Chapter 58: Confessions I - Kiss and TellNotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
BestFist: Meeting in my room in fifteen minutes.
Mina put her phone in her pocket as she got out of her room, only a minute away from the agreed upon time.
She had tried to come up with a good way of telling the group of the teeny-tiny mess she had made, but after a shower and a dinner she was still empty handed—or empty headed, same thing really. It's not like she could really make an excuse for it, since she didn't regret the action one bit.
Closing the door behind her as she entered Itsuka's room, Mina found the rest of the group waiting expectantly for the news they knew she would bring. She felt those six pairs of eyes on her and hoped to receive some sort of sudden spark of inspiration.
Nothing came.
- Just wing it, - she told herself before raising two fingers.
"Alright, gals. I've got some very good news, and some arguably good news."
A few eyebrows were raised, Toru being the first to ask by raising her pajama's puffy sleeve. "What's the very good news?"
"We've got a date!" She gave an exaggerated thumbs up. "Sunday! He'll be waiting for us all evening, or I'll get a text or something."
At least, she expected him to. She'd probably have to amend that, but she had some time. Since Izuku had already left the dorms out of the blue a few times, they had chosen to be cautious, discarding the idea to just drop in his room without warning for a more reasonable rendezvous. Now that they were sure that he'd be in, fixing the rest would be easy peasy.
A few sighs of relief were released, their expressions turning into happy smiles.
"That's good," Itsuka commented. "Too close to the exams for my liking, but it's better if we get this over with before those. It'll be one less thing on our minds."
"Preach. The sooner, the better," Setsuna agreed with a grin that resembled a Cheshire cat's.
"What about the 'arguably' good news?" Momo asked, curious.
She ripped the band-aid off.
"I kissed him."
A second of silence elapsed as everybody registered her words. Eyes widened while surprise and disbelief mixed on the girls' faces.
Setsuna let out a single "Wow," breaking the spell.
"You did what?!" Ochaco raised her voice in shock after a moment, her palms hitting Itsuka's mattress. "Mina! Come on! We were supposed to wait!"
She lowered her head and sagged her shoulders as she let out a groan. "I knooow… and I'm sorry, okay? It just felt like the perfect moment, and I couldn't help myself…"
"If I may," Yaomomo started slowly, thankfully not sounding as offended as Mina thought she would be. "How did things transpire between you two?"
"Yeah… How did it happen?" Toru asked, her legs shifting slightly as if she couldn't sit still.
"Ribbit, let's hear it before making any assumptions," Tsu added, her eyes squared on Mina. She didn't look angry, but when did she?
The horned girl sighed and began retelling. There wasn't that much to say, as the encounter had mostly been a sequence of stupid questions, stupider jokes, sorta awkward silences, and the not-quite-a-quick-peck itself. The girls couldn't help but smirk lightly at a few instances, precisely as Mina had done—if it was because the jokes were funny or because they were picturing themselves in the same context, she couldn't say.
By the end of the tale, Ochaco and Momo were trying and failing to hold back a blush, Itsuka and Tsu looked thoughtful, Setsuna was lightly biting her thumb and smirking, and Toru had retreated behind her knees—which meant that she was doing her best to stay still.
"Unbelievable," Itsuka sighed and shook her head.
"Nah, I'd say it's pretty believable," Setsuna interjected matter-of-factly. "Mina acted on impulse. Very 'you,' Pinky."
"Thanks, I think?" she raised an eyebrow as the other winked.
"You're just okay with it?" Itsuka asked her classmate.
"Come on, Prez, we all know that Mina's as free spirited as she's excitable." The greenette turned towards her again. "If it weren't for the plan you would have tried to ask him out weeks ago, right?"
Mina thought for a moment, but the answer was obvious.
"Kinda, yeah," she admitted.
"See?" Setsuna smirked, satisfied. "I mean, I totally get it. If you hadn't asked me to join I would've done the same, give or take a day or two. Wouldn't you?"
"Yes," Tsu croaked, no doubt in her mind.
Ochaco's cheeks reddened in flustering and shame. "M-Maybe…"
Was it just a light effect, or was Toru holding her legs even tighter?
The lizard girl moved her fingers to point at the agreeing voices. "See? Maybe it wasn't the best call, but it's nothing to lose our minds over."
Tsu sighed, seemingly calm. "It's my fault too, ribbit. I shouldn't have pushed you to do it then and there."
"We had agreed not to ask him in public though. It was as good a place as any other," Toru pointed out, making Mina send her a mental high five. "And it's not like we are overflowing with free time, Tsu. It was a good call."
Itsuka followed with a nod, knowing that she herself hadn't paid that much mind to the interaction.
"Yeah… Gotta agree on that," Ochaco exhaled. "Though you should have still waited."
The pinkette made herself smaller before her friend's glare. "Again, I'm sorry. I can't take it back, but I swear I'll make it up to you all…"
"I… I don't think that will be necessary," Momo said after clearing her throat to get their attention. "In truth, Mina isn't the only one with a confession to make today."
Mina blinked in surprise. Who would have thought that Yaomomo would have been the one to get the heat off her?
Toru let her legs go at the heiress' words, her socks twisting nervously.
"Now?" she whispered, though in the complete quietness it might've been as loud as cannon fire.
"There won't be a better moment," the ravenette responded, looking at the other girl with a reassuring smile.
It was Mina's turn to ask. "Um, what's this about?"
"We… We've got something to tell you too…" Toru started.
Momo nodded in agreement. "Please, understand that we only meant to keep it a secret until we could be sure that this plan of ours would be brought to fruition. We were supposed to tell you before our rendezvous with Izuku, but I believe that we'd rather get everything off our chests this very instant."
That… didn't bode that well.
Itsuka gestured to tell her to continue as Tsu tipped her finger against her mouth, showing hints of her curiosity—something they all could relate to.
Momo shared another quick look with Toru before taking a breath and facing them again with a polite smile and an earnest gaze.
"Toru and I have already approached Izuku with romantical intentions, and it happened well before you asked us to join this group," the ravenette said, her words clear and direct. "Both instances were the result of sudden and spontaneous decisions, just like Mina's was."
The horned girl did a double take, her eyes swinging between her two friends in pure disbelief.
- That explains why they didn't hold it against me… - she thought, feeling the desire to know everything about those approaches swell.
Ochaco gasped even louder this time, making Mina wonder if Kyoka could have heard it even as she played music in her room.
"Man, today's just one surprise after another," Setsuna chortled. She shook her head as she let herself fall backward on her pillow.
"When did it happen?" Itsuka asked, her tone indicating that she wasn't doubting, but curious all the same.
"The night after the sleepover for me," Momo answered.
"A-And the night just before it for me," Toru added.
- Weeks ago. And they've kept it under wraps for that long? -
Mina felt herself getting somewhat miffed at Toru for keeping the event to herself before thinking that she must have had a good reason not to share deets even with her best friend.
"Ribbit, which means that the one you've refused to speak about during our game was Izuku himself, doesn't it?" Tsu deduced, making Ochaco and Mina let out a quick "Oooh" of understanding.
Toru's socks twisted uncomfortably. "Y-Yeah… After all those confessions I didn't want to cause a scene…"
"Ribbit, I had a feeling that was the case," Tsu said before tilting her head down lightly in a well-practiced gesture. "Thank you for taking our feelings into consideration, ribbit."
That seemed to surprise the invisible girl, as she raised her arms and shook her hands to refuse the thanks.
"N-No, there's no need to- I- It wasn't really for that- I was worried- I was scared you might get angry at me if you knew-" The girl's voice wavered towards the end as her muddled thoughts moved faster than her mouth could hope to voice.
They all recoiled a bit at that. It was clear that Toru had been thinking about their possible poor reactions, and it had weighed on her considerably.
"It's alright," Momo reassured while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If back then the thought worried you enough to almost make you cry, I can only say that I'm sorry to have scared you that much."
"Er, I'm sorry too," Ochaco joined in, likely feeling guilty if the look on her face was any indication. "I know I can be kinda intense sometimes… Sorry if that added fuel to the fire…"
"Me too," Mina spoke up, also feeling down at seeing her best friend so unsettled. "Shouldn't have prodded for that stupid game," she added as she got closer, getting to circle Toru in a hug. "Can't believe I got my bestie uneasy and completely missed it."
"Wasn't your fault… Or anyone's…" Toru said, shaking her head but leaning into the pinkette's arms. "But thanks."
"Anytime." Mina happily squeezed a bit more.
"I hope I'm speaking for everyone when I say that we wouldn't have gotten angry at you for that," Itsuka mused, sighing in worry. "Annoyed, maybe, but not angry," she added sincerely.
"It's not like you knew about any of our crushes before the sleepover anyway, ribbit," Tsuyu specified as she nodded to the redhead's words. "You had no obligations towards us, but you still did a good thing. I can't say I hold it against you."
"Yeah, everything's fine, I think," Ochaco nodded.
"In hindsight, it would have made for a very awkward time, so I'd say it was for the best. I mean, for all we know we might not have started this whole thing if we knew that you'd already tried," Setsuna noted.
The idea wasn't something Mina wished to dwell on, but it was probably true. It had been quite the weird combo of events, especially if you counted starting from the stuff that happened during the Sports Festival or their internships, or even from the small things before those.
"And, just for the record, we're good. I didn't even have a thing for Parsley back then." Setsuna raised herself up, her gaze moving between the two confessing girls. "But how did things happen? And why are you telling all of it now?"
Yaomomo turned her head towards Toru, handing her a handkerchief and gently asking, "Do you want me to go first?"
"N-No, better to go in order," she said with a last sniff, thanking her friend before blowing her nose.
She took a second to catch her breath before starting without her usual upbeat voice.
"The night before the sleepover I went to Izuku's room because I wanted to thank him for the help he's given me with my Quirk," she began. "I know he's been teaching everyone how to use theirs better, but… it's kinda different for me."
She raised one of her sleeves, moving down the fabric to let them see—or rather, not see—more of her arm.
"I never thought that my Quirk was anything but passive invisibility, but Izuku came and changed that in a single day. At first I didn't believe him, but he was the only one I've met that could follow me—my eyes—as if he saw me… So I tried what he suggested, and his training methods worked! For the first time in my life I could do something more than just being unseen… And just by going from [Invisibility] to [Light], he gave me control over a part of myself I've always lacked."
She released her breath, letting her arm appear before them. Toru's skin was candid, but not blemishless, as more than a few bruises—courtesy of their recent Heroics lessons—were now visible here and there. Toru's fingers traced the spots and lines as if they were the most fragile and important thing she'd ever seen.
The spell dropped when the girl breathed in again, and the sleeve was brought back to its original state.
"Before, I wouldn't even have known how these looked on me," Toru admitted with a smile in her voice. "But now I can see myself whenever I want to. Maybe I'm not good enough to uncover my face yet, or to keep it up without asphyxiating, but one day I will be."
The girls nodded and hummed along a couple of "yeah," and "I'm sure you will."
"Thank you," she smiled gratefully. "You can't understand how overjoyed I was when I managed it for the first time. I've been like this since birth, and my parents are both invisible, so none of us had any idea about what we look like. I know they had tried to find a way before and had no luck with it, so I thought I would just be more of the same," she explained dejectedly before piping up again. "But I did, and it was amazing. Like breaking free of some heavy clothing I had on my whole life. Weird, but so refreshing… And I think I felt light hit my skin for the first time too…"
Mina wondered for a moment if she meant something like the nice warmth of the sun on her skin, or if it related more to her Quirk. Momo whispered something about radiation, but Mina didn't get any of it.
"I couldn't wait to show it, but I wanted Izuku to be the first to see my progress," Toru continued.
"He does like to see us improve, ribbit," Tsu commented, receiving nods from the group.
"Yeah, and I thought that maybe he would have some more tips for me, like he does for everybody," the invisible girl agreed. Midori always had one or two suggestions in store for whenever somebody asked him "what's next?"
"So I went to Izuku's room and I showed him my progress. He looked so enraptured by it that it made me wonder if there could be something more… I've never caught anybody's attention without being cheery, loud, and trying super hard, but it was just so easy with him…"
Not something Mina had much experience in—given her appearance, if anything, she had faced the exact opposite problem—but she could understand the desire of being liked for what she was instead of how she looked.
"So I thought that I could start by calling him by name… I looked him in the eyes and… I think I felt something then and there, you know? Like, one of those moments that feel just right?"
- Sure do, - Mina thought as she hummed, holding herself back from interrupting more, no matter how she wanted to ask "And then? And then?"
Toru deflated, her feet crossing uncomfortably. "But I didn't know what to do, so I just waited and waited… And then he said that we still had school and we could call it a night, and I kinda tried to leave in a rush not to break down right there…"
"Toru…" Mina found herself squeezing her friend again, even if this time it wasn't to stop her from sobbing. Thankfully, the gesture seemed to be appreciated.
"So he can also be pretty dense, ribbit," Tsuyu commented.
"Surely," Momo confirmed. "Though I also believe it to be his form of respecting boundaries."
"Midori never starts a contact himself," Mina revealed her own discovery. "Just found out today."
"Really?" Itsuka asked. "Doesn't he?"
"Unless it's training, handshakes, or helping others, no."
Ochaco looked pensive for a moment before letting out a, "If carrying doesn't count… Yeah, I don't think he's ever touched me first."
"Ribbit, do hugs count?" Tsuyu questioned, head tilted to the side to look at the other greenette.
"Nah, he was helping me calm down," Setsuna pointed out. "And he also asked first."
The invisible girl hummed pensively.
"As much as I would like to continue this discussion in depth, let's postpone it for later, please," Momo interjected. "Toru?"
"Um, yeah," the transparent girl nodded. "He then stopped me from leaving with- with a hug. But it's because he noticed how sad I was," she quickly amended, falling in line with Setsuna's reasoning.
"Called it," the other smiled. "And?"
"And… He said he was sorry, like he didn't want to try anything if I didn't want to. He was a bit stuttery too," she spoke, her voice now kinder as she reminisced. "He brushed away a tear… And he looked so genuinely caring, and sad too, like making me sad had hurt him too…"
That really did sound like Midori. From what Kyoka had told her, he'd been that gentle even when dealing with Mineta prior to his change, and she wouldn't expect many to offer that same courtesy on those same terms.
"The moment was there again, so this time I went for it," Toru said, somewhat dreamy. "And… It was nice."
"Only 'nice'?" Mina asked with a little smirk, hoping to keep the atmosphere lighter.
Toru's blush wasn't visible, but it was most likely there. "... Okay, more than nice."
"And you didn't stop there, ribbit," Tsu pointed out, not phrasing the words as a question.
The pinkette connected the dots, remembering Toru's answer about reaching second base, as did the others. As the heat rose to her face, she thought that Tsu was damn lucky to be so damn impassive.
"O-Oh," Ochaco let out, cheeks ablaze.
"Y-Yeah," Toru stuttered, her voice as acute as she was embarrassed . "I really wanted to be seen some more…"
Setsuna masqueraded her own redness by diverting the attention. "Well, at least now we know who's the biggest pervert here."
"Setsuna!" Itsuka yelled. Her face was competing with her hair in terms of color.
"What? Just saying it how I see it," she grinned and winked. "It's not like it's a problem either."
Toru audibly swallowed before replying. "W-Well, you can be pervert number two."
"Ah! You got me," the lizard girl laughed.
"That aside," Itsuka sighed as she turned towards Momo. "How about you?"
"My story is somewhat similar, if less emotional and captivating," the heiress started only to get interrupted by a firm denial by Toru.
"Nuh-uh! It was super cute!"
"You were there too?" Ochaco asked, somewhat confused.
"All in good time," Momo said, postponing that particular answer. "As I said, my own confession happened the day after our sleepover. We can say that Tsu wasn't the only one to have an inkling of what Toru might have meant with her words, or rather the lack thereof."
The frog girl ribbited, pleased and understanding.
"The matter had remained stuck in my head for the whole day, and after some thought I deduced that she might have been talking about Izuku. I found myself wondering about the truth, and before I knew it I was on my way to his room."
"Straight to the source, ribbit."
"Momo took charge," Mina grinned. Moments like these helped her remember just how dedicated their friend could get when she wanted to accomplish something.
"I-Indeed," the heiress nodded. "Truthfully, I didn't want to stand back and regret it later. Though, of course, had my deduction been correct, I would have accepted it and left."
"But… it was?" Itsuka said, looking towards the invisible girl.
"Yes and no," she shrugged. "We hadn't made anything clear because I, um, sorta flaked out before we could talk…"
"In his room?" Mina asked, surprised.
"Man, was it that boring?" Setsuna teased with an eyebrow wiggle.
"No! I was just really tired because of my Quirk!" Toru complained by shaking her arms again, her voice at least an octave higher.
Tsu placed a finger on her lip. "And you couldn't talk the next morning, ribbit?"
Toru retreated again. "N-No, he brought me back to my room and left me a note so that we could talk later… The sleepover just pushed that further."
Mina's brow furrowed as she thought. - But if they didn't talk on Friday night, and Momo went there on Saturday… Oh. -
"So you did end up there at the same time," Itsuka pointed out.
"Again, not exactly. Can we just…" Toru said, her sleeves pointing towards Momo.
"Understandable, ribbit. You were saying, Yaomomo?"
"Thank you," Momo bowed lightly. "As I was saying, Izuku received me, and we were indeed alone for a while. We mainly conversed on various topics, such as support equipment-"
"So romantic," Mina and Setsuna joked at the same time.
"-and Pro Heroes' relationship," she concluded.
"That's a bit better," Ochaco conceded with a smile. She seemed to be getting less stressed out as the talk progressed.
The heiress took the criticism with a sigh. "I am still a novice when it comes to social interaction amongst our peers, especially of the romantic kind."
"You're getting better, ribbit."
"Then you went from that to asking how he might see himself in that kind of relationship?" the redhead asked.
"Correct, although it required a lot more courage than I thought myself capable of."
"Awkward and scary. Hope it won't be the same on Sunday," Setsuna thought aloud.
Ochaco whined as Itsuka patted her back with a "Come on, we'll all be there."
"I assure you that there is little to fear in regards to our confession," Momo stated, stopping any further talk by raising her hand. "But let me finish first. So, I asked him if he saw anybody in a romantic light, and he responded by saying that he is indeed interested in 'a few people.'"
Mina's eyes—and everybody elses'—widened, but the group kept their mouths shut for the time being.
"Then I asked if I was among those people, and he said that I was," Momo continued. Her hands were joined over her chest, and the touching smile on her face told wonders of what she had been feeling.
"More like he said she was smart, kind, passionate, amazing, and a bunch of other stuff while saying yes," Toru noted happily, lightly poking the other on her arm.
The ravenette blushed, but didn't argue.
Mina wondered what he would say about her. Cute? Fun? Carefree? Athletic? Hot? What else was there?
"Ribbit, and then you kissed," Tsuyu said matter-of-factly.
"Y-Yes," Momo stuttered, trying her best to cover her face with a hand in a ladylike fashion, but not quite managing it. "It was, as Toru, described, a 'moment,' and it seemed like the next logical step to take."
"I bet you weren't being that logical back there," Itsuka smiled, rolling her eyes at the heiress' way of trying to put everything in a reasonable light.
"I-It was little more than brushing our lips against each other."
"Real evocative there," Setsuna chuckled.
"Yaomomo, girl," Mina started, clasping her hands together for theatrical effect, "you read too many trashy novels."
She had struck a nerve, because the heiress couldn't have turned from embarrassed to appalled quicker. "I do not!"
That got them all to laugh, the tension that had staled the room's atmosphere fading away. It was good to know that they wouldn't turn on each other despite any momentary nervousness, dumb mistakes, and overall lack of experience.
It felt good to know that they really had each other's back.
Ochaco was the one to pick up the conversation. "Then what happened?"
Momo turned towards Toru, who sighed deeply.
"Izuku noticed that I was listening from behind the door," she admitted.
"Damn, he's got good hearing too," Setsuna clicked her tongue.
"Enhanced senses, ribbit," Tsu reminded them.
"You aren't that used to being caught, are you?" Itsuka wondered.
Toru shook her head. "No, and I sure got a scare out of it. So much so that I tripped over my own feet, but he caught me in time."
"Princess carry?" Mina teased with a sly wink, making Toru jokingly push her.
"No. Just held me there until I stopped sobbing."
"His kind words certainly helped," Momo noted with a warm smile.
"Ribbit, was it awkward?" Tsu asked with a touch of concern.
"Arguably so, though I was also too worried about being caught red-handed to pay it any mind," the heiress admitted. "We all needed a moment to cool down and hash it out, so neither of us refused his invitation to talk…"
"I was kind of a mess and just wanted to figure things out…" Toru said, rubbing the back of her head.
"And?" Ochaco asked, clearly curious at what had happened at that critical juncture. "What then? You confessed again? You got together?"
The words hung in the air, the girls subtly tensing as they waited with bated breath.
Nah, Mina wasn't on edge, why would she be? It's not like that was the big question that could resolve their whole thing or break it down to pieces…
Momo and Toru shared another short look—or, at least, long enough for them to nod and get on the same wavelength or something—before facing them again. They didn't look quite as happy as they'd been a moment before… But they weren't sad either… Determined, maybe?
"No," Momo said, "we aren't together."
- Fuck. -
"But," Toru interjected before Mina could start feeling the ground disappearing under her, "we don't think it's the final answer."
"What?" Mina unconsciously voiced her thoughts just as Ochaco and Setsuna did the same.
Itsuka, on the other hand, was still doing her best to be level-headed. "Explain."
"Please, ribbit," Tsu added with a tone that sounded almost pleading.
Momo nodded, her expression now more contrite. "There are some… circumstances regarding Izuku that we can't talk about."
"We'd like to, but we really can't," the invisible girl added, equally apologetic. "Maybe it's not a secret, but we can't say it just because… It's something that he should say."
Mina looked around the room, finding only uneasy and questioning expressions.
Their friends had revealed so much in the span of the past minutes, but they drew the line at Midori's own part of the story. What was it that bothered them so much?
"This secret… How- How bad is it?" Ochaco asked, hands joined over her chest.
"It's bad," Toru said. "For him, I mean." Her hands were gripping the bed's sheets tightly.
"Well, that's not concerning at all," Setsuna commented sarcastically, though they could hear she was also worried. They all seemed to be.
"But if he shared it with you…" Mina started before getting cut off by Momo.
"If it were me, I wouldn't want others to speak about it lightly," the heiress said. "I'm sorry, but we both feel like we should leave this part out."
"But we think Izuku will explain it, if you just ask," Toru pointed out.
"Small blessings," the lizard girl groaned.
"So, where does that leave us?" Tsu questioned, back to her deadpan calmness, but unable to completely hide a hint of dejection in her voice. "He said he likes you, but he didn't enter a relationship with you. Ribbit, how can we be sure that we won't just be more of the same?"
It was as if a grey veil had enveloped the whole room. The thought that everything—their efforts, their hopes, their feelings—had been for nothing was jarring, depressing even. It made her want to hit something, or sob, or both—Itsuka's punching bag looked extremely punchable…
"Does the meeting even matter then?" a dejected Ochaco asked nobody in particular. They were all thinking about it anyway.
All but two of them.
"It does. I assure you it does," Momo spoke resolutely, her voice breaking through the general desolation. "It might just be what changes things for the better, hopefully."
Mina perked up at that. "What do you mean?"
"We've got a plan, sort of," Toru said, raising an arm to hold on Momo's shoulder. "It's not that different from what we were gonna do, honestly, but it could make a difference! We'll help Izuku, and we'll get our happy ending!"
Despite the moment of somberness, Mina started to feel reinvigorated by her bestie's drive.
"Two-for-one. I like it," Setsuna smirked.
Toru giggled and Momo showed a short, contained smile at that.
"Go on," Ochaco, eyes laser-focused, ordered.
Itsuka nodded. "We're all ears."
"As long as it works, ribbit," Tsu croaked.
"Let's make it work," Mina grinned.
It had to.
Today
"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Kyoka?" her friend asked worriedly.
Kyoka held a groan. "I'm fine, Yaomomo. Just need my coffee," she said, though the words came out as a grumble at most.
"Then let's get you some," the heiress agreed to let the matter drop with a nod.
The musician hummed in agreement. Her friend knew when not to meddle, and for that Kyoka was thankful.
As expected, Kyoka hadn't slept enough. She had wasted two more hours tossing and turning. Her brain kept trying to come up with sensible explanations to what she'd heard in Green's room, to no avail. Now she had to accept that she didn't have the energy to pull off a convincing well-rested act.
Her current second solace was that it didn't seem like this would be one of her bad days. She hadn't gotten one in a while, but it felt like it was just around the corner, waiting for her to drop her guard before bashing her at full force. The thought of being drained of any strength and will to move just before their exams wasn't a pleasant one.
She tried not to think about that vexation of hers anymore, focusing instead on other stuff. Anything to take her mind off the hurdle.
She would soon add a cup of steaming hot, dark-as-her-soul, energizing coffee to fill in a third entry on the list of things she could be thankful for, and get on with her day. A lazy Sunday with no planned activities other than a short gym training session would help her get some rest.
Yeah, that would take her mind off her problems and the strange thoughts that bounced around her skull regarding the… guy who was right before her.
Kyoka noticed Green as they entered the kitchen area, because of course he'd be there. She knew his schedule; it was just the right time for him to come back from his run. He was busy brewing in one corner while Sero and Ida were squeezing oranges for fresh juice on the other counter. He looked refreshed, like he'd actually gotten some sleep.
- At least one of us has… -
At this point, she shouldn't even be surprised. Maybe she would have to start believing in karmic retribution.
The boy noticed them and smiled, inviting them over with a gesture. "Momo, Jiro, good morning! Would you like some coffee? I've made extra."
"Good morning, Izuku. Thank you, but I will just have my usual tea," Momo reciprocated, going for the water kettle.
The other two classmates welcomed them before going back to their own discussion, something about taking inspiration from old comic book Heroes and literary Heroes.
Kyoka took a second to follow her friend, taking a hand out of her pockets to cover a yawn. "Sup' Green. I'll take it, thanks."
"No problem," he said, filling and handing her a cup that she took without hesitation.
She found the warmness of the cup between her hands extremely soothing, as it satisfied some sort of craving of hers. The fragrant aroma invaded her nostrils a moment before the pungent flavor hit her tongue. Yaomomo wouldn't like the term, but it was definitely "good shit."
"That hits the spot," she thought aloud after she had drunk half of the cup in one go, a long breath leaving her and taking away some of her tiredness.
"Glad to hear it," Green chuckled as he sipped from his, his backside resting against the counter.
Kyoka found herself in the center of the greenette's attention, something that hadn't happened for weeks. His eyes were still looking her way, and the smile never left his face. She was used to him looking her way with that easy smile of his—he looked at everyone that way—but why did she feel like there was something different today? She couldn't quite place her finger on what it was, though. Maybe… was this the first time where their roles had been reversed?
She really didn't feel meeting his eyes.
Green broke the moment of silence. "Shinso told me that you were the one who brought me Eri's pin yesterday. I owe you that much at least."
"Oh?" Yaomomo let out a sound of surprise.
"It was nothing," she answered before covering her face behind the mug again. Stopping her jacks from starting to twist was the hardest part of looking normal.
"No, really, I wanted to thank you," the boy continued. "I think that Eri would've been nearly inconsolable if she had woken up without it. You should've seen her face when I showed it to her."
It wasn't that hard to imagine, as she knew how cute the little girl was when she looked fondly at others.
"It's fine dude, there's no need for that. Let's just call it even with this," she reiterated, making her nail tink on the edge of the cup.
"I can, but convincing Eri to drop it will be a little harder than that," he chuckled. "She'll make sure to thank you as soon as she's free to come back here."
"We have quite the long week ahead before that," Yaomomo pointed out. "But I'm sure that it will be a nice addition to our post-exams celebrations."
"Sure, if we pass," she retorted.
She was no slacker and she'd recently improved so much it was scary, but she also didn't have nearly as much confidence in her grades and heroic skills as the two giants before her did.
"We'll be fine. We've made so much progress that the teachers might be starting to lose track," the boy reassured.
- Green's really sure about it, uh? Good to know, - she thought as her Quirk picked up on the absolute absence of weird palpitations from the boy. If anything, she knew that she could trust his eye for talent.
Some small talk later, the boy excused himself and left, already on his way to his next commitment of the day. She looked at him as he went, her brain still overthinking.
The short discussion had been a bit awkward, but not enough to make her truly want to bury herself and disappear six feet underground. If Green remembered anything about what he'd said in his sleep, he hadn't shown any sign of it. She knew that she hadn't imagined it, but she still had no answers as to what was going on. Moreover, now she would have to deal with the reason why her own heart was beating out of tune. Being flustered was one thing, but she didn't want to think about the implications-
"Kyoka?"
She'd gotten distracted and caught staring. Great.
"Yeah?" she said as she turned her head, faking an inner peace that wasn't there.
Her friend looked at her for a few moments—Was she studying her? Why was her heartbeat speeding up a bit too? What was it with heartbeats today?!—before speaking.
"You don't have any pressing matters to tend to today, do you?"
"Um, no?" she responded, puzzled by the sudden change in tone.
"Good. Would you mind coming to my room to talk, let's say, after lunch? There is something I'd like to share with you."
Kyoka swallowed her last sip of coffee and nodded. "Sure. No problem. Just gimme some time to really wake up and take a shower. I feel like I'll need one if I want to stay awake today."
"Of course," Yaomomo giggled, graciously hiding her smile behind her hand. "I'll be waiting."
Kyoka filled her cup again as her friend left, excusing herself with the excuse of some private task.
She'd totally need that shower to be cold.