22.07.2022
You know me, you hate me, for it is I the Absolute Madman with another chapter of Stranded!
But first, the comments!:
JesterGlytch - Truly a pun with a punchline.
heartfanglives - Bro, horni Yui is my canon and there's no one that can make me change my mind. It's always the quiet ones, eh?
beansNtoast - I'm having very certain feelings towards you right now Mister/Miss, but I'll not reveal them for now as it'll spoil the surprise.
PasiveNox - A bit of drama, but not really?
RoyallyFucked - Well thank you, being unique and shit are my best qualities! And yeah, I kinda understand what you're saying. I feel they are bad, but have no idea what could be done differently. As my older readers already know I have absolutely no plans whatsoever and literally end up winging together my stories on the spot, so that might be a part of it. To be honest I'm really terrible at feelings irl too, so that's probably why I can't write a relationship like a normal person, anyway here's Wonderwall...
crispcon1013 - Yes, yes, yes, yes I'm doing exactly that! And if you can't stand it then have a seat, this road's about to get bumpy!
Logical-Tadkins - Your question has already been answered, but I'll do it again - the final roster are girls from classes A & B, but not all of them.
SonicMax - You'll have to, cause it's not happening this week!
FicFanFoom7 - It's alright, I don't mind. Besides, you're not even in the top 5 people that roasted me on the subject! Ha! Anyways I hope you've read the next chapters as well as I've corrected my mistake already.
And with that... action!:
As soon as Izuku left to wait for the next supply rock Mina sprung into action and dragged Momo outside, saying something about going on a walk and having some girl talk. It didn't take much to coerce Momo into leaving her work for later and agreeing to follow Mina.
That's how the two of them found themselves strolling along their river, enjoying the surprisingly calm evening atmosphere.
The topics of their conversation were fairly mundane up to this point as Mina was still trying to figure out the best way to bring up the main subject she wanted to discuss.
"Starting with 'I know you've slept with Izuku and I did too, so we should decide who gets to date him' is not exactly a good idea…" Mina thought to herself as they reached the waterfall, which marked the halfway point of their walk. "Fuck it." She decided and sighed, psyching herself up for the talk.
"Is something the matter?" Momo asked in concern when she noticed her friend take a deep breath and exhale slowly.
"Izuku is really amazing. Strong, dependable, very handsome…" Mina began to speak, ignoring Momo's question. "It shouldn't be a surprise that he'd catch the attention of more than one girl, right? I mean, I have a crush on him, you have a crush on him, Tooru and Kyouka too and I wouldn't be surprised if girls from outside our class were interested in him."
"It can't be helped I guess. Izuku possesses the rare ability to win over people's hearts just by being himself, not to mention his dorky but at the same time charming personality." Momo chimed in with a fond smile on her face, acutely aware that Izuku was indeed one hell of a guy.
"Exactly, I knew you'd understand."
"But, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" Momo questioned but it was once again ignored.
"We all know that there are multiple people crushing on Izuku, but what would happen if one of us was to confess to him?" Mina dropped the bomb, her expression unusually serious and thoughtful.
"C-confess?"
"Yes. What would happen if I were to walk up to him, tell him about my feelings and then kiss him to get the point across?" Mina asked hypothetically, pretending that she hadn't done none of that already. "How would he react? How would you react? Or the girls?" Seeing that her questions had Momo on the ropes she pressed her assault. "And what would happen if he started dating someone else? He spends more time at the Development Studio than the rest of our class combined and from what I heard still keeps in touch with Hadou from the Big Tree."
Mina knew that Momo's ability to think on the fly had Improved greatly over the last few years, but everything she said must've caught the raven-haired girl off guard, so she decided to let her mull over it for a moment.
"You are worried about someone getting hurt over Izuku, correct?"
"That's right. I've seen some friends fight and break off because of a guy in the past and I don't want that to happen to us." Mina revealed with a sigh. "Besides, this is Izuku we are talking about. I doubt he could live with himself if he knew that he hurt someone, even if he didn't mean to." She added and the atmosphere brightened for a moment.
"Izuku is the type of person to put other people's feelings before his own, so I can definitely see that happening. It's either that or he'd refuse to date anyone so as not to hurt anyone, but end up doing exactly that. I must admit that I hadn't really given this as much thought as I should have despite knowing very well that I'm not the only one harboring feelings for him…" Momo admitted in shame, thankful that Mina had pointed out that oversight to her. Still, something about this conversation felt off to her, she just couldn't place her finger on it.
"Yeah… I wish there was a way to make everyone happy, but I don't think it's doable in this situation…" Mina sighed dejectedly and started rubbing her temples with slow, circular movements.
A few seconds of nearly undisturbed silence passed until Momo's head, usually filled to the brim with all sorts of ideas and random passing thoughts, suddenly cleared just like it did after she had sex with Izuku. This time around however it wasn't caused by a powerful rush of pleasure. No, this time it was something even more basic, something primal. The fight or flight instinct. Momo's onyx eyes managed to catch just a sliver of something yellow glaring at her through the brush around them. Hairs on her neck stood ramrod straight in an instant as goosebumps and shivers washed over her body.
"Mina." The raven-haired girl whispered, trying to catch her friend's attention without accidentally provoking the beast.
"What?" The pink-skinned girl asked at regular volume.
"Keep your voice down." Momo chastised her, barely stopping herself from raising her own voice before explaining the amount of trouble they were in. "There's some kind of an animal lurking in the bushes behind you and it doesn't look friendly."
"B-But that's not possible!" Mina whisper-shouted with her panicked eyes open wide. "They shouldn't be able to cross the river."
"It's entirely possible that there's a natural crossing downstream. Whatever the case, we should figure out a way out of this mess before trying to find out how it got here."
"R-Right, any ideas? I don't suppose we can just straight up run, right?" Mina asked, shaking in her boots. This may not have been the first time she was in danger, but knowing you were being stalked by something was way more nerve wracking than fending it off. The suspense itself might actually kill her before that predator does!
"Calm down, panicking won't help us right now." Momo pointed out despite being scared to death herself. Sure she has faced a great number of Villains already and was injured many times, but she could always rely on her Quirk in those situations. This time however she had nothing besides her witts. If they make it out of this alive she is definitely making two more weapons! "I wonder if I could make a carbine?" Momo wondered idly.
"Earth to Momo!" Mina hissed through her teeth as she glared at her friend. "I don't think you zoning off will help us either!" She snapped quietly.
"R-Right, sorry…" Momo mumbled out in apology, stopping herself from slapping her cheeks for better focus and began analyzing the situation.
Truth be told, she didn't have much to work with. The only thing she knew about the beast stalking them was that it had yellow eyes and was stealthy enough to avoid being noticed up till now. Aa such there was no way to know what might jump out at them if they were to run or stand their ground and making a strategy tailored exactly to their current predicament was out of the question too. This meant that Momo had no other choice but to start making assumptions based on a few general rules that this strange land obeyed. One of those rules was the fact that no predator can enter the river they were standing not that far away from and whilst technically the beast stalking them had found a way to either break or work around that rule, there was no other evidence that would point towards that rule being abolished behind their back or else they'd be swarmed by predators of all shapes and sizes already. Hence why Momo decided to assume their stalker to be just an exception. The question was how big of an exception it was. They had no other choice but to risk and find out.
"I think we should run for the water." Momo whispered towards Mina.
"Are you serious? How do you know it won't just follow us in?" Her friend argued with eyes wide as saucers.
"I don't, but that's our safest bet. We have no idea if there's only one of them in the area and I'm pretty sure none of us are capable of outrunning a predator. Besides, if there really was an animal capable of crossing the river, then why didn't it come for us weeks ago?" Momo may not have shown it but she was getting a bit desperate already. She read in books that most predators have polished the art of patience to perfection, but they were locked in this exact position for at least a couple of minutes and there was no telling how much longer it was gonna wait before pouncing on them.
"Alright… Alright, let's do this your way." Mina finally relented with a nod as she steeled herself.
"We go on three. Get ready. One, two…"
"-ree!"
Izuku froze on the spot. He heard it. It was faint and sounded quite distant, but it was unmistakably Momo's voice. He felt relief wash over him momentarily but fear resurfaced not a moment later. She was yelling. He was too far to hear her which only added to the pit forming in his stomach.
Getting over his initial shock Izuku sprinted in the direction he heard Momo's yell come from. He ran straight ahead, miraculously avoiding getting smacked in the face by branches of varying shapes and sizes, hoping to make it on time. He heard a commotion in front of him and after a couple more lengthy steps managed to discern yelling of Mina or Momo and the growling of some animal.
Izuku forced everything he had into his legs as he charged through the brush in his path and finally broke through onto a clearing where he saw what exactly was going on.
Both the girls were in the water with Mina picking up loose stones from the riverbed and chucking them at the fur-coated beast whilst Momo was clutching her bleeding side with a pained grimace painted on her face. The injured girl took priority in his eyes as he investigated her from afar. It couldn't have been a bite, so she was probably clawed by the animal and quite deeply so if the swiftly expanding spill of crimson water was any indicator.
Izuku's blood was boiling despite it being a relatively chilly evening, so he charged the beast while it was distracted by Mina. He managed to stop himself from commiting the usual blunder of yelling during a sneak attack, but the beast managed to hear him coming regardless.
Even with the superior reach of a spear his initial attack missed as the predator jumped to the side and circled around to face all three of them at once.
"Help Momo, I'll deal with the kitty." He ordered, his eyes not leaving his opponent for even a split second.
Mina nodded even though he wasn't looking at her and despite all the apprehension she felt, obeyed his will and quickly made her way over to Momo.
Once Izuku heard Mina move behind him followed by the sound of cloth being torn he knew he could focus all of his attention on the predator in front of him.
It was visibly annoyed by his arrival as well as the lengthy stalking earlier and as such wasted no time in pouncing first.
Izuku however was not exactly a pushover, especially with the Tek Spear grasped firmly in his hand, a weapon he already had some practice with. Sure, maybe he didn't have an army of clones that could shorten the usual learning time from years to days, but using a spear is not exactly a difficult task. Even a pointy stick as advanced as the Tek Spear that Momo fashioned out with the help of a lucid dream was at the end of the day just that - a pointy stick.
The beast, which Izuku now recognized to be a saber-tooth, seemed to acknowledge his strength or maybe it was just weary of an armed opponent and it started pacing from side to side almost assessing the situation.
After a few moments it deemed the odds high enough to face the three teens, probably because two of them weren't exactly in fighting condition. Hence why the beast started growling at the green-haired boy upfront and circling to the left whilst inching ever so slightly closer.
Izuku on the other hand remained stationary whilst keeping his spear pointed at the tiger and trying to calm down the adrenaline, anger and a fair bit of fear surging through his veins.
The saber-tooth suddenly leaped forward with a burst of speed; claws extended and teeth bared, but Izuku reacted in time and thrust his spear forward whilst taking a step back at the same time, effectively stopping the savage charge and putting more distance between them at the same time.
The tiger was undeterred however and followed up with a few quick leaps to confuse Izuku into lowering his guard before pouncing on him. Unfortunately for the extinct animal the spear was a top notch area denial weapon of its era and Izuku had no trouble stopping the tiger in its tracks and even managed to draw first blood as he slashed with his spear after thrusting it.
He wanted to instinctively think that he had an advantage now that he had scored a hit, but this rule did not apply here. It was even opposite in fact, for there's no greater threat than a wounded animal.
Whatever remained of the tiger's patience evaporated in an instant as it let out a pained but still powerful roar and then charged forward with renewed vigor. Izuku was caught off guard just enough for the saber-tooth to close the gap between them and render the spear's range advantage nonexistent before slashing with its claws, catching Izuku in the leg before leaping to the side to avoid getting slashed again.
Izuku hissed in pain as the three wounds stinged and started leaking blood not a moment later. They weren't too deep as he was trying to step back at the time, but still enough of an injury to hinder his movement somewhat. He heard Mina gasp behind him yet had no time to react to it as the tiger was already almost upon him.
Izuku grasped his spear in the middle and thrust the sharp tip at the tiger. It was able to evade such a telegraphed attack and thought its prey to be wide open, hence it didn't notice Izuku spin his weapon around and swing it directly at the tiger's head. The blunt end of the spear, which Momo made heavier than the rest of the shaft to help balance the polearm, connected without any sort of vicious or sickening audio confirmation, but it did send the creature to the ground and then limping backwards with a probable concussion.
As it tried to regain its bearings Izuku spotted a chance to end the fight with his next strike and as such rushed the tiger with his spear. He wasn't expecting the tiger to be able to retaliate, so when the beast swung its claws out of the blue in a chaotic manner Izuku had no chance of dodging them in time.
"Midori!" He heard Mina yell in worry. It was justified in his mind.
The evenings were getting colder and colder, so he chose to wear a shirt for tonight, yet it offered close to no protection and easily gave in to the razor-like claws of the saber-tooth.
Izuku was forced to take a few steps back as he patted his cut abdomen. These wounds were deeper than the ones on his leg and blood was trickling out of them at a constant steady rate.
He cursed under his breath and then redirected his glare back towards the beast who used this short pause to finally shake off the daze of his previous strike. At least it wasn't entirely unharmed as Izuku could spot two darker patches of fur stained with blood.
The tiger seemed to recognize that it had the advantage now and decided to press it by once again charging in a zig-zag pattern to try and confuse the defender. Izuku was able to follow the beast no problem, but as he moved his foot for better stability it got caught on some rocks and made him stumble backwards. As luck would have it the saber-tooth pounced on him not a second later. Izuku however managed to get his footing back just in time to thrust the spear straight at the flying beast. It had no chance to dodge the attack and its momentum made the blade cut into it like butter. The tiger started howling and thrashing around while blindly swinging its claws in Izuku's general direction. He tried to wrestle the beast onto the ground to finish it with another stab, but his injuries weakened him too much already and he was soon the one being pushed back by the sheer mass of the beast.
Izuku grit his teeth and pressed a button on his spear which made the tip detach from the shaft. Then he stepped to the side as the tiger toppled forwards without his support and Izuku swung the staff directly at its head.
This time the impact did have a sickening crack to it and Izuku almost saw a hitmarker for a second as the beast sprawled on the ground, unmoving. He knew better than to assume things and poked it a few times before turning it on its back to get the spear tip back.
It was easy enough to spot it as the blood-stained blade was pink in color, a stark contrast from the browny fur it was covered with. It took a few moments but Izuku was ultimately able to wrench the spear tip from the beast's belly. Just as he was about to check up on the girls however he noticed something. He pushed the fur out of the way and his eyes shot wide open at what he saw.
It was a crude spear tip made out of stone. Moreover, he recognized that spear tip. It was the exact one he lost the day Mina arrived, which meant that this tiger…
Izuku felt his calming blood boil with anger once again. He didn't know whether it was directed at the beast at his feet or at himself. Izuku grasped the knife tightly and started stabbing the carcass in anger.
He was angry that his friends were put in danger because of this tiger, but he too was to blame, right? Had he killed it that day none of this would've happened!
Izuku was left panting after releasing his anger and fell on his ass as he stared at his work. What he felt wasn't relief, but even more anger at how he let himself get carried away so much. Somehow he didn't have the strength to even complain…
And that's when he remembered his injuries. All the strenuous activities made the wounds on his abdomen open even more and he was losing blood at an alarming rate. The adrenaline rush that he was on for the better half of an hour or so was starting to fade finally and he was getting dizzy fast.
He looked towards the river to see Mina supporting Momo as they slowly walked towards him. Izuku wanted to say something, anything really, but all words died in his throat as his head spun and he felt himself fall on his back before drifting off.
Facing an extinct predator was a pretty scary endeavor. Tending to one of your friends whilst the other one faced the aforementioned beast was even scarier. But seeing your friend fall to the ground with blood escaping his numerous wounds has to be the scariest thing she'd had to deal with in the last… at least a year.
After Izuku collapsed it was up to her and Momo to drag him back to their cave and tend to his wounds lest he bleed out right then and there. Momo's condition also meant that the majority of the work fell to Mina who was the only one out of the three to come out unharmed. She didn't mind it, mind you. She was almost thankful for the opportunity. Ever since Momo arrived she was coming up with ideas on how to make their stay at least somewhat comfortable, whilst Izuku had over eight months of experience under his belt at this point. It was no wonder that Mina felt somewhat inadequate in comparison as she didn't really have any useful skills.
That's why she decided to do her absolute best now that both Momo and Izuku were out of commision for at least some time.
It was also a good opportunity to think over some stuff.
She was in love with the adorkable hunk known as Midoriya Izuku and the feeling was mutual.
Momo Yaoyorozu too was probably in love with her fellow nerd and he definitely had feelings for her.
There was also the rest of the girls to take into account…
And how were they supposed to work this out?!
Mina sighed to herself as she went to check up on Izuku who was still asleep after the fight. She wasn't very surprised to see Momo sitting right beside him and watching him like a hawk.
"I thought I told you to stay in bed. Do you really want to risk reopening your wound?" Mina teased to lighten up the atmosphere.
"No, no… It's just that… I'm worried…" Momo answered with an uneasy expression on her face.
This in turn made Mina's smile turn sour as she approached her friend.
"Come on, none of this is your fault. You couldn't have known that something like this would happen. None of us even thought about it really." Mina's attempts at stopping Momo from beating herself up over what happened failed as the girl didn't seem convinced at all. "I know that Izuku for one wouldn't want you to feel responsible for this. Heck, if I know the guy he'd be probably blaming himself for this mess! That big softy has a heart that's way too big." Mina stated fondly with a small smile on her face.
However, something about her last sentence caught Momo's full attention.
"Big… heart?" She mumbled to herself. "If that's so, then maybe… It could work, but we'd need to ask first… It's not that popular, but definitely legal… I think…"
"What are you mumbling about?" Mina asked in curiosity after trying, and failing, to decipher her friend's erratic speech pattern.
"Do you think Izuku's heart is big enough for two girlfriends?" Momo asked bluntly with a determined expression on her face.
"Wha-?" The pink-skinned girl blanked at the question.
"How about five? Or even more?!" The raven-haired girl exclaimed with glee. "It's so simple! Let's all date him at the same time!" She boldly proposed with a cheerful smile.
"What?!" Mina yelled in shock, wondering somewhere in the back of her mind how Izuku managed to stay asleep after the decibels she bombarded him with.
So... yeah, that happened...
I... really don't have anything to say right now, so have a great day and I'll see you next Friday! I hope...