Chapter 29: Moving Day Ahead and Two Wives!

Surrounded by boxes left half open and a tower of All Might figures wrapped in bubble wrap, Izuku dropped onto the mattress of his old apartment with a satisfied sigh. He'd spent the whole night packing up his entire life, and that life fit into fewer boxes than he'd thought.

Tomorrow a new chapter begins. New home, a full-time boss, and a closet that finally doesn't smell like mildew. Izuku, you're a total success. Life's smiling on me.

He reached for his phone, and there on the screen was still the name that had been circling his head since that afternoon at the park.

Should I text her? Hmmm... It's what any guy would do after a date, right?

[Hey, Ibara, how are you? It's Izuku. Text me back if you happened to get this, you know, it'd be embarrassing to write all this out and have you not answer, haha =D]

Across the city, in a room full of hanging plants and carefully arranged books, Ibara's phone buzzed on the table.

She looked up from her book and, recognizing the name on the screen, felt her heart start racing again.

Is this a test of faith... or has Heaven heard my prayers?

He was the first young man she'd ever gone on a date with alone, and now he'd taken the trouble to write to her himself.

Ibara looked away from the phone, feeling the blush rise to her cheeks.

N-no! That wasn't a date. It was a chance encounter, a coincidence guided by Providence. That is all. I must keep my composure.

She breathed deeply before replying, taking care that her words reflected the serenity she was meant to hold on to.

[Good evening, Midoriya-san. I've received your message without trouble. I sincerely thank you for being so kind as to write to me. And you needn't feel embarrassed; answering a gesture of courtesy is only right.]

Izuku smiled as the three dots turned into a reply.

[Phew, what a relief! I was already picturing myself talking to nobody like an idiot. Hey, you write really elegantly. You seem like you're from another era, haha.]

Ibara blinked at the observation.

[People tend to tell me that too, though rarely as a compliment. I confess that modern writing customs still come a little hard to me. I hope I don't seem too antiquated to you.]

[Not at all! It feels like reading a lovely book. Besides, today I kept thinking about what you told me, that bit about pruning the bad branches so more light can get through. It hasn't left my head all day.]

Ibara sat contemplating the screen for a few moments.

That someone would remember her words that way... it wasn't something she was used to.

What a sincere young man...

She felt that strange tingle in her chest again.

I must keep my composure. It wouldn't be proper to let myself be carried away by such trivial emotions.

Her fingers went back to the keyboard.

[Your words honor me, Midoriya-san. I'm glad to know that reflection was of use to you. I'll pray that this same light reaches your home as well.]

[Thank you so much! Actually, I'm moving in with my boss tomorrow. I'm buried up to my neck in boxes. I'll tell you how it goes, if I don't die crushed by my All Might figures first, haha.]

Ibara tilted her head slightly.

All Might?

A small smile appeared on her lips.

[I confess I admire your devotion, though I didn't know the Symbol of Peace had attained such a standing among his followers. I'll pray for your safety as you cross that treacherous mountain of boxes.]

After a brief pause, she added:

[Rest well, Midoriya-san. May the Lord watch over you through the night.]

[Oh! Hold on a sec, I think there's been a misunderstanding. All Might isn't my saint. He's a hero I admire a whole lot. I'll introduce you sometime. Good night, Ibara! Sleep well!]

Ibara read the message twice.

Introduce him to me...?

She glanced sideways at one of the plants hanging by her desk.

What a strange young man...

And yet, in spite of everything, she couldn't help but smile.

[Good night, Midoriya-san. May the Lord grant you a good rest and be with you during your move tomorrow.]

She set the phone on the table and returned to her book.

After a while, though, she realized she'd spent several minutes reading the same page.

...Why do I keep thinking about him?

Ibara closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

Lord, grant me serenity.

And, after a small pause, she added in her mind:

...And, if it isn't too much to ask, help me understand what exactly that young man is after.

******

The next morning, Izuku stood in front of Yu's door with a suitcase in one hand, his backpack on his back, and, in his other arm, a tower of boxes so tall he couldn't see where he was stepping.

He rang the doorbell with his elbow, the only part of his body that was free.

The door opened at once; someone had been waiting on the other side for a while.

Yu appeared all dressed up, way more than usual, with a smile fighting to look indifferent.

"Well, well. Look who decided to show up," she said, crossing her arms in the doorway. "I figured you'd chickened out, little broccoli boy."

"Never, boss." Izuku poked his head out from the side of the tower of boxes. "Reporting to my new home. Where do I put... all this?"

Yu stepped aside, and the moment the kid crossed the threshold, she glanced down the hallway to make sure no neighbor caught her.

Damn it... I should've thought about my public image.

"Ahem... Welcome to your new home. House rules: everything you see is mine," Yu said, following him inside. "You get the guest room, which I left spotless. You should be grateful."

"I am, really," Izuku answered, and his tone made it clear he wasn't lying.

"Hmph." Yu looked away, trying to hide a smile. "Good. At least you know how to appreciate the good things when you've got them."

The parade of boxes began. Yu, determined to prove she was helping, grabbed a box and hauled it toward the room, until the contents made her stop.

"Izuku." She shook the box, and it rattled. "What've you got in here that sounds like a bag of rocks?"

"Careful!" Izuku dropped his suitcase and ran to rescue it. "That's the limited edition All Might in his victory pose."

"The... what?"

Yu opened the box and, instead of clothes, found figures. She opened another: more figures. A third was packed with hero analysis notebooks stacked one on top of the other.

"Hold on a second." Yu put her hands on her hips. "You only brought some dolls and notebooks?! Where the heck are your clothes?"

"In the blue bag," Izuku pointed out proudly. "The important stuff travels well protected."

"Your definition of important is collectible dolls?!"

"Collectible figures, Yu. Dolls are what your niece has. These have historical and sentimental value."

Yu rolled her eyes. When Izuku opened the guest room door, he was left speechless.

Because the room wasn't just spotless. Against the wall, freshly assembled, stood an empty wooden shelf, the perfect size for a figure collection.

"Y-Yu..." Izuku looked at the shelf, then at her. "D-did you...?"

"Don't go getting weird ideas!" she blurted out right away, turning her face away. "I put it there because I'm not about to spend my days tripping over your little figures scattered all over the house. It's common sense. A safety measure!"

Izuku watched her for a few seconds before smiling.

"Thank you so much, Yu."

"Bah... it's no big deal," she grumbled, shoving him inside to escape the moment. "Come on, get moving! Set up your treasures before I regret putting up that stupid shelf."

Half an hour later, with the boxes piled up and the shelf starting to fill with plastic heroic smiles, Izuku's stomach growled.

"I know!" he announced, rolling up his sleeves. "To christen the place the right way, I'll make breakfast. A big one, a celebration breakfast. Oh, and by the way, Nemuri-san's coming over."

Yu, who was carrying another box, almost dropped it when she heard him.

"WHO'S coming over?"

"Nemuri-san," he repeated, so calm that Yu wanted to smack him. "I invited her to breakfast. She's coming to start Ibara's paperwork for the selection, you know, and I figured while she's at it we could all eat something good together."

"Hold on a second, brainiac." Yu raised a hand. "First you fill my house with dolls and now you're putting the witch in my kitchen on your first day?"

"Don't worry." Izuku took her hand with a smile that completely ignored the danger. "I'm gonna cook for both of you, so nobody's gonna go hungry. Not on my watch!"

Yu decided to save the battle for when she had coffee.

******

Yu's kitchen was a modest size, but Izuku moved through it with ease. He tied an apron over his shirt and got to work. The rice was already boiling when he beat the eggs for the tamago, the fish browning over low heat off to the side.

DING DONG

"It's open!" Yu shouted from the couch, not bothering to get up.

Nemuri came in with the elegance of a queen, a light dress for the hour and a folder under her arm.

"Good morning, family!" she greeted cheerfully. "Well, well... did I miss a move? How cozy. It looks like a newlyweds' little house."

"Don't start," Yu growled from the couch. "This is temporary."

"I see." Nemuri set the folder on the table, still with an amused smile. "Well, temporary or not, it smells delicious. Tell me you made enough for me, dear."

"There's plenty for everyone, Nemuri-san," Izuku answered from the stove, without turning around. "Have a seat. It's almost ready."

And there, spoon in hand and the rice steaming, Izuku felt content.

"Hahhh..." He let out a sigh, gazing at the breakfast. "My first breakfast as man of the house. What a nice moment. This feels like being a househusband feeding my two wives."

The silence in the room lasted a second.

"WIVES?!" Yu appeared in the kitchen doorway with a vein bulging on her forehead. "Who the hell gave you permission to call us wives?! And since when am I part of this imaginary marriage?!"

"Mmm, wives." Nemuri peeked out from behind her. "Oh my. I have to admit it sounds pretty good."

Yu pointed at her immediately.

"Don't play along with him!"

"Although, as the senior wife, I claim certain privileges over the giantess," Nemuri added, looking at Yu with an air of arrogance.

"Senior?" Yu's expression slowly shifted into a mocking smile. "Ahhh... So you just admitted you're the old lady of the marriage?"

The air in the kitchen dropped a few degrees.

Nemuri narrowed her eyes.

"...Say that again."

Her tone was still sweet, but it had lost that playful lightness entirely.

"Old-La-Dy." Yu repeated, drawing out each syllable with insulting satisfaction.

Izuku, who recognized the sound of a war about to break out, stepped between the two with his spoon raised.

"Ladies, respect the breakfast, please. A happy home is built on mutual respect. And for the record, neither of you is old. One has the beauty of experience and the other the beauty of youth, and I'm lucky enough to have both of you yelling at me before coffee. Let's not ruin the moment, please."

The two of them went silent, unsure whether that had been an insult or a compliment.

"...Nice save," Nemuri admitted, narrowing her eyes.

The kid went back to the tamago, satisfied with having defused the situation.

But Nemuri wasn't going to let it go. She walked over to the stove under the pretext of "supervising," positioned herself behind him and leaned over his shoulder, so close that Izuku felt the soft press of her breasts against his back.

"Show me... How do you fold it like that?" she murmured, resting a hand on his arm while she watched closely. "I always wanted to learn how to make a decent tamago. So you'll have to be a good teacher for me, dear... husband."

"I-it's just turning the pan, Nemuri-san, there's no big science to it," Izuku stammered, his eyes glued to the pan and nothing else.

Focus on the tamago. The tamago is your friend. The tamago doesn't lean on you with shady intentions...

Damn it, me and my big mouth. I've gotta stop thinking out loud.

Nemuri, who'd spent half her life winning these kinds of games, slid her fingers along the kid's arm until she guided his hand over hers. It was innocent on the surface and a disaster underneath, because the moment her hand closed over Izuku's, a small jolt ran up her arm and pulled a shiver out of her.

"Oh..." Nemuri blinked at the tingling. "Did you use your Quirk? This feels... interesting."

"No idea what I did!" Izuku looked at her in surprise. "I swear it wasn't on purpose, I don't even know how I do it."

Midnight's smile turned wicked as she leaned in closer and closer.

"Do it again. We've got all the..."

"THAT'S IT!" Yu grabbed her by the collar of her dress and pulled her away from the kid, like a stubborn cat. "Out of my kitchen, you shameless woman! This assistant has an exclusivity contract and, in case you forgot, I'm the boss here!"

"Exclusivity?" Nemuri let herself be dragged toward the table, laughing. "Yu, you look even more adorable when you're jealous. You should be jealous more often."

"I'm not jealous, I'm protecting my investment!" Yu shouted, shoving her toward a chair.

From the stove, Izuku sighed with the steaming pan in his hand, watching the two women grapple.

Nothing like a good fight before breakfast to work up an appetite.

******

Against all odds, the table was set with no casualties to mourn.

Izuku dished out three full breakfasts, set the chopsticks in place and even arranged the napkins; a good host takes care of the details, a curious habit considering he was the one just moving in. The two heroines sat across from each other, still shooting wary glances, until they tried the first bite.

"I hate to admit it," Yu said with her mouth half full, "but this is amazing."

"Hmmm... It's delicious," Nemuri conceded, pointing at the plate with her chopsticks. "This kid cooks better than I thought. You're gonna fatten up the rookie, dear."

"Hey!" Yu protested.

"That's a compliment to my cooking," Izuku said, finally sitting down. "Besides, Yu stays in shape just by breathing, everybody knows that."

Yu froze with her chopsticks in the air.

Cheater. You can't distract me just like that with some cheap compliment...

She looked down at her rice before her face could give her away.

Nemuri set down her chopsticks, propped her elbow on the table and shifted gears; the flirtatious woman withdrew and the professional stepped in.

"All right, circus aside." Her voice turned clear and firm, and she gave the folder two little taps. "Izuku, this isn't just a welcome breakfast, even if your tamago is about to convince me otherwise. I came to talk about the email you sent me. We're comfortable with each other now, so out with it. Who did you pick?"

Izuku wiped his hands on the apron and pulled his tablet out from among the boxes. He slid it across the table until it sat in front of her.

"Wait, let me find her..." he said, leaning in to swipe through the profiles with his finger. "She was around here somewhere... Ah, here, it's her."

He stopped on one profile and turned the tablet toward Midnight.

Nemuri looked down at the screen. A photo of a serene girl with green hair, a single word printed beneath her name: Vines.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Ibara Shiozaki?" Nemuri said, looking at the photograph before turning her eyes back to Izuku. "Hold on a second, this is your choice?"

"The very one," he answered, with a calm smile.

"I'd already seen her," Yu piped up from her chair, stirring her rice without much enthusiasm. "Dull, right? I said so from the start."

Nemuri leaned back in her chair and studied the profile.

"Mmmm..." She drummed her fingers on the table. "With how much you insisted in your letter, I expected you to pick someone with... let's say, a little less potential. That's your method, isn't it? You love finding coal and figuring out how much you can make it shine."

She turned her gaze back to Ibara's photograph.

"And this girl... I wouldn't call her weak, but she isn't exactly the kind of spectacular pick I'd expect from someone as fussy as you," she went on, narrowing her eyes. "Vines that work for pinning down villains and climbing up walls? It's very practical, but I was expecting something that'd make me say, 'Wow, Midoriya, now that's a gamble!'" She shrugged. "I'll admit it wasn't what I had in mind."

Izuku opened his mouth, ready to launch into a defense of his chosen one.

"But anyway." Nemuri raised her hand before he could take off with one of his hard to follow speeches. "It's your project, sweetie. And if it goes wrong, you're the one who'll have to explain yourself. So if out of all the applicants you picked the plant girl, I guess you saw something I haven't yet."

She leaned slightly toward him, with a confident smile.

"And I trust that eye of yours, sexy prodigy. So... works for me."

"Thanks, Nemuri-san." Izuku took his tablet back as he felt the tension leave his shoulders. "I know she's not impressive on paper, but when I met her I knew it was her. Just trust me."

By the time the plates were empty, the truce had grown comfortable. It was Nemuri who broke it, stretching in her chair with a satisfied yawn.

"Mmm... You know what?" She fanned herself with her hand. "This could easily turn into a habit."

She sank a little more against the backrest.

"Although next time, cooking is officially off my list of responsibilities. No way. We order delivery, get comfortable and let someone else do the heavy lifting." She smiled, as if she'd just discovered the perfect plan. "A good pizza and a glass of wine... Now that sounds like a perfect night."

"As long as it's not with pineapple," Yu said at once, pouring herself more coffee.

Nemuri's cup stopped halfway to her mouth.

"Excuse me?" She arched an eyebrow. "And what crime exactly has pineapple committed to deserve such contempt?"

"Crime? Pineapple is the crime!" Yu set the coffeepot down on the table while staring straight at Nemuri. "Fruit does not belong on top of a pizza! It's common sense!"

"Pineapple gives it a daring touch," Midnight shot back, narrowing her eyes. "Sweet and salty at the same time. The fact that you don't get it says more about you than about the pineapple, dear."

"What it says about me is that I have taste!" Yu turned to Izuku, looking for backup. "Back me up. Tell this old lady that pineapple on pizza is an abomination."

Asking Izuku for an opinion wasn't the smartest decision a person could make.

The kid set down his cup with worrying calm, laced his fingers together on the table and took a deep breath, with all the solemnity of a life or death confession.

"Yu... with all the respect I have for you... I love pineapple pizza."

Yu almost choked on her coffee.

"I adore it," he went on, gaining momentum, his eyes lit up with ridiculous conviction. "Listen to me. The pineapple is sweet, the cheese is salty, and when they come together in your mouth it's like a hug for your stomach. Why are you all so scared of happiness? Life's hard enough already. A hero lives surrounded by villains and paperwork up to the neck. If a slice of pizza can give me a second of sweetness in the middle of the chaos, I welcome it with open arms and without a shred of guilt."

"TRAITOR!" Yu shot up from her chair, pointing a finger at him. "You just moved in under my roof, you eat my food, you sleep in my guest room! And you turn out to be a pineapple guy?!"

"The heart wants what it wants, boss!" Izuku defended himself, standing up too.

"The kid's absolutely right." Nemuri leaned back in her chair, clapping as she savored someone else's defeat. "Two against one, Yu. Democracy has spoken, and democracy is asking for pineapple."

"Democracy doesn't know how to eat!" Yu spun toward her. "And you're only backing him to spite me!"

"Ladies, the table!" Izuku tried to regain control, waving a napkin like a white flag. "We can order half and half! That's what diplomacy is for! Half with pineapple, half without, everybody wins and nobody..."

"NO!" the two of them shouted at the same time, united at last in a single cause: not letting him win.

"Whoever proposes half and half is a coward with no convictions," Yu shouted, shooting him a look of contempt.

Izuku lowered the napkin and looked at the two women who'd spent the whole morning on the verge of killing each other and who now, against all logic, had allied for the sole purpose of opposing him.

...Unbelievable. They hate pineapple and they hate each other, but they hate me more... Is this love?

****"""

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