Chapter 32: Winter Approaches

Izuku shook his head before asking, "You're calling it the what?"

"The Gravipult," Ochako replied proudly.

Tenya adjusted his specs as he said, "Is that so? You had no problem with me calling it the Recipro Slingshot last session."

Uraraka sighed before saying, "The name is a work in progress. Anyways, hopefully with the adjustments Hatsume-san made to the springs in my boots over the weekend, we can start working on the next phase of the super move."

Ida chuckled as he said, "Ah yes, the fake-out."

Midoriya thought it weird to hear his class president laugh as so. It reminded him of the start of the first term. His friend had gotten a bit too into his role as a villain that day.

The three were waiting in Gamma Gym for the rest of their friends for another TAC meeting. The couple had been discussing their first duo super move with Izuku, as he always trained outside and didn't get to see it in practice. The two wanted to work on it more before telling their friend, but Ochako finally caved.

It involved Ida carrying Uraraka while sprinting. He would then spin and shift to a higher gear and launch her forward towards the target. Ochako would have already made herself weightless so that distance wouldn't be a factor. Once on the goal, she could render them useless once she had her hands on them.

However, before Izuku could hear what the fake-out was, the teachers entered the gym. But not alone; Eri was by Eraserhead's side, holding his hand.

Midoriya and Uraraka were quick to descend the bleachers and meet the young girl.

Ochako said, "Good evening, Eri-chan! Did you come to see us train?"

The horned girl gave a blank stare as she asked, "Train?"

All Might then said, "She's grown quite attached to Aizawa-san. Threw a fit that he was leaving for a few hours."

The mental image of Eri pouting seemed alien to Izuku, but then again he hadn't known or spent too much time with her either. Perhaps now that she was feeling better, she was acting more like her age?

"He never told me he had to leave on Monday nights, until minutes before leaving. It's not fair," the child said with puffed cheeks.

Eraserhead groaned before saying, "Yes, yes my mistake, but this is the only time you get to come. I'll be sure to have a printed schedule of all my activities, so this doesn't happen again."

Yagi whispered into Aizawa's ear as he said, "Does she even know how to read?"

A yell then echoed through the gym, "Eri-chan!"

It was Tooru. She sprinted towards the group, with Momo and Mashirao lagging behind since they were walking. She then lifted the young girl and said, "It's so nice to meet you finally."

"You're from Midoriya-chan's class," Eri stated. Izuku figured she recognized his girlfriend from when she was touring U.A. back in October.

Hagakure then said, "I am. I'm also his girlfriend."

The horned girl cocked her head to the side slightly as she said, "What's a girlfriend?"

"Oh gosh, you really were cut off from the rest of the world," Tooru said in a sad tone.

"Or it's because she's only six," the homeroom teacher said with a palm over his face.

"So? I knew what that meant back then."

Eraserhead just remained silent and lowered his hand.

Hagakure then asked, "Can I watch over her tonight, Aizawa-sensei?"

Aizawa looked like he was about to reject her plea, but paused a moment before saying, "Actually, that's an excellent idea Hagakure-san. Go ahead and keep her company while the others focus on their training."

The pro hero quickly pulled up his clipboard and wrote for a few seconds before saying, "Change in plans, we'll do a repeat of last week. However, I want to see the progress of that super move before I oversee how the sparring is going."

As everyone began to split into their groups, All Might approached his pupil by the side and said, "Hagakure-chan sure jumped on that opportunity."

"Her mom works at a daycare, and she helps out from time to time. So she's pretty good with kids," Izuku stated as the two began to exit the gym. He remembered that it was Eraserhead that visited Tooru's home during the summer. Toshinori wouldn't have learned of this fact because of it.

"Then Eri-san is in good hands."

Midoriya stayed quiet until they were outside, when he said, "I feel Tooru wanted to spend time with Eri-chan more so because she wanted to get to know her. A lot of people put their lives on the line to bring her to safety."

"Yes, and one gave it up in the process," Yagi stated without skipping a beat.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to-," Izuku tried to say.

"Don't be sorry. It's part of the job. Sir Nighteye knew the risk of being a pro hero, especially because of his quirk allowing him to see his fate," Toshinori said before stopping. He then sighed before saying, "We should focus on today's lesson."

"More balls then?"

All Might shook his head as he began walking again and said, "Not today. I want to test your limit of Full Cowl."

"You mean, go beyond 20%?"

"Yes. You have fine control of Full Cowl in the teens with your new gauntlets so pushing beyond 20% should be possible."

"Then why are we outside if we aren't using the ball launchers?"

Yagi put a hand on his student's shoulder as he said, "I know pushing the limit of One for All can be quite painful. I didn't want your friends or Eri-san to see you suffer if things go wrong."

Midoriya nodded but didn't say anything. There was no telling what might happen, even if he tried to play it safe.

"This should be far enough," Toshinori said as he came to a stop at an open patch of grass and took his hand off Izuku. "Now let's see 20%."

"Right," Midoriya stated before taking a stance and activating his quirk. At this point, 20% was just a mild annoyance. No longer did his bones rattle and the pain be unbearable. Still, there was room for improvement.

"Now let's see beyond that," All Might said cautiously.

The result, however, was immediate. Full Cowl dissipated.

"How high was that?"

Izuku stared at his hands and said, "I don't know. I barely raised the bar, only like a single percentage or two."

"Try slower then."

But again, it faded. It lasted only a moment longer.

"Well?"

Midoriya felt clueless. He took a moment to think before saying, "It keeps breaking apart too fast for me to understand what's going on."

Yagi put a hand to his chin as he said, "Perhaps a warm-up is in order. Use 8% while doing some stretches and then run around while gradually increasing One for All. See if we can ease into it with activity."

Izuku nodded and did as instructed, only to be face-first into the grass just minutes later.

All Might came over and assisted his student in getting up before asking, "The same result?"

Midoriya shrugged as he answered, "I got further, but I still don't think I even got to 25%. And again, it only lasted a few seconds."

"So we've hit a wall, and so early," Yagi said with a grunt.

"What do you mean?"

"As you know, One for All grows stronger with each transfer. It would come to reason that eventually it would become unwieldy after enough generations. I figured if we ran into such a problem, it would be at a much higher percentage. Yet we're running into issues while scratching the surface of a quarter of its full strength. It doesn't add up. This problem is compounded when we consider the fact of how slow you have been in adapting the quirk compared to myself and previous users."

Izuku hung his head low upon hearing the explanation. He remembered that his mentor had mentioned he had mastered it almost instantly. He thought, why am I so different than my predecessors? Is there something wrong with me?

Toshinori noticed his student's mood and thought for a moment before saying, "Don't let it worry you, my boy. Your unique take on the quirk better suits you."

"How?"

"While I was going through school, I was above and beyond in performance compared to most of my classmates due to my early mastery of One for All. Even though I was holding back, I still wanted to be the best, so I didn't hold back too much. It didn't earn me too many friends though. It was hard to relate to anyone since I was so far ahead."

All Might then pointed to Midoriya as he continued by saying, "Because you are gradually grasping One for All, your classmates can relate to your struggle. They can be impressed by your feats as you grow. This better compliments your goal to be a part of a team of equals. If all you ever did was overshadow them in heroics, that would be a problem."

Izuku pondered his teacher's revelation. He thought about how the top students in 1A were at the start of the first term. Bakugo and Todoroki clearly stood at the top but lacked much friendship or teamwork. It's only as their flaws were shown and as they took a step away from their pedestals did they start to gain comradery. Midoriya then felt terrible once more for his idol. He had already been told his pro hero career was lonesome, but so were his school years? It was again hard to fathom what the man had been through over the decades.

"I see. Thank you, sir. I hadn't thought of it like that before."

"Well, no use in forcing this for now. Let's head back. I need to brainstorm with Aizawa-san what to do next. You should spend some time with Eri-san for this evening, I am sure Hagakure-san will appreciate it," Yagi said before beginning to walk back to the gym.

The two remained silent until they entered the building. Eraserhead wasn't far from the entrance. He was observing Momo and Mashirao spar. The latter seemed to be losing, as Izuku saw his friend get bonked on the head by his girlfriend's bo staff.

"You two are back early. It's only been like 15 minutes," Aizawa stated with a confused look on his face as he turned around.

"I'll explain in a moment," All Might said while waving his pupil away.

Izuku separated himself from the group. He made his way towards Tenya, who had just tossed his girlfriend using the super move they described earlier. However, Ochako missed the target, a large weight ball, about a meter to the right. What surprised Midoriya was seeing Uraraka stick the landing on her heels. She then sprung forward back at the target once more. She overshot the ball though and was about to land face first.

Izuku then activated One for All and started to sprint over to try and catch her. He stopped in his tracks as a white blur zoomed by him and caught Ochako before he could even make half the distance.

"Sorry, Sorry, I'm still getting used to this," Ida said in a panic.

"It's okay, you're improving. And thanks for the save," Uraraka said before giving her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.

Tenya coughed in embarrassment as he said, "Ochako, we have a witness."

Ochako quickly spun around and said, "Oh hey D-Deku-kun! Back so soon?"

"All Might-sensei wanted some input from Aizawa-sensei about my training is all." Izuku then pointed over at the weight ball as he said, "Was that the fake-out you mentioned earlier?"

Uraraka nodded before explaining, "We thought if we have the target's attention, then we risk not only the super move failing, but me getting thrown into danger. So we thought up the fake-out to counter that."

Midoriya then asked, "Ida-kun, that was some speed back there. Is that the result of your latest training?"

"Indeed. A few days ago, I was able to test out my newest technique. Still, it's not ready to unveil just yet, as you just observed," the class president stated as he scratched the back of his head.

It was definitely faster than anything Izuku had ever seen from his friend. Also, the Engine quirk usually required Tenya to go through his various gear speeds before achieving his top speed. This required some time and distance to do. Yet Ida did it almost instantaneously. Considering all this, Midoriya was looking forward to seeing Engine's full potential.

"Alright let's try another go, to the left this time with not as much oomph," Ochako said she poked Tenya in the cheek.

"Less oomph, got it! Oh, good luck with your quirk refinement Midoriya-kun," Ida stated before walking back to their starting position.

Midoriya stepped out of their way and made his way over to Hagakure. She was currently sitting on the bleachers watching Eri trying to bounce a large ball. Once he got closer, he noticed it was a basketball. The small girl stopped what she was doing, however, once she noticed Izuku was approaching.

Eri then asked, "Back already?"

"It was a short lesson. I'm here to be with you for the rest of the evening. So are you learning how to dribble?"

The young girl nodded and said, "Yeah, but it's hard."

"Practice makes perfect," Tooru said as she handed Eri the basketball once more. "You have already improved in a few minutes, and once you get the hang of it, we can try moving and dribbling at the same time."

The small girl took the ball back with smiles and began her dribble attempts anew. She could do about three or four before messing up, but she was determined to improve.

Midoriya then felt Hagakure grab his hand, bring him to the bleachers. She then whispered, "So did something happen during training?"

"Yagi-sensei wanted me to try and go beyond 20% with Full Cowl, and it was a total dud."

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Izuku shook his head as he said quietly back, "It dissipated too quickly for the pain to ever manifest."

Eri then proclaimed, "I got five dribbles!"

Hagakure turned and responded with, "See Eri-chan? Keep at it!"

Midoriya then asked, "Why basketball?"

"It keeps kids her age occupied pretty well, but I like to use it as a way to gauge a child. You can tell a lot about them just from something so simple. You should take a closer look."

Izuku then focused on Eri's practice. She remained focused while dribbling, but going from her face, got upset anytime she messed up. Still, she would go after the ball and try again with confidence. She then did a sixth dribble for the first time, but became so excited she forgot to keep going. Very cute.

Tooru then asked, "So what could you say about her?"

Midoriya thought for a few moments before saying, "Determined to be better. Hates when she loses but the reward of doing better is worth more than being mad about messing up."

"Of course, an excellent analysis. Lots of kids would already have given up either from not improving or being mad at themselves. It means she has a good head on her shoulders, which is so much better than having to deal with a spoiled brat. They might need a bit more attention, so they remain entertained, but they tend not to be rude or a handful."

"Did you learn this all from helping your mom at work?"

"Sorta. My mom prefers different methods when evaluating children, though. Her favorite way is to introduce a new kid to one that is a regular at the daycare. She then presents a single toy and sees how they react. I don't like that method cause obviously most kids are going to fight over it before long, and usually, the activity doesn't last long. I do like that she tries to scope out each individual kid she can. It sucks to see some of her coworkers try and apply the same tactic to them all; it doesn't work. I might disagree with my mom on a lot of things in the last couple of years, but she sure knows how to take care of and watch over young kids, of all shapes and sizes."

Izuku wanted so much to ask more about Tooru's troubles as she started to change herself. Tidbits like this made him so curious and concerned at what caused the rift between child and parent. Perhaps, during December's date, the question could be brought up, he thought. After Midoriya told Hagakure about the triple date to celebrate Uraraka's birthday, an idea came to him. Could Christmas be the opportunity not only to show off his dancing lessons but to cut his girlfriend's hair for the first time? Around then, her hair would require a trim. Izuku wanted a romantic holiday with Tooru, and while the triple date would be fun, he knew that it was Ochako's special day first and foremost.

"Hey Tooru, are you busy on Christmas?"

Hagakure jerked back a bit before saying, "You want to come over or something? But wait, isn't Ochako's birthday like right after that?"

"Yeah but I want something more private."

"Oh so like for a small visit? You should bring your mom too; I bet my mom would love-."

"No just the two of us! A full day if you have the chance," Izuku interrupted.

"My, are we needy," Tooru said with a giggle. "Well, it can't be all day. Remember the Christmas Party Ida-kun and Yaoyorozu-chan told the class about a couple of days ago? As much as I would want to spend a day with you, we can't avoid that," Hagakure then gave her boyfriend a soft punch to his shoulder.

Izuku gave an awkward laugh but then noticed Eri was given the couple an odd look.

Tooru then asked, "Did you reach a new record, Eri-chan?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Seven."

Tooru then whispered, "I think we'll have to postpone our talk for later. She's getting a little too curious about us." She then stood up and left the bleachers to say, "I think you're ready to dribble while moving. We should also try passing the ball around with Midoriya-kun."

Midoriya, satisfied that Hagakure was for the idea for a date on Christmas, got up to join the two girls.


Izuku asked, "So did you or Yaoyorozu-chan come up with anything for the triple date?"

Mashirao answered, "We figured a mall close by my place. It's scheduled to have a fair going on that week. So there should be plenty to do and eat."

"Like with rides and stuff?"

"Yeah, Ferris Wheel and the works. Another plus is that it looks to be cheap to get in."

That was a relief, Midoriya thought. He was hoping any money he was gifted during Christmas would help with his money situation. He wasn't sure yet how much he would need with his date with Hagakure. So Uraraka's birthday being on the cheap side of things was comforting to know.

"It was nice of Yaoyorozu-chan to volunteer planning her birthday," Izuku stated. Once Tenya announced the triple date at Monday's lunch, the vice class president quickly rose up to the challenge of organizing it.

"Yeah, it surprised me. I felt I might as well help Momo since she can overdo it sometimes," Mashirao said before laughing softly.

Izuku then looked around. Minus Ochako and Mina sharing some treats in the kitchen and Kaminari napping on a far away couch, the common room was quite empty that Wednesday evening. He then turned back towards his tailed friend and asked softly, "So have started having dates with Yaoyorozu-chan again? You haven't talked about it at all since the Cultural Festival."

"Nothing yet. Momo has been busy working with Sato-kun, Ida-kun, and Kendo-san for another activity between the 1A and 1B. They want to do something before the term ends in December," Ojiro answered. He then leaned forward and asked, "What I am more curious about though is you and not visiting Hatsume-san yesterday. You showing up before dinner at the dorms on Tuesday is odd."

"Oh that. Well when I got to the workshop, Tooru was already there. They were working on some new gear and wanted it to be a surprise for me," Midoriya stated with a shrug.

"Any idea of what they are cooking up?"

"No idea. I even asked her over the phone last night, and she said I would find out soon enough."

Mashirao thought for a moment before asking, "Do you think she did this because there would be no club meeting next week?"

"Perhaps."

At the end of Monday's training, Aizawa announced they would be taking a break for a week due to a special hero class that was supposed to happen next week. At lunch on Monday, everyone figured their homeroom teacher needed the extra time to prepare for whatever was happening.

"We are supposed to get our hero costumes with the winter modifications next week. Maybe we are doing a cold-weather exercise, and Hagakure-chan wanted to have something special made," Mashirao suggested.

Izuku shook his head as he said, "Nah, that's not it. Her suit is supposed to provide enough protection from the elements. She didn't submit for any modifications when we were asked, either. The same goes for me; my costume does fine enough."

Ojiro groaned before saying, "I guess we just wait then."

A soft voice then spoke up and said, "Evening."

Both boys turned to see Koda giving a weak wave.

Koji then asked, "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

Mashirao replied, "Nah, just us, rambling. Did you want to talk?"

Koda took a seat opposite from the opposite boys before saying, "Yeah, I've meant to talk to Midoriya-chan for some time. Nerves are getting the better of me and all."

Ojiro looked between Midoriya and the newcomer a few times before asking, "About what?"

Koji took a few breaths before saying, "I accompanied Jiro-chan and Kaminari-kun to an open concert the Sunday before last."

Mashirao then stated, "Hey, that sounds fun. So what's the problem? Did it go, okay?"

Koda then looked to Midoriya for help, judging from his face.

Izuku then asked, "Is it okay if he knows?"

Koji nodded slowly.

"Uh, knows what?"

With a whisper, Midoriya said, "Koda-kun has a crush on Jiro-chan."

Ojiro then gave a puzzled look before saying, "So, this outing is a good thing then. I mean, he wasn't alone with her, but baby steps work best with you Koda-kun."

Izuku then turned to Koji and asked, "Did it go, alright?"

Koda was rubbing the back of his neck as he said, "I mean, nothing bad happened. The music was good, and they seemed to have a good time, mostly. I just keep wondering why I was there. I...felt like the third wheel."

Ojiro asked, "What makes you think that?"

"They did most of the talking. Kaminari-kun had to drag me around at times. Jiro-chan sounded a bit agitated at times, but I couldn't figure out why. It felt... off," Koji explained. "During it all, I thought everything was fine. But as the days go by I started to notice little things afterward."

"So that's why you didn't tell me how it went right away," Izuku said.

"Uh-huh. It only got worse with each passing day."

Mashirao then asked, "Have you tried to talk to either of them about it?"

Koji violently shook his head.

Ojiro groaned before saying, "Well unless you do, this gonna keep eating away at you. But you want to know what I think? You're probably overthinking things. I can't see either of them being mad at you for whatever happened."

"I can't be sure of that Ojiro-chan," Koda said as he hung his head. "Besides, when I asked if we could go out again sometimes, Jiro-chan said that it would need to wait a while."

Mashirao got up and said, "What she said doesn't particularly mean anything bad."

The commotion seemed to gain the attention of the girls in the kitchen.

Izuku then said quietly, "Look; I'll try and talk to either of them the next time I get a chance, okay?"

"Thanks," Koji said before standing. "Goodnight." He then quickly made his way back upstairs.

"Running again," Mashirao said with a sigh as he sat back down.

Midoriya met eyes with Ashido, who cocked her head to the side. He waved his hands slightly from the wrists before saying, "Is this something he did a lot in your last school?"

"Assume the worst of his interactions with people and book it when he disagreed with my opinion? Yeah, he did that a lot," Ojiro said while leaning back into the couch and looking upward. "It made trying to help him at times a pain with such a defeatist attitude. I don't blame him back then for behaving like that, considering all the bullying we had to endure, but it shouldn't be continuing on today."

Izuku related to such an outlook. Being quirkless led him to times where he thought anything good happening wasn't real or was only coincidental. What he couldn't relate to was how to handle a crush. Sure he had feelings of liking Tooru as they grew closer, but it didn't feel like a crush. Midoriya then considered the possibility of asking his girlfriend about it.

Ojiro then asked, "So who are you going to confront about this? Jiro-chan or Kaminari-kun?"

"Jiro-chan. Though it's best if she doesn't know how Koda-kun feels about her. That would only cause more problems." Izuku figured Denki wouldn't be the best one to ask what happened. Especially if his feelings about Kyoka were as accurate as Koji thought they were.

"Alright, that's enough sulking about this situation. Wanna have whatever the girls are snacking on to change the mood?"

"Sure!" Midoriya already guessed they were eating some mochi, as Ida had made some with Uraraka the other night. The thought of treats was definitely welcome.


"December is going to be action-packed for you Midoriya-kun," Mina stated while scruffing Izuku's hair.

Midoriya tried to fix his hair as he said, "Well only the end of the month."

"Still, a romantic outing for Christmas and then another double date two days later? The latter will be pretty nostalgic, I bet."

Izuku had to keep the triple date as a double to Mina's ears. As much as he enjoyed talking with the pink girl about his romantic life, he wasn't about to reveal Mashirao and Momo dating.

Midoriya exhaled before saying, "Yeah, it will be over six months at that point." He then thought, so much had happened in half a year. And there was still so much to look forward to.

Ashido then leaned close as she said, "So about your final payment."

With a gulp, Izuku asked, "Y-Yeah?"

"You uh, don't have to accept this. This is more of a request than a demand."

"I'm all ears Ashido-chan." The anxiety was gone, and curiosity had taken over for Midoriya.

"Can we still have these little chats after the lessons?"

Izuku processed the question for a few seconds before asking, "Like about my love life?"

"Or romance in general. You're the only one that is comfortable talking about it. I used to talk with Hagakure-chan about it, but ever since you two became a couple it's been awkward. Jiro-chan and Uraraka-chan always become a blushing mess. Yaoyorozu-chan, bless her heart, tries but is mostly clueless with her idealistic views of romance. I will admit Tsuyu-chan is a good listener to my rants but doesn't say much back. And none of the boys are even on my radar for such a discussion."

There was a lot to unpack here, Midoriya thought. Why was it awkward to talk with Tooru? He understood asking about explaining how their relationship happened didn't feel right for Mina, but why romance in general? Jiro seemed quite calm at most times he recalled, so it was odd to hear her being uncomfortable talking about love. The take on Momo was particularly weird. Idealistic? What did that mean? But whatever it meant, it didn't seem to hinder her dates with Mashirao. The final problem; if the other boys weren't even considered, then why him?

"You seemed to have no problem with me talking about romance. What makes you think any of the other guys wouldn't?"

Mina rubbed the back of her neck as she replied, "Well, to be honest, I didn't think you would be that great at discussing the subject. I thought all guys would only focus on actual events, but you detailed your feelings pretty well every step of the way. That's the most interesting part to me at least."

"Thanks?"

Ashido then put a hand on Midoriya's shoulder as she said, "No, I should be thanking you. This has turned out much more informative than I initially thought. But anyway, about my request."

Izuku put a hand to his chin while he considered Mina's request. He wasn't against this, but there was one hurdle that did come to mind. He then asked, "So you want us to continue chatting after the end of the lessons. So like in the third term?"

Mina took off her hand and nodded enthusiastically before saying, "At the very least, I want to hear about the Christmas date once school starts again."

"I see. Well, I want to tell Tooru that you taught me on Christmas and I feel I should bring up the payment. Depending on how she takes it, that will be my answer."

Ashido shrugged as she said, "I get it. It is all personal stuff." She then cleared her throat as she asked, "You don't think she will be mad, do you?"

"I don't know. She seemed pretty adamant in revealing our relationship early in the school summer trip before, well... it got out anyway. However, what I have told you is quite beyond just that. So who knows?" Midoriya explained. He had thought back to when Hagakure had specifically told him to not divulge too much information about their relationship to Aoyama and Ojiro back in October. He understood why with them, but what about Ashido?

"Well if things turn south I'll try and vouch for you. I don't want to cause trouble."

Midoriya exhaled loudly and said, "Thanks, though I hope it doesn't come to that. Although I do have to ask what other topics of romance could we discuss besides my relationship?"

"Oh, plenty. There's Yaoyorozu-chan's crush, Jiro-chan's boys, and whatever is going on with Sato-kun," Mina responded while crossing her arms.

Izuku nearly fell on his back upon hearing this. He then proclaimed, "Wait! Yaoyorozu-chan? Who do you think she has a crush on?"

Ashido shrugged as she answered, "I wish I knew. Her and Uraraka-chan gave the same reaction and answer to my question about who they liked during the school summer trip. And we both know now that the latter had already been dating Ida-kun for some time. So I figure Yaoyorozu-chan has something to hide too."

Midoriya sighed internally. So she didn't know. Still, this was something he would need to monitor unless the couple outed themselves anytime soon. Izuku then figured Mina knew about Kyoka hanging out with Denki and Koji. However, her last revelation was confusing. He then asked, "And what do you mean about Sato-kun?"

"Well, I hear he went on a date with Kendo-san from 1B. And now he frequents going over to the 1B dorm to hang out with their class president and her friends. The weird part is I keep hearing about Kendo-san dating other people after the fact. It's all so confusing," Ashido stated before groaning.

"Then I guess we do have a lot to talk about come next term," Izuku said with an awkward chuckle. Her assumptions weren't too far off. Hopefully, he could set the record straight later.

Mina then stood up and said, "Yeah. Well, anyway, we've spent enough time discussing the last payment. Let's begin today's training! I want to start tackling Finales."

Midoriya got up as he said, "I hope I can keep up."

"Don't worry; we'll do some slow dancing as a warm-up," Ashido replied with a thumbs up.

After two songs of slow dancing, and half an hour of Finales, Mina called for a break. As she parted with Izuku and turned off the music, she said, "See that wasn't so bad. If we continue at this pace, you should be 100% ready for Christmas!"

Midoriya sighed before saying, "Y-Yeah. No p-problem." His face was quite crimson at the moment. Slow dancing was one thing; this was another entirely. There was a lot of movement, and he kept staring into Ashido's eyes and imagining it as Hagakure just made it worse. It didn't help that he had fallen on top of his instructor twice. Luckily he had avoided falling on any unmentionables.

"There was bound to be some mishaps with this. It's the hardest part," Ashido stated before taking a sip of water from a water bottle. "Still, we have to work on her face. Hagakure-chan is going to have a hard time trying to learn with your cherry face distracting her."

While fanning his face, Izuku said, "I know, I know. Hopefully, with more practice, I'll get over it."

"Well, you did a lot better slow dancing today, so maybe you're right."

"Thanks." Midoriya did feel more comfortable with their dancing. He filled his mind with other thoughts, and it kept the embarrassment at bay. However, this problematic part of Bolero was an entirely different beast since it took all his concentration to do it. Which meant clouding his mind with other subjects wasn't possible at the moment. The hope was that given time, the movements would become more natural, which could free up his concentration. They had three more lessons to perfect this before the holidays. That should be enough time to get over himself, right?

Mina then spoke up and asked, "Hey. I've been meaning to ask. What's your excuse to Hagakure-chan for coming here each Thursday?"

"Studying at the library. She hasn't questioned it yet. Especially since by the time I get back, she's usually asleep."

"Oh, that makes more sense than what I thought," Ashido stated after an awkward chuckle.

"Which was?"

"Jogging or working out. You know to give a reason for wearing those clothes or the sweat you produce."

"I considered that, but Ida-kun regularly jogs around this time as of late. There might be some conflicting accounts if I said I was running too. Besides, I change into and out of these clothes in the bathroom just down the hall anyways. I wipe myself down to get rid of the sweat but shower once I get home." Midoriya thought for a moment before asking, "What about you?"

"No one's asked yet, but my plan was to say I went to the gym to do aerobatics. I go straight home from here, anyway." Mina then put down her water bottle and said, "Alright. That's enough of a break. One last push before we call it a night!"

Midoriya offered a hand, and Ashido approached and took it. He then asked, "So same song?"

"I want to try something a bit modern this time. We don't want you to be a one-trick pony," Mina said with a grin as she started using her phone with her free hand.


Tooru asked, "Do you think Todoroki-kun is going to be alright?"

Izuku spoke back into his phone, saying, "I think so. He did say he was going to request to visit his family once his dad gets out of the hospital."

Midoriya heard a sigh before Hagakure said, "I mean, I feel conflicted knowing the backstory behind those two, so I can't imagine what he's going through right now."

It was Saturday night. The hero billboard chart happened the day before. However, the newly christened top two heroes in Japan, Endeavor and Hawks, had already met a dangerous foe in battle: A new type of Nomu down south in Kyushu. The media captured their struggle, and Izuku plus others in 1-A saw it live as it unfolded.

The super Nomu exceeded anything Midoriya had seen from any of these artificial humans. It had strength, speed, regeneration on top of quirks that allowed flight, arm transformation, and summoning multiple weaker Nomu. The most surprising part was that it was able to talk as well. The combined effort of the top two pro heroes was able to topple the beast, but it severely injured Endeavor, particularly on the left side of his face.

However, it didn't end there. Though he wasn't able to see him, Izuku recognized the blue flames of Dabi from the League of Villains that surrounded the victorious heroes. The arrival of the #5 hero, Rabbit Hero: Mirko, scared the villain off thankfully.

Tooru asked, "I thought all the Nomu were rounded up when they raided that lab you came across back in June?"

Midoriya thought for a moment before responding with, "Either they can make them without All for One or that wasn't the only lab where they were created."

"Ugh, I was hoping that we had seen the last of them," Hagakure stated with a groan.

"It's never so easy."

"Yeah, I know, but this sure did this kill the hype from the hero billboard chart results."

The results from the rankings weren't a factor in Izuku's mind at the moment, but he understood where his girlfriend was coming from. Instead, another issue was in his mind. "Well, I want to talk to Yagi-sensei about this, but I feel it's not my place to be concerned right now."

"Unless there are more of those ultra Nomu and they start attacking our campus, there's not much we can do. Besides, did you see how much power that thing had? There's little students like us could do against it."

Midoriya figured where this was going and said, "Don't worry. It's not like I am going to run headfirst into a fight if I encounter one."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Hagakure said before sighing.

"Yeah, I know. I'm more careful nowadays, remember?"

"Thankfully."

The two then remained quiet for a few seconds. Izuku then hears some ruffling noises before hearing Tooru's voice say, "Let's talk about something else." She paused and exhaled before saying, "So about this Christmas date. What did you want to do exactly?"

"Oh uh, nothing is set in stone yet. I know for sure I want to do two things, though." Midoriya was surprised this was being brought up now, but still happy it was. All the talk of the triple date and then the recent events had drowned out them ever talking about this specific date.

"Which are?"

Izuku cleared his throat before saying, "Well one's a secret, but the other is I want to cut your hair. By then it should need a trim, no?"

"Well, I was going to have my mom cut it when I came home, but sure! It would probably be best if you did it at my place. Use the tools my mom uses, and to save time."

"Okay. I can do that." Midoriya sighed internally; he thought he would need to buy his equipment for this, so this was a much better alternative for him.

"This secret, however, is it a present?"

"Sorta."

"Hmmm, most curious. Then I guess I will need to come up with a secret myself considering what you are doing for me," Hagakure stated with confidence in her tone. She then asked, "Is there anywhere, in particular, you want to go?"

"Not really. All that matters I want to show you the secret in private. In or outdoors doesn't matter unless it's freezing," Midoriya replied. He liked the idea of ending the date dancing under the stars, but considering the Christmas party was going to be at night that wasn't going to happen.

"Alright, give me a minute to think," Tooru said. Eventually, she spoke up again and asked, "How about this for a plan? You'll come over and cut my hair, and then we'll have some lunch at my place. From there, we leave, do some shopping, and we get something for the gift exchange. We should also pitch in together to get a present for Uraraka-chan! Then I'll present my gift; then you do the same. Then we head back for some partying!"

Izuku sat up in his bed as he asked, "Did you already come up with this secret present for me?"

"I have something in mind, yeah. Need to check on a location or two before I'll commit to it, but I think we'll both enjoy what I have in mind."

"I look forward to it then!"

"Same goes for you. You're doing two things for me, anyway."

The two then switched their conversation to Uraraka's birthday. Midoriya explained what Yaoyorozu and Ojiro had planned, thinking up a present for the birthday girl, what rides they would want to do at the fair.

Despite what had happened earlier that day, everything was looking up for the end of his second term.

However, life is never that straightforward, as Midoriya would quickly see once more.


We have arrived. Two years of Cubicity!

And it's over 300,000 words now! Even if we cut out my author notes!

It's been a rough year for you readers, with all the delays and push backs I had halfway through the year. I hope the recent couple of chapters releases have restored faith that I can follow consistent publishing of new chapters (even if I am right on the heels of the manga now).

And to celebrate, two pieces of art this year! The first you might have already noticed, in the new cover page art! This was made by blisssuniverse on twitter. The last cover page had a cold weather theme, so I thought to go summer this time! The second piece is a group shot of all the major student characters and also celebrates all the milestones this fic has recently achieved on FFnet. As always, check my Twitter/Tumblr for the art. I commissioned anush_arts to do this one. They are very skilled in getting many characters in one shot. After seeing their impressive work on my MHA x Persona 5 commission last fall, I just had to seek to work once more with them. The KodaJiro commission I promised ending up releasing two days after I posted the previous chapter, so check that out too!

So the first scene, a change of pace from the previous Team Appreciation Club meetings. Izuku's wall with the OFA is foreshadowing the Joint Training Arc, which I hope to explore more than the manga did in its aftermath next chapter. Plus it gave him a reason to hang out with Tooru + Eri. I didn't want to immediately have her join the story as most fics did once the Overhaul Arc concluded. I felt once she was living at U.A. would be the best time to have her become a more significant part of the fic. And no, the couple isn't gonna become her "parents." These are teenagers remember. Plus between Aizawa and the Big Three, there are enough guardians for Eri as is. It's a familiar plot point I see, and it's usually not handled well. Still, expect her to pop her head from time to time during the third term!

The second scene is more of an update on side stuff than anything. Don't expect Midoriya to confront Jiro until chapter 34, considering all the crazy things he is about to have. The 2nd joint class event I have planned will be a sweet "cool off" after the Joint Training arc, and will be quite a hefty chapter! It might happen as early as Chapter 34, but that depends on the conclusion of the current manga arc and the timeframe for the next one.

Mina's scene sets up for her not to fade into the background after the conclusion of the second term. Imagine her as another Aoyama (in the sense of how he's been used in this story). Except she's more helpful (he tries his best though!). Plus as much as I stan IzuMina romantically, I thought it would be a unique challenge for myself to write them as platonic.

For the Pro Hero Arc aftermath, I kept it short as since Izuku wasn't involved I felt I didn't need to go into great detail about it. Still, it deserved more than an "oh yeah, that happened" kind of moment.

I did a minor update to some old chapters (25, 28, 30, and 31). It was an issue that my spot editor, Cleric of Nayru, brought up. And it involves using other languages. Obviously, since the characters are actually speaking Japanese, so when they are using said language, I have left it as is. But within the chapters I mentioned, I have used French (Aoyama) or Spanish/Portuguese/Latin (Ashido), and they should be italicized. I have only used italics to show some flashback dialogue so it's no issue adding it here in this case as it should be easy to tell the difference in usage.

Chapter 33 will exclusively cover the aftermath of the Joint Training arc. From there, the story is at a halt. Just have to hope the Villain arc concludes by September so I can continue writing and have chapter 34 ready for October 1st. Either way, until September 1st for the next installment!