"Yukio Maruyama!" Present Mic called, his voice resounding throughout the classroom and immediately catching the boy's attention. He rose from his seat at the back and walked to the teacher's desk, his breath hitching in anticipation.

Yukio held out his hand to receive the sheet of paper in Present Mic's grasp—his latest English test—but couldn't bring himself to look down and check his score.

"Congrats, you did well!" Present Mic grinned. Only when telling Yukio his test scores did his English teacher lower his voice—probably to spare him the embarrassment—but today, Present Mic spoke with pride.

"Seriously?!" Yukio exclaimed. His eyes shot to the page and landed on the bright red number by his name. He got seventy percent! A fountain of excitement bubbled inside him, and Yukio wanted to jump for joy. So he did. "Yes!"

Yukio gleefully hopped back to his spot as Present Mic called up the next student to receive their graded test. He stared at the sheet of paper with pride. Kuri had been such a great help! In only three weeks, she'd practically turned his grades around. Yukio wondered how much more he would improve after their next session together.

He couldn't wait to see her again. The thought alone gave him butterflies. Maybe it was weird to be so excited for tutoring, but Kuri made it so great he wished he could go every day!

Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the start of their lunch break. Yukio jerked out of his thoughts as his classmates exited their seats and surrounded him. It was the group of three boys he connected with at the beginning of the year because they all liked soccer.

"Yukio, you looked pretty happy earlier," one of his friends said. "What'd you get?"

Yukio showed off his test with a proud grin. His friends' jaws dropped, and they all leaned in closer to get a look at his score.

"Wow, Yukio, are you finally getting serious?"

"Man! This must be the highest score you've ever gotten."

"Finally leaving behind your title as class dummy, huh?"

The barrage of backhanded compliments made Yukio's smile falter, but he managed to laugh awkwardly. He didn't want the guys to think they were hurting him.

"Yeah, yeah," Yukio said, reclaiming his test to stow it in a folder in his bag. He needed it in pristine condition to show Kuri! "By the way, are we still going to play after school?"

"Of course, bro! It's no fun without you. See ya!" one friend called as he and the two other boys exited to go to the cafeteria.

While Yukio waved goodbye, a figure standing against the wall behind his desk approached his side. He first saw the familiar black leather boots, their luster catching his eye, then he directed his gaze to the face of his cousin, Sora.

"Finally, they're gone," Sora sighed, fiddling with one of her small, silver hoop earrings. She glanced down at Yukio and jutted her head toward the door, making her messy purple bob quiver. "Come on, let's eat."

When the two of them found a spot at the end of a long table in the least-crowded corner of the cafeteria, Yukio finally let the mask slip. His head drooped as sadness overcame him.

"I thought they'd start teasing me less, but it was basically the same," Yukio muttered dejectedly.

"They'll keep doing it unless you say something," Sora said, spooning rice into her mouth. "If you don't want to keep crying yourself to sleep every night, just tell them to stop."

"How about you stop making things up," Yukio suggested, lifting his head so she could see him rolling his eyes at the crying comment. "Can't you give me some new advice?"

"Why do you expect so much from someone with no friends?" Sora asked incredulously. Still, her dark brown eyes flitted to the ceiling as she thought of something to say. "I guess you can just ignore what they say. Our classmates only make you the butt of jokes to take you down a peg."

"But why? That's so mean…"

"Insecurity," Sora said, pointing her spoon at him. "You're the strongest in class, but your grades are bad, so they can pick at that to make themselves feel better."

"I didn't realize everyone cared that much," Yukio muttered, picking at his food. "Why can't we all just get along?"

"You do get along with them. Those boys play with you every day, and the girls talk to you way more than they talk to me," Sora said, betraying no ill feelings about that inequality. Yukio frowned at his cousin's depressing observation.

Like the cut of her bangs, Sora was extremely blunt, and the other girls disliked how she didn't sugarcoat her opinion. Yukio couldn't forget the petty arguments that ensued in middle school. When they started at UA, Yukio hoped Sora would make new friends, but so far, she only ever hung out with him. Luckily, Yukio wasn't bothered by her companionship or negative attitude because he knew that in her heart, Sora was a supportive person. She didn't deserve to be an outcast.

"You should join in our conversations sometime. The other people in class are nice," Yukio said with an encouraging smile.

"Nice to you, Mr. Popular. I'm fine on my own."

"Even if I get a girlfriend and ditch you?"

"In your dreams. You don't even have a crush."

Or do I?

Admittedly, Yukio found himself often thinking about Kuri. He appreciated her since their first conversation because she didn't say anything rude about his grades, even though they were very shocking. Her caring for him was a new experience, unlike any other upperclassmen he knew, because she even chatted with him after tutoring! She was smart and mature, though she wasn't much older than him, and Yukio liked her calm personality. He wanted to see her every day. Did that mean this was a crush…?

While Yukio slowly ate his lunch, imagining Kuri's smile when she saw his test, he caught Sora eyeing him.

"So, how's tutoring?" she asked suddenly. Yukio nearly choked on his food.

"Hey, you're not reading my mind, are you?!" Yukio sputtered, his ears turning red hot. He exuded some icy air to cool himself off, and Sora shivered.

"Stop that. And you know I'm a telekinetic, not a telepathic," Sora said. "I was just asking because you haven't said much about it. And after begging me all summer to do it with you…"

"Oh, I haven't?" Yukio asked, eyebrows raised. He avoided bringing up Kuri in conversation because he knew his feelings weren't exactly normal, and Sora would quickly catch on. After all, Kuri was tutoring her, too.

"No, and it's weird because you got way better," Sora said, narrowing her eyes at him. Yukio smiled in an attempt to act naturally. "Hey, do you like her?"

Her question completely shattered his facade of nonchalance, and Yukio felt his entire body ignite. He slowly placed his chopsticks down and guarded his flustered face with his hands. He pumped out more chilly air to fight the fire crawling across his skin.

"How do you always see right through me…"

"Dude, you're extremely obvious. Especially with this air conditioning act of yours," Sora grumbled as she vigorously rubbed her arms to keep warm. "But what happened to not falling for people anymore? I thought Bibia broke your heart too badly."

"Kuri is nicer," Yukio shrugged. His hands still hid his expression, so Sora didn't see him smile cheesily upon remembering Kuri's compliments.

"Can't argue with that," Sora said resignedly. "She's prettier, too."

"I guess so."

He hadn't thought much about her appearance before, since Yukio preferred to look at people's hearts instead of their faces. Still, almost every day, Yukio recalled the image of Kuri seated across from him during tutoring. She often looked down at the paper or textbook as she instructed Yukio on correct sentence structure, but whenever she looked up at him with her big, sparkly eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Before he knew it, Kuri had charmed him with her kind smile.

"Anyway, hate to break it to you, but older girls like that are probably taken already," Sora said, ripping him out of his fond memories. Yukio finally lowered his hands and frowned at his cousin. She ate another bite of her lunch, speaking to him with her mouth half-full. "You should quit while you're ahead."

"We don't know anything for sure," Yukio blurted, curling his hands into fists. He exhaled frustratedly, not wanting to accept Sora's guidance. "She makes me happy, so I want to take a chance."

Sora scrunched her lips to the side, regarding Yukio silently. She was probably predicting Yukio's fate with the pessimistic algorithm in her head to figure out what course of action to take. After a few seconds, Sora released a sigh along with her response.

"Then, just invite her to hang out," Sora said.

"I will!"

Despite Yukio's expectations, Sora didn't dissuade him from this idea later on, so he confidently went through with his plan on Friday. He asked Kuri after their tutoring session if she wanted to study with him and Sora over the weekend, and she agreed! Yukio couldn't contain his excitement that night and went to bed with dreams of her praising him.

Under the Saturday afternoon sun, Yukio and Sora walked to the Class 3-A dorms with their backpacks and slightly over-the-top outfits.

Yukio knew this would be his first time meeting Kuri out of their school uniforms, so he wanted to make a good impression. He wore a loose beige button-up and brown slacks that looked on theme for the autumn weather. Yukio realized later that his clothes weren't much different from the school uniform.

Sora, on the other hand, looked way different with her smudged eyeliner and all-black outfit. Standing there in her form-fitting long-sleeve shirt and skinny jeans, plus layers of silver necklaces and rings, she sure looked cool!

They confidently strolled into Kuri's dorm building, and she jumped up from a couch to greet them (Yukio knew he was overdressed when he saw Kuri wearing just a black hoodie and sweatpants). She had already set up a table in the dining area adjacent to a cluster of green couches, where they spread out their school supplies.

Kuri told them the plan she devised for the afternoon: she would do her homework independently of them, but they were free to ask her English questions whenever they had trouble. Yukio and Sora agreed to this arrangement, and their group study session began.

Yukio was more than happy to pepper Kuri with requests for help because he couldn't get enough of her gentle voice. He especially liked it when she read the sample sentences aloud from the textbook because her American accent sounded like it was straight from a Hollywood movie!

Yukio spent half an hour reviewing a writing assignment with Kuri that they hadn't covered on Friday, asking for clarification and advice on approaching the prompt. He was about to ask another question when Sora finally looked up from her notebook and spoke.

"Yukio, let Kuri do her own work."

Yukio's eyes widened, and he glanced at Kuri's laptop and notebook, which sat untouched.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry!" Yukio exclaimed. "I'll work by myself now."

Kuri giggled, unbothered.

"It's alright. Show me what you come up with when you're done."

Then, the three fell into silent work mode… at least for fifteen minutes. While Yukio scribbled down notes and ideas for his English essay, he periodically glanced at Kuri, who seemed to be taking notes about history while reading from her laptop. When she focused intensely on her work, Kuri furrowed her brow and scrunched her lips cutely. Yukio wanted to see more faces she could make, like what she'd look like when super excited or when someone told her they loved her. But he wouldn't discover any of those sides of her if he sat still.

Kuri was so absorbed in her studies that she didn't notice Yukio slide his notebook to Sora so she could read a message written on the page.

"So, what now? How do I make a move?"

Sora's eyes grazed the page, then shot up toward Kuri. Though she was right across from them, she hadn't noticed anything. Sora cautiously took Yukio's notebook and wrote a reply.

"Slow down. You don't even know if she's single."

"Then, can you ask her something indirect?"

"I don't want to be a part of this."

"Please! If I ask, it'll be too obvious."

When he sent the notebook over that time, Yukio looked at his cousin with wide, desperate eyes. He blinked at her to silently plead, and he could see her withholding a sigh as she wrote. She shoved the notebook back and set her pencil down.

"Fine. You owe me ramen."

Yukio scrambled to flip to a different page and hide his messages with Sora because he knew his cousin was about to spring into action.

"Kuri," Sora said to get her attention. Their tutor lifted her head and raised her eyebrows. "What's your type?"

"My type…? As in blood type?" Kuri asked, tilting her head in innocent confusion.

"Like, what sort of people do you like?"

"What's that got to do with studying?" Kuri asked, laughing awkwardly as she glanced off into the distance behind them. Yukio swore he caught blush hitting her cheeks for just a second, and he gulped anxiously at the sight.

"We can take a break and chat a bit," Sora said, shrugging a single shoulder.

"Standing and stretching is a better use of a break," Kuri said, quickly rising from the chair and extending her arms toward the ceiling. As she leaned her body side to side, Yukio shot Sora an expectant look.

To Yukio's disappointment, his cousin shrugged her shoulders, signaling she had already given up on questioning Kuri. Instead, she got up and joined in the stretch routine. Yukio grit his teeth, annoyed, but stood and stretched with them, too.

With the three of them standing, Yukio once again noticed how small Kuri was compared to him and Sora, with the tall genes they inherited from their dads. Though Kuri hadn't confirmed anything, Yukio guessed she had never dated someone before. Her wide eyes and short stature made her look too young and innocent to know much about relationships.

"Oh, Yukio, have you thought more about soccer as a profession?" Kuri asked as she rolled her wrists in circles.

The sudden question pleasantly surprised Yukio. Since their first meeting, they hadn't spoken much about his plans for the future. For Kuri to bring it up again after so long meant she must have been thinking about him!

"I'm still deciding whether hero stuff is better," Yukio replied, clasping his hands behind his back to stretch his chest. "For now, I'm basing my opinion on what we do in class, but I think my view is kind of limited. It's not like I've dealt with real fights and crimes yet."

"Like I've said before, you should just be a hero," Sora said. She balanced gracefully on her left foot, holding the right one behind her to stretch. "Nothing pays better than going pro."

"I'm pretty sure CEOs make more money," Yukio said, returning to a relaxed position.

"Yeah, but you're not in business school, are you?"

"Sora, what's your reason for becoming a hero?" Kuri asked, breaking up their bickering with a smile.

"Didn't I just make it obvious?" Sora asked with a sly grin. She lifted her left hand and rubbed her thumb against her fingertips. "I want to be a rescue hero. Even if all crime stops, there'll still be natural disasters to save people from. So I'm guaranteed to be rich."

"As if," Yukio rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Uncle Daisuke will make you take him on vacations until you're broke. Anyway, I'm not like you. I want to enjoy what I do."

"Maybe consider liking what you're training to become," Sora said as she changed which leg she was stretching. Yukio wanted to make another snarky comment, but his cousin continued speaking. "Kuri, what do you think he should know about hero work?"

Kuri, who was twisting her torso side to side, paused her movement but left her hands planted on her hips. She looked up at the ceiling with a furrowed brow and pursed lips.

"Well, it's definitely not easy. I used to be at Endeavor Agency, so we often had stressful, high-profile cases. Escaped convicts, robberies, kidnappings…" Kuri trailed off as she shifted her pose to hold her left arm close to her body. Her fingers mindlessly pinched and pulled at the fabric of her oversized hoodie as she continued speaking. "I had to leave because it wasn't good for my mental health. If you want to be a hero, you need to be ready to face the darkest parts of society."

"I see…" Yukio said solemnly.

He watched Kuri with sad eyes, heartbroken that she had gone through such rough times but glad she chose a new path. He wondered how the harrowing scenes of innocent people suffering would affect his opinion. Could he, some kid who still was scared of cockroaches, handle risking his life constantly to fight for a safer world?

"The one reason I stuck it out so long was because I knew I was helping others," Kuri continued, looking at Yukio with a happier expression. "Even after getting hurt or seeing awful things, it always meant a lot when the person I saved smiled. So, Yukio, has your mind changed?"

Yukio lowered his gaze to the floor and exhaled through his nose. Like he had seen with his soccer abilities, Yukio always had room to grow. He could become strong enough to face those horrible things on Kuri's behalf.

"It's scary to think about this stuff. But at the same time, there are people I want to protect," Yukio declared, lifting his eyes to meet Kuri's. "I want the people I love to be safe."

"That's a start," Kuri said, grinning. "You just need to extend that feeling to everyone—even people you don't know. Then, you'd be a pretty good hero. As long as you come to terms with not playing soccer anymore."

Yukio paused, the thought of parting with his favorite activity forming a lump in his throat.

"Is there a way I can do both?" Yukio asked, looking at Kuri with desperate eyes. He planted his hands on the table and leaned toward her, urgently seeking an answer from his experienced upperclassman. "Like a sports hero? Is that even a thing?"

Kuri rocked back on her feet and looked out the window while she came up with ideas.

"You could try… incorporating soccer into your special moves?" Kuri suggested, tilting her head to the side. She glanced at Yukio with raised eyebrows, seeking his opinion.

"We're coming up with those in class right now," Sora said before Yukio could chime in.

"Right, I'll do that!" Yukio exclaimed, clasping his hands together excitedly. "Thank you, Kuri. I feel a lot less worried now!"

He couldn't be more grateful to Kuri for always serving him a perfect answer with a warm and kind attitude. Yukio knew that meeting her had set him up for immense success! He just hoped that the bright future ahead of him had room for Kuri to stay near him.

"Nice!" Kuri said, giving him a thumbs up before sitting again and scooting in her chair. "Okay, we've been distracted long enough. I'm going back to work."

Yukio and Sora reluctantly agreed to focus on their studies again. The only sound that filled the space between them was the soft scratching of pencil against paper and the rustling of notebook pages. Yukio tried his best to concentrate on writing sentences instead of looking at Kuri as she furiously flipped through her pages of notes.

"Ouch," Kuri's voice suddenly cut through the quiet. Yukio and Sora both glanced up at her, concerned. Kuri held her right index finger to her eye to examine it before frowning. "Papercut. I'll be back."

Kuri rose from her seat and hurried away, probably in search of first aid. Yukio watched her until she disappeared through the door of the girls' bathroom. He turned to Sora with a puzzled frown.

"Isn't it weird that she didn't tell us her type?"

"You're still thinking about that?" Sora asked, giving him an incredulous look.

"Well, yeah…" Yukio shrugged bashfully. He didn't want to speak his thoughts aloud, in case Sora teased him, but he wondered if Kuri had withheld her answer because he fit the description. Maybe the idea was far-fetched, but Yukio had always been a dreamer.

"She probably didn't want to tell us because we're practically strangers."

Sora returned to her homework without another word. Yukio frowned in response to her realistic guess. Sora always saw the side of a situation that Yukio didn't, which usually helped him make good decisions, but it wasn't something he wanted to hear at the moment. Yukio held onto this hope that Kuri could have feelings for him like a child holding a balloon; he had a tight grip on the string, but there was no telling what strong winds would come.

A minute later, Kuri returned with a bandage on her finger and got back to studying. Yukio assumed they were finally on track and would work in silence for a while longer.

Then, he felt a breeze against his back. Yukio furrowed his brow and looked beside him to see one of Kuri's classmates passing by—except he was way too close to them to be headed somewhere else. And this familiar-looking blond guy with intense red eyes looked straight at Kuri with a sly grin. Yukio's stare shot back to Kuri, and to his dismay, her eyes were trained on the guy approaching her. She smiled wide as he placed a hand on her back. Yukio's stomach dropped.

"Hey, Bunny, you still working?"

Bunny…?!

That pet name alone felt like a hand violently twisting Yukio's insides.

"Katsuki!" Kuri called the guy's name affectionately and extended her arms toward him. When she hugged him, Yukio's half-formed fantasy shattered and the pieces scattered at his feet. "I actually still have a lot to finish," she said. Then, both their heads turned to address Yukio and Sora. "Oh, by the way, this is my boyfriend, Katsuki Bakugo. Katsuki, that's Sora and Yukio."

The shards of Yukio's broken dreams pierced his skin, taunting him with the stinging reality. Yukio's demeanor became like a frozen pond. He could forget about ever being with her. Not as long as that guy was around.

Yukio recognized Bakugo from his appearances in the UA sports festivals over the past three years. His memory was fuzzy, but Yukio could recall the teachers chained Bakugo up and muzzled him a while ago. Back then, Yukio wondered how dangerous a teenager could be to warrant that treatment. Now, he didn't want to find out.

Every hair on Yukio's body stood on end like he was prey caught in a predator's line of sight. A storm of emotions raged within him, and he couldn't stop himself when his expression contorted into a wide-eyed glare. He and Bakugo locked eyes, an electric pulse connecting their pupils, displaying mutual distrust for one another. From his peripheral vision, Yukio caught Kuri glancing at them confusedly.

Before the beat of silence could go on for too long, Sora spoke.

"Wow, really?" Sora asked, her voice suddenly cheery and bright. "You should've mentioned him earlier!"

"I was embarrassed because he was sitting right behind you," Kuri giggled, pointing toward the couch just a few paces away from their table.

"I didn't even notice him," Sora said, following Kuri's finger and glancing over her shoulder. "Were you waiting for Kuri?"

"Yeah. You two are stealing my time with her," Bakugo said, still glowering intently at Yukio instead of the person who spoke to him.

Kuri laughed at his statement, and Bakugo finally broke eye contact to glance down at her and grin. Yukio bristled at the smile Kuri made when that guy looked at her. He had never seen her make that expression before, and that infuriated him.

Yukio's hands clenched into fists and trembled with his overflowing anger. How could Kuri be taken? And by such a shady guy like Bakugo! Yukio didn't trust him one bit. That possessive "joke" set off a blaring alarm in his head.

"Hey, I said we'd hang out after," Kuri said, playfully rolling her eyes. Yukio felt sick to his stomach, and feared that he'd vomit if he had to keep watching Kuri act nice toward that guy. Bakugo and Kuri both turned their attention toward him and Sora again. Bakugo continued regarding Yukio with his contemptuous red eyes while Kuri's mouth stretched into a half-hearted smile. "So, should we keep studying?"

"I think we can do the rest on our own, so we'll get out of your hair now," Sora said quickly, sweeping her belongings into her bag. Yukio even noticed his stuff disappearing into his backpack.

"Good idea," Bakugo said. The guy refused to show any sort of kind face to Yukio, and he had no idea why. Katsuki Bakugo was clearly just a freak who got jealous of anyone who stepped too close to his girlfriend. Yukio wouldn't tolerate him treating Kuri like that. "It's getting late."

"Right," Yukio said curtly, despite it barely being four in the afternoon. He rose from his chair slowly, not breaking eye contact with Bakugo, and found that he was taller than that weirdo by several centimeters.

Yukio felt a quick tug on the corner of his shirt, which finally snapped him away from his wordless battle with his new enemy. He looked at Sora only to have his haphazardly packed bag shoved into his hands.

"Thanks for all the help, Kuri," Sora said, grabbing Yukio's forearm and cutting off his blood circulation with her iron grip. She hastily dragged him away, but Kuri followed after them with a concerned expression. Sora heard the older girl's footsteps padding along behind them and spoke over her shoulder. "We can let ourselves out."

"Oh, alright," Kuri said hesitantly, stopping in her tracks. Yukio glanced back while matching Sora's breakneck pace, so he saw Kuri wave goodbye. "See you next week!"

"Have a nice evening, you two!" Sora called from the front door. She and Yukio stuffed their feet into their shoes and were outside in seconds. Once the heavy wooden door shut behind them, Sora sighed loudly and hurried away from the building.

"Well, that was a mess," Sora said, her monotone voice back. She shook her head as if resigned to her disappointment. "As usual, you have a terrible poker face."

"Why did you act so happy for them?" Yukio asked, his tone harsh as he stomped after her. Sora always put on this polite act in front of people when Yukio couldn't keep a straight face, ensuring situations stayed under control. That conversation was the first time he didn't appreciate her help. "Did you even think about how I would feel?"

At first, Sora didn't spare Yukio a glance; she kept purposefully walking back to their dorm. Yukio watched her with gritted teeth and eyes shining with fresh tears.

Suddenly, when they were a couple buildings down from Class 3-A's dorm, Sora came to a halt and turned to Yukio.

"Give me an ice cube," Sora said. She held out her right hand, her silver rings glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

Yukio wiped his tears with the back of his hand and tilted his head, bewildered by her sudden request. Still, he held out his hand above hers and obliged.

Before the ice fell into Sora's open palm, it shot through the air, right into Yukio's mouth. Shocked, he tried to open his mouth to release the object but found that he couldn't part his lips—Sora had used her quirk to clamp them shut!

He hadn't seen the quick movements of her hand, but her fingers had orchestrated the whole thing. Her left hand pinched the air to hold Yukio's lips together while he tried to pry his mouth open but failed miserably. He could feel the ice melting on his tongue and turning back into water.

"Eat that and chill," Sora said sternly, her dark brown eyes lacking mercy. "Kuri seems to be in a perfectly good relationship, so it's time to butt out."

Yukio glared at his cousin, who obviously had no idea what danger Bakugo posed to Kuri. Yukio needed to repay Kuri for everything she did for him, and ignoring her shady boyfriend was unacceptable.

Yukio made a sound of protest and slapped Sora's hand. Her grip on him loosened, and he parted his lips just enough to spit out the ice, which clinked against the ground and skittered away. Sora frowned at him, but Yukio scoffed and walked around his cousin.

"You don't know anything."

Katsuki could not stress how proud he was of Kuri for her success as a tutor. She clearly enjoyed the experience, judging by her bright smile whenever she told him about her day. But just because he was excited for her to pursue her true passion didn't mean he wanted her working on the weekend.

The night before, Kuri broke perplexing news to him while they lounged beside each other on a couch in the common area.

"You're tutoring tomorrow?" Katsuki asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at Kuri, who was playing a rhythm game without the music. "Why would Present Mic make you work on a Saturday?"

"Actually, the kids asked me to," Kuri said. She tapped away at the screen while she spoke. "They have some big assignment coming up and want help."

"Hm, I guess that means no date tomorrow," Katsuki muttered, slouching so his head could rest against the back cushion.

"We had a date?!" Kuri exclaimed in bewilderment. Her head swiveled to him, eyes wide in horror, thinking she had forgotten a previous commitment.

"I was gonna ask you today," Katsuki laughed, patting her leg reassuringly. Kuri breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed her posture. "We don't get to see each other much ever since you left Endeavor's."

Hearing that, his girlfriend quit her game and slumped against him.

"Then, stick around while I study with them. When they leave, it can just be us," Kuri said, snuggling up against him. She linked arms with him and laid her head on his shoulder. "And I'll make sure to keep my weekends free from now on."

"Alright. Have a good time with them," Katsuki said, cracking a smile. "I'll wait until you're finished."

Katsuki hadn't expected to break this promise. Though evenings and weekends were the only slots left in his and Kuri's schedules to spend together, he could sacrifice a couple hours while she helped some kids. Plus, he would only be a few meters away the whole time.

When the two underclassmen arrived, Kuri sprung up from the couch she shared with Katsuki. They were talking while she waited, but once the kids came, she went straight to work and guided them to a table. Though they passed him, the first-years didn't notice Katsuki because Kuri drew their attention.

While the three did their own thing, Katsuki sat on the couch closest to them and caught up on his homework. After a while, the girl in black suddenly asked Kuri a question: "What's your type?"

Katsuki turned around in his seat to look at Kuri while she answered, intrigued by her potential answer and the fact that the girl asked. Though his girlfriend was initially clueless, once she understood the question, she furtively glanced at Katsuki and laughed bashfully while making an excuse to avoid answering.

When Kuri randomly started stretching, Katsuki had a hard time stopping himself from chuckling at the sight. Her methods of distraction, though obvious, endeared Katsuki to her even more. He watched her cute, improvised stretch break for a minute before resuming his homework. He wanted to be done by the time the underclassmen left so he could focus entirely on Kuri for the rest of the day.

He tuned out the three until they fell back into silence, but Katsuki became alert at Kuri's uttered sound of pain. He glanced back, concerned, only to find out it was a papercut, so he assumed Kuri could deal with the injury on her own.

Katsuki meant to get back to work, but his ears inexplicably perked up when the two kids spoke while Kuri was gone. The boy's words, though brief, planted a seed of concern in Katsuki's stomach.

Why does that kid care about Kuri's type?

Katsuki didn't want to think much of it, but he felt like a little test couldn't hurt.

Once Kuri returned with her finger patched up, Katsuki set aside his materials and went straight to her. He honestly hadn't expected anything to happen. He just wanted to give Kuri a quick hug, make it obvious he was her boyfriend, then get back to work after proving his worry to be unfounded.

Those kids won't even care. They'll greet me, and that'll be it.

But then that kid—Yukio with the mint-green hair—looked at Katsuki like he killed his family. The burning hatred behind Yukio's dark brown eyes felt unwarranted, given it was their first meeting. Katsuki wondered whether his fiery glare was just out of unexplained malice or if his hunch was correct, and Yukio was jealous.

Regardless, Katsuki had no qualms with staring the kid down until he left with his tail between his legs. After an awkward goodbye, the front door shut, and Kuri returned to the table to organize her things. Katsuki removed his school supplies from the couch and placed them across from hers.

Kuri hummed contemplatively and sat down, propping her chin on her hand while looking out the window. Katsuki took a seat and cleared his throat.

"That was weird," he muttered.

"You think so, too?" Kuri asked, raising her eyebrows. She sighed and crossed her arms. "Yukio seems like a nice kid, but I don't know why he looked at you like that. His eye contact is usually intense, but this was…"

"'Usually?' Does he stare at you?" Katsuki asked, narrowing his eyes and leaning across the table.

"Yeah, well, not just me. Probably," Kuri mumbled, glancing down. Her ambiguous answer formed a pit in Katsuki's stomach. He clenched his hands and leaned back in his chair. "I think we're overanalyzing this."

Katsuki wanted to agree with her, but their relationship did not need another obstacle after everything they faced in the past year. He couldn't rest until he squashed this potential issue.

"Then, why'd he glare at me?"

"Maybe he was intimidated," Kuri shrugged. The serious look on her face melted, and she cracked her signature teasing smile. "You're a scary upperclassman."

"I try my best to be," Katsuki joked. Though Kuri loosened up further and giggled, Katsuki still felt wary. Kuri must have noticed the concern in his eyes because she reached for his hand resting on the tabletop.

"Anyway, if he's staring for weird reasons, I think he'll back off after meeting you," Kuri said, interlacing fingers with him and smiling sweetly. "You're obviously the best catch."

Katsuki couldn't help but chuckle as his cheeks turned red. Kuri always knew how to cheer him up, like an endless fountain of joy. It was impossible to doubt her feelings for him because she never ceased to exude love.

He squeezed her hand and leaned down to kiss it, knowing Kuri would never let go of him. Katsuki just worried that Yukio's weird ass would rip Kuri's hand away from his.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Katsuki decided. "Just in case."

"Okay, but I'm sure nothing will happen," Kuri giggled. "People don't just fall for me on a whim."

"What about me?" Katsuki asked, grinning.

"Didn't we know each other for over a year before you confessed?" Kuri asked, tapping her cheek with her forefinger. "That's not exactly spontaneous."

"You know I started liking you earlier. You bring up that birthday letter every other month."

Kuri laughed, then turned the topic to her upcoming birthday celebration. There would obviously be some party with her friends, but Kuri insisted they still had to plan a date, too.

As they continued their light conversation and forgot all about their incomplete homework, Katsuki gazed at Kuri fondly. He would protect this precious happiness of theirs, no matter who came into the picture.