The horrible storm only lasted until about two in the morning, finally stopping its assault, and UA was restored to a peaceful state. The sun would rise early in the morning, puddles of water and moisture everywhere. Once the sun rose properly into the sky, the students would head on out of their dorm houses, relieved that they could finally leave and enjoy some fresh air after being cooked up inside for the entirety of yesterday. Kirishima could book it outside the house, pursued by Bakugou, who was enraged that the hardening hero had stolen his All Might Rising comic and accidentally put a tiny rip into the side. All in all, everything was peaceful, and everyone was sure to rise early to enjoy it.
Everyone, that said, except for Class 1B girl's dorm house. Everyone had slept in that day, either from exhaustion from stress, or just needing some time to themselves. After she had gotten her pizza, Itsuka had eaten the entire thing in one seating, horrifying Ibara, and then beat a retreat to her room, letting out a few small coughs that did not bode well for her. Setsuna and Yui had not been seen at all the entire night, content to stay in their rooms and think everything over. Pony ended up having a sleepover with Ibara, evidently still needing some comfort, and the vine girl had no problems with wrapping them up in a vine burrito and cuddling the smaller girl to sleep. They had stayed up a little bit talking about how they would make it up to Izuku - Pony wasn't too sure how to make it up to him, but was determined to stop looking at him in a romantic light for now, getting closer to him as a friend; while Ibara resolved to repent for her awful judgement, being a supporting role in the house.
Neither of them discussed Izuku's confession, of course - it was on the minds of everyone in the house, but it had been an unspoken agreement not to discuss it with each other. Ibara herself laid in bed late that morning, still thinking about it with a heavy heart. She had liked Izuku, of course - honestly, it wouldn't be a surprise at all if every girl in the house didn't harbor feelings for the boy - but to hear him talk about how much their making dinner mattered to him, how much he found her faith in people inspiring, and she just ...
... she just couldn't believe it.
Ibara pouted to herself as she sat up in her bed, letting a sleeping Pony cling to her while drooling. As much as the words played over and over in her head, no matter how crisply she remembered Izuku's face as he said it, she really couldn't believe him. She had went up to his room, glared at him in judgement, told him off ... and he just told her he liked her? Even still? It was impossible, Ibara sighed to herself as she glanced to her right, looking at her neat desk. It wasn't possible for Izuku to still have feelings for her after she had cast him off like that.
But why was she thinking about that now? Izuku had made his stance clear - they all had to make it up to him before he could forgive them. She knew how hard it must've been for the boy to say those words - knowing his caring nature, it must've hurt him to tell them off like he did. But he had given them the chance to redeem themselves - and even if Ibara didn't believe he meant those kind words he told her, thinking to herself how irredeemable she must be, she was still resolved to get things done.
And how would she start that? It was obvious, Ibara nodded to herself while hitting her open palm with a fist - she needed to mend the bridges between the girls and Izuku. They'd be awkward, as they were last night when going to bed, so to get everyone on the right path, she'd have to start by making everyone comfortable with each other again.
Determined and ready to get the day started, she got up from bed, intending to head to the bathroom, clean her teeth, and go downstairs to cook breakfast. She took three determined steps towards the door - and then let out a yelp as she was tripped and landed on her butt, not remembering that she had been wrapped around Pony all night. The horse girl herself let out a small shriek of surprise followed by a groan of pain as she was abruptly woken up from her slumber by being dragged out of the bed and hitting the back of her head on the floor.
"Oh, dear!" Ibara gasped, looking over as Pony groaned in pain, her hooves dangling in the air. "I am so sorry, are you alright, Pony?!"
"Ow ... that hurt like a goddamn son of a bitch!"
"... you know I don't understand English that well, but I do know enough to know when you swear."
"Sorry."
She helped Pony untangle herself from the bed and vines, letting the smaller girl sit up to rub the back of her head. As the smaller girl tended to her bruise, Ibara sat back on her knees, biting her lip and helping tend to her friend's injury.
"Ow, ow, ow ..." Pony whimpered a bit, patting the small swelling on the back of her head. "What were you even doing, Ibara?"
"Again, I'm sorry, Pony," Ibara said sincerely, clapping her hands together. "I had thought to get up and make everyone breakfast, since I don't think anyone's up right now, and it would be a welcome treat for everyone after yesterday."
"Hm," Pony lowered her hands, looking up at her friend. "Like - like we're trying to make things less awkward?"
"Perhaps," Ibara put her hand to her cheek, thinking. "I think that since everyone had an emotional day, it would help if we all sat down together like old times and ate as a household, perhaps some of the reservations Midoriya is having will settle down. He'll be more open to trusting us if we try to proceed as normal - well, as normal as we can be. Before everyone began laying around with each other."
"Erk."
"Oh! My apologies, Pony, I didn't mean -"
"No, it's okay," Pony shook her head, smiling. "I, uh ... I had a lot of thinking to do last night, and it's like I said - I really jumped the gun, listening to Setsuna. I should take this slower!"
"Hm." Ibara watched her carefully. "You seem ... no offense, but you seem much more positive than yesterday."
"That's because I thought up a game plan!" Pony jumped up, pumping her fists. "I'm gonna take it slow, be his friend, and regain his trust! I know he likes me back now, but that doesn't mean I can just jump the gun! I need to get to know him, get back in his good graces, then I can try asking him out!"
There was a weird pang in Ibara's heart hearing Pony proclaim how she was going to ask him out, but she quickly pushed it to the side, instead standing up to get changed into. "Well, as I said before, Pony - I support a relationship between you and Midoriya, one hundred percent. It's a shame that all this nonsense had to happen beforehand, but I do sincerely hope it works out for you two."
"Huh?" Pony blinked in confusion, "But what about ...?"
Ibara blinked, looking around briefly. "What about ... what?"
"O-oh, nothing! Nothing at all!" Pony jumped up, stretching a bit and flashing a big smile. "Do you mind if I help you out with breakfast today? I don't want you to have to do all the work!"
"Oh! Would you?" Ibara smiled at her, clapping her hands together. "That would be a tremendous help!"
The girls briefly split apart so Pony could grab some clothes from her room the floor below, and met together on the bottom floor to shower quickly while throwing out the grocery bag filled with used Kleenex from crying last night - even after the talk, Pony had been an emotional wreck until she finally fell asleep. After throwing them out, they grimaced at the late time of 11:00 in the morning, and immediately got to work making breakfast. Ibara decided that they could start their day with steamed rice and grilled fish, putting the rice in the rice cooker while Pony worked on grilling the fish in the oven.
As they worked in silence, Ibara humming to herself as she tended to the rice, Pony stole a glance at her, a small pout forming on her face as she remembered Ibara's talk with Izuku yesterday.
"I was going to simply stand aside, let you get into a relationship with her, let you both be happy."
Pony frowned and turned back to the fish, checking to make sure it wasn't being burned on her watch. Ibara hadn't said anything obvious yesterday about it, but from the way she spoke to him, the way she had been hurt thinking her first kiss had been taken by Izuku over nothing, and the way she had acted when she found out the truth ... did that mean Ibara had feelings for him too? That entire thought made Pony's stomach lurch, but not for the reason she would've thought originally.
Pony knew she had started to crush on Izuku pretty much from the moment they first had dinner together, a few weeks ago. Izuku's excitement over learning about her quirk, the way he muttered, even the manner he apologized for, immediately made Pony start thinking he was cute beyond words, and she had no problem with realizing she had started to crush on the boy. She had remembered how Izuku had seen her struggling with homework, not understanding some of the words on the page, and he had sat down with her to assist, which only endeared her to him more. It was only after truth or dare those feelings truly exploded, after their intense make out in the closet. She listened to Setsuna's advise about skipping everything and seducing him, her crush on him so deep she didn't care about the other girls sleeping with him, just wanting to be with him.
It had backfired spectacularly, of course - she had been so intense about her feelings for him, she had ignored how he might feel about jumping the gun and going straight into her bed. Going to sleep last night, she had resolved quietly to herself to start over from scratch - get to know him as a person, invest in his hobbies, practically become his best friend (somewhere on campus, Ochako sneezed painfully, a sense of unexplained foreboding filling her), and only after that would she consider asking him out, now that she knew he had feelings for her as well. Well, he had feelings for all of them - but she would simply have to cross that bridge when they get to it.
But ... but Ibara telling her that she supports the relationship between them ... for some reason, it didn't sit right with Pony. The smaller girl glanced at her friend again. She liked Izuku, probably to the point of loving him, but the thought of asking him out while knowing Ibara liked him as well sent a shot of sadness through her. She wanted to be happy with Izuku - but she also didn't want Ibara to be shuffled off on the sidelines hurting. She sighed as she flipped the fish to the other side to cook, wondering how she could help her friend while they both crushed on the same guy - but all the outcomes she could think of made Pony's frown deepen. She didn't want to get into another confrontation like yesterday, so she would have to think about this more to prevent it to coming to that.
About fifteen minutes later, while both girls continued making breakfast, with Ibara continuing to hum a tune to herself as she cooked, they both heard footsteps on the stairs, and turned to see Reiko and Kinoko walking downstairs. Both of them looked utterly disheveled, like neither of them got much sleep. Neither of them wore any makeup, and their hair was fizzy - while the girls were used to Izuku's presence in their homes by now, they still made sure they had makeup and looked at least somewhat presentable since he was technically a guest in their home. They smelled the breakfast cooking, and turned towards the kitchen.
"Good morning," Ibara greeted, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow.
"Hey," Reiko waved, still looking a bit put off.
"Yo," Kinoko muttered.
"Are you both okay?" Ibara asked in concern, looking from both of them in worry. "You seem a bit uncomfortable."
"Er - kinda," Reiko sighed, "we didn't get a lot of sleep last night. We, uh, still kinda need to talk to each other. Especially since ... y'know, after what happened. We were about to go on a walk."
"Mm. I understand," Ibara nodded, glancing at her breakfast. "Still, would you both like something to eat beforehand? I'm afraid the pizza from yesterday wasn't quite enough for me - I planned to make breakfast for everyone."
"Er - I don't suppose why not," Reiko nodded, and walked to the new table delivered to them by robots last night to sit. Kinoko looked a bit more hesitant to sit, glancing uncomfortably around, but still took a seat beside her girlfriend. Ibara checked the rice, nodding in satisfaction with what she saw, and poured it out into bowls, waiting for Pony to finish up with the fish. As everyone sat in silence, not really sure what to talk about, Ibara pouted to herself. She had resolved to make everything better, but now that she was faced with actually doing something, she was unsure how to proceed.
She put the rice bowls down on the table for Kinoko and Reiko, accepting their thanks, and watched as Pony put down the grilled fish, taking a seat on the other side of the table. This was awkward, Ibara winced, and she had no idea what to talk about that didn't concern what went down yesterday. Luckily before she could figure it out, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, familiar orange hair as Itsuka slowly made her way down the stairs.
"Oh, Itsuka!" Ibara turned from the table, the only one of the girls to do so. "How are ... oh, my goodness."
Pony, Kinoko and Reiko blinked, and looked up and let out a few cringes and winces. Itsuka, for lack of better terms, looked like crap. Her nose was red, her face was pale, and she was still dressed in her pajamas. She looked drowsy, as though she were only a few seconds from toppling over and falling right back asleep. She winced slightly at Ibara's raised tone, and groaned quietly as she shuffled towards the cabinet, looking in.
"Oh, dear," Ibara said worriedly, standing up from the table and walking over to her, "you look awful."
"I feel awful," Itsuka grumbled, her voice sounding off due to her clogged nose. She grabbed some pills and put them on the counter, moving slowly as to not dizzy herself. Ibara was quick to check what pills she was going for, seeing that they were daytime cold pills, and saw her reaching for a water bottle on the counter.
"I should've seen this coming," Ibara sighed as she watched Itsuka uncap the water bottle, "you both were out in the rain for so long, it wouldn't be a surprise you got sick."
"Yeah, plus fighting while half-naked wouldn't have helped," Itsuka grumped, popping the pills into her mouth and drinking some water to swallow. After gulping them down, she let out a small groan of misery and started waddling towards the couch. "I'mma be out here today, I honestly don't feel like going back upstairs. Unless you guys wanna carry me."
"No, I suppose it would be wiser to have you stay down here," Ibara shook her head, moving some vines to assist Itsuka in case she lost her balance, "we don't need you fainting in your room and us not knowing about it."
The other girls watched in sympathy as Itsuka laid down on the couch, coughing and sniffling. Reiko grimaced a bit, feeling a bit lucky for narrowly avoiding that same fate, and quickly started eating her breakfast. Pony had a thought, and stole a glance at the ceiling.
"If Itsuka's feeling awful," she thought out loud, making everyone look up at her, "do you think Midori's the same way?"
The girls seemed to visibly deflate at his name, returning their gazes to the table. Ibara pouted some at the obvious sadness that came at that, feeling a bit bad that everyone had become so awkward due to him. Of course, it would be unrealistic for everyone to just magically start being friends with him again, not after such an emotional day. But she still held onto hope that they could resolve this. Clearing her throat, Ibara turned her smile back on, and resumed her seat, still stretching some vines out to Itsuka in case the class representative needed her.
"I'm not worried," she tried to say joyfully, picking up her bowl of rice, "I'm sure that if he's feeling sick, Midoriya won't be hard to care for. I imagine he's very calm when it comes to this kind of thing."
Oh, crap.
Izuku stared up at the ceiling, a headache making him groan quietly. Worse yet, he realized very quickly what was going on. He had managed to go to sleep pretty much the moment his head hit the pillows. His exhaustion from staying up the night before, the stress and tension from yelling at everyone, the long run he took afterwards, the brutal fight with Itsuka, the emotional turmoil from the talks with Vlad King, Monoma, and the girls all contributed to his passing immediately out. And now that he was awake, he realized how utterly crappy he felt.
His entire body ached, the parts where he had been hit by Itsuka were sore and aching. His nose was clogged, forcing him to breathe out of his mouth noisily. The headache he was feeling was pounding in his head. His throat felt scratchy. All in all, going to sleep earlier yesterday and sleeping in made him forget about the consequences of running in the rain for twenty minutes then getting into a fist fight with his beautiful roommate shirtless would do to -
- do to -
- oh god.
Izuku felt his eyes widen in shock, as horror started filling him. Oh god. He fought Itsuka. Like - not a shouting match, or a shoving match, but a full on wrestling match. They rolled around in the mud, on top of each other. He - he pressed himself up to her. She pressed herself on him. At the time, emotions were running high and he could ignore it, but now, as he lied there, the implications and realizations settled in, and Izuku felt his face explode into a blush. He fought her shirtless! Her - her - her - boobs pressed up to his chest!
He groaned and rolled onto his side, covering his face. Oh, sweet Jesus, the look of anger on her face as she was on top of him, her wet hair clinging to her face - he hated to admit it, especially with what happened yesterday, but holy shit, was Itsuka hot when she was angry. She was always beautiful, of course, but with her on top of him, glaring down at him with that look on her face? Izuku had to suppress a shudder. And with her straddling him, sitting her rather nice looking butt on his - wait, how did he not realize the positions they were in?! What if someone came along and saw two half-naked teenagers rolling around in the mud?! Her reputation would be in tatters!
And ... and ...
Izuku let out a groan as the reality of what he did yesterday suddenly came to him. Not the talk, he didn't regret what he told them to do, it was necessary ... but what he said to them during it. That he - that he liked them all. Like - romantically liked them. What the fuck was wrong with him?! He let out another groan as he flipped onto his stomach, pushing his face into the pillow.
Oh, god, why did he do that?! How could he look any of them in the eye?! He was going to have to get along with them again, with that on their minds! He - well, at least he knew Ibara and Pony carried something for him, he couldn't kid himself about that, but what about everyone else?! Itsuka would probably be weirded out that the weird guy from Class 1A had a crush on her - she cared about him, they literally had a fight where they established that, but like him? As in, have a crush on him? Impossible! He literally told Kinoko and Reiko, two girls already in a relationship, that he had feelings for both of them! That was the very definition of cringe! And Setsuna and Yui, the girls who used him for sex! How pathetic could one guy get?! And he still had to talk to Pony privately about her love letter!
Izuku groaned again, squeezing his eyes shut. There was a huge part of him that wanted to stay in his room again all day, avoiding them out of potential awkwardness, but this headache was already becoming unbearable. He'd have to go downstairs to get something for it, and his stuffy nose, and they'd be down there. He'd have to face the music at some -
To his right on the bedside table, his phone suddenly dinged. And then continued to ding. Izuku poked an eye out, and clumsily reached for it. Bringing it up and unlocking it, he took a glance at the messages, and saw that Class 1A's main group chat was busy.
THE CLASS 1A HELLCHAT
SPEEDY GONZALES
Good morning everyone! I hope that everyone was safe yesterday due to the horrible storm! Since we all had to stay indoors yesterday, I had thought we could all join together for an exercise today! Just to see each other after being cooked up inside. A run would suffice well, I'd say! What do you all say?
ALIEN QUEEN
kewlio
LIGHTNING BOI
sounds gucci
RED RIOT
Hell ya guys!
HIGH QUEEN MOMO
I'm don't see why not :D
also who changed my name
ROCKING KWEEN
I did babe :P
Izuku stared at the screen for a second, a plan forming in his head. A run. He could get out of the house for a bit, see his friends, avoid seeing the girls he confessed to yesterday for a bit. It was cowardly, and avoiding the problem, but after yesterday, where he confronted everything bothering him? He deserved a chance to cowardly shrink away, right? Right!
Izuku nodded to himself, and went to get up, get in his gym uniform, and get out of the house for a bit. The only problem was the moment he moved his head, everything hit him at once. He groaned, clutching his head while cringing as he stood up, the soreness of the fight yesterday and how woozy he felt suddenly catching up to him. Holy crap, he felt awful. But the prospects of seeing the girls he was crushing on downstairs convinced him that all he needed was some fresh air, going on a run with his friends, and he would feel a lot better.
Getting dressed, he slowly exited his room and slowly made his way downstairs, both to make sure no one noticed he was moving, and to make sure that he didn't accidentally fall downstairs in his woozy state. He managed to get down all four sets of stairs without tripping and falling down the stairs, and quietly made his way downstairs. Okay, he thought to himself, wincing slightly as he moved his head and his headache spiked, just grab some pills because this headache sucked, then you could go outside, get some fresh air, and meet up with -
"Oh, dear, I knew it."
Izuku winced, trying hard not to jump too much from the surprise, and turned to see Ibara and Pony looking over at him after kneeling at the head of the couch. Izuku found himself cringing as Ibara studied his pale features and hunched appearance, sighing and giving him a sympathetic look.
"I figured that if Itsuka got sick from yesterday, then you definitely did as well," she nodded, looking at him kindly while standing up. "Midoriya, if you would like to lay on the loveseat, I could get you some medicine and blankets, and then I can make you some soup. I'm sure you -"
She was interrupted, however, by Izuku suddenly laughing loudly, who tried hard not to let on how much that hurt his head. He tried to straighten up, give her a wide smile, and not look like he was about to hurl in the trashcan.
"I, uh, don't know what you mean!" He let out another automatic laugh, putting a hand behind his head and pretending it didn't hurt to lift his sore arm, and spoke just as stiffly. "I'm, uh, feeling fine! More than fine! Guess I'm - I'm tougher than I thought! Ha, ha, ha!"
"... Midoriya." Ibara gave him a deadpan stare, not buying anything for an instant. "You're as pale as a sheet. I can tell you are unwell."
"I'm, uh, I'm fine! Honest! I've, uh, gotta go meet with the rest of my class, we're doing a run, and I can't miss it! I should -"
"B-but Midori," Pony interrupted, standing up as well with a worried glance, "you're obviously sick! You look just like Itsuka!"
"Yo," the mentioned girl said weakly, lifting a hand from the couch where Izuku couldn't see her and giving him a thumbs up. "You're sick as hell. I know I am. Just shut up and get on the couch."
"R-really, guys, I'm okay!" Izuku started walking towards the door, trying hard not to betray how blurry his vision became, and how much he felt like hurling, as he went to open the door to head outside. "I'm - I just need some fresh air, I'll ... I'll be fine. Just ... I'll be back soon."
"Midoriya!" Ibara took a step forward, aghast as Izuku continued walking weakly towards the door. "I insist that you stay and recover! If this is about yesterday, I know that it must be awkward, but it won't help you to go running when you're obviously sick!"
"N-no ..." Izuku managed to grunt out as he opened the door, stepping onto the front porch and feeling his vision spin, "I'm ... I'm fine ... I'll ... be ..."
And without warning, he suddenly fell face forward completely off the porch and onto the ground with a thud.
"Midoriya!" Ibara gasped.
"Holy crap!" Pony threw a hand to her mouth.
"Noooooo," Itsuka said weakly from the couch.
With the mindsets that they just watched Izuku fall off a building instead of a porch, Pony and Ibara ran as fast as they could to make sure Izuku didn't just faceplant on the ground and break every bone in his face. Luckily, once they made it to the front door, they peered out to see that he had managed to land facedown on the grass, groaning and trying to get back up on weak arms that couldn't support his weight. Ibara sighed, and raised her hands to let her vines out of their ponytail, feeling her vines start to stretch out.
"Thank goodness Itsuka's not as stubborn as he is," she mentioned to Pony. "Can you go pull out the couch? I'll bring him back inside."
For the last few months, Momo Yaoyorozu and Kyouka Jirou had been in a happy relationship. The rocker girl had confessed her feelings for her best friend, which were happily reciprocated. It was very romantic, a kiss in the autumn air with leaves falling around them, and they had been dating ever since. They held hands, ate together, laughed, played music, and everything in between, and everyone was always happy to see them together, minus Mineta, who bemoaned that 'the hottest girl and the sixth prettiest girl' got together. (He had been shot out of a cannon by Momo when she had heard that). And while their more secretive and private moments were kept between them (Mina, who lived next door to Kyouka, would always snigger when she saw the rocker girl walking gingerly down the stairs), everyone knew they were quite happy.
And here they were, walking down the path of the forest to head to where Iida had asked everyone to meet up, turning down the small sidewalk of the dorm houses on the edge of the forest and walking past the Class 1B buildings. They had spent the entire rainy day yesterday indoors, playing guitar in her room while Momo watched and enjoyed (albeit with some breaks so they could make out), and they were looking forward to stretching their legs with the rest of their class. While their hands were entwined, Momo couldn't help but smile goofily at her girlfriend as she laughed about Denki short-circuiting himself in the rain yesterday. They were the first of the girls to leave the house; Mina and Tooru were still getting ready, and Tsuyu was looking over a sick Ochako while they waited for Nejire to arrive to take over.
"Poor Uraraka," Momo sighed, putting a hand to her cheek, "I know she wanted to spend some time with everyone today."
"Guess that's what happens when you go running out in the rain," Kyouka shrugged. "Still, sucks to be her, I guess. I'm wondering why she didn't tell us why she was out running, though."
"Perhaps it was something important," Momo thought to herself. "But in any case -"
Without warning, there was a small crash to their right, and Momo and Kyouka jumped, turning their gazes to see Izuku trip on his own two feet and fall down the stairs of the Class 1B girl's dorm. Thankfully he landed on grass, so it wasn't a hard fall, but he still let out an uncomfortable groan as he landed face down on the ground.
"Midoriya!" Momo gasped in worry, about to take a step forward. "Are you all -?"
How Midoriya was would remain unknown, however, as from the open door, a series of vines stretched out and grabbed Izuku by the legs and chest. He let out a groan of misery, trying to kick them away weakly and crawl, but the vines lifted him up, zipped him straight into the house as though a horror movie monster was dragging him to his doom, and slammed the door shut.
Momo and Kyouka stared at the door for a few seconds, wondering what the hell that was, but the door soon reopened and Ibara poked her head out, looking embarrassed and tense.
"I'm sorry about that!" She called to them. "Midoriya's just ... being stubborn."
With that apology made, Ibara quickly closed the door, leaving Momo and Kyouka staring at the closed door as though it had come out and slapped them in the face. After a few minutes of staring, they heard voices and turned to see Mina and Tooru walking down the path, laughing about something, but their laughter ceased when they noticed Kyouka and Momo staring at the girls' dorm, blinking.
"Er - you two okay?" Mina raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"I'm ... not quite sure," Momo admitted, stealing another unsure glance at the house.
"I, uh ..." Kyouka couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh, "I think we just saw Midoriya get murdered by Shiozaki?"
"Midoriya, please stop struggling!"
Izuku groaned weakly as he was brought over by the vines to lay down beside Itsuka, who was laying on her back with a washcloth on her head, staring bleakly at him as he fruitlessly struggled against Ibara's quirk. Fortunately, in his sick state, plus the surprising strength of her vines, it didn't take much for Ibara to put him down on the couch, but before Izuku could struggle to get up, Ibara was suddenly standing over him, with an oddly blank and terrifying stare as she looked him dead in the eye.
"If you move from that spot," she said, not a lot of emotion on her face as she made the threat clear, "I will wrap you so tightly in my vines that you will resemble a green mummy."
Izuku only grunted weakly in response.
"Pony, if he tries to get up, please sit on his chest." Ibara instructed her friend, who nodded and bunched her fists together, to show her determination. Ibara reluctantly let Izuku go of the restraint, and was relieved that he just collapsed against the couch, letting out a small groan of pain as he felt the sore points of his body relax on the soft couch. He turned a slightly accusing glare at Itsuka, who was glancing at him too, as he felt a bit bratty in his sickened state.
"This is your fault. We had to fight in the rain."
"Nope, you shouldn't have ran away. That's the only reason we were out there."
"Gerk."
"Yeah. Now shut up. I'mma try to go to sleep before Ibara feeds us the bad shit."
Ibara, meanwhile, headed for the kitchen, grabbing some of the cold medicine and some headache pills. She reached into the cabinet to grab some water bottles, and made her way back to the living room, eyeing the two sick students. Thankfully, Izuku seemed to realize that Pony and her were willing to restrain him if he moved, so he gave up trying to escape and just laid there propped up on a pillow, grumbling. Pony was sure to give him the stink eye if he moved even slightly upwards, as though daring him to resist again so she had a reason to sit on his chest. She seemed alleviated as Ibara took a seat on the couch beside Izuku, grabbing the cold medicine and preparing to pour a tablespoon full. Izuku glanced at the bottle, and couldn't help but cringe.
"Oh, no," he whined, "not Buckley's."
"Yes, Buckley's," Ibara nodded, satisfied at how much was filled in the tiny spoon, and offered it for Izuku to drink. "It does taste awful, I know, but it tastes awful because it works. Now, please open your mouth. Once you've taken it in, I have water bottles for you to wash the taste out of your mouth."
Izuku pouted. "Don't wanna."
Ibara blinked, taken aback by Izuku's stubbornness. Apparently when he was sick he developed a stubborn streak. In any other situation, it would be adorable to see Izuku pouting, glancing away while folding his arms. But this was when his health was at stake, and Ibara felt her eyes narrow at his uncooperativeness. She stretched out her vines to wrap carefully around Izuku, who glanced back at her and gulped when he saw all emotion drain out of her face, holding the spoon of the sick medicine dangerously close to his face.
"Midoriya," she said stoically, "I am normally a kind and understanding person. I admit that I sometimes let people walk over me, but I always do so just to make sure everyone is happy. However, when they're refusing to get better due to sickness, I throw those niceties out of the window. Now, you are going to open your mouth, you are going to drink this, you are going to have some water to get the taste out of your mouth, you're going to take some pills for your headache, and then you are going to lay back on that couch and try to get some sleep while I put on a movie. I would tell you what will happen if you do not," she suddenly squeezed her vines around his midsection, scaring him slightly, "but there will not be any 'if you don'ts', because you are going to drink this. Now close your eyes and think of a pro hero."
Izuku stared in brief terror at his roommate as she hovered menacingly over him, and felt the fight go out of him. He slowly opened his mouth, and she quickly put the spoon in, dumping its contents into his mouth. Izuku felt like gagging at the taste, but Ibara continuing to glare at him compelled him to swallow, letting out a small gasp as he got the awful medicine down, and pushed out his tongue as he shuddered.
"Very good!" Ibara's intimidating aura disappeared at once, smiling and offering him a water bottle. "Now, Itsuka, it's your turn!"
Thankfully Itsuka didn't put up as big a fight, probably more than a little intimidated by Ibara's threat beforehand, and took it without incident, although unlike Izuku, she couldn't help but gag from the taste. Once it was down, and both of them had taken the Advil for their headaches, Pony was quick to turn to the TV and put on some trashy reality show, just to have some background noise. Izuku and Itsuka didn't much care for it, but it was something to watch to distract them from the aftertaste of the Buckley's they had to reluctantly drink, so they rolled onto their sides to watch while Pony took a seat on the comfy chair. There was a bucket left at the couch, although everyone hoped that they didn't have to use it.
Ibara, meanwhile, went to the kitchen and began making some tomato soup, determined to make something to help clear up their noses. She heard occasional sneezes and noses being blown, and stirred the soup some more. She was tempted to make sandwiches, but didn't think that her friends could have anything solid for now. Once she had made enough soup for the four of them - Reiko and Kinoko had gone for a walk a while ago and hadn't returned yet, and Setsuna and Yui were no shows - she returned to the living room, putting two bowls on trays for Izuku and Itsuka to sit up and eat.
As everyone slurped on their lunch, they suddenly heard a knocking at the door. Before any of them could get up, the door swung open of its own accord, and their visitor poked his head in, glancing around and seeing Izuku laying on the couch, sick out of his mind.
"Midoriya," Aizawa nodded, stepping in and closing the door, "Vlad King let me know yesterday what happened - we need to talk."
"Er - yes, sensei," Izuku nodded, trying hard to sit up and pay attention, although it was quite difficult due to the rush of dizziness that suddenly overcame him. Aizawa raised an eyebrow at that, realizing that his student was sick as a dog, and let out a tired sigh.
"Well, I guess we have to do this here," he grunted as he took one of the chairs from the table and carried it over, settling it down in the mini circle the girls had created and sitting down. He glanced around at the girls, his brow furrowing. "I take it some of you are responsible for what's been happening lately?"
Pony let out a small squeak, feeling herself blush, but still raised a hand. "Er - just me, sir. There's - there's others, but right now it's just me."
"Hm. Well, Midnight will be giving you and the rest of the girls responsible the lecture on Monday, and then for the next three weeks. I hope you're ready for it." Aizawa aimed a half-hearted glare at her, although that was enough for the foreign student to bow her head in shame. Aizawa sighed - normally, he'd be tempted to drag them outside and lecture all of them, but he could tell from the body language of the rest of the girls they'd already had a long day yesterday, and he should get on with why he came here.
He turned his attention back to Izuku, who was glancing around in brief worry for his roommates, and let out a small sigh of disgruntlement. Of course the problem child would still be concerned about the people who used him. As expected.
"Midoriya," Aizawa caught his attention, the green-haired student looking around at him at once, "I do have to say that this wasn't what we agreed to when you moved in. I want to be clear that you sleeping around with your female roommates wasn't what I wanted - in fact, it was what I wanted to avoid. We trusted you to be respectful, and you let us down." Before Izuku could say anything, obviously shamed by his teacher, Aizawa continued, "But, I am aware of the circumstances of what really happened. That they came on to you, and pressured you into it. So like Vlad said yesterday, this is going to be your first and only warning. I don't want a repeat of yesterday."
"I - I understand, sir."
"Christ," Aizawa groaned, standing up, "Of all the things you could've been doing, I didn't expect this." He aimed another glare around, before rubbing a hand through his hair. "Of course, you're all adults. We can't really stop you from doing that with each other. And I'm not an idiot, I know that this stuff has to be happening at the other houses too, and you don't see us kicking their doors down. So Midoriya, as much as I don't wanna say, if you want to have sex with your roommates, we can't stop you. Just don't let it get to this point again. And don't let any of your classmates know, it'll be nothing but a pain in the ass. Understood?"
Izuku stared up at his teacher in shock, briefly taken aback by what he said. Wait - so Aizawa doesn't mind that he was sleeping with the girls? Just that it got to the point of conflict? That was - that was good to know. The girls were in trouble, and so was he, technically, but Aizawa seemed to be giving them some leniency. Izuku nodded stiffly to his teacher, and Aizawa accepted that as confirmation, sighing.
"Right. Now get some sleep, Midoriya, I want you back in class bright and early Monday." He turned to leave, but then remembered something. "Oh, and this Friday after school, I want you to take care of Eri for the afternoon. I have something coming up."
"Oh! Yes sir."
"Good. Have a good rest of the day. Girls, remember what's going to happen Monday." With that, the quirk-erasing teacher trooped out of the house, opening the door and closing it. The three girls stared after the teacher, letting out tense breaths.
"My goodness, I always forget how intimidating he is," Ibara let out a small shudder, looking at the door their teacher just left through. "Midoriya, is he always like that?"
"Er - kinda," Izuku admitted, settling back on the couch, "but he's nice enough, just - just a bit strict."
"I'd say," Pony grumbled, still shaking somewhat after being caught under his glare.
After that, the room settled into silence, Izuku and Itsuka doing their best to ride out their sickness and hope that it was gone by the end of the weekend. Ibara had taken her romance book, sitting back on the comforter, and began reading, occasionally stealing some glances at the pair of sick roommates to ensure that they weren't suddenly about to throw up. Pony, meanwhile, sat back on the loveseat, watching the tv with them while glancing over at them. Izuku laid on his side, trying hard not to sniffle too much, while Itsuka propped herself up to watch more TV, not really caring what was on.
That was the entire afternoon for the four, watching TV and reading. They never noticed a disembodied eye poking out from the stairwell, staring guiltily at the group, before a hand subtly slipped out and took her box of dino-crackers back upstairs. No one also noticed Yui poke her head out to see what was happening, catch sight of Izuku laying on the couch, and immediately going back upstairs. Neither of the two girls were seen by the group at all that day, content to hide out in their rooms all weekend. Better than facing the guy whose heart they broke so callously.
Eventually, Izuku slipped into sleep, unable to keep his eyes open and lightly snored. Itsuka soon followed, unintentionally cuddling up to him and laying her head next to his. Pony and Ibara took in the adorable sight (both fighting down slight feelings of jealousy at the sight), and moved to make dinner. At that time, Kinoko and Reiko came back, both of them scowling and looking dissatisfied, and went back upstairs, to their own separate rooms. Ibara and Pony shared an unsure glance at that, not sure what happened there, but not really wanting to ask. Better that they came to them if there was something wrong.
After supper, Pony decided to go to bed early, needing some time to think, which allowed Ibara to sit back and watch over the two sick students. She continued to observe Izuku being cuddled by Itsuka, continuing to think a bit harder about why her heart was feeling off by watching them, but she couldn't help but think of yesterday, Izuku's words as he went from girl to girl, and felt her frown deepen.
Her own inner conflict - the voice telling her that it was impossible for Izuku to like someone like her - was ringing in her mind, insulting her and convincing her that he wasn't serious in what he said. She let out a small sigh, and pulled up a seat to sit beside the sleeping pair, content to keep an eye on them while thinking about her own inner conflict.
It was soon dark out when Izuku finally stirred from his sleep, letting out a small grunt as he bleakly opened his eyes, not aware of the girl wrapped around him like a giant teddy bear. He had been awakened by some weird rumbling, and he wasn't sure what it was. Ibara noticed his eyes open, and closed her book, looking over at Izuku with concern on her face.
"Midoriya? Are you awake?"
Izuku grumbled, a bit confused, and turned his head to see Ibara sitting on a chair beside the couch, dressed in her nightgown with her vines tied up on her head, having changed a little bit ago before Pony went to bed. She looked sleepy, but blinked when he began sitting up groggily and moved to help him, guiding up to a slightly hunched sitting position. Itsuka's arms weakly let go of him as he moved, making her groan a bit as her source of warmth suddenly disappeared.
"Are you alright?" she asked in a hushed voice, "Do you need anything? Some water?"
"N-no, I'm okay. I'm actually feeling a lot better," Izuku sighed, rubbing some crust from his eyes, thankful that his nose didn't feel as clogged anymore. "Just trying to wake up from my nap. Er ... what's that noise?"
Ibara blinked in confusion, and then realized what he had been talking about, the low rumbling, and let out a small giggle.
"That would be Itsuka," she laughed, pointing with her finger, and Izuku turned to see Itsuka laying on her side, snoring away. Once he saw her like that, it made perfect sense, of course - her nose was clogged, so the only way to breath would be through her mouth, hence the snoring. Although, he couldn't help but smile weakly at the drool escaping her mouth as she snored, her hair all over her face.
Izuku was about to turn to Ibara, to joke about how undignified she looked, but then he caught sight of her face, the small frown on her face, and he blinked in confusion.
"Huh? What's up?"
"Hm?" Ibara snapped out of her brief daze, blinking. "What do you mean?"
"It's just - you look upset."
"Eh? Oh, no, I'm not upset!" She weakly waved her arms, trying to give him a smile. "Why would you -"
"No more hiding, lies, or half-truths." Ibara faltered to a stop when Izuku said that, although there was no anger in his tone. He gave her a small smile, sitting up so he could properly face the girl as she sat on the edge of the couch. "That's what Kendou said yesterday, right? So ... so if there is something bothering you, I wanna know. You don't have to say it, I won't make you, but ..."
Ibara took a few seconds to stare at him, blinking some shock out of her face, but then her frown deepened, and she suddenly felt the slight sting of tears in her eyes.
"Eh? Shiozaki -"
"Why do you like me?"
Izuku blinked, his mouth hanging open. Ibara looked away from him, a small blush on her cheeks, but she still looked surprisingly sad, glancing at her nightgown with a forlorn expression.
"I ... I know you said you did not hate us," Ibara admitted, feeling her eyes continue to sting with unexpected tears, "but I have a hard time believing you when you say that you have feelings for me. The girls, they ... they did such cruel things to you. And my reaction was to blame you for everything. I refused to even consider the possibility you were the victim. I'm supposed to be a hero, and I couldn't see that you were the one in trouble. I accused you of being a terrible person, someone despicable. And you responded to that ... by saying that you like me." She felt a tear drip down her cheek. "So ... please, Midoriya ... please be honest with me. Why do you like me? Because I cannot for the life of me see why myself."
Izuku stared at her in shock for a few moments, taken entirely aback. But then he closed his mouth, understanding starting to fill him. Yesterday ... as embarrassing as it was to think about, no matter how much he wanted to crawl into a hole and die rather than think about it, he realized that he hadn't done a good job acknowledging them personally. He pretty much just sped ran through them, telling them the parts of what he liked about them so he could get to the ending. So he took a deep breath, sitting up properly, and turned to properly face Ibara, trying hard to smile.
"Why do I like you?" he repeated, and Ibara gave a stiff nod, still not looking at him. "Well ... I ... well, like I said yesterday, we do cook -"
"That isn't enough."
Izuku stuttered to a stop as Ibara finally looked at him, tears starting to drip down her cheeks.
"That isn't enough to justify what I did to you," she insisted, her words starting to wobble, "I hurt you so badly, and you think us cooking together will make it better? I - I know what you said yesterday, about regaining your trust - and god, I'm going to try so hard. I want it back - but I don't know how. I don't know how to regain your trust, and it's eating at me. Please, Midoriya ..." she reached out, grasping his hand, and bent her head down so he couldn't see her face anymore, "please tell me how to make this better, because I'm so scared I won't be able to."
Izuku stared at her for another few seconds, not sure what to say, before a sudden impulse overtook him, a memory from the past that always helped him. A part of him was yelling at him to roll over and go back to sleep, but he remembered how she cared for him today, how caring she was in general, and how much pain she was suddenly going through, and he knew that he could not ignore her. He ignored the consequences, the embarrassment, the potential hypocrisy of his words yesterday ... and reached out to cup her cheek.
Ibara started at the soft gesture, realizing quickly what it was, and raised her head to look at him, shock in her eyes. Before she could say anything, Izuku let go of her other hand, and raised it to cup her other cheek, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. He went very red in the face at the gesture, but he saw the surprise in her eyes, and tried hard to keep calm. He didn't say anything at first, letting her get used to it, and soon, Ibara's eyes closed, and leaned into his touch, letting out a soft hum.
"I, uh ... my mom used to do this when I was a kid, to help me calm down," Izuku explained, feeling his face still go red. "Hopefully it helps you too."
"It ... it does," Ibara confessed, smiling softly as his thumb wiped away another tear. After another few seconds of silence, Izuku finally spoke.
"It's ... it's like I said yesterday, Shiozaki," he explained, "I like you because of your kindness, your empathy, your belief in people. It's not - it's not some super specific thing, it's because I look at you as a person and I like what I see. You ... you said that you were afraid when I took your first kiss, it meant nothing to me?"
She nodded once, stiffly, and Izuku sighed.
"I'm ... I'm sorry that you felt like that. I - I should've let you know sooner," Izuku leaned in slightly, watching as Ibara's eyes opened to look at him. Izuku was suddenly aware of how intimate this was, in the dark room with only the moonlight as a light source, but he still pushed forward.
"I ... I enjoyed our kiss together," Izuku confessed, feeling his face go even redder. "It was ... I know that I've kissed girls before, but ours was ... it was special. I felt ... I felt so safe, kissing you. It made me feel so special. I had ... I had thought it was just because of the game, because you were dared to do it, but ... it was so special to me. I'm ... I won't lie ..." Izuku took another deep breath, despite every part of him screaming not to say it, he still forged onward. "I ... if I hadn't said I wanted you guys to distance yourselves sexually from me ... I would want to kiss you again."
Ibara's eyes widened at that, a blush dusting her cheeks. For a few seconds, they stared at each other, Izuku unsure as to how far he went with that, before Ibara took a deep breath.
"You ... you still don't trust me. I still need to regain your trust."
He winced. "Er - yeah."
"Yes," she nodded, but her words came out as a whisper. "But ... when you said you didn't want us to look at you as a ... as a sexual partner ..." she blushed ever brighter at that, "... were you ... were you talking about all of us? Or just the five?"
"I ..." Izuku gulped, realizing suddenly how close they were, practically being nose to nose ... but he couldn't back away. "I was - about - I - I don't know. I - I want you guys to regain my trust before I - before I do that again. With any of you."
"I understand," Ibara nodded, and suddenly reached up, cupping his own cheeks. "It's just ... I - and you're allowed to say no ..." she gulped, trying to find her bravery, "... but ... if I were to kiss you now ... without those intentions ... would you ... would you let me?"
Izuku stared into her dark green eyes, lost in them, and brushed his thumbs against her cheeks. "You mean ... if you kiss me ... romantically? Instead of - instead of sexually?"
Ibara gave a stiff nod at that, glancing between his eyes and his lips.
"I ..." Izuku took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "I would."
Abandoning all reasonable though, both of them broke and leaned in at the same time. Ibara let out a quiet hum as their lips met, pressing against each other, and her eyes closed. Izuku also closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her soft lips on his, and leaned forward slightly, deepening the kiss. Ibara's hands went to his hair, enjoying the softness, and Izuku's own went to her own hair, enjoying how surprisingly soft the vines felt under his fingers.
For about a minute, they gently kissed, enjoying how comforting it felt, until they finally disconnected. Their eyes slowly opened, looking into each other's ... until they realized what had happened. Ibara's, for jumping the gun and kissing him before anyone could work towards fixing things up with him, and Izuku for seemingly forgiving her right now, ignoring everything he said yesterday. Both of them froze, but before he could say anything, Ibara quickly got up, reaching over to grab her book from the nightstand.
"I - I should not have done that. I'm sorry, Midoriya," she quickly said, turning around and walking towards the stairs. "I'll be going to bed now, goodnight."
"Shiozaki -" Izuku tried to say, but she was already gone, walking quickly up the stairs. Izuku stared after her for a few moments, feeling guilt and remorse overcoming him, before he sighed and stood up. Luckily, the medicine he took had done the deal, and he didn't feel as wobbly anymore. But right now, that was the least of his worries.
Twenty four hours. It only took twenty four hours for him to go back on what he said. He told them that he wouldn't pursue any of them like that, wanting to make them fight for his trust back ... and the moment he felt a little lonely, a little sorry, he broke and kissed Ibara. It was - there was a part of Izuku that knew that it wasn't just because he considered her beautiful, someone he liked - but it was because he had felt a strange loneliness. He hadn't kissed her because it would make her feel better, he did it because deep down, he thought it would make him feel better.
He felt awful, like he was about to vomit. He broke his promise to himself, and all it took was him feeling a weird need to feel special. He was such an idiot. He turned to go upstairs, into his room so he could lay down and despair, and consider what a gigantic idiot he was ...
... but a hand suddenly reached out, grabbing his.
Izuku jumped, shocked, and turned back to the couch. To his horror, he saw Itsuka staring up at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Izuku stared back at her, realizing in mounting horror that he didn't notice her snores fade away, and how she had been turned to look at them. She - oh, god, she saw everything. She saw the kiss, she saw how much of a massive hypocrite he was, she saw how weak spirited he was and how -
"You're not."
Izuku blinked, and realized quickly that he had been muttering out loud. He looked down at her, shocked, and saw understanding and sympathy fill her face.
"Please don't feel guilty about this," she whispered, staring up at him. "It's ... it's okay. I understand why you did that. I won't tell anyone."
"But ... but I ..."
"Please come here," she asked, and with surprising strength, she pulled Izuku back down onto the couch. As his back met the soft cushions, she wrapped him up in a hug, making him freeze up with red on his cheeks. She tucked her head under his jaw, her hair slightly tickling him, and continued to whisper.
"I don't blame you," she continued to explain. "You needed something to comfort you. And Ibara did too. I heard everything."
"I ..."
"So don't feel guilty," she wrapped him in a tighter hug, "I don't think anyone in this house would blame you. Yesterday ... it must've hurt you so much. You needed something to comfort you, and you kissed her. I understand. It was ... it was just a moment of weakness. Everyone has them. And ... and Ibara ... I know she understands. You aren't a hypocrite. It's okay. So ..." her lips were pushing against his neck, tickling him slightly as she spoke, "... so please, don't feel sad anymore. I don't ..." she felt slight tears in her eyes, not sure if this was the sickness talking, her tiredness or her unrestrained thoughts, "... I don't want you to be sad anymore."
Izuku blinked, and then felt tears build in his eyes. Silently, he began crying, and wrapped her up in a hug as well, his hand going to the back of her head as they laid side-by-side.
"I'm sorry ..."
"Don't be."
"I ... Kendou ..."
"Midoriya ..."
"I'm ... Kendou, I'm ..."
"Itsuka."
At that, he stopped, taken aback. He moved so that he could look down at her, seeing her peer up at him from where she was laying. He shuddered when he saw her own tears in her eyes, and let out a small gasp as she smiled up at him.
"I want you to call me Itsuka," she told him, rubbing her hands against his back, "and ... and if you let me, I want to call you Izuku."
"I'm ..."
"We've known each other for a while now. Can you please call me by my first name?"
"I ... okay. I-Itsuka."
Her smile practically stabbed him in the heart, it was so beautiful. "Thank you, Izuku."
After that, they laid in silence on the couch, Izuku eventually falling asleep first, and Itsuka watched him as he silently slept. She hoped that he would wake up feeling better tomorrow, needing to wake up feeling better than he did today. As he slumbered quietly, she raised a hand to gently caress his cheek, her own thoughts tormenting her.
She had seen the kiss, of course - they were quiet, but not quiet enough that she would sleep through it. She woke up when Ibara confessed how she didn't see how he would like her, and watched in silence as Izuku confessed how special he felt during their kiss. She watched as they hyped themselves up for it, and then kissed again. And she couldn't stomach the jealousy that filled her when she saw it. How she wanted to be the one in that position. How she regretted not kissing him yesterday, during their fight. How she didn't see this coming from a mile away.
She was in love with him. She really couldn't deny it any longer. First it had been infatuation, after seeing him in the shower then having him kiss her stomach, then the talk at the bike had started those feelings going even steadier. Then the argument ... and the fight in the rain ... and now she couldn't even kid herself. She loved him. She was in love with Izuku Midoriya.
And so was Ibara. And Pony. And, let's face it, everyone else.
It was going to be a trying time when this inevitably exploded, but Itsuka shook it away, resting her head against his chest. At least ... at least she could have tonight. Izuku still needed to go through a lot, getting the girls to regain his trust, and she wanted to stand behind him, making sure that they fixed their broken ties with him. But even as her eyes gently closed, dozing back to sleep while holding him, she thought of what he said earlier with Ibara ... or what he didn't say.
"... when you said you didn't want us to look at you as a ... as a sexual partner ... were you ... were you talking about all of us? Or just the five?"
"I ... I was - about - I - I don't know."
She knew she wouldn't make a move, wanting Izuku to salvage his relationship with the other girls ...
... but that ...
... in case of future reference ...
... that was useful to know.
