03.02.2023

It is I, the Absolute Madman, and I've just completed an accelerated, self-taught course in hydrophobic chemistry (I have no idea if that's a term but that's what I studied) and let me tell you it was kind of a bitch. Alas I am the Absolute Madman so dabbling in stuff that I have no idea about is a small endeavor to assure that the quality of my work stays as mediocre as it always was. What isn't mediocre however is the ammount of comments!:

DragrexTheBrit - If I had to guess then it would probably be either Itsuka or Yui although Setsuna is also a strong contender. I know for a fact though that Ibara will probably be last unless she receives some holy epiphany. Also, CinemaSins - that's a *dink* from me sire

neowolf24 - Tries? She tries to join them? Hell, try and stop her from joining!

n1ght4ury20 - I'll try my best!

Guest - Or horni. Or both. Probably horni though

And of course an honorary mention to TheGreatBubbaJ who is still behind but catching up!

And with comments wrapped up, the chapter!:

It's been two days since the tribes of class A and class B came together to form a single community and the things have been pretty… so-so ever since. Let me elaborate.

Whilst the girls of class A already had mastered the skill of berry picking, now they had to branch out into all sorts of different categories, like identifying plants with edible roots and then digging up the aforementioned roots, preferably in one piece. That last part turned out to be especially tricky, mostly due to the lack of proper tools for digging, which had to be done with bare hands. Momo quickly volunteered to engineer something just for the occasion, but her friends were quick - and mindfully gentle - in reminding her that she was once again a smith without a forge. It was hard not to laugh/cringe at the lifeless expression she made at the revelation, but the overabundance of overtly energetic characters worked wonders when it came to bringing her mood right back up.

Speaking of Momo - the raven-haired beauty joined the other girls in the forest from the start, though she was constantly thinking up ways to remedy whatever Shuusa was suffering from. The obvious lack of symptoms was as much of a help as it was an obstacle. It would've been easier to discover what was happening to her if she was showing any signs of illness on the outside. On the other hand however, Momo - and the girls and not to mention Shu's overprotective father - were glad that the issue didn't seem to be that severe. She didn't have a fever and her body wasn't spasming or anything of the sort so they probably had all the time in the world to figure out what was going on. Although obviously they'd have liked for Shuusa to get better sooner rather than later.

One theory that Momo was a fan of right from the get-go was 'quirk overuse'. Whilst their quirks were somehow nullified by something, Shuusa's ability wasn't that much different from Momo's quirk, so it would be easy to draw parallels between those two powers and derive potential weaknesses based on the research that Momo had put into making her ability more versatile.

Whilst Momo used lipids stored in her body to create things out of nothing - acting like a living 3D printer that runs on food instead of electricity as Kaminari was kind enough to point out in the past - Shuusa absorbed and stored all the elements inside her body and then used those reserved to create things. She also had the limited ability to convert - transmute if you will - certain elements into their isotopes and other elements, but that wasn't all that important to Momo as she was solely focused on the first part of Shuusa's power - absorbing and storing elements.

Momo absorbed and stored lipids; Shuusa absorbed and stored elements. If Momo was to go overboard with her quirk - which tended to happen in the past but she'd worked on her own awareness since then - she could essentially deprive her body of lipids and become malnourished. Great for weight-loss and keeping a perfect figure, not so much for hero work. Now, what would happen if Shuusa was to, for example, use up too much of a certain element, one that she couldn't create herself, and enter a state akin to malnourishment?

Momo's entire idea was centered around the human body's ability to protect itself from the dangers that the mind could not conceive in time, like when professional boxers or MMA fighters suddenly hit a milestone when they can get easily knocked-out by a single powerful blow to the chin despite shrugging stronger onslaughts in their youth, as their body recognizes that it's in danger and shuts down to protect itself. Now, Shuusa was not a normal human, hell, they could probably have quite the heated debate if she was even human at all! But, Momo could already picture Izuku fighting anyone trying to disqualify his daughter as a human being just because she used to be a pile of scrap and other assorted stuff.

That thought brought a smile to Momo's face, because that sounded very much in character for Izuku. She was honestly beginning to think that this entire endeavor let her and the other girls get closer to Izuku than they'd probably be able to if they were still in Japan. Back home he had a legacy to uphold, constantly working - and more often than not overworking himself - to make sure that All Might was right to place his faith in him. Societal standards were also a thing as although no one really cared about the strictness of relationships like they did a century or two ago, it'd be easy to assume that the next Symbol of Peace would be put under closer scrutiny than the rest of society.

There was a lot that Momo had to process about what could or would happen when - and first and foremost if - they found a way to go back home? Would they break it all up and dissolve their group? Would they forget everything that happened here? Or maybe they'd be forced to live like nothing ever happened, whilst vividly remembering everything?

"No. That's quite enough of depressing thoughts. I have more important matters to focus on." Momo steeled her resolve as she noted her hands twitch and shake a little bit from the nerves. "Better get back to work, I need to find a way to wake up my daughter!" She thought to herself, her mind a bit more upbeat than it was before.

Whilst she was aware of the state of her mind however, she was not aware that a certain amber-haired big sister was watching her with concern written all over her tomboyish features.

Learning about the plants with roots that are not only edible but also worth digging up at all was kinda fun Izuku had to admit. He giggled under his breath when Shiozaki volunteered to teach them as her love of flora was clearly shining through her normally reserved exterior.

She made sure to slow down her explanations and offered a lot of tips and tricks to ensure that even their less-studious friends understood her lessons, which they thankfully did. Although Mina was begging for a brain massage as she was certain that it got bruised up from being abused so much. Unfortunately they only laughed at her misery.

The lessons were complex, but at least they didn't have to learn the basics of berries, so Izuku found himself not at all tired even after spending the entire two days in the forest. It was honestly a welcome change after the great journey that they had embarked on to escape the rising water levels. Finally some semblance of normalcy.

On the third day of their stay they had been divided into smaller groups so as not to clamp up around a single bush or plant and maximize their daily harvest. This time however Momo had stayed behind to start examining Shuusa's state and trying to remedy it, a challenge worthy of her intellect. Normally Izuku would be quite focused on this, but Momo was quick to assure him that she already had a couple of ideas that she'd like to try and that Shu will be up and about in no time!

Knowing that the smartest girl he knew was on it worked like a charm for Izuku and allowed him to keep a clear head throughout the day even as the group he ended up being thrown to turned out to be just as talkative as he expected, which meant not talkative at all!

Shiozaki was great and even as they worked she offered advice relevant to their current task. She was not the issue however. Kodai on the other hand was a whole different story.

Izuku was well aware that she wasn't very talkative to start with and that she usually preferred non-verbal communication and texting, but he liked to think that she'd be more open with her friends. Did his presence make her nervous? He honestly didn't expect that. If anything he was sure that Shiozaki would have a bone to pick with him, seeing as he was the only guy surrounded by a bunch of beautiful women, four of which he'd spent the previous half a year- and developed very… intimate relations with, but she didn't seem to be on his case just yet. She was certainly watching him, but her gaze never held any ill-will.

Kodai on the other hand was an enigma. Izuku just couldn't crack her no matter how hard he tried! She certainly compensated her less-than-average verbal communication skills by being more observant than others, but it was honestly unnerving to see first-hand. He would often catch Kodai watching him from a distance, her face expression always stiff and deprived of any emotion whatsoever. Thankfully she didn't seem to have a problem with him as she never avoided him, but that only made him more curious as to why she was keeping such a close eye on him?

Well, it was water under the bridge for now as his daughter's state always came first.

The groups returned when the evening drew near, Izuku and the girls noting that the sunset seemed to start earlier than they were used to, their baskets filled to the brim with food. Izuku was eager to check up on Momo so that's exactly what he did after his group returned from the forest.

He saw from a distance that Momo was deep in thought and hunched over a piece of paper. Upon closer inspection he recognized that drawn on the paper was the periodic table, with around eighty percent of the elements crossed out already. Izuku was unsure whether it had anything to do with helping Shu or if it was some elaborate way that Momo used to remain focused over extended periods of time.

He was about to ask how things were going when Momo suddenly noticed his presence.

"How was your day?" She asked with a small smile as she looked up at him from her spot on the ground.

"It was actually kinda fun. Way more fun than running from an unnatural natural disaster." He joked and they chuckled.

"I don't think there is anything less fun than that." Momo agreed, her smile becoming just a bit more gentle.

"Any progress?" Izuku asked as he decided to sit down so that Momo wouldn't have to strain her neck just to look at him.

"Well, I've crossed out a lot of stuff that won't be helpful and was about to think what I could do with what I've got left." She explained as she pointed towards the piece of paper in front of her.

"And what are you looking for exactly?" Izuku inquired, puzzled by what seemed obvious to her.

"Oh, right, I never actually said what I was planning to do." Momo realized before straightening her back, preparing for a more in-depth explanation as well as working out the kinks that probably gathered there throughout the day. "My first idea is that Shu has deprived herself of an element the same way I can deprive myself of lipids if I overuse Creation. This would mean that to remedy that we'd simply need to have her absorb the element that she lacks. To do this though I need to first find out what exactly she needs, because even though I don't think there will be any consequences if she was to absorb too much of a certain element, it would be way easier to focus on finding the single element that she needs rather than feeding her the entire periodic table. Now, Shuusa had overused her ability by creating that drying powder. I unfortunately can't study it to find its composition but I think it might be either something highly hydrophilic or hydrophobic. The former would mean that this powder was somehow able to absorb water, thus making the ground dry for a short moment, whilst the later would be able to deflect water so hard that it would just push it down, leaving a layer of dry ground on the surface whilst the powder moved inwards. I know it sounds ridiculous but I think it's worth checking out, so I've recreated the periodic table and was first crossing out any elements that won't be of use to us before eventually trying to find the possible combination of elements that could have been used to manufactu-" Momo was so engrossed in her own explanation that she didn't even notice when Izuku's lips sealed hers shut in a loving, but no less passionate kiss, and it took her mind a good moment of pause to figure out what was going on and reciprocate the gesture.

They separated after what felt like an eternity, but was closer to a minute or so, with Momo, who was already quite breathless from constantly speaking, panting and her mind fuzzy. She turned away from the piece of paper in her lap and towards Izuku who was staring back at her with a wide smile on his face, one that her own lips were quick to mirror.

"What was that… all about?" Momo asked, her smile a bit goofy and butterflies dancing in her stomach.

"I just felt like doing it." Izuku stated, the smile never leaving his face. "You're really amazing, you know? I felt my brain was about to melt half-way through your explanation but you just kept going as if it was basic math or something. If I wasn't sure that Shuusa was in the best hands already, after an explanation like that I wouldn't have even a speck of doubt in my heart." He confessed as a slight blush crept up his neck and onto his face.

Momo felt the exact same blush not creep up, but explode on her face at being praised so highly, and maybe because she was feeling a bit embarrassed by her monologue.

"I should probably say that you can count this as 'thank you' for looking after Shu, but that's not really the case. I just… really wanted to kiss you…" Izuku confessed, his blush intensifying as well.

And there it was, all the embarrassment she felt at this moment had dissipated instantly and she found her mind filled with vastly different thoughts.

"Is there… anything else you'd like to do?" Momo 'subtly' asked, the implications of her words not lost on Izuku.

"Maybe." He answered as he scooted a bit closer to his girlfriend, his breath hitching just a bit. "We probably shouldn't get carried away as the others are just over there." Izuku, finding the remains of his reason, warned her.

"I can work with that." Momo stated and quickly found herself in his lap, their lips locked in a passionate makeout session.

Things escalated a bit, as both of them expected, but they thankfully kept their urges mostly in check and decided to stop before they went too far. Izuku stayed by Shuusa to get ready for the night as he still didn't have a proper place to sleep whilst Momo went to join the girls around the fire.

She had to explain the huge grin that was plastered on her face but she simply chucked it up to making some great progress today so the girls didn't press her further. Although she was sure that either Mina or Tooru, or both of them actually, were looking for anything to tease her over. Thankfully her shirt covered the hickeys that Izuku left on her Massive Mommy Milkies, so their search for teasing material was bound to fail right from the start.

Momo's efforts being focused solely on the goal of waking Shuusa up yielded some groundbreaking discoveries. Only a couple of elements were left on the periodic table and all that she had to do now was figure out which exact compound Shuusa could've used to create something either highly hydrophobic or hydrophilic.

No one element is hydrophobic, but their compounds might be. One of the first things that come to mind when it comes to hydrophobia are fats - a subject that Momo is very well versed in due to the nature of her quirk. Fats are composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, all of which Shuusa could absorb on her own already. She is breathing, so oxygen and hydrogen are already taken care of. And if she could recycle the carbon dioxide that she'd normally breathe out then that takes care of carbon too. There are only trace amounts of hydrogen in the breathable air - of course assuming that whatever it is that they are breathing right now is similar to air back on Earth, but Momo was praying for that to be the case, as she really didn't have the patience and equipment to study the composition of their atmosphere - so it might be worth looking into regardless.

One other element that crossed Momo's mind was boron or rather boric acid, a chemical compound used to produce hydrophobic concrete. It was a really unorthodox idea, but it was worth a try.

But before they administer boron in any form they need to find it first. Elemental boron is very rare back on Earth and is mostly found in certain minerals like colemanite, ulexite and tincal. Momo heard about them when she studied to expand her quirk's versatility in the past, so she was kind of aware of how those minerals looked and where to search for them. Now all they had to do was find a dried out lake and hope for the best. It would've been nice if that great flood had already passed and taken all the water with it, but Momo doubted that to be the case.

With no other choice Momo was sure that they'd need to embark on yet another expedition.

How long has it been since the previous expedition? Too long! Now the only question is - who gets to bang- I mean, join Izuku and Momo on their journey? The bisexual disaster Kyouka? Concerned big-sis Itsuka? Or maybe a completely unexpected contender?!

I dunno. I mean I'm just observing this shit from ma spaceship whilst my AI assisstant nags me that I should be keeping closer tabs on my rogue terraforming equipment and not the nine humanoids on the planet surface.

Anyways that's all for today, so have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!