23 Chapter 22

After defeating all of Ectoplasm's clones, the lightning crackling around Izuku gradually receded, followed by his plopping down and sprawling out his arms and legs.

"Oh, gods...this pain is worse than when I began exercising for the first time..."

Though the power granted by One-for-All was incredible, enough to make Izuku feel like an idiot for not getting his hands on it sooner, the sequelae were no joke. He could sustain boosting his attributes by 10x fairly easily, but 15x placed a massive strain on his body, similar to Goku overusing the Kaio-ken.

Approaching the downed Izuku, Toshinori remarked, "Your Quirk truly is amazing. Being able to control the output of One-for-All immediately after receiving it is more than I could have hoped for."

Trying and failing to force himself to a seated position, a wry, pain-tinged smile adorned Izuku's face as he replied, "Yeah, but if I use too much, my body feels like it's going to burst. I'll need to experiment with my attribute distribution until I figure out a good balance."

Nodding his head, Toshinori extended Izuku a hand, helping the latter to his feet as he said, "Now, let's get you over to Recovery Girl. The Principal is already pulling strings to ensure you can 'grind' Experience efficiently in the future. For now, just focus on comprehending your new power without overdoing it."

Resisting the urge to point out they should have brought Recovery Girl to him rather than forcing him to go to her, Izuku's pained smile broadened as he said, "No worries on that end. My Intelligence is a bit low right now, but I became a fairly meticulous person during the two years leading up to my enrollment. I won't do anything crazy."

"I'll take your word for it," responded Toshinori with a smile. He still vividly recalled the scenes of Izuku charging into a group of robots and climbing the 0-Pointer. Izuku may not be 'conventionally' reckless, but he definitely had his moments...

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After Recovery Girl fixed him up with a simple kiss, Izuku returned home to get some rest. At the very least, that was his intention before pulling out his phone and discovering quite a few missed texts.

Though most of the messages were random conversational texts, Izuku's brows perked up when he thumbed through a text from Mina asking if he wanted to hang out. It was from earlier that morning, but there was plenty of light left in the day. In fact, it wasn't even noon yet.

Before responding to Mina's invitation, Izuku read through his remaining messages to ensure he wasn't inadvertently 'ghosting' anyone. Once that was done, he typed a quick message explaining why he hadn't responded sooner before commenting that he would be happy to hang out.

Less than ten seconds after Izuku sent his text, his phone buzzed. That was a good sign, but Izuku was momentarily confused when he read the contents of Mina's message, stating, 'Great. We're at the Star Arcade near Tatooin Station. Hurry on over.'

("We...?")

Realizing he was being invited to hang out with a group, various thoughts pervaded Izuku's mind. As far as he was aware, none of the other boys were particularly close to the girls in Class. In other words, there was a decently high probability that the 'we' Mina was referring to was Ochaco, Tsuyu, or some of the other girls in Class.

Though he would be lying if he said he didn't have second thoughts, Izuku quickly replied, 'Sure. On my way.' without asking for clarification. Being the only guy among a group of girls was 'dangerous' for a number of reasons, but Izuku wasn't too concerned. After all, the girls in his Class were nothing like the 'me-too' era party girls he would encounter at the nightclubs in his previous life...

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"Over here, Izuku-kun~!"

Following the sound of Mina's voice, Izuku looked over at the arcade's concession area to find a smiling, predominately pink girl flagging him down. More importantly, at least at a glance, she appeared to be alone. That was unless you noticed the blue and pink tank top floating next to her.

("This girl is turning into one hell of a wingman...") thought Izuku, making his way over to the girls' table with a smile. Then, instead of focusing his attention on Mina, he took a moment to direct his smile to the presumed location of Hagakure's invisible face, saying, "Hey there, Hagakure-san. I didn't expect to see you here."

Before Hagakure could respond, Mina narrowed her eyes and covered her mouth, snickering like a mischievous imp before saying, "See, what did I say, Hagakure-chan? This guy is nothing if not thorough when it comes to hitting on women."

Though it was invisible due to her lack of hand and wrist accessories, Hagakure rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously in response to Mina's words. As for Izuku, he gave a casual shrug and replied, "I'm not going to deny it. When it comes to cute girls, I can't help presenting them a bit of lip service."

Crossing her arms, Mina maintained her smile as she said, "So you say, but you haven't even seen Hagakure-chan's face. How can you say she's cute?"

Shaking his head, Izuku's expression became 'serious' as he asserted, "I'm not just saying it. I know for a fact that Hagakure-san is one of, if not 'the' cutest girls in Class. My intuition about these kinds of things is never wrong."

Cupping her cheeks with her hands, Hagakure averted her invisible eyes, unable to meet Izuku's 'intense' gaze as she said, "I'm not 'that' cute..." in an uncharacteristically timid tone.

Raising his hands in a mock surrender, Izuku appended, "I won't press the matter if it's making you uncomfortable, but remaining silent won't change my opinion. If you weren't invisible, Hagakure-san, I'm certain you would captivate the entire school with your beauty."

Clapping her hands together, Mina exclaimed, "Okay, I think that's about enough out of you, Casanova! Save the flirting for if the two of you go on a date! For now, let's focus on playing games, singing karaoke, and having some fun~!"

Seemingly just as eager to escape Izuku's praise, Hagakure pumped her invisible fists, exclaiming, "Yeah! Let's have a blast~!" in her usual, bubbly tone. Her face, ears, and neck were an almost luminous shade of red, but thanks to her invisibility, neither Izuku nor Mina could see them...

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After schooling Mina in various fighting games and singing his heart out at Karaoke, Izuku was in a phenomenal mood as he made his way home. He hadn't managed to get on a first-name basis with Hagakure, but he knew it was only a matter of time. After all, while she might be invisible, Izuku could 'sense' Hagakure sneaking peeks at him throughout the impromptu hang-out. To confirm this, he would periodically turn toward her, smiling as he stared at the approximate location of her face, causing her to startle like a kid caught trying to steal a cookie.

As she had been invisible since birth, Hagakure was accustomed to going unnoticed and being able to observe others without getting caught. Izuku suspected that, so long as he gave the invisible girl the attention she very clearly desired, Hagakure may very well be the 'easiest' girl to approach in the entire Class. Well, her and Yaoyorozu. Izuku got the impression that if he were prepared to take responsibility, Yaoyorozu would permit him to do whatever he wanted.

With such thoughts in mind, Izuku pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Yaoyorozu, asking what time 'she' wanted him to come in. That way, even if he were just a minute or two early, it would probably leave a deep impression on the intelligent but exceedingly sheltered 'ojou-sama.'

Catching Izuku a little off guard, Yaoyorozu's response came immediately, stating, '7:30 AM should suffice. I look forward to seeing you then.'

Responding with a quick 'likewise,' Izuku returned his phone to his pocket, raised his gaze to the sky, and smiled. The escape of Tomura and Kurogiri still weighed heavily on the back of his mind, but he felt calmer and more confident than ever. Just by tensing an invisible 'muscle,' he was able to channel a seemingly endless amount of energy through his body. It would take time to master, but knowing he could level small buildings, produce powerful shockwaves, or leap hundreds of meters whenever he wanted was, for lack of a better descriptive, euphoric...

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With Yaoyorozu asking him to come in at 7:30, Izuku made certain he was on campus by 7.

As anticipated, Yaoyorozu arrived a few minutes before she asked Izuku to come in, resulting in a rather adorable expression of surprise when she noticed he was already present.

Since her desk was two places behind Izuku's, Yaoyorozu made her way toward him as she asked, "Midoriya-kun? How long ago did you arrive...?"

Adopting a faint, slightly teasing smile, Izuku replied, "When I read your text and saw that you were looking forward to seeing me, I couldn't help arriving a little earlier. Witnessing the adorably surprised look on your face made it more than worth it."

Contrasting the other girls in Class, Yaoyorozu, seemingly oblivious to the fact she was being teased, adopted a smile of her own as she replied, "I see. I'm glad my reaction could boost your spirits. You seemed pretty out of it the other day, so I'm pleased to see you back to your usual antics."

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Not expecting such a 'considerate' response, Izuku couldn't help feeling a little ashamed. He recovered fairly quickly, but the notion he shouldn't be playing around with such earnest girls briefly crossed his mind.

Exhaling through his nose, Izuku adopted a far more genuine smile as he said, "Thanks, Yaoyorozu-san. And sorry for worrying you. I had a lot on my mind that day."

Shaking her head and crossing her arms in a way that inadvertently emphasized her breasts, Yaoyorozu proudly asserted, "No need to apologize. After all, we promised to look after one another. I'm merely returning the favor you showed me previously."

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Feeling even more awkward, the smile on Izuku's face cramped as he yielded to the compulsion to rub the back of his head. He didn't expect his past words to be used against him so suddenly, but it wasn't a 'bad' feeling. Rather, more and more, he was starting to realize that all the girls in Class 1-A were kind, considerate, and genuinely good people...

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With Homeroom starting at 8:25, Aizawa made his way into the classroom with a notably more haggard appearance than usual. He was clearly going through something but carried on as if it was just another day, his tone as flat as his expression as he said, "I have only a single announcement. One month from now, in the second week of May, UA will be hosting its annual Sports Festival. This is a tremendous opportunity you only get three times before graduation. As such, for the next month, most of your Foundational Hero Studies classes will be optional. If you would rather spend your time in the gym or honing your Quirks in UA's state-of-the-art training facilities, you are welcome to do so."

Directing his gaze to Izuku and Yaoyorozu, conveniently located in the same corner of the room, Aizawa added, "It is the responsibility of the Representative and Vice Representative to submit a copy of everyone's training itineraries and ensure the necessary forms are submitted before utilizing the training facilities. Can the two of you handle that?"

Without missing a beat, Izuku adopted a smile and responded, "Easily." Yaoyorozu was a little less sure, but hearing Izuku's response compelled her to offer a nod, adding, "We'll do our best." in a resolute tone.

Nodding his head in approval, Aizawa said, "That'll be all, then..." before surprising nearly everyone by promptly departing the classroom. Luckily, UA High's Sports Festival was one of the most popular events in the entire country, further broadcast throughout the world. It had even replaced the Olympics in Japan, so even if Aizawa didn't provide a proper explanation, it was fairly easy to gather information on past events...

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(A/N: Not much to say this chapter. How is everyone enjoying the story so far? If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments section. If you're enjoying how things are developing, please consider donating to support my efforts.)