Hello all, Happy New Years!

So yeah, I've been trying to write more, but of course, I'm starting to get busy with work after the small lull after getting everything ready for Christmas and Boxing Day. I hope to write more in the coming year, especially the React fic and Bearer. Thank you all for your continued support over the last year, and let's all hope 2025 is better than 2024...

Please let 2025 be better than 2024.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Hero Academia and Monster Hunter; they belong to their copyright holders. If anyone reposts this or any of my stories on Youtube or any other media streaming platform) without my consent, I will be taking the appropriate actions as is my right.

Chapter 9

Something Amiss

Izuku groaned as he pulled himself up into his one hundredth ab crunch, his shirtless body drenched with sweat as he seemed to be focused on pushing past the exhaustion of his routine. He could already feel the effects of the essence dropped nearly to what would at least be 'tolerable' for both himself and Mina to leave the detox room they were both in, granted it had been three days already, and they were both given the fourth to make sure it was flushed from their system. However, even Izuku had to admit that it was getting a little boring.

The hunter grunted as he lay back down on the ground, looking at his 'roommate'. "Hey, Mina, what are you looking at?"

Not moving from how she was, Izuku could see the pink woman scrolling through her smartphone, her face blocked by the device as he could see the back of the 'acid-splotch' cover design that seemed to be part of her hero merchandise line.

Something within Izuku telling him he would need to see all his friends' various merchandise at some point… for reasons.

Yes, only 'see' the merchandise; that's what he was going to do.

"Nothing, really…" The bored tone of voice coming from the usually cheerful woman made Izuku tilt his head slightly in confusion. However, considering everything that happened when they first came in and then explained the situation to the pink-skinned woman afterwards, they had been doing their best to keep some distance between themselves. Even when the essence within their bodies had significantly diminished over the last few days, it was still better to be more safe than sorry.

Even then, the touch of Mina's lips was still burning upon his own, no matter how long it had been.

With a heavy grunt and sigh, Izuku stood up and stretched, not noticing how Mina was moving her phone closer to her face. "I'm going to go for a shower…" he said, without saying anything else. Izuku then made his way to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Once he was sure the door was secured, Izuku groaned as he leaned back against it, his hand moving to run through his moist hair.

"Get a hold of yourself, Deku…" Izuku muttered to himself, beginning to strip off what remaining clothes he had on, "You're just making things harder than they should be." He continued as he turned on the water, "What were you thinking? Working out in front of her, and shirtless no less."

Indeed, that was the question he asked himself as he stepped into the shower and let the water run down his naked body. At first, Izuku had chalked it up to doing the same thing back in Astera and Kaumra Village, and there were no issues. Granted, it was because a new hunt was to take place, and he was called to action.

But now? Sure, he was working out to keep up with his training, given his current predicament and to keep himself active. However, there was something in the back of his mind, an intrusive thought that was almost alien to Izuku at first. An idea that compelled Izuku to *tease* Mina Ashido.

Granted, it wasn't like it was a little payback for what he presumed was her own form of teasing.

Over the last couple of days, Mina had only been wearing the grey shorts and undershirt that had been given to them before they entered. These showed off not only how tight and firm her arm muscles were but also gave little peeks at her pink skin hidden underneath. But what Izuku had also noticed was just how tight and clingy the shorts and shirt combo was on Mina's body, accentuating her curves even if she was lying on her back or stomach.

Izuku always knew her former classmate was beautiful, much like all the other women in their class, as well as 1-B. But the years since he had last seen them had only further enhanced their looks and their bodies, thanks to the no doubt hellish workout regime put in place after the war. Had Izuku or Mina not been affected by the essence within his gear… honestly? He wasn't sure what would happen.

Regardless, even with the minuscule amount of it still rolling around within his body, Izuku could not take that chance, nor would he allow himself to fall into the temptations of what his semi-lust-filled mind was polluting his thoughts with. Like simply walking out of the shower, fully undressed and using his 'Black Whips' to bind the curvy pink woman up so Izuku could explore her body before releasing her, both enthralled in one another's bodies before Izuku would take Mina–

A heavy slap echoed out in the shower stall as Izuku grunted in pain, his cheek now a slight rose color, with Izuku grunting and panting in exhaustion. Having looked down, Izuku could only sigh as he saw another problem had arisen.

At least the shower would drown out most of the noise.

[Meanwhile]

Mina moaned into her pillow. When Izuku left to use the shower, she had flipped over onto her stomach, and her right hand was down the front of her pants. Her half-lidded golden and dark eyes looked at the photos and videos she had taken while looking like she was scrolling through her social media.

God, she hated him.

Well, not really. Mina, in fact, was in love with the green-haired idiot and confirmed that during their time in isolation. She could tell that he was teasing her by working out and showing off that beautifully toned body, but also Izuku was only doing it because she had been teasing him with these barely able to fit shorts and tank top, which in of itself was funny since Mina was sure that the spare clothes were all made to fit nicely from previous experiences in the detox room. Izuku thought he was being subtle about it, but Mina was far more cunning and able to notice when someone was trying to be sneaky with her. More than likely, thanks to the years of friendship with Toru and her knack for pranking people while using her quirk.

Speaking of her invisible bestie, Toru hadn't been helping matters over the last few days as she was texting all the fun she had been having with her husband, Shoto. It turns out that after the fight with that creature known as Zinogre, the number one hero in Japan, he was 'extra frisky', which was a little odd given his usually more aloof personality at times.

It's not like Toru was complaining, but more so seemed to be bragging about it.

'Lucky bitch.'

However, this gave more weight to Izuku's earlier explanation of how the mysterious essence native to the monstrous world he had come back from could affect their bodies as it was later revealed to everyone that Shoto had drunk something called a 'mega potion' by the cat during that encounter with the Zinogre. Izuku admitted it was a risk, but with how diluted he had made the potions to be tailored to his own body, the effects would only be minimal at best, much less than what he and Mina had been experiencing in their bodies.

'And if that was only a small amount…'

Mina groaned into the pillow as her fingers found just the right spot, panting heavily as her gaze continued to stare at the image of Izuku's muscular body. The varied amount of scars he had obtained over the last seven years just further accentuated just how goddamn attractive he was. What the pink woman would sacrifice just to have Izuku overtop of her and making her-

~ALERT! ALERT!~

"AAAH!" She suddenly shouted in fright and nearly fell off the cot from the unexpected hero warning system flashing before her screen and almost an ear-piercing alarm going off from her phone. While she wasn't happy from the sudden scare, nor the interruption of her 'personal' time, Mina's heroic instincts kicked in as she quickly sat up from the bed and opened the app that had been developed by the Shield Foundation, one of their many partners.

Upon seeing the alert, Mina's eyes widened in fear. She rushed towards the bathroom door, slamming her fist against it several times, and her voice clearly expressed worry: "MIDORI! IT'S ANOTHER ATTACK!"

The door suddenly opened as Mina brought down another fist to bang against it, this time merely hitting the chest of Izuku, whose glare was stern but not in anger from being hit, and Mina would never openly admit the grunt that he expelled out from the strike didn't set fire to her lions.

"Where is it? Have they got a visual of the monster?" Izuku asked in a tone that matched his look. Mina gave him the phone after pressing the alert window box on the touch screen. The crack of static came over the phone's speakers and continued as Toshinori's voice came through.

"-Monsters! I repeat, two monsters are attacking one another! Froppy is on the scene with them, but it seems like they are ignoring her for some reason." The former number one spoke through the myriad of static sounds as Izuku's brows furrowed even more.

"All Might, can you describe the monsters?" Izuku asked, hoping his former mentor would hear him.

"Young Mid- I mean, Hunter! It is good to hear your voice, my boy!" Toshi's voice sounded lighter then, almost exuberant than the panic tone he had previously, having nearly spoken his last name out loud despite being told that if he was to be communicated over communication channels, to simply go by the title of 'Hunter'. But as if remembering the situation at hand and forgetting his embarrassment for his near blunder, Toshi's voice turned serious once more, "Apologies, but yes, the first monster is pretty much all black, on all fours but has been launching its body at the other one by doing what I can only say as a cartwheel? Oh! And it has the head of a snake like a cobra, given the large yellow fangs and hood it has."

"Great Girros, fantastic…" Izuku muttered to himself low enough not to be picked up by the phone with a raised and curious eyebrow from Mina, who had clung to his side to listen in.

"The other looks like some kind of chameleon or iguana, the way it keeps smacking its tongue against the other monster with what I can only describe as a purple ooze." The older man spoke up again to make Izuku freeze on the spot, a cold bead of water running down his forehead and cheek as he hurriedly spoke into the phone.

"Toshi! What color is it? Is it Green or Purple? The scales, I mean!"

"Green, and it looks to have a lot of feathers, surprisingly." The former hero spoke up, a little taken aback by the worry coming from Izuku's voice, "Is something the matter, Hunter?"

"Nothing too worrying for now." Izuku answered back and sighed, his free hand moving through his green locks before looking serious again, "It sounds like they are having a turf war of some kind, which is odd in itself given that neither the Great Girros nor the Pukei-Pukei tend to inhabit the same ecosystem. All Might, were there any small creatures with the Great Girro's, the one with the snake-head?"

"That's a negative, why? Should there be?"

"Girros are pack hunters, with a bigger one, typically a Great Girros, being at the head. Normally, it would call in the smaller ones to perplex its prey."

"I see; well, I can confirm that it is only the bigger one, though…" All Might had begun to say, but the static over the communication got worse before the call suddenly dropped, making Izuku and Mina's eyes go wide in worry before Momo's voice came through the phone.

"We lost the call, but we got a visual with the drones already dispatched, but we are still getting that static through the feed."

"Meowster!" Mochi's voice came over the phone with a whiny cry, "Something is wrong! The Grrreat Girros is acting funny, like the Zinogre!"

Izuku's eyes went cold then, quickly and gently moved past Mina and began to put on some clothes, which Mina had noticed that the green-haired hunter was just in a towel, "Mochi, get my gear ready; I'm going to need to take down both quickly so…" Izuku paused then, as if contemplating something before looking at the device once more, " Get the Magda Ungulae ready as well."

"Meowster?" Mochi sounded fearful then, a heavy silence falling over the comms before the palico spoke up, "D-Do you also want the-"

"Yes, Mochi, the armour as well." Izuku said with a tone of voice that left no way for Mochi to try and reason with his hunter. However, the rather upset-sounding meow over the phone made Izuku's heartache, knowing full well he may have been a little too harsh. Ending the call, Izuku began to dress himself as Mina stayed where she was, her hand brought up to her chest as she looked on in worry.

"Midori… why did Mochi sound sad at the end?"

"Remember our talk about the essence and how the stronger the monster my armour and weapons are made of, the quicker it builds up in my body?"

"Yeah, I remember… and you also mentioned that the worst ones were… the Elder Dragons?" Mina asked, slightly frowned as she did her best to remember the name, only to go wide-eyed and suddenly rushed towards him, "Wait! That means-"

"The Magda Ungulae and the armour materials come from an Elder Dragon." Izuku interrupted, still not moving his gaze towards her getting close, "The creature is called Zora Magdaros, a literal walking mountain of rock and lava, and the very reason that the Fifth Fleet had come to Astera, which allowed me to meet Mochi and my handler funnily enough."

Izuku rose and looked towards Mina, who could now see the sad look on the hunter's face, "It's a very dangerous risk, but the firepower from using this particular set will make quick work of the monsters. If that Great Girros is acting strangely, as Mochi said, then it could also be acting like the Zinogre, and that's worrisome in and of itself."

"But the essence–"

"I don't have a choice, Mina!" Izuku snapped at her, making Mina flinch back before Izuku's eyes went wide with worry, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean…"

"No… no, I get it." Mina rubbed her arm softly, stepped back, and looked away from Izuku. "You've dealt with these monsters before and know best how to deal with them. Don't let me try to stop you from taking on all the burden and potentially sacrificing yourself again."

"Mina…" Izuku softly called out, watching how dejected the pink-skinned woman looked as she began to move towards her cot, idly packing her own things as if to keep busy. As Izuku continued to watch, the pit in his stomach grew ever heavier as Izuku knew he had clearly upset her. Even if how she said it did hurt, Izuku couldn't deny her claim that once again he was playing the martyr and not helping was also the stern eyes of the vestiges he could feel as well, let alone the one coming from Nana.

Clenching his fist while working up his nerve, Izuku silently walked towards Mina, who huffed as she was having difficulty trying to fold a piece of clothing or she was just frustrated with everything at the moment. However, the acid hero suddenly paused when she felt the warm and strong arms of Izuku wrap around her, holding her close to his body as she gasped out, "I-Izuku, we shouldn't…"

"I didn't mean to upset you…" Izuku began to speak, his lips close to her ear and sending shivers down Mina's body while her hands moved to rest on his scarred arms, "I know how incredibly stupid and dangerous this is going to be wearing the armour of an Elder Dragon. I'm not going out there to sacrifice myself but to end things quickly and cleanly."

"Had it been only a single monster, I wouldn't even consider using the idea…" He continued, holding her much closer as he kept his eyes closed, mainly because Mina's curly pink locks engulfed the left side of his face. Izuku's own body shivered when he felt the pink woman's delicate and smooth fingers trace up and down his scars, Mina remaining silent before pushing away from his body slightly to turn around and face him, her golden irises set against the black sclera eyes met his bright emeralds, her hands moving up his body and cupping his cheeks, allowing Mina to watch him shiver against her touch as well as almost rub against her palms.

"Izuku Midoriya," Mina's voice caught his attention, still staring hard into his eyes with a ferocity to them that seemed to make the gold even brighter, "You will go out there, stop those monsters and save Tsu, and once we both get a clean bill of health from this stupid essence that is really making it hard for me to let you go right now…" Mina grew quiet then, almost contemplating something before looking back at him, "Once we get that clean bill of health, you and I are going on a date."

"Mina- MMPH!" Izuku was about to say something before Mina suddenly locked lips with him, closing her eyes and deepening the kiss before slowly parting her lips, taking his along with them and tenderly, almost teasingly, moving her tongue into his mouth. However, what surprised Mina was the fact that Izuku had met her halfway there, gently caressing it and igniting the fire within the bodies once again. Izuku tightened his hold around her waist, returning the passion given to him earlier as Mina groaned gently into his mouth and moved her hands from his cheeks to wrap around his neck.

Eventually, they had to break the kiss for air, leaving both of them panting and gazing into each other's eyes once again. Gently, Izuku rested his forehead against hers, their hot breath combining between the pair as Mina whispered to Izuku, "Please be safe, and come back to me."

"I'll come back to you, I promise…" Izuku spoke after a small silence, gasping when he felt Mina gently shift and nibble on his neck with a seductive look in her eyes.

"You better, stud… now go be the hero I know you are."

Tsuyu really needed a day off.

Admittedly, the frog-quirked woman often didn't take much time off, and whenever she did, it was to spend time with her family. Even if her younger siblings were older now, Tsu couldn't help being the same doting sister she had grown to be, even though her mother was retired and able to take over the household.

Of course, that didn't help that her parents constantly asked her about anyone 'special' in her life. Despite how much she loved them, Tsu had to admit that it was getting very annoying lately.

Honestly, Tsu wasn't sure she could ever find someone to settle down with at first. She had a few relationships in the past, most notably a tiny summertime fling with Ochako after a get-together at an onsen, where alcohol was involved, and while they had tried to make it work afterward, the women decided to simply keep being friends in the end, though there were some "benefits" to that arrangement as well.

However, that may have all changed thanks to Izuku's return, for Tsu had a bit of a crush back during those early days at UA. Granted, it started on one of the most traumatic days of their first year when the League of Villains attacked them at the USJ.

But Tsu had seen the way Ochako had crushed on the boy as well, and she could also see the way Izuku may have had a crush on her as well, so, being the good friend she was, she would root for them from the sidelines. Though admittedly, if by the end of the second year, her best friend at UA hadn't confessed to the boy, then Tsu would have done so.

She was a patient woman, but even Tsuyu had her limits.

But now was not the time to be plotting how to get her two clueless friends together while hopefully being in between the two of them as she dodged a nearby trash can that had been lobbed her way by the oddly green reptile-like bird monster from the corner of her eye, she saw that Toshinori was smacking the side of the communicator and had an angered look on his face.

The roar of the monsters currently fighting caught her attention briefly, but slowly Tsuyu made her way to her 'lookout', using her ability to stick to most surfaces to crawl and maneuver herself between the abandoned cars to get closer, "Kero, is something wrong?"

"I lost the call and cannot reconnect; I'm only getting static," Toshi sighed heavily before looking up and smirking, "But I was able to get through, and the Hunter should be on his way."

It was Tsu's turn to sigh in relief, glad they were able to get a hold of Midoriya at the very least before a loud crack from a broken piece of windshield close by caught both hero's attention, only for Toshinori to gasp out a whispered shout, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Papa…" Eri said meekly, the look on her father telling her she was in a large amount of trouble, but quickly softened as he made his way to her, picked her up and brought her back to where he was hiding, "But the bunker was full, and there was a small family that needed to get in so I…"

"Shhh… it's okay," Toshinori said low, gently covering his daughter's mouth with his bony hand. "While I am proud you offered your place to that family, you should have stayed close by."

"I know…" The white-haired teen sniffed gently, clearly upset for disobeying both her father and one of her favourite heroes, but then she looked up with a determined if still teary look, "but I wanted to help if someone got injured! I've been training, and I know it would be what Izuku would do!"

The look of determination and how she spoke made both Tsu and Toshinori freeze up momentarily, both looking at one another and then chuckling softly, clearly seeing that the hunter's influence on the young woman was still strong despite the years he had been gone. Eri, of course, looked on in confusion at the reaction from the two before a cry from the Pukei-Pukei caught everyone's attention.

Within the mass of broken cars and asphalt stood the two monsters; however, it had looked like the Great Girros had finally landed a lucky hit on the Pukei-Pukei, its large fangs sunk deep into the neck of the odd lizard-bird creature and holding it there. The two pro heroes and one middle school student watched in horror at the scene. For a few moments, there was silence until something caught Toshinori's eye, something he hoped Froppy would have noticed, but given his many years as a former pro hero, Toshinori had much more experience as a trail of something whitish grey, like a ripple expanding out across a water surface, had blossomed out across the monster's body before fading away to match its original colors.

The Great Girros then released the other monster, stepping back a few paces. The Pukei-Pukei remained still for a moment before it began to squawk loudly in pain, flailing about as the three continued to watch on.

"P-papa…" Eri spoke in a whisper, holding close to her father as her ruby eyes couldn't break away from what she was seeing, "I-Is that monster getting bigger?"

Sure enough, Eri was correct in her assessment. They watched in continued awe and horror as the squawking, clearly in pain, monster's body began to bulge out, as if its muscles were being forced to grow and increase its mass. What was odder was the way the other monster was acting.

The Great Girros was simply watching the spectacle before it as if it was waiting for whatever was happening to the Pukei-Pukei to finish. To both Tsu and Toshi, there was a sense of dread that filled the air as the former number one looked toward the current hero on duty, who turned her head quickly once she heard his voice, "Froppy, I'm going to get Eri out of here and call for backup-"

"LOOK OUT!" Eri suddenly shouted as Tsu jumped to the side in reaction to the young girl's call, and Toshi pulled and held Eri close to him, shielding her from any of the flying glass and bits of the car that spewed out as a large pink appendage came crashing down on top like a sledgehammer that the rainy season heroine had been perched on.

Tsu then looked towards where the appendage had come from, slowly pulling it back towards the creature. The appendage was full of broken glass from its strike, and before the tongue was entirely back into the Pukei-Pukei's mouth, it clearly did not care about the sharp objects lodged inside.

Even if Tsu's usually stoic-looking expression was still on her face, the terror she was feeling from the way both monsters were looking at her, with the now red-tinted eyes of the Pukei-Pukei replacing the amber they once were and matching that of the Great Girros beside it.

Something was wrong; Tsu could feel it, and she only hoped that Izuku would get there as fast as possible.