Chapter 2: Just Like a Videogame

It happened. It actually happened.

If anyone ever told him that he, Izuku Midoriya, Quirkless boy with almost zero social skills and with abysmal compatibility with people of the opposite sex, would someday have not just one girlfriend, but two, then he would have probably just laughed in their face and find the nearest ten-storey building to jump off of.

After all, was the mere idea of somehow landing more than one girlfriend not bizarre enough? That was something far more fitting within the realms of fiction, where the author could huff as much questionable material as they want and pour out the craziest of things onto the pages of the book. Reality could never work like that.

And yet, here he was, waiting for the train to arrive, holding hands with his two girlfriends and doing the best imitation of a rock statue. He stared ahead, suddenly all too aware of the fact that he was holding hands with girls.

If there was ever a case for an utterly insane 'Because of this, that happened…', then he felt like his situation was something that could hardly fit the mould. Because of a single villain attack, he'd ended up confessing his longtime crush to Katsumi as well as confessing to Uraraka. Because why the hell not?!

'Shoot, shoot, shoot..! Are my hands sweaty? Am I too shaky? What if they notice? Do I smell bad? I mean, we all probably do after the attack, and I can make out some foul odour, but what if it's just from my body? Am I—'

A tug on his hand snapped him out of his thoughts, his eyes meeting Katsumi's. She was looking at him bemusedly, knowing him well enough to figure out what were the thoughts going on in his head.

"Oi, where's all that bravado from earlier? Got the heebie-jeebies now or something?"

"A-Ah. Sorry. And yeah, something like that," he nodded, not even bothering to hide it. Katsumi was perceptive like that. "I guess I was running on adrenaline the whole time. The fact that you two said yes is… It's crazy. I'm still trying to come to terms with it."

"Good of you to realize how ridiculous this is," she huffed, turning her head away. Blonde strands fell down to her ear, which was tipped red. "But Round Face was right; if there's anyone who could make the both of us happy at the same time, it's you. So don't let us down there!"

"O-Of course! I promise you, I won't go back on my word! There's nothing in the world I wouldn't do for you!"

"Nngh..! I-I get it! You've made that abundantly clear!"

From his other side, Uraraka rested her head against his shoulder, inadvertently making him shudder in joy. "It's definitely strange, but… I feel like we can make this work. I wonder why."

"Because our bo… our b-boy…"

"Boyfriend."

"I know that!" Katsumi cried out. "Look, there's no one in the world I know who's more honest than Izuku! So if he ever says something, he means it!"

"Mm. That's reassuring," she then turned her gaze towards him, smiling beautifully. "But you don't need to push yourself so much to please us, okay? Simple gestures like this are sometimes more than enough. Plus, we're in a relationship now. So we'll do our best to make you happy too!"

Her words, sincere as her soul, had him beaming. "U-Uraraka-san..! Yes, let's all do our best!"

"Don't make it sound like some kind of class assignment!"

"Hehe~! Don't be like that, Bakugo-san! It's actually really cute!"

Izuku sighed, smiling a little lighter now. How the two of them weren't awkward with this arrangement was beyond him, but there was no point questioning anything anymore. He'd meant every word, and he was going to roll with it.

"Oh!" He perked up, realizing something. Both girls looked to him. "I was thinking, when the two of you have your phones replaced, we should all exchange numbers. To stay in contact. Especially since we'll be going to U.A. together."

"Right! I almost forgot about that," the brunette groaned. "Uuurgh. My parents are gonna' freak out… This was not how I'd expected my day to go. And I'm really hoping this is the last time something this crazy ever happens again. I've had enough excitement in my life…"

"Hate to break it to ya', Round Face, but you do realize that we're going to become heroes, right? That's bound to have its share of excitement."

"Don't remind meee…"

What happened next was a blur. They waited for the train to arrive, of which Uraraka took it to go home. She promised to meet them again someday, and he genuinely looked forward to that. And once the train took off, so too did he and Katsumi, Izuku opting to walk his friend home. She'd been hesitant to let him go on her own, but after much reassurance and even one final hug (he'd been the one to ask for it—obviously. It wasn't like she wanted it or anything), he was well on his way home.

His mother had almost thrown her back out fretting over him, as expected. It was probably a shocker for her to find out that her son had been involved in a villain attack, and he had to reassure her countless times that he wasn't going to suffer from some weird infection any time soon.

Night turned into day. Izuku got through his routines on automatic, his mind a bit of a blank as he thought on all the events yesterday. It was a concern for his mom, who insisted he just use the rest day to calm down. He took it for what it was; an opportunity for her to keep an eye on him just so that she wouldn't have to deal with the panic of assuming something happening to him again.

He was also able to reach out to Katsumi by asking his mom to message Aunty Mitsuki. Thankfully, the blonde was doing just fine, apparently in the mood to just laze away and 'not deal with any more bullshit', as she aptly put it. There was much argument between mother and daughter on the latter's swearing, something that he'd been far too used to.

Eventually, once their talk came to an end, Izuku excused himself to his room, just planting his body on his bed and revelling in the comfort of the soft mattress underneath his back. He'd spent enough time lying on the road that he was more than happy to go back to comfort.

'Feels like I could just lie here and fall asleep forever. It's that comfortable…'

Of course, life wouldn't permit that of him. He still had his dreams to see realized, as well as making his new girlfriends (and he had to bury his giggle into his pillow at the thought) happy. And the first step to that was, oddly enough, actually getting into U.A.

And what an incentive. He'd prepared himself for disappointment down the line; that, were he to fail in the entrance exams, he would simply sign up for voluntary work. Noble and altruistic, many would say, even if it didn't reach the grand extent of heroes.

But still, it wouldn't compare to being a hero. And if he succeeded in getting into U.A., then he'd get to be with Katsumi and Uraraka…

Any thoughts were swiftly cut off by something landing on his chest. "Oof!" He grunted, squinting at whatever had just thought to drop right on his body while he'd been lying in his bed…

"Yip!"

Green eyes stared into black beady orbs—and it wasn't a person. He blinked, then leaned back to get a better look. To his surprise, it was a snow-white fox, a flower crown on its head as it stared at him, having just greeted him with a soft bark.

"Uhh," he looked left and right, then back at the fox. "Where'd you come from?"

The little thing couldn't exactly verbalize a proper response to that besides yipping at him, then to jump off of him and onto his floor. It strutted over to his bathroom door, its tail swaying left and right like a pendulum. It stopped right at the door, then turned around to look at him, waiting patiently.

"You… want me to come with you? To the bathroom?" His furry companion barked again, as if confirming his question. He looked at the door, thinking it needed to pee or something. "Huh. Well, sure."

One should probably question how such an animal had gotten into his room without getting noticed. One should also wonder what the purpose of taking a fox to a bathroom was. Wild animals don't exactly care for toilet manners as people or housetrained animals do.

Well, he had all those questions, but he shelved them for the moment, thinking to just humour it for a moment before fully surrendering himself to the curiosity. There wasn't any immediate danger, as far as he could tell, and it seemed harmless.

Nevertheless, Izuku got off his bed and made his way over to the door, the fox wagging its tail as it waited for him. He grabbed the doorknob, twisting it and stepping onto cold tiles.

Or, at least what should have been cold tiles.

Instead, it was soil that his feet contacted, the dampness of the earth and the grass tickling his feet all but making it impossible to mistake the sensation. And where there should have been walls and a toilet and a sink and all that jazz were nowhere to be seen. Instead, walking through the door, Izuku was shocked to find himself stepping out into the open, and his eyes landed upon a very, very familiar shrine.

"Yip!" The fox sprinted away right after. He watched it go, finding all sorts of other animals roaming the area, some watching him curiously while others seemed more content to let him be. He then turned to look behind his shoulder, and he'd apparently walked out of a door connected to a tree.

Now that he had a better look of the place, the place had gone through a pretty big change. It used to have that abandoned place vibe, but everything felt more alive now, the air electric. It smelt cleaner, and whatever time had done to this place had all but been unwound. Flowers bloomed across the building and the trees, the gravel path now lacking any weeds. Under the night sky, both the fireflies and the lanterns hanging from tree branches threw soft yellows upon the gloomy darkness.

Not sure where else he should be, he began making his way towards Ai's shrine. She probably intended for him to be here, right? That was likely it. She must have sent her familiar to guide him here via some portal—in this case, establishing a direct connection between his bathroom and some random tree. All of that was just within divine ability.

And, as if his thoughts had summoned her, slow footsteps came from the shrine. And emerging from the darkness was a familiar face with hair of rainbows, a gentil smile upon her expression as she met his gaze.

"Izuku."

"Lady Ai," he nodded weakly, smiling. "I-It's been some time."

"Yes it has! And goodness, it seems like you've been busy."

The reminder had him blushing. "T-That's..! Well, it happened," his hand reached up to his neck. "N-Not like I'm going to complain, but still…"

"Hey, I wasn't saying that it was a bad thing! If anything, I'm rather impressed! You've always struck me as such a timid person, but the confidence in that moment was utterly—"

"W-Wait! Were you watching?!"

In contrast to his shock, she merely waved him off. "Well, of course! I'm the goddess of love and relationships. I've got to make sure things actually go well," at his whine, she shook her head. "Come now, it's not too bad. I genuinely think it was sweet!"

"I want to die now…"

"Nope! You've still got your job to do; saving the world! And being a good boyfriend, naturally," with that, she sat down on a step. "C'mere," she patted the spot beside her. "Let's talk for a little while. I want to know how you feel and whatnot."

The invitation was oddly nerve-racking. He gulped, not sure if sitting beside a goddess was proper, but eventually moved to sit beside her. Her eyes watched him all the while, and in her simple dress, she looked too beautiful. As if she didn't belong in this realm.

His assessment fizzled away as her hand found its way through his hair, stroking his head. Shame and comfort intermingled with one another, and he couldn't help but lean into her touch.

"I am grateful, you know?" Her words were soft, almost motherly. He stared into her eyes blessed by the auroras, relief in her gaze. "You put yourself in danger to save two girls simply because it was in your nature to do so. And now, you've guaranteed them a warm future. You really are outdoing yourself."

"A-Aaah…" He couldn't hold his gaze, looking away. "I-It's still too early to say that our future together is great or anything…"

"Perhaps. But you have always been a kind person. There's no world where you will ever treat the girls poorly."

"…Did you know?" He couldn't help but ask after awhile. "About Kacchan… About Katsumi liking me, I mean."

"I did," she nodded. "I've known for a very long time now. Not that I've been observing the two of you since the beginning, but after we met, I looked into you two. And her love for you had always been there, buried yet powerful."

Damn… He couldn't have possibly imagined that. But once again, having the benefit of hindsight, it was so obvious. Their parents probably knew, and Aunty Mitsuki even teased them about it, but none of them had wanted to force that sort of thing onto them. They'd probably been waiting for either him or Katsumi to take that first leap.

The boy groaned. "I'm an idiooot…"

"Oh, it's fine! Better late than never, I say. And now that the two of you have finally reciprocated one another's feelings, I can say for certain that Katsumi has never been happier."

"…Thanks," the goddess perked up, prompting him to elaborate. "I think… if you'd never warned me, I might have just buried my feelings forever. But seeing both of them in danger back then, I…I was terrified about losing them," he clasped his hands between his knees, looking off into the expanse of the trees. "It's even stranger that I felt the same thing for Uraraka-san as I did for Katsumi. Am I weird?"

"That's just in the cards for you. You assumed I was kidding about you falling in love with multiple girls, but that's just how it is," her casual acceptance of that bizarre notion had him faltering somewhat. "Just so you know, I never intervened whatsoever. Your feelings, your determination… all of those were your own. I am only an observer, or at times, someone who advises. I would never dare tamper with the hearts of man."

"And I just… feel this strongly for the both of them? Just like that? And I'm apparently going to feel this way towards a lot of other girls?"

"It just goes to show that you have a heart so big, that the love in your heart deserves to be shown to as many people as possible. Right?"

"That's…"

Simple as her words were, it was enough to leave him speechless. Part of him was still confused as to why he, of all people, was apparently fated to fall in so love with so many people. And the other part of him was… well, he was touched. Ai felt that he, of all people, deserved such a thing, even when he didn't share the same opinion.

That only left him to meet her expectations, doesn't it? Not when the alternative meant upsetting his girlfriends.

"And the world getting destroyed."
"Right, I almost forgot that… Wait, destroyed?"

His head snapped towards the woman, who nodded back, expression becoming frigid. "I told you, didn't I? One way or another, your love will save this world. How that will come about, I can't exactly spoil the details, but let's just say that something dreadfully powerful will rear its ugly head… And at that point, it's up to you be prepared to meet such evil head-on."

"T-That's…"

"But! You won't be doing it alone!" She was smiling once more. "I'll be here to help you. Plus, you'll have many women who will be by your side. So don't stress too much about it!"

"What do you mean? You literally told me that something is going to destroy the world!" Izuku cried out, gripping his hair. "Of course I'd be stressed about that!"

"Sure, but it's not like that's set in stone!" Ai patted him on the back, all smiles while he despaired over the possibility. "Just stay true to yourself, work hard, and your happy end is all but guaranteed! Plus, you have my power, so it's fine now!"

"Yeah, about that. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you make it like a videogame?!" He cried out. "Of all the methods you could have possibly done it, this was so unexpected!"

"Ehh, it's fine," she waved him off. "It helps distinguish my power from a Quirk. A necessary thing to do, because now, you'll be able to manage your relationship with your girlfriends much, much better otherwise. And there are plenty of things to discover in this, so I hope you take the time to check it out when you have the time!"

Her words made Izuku pause, looking at her in surprise. "Wait, what does that mean?"

"Heh. I'm thorough in my work, you know. The whole point of my power appearing like a videogame is, of course, so that it's easy for you to access it. Just flick your fingers in a downward motion like this," he watched her extend her pointer and middle digit, then swiping down in the air. "I took this from an anime I saw the other day. When you do this, it'll bring out a main menu just like a videogame, and you'll see plenty of things."

Really? That was it? That looked way too simple for things.

Curiosity warred with hesitation, however, as he took in a deep breath. He had a choice here; to avert his eyes and face the truth later, or just take a dip in the sauce right away and accept the fact that his life had been turned into what feels like a videogame.

He groaned. He was going to regret this…

Without wasting a moment, he sat upright and swiped his right fingers down midair, feeling silly in doing so. Unfortunately, Ai's instructions proved true, and a new 'window' materialized in his vision with a soft chime in his ears, making him falter as he came to terms with Ai having attached a videogame to him.

However, as exasperated as he was with this entire situation, he couldn't help but be surprised by the options laid out before him.

[Heroines]

[Stats]

[Skills]

"This isn't as big of a menu so far."
"Don't worry! It'll grow with time."

So there would be more options he'd have access to. He wondered what could possibly be added down the line, though he supposed that was something for him to discover later on.

Was that a good thing? Or no? He wasn't even sure at this point. He looked back at the menu, then felt like there was nothing else to do but to properly check his menu out. He started by pressing on 'Heroines', which brought forth a list; small profile pictures of his girlfriends were arranged on the left, their names written right beside their picture. He hummed, scrolling down to see just how many spots were still vacant…

Oh. Oh no. Ohhh, there are a lot of empty spots.

Izuku whimpered at that, feeling a little overwhelmed. What was he supposed to do with this information? Ai told him that he was going to fall in love with a lot of girls, but there was no way it would go to this extent, right? And why the hell is the list still scrolling down?!

"I'm telling you, you'll meet a lot of girls."

"I'm steadfastly ignoring this," he quickly scrolled back up, holding tight onto his sanity as she giggled beside him. "Err, I suppose I'll see what Katsumi's profile shows."

He tapped on Katsumi's picture, which then brought forth a small and nicely arranged interface of his girlfriend's profile. And huh, this was pretty detailed.

Her full name, her Quirk, her age, her birthday… Her hobbies, her favourite gifts, food and hangout spot, and her bust—wait, what?

Okay, first off, the fact that Izuku's house was the designated information in her favourite hanging spot left him burning on the spot. And also…

"Why is her c-cup size included?!" He cried out.

"Oh," she blinked. Then, she smiled sheepishly. "I might have accidentally played a dating game or two before making this. The mature kind. And, um, I sort of accidentally included this in the profile."

"I don't want to know their cup sizes! This just makes me seem like a pervert!"

"A-Ahaha… My bad."

Moving past the embarrassment, Izuku opted to put away Katsumi's profile, moving onto Ochako's. Her results made him quirk a brow. "Huh."

In comparison to Katsumi, whose profile was completely filled out, Ochako's first four information—her name, her age, her Quirk and her birthday—were complete. Everything else was left completely empty.

Hmm… Going by his admittedly lacking videogame logic (or, in this instance, dating game logic), information about a character could either be made readily available from the very start, or something to be discovered over time through repeated interactions. That Ochako's information was lacking a lot of information might just lead credence to the second idea.

"It's as you think it is," she said. Telling, that she had read his mind before he could even vocalize his thoughts. "I assure you that this isn't some kind of device to read into a person's information like some kind of hacker. Consider it more of a diary of sorts, which will keep details of whatever you've learnt of your girlfriend, be it through observation, hearing from others or direct questioning."

So it just stored information that he would have to make an effort to learn from her. That… sort of made sense here. He'd known Katsumi for so long that he'd long learnt of her favourites and her personality. It really made sense.

The bust, however, was something he was going to deny until the end. And he chose to actively ignore that detail no matter how many times he will likely see it in the future.

'Stats' was safer territory, and this had him wondering what kind of ridiculous videogame stat he was to be bestowed with that would ultimately mean nothing outside of dates. And once again, he was surprised by what he found.

[Stats]

Charisma: 3

Wisdom: 0

Technique: 1

He hadn't gone into this expecting the traditional RPG stats like strength and resilience, and his prediction was proven right with what he was seeing. Those physicality-related stats would have probably not meant anything in what was essentially a dating sim setting, so these domains seemed more appropriate in relation to relationships.

Although, he wasn't sure what to make of the fact that all of them were super low. If he tracked the numbers right, all the stats had begun at zero, which could mean that Ai just wanted to establish a baseline for him to then work with and improve over time. But knowing himself, he had a feeling that he really did have zero everything prior to all of this…

"Allow me to explain what each stat is for," she began, pointing at his menu as if she could see it as well. "Charisma is your natural predisposition to make you likable by your girlfriends and the people around you, Wisdom is your ability to correctly understand and predict his heroine's behaviours to then act accordingly to benefit them, and Technique refers to when you use differing methods to make your girlfriends happy during or outside of dates."

Huh… Those were fairly straightforward, he supposed, and it made sense why they were so low. He had never been in a relationship with any girl so far, so there would have been no reason for him to be capable whatsoever in any of them.

Technique, however… what did that entail? Could it be table manners? The way he behaved around them? Little gestures? He'd attained a point in Technique after he'd confessed his love to the two of them, though that couldn't possibly be the only way to raise it. And was he only going to gain points in Wisdom by learning more about his girlfriends? Would that be related to him somehow filling out his girlfriends' character profiles? He hadn't learnt much about Ochako, though, so maybe that had no effect on his stat—

"Hey, don't fry your brain trying to think too hard about it!" He blinked at the little tap on his cheek. "You can just take your time to figure it out another time. And yes, they'll have their own impacts on your performance. That's up for you to discover."

"Er, s-sorry."

Overanalysing things as per usual. He almost couldn't believe he was giving this much thought for something so silly as this. He'd only ever shown this much focus when it came to his analysis of superheroes. This was something wholly different.

But that was just in his nature, at the end of the day. Just like how hardcore gamers would pour hours into learning their stuff, he was now given an opportunity to study a power that was given to him. Something that was his own, almost like a Quirk. It was little reason why he wanted to know so much about it, then. Nevertheless, he just had 'Skills' left…

[Skills]

Power of Love: A blessing that fuels the wielder through his romantic bonds with his partners. Granted by Ai, the goddess of love.

…and there was only one. Great. It made him slump, a little disappointed to see only one thing there. At least there were question marks below his first skill, which meant that there were more to be unlocked down the line.

He hoped so, at least. It would be pointless to add a whole submenu for just one thing otherwise. Hell, it said 'Skills', plural. There was no way this was it.

"Aaand that's it for now," she nodded. "As you can see, it's a whole thing. And while it may seem simple at first, trust me when I say it'll get pretty exciting down the line," she grinned. "You'll just love what's to come."

Well, he's regretted a lot of things in his life, but her blessing wasn't one of them—the headaches notwithstanding. If she felt like the wait would be worth it, then he had to put his faith in her once again.

He closed the menu, sighing in relief. That was honestly a lot of stuff to wrap his head around. He was unsure if he'd be getting sleep tonight, likely going to be kept awake as his mind refused to stop buzzing about this whole matter. Overanalysing things was just in his blood, and it would likely be a couple of sleepless hours just giving his power a looksee.

But… the fact that she'd given this power so much thought meant that she really did intend to hold true to her promise to help him in facing off against this danger she told him of. To save the world…

He wasn't sure if he could make that happen. But he'd be damned if he didn't try.

"Well, now that that's over with, I think it's best you take your time going through your entire power whenever you can. It's nothing too difficult, but I'm positive it'll be of great help to you."

"Yeah, I… Thank you," he said, facing her. "For this. I'm not sure if I've done anything to deserve this, but I'll do my best to be worthy of it."

His words made her smile beautifully at him, leaving his heart to race in his chest. "Heh! Such a darling boy you are, Izuku. I see now why Ochako and Katsumi fell in love with you!" She laughed back at his stammering response. "Well, if that's all there is, you should get some rest," she patted him once more. "You've worked hard. Get a good night's sleep, okay? We'll meet each other again someday."

Imagine getting attacked just one day ago, and then to go back to school the next. It was a good thing that the incident hadn't made it big in the news, though he did hear mention of it sometime earlier, when the newscaster spoke of villain attacks and unlucky students getting caught in the crossfire. At least their names weren't mentioned, for whatever reasons.

Nevertheless, the jarring thing about it all was the fact that nothing had changed—besides his mother being so much more concerned about his safety, that is. She'd initially suggested he get a sick letter, but he didn't really feel like it. So, after much reassurance, he was now well on his way to school.

'Guess that's just how life is. Something so lifechanging could happen one day, and the next, everything's back to normal. Almost like it never happened to begin with.'

In a way, he was glad for that. One bad moment was more than enough. He would have hated it if that event had bled into today. He wanted to forget everything about yesterday.

Well, not exactly everything.

"Oi, Izu."

Through the noise of all the chatter around him, that single voice cut through so clearly, he almost homed in on it. His eyes dragged upwards from where he'd been staring down on the road, spotting a familiar blonde by the gate. Her hair looked a little dishevelled, and there were bandages around her neck and a plaster on her face, likely for the burns she'd sustained. He'd been lucky that he hadn't even gotten bruises despite all the times he'd been knocked into the ground.

Just the mere sight of her had his heart racing once again, and he was temporarily dismayed by the idea that, maybe, deep down, he really was a romantic. Who would have known?

Shaking his head, he promptly jogged over to the taller girl with a smile. "Morning, Kacchan. How was your sleep last night?"

"It was fine," she hummed, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking with him. "Both dad and the hag were losing their minds when I got back home though. Got over it with time, but it was still pretty annoying."

"It's expected, isn't it? They care about you."

"W-Well, yeah, I know that!" She stuttered, embarrassed. "But still, I'm a tough girl! I'm fine! Ain't nothing that could keep me down!"

"That's certainly true. You're amazing."

"Pfft. Duh. I'm the greatest," he didn't miss the quiver in the corner of her lips. "But uh, how about you? Aunty Inko doing alright?"

"Tried to get me to stay in bed today. She was worried I wasn't feeling up for classes, but I wasn't as injured as the two of you were. I'm fine."

"You say that, but you have a little scratch mark underneath your chin here," he perked up, trying to feel his face for where the scratch was. She eventually got tired of him, and reached out to touch his face. "Jeez, stop that already! Here, I'll show you."

So saying, she gripped his chin between her thumb and middle finger. Despite how rough of a person she was, her hold was anything but, as gentle as caressing a flower. Her index stroked across a tiny scar below his right jaw, and he found his breath caught in his throat as he focused on the sensation.

As a comfortable silence passed them, Izuku couldn't help but look up at her face, mesmerized by the calm in her gaze. People often mistake her for being some kind of short-fused punk who was angry twenty-four-seven, but she was still a person. And in a moment like this, he couldn't help but appreciate this side of her.

As quickly as the moment had come, it was just as quickly did she pull away. His body was close to chasing after her, but he reeled himself in at the very last moment, caught once more with shame and disbelief at himself.

"Did it hurt?" Her whisper of a voice made him snap out of his stupor, and he was so close to apologizing—that was until he noticed the redness slowly blooming across her face.

"A-Ah. No, it didn't," shaking his head, he smiled at her once again. "Thanks for letting me know. I didn't notice it all."

"It's… It's whatever."

They resumed walking once more, but Izuku couldn't get the feel of her hand on his face out of his mind. If anything, his eyes were following its swing, and his mind was desperately screaming at him to not be a dumb ass and say something he was going to regret.

"Kacchan, is it okay if we hold hands?"

"Hmm?" Fuck. He'd done it now.

The panic was instantaneous. Every fibre of his being was now on overdrive, and his immediate reflex was to backpedal, stammering all the while in the hopes of preserving what little integrity he had left. "Ah! N-Nothing! It's nothing! I-It was an accident! Just ignore me, and—"

"Izu, shut up!" The order overpowered his survival mechanisms, and his teeth clattered as his mouth went shut. Her glare on him froze him to the spot, and he knew there was no running from this. "Say whatever you said just now. And don't lie to me!"

Fuuuck. Why did he have to open his big, fat mouth? Did he somehow grow stupid overnight simply because he'd gotten two girlfriends? He would have never been this brazen usually! His brain must have lost some cells after yesterday's incident!

Now he was facing the consequences of his idiocy, and he wondered if there was a car driving outside that he could conveniently throw himself in front of, just to escape this situation.

Unfortunately, there were no cars. And he doubted he'd be able to outrun the much more athletic blonde even if he tried. And so, with a deep breath taken, he slowly uttered each word for her to hear, his shoulders hunched as he spoke quietly. "I-Is it okay, if we, umm…"

"What? Spit it out."

"…C-Can we hold hands, Kacchan..?"

Some foolish part of him urged him to throw a glance in her way, noting her expression of surprise. Eventually, her face was sporting a healthy flush as she bit her lower lip, averting her gaze from him. That brought forth a sense of horror upon him, afraid that he'd just grossed her out.

But where she refused to say a word, she responded with a little nod, almost unnoticeable to anyone who wasn't near enough to see it. Her left hand, earlier hanging by her side, twitched instinctively, slowly turning towards him.

The invitation was clear.

Izuku stared at her hand, then at her, eyes wide. "K-Kacchan?"

"Shut it..! Y-You wanted this!" She hissed out, embarrassment bleeding into her tone. "So stop pussyfooting and get to it already!"

He'd already avoided repercussions from the mere act of asking her. Now, he was determined to keep that streak in terms of getting beaten up for not following through on his request, which gave him just that stupid boost he needed.

With great hesitation and a silent prayer to Ai, Izuku timidly reached out for her hand with his right, feeling the nerves jump about. He'd never done anything like this before, and he would have never dared to ask such a thing. And yet…

When his hand found hers, he could feel the both of them shiver. But neither pulled away. Instead, he allowed his palm to slide against hers, fingers wrapping around the back of her hand while she did the same. Faint callouses greeted him with every movement, yet all he could marvel at was how drastically soft a girl's hand was from a boy's.

[You have made strides in achieving handholding! You gain 1 in Technique!]

None of the teenagers said anything as they stared ahead, content to simply lose themselves in this one moment. And if anyone had ever dared to comment about the massive smile on the greenette's face, or the brightest blush on the blonde's, then they were probably wrong.

Author's Notes:

So yes, there's actually a lot more to work with when it comes to Ai's power. It's based off your typical dating game style, of course, but this is a BNHA world. So might as well tie in the romance aspect with the actual superpowers, lol.

While I'd love to dive into the media and philosophies I used as reference for this chapter, I think it'll be fun to explore them more in future chapters. But I will definitely give a shoutout to my all-time favourite fanfic story, SAO: The Eroge, again. I took much inspiration from it in how to approach this story's style of game sense. Often times, most fics would go for a traditional RPG style, like Forged Destiny (a RWBY fanfic) and some other Gamer fics. It'd be strange to go with the theme of romance and not use a dating sim as inspiration here.

Also, as a little fun bit, I'll post every new girl's completed profile at the end of the chapter whenever I see fit. For today, you get Katsumi's.

[Katsumi Bakugou: Explosive Tsundere]

Full Name: Katsumi Bakugou

Quirk: Explosion

Age: 14

Birthday: 20 April

Hobby: Fishing, Exercise

Fav. Gift: Fitness

Fav. Food: Spicy

Fav. Hangout: Izuku's home

Bust: B