A/N: After withholding these chapters to myself since the very beginning of September, the Bakutomi arc, aka "Momo's Birthday Arc", has officially started! I'm so glad to finally be posting this stuff, I've been keeping it to myself for so long TvT

Art -

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"WHAAAAT?!"

A chorus of voices was the first thing Hitomi heard as the elevator doors opened, her noticing everyone crowded around the common area.

She yawned as she stepped out, noticing Bakugou and Midoriya at the center of it all vacuuming the floor.

"You guys fought…" Hitomi heard Mina start.

"... and now you're under house arrest?!" Tooru finished.

Hitomi walked towards the group, rubbing at her eye as she heard everyone calling the two boys variations of "stupid".

"Sorry, what's going on?"

"Midoriya and Bakugou duked it out!" Kaminari explained, pointing at them. "They fought after curfew, and now they're under house arrest as punishment. They're pretty dumb, if you ask me," he smirked.

"I heard that, Dunce Face!" Bakugou yelled.

Kaminari waved him off, laughing as Hitomi made her way to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast.

So they fought, huh? I wonder why…

Hitomi made herself some toast, nibbling on it as she got her bag ready, and stared at the two boys.

Does it have something to do with Bakugou not passing the exam? But he has extra classes with Todoroki so he can get it in December, so he should be fine...

Bakugou caught her stare, and glared at her. "What?!" he growled.

"Oh, nothing…" Hitomi replied, continuing to eat her toast. "I just hope whatever you guys were fighting about has been resolved now."

Bakugou scowled at her, before returning back to his vacuuming.

Monoma had taken to gloating while everyone was by the shoe lockers, laughing at their class because of the fact Todoroki and Bakugou had failed.

"According to Vlad Teacher," a girl with blonde hair and large horns started, "we'll have classes together this semester! I'm looking forward to it!"

Hitomi heard bits of English throughout the girl's sentences, and the thick accent was enough to tell her the girl wasn't from Japan.

Kirishima brought his hands together, a smile adorning his face. "Oh, I can't wait to test out my skills!"

"Anyway, you're an exchange student, right?!" Kaminari asked, right as Monoma was whispering in the girl's ear.

"I'll beat you up so bad you won't be able to get up!" the girl exclaimed, surprising all three of them. They all gaped at her before Monoma burst out laughing, causing Kendo to yell "Don't teach her weird phrases!" before hitting him in the neck.

Hitomi approached the girl, asking, "Um, Tsunotori-san, was it? You're from America, right?"

She said that all in English, causing the girl's eyes to widen in surprise. "Oh! You speak fluent English?"

Hitomi nodded, turning to watch Kendo drag Monoma away. "He told you to say you'd beat my friends up."

Tsunotori's hands flew to her mouth, the girl embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, we're trying to get through back here!" a deep voice sounded. It was somewhat familiar to Hitomi, her looking to find a face she knew from the sports festival approaching with his class.

"Shinsou-san!" she exclaimed. As he drew closer, Hitomi felt something was different about him. It was almost as if he'd bulked up a bit…

…

The opening ceremony was a bit of a drag.

Principal Nezu gave a speech about how times were changing, while Hound Dog brought to attention that two students had gotten into a fight the previous night (ahem, which happened to be two certain boys from Class 1-A), and told everyone that he hoped they would be able to live a life of moderation from now on.

The only thing of note for the day was the mention of work studies, which were hero activities outside of school. Much to the chagrin of the class, however, Aizawa only gave them a brief explanation of the studies because he would go more in depth about them another day.

Once school had ended, Hitomi brushed right past the dorms as the rest of the class headed inside.

"Hitomi?" Kirishima called after her. "You're not coming in?"

"Ah, no, not yet…" Hitomi smiled at him, sending a wave to the group. "I've got a date."

With that, she left, leaving the Bakusquad to stare at her back in shock.

"WHAT?!" Mina yelled after a few moments, watching the bluenette's figure get smaller. "Hitomi has a date with someone, and she didn't tell me?!"

"You think you're surprised?" Kirishima replied, raising a brow. He clenched his fist, faking a tear. "She didn't tell me, her bestie…"

"That damn Hitomi," Kaminari whined, "while we were all getting ready for the license exam, she somehow had the time to set up a date with someone!"

"Hey, guys, we shouldn't just assume," Sero started as the group approached Bakugou, who was wiping the coffee table. "Just 'cause she has a date doesn't mean it's romantic."

Bakugou hand suddenly stopped, halting his cleaning.

"What if it is, though?" Mina said. She clasped her hands together, a dreamy look on her face. "Just imagine it… our sweet Hitomi, going out with someone… holding hands, being romantic… aaahh, I'm not ready to let her go to some guy yet!"

"You think it's someone from another class?" Kaminari asked, to which Kirishima only shrugged.

"Guys," Sero scolded, crossing his arms. "Stop theorizing about this mystery guy, or whatever. If Hitomi has a date, she has a date. You can ask her about it when she gets back, but for now, just let it be."

"Oh my god," Bakugou growled, moving away from the table. "Don't crowd around me when I'm trying to clean here, fucking hell."

"Oh, I forgot you're on house arrest," Kaminari teased. He glanced at the table, pointing at a leftover stain. "You missed a spot."

"That's because I'm not finished, dumbass!"

Hitomi swung the door of the boba shop open, making a beeline for the cash register.

Nari waved at her from behind the counter, smiling as the bluenette approached. "I'll be on break in 10 minutes. The usual, right?"

"Mhmm," Hitomi nodded, getting out her wallet. "Add some curly fries too, please."

…

Nari plopped into the seat across from Hitomi, sighing as she leaned against the window. "Waah, it's been slow so far today…"

"You're lucky," Hitomi remarked, taking a sip of her boba. "You don't start till next week."

"Yeah, but I've still got work," Nari whined, grabbing a fry. "Although, I suppose I can't complain. You've had a pretty hectic summer break, huh…?"

"Hectic is one way to call it," Hitomi snarked, chomping on a fry.

"Either way," Nari started, before sitting up in her chair. "You got your license, right?! Do you have it on you right now?" Hitomi pulled it out of her bag, sliding it across the table as Nari squealed. "Oh my god, wow!" the blonde exclaimed, picking it up.

She read over the license, feeling her chest swell with pride for her friend. "It's really official now, huh?"

"Yeah. My eyes looked kinda droopy in the photo for some reason, though…"

"Oh, Hitomi," Nari remarked, handing the license back. "They always look like that."

"Hey."

"Don't tell me I'm wrong." Nari grabbed some more of Hitomi's fries, watching as her friend suddenly brought her hands up to her cheeks.

"They aren't really that droopy, are they?! Are they noticeable? Oh, but I guess they are if Bakugou called me 'Droopy Eyes' at the sports festival…"

"Hitomi, chill," Nari laughed. "I was kidding. They're not that droopy."

"But you're saying they are in the first place?!"

Nari chuckled, watching Hitomi's cheeks flush as the bluenette felt her eyes, trying to confirm if they really were what Nari said they were.

"Anyways," Hitomi scoffed, glaring at Nari while the blonde only feigned ignorance, blissfully eating her fries. "I think… I think I made a new friend."

"Like on your own?"

Hitomi nodded, snatching her box of fries back from Nari. "Yeah. I initiated it this time around, and she's pretty quiet, just like me."

Nari gasped, before pretending to cry. "I can't believe it… my shy Hitomi is making her own friends…" She slumped over the table, making wailing sounds. "Don't forget about me when you've grown up with all your new friends…!" She tried making another grab for the fries, before Hitomi held it away just out of her reach.

"Stop stealing my food."

"Ehh, you're so lame. So is your new friend from another class?" Nari asked as she moved to sit back in her seat.

Hitomi shook her head. "I met her during the license exam, actually. She's from Shiketsu…"

"All the way in the west?!"

"Yeah… don't judge, but…" Hitomi leaned in closer, as if she was relaying top secret information. "You know the 'Koatsu Family Scandal', right?"

"I don't see how this is related, but yeah."

"The daughter was actually at the same arena as us, as a Shiketsu student. I fought her during the first half of the exam."

Nari's eyebrows shot up into her hair. "Are you telling me… you made friends with her?"

"Yeah. I just…" Hitomi ran her fingers through her hair, looking away. "I didn't know what that whole 'scandal' thing was until after the exam, and when I saw her she just… looked lonely, I guess. She kind of reminded me of, well, me.

You don't think I want to be her friend because I'm trying to get her to see me as her… savior, or something, right?"

Nari rested her cheek on her hand. "Honestly, Hitomi, you worry too much. The fact you're even worrying about that tells me that's not what you're trying to do in the first place. So stop thinking like that." She flicked the bluenette's forehead, using that distraction to steal another fry.

"So… Yoshiho Koatsu, huh? I can't believe you were able to get her to be your friend! That's major, especially for you. What's she like?"

"She's kind of awkward, honestly. But it seems like she's trying! She was responding to me fine last night…"

"I'm proud of you, Hitomi. I'm glad you're breaking out of your shell more!"

Hitomi smiled at that, eating another fry. "I want you to meet her. I think you'd be able to hold a conversation better than I could…"

The two childhood friends talked for a little while longer, before Nari had to return to her work.

"Are you going back after you're done or are you staying here?" Nari asked.

Hitomi hummed. "I might as well stay here and try and get some homework done. I don't know how distracted I'll be back at the dorms..."

"Don't you have a curfew?"

"I don't need to go back for another hour or two, so you're stuck with me for now," Hitomi laughed.

A/N: This arc will be largely slice-of-life, because the kids deserve to be kids and have fun.

I wasn't kidding when I said this thing becomes a romance novel, so have fun with the next... ((checks my notes)) oh, it's pretty much until the end of this fic lol