Cubicity 43: Spring Arrives

"It's too fast," Eri stated with irritation.

"You're actually pretty quick, Eri-chan. It's your technique that needs work. Here let me show you," Tooru explained. She took the net from the smaller girl and approached her target slowly. She then lunged forward and, once caught, made a circular motion with her wrist so that the sweep net's bottom came over the top of the frame, sealing off the mouth of the net. "See? Now they can't fly or jump out as they did before."

"What did you get?"

Hagakure pulled out a small green bug as she stated, "Grasshopper."

The child's face looked slightly disgusted at the result.

Tooru let the grass muncher back on the ground before saying, "Oh, don't give me that look. Grasshoppers are considered lucky."

Eri's eyes lit up as she asked, "So like cats?"

"Exactly!"

Hagakure let go of the bug and handed the net back to the child.

Eri then looked around for a new target.

"Gotta say, I didn't think Hagakure-san would be the kind of person to be into bug catching," Aizawa stated.

To his left came Midoriya's voice. "Me neither. She's never brought it up before."

"Well, she's definitely having more success than I was before. I'm glad you two came along."

"We just noticed you struggling and felt like we should see what was going on."

Eraserhead sighed before saying, "This morning, Eri-chan noticed all the butterflies outside her window during her lessons and insisted on seeing them. Of course, anytime she got close, they flew away, so I thought, why not use a net. Though you saw, our efforts were pretty dismal."

Izuku chuckled before saying, "She's really into the spring mood, it seems."

"Experiencing the seasons is a new experience for her considering she was locked inside for so many years. I'm sure the same will happen in the summer." Shota then looked at his student and said, "I'll have to thank Hagakure-san later for giving us some privacy."

The boy gave a worrying look at his teacher.

"It's nothing nefarious, I assure you; we just don't get these moments often, and it's been a while." Aizawa's gaze hardened, though, as he said, "Especially since you've been going out at night with a certain vigilante."

"Oh, that. I'm guessing All Might-sensei informed you?"

"Actually, your mentor failed to mention it until your last trip," the man said with irritation in his voice. "And only because I was curious as to why you had been given permission to leave school grounds twice recently. I don't know how I missed it the first time."

Midoriya gulped. "Do you not approve?"

Aizawa rubbed the temple of his head with his right hand as he explained, "In the end, it turned out fine, so far, but I still expect to be in the know. Ever since I was first informed of One For All, I've mostly been kept in the loop." He then looked over at the girls as he asked, "Does Hagakure-chan like her new suit and gadgets?"

Izuku's head sank as he answered, "I haven't given them to her yet."

"Why?"

The boy looked away from his teacher as he tapped his index fingers together. "To give as a present for White Day."

After a long exhale, Shota stated, "I should have known." He then crossed his arms as he said, "Well, at least she'll have some time with it before the term ends, I suppose."

"The original plan was to give it to her yesterday, but The Fixer convinced me otherwise."

The teacher shook his head before saying, "Really sticking to that sanbai gaeshi (triple the return) tradition, are we? You know mostly only old geezers practice in that?"

Midoriya only nodded as a response.

"Well, I doubt you have to worry about Hagakure-san being disappointed receiving that and whatever else you have in store. However, this romance talk is putting a bad taste in my mouth so let's change the subject."

"To what?"

"To your quirk training," Aizawa responded while pointing to the teen. "All Might tells me you've been able to use Float for a few weeks now. Though obviously, I haven't been able to see you use it in class or during our Team Appreciation Club training."

"Well, I was awful at it at first. It wasn't until I invited Ochako-chan to my training sessions with Kacchan on Fridays that I could properly use it. Her tips from her own experience with flight were exactly what I needed."

"While it's good to hear you've made good progress with it, I can't help but wonder how you explained to Uraraka-san this new quirk of yours."

Izuku tugged at his shirt collar as he said, "Well, um..."

"And Blackwhip too. I thought I was going to have to come to your aid in class the next day, but everyone seemed to have accepted it with no issue."

The boy held up his hands defensively as he tried to explain. "Trust me, I wracked my brain on how to explain Blackwhip for hours after our Joint Training exercise. I was hoping to avoid talking about it for a while, but Todoroki-kun sorta cornered me at that night's dinner. Tooru-chan was able to bail me out the first few times when others asked, but he was pretty persistent in his questions."

"His analytical nature can be just as scary as yours sometimes," Shota stated with a shrug. "So, what did you come up with?"

"I kinda came up with it on the spot." Midoriya held up his right hand and produced a short string of black energy. "My answer was that it was an externalization of Super Power. After the Air Bullets from my Force Gloves, in my head, it felt like a natural progression of my power from an outside observer's eye. It seemed to get through to most of the class, though lots of them found it creepy that my inner power was black tendrils." Izuku then gave an awkward chuckle.

"Okay, but Float?"

The student gulped and said, "I said my grandfather had the quirk."

"Uraraka-san bought that?"

"And Sero-kun."

Eraserhead placed both hands on his face as he asked, "How does he know?"

"I asked him for some help with Blackwhip, and he's joined in on my last two training sessions."

"Well, I guess Tape is pretty similar to it. But still, you have four more quirks to master. I don't see how you can explain your extended family as the source of them all."

"I mean, one explanation I could use would be Quirk Singularity..."

"You'll be a laughing stock if you try to push that theory. And even if people bought that you would have certain unsavory people after you as a research subject for such a fringe idea."

Midoriya sighed and nodded before saying, "I know. It was more of a last resort."

"I don't think All Might would approve regardless." Aizawa then put a hand on his student's shoulder as he said, "It does bring up a good point that we need to come up with a better explanation for the general public as your prominence grows. Better sooner than later."

Izuku gave a soft grin before stating, "Thanks, sensei."

Suddenly Eri approached with excitement in her eyes and voice. "Look what I found, Deku-kun!" She held up the bug net and had a hand closing off the bottom half to prevent her target's escape. Inside was a butterfly fluttering around in random directions. Even blurred, Midoriya could tell its primary colors were black and blue.

Tooru soon followed and said, "Show it to him properly now."

The younger girl nodded and loosened her grip on the net, and allowed her other hand to venture inside the net. The bug eventually landed on her hand, and she slowly drew it out.

Midoriya could see it clearly now. The butterfly was mostly black, with a single stripe of color at the center of each wing. It became wider towards the body and thinner at the end of the wings. He, however, was wrong about the stripe's color. It was more cyan than blue.

Eraserhead pulled out his phone as he said, "You got a pretty one there. Any idea what it is?"

Eri struggled to answer as she said, "A blue...bluebot?" She then looked to Tooru for some help.

"A Common Bluebottle."

"Yeah, that," she stated with a beaming grin.

After taking a picture, Aizawa stated, "We should get you ready for dinner. What do we say to Hagakure-san?"

Eri lightly waved the hand holding the butterfly, and it flew off. She then proceeded to hug the taller girl's leg and thanked her.

"We should do this again sometime," Hagakure said as she patted the small girl's head.

The two said their goodbyes, and once they were turned around, Tooru was quick to get to her boyfriend's side and asked, "Did you talk about anything juicy with Aizawa-sensei?"

A bit confused, Izuku asked, "What constitutes it as juicy in this context? This is our homeroom teacher we are talking about."

"One For All secret stuff."

"Oh, a bit. Just going over my explanation for Blackwhip to the class and Float to Ochako-chan plus Sero-kun."

Tooru groaned before saying, "Got to admit, your Float answer was pretty lame."

"I'm aware."

"Anything else?"

"Oh, um, just stuff about my Friday sessions with All Might-sensei and Kacchan." Midoriya then asked, "How did you know Aizawa-sensei wanted to talk to me?"

"When you went over to try and give advice to Eri-chan, he gave me some hand gestures to take her away from you two. Though I guess he had no idea I am a former expert on bug catching," Hagakure responded with pride in her tone.

"Yeah, about that."

"A hobby of mine I had when I was younger. Before my transition in middle school. It felt nostalgic doing it again, though, I will admit."

"Down to even knowing their species? You must be pretty knowledgeable."

"Oh, that? Eri-chan just so happened to catch my favorite is all. I've forgotten most of the other species that are common."

Izuku smirked, "Let me guess, because of its cyan color?"

"Yes, I am that basic, don't judge me."

Izuku held back a laugh but then thought back to her earlier explanation and said, "Just how much did you leave behind when you decided to change yourself?"

"No need to worry. It was one of the few things I totally dropped. I kept most of my other interests; it was more my personality I wanted to change. Being a bug collector was more something I grew out of than anything." Tooru then placed both her hands on her boyfriend's shoulders as she asked, "Do my former interests interest you that much?"

"I just felt bad that perhaps you threw away a lot of things you liked for the sake of changing for the better."

"Nah. I'm still the fashion-loving plushy-hugging prank-inducing invisible gal I've always been. I'm just now much more outgoing and positive about my outlook on life, is all."

Midoriya gave a slight blush as he said, "You had that effect on me as well."

"Hmm?"

"You becoming a part of my life has really brought me out of my shell, I guess." There was a bit of silence, but Izuku then felt himself be pulled into an embrace.

"You are really good at throwing me off sometimes with your romantic talk."

Izuku gave an awkward laugh as he said, "It's more accidental than anything, I swear."

"Well, I still have plenty to do to bring you out even further yet," Tooru said with a sly voice.

The boy's chuckle cut short and was followed by a deep gulp, which brought about a long laugh from his girlfriend as the two parted from the hug.

"You're gonna be the death of me one of these days."

"Hopefully, the good kind."

Midoriya sighed and grabbed his girlfriend's hand as he began to walk back to the dorm. He then asked, "Did you notice Eri-chan's horn was small again?"

"Of course! That thing used to be massive back at the start of the term."

"Did she say anything about it?"

"After I asked her, yeah. Her training has her using Rewind every once in a while to keep it from storing too much power. She didn't say much about the actual training, though."

Izuku grinned as he stated, "Probably because she enjoys her schooling so much more." He overheard Eri talking about it as she attempted to catch bugs earlier.

Tooru shrugged. "Yeah, Eri-chan wouldn't shut up about it. Considering she is so behind in her academics, you would think she might dislike it since she has so much to cover to catch up."

"She has a natural craving to learn, especially since she was so sheltered from the way the world works early on."

"I see. You did mention how enthusiastic she was learning how to write from Togata-san in the last term."

With his free hand, Midoriya stroked the back of his head as he said, "Man, that feels like forever ago."

"Does it? This term feels like it's flying by compared to the last two."

"They all feel like a slow crawl to me."

Hagakure leaned into her boyfriend's side as she asked, "You probably prefer it that way, huh?"

The boy thought about how to answer for a moment before responding with, "Sorta. I finally get to be part of hero society by being here. I do want to take my time to soak it all in, considering I've only looked at it from afar just as a fan. But I also want to master this quirk and go pro to really cement my dream."

"You'll get there eventually. You're already night and day in your quirk's usage compared to the first day you stepped in here."

"At this rate, I'm going to be pretty scary by our third year."

Tooru giggled before saying, "But let's not rush that. We still have some time left in our first year. Let alone our second."

Izuku gave a slight nod. His thoughts then turned to all the possibilities of the new year of U.A. that was just around the corner.

"Good Evening, Midoriya-san," Kendo stated.

Midoriya looked desperately to his left and right to see any sign of his target, but no one else was around. Just 1B's class president sitting alone on the patio outside the school cafeteria.

"Evening. You wouldn't happen to know where-"

Itsuka interrupted with, "Sato-kun?" Izuku then gave a confused nod before the girl continued with, "He was here just a minute ago, you just missed him."

It took a moment, but Midoriya pieced together the information before him and said, "So he visits you every Thursday after dinner."

"Yup. We usually have a snack or something and talk in private. Though today I brought tea." Kendo then gestured towards the two mugs in front of her. "Would you like some?"

Izuku took a few steps forward to examine what the cups contained before shaking his head and asking, "Wait, what about Sato-kun?"

"Left to see Kirishima-san at the gym. Sato-kun got a text that stated his assistance was needed for some kind of training."

"And you stayed?"

"I'm not going to let these fresh cups of tea go to waste. Besides, the night spring air is quite relaxing." Itsuka then took a sip of the mug nearest to her. "So you came looking for Sato-kun, huh? What for?"

Midoriya exhaled and took a seat across from the 1B student before answering with, "I needed to talk to him in private. I was told he went out every Thursday evening here and figured he came to get snacks from one of the vending machines."

"Must be serious if you need to talk to him alone."

Izuku shrugged and stated, "It's rather silly, actually."

In a more severe tone, Itsuka said, "Try me."

"Well, there have been some rumors."

Kendo's voice switched to embarrassment as she stated, "Oh, that's my fault."

"What?"

"The dates, right?"

"Yup."

"I set those up for them."

"But why?"

"Sato-kun has been an odd case for me," Itsuka stated as she pushed the other mug towards her guest.

Izuku took the hint and pulled it towards himself. The mug felt warm, and he smelt a sweet aroma from it. He looked down to see the drink was a pale brown color.

"It's a Chinese ginger recipe I know. Sato-kun's favorite of mine. The brown sugar and honey really make it pack a punch."

Midoriya then curiously peered over to Kendo's drink, which was red in color.

"Oh this? It's a modified suanmeitang."

"Sounds also Chinese."

"Yup, it's made with sour plums with additional juiced fruits."

"Hmmm. Well anyway, what do you mean that Sato-kun had been an odd case?"

The 1B class president leaned back into her seat as she explained, "Usually after going on a date with someone, things either get awkward with them, we go back to the way things were before, or my dates try to rekindle with me. Sato-kun actually became my friend."

"Even though you rejected him?"

"I mean, that's how my dates usually end. Though I have been rejected a few times. Never been on a date more than once with a person."

Izuku's face became concerned as he stated, "That doesn't sound very fun to me."

"It's a fact of dating. You rarely find a compatible person on your first go. And besides, I date more for the experience than seeking anyone in particular. Though finding someone I do like along the way would be a bonus."

These statements sparked even more questions for Midoriya to ask. The first one made him realize that he and his friends had been fortunate in dating. It was normal for people to date a lot more to find a long term partner. Either way, the boy took a moment to think before asking, "So why date just for the experience?"

"In my last school, all I was concerned about was my grades so I could get into a school like this. Everyone else around me started to become interested in romance, but I pushed it aside." Kendo then smiled softly before saying, "Then I got into my dream school, and after a few months to see if I could handle the workload, I figured I could dabble in romance for once. So I've been dating here and there whenever I had the craving. In Sato-kun's case, I felt we could combine the meeting for a joint class activity and a date when he proposed the idea."

"He was pretty nervous about the whole thing. It felt out of nowhere for him."

"Well, it kind of was. Not everyone knew I had been active in dating people around the school at that time. Sato-kun might have approached me differently if he had known of such a fact. But anyway, I said it couldn't work out after our outing, but he insisted on staying friends afterward. And now, he is a regular visitor to our class dorms. Though now he attracts a crowd each time from my classmates, so I set up this Thursday meeting so we could have a weekly private time away from the others."

"Crowd?"

"Monoma-kun insists on being present if any 1A student is around. Kodai-chan is very suspicious of Sato-kun, though she won't tell me why. Tetutetsu-kun and Pony-chan are just very friendly to anyone. And then Komori-chan, Awase-kun, and Tokage-chan join in sometimes too. Sato-kun's visits frequently get hectic with everyone else involved."

Izuku finished his drink, which was quite good, before saying, "So you are setting up these dates for Sato-kun cause he stuck around with you as a friend."

"Basically. He took it so well, and I felt kind of bad that I turned him down. He's really a neat guy, but I just didn't feel anything romantic between us."

Midoriya then recalled how Mineta described Sato's reaction to being rejected.

Mineta rubbed his temple as he said, "And Sato-kun had a smile on his face when he told me. I just don't get it. Being friend-zoned is like the worst thing ever."

"So I've been trying to hook him up with people since. Though with no successes so far."

"These things take time."

"Not for you and your other classmates, it seems. There are already three couples in your class. Though dating within your class is one of my no-goes," Kendo stated while crossing her arms like an X."

"Wait, really?"

"Well yeah, if things go bad, it's going to be super awkward, especially now that we live together with our classmates. In my case, if things go south, at least the chances of seeing them daily are rare since I date people outside of 1B."

Midoriya really couldn't argue with such logic. When there were rough patches between him and his girlfriend, it was already quite unbearable. But they were still together. A bad break up with someone under the same roof for the next two years would be many magnitudes worse.

"But enough about me. Why did you want to know of Sato-kun's dates? And how did you find out?"

"I just wanted to clear up the truth, was all. Ashido-chan was getting a bit too into the rumors."

"Ah, so she's your classes' version of Tokage-chan. Understandable. A rumor-filled imagination can be quite scary."

"It is," Izuku stated with a sigh. He was glad to have this information to set the record straight with Mina. Though now he wondered if the pink teen would want to chip in and help as they did with Koji and Kyoka. Though that was still not resolved yet. The idea with Mina did drive the boy to ask, "Have you considered Sato-kun's options within your own class?"

"What? No, not at all."

"Well why not? You know them better than all the others you seem to be hooking them up with."

Itsuka shook her head. "That's just it. None of the girls seem like a good fit for him."

"How so?"

"Reiko-chan intimidates Sato-kun and they don't have anything in common. Yui-chan is a brick wall of an enigma to everyone. Setsuna-chan is too much for him and most anyone. Kinoko-chan has a very specific type, which he is very much not."

"Well what about Tsunotori-san?"

"Um, wouldn't that get in the way of Mineta-san? He comes over almost as often as Sato-kun to hang out with her and sometimes Manga-kun."

Midoriya still wasn't sure if Mineta was wanting to pursue the girl or not after being given tomo choco (friendship chocolate) last month.

"Your hope for me is almost baffling at times, Midoriya-kun."

Another thought did nag at Izuku though. "You're okay with him coming over?"

"At first? No. No one was beside Pony-chan. We had Manga-kun monitor his visits as they mostly discussed anime and manga, which also interested him as well. And things mostly have been fine, surprisingly, I think Pony-chan only had issues with Mineta-san during our joint training back in December, but even then they worked things out." Kendo then sighed. "Can't say I expected to talk about him of all people today."

"Sorry, I was just curious. Mineta-kun's got his issues but I still worry about him. He is my next door neighbor at the dorm and comes to me for advice a lot."

"I see, we'll I'll let you be the first to know if he acts up after Ida-kun and Momo-chan of course."

Izuku nodded. "Appreciated."

"Well anyways, my class isn't an option. So we'll keep trying other students, there's got to be someone out there."

Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess I should consider myself and my close friends lucky."

Kendo then stood up. "I'm sure plenty of people would be jealous of such luck. I appreciate all the experience regardless."

Izuku did the same but then bowed. "Thanks for being so open and cooperative Kendo-san. You put a lot of my worries to rest."

Midoriya looked inside the refrigerator eyeing his options. It was Sunday morning, and he slept in a bit, missing the served breakfast. At first, he thought he could skip it, but after talking with his friends for a while, his hunger got the best of him. Just as the boy considered the possibility of an omelet, he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he was greeted with the confused face of Ashido. She had one hand pointing towards the entrance to the dorms.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun isn't that one of Yaoyorozu-chan's butlers?"

Izuku proceeded to look to confirm, and sure enough, it was. Makoto Yasumura. He then quickly abandoned his drive for food and said, "I got this, Ashido-chan."

Makoto gave a slight wave and smiled as the boy approached. The butler was wearing a light gray sweater with black dress pants and shoes as well as his usual red gloves. The man was also holding a bag in one hand and a long briefcase in the other. Once the door was opened for him, he stated, "Good morning Midoriya-san. I am quite lucky I ran into you."

"What brings you here?"

"A sorta surprise visit for Yaoyorozu-dono. Is she around?"

Midoriya shook his head. "She left with a friend for a walk a couple of minutes ago. They should be back in about an hour or so." At least going by how long her typical outings with Ojiro were this term that the boy had observed.

"Ah, of course. Well, I don't wish to disturb the couple. Ojiro-san seems like the type to easily be embarrassed. So could you show me to her room while I wait for her return?"

"Wait, how did you know it was Mashirao-kun. And know that they are together?!"

Yasumura sighed before saying, "Well, of course. Yaoyorozu-dono keeps in regular contact with me over the phone. It was bound to come up at some point. And besides who takes an hour-long stroll but with their partner." He then gestured forward before saying, "Now let us get going. I would rather not wait around awkwardly any longer."

Izuku nodded and moved out of the way to let the butler in. After the man removed his shoes, they both received a few stares from the others, but no one said anything. As they began to climb the stairs, the boy wondered if Makoto had kept the knowledge of Momo and Mashirao dating a secret from the former's mother. Considering there seemed to be no sign of drama between the two as of late, he had a good feeling that it was probably true.

The fifth floor was soon reached, and Midoriya then escorted the man to the end of the hallway towards Yaoyorozu's room.

Yasumura proceeded to place the bag down and reached into his pocket to produce a key. After using it on the door and grabbing the handle, he grunted before saying, "She goes through the trouble of sending me a copy of her key and doesn't even bother to lock the door." The man then looked to his side towards Midoriya as he stated, "Though perhaps that is a sign she truly trusts everyone under this roof that much." He then let the door open and picked up the bag once more before heading in.

Izuku was about to turn around to take his leave when Makoto's head shot out from the doorway and asked, "You're not coming in?"

Puzzled, the boy asked, "Why would I?"

"Are you not curious why I am here?"

"Well yeah, but I figured I would find out later from Momo-chan if she felt like sharing is all."

Yasumura gave a soft smile and shook his head as he stated, "Nonsense, come in, Midoriya-san." Once in, however, the man stated, "She really should have brought a smaller bed. The lack of open space here is quite alarming." He then walked on over and placed both his belongings on the desk. After clearing his throat, the butler said, "Well, to start, I guess I wasn't entirely truthful earlier. I am here to assist Ojiro-san for Yaoyorozu-dono's sake."

"In what ways?"

"Inside the bag are some math books. It seems the boy is struggling with the subject, and I was asked to bring the relevant material to help him study."

Izuku had seen first hand the trouble his friend was having in math. To be fair, though, it was incredibly challenging this term, even for himself.

Makoto then opened the long briefcase to reveal a collapsible bō staff. "Today, I will also be assessing Ojiro-san's skills in bōjutsu."

"So you were the idea Momo-chan mentioned she was going to use to better train Mashirao-kun."

"Indeed. However, I have been quite busy of late. Today was the first time I could pry myself from work, and even then, I can't see myself being of actual use until your second year here starts." The butler placed a hand on the weapon and gently ran his hand along with it as he said, "Of course, that is only if I see that my skills are even needed here."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, the simple issue might be that Yaoyorozu-dono does not feel confident in her teaching skills for practical subjects. Her teaching style for written material is impeccable, but I feel she does not see herself as skilled in the former department. So I will assess not only the boy's skills but how she teaches him as well. If I find that Yaoyorozu-dono lacks the drive, then that will be a different matter entirely that I will need to work to resolve."

"Sounds complicated."

"As life usually is. Simple would be a nice change of pace every once in a while," Yasumura stated as he closed his briefcase. He then looked up, noticing the boy's glances towards his gloves. "You seem quite interested in these. Do you know what they hide?"

Midoriya took a moment to respond with, "Hide? Uh, no, I have no idea why you wear them."

"Most curious. Yaoyorozu-dono hasn't told you?"

"Not at all."

"Hmm, then it's possible she hasn't told Ojiro-san either then. Interesting. Well, I will leave it to her to tell you the full story, though I guess it wouldn't hurt to at least give you a short explanation." Makoto then pulled the glove on his right hand to reveal a discolored and misshapen hand.

Izuku instantly recognized them as heavy burns. Seeing how he had his own on his upper right arm. "Third-degree?"

"Quite. On both of my hands up to the wrist. This is the price I paid for saving young Yaoyorozu-dono's life." He then placed the glove back on before saying, "I would do it again a hundred times over. It was the turning point in my life as it gave me an actual purpose and future. You're free to tell Ojiro-san of this or not. It does not bother me."

Midoriya didn't know how to take this information at the moment. He pushed the choice he had aside and said, "Thanks for showing me."

"It's no problem at all. I used to gladly display it as I considered it a badge of honor, but I was asked to cover it up by the family. It seems it still makes an uncomfortable reminder of that day. I don't blame them, though, so I gave no quarrel in hiding it," Yasumura stated before sitting down on the chair by the desk. "I just figured by now Yaoyorozu-dono might have brought it up by now considering how close you all are, but she can be quite unpredictable at times. Including this getting together with Ojiro-san."

"You don't oppose it, do you?"

Makoto shook his head. "If she's happy, then my personal feelings matter not. Besides, he's growing on me slowly."

This further confirmed that the butler had not made Momo's mother aware of the relationship for Izuku. Doing so would conflict with what he just said.

"Well, unless you have any more questions, I need to make some phone calls to make sure everything is going along swimmingly back at the mansion."

"You go ahead. And good luck with them both later."

"Hopefully, I don't need it, but thanks."

Midoriya looked at his friend with concern as he asked, "Are you angry with me?"

Hatsume maintained her gaze on her work as she replied, "What? No! What gives you that idea?"

In between the loud bangs of her hammer, Izuku stated, "You tend to be a bit more forceful in your work when you're mad."

"He's right, you know," Maijima's voice echoed from the front of the room.

"Ugh, fine, I am a bit peeved." Mei then dropped her hammer to the side and turned around to reveal a frown.

"Is this because I am waiting to show Tooru-chan's suit?"

The girl shook her head before saying, "Not even close."

Izuku then wracked his brain for a good minute, trying to think about what he could have done. But then it came to him like a sack of bricks. "Oh, being the mechanic of TAC."

"Slipped your mind, huh?"

"Sorta," the boy stated as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought that once you showed Tooru-chan's suit upgrades then that would win them over, but then the whole Fixer thing happened."

"Ah, cause I wouldn't take credit for what she did."

"Yeah."

Hatsume seemed to calm down upon hearing this. After a few moments, she said, "Well, since she wants no part in it, we could say I still produced it. Even if it leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

"I mean, we could just list it with everything else you've done. There was Uraraka-chan's redesign too."

"Maijima-sensei and I split the work for that one."

"Oh, uh, Ojiro-kun's gloves?"

"Tail boy? I had no part in that one."

"Yaoyorozu-chan's cape?"

Power Loader strolled up behind the two and stated, "Also me. Remember, I do most of the fabric related stuff."

"Hey, I'm slowly learning."

"Glacially is more like it. We both know you excel enough with metalwork; we really need to expand your repertoire."

Mei groaned as she said, "I know, I know. Metalworking just has that clank and coldness you can't get with fabrics."

Maijima placed a hand on his student as he said, "Well, either way, let's say that by having Hatsume-san join as the mechanic for your little club, you have the backing of the Development Studio. That should win them over."

Hatsume's face lit up as she asked, "You would do that?"

"I'll give a small bump in priority to their requests. It couldn't hurt to have some of the other students in the H classes to work on their requests too. You know, to pick up the pace in bigger projects."

"I'll still have the main say for them, though, right?"

Power Loader's tone turned more serious as he stated, "As long as they are not dumb and dangerous, sure."

"Fine. Nothing too crazy then."

"Just within the reason of sane safety is all," the man said with a sigh before letting go of his student. "How's that sound, Midoriya-san?"

"I'm all for it!" If Mei spirits were lifted once more, Izuku had no reason to argue against it.

"Good, now let's return to NOT beating our orders into submission over petty reasons." As Maijima turned to return to his work, Hatsume stuck out her tongue, which got Midoriya to shake his head at his friend's behavior.

"I can't believe she finally agreed to give her response on White Day of all days," Ashido said in a quiet voice.

"I can't believe we are hiding behind a bush on a hill to spy on them," Midoriya stated with a groan.

"Well, you saw the text from Koda-kun, Jiro-chan asked neither of us to be present."

"Isn't this a bit much, though?"

"We're nowhere close, so good luck trying to overhear them. All we can do is just see how it goes down."

"Just be sure your horns aren't poking out this time."

"Even if they were, I doubt either of them would spot them this far away."

That morning Koji showed them both the text he had received from Kyoka. She had come up with an answer and wanted to tell him after class. It also stipulated for it to be private this time, much to Mina's displeasure. Izuku only tagged along so she wouldn't break that promise. This was the compromise they came up with, but even then, the boy wondered if this was still too much.

"Well, Koda-kun is early it seems," Ashido stated.

Midoriya looked over to see that said person had indeed arrived. The large teen looked around before sitting down at a nearby bench.

"Hey, so when are you doing whatever you are doing with Hagakure-chan?"

"Sometime after dinner." Honestly, it was going to be after Izuku's Friday practice with All Might, but of course, that was a secret.

"Gonna fess up what your last activity is?"

"N-No."

"You're no fun."

"I'll have Tooru-chan tell you later."

"Really? Now that makes me even more curious that you are willing to have her explain instead of yourself."

"Let's just focus on this right now," Midoriya stated as he went back to focusing on Koda. Though from the looks of it, nothing had changed.

"If you insist."

It wasn't for another ten minutes until Jiro finally arrived. This prompted Koda to stand but not walk any closer to her.

"She's holding something behind her back," Ashido stated.

Midoriya looked closer to see the girl holding a small article behind her back with one hand, "Looks like some kind of paper."

"Hey, I recognize that color; it's Koda-kun's letter from Valentine's Day!"

"Maybe she wanted to talk about the poem in detail and needed it on hand for reference?"

Mina giggled a bit before saying, "By now, you think she would have memorized it considering it's been a month."

The two then watched in silence as the two talked for a few minutes. Then Kyoka pulled out the letter, and Koji took it with a look of surprise on his face.

"Oh, this could be bad," Ashido stated as she bit on her thumb.

"Just let it play out."

Koda flipped the letter over, and it became quiet between the two.

"The suspense is killing me," Mina stated in a low whisper.

"Well, don't do anything drastic."

"I know, I know, but to think all our work might be going up in smoke right now is getting to me."

Izuku couldn't deny the possibility. However, there was not much context to take from this since they could see what was going on.

The two began talking again for a few minutes. Koda then sat down, and Jiro left after giving a quick wave. It wasn't long until Ashido jumped out of the bush and made a beeline towards the scene. Midoriya was quick to follow. He was thankful that she stopped just short of the large teen, once she looked back to see her friend's panicked face.

"Try not to go overboard here," Izuku whispered as he got near.

"Right, sorry about that. This is Koda-kun we are talking about," Mina said with a sigh.

The two then approached at a normal pace, and it wasn't long till Koji noticed the two, and he lept up, clutching his heart in one hand and the letter in the other.

"O-Oh, so you were n-nearby."

Ashido laughed before asking, "You expected me to come?"

"No, but Jiro-chan was dead set that you would."

Midoriya then explained, "We were far enough away that we couldn't hear your conversation. We could only see what was going on."

Koda sat back down and looked at the letter before saying, "I see."

Mina then asked, "Did she reject you?"

Izuku gave the girl a quick glare, but she just shrugged.

Koji, however, asked, "What makes you think that?"

"I mean, she gave you back your confession letter," Ashido stated as she pointed at the object mentioned.

"She wrote her response on the back of it. Music lyrics, I think it's why she took so long to answer me. Trying to find the right song to fit her answer to me," Koda explained as he flipped it to show the two. However, as the pink girl tried to get a closer look, he flipped it back.

Midoriya asked, "And?"

Koji's face went crimson as he gave a shaky thumbs up.

Izuku then watched an odd sight of Mina struggling not to overdo the congratulations. It started with her sudden approach as a gesture to give a hug but a quick step back by him. Her arms were outstretched, and a face with a look of sadness followed. Ashido then quickly collected herself after she tapped her cheeks a few times and instead offered a handshake, which Koda awkwardly accepted.

After that whole bit, Mina asked, "So I can't see what she wrote?"

"Jiro-chan was adamant that it was for my eyes only. Sorry."

Ashido pouted but didn't pursue the subject any further.

Midoriya then asked, "So what comes next?"

Koda proceeded to cover his face with both his hands. "After dinner tonight, we're going to h-hang out for a while."

"Ooooo, a date already? Exciting."

"We're just going to talk, nothing serious."

"Talking can be quite serious, especially at the start of a relationship," Midoriya explained.

"Yeah, setting ground rules and boundaries. What you both would like to do together on future dates. When you should introduce your parents to one another," Mina added.

The last sentence caused Koji to sink his head into his shoulders.

"Ashido-chan was joking about that last bit. It's way too early to be thinking about such things." Even though it wasn't for Tooru, Izuku had to admit to himself.

"Thanks, both of you. I couldn't ever have had the courage to do this without your help."

Mina padded the boy's shoulder as she said, "No worries. It's been a lot of fun for both of us."

Izuku nodded as he said, "And if you ever need help again, within reason, we'll be there to help."

Koji asked, "Within reason?"

"Well, we can't do everything for you," Ashido explained.

Koda took a moment to process this and gave a confident look as he said, "You're right; I gotta be able to work out some of this on my own. For Jiro-chan."

Mina then yelled, "For Jiro-chan!"

Izuku grinned and said in a more normal volume, "For the both of you."

"I'm finished," Hagakure stated.

Midoriya opened the door to his room to see his girlfriend wearing her updated suit. The basics of it hadn't changed. It still was a one-piece wetsuit look that was cyan and had two black stripes around the neckline, wrists, waist, and ankles. However, now the shoes and gloves were all a part of the main suit. The boots only now had black sole and a large blue circle on either side of the inner ankle. Stun Punch was significantly reduced in size, with no outer contraption like before or overly thick gloves. All were seamlessly integrated with the suit. It was mostly black, but with blue stripes starting at the knuckles leading back to the palm's back, which also had a large blue circle.

The most striking new feature, of course, though, was the helmet. Unlike Uraraka's earlier one, this fully covered the head. While mostly cyan, it did have a silver plate on the top back of it. The glass visor was tall and wide, giving an extensive view cone for the wearer. Currently, the visor was retracted.

Tooru asked, "So what do you think?"

"A huge improvement."

"Yeah, I can't believe how small Stun Punch is now," Hagakure said as she studied her hands.

"You have ten small charges per hand now. And two strong ones. However, a big charge is equal to five small ones, and if you did two of the strong ones at the start of a fight, you would have no small ones left. This is the best they could do with the battery technology they have without breaking the bank at the moment."

"How do I activate them?"

Midoriya held up his fist as he explained, "Make a fist and squeeze hard twice. For the other, you need the extra step of holding your hands together and squeezing twice once more."

Tooru then proceeded to do the small charge squeezes, and the blue details on her Stun Punch began to glow. "Neat." She then held her hands together for the next step up. The glow intensified, and small sparks started to emit from her gloves. "Woah, that's so cool." The girl looked back to her boyfriend and asked, "How do I turn it off if I don't want to discharge it?"

"Tap the back of your palms together."

Hagakure did as instructed, and the charge quickly dissipated. "So simple, but wait, what about the blue circle on my ankles? What's that about."

"Remember how you wanted a way to have different parts of your suit be visible or not? It's related to that. But first, total invisibility." Midoriya motioned towards his neck as he explained, "So under the right back of your chin is a button to open and close your visor. Nothing fancy about that one. On the opposite side and a small indention that only requires you to place one of your fingers on it to make you vanish. It only responds to the electrical signal in your Stun Punch, so there is no accidental activation. To reappear, you just need to hold it there while going invisible is just a simple touch."

Tooru then began practicing going in and out of sight multiple times. With the last vanish, however, she used the opportunity to sneak behind her boyfriend and hug him around the waist. "This is turning out to be so perfect."

"We're not done yet. Remember the blue circles? If you tap them together while Stun Punch is not charged and you're invisible, only your gloves will reappear. And if you place the ones on your hands onto your ankles, the same happens for your boots."

Hagakure backed away and started testing this out. "Why such an awkward way to do this?"

"They wanted to prevent doing it accidentally, that's all."

With awe in her voice, Tooru stated, "Hatsume-chan outdid herself here. This is like a thousand times more than I ever expected. How does it all work?"

"There's a thin layer of a polymer on the inner side of the suit that reacts to electricity. When it's positive, it has properties like the cells of your skin, and when negative, it acts as a barrier between your suit and skin. It doesn't even need to hold a current, just a moment of the electricity, and it's changed."

"So a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Got it."

Izuku approached the static girl and tapped her helmet once she was visible again, "Just one last thing."

"I think I can figure this one out," Hagakure said with zest. She then closed her visor and began to make a bunch of gestures as if yelling. However, Midoriya couldn't hear a peep. She then opened her visor once more and said, "Completely soundproof, right?"

Izuku nodded before asking, "What were you yelling?"

"A few expletives, nothing special," Tooru stated before giggling.

Midoriya sighed. "Of course you did."

"I just had to be sure!" Hagakure reappeared once more and took off her helmet. She walked on over to her boyfriend's bed and placed it down before picking up some more fudge. The treat quickly disappeared, and after some chewing, the girl said, "Ochako-chan's recipe is to die for."

"Just don't eat it all today."

"That is quite tempting, though. Anyways, what's this last gift you have for me this fine White Day?"

Izuku gulped before saying, "Well, you'll need to change back into your regular clothes first."

"Can do," Tooru stated as she picked up her folded pile of clothes near the foot of the bed.

Midoriya was quick to exit and close the door behind him. As he waited, he kept tapping his forehead to keep himself awake. It was pretty late; the training with All Might and Bakugo ended up taking longer than he planned. Izuku was still unsure why Katsuki was okay with him skipping their usual Friday training on Valentine's Day but not today.

It wasn't long until the door opened once more to reveal a more casually clothed Tooru. She wore a blue and green horizontal striped shirt and some black shorts. "So, what now?"

Izuku pulled a black handkerchief from his right pocket as he explained, "I need you to put this on."

"Weird, but okay." Once on, Hagakure asked, "Next?"

"I'm going to carry you to the next place. Okay?"

Tooru then demanded, "Ooh, do it bridal style."

"Of course." Izuku proceeded to whisk her up gently and started walking towards the stairwell.

As her boyfriend ascended, Hagakure asked, "So are we going to the roof?"

"Not quite." Once on the fifth floor, Midoriya walked a few paces to the right of the stairs and said, "I'm letting you down." Once done, he opened a door and grabbed one of his girlfriend's hands, and stated, "Take a few steps more." Once both were inside, Izuku closed the door and said, "Sit down now and then take off your blindfold."

Once on the ground, Tooru excitedly took off the handkerchief but was met with more darkness. "Um, is it supposed to be dark?"

"Yup," Midoriya stated confidently as he too sat down.

"Where are we?"

"The storage closet on the top floor."

"I don't feel anything here. The girl's side is chock full of junk."

"I cleared it early this morning, and I'll put it back once we're done."

Hagakure hesitated before asking, "Doing what?"

"A kind of put-you-into-my-shoes situation." Izuku then placed his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders. "Remember how tough it was for me at first to kiss you?"

"Hilariously, yes."

"Well, I want to put you into my perspective of how I learned to combat that problem."

"Sooooo, you want me to fumble making out with you in the dark?"

Izuku chuckled. "I mean, not exactly. We could do that, but I want this to be more about you exploring a part of me like I had to do with you. A shared experience." Tooru remained silent for a few moments, which concerned the boy. He eventually asked, "Is that okay?"

"It is. I'm just holding back laughter, is all. This is so you to a T; it's kind of scary."

"In a good way, right?"

"Yes, the good kind. Now got any tips before I begin?"

"Trial and error." By now, it had become second nature to Midoriya. "And with enough practice, you can be like me. Like here are your shoulders." He then moved his right hand up and gently brushed a finger against the lobe of her ear. "And here's an ear." This prompted a giggle from Hagakure. However, he then traced her lips as he said, "And there's the target."

"Giving me the shivers."

"Oh, was that a bit much?"

"No, it's fine, just I didn't expect it at all." As Izuku leaned back away from her, Tooru asked, "Why couldn't we have done this in your room?"

"I wanted total darkness and no obstacles to get in our way. The only thing in here is the towel I laid down to cover the light from coming under the door."

"I see," Hagakure stated before hopping onto her boyfriend's lap.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Oh, clumsy me. Well, there's nothing wrong with a bit of trial and error, right?"

Midoriya slowly realized what she meant by that and quietly said, "Oh, I set myself up here, didn't I?"

"A little bit. I promise nothing too spicy, but I'm surprised you didn't think I might take advantage of you here."

"Innocent to a fault," Izuku stated before awkwardly chuckling..

"A good quality in this context, at least." She then placed her hands on his shoulders before saying, "Now let's explore the path to those lips of yours."

Well, hey there! Late again, but it's not like the manga arc has finished, so there's no rush, I guess. More on that later.

First of all, a commission update. To start, I had an IzuMina piece made for Awkward Energy's 4th anniversary back on October 24th, produced by erijaime. Again that fic, along with The First Generation, made by QuirkQuartz, inspired me to write for this fandom. The Persona 4 Golden x MHA commission is still being worked on and hopefully will be done in a week or so. Expect me to have a few commissions done in December for some Secret Santas and maybe an IzuTooru one I have in mind.

The first scene gives us a little update on a few things. And yes, the butterfly described is a real thing. It wasn't until later that I figured I could use the cyan color for a few dialogue lines. The next scene was a long time coming by giving us an explanation of Kendo's dating. Even longer still was the following one involving Yasumura, well, in the sense that I wanted to use him once more. However, since I pushed back TAC stuff so much, he had to wait even longer. Should things not go nuclear at the end of the next arc in the manga, he'll appear here and there at the start of year two. The Mei scene was short, but I felt it was needed to tie up a loose end before we ended the term.

Now to the two White Day scenes! Including Mina was a must, and yeah, another ship confirmed. I know I haven't been real subtle about it, but when concerning KodaJiro, I felt I would need to have Koda take it even slower than Midoriya (and with more help). Unlike the others, this will also have a minor presence. Either way, there's one more ship I wish to cover, but we won't see it come to fruition for some time. For Izuku's scene, the concept I had was something I thought up a long time ago, like early 2018. At first, I wanted it to be used on Tooru's 17th birthday, but I decided to move it up a bit and do something else. I hope you found it and the full suit reveal interesting! I need to get the new suit commissioned outside of a small chibi doll at some point. ;p

So yeah, we've reached the current manga arc. Technically there are about two weeks before the arc kicks off, but I have exhausted all the plot I wanted to cover for this term. Anything more would feel forced and not at all in my plans. Filler content, if I must say. As promised, I still plan to publish the first chapter of the MashMomo oneshot collection later this month. If the arc has not been resolved by late December or the next arc makes making more content difficult because of how early it is / whatever context it ends up covering, then the fic will officially go on hiatus. Again I will post such an announcement as a chapter update. If such an event happens, I will instead focus on these oneshot collection chapters to provide some content.

Before I go, I want to mention that the fifth light novel for the series was released in Japan not long ago (I forgot to mention this in the last chapter's AN). It did provide us with some details about Momo's parents. At least from what translations I saw, the only significant fact we learned about them is that they shower their daughter with attention and gifts to the utmost extreme. Not much to go by, but I just wanted you all to know I am aware of this new tidbit of information. Almost all the girls in 1A got bonus chapters about visiting their parents during New Years, but sadly not Mina and Tooru. The former I was just quite curious about, and the latter would have been neat to see how far off I am with my versions. ;p

Oh, and Night Foliage finished editing chapter 32 with 41 edits and is well into editing chapter 33.

So I hope to see you all again, hopefully sooner than later!