Chapter XII: Winding Down
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Somehow, Izuku wasn't sure he should have been getting used to waking up like this. After all, they would be back home at some point, right?
Once again, Izuku was greeting the dawn of a new day surrounded by his girlfriends, and that put a happy smile on his face. He still could hardly believe this was real. He'd never really dreamed of having even one girlfriend back in middle school. Now he had several, and it still felt WAY too good to be true.
Though his mind was awake, Izuku didn't open his eyes. Quite frankly he was hoping he'd fall back asleep. He still felt pretty tired from the night's events, and things hadn't even stopped with the defeat of the Villains. Izuku had a fantastic healing ability with his Quirk and had used up quite a bit of energy healing the rest of the I-Tower Wrecking Crew, as Mina had excitedly started to call them. By the end of it, he'd been damn near ready to collapse, and the rest of the night had been a blur. Not that the rest of them were any better. Even Nejire-chan had been sagging sleepily! So, he was doing his best to not mutter or move and wake the girls up.
Alas, as the minutes dragged on and he became more alert, it became clear that going back to sleep just wasn't happening. Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked around. Ah, so it was Camie on his right today, huh? He reached his head over and pecked her forehead. She was still dead asleep, but seemed to smile. Then he leaned to the left and pecked his blonde girlfriend on the forehead as well.
Wait.
His eyes bulged as the color he was seeing registered. 'None of my girlfriends are blonde!' Powered by a shot of anxiety that was all-too-familiar, Izuku's mind came fully online, and his eyes focused completely. He took everything in, and he realized it was Melissa that was cuddling him, smiling in her sleep too! 'What in the hell?!' Feeling a screech of shock coming, Izuku desperately had to clench his jaw and damn near paralyze his vocal cords with his powers to keep from waking everyone.
Once he calmed down, still clenching his jaw shut, he started to think. What the hell had happened after he'd healed everyone?! 'Okay Izuku, calm down. Take stock of things!' He huffed at himself, still fighting back panic that somehow, things were just going to go wrong. Not wanting to wake anyone, he reached for his phone with his powers. He blinked in surprise at the time. 'Well…crap. There go our sleeping schedules…' He thought to himself faintly as he read the bright '13:21' on it. He resisted the urge to shake his head at the nonsensical thought. 'This is no time for your mind to wander, stupid!' He turned on his phone's front camera so he could see what was going on around him.
Melissa was indeed on his left, rather than a figment of his imagination powered by his newly awakened libido. Nejire was hugging Melissa tight from behind, which allowed a wave of relief to flow through him. Really, Camie on his other side should have already done that, but he'd been panicking, and as he damn well knew, panic doesn't care.
He saw a lump at the bottom of the bed by his legs and blinked. He lifted the covers with his Quirk, and saw that Setsuna was underneath, hugging his leg like a body pillow. 'How is she not suffocating in there?' He squinted and looked closer, and realized her mouth and nose were gone. He looked for them, and smirked a little when he realized they were just floating gently above them… and drooling on Mina's boobs to his right.
Now taking the risk of twisting his head around, Izuku realized instantly that this wasn't the penthouse bedroom! This was the living room. Why had they moved the bed here? He looked around more, and realized the guest bed had been moved here too, and they were surrounded by the sectional couch, which was probably bigger than his apartment! Although that barely registered to Izuku now. Dating Momo had really done a lot to remove his sense of scale…
And then he realized it wasn't just Melissa who was the unexpected addition to the impromptu sleepover. The whole crew was in here! Kinoko was with Kaminari on the other bed, and using him as a body pillow. The blonde probably had enjoyed that way too much, and Izuku was happy for his classmate. Better though was the sight of Inasa laying on the other side of that bed, with Itsuka sprawled on top of him. Seeing that put a massive grin on Izuku's face, and he quickly took a picture.
To his left (and almost falling off of their massive bed), Kodai was using Momo's boobs as a pillow. Todoroki was sprawled on the couch with one leg hang-
'Wait.'
He looked again. Kodai was using Momo's boobs as a pillow.
…
"Clever girl…" He muttered, his mind defaulting to the Jurassic Park marathon Setsuna had them watch on the plane coming to I-Island. He quickly went back to taking stock, and confirmed that yes, every single student who had been part of the assault on Wolfram and Humarise was in the room. All of them were in various states of undress, with most of the girls still wearing the catsuits Momo had made for them. Most accessories had been removed and strewn around the room, and the suits themselves were zipped up to varying degrees of propriety. They ranged from almost chaste to practically off entirely.
The guys had kept their 'fancy' clothes on for the most part, though some of them had clearly been damaged beyond repair and they were just covering themselves with sheets. Nearly all of them had at least unbuttoned the shirts, even if they hadn't all taken them off.
'Damn, everyone really had been exhausted after last night.' Shōda looked like he'd simply fallen on the couch and not gotten up. Todoroki was laying on the couch with a leg hanging off. Honenuki was sleeping while sitting upright at the breakfast table. All Might was sitting next to him with a shit-eating grin and taking pictures of everyth-
"All Might?!" he blurted out, jerking everyone awake with screams of fright, his face turning white, as if he had just seen Death coming for them. 'NOOOOOooooo! My life is over! If the girls don't kill me, then Dr. Shield will!'
"Wha?!" Melissa yelped as her eyes snapped open. She immediately realized she was hugging Izuku, and her face went beet red as she sprang away with a squeak.
This rolled her onto Nejire, who wheezed as her boobs were compressed. "Ack! Melissa-chan! Air!"
"Sorry!" Melissa hurriedly rolled off her, and almost fell off the bed as well. Momo and Yui had fallen off, and they caught her. "Uncle Might! What are you doing here?!" She asked, now completely frazzled. No less frazzled than Itsuka, who was giving her hair color a run for its money. Her hands grew large enough to cover her entire body… and Inasa too, who was now imitating a wooden board bar his eyes which were flicking all over the place.
"AHAHAHAHA! My apologies for waking you, children, but I'm afraid your debrief can wait no longer!" He laughed as he casually pulled up a chair and sat in it, "You were given more than eight hours to sleep. I-Island's Police Chief is insistent on getting your statements, and he has allowed me to step in and take them myself as your 'commanding officer.' As you functioned as a group, it was decided to do them all at once. Do you all need a few minutes to get ready?"
"Yes please!" Mina yelped, pulling at her shirt, "Seeet!" She whined, "You drooled all over me!"
"Sorry!" Setsuna was laughing, though there was a mischievous look in her eyes as she climbed out from under the covers that told everyone who knew her that no, she really wasn't.
It took a few minutes for everyone to get cleaned up and finally change into some new clothes, with Momo making more if anyone couldn't find something that fit. They also had all used the bathroom, which had taken a while, though thankfully it looked like All Might hadn't used much time at all, because he wasn't straining to hold his muscle form. "Everyone ready? Excellent. Let's begin with what you all did once you ended your conversation with me…"
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Toshinori really, really wanted to do something quite unheroic by the time the debriefs were finished. Every single one of the students in front of him had now seen death up close and personal, due to that monstrously large individual. Several of them had been injured in the line of duty, and he was so thankful that his wonderful successor had discovered his healing powers. All of that on top of what happened at the USJ… 'Even Seniors never see this much action on their internships. Damn it, I know professional heroes who haven't seen as much life-or-death combat in so short a time!'
But the thing that was making him the most furious was just how close his successor had come to dying because of these damned Villains. Currently, Izuku was almost suffocating due to how his girlfriends were hugging the stuffing out of him, and his honorary niece had been dragged into the pile as well. Her face was quite red, but she was clearly enjoying the attention. His grin did not falter even as his mind wandered to what that could mean.
But despite legitimate reasons for sheer rage, another emotion was completely overpowering it: pride. "Words cannot describe just how proud I am of all of you, young ones." All of them flushed in joy at the praise coming from him, "None of you should have been anywhere near an incident like this. No, not even you, Hadō-shōjo."
Nejire blinked in shock at that, But All Might quickly continued, "Had this been a planned operation, an assault on a Villain's homebase, no one without a legitimate Hero license would have been allowed near. Not if I had any say in it. Legally, even your provisional license would not have cut it."
"Wow…" Nejire blinked again, "I didn't think it was that bad. I've been a part of similar operations with Ryūkyū before… Though never one of this scale against so many dangerous Villains." She admitted at the end of her statement. "But it still is just me and her against a bunch of baddies usually."
"That's precisely it. Every one of the Villains you faced was B-ranked at minimum, and many of them were revised to higher rankings from the bits of collected video footage. If you HAD been part of it, it would have been in a supporting role. It most certainly would not have been a leading role, or one that put you in such danger. But none of that mattered to you. Every single one of you stepped up. You conquered the tower, your fears, and even some of your demons."
He grinned, turning to stare directly at Todoroki as he said the last word. Shōto couldn't help but quirk a smile, "As such, as I gave you all permission to fight and use your Quirks, and due to I-Islands relaxed laws on Quirk usage… all of you will be receiving rewards for the capture of the Villains, and you all are receiving official credit for each one!"
The room erupted in squeals and shouts of jubilation, "Holy crap! We don't even have provisional licenses yet!" Kaminari yelped, smiling wide and bright.
"Holy shitake!" Kinoko squealed, wiggling excitedly in her seat, "We're awesome!" The rest of them were either smiling and fist-pumping or hugging it out.
"That you are!" All Might agreed with a laugh, "Just don't let it get to your heads, you hear?" He said, turning stern and staring at all of the more excitable ones until they quieted down, "You all were quite lucky. Several of you could have died, if things had been just slightly different, such as if Midoriya-shōnen's backup just a bit slower to react in defending him. And if Midoriya-shōnen had not discovered his healing ability, your commander and one of your strongest fighters would have suffered a debilitating injury almost immediately. Even after the fighting was done, there was a possibility that any of you could have succumbed to your injuries."
That brought the mood down immediately, which he noticed, "I'm not saying this to bring you down. You all performed wonderfully. You stepped into a situation you had no business being in and acquitted yourselves with distinction!" He looked at all of them with a proud smile, "Enjoy your victory! You more than earned it! But letting this get to your heads is the worst mistake you could possibly make now. You're still students, and despite your success, you still have much to learn."
"Yes sir!" They all chanted at him. Even the more excitable members of the group were taking the number one's words to heart.
All Might smiled, dropping the stern look from his face. He then looked at Izuku and his girlfriends, silently asking a question. Izuku didn't need telepathy to tell what was going through the man's mind. He smiled wide and nodded, with Momo figuring it out a second later and smiling too, giving him a thumbs up. Most of the other students found the interaction weird, but focused on All Might again as he smiled, "It warms my heart to see such wonderful Heroes ready to step up once I retire."
The air was sucked from the room with such speed Izuku was surprised the windows hadn't bowed in and shattered. Kaminari started to stutter, "Re-Retire?" he started to laugh nervously, rubbing the back of his head with little beads of sweat flying off him, "Hahaha, nice joke, All Might! You still got another couple decades, right?"
Itsuka was nodding vigorously, "Yeah, you've been a Hero so long, and you still aren't any weaker! You'll still be punching Villains when we graduate, right?"
Toshinori's eyes turned sad, "…Not quite." They all gasped as his voice lost… something. And then steam started to engulf the greatest Hero, and when it cleared, Shōto almost overturned the sofa with how fast he stood up.
Sitting before them was Toshinori in his real form. The room was dead silent, and then the screaming started as the other students began to panic. Izuku quickly brought his thumb and middle fingers to his mouth and blew, letting out a shrill whistle that had most everyone clapping their hands to their ears, "Guys, the six of us and Inasa can assure you, that's still All Might. He's not an imposter."
Inasa let out a sigh, "Yeah, me and Izuku have known about it for… almost a year now, right?" He looked at Izuku, who nodded.
"The rest of us haven't known for very long." Nejire sighed, "But it's true."
Kinoko was trembling, her hands near her face and tears in her eyes as she asked, "But… but how? Who? What?!"
Wordlessly, Toshinori raised his shirt revealing the wound. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Sound only picked up when he dropped the shirt, and the students started belting out questions. However, he spoke over them, hoping his words would be answer enough, "I'm afraid children, that due to this wound, it's not very likely that I'll be able to continue using my Quirk by the time this year is out." He said finally, "It's always been painful to force myself after the surgeries, but lately it's gotten worse. It's why I took this teaching job."
He smiled at all of them, despite the fact it didn't fill them with hope and inspiration like it normally would, "I wanted to pass on the decades of knowledge I've accumulated. I wanted to make sure there would be those ready to stand for justice once I no longer could. And I'm so proud to say that all of you embody it."
While Toshinori had been talking, Izuku and the girls had been eying the reactions and emotions flying across their classmates' faces. Devastation was a common one. Sadness and horror, equally so. But Todoroki caught his eye. The boy had silently flared with little wisps of fire. He was shocked, of course, but there was something else. The primary emotions Izuku could sense from him were sheer sadness and rage.
Despite grimacing, Izuku deliberately did not peek at his thoughts. That particular display worried him, but he wouldn't invade Todoroki's privacy like that.
Toshinori bulked up, which weirded most of them out. But his smile was back to being inspirational, despite the knowledge they all carried now. "Before I leave you, children, I would like to pass on to you the words of my late master." Every single one of them widened their eyes and sat silently, waiting for him to speak, "My master was a woman with a big heart and a bigger smile. It is because of her that I have carried it all these years. Always remember, 'When you have to save someone, it means they've just been in a scary situation! A true Hero not only saves their lives, but also their hearts! That's what I believe. So, no matter how scary things get, give 'em a smile! As if you're saying, "I'm a-okay". The people in this world who can smile are always the strongest!' If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be nearly the man I am today."
All of them, even Todoroki, were smiling softly at his words. "I'll leave you to it, now. We still have a few days here even despite the mess, so enjoy the rest of this vacation. I've already cleared with the principal and even your homeroom teachers that what homework you have already done is all you'll need to finish. Practical experience does trump book learning in most cases, after all." He winked at them as they let out cheers.
Seeing that Momo looked a bit put out, Toshinori laughed, "Of course, if you WANT to finish that coursework, you may feel free to. I'll leave you all to the rest of your day!" And with that, he stood and left the room.
For a moment, there was silence. Kaminari was the one who broke it, face still slack in disbelief, "Man… I just can't believe it."
"I can't either." Yui said, softly. She also looked shaken and unsure, and was rubbing her arm. Her facial expression wasn't much different, but her body language wasn't nearly as hard to read. None of them could hide how much All Might's injury had shocked them. If even the very best could get hurt like that, it was a horrible reminder that no one was perfect. No one could walk away uninjured every time.…
"None of that, now." Izuku stood, "Remember what All Might said! He shared that with all of you because he believes in you!" Izuku's normally calm, friendly eyes were blazing, and he put his own smile on his face as he clenched his flaming hand, "He feels safe in retiring because WE ARE HERE." He shouted, and just like that, all the gloom vanished from the room. "Every single one of us can become amazing Heroes! And every single one of us WILL become amazing Heroes! Got it?!" All of them started to beam at his words, and many of them even started to feel as if All Might was still there with them. There was only one thing they could do.
"YEAH!" The rest of them shouted, buoyed by his words.
Well… mostly. Izuku turned to Todoroki, who looked lost. He walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay, Todoroki-kun?"
Shōto looked up at them, and then down at his feet. He let out a shuddering breath and spoke softly, "All these years… and that man has been fighting against a shell…" Izuku was the only one close enough to hear him, and his eyes widened in shock. Shōto looked up, fighting with himself, before he stood and sat in the middle of the room where All Might had been, so everyone could see him. He looked exhausted as he spoke, "All of you were wondering why I never used my fire…"
He hesitated, clenching a fist so hard his knuckles cracked, before Shōto forced himself to relax, "Well, I suppose today is a day for secrets, isn't it?"
The rest of them realized almost immediately that this was likely going to be somewhere on the same level as the last revelation. Even so, they were not prepared for the reality of the situation, because as Shōto spoke, everyone there felt themselves grow colder and colder as if he were using his Quirk on them. By the time Shōto finished speaking, most of them could do nothing more than stare at him with their jaws unhinged.
Several of them had blurry vision from all the tears. Several others were fuming. Izuku himself was one of those most affected, clenching his fists so hard it was a miracle he wasn't doing more than lightly shaking the items around them. Inasa quite simply had his head in his hands, but instead of his friend's anger, Inasa was gripped most by self-loathing.
Mina was the one who finally spoke, her tone as cold as ice, "So, we're killing Endeavor, right?" Her expression was as hard as diamond.
"Murder isn't heroic…" Melissa said, weakly and noncommittally.
"Neither is that flaming shitheel!" Setsuna exploded, standing up and starting to pace like a caged tiger, looking like she wanted to commit violence.
"I…" Inasa looked at Todoroki, "I was such a…" He struggled to find words, "Dick to you! Making it out like it was nothing more than… than daddy issues." He clenched his fists, "How have you NOT put your fist through my face yet?!"
Shōto let out an uncharacteristic snort, "Because you were right." He looked at his hands, "And it was so bad that I equated him to his fire, and acted like simply not using it was enough to make me not be like him." He clenched his jaw, "And instead I became even worse. For all that he's an awful person, he's a great Hero. Meanwhile, all I've done is injure Utsushimi, put Hagakure and several other students in even more danger during the USJ incident, and act like a sore loser and even worse classmate."
Inasa stared at him, face blank. And then he punched himself in the face, drawing yelps from all of them.
"God damn it, Inasa." Izuku groaned in exhaustion as he reached his hand over and started to heal him. "Why do you have to be so… so… you?!"
"Seriously, will you stop that?!" Mina cried out in total exasperation. "You don't have enough brain cells to sacrifice them like that!"
Shōto himself looked shocked, before he had to raise a fist to his mouth to hide a snigger. At least it had lightened the mood. Shōto looked at Mina, "And no, we're not killing him." He deadpanned, "If I wanted him dead I'd do it myself. For as awful as he was, he's still my father… much as I hate to say it out loud."
Itsuka looked like she was a second from losing it entirely. Family was something as important as her martial arts to her, and hearing about how Endeavour, a well-regarded Hero treated his family made her furious. She snapped, "So he just… gets away with it?! He gets to keep on fooling everyone? Acting like a Hero, letting the public pour on the accolades, never realizing he's just as much a-a Villain as…"
Shōto looked tired all of a sudden as he interrupted her rant, "All Might just told us what will be happening within the year." He looked down, "What will happen if we're dealing with that as well?" That brought them all up short, making them look uncomfortable. Shōto shook his head, "Besides, I didn't share this with you because I wanted your pity. I just… you all helped me, and the revelation that for the past six years, that man has been competing with… that…" He sighed, "It was too much."
"None of us pity you." Izuku said softly, "There is a difference between compassion and pity."
"Or comradery." Momo said softly, "You are our friend Todoroki-kun. Know that if you need help with anything, I'm sure we all have your back." She stood and bowed, "And you have my apologies, for the insults I threw at you after our last spar."
"Why apologize for something you were in the right about?" Shōto asked as she straightened from her bow, "You were right. You were all right. I was only hurting myself. I just wish it hadn't taken this long to figure that out." He stood, "I… I'd like some time to myself now. Thank you for letting all of us stay the night." He quirked a smile, "Although, I'm sure you would have had more fun alone."
Setsuna gasped, "A joke from Todoroki? Progress!"
Itsuka stood, "Yeah, I think it's time we all go to our own rooms. Maybe see each other at the expo again after a break? I need a damn shower…" She said, getting some nods, "Later then!"
Slowly, the rest of them filed out of the room. Before she left, Yui softly asked if Izuku and his girls wanted to meet up later in the day to have more time at the expo once it opened up. They agreed, and she left with a soft smile, leaving Izuku, Melissa, and his girlfriends there.
Melissa let out a sigh, "I… I think I should head out as well, much as I'd like to stay and relax with all of you." She took a strand of her hair between her fingers and twirled it a little bashfully, "I think I should head out and start doing some research." She smiled, "After all, if I'm going to be going to U.A, I'll need to find a place to stay!" She went on, pushing some cheer into her tone.
"What are you talking about?" Momo asked quizzically, and Melissa turned to her, confused, "You don't need to live on your own, Melissa. I have more than enough room at home."
Melissa's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed slightly, "Wh-what? I couldn't possibly impose on you like that!"
"And furthermore," Momo smiled at her, "Having someone other than the butlers and maids at home would be wonderful."
Melissa momentarily heard 'dial up' noises in her head as she took in the words 'butlers' and 'maids.' Slowly, her brain rebooted, 'Oh yeah, she's rich rich!' She shook her head as she remembered that little tidbit. There was obviously another reason that she was hesitant to accept Momo's offer… that being that living with one of the girlfriends of the guy she was most definitely crushing on was probably a BAD idea. With caps and everything. "Uhh…I-"
"Don't worry about it!" Camie grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder, making her yelp.
"Mhm!" Nejire did the same from the other side, "You're totally one of our besties now."
Mina was just as cheery, "You're totally awesome!"
"AND you saved our little trouble magnet!" Setsuna's disembodied head gave her a toothy grin as she snuggled into Izuku's fluff, something that was quickly becoming a favorite activity of hers.
For his part, Izuku blushed and looked away, beginning to whistle.
Seeing that, Melissa flinched minutely, "I, uhh-" She blushed, "I… should apologize… for how we… woke up this morning."
"Melissa…" Momo looked at her in a rather deadpan manner, "If we were mad about it, don't you think this would be a very different conversation?"
Melissa waved her arms frantically, looking around at the girls and wondering when the metaphorical shoe would drop, "But-But I was just… wrapped around your boyfriend! Why are you not mad?!" There was no way this could go anywhere but downhill, right?
"Well for one, you're the only reason we're not spending the rest of the day crying right now. You saved his life, remember?" Momo asked, "If nothing else, that wins you some leeway."
"I was wrapped up with you too, you know?" Nejire threw her two yen in, "So it's not like we weren't allowing it. Plus, you two totally like each other. It was pretty obvious even before the attack." Nejire stated, as if commenting on the weather, and drawing yelps and paired flushes from Izuku and Melissa. "We never did set boundaries on this thing we have, after all. We should probably do that." She told the rest of her polycule.
Melissa's face looked lobster red as she took a few breaths to calm down. She was fidgeting and worming her hands together, "S-So, just so I understand what you're saying, you-you… wouldn't mind if…?" She couldn't even finish the sentence.
Izuku's face was so red it was radiating heat. He cleared his throat, "J-just for full disclosure." He mumbled after he had all of their attention, "We should be honest with each other, right? A-After she… saved me, we…" Their eyes widened, "Well, we almost kissed… I think…?" That part of the night was still a little fuzzy, honestly. His flames had healed the damage, but there had been a good few minutes where he wasn't exactly lucid.
Some of them pursed their lips, but Nejire stared at him, "Only almost, right?"
"Yeah." Melissa hastily interjected, "Emotions were running… very high after the fight ended. I thought he'd died and then he had that concussion and the memory loss, and my foot was throbbing in agony and then he was healing it and making it all better and…" Her face progressively redder and not just because she was demonstrably running out of breath.
"Breathe, girl!" Mina shook her, and Melissa obeyed, gasping in some air.
Momo was shaking her head in bemusement as she watched the older blonde, remembering the first time Izuku had learned he could heal other people by putting Momo's arm back together. His healing flames felt good. She could easily see that influencing their blonde friend after such an ordeal.
Melissa drew another shorter, shuddering breath, "But, yeah, we didn't actually kiss. There was no way I was going to be a homewrecker to my new friends, and Izuku wasn't about to cheat. The moment we realized what we were about to do, we both pulled away and refocused on the mission."
"But if we hadn't been dating, you would have been all over each other, huh?" Mina had a smirk on her face, breathing a sigh of relief now that she knew nothing had actually happened. Izuku and Melissa both turned into tomatoes again, with Melissa even looking like some steam may have been wafting above her head.
Izuku shook off his embarrassment, "S-Sorry girls. I shouldn't have let emotions get the better of me, even in a situation like that." Looking around at the girls he had come to care for deeply, Izuku felt like he wanted to cry or scream. Maybe at the same time. He was terrified that he'd already ruined everything not even a week after they'd all gotten together.
'That would be par for the fucking course, wouldn't it?' He thought to himself with a bitterness that surprised himself.
Camie let out a huff, her face set in an unusually stern expression. "As long as we don't have to worry about it happening again, you feel?"
Mina nodded, "Honestly, I kinda called the two of you maybe having something. After that time in the lab, it seemed kinda obvious, you know? Kindred spirits and all that." Honestly, she'd be squealing about 'star-crossed lovers' right now if it didn't involve her own boyfriend and a new girl outside of their polycule, "It's the only reason I'm not really mad right now. Well, that and you not actually doing it, of course."
"Like I said, it was pretty obvious you two might start becoming interested in each other. We kinda saw it coming." Nejire giggled lightly. Melissa flushed again.
Setsuna threw herself into the couch with a bounce, "So, like Nejire-chan-senpai-" All of them grinned or giggled at the beaming smile that appeared on Nejire's face, "-said, we gotta decide on this whole polycule thing." Setsuna looked at Melissa, who had taken a seat with the rest of them, "And for the record, we're a package deal if you want in. Think you can handle that, Melissa-chan?"
"I… I don't know." Melissa said, not firmly at all. Her face hadn't really cooled down yet, and it was clear that her brain was still in danger of overheating.
But Momo had seen the way Melissa had looked at least at Momo herself the day before, and knew the blonde was at least curious. She didn't blame the blonde for not being certain about joining something like this. None of them had been sure until they gave it a try and found that they all worked surprisingly well together. "It wasn't exactly what most of us had envisioned either. Indeed, all I really knew about romance came from my novels, and none of them involved relationships like it. My parents were also monogamous, so I didn't really know relationships like ours even existed. Nejire-chan was the only one who wanted to be in a poly relationship, even before Mina-chan brought it up as a possibility. Mina-chan didn't want to even thinkabout us fighting and losing our friendships over a guy. Once Nejire-chan talked to us about it and shared her own prior experience, we decided it was worth at least a trial run."
Mina winced, "Now that I think about it, we kinda made our own mistake though." They turned questioning looks at her, "We wanted it to be a happy surprise for Midori if things worked out, but I think we just gave him anxiety because he didn't know what was going on."
Izuku flinched, "Y-yeah, I was really confused and just didn't know what was happening. And… kissing all of you after each date kinda made me feel like a scumbag and that I was leading you all on. Plus, it kind of hurt that none of you wanted to even talk about being… well… together before we all kissed on the beach." His hands were working themselves over as his girlfriends flinched twice in quick succession, "I'm still… over the moon that things worked out the way they did, but during our dates, half of me was just a ball of nerves, while the other half was wondering if I was just having some strange dream."
"Mou, I'm so dumb!" Nejire nearly mewled in dismay, latching onto him tightly. "I even knew communication was key, and I didn't say anything against it! I just got so excited about surprising you that I didn't think! I'm so sorry, Zuzu!"
He hugged her back, giving her a quick peck on the lips. She melted into it, but he quickly pulled back. He didn't want to make Melissa uncomfortable. "Like I said, I'm the happiest I've ever been." Izuku smiled softly at Nejire, and then looked at the rest of them in turn, "I definitely would have appreciated knowing what we were doing though."
Setsuna leaned over and pecked him too, "Sorry, Zu. We messed up, and that was really dumb of us. We should have known better…" She nuzzled into him, before turning to the rest of the girls, "So yeah," She said, "I don't think Zu deserves a stay in the doghouse for yesterday, but if he did, then I'd say we all deserved it for how we all unintentionally made him feel like we were all stringing him along." Mina and Camie nodded sharply.
He shook his head, "I still feel guilty even if nothing happened. If I need to do anything to make up for it, just name it."
Setsuna shook her head as well, "No, I think the matter is settled, right?" She looked at the other girls, and all of them nodded except for Momo.
Momo had been grimacing, mentally slapping herself for their mistake. She hesitated to say it, but she was pretty sure she was the closest to Izuku when this all started. Of all of them, she should have known that Izuku would have been a mass of confusion and anxiety over the situation. Being dazzled by the newness of it all was no excuse for forgetting that Izuku had been dealt such an awful hand early in life. He wouldn't have appreciated the feeling of being 'played,' even if that had never been their intention.
She now joined the pile for a moment, kissing him lightly, "Sorry, Izu…" She whispered, cupping his cheeks. "And like Setsuna said, we're okay. Nothing happened. Plus, Mina was right… we had… already anticipated the possibility of something… more growing between you and Melissa-chan." He tilted his head to the side, not saying anything, but she knew what he wanted to ask, "We had a private conversation while you showered that day after we started on our costumes." She clarified, and his eyes filled with understanding, "We decided to just let things play out without saying anything."
"Which was probably a mistake too." Nejire felt like smacking herself. She should have seen this coming! "Damn it, why am I making so many mistakes?! Auntie kept telling me how communication was even more important for polycules than it is in regular relationships, and this is twice I've messed up!" She whined to herself, looking like she was going to tear up.
"Yeah, no, like… let's just stop being dumbasses." Camie deadpanned, "M'kay?"
Mina shook her head in exasperation, "Yeah, we all need to talk about any big relationship stuff."
"Please do." Izuku shook his head, but it was in rather fond exasperation, "I don't think my heart will survive too many more of these 'fun' surprises."
Momo pressed her palm into her forehead, "Yes, let's not do that again. Regardless, especially after seeing how you two interacted in the lab, we… all felt Melissa was special too, in our own ways, and if you recall, Nejire wanted to 'keep her' after that first day, after all." Off to the side, Melissa let out a surprised, but pleased smile as Momo continued, "Though I don't think she quite meant like this at the time." They all giggled as they remembered their excited fairy zooming about that night after they said goodbye to their new friend. Momo went on seriously, her eyes locking on Izuku's, "That said… this was a one-off situation, and we obviously will not be happy if it happens again."
"Mhm." Setsuna nodded, "So, since you still feel bad about it…" She raised her hand and bopped him on the nose, drawing a surprised yelp, "Bad Zu." She smirked as he looked at her in surprise before he started to laugh, pulling her in for a closer hug.
"Thanks girls." He smiled at all of them, "We're all happy now, right?" He asked with a small smile.
"Yes!" The periwinkle-haired girl said cheerfully, "Realizing how badly we messed up in setting our relationship up hurts, but dating you all the past two weeks has been even more fun than I thought it would be!"
Melissa had allowed them all to work things out, curious as to their group dynamics. It looked about as complicated as she thought it could be, but she was happy to see how mature they were in working things out and talking with each other. Now that everyone seemed to have settled down, she felt safe jumping in again, "So, you all went on individual dates before you started officially dating?"
"Yep!" Mina answered for them, "We all went on dates and did fun things together, to see if it would work out!" Mina leaned side to side in her seat, winking over at Setsuna. "And boy did it!" Their date had gotten just a wee bit spicy.
Melissa nibbled on a knuckle lightly, "I… I do like all of you. A lot even. You've been so much easier to get along with than most of the other people I know, and you've done more to make me feel welcome than almost anyone." All of them smiled brightly, "I've had more fun in the past week-"
"Last night notwithstanding." Momo interjected with a grumble, making Melissa huff out in agreement, which the rest of them followed.
"Definitely!" The blonde laughed, before going on, "Anyway, I've had more fun in the last week than in a long time. But I definitely don't know if I could handle a relationship like… like what you all share. Hell, my one past relationship was a disaster and there was only one person involved. So…" She turned bashful and started poking her fingertips together. Mina nearly squealed from how cute it was, but kept the squeal inside, worried she would scare Melissa away, "So if… if you're okay with it, maybe we should… trial it?"
"YAAAAY!" Nejire beamed and crashed into her, drawing a yelp from the blonde. "Cuddle Pile!"
Mina started to cackle as she jumped in, followed by Camie. Melissa started to giggle helplessly from the bottom. "W-wait! My glasses!" She squeaked, before they floated off her nose and safely onto a different part of the couch. The rest of the girls all followed, and then were dragged into the cuddle pile by Nejire.
The next hour passed by with them simply talking, hanging out, and putting some American cartoons on the grand TV to have in the background. He had Setsuna and Camie in his arms, while Nejire was floating behind them and happily braiding Camie's hair. Melissa and Momo were almost cuddling, with Momo getting a list of things that the blonde would need for her lab at the mansion.
Despite the earlier reminder, Melissa was completely overwhelmed with just how rich 'Yaoyorozu' meant, because thus far Momo had sternly talked her into blowing her normal yearly budget on just the preliminary items and machines she would need. After getting just a small peek at Momo's personal portfolio, Melissa didn't even bother trying to argue.
When he sensed that initial discussion drawing to a close, Izuku decided now was the time to bring something up again, "So… are we… er….shutting the door, as it were?" He squeezed the two in his arms, "I know I'm already more than happy with how things turned out. I… I never thought I'd end up with even one girlfriend after… well… you know."
"Fucking exploding Pomeranian." Setsuna snarled under her breath, forcing a startled laugh from Izuku. The fact that a former bully and suicide-baiter was their classmate and even in the Hero Course still rankled. Badly. To say nothing of the fact his favorite target had been their boyfriend.
Before he could continue, Nejire spoke up. "Right, there's also that to talk about. And don't think we won't, Zuzu!"
"R-right…" Izuku agreed, though he almost wished he could just sweep the Bakugō issue under the rug and just handle it on his own at the earliest opportunity. "But I, uh, don't want to talk about that right now. Our relationship is more important than him."
He drew a couple smiles. Nejire in particular looked happy, "Right. That at least can wait until we're back on campus. For now, why don't you tell us about your thoughts on our cuddle pile?"
He grinned for a bare second, "I just… I still don't know how I even attracted you all! I guess at this point I… uhh, know that I enjoyed a lot of your hobbies and vice-versa before we started the initial round of dates. But that's a far ways away from understanding how all of this happened. How you all came to… care for me… like that. Back before U.A, no one liked me or wanted anything to do with me until my Quirk came in and I…"
"Fucking idiots." Camie snarled, looking like she wanted to spit on the floor, "Couldn't see beyond their own fucking noses."
"While I don't wish to voice the sentiment as… vulgarly as Camie-chan, I feel the same way." Momo said evenly, her frown deep and unhappy. "It took me all of a day to see your good traits, Izu-kun, and that has nothing to do with your Quirk."
But it appeared as if Izuku was in his own head because he just continued as if he hadn't heard them, "And then they just wanted to fawn over me because my Quirk was strong. They were just so… fake…"
Momo was the first to respond again, "After hearing about what you went through, and seeing Melissa in action, and how gifted she is, and how amazing her inventions are… I can't help but start to develop a deep dislike for the state of society right now. This… obsession with Quirks…" She wasn't really sure where to take that thought, but the rest of their group understood the gist of it anyway.
He seemed to shake himself in Camie and Setsuna's arms, bringing his brain back on course with difficulty. "Right. I can't help but feel the same at times. A-Anyway, by then I wanted nothing to do with any of them. S-so I never had any friends until I met Inasa, and I definitely never had a girlfriend before this all… I guess I… never really learned what signals I was sending that attracted you, or showed that I was attracted to you in turn. Beyond the, uhh, the obvious."
He looked at Momo, who blushed just a bit, beaming back at him as she remembered their brief moment of telepathic flirting after the first training session with Nejire. " S-so, if I'm doing something, please tell me."
At that point, all the girls decided that words just weren't enough, and once again, Izuku found himself in a pile of his favorite ladies in the world, "Heh, no wonder you just pulled Melissa-chan in, stud." Setsuna said in heavy amusement, drawing a 'eep' from the blonde as her finger poked something soft and round.
Mina had gotten behind him somehow and pressed herself tightly to his back for a hug. He blushed hotly as her assetspressed into him, her breathing into his ear as she spoke doing nothing for his self-control. "Midori, you're awesome, and Yaomomo's right… It has nothing to do with your Quirk. Remember, you were forbidden from using it and still blew most of us out of the water in Heroics. All of your amazing traits were in full view of everyone in the class after the attack, You're super smart, kind, helpful, determined, and fucking sexy as all hell." She punctuated the statement by rubbing his six-pack and kissing his neck.
"Indeed." Momo said silkily, blushing heavily now but wishing to add to the teasing. She was directly in front of him, and she pressed her own generous assets into his chest as she stared into his eyes from well within kissing range. "You're very attractive, Izu."
'Ah, so this is how I die. Via my blood boiling and escaping out of my head.' Izuku thought to himself with a blazing face. 'It's original at least,' Izuku thought to himself with a blazing face. Yet he could not tear his eyes away from the girls gazing at him from all around, nor could he shut out the sensations of the group hug
"Nom." Camie smirked as she gave his neck a very wet kiss, running her tongue on him and sucking lightly. "Just sexy as hell? Don't undersell our stud, Mina-chan, Yaomomo."
"Giiiiirls!" Izuku whined just a little, trying to keep himself under control. 'Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Fuck, I'm getting a boner.' Momo's blush deepened, though something else twinkled in her eye as she felt it growing for the first time, and he was entirely uncertain as to what that 'something' was. They giggled as he cleared his throat and most of them parted to take their seats again, "A-Anyway… I'm perfectly happy with us the way we are, and am not looking to bring anyone else in. I… I just want to be certain all of you are happy too, um that er, that you don't… like… um…"
"Darling, none of us are going to go looking for other men if that's what you're worried about." Momo shot him a rare smirk from her seat next to Melissa. He felt something warm flow through him at the pet name, and could feel his smile becoming a huge grin for a second as she went on. "You've rather spoiled us there."
Camie gave him a loving peck on the cheek, "Yep. Like, what dude would even compare?" Izuku's blush had been dimming, and it came roaring back. "Anyway, it's not like we were looking for other chicks, ya dig? Just kinda happened since we're all so hot and awesome." She winked at them.
Momo and Melissa blushed a bit at that, the former now losing her momentary courage. The more outgoing Nejire and Camie grinned impishly as they each licked a finger, cocked their hips, and poked the other's bums in a 'safe' location, making sizzling noises. That got a few scattered giggles, as Nejire laughed and pulled Camie into her lap. The others were quickly learning their fairy was a proper cuddle monster. Not that any of them were complaining.
Crawling out from behind Izuku, Mina took Camie's vacated cuddle spot. She stretched lackadaisically, wanting to move past this since there had already been a bit too much serious talk today for her tastes, "Still, even setting aside the fact we've got our male hottie quota filled, we probably should figure out if this is it. Even Yaomomo's bed can't get TOO much bigger, right?" She winked at the heiress.
"Lies and slander." Camie snickered as Momo blushed a bit harder.
Melissa cleared her throat, "I… think I'll sit this one out. I'm not fully 'in,' after all. Though I will say it already feels pretty overwhelming." No one pointed out that she had already willingly joined the cuddle pile more than once in just the past hour.
"I'm not interested in anyone else at the moment." Nejire chirped, "So ladies, any other girl-crushes you want to admit to?" Nejire smirked. "Because like Yaomomo, Mina-chan, and Camie-chan said, none of us are going to go looking for other guys."
Momo outright shuddered at the idea of bringing any guys in. She well remembered the young boys (and even adult men!) who had flirted with her at the parties she had been forced to attend, and the very idea of any of them trying to worm their way into her relationship with the others sickened her.
Izuku caught this, and turned in her direction, but when he reached out telepathically, Momo put him at ease quickly, saying, "Obviously I'm perfectly happy with our situation, and am not looking to add anyone to our cuddle pile." with a small smile on her face.
Slowly, the rest of them made their opinions clear. Some of them had one or two others that they found attractive, but nothing beyond that. It was a more artistic appreciation, rather than a desire to be involved with them romantically.
Finally, only one of them was left to give an opinion.
Listening to the others, Setsuna had been ready to agree, but then her lips twitched into a minute frown as she remembered one of her best friends in 1-B. '…Shit, what about Yui?'
While her silent companion had been pretty subtle most of the time, Setsuna had seen enough signals to know that Yui might be interested in Izuku and Momo at the very least. 'At least if how long it took to get her head off of Yaomomo's chest this morning was any indication. Plus, she did ask to hang out with all of us later. Is she serious or is it just her being horny like usual?'
Plus, she well knew that Yui thought Setsuna herself was hot, and they had even cuddled on multiple occasions. And it wasn't like Setsuna wasn't attracted to the mecha fangirl in turn. The quiet girl was gorgeous and an amazing person once you got to know her, and got past how quiet she was. Setsuna could well remember how hard she'd laughed (and blushed, although she would never admit it) the first time she and Yui started to text back and forth. As unemotional and hard to communicate with as Yui was verbally, in text she was an absolute riot and a massive flirt occasionally.
Nejire noticed her frown, and she stopped braiding Camie's hair. Nudging Camie, the fawn-haired girl got off her lap and Nejire floated to the center of the room, getting all of their attention, "Okay, especially after earlier, I think we all need to be super honest and open about any possible other crushes. Set? You were gnawing on your lip a bit. Anything you want to get in the open?"
Setsuna scratched her cheek, before sighing, "Yeah, you're right. It's not about someone I'm interested in, though she is pretty hot, and I like her a lot, not gonna lie. Definitely could have maybe started dating her if you lot didn't reel me in." She winked, earning a few giggles, "And I don't even know if she's actually serious about it or if she's just being horny, but I think Yui-chan might be interested."
"Wait!" Izuku gaped, "K-Kodai? I-i-interested?"
Setsuna grinned predatorily, "Oh, yes. Did I not tell you? She asked me to send her some dirty pics of you that day on the beach."
At that, Izuku went almost catatonic, and steam actually started to rise above his head. Setsuna cackled at his reaction while Melissa almost choked in shock, and Momo only didn't follow because she had seen the text that day on the beach. The other girls started to giggle.
Nejire grinned at the dino-lover, "Is she your class's horny rep?" That just got Setsuna to laugh even harder and even Melissa started to sputter and had to hide her laughter behind her hands.
Setsuna smirked, "I'd say yes, but me and Kin-chan exist, and she's hornier than Pony-chan could ever be."
It took a moment for them to parse that, and then they remembered that Pony was the one with actual horns, and they burst out laughing. Once Melissa was filled in, she could only sputter too.
Still cackling, Camie called out, "F's for Kami-bro!"
Setsuna's grin was sharklike, "His poor pelvis. F." And that set them all off again.
Momo cleared her throat once they got under control, still completely flushed, "R-Regardless, I… would definitely say she might be interested." Her blush deepened, "When we woke up, she really took a few… extra seconds… to let go of me. I'm pretty sure she wanted to just stay there and-"
"Motorboat you!" Nejire cheered, making Momo almost gag on her saliva.
Izuku was really glad he wasn't drinking anything because he would have sprayed out across the room. Poor Camie had just popped open a soda and taken a drink, and she actually did spray it out. Mina shouted in shock as she dove to the side, just barely avoiding getting some cola in the eyes.
Momo squeaked, "Oooooh, how did we even end up like that?!" She pouted heavily, "I'm pretty sure I went to sleep spooning with Setsuna!"
"And I woke up in the middle cuddling Zu's leg." Setsuna laughed, loving the chaos, "She loves your costume by the way. She's a super nerd for that sort of stuff. Only thing that could make her happier is giant robots!"
"I can't make a Gundam!" Momo immediately and firmly declared.
"Not with that attitude!" Izuku joined back in on the fun, getting Momo to facepalm and the others to laugh wildly, while Melissa seemed almost to drool at the idea.
After a moment, Momo ran her fingers down her face, sending a semi-serious glare at Setsuna. "Okay, enough. What are we going to do about Kodai-san's possible interest?" Momo asked, "Are any of us even attracted to her back?"
"I don't really know her." Izuku said immediately, "She was a big help last night in the Tower Assault, and I thought she was pretty cool. But like I said, we did just meet. I can't really say if I am attracted to her or not."
"She is hot though, right?" Setsuna grinned toothily.
Izuku paused, wondering if this was a test. Once more, honesty was the best policy, "Yeah, I do think she's really pretty. But that's not the same thing as wanting to date her right?" He said after a small pause. Apparently, he passed if it was a test because they all just smiled and moved on.
"Yup, she's as cute as a button." Mina nodded, "But like Midori said, we don't really know her."
"Hmmm…" Nejire mused, "We hadn't told anyone that ours was a closed relationship because we hadn't decided that yet, and she did seem genuinely interested in hanging out with us. It would be different if we had made it clear we weren't interested in anyone else, but…"
"…Yeah, I'd feel like a bit of a bitch if we just slammed the door in her face." Setsuna scratched her cheek, "She even asked to hang out with just us later today. That might be because we have a few couples springing up like Kinoko-chan and Kaminari and she's been left out, but I kinda doubt it."
"How 'bout this, fam? Kodai def wanted to hang with us more, so I think she really was interested. She practically asked us all out before she left." Camie threw in, "So we get to know her. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work."
"I'm okay with that." Mina and Setsuna agreed to it with some short nods. Momo and most certainly Melissa were leery of it, worrying that they were already nearly overwhelmed.
"Okay, if Izu, Yaomomo, and Meli are on board, I say we take it super slow here. We treat this as just her joining her friends as we get to know her. We don't even think of individual dates until she's actually made her interest clear AND agreed that we're an all-or-nothing team here. If we can't form a real connection with her, then we shouldn't let her join us just to keep her from being sad. And that's doubly true if she is just, as Set said, being horny." Nejire said, not smiling and looking entirely serious for once, "We have a good thing going so far, you know? I'm sure everyone has heard of what happens when there's too many cooks in the kitchen."
"Too right." Izuku muttered, getting a giggle from Mina.
"I don't think we have to worry about that. Not from Yui of all people." Setsuna said, "If she IS actually interested in joining our relationship, it'll be US that makes or breaks it. She'll absolutely respect it if we say no, even if she'd be sad for a while."
"Good!" Nejire smiled happily again, "In that case, I propose we kick this serious stuff under the bed with my bra and get out there and have some fun!" With that Nejire pulled her shirt off, revealing that she was wearing a pretty daring periwinkle-colored bikini underneath, drawing a blush from Melissa, who definitely was staring appreciatively. Even if she wasn't certain about being in a relationship like this, she would most certainly eat the provided eye candy. "Who's with me?"
"Hell yeah!" Mina cheered and jumped up, "I'm tired of sitting around! Let's hit the beach!"
"That sounds lovely." Momo stood as well, "I could do with a swim and some relaxation after yesterday! That and this serious talk has taken a toll on me as well."
"Wahoo! Let's go, fam!" Camie was already pulling her shirt off in turn.
Izuku audibly swallowed as he was once again reminded of just how drop-dead gorgeous his girlfriends were.
"Hey Melissa!" Setsuna said mischievously, a wide smirk on her face, and the blonde turned her head. "Lookie!" She caught Izuku by surprise and tore his shirt in the front, revealing all of his hard work.
"Setsuna!" Izuku yelped in shock and covered up, having not seen her maneuver her hands.
Melissa very 'discreetly' wiped her mouth of drool before she purposefully stood and followed Momo. They looked about the same size, so hopefully she had a swimsuit Melissa could slip into. The rest of them followed, with Setsuna giggling.