"Mommy, how did you fall in love with dad?" Tsuyu asked innocently.

"It was love at first sight." Her mother replied with a smile.

That was a pleasant but somewhat embarrassing memory she had of her childhood. But it certainly made an awful contrast with the memory of her mother and her having basically the same conversation only a few years later...

"Tsuyu, I think you are old enough for me to explain to you certain things." The expression on her mother's face was serious. So that way began an unnecessarily long and rather awkward conversation that Tsuyu had wished she had never had.

Basically, the main topic was pheromones.

Like any other teenager, one day, Tsuyu was going to find someone she would find especially attractive, and having an animal mutation type Quirk would just make her especially aware of the effect of the chemical compounds and hormones acting to generate those feelings of attraction...

That day the idea she had of romanticism had died.

(...)

The day of UA's entrance exam arrived quite quickly.

And there she was. Sitting in the huge conference room while Present Mic explained the details of the practical exam.

Anyone who looked at her would immediately notice the distracted expression on her face accompanied by the slight trembling of her limbs and uncomfortable aura around her. And they would surely blame it on her nerves.

But they couldn't be more wrong.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!

It was definitely unbearable and she couldn't even describe it with words. It felt like a terribly cloying aroma invading her whole being and senses; clouding even her own thoughts to some extent.

Tsuyu was more than certain that it was the fault of someone in the room. Someone with a mind control Quirk or something like that who tried to annoy her; there was no other explanation. But there were too many people in the room to know who it was!

And how was Tsuyu supposed to ignore it? It was simply intoxicating in a maddening but pleasant way!

Before she knew it, Present Mic's explanation was over and she barely remembered tiny details of what the Pro-Hero had said beyond "there are robots, destroy them!"

That would have to be enough.

(...)

The practical exam ended up being easier than she expected.

Or maybe it was just the result of her being especially tenacious because of the frustration she felt.

Now that she was far enough from the source of her problems, Tsuyu could concentrate enough to understand what had really happened.

It was all the fault of those damn stupid pheromones!

Someone's pheromones out there had managed to affect her; someone she didn't even know what they looked like. Someone that Tsuyu maybe wouldn't even meet again after that day. Someone who could end up being a completely awful person... The situation was just terrible, and there was literally nothing she could do to stop feeling that way except to keep exposure to this person until the pheromones stopped affecting her so much.

And knowing her luck, that person would surely end up passing the exam as well.

(...)

Despite the fear and (to her complete irritation) longing, she had initially felt at the mere prospect of crossing paths with that person at the exit of the practical exam, Tsuyu concerns had been in vain and the situation ended quite anticlimactically, with her leaving the building while that person stayed behind.

It had been about a week since then.

A boring and depressing week.

A week during which Tsuyu couldn't help but feeling that something was missing.

And unfortunately, she was smart enough to understand what it was.

So there she was, finally in UA's 1-A classroom, sitting in one of the desks. Waiting. Slightly amused by the discussion of the explosive grumpy blonde and the tall robotic-like guy that were to be her classmates, while trying to pretend that she wasn't detecting the aura of that time a week ago approaching slowly to the classroom.

Her expression was static, but her cheeks were flushed and her heart was beating faster by the second as the aroma grew stronger and her attention was gradually diverted towards the door.

She should feel angry at being in such a situation. Instead, she felt stupidly happy just to be in the vicinity of whoever that person was.

And then the door opened and someone entered the room...

Tsuyu blinked in bewilderment, taking a moment to make sure the pheromones really came from that person, which seemed to be the case.

"Gero...?"

It was a girl

"Gero."

A pretty girl, however, Tsuyu had to admit. Her features were simple but pleasing to the eye; Short dishevelled hair of a greenish-black color, which contrasted with Tsuyu's. The girl seemed to be about the same height as her and wore a somewhat loose standard uniform with huge red sports shoes that were almost offensive to the eye. To finish, there was something curiously endearing in the nervous way the girl moved.

But she's still a girl.

The very nature of her pheromones left no doubt.

She-is-a-girl.

So there was no reason for Tsuyu to feel attracted to the awkward-looking girl.

Except for the possibility that she actually liked girls and was just realizing it at that moment.

Which would be absurd, right...?

"Eh." The girl noticed Tsuyu's gaze and moved her emerald eyes toward her. And after a little moment of indecision, she smiled shyly and raised her hand to greet her.

"G-Gero!" Tsuyu looked away immediately and after a few seconds raised her hand in response to the greeting.

Her smile is so cute!

The situation was going to be more complicated than Tsuyu imagined.