And we are back, baby! Man, it has been a long time; I know some of you have been asking, but the wait is over; we got not one, but 2 chapters for this month. Frankly, I'd write more as I got a ton of ideas from my break. Still, I can't spend too much time on this with family time coming for the holidays, and the less my laptop is left somewhere my younger cousins can get to it, the better. They already broke my uncles' when they insisted on playing rough, and it fell off the table; when they're around, I pack this shit up and put it somewhere they can't get.

Chapter 41 – Return to the Fire Temple

It had been a few hours later, the Sports Festival, at least at the time, was a roaring success, with the students getting a chance to show off what they could do, and to a much wider audience as thanks to the USJ, millions more tuned in to watch them. At the same time, tickets to the event proper had sold out, which meant that even after they had completed the first-year events, there were still plenty of things for spectators and families to do.

That wasn't lost on Izuku, who, after getting his medal, left to spend time with his mother and Koharu, this being the first of what he hoped would be 3 times that they could explore U.A. together during such a massive annual event. The mother/son duo played games, tried various foods, let some kids mess around with his medal, pet Koharu, etc. By the end of it, when he had been called to class along with everyone else, he had had the time to properly enjoy things as he waved his mom and Koharu off and followed the summons.

That brought him to his desk back in class 1-B's homeroom, with Vlad still wrapped up like a mummy standing at the front. His recovering injuries took nothing away from how imposing the man was. They could tell that he was in a fantastic mood, and why wouldn't he be? His students managed to prove their stuff and secured both 3rd and 1st place.

Aizawa might not entertain his antics at comparing their classes, but he was going to hold this over the sleep-deprived man for at least a few weeks.

Those medallists had been congratulated once more when they had entered class. Even if Shiozaki seemed bashful about wearing it so openly, she still did so as if nothing else; it would be disrespectful to the rest if she hid it.

"First of all, congratulations are in order, not just for those who returned with medals but to all of you. You all gave an exceptional performance, nothing less than 110%. That is something to take pride in, and no one can tell you otherwise." Vlad's voice carried a sense of fatherly pride and strength, which got the students sitting a little straighter, even those eliminated earlier.

"It's still golden week, and while U.A. likes to work you to the bone, we do deserve some time off, so they won't be school for the remainder of the week," Vlad explained. This helped the mood remain high as it gave them two extra days to their weekend.

"That gives agencies time to sort through your performances and decide on who they want to extend offers to. In the meantime, enjoy your time off, but don't slack off on me. When we return, it's back to business as usual, understood?" Vlad asked, his eyes tracking them all to make sure they all understood that.

"Yes, sir!" With that reply, Vlad nodded before dismissing them for the day. With Vlad stepping out, the students relaxed as they broke off into small groups to discuss the festival, what they did after the finals, and what plans they had now that they had an extended weekend.

"Are you guys still free?" Midoriya asked the group.

"For what?" Monoma asked, which made Midoriya narrow his eyes ever so slightly at him.

"For the shrine? Remember I asked you about it earlier? I can't go on Friday, but I'll be free on Saturday." He reminded them, Kendo recalling that he brought that up at lunch. But then they got distracted by that failed trick from Mineta and Kaminari and the boys prepping for their little cheerleader debut.

"Well, it would be rude if I changed my mind so soon after I agreed." Shiozaki was the first to confirm that she was still in this, Midoriya giving her a thankful look as she returned it with a smile.

"This the one that got you to cross-dress? Sign me the hell up." Tokage was next, as she was super eager to see the sort of place that could instill such a habit into someone. Was it run by eccentric maidens or maybe a priest with a wicked sense of humor?

"I have not seen a Japanese church, so I want to go for myself." Tsunotori was more curious about what a proper shrine would look and operate like, having only seen them in documentaries and anime.

"What about the rest of you? You in?" Kendo looked to the rest of the class, who turned from their conversations to them.

"And what?" Kaibara asked, with Tetsutetsu filling them in on what it was, which got some nods and hums of approval from the rest.

"That sounds like fun." Komori smiled, eager to visit such a place and take pictures of the outdoors. Maybe she could even find some mushrooms in the wild.

"It's been a while since I went to the temple. It would be wise to offer up thanks for recent fortunes." Yanagi tapped her chin. Others were in agreement. Even if they weren't particularly spiritual, it seemed like a good trip for the class to take—a means to get out of town and bond without the risk of villains.

"Then it's settled; we'll all be going them." Kendo declared, all while Midoriya looked back and forth between them at how many people had just agreed. A smile threatened to cut his face in two, his temperature spiking as he struggled to stay in place.

Tokage noticed this and tapped his fluffy head. "Keep it together, Hebimi. You might just erupt."

"But I'm so happy! I get to show everyone all the sights. The mountains are just great this time of year, and being away from the smells and noise of the city really helps with stress. Oh! And the town at the base of the mountain has many friendly people. Maybe I should contact Tsu and see if she could decide…" Midoriya fell into a mutter storm. His words were too soft and fast to make out except for phrases and syllables now and then.

"He's real fired up about this," Monoma noted as they just watched as he seemed to throw together what was to be their schedule for the trip.

"I suppose it was a transformative place for us; it would make sense that he would be so passionate about it," Kendo replied. However, she was more curious about it and wondered if it could get such a reaction out of someone.

"Yeah.." Tokage's smile turned soft at the sight of her friend's happiness, such a genuine and pure thing, but she focused on something. "Oh, speaking of which, I have a question in my beautiful brain I was hoping you could answer, Hebimi." She pulled in close to her.

Midoriya blinked as he turned to her. "What's that?"

"What was up with that little transformation you had during your fight with Mr. C-Douche." Midoriya made a shocked squeak at her new nickname for the guy that gained second place but also made a total ass of himself doing it.

Midoriya wasn't sure how to answer that, especially when he had so many eyes on him. Still, Tokage wasn't going to let him walk. So he swallowed his fear and tried to articulate things. "Well…I'm not too sure about that, it well…it felt right?" That seemed like the right thing to say, but also not. He wasn't sure as when he reached for his quirk, it was different in his heart, but still that comforting warmth.

"It was like my body and quirk were trying to express gratitude to you guys for your friendship. I…I didn't have many of those for a while." He added, which only confirmed their suspicions. Tokage was the first to react, wrapping him up in a hug and leaving him red-faced as steam shot out his ears in embarrassment.

She giggled at the feeling of the steam on her cheek and just rubbed her face even deeper into his cheek. "Oh, that's just the sweetest thing I've heard. Come here, you, group hug!" She declared.

"Group hug!" Tsunotori was next to join, taking his other side. At the same time, Monoma and Tetsutetsu came next, putting hands on his shoulder. However, they were all beaten when Kendo just grabbed them in her enlarged hands and hoisted them up, much to their shock and the laughter of others. Midoriya distinctly made out several phones recording this and praying that it didn't get online as he didn't need that kind of attention, even if he really liked the show of affection.

"Oh, please show me what it looks like up close," Tokage asked him.

"What?"

"You said that it takes inspiration from our quirks, right?" She asked again, and Midoriya hesitantly nodded. "Well, let's see'em."

"Well…I mean…okay." Kendo placed them down, breaking the group hug as Midoriya took a breath and calmed himself, reaching for the flames and pulling on it, feeling it climb to the surface. Still, he did that much before when he kept it to just his hands. It also let it flare up around his head. Moments later, his arms and head were engulfed in flames before his new features were apparent, and much like his match, his serpent's hood was gone, replaced with a head of snake hair.

He was used to people being put off by his form; even his classmates had been shocked when they first saw it, and his therapist helped him understand that it wasn't bad to see such. Still, even with this change, none of them pulled back; if anything, they got closer to him as Tsunotori reached for his face, feeling around the green glowing wave patterns that decorated the stone face plates. He then moved up to his white horns and giggled at how smooth they felt compared to everything else.

"You have horns like me. Can you shoot them?" Midoriya tried that but couldn't feel them move or twitch, so he shook his head, which got Tsunotori to pout as she backed off. "Poo."

"I'm not seeing anything from me," Monoma stated, looking him over before smirking when he saw Midoriya start to panic and try to explain that, stopping him before he did. "But I suppose the face you can imitate, at least to a certain degree, the abilities of our classmates is my contribution to it." He chuckled when Midoriya seemed to glare at him for that.

"What of your new hair? Do you have fine control over it?" Shiozaki was the next person to ask. While his hair made him close to a gorgon sister from ancient myth, one didn't need to think hard to tell where he got the real inspiration for his newly altered head.

"No, it's pretty hard to make it to anything as I can bend fire to my will, but it's not all fire. I had to stand still during my match with Bakugo just because of that; otherwise, I would have messed up." Midoriya replied as his new form threw off the entire fighting style that he had spent months working on. He couldn't use his new abilities without having to stand still and concentrate, as them not being completely flames meant that they didn't react like he was used to.

Shiozaki nodded, having expected such an answer. In truth, her vines had been similar when she was younger, taking a lot of effort to even make a few strands move and carry out more complex commands. It was why she preferred to remain still and let them do the work to better focus on controlling them in the past. "That could be improved with time, and if you ever need aid, you know you can ask."

Time passed, and the students headed home after the sports festival and took the time to relax with family, work out, or study if they found the energy or interest. They made sure to enjoy that the following day, and the day after, they could sleep in and not worry about needing to get ready for school. Though others kept to their early morning routines, they did so more relaxedly, as they didn't need to be anyway.

When Saturday came, Monoma, upon seeing the reminder he had set for himself on his desk calendar, got ready for the day out with friends, wished his parents and little sister goodbye, and took the train to the meeting point. Getting off, he found that he had been the first to arrive, though when he looked at his phone, he noted that he had arrived 15 minutes early.

"Morning, Monoma," Shiozaki announced as she approached him. As this wasn't the first time he had seen her out of uniform or in a hero costume, he found her choice of attire to be expected: a brown shin-length dress, black boots, and a white cloth-like wrap around her upper body. If nothing else, she was a woman of habit. "I see you're an early bird as well."

"No other thing to be," Monoma replied as Shiozaki took the chance to consider his choice of clothing. It wasn't the most stylish, matching what most of the older men she knew would wear to church cook-outs, but they must have worn such because it was comfortable and practical, so she didn't mention it. A few minutes later, both Shishida and Tsuburaba had also arrived, the former arriving just before the agreed-up time.

As they talked, a few more minutes passed before they heard someone running over. "Guys!" They turned to see Midoriya rushing towards them, a big smile on his face. His choice of clothing was much more natural than they had expected. However, it still followed the sense of fashion that Midoriya seemed to enjoy.

He wore a pair of oak brown shorts with green inner pockets sticking out the bottoms, looking like leaves, while he wore a leaf-themed belt. For a top, he wore a shirt of varying shades of green, as the central part was a darker green, the belly was a browner green, and his detached sleeves were a lighter shade. Koharu was secured around his shoulders with his feet adorned with brown leather sandals. Monoma, not for the first time, wondered if Izuku didn't notice that his clothing wasn't the most masculine or if he didn't care.

"Sorry, I'm late!" He said as he finally reached them.

"I would say you're right on time; we just arrived early," Shishida replied, looking at the clock that hung in the station. It read that it had been only around seven minutes since they agreed to meet, well within the time window.

Midoriya didn't seem it that way. "Still, as the person that planned all this, that should have been me."

"Well, you can do that the next time we hang out," Monoma told him, which threw the guy for a loop.

"Next time?" Midoriya asked himself before he realized that, yes, friends did this kind of thing all the time, and that meant that he'd be trusted with planning at a later date as well. Oh, how exciting! "Yeah, next time!"

With time still ticking for the others to arrive, Midoriya started to explain how they'll get there, what to expect, and who they should talk to the most. He had gone over his regular during their time off school to ensure that his first time leading a group activity outside a school setting would be the best. He had even asked Hado-sempai for help in this, and she had plenty of ideas to offer up.

As they did this, more of their class arrived, some in pairs, some in trios, but others alone. It wasn't just them, as Tsui arrived with Uraraka, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu in toe, having convinced them to come with her. After them, it was Kirishima and Tokoyami, the redhead happily waving as he walked over, followed by his raven-headed classmate, who offered up a nod before being caught in a discussion between Yanagi and Kuroiro.

"Is that everyone from class A?" Komori asked. The group was just about complete; they were just missing Tokage and Tetsutetsu.

"What about Iida? I thought he would come to." Kendo asked, to which the class A group got a little down.

"He wasn't able to. You know how he left school early during the festival?" Uraraka asked, to which most of class B nodded; the rest hadn't even noticed Iida's absence. Well, his brother was attacked by Stain and is still in the hospital."

"Oh no. Is he?" Midoriya gasped. He wasn't alone in that. Everyone was immediately concerned, having heard one thing or the other about the recent string of attacks and murders that contributed to Stain. No one even knew why he targeted heroes. Was it a thrill? Was he just a hired sword? But that didn't matter, as he had hit something close to Iida then, which meant he hit all of them.

Uraraka recalled how downcast Iida had been when he had explained that he would need to leave early as he looked up to his brother. Whenever they talked about heroes, Iida would mention him, and it was clear that his brother was the idea that he held himself up to. It made explaining to Iida that plans were still on hard, as she didn't want to come off as rubbing it in, but she also didn't want to hide that.

"Iida says he's doing all right, but he didn't give details. He appreciated the offer but felt it would be better to spend time with his family instead." She had called the night before when she would be sure he would be at home, and his words only made her all the more worried. He sounded emotional and confused on the phone but also extremely angry, even if he tried to hide it. She had worried that he was furious with her, but she swore that it wasn't them he was upset with, and at least that much sounded genuine.

Which left her wondering if he was angry at Stain.

Midoriya was having similar thoughts. How could he spend the day having fun with friends when another was in pain? It just felt wrong, like a lump of ice had formed in his gut and wouldn't go away. "Maybe we should call this off. I don't feel comfortable having fun when he's having such a crisis."

Asui shook her head. She understood that she would have pulled her attendance if things were different. "(Kero) Don't worry too much about it; Iida made it clear that he wants her to have fun, but also offer up a prayer or two since you're going to the shrine."

"That we can do," Yanagi stated. Others agreed with her as the final two finally arrived.

"Damn, looks like we're fashionable late, Tetsutetsu," Tokage noted as she walked up, Tetsutetsu behind her and looking none too pleased to be the last ones there when he typically tried his best to be one of the early birds.

"We're late because someone decided to sleep in," Tetsutetsu told her, to which the girl brushed it aside.

"I was up late," Tetsutetsu scoffed at that, pocking her side.

"Yeah, messing around. Your mom said you were up till 1 am just rewatching old Cretaceous Planet movies." Tetsutetsu revealed, which got the normally unflappable girl to blush as she started to push him forward.

"Anyway, onto the train, we have places to be!"

Having boarded the train, they all found seats or places to stand. Shiozaki noted that even with the sad news about Iida's family, Midoriya looked excited about the trip; even his snake friend seemed eager to return to the mountains where she was born. However, it wasn't a surprise to her, as she also felt the same joy whenever she could bring new people to her place of worship. Leaving the city behind, their train made its way into the rural areas, before coming to a stop in a small sleepy town.

Midoriya jumped off the train once it stopped, and the doors opened, taking a deep breath before letting out a cloud of smoke and steam. "Can't you smell it? It smells and tastes so crisp."

"It is a rather congenial town, though it's not too large," Yaoyorozu pointed out, looking over the place and how…rural it seemed. The biggest building looked to have just three floors, and most people worked around with only a few cars.

"That's what small towns are, Yaomomo. Pretty sure that this place could fit into one of U.A.'s testing grounds." Jiro pointed out, as she expected, that someone as wealthy as her classmate might find the place to be a shock, but she seemed to be handling it pretty well.

"Come on, the fastest way to the shrine is up the main road." Midoriya directed them out of the small station that serviced the downtown area and onto the main street, which looked so different from the ones in town. It was busy with people and vehicles, while storefronts mainly belonged to larger chain businesses. Here, most of the businesses were small and family-owned; even then, they didn't take up all the buildings, as some were family homes.

"Oh my, is that you, Izuku?" They turned to see an old lady, maybe in her late 70s, walking by. Her weight was partially carried by her cane as her aged eye took in Midoriya, who offered a smile as she rushed over and gently hugged the woman.

"Granny Tomako! How are you?" She laughed at how physical the boy was with his affection, yet gentle as she hugged him back as he stepped back, but only after he ensured she wasn't going to trip.

"Oh, I'm doing just fine. It's better now that I see you're not in some trouble. People around here were worried." She told him that since the villain attack last year, he had just gone and vanished. They had been worried that the dragon hero had arrested him but had been assured that wasn't the case by her and the new staff that managed the shrine.

"Sorry about not getting in contact earlier." Midoriya apologized; between studying, training, and therapy, he hadn't had much time to travel back and check up on everyone after Ryukyu confirmed that no one was seriously hurt during that incident.

"Oh, none of that. Young people should have the chance to explore and find themselves." Granny Tomako brushed it aside before she noticed that he hadn't come alone as she wabbled to the group. "Oh, where are my manners? Who are these people you came with?"

At her side, Midoriya's face was flush with excitement. She acted so much like her youngest grandson when he wanted to show her one of his drawings that she couldn't help but find it adorable. "Granny Tomako, they're my classmates and friends from U.A."

"U.A.? How that's a fancy hero school, isn't it? Oh, I knew you were destined for good things with your hard work, but U.A.? You're making this old lady proud, young man." She praised, which only made the boy all the redder as she bowed as low as her old bones could to the students.

"Welcome to your sleepy little town. Any friend of our shrine maiden is a friend to our community." Kendo spoke up for the group, who returned the greeting in kind.

"We thank you for being so cordial, we promise not to give you any trouble. We came to visit the shrine along with Midoriya." She explained, with the woman smiling.

"I figured, don't worry, it has been well taken care of. I spend my Fridays up there just taking in the mountain air." She told him as she bid them farewell, getting a promise from Midoriya that he'll visit more often.

That proved to be far from a unique situation, as many of the people who saw them also recognized Midoriya and approached to speak, allowing them a bit of an insight into parts of him that they hadn't known, from how he worked off debts to locals and rebuilt an entire shrine with little aid from locals, then the funnier bits like how he would wear that shrine maiden uniform every day, with one of them, the lady that ran the hardware store, even having a picture of him during one of his runs into town for supplies.

In turn, they managed to speak with most of them and seeing that the town was pretty relaxed as it was one of the rare places left in Japan where you can a community where everyone knew everyone, crime was practically non-existent, so one didn't look twice when they spotted the few law enforcement in town napping or relaxing in cafes or just going about their days like the rest of the people. It was pretty strange watching Yaoyorozu be so taken by surprise by everything, but also entertaining in its own right as she caught up and quickly fell in love with the place.

By the time they reached the other side, it had taken them over an hour to cover a walking distance of just 10 minutes, but none of them felt like it had been a waste of time.

"I wasn't expecting you to be that popular, Hebimi." Tokage teased Midoriya, who snacked on some sweets the local grocer had given them. The boy was in too high of a good mood to even register her taunt.

"Well, he won the festival, so getting recognized was something that was bound to happen." Kirishima pointed, but Jiro didn't see it like that as she snacked on the locally made sweets, finding that they tasted much better than store-bought ones.

"And yet, not a single one of them even mentioned it. You heard that grandmother; she didn't even know he was in U.A. It's safe to say I doubt most even watch the Sports Festival here, " she pointed out, which only a few of them had picked up on at the moment.

Soon enough, after a little hike up the mountain road, they reached the entrance to the shrine; Midoriya rushed the last stretch of the way and nearly jumped through the entrance into the courtyard, seeing that it was just as he left it if only there were more people now. "My, you're a little late but just as eager as I expected." The head priest walked up, the man in his late 30s and a heteromorph who shared similarities with a salamander.

"I wanted to see it all again. I know that you care for the place, but-" The man raised a 3-finger hand.

"Being told is nothing like seeing with one's eyes, yes? That is quite all right. I take no offense, though you did a fantastic job restoring this sacred place to its former glory." He complimented him as the rest walked onto the ground, spotting that the place was well taken care of, with workers busy as they went about their tasks.

"What about the creak up the mountain," Midoriya asked.

"Oh, we visit it regularly and…" The kannushi started to reply before the two fell into a conversation where most of it flew right over their heads before he coughed into his hands, a little embarrassed that he had forgotten he had more guests as he turned to them and bowed. "Oh, where are my manners. Welcome to the shrine, I was told that you'll be helping us for the day."

Once more, the students did the same to the holy man. "That's correct, though it looks like you don't have the extra hands," Kendo spoke for them. He looked around at how orderly the place seemed to be, with the workers carrying out their tasks with little interruption.

"Perhaps, but work is done faster than more people are there to assist, and we've had some extra tasks to handle with the festival coming up this Sunday." The kannushi replied. "To that end, I have drawn up a list of jobs you can each help with, but I think it would be best if you change first."

"The men's dorms are to that direction," he gestured towards the men's dorms to the left, which had been wholly rebuilt from the state Izuku once found them. And the women on the other side. You'll find spare uniforms ready for you." He then gestured towards the right side.

That was easy enough to follow as the group broke up, most heading towards the men's side before a thought entered Tsunotori's head, and she let out a little giggle. "Which side does Midoriya go to?"

Midoriya turned on a dime to her, his face red. "I go for the men's!"

"Well," the Kanzashi tapped his chin in thought. Midoriya turned to him in horror. We did consider building a dorm just for Midoriya because we couldn't decide which he'd prefer."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not, and that scares me," Midoriya muttered as the rest laughed at his expense and pulled him towards the men's dorms to get changed, the girls heading to the other one. Like the man had informed them, they had found their clothing for the day prepared for them. Midoriya was not even surprised when he opened his and found a shrine maiden's attire, along with a note that read, 'Why fix what's not broken?'

He took some comfort in the fact that as he dressed, the rest didn't make a comment. He fixed his hair into a neat bun and walked out with the rest. Once the others saw him, the result was predictable.

"Damn, Hebimi. You look better than we do." Tokage looked him over, as Midoriya looked like the perfect picture of a shrine maiden, from the look to how he carried himself.

"How the hell does he pull off that look so well?" Jiro asked Uraraka, who just smiled and shrugged.

"Months of practice, I bet," Tsunotori replied, the girls giggling, even if they were a little envious that he rocked the look.

"Can we please focus on our work?" Midoriya sighed and turned to the kannushi, hoping that he could break things before he was left as red as Kirishima's fair.

"Can't we do both," Asui asked, tapping her chin as Midoriya gasped and turned a broad look of betrayal at her.

"Not you, too, Tsu." The kannushi laughed at the scene before him as Midoriya tried to get Asui to return the statement. In contrast, if only to turn on each other, the others added to it. He could hear the other workers pausing as they looked over before hiding her amusement behind turned backs and raised sleeves.

But as much fun as that was for everyone, they still had work to do, so he grabbed their attention and pulled out a list of names, informing them that he had already assigned jobs to do, from cleaning the grounds and scared objects like the statues, tending to the flames, greeting and handling any visitors that might come by, working the gardens, collecting water, etc. As he read through it, the groups formed for each task before he reached the end, but that left two people unaccounted for.

"What am I to do?" Midoriya asked, mildly disappointed that he wouldn't be tending to the flames and that he wouldn't be working in any of the areas that he had learned in his time there. It couldn't be that he wasn't trusted, so what was it? Why was Tsu also not included in any of the jobs?

"I have a special job for you and Ms. Asui." The kanzashi smiled as he directed the two toward the shrine's entrance and then pointed down the road leading up to it. You two would be sent to the foot of the mountain, where you'll use those big, beautiful eyes and charming demeanor to entice visitors to make the trek up here."

"So we're just poster teens acting as bait?" Midoriya seemed less than amused by that idea, looking toward the side.

"Pretty much!" The man gave a total thumbs up and smiled.

"You could stand to act a little more priestly!" Midoriya yelled at him, but the man laughed it off.

"It's not a bad idea. I'm pretty sure if they were a tourist in town, they'd be enticed when they see the winner of the Sports Festival." Asui pointed out that they had seen a few of them but hadn't focused on that.

"I'm not sure that will work; my people skills are not the best." Midoriya reminded her that despite his successes, he wasn't some social butterfly or public speaker. And he couldn't spend an entire day pretending others were in their underwear, either.

"You managed this place well enough; give yourself more credit!" The kannushi pat him on the shoulder as he pushed them forward.

"Go on, you two, use that cuteness to bring in some visitors!" Tokage smiled, which Midoriya knew meant she was plotting something while he wasn't there.

"We can handle things here while you're gone!" Uraraka agreed with her, waving them off. The two eventually turned and began to walk down the mountain while the rest went to their duties.

"They are putting too much stock into my looks and people skills. What if I scare off more people than I can convince to make the trip?" Midoriya muttered as they walked down the quiet mountain path, the spring wind carrying the sweet smell of nature and fruits. Koharu made her presence known when she hissed something into his eye; Midoriya frowned as he turned to her in disbelief, but she kept on talking.

"Oh, really? All right, fine. It's a bet." He told her. Asui looked at him.

"What bet? I didn't say anything." She stated, with Midoriya shaking his head before he gestured towards the reptile wrapped around his shoulders.

"It was with Koharu. She thinks we'll do fine and bet her treat privileges for a week. If she's right, then I triple them." He explained, to which Asui just looked him in the eye and said one thing.

"You made a poor choice, Midoriya."

There was more planned, but I couldn't fit it in. That does mean that I might just get to upload those 3 chapters I wanted after all, so yeah. Now, with this going up, I'm going to watch that second episode of Arcane, Dadandan, and play some ZZZ.

The next chapter will be out on Novermber 26th.

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