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"This is yours." Todoroki handed the gift card back to [____] once he guided her around the school to find a safe area to speak without others getting involved. "I apologize that I haven't given it back to you sooner. I didn't use it, by the way."
"Thanks." She placed it inside her pocket, along with Midoriya's sketches. "Ah, but then that means I'll still owe you...Then! Do you want me to buy you lunch today—?"
"What I rather have is your answer."
'Answer...? That's right! I forgot to text him, yesterday; Jeez [____], since when did you start forgetting important things like this?!'
He remained calm and composed, unlike [____] who was visibly shaken just by thinking of how to excuse herself. "I guess I was just very busy last night, I swear I didn't mean to ignore your question!
But the truth is that...Katsuki and I are already teamed up, and it sort of happened in a flash so I can't even give more details."
She closed her eyes shut before bowing her head. "I'm really sorry for not telling you this sooner, you probably had other offers, too—! I hope I didn't ruin any chances of you pairing up with someone who is way stronger than me!"
After her honest rejection, Todoroki looked up at the ceiling for a second. He decided that he would deal with Bakugo later as he showed the girl a signed permission slip to use the gym grounds for practice. "There's an odd number."
[____] opened her eyes to read the paper that was signed by All Might. "H-Huh..?"
"There's 21 students in class, now that you joined 1-A. One team will have three people, instead of two." He gave her a brief explanation. "I already knew Bakugo would be the one to partner up with you. But I'm asking you this again, because I rather work by your side than against you. [____], will you accept me as your partner, as well?"
"B-But...Don't we need Katsuki to approve of this, before I can say yes?"
"He is not here today, so the decision is up to you."
"I have the choice...?"
'He looks so serious...It's a little intimidating...besides that, there's no way Katsuki would like this idea! I have to say no, right?! I have to decline— otherwise Katsuki will be angry...'
'But then again...This will cost us half of our semester's grade. I'm not as strong as everyone else is; I haven't even began studying or practicing my quirk! Maybe having Todoroki and Katsuki on my side could really help me pass the tests...'
'If it's just me, with Katsuki...I could easily drag him down since I'm weak. But if it's both of them, it'll all balance out, somehow. They're both strong...Kaminari even said they are two of the top students in class...If it's for Katsuki's sake, I'll say no. But if this is about me having a higher chance on getting a passing grade, then...'
[____] sighed. 'I'm so sorry, Katsuki. I don't want you to fail, because of me...I don't even know how to enhance your explosions on command...We'll definitively lose if it's just the two of us...'
"Alright, Todoroki...I hope we can work well together..."
Shoto gave her a nod. "My phone number. Do you still have it?"
