"I suppose it is a blessing that all of you got out of it unharmed." Said Reiko.
"I wouldn't say unharmed. Mochizuki-kun got a mushroom-sized hole on his leg." Komori joked as she laughed lightly.
The person in said joke could only stick his tongue out in response before glancing back to where his injury was. Thankfully, it has been completely healed, props to Recovery Girl.
"It's all those 1-A fault! It's probably because their class rep intentionally se- Argh!"
Before Monoma could finished his ranting, Kendou quickly finished her job with one quick chop to his neck, knocking him out immediately.
"That's not cool, Monoma! You heard what happened to his brother!" Tetsutetsu said out loud from afar.
"Well, whatever the reason is, our classmate got injured because of them! That's exactly why we can't- Arkgh!"
Another chop from Kendou.
"He didn't faint immediately. You must be out of practice, Kendou-san." Commented Aki as he poked Monoma's unconcious body.
"Maybe it's his body that got used to my chopping." Kendou scrathed her head as she looked confusingly at her hand.
"Either way, you've gotta chop him harder next time. Maybe that'll finally shut him up."
The banter was halted abruptly as the bell signalling the end of lunch echoed.
"Heroic is starting. Anybody wants to volunteer to carry Mono-"
"Not it!" "Nope." "No." "Hell no." "I got shot in the leg so I'll skip." Answers rang throughout the classroom.
"I'll take him." Pony announced excitedly as she raced to pick up Monoma and left. The rest followed her after as they grabbed their costume cases and headed towards the changing room.
"I will make a daring exchange with you that Tsunotori-san will date Monoma-kun by the end of this year." Reiko whispered into Aki's ears.
"This year? I'll go with by the end of this semester."
"It appears a contract has been signed."
Both of them shook hands before headed towards their respective changing rooms.
"Listen carefully, students! Today you will take part in a racing-obstacle maneuvering-rescuing exercises!" All Might announced as he showed a map on the hologram and pointed at the middle. "This, is where I'll be! Each turn, five of you would race from the starting line to my position. You could freely use your Quirks, but try not to damage the environment."
The students seem to vibrated with excitement, much to All Might's relief. He continued. "I'll pick five first! Meanwhile, the rest should observe and plot your own strategy. Now, would young Tokage, Honenuki, Tsuburaba, Mochizuki and Tsunotori follow me to the finish line?"
The students whose names were called nodded and followed All Might while the rest sat down and talked among themselves, making bets and predictions.
"All right, people, place your bets! My money's on Tsuburaba!" Awase yelled out.
"Tsunotori is definitely the winner here! Remember the 100-meter dash we had." Monoma smugly said.
"Honenuki-kun could slide on his mud, right? I think it's already his win." Shoda pointed out.
"Tokage-chan! Her body parts fly fungi fast!" Komori cheered, while Reiko at the side squinted her eyes at the bad pun.
"I shall not participate in this. We should believe in all of our classmates." Ibara commented.
"Aki." Yui flatly stated.
"Speaking of, shouldn't he like, not participated? I mean he's a tough guy and all that but he did just get shot in the leg..."
Kendo sighed, "I talked to him about it. He kept insisting that he's-"
"-fine, All Might-sensei." Aki assured All Might.
"... If you insist, young Mochizuki." All Might sighed. "But if something's wrong during the race, just gave me the signal, all right?"
"I've had worse. But yeah, I'll tell if something's wrong."
All Might seemed satisfy of Aki's response as he nodded before leaping towards his position.
"Everything good, Mochi-kun?" Setsuna walked over and asked.
"Yeah. He's just making sure if I'm ready for the race."
"Well, you better. Wouldn't be fun, beating an injured person in a race." Setsuna gave him a grin.
Aki only replied with his own grin as he adjusted his prosthetic arm.
"ALL RIGHT, I'M IN POSITION!" All Might announced through the P.A system. "ON MY COUNT! 3..."
The 5 students got into their running stance.
"2..."
The students watching shushed at one another as their full attention turned to the screen.
"1..."
Aki switched into Mist Raven.
"GO!"
They dashed towards All Might's position. Setsuna used her head as a pointer for the rest of her body's parts to follow as she maneuvered herself through the obstacle. Pony simply ran at her maximum speed, try to avoid the obstacle as much as possible. Kosei with his Quirk, solidify air and made platforms to reach the finish line. Juzo slid on the muddy path that he created, simple yet effective. As seen on the screen, Setsuna took the lead on air while Pony was the fastest on ground.
Setsuna left her head floating behind to taunt, "Y'all better keep up! Otherwise, this isn't even a-"
A figure flew by her as it leaped from one platform to another in a blink of an eye.
"I knew he's a speed-focus, close-range fighter, but this!?" Awase exclaimed. "This is too OP!"
"You know, his movement kind of remind me of someone. Who did he intern under?" Monoma wondered out loud.
"Aizawa-sensei..." Yui replied, although all her attention was put on the screen.
"Hold on, there's pillar in front of him! Why isn't he-" Ibara's worry was quickly addressed as she witnessed her classmate disappeared among a mist of raven feathers, only to reappeared behind the pillar.
Mist Raven. Aki already has the gripped on how to use it, and Aizawa perfected his skill even more. Before, Mist Raven randomly teleported his around his target but after some pointers and a lot of trainings, Aki could control where will he teleported, although the distance was not much. But in this case, it created a shortcut.
Appeared behind the pillar, Aki swiftly used his grappling hook and grappled towards the closest vantage point.
"Oh, hello, All Might-sensei! I- I mean, d-don't worry, civilian. I am h-here to help."
It appears he's already at the finish line. And his other four classmate have also arrived.
"Good job, young Mochizuki! I'll give the landing 9 out of 10! We'll work on your introduction some other time though." All Might gave him a thumb up.
Aki groaned in embarrassment as the other chuckled slightly.
"Although young Mochizuki claimed the first place, I could see the rest of you have improved and grown as well! You used your Quirk more versatile compared to our first Combat Training!" All Might said. "Keep it up and get prepared for your Finals!"
The students nodded before returning to the observation room, leaving space for the following group.
As they walked back, Setsuna tapped on Aki's shoulder. "Hey, Mochi-kun. You free this afternoon?"
"I guess. You need help with something?"
"Need to talk to ya about something. It's kinda important."
"Is everything alright?" Aki asked.
"Nah, everything's fine, dude. Just need to tell you something important. Or not. It really depends. So, you down to meet later?"
"Sure."
"Cool! I'll see ya after class!" Setsuna secretly breathed in relief before ran off first with a smile on her face.
"Ah, if she is saying what I think she will say then it's fine. It's nothing serious. Really depends on the individual." Monoma shrugged Aki's concern off as he put on his uniform.
"Ok, am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on? Reiko and Yui said the same exact thing." Aki groaned in annoyance.
Monoma replied by patting on Aki's shoulder before he left the changing room without saying a thing. Let out a sigh in defeat, Aki returned to change into his uniform, before something caught his eyes.
"Hey, there's a hole behind the poster."
"The one that leads to the girl changing room? Make way!" Tsuburaba busted through the crowd, before he caught the rest of the boys' ice-cold stare. "I- I'll go find someone to cover it up."
He meekly said before made a beeline for the door.
"Heya, Mochi-kun! Ready for our date?" Setsuna cheerily waved her hand from the front door.
Instantly, Aki turned towards Yui and much to his surprise, she has already put both of her thumbs up as a sign of approved. Seeing that the coast has been cleared, he went over and planted a kiss on Yui's cheek before headed towards the front door with Setsuna.
"So, you're just okay with your boyfriend go on a date with someone else." Itsuka asked.
Yui nodded. "You interested?"
Immediately, Itsuka's face turned lit red. "Wh- I don't- I mean- I- You- Him- Wha- I'm not...?"
Yui shrugged. "Your lost."
"You could scatter yourself up to 50 pieces now!? That's impressive, Setsuna-san!" Aki excitedly said.
After they had left U.A, Setsuna led Aki to a shopping district before they strolled around the area.
"Well, I am an impressive gal." Setsuna giggled. "But it wasn't as crazy as yours I suppose. Still can't believe you all encountered Stain. Scared me to death when I saw it on TV. Jerk." She playfully pouted as she crossed her arms and looked away from Aki.
"I- If it's any comfort, we got out mostly unscathed." Aki sheepishly smiled.
"Yeah, well, I heard from Todoroki that you got shot in the leg."
" Mostly." He emphasized.
Setsuna replied by punching Aki light on the shoulder. "Really a wonder that Yui haven't had a heart attack... or did she?"
"She did act a little overprotective when she heard the news." Aki slightly blushed as he remembered a nurse had to physically tear Yui away from Aki at the hospital. Yeah, that was... embarrassing. Especially with all that people looking and taking picture.
Though, it would be a lie if he said he didn't want more cuddly time with her.
His attention was snapped back to the real world as he bumped into Setsuna. The girl was standing still, eyes staring at... a dinosaur exhibition?
"... Want to go in?" Aki asked. She immediately made a 180 with her head turned around while her body still facing the exhibit, which may have freaked out some passerby.
"Can we!? I mean, of course, I want to! But this was supposed to be about us, I don't want to make you feel like you have to-"
"I want to if you do. Besides, dinosaurs are cool." Aki grinned.
"Damn right they are! Let's go! Setsuna-oneechan will show you the wonders of the ancient world!"
After 2 hours or so of Setsuna being a tour guide and a session of pictures taking (which probably more than 50). Aki and Setsuna finally left the exhibition with a satisfy face and souvenirs that enough for Setsuna to re-decor her whole room.
"Well, that was... educative." Aki let out a small laugh.
"Please. I'm only half-way through with my lecture." Setsuna replied with a smug grin.
"Well, as much as I looking forward to hear it, it's getting quite late. I'm guessing your parents won't be cool with you being out too late."
"Shit- I didn't notice the time!"
"Eh, well, you were having fun. Didn't want to interrupt you." Aki smiled.
Setsuna stayed quiet for a moment, before she took a deep breath and returned with her usual cheerfulness. "Well, then, I don't think it's too much to ask for a walk to the station?"
"It would be my pleasure to walk you there, ma'am."
The walk to the station was quiet, but pleasant. They didn't hold hands, but neither did they shy away from their fingers entangling with one another as if they're afraid of losing to the other one in the mob of people. Setsuna, however, decided to break the silence as she saw the station within her eyesight. Continue to move herself forward, Setsuna finally spoke up.
"You know, it's not fair."
"What's... not?" Aki asked.
"I keep calling you 'Mochi-kun' and you still call me 'Setsuna-chan'. I want a nickname too." She pouted, but her face quickly turned solemn. "It's unfair that there are people in our class who's already in relationship. It's unfair that I haven't been in any relationship before. Probably because I've always been too focus on being a hero."
"Setsuna-chan, what are you-"
"It's unfair that when I'm finally interested in a guy, he's in a relationship." Her voice turned shaky. "It's unfair that you and Yui are already together before I could make a move. It's unfair-"
She stopped to wipe the tear that was falling from her eyes and calmed herself down, but she could feel Aki's hand grabbing hers. An action that was a like a straw that broke the camel's back. She turned around and saw his worry face and broke down.
"It's unfair that I can't stop loving you no matter how hard I try!" She cried out, before she slammed her face into his chest to hide her face.
"It's not fair..." Setsuna mumbled.
"... I thought she was just going on a last date with him before moving on." Monoma mumbled, eyes glued to the scene. The same could be said for Reiko as the duo observed from a corner.
"I acknowledge that stalking a couple on their date is uncalled for a hero's action, but this development was... unexpected." Reiko mumbled.
"It's fine. They'll be fine." Yui calmly said.
"She just confessed to your boyfriend, woman. How are you so calm? And what do you mean 'it's okay'?" Monoma questioned.
"Because it's Aki. He'll know what to do."
"Correct me if I am incorrect, Yui-san, but Aki-kun looked like he has disconnected from the living world." Reiko pointed.
"He'll be fine." Yui assured as she dialed her phone. "But just in case..."
'Holy Buddha, help!'
He's not fine! Not even close!
Was Aki only thought as he hugged the crying Setsuna. Let's recount the event that led to this. Setsuna asked to talk/hangout with him afterschool. He agreed. He asked Yui, his girlfriend if he could go (not that he needed to, he just wanted to let her know), she said yes, although she did remind him to act like himself for some reasons. He went to Reiko and Neito for advices, they said the same thing. Realizing that his friends were useless, Aki opted to be himself, with a little bit more self-confidence. And now, he's hugging Setsuna, his friend, a girl who just confessed to him and now was crying into his chest.
Yep, recounting what happened didn't help coming up with a resolution.
First time in almost 16 years of his life, there are girls his age that showed interested in him asides from Mei. It's a whole wonder that he has a girlfriend before he died (for real) and now, there's another one confessing to him. Honestly? He didn't know what to do or how to turn her down.
Or should he even turn her down?
Of course, he should! He has a girlfriend!
But he didn't want to lose Setsuna either. Especially when it's because of him.
Oh god, please, give him a solution! Anything that allows him to not lose anyone! A-ny-thing would do!
Then his phone rang. Did Buddha heed his call for help? If he is, Aki will be going to become the most devoted follow- Oh, it's just Yui.
Not letting go of Setsuna, Aki picked up the call and put the phone to his ear.
"Yui? This is kind of a bad ti-"
"Put it on speaker." Yui cut him off.
Although confused, he put the phone on speaker as Yui spoke.
"Behind you." Setsuna and Aki looked behind himself and saw Yui stood there and waved at them.
"Yui-" Before Aki could say anything, Yui cut him off again through the phone.
"In case you're wondering, no, I'm not mad at you, or Setsuna." She assured with a straight face. "I'm actually quite happy."
Looking at Aki and Setsuna's surprise faces, Yui continued speaking. "My boyfriend is so hot that there are people confessing to him even when he's got a girlfriend. What's there not to be happy about?"
"Oh, I don't know..." Setsuna said over the phone. "Maybe the fact that I might steal your boyfriend away from you!?"
Yui scoffed, with a straight face. "Aki won't do that to me, or to anyone. We both know that."
"... So what, you're here to rub that on my face?" There was anger in Setsuna's voice, but all Aki and Yui could hear was pain.
"Aki would have rejected you because of me." Even though she could hear Setsuna's breath hitched, Yui continued. "But it would hurt him as well. And I don't want it."
"So, what do you guys think about a 3-way relationship?" She announced.
A long moment of silence draped over them. Occasionally, there are passerby looking at them curiously but even that didn't budge any of them. Eventually, Aki and Setsuna simultaneously mumbled.
"What the fuck?"
"That's a powerful play." Monoma commented as he chewed on the popcorn from a corner.
"Indeed." Reiko agreed as she continued sipping her drinks. "Even Setsuna-san is baffled. Aki-kun seems like he is reminiscing his whole life decisions to find out what unfolds this event."
"3-way relationship!? What are you-"
"It means we date Aki-kun and each other." Yui cut Setsuna off. "We love each other fairly, no preference."
"Like... a polyamory relationship." Setsuna asked.
Yui snapped her finger in agreement. "On board?"
"I mean... it's tempting." She admitted, before looking at Aki.
"I..." He stuttered. "I'm still coming to terms that there is someone who likes me. Th- This is- Are you sure you want to do this Yui? Setsuna-san as well! Do you actually want to do this?"
"I love you." Yui firmly said. "I know you will reject Setsuna for me. And I can't stand being the reason."
"I know it's a big commitment." Setsuna agreed. "But if I can be closer to you, I'm willing to give it a shot. Do you want to?"
Aki stayed quiet. He loved Yui, and he didn't want to ruin what he has with Setsuna. He didn't want to be the one who hurts her.
"I don't think I'm good enough for you. You're... special to me. You're one of the kindest, funniest persons I've ever met. Even though I'm a social anxiety idiot who can't make small talk-"
"Then I'll do the small talk!" She shouted. "You just have to stand next to me!"
"I'm a suicidal idiot who won't hesitate to jump into danger."
"Then I'll jump in with you! I'll be the one who drag your ass back to safety!" She screamed. "I'm the only one who can decide who I like and hate, and I. Love. You! So don't you ever talk like that about yourself again!"
Setsuna kept up her glare even though her tears were already rolling down her cheeks.
"... I don't know if I feel the same way as you, Setsuna." She whimpered as his words, but he continued. "But I know that I will, eventually. If you think that's ok-"
"YES!"
"Then, I guess I'll be in your care for a while." He smiled.
It took a combined effort of Yui, Monoma, Reiko and Aki to tear Aki away from Setsuna's hug, or strangle.
"Congratulations, Setsuna-san." Reiko unenthusiastically clapped her hands together.
"I'm happy for... the three of you?" Monoma hesitantly said. "But polyamory relationship is a lot of work. Are you guys sure you're ready for this?"
"Maybe, I don't know." Aki sighed. "This whole thing is really... new to me. No second thoughts though."
"Let's keep it a secret, for now. This stays between us." Yui suggested.
"No kissing in class? Boring." Setsuna pouted, but she still kept her happy expression as she hugged Aki's and Yui's arms.
"Aki-kun, I know that was a good speech and all, but..." Reiko pointed out, much to Aki's embarrassment. "But I believe there is a need to clarify that I'm the first person in our class who approached you."
"You're really hung up on that huh, Ghosty." Setsuna chuckled.
"I believe it's important as I am his dearest of friend."
"Not to pop your bubble but," Monoma smugly announced. "I believe that position is mine!"
"... You do not want this fight, Monoma-san." Reiko sharpens her gaze.
"... I believe I do, Yanagi-san." Monoma sharpens his expression.
The two started bickering at each other, while Aki hid his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment,
And the goofy smile that won't disappear from his face.
A/N: Dear God, I hate writing this chapter...
Seriously though, this chapter was soooooooo hard to write. First, I have zero experiences when it came to confession and love. Second of all, I ran out idea, or a writer's block, if you might. That's why it took so long for this chapter to come out. Now, I need to focus on the next chapter for my other story. Check it out!
I know that criticisms will come in for this chapter, consider how badly I did it. But as I said, criticism's the thing that made me better at this! So please, fire away.
I want to clarify that even though Aki's a Shinobi in training, he's still a teenager. A human. I want to make this hit home as close as possible.
Another thing to clarify, yes, the Miruko and Ryukyuu's part is there for a reason. Everything will come to light in the future, quite far though. If I even made to that part. (Spoiler: It's somewhere after the Yakuza Raid, so good luck on the waiting)
No extra part for now. Thank you for reading!