Hi All!
So funny thing happened, as I was writing the latest and long awaited chapter for Green Gaul, the need to write this first part of the Mina and Izuku's quarantine time just snuck up on me, and here we are. While many of you were expecting there to be sexy times, sadly, I'm going to have to push that a little ways back, considering the implications when you factor in the Essence affecting them. That being said, you all get to see how 'different' people act when under the effects. :)
Plus at least we got some nice fluff for this chapter.
But this is also day one of being in isolation, so who knows what will happen :D.
But yea, next chapter to be released will be Green Gaul, and the fight between Todoroki and Izuku, so hope you all look forward to that.
And before anyone says it, yes, Izuku still has his claw shot and the various other gizmos, they are just in the trunk currently.
Anyway, review time:
shadow wolf sage: Oh they will, just not yet. And yay someone noticed the future child of Toru and Shoto!
Shin: More of a Poly Fic than harem, because I like the idea more of them all dating one another than just, being there only for Izuku and nothing else. And honestly, it wasn't the announcement for the next game, but more for the fact I hadn't updated the fic in quite awhile.
ProjectIceman: It will feel like eternity for her, yes... but also Izuku too, haha!
Guest: Glad you are enjoying the story, and while those are some interesting ideas, I have seen people attempt to do them, but don't really factor in ways of making it so they could co-exist within the MHA universe or the implications of certain aspects from the original stories and lore.
MosesArk Reborn2000: It isn't Toru that owes him money, but the person who bet against Todoroki that is going to pay. In Cold Soba... because a running gag isn't fun without beating it to death haha!
While the whole aspect of Izuku not having a proper education will come up, but also getting his life back on track with proving that he isn't actually dead, nor did he fake his own death... let's just say Nezu and Aizawa will have their hands full trying to help out their returned student, plus they will need him should any more monsters keep popping back up, so getting him the right 'clearance' is top priority.
Normally, Izuku and Mochi never had any issues with people going into their stuff, since more often than not, the chest was in their private suites, so it was secure (and who would try and steal from *the* Sapphire Star? you know, the guy who can take down basically god-like monsters? But they also did leave it open when they went to go fight the Zinogre, and sure enough, one of the most curious people wanted to see what their former classmate was up too.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Hero Academia and Monster Hunter, they belong to their copyright holders. If anyone reposts this or any of my stories on Youtube or any other media streaming platform) without my consent, I will be taking the appropriate actions as is my right.
Chapter 7
The Sweetest Scent
Mina groaned slightly as she slowly brought her hand up towards her head, pushing back some of the curls that were currently covering her eyes. Upon doing so, her arm then moved to cover them, her body feeling extremely hot as she began to pant slowly.
While she was sort of used to this feeling, considering all the hero work she would be doing during the day, there was something off about the feeling of warmth this time around. Opening her eyes after slowly lifting her arm up to see, she blinked as she looked upon the sterile metallic finish of what she knew was one of the detox rooms.
It wasn't a surprise that many of the members within the agency knew of the rooms or would wind up here after a mission; even Mina had done so a couple times when hit with a quirk, not in the registry and had to wait out the timer for them to end. Like the one time a few years back when she and Kyoka had been hit by a young child's truth-speaking quirk when they were out on patrol, and the poor kid's powers manifested close to the two women.
It was when Mina and then the entire agency had found out about the whole Denki/Kyoka/Momo dynamic that the three had been trying to keep a secret until the right moment would present itself, which, of course, wasn't going to happen now, since the 'agency gossip' had found out one of the juiciest secrets at the time, and also finding out that Momo was pregnant with Kyoka's and Denki's child.
Gods, the baby shower that followed once she and the punk rocker were free was a blast.
The pink-skinned woman gasped as she felt her chest and stomach begin to grow hotter, moving her arm on her head down towards her stomach, and that's when she realized that she was no longer in the outfit she had borrowed from Midori's weird trunk. Instead, she found herself only wearing her panties, with the blanket that had been placed on top of her now just resting on her lap, with her breasts exposed to the air. Even if her body was currently heating up every so often, the chill of the sterilized air made her shiver.
Quickly covering herself up, she now began to take stock of the room, realizing she had been placed upon one of the gurneys that were used in their infirmary, which was a little odd considering the detox rooms did have a singular bed that wasn't really that comfortable, but given how long people could be in these rooms, comfort wasn't exactly needed most of the time.
But what was odd was that she had been placed right against the far wall of the room, and close by to the only entrance was a rather dingy little cot, something that was often given to disaster victims when on a rescue mission. Mina swore her back would always hurt even so much as looking at one of those things, considering she had to spend an entire week on one.
Thinking about it, perhaps Kinoko was her roommate, though she hadn't worn any of the items in the trunk, much to the pink woman's dismay at the time, but perhaps they felt that they should both be quarantined? The sound of running water coming from behind the closed bathroom door had caught Mina's attention, and despite the warmth flowing through her chest and body, perhaps a nice shower and chat with the mushroom woman would be a good way to pass the time.
Tossing off the lone blanket on her body and stepping onto the cold metal floor, Mina began to make her way to the door, which had the odd sweet scent that seemed to urge her even quicker to the door, pushing it open with a loud bang, "HEY GIRL! Do you need someone to wash… your…"
Golden eyes met emerald as standing before Mina was none other than Izuku Midoriya, looking like a deer caught in headlights as he stared back at her, just as surprised to see the pink woman already walking about. Mina blinked for a moment, her brain restarting in front of the shock of seeing the returned man in the bathroom, and realized he was currently shirtless.
More than that, however, as she slowly looked down to look at the rest of him, she realized that Izuku wasn't just shirtless but completely naked and about to hop into the shower. Mina would admit when she was younger, mostly back in their hero school days, she wondered why Midoriya would always wear his hero suit so baggy, especially around the boy's legs.
Now she understood, and all she could think in her mind was, 'Holy shit!'.
Looking back up, hoping that Midoriya wouldn't be too upset with her checking him out, she was stunned to see that the man was blushing hard, his eyes glued a little lower than to her eyes before, and as she looked down herself to see where Izuku was gazing so hard at, Mina then smiled and bit her lower lip, giggling gently as she began to walk forward, shifting her chest back and forth a little to let her impressive bust jiggle with each step.
"Hi Midori…" Mina spoke in a breathy voice, the sweet scent bombarding her senses as her voice knocked Izuku out of whatever was going through his mind, "Do you like what you see?"
"A-Ashido?!" Izuku began to back up, hitting the shower door with his back as his face grew much more red, quickly shutting his eyes, "Y-You need to leave, please!"
"Oh? And why is that?" Mina asked in a sultry and hushed tone, her breath getting a little heavier as the sweet scent that seemed to be emanating from the green-haired man all this time had now flooded her senses and her body, the heat growing within, "Don't you want me to wash your back?"
Mina could see the blush on Izuku's face grow more, his breathing getting heavier too as Mina finally made her way up to her former classmate, her breasts just barely brushing against his chest, but they both could feel the heat coming off of their bodies as they were now staring into each other's eyes.
Mina's hand slowly began to move towards Izuku's body, taking her time as she continued to speak in her low and sultry tone of voice, "Please, Izuku… just let me…"
"Mina, no."
The pink-skinned woman stopped at the sudden stern tone of his voice. The fact that Izuku had also used her first name meant he had been serious. Suddenly, Mina was lifted into the air by several thick tendrils coming out of Izuku's arms and legs, wrapping around her arms, legs, and torso (granted, she would later notice that they stayed far away from her chest.)
Mina then began to struggle, trying to twist her body out of the 'black whips' currently holding her afloat in the air, as she suddenly snarled at her captor, "Let me out of these fucking things, Midoriya! Or so help me, we can test that theory if my acid can eat through them!"
"OUT!" Izuku snarled back at her, his normally easygoing features hardened as he bared his teeth at her, with several more black whips forming out of his body and looking a little 'wilder' than what he was using on her. Mina froze at the expression on Izuku's face, her struggling ending as she was suddenly moved out of the washroom and, shockingly, placed gently back onto her gurney, holding her in place as he kept staring hard at her, "I will explain everything once we both cool down, we are stuck in here for three to four days, and you will listen to whatever I say so we can come out of this with both our friendship and dignity intact! Do I make myself clear?"
"I-Izuku-"
"DO I MAKE MY GODDAMN SELF CLEAR?" Izuku bellowed, One for All sparking to life as he slammed the wall with his fist, leaving a large dent in the wall. The man was huffing gently as his quirk faded, with Mina looking absolutely terrified and quickly nodding her head. Izuku grunted in affirmation as the tendrils of his Black Whip slowly returned back to his body, stepping into the washroom once more and slamming the door.
Mina didn't move from her spot, her eyes glued to the closed entrance of the bathroom. She swore she could hear it lock and then something heavy being pushed against the door. The scent from before now faded to but a memory for now as she quickly shook her head, her shocked face slowly morphing into one of dread as to what had transpired. Her mind reeled at the way she acted, and she was running her fingers through her hair in anguish.
She really blew it this time, hadn't she?
Two hours had passed since the incident between the pair; during that time, Mina had found the duffle bag at the end of the gurney, quickly finding a pair of gray sweatpants and a sweater that was commonly given to those in isolation and putting them on. They weren't very flattering or cute, but that wasn't what Mina was concerned about right now.
Ever since Midoriya had stepped out of the bathroom with his own set of gray sweat clothes on, he had been silent and not paying her any mind but just moving towards the other side of the room and just started to do his own things, like reading or writing within a new notebook.
Honestly, her curiosity was getting the better of her, considering how helpful the old hero journals that he had left behind when he first disappeared those years ago.
Mina had looked back to her current roommate, who was now just lying in his cot and reading an older and far more primitive journal, with the more modern one now just resting on his stomach. The pink-skinned woman gently smiled at the scene before her, reminding herself of easier times long ago when she would often spy on the much younger version of Midoriya, always having his nose deep in a notebook when he wasn't training.
She would admit that in the beginning, much like the rest of Class 1-A, she didn't think a lot about it. Sure, he had a rather powerful quirk that broke his body on the regular, much to the annoyance of their homeroom teacher, but deep down, Mina could tell there was something special about Midoriya underneath that meek exterior he had.
Sure enough, Mina had started to notice just how different Midoriya was from the other guys in their class after hearing about the events of the USJ. Tsuyu had told how he had taken charge during their little escapade in the flood zone, using both his smarts and his power to help her, Mineta, and himself escape the villains there. Then Kirishima, her manly bestie, had told her how Midoriya had leaped in to save All Might of all people.
As time went along, from the ill-fated training camp to the Kamino Ward fight between All for One and All Might and then the Yakuza raid where he took out the head of the organization himself to save Eri, Mina would take notice of just how… incredible the green-haired boy was. Even admitting to her when she was trying to teach him to dance for that year's school festival that he was doing so to try and help the little girl to heal from her ordeals at the ends of those evil bastards, Mina at that point that she may have a small crush on Midoriya.
Didn't hurt that despite his best efforts to conceal it, the boy was built like a brick house, and Mina only wished she could get a feel for those muscles. She even liked the scars along his body, both then and now, as she saw it as a sign of just how hard he worked to get where he was and how he had survived. But, of course, at the time, Mina had decided to wait for Ochako to admit to her feelings despite all the 'help' the otherworldly-looking woman had given her.
But then he was gone, first, as a vigilante to protect his friends and loved ones from All for One and Shigaraki, and after when the bastard of a villain kamikazed himself.
For seven long years, Mina thought she had lost her chance, and from that time, she would often go on those 'spontaneous' dates throughout the years, no longer just letting things pass her by or missing out on a chance to find happiness. Sadly, most of those tended to be one-offs; the people she dated weren't what she looking for or needed… until eventually, her work as a Pro Hero had eaten up all of her time, and her social life was practically non-existent, aside from the times she would hang out with her friends in the agency or Toru.
At that time, Mina learned why those dates hadn't really panned out, even though most of the people she went on dates with were pretty decent; they were no Izuku Midoriya.
And now, here he is, and in her mind, she had already fucked up any chance of trying to woo the man.
Just what was she thinking? Not even a single day had passed since Midori had returned, and she was already acting like some kind of degenerate slut! And when he told her now, she threatened to use her quirk on him! What was seriously wrong with her?!
"Ashido?" Izuku's voice caught her attention, turning her head to see that the green-haired man was now sitting up, his face full of worry, but Mina could also get a sense of curiosity hidden within that tone of voice.
Mina sighed heavily, collapsing back onto the gurney in frustration; her body aching and burning up slightly was not the most comfortable of situations, and the scent constantly invading her nostrils wasn't helping anything as her golden eyes looked up at the ceiling, "Nothing, I'm fine Midori."
"That's not true…" He gently spoke, moving his legs so his feet were now on the floor as he kept looking at her, "I'm sorry I upset you earlier with my yelling…"
Another sigh escaped her lips as she groaned as well. Mina was silent before she turned her head with the most deadpan look he had ever seen her have, even from when they were teenagers, "Stop that."
"H-Huh?"
"Stop apologizing for everything that isn't your fault!" She said a little louder than she had intended, but the point was made when she saw him wince slightly, "God, seven years, and you're still doing that?"
"B-but-"
"No 'buts', Mister!" Mina suddenly pointed at him, her deadpan stare now morphed into a frown, "It was my fault for going through your trunk! It's my fault for putting on that outfit, and it's my fault you're stuck in here with me, and then I try to jump you like a slutty homewrecker!"
"Wha?! Slutty Homewrecker? Don't say that!" Izuku was now looking more visibly upset, his brows furrowed as he kept staring at Mina, "You are not a slut or homewrecker, Ashido!"
"Mina."
"Huh?"
"C'mon, Midori, we both saw each other completely naked two hours ago; I think we can move past family names." Mina grumbled low at the man sitting across the room, "And yes, I am a slutty homewrecking bitch!"
"No, you are not, Mina! Why are you even calling yourself that?"
"Why else do you have women's clothing in that trunk of yours? And so much of it, too? Obviously, it's because you found someone there and settled down because you had no way of getting back here!"
"I CAME BACK FOR YOU!" Izuku suddenly shouted, but no flare-up of his quirk this time as Mina's eyes shot open in shock and looked utterly confused at his proclamation that he had come back to their world just for her as the man kept speaking, "I didn't settle down with anyone back in Astera! No wife or girlfriend, no significant other! All this time, I have been trying to get back to my true home since the first day I landed in that world!"
"B-But the women's armor-"
"Those are spares!" Izuku now stood up, pacing back and forth as Mina watched him go into a small explanation and rant, "I had commissioned spare armor because sometimes I would go on an expedition or a hunt with a woman or a group of women that didn't have the proper equipment, and instead of being ill-prepared when fighting the monsters, I thought having back-up pieces would help! I even had spare armor made in case any guys joined up, and they, too, were lacking the proper equipment! It was life or death out there, Mina!"
Mina watched Izuku pace back and forth. Her cheeks were a little purple from blushing as she kept processing his words from before. Izuku then sat back down and groaned softly, resting his face in his hands, looking down to the floor as he continued to rant, "Why does everyone assume I would have gotten together with someone over there? Sure, I grew close with people, but it wasn't my home; I had to get back to everyone; I needed to know everyone was alright!"
Mina continued to listen and watch but was slowly and silently moving off of the gurney as Izuku continued to look down at the floor, his fingers through his hair, "Gods, There were stories of people from other worlds coming and going back when I was helping Kamura Village and Elgado. And then having to deal with the Kingdom afterward…"
"Midori…" Mina's voice was soft now as Izuku suddenly lifted his head, and his eyes went wide to see that the woman was now standing right in front of him, with her golden eyes looking down into his emeralds. Izuku gently gasped as he was suddenly lost in those little suns of warmth and kindness in the vast abyss of space that he often would describe as much in his old hero journals. The uncomfortable heat within his body and loins returned in full force, but thankfully, Izuku had more control over it than when he first became a hunter seven years ago…
But holy hell, was it still hard not to just give in.
"Did you mean what you said?" Mina asked, knocking Izuku out of his racing mind temporarily as he looked at her, a little puzzled, "Did you come back for me?"
Izuku took a moment to gather his thoughts, his eyes still locked with Mina's. The tension in the air was palpable as he searched for the right words. Finally, he spoke, though with his trademark stutter, "W-Well, yes… yes, I did come back for you… a-and for everyone else as well."
Mina remained quiet, her eyes not moving away from his gaze as Izuku took in a shallow breath, "I-I wanted to get back as soon as I could, so no one would have to worry about me… to come back to everyone, and help rebuild and be pro heroes with everyone."
His gaze soon traveled down to the floor, and his throat tightened as he held back some of the painful thoughts that were beginning to creep back into his mind, ones where it made some of the nights on Astera, particularly terrible, "And I… didn't want everyone to think I was dead… especially Mom and Eri."
While Mina was slightly upset at first when Izuku had backtracked on his earlier outburst, of course, thinking about it, this was Izuku; he always worried about others and what they wanted over himself and his needs. While that was usually one of his more endearing points, in this particular case, Mina felt a little selfish and had hoped that he had just meant her alone.
But she could work with this.
"Honestly, it was very hard in the beginning… thinking you were gone from our lives," Mina said as she slowly sat on the cot, not as close as she had wanted, but Izuku seemed more keen on having some distance between them for some reason. The heat from within Mina's body seemed to grow a little more intense while being close to the man, "It took me a while to come to terms with it."
"Y-You did?" Izuku asked, his worry clearly coming back on his face, but his apology was silenced with one of Mina's fingers lifted in the air, a gentle smile forming across her lips.
"Of course I did. In all fairness, I was still dealing with Midnight's passing at the time, and then all of a sudden, one of our greatest guys in class was killed because some two-hundred-year-old villain is a sore loser? It's not fair…"
"... Aizawa did tell us that on the first day of high school." Izuku smirked and chuckled somberly and watched as Mina stuck her tongue out at him with a soft smirk.
"Hush you… regardless, you were taken from us… and while everyone in Japan celebrated our victory, it felt so hollow without you there." The pink-skinned woman continued to speak, moving onto her knees on the cot, "But now your back, you survived for all this time, and while the thought of creatures that you have been hunting for the last seven years appearing in our world has me frightened, I know for the fact that everything will be okay, you know why?"
Izuku slowly shook his head, once again getting lost in her gold and black eyes as before he could actually give her a proper answer to the question. Mina suddenly pressed her lips against his, making his eyes go wide in shock. Both could feel the temperature in their bodies grow, with Mina slowly moving her hands to grip his shoulders and slowly pulling away, smiling gently at the man, "Because you are here."
The room was silent as Mina witnessed something she hadn't seen in such a long time, something that she would have given anything in the world to see again for the last seven years, and here it was right before her.
The infamous 'shutting down' of Izuku Midoriya.
She couldn't help herself; there was something within her that screamed to just go for it, no more holding back, and if Ochako and Tsu got mad at her? Well, she'd deal with them afterward as she sat back and watched as Izuku's head suddenly jerked before he scrambled to be on the far side of the cot, closest to the wall and far from Mina. The pink-skinned woman huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "What? Didn't like my kiss?"
"N-N-no! Far from it!" Izuku was blushing hard now; another thing that Mina had missed was the way he would just turn into a strawberry when he got super embarrassed, "I-I would say that… under different circumstances, I'd want to kiss you more."
Now it was Mina's turn to blush a deep purple, utterly shocked that Izuku Midoriya, HER Midori, would admit to something like that. Just what did that other world do to him? It was then Mina realized he had said something very important, "Wait, what do you mean 'under different circumstances'?"
Izuku was silent once again, still blushing as he ran his fingers through that long mane of curly green hair of his, "It's… the monster essence within our bodies."
"Come again?"
Mina watched as Izuku reached into the backpack she had just realized was sitting at the end of the cot, pulling out that odd primitive journal and opening to a specific page, leaning over and offering it to her so she could see, "Monsters, when they die, release built up energy or their 'essence' from their bodies that get absorbed back into flora and fauna of the ecosystem of that world." Izuku had now moved his legs off of the cot as he continued to explain, "It's present within the armor I had made out of those parts, and because of how they construct it, there's no real place for it to go to… so it sort of just… 'infuses' itself into the wearer, allowing hunters to do some pretty extraordinary things, like survive nearly four-story falls without injury."
"Holy smokes! That's incredible!" Mina said her eyes were shining brightly in amazement.
"It is, but there is an issue…" Izuku sighed gently, "That's only for the humans that live there, as over the generations, their bodies have accumulated to the essence. Not just in their armor, but the food, both meat and vegetable, they eat is rich in the stuff."
"So then…?"
"When it comes to us, it's because our bodies have been altered to such a degree thanks to our Quirks, that by having the essence in our bodies, it starts to affect them as well as our minds…" Izuku suddenly raised his hands up in defense, "N-Not like it's controlling us or anything, but it's mood swings and temperament mostly! Think of it like it's making us have more animalistic behavior compared to humans."
Mina frowned at this, looking down at the picture of what she could see in Izuku's usual handwriting as an 'Anjanath.' "So then? The armor I was wearing-"
"Yes, it was made out of an Anjanath, and while not something overly powerful, it was still formidable in its own right." Izuku sighed gently, "Regardless, your body has been feeling hot, correct?"
Mina bit her tongue gently to avoid making a bad joke right now, considering the seriousness of what Izuku was explaining, so she opted to just be cooperative for now, "It started about… an hour, I think? Yeah, an hour after, I started putting the armor on and digging through the trunk to find the rest of the set, or at least what looked like it matched." Mina now sat cross-legged on the cot, her arms still crossed.
"So… that heat you are feeling? Um… oh gosh, how to explain this…" Izuku was now blushing again, rubbing his fingers through his hair as he sighed, "What you are feeling is basically… similar to what animals go through when they are in their … m-mating season…"
"...Oh." Was all Mina said, her eyes wide and before looking away and thinking about it, how she had been basically tossing herself at Izuku since they ended up here, "So, basically… I am just in a constant state of being horny, and I would have jumped on anyone?!" she suddenly shouted, looking visibly angered and confused, just what had she gotten herself into this time.
"M-Mina, calm down-"
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! Midori, I could have jumped any of the guys when I first entered the comm room!" She continued to shout, holding her head as her thoughts started to go through the rather horrible situation she was now dealing with; her mind continued to race until she felt the sudden and strong grip of Izuku's hands on her shoulders.
"Mina! Just breathe; freaking out only makes it worse; trust me, I know that painfully well… So just breathe slowly and deep, do as I do." He commanded as he slowly took a deep breath, where Mina did so as well before they both exhaled gently, Izuku's gaze glued to hers until eventually, Mina calmed down enough, "Okay… just keep doing that, nice and slow, and I'll continue to explain."
Mina took a small breath, gently nodding, the aforementioned burning within her body spiking a little as his still oddly sweet scent invaded her nostrils as she calmed down.
"First, you wouldn't have 'jumped' anyone; if you had, it would have been me regardless…" His grip on her shoulders loosened a little, but to make sure she was still staring at him and focusing on his words, Izuku's hands moved up to cup her cheeks gently, "Like monsters, the essence in your body would have heightened your sense of smell, because, like the monsters… at least what I was able to read about, they would look for potential mates by scent…And from my own experiences, the sweeter the scent, the better."
Mina blinked gently, gasping a little, "S-So, is that why you smell so sweet to me?"
"Um…to be blunt, yes." Izuku continued to softly speak, gently letting go of her warm cheeks, despite the reluctance to do so, which Mina had picked up on, "But it's the same reason why we lashed out at one another in the bathroom… When I 'rejected' your advances, you turned hostile, which wasn't uncommon as some species of monsters tend to show a force of dominance to try and win over their mate if they are rejected at first."
Izuku huffed a chuckle, "You would not believe how many Rathian and Rathalos fights I had witnessed to learn about that."
"Um... what?"
"Same species, but there was some sexual dimorphism between the two, hence why they have different names; like Rathian's, the female of the species was always green or pink and golden, depending on the variants. The males or 'Rathalos' were always red, though they could also be azure blue or silver." Izuku began to explain, making Mina tilt her head in confusion, which Izuku chuckled a little, "S-Sorry, the monsters were interesting to me, and I may have… kinda… focused a lot on them like I do with heroes."
Mina was silent before she burst out laughing, "Oh my god! You are such a nerd, Midori!"
"H-Hey now…" Izuku smiled gently, moving back a little on the cot, "To be serious for a moment, had any of the other guys or girls worn any of my other armor and got essence within them like you did, there would be various scents you would have picked up on, and depending on who smelled sweeter, you would have gravitated towards them. The opposite can also affect you, where you get territorial if another person is trying to steal your… well, 'mate'."
"Hence why if Kinoko was here, we may have started to fight." Mina jumped in, thinking about what Izuku was telling her, as the green-haired man nodded gently, oddly confused as to why the two women would fight over him.
"That, I guess, or you would have 'thrown' yourself at her if her scent was sweeter than mine." Izuku chuckled gently, leaning against the wall now, "Regardless, It doesn't control your mind or actions, but it sort of just… activates some of our more basic instincts, using the scent or pheromones, I guess would be a better name to call it, to sort of amplify our desire to be with certain people."
"Wait, so it takes into account if I actually like someone? How does that work?"
All Izuku could do was shrug, "Given how powerful and strange essence is and how it affected me at the time, it was the one thing I could never figure out."
The room fell silent once more, with Izuku resting his head against the cold wall while Mina brought her legs close to her chest, thinking deeply about what had just been explained to her and what she was sure would be done so again once they got out of this detox room.
"Mina…" Izuku spoke up, catching her attention as she looked towards him, "I am curious, a-and you have every right to deny me… but what does my scent smell like? B-back in Astera, since the populace was so accustomed to the way the monster's essence affected their bodies, it was something I only experienced."
Mina blinked for a few moments, staring at the man before her as she slowly giggled gently, remembering all the times he would be all flustered back at UA when it was so much simpler back then, and thinking back, she wished she could tell her younger self to do things differently. Perhaps not waiting for Ochako to get her feelings in order and for herself to at least help the poor boy with his obvious self-esteem issues, maybe hanging out with him more instead of being with Kirishima's group of peers would have helped.
But now, here she was, alone with him in the same room, her body extremely hot as she kept staring at the man on the other side of the cot. But Mina had to give him an answer, and she slowly smiled as she spoke, "Cinnamon… you have the sweet scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls."
"And what about me, Midori? Surely you have been getting good whiffs of my womanly charms…" Mina spoke in a teasing tone, causing Izuku to look away and blue, making the pink-skinned woman grin more.
It took a few moments, but Izuku did finally answer, and what Mina got made her heart race, "S-Strawberries… your scent is like the sweetest of strawberries…"