As the days passed, not much improved. Mineta was suspended from school, confined to the dorms for an entire week, due to his appalling behaviour. Momo was truly struggling to grasp why Mineta hadn't been expelled from UA long ago, let alone letting what he had said to Mina slide. Mineta's behaviour was predatory, and, in Momo's frank opinion, he didn't deserve to be a hero. Momo, as much as she loathed to think it, couldn't help but wonder if the school's support was purely performative. They had preached about the consequences and why discrimination was bad, but they did very little to actually punish those who were clearly most likely harass (whether verbally or physically) the female students of the school.

Of course, Momo and the others didn't plan on staying silent on the matter. They took their complaints to the teachers, they preached about why Monoma and Mineta's words were harmful, but that would only get them so far.

"I am calling a class meeting!" Iida announced as he marched up to the front of the classroom, just as the final bell of the day had chimed throughout the school.

"Seriously, Iida, it's the end of the day!" Kaminari whined. 

"Shut up, Kaminari," Shinso sighed tiredly, they had been transferred to the hero course at the start of the second year, they were a pleasant classmate to have, in Momo's opinion, "Xe wouldn't call this meeting if it wasn't important, would xe?" 

Kaminari huffed quietly but didn't complain any further. 

"Thank you, Shinso," Iida nodded, "I have several things that I feel must be brought to everybody's attention. First of all, it had been decided by the faculty and all of the class representatives from the school that an LGBTQIA+ group shall be run on Saturday afternoons, so if you wish to attend, please do so,"

This declaration was met with hums and nods from the class. Momo had never been part of such a group, but she felt as though attending would make her more comfortable and confident in her orientation, she was well aware that she liked women, and yet she still had moments when her mind screamed at her that she was doing something wrong by simply being her. 

"Secondly, and what I believe is the topic of a priority today, is the blatant sexism that we have now been made aware of." whatever Momo had believed was going to happen, that hadn't been it. As vice student rep, she was aware of the LGBTQIA+ group that was going to be running (having attended the meetings discussing it) but this topic of conversation was news to her.

The classroom was stunned into silence. 

"This is a sensitive topic, and I have educated myself on the matter over the past few days," Iida announced, pushing his glasses up his nose as he spoke, Momo had come to recognise it as a nervous gesture of his, "As somebody who has never and most likely will never present as a woman, I'm well aware that I won't face the issues that some of our classmates will and have faced in the past." 

"As Midnight said, complacency can lead to a vast majority of adverse effects and an overall unsafe environment for female-presenting people. This class, along with other classes, has remained complacent whilst our dear friends have suffered. I am not saying that we should all make a petition to get Mineta expelled from UA, or permanently silence Monoma because of his antagonistic behaviour and words, but I am saying that it is our job as heroes to create a safe environment for everyone. The girls of this class are by no means weak, but everyone needs a bit of help now and again, that same can be said for the boys of this class. As well as those who don't identify with either of these terms. As a class, we need to create a safe space for each other. All of us. We are a cohesive unit, and as close to a family as we can find in this school." Iida explained passionately. 

Momo was well aware that Iida, despite his sometimes robotic and stiff behaviour, was a deeply empathetic person, a quality he most likely learned from his older brother. Momo hadn't expected to receive such a speech from the class representative. Momo didn't think anyone expected to hear such an empowering speech.  

"That was very inspiring, Iida," Shoji murmured.

"Yeah, plus you're absolutely right, we all need to do our best to create a safe environment for all of our classmates," Kirishima said.

Agreements rang out around the room, Momo's heart swelled with pride and hope. Maybe, just maybe, the class would start to change for the better. Maybe they already had. After all, they were all heroes, they were used to adapting to changes quickly, surely that meant that everyone would understand when they did something wrong, and they wouldn't be complacent when they saw others doing wrong. 

It seems, however, that Momo was being too naive. It seemed that Momo had placed too much trust in her male classmates. As much as they may have wanted to rectify the situation, it would take time and arguments for everything to work out how she wished. 

Despite everybody in the class making a declaration to protect and change for one another, Ochako noticed that nothing really changed. Sure, Mineta's outright sexist and predatory behaviour was being called out more often, but that didn't mean that their behaviour shifted much. Ochako was grateful that she no longer felt constantly on edge whenever she was in the same room as Mineta, she was glad that with the encouragement of the boys and the others, she felt more confident in slapping Mineta away. She now knew that the male students in her class understood fully why she and the other girls were uncomfortable. But... They still did the same things.

For example, on the same day that Iida made his dramatic speech about unity and looking after each other, Ochako watched as Kaminari and Sero grilled Mina and Kyoka about their devotion to the 'Killer Robot-Bear' game series. Pulling all sorts of obscure questions out of their asses to prove that the girls couldn't possibly know it as well as them because they were just that, girls. Maybe they didn't know that women were constantly doubted whenever they took an interest in a typically male activity, maybe they weren't aware that they were contributing to harmful stereotypes. 

So, seeing as Mina and Kyoka couldn't get a word in edgeways, Ochako had intercepted the conversation and relieved her friends of the verbal bombardment they were being subjected to.

"Those seem like pretty obscure questions to ask," Ochako chuckled slightly, "Do you know that answers to them?" 

"Well duh, Ochako, of course, we do! We're real fans of the franchise." Kaminari snorted in amusement, Sero snorted along with him, nodding seriously. 

Ochako had intended to remain positive throughout this entire encounter, she was sure that the boys would understand that she was bringing their misogynistic attitude to their attention. They were toeing the line. But, it was hard to remain positive when two of your male friends were laughing in your face when you brought their attitude to their attention. It was hard to stay positive when your friends, friends who had promised to listen and protect you, dismissed you like you were nothing. Like you making an issue out of something menial. 

"What do you mean 'real fans'?" Ochako chuckled, though her voice had taken on a darker tone, one that went by unnoticed by the chortling boys, "Are you suggesting that Mina and Kyoka aren't real fans?"

"Well..." Sero began, "How often do girls actually get into these sort of things for their own enjoyment. Girls are more likely to enjoy art or... other stuff. They don't learn the deep lore and don't play the game properly! Therefore, they're not real fans, are they?"

Ochako's vision was tinged red for a brief second. Did they know that the things they were saying were utter and complete bullshit? Ochako was, frankly, shocked at what they were saying. She felt as though she would never be taken seriously in the eyes of Kaminari and Sero. Did they feel the same way when it came to being a hero? Did they think she was only doing it for male validation?

"That is absolute bullshit and you know it!" Kyoka burst from behind Ochako, "You two are spewing so much sexism! It's ridiculous!"

"You can't call everything sexism, Kyoka," Kaminari sighed, exasperated. 

"Shut it, Sparky Boy," Mina snapped," How about Kyoka and I school you in 'Killer Robot-Bear' and show you who the 'real fans' are!" 

"You're on!" Sero snapped.

Tensions ran high throughout the entire game, all Ochako gathered from the game was it was some sort of battle royale thing and that by the end it had been proven that Kyoka and Mina were significantly better than both Sero and Kaminari. Said boys had stormed off in a strop after getting their asses beaten. Ochako could hear them both grumbling about cheating, clearly, their egos couldn't deal with the fact that they had lost to girls. 

"So much for unity," Kyoka scoffed. Ochako hummed in agreement, it was going to take a lot of work to truly cure the class of its sexism.  

Ochako truly believed that everyone in her class had the capacity to understand the issues that she and the other girls faced. She held onto hope that they would one day open their eyes and grasp the full extent of what was going on, but she couldn't help but think that her hoping and wishing was going to be fruitless. The boys wouldn't understand what was happening unless they opened their eyes and took notice of the fact that something was going on. They all seemed to blindly accept that there was a problem, and yet do nothing to fix it, despite promising to do so. Ochako was tired of it.

Mina didn't really like to eavesdrop on conversations, if she wasn't included in the conversation, then there was no need for her to listen to it, but it was hard not to hear the conversation that her classmates were having when they were talking so loud. Mina pondered whether they knew she was in the kitchen, able to hear every single one of their words. She thought, surely if they knew she was there, they wouldn't be saying half the shit they were spewing. 

"They just whine too much," Sato sighed in exasperation.

"Everything has to be about sexism, with them. I love my lady dudes, but ever since that lesson, it feels like we've been under constant scrutiny!" Kirishima huffed. Mina's hand twitched at this, she knew that Kirishima was better than this. All of them were, so why were they saying this stuff?

"I believe that they are trying to catch us out," Todoroki hummed, "They all seem to be angry, recently." 

"Tch, maybe it's that time of the month. Maybe they're PMSing or something." Bakugo scoffed. 

"Yeah. I heard that, sometimes, when a group of tightly knitted period havers have synched up periods, though I'm not sure about the validity of that statement because I know I didn't read it on a reputable science website. Tsu or Ochako might have told me, but I don't think they've ever shared a detail like that with me before. Of course, it could have been Mina, but I don't fully trust her since she said that every month she has to peel her skin off." Midoriya's statement devolved into mumbled words that trailed off close to the end.

"Maybe that's it then," Kirishima sounded so sure of himself, "Maybe that's why they're being so pushy." 

Mina wasn't sure if she could continue to listen to this. It was almost painful how oblivious they all were to their causal sexism. There was nothing wrong with complaining about your classmates, especially when they were annoying you, but whittling the girls' behaviour down to their period seemed utterly ridiculous to Mina. She knew that these boys wouldn't hesitate to defend her against somebody who tried to sexually harass her, even if she didn't need their help. She knew that her male friends would not hesitate to call out someone who invalidated her trauma or called her a bitch maliciously. But stood there in their shared kitchen, listening to her classmates whine and moan about her and her friends, Mina wondered whether she could trust them when it came to matters of her emotions. 

Would they listen to her if she came to them and told them that someone was being sexist but they hadn't heard it first hand? What did they consider sexism and misogyny? Did they only consider blatant and explicit exclamations that men were better than women as sexism? It sure seemed that way to Mina. 

Thoroughly tired and fed up, MIna snuck away from the kitchen, it appeared as though none of the boys was any wiser to the fact that she had ever been present. 

It seemed to the girls of Class 2A that no matter what they did, their male classmates wouldn't ever grasp the full extent of sexism against women. Their classmates were willing to protect them from comments directed towards them from outside of their class (and from Mineta) but they couldn't see that they were also contributing to the problem. They couldn't see that their complacency and the fact that they continued to bitch and moan about the girls behind closed doors was adding to the issue. The girls were tired. It had been three weeks since the lesson, and the girls were fed up. 

"Should we just talk to Aizawa again?" Ochako sighed heavily. She was starfished out on Momo's lavish bedspread, despite her bed shrinking from its gargantuan size the previous year, Momo's bed was no less luxurious. 

"Yes, let's do that. He'll say something to them," Momo nodded surely.

"I think they'll just bitch about us more when we're not around," Mina grumbled.

"I'm sure that they don't mean to be so rude, Mina, they just don't understand fully," Momo began.

"No, Momo!" Mina snapped, "We are in a class comprised of primarily 16-year-old teenagers. Bakugo is practically 17 already. If I could understand at the age of 10 that I was going to be treated differently, not only because of my quirk but because I'm a woman, then these imbecilic boys, who are closer to being adults than I was when I had to accept the uncomfortable truth, can grasp that concept too!"

Momo stared in shock as Mina raised her voice. Pure frustration had etched itself onto Mina's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her wide black and yellow eyes were screwed up. It was like she was trying to keep her hateful gaze away from the occupants of the room. Momo understood why Mina was frustrated, she truly did, but she didn't appreciate being snapped at like that.

"I understand that Mina, and I'm sorry you had to accept such a thing at a young age, but getting angry at me is going to do nothing to rectify the situation." Momo scolded, " Yes, we are all in the later stages of adolescence, but if the boys have not been exposed to or told about these things before, then they may have a hard time grasping it."

"But they have been exposed to it before! They're exposed to it in their everyday life!" Mina exploded, though it was clear that her anger was not directed at anybody, not even the boys. Her anger was just general. She was angry with how Japan's society worked. She was angry with the blatant patriarchy that presided over her and dictated how she went through life.

"If I walked out there and told each and every one of them that they're being sexist, they'll deny it because they don't want to accept the fact that they can be sexist!" Mina ranted. 

"She has a point," Kyoka grumbled, "They're all quick to admonish Mineta when he does something because Mineta is so vocal and explicit in what he does. He's physical as well. They recognise and understand that what he does is sexist and misogynistic. I'm not saying that they don't understand what is and isn't sexist, they just can't recognise it. Most of the boys have a basic understanding, they know that it's when you discriminate against somebody because of their gender/ sex, but they don't fully grasp how many forms that can take."

"We know that they look down on sexism," Toru groused, "They just need to be educated further on why what they're doing is wrong and how to fix it."

"They will listen if we're patient." Tsu inputted.

Momo sighed and nodded, she understood where the girls were coming from, she was simply clinging onto hope.

After another half an hour, in which the girls shared their excitement for the upcoming LGBTQIA+ club and discussed a book they were all reading, Ochako, Tsu, Toru and Mina bid Kyoka and Momo goodbye. 

"I'm tired of all of this, Kyoka," Momo grumbled.

"Same. But, maybe at the end of this, all of us will emerge a bit more knowledgeable about each other and this subject." Kyoka said without any sort of enthusiasm. 

"Kyoka," Momo hummed, she glanced over at the other girl. 

Looking at Kyoka, as liquid silver bathed her pale skin, making her shine brighter than any star Momo had ever seen, Momo's heart skipped a beat. Her mind went fuzzy, too overtaken with the irresistible pull of love and affection. Nothing else in the world existed aside from Kyoka. Kyoka with her angelic and yet husky voice. Kyoka and her exciting fashion sense. Kyoka and her skill when it came to music. Kyoka and her snarky and yet delightfully soft personality. Momo would do just about anything to wrap Kyoka in her arms and never let her go. She wanted to love her unconditionally, perpetually have her by her side, but... Momo was constantly warring with herself. She had accepted the fact that she loved women, she was fine with that truth, but actually having feelings for somebody who was attainable, someone who was right there in front of her, made her cower. She wanted to bridge the gap between her and Kyoka, she wanted to connect them through romantic love, but she simply didn't know how to do it. 

"Yeah," Kyoka whispered, oblivious to the internal battle raging in Momo's chest.

Momo didn't know what to say. It was one of those awkward moments when you had called out someone's name, fully knowing that you had nothing to say to them, you simply wanted to taste their name on your lips. 

"Umm, don't worry." Momo stuttered, a violent blush consumed her cheeks, "Umm... When are you going back to your room, you can sleep over tonight, if you want?"

Kyoka seemed to contemplate for a minute, her eyes flickering behind her closed eyelids. Momo wanted to see them. She wanted to see their deep amethyst colour in all their glory, she was sure they would be made even more ethereal under the moon's blessing. 

"As much as I would love to remain your company all night," Kyoka began, "I should probably go to my room. It's a school night and you know how Aizawa gets when it comes to sleepovers on school nights."

"O-oh! Right! Of course!" Momo squeaked. She had, somehow, completely forgotten that it was only Wednesday, and the next day was, indeed, a school day. Momo felt hot, molten embarrassment run through her body.

Kyoka rolled off of Momo's bed and started making her way towards the door, "Good night, Momo, sweet dreams," Kyoka whispered sweetly. She looked back at Momo, fondness twinkling like far away constellations in her eyes before she closed the door and Momo was left alone.

Yes, Momo would do just about anything to keep Kyoka's twinkling eyes on her. She felt loved and special under her friend's eyes. All she had to do was work up the courage to tell Kyoka her feelings. Easy. Right?

Thank you for reading! As you can see in this chapter, the boys' behaviour seems a bit over the top, that's on purpose. I, honestly, can't see any of the cannon boys aside from Mineta and Kaminari (he's respectful, but we can't deny he does objectify women on occasion, just not to the extent of Mineta) being sexist. Maybe Todoroki through sheer obliviousness, but not really. Possibly Bakugo. So, for the purpose of the story, I had to make them do and say sexist things. Also, obviously, I've somewhat exaggerated. Again, that's just so that it's obvious what's happening, I hope you don't mind. 

Also, I've finished writing this story now, so I'll be updating it every other day. The last update should fall on the 1st of August. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.