Chapter 188
(A/N: This chapter is brought to you by Andrew Bernard, a friendly chap famous for his massive...personality (O w O)...)
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[November 1st, 2149]
Though it wasn't mandatory, everyone within the barracks and a few of the teachers gathered for the shadowy Kuroiro's birthday. This included Ryuko, Shino, Tomoko, Chatora, and Alissa, who, surprising even Izuku, put on an idol show/concert in their Wild Wild Pussycat personas. Then, throughout the day, the rest of Class 1-B and a few from Class 1-A came by to wish Kuroiro a happy birthday. This included Ochaco, Toga, Tsuyu, and Toru, who, after greeting Kuroiro, eventually shepherded Izuku away to take a bath and show off their newly acquired Artefacts.
"Well, that's just adorable..." muttered Izuku, unable to suppress a smile as he sat on the edge of the girls' bath, watching Tsuyu swim around with half her face and her entire body under the water and a large lilypad atop her head. More accurately, that was all that could be seen as the effect of the lilypad-like Artefact was to let her submerge in virtually any surface to conceal her presence.
Speaking clearly despite the lower half of her face being concealed, Tsuyu said, "If you think that's cool, check this out," before submerging fully. As she did so, the lilypad abruptly multiplied, most appearing in the bath but a few appearing on the stone floor and walls. Then, popping up from behind Izuku, Tsuyu, completely naked, wrapped her arms around him and asked, "Now I'm even better at stealth. Praise me, ribbit."
"Hai, hai, our Tsuyu-chan is the best~" mused Izuku, reaching up to pat the green-haired girl's slightly moist hair. Tsuyu dangled her inordinately long tongue mischievously in response but quickly retracted it when Toga exclaimed, "Hey! We still have to show off our Artefacts...!"
"Sorry..." croaked Tsuyu, but she continued holding onto Izuku as if to say she had first dibs the moment they were finished.
Clicking her tongue, Toga made a pose Izuku recognized before shouting a phrase that promptly gave him goosebumps.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu...!" exclaimed Toga, her naked body bursting into a cloud of white smoke. Then, just as Izuku expected, five nearly identical copies of Toga emerged from the cloud, posing like a super sentai squad as they sonorously shouted, "Super Awesome and Sexy Ninja, Toga-chan, takes the stage...!"
'I swear, it's like she was made to cover for me...' thought Izuku, his eyes blazing with intrigue as the centermost Toga spread her arms wide and fell back, allowing the other four to catch and hold her as she pointed to the choker around her neck and explained, "My Artefact lets me make up to four nearly-identical copies of myself, each able to use my Quirk and Skills. The only downside..."
Following the central Toga's words, the one standing behind her caused Izuku's pupils to contract and Tsuyu to shudder as she promptly stabbed her doppelganger through the chest, causing it to melt away into a mud or wax-like substance that evaporated within seconds.
Amused by Izuku's reaction, Toga winked, stuck her tongue out, and then adopted her characteristically creepy yet charming smile as she spiritedly explained, "As they are now, they're super squishy. They also melt if they move too far away. If that happens, I don't receive any of the information they picked up, so they're mostly useful for misdirection and investigating the area when I'm too lazy to do it myself."
"Just don't mistreat yourselves..." said Izuku, smiling wryly as he was still a little shaken by the scene of Toga offing one of her clones with a look of fascination, mischief, and desire.
"It's okay," assured Toga, cupping her face and gushing Izuku's concern as she heatedly explained, "My clones don't experience pain or emotions, so even if they die exceptionally gruesome and horrible deaths, it doesn't affect me in the slightest~."
"I agree with Izuku, Toga-chan..." muttered Ochaco, her expression one of genuine concern as she stood with the tips of her fingers together, a bit nervous to just be standing around in the nude.
"Jeez, Ochaco-chan! That's why you're my second favorite person after Izuku~!" exclaimed the four Toga(s), causing Ochaco to yelp and go red in the face as they promptly crowded around and jointly assaulted her with hugs, kisses, and wayward fingers.
Feeling overwhelmed, Ochaco caused the three doppelgangers to begin melting away as she broke free of the encirclement and leaped high into the sky, aided by her Quirk. The original Toga attempted to hold onto her, but since Ochaco's body was covered in condensation from the steam rising from the bath, she ultimately slipped and made a big splash as she back-flopped into the 37.5°C water.
"I guess that means it's my turn?" asked Toru, materializing next to Izuku, where she had been seated from the beginning. More notable, however, was the fact she was wearing a predominantly grey bodysuit with accents of purple and red that covered her from the neck down. There was also a gas mask-like helmet with glowing orange eyes beside her, but she didn't like to wear it unless she had to.
"One moment," said Izuku, extending Blackwhip to catch Ochaco before she could float too far. It took time for her to change directions and land safely without her AT, so he saved her the trouble by reeling her safely to him before Tsuyu could do the same with her tongue.
With Ochaco safely recovered and sitting next to Izuku with a beet-red face, Toru waded out into the water and performed a slow pirouette as she explained, "My Artefact isn't as showy as some of the others in our Class, pun intended, but it's climate-controlled, repairs itself, and it turns invisible with me. The helmet also protects me from gases and provides a half-hour of underwater oxygen, so while I can't slip past obstacles like Tsuyu-chan, it's the perfect suit for infiltration~!"
"It looks a lot more futuristic than other Artefacts," noted Izuku, cupping his chin and nodding approvingly. He found the thin, zipper-like slits over Toru's breasts and crotch to be 'suspicious,' but he wanted to wait for her to reveal the truth instead of asking about them directly.
"Yeah, I intend to have Melissa look it over and analyze it once the camp is finished," replied Toru, casually disappearing and sidestepping Toga's attempt to pounce on her from behind. It was possible to make out where she was by observing the two calf and foot-shaped voids in the water, but once she leaped out of it, there wasn't so much as a single drop to denote where she might be, courtesy of the bodysuit's hydrophobic properties.
Since he knew it was what she was aiming for, Izuku caught Toga with Blackwhip and pulled her to sit on his lap, causing her to stop acting out almost immediately as he caressed her head and said, "I'm happy for you all but a little jealous. I've cleared dozens of breaches but never received a personalized Artefact. I mean, I don't exactly need one, but it would be pretty cool to have a magical sword or something I can summon in a time of need..."
"Then you're going to be upset when you see Bakugo-chan's..." said Tsuyu, feeling a little annoyed that Toga, who had prevented her from having a bit of fun, was currently seated atop Izuku's lap, wiggling her butt.
"He obtained a sword...?" asked Izuku, prompting Tsuyu to nod, but the answer came from Toru, revealing, "Not just a sword, but an entire outfit. It's honestly a little frustrating how cool it looks. Even more so since he's taken to calling his outfit the 'King's Raiment' and dubbed his greatsword the Sacred Sword, Explodia..."
"Sounds like he's caught late-stage Chuunibyou Syndrome..." muttered Izuku. However, one look at his face would reveal that he was, at least a little, envious of Bakugo's gains.
'Maybe I should pay Mitsuki a visit...' thought Izuku, promptly dismissing the notion but apparently not quick enough as Toga teased, "You're cock throbbed. Is your jealousy making you want to have sex~?"
"Something like that," replied Izuku, promptly appending, "But not here. I have doubts about the quality of this bath's filtration, so let's not sully the water if we can avoid it."
"Then we'll just have to make sure not even a single drop spills..." mused Toga, caressing her abdomen as she leaned back for a kiss. Instead, she received a tongue to the forehead, courtesy of Tsuyu, who said, "You're starting to get out of hand, Toga-chan. I understand wanting Izuku-chan to pamper and spoil you, but you'll worry him out if you take things too far, ribbit..."
Though she didn't appreciate Tsuyu's clam-jamming, Toga didn't attempt to argue. Instead, she hopped up from Izuku's lap, shouting, "Then let's hurry and get this bath over with~!" before diving forward and swimming beneath the water as swiftly as a mermaid. She had always wanted to try swimming in an onsen or hot spring, so with nothing to stop her, Toga did precisely that as Tsuyu, Izuku, and even Ochaco breathed synchronized sighs...
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[November 4th, 2149]
"You're birthday's coming up on the 7th...?" asked Izuku, pretending to be surprised as he sat on the end of a weight bench, conversing with Awase, Tetsutetsu, and Kamakiri, while Monoma predominantly just listened and observed with an impassive smile.
"I'm not the only one," replied Awase. "Our homeroom teacher's birthday is on the 10th, and I've heard that Aizawa-sensei's birthday is on the 8th, a day after mine."
"Do you...think...the Wild Wild Pussycats...will come...and put on another show?" asked Tetsutetsu, alternating between lifting 100kg dumbells with relative ease.
"Their newest member was pretty cute..." muttered Monoma, directing his gaze to Izuku as he droned, "It's a shame that she and probably all of the Pussycats are taken by a certain someone..."
"If you're bothered by the number of girls Midoriya is involved with, you can always do what the boys of 1-A did and find a girlfriend among the second or third years," said Kamakiri, wearing an annoyed expression as he was tired of Monoma constantly chiming in to comment and speculate on Izuku's relationships.
"Yeah, I honestly should have taken Kirishima's advice when he told me to find a girlfriend like two months ago..." expressed Tetsutetsu, still holding his weights but taking a moment to rest as Monoma's offhanded comment had temporarily decreased his motivation.
"Well, if we're talking second and third-years, Sayori-chan from Class 3-H is super cute and smart!" said Awase, a glimmer of excitement appearing in his steel-grey eyes.
"Sayori-chan?" parroted Kamakiri, crossing his arms and leaning back in deep thought before asking, "Isn't that the Support student who revised your Hero Costume? The girl with the Quirk that can remove rust and stuff from metal...?"
"It's a little suspicious that you remember her so well..." mused Monoma, this time directing his impassive smile to Kamakiri, causing the mantis-like youth's mandibles to click.
Snorting, though he had no visible nose, Kamakiri avoided Monoma's gaze as he revealed, "The girl I like is Kochou Chou from 2-B..."
Though he didn't mean any ill will by it, Testutestu couldn't help but burst out laughing before teasing, "Kochou Chou? She's definitely cute, but isn't it a little strange that a mantis likes a butterfly...?"
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Ignoring Tetsutetsu's lack of tact, Kamakiri looked to Izuku and asked, "Got any advice on how to approach a girl? I dated a girl in Middle School, but only for a short while since she was in seventh grade, and I was in my final year. I've never tried approaching an older girl..."
"Well, unless there's some kind of power dynamic, perceived or otherwise, there's no fundamental difference between approaching older or younger girls," contended Izuku, smiling awkwardly as even Monoma was listening to his words seriously.
"The most important thing is finding a common ground or shared interest. Awase should have a pretty easy time approaching Sayori-chan, but if the only thing you like about this Kochou Chou is her appearance, you might have some difficulties as she will undoubtedly judge yours," added Izuku.
"Nothing new there..." muttered Kamakiri, closing his eyes and exhaling a faint, world-weary sigh that didn't suit a first-year high schooler. However, with pale, yellow-green skin, a neon-green mohawk, dark-green eyes that made it seem like he was always pissed off, an angular face, and features resembling a praying mantis, he definitely hadn't lived a privileged or easy life. Even during the Sports Festival's Cavalry Battle, the only teammate he managed to find was Pony, and that was because she empathized with and felt sorry for him...
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(A/N: Being a Heteromorph ain't easy...)