Another day of classes down, and another walk back to the dorms for Deku and Todoroki. No matter how hard the day's classes were, the mere act of being with each other made everything worth it.

"Phew, I'm glad all that's over!" Todoroki wiped the sweat off her brow. "I think that might've been our most difficult training regimen yet!"

"I know, right? I swear, the longer we spend at this school, the less forgiving Mr. Aizawa gets!"

Todoroki stroked her chin. "That reminds me: why is he so harsh on us students?"

Deku scratched his head. "I'm not sure. My best guess is…"

"Midoriya! Todoroki!"

Deku and Todoroki turned around to see that Mezo Shoji had addressed them.

"What's up, Shoji?" asked Deku.

"I need your help," said Shoji.

"Oh?" Todoroki tilted her head. "What for?"

Shoji tapped his index fingers together. "You see…there's this girl I like, and I want to ask her out, but I don't know if she likes me."

"Why wouldn't you think she liked you?" asked Deku.

Shoji shook his head. "It's my face. I just have such a horrible, ugly face that no girl would ever want to date me."

"Why would you think you have a horrible, ugly face? It can't be that bad…can it?"

Shoji looked at Deku and Todoroki briefly. Then, he sighed.

"All right, I'll let you see my face, but only in private."

Shoji led Deku and Todoroki to his dorm.

"Are you two sure you want to see my face?"

Deku nodded. "We're sure."

"Very well."

Shoji took off his mask, and what Deku and Todoroki got was unexpected: his face looked like a cross between a human's and a reptile's, with a few scars. Nevertheless, the two lovebirds smiled.

"Shoji, you look so handsome!" said Todoroki. "How could any girl not want to date you?"

Shoji blushed. "D-do you really mean that?"

"Let me show you how much I mean it!"

Todoroki gave Shoji a big hug. Not knowing how else to process the intense emotion he was feeling, he hugged her back using his Dupli-Arms, even shedding a few tears in the process.

"Todoroki…this is one of the happiest days of my life!"

"Awww!"

Shoji continued to hug Todoroki. Growing up in a town where people were easily frightened by his unusual appearance, he'd always felt so self-conscious, so for a girl like her to tell him that he looked handsome, it was a major boost to his self-confidence. Feeling that much better about himself, all he could think about was how much he was looking forward to asking that girl out. Finally, when he'd had his fill, Shoji let go.

"Thank you, Todoroki."

"You're welcome, Shoji!"

"Shoji, you've got this!" Deku gave a thumbs up. "Just out of curiosity, though: who is this girl that you plan on asking out?"

"She's nobody that either of you know. Her name is Yumiko Miura, and she's part of Class 1-J, Department of Management."

"How did you come to know her?"

"She once asked if she could sit next to me at lunch. We didn't have the deepest conversation ever, but she seems like a nice person."

Deku nodded. "I see. Listen, if you still need help in asking her out, Shoko and I can back you up as moral support."

"Thank you, Midoriya. That would be very nice."

The next day, the students of Class 1-A went on about their usual business. For Shoji, however, this day was anything but usual as he hotly anticipated asking out the object of his affection. Then, after classes, Shoji was proceeding through the quad when he saw Yumiko Miura, a short, voluptuous girl with voluminous light blue hair.

"Hi, Shoji!" Miura waved at Shoji.

Shoji waved back. "Ah, hello, Miura! How are you doing today?"

"Not bad! How about you?"

"Not too bad, either. How were your classes today?"

"There was this one class on Human Resources that was pretty tough, but other than that, they were all right."

Shoji nodded. " I see. Usually, I have the most trouble with Math class."

"Yeah, that hasn't been my strongest subject, either, but I do all right."

"Anyways, Miura, I wanted to ask you something…"

"Yes?"
"There's this café a few blocks west of the school called Bettencourt Café, and I was wondering if you'd like to go there with me tomorrow after school."

Miura smiled. "Sure! I'd love to go with you!"

Shoji smiled as well. "Oh, wonderful!"

Meanwhile, a distance away, Deku and Todoroki – who'd been observing the whole exchange – smiled and gave each other a fist bump, knowing that it was their efforts that helped Shoji to succeed. Deku in particular was pleased, knowing that his efforts to help Todoroki led to this ripple effect.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.