Chapter 185

(A/N: This chapter is brought to you by Daniel, Supreme Lord of the Sea.)

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"Have a good day, sweetie. And be sure to take care of yourself and your classmates," said Inko, standing on her toes to kiss Izuku goodbye while simultaneously caressing his bulge through his pants.

"And you be sure to stay safe and keep cooking while I'm away..." replied Izuku, squeezing Inko's ass and giving her another prolonged kiss before setting out as she observed his retreating figure with dreamy eyes and a yearning look on her flushed face. She had revealed the truth of Ryuko's prank the previous night, after their passionate lovemaking, so when they awoke that morning, Izuku made slow and gentle love to her, both in the bed and during their shower, before they prepared breakfast together like newlyweds.

Turning back after a few meters, Izuku met Inko's longing expression with an affectionate smile, holding her gaze for several seconds before turning and walking away with his armored briefcase over his shoulder. He met up with Rumi on his way to Ground Ω, but until that moment, the only thought Izuku had in his mind was making Inko happy...

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"I'm gonna go meet up with the teachers at the observation tower," said Rumi, pulling Izuku's collar to give him a quick peck before taking off like someone had fired a starting pistol. Izuku didn't mind the parting kiss, not one bit, but since she had done it in view of most of Class 1-A and 1-B, he found himself being stared at with expressions ranging from abject shock to moderate chagrin. 

After raising his right hand, smiling, and waving, mostly at the girls, who were gathered in one large group, Izuku made his way over to Shoji, Ojiro, and Sato, joking, "Looks like I've garnered quite a bit of attention..."

"That's putting it lightly..." remarked Ojiro, rubbing his head and smiling awkwardly as Izuku now felt completely alien to him. Most of them knew he was in a relationship with Rumi, but seeing them kiss was more than a little jarring. It didn't help that they could now see the proximity markers of all the girls in Class 1-B...

Unable to contain his curiosity, Sato, wearing a serious expression, asked, "What's it like? You know...dating Mirko..." in a hushed tone.

"Life-changing," replied Izuku, refusing to elaborate. Instead, he looked to Shoji and asked, "How have Hero Work Studies been treating you? I heard you've been apprenticing under the No. 12 and 13 Heroes, Gang Orca and Lion Hero: Shishido."

Though he nodded in affirmation, Shoji offered a curt, "I've learned a lot," without going into further detail. Fortunately, it wasn't that he was being standoffish. He just felt like they should talk about it later as Todoroki was making his way over with his usual serious and aloof expression.

"Hey, can we talk?" asked the dichromatic-haired youth, staring at Izuku as he thumbed over his shoulder to indicate they should move away from the rest of the group. Izuku would have much preferred to stay and catch up with his former gym bros, but since he had a pretty good idea of what Shoto wanted to discuss, he responded, "Sure," before nodding to the trio and following the icy-cold youth off to the side.

Stopping after a solid twenty-five meters, Shoto turned to face Izuku, his expression and tone making it difficult to discern his true emotions as he said, "My sister called and told me you paid a visit to my home..."

Nodding in affirmation, Izuku explained, "Your father invited me over for breakfast but didn't arrive until after noon. After that, the two of us had a little chat in his private gym..."

"You don't need to beat around the bush," said Shoto, confirming what Izuku already suspected by affirming, "I know you slept with my sister. I'm not mad or anything."

Shaking his head, Shoto's expression became serious as he appended, "What I want to talk about is my father. He...apologized to me using my sister's phone and said he wanted to start trying to make amends for his past actions. I was...reluctant to believe him, but then he mentioned my deceased brother, Touya...he said he was still alive and that it would take us reconciling to save him..."

"It's probably not what you want to hear, but he's telling the truth..." said Izuku, smiling awkwardly as he exhaled loudly through his nose. He knew that if he were in Shoto's position, it would take something fairly extreme happening for him to consider forgiving Endeavor. Several such incidents happened in the anime, but since things had been comparably peaceful in this timeline, Endeavor was far from earning Shoto's trust.

"I see..." muttered Shoto, gazing down and staring pensively at the palm of fire-producing left hand. Then, demonstrating remarkable maturity, he balled his hand into a fist, raised his gaze to meet Izuku's, and said, "If it will help guide my brother back from the dark path he has fallen on, I will find a way to reconcile and coexist with that man...my father..."

Nodding in approval, Izuku smiled, gave Shota an affirming pat on the shoulder, and expressed, "Just keep in mind that doesn't mean forgiving him outright. He's definitely deserving of a beating, so if you need to hit him in the face a few times, tack one on for me."

Taking Izuku's words at face value, Shoto reciprocated with a nod of his own, stating, "I'll remember," before casually removing the former's hand from his shoulder, turning, and walking away. His actions left Izuku feeling like he had been dismissed, but since Shoto had always been terse and to the point, he didn't take it personally. Instead, he took the opportunity to whip out his phone, opening up his DMs with Fuyuki and briefly pausing to admire the photo of her lying fully clothed but bewitching atop the tatami mats of her bedroom floor before apprising her of the good news...

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"Well, if it isn't the Harem King, returned to grace us with his presence...!" exclaimed Monoma, striking a pose and smiling but with a more maniacal than usual glimmer in his eyes.

Instead of refuting the claim, Izuku raised his right hand and responded with a curt, "Yo, it's me." with a neutral expression. This caused Monoma to erupt into a fit of crazed laughter, but he was promptly silenced when Itsuka punched him in the head with her slightly enlarged hand, growling, "You promised not to make a scene...!"

"I'm not making a scene..." Monoma grumbled, rubbing the knot forming on the back of his head. Then, standing with his hands spread, he added, "I just wanted to congratulate Midoriya-kun's successful conquest of the first-year Heroics girls. Most guys would be fortunate to win the affection of just one of you, but he's completed the set! Quite the feat, wouldn't you say!?"

"Hey, cut it out..." said Tetsutetsu, lacking his usual grimacing smile. He also wasn't particularly enthused by the reality that Izuku had entered a relationship with all the girls in their Class, but it wasn't like they belonged to anyone. More notably, they hadn't kept the possibility of them entering a relationship with Izuku a secret, so while it was...disconcerting, it wasn't a surprise.

Seeing the boys from his Class gather around with expressions ranging from deadpans to warning looks, Monoma threw up his hands and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. We're all here to play nice so we can 'possibly' join Midoriya-kun's Party and save the world, right? I'll just turn my brain off and pretend it's perfectly normal for Midoriya-kun to be having sex with several classmates, teachers, and Pro Heroes. He is, after all, the Crown Prince of UA. As for me? I'll be lucky to be appointed His Majesty's Royal Court Jester..."

Punctuating his words with a theatrical bow, directed as Izuku, Monoma fully expected to be punched or ridiculed, but the former surprised nearly everyone by exhaling an exasperated sigh, rubbing the back of his head, and expressing, "I don't regret what I've done, but I can understand why you'd be angry at me. If it'll help, you're free to strike, throw dirt at me, or whatever else it takes for you to vent your anger. Just don't take it out on the girls or forget why we're here..."

"My, how chivalrous...!" exclaimed Monoma. Then, using one of the Quirks he had stockpiled, specifically Shinso's Brainwashing, he spread his arms wide and shouted, "But tell us how you really feel! You think you're better than us, right!?"

Feeling a haze wash over his mind, causing him to feel muddleheaded, Izuku frowned but didn't resist as his mouth responded, "I don't think I'm better than anyone. Am I stronger, faster, and more intelligent than nearly everyone here? That's an objective fact. But, if anything, I consider myself beneath most people. Midnight-sensei thinks I have Imposter Syndrome, but I personally believe it's something more basic. Nearly everything I have was given or entrusted to me by someone else, so I simultaneously feel fortunate but underserving of everything, including the affections of others..."

Stuck mid-maniacal smile, a bead of sweat formed on Monoma's cheek as Izuku's sincere-sounding, guilt-tinged confession was completely outside his expectations. He was 'supposed' to brag or talk down to them, turning most of the boys and even some of the girls against him. Instead, he hung his head and looked genuinely apologetic and ashamed...

"You asshole! What did you do to Izuku...!?" screamed Toga, pouncing on the stupefied Monoma, knocking him to the ground, sitting on top of him, and shaking him like a ragdoll. Her first instinct was to stab him, but since that might cause problems, she settled on trying to rattle his brain until he became stupid.

Fortunately for Monoma's already overworked brain cells, Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Mina quickly pulled Toga off him. At the same time, Shinso made his way over to Izuku, placing his hand on the latter's shoulder to confirm he was under the effects of Brainwashing before canceling it as he offered a curt, "Sorry...I thought it was suspicious when he bumped into me earlier, but I didn't think he'd use my Quirk for something so stupid..."

Shaking his head, Izuku assured, "It's fine. Though, seeing how effective it was in his hands, your Quirk must have strengthened considerably since the Sports Festival. I feel bad for your enemies."

"Says the guy that can level buildings and toss people thousands of meters into the air..." countered Shinso, adopting the faintest of smiles beneath his black, mandible-like face mask, the device that allowed him to emulate other people's voices.

"Only if they 'really' piss me off," mused Izuku, his shimmering green eyes meeting Monoma's. The latter was still on the ground, staring at him with a look of disbelief, but rather than kicking him in the face, Izuku shook his head and extended a hand to the youth, stating, "I can't say I appreciate you trying to expose and embarrass me, but I'm willing to let bygones be bygones if you are..."

Recovering from his stupor, Monoma closed his eyes, shook his head, and swatted Izuku's hand aside, responding, "It's easy for those at the top to be forgiving. That's the essence of magnanimity. But for those of us who need to claw our way, kicking and screaming, just to remain relevant...it is our right to be envious. You may have been a late bloomer, but it doesn't change the fact that you, Izuku Midoriya, are beyond fortunate. You can't expect me not to resent you, at least a little, when you've transcended all my hard work and effort by merely existing..."

"The thing about living a life of comparison is that you're either envying those above you or looking down on those you perceive to be beneath you," said Izuku, shaking his head as he added, "If you're serious about becoming a Hero, you'll stop viewing it as a popularity contest and start focusing on the things that truly matter, like saving and protecting people. If that's too difficult for you, get into business or politics. There, you can quibble and conspire against people all you like..."

Since Monoma had refused his hand, Izuku didn't offer it a second time. Instead, since Toga looked like she still wanted to pounce on and strangle the blonde-haired youth, he took over the duty of pacifying her by picking her up and physically carrying her away in a hug...

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(A/N: Toga might not be a Villain, but she's still a little crazy xD...)