38

Chapter Text

Momo stared at the screen in disbelief. "She… she did it." Her heart swelled with pride as she saw Ochako's fist hanging in the air.

Then Ochako passed out, collapsing back onto the concrete.

"Oh…" Mina sighed, worry in her voice. "Did you see her win, Mi-"

Both women turned to the man in the bed between them. No sooner had All Might declared Ochako the winner than had Zu finally fallen asleep.

Mina sighed again, although this time was more affectionate than worried. "It'll be him versus Ochako for the finals… and they're both unconscious. Bakugou and Todoroki barely look worse for wear in comparison." She nodded at the screen, where the blonde man was hurrying back onto the stage to help pick up his opponent. He looked more shaken than actually hurt.

Momo nodded. "They both had to fight so hard to win. I don't know if they'll have anything left for their fight."

Ryukyu laughed dryly; she had shown up just after the match had started along with Zu's parents. "Whatever he does have left, he'll be sure to give it. There's no quit in that boy… for better or for worse.

Inko, as she insisted on them calling her, was sitting next to Mina, rubbing Zu's head affectionately. "He doesn't know when to stop himself sometimes."

"The boy does what he feels is right," Stormclaw added. "That's all he's ever wanted to do. Sometimes we disagree on what 'right' means, but he's got a big heart."

Mina looked up at the man at the foot of the bed. "What do you mean, disagree?"

Stormclaw sighed, looking at his son. "Ryuko and I overheard what he was saying to the Todoroki boy. Izuku was trying to get him to use his fire the entire time. It nearly cost him the match and might cost him the finals, but he got through to him." He shook his head. "He could have won quite easily, but decided to try and save Todoroki instead. In his shoes, I probably would have just won and dealt with the other stuff later."

Momo furrowed her brow. "Perhaps he thought that the fight would be the best opportunity to get through to him. You said it yourself, he wanted to 'save' him. How can that not be the right thing?"

Stormclaw laughed knowingly. "Now you're getting it. That's exactly what Izuku was thinking, I'd wager. And notice, I only said we disagreed, I never said he was wrong . Whenever he and I butt horns about stuff like this, he usually wins. Always has, ever since he was a little boy. He's a smart kid and he's always been able to read people better than me."

"That's very true," Inko agreed, "but it has also made him very stubborn. When he gets an idea in his head, it's almost impossible to get him to change his mind. If there's something that he feels is right, he's going to do it, or…" She looked down and rubbed her fingers through her unconscious son's hair, trailing off.

Something about the conversation stirred an old memory in Momo's mind. One she often tried to ignore, just because it made her feel such confusing emotions. She couldn't remember it exactly, not after so many years, but the feelings it elicited… those were still there.

Momo was only about seven, but she had already seen her fair share of fancy dinner parties; her parents hosted them monthly, for one reason or another. She knew the drill by now: be quiet and smile, then run off and be quiet somewhere else. It was always a dreadfully boring time, but she wasn't one to misbehave. She had gotten used to being ignored by now, anyway.

But something was different this time. Momo saw something she had never seen before, at least not at one of these gatherings: a child. One her age, no less. He was dressed in a black suit, wearing a small, emerald-green tie. It looked a little loose on him, which made sense; he was still a growing boy.

He was standing next to a tall man with light bronze hair and a shorter woman with dark green hair. The man had a pair of black horns sticking out from his hair and as he smiled and shook her father's hand, she could see the fangs in his mouth. The boy's hair was green as well, but a bit lighter than his mother's. He too had a pair of horns, but instead of starting at the top of his head, behind his hairline like his father, they were above his eyes, near his hairline. Instead of swooping backwards, the green, ridged protrusions swept more outward. His big, green eyes were filled with wonder and his excited smile showed Momo he had small fangs as well.

The two of them spent most of the party together. At first, Momo was certain it was out of necessity, rather than anything else, as she was the only person other than him younger than 30 in the entire ballroom. However, as the night went on, she found herself genuinely enjoying his company more and more.

Momo caught herself time and time again doing something she rarely did, which, looking back, was kind of sad.

She was smiling.

Momo's face was graced with a wide, genuine smile as she spent time with her new friend Izuku. He had bitten his tongue trying to pronounce 'Yaoyorozu', so she offered 'Momo' as an easier alternative. He agreed, but only on the condition that she called him 'Izuku'.

She was taught to always be so prim and proper, to be reserved and refined, but Izuku didn't seem very interested in that at the time. He wanted to talk about her quirk, about her favorite heroes, her parents, her school, her friends, and anything else he could think about. His genuine interest and excitement was infectious.

For the first time she could remember, she understood how to be a kid.

She regretted when he had to go, although her parents weren't too pleased with him, as the two of them had knocked over a waiter when he had riled her up enough to chase after him in an impromptu game of tag. His father, the hero Stormclaw, was laughing too hard to apologize at the time, but his mother was nothing if not gracious and embarrassed.

Her parents tried to be mad at the two of them, but after seeing the smile beaming across her face, they relented. She didn't think they had ever seen her that happy.

Momo felt the warmth he put in her start to fade as soon as he left the house, like the sun setting after a long day on the beach. She returned to her room to turn in for the night and made a bold decision; a decision that would later make her want to suppress the memory out of embarrassment.

Her prowess with her quirk was still limited, but she could make simple things fairly well. Most of the stuffed animals in her room were her own creations, so she had practice.

And so, after a few botched attempts, she held up her creation in front of her proudly: a small stuffed Izuku.

Momo blushed as the memory faded from her mind again. Her Zu plushy had become faded and worn over the years, but she still knew where it was. It had been years since she had held it in her hands physically, but it still held a special place in her heart. When she was younger and feeling sad or lonely, she would sometimes pull it out of where she kept it and play with it a little. It made her feel better.

In the grand scheme of things, they never spent very much time together- they only met at parties, so only a few times a year on average- but the time they did share was always something she enjoyed immensely. However, it didn't last. At one party back when they were 12, Zu told her that they wouldn't be seeing each other anymore. He promised to see her at UA when they both got in, but his father was taking a step back from the limelight while he recovered from his injury, so they wouldn't be attending any other parties for the foreseeable future.

They had made some attempts to stay in contact with texting and such, but as the months passed, they messaged each other less and less... until one day they stopped. The loss of her friend had hit Momo relatively hard, but she was a refined, mature young woman and she got over it. She had locked those emotions away for years and thrown away the key as she focused herself on her studies and her training.

That diligence paid off, of course. She had excelled at the recommendation exam, beating out multiple other exceptional students for the spot in 1-A.

But there was still that nagging in the back of her mind. She had hoped that her former friend had decided to go to Shiketsu, or perhaps a school in a different country. At the very least, she hoped he would have been placed in 1-B.

But no, Zu was put in 1-A with her. When he had greeted her that fateful Saturday, she felt the beast that was her confused emotions begin to struggle against its chains. Over all the years of their friendship, she had kept her feelings under wraps. He never knew how much she enjoyed his visits, he never knew that he was one of her only friends, and he never knew that she made a stuffed toy in his likeness.

It would have been much simpler if he had left her alone, if he had let the past stay in the past; that's why she tried so hard to distance herself from him.

But dammit, despite her best efforts, he had wormed his way back into her heart.

After she saved him at the USJ, she felt compelled to check on him at the hospital, where she got caught up in the plan to spend the entire week there. Then he shared one of his deepest secrets with her and… and…

Everything had happened so fast.

In the end, her feelings for him were back and stronger than ever. He made her feel wanted, he made her feel comfortable, he made her feel strong and capable, just like he always had.

Now the only question was… did he feel the same way about her?

Momo shook her head, dispelling the thought.

Even if by some miracle he did, it's not like she deserved it.

The next thing Ochako knew, she was waking up in Recovery Girl's infirmary in the stadium.

She groaned slightly as a dull ache filled her body, causing Mina to gasp. "Ochako! You're awake!"

Ochako blinked, sitting up slowly in her bed. Mina was sitting at her right, smiling gently at her, while Momo was on her left. She smiled weakly at them both, causing Mina to giggle and Momo to blush slightly.

Ochako's cheeks lit up a little as well. This was the first time since their training together that they had been this close, and it looked like neither of them had completely recovered from what had happened that day.

She looked around, hoping to put the embarrassing memory out of her mind. To her right was another bed, where she saw a familiar green mop of hair. Sitting around Deku was Stormclaw, Inko, Ryukyu and Bakugou. Recovery Girl and All Might were on the far side of the room, watching and waiting.

"What happened?" was her first question.

"Well after you won, you kinda passed out," Mina explained. "Bakugou helped to pick you up and then All Might carried you here. That was an hour ago."

"An hour?!" Ochako exclaimed, waking up fully. "But the finals!"

All Might began to walk over to her bed. "That's why I stuck around, Young Uraraka. I'm here to see if the two of you are okay to compete. This is an athletic competition, we don't want anybody to suffer any permanent damage." He looked her over with a concerned expression. "Recovery Girl says you're fine physically, but how do you feel?"

Ochako sighed, rolling her neck a little. How did she feel?

Well, her quirk felt like it was all but spent. She had maybe a few more uses out of it, but that would depend on what she touched. The rest of her body was in better shape. After resting, she was still exhausted, but she didn't feel like she was about to collapse again.

Ochako took a deep breath. "I'm not here to give up. I'll fight."

She saw a proud smile grow on All Might's face. "Very good. All that remains now is…" He trailed off as he gestured over to Deku.

"How is he?" Ochako asked quietly.

Recovery Girl sighed. "He's not very wounded- his scales protected him from most of the damage- but he's utterly exhausted. There's no way to know if he's up to continue until he wakes up. And no, I don't know when that will be."

Ryukyu stroked her chin a couple times then glanced over at Mina with a raised eyebrow. She beckoned the pink girl over and whispered something in her ear, causing Mina's eyes to widen slightly, then narrow as she grew a small smirk.

Mina nodded and moved over to the head of Deku's bed. She leaned in and touched his face gently before whispering something into his ear and planting a small kiss on his cheek.

There was a pregnant pause in the room, each pair of eyes looking expectantly at the unconscious man and his girlfriend.

After several seconds, a low noise escaped Deku's throat and his head shifted a little on his pillow. He groaned much like Ochako had earlier as he opened his eyes.

He looked around, locking eyes with Mina above him. A small smile grew on his face, but Ochako noticed the absence of the barely-perceptible glow that was always there when he talked to Mina or her. Was his quirk that tired?

"Hey, everyone," he said finally. "How long was I out?"

"An hour," his mother answered.

He leaned back and closed his eyes again. "Crap…" His eyes opened back up. "Have I been disqualified?"

Stormclaw chuckled. "No," he said simply.

Deku exhaled. "Alright, good." He sat up in bed and kicked his legs over the side. "Let's get to it, then."

"Woah, woah, there," Ryukyu shot back, placing a hand on his chest. "You just woke up, slow down."

Inko leaned closer. "Izuku… how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Deku answered.

"Don't lie to your mother," Inko deadpanned, causing Deku to flinch.

"Okay, maybe I'm a little tired," he muttered, averting his gaze.

"Make a claw."

Deku looked up to Bakugou, who was glaring at him. "What?"

"Make. A claw," Bakugou repeated.

Deku looked down at his hand and furrowed his brow. Ochako saw a few scales form on his wrist and hand, but he quickly hissed softly and released his quirk. "Yeah, okay no, that's not happening. Feels like I'm straining a pulled muscle."

"Call it," Bakugou snapped, turning to All Might. "He's in no condition to fight."

"That's not your decision!" Deku cried out. "I'm not going to give up." He turned and looked straight at Ochako. "I want to fight."

The determination in his eyes reminded her of why she fell for him. She nodded. "I want to fight, too."

Mina looked back and forth between the two of them with a worried expression on her face. "Are you sure, you two?"

Ochako and Deku nodded simultaneously, staring at each other with fire in their eyes.

All Might laughed boisterously. "How can I refuse?! I'll let Present Mic know that we'll get started in twenty minutes." He saluted with two fingers and left the room, ducking slightly to get through the door.

Inko leaned over and hugged her son. "If you're sure…"

"I am," Deku affirmed.

Stormclaw stood up with an affectionate, fatherly smile on his face as he ruffled Deku's hair. "I can't say I approve, but I can't say I'm surprised, either. We'll leave you to get ready. Make us proud, Son."

Deku nodded slowly. "I will."

The three other adults filtered out, leaving just the five students and Recovery Girl. Deku finally stood up, wobbling slightly at Bakugou moved to steady him. He got his footing and rolled his neck before flexing his arms and legs, stretching himself. "I'm alright, I'm alright."

Bakugou shook his head as he backed up. "Come on, we'll get you stretched out properly in the waiting room."

Deku nodded, turning and following his friend out of the room. At the door, he turned around and stared straight at Ochako. He didn't say anything, but his passionate expression told her everything. If she wanted to win, she would have to take it from him.

She felt the fire within her burn a little brighter. She clenched her fist and glared back at him, nodding to tell him that she understood.

Deku thanked Recovery Girl and left, the door closing behind him.

Ochako swung her legs over the bed and stood up herself, looking at Mina and Momo, silently asking them to accompany her to her own waiting room. They nodded and followed her out as she too thanked Recovery Girl for taking care of her.

The three women were silent as they walked through the tunnels of the stadium. Present Mic's voice echoed around them, hyping the crowd up for the grand finals.

Ochako hoped she wouldn't disappoint them, but she wasn't sure what she could do. She was exhausted and wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight, even if she could squeeze her quirk for more today. She hoped Deku was more exhausted than she was: that was her only real hope.

Or was it? Her fight with Bakugou… it had proved some things to her. Nobody would have picked her to beat him, but she had done it anyway. Sure, she had gotten lucky in some ways, but in others… that was all her.

For the first time in her life, she was grateful that she had grown so tall. If Ochako had been even an inch shorter, she wouldn't have been able to reach him with her final, desperate gambit.

So, maybe she could beat Deku. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could beat him in her ragged state. She would have to come up with something… or maybe just think on her feet. If it came down to a brawl, she would be in the same situation as she was in against Bakugou; there was just no way she could win in a straight up fight with a man who had a decade of formal training on her.

No… she would need to think of something.

Whatever happened, she would give her all. Anything else would disrespect not only herself, but also her loved ones; that included Deku.

Izuku was exhausted. There was no getting around that.

His quirk was dormant, sleeping in the back of his mind. He felt a little annoyed that his quirk got to nap while he had a fight ahead of him. A large part of him wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for approximately a decade, but the part of him that was in the pilot's seat was determined to press on.

"Hey," Izuku began, "you're not upset you lost, are you?"

Katsuki huffed. "Nah. Of course I wanted to win, but I gave it my all and I came up short. Simple as that. Your girlfriend is no joke."

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Izuku agreed, sighing happily.

"Besides, it would be boring if I was already the best one here," Katsuki said flatly. "I lost, but that just means I have more to learn, more to improve on. We're here for four years and we've barely begun." He pounded his fist into his palm, letting off a small puff of smoke. "Next year will be a different story."

"That's a good way to look at it," Izuku noted approvingly. "Who knows what you'll be capable of next year. Also, they probably only put us up against each other in a simple one-versus-one fight because we're first years. We aren't familiar with all of our classmates' quirks yet. Who knows what they'll have us do next year."

Katsuki nodded. "Remember that foam sword fight they had?"

Izuku laughed, although less so than he normally would have, due to his exhausted state. "Yeah…"

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the waiting room. Once there, Katsuki helped Izuku stretch out, like he had thousands of times before. Afterwards, he still felt stiff and slow, due to overexertion of his quirk in the previous match; quirks were physical abilities at the end of the day, of which Katsuki was quick to remind him. He may not be injured , but he was beat to hell in other ways.

"So," Katsuki began, breaking the silence, "what's your plan?"

Izuku looked down. "I'm not sure."

"Bullshit, you always have a plan."

"You know that's not true," Izuku countered. "I fly by the seat of my pants more often than not."

"Yeah," Katsuki admitted. "You move before your brain does sometimes. But you know what I meant. When you know something's coming, you always have a plan."

Izuku nodded. "I guess I'm just gonna go out there and fight her while avoiding her hands. I have to assume she can still use her quirk and I'm too beat to use mine."

He wasn't lying. He really didn't have a better plan than that. Perhaps it was because he was almost too tired to think, or maybe he just didn't see any options other than 'don't let her touch you'. His quirk being asleep wasn't doing him any favors. One thing was certain, however: whatever happened, he would give his all. Anything else would disrespect not only himself, but also his loved ones; that included Ochako.

"You wouldn't be in this state if you hadn't gone overboard against Icyhot," Katsuki growled.

"I know, but I had to," Izuku explained weakly. "I had to get through to him. And once I did, how could I hold back if he wasn't?"

Katsuki glared at him for a few moments and then suddenly swung his fist at him, stopping an inch in front of his face. Izuku lurched back, much too slowly to actually avoid it if Katsuki had meant to hit him.

"You're slow," he observed. "You're a dumbass for trying to fight when you're in this state."

"Like you'd do anything different," Izuku responded, heading for the door as the signal was given for him to enter the stadium.

Katsuki smirked. "I didn't say that I didn't approve, Deku. "

Izuku smiled back and chuckled as he closed the door and headed into the stadium. As he walked, he looked down at his hand and formed a single green scale.

'You know what? I think I finally know what to call you.'

Izuku stared at Ochako from across the arena. Both were already panting slightly, a mixture of adrenaline combined with the strain both of them were undertaking to keep pushing forward. He felt like he did after one of Hadou's endurance training courses, but normally, he got to rest when he felt this beat up.

Ochako looked like she was handling it better, but no matter how you looked at it, this wasn't going to be a graceful display by either combatant.

Izuku didn't even hear All Might declare the beginning of the round, he just saw Ochako start to move towards him.

Unlike the previous rounds, neither of them ran. They both walked slowly and cautiously towards the other, each very aware how dangerous the other was. In one touch, she could potentially end this, while if he got a good hit in, he could knock her out. No way around it, he was physically stronger than Ochako thanks to his years of training.

They moved closer until they were about six feet away from each other, then they began to pace slowly. Both of them had passion burning in their eyes, even as their bodies groaned in protest.

Izuku would normally be content to let Ochako make the first move, but he didn't know if he could play the long game. He could probably counter her, but Katsuki was right, he was slow right now.

He stepped forward and took a swing. It was small and controlled, allowing him to pull it back when he saw her lunge for his arm with her open hand. She missed by a mile, but he got confirmation that yes, she could still use her quirk.

Unless it was a bluff, of course. However, he couldn't afford to take that chance.

He jabbed again, causing Ochako to swing at his arm again. This time, as he pulled his arm back nearly instantly and swung with his other, catching her in her exposed ribs.

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt solid contact. Hopefully, she would fall over and they would be done with it.

She stumbled back, away from the hit, but kept her balance. He raised an eyebrow as she settled back in, ready to continue the fight. Maybe she wasn't as exhausted as he thought she was.

He stepped forward, ready to strike again. As he swung, he saw her weight shift.

She was going for a kick.

He moved to block, but his damned body was too sluggish. Her right leg slammed into his left side, causing him to stumble back like she had. The contact was much more solid than he expected.

In the back of his mind, he felt his quirk stir the smallest amount. Damn, she made him proud.

He panted as he resumed his slow, circling dance with Ochako. "That was a good kick," he observed. "When did you learn how to do that?"

She smirked weakly. "Iida taught me. Gave me some pointers when we got paired up last week."

Izuku narrowed his eyes slightly; Hell Week had done more to improve her than it had him. Then again, it's a lot easier to improve when you're a novice. She had a lot to learn and had done her best to absorb what she could. While he had done the same, it wasn't to the degree that she had.

He stepped forward again, more cautiously this time. Her leg swung forward again, but this time he was ready. He blocked it, albeit with greater difficulty than he normally would have, and drove his fist into her thigh, knocking her off balance and causing her to collapse to her knees.

Izuku dashed forward to press his advantage, but jumped back as she swiped at him with her left hand. It was frustrating; he had the advantage of strength and training, but with her quirk, he couldn't leverage it very well at all. It didn't help that she had learned how to use the superior reach her longer legs gave her, even if it was still relatively rudimentary.

Ochako pulled herself back to her feet, grimacing at the bruise he had likely put on her leg. Izuku glared at her, trying to think.

He just had to keep trying. Eventually, she would give him an opening. She couldn't keep up her defense forever.

She seemed to have the same thought, as she suddenly went on the offensive. She stepped forward this time, kicking with her left leg. As Izuku blocked it, she pulled back and put her back into a lunge with her right hand.

He barely dodged out of the way; Ochako was able to put three of her fingers on him due to his slowed reflexes before he pulled away. His sloppy, sluggish footwork meant that he didn't have the footing to dodge a second time when she turned her momentum into another kick. She drove her heel into his gut, knocking him down to the ground.

She moved in to continue her assault, but he wasn't about to let that happen. As soon as she stepped into range, he slammed his shin into her ankles, locking her up and tripping her.

Ochako hit the ground hard as Izuku rolled away and slowly scrambled to his feet.

"Stay down ," he ordered as he caught his breath while she groaned on the ground.

She glared at him as she managed to stand back up. "Not until I've won."

Izuku bared one of his fangs in a snarl and dashed forward- or at least as fast as he could will his legs to move at present- as she steadied herself yet again. She lunged her right hand toward him, but he shot under her grip and grabbed her wrist with his left hand. He reached out and did the same with his right, holding both of her arms out wide and keeping her fingers away from him.

They stared at each other for a moment before he pulled hard on his quirk, willing the energy to pool inside his chest. Izuku inhaled deeply, causing Ochako's eyes to widen.

He exhaled, but only a small puff of faint green gas came out before he sputtered and began to cough. His quirk screeched in protest in his mind as the rest of his body felt like it had caught on fire.

Ochako coughed once as the gas hit her in the face, but as Izuku recovered from his botched attempt at using his quirk, she did something that surprised him.

She threw her head back and slammed it forward, driving her forehead into his face.

Izuku stumbled backwards, his hands automatically moving to his face to try and hold in the pain.

The two of them stood still for a few moments, each of them recovering from their attack, as Ochako herself was rubbing her forehead.

Izuku pulled his hands away slowly, feeling the green blood dripping down his face from his nose. It wasn't broken, but that had really hurt.

If the crowd was cheering, Izuku didn't hear it. Nothing existed outside of him and Ochako. Whoever stayed standing was going to be the champion and he… he really wanted that prize.

He moved towards her as they both dropped into their battle stances again.

She tried to feint a kick again, but Izuku blocked it and caught her in the stomach with a low punch, hitting her hard enough and retreating quickly enough to avoid her clumsy swipes.

Ochako's eyes widened as she leaned over slightly and heaved, but she managed to keep her stomach's contents where they belonged for now. She spat to the side as she leveled her glare at him again.

Izuku was watching her fingers closely when a thought crossed his mind.

He ran through his experience with her quirk. The way she held the ball at the quirk assessment test, the way she always ate her meals with one pinky extended out- an adorable habit, if you asked him- and the way she wore mittens to bed…

Her quirk activation was involuntary. That gave him an idea.

Izuku could take her trump card out of the game if he forced her to touch something with all five fingers.

He stepped forward, faking a punch so she swiped at him again, trying to find contact. Instead of avoiding it entirely, he went under it, grabbing her by the wrist again and pulling it across her body.

Izuku twisted her around and drove his right hand into her side, causing her to cry out in pain. He followed up with a foot to the back of her leg, driving her to the ground as her knees gave out.

The combination of attacks caused his vision to unfocus for a moment from the strain, but he kept at it.

Izuku reached forward and grabbed her right hand while he stepped on her left wrist. He pushed down, forcing her fingers to splay as he pressed them into the ground.

Ochako screamed in pain as her quirk activated, pulling mass out of the ground.

He let his guard down for a moment as his willpower temporarily failed.

Which in hindsight, was a mistake.

Even through her pain, she twisted her hips and kicked her leg back, catching him in the shin with her right foot.

He jerked back as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough. Ochako screamed again through grit teeth as he felt his body growing heavier for the second before he could break contact.

Izuku stepped backward, away from the woman on the ground as he tried to cope with the new mass in his body. It wasn't much, but he could definitely feel it. He was sluggish before, he hated to think how hard it would be to move now.

Ochako dragged herself to her feet again, tears leaking from her eyes from the pain he had put her through. She touched her arm with her hand, renewing her anguish as she pushed the weight he had forced her to gain out of her body.

"They're… really going at it," Kaminari muttered.

Sero rubbed his chin. "They're both almost quirkless right now, huh? They're just beating the hell out of each other."

"It's kinda hard to watch," Mineta added. "They're not holding back at all."

Eiko stood up, putting a hand to her chest. "Of course not!" she declared. "They're both giving it their all! Anything less would be an insult to their opponent! That, my fellow classmates, is chivalry! No regrets!"

"How… are you still standing ?" Deku asked, gasping for breath.

"You can thank… Eiko. That girl knows how to endure pain." Ochako was standing, yes, but she didn't know how much longer that was going to be the case. She didn't know what was keeping her going, but she hoped it stuck around.

She didn't think she could feel her legs right now. Maybe she just didn't have the mental bandwidth at the moment.

"I won't lose," he shot back, spitting green blood out of his mouth.

Ochako grimaced, taking a deep breath. "I won't give you a choice."

She saw a smallest of smiles creep onto his face and she realized she was smiling a little as well.

Deku moved forward, slower than he had before. She had only managed to put a little bit of weight into him, but anything would give her a better chance than nothing.

Ochako stepped back as he swung his fist at her, but she didn't attack back. Even if she could touch him, the thought of enduring that pain again so soon was something she wasn't prepared for. She needed a breather.

But sometimes you don't get those sorts of luxuries.

Deku swung again, missing wide once more, but closer than before. A third swing came even closer as he pursued her slowly across the arena. They continued their clumsy, graceless dance for what felt like an eternity, but was likely closer to 20 or 30 seconds. Each attack he tried was closer to the mark, and each time she attacked back, he dodged a little easier.

She swiped her right leg at him again, but he blocked it and gave her another bruise on her thigh, sending her to her knees again.

Ochako struggled, but she managed to pull herself up again… somehow. What was keeping her going?

She glared at Deku… and then realized what it was.

"I told you…" she began, causing him to pause. "That I'm going to be the one standing between you and danger next time…" She put all her willpower behind one final stand, one final push. "Which means I have to beat you, Deku. I have to win this if I'm going to be the person who saves you!"

His eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

"So what's keeping me going, you ask?" She grit her teeth. " You are. I'm standing for you, Izuku."

Deku's eyes widened a little further as the smile grew wider on his face. A small spark ignited in his eyes for a moment, that faint, green glow that was so familiar to her.

He moved forward again, rearing his fist back to strike at her.

A thought crossed Ochako's mind as she felt her body scream in pain with every motion.

Deku had gotten used to the weight.

His fist flew forward.

Ochako slammed her fingers together.

The weight that Deku had gotten used to vanished.

He lurched forward, caught off balance.

She lunged to intercept.

She grabbed his right arm with both of her hands, screaming in agony as she pulled on her quirk one more time.

She hadn't felt pain like this since the entrance exam.

The weight drained from him, or at least as much as she could manage without passing out.

But it was enough. The damage was done.

He wasn't as light as she had made Bakugou, but he was close.

Deku was stunned, his face slowly moving up to hers. In his eyes, she expected to see several emotions… surprise, anger, anguish, perhaps even betrayal…

But instead, she only saw affection and a strange, unfamiliar hunger deep within.

The moment between them seemed to last for an eternity.

Deku opened his mouth slowly. "I love you."

The look in his eyes made something in the deep part of her brain burn to life. A surge of confidence poured into her, causing her to smile down on him.

"I know."

Ochako pulled her leg back and drove it into his stomach, sending him soaring out of the arena. She saw him struggle, perhaps trying to form a wing on his back, but he couldn't do it. Deku fell onto the grass, his landing relatively gentle thanks to his lesser mass.

Ochako clapped her fingers together, returning his weight to him as tears of agony poured down her face. That was it. Her quirk was done. If she could use it tomorrow, she would be surprised.

"Ochako Uraraka is your champion!!!"

With the fight over and her adrenaline crashing out of her system, she suddenly became aware of the rest of the world again. The cheers were deafening, but as she flinched, realization washed over her.

She had done it. She had won.

But she didn't have time to bask in her victory; there was something more important she had to take care of right now.

Every step was agony; all the hits that Deku had landed on her were becoming more and more painful with every breath she took. That didn't stop her as she hurried down to the steps and over to wear Deku was pulling himself up off the ground.

She kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder, startling him slightly. "I love you too," she whispered.

"I'm…" He looked up at her, tears flowing slowly from his face. "...So proud of you. I knew you could do it."

There wasn't a doubt in her heart that he had given it his all, just like she knew that she herself had given it her all. But even so…

"I feel like I've cheated," she admitted softly. "If you could use your quirk… there's no way I could have won. I had no right to wi-"

"Shhh…" he muttered. "You didn't make me go overboard against Shouto. Remember the first day of class? Today… it was an endurance test, too. I flew through the first and second event, used a transformation I wasn't taught how to use in the second event, then overexerted myself against Shinsou, even if it wasn't my intention. And then after all that, I used my full transformation again. None of that is your fault."

Deku looked up at her, his face wet with tears. "I pushed myself too hard today and I paid the price. You paced yourself better and beat me, fair and square. I have no regrets."

She felt her heart clench as new tears formed in her eyes as well. "Me neither." Ochako pulled him up to his feet, both of them leaning on each other for support as the crowd's cheers renewed, apparently inspired by her act of sportsmanship.

The two of them limped out of the arena together, arms over each other's shoulders.

They walked down the hallway together, Ochako enjoying the contact and the feeling of deep satisfaction slowly growing inside of her, warming her like a cup of hot chocolate.

Something sweet sounded nice right about now.

As the echoes of the crowd faded as they trudged deeper into the stadium, something else was dominating Ochako's mind.

That feeling she had just felt.

"Deku…" she muttered, causing him to look up at her. "That look you gave me when I… when I grabbed you."

The faintest trace of green entered his face. "Oh, u-uh, w-what about it? I'm sorry if it-"

"No." She cut him off.

The two stared at each other for a second as Ochako felt the fire inside return slowly. She felt the desire to do something… but she didn't know if she had the courage.

No, if she wanted to be a hero, she had to be able to act. 'Come on, Ochako, just like you've seen on TV.'

Ochako turned to face him squarely and reached over, grabbing both of his wrists in her hands, making sure to keep her pinkies clear to avoid any further pain.

She lifted his arms up and pushed them back, pressing his back against the wall as she pinned his wrists above his head. His face was growing greener by the second.

"No, Deku," she whispered, her voice deeper and huskier than she knew it could ever be. "I want you to look at me like that more … a lot more. I don't know why… but I do."

He stared at her, his eyes wide as the tiny sparks of his quirk burned like a dying flame before vanishing again.

She felt her mouth dry up slightly; a sensation she was more familiar with.

Ochako leaned in to kiss him… but he moved his head away.

She furrowed her brow, concern filling her mind.

His eyes had that look again. That hungry, desperate look that made her whole body feel like it was heating up, especially in her-

"If you want me to do that…" he whispered. "Then you'll have to make me."

The heat grew stronger.

She moved her face towards his once more, but he pulled away again, evading her even as his back and shoulders remained pinned to the wall. If he wanted to, he could have easily escaped her grip, but he didn't.

Again Ochako tried, but again Deku turned aside, avoiding her lips.

Incensed, she released on of his hands and grabbed his jaw firmly, holding him still as her lips finally found their target.

Lighting shot through her body as he melted into her. She slowly moved her hand from his face, returning it to his wrist to keep him pressed up against the wall. Ochako shifted forward, pushing her body fully against his as she drove her tongue into his mouth.

This was unlike anything she had ever experienced. The pain her body felt was utterly overwhelmed by the absolute ecstasy that was flooding every corner of her mind. Deku pushed back softly, trying to eliminate any space that still remained between them as he fought her for every inch her tongue tried to take in his mouth.

The power she held over him was intoxicating. His tongue resisted her advances, his arms struggled weakly in her grips, his body tried to push hers away slightly, but at the same time, his lips were locked with hers as tightly as he could manage. He wasn't trying to resist, he wasn't trying to stop her… he was just reminding her that she was in control right now. She felt one of his legs was wrap around one of hers to pull her closer, and heard a primal, needy noise rumble up from his throat.

Those noises were because of her. She was causing him to feel that way.

Even if it wasn't intentional, he was doing everything he could to rile her up… and oh , it was working .

After a good thirty seconds, she pulled back, both of them panting as saliva continued to connect their mouths through thin strands. A part of her didn't want to stop there; it urged her to continue, demanded it, but she pushed it down. She had already been far more bold than she had ever imagined herself to be.

"Ochako…" was all Deku could say, his voice full of that same desire she saw in his eyes. His face was greener than she had seen in a long time.

"Izuku," she responded. Ochako was positive her own face was red enough to compete with Eiko's hair.

They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like years. She saw emotion after emotion race through his mind before he finally settled on just staring at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Such was the affection looking up at her that an unbidden thought crossed her mind.

'Is this how he'll look at me on our wedding day?'

She screamed internally as she tried to wrangle her disobedient mind, but before her face could turn any redder, a sudden hiss from a nearby pipe broke their enraptured trance.

"We… we should go to Recovery Girl," he muttered as she quickly let go of his hands and stepped away from him, both of them averting their gaze.

"R-right." Her face felt like it was about to catch on fire.

Toshinori waved and laughed as the crowd cheered loudly, ready for the award ceremony to start. The other contestants were gathered around in a group as the podium began to rise from underground amidst fanfares and cheers.

Standing on the third place podium were Young Todoroki and Young Bakugou. Toshinori had known those two were going to finish well, but he wasn't expecting for neither of them to make it to the grand finals. It just went to show you how much potential 1-A had this year.

On the second place podium, Young Midoriya stood, covered in white bandages now that he didn't need to fight any longer.

Between the three students was the first place podium, where Young Uraraka stood tall above the rest. She too was covered in bandages, but they didn't dull her smile.

He chuckled to himself; Toshinori recognized those exceptionally tight wrappings as the product of a very irritated Recovery Girl. He had been on the other end of her aggravated speeches to guess the riot act she had read to the two young students.

"Without further ado, let's get to it!" he yelled, taking a bronze medal from Midnight, who was standing near him.

He approached Young Todoroki first. "You used your fire," he observed.

The young man nodded slowly. "Some things I thought were true turned out to be anything but," he explained. "I have a lot to think about." He looked down, avoiding Toshinori's gaze.

He leaned down, placing the medal around his neck and then giving the student a large hug. "Do what you need to do. Congratulations."

He took a second medal and turned to Young Bakugou. "You showed impressive drive, young man. I'll admit I thought I had you pegged pretty well, but you surprised me several times today." He leaned down and placed the medal on his neck. "Congratulations."

Young Bakugou clicked his tongue and looked away, doing a relatively poor job at hiding his smile. "Yeah, whatever. Thanks, I guess," he muttered as Toshinori wrapped him in a hug as well.

He stepped to the far podium and retrieved the silver medal from Midnight. "Young Midoriya," he began with a chuckle. "Your father scolded me severely for not stopping you in your fight against Young Todoroki."

The boy's eyes went wide. "Oh! Uh, I'm sorry, I just-"

Toshinori laughed loudly. "No need to apologize! I understand." He placed the medal on his neck and leaned in for a hug. "Congratulations."

He held the hug a little longer as he whispered. "You have done a remarkable job with your family 'gift', young man. I knew you could do it."

Toshinori pulled back as Young Midoriya stared at him with tears beginning to leak from his eyes. "Oh, and don't worry. Your father's chastisement was mostly the worries of a father. It lacked much real bite."

He moved to the center podium as his heart swelled with even more pride. He took the gold medal and looked into Young Uraraka's big, joy-filled eyes. "You did it," he said simply.

She nodded as some tears welled in her eyes. "I did it."

He smiled widely at her. "When you talked to me in that hospital, you spoke to me as someone with conviction… and today you proved that your heart could back up those words." He placed the gold medal around her neck and leaned in for a hug. "I'm so proud of you. Keep true to what you believe in and you'll do great things one day. We can teach you a lot here at UA, but you are born with your heart."

He stepped back and looked between the four of them. "You'll all make great heroes one day." He turned to the students behind him, gesturing widely. "All of you will! I'd like to thank you all for an absolutely fantastic festival! Your performances ensured that today will go down as one of the all-time great Sports Festivals! Let's give it up one more time for not only our finalists, but all of our contestants here today! Say it with me, folks!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

After the award ceremony, Midori invited Ochako and Mina to have dinner with his family, which he said included Bakugou by default. He invited Momo too, but she politely declined.

Mina asked where Bakugou's parents were, and was informed that they were overseas on a business trip. 'Didn't stop the old hag from screaming my ear off between matches over the phone,' he had remarked. Mina could tell by the way his face softened slightly that his hostility towards his parents was just an act.

Stormclaw took them out to a fairly nice place and, of course, insisted on paying for everything. Ochako barely had the energy to attempt any sort of refusal, so instead she just accepted his generosity gratefully.

Mina sat between Ochako and Midori on the car ride to and from the restaurant, while Bakugou rode in the front; both ways, they both fell asleep on her, each with a head resting on her shoulder. It was nice how something so simple made her feel so wanted.

When Stormclaw dropped the four of them off at the dorms, Bakugou and Mina had to basically carry the other two inside. They rode the elevator to the second floor and dropped Midori off at his room, then rode up to the fourth where the rest of them lived. After grabbing their shower supplies and a change of clothes, they each returned to the ground floor and enjoyed a nice, warm, relaxing, well-deserved shower.

Their showers were silent, nobody really having the energy to speak, but Mina smiled at the look of slight disbelief that was stuck on Ochako's face. She gave Ochako a big hug as they left the showers, letting the poor woman lean on her slightly to help keep her on her feet for as long as possible.

All four of them took the elevator to the fourth floor again and, after saying goodnight to Bakugou, the three of them headed for Ochako's room, at Mina's insistence. Neither Ochako or Midori were in much of a state to argue. She pulled Ochako's plain green covers back and wordlessly nudged the brunette into her bed, then hopped over her, nuzzling herself into Ochako's left while Midori collapsed onto Ochako's right.

"Goodnight," Mina whispered as she pulled the covers up. "I love you both."

The other two mumbled back a rough approximation of 'love you too' before both of their eyes closed. Even asleep, Midori seemed to instinctually snuggle up onto Ochako, nuzzling himself into her neck.

Mina's eyes closed not long after.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Smut has arrived. Continue at your own risk.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Mina was awoken early in the morning by a soft noise. She opened her eyes, barely able to make out Midori creeping across the room and out the door, closing it gently behind him.

Now, this wasn't that strange; it was the opposite, in fact. Midori had almost made a habit of sneaking out early. Several times over their week-and-change of sleeping together, he had crept out of bed and left for around an hour or so, only to return and sneak back like nothing happened.

Mina had waited patiently for him to tell her what was going on, but he seemed content to pretend like it never happened.

But tonight, with Ochako so tired Mina doubted she could wake her if she wanted to, Mina resolved to investigate; it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. She slid down from Ochako's side to the foot of the bed and slowly cracked the door, putting pressure on it in the right spots to keep it from making any noise.

So maybe Mina had practice, so what?

Originally, she had thought that it was just Midori having to go to the bathroom, but no. He was gone too long and it was too frequent. Something in her gut told her it was something else.

She peeked her head around the corner, spying the door to the stairs closing gently. Mina slunk forward, making sure she kept far enough behind that she didn't alert him to her presence. With how tired he was, she guessed his perception would be lessened as well.

However, that caused her to worry slightly as she closed the door behind her. Midori was exhausted , she was sure that tonight of all nights he wouldn't have snuck out, but here they were. Just what was going on?

She kept two flights behind him, listening for him opening any doors. Just as she suspected, he opened the door to the second floor.

He was heading for his own room.

Was this something to do with his quirk? Did he need to check in with his hero merchandise to see that it was all there? Maybe he could move some of it to Mina's and Ochako's rooms if it would help.

Once the door closed down below, she picked up the pace, not wanting to fall too far behind him. She peered through the window in the door and saw him unlocking his room and heading inside, his head down as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Maybe she could wait outside his room or something for him to come out; it's not like he gave her one of his keys or anything.

She crept forward and sat down on the soft carpet, completely awake from all the adrenaline pumping through her. There was something so exciting about sneaking around; she felt like a spy in a movie.

Mina heard him moving around inside a little, but she couldn't tell what was happening from a few dulled noises. She sat there for a few minutes and found herself getting more and more impatient. Maybe she should just knock and get it over with. She was his concerned girlfriend and he was doing something very odd.

Or maybe…

Her hand reached out and tested the doorknob.

It moved.

Midori had forgotten to lock the door behind him. Maybe he was confident that nobody would follow him, or maybe he had just forgotten in his tired state. Either way, could she afford to waste this chance?

She pulled back, biting her thumb as she thought. Should she open it up? Should she knock? Should she head back to bed and act like nothing happened? Or head back and talk to him in the morning?

No, it was now or never. She wouldn't get an opportunity like this again and knocking might just wake up Aoyama next door. Beyond the obvious awkwardness that would cause, she was sure that Aoyama would be furious if anybody interrupted his beauty sleep.

She could respect that.

'Here goes nothing…'

Mina slowly turned the handle, pushing the door open slowly. Unlike Ochako's door, his door was well-oiled enough to not make much noise at all. She had also tested that, of course.

The room slowly came into view and, now that her eyes had fully adjusted to the dim light of the early morning, she could make out Midori sitting on his bed.

But what exactly was he do-

"Oh my God."

Midori whipped around, his eyes as wide as possible as he desperately tried to cover himself up with a white towel.

"M-MINA?!" he whisper-shouted. " WHAT A-ARE YOU DOING HERE?! "

"Oh my God," she repeated.

Midori was doing his best broccoli impression, she was sure, even if she couldn't exactly tell in the light.

" Did you follow me? " he asked, his voice full of fear and bewilderment.

She nodded slowly, finally willing her legs to move as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Y-yeah."

He looked so confused. "Why?!"

She moved forward, trying to keep her eyes from drifting down from his face. "Uh, I was- I wanted to, uh-"

A thick silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"Were you jerking it?"

She could basically feel the heat coming off his face.

The silence hung for a while longer yet.

He finally hung his head. "Y-yeah."

Mina reached up and slapped herself, refocusing on why she had come here. She was positive her face was as purple as his was green. "Is that why you've been sneaking out?"

He flinched. "Oh, y-you've noticed that?"

"I'm sure Ochako has, too," she said with a soft chuckle. "While I'm impressed a dude your size is a stealthy as you are… you're still a big guy. It's hard not to notice when a weight like that leaves the bed."

"I was t-trying not to disturb you…"

"So let me get this straight." Mina turned his lamp on, shining light into the room.

Yeah, he was green.

She cocked a hip."You've been sneaking out a half-dozen times over the past what… ten or so days to come down to your room and masturbate? "

He shied away from her slightly. "I'm sorry, it's just-"

"Yeah, no, I want to hear this."

"It's…" Midori looked away, still desperately clutching the towel covering his upper legs and stomach. He looked like he was thinking hard.

'Heh. Hard.'

"It's my quirk," he finally admitted.

Well, that wasn't what she was expecting. "What?" It was almost more of a statement than a question.

"My quirk it… I…" Midori was floundering around, trying to find the right words.

"Izuku, babe," Mina said, smiling and moving over to sit next to him. He flinched and scooted away slightly. "Just say it. I won't judge you or anything, I promise. Stop beating around the bush."

He sighed, looking down at the floor. It took him a good thirty seconds of silence to work up the courage to speak again. "My quirk gives me an overactive libido. If I don't have regular release, it causes... issues. I get distracted, I get irritable, I get antsy. It's been worse- a lot worse- since I started dating you two."

"That's a little flattering," she admitted, as she pulled her feet up onto the bed and faced him head-on. "But why does your quirk make you horny?"

Her blunt word choice caused him to recoil, but she did it intentionally. He needed to get this out in the open, even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming.

He took a few steadying breaths. "I'm… not sure, honestly. But apparently it's something all the people in my family- at least those with full dragon quirks- have to deal with. At least that's what my dad told me."

She rocked back and forth slowly on his bed. "What, the men with dragon quirks all have to deal with this?"

"...not just the men."

Mina froze and felt her face warm up again. "So wait, are you telling me that Ryukyu-"

Midori nodded quickly. "Please keep that a secret, I shouldn't have said anything."

"Oh, I won't tell anyone," Mina agreed, "but you're telling me that Ryukyu, the number nine hero, has to get herself off nearly nightly just to keep her focus?"

'Do not think about your fav pro hero mastur-' Her face flushed a little more. 'Goddammit.'

"N-no," he stuttered. "At least I don't think so. From what I can tell… I have it a lot worse than anyone else."

"Oh, so it's something about your quir-" Mina froze as a thought crossed her mind. "You hoard people… does your quirk want you to have kids?"

Midori tried to hide his face and clutch onto his towel at the same time, but he didn't have enough hands. He opted to keep the towel secure. "Y-yeah, that's basically it. All of our instincts push us to have kids, but mine are much, much more insistent about it."

Mina tapped her chin. "Alright, let me see if I understand," she began. "Your quirk makes you have an exceptionally high sex drive because it wants you to have a bunch of kids." He nodded nervously. "And that problem has been getting worse ever since you started dating a pair of sexy ladies," she continued with a wink. He blushed a little harder somehow and nodded again. "And so you sneak out to let off some steam or your quirk won't let you sleep or focus in class?"

He nodded a third time.

She looked at him, furrowing her brow. "I see. Well then, I have one more question for you."

"Are you mad at me?" he asked shyly.

"What?!" Mina jerked back slightly. "No!"

"You don't think it's-"

She put a hand on his face, cupping his cheek slightly. "Midori, listen to me. There is nothing wrong with masturbating. It's natural, it's even healthy."

He didn't say anything.

"Can I ask my question now?" she asked, still rubbing his face gently.

Midori nodded.

"Why?"

He looked at her suddenly. "Why? Why wh-"

"Why…" she whispered, cutting him off as she leaned into his ear, "are you sneaking out instead of coming to your girlfriends with your problem?"

He froze up, stiff as a board, while his face ascended to new levels of viridescence. He tried to say something, but nothing came out aside from vague sputterings.

"Wow, I've turned you into broccoli before, but I hadn't broken you," she noted with a giggle.

As his shock continued to render him speechless, she continued. "Midori, I'm dating you because of who you are. I love you and I'd still date you even if you didn't look like…" She gestured to his body. " ...that. But wow, it uh, it doesn't hurt."

"W-wha?" His vow of silence finally broke.

"Oh my God," Mina muttered, feeling a little exasperated. "Izuku, I am sexually attracted to you."

"...Oh."

"Oh?" she repeated. "And are you sexually attracted to me?"

He averted his gaze further, but nodded.

She reached out and put a hand on his far cheek, pulling his vision back to hers. His eyes were glowing brightly. "Then what's the problem?"

"I, uh, I-" The poor man was short-circuiting.

"Shhhh," she whispered soothingly. "It's fine. I know you're nervous. I'll take it slow." She leaned in, getting close to his ear. "Let me make you feel good, Izuku.~"

His eyes burned brighter. She could almost hear the argument between himself and his instincts that was certainly going on in his mind.

"I want to do this, Izuku," she insisted. "But only if you do, too. Do you want me to help you?"

"I… I…" He hesitated, looking back to her face and away again.

"You're not going to hurt my feelings if you say no," she reassured him. "I only want to do this if you're comfortable."

"...yes..." He was so quiet she could barely hear him.

Her heart started beating even faster than it had been. This wasn't her first rodeo, but she felt a connection to Midori that she hadn't felt with her previous boyfriends.

Mina scooted closer, pushing herself up against his arm. "You have to remove the towel."

He hesitated.

"Do you want me to do it?"

He nodded.

Mina smiled kindly and reached down slowly, gripping the edge of the towel and pulling gently. Midori held onto it for a second before letting go, allowing her to pull it back and reveal…

A bunch of scales.

"What? Where is-" Mina looked up at her boyfriend's face, her expression half-annoyed and half-amused. "You stop that. Let your quirk go and-" She leaned in closer- " let me see it. "

Midori hesitated again. "A-are you sure?" His voice was getting a huskier.

" Very, " she whispered.

He nodded and breathed out, relaxing himself. The scales began to recede, staring at the edges and working their way toward the middle. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was dragging it out, teasing her with the anticipation.

Soon… it began to appear. It grew as the transformation ended, slowly returning him to his human form.

His very impressive human form.

It took several long, torturous moments for him to reach full mast again. And what a sight it was.

"...Wow," was all she could say. It was larger than anything she had seen before, and not by a small margin. She glanced down at her forearm, doing a quick mental comparison. "That's…"

"It-"

Mina immediately heard the self-deprecating tone of his voice and pressed a finger to his lips before he could finish the first word. "Shush. I love it." She leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Listen to me. I love you and I want to do this."

"Y-you don't think it's weird?" he asked.

"I think it's beautiful," she assured him.

Mina reached out and ran a few of her fingers along its length. Midori shivered slightly as soon as she touched it, his breathing becoming slightly more labored. The heat coming off of it was exciting to say the least. She felt her chest tighten in anticipation and the familiar heat beginning to build between her legs.

She ran her fingers down it a few more times, enjoying the reactions she was eliciting out of the man who, just a few hours ago, smashed into Todoroki as a massive, powerful dragon. Yet here he was, trembling under her touch. It was cute… but she hoped that she could pull him out of that shell. Mina had seen him act so confident, so bold, so powerful… once she got him to understand just how she felt about him and about this… well, maybe he could show her some of that again.

But only when he was ready. The last thing she wanted to do would be to rush things and make him uncomfortable or hurt his feelings.

She slowly reached her fingers out and across, her heart rate picking up as she realized her fingers couldn't wrap entirely around it- not even close. She could feel her pulse pounding away beneath her underwear. Damn, this was getting her all worked up, too.

Mina began to slowly move her hand, traveling up and down it's length with smooth strokes as he tried to keep himself calm with deep breaths. This was unlike anything she had dealt with before, that's for sure. This thing she was holding…

That tantalizing, infuriating, needy feeling was pouring through her again. She began to feel empty, like she needed something to grip onto, something to fill her up.

Mina bit her lip as she ran her eyes down his length. Yeah, that would do. That would do nicely.

But later.

The weight was something she was coming to terms with still. Once the time came to go… further, she would be the one who would need to take things slow. She doubted she would have trouble getting wet enough, but just the size of the thing would give her pause.

Yeah, there was no doubt. This definitely belonged on a man like Midori. It was powerful and a little terrifying, just like he was, but at the same time, it made her feel so, so happy.

Mina picked up the pace a little, savoring the sensation of him squirming under her touch. She became acutely aware of the smell that was filling the room; the distinctly manly smell, if she were to take a page out of Kiri's book.

His squirming became more dramatic as she went faster, moving her hand from base all the way to tip. It would take more than two hands for her to cover this thing. 'Maybe if Ochako helped?'

Midori began to breathe faster and harder. He turned his head away, averting his gaze as she felt him twitch once in her hand. She had enough experience to know what that meant: he was getting close.

Mina reached her other hand up and touched the back of his head, running her fingers through her hair. "Izuku," she began, her voice a low, needy whisper, "look at me." She pushed his head slightly, helping him to turn back around. His eyes were glowing brightly, a strange mixture of emotions on his face.

She leaned in and kissed him softly, biting his lower lip softly as she pulled back. His hot breath was mixing with hers, causing the heat below to intensify. When did her panties get so uncomfortable?

"M-Mina," he managed to get out. "C-close."

Her heart was pounding in her ears as she felt it twitch faster in her hand. "It's okay, it's okay."

"T-towel-"

"What? Oh, right." She pulled her left hand back from his head and grabbed the towel he was using to protect his modesty.

His eyes closed as he breathed in sharply. A low rumble echoed up from his chest as she felt him tense and swell in her hand.

Mina pulled the towel over and wrapped it around his tip, keeping him from making a mess.

His breathing was erratic as he continued to twitch rhythmically in her hand. She lost count of how many times he had pulsed in her hand, but she wasn't exactly focused on numbers at the present. She was much more interested in seeing the look of relaxed bliss that spread over his face as his eyes slowly opened again.

She wasn't counting, but she knew that his orgasm had been intense . She could feel the extra weight in the towel and even with it covered, the smell was overpowering, dominating her senses. Her brain felt like it was working on overdrive and the pulsing down below was only getting more and more intense, seemingly angry that it wasn't getting any attention.

Mina pulled her hand from his length, keeping the other hand holding the towel as he rode out the final waves of his orgasm, panting like he had just ran a sprint. She reached up and pulled him down, planting a kiss firmly on his lips, sucking what little air he had out of him.

His eyes snapped open, the light inside them doubling in intensity as his tongue entered her mouth, firmly supplanting hers.

It seemed like a fire had begun to burn underneath the man. Only time would tell if she would come to regret starting that fire… but her money was firmly on 'no'.

He broke off the kiss quicker than she had hoped as he began to take deep breaths, trying to recover the air that she had stolen from him over the past several minutes.

"Mina…" he finally spoke, his voice deep and calm. "That was… I love you."

Mina felt her heart flutter even as her emptiness grew deeper. "I love you too, Izuku," she replied, finally pulling the towel away and taking a few moments to make sure she cleaned him up well enough. His length was softening slowly, shrinking down a more manageable, but still impressive size.

Midori slowly leaned backward onto his elbows as he finally began to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose, but his eyes suddenly snapped back open and he bolted upright.

"That smell," was all he said. "It's back."

Mina blinked, her eyes traveling down to his legs where she saw him beginning to grow again. 'It wasn't even soft yet! What kind of refractory period is that ?!'

"The smell you told me about," he clarified. "You told me that it-" Midori's scales flashed back, hiding himself again as he turned to face her fully. "It means that-" He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. "Mina, can I- uh…" He trailed off looking away and taking a deep breath before turning back to her. "I want to make you feel good, too."

"Oooh~ Is that so?" she responded, her face warming up even as she smirked. "Well, I for one would love it if my boyfriend were to return the favor." Truth be told, she was a little nervous, but she couldn't let him know that. He needed her to be confident for him. Mina leaned in a little closer, her mouth only inches from him. "What were you thinking?"

"I…" He looked down, then away. "I, uh, I…"

"Izuku," she cooed, cupping his chin and kissing him softly on the lips. "You can say whatever you want. I'm not going to judge you and I'm not going to let you do anything that's going to make me uncomfortable. Just… tell me what you're thinking and we'll go from there."

He smiled shyly, his face pointing down, but his eyes peering up at her face. "I don't deserve you."

"Oh, hush," she giggled. "Would you like it if I started talking about how much bigger and stronger and smarter you are than me?" His eyes widened, but she planted a kiss on his forehead before he could speak. "One of these days you're going to have to believe me when I say 'I love you', alright?"

"I do believe you!" he said earnestly, hesitating for a moment before sighing. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll try not to put myself down anymore."

She smiled, moving a little closer to him so their bodies were touching. "I know it's not easy, and I know it's not going to change overnight, but I also know that you're trying, and that's all we can ask from you." She hugged him warmly for a few seconds before backing away slightly, touching his chin with one finger. "Now… about what you wanted to do to me~"

Midori gulped and closed his eyes, seemingly building up his courage. "I…" His eyes opened back up, they were glowing brighter. "I want to t-taste you."

"Oh. Oh. " Now it was Mina's turn to blush and have her eyes widen. "You… you want to…taste me?" She felt herself pulse hard down below as her chest tightened further. "You want to e-eat me out?"

Midori recoiled slightly. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Mina reached up and grabbed his face with both hands. "Whenever I think I have the best boyfriend, you keep finding ways to get better."

His face grew greener. "O-oh." He stared into her eyes, blinking slowly as her anticipation only grew more with each passing second. "S-so, you would be okay with-"

"Oh God , yes !" she responded, trying to keep her voice down. "If you want to put your tongue to work, I will put your tongue to work. "

He just sat there, blinking and nodding slowly.

Her excitement waned for a second as she remembered her… problem. "Uh, but by the way, cause of my quirk, I'm a little… acidic, you know?" She poked two fingers together once or twice. "All my previous partners they… after a while their tongues start tingling and well… you get the idea. It's nothing dangerous, just uncomfortable. Just a word of warning, okay?"

He nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Oh, I know that," she said with a small giggle. "You always do."

Mina rolled back, lifting her legs off the bed and beginning to pull down her pajama pants. She savored the absolutely star-struck look on Midori's face as he watched her pants pass down her thighs and over her knees.

"Don't look away," she whispered as he began to avert his gaze. "Right now, this is all for you. I want you to watch."

He nodded once. "O-okay."

Mina tossed her pants to the side, leaving her wearing nothing but her top and her panties. They were simple, but cute and functional, and she always liked that shade of pink. Her confidence grew slightly as she saw his breathing pick up and his eyes glow brighter.

She reached back, propping up his pillows on his headboard and leaning into them as she slowly spread her legs apart. Even though this wasn't her first time, she still felt exposed. However, her nervousness was dwarfed by how safe Midori made her feel, so she didn't worry about it much.

Mina lifted a finger and beckoned him slowly. "Come closer, my dragon," she whispered with a slight giggle.

Midori reached down and pulled his own pajama pants up, then swung his legs around so he was kneeling on his bed. Then slowly, cautiously, he began to move towards her.

His nervousness was cute, but it served the unintentional double purpose of making her wait longer than she wanted. He was teasing her without meaning to and she didn't know if she loved it, hated it, or both.

"I… I don't know where to start," he admitted. "I've never…"

"I'll teach you," she reassured him. "Don't worry, I'm excited to get the opportunity to train my dragon just how I want. Something tells me that you're going to be a very generous lover once we get through that shell of yours."

"S-sorry," he muttered.

Mina smiled kindly. "Don't be. I don't want you to rush it. The last thing we want you to do is to feel pressured. Take it at your own pace, I won't be upset." She said that and she truly meant that, but the heat had only gotten worse, the pulsing had only gotten worse. She needed relief, but she was forcing herself to wait for him.

Midori breathed out and nodded. "So uh, where do I start?"

'Ram your tongue as deep into me as you can' was what her brain wanted her to say, but she held her tongue. "Start by building up anticipation. Foreplay is always important." She ran her fingers gently down the insides of her thighs. "Come here and kiss me, work your way up my legs."

Midori nodded again, listening intently. He moved his face down, closer and closer. A very insistent part of her wanted to grab him by the horns and slam him into her crotch, but she resisted again.

She was so sensitive, she could feel his breath even through her panties. At this rate, she was going to have issues lasting very long at all once he got to the main course.

His lips touched her inner thigh, sending sparks shooting up her spine. She reached down and tousled his hair gently, urging him silently to continue. Midori's lips pressed into her thigh again, further up this time. Another kiss brought him even closer as she let out a soft whine that she couldn't contain. Even though she knew it was all in her mind, it felt like the intervals were just getting longer and longer.

Another kiss had him dangerously close to her center and his head brushed against her underwear. While his kisses were shooting off sparks, the contact, slight as it was, sent an entire lightning bolt crashing through her mind.

Unintentionally, her body squeezed. She pulled harshly on a handful of hair, while her legs pressed his face in from both sides. Mina quickly regained her composure, letting her legs fall apart once more.

Midori pulled back and looked at her in concern. "Was.. was that good?"

She could only nod furiously as she bit her finger, trying to keep in further moans. Truth be told, Mina was a little embarrassed with how easily she was reacting to his touch. This wasn't her first time in this position, but… it was her first time with someone she cared for this much. Maybe that made all the difference. Regardless of the truth, she needed more.

"Kiss it," she whispered, pulling her finger away for a moment. Her voice was rough and full of desire, which only seemed to encourage the man. He leaned in, only hesitating once before planting a kiss on her underwear, only that thin veil of fabric separating their skin.

Again, she spasmed, arching her back and moaning into her finger. For a moment, her patience failed. "I-I need, Izuku please. More… " She gripped the back of his head and pulled down firmly, pressing him closer to her pulsating core.

He inhaled deeply and she felt his horns grow slightly across his head pressed into her thighs. Mina gasped slightly; she didn't know how much she needed that until right then. The idea that her scent, that her sex, was getting him so riled up that his quirk had to come out… yeah, that was hot.

Maybe she could entice him to let a little more out later.

But again, later.

He kissed her twice more, each time eliciting the same reaction. She was already panting softly. "N-now, it's time to go further," she whispered, her voice unsteady. "It's time to get what you wanted, Izuku."

He looked up at her from between her legs, his eyes filled with both desire and concern. Mina nodded gently, encouraging him to continue.

She felt his hand creep forward and tug at the side of her underwear, causing her heart to beat even harder in her chest.

This was actually happening.

She felt the cool air rush past her as she was finally exposed, sending a shiver up her spine. The air mixed with his hot breath, exciting her even further.

Gently, ever so gently, his tongue reached out and ran up her lips, parting them slightly and causing her to bite hard into her finger. Her heart was absolutely racing now, each heartbeat pulsing through her core with such intensity, she was half-worried Midori would be able to hear it.

She had done this several times before, but something about this made her feel so… she didn't know how to really describe it. She felt exposed, but safe, nervous, but excited. Maybe this was just what love felt like?

He licked her again, this time with more intensity. A third and a fourth upward stroke came, each longer and more confident than the last. Without meaning to, each lick was getting closer and closer to her pearl and she could barely handle the anticipation. It was swollen, engorged with blood and desperate for attention.

And Mina wasn't the kind of person to just hope he noticed. "Izuku, higher. See that button above? Give that special attention."

He nodded, the look in his eyes less nervous and more curious and determined. Already, he was getting into it. Leave it to Midori to have his passion for learning bleed through here.

Midori's tongue snaked up with another lick, longer than the rest. Her chest tightened, like a spring stretching out slightly. He really was a quick learner.

Instead of stopping where the rest had, his tongue went further, finally giving her pearl the stimulation it so desperately was demanding.

She squealed, whining into her hand as she clamped it over her mouth to keep her voice down. Her legs half-locked around the back of his head and her eyes fluttered from the intensity.

'Patience, Mina, patience. You have to hold out, he needs to learn. Calm down, calm down.'

Seeing how she reacted, he licked again. His tongue was clumsy, but she was so aroused right now that anything he did felt like the touch of an angel. That spring inside of her was being pulled with every heavenly stroke of his tongue, even more so as he began to mix in licks to her folds with his attention to her bud.

Alright, she didn't have this much patience. If he was going to get the full experience, it was going to have to be a crash course.

"Izuku- Izuku," she began, daring to take her hand away from her mouth. "Lean back for a bit."

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked immediately, his courage faltering.

"No, no," she cooed. "The opposite. You're doing very, very well…"

'Almost too well,' she thought to herself.

He leaned back, a look of confusion and concern growing on his face. Mina reached down and began to pull her panties down. She wanted to take them off slowly, to tease him and give him a show, but she was so riled up she wound up almost melting them off.

Midori was… stunned.

He stared at her, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. Mina thought that she might feel exposed, but that look in his eye only made her feel like she was the queen of the world.

Mina leaned back down and spread her legs apart. "Now… come here, lover boy."

As her scent, now fully exposed, permeated the air, she saw the light in his eyes glow even more intensely. He licked his lips quickly before leaning back in, his eyes focused.

He started with another lick and another pass over her pearl, but she needed to teach him more. Mina reached down and grabbed the back of his head with both hands, pulling him in slowly, but firmly, into her. He didn't resist and soon she had pressed him completely up against herself.

Mina ground into his face, urging him to continue his task while helping to relieve the pressure that continued to build within her. After what felt like hours, but was only mere seconds, he got the idea.

His tongue reached out inside of her, causing her mind to blank slightly as ecstasy crashed over and through her. Her boyfriend began exploring her slowly, his tongue inexperienced, but eager. Her back arched as that spring pulled tighter still, the pressure inside her building.

With both hands on his head, she couldn't keep her moan contained, so she just did her best to keep it as quiet as she could. However, as she voiced her pleasure, she felt him move closer and his tongue move deeper, seemingly emboldened by her moan.

Every centimeter he explored was like riding on a cloud and crashing through a raging river at the same time. She had never felt anything like this before. If this was what it was like to be with Midori…

Soon, her mind was able to focus less and less on her desire to teach as pleasure took up more of her mental bandwidth. Her coherence lessened as he pressed further in and her breathing became more erratic

" More~ ", she moaned, pushing her head back into the pillow and running her fingers through his hair. " Deeper~ "

Midori answered the call valiantly, his tongue stretching deeper.

Much deeper.

And… wider?

Her eyes snapped wide as she pushed him back firmly. He looked up at her with his head tilted slightly, and a long, slightly green tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Oh… my… God. " His tongue was longer than any human's ever had the right to be; there was no way he could fit that thing back in his mouth. She hadn't considered that he would have been able to do that, but looking back, it seemed so obvious. The tip tapered to a fork, deepening her fascination as an idea came to her.

"I-" He was cut off as she grabbed his head and dragged him back down as hard as she could, begging him to continue.

His tongue began to push deeper again, filling her and shooting off fireworks in her mind. Mina felt him begin to transform it further, stretching it longer and wider as he began to hit all of her spots by just being there. She ground her pearl into his face, gyrating her hips as she was wound tighter and tighter.

He bulged larger one more time. Her whole body was trembling now and her breath came out ragged.

That was it, she was at her limit.

Mina threw her arms behind her and grabbed one of the pillows she was laying on, pulling it over her mouth as she screamed .

Her walls clamped down on his tongue, holding him in place as her spring snapped back.

Wave after wave of pleasure rolled over her as everything around her ceased to exist. It felt like a firework had been set off in her lap, and she couldn't help but scream into the pillow. She could feel every heartbeat pulsing through her core like a shockwave, and she was finding it hard to breathe. Her screams were transforming into needy whines as she continued to rub herself against Midori's face, trying to chase the sensation for as long as possible.

Nothing had ever felt this good before, not even close . 'This is what a real orgasm feels like? I will never let this man go!'

She didn't want this feeling to ever end.

"Oh fuck ! This is amazing... " she moaned with a shaky voice as stars began to dance across her vision.

She had lost all track of time. Wave after wave, swell after swell, spasm after spasm coursed through her body, rendering her helpless to the pleasure. She felt like she was losing her mind and it was all thanks to Midori.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally came down from her high, still twitching slightly. She softly pushed against his head to signal him to ease off, as she was starting to grow sensitive. She felt the utterly bizarre- but not entirely unpleasant- sensation of his tongue shrinking down inside of her as he pulled out and smiled nervously at her.

"So… I did okay?" he asked quietly.

Mina dropped back down onto the mattress and sighed contentedly, then giggled and rolled into Midori as he lay down next to her. She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. " Okay? I'd say you did better than okay . That was something … you're a natural."

"Oh." He smiled softly. "T-thanks."

Mina mumbled happily and shifted further into him, trying to convey physically just how much she was in love with him right now. His arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe and protected; she could feel his love through the contact, too.

Mina smirked through lidded eyes and cupped his cheek, kissing him slowly and passionately on the lips. Pulling away, she licked her own lips leisurely. "Hmm. I taste good, huh?"

Midori nodded slowly, his eyes wide. The blush that had finally been fading slightly from his cheeks was growing again.

She giggled and nuzzled into his chest, taking comfort from his warmth and his smell. They lay there together for several minutes, silently enjoying each other's presence as they basked in the afterglow of their tryst.

Mina's trance was broken by a small sniffle; she moved her vision up and saw a few tears leaking from Midori's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice full of concern. "Did we go too fast?"

He shook his head quickly. "No, no, I'm… just so happy right now. I never thought I could be this happy… I love you so much." He smiled wide, even as he leaked another tear.

Mina felt herself fall for him a little harder. "I love you too," she whispered, wiping his face with her finger and moving up so her arms were wrapped around his neck instead of his chest.

They relaxed a little longer as the morning light came creeping into his window.

Mina sighed happily again. If someone had told her a month ago that she would be here and this happy… well, she might have kissed them on the spot. The only thing that could make this better was…

"Hey," she began, her smirk reappearing.

He pulled back and looked down at her inquisitively.

"Last week, when we had some alone time and after she had opened up enough to me, Ochako and I started talking about some of our fantasies." Mina saw his eyes go wide again.

She walked two of her fingers up his chest before lightly tapping him on the nose. "Would you like to help fulfill one of hers?"