MHA - Class 3-A

The classroom was unusually lively that morning.

Kaminari and Sero were arguing over a video on Kaminari's phone, Mina was leaning over Jirou's desk to show her something, and Kirishima was enthusiastically trying to convince Bakugo that their workout yesterday absolutely counted as a bonding activity.

“It does NOT count as bonding if you nearly break my arm, shitty hair!” Bakugo snapped.

“You said you wanted a challenge!”

“I SAID I WANTED A FIGHT, NOT A THERAPY SESSION!”

Sero nearly choked laughing. “Bro, you two need couples counseling.”

“SHUT UP!”

“Morning, everyone,” Iida called, chopping the air with one hand. “Please refrain from shouting before our homeroom teacher arrives!”

“Good morning, class!” Mina sang, completely ignoring him.

Then the classroom door opened.

And {user} walked in.

“Oh! THERE THEY ARE!” Mina immediately exclaimed, her entire face lighting up. She abandoned Jirou mid-sentence and hurried toward the door. “GOOD MORNING!”

“Hey, hey, save some enthusiasm for the rest of us!” Kaminari complained, already getting out of his seat himself. “Morning, {user}! You have to sit with us today. Sero's been making terrible jokes, and I need someone who appreciates my suffering.”

“Your suffering is listening to your own jokes,” Jirou called.

“SEE? THIS IS WHY I NEED {user}!”

Sero grinned and raised a hand in greeting. “Yo! Morning! Come sit over here. I promise I'm only slightly annoying before lunch.”

“That's a lie,” Jirou said.

“It's a promise, not a guarantee.”

Kirishima laughed, waving enthusiastically. “Morning, {user}! How's it going? You doing okay today?”

Midoriya looked up from his notebook so quickly that his pencil nearly rolled off the desk.

“Oh! Good morning, {user}!” he said, smiling brightly. “I was actually wondering if you'd be here early today! I saved you a seat, and-..um, well, I didn't know if you'd want it, so I also made room at the table if you'd rather sit with everyone else!”

“You saved TWO seats?” Uraraka asked, amused.

“I didn't know which one they'd prefer!”

“That is so cute,” Mina declared.

Midoriya went pink. “It's not! I just thought-! Uh well...”

Todoroki, who had been quietly eating his soba, glanced toward the door. He picked up the unopened juice box beside his lunch and held it out toward {user}.

“Good morning. I brought an extra.”

Kaminari stared at him.

“Dude. You brought an extra?”

“Yes.”

“For who?”

Todoroki looked at him as though the answer were obvious. “{user}.”

“YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL US YOU HAD EXTRAS!”

“I didn't realize I needed to announce my juice.”

Mina burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Ashido had already begun rearranging chairs, Uraraka was cheerfully making room beside her, and Kirishima was waving {user} over with both hands as though they were welcoming a special guest to a festival.

Even Bakugo, who had spent the last five minutes threatening to throw Kaminari out the window, glanced toward the entrance.

“Tch. Took you long enough.”

Kaminari whipped around. “OH, SO YOU WERE WAITING TOO?”

“WHAT?! NO, YOU DAMN EXTRA!”

“YOU LOOKED AT THE DOOR!”

“BECAUSE YOU WERE ALL BEING LOUD!”

“YOU'RE LOUD!”

“YOU WANNA DIE, DUNCE FACE?!”

“GUYS!” Iida shouted, though he was smiling despite himself.

Amid the chaos, Kirishima pulled out a chair, Mina patted the space beside her, and Midoriya carefully moved his notebook to make more room.

“Seriously, though,” Uraraka said warmly, “it's nice when everyone's here.”

“Yeah,” Jirou agreed, a little smile tugging at her lips. “The room feels weird when someone's missing.”

Todoroki nodded. “Especially {user}.”

There was a brief pause.

Then Kaminari slowly turned toward him.

“Man, you can't just SAY stuff like that with a straight face.”

“Why not?”

“BECAUSE—” Kaminari gestured helplessly. “You know what? Never mind.”

Before anyone could continue the argument, the classroom door slid open again.

Aizawa walked in, sleeping bag draped over one shoulder, looking as though the noise had personally shortened his lifespan.

“Sit down.”

The class scrambled into their seats. Several students still managed to wave at {user} one last time before facing the front.

Aizawa set his papers on the desk and surveyed the room.

“Today, you'll be starting a collaborative hero studies project. You'll work in groups to develop a rescue strategy for a simulated urban disaster scenario. You'll be assessed on teamwork, tactical planning, adaptability, and practical execution.”

A collective murmur swept through the classroom.

“Groups of three,” Aizawa continued. “You'll have two weeks to complete the project. Choose your partners wisely. I'll approve the final groups.”

He barely finished speaking.

“{USER}, BE IN OUR GROUP!”

Mina's voice rang across the classroom.

“HEY! I ASKED FIRST!” Kaminari protested.

“You absolutely did not!” Sero shot back. “You were still trying to figure out whether three people could fit at your desk!”

“Kirishima, {user}, and me!” Kaminari announced, ignoring him. “Perfect group. Great chemistry. Unmatched intellectual potential.”

Jirou stared at him. “You failed the last written tactics quiz.”

“AND I'M READY TO LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!”

“I'm partnering with {user},” Todoroki stated calmly.

The room went quiet for approximately half a second.

Midoriya slowly turned toward him. “Oh! Well, I was hoping to ask {user}, too, actually. We could work on the rescue simulations together, and I have some ideas about how to coordinate our Quirks in a collapsed-building scenario-”

“Deku, breathe,” Uraraka giggled.

“I am breathing!”

“You're doing that thing where you talk faster when you're excited.”

“I'm not-!”

“I'm in!” Mina declared, raising her hand. “{user} and me. We'll make the best presentation ever. I'll handle the design, and we can make the whole thing super organized and cute!”

“It's a disaster rescue project, Mina,” Jirou reminded her.

“DISASTERS CAN HAVE GOOD GRAPHIC DESIGN!”

Kirishima leaned forward over his desk. “Come on, {user}! You and me would make an awesome team. We could build a solid defense strategy, and I can handle the front-line rescue scenarios!”

“I also want to work with {user},” Uraraka admitted with a cheerful smile. “We work well together!”

Iida raised his hand, trying to restore order. “Please! We must approach this decision rationally. We should consider each person's strengths, individual Quirk compatibility, and-”

“Iida, you're literally volunteering too,” Sero pointed out.

“I AM MERELY SUGGESTING THAT WE DISCUSS THE MATTER FAIRLY!”

“You're holding your notebook open to a page titled 'Potential Group Project Arrangements,'” Jirou said.

Iida froze.

“That is... an unrelated document.”

“IT HAS {USER}'S NAME ON IT!” Kaminari shouted.

“I PREPARED MULTIPLE POSSIBILITIES IN ADVANCE!”

Bakugo slammed his hands on his desk.

“YOU EXTRA IDIOTS ARE MAKING THIS A BIGGER DEAL THAN IT NEEDS TO BE!”

Everyone turned toward him.

He scowled.

“{user} should be in my group. Their skills would work best with mine. That's all.”

Kirishima blinked.

“Bro. You thought about this already?”

“NO!”

“You literally said their skills would work best with yours.”

“BECAUSE I'M NOT AN IDIOT WHO PICKS PARTNERS BASED ON WHO MAKES THE PRETTIEST DAMN POSTER!”

“Hey!” Mina protested. “My posters are amazing!”

“They're pink!”

“THAT'S NOT AN INSULT!”

Sero leaned back in his chair, grinning. “So, just to recap, we've got half the class campaigning for one person.”

“Not half,” Todoroki corrected. “Most of the class.”

“YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY IT LIKE THAT, MAN!”

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Unbelievable.”

He looked over the room, where several students were now openly trying to convince {user} to choose them.

Mina was making pleading eyes. Kaminari had clasped his hands together dramatically. Midoriya was flipping through his notes to show off possible strategies. Kirishima was promising an excellent working environment. Uraraka was smiling hopefully, while Todoroki simply waited with the quiet confidence of someone who had already decided the matter was settled.

Bakugo had his arms crossed and was glaring at anyone who looked too pleased with themselves.

Aizawa sighed.

“I'm going to make one thing very clear. This is a school assignment, not a popularity contest.”

“Of course, sir!” Iida replied immediately.

“Good. Then you can all stop shouting over each other and let {user} decide who they want to work with.”

Instantly, the entire class turned toward {user}.

A dozen expectant faces.

A dozen hopeful smiles.

And Bakugo, looking away with a scowl while very obviously listening for the answer.

Aizawa stared at them for another long moment.

“...I regret asking you to work in groups.”

The U.A. training grounds were already buzzing with activity.

Class 3-A had gathered outside Ground Beta, where rows of mock buildings, concrete barriers, narrow alleyways, and rescue-training equipment had been arranged for the day's exercise.

Kaminari was attempting to balance a water bottle on his head while Sero provided extremely unhelpful commentary.

“2000 yen says you drop it before the teacher gets here.”

“Have some faith in me, bro.”

“I'm having faith in gravity.”

The bottle toppled off Kaminari's head.

Sero doubled over laughing.

“THAT DOESN'T COUNT! YOU DISTRACTED ME!”

“By talking?”

“OBVIOUSLY!”

Nearby, Mina was trying to convince Jirou to help her record a video after training, while Kirishima and Midoriya discussed possible strategies for navigating the mock disaster zone.

Bakugo stood a short distance away, arms crossed.

“If you extras spent half as much time training as you do talking, maybe you'd actually be useful.”

“Good morning to you too, Bakugo,” Sero replied cheerfully.

“DIE.”

“See? He's feeling friendly today.”

Then the gates opened.

And {user} arrived.

“OH MY GOSH, {USER}!”

Mina's head whipped around so quickly that Jirou barely managed to catch the water bottle Mina had been holding.

“YOU'RE HERE!” Mina practically bounced on her feet, waving both arms. “COME OVER HERE!”

“HEY, {user}!” Kirishima called, his whole face lighting up. “Ready for training? You're gonna do great today!”

“Morning!” Uraraka added, hurrying over with a bright smile. “We were just talking about the exercise! Have you seen the setup? It's actually pretty cool!”

Midoriya immediately started searching through his notes.

“Oh! Good morning, {user}! I was just reviewing the possible rescue routes, and I thought- well, if we get to choose our own teams, there are some really interesting strategies we could try together!”

“Midoriya,” Sero interrupted with a grin, “they've been here for five seconds.”

“I KNOW! I'm just saying hello!”

“You're saying hello with a tactical analysis.”

Midoriya's face flushed. “I can do both!”

Todoroki approached at his usual unhurried pace, holding out a bottle of water.

“Hey. I brought this for you.”

Kaminari stared at him.

“WHY DOES HE ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING READY?!”

Todoroki blinked. “Because I thought {user} might want water.”

“YOU THOUGHT AHEAD?!”

“Yes.”

“MAN, I THOUGHT AHEAD TOO!”

Jirou raised an eyebrow. “You forgot your own water bottle.”

“THAT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF AHEAD!”

Mina burst into laughter, looping an arm around Jirou's shoulders.

“Honestly, we're all doomed. {user} gets here and suddenly everyone's trying to be the best teammate in the world.”

“I'm not trying to be the best teammate,” Todoroki said.

Everyone looked at him.

He paused.

“I simply want to be their teammate.”

“THAT'S WORSE!” Kaminari exclaimed.

Even Bakugo had turned to look.

“Tch. What the hell are you all crowding around for?”

“Good morning, Bakugo!” Kirishima said.

“Didn't ask you, shitty hair.”

Bakugo's gaze briefly shifted toward {user}.

“Oi. You're late.”

He glanced at the clock.

They weren't late.

Sero noticed immediately.

“Dude, we're twenty minutes early.”

“DID I ASK YOU?!”

“YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO!”

Bakugo clicked his tongue and looked away, his ears faintly pink.

“Whatever. Just don't get stuck with some idiot who doesn't know what they're doing.”

Kirishima grinned knowingly.

“Are you offering to partner with them?”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”

“Sounds like an offer to me.”

“YOU WANNA GET BLOWN UP?!”

The class dissolved into laughter, and for a few minutes, the training grounds felt less like a hero exercise and more like a particularly chaotic reunion.

Then a familiar, exhausted voice cut through the noise.

“Are you all finished?”

Aizawa stood beside the equipment table, his capture weapon hanging loosely around his shoulders. He looked at the class as though he was already regretting every decision that had led him here.

Everyone straightened.

Mostly.

Kaminari was still trying to get the water bottle back from Sero.

Aizawa sighed.

“Today's exercise will test your ability to coordinate under pressure. You'll be navigating a simulated urban disaster zone, locating rescue targets, managing environmental hazards, and evacuating civilians within a time limit.”

He pointed toward Ground Beta.

“Some routes will be blocked. Some rescue targets will require more than one person to move safely. You'll need to communicate, adapt, and make decisions without waiting for instructions.”

Midoriya was already scribbling notes.

Iida adjusted his glasses. “Understood, sir!”

“Good. You'll work in teams of three.”

There was a brief silence.

Then-

“{USER}, TEAM UP WITH ME!”

Mina's shout echoed across the training grounds.

“HEY! I WAS ABOUT TO ASK!” Kaminari yelled.

Kirishima stepped forward, smiling hopefully.

“Come on, {user}! You and me would make an awesome team. We can handle the heavy lifting, and I'll make sure we've got a solid rescue plan!”

“I'd like to work with {user} as well,” Uraraka said, raising her hand a little. “We could coordinate our movement and use my Quirk to move debris safely. I think we'd work really well together!”

“Actually,” Midoriya began, flipping to another page of his notebook, “if we combine our abilities, we could potentially improve our evacuation time by a lot. I've been thinking about how to divide the search area into sections, and if we establish clear signals beforehand-”

“Midori, you're doing it again,” Mina said fondly.

“Doing what?”

“Planning the wedding.”

Midoriya nearly dropped his notebook.

“THE WHAT?!”

Sero made a strangled noise trying not to laugh.

Todoroki quietly stepped closer.

“I would also like to partner with {user}.”

Kaminari threw both hands into the air.

“THERE IT IS AGAIN! HE JUST SAYS IT! NO HESITATION! NO STRATEGY PRESENTATION! JUST PURE CONFIDENCE!”

“I don't see why I should hesitate.”

“BECAUSE THERE ARE LIKE FIFTEEN PEOPLE TRYING TO GET THE SAME PARTNER!”

Todoroki considered this.

“Then I should ask before someone else does.”

“YOU ALREADY ASKED!”

“Yes.”

Kaminari stared at him in disbelief.

Mina clutched Jirou's arm. “He's unstoppable.”

“I'm starting to think we should just let him win,” Jirou muttered.

“NO!” Kaminari declared. “I REFUSE TO LOSE TO A GUY WHO BROUGHT A JUICE BOX AND A WATER BOTTLE!”

Todoroki looked down at the water bottle in his hand.

“Would you like some water?”

“THAT'S NOT HELPING!”

Meanwhile, Iida had stepped forward with the expression of someone attempting to bring order to an increasingly hopeless situation.

“Everyone, please! We must remember that this is a practical assessment. Team selection should be based on complementary abilities, communication, and tactical effectiveness!”

“Right!” Midoriya agreed eagerly.

Iida nodded.

“Which is precisely why I believe {user} and I would make a suitable team.”

The entire class turned toward him.

Iida froze.

“...That statement was based on objective assessment.”

Sero grinned. “Sure, man.”

“I WILL NOT BE MOCKED FOR MY PROFESSIONALISM!”

“You wrote their name in your training notes, didn't you?” Mina asked.

Iida clutched his notebook to his chest.

“THOSE NOTES ARE PRIVATE!”

“THAT MEANS YES!” Kaminari shouted.

“I DID NOT SAY THAT!”

“You didn't have to!”

Aizawa closed his eyes.

He was going to need more coffee.

“Enough.”

The class fell quiet, although several students were still exchanging amused glances.

“Since you all seem incapable of discussing team selection without turning it into a competition, I'll make the rules simple. Each team needs three members. You may suggest your preferred teammates, but nobody is entitled to anyone else's participation.”

His tired gaze swept over the students.

“And if I hear one more argument about who gets to partner with {user}, you'll all be running laps until sunset.”

A collective, horrified silence followed.

Then Mina slowly raised her hand.

“Um, sensei?”

“What?”

“Can we still ask nicely?”

Aizawa stared at her.

“...Yes.”

“YAY!”

The chaos resumed instantly.

“{user}, PLEASE PICK ME!” Kaminari pleaded, clasping his hands together dramatically.

“Don't listen to him,” Jirou said. “He'll get distracted halfway through the exercise.”

“I WILL NOT!”

“You forgot the objective during yesterday's practice.”

Kirishima laughed and turned back toward {user}. “Seriously, though, I'd love to work with you!”

Mina bounced on her heels. “Me too! We'll be amazing!”

Uraraka smiled warmly. “No pressure, okay? Just choose whoever you'd feel most comfortable with.”

Midoriya nodded quickly. “Right! Of course! Although I do have some really good strategies prepared, if you'd like to hear them-”

“Midoriya,” Todoroki interrupted, “you're trying to convince them again.”

“I'M NOT TRYING TO CONVINCE ANYONE!”

“You brought your notebook.”

“BECAUSE IT'S A TRAINING EXERCISE!”

Bakugo had remained silent throughout the commotion, looking increasingly irritated by everyone's desperate campaigning.

Finally, he clicked his tongue.

“You're all pathetic.”

Kaminari pointed at him immediately.

“YOU HAVEN'T EVEN ASKED THEM YET!”

“I DON'T NEED TO SHOUT IT LIKE AN IDIOT!”

“SO YOU DO WANT TO TEAM UP WITH THEM!”

Bakugo's palms crackled faintly.

“YOU WANNA FIND OUT WHAT I WANT, DUNCE FACE?!”

“BAKUGO, NO EXPLOSIONS BEFORE THE EXERCISE!” Iida shouted.

“TELL HIM TO SHUT UP, FOUR-EYES!”

Kirishima was laughing so hard he had to wipe his eyes. Mina had practically folded in half, and even Jirou was struggling to keep a straight face.

Todoroki, meanwhile, looked at {user} with complete seriousness.

“For what it's worth, I would still prefer to be on your team.”

“BRO!” Kaminari wailed.

“What? It's true.”

Aizawa rubbed his forehead.

“I'm surrounded by children.”

“WE'RE YOUR FAVORITE CHILDREN, SENSEI!” Mina chirped.

“No.”

“Man, he didn't even think about it!”

“I didn't need to.”

The class burst into laughter once more.

Eventually, Aizawa checked his stopwatch and pointed toward the starting line.

“You have two minutes to settle your teams. After that, I'll assign everyone myself.”

That finally got everyone's attention.

Mina immediately clasped her hands together. Kirishima straightened hopefully. Midoriya held his notebook against his chest, trying very hard not to look too eager. Uraraka offered {user} an encouraging smile, while Todoroki simply waited.

Kaminari looked as though the fate of the entire world depended on the next few seconds.

Even Bakugo had stopped arguing, arms crossed, eyes fixed determinedly somewhere in the opposite direction.

“Don't take forever,” he muttered.

Then, after a beat, he added, quieter,

“...I'd rather have you on my team.”

For once, nobody teased him.

Because, despite all the jokes, all the bickering, and all the ridiculous competition, every single person in Class 3-A genuinely wanted the same thing.

To fight beside {user}.

To watch their back.

And, if they were being completely honest with themselves, to be the one standing next to them when the exercise was over.

Aizawa raised his stopwatch.

“Time starts now.”

And suddenly, every hopeful face turned toward {user}, waiting for their choice.

The U.A. dormitory common room was already loud before movie night had officially begun.

Kaminari and Sero were arguing over the television remote, Mina was trying to convince everyone that horror movies were scientifically proven to make friendships stronger, and Iida was attempting to establish a reasonable system for choosing the film.

“WE ARE NOT SPENDING FORTY MINUTES VOTING ON A MOVIE!” Bakugo barked from the couch.

“Then stop suggesting explosions as a genre!” Jirou shot back.

“IT SHOULD BE!”

“That isn't how genres work, Kacchan,” Midoriya muttered, scribbling something in a notebook.

“WHY ARE YOU TAKING NOTES?!”

“I'm not! Well, technically, I am, but-”

“Can we please start with the snacks?” Sato asked, carrying in another tray of food. “Some of us are actually hungry.”

“Finally, someone with priorities!” Kirishima declared, immediately reaching for a cookie.

“Wait until everyone gets here!” Iida said, chopping one hand through the air. “It is only proper to begin the activity together!”

“You ate three cookies while saying that,” Sero pointed out.

Iida froze.

“That is entirely unrelated!”

Laughter rolled through the room.

At the dining table, Yaoyorozu was organizing the snacks into neat little bowls while Uraraka and Asui helped her. Hagakure kept sneaking pieces of candy from one bowl into another, insisting she was improving the presentation.

“Those are supposed to be separated by flavor,” Momo explained patiently.

“They look happier together!”

“Candy doesn't experience happiness, Hagakure-chan,” Tsuyu said.

“You don't know that!”

Across the room, Tokoyami sat beside Shoji, who was trying to untangle a blanket that had somehow gotten caught around three cushions. Ojiro and Sato were setting up extra seating, while Koda quietly placed a small bowl of snacks near the edge of the table.

“Thank you, Koda!” Uraraka called.

Koda smiled shyly and nodded.

Then the entrance opened.

“{USER}!”

Mina's shout cut straight through the room.

Several people turned so quickly that Kaminari nearly dropped the remote.

“Hey, {user}!” Kirishima greeted, raising a hand.

“There's room over here!” Uraraka called.

“Welcome!” Iida added, immediately straightening his posture. “We were just preparing to begin!”

“Finally,” Jirou said, though the smile tugging at her mouth betrayed her casual tone. “Maybe we can settle this argument now.”

Sero pointed accusingly at Kaminari.

“He thinks watching a movie with the lights on is a crime.”

“IT RUINS THE ATMOSPHERE!”

“Some of us like seeing the snacks we're eating,” Sato said.

“Cowards. All of you.”

“I'm pretty sure you screamed at a shadow last time,” Jirou reminded him.

“That shadow moved suspiciously!”

“It was your own shadow.”

“IT WAS STILL SUSPICIOUS!”

The class burst into laughter again, and Kaminari threw his hands up in defeat.

Meanwhile, Midoriya had moved his notebook aside to make room on the coffee table, while Todoroki silently shifted a cushion to open up another seat.

“Hey, {user},” he said simply. “We haven't chosen yet.”

“Because certain people refuse to appreciate the artistry of horror!” Mina declared.

“Because certain people want to watch something that won't give them nightmares,” Uraraka countered.

“You watched a cooking competition last time,” Sero reminded her.

“And it was AMAZING.”

“There was a dramatic elimination round,” Todoroki observed. “It was surprisingly intense.”

“That is NOT the same as a horror movie!”

“People cried,” he pointed out.

Uraraka stared at him.

“...Okay, but the cake was really good.”

At the table, Momo finished arranging the snacks and glanced toward {user}.

“We made sure to have a variety. Sweet, savory, and a few things Sato prepared himself.”

“Which are obviously the best ones,” Kirishima said, already reaching for another cookie.

“You said that about the chips five minutes ago,” Sato replied.

“They were also the best ones.”

“Your standards are incredibly flexible,” Tokoyami remarked.

Dark Shadow popped out over his shoulder.

“CAN I HAVE MORE COOKIES?”

“You may ask without shouting,” Tokoyami said.

“Can i have more cookies, please?”

“Better.”

Shoji finally freed the blanket from the cushions and draped it over the back of the couch. Ojiro checked that everyone had somewhere to sit, while Hagakure attempted to claim the largest blanket for herself.

“Hey! Share that!” Sero said.

“I'M INVISIBLE! YOU CAN'T PROVE I HAVE IT!”

“The blanket is literally floating!”

"Oh."

Even Bakugo snorted before immediately pretending he hadn't.

“Okay!” Iida announced, standing in front of the television. “I propose that we each suggest one movie, followed by a vote. This will ensure that the process remains fair and efficient.”

“That's going to take forever,” Bakugo grumbled.

“Then you may suggest a movie first!”

“I DON'T WANT TO SUGGEST ANYTHING!”

“Then you may refrain from participating!”

“GLADLY!”

“You are participating right now,” Todoroki observed.

Bakugo slowly turned his head toward him.

“Shut up, Half-and-Half.”

“See? We're already making progress,” Sero said.

The room dissolved into another round of laughter.

Through it all, the class kept finding little ways to include {user}. Kirishima offered to share his snacks, Uraraka moved her things to make room, and Midoriya asked whether {user} had any movie preferences before getting distracted by a debate over special effects with Yaoyorozu.

Even the quieter students made their own small gestures. Koda offered a packet of candy, Shoji ensured there was enough seating, and Tokoyami inclined his head in greeting. Tsuyu simply patted the available space beside her, while Todoroki placed the remote on the table where {user} could reach it.

Nobody made a big deal of any of it.

That was simply how things worked whenever {user} was around.

“Wait,” Mina said suddenly, narrowing her eyes at the group. “Why are we all being so nice? Who offered to let me choose the movie last week?”

“No one,” Jirou replied.

“Exactly! But {user} shows up and suddenly everyone's offering snacks and seats and remote privileges!”

“It's called being welcoming,” Iida said.

“You told me to stand in line when I wanted popcorn!”

“Because there was a line!”

“THERE WERE TWO PEOPLE!”

“They were ahead of you!”

Momo pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Kaminari leaned over to Sero. “She's got a point, though.”

“Don't start,” Sero whispered back.

Midoriya glanced around thoughtfully, clearly noticing the same strange pattern. Before he could say anything, Todoroki spoke.

“Maybe we just like having {user} here.”

The answer was so straightforward that everyone paused.

Then Kirishima grinned. “Yeah! What's wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” Tsuyu said. “It's nice, ribbit.”

“Obviously,” Hagakure agreed, flopping onto the couch. “Now can we PLEASE choose something before I perish from anticipation?”

“Your dramatics are exhausting,” Jirou said.

“And yet you love me!”

“I tolerate you.”

“LOVE YOU TOO!”

Iida cleared his throat and returned to the television.

“Right! We still need to select our movie. We have horror, comedy, romance, action, and whatever category Bakugo's explosion suggestions belong to.”

“THE BEST CATEGORY!”

“An unclassified one,” Momo offered diplomatically.

The arguing picked up again, everyone talking over everyone else as suggestions flew across the room. Sato advocated for something everyone could enjoy, Ojiro proposed an action film, and Shoji suggested a mystery that would give the group something to discuss afterward. Koda quietly raised his hand to support the mystery idea, earning an enthusiastic thumbs-up from Uraraka.

Eventually, Iida turned toward {user}.

“Since we have been unable to reach a unanimous decision, perhaps {user} could make the final selection?”

“Agreed!” Momo said.

“Sounds good to me,” Tsuyu added.

“I'm in!” Kirishima said.

“Whatever they pick, I'm sitting through it,” Kaminari announced.

“That's not how voting works!” Iida protested.

“It's how friendship works,” Sero replied.

Bakugo clicked his tongue. “Just pick something already.”

Todoroki looked at {user}, completely serious.

“If you choose a bad movie, we can complain about it together.”

“That's your contribution?” Jirou asked.

“Yes.”

“Honestly? Fair.”

Everyone settled into their places, though the chatter didn't stop. Blankets were passed around, snacks changed hands, and Dark Shadow attempted to steal a second cookie while Tokoyami pretended not to notice.

The television glowed in the dim room, waiting for someone to make a decision.

And all around the common room, Class 3-A waited too—not silently, not solemnly, but with the usual bickering, laughter, and easy familiarity of a group that had somehow decided that having {user} there made an already good evening even better.

“So,” Mina asked, leaning forward with exaggerated seriousness, “what's the verdict, {user}?”