After school, Todoroki walked beside me as we made our way toward the dorms. His usual unreadable expression was firmly in place, but there was a hint of something... expectant? Maybe?

"So," he said casually, hands in his pockets. "Are you excited for USJ?"

I didn't respond.

Mostly because I didn't hear a damn word he said.

My head was deep in my notebook, furiously scribbling down every possible way I could wrangle Overhaul into my growing disaster of a team.

→ Can he be reasoned with? (HAHAHAHA)
→ Can he be bribed? (Possibly, but with what? Respect? He barely has any.)
→ Can I blackmail him? (What dirt do I have on him? Nothing yet... but I can FIND something.)
→ Is violence an option? (... No, he'll just explode me.)

"Midoriya."

No response.

Todoroki sighed, stepping closer. "Midoriya."

Still nothing.

He finally reached out and poked my cheek.

"ACK—" I jolted, nearly dropping my notebook. "What the hell, Shoto?!"

"You weren't listening."

"I was busy," I huffed, flipping my notebook shut before he could see too much. "What were you saying?"

"I asked if you were excited for USJ."

I blinked. "USJ?"

Todoroki stared at me. "You... didn't know?"

"I—" I paused. "I mean, of course I knew! I just, uh, forgot?"

He didn't buy it.

"Midoriya," he said slowly, "we've been talking about this for a week."

"Oh."

OH.

OH CRAP.

I had heard something about USJ. Something about a big training exercise—a mock villain attack scenario to test our teamwork and response times.

You know, normal hero school stuff.

But between magic girls, suspicious cats, secret villain recruitments, and somehow keeping Bakugo from murdering me every five minutes, I had completely blanked on it.

I forced a laugh, stuffing my notebook into my bag. "Right! Yeah! USJ! Super exciting! Can't wait!"

Todoroki squinted at me. "You have no idea what's happening, do you?"

"... Not a clue."

He sighed again, looking deeply disappointed in me. "We're going tomorrow."

I froze.

"... What."

"USJ. The training exercise. Tomorrow."

My brain went blank.

Tomorrow.

As in, less than twenty-four hours from now.

And I had not prepared at all.

"Oh," I said, staring ahead in horror. "That's. Uh. That's soon."

Todoroki nodded.

I slowly exhaled. "Okay. Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool—"

Todoroki rolled his eyes. "You should probably stop scheming for five minutes and actually focus on school."

I scowled at him. "That's rich coming from you, mister 'I Just Joined a Team of Magical Delinquents'."

"I joined because you wouldn't leave me alone."

"And I won't."

Todoroki sighed, looking vaguely like he regretted every choice he had ever made.

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "Alright, fine. I'll focus on USJ. For now."

He did not look convinced.

Todoroki and I kept walking, the conversation drifting to other things—mostly him side-eyeing me for my questionable life choices, and me pretending I wasn't panicking internally about the fact that USJ was happening TOMORROW and I had done exactly zero preparation.

"Alright," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "Let's think about this logically. What's the worst thing that could happen?"

Todoroki blinked at me. "You get vaporized in the first five minutes because you're too distracted plotting villain recruitment strategies instead of focusing on training?"

I scowled. "I said logically, not rudely."

He shrugged. "Seems logical to me."

"Whatever," I grumbled, waving him off. "At least it's just training. A controlled environment. No real threats. No actual danger."

Todoroki hummed. "Well... except for the part where we're expected to survive potential disasters."

"Yeah, yeah, but it's all simulated. It's not like we're gonna get attacked for real."

Silence.

Then, before I could stop myself, I blurted out:

"Honestly, USJ would be the perfect place to ambush all of UA's future heroes."

Todoroki stopped walking.

I kept going for a few more steps before realizing he wasn't next to me anymore.

I turned back to see him staring at me, a single eyebrow raised.

"... What?" I asked.

"That's... a concerningly specific thought to have."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on. I'm just saying! Think about it! All of UA's best first-year students? Trapped in an isolated training facility? Our teachers spread thin? It would be so easy for an actual villain group to storm the place and wipe us out."

Todoroki just kept staring.

I huffed. "It's hypothetical."

"Sure."

"It's not like I want that to happen!"

"Uh-huh."

I threw my hands up. "Oh my god, Todoroki, I'm not planning an attack on my own school."

He exhaled through his nose. "You are spending an awful lot of time thinking about how villains operate."

I crossed my arms. "You're spending an awful lot of time judging me for someone who willingly let me turn him into a magical boy."

He opened his mouth, hesitated, then sighed. "... You have a point."

"Damn right I do."

Todoroki shook his head. "I swear, Midoriya, if we ever do get attacked, I'm blaming you for jinxing it."

"Oh, please," I snorted. "What are the odds of that actually happening?"

Famous. Last. Words.