Chapter 296 - 45

Chapter 45: Countdown to Term Finals! Part 3

1 Week Until Term Finals

With one week to go until the start of term finals, All Might was ready to see if Izuku was serious about his promise. So that morning, before most of the school's student body was even coming into campus, All Might went to find the third year hero students.

He found that the 3-A and 3-B classes were already fully present as the students were preparing for one of their last exams. The exams for these students at this point were like the final notes on a job resume, the extra little bits that got you a job over someone else. So the third-years were taking every extra moment to prepare.

Unlike the first- and second-years, these students had an inkling that there was something more going on this time, a testament to their growing heroic instincts. All Might politely pulled aside three students, U.A.'s Big Three, into the hall. It was there he explained what he would like for them to do.

Nejire hummed as she thought about All Might's plan. "I mean, Toogata should be enough. Having all three of us seems like it would be overkill."

Mirio was still smiling, even as he nodded his head. "Oh, but that's the point isn't it?"

"Exactly right."

Tamaki shifted around, looking for a corner to hide in. "Three on one… We're going to become school bullies…"

All Might laughed. "Have no fear, Young Amajiki. This is just a special training session to drive home a little harsh lesson. Your sterling reputations will not be diminished. And," All Might added with what could almost be a wicked smile, "this won't be a three on one match."

Izuku, Ochako, Himiko, Tenya, Hitoshi, Tsuyu and Shouto, dressed in their U.A. sweats, had gathered at the Omega Grounds after school as they had been instructed. Mei, who hadn't been asked to come, but had anyway, was standing besides All Might, waving a little U.A. sports flag. In front of the seven stood Tamaki, Nejire and Mirio, also dressed in their U.A. sweats.

"The rule is simple. Survive for one minute, or else, I'll pull all of you from your practical exams and you'll fail the test." Any shouts of surprise or protest were drowned out when All Might whistled for the match to begin.

Shouto decided that instead of questioning things, he'd just end things here and now. Pressing down with his right foot, a wall of ice rocketed up and outward, reminiscent of his attack against Ochako during the sports festival.

All Might whistled as the whole area was suddenly covered in shadow as the ice reached up into the sky. He then winced when just underneath Shouto, a pair of hands reached out from the ground and grabbed his ankles. Sorry kids. Sometimes you have to take your lumps.

In a matter of seconds, the match was over. Shouto, with his legs pulled out from under him, was slammed into the ground, the air knocked out of him. Mirio used the speed of his ascent back onto solid ground to fling himself into Tenya, driving his fist into the poor honor student's stomach.

Ochako tried to cover the distance to reach Mirio, but Nejire had flown overhead and blasted the poor girl into a crater. Tsu tried to leap back, to put some distance between herself and the assault, but Tamaki cut her off. Leaping into the air after her, with frog legs all his own, he twisted around and kicked her in the back before landing on her. Reaching out with his hand, octopus tentacles lashed out and wrapped around Hitoshi's head, covering his mouth before he got tossed against a tree.

Only Izuku was left. He stared in shock as all of his friends lay knocked out on the ground. He didn't have time to really think about it; Mirio had turned and was looking his way. Izuku was about to try and grab the other boy's clothes to pull him away, only to realize that he was naked. Not the first time he had seen this happen, as in some past training sessions Mirio had accidently lost his clothes while demonstrating his Quirk.

The ground around Izuku glowed as he ripped chunks out of it and launched them at Mirio. The senior phased through them before dropping into the ground and out of sight. Puffing his cheeks out, Izuku, after recalling how Shouto got taken out and the few lessons Mirio had taught him the past month, blew a blaze of fire onto the ground.

Mirio popped out of the ground, several yards away, outside of the fire. As he was about to land, Izuku was getting ready to attack, not noticing that Nejire was right over top of him until she made another crater in the ground with him in the center.

"Aaaand that's that. And in under ten seconds too."

All Might observed the utter devastation with a simple nod of his head while Tamaki brought Mirio his clothes back. Throwing his clothes on, Mirio quickly made his way over towards All Might. "Sir, did you get what you wanted? We left Midoriya for last, but maybe we ended the match too soon?"

Nejire bonked herself on the head. "Whoops."

All Might shook his head. "No, no. You did just fine and I got to see exactly what I needed to see." All Might pulled out his phone and was about to turn off the timer when he noticed Mei was counting.

"…Four, five, six… Huh, looks like you all missed one. So, the match is still going, right?"

The three seniors, and one pro, all blinked, then turned back to the match grounds. Sure enough, one of the students was missing.

"Uh oh… Young Toga?"

Everyone that was still able to, looked around the area, but didn't see or hear anything. Mei chuckled. "Oooh, she's gonna stab you good."

All Might laughed that off, making sure to reassure the three seniors. "Oh, I'm sure that won't happen."

Mei tilted her head. "But you three just beat the snot out of her best friends. I mean, if I was a slightly murderous crazy blood freak like her, I'd stab you."

"Errrr."

Tamaki lowered his head. "I wanna go home…"

The eerie silence of the training ground unnerved the four, until the quiet was broken by All Might's phone going off, the alarm set for one minute now passed.

"'She that fights and runs away, may return and fight another day,'" Himiko said as she dropped out of the trees right above them, giving the four a start as they had no idea she had been so close. "You said survive so, I just did what made sense." She smiled brightly, obviously happy with herself.

"So you chose to run away, Young Toga?"

Himiko looked at her friends, sprawled out after the massive ass-kicking they just got from the Big Three, before crossing her arms. "I did what any frat boy in his right mind would do. I strategically pulled out."

All Might covered his face with his hand and groaned at the horrible joke.

Izuku lifted his head off the grass. "What does being a frat boy have to do with pulling out?"

The groan that escaped the rest of the fallen squad was enough to make Izuku know he should just drop it.

Mei for her part, safe and sound in her chair, tapped her chin. "But don't frat boys never pull out in time, and always end up cre—"

"And that's today's lesson done!"

It took a few minutes to get everyone off the ground and grouped up with All Might. Though by the despondent looks, their pride was still left behind at the battlefield. All Might gave them all a reassuring smile. "Have no fear. That pretty much went exactly as I expected it to go."

"Wait, you expected us to get our butts kicked?" Ochako asked, feeling a little of Miruko's aggression training starting to act up.

"Of course." All Might paused when the despondent looks now turned to outright depression. "Errr… Not that that's a bad thing! Think of this as coming across an optional end game super boss that you ran into at the beginning of the game. You were doomed from the start." 

Himiko rubbed her brow. "Wow, you just like, totally suck at this."

Hitoshi looked like he wanted to join Tamaki, who was turned away and pressing his face into one of the trees. "Well that's just great. This was just the confidence boost I needed before our term finals."

"All Might, I must protest!" Tenya's arms were chopping away at light speed, given how agitated he was. "Far be it for me to question you as a hero and as a teacher, but I can not see the point of this exercise."

"Same here, kero," Tsuyu grumbled. You could almost see the puffs of steam coming off her while Shouto was looking up at All Might like he was his own father.

While Izuku was doing his best impression of Cindy Lou Who while looking up at All Might and asking him, 'Why?'

"So perhaps I should explain—"

"You wanted to put Deku into a situation where to try and 'protect us', he would be tempted to fall back on his bad habit of going to 'plus ultra' to win a fight against opponents that are way stronger. So, you put us at risk in a worst case scenario for Deku," Ochako cut in, eyeing the hero so he knew she was very annoyed with him.

The group of kids looked at Izuku, who now besides looking betrayed also looked guilty as hell. Then they, as one, turned to look at All Might, who also looked guilty as hell. "Ahem, that is to say… That was only part one of my ingenious plan."

"Oh?" Himiko asked, making it no secret she was enjoying the show of All Might quaking in his boots. "So you just wanting us to get stomped on to prove Izuku isn't always a total dummy wasn't the only reason you brought us here? That's good, or else I might have to complain to Midnight. Really turning on the water works too."

"…Please don't do that."

Mei scratched her head. "Why are you upset? You didn't get beaten up?"

"Well, that's because I'm a god damned goddess. Plus, it's the principle of the thing."

Tenya cut in, "Your talents at stealth aside, I'm sure All Might wouldn't just bring us here for the singular reason to be assaulted in front of Midoriya. While I agree it is important to make sure Midoriya breaks his bad habits, All Might would not rely on such an ineffective method that would cause us each such distress at the same time."

All Might coughed into his hand. And looked up at the sky. "C-Correct! Like I would do something like that. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

…Stare…

"Y-you see… ah! Yes! Part two of my totally planned out idea was to teach you all a valuable lesson!" Straightening himself out, All Might pointed at the students. "Your class has had the unfortunate and unique experience of facing real villains. Normally such an encounter wouldn't happen until well later and under the supervision of a trained hero who would be with you. The attack we suffered at the USJ gave you all a chance to see what villains are really like. And even your internships could be considered abnormal. Especially for first years, the heroes you were training under would select assignments that would keep you out of harm's way."

Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Himiko and Shouto all shared quick hidden looks, while Tsuyu raised her hand. "You mean like the situation I was in?"

"Exactly. Your class has seen and experienced things that give you an edge against other students. However," All Might nodded towards the Big Three, "I felt it prudent to put that experience into perspective. Unique as your time at U.A. has been, you all still only have a few months of training under your belts. They have a few years. I trust you all see the difference."

They accepted that explanation, though some more than others. A couple of the squad could tell All Might had come up with that on the fly, even if they begrudgingly agreed that it was a good lesson.

All Might, thinking he was in the clear, was about to dismiss the group when Shouto raised his hand. "Were we ever in danger of being removed from our final exams?"

"Huh, oh no. That was just a clever lie to help motive…"

The angry glares were back now.

Whoops.

After his answer was accepted by the students, All Might told them they were free to go, though Izuku was asked to remain so the two could have a chance to talk over some things.

Tsuyu rubbed her sore back, wincing at the massive kick she had received thanks to her student tutor Tamaki, who had added insult to injury by giving himself frog legs in the mock battle. Suddenly up against someone that could do all she could, but somehow better, had been a bruise to the ego for sure.

Tamaki fidgeted when Tsuyu walked up to him. "Sorry… about your back."

"It's fine, kero. If you're free, I'd like to see what else you're able to do when you use frog body parts. Might give me some ideas."

Tamaki wished the U.A. gym sweats had hoods. Instead, he pulled at his collar and avoided looking Tsuyu in the eye. "I… suppose that shouldn't be a problem… though I don't…"

"Toogata's offer was for all of us, right?"

Tamaki really wished his friend hadn't volunteered all three of them back then. While he had been lucky to avoid having to train anyone, it looked like his luck had run out.

"Okay, but… I don't have a lot of experience with frogs…"

Tsuyu rubbed her back. "Could have fooled me, kero."

"It's just… back when I couldn't control my Quirk very well… the last time I ate a frog there was… um… well…" Tamaki suddenly wished he hadn't even started talking. His face was bright red and he looked like he wanted to vanish. He was bringing something up that was totally unnecessary, and he wasn't even sure if it would apply to Tsuyu.

"Ah," the normally calm and collected Tsuyu now had some pink in her cheeks. "You got some of our… instincts by mistake…" Tamaki nodded and Tsuyu croaked nervously. "At least you got to turn it off when it ran out…"

Tamaki really wanted to crawl into a hole now, because if what he read was true, then that drive was constant when it came to frogs wanting to—

"Oooh, what are you two talking about over here?" Himiko giggled as she walked by. "Sharing some dark, froggy secrets?" Cackling, Himiko paused when she saw Tsuyu blush a little more. "Oh wow, were you two flirting or something?"

Immediately, both the animal-themed heroic students denied the idea, which Himiko found just as hilarious. "Oh my god, calm down. I won't get between your little forbidden love," Himiko teased further, though her handwave and demeanor made it clear she knew nothing was really going on.

Still, she got in one last stab. "Though Tsu, you should be careful looking all flustered like that. Makes you look mad cute. You could get yourself anyone with that look."

Walking away, Himiko missed Tsu flushing red, fidgeting, and watching her sway her hips as she walked off.

While the rest of her friends had gone on ahead discussing if they might want to order some fast food for dinner and hang out, Ochako said she was going to hang back to let Izuku know what the plan was. Which was technically true.

She also wanted to hear what he and All Might were talking about. More than likely, it was about his performance in the slaughter they just went through. Or, it could have something to do with One for All. The Quirk was still giving him issues and he was still barred from using it unless he was supervised and in private training.

Walking back through the brush, Ochako wasn't paying attention behind her. So she let out a surprised "Eep!" when a pair of arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Hey there. Whatcha doing?"

"Toga!" Ochako hissed. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Aww, don't be like that."

Ochako blinked, then gulped. The playful tone in Himiko's voice, the way she was still holding her, the fact that they were alone in the woods. It was all she needed to know to figure out that whatever Himiko had planned, she wasn't going to like it. Or, she was going to like it and that was the problem.

"T-toga why don't weeeeeEE!"

Himiko liked to flirt. It was her favorite pastime, besides drinking blood and stabbing people. Ochako had watched her flirt with an oblivious Izuku for months, so she knew Himiko's games. But after the incident in Hosu City and Himiko's confession, Ochako had been added to Himiko's list of targets.

Which was bad enough, but while Himiko liked to handle Izuku with kid gloves, Ochako didn't get the same consideration. Case in point, Himiko's hands had slipped underneath her sweatshirt and were running along her stomach.

"T-toga, tha—"

"God," Himiko whispered into Ochako's ear, "I could play with your abs for hours. Just let me trace over each-and-every-one of these mouth watering muscles."

As she huskily whispered each word, Himiko pressed her fingers along the outline of Ochako's abs, alternating between firm pressed and feather soft tickles. She openly palmed along Ochako's abdominals, working her hand up in large circles. With her other hand, Himiko's fingers ran little circles around Ochako's belly button, humming in satisfaction at how the skin twitched and heated under her touch.

"T-Toohhhhgaa…" Ochako bit back a moan. She hated how good those hands felt.

"That's… that's enough," Ochako said, softly but definitive. Himiko's hands pulled back from her front, and she felt Himiko pull away from her back too. She may flirt with her a bit more roughly than she did Izuku, but she knew when her friend drew the line. 'No' was a pretty definitive line.

When Ochako looked down at the hands leaving her now buzzing stomach, her eyes snapped open.

Ochako's hands shot up and grabbed Himiko's wrists, except that they were way too thick to be Himiko's wrists. Looking down at them, Ochako confirmed that these hands weren't Himiko's. They weren't even feminine.

The hands doing only god knew what to her consciousness and giving her subconsciousness all kinds of ammunition weren't Himiko's hands.

They were Izuku's.

Those were Izuku's fucking hands that had touched her stomach. Ochako's breath got stuck in her throat as she whirled around to find Himiko grinning at her, gray goop dripping around her elbows as she held up Izuku's oversized—for her at least—hands.

"So, my hands felt pretty goo—ack!"

Ochako growled as she tackled Himiko to the ground and started wailing on the gooey gray mess that was a snickering and cackling Himiko. "Admit it! Izuku's hands felt so—!"

WACK!

"—OW! You bitch! You're just mad I gave you something to think about later tonight, aren't you!?" Himiko smirked up at Ochako, who was breathing heavily because she was mad or some other reason.

"I do not need your help coming up with reasons to think about Deku at night."

"..."

"..."

"So, you know you said the quiet part out loud, right?"

Ochako pressed her face into Himiko shoulder. "Shut, the fuck, up, you crazy bitch."

"Awww, you love me." Ochako pulled back, and pinned Himiko's hands to the ground. "Um…" Himiko blinked, "Ochako?"

"Turn into Deku."

Oh fuck, did I flip a switch?

Himiko smiled, gray goop starting to pour over her skin. "Oh? What do you have in mind, Ochako?"

Then Ochako smiled, and the fear of god entered Himiko with such force she stopped her transformation. "Because I need you to be a boy if I'm going to smash your nuts."

WRONG SWITCH! WRONG SWITCH!

Izuku blinked when Ochako and Himiko walked out of the brush and hurried over to them. "See, I told you they'd want to hear whatever you wanted to say to me, All Might."

"Ha ha ha, I never doubted. I'm just surprised it took them so long to come back."

Ochako had a strained grin on her face as she gave Himiko a glare. "Oh we just had some business to take care of. Didn't we, Toga?" When she put an arm over Himiko's shoulder to really sell the buddy buddy scene, she made sure to apply just enough pressure to make Himiko behave.

"Yup. Totally innocent business," Himiko parrotted.

Izuku blinked, looked between the two, then sighed. "Is it better that I just not ask and just assume you both did something?"

"What, no!"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The overlapping answers were enough for Izuku as he turned back to All Might. "So All Might, what did you want to say?"

"I wanted to go over the test I had you take."

Izuku frowned, rubbing the sore muscles he still had. "You mean where I got smashed into the ground?"

"Young Midoriya, I needed to see how you would react to a sudden unstoppable threat."

Izuku rolled his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. "Not very well apparently."

"Oh, I disagree."

"…All Might, I got smashed into the ground in like a second."

All Might bellowed out a laugh. "True, but it's what you did in that second that matters. In an instant, you used your Quirks naturally as you formulated a plan while attempting to defend yourself. You didn't default to a move that might have been devastating to your opponent as well as yourself. This, on top of your work these past few weeks, means I can with confidence report to Aizawa that you are cleared to take your final."

"Yes!" Izuku cheered, throwing up his hands in victory. Behind him, Ochako and Himiko clapped and congratulated him. Izuku smiled and blushed at the praise, "I mean… everyone was helping me and All Might was a great—"

"Deku," Ochako cut in, a huge smile on her face. "Take the victory lap. You manifested a new Quirk and got a handle on it in just about two months. It took you almost ten for your Psychokinesis."

Izuku puffed out his chest a little, given free reign to feel as proud as he wanted. "So does this mean we're going to focus on One for All then?"

"That's right. Now that you have your Boric Pyre under control, I feel confident that we can now focus purely on getting control of One for All." Izuku cheered. "Right after your final exam."

The cheer turned into a cough as Izuku's celebration came to a sudden stop. "Wait? What? After my finals?" Izuku looked around, not sure he liked how no one else seemed surprised at this.

"Given that you're still struggling to even use One for All without hurting yourself." All Might raised a hand, cutting Izuku off. "Not counting the small handful of times you were able to throw a punch and not shatter your arm."

"Two," Ochako filled in. "You did it two times, and once was because Toga accidentally landed in front of you when you were throwing a punch and you were somehow able to reel yourself in."

Himiko sheepishly kicked at the ground. "Not my fault those damn hover boots have so much kick."

"B-but I was able to copy what I did!" Izuku argued.

All Might shook his head. "Once. You were able to copy the feeling of not splattering your friend only one other time. And even then, the strain left you exhausted."

Izuku crossed his arms, but couldn't exactly argue the point. After the accident Himiko had with the hover boots, it caused her to accidentally land in front of Izuku as he was practicing using One for All.

He had not actually been throwing a punch, but holding the energy in his arm while going through the motion. The shock of Himiko's landing had made Izuku lose his concentration and throw the punch for real.

All Might had been able to rush in and pull Himiko out before she got pulverized, while at the same time Izuku, by some miracle, had been able to dial back the power so that the blast wouldn't have been fatal. As a side benefit, his arm hadn't turned into a wet bloody noodle, it had only been really, really bruised.

Afterwards All Might theorized that Izuku had subconsciously got a handle of the output to make sure he didn't accidentally kill Himiko. So the next time All Might did One for All training he tried to make Izuku recall that feeling and copy it. It took a great deal of effort and patience but Izuku was able to throw a punch on his own again, though the process left him drained, physically and mentally.

"So taking all things into consideration, and with your exams only a few days away, I've decided that all extracurricular Quirk training is on hold until after your exams. I don't want you going into them exhausted or injured. Take this time to let your body fully recover while you finish prepping for your written tests. Recall what you had to do for your entrance exams. All the Quirk practice in the world won't help you if you get stuck on a math question." 

Ochako and Himiko both nodded their heads. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Not helping, you two traitors!

"Plus, I need to help make sure things are prepared for the practical tests. I sorta need this week to, um… actually, never mind."

All Might decided he probably shouldn't be talking about how he's involved with the tests. Though now the genie was out, and he was getting some questioning looks.

He quickly moved on, "So. For the time being, you don't have to stay after class to work on your Quirk. Right now, you are free to use Psychokinesis and Boric Pyre how you'd like when in school. But One for All is still off limits without supervision. We'll get back to it after you pass your tests."

"So what are we going to order, kero?"

"No kidding, I'm starved," Hitoshi agreed.

When Izuku, Ochako and Himiko had made it back to the school locker rooms they found their friends waiting for them, all hungry after their unfortunate afternoon beating.

"Can't make babies on an empty stomach."

"You can't?"

While the group began to worry about letting the mechanically gifted but real world dense Mei spend too much time around the unbelievably trusting Shouto, Izuku hurried inside the locker room to get showered and changed out of his sweats.

Opening his locker, Izuku frowned as he tugged off his top while kicking off his shoes. He couldn't help but think about what All Might had said. Putting off training One for All now, when Izuku was sure he was so close to a breakthrough, felt like a waste.

I'm so close to figuring it out. I'm sure it would only take one last day. 

Izuku had wisely not pushed the issue with All Might. Aside from him being pretty clear on the matter, it also sounded like he was going to be busy this week.

Probably has something to do with the exams… Though isn't it just us against the villain bots again?

Deciding it wasn't worth thinking about at the moment, Izuku decided to instead focus on One for All. After so long he finally seemed to be able to turn down the power of the mighty Quirk. But even lowered, the power was enough to really rattle Izuku's arm when he used it.

I'm not seeing something. If just turning it down isn't enough… What else can I do to make sure my arm doesn't explode when I throw a punch? Think… there has to be a solution… I just know there is.

Contemplating this, Izuku was lost in his own thoughts as he reached down to pull off his sweat pants and boxers. Maybe a warm shower would help give him some clarity.

"So while I'd love a good show, maybe you should keep those on for now."

If there was anything that was going to rip Izuku out of his One for All conundrum, it was hearing a girl's voice in the boys locker room. Ripping his hands off his waistband, Izuku whirled around and made to cover himself. "TOGA?!"

Himiko smiled oh so sweetly, giving Izuku a playful little wave. "Hello sweetie." She then snorted and covered her mouth to hold back a chuckle. "Are you really trying to cover up?" She motioned to Izuku, who had one hand over his crotch and the other across his chest. "I made sure you still had your pants on, you know."

Realizing he was being a little foolish, Izuku dropped his hands and glowered at Himiko. "You really shouldn't be here, you know. How'd you even get in here? Aren't the others outside in the hall? And wouldn't Uraraka know you snuck off?"

"…" Himiko looked at Izuku evenly. "Are you seriously asking how I could sneak away?"

That was a totally fair point and Izuku immediately conceded, "Okay, fair. But you still shouldn't be in here."

"Oh hush, I'm not even the first one to sneak in here, so tone it down."

"Wait wha?"

"We need to talk," Himiko stated, unnervingly serious.

Oh… well this can't be good. Wait, she couldn't know what I was thinking about…

"Um," Izuku coughed. "Wh-what about?"

Himiko covered the distance between the two and looked Izuku dead in the eye. "This is something that's been bothering me for a while actually, and today, well, I need to get it nipped in the bud now."

"Nip what in the bud?" Izuku gulped. Himiko was serious, and that was not a good sign. Izuku's mind raced, because if she somehow knew what he had been thinking, he was screwed.

Himiko reached up, and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Izuku."

"Y-yes?"

"It's really important for me to know." Izuku held his breath, waiting for it. "You do know what I meant by frat boys and pulling out, right?"

Time stopped and Izuku felt like he had gotten smacked down by Mirio and Nejire again. "Whaaaaaaaaa?"

"You know. Pulling out. Because I was talking about—"

Izuku covered his reddening face, whipping around so he didn't have to look at Himiko. "Toga, please stop."

"It was sex, Izuku. Cause frat boys don't want to—"

Izuku groaned in annoyance, wanting to throw his hand up and just give up. "I know what sex is Toga," Izuku hissed through his fingers. He could not believe this was how this conversation had turned out. He wanted to die.

Himiko wiped her brow. "Oh thank god. Because after the finger banging," Izuku meeped, "and all the other obvious shit I've tossed around, I was really getting worried I was going to have to teach you the in and outs of how sex works."

Izuku's head met locker, and he wished again for death. Now he really would rather have her know what he was thinking. It wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as this.

Actually if she knew, there's a good chance she'd tell Uraraka… so this is still better…god help me, please…

"I mean, with everything you missed, you can't blame a healthy horny girl like myself worrying about you."

Deciding that explaining everything would just make things stop quicker, and choosing to ignore that second 'h' word Himiko dropped, Izuku took a breath and powered through.

"Toga… that… kind of stuff just isn't something I think of when I'm… you know… training and such. I'm focused on… doing the best I can here. I have people I don't want to let down. Sometimes… hero stuff, it's all that's up here." Izuku tapped his head. "I'm not… ignorant to… things like… like sex. I'm… very aware of what… you say and… you know…" Izuku flushed at some of the times she had held him or brushed up against him. Or had kissed him. "…do." Seeing Himiko grin and wag her eyebrows, Izuku pivoted, "Plus, I was still winded from getting slammed into the ground."

"Oh… right, your ass-kicking."

Izuku hoped that was that, but Himiko snaked her arms around his waist and pressed herself against his back. With her lips painfully close to his ear she huskily asked, "So, when do you think about sex, hmm?"

Izuku shuddered.

"Are you thinking about it right now?" she asked as she rubbed herself against him, bringing her hips up against his. "Cause I'd be happy to give you some wonderful ideas. Maybe some stuff we could practice together…?"

Izuku opened his mouth to squeak out a polite negative, but paused. Then, after a moment of not so careful thought, Izuku squeaked out, "B-but I don't have the right equipment."Himiko giggled and blew on Izuku's neck. "You want to wear your hero costume, huh? Kinky."

"It's important…"

"Oh? And why's that?"

Izuku gulped, loudly and hotly. Himiko could feel him almost swallow his Adam's apple. "I mean, if I'm going to practice… strategic withdrawal with you… I should have the right protection in case things get messy."

Himiko opened her mouth to tease his ear before she stopped and blinked. It took a second, but it suddenly clicked what Izuku had just said. Eyes wide, she pulled back so she could see Izuku, who was looking over his shoulder, nervous but also grinning a little.

"Did you just…" Himiko pressed her face into his back and cackled. "Oh my fucking god Izuku."

"That was…" Izuku blushed, avoiding looking at Himiko by staring up at the ceiling. "That was horrible, wasn't it."

Himiko snickered. "It really was."

"…You, um… you won't tell Uraraka I said that, will you?" Izuku fidgeted, poking his fingers together nervously.

Himiko blew out a raspberry. "Seriously? I thought you hated that whole G-Rated thing?"

"I mean, it's annoying, but um…" Himiko could feel the blush spreading over Izuku. "I just don't want Uraraka to know that I…"

"Didn't she catch you with a porn mag?"

Izuku jolted up. "You know about that?!" Realizing what he said, Izuku quickly tried to correct, "I mean, ahem, it wasn't a porn magazine. There was an article about the Wild, Wild Pussycats and their rescue operations. It was really good too! So it wasn't a—"

"Izuku, were any of these Pussy Cats naked in the magazine?" When Izuku didn't immediately answer, Himiko rolled her eyes. "Izuku, try and remember who you're about to try and lie to."

Izuku sighed, his shoulders sinking before he nodded. "P-Pixie-Bob." Smoke was puffing out of Izuku now.

"Hmm," Izuku missed the twitch in Himiko's brow, "that hot older blonde, right?"

Izuku nodded, and while distracted, gasped when Himiko blew into his ear. "T-Toga? What are… um, what are you doing?"

Himiko blew again, enjoying the shudder that went through Izuku as she did. "I'm flirting with you."

"You um…"

Gently, Himiko leaned over Izuku's shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You're a good egg Izuku. So don't go around worrying about the little things, alright."

"I am?"

"Hmm, yup. It's why I fell in love with you, after all." Hearing that, Izuku went a little limp in Himiko's arms, melting into her. He even hummed contently.

Himiko smiled at the sound he made, making a mental note to make sure Ochako knew about this particular button of Izuku's. Boy really likes getting pampered and praised, huh? That's adorable. Ochako will love it. 

Himiko spent a few more seconds with her arms around Izuku before she told him he should finish getting changed since everyone was waiting on him. After promising to keep Izuku's little joke between them, but also saying she was pretty sure Ochako would find it hilarious, she slipped away.

Izuku blinked at the sudden loss of contact and looked around the empty locker room. Scratching his head, he really needed to learn how Himiko was able to just vanish like that.

"You're planning something naughty."

The hushed whisper made Izuku flinch. Rolling over in his bed, he spotted Eri peeking up over the edge of his bed, clutching at the blanket as she hung off the side.

Izuku smiled at her. "That's a mean thing to say, Eri. I don't do naughty things."

Eri made a face, puffing up her cheeks and squinting her eyes. "You have a naughty face." Izuku laughed. "And now you look guilty."

Rolling over, Izuku pushed at Eri with his foot through his blanket. "Go to bed Eri."

"Eek!"

Eri dropped down and climbed back into her bed. Chuckling to himself, Izuku pulled his covers up and rolled back over, facing the wall so that Eri would't be able to see him if she decided to climb back up. Not because he was planning something naughty. No sir. It's not his fault his 'naughty' face apparently looked like his 'taking responsibility' face. Which was all he had decided to do.

Izuku only had a few days left. During that time, he was going to make sure he mastered pulling off One for All. He just had to be careful how he would go about it. All he needed was one last night. If he could manage to slip away from everyone, Izuku was sure he'd figure out the last piece of the puzzle to using One for All.

It would be tricky, sure. He couldn't just stay after school anymore.

Well I could, but I bet Uraraka would follow me. I swear, sometimes I think she doesn't trust me.

Izuku ignored the hypocrisy and both his shoulder devil and shoulder angel shaking their heads at him.

I could try and sneak out at night… but then there's the question of where I'd go to train… Maybe the beach, but since it's so popular now I might cause a scene… though I'm sure some parts are still pretty deserted.

There was also the risk that if Eri woke up in the middle of the night, either for a drink, potty, or because she had a bad dream, and she didn't see Izuku in his bed, it could cause her to panic. Which wasn't something Izuku was willing to risk.

…Do I take her with me?

Again, that seemed like a recipe for disaster. For many reasons.

The more Izuku pondered, the more it became clear that finding a single night to practice and master controlling One for All was going to be difficult. More than likely, it was going to be an opening that he would need to grab when it came up. He just had to hope that with everyone getting ready for the term finals, something would line up.

Then he'd finish what he started.

He was sure it would work out. Was he going against what All Might said? Technically, yes, but it's not like he hadn't done this before. Months ago, he and Ochako had disobeyed All Might by not following his training schedule and had cleaned up the whole beach while he was away. He had been very proud of them.

This was pretty much the same thing. All Might did have a track record of 'the ends justifying the means.' So all Izuku had to do was find the time to train, get control of One for All, and it would be smooth sailing.

What could possibly go wrong?

With everyone in their seats, Aizawa wasted no time getting everyone's attention as he went over the plans for the day's hero training, though today there was an added twist that none of 1-A saw coming. "It's a little sudden, but for our next hero exercise, four hero-class students from Isami High School will be joining us as special guests."

That got the class's attention. They whispered to themselves as four students walked in and lined themselves up beside Aizawa.

Tsuyu waved happily at one of the students who was standing behind the rest. While keeping their head down, the group could still see their messy red hair sticking up. "Habuko! You don't have to hide. I told you my class is super friendly, kero."

The student Tsuyu addressed moved aside, and stepped out from her fellow classmates' shadows. Habuko was just a normal hero student, except her red hair was an even fluffier mess than Izuku's.

Also, she had a snake head.

"H-hi…. Oh, sorry Sekigai. I should have waited."

The other girl in the group, with white long hair and glasses, just smiled. "It's fine. You mentioned you had a friend here."

Nervously, and fidgeting, like she wanted to go back behind her larger classmates, Habuko bowed her head. "I'm Mongoose Habuko. I'm uh… a friend of Tsu's."

Tsuyu filled in, "We met in middle school."

"Ooooh," the class nodded, thinking it was really cute to meet one of Tsuyu's old friends. Even if the girl was a little scary.

The other girl stepped forward. "Hello. My name is Sekigai Kashiko. I'm the class representative of my class. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Woooow!" More excited noises from the class.

Minoru gripped onto Izuku's shoulders, shaking him with an excited cheer. "How lucky are we, Midoriya! We got two new babes with us! A glasses girl and a super exotic girl! It's incredible!" Around them, some of Mineta's classmates were giving him worried glances.

"Don't you think you're a little too excited Mineta?" Izuku managed to get out while he was getting tossed around by the euphoric little grape boy.

Himiko rolled her one good eye. "No kidding. Also, exotic? Really?"

Minoru looked at Himiko, offended. "There's more to a girl than just her face, you know."

That got several surprised looks. Momo behind him had to give a double take. "Wait… Really?"

Minoru puffed out his chest proudly. "Of course! There's also her chest and backside!"

The students around him let out a collective groan.

Katsuki, getting fed up with everything, growled back over his shoulder, "I swear to god, shut the fuck up."

Himiko also pointed at him. "You're about to throw away all your good behavior points."

Minoru crossed his arms. "I've been good! I am good! You can't get mad at me just because I think they're hot. You talk just like I do!" Himiko grunted but pulled her finger back. "I want to go on a date! And this is my best chance! It's like a foreign exchange student meets summer romance!"

Himiko scoffed. "Riiiiight. What are you gonna do? Just waltz right up there and ask for their numbers?"

Denki power slid out from his desk and over towards Kashiko. "Hey there, pretty lady, can I get a number?"

Kashiko looked stunned while the rest of the class went silent. Himiko's jaw dropped while Minoru looked ready to kill him. "Kaminari, you backstabbing bastard!"

Fortunately, Aizawa had Denki wrapped up in capture cloth and tossed back into his seat before he could further disrupt the introduction. With that settled, the next student stepped forward. He was extremely heavy set, and was using a small cloth to dab away at his sweaty brow. "I'm Tadan Dadan." He bowed politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Finally the last member of the group stepped forward, though his posture was anything but welcoming. He was giving everyone some harsh looks, but when his eyes met Katuski's, he openly sneered at him. Katsuki growled back, "You got a problem, Shifty Eyes?!"

Izuku groaned. "Kacchan please, it's too early for this."

"Cram it Deku!"

The tall boy, with an even more thuggish face than Katsuki, gave the two a dark smile. "Oh, that your parole officer, delinquent?"

"I'm killing him!"

"Kacchan!"

"Shut it you shitty nerd, and stop using your damned Quirk on me! You rip my jacket and I'm killing you too!"

Aizawa growled out, "Why don't you shut up first."

Katsuki grit his teeth, but sat back down, to the relief of everyone.

Habuko, with the commotion over, poked the thug boy's side, shaking her head. He sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine. I'm Fujimi."

The rest of his classmates looked at him and he shrugged. "What? These guys are our enemy. Just because we're doing this joint training thing, that doesn't change. So I'm not gonna be their friend. And neither should any of you." He frowned and looked at Habuko. "...Go back to being friends after the damned lesson."

Mina scoffed. "Are we sure we don't want to let Bakugou tear this guy apart?"

"Oi! I'm not your fucking guard dog, Racoon Eyes."

"EH?! But you were just—"

"Enough," Aizawa's eyes went red, making it pretty clear he was done with all the racket. "The bell just rang. Go get changed and meet up at Ground Omega. We'll go over the training once everyone is there. Iida, I'll leave guiding our guests to you."

"Yes sir!" The class agreed, and everyone made their way to their locker rooms. As Himiko walked by Tsuyu and Habuko, she suddenly got the feeling that she was being watched.

Even with the unorthodox start of the day, everyone in class was super excited about what kind of training they were going to get to do along with the students from Isami High School. Today, they were sure, was going to be an exciting day.

The day went straight to hell.

The students returned to class that late afternoon, or were carted back in the case of the more unfortunate ones. Such as Izuku and Katsuki, who by some twist of luck had ended up KO-ing each other after they decided to try and finish the training match and claim the win after Fujimi Romero's Zombie Virus Quirk went out of control and infected just about everyone else.

A point blank Howitzer Impact / Comet Home Run while they were falling out of the air led to some rough landings. When they did finally come to, Eijirou and Ochako were giving them an earful.

Himiko laughed as Ochako walked beside the cart that had Izuku lying in it, the brunette giving him a piece of her mind at how foolish he had been.

"But Uraraka," Izuku countered, pointing up at her. "You're the one that threw me at Katsuki while he was in the air. The only reason I couldn't stop myself from hitting the ground in time was because I was still—"

Ochako threw her hands up. "Let's not make this a 'who's more at fault argument' Deku. Let's just agree that you were careless and leave it at that."

"…I'm telling mom."

"WHAT?!"

And just like that, the tables had turned and Ochako was left on the back foot. It was always a sight to behold when Izuku got one over on Ochako, Himiko thought.

Just need to move some of that confidence over to getting him to confess.

"Excuse me."

Himiko blinked, and turned towards the unfamiliar voice. "Oh, you're Habuko right? Tsu's friend."

Habuko nodded, her piercing yellow eyes looking right at Himiko. And while Himiko wasn't put off by the girl's snake head like some others may be, she knew when someone was trying to be intimidating.

And while the girl might have a natural talent, her inexperience was showing. So Himiko wasn't bothered at all. Curious at what the game was, but not bothered.

"I'd like to talk to you for a second."

"Oh? Sure?" Himiko looked up at the snake girl, waiting to hear what she had to say. Habuko hesitated, and seemed to be gathering her courage. Naturally talented but inexperienced, just like HImiko thought.

"Tsu is my friend," Habuko stated simply.

Himiko let her head tilt to the side. "Um yeah? She's my friend too."

"I know. She… talks about you a lot."

"Wait, she does?" That wasn't something Himiko expected.

Habuko hesitated a little more before poking Himiko in the shoulder. "She's my friend, and I want what's best for her, so if… if you hurt her. I'll find you."

Is this supposed to be a threat? Himiko pondered. Is she afraid I might turn?

Shrugging, Himiko just smiled. "Tsu's my friend. I look after the people I care about. So you have nothing to worry about. I'll make sure she stays safe."

Habuko crossed her arms, looking away. "I'm not talking about her safety. I'm talking about her feelings. Don't hurt her."

"H-Habuko! There you are, kero!" Tsuyu, displaying an unusual urgency, rushed over to the side of the two. Grabbing Habuko's hand, she pulled the girl with her. "C-come on. Let's get changed. I want to see if I can show you around campus before you leave. B-Bye Toga, kero."

Himiko blinked as Tsuyu pulled her friend away, leaving Himiko to ponder just what the hell that had been all about.

When Himiko was out of sight, Tsuyu slowed down, and let go of Habuko.

"Sorry Tsu, I just… since I can't be here I needed to say it."

Tsuyu, blushing red, nodded. "I… understand."

"She… seems like a good person. Not at all like the news said she was. Definitely more like you said." Tsuyu was glad her friend saw Himiko like that. She wished more people saw just how kind Himiko actually was. Crazy, sure, but kind. "So… good luck!" Hanuko flashed Tsu a thumbs up and Tsuyu croaked nervously.

The two then reached the locker rooms when Habuko then clapped her hands together. "Oh, I forgot."

"Kero?"

"Could you tell me about one of your classmates? He asked for my number before the exercise and I told him I'd think about it." Habuko folded her hands in front of herself, fingers tapping together nervously.

Tsuyu blinked. "Really, kero? Who?"

"He was this cute little shorty, Mineta Mi—"

The hallway was suddenly filled with angry frog noises.

"Live TV till after noon! Today's topic is: Is sexiness necessary for hero work?" The host grinned, winking towards the camera as he announced the show's topic of discussion.

Himiko rolled her one eye, sipping on a drink, while Ochako frowned. "Oh good. You can just tell this is going to be a riveting discussion," she said, sarcasm dripping off every word.

Izuku blinked. "Is it…not?"

Tsuyu pointed at the man on screen. "This feels like an ambush interview. The other people they have are an old guy… and a total otaku."

Izuku shifted around in his seat, suddenly not feeling so great about suggesting they watch this interview.

" —we have these two in the studio today. A rookie hero who debuted just this year, Mt. Lady, and Midnight, who is currently teaching at U.A. High School! Thank you both for coming today. Please have a seat."

Himiko pulled off her eyepatch to rub the bridge of her nose. "Okay, I see enough of mommy dearest around here to last me a lifetime. Why do I have to see her on TV too?"

"Mommy," Hitoshi repeated dryly.

Himiko hissed at him. "I will strangle you with my eyepatch."

Izuku rubbed his head nervously. "Sorry, I just thought this might be a good chance to learn something about professional hero work. The topic seemed interesting and well, Midnight-sensei is one of our teachers. If anyone was going to be an expert on the subject it was going to be her."

Ochako nodded, technically everything Izuku had said made perfect sense. However, she cocked her head to the side as she leaned over, propped her elbow on the sofa armrest and rested her head in her hands before asking, "Did you know Mt. Lady was going to be on?"

Izuku turned back to the TV, feeling that looking Ochako in the eye right now would be dangerous. "Yeah? Is that important?"

One of Ochako's fingers was now tapping against her head. "Nope. Not at all…" Then under her breath muttered, "Fucking blondes." Himiko blinked and looked over Ochako. Ochako looked back with a look that stated plainly and unequivocally, 'I know what I said.'

Himiko smirked, and rolled her eyes. 'Not my fault Izuku has a thing for older blondes.'

Ochako stuck out her tongue before the two laughed. Even though they were laughing, Izuku swore the air around him had gotten a lot colder.

"Now, Midnight." The screen changed from the host to a still image taken from a news clip, showing Midnight holding two villains she captured during her professional debut. She was also wearing what could only be described as a harness that covered her breasts, a corset and thongs. A few eyes bulged and some noses bled. "When you first debuted, your costume was so extreme that it created a stir, eventually leading to the 'Regulations for Exposed Skin in Costumes' bill being submitted to the National Diet. You're known as a veteran hero who changed the country."

The group just stared at the screen, still in shock. Mei however just shrugged. "Yeah that makes way more sense than what she wears now."

"Huh?"

"That makes no sense, kero."

Mei looked at them like they were crazy. "She has to have exposed skin to use her Quirk. Her costume now totally handicaps her. It's terrible. Costumes and support items should help heroes."

"—pretty bad right now, though," Mt. Lady slid in, side-eying Midnight the whole time.

Midnight pulled at one of her costume's sleeves, the almost sheer material stretched but looked like it was ready to tear at any moment. "Now I'm going for the 'ultra-thin' style." She let it go before addressing the host and his panel. "Many say that because of the nature of their Quirks, clothes obstruct their abilities. It's not a matter of whether or not sexiness is necessary, but rather that the result of necessity became seen as sexy."

Tsuyu tapped her chin. "That's a good point. Heroes aren't going around with costumes that are just fashion statements. They're designed for a practical reason. It's not the hero who's making them sexy, but everyone else applying the label, kero."

"But they're hamstrung by other peoples views. Hence why Midnight-sensei has to wear a costume she has to tear?" Izuku asked, making sure he got the point.

"It's just what you like, right?"

Mt. Lady's pointed comment made the group freeze. Himiko sat up. "Wait, did she just?"

Midnight turned towards Mt. Lady, her voice losing its diplomatic touch. "What's with you? Trying to pick a fight?"

"Oh my god yes!" Himiko cheered.

Tenya pointed at the tv. "Don't be foolish, Toga. These are two professionals. They wouldn't… do that." Tenya wasn't happy at the amount of doubt in the eyes of his friends. Or the sheer glee in Himiko's.

"Of course not!" It was shocking how little Mt. Lady's denial was believed. "It's just, how do I put it—I think you're amazing!"

"Bullshit," Hitoshi coughed into his hand.

"She is a terrible liar," Shouto concurred.

"For your age."

Jaws dropped. Himiko spat out her drink while Ochako held back a gasp. "She didn't!"

"She did, kero."

"Bwahahahaha!" Himiko fell out of her seat, laughing like a maniac, desperately reaching for the remote to quickly press the record button. "Oh god, I love that woman. She's my favorite hero ever!"

Mei leaned forward. "So this is about to be a snuff film, right?"

Before anyone could ask why Mei knew what a snuff film was, or ask Himiko why she was teaching Mei all sorts of weird shit, Midnight exploded. "Are you trying to show that your only redeeming feature is your youth?! Even though you're not that young?!" 

Oh, the group though, this is totally about to be a snuff film.

Mt. Lady snapped back, now just as angry as Midnight. "I'm just saying that if the older generation tries too hard, then it's hopeless for us younger folks!"

"You little—!"

"HEY, watch your hands!"

"You too!"

"Stop pulling! It'll rip!"

"It's ripped!"

As the show turned into utter chaos and pandemonium, Ochako dove over a completely maniacally laughing Himiko and ripped the remote away before changing the channel. Things were getting ripped off that she did not want Izuku seeing. There was too much bouncing around for the poor boy to handle.

While Hitoshi was now given the remote to find something else for the group to watch, Tenya was left, shaking his head and fixing his glasses. "For two professional heroes to be arguing and fighting like that on live television. It's shameful. Midnight-sensei is a teacher, doesn't she know she must set an example for all of us students?"

Hitoshi looked at Tenya evenly. "You want to be the one to tell her that she should have been calm after getting called old by another hero who's like nine years her junior?"

"Um," Tenya pulled at his collar nervously, "I mean, I would of course go about it as diplomatically as I could…"

"Tenya," Izuku began sagely. "The worst thing you could ever do is get between two women that are angry with each other. All that will happen is they'll tear you apart to get to each other."

Shouto blinked. "You sound like you have experience in this matter Midoriya."

Izuku glanced over at Himiko and Ochako, neither noticing him looking at them. "Yeah, something like that."

Tsuyu leaned over. "You're lucky they're laughing too hard to hear you."

"I know when to pick my moments. Though I still wish I knew what they had been fighting about." Izuku missed Tsu, Hitoshi and Shouto just look at him. Izuku was looking back at the screen while Hitoshi kept searching. "Kind of a shame. I was really interested in what else Midnight-sensei was going to say about the subject. And I wonder what had Mt. Lady so upset."

Shouto nodded. "That did seem a little personal."

"Maybe…" Hitoshi began, thinking carefully. "She's upset because of the laws she has to follow? Because of Midnight-sensei?"

"I refuse to believe professional heroes could hold such petty grudges against their seniors," Tenya said. Not seeing the twitch in Shouto's face.

"You'd be… surprised," The son of the world's biggest hothead said. "Even if the older generation doesn't think they did anything, and more than likely haven't, their actions still can have consequences they never imagined." Shouto absently rubbed his scar.

Tsuyu reached over towards the snack bowl. "Maybe it has to be because she thinks she has to act sexy to get ahead in her carrer?"

"That's absurd," Tenya countered. "My mother was a hero and she never had to resort to such base methods to advance her career."

Ochako frowned, her voice getting a little icey. "She also had the Iida family name and wealth to support her."

That got a few heads to swivel. Izuku looked between the two. "Hey let's not—"

"What exactly are you implying Uraraka?" Tenya's tone had gotten hard. "That my mother couldn't have become a hero on her own?"

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying you need to be a little careful of how you compare situations." Ochako pointed her thumb over to the TV, even though Mt. Lady wasn't on it anymore. "I really hated how she flaunted and posed herself during her debut. She was sticking her butt out for the crowd to take pictures. I thought it was demeaning. But maybe she thought it was, too. It was her big chance to make a name for herself, and she had to do everything in her power to get noticed. Stopping a villain and making an impact on the crowd."

Tenya crossed his arms. "I fail to see what point you're trying to make. If she stopped a villain in her debut, that should be more than enough."

Tsuyu seemed to figure out Ochako's point and stepped in. "That's the problem, kero. It should be, but heroes are more than just crime fighters. They are also celebrities. And female celebrities… are held to a different standard by the… media sometimes. They expect more."

"Well, charisma and a media presence is important for a hero to further their—"

Himiko groaned. "The press wants tits and ass, Tenya. They want sex. Sex sells. Holy shit you're dense."

"T-That's a huge over-simplification! The populace isn't so focused on things like that." Even Tenya didn't sound completely sold on his own argument.

"Tenya, even Izuku knows that's bullshit."

Izuku found the ceiling very interesting.

Tsuyu kept going. "Think about all the heroes that have name brand merchandise or are some company's spokesman. You ever see some of those Amidala's Rendezvous commercials, or Midnight-sensei's BVLGORI ads, kero?"

Tenya wilted a little. "Perhaps the… public aspect of our field is… suitable to the vices of modern culture. But our industry is a higher calling. It doesn't follow the same trends."

Ochako crossed her arms. "Deku."

Izuku jumped. "Y-yes Uraraka?"

"Name some female heroes and tell us what they wear… Not counting Midnight and Mt. Lady"

Izuku nodded, deciding that he wasn't going to interfere with the point being made. Holding up his hand, Izuku began counting off with his fingers. "W-wel there's um, Uwabami. She wears a shoulderless maroon scale dress. Then there's… Ryukyu. She had this red and gold qipao that has these long slits for her legs. Oh, and there's this American hero called Cow Lady. She had these short denim shorts, and a crop top she ties in a knot under her…"

Izuku gulped, suddenly aware he might be getting too descriptive with that one and moved on. "Clair Voyance, um, she has this form-fitting royal blue suit that really hugs her… um, legs. It has this wide collar and the top is…kinda open… Then there's Pixie-Bob and she—"

"Thank you Deku," Ochako said suddenly. Point or no point, she would prefer that some heroes not get brought up. "I think you made my point."

Tenya sat, arms crossed with a frown on his face, though his initial anger at Ochako from before wasn't the cause now. He was thinking.

"Sex is part of our field too. I'm not saying your mother couldn't have made it without the name and money, Iida. I'm sure she was a superb hero. I'm just saying those things gave her a lot more options. Or… made it so she didn't have to consider certain options. Sex… opens a lot of doors, and sometimes those are doors that we are expected to take."

"And you think Mt. Lady resents Midnight because she in a way started the trend?" Hitoshi asked.

"She didn't start it, that stuff has been a part of everything since time immemorial, but she sure as hell defined it pretty well," Himiko added.

Tenya sighed. "I suppose… It's a good point to consider. I didn't mean… to offend."

"We know Iida," Ochako said, making sure he knew there were no hard feelings.

"I also think this issue… isn't something you all will have to worry about. Tsu, Toga, Uraraka, you three already have what it takes to be great heroes."

Ochako smiled, though there was a little bitterness to it. It was old and she had moved past the issue, but she figured she'd add one last thing to make her point. "Just so you know, I never asked for my costume to be skin tight. That was… well it was already decided on."

The topic had been discussed and as a group they all agreed to leave it be and move onto more pleasant conversations. Things that wouldn't get everyone stressed out.

"—ck from our commercial break. We continue our retrospective of the class that survived one of the most harrowing villain attacks on a governmental institute in recent memory."

Footage from the multiple events of the sports festival then cut in over the hosts, replaying parts of the dodgeball match and capture the flag.

"Not only that, but that also put on one of the most intense and, some would say, unnecessarily brutal sports festivals we've ever seen. Can you imagine how many calls the school must have got from child welfare services?"

Footage from the tournament then came on. Ochako and Himiko's slug fest, Izuku getting blasted by Katuski, Momo as she tried to blast Shouto with a cannon.

"Oh, half a dozen at least."

Hitoshi grunted. "Wow, the entertainment channels are talking about us huh? Must be a slow few weeks if they're back to us."

Ochako groaned, recalling how this same channel had gossiped that she and Izuku were an item. "Hitoshi, change the channel please."

"No! If they're talking about the sports festival they might have footage of my babies!" Mei cut in, grabbing the remote. "I wanna see!"

"Remember folks, our tax dollars at work here."

"But the sports festival gives us a chance to play a little catch up on the secret love affair between two of 1-A's students. A forbidden affair that U.A. can't condone."

"Wait, I thought it was Shiketsu High School that didn't allow the kids to dat—"

"A forbidden love affair that U.A. as a professional facility of the government could never allow." The screen flashed as images of Izuku and Ochako came up. "I'm talking about the sordid affair between one Midoriya Izuku and Uraraka Ochako."

Ochako covered her face and screamed into her hands while Izuku promptly fell over, eyes spinning and enough smoke puffing out of his mouth that Shouto grabbed a water bottle, just to be ready.

Himiko was back to cackling like a madwoman, while Tenya was adjusting his glasses quite aggressively. "Absurd, how could they make up such a story. To pretend that there is any kind of cardinal relationship between Midoriya and Uraraka. They're connected by a bond of friendship and trust, not base romantic feelings. Do these journalists have no sense of shame?"

"These are entertainment journalists, so no chance, kero," Tsuyu said with a groan.

Tenya's arm chopped away. "To insinuate that there's anything romantic going on between them. Midoriya, Uraraka, know that I would never believe any such lie that you two are harboring such secrets."

Ochako's smile would have looked more natural if she had used her fingers to pull her lips up. Izuku's face was lost in smoke. Tsuyu was tapping her chin, questioning if Tenya should still be the class rep. Hitoshi was patting his friend on the shoulder, pity etched on his face. Shouto moved away from Tenya, knowing something was coming. Mei was oblivious to everything. Himiko grabbed a pillow and chucked it at the poor boy's face.

"So, let's talk about something interesting I've noticed. That Uraraka, I don't think I've seen such intensity from a young woman. Look, back at the sports festival, she leapt out of the stands and flew to her lovers side after he won—"

"Supposedly won, I still say the match was fixed so All Might's apparent prodigy wouldn't lose to Endeavor's kid. Can't have number one losing to number two. U.A. totally pulled some strings to make sure that kid won."

"Get fucked!"

"Booo!"

Snacks were thrown at the TV as the squad voiced their displeasure at the idea.

"Ahem, a talk for another time. Maybe during our sports hour. As I was saying, look at her race down to get to the boy. And now look at this."

The screen switched to something none of the group wanted to think about. The incident with Saito. It was just after he had gassed Izuku and was being restrained. The video was paused, and zoomed in. Not on Saito, or the heroes working, but on Ochako as she was charging at Saito, looking madder than a rabid tiger.

"Look at this. She was ready to kill that poor boy."

"Er, poor boy? He attack the school—"

"He was confronting his assailant. Something any victim should have the right to do."

"—He stole an officer's gun—"

"They weren't using it. Anyway, back on topic, the othermadwoman U.A. apparently has in its school." 

"…Urge to stab, rising," Himiko grumbled.

Ochako covered her face with her hands, embarrassed that such a less than flattering video of herself was getting broadcast. The video continued to play, showing her initial charge, then ending with her picking up both Izuku and Himiko and launching herself into the school.

"I don't even want to think what she was going to do to that boy. Especially after seeing how she handled herself in the sports festival. So violent. So scary."

"Rumors say she interned under Miruko. The two were spotted together a few times. The most recent was in Hosu City."

"That's not going to help anything."

Izuku huffed. "Don't listen to those morons, Uraraka." He turned around to look at Ochako, giving her a thumbs up. "I think you looked super cool."

And suddenly Ochako was smiling and not at all bothered by the stupid people on TV. Himiko snickered and slyly nudged Ochako with her elbow. Ochako then slyly wacked her in the side.

"—is all just old news though. I happen to have a special update for everyone. Get a load of this." A picture was brought up on the screen. Izuku, wearing a clean pressed black suit, helped Ochako, who was wearing a sheer pink top over a black dress, into a limo. "There's no word where these two love birds were sneaking off to. But dressed like that, you can bet they were up to no good."

"Limo, suits, dresses, those two aren't even being subtle about their love affair now."

Izuku flushed, annoyed at just how off the mark these idiots were. "It was a dinner with my father's boss!"

Ochako chuckled dryly. "At least they only have pictures of us. I'd hate it if your mom or Eri got caught up in this."

"Yeah… At least we dodged a bullet there."

Ochako's phone chirped. Soon after, both Himiko and Tsuyu's did as well. Ochako blinked and flipped out her phone. "Oh, a message from Ashido—" Ochako's face paled.

"What?"

Himiko was cackling as she dropped her phone, while Tsuyu was rubbing Ochako's shoulder.

"What?" Izuku asked again.

Ochako sighed. "Guess who else is watching this channel?"

"...We don't have to come into school tomorrow, do we?" Izuku asked pitifully.

"—reaking news on Yaoyorozu Momo. That's right, the heiress to the Yaoyorozu fortune, was spotted at a heavy metal record store. Browsing the vinyls like they were the newest selection of dresses from Balenciaga. What could possibly have the daughter of one of the country's most influential families acting like a rock n' roll groupie? Or maybe, the question isn't what, but who? After the break, we'll bring you the top ten most eligible heavy metal bachelors that might be the ones responsible for stealing the poor girl's heart." 

It was later that night, and Ochako groaned as she rolled over in her bed to pick up her phone that was chirping away.

Miruko: Thts how u get shit done runt!

Miruko: ( ´ ▽ ` )b

Ochako looked down at her phone, and wanted to die. She wanted to suffocate herself in her own pillow. How? How had Miruko also seen that tabloid program's coverage of her?!

Miruko: Also, dam!

Miruko: Ur gonna kill tht poor boi dressed lik tht.

Miruko: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Miruko: Don't go havng a litter 2 soon

Miruko: Smash with protection

A LITTER! SMASH?!

Ochako's face burned as she screamed at her phone, wishing she could strangle that damned bunny rabbit.

Instead of Aizawa, the class was startled when Thirteen walked in at the bell. Tenya raised his hand, intent on asking what was going on, but Thirteen beat him to it. "Today is the last day before you all start your term finals. With your written exams coming up tomorrow, it was decided that today would act as one last study period for you all. A good chance to shore-up anything you might not be completely sure of."

"The whole school day?" Tenya asked.

"Correct. It will be the responsibility of the class reps to make sure everyone behaves today. The teachers will be off-site, making sure final preparations for the practical exams are finalized. We don't expect to be back until much later tonight."

Izuku's head snapped up at that. The teachers won't be at school today?

Tenya stood up. "Thirteen-sensei, Yaoyorozu and I will make sure everyone takes this time seriously."

"Good. Then I'll leave today in the capable hands of you two."

She turned to leave, but stopped when Izuku raised his hand. "Does this mean All Might won't be at school today?"

"That's correct. He's involved in making sure the practical is ready. Was there something you needed from him? I can relay a message if you want."

Izuku shook his head. "No, it's alright. It's nothing that can't wait until later. Thank you sensei."

Good, good, good! This means I have a chance after all. If All Might won't be back with the other teachers until later tonight, then I have a chance! I'll master control of One for All today for sure!

Tenya clapped his hands together. "Alright everyone. Let's not squander this opportunity the teachers have given us. Books and notes out. Let's study so that we all pass our tests."

At the end of class, the excuse to head home was simple. "We should all make sure to get a good night's sleep."

Izuku was glad that Ochako had agreed, saying she was going to head home and crawl into bed because she knew it would take her a while to fall asleep regardless because of her pre-test jitters.

Saying goodbye to his friends, then making sure they were out of sight and Himiko well on her way to her own room, Izuku snuck around the school to reach the boys locker room. Stealthily, Izuku threw on his sweats and clipped on his head-crest, having borrowed it from Mei a few days earlier just in case he did get a chance to train.

Dressed and ready to go, Izuku walked out of the locker room, ready to head off to Ground Omega, only to come to a screeching halt because Ochako was standing right in front of the door, arms crossed and dressed in her own U.A. sweats, and looking at Izuku with a raised eyebrow and a smirk that just screamed 'got you.'

"Er… Uraraka… Um…"

"'We should all make sure to get a good night's sleep' huh?"

Izuku coughed into his hand, before scratching at his hair. "Um, let me explain."

"You were going to sneak off and try to get a handle on One for All," Ochako stated, her tone just daring Izuku to try and deny it. Which he couldn't. Ochako had read him and had him hook, line, and sinker.

Izuku sighed, and dropped his head in defeat. It wasn't like there was anything he could do now. His plans were shot and he was at her mercy.

"Well, let's go." Izuku winced and nodded, turning around to go back into the locker room and get changed. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Eh?" Izuku looked back at her and saw her looking equally confused. "You said 'let's go.' So I have to go change."

Ochako chuckled, shaking her head. "I mean, let's get going to Ground Omega."

"…" Izuku's mind just sort of stopped at that, until it jump-started from the shock. "Wait, huh?!"

Ochako laughed. "Deku. What do I always tell you?"

"…Stop hurting myself?"

"…Well, yes, but besides that," Ochako said, rubbing her brow but still smiling.

Izuku thought about it, before his eyes went wide. "We are a team and if one of us makes a stupid decision, the other has to be there to stop them… or go with them and make sure they live through their stupidity."

"Exactly. You're going to try to master One for All regardless of what anyone says. So, instead of trying to do it when no one is there to save your behind if you end up blowing your arms and legs off, I'll go with you to drag your carcass to Recovery Girl."

"…Wait, you don't think I'd actually do that, do yo—"

"And besides, All Might only said you weren't to practice using One for All without supervision." Ochako wiggled her eyebrows at her own cleverness.

Izuku started laughing. "Uraraka, you're the best."

"Oh, I know," she said, a huge grin on her face, and a slight redness to her normally pink cheeks.

The sun was starting to set behind the horizon and Izuku was on his knees, sweating and gasping for air. It had only been a couple of hours, but he looked like he had just spent that whole day running through one of All Might's training regiments.

Sitting up, Izuku winced at his sore arms. In the few hours they had spent together, Izuku had been able to throw a few One for All powered punches that hadn't reduced his arms into paste. He could, at the very least, use One for All repeatedly and reliably, but he wasn't going to call that a win. The effort it took to tone the power down, and then to control it so that it didn't ramp back up while he was in the middle of an attack was crazy. The strain it took on him physically and mentally, it just wasn't worth the payoff.

Izuku was still missing something. And it really, reallyannoyed him. "Arh, darn it!" In a less than smart move, he punched the ground and a jolt ran up his arm. With his arms so sore it felt like someone took a hammer to his funny bone. "Ow ow ow ow, that was dumb!"

Letting himself fall backwards into the grass, Izuku lay there hissing as he rubbed his poor body. Ochako sat down beside him, and gently took his arm into her lap. "Here, let me see what I can do."

Instead of the hurried and frantic motions that Izuku had been doing, Ochako pressed into his arms firmly while she worked out the jolts and kinks in his arms, relaxing the muscles and bringing some relief to the poor boy.

Looking over at Ochako, Izuku was momentarily lost in her face. She was smiling as she worked on him, humming a soothing tune to help calm his mind while she worked on his body. And while having her there with him meant the world to him, maybe even more than he knew himself, he still felt some guilt starting to creep in at the edge of his mind.

Afterall, she could be spending this time actually resting up for the tests tomorrow. Or studying a little more. Or even training herself for the practical tests. Or—

"Oi," Ochako cut in, poking Izuku's cheek. "None of that."

"Sorry. All you've been doing so far is just standing around."

"Well I'm helping you now."

Izuku hummed, relaxing into her hands. "Thank you Uraraka. I just… I just can't figure out what I'm missing. I feel like my goal is right in front of my face," Izuku paused when he looked up at Ochako, and momentarily got lost in her eyes before focusing back on what he was sure his main goal was, "I just don't know how to reach out and grab you… it! Reach out and grab it."

Right, because One for All was Izuku's goal.

Not Ochako. Nope. Totally not her.

…Even Izuku wasn't believing his own shit, but right now he didn't have the energy to really deal with it, so he just rolled with the easier issue. "I can dial down One for All's power. I think… I've been using it at about five percent."

Ochako blinked rapidly, and then looked at the destroyed tree's around them. Holy fuck that's five percent?!

"But," Izuku continued on, "switching it off and on in my body is so rough. It's not a natural thing."

Ochako nodded. "Honestly, it sure doesn't look natural when you use One for All either."

"Huh?"

Ochako frowned, and chose her words carefully. This had been something she had noticed since day one, but hadn't really had a clue as to why it bothered her. "When you… Do you remember when you first used One for All?"

"You mean back with Stain? Yeah I do. Kinda hard to forget that."

"And you remember how we told you, you were glowing red?"

Izuku thought back, and nodded. "Oh yeah, you guys did mention that. That my glow had changed." Izuku focused on his Psychokinesis and his body began to glow its familiar green. "It's never happened again since then, though."

"Though your eyes glowing is still a thing."

"It looks cool though, right?"

"Oh, definitely." Ochako blinked and shook her head. "But back on topic, you were using One for All and your Psychokinesis at first, and it made you glow red. Then afterwards, you just used One for All, and you had all that red energy going over your skin, just like it's been every single time since. Even when you've been using One for All powered down."

Thinking about it, Ochako was right, every time he used One for All his skin would light up with these red streaks of energy. He just figured it was part of One for All, but now that Ochako had brought his attention to it, something clicked. "I dont think I've ever seen those red streaks on All Might."

"Exactly. And that got me thinking." Ochako ran a finger over Izuku's arm. "Maybe all that red is One for All or your body telling you you're using it wrong."

Izuku frowned. While it was an idea that made sense, it put his whole idea that he was so close to getting a handle of One for All in jeopardy. Not a pleasant thought. Not at all.

Ochako could feel the mood change in Izuku, and quickly continued on. "But! But I don't think it's as bad as you think it is. You just have to, do everything differently…" Izuku looked at Ochako, who sheepishly looked away. "Maybe not the best way to put that."

"But probably the most accurate," Izuku sighed.

Ochako didn't think she was wrong in bringing up her worries—honestly she probably should have said something sooner—but she hadn't meant to completely demoralize Izuku either. "Well, let's look at everything, then. You said that for One for All, it was like a switch, right? Off and on, though now it's a dimmer switch, but same basic principle?"

"Uh huh."

"Is that how it's like with your other Quirks? Because I've seen you use them and… that doesn't really seem to match. Also, I don't see All Might use One for All like that either. He just sorta… goes."

Izuku looked up at the darkening sky. "Well… Boric Pyre is like… I'm building this heat in my lungs. It spreads out from my chest and then I breathe the heat out as fire."

"Right, and Jirou helped you figure out how to use all of your lungs, too. Deeper breaths and how to breathe."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. It kinda feels like with the deeper breath she taught me that the heat spreads out a little more, so it's not all built up in one place."

"And Psychokinesis?"

Izuku tapped his head with his free hand. "That's all right here."

"Oh? I thought since your whole body glows, it kinda came from all of you."

Izuku shook his head. "It's pure brain power."

"…And yet it's still so strong."

"Hey!"

Ochako laughed, while Izuku rolled his eyes but smiled all the same.

"So, you focus on a point and use your Quirk."

"Well, not a point. I can, but that is kinda risky. I like to try and grab everything I'm moving. If I pull on something that's heavy, and just focus my Quirk on a singular spot, I might break off what I'm trying to move. It's like when I'm trying to move a person, I grab everything I can. I might focus on the clothes, but I still try to hold the person too, just in case. If someone was falling and I just grabbed their hand, I don't think that would be very good for the person. I could break an arm… or… something." Izuku trailed off.

Ocahko nodded her head. "Oh, that does make sense. Thirteen said something about that kind of rescue. If you're trying to save a falling person, try to make sure you don't bring them to a sudden stop, their bodies might… Deku?" Ochako stopped when Izuku pulled his arm away and was suddenly on his feet. "Deku, what is it?"

Izuku was muttering away. Words tumbled over words, spilling out and forming a puddle at his feet. She watched as he kept muttering a waterfall out of his mouth, pacing around and lost in his own world. Ochako thought about saying something, but she didn't want to break whatever train of thought Izuku had now.

Then he just stopped.

Stopped and turned to look down at Ochako, who looked up at him. "Deku?"

Then he smiled.

Himiko sighed as she leaned up against the entrance to the school from Ground Omega. She had of course not been fooled by Izuku's poor attempt to lie to the squad. How he had been able to keep One for All and All Might's secret for so long and still be such a shitty liar was a mystery beyond anything Himiko could ever hope to figure out.

To give Izuku a hand, she and Ochako had immediately agreed with everything Izuku had said, just to make sure everyone else bought it. Afterwards, she and Ochako had 'gone home', which left Izuku the opportunity to 'sneak around.' Huge quotation marksaround the word sneak. It was so horrendous that Himiko almost broke her cover to smack him upside his head for even thinking he was being sneaky.

But she stayed back and let Ochako deal with him. She was fifty-fifty on if Ochako would drag his butt home, or if she would go out with him to train. Turns out, since both of them were dorks, they went with the obvious rule break.

It was fucking adorable.

It was also perfect since it gave the two some alone time, so she decided to stay back and run interference if any heroes decided to investigate the ruckus going on inside U.A.'s forest. Though since no one came close to showing up, Himiko had a sneaking suspicion that Principal Nezu might be making sure they weren't interrupted.

It was getting late, the sun had set, and the stars were dotting the sky. But even at such a late hour, Himiko spotted Izuku and Ochako coming up the path to the school.

…Wait are those two… fucking skipping?

As they got closer, Himiko could see the two were practically euphoric. What the hell happened out in the woods?

Himiko held open the door to let the two in. Looking at Ochako's stupid grinning face, then at Izuku's.

"I guess I didn't fool you either, huh, Toga?" Izuku said with a smile.

"You didn't." Himiko looked at him. He was sweaty and had some leaves in his hair. Which didn't match at all with the damn smug smile on his face. "You need to work on that."

"Oh well," Izuku shrugged.

Ochako gave him a pat on the back. "You'll get better at it. Don't worry Deku."

Himiko looked between the two. They were way too happy and way too damned smug. "Soooo you want to tell me what happened?"

"Nope," Izuku smirked. "I'm going to go get changed."

"Wait a damned second!" Himiko screeched, while Izuku just waved at her and walked off. "You… you little fuck, get back here!"

"Bye bye." And then Izuku turned the corner and was gone.

Himiko's mouth opened and closed, like a god damned fish while Ochako snickered behind her. "I think I have to stab Izuku now."

"Oh, please. Deku having some confidence isn't a bad thing at all."

Himiko whirled around. "You fucking bitch! Tell me what happened out there!"

"No."

Himiko's one good eye was twitching like mad. "WHY THE FUCK NOT!"

Ochako smirked broadly. "Because this is too much fun."

"You suck."

Ochako shrugged. "This is Deku's idea. I'm just along for the ride."

"Riiiiiiight. Yeah, that makes sense. He wants to do something, and now you just go along with it," Himiko teased, only elbowing Ochako in the side a little too hard.

Ochako pushed her off. "Oh, stop whining. You'll get to learn what's going on later."

Himiko threw up her hands. "I swear to god I'm biting one of you in the neck the next time I want some blood. I swear to god I can't deal with this shit."

"Wah, wah, wah," Ochako mockingly cried while rubbing away fake tears. "I'm so sorry we're such a distraction."

Himiko flipped her off. "No you're fucking not. Besides, if anyone here is distracted it's you. You get to deal with all of Izuku's bullshit on top of trying to become a hero."

Ochako laughed. "You know what, you're not wrong. I actually liked the idea of turning in early tonight too. But nope, got to make sure Deku doesn't do something silly."

"By also doing something silly."

Ochako shrugged. "Pretty much. It's like I got a fulltime job now. On top of trying to train for my future job."

"Oh, the agony."

Ochako let out a huge exaggerated sigh. "It's sooooo annoying. But someone's got to look after Deku. The cost of being his friend, I guess"

Himiko shook her head. "The cost of being in love with that dork, you mean. No matter what, you're gonna be doing everything in your power to keep him safe."

"I'm cursed," Ochako agreed with a smile. "I love him, but he keeps doing things that make me want to throw him."

"…Like you did during that training the other—"

"Shut it!" Ochako motioned for her to zip it. "We don't talk about that. Ever."

"Already abusing your lover. Shame."

"It's payback for being so distracting. I swear I'm going to turn gray because of him," Ochako joked.

"Well, you could always dye you—"

"I will murder you." Ochako pulled a lot of her Miruko training for that line.

"A maiden in love, and she's in love with a dork."

"It's absolute agony, Toga. Why'd I fall in love with him? Why Deku. I must be cursed."

"Wah, wah, wah," Himiko mirrored Ochako's fake cry from earlier. "Deal with it."

Ochako waved her off. "Whatever, I'm going to go get changed—oh," Ochako reached into her pockets and pulled out a small silver object and tossed it to Himiko. "That's Deku's head crest. It fell off earlier and I pocketed it. Can you take it to the boys locker room for me and give it to Deku?"

"Yeah, sure." Ochako waved her thanks and headed off down the hall. Himiko laughed as she watched her go.

"She must be more tired than she let on, she took the long way." Himiko flipped the device in her hand like a coin and walked the opposite direction. "Both the damned locker rooms are this way, but you know what, she wants to play games with me so she can walk the extra mile of school… halls…"

Himiko turned a corner and suddenly every instinct in her whole body started screaming. Screaming that something was wrong. That something wasn't right. She got goosebumps and her eye dilated as she looked around. She looked down the hall. She looked to her left. She looked to her right.

Something was behind her. Something she needed to turn and face, but it was also something she knew was going to cause her a lot of problems.

Run and don't look?

Turn and fight?

Himiko's fight or flight instincts were at war with each other. She screwed her eye shut and screamed inside her head. She wasn't a fucking coward. Whatever this was, she was going to face it.

Himiko whirled around. And her heart fucking stopped.

Oh… oh no.

Izuku had his back up against the wall.

Izuku had his hand clutching at his heart.

Izuku had rivers pouring out of his eyes over his blushing red cheeks as he cried.

Izuku was standing right there, just around the corner where she and Ochako had been talking. Easily close enough to hear everything. Easily close enough to hear Ochako say multiple times that she was in love with him.

Izuku looked completely lost. It was similar to how he'd looked when she had talked to him after their fight with Stain. When she confessed to him. When she had kissed him. Except this looked way, way worse. Himiko knew she had to be extremely careful here.

"H-hey Izuku," she said as calmly and nicely as she could. Like talking to a small scared puppy. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I…" Izuku's voice cracked. "I forgot my…" He pointed towards Himiko's hand. At the head-crest.

Ooooh.

"She…" Izuku's voice quaked. He had to swallow several times. "Uraraka, she's…"

Himiko watched Izuku work the words out. She watched him in silent wonder and quiet nervous anticipation as he processed everything.

"Uraraka is in love with me," Izuku whispered quietly.

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. And Himiko almost cheered. But she held herself back. Even if all her worries and fears were evaporating, even as she realized that this might just be the greatest mistake in the history of the whole fucking world, she still knew she had to be careful.

Izuku knew Ochako's feelings now, but he was still in shock. Still just a scared little puppy. If she did anything to scare him off, it could throw a wrench into things. So, she slowly, carefully, walked up to him and put her hands on his shoulders, and smiled at him. "That's right, Izuku. She loves you."

Yes yes yes! Sweet merciful god, he knows. He knows and now we just have to get him to confess to her and then everything will be absolutely perfect! This is great! This is awesome! This is—

"She… she said I was a distraction." Izuku's words were full of anguish, and loss. More tears were shed as he looked at Himiko.

Every good feeling was gone. Replaced with one single expression.

MOTHERFUCKER!