---

Sunday, May 17th

Hitomi was resting in her room, when she took her phone and searched for the new addition to her contacts: 'Smol Greenie '.

-You: u there?

-Smol Greenie: Shinso-san?

-You: who else

-You: or did u get another cute girl number recently

She truly expected he didn't.

-Smol Greenie: fjirfrqwqk

-Smol Greenie: no

Good to know.

-You: how sad

-Smol Greenie: …

She smiled, getting an unstoppable desire of sending him a photo.

"Let's start light. Hey, Mio! Smile." She took the little cat a photo and snorted at the offended look the feline gave her. "There you go."

-You sent to Smol Greenie

-Smol Greenie: Is that your cat?

-Smol Greenie: Mio, was it?

-You: ye

-Smol Greenie: He looks really cute!

-You: he is the devil incarnated

-Smol Greenie: What?

-You: satans pet

Putting her life in the line, she took a second picture.

-You sent to Smol Greenie

-You: see his annoyed expression

-You: if I keep bothering him he will scratch my eyes out

-You: but despite that I love him

-Smol Greenie: Eh?

-Smol Greenie: I don't get it.

-You: you don't really want to

-You: behind that cute appearance there's a little furry bastard who hates strangers even more than mondays

-Smol Greenie: Aren't all animals like that?

-Smol Greenie: Territorial, I mean.

-You: NO THEY ARENT

-You: mostly

-You: dogs are a lot more friendly

-You: but I'm a cat person so here I am wallowing in my misery

-You: also he is adorable as heck so it makes up for it

-Smol Greenie: Shinso-san, I don't want to sound weird but

-Smol Greenie: you feel a lot different on messages.

It was the same with him. Without hearing his stuttering, it almost felt as if she was talking with a different person.

"Let's raise the bets." She took a photo of herself.

She had took a nap a while ago, so her clothes were wrinkled and her hair looked messier than normal.

-You sent to Smol Greenie

-You: looking good?

-Smol Greenie: rqviojmvcnkceov

-You: good to know

(…)

Monday, May 18th

The week started with Izuku giving her a surprise.

"Let me understand this. You got us an internship." She was incredulous but hopeful, as they walked to the building where it would take place.

"Um, the closest to that we could get as students from the General Department."

Technically it was a conference about what truly meant to work as a pro-hero, so it didn't involve anything practical. But hearing the experiences and tips about heroics straight from the pro-heroes themselves would be neat too.

When they arrived at the conference room she saw a huge banner hanging over the entrance. It said 'Welcome heroes of tomorrow!' and it had some happy cat faces around, for some reason.

"Hey, Midoriya, why−?" Her words got stuck in her throat as she walked inside and saw them just standing by the podium, surrounded by fans.

The Wild, Wild Pussycats.

Without saying a word, Hitomi took Izuku by his collar and pulled him outside. "S-Shinso-san?"

She covered her face with her hands, breathed deeply, and… It was a waste of time because she wasn't going to get calm. "Izuku, why the heck didn't you tell me the Pussycats were participating?!" she hissed.

"I t-thought you liked them…" He seemed confused.

"Right. So just because I said I´m a cat person, you assumed I like them?"

"Do you?"

Her eye twitched. "Yes, I do. Actually, I have one dakimakura of Tiger."

"R-really?!"

"Obviously NOT..." She had one of each Pussycat. "But yeah, I am a huge fan." She smirked. "I'll forgive you for not telling me about this before handed if you get me some autographs."

Izuku laughed softly. "Deal."

(…)

Tuesday, May 19th

They were in the club-room trying a certain aspect of her Quirk.

Experiment No.1.

"[Ur green hair´s fluffy like sheep´s wool]," she said in her better English.

"Wait, what−?" By Izuku´s reaction, her pronunciation was pretty awful. And yet, she felt her Quirk taking hold of him.

"Success." She inclined towards him and lifted her right arm. "[Let´s high-five]."

They did and Izuku went back to normal.

He immediately took his notebook and wrote the results. "Okay. Now we know you can also activate your Quirk and give orders while speaking in other languages. So let's go with the next one!"

She nodded and took a piece of paper in which she had written two sentences in Spanish.

Experiment No.2.

"[Tu ser demasiado apuesto para tu propio bien]."

"What did you−?" Just like before, her Quirk activated with no trouble.

"Perfect. Now, [haz salto hacia atras]." She waited for Izuku to follow her order, but he didn't move at all. "[Salto hacia atrás?]" she repeated, but it was the same.

The moment she deactivated her Quirk, Izuku smiled. "It didn't work, right?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You knew it wouldn't… Why?"

"Because English is the only foreign language I speak and understand," he explained. "If my theory is right, it doesn't really matter the language you use to trigger your Quirk. As long as your target answers in any way, it'll work… Actually, I think you could even babble nonsense or say made-up words and it would work be the same. However, it's different while giving orders; when ordering someone to do something, you need to speak in a language the brainwashed person can understand, or they won't do it."

"Hmm. That explains it. Usually, it would be quite easy to make someone do a back-flip using my Quirk."

"So that was what you asked me to do." He smiled lightly, but his expression turned curious. "Shinso-san, what did you say to brainwash me?"

She slowly smirked and made herself comfortable on the couch. "It's-a-secret."

(…)

Wednesday, May 20th

The green-haired boy sat on the sofa. In her own experience, it was a really confortable seat. Perfect for what they were about to try.

Experiment No.3.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Hitomi asked. Knowing she would feel like an idiot for not thinking about this before, if it really worked.

"It should." He nodded. "I mean, you can brainwash people into doing anything that doesn't requires much brain activity. So doing the opposite, and making it stop, should be easy... In t-theory at least."

"Okay, let's try, then. Are you ready?"

"Yes−!"

She got control over Izuku and gave her order. "Fall asleep."

Suddenly, she felt this weird pulling, as if Izuku were slipping off her control. However, her order seemed to have been effective. He wasn't awake anymore.

"Nice, it worked. Can you wake up again?"

He didn't move, so it was a fact her brainwashing had been nulled the moment he stopped being fully conscious. "Interesting."

She moved closer to him, intending to wake him up. But stopped at the last moment, after seeing how peaceful his expression was.

Before Hitomi could reign herself she had already taken a photo of his sleeping face.

She truly didn't want to wake him up.

"He has been working hard all week. There shouldn't be any problem in letting him rest for a while. I'm just caring for my sempai's wellbeing, nothing else," she said, trying with poor results to auto-convince herself she wasn't being creepy. "Ah, whatever. Let's create a distraction." She took a permanent marker out of her bag.

It was time for an art attack.

(…)

Experiment No.4.

This time, it involved them being on different places while talking through their cellphones.

"Okay, can you hear me?" asked Izuku.

"Loud and clear."

"Okay! Now try to use your Quirk on me."

"Actually, I´m already doing it, and it's not working."

"R-really?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "It's weird. That had never happened."

"Have you tried using your Quirk over the phone before?"

"No. Why would I?"

"That should explain it then."

"So I can only use my Quirk in person?" That was weird.

"That's not quite the problem, I think. But the phone in itself."

"Ah." She realized the obviousness. "The electrical signals are messing with my Quirk, right?"

"Exactly! I doubt your Quirk can work under any kind of electronic alteration to your voice. The subliminal undertones that allow you to brainwash people are simply lost in the process."

"Is that a bad thing? I mean, beyond not being able to brainwash people over the phone -which I can't imagine myself doing, anyway."

"Hmm. Kinda. I had thought about some possible support items for you that were electronic in nature, so I guess those are out now.

"Right. That sucks." She had imagined herself carrying a megaphone around while in her hero persona, but that wasn't a possibility anymore.

"It's fine. I'll ask my friend in the Support Department if she can alter the designs to make them work along with your Quirk. If it's her, it should be possible."

"I see. You should introduce me to that friend of yours soon, though. I´m almost jealous." Despite the sarcasm in her voice, she actually kind of was.

"E-eh?!"

"Did I mention your voice sounds really cool over the phone?"

He started to mumble intelligibly on the other side of the line. "Um, y-you sound n-nice too," he said out loud, "I mean, y-you always do, really. Your voice is just so…"

She laughed softly, blushing slightly. "You said you were in your classroom, right? I want to see what expression you are doing."

"Wait, d-don't come here!"

"Too late!"

(…)

Later that day…

She was in her room, watching TV, when they announced something pretty interesting on the news.

The Hero Killer -Stain- has been captured.

The official statement was that Endeavor along with this old hero called Gran Torino were the ones who did it. However, she doubted the veracity of that affirmation, noticing in the footage the presence of three boys she knew and probably shouldn't be there.

The first one was Todoroki, the second one was that boy with spikey red hair that lost against him during the Sports Festival. And finally, of course, Tenya.

So he did it, after all.

She smirked. "That idiot now owns me one."

(…)

Thursday, May 21th

"I've been looking for pro-heroes that Shinsou-san could take as an example to follow and I think Eraserhead is probably the best option," said Izuku.

"Is he?" She only knew about the scruffy-looking teacher's existence from the Sports Festival, which made sense she supposed, with him being an underground hero. "Because I can't find any similarities between us... Besides the eye-bags, at least."

Izuku let out a small laugh. "W-well, to put it simply, Eraserhead uses his Quirk to force villains to his level and then beats them making use of martial arts and hit-and-run tactics. On the other side, you can defeat your opponents automatically by using your Quirk."

"Doesn't that make us the complete opposite?"

"Not really. Both of you depend on the surprise factor to defeat villains, but while is moderately important for Eraserhead, in your case is absolutely indispensable."

She thought deeply about the point he was trying to make. "Because if I can't trick people to control them with my Quirk, then I'm left defenseless."

"Exactly." Izuku nodded. "But with appropriate training and gear that won't be a problem at all, just like in Eraserhead's case."

"So you want me to get a scarf-thingy as the one he uses?"

"Well, a capture-weapon would be perfect for restriction purposes, but any kind of gear that gives you an advantage would be fine."

"Anything?" He was being highly unspecific.

"Yeah, I have a whole notebook full of potential support items from, um, when I wanted to be a hero. It is in my house but I can bring it one of these days if you want to."

"If you are sure...?" Such a notebook sure was important to Izuku, even if he was being carefree about it.

"Yeah, you could give it a better use than me."

She frowned slightly, but let it be. "So I need to get as many weapons and gadgets as I can, then?"

"Well, not exactly. We need to pick up ones that would synergy with what you're learning with Kendo-sensei."

"That sounds harder than you are making it sound."

"Hmm, yes a no. It's a process. As you develop your own fighting style, it should be easy for you to determine what kind of gear you need. So don't worry too much for now."

"If you say so." She really had never thought about learning to use weapons before… Damn, before she got stomped on the Sports Festival she had not even seen the point of learning how to fight. And yet, this image of her wrapping Izuku with a capture-weapon, leaving him completely defenseless, floated suddenly in her mind. And she liked it, "You know, I think I should get one of those scarf-things, after all."

(…)

Friday, May 22th

Training with Itsuka was tiring but fun.

And the part she hated -and loved- the most, were the sparring sessions.

Specifically, the ones against Izuku.

To put it simply, despite being a person that hated defeat and found it frustrating, she was trying to learn from those experiences. The problem was that when Izuku was involved… She didn't mind losing that much.

And she usually lost a lot.

So she was apparently becoming a masochist. That wasn't a nice thought at all.

Besides, she saw herself as more belonging to the S-side of the spectrum… And that wasn't something she wanted to think about right now either.

"Okay!" exclaims Itsuka. "Take a rest, Midoriya-kun. I´ll spar with Shinso-chan for the time remaining." She frowned against her will, and Itsuka noticed. "It's something the matter?"

"No, Itsuka-sensei. Everything is totally fine."

"Is that so?" Itsuka looked annoyingly smug about it. "Well then, let's start!" then she added in a quiet voice: "But if you don't fulfill my expectations, all the next week you'll have to spar with me, and only with me."

She looked at Itsuka with mock contempt. "You are evil."

And the girl had the guts to smile innocently.

(…)

Saturday, May 23th

It had been a normal day for Hitomi. But that normalcy was interrupted just as her classes finished.

"Student Hitomi Shinso, you are required in the Headmaster Office. Please come as soon as you can."

Immediately her classmates started to murmur, trying to guess why she was being called.

She wondered if she should feel glad that none of them were making weird theories about her getting herself expelled as they did at the start of the school year.

She shrugged and made her way to the office.

Maybe it was something about the club -her club, she had to remind herself.

There was another possibility, but she didn't want to get her hopes up just to be disappointed.

"Please enter," said the headmaster, after she knocked on his door.

But when she entered she saw that another person was inside.

It was an unkempt-looking guy, with a tired and slightly annoyed expression. If she were told, he was a distant cousin of her father or something, she would believe so. However, she already knew the man´s identity.

He was Class 1-A´s homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa, aka. Eraserhead.

She tried to keep her expression even and stop overthinking about what his presence there meant. "Hi, Headmaster."

"Good day, Shinso-san. Could you take a seat?" Coming from the headmaster, it didn't really feel like a question. "Perfect. First, than anything, let's make something clear. You took part in the Sports Festival, so I'm not wrong in assuming you wish to join the hero course, right?"

"You aren't. I want to be a hero," she saw something change in Eraserhead´s expression, but he still didn't say anything, and just kept staring at her. It would be unnerving if she wasn't so used to people doing that.

"Perfect! Because you see, your club-mate recommended you as one of the students with the most potential and deserving to get transferred to the hero course. And I believe his assessment is right!"

She suddenly felt warm and a bit dizzy.

It couldn't be true, right? For her to reach her goal, so suddenly…

Was she dreaming?

"I see," she mumbled, and both educators probably saw through her facade, but she couldn't care less at the moment.

"Of course, even as the headmaster, such decision ultimately falls on the teachers themselves. And it seems Aizawa-kun has some words for you about that."

She looked at the dark-haired man, and he simply blinked.

Okay, he was actually alive and wasn't a statue or a manikin. That was good.

"Hitomi Shinso…" Eraserhead spoke slowly and then paused. She wasn't sure if he was trying to be dramatic or if he was just lazy even while speaking. He truly was reminding her of her father. "I´m against you being transferred."

Suddenly the world seemed colder and greyer.

She didn't want to say anything, just walk away from the room. But she needed to ask. "Why?"

"As much potential as your Quirk has, it means nothing if that's the only thing you have going." His words were blunt. He said what he truly believed and couldn't care less about her feelings, because his words were the cold hard truth. "Heroes who are one-trick ponies perish quickly. So I refuse to have them in my class. And that's exactly what I saw in the Sports Festival: Someone fully dependent on her Quirk, and completely useless once it couldn't use it. There were no signs of hard work, strength, or strategy in your actions. They were just like a thrown of the dice, expecting the best. Someone like that can't be on the Hero Course."

"Oh." That's the only thing she managed to say.

She knew the man´s accusations weren't wrong, but they still hurt.

Having no right to refute what was basically the truth, she just nodded, stood up from her seat, and moved towards the door.

"That´s it?" Eraserhead interrupted her. There was surprise in his tone, but mostly just disappointment.

"What?" She turned to look at him in confusion.

"Usually, in this kind of situation, any other student would try to excuse themselves and say they will become better. They don't accept so easily that their transference was rejected and just walk away."

She gawked. The man´s comment was so utterly ridiculous to her, that her thoughts escape her mouth and she did a very bad job at hiding her annoyance. "What? Do you want me to beg? Because I won´t."

Eraserhead´s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Elaborate."

On any other day, that would be the moment when she would shut her trap, say sorry, and disappear. But maybe she was feeling especially insolent that day because she actually answered. "Excuse me for my rudeness, sensei. But you didn't say anything I didn't know already." That was obviously like throwing gasoline on the fire, but she wasn't going to stop there. "Unlike the idiot you probably think I am, I actually learn from my mistakes and know when to cut my losses." She obviously didn't, or she wouldn't be talking back! "So if you think I'm just giving up, let me correct that misunderstanding right now. I may be a pragmatic person, but I'm also quite stubborn. So if I can't get into your class this year, there's no problem. I still have the next two years to try. Besides, yours is not the only hero class in this school, nor it´s UA´s Hero Course the only one in the country." She sent an apologetic glance at the headmaster, who for some bizarre reason couldn't look more amused. "So believe me, I'm taking your assessment very seriously, but I have not the time to beg or make excuses for my shortcomings. I prefer to speak with my actions… So Sensei. Headmaster. Goodbye."

She turned around again, intent on leaving the room for a goddamn time before she actually got herself expelled -assuming she wasn't already-, but then she heard a weird rough noise behind her... It almost sounded like laughing.

And when she looked over her shoulders, she saw Eraserhead smiling…

In a really creepy way, but smiling in any case.

"Your potential isn't zero. What I meant to say was that you aren't ready to be transferred, right now, you cheeky brat. "

'What?'

"No. You didn't." The way he expressed himself was quite straightforward. It didn't let any doubts about what he thought about her.

That he didn't want her in his class.

As if knowing what she was thinking, he added with a serious expression, "I was blunt on purpose. It was just a logical ruse to learn the kind of person you were. All I said were comments the headmaster already brought to Midoriya during his presentation last week."

"I was a lot nicer, though," added Nezu.

"According to that problem child, not only he is helping you with your Quirk, but you also started karate lessons in Kendo´s dojo, right?" She nodded, not sure where this was going. "I know him. He is a formidable fighter and an excellent teacher... I suppose you haven't a proper schedule for your classes?"

"Not yet."

"Well, you should. It's a fact that if you were to get transferred to the Hero Course right now, you would be at a huge disadvantage compared to your peers, so it´s good that you are already taking the necessary steps to solve that. However, while it would serve as a solid base, I don't think karate by itself is a style that would suit you. After all, with a Quirk like yours, you would be forced to serve as an underground hero, like it was my case."

"Yes, I know. But what´s your point?" All that dancing around the bush was making her nervous.

"Don't be impatient, kid…" He scolded her. "Listen, I have currently about two hours available after classes the days Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, which we could use to help you increase your fighting prowess and technique to an adequate level for a hero student."

Her facade finally broke and she stared at the teacher, totally flabbergasted. "You want to train me?"

Eraserhead´s expression got stern. "Don't misunderstand it. Your transference to the Hero Course hasn't been approved yet… That will depend totally on your actions from now on. I´ll train you, indeed, but just as long as you show promise. So don't disappoint me."

She couldn't quite believe him. Not after his ruse. But when she looked at his eyes, she knew the man wasn't lying or trying to trick her again.

"I won´t."

She had to pinch herself to make sure.

Her dream wasn't just a dream anymore, but a possibility.

(…)

Izuku didn't consider himself a stickler for the rules, but he still tried not to break them if he could.

Right now, he couldn't.

At first, he had intended to check on Mei -he did every once in a while to stop her from dying of sleep deprivation-, but then he heard some people gossiping about Nezu calling Hitomi to speak with her.

After that, he didn't waste a second and ran like a madman towards the headmaster´s office.

However, he had to stop when he saw a familiar girl with indigo hair just sitting on a bench outside the main building.

As he got closer, he felt nervous. She looked distracted, her eyes fixed on the ground. And he couldn't but fear the worst.

Sighing, he sat by her side. "A-are you fine, Shinso-san?"

She lifted her head slowly to look at him. "Izuku." He expected to find distress or disappointment in her expression, but instead, he found surprise. Genuine and innocent surprise, as someone who isn't sure if they are asleep or awake. "Eraserhead said he is going to train me." Soon enough, that surprise went away and gave place to something more powerful and beautiful. "Maybe not yet, but I can already see it. I can be a hero!"

She was smiling. And it wasn't one of her trademark smirks, but a true smile, product of happiness not even the always collected Hitomi could hide.

"C-cute," he voiced his thoughts.

"What?"

"I, um," as much as he tried, he couldn't lie about something so shockingly pure and precious, "I just said y-your smile is cute."

The girl stared at him. Her pale skin wasn't helping her to mask how his words affected her.

He expected her to tease him back, or to make a snarky comment in response. But she didn't.

Suddenly Izuku became hyper-aware of her eyes. How gorgeous they were. That indigo purple of them -the same color as her hair- was like an indomitable maelstrom about to swallow him alive.

And he wouldn't mind at all.

Also, her lips, they were in their own tier.

So distracted he was, it took him a moment to notice they were getting closer and closer to each other. Though, he wasn't sure who was the one moving. Was it she or he…? Or both?

But then a happy-sounding song ruined the moment, coming from Hitomi´s bag. "I ask this guy is he ready to fight and− I take him to the park−"

"Uh?" Suddenly avoiding his gaze, the spell broken, Hitomi took out her cellphone. "Ah. My parents sent a message," she commented, trying to sound calm, but her face was still as flushed as a moment ago. "I told them about the training. They are really happy, seems they want to eat lunch outside to celebrate or something. Knowing them, it's probably just an excuse to be all disgustingly lovey-dovey in public…" She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I probably should be going. They are going to pick me up. So, until next week, Midoriya."

Feeling that it was a bad idea to pursue an explanation for what almost happened between them at the moment; he followed her example and tried to act like normal. "T-the same! I hope you h-have a good time, Shinso-san."

But he didn't imagine it, right? They were truly about to kiss each other, and she seemed totally okay about it.

Itsuka wasn't wrong.

Hitomi truly liked him, right?!

"I´ll try." Hitomi only took some steps forward and then stopped. Slowly, she looked over her shoulders; her expression was unsure and a bit nervous. And it was beautiful, just like the rest of her expressions he didn't know yet. "Midoriya, would you like to hang out at my house tomorrow?"

"W-what?!"

"My house. Hang out. Tomorrow," she repeated, faking irritation to hide her nervousness. "My mom has been nagging me about why I haven't introduced you to her yet. And, um, it would be fun. So we would be killing two birds with one rock… Assuming you aren't busy?"

"I'M NOT!" His crush was inviting him to her house. There was nothing on the face of the earth that would stop him from accepting. "I´ll be there!"

She snorted, "Fine. I'll send you the address later. So don't be late -assuming that's even physically possible for you." She waved and walked away.

He couldn't resist smiling like an idiot and threw a punch to the sky.

Then the situation finally registered for him.

He was meeting her parents.

He hadn't even told Hitomi he liked her, and he was already meeting her parents! How many steps did he even skip?!

To say he was distressed when he got home would be to put it mildly.

"Welcome home, Izuku!" said her mother as he entered the house.

"Hi, mom." His intention was to go to his room and brainstorm ideas not to mess up everything. But instead, he stood there, staring at her mother.

This was such a bad idea.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, dear?"

"You know, a friend invited me to hang out with them tomorrow…"

"Who? Kendo-chan?" Inko asked.

He cringed in remembrance. Izuku could still remember how his mother got the first time he mentioned Itsuka to her. Fortunately, she had calmed down after meeting her in person and realizing the orange-haired girl wasn't particularly interested in the opposite sex.

"No. It's not her."

"Oh. Katsuki-kun, then?"

He frowned. Despite the obvious signs that they hated each other, she still somehow thought they were friends. Or that at least, they were civil to each other. "No. Not him, either." Izuku breathed deeply. "It's a club-mate… A g-girl I like."

Inko slowly turned around, her watery eyes wide open as she trembled and made muffled sounds. "M-MY PRECIOUS IZUKUUUU!"

Such a bad idea!

---

---

Hitomi: Hey, Izuku, how do you think I´d look with cat-ears?

Izumi: Why are you even a-asking something like that?

Next Chapter - Quirkless. 20% isn't as little as you´d think.

Hitomi: Who knows? You would look nice, though.

Izuku: E-eh… You too.