Three students of class 1-A were eating lunch together. Or rather, they had bee, but really they were still in the cafeteria at their out of the way table for the sake of a little girl talk.

"The rooftops?" Momo asked, bewildered.

"Yeah. It was kind of nerve-wracking. His argument for why it was okay to use our quirks in public was kind of shaky now that I think about it but... Anyway, after that, he forced me to chase him from roof to roof. Before I knew it we were looking over downtown from over twenty stories up."

"Such a strange place to take you, though."

Izuku looked down, cheeks tinged with pink as she wore an embarrassed but content smile. "It was kind of beautiful to be honest. And then he held me and, well," her blush burned brighter, "He told me some things that I really needed to hear."

Momo's hand settled over hers. The gentle-hearted girl offering her a reassuring smile.

Kyoka watched the two of them, still trying to wrap her head around the entire situation. One girl telling another about her date with a boy the second girl was also dating. And both of them seemed happy as could be, even supportive of each other. Sure, she could admit that Saiki was the kind of guy to get a lot of attention, and the type of guy to enjoy it a little too much. But she didn't understand how this situation could come to be. While Saiki was attractive, and capable, and driven, and confident...

She felt like she was undermining her own argument by outlining his positive qualities. But the fact was girls happily sharing a guy didn't seem like something that could happen in real life. And the fact that she had gotten herself mixed up in it didn't make it easier to understand. Somehow, someway, Saiki seemed to get her. 'Get' in the meanings of both understand and acquire. She would deny on pain of death if anyone found out but in the privacy of her own mind she remembered the nights since it happened. Since that encounter in the storage closet. She would get ready for bed and there in her dresser would be that pair of panties with the kitten print, and she would think of him. And how he saw her. And how he touched her. And she would relive that moment again as she touched herself.

But yes. He understood her. In a way that was difficult to fathom. It was like he spent just a little time with her and seemed to get a read on the kind of person she was just from that. Maybe that could be it. A quality, a skill no one had noticed him possessing. The ability to figure people out so quickly. Even here, Izuku was talking about their date, about how he told her 'things she needed to hear', whatever that meant. But whatever those things were, they were clearly enough to send the girl head over heels for him all over again.

And all the while Momo listened, smiling as she heard about the boy she liked acting so romantic with another girl. And all the while Kyoka listened, not knowing how she was supposed to feel about intruding on this relationship as yet another girl Saiki was pursuing. She felt like she should say something. Tell them what happened. But she couldn't bring herself to. In truth, she feared they might push her away. Both as a friend and... from being with Saiki. Selfish. Arrogant. Duplicitous. He was all of those things. But it was all of those negative qualities that she found attractive. He lived the way she wished she could live, no fear or regrets.

"And then we ate some while listening to music and, umm," the green-haired girl's shoulders hunched as she twiddled her fingers, "We, umm, we kissed a bunch. While, while he held me."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Momo quietly cried, hugging the other girls shoulders. "I admit he and I only kissed a couple of times. Is he a very good kisser?"

"Umm, yes..."

"Is he better than me?"

"Well..."

"Hm! I see!" The words weren't of affront as Momo dropped a fist on her own palm, "Then I shall have to improve my skills! I wouldn't want my kisses to be unsatisfying!"

What even was this conversation? "How are you two okay with this?" The question tumbled out of Kyoka's mouth before she could think to stop it. But now that she had asked it, she very much wanted an answer. For her own peace of mind as much as anything else.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Momo's answer was less than helpful. Or... Maybe very helpful. Kyoka wasn't sure. So Momo would be okay with this sort of thing no matter what?

Izuku took more time to think about it, as she tended to for pretty much everything. "I guess... I know it's a little weird. It isn't how things should work. But... I haven't gotten a reason to not be okay with it? It's not like I don't like Momo." Izuku looked away with a blush. Kyoka noticed Momo's hand was still resting on hers. Oh. Kyoka's cheeks pinkened as she realised something about this strange relationship she hadn't before. In hindsight, Momo asking if Saiki was a better kisser than her should have been her first clue. "I like Saiki. He hasn't pushed me to do anything I don't want to do. And... He makes me feel special."

"Even though..." Kyoka trailed off, moving a pointed finger from Izuku to Momo. How could Izuku feel special when it looked like she wasn't enough?

"Well..." Izuku swallowed, "I, umm, Momo's kind of perfect?" Momo glowed at the praise. "She's strong, smart, polite, beautiful, caring to a fault, assertive when she needs to be... And if Saiki is as interested in me as he is in her... How could I not feel special?"

"Oh, Izuku, you are special," Momo assured her, fingers interlocking with the smaller girl's. The two looked into each others' eyes. "Umm, Jiro, we have some class representative things to deal with before classes start again. We'll see you later?"

"Right, later." The punk girl tried to hide her inner feelings behind her normal drowsy and disinterested expression. She wasn't successful but it doesn't matter. The two girls had eyes for only each other as they left the cafeteria, still hand in hand.

There was a stirring in her insides. A feeling she didn't appreciate having. Jealousy? Of that? To have that kind of trust and companionship? Why would she want that? They were both being used. So sure they had what they wanted, all the while they were both in the dark about what Saiki was really doing. He was using them. He was just very good at it. They were just like her.

Or... Were they? Was he just using them? Or... Did he really care about them? And if that was the case, was he just using her? The thought sent her insides roiling. She needed air.

Thankfully, inner turmoil was just right for her natural resting expression so no one questioned her as she vacated the cafeteria in a hurry. She emerged through the door just in time to catch a glimpse of Momo and Izuku rounding a corner. She didn't know what pushed her to follow them. Her feet just seemed to move in their direction, never fast enough to catch up, nor slow enough to fall behind. It wasn't her intention to tail them. She just... Did. Her steps quiet.

They traveled all the way down to the entrance to the main school building, then around the corner to hide in its shadow. As they stopped, Momo pinning Izuku against the wall, Kyoka made the decision. Even if she hadn't meant to, she had come this far. Her earjack snaked around the wall, close enough she could just about make out their words clearly.

"–Sure this is okay, Momo?" Izuku sounded uncertain, as she tended to.

"We have about ten minutes until first bell," Momo answered, smiling gently at the shorter girl. "I said I didn't want my kisses to be unsatisfying," she answered in a tone of voice that said at least she believed she was speaking sense. "I have to practice, don't I?"

Izuku didn't even try to argue. In truth, it was clear she didn't want to. Perhaps she just prefered to be talked into it. The dark-haired beauty leaned down to press her soft lips against those of Izuku and something thrummed in Kyoka. A feeling. A realisation. Well. That answers at least a little of her inner turmoil. An understanding of who she was that rested just below the surface until now. She watched as Momo's lips left Izuku's only to kiss at her freckles instead. The more submissive girl giggled at the silly yet affectionate gesture, putting a stop to it by pulling Momo in, bringing her lips back where she wanted them.

Their hands didn't remain idle. Momo's sliding under Izuku's skirt to grab handful of her plush yet toned backside. Izuku's unbuttoning a button of Momo's blouse, one hand sliding inside to skim over her soft skin, moving up and down, occasionally cupping one of her bra-clad breasts.

Kyoka's breathed hard, her hand mimicking the actions of Izuku. Even if she didn't have the same kind of assets that Momo had, she wanted to imagine the feeling. Imagine she was there with them. Her second earjack snaked under her skirt, under her panties to stroke gently around her moistening lower lips. Flushed, panting, wanton, daydreaming about getting to kiss Momo like that. To touch her. Izuku was less her type, yet another thing she learned about herself, that she liked girls but even had a preferred type. Though Kyoka wasn't sure who would say Momo wasn't their type except maybe straight girls.

And even that was a maybe.

So distracted by the embrace between not quite lovers, Kyoka didn't notice the arrival of someone else until it was too late. Would she have warned her friends? No. No she wouldn't. If they knew she was here she had no idea what she would do, beyond die of embarrassment. Perving on her friends like this.

"Well now," Izuku stiffened, her head creakily turning toward the source of the voice. Momo backed up and faced them, only to realise her blouse was still unbuttoned. "Looks like I found two students getting a little too intimate on school grounds, isn't that so?" Midnight asked as she licked her lips.

"M-M-Miss Midnight! We were, uhh, we–!" Izuku stammered, red as a tomato.

"You should fix your skirt, Miss Midoriya," Midnight suggested with a wave of her hand that sent the set of handcuffs on her wrist rattling. "Wouldn't want to be indecent, would we?"

"N-No ma'am!" The girl quickly brushed her skirt down to cover her thighs properly.

"Oh, I do so love it when girls start figuring things out," Midnight cooed, "Such tender innocence, I almost wish I didn't have to punish you."

"No, Miss Midnight, we were in the wrong," Momo admitted, bowing. "Please punish us appropriately."

"So earnest and eager!" the teacher half-squealed, "You'll have detention with me next week. Don't think I'll go easy on you for accepting your punishment. Off you go."

"Yes ma'am," Momo acknowledged, flushed from embarrassment but returning inside without pause. Izuku offered a slight bow of her own before quickly following.

Midnight didn't leave immediately. Just watched the two girls go before turning back to look at the wall and– Kyoka's breath caught in her throat as the teacher's eyes zeroed in on her jack still in the wall. "My my, this doesn't look like it's part of the building's infrastructure. I wonder what I might find if I were to follow this strangely flesh-coloured cable to its source."

With the sound of metal scratching against concrete, Kyoka disconnected her jack from the wall and retracted it before coming out. She was caught. She knew it. She scowled slightly as she stepped out into the open. Momo might accept punishments with dignity but–

'After all, bad girls need to be punished don't they? And you're such a bad girl–'

Her teeth grit as she remembered Saiki's words from that time in the closet. Just another point in her theory that he could figure people out. Even pegged her as bi before she even realised it, before she was willing or able to admit it.

Midnight tutted on seeing Kyoka's expression. "Now there's a girl who needs proper punishment. Spying on your classmates Miss Jiro?" The teacher sniffed slightly. "And enjoying the show." Kyoka flushed, looking away knowing the criticism was valid. "Well at least you're ashamed. Maybe if a naughty girl can admit it she won't need a spanking."

"I'm sorry," Kyoka sighed, bowing. "I don't know what I was thinking. I... I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Ah, to be so young and foolish again," Midnight sighed wistfully, cupping her cheek with one hand. "Don't worry, I'll let you tell them and apologise in your own time. Maybe while you're sitting detention with them next week."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good girl. You should go clean yourself up before classes start."

-(-)-

"Shit, shit, shit!" Saiki cursed over and over again as he ran from the train station, dodging and ducking out of the way of pedestrians. Damn villain attack delayed his train and made him late for work!

He ran inside the Smile Burger, barely giving the automatic doors time to open before slipping through, rushing to the back room where his manager was waiting for him. He grimaced.

"You're late, Saisei," his manager frowned up at him. He was a short, skinny man. Not just skinny. His quirk was heteromorphic; a hyper-dense skeletal structure. All of his bones were millimetres thick but just as strong as normal bones. It gave him a strange appearance, and a chip on his shoulder because of it.

Saiki bowed quickly in apology, his duffel with his uniform still in hand. "Yes sir. I apologise." Japanese work culture. It didn't matter if the problem was something beyond his control. It was his fault regardless.

"Hmph. Get changed. You can make up for it by cleaning the restrooms. We had a children's birthday party and a couple of the children missed the urinal."

Saiki grimaced. "Yes sir. Right away."

"Smile, Saiki," his boss reminded him.

Saiki took a deep breath in to suppress his more honest reaction to the command. Tell him to mop up piss and smile about it. But even so, he pasted a fake smile on his face, service with a Smile. The company motto. "Yes sir, Mister Honemitsu!"

The smile lasted long enough to follow his boss out the door before dropping the instant it closed. He sighed. He expected it would be a long weekend.

It didn't get any better as he finished with the men's room. In the moment it took to dispose of the surface cleaners and fetch the mop and bucket, "Holy shit." He knew that husky, growly voice. He wished he didn't. But he did. "Saiki?"

He tried to put a smile on his face. "Katsumi," he couldn't keep the sigh out of his voice. "Welcome to Smile Burger. Kind of busy, if you head up to the counter I'm sure one of my coworkers would be happy to serve you with a Smile–"

"Holy shit you work here!" she grinned viciously. "This might not be the best day since I got to UA but it's definitely in the top five." She gave him a once over. "Love the clown colours. You do birthday parties?"

He needed this job he needed this job he needed this job he- "We do offer catering for children's birthday parties. You would need to arrange that with the manager and get out of my face!" he answered with an increasingly fragile smile, the last few words slipping out against his will.

"Saisei!" Naturally, those were the words his manager heard. "Are you hassling our customers?!"

He saw the glint in her eye, the dangerous hint of her about to do something disastrous without even realising it. "Yeah, he has a real shitty attitude and–"

"No, Mister Honemitsu!" Saiki cut her off sharply. "She's a classmate from school who thinks it'll be funny to get me fired from the job that lets me pay for school."

Katsumi's expression was confused, but Saiki could see as she slowly put the pieces together, having been in his apartment, seen the bargain bin furniture, his bad attitude especially when it came to things like pity. All the while the manager of the restaurant glared at the side of Saiki's head. "Saisei, finish up with the restrooms and then get your ass in my office."

Katsumi was even more surprised to see the usually brash, arrogant Saiki lower his head in a bow and meekly assent with a "Yes sir," carrying the mop bucket into the men's room.

"You have my sincerest apologies, Miss. That employee's poor conduct is not what Smile Burger is about. By way of apology, please allow me to offer you a meal at no charge."

"Hey, hold on, he was right, I was just fucking with him-"

"We at Smile Burger pride ourselves on immaculate customer service with a Smile." Even as he spoke over her, he wore an ugly, forced grin. Then he turned away from her.

Oh screw Saiki, she was pissed for her own sake now! "Hey asshole, you listening to me?! I said–" The manager continued to ignore her, going behind the counter, speaking a few words to the girl working the register and pointing her way, and then leaving for the back. Katsumi was astonished. She couldn't remember the last time someone ignored her that blatantly, all while acting like he was doing her a favour!

And she just got Saiki in the shit for real. "Fuck!"

She stayed. To eat, for one. She came into this place for a reason after all. But also out of guilt. She kind of just fucked over someone she would never admit to caring about so she at least needed to say something.

About fifteen minutes later Saiki came out wiping his forehead with his arm. He glanced her way, glared, closed his eyes and turned for the back where the manager went a little while before. He didn't come back out again for a half hour.

"Hey, Saiki," she said quietly as she caught him.

"I'm working." Fairly obvious he couldn't do the Smile bullshit at that moment, not that she wanted him to.

"Fine, when do you get off?"

"After close," he answered curtly.

"Seriously?" Smile Burger closed at like two in the morning!

He glared.

"F-Fine, when do you go on break?" she tried again.

He continued to glare, but pushed it back down, rolling his eyes as he walked over to the counter and exchanged a few words with the register girl before coming back. "I'm on break now. Let's go outside so I don't get bitched out again."

She followed him out, hands in her pockets. He leaned against the wall outside so she joined him. He didn't say anything. She knew it had to be her to start. Reaching into her wallet she pulled out a thousand yen bill without looking at him. "Here. That asshole comped my meal so..."

He glanced at her, down at the bill in her hand. "Normally I'd say fuck your pity but since that comped meal was taken out of my wages," he plucked the bill from her hand and stuffed it in his pocket.

"... I'm sorry, alright?!" she gave a strangely aggressive apology, barked it out like an insult. "I didn't know you were in such a shitty spot."

Saiki sighed through his nose. "I guess I accept your apology. My situation isn't quite as bad as I made it out to be. Still not good enough to make it okay to fuck me over at work, but still. Besides, Honemitsu wouldn't fire me. He'd have to hire three part timers to make up my lost work hours."

"You're seriously working until after closing tonight?" she asked.

"Yup," he answered. "Closing up, cleaning everything, go home at two-thirty, get a couple hours sleep, then back to work tomorrow at six."

"How the hell do you–?"

"I don't need to sleep much," he readily admitted. "One of the first things my quirk did for me. Kind of lucky in hindsight." His shoulders bounced in a loose shrug. "It's not as bad as it sounds. It's not like I do this every day, just weekends. Besides, at least this way I know the closing shift didn't 'forget' to clean the kitchen."

"Fuck," Katsumi cursed, shaking her head. "You need to do this to pay for school?"

"I need to do this to pay for school and to put some money away in case something crazy happens. I've got enough to cover everything for... Maybe a semester? I'm trying to save up for after UA when I start up my own agency but... You never know."

Katsumi snickered. "Heh. Figures you wouldn't even think of doing sidekick work out of school. Arrogant jackass."

"You say that like you wouldn't do the same thing."

She smirked. He was a hundred percent right, of course. "Finals are coming up," she brought up out of the blue. "Now that I know you have to deal with all this bullshit I'm feeling pretty confident I'm gonna hand you your ass."

"Heh. That so?" he asked. "Same wager as always?"

She grinned.