The rest of the day had gone by in a flash for Katsuki. After the worrying disappointment that had been Amaya's lack of knowledge about the supposed initial rankings headed their way, the group had all agreed to help Daisuke move his belongings to the room he shared with Minoru. Once the lizard-tailed boy had been properly moved in, more trips were made to assist Kyoka with her own luggage. Katsuki hadn't said much throughout the repeated journeys, and much to his delight, he found that he didn't need to. Amaya had carried most of the conversation, weaving through topics and ceding the floor to her classmates with a sort of skill that Katsuki both found impressive and somewhat envied. All in all, having a group that would accept his silence and didn't pressure him to constantly weigh in just felt nice. It had put him in a good mood and a state of relaxation he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Even so, he wasn't upset to see his new group of friends slowly break off to finalize the setup of their rooms and settle in for the night. In a period of hours that felt more like minutes, Katsuki found himself alone in his room with Eijiro and stacks of cardboard boxes. While the redhead busied himself with setting up their T.V., Katsuki instead continued to unpack cooking supplies and stock the cabinets. It took him a while to realize that he was actually smiling throughout the process.

It took him a split second to rein his expression back to neutral, in case Eijiro saw and got any ideas.

"So," Eijiro began from his place behind the T.V. stand, "what do you think of our crew?"

"…crew?" Katsuki asked as he turned around to face the other boy, holding a stack of plates. The moon was visible through the window as it rose behind the mountains in the distance. "What crew are you talking about?"

"Y'know. 1-A," Eijiro clarified. "Well, the ones here tonight, I mean."

"They're…" Katsuki started, trying to find the words. To his credit, Eijiro waited patiently, keeping his eyes on Katsuki and letting him think. "…people I think could learn to live with."

"Yeah," Eijiro agreed as he looked back down and resumed his quest to connect cables. "I think we lucked out. Everyone's just so… chill."

"…Kan is chill?" Katsuki deadpanned.

"Alright, almost everyone is chill," Eijiro corrected. "But every group needs a hothead. Or two."

Katsuki just rolled his eyes before turning back to his own work.

"Uh-huh. Don't piss me off, and I won't be one. Seems like she's the same way."

"Yeah, you two do seem to have some things in common," Eijiro acknowledged. "So… how about it?"

Katsuki furrowed his brows, only half paying attention to whatever it was his roommate was suggesting. Once the cabinets were fully stocked, he turned around and leaned back into the counter while folding his arms across his chest.

"How about what?"

"You know, you and her," Eijiro answered as he stood up from his crouched position and dusted his hands together. He held one out in a gesture of caution almost immediately and gave Katsuki his best disarming smile. "I know you said you're not here for that kind of thing, but… I'm just curious. You know, for the far-off future, that kind of thing. Is she your type?"

Katsuki let out a derisive snort and closed his eyes while shaking his head. In truth, it was a gesture to buy time more than one of annoyance- it was only then that he realized he had never actually considered what his 'type' might be if he ever took an interest in finding a partner. His mood was high enough such that he found himself actually willing to answer the question if not for the fact that he kept coming up with nothing. Despite the unsatisfying result to his introspection in terms of his preferences, though, he found that he did have a definite answer to Eijiro's initial question.

"…I don't think I have a type," Katsuki said with a shrug as he opened his eyes. "And if I was ever looking for that kind of shit, I'd be open to whatever, as long as we got on well. Which is why Kan is firmly in the hell no camp."

Eijiro blinked twice in surprise, clearly not following his roommate's train of thought.

"Uh… but I thought you liked her and did get on well?"

"Yeah, she's alright so far," Katsuki agreed. "But think about it- we'd rip each other apart. The first time we're in any sort of competition- rankings, leadership, whatever- we're going to clash, and it's going to get ugly. She's made it pretty damned clear she wants to be number one in our class. I don't plan on letting that happen. Mixing that sort of dynamic into any sort of relationship is asking for trouble. I like her right now. I respect her. I would never look for something more with her for that reason alone. I don't need some kind of… toxic relationship. I have enough of those already."

It was Eijiro's turn to appear confused as he tilted his head to the side.

"…I mean, couples fight sometimes. That's just normal."

"Not like I do," Katsuki warned as he moved back into the central part of the dorm and unzipped a duffel bag that was sitting upon the floor. "There's also the fact that she doesn't get along with her family at all. I don't get along mine, either. There would be a lot of letting things build and focus on that, it'd be us against the world, and… why am I even considering this question at all? The answer's no. Drop it, and I'm not answering that question about anyone else, either."

"Fair," Eijiro said as he put his hands up in a gesture of surrender and moved around one of the boxes on the floor. "I'm not gonna press ya on anything you don't want to talk about. I want this to be good, for both of us. We're partners, now."

Katsuki grunted an affirmation as he pulled a set of sheets out of the bag and went about making his bed. No matter how much he tried to fight off the annoying question lingering within his mind, the thought simply wouldn't go away. The question itself wasn't the source of Katsuki's annoyance- it was the idea that he had no idea why he wanted to ask it in the first place.

"…what do you see in Pinky?"

"Mina?" Eijiro asked, sounding surprised. "Oh, I… uh, that's… that's kinda hard…"

Katsuki only found himself growing more frustrated by Eijiro's nervous laugh as he looked at the other boy. Eijiro's cheeks were as red as his hair, and he was running his hands through the spiked-up locks.

"Is it?" Katsuki asked. "All of you people keep going on about how relationships are so important and great, and now you're telling me you don't know why you're in one?"

"No! No, I know why," Eijiro insisted. "It's just… it's hard to put into words, is all. Life's just… better with her, I guess?"

"That's it?" Katsuki asked. "'Life is just better' is the best you can do?"

"Well… yeah," Eijiro said, suddenly feeling rather stupid. "Things are just more fun having someone there for you no matter what's going on. That, and the fact that we're both into a lot of the same stuff, and… you know, the physical side of it. I'm not great at putting things into words, alright?"

"…whatever," Katsuki answered as he finished making his bed. "Not interested, and don't think I ever will be. It all just sounds like a waste of time and like you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Seen it all come crashing down over and over again."

"Maybe… but I think it's worth the risk," Eijiro considered. "Trust me, there are some th-"

A knock came at the door, interrupting the conversation and causing both boys to turn their attention to the wood. Katsuki was the closest, and so, he marched over to the door and pulled it open with a bit more force than necessary. He was expecting to see Izuku and ready to be annoyed, but instead, found his mother Inko standing in the hallway and looking worried.

"Katsuki? Could we speak in private?"

The rest of the day had gone by at a snail's pace for Mirio. After the unexpected toast to Sir Nighteye, Rizumu had filled them all in on their objective- espionage via planting tracking devices and potentially taking out a few of the Nue in an act of revenge. Though Mirio wasn't sure how he felt about his personal involvement changing the mission to potentially include killing, a long-buried part of him craved it. As the afternoon dragged into early evening, the small group had remained in Rizumu's apartment simply talking and watching T.V. to pass the time. After a while, it began to feel normal- a bit too normal, to the point where Mirio couldn't help but think of them almost as a secondary set of friends, albeit more distant than Tamaki and Nejire.

The transition toward that mindset had started long before the mission, and seeing how quickly his new allies had jumped to support him tipped the scales ever more to one side. As the trio's personalities came out more and more, Mirio found himself relaxing and comfortable within the apartment and listening to their stories not just to gather intelligence, but out of genuine interest. Rizumu shared quite a few personal stories about her time running the club, while Mr. Compress revealed almost nothing about himself throughout the various conversational topics and instead opted to swerve away from himself as much as possible. Overhaul, in contrast to both, only offered his opinion when asked. The relative silence only made Mirio more curious, and so, by the time they ended up in Mr. Compress' van on the way to the cannery, he found himself with more questions about the Shie Hassaikai than he had started with.

Upon entering the back of the vehicle with Rizumu, Mirio was unsure what to say. With the other two up front and separated by a rather thick wall, he knew that he was poised to capitalize on Rizumu's general openness and seemingly good nature. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to do anything for most of the ride but sit in silence, occasionally looking her over. The woman sat opposite of him, leaned up against the wall of the van and cradling an incredibly large curved sword in an azure sheath. Curiously, she still wore the crop top and leather skirt she had on in the apartment, adding only a knit beanie before heading out on assignment. It was the total lack of disguise or preparation for the mission that finally spurred Mirio to speak.

"That's… quite a weapon," he began. "Are you going to be on the front lines with me, or…?"

"…in a sense," the woman said with a smirk. "It's generally a last resort. More for show than anything, really. I'll be sticking with the van and Compress, utilizing my Quirk as needed to get you information."

"And that is…?" Mirio asked.

"Well," Rizumu began, "it's easier to just show you. If things go well, you won't even know I'm there with you. I'll be jumping in and out when you need to scout an area, since I'll get pretty messed up if I linger for too long. The full explanation can wait until we head home."

"Oh… kay?" Mirio replied, his curiosity piqued. Suddenly, his phone buzzed, and he pulled out the device to one message waiting. "Hold that thought."

We see you. Ready when you are.

Mirio took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. He worked himself into a panic as best he could, and thankfully, his efforts seemed to work.

"What's wrong?" Rizumu asked almost immediately. "Togata?"

"We need to stop," Mirio insisted as he stood up in the back of the van. "We've got heroes on site- one of which I'm close to. They see us, this goes sideways fast."

"Shit," Rizumu cursed as she, too, stood up. The woman banged on the dividing wall of the van, and the vehicle quickly rolled to a stop. "And how to do you know that, exactly?"

"We've got a policy among our class, ever since the Sir Nighteye incident" Mirio lied. "Any time someone goes out on a job, they send their location out to the group. It's… Tamaki Amajiki, one of the Big Three. Apparently Fat Gum is with him."

"Meaning they'll really make a mess of things if they see you," Rizumu acknowledged as the back doors were thrown open. "Shit."

"What's going on?" Overhaul asked as he pulled his gloves tighter.

"Some heroes beat us here," Mirio explained. He took a deep breath and met Overhaul's eyes, taking note of the other man's bubbling rage. "I got the intel since I still run in their circles… but I've got an idea. Do you trust me?"

Author's Note:

Will the plan go off without a hitch?

Does it ever?

-RD