"And for sure, you're okay?"
"Yeah," Izuku stated. He paused a bit before saying, "I'm feeling a lot better now that I have told you and mom about it."
A few moments passed before he heard his girlfriend's voice over the phone again say, "Any idea when you'll be back?"
Midoriya had no idea. He had no injuries, but the others did. Recovery Girl was there, but he didn't know if any had been questioned by the police yet as he, Asui, and Uraraka had.
"Hopefully not too long," Izuku stated with a sigh. He then exhaled before saying, "I miss you."
He heard a sniff before Tooru's voice over the phone said, "I do too. Just give me updates when you can, okay?"
"I promise," Midoriya replied with confidence.
The two said their goodbyes and Izuku put the phone down on a nightstand to his side. He then exhaled loudly as he laid out on his makeshift bed.
"You must be exhausted," All Might stated. He was across the room, sitting on a chair by the door. The skeleton of a man then got up and retrieved his pupil's phone and pocketed it. He then said, "Sorry I had to be here to eavesdrop on your calls."
Izuku looked over at his mentor and shook his head as he said, "No it's fine. If you weren't here, I wouldn't have been able to make the phone calls at all. So thanks."
Midoriya wanted to tell his mom and Hagakure right away what happened, but the police had confiscated his phone to keep the information of the raid on lockdown until the media had time to report it. All Might was at the scene at the time and gave the idea he would monitor the boy's calls to make sure he didn't say anything out of line. The officer had no reason to argue with the former number one hero of Japan and agreed. Toshinori, however, let his student explain everything to his loved ones, he figured that the news would break soon anyhow and the girls were in no way gossipy on such a serious matter.
Izuku first called his mom, who was hysterical but happy that her boy had received no injuries. Tooru while saddened at the worst of the news, was just glad the operation was a success and her boyfriend and classmates would be back soon.
All Might gave a bow as he said, "No I should be thanking you. Without drawing out the full power of One for All, things might have ended much worse today."
This prompted Midoriya to quickly get up and say, "But sir you don't have to-.
Yagi quickly brought up his head and interrupted by saying, "No buts. It's the truth. Now lay back down and get some rest. You deserve it."
The boy stared back at his mentor's eyes for a few moments. They looked serious and stern, but they were still a bit red from the tears he shed earlier. Izuku's eyes were the same. Probably a bit redder he guessed. Regardless Midoriya nodded before laying back down.
"Good. Now get some sleep and hopefully we can get you and your classmates back to school tomorrow," All Might said as he walked towards the door. He then turned off the light before exiting the room.
Izuku pulled the covers over himself and tried to not dwell on the events that had transpired today.
But it was not to be.
Not even an hour into his slumber was Midoriya awoken to some detectives wanting to ask questions. He had already spoken to Detective Tsukauchi earlier and was confused as to why he was being bothered once more. The officers explained they were from the local precinct and needed their questions answered.
To recall what happened a second time wasn't pleasant for Izuku.
It was Friday, late in September and he and others were recovering from the raid on Overhaul's base of operations.
The mission was a success but at a significant cost.
Sir Nighteye was dead, killed by succumbing to grievous wounds from Chisaki's quirk.
Mirio was now quirkless, having been shot by a perfected quirk erasing bullet when trying to shield Eri.
But in the end, Eri was safe, and the yakuza organization was subdued and captured.
Izuku recounted everything he could to the detectives. The initial fight with the mooks at the entrance, running into the corridor manipulating quirk user that split up the raid, the run-in with Himiko, his initial battle with Chisaki, and the above-ground climax with the head villain. Despite Midoriya being able to use Full Cowl 20% in a fight for the first time, it wasn't enough against Overhaul. The villain had used his quirk to break down and fuse himself with one of his subordinates.
It wasn't until he observed Eri's quirk not only defuse Chisaki and heal Izuku's legs did he see an opportunity to end this. Well, his legs weren't precisely healed. Midoriya had learned that Eri's quirk, Rewind, simply reverted objects to its previous state from a monologue from the yakuza leader. He then took advantage of this and had Eri ride his back while he activated Full Cowl at full power. The girl's quirk would revert all damage Izuku received from going 100%, but he had to be sure to be taking damage regularly or otherwise be deleted from existence. And he needed this power as Chisaki again fused with another of his lackeys, and was much more powerful than his previous fusion.
In the end, Midoriya emerged victoriously, but the happiness from saving Eri was short-lived. Sir Nighteye eventually died of his wounds in the hospital just hours ago, but not before saying some last words to All Might, Mirio, and Izuku. The pro hero had said something that still had Midoriya pondering about it.
Fate.
Izuku was fated to die today, as said by Sir Nighteye's quirk. But he didn't. The dying pro hero explained he always saw Foresight as absolute, that there was no use in trying to overcome what was predicted. Yet his new intern made him realize perhaps one could change fate. If enough people wished strongly enough with no doubt in their minds then maybe fate can be altered. And for Midroiya this seemed to have occurred.
Izuku didn't know what to think of this. Of course, he wanted to set his own path, not to let any determined future to weigh himself down. But it also made him think about his destiny to succeed All Might. Did it have to be so simple? Was his plan to be a part of a hero team perhaps changing this? Could more be done? As much as Izuku wanted to be the next symbol of peace, maybe he could alter some other aspects of what that meant along the way. Way off thoughts for sure, but the subject had given him much thought that day.
The detectives eventually left after they had finished their questions. By now Midoriya was woozy from both mental and physical exhaustion. He got up to turn off his light and made himself comfortable in bed. Izuku hoped he could get home soon, despite not even being a day, he missed Tooru and wanted to be by her side once more. His last thoughts before falling asleep were what he still needed to discuss with his girlfriend.
Midoriya awoke with a groan. Sleep the last two nights had been troublesome, with nightmares being the primary cause. Being at Sir Nighteye's bedside as he passed away played over and over in his head. Also seeing Eri suffering at the hands of Chisaki was another common dream. Izuku questioned going back to sleep each time. In the end, exhaustion outweighed the fear, but it was still rough.
It was Sunday morning, Midoriya and the others had returned late last night. Kirishima had received the worst injuries of the students, but thanks to Recovery Girl he was ready to go by yesterday afternoon. Coming home wasn't all good news, however. The Villain Alliance had struck again. The police escort that was transferring Chisaki and his crew were ambushed. The pro hero that was on the scene had disappeared, evidence of the yakuza's crimes was stolen, and Chisaki and his followers were heavily injured. Izuku had heard about it the day before on TV at the hospital.
What was the Villain Alliance up to? And the evidence? Did that mean the quirk erasing bullets? Sadly the police were being tight-lipped on any further information.
Midoriya had met with Togata before leaving, and while it both saddened and uplifted him to see his senior's positive attitude despite his situation, he was quite angry at himself. Izuku had made a rash and stupid offer to Mirio. He shook his head, and thought, he needed to tell Tooru later about it regardless.
The boy was also concerned about Eri. He offered to stay until she woke up, as she was running a fever and hadn't regained consciousness since Friday morning. Eraserhead instead denied the request and told him to head back to school as his presence wouldn't be needed for now. Midoriya couldn't argue to that point, but it just made him feel that much more hopeless.
Izuku rubbed his eyes for a moment and then got up to brush his teeth. As he did this, he remembered his greeting last night.
Tooru was quick to bear hug him with a tackle, and despite the awkwardness, he appreciated it. She then went over to do the same to Ochako and Tsuyu. Ida and Uraraka seemed to have a heart to heart afterward, but Midoriya didn't want to pry. Ojiro had a million questions, but Yaoyorozu was quick to remind him now was probably not the best time for that, and he backed off. It made Izuku wonder how things were going between the two as Mashirao had been quiet about his study sessions with her ever since. Rikido then semi-forcefully shoved cake down Midoriya's mouth to the amusement of the others.
Midoriya then got dressed and joined his friends for breakfast at the cafeteria since it was Sunday. Here he and Uraraka gave their accounts of what happened. There was one detail that Ochako left out and Izuku felt to do the same. In the end, he would tell Tooru later. After the explanation, the meal proceeded as usual except for one thing, Ochako and Tooru were acting odd. They usually sat next to one another, but today they were seated at opposite ends of the table. Neither spoke a word to one another either. The others seemed to notice this too but didn't speak up. Izuku wondered, did something happen between the two last night?
The group finished their meals and split once they go to the dorms. Hagakure, Ojiro, and Ida prepared for Yaoyorozu's weekly lesson, Uraraka said she was going to take a shower, and Midoriya went to his room to try and get some more rest. After lunch, he and Tooru still planned to have their weekly video chat with their parents. Izuku's mother knew of what happened Friday, but did his girlfriend's parents? It would be an awkward chat regardless, Midoriya figured.
Not long into his nap though did Izuku's phone ring. It was a call from Ochako.
Midoriya was the first to speak by saying, "Um, hello?"
Uraraka replied, "Hey Deku-kun! You're not busy are you?"
"No, was just napping. Had trouble sleeping last night," the boy answered.
"You too huh? It's been hard for me too since Friday," Ochako sighed. Izuku heard her exhale then say, "Anyways there's something important I think you should know."
Midoriya asked, "Does it involve Tooru? You two were acting weird this morning."
"It was kind of obvious, wasn't it? But yeah, Hagakure-chan tried to go to your room last night and I stopped her," Uraraka responded with a hesitant tone.
Izuku slowly said, "S-She w-what? Was she that worried about me?"
Ochako replied, "She wouldn't outright say it but she was pretty desperate to see you, but I eventually convinced her it wasn't a good idea."
Midoriya then asked, "What did you say to change her mind?"
"Well, I thought you still needed time to collect your thoughts. I mean, I still need some time and what I went through doesn't compare to you Deku-kun. Plus what she wanted to do was a lot riskier than her last visit," Uraraka explained.
Izuku was scared to ask, but eventually did by saying, "W-What do you mean r-riskier?"
Ochako cleared her throat as she answered, "Hagakure-chan wanted to stay the night in your room."
Midoriya could already feel a headache coming on. He took a couple of breaths before saying, "Thanks for considering my feelings about this Uraraka-chan. I don't think I would be up to this even considering everything that has happened."
"I figured as much. I just thought you should know," Uraraka stated with confidence.
Midoriya then thought for a moment before asking, "But why were you two acting up this morning then if everything worked out?"
"Oh, that? When I got up this morning, I visited Hagakure-chan and suggested she tell you what she tried to do last night. She's got her reasons why but I told her it's for the best. And well, she was against it, and no arguing could convince her otherwise. So we were still a bit angry at each other this morning," Ochako explained. She then changed her tone to a more chipper one as she said, "But after breakfast, Hagakure-chan pulled me aside and apologized. She then asked me to tell you to make it less awkward."
Izuku thought, less awkward? Since when did that stop Tooru before? And what reasons did she have to not tell him about trying to get into his room again? Midoriya figured he'd have answers soon and said, "I'm glad you two made up so quickly." He paused a moment before saying, "I guess I'll try and talk to Tooru about this after Yaoyorozu-chan's lesson is over."
Ochako was quick to respond with, "Oh don't worry about that. Hagakure-chan already plans to call you after the lesson. Me telling you this makes things easier for her."
The boy was tempted to ask Uraraka what was causing his girlfriend to act like this, but he would soon hear from Hagakure anyways so he stated, "I see."
An awkward silence followed. Izuku then had a thought pop into his head and asked, "Um, I know this is a bit off-topic and you're free not to answer but how did Ida-kun's visit to your home go?"
"Right, that," Ochako replied sounding flustered. "It was quite embarrassing for me. My dad kept cracking terrible jokes, and my mom kept asking humiliating questions about our relationship. I mean I know she meant well, but we haven't dated that long and it's just ugh," she explained with a groan.
"So parents being parents," Izuku said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but they should still behave themselves. My mom's questions were unsettling Tenya quite a bit, and the dad jokes were more jarring than usual," Uraraka stated with a sigh.
Midoriya then asked, "I mean what exactly did she say?"
"Things like, have you two kissed? How many dates have you been on? Have you visited her room in the dorms? I wonder what kind of quirks your k-kids will have," Ochako answered in an awkward voice.
While Izuku realized Ochako's mother was probably just teasing the couple the last question was a bit drastic. Neither his parents or Tooru's had been that straightforward in their questions. Midoriya then said, "Well, either way, it sounds like everything went well."
"I guess, but our next house visit is going to be at Tenya's place. It's a lot more relaxing there despite all the hustle and bustle when in the company of his brothers," Uraraka said in a comforting tone.
Izuku was curious about the rest of his class president's family outside Tensei but didn't wanna hold Ochako any longer and said, "Sounds like fun. Anyways, Tooru will probably be calling me soon, so it's best I mentally prepare myself."
Ochako confidently replied, "I'm sure everything will work out. You two have been through worse."
"Right. I'll see ya later Uraraka-chan," Midoriya replied.
"Bye Deku-kun," Uraraka stated before hanging up.
Izuku kept thinking, what's taking her so long?
Noon was almost here, and it had been quite some time since Midoriya had finished his conversation with Uraraka, but there had been no call from Hagakure.
Izuku pondered, was he supposed to call? No, Ochako told him otherwise. So what was keeping his girlfriend? Midoriya went downstairs to make sure the study session was over, and it was. So she had to be in her room. Was Tooru that bothered about what she tried to do last night? Was sleeping in bed with him her limit? Or was it something else?
To keep himself occupied the Izuku decided to catch up what he missed the two days he was away from school. Tenya had given him notes last night before going to bed. But eventually, it wasn't enough to keep his mind off the phone call.
So right now Midoriya was checking the weekly hero blog once more. News of the raid and the failed police escort dominated the news feed, but one incident caught his attention. It was the electricity-wielding villain once again. Again he was spotted midday fighting another villain. This time he was only seen escaping the scene with the other culprit beaten into submission. Just what was his game? Izuku still held on to the belief that it was merely a turf war despite what the blogger and the rest of the media thinking otherwise. They believed the man was trying to make a name for himself by defeating other villains. That would explain why he would be doing this in broad daylight but not why he kept targeting villains that were small-time, according to Midoriya's research. If that was the goal, why not go after bigger prey?
Before he could ponder the mysterious villain further, Izuku's phone began to ring, and in a mad dash he grabbed it to say, "Finally."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry for taking so long to have the guts to call you. Today's been a trip for me," Tooru replied awkwardly.
This wasn't like her at all, Midroiya thought. He then said, "It's fine Tooru, I can relate to doing things that are hard to talk about. So I understand how you feel."
"Thanks, Izuku," Hagakure responded. She paused a moment before continuing with, "What I tried to do last night. Was dumb. And stupid. And inconsiderate. And selfish. And-."
Before the flustered girl could rabble on, her boyfriend interrupted and stated, "Tooru slow down. Take a breath." The last line, however, did pique the boy's interest. What was selfish about coming to his room?
"Right, sorry," Tooru answered in a sorrowful tone. Izuku heard her take some breaths before saying, "I was so focused on comforting you that I overlooked all reason and even ended up getting in an argument with Uraraka-chan."
"I mean yeah it was pretty rash and all but you wanted to do it to help me, and while that makes me happy we can't be risking you getting yourself in trouble," Izuku explained. He then cleared his throat before saying, "And to be honest I don't know if I would have let you s-sleepover. It probably would have been a bit too much for me."
"I know. But there's more to this whole situation than you think," Hagakure stated with a sigh.
This must be what Uraraka was talking about earlier. Plus the selfish reason his girlfriend mentioned. Midoriya steeled himself and said in a caring tone, "Well go ahead, I'm listening."
Tooru slowly asked, "Izuku have you noticed anything different between us since we came to these dorms?"
Izuku wasn't prepared to be asked a question. He gave it some thought before asking, "I'm not sure what you mean."
"Just focus on my behavior. Before we dated and after, but still before we came here. I'm willing to wait if you need the time," Hagakure replied.
"Okay then. Give me a minute," Midoriya responded in a confused voice. He needed to guess this right the first time he figured. Izuku started to pour over anything different he had noticed about his girlfriend since coming here. Minutes passed as he compared the past to now, but eventually, a thought occurred to him. Despite living under the same roof, they hung out less. Sure Midoriya was busier than before, but considering they were so close in the vicinity of another, it still should be more often. This was even considering the intimacy ban from last month. Hagakure was also time and time again putting herself into the boy's business before, and now that was not the case.
Izuku exhaled before asking, "Is it, we've become a bit distant to one another?"
"Yes, it's exactly that. And mostly on my end," Tooru answered with a sigh.
The boy was quick to ask, "But why?"
"A mix of things I guess. First, there was the whole not telling me about rescuing Bakugo-san. Even after we made up though I reeled back not wanting to push you too hard. I mean school this term has been tougher, and I didn't want you to have to juggle me and school work too much," Hagakure explained. She sighed again before stating, "But then it became more and more difficult to keep my distance. I saw Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan being more intimate in the open, and I wanted the same thing between us, but I knew that it was too soon to try and push that on to you."
Midroiya rubbed his temple as all this started to sink in. He wasn't satisfying his girlfriend. She wanted to be more intimate, but she also wanted to consider her boyfriend's feelings about advancing things too fast. And it was tearing the girl apart. Izuku then said, "So when you said it was selfish that you considered coming to my room, was it because you felt that it was not entirely to comfort me but also to comfort you. So it didn't feel like the selfless thing to do?"
"Pretty much. I need to be there for you at times like this, and my dumb needs shouldn't even be a factor here. So I'm a bit disgusted with myself about this whole situation," Tooru groaned.
Midoriya was quick to respond with, "Tooru I'm so sorry I didn't notice you felt this way until now. I should have realized this sooner."
"There's no need to apologize Izuku I-," Hagakure tried to say.
The boy raised his voice as he stated, "But now I feel inadequate as your boyfriend!"
Silence followed as the two tried to think of what to say next. Eventually, it was Izuku that spoke up first as he said, "Sorry about yelling but, what I said is the truth. If you feel like we should hang out more or be more intimate, tell me. I might not always be ready for it, but at least if we communicate, I think we can find a middle ground that is better than bottling things up just for my sake."
Tooru took a moment to respond with, "Heh, I guess I should be following your recent examples of being more open with me to heart huh? I've been pretty locked up with my thoughts and feelings around you as late."
Again more silence between the two.
Midoriya looked over at his alarm clock. It was noon. Soon his friends and classmates would be going to have lunch in the cafeteria. But he had something else in mind. Izuku then asked with confidence, "Why don't we try and remedy this right away? You wanna go on a date today?"
Hagakure said nothing for a few seconds before laughing. Once calming down, she said, "That sounds swell Izuku I'll do this if only under three conditions."
Izuku replied, "Sure. What are they?"
"First, no talk of Friday on today's outing. I want you to have a good time, and any discussion of that will bring you down," Tooru stated.
"I'm okay with that," Midoriya answered quickly. There were two things he still wanted to tell her about Friday, but he was willing to wait for this.
"Next, I plan what we do today," Hagakure said with more confidence.
Izuku scratched the back of his head as he replied, "To tell you the truth, I had no plan of what to even do so that sounds great!"
Tooru chuckled before saying, "And finally I want us to date more often. How about at the very least once per month?"
"I can manage that I think," Midoriya answered. September was almost over so that meant they could have another date soon if they wanted with October just around the corner.
"This is going to be wonderful! Let me take a shower real quick before we head out. I'll text you when I'm ready," Tooru said with glee in her voice.
Midoriya and Hagakure were sitting side by side at a sandwich deli. They were in a small town close to Tooru's home. She often came here after class in middle school. They had only minutes ago finished their chat with their parents. Both of Tooru's parents were quite inquisitive about Izuku's experience during the raid and it dominated the chat. In the end, everyone was just happy he was alright. Midoriya was pleased to see his mother wasn't too worried. Their talk over the phone must have helped a lot in calming her down.
Izuku observed Tooru as she ate. His girlfriend wore an orange sweater tucked in a red skirt as well as stockings and he was wearing a black t-shirt with blue jeans. The girl's orange snap bracelets then pointed towards her boyfriend as she said, "You're eating too fast Izuku, we have plenty of time until the movie, so there's no rush."
Midoriya swallowed his current bite of food before saying, "Sorry, I'm just famished since this is such a late lunch."
"Alright then. Just learn to chew a bit," Hagakure stated before chuckling.
As the two ate, a man was talking to a woman at the booth to their side. He had walked in and was trying to get her attention as she ate her food. The man was currently flexing to get her attention, but she wasn't interested at all and was quite irritated. One of the waiters then walked up and asked him to leave, which he did begrudgingly.
"Heh, sometimes being a hunk isn't everything," Tooru said with snark.
Izuku then asked, "Is that normally how guys try and flirt with girls?" Come to think of it; he never did flirt with his girlfriend before they became a couple. It also made him wonder when did her teasing turn to flirting back then.
"It's common yeah, but masculinity is overrated," the girl stated as she went to grab her boyfriend's free hand.
"I don't follow Tooru," Midoriya replied in a confused tone.
Hagakure took a moment to finish her drink before answering, "I mean it's not a bad thing. It's pretty cool to see Kirishima-kun always try and act manly all the time. But not something I find attractive."
Izuku remembered back to Tooru's reaction to seeing Eijiro's room during their night at the dorms.
I'd rank it maybe at number two of my all-time not-boyfriend-material rooms.
Midoriya recalled Uraraka having the opposite reaction. He wondered how that dynamic worked with Ida and her.
Tooru spoke up once more and said, "I mean I have no issue with you being as fit as you are Izuku because you don't flaunt your strength like say, Ojiro-kun."
"Right, like during the sleepover," Izuku stated. Mashirao did post that picture of showing off his goods to a mixed response from the girls. Though now that he remembered, Momo didn't want to comment about it. What did she honestly think?
"Exactly," Hagakure responded. She then slowly said, "I guess you could say another reason I enjoyed your company and even started to like you was because you're a bit feminine Izuku."
Midoriya blushed as he asked, "I'm feminine to you?"
"Of course! Your reactions to everything scream girlish to me, and you have your baby face to boot too. Though who knows how long that will last," Tooru explained with a sigh.
Izuku grabbed his face with his hands as he asked, "What about my face?"
"You just keep proving my point the more you talk Izuku," Hagakure said as she leaned over and kissed her boyfriend's cheek. As he remained flustered, she asked, "So how about you? What do you like in a girl?"
Midoriya took a moment to collect himself before answering with, "I mean, it's not about girls in general, but I greatly appreciated that you were willing to put up with my social awkwardness. It's one reason why I said we were best friends after our first date."
"It's been interesting alright. Kept me on my toes but it was worth it," the girl said with sincerity.
The boy's heart fluttered upon hearing this and leaned in to give his invisible girl a kiss on the lips. It was quick, but he felt it was needed.
Tooru chuckled after the moment and then asked, "Did you forget we're in public?"
Izuku did. He looked up to see a few stares from customers and waiters alike.
As Midoriya turned beet red, his girlfriend got up and pulled him out of the establishment with a laugh. They had already paid, and she could tell it was time to make an exit.
It just had to a horror movie, Izuku thought.
The film was basically a zombie flick. A baby was born with a quirk that turned anyone it bit into a brain-hungry mindless husk. The movie focused on the futile attempt of heroes to stop the spread, and it ended on a sad note that they failed. The gore was over the top and never in Izuku's life had he gripped someone's hand so hard.
It was evening, and the couple had just finished their dinner at a ramen place. After the movie, they window-shopped for a while before grabbing something to eat. Midoriya was getting short on cash and Hagakure suggested it since it was cheap. He made a mental note that he needed to figure out how to get more money for more dates in the future.
Tooru was unfazed by it all and had a great time. She loved poking fun at her boyfriend for being such a scaredy-cat.
"You'll jump headfirst towards a giant robot or serial killer, but a cheesy horror flick is your limit," Hagakure said in a teasing voice.
"I mean those were scary too," Midoriya whined in response.
The two continued to chat as they walked hand and hand back to school, but Izuku had thoughts on his mind. Ever since Tooru stated she wanted to be closer to him, he pondered how he could fulfill that. And Midoriya's kiss with his girlfriend at lunch gave him an idea. A crazy one, but something. The movie distracted him a bit, but dinner made him rethink it. And now the opportunity was a hand.
Just minutes away from U.A., Izuku stopped walking and asked, "I want to attempt something Tooru."
Tooru was quick to respond with, "Alright, I'm all ears."
Midoriya turned and brought his girlfriend down an empty alley. Another alley showed up to his right, and he took it. It was a dead-end, perfect, Izuku thought. He then placed his hands on Hagakure's shoulders and said, "Tooru, you've always been the one to push our relationship forward: asking me out on a date, hugging, confessing, kissing. I mean I've caught up, but I'm always behind you when it comes to stuff like that. So I want to be the first to try something. It's only fair even if it's unsettling for me at the moment."
"Explains the change in scenery," Tooru stated. She then exhaled before saying, "I think I have an idea what you have in mind. So let's try it."
Izuku gulped before saying, "S-Sorry if I'm not g-good at this."
"Izuku it's going to be a new experience for both of us. If we make mistakes then we'll just work on it next time," Hagakure comfortingly replied.
"Right, so uh here I go," a nervous Midoriya stated. However, within moments of leaning forward, he felt a finger touch his lips.
"You know I just realized, our mouths probably still have the taste of ramen in them. So let's fix that," Tooru said as she pulled out her purse. She offered her boyfriend a piece of candy, and he happily took it.
The next minute was quite awkward though. In silence, the two swished the mint-flavored candy in their mouths to rid of the flavor of dinner still left in them. Izuku mentally was awash with what was about to happen, but he knew he needed to get a hold of himself if he was to fix this. Feeling inadequate to his girlfriend's needs was a massive blow to him, and he wanted to fix this above all else. Even if this situation was pushing him to his limits.
Midoriya then heard Hagakure spit out her mint and say, "That should be enough. I'm ready now."
Izuku did the same and rubbed his temple and took a few breaths before resuming his position. This time there was no interruption as their lips met and slowly he used his tongue to enter Tooru's mouth. When she did the same, he almost winced back in shook but held firm. At first, there was little movement between the two. The mint flavoring overpowered most of what Midoriya was tasting, but it was much better than ramen would have been he figured. But slowly they started to explore each other's tongues and mouth. However, it didn't last long as both pulled away fighting for air.
They both forgot to breathe during the whole ordeal.
"Damnit; we have noses why didn't we just breathe through those," Tooru said with a cough.
"I just didn't think about it. I was too focused on our m-mouths and, ugh," Izuku groaned.
Hagakure then broke out into laughter and Midoriya joined her. After a minute, the two had finally caught their breath.
Tooru then said, "Man we both sucked at that."
It took a moment, but Izuku asked, "Do you want to have another go?"
"Nah, I'm satisfied. I just wanted to cheer you up today so even though this didn't work out our date is still way above my expectations," Hagakure replied full of cheer. She then took a step forward and grabbed her boyfriend's arm as she said, "Besides, we've been in this alley for far too long. We'll pick this up another day."
Midoriya nodded as he responded with, "We'll improve together, even if it takes all my wits to do it."
Tooru chuckled as the two began walking. She then proclaimed, "That's the spirit!"
A bit shorter than my usual work but I wanted to end on a high note. The day before publishing this I had a change of heart about the last scene. I initially had the couple just talk some more but an early consideration to have them try french kissing kept nagging at me until I considered a scenario and just went with it. It kept me up late, but I think it was worth it. :3
As I said last time, almost the entire Internship arc skipped. There was little point for me to cover it extensively when there was only one change I made, and it will come up in the next chapter. I wanted to focus on the aftermath and have some IzuTooru focus. Plus it was nice to do write a date again. With everything that had been happening canon wise, there wasn't much room to fit one earlier. Going forward, dates will be becoming more common.
Another Ochako scene, so woot. I feel I need to use her more outside subjects involving Tooru though. Hoping the team training will allow me to do this.
Chapter 24 will see the start of the team concept training with its first session, which will be more a set up of the rules and such but at least it's starting. We'll also see the beginning of the School Festival Arc. As with the month time skip between the Hero Killer Arc and Final Exam arc, expect many chapters to be dedicated to covering this gap. Chapters 7-14 were probably my favorite bunch to write because of the free rein I had. It's been a very long time of being constrained by the plot so the breath of fresh air will be nice.