Hi again! Basically writing this straight after the last one, so I may not have much chance to see reviews and answer any questions. But there was one I can quickly respond to:
PasiveNox: I'll be explaining the relationship dynamic that Izuku, Nejire and Ochako will share in this chapter. As well as trying to lay the groundwork for their relationship beyond UA.
Real quick; sorry about the 5 or 6 typos in the last chapter. The file I uploaded was the version before I made my corrections. Whoops!
'' = speech
' = thoughts
'' 'quote' '' = one character quoting another previous line
[][][] = little transition
And again, this will contain references to the most recent chapters of the manga. Spoilers will be ahead! (Though if you're reading this after the last two chapters I suppose you won't care ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) Enjoy!
''Mayo… mayo... '' Nejire strolled along the condiment aisle, basket in hand. Ochako was trailing slightly behind her, slipping her phone into her handbag. The quiet jingle of the tannoy buzzed and crackled overhead and Ochako froze instinctively. 'Have they recognised us? Are they going to announce that there are heroes in the store?' She sweatdropped. ''Till 3. Someone get over here.'' A less than enthusiastic worker stated sharply. Ochako breathed a sigh of relief, letting her shoulders hunch. The last thing she needed was to be stormed by fans.
She didn't hate the attention; but some fans were a bit overbearing. She was wearing pink tinted sunglasses, trying to hide at least some portion of her face. Nejire had not taken such proportions.
No glasses, no hat, not even a different hairstyle. At least Ochako had put her hair back into a ponytail. Nejire walked along without a care. Did being swarmed by a bunch of admirers flatter her? Was she too carefree to pick up on passing glances and even the occasional grope? Or maybe she was just too used to it?
Ochako's face fell. Poor Nejire. She was too attractive not to be the target of perverts. 'A pretty girl like her with big boobs and a nice ass, she'd have no trouble getting attention from the boys. Like Izuku.' She looked up the aisle, taking note of the way her hips swayed. 'Okay, maybe I don't feel too sorry for her.'
''Oh my god! You're Nejire-chan!'' A random shopper squealed in excitement.
'Oh no.' Ochako mentally panicked as she ran to her friend's side.
''Oh, Uravity too!''
''Are there more of them?''
''Where's Deku?''
The crowd of about 20 people slowly surrounded them. Nejire giggled, grabbing and signing a young girl's magazine.
''Hey, Nejire! Are you single?''
''Hey Nejire-chan, what's this about you dating Lemillion?''
Two high school boys shouted from the back of the pack.
Nejire smiled widely. ''Where'd you guys hear that?'' She hung the basket in the crook of her elbow.
A middle schooler at the front held her phone up to the bluenette, who leaned in to read.
''Lemillion and Nejire take down more yakuza in Yokohama! Could their recent partnership be due to romance?'' The article read.
''O-Oh.'' She stood straight again. ''I didn't think many people read these! I'm glad the crime was listed before the rumour!'' She laughed shakily. Many of the crowd joined in. Uraraka felt a pang of jealousy run through her. Not only was she dealing with this just fine, but she was managing to distract them from their ridiculous questions?
Nejire reached with her free arm and latched onto Uraraka's short blouse sleeve. The Gravity hero's head bobbed in surprise before stopping at the taller girl's face. Nejire had what could only be described as pleading eyes.
''Hey, Uravity, can-''
''Sorry, everyone.'' Ochako finally spoke up, slowly pushing Nejire behind her. ''We've had a long day at UA. We've only just finished our final exams. We'd just like to get our shopping done. If anyone would like an autograph, please don't hesitate to stop us when we're on patrol!'' She said with a tired smile, just to lend into the idea that they were actually exhausted.
''So diligent, working even on the weekends!'' One mother perked up.
''Good luck, heroes!'' The one girl lucky enough to get an autograph yelled in elation.
The crowd seemingly agreed. They dispersed as quickly as they had formed. Nejire gulped and doubled over as she released Ochako's clothing.
''You okay?'' The brunette asked as she leaned to get a look at her friend's face.
''I will be. Just give me a few seconds.'' Hado replied.
''Not used to fans and crowds?''
''Not when I'm out of hero gear. And definitely not being asked about Mirio.''
Ochako looked up as rapid footsteps approached. A stout man in what seemed to be the store uniform approached.
''Heroes! Would you possibly-''
''Sorry, citizen. But unless it's a crime or an emergency we'd like to be left al-UH!'' Ochako felt a sharp pain as she was struck in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards. She slid across the waxed aisle floor for a few feet as she landed.
Taking no breaks to regain her breath, she sat up. The short man's previously waving hand had become the head of a sledgehammer, only roughly quadrupling that size.
Before Nejire could react, he had seized her by her throat and slammed her, back first, into the aisle, cracking the ground with the extreme force. His other hand transformed too, this one becoming a more common hammerhead.
''Die, false idol! For Stain!'' He raised his hands above his head, prepared to slam them both into Nejire with no degree of mercy.
''Arggh!'' He yelled in pain. He pivoted his head to see Ochako, resting on one knee with her grappling hook gauntlets on her wrists. The hooks had pierced his deltoid muscles and restricted his movement. But most importantly, he couldn't swing down to strike Nejire without tearing the flesh from his back and immobilising his arms. And with the position of the hooks, he had no oppurtunity to grab the hooks and attempt to free himself.
''A Stain follower? Working in a 7/11?'' Uravity teased as she stood, gripping the wires of her makeshift capture weapon tightly.
''An honest profession! Unlike you heroes! Cowards, murderers and self-satisfiers!'' He grumbled as he tensed his muscles, as if it would free him.
''Hahahahaha!''
Ochako heard Nejire's distinct laugh. She'd never heard it that devious before.
''Something funny, bitch?'' The chubby man had gone red in the face in both pain and frustration.
''Stain is dead.'' Nejire stared deep into his eyes as she spoke. ''Endeavor saw to that.'' Ochako's eyes widened. 'N-Nejire? What the fuck?'
''And if you see him in prison, so are you.'' The Wave Motion user grinned maniacally.
''What are y-'' Nejire didn't allow him to finish as she grabbed one of his knees in each hand from her position on the floor and activated her quirk, quite literally blowing the man's kneecaps off in a gory display of revenge. Blood splattered the jars and squeezy bottles that hadn't been blown away by the force of her quirk.
The man howled in pain and Uraraka flicked a switch on each of her gauntlets. The wires retracted, pulling the man away from his torturer. Uraraka grimaced and gritted her teeth as his blood trailed behind him as he slid along the aisle to her feet. She detached her hooks and delivered a powerful right hook downwards, cracking against his temple and knocking him out. At least now he could go without the pain in his legs.
''Well done, Uravity!''
''Wow, the heroes defeated him in seconds!''
Ochako sprung up, grabbed her handbag and rushed to Nejire's side.
''Don't you think that was a little brutal?'' Someone said just loud enough for her to pick up.
''No way, man! That'll teach him not to hit a girl! Especially one that can hit back harder!'' An elated teenage boy replied. To Uraraka's disgust, some people in the crowd laughed. As much as they had at Nejire's joke earlier. Had they not heard what Nejire had said? Or seen the attack?
Ochako unclipped the gauntlets, the hooks speckling her with blood as she did. She tucked them into her handbag and offered her fellow hero a hand. ''You okay?'' She asked as Hado accepted her hand and slowly rose out of the girl shaped crater in the ground.
''Y-Yeah.'' She looked to the blood on her hands. It was lucky the crowds couldn't see the regret on her face.
The next 20 minutes flew by.
The regional manager thanked the pair for saving his shoppers and replaced the groceries they had that were destroyed in the scuffle. He even handed them over for free.
The police and ambulance arrived, and Uraraka gave a statement to the detectives whilst Nejire had the EMTs look at her neck. Uravity informed them that: ''the hero Nejire-chan was not in a position to stop him through combat. She only acted as she did as she needed to insure he was incapable of attacking civilians.'' Now she'd have to hope that the security cameras had no audio.
They politely declined an escort back to UA from Death Arms, who had been nearby at the time. Now they were on their way back, the late spring sun still somewhat high in the sky.
''Woah, my neck hurts!'' Nejire spoke up, breaking a six minute silence.
Uraraka huffed. ''So does mine. After all I had to put mine on the line to keep you out of trouble.'' She scathed.
Nejire cringed but remained silent.
''So why did you do that, senpai?'' Uraraka kept her eyes forward. They could definitely do without being caught unawares for the second time today.
''Wash.'' Nejire stated, matter-of-factly.
''He's been dead for over a year, Nejire.'' Uraraka briefly turned to throw a quizzical look at her.
''Exactly. Stain killed him.'' She kept her hands behind her back as she walked. She often did this, but this was more so that she didn't have to look at her own hands.
''Stain killed lots of heroes. Wash was unfortunately one of those.'' Uraraka tried her hardest not to sound dismissive, but fell just short.
''But other heroes didn't mentor me. He was a good teacher.'' She sighed.
''I thought you always interned with Ryukyu?'' Ochako asked.
''I did. Wash was around us a lot during my first and second year at UA. He lived in the same city as Ryukyu. His office was just next door.'' Nejire smiled warmly, much to contrast her tone.
''He taught me how to direct my Waves better. He had a propulsion technique that he passed onto me too.'' She laughed gently. ''He was a good comedian too, though most people wouldn't know. One time, he curled his arms and legs in and crouched in the laundry room in Ryukyu's building. You should've heard her scream when he popped up and grabbed her!''
The two girls shared a laugh as they came up towards the gates of UA. Uraraka scanned her provisional hero license and the gates squeaked open enough to let them slip through.
''They sound like good memories.'' She smiled at Nejire.
''But memories are all they are now. I'll never get to see him again. To show him I use his teachings every day. To show him I became a Top 40 hero.''
''He'd be proud of you.'' Ochako grabbed her friend's hand. ''For staying true to yourself. And for being just as dorky as he was.'' She stuck out her tongue playfully, and Nejire smiled warmly.
''So why does that warrant blowing that guy's legs up?'' Ochako asked with a far lesser degree of annoyance.
''Ochako.'' Nejire gripped her shoulders and stopped them in their path. Uraraka briefly eyed the dorms that lay just a few minutes walk ahead of them, before looking back to Nejire.
''Take how sad I was about Wash and double- no! Triple it!'' She pouted in the same way she did at Izuku. ''That's how sad I would be if he killed you!'' The bluenette felt tears building in the corners of her eyes.
''As soon as I knew he was a Stain follower, that triggered something in me. I couldn't let you die, Ochako! I can't lose you, too! Not after Wash! Not after my mom!''
Ochako dropped the bag of groceries in shock. ''Wh-When did-''
''My first year. She had a stroke at work and there was no one around to help.'' She choked out.
''I'm so, so sorry…'' Ochako whimpered as she wrapped her arms around her. Nejire's forehead came to rest on the brunette's shoulder.
''She-She knew I was going to be a hero. She said that getting into UA made her so happy.'' She felt Ochako's fingers sail through her hair in a soothing rhythm.
''I needed to be a hero to keep her and my dream alive, Ochako. My Dad, too. He was so important. He kept me at UA. Kept me motivated. So did Mirio and Tamaki and Ryukyu. And so did you and Tsu.''
Ochako could feel her own tears wriggling at the base of her eyes. ''And Izuku?''
Nejire laughed through her tears. ''Of course.''
She drenched her head off Uraraka's shoulder. ''I love him, Uraraka. And I love you.''
''Uwah?!'' Ochako went bright red. ''I-I don't- I can't-''
''Not in the same way I love him, silly!'' Nejire giggled, tears still streaming. ''Like a sister!'' She tugged at the end of her top up and wiped her tears with them.
''O-oh. I see.'' Ochako mumbled out, relieved.
''That's why I made the moves on him last night. He's going to be a hero in like a month! And while that's super exciting, I'm worried that he'll die, Ochako. That he'll fight someone too strong all by himself or get caught and tortured or-GAH!'' She flung her hands up in frustration.
''I just wanted to be with him before he became a hero. I love him too much to not tell him.'' She had stopped crying now. Her voice was still fairly shaky, but her throat would obviously be hoarse from the sobbing.
''And I know you love him too. Even if you can't call it that just yet.'' Her lips curled up to form a supportive smile.
''Well, what are you proposing we do, then? I can't say I don't worry about these things too.'' Ochako finally allowed the one or two stray tears to roll down her cheeks. Nejire hopped up and down, ecstatic at finally being asked the magic question. She leaned in close to Uraraka's ear, sniffling as she swallowed.
''We share him.''
She pulled away again. Ochako went red again. ''L-Let's talk about this with him. Later.''
Nejire raised her arms above her head in a victory pose. ''Mhmm!''
The two girls spent a few minutes drying their tears, wiping away runny makeup and calming themselves down.
They picked their bags up again and set off down the paved path to the 3-A dorms. ''Thank you, Ochako.''
''For what?'' Ochako's gaze softened even further. 'This girl is too adorable.'
''For letting me break down on you like that. I know it was a lot to take in. And I know I seem to switch emotions super quick.''
''It's fine. I'm just glad you trust me enough to do that in front of me.'' She said, and the pair shared a brief spell of laughter, as they walked up the steps to the dorm's porch.
''Uraraka-san! Hado-senpai!'' Iida shot up from his seat near the doors. ''It is 5:28. Normally I would question why you were 13 minutes late but I saw your efforts with that hammer villain on the local news! Well done!'' He gave them a brusque thumbs up.
''Well, thank you, Tenya!'' Nejire said happily. ''Though it really wasn't much.''
''Nonsense! Saving civilians, especially on a day off and in street clothing, is the very epitome of heroics!'' He said with a salute as he gently tugged the bags from the girls hands and rushed inside, those still in the common room yelling at the wind and dust he kicked up as he deposited the bags in the kitchen.
''Well. That was a long trip.'' Ochako said as she stretched out her shoulders. ''I need a shower.''
''Oh, I'll join you! We should be out for dinner, right?'' Nejire clapped her hands in glee.
''Oh, uh, sure!'' Uraraka feigned excitement.
''Great! And I can finally see what I'm up against…'' Nejire said raunchily as she eyed Ochako's chest.
'Oh no.'
[][][]
Izuku burst through the doors and skidded to a stop. He took another look at his watch. 6:06pm. 'Wow, only 2 minutes to dash back here.' He strode further into the common room, seeing the rest of his classmates strain about on the couches and at the dining table. Iida cleared his throat as he stood at the dining table. 'Still late though...'
''S-Sorry, Iida! Aizawa-sensei asked me to babysit Monday and I was just going over some stuff!'' He slipped his hands through his hair.
''Just sit down.'' Bakugo said from the head of the table. ''Gah, my fucking head…''
''You okay, Kacchan?'' He crossed the room and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
''Just a headache, De- Izuku.'' He stuck his chopsticks into his bowl and pulled out a shrimp, one that was clearly resting in a hot sauce infused broth. ''I saved ya a bowl, now eat. Me and Ponytai- I mean, Momo, didn't spend a good 40 minutes making this shit for people to avoid it.'' He popped the shrimp into his mouth, recoiling at the strength of the spice.
''Ah, you got the extra spicy stuff, huh?'' He half yelled across the room to Ochako and Nejire, who sat on their knees by the kotatsu that lay in the middle of the couches, in the very centre of the room.
''They did, I just hope that you didn't make everybody else's as… flavorful as you made yours.'' Momo sat at the other end of the table with Jirou and Kaminari.
''Oh, relax! You helped me make this shit. Shrimp and prawn ramen is simple as fuck!''He yelled out to no one in particular. ''Step up, extras! Only half of us make dinner at all! We won't be there to cook for you fuckers when you're pros!''
Mina and Kirishima sideyed one another to the left of the Explosion user. 'Is he stabbing at us?'
''Actually, I'd be happy to make meals for you guys every now and again! As long as I'm nearby, hahaha!'' Sato laughed and the girls smiled dreamily. 'Was there anything better than Rikido's baking?' Six minds said in unison.
''Me too, actually!'' Izuku said as he walked back into the room, bowl in hand. That was met with equal enthusiasm.
''Ooooh, Midori! You and Sato could cater Yaomomo and Shoto's wedding!'' Mina folded her arms in self-approval.
''M-Mina!'' Momo clasped her cheeks as she flushed. ''We agreed no wedding talk in front of everyone!''
Ashido clasped her hands in apology. ''Sorry! I was just super proud of that idea, heh heh…''
Izuku felt his face warm up at the praise as he took a seat next to Todoroki and Iida. Shoto had his left hand under the bowl, using his fire to keep the bowl from cooling down. As he sat, the rest of the class finally tucked in.
''Izuku, you can cook!?'' Nejire yelled across to him, deepening his blush even further.
''He sure can.'' Jirou confirmed after she swallowed a mouthful of soba. ''Maybe you could teach Kaminari, Izuku?'' She teased the blonde boy next to her who simply stuck his tongue out in response.
''Everyone should be able to cook something, right?'' Hagakure chipped in.
''Agreed! Both men and women should be prepared to cook! Genders roles are archaic at best!'' Iida commented, though with his tone it sounded like a command.
''It's true; girls love a guy who can cook, apparently.'' Kirishima said whilst chomping on a king prawn.
''Well how come no one ever let me cook?'' Mineta slammed his fists against the couch he alone occupied. ''I even offered!''
''You'd probably drug us, you creep!'' Mina yelled with a mouth full of food.
''Hey, Mineta wouldn't do that!'' Nejire rallied behind the miniscule pervert.
The room fell silent, knowing glances on everyone's face.
''W-Would he!?'' Nejire spun to face Grape Rush, who sweated heavily.
'Oh, you poor naive fool.' 19 students all thought at once. Nejire turned her nose up in disgust.
''A-Anyway! Good job with that villain, Ochako and Nejire!'' Sero, sensing the tension, changed the subject with the first thing he could possibly think of. Izuku perked up.
''You two fought a villain?'' He queried, his chopsticks stopping just short of his mouth.
''You didn't see the news, kero?'' Tsuyu stared at him blankly.
''N-No, I was training non-stop with All Might before dinner. I didn't get a chance to check my phone.'' He dug his hands into his shorts. 29 notifications from various apps. 'Whoops…'
''They said he was a Stain follower, right?'' Eijiro seemed perturbed.
''Yeah, he was. He wasn't attacking any civilians; he just came over and took us by surprise.'' Ochako stated, playing with her food.
''Even after all the heroes did, we still fell kind of short, huh?'' Sato smiled sadly.
The room went silent, save for the occasional clinking of bowls and silverware. Many sat in quiet contemplation. Had they ultimately failed, despite the death of the Symbol of Evil and the defeat of his followers? So many had died to let all of the students get here. To this stage of their school lives. To the verge of adulthood. Had they truly earned their sacrifice?
''Well that just means we have to make up for it when we're fully fledged pros.'' Izuku looked around the room. ''We'll make sure that the heroes that died and all the people we couldn't save didn't die for nothing.''
A warm sensation flowed around the room. Smiles returned. Motivation wasn't always Midoriya's strong suit, but he had his moments.
''Easy to say from your perspective, Mr. 'Next Symbol of Peace.''' Jirou said jokingly. That comment gained a general chatter among the several small groups.
''I haven't earned that title yet.'' Izuku mumbled loudly in introspection. ''For all we know, Kacchan could be the next Symbol.'' He offered. ''Or maybe even Shoto.''
Both boys felt a small swell of pride. Midoriya was undoubtedly one of the strongest heroes, despite his lack of general experience. He had sacrificed everything he could to protect both strangers and loved ones alike.
''Or Grapey Rapey Dwarf over there.'' Mina offered with a toothy grin.
''H-Hey! Just because I'm a proud pervert, it doesn't mean I'd assault someone!'' Mineta screeched in protest.
''I would think not!'' Iida bellowed. ''Perhaps the mere implication you could is enough to suggest that you consider shaping up, Mineta!''
The small boy's soul seemed to evacuate his body to avoid taking too much offense to the swathe of insults that quite a few members of the class proceeded to throw at him.
[][][]
Most of the class had retreated to their rooms (or the gym if you were Eijiro and Mina) and Izuku had offered to help Tsu as it was her turn on dish duty. Izuku and Asui were just washing up the last of the dishes when Nejire coughed to gain his attention.
''O-oh, one sec Nejire!'' He yelled over the kitchen counter as he scrubbed a bowl furiously. 'God, these hot sauce stains never come out in the first wash.'
''It's okay Izuku, I'll do the last three.'' Asui smiled softly at him. She took the remaining bowls in her arms and dumped them into the soapy sink. Izuku furrowed his brow in guilt.
''You sure? I'd feel bad if I left you alone, honestly.'' He folded his arms, dishrag still in hand.
''Izuku, it wasn't even your turn today and you still helped. That's good enough for me, I'd say.'' The frog girl tugged the rag from his hand. ''Now go sort out your girl problem.''
''I-uhhh, yeah. I will.'' He turned beet red and slunk away to Nejire.
''Hiya, 'zuzu.'' Nejire grabbed his hand. ''Ochako's lending me some clothes, so I'm staying the night again!'' She exclaimed excitedly as she pulled him into the elevator.
''Alright, just don't break anything again. Including me.'' The elevator dinged as the couple hopped out and sped into his room.
''O-Ochako!?'' He sprung back in surprise when he was met with the Gravity girl laying on his bed, reading the evening paper.
''You could've at least been naked, 'chako!'' Nejire jumped onto the bed. ''Spice it up a bit!''
The brunette simply scoffed. ''H-Hi, Izuku. We need to have another little talk about us, if that's alright.'' She rolled up the paper and placed it on the floor next to the bed.
''You sure you want Nejire to be here? If this is about me and you, I mean... ''
''No, no, 'zuzu! This is about all 3 of us!'' Nejire wrapped an arm around Uraraka's shoulders and patted her head.
Izuku's eyes widened. 'Is it finally happening? I am about to live every man's sexual fantasy?'
''In short, Nejire wants to… t-to share you…'' Ochako fumbled her words out, her cheeks heating up.
''Awwww, isn't she cute?'' Nejire cooed as she ruffled her hair.
Izuku closed his door and leant against it. ''L-Listen, I've had a long day, I don't think I could handle b-both of you right now.'' He blushed furiously.
''We don't mean that way, silly! Or at least not right now…'' She grinned deviously. ''We both want to date you!''
Izuku's eyebrows rose so much he imagined them retreating into his hair. He sputtered and mouthed silent words for a few seconds, before slapping himself.
''F-First of all; you both don't mind that? I can't even promise I'd treat you both well! Not that I'd treat you badly but surely you can both do better!'' He cried in confusion.
''Nope!'' Nejire said confidently.
''Ochako, surely you aren't too keen on sh-sharing me, right?'' He sought to appeal to the more rational of the two.
''If you were anyone else, I'd say no a million times. But you're you. I'd rather share you than not be with you at all, Izuku. You mean too much to me to let go that easily.'' Ochako placed a hand over her heart as she poured it out to him.
''So when you said you'd be fine with me dating Nejire-''
''I was lying, Izuku. And to be honest, I lied about something else too.'' She wriggled out of Nejire's embrace, rolled off the bed and approached him. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest.
''When you said that what we had wasn't love, it hurt me. I had come to you this morning, fully prepared to tell you how much I loved you. When you said it was just 'feelings', I was just prepared to let Nejire have you. She convinced me not to while we were out today.''
''I'm so sorry, Ochako, I didn't know.'' He placed his hand on her head, and slowly ran his course, scarred hands through her hair. ''And while we're being honest…'' Ochako craned her neck to look up at his face.
''I was lying earlier too. I love you, Ochako. I don't really know what love is, but I'm sure what I feel for you is the closest thing to it.'' He felt tears brim in his eyes.
Ochako stood on her tiptoes and kissed him deeply, snaking her arms around his neck to close the fairly big gap.
He let himself enjoy the passionate moment for only a handful of seconds before gently pushing her off him. He grew slightly red in the face.
''S-See! This is my issue!'' He groaned as he broke the long saliva chain he and Ochako had made with his tongue.
''Nejire!'' He called out to her.
''Hm?'' She pointed at herself in confusion, as she rolled onto her side on his bed.
''Do you not feel left out? I just confessed to Ochako that I love her! Do you not feel bad at all?''
Nejire squinted as she swung her legs off the bed and approached him. ''Do you want me to feel bad?''
''Of course not, but-''
She placed a finger on his lips. ''Do you like me? As a person?'' She asked.
He nodded.
''Do you like me romantically?'' She asked.
He nodded.
''As much as Ochako?'' She asked, this time with a tone that assured she wanted nothing but a yes or no.
Izuku looked at Ochako, who was still basking in the joy of their kiss, but was watching him intently. He closed his eyes in pre-emptive guilt, before nodding again.
''Then what's the issue?'' Nejire spoke to him like he was dumb. And maybe he was. She took her finger away.
''It's wrong! I shouldn't be allowed to have you both! It's selfish!'' There was no hesitation, no lie, no exaggeration. He really believed that.
''But why, Deku?'' Ochako reached forward and clasped his hand. ''We both love you.''
Nejire took his other hand. ''And you love both of us. Where's the harm?''
He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting tears to escape. ''I can't love you both… it'll only hurt you. It's just so rude to the pair of you…'' He choked out.
''Not if we don't want it to be.'' Ochako gave his hand a light squeeze.
''And who's to say me and 'chako don't fall in love with each other too?'' Nejire claimed with confidence. ''Then we could all be selfish together!'' She giggled happily.
''Just let yourself be happy, Izuku.'' Ochako was deadly serious. ''After everything you've done for me and everyone else, you deserve at least that.''
He opened his eyes again, letting the previously trapped tears flow. ''Would you really accept this? Both of you?'' His green eyes shimmered.
''Yes, I would.''
''Of course!''
He gave both their hands a soft push away. ''A-Alright. If you both really want to, then I'll date you both. If only to make you both happy.''
''No.'' Nejire scowled at him. ''You need to be happy too. Otherwise we can't be.'' She looked to the brunette for support.
''For something like this to work, we need to all be on board. Just try it for us, Izuku. I promise we'll make it work. And that we won't get jealous or angry if it doesn't.''
Izuku stood in silence for about 3 minutes after that, letting his tears dry up. He closed his eyes to centre his mind. He weighed up the pros and cons of a 3 person household. Social aspects. Hero aspects. Children. His mother's likely delight on hearing the news. The pride he'd feel if All Might were to support it.
His eyes flew open again. And he smiled for the first time since they'd discussed it.
''Okay. I think I can do this. I'll do this. For all three of us.''
Ochako and Nejire both closed the gap and formed a group hug. ''We'll talk about the finer details in the morning.'' Ochako smirked.
''Okay.'' ''Okay!''
''I'll just take Nejire to my room to let her take her pick of pajamas, then we'll rush back.''
''O-oh, you'll be sleeping in here too?'' Izuku blushed.
''After that, how could I not?'' Uraraka laughed as she ushered Nejire out, softly closing the door behind them.
Izuku swiftly fell back onto his bed. He gazed up to his ceiling. Then to his nightstand. A picture of the students who defeated Overhaul rested on it in an ornate frame. They all looked battered and broken, but more so than that, they were happy they had all survived.
He paid close attention to Nejire and Ochako specifically. Their arms were linked with Tsuyu's and all three seemed over the moon to have been part of an overwhelming success.
He smiled to himself. Maybe this would work out well, after all.
HELLO HELLO HELLO!
Thank you for reading! I'm glad you powered through it!
I know there was a lot to digest in this chapter, but I promise all of it has a purpose.
Nejire's mom and her relationship with Wash is completely non-canon, if you were worried. As is Wash's death as of the time of writing this. Most stories where she's paired with Izuku have her emotional conflict come in the form of an abusive ex, and I wanted her to have a more emotional reason to look up to and be so infatuated with Izuku. Not that the abusive ex is ever a bad subplot either. I just wanted something unique from other stories.
The reason for Nejire's and Izuku's mutual love will be explained in the future, through flashbacks. They haven't fallen for each other because of the night they shared. The night was a consequence of those feelings.
Now, I have a question. I know that there are sexual jokes and lemons are a common theme in stories like this. Do you guys actually want to see that? I can work them in fairly easily and not have them become too much of a focal point. Just let me know if you do; if you guys want it, I will do it, no problems.
Now, another recap of the ships (not missing names this time, haha):
Izuku x Nejire
Izuku x Ochako
Momo x Todoroki
Jirou x Kaminari
Tsuyu x Tokoyami
Tooru x Ojiro
Mina x Kirishima
Bakugo x Camie
Iida x Yui (the emotionless girl from 1-B with black hair)
Aizawa x Miss Joke
Present Mic x Midnight
All Might x Inko
Kamui Woods x Mount Lady (though this one is practically canon)
Alright, that's it for now then! See you soon!