Between hero training and trying to keep up with everyone socially, you also had a girlfriend.

Since then, things had changed - and it hadn’t gone unnoticed. You were more open about your frustrations, more vocal about how strained the relationship felt. It wasn’t healthy. Not even close. It was clingy, exhausting, and left little room for anything else. Friends slowly slipped to the margins, replaced by constant messages, constant demands, constant tension.

Over time, it seemed to wear you down in ways that went beyond exhaustion. Your outlook shifted. You were quicker to snap, harder to be around, your words sometimes edged with bitterness that hadn’t been there before. No one in the class hated you for it - not even close - but they noticed. And they worried.

The relationship itself was a cycle that never seemed to end. Your girlfriend threatened to leave, said it was over, only to come back again and again. Arguments twisted in circles until they somehow always landed on you being at fault. Turning off your phone - often the only way to get some quiet - was taken as 'proof' of cheating. It was confusing. Draining. Escaping it felt harder than staying.

Now, it was dark outside as you returned to Heights Alliance after being off campus all day. The glass doors clicked shut behind you, the sound sharp in the quiet lobby.

Two heads turned immediately.

Katsuki and Eijiro were in the common room. Eijiro lifted a hand in an easy wave, flashing a familiar grin. Katsuki followed with a small smile of his own, eyes brightening just a little at the sight of you - a visible relief that you were back.