Izuku sat next to Momo, watching the class representative for 1-A go through the grades of their classmates. It became readily apparent from the very early days that when Momo Yaoyorozu was elected their representative, she aimed to go beyond the usual duties. The diligent young woman had spared no effort so far in supporting her classmates. Whether through the standard duties of making sure the classroom was presentable, conversing with the teachers about lesson plans, or as the two of them were doing now, going through class rankings to see if any student needed extra support.

Mid-term results were the best way to gauge how well a student was doing academically, after all.

Even as Momo worked, she wore a smile on her face, like at this moment there was nothing she would rather be doing than this. Helping her classmates excel. There was no great crisis waiting in the wings. No catastrophe to be avoided. No moment of hardship in need of a hero to come save the day. Just a young woman doing what she could for the people she saw as her responsibility, finding fulfilment in that effort. It was inspiring. Izuku couldn't deny it was inspiring. She looked back on her training with All Might, all the way back before she got her quirk when she was preparing her body for it. What All Might had said, that heroes didn't used to be just people who would step in when the going got tough. That they would also be pillars of the community, doing public service not just in the hard times but also in the easy times, when the most villainous thing going on was citizens dumping their trash on a public beach.

She reflected on that conversation in this moment as she watched Momo work, going through each student file to pick out potential issues. Doing so not because anyone asked her to, but because she could. As she watched, Izuku wondered. If All Might hadn't told her to clean that beach, if she wasn't getting good training out of it, if there was nothing in it for her but the feeling of a job well done, would she have ever even considered it?

The answer she came to disappointed her.

It was the sort of question she had been asking herself a lot recently. Ever since Stain, when his ideology started spreading like wildfire. He believed that heroes looking for fame or money weren't real heroes. Well, by his estimation no one was a real hero except for All Might. The fact that Izuku also earned some level of approval from him wasn't exactly something she felt proud of.

She knew Stain was mad. His ideology was... Well, it was an ideal. It would be great if all heroes existed for a selfless desire to do good. It would be great if all people were like that, not just heroes. But what about the reality? By Stain's standards, All Might would be the only hero and even if he were in perfect shape still, he was incredibly powerful but he was still just one man; he couldn't be everywhere. Loosen the standards a little? How much? How many regular people dying to villains or disasters would be acceptable to keep a more greed-minded hero from getting paid? That was the kind of horrible calculus Stain was too far gone to even consider. That the cost of his ideal would be the lives of innocent people. A cost that any hero, be they one for the pursuit of fame, glory or just doing the right thing would never accept.

Stain was wrong.

And yet...

She cast her mind back to that night again. Seeing Iida so caught up in his need for revenge, all while calling it justice. His realisation of how wrong he had been, discovered it due to the words of the man he had been there to defeat. There was no denying, Iida had been made a better hero that night even if under the worst conditions possible. Stain didn't deserve credit for that. It was his twisted ideology that drove him to paralyse Ingenium, the event that pushed Iida so close to the brink in the first place. But in learning how wrong he had been, Iida learned better the kind of hero he wanted to be.

She looked at Momo again...

And saw the other girl staring back at her. "Izuku? Are you alright? You've been muttering to yourself for some time now."

"O-OH! Sorry," Izuku murmured bashfully, "I didn't say anything weird did I?"

"You mentioned Stain a few times but I didn't get the context. Are you still thinking about your encounter with him?" the class rep asked with sympathy. "I'm right here if you want to talk about it? It must have been quite the overwhelming experience."

Overwhelming was a word for it. Though Izuku had come to terms with the events of that night. Instead, she asked, "Momo, why are we doing this?" She frowned to herself, deciding to rephrase the question. "I mean, I know why, what you want to come out of it. But what made you decide we should do it in the first place?"

"Because I can," Momo answered without hesitation, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She smiled slightly as she realised her friend didn't quite see it that way. "Sorry, it's easy to forget sometimes. My family have a particular mindset when it comes to how we should live, what we should do with our lives. I was raised on the idea that if you can do something, if you can contribute, you should. Ambitions are good but an ambition that goes against your talents will only lead to heartbreak and wasted potential."

So in Momo's view, Izuku should have given up on being a hero. Well, in All Might's view too. Her mentor never did rescind his stance that one couldn't be a hero without a quirk. She only got a chance because All Might gave her his. "That sounds... brutal," Izuku answered without thinking, immediately backtracking. "I-I mean! Not to say anything bad about your family, I didn't mean it like that! It's just... Nothing's set in stone, right? Circumstances change, perspectives change. Maybe giving up on what seems like an impossible dream is the only reason it's impossible?"

"Oh don't get the wrong idea," Momo responded, not even acknowledging Izuku's accidental insult. "We don't just do something like an aptitude test and lock people into a career path. I was encouraged to try anything and everything to see where my talents lay. We learned I have an excellent mind and an exceptionally versatile quirk if that mind were put to use. I had other options but... I wanted to be a hero. I realised that with my quirk I could provide whatever was needed for any situation. But more than that, I wanted to help people." She smiled at the memory of her first landing on that ambition. "So... I worked hard. Studied hard. Put in all the effort I could to prove to my parents that being a hero was where my talents could be put to best use. It wasn't easy but it was worth it, I think."

The proud smile on the privileged girl's face was enough to send Izuku's mind whirling again. It was easy to say Momo had more opportunities given to her because of her lineage but that ignored the work she put in. To be as good as she was, she had to put in enormous amounts of work. No amount of talent could account for the level of skill and intellect she constantly displayed. She had opportunities but she took them. Every single one.

And looking back... Izuku couldn't really say the same. She had been told over and over again by anyone and everyone that cared to comment. Her dream was stupid. Impossible. A waste of time. She kept telling herself she hadn't given up but studying other heroes? Other quirks? That had proven useful at UA for sure but it wasn't what got her through the door. The reason she had kept doing it, had filled thirteen notebooks of analysis was because it was something she liked doing anyway. But the hard part? Training her body to face villains or crises? Why hadn't she done any of that until All Might told her to?

Because before he came along... She really had given up, even if she wouldn't admit it. The constant hammering at her confidence had done its job. Doing something that would be wasted effort if she couldn't be a hero? She couldn't bring herself to do it. Because she already believed it would be wasted.

It was amazing what a little distance and perspective could tell her about herself.

"It is."

Izuku's chin rose to see he friend looking at her, smiling indulgently. "H-How much of that was out loud?"

"Enough. I won't tell anyone that you were trained by All Might if it's supposed to be a secret."

"Thank you!" the shorter girl's hands clapped together in a show of gratitude.

Momo giggled at the response. "It's not much of a secret at this point though. He's not doing a good job hiding how much attention he gives you compared to everyone else. And," she reached out to take one of Izuku's hands, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. What's passed is past. I know you and I will be great heroes in the future, and I intend to make sure every member of our class will be too." She held the reports up for emphasis.

"Your mindset really is hero all over," Izuku smiled.

Momo glowed at the praise. "That's kind of you to say! Now, what does any of this have to do with Stain? I hope you aren't giving his views too much thought. They aren't worth it."

"Well I mean... What you were just talking about. How your family do things, they kind of–"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Momo quickly cut her off, understanding the comparison but not wanting to hear it. "Don't misunderstand. If there weren't benefit in being a hero whether for monetary gain or reputation, my parents likely wouldn't have let me train to be one. Everyone deserves to be compensated for the work they do. Stain didn't even know what sort of world he wanted to see at the end of his 'crusade'. Maybe he heard too many stories of noble samurai as a child and wanted heroes to be direct government employees. A new arm of the JSDF. I shudder to think of it. Or worse, heroes should just not receive compensation at all. A world where the truly selfless are used and discarded, where only those from backgrounds like mine could be heroes long-term. It's all just the rantings of a man who felt he saw a problem and didn't want to even try to work on a solution beyond rampant murder!"

"Momo!" Izuku squeezed her hand to pull her out of her rant.

The dark-haired girl blinked, looked at the worried eyes of her friend and slumped slightly in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me. That man just... Everything about his beliefs is abhorrent to me."

Izuku nodded. "It was nothing about him. It was just... Even if he's wrong about everything, what he did, how strongly he felt about it, it just made me think about what it means to be heroic. And I realised... Maybe you have something I don't when it comes to being a hero, that's all."

Momo laughed openly at that, causing Izuku's cheeks to flush. "There you go, selling yourself short again. Izuku, when I lost to you in the sports festival... I admit it shook my confidence a little." She paused, then rephrased. "More than a little. You beat me. Not only that, you made it look easy. Then Saiki talked to me, showed me I still have so much room to grow. And when we sparred at my home, you helped me take another step towards being better. If it weren't for the both of you, I'd probably still be wallowing in self-doubt." While she smiled, trying to convey her gratitude, something in Izuku's expression told her she said something wrong. It only took an instant for her to realise what. "Oh. Oh, my, I stepped in it didn't I?"

"No, no! It's fine!" Izuku assured her though neither of them believed her words. "And I appreciate you saying all that. I'm... I'm glad I could help."

Awkward silence reigned over the room. Izuku fidgeted, not looking at the other woman. Momo stared at the papers, making no effort whatsoever to actually read the words on the page.

"... I kissed him." Izuku looked up across the desk at the other girl. Momo stared back at her, carefully putting her papers down to the side as she continued. "When we were all at my home. I caught him alone after Kyoka told me what happened. I... I felt I had to. I wanted to thank him for being so considerate of my feelings. But I can't just pretend to ignore yours."

"I kissed him too," Izuku admitted, "Well... I kissed him on the cheek. After my match with Todoroki at the sports festival I didn't want to get pulled out due to my injuries. So he took care of them himself and... I kissed him. And then he kissed me."

The two stared at one another. At the admission of something they both already knew but was now finally spoken aloud, Momo's reaction was to break down into a rather desperate sounding laughter. "And then the very next day he took me out on a date where he wouldn't stop talking about you. I feel like an idiot!"

"If you're an idiot then so am I!" Izuku countered.

"... Do you still want to be with him too?" Momo hesitated to ask. Izuku looked away, but gave the slightest embarrassed nod. "Then you're right. We're both idiots."

"I don't know what to do," Izuku admitted. The first and most obvious answer, the conventional answer, would be to give up on him. That if he would play around like this he wasn't worth it. But, "I don't want to lose him." Feelings didn't care about logic or good sense. She still liked Saiki. Even knowing this, even no longer being able to ignore it, it didn't change the way he made her feel. Trusted. Respected. Maybe even loved. "I don't want to lose you as a friend either, Momo."

Momo took a moment, wanting to properly consider her feelings. Abruptly, she rose from her chair. "There is one potential easy solution to this!" she declared as she rounded the desk.

"What's th-Mmph!" The green-haired girl's eyes flew wide as Momo pulled her up and mashes their lips together. First forcefully, then making a better attempt at sensuality, cupping the shorter girl's cheek, gently tasting her lips.

After a good ten seconds, Momo pulled back with a satisfied breath. "Now, how was that?"

"U-Umm?" Izuku stammered, trying to understand what just happened and more importantly why. "It was... Nice, I guess?"

"Nice? Anything compared to with Saiki?"

"No... Not really."

"Drat," Momo not-cursed. "That's disappointing." On multiple levels as she found it to be quite nice indeed. "So much for the easy solution."

"I mean, it's not really the same though?" Izuku asked more than stated. "With Saiki he's been amazing since... Well since my first day at UA. When I'm near him there's a lot more... feelings around it, you know? It's more intense, I guess."

Momo nodded, understanding what Izuku meant by that immediately. "I can see your point."

"Let me, let me try again," Izuku requested, taking Momo by the arms and manoeuvring her over to sit on the desk. With a little less certainty, Izuku leaned in towards Momo, her head tilting slightly as their lips met. The taller, more statuesque girl looped her arms around her friend's neck, pulling her in deeper.

She realised. Izuku had been right. It wasn't the same. Not because it wasn't a man, but because it was newer. Different. She and Izuku had known each other for just as long but have only been close for... Days? There wasn't the same depth of feelings, or even the same type. Momo herself hadn't even considered this route until she impulsively reached for it as an easy option to resolve any difficulties.

She had been naive. It wasn't an easy option. It would take work and dedication. But it was an option. And neither of them were strangers to dedication.

"Could this work?" Momo asked as they separated to catch their breaths, chests heaving.

"Maybe," Izuku hedged, her lips puffy as they curled upward into a hesitant smile.

The rich girl blushed, smiling happily for finding a way to avoid a terrible situation, and perhaps also for other reasons. "We should get back to work," she asserted, hopping down from the desk and smoothing down her skirt.

-(-)-

Saiki was feeling frustrated. Back to school again after what had started as a fun weekend but quickly devolved by the time Sunday rolled around.

Saturday had been great. Saw Momo's house, did some training with three hot girls, made inroads for his plan to bag both Izuku and Momo long-term, got to make out with Momo and got to see all three of them in bikinis! What wasn't to like?

Except that one asshole. But he wasn't worth remembering.

Then... Sunday. Sunday Bunday. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. A weekly appointment to pound some rabbit hero pussy. At the time he made the suggestion he had spent more than a day pounding her body into a mattress. It had been so easy in that moment to forget how that opportunity came to be. That it was only after two days straight of fucking that he managed to get the upper hand.

Rumi remembered though. And as much as she wanted his cock again, she wanted to show him his place all the more. Two straight hours of her sitting on his face, calling him her bitch as he was forced to pleasure her with his tongue. All that before she even deigned to let his cock out into the open air. She rode him for a few more hours and kicked him out with a call of 'same time next week'. He had gone home bruised in body and ego and only somewhat sexually satisfied. He had expected to have his way with a bunny slut and instead she had her way with him.

As if he didn't have enough reasons to get stronger. Now he had a need to get strong enough to show his bunny bitch her proper place.

"What are you still doing here?"

His eyebrows rose, a grin stretching over his face for a moment as he thanked whomever was responsible for this opportunity. Schooling his expression he turned to face Kyoka as she continued giving him a suspicious stare. "Recovery Girl wanted to run some tests on me. She does every now and again to see how my body is adapting." The punk girl frowned at his entirely valid answer. "So. Your turn. What are you still doing here."

She looked away, unhappy for her suspicions turned back on her as she folded her arms defensively. "I help out with the music club sometimes after school. So what?"

Huh. He hadn't expected that answer. "I thought hero course students were discouraged from joining clubs." They had entirely too much to do already with the strenuous curriculum.

"Yeah, well I didn't join," she grumbled back. "I just show up to help out sometimes. You got a problem with that?"

"Hmmm, I don't know," he pretended to muse aloud, closing into her personal space, "What would Momo say if she found out?" Probably something about how active, industrious and helpful Kyoka was for donating her time like that.

"I don't care if she finds out," Kyoka frowned at him, though it looked a little more like a pout than it should.

"Oh, I think you do."

"Shut up." Her cheeks brightened against her will.

"I think you like the aloof punk attitude you try to get across. That's the kind of girl you want to be and trust me, I can definitely see the appeal," he smirked giving her a very obvious once over that prompted her to fold her arms and look away. "But I think I see the real you just under it. Really, you just want people to like you, to think you're cool."

"You think you've got me all figured out– Ah!" Her sarcastic jab ended in a yelp as he continued advancing on her, her hands unfolding to push against his chest as he backs her into a wall, one hand blocking her way on one side, but the other left open. She could easily get away if she really wanted to.

But she didn't. She just stared up at him, eyes wide as he loomed over her with a teeth-baring grin. "That first day, when you showed off those cute little panties for me? I saw why you did it. You saw Katsumi kicking her feet up on the desk and you thought, 'Wow, this girl is such a rebel, this guy talking down to her and she straight up doesn't care!' You want to be that kind of girl."

"W-Wow, it's like you're... Reading my soul, huh?" Another attempt at sarcasm. One that fumbled as she stammered, feeling the need to swallow halfway through it.

"You're not that kind of girl though. Or at least it doesn't come naturally to you. When you saw me get hard, you tried to tell me off for it, like a good girl." Close enough to whisper now, his breath on her ear making her shiver, "I saw you looking. You couldn't tear your eyes away, could you?"

"I–" His tongue flicked out across the shell of her ear. "Hnn! Y-You sh-shouldn't do this!"

"That's not saying you don't want me to," he countered, taking her earlobe between his teeth. Her hand bunched up in his shirt. "You're right though. I haven't checked the school's rules but PDA is probably against them." He pulled back, smirking down at her as her eyes darted about to look for anyone who might see. "Whaddya say?"

Her eyes flicked left, then right, then back to his. Then left, then right again, before giving the tiniest, most nervous of nods. His grin widened, his left hand going to the small of her back, his right to the back of her neck as he pulls her into him at the same time he pins her against the wall. He dominated their kiss from the instant their lips touched.

Her hesitance died. It felt good to break the rules for real. To be the kind of bad girl she always wanted to be. It didn't hurt that Saiki was an excellent kisser that had the world around her melting away in only a few instants. Just the warmth of being pressed against him, the insistence of his lips, of his tongue wrestling hers into submission.

And then it was over. His hands retreated and she was left panting, blinking at the space Saiki had been only seconds before. Her head swung as she looked for him, finding him sliding a door open. "So. How bad do you feel like being today?" he asked with a smirk as he went inside the room and left the door ajar behind him. Taking a few shaky steps she saw the sign over the door. A storage closet. The implication wasn't lost on her. She had the choice. To continue or to let things end here.

She shouldn't.

She knew she shouldn't.

And to her, with her head clouded with new and insistent feelings of need, that was the best part.

Once again she looked down the hall each way before sliding the door open just enough to go in, sliding it fully shut behind her. "Ah!" she squealed as she felt hands on her, pulling her deeper into the darkness of the closet.

"Well well," he cooed into her ear, hands trailing over her petite body, "Maybe I was wrong about you. I guess you do what you want after all." His lips sucked at her neck as his fingers unbuttoned her blouse.

"S-Saiki," she panted, goosebumps rising everywhere he touched, "I'm not so sure about this!"

"That's a hell of a thing to say after following me in here." He pulled up her bra to sit under her collarbone, fingers tracing over her modest breasts, making her squirm as he got a firm grip on a pebbled nipple. "Don't worry, I won't take your first time in a closet. We're just having some fun."

"This is so bad!" she moaned more than complains as she felt his fingers lightly tweak her nipple, his other hand sliding down to go under her skirt. "We could get suspended!"

He hummed low in his throat, not stopping his efforts to fondle every inch of her body. "You should probably keep an ear out to make sure no one comes this way then, huh?"

"Keep an– Oh!" Realisation came quickly considering her distracted state. One of her earjacks shot out to pierce the wall next to the door, letting her listen in on the hallway for anyone that might come their way.

"Atta girl. Now, where were we? Oh right!" he grinned to himself as his hand slid under her panties to get a feel of her slick womanhood. "Hm, so wet down here. Someone's feeling good, huh?"

"Don't say that," she complained, completely at his mercy as she rested against him. Only able to feel as one hand toyed with her nipple, the other gently exploring her feminine folds, pulling them apart with two fingers before a third dove in. "Mm!"

"I don't think I could get enough of these cute noises you keep making," he whispered, alternating between sucking her neck and tickling her ear with his tongue. "Now what can I do to hear more of them?"

"Shh! Someone'll hear!" she whispered desperately.

"I know, isn't it exciting?" he teased, "If a teacher came in now they'd be livid. Well, except maybe Midnight. Fair odds she'd want to join in." He felt a sudden tightness around his exploring finger. "Oh? Do you like that idea?"

"No! Th-that's not–!"

"Hmm, I feel like down here is being a little more honest," he taunted her, curling his finger inside her, his thumb seeking out her little love button to brush across it gently. "Can you imagine it? She throws that door open and sees us, but it's not anger in her eyes when she sees your little tits on display with my finger inside you. It's want. She storms in, promising a whole different kind of punishment. After all, bad girls need to be punished don't they? And you're such a bad girl–"

"Hm-hnnnn!" she squealed, bottom lip trapped between her teeth to keep herself quiet, her pussy squeezing, pressing down on his finger as it continued stroking and curling upwards.

"That's right!" he whispered demandingly, "Cum for me, Kyoka!"

"Khh-hnnn!" she squealed again, a quick spray of liquid ruining her panties.

Saiki pulled his fingers away from her womanhood, trailing just a little of the fluid coating them across her belly before tasting Kyoka's juices for himself. He gave her a moment to gather herself, to come down from her climax as she was left panting for breath and shivering against him. Wiping off his hands, he pulled her bra back down and pulled her blouse closed without buttoning it. As one last gesture of affection, he kissed her on the cheek. "That was fun, right?"

She continued to pant for a moment longer, taking in the full magnitude of what she just did. Hurriedly, her fingers started fumbling to button her blouse again as she stepped away. "Th-that was–!" she stammered, not looking at him.

"Satisfying? Exhilarating?"

"My first kiss!" Kyoka exploded.

"That so?" he asked, having had a feeling but wasn't sure. "I'm honoured."

"And-and then...!"

"Do you regret it?" Saiki asked her, more seriously.

She looked back at him, looked away, grabbed her dropped bag. "You're a jackass." Then slammed the door open and stormed out.

"That wasn't a yes," Saiki smiled to himself as he grabbed his own bag and left.