Chapter 33

Without giving Jiro any time to recover, Mina asked yet another question that placed Izuku in the line of fire, specifically, "So, Izuku-kun, have you put any thought into which of us you'd like to date? I was honestly a little surprised when you didn't ask any of us to accompany you during Golden Week. At the very least, no one here tattled if you did."

Though he furrowed his brows slightly, Izuku, knowing pretty much all the girls wanted to hear his answer, replied, "I would be lying if I said I hadn't given it a fair amount of thought. However, I've since come to realize it might be too early to pursue a serious relationship. I mean, we're still in our first year of High School and working hard to become Heroes. Adding romance on top of that might be a little...overwhelming..."

Blinking in surprise, Mina remarked, "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you prefer honesty. So long as it doesn't touch your bottom line, I bet you'll answer just about anything, huh?"

Shaking his head, Izuku answered, "Everyone has their secrets. But if it's just asking for my opinion, I'll usually speak my thoughts."

"Oh? So if I were to ask who you thought was the cutest girl in Class, how would you respond?" asked Mina.

Without hesitation, Izuku responded, "Toru-san, without a doubt. Though that's primarily based on 'appeal.' In terms of physical appearance, I think we can all agree Yaoyorozu-san is the most conventionally attractive..."

Surprised by Izuku's words, Yaoyorozu pointed to herself, asking, "You think I'm attractive...?" as if she was completely unaware her appearance could humble Idols and Supermodels in equal measure.

Sparing Izuku the need to respond, nearly every girl at the table nodded their heads, Mina representing them as she said, "You're really beautiful, Yaoyorozu-san. I'm honestly a little jealous..."

Seeing every girl nod their head a second time, Yaoyorozu tensed in her seat, a gratified but embarrassed smile on her face as she sat straight as an arrow. She had received similar compliments countless times, but most originated from her family. Hearing it from her classmates made her feel a distinct, vaguely familiar feeling of 'fluffiness.'

Shifting the focus back to Izuku, Mina asked, "Then what about the rest of us? Now that you've mentioned metrics like 'physical appearance' and 'appeal,' I'm curious to know where I rank on your list."

Shaking his head, Izuku pointed out, "Answering that question will make me look bad, hurt someone's feelings, or both. Even if I pointed out that everyone here would probably rank within the top ten among hundreds of other girls, it wouldn't stop you from comparing yourselves."

"Hmmm...you have a point..." acquiesced Mina. However, as she couldn't help being curious, she turned her attention to the other girls at the table, asking, "What do you girls think? I probably don't speak for everyone, but I'm sure most of you are curious, right?"

As she had already been declared the 'most attractive' according to Izuku's standards, Yaoyorozu didn't hesitate to reply, "I'll admit, I am a little curious. But I also empathize with what Midoriya-kun was saying before. If hearing his response would cause unnecessary tension within the Class, it might be best to drop the matter entirely."

"So that's one person in favor of hearing Izuku-kun's response and one who could go either way," said Mina. "How about the rest of you girls? If you're for the idea, please raise your hand."

Seizing the initiative, Mina raised her right hand, prompting Toru, Jiro, and, somewhat surprisingly, Tsuyu to do the same. Then, undoubtedly as a result of peer pressure, Ochaco reluctantly raised her hand, whispering, "Sorry, Izuku-kun..." with an apologetic smile.

Shaking his head, Izuku assured, "It's fine. If everyone is this interested in hearing my opinion, I may as well give it..."

Directing his gaze to Mina, Izuku added, "Since you're the cause of all of this, I'll answer your question from before...you rank third in appeal, third in physical appearance, and sixth in general affinity. With a combined total of seven points, that places you sixth in my personal ranking..."

Though she was initially happy since she had placed third in both appeal and appearance, Mina's expression froze when she heard Izuku place her at the bottom of his list. She considered them fairly close, so it was quite a surprise to learn she scored so poorly in 'affinity.'

Exhaling a faintly exasperated sigh through his nose, Izuku pointed out, "I did warn you. The problem with this kind of ranking is that the sample size skews things in a negative light. You're a beautiful girl, Mina, and I usually enjoy our time together. The only reason you placed sixth in affinity is due to situations like this. Not many people enjoy being put on the spot all the time..."

Losing her usual pep, Mina offered an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her head as she replied, "I see..." in resignation. She was tempted to point out she was just trying to help make things clear, for everyone's sake, but it wasn't the kind of thing she could say aloud. At least not at the moment.

Suppressing a second sigh, Izuku passed his gaze over the other girls at the table, asserting, "I feel like I'm repeating myself, but each and every one of you are incredible in your own right. Even if you rank sixth in one of my categories, it doesn't mean you're unattractive, lacking in charm, or we have no affinity together. She might be having second thoughts right now, but I regard Mina as the girl I'm closest friends with. I just don't think the two of us would make the best couple, not when there's someone else in our Class who is so clearly infatuated with her..."

"Eh...?"

Regaining her senses, Mina looked at Izuku as if a banana was growing from his head, asking, "Did you seriously pick up on that? I don't even think the person himself has realized it..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Izuku replied, "I'm pretty observant. I mean, that should be fairly obvious, considering the topic of our discussion. I have a habit of observing and trying to 'quantify' the people around me, not just cute girls."

Shifting his attention to the other girls present, Izuku added, "Speaking of which, should I continue, or should we just pretend this never happened? Honestly, I'm starting to regret my decision to go along with this..."

Since Izuku's gaze happened to settle on her, Jiro swallowed hard before replying, "We've already come this far, so I'd like to know where I place..."

Nodding his head, Izuku revealed, "For you, it's sixth in terms of appeal, fifth in terms of appearance, and first in terms of affinity. With a combined total of nine points, that places you in third place with two others."

Though she winced when Izuku said she was ranked sixth in appeal and fifth in appearance, Jiro perked up when he mentioned he considered her the girl he had the highest 'affinity.' Her overall position was also higher than Mina's, so she couldn't help smiling as she asked, "Does that mean you think I'd make a good girlfriend?"

Returning a smile of his own, Izuku admitted, "Yeah. You seem like the most down-to-earth girl in our Class. I'm also a bit of a music junkie, so I figured the two of us could hang out and vibe together, either as friends or something more..."

Blinking in surprise, Jiro asked, "Seriously? If that was the case, you should have said something sooner. Avoiding me for an entire month..."

Unable to finish her sentence, Jiro shook her head, stating, "Forget it. We can talk about music and who are favorite musicians are later. For now, we should get this whole ranking thing out of the way. There isn't much time left until the Finals."

Nodding in approval, Izuku shifted his gaze to the person seated next to Jiro, stating, "For you, Yaoyorozu-san, you already know you rank first in terms of appearance. As for appeal and affinity, you are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Overall, that places you second."

Ignoring that she had placed second, Yaoyorozu appeared slightly hurt as she asked, "Do you not believe we would make a good couple...?"

Shaking his head, Izuku asserted, "That isn't the case. In fact, the two of us complement each other exceptionally well. I just think that if we were to date, it would be a very structured, borderline rigid relationship. There's nothing wrong with that, especially if you're looking long-term, but it limits our options and forces us to restrain ourselves out of obligation."

As there was a considerable amount of truth to Izuku's words, Yaoyorozu gave a curt nod before cupping her chin as she remarked, "I see. So when you refer to affinity, it's essentially a metric for short-term prospects. You aren't ready for a committed relationship, so you're looking for someone you can; what was the phrase? Vibe with...?"

Though it was a lot more complicated than that, Izuku replied, "That's a fairly accurate way to assess things." After all, it wasn't like he could say he was looking for someone he could bang...

Satisfied with Izuku's response, a smile blossomed across Yaoyorozu's face as she said, "Thank you for your honesty, Izuku-kun. All of this has been very insightful."

"Don't mention it," replied Izuku. "In fact, once this is all over, I would be happy if this subject never came up again. For now, however, I'll continue until the end..."

Focusing his gaze on the invisible face of Toru, Izuku hesitated for a moment before revealing, "You rank first in terms of appeal, second in appearance, and second in affinity. That gives you a combined total of sixteen points, placing you at the very top of my list..."

Though she had hoped she would be ranked number one, Toru's mind blanked when Izuku revealed it. If anyone could see her, they would be able to see a potent blush rising from her neck, spreading through her face, and finally tinging her ears a bright red. She was also unresponsive for several seconds, prompting Yaoyorozu to give her a light shake as she asked, "Are you okay, Hagakure-san?" in a concerned tone.

"I...I'm fine..." replied Toru, her voice somewhat robotic. Then, noticing that everyone at the table was staring at her, she shrunk in her seat and added, "I was just a little surprised, that's all..." while pressing the tips of her fingers together.

"Hey, wait a minute!" said Mina rather abruptly. "How is Toru-san ranked second when you can't even see her!? I call foul!"

Shrugging his shoulders, Izuku elected to play things casually, stating, "Call it intuition, but I've been saying Toru-san is one of the cutest girls in the Class from day one. If she weren't Invisible, I'd wager my left arm she could give Yaoyorozu-san a run for her money."

Clicking her tongue, Mina crossed her arms in mock frustration, muttering, "This isn't fair. These rankings are clearly biased..."

Raising his right brow, Izuku replied, "Well, yeah...they're based on the preferences of a single individual. You can't get more biased than that..."

Reinforcing the fact she was messing around, Mina stuck out her tongue and blew raspberries at Izuku. Then, looking between Ochaco and Tsuyu, she said, "Well, since Izuku-kun already revealed there were three girls who shared third place, that means the two of you tied with Jiro-san. The only question is, where did Izuku-kun place you in each of the rankings? It might be better for your friendship if you didn't find out."

Answering without hesitation, Tsuyu asserted, "No. Everyone else got to learn where they placed in each category. I want to know as well, ribbit."

With Tsuyu promptly shifting her gaze to him, staring up at him with her large eyes, Izuku adopted a wry smile and revealed, "You ranked second in terms of appeal, sixth in appearance, and fourth in affinity. And, once again, being ranked sixth doesn't mean you're ugly...in fact, I personally find you adorable. That's why you ranked second in terms of appeal..."

Nodding her head, Tsuyu said, "It's okay, Izuku-chan. You don't have to convince me. I know I'm not the most conventionally attractive girl in the Class, so I can settle with being the most adorable, ribbit."

Adopting an affection-tinged smile, Izuku nearly asked if he could pat Tsuyu's head when Ochaco, who had been keeping track of every single person's rankings, said, "I guess that makes me fifth in appeal, fourth in appearance, and third in affinity?"

Directing his smile to Ochaco, Izuku replied, "To be honest, you're one of the girls I think would make the best girlfriend, Ochaco-san. I just worry that you'd feel 'indebted' to me if I treated you too kindly or attempted to help out your family."

Understanding exactly what Izuku was referring to, an awkward smile developed across Ochaco's face as she rubbed the back of her head and said, "When you put it that way, I can't easily deny it..." Then, blushing quite a bit, she brought her hands to the front of her body, pressing the pads of her fingers together as she added, "But if you think we'd make a good couple...I wouldn't be opposed to the idea.."

...

..

.

(A/N: Dayum...Ochaco pulling the rug right out from under everyone...)