Chapter 55: Issue 54 - No Three Ways About it!
For Mayumi, the first sign of the future apocalypse was a text from Ashido. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked at her phone.
Everything's ready for the big day. Meeting now.
Suddenly more awake, Mayumi pushed herself up.
?
what do you mean meeting now?
After a few seconds, Ashido's reply went through. Today we get the three of them together. Operation Three Way is a-go. Meet me at the War Room.
Looking at those words, Mayumi shuddered. She couldn't help but have the feeling that she had unleashed a worse beast than Mei and Bakugou's hypothetical child upon the world. Then she shook herself.
Surely this was all relatively harmless… Right?
—
A couple of weeks ago…
Hitoshi sighed, looking over at Mina with a tired look on his face. The orange and blue haired girl - Sayuu, she said - was looking at Mina with a worried look as she fixed another photo in place. "This is insane, you know that?"
She grinned, eyes glittering. "Eh, probably!"
The door opened and he grinned as he saw Bakugou make his way in. The blonde boy glared at him with an intensity he privately marked as 0.3 Bakugous. "Okay, Raccoon-Eyes, Zombie, what is this shit?"
"Is this the right room?" Yaoyorozu came in next, bowing politely to Bakugou. She gave Hitoshi a kind smile which he returned.
"Sure is, Vice Rep."
"You know what's going on, Ponytail?" Bakugou demanded.
"Oh, yes! Though I sort of wonder why Shinsou is here."
He lazily raised his hand. "Mostly because I think it's going to be a trainwreck."
"Oh, you of little faith, Hitty!" Mina called.
"Hitty?" Bakugou's eyes narrowed. "Why you calling him that, Pinky?"
"Oh, that's because we're dating." Mina casually commented. He gave Mina a fond smile, shrugging dramatically.
Bakugou looked stunned. "What?! You and Zombie? When the fuck did that happen?"
"It's not like they've really been hiding it, Bakugou," Uraraka snorted.
Hitoshi spread his arms, enjoying Bakugou staring at him wildly. "It's a long story."
—
Just before internships…
Hitoshi glanced up as Ashido came up to him. "Hey, Shinsou! I have a quick question for ya!"
"Shoot."
"Wanna go out with me?"
Hitoshi stared at her with wide-eyes. "...Huh?"
Ashido shrugged. "Do you want to go out with me?"
Somehow Hitoshi choked on nothing but air. When he regained his composure, the first thing he said was, "...why?"
"You've got a good sense of humour, you like cool music and you're tall and fit," Mina grinned, leaning forwards. "And thinking back on the Sports Festival, you really meant it when you sang that song."
Hitoshi flushed slightly. He had known it would get a reaction, but he had to admit, it really fit with how he felt. Looking back at himself, he felt even more awkward about how he had just poured so much energy into a goofy song like that.
She grinned as he stared at her. "So, you gonna say yes?"
Hitoshi looked at her for a while, trying to tell if she was joking. Nope - complete and total sincerity. All of Ms. Joke's advice for pick-up lines drained away, leaving him with, "...Okay."
—
Hitoshi shrugged. "Okay, maybe not a very long story."
Bakugou glared at them both. "Wow, congrats on your brilliant achievement. Back to my question, why the fuck am I here?"
Mina giggled. "Why, we're getting Midoriya to go out with Hatsume and Melissa and might need your help!"
Hitoshi could swear Bakugou's brain broke when she said that. "...What."
Sayuu nodded confidently. "Yeah, I asked Mina to help. After seeing them talk for five minutes-"
"Five agonising minutes of three smart people not realising that they're all interested-"
"Yeah, that… Well, after that, you can guess what Mina wants to do," Sayuu nodded.
"This OT3 must be brought together!" Mina cried dramatically.
Bakugou stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "The nerd and Goggles? Together with the American? You're really gonna put them together?" He shuddered, a haunted look in his eye. "Oh god, I just imagined the kids."
Sayuu obviously had as well, but she shook the terrified look off her face. "I've been Mei's friend for years, I know this is going to either doom the world or save it with no in-between." Sayuu said grimly. "I also want my friend to be happy with her partner… or partners if Mina's correct."
He glared at her, then turned to Yaoyorozu. "What about you, Ponytail? Why the hell are you getting involved?"
Yaoyorozu smiled brightly, slightly flushed. "Well, it's quite romantic… especially since you think that all of them are involved."
"You're all nuts," Bakugou stated flatly. "I already knew Pinky'd replaced her brain with natto, but you guys have crossed the line into insanity with this."
"So… you're gonna give up on getting them together?" Mina asked with a seemingly innocent pout.
He snorted. "Yeah, of course I'm giving up. This is the dumbest plan you've ever come up with, and that's saying something."
Mina heaved a sigh as he stomped off to the door. "I guess he couldn't do it, after all." Next to her, Yaoyorozu's eyes widened and she made a cutting motion across her throat.
Bakugou stopped. "...What."
"Obviously you're no relationship master like me! Guess I'll have to find somebody better at relationship stuff to assist with Midoriya," Mina continued blithely, ignoring Yaoyorozu's look of dread. "At least we found an area where even the great and powerful Bakugou failed. He just couldn't cut it."
He growled like a feral animal. Various muscles in his face twitched. "The funny thing is, I know you're playing me."
"Am I wrong?" Mina grinned at him.
He visibly spasmed then glared at her. "But you're damn right I'm gonna make sure the nerd gets with them now!"
Hitoshi just sighed. This was going to be… interesting. Trust his girlfriend to know exactly how to needle Bakugou in the right way. She grinned. "So, the mission to get Midoriya, Hatsume and Melissa into a triad is officially on the go! I call it…"
Before Bakugou could object, Mina shushed him. Dramatically, she turned to the portable corkboard she had set up in the middle of the room. Turning it around dramatically, she grinned at their expressions.
"What the fuck is that shit."
Hitoshi had to agree with Bakugou's blunt assessment. In the centre were three photographs of Midoriya, Melissa and Hatsume. Pieces of string were connected to messily scrawled bits of paper and other photographs of the group, usually two or all of them interacting with each other. More notes were attached to crude scribbles and diagrams, including one of the four card suits. And at the top, the name of this plan was laid out.
"...Operation Three-Way!" Mina finished. She grinned. "As for what this is specifically, this is part of my Shipping Chart for everybody in the school."
Sayuu looked stunned. "When did you…"
"None of that now, we're in a war meeting! Are you guys with me?"
Hitoshi sighed, raising his hand. Sayuu had a look on her face like she was regretting her plans. Yaoyorozu hesitantly raised her hand as well. Finally, Bakugou let out a sigh as explosive as his Quirk. "This is going to crash and burn, but fuck it."
"Great!" Her face turned serious. "Now, this is what we're going to do…"
—
Now…
Mayumi looked over her instructions, then sighed. Well, she had come this far. She might as well see it through. The only semblance of hope she has was that Mei would, maybe, realise independently that she was interested in them both romantically.
"Hey, Mei!" She came up to Mei, only to see the normally exuberant girl staring at a piece of machinery pensively. Mayumi frowned, "So… what's up?"
Mei turned around, managing to regain some of her energy. "Hey, Mayumi! I'm… well, I was down fairly recently, but I think I've worked it out!"
Mayumi's heart skipped a beat. Had Mei finally figured it out? Keeping her voice level, Mayumi pressed. "What are you talking about? Are you talking about the Exam-"
"Nah, nah, got that and my I-Island Expo project in the bag! Nah, it's just something that's been bugging me for a little bit!" Mei grinned, before looking off to the side. "See, for ages I've been thinking about Izuku and Melissa. Like, almost as much as I think of new designs."
"R-really?" Have you figured it out, Mei? It sounds like she's not interested in Bakugou, at least…
Oblivious to Mayumi's inner thoughts, Mei continued. "Yeah, thinking about them a lot! I mean, I've been looking at their muscles a lot - and wow, I mean, I'm buff from building so much stuff, but Izuku and Melissa are BUFF - and I want to see them without their shirts on, and that figures into my thoughts a bunch as well. And they've got fascinating eyes, I've been lost in them for what feels like hours-"
Mayumi smiled while Mei rambled about their mutual friends with a flushed face. Well, it sounded like Mei had finally figured out she was attracted to them. About damn time, in her opinion. "So, do you want my help with-"
Mei shook her head. "Nah, I don't need any help. I just figured it out! At first I thought I was sick since I kept getting hot and my stomach twisted when I thought about talking to them, but then I realised that was dumb!" Mayumi stared at her friend, beaming- "I just really want to build my best friends their own Support Gear!"
…And there go my hopes of Mei figuring it out. Mayumi looked at her awkwardly. "So… Why do you want to make them stuff?"
"Oh, just to keep them safe, that kind of thing! I mean, they're my friends, of course I want them to have the best stuff in case somebody tries to hurt either of them! Especially Mastermind!" Mei's smile turned brittle.
"That's-"
"If Mastermind tries to hurt either of them…" Mei glared. "All Might himself wouldn't be able to stop me from destroying him."
"Well, that's… Great!" Mayumi's smile twitched. "Say, on that note, I've got a great idea for a Baby we could make together."
Mei snapped out of her funk. "Really?! What are you planning?!"
"We can't talk about it just in public - otherwise one of the other classes could do some 'industrial espionage.' Maybe Mastermind has an agent inside U.A itself."
"I wouldn't put it past him!" Mei giggled. "Oh, working on a Baby with my Bestie… This is gonna be great!" Her smile turned into a frown. "Though I'm a bit upset that I'm not doing it with Izuku or Melissa…"
Then she shook herself. "Must be because I became such good friends with them! Don't worry, Mayumi," Mei's limited social repertoire mistaking Mayumi's despairing look for something different, "They're only my U.A Besties! You're still my Best Friend slash Minion, and if you want to work with me after we graduate you'll be my future Vice President at Hatsume Industries!"
The small part of Mayumi that wasn't frothing mad over Mei's inability to work out she was crushing on two of her friends at the same time felt touched at this unorthodox display of friendship. When she'd first met Mei when they had loudly cheered on a giant robot, the pink haired girl had just assumed that she would work with her in future. "Yeah, we'll talk in Study Room Six during free study. No way anybody could overhear us then."
"Alright, Mayumi! Together, we're gonna be unstoppable!" Mei strode away, only to start when Melissa came by. "H-hey, Melissa! Nice to see ya!" She seemed to be unaware that she was blushing, or looking closely at Melissa's bare arms, muscles corded along them like beads on a wire.
Mayumi left her best friend to chat to one of her crushes, the pair of nerds seeming to not realise that they were interested in each other physically. Once out of earshot she shook her head, then tapped her earpiece. "Portal 1 to Ship Captain. The Gadgeteer will be in the Coop."
"Excellent work, Portal 1. Keep an eye on her, and make sure that she goes there." Mina cackled. "Everything is going according to my design… Eh? Oh, right, class!"
Mayumi frowned. She just had to hope that this would work…
—
Izuku hummed cheerfully as he went down the hallway. He was on top of his studies and schoolwork, he had studied for his finals coming up, his latest heist was planned and timed for when he was taking exams…
He even had something for the I-Island Expo!
The only relatively dark spot in his life was his attraction to Melissa and Mei despite being Mastermind. But that was a problem he solved by figuratively locking those feelings in a box and repressing them in an emotionally healthy and stable way. Besides, they were going to have a study party at Melissa's place later, where Mr. Yagi would be watching!
As he walked down the corridor, he saw Kacchan walking to the study room him and his friends usually used. "Hi Kacchan!" He gave his best friend a grin, which faltered when he saw Kacchan's uncharacteristically nervous look. "Are-are you okay, Kacchan?"
For his part, Kacchan stared angrily at him, then sighed. "I'm fine, nerd. Just…" His face twitched convulsively. "I want you to design some new Support gear for me."
Izuku's face lit up. He practically shook with excitement.
—
Katsuki knew this was a terrible idea as Deku grabbed his arm, an unholy fire lighting his eyes up. "O-oh, this is so good! What kind of gear were you thinking? Me, personally, I was thinkingthatyoucoulduseahelmetwithsomelasersightssoyoucanaimyourexplosionsmorepreciselyormaybeportablegrenadesorastillsuitlikeinDunesoyoucanminimizesweatlossandampupyourexplosions-"
Yep, this was the worst. He slammed a hand over Deku's mouth as he continued babbling. "Alright, enough talking. I ain't talking about it now when other people can hear about how cool it is."
His eyes widened. "Uh-huh," Deku breathed.
Katsuki rolled his eyes at Deku's antics. "Meet me at Study Room 6 after lunch. I gotta get to class."
Pausing to wipe Deku spit off his hand, he stomped off, pulling out his phone. "Alright, Pinky-"
"Tsar Bomba, you can't just call me that!" Pinky whined.
"I don't give a shit. The Nerd's going to be there. Don't fuck this up."
"Ugh! You've got no sense of drama, Bakugou…"
That was his part of the plan done, at least. The others had better not be wasting time.
—
Katsuki glared at Pinky like she was nuts. "Fuck that, I'm not doing that shit!"
Zombie laughed like he was a hyena, the traitor. He shook a finger at Pinky. "You saw what he was like with Ghosty, right?" That only made Zombie laugh harder.
Pinky steepled her fingers. "Do you have a better way to get him to go into a classroom with you? You said-"
"-That as soon as he hears 'new Support gear' that his frontal lobe disappears, I fucking know what I just said," Katsuki grumbled.
Sayuu gave him a sympathetic look. "As somebody who also grew up with an inventing maniac, I know what you're going through. But as Ashido said, do you have a better way?"
He thought about it, then his fist clenched. "...No," he eventually muttered. "Only other way to get him to go somewhere without questioning it would be to promise merch. All Might merch."
No way Katsuki was giving up any part of his collection to get Deku locking tongues with Goggles and/or the American.
"So, that's settled," Pinky grinned. "Good, good." She absent-mindedly stroked Zombie's head like it was a cat. "Once they're all together…"
Her giggles soon turned to chuckles. "...Then we can proceed with the plan."
—
Melissa looked up from her book as Yaoyorozu came closer. Homeroom was just ending and the rest of the class was starting to move out under Aizawa's watchful eye. "Hi Yaoyorozu. What brings you here?"
The Vice President beamed at her. "Oh, not much. I was just wondering… Are you going to the Expo this year?"
Melissa's eyes shone at the mention. "Of course I am! I couldn't miss out on attending! My father and I have been working on a variety of projects - I know he's been working on something big-"
Yaoyorozu smiled. "I shall certainly be keeping an eye out for that. In fact…" she hesitated. "...This is confidential, but my parents are also planning to present something for the Expo this year."
She gasped, eyes wide. "Really? That's - that's huge news!"
Once she heard Yaoyorozu's family name she had kicked herself for not immediately recognising her - after all, the Yaoyorozu family had made several major investments into I-Island. The business itself focused more on supplying the best in their field with the right materials to succeed rather than creating anything, so whatever they were planning…
Even if Yaoyorozu had misheard, it would be interesting to talk about the Expo with somebody who had experienced it firsthand. "I'd love to talk about it."
Yaoyorozu beamed. "Fantastic! Obviously I don't want to talk about it too openly, so how about we talk at Study Room Six?"
Okay, obviously this is a set-up for Number Nine.
I'm not feeling any danger from this - which I guess is a good thing.
Maybe this is an attempt to get her to date a girl or boy. I reckon it's gonna be Midoriya.
On the one hand, the kid doesn't have a Quirk or combat training. On the other hand, he is quite feral. All for One would have a reasonably difficult time trying to kidnap him…
Aw, you like the kid, Leader!
Melissa nodded with a huge grin. "That sounds like a good idea. Were you thinking about talking during our study period?"
Yaoyorozu hesitantly nodded. "Yes, of course."
When Yaoyorozu left, Melissa hummed. "Yaoyorozu Corporation making something for the Expo… That's new. I wonder if Mei or Izuku would-"
She cut herself off, flushing. "No, you-you can't have a crush on them. It's too dangerous."
But the thought remained. Melissa was fully aware of her feelings for the pair of them - she had thought that Izuku was cute the day they first met at the beach. As for Hatsume…
She had decided to go into the labs at a slightly different time to do some work on her Full Gauntlets and Greaves. Melissa walked up to the door to the Support Lab, with a firm smile on her face. Getting back to work in a lab like this was going to be great! She reached for the handle-
KABOOM!
-And was immediately flung back by a wave of heat, sound and smoke, along with a person flying into her. Coughing, Melissa tried to push herself up, only to stop short when she felt another girls… assets pressing into hers.
"Whoops! Well, I know what not to do!" A gloved hand pulled off a pair of goggles, revealing a pair of bright yellow crosshairs framed by pink dreadlocks and a manic smile she had last seen dragging Hagakure away to fit her for Support Gear.
Melissa was suddenly aware that the other girl was wearing a fairly thin tank top compared to her own school uniform, and that in an effort to block the blast, her hand was now cupping a… part of her.
"S-sorry!" Melissa half yelped, trying to pull Hatsume off of her. "I-I really didn't mean to-"
The pink haired girl stared, then her grin somehow became even more manic. "Sorry?! Don't say sorry about this! This is brilliant!"
Laughing, Hatsume grinned. "Not every day that Melissa Shield of I-Island comes to the labs!" Her eyes zoomed in on the Full Gauntlets. "Oh? Are these the Babies you're working on?"
"B-babies?"
"Yeah, your inventions! They're basically like my children, after all!" Mei grinned at Melissa. "I want a run-through of what these Babies can do!"
Somewhat distracted by talking Support Tech, Melissa managed to get her flush under control. "Yes! These are the Full Gauntlets - I designed them to withstand the full force of my Quirk!" Well, technically All Might's Quirk, but also hers!
Hatsume grinned. "Carbon fibres, right? Have you considered-"
The rest of her time in the lab was spent talking shop with somebody who not only could keep up with her, but was cute.
A lot of Melissa's dreams had involved the smell of motor oil and singed fabric. It wasn't the most romantic smell ever, but it was uniquely… Mei.
Melissa shook her head again. "No, no thinking about that," she murmured. It was selfish of her but she wanted her two closest friends to be safe no matter what.
—
"Ship Captain, this is Princess. Gunboat is in the Coop. Over!"
Mina steepled her fingers, the glasses she'd bought for this exact occasion shining. "Good, good… In which case, report back to base camp, Princess."
Leaning back, she giggled to herself. "All according to cake…" she cackled.
Without looking, Hitoshi reached over and smacked her. "First of all, that's not the right phrase. Second, you're getting a bit carried away," he snarked in response to her glare.
Rubbing her head, she grinned shamelessly. "Maybe a little. Still!"
She pushed up her glasses. "This plan will work, I'm sure of it."
—
Beaming, Izuku threw open the door to Study Room Six. "Okay, Kacchan, I'm ready to talk about-"
His train of thought screeched to a halt as he saw who was in the room with him. Confused, Izuku looked at his closest crushes friends in U.A with a happy look on his face. "Oh, hey. Where's Kacchan?"
Mei gave him an odd look. "What do you mean, where's Kacchan? Sayuu called me here with a design for a really cool Baby she wants to make together."
"And Yaoyorozu asked me here because she wanted to talk about the I-Island Expo." Melissa frowned. "Did we all get the wrong room?"
Izuku's instincts screamed at him. He turned around at lightning speed-!
The door slammed shut, then the distinct sound of locks slamming into place sounded. "W-what's going on?!" He cried.
A speaker crackled, and a familiar pink face with black eyes and horns appeared on a nearby TV screen. "Sorry you guys but this is for your own good!"
Izuku frowned at her, even as he quickly ran for the door. Was that Ashido? "W-what do you mean, it's for our own good?"
Melissa ran up to the door, trying to pull it open. No good - you'd need superhuman strength to pull it open or destroy it, and neither Izuku or Mei were willing to risk that. "You-you locked in?! Why?"
Ashido sighed. "Unfortunately, I have to resort to drastic measures like this. Alas, you won't open this door easily!"
Mayumi poked her head into the camera's frame. "This really is for the best, guys."
—
Mina grinned behind her screen as she watched the three of them stare at the door. Melissa stepped up to the television, a confused look on her face. "What are you talking about, Ashido?"
She waved a finger, then remembered that they couldn't see her. "Don't worry, we just want to talk with you guys. And I wouldn't try to break out! If there's one more explosion on school grounds that isn't in the Support labs and they're involved, then Midoriya and Hatsume won't be able to use the school labs!"
"NOOO! WHY?! I'M TOO YOUNG!" Hatsume sobbed. From the expression on her face, it was like she was being asked to kill her firstborn child. Midoriya had a similarly distraught expression on his face.
"How-how did you even get this kind of authority in U.A?!"
Next to her, Yaomomo and Mayumi looked at her with curious expressions. "...I was wondering about that myself…" Yaomomo said quietly.
Mina grinned. "I asked Principal Nedzu nicely, that's all!"
Earlier…
Mina bowed politely to the Principal. "Can I please use campus facilities to spy on Midoriya, Hatsume and Shield and make sure that they're suited to be in a threesome?"
The Principal who could have been a rat, mouse or bear steepled his fingers, looking at her intently. "...Young Ashido, doing that would be a gross misuse of school facilities! Abusing facilities meant to keep students safe like this could greatly upset several valued members of staff, not to mention cause considerable chaos!"
"...And?"
He suddenly grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, you've twisted my arm! I suppose in these circumstances, I would have to authorise the use of said facilities for this purpose. Just one thing." Mina suddenly froze in outright terror as the Principal's eyes bored into hers like a diamond tipped drill. "I'll be making sure that's all you will be doing. Is that clear?"
"P-perfectly!" Mina laughed nervously.
"Excellent! Good shipping, Ashido!"
She shook herself. "Nevermind that! Anyway, I've been watching all three of you for a while now, and I have devised a cunning plan!"
Midoriya gasped, staring at the camera in the room with wide eyes. "W-what kind of plan is this?"
Mina grinned. "Why, for each of you to confess your feelings about each other, that's what!"
—
Mayumi gave Ashido a deadpan look. "Your big plan is to lock them in a room together so they confess? That's…" She struggled to find the words.
"Fucking stupid." Bakugou found them.
Yaoyorozu frowned. "While I disapprove of your language, Bakugou, I must agree. That seems… a bit coercive."
Ashido hummed neutrally. "Trust me, this is Old Reliable in the Shipping Index. I got a couple of people in school together thanks to this!"
When they remained sceptical, she sighed. "Look, I know it isn't the best method - I would prefer to have gotten them together in a way that made it seem like it's all their own idea. But if they haven't blurted it out now - like I thought Mei would - then they need a push to get the ball rolling. I'm 95 percent sure that this will work."
—
Melissa stared at the screen with Ashido's smug face in shock. "Wait, what?"
"You heard me!" Ashido sighed, shaking her head. "Talk about how you really feel!"
Izuku chuckled awkwardly. "W-what, like we-we have a crush on each other? Hahaha, that's-that's totally wrong-"
Mei stepped up, nodding. "Yeah, wait a minute! I don't think I have a crush on Izuku or Melissa! Just because I think about their muscles a lot, and want to see them without shirts on, and think about them about as often as I think of new pieces of technology…"
She trailed off, looking at her and Izuku. "Oh!"
Then she flushed bright red, manic grin frozen on her face as her eyes flitted between them. "Oh."
…Wow, did she seriously just realise that she was interested?! I take it back, my Hero You're not the most oblivious person a bearer of One for All ever romanced.
And you're lucky you're cute, Yoichi.
Please, Hero. I'm adorable.
Told you! Didn't I tell you she was interested, guys?
Ugh, you certainly did, Banjo.
Melissa sighed, massaging her forehead. A mild headache had just started upon hearing Mei's inadvertent realisation that was sparking one of her own. "...So, this is all because you think we each have crushes on each other?"
"It's not just that - it's that at least two of you knew and pushed your feelings aside despite it hurting you."
Melissa froze. Dimly she was aware that Izuku had also stopped his objections, looking at Ashido's image with a worried look on his face.
Ashido continued talking, a frown on her face. "One question - you had those feelings for a while now. Why not act on them?"
Slightly awkwardly, Melissa cleared her throat. "I…"
Her well reasoned arguments seemed to disappear.
Ashido sighed. "Lemme guess - you thought it would be awkward and wreck your friendship with the others if you said anything. Is that right?"
"Yes! T-that's exactly it!" Melissa managed to force out. She wasn't… exactly lying, just telling part of the truth.
Izuku seemed to shrink in on himself. "T-that's also how it happened. I-I-I-I just didn't want to act on them since they felt a bit w-weird?" He shrank away. "P-please don't stop being friends with me because I'm i-interested in you guys. I-I'm sorry for being attracted, it won't happen again-"
"Sorry?" Mei suddenly spoke up. "Why are you being sorry?"
She came forwards,m looking Midoriya in the eyes intensely. "Midoriya, you're ridiculously smart and cute - not to mention ripped! And honestly? I like you for that!"
Midoriya spluttered, flushing strawberry red. While he squeaked, Mei turned to Melissa. "And the same to you as well, Melissa! I mean, you're the only person who's our age who can actually keep up, and you're hot to boot! But more than that…"
Her demeanour shifted slightly. Mei's confident grin was replaced with something infinitely more awkward and teenage. "...You guys are just… good friends. I guess I like you guys so much because I can always talk to you and you just… get what I'm talking about."
Melissa hesitantly smiled at the pink haired girl, before nodding. "Honestly, I feel the same way, Mei."
"...I get it, too," Izuku mumbled, a slight smile on his face.
Melissa was barely aware that Ashido was there as the pink girl spoke. "Alright, now we're all on the same page. You guys all feel the same way about wrecking your friendships, yet didn't realise that the others were interested. So many people do this, it's ridiculous."
Mei chuckled at that. "Wow, I can't believe that I didn't notice myself!"
"Ah-ah-ah, none of that. Getting back to what's important - how did you expect to ask somebody out before this?"
"I'd present them with my latest and most tested Baby yet, with some flowers!" Mei rattled off immediately.
"I-I'd give a piece of Support Gear with chocolates." Izuku nodded.
"Support gear… with a really cute card!" Melissa nodded.
Ashido looked slightly stunned. "You guys have Support Gear on the brain huh…" She sighed at that. "Look, talking to you guys, I've found a new, revolutionary means of sorting out this problem. It's called… talking."
Mei let out an 'oh!' of understanding. "Right, gotcha." She turned to Melissa, who started. "Wanna go out with me?"
"Freaking finally," Ashido grumbled.
Upon hearing those words, Melissa's genius brain short circuited. "I - uh - huh - mememe, what?" Melissa burbled.
Mei grinned, looking at Izuku. "And that goes for you, too, Izuku! I mean, all three of us together just makes the most sense!"
Dimly, Melissa was able to see through the haze her brain was throwing up to look at her other best friend/crush. The green haired boy looked like he had been pole-axed by that question, which… was honestly how she felt.
Maybe it was selfish, but she could afford to be selfish, just this once. Couldn't she take this small bit of happiness?
"I - uh…" Melissa briefly trailed off, then saw Ashido looking on expectantly. Then she nodded firmly. "I-I want to go out with you. And Izuku, if he agrees."
Upon saying those words, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. Some weight so heavy that even Uncle Might wouldn't have been able to lift it. Melissa felt like she was about to fly, especially seeing Mei's dumbstruck expression. She recovered, obviously, but the overconfident girl was obviously shaken up by that.
And that left Izuku, staring at his friends. Melissa really, truly hoped that her other friend would say 'yes.'
Izuku momentarily brightened. Okay, Izuku, this is it! I can use this as an opportunity to bury my crush in the dust! All I have to do is say no and I'm free!
Sure, it would hurt his friends and crushes. But they would be fine! It wasn't the end of the world. He mustered up his strength and willpower-
Then he saw Melissa and Mei in front of him, as if for the first time. Melissa was beaming at him, and Mei was grinning at him in that particular way that meant she was nervous. Except for them, the classroom felt like it dissolved into pink mist.
"Y-yes," forced its way out.
Wait, that's not what I-
Any objections he may have had were forced out when Mei and Melissa both hugged him at full force. "Okay, Izuku, I've never had a boyfriend and girlfriend before, but we're gonna make this work!" Mei grinned.
Melissa beamed at him. "This is new territory for me as well but if you're willing to help…"
There were a million logical reasons that Izuku should have just held his tongue. But surrounded by his two new g-girlfriends, the only thing he could say was, "O-okay," as they held him and each other. At first hesitantly, then more confidently he wrapped his arms around them.
This is definitely a mistake. I'm being incredibly selfish, this is going to blow up in my face so bad…
Strangely enough, he didn't care.
—
Mina steepled her fingers, grinning as they hugged on screen. "Ah, I love it when a ship comes together."
Next to her, Hitoshi grinned. "I guess when you're right, you're right."
"They just needed a push in the right direction, that's all!"
Hitoshi just shrugged, looking over the chart again. His eyebrow raised. "This is… really thorough. Did you seriously predict all of this?"
"Eh, most of it. I am a shipping expert after all!" Mina crowed, a smug grin on her face. "Not to brag but I've got working plans to ship anybody in our class with anybody else of compatible orientations."
"No way you could get Bakugou together with anybody, though." Hitoshi snorted.
"Oh?" Mina reached over to the Shipping Chart. She pulled it over, gesturing for Hitoshi to pull up a corner. "Couldn't I?"
Eyebrow still raised, Hitoshi pulled on it, and it unfolded, revealing… "What."
Mina beamed, photographs of Bakugou and Uraraka on full display. "Yup! Don't think I didn't notice this!"
Extra pieces of paper with scribbled diagrams unfolded from the corner. Hitoshi grabbed a couple of them to look at closer, then turned back with wide eyes. "You… you're already planning on how to get them together?"
"Uh-huh!" Mina beamed. "I had them pegged from the first time he actually referred to her by her family name. I've been working on them for a while now. It's just a matter of getting him to show her his softer side!"
"And… What about Jirou?" Hitoshi gave her a worried look. "I mean, Jirou's a hard sell for anybody…"
In response, she unfolded another part of the Shipping Chart, revealing everything. As he stared at it, she preened. "Yep, all under control! I've been subtly influencing Yaomomo for a bit, and soon enough, she'll take the initiative!"
The idea of Yaomomo going up to Jirou, then boldly initiating a kiss on a suddenly flustered Jirou… it warmed her heart just thinking about it.
Hitoshi was suitably impressed, flipping through the pages of notes she'd made. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. You are truly a master of shipping. Just one quick question."
"What is it, Hitoshi?" Mina beamed at her boyfriend.
"You know that finals are in a week, right?"
Her smile froze. "...Ah."
Hitoshi stared at her, then facepalmed. "You forgot, didn't you."
"Well… we've still got a week, right? If I need to, I can always cram for it like mad?" Mina's smile twitched.
Chapter 56: Issue 55 - It's time for Examinations!
After the initial awkwardness of their mutual attraction wore off, Mina was surprised at how the three of them handled being in a relationship. She had been expecting a whole bunch of lovey-dovey stuff like kissing or hand holding - things that would give her shipping obsessed soul the food it needed to get through the revelation that finals were in just over a week, not counting the weekend.
Instead, they were arranging a timetable. For dates. Pens were being clicked and day planners were whipped out as they checked their availability. If she didn't know better, it was like they were already an old married throuple -
Mina slapped herself in the face. Right, they were already friends who acted all crazy around each other. Why she had expected something to change was beyond her.
"-So we can all meet up this weekend at Midoriya's, right?" Hatsume said, all businesslike.
Melissa nodded, a smile on her face. "Oh, that sounds wonderful - honestly, we're all new at this kind of thing, so we should take it slowly."
Midoriya grinned at them. "I mean, we're already friends, no reason why us dating is going to change our existing dynamics."
"Exactly!" Mei grinned. "The three of us are going to be unstoppable!"
"And hopefully I can get us into the labs over the weekend!" Melissa lowered her voice to a whisper. "Power Loader hasn't banned me yet."
To Mina's ears, she said it in a similar tone to 'I'm wearing black lace underwear.'
Midoriya looked up from the timetable in awe. "Fantastic! Though, if you had been, I do have a reasonable set-up back in the basement." He winced. "T-that does sound a bit creepy, now that I'm saying it out loud."
"You have a basement lab and you didn't tell us?!" Hatsume grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "Man, and I've only got a dingy set-up in the garage! Just because I experimented with explosives in my bedroom one time-"
Mina turned away, mildly exasperated. "I was expecting something a bit more romantic," she muttered to Mayumi.
The other girl shrugged. "Nah, this is pretty romantic for them - I mean, at least they're not having an invention-off or something."
She gave Mina a tired look. "Speaking of, you should probably let them out now."
"What - oh, right!"
Flushing purple, Mina tapped the electronic lock and opened the door. "Guess I lost track of time."
Hitoshi chuckled. "I should have insisted on arranging a timetable for you when we first started."
His tone turned teasing. "It might have helped with your study problem."
Mina groaned to the sound of his laughter. "I'm never going to live this down, am I?"
Hitoshi's catlike smirk told her that he was never going to forget.
—
Toshinori blinked, slightly startled. "You're going out with Young Midoriya and Hatsume?"
Melissa fidgetted awkwardly, a faint flush on her cheeks. "Well… yes? It happened pretty quickly and, honestlym I'm just surprised at how easy it was for all of us to figure out our schedules."
"I see."
Admittedly, he had thought that Melissa was interested in one or the other, and as such had invested in How to support your teenage daughter in her relationships. He had taken a lot of notes on what to do if Melissa went out with a boy or girl as relationships weren't an area he had any expertise in.
It hadn't mentioned anything about being in a romantic relationship with two other people at the same time. Perhaps he should send a message to the author?
On the screen next to him, David blinked in shock, before his smile turned warm and comforting. "I have to admit, I didn't see that coming! I didn't think either of them was the type for something like that."
His smile turned mischievous. "Guess I have to get my drones prepared for a shovel talk."
Toshinori gaped at his old friend. Melissa just stared at David with a deadpan expression. "Come on Dad, that's not needed."
David laughed. "Eh, I'm kidding! I know they're good kids, they wouldn't hurt you. Especially if Toshi's there!"
"Honestly, David. Only a drone strike?" Toshinori stared at his old friend in mock horror, only to grin himself.
"If it came down to it, I could always threaten them with a United States of Smash," he joked.
Even though he doubted Hatsume or Midoriya would hurt Melissa, he didn't have many chances to make these kinds of jokes. As the Symbol of Peace, he was very conscious of his image and how he presented himself, especially after the time he got caught on camera saying 'darn,' 'gosh,' and of course, 'heck.' Hearing kids saying those dangerous words after his inadvertent faux pas had made him double down on not swearing on camera.
That didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun with his goddaughter and best friend.
Melissa gave him a deadpan stare. "You wouldn't anyway, Uncle Toshi. You're a teddy bear."
"T-true enough." Toshinori chuckled.
"Honestly, Melissa, I'm so, so happy you found a boyfriend and girlfriend. And at the same time, too!"
Toshinori didn't regret his career at all - he couldn't, not with how many lives he had saved and how many disasters he'd averted. But he wouldn't deny that he had been alone for a very, very long time - though admittedly not entirely by choice. Anybody who he got too close to would disappear, only to be found later as a sick taunt from All for One.
Maybe he should have tried harder to form those connections. But there was no point in worrying about what had been - he had to look to the future.
He gave Melissa a serious stare. "But more seriously, Melissa… Are you going to tell them about One for All?"
"...Eventually," Melissa sighed. When she saw his questioning stare, she elaborated. "Well… I thought about it at first, then… Knowing about One for All would paint a target on their back - more than they already have, I mean."
Toshinori didn't have anything to say to that, instead patting her gently on the shoulder. "Well, ultimately you are One for All's bearer now. But I have done some research on this topic, and lying about something as important as this could seriously harm your relationship."
—
Within the depths of Melissa's subconscious, Nana sighed. "I feel like a hypocrite since I didn't tell my husband when I was alive… but Toshi's right. If she's serious about going out with them, then she should tell them about One for All, even if it puts them at risk."
The other Bearers nodded grimly. Just like Nana and Toshinori, they knew first hand that telling somebody about One for All tended to paint a target on that person's back. All for One obsessively hunted for any hint as to where the current Bearer was and was not above taking hostages… or brainwashing loved ones into attacking.
Nana then brightened slightly. "On the plus side, Toshi's getting better at mentoring people. Guess reading 'Teaching for Absolute Dummies' is paying off."
"Yeah, at least he gave better advice than 'clench your buttcheeks and smash'," En muttered.
Yoichi turned to his saviour/husband of just under a hundred years. "Thoughts, Leader?"
The Second bearer hummed. "On the one hand, having two loved ones doubles the number of victims All for One can target… But on the other hand, their combined feral energy will probably keep them free from your brother's influence."
"Aw, that's nice!" Yoichi cooed, getting a fond smile from the Second.
"Shame neither of them has spiky hair, that would really shit that bastard off," Banjo commented.
The Second sighed irritably. "Really? You're still going on about this?"
The Third grinned. "What did he call you again, hm?"
"Don't you dare-!"
He pretended to think about it, then snapped his fingers, seeming oblivious to the Second's demeanour. "Oh yes! You were the Spiky Haired Brother Thief! Wow, you really left an impression on him-"
"OH, THAT'S IT!"
Yoichi sighed as his Hero went off on the other Vestiges. Still, Izuku and Mei certainly got along well with the Nineth Bearer. Hopefully their friends were taking the revelation of him having partners well.
—
Kaneshiro's face was a picture of misery. "You bastard!" He sobbed, collapsing dramatically on the couch.
Izuku blinked, unsure what to say to that. When Izuku threw the door of the League of Super Villains Evil Lair (™) and told them all loudly that he was now in a relationship, he hadn't expected one of his friends to stare at him like that "Uh…"
The other teen's face was a study in personal agony. "Come on man! Why'd you have to leave the ranks of us single people and get a girlfriend?! I know you're the leader of the League and all but-"
Fortunately, the rest of his League were more appreciative of his achievement. Inkblot hit him on the head. "Oi, be nice to the boss!"
She gave Izuku a warm smile. "So you finally asked Melissa or Mei out? Wow, I thought you'd have to be forced to man up and tell one of them."
Briefly he thought about saying he had, in fact, been locked in a room until he confessed. Then he banished that thought from his head - there was absolutely no way that Sumi would forget that. "Y-yes, that's what happened."
"You can't deny the power of love," Aiba sang, leaning up with a huge grin on his face. "I'm so happy you were able to tell her how you feel!"
"A-heh, yeah…"
Aiba tilted her head, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you mean, 'ah, yeah?"
Every eye suddenly focused on him as he squirmed. "I - ah - well… I… sort of had to ask both of them at the same time? We, uh, were in the same room together, and they just said… that they liked me? And each other?"
Suddenly the room felt a lot hotter and more awkward. Stitch nearly spat out his drink, mirroring Gentle Criminal and Mr. Compress with their tea. Aiba froze, eyes wide as she processed that statement and the implications. Sumi raised a finger, a similarly wide eyed look on her face. "You… asked them both?"
"Yes? And t-then they said yes? And… I have two girlfriends now?" He managed to force past his lips.
As one, the Villains froze up, staring at him disbelievingly. Then, Kaneshiro let out a howl of pure agony. "You-hu-hu bastard! You lucky, lucky bastard!"
That broke the spell the rest of the League was under. "WHAT?!"
While they tried to recover, Kaneshiro shook Izuku by the collar, a frustrated glare on his face. "How come you get two girlfriends, huh?! I thought you were one of us!"
Aiba latched onto him as well, a manic look in her eye. "How did this happen? Are you having a date soon?! You had better be going out with them this weekend or so help me-"
"I am! I am!"
Fuyumi grinned from where she was grading papers. "Wow. Honestly, this reminds me of the first time I started going out with people." She chuckled, a slight edge in her voice. "My father's reaction to me telling him I had a date was hilarious."
Izuku and the rest of the League exchanged an uneasy look upon hearing that. Then Kaneshiro and Aiba glared back at him. "How the hell did it happen? I gotta know, I don't wanna be single forever!"
"I - uh, K-Kaneshiro, A-Aiba, it just sort of… happened? I swear, I-I had no idea they liked me like that-"
Aiba looked shocked. "How could you not figure that out?! I mean, I know that your focus is on planning the best crimes and building the best machines, but even so-"
She was cut off with an indignant yelp as Sumi reached over to pull her and Kaneshiro off, shaking her head. The taller woman gave Izuku a shocked yet impressed look as she held her struggling friends in one hand each. "I… well, I've gotta hand it to ya Izuku, I definitely didn't expect you to ask both of them out!"
Gentle Criminal patted Izuku on the shoulder as he tried to recover. "As long as you treat them both like the gentleman you are, then you will have no problems with this relationship."
Izuku laughed shrilly. "Y-yeah! And I-I just have to keep me being Mastermind a secret! That-that should be easy!"
Honestly he felt like the lowest jerk ever, but what could he do? He couldn't just stop being Mastermind - he had devoted his entire life to being the greatest Supervillain of all time. If his secret got out to Mei and Melissa, then it would tear them apart.
Izuku knew he was being selfish by being in a relationship with them. But at the same time, knowing that they were interested in him made his heart skip a beat. Maybe it was selfish, but maybe he could keep this secret for a little longer. Until he could muster up the courage to break up with them.
Sumi gave him a tired look. "Man, kid, your life is complicated enough. You just had to ask them both out, huh?"
"It wasn't my plan to ask both of them to date me," Izuku grumbled.
"Well, you should try and make the most of it while you can." Sumi grinned, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "Besides, it's not like they have any life-altering secrets of their own to hide, right?"
"Y-yeah, no way they've got anything like that," Izuku chuckled. Still, he was going to have to tell mum everything when he went home later.
—
Inko was just about to start dinner when she heard Izuku practically burst into the house. "Oh, that was a bit loud… Welcome home, Izuku!"
He beamed at her brightly, practically shaking with excitement. Inko hadn't seen him this happy since All Might had apparently appeared out of nowhere and given him an autograph. "How was your day?"
Izuku tried to speak, the words jumbling over each other in his excitement. Taking a moment to calm himself down, he managed to say, "I-I have girlfriends now!"
She froze, staring at him with wide eyes. "W-what?"
He nodded dumbly. "T-two of them. I… I'm going out with Mei and Melissa! And they - they said they were interested, and then…"
"O-oh, my. You're going out with both of them? At the same time?" Inko had to admit, she was… a bit shaken by hearing that. It wasn't that she was against Izuku going out with more than one person - it was just not the sort of thing she had expected.
He flushed bright red. "...Well, we got locked in a room by one of Kacchan's friends and were told to talk it out and, well…" Izuku shrugged helplessly. "We figured out that we were all interested in each other."
Inko just beamed, pulling him into a hug. "Izuku, honestly, I'm just happy that you're in a relationship with somebody. Hearing that you're involved with two people at the same time is a bit of a surprise, but as long as they're both interested in each other and you, then I don't have a problem with it!"
Not that she thought there was any way Izuku would lead either of them on. He wasn't like Jack's irresponsible brother Hisashi.
He sniffed. "Mum…"
They hugged tightly, before the resulting flood of happy tears swamped the entire room, pouring down the hallway. Through the tears, Inko managed to choke out, "I-I'm so, so happy for you, Izuku! Though, I must admit, I-I almost didn't expect you to be dating girls!"
"W-why's that?" Izuku sniffed.
"Well, given how much you talk about Katsuki, and sing his praises, well… I don't think I would have been surprised if he got dragged through the door on a date with you."
Izuku half laughed. "T-that would be a bit crazy! I mean, if Kacchani asked, I'd be flattered, m-maybe a bit curious… But Kacchan's really focused on being a Hero!"
Inko patted him on the shoulder with a warm, teary smile. "Well, alright. Now, what do you have planned for your first date together?"
"Oh, it's going to be a study date here," Izuku grinned. "Maybe some karaoke in the evening when we finish, just-just light stuff."
The rest of the evening was spent with Izuku gushing about Mei and Melissa, and Inko just being so, so happy that Izuku had found people who he loved and loved him back. She had met each of them before, although she had to admit never quite in this context.
Still she was confident that Izuku had made a great choice with the pair of them.
—
The next morning, Power Loader swept his gaze out over his assembled students. "Right, summer vacation's coming soon. Now, some of you might think that this is a chance to slack off from your education."
He slammed a meaty fist on his lectern, making his students jump. "Well, that's wrong! For the sake of reminding you all, the I-Island Expo is midway through the summer break, and of course we have a booth to present what students have worked on! If you can make it to the Expo, do so, or try to watch the stream!"
As always happened when he brought the Expo up, the students broke into excited mutters. "Man, I-Island's manly! A place where you can use your Quirks freely?!"
"I don't think that's what 'manly' means, Kuroyami," Kitagawa sighed.
A smile split her face soon after. "Still, it's the Mecca of the Support world! Having the chance to see it in person like Midoriya and Hatsume during their internships…"
The rest of the class turned to see their two resident lunatics grinning widely at Power Loader, pupils dilated at the mere mention. "We get to return to the labs…" they breathed in unison.
Awkwardly, he coughed. "I was about to get to that. This year, in a stunning display of firsts… Midoriya and Hatsume are displaying their inventions at the Expo after finals."
The room was quiet. Then, an explosion of cheers and howls of despair came from the class.
"CONGRATULATIONS, BOTH OF YOU!" Murakami cheered, throwing a handful of glitter around the room.
"OH GOD! THE END TIMES ARE UPON US!" Mochizuki wailed in Power Loader's voice.
It took longer than he cared to admit to regain order in the class, calming the commotion and chaos his announcement had brought. "Alright, settle down!" When the class subsided, he gave his two Problem Children a look. "Now, just to be sure, you both have material to present at the Expo already?"
"Naturally!" Hatsume's grin seemed to widen. "My Babies are primed and ready for action!"
"Oh, I've got so many inventions to show Mr. Shield! I can barely wait!" Midoriya's eyes were lit with an unholy fire.
"Right…" Power Loader tapped the front of his desk. "Apart from I-Island, I will also be assigning each of you a project that I will expect to be completed by the end of summer break."
He levelled a glare at them. "And before any of that, you have your finals to pass. I sincerely hope that you've been studying for them."
—
"I didn't study at all!" Kaminari and Ashido cried, the latter with a rueful smile on her face.
Melissa gave them a slightly rueful smile. She had thought that Mr. Aizawa was a bit too nice when he mentioned U.A's summer training camp plan - his statement that anybody who failed their exams would be thrown into summer school hell was still a bit worrying. Even though she was confident her mastery of One for All would increase the longer she was here, it was still concerning.
Especially for her classmates who obviously hadn't studied much. Or at all, really.
Kaminari grabbed his head in agony. "So much happened with the Festival and my internship, it just slipped my mind!"
"Yeah, pretty much the same thing happened to me!" Ashido chuckled, beaming as she did so.
"You really shouldn't look so proud of yourself when you say that," Shinsou chided her, a grin on his face.
Ashido laughed nervously. "I know, I know… Still, we've got a week to cram before finals, at least?"
Shinsou just sighed fondly. "Guess I'm going to be shoving our textbooks into your head," he snarkily grinned at Ashido.
Sticking her tongue out at him, Ashido jabbed at Shinsou. "You're a jerk, Hitoshi," she grinned.
Dodging Ashido's attempt to punch him on the arm, Shinsou shrugged expansively. "Besides, it's not like that's all we have to get ready for. Who knows, Kaminari? There may be hope for you yet."
"Yeah," Mineta piped up. "There's also going to be the Practical Exam. Who knows what our teachers have planned? Sure sucks that we don't know."
Kaminari turned to glare at the purple pair. "I don't wanna hear that from you two! I mean, you're like 5th and 7th in the class rankings from midterms!"
"I thought you were one of us, Mineta!" Ashido cried, pointing an accusing finger at him, Kaminari nodding earnestly. "It's not fair that you're smart as well as buff!"
Melissa just grinned at the pink girl. Even though Ashido's plan had worked out for the best, she still didn't appreciate being locked in a room like that. A bit of harmless payback was clearly in order. "There's no reason why you can't go if you just put your mind to it, Ashido. It'd be great if we all went to the Training Camp together!"
"Indeed!" Next to her, Iida's hand sliced through the air. "Not only does it present a fantastic bonding opportunity, it will also allow us to train to the very best of our ability!"
"If you've been attending class, then there's no way you should fail," Todoroki stated dully. Then a calculating look entered his eyes. "Although, if you had been replaced by reptilian clones or aliens…"
She couldn't help but giggle at the betrayed look Kaminari and Ashido gave them. Kaminari pointed an accusing finger at Todoroki. "Words hurt, you know! And besides, why would anybody want to clone us?!"
Melissa shook her head. She had been slightly surprised with how tough U.A's curriculum was, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Not having the highest grade in class was surprising, but it made sense that there was only one other person in class with a higher grade.
"Well, if it's academics you need a hand with, I'll be glad to help you this weekend or any other time!" Yaoyorozu said, smiling brightly at Kaminari.
Kaminari gave her a look like a drowning man being thrown a life ring. "Thank you, Vice Prez! I'll never forget this kindness!"
A couple of other students came up to Yaoyorozu nervously. "Yaoyorozu, you're really good with kanji, right?" Sero pleaded. "Would you mind helping me as well, please?"
"Y-yeah, I could use some help with English. I mean, Yamada-sensei's a real slavedriver," Ojiro chuckled.
Yaoyorozu smiled widely at all of them. "It would be my pleasure!"
She then turned to Jirou, who was fidgeting in the corner. "Do you want to join as well, Jirou?"
The taciturn girl looked up, startled. "I - uh - yeah! I need a bit of help with quadratic formulas."
She just beamed at Jirou, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Alright, that sounds amazing!"
Melissa sighed. Was she like this when she was dealing with her own crush on her two best friends?
("Yes. Absolutely," the seven past bearers of One for All chorused in her head.)
Wincing, Melissa shook her head as it spiked with pain. It was probably the stress from studying for exams and learning about All for One catching up to her.
While she tried to recover from her headache, Ashido looked up at Yaoyorozu and Jirou, a certain look in her eye. "Hitoshi," she whispered.
Shinsou shook his head. "Just be sure to actually study," he muttered. Then he raised his voice. "Hey Yaoyorozu, do you mind if Mina and I join your study group?"
"That would be lovely - all of us having a study party!" Yaoyorozu clapped her hands excitedly.
"Yes, it's going to be a study party." Shinsou laughed drily, before giving Ashido a pointed look. "Because we're going to study really hard."
"I know, I know…" Ashido mock grumbled.
Yaoyorozu smiled enthusiastically. "Oh, this is going to be wonderful - I'm going to have to ask Mother if we can use the study hall!"
The rest of the study group froze. "S-study hall?" Kaminari said weakly.
"Oh, are any of you partial to a particular type of tea?! We always stock Harrods and Wedgwood at our house, but if you have a preference, don't hesitate to ask and I'll get some!" Yaoyorozu continued.
Melissa couldn't help but chuckle as the study group just smiled weakly back at Yaoyorozu. "S-sounds good…" Jirou managed.
She couldn't blame anybody though - she already had a study date planned that weekend. Hopefully her study date with Izuku and Mei would be just as productive.
—
Mayumi couldn't help but grin even as she tried to commfort Mei as she lay on the table. "So, you're doing the Heroics exam after all, huh?"
Mei sighed dramatically. "I know, it's terrible! So many designs for my Babies, so little time!"
After homeroom was over, Power Loader had told Mei that she had to do the Heroics Exam with the rest of the Hero course. "If you want to be a Support Hero, then you have to do the Hero Practical Exam. You'll do the Support Practical Exam after the Summer break to give you some time to recover - though considering the sheer volume of material you have created, I sincerely doubt you would need to do it."
When she had heard that, Mei had been despondent. She'd gone through the rest of the day looking like she had been forced to stop inventing altogether.
"It's just a delay - it's not like you won't do the exam," Mayumi tried to reassure her friend yet again.
Mei kept pouting, pushing her food around moodily. "I know, I just wanted to see what Izuku's Baby for the Practical would be."
Midoriya grinned at his partner. "Hey, at least you're going to use your Babies in the practical exam! Not just that, you're going to see how somebody would use it in a more practical sense than in the Sports Festival!"
She brightened up slightly. "Yeah, that's true! Hopefully it'll be the ultimate stress test!"
"And I mean, you won that competition to design something for the teachers. Those compressed weights are going to be incredible - I mean, they could potentially revolutionise training Quirks in the first place!" Midoriya beamed at Mei.
"Oh, yes, Nedzu was very happy with them!" Mei cackled. "It's my best idea ever!"
"What, like that time you tried to drill a hole in your head?" Mayumi snarked at her best friend.
"That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me!"
"Hey guys! Sorry I took so long, the line was kind of crazy." Melissa came up to their table, enough food for a family of four on her tray.
Midoriya and Mei lit up when they saw her, Mei waving a hand to get Melissa to sit between her and Midoriya. "Hey, we saved you a seat, Mel!"
Mayumi smiled as Melissa slotted in so naturally between them. Quickly giving thanks, she picked up one of the burgers on her plate and bit into it. "Thanksh fo' waiting," she mumbled.
Mayumi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "They're really working you hard in the Heroics course, huh?"
Swallowing, Melissa nodded. "Yeah - especially since Finals are coming up. Nobody in our class has any idea what the Heroics Practical Exam is going to be like."
—
Hitoshi raised an eyebrow as he saw Melissa chat to the others. "Honestly, I half expected some great portent of chaos to happen when they got together. Like a storm suddenly appearing."
His most out there prediction was that a Terminator would step out of a time portal and inform them that they were responsible for creating humanity's new robot overlords. Or something else equally ridiculous.
"Or a sudden eclipse," Uraraka muttered.
"Please, let us not gossip about our classmates' lives, even if they are terrifying maniacs with unfortunately inescapable contracts like Hatsume!" Iida shouted. "We have other things to worry about than their love lives!"
"Yeah, the Class Pres is right - we've got the practical to worry about, since we don't know what they're going to do!" Mina cried.
"Probably just a review of everything we covered in Heroics training," Toru suggested. "Like rescue and battle at the same time, kero."
Hitoshi shook his head. "I don't think Aizawa-sensei would do something like that - or if he did, it would be a logical ruse for some other ridiculous test." He sighed. "Whatever else it is, we should be prepared-"
He was cut off when somebody bumped into his head, along with a snide comment. "Sorry, I just couldn't manoeuvre my tray around your huge head."
And with that, he knew exactly who it was. Hitoshi turned to look and, sure enough, it was Monoma, looking down with a faux-polite expression on his face. "What's your deal, Monoma?"
1-B's annoying egotistical blonde smirked. "Oh, I just heard that you guys were in the middle of that League of Villains attack."
Next to him, Iida stiffened slightly. Monoma seemed not to pay attention as he continued. "Your class just keeps getting attention with all these stunts! Why, was the Sports Festival not enough attention for you?!"
"It's not like we asked to get attacked during our internships," Hitoshi snarked.
Monoma ignored that comment. "But it seems like you guys just keep getting thrown into danger, huh? I'm honestly worried that some day we're going to be dragged into your misadventures - though I'm absolutely sure we could handle the danger better-"
THWACK!
Hitoshi felt slightly bad for Monoma when Kendo delivered a chop to the back of his neck. Slightly. "Honestly, Monoma, have some tact," she scolded.
She gave them all an awkward smile. "Sorry about Monoma, his heart's just…"
"Say no more, we have our own arrogant blonde to deal with," Hitoshi nodded.
Kendo nodded. "Ah, yes."
Hitoshi paused dramatically, before leaning forwards. "I mean, can you believe the mouth on Ojiro?"
Kendo snorted in spite of herself. Then, remembering that she had to be more responsible, Kendo awkwardly coughed into her fist. "A-anyway, I heard you guys were worried about the Practical Exam, right?"
"Ugh, yes," Mina grumbled.
Kendo gave them a conspiratorial grin. "Well, between you and me, I hear it's going to be robots."
"Like in the Entrance Exam?" Hitoshi blinked, surprised. Of all the things he had expected, he hadn't expected that.
Iida chopped the air in front of him in surprise. "Wait, how do you know about this Kendo?" His eyes widened. "You-you haven't… c-cheated, have you?"
"No, nothing like that! One of my seniors from the dojo is an older student here. So I asked them and, well…" Kendo shrugged. "That's what they told me - it's going to be robots."
Hitoshi hummed. That didn't seem like U.A to just reuse the starting format. Then again, it wasn't like they had thought to ask an older student. "Well… thank you for the tip. I guess we've got less to worry about."
"...Kendo, you fool…" Monoma muttered from Kendo's grip. "With our insider intel, we could have crushed the despicable 1-A once and for all…"
"They're not detestable," she scolded, dragging him away. "Don't make me chop you again."
Not listening to her, Monoma shook a fist at the rest of them. "This isn't over, do you hear me, 1-A! 1-B shall crush you all-"
He was cut off by another brutal chop to the back of the neck.
"...Well, that was nice of her," Hitoshi managed.
"Yay!" Mina grinned, before Hitoshi gave her a look. "I mean, it's robots! I can really cut loose against them! Apart from the written exam, there's nothing to worry about!"
Hitoshi personally doubted that, but seeing Mina's infectious smile made him cast aside his doubts.
—
In the conference room, Nedzu grinned, steepling his paws as he looked over his staff. "So, it seems that some Hero students have been asking the Second and years about the Hero Finals."
His smile took a sharp edge as he checked some photos from the cafeteria cameras. "And from the chatter by those same students, they think it's going to be an easy exam."
"...I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Yamada whispered to Aizawa. Nedzu had never had the heart to tell him that he could, in fact, hear everything that was whispered.
Instead, he giggled at hearing how his students thought his exam would be easy. "Oh, how much they have to learn! If they think it's going to be easy, that's one of two good reasons to revise the exam format going forward!"
Around the table, the teachers shifted uneasily. Eraserhead looked the Principal in the eye. "What do you mean, one of two reasons?"
Nedzu's grin faded. "Ah, yes, that. Hearing that our students think the exam is easy is a minor reason. The other reason for the revision is far more obvious - and that reason is Mastermind."
The other teachers nodded grimly, already figuring out what he meant. "You were worried that Mastermind meant a Villain revival was coming last year, weren't you?"
He gave the rest of his staff a short nod. "I was merely cautious last year as I felt that Mastermind would have been captured before he became a problem."
Nedzu smiled ruefully. "Instead he seems to have been a harbinger of greater threats like the very similarly named League of Villains. Who can fathom what those lunatics are up to?"
—
Meanwhile at the League of Villains headquarters!
"Goddamnit Splatter, quit spamming you cheap bitch!" Tomura shrieked, trying to get his Ganondorf out of Splatter's range. When he had agreed to play the retro classic Smash Ultimate for a team building experience, he had expected to dominate everybody. He hadn't expected Splatter to be a fucking menace!
Grinning, Splatter showed no mercy, as his Toon Link fired another arrow at Tomura's character, barely blocked by Tomura's timely dodge. "Hey, not my fault you're playing the natural weakness of the Hero of Time," he snarked.
"HE'S THE HERO OF THE WINDS YOU FUCKING-" Tomura cut himself off when Toga, playing Isabel, snagged him on her fishing rod. "Don't you do it you - FUCK!" he raged when she sent him flying off the edge of the screen.
"Wait, I did something? Yay!" Toga blinked, staring at the screen happily before deflating. "Aw, there's no blood? That sucks."
"It's a freaking Nintendo game, what would you expect," Dabi grunted, hitting side-B on Ness a-freaking-gain.
Grumbling, Tomura pouted, before turning to his newest recruit. "So, what do you think about joining us?"
Across from him, the teen he'd met on the streets stopped, only staring at the screen. "I'm conflicted about it, but I'm not going to join your League just because you were nice to me," Jukogo muttered, managing to duck under Toga throwing a pillow at Dabi.
Tomura just chuckled, even as he furiously smashed his controller and beat Toga's character up. "Hey, I know that. That's why we're doing all of these team bonding exercises! Getting you used to the idea of working alongside us-"
Splatter interrupted by sending Tomura's Ganondorf to the stratosphere, knocking off his last life. With that, Tomura screeched with rage and leapt at the annoying bastard, intent on getting his revenge.
—
Shouta shuddered, a grim expression on his face. The Principal's instincts were on point - whatever the League of Villains was planning, it was going to be big. Especially since the League of Supervillains had escalated with new recruits.
The Principal shook his head. "Indeed, who can fathom what manner of terrorist plot Shigaraki is planning."
"So I'm guessin' that we ain't usin' the robots for this exam, since fightin' them ain't that useful in real life," Snipe pointed out.
"In a sense - though we only had the robots to head off claims of our students being injured in the Entrance Exams. Even with Recovery Girl, some students do get injured every year, and the robots just give us an extra layer of legal protection!" Nedzu sounded quite chipper about this declaration.
"Why not just ignore the complaints? So irrational…" Shouta grumbled.
What did these people think Heroics was like? Some walk in the park where all you had to do was show up for a photo shoot? As much as he disliked the 'beat up robots and help others' format, it was as accurate a reflection of real life as you could get.
Nedzu sighed fondly. "Ah, Shouta, statements like that show that you aren't a political animal. Unlike me!"
The staff groaned in unison. "That hasn't been funny the last ten times you used that joke!" Hizashi cried.
"Oh, don't be like that! In fact…" Nedzu's grin looked positively predatory. "These changes are going to be fun!"
Shouta exchanged an uneasy look with Hizashi. Nedzu's idea of a funny practical joke was to stick a land mine under a seat cushion. Still, the kids would be alright.
…Probably.
—
Now, I know that you want to see more of the incredibly handsome and intelligent Mastermind studying in his secret identity. And I'm sure that you want to see the rest of Melissa and 1-A studying hard as well!
That last week before finals came for us and for 1-A, we worked like dogs. Between my study date with Melissa and Mei, studying outside of that and putting the finishing touches on my other inventions as Mastermind, I was swamped with work!
However, most of that was quite boring. So instead, we're going to have a brief montage of the most important things that happened during that last week before finals surprised the Hero Course.
Set, of course, to Push it to the Limit!
…What? This is my story, I get to choose the soundtrack!
—
Izuku pulled on his goggles and pulled down the Quirk Erasing Ray. "Alright, first test of our new Erase-Ray Eraser, starting in 3, 2, 1…"
With a flash of red light from the ray, the round module glowed green, lighting up…
And then exploded.
Izuku sighed, wiping his hands clean. "And that's the first failure. Alright, let's see what, exactly, went wrong…"
—
Melissa wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, taking a deep breath. Then she returned to her chest press, muscles straining as she worked.
On the bar she was lifting, Izuku and Mei grinned, the latter giving her a thumbs up as she sketched various different machines. Izuku snuck a glimpse at Melissa, only to look away with a bright red face and returned to his own notebook.
Finished with her set, Melissa went over to her books to start studying again. Mrs. Midoriya came into the room with a plate filled high with snacks, bustling around the room.
—
It was a dark and stormy night as Izuku tapped a screen in the Lair (™), setting up a pressure sensor in front of his latest project. "Alright, my special project, let's see how you function…"
A darkly shadowed figure lashed out with a kick, seriously denting the machine. A smirk broke out on its face as Izuku grinned back. "That's great! Now, we've just got to test the rest…"
Nine more figures sat in the shadows as he pulled out his toolkit. "Just a couple of adjustments for the rest of you… And soon, my greatest inventions yet can be deployed!"
His grin lit up the night. For once, he didn't need to activate his Thunder Machine as a bolt of lightning illuminated his mad features. "MWA-HAHAHA!"
—
In the Yaoyorozu study Hall, Hitoshi was making notes on what Yaoyorozu was presenting while breaking down more complicated points for the others to work on. Mina and Kaminari clung to his and Yaoyorozu's words like they were drowning, furiously noting down everything they could.
He had to admit, it was a bit funny to see how Yaoyorozu obviously had a crush on Jirou, given the looks she kept sneaking. For her part, Jirou seemed oblivious to what Yaoyorozu was hinting at. Either she wasn't interested, or she didn't want to risk their friendship.
The door jingled, interrupting Yaoyorozu. "Ah, that'll be the tea!"
The rest of them looked at each other while she left. "...She's really, stupidly rich, huh?" Ojiro commented weakly.
Then Yaoyorozu was back with a sunny smile. "Sorry to interrupt! Now, where were we?"
Hitoshi smiled with the rest of the group. Yeah, she's crazy rich, but she's just so sweet about it…
—
Tapping his phone, Izuku recorded once more. "Okay, I've reworked the power cell in this, made some minor adjustments… Let's see if this works!"
Izuku carefully moved it under the red light of the Erase-Ray, watching it light up with a corresponding green light. It held for a few seconds, then the green light died.
"Alright, looks like it isn't blowing up right now. Notou, let's remake the parts, see if we can get the power cell to be more efficient…"
"Right you are, Mastermind."
—
Mei threw yet another punch at the punching bag, hitting the photo of Mastermind's helmeted face dead centre and causing the bag itself to swing loosely. Cackling with manic laughter, she then let her mechanical arms swing at the picture, smashing it hard enough to fly. "GOTCHA!"
Izuku watched with a mildly disturbed expression, before it turned into a fond smile. "That's, uh, pretty good fighting, Mei! Now, what do you think about this design?"
One of her mechanical arms snagged it and she zoomed in, scanning it over. "Damn, looking good!"
He gave her a thumbs up, then returned to his own work. Okay, so if I rework this power cell here, then I can get more force from the thruster…
—
Sumi lifted a comically oversized weight in her hand, biceps straining as she worked out. Next to her, Todoroki hit a punching bag as hard as she could, grunting with effort.
Kaneshiro watched the pair of them exercise with an exhausted expression. "Honestly, I feel a bit embarrassed…"
"Keep pushing yourself, Kaneshiro," Gentle Criminal advised from where he was lifting his own weights. "You'll see more results if you train hard."
"Easy for you to say…" Kaneshiro grumbled, grabbing a barbell.
—
Katsuki glared at Shitty Hair as he held up his textbook. "Alright, Bakugou! If I can't do this next question, I'm gonna do 200 crunches!"
Once more, he tried to reason with his friend/study partner. "No, don't fucking do that, that's stupid-"
Not listening to Katsuki's words of wisdom, Shitty Hair scanned the page, a smile on his face. Then, groaning, he threw it down dramatically. "DAMNIT!"
As he went for the crunches, Katsuki furiously tried to stop him. "No, don't do the fucking crunches! Just - fuck, explain what you're having a problem with and I'll help you, jackass!"
Sheepishly, Shitty Hair picked himself off the ground, getting back at his desk with an attentive air. Good - Katsuki wasn't going to teach him shit if he couldn't focus for shit.
—
Soon enough, it was time for everybody's finals. Every student there wore an anxious expression on their face, some better prepared for it, others not. Izuku was definitely in the former camp.
As he hurried to class, he briefly paused by 1-A's homeroom, where could see that Monoma guy leering at Kacchan's classmates. "HAH! Today, with these exams, we're going to prove that we're the superior Heroics class!"
Izuku shook his head and turned to go to his own exam as Monoma's sneer widened. "I mean, we're so superior to you that if this was a story, we would have our own, dedicated, montage scene-"