Chapter Text
Jirou came walking back into the hospital room with slouched shoulders and an embarrassed look on her face, but Izuku could see the glint of fire still burning in her eyes.
"Man, we could hear him yelling all the way back in here," Ochako muttered. "You think Death Arms would be more understanding about why you ran off."
Jirou flopped back onto her bed, sighing heavily as she rolled over onto her back and sat back up, looking over at Izuku and Ochako. "He's a pretty high-strung guy, actually. Likes things done right and hates it when you do stuff without thinking. I told him why I did it and that Midoriya might not be alive if I didn't run off, but he wasn't very sympathetic."
The three of them had stayed overnight at the hospital, each of them monitored by equipment overnight. At least they had all been put in the same room, so each other's company had helped to pass the time well enough. Things were even relatively peaceful until Death Arms arrived and almost dragged Jirou out of the room to reprimand her.
"Why not?" Ochako asked, crossing her arms from her place on her bed. "You saved Deku's life!"
Jirou sighed again, rubbing her freshly-healed leg absentmindedly. She had been walking on it just fine, thankfully. "He said 'sure, this time, but that's not always gonna fly'. He told me that I got lucky and next time I should think before I do anything rash. 'You're not All Might, you can't save everyone. Acting without thinking is how you get killed. You can't save anyone if you're dead'.
Ochako furrowed her brow and pouted a little. "A hero should try to save everyone."
It's too dangerous. She must be protected.
"Ochako is right," Izuku said, ignoring his instincts and causing them to snarl in frustration. "We have to try and be the best we can be. We have to try to save everyone, even if we can't."
"I would rather fail than not try," Ochako added, nodding.
His instincts bucked again.
They're not ready. They are not All Might.
Izuku sighed, rubbing his head slightly.
"You alright?" Jirou asked. "I thought the doctors gave you the all-clear."
"I'm fine," he responded, ignoring the suspicious look that Ochako was giving him. "What I was going to say next is that, while we should try to be our best, we shouldn't be too quick to dismiss what Death Arms said. He's not saying it to be mean, he's probably saying it because he's seen overeager young heroes get killed by doing stuff like what you did, Jirou."
Jirou hung her shoulders a little. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"Don't get down," Izuku continued, waving his hands back and forth, "but think about it. We don't want to become cynical, but we also don't want to become blind idealists. Often the sweet spot is somewhere in the middle."
Better.
Ochako tapped her chin a few times. "So we strive to be like All Might, but we gotta have reasonable expectations. I can get behind that, although it's frustrating when you hit a wall."
Izuku saw the pain still lingering behind her eyes; she wasn't over doubting herself quite yet.
Jirou leaned back and flopped onto her bed. "Then I guess we just gotta train harder, yeah? I mean, we've only been at UA for like, less than half a semester. We can't expect ourselves to be all that just yet, which is what Death Arms was saying, I guess."
"And that's why we need to take advantage of Nejire's offer," Izuku added. "We have to be the best we can be, and there isn't a student at UA better to learn from than her."
If I can't keep them out of harm's way, then I have to make sure that nothing can stand before their power. I can't keep my hoard hidden, so I must make it invincible.
"Agreed," Ochako said with a firm nod.
Jirou propped herself up on an elbow, glancing over at Izuku. "Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there. I didn't like sitting there on the ground while the rest of you fought."
"Tell me about it," Ochako huffed.
Before Izuku could say anything else, the door opened again. The students looked over to see Miruko standing there in plainclothes, smirking slightly as she glanced over the students.
"Hello, Miruko," Ochako said dutifully.
Miruko half-rolled her eyes and stepped inside. "How're you all holding up?"
"We're fine," Izuku answered. "No problems at all."
"Yeah, that's usually how it goes," Miruko muttered, rolling her neck. "But that one time that there are complications… you'll be glad you're here."
Izuku exchanged nervous glances with Ochako and Jirou.
"Come with me," Miruko said, looking over at Ochako. "Let's talk about yesterday."
Ochako nodded, standing up without a word and waving to Izuku and Jirou as the two exited the room and closed the door behind them.
A silence hung in the air for a few seconds.
And then a few seconds longer.
He looked over at Jirou and was slightly surprised to see her looking nervous, like she was preparing herself to do something she didn't really want to do.
"H-hey, Midoriya," she began awkwardly.
Izuku was looking straight at her, but Jirou was staring determinedly down at her bed, her previously relaxed aura mysteriously and completely absent. What could be making her so stressed?
"I just wanted to s-say thanks… for saving me, that is."
Izuku blinked and stared for a few seconds in surprise. "I should be the one thanking you! If it wasn't for you hearing me and coming to my aid, then refusing to leave when I tried to get you to run, then I'd probably be dead right now."
"Yeah, but," she continued, poking her jacks together bashfully, "like, we fought well together, I guess. You saved me when he tried to really get me. You got paralyzed because of that, and I just…"
She took a deep breath, then slapped herself on both cheeks harshly.
"Jirou…?" Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow. He was getting a little worried now; what could be so hard to say?
She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh as her cheeks grew redder, and not just from the slaps. "Shit. What I'm trying to say is thanks for saving me and thanks for being you… E-Emerald."
He furrowed his brow. "Eme-"
Izuku's eyes went wide as realization crashed over him.
MINE.
"Emerald?" he repeated quietly, struggling to restrain his quirk, which was trying to wash over the rest of his mind.
"Y-yeah," Jirou mumbled, scratching the back of her head as her jacks twisted and turned, squirming as much as she was. "A bunch of other girls have nicknames for you and this one just sorta came to me. It feels kinda right to call you that, I guess. You don't mind, do you?"
She has accepted her place.
"Of course not," Izuku said, gritting his teeth slightly as he fought back his quirk. It was running so hot that he had to relieve some of the pressure by enhancing his senses, but if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to hear her mumble.
"Man, his eyes are doing that glowy thing again," she muttered almost inaudibly as she glanced up at him with bright red cheeks. "That's so cool."
There was a slight pause before Izuku cleared his throat and shook his head. "I'm flattered that you like me enough to give me a nickname."
She chuckled a little, averting her gaze again. "Yeah, well, we fought against a crazed murderer together on one of the worst nights of any of our lives, so maybe I feel like we've bonded."
"I definitely agree," Izuku said calmly, feeling his quirk hum happily. "We worked well together and I feel closer to you. I hope we can hang out more once we're back at UA."
Jirou paused for a few seconds. "I'd like that."
Izuku smiled.
Her face took on a more aggressive expression as she suddenly glared at him with a furious blush. "Don't breathe a word of this to the others, alright? This stays between us or I'll make you wish that Stain got to you instead." She emphasized her point by jabbing her jacks in his direction like a pair of angry snakes.
He held up his hands defensively. "I promise. I won't even tell my girlfriends, although I guarantee Mina will flip the first time she hears you call me Emerald."
"No doubt," she grumbled, her shoulders dropping again. "Just… thanks for being cool."
"Same to you," he hummed happily.
Both of them heard heavy footsteps approaching the door, causing them to fall silent. There was a quick, firm knock followed by the door flinging open.
"I am… HERE TO CHECK ON MY STUDENTS!" All Might declared boisterously as he strode into the room.
"All Might!" Jirou exclaimed.
"And I brought Young Bakugou with me!" he continued, gesturing behind him as Katsuki walked in. He and Izuku locked eyes, communicating more with a single glance than some people could in an entire conversation.
All Might looked over the two patients. "I trust you are well? And where is Young Uraraka?"
"Yeah, we're all fine," Izuku answered as he slid off the bed and walked over to the visitors. "And Ochako's talking to Miruko right now."
"Ah, I see," All Might said with a nod. "Regardless, it is good to see you are all unharmed after yesterday's… harrowing events. That was a dark day, but you all pulled through. I am proud of you all."
Jirou took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you, sir."
All Might snapped his fingers. "Oh, and Young Jirou, your parents are waiting for you downstairs. They very much want to speak with you."
"Oh, they're here already?" Jirou asked, sounding surprised and glancing down at her phone. "Wait, why didn't they just come up with you?"
All Might's shoulders slumped a little. "Well, this hospital has a policy for the hero wing, that only police, pro heroes, and those accompanying pros can come upstairs. It keeps the paparazzi from sneaking in, you see."
"Not even family?" Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow. "And why didn't you just say her parents were with you?"
"I tried," All Might said with a sigh. "But the nurses didn't buy it. They're very strict about this sort of thing. Their logic is that anyone can claim to be family. There is a long vetting process and several forms to fill out before family can come upstairs. Long story short, they're waiting downstairs, Young Jirou."
She shrugged. "I'm not gonna complain about an excuse to get out of this room. See you guys back at the dorms tonight, if nothing else. Later."
The woman hopped off the bed and walked to the door, waving slightly to the three men still inside and then closing the door behind her.
All Might chuckled and looked down at Izuku, shaking his head slightly. "Your father told me what you did. That was brave, but quite foolish. Although, I'm sure you've already heard as much from him."
"Him and many others," Izuku admitted, hanging his head slightly. "But would you have done anything different?"
"No comment," All Might said with another chuckle. "Well, unfortunately I can't stay either. There are many others I need to pay a visit to, but I wanted to make sure Young Bakugou got here without being harassed."
He began to turn and walk away, but Izuku moved forward and touched his arm. "Um, can I ask you something?"
All Might raised an eyebrow but nodded. His face looked a little more sunken than normal; the horrors of the previous day were likely weighing on him harder than most.
Izuku pushed his quirk through his neck, transforming it so his head rose up to be level with All Might's, which caused the man to furrow his brow slightly. He leaned in and whispered so Katsuki wouldn't hear. "Ochako is taking some things from yesterday pretty hard, do you think you could talk to her? She's worried that she's failed and I think she needs to hear it from someone other than me."
All Might paused for a moment, then nodded as Izuku's neck returned to its normal length. "Certainly."
Izuku nodded back as the man left, leaving him with Katsuki. He sat back down on the bed as his friend sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair.
"Hell of a week," Izuku said softly, rubbing his face with his hands.
"That's for sure," Katsuki responded. "Glad to see you made it through."
Izuku smiled. "Same to you. Now, tell me all the details you were too lazy to type out over the phone. Paparazzi would kill to get a week with him like you just had."
Toshinori rubbed his forehead as he walked through the hallways of the hospital. Yesterday had been a very dark day and it would take a long time for him to get over it, but he was certain that he would never forget it. The idea that the heroes had failed so spectacularly to allow such a devastating attack to take place was unthinkable, although he didn't necessarily know what they could have done better. The details of exactly what happened were still being pieced together, but one thing he was certain of was that there was going to be political ramifications, but those were out of his control.
Outside of that, his week had been fairly successful. Young Bakugou had shown great progress in their short time together, but he had also answered the important question that Toshinori was secretly asking him. He would have to discuss it with Mirai and Sorahiko when they met on Sunday, but it was safe to say that he wasn't-
Toshinori's train of thought was interrupted as he heard Young Uraraka's voice.
"I just… felt like dead weight, I guess."
He stopped in his tracks, his eyes following the sound to a half-open door a few paces in front of him.
"Why?" a voice asked flatly.
That was Miruko. Apparently, they were still talking like Young Midoriya said. He should come back later.
"I came in all big and bad, smiling like All Might told me, but then I couldn't pull it off."
Toshinori raised an eyebrow and looked up and down the hallway. Well, maybe he could eavesdrop just a little.
"So?" Miruko said casually. "You're a student. You're still learning. Shit happens."
Young Uraraka let out a heavy sigh. "I know, I know, it's just… I want to be the best. I want to be the greatest hero. I want people to see my fearless smile and feel safe."
Toshinori cocked an eyebrow.
"What's this about smiling?" Miruko asked curiously.
"All Might told me that the strongest people always smile, because a hero is responsible for saving hearts as well as bodies. That's why you smile, right? People see your smile and your confidence and they know that they're gonna be alright because Miruko is there! I wanna be like that!"
"You're a smart kid, but those are lofty goals," Miruko remarked with a note of pride. "Sounds like you want to replace All Might."
"Heh, I guess," she responded softly. "I didn't use to feel like that, but after being at UA, with Deku and the others, it just feels… wrong to not aim for the top."
"Well, you won the festival, and you did well with me this week, so I'd say you're well on your way. What's got you so down still?"
Young Uraraka let out another sigh. "I guess… you , in a way."
"Watch your tongue, Kit," Miruko shot back, although there was levity in her voice. "Explain."
"I've done well, I admit," Young Uraraka began, "but it's always with others helping me. Like Deku saving me at the USJ, or you saving me yesterday. You work alone and you've always talked about your individual strength and just… can I be the best if I'm always relying on others?"
Miruko didn't say anything for a moment. "Look, sure I work alone, and sure I put that act on for the public, but never think for a second I got to where I am without help."
Toshinori could almost hear Young Uraraka's incredulity.
" Everyone has people help them," Miruko continued. "Do you think I got through college without help? If it wasn't for the people who cared for me, taught me, trained me, I wouldn't be shit right now. Hell, even now I still train and practice with other heroes. Anybody who tells you that they got to the top without help is either a liar or a dumbass."
That was very true. Without Nana, or Sorahiko, or Dave, or Mirai, Toshinori wouldn't be half the hero he was today.
"Oh."
Miruko scoffed. "'Oh' is right. Look, you've got good friends, I saw as much yesterday. Don't throw them away or I'm gonna come to UA and kick your ass to Shiketsu and back."
"No, no!" Young Uraraka responded quickly. "I wasn't going to throw them away! I could never do that, I just wanted to know if I was going about things the right way, I guess."
"You're doing fine ," Miruko emphasized. "You're not even halfway done with your first semester and you're already kicking ass, but it's good to see that you're not satisfied."
"Never!" Young Uraraka declared, her voice sounding more full of confidence and happiness than it had. "Not until I'm the best."
Miruko let out a hearty laugh. "That's the spirit! But remember, if you want the number one spot, you're gonna have to go through me, and I'm not gonna take it easy on you."
"You haven't taken it easy on me all week," she retorted with a small whine. "I'm gonna be bruised for days."
Miruko laughed again. "You'll thank me later."
There was a short silence that made Toshinori very aware that he was still eavesdropping.
"You're a good kid," Miruko finally said. "Come here."
"What?" Young Uraraka asked, seeming a little surprised.
Miruko huffed. "It's called a hug, Kit. If I need to explain this, I take back everything I just said."
Young Uraraka let out a small laugh and Toshinori heard movement from inside the room.
"Thanks, Miruko. For everything."
"Yeah, well, don't let me catch you slacking and wasting all the hard work I've put into you."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Young Uraraka declared.
Toshinori finally decided that he needed to leave before his curiosity got him into trouble. As he rounded the corner, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
'Your fears are misplaced, Young Midoriya. Young Uraraka is doing just fine,' he thought to himself with a small smile.
Izuku and his companions waved goodbye to their parents as they stood outside their dorms back at UA that evening. Jirou, Ochako, and himself had all had to go through one last screening before being discharged, and Katsuki had waited for them, meaning that they were back at the dorms a lot later than planned, and were likely among the last to arrive. With a sigh, Izuku turned away from his family and looked back at the dorms, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as he finally returned home.
Back to the lair. Back to my hoard.
He rubbed his chin as the four walked toward the doors. It hadn't taken long for his instincts to latch onto Heights Alliance as his lair, but that didn't surprise him. He had only ever lived in another dragon's lair before. This was the first time he was living away from any other family member, which meant for the first time, he was the king of the jungle, as it were.
A part of him realized that it would cause some slight problems when he moved out once he graduated, but that was a problem for future Izuku.
Ochako opened the door and the four walked inside, where they were immediately greeted by their classmates.
"Hey, you're back!" Sero called out, waving over from the couch in front of the television.
"Glad to see you're alright," Satou added from a table on the other side of the room.
Izuku barely had time to brace himself before a pink missile crashed into his midsection and Mina buried her face into his chest. "Finally!"
Momo walked up behind Mina, smiling at Ochako, then down at Izuku, then over at Jirou and Katsuki. "I am glad to see you have all returned."
Izuku smiled widely, rubbing Mina's back as he scanned the room. Sitting on the couch watching television was Sero, Mineta and Eiko, while Aoyama, Kouda and Shouji sat at the table with Satou, the four of them playing some board game. On the floor, Tsuyu was helping to braid Pony's hair, while Hagakure was sitting on another bean bag chair nearby, seemingly playing on her phone. After the five standing with him, that left four people absent.
He looked down at Mina as she pulled back from her hug. "Where are-"
"Tokoyami headed upstairs about as soon as he came back," Mina began immediately, as if she had been waiting for the question. "He looked exhausted, so I can't blame him for that. Kaminari was here a bit ago, but then that girl from 1-B with those vines for hair came by and asked for him. I dunno why, but they left about a half hour ago. You might want to ask Tooru, she was saying something about him earlier."
Katsuki yawned next to Izuku. "Nevermore has the right idea. I haven't slept well all week. I'll catch you guys tomorrow."
"Yeah, it's almost nine," Izuku said with a smirk. "Past your bedtime, Dandy."
Katsuki lovingly flipped Izuku off as he trudged toward the stairs with a smirk on his face.
"As for the other two," Momo continued, raising an eyebrow as Katsuki left, "neither Todoroki nor Iida have returned yet. I suspect that they are attending to personal matters, what with both of them having a family member in the hospital right now."
Izuku furrowed his brow. He had heard about Endeavor from both the news and from what Katsuki had told him earlier, but there was a small part of him that was surprised that Shouto would be with him in the hospital. Perhaps he felt a familial obligation, or perhaps he was fonder for his father than he let on, but without more information, it was pointless to assume anything.
"And asking Tooru isn't really a suggestion," Mina added with a whisper. "She's been a little down today, think we could help with that?"
Izuku's eyes flashed. "Of course."
The group moved over to the floor where the three women were sitting and promptly grabbed spots of their own.
"Thank you for this," Pony said to Tsuyu, her speech still a little stiff.
"No problem," Tsuyu responded as she finished the last of Pony's braids. "I've always found this sort of thing relaxing."
Izuku winced a little. It was his fault that she couldn't braid her own hair anymore. "Tsu, I'm so-"
He was cut off as her tongue smacked his cheek.
"No," was all she said.
Mina began giggling loudly as she leaned over and tousled Tsuyu's short hair. "I like your new look."
"Thanks," Tsu responded happily, closing her eyes as she smiled. "I do, too."
Izuku smiled softly as he sank into one of the bean bag chairs next to Hagakure. "Hey, Hagakure, Mina mentioned you might know where Kaminari got off to?"
The woman looked over at him, judging from where her voice was coming from as she spoke. "Yeah, that Shiozaki girl came by and wanted to speak with him. I'm not surprised, not after what happened yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Momo asked, perking up a little. "Did he run into her in Hosu?"
Hagakure nodded in her normal, exaggerated way. "Kaminari, Sero, Satou and I all came into Hosu from the same place, so we wound up sticking together. Shiozaki was actually already in the city when the gas hit so she was affected; we found this building with vines bursting out of every single window and door and a bunch of other tweaked out people around there. It was… a whole thing."
Izuku saw the way her shoulders slumped as he spoke. Even without being able to read her face, her body language was telling. "That's a story for another day. How was your week with Aizawa, otherwise?"
She immediately perked up, putting a smile on his face. "Oh, it was so cool! He taught me a bunch of different combat moves and how to move faster without making a sound, oh and he taught me some really cool tracking tricks! I felt like a secret agent all week!"
"Agent Spectrum, reporting for duty," Mina growled in a deep, fake-serious voice.
Hagakure giggled, waving her arms as she wiggled in her bean bag chair. "Yeah, just like that!"
The group settled into a happy rhythm of talking and laughing as the night moved on. After a while, Izuku and Mina headed over to the couch where Eiko, Sero and Mineta were hanging out and joined them in watching some trash television show about a bunch of heroes forced to live in a single agency for a month or something; Izuku wasn't really paying attention.
Around an hour later, the door opened again and Kaminari entered, looking both tired and like he was deep in thought. However, it only took Sero calling his name for him to perk up and move over, jumping over the couch and landing in a spot between Eiko and Izuku.
"Hey, Midoriya," he began as he rubbed his hands together. "I've been wanting to challenge you in the new hero fighter game. I bet my Stormclaw can beat your Stormclaw." He has seemed to put whatever had happened out there behind him completely, at least for the time being.
Izuku made a note to look into it.
"You're assuming that's who I play," Izuku said with a sly smirk. "How'd you even know I played?"
Kaminari was already off the couch and setting up the console. "Bakugou told me. He's really good, but I'm better."
"Oh, you think you're really something, don't you?" Izuku asked with a raised eyebrow as he took one of the controllers.
"I am!" he declared confidently, his voice getting louder. "As long as someone isn't messing with my controller!"
"Not sorry!" Hagakure yelled from the other side of the common room.
Kaminari booted the game up and they got to the character select screen, where the blonde snap-picked Stormclaw. Izuku could only smile as he moved his cursor over to Ryukyu and locked her in, causing Kaminari to scoff.
"You know Ryukyu is like, low-tier, right?" he said snarkily. "She's basically just a worse Stormclaw."
"Maybe I want to go easy on you," Izuku answered coyly. "Can't just crush you out of the gate, can I?"
Kaminari put a hand to his chest. "You wound me!"
The game got underway as the two digital heroes faced off.
"I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my niece," Stormclaw growled.
"I hope I still get invited to family dinners after I beat you!" Ryukyu retorted.
Izuku couldn't help but laugh as the match got underway. "I always loved going with them to the recording studio for these things. If you guys think these lines are corny, you should hear some of the ones that don't make it into the final cut."
"Man, that's gotta be so cool," Kaminari lamented as he blocked one of Izuku's attacks. "I want to be in one of these things."
"Well, then you're at the right place," Izuku added. "Put maximum effort into your studies and training and eventually one day you'll get to waste an afternoon saying stupid lines into a microphone."
There was a silence between them for a few seconds as they continued to fight. Finally, Kaminari said, quite softly, "You think so?"
"Of course!" Izuku responded without hesitation. "You have the potential for sure; if your heart and head are in the right place, you'll be a great hero one day."
Izuku noticed a slight falter in the digital Stormclaw, causing him to glance over at Kaminari. His eyes had that distant look, as if he was deep in thought, perhaps even recalling what he had just experienced.
He only snapped back to reality once Izuku smashed him with one of Ryukyu's supers and sent the Stormclaw crashing to the ground.
Sero was laughing hard. "Low-tier, huh?"
"I was distracted!" Kaminari whined.
"Oh, here comes the excuses again," Sero said, rolling his eyes. "What distracted you, Ryukyu's butt? Come on man, that's his cousin. Have some decorum."
"Screw you!" Kaminari shouted, elbowing Sero in the side.
Izuku laughed and handed his controller over to Sero to let the two men settle their friendly grudge. He leaned back, putting his arm around Mina as they watched the match and enjoyed the evening. The controllers made their way around the couch and even Mina played a round, even though she hadn't ever played a fighting game before. Eiko took it relatively easy on her, but in the end, they all had a good time just… being friends, instead of being heroes.
After the day before, it was welcomed.
Even so, eventually they all got tired and drifted off to bed one by one. Hospital beds weren't exactly the most comfortable, so Izuku was eager to get some real rest himself. He and his three girlfriends got ready for bed and headed for Momo's room, as Mina was eager to try out her "huge, fluffy, how-did-you-even-get-it-in-here bed".
They entered Momo's room and Mina wasted no time dashing forward and diving onto the bed, sighing contentedly as she sunk deep into the soft mattress. Momo and Ochako laughed as Izuku moved over and pushed on her back, causing her to sink in further.
"Careful, you might lose her in there," Ochako said with a giggle.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
The four of them looked at each other as Izuku pulled Mina out of her fluffy prison.
"Who could that be?" Momo wondered aloud as she walked over to the door.
She opened it up to find Tsuyu standing there in her pajamas, looking up at her with her big, beautiful eyes.
Bring her in.
"Tsu!" Momo exclaimed. "How can we help you? Is everything alright? Is your heat not working again?"
Tsuyu shook her head. "Nothing like that. May I come in?"
"Oh! Of course, of course!" Momo fussed a little, making sure the room was tidy as she let Tsuyu in.
"What's up?" Ochako asked curiously as she sat down on the bed next to Mina.
"I'm sure Izuchan has already told you that he told me his secret," Tsuyu began, blunt as ever.
"Ah," Momo said softly. "Yes, he did."
"We're going to have to have a talk about that," Tsuyu continued, "but not today. I'm very tired, but I just wanted to ask a question."
"Shoot!" Mina chirped.
"Izuchan and I bonded quite a bit over the week," she began, "and Mina has offered me a place in your relationship before, in a way. However, I turned her down then and I'm still not confident that it would be the best decision for right now. I don't think it's a bad decision, but I'm not sure it's a good decision, either."
No. She must join.
"That's fair," Izuku admitted, nodding slowly as his eyes glowed. "We definitely bonded."
"You said you had a question?" Momo asked curiously.
Tsuyu nodded. "I find all of you very attractive. I know that Izuchan finds me attractive, as well. I'm fairly confident about the rest of you, but that's not really what my question is about."
"It's not like you to not get to the point," Mina pointed out.
"I need to set the foundation," Tsuyu explained flatly. "If it was just me and Izuchan, I would have no problems trying a relationship. I know Ochako well, and Mina, too. We've spent a lot of time together and I feel very comfortable around them. However…"
She turned to Momo, who was looking more than a little concerned as Tsuyu continued. "I do not know you as well as I'd like, Yaomomo. We didn't have a day at Hell Week together and we just haven't spent much time with each other."
"That is true," Momo said quietly. "Are you saying that I am the problem?"
"Well, kinda," Tsuyu answered. "But I'm ready to ask my question now."
She took a deep breath, showing some signs of nervousness that was uncharacteristic for her. Izuku even noticed a small blush on her cheeks.
"Yaomomo, will you go on a date with me?"
A silence hung in the room as everyone was stunned for a moment.
YES!
Mina's high-pitched squeal broke the quiet as Ochako and Izuku continued to stare. Momo, on the other hand, seemed deep in thought. Tsuyu simply stared up at her as she looked down at the ground and rubbed her chin slowly.
Momo then drew herself up to her full height, taking on her air of refined elegance that Izuku knew and loved so much.
"I would be delighted," Momo answered gracefully. "However, I am busy tomorrow. Can we do Sunday?"
Tsuyu broke out into a wide smile. "Sure. Thank you."
"No, thank you ," Momo said with a slight bow of her head. "I look forward to it."
Tsuyu nodded firmly. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Tsu," Momo responded sweetly as she left and shut the door behind her.
There was another moment of silence.
"Well!" Mina began with a clap of her hands. "I shouldn't even be surprised. Tsuyu is just that kind of person and I absolutely love her for it."
Ochako stood up and gave Momo a big hug. "Thanks for doin' that."
"Oh, it really is no problem at all," Momo responded with a slight blush as she returned the hug.
"Mo in the middle?" Izuku asked as Ochako took Momo by the hand and led her to her bed.
"Sounds good to me!" Mina exclaimed as she rolled over to the side of the bed to give her larger girlfriends room.
Momo blushed a little more as she slipped into the bed and held her arm up for Mina to snuggle up as Ochako climbed over them to cuddle in as well, squishing Mina in a girlfriend sandwich.
"Oh God, I can die happy," Mina mumbled into Momo's side.
Izuku couldn't help but smile widely as he turned the lights off, then climbed in and pressed himself into Momo's other side. He leaned up and planted a kiss on her cheek, then pulled back but found her hand suddenly holding the back of his head close. Momo leaned in and kissed him on the lips, trying to make up for time lost over the week.
They broke apart and Izuku smiled wide, burrowing in closer as he rested his head on Momo's shoulder.
"Do I get one of those?" Mina asked quietly.
Momo laughed, then took a deep breath and pulled her head up too, kissing her on the lips, then doing the same to Ochako, leaving both of the women with a goofy grin.
YES!
Izuku had been worried that it might take some time for Momo to acclimate to Ochako and Mina and while those kisses hadn't been as deep or passionate as the one she had given him, it was still spectacular progress.
"Maybe I already have died," Mina mused. "This is pretty close to heaven, it feels like."
"Dork," Ochako huffed teasingly.
Mina just stuck her tongue out at the woman spooning her.
Izuku looked up at Momo as he remembered something. "Oh, Mo, what are you doing tomorrow? You said you were busy."
"Oh, well," Momo began bashfully. She took a deep breath, as if gathering her confidence. "You all promised to spend all day cuddling me tomorrow. I have it in writing on my phone and I'm prepared to enforce it."
Izuku blinked once before all four of them began to laugh, each of them snuggling in closer and getting more comfortable as they all smiled warmly.
The room fell silent after that, each of them basking in the comfort of the bed and each other. There was still much to be done to shape his hoard and to build it up, but for now, this was enough, especially after the week they had all just experienced.
It didn't take long for them all to fall into a deep, restful sleep.