the pure, concentrated warm water was fully getting it out of her hair, making sure that she could go home without looking like a weird orange skunk. Still though, she was a little nervous that some reporter or photographer would be hanging around the gates and snap a picture of her with her hair now a different color, but thankfully, should she need it, Tenko had told her to keep the hoodie for the weekend and give it back to him come Monday.

At the moment, it had been about twenty minutes since they had been brought back to the main campus from the stadium, and they had all been excused to change out of their sweaty, messy gym clothes and back into their uniforms. She could hear the other girls talking excitedly about the beach trip tomorrow, something that still made her eyebrow twitch but was slowly trying to get over, and she could hear the other girls leaving the changing room to start heading back to class. Aizawa had given them about half an hour to get changed and back to the classroom, so Itsuka wanted to take a bit more time making sure the hair dye was properly removed from her head.

And seeing as her hair no longer felt like it was stiff and in clumps, she seemed to have done her job well, letting her reluctantly turn off the shower dial just as someone knocked on her stall door behind her.

"Itsuka," Ochako said from behind the door, "I'm gonna go meet up with Deku. I'll see you back in class, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Itsuka called back to her. "I just gotta dry my hair, I'll see you back in the classroom."

She heard Ochako let out an affirmative noise, and the sound of her feet moved away from the stall. Plucking up her towel from the side, Itsuka sighed as she wiped herself down, moving carefully so as not to disturb how tired and sore her body felt - from all the moving and fighting she'd done since early this morning, she was completely and utterly exhausted, and it probably wouldn't take very long for her to pass out when she eventually got to her bed tonight.

Wrapping herself up in one towel and drying her hair with another, Itsuka finally stepped out of the shower, taking a look around the locker room. For now, she and Nejire were the only ones left inside, the blue-haired girl trying to comb her long blue hair near her locker and looking around to smile at her, dressed in her white dress shirt and skirt. It seemed as though everyone else had already left, with Itsuka glancing around to see Mina heading out the door, and leaving the two partners inside.

"Hey," Itsuka sighed as she moved over to her locker, taking out her things while Nejire continued to comb her long, flowing past her knees hairstyle, "everyone else gone to the classroom?"

"Yep!" Nejire nodded, glancing over at Itsuka from her shoulder and smiling. "I just thought we'd walk back together, you know! Since we were the winners! I kinda had the thought that you probably didn't want everyone to swarm you, right? Like, asking questions, what you did against Todoroki, that kind of stuff. So …"

"Yeah, I get it," Itsuka smiled, "and … thanks, I guess. I'm honestly in the mood to just go to my desk and go to sleep."

"Oh, same! I'm so exhausted right now!"

"… are you now?" Itsuka raised an eyebrow, glancing around as Nejire hopped up and down with a lot of energy for someone who just said they were tired.

"Yepperoni! The moment my head hits my pillow tonight, I'm out!"

"Sure," Itsuka giggled a bit, shaking her head as she moved to undo her towel and get dressed. The two girls were quiet for a few minutes, Nejire continuing to play with her phone and trying not to look over as Itsuka put back on her clothes, and Itsuka was quiet as she carefully moved her arms and legs and tried not to require another trip to Recovery Girl that day. Checking the time on her phone showed that they had twenty minutes until Aizawa's deadline, which meant that both girls had plenty of time to get back.

It was only when Itsuka was nearly fully dressed, putting her gray blazer on the bench beside her, that Nejire suddenly hopped again, and moved over to where Itsuka was standing as the orange-haired girl tied her hair back up into her signature ponytail, her golden medal placed carefully on the bench waiting for her to put in its pocket.

"Soooo …" Nejire tapped her fingers together, "… I've been having thoughts."

"Okay?" Itsuka glanced at her with a smile. "Thoughts about what?"

"About tomorrow!" Nejire gushed, making Itsuka blink as Nejire leaned against the locker beside her and smiled happily. "I'm so excited, aren't you? A full day at the beach, and you're gonna talk to Midoriya and Uraraka! Oooooh, but it's gonna be so busy for me if I'm gonna have to get everyone's attention off of you guys, and I'm gonna have to work extra hard to make sure you guys get some alone time."

"Oh, uh - well, you don't have to work too hard," Itsuka pointed out, feeling her brow furrow as she moved away from the locker towards the bench, "I want you to have fun too, you don't have to dedicate your full time to helping us, Nejire."

"Really? Are you sure?" Nejire tilted her head in curiosity. "Because I heard during our showers hat Mina was considering inviting more people, like Togata-senpai and Amajik-senpaii and Toga-senpai when she said she was interested in coming -"

"Wait, Toga-senpai's coming?" Itsuka blinked, looking around at Nejire in surprise. When the blue-haired girl nodded, Itsuka briefly flashed back to her conversation with Ochako during lunchtime, where Ochako had admitted what she and their senpai had done - and she felt a scowl return to her face as she sat down on the bench.

"Okay," She nodded, "maybe we do need to make a battle strategy."

"Awesome!" Nejire happily clapped her hands together, moving to sit down with Itsuka. "Okay, so here's what I'm thinking! We're gonna meet in the afternoon, so … maybe you, Midoriya and Uraraka can sneak away while everyone's in the water? Wait, but then Eri will probably need someone to look after her - does she know how to swim?"

"Er - I don't know, but I'm gonna lean towards 'no'."

"Okay! Then I'll help her - but wait," She blinked, "then that means that I can't distract anyone - and then they'll see you three wandering off and ask questions! And then Toga-senpai might do something to tease them both -"

"And I'll chop her if that happens," Itsuka muttered darkly.

"- oh, man!" Nejire leaned forward in her seat, pouting. "This is gonna be harder than I thought."

"Well … it's not what I really wanted either," Itsuka gave her, smiling a bit ruefully as she shook her head, "here I was thinking of just asking those two to come with me by ourselves and … kinda … have a day …"

She trailed off, however, as a sudden thought came to her. In between the chaos of Mina essentially inviting their entire class to the beach tomorrow as well, the stress of having to face Shouto and Momo, and all of the emotional trauma she had to learn that Shouto was going through (that she was still processing in the back of her mind, making her note that she needed to find Shouto at some point next week to talk to him about it in more detail), she blinked as she suddenly registered … what exactly she had said to Izuku and Ochako.

"We're - we're gonna go to the beach, the - the three of us, and w-we're - we're gonna - we're gonna have a picnic. A-and swim in the ocean, and - and talk, and just - just - hang out. It'll be - it'll be super fun, and - and we'll get to -"

"… oh my god," Itsuka felt her eyes widen in horror, staring blankly ahead, "I asked Izuku and Ochako out on a date."

"Hm?" Nejire hummed a bit, looking around and blinking slightly at Itsuka's expression of terror. "Oh, yeah, you did. It was cute!"

There was a long pause. And then Itsuka slowly rose to her feet, walked over to the nearest corner, held her hands over her face, and moved down into a crouch, making Nejire look at her in surprise.

"Eh? Hey, hey, what's up?" Nejire hopped up and walked over, patting Itsuka's shoulder and tilting her head when the orange-haired girl remained huddled in the corner. "Are you okay, Itsuka? Do you have a headache? Something like that? I could run back to Recovery Girl's office to get you something, or maybe I could ask Yaomomo if she can make some -"

"I asked them out on a date," Itsuka suddenly spoke over here, her entire body beginning to shake as red filled her face, "I - I was - I asked them out on a date."

"Yeaaaah …?" Nejire nodded slowly, not really getting what was wrong, "You said that -"

However, before she could finish that, Itsuka suddenly hopped up and wheeled around, and Nejire blinked as Itsuka grabbed both her arms and gave the blue-haired girl a look of embarrassed horror and panic, beginning to shake her slightly.

"Nejire, I asked them out on a date!"

"Y-y-eaaaah y-y-y-yoou d-d-d-did!" Nejire managed to get out as she was shaken at increasing speeds, and Itsuka quickly looked away in horror as she stopped shaking her, causing Nejire to sway around in her dizziness, as though there were mini-Nejires flying around her head as she tried to regain her balance.

"Oh, god," Itsuka whispered in horror. "oh, god, oh, god, oh, god, oh, god!"

"A-and, I mean," Nejire managed to shake away her dizziness, flashing Itsuka a smile, "it was less you asking them out and more you telling them you were going out. Which was really assertive! Kinda hot, too!"

"I - I -" Itsuka blabbered a bit for a moment, looking far more panicked about the situation than Nejire thought - and then she let out a shuddering breath, as though realizing that she was still clinging to Nejire like a lifeline, and let go of her arms to take a small step back. However, before she could get out of Nejire's space, the blue-haired girl suddenly moved forward, and Itsuka blinked in surprise as Nejire gave her a hug.

"Ooooooh, I'm so proud of you!" She giggled happily, suddenly swinging Itsuka around and making her yelp as they moved away from the corner. "You asked them both out, and they were a hundred percent going to say yes before All Might came in and traumatized us!"

"I - I guess," Itsuka shivered a bit at that memory, still wrapping her arms gently around Nejire's waist, "I just … gotta focus on the fact that Izuku and Ochako know that I'm - I was expecting us to go on a picnic, and - and swim in the ocean, and - and -"

"And friend smooch?" Nejire added helpfully.

"Oh, god," Itsuka groaned, burying her face in Nejire's shoulder.

"But that's good!" Nejire moved her head back so that Itsuka could see her beaming at her. "This is really, really good, Itsuka! I don't know why you're freaking out about it - wait, unless it's because you don't have a swimsuit? Oop, in that case, I can let you borrow something from me! We can do it really quick in the morning, if you want, since Mom and Dad will probably - wait, are we even the same size? Would it be too small for you? I know that I'm a bit curvier than you, and you're a bit more muscular than I am, and my boobies are a bit bigger than yours -"

"N-no, I - I have a swimsuit," Itsuka cut her off before she could get carried away, although her cheeks did turn a bit pink, "it's just …"

Both girls paused as Itsuka finally stepped out of Nejire's embrace, the blue-haired girl watching her interestingly as she turned to sit back down on the bench. There was a long moment of Ituska simply staring off into space while Nejire patiently waited for her to collect her thoughts, before the class representative let out a soft sigh, and raised her hand to scratch the side of her head.

"… Nejire," She said carefully, "I … I've also been doing some - some thinking since we started talking about - you know - everything."

"Mm-hmm …" Nejire hummed.

"And then after what happened during Izuku and Ochako's match, and … seeing them get hurt, and beat up, and finding out about Izuku's …"

That caused Nejire's smile to fade as Itsuka stared at the floor for a long moment - and then she let out a small breath, and nodded.

"… so I decided that … tomorrow … I'm gonna say fuck it," She said quietly, "and tell them how I feel about them. Both of them."

Nejire slowly nodded, the smile returning to her face. However, Itsuka looked back at her, and she blinked at the look of uncertainty there.

"And … is that … okay with you?" She asked unsurely.

"Huh?" Nejire looked surprised for a moment, before she smiled happily. "Of course it is! That's what I wanted you to do, remember? When you were being all 'no, I shouldn't', and I was all 'yes, you should'!"

"I - yes, I remember that part," Itsuka nodded, still looking conflicted, "but I mean … if I do end up … telling Izuku how I feel … what about - y'know - you?"

Nejire felt herself blink at that, wrinkling her brow for a moment as she tried to figure out what Itsuka was talking about. The class rep merely waited for a moment, watching the wheels spin in her partner's head - and then she felt her eyebrows raise when Nejire physically stiffened a bit, quirking her own eyebrow, and then her eyes widened slightly.

"Oh," She said simply, "you mean …?"

"Yeah," Itsuka nodded, pursing her lips, "if I … tell Izuku how I feel … what's gonna happen to - y'know - your feelings? I just - I know that you like him too, and - and I don't want to end up hurting you, Nejire, if - if he ends up … you know …"

Nejire slowly nodded for a moment, her eyes turning a bit softer, and then an unknown expression crossed her face. It was something that made Itsuka blink a bit, with Nejire staring down at her with some kind of … weird affection, something that made Itsuka's heart skip a bit for some reason. But before she could ask, Nejire moved to sit down beside her, letting out a soft giggle, and instead of answering her immediately, wrapped her arms around Itsuka once again and gave her another hug.

Itsuka, for her part, only let out a small sigh, albeit with a soft smile as she hugged Nejire back.

"It's okay," Nejire said, her voice muffled a bit with her ducking her face into Itsuka's shoulder, "you don't have to worry about me, Itsuka. You can just tell him."

"I don't know," She frowned, "I just …"

"Hey," Nejire interrupted her before she could go on, moving her head back again but keeping her arms wrapped around Itsuka's waist, and the orange-haired girl blinked at the uncertain look on her face, "I, uh … I'm serious. It's okay. It's just …"

She hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head.

"… well, I … I wasn't really sure how I was going to bring this up," She admitted quietly, "since the only other time I brought it up was with … Yuuyu …"

Her face fell again.

"… and she didn't really like it, for some reason."

"Huh?" Itsuka blinked, sitting up on the bench with her. "What's up?"

"Well …" Nejire looked suddenly nervous as she glanced away, "… I was just … thinking that - that if you end up talking to Midoriya and Uraraka about your feelings - that means you're definitely gonna tell them that you - y'know - you love them."

Itsuka gulped a bit at the use of the 'L' word being dropped yet again today, but still nodded.

"Y-yeah," She said, "that's right."

"Well," Nejire glanced away, her own cheeks going red, "I was just thinking … if you're okay with telling them that you like them at the same time … and you're okay with them getting together, too … maybe it would be … okay for me to … keep crushing on Midoriya?"

There was a short pause at that. Itsuka found herself blinking a bit, feeling her brow furrow as Nejire looked far more anxious than she had ever seen her, glancing at Itsuka's face nervously while she leaned slightly out of Nejire's embrace to have a proper look at her.

"… er …" Itsuka found herself giving her an uncertain look, "… and when you say that, w-what do you mean?"

"I mean …" Nejire looked awkward, grimacing slightly, "… I'm just … wondering if it's okay, that - that even if you end up confessing to Midoriya tomorrow … if I can … keep going on more dates with him? And - y'know - keep getting to know him better."

"…"

"It's - it's entirely up to you!" Nejire quickly assured her, looking panicked at Itsuka's suddenly blank look. "And - and I'd understand if you didn't want me intruding on your relationship - or, y'know, relationships - if you guys decide to do something, and - and -"

"W-whoa, Nejire," Itsuka quickly shook herself out of her brief shock, seeing Nejire looking like she was on the verge of a panic attack and raising a hand between them even as she kept one hand on Nejire's hip, "just … just breathe, okay? I'm not mad or anything, just … I do have questions, but - but let's do it while we're calm, okay?"

Nejire slowly nodded to her words, taking a chance to stop her rambling and tried to take a deep breath. Allowing Nejire to take a moment to calm down, Itsuka waited patiently for her to collect herself, her thoughts moving a mile a minute as she carefully began to think about what Nejire had told her she wanted to do.

As soon as Nejire looked a bit calmer, although still uncomfortable, Itsuka sighed again as she adjusted herself in her seat, moving out of the hug they were in.

"Okay," She started carefully, "so … Nejire. You … wanna keep pursuing Izuku. Even - even after I tell him how I feel?"

Nejire nodded timidly.

"I … okay. So, uh … okay, I'll be real with you," Itsuka dropped her shoulders, looking red, "I'm … not entirely sure what I'm supposed to say. I'm - I'm still coming to grips that I'm gonna tell him how I feel tomorrow, and then - then - gah. Okay, I - look, I'm not - I'm not gonna go and tell you not to do anything like that - since I - you know - haven't done my thing yet -"

"Really?!" Nejire gasped, looking hopeful. "Are - are you sure?"

"I - well, no," Itsuka winced as Nejire's smile fell again, "can I just … okay, I - I know that we're both talking about Izuku, but - but we've also got to consider Ochako's feelings too, remember?"

"Oh," Nejire blinked, "oh, yeah, uh - right."

"Yeah. So can I just … can I ask that you - you wait to do something with Izuku until - y'know - after we talk? Just so we know how things are gonna go forward with him and Ochako and m-me, and then - then we can talk again and figure out what we're gonna do."

Nejire slowly nodded at that, clearly thinking over Itsuka's request for a moment as Itsuka glanced automatically around the empty shower room - and then she let out another sigh, and leaned forward a bit as Nejire glanced around at her.

"Tell you what," She said in a quiet voice, her cheeks turning rosey again, "since … since you're helping me out with my talk with those two tomorrow, I'll - I can bring it up with Izuku about - well, I don't know if you, er, want me to tell him that … you know …"

"Oh," Nejire blinked a bit, looking surprised as she got what Itsuka was implying, "so - wait, are you saying that you'll - um - hint at me liking him?"

"O-only if you want."

"Hm …" Nejire thought about it for a moment, and then raised a finger, "… well … maybe nothing too obvious, but … maybe something like … you can be all 'hey, Midoriya, maybe pay a little more to what Nejire does? She makes it so obvious but you're missing all the hints! She's starting to get a little annoyed!'"

She paused for a moment.

"Well, not annoyed," She corrected herself, "but I'm starting to wonder if I have to be more forward! I feel like Midoriya's the kind of guy who only really gets it if it's super in his face, right? Like you did with your 'friend smooches'!"

"Y-yeah," Itsuka nodded, although she blinked as she thought about what Nejire had just said - and then she slowly straightened up, "gotta be … super forward."

"Yeah! So -"

"Like," She interrupted her without thinking, "super forward."

"Uh … yeah!" Nejire nodded a bit, not really getting it as she glanced over at Itsuka's concentrated face.

"Like … kiss someone's cheek, forward."

"Yeaaaah … like you did!"

"Yeah," Itsuka slowly nodded, turning to look at Nejire with an expectant look, "and … like … you did."

With that statement, both girls paused, staring at each other. Nejire seemed to get what Itsuka was implying, tilting her head slightly white a look of nervousness crossed the orange-haired girl's face, her cheeks going redder - and then she let out a soft breath.

"Okay," Itsuka slowly nodded, adjusting herself on the bench, "I … guess we gotta have this conversation before we go back. Just - just to get it out of the way."

"Hm?" Nejire raised her eyebrow, and Itsuka briefly wondered if she was playing dumb on purpose. "Talk about what?"

"You …" She swallowed a bit loudly, and then tried to fight down the blush on her cheeks, "… gave me a - a 'friend smooch' before our match with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu."

"Oh," Nejire blinked a bit, a smile appearing on her face, "well, uh - I did."

"Okay … but … why?"

"Er … because I wanted to."

"You wanted to - okay," Itsuka sighed again, raising a hand to rub the bridge between her eyes as she closed them, "I - sure, I should've expected that. I was just … wondering why you did it. Because y'know, I just - 'friend smooches' are - they're -"

"They aren't real?" Nejire guessed, and laughed lightly as Itsuka nodded. "I mean, yeah, I know that! I just thought we were doing a bit. I know that you weren't just being super friendly with Midoriya and Uraraka when you kissed their cheeks. That's the love you have for them coming out."

"I - okay -"

"And c'mon!" Nejire hopped up, moving over to take Itsuka's hand down from her eyes, and gave her a beaming smile as Itsuka looked up at her. "You can't tell me that you were being platonic when you kissed their cheeks! It was your excuse to do something lovely with them. And it's romantic!"

"In that case," Itsuka spoke without even thinking about what she was saying, raising her eyebrows, "if it's something romantic to do, then why did you kiss my cheek?"

Nejire paused at that, her smile fading a bit as Itsuka likewise froze up as she realized what she had said - but both girls suddenly became aware of the other going on their guards, Itsuka's shoulders tensing and Nejire very obviously wondering what to say next. Itsuka, for her part, frowned slightly, but not in a bad way - more in a way that it was clear that she was a bit anxious about what Nejire was going to say here, and Nejire slowly straightened her shoulders.

And then … Nejire let out a small sigh, and moved to crouch down in front of Itsuka so both girls were relatively face to face.

What could be said here would … probably lead to some complications down the road, both girls knew. But … well, it wasn't like they could just let it go unaddressed. So Nejire let out a small giggle, leaning over to put her hands overtop Itsuka's where she had them on her legs, and gave her a soft smile.

"Like I said," She shrugged, speaking in a simple voice, "I … kissed your cheek because I wanted to."

"Yeah," Itsuka nodded, letting out a small breath, "I … got that. But I'm wondering …"

Nejire tilted her head again, continuing to smile softly while Itsuka clearly searched for a way to repeat her question without it sounding repetitive - and then she giggled.

"Do … you really want me to say it?" She asked, making up her mind on what to do. "Or maybe … do you want me to show it?"

"I …" Itsuka paused, not aware of Nejire moving up on her tippie-toes while crouched before her, "… you know what? Sure. Just to make sure we're on the same page. So why -"

And then, without waiting for Itsuka to finish that sentence, Nejire leaned forward. And before Itsuka could blink, she felt a pair of soft, plump lips press against hers.

Itsuka froze at once, letting out a small muffled squeak as Nejire gently kissed her. She felt her entire body stiffen up, her hands on her legs tensing slightly as Nejire lifted her own hands up to cup her cheeks, pressing her lips a bit firmer against hers and closed her eyes. Itsuka's eyes continued to widen as Nejire held the kiss for a few seconds, her fingers gently stroking her face, before the blue-haired girl finally moved back, her eyes opening again.

They both stared at each other for a long moment, Itsuka with her face on fire and Nejire breathing in slightly, and then she giggled.

"Your lips are really soft," She commented, licking her own briefly, which only made Itsuka tense a bit more.

"Uh," She managed to get out, feeling herself begin to shake as Nejire kept her hands on her cheeks, "w-what was - what - I - what -"

"Wait," Nejire blinked a bit, her smile fading, and a look of worry appeared, "was that too much? Should I not have done that? I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Itsuka -"

"You didn't!" Itsuka squeaked at once at the sudden doubtful look that came to Nejire's face, quickly shaking her head and feeling herself begin to panic as her face continued to burn and her heart beat even quicker than it had during her fights today. "It was - uh - it was n-nice."

"It was?!" Nejire gasped, looking delighted. "Does that mean you wanna kiss again? I kinda wanna kiss again, too!"

"H-huh? I -"

Nejire, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) didn't wait for a response to that, instead quickly moving back in and catching Itsuka's lower lip in between hers. Itsuka let out a small grunt as Nejire suddenly sat up and moved her hands down to her shoulders, pressing their bodies a bit firmer together as Nejire tilted her head a bit to the side to deepen the kiss. Itsuka, for her part, had no idea what to do, other than kiss back in her confusion as they briefly went chest to chest - and that sensation made Itsuka feel like she was about to pass out - as she wondered in brief panic what to do.

Okay. Nejire was kissing her. She was being kissed. She was being kissed by someone other than Ochako. She was being kissed.

And Nejire was …

… kinda … really good at kissing.

Like … her lips were soft. She felt warm. Her arms snaked around Itsuka's neck and Itsuka's own hands had automatically grabbed Nejire's back and her hair was in her hands and - and - and holy god, her hair was soft.

It felt … really good.

It felt … nice to kiss Nejire.

Fortunately - or unfortunately - she didn't have very long to consider that weird fact, as Nejire finally moved back, their lips disconnecting in a light smack. And Nejire let out a little giggle as she finally leaned forward to envelop Itsuka in another hug.

And finally, Itsuka found her words. And those words, unintentionally, were, "What the fuck just happened."

"Hm?" Nejire hugged her a bit tighter. "I kissed you! Twice! That was my first kiss, you know, and ooooooh … wow, it was great! Not how I expected to lose my first kiss, but I'm glad it was with you. You're a really good kisser, y'know! Do you have practice? I mean, obviously you do, since you've kissed Uraraka, but - man, it was great! Your lips are really soft, like I said, and your hair's really soft, too! Did you like the kiss, too? Did you, did you?"

"I …" Itsuka slowly shook her head, not even aware of her arms absently wrapping around Nejire's lower back, "… what just … happened?"

"What just happened," Nejire giggled again, "is that I lowkey wanted to kiss you ever since we started talking after our match with Monoma. And … voila! I kissed you! I'm really glad that it was with you, you didn't try to push your tongue in my mouth or make us hit our teeth together or anything like that! It was nice."

"But … I … w-why did you -" Itsuka's voice was losing its confused tone, and being replaced by mild panic. "- why did you kiss me?"

"Because I like you," Nejire said simply, which only made Itsuka stiffen against her even more, "like, a tiny crush! I was thinking about you after that match, when you were all cool and hot, and then … I don't know, it kinda expanded from there! After what happened with Bakugou and all that stuff, I got really worried about Midoriya and Uraraka, and then … you know, after we fought Todoroki, I just … didn't want anything to go unsaid anymore. I like you, Itsuka - romantically."

Finally, she stepped out of the hug, although not without leaving a small kiss on her cheek, and stood back up while Itsuka remained seated, still frozen in shock as Nejire grabbed her gray blazer from the side, checking the time.

"I'm not gonna make you answer my feelings right now," She assured her, "not yet, anyway. I know that you've got all your romantic stuff with Midoriya and Uraraka coming up, so I'm not gonna force my way in between you guys and make you choose. Nope, nope, nope! I want you guys to figure out what's going on between you before I start … er … feeling things out. And then after that, we can figure it out."

"I … uh …" Itsuka nervously licked her lips again to get some of the moisture back there, and watched as Nejire spun away from her, starting to walk over to the door. Once she was there, though, she paused, as though thinking of something, and then looked back at Itsuka with a cheeky, almost …

… definitely not an innocent look, Itsuka stiffened up while her knees felt weak.

"Of course," Nejire batted her eyelashes, "I've kinda given you a lot to think about, haven't I? Just … keep me in mind for when you and Midoriya and Uraraka figure out your thingy, okay? You're a really nice kisser, and I don't mind if we explore that … later. If we ever end up alone again."

With that, she finally slid out of sight, Itsuka hearing the sound of her humming and skipping down the hall towards the classroom as the door shut. Itsuka continued to stare blankly at where Nejire had vanished as she slowly registered what had just happened …

… and then she activated her quirk, growing her hand out to full size, and quickly wrapped it around her upper body so that she could let out a muffled scream of embarrassment into her enlarged palm, her face going so red it wouldn't be surprising if she were to pass out from all the blood going to her head.


It only took her about five minutes to calm herself down enough that she wouldn't come back to the classroom looking like a tomato, but soon Itsuka left the changing room and eventually got back to Class 1A with only about a minute to spare. She tried not to glance over at Ochako as she blinked in confusion and suspicion about how red her face looked despite her attempts to cool off, and moved to sit down at her desk, where everyone was sitting around and talking happily about the weekend - with enough mentions of the beach that her eyebrow was beginning to twitch.

Nejire, for her part, was back in her own seat talking excitedly to Izuku while he weakly talked back to her, looking extremely tired as he adjusted some of the bandages wrapped around his wrist, hidden underneath his school blazer. There was a brief moment, however, that Nejire glanced over at where Itsuka was sitting, shooting her a small, mischievous look that Itsuka was not ready for, making her clear her throat awkwardly in her fluster.

Thankfully for her, Aizawa chose that moment to awkwardly slide the door open so that he could shuffle to the podium, causing the class to quickly silence themselves as they turned their attention to him.

"Alright, good work out there," He said in a tired, droned voice, "there won't be any school tomorrow or the day afterwards so your upperclassmen can go through their own festivals, so be sure to take this time to recover and be ready for next week. I'm sure that the pro heroes who were in attendance today will be submitting their requests over the weekend, and we'll be consolidating everything and announce them when you return to school on Monday. So rest well and look forward to that."

" Yes, sir!"

" Alright, then. Most of you are excused. Bakugou," Aizawa's voice turned colder, "stay seated."

With that, everyone, sans Katsuki still glaring down at his desk, stood up to be excused from the classroom. Izuku stole one more nervous glance at Katsuki - still unnerved by how eerily silent he had been for the last few hours, excluding his insult to Itsuka before the awards ceremony - and quickly hurried with Nejire over to where Itsuka and Ochako were waiting for them by the door. Unfortunately, their quick escape had a small complication with how Izuku handled his bag, trying to drag it up over his shoulder, and there was a small rip on one of the arms.

" Oh, crap!" He squeaked quietly as his bag fell over, the notebooks and textbooks quickly sliding out of his bag and onto the floor with a small clatter. Thankfully, Ochako seemed to understand the urgency to leave before Aizawa reamed Katsuki out, and she quickly went down as well to pick up a few of his books to lessen the load, Izuku flashing her a quick smile in thanks. Once they were ready, Izuku quickly bowed to the glaring Aizawa in apology, and ducked out into the hall with the rest of their class -

- and saw Nezu, All Might, Snipe, Hound Dog and Tenko enter the classroom from the other door, sliding it shut behind them.

There was a short pause in their group - and Denki let out a nervous chuckle.

"Well, uh," He cleared his throat, "he's screwed."

"Okay," Itsuka sighed, pushing past her tiredness and her fluster with Nejire beside her for the moment, "let's get a move on, people, let's give the teachers some privacy."

Everyone quickly nodding, they all began to move out as a group, leaving Katsuki behind to his fate and moving down the hallway towards the exit to the school, Izuku checking on the rip on his backpack and Ochako shouldering her backpack with the extra weight inside it.

"So," Yosetsu wiped his brow with his bandana as he walked with his friends, scowling, "today fucking sucked. At least for me."

"Nah, don't be that way, bro," Eijirou gave him a sympathetic look, clapping his shoulder, "it wasn't your fault Shinsou was being unmanly."

"He's right," Momo stepped forward to pat Yosetsu's other shoulder, causing him to quickly look around at her, "please don't think of today as a waste, Awase. I know that I can't exactly speak for you, but just because you were eliminated in the first round doesn't mean that a hero doesn't have their eye on you. How far did you get in the first round?"

"Just after the zero pointers," He shook his head, a fleck of red on his cheeks due to the heiress touching his shoulder, "Shinsou asked me if I wanted to help him get across, and when I told him to - you know, uh - fuck off, that's when he got me. Told me to jump off the side."

"Oh!" Setsuna blinked, looking around at him with her sharp grin. "Then you'll be fine, bro. You got some of the robots, right?"

"Yeah, three or four."

"Then that'd be enough for some heroes to notice you, at least. Trust me, man, I did the research – heroes watch the reruns of the festivals like hawks so they can critique every performance, so there's no way there won't be someone noticing you and seeing what you've got, at least."

"Mm," Yui nodded from the side as well, "you at least got halfway through. It's easy to think about what you didn't accomplish in comparison to what you did accomplish."

"I … guess so," Yosetsu sighed, nodding and looking around at everyone in regret, "sorry to bring the mood down, guys, just … sucks that I'm the only one here that didn't make it to the next round."

"I mean," Setsuna helpfully pointed at her slinged arm, "you could've ended up like me and lost a hand."

"… you know what, I think I'm gonna shut up now."

"So!" Mina suddenly clapped her hands together, and wheeled around from her spot in front of the group, causing everyone to look over at her as she lifted her phone in the air, "I was just chattin' with Tooru over in Class 1B - everyone's gonna be meeting us for the afternoon at Dagobah Beach tomorrow! And we're just waiting for Toga-senpai to get back to us, but be sure to bring something for us all to share, since we're gonna be there until nightfall!"

"Oh, joy," Itsuka muttered to herself, sulking slightly as everyone around her, Izuku, Ochako and Nejire celebrated with cheers. Fumikage, off to the side, raised his hand in question.

"Is attendance tomorrow mandatory?"

"No," Mina pouted at him, pretending to tear up, "but if you don't come, you'll make me cry."

"Ah," Fumikage nodded, "in that case, I have nothing of consequence to worry about."

"Erk!" Mina reeled back as though she had been shot. Reiko, at least, shook her head and patted Fumikage's shoulder to get his attention.

"A day out at the beach doesn't sound too bad," She pointed out to him, "I will be in attendance, anyway. Although I don't have any plans to leave the umbrella I'm going to bring - perhaps, if you were interested, we could spend a bit of time together and catch up on the manga you let me borrow."

"Hm? Ah, well," Fumikage looked away from her, a tinge of red behind his feathers but still trying to look cool, "I suppose … in that case, I might as well."

"Alrighty!" Mina raised her hand up in the air to get everyone's attention again. "So who's gonna bring what? Apparently, Sato over in 1B is gonna bake us some bread to eat!"

"I call chips," Yosetsu, Kyouka, Denki and Setsuna called at the same time, prompting them all to quickly whip glares around at each other for their shared inability to cook anything.

"I could … maybe bring some mochi," Ochako thought to herself as she poked her cheek, following everyone heading down the stairs together towards the gate, "Mama said something this morning about making some tonight for our celebration … maybe I could ask her to make us a bit more?"

"I know that I'm bringing burgers, at least," Itsuka sighed, shaking her head and finally admitting defeat, "I'll have to ask Dad to help us get it over there, but he doesn't have work until lunch tomorrow so it should be fine if we just get there a bit earlier. I'll have to figure out what Eri's gonna eat, too - she's not picky, but my grandpa's trying to get her addicted to traditional Japanese cuisine, she needs a bit more variety."

"I know I'm bringing nato!" Eijirou called out to the group.

"I'll cover onigiri, kero."

"I guess in that case, I'll be grabbing marshmallows – if we're gonna be there until after dark, we can bring some stuff to make a firepit."

"Oh! In that case, I'll cover that! I'll swing by the store and buy some firewood!"

"I'll bring a veggie tray!"

"Lame!"

"I've got soba covered, I guess!"

"I can bring volleyball stuff!"

"I'm still gonna bring my basketball!"

As they all called dibs on what they would be bringing to their beach party tomorrow, not even Itsuka could stop herself from smiling at all the quick preparations they were all making (even if she was still annoyed that their talk was going to be interrupted by all of this). They all headed out the doors of the school towards the gate, talking excitedly amongst each other. When they all finally decided on a time to meet for tomorrow, everyone gave each other waves as they started making their way back towards the train station, moving in groups in case some of them were still injured enough to need some help.

In the end, the only ones who stayed back were Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka, wanting to stay to meet up with their families, Nejire, who was glancing between the three of them, and Momo, standing off to the side by herself. The other smaller group looked around at her with curiosity as she shuffled on her feet.

"Er … Yaomomo," Nejire asked her, smiling a bit when Momo went red at the nickname that left her lips, "aren't you going to the train station, too? Is something wrong? Can you not move? I can go with you and help, if you want!"

"Oh, er - no, I'm fine, thank you," She shook her head, letting out a soft sigh, "it's just … my parents are going to pick me up, so I probably shouldn't -"

"Itsukaaaaa!"

Hearing her name being shouted behind her, Itsuka jumped a bit, the gold medal she had decided to put back around her neck coming up and smacking her slightly in the face, and looked around with everyone. Coming from around the corner was the entire Midoriya-Uraraka-Kendou clan, with Eri holding Inko's hand as they all walked over to the five teenagers standing there. From behind them, Momo spotted an older woman hurrying towards them with her bodyguard, spotting her daughter and visibly brightening up - which, of course, did put a small smile on Momo's face.

"Oh, baby, I'm so proud of you!" Tenohira embraced her daughter tightly, making Itsuka squeak as the life was squeezed out of her while her dad roughly ruffled her hair. "You got first place!"

"That's my girl!" Hakushu laughed joyfully, grabbing both Itsuka and Tenohira in a bear hug and lifting them off their feet. While Itsuka continued to let out several wheezing sounds at the life being crushed out of her by her parents, Izuku let out a small chuckle as he turned to give his own mom a big hug, and Eri briefly hugged his waist. Glancing behind him, though, Izuku felt himself blink when he didn't see his dad anywhere in sight.

"Er … Mom, where's Dad?"

"Oh, he had to … er … stay behind," She explained quickly as she stepped back, "that Midnight teacher of yours asked one of us to visit Recovery Girl again so we could go over your medical history with her, and he volunteered so we both didn't have to stay. He should be back later tonight."

"O-oh," Izuku nodded slowly, feeling himself frown as Inko glanced down at his arms, "right. Of course."

Below them, Eri finally let go of his waist so that she could walk over to where the Urarakas were reuniting, Ochako glancing down at the folder under her mom's arm in brief confusion, and gave the brown-haired girl a hug to get her attention.

"Hi," She said in a slightly muffled voice as she pressed her face to Ochako's stomach, "I'm really tired. Can we go home now?"

"Can you wait just a little bit longer, sugar?" Miwa giggled as she knelt down and smoothed back Eri's gray hair. "We're going to head over to the apartments to celebrate - we always make Tenohira and Hakushu host for us, so why don't we change things up this time?"

"Okay … but I want apples."

"I've gotcha covered, Eri," Tayio chuckled, "we'll getcha somethin' sweet."

Eri looked at least satisfied with that, nodding and reaching up to take Ochako's hand in hers. As she smiled down at her, Eri suddenly blinked, as though she remembered something.

"Oh, yeah," She seemed to realize, "Occhan, I wanted to ask you something."

"Hm?" Ochako blinked a bit. "What's up, Eri?"

"What did those words you said mean?"

The Urarakas all blinked, glancing between each other in brief confusion as Eri looked between them.

"When you were flying around," She clarified, looking a bit concerned, "you were saying a lot of weird words. What did they all mean?"

"Uh …" Ochako felt herself sweat a bit nervously, "… what're you talkin' about, Eri? I don't think I said anything -"

"You said 'shit'." Eri helpfully told her, causing everyone nearby to whip around in absolute shock as the little girl casually dropped a curse word. "And … 'piss'? 'Balls'? 'Damn'? 'Hell?' 'Fu-'"

She was thankfully interrupted by Inko quickly moving down and covering her mouth with her hand, looking absolutely panicked while the Urarakas merely hung their heads in shame, and Itsuka, freed her her parents' death trap of a hug, reached out to gently grab Ochako's ankle as the girl covered her face with her hands and sent herself floating off again, with only Itsuka holding onto her to prevent her from flying off into space for the third time that day.

Thankfully for them, the casual curse words that the little girl had innocently dropped on them hadn't been overheard by Yukiri as she approached, letting out a giggle as she enveloped Momo in a big hug.

"Oh, Momo, you were simply spectacular out there!" She praised as Jin gave the other families a suspicious look, although he still hung back. "You and Shouto were beautiful together!"

"I - thank you, Mother." Momo patted her back, trying to hide her small look of sadness as she backed out of her mother's embrace. Yukiri then turned to smile at the other teenagers and their families around them.

"Are these your friends?" She asked in a stage whisper, looking between the Midoriyas, the Urarakas, the Kendous and Nejire standing off to the side, and looked delighted when Momo nodded a bit awkwardly. "Oh, in that case, we'll have to do introductions at once! Or … perhaps should we wait for your father?"

"Oh, I -"

"You won't have to wait very long!"

At the sound of a deeper voice coming from behind them, everyone in the small group blinked (and Momo felt a chill run up her spine) as they all looked around, the Midoriyas, Kendous, Urarakas and Nejire looking around in surprise. Stepping carefully through the barrier before the limo that had pulled up on the curb, Daikoku Yaoyorozu flashed them all a smile as he raised his hand in greeting, glancing between them all.

"Good evening," He greeted them, moving to wrap his arm around Yukiri's shoulders, and the smaller woman stiffened up slightly but tried to keep her smile from looking fake, "and here I was thinking that I was going to be late! Traffic coming back from UA was honestly a challenge to get through. I don't believe we've had the pleasure yet – I am Daikoku Yaoyorozu, and this is my wife, Yukiri. Momo has told me about you all, it's a delight to finally meet you all."

"Hello!" Yukiri gave the other families a wave, quickly moving out of her husband's grasp to take Itsuka's hands in hers, much to the younger girl's surprise. "Oh, I have to say, you were all so fantastic during those final matches! I'm so proud of Momo, but congratulations, Kendou, for your victory!"

"Oh, uh - t-thank you," Itsuka nodded awkwardly, while Nejire glanced back over at where Daikoku was smiling at them all still, somewhat put off by how stiff the smile looked, "Yaoyorozu is – she's a great friend."

"Uh … y-yeah," Izuku nodded in agreement as well, deciding to give Itsuka a chance to breathe as Yukiri looked over at him, "she – she really helped out during the second round too, uh – setting up all our traps. She was a great – she – she really helped us out."

"Y-yeah," Ochako agreed awkwardly as well.

"Oh," Yukiri blinked, her smile growing a bit wider, "oh, that's so nice to hear! It seems that you've had quite the productive day, Momo!"

"I … yes," Momo nodded stiffly, unable to really move while Daikoku had his hand resting on her shoulder, "I - I suppose, Mother."

"Indeed," Daikoku looked around at everyone again, before suddenly sweeping his arms wide, as though inviting them in for a big hug, "now then, after hearing so much about you all from Momo, I urge you to cancel your plans for the evening and let us take care of you. Since your children are all such good friends to my Momo, I would find it fitting to treat you all."

"Oh, yes!" Yukiri clapped her hands happily together, looking weirdly relieved about having company over. "I'm sure that we can open up one of our halls at home and treat you!"

"Ah, er …" Taiyo went a bit pale, glancing down at the folder under his wife's arm while Miwa tensed slightly.

"We … thank you for the offer," Tenohira took over for him, reaching over to hold Eri's hand and looking down at her, and looking relieved when Eri chose that moment to yawn widely, "but our youngest here had a pretty long day. As much as we'd love for you to host, we're going to have to get home soon for her to lay down."

Thankfully, Yukiri didn't look too disappointed, smiling adorably down at the little girl and moving to pat her head a bit, causing Eri to blink a bit in confusion and look up at her.

"Oh, I remember when Momo was your age," She cooed a bit, "getting so tired after spending all day reading encyclopedias. Used to get quite pouty with me when I didn't bring home any new ones for her to read!"

"Is … that right?" Itsuka raised an eyebrow, turning to glance at Momo while she went red.

"Mother …" She whined a bit.

"But I digress," Yukiri shook her head, giggling a bit at her daughter's reaction, "if you need to get this sweetheart home soon, we shouldn't impose."

"Still though," Daikoku jumped back in, looking nonplussed about it, "we shouldn't wait to do something soon. I imagine we can arrange a small dinner party sometime soon - I still wish to thank you all for being Momo's friends."

"O-oh, yes, indeed!" Yukiri quickly nodded, glancing back at her husband with subtle caution. "We'll be wanting to give you all our thanks eventually."

"And - er - we thank you for that," Hakushu nodded a bit awkwardly.

"Now then," The Yaoyorozu patriarch turned to Momo, who stiffened up slightly under her father's gaze, "I suppose at this point, all we have to do is wait for Shouto, won't we?"

"Oh, ah -"

"I'm right here."

Both Izuku and Ochako, who had been standing somewhat close together, jumped at the same time at the sound of a familiar voice speaking right behind them. Standing behind them all in his school uniform, looking stoic but much calmer than he had been all day long, was Shouto, carrying his school bag over his shoulder and looking between everyone as they whipped around to give him a shocked look, as though they were all wondering how long he had been standing there.

"Oh, Shouto!" Yukiri exclaimed happily, quickly hurrying over, and Shouto automatically and stiffly opened his arms up so that she could give him a big hug, his face unchanging as she clung tightly to him. "It's so good to see you, it's been so long! You did so well out there!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Yaoyorozu," He politely said, and then turned to look at Daikoku from over her shoulder, "and you're right, it has been a while. Actually, Mr. Yaoyorozu, I'm thankful that you're here - there was something I wanted to clarify with you all."

"Is that so?" Daikoku raised an eyebrow, watching as Shouto stepped out of Yukiri's embrace, and moved around the small group to face him. The CEO stared at Shouto for a long moment as the young man let out a soft sigh – and then he lowered himself into a bow, not before Daikoku, but to Momo, causing the entire group to blink at him.

"I'm afraid that there has been a misunderstanding between us, Yaomomo," He said in a low voice as he faced the ground, "you asked me to talk after lunch, and apologized for being rude after I had gotten that Mineta idiot off of her. But I realized that it wasn't necessary - you were being assaulted by him, and I probably didn't make you feel any better by treating you so coldly. I realized that you have nothing to apologize for, so I … would like to give you my own apology now."

"Is … that right?" Daikoku's smile slipped somewhat, while Momo stared down at him in surprise, Ochako in confusion, and Izuku, Itsuka and Nejire silently. However, before anyone else could speak, there was a huff behind them.

"Is this true, Shouto?"

They all turned around, and the parents of the group felt their eyes bulge out of their sockets at the appearance of Endeavor storming over to where Shouto was straightening up, shooting him a small glare. Itsuka, Izuku and Nejire, for their parts, couldn't help but feel scowls appear on their faces at the appearance of the pro hero, while Ochako glanced around and felt herself become even more confused at the sight, but before anyone could ask, Endeavor stopped just short of the Yaoyorozus, and put his hands on his hips.

"Shouto," He said in a cold voice," I know that I raised you better than to treat Momo so coldly. This is an error on my part, but regardless, you will apologize to her at once."

Shouto nodded slowly - he mentally hated that Endeavor was forcing him to do things, but he knew that the old man seemed to pick up on Momo's awkwardness, so he would bite his annoyance down. Turning to Momo, he lowered himself into a bow again.

"I'm sorry, Yaomomo," He said softly, "for treating you so harshly."

"I …" Momo hesitated for a moment, trying not to glance over at her father in fear of his reaction – and then she nodded, "… thank you, Shouto. It's – it's alright, there's no need for apologies."

"Indeed," Daikoku jumped in, smiling down at the young man and shaking his head, "what's done is done, I suppose."

With that brush off of Shouto's apology, the CEO turned on the spot, gesturing happily towards his wife and daughter, and Jin moved to the door of the limo to open it.

"In any case," He nodded, "I suppose at this point, we should be taking our leave, ladies. I've got a few dinner plans for tonight, and I'm sure that you must be starving, Momo. Let's adjourn to the manor, shall we?"

"Yes, father." Momo nodded, a troubled look appearing on her face -

"In that case," Shouto suddenly straightened up and looked to his father, "we should accompany them, old man."

Endeavor, for his part, merely raised an eyebrow as he turned to look down at his son. Shouto was giving him a sharp look of his own, making it clear that he wasn't really asking even as the Yaoyorozus looked around at him in surprise. After a long moment, Endeavor let out a short sigh, glancing over at the uncomfortable look on Momo's face with her father holding onto her shoulder, and he then nodded.

"Very well," He agreed, crossing his arms, "like you said to me earlier today, Mrs. Yaoyorozu, it has been a while since we've all sat down together for dinner. Natsuo will probably decline, and I believe Touya will be working, but I believe Fuyumi will be able to meet with us. I'll have Kurumada pick her up from home."

"Oh, excellent!" Yukiri joyfully clapped her hands together again, while Momo shot Shouto a grateful look for his fast thinking and Daikoku turned away to gesture for the two clones of Jin to get the car ready. "In that case, of course we'd be more than happy to host! And while I'm a bit disappointed that it can't be a bigger party," She turned to smile at the other three families standing there awkwardly, "I'm sure that we'll figure out another time to do a get together."

"Er - uh, yes," Tenohira nodded a bit stiffly, "of course, just … let us know."

"We will!"

With that, the Yaoyorozus and Todorokis started heading out the gate towards the limo, with Endeavor letting out a small sigh as he started walking with the other two adults. Momo and Shouto, meanwhile, paused before they headed off, with Shouto looking around at Itsuka, Ochako, Izuku and Nejire for a moment before he nodded to them, and then followed Momo out of the school gates. They all watched as they climbed into the limo, and soon enough, they were driving away.

The three families and Nejire stared after them for a long moment in silence – and then Hakushu said, in a plain voice, "That was … weird."

"Mm-hm," Tenohira agreed with her husband, cocking a hip and raising her eyebrow, "those were … definitely rich people."

Nejire let out a weak giggle at that (although, like Itsuka and Izuku, there was a notable strain on her smile), as she then turned to look at the three families, raising her hand.

"Well, uh … I guess this is it for me!" She told them all as everyone glanced around at her. "Time to go home! Mom said that she'd be back in time for us to eat together! She said she was gonna cook something, but I'm also thinking – maybe she picked up some fast food? She does like fast food, so … well, I'm not gonna complain either way, I'm hungry! So time to go home and eat!"

"Oh," Miwa blinked a bit, "well, we were thinking of asking if you wanted to join us, Hadou, but … well, if you already have plans …"

"It's all good!" Nejire saluted her. "I was gonna wait for Yuuyu, but … well, she texted me earlier that she was going home by herself," Her smile faded a bit, "so I should probably get home soon before Mom starts to worry. And when Mom starts to worry, she gets angry! W-well, not like – 'hit me', angry, but more 'scold me', angry. And I don't wanna get scolded! That sucks! And I wanna show her my gold medal! She's gonna be so impressed! And I don't wanna ruin that by being late!"

"Right," Hakushu nodded, "in that case, I … suppose we'll see you another time, Hadou."

"Yep!" She smiled, and then turned to look at Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka. "So I'll see you guys tomorrow! I'm so looking forward to the beach!"

With that, she twirled around, her long blue hair flying briefly through the air, and she began to skip her way through the gates and out of sight. On her way out, her gaze flickered briefly back to Itsuka, who was glancing a bit nervously between Ochako and Izuku and her, and she was unable to stop herself from shooting her a small, flirty wink as she moved around the corner, leaving the three families standing there.

"Rrrrright," Miwa slowly nodded, having no idea what that wink was about and wondering if she really wanted to, "I … guess in that case, it's … onto the Midoriya's? Or are we gonna wait for Coach Yagi?"

"Can't make it," Tenohira shook her head, pouting a bit at the lateness of the missing last member of their little clan, "he actually texted us a while back - said that an appointment had come up and he was going to have to congratulate the kids sometime in the weekend. That man, I swear … skipped out on Inko during the break too. I swear, those people at the All Might agency have to stop running him so ragged."

Inko let out a nervous laugh at that, suddenly breaking out into a small sweat as she cleared her throat.

"Er - uh - I suppose that if he can't make it, we can't hold it too much against him," She tried to defend the missing man while attempting to look normal, "so we'll have to see him later. S-so it's back to the apartments, then?"

"Not for me," Teko suddenly spoke up from the back, shaking his head as everyone looked around at him as though they had forgotten he was there, "I am not sure about the rest of my family, but today has been tiring. I am going to go home and rest."

"Okay, Dad," Tenohira nodded, reaching out and gently rubbing his shoulder, "just be sure to eat some of the leftovers I have in the fridge, okay? I know you didn't end up eating much today."

"I will. Goodnight to you all."

With that, the Kendou patriarch separated from the rest of the group, and they all moved through the gate, with Teko moving over to one of the taxi terminals on the side while the rest of the Midoriya-Uraraka-Kendou clan started heading down the street. As he hailed a taxi, Teko watched the five adults and four children head down the mountain towards the train station, his eyes staying on Itsuka for a long moment as she held Eri's hand, and suppressed a yawn as she walked in between her friends. Watching as she vanished from view, Teko let out a sigh as he raised his hand towards the taxi approaching.

The drive back to the dojo was silent, save an occasional sniff from the driver, who seemed to pick up that Teko wasn't really in the mood for small talk as the dojo master stared out the car window the entire ride back to the Chiba prefecture. Finally, they stopped about a street away from the house so that Teko could stretch his legs a bit, he got out, giving the driver a tip for getting him home without any awkwardness. As the taxi drove away, Teko let out another long sigh, and turned on his heel towards his home, nodding politely to a few neighbors who waved to him.

His mind, at the moment, was racing - and none of the thoughts he was having were any good. He had seen much today - students fighting each other, harming each other, getting shot by cannons and thrown down dark holes, fighting out in the forest surrounding them, fighting in an arena as though they were in some kind of death match that the crowds could cheer on. He had seen both Izuku and Ochako being injured, the teachers acting as though they were suddenly responsible even after purposely setting things up so that they would get injured. He had seen his own granddaughter be trapped in an ice prison, come out bloody and wounded with weird lightning flickering around her, and then just … awarded medals at the end, like nothing of consequence had really happened.

It was clear now, at least to him, that he could not trust Itsuka's safety to UA. Not when it had been them that had put her in so much danger in the first place.

His insides continuing to churn in anger and frustration, Teko shook his head slowly. Back so many years ago, when his granddaughter had come home announcing excitedly that she had wanted to become a hero when she was older, he had overreacted. That much he knew, remembering his screaming at his beloved granddaughter while she sobbed and clung to her mother. It was … undoubtedly the biggest shame he had felt since returning to Musutafu from Jed'ha Island. Even after …

… but after what he had seen today … he wondered if he made another mistake, changing his mind on her becoming a hero. How could he not have, if he couldn't trust All Might, the Number One Hero, with his granddaughter's safety, with him standing by and letting her get back in a fight with that boy?

Shaking his head, Teko gaze lifted up towards the dojo as he approached it, his eyes trailing downwards as he stepped on the path to the wooden porch. Walking around, he approached the gate on the side, wanting to simply walk upstairs, get his supper from the fridge, and then take an early bath so that he could be in bed before Tenohira and Hakushu would return with Eri -

- and then his thoughts were interrupted as he stepped up to the gate, lifted his gaze up … and saw the side of the man standing at the side door.

Stopping in his step, Teko stared blankly at the man standing there, pacing around slightly as he rang the doorbell again in his impatience. He then felt his eyes narrow, and Teko opened the gate slowly, not making much noise and closing it behind him as he carefully made his way into the backyard, walking behind the man. Finally stopping in the backyard, he folded his arms together and scowled.

"Son," He said in a sharp voice, "you've returned."

The man at the door finally stopped his pacing, straightening his back and staring forward for a moment before nodding slowly to himself. Turning slowly, his long, dirty light brown hair hanging in tatters behind his head, the giant man standing before him on the porch flashed the old dojo master a grin as he stared at him from behind his shoulder. Teko narrowed his eyes slightly at the scratches that littered his son's face - as though he had gotten in some kind of fight before coming here, his white t-shirt ripped a bit at the helm.

"Old man," Rappa grinned, "didn't know you'd be alone. Where's my niece?"

"She's out at a party," Teko frowned, moving up the steps around his son to unlock the door, "she probably won't be back until sometime tomorrow."

"Ah, really? That's a shame," Rappa grunted as he lifted the parcel he was holding under his arm, "wanted to give this to her. It's been a while since I saw Itsuka - how long's it been, since she was a year old? Two years old?"

"Three years old," Teko said in a dark voice, "ever since I told you never to come back here."

"Ah, right," He slowly nodded, not looking very bothered as he flashed a sharp grin at his father, "three years old."

There was a short pause - and then Teko sighed.

"I suppose you aren't here because Tengai delivered my message to you?"

"Huh? That thing where you want me to come back here to learn lessons?"

Teko narrowed his eyes but nodded.

"Nah," Rappa chuckled, stepping down the step and putting the package down on the porch, even as his eyes never left his father's back, "stick-up-his-ass delivered your message, but I don't really care. I don't need any more lessons from you, old man."

"That can be argued," Teko sighed, "but I believe I told Tengai that I didn't want anyone to come -"

"You did say that. But I disagreed."

At the voice behind him, Teko straightened up. With Rappa raising an eyebrow and smirking as he lifted something out from his back pocket - what looked to be a black cloth fashioned into a plague mask - Teko slowly turned, and felt himself frown as … he realized he was no longer alone.

Instead, he was surrounded by what looked to be a group of plague doctors staring up at him. One of them, a large, muscular man, growled a bit menacingly as the smaller man on top of him, wearing a black cloak that covered his entire body save the white plague mask, glared down at him menacingly. The one he remembered being Tengai adjusted his hat on top of his head, while another young man wearing a white coat and hood over his full face mask glanced left and right, as though expecting some of Teko's neighbors to be poking their heads out to have a look at what was happening.

But it was the man in the middle that drew Teko's attention, making him narrow his eyes. It was a pale young man, with a narrow build, and thin, golden eyes staring into his own like he was trying to peer into his soul. Wearing a dark olive-green bomber jacket with a thick purple fur collar, and a dark dress shirt with matching dress-pants, what was the most unique feature about this young man, however, was the plague doctor mask he wore around his mouth - red and yellow, and showing nothing of his face other than his eyes.

"Kai," Teko nodded shortly, frowning, "you've come to see me personally, I see."

"Evening, old man," Kai Chisaki smirked under his mask as he took a step forward, "sorry for the intrusion, but I have the information you requested. I decided to deliver it personally."

"And ignored my request not to come here as well."

"Can you blame me?" The yakuza leader looked up at the dojo. "It's been years since I've been here - it's almost as though I've come back home. Now then, let's do this inside - I've got quite a bit to tell you."

Frowning darkly, but still nodding as he knew that there was no one else home, Teko gestured with his hand. The group of yakuza walked into the dojo as he held the door open for them, shooting a dark look at his sniggering son as he walked through, and then closed the door behind him.

He had been so caught up in his dark thoughts as he entered the dojo along with the rest of the Shie Hassaikai, he didn't notice the subtle flash of a phone's camera in the bushes. Quickly climbing out and grumbling quietly about the scratches and twigs in her hair, the blue-skinned young woman in disguise quickly hopped the fence of the dojo, and began jogging back down the street towards her bike.


"Are … you guys okay?" Eri asked in slight concern, yawning a bit.

"We're … we're good, sweetie," Itsuka grumbled from her spot on Izuku's bed, laying face down with her voice muffled by the pillows, "just … gonna close our eyes for a bit."

"Yeeeep …" Ochako groaned from her spot on the floor, laying on her back, "… I am … never gonna complain about stiff beds or sleeping on the couch ever again. This is the life."

"Mm-hmmm …" Izuku nodded as he flopped in his desk chair, and laid down on the desk.

Indeed, the three teenagers had pretty much flopped down in various parts of Izuku's room in their exhaustion, Eri sitting on the edge of Izuku's bed and looking around at them all in slight worry, even as she yawned again. They were all currently back in the Midoriya apartment, with the kids hearing the sound of the conversation between the Kendous, the Urarakas and Inko outside in the living room, while the teenagers had thankfully been excused to lay down for a while as the events of the day caught up to them, and so that they could get ready for a small impromptu sleepover. The Urarakas had already set up the futon in Ochako's room for Itsuka, so all that they really had to do was make sure Itsuka was in the correct room by the end of the night so that she could pass out in Ochako's room instead of Izuku's.

"Okay," Ochako yawned as she pushed her face a bit harder against the floor, "I think it's a testament to how tired I am that I'm kinda tempted to fall asleep on the floor. Itsuka, pillow me."

"Meh," Itsuka grumbled, and grabbed one of the pillows beneath her to throw blindly over her shoulder at Ochako. It managed to hit her leg, and the brown-haired girl grumbled as she flopped her hand blindly behind her to grab at it and move it so that she could rest her head against it, while Izuku sighed and cracked his neck.

"Are you guys …" Eri paused to yawn as well, her eyes becoming droopy, "… are you guys going to sleep?"

"Kinda," Ochako grumbled.

"N-no," Izuku managed to get out through a yawn.

"Yes," Itsuka sighed, rubbing her head against Izuku's pillow while laying on her front.

"Oh," Eri slowly nodded, her eyes closing, "okay. Goodnight."

With that, she moved to crawl on top of Itsuka, the orange-haired girl grunting a bit as the little girl flopped her entire weight down on top of her, and for a few minutes, they were all quiet, allowing the dim light of Izuku's desk lamp to lull them into a comfortable rest. After the long day they had, it was all Izuku could do to keep his eyes open, feeling like his entire body was begging him to rest even as Itsuka took up most of his bed, the sight of her nuzzling into his pillow and breathing in lightly making him blush a bit.

They were comfortable, of course, until the sound of someone quietly knocking at the door got their attention, and Izuku and Ochako glanced up from where they were flopped to see it begin to open.

"Oh, y'all are still awake, good," Taiyo sighed in relief, stepping into Izuku's bedroom with Miwa. They were both still dressed from the sports festival, with Taiyo securing his coat back over his shoulders and Miwa buttoning up her cardigan again, but it was the sight of Miwa tucking her purse over her shoulder and Taiyo holding that same folder from before underneath his arm that caused Ochako to wake up just a bit, sitting up from her spot on the floor.

"Uh … are you guys going somewhere?"

"Er … y-yeah, Chipmunk, we are," Taiyo explained a bit stiffly, sweat forming on his forehead as he tucked the folder more firmly beneath his arm, "god word from the crew downtown that - er - they're gonna need us to check somethin' out. So, uh - don' wait up for us, sweetie, we'll probably be back sometime in the mornin'."

"Oh …" Ochako paused for a moment, feeling her face fall - being told not to wait up for her parents meant it might be an all nighter, which of course made her worry - but Miwa then moved to kneel down beside her, and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry," She gently assured her daughter, "it's nothing for you to get stressed about. We're just … checking up on something, and we don't know when we'll be back. We're definitely going to be back in the morning, so don't stay up too late, alright? After the day you had, you need to rest."

"I …" Ochako hesitated, and then she nodded, "… okay. Okay, Mama."

With that, Taiyo bent down to give her another hug as well, and then both Urarakas were sure to move around their daughter to wish Eri a goodnight, Taiyo rubbing her hair affectionately while Miwa planted a small kiss on her cheek, and soon they were both out the door, Ochako and Izuku hearing the front door open and close.

Soon after that, Tenohira poked her head into the room as well, yawning a bit as she smiled down at all the teenagers passing out around the room.

"Alright," She sighed as she approached the bed both Itsuka and Eri were laying on, "I think it's about time for us to head out, too. Sounds like I have to take Eri swimsuit shopping tomorrow morning, and then Hakushu has to get the barbecue prepared to the beach tomorrow. Eri, I'm gonna pick you up now, okay?"

"Mm-kay," Eri managed to get out, already in a doze. Tenohira let out a giggle as she carefully scooped the little girl off her daughter's back, moving her so that she could carry her in one arm and resting Eri's head on her shoulder. While Eri continued to nap lightly, Izuku sighed as he got up stiffly from the desk, cursing his stiff body, and went over to the other side of the bed as Tenohira leaned over to where Itsuka was resting, wanting to at least see their guests out.

"Itsuka," The Kendou matriarch said sweetly to her daughter, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Good night, sweetie."

"…"

"Itsuka?"

"…"

"Er … Kendou …?" Izuku asked uncertainly, looking down at her - but soon, the sound of even, steady breathing filled the room, and everyone blinked as they stared down at Itsuka, completely and utterly passed out on Izuku's bed while snoring lightly.

Tenohira, for her part, only let out a soft giggle, and leaned over so that she could kiss her sleeping daughter's cheek, carefully lifting the gold medal that had been laid down beside her off the bed and putting it in her purse.

"Better make sure she doesn't accidentally leave this behind," She said softly, "well, I … guess it's up to you two to make sure Itsuka gets over to the futon next door, huh?"

"I … guess so," Ochako nodded, smiling a bit shakily and grunting as she stood up from the floor, "I should probably make sure everything's ready, anyway."

"I'll - yeah, I'll go with you," Izuku agreed, stretching his arms slightly, "just to make sure everything's put away."

"It should be," Tenohira adjusted Eri in her grasp, "your mom's just getting ready for bed now, Izuku, and your dad texted us that he'll probably be running a bit late, but to leave the door unlocked. Sorry about that, kids - we were gonna throw you all a party, but today's been …"

"Really tiring," Ochako agreed with her, grunting as she likewise stretched her back, "yeah. It's okay, Tenohira."

Nodding, Tenohira then turned to briefly brush her hand against Itsuka's cheek again before she turned to exit his room, carrying Eri with her. Izuku and Ochako were quick to follow her out of the apartment, Izuku gently closing the door behind them so that they didn't wake Itsuka up from her sleep, and looked around as the Kendou parents gathered around to get ready to go, Hakushu taking Eri from his wife and carefully holding her as she turned back to the teenagers.

"Well … I guess we'll be seeing you guys tomorrow," Tenohira softly said, and then moved to wrap Izuku in a soft hug. He blinked slightly at the motherly way she embraced him, reaching out to gently stroke Ochako's hair as well, before she moved back, allowing Hakushu to likewise pat his shoulder before the other family finally departed, Eri continuing to sleep on Hakushu's shoulder.

Standing there as they disappeared into the elevator, Izuku stared after them in confusion before glancing back at Ochako.

"Er …" He cleared his throat, going a bit red, "… that was a … a weird hug, wasn't it?"

"I don't know," Ochako sighed, shaking her head, "we scared the crap out of everyone today, I … I mean, I don't blame them for being scared. I'm not too surprised at Tenohira, though - she's pretty much our third mom at this point, isn't she?"

"Y-yeah," Izuku was unable to stop himself from chuckling, "look at us, having three sets of parents."

"One mom? Sure." Ochako likewise chortled, "Two moms? Maybe. Three moms? Now you've lost me."

Chuckling together, Izuku and Ochako moved to stand near the railing of the apartment. Sighing, Ochako leaned against it, looking off into the night sky as she briefly wondered how she was going to get Itsuka over to her room without waking her up, as her gaze trailed down to where the Kendous were walking away from the apartment. Her eyes trailed after them for a moment before she slowly turned to look over at the playground -

- and then she blinked.

"Hey," She straightened up, "isn't that …?"

"Huh?" Izuku looked around at her, confused, and then followed where she was looking. And that, of course, was when he spotted what she was looking at, causing him to quickly straighten his own back as he leaned against the railing, putting both his hands on it as he stared down in shock.

Because standing there, at the edge of the playground all three of them had been at so many years ago, with his back to them and facing the ground, was Katsuki, still dressed in his school uniform.

"Kacchan?" Izuku questioned out loud, his eyebrows raising. Both of them were clearly thinking the same thing - it had been years since they had seen Katsuki so close to their apartment, let alone the very playground where the incident between them had happened. He had obviously kept to his own neighborhood since then, a few blocks away from them, but seeing him standing there, shadowed by the darkness surrounding him and staring at nothing - it made both teenagers up in the apartment feel a weird sense of foreboding.

Crinkling his brow, Izuku turned towards the stairs, taking one step away while keeping his eyes on Katsuki, before Ochako realized what he was doing and quickly reached out to gently take his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Deku, are - are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked him, already knowing what her best friend was about to do and resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Maybe it's just … better to let him be."

"Occhan, he's - you know, probably waiting for us," Izuku pointed out, not looking any happy with it, "so … you know, it's better just to figure out what his problem is and let him go home so we don't have to worry about him."

"… this is a bad idea."

"Yeeeep."

"He's gonna hit one of us. And whoever he doesn't hit, is probably gonna hit him back."

"Yep."

"… I wanna just hit him."

"Just …" Izuku huffed back a laugh, "… don't do it unprovoked, okay?"

"Sure, I can deal with that."

With that, the two best friends started making their way over to the stairs together so that they could quickly jog down. Granted, it would probably be easier for Ochako to simply float them down, but … well, after the day they had, they were both clearly exhausted enough to know that using their quirks anymore today would be a bad idea. Instead, they stuck close as they headed down a few flights of stairs, heading out into the parking lot, and soon enough, they were across the street towards the playground, despite Izuku slowing down a bit at the sight of the melted jungle gym but still soldiering on.

Finally, they both approached Katsuki standing near the yellow police tape, who didn't look back at either of them as he continued to stare at the ground. Knowing that it would have to be up to him to remain at least a bit polite (despite feeling anger begin to churn in his stomach), Izuku cleared his throat.

"Er … Kacchan?"

He didn't get a response back.

"Kacchan?" He asked again, glancing at Ochako as she gave him a small shrug. "You … doing okay?"

"…"

"I -" Izuku sighed, "- Kacc-"

"You wanna know something, Deku?"

At Katsuki's quiet question, Izuku stopped talking at once. Not because he felt particularly intimidated, of course - it was mostly because of the silent anger in Katsuki's voice. It was so different from what he or Ochako were used to, both of them went quiet at once.

It didn't sound aggressive, or furious. It sounded … tired.

"This place … I always considered this place to be the first hiccup in my story." Katsuki admitted to both of them. "The first place where you beat me. But I always chalked it up to you getting a lucky hit. I didn't fucking know what you were going to do, so I let my guard down. Just a little hiccup on the road to me becoming the greatest hero."

Both Izuku and Ochako remained quiet.

"And then, after that, you guys got bullied by everyone and I got to rise to the top," Katsuki slowly shook his head, "I just put it away as some minor setback. You got called a villain, Deku, and I didn't say anything because I thought I was better than that. And people called Round Face a fatass, and I laughed along because it made me feel good after she kept talking shit about me."

Ochako winced a bit at the comment, feeling herself frown - and unknowingly attracting Izuku's attention, making him look around at her with a concerned look before he glanced back at Katsuki, a frown on his face now.

"Okay …" He said in a slightly cross voice, "… and?"

"And then," Katsuki's fist clenched, "we all got in UA. Even after I told you both not to. And you started showing me up. Using your stupid quirk … helping Ginger make me look like an idiot … making all those shitty extras love you for doing fucking nothing … while I actually worked on my fucking quirk and didn't shrink away like a coward. Like you."

Izuku winced a bit at that insult, and Ochako fumed, but still, they both said nothing. They both remembered what Katsuki had said that day, when they had met All Might and everything changed.

"A school for heroes doesn't take cowards."

"And then today," Katsuki shook his head, "you beat me again. You shoved in my face that - that the day we fought here, that wasn't a flunk. You actually … beat me. You defeated me. I was always supposed to win … and you beat me. And now … I'm …"

Clenching his fist tighter, he whirled around to show them both the snarl on his face - but both Izuku and Ochako instead blinked in shock when they saw the tears welling in his eyes. Stomping over to Izuku, Katsuki poked him right in the chest.

"Do you get it now, Shitty Deku?" Katsuki tried to sneer at him, but the effect was ruined by the trembling in his voice. "Because I treated you like the coward you are … and gave you a reminder of what happens when you try playing with the big boys, Round Face … I'm out of the hero course now."

"H-huh?" Izuku blinked, while Ochako looked surprised.

"Yeah. Teachers pretty much ripped me a new one, and now I've been demoted to the general studies course," Katsuki's teeth gritted into a pained grimace, "with no chance of getting back in. And if I try to fucking drop out, they'll reach out to other hero schools and warn them about me. I'm just another shitty extra now. Congratulations, assholes - you both fucking won!"

Suddenly whipping away from Izuku, Katsuki threw out an explosion. The loud noise made both Izuku and Ochako jump a bit, but luckily it wasn't aimed at either of them, just a way for Katsuki to vent his anger out at nothing. He paused for a moment, panting in exhaustion (or perhaps it was the emotion of the moment) before he shook his head.

"Well," He managed to get out, "just so you two assholes know - this isn't over. I'm not gonna be out of the hero course for long. I'm gonna get my spot back, and I'm gonna prove to all you shitty extras that I'm supposed to be the next Number One Hero. It's my fucking destiny. And you two are gonna be stuck on the sidelines while I get to go to the top and -"

"Kacchan, please, just - stop talking."

Katsuki's ranting was suddenly interrupted by Izuku speaking up, talking over his determination to return to the hero course like nothing happened, and he looked over at Izuku as the green-haired boy stared down at the ground for a second. Finally, with a soft sigh, he looked up at his former childhood friend with an air of tiredness and finality that took Ochako aback for a moment.

"Kacchan, what … what exactly do you want me to say here?" He decided to bluntly say. "'I'm sorry'? 'You shouldn't have been kicked out'? 'I'm gonna go talk to the teachers tomorrow to help get you back into the hero course, because you deserve it'?"

Katsuki, for his part, said nothing, only glaring at Izuku.

"You know … maybe … maybe years ago, I might have done that," Izuku gave him, trying to ignore Ochako giving him a pointed Danger Pout at that statement, "back when we were little kids, and I followed you around everywhere, I might've gone up to bat for you. But … but now? Now I'm just tired. I don't wanna think about your problems, Kacchan, because … because honestly, I don't really know what your problem is with me anymore."

"You -"

"I don't care," Izuku interrupted him again, some of the steel in his voice from earlier returning, "I don't care if you have a problem with me anymore. Because honestly? At this point, Kacchan, I think we've both gotta realize we aren't little kids anymore. What happened here -" He pointed over at the melted playground, "- is something I struggled with for a long time. Back a year ago, I'd have agreed with you that everything that happened here was my fault."

Ochako opened her mouth to stop that line of thought, but Izuku kept going.

"I blamed myself for everything that happened here. Hurting my mom. Hurting Yubi and Tsubasa. Hurting you. That's something I had a hard time dealing with. When people called me a villain, as much as I didn't want to, I thought, 'they're right'."

"…"

"And … even now, there's a part of me that still thinks that what happened that day was my fault," Izuku raised his hand to Ochako when she looked like she was going to object, "but it's something I have to get over. If I want to be a hero, I - I can't wallow in self-pity. That's what you called me a coward for, Kacchan, and … and you were right. I was running from actually owning up to what happened, running from trying to do better. And it took - it took someone taking me here and telling me that only I could convince myself to become a hero to do it, but I did. And now … even if I still blame myself for what happened to you, Kacchan, I'm gonna stop letting it define me."

Kacchan merely glared at him for a moment, and then snapped, "What the fuck has that got to do with -"

"It means,' Izuku's gaze hardened into his own glare, "that right now, the only one who's obsessed with what happened here that day is you."

That, thankfully, got Katsuki to zip it at once.

"You're the only one here that's letting what happened here that day define you. You could've won today, Kacchan, if I had been a little bit slower, or if you had been a little bit faster. That doesn't matter. What does matter, though, is that you're considering yourself the victim of what happened during our match - but do you really wanna know what happened today?"

Izuku suddenly stormed up to him, unable to stop himself in his anger, and jabbed a finger against Katsuki's chest in turn.

"You hurt Occhan." He growled at him. "You hurt me. All because I hurt you all those years ago, and you think that gave you the right to take all your anger out on both of us ever since. Because you 'lost a fight' when we were kids."

Ochako was quiet behind him.

"So you wanna know what? I'm not sorry that you got kicked out of the hero course." Izuku made it clear, while Katsuki's nostrils flared. "In fact, I'm happy to hear it. I don't care anymore, Kacchan, what you think of me. All your attempts to get in my head? They won't work anymore. Because I know Occhan and Kendou - they're better friends than you have ever been. So this - this thing where you try to make me a hiccup in your great story? I'm not gonna let that get to me. I'm done. You wanna get back into the hero course, fine. Just leave me and Occhan and Kendou out of it. So just - just go home, and stop bothering me."

Katsuki, for his part, didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit. In fact, he was quick enough to throw his fist back, clearly intending to drive it into Izuku's face, but Ochako was even quicker. Knocked out of her shocked silence, she quickly got in between both boys and gave Katsuki enough of a glare to let him know what exactly would happen if he did what he was thinking of doing.

For a moment, he glared between both of them, his breath coming out unevenly as he tensed. And then, with a small growl, he pushed his way out from between them and started stomping out of the park and back over towards the sidewalk.

The two of them watched for a long moment as Katsuki stormed off into the night, eventually fading into the darkness. They stayed still for a moment - and then, with relieved sighs, they both sagged over, Izuku wiping his sweaty brow and Ochako staring down sadly at her fists, as though disappointed that she wasn't able to use them.

"Wow, that -" Izuku wheezed, "- I thought he was gonna hit us."

"Yeah," Ochako pouted, "yeaaaaah …"

"I … okay, I - I think I need to sit down."

"Me too."

With that, the two best friends walked over to the nearest bench - with Izuku only glancing over at the melted playground off to the side near them with a slight gulp - and both sat down together, underneath the lamp post shining down on them. The skies above them were clear, allowing some stars to twinkle above them, and it was about warm enough that both of them could sit there without their school jackets, just staring forward for a long moment.

And then Ochako glanced over at Izuku leaning back on the bench, a light dusting of pink on her cheeks.

"That, uh … that was pretty cool, Deku," She told him, "telling Bakugou off like that."

"That was … probably one of the scariest things I've ever done," He joked lightly, smiling when he heard Ochako giggle beside him, "but … yeah. I just thought he needed to hear all that, so … I told him."

"Yeah … I'm disappointed I didn't hit him."

"I know you would've," Izuku laughed along with her as they both leaned back, "I - honestly, I'm surprised you didn't."

"Well, I would've," She winced a bit as she rubbed her bandaged arm, hidden underneath the white dress shirt, "but, uh … don't need to risk another burn, y'know?"

"Yeah …" Izuku's smile faded, looking over at her arm with a visibly worried look, "… h-how is it feeling, by the way? Does it still hurt?"

"No, it's just …really itchy," She sighed, "and … not gonna lie, the cream I put on it when we got home? It didn't really help."

"Oh …"

"Yeah. How, uh … how about you?" She looked around at Izuku's own arms - like her, the bandages were hidden by his white dress shirt, but she still felt her stomach clench at the thought of those growing cracks of light under her best friend's skin, "Is the … uh …"

She trailed off, Izuku looking back around at her curiously as she awkwardly glanced away.

"Is, uh …" She tapped her finger against her knee," … sorry to … bring it up again, Deku, but … but how do your a-arms feel?"

Izuku blinked a bit as he realized what she was talking about - and then he let out a sigh, looking away as he frowned.

They're, uh … stiff," He admitted in a quiet voice, "they feel kind of … tingly. But - but not in a good way. They don't really hurt, it's just … annoying."

"Yeah," She nodded uncomfortably, still staring down at her feet, "I … I can see why that would be irritating."

"Mm-hm."

There was a brief pause between them, and then Ochako let out a small sigh.

"Sorry," She muttered, feeling ashamed, "you … probably don't wanna talk about it, do you?"

"I … not really," Izuku sighed with his own pout, looking up at the stars above them, "but … but I probably have to eventually, right? If I don't talk about it with you, then it might be with my mom and dad, or Tenko-sensei, or - or someone who wants to know how I feel. So I guess … I guess if I had to talk about it with anyone, I'd … I'd prefer to talk about it with - with you. Or Kendou. So, uh … yeah."

"Mm-hm," Ochako slowly nodded, turning to look at him with a worried expression, "so, uh … how do you feel?"

"It …" Izuku hesitated for a moment, and then he let out a defeated sigh, leaning forward, "… it sucks. It really, really sucks, Occhan."

"I know."

"Cellular degeneration is … I know it's not a joke," Izuku shook his head while frowning, "and … and I'm not gonna pretend that Recovery Girl doesn't know what she's talking about. It's just … it's like I said before, it's frustrating, you know? To think I've solved all my issues with my quirk, only for something new and entirely worse to pop up."

"Yeah," Ochako nodded, looking glum as she likewise sat forward, "it … it sucks, like you said. I have no idea how it would feel to … and …" She felt her brow scrunch, shame welling up in her again, "… and I bet that … me and Kendou trying to cheer you up about it … y'know, earlier, back - back when we were with Eri and Hadou - it probably didn't help much, did it?"

"I …" Izuku hesitated for a moment, and then sighed, "… it didn't. Not really."

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, I - you don't have to be sorry," He assured her quickly, looking over to give her a sad smile, "I … I know that you guys were just trying to comfort me, and - and I'm grateful for that. It's just … there's not much to say when - y'know - when you hear that your quirk can kill you if you don't use it carefully enough."

Ochako winced at that, and Izuku immediately felt regret fill him.

"I - sorry," He shook his head, "I - I shouldn't say that. You guys were just trying to comfort me."

"Deku -"

"N-not that I have a problem with you guys trying to comfort me," He quickly assured her, "it's just … this is something that I'm gonna have to get used to, I think."

Ochako slowly nodded at that, staring as Izuku turned to look down at his feet for a moment - and then she let out a soft sigh, shaking her head as she leaned back a bit, and tried to lighten her own face, wanting to bring up the mood.

"W-well, I … I guess we should try looking on the bright side," She tried to say in a bright voice, getting Izuku's attention again, "at least we know something good came out of today."

"Really?" Izuku blinked a bit. "Like … uh … what?"

"Like …" She struggled to keep herself from giggling at once, "… #Sparky."

"…"

"…"

"… Sparky." Izuku said in a hollow voice, his face turning to despair.

"I - Deku -"

"Occhan, this - this isn't a laughing matter. They're … they're calling me …" With a shiver, he moved to duck his head between his legs, sounding utterly humiliated, "… Sparky."

"Deku, I'm …" Ochako had to consciously fight down the urge to laugh out loud, mostly because of the utter look of despair that crossed her best friend's face when she reminded him of his … online reputation.

"I'm a meme," Izuku moved his hand to cover his eyes, hunching over on the bench while Ochako continued her increasingly losing battle to not laugh as she brought her phone out of her skirt's pocket, "I'm … I'm a sparky boom boom boy. How did … how did that even …"

"I mean," Ochako managed to get a hold of herself, trying to make him feel better, "if it's any consolation, Deku, I'm 'Miss Cuss Word' apparently - looks like they caught everything I said while Hatsume's inventions was spinning me around. Which …" Her smile became a bit stiffer, "… is probably why Eri was swearing at me earlier. Er … I probably have to apologize to the Kendous."

"But … but … #Sparky?!" Izuku whined. "How did that - how did they even come up with that?!"

"Er …" Ochako checked her phone, biting her lip not to laugh, "… according to … well … …"

Izuku merely groaned some more, but still gestured for her to continue.

"… during the first round, apparently when you came in first place, there had been an error on the news networks that no one had a display for your name," She read outloud, tapping her foot against the ground, "they corrected it after a commercial break, but since no one online knew who you were, they decided to start calling you 'Sparky'. You know - because of -"

"The sparks," Izuku pouted adorably, making Ochako giggle, "yeah."

"Yep. It kinda caught. Looks like they ended up using your nickname more than your actual name."

"Great," Izuku sighed, "that's … great."

"I mean, if it makes you feel any better, after the second round they just started calling you 'Spark'," She helpfully revealed to him, "and come on, doesn't that sound better? They all saw you being badass and thought 'no, drop the 'y'! Spark is my guy!'"

"I mean," Izuku tried to pout some more, although his lips quirked up at Ochako's tough macho-sounding imitation, "I'm … still a meme, Occhan."

"Come on, Deku," Ochako giggled, "look on the bright side! At least you were memorable. And hey, you can say that you already have a hero name!"

"'Sparky'?" Izuku huffed, starting to smile more indulgently. "Thanks, but no thanks, Occhan. I can figure out a better hero name than 'Sparky' or 'Spark'."

"Oh, really?" She smiled coyly, leaning over to poke his shoulder. "Something like 'All Might Jr.'?"

"Oh, my -"

"Or maybe 'Captain All Might'? 'Mighty Boy'? 'Super All Might'?"

"You keep laughing it up, 'Fourteen'," Izuku mumbled, which got him another Danger Pout from the formerly laughing girl.

"Oh, is that the game you wanna -"

"Or maybe you prefer 'Float Girl'?"

"Ooooooh, Deku," Ochako gritted her teeth, making Izuku begin to giggle a bit as he leaned away from her, only to get a finger on the cheek to subtly begin digging in, "you're playing with fire right now, buddy."

"Seems like it," Izuku chuckled, leaning his head back and letting her hand fall. They both stayed like that for a while, Ochako slipping her phone back into her pocket while Izuku glanced down at his hands, and they both sighed as they leaned back and looked up at the stars. Finally, he let out a sigh, moving his legs out on the ground and feeling Ochako glance at him.

"Y'know what, Occhan?" He shook his head. "I'm … I'm not gonna worry about the - the cellular stuff."

"Huh?" Ochako blinked. "You're not?"

"I - well, I am, but - but I'm not gonna - I'm not gonna let it worry me," He moved to stand up from the bench, looking around at his best friend with a smile, "I've done nothing but worry about my quirk for - for years. I just … I think you're right, I just have to try to look on the - the bright side."

"Oh, uh … okay," She slowly nodded, "so … what is the bright side?"

"The bright side," He lifted one of his hands, smiling down at it, "is that I finally know what's going on with my quirk. I finally understand how it works. And … and if I'm being honest, this has been - it's been the most excited I've felt about it in a long time. Because now I know my limitations, and - and the ways that I can improve. Lightning … ice … honestly, this is just the beginning, Occhan. If I can absorb any kind of element and use them all …"

"We gotta be careful when you decide to try getting fire?" She replied dryly, which got a laugh from Izuku.

"You think I can just ask Todoroki to set me on fire to get it out of the way?" He joked lightly, chuckling to himself. However, as Ochako slowly stood up, he glanced back her way and felt his smile freeze on his face at the utterly stiff, unamused look in Ochako's eyes, despite her empty smile.

"So while we're on that topic," She said in a light voice that still told him the danger he was suddenly finding himself in, "you're not ever gonna ask Todoroki to set you on fire. You understand that, right?"

"I … okay, but -"

"Deku, I swear to god -"

"Okay, okay!" Izuku waved his hands frantically in the air, feeling himself turn nervous at the cold look in Ochako's eyes, boring into his. "I'll - I don't know -"

"Deku, you are not going to ever set yourself on fire. Ever."

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

After giving him another warning Danger Pout to make it clear that she was serious, Ochako sighed and shook her head, putting her hands down on her hips while Izuku cowered a bit before her. Once she was sure he received the message, she gave him a far more genuine smile.

"Uh … back to seriousness," She joked lightly, "if - if you're looking on the bright side, then … then yeah, Deku, I - I agree, this - this is good. And you telling Bakugou you're not gonna let … you know, this place," She gestured around the playground, "define you anymore - that's good, too."

"It … wait, really?" Izuku blinked, looking around at her as Ochako turned to look over at the melted playground again, her expression softening.

"Deku, I don't know if you remember, but I've been with you every step of the way," She pointed out, glancing at him with a smile, "I'm the one who kept bugging you to be a hero, remember? Every time you tried to shut me down, I just kept trying harder and harder. And then … well … now look at us," She giggled, spinning around to smile up at him again, "we got third place at the sports festival. And - and if we hadn't gotten screwed over, then - then we might've gotten second or first. We almost won today, and - and it's because we worked together."

"Y-yeah," Izuku nodded, smiling softly as he took an unconscious step closer to his best friend, "you … really saved my butt a few times today, Occhan. I'm just … sorry that one of those times … you had to take the bullet for me, when Kacchan - y'know -"

"Oh, are you kidding?" She giggled, rolling her eyes with a small, knowing smile. "Deku, I'm pretty sure that if I had been like - point two seconds slower, it would've been you taking that shot for me. Am I wrong?"

There was a short between them - and Izuku sighed.

"I … yeah," He nodded, a sheepish smile appearing on his face, "probably."

"Yeah. And just think, if we had been even slower than that, Itsuka probably would've jumped in and took the giant explosion to the face. Couldn't have that, could we?"

"N-no, we can't."

"Although …" She glanced up with a small, teasing smile, "… that does give me the mental image of both of us going ham on Bakugou. That would've been awesome, wouldn't it?"

"… yeah. Yeah, it would've."

Ochako laughed again at the sheepish grin on Izuku's face as he admitted that, and without thinking, moved in. Her arms moved to wrap around his neck as they always did, and she moved up onto her tippy toes so that she could give him a hug, Izuku letting out a surprised grunt as she held on fast. Thankfully, though, it didn't take long for Izuku to get over his surprise, letting out a small chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her back, and returned the hug.

For a moment, they both stood there, warmly embracing underneath the street light in the park. They both let out soft sighs as they simply enjoyed each other's warmth, a good reward for a long day of rough challenges and unexpected turmoil. Izuku's hand rubbed up and down her back, and Ochako's arms wrapped around his neck allowed her to snuggle into his shoulder, allowing them both to just close their eyes.

It felt good to just … stand there and hug each other.

And then … Izuku felt something stir in his stomach. A familiar feeling.

A … weird feeling.

Feeling himself go still, Izuku opened his eyes slowly and stared blankly ahead, still allowing Ochako to gently hold him while his soft smile faded away. He knew this feeling well - it was the same feeling as before, back in the forest and in the hallway where he had hugged Itsuka. A feeling that, quite honestly, he was still pretty scared of, even after all the hugs Itsuka had given him today and all the - the - 'friend smooches' she delivered to both of them.

It was a feeling of becoming … aware of Ochako holding onto him, how close she was, how she held him and how he held her. A weird butterfly feeling in his stomach, a feeling of confusion as to why Ochako holding onto him felt so good. His heart began to pick up a rapid beat in his chest.

It was the same feeling that he had all day long … the same feeling that they had both been suffering through all day. But this time …

… this time, he suddenly realized, there wasn't going to be any interruptions. No one suddenly jumping in between them, nobody talking in their ears, nobody coming out to attack them. No inventors suddenly pushing them apart to make them part of her sales pitch, no annoying blonde teammates shouting at them in their ears, no ice suddenly coming out to freeze them in place. So that meant …

… that meant that …

… the only person who would be able to stop this - this weird feeling was either himself, or Ochako.

And … seeing as Ochako wasn't moving away at all … and he felt pretty comfortable in her grasp, despite his heart doing somersaults in his chest … there was a part of him that didn't want to break the hug.

And then, suddenly, Izuku thought about what he and his mother had discussed earlier today, making his heart skip a beat in his chest.

"Can I ask you … what … exactly do you feel for Itsuka and Ochako? Like - how do you feel about them in general?"

"Uh - like - w-well, they're - they're my friends. My best friends."

"Mm-hm, yes, okay. But … how do you feel for them … specifically? Do - do they make you happy?"

"I - yeah, of - of course. More than anything."

"And the thought of them … does it make you feel better?"

"I … guess?"

"And you want to spend time with them? More out of anyone else?"

"I - Mom, where are you going with this? I - I guess I do? I don't - I mean, yes, I - I do wanna spend time with them, but - but why are you asking me these things, Mom?"

"Just … okay, I'll tell you, honey, but I do have one more question before I do."

"I - okay. W-what's the question?"

"Do you … would you be ready to … to hurt one of them?"

At the time … his conversation with his mom had confused him. Made him wonder what she meant, about hurting one of his best friends. It had been the necessary kick in the pants to get all three of them talking again, but …

"… listen to me, sweetie, I … I think I do know why you've been feeling so weird around both of them. And … and I think you know what those feelings are, too - it's something that you've probably always known, you just … never really put much thought about it."

"Then - then what is it?"

"I … think it'll have to be something you figure out for yourself, but - I want you to know one thing, okay? I need you to know … that once you do figure out what's going on between you and the girls - and I think you've been doing that all day long - you need to … to know that you'll have to make a choice. And that choice … it's going to hurt either Ochako or Itsuka."

He hadn't … understood, Izuku stared behind her shoulder, aware of Ochako going a bit still in his embrace as well - as though she had picked up that the mood had changed as well.

"Are … are you saying that I'll … I'll have to hurt their feelings? T-that kind of hurt?"

"Yes, honey, and it … it will hurt. It'll hurt both of them, and - and it'll hurt you as well. I know how much you care about both of those girls - I know how much they've both changed you, for the better. Ochako - she was there for you when you needed her the most, and Itsuka was there for you when you started coming out of your shell, and - and I know how much they both mean to you, in their own ways."

He hadn't realized …

"But once you realize what these … weird feelings … are, you may have to hurt one of them. Because …"

… but now … now he was realizing …

"… because I know how much you love them both."

… love.

That word had … it had taken him aback, when his mom had used it. It had scared him, to think of how he used that word when it came to Ochako and Itsuka.

Love.

At the time, he had … he had tried to dismiss the thought of being in love with his best friends, thinking it impossible. That the weird feelings were just making things foggy for him to think things through.

But …

"Deku?"

Izuku jumped a bit as Ochako spoke softly in his ear, feeling his cheeks turn red. Automatically, his head turned in her direction, and he found himself stopping as he stared at her brown hair filling his vision for a moment. He could feel her tense briefly against him, but not moving back at all as she waited for him to answer her. When he didn't say anything initially, too frozen in his thoughts to, she let out a small murmur.

"I, uh … I heard you muttering," She admitted, aware of Izuku going stiff against her, "but I, uh - I didn't catch a lot of what you're saying. What's … what're you thinking about?"

"I, uh …" Izuku paused for a moment, feeling himself tense. His mind was effectively a pinball machine at the moment, one moment thinking of one thing and then bouncing to the next. But above all else, the word 'love' kept bouncing in his head as he held on a bit tighter to Ochako, with her remaining quiet in order to let him process his thoughts.

And then, suddenly, she gently sighed and began to move back. And Izuku, without thinking, quickly grabbed back onto her and held her to him, squeezing her a bit tightly. He was aware of her squeaking a bit in surprise at it, and he couldn't help but feel surprised by his own actions, but … but still, he held on tight as she turned her head to look at him.

"U-uh - Deku?" She asked uncertainly.

"I - I'm sorry," He stuttered a bit, feeling his face turn redder as the weird feeling in his stomach continued to squirm around like live snakes, but the feeling of her pressing up against him managed to tune out any awkward feelings he might've had at the moment as he tightened his arms around her back, "just - uh - I just -"

"Deku, are you … are you okay?"

"I … I don't know."

He could feel her move against him, and finally managed to move his arms back so that he wasn't practically crushing her. Taking a step back, both of them moved out of the hug, Ochako sliding her arms back so that they weren't wrapped around his neck anymore, but keeping her hands (one pinky up on each hand) on his shoulders, while Izuku's own hands moved to hold her hips - and making him blush a bit as he nervously held on, and felt himself blink at the similar shade of red on Ochako's face.

"Deku, what's … what's going on?" She asked, looking like she wanted to glance away but was unable to tear her gaze away from him. "You - are you okay?"

"I'm … I'm fine," He assured her, although the way his voice cracked a bit made it clear he wasn't, "I just … I just …"

There was a long moment in which Izuku stared down into her eyes - her eyes, he realized, that looked far more beautiful than he had ever thought today, a thought that made him shake - and Ochako patiently waited, her cheeks still red but her mouth open slightly, as though she was going to say something even as the hands she had on her shoulders tensed.

And then Izuku let out a soft sigh.

"Occhan …" He managed to get out, not even thinking through his words, "… you … you saved me a lot today."

"I … know?" She said questioningly, "We - we both did."

"I - n-no, not - not like that," He shook his head, wincing, "sorry, I - I should've been more specific."

She slowly nodded, feeling her brow scrunch, as Izuku finished shaking his head and letting out another sigh.

"Today …" He swallowed, "… during the first round, I … I thought I was going to have to go through it alone, like everyone else was. And then you saved me from getting shot down that hole and teamed up with me for the rest of the match. The only reason we were able to win was because of you - floating us, and stopping us from crashing into the ground when I launched us up into the air."

"That's …" Ochako automatically said, wanting to deny it, but Izuku quickly shook his head to interrupt her.

"And then," He went on, not really thinking through his words at the moment, "when we were in the forest and I was nervous, you were the one to anchor me back down to earth. You told me … you reminded me that 'Deku' is supposed to mean 'you can do it', instead of what Kacchan meant. You did that, and - and it let me focus back on the plan, and not get caught up on my insecurities. You pulled me out of it, and - and we were able to win again."

She stayed quiet for a moment, although the way her face was changing - into one of wonder, of cautious curiosity - was making Izuku feel nervous.

"I … I've been having these weird thoughts," He told her, "the weird feelings that've been coming and going every time we - we touch, or hug. The same with Kendou, but - but right now, when we were hugging, I … I got to thinking …"

"Y-yeah?" She whispered.

"And … and I thought of what my mom said …"

And that, right about then, was when the pieces fell together for Izuku. Making it suddenly feel so … simple, what these feelings were. He finally had a name for them, realizing what they were, even if he didn't initially realize that his face was … getting closer to Ochako's.

But … but she didn't pull away. Instead, she stared at him, in a weird mixture of anxiety, nervousness, and … expectation? But … but at the moment he couldn't really think of anything to say, even as his hands moved off her hips - and, to his surprise, moved to cup her cheeks, making Ochako go still and Izuku blush heavily at the feeling of the warmth coming off of her face.

"… and I …" He swallowed loudly, speaking much quieter than before, "… I thought about it …"

"Yeah …?" She repeated in a hushed voice, her own face becoming redder.

"And I … I …"

There was a long pause. And then, before he could blink, he did something … spontaneous.

Out of nowhere.

Something that he wouldn't have done even if he had been planning on doing it, or tried to hype himself up to do so.

Something that he had no idea if he would regret in the next five seconds, let alone the rest of his life.

And something … that, deep down, he had wanted to do all day, or probably ever since the day they had met.

And that, of course, was to take a deep breath, close his eyes, lean down, and kiss her.

The moment he felt her lips press against his, he knew that he had crossed a line. He heard Ochako let out a muffled gasp as his thumbs automatically rubbed against her cheeks, and he quickly opened his eyes again. Her hands on his shoulders clenched as they both stood there, eyes widening by the second as the reality of what Izuku had just done settled in.

But then, a mere second before Izuku went into panic mode, he felt it. Just the bare minimum of pressure from Ochako's mouth, meaning … meaning that she was …

… she was kissing him back.

They both stood there, their lips pressed together, and Ochako's look of shock and confusion faded the longer they stared at each other. And then, slowly, he felt her kiss him back a bit harder, tilting her head so that their noses weren't in the way. They lightly disconnected the kiss, only for Ochako to move to capture his lower lip between hers, and slowly, her eyes began to shut.

And Izuku, with his heart still hammering in his chest, felt his own eyes begin to close as well, the panic fading away, as they both simply stood there and shared their first kiss.

Finally, they both moved back, letting out soft gasps for breath as they both slowly opened their eyes to stare at each other - and then, before either of them could pause to think, Izuku went back in, and initiated a second kiss between them. Pressing their lips together, Izuku allowed his eyes to close, while Ochako let out a quiet hum and allowed him to take the lead this time.

They stood there underneath the streetlight for a long moment, their hands carefully holding each other as they both softly inhaled, before Izuku finally moved back - but before Ochako could ask, he went back in, both of them tensing slightly as Izuku's hands moved back down to clutch at her hips.

He … honestly had no idea what he was doing, Izuku blushed as their mouths gently opened, and he shook at the feeling of Ochako's tongue poking at his. He had no idea what was going on, what he had just done, what he was doing with his oldest friend. All he knew was that … was that kissing Ochako was … nice.

It felt nice. And not just physically - he felt his heart skip and beat faster as Ochako rubbed his sides, and Izuku's own hands went back up to smooth out her brown hair for a moment as their tongues slowly rolled together.

He felt like he was on cloud nine. Like the entire world made sense now.

And then … Ochako pushed a bit harder against his lips, and their liplock deepened.

And a fire was lit in Izuku's stomach, one he had never felt before, but one that he immediately, without question, embraced.

Not even pausing to think, Izuku wrapped his arm around her lower back, bringing her flush against him, and Ochako's arms wrapped around his neck again. The sound of her gasping softly into his mouth drove him forward, causing him to push her back somewhat until her back met the lamppost behind her, and Izuku, without even thinking, made to push her a bit firmer against it. Ochako, for her part, began moving her tongue even more in his mouth, her eyes squeezed shut, and Izuku held onto her tight.

"I …" He managed to get out, although the feeling of Ochako's lips on his drove whatever thought he was going to say out of his head as he clung tighter to Ochako, feeling one of her arms move away from his neck while he desperately wrapped his own arm around her lower back, his hand in her impossibly soft hair and both of them let out quiet grunts into the kiss -

- and then Izuku felt it.

A hand … Ochako's hand … moving down, and …

… and grabbing a handful of his butt.

The feeling of her grabbing it and squeezing tightly caused Izuku to moan right into Ochako's mouth, their lips opening and their tongues briefly pausing - and then what had happened suddenly registered. Automatically, their eyes snapped open, staring at each other as Ochako kept her hand firmly grabbing his butt - and the reality of what had happened hit them both.

They were both … making out. In the park. In front of their apartment. Where anyone could look out and see them. With Ochako blatantly groping him.

They … were making out.

They were best friends … and they were making out.

Slowly and stiffly, as though they had become robots, they both made to get out of the embrace, Izuku stepping back so he was no longer pinning her against the street lamp, and Ochako letting go of his … butt … so that they could give each other space. They both stared blankly at each other for a moment, their faces filling with so much red there was a possibility they were both going to pass out - and then Ochako squeaked.

"Well!" She yelped with a high-pitched crack in her voice, whirling around to look at the apartment. "I'm beat! I'm going to bed! Goodnight!"

"R-right!" Izuku likewise squeaked, whirling around with her as they both began running straight for the apartment, not looking at each other lest they see the steam flying off their faces. "That sounds good! Goodnight!"

"G-goodnight!"

Goodnight!"

With that, they both ran as fast as they could up the stairs, trying not to trip or look at each other in fear of exploding into a mess of embarrassed goo. They finally reached their floor, Izuku running ahead so as not to run into her door, and they both quickly ripped the doors of their apartments open and slammed them shut, not even looking at each other in their fluster.

And that was when they both leaned against their doors, sliding down at the same time onto their butts, with Izuku holding his hand over his mouth as he hyperventilated and Ochako holding her hands in front of her as though they had committed an unforgivable sin, as they both thought, at the same time:

'WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST DO?!'


"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… oh, yeah," Chimera grunted, "this is a cult town."

Slice let out a dry laugh at that, nodding in agreement regardless as she crossed her arms and looked around at the town before them. It wasn't hard to see how Chimera had come to that conclusion - they, Nine and Camie had walked into Deika City outside of the town, and they could feel eyes on them from everywhere.

From the people crossing the street before them, to the windows of the buildings around them as they approached the tower, it was clear that they were being watched. And seeing as it was a feeling that came from everywhere … it was apparent that this town was the resting place of the modern version of the Meta Liberation Army. Meaning that everyone in this town was probably a member, and if not, they were being controlled by those waiting in that large central tower of the town.

"So," Chimera huffed on another cigar, "what's the plan here, boss?"

"I'll be going up alone." Nine confirmed, putting his hands in his coat pockets. After returning from the Doctor, he had opted to get changed into a suit, a pale lilac color with a white dress shirt beneath it. Slice had helped dress him, wanting to make him look good for his little … 'interview' as they were calling it. "I'm certain I can handle anything up there on my own if it comes down to it. You three have your own assignments, so Kurogiri will be waiting to teleport you there."

"Oooooh! Can I come with you?" Camie gave the leader of the villain group her best puppy dog eyes as she hurried around Chimera. "Please? Please, please, please?"

"No," Nine shook his head, frowning, "you have a job to do, remember? You'd better get to it."

"Huuuuh?" Camie pouted up at him. "Oh, c'mon, your assignment is ez! Just gotta find the stupid school traitor and cozy up to them, that's super easy! Why can't I come up and help out with negotiations?"

"Because, quite frankly, I believe you have a few screws loose," Nine bluntly told her, "and you'll probably make things worse. So no. Go do your job."

"Pooey," Camie crossed her arms, looking away with a pout.

"Chimera," He turned to the large villain, "how's the recruits? Any potential actual members?"

"That Volcano fuck is gettin' on my nerves," Chimera growled, "demanded to see the Trigger at once and fuckin' talked back about all the orders I gave. That idiot's not gonna be in the Consortium, or I'm fuckin' off."

"Not to worry," Nine patted his shoulder, "I had a feeling that he had a powerful quirk, but we'll be sure to use him quickly and discard him before he decides to betray us. What about the others?"

"Other two members of his group are just there for the Trigger. They aren't even subtle about it. The, uh, what're their names … the Wild Villains, though, they have potential. Bearhead's like me, been through some serious shit - I'm in favor and addin' him to the group."

"I'll consider it," Nine nodded, "what about the other two?"

"Curator's got a strong quirk, but he's only there because we're strong, and he wants to be strong too. No idea if he's got any combat experience or anythin' like that, but he's definitely a talker. Got grand plans for us, apparently."

"Oh, joy. And the third?"

"She's fuckin' brainwashed," Chimera growled, "same kinda shit your Doctor would be interested in. She's a fuckin' blank slate, does whatever Curator tells her."

"Hm," Slice frowned. However, before she could comment, Nine turned to look at her.

"What about you?" He raised his eyebrow. "Any luck?"

"I … said I would find him," Slice muttered, looking away. However, Nine stopped fully at that, causing their group to pause their advance on the tower, so that he could turn and give her a properly sharp look.

"Slice," He said in an emotionless voice, "I asked you a question."

"I just …" She pursed her lips, "… don't see the point in -"

"He has potential," Nine reminded her, stepping forward and gently cupping her cheek to force her to look at him, "and right now, we need all the help we can get. I know that you'd rather stick him in a hole and forget about him, but I told you - we'll chain him somewhere downstairs and forget about him until we need him. Now, I'm going to ask you again - do you know where he is?"

Slice paused, feeling her stomach squirm and her eyes glance away from Nine's - but she still muttered, in a low voice, "He's back home."

"I see," Nine nodded, not looking entirely happy with that as he lowered his hand, "in that case, I can trust you and Chimera to go get him. Now -"

"Good evening!"

The sharp voice in front of them caused the small group to falter, Nine looking around with a frown and Slice sharpening her hair quickly while Chimera breathed out a bit of fire as warning, and Camie looked curiously around at Nine. Before them stood only one man - one man in a long black trench coat and suit, adjusting the purple-tinted glasses on his face as he gave them a grin. Behind him, however, they could see several people turning to look in their direction, meaning that he definitely wasn't as surrounded as they wanted to think he was.

"Welcome to Deika City," He greeted them, "a liberated district where ninety percent of the population consists of dormant liberation warriors. Thank you for coming so far to see us!"

"And you are?" Nine raised an eyebrow.

"Koku Hanabata," He introduced himself with a grin, "leader of the Hearts and Mind political party, and fellow liberator. Re-Destro asked me to come and guide you to the tower - we wanted to wait for you, our guest of honor, but our party is already quite full, so we wanted to get it started as soon as we could. We were not aware that you were bringing other guests, however …"

"I didn't," Nine stepped away from the group, "I was just giving them their orders. They'll be on their way."

"Excellent," Hanabata smiled, taking a step back to let Nine join him, "in that case, we'll be off, then. Re-Destro is quite excited to meet you."

"I'm sure." Nine resisted rolling his eyes, subtly rolling his fingers together. At once, a light drizzle started hitting them from above, making the liberation leader wince a bit at the sudden rain as Nine looked around at Slice with a frown.

"I expect him at the manor," He told her sharply, making Slice frown and look down at her feet, "now get going."

Nodding, Slice and Chimera took a step back, watching carefully as Nine followed Hanabata down the street towards the tower, several people backing away to let them through. It wasn't that they didn't trust their leader to get out of a situation if it was demanded, but … they weren't entirely sure about letting him walk into a lion's den by himself. However, before they could comment, Kurogiri suddenly swirled around them, appearing from nowhere.

"I have the coordinates," He told them darkly, making Slice close her eyes, "it appears your leader is doubtful of you, Slice."

"No," She growled out, "he just knew where I lived."

With that, the darkness stopped swirling around them, making the three look up. They were standing before a derelict house, clearly in disrepair - the garden outside it was wilted down to nothing, the grass dead, the house looking like it was going to collapse in on itself. The car at the side had its tires slashed, its doors and hood stolen right off of it presumably by scavengers, while the other houses around them seemed empty.

Slice, for her part, merely straightened her shoulders with a scowl, and took a step forward - but not before Chimera growled, "Wait a second."

Pausing, she turned to glance over her shoulder at him. Chimera fished another cigar out of his pocket while Camie went over to poke at the car, but he still gave her a suspicious look as he tapped his foot on the ground.

"Why didn't you do this immediately?" He grunted. "If you knew where he was gonna be."

"I hate being here," She told him plainly, scowling back at him, "and I'm sure you understand why someone wouldn't want to go back to a place that gives them bad memories. Especially since the person who gave you the bad memories is probably still here."

Chimera merely grunted at that, leaning back on his heel.

"Truth be told," He shrugged his shoulders as he sucked on his cigar, "I don't know what your deal is. All I know is that Nine wanted you in, and me and Mummy didn't have any say. I just want to make sure you aren't weighin' him down."

"I'm not," Slice glared at him, "I want his world as much as you do."

"Right," Chimera huffed, "then get to work."

Shooting him one more glare as her hair sharpened in slight warning, Slice let out a sigh, turning back to the house. The door was opened already, meaning she didn't have to look for a key as she stepped into the dark house, her eyes trailing around for anything that might jump out at her. She could distantly hear thumping on the second floor, however, meaning that he was up there somewhere, so she carefully began walking through the empty, trashed house, careful to mind her heels so that he didn't hear her coming.

Moving up the stairs, Slice ignored the shattered and slashed pictures on the wall beside her as she slowly moved over towards one of the sliding doors, where she could hear the distant sound of something being messily eaten. Taking a deep breath, Slice nodded slowly to herself, and moved to carefully slide the door open.

Thanks to the moon shining in through the open window, she could make out what was going on distantly. First thing she noticed, of course, was a boy huddling in on himself in the corner, looking traumatized, while wearing a filthy and mattered gakuran school uniform, glancing up at her fearfully. Her eyes then trailed over to the body dumped unceremoniously on the floor, its right arm and leg missing and a blood trail leading over to …

"… so you really did escape death row, huh?"

There was a flash of metal against the moonlight, and Slice acted immediately, sharpening her hair and cutting it downwards to counter against the several blades shooting straight towards her chest and face. She managed to drive them all to the floor with a loud thud, forcing them into the hardwood floor, and causing the boy in the corner to jump. If the man huddled in the corner cared, though, he didn't show it, continuing to munch on whatever piece of meat he had in his hands as she approached.

Glancing over at the boy, Slice let out a short sigh, and gestured with her head. Taking his cue, the boy quickly scrambled to his feet, and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him out the door, Slice hearing him limping out of the house with bawling cries that made her roll her eyes - and unintentionally flashing back to when she was young and she did that. Still though, she approached the huddled man in the dark corner.

"That doesn't look fresh," She pointed out, scowling, "that's always typical of you - always drag your food upstairs to eat by yourself, made me and Mom fend for ourselves. Seems like you haven't changed at all."

She only heard muffled grunting and growling as he ate more.

"But … I know where more meat is," She moved to kneel down before him, "something that'll taste even better than what you've got."

The sounds of chewing stopped at once. She heard the distinct sound of swallowing, and then the sharpened teeth around her slowly slid around her, moving back into his mouth. She waited patiently as he slowly looked around at her, a dead look on his face as his mouth hung open slightly, drool and blood escaping his lips as he held the chewed up leg in both his hands.

"F-flesh …" He said quietly. "… you'll … bring me … flesh …?"

"I know where plenty of flesh is," Slice glanced over at the discarded severed foot, wrinkling her brow at the smell, "something far … fresher."

"Fresh … flesh …"

"Yes, yes … but I can only get you it if you come with me, and do as I say."

He stared at her for a long moment, until Slice reached out to gently stroke his buzzed-hair, despite it making her feel like she was touching something revolting as he stared blankly up at her.

"C'mon, Dad," Slice stroked his head, "let's go howl at the moon."

He stared at her for another long second as she waited - and then he nodded, dropping the foot.

"Flesh …" He slowly stood up with her, "… yes … we'll … go get flesh … we'll get to work …"

"Mm-hm," Slice nodded, "and then I'll get you something to eat. And don't worry …"

She felt herself smirk, despite herself.

"… we have lots of people to feed to you."