"Dare."
"Called it," Yui said with a satisfied nod, secretly pleased that she and her counterpart on the screen seemed to be thinking along the same lines, almost as if they shared the same wavelength. To her, that was a good sign since it meant this source was reliable enough that she could pick up subtle hints from the conversations playing out on the screen and use them to her advantage in her own quest of the heart here in reality.
Izuku blinked, shocked that the usually silent woman would pick that of all things.
Then his mind reeled back and he face-palmed. Of course the silent woman would pick the choice that required the least amount of talking.
He must've been taking Ashido's orders to 'not think' too close to heart.
"Yeah, Green, you should know better than to take Mina's advice seriously, especially when I'm pretty sure she ignores her own advice more often than not," Jiro said with a sly edge to her voice, firing back in an attempt to get even with Mina for all the times she'd been on the receiving end of her teasing. After all, Mina's favorite victims were usually her and Ochako, since they were the easiest to fluster and Mina took no small amount of delight in that fact.
"Hey! I take my own advice very seriously!" Mina protested, her agitation only growing when Jiro shot her a knowing smile that clearly said she didn't believe a single word of it.
"Kiss Midori!"
Izuku flinched, his eyes snapping towards the source of the dare. He couldn't see it but Setsuna was looking back at him with half-lidded eyes and a smug smile, waving at him innocently.
"Ugh, took you long enough to start being vulgar," Itsuka groaned, dragging a hand down her face before giving her forehead a light smack in exasperation at the antics of a certain lizard-quirked girl's counterpart.
Meanwhile, Setsuna lounged comfortably on the couch, savoring her slice of pizza without a care in the world, completely unfazed by the sharp looks being thrown her way. If anything, she seemed to thrive on the attention. In fact, amongst all the disapproving faces, she caught sight of Yui giving her a small, approving nod paired with a gentle smile out of the corner of her eye, and Setsuna responded with a toothy grin and a playful wink.
For his part, he could imagine her smug smile perfectly.
"Heh~ looks like I'm already living rent-free in someone's head and maybe their heart too," Setsuna said with a smug grin, tossing her hair back with exaggerated dramatic flair. The over-the-top gesture only made the stares aimed her way grow even sharper, which seemed to fuel her satisfaction even more.
"...Okay."
Another full-body shudder cascaded down his body at the casual response, if the gasps he heard were any indication the rest of the hot spring mirroring his shock.
"She's really going to do it, isn't she?" Momo asked, her voice tight as her expression twisted with unease. "Kodai's counterpart is actually going to..."
"Well, like I said before, Yui's more of a girl of action than anything else," Itsuka said with a strained smile. "And didn't we just learn how much she loves throwing herself into things that get her adrenaline pumping? If she actually goes through with that dare, I'm pretty sure it's going to give her one hell of a rush."
"K-Kodai?"
"Stay still," she muttered, water sloshing around as she walked closer to him, closing the minimal gap they had as her soft hands cupped his cheek and the back of his head.
He gulped, not sure if he wanted to fight against the grip or lean into it.
"Haha! What's there to fight against, you big dummy?" Setsuna laughed with excitement. "In fact, there's no reason to hesitate at all, just lean in and claim the prize I went out of my way to prepare for you, Broccoli Head!"
"Wow, thanks for calling me a prize. That really makes me feel valued," Yui replied dryly, with a touch of sarcasm, while Setsuna only threw her head back and just laughed it off.
If he wasn't lying, this was the most intimate contact he ever had. And he was hooked. "Are... you actually going to...?"
If his ears could hear the rest of the girls, his brain discarded it, trying to burn the feeling of being held so tenderly and close into his grey matter down to its DNA. Her hands started to feel cold as his cheeks burned with a harsh blush. He could feel her face approaching, her soft breaths tickling his lips.
Is this actually happening? His more coherent side screamed over and over again as the rest of his brain turned to mush.
"Yes," she finally responded, her voice sounding huskier than he could imagine the usually poker-faced woman sounding like. It didn't help that she seemingly never spoke, but now he was sure part of him was going to beg for her to talk to him like this again whenever she was around.
"Hehe~ all you have to do is ask for it, dummy," Yui said with a soft giggle as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Meanwhile, Ochako was fuming in her seat, her fist clenched tight. Her frustration had less to do with the intimacy between Izuku and Yui's counterparts on the screen and more about the storm of emotions she was trying, and failing, to keep buried. Jealousy, possessiveness, and the gnawing fear of being left behind all tangled together inside her chest. No matter how much she tried to deny it, even to herself, Ochako couldn't ignore that she was terrified of losing the boy she loved, especially when the other girls had no problem being so much more open and honest about their own feelings.
Much like the part of him that was begging to pull the sleep mask off, to see the woman about to kiss him just one time.
"Go on, tiger! Rip off that eye mask and get the full experience!" Mina cheered enthusiastically, practically bouncing in her seat as she egged on Izuku's on-screen counterpart.
"Thankfully, Midoriya already figured out not to take your advice too seriously," Ibara said calmly, though her words carried just enough bite to make Mina glare and pout at her. "Besides, I'm confident he has the willpower to keep that mask on, no matter how tempting it might be, which, I'll admit, is pretty strong," she added, casting a knowing glance toward Yui. It wasn't hard to see that her friend had the kind of face and figure that could draw eyes and spark envy without even trying. "Anyway, as I was saying, the reason most of our counterparts, who tend to take modesty much more seriously, allowed him to stay in the hot spring in the first place was because of that very willpower. It gave us the reassurance that he wouldn't cross any lines, at least not without permission."
"Ugh~ you guys are way too uptight," Mina groaned, folding her arms across her chest with an adorable pout. "It's just a little harmless fun! And come on, we all know Midori, he's not the kind of guy who'd go running off to brag to the other boys about bathing with us or seeing us in towels."
"Ashido, no one here is questioning Midoriya's character; we've already agreed he's a noble-hearted young man. As for your claim that Midoriya uncovering his eyes while surrounded by bathing girls is 'a little harmless fun,' you're not entirely wrong either. But you need to understand that everyone has their own definition of fun and their own boundaries. If you're not careful, you risk crossing those lines without meaning to, and that's when harmless fun stops being harmless," Ibara explained calmly, like someone patiently addressing a bratty younger sister.
Mina opened her mouth to fire back, and Setsuna and Toru looked ready to jump in and back her up, but Ibara pressed on before they could cut her off. "Now, don't misunderstand me, Ashido. No one is saying you, Setsuna, or Hagakure shouldn't enjoy yourselves. But you have to realize not everyone is comfortable with the things you find amusing, and not everyone is willing to join in. Personally, I dislike crude humor or activities with overtly suggestive undertones. Still, when we spend time together as a group, compromise matters. That means you hold back a little, and I let go a little. That balance is what keeps our friendships strong; otherwise, what's the point of us all being here together, instead of you three just doing what entertains you while I stick to people who only share my tastes?"
Mina and Setsuna went quiet, both of them staring hard at Ibara as if trying to find a crack in her reasoning. It wasn't that they disagreed with her words, if anything, they understood her point all too well and even found themselves agreeing with it. But out of sheer habit, stubborn pride, and the irrepressible urge to pester someone so composed, they wanted to argue anyway. Unfortunately, nothing clever or funny came to mind this time, so the two troublemakers resorted to stuffing slices of pizza into their mouths and sulking in silence.
"Damn... if I'd known Ibara had that kind of power, I would've had her talk to Set ages ago," Itsuka said, amazed by how calmly and effectively Ibara handled the two troublemakers from both classes.
"Honestly, same," Momo admitted, just as impressed, her lips curving into a faint, admiring smile.
He felt the warmth of her lips before the contact, his face starting to burn from ear to ear, possibly looking like a tomato if Ashido's teasing that one time was accurate.
And then just before they initiated a lip-lock, Yui relented, moving and kissing his cheek instead, quickly pulling away and taking a step back.
Izuku released his breath, and one of his hands reached up to touch the spot Yui had kissed him in, murmuring a soft "is that it?"
He must've uttered it louder than he had intended, making someone perk up where Yui had reeled back to, water rippling at the abrupt motion.
"If you want more... you could just ask. I wouldn't want my first kiss to be a dare."
"Oh my god, that has to be the most she's ever said at once!" Komori exclaimed, laughing softly.
"And look at how red they got!" Ashido added, laughing along.
Izuku grew a brighter red imagining Kodai blushing. Then he remembered that she was naked and blushed even darker.
"Ugh~ I don't like this... I don't like any of this at all," Ochako muttered under her breath, not even realizing the words had slipped out loud, instantly drawing everyone's attention, especially her best friend's.
"And what exactly is it about this situation that you don't like, ribbit?" Tsu asked in an unusually serious voice.
"W-well..." Ochako stammered, fumbling for words as the reality of what she'd just admitted sank in. Her face heated, and panic began to rise in her chest. "I didn't mean it like that, I was just—"
"You were just jealous that someone else was getting close to the boy you like, ribbit," Tsu cut in flatly, rolling her eyes. "If that's the case, then you should swallow that jealousy and keep it to yourself, because it doesn't make any sense. You're the one who told us you don't like Izuku that way and that you have no interest in starting a relationship with him."
"I wasn't trying to say that..." Ochako muttered through gritted teeth, her frustration bubbling higher with every passing second. She could feel all the eyes on her, some filled with pity, others with thinly veiled exasperation, and it only made her skin crawl. The worst part was that Tsu knew exactly why she wasn't ready to pursue a relationship right now, yet still chose to press the issue in front of everyone, which stung her even more, and brought along a fresh surge of irritation that she struggled to contain.
To make matters worse, Ochako couldn't even fall back on her usual defenses whenever someone dragged her indecisiveness about Deku into the spotlight. Normally, she'd storm out of the room in a huff or red-faced embarrassment, lash out at the poor soul who dared bring it up, or desperately steer the conversation toward anything else. But this time, none of those options were available. Walking out meant missing what was unfolding on the screen, and she was far too invested for that. And as for deflecting? That never worked on Tsu anyway. Not only was she her best friend, but Tsu's unshakable calm made it nearly impossible for anyone, let alone Ochako, to deflect or redirect a conversation once Tsu had latched onto it.
"So what did you mean, then? Please, enlighten us," Tsu pressed, showing no intention of dropping the topic.
"You want to know? Fine! I think it's not right because it feels like she's taking advan—" Ochako snapped as she began with venom in her voice, but before the words could fully leave her mouth, Tsu cut her off.
"Be careful what you say there, Ochako, ribbit," the frog-quirked girl warned, stopping the brunette before she went further. "I realize I may have pushed you a little too hard, but before you start blurting things out, remember, once words are spoken, you can't take them back. And they could seriously damage the friendships you've built over the past two years."
Hearing her best friend's words, Ochako froze, and the sharp retort that almost flew out died on her tongue. Taking a moment to compose herself, she drew in a shaky breath as her gaze flicked nervously around the room, and that's when she caught Yui watching her. The quiet intensity in Yui's eyes made her stomach drop as the full weight of what she'd almost said hit her. That near-accusation, spoken in the heat of her jealousy and anger, would have been a cruel and unfair blow to the reserved girl from Class B, and it might have shattered what little bond they had managed to form over these two years.
"You're right, Tsu. Forgive me... I shouldn't have said that," Ochako muttered reluctantly, forcing her eyes back to the screen while trying to ignore the concerned glances being thrown her way. Tsu only shook her head in quiet disappointment, recognizing yet another failed attempt to help her best friend confront the truth of her feelings. The rest of the girls, sensing the tension still lingering in the air, turned their attention back to the screen as well. None of them wanted to add fuel to the fire or step into a conversation that could do more harm than good without knowing all the facts.
"Deku..."
He turned to the source of that soft, delicate voice. Uraraka, he could tell that even without his sight. "Uraraka?"
Her hand, sans her pinky, made contact with his opposite cheek. "Can I be selfish for a second?"
He heard another round of gasps and a collective murmur grow, but he didn't pay it any heed, instead leaning into Ochako's touch. "What do you mean?"
Before she could respond, Kodai butted in. "Midoriya, truth or dare?"
"Dare?" he mumbled, lost in the contact that was Ochako's hand.
"Give your first kiss to Ochako."
He could feel Ochako's blush radiating heat against his face. "Ok..." he blinked under the blindfold, part of his mind just barely catching up with the situation at hand. "Wait wha-"
All eyes in the room widened in shock and disbelief, none of them having expected things to escalate this far, least of all from Ochako's counterpart. After all, the real Ochako had been in the middle of a heated argument only moments ago, loudly insisting she didn't have any feelings for Izuku. Of course, not a single person in the room, not even Ochako herself, had been convinced by that flimsy excuse. And now, seeing her counterpart leaning in for a kiss with the very boy she had so passionately denied caring about, was quite a concerning sight for the girls.
So, naturally, every head turned toward the brunette, eager to catch her reaction, especially the girls of Class A, who had long since learned how volatile Ochako's emotions could be. This could go one of two ways: she might become so flustered that she'd lose control of her quirk and start floating right there in her seat, or her frustration might boil over to the point where she'd punch a hole straight through the television and storm out of the common room. Either outcome seemed equally possible, leaving the air so tense it felt like everyone was balanced on the edge of their seats, waiting for the explosion.
Ochako, meanwhile, was too shocked to notice, or even care about, the eyes fixed on her. In fact, the agitation she'd felt earlier at Tsu for pressing a subject she hated, and even the sharp jealousy that had flared when she saw Izuku and Yui's counterparts grow intimate on the screen, immediately vanished when she saw her own counterpart was about to do something Ochako had long ago convinced herself was off-limits... something she had buried beneath layers of excuses and self-imposed rules. In her mind, the circumstances of their lives, the weight of their dreams, and the restrictions she had placed on her own heart meant that such a moment could never belong to her.
But then, just as quickly, another feeling surged up to replace the shock with a bitter, raw jealousy. Only this time, it wasn't directed at Yui or even Izuku. It was aimed at herself, or rather, the version of herself on the screen. That Ochako was brave enough to be selfish, to reach out for something she truly wanted, to give in to desires that the real Ochako had spent two agonizing years suppressing. She had forced herself into Izuku's friend zone, telling herself it was safer that way, that it would keep dangerous feelings from taking root. Yet here she was, failing miserably, watching her counterpart claim the very thing she yearned for with nothing more than the courage to ask. The unfairness of it twisted in her chest, making the sight almost unbearable.
The question, and that little part of his head, died inside him when Ochako leaned in and completed the dare for him, pecking him softly on his lips, and pulling away just as fast.
Just as her counterpart leaned in to give Izuku's counterpart a small peck on the screen, the real Ochako lowered her head, hot tears slipping quietly onto her lap. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Why was her counterpart doing this? Hadn't the plan always been clear: graduate from U.A. with solid grades, find a strong pro to intern under, learn everything she could, and eventually open her own agency? Most importantly, earn enough money to finally give her parents, who had sacrificed so much for her, the comfortable life they deserved.
So where did this sudden detour come from? Falling for the first sweet, earnest boy she'd met at school and actually daring to try a relationship with him? Weren't they supposed to avoid distractions and focus solely on their dream? Or was her counterpart really so selfish that the promise of helping her parents had quietly slipped to second place, overshadowed by her own desire for love?
The questions kept piling up, circling endlessly in Ochako's mind, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't make sense of it. Her counterpart's actions seemed to contradict everything she herself had clung to for years, the belief that romance could only hold her back from the future she was fighting for. And yet, watching that version of herself embrace what she had denied for so long cut deeper than she could bear, making her tears fall faster as the weight of her own sacrifices pressed down on her.
But just then, she felt a warmth beside her as Tsu slipped an arm around her shoulders. Ochako leaned into her without hesitation, silently letting her tears fall as she wrestled with her own demons. Tsu's expression softened with quiet sorrow as she rubbed her friend's shoulder, offering what little comfort she could, simply staying there for her.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the room had grown unbearably awkward. None of the girls, aside from Tsu, knew how to react to Ochako's current state. Of course, each of them had their own ways of comforting a distressed friend, but the problem was that none of them shared the same closeness with Ochako as Tsu did. Even the girls of Class A, who were fairly close to her, understood that Tsu and Ochako's friendship ran deeper, and right now, only Tsu could truly support her through whatever she was going through.
Sensing this, Momo quietly made a decision. She caught the others' eyes and mouthed that it was time to take a break. No one argued. Even the ones who normally tried to lighten the mood with jokes or teasing knew better than to make light of the moment. They understood Momo's real intention: to give Ochako space to cry without an audience and to let her gather herself again. So, one by one, they slipped away to different parts of the dorm to busy themselves for the next ten or fifteen minutes, leaving the lounge in silence, leaving just Tsu sitting there with her best friend, holding her while she cried.
******
15 Minutes later.
Fifteen minutes later, when the girls trickled back into the common room, they were relieved to find that Ochako was no longer crying. She sat quietly on the couch, her eyes puffed red, face tinged pink with embarrassment, and her hands fidgeting in her lap as though she wished she could shrink into the cushions.
"I... I'm sorry," Ochako mumbled in a low, flustered voice, unable to meet anyone's eyes.
"Don't worry about it. We understand," Momo said gently as she, Itsuka, Mina, and Setsuna set out a fresh round of snacks and drinks on the table to reset the mood. "So, shall we continue?" she asked the group, though her eyes lingered on Ochako with quiet concern. When Ochako gave a small, almost reluctant nod, Momo pressed play, and the video resumed.
Never in a million years would he have imagined this would be how he would get his first kiss. By the first girl that was nice to him all that time ago, in the female springs surrounded by other naked women. For a dare.
He really didn't know what kind of sick joke his life was, but if this was the punchline, it was all worth it. He hoped it was one that worked in the rule of threes.
'It just doesn't feel right. Why would he think about it like that?' Momo wondered with a faint frown, recalling all too well the times she herself had been trapped in the same kind of self-critical spiral, and seeing Izuku slipping into that same mindset stirred something protective in her chest.
What unsettled her most was his stubborn insistence that the kiss, no, the quick, almost nervous little peck Ochako had pressed to his lips, meant nothing, dismissing it as nothing more than the result of a dare. He seemed blind to, or perhaps deliberately avoiding, the truth that Yui had only framed it that way to give the timid brunette the courage to act on feelings she had been holding back for ages.
And then there was the deeper issue that gnawed at her: his belief that all the kindness and affection the girls showed him was nothing more than some cruel cosmic joke. That couldn't be further from the truth. This wasn't the first time they had tried to flirt with him, after all. Ochako especially wore her feelings on her sleeve, looking at him with the helpless adoration of a lovesick bird whenever she was around him, so he shouldn't be all that surprised to finally see her make a move. It was almost absurd and more than a little heartbreaking.
But then she forced the darker thoughts back, reminding herself that while Izuku was undeniably sharp in class and quick on his feet in the field, he was impressively dense when it came to the opposite sex. His complete inability to recognize when a girl was flirting with him could make the experience either hilariously entertaining or maddeningly frustrating, depending on the mood of the moment. It was part of his charm, in a way, but also the very thing that left those around him sighing in exasperation.
And yet, she couldn't deny that the situation he had stumbled into was nothing short of miraculous—a set of circumstances most boys his age would only ever fantasize about. So maybe, just maybe, it wasn't entirely unreasonable that he might think of it as some kind of joke played by fate, pleasant, of course, but a joke all the same.
"I- uhm... sorry I just..." Ochako mumbled, trying to pull her hand away, only for Izuku to halt her by cupping his own over hers on his cheek.
"...don't be. I liked it too"
He almost regretted his choice of words when Ochako started floating and he had to hold her by her wrist so she didn't fly off the planet.
"Damn it, Deku! You're not making this any better," Ochako muttered bitterly to herself as she watched the adorably sweet interaction between her and Izuku's counterparts on the screen and once again, she felt the same swirl of jealousy, distress, and confusion as before, but this time she kept it in check, knowing she had already embarrassed herself once by causing a scene, and if she did it again, she'd want to dig a hole and hide in it.
Besides, by now she had come to realize that being jealous or angry at her own counterpart was pretty foolish. Instead of stressing over decisions she hadn't even made yet, she should be thinking about the choices she had made in her own life, and later, when she was alone, she definitely needed some self-reflection. Especially since, right now, she was sitting here watching her friends both subtly and boldly make their own moves on the boy she loved, in ways she herself would be far too embarrassed to attempt.
"Aw, how adorable!" Ashido cheered, sound coming from behind him for once, taking him by surprise, before she hugged him from behind.
He refused to think about the soft somethings pressing to his back.
"Oh, no, no, Midori, don't hold back—think about them all you like. I, for one, am very proud of these babies," Mina said with a mischievous grin, flashing Izuku's counterpart on the screen a saucy wink as she leaned forward and thrust her chest out.
Ibara, however, could only frown at what she saw as an unnecessary and indecent display from the pink-skinned girl. The urge to speak up and chastise her flickered for a moment, but then she recalled her own advice from earlier about knowing when to 'hold back and let go.' With a quiet breath, she made the conscious choice not to scold Mina this time. Instead, she resolved to overlook such antics from now on, unless they ever went so far as to truly cross her boundaries, even if such behavior still tested her patience.
"C'mon, it's your turn to pick again Mi~ do~ ri~"
"What about Ochako?" he blurted out. Wait did I really say- an eep coming from above confirmed that he actually used her given name. Was he getting too bold?
"Nah, that's nothing. A real bold move would've been if you had deepened the ki—" Setsuna's words were abruptly muffled when Itsuka slapped a hand over the lizard-quirked girl's mouth.
"Set! Are you out of your mind?" Itsuka hissed, glaring furiously at her. "Uraraka is basically a volatile bomb right now, and do you really want to go yanking the red wire with some stupid, inappropriate rema—eww! Did you just lick my hand!?" she yelped, recoiling in disgust.
"Yes, I did," Setsuna confessed without shame, dragging her tongue across her lips and wiping at her chin with the back of her hand. "Look, I get your point, but I seriously doubt a dumb little joke is going to set her off like before. Besides, we can't treat her like she's made of glass. If we act like we're walking on eggshells around her, it'll only make her feel guilty for putting us in that position, and she'll hesitate to open up to us in the future, fearing our reaction. Not to mention, it'll suck all the fun out of watching this."
"But you still licked my hand!?" Itsuka repeated, still horrified by what Setsuna had done.
"That's what you get for trying to silence me," Setsuna shot back with a toothy grin. Itsuka glared at her one last time before storming off to the washroom, where she scrubbed her hand raw with soap. When she finally returned to the couch, she sat stiffly, muttering under her breath that she wasn't using that hand for anything, at least not for a long while.
"I got her," Tsuyu ribbited, the familiar sound of her tongue darting out whizzing by his senses, Uraraka getting pulled closer towards Tsuyu a second later as he let go. He chose to ignore the smug sounding ribbit once Uraraka was safely in the water again.
"Honestly, if it weren't for me, Ochako would've floated off into space ages ago, ribbit," Tsu said with an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes as Ochako gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head.
"C'mon Midori! Pick a person already!" Ashido insisted, nuzzling to his neck teasingly.
"Uh, you?" Izuku mumbled, not really able to think with the pink beauty showering him with affection.
"Well, I definitely have that kind of effect on people," Mina said smugly, tossing her hair with exaggerated flair, only to deflate a moment later when she remembered she didn't actually have the long hair needed for a proper hair flip. Her lips curved into a frown before she muttered to herself, "I really should start growing it out," already picturing how she might look with flowing locks and mentally cycling through all the fun hairstyles she could finally experiment with once she had them.
"Dare!"
"Sit on Izuku's lap!"
Mina and Tooru pinged off of each other too fast for it to be genuine dare, clearly a plan by the two best friends, but Izuku had no brain left to argue against that. Doubly so when Ashido giggled against his ear before pulling back and sitting on his lap.
"Of course, I should've seen this coming," Jiro said with a weary shake of her head, rolling her eyes at the antics of Mina and Toru's counterparts on the screen. "Let me guess, you two are just going to keep tossing dares back and forth, daring each other into increasingly indecent and inappropriate stunts for your own amusement, all while turning poor Green into the punchline. And in the process, you'll probably manage to suck every last bit of fun out of the game for the rest of us."
"Hey! How are we sucking the fun out of anything!?" Mina shot back, puffing up indignantly, though she made no attempt to deny Jiro's accusation about trading dares or coming up with indecent challenges.
"Because, in case you didn't realize," Jiro countered sharply, crossing her arms, "the rest of our counterparts aren't there just to sit back and watch yours and Toru's counterparts hog the spotlight while the game turns into your own private sideshow. And as for how hilarious you think it is to keep embarrassing Izuku with your little explicit jokes and gestures? Trust me, those of us with a bit more sense get sick of it a lot faster than you think."
Two things became clear to Izuku as he got one step closer to nirvana due to sheer incoherence of everything happening.
First, Mina's butt was soft but firm in a way his body couldn't quite relay to his brain other than 'holy shit I never want to stop feeling this.'
Second, Aizawa was right . Mina could not, in fact, sit still.
"Ochako! Before you murder me, remember that murder is not very heroic—and neither is beating up your friend! Also, I'm not the one getting cozy with Midori, that's my counterpart! And for the record, I'm just as jealous of her as you are, so really, we're sisters in that regard!" Mina blurted out in a single breath, words tumbling over each other until she had to pause and gasp for air while her chest rose and fell rapidly.
"And Shiozaki," she went on quickly, whipping around toward the vine-haired girl, "before you start lecturing me about how indecent my counterpart is being, I'd like to remind you of that whole speech you gave me earlier about 'holding back and letting go.' So maybe, just this once, let it go, all right?"
"Don't worry, Ashido, I do remember that speech," Ibara replied evenly, though her smile never reached her eyes, which made Mina shrink back slightly. "And rest assured, I am letting go and quite vehemently, in fact." She sighed, and her expression softened a fraction. "Still, I have no intention of scolding you regardless, because as you pointed out, it isn't truly you behaving indecently, but your counterpart on the screen. So even if I were to read an entire book on modesty and shame right here and now, it would change nothing about her behavior… or, if I'm being honest, about yours either."
"Uh… thank you?" Mina said uncertainly, tilting her head. It felt like she'd dodged a long, boring lecture, yet something still stung. "Wait… did she just badmouth me at the end?" she asked, looking helplessly at Toru.
"Small victories, my dear friend. Small victories," Toru said sympathetically, patting Mina on the back while simultaneously trying not to laugh at her face. However, she managed to keep her composure for all of three seconds before bursting into laughter. Mina groaned and shoved her away irritably, which only made the invisible girl cackle even harder.
"My, my Izuku~ You really are big everywhere~"
"Uh?!"
"Oh man, this boy is way too easy to tease," Setsuna laughed, watching Izuku's on-screen reaction with delight before her grin faded into a more serious look. "Jokes aside, it's honestly concerning how easily he gets flustered when teased by the opposite sex. We should really set aside some time to build up his resistance before some female villain figures out how easy he is to rattle and uses it against him."
"You're not wrong, Set. That could actually be a worthwhile endeavor," Itsuka said, tapping her chin in thought before giving a firm nod.
"Actually, I don't think it's something we need to worry about," Momo interjected calmly, drawing both girls' attention. "The Izuku we see here, the one who gets flustered so easily, is completely different from Hero Deku in the field. It's hard to put into words, but you'll see what I mean soon enough. Once you've worked alongside him a bit more, you'll realize the difference for yourselves."
"Fair enough, we'll take your word for it," Setsuna conceded with a shrug, though her toothy grin returned almost immediately. "Still, I think we should come up with an excuse to train his resistance anyway. If nothing else, it gives us more opportunities to hang out with him," she added, tossing in a cheeky wink.
"If you want to spend time with him, just ask him out. You don't need to lie to him for that," Itsuka deadpanned. She blinked when Setsuna just stared blankly back at her, the thought clearly never having crossed her mind, and sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"HAHAHA, your FACE!" Mina laughed before she leaned back and teased the underside of his chin with a finger, "now be a good boy and stay quiet, okay?"
His brain went through fifty different responses before it simply short circuited, rebooted in safe mode, and just accepted what was going on at face value.
A ripple of laughter swept through the room, and even the girls who usually prided themselves on their composure couldn't suppress their giggles after hearing on-screen Izuku's flustered thoughts and watching his reaction unfold. Mina, of course, chose to take the whole scene in stride, puffing up with pride as she decided that both his embarrassment and the chorus of laughter were compliments in disguise because, after all, it was her counterpart's antics that had set the whole thing off in the first place.
"My turn!" Mina cheered, clapping with a giggle. "Tooru! Truth or dare?"
Izuku's breath caught in his throat when Mina shifted yet again. It took every ounce of his willpower to prevent his traitorous body from reacting to the steady pressure that rolled across his hips and thighs, and even then he could barely hold back the mental images of Mina's well toned back going all the way down. No doubt years of dancing had strengthened all her core muscles into something Izuku wished he could achieve.
"Mina… you do understand how human biology works, right? Specifically male biology?" Momo asked carefully, her voice hesitant as a faint blush crept across her cheeks. "Because I don't think your counterpart does… or maybe she does, which somehow makes it even worse considering what she's doing right now."
"Relax, Momo. I know exactly as much biology as I'm supposed to, and I'm positive my counterpart does too," Mina replied with a devilish spark in her eyes, flashing a deliberately seductive smile that made Momo stiffen in her seat before making her both uncomfortable and oddly captivated by the very same smile. "And don't worry, there is nothing to worry about it, Momo, she knows exactly what she's doing. If anything, maybe her boldness will finally knock some sense into that oblivious boy and make him realize just how much affection is constantly being thrown his way."
"Oh… okay," Momo replied, still flustered and distracted, her cheeks warm as a new question quietly stirred in her heart as she kept wondering why her heart skipped a beat upon seeing that smile.
"Dare!" Tooru exclaimed, far too excited even by her standards. Oh right, he still had the game to deal with.
Without missing a beat, Mina shot back, "Come'ere and ride Midori!"
The moment those words left Mina's counterpart's mouth, the entire room fell into dead silence, every eye swiveling toward the pink-skinned girl. Some gazes were amused, others shocked, a few clearly exasperated, and two pairs were downright furious.
Mina, at first, looked ready to fire off a quick quip or cheeky remark like usual. But whatever humor she had died instantly when an icy shiver crawled down her spine. Blinking, she realized that yes, everyone was staring at her, but they weren't the ones she needed to worry about. Her stomach dropped as her eyes found the two figures radiating fury in her direction.
First was Ibara Shiozaki, glaring at her with righteous fury, and Mina did understand why her counterpart's words had struck such a nerve with the vine-haired girl, but she wasn't too worried. Ibara wasn't the type to lash out physically, and definitely wouldn't roll her up in her deadly vines, and would only try to kill her with a long, mind-numbing lecture, which, while torture for a girl like her, wouldn't kill her.
Now, Ochako Uraraka was the real trouble, who, in Mina's eyes, didn't just look angry, she looked downright terrifying, like the grim reaper herself, ready to claim her soul. That was the real problem. Ibara's lectures she could endure, but Ochako's fury? That was a whole different battlefield, one Mina had no intention of stepping onto. So before things could spiral out of control, Mina threw her hands up in surrender and blurted, "Calm down, girls! Let my counterpart explain herself!" before silently sending up a desperate prayer to any higher power that might be listening, hoping with everything she had that her counterpart hadn't meant those words literally and was just messing around like usual.
To be continued...