22.09.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and someone tried to sabotage my power grid, but I'm still here to respond to your comments!:
Rain Dance Jam - It's more like you can't have Florida itself!
n1ght4ury20 - I'll try my best!
Guest - Ha, if not then I'll just have to invest into a standing desk!
And with that done and dusted, let's jump into the chapter!:
Martin was torn away from his work yet again, though this time his heart was thankfully devoid of existential dread and his gut wasn't screaming at him that something was wrong. If it did then he'd most likely have to start seriously thinking about replacing that thing with something more synthetic and that sounded like the nuclear option.
"I assume that the damage has been undone already?" Martin asked, sparing but a single glance at the screen as he studied the various parameters of yet another Earth.
"Malay & Asia have been reunited into Malaysia again, but we're still having trouble with Florida. The people are apparently happy that their peninsula has become an island and are opposing our correcting efforts to reattach the Land of the Special to the mainland US. We've made little to no progress on this front so far." Wiz dutifully reported.
Out of his trio of most trusted/experienced field agents, Wiz was by far the most dependable one. HAC was way stronger, but kind of a goofball and obsessed with his 'loyal fans'. J-Mas on the other hand was a businessman through and through, always on the lookout for more profit even when protecting the universe. Wiz on the other hand was an enigma as he seemed perfectly fine with simply following orders and offering some amusing banter from time to time. He was also someone that Martin could readily ping-pong ideas off of if Martha ever became too predictable.
"Well, can you influence the currents then? Cause the island to slam back into place?" Martin proposed a solution, discarding the Earth he was examining moments before and pulling up yet another one.
"I was already thinking about that, but we've tethered Florida to the mainland already, so I'll try to think of a less destructive solution first." Wiz explained and Martin nodded in response.
"Sounds good, hit me up if something new surfaces again." And with that the call ended.
"Finally some good news?" Martha guessed as she entered the 'office' with a steaming cup of coffee in hand.
"Yeah, Wiz's taken the reins of the situation so it should be resolved rather quickly." Martin revealed as he accepted the cup.
Martin went straight back to work after that and Martha stayed at his side, offering helpful input when needed and enjoying the peace and quiet. There was no telling how long it'll last.
Berries were not the only things to have partially vanished from their storehouse. Itsuka - being the diligent (and self-appointed) quartermaster that she was - soon realized that a part of every cotton harvest was unaccounted for. Unlike with berries however, this time the culprit was obvious.
Yui was cornered inside of her house and though her expression portrayed no emotions as per usual, she was shaking in her boots. At least according to Mina's overzealous retelling of the events that unfolded. Yeah, she made it all up.
This misplaced cotton was of course used to rile Izuku up into railing Yui in his bed on a few occasions. She couldn't come clean about that however as it was sure to spike the demand and take away her unique style of seducing Izuku. And so she had to come up with a lie, one that was harmless and most of all believable. She failed spectacularly at the former - even though she was unaware of the demons she unleashed in the heat of the moment - but succeeded in the latter.
Bathrobes. Bathrobes were the excuse that she gave and the girls seemed to buy it. Of course the most predictable thing happened and Yui ended up with a hefty order for seven bathrobes. Since she was going to have to make the seven articles of clothing anyways, Yui decided to make one for herself as well and round the number up to eight. It'd certainly take a lot of time to do all by herself, but she enjoyed making clothes in the comfort of her own home so it wasn't anywhere near as awful as it might've seemed.
What counts is that she managed to retain exclusive rights to erotic underwear and that's what she cared about the most.
Things were… alright. For now at least. It took her some time, but Shiozaki was finally able to take her treacherous mind by the horns and force it to get out of the gutter. She hated to use such crude and foul language, but she couldn't find any decent words to describe the state of her psyche.
Her urges had subsided and she was no longer waking up with a fever each morning, so those were definite improvements. She still had a tendency to blush most of the time - especially when seeing Izuku - but that she could manage. Or so she thought at least.
Since the Devil's Drink was still a morbid poison, a steady supply of medicinal berries was required to keep them afloat and to ensure that they wouldn't be caught with their pants down in case some tropical disease decides to make a sudden cameo appearance.
The task of keeping the medicinal berries flowing was bestowed upon a different team each day, though Shiozaki usually joined the efforts since her main job - tending the fields - didn't require her attention all that often. This was supposed to be yet another easy day of foraging and idle conversations, but fate - and Mina, because of course she'd get involved without being asked to - had other plans.
And that's how Shiozaki ended up being paired with Izuku of all people - with the one person that rarely ventured outside in search of medicinal berries, because he had so many jobs to handle inside the valley already. Today however he was freed from both the mines and the smeltery since Momo had an abundance of resources to play with and had nothing else to do so he decided to tag along into the ancient forest.
Shiozaki might've been looking a bit too much into things, but Izuku seemed really eager to accompany her. It felt nice, but maybe just a smidge too nice. Was she already at the point where just being around him would be enough to elevate her mood?
Well, whatever the case, Izuku and Shiozaki headed straight for the southern foraging area, one that was untouched for several days and would surely have a bunch of berries for them to collect. Shiozaki had a natural talent for plant work and calling Izuku a hard worker would be like saying that the Earth is round - more or less correct, but doesn't really tell the whole truth. As such those two were deemed enough to handle the southern part of the forest by themselves, which showed the great amount of admiration that the others had for their skill.
Unfortunately this meant that they were alone, all alone. Shiozaki was painfully aware of this fact and it only caused her mind to slip back into the gutter from which she just fished it out of. She caught herself glancing at Izuku over her shoulder every now and again, images of the two nights they spent sharing warmth beneath the blanket flashing vividly before her eyes.
She wasn't alone in her struggle however, as Izuku as well couldn't shake Shiozaki out of his head no matter how hard he tried. His condition was much more mild than hers, but he too caught himself glancing back at his companion on a number of occasions. In one choice moment they even managed to glance at each other in sync, their gazes locking instantly for a brief second before they both whipped their heads around to pretend nothing happened.
There was tension alright, but they'd surely be able to manage it, right? They already did it and they were both naked and cuddling back then and yet their morals prevailed. Now, with clothes in the way and a considerable amount of space between them, this should be a piece of cake in comparison!
So why does it feel like something is different this time around?
They made a strategic error. A blunder one would say. Once they sensed the tension in the air, the two decided to split up and start foraging on the opposite sides of the clearing, even going as far as turning their backs to each other to avoid eye contact. This of course worked as poorly as one might imagine since they simply kept glancing back every now and again against their will and common sense.
However flawed it might be, their plan seemed to work at first. The glancing remained but a bigger portion of the tension had dissipated over time, restoring a comfortable atmosphere in the process. What they failed to realize at first was that this was not a solution, but a mere workaround that could only postpone the inevitable.
As the amount of berry bushes left to forage decreased, so did the distance that they were so adamant about keeping between them and soon enough they were almost shoulder to shoulder, crouched down next to one of the last bushes that still had ripe fruit. It was around this time that something forced their senses to kick into overdrive. Normally it could be attributed to the fact that they were not inside their safe valley and were simply keeping an eye open for any dangers, but if that were the case then they wouldn't be hyper aware of each other.
And yet all of their focus shifted to the person next to them and they were picking the berries on autopilot, most of their conscious thought put into ignoring their growing blushes and spiking tensions. They were so distracted with each other however that they didn't notice they were aiming for the same berry until their fingers brushed.
The two froze in place at the unexpected touch, their eyes glued to their hands and complete silence enveloping them, even the breeze calmed down so as not to rustle the bushes.
They were unsure as to what they should do next, afraid that one wrong move would cause a disaster, and so their minds were at a standstill. Their bodies however decided to act in their stead.
Their hands were slowly brought together and their fingers slipped into place, eventually interlocking to strengthen the hold. Lewd, premarital hand holding accomplished, they remained frozen for a few more moments before their heads slowly turned so that they could finally face each other.
Prominent blushes were visible on both of their faces, pupils dilated and their mouths suddenly dry as if they didn't drink for days.
They swallowed hesitantly, noticing immediately that they'd done so in complete sync and brought their connected hands out of the berry bush and out into the open. Izuku - being the bold and experienced one - started gently caressing Shiozaki's hand with his thumb.
"I-, I know it might sound bad coming out of my mouth," Izuku began hesitantly, "but I like you. I really admire your kindness and how humble you are despite being so amazing." He couldn't control his lips and the words were simply flowing like a river. "And I know you don't care about your looks a whole lot, but I think you're exceptionally beautiful. Like a spring flower, which I guess goes perfect with your quirk." He joked lightly, mostly to give himself some confidence for his sudden shyness.
"W-Well, you're really amazing as well." Shiozaki responded in kind, her focus split down the middle between the caresses to her hand and Izuku's eyes. "Your selfless nature was what inspired a lot of us to keep pushing ourselves past our limits time and time again. You've already done a lot of good for the world and I'm sure you'll do even more in the future." The red hue on her cheeks grew in intensity as she prepared herself to reveal the less noble side of her opinion. "And you're really handsome. Really really handsome. And I really like the warmth of your eyes or how delicate your touch can be despite the monstrous power you wield."
Confessions finished, silence once again enveloped the two and they were left frozen in place and time. They stayed like that for a few moments before Izuku spoke up.
"Is this when we should kiss?" He teased with a smile and they burst out laughing, all the tension dispelled as if by magic.
When they looked into each other's eyes next time, they were both confident and reassured that their feelings were definitely mutual, all doubts vanquished from their minds.
They were enjoying each other's presence and the intimacy of it all when Shiozaki took her turn to speak.
"So… about that kiss?" She questioned, leaving her statement purposefully open-ended.
"Oh, don't worry, I was just joking. We don't have to do it if you don't want to." Izuku quickly reassured his companion, aware that her beliefs might not support such actions before marriage and not wanting to push her.
"And if I want to?" Shiozaki pushed, leaning forward to close some of the space between them.
"As long as you're okay with it, I'll do it." Izuku stated with a smile, leaving the final decision up to Shiozaki. If she wanted to be with him then Izuku would be overjoyed and if she decided to stop for now, then he'd be alright with that as well. Pressuring her into doing things wasn't even an option for him.
"Let's do it then." Shiozaki said, her blush somehow gaining intensity and her heart rate spiking suddenly.
As they started leaning in, it became quite apparent that they'd crossed the point of no return already and so they closed their eyes to fully enjoy the moment.
And then proceeded to bump noses like clumsy teenagers with zero experience would.
Another fit of laughter reverberated throughout the clearing. Thankfully the incident caused absolutely no damage and even served to dissipate any reservations left.
"Let me guide you." Izuku offered, placing a hand on Shiozaki's cheek as they began leaning in once again.
Izuku lightly tilted Shiozaki's head to avoid repeating their previous mistake and, once he was sure that they wouldn't bump into each other again, closed his eyes as well, crossing the last few inches blindly.
There were absolutely no fireworks, life-changing realizations or stomach butterflies but the two couldn't help but melt into the kiss still. As much as their bodies urged them to get lost in the feeling, they decided to keep it sweet and short, though it definitely didn't diminish the meaning behind the action.
As they separated and breathed out, they locked eyes and smiles appeared on their lips.
"How was it?" Izuku asked, his dopamine levels rising rapidly.
"Breathtaking." Ibara responded, slightly dazed from the experience, but positively surprised by the feeling. "I-, I wouldn't mind doing it again…" She bashfully stated, to which Izuku couldn't help but chuckle briefly.
"Whenever you feel like it." He promised with a smile.
"How about now?" Ibara hastily asked, prompting Izuku to smirk for a moment.
Instead of a verbal response, Izuku - spurred on by the dopamine coursing through his veins settled on a physical one, leaning back in and capturing Ibara's lips with his own. He could feel the lust starting to seep into his bloodstream and his head getting clouded, but he was determined to stave it off. They kept the kiss as sweet as before, though this time they didn't separate as quickly, brushing their lips together and enjoying the way they tingled afterwards.
They shared one last kiss, this one deeper, though still chaste in nature and separated for good, backing off to battle the desire to dive right back in.
"I guess we should probably go back already, we wouldn't want the others to have to worry about us, right?" Izuku spoke up first, happy that he managed to keep himself in check.
"Or start any conspiracies about what we were doing here." Ibara said, causing them to chuckle one last time.
The two managed to clear the last couple of bushes in no time and with baskets in hand were ready to head back. They fell in step with each other easily and their free hands gravitated towards each other, their fingers intertwining unconsciously as they walked.
Unfortunately it meant that they didn't stop holding hands before Mina caught sight of them and they had to endure being teased for the rest of the day. Neither of them cared about that however as they were way too happy with how things turned out to feel anything but joy.
Ayo, they finally did it! Not it it, but it nonetheless!
And Florida is causing trouble almost like real life, so there's that ball rolling. Just beware that after they're done with Florida, Oklahoma is next. This is a threat. A heavenly atomic threat experts (me) say.
I'll refrain from making a smooth transition today and simply opt to wish you-
Have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!