Everyone listening to the story was left amazed to hear how Izuku had defeated Bowser. "Whoa… that must've been intense." Natsuo said, finally breaking the silence. "Fighting a villain despite those brutal injuries… so manly!" Kirishima said as he let out tears of pride for his friend's heroic battle.
"Jeez, Mophead…" Jiro says with a stern look. "Every fight you get into, you get injured like crazy."
"Yeah, Deku-kun." Ochaco says with a pout. "You're so reckless." To which Izuku let out a sheepish chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "Reckless or not, you can't help but love him." Peach says as she takes Izuku's hand, making him smile.
"That's definitely true…" Ochaco thought to herself. Her own feelings for Izuku were telling her that she should be angry about him finding someone else, but honestly, she only wanted Izuku to be happy.
And as long as Peach made him happy, she could accept them being together… even if it hurts to see this.
"So, when did you two-?" Ayumi starts to ask, but Izuku and Peach both know what she is going to ask. They expected Mina to ask it, but whatever. "Start dating?" Izuku asks, to which Ayumi nods… followed by Mina starting to bounce with excitement. When it comes to romance, Mina always gets excited.
"Tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us-!" Mina chants over and over, until Ketsumi puts a hand over her mouth and tries to stop her bouncing.
"Please tell us before Mina starts bouncing around the room." Ketsumi says, trying to calm his girlfriend down. "Please, Mommy and Daddy?" Eri says with the puppy dog eyes, causing her parents to chuckle. "Okay, sweetie. We'll tell you." Peach says.
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It took a while to repair all the destruction from the war with Bowser's forces. Thankfully, it was a group effort not just between our Heroes, the Kongs and the Toads, but also other citizens from other kingdoms.
From the Metro Kingdom, Mayor Pauline provided some of the best construction workers the city had to help rebuild the kingdom. From the Cap Kingdom, some of the Bonneters, which were strange ghost-like beings that resembled hats, provided some help in repairing the kingdom by bringing supplies on their airships.
Within two months, the Mushroom Kingdom was as good as new! It was like Bowser and his army had never even shown up!
Though speaking of the Koopa King, his forces were hard at work in rebuilding everything. The castle had been completely demolished and destroyed when Izuku had ignited King Bob-Omb and kicked him into the castle. He had effectively nuked the entire structure. They had to start from scratch, and it would take a long time to properly rebuild everything.
That wasn't their only focus, though. They also had to tend to their gravely injured king. Bowser was left feeling like a shell of his former self. He had lost. Badly. Humiliated beyond belief by that green haired bastard.
And to make matters worse, his beloved "Peaches" had praised his opponent, hugging him right in front of the downed King. He was barely conscious, but he saw it. It was like she was kicking him when he was already down.
No… he could not let this stand. The moment he was fully healed, he was going to march right back to the Mushroom Kingdom and fry that goody two shoes right there and then! No hesitation!
But, right now… he really needed to rest. A broken body won't do him any good in a fight.
Back at the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach was looking a bit exhausted as she walked through the castle halls. She had a long day of her royal duties, and frankly, as much as she enjoys being the princess and looking after the Toads, there are times where it becomes too much for her. She was hoping for some time to relax, hence why she was wearing more casual clothes, a pink tank top and blue jeans to be exact.
As Peach walked by one of the castle's balconies, she stopped when she noticed the doors were open. She could have sworn they were closed earlier, but assumes the wind probably blew them open or someone else went out on the balcony and forgot to close the doors.
As she closes the doors, then turns to walk off, she suddenly stops when the doors open again. She looks out, just happening to see a black tendril retreating out of sight. She walks out on the balcony and looks over the edge, expecting to see the one other Quirk user in the Mushroom Kingdom, but doesn't see him.
"Up here, Princess."
Peach looks up, seeing Izuku sitting on the roof of the castle right above her. His Hero costume was still being repaired and upgraded by some of the Toads, so for the time being, he was wearing a red long-sleeve shirt and dark gray jeans, both of which seemed a little baggy. His shoes were still the red ones, as those had somehow not been destroyed in the fight with Bowser.
Peach smiles as she sees Izuku. "What's got you so dressed up?" she asks as he drops down next to her. "My Hero costume is still being fixed up, so Toadette helped me pick out some new clothes." Peach let out a slight giggle, which Izuku noticed. "What, I can't look nice?" Izuku jokingly asks as he holds his arms out, prompting Peach to giggle more.
"Please, you do that enough without even trying." Peach says, hoping to make Izuku stutter and blush like before. Had this been the Izuku from months ago that had just arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom, he very well might have.
But this new Izuku gave a cheeky smirk and responded "Look who's talking, Princess." That made Peach flustered as her face turned a shade of beet red and she looked away. Clearly Izuku had a new aura of confidence. It wasn't arrogance like a certain someone he knew, it was rather… pride.
Pride in who he was. Pride he had never felt before, as most of his life was spent self-doubting himself all for something he had no control over.
Izuku notices the slightly tired look in her eyes. "You look like you've had a long day."
"I have." Peach admits, her blush dimming a bit. "With the last few repairs, and some meetings on top of that, then more meetings after that."
She groans as she slumps against the balcony railing, holding her head up with her hands. "Sometimes I wish I could just… take a break, y'know." She stares out to the horizon as the sun is slowly descending. "There's a whole world outside of the castle, and the only real chance I've had to see it was on our journey to the Jungle Kingdom. And even then, there's still a LOT to see."
"Well…" Izuku approaches her. "… why don't we?" Peach looks at Izuku in surprise, her blush reigniting. "What?"
"Why don't we go see the world like you've always wanted?" Izuku says as he gestures to the horizon. "Right now?" Peach asks, to which Izuku nods as he approaches the other side of the balcony.
"I mean…" he says as he sits on the railing of the balcony. "… it's up to you."
Without warning, he falls backwards over the balcony. Peach gasps and rushes over, just in time to see Izuku fly up to the balcony's level. He had a yellow cape tied around his neck, because in the moment he was out of Peach's eyesight, he used a Power-Up known as a Cape Feather, which would allow him an even better range of flight than using Float.
"Come on. It'll be fun." Izuku says, the gentle breeze slightly blowing through his bush-like hair and his bright yellow cape.
"Is it safe?" Peach says as she looks up at Izuku, who smiles back. "That depends…" He holds his hand out to her. "Do you trust me?"
The princess gives this a long thought and comes up with a big smile.
"More than anyone I've ever met." she replied as she took the proffered hand and was lifted off of the balcony. From the exterior of Princess Peach's castle; the two could be visible only as a black spot from this distance as they sail up into the sky.
Peach holds onto Izuku, bracing herself for the first few moments of flight, even closing her eyes. "I got ya, Peach." Izuku says reassuringly. "I'm not gonna drop you."
Peach slowly opens her eyes, only for them to widen in amazement as she sees the view of her kingdom from above. She had never seen her kingdom from this high up, getting a full view of it.
"Whoa…" was all the princess could say as she took the sight in.
Izuku zooms down through the town, stopping slightly to pick a pink flower, then flying back above the town as he puts the flower in Peach's hair, much to the princess's surprise. She then smiles as she blushes the same color as the flower as she smiles.
Izuku flies up towards the clouds as Peach looks back and sees the kingdom getting smaller and smaller from view. "So, you've honestly never gone flying before?" Izuku suddenly asked out of the blue.
"I mean, I've usually done so from the safety in a kart, even though that's technically called gliding." Peach said after mulling this over. "But never like this."
"Well, what do you think of it?" Izuku asks, to which Peach can't help but smile as she gives her answer.
"It's breathtaking..." she says as she stares out, and Izuku smiles. If she thinks THIS is breathtaking, then wait till she sees what's next.
The green-haired Hero then flies the two of them through the crowds, popping out above the clouds as Peach lets out a gasp. She sees the sunset is about a hundred times more beautiful above the clouds than it was underneath them.
"Wow..." was all an amazed Peach could utter out. "Gorgeous, huh?" Izuku asked.
"I think I wanna see sunsets like this everyday." Peach said with a brighter smile.
"Well, we're just getting started, Peach." Izuku says, before he picks up the pace as he and Peach pass over the clouds.
Peach puts her hand out and runs her hand through the cloud, as if scooping some of it into her hand. It stays for a few seconds, then flies out of her hand.
The greenette then charges up a bit of One for All, before firing a light Delaware Smash that causes the cloud it hits to split into a ring, which the two then fly through. Peach laughs in amazement as Izuku smirks and does it to a few more clouds, making a makeshift obstacle course.
"Better hang on, Princess!" Izuku shouts as Peach tightens her grip around his neck, before the greenette speeds up and flies through the cloud rings with a trail of green lightning left behind him.
Her hair billowing wildly from Izuku's high speed, Peach could only whoop in delight as Izuku started to perform some aerial show stunts, the first being a loop-de-loop.
Peach seems to slip from Izuku's grip and falls, but Blackwhip comes out of Izuku's shoulders and catches her, pulling her back in as she laughs over the roaring winds.
"I told you I wouldn't drop you, Peach." Izuku says as he then starts to dive down through the clouds. Diving down just over the ocean, Izuku and Peach halt their descent above the surface and speedily rake across the waves as Cheep Cheeps launch out of the water and over the couple.
Peach runs her hand along the water's surface, leaving a trail of ripples. One Cheep Cheep leaps out and sees the flying lovebirds, and it looks startled as it falls back into the water, clearly not expecting flying humans.
The two soon find themselves in a large desert-like area with a few Sphinxes and a pyramid that was not only upside down, but was laughing at gravity by floating in the air. Izuku and Peach fly past a Sphinx, seeing one of the residents using a hammer and spike to sculpt its nose.
Peach waves at the worker as they pass, and the worker, startled by seeing flying humans, accidentally hammers the spike too hard. The nose of the Sphinx cracks, before falling off of the sculpture entirely and hitting the ground with a heavy thud, kicking up sand clouds.
Izuku and Peach both grimace at the sight of that accident, before sheepishly chuckling and continuing their flight.
"This is the way to travel!" Peach laughed with glee.
"Then you'll like this next stop before we make it to our final stop." Izuku said with a chuckle.
"Final stop?" Peach thought. The lovebirds soon found themselves hovering over the Kong Kingdom.
"The Kong Kingdom?" Peach asks, definitely surprised to be here again. "What are we doing here?"
"You'll see, Peach." Izuku says with a smile. After a while, Izuku and Peach were now standing at the top of the crazy path, where Tiny Kong rode to bring them to Cranky Kong.
"How about a flying recap of the ride towards Cranky's?" Izuku asked Peach. Peach stares out at the path, before an excited grin forms on her face.
"Let's do it!" she shouts. Izuku simply smiles as he creeps up to the edge.
"Then you better hold on tight!" He exclaims before taking the plunge at full speed.
Peach does indeed hold on tight as Izuku flies, seen by the Kongs as a simple streak of green lightning. If it hadn't been for that, they wouldn't have recognized him at all, or thought something was attacking their kingdom.
"Hey, Izuku! Hey, Princess Peach!" Diddy Kong shouts as he waves, before the two speed by him, causing him to spin from the force as he laughs.
Meanwhile, Donkey Kong was just walking out of his hut, yawning after a well-deserved nap from another win at the Great Ring of Kong.
"Yo, DK!" Came the voice of Izuku before he and Peach blasted right past, nearly blowing him off his feet. DK quickly composes himself and keeps himself upright, seeing the green streak bolt by with Peach on his back.
"Well dang, guess I was wrong." Donkey Kong admits, thinking back to when he said that Peach would never date Izuku. Boy was he wrong.
After all the crazy twists and turns, the couple begin to approach the final jump. "Coming up on the jump! You ready?" Izuku asked.
"As I'll ever be!" Peach declared with a confident smile.
Izuku picks up speed as dust kicks up behind them, with Peach hanging on tighter. Running up the ramp, Izuku then leaps off the highest point, emitting a shockwave that rocks the entire Kong Kingdom and briefly splits the waterfalls. Peach shrieks with delight as they rocket into the air at an insane speed, then slow to a gentle glide over King Cranky Kong's temple.
"That was awesome!" Peach laughs as they fly into the distance out of the kingdom.
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It is now nightfall as Izuku and Peach are now at Rainbow Road. They were sitting on one of the road's edges, letting their legs dangle.
"It's so nice to be on Rainbow Road without being attacked by Bowser's forces." Peach says as her legs gently swing, feeling relaxed and calm.
"I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any of Bowser's forces lately." Izuku admits, honestly glad they're not being interrupted.
"Well, you DID nuke their entire castle, defeat most of their army, and greatly injure their king." Peach says, reminding Izuku of the war.
"... Fair enough." Izuku blushes from embarrassment, making Peach giggle.
"It'll take quite a long while for his forces to rebuild. So until then, we can enjoy the peace and quiet while we can." Peach said as she rested her head on Izuku's shoulder.
"Yeah..." Izuku agrees quietly as he puts an arm around Peach. The princess's face heats up from feeling Izuku's arm around her, but she smiles as she feels herself resting against his shoulder even more.
"I'm really glad I met you, Izuku." Peach says in a gentle and relaxed tone.
"And I'm really glad I met the most beautiful princess in the whole world." Izuku replies back with a joyful grin. "Don't let Daisy hear you say that." Peach responds with a snicker.
"Ah, she'll understand." Izuku says as he and Peach share a laugh. He soon stands to his feet.
"Well, I think it's about time for our final trap?" Izuku says as he extends a hand to Peach "You ready?"
"Where to?" Peach asks as she takes Izuku's hand and he helps her up.
"That "final stop" that I mentioned before. You're gonna love it." Izuku replied with a cheerful smile.
With Peach holding onto Izuku's back again, Izuku then leaps off Rainbow Road, kicking up some rainbow dust as they fly off.
"We should get there with plenty of time to catch it." Izuku says through the winds.
"Catch what?" Peach asked, even more curious.
"I said it's a surprise." Izuku chuckled, causing her to pout. "But the only hint is that it's very metro."
"Metro?" Peach thinks to herself as she tries to figure out what exactly Izuku could be hinting at. "What could that mean?" Multiple guesses ran through her mind as Izuku rockets off into the distance, becoming a far away twinkle.
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After about 20 minutes of flying, the future lovebirds soon found themselves in a kingdom that looked no different than a city back on Earth. It had a 1930s to 1940s aesthetic, with citizens all wearing fedoras and pinstripe suits. The city was currently bustling with jazz music as people were gathered on rooftops.
A green streak soon lands on a rooftop that didn't have many people on it already, revealing Izuku and Peach. "Here we are, Peach!" Izuku says as the princess climbs down from his back, then gasping at the scenery around them.
"The Metro Kingdom..." Peach says in amazement, hearing the music. "We made it just in time for the New Donk City festival?!"
"Well, we almost didn't..." Izuku says, before putting his hands behind his back and giving a cheeky grin. "But I MAY have helped Mayor Pauline get a head start on the festival to have it happen earlier."
This took a while to sink into Peach's brain, until...
"WHAT?!" She exclaimed, getting into Izuku's face. "When?!"
"Well, Mayor Pauline helped us repair the Mushroom Kingdom, so I felt it was only fair to help her out in return." Izuku said. "So that one week I was out of the Mushroom Kingdom, I was helping her gather musicians and set up everything for the festival."
He holds up a pair of V.I.P. tickets. "She also might've given me V.I.P. tickets for me and you to enjoy the best seats in the house." He added rather slyly.
Peach stared at Izuku and the two V.I.P. tickets with wide eyes, seeming frozen where she stood. That's when she suddenly grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt, pulled him in, and kissed him on the lips.
Now HE was the one with wide eyes as his face turned redder than Kirishima's hair. And given how red his hair was, that's saying a lot!
Peach soon breaks up the kiss, leaving Izuku somewhat googly-eyed and dazed. "Best. Boyfriend. Ever." Peach states with a wide, overjoyed smile.
"Boyfriend, huh...?" Izuku says in a daze with a smile forming on his face. Peach giggles at his reaction as she gives him a light shake, snapping him back to reality as he holds her close by the waist. "I'm definitely not against that."
The jazz music soon gets louder, catching the lovers' attention. "Ladies and gentlemen!" an announcer says over the cheers and the music. "Welcome to the New Donk City Festival, a celebration of the history of our city!"
"Sounds like the festivities are starting!" Izuku exclaimed as he turned to Peach. "Ready for a good night?"
"You bet I am!" Peach shouts with a huge grin as she jumps into her boyfriend's arms, before Izuku leaps to another rooftop, this one crowded with even more people, likely because the band was on this same rooftop.
"And now, to get things started…"
Standing on the stage with the band before a microphone, wearing an elegant skin-tight red dress and a matching sun hat that was concealing her face…
"Her Honor, Mayor Pauline!"
Pauline removes her hat to reveal her face as the crowd cheers wildly. She puts the hat back on, noticing Izuku and Peach in the crowd as she does. She smiles and gives a wink to Izuku, a silent greeting to him, before she begins to sing.
"Here we go, off the rails"
"Don't you know it's time to raise our sails?"
"It's freedom like you never knew"
The crowd cheers and starts dancing along to the song.
"Don't need bags or a pass"
"Say the word, I'll be there in a flash"
"You could say my hat is off to you"
Izuku smiles as he steps in front of Peach, leaning forward while holding a hand out to her. "May I have this dance, Your Highness?" Izuku says with a smile.
Peach smiles as she takes Izuku's hand and answers. "You may." Izuku then pulls her in, before the two begin a fast-paced waltz to the beat of the song.
"Oh we can zoom all the way to the moon"
"From this great wide wacky world"
"Jump with me, grab coins with me, oh yeah!"
The crowd parts to give the couple enough space to dance without bumping into anyone. Everyone cheers and claps for the couple as they dance.
"It's time to jump up in the air"
"Jump up, don't be scared"
"Jump up and your cares will soar away"
"And if the dark clouds start to swirl"
"Don't fear, don't shed a tear 'cause"
"I'll be your 1-Up girl"
Izuku twirls Peach with Blackwhip wrapped around her, allowing her to spin across the rooftop farther. Izuku then pulls her back as she spins in a pink and blonde blur, then goes into a dip.
"So let's all jump up super high!"
"High up in the sky!"
"There's no power-up like dancing"
"You know that you're my superstar"
"No one else can take me this far"
"I'm flipping the switch"
"Get ready for this"
"Oh, let's do the Odyssey"
Peach stands back up as Izuku then lifts her over his head by the waist, tossing her up as she spins in the air, then gets caught by her green-haired boyfriend.
"Odyssey, ya see!"
"Odyssey, ya see!"
"Odyssey, ya see!"
"Odyssey, ya see!"
Izuku sets Peach back down as they both back up from each other to briefly catch their breath.
"Odyssey, ya see!"
"Odyssey, ya see!"
"Odyssey, ya see!"
"Odyssey, Odyssey!"
Izuku then feels a tap on his shoulder, causing him to glance back and see a Bonneter that looked like a white tophat with pinkish red eyes. Peach feels a tap on her shoulder and looks to see a Bonneter as well, this one looking like a tiara with pink eyes.
"Spin the wheel, take a chance"
"Every journey starts a new romance"
"A new world's calling out to you"
"You need something, little buddy?" Izuku asks the tophat ghost, who seems to float with excitement. "If you don't mind, my sister and I have an idea to make this dance more magical."
He then starts to whisper into Izuku's ear, as the tiara ghost does the same to Peach, both telling their idea at the same.
"Take a turn, off the path"
"Find a new addition to the cast"
"You know that any captain needs a crew"
Izuku and Peach both consider the idea, before smiling. "Let's do it!" they both say.
The two Bonneters, Cappy and Tiara, spin around Izuku and Peach respectively, before landing on their heads as white lights engulf them for a moment.
"Take it in stride as you move, side to side"
"They're just different points of view"
"Jump with me, grab coins with me, oh yeah!"
The lights dim as it reveals Izuku and Peach. The former was dressed in a black pinstripe tuxedo with a fedora, and the latter was dressed in pink flannel dress that reached to her knees and a matching bowler fedora. Cappy and Tiara's eyes appear on the couple's hats and wink at Izuku and Peach, before the couple's dance resumes.
"Come on and jump up in the air"
"Jump without a care"
"Jump up 'cause you know that I'll be there"
"And if you find you're short on joy"
"Don't fret, just don't forget that"
"You're still our 1-Up boy"
Everyone cheers louder for the couple, as their dancing speeds up a bit.
"So go on, straighten up your cap"
"Let your toes begin to tap"
"This rhythm is a power 'shroom"
"Don't forget you're the super star"
"No one else could make it this far"
"Put a comb through that 'stache"
"Now you've got panache"
"Oh, let's do the Odyssey!"
Izuku and Peach then step back and remove Cappy and Tiara, before tossing them like frisbees as the two Bonneters spin around the couple, leaving trails of green and pink behind them as they form a dual-colored light show around the rooftop.
"It's time to jump up in the air"
"Jump up, don't be scared"
"Jump up and your cares will soar away"
"And if the dark clouds start to swirl"
"Don't fear, don't shed a tear 'cause"
"I'll be your 1-Up girl"
Izuku and Peach's dancing gets more intense and faster, their movements sometimes cutting through the light show like knives cutting through strings as the light trails then reconnect.
"Now listen, all you boys and girls"
"All around the world"
"Don't be afraid to get up and move"
"You know that we're all superstars"
"We're the ones who made it this far"
"Put a smile on that face"
"There's no time to waste, so"
"Let's do the Odyssey!"
The crowd cheers and claps for Pauline as Izuku and Peach share a warm kiss, holding each other close in the warm night of New Donk City.
Next Chapter: Eri's New Friend