Chapter 32: Ain't No Party Like an I-Island Party
Summary:
The I-Expo continues and everything's going well! No sarcasm this time!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
When Melissa gave him a clean bill of health, Star and Stripe reluctantly parted ways with them. "[I have to check in with Mr. Shield, and you kids should see the sights out there. I'm definitely going to meet up with you later, though, bro!]"
To Izuku's credit, he managed to contain his excited fanboy squeal until she left, "Oh man, I can't believe it! Star and Stripe used her Quirk on me! She called me her bro!"
Melissa giggled, "She does that a lot. She calls her squadmates 'bro' or 'brother' constantly. She's very friendly…" She paused, then said telepathically, "So, what did you remember from that overload?"
"Primarily flashes of memories from the original users of Bonding and Power Stockpile," Izuku replied as they boarded the elevator. "They were husband and wife. I got a few insights into Bonding from that and a few flashes of insight beyond it. Primarily, there's five stages of bonds. The fourth stage seems to let you teleport to each others' locations. The fifth stage let the Stockpile user survive a fatal wound."
"That's extremely useful, and I hope we never need it," Melissa said. "And if we do, I hope we reach that stage first. Any insights into how to reach those stages?"
"Unfortunately, no," Izuku said sadly. "Maybe if I stayed under the Order longer, but who knows if that would've backfired."
"And we didn't see any of that, unfortunately," Yoichi complained.
"You guys have been really quiet since we left the airport," Izuku commented.
"Sometimes we want to comment on what's going on, sometimes we just want to pull up a chair and break out the popcorn," Daigoro said.
"Metaphorically, we can't actually eat in here," Hikage clarified.
"Any insights into what a Stage 3 Bond between us would look like? " Melissa asked.
"They called it a Sharing Bond…" Izuku tried to fit his insights into words. "I got something of an answer. Basically, just because we don't have Quirks, doesn't mean we don't have our own individuality. Like, One for All expresses itself differently between me and All Might. He has his muscle form and I have my lightning. So, when you get the Sharing Bond, you'll make One for All your own, and it'll influence how I use it. I don't know how, and I don't know what else might get shared, but just because you don't have a Quirk doesn't mean you won't make me stronger with our bond."
Melissa stopped short and tears started to form. Izuku instinctively moved to apologize, but stopped as she cupped his face in both hands and kissed him. He was shocked, but leaned into it as he simmered in the joy and validation she felt from his words.
Sadly, they were interrupted by the chime of the elevator landing on the ground floor. A group of people waiting for it were surprised. One clapped, another gave a wolf whistle. They separated and left the elevator.
Izuku was mortified thanks to Japanese attitudes to public displays of affection, but Melissa was more composed. "Let's clean up before we head out there."
Izuku could only nod, ducking into the restroom. He was equally shocked, pleased, and embarrassed to see he had some lipstick transferred to his face.
The Expo was phenomenal. Having Melissa show him around her home and point out attractions was great. She described the scientific discoveries on display. Izuku, meanwhile, pointed out the various Heroes visiting the Expo and gave infodumps on their powers and exploits. It felt so sweet.
The time they were spending together exclusively ended when Izuku heard his name and Melissa's being called by Ochako. The group that encompassed most of his lovers approached him.
"Hey, everyone!" Izuku smiled warmly. "Where's Nejire-chan-senpai?"
"She took off almost immediately, ribbit," Tsu stated. "Said that she has 'plans'."
"Those air quotes fill me with dread," Izuku said.
"They filled the rest of us with dread, too!" Toru replied.
"Whoa!" Mei noticed the Ultimate Gauntlets. "These are some high-end babies! Is this your doing, senpai?" she asked Melissa as she invaded Izuku's space to inspect them.
"Yup!" Melissa said proudly. "I was finally able to get them made without breaking about six contracts."
"So, I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh, Izu-kun?" Ochako smiled warmly.
"Yeah, I absolutely wasn't expecting this!" Izuku beamed.
"I'm not sure why," Momo tilted her head in confusion. "We had that party for Toru's birthday last month…"
"Still the best one I've had in, like, forever!" Toru said, vibrating with glee.
"Yeah, but everything's been going so well this year that I haven't even kept track of when my birthday was to prepare for anything bad!" Izuku explained.
There was a pause as everyone tried to parse that.
In their heads, Yui said, "This is another thing where something we take for granted has been denied to you forever, and you've been mistreated so long that you can't even remember things being different, isn't it?"
"Basically, yeah," Izuku reluctantly replied. "Aside from my mom and me celebrating, the best birthday I had in a long time was last year when Bakugou just ignored me and none of the other kids bothered to plan anything mean."
"Well, then," Momo said, her calm tone hinting at underlying danger. "I suppose our goal for the upcoming year is to try and make that sort of experience a distant, fading memory. To that end, do you remember any of their names?"
"I don't want you to do anything to them, Momo-chan," Izuku stated flatly.
"Like you wouldn't act if I told you my list of names," Tsu countered.
"I'd leave them alone, but Mr. Pipe Wrench insists on meeting with them, Tsu-chan!" Izuku exclaimed.
"Let's just get some lunch," Ochako changed the subject.
They managed to get a table quickly. Their blond waiter came over, and said, "Welcome, everyone! Can I get you started off with one of our…" He then blinked, as did the group, recognizing one another. "Oh, hey, guys! Good to see you here!"
"Good afternoon, Kaminari-kun," Momo greeted. "I hope you're enjoying your experience thus far."
"Absolutely!" Denki said. "Kiri-bro and Tetsu-bro are stationed here, too. A bunch of 1-B guys as well. By the way, you should get dessert. Sato from 1-B is helping with chef duty, that's his specialty, and he's awesome at it!"
"Sounds wonderful to me!" Toru cheered.
They ordered their lunch. At some point, after serving them, Denki mentioned he was on break and they chatted about the Expo. As they talked, a busboy with overly large elbows appeared, "Hey, Kaminari, when you're back on duty, I'll need help with- Oh, hey, these are your classmates, right?"
"Most of 'em!" Denki stated.
"Hey, Hanta Sero from 1-B," he bowed. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Ah, yes, you fought Jiro-chan in our preliminary spar, correct?" Momo asked.
"The girl with the earlobes, right?" Sero asked. At their nods, he nodded, "Yeah. I recognize Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Midoriya, but not the rest of you, sorry."
As they introduced themselves, Izuku finally gave in, producing his notebook, "The tape you produce, is it always translucent, or can you make it opaque? How about completely transparent? Is it double-sided or single-sided? Can you choose between the two? Can you fire more than one strand at a time?"
Sero, grumbling, passed over a five hundred yen coin to Denki. "To answer the only question I could make out, single sided unless I work at it. I've got to head to the walk-in. Kaminari, join me when you can."
"Sure thing," Denki grinned widely.
"Kaminari-kun!" came the over-excitable voice of Tenya, who arrived, chopping his hands. "You keep on making wagers, and are apparently shirking your duties! You should be doing better to represent U.A. during this event!"
Sero groaned as he took out another five hundred yen coin and gave it to Denki. "Thanks, Iida-kun!" the blonde boy said, content.
Tenya sputtered, but before he could continue his lecture, he was poked in the shoulder by a green vine. Turning around, he noticed Ibara standing behind him.
"Iida-kun, as much as I appreciate your desire to lead our classmates towards appropriate conduct, I believe you are being too overzealous, and as such are acting in the same ill manner of which you're accusing Kaminari-kun…" Ibara stated.
Tenya looked puzzled, "What? How is that possible, Shiozaki-kun?!"
Ibara sighed, "Tell me, what would you think if someone representing you or your family was found to be harassing and yelling at a service worker over a perceived minor slight?"
Tenya chopped his hand, "Why, that would be an outrage! I would be ashamed if someone representing the Iida name were to act… in such a… manner…" As the puzzle pieces fell into place, Tenya's face dropped as he realized how badly he screwed up. He turned to Denki and bowed at a ninety degree, "My apologies, Kaminari-kun! I had no business shouting at you!"
"It's fine, man. All's forgiven," Denki said. "My break's ending soon enough, anyway. Take your seats and I'll be with you ASAP."
"It would be my pleasure, Kaminari-kun!" Tenya stated, standing upright. To Izuku's group, he said, "I would love to join you all, but your table seems a bit crowded."
"No sweat," Ochako stated.
Tsu cocked her head to the side, "Ribbit, are you and Iida-chan here together, Shiozaki-chan?"
"Iida-kun was generous enough to offer me an invite, as his family was unable to attend with him," Ibara said. A few of them winced, realizing that his brother's health was the most likely reason why. "I merely wished to accompany him out of gratitude."
"I told her such actions were unnecessary, but if Shiozaki-kun wishes it, I'm quite happy to accommodate her!" Tenya stated, as they made their way to a table themselves. Both of them were lightly blushing.
"Have fun, you two!" Toru waved them off.
"Translation, this is a date but they're not admitting it," Yui thought to the group.
"Exactly, ribbit," Tsu stated. "Baby steps."
"My guess is they'll be too skittish to hold hands for the next year, but after graduation, they'll be married," Toru said.
"So Mufflers and Vine Hair?" Mei asked. "Neat pairing. Oooh, senpai, we should try and think up new babies that accommodate both of their Quirks!"
"That'd be an interesting thought exercise at least," Melissa agreed.
"It's nice that Shiozaki-san reciprocates Iida-kun's feelings," Izuku mused.
"He mentioned that?" Momo asked.
"Ah, right," Izuku blushed. "You guys didn't overhear that part. Though he also said that he thought starting a relationship was too much of a distraction."
"In fairness, I kind of thought that as well, before actually coming here," Ochako said. "But I was totally wrong."
"In his defense, the bonds are kind of doing a lot of the legwork for us," Izuku offered.
"Honestly, Izu-kun?" Ochako thought warmly. "Even without the bond, I think being your girlfriend would have made the two of us stronger anyway."
Izuku sniffed.
"Here come the tears, ribbit," Tsu commented as rivers flowed out of Izuku's eyes.
After lunch, the group made their way to one of the attractions, seeing an enormous glacier formed atop it.
"Oh, it's the Villain Attack attraction!" Melissa stated. "You should try it, Izuku!"
"Of course!" Izuku said. "Anyone else want to try?"
Considering it for a second, Ochako stepped forwards and cracked her knuckles, "I could use more practice with the awakened version of my Quirk," she said with a grin.
"I want to try it too, ribbit," Tsu opined calmly.
"Let's check the leaderboard…" Izuku looked at said board and did a double take. "Wait, Shouto-kun finished in fourteen seconds?!"
"What's Endeavor feeding that boy?!" Melissa asked, before the rest of the polycule winced. "What?"
"He's been feeding him a ton of abuse," Toru said angrily. Melissa gasped.
"I kind of forgot you were still at I-Island when we found out…" Izuku replied.
"Nezu's working on it," Toru said, placing a hand on Melissa's shoulder.
"Well, time to blow his score out of the water," Ochako said, hoping to change the subject as Tsu entered the attraction. She began, hopping across the terrain at high speeds. Between her kicks and the reach of her tongue, she made quick work of her foes, wrapping up in twenty-seven seconds, earning her sixth place.
"Bonding's physical enhancements are completely broken," Yui commented.
"I'm kind of surprised she didn't immediately dominate her final exam…" Mei brought up.
"I wanted to make sure Shiozaki-chan was contributing, ribbit. Figured she'd have failed if I did all the work," Tsu stated. "Plus side, it kept me fresh for Ectoplasm-sensei's giant clone."
Ochako took to the stage next. She began to spark with her rose-colored lightning as she took her place at the beginning. Once the buzzer rang, she removed her own gravity and shot forwards like a rocket. She was a pink blur as she rocketed from mechanical villain to mechanical villain.
She managed to make it in twenty-one seconds, reaching second place.
"And it seems a single percent of One for All is more broken," Yui said. "The different colors of lightning is cool. It's like a Sentai team… Mei-chan, Melissa-chan, can you make a Giant Robo for us?"
"The very second that Power Loader lets his guard down," Mei said, practically vibrating with glee at that thought.
"Honestly, the care and maintenance of that sort of mecha outweighs the benefits," Melissa stated.
"Ah, good, a voice of reason," Momo was relieved.
Her relief was short-lived as Melissa continued, "With your Quirk, it would probably be more feasible to create a set of power armor that you could enlarge to giant size yourself."
Mei was already thinking of possible designs, while Yui's eyes were sparkling with utter and complete joy, her face actually split into a wide smile for the first time since they'd known her. Momo, on the other hand, looked extremely worried.
Izuku for his part, entered the arena, using Zoom-enhanced Danger Sense to assess the locations of the mechanical threats. He couldn't easily spam Laser Disc for this, but between forty percent of One for All, Float, Blackwhip, and the kinetic charge he kept building with Fa Jin, he figured that was more than enough.
"Smokescreen hasn't gotten enough love," Hikage stated as Izuku planned.
"Sorry, it just isn't helpful in this specific instance…" Izuku apologized to En.
En seemed to shrug in response.
The buzzer rang, and if Ochako was a blur, Izuku was an actual lightning bolt. He shot to each area in a flash, smacked the faux-villains with Blackwhip, and shot off to the next. When it was done, he checked the time.
Six seconds. A new first place. His eyes bugged out as he noticed it.
As the announcer stuttered out his time, he made it back to his girlfriends. Ochako gave him a high five, "Way to wreck the curve, Izu-kun!"
"Sorry I bumped you both back," Izuku said to them.
"Ribbit, no, no self-deprecation," Tsu said, patting his blushing cheek.
"Got it," Izuku said, smiling at her.
Shouto walked over, "Congratulations, Izuku-nii."
"You're right, Occhan, it's weird to hear him say that," Toru whispered.
Shouto looked at Ochako appraisingly, "I didn't think your Quirk was similar to his… Why didn't you use it in the Sports Festival?"
"Technically, that was me using Izu-kun's Quirk, and I only reached the point where I could do that during the final exam," Ochako explained.
Shouto looked between the two of them, calculating, then asked, "So are you secretly siblings, then? Maybe you should get a DNA test before the relationship goes any further?"
Ochako's face turned red, and her expression was oscillating between fury and embarrassment. Izuku, for his part, went completely pale, his eyes glazing over as his soul tried to leave.
Momo decided to be diplomatic about it, "Todoroki-kun, no. We found out that Izuku can share his Quirk's stockpile with us after enough time has passed…"
Shouto seemed to accept this, "Understood. Any chance of sharing that with me?"
"There's only eight slots available, and they're all filled, ribbit," Tsu said. "Plus, you need mutual romantic interest."
"Oh, okay," Shouto said, tone even. "Huh. Wait, are you all able to use that power?"
As Izuku slowly crept back to life, the girls nodded. Shouto looked slightly confused, only a little more expressive than Yui, and asked Izuku, "But, wait, you have interest in eight people romantically?"
Izuku finally got his bearings, "Um, yes. We don't advertise it, but we're not hiding it either. We're not cheating on each other, we're all dating one another."
Shouto looked baffled, "How do you maintain the interest?"
"Wait, what?" Izuku asked.
"I've tried to imagine possibly courting someone myself, and the idea seems so uninteresting," Shouto explained.
"Well, have you met someone you're attracted to?" Toru asked.
Shouto frowned, "How would I be able to tell?"
"Oh, I know! I didn't know what attraction felt like until I found out thanks to Izuku's Quirk!" Mei said cheerfully. "See, it's like being friends with someone, but more! Like, you want to touch them or be with them, and when they talk to you or do things for you, it feels extra special! And you wanna do things for them, too!"
Izuku and Ochako blushed wildly as Mei grabbed them both and hugged them.
Shouto looked more confused, "Okay… so that's a feeling you just have towards someone? It just comes to you?" As the group nodded, Shouto said, "And is it… odd to not feel that way? Towards anyone?"
There was a pause, then Yoichi said to the gathered group, "Ooooooh. Oh, boy, I wish I could speak to him. It's hard when you've never met another person on the asexual spectrum."
Momo, thankfully, managed to take over, "It's not common, but it's a perfectly normal occurrence. Some people feel reduced attraction towards others, or none at all. That's referred to as asexuality."
"Ah," Shouto looked relieved. "I believe I overheard Shouji mention that term before, I'll have to ask." There was a collective sigh of relief until Shouto asked, "So, Izuku-nii, have you decided which one you're going to marry?"
Steam seemed to shoot out of Izuku's ears, "Th-that's too soon to think about, Shouto-kun! Besides, I don't have to choose!" As Shouto looked at him askance, Izuku clarified, "Polygamy is legal. People don't often marry more than one person, but it's not that unusual…"
"Wait, really?" Shouto asked. "Then why didn't Endeavor try that?"
"Well, he… huh…" Izuku started, then stopped. "Wait, why didn't he have multiple wives? Surely he'd be able to find more women with Quirks he wanted. He was an established Hero, and he had the clout to cover up anything untoward… and Endeavor isn't someone who typically cares what other people think, and there are polyamorous Heroes, so it's not like he'd be pilloried for it…"
"Could any of you follow that?" Shouto asked.
"Most of it," Toru said. "But, yeah, that's unexpected."
"I'll have to think about that. In any case, I'll see you all at the party tonight," Shouto waved, heading off into the crowd.
"It does feel super weird," Ochako said. "If Endeavor was willing to buy a wife for a Quirk marriage, why stop there? Why not get two or three?"
"Perhaps there's more to the situation than we are aware of," Momo said.
No one had a response to that. It would take some time for the unsettling nature of the conversation to subside.
"I can't believe you were late, Midoriya-kun!" Tenya began.
Izuku straightened his burgundy pinstriped suit jacket, "I wanted to make sure I was presentable, Iida-kun. Besides, I'm not the only one who's late."
"Izu-kun!" came a voice from behind as Nejire zoomed up behind Izuku and put him in a crushing bear hug. "Didja have fun so far? What did you use for the Villain Attack event? What're those things on your wrists?"
Tenya squawked indignantly at the affectionate display, as Izuku merely said, "Hey, Nejire-chan-senpai! Missed you earlier!"
"Then we've gotta arrange something with Snipe-sensei. That'll improve your aim," Nejire countered. As she broke the hug and faced him, he could see she was wearing a very flattering white-and-sky blue dress.
"Wow. You l-look amazing!" Izuku stuttered out the compliment. She looked really good. "I wonder how everyone else is going toooooooooooo…" Izuku trailed off as the rest of them arrived.
"Izuku?" Nana prodded him. "You okay, buddy?"
"Izuku.exe has stopped working," Yoichi quipped. "Though, yes, they all look gorgeous."
"I thought you weren't into that?" Hikage said, confused.
"What? I can appreciate beauty without sexual attraction. Do you want to fuck a sunset?" Yoichi asked.
"All right, which one of you fuckers taught him that language?" Ryouji asked angrily, causing Isamu to sigh at the irony.
"You okay, Izu-kun?" Toru, visible and shining like a diamond in her silver dress, lightly tapped on Izuku, causing him to jolt out of his pretty-girl-coma.
"W-w-wow," he managed to stutter. "You all look gorgeous. I mean, you always do, but now? Plus Ultra…"
"Sorry we're late," Momo bowed, dressed in a yellow-green dress. "There was an issue getting us all together."
"The dress you gave me didn't have pockets," Mei stated, utterly miffed. Her orange dress looked as steampunk-inspired as her trademark goggles.
"Ribbit, it's a common issue with most women's clothes," Tsu said, putting a finger to her cheek, in an elegant looking seafoam green dress. "Worst are the clothes that look like they have pockets but don't, ribbit."
"This is why I wear cargo pants," Mei stated in a huff. "Heck, I don't know why non-cargo pants still exist…"
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ochako said, raising a fist in her white dress and pink highlights. "Let's get going!"
"Mm," Yui concurred, walking off in her lavender dress.
They began to walk, until Melissa realized that they were missing someone, "Izuku?" She walked over and shook him.
"Guh," Izuku was shaken from another case of paralysis.
"Come on!" She took his hand and dragged him inside.
Izuku did focus on something aside from the beauty, "You're not wearing your glasses…"
"I have contact lenses," Melissa said. "I don't use them often, but this is a special event, so I wanted to look good for the crowds…"
"You look fantastic," Izuku reassured her. "You always have, but especially now. Though I will say that you look lovely with your glasses. They add a ton of charm, and if they make you feel self-conscious, well, that's misplaced."
Melissa blushed, "How do you keep doing that?"
"Well, I've had enough people trying to force-feed me self-esteem for a while now," Izuku scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I guess it rubbed off?"
Melissa snorted with laughter as they entered the tower.
"It's so nice that Toshi can handle events like this without having to rush out immediately," Nana said as they applauded All Might's speech.
"Equally nice that he still chooses to be concise," Ryouji grumbled.
"We know, we know, current Hero society sucks," Daigoro said, exasperated. "You could at least admit it's better than being hunted like animals."
"Only just," Ryouji grumbled.
The conversation between the vestiges was interrupted as the music began and the party began in earnest.
"Izu-kun," Momo approached him. "May I have the first dance of the evening?"
Izuku was surprised, then wondered why he was surprised. He nodded, "Just be warned, this is also the first dance of my life…"
Momo giggled, and thought towards him, "There was a reason I asked your family if any of them had any formal dance lessons to impart to you…"
"That did seem odd," Izuku replied. "Almost as odd as the fact that it was Isamu-ji-san who taught me."
"I had hobbies before society collapsed," Isamu said, miffed.
"Well, we decided on an order, and we agreed that at the very least, I could teach you for the benefit of the others," Momo smiled warmly. "Please, follow my lead…"
The dance began. Momo guided him, physically, and mentally, through the steps. Soon enough, they were lost in their own rhythm, moving to the music in lockstep. Their movements had a meditative quality as they moved in harmony with one another.
VWORP!
"Eep!" Momo broke the trance as they heard the sound of a Stage 3 Bond in their heads. Her body sparked with scarlet lightning the same color as her Hero costume, before she dropped it, the involuntary use of One for All embarrassing her as if she had belched.
"Are you okay, Momo-chan?" Izuku asked.
"I'm fine, Izu-kun…" Momo blushed. "I must say, I wasn't expecting this to happen here…"
"Well, I'm glad it did, this is wonderful…" Izuku thrummed with excitement. If not for the social obligation, he would ask to experiment with their Quirks. This was so cool!
"Yaomomo-chan!" Ochako came up, grinning. Telepathically, she said, "You reached Stage 3! Awesome!"
"Indeed," Momo said, happily. "We'll have to test how it affected each of our Quirks soon enough…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's my turn with Izu-kun…" Ochako said, flushing.
"Of course," Momo smiled and walked to get some refreshments. Izuku took Ochako's hand and they began to dance as well.
"You'd better hurry it up, Occhan," Toru grumbled.
"We agreed on the order beforehand," Ochako retorted.
"That was before we found out we could possibly get to the next stage of the bond, ribbit," Tsu replied.
"Too bad, so sad," Ochako said. "Just be glad Mei wasn't interested."
"Why would I be?" Mei asked. "There's so many support companies to network with!"
"Never change, Mei," Ochako and Izuku said in unison.
"All right, you'll get your dance, but we're still trying for the next bond…" Yui said calmly.
Unfortunately, none of the other girls heard the telltale sound. Though, to be fair, as the evening continued, they didn't much care about that fact.
"It's good to see you having fun, my boy," All Might said with a smile.
"Same here, Toushi-tou-san," Izuku said. "I'm so glad to finally relax and unwind a little."
"I'd suggest you not tempt Fate, particularly not with our track records," All Might said. "Still, given the fact that David corrected his mistake, I think we're reasonably safe for now."
"It's been wonderful so far," Izuku said, grinning widely. "Have you talked to Star and Stripe?"
All Might chuckled, "Of course. Young Cathleen is an excellent Hero, and it's always nice to catch up with her. She's one of the first people I've ever saved, and it warms my heart to see her stand tall and continue what I've started. Although I do find the way that she apes my aesthetic a tad over the top…"
"A longtime fan who you saved deliberately homaging you in their costume? I couldn't relate," Izuku said.
All Might ruffled his hair, "Seeing you grow warms my heart as well. You've come a long way from the scrawny fanboy I encountered under that bridge."
Izuku giggled involuntarily, "So, how was visiting the Expo with Mom and Eri?"
"It was incredible. Your mother is a wonderful woman, and I'm quite happy to spend some time with her. And Eri is a joy to be around, as well you know…" All Might smirked. "A number of people took photos. I expect that there are already rumors that she and I are dating."
Izuku was happy he hadn't taken a drink before he heard that, as he would have either choked or spat it out. His eyes widened, "Well, I can only imagine… I mean, no one knew your personal life before, you've kept it hidden so well, so I can see how some people can jump to crazy conclusions…"
All Might's smirk faded, and he scratched his head nervously, "It… might not be so crazy…"
Izuku froze. "What."
"As I said, Inko-san is a wonderful woman. And I've not spent much time for myself before becoming a teacher at U.A. And ever since I revealed myself to her and young Uraraka, and begun spending time with her… I've been very happy. Before that, I couldn't imagine a world where I wasn't a Hero. I thought it would put me in the grave. But now, I look forward to actually retiring. And through you, I literally got a new lease on life…" All Might said.
Izuku's tears fell as they always did, as All Might put a hand on his shoulder, "Young Izuku, when you first called me 'Dad', I was so happy. You, your mother, and young Eri are the family I never had before. And to tell the truth, I would like to make it official.
"Izuku, my boy, I would like to begin courting Inko-san. Do I have your blessing?" All Might asked his successor.
As the question hit Izuku, he looked up to his mentor in shock. And, after opening and closing his mouth several times, he fainted.
"[Shit]" All Might swore.
"Should've seen that coming," Nana commented.
"I did," All Might replied, reaching into his pocket for some smelling salts. "I just hoped for better results."