You were all grins when class was over.

It felt good to be recognized. You always held back with your quirk and it made you feel like something was missing in your life. This was the first time in a long time you were proud of your efforts; sloppy as they were.

After class, Aizawa pulled you aside to (sort of) congratulate you. He ended the conversation by offering to give you some lessons on the weekends. The idea of extra work made your sore muscles scream again, but you knew it would be worth it.

"See you - at 4:30 am," he added, just as you were leaving. You cringed but didn't let him see.

So early!

As soon as you were free, you were met with a cluster of your classmates. All of them were giving you strange looks. The wall of judgment made you stop dead in your tracks. "H-hey, guys?" you waved awkwardly.

"There you are."

Bakugo was first to come at you. He looked angry, as per usual, but his tone wasn't quite as harsh. "Want to explain how you miraculously improved?"

"Um. Practice?" You shrugged. Everyone seemed to feel the same, but they weren't upset like Bakugo.

"Huh? Secret training or something?" his frustration increased.

You didn't notice them come up next to you, but someone grabbed hold of your hand and pulled you to their side, "Hey, that's my lady you're talking to!"

Everyone turned a shade of green, including yourself. Mineta cradled your hand like it was a precious gem. You snatched it back and tried to hide your embarrassment, "Not your lady, Mineta."

"That's not what your lips said earlie-"

You quickly covered his mouth. This was what you were afraid of. "Cut it out!" you pleaded.

Bakugo's eyes narrowed, "I'm not stupid enough to believe that you actually like this grape-nut. But you are hiding something - SO WHAT IS IT?"

"Y-You all really want to know?" You addressed the rest of your class.

"Of course!" Uraraka exclaimed, "I mean, we understand if you have your reasons... but we're your friends! We all learn from each other and push each other to be our best."

"Your quirk shouldn't be something you're ashamed of," Iida agreed, "Especially if your heart's truest desire is to be a hero and to help others. Otherwise, why be at UA?"

You noticed the boy with red and white hair, who stood by Iida, let his eyes drop to the floor. The way he reacted to your power was a little hostile, not quite like Bakugo, but in his own silent and cold way.

"Alright," you gulped, "I can take a person's vitality and use it as power. It doesn't last forever, which makes it difficult."

At this, everyone erupted into chatter;

"How do you do it?"

"You get super strong, right?"

"Can you take their quirks too?"

You rocked on your heels, "I can get stronger, and faster - I've noticed different effects but I think it depends on the person I take from. To be honest, I haven't practiced enough to know..."

They waited for you to continue, knowing you avoided one question in particular. Then, Mineta's jaw hit the floor, "Wait! You have to kiss people, don't you?"

The silence was deafening. You couldn't defend yourself from this one.

"Uh... well... yes," you whimpered, "There might be other ways. T-This has just been the easiest way..."

Every single one of the boys, including Bakugo, and a couple of girls, had rosy cheeks. No one knew what to say next. Midoriya looked mortified for you. All you could do was stand tall and pray they ignore you forever.

"That's..." Kaminari said in a daze, "AWESOME!"

He pushed past Bakugo, who scowled, and got right in your face. His intensity startled you and you took steps back.

"You can use me, ANYTIME, (Y/N)! I'm perfect for this!"

"Back off, Denki! I said she was my lady!" Mineta said, "I basically have dibs!"

"You guys..." Uraraka could see the discomfort on your face, "Let's leave her alone, okay?"

Asui was the next to approach you, "She was clearly afraid to tell us, so let's just be supportive."

Kaminari hummed, "I was offering to be supportive..."

"Back up, sparky!" Bakugo fumed.

"What's your deal, Bakugo?"

The blonds looked like they were about to butt heads, but Kaminari wasn't about to start a fight with Bakugo. Asui sighed and looked at you apologetically.

Midoriya spoke up next, "I think your quirk is great, (Y/N)."

You looked up at his warm expression, and he continued, "I mean, you were born with this quirk. It's meant for you and you're the best person to wield it. I saw what you did today, so did Todoroki, Kaminari, Iida... We haven't seen you so in your element before. And it's... uh, you seemed happier. So, don't worry about t-t-the... the-"

"Kissing," Kaminari and Mineta said.

"Yeah," Midoriya sighed, "Who knows, maybe if you practice you'll find new ways to power your quirk. Until then... JUST DO YOUR BEST!"

"Izuku..." you smiled. Honestly, you were about to cry, but you were embarrassed enough today. It felt good to be accepted. Sure, it would be awkward for a while, but at least you were being true to yourself now.

You met all of their eyes again, "Thank you."

"Alright," Jiro chimed in, "I think we all need a break after today. Who wants pizza?"

The evening was one of the best you had in a while. Everyone, except for a handful, of your class met at the nearest pizzeria and shared giant pies. You could see it in everyone's eyes how tired they were, but the mutual suffering brought you closer together.

Now that your secret was out in the open, people talked to your more. You hadn't realized the barrier you created from your insecurities. Now that your walls were down, your classmates seemed friendlier. Every now and then, you'd spot Kaminari eyeing you too much, but it wasn't so bad. You could get used to this.

"It makes sense that's your quirk, (Y/N)!" Ashido said, "Only a super hottie could have it!"

"What do you mean?" you laughed.

"Well, imagine if one of us had that quirk - we'd never get someone to kiss us!" she whined.

"That's not true! Plenty of people would want to kiss you," you said, but then chuckled at the idea of Koda or Tokoyami having your quirk. Would that be considered a "peck?"

"It's annoying how cute you are," she winked, "But we can still be friends."

You rolled your eyes. At the mention of your quirk again, both Iida and Midoriya stared. When you caught them, they shoveled pizza slices into their faces.

"So, (Y/N)," Kirishima spoke, and grinned with his shark teeth, "Who were you with before training today?"

You froze. They only saw you kiss Mineta, but you obviously had a lot of power at the start of the villain vs. hero test. How do you explain that one?

"N-no one - nothing! Uh..." you stammered.

"Awwww, come on!" he pressed, "Do we know him? Is he at least manly?"

"Kirishima!" Uraraka scolded.

Was Shinso manly? You thought about his strong arms, his wide smile, the bags under his eyes that somehow made him more appealing. This quirk of yours made it difficult to understand intimacy... Did you like him? Or were you friends that helped each other?

Both?

"Is he a crush..?" Mineta asked, with tears already surfacing.

"I don't know!" You said, "He's not even in our class, so stop worrying about it."

Bakugo, who only showed up tonight because Kirishima forced him to, suddenly scoffed at the other end of the table, "I bet he's a loser."

You just leered, "You say that about everyone."

"The best hero at UA is right here," he rolled his eyes, "I could kill him in a second."

"Oooo," you layered on the sarcasm, "I'd like to see you try."

"Oh yeah?" he grinned, "Tell me where your stupid boyfriend is and I'll show you!"

"Sit down, Bakugo!" Kirishima groaned.

"Are you just upset she hasn't kissed you, Bakugo?" Kaminari teased him while snickering, "Join the club..."

Bakugo crushed the plate holding his pizza in his hands. Everyone flinched. "Don't be an idiot! If she wants to waste her time on losers, like Mineta, it's no loss of mine!"

"Ouch..." Mineta crawled under the table and disappeared.

You weren't a fan of Mineta's, but it didn't feel right to make fun of him like this. As soon as he started feeling up Ashido's legs, you immediately withdrew your pity and kicked him.

"Who's excited about the sports festival?" you decided to change the subject.

"Me!" Uraraka raised her hand, "A bit nervous too..."

That started a loud conversation that lasted another hour. You were enjoying yourself too much that you almost forgot about your aunt. You excused yourself, waving goodbye to everyone. The only one to stiff you being Bakugo - no surprise there.

It was darker out but that didn't concern you since the school was nearby. You smiled about your day and enjoyed the breeze that came with the cool twilight. A vibrating came from your pocket, letting you know you got a text message.

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach. Shinso? Every now and then, you would see him on your way out, passing the general classes.

You giggled. Was he asking you on a date? A real date? You were too nervous to respond. How do you approach this? Casually and treat it like normal? Flirt a little? Ugh!

What do I want?!

Squuueeeeeeeee!!!

Some fellow pedestrians eyed you cautiously as you continued to giggle at your phone. Wait. Were you excited? Obviously, but when did you start liking Shinso?

Since he noticed you? Since he cared?

Because he looks at you like no one else does?

You hummed to yourself, enjoying the flattery of being asked out on a real date. This would be a first for you, not including the awkward group dates when you were younger. It was exciting, and... you could see yourself liking Shinso, maybe as more than a friend.

The streets were busy as usual. When you bumped into someone, you hardly noticed, "Sorry."

"(Y/N)?"

You looked up, "Todoroki? Hi."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"G-Going back to campus, actually," you remembered he was one of the few who didn't eat pizza tonight, "We missed you at dinner. Were you busy?"

"Yeah," he said, plainly, "Just school stuff."

"Alright, well... I'm actually headed back that way. So, I'll see you?"

You kept walking but noticed that he followed. Didn't he just come from the school?

"Did you forget something?" you asked.

"No..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm just making sure you get back okay."

He's... worried about me?

"Is something wrong, Todoroki?" you tried looking him in the eye, but he made that difficult.

"Not with me," he said, "But, you know the Hero Killer has been at large."

You had heard about that. Who hadn't? The idea sent chills down your spine. Sure, most villains wouldn't be against killing a hero, but this guy usually succeeded. He seemed to come out of nowhere, but now he was known to everyone.

"Scary, huh?" you said, "I hope they catch him soon. I don't want any more heroes to die... But I doubt he'd come after someone like me." You shrugged with a lopsided smile, which seemed to annoy Todoroki.

"You should be more careful. Especially at night," his callused tone returned.

"Okay..." you nodded, "Sure."

As you approached the school grounds together, Midnight was already there waiting for you, speaking to a few other teachers. You braced for impact as soon as she spotted you.

"My sweet (Y/N)! Let's get some ice cream! Oh... is this Shoto Todoroki? Don't tell me - he's your boyfriend?"

"No!" it was always best to stop her insane ideas right away, "No, he's my friend from class."

"Oh?" she frowned, "He's so handsome. You know, his father is pretty famous too? Such exotic hair... you two would make the cutest babies!"

You facepalmed. Todoroki certainly regretted joining you now, you thought. When you dared to peek through your fingers at him, he looked like he had just been flashed by a scary homeless person.

Well, the idea doesn't have to horrify you THAT much!

"Do you want to join us for ice cream, Mr. Todoroki? My treat," Midnight offered.

You were about to cover for him - make up a story so that he didn't have to go, but instead, he said something totally unexpected.

"Sure."

WHAT?!