A month went by faster than the two of them imagined it would. Midoriya was always busy, either working or looking after Eri. She had made great progress in her reading and writing abilities, in a short amount of time. Everyday, she seemed to be better than the previous day. Seeing her succeed filled Midoriya with a sense of pride that he wasn't expecting.

While Midoriya was watching Eri, Kendo had been cracking down on her training and studying. She continuously pushed her body to its limits to prepare herself. Thanks to the regular sparring with Midoriya, she was certain that she would ace the practical portion of the exam.

Even though the two of them were busy with their own things, they still found time to talk and hang out. Despite how they separated at the station that day, they never actually had a "date." Every time they met was to help Kendo train and then grab something to eat. Neither of them made any verbal advances, but they had gotten comfortable with slight physical contact.

It was nothing serious, but for two awkward middle schoolers it felt larger than life. While Kendo was always comfortable holding onto Midoriya while riding, she started to sit a little closer and hold him a little harder. If the two of their hands had brushed up against each other previously, they would jerk back and apologize, now they just ignored it or gave the other a smile. Neither of them said anything or pointed it out, but they both enjoyed those moments in silence.

Because of everything that had happened recently, Kendo had confirmed her feelings about Midoriya and had planned to tell him once she got accepted into UA. Even as she rode the train to UA, she couldn't help but think of how she would do it.

When the train finally came to a stop, she managed to put those thoughts to the side. Right now she needed to focus on the exam that was about to happen, thoughts of romance could wait. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she steeled her nerves and got off the train.

The walk to UA wasn't as nerve-wracking as she thought it would be. The fact that she saw plenty of other students looking nervous and a bit pale may have increased her confidence. As the front gate came into view, she pulled out her phone. She hadn't forgotten her promise to call Midoriya.

"I was wondering when you were gonna call."

Kendo laughed to herself, softly. "Did you think I would forget?"

"Hey, when nerves kick in people tend to forget the basics."

Kendo scoffed at his words. "Are you implying that I would succumb to my nerves and forget everything?"

"Whaaaat? Of course not? I would never do that?"

Kendo rolled her eyes. "I hope you know I can physically feel the sarcasm in your words. You know, if you wanted to help me relax, you could have done it in a better way."

"Haha guess I've been caught."

Kendo looked down to the ground as she approached the gate. "It's fine, I know you were just trying to help. It really means a lot that you tried."

"Hey, if you want, I have a few other ideas that might help."

A soft smile spread across Kendo's face after hearing his words. "Alright I'll give you one more chance, but then I have to go."

"Alright, but I'm gonna need you to do something first."

Kendo raised an eyebrow. "Ok… this better not be anything weird."

"It's not, I promise."

"Alright, just know if it's something stupid I will hit you when I get back."

"Haha I hope that won't happen."

"Midoriya can you hurry up and get to the point, I'm running out of time!"

"Sorry. Alright Kendo, I'm gonna need you to look up."

Kendos came to a complete stop. Her eyes widened as she looked at her phone. Slowly she raised her eyes to see the familiar face standing off in the distance. He gave her a wave as she quickly covered her mouth in surprise. When everything had finally clicked she quickly made her way over to him.

"What are you doing here!? I thought I told you not to drive this early?"

"I didn't drive here, I got a hotel room for the night."

Kendo's jaw dropped. "Why would you do that?"

Midoriya scratched the back of his head as he looked away from her. "I did say I was going to come support you."

Kendo smiled sweetly at his words, she was truly happy that he was here. She slowly took a few more steps, so they were practically touching. "You're an idiot, but thanks for coming."

When Midoriya saw the smile she was giving him, he couldn't help but blush. As the two of them looked at eachother a voice came over the intercom.

"All students taking place in today's entrance exams, please make your way to your designated testing sites."

With a sigh, Kendo leaned into Midoriya. "Wish me luck."

Midoriya gently wrapped his arms around her. "You're gonna do great, Kendo."

The two of them broke the hug, but neither moved. Midoriya quickly glanced around, noticing that everyone else was almost inside. With just the two of them standing outside, he quickly learned to peck her forehead with a kiss.

Kendo turned red at the action, her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "Mi.. Mi… Midoriya! Wha.. what was that for!?"

Midoriya scratched his cheeks that were equally as red as hers. "It was a good luck charm. But seriously, you should get going, I'd hate for you to be late."

Kendo pouted at him as she quickly ran off towards the school. She knew he was right, but there was so much she wanted to say to him.

'Good luck charm my ass. How am I supposed to focus on anything now when he just does that out of the blue? Wait, does that mean?!'

Kendo quickly shook her head and slapped her cheeks. She needed to put all these thoughts and emotions to the side and focus on the exam ahead of her.

As Midoriya watched her disappear into the school, he let out a deep sigh. Even though he was caught off guard by his own actions, his instincts had momentarily taken over.

"Well that certainly was a sweet thing for you to do. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from showing public displays of affection, in the future while on campus."

Midoriya jumped at the sudden voice. He quickly turned to see two people approaching him. One was a rather voluptuous woman that he immediately recognized as the pro hero Midnight. The other was a short rodent-like creature that he assumed the voice came from.

"Sorry, it won't happen again, I honestly don't know what came over me."

Midnight licked her lips as she eyed Midoriya. "Innocence is so hot."

Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise at her remark. "I'm sorry!?"

Midnight smirked as she kept her eyes locked onto him. "The sexual tension between you and your girlfriend is palpable. It was just screaming, 'take me now.'"

Midoriya looked down at the rodent, who seemed to not care about what she had just said, before looking back at Midnight. "Uh she's not my girlfriend… yet. I was planning to confess to her after the exams."

Midnight wrapped her arms around herself as a wave of pleasure washed over her. "Oh my, I know who I need to keep an eye on now. She hasn't even been accepted yet and I'm already wriggling with anticipation of what's to come."

The rodent-like creature cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "Nemuri, I think you're scaring the boy. Why don't you head inside and prepare for the exams?"

Instantaneously she straightened up as if nothing had happened. "Of course Sir."

Midoriya couldn't help but stare as she left. He was utterly shocked that they would let her dress that way at a high school, not that he was complaining.

"Sorry about her, she can be a little extreme."

Midoriya shook his head as he turned back to him. "It's perfectly fine, she can't help it. Her quirk causes her to naturally think and act like that."

The rodent smiled at him. "My, I'm surprised someone your age knows about, let alone talks about, the Quirk Disposition Theory."

Midoriya shrugged casually. "I personally believe it's common knowledge, but people just don't do their research."

The rodent laughed to himself. "I would have to agree with you there. So, were you not interested in taking the entrance exam?"

"I wouldn't be a good fit here."

"Oh and why's that? We have people from all walks of life here, I'm sure you'd find somewhere to fit in."

"I don't think I'd have any issue fitting in, I was talking about my mindset as far as heroes go."

The rodent looked at him perplexed. "Do you not agree with hero society?"

"No, I love heroes, I actually dreamed of being one when I was younger."

"I'm guessing something caused a change of heart."

"Have you ever heard of the quirk researcher Hisashi Midoriya?"

He nodded solemnly. "I have, from what I've heard, he was a great man and had an outstanding mind. It's truly a shame what happened to him and his wife."

Midoriya clenched his fists, his actions didn't go unnoticed by the rodent. "It really is, I know it's been eight years, but do you happen to remember how the media described the incident?"

"If I remember correctly, two people broke in to steal some of his research documents, thinking he was out of town. Unfortunately, he was home and in the struggle the house caught fire killing not only the intruders, but Hisashi and his wife as well. Thankfully, their son was out playing with some friends during the incident, so he wasn't caught up in the tragedy."

Midoriya nodded in agreement. "Your memory is amazing, you got it exactly right."

The rodent laughed to himself. "Well remembering details is one of my strong suits. Now tell me, why does this incident have to do with your views of heroes?"

"I'm getting there. If you don't mind, would you humor me and hear the rest of the story."

The rodent nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Thanks." Midoriya took a deep breath and turned to face the school. "The story the media put out wasn't actually the full story. If people did a little more digging, they'd find that there were a lot of details that were left out or just completely wrong."

"I figured as much, but how did you come to find all this out? Judging by your appearance you must have only been a child when all this happened."

"Because, I was there. I watched my parents die, and I saw the three responsible for it."

The rodent turned to Midoriya, in complete surprise. "You don't mean?"

Midoriya nodded. "I'm their son."

The rodent turned to face the school as well with a remorseful smile. "I suppose that explains why you knew about the Quirk Disposition Theory, but I'm surprised you're telling me this. No one has heard from you since then, everyone figured you were in hiding. Are you sure it's ok to reveal yourself like this?"

"I've never once hid my identity. When people hear my name they never put two and two together, they just think it's a coincidence we share the same last name."

"I see, so what exactly happened if you don't mind me asking?"

"It wasn't my dad's quirk that caused the house to burn down. It was the quirk of one of the three people who attacked. When I got home, the house had already collapsed and my parents were trapped in the rubble and three men stood at the back of the house. The leader sent the two men to grab me, but they didn't make it very far."

"So, it was then that your father used his quirk to protect you, leading to the misconception that the house burned down in the struggle."

Midoriya shook his head. "No, I caused the fire and I killed those two men. Sadly, one got away and his eyes still haunt me to this day."

The rodent was speechless at this revelation. "So, the police covered everything up to protect you."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be good for a seven year old's record to have two kills on it."

Again, the rodent nodded in understanding. "Yes, I would agree with you there. So, is that why you don't think you'd be a good fit here?"

"Partially. Obviously, once people find out my quirk and who I was, rumors could start to spread that I actually was the one that killed those two men. Some would lose faith in UA, just because of that and I wouldn't want that. The real issue is: I believe heroes should be able to kill, when needed."

The rodent turned to Midoriya with shock on his face. "I see, that certainly would be an issue. The problem is with hero philosophy, not hero society."

"Exactly, don't get me wrong I don't think they should be able to kill people whenever they feel like it, but certain situations should call for it."

"Oh, like what?"

Midoriya took a deep breath before staring off into the distance. "I've heard stories of a villain who used to run the underworld a longtime ago. He had the ability to take and give quirks at will. It didn't take long for the masses to flock to him, and eventually he had his own army. According to the stories, he didn't even need the army, they were merely pawns for him to play with. Someone like that shouldn't be able to live."

The rodent looked over at Midoriya with an unsettlingly calm expression. "That's quite the story. I'd have to agree with you, someone like that shouldn't exist."

"But you don't think it's up to heroes to make that call."

The rodent nodded. "Yes, however I do agree that sometimes it may be necessary. The issue is: policing it and whether it is morally right or not. Imagine when you were a child, how you'd react if you saw All Might kill someone during a fight on TV. I highly doubt many parents would be ok with their children seeing something like that."

Midoriya nodded in agreement. "You're not wrong. If I'm being honest, I'd probably never have said this if I hadn't gone through that."

"At least you're smart enough to admit that." The rodent gave a reassuring pat on the back of Midoriya's leg. "Well I should be going, I need to get ready to evaluate the practical portion of the exam."

Midoriya gave him a strange look. "So, you're a teacher here."

The rodent turned around proudly. "Of course not."

"I figured as much."

"I'm the Principal."

Midoriya's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"That's right. I'm Nezu, the fun, cute, cuddly, bear, dog, mouse that everyone loves. I'm also the Principal here at UA."

"… That's, by far, the strangest thing I've heard all week."

"Hahaha well I did enjoy our little chat, Mr. Midoriya. I'm sure we'll see each other again, if your friend passes.

Kendo found herself leaning against a building, exhausted. Right after the written portion of the entrance exam, everyone was sent into a giant city to fight robots. She grew extremely worried when she first heard this, because she wasn't sure how effective her quirk would be. Thankfully, she realized rather quickly that she didn't have to punch through them, she could just aim for some exposed wires and cause malfunctions or dodge and hit their "off" switch.

Unfortunately, she was exhausted because the test was over, in fact the test had only been going for ten minutes. The reason she was exhausted, was because she couldn't get a certain someone out of her head. She had been able to put that kiss out of her mind during the written portion, because she was busy trying to figure out solutions; however, during the practical portion, she thought back to their sparring which caused her to think about him. Having her mind filled with him caused her to misstep quite a bit, at one point she had to be saved by a girl who had black wings.

As she leaned against the wall, catching her breath, she tried to plan out what was next. She had already accumulated eighteen points and she knew she needed more, but she had no clue how many robots were left.

'Itsuka, get your shit together, you've trained too hard for this. You have ten more minutes to get as many points as possible. Just ten minutes, focus for just ten minutes.'

Having given herself a final pep talk, she ran back out into the streets to find more robots. Less and less had been appearing, which meant she had to secure the ones she did find.

"Alright everyone, there's just five minutes. Try and secure as many points as possible before times up."

Kendo frowned at the two-point robot. Having had enough dodging, she enlarged her hands, grabbing its arm before throwing it over her shoulder into the ground. With a sigh, she wiped the sweat from her face.

"Alright, that's twenty five, I want to make at least thirty so I need to keep moving."

Kendo continued running through the streets, but she only found a couple one-point robots. As she turned onto the main road, the ground began to shake- causing her to lose her balance. When she regained her balance, she saw a giant robot the size of a skyscraper with a zero painted on it, heading down the street chasing everyone.

Kendo breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't going towards her. Seeing that everyone else was distracted with running away she knew that this was her best chance to secure points. As she ran in the opposite direction of the robot, she saw multiple three and two-point robots in a circle. Smiling, she took off towards them with a plan in mind to secure them all.

As she approached them, she heard a groan which caused her to come to a complete stop. In the center of the robots, she saw a familiar set of black wings. Without thinking, she jumped into the center to find the girl pinned to the ground by her wings. When the zero-point robot bursted from the ground, some of the debris had caught her wings.

Kendo quickly got rid of the debris and picked the girl up, before getting away from the robots. As she ran away she wondered if she made the right decision. She knew she could have dealt with all those robots quickly then saved her, but her instincts told her to help the girl first.

The girl looked up at Kendo in a daze. "You're my hero, Satan."

Kendo scowled at the girl. "I really should drop you for that remark, but I'll let it slide this time."

The girl laughed softly. "Please don't, I was just making a joke."

Kendo narrowed her eyes even more. "And what exactly is the joke there?"

The girl laughed nervously. "My mom said that to my dad after he saved her once. Please don't read into it, I just thought it would be funny."

Kendo's expression softened. "Yeah, I think we need to get your head checked out."

The girl nodded as well. "Yeah, but I guess we're even now."

Kendo nodded and gave her a smile. "Looks like it."

The exam came to an end, with Kendo only scoring twenty five points. She obviously wasn't happy with the outcome, but she knew that she had made the right choice, morally, by helping the other girl. Still, she couldn't help but feel dejected as she left the school.

Outside of the gates, she found Midoriya still leaning against the wall, waiting for her. He was staring at his phone, and hadn't noticed her yet. She quickly shook her head and put on a happy face, before walking up to him.

"Have you seriously been waiting out here this whole time?"

"Would you prefer to ride the train back?"

Kendo shook her head softly. "No."

Midoriya finally looked up from his phone and saw her looking down slightly. Even though she was trying to hide her disappointment, he could see through her act. Without saying a word he took her hand and started to walk off.

Kendo looked up, surprised by his actions, but didn't try to stop him. "Midoriya!?"

He gave her a smile. "Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."

Kendo smiled softly as she picked up the pace to walk next to him. "Yeah, I'm hungry too."

The two of them made their way to a cafe close to the school. Given the amount of people in the area, it was surprisingly slow compared to what they had expected. Being met with a pleasant surprise, the two of them found their way to a back corner booth. They looked over the menus, making ideal small talk about how good everything looked while waiting for their order to be taken.

Once their orders were finished being taken, Midoriya cleared his throat before turning away from her. "So what happened?"

Kendo looked up at him, surprised. "Huh?"

"You look down, I figured something happened during the exams."

Kendo shrugged as she twirled her straw in a circle. "I just didn't do as well as I thought I should."

"Was the written test that hard?"

She shook her head silently, before staring at the table. Midoriya's eyes widened as he looked at her.

"It was the practical portion!?"

She nodded in silence, but still kept her head down. Midoriya let out a sigh, before sipping his drink.

"I figured it would have been the written portion to give you problems, not the practical. I actually was worrying that I should have tutored more, instead of sparring as much."

Kendo's forehead twitched and she swiftly kicked his shins under the table. Midoriya grimaced while rubbing his legs, but that quickly turned to a smile when he saw her scowling at him.

"That's the Kendo I know."

Kendo looked at him confused before she sighed and leaned into her seat. "You seriously were trying to piss me off on purpose."

"Guilty as charged."

She laughed softly. "Why?"

"Because I don't like seeing you look so down, it doesn't suit you at all."

Kendo smiled softly, as her cheeks were faintly dusted red. "You know, you could have just said that from the start."

Midoriya nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Probably, but this felt right. So what happened during the exam?"

"I didn't get as many points as I wanted to get?"

Midoriya looked at her confused. "I'm gonna need some explanation, since I didn't take the test."

Kendo sighed, before taking a sip from her drink. "Basically, we were in a mock city and got points for destroying robots. Each one had a different point value and we didn't know how many there were, or what resulted in a passing grade."

Midoriya nodded along. "Seems simple enough. So how many points did you get?"

"Twenty five."

"So you destroyed twenty five robots, I'd say that's amazing."

Kendo shook her head. "They each had their own point value that ranged from one to three."

"Still that seems like a lot."

Kendo crossed her arms and looked away from him. "I would have done better if it wasn't for a certain someone."

Midoriya looked around the cafe, before looking at her confused and pointing to himself. "Me?"

"Obviously! That 'good luck charm' was more of a hindrance than anything!"

"Sorry…"

"Like seriously, dude. Did you know how much that threw me off? Some girl had to save me, because I couldn't focus."

Midoriya looked at her, confused. "Someone had to save you?"

Kendo sighed in frustration. "Yeah, I lost my balance and this girl swooped in and pulled me out of harm's way, at the last second."

Midoriya interlocked his fingers as he focused on his straw. After a minute of silence he looked up at Kendo. "Did you save anyone?"

Kendo looked at him confused. "Yeah… I actually ended up saving the girl who saved me. This giant robot appeared and her wings got pinned by the rubble. I found her surrounded by a group of robots, so I jumped in and took her to safety."

"Did you destroy any of those robots?"

Kendo grumbled. "No, but I should have."

Midoriya laughed and smiled at her, while twirling his straw around in a circle. His happy demeanor towards her potential failure, truly annoyed her.

"And what's so funny about this situation!?"

"Kendo, I think you're going to be fine."

"What are you talking about!? I only scored twenty five points!"

"No, you only scored twenty five takedown points."

Kendo stopped and looked at him, even more confused. "Takedown points?"

"Kendo, did they tell you exactly how to score points?"

"Yeah, they said 'we could score points by taking down robots.' What are you getting at, Midoriya?"

Midoriya's smile grew. "Don't you find that choice of words interesting?"

"Not really, I mean the goal was to take down as many robots as possible."

"But that doesn't mean you can't score points other ways. Take MMA for example, everyone wants to see a big knockout but that's not the only way to win."

"Obviously, but how does that relate to the exam?"

"Kendo, you're applying to a hero school."

"Yeah, I know."

Midoriya nodded with a smile. "And what's a hero's primary goal?"

"To save as many people as possible."

"Exactly!"

Kendo looked at him still confused. "I still have no clue what you're getting at."

Midoriya slammed his head on the table as he rubbed his temples. "God, how did I fall for someone so smart, yet so dumb."

Kendos face turned deep red as she stared at him in shock. "What did you say!?"

Midoriya looked up at her, annoyed. "What I'm not wrong. How are you not realizing that this exam didn't have another scoring system?"

Kendos face remained a deep red but she managed to calm her expression. "Midoriya…"

"I mean why wouldn't they reward people who went out of their way to save someone who's in danger, isn't that hero101?"

Kendo lowered her head. The redness of her face has spread to the tips of her ears. "Midoriya…"

"Huh?" Midoriya looked over and saw her looking down. He immediately became embarrassed not realizing what he had done. "I'm sorry Kendo, I didn't mean to ramble like that. Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad."

Midoriya leaned in with concern. "Then what's wrong?"

"How could you say something like that so casually?"

Midoriya tilted his head, in confusion. "What did I say?"

Kendo squirmed in her seat, still not raising her head to look at him. "You… you said you fell for me."

Midoriya shot backwards as his face turned red. "I did?!"

Kendo nodded silently, still unable to meet his eyes. Midoriya covered his mouth, as he thought about everything he had said in the past five minutes. When he remembered that he had actually said those words, he repeatedly slammed his head on the table. The act managed to bring Kendo to finally look up again.

"Midoriya, stop that! People are starting to stare!"

Midoriya stopped banging his head on the table, but he kept it firmly planted there. "I'm sorry Kendo, I didn't mean it like that…"

Kendo covered her mouth as she looked at him betrayed. "You… you didn't mean it?"

Midoriya looked up and saw her expression. He immediately felt guilty and tried to make up for his mistake. "No, I mean yes. I mean…" Midoriya sighed as he turned away. His cheeks were turning a deep red as he scratched them. "I didn't mean to say it then. It sort of slipped out."

Kendo continued to cover her face but her expression had changed to one of happiness. "So, you did plan on saying it?"

Midoriya nodded, slowly. "Yeah, I don't just go kissing anyone's forehead."

Kendo was glad she was still covering her face. She knew that she was smiling bigger than she ever had before. She wasn't sure if it was because the boy she liked liked her as well, or if it was because of his embarrassed expression, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"I like you too."

Midoriya looked over at her surprised, even though he figured she did, it was still surprising to hear it from her. Even with Kendo covering her face, Midoriya could still see how red her cheeks were. Knowing that they had both confirmed their feelings for each other, Midoriya decided to take the final step.

"Kendo, I like you a lot, will you go out with me?"

Kendo looked away, shyly, before nodding. "Yes."

Even though she had already told him that she liked him, it was still embarrassing for her. Slowly her embarrassed nod turned into a smile, Midoriya's surprised face also turned to a smile after she gave him her answer. The goofy smiles never left their faces and were a perfect compliment for the reddened cheeks.

Being slightly awkward middle schoolers, as well as each other's first relationship, neither truly knew where to go from here. Midoriya spent time explaining to Kendo how he figured she passed again, since she seemed to have not heard anything he said after his accidental confession. After the second explanation, Kendo felt much more confident in her choices and the results of the exam. All that they had left was to play the waiting game.

When the two of them had finished their meals, they started their long drive back home. They didn't talk much on the drive back, but not once did the silence feel awkward. Kendo spent most of the time enjoying the view, while Midoriya enjoyed the warmth of her holding onto him.

Their time together came to an end, as they reached Kendo's house. As much as she wanted to keep this day going, she was exhausted from the stress of the exams.

"I'll let you know when I get my results. I'm not opening them, unless you're here."

"What if I'm out of town?"

"I'll wait."

"Isn't there a time limit to let them know you accept and that you'll be attending?"

"…. If I call, you better find a way to get over here for a day."

"What if you came to me?"

"No."

"You'd get to meet Eri."

"…. Maybe."

The two of them laughed, before Midoriya looked at his watch, it was starting to get late.

"I should be going too, Kendo, it will be dark soon."

"Itsuka, it's Itsuka."

"Right, I'll remember from now on."

"Good." Kendo quickly pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek.

Midoriya laughed, as he returned the hug. "What was that for?"

Kendo smirked, as she let go of him. "Let's call it a good luck charm."

"Is that for a safe drive home."

"That, as well as luck that my dad won't kill you, the next time he sees you."

"You plan on telling him about us already?"

"No, but he's been watching us the whole time."

Midoriya looked around her to see her father in the window, staring at them with a phone pressed to his ear. Midoriya looked back at Kendo, who was laughing silently.

"I'll need more than luck."

Kendo shook her head before turning Midoriya around and teasingly pushing him towards his bike. "Get going Izuku, I'll hold him off as long as I can."

Midoriya sighed as he started to walk off. "You're not going to try at all are you?"

"Nope."

Midoriya shook his head as he started up his bike and drove off. He had a long drive ahead of him and a lot to think about, most of it being how to not incur more of her father's wrath. As he drove, a ringing came over the speakers in his helmet, followed by a familiar name.

"What do you want, old man."

"So, you hit a single to first?"