Chapter 16
After getting a decent distance from the cafe and the periphery of the red light district, Ashido abruptly threw up her hands and exclaimed, "Ah! That was so intense...!" in an enthusiastic but markedly relieved tone.
Turning to Izuku, a broad smile developed across Ashido's face as she added, "You know, you're a pretty good guy, Midoriya-kun. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why I suspected otherwise. I guess it's because you don't really act like a boy around our age?"
Instead of commenting on Ashido's remark, Izuku raised his brows and asked, "Does this mean our date is over? I was kind of looking forward to hanging out with you. I mean, this is the first time I've ever accompanied a cute girl like this. It would be a shame to end things early."
Pointing directly at Izuku's face, Ashido exclaimed, "You see!? That's exactly what I'm referring to! What kind of middle-turned-high-schooler talks like that?"
Shrugging his shoulder, Izuku responded, "One who is polite and cares about how people perceive him? We are aspiring to be Pro Heroes, after all."
Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Ashido visibly deflated, hanging her arms and slumping her shoulders at the sheer 'insensibility' of Izuku's rationale. He was right, of course, but it just sounded so weird to hear a boy around her age speak with such 'level-headedness.'
Shaking her head, Ashido regained a bit of vigor as she asked, "Can I ask you something? You said something along the lines of always doing your best to be honest, so let me ask you this: What kind of girls do you prefer? Even if it's true that you think we're all cute, you 'must' have a preference."
Nodding his head, Izuku calmly remarked, "Honesty is the best policy..." before answering, "When it comes to physical appearances, I'm honestly not all that picky. What I 'do' prefer are strong and mature girls who are passionate about something they love and know precisely what they want from a relationship. In other words, I'm looking for someone I can treat as a friend and an equal."
Hearing Izuku's response, Ashido couldn't help massaging her forehead as she remarked, "Is this guy for real...?" under her breath. A normal boy would have hesitated or responded by vaguely listing off the features of the girl he was with. Izuku's answer exuded sincerity, but it was way too serious for a typical high schooler...
Noticing Ashido's obvious exasperation, a faint smile developed across Izku's face as he asked, "Should I have answered by saying I like girls with amazing physiques, pink skin, and badass eyes? Because it wouldn't be a lie..."
Looking up to meet Izku's gaze, a hint of incredulity briefly flashed across Ashido's distinctive gold and black-sclera eyes. Then, regaining her usual smile, she affirmed, "It's certainly better than your previous response. But you forgot to mention my horns. Do you not like them?"
"On the contrary," replied Izuku. "I just didn't think it would be appropriate to say I like horny women."
Though it was nearly indistinguishable due to her complexion, a blush developed through Ashido's cheeks when she heard Izuku's surprisingly brazen response. With how over-the-top and polite his other responses were, she didn't think he had it in him to flirt properly.
Unable to contain a smile, Ashido gave Izuku a weak shove as she said, "You dog..." in an embarrassed but slightly gratified tone. Even if Izuku's words were superficial lip service or simple ribbing, they made her heart beat a little quicker...
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After parting ways with 'Mina' at the station, Izuku was in an excellent mood the rest of the way home. Ashido had given him her number and permission to address her informally, so the two exchanged texts late into the evening while Izuku mulled over his plans for the following day.
Because of the rapport he had built with Nezu and All Might, Izuku was fairly certain he could persuade them to prepare countermeasures even if he didn't reveal the specific details of what might happen. Fortunately, he had experimented in the past by increasing each of his attributes to 100, so he had a reasonable excuse to offer.
By increasing his Luck to 100, Izuku's system rewarded him with a Perk called [Intuition]. As the name implied, it gave him a sixth sense of sorts. Unfortunately, even though it was a Perk obtained at 100 Luck, it wasn't very reliable. Izuku had tried using it to 'game' the stock market, but only around half his investments paid off. He had a much higher success rate by simply paying attention to the news and analyzing market trends, so he gave up on [Intuition] until he had spare attributes to pump into Luck.
Luckily for Izuku, Nezu, or anyone else, could see his current distribution of attributes. He also wouldn't be lying when he said he suspected an incident might happen, so even someone as brilliant as Nezu shouldn't be able to see through him. Beyond that, Izuku's true concern was whether the presence of additional teachers would positively or negatively impact the outcome of the incident...
As the first Nomu to appear in Boku no Hero Academia was designed to counteract All Might, the presence of additional teachers may very well lead to a massacre. Izuku doubted the Nomu was anywhere near Level sixty-thousand, but he should possess superhuman strength and agility along with the Shock Absorption and Super Regeneration Quirks. Normal Heroes would be completely powerless against it, so Izuku spent much of the evening deliberating the best course of action before simply sending Principal Nezu an email detailing his concerns...
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Early the following day, nearly as soon as Izuku broke through the mob-like group of reporters surrounding the front gate, a voice informing him to report to the Principal's Office sounded over the school's PA System.
Upon reaching Nezu's office, Izuku was asked to take a seat before the mouse-like dog-bear hybrid said, "I apologize for calling you here on such short notice, Midoriya-kun. I thought to send you an email, but I prefer to discuss matters related to the school's security in person."
Shaking his head, Izuku replied, "Please, don't apologize, Principal Nezu. If anything, I should be thanking you. My [Intuition] is far from perfect, so it's entirely possible I'm making a mountain out of a molehill..."
Raising his oversized, paw-like hand, Nezu firmly asserted, "I would never ignore the concerns of one of my students, especially when said concerns involve the safety and well-being of the entire student body. I also regard you as a trustworthy individual, so I don't believe you would send such an email unless you were fairly certain something would occur."
Punctuating his words, Nezu brought up a holographic display depicting a dome-like structure with the words Unforeseen Simulation Joint hovering in the air.
"For tomorrow's Foundational Hero Studies course, Class 1-A was scheduled to conduct Rescue Training at this facility, our world-renown 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint,' or USJ for short. Since it would be, mind the pun, fairly disastrous if an incident were to occur at such an important facility, I have privately conveyed your concerns to the supervising teachers and several of the more members of the Security Department. That includes All Might, so please, put your mind at ease and focus on your classes."
Feeling genuinely relieved by Nezu's words, Izuku adopted a broad smile and replied, "Thanks, Principal Nezu. I still have the impression something will happen, but if the Level 60,000 All Might is present, I can't imagine it will be difficult to resolve."
Blinking his somewhat beady black eyes, a very human smile developed across Nezu's face as he said, "Well, if there's nothing else, please be on your way."
Rising to his feet, Izuku lowered his head and thanked Nezu one last time before leaving, unaware that he had just passed the former's test. Most of what Nezu had just said were half-truths. He was skeptical and somewhat paranoid by nature, so he experimented to see if Izuku's words were truly the result of [Intuition] or something else. In other words, by pointing out he still felt as though something was amiss, Izuku had convinced Nezu he wasn't simply talking out of his ass...
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As Izuku had reached the campus around 15 minutes before the bell, Homeroom was already in full swing by the time he arrived. Fortunately, today was the day they were nominating their Class Representative, so it didn't matter if he was a little late. At the very least, Aizawa didn't even say anything as he entered the classroom.
Though virtually everyone noticed Izuku's arrival, the person to call out to him was Mina, raising her hand and shouting, "It's about time you showed up, Izuku-kun! We're trying to decide if you should be the Representative or Vice-Representative of the Class!"
Raising his brows, Izuku ignored the varied stares he was receiving from some of his male classmates, making his way over to the all-female group to ask, "What's this about, Mina-san? I don't recall volunteering for either position."
Spreading her hands and shrugging in a gesture of mock helplessness, Mina explained, "What can you do? Aizawa-sensei said we needed to pick our Class Representatives before Homeroom ended. Ida-kun suggested we put it to a vote, but just about everyone voted for themselves. You're the only boy that received more than one vote, so you and Yaoyorozu-san need to decide which of you is in charge."
Piggybacking off of Mina's words, Yaoyorozu revealed, "I personally cast my vote for you, Midoriya-kun, so I don't mind if you want to take the lead Representative position. I'm still lacking in many ways, so I was frankly a little surprised to receive two votes."
"And how many did I receive?" asked Izuku, genuinely curious to know the answer.
Anticipating Izuku's question, Mina held up five fingers and revealed, "You received a whopping five votes. One was your vote, as we assumed you would nominate yourself, while the remaining four came from Yaoyorozu-san, Uraraka-san, Tsuyu-chan, and Shoji-kun. On that note, you're free to change your vote, but it wouldn't change the fact you received the most out of everyone here."
Instead of opposing his nomination, Izuku adopted a smile, passing his gaze over Ochaco, Tsuyu, Yaoyorozu, and the nearby Shoji as he said, "Thank you for the votes of confidence. I would have nominated Ida-kun and Yaoyorozu-san for the positions, but if this is the result of diplomacy, I'll accept the result with humility."
Fixing his gaze on Yaoyorozu, Izuku added, "That being said, I believe you should take the Class Representative position, Yaoyorozu-san. I'm better at logistics and administrative tasks than leading people directly, so you can leave all the forms and paperwork to me. Of course, if you ever need my help directing people, I'll be happy to assist."
Though she was a little surprised when Izuku said he would have cast his vote for her, Yaoyorozu recovered quickly, a wide smile developing across her face as she said, "Thank you, Midoriya-kun. I shall do my best to meet both your and the Class's expectations."
As he was listening in on the conversation from his sleeping back, lying on the ground behind the teacher's podium, Aizawa rose to his feet and said, "Then that settles it. Momo Yaoyorozu will be the Class Representative, and Izuku Midoriya will be the Vice Class Representative. Get up here and give your introductions. After that, you can have self-study for the rest of Homeroom. I have a Staff Meeting to attend."
As he was one of the teachers that would be chaperoning Class 1-A during the following day's Rescue Training, Aizawa had already received a 'yellow' alert from Nezu informing him to come by the Principal's Office. Yellow was just two steps down from the worst-case scenario, so Aizawa had a serious expression as he departed the classroom, taking off at his maximum speed the moment the door closed behind him...
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(A/N: Proper communication is key to preventing situations from getting out of hand.)