There was the problem. Izuku didn't have time to meet with Nejire as the date for the school festival approached and their schedules turned hectic. However, Nejire had time to text him. Mostly, it was about the updates on her dance routine for the beauty pageant. Other times, it was about his cat ears.

Obviously.

When the day of the school festival arrived, many problems arose. The frayed rope seemed to be the culprit, leading Izuku to meet Gentle and La Brava and almost miss his involvement in the live concert. While battling Gentle and La Brava, they noticed his cat ears. It was embarrassing.

Izuku didn't want to imagine what would happen if he met the League of Villains again with the cat ears, but truth be told, that was the least of his problems.

They went into hiding after the Overhaul debacle that unfolded a few weeks ago. But he wasn't worried, considering Eri smiled for the first time and Nejire flawlessly performed her dance in the sky at the beauty pageant with her quirk adding to the display.

Izuku rested his head on his arm, rewatching the live concert his classmates had exerted great effort to achieve while his cat ears wiggled in excitement. He replayed it over and over, listening to the song and reviewing every single distinction until it was etched in his mind.

All Might had been the one to record the video on Izuku's phone for him at his request. Of course, Izuku didn't tell All Might he wanted a recording because of the promise he made with Nejire, but the compromise was that he was saving it for memories and showing Eri whenever she wanted to see it.

It was like an onion. Layered answers.

Suddenly, a text message fizzled into view from the top of his phone screen. Izuku used his thumb to click on the message and read it.

"'I'm nearing your dorm room?'" Izuku repeated, only to be interrupted by a knock at his balcony door.

Izuku perked up and stared at his balcony. He stood from his chair and pulled the curtains back to reveal Nejire standing outside. She waved her hand at him and smiled. Expected, but what he didn't expect was Nejire to be in her pajamas. It exhibited her in a distinct style compared to her school uniform.

Dare he say it? It made her look more adorable than she already was.

With his heart quickening its pace, Izuku opened the door, allowing Nejire to step inside. Meanwhile, Izuku poked his head out, anxiously surveying his surroundings. The words Bakugo said last time fueled his uneasiness. When he was satisfied with the absence of anyone's presence, Izuku closed the door and turned around.

Izuku yipped as Nejire embraced him out of the blue. Her arms wrapped around him, enveloping him with her warmth. Izuku stumbled back, uncertain what to do next.

"N-Nejire? Why are you hugging me?" Izuku asked.

"Well, I heard you made Eri smile for the first time since she left the shadow of Overhaul. Don't you think that's a wonderful thing you achieved? You did something good, Izuku! Come here, you deserve something nice!" Nejire exclaimed, caressing his cat ears.

Izuku closed his eyes, relishing her touch. The undeniable emotions it bestowed upon him stirred his heart with warm fuzziness. When Nejire finished touching Izuku's cat ears to her satisfaction, she retracted her hand to her side and smiled.

"T-Thanks, Nejire… But, uh, I have to say something… Do you remember the time when you found me outside? I just wanted to say I'm sorry for cutting our time short on that occasion..."

Nejire raised an eyebrow at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you know... I didn't want to appear rude, and just in case I hurt your feelings, I wanted to express my apologies to you. Because, um, I just felt like at that time, I insulted you by running away to do my homework instead of transitioning to something more smooth that could end the conversation satisfactorily. And you know…"

Izuku trailed off. He was rambling, wasn't he?

A smile spread over Nejire's expression as she hummed a tune in contentment. "Oh, that's something to add to the list that makes me fall in love with you every time we meet each other. You're so kind~." She sang.

"What? F-Fall in love?"

"Hehe, got you~!" Nejire exclaimed, giggling at his reaction. However, there was a hint of softness in her laugh. "Like I said before, you're too easy to tease. Like a little kitten!"

All the questions inside Izuku's brain bounced around, forcing the sides of his head to hurt. It was difficult to understand what she was trying to say. Still, it was nice to spend time with her, despite the uncertainty about his future with her.

Who else tried to spend as much time with him as possible just because he had cat ears? A shallow reason for sure, but something that gave him benefits like the Class 1-A girls and Nejire adoring him. It was a little weird. He didn't like it at the moment, but with a little more thought, Izuku couldn't deny he liked the attention.

Yet it was embarrassing. He was thinking like an elementary school student who had a massive crush on someone. It was a work in progress on how to feel.

"Speaking of which, here's your reward for making Eri smile!"

Izuku looked as Nejire reached into her pajama pocket and pulled out the newly finished cat hat. She held it in her hands, waiting eagerly for his reaction.

"I... I don't think I need a reward since I'm a hero. I do kind things out of the goodness of my heart, otherwise, it would tarnish the meaning of being a genuine hero, right?"

Nejire giggled, handing the hat to him. "Just because you're a sacrificial hero doesn't mean you can't get treated to some good things! I remember this one time, I saved someone during one of my hero work-studies with Ryuko and they wrote me a letter telling me how much it meant to them and that they wanted to be just like me! It's something I cherish to this day!"

Izuku's eyes widened. It was something that happened to him a while ago. Kota wrote a letter to him. Izuku wasn't trying to be selfish, but it was easy to forget that U.A. High School trained some of the best heroes around Japan, ensuring others would also get letters of appreciation. Nejire was no exception.

"Yeah, I had something similar to that," Izuku said, accepting the hat in his hands.

"See, being a genuine hero doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. You can still enjoy life, but with saving lives, that just has to be at the forefront."

"I guess so…"

"What do you mean, you guess so? Be confident in your answer!" Nejire teased, tapping him on the chest.

"Uh, I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm not as confident as you," Izuku said, trying his best to hide his blush. The tap on his chest didn't go unnoticed.

Nejire gave him a warm smile. "Yeah, I noticed. You only turn confident when you want to save lives, right? That's not a bad thing, but it would be nice to build up your casual image and not only your heroic reputation. Do you want me to teach you how? Oooh, that's actually the perfect idea! I can teach you how to be confident!"

"You know how to make others more confident?" Izuku asked, tilting his head.

"Nope! But I'll just teach you what I know!" Nejire exclaimed with a laugh.

Izuku chuckled along with her, though it didn't last long. He cleared his throat, searching for a topic to fill the silence. As his eyes flickered around, his eyes landed on his phone at his desk.

"Um, Nejire. Did you want to watch the recording of the live concert?"

"Hey, hey! I forgot about that! Let's watch it right now!"

"Mhm, we can."

Izuku walked to his desk and picked his phone up. When he turned to walk to his bed, he noticed Nejire already there, eagerly awaiting his presence.

And so, Izuku sat beside her at their convenience and played the video for her. Throughout the video, Nejire riveted Izuku's attention. What could he say? It was embarrassing. It was akin to hearing his own recorded voice. Or when he tripped in the middle of the hallway and there were several cute girls behind him.

Lost in his thoughts, Izuku panicked when he felt something touch his shoulder.

Izuku found Nejire's head on him. As his heart pounded loudly in his ear and against his rib cage, he could feel the vibrations throughout his body. Tiny beads of sweat formed around his head and his hands grew cold.

His breath quickened at the pace of his heart, though he tried to hide it to the best of his ability. With the help of several deep breaths, Izuku attempted to calm his mind to a manageable tempo, but it didn't work. Instead, it had the opposite effect. His mind and heart raced to the ends of the Earth.

As the video ended, Izuku glanced in Nejire's direction. Her silence compelled Izuku to feel uncertain about her opinion until she faced him with enthusiasm.

"That was amazing! I can see why Eri smiled because it was just... Just… Wow, I'm speechless! That's a first! How did you guys pull that off in one month? And I thought my dance for the beauty pageant was difficult, but your entire class achieved it flawlessly!"

"Well, it was mostly because of the girls... We had Jiro as the main band leader, Ashido as the dance squad leader, and the stage crew had some brilliant minds. I don't know who the leader was there, but it seemed like Todoroki supplied most of the ideas. He was the one who suggested we perform like a concert would."

Nejire nodded her head. "But if I'm being honest, I have one complaint..."

"You do?"

His heart skipped a beat.

"Yup! My one complaint is you didn't stick around long enough! You disappeared too quickly! They promised you front and center stage, but then switched you to a stage crew member… Not fair." Nejire said with a pout.

"Well, I wouldn't say front and center stage, but the stage crew needed my help, so I was happy to lend a hand. At least I was there for a part of it."

"Much shorter than I thought it was going to be... Next year, tell your classmates, you want a bigger part because you sacrificed your stage presence this year!"

"But since most of the stage crew were hidden, I don't think I can complain..."

"Phooey, you bring up a good point..."

"Besides, it was already embarrassing that I had to display my cat ears to everyone... I wish I was part of the stage crew the entire time, but I wanted to make Eri smile, so I knew I had to be up there dancing for however short of a time it was. And I'm glad I did, but still... Ugh, I want to crawl in a hole." Izuku said, hiding his face behind his hands.

Nejire leaned forward, trying to enter Izuku's line of vision before she laughed. "Aww, look at you~. Doing it for Eri, despite the embarrassment. That's why I hugged you. But now that everyone knows that you have cat ears, they're going to want to touch it, right? Well, I'm going to make sure I'm the only one who touches them! Don't let them touch your cat ears without permission, got it? Because it's all mine!"

"Wha-? Then what about my classmates? The girls like it too."

Nejire put a finger to her chin and thought about it. "Since they're your classmates, they're excused... But anyone else will have to go through me! Well, as long as I'm around you... Which will not be much."

"You don't have to work so hard you know... If you didn't know already, Ashido already created a group specifically to protect me from anyone who tries to bully me for my cat ears. It's called... Never mind, it's kind of embarrassing to say." Izuku said.

However, Izuku should have known this would create the perfect opportunity for Nejire to seize her opportunity to tease him.

Nejire stared at him with interest until a mischievous smile crossed her face. "Now you have my full attention. What is it called? Hmm?"

"Um... It's called... Oh, gosh. It's called the Midoriya Protection Squad." Izuku said, his cat ears replicating his humiliation by turning red. "Er… MPS for short.

Nejire blinked twice at the name and giggled. "Such a simple name embarrassed you? No worries, maybe if I was also in your shoes I would be too. Hey, could you put in a good word for me to them so I can join the group? I would love to take part!"

"I think six people following me around is enough..."

Nejire pouted and puffed her cheeks out. "Aw, come on! I want to join part-time! Please?"

Why was she treating the prospect of protecting him like a job?

Author's Note: Speaking of jobs, I might be switching to a new one, so this is exciting! But I don't want to jinx it if something goes wrong, so I'm going to keep quiet about all the details other than switching for now!

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! Until next time!

With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!