Hey all!

So, a bit of a smaller chapter this week, sadly I have been fighting off a fever and asthma, but the next chapter should make up for it though.

I am quite happy with how everyone liked the introduction of Mei, as I wasn't too sure I got her personality down right. As for her status within the story and if she will be part of the poly?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You'll just have to wait and find out.

Anyway, onto the reviews!

Firem78910: Dunno yet, granted that the crystals and that needed to make the darn things run maybe out of Izuku's range of things to make.

TeraelinII: Lol and yes, we must save the unicorn.

Geo995: Well, I have mentioned in the past that Bard is Kyoka's unlock... as for Shoto unlocking black mage... you'll just have to wait and see :D

PMC-Midnight Mariner: Huh, I hadn't even considered Mei to be the "Cid" of the story. But as you'll see later in this chapter, her access to Magitek will be limited sadly... doesn't mean she won't try an attempt to replicate it :D. As for her joining the poly, please read above.

fallendemon248: Thankfully, Nezu is smart enough to know what could/would happen if Mei ever got her hands on magitek.

AnimeFan13579: I have never played a Dissida game, so didn't realize that could happen, and it's not like the WoL hasn't faced off against 'evil' Moogles before. (Great King Moggle Mog). And don't worry... made sure to nip that little 'problem' in the bud quickly... still will be embarrassing whenever Mei talks about her and Izuku's babies though

A Queen Among Women: No explosions as of yet! Granted I think Izuku would make sure any of his inventions will explode (if they are powered by crystals)... because when they go boom.. THEY GO BOOM!

silverjack20: The MMO has been out for a while, but glad you picked it up. Also, Momo and Tsuyu have unlocked two of his kits, Gunbreaker and Dragoon respectfully. Mina's is probably the furthest one out, while Kyoka's will be the one or second before Mina's.

Guest: Seeing as how you didn't get past chapter 4, you probably didn't notice that the time jumps have been reduced to either a mere few days or hours, compared to at the beginning where it was months (done so we can get to the meat of the story)

Also, I have stated in the past that this is a poly relationship, while yes, Izuku is the only planned guy, it won't mean that the girls are only there for him, and I've given hints of that later in the story. Also, if you find these types of stories are inoperable and boring, then why did you begin to read this story when it says in the description it IS a poly story?

Anyway, onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Hero Academia and Final Fantasy XIV, they belong to their copyright holders.

Chapter 25:

Foreshadowing the Inevitable

"I take it that the operation was a success, doctor?" spoke the heavily raspy but deep-voiced masked man as he was looking upon a monitor with the visage of one of his long-time associates standing beside a medical gurney that had one Tomura Shigaraki laying on top of it. The young adult was strapped down to the 'bed' though a rather large cast covered his lower right arm and hand.

"It took a few more hours than expected, sir, but yes… within a few weeks, the boy's hand will gain all of its functionality and sense of feeling back, then after a few more days to make sure that everything is set in place, we can swap out that slow regeneration quirk you put in him back with his original one." Finally, the doctor spoke and bowed at the monitor that was barely showing the man on the screen, "I would like to thank you once again for taking my advice about using the slow regeneration quirk."

"Not at all, doctor… you are the medical professional after all, and while I am disappointed that it will set some of our plans back a few weeks, to know that my pupil will make a full recovery and regain use of his hand puts this old heart at ease." The man spoke as he held up a glass of wine with all but his pinky finger holding the glass, swirling its deep red fluids slowly within it before bringing the last finger down. Within an instant, the glass disintegrated with the wine inside pouring over his hand. From his side, Kurogiri had hastily made his way to him and began to wipe and dry the man's hand, "Truth be told, I was always fascinated with young Tomura's quirk… and this will give me the chance to run a few of my own experiments with it."

He could hear the doctor's chuckling at that little admittance, for which he too joined in the amusement, "Regardless, let me know when he is full cognizant as well as any further developments with your other 'patients'."

"Of course, sir, you will have the latest update on project "Highend" by the end of the week." the doctor bowed at the screen before it flickered off. The balding older man now turned his gaze towards Tomura, his eyes glinting at the currently unconscious man, with so many tubes and monitors around and connected to him that he almost rivaled his mentor's own current state. He sighed heavily before turning around and walking back into the warehouse full of gigantic tubes full of liquid and various bodies within them, passing a few of them before stopping at one, in particular, his eyes hidden by his glasses as he rubbed his chin in thought, while speaking to the body floating within the solution within, "Hmm.. perhaps let's see if we can improve upon that fire-breathing quirk of yours."

At that exact moment, the masked man sighed heavily as the chair he was seated in slowly turned around towards his guest, who had been waiting patiently for him since he had made the 'call' to the doctor, "My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting, but I needed to make sure the effort you took retrieving my young ward's hand was not wasted."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine." The dark-robed figure had replied and bowed towards the seated masked man, "I'm sure it's not every day someone just opens a portal of darkness and drops off the cut-off hand of one of my most prized subordinates." The robed figure rose his body off to reveal that their face was also benign covered by a black mask, mainly over their eyes and nose, while leaving their toothy but fanged smirk to be exposed to both Kurogiri and his master.

"Aside from Kurogiri here, that would be the case normally… and your name was?"

"Ah! Of course, how silly of me!" the robed man said in a playful tone of voice before bounding over and kneeling before the masked man, "I am called Nabriales, and I wish to make a deal with you!"

If the masked man with no eyes or eyebrows could look inquisitive, they would adequately show it as he leaned back in his chair with his hands in front of his face, silently allowing this "Nabriales" to continue.

"I was watching your pupil's little invasion of that UA place, and despite the overwhelming power he had with him, the Nomu creature, to be more specific. And I can easily say that it would have dealt fairly well against that All Might fellow your boy kept ranting and raving about." Nabriales moved back and spun himself around with his arms outspread, the robes he wore lifting slightly to reveal metal glad feet and lower legs. He stopped though and looked to the seated man, "But then, he had to run afoul of the one person so strong and powerful that I daresay, even a hundred All Might's couldn't take him down."

"Sorry for my interruption, but you are referring to that one student who kept changing armor and weapons at a speed I never would have deemed possible?" Kurogiri spoke up before bowing to the seated man, "My apologies, I did not mean to speak out of place, sir."

The masked man merely raised his hand up in acceptance, "It is fine, Kurogiri. Now, please continue, Nabriales."

"Of course, and your misty friend there is indeed correct! The power that boy has is something unrivaled when fully unleashed and sad to say that your Nomu got a mere 'taste' of that power." The robed figure then skipped forward, speaking in a low tone of voice, as if he was telling the two a secret, "But what if said that I can offer you the way to empower your creatures with abilities and powers that not only could rival the boy's… but even make All Might fear them?"

That had gotten the masked man's attention as he leaned forward, clearly interested in what this 'Nabriales' was offering. Still, there obviously had to be a catch, "And what is it that you are getting in this deal? I doubt you would relinquish such power for nothing."

"Oh, my wants are elementary." Nabriales stepped away and turned around from the pair, walking a few feet away before turning around to look at them, "I have been watching this world for some time now, and you know what I have noticed? How unafraid the populace is!"

Nabriales started to pace back and forth, "I've seen how people react to villains and heroes fighting, and it just sickens me! They don't scream, they don't run, they just stand around and gawk like they have their thumb up their own butts! " He whirled around to face to two, "What I want is to spread the poison that is fear and doubt through the masses, letting it sink in that the heroes will not always succeed and when that happens, they could easily die!"

He strode up to them, the smirk turned into a feral frown, "All because of that one MAN do these people live in doubt! And with what I can offer you to empower your Nomu's, we can BREAK him not only physically, but MENTALLY as well!"

Nabriales was panting now, a little winded from his little speech as silence filled the room with the masked man deep in thought. A few moments passed before the low chuckling of the man echoed in the room. Then, finally, he simply raised a hand out to shake it with Nabriales, "I am very eager to see this 'power' you wish to bestow upon my Nomu's. You can call me 'All for One', and I have a feeling this will be the start of a fruitful partnership."

For Izuku, the rest of that last week before the university would start up again after the events of the USJ just seemed to blend all together.

However, the one noteworthy moment was the introduction of the linkpearls to the rest of Class 1-A. While most, if not all of the students were fascinated with strange yet oddly beautiful 'devices' (for lack of a better term), and the two people that Izuku had been worried about their usage seemed to have suffered no ill effects because of their extraordinary hearing abilities.

For Mezo Shoji, Izuku was worried that when the multi-limbed student would wear the linkpearl, and when he turned one of his tentacles into another ear, it would affect either him hearing the device go off, or the ringing would echo and harm him. Thankfully, after a few tests, any doubt was quickly cast aside, as there were no ill effects.

Kyoka, however, was a very different story. While Izuku was worried that any sort of call would be too loud for her, given how keen her hearing was usually, it had actually gone just as well with Shoji's, and that it wasn't too loud for her at all, the issue was when she used her quirk.

During one of the tests, it was discovered that when Kyoka was channeling her heartbeat through her jacks that the vibrations had somehow disrupted the device from working correctly, only to then function as it should when the vibrations had ended. Izuku had begun to mutterstorm all the possible reasons and ideas about why this was happening, only for the sudden strike from an ear jack poked him in the side. Izuku, after recovering from said jack poke, had noticed that Kyoka seemed a little down that she was the only one to have caused issues with Izuku's invention.

Well, he wasn't going to have that at all.

Given the confession that he had received from Kyoka and the other three classmates of his, and despite the teenager not giving them a proper answer yet, Izuku still felt he needed to do something. After making sure they were decently being ignored by the rest of the class (thankfully, Bakugo was causing a bit of a hissyfit about wearing something 'stupid made by Deku' with Tenya reprimanding the boy, and the scene was causing a big enough distraction.) Izuku gently spoke Kyoka's name to get her attention, only to have her squeak cutely when she felt his broad arms gently pull her into a hug.

Izuku held the woman close to him, gently speaking low and easing any sort of doubt or the like from her mind as Kyoka had actually nuzzled into his chest, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment, but was smiling to herself.

When he ended the hug, the punk rocker looked up to see that Izuku was just as red as her, idly scratching his cheek. She realized that despite Izuku being the one to take the initiative, the boy was just as embarrassed as she was. So she would capitalize on that fact by doing something Izuku never thought Kyoka would ever do.

Izuku felt the end of a metallic jack poke his nose to get his attention back onto the punk rocker before him. But, when he turned his head, he would never forget the look that Kyoka was giving him. Never before had she ever smiled with a wicked yet flirtatious look on her face, with the dusting of red on her cheeks to sell the point home.

Just as she was about to start teasing him, however, the entrance doors opened up to reveal Nezu, Power Loader, and Mei walking in. The pink dread-headed girl instantly scanned the room to find her target and rushed right on over towards him. Izuku had barely time to act as the support student started to ask him question after question in regards to their 'baby' and how everyone liked the little 'babies' they had made, calling him by the nickname of 'Muscles' didn't help the completely shocked faces of most of the class.

Of course, Izuku had paid no attention to the questions as he could feel the VERY DEADLY cold gaze coming not only from Kyoka, who was behind him now but also from three other sets of eyes within the group of his classmates. Thank the goddess that Power Loader was there to explain that Mei referred to anything she created as a baby and that she did land unannounced on top of Izuku after failing to try and use explosions to repair Izuku's weapons.

While this seemed to placate the four girls to some degree, Kyoka was still glaring daggers at Izuku, considering he had spent a good part of the day and evening alone with some random woman. It also didn't help that as Mei kept pestering Izuku, who was trying his best to calm her down, the punk rocker couldn't help notice how 'bouncy' she was.

It was then that Mei had turned her cross-haired vision at her and went to Kyoka, grabbing her hands and talking excitedly about the special 'baby' that Izuku himself had made for her while in the support department. Both teenagers blinked at her until Izuku suddenly gasped out an 'Oh right!' before a bright light once again flashed before everyone's eyes.

Now in his 'Machinist' kit, he reached into one of the many deep pockets he had and pulled out two odd-looking devices that many of his fellow classmates had no idea what they were. However, Kyoka's eyes widened as she looked at them as they were presented to her, taking them into her hands and slowly turning them around and inspecting them.

The devices looked like the amplifiers that she and Izuku had designed back before UA. Still, she could tell that the technology used was something far different than any type or what they originally designed them to look like. Izuku had begun to explain the very basics of what he did, how he had seen Mei already working on the devices and, once his 'kit' activated, had helped her upgrade them to 'magitek' technology. Izuku then said that when both amps were used, they could send out vibrations that could level buildings and blow away enemies with a blast of sound.

Kyoka was shocked, to say the least, especially as Izuku had mentioned upgrading her 'stereo boots' later on with the assistance of both Mei and Power Loader, given that he was the only one to understand how Magitek worked. For whatever reason, Nezu had banned Izuku from teaching Mei how to do it herself, citing the fact she couldn't supply the crystals needed for such complicated machine work, but also something else he wouldn't elaborate on, much to both of their disappointments.

It was then that Izuku noticed that Kyoka was now staring directly at his face, looking a little confused for some reason. He asked her, of course, if something was wrong with the devices or that he shouldn't have done the upgrades with his typical stuttering and worried tone of voice. She had placed a finger on his lips, causing him to blush brightly at the sensation and quickly shut him up as she just kept staring at him, taking in his new features, like the actually straight green hair before her confused look shifted into a soft frown, though not in anger. What she said next would cause his mind to reel because he didn't notice something so painfully obvious.

"Izuku, your personality didn't shift…."

From there, utter chaos took the entire class, from Mina crying out in a jokingly tearful way that she now lost her 'fluffy hair buddy', to Kaminari and Mineta shouting in actual fear that Midoriya was now 'packing heat'. All Izuku could do was blush and feel embarrassed with all the attention on him, as some of the girls had complimented him on his new hairstyle and even had Toru and Mina ask if they could braid it at some point.

That was when the skipping sound of a chair against cement had caused Izuku to stop his reminiscing of the event that happened earlier in the week, looking across the small cafe table he was sitting at and smiling gently at the person; who just sat down, "E-everything alright?"

"It's fine, kero, just my mom calling me to be 'on call', just in case I need to go watch my little sister today." Tsuyu said as she sighed gently, putting her cell phone into a small yet adorable frog-shaped purse. Izuku's gaze from watching her putting the device away had turned to look over what she had worn for their date.

It was a simple yellow sundress, all things considered, and given the slightly warm spring day they were having, it really suited the frog girl. The boy did notice the adorable little frogs near the bottom of the skirt when they had walked to the small cafe not too far from campus, which at this point he figured would be a part of her standard wardrobe, and he honestly was okay with it. He had cleaned up pretty nicely, thanks to the aid of Yuga and Kirishima. Tenya had been enlisted to help at first. Still, when the outfit he had come up with looked more ready for a formal engagement than a simple casual date, Yuga had shooed him away with Izuku quietly thanking the class president for at least trying.

The ensemble that his two classmates had come up with looked rather good on him, Izuku had to admit. Though he wasn't a big fan of the very tight-fitting black t-shirt hugging his upper body, the more loose green plaid button-up shirt he wore did make up for it, followed by some semi-loose jeans and his trademark red shoes. (something he absolutely refused not to be parted from.)

"Your staring, Kero." Tsuyu spoke up suddenly as Izuku blinked and snapped out of his thoughts, blushing slightly as he chuckled nervously.

"S-Sorry Tsuyu, just… couldn't help but think how cute and lovely you look in your dress," Izuku said gently as he scratched his cheek, once again, letting his honesty shine through, which caused Tsuyu to look down at her fidgeting hands, a blush forming across her cheeks.

She quietly thanked Izuku, just as the waitress had come to their table to take their order. It wouldn't take too long for both hero students to receive their drinks, Tsuyu with an orange pekoe black tea and Izuku with an earl grey, though between the two from when they ordered to when they got their tea's there had been a silence between them.

After taking a slow sip of her drink, Tsuyu gently exhaled as she looked towards Izuku, "Izuku, just before you fought the… 'you-know-what'... you had wished to speak with me when all was said and done, I've been curious if that was your attempt to ask me out."

Being mid-sip, Izuku paused as he let the hot drink rest against his upper lip for a moment, looking at the frog girl before bringing the cup down to the table. He sighed gently, "I-it was… in a way… I-I did just wanna talk and try to figure out why you kept on kissing me." His eyes opened wide in alarm as he waved his hands a little in defense, "N-n-not that I didn't enjoy them, far from it!.. I-I was just confused as to why that was all…."

"I mean no offense when I say this, Izuku, but you can be pretty dense at times." Tsuyu bluntly stated, causing Izuku to flinch slightly and hang his head, "It was pretty obvious that Momo, Kyoka, and Mina were attracted to you, but you didn't seem to reciprocate or notice their attempts, at least not officially. I mean, how many times did I have to kiss you to only get you to ask me out for a 'talk'?" She asked as she gently ran a finger slowly along the teacup's rim, staring directly at Izuku as the boy blushed, thinking back to said moments with a gentle smirk.

"E-Even then, I still couldn't believe it… H-Heck, I still feel like that… In the back of my mind, it's hard to fathom one, let alone four women who find me attractive and want to be with me, despite me being quirk-MMPH!" Izuku had begun to explain before suddenly feeling a tongue pressed against lips; he blinked as she looked to Tsuyu, who had extended her long tongue to shush him with a 'frog kiss', before retracting it back into her mouth.

"I speak for all of the girls when I say that we don't care about your 'status', kero; we only care about you, dummy."

Izuku merely stared into Tsuyu's eyes, as emotionless as they appeared to many; the boy had already grown accustomed to her 'tells', and he could see no falsehood of any sort within her eyes. His confused-looking face slowly morphed into a genuine smile, his cheeks slightly rosy, which caused Tsuyu to blush in turn. Izuku gently spoke as his hand slowly reached out to rest on top of hers, which further caused the frog girl's cheek to redden, "T-thanks Tsuyu… it may seem like much, but hearing that… has really lifted a lot of weight on my heart."

Not one to miss this chance, Tsuyu had gently entwined his fingers between hers, a gentle smile forming across her cheeks, "That's good to hear, kero." She gently rubbed her thumb against his hand, watching the gesture light up his face more, and was now seeing the fun in teasing him that Mina would often do, "So, kero, what did you have planned for our date?"

"W-well… I was thinking we could go see a movie, after taking a small stroll through a park, it would give us enough time to-'' As Izuku had begun to explain the plans for the date, he was interrupted by the sound of a ringtone coming from within Tsuyu's purse.

Both teenagers stared at the tiny purse on the table before Tsuyu heavily sighed, removing her hand from the embrace shared between her and Izuku. She pulled out her cellphone and, with a half-lidded "done" look on her face, answered the phone, "Hello, kero."

"..."

"Yes, I understand… I'll be there as soon as I can."

"..."

"No, I'm not- actually… one moment." Tsuyu placed her hand over the receiver of the phone, looking at her date, "It's my mom, she needs to go to the hospital, and no, it's nothing serious, but she needs me to watch my little sister. I'm really sorry about this."

"It's fine Tsuyu, I'm not mad." Izuku smiled at her, "I know your family is important to you, and we can always just make plans for another time."

Tsuyu smiled, though he could tell she was sad by this as she uncovered the receiver, "Hello? Sorry about that, I was-

"..."

"Yes, I'm with a classmate right now-"

"..."

"...You sure? Well… alright then… we will take the train and be there shortly." Tsuyu said, looking Izuku square in the eyes as the boy blinked and tilted his head in confusion. After saying goodbye to her mother and hanging up the cellphone, she downed the rest of her tea. She stood up, startling Izuku from the sudden move as she placed the money for the drinks on the table, and grabbed Izuku's hand, and began to pull him with her, walking at a fast pace.

"T-Tsu?"

"My mom heard your voice over the phone and has 'invited' you over to come help watch my little sister, and should this be another false alarm with my aunt, she and my dad want to meet you."

As Tsuyu kept pulling him along, weaving through the light crowd of people towards the nearby train station, Izuku finally registered what she had just said to him and with his face going slightly pale. His only response was a tiny squeak escaping his lips.

"...Eh?"

The train ride had been quiet since both Tsuyu and Izuku had sat down, and surprisingly the train car they were in was very sparse of any other riders for the time of day. Izuku had just finished texting his mother to inform her of the change of plans and that he and Tsuyu may arrive back at the dorms later than intended.

That was going to be a conversation that Izuku was not looking forward to. Not that he would keep his relationship with the girls a secret from her, granted it wasn't like Izuku could have, given that not only was she the dorm manager, but Inko also knew when her son was bullshitting her. Izuku had a feeling she knew that today's little "outing between friends" was merely an alibi for the date and would be asking him many questions once they got back to the dorms.

A gentle croak that escaped Tsuyu's lips caught his attention as he now noticed the sullen and sad look on the frog girl's face; she was looking down at her lap where her hands clenched lightly at her knees, "I'm sorry about this, kero… I had a feeling that this would happen, but I was really looking forward to this date today, and I couldn't help but be a little selfish."

Izuku blinked, frowning slightly as she shifted his body so he was somewhat facing her from his seat, and one of his hands gently placed itself on top of hers. Tsuyu had looked up and was shocked to see the same determined look that Izuku got when he was in what she called 'hero mode'. Then, as both students were staring back at one another, Izuku spoke with a sort of seriousness to his voice, "Tsuyu, I said before I understand that your family is a big part of your life, and as I said before, I am not upset or mad about it."

With a heavy blush once again forming on his cheeks, and much to Tsuyu's utter surprise, Izuku leaned in and gave the frog-like girl a gentle kiss on the lips. It was brief, but between the two, it felt like an eternity before Izuku pulled away, cheeks ablaze as he continued to speak, though with his trademark stutter back, "S-So don't worry about feeling like y-you want to be a little selfish… a-admittedly I am feeling the same way. "

He smiled gently at her," I-I mean… I get to go on a date with one of the most b-beautiful women in our class, s-something I never dared dream of thinking would be possible before."

Tsuyu remained quiet for a few moments, her cheeks slightly rosy and just staring straight into his eyes as she gently let out a very cute croak before speaking, "Thank you, Izuku… but I do know you did 'dream' that before."

"Huh?" was all Izuku could say with a raised eyebrow, still holding her hand as Tsuyu looked away and fidgeted in her seat. However, the look of guilt on her face could quickly tell that she knew something about his supposed dreams, apparently.

With a heavy sigh, Tsuyu faced Izuku, figuring she might as well be truthful with him, "When Fray was in control over your body, I had him talk to buy some more time for the school's reinforcements… Kero, he told me what was running through your mind when we kissed in your dorm room."

Izuku raised an eyebrow at the admission, thinking back to that time as to figure out WHAT exactly Fray had told the woman, considering his mind was somewhat in a haze from the kiss. Tsuyu watched as Izuku's face went from deep thinking to one of shock and furious blushing while also going pale at the realization of what was said to her.

"Izuku, kero, it's fine… to be honest, I was very flattered about what he said." Tsuyu spoke gently as Izuku's face regained some color. She gripped his hand more, entwining her fingers with his once again, something she noticed that despite how much bigger her hands were compared to the average human, it somehow seemed to fit snuggly with his, "I do admit that all those things like spending time together with family during the holidays, enjoying each other's company after a hard day of work, kero, they sound lovely and something to look forward too."

Tsuyu then leaned close to Izuku's ear, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she spoke low enough for only him to hear, "Especially the part of how cute our future tadpoles will look, kero."

Giggling gently to herself, which sounded like a bunch of quick little ribbits, Tsuyu gently rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the ride and to the hopeful pleasant evening. Her family would not dislike Izuku, far from it, but she knew her father was very protective of his children.

Izuku, meanwhile, was still as a board after that little whisper into his ear by his date, his entire face bright red, and if one looked closely enough, you would swear there was steam coming out of his ears as he remained in such a state until the train had stopped at the station where the young couple would have to disembark and walk to the Asui homestead.

For Izuku, this would be one date he would never forget and give him a taste of the future that he once dreamed about with the lovely woman by his side.