Another Hero Academia: Out of Time

by NewMystery356

Died while getting a pre-order video game? Check. People discriminated against for being born without a special "power"? Check. People discriminated against for being born with an "evil power"? Check. People discriminated against for not looking "human"? Check. Yup, it's official: I've been Isekai'd. Now if only I knew where the hell I was. [SI & Mass-Multi-X-Over]

56. Noblesse

To GreedEman, having Takei cross paths with All Might would happen eventually; with someone like Sorahiko in his life, it'd be a missed opportunity if I didn't. I too am looking forward to them having their heart-to-heart when he doesn't have to worry about his "time", but like most of my writings, it'll be in a way that the readers won't see coming.
As for Takei encountering another C.O., I was inspired by a mix of Japanese jump-scare shows and also Jurassic World. Giving Rikiya/ReDestro a bit of screentime was also a ton of fun, just because I can so easily see him throwing his weight around in domestic gameshows as long as "rampant Quirk usage" is involved.

To The Viking Stranger, while it was a ton of fun mixing Quirks, inter-school and interpersonal drama, and dinosaurs in yoga pants and pasties into a gameshow, with how much of a chore it was keeping track of everything that went into adapting an IRL gameshow into first and third-person format, I definitely won't be doing something long-form like this again. If Takei ever does do anything "domestic gameshow-y" ever again, it'll either be heavily abridged or I'll just "get to the fucking point" a lot faster by dropping the fans into the middle of it.
What I most enjoyed writing was everything that happened after "the albino rex girl in yoga pants and pasties" came into play. Gible got some love, Mero catapulting herself out of her wheelchair was fucking awesome to visualize, and I got to make some new Super Moves for All Might, even if they were very on-the-nose; San Francisco is known for its Whirlpools, and New Mexico is the state where the first Nuke was tested, by the by.
As for the raven-headed girl… Maybe if demand to see the crew from Murakami is high-enough, otherwise I'll leave her as a one-off.

To Pathfinder097, like Pam screamed at Archer in "The Papal Chase"- "Pay attention to the fricking context!"
I'm not saying that to be mean; I'm saying that all the clues are there, you just have to open yourself up to the possibilities that come with a multi-crossover.
Of course, I do understand if the albino dinosaur girl in yoga pants and pasties managed to distract you.
What were we talking about again?

To zombiesleuth, when I say "powerful Lombax-like fingers", from an evolutionary standpoint, and as someone who absolutely loves deep lore, I can imagine (in my HeadCanon) that when Lombax began to use "big fucking guns" as well as "big fucking tools" on the regular, that they developed very strong fingers so as to not lose their grip on the giant guns and tools that were Ratchet's hallmark.
If you've ever seen those fail videos where someone with a hand cannon smacks themselves right in the face because of an inferior grip and/or stance, you'll understand why I think this sort of detail is important.
And fun fact, I actually wanted to have Takei do a Double Jump last-chapter, but he just… didn't need it? Or rather, I couldn't work it in organically?

To superpierce, while using the Mosasaur was a fun way to lead into Takei getting his "golden ticket", and also the Stinger that was just… REALLY fun to write, I had way too much fun writing in the downfall of Coastal Guard. Because in a market that's so massively competitive with so-many layabouts getting their licenses every 6 months, I just imagine that if you've given up on becoming No.1, unless you want to just go through the motions and collect a check, there are very few lines you won't cross to become more-popular in your chosen "niche".
The Mon Squad for example, the bulk of their fanbase come from other Mutants, girls looking for Heroine role models, police and military families, gun enthusiasts, and anyone who's just a fan of dark-colored body gloves in general, but their "influence" wanes the farther out they get from Asaka-shi, Saitama Prefecture. Of course, for them, their popularity is a consequence of their work instead of the goal; like Katsuki Bakugou who said in no uncertain terms how he was becoming a Hero so he could be rich and famous. Saving people was never a consideration for a very long time.

To darkhero what must be done, while I've read and watched some Iruma Goes to Demon School, retconning characters from there into MHA would just… mess with their "vibe" since a very core part of them is the fact that they're Demons in the Demon World. I mean, it's definitely within my ability to "Humanize" (hah) the cast of Iruma, but that just isn't the kind of story I want to tell here… If anything, they'd be a bunch of misfit Quirk users, but then the issue is- "Why don't they get arrested for Quirk usage?"
As for "monster taming games", I fell off the wagon after one of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games on the 3DS, and I've never even heard of Cassette Beast of Nexomon. Also, I don't want the story to be too much about the "monster taming", even if Gible and his co-emotional support animals are going to be fixtures to the narrative.

To Zecore, love to hear it when someone reads my work to the very end and how it surpassed expectations. And I mean, sure, while all MHA fanfiction are AU, AHA:OOT is definitely an Alternate Universe that I've put a great amount of time and effort into weaving. Beyond the Rifts of Ratchet & Clank and Counter:Side, I think my favorite piece of this AU was mixing in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid~
Well, that and mixing Daily Life with a Monster Girl's Neptunia into the lore, because there definitely should've been an Undersea Kingdom of water-breathers. That's a bit of worldbuilding I don't think I've ever seen anywhere else on this site.

To CountOrlok777, glad you're seeing the appeal behind the Rifts for crossovers~
As for my Naruto crossovers, they're strictly in the "fun while it lasted" category. As for why I discontinued them, I just lost the "motivation" to complete them in full. Of course, I didn't want to leave it hanging out there, hence the "How It Would Have Ended" chapters. Offer a little closure.

To wolfpackx92, yes, Samura Jack does "jump good"~

To Raidentensho, don't know about Escaflowne. As for Plus-Sized Elf, Oga and Hitome are Tio and Manako's mothers respectively. Not quite sure what I'll do with the rest of the cast; some of them might be "local", but others may be from Tohru & Elma's homeworld. It all depends on what I need. There's definitely enough slice-of-life I can work with, and I'm sure Takei could do "Guardian" stuff like Kobayashi began doing in the manga.
Not to mention, I can't have him fighting monsters or villains in every other chapter. Sometimes he just needs wacky slice-of-life between the fighting.

*AHA*

While taking something akin to a luxury yacht cruise back to Tokyo on Neptunia's diplomatic vessel, I learned something interesting about the Neptunian Embassy.

Initially, I thought it was located at the castle atop the Marina Haven Hotel; in actuality however, the Yaoyorozu Estate did double-duty in that regard. Counterintuitively, while a large plot of land seemed more-difficult to defend, it was actually a lot safer than a massive vertical structure that a powerful-enough Villain -singular or plural- could knock over with brute force. Because the Yaoyorozu and Du Neptune families had had such a long-standing, symbiotic relationship, it actually made sense that the Yaoyorozu would loan out their space for diplomatic purposes; especially because wide open spaces gave Quirk users more wiggle-room to operate. Not to mention, private property was more liberal in regards to Quirk usage among private citizens.

Such was the purview of those that could hire legions of meta-capable security, I supposed. In comparison to other workforces, while Heroes got fast-tracked to legal use of their meta-abilities, if you threw enough money at the red tape, it could be cut through. Eventually.

Thinking back on it, this would actually be the first time I'd gone to Momo's house, and while I could've done an Ego Search on her once I learned her place in the socioeconomical food chain, it just didn't sit right with me to eavesdrop behind her back, so I never did.

While Momo said she "lived comfortably", as someone who had zero frame of reference for what upper-middle-class people considered to be "normal", I couldn't help but think that of the Sanzenin Estate from Hayate the Combat Butler, or maybe the Ayano Estate from MegaMan NT Warrior…

Of course, since the boat ride in of itself would be many hours in length even with a top-of-the-line vessel, and staring out at the Japanese horizon got old after a while after combing the yacht itself over and over, we were able to make use of the bedroom to play some VRMMOs.

*AHA*

Materializing at a central plaza in Gun Gale Online, I immediately recognize Mero and Mei's avatars; even if one ignores the Goth-Loli attire, Mero was still a real looker, but Momo made me do a double-take when I realized she had an already-customized Avatar. Likely after she learned of Mero's own piqued interest.

Momo's virtual self was tall with a shapely figure and garbed in a dark red catsuit that looked practically painted on. Unlike Pitohui who added facial tattoos to get randos to leave her alone in the Light Novels, Momo's virtual visage was left relatively untouched, and in fact looked a lot like her own mother, just with Momo's hairstyle and a little softer around the eyes.

Now, online I was a bit of a small-time celebrity, and Mei was eye-catching with her salmon-colored head of dreadlocks, but when Mero and Momo started catching the attention of passerby, some with less-than-pure intentions broadcasted on their features, I grabbed the two taller Avatars' hands and led them into the winding alleys of the SBC Glocken.

*AHA*

After managing to give our curious admirers the slip, I was able to find Dust_2_Dust's little hole-in-the-wall bar and knocked on the door, a metal peephole sliding open revealing angry red eyes.

"Password."

"Dust, let me in, I've had a long day. Also, the passwords is 'Password'."

" . . . Fine," the edgy teenager said snapping the peephole shut before the door creaked open, allowing me and my own posse in. "So," he hummed as he scratched furiously at his neck. "You made the news again."

"Of course I did…"

Anything involving All Might made its way to the news cycle in mere minutes, it seemed.

That was just how-much of a hard-on Japan had for the guy…

"All things considered, I'll probably swear off gameshows altogether," I grumbled as I sat myself down at the bar, Mero and Momo looking around with equal parts trepidation and curiosity in their eyes, their fingers interlocked as they stood in a well-lit spot.

"Oh? Don't like to show off?" Dust_2_Dust inquired.

"It's not that. I just figure if I'm going to make an ass of myself in a horse & pony show, I might as well wait until I'm a Pro Hero and I'm being paid a steady wage."

Dust_2_Dust furiously scratched at his neck at the mention of this least-favorite occupation. Guy probably got "let down" by his favorite Hero at some point, but I never saw any reason to bring it up.

Part of the charm of VRMMOs was getting to leave the meat-space behind. It was bad netiquette to do otherwise.

"Hey, Tiger, I hear you made the news again!" Sefgas hummed as he came in through the door, doing a double-take at the lovely ladies in attendance. "D-Dude! You never told me you rolled like this!" he whispered into my cat-ear.

"Dude, there are girls on here that like gratuitous violence," I deadpanned. "Though to be fair, 'pretty in pink' is just excited by having working legs."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Sefgas said in a subdued tone.

Said tone made me think he was wildly misconstruing what I meant by that "working legs" comment, but I wasn't going to correct him on it.

"Hey, Wild Tiger," a familiar voice came up on my comms.

"S1lencer, how's it hanging?" I asked with a finger to my ear.

"Not as good as you. Then again, what in the world could beat getting 'infinite street cred' from the No.1 Hero~!?" the snarky pre-teen grinned through the line.

"It's not the street cred I have a problem with. It's that the guy made an entire spectacle of the whole thing…" I grumbled, rubbing at my face. "Being a small-town celebrity, I can handle that; I've been learning to handle that…" I sighed as I thought back to all the randos asking me to sign me-centric Mon Squad merch. "But getting props from the most-famous guy in the country… Would it have killed him to show a little propriety?"

"Possibly~" Dust_2_Dust hummed with a dark smile on his face.

"It's fine. It's 'whatever'. I'll make do," I said as I reached behind the bar, paid the transaction, and got myself a virtual root beer. "Gluugh, but school's going to be a bitch come Monday…"

"You could always live life as a shut-in," Dust_2_Dust hummed.

"Pretty sure my dragon mamas would kick my ass if I tried."

*AHA*

Wanting to put the complete spectacle I made of myself behind me, I gathered up my squad of Dust_2_Dust, Sefgas, S1lencer, Deus ex Meichina, Mer0, and Creati and went on a monster-hunting raid with a number of other squads. The target: a giant creature like something straight out of Monster Hunter, with the added caveat that it had built-in guns like some kind of cyborg.

As someone who'd almost been eaten by such a monster IRL, I took offense to the fact that I was being relegated to the role of live bait to lure the thing into a shelling by mortar squads, but the fact that I could run at motorcycle-like speeds with no loss of stamina in the virtual world took a bit of the edge off.

Well, that and the fact that there were multiple runners drawing agro instead of it being just me.

Of course, key difference I noticed was the other lures' movements were heavily linear, only taking the X and Y-axes into account.

I guess unless you train with capital-d Dragons who fight like Dragonball Z characters on alternating weekends, you'll really only ever learn to move in a certain way.

Mei for her part was crafting grenades like mad and passing them out like party favors, though like in real life where she made whatever the hell she felt like, what she whipped up in GGO ranged from impact to sticky to proximity to bouncing betties and beyond. Mero, pretty as a picture, was offering words of encouragement to the raiding party, most of which were eating out of the palm of her hands, with some professing undying loyalty to the future monarcy. Momo… she was wielding what was essentially an anti-Kaiju-grade Railgun with her STR-Build. The thing's firing rate was complete shit, and the ammo was expensive as hell, but if you could actually hit the thing with it, it was perfect for a Raid if you had the cash to burn.

That, and as long as she didn't draw agro, because while her STR was impressive, her agility was largely pedestrian, which was why she and the other long-range fighters were hanging around a middling-rank Technical.

*Krak-BOOOOOOOOM!*

Another of Momo's ultra-high-density battleship-grade kinetic shells impacting the side of the Raid Boss, the thing's attention suddenly shifted from the close and mid-range fighters harassing it to the long-range party at the far reaches of the staging ground, its numerous weapons reorienting themselves.

"DUST! GET THE LEAD OUT!"

Dust_2_Dust starting the engine on our transport and hauling ass as the thing began to stomp after them, I broke ranks from the rest of the close and mid-range players trying to draw agro back and whipped out my photon sword.

Compared to the likes of Gran Torino, Elma, and Tohru who basically came at me with Dragonball levels of speed and power during training, a fake monster in a fake world like this was practically standing still, and since I'd dumped most of my points into AGI…

"ATOMIC SLASH!" I yelled out like a total weeb as I whipped my laser sword around myself at eye-blistering speeds, levying dozens of slashes into the thing's ankles and underbelly as I harassed it.

The move may've eaten half my weapon's Battery and sent it into its Overheat animation, but the monster's attention shifted from Momo back to me. The thing leaping into the air for its point-blank AOE attack that could insta-kill all but the tankiest DEF-builds, I got the lead out, hauling ass as fast as my virtual legs could take me.

In later recollections, my friends would tell me I looked like a shooting star streaming across desert sands.

*AHA*

The following morning, my in-group all met up at the gate to Damoto Chugakko in anticipation for our day out at the Yaoyorozu Estate.

The original plan had been to meet up in the yard in front of the Mon Apartments, but word of All Might's ringing endorsement had definitely spread, because the place was positively swarming with the press.

Honestly, if I didn't have [Perception Blocking] saved on my phone, I'd have never gotten away from them all.

When Momo and Mero had invited me over, they didn't give me any sort of upper limit, but since this was someone's home and not a hotel resort, I decided to narrow it down to my innermost in-group.

From my pool of guy-friends there were Naruki (and his conjoined twin Kaori), Togami, Kageto, Tomu, and Tetsutetsu. From my pool of gal-pals there were Yomi, Hanako, Shizuru, Shiori, Kuromi, and Itsuka. Kageto and Tomu also asked me if they could invite their gal-pals as well, so I extended invites to Tabe and Nobuko.

Elma was still Time God-knows-where, so she was out, but I extended invites to Oga and Hitome. Oga was more than happy to tag along, having actually safeguarded my body while I was indisposed in GGO, but Hitome had made plans to visit Manako. Sorahiko was also invited, and agreed if only to make sure I didn't get "eaten by a sea monster" or something.

That this sort of thing happened twice was especially damning.

As an added surprise, when I called in Kuroyama-san to send someone over to the apartments to disperse the press harassing my neighbors, I found out that the man himself was free today, as was his little girl, so I was able to call in Papi as well, the little ball of feathers and sunshine super-ecstatic to come along for the ride.

Most-surprising of all was that Chitose somehow caught wind of the new rendezvous point, so I decided to throw her a bone and invite her along as well. The media had been positively abuzz after All Might gave me that "ringing endorsement", some going on to speculate that I would be able to get into Yuuei on his word alone, while some of the trashier news outlets speculated that I was All Might's secret love child and a future candidate for the next Symbol of Peace.

Completely ridiculous because any paternity test between us would come up capital-n Negative, and plenty of women had claimed that their kids were All Might's, but if there was anything I learned pre-Isekai, it was that unless you got out in front of something, the Fake News Cycle would twist and turn what happened until it mutated into something completely unrecognizable.

So there we were, split between two black limousines on our way to the nicest part of the Aichi Prefecture. Naruki & Kaori, Togami, Shizuru, Koichi, Papi, Oga, and Chitose were in the first limo with me, while the others were gathered together in the second surrounding Kageto and Tomu with nothing but pre-teen girls.

"So, Takei-kun," Chitose said with her ever-present smile on her face as she held out her recorder. "How does it feel having the eyes of the No.1 Hero on you?"

"Honestly…" I said scratching at my cheek while Shizuru held my free hand in support. "I wish the guy hadn't given me such a ringing endorsement where God & everyone could see. He could've just-as-easily given me props after-the-fact, but because he made a huge spectacle of it, even if that wasn't the guy's intention, now I'm going to have people harassing me more than usual come Monday."

"Hm, yes, I can see how having 'infinite street cred' would raise you up from small-town celebrity status," Chitose hummed, nodding her head cutely. "And how do you feel about the allegations that you're All Might's secret love child~?" she asked teasingly.

"I can't believe there are news outlets trashy-enough to actually run those stories," I deadpanned, making my distaste known to her eye-glimmering delight. "Honestly, any DNA test would disprove that straight away; and it isn't like random women haven't tried to squeeze alimony out of the guy before."

"True, true," she hummed. "But I guess the big question on everyone's mind is… Do you regret going after Reki Shirou when there was so much money on the line?"

" . . . When I saw that desperate look in her eyes and all that blood coming out of her neck, my body just moved on its own," I answered in a somber tone. "I'm sure anyone else would've done the same."

"Except he didn't. Guremusuko Rura used the distraction to break line-of-sight from the Hunters and won the whole pot from Run for the Money."

"Well, I'm sure he only felt comfortable running off because I went into the drink after her, given my track record with giant monsters. Of course, the fact that there was so much money on the line muddies the issue pretty badly, so I don't want the public to think badly of him."

"That's awfully charitable, what with Murakami Chugakko being your 'rival school'," Chitose hummed.

"All that inter-school drama belongs to Picar-sensei and Bort-sensei. I don't have anything against Murakami unless it's strictly personal," I answered, feeling something rising up inside of me.

It would only be after-the-fact that I learned how much of my feelings were showing on my face.

"It isn't about hating the guy on the other side because someone told you to. I mean, you should hate someone because they're an asshole, or a pervert, or a snob, or they're lazy, or arrogant or an idiot or a know-it all. Those are reasons to dislike somebody. You don't hate a person because someone told you to. You have to learn to despise people on a personal level. Not because they're red, or because they're blue, but because ya know them, and you see them every single day. And you can't stand them, because they're a complete and total fucking douchebag."

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . Wowzers, Nii-nii got worked up!" Papi giggled, breaking the silence and filling the limo with a million-watt smile.

"Whoa… Now that is a memorable quote!" Chitose beamed as she scrambled for her notepad. "We put that on a T-Shirt, it'll sell like hot cakes!"

"Well, I do have my own Trademark and Copyright…" I hum, remembering the shirts.

"What's the difference?" Papi asked.

"Trademarks are for brand names and images, like the Mon Squad, while Copyright is for stuff like movies, TV shows, software code, and so-on."

"Hmmmm. I see, I see," she hummed intelligently, reminding me that as long as she didn't take 'three steps' she wouldn't forget everything she went through with her literal bird brain.

"Well, all that talking made me thirsty. Time for a root beer," I hummed as I dug into the built-in bar.

*AHA*

"Holy crap! Look at that fence!"

-was the sum declaration as Takei's in-group, in both limousines, poked their heads out the windows and sunroof to see a massive barrier surrounding the Yaoyorozu Estate.

The foundation was immaculate with alternating dark brick and lighter stone, the black fencing in a tight-fitting, artistic and classical Gothic style. Not only that, but it was practically impossible to see where the corners of the estate lay, the fence stretching out as far as the eye could see on the almost deserted singular road they were on. And given the price of land in Japan, the thought was literally mind-boggling.

"So um… What's with the signs?" Naruki asked pointing to a multi-language notices situated on alternating stone columns.

侵入者は発見次第射殺されます。

Trespassers will be shot on sight.

Chuǎng rù zhě yī jiàn dào jiù huì bèi qiāngshā.

Los intrusos serán fusilados en cuanto los vean.

Нарушителей границы будут расстреливать на месте.

Les intrus seront fusillés à vue.

A polyglot would be able to point out that the notices were in Japanese, English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and French respectively.

"Oh, the master had them put back up after the second kidnapping attempt," their chauffeur answered simply as though it were a question that got asked often.

"Aaaand… how-often do you exercise that warning?" Kaori inquired nervously.

The sound of a loud *BANG!* drifted into the open window from the middling distance.

"I'm guessing 'enough'," Chitose hummed laconically.

"Well, you aren't wrong," their driver replied as they came to a slow by the impressive front gates, the car immediately swarmed upon by dog-headed security guards in top-of-the-line body armor, as well as a few actual guard dogs.

After being let into the front gates, flanked by guard posts, partway up the estate's driveway they came upon yet another checkpoint where everyone was shuffled through the sort of machines you'd find at I-Island's border patrol. Not only were they intensively scanned and screened for potential shapeshifting doppelgangers and other forms of meta-impersonators, but their belongings, meager as they were, were placed under a securitous microscope before they were finally allowed deeper into the complex.

When the verdant woods lining the edge of the estate opened up, faces pressed amazedly to the limo's interior windows as they beheld the enormous mansion spread out before them in all its splendor. It was… It was…

Sure, there were words to describe it, but those words were in a completely separate tax bracket from what any of them lived in. Maybe Kiryuuin Kaen could've elucidated, but she wasn't in attendance, soooo…

Takei for his part got Hayate the Combat Butler flashbacks with a mix MegaMan NT Warrior, with just a splash of Ranma and other miscellaneous "90s anime rich kid archetype" mega-mansions thrown in for good measure. Momo's house was huge, worth so much money the actual fiscal value lost all meaning, and that was as far as he needed to digest on to avoid crippling socioeconomic depression.

As the limo pulled up around an opulent fountain immortalizing the founders of both the Yaoyorozu and Du Neptune lines, the massive oak double-doors leading into the mansion opened allowing Momo out into the sun, her designer blouse, skirt, and shoes worth more than what all of them were wearing put together.

The beaming smile on her face however as the chauffeur let them out, took the edge off of how-offensively expensive her loungewear was.

"Takei-kun! Esteemed guests! I'm so happy to have you here today!" Momo smiled a beautiful, heart-melting smile, Mero offering a smile of her own as she was wheeled out onto the front steps by Sebasstian, with Flounnder at his shoulder.

Mei was there too, but only long-enough to wave at them before retreating deeper into the mega-mansion.

Possibly to take apart something very expensive…

*AHA*

After being escorted into the Yaoyorozu Estate's foyer-

"Welcome, esteemed guests."

-was the greeting in surround sound we received from a dozen maids on the left and a dozen butlers on the right as they flanked the red carpet bisecting the center of the room toward a stairwell that split at the first landing into two opposing lanes.

Suffice it to say, my friends and I were flabbergasted by the sheer splendor and opulence spread out before us, since normally, this sort of thing only existed in manga and anime. And usually, the somewhat cheesy ones where they massively wanted to overplay just how mind-numbingly rich this or that character was.

"Well…" I hummed aloud as my out-of-date software tried to run this server's graphics. "I can see why your house does double-duty as the Neptunian Embassy."

"Yes. Our families' wealth and histories are intertwined, so they have their own wing," Momo explained.

"This place is so huge! How do you not get lost?" Shizuru asked.

"Well, we do have directories for that," Momo admitted, elegantly gesturing toward a full-on directory of all things built into the wall. It was set into a touch-screen looking more like something you'd see at a shopping mall, but maybe it served the double purpose of being able to be turned off during a perimeter breach?

No reason to give intruders the extra help.

"Holy crap! It's like a shopping mall!" Nobuko goggled at all the different facilities.

"Well, you know, generational wealth and all that," Naruki hummed thoughtfully.

"So you basically have… infinite money, then," Togami hummed.

"Oh no, our fiscal assets are very finite!" Momo blushed as she held up her hands. "Although I'll admit, the Yaoyorozu estate does generate more capital than some countries," she muttered off to the side.

"Well, I can definitely understand why it'd be hard for you to make genuine friends," I hum as I look at the directory, expanding outward towards the estate in full before blurting out- "You have a go-kart track?!"

"Yes. Would you like to go?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"An excellent choice. The groundskeepers finished remaking the track just the other day," Momo smiled.

"How… How-often do they remake it?" I asked.

"Often enough to never get bored with it," Momo smiled before turning crestfallen. "Admittedly, I haven't used it as much since culling my previous friend-group… But all that has changed with you all here!" she said with a returning smile.

"Momo."

"Y-Yes," she gulped at my serious expression.

"Don't take this the wrong way… but I'm stoked to have a rich friend. At the same time, if I ever start taking advantage of your wealth, please set me straight. I don't want to break your heart by becoming another of those type of friends."

Momo's face exploded into a blush, but she quickly nodded.

"Of course. Now that I know what real, genuine friendship is life, I'm not exactly fond of the idea of losing it," she smiled. "Honestly, meeting you and Mei… It's been the best thing to happen to me~"

"Ack! Too pure!" Kuromi cried, shielding her eyes.

"Hey, speaking of which, where is Mei?"

"Oh, she's off taking apart some old electronics we were just going to throw out."

"Momo…" I said as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Sometime after that go-kart track, I really need to sit down with you and compile a dossier for what you think of as 'normal'."

"Ah, I'm sorry," the heiress blushed.

*AHA*

The go-kart track in the Yaoyorozu estate was a short shuttle bus ride away from the main house, and the venue in of itself was of superior quality to most amusement parks. Aside from the fact that the Yaoyorozu estate had hired a down-on-his-luck man who could manipulate tarmac like the Cement Hero: Cementoss to make new tracks whenever one configuration got stale, there was also a raised spectator stand with AC and catering, and a fleet of top-of-the-line go-karts with a mechanic whose Quirk basically gave him a built-in multi-tool on each finger.

Apparently, the Yaoyorozu family had a habit of employing down-on-their-luck people with practical Quirks to get them off the street, but they were the exception instead of the rule when it came to generational wealth.

Of course, the deeper societal ramifications were pushed to the back of Takei's mind as he and his guy-friends all excitedly raced one another on the track, with Mero arranging for a small "summit" now that it was "just us girls".

"So, for those of you that do not know me, I am Meroune Lorelai du Neptune. I am the crown princess of Neptunia and I wish to make Takei-kun into my royal consort. However, because I don't want to treat him as a 'pet' and living together long-term would be somewhat difficult, I am granting him the freedom to pursue consorts of his own among his fellow land-walkers to keep him company in my absence. Any questions?"

"Um, we three aren't into him like that, so can we bow out?" Nobuko asked, her face erupting into a blush while Tabe simply ate at her nachos, bowl and all, and Itsuka turned away awkwardly.

"In that case, could you perhaps be willing to offer an outsider's input while those of us that are, sort out the details?" Mero inquired, her regal bearing causing the three to capitulate almost immediately.

Well, Nobuko and Itsuka capitulated. Tabe was only interested in stuffing her face, and Momo had the sort of money that no-one thought to stop her even as she genuinely ate her fill for the first time in her life without resorting to eating river rocks. Or her family's savings.

"So, um…" Hanako blushed. "This is perfectly legal?"

"Oh yes, very much, so," Mero smiled. "And as I recall, Japan is the birthplace of the harem anime, so this country is actually more-receptive to the idea of harems than the west; at least once Quirks began to proliferate in full," she amended. "And there are plenty of successful Heroes or businessmen out there with two or more women in their lives, so this case would hardly be unique beyond, well, my own involvement and his own infamy."

"I see… I see…" Yomi hummed thoughtfully. "So when you're in town, we'd be bumped down to his side hustle?"

"No! Of course not!" she protested heatedly, surprising them. "Takei-kun's love for you, nascent as it may be, isn't any lesser than my own feelings, but like I said, if I were to take him to live with me under the sea, that life would be very restrictive. Living like that, separating him from everyone and everything else he loves, it would slowly kill him deep down inside," she said as her finned ears drooped. "This arrangement is simply the one that will accommodate the most people, and I believe if love is honest, that it should be shared freely and willingly. As long as those in his life are on the same page and we're willing to exchange dialogue, I don't see why this arrangement can't work out."

"But the unspoken agreement is whenever you have time freed up, we don't raise a stink over scheduling conflicts?" Shizuru inquired.

"I mean… I would want to phrase it a little more eloquently than that… But yes," Mero admitted, tapping her index fingers together with a blush.

" . . . What made you first fall for him?" Hanako asked, Nobuko's interest piqued as well.

"Well, this might be a little contrived, but he was my knight in shining armor~" she blushed. "When Momo told me about the new friend she made, I wanted to appraise him for myself, and while the way I went about it was somewhat foolish," she shuddered as she remembered the dressing-down her mother gave her and all the lines she had to write, "because I did what I did the way I did, I was able to see his best quality. His heroic spirit and self-sacrifice."

"Well, he had a good role model," Kuromi hummed from the corner. "That Wild Tiger guy he never shuts up about… Honestly, he was more 'put-together' than the Heroes we have today. That he juggled being a single dad on top of his Hero work, shows that he didn't simply push aside everything else for 'the mission'. He wanted to help people, but he also fell in love, so he did the best he could. That's… kind of amazing, actually."

Guy positively screamed "Main Character", not helped by the fact that Takei knew him from his favorite anime pre-Isekai, but it was actually kind of refreshing that the main protagonist wasn't a huge commercial success in his own world when that was the most-measured metric.

"Though to be fair, that was only really an issue for those with secret identities," Shiori hummed. "Of course, having everyone know you're a Hero came with its own drama, so, you know. Apples and oranges."

"Takei-kun…" Hanako spoke up, gathering her nerves. "Maybe this is kind of cheesy, but hearing how it didn't matter to him that I was Quirkless… That honestly made me really happy~" she smiled. "I got to know more about him, he got to know about me, and… I want him in my life. And not just because the older I get, the more being Quirkless is going to hurt my, erm, prospects," she said turning away and cleaning her glasses.

"Not being able to stomach body horror was always going to be a deal-breaker, and that he's so-cool with stitching me back up whenever I go to pieces is a plus, too," Yomi spoke up. "And it isn't just that. Even though I can put myself back together again, he still put his life on the line for me because, if that Truck Villain had crushed my head, I'd have died for real. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. And he didn't just save my life; he made a miracle happen. He brought Bub-kun back!"

"Wait, you brought that thing with you?!" Kuromi squawked as the Undying Girl held up her black-and-white feline.

Of course, to be completely fair, the entire thing was written off as Takei simply finding a stray cat that happened to look exactly-like her deceased Bub-kun; because of course people would sooner believe that than Takei reverse-importing the little guy back from the Other World…

"Um…!" Shizuru spoke up, her face fading in and out of sight. "I… When I couldn't control my Quirk all that well and no-one could really see me… he did see me. He treated me like I was… there, and when my Quirk inverted on itself and I had my, ahem, wardrobe malfunction," she blushed, "he was there for me. And when those third-years tried to… tried to…"

Hanako put a hand on hers, helping the Vanishing Girl calm down.

"He's my Hero too, and even if I fall out of love with him someday, I want him to be a part of my life," she continued.

"I see. Those are all very lovely sentiments~" Mero smiled. "Papi, what about you?" she inquired, causing her father to sputter tea into his mustache.

"What are you weirdoes talking about?" the harpy-like heteromorph blinked with a tilt of her head. "Take-chan is Papi's Nii-nii, and Papi lover her onii-chan, and Nii-nii loves Papi the bestest, which means Papi is the best girl to love Aniki!"

"I mean… Nothing she said was technically wrong…" Hanako hummed while Kuroyama let out a relieved sigh off to the side since his daughter's words came from a place of familial love instead of outright romantic.

"Papa is being weird again…" Papi hummed as she looked at her father with a weirdly shrewd expression. "Is it because he lost to mama at 'adult wrestling' last night?"

*SPOOOOOT!*

"Momo-chan," Mero hummed while the man spat out his tea all over one of the maids, "would you like to share anything with the class?" the princess inquired sweetly.

"Um, not at present, no," Momo replied, her blush deepening.

"All in good time, then~" the mermaid princess said with a winning smile. "After all, if we both wind up marrying him, we really will become sisters; just like we fantasized about as little girls~"

She gushed that last part with webbed hands on her cheeks, Momo's blush going positively atomic, the heiress sputtering out denials in a very weak fashion as she refused to look anyone in the eye.

"Well, at least no-one sexually objectified him because of how good he apparently looks in that catsuit," Kuromi hummed aloud. "Then again, all of the Mon Squad look good from behind in their catsuits, so maybe that's just a given."

" . . . Heroics aside," Momo spoke up, coughing into her fist as she turned her attention to the track, "I'm glad I brought Takei here. Getting to see him genuinely relax like this, despite the burdens he places on himself… It's quite rewarding."

"This is his best self, I think," Mero hummed with a smile as she watched Takei make the nearby curve in a street race-worthy drift. There was a beaming smile on his face as he whooped and hollered like a boy his age should, all the others left in the dust for a lack of the same daring it took to drift into the turns.

"Yeah, he's usually quite dour," Shiori added.

"He has the same resting bitch face as our homeroom teacher, now that I think about it," Kuromi added.

"Although that may be because Author-sama is finally getting a Cover Image made."

-is what Shiori was smart-enough not to say, since there was a time and place to get Meta, and this, was not that time.

"Even though we aren't ready for the, er, mature side of things," Momo spoke up, "I still think having a groundwork for this… 'sisterhood', would benefit you all in the long run."

"Which reminds me, what are Mei-chan's feelings toward him?" Mero inquired.

"Um, I think she finds his brain and his working hands in tandem his most-attractive quality," Momo answered, thinking back to the amazing afternoons she spent in the girl's 'underground lab'. "At least when he uses his 'Intuitive Mechanics' to make something truly mind-blowing," she said thinking back to his hockey puck-sized Fusion Reactor. "Other than that, she might not care for the physical side of a relationship until she's much older, or never at all but only care about the emotional side of things. In the same way my wealth isolated me, her intellect isolated her."

"Hey, speaking of which, where is that little gremlin?" Kuromi asked before a *BOOM!* went off in the go-kart garage.

"IIIII CAAAAAN FIIIIIX THIIIIIS!" Mei cried as the go-kart whose engine she'd modified carried her wildly around the track at half-again the speed like something from an old cartoon.

"HAAAATSUUUUUMEEEEE!" Takei howled as he angled his go-kart on an intercept, leapt from his mount to hers, scooped the girl into his arms, and leapt into the water feature back-first before the two go-karts could crash into the barrier.

"Oh dear!" Momo gasped as the two came up for air.

"At least there wasn't a dinosaur this time," Hanako hummed as Takei dragged Mei to the shore.

"Or a truck," Yomi added as Takei sat the girl down in Seiza.

"Or a giant frog," Shizuru amended as Takei began chopping her atop the head.

"At least this is about as bad as it'll get today," Kuromi hummed as the salmon-haired girl yelped-

"H-Hey! Watch the merchandise, I'm still using that!"

"I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT!" he said jabbing a finger at the two wrecked go-karts. "NOW APOLOGIZE!"

"I'm sorry, go-kart-kuns!"

"NOT EVEN REMOTELY WHAT I MEANT!"

"At least it comes from a place of love," Mero hummed amusedly. "Speaking of which… I trust that certain someones will exercise some measure of discretion regarding the contents of this summit?" she then said in a cool imperial tone, turning her attention toward Chitose who sat awkwardly off to the side among the hired help.

"I'm off the clock. I know when to keep my mouth shut," the blue-skinned woman said holding up her empty hands.

And not just because every piece of recording equipment on her person was declared and ceded-over at the gate. Takehiko Tokei was a positive gold mine of material for Shoowaysha's articles, both in the immediate and far-off future, and a relationship like that was something you nurtured delicately over time; like a rare tulip that only bloomed once in a lifetime.

That, and, if she were caught planting bugs around the estate, it could be back-traced to the MLA. And the last thing she wanted to do before getting the boy (who was most-definitely-not-her-muse) on board with Re-Destro's ideals, was look "shady as hell".

"Excellent, excellent," Mero smiled a sweetly, sweet smile that made Chitose sweat a little bit as her nearby bodyguards adjusted their grips on their bidents, the killer whale heteromorphs a stark contrast to the fish-butlers shedding tears off to the side about their beloved princess 'growing up' in relation to finding herself a worthwhile suitor.

Of course, it probably helped that Mero could pick her own suitor, instead of having that decision made for her.

*AHA*

After Takei got the proper apologies out of Hatsume, the track was cleared, and the girls got to take a turn with the go-karts.

Mei for her part was more-interested in fixing up what she'd broken, less because she'd been the cause of their destruction and more because, she got to work in an auto garage filled with professional tools and equipment. She was still under adult supervision the entire time so the two go-karts wouldn't be reconfigured into something completely uncontrollable, but the salmon-haired girl was as happy as a clam before it was shucked from its shell and eaten raw with a splash of lemon.

As for the rest of the girls, opposed to the boys, their conduct was a deal less raucous. If anything, the venue evolved into an extension of what they were doing before, because that seemed to be more-interesting.

"So, Shiori, Kuromi, what made you fall for Takei-kun?" Mero asked driving a custom-made go-cart, on account of having literal 'sea legs' in the form of her pelvic fins.

"Oh, I'm not into him like that," the 2D Girl waved off. "It's only 2D boys for me."

"Ah, I see," the mermaid princess hummed, idly wondering if the girl's Quirk had anything to do with her leaning.

"But Kuromi-chan's kokoro goes 'doki-doki' because he makes her feel like a main heroine in a shoujou manga~"

"N-N-No he does not!" the Shadow Girl sputtered incredulously at her friend. "Can't a guy and a girl be just be friends?!"

"Not according to shoujou manga~"

Kuromi's face went red not out of embarrassment, but in frustrated indignation because they'd had this talk before. Every time she tried to argue against life being like it were portrayed in this or that genre, the 2D Girl would always infuriatingly point out their Source Material. The fact that they themselves were real in their own world, but "real, fictional people" to those observing them from higher dimensional planes, and thus their lives were subject to quote/unquote "genre norms", was just part and parcel for the cosmic nihilism that came with being able to perceive the Fourth Wall...

"Well even if you're just friends," Mero cut in before things could escalate with an indignant pre-teen girl behind the wheel of a high-performance recreational motor vehicle, "Takei-kun's life is still enriched to have you as a part of it. As is mine."

"Hey, dial back the royal aura a bit, you're blinding me over here!" Kuromi recoiled at the sight of Mero's metaphorical (in-world: literal) brilliance.

"That would've been more-impactful in a visual medium," Shiori hummed, her words lost to the purring of battery-powered engines.

*AHA*

The next stop on everyone's tour of the Yaoyorozu Estate/Neptunian Embassy was the in-house ice cream parlor.

Aforementioned ice cream was made in-house with the finest ingredients, with special blends being bought from trusted vendors, and while some might find an entire parlor a bit excessive in a familial residence, Momo's, and the Yaoyorozu bloodone's Quirks as a whole being largely reliant on caloric energy, actually helped the arrangement make much more sense.

When not being angled toward Quirk Reinforcement, it also served as a meeting point for visiting guests, business partners, dignitaries, and of course, family. The staff were also allowed to partake on their breaks because the Yaoyorozus treated their staff like "family" instead of servants, which of course helped foster such loyalty. And that loyalty in of itself was its own form of interior protection from those without who'd wish to do the Yaoyorozu harm.

Also, since the Yaoyorozu family couldn't just go out and do "stuff" without massive amounts of preparation, doubly-so in a world filled with meta-human abilities and reduced impulse control, having so many in-house accommodations started to make more sense to Takei.

Of course, the deeper socioeconomical ramifications of this were pushed to the back of his mind as he perused an excess to fifty different flavors.

"Cappuchino… Jamocha almond fudge... Cookies and cold brew… Tiramisu…"

"I think I'll go with that last one!"

"Mei, you are the last person who needs more stimulation," Takei chastised as he waved the server back. "Also, you're still on the hook for those go-karts."

"Momo and I can fix them! You know, for training!"

"That is not the point!" Takei said lightly chopping her on the head. "If something happens to that beautiful mind of yours, you'll wind up as braindead as the rest of us. Is that what you want? Well, is it?"

"Nooooooo…" Mei admitted, her dreadlocks drooping.

" . . . Good girl," the cat-eared blond sighed as he rubbed her head, the barest dusting of pink on her cheeks. "Come on. I'll get you an ice cream."

"You do know this is all Momo's, right?"

"I do; I was expressing a sentiment," he deadpanned.

*AHA*

After that was the in-house sushi café…

"I am both fascinated and disgusted at the same time," I said watching Tabe toss back sushi after sushi into her beartrap maw. "You sure know how to pick 'em; you damn weirdo."

"Like I keep telling you, I'm not into vore!" Kageto protested with a red face.

"You'll catch on eventually," I shrugged, patting his shoulder. "And hey, at least you can actually heal when she takes a bite out of you."

"I'M NOT INTO VOOORE!"

"As long as it's between two consenting adults, it's not a crime," Kuromi chuckled darkly.

*AHA*

Then there was the indoor water park…

"What's that smell?" Hanako blinked after everyone got into their new swimsuits, courtesy of the Yaoyorozu's own reserves.

Everyone save Shizuru, who was already in her own wetsuit.

"Ozone," Momo answered. "Mero-chan doesn't do well in chlorinated water," she said eyeing the infinity pool that aforementioned princess and Takei were floating down hand in hand.

"Awwww, that's nice~" Oga cooed.

Elsewhile…

"Takei-kun."

"Hai?"

"The girls in your life. How do you feel about them?"

"You'll have to be a lot more specific."

"The ones in your age bracket," she replied without a missed beat, used to his laconic wit.

"Okay, that one I can answer," he nodded. "Shiori and Kuromi, we just enjoy old manga and meta jokes. I don't think either of them are into me, into me, and I'm not into them. That could change, but right now we're perfectly comfortable being 'just friends'. That said, I'd still put my neck out for them."

"And Yomi?"

"Well… she's like a cuter, younger Zombina," he began. "Also, she stole my first kiss while I was in that coma."

Off to the side, Momo spit-took her drink while Yomi whistled awkwardly to the side.

"I see. That's… interesting," the mermaid princess returned, slightly strained.

Then again, that little tidbit did sound pretty bad out of context.

"Shiori and Kuromi saw it in an old manga where someone in a coma needed to wake up, and Yomi took it way too seriously," Takei admitted with a blush. "Not that I was in much of a position to protest until we were already nose-to-nose."

"Hm. I'll need to have a word with her about that," Mero hummed, schooling her features. "Hanako-chan is cute~"

"She really is. And it grinds my gears that people give her flak for not having a 'beneficial genetic defect'," Takei said as his lighthearted expression soured.

"When you become a famous Hero someday," she said squeezing his hand, "maybe you'll be able to change that."

"I doubt it. That lingering grudge has festered for so long, I doubt it'll end until there just… aren't any Quirkless people left in the world."

"Lingering grudge?" Mero blinked, a certain reporter perking her ears off to the side as she rocked a new yellow bikini.

"I literally figured this out a minute in," Takei said as his face entered its resting state, not wanting to show Mero how he was really feeling. "When NEXT were in the minority, they held onto the hate they felt for all the non-metas that persecuted them, and they kept passing it on, parent to child, generation after generation, until the shoe was on the other foot and it was the NEXT in the majority. That lingering grudge has been so prevalent in the human subconscious, that even now it feels completely normal to act this way to living, breathing people for being 'born different'. And I think the only way this lingering grudge will ever come to an end is if all the Quirkless bloodlines are bred out of existence, because there's no way everyone will just unshackle themselves from that hate and just… let go…" he said as he gave her hand a squeeze. "Like a canister of nerve gas in a time capsule, that old wound has been festering for too long to actually do anything about."

"That… Wow, I never thought about it, but when you say it out loud…" Mero trailed off, her eyes wide because what he said had made so much sense.

"I guess at my next interview I could call everyone out on it… but they might brush me off because I'm a kid even though it's so simple," he sighed.

"I… I heard about what happened to Shizuru…" she said trying to change tack from such a downer topic, only to immediately realize it was so much worse.

"Bad day…" Takei nodded. "If they had flashy Quirks and we were closer to a Hero Academy, there's no telling what they'd be allowed to get away with," he growled, thankful that Kuroko had gotten through her schooling relatively unscathed.

Then again, who would ever admit to getting their shit pushed in by a Quirkless waif of a girl?

"I'm hoping for a pick-me-up, so tell me… What are Hero Academies like under the sea?" he went on to ask.

"Well… Since everyone pretty much uses their Quirks all the time as long as we don't hurt anyone or break anything, we're a lot less restrictive on the subject, so honestly, it's closer to a police academy than Hero Academies on the surface are," Mero answered after thinking on it for a moment. "Think of a trade school, but we're almost exclusively dealing with maritime offenses or preventing naval collisions."

"Well, I mean… Do you know how much extra effort it'd take for a land-walker to go out into the sea and do what you sea-dwellers can do like walking through an open field?" Takei asked in turn. "Really, I'm just glad someone was smart-enough to find a use for all that real estate, or I'd have lost all faith in humanity."

"To be fair, we don't use all the seas, and we do have preferences over where we do or more importantly, don't, want to live," Mero added. Tropical fish heteromorphs wanted to live in the tropics, those with subcutaneous fat were more comfortable out in the cold, etc., etc. "But I certainly agree that our superhuman sub-culture is a lot less toxic than on the surface."

When you have people outright fleeing the surface because of the Quirks they were born with, land-walkers tended to be painted in a very unflattering light.

"I mean, putting meta-humans without gills aside, Quirkless people tend not to last too long outside an airlock."

"Hmmm. It's more like if we treat them differently, it's out of pity due to inconvenience instead of spite," Mero hummed nodding her head to the sides. "We try to write books about it, invite people to come down and join us, but people are either too-scared to leave the surface, want to stay like they have something to prove, or think it's all propaganda."

"Well, people certainly didn't get any smarter the last two-hundred years," Takei sighed as they completed another lap in the infinity pool. "The only thing that's really changed is the prefixes and suffixes before-and-after the names of our phones."

"Well, that's a little hyperbolic, but you aren't wrong," Mero nodded. "Say, what do you think about the girls above your age bracket~?"

Takei raised a finger like he were about to speak up, held it there for a few seconds as she stared mischievously at him, and then brought his fingers to his lips.

The shrill whistle he let out summoned Gible to his side from where the others were pampering him, the Land Shark Pokémon ferrying him back to dry land as soon as they floated past Mero's wheelchair.

Not that the princess couldn't out-swim the flow of the infinity pool and catch up to him, because she definitely could, but it was the principle of the thing.

*AHA*

After everyone had their fill of the surfing wave pool, water slides, and so-on, Momo took them to the in-house movie theater.

Of course, having only rows of chairs would've been too ordinary. This theater was equipped with fully reclining leather seats with collapsible tables and digital menus built into the two-seater booths so you could order whatever the estate had to offer. There were only a couple dozen seats compared to the hundreds that "some people" had, but the tradeoff for luxury and comfort from volume was a welcomed choice.

Especially since, once-again, someone as-rich as Momo couldn't just "go out" and do stuff like normal people without moving tons of bodyguards around.

"This is… by far… the fanciest movie theater I've ever seen," Takei said reaching over and grabbing one of Mei's dreadlocks so she wouldn't go off to tinker with something expensive.

"Our family has been blessed with good architects and dedicated workers," Momo smiled as attendants began to take everyone's orders. "By the way, I think you'll be quite pleased with the day's selection," she said handing him a tablet. "Shiori and Kuromi tell me you're into very old movies that are hard to find nowadays, and my family too has been a fan of classic cinema. I think you'll find that our library is quite extensive."

Takei looking down at the tablet had his jaw fall, the implement almost slipping from his fingers before he rushed forward and hugged her.

"Thank you. This... This means a lot," he smiled, the girl exploding into a blush as she hugged him back.

"Y-You're welcome," the heiress blushed, trying to ignore the knowing smile Mero was sending her way.

"So what are we watching?" Kaori asked as her twin perused the menu.

*~Ghost Busters~*

"Whoa… Not a Mutant Quirk in sight?" Togami blinked in the opening minutes.

"So weird…" Naruki hummed, his conjoined twin nodding independently.

"Well, get used to it. A lot of 20th century movies are gonna be like that," I deadpanned.

*Later…*

"Huh. You know, you could probably get the same effect with your Quirk," Hanako hummed Shizuru's way once the titular Ghostbusters encountered the 'ghost librarian'.

"I mean, maybe for a haunted house," Shizuru mused. "OH! OOOH! Like maybe for the cultural festival!" the Vanishing Girl gushed eagerly at the thought of it.

"I'd pay yen for a scare like that," I nodded right before the three 'scientists' tried to 'get her', most everyone squealing in fright as the ghost librarian turned into something from a horror movie.

*Later…*

"Whoa, how do you think they did that with the eggs?" Tetsutetsu blinked as Dana's eggs leapt out from their carton and onto the counter, the sizzling sound causing a few of the audience to get hungry.

"Maybe a Quirk?" Itsuka blinked. "No, wait, those didn't exist yet… How did they do that?"

"Practical effects. Back before Quirks took over, people had to get real creative to make movies interesting," I mused, thinking back to how many of the behind-the-scenes content for modern movies I watched boiled down to people using their Quirks in creative ways that, while not 'Hero-worthy', were impressive in their own right, either from an intellectual level or a technical one.

*Later…*

"Papa, what was that man doing under the lady's desk?" Papi asked innocently as Egon came up from under the bespectacled secretary's desk.

"Uhhhhh…" Kuroyama hummed awkwardly, looking desperately my way.

"The fuck do you want me to say?"

-I mouthed back at him.

"Um… Cleaning. He was cleaning."

"Oh, you mean like when mama visits you at the office?" Papi blurted out, Kuroyama wanting to crawl into a hole and die as those who could read behind the lines all looked at him.

*Later…*

"We got oooone!" Janine cried out after that legendary phone call, the spectators tittering eagerly as the Ghostbusters swung into action astride the Ecto-1.

Off to the side, Mero saw the excited gleam in Takei's eye, his smile utterly infectious.

"I like the look of those jumpsuits," Mei hummed approvingly, taking out a pen and a notepad as she sketched out their equipment. "Wait, did he say Nuclear Accelerator?"

"Yes. Yes he did~" Takei grinned as they had their byplay in the elevator.

"Fascinating…" Mei hummed as she scribbled further.

*Later…*

"WHOA!" Mei gasped as Stantz and Spengler incinerated a room service cart. "I gotta make me some'a those!"

"Hah, good one," Naruki hummed, only for the girl to continue scribbling. "She is joking… right?"

" . . . "

"Right?"

"Best not to think about it," I replied.

*Later…*

"Ugh, how vulgar…" Momo groaned as Slimer gorged himself on the unoccupied room service cart.

"Trust me, Slimer's one of the nice ghosts," I hummed aloud.

"Oh gross, he got slimed!" Nobuko cried a couple minutes later as Venkman found himself covered in slime.

"I wonder what it tastes like…" Tabe hummed curiously with a finger to her chin.

"Not good, trust me on this," I shuddered, thinking back to when I got slimed by a giant frog.

*Later…*

"Ooh~ Catchy~" Mei hummed eagerly as a montage of the Ghostbusters' exploits played alongside their iconic song.

"Hm, quite, very upbeat," Momo hummed appreciatively. "Better than most Hero themes, actually."

"Papa, why is that ghost lady taking off his belt?" Papi asked innocently as Stantz's belt began to visibly unbuckle itself.

"Uhhhhh… To help him into his pajamas!" the police chief stammered out as the man's eyes crossed and his head fell back.

"Heh, that's one way of putting it~" Sorahiko chuckled knowingly.

"Ojii-san…" I groaned.

*Later…*

"Hey, so why's that creeper carrying horse tranquilizer on him?" Mei asked after Venkman dosed Dana with '300CCs of Thorazine'.

"Venkman didn't literally give her 300CCs of Thorazine. He just gave her something from her medicine cabinet," I hummed.

"Besides, 300CCs of Thorazine would probably kill her," Momo nodded, having studied medication in case she had to use her Quirk to make some in an emergency.

"Ohhhhhh."

*Later…*

"Wait, I'm confused. Can they not see the dog attacking him?" Itsuka asked as everyone in the restaurant returned to their meals, all while Louis was screaming in the literal background.

"Oh, they can, but they're New Yorkers," I answered.

"Ohhhhhhh," everyone nodded.

"It's because they don't care," Papi nodded unashamed, her father wilting at how-quickly she figured that out.

*Later…*

"Umaiiii…~" Tabe drooled around her beartrap lips as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man appeared to destroy all of mankind.

"I'd pay money to see that fight," Nobuko giggled.

"Don't tempt fate. Reality's practically falling apart around us and the other day Takei had to throw hands with a fake dinosaur," Kuromi hummed laconically.

"Wait, how do you fake a dinosaur?" Kageto blinked as he scratched his neck.

"Momo has that one too, and if there's time, I'll show you," I grinned excitedly.

*AHA*

And show off, Takei did, because even though Ghostbusters was an antique from more than 200 years ago, compared to modern cinema where last-minute (or even constant) Quirk usage was an ingrained part in the movie landscape, for almost every movie in literally every genre, compared to movies of the 1990s where that wasn't an option, Takei had opened his friend's eyes to the wonders of the bygone era of film. Back before most movies became half-baked clones of some other movie.

Of course, Takei would never be able to mount any sort of "uprising" against modern cinema, nor did he have the political will to do so, but he'd definitely made it easier to show off older materials to his friends and not get waved off as the weird kid who liked "really old movies".

*~Jurassic Park~*

"Ohhhhhh… So that's how you 'fake a dinosaur'," Kageto hummed as the cloning lab came into view.

"Mmhm," I hummed. "The CGI may've aged like milk instead of wine, but the animatronics were the best of their era. Not to mention, this was the best CGI at the time, and it only got better because of this movie."

"I think I overheard a film student going on about this movie at Todai…" Mei hummed, less-interested in the then-modern fictional wonders of cloning and gene manipulation. "But still, if Ghostbusters was such a goldmine for new baby ideas, I wonder what else is down there…~"

"Just don't create your own Skynet, and I think humankind will survive…" I deadpanned.

"Part of me is afraid you aren't joking," Naruki hummed aloud, "but I also don't know what 'Skynet' is."

*Later…*

"Hah, I could take that thing!" Tetsutetsu whooped as the raptors stalked about.

"Yeah, you could, but this is back when meta-abilities were still fictional," Itsuka hummed, quick on the uptake. "Back then, everyone without powers had to make do."

"Humans 'made do' for literally thousands of years. Meta-abilities are still very young. Hell, America is older than meta-abilities," I deadpanned.

"And Neptunia is actually younger than America by far," Mero admitted, wondering if the global dismissal of her nation is what America went through; at least once you separated the whole stigma of being populated by 'fish people'.

"If you aren't allowed to use your superpowers at all, how are you any better than a Quirkless person?" Papi inquired curiously.

The irony itself was she got special exemptions on part of being the police commissioner's daughter, and being neurologically atypical.

"People can be very petty," her father hummed, he himself having a very minor Quirk; so minor in fact that he didn't feel the need to lord it above his Quirkless classmates, back when being Quirkless was more-common.

*Later…*

"Huh. You know, this CGI isn't half bad…" Hanako hummed as everyone ran from the T-Rex. "It's not great, but it is over 200 years old."

"CGI tech of the present day would be called 'Deep Fake-grade' back then," Kuromi hummed.

"Makes me wonder what other hidden gems there are out there," Shizuru hummed thoughtfully.

*AHA*

Of course, movie time had to come to an end eventually. Movie food was all well and good, but sometimes you just had to sit down and have a real, proper meal.

Said meal took place in a dining room that may as well have been a full-on ballroom complete with high ceilings, chandeliers, and a long table capable of holding dozens of place settings, Momo and Mero sitting at the head of the table with Takei's setting on the Neptunian princess' left, everyone else scattered about in small groups down the line.

The spread may as well have been a buffet, given the size of Takei's entourage, but speaking of which-

"I wonder what Takei-kun is making…" Mero hummed thoughtfully as she stared at the empty seat, the pre-teen having departed for the kitchen under Flounnder's watchful eye. "Wakatsuki, Taiyo, do you know?"

"No, we don't. He'd already sourced what was in that huge cooler by the time we got back from Huis Ten Bosch," the two-headed teen answered.

"Well, I'm sure Flounnder will adequately screen whatever it is he's making," Momo hummed, curious what her new friend was preparing. "Maybe he's making something special for you?" she offered, causing Mero to blush prettily.

As for Mei…

*Omnomnomnom*

Completely unromantic…

"Was all this really necessary?" Takei asked his chaperone as he came into the ballroom pushing a food cart a short while later, his casual street clothes changed out to the crisp, white, size-appropriate attire of a professional chef.

It wasn't child-sized; it was just borrowed from one of the Yaoyorozu's smaller staff members.

"Meroune-ohimesama, Momo-ojousama," Takei greeted formally on approach, Flounnder nodding his body approvingly behind him. "I'm sure you've probably had far better, but I still wanted to make you a little something to show how much you mean to me while you're both here," he said lifting the silver cloches. "For your culinary enjoyment," he presented dramatically, and only slightly-mockingly in Flounnder and Sebasstian's direction, "American catfish & chips, catfish & soy pulp fish steaks, salt-grilled catfish, and foil-grilled catfish, all locally sourced from Asaka-shi late yesterday evening."

What was left unsaid was he used his "Dragon Form", which didn't need sleep at the same intervals his "Base Form" did.

"Oh my, that's a lot of fish!" Mero gasped. "But I thought American catfish had been expunged from the Japanese ecosystem," she hummed confusedly.

"They were, but some ja… uncouth lout," he amended, "keeps seeding the rivers with them. And sure, they're delicious when they're made right and basically open game year-round, but still though…"

"Well I think they smell lovely," Mero nodded as Takei came over with the serving tongs. "It's nice to see that you're doing your part."

"Well, you know… Leaving free fish is like leaving money on the table," he shrugged.

"You know, I would be more than willing to pay out the money you lost out on," Momo offered, the casualness of the statement causing the others to sputter since she was talking about five million like it were nothing.

"Momo, if you sully my efforts with a handout, I'll never speak to you again," the boy said firmly, causing her to reel back. "It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, I really do, but if I let you hand out that sort of money the one time, where do I draw the line? Where do you draw the line? How would I be any different than the hangers-on whose friendship you basically bought?"

"I, I see…" Momo nodded after ruminating on it. "I apologize for stepping over that bound. I should've realized that that kind of money… means something different to you than it does to me," she admitted with a blush on her face.

"We might just teach you some common sense yet," Takei chuckled. "Now, let's eat!"

*AHA*

The Yaoyorozu Estate was so expansive, it would be impossible to thoroughly explore everything the grounds had to offer in a single day. Not without sucking all the fun out of it, at least.

Of course, the sheer size of the visiting group also complicated matters, as did the fact that while Momo was Takei's friend, everyone else was only transitively her friend apart from Meroune and Mei.

So with that in mind, Takei's posse finally decided to branch out and do their own things for a time. Shiori and Usui decided to explore the expansive collection of preserved manga and light novels in the Yaoyorozu Estate library, Kageto took Tabe on a walking tour of the various "eateries", Tomu and Nobuko explored the gardens, Itsuka dragged Tetsutetsu along to the traditionally-built dojo that Yaoyorozu used for generations to keep their bodies as fit as their minds, Papi went off flying without her father having to cover for her, Naruki -and Kaori- and Togami went off to see the menagerie the Yaoyorozu kept exotic "rescue animals" in, while Takei hung out with the rest of the girls; Oga, Sorahiko, and Chitose chaperoned as they more-casually hung out. Not quite romantically, but not not romantically.

Though things had gotten spelled out in impossible-to-misinterpret Japanese, and Mero had even showed off the actual fine print for the bylaws concerning what a Royal Consort was and was not allowed to do, there was still going to be an adjustment period to the whole affair.

Shiori and Kuromi endlessly ribbing him about being a "Harem Protag-kun" definitely didn't really help matters either…

"And hey, as far as arm candy goes, I suppose we can do worse~" the 2D Girl grinned drawing Kuromi in for a one-armed hug.

"S-Speak for yourself," the Shadow Girl said with a flat stare as she extricated herself.

"Still, this is a pretty swanky living room," Yomi hummed as she and the others drank in a family-oriented sitting room, the interior wall dominated by a huge television screen a quarter of the size of a billboard.

"Who even needs a television that big…?" Hanako goggled, the thing bigger than her room at Café Strega.

"Allegedly, it was a gift from some tech company the Yaoyorozu Corporation was collaborating with," Momo answered, pointing out the small plaque off to the side, like something you'd find in a museum.

"I hope it has split-screen…" Takei hummed, feeling like he'd have to crane his neck if the thing didn't.

"So, um…" Hanako spoke up. "About what Mero-chan and you discussed… Your thoughts?"

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

"I don't not want to do it-"

"That's a double-negative," Kuromi chimed in.

"Point is…! I never thought I'd be in this sort of situation. Ever. But if you're all really alright with this…" he said scratching at his ear. "Well, let's see if we can still stand one another after we graduate middle school, and we'll go on from there-"

"YES!" Shizuru whooped, only to immediately hide her head with her Quirk when Takei's eyes fell on her outburst.

" . . . Takei-kun," Momo spoke up. "I… I really appreciate your friendship. I don't think I've told you that enough."

"Where's this coming from?"

"It's just… meeting you and Mei, just… hanging out… I realize how foolish I was to treat what I had with my hangers-on at Miyukiyama like actual friendship," the heiress said somberly. "Of course, they were none too pleased when I started screening them and everyone came up short."

"And you didn't get hell over that?" Yomi asked.

"I was actually lauded quite a lot by those who knew my old in-group were only my 'friends' for my money," Momo answered. "Of course, some of the boys were none too pleased, but Veronica and the rest of the Flora Maids were nearby to stop things from escalating."

"They let you bring maids to school?" Takei blinked.

"More like 'armed security and protection service providers' dressed like maids," Momo returned. "Villains are more-likely to expose themselves to 'maids' than they are to bodyguards."

"That's awfully cavalier," Yomi hummed. "And I take my own head off as a gag."

"I'm not helpless either you know," she said puffing up her cheeks, using her Quirk to conjure up a metal bo staff from her forearm. "I actually intend to go to Yuuei, become a Professional Hero."

"Hey, Takei does too!" Hanako grinned.

"Oh, that's right, your grandfather taught there," Mero hummed. "Did you teach anyone famous?" she asked to the side of the room where their chaperones stood.

"Eh, I taught a lot of upstarts in my day. Kinda hard to remember them all," Sorahiko waved off dismissively.

"Really? You didn't even teach All Might?" Mero asked.

"I was only there for one year," the Jet Hero waved off.

"Oh?" Momo blinked. "Why only a single year?"

" . . . It was a favor to an old friend," the old man said somberly, making it obvious to just about anyone who could read social cues.

Which of course meant Hatsume Mei was inclined to ask-

"Who was this friend?"

-but didn't get to because Takei clamped a hand over her mouth, which she still spoke into.

"So!" Sorahiko said clapping his hands together. "How 'bout we boot up this kaiju of a television of yours and stream something?"

*AHA*

The girls and I -it felt too soon to call them "my girls"- channel surfed for a good while until we settled on a wacky prank show. Anything involving a faux-Villain was pretty low-brow, but it was pretty fun to watch people roll all over themselves in their attempts to flee.

Guess some things don't change, even after 200 years.

Of course, it wasn't always the butt of the joke fleeing. Sometimes the victim would lash out with a Quirk of their own; sometimes complete garbage like turning your arms into pool noodles, but some actually hit back pretty hard from people you'd never expect to have strong Quirks.

I assumed there was hazard pay for that sort of thing, but I'd have also thought that mindlessly provoking people with legit superpowers, of any sort, would've fallen out of fashion for something as transient as a cheap laugh.

Still, it was quite nice to just sit back, listen to some pretty girls laugh at the TV, and not have to worry about some random Villain. Honestly, saving Mei from smearing herself on the asphalt and pulling us out of a water feature was the worst of it.

"Takei-kun, good news!"

"Hm?" I blinked as Chitose came up to me.

"I have the preliminary designs for your new merch. All I need left is your preferred variant, and then we can move forward with the paperwork," she said holding up her tablet, showing a number of T-Shirt designs, each one digitally embossed with my little tirade from this morning in different fonts over different colored backdrops, in both English and Japanese, either on the same shirt or separately. All of them had my full name and today's date at the bottom too, as though I'd said something deeply profound.

For a world that'd become as morally-bankrupt and intellectually backward as this one, I supposed it made sense it was just that easy to vomit awe-inspiring quotes out toward the masses.

"Give Kuroko a call, let her and the Mon Squad take a look," I answered.

"Okey-dokey!" she grinned before skipping off.

"So…" Hanako hummed as she sidled over to me. "You ready for school, come Monday?"

"Oh kami, I forgot all about that…" I groaned as I held my face. "School's gonna be such a bitch after Painted-On Spandex Man made such a spectacle of that whole thing."

"Pfffft!" Sorahiko sputtered into his hands, chuckling loudly at my nickname for the No.1 Hero.

"Well, that's the price for being a local celebrity," Kuromi hummed. "You did make yourself pretty eye catching with that Mon Squad uniform."

"Says the girl who turned into a horror movie monster and threw a guy into the harbor."

"Eh, I'm sure they'll keep me off-camera like in a horror film," the Shadow Girl shrugged.

"Hey, hey, Take-chan."

"What is it, Mei?"

"Wanna see my lab?"

"I've seen it already."

"Not after the remodel~" the salmonette grinned eagerly.

"Mei, that was meant to be a surprise!" Momo cried, aghast.

"It was? I mean, oh crap, it was," the inventor girl blinked. "Um… You heard nothing!" she cried before running from the room with a cry of- "Smoke bomb!" -and no actual smoke bomb.

" . . . You've got weird friends," Shiori hummed.

"Pot, meet kettle."

*AHA*

"Hoshiguma-san."

"Please, call me Oga."

"Oga," Kuroyama replied. "What's your take on… well… that?" he asked gesturing at Takei and all the girls surrounding him.

"I think it's really sweet in a sadly depressing sort of way…" the ogress replied. "Yomi, Hanako, Shizuru… each of their love stories has such a bittersweet beginning to it. Takei-kun almost lost his life saving Mero from a Villain. That definitely isn't the sort of thing you'd see in your typical shoujou ai."

"But what do you make of their whole arrangement?" the police chief repeated.

"I mean… They talked it out, so that's a start," Oga hummed as she raked her fingers through her hair. "I'm not sure if it'll last through middle school, or even high school. But life is short, and there's never going to be 'a perfect time'. You have to make your own time, or your whole life can pass you by in the blink of an eye. Doubly-so for Pro Heroes. If you're a Hero, you need a stay-at-home wife to raise your kid for you. If you're a Heroine, you either have to be willing to retire full-time, or be willing to put your kid on the back burner after getting off maternity leave. And if you rule out kids altogether, you still have to decide when enough 'is enough'."

"I see…" the man replied as he stroked his mustache. "Sorahiko-san, what about you?"

"A little earlier than I would've liked, but life is short," the Jet Hero answered. "I've seen scads and scads of people dance around one another, wait until 'next time', only for that time to be their 'last time'. And every time, it was some Villain, or some punk with a gun. Because real life doesn't 'wait'. You just have to make do with the cards you're given."

"I guess…" Kuroyama hummed as he scratched at his beard, remembering every time where Takehiko would have to save himself and/or someone else from some monster or some random Villain. If the danger a police officer faced was rough on their spouse, it had to be way worse for the partner of a Pro Hero. "At least Papi isn't trying to grow up too fast."

"Speaking of, where is she?"

"She's right there next to-" he said before failing to spot that familiar mop of blue hair. "I'll be right back."

A moment later he was outside, trying to spot a blue wingspan among the wild blue yonder.

*AHA*

Of course, like all good things, our day out at the Yaoyorozu Estate eventually came to an end.

It'd have hardly been any sort of "trouble" for us to be put up for the night, but we had school tomorrow, so I respectfully declined Momo's sincere, if not somewhat misplaced, invitation.

For Mero, it was also time for her to depart, but in a longer basis. There weren't any health concerns as long as she could generate the light "mucous" that helped her retain moisture, it was simply a matter of it being safer for her back home where the full weight of Neptunia's military might could be brought to bear in an instant and without reprisal in the event someone was fool enough to attack royalty.

Her actions at Huis Ten Bosch were sure to have gotten her in trouble with her mother, what with putting herself in danger explicitly so her attaché was forced to follow along; but the smile on her face as I lifted her into her motorcade was sincere. She'd accomplished what she'd set forth to do this day, and that was something she intended to take with her back to Neptunia.

"Call me when you make it home?"

"Oh my, are you missing me already~?" Mero beamed, her smile hidden behind webbed fingers.

"I just… I want to do right by you," I blushed; something she found quite amusing atop my resting face. "I owe it to you to be a good… consort…" I said rolling the word off my tongue, grappling with the thoughts it provoked, "but I don't know how, so I'm just playing it by ear."

"And what big ears you have~" she cooed, reaching up to stroke them, the blood vessels in my face further dilating.

"I mean it. I really want to do right by you, by your feelings, but I'm just not sure how…"

"Well, I think you're off to a good start," Mero smiled, Sebasstian making a- "He-hem." -sound off to the side.

"Hey, do you mind? The crown princess and her royal consort are trying to have a moment here," I chastised, the fish butler huffing while Mero giggled prettily. "Mero, I don't have the slightest clue how to be a royal consort, let alone a good one… but whether it's in the real world or GGO, I'll try to make time for you. Alright?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude… but maybe every once in a while, I'd like to hear your voice," she smiled.

" . . . "

I embraced her because it felt like the most-natural thing to do. And Mero almost immediately reciprocated, so I must've been doing something right.

There wasn't anything overtly sexual about the embrace, but I felt the stirrings of… something, while another part of me wondered just how-awkward puberty would be for a Human/Lombax hybrid.

Probably as-awkward as anyone else whose Mutant-Type Quirk made them a composite animal, something fantastical, or something from outright science fiction.

"This isn't 'goodbye'. This is just… 'until next time'," Mero nodded as she separated herself from me, our fingertips lingering before I stepped back and Sebasstian closed the door behind her.

"There she goes," Momo spoke to me once the princess' motorcade was out of sight.

"Yes…" I replied, hoping I didn't look too goofy as I looked down at my own hand and the lingering warmth on my fingertips, glistening ever-so-slightly with moisture-retaining mucous.

At least it wasn't as bad as the aftermath of the Eel Lotion Massage that Torino had gotten at the resort a while back.

"Um, about what she said earlier… About the two of us becoming sisters-"

"Kids say all sorts of weird stuff," I said waving my hands down. "I won't make it weird if you won't."

"H-Hai!" she nodded with a blush as a second motorcade pulled around. "So… I guess this is 'see you later' instead of goodbye?"

"Until next time," I nodded. "I admit, I'm curious about the remodel for Mei's lab. She hasn't been wringing money out of you, has she?"

"What? No! Of course not!" the heiress protested, her ponytail flaring up. "I might've given her some material gifts, yes, but I never paid for labor. That was all her. And honestly, I've still spent more on my previous 'friend-group' than I have on Mei-chan, so, you know…"

"I suppose that's the most common sense I can expect from you, Ojou-sama~"

"Muuuuuu!" Momo pouted, her blushing cheeks flaring up adorably. "Just remember something. Mero-chan is my very dear friend, and if you hurt her in any way," she said brandishing an escrima stick in my face.

"Believe me, if I do something unbecoming of a 'royal consort for the crown princess', I'm sure any number of her entourage's members will be willing to inform me if she herself does not," I said staring down at her from behind the metal baton.

Compared to Tohru's -magical, as I later found out- futon beater, mundane weapons and the threat of bodily harm therein just didn't… scare me the same anymore.

Man, I'm probably gonna have the biggest fucking stones of any Pro Hero, aren't I?

"Well… As long as you're aware of yourself," she said retreating slightly, wringing the escrima stick in her hands after realizing where she'd been pointing it. "You don't… really think All Might's endorsement will bring you any trouble, will it?"

Any time All Might vouched for a charitable cause, spoke in favor of a bill in the National Diet, or sung praises of a fellow Pro Hero, there was a massive explosion in popularity for that charity, bill, or Hero. Thing was, those were all adults that were being vouched for by the No.1 Hero, not a prepubescent child. Let alone a prepubescent child who'd just performed a glaringly heroic feat, in a storied line-of.

"Best case scenario is no-one in the country noticed, but the chances of that are pretty much zero," I sighed tiredly, remembering how my in-group in GGO had already seen the damn thing. "I've already got a target on my back because of all the people the Mon Squad put away over the years; I'd rather not have to worry about the people All Might cheesed off coming after me because they think they can use me as leverage to get to him…"

"Would you… perhaps be interested in borrowing one of the Flora Maids? At least until the heat 'dies down'?" the heiress offered.

"I'll think on it."

"Ojou-sama."

My eyes turning away from Momo, spied what could only be one of the Yaoyorozu's "combat maids" walking with measured steps toward us, the very picture of mature beauty and elegance; her attire consisted of a very modest-looking black maid uniform featuring a frilly white underskirt, a frilly white apron, and pink accents running along the hem of the skirt, the side of the apron, her tie, around her biceps, and the cuffs of her immaculate white gloves, as well as slimming back lace-up boots with modest heels. Her pink hair was long and wavy, extending past waist length, and her eyes were colored like honey, a lovely kindness behind them accentuated by the maid's headband atop her head, just as frilly as her underskirt.

I almost immediately thought of the Pleiades from Overlord; not because of any "inhuman-ness", but rather, her accoutrements. Two pairs of gray ammo pouches on either side of her apron, three ammo pouches with pink accents on her abdomen which her full bosom rested comfortably (read: tantalizingly) atop, her tactical belt (featuring a walkie talkie, shotgun shells, a karambit, a sidearm, more ammo pouches, and a tea infuser…?), and her powerful-looking firearm. Said firearm was a modified Benelli M1014 colored black and white with the faintest gold accents, a wicked-looking bayonet on the front that looked like it could gut a killer whale like a Japanese carp.

"It is time to return to your studies," the lovely combat maid stated before turning toward me and giving a curtsey. "Takehiko-san, I wish you a safe journey home."

"Thank you very much," I said giving her a small bow.

"Also, congratulations on your blossoming love life," she smiled like a maid who'd heard a good rumor.

"Mmmgh…" I groaned behind my teeth, Momo's face exploding in a blush at my expense.

*AN*

And here you have it, the story has officially entered the Harem sub-genre; in my opinion, it doesn't count as being a "Harem" story until the singular male/female is actually aware that they have multiple girls/boys/and-or pining for them. As long as the one person is blissfully unaware, it's only a RomCom.

It was also fun bringing the Yaoyorozu Estate to life, since we barely saw any of it in the Canon. If anything, the place either locked itself up like Yuuei, pulled an "Evangelion", or it became some kind of Fortress for a local militia during the Final Act Saga. And for anyone that's watched 90s anime/manga, I lean more toward Hayate the Combat Butler in how-ridiculous it would be, with a spattering of ridiculously-expensive Uber-mansions.

Giving the Yaoyorozu's a long-standing tie to Neptunia also makes the world feel lived-in, or at least that was my intention.

But before I leave you hanging for another "a while", a little something extra.

*OMAKE*

"Elma! Tohru! Wha the hell have you been doing all weekend?!"

At the moment, the Dragon OL and Dragon Maid stood before their adoptive joint-custody child on the Mon Squad apartment roof. Their Holy Sea Priestess and Maid Café Cozy raiment respectively were scorched, slashed, and tattered, their hair in a tangled, knotted mess and each of them sporting a matching black eye, one visible tooth apiece knocked out.

"We… hashed some things out," Elma hummed awkwardly, her missing tooth growing back in as she spoke.

"And then we did other things," Tohru added as she started to fix up her twin tails. "We'll tell you when you're older~"

"Didn't ask, please keep it to yourself," I blushed.

I mean, there were Yuri undertones in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, so I shouldn't have been surprised, but I also didn't want to hear about what two pretty Dragon ladies did in their off hours when they were real as opposed to being "just anime waifu"…

"Oh wait, you're actually a thirty-something in there, so you already know what we're talking about, hu hu hu~" she chuckled with something mischievous in her slitted sunset eyes, hiding her smile behind her gloved hand. "You see, when two lady-dragons love one another veeeery much~"

"Please keep it to yourself."

"But how will you grow into a well-adjusted Dragonkin if you don't know what sex is~?" Tohru insisted as she fondled Elma's flame sacks, the Dragon OL blushing furiously as she tried to fight the Dragon Maid off.

And thusly began the most-awkward "The Sex Talk" in the history of all awkward sex talks.