Chapter 59

As he departed the Principal's Office and made his way home, Izuku pulled out his phone to see if he had any messages. The girls had invited him to a group chat with the six of them, so after skimming through the unread messages, quite a few teasing him, he typed, 'I heard about the extra 'class' this Sunday.'

Responding almost immediately, Mina asked, 'Seriously? How'd you find out? Midnight-sensei said it was being kept a secret to surprise you.'

Since his relationship and special treatment from the Principal were now well-known among the girls, Izuku replied, 'I heard about it from Principal Nezu.'

'That little rat,' responded Mina, subsequently asking, 'Why were you even in his office? You disappeared pretty early after classes let out.'

Instead of lying, Izuku honestly replied, 'I experienced a breakthrough of sorts with my Quirk. Thanks for that, by the way, Momo. Our conversation this morning helped me understand a lot of things.'

As she was part of the ongoing conversation, Momo happily replied, 'I'm happy to have been of assistance.' while Mina questioned, 'Oooh? What's this? Did the two of you have a secret conversation before class? Sneaky, sneaky~.'

Before Momo could provide clarification, Izuku typed out, 'It was mainly related to her becoming my Manager. We also talked about my Quirk and the future of our group as a whole.'

'That sounds about right,' replied Mina. 'You two are pretty serious when it comes to things like that.'.

'This is a pretty serious situation,' typed Izuku. 'Our situation isn't exactly normal, so we'll need to put in a lot of effort to ensure things work. I don't want any of you getting hurt.'

Though most of the girls had been content lurking, Izuku's remark caused everyone but Jiro to reply with some form of assurance. Mina teased him a bit, but she also asserted that everything would work out, so Izuku felt they were all on the same page. If they were serious about making things work, they would need to be.

'Where's Jiro, by the way?' asked Izuku, noticing that her PFP was active but that her only message was from when the group was first formed. In other words, she was still lurking.

Having been called out, Jiro felt obligated to reply, 'It's a secret.' before following up by adding, 'Don't say a word, Mina.'

'Booooo,' replied Mina, clearly intending to do exactly that. Then, instead of pressing the matter, she typed, 'I'm planning to volunteer if we get to do a 'practical' this Sunday. Look forward to it, mkay~?'

Understanding what Mina meant when she said 'practical,' Izuku jokingly remarked, 'Sunday suddenly seems a whole month away.'

'You little flirt~,' replied Mina, adding, 'I actually feel it's way too close, lol. I'm a little nervous, even if Ochaco, Toru, and Tsuyu have all mentioned it feels incredible.'

Since it was now 'very' clear what they were talking about, the smile on Izuku's face softened as he typed, 'I'll be gentle. I promise...'

'If you don't, Midnight-sensei might punish you,' replied Mina. 'Though, perhaps you would like that? I heard Mirko bullied you pretty hard during your internship.'

'Let's not talk about that here,' typed Izuku. Telecommunications in the world of Boku no Hero Academia were a lot more secure than his previous one, but it was better to be safe than sorry...

While continuing to chat with the girls, Izuku eventually arrived at his home, mentioning as much before placing his palm against the biometric scanner. Then, before he could even call out to greet his mom, a familiar pink figure leaped in front of him, exclaiming, "Surprise~!" with her hands raised high.

Instead of startling as Mina had hoped he would, Izuku just stared at her with a blank expression, asking, "What are you doing in my house?"

Puffing out her cheeks, albeit only for a moment, Mina regained her usual vigor and replied, "What kind of reaction is that? Also, isn't it obvious why we came by? We're here to hang out and study~!"

Before Izuku could ask who Mina was referring to when she said 'we,' Jiro appeared from the living room, casually raising her hand as she offered a curt "Yo." before adding, "Sorry for intruding. Your mom let us in."

Following close behind Jiro, Inko had a smile that wasn't quite a smile as she cupped her cheek with half-narrowed eyes and said, "Welcome home, sweetie. You never told me you had so many adorable female friends from class, ufufufu~."

Feeling a shiver run up his spine, Izuku's smile became visibly cramped as he replied, "It's...complicated..."

Shaking his head, Izuku promptly decided it was better to be honest, his expression turning serious as he added, "Kaa-chan, these two are my girlfriends, Mina Ashido and Kyoka Jiro. The three girls you met yesterday are also my girlfriends..."

Catching Izuku by surprise, Inko's smile broadened, her deep green eyes narrowing further as she replied, "I am well aware of that, Izuku-chan. It isn't exactly 'normal' for a boy to bring home three girls and then leave in such a hurry. Just make sure you don't do anything foolish, okay? I'm too young to be a grandmother."

Finished with what she had to say, at least to Izuku, Inko turned her gaze to Mina and Jiro, causing the duo to tense as she added, "Take care of my baby for me, will you? He's the only thing I have left in this world..."

Truly finished with what she had to say, Inko cast one final look at Izuku before excusing herself. An awkward silence lingered in her wake, but it eased a bit when Izuku grabbed the two girls' hands, smiling wryly as he suggested, "We should probably go to my room..."

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"Your mom is really intense..." said Mina, waiting until the door to Izuku's room was shut before speaking again.

"Yeah..." replied Izuku. "I already told you about the situation with my father, right? She basically had to raise me herself, so she can be a little overprotective at times. It didn't help that, up until I was thirteen, I didn't even have a Quirk."

"Oh, yeah..." replied Mina. "I completely forgot, but you've barely had your Quirk for two years, huh? You've come a long way in such a short period."

Though he gave an affirming nod, Izuku asserted, "But I still have a long way to go. We all do, one way or another."

Adopting a faint smile, Mina said, "Speaking of which, Jiro and I really did come here to study. She's ranked seventh in the class, but I'm all the way down at Rank 19. I'm hoping to be able to increase my Intelligence before the Final Exams, but since our Bond is only 63, I figured I shouldn't hedge my bets and study."

As Izuku had shown each of them their status, Mina and Jiro had at least a basic idea of how they 'actually' felt about him. Curiously enough, Jiro's Bond was the higher of the two, initially set at 73 despite the fact she and Izuku rarely conversed and had only teamed up once during their training. Even more curious, or perhaps amusing, when she learned of this truth, it immediately increased to 75.

"It's actually not that difficult to strengthen bonds," replied Izuku. "Real, genuine sentiment takes time to cultivate, but intimacy and closeness go a long way. Take Jiro, for example..."

Seeing Izuku look directly at her, Jiro's body tensed before she hugged her body and averted her eyes, asking, "What are you trying to get at...?" with a faint red hue spreading through her cheeks.

Adopting a gentle smile, Izuku asked, "Mind if I hold you? Just for a few moments..."

Though her face abruptly became a lot redder, Jiro turned her eyes to meet Izuku's gaze, her face still turned to the side as she replied, "If it's only for a short while..."

Nodding his head, Izuku closed the distance between him and Jiro, wrapping his arms around her and holding her gently for several seconds. She was 'really' tense at first, but as their embrace lingered, she gradually relaxed, prompting Izuku to whisper, "Thank you for choosing to become my girlfriend...I love you, Kyouka..." in a hushed tone that was only audible due to her enhanced hearing.

Not expecting Izuku to suddenly confess, Jiro's body became as rigid as a statue, her complexion turning fiery as her earphone jacks began to coil and wriggle involuntarily. At the same time, her Bond Level abruptly shot up to 81, permitting Izuku to ask, "Kyouka Jiro...would you like to join my Party?" when she eventually raised her face to meet his gaze.

Blinking in surprise, Kyouka was going to point out it was too soon but stopped when a blue window appeared in front of her face. When it did, her momentarily bashful expression turned into a slightly annoyed pout as she said, "You tricked me...now I look like an easy girl...."

While continuing to hold the petite, purple-haired rocker girl, Izuku shook his head, whispering, "It wasn't a trick. Now that we've all come together like this, I intend to do everything I can to make you girls happy. In other words, unless you choose to break up with me, we could be spending the rest of our lives together..."

Though Izuku's words weren't exactly a proposal, Kyouka felt her heart rate increase tremendously. Her Quirk made it impossible for her 'not' to hear it, so her face became a concerning shade of crimson as her heart pounded like thunder within her ears.

Exacerbating Kyouka's condition quite a bit, Izuku moved his face a little closer to hers, asking, "Can I kiss you...?" with slightly narrowed eyes. In response, Kyouka's practically developed swirls as she instinctually pulled her head away from him.

Instead of pursuing Kyouk's lips, Izuku's expression softened as he said, "Some other time, then..." before weakening his hold on her body. Kyouka was a very sensitive girl, a stark contrast to the unenthusiastic, borderline apathetic mask she had developed for public use. Her Quirk permitted her to listen in on hushed conversations, so she had always been privy to the 'true nature' of people in her surroundings. She had learned to tune things out with the help of music, but by doing so, she had isolated herself from the rest of the world. At the very least, that was the case until she joined Class 1-A...

Just as Izuku released his hold on her body, Kyouka grabbed his shirt, whispering, "Wait..." as she turned her eyes to look up at him. That was the only thing she said, but her intentions were made fairly obvious when she swallowed audibly...

Returning his hands to their position on Kyouka's lower back, Izuku held her gently and tenderly for several seconds, staring into her eyes as they slowly drew closer to one another. It took nearly thirty seconds, but their lips did eventually meet, culminating in a chaste kiss that lasted for a few seconds before Kyouka pulled away from him, covering her face with her hands as illusory steam rose from her head.

Seeing the unexpectedly intimate interaction between Izuku and Kyouka, Mina found herself at a rare loss for words. She had expected 'something' to happen when she and Jiro decided to come to his room, but she never expected things to get so 'tense' so quickly...

Turning to meet Mina's gaze, Izuku's expression softened even further as he mouthed the numbers six and eight. Mina was a little confused at first, but it didn't take long for her to realize what he was referring to when he nudged his head toward Jiro and mouthed the numbers eight and three. It was Izuku's way of informing her that her Bond Level had increased to 68 just by watching his and Jiro's interaction...

("Could it really be that easy?") wondered Mina. ("Or do I just get turned on from watching other people make out...?")

Instead of pondering further on the matter, Mina promptly dismissed it, adopting one of her characteristically impish grins, asking, "Is it my turn now~?" in a teasing tone that belied the fact she was shaking, albeit only a little...

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(A/N: The power of horny cannot be underestimated...Also, Kyouka be like, "Sneaky bastard...don't get ahead of yourself...")