21

Chapter 21: A Strange Friends Return

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku grunted as he ducked under a closed fan. He thrust his arm up and sent a pillar of gas up towards where he was kinda sure Nemuri was, but as he cleared it, she wasn't there. The room was full of both of their gasses. He may have more control, but she had greater output and was a master with her fans. She could manipulate her gas nearly as well as he did. Izuku yelped as a fan smacked the back of his head. Nemuri was also much better at hiding her presence in the gas and moving around him.

Izuku's eyes went blurry as he stumbled into a pocket of Nemuri's quirk. They were both highly resistant to each other's quirks, but it still made them sluggish, and Izuku was feeling very sluggish as Nemuri swiped his feet out from under him and pressed her knee into his gut, and tapped his forehead with her fan as she said. "And that's game. You did a lot better than last time."

Izuku groaned as Nemuri walked over and clicked on the exhaust fans to suck away their quirks. She grabbed two bottles of water and handed one to Izuku as she sat down across from him. Izuku rubbed the back of his head before drinking some water. "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

Nemuri patted his head. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that hard. You're a tough kid; you'll be fine. Just have your girlfriends kiss it better."

Izuku blushed and looked away. "Whatever... So how are things going? You sounded kinda mad yesterday when you were on the phone."

Nemuri sighed and leaned back. "I'm fine. My parents are just being... themselves. Ever since it was revealed that you're my kid, they've been even more incessant on me changing. They don't think Midnight is able to raise a kid."

Izuku shrugged. "Good thing Nemuri is raising me and not Midnight."

"Yeah... they can't seem to get that. Sorry that you had to hear me getting mad." Nemuri said as she got up. "Are you good to go home? I've got to head to UA and do some work."

Izuku nodded and hugged his mom before both grimaced at the gross sweaty show of affection. "See you tonight, Nemuri."

"See you tonight, Izuku."

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The two went their separate ways out of the gym. Izuku texted Mina once he was close to home. He hopped into the shower right away and got into some clean clothes by the time Mina showed up. Mina giggled as she threw her arms around his shoulders "inviting one of your girlfriends over while your mom is gone? How scandalous."

Izuku blushed and gave her a quick kiss before saying. "Come on, I just wanted to hang out a bit before we go see Toru."

Mina smiled. "I know. Sucks that she got sick right as the term ended. We'll have to bring her something."

Izuku hummed and rested his forehead against hers. Mina grinned and leaned in for another kiss. The two teens held it longer than the first before separating. Mina pulled away and said. "I wanna look at your notebooks. It's been a while since I've seen them."

Izuku sighed and led her to his room. Mina sat down at his desk and opened up the most recent notebook as her boyfriend stretched out on his bed. She flicked through a few heroes who had been updated and a couple new ones before finding her page. She smiled and marveled at how well her boyfriend drew.

Mina flipped past her entry to her girlfriend's entry. She noticed how Izuku drew Toru's main portrait without her face present. Sketches of Toru's face were put under the section on her quirk analysis that went over her ability to become visible. "Your art is great, you know."

Izuku hummed and scrolled through his phone. "I'm glad you like it. I uh took your advice, and I started posting my sketches of heroes online."

Mina smiled as she looked at him. "And how's it going?"

Izuku shrugged and winced a bit before putting his phone down. "Pretty good reception. Not that I care much. It's just something to do, you know."

Izuku winced again as he adjusted his position. Mina smiled and got up before laying next to him, so the two were only a couple inches away from each other. "Are you sore from training?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. How's your training been going?"

Mina shrugged and held his hands as she said. "It's alright. Nakita has been home a bit more, so he's been helping me train while dad works."

The two teens laid there as Izuku put his hand on Mina's hip and the other one cupped her cheek. Izuku leaned in, his nose brushing against hers as he gave her another soft kiss. Mina hummed as they separated and rested her forehead against his. "What's with all the kissing? Not that I mind."

"Well, we're going to see Toru, and she's sick, so that means one of us will definitely get sick. I'm kissing you now, so when one of us gets sick and can't kiss the others, I'll be able to survive."

Mina giggled as Izuku kissed her cheek. "Then I'll have to get in some kisses as well."

Mina moved in closer and peppered Iuzku's face with little kisses before settling into soft, drawn-out kisses. Izuku pulled Mina a bit closer as one hand gently ran through her hair, and the other stayed on her hip. Mina leaned into the contact as her hands moved up and racked through Izuku's hair.

The two separated for a moment, and Mina whispered. "I love you. I'm glad you and Toru are in my life."

Izuku's nose brushed against hers and whispered back just as quietly. "I love you too. You two have made my life great."

The two leaned forward, and a more firm kiss took the place of their words. Mina felt a tongue poke her lips, and she parted and let the kiss deepen as they adjusted their position. As their tongues explored each other's mouths, Mina ended up under Izuku, who adjusted his hand on her head. He stopped as his thumb gently pressed against the base of Mina's horn, and she gasped a bit.

Izuku pulled back and let the two of them breathe. Izuku looked at Mina's face, which was more lilac than pink, as she panted and looked up at Izuku. "W-what?"

"You-you're uh horns... we've never touched them before. I didn't think-"

Mina cut him off with a quick kiss. "Shut up... don't talk about it."

"But. why? I thought they were bone. I figured nothing would happen, but you had said you don't like people touching them, so Toru and I avoided them."

Mina's blush refused to fade. "It's... keratin actually like hair and nails, you know. I-I don't feel anything if I touch them. It's like trying to tickle yourself; it doesn't work..." Mina looked away as she muttered. "Someone else has to touch them for me to feel anything from them."

"D- Are you ok with Toru and I touching them?"

Mina's blush deepened as she gave a soft nod and muttered. "Y-yeah... it's ok. Just don't go overboard."

Izuku stared at her horns before gently pressing his thumb against the base and dragging it up. Mina's face scrunched up, and she grabbed his face and kissed him. Things quickly went back to before they parted. Izuku gently caressed her horn with his thumb as his kisses moved to her jaw and neck. His free hand moved up from her hip and slid slowly up her side. Mina gasped and reached her hand down to stop Izuku. "Izu... wait."

Izuku stopped and looked at Mina with concern "w-what's wrong?"

Mina was blushing hard as she panted. "I uh... things are getting kinda intense. It doesn't feel right to um go this direction without Toru."

Izuku's own blush was just as intense as he rolled off to the side and stared at the ceiling. "Y-yeah, you're right..."

"So, um... where did that come from? You're not usually so... aggressive, I guess." Mina said she looked at him.

Izuku looked over at her and said, "I don't know. Maybe because the anniversary of us dating is coming up or because I've just been thinking about how much I love you and Toru lately."

Mina blushed and buried her face in his shoulder. Izuku rubbed the back of her head gently. After a bit of just laying there, Izuku said. "We should head to see Toru."

MIna hummed and wrapped her arms around Izuku. "Yeah... I wanna make sure she's doing ok... I also really wanna cuddle with both of you."

Izuku kissed the top of her head. "Let's go get some stuff for Toru and visit her. We can come back after and watch some movies and cuddle as long as you want."

Mina nodded and kissed his cheek before getting up. "That sounds like a good plan. Let's get going."

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Toru groaned as she laid in bed with her eyes closed and the blankets pulled up to her nose. She had gotten sick right when break started, and she hadn't gotten to see her partners. She missed them and wanted to kiss them and cuddle them, but she couldn't. The invisible girl groaned as someone knocked on her door. She looked over and felt her spirits lift a bit as she saw her partners come in. They had a couple bags from the convenience store she liked.

Mina put the bags on Toru's desk while Izuku walked up to Toru. "Hey. How are you feeling today?"

Toru groaned. "Better now that I get to see you two. I didn't know you were coming over."

Mina giggled. "It was a surprise visit. Hope you don't mind."

"No. I'm glad to see you two. How have you been? What have you been up to today?"

Toru's partners chatted about their day. She watched curiously as they both blushed and stumbled over, telling her about what happened before they came to her. Toru blushed as she thought about them making out. "...oh. I-I don't think I can have this conversation while I'm sick."

Mina and Izuku chuckled, and Izuku said. "That's ok. I-it's uh not something we were looking to talk about today. We just wanted to let you know."

Toru nodded. "Well, thank you for coming, but I think I need to get some more sleep."

Izuku patted her head. "Alright. We'll get out of your hair. Enjoy the snacks when you feel better."

Toru leaned into the touch and hummed. "I will. Love you guys."

Mina smiled as she took Izuku's hand. "Love you too, Toru. Get better soon."

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Himiko clutched her arm as she ran down the alleyway. Tears streamed down from her eyes... correction from her eye. She had been running for so long, ever since that night. Himiko had only meant to be gone for a couple days before returning to her trio, but the police had caught onto her, and she had to run. Then some villains who were totally not cute had gotten a whiff of her and had a bone to pick. It had been one inconvenience after another that led her farther and farther from those three love birds who she got to know.

Himiko's hand moved from her bleeding arm to her phone, so she could dial Giran's number. She needed medical help, and she'd pay whatever it cost at this point. Today was the worst day of her life. She hadn't meant to end up in the city. Stain was currently in, but she counted it a blessing and set about finding him. It had taken a few days, but she finally found him. The person she used to love the most... right up to the point he tried to kill her and called her trash that deserved to die. Her image of him shattered as his blades sliced her right arm and cut into her right eye.

She had gotten lucky, and some hero types heard her screaming and came to rescue her. Himiko bolted at the first opportunity, of course. "Ah, if it isn't my favorite stab, happy blonde. What can I do for you, dear?"

Himiko bit back a scream as her arm accidentally hit the corner as she rounded it. "I need to get patched up now. I'm hurt real bad."

"Alright. Text me your location. I'll tell you who's close by. We'll work out the cost once you're healed up."

Himiko grunted and sent her location to him before nearly tripping over some garbage. "Fuck. This is so not cute."

Giran chuckled before telling her of the location of his contact who would patch her up. Himiko was glad it was close by and had a back door she was told to use. The 'doctor' who was there was not cute by any standard, but they were quiet and did their job well. They even gave Himiko some new clothes that weren't as cute as her uniform, but with how the police have been hounding her, she might have to ditch her super cute school outfit.

Maybe she could start collecting eyepatches to go with her outfits. That would be pretty cute even though it sucks she lost an eye. Himiko pulled on the jeans she was given and winced as she put on the black tank top and white cardigan. She hoped her arm wouldn't scar. She liked her soft, smooth skin, and scars only looked cute on other people. The last thing was a pair of black sneakers. Himiko thanked the woman who patched her up and was gone from the 'doctors' office and the city by the next day. She was planning to stay as far away from Stain as she could. He was totally not cute.

Himiko whipped her tears away as she boarded the train. She needed her trio. She wanted to see their love for each other and feel it by proxy. Cutting them and seeing them bleed was going to have to be put off. She was basically starting over with how long she had been gone. Himiko just hoped they'd still accept her when she got to them.

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Hitoshi and Izuku sat in a booth at a ramen shop. They had been sparring for a few hours and were getting some lunch before going to meet up with Mina and Toru so they could head to their dance class. As Izuku ate, Hitoshi decided that he needed to bring this up before meeting with the others. "I'm considering not going to UA."

Izuku choked and nearly spit his ramen back into the bowel. "Wh-what? Why?"

Hitoshi sighed and stirred his noodles. "Well... I've been thinking about it, and underground heroics would be good for me. I know UA teaches it, but they don't specialize in it at all. They're more for limelight heroes. My dad being an exception. Their curriculum is geared towards limelight heroics, and with my quirk, that's not really an option."

Izuku sipped on some water before asking. "So... what have you been considering instead?"

"Shinketsu has an underground program, and so does Ketsubutsu. I've been thinking about them, but... you and the girls are my friends." Hitoshi blushed and muttered. "And I'd rather not lose that."

Izuku grinned. "Come on, just cause you go to a different school doesn't mean we'll stop being friends. It'll be hard to meet up, but we'll still be friends. I think underground heroics would be the best option, so I say go for it. Give yourself the best chance to become the best hero you can be. Don't let us hold you back."

Hitoshi smiled as he stared at his ramen. "Thanks, man... I've been sitting on this since we talked about the UA exams."

"I'm sure the others will be understanding. Now come on, we gotta eat, or we'll be late."

Hitoshi nodded, and the two boys went back to their meal.

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Mina walked down the street heading home from school when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and checked it, seeing her partners and an unknown number in a new group chat.

Unknown:  head to Dagoba beach cuties.

Mina frowned, and a new message popped up in the group chat with just Toru and Izuku.

Izuku: Do either of you know this person?

Toru:  Nope

Mina:  I don't either, but 'cuties' could it be Himiko?

Toru:  We haven't seen or heard from her in so long... I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure.

Izuku:  meet at the station near the beach. I'll text Nemuri that we're going there. You should tell your parents as well just in case.

Mina shot off a text to her mom before turning around and heading to the beach to hopefully see Himiko again.

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The three teens met up at the station and headed to the beach together. They were all nervous and a bit worried about whether they were going to see Himiko again or walk into something bad. They arrived and headed down the steps to the beach. They looked around, spotting a few small groups and people enjoying the water.

"Wow, you all came. I was kinda worried you wouldn't; you three also look super cute as always."

The trio turned to see Himiko at the top of the steps. She was wearing a pair of black sneakers and thigh-highs. A short red skirt left a couple inches of exposed thigh. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt under a tattered black one and had a black choker around her neck. Her hair was in its signature buns. Covering her right eye was a red eyepatch with a set of white vampire teeth making a small open mouth.

As she descended the steps, fear gripped her heart as the trio she loved moved towards her. Mina was the first to reach her and noticed the eyepatch. The pink girl's hands shot up to Himiko's face but stopped short of touching her. "Himiko... where have you been? It's been months."

Himiko gave her best grin as the others showed up. "Oh, you know. Unexpected things happened. Had to go away for a bit, but it's all good. I'm back now." she gave a toothy grin and a double peace sign.

They didn't look convinced or satisfied by that. Izuku asked. "W-what happened, Himiko? You disappeared after showing up covered in blood. Please, if you don't wanna talk here, we can go somewhere else where no one is."

Himiko's smile faltered. "I mean... there's nothing to talk about. Sure, I was gone a lot longer than I meant to be, but hey, stuff happens. It wasn't cute at all for me to leave you guy and gals high and dry, but I'm back, so it's ok."

Toru took a deep breath and did her best to sound cheerful. "Well, then why don't the four of us go grab some snacks, and we can go to Izu's place and catch up. There's so much we wanna tell you about, and Nemuri is out on patrol, right?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, she should be out tonight, so it'll just be the four of us."

Himiko smiled as Toru and Mina led the blonde back to the stairs. "That sounds super fun. It's been so long."

As they walked Izuku, shot a text to Nemuri explaining why he needed her to not come home till he said.

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Himiko grinned as she sat on the couch and listened to the trio talk about what she had missed. As the conversation lulled, Toru asked. "So Himiko... What's with the eyepatch? It looks adorable on you, but why do you need it?"

Himiko tensed before looking around. "Um... it's nothing, really. Just thought it looked cute..."

Izuku looked at her with so much concern in his eyes it made Himiko's gut twist in a mix of joy and revulsion. She liked seeing him concerned about her, but she didn't like the idea of him being sad. "Himiko, please. You can be honest with us. We're your friends, and we just want to make sure you're safe."

Himiko squirmed and decided on a half-truth that should satisfy them. "I got attacked by people who don't like me. So I ran away and had to stay away for a lot longer than I thought, but I'm safe now."

Mina looked concerned as she asked. "A-and the eyepatch?"

Himiko rubbed it and decided the truth would win her some sympathy. "Oh, this silly old thing. I had a run-in with Stain. I thought he'd be cute, but he tried to kill me. Stabbed my arm and took my eye. I found this cute eyepatch, though."

Himiko dug into her pockets and pulled out a couple more. "And I got these as well. They're all pretty cute right?"

Toru looked over the eyepatches of various colors, and a couple even had designs on them. "Oh, those are cute."

Mina nodded before looking at Toru. "Do you wanna show off your new move?"

Toru gasped as she jumped up. "Oh right. Himiko, you're gonna love this. I don't do it unless I'm with Izuku and Mina. I've shown off to Hitoshi and the others, and you're my friend, so you should see it too."

Himiko watched in confusion as Toru stepped away from them. Her eyes widened as Toru slowly became visible and did a little twirl to show off her now visible features. "Tada, I can make myself visible now!"

Himiko jumped to her feet and cupped Toru's face. "Oh, you're so cute. You have freckles too. Ah, that's so amazing. You're so colorful now too."

Toru giggled and held Himiko's hands and led her back to the couch as they kept talking and occasionally trying to pry info from Himiko, but the blonde was a master at avoiding talking about what she didn't want to, and the trio didn't want to push their luck and scare her off. By the end of the night, after some teasing about staying over for a sleepover, the girls all left Izuku's apartment and went their separate ways.

Notes:

I've been wanting to write the Mina/Izuku scene for a bit. also, this is the end of the pre-UA time. The next chapter will be the entrance exam.

I thought about it a lot and was influenced by the fic MIdoriya Plus Three-Sixty-FIve to have Shinso go to a different school. I know some of ya'll will be sad that he isn't gonna be around much but I think I like this decision. he can always appear later when need be.

also if you read my other fics you've seen this twice already but I want as many people to see it as I can.

Hey, user Ilysumtimes you commented a fic idea in Hypno's comment section and I liked it so I've thought about it. here are two fics one inspired by Ilysumtimes and the other was an idea I've had for a while.

Fic number one) Izuku Midoriya is the younger brother of HIrooki (Thirteen) he has Blackhole but unlike Hirooki who can only turn the pads of her fingers into black holes Izuku can turn the entire palm of his hand into a black hole. he's scared of his quirk because he hurt or killed someone with it by accident. he lives with Hirooki who teaches at UA and only goes out when she's needed for rescue work. There's more but I'll be vague. They have an older brother who they think is dead just like the Todoroki family.

Fic number two) Izumi Midoriya is the daughter of the Dragoon Hero Ryukyu. unlike her mother, she doesn't have the dragon quirk she has a quirk called drake. it's a mutation quirk that gives her scales covering parts of her body, claws on her feet, retractable claws on her hands, eyes with vertical slits, a tail, and the ability to breath fire. she meets Nejire at her mom's agency and she has a certain blood kitty senpai in school she's concerned about. that's right it'll be an all lady Izumi/Nejire/Himiko poly ship where Himiko is a hero and they're all in different years at UA.

I don't know when I'll write these. I already have three fics actively going on and one on hiatus I don't want to overload myself but also these seem like so much fun and I wanna write them. maybe I'll just write a bit and see where it goes. if I get a chapter I get a chapter and I'll post it but I wanna keep my focus on My Feral Lady, Watching Over You, and Hypno. of course I'm still looking at what to do with Blood in His Veins.

anyways hope you enjoyed this chapter and tell me what you think of the fics.