"You know, we should really do this more often," declared Mina, Class 1A's resident acid girl and gossip queen, as she tossed back a handful of chips and sprawled across the couch. "Just us girls, hanging out and relaxing," she added with a contented sigh, glancing around at the others in the room—the girls of soon-to-be Class 3A and 3B, famously known as the 'veteran class' for their contributions to the war a year ago.
"I'm with Mina on this one," Setsuna chimed in, detaching her hand from her wrist and floating it over to snag a few of Mina's chips before she could react. Flashing a toothy grin at Mina's glare, Setsuna continued, "With all the reconstruction projects and rounding up villains, we hardly get a chance to rest our butts and sit around like this. Free time? Practically a luxury."
"Setsuna's crude language aside, she has a point," Ibara nodded, hands folded serenely in her lap. "We've worked tirelessly, and now, by the grace of the Lord, we have a chance to bask in peace for a change."
Momo entered, balancing a tray filled with mugs of hot chocolate alongside Itsuka. "Yes, though now that we have our 'girls' day off,' it seems we haven't actually planned anything," she remarked, handing a mug to each of her friends with a warm smile that matched the rich aroma of chocolate filling the room. "Any ideas on what we should do now?"
"Ooh! How about Truth or Dare?" Toru suggested, clapping her hands together excitedly.
"Nope. Not happening," Kyoka cut in firmly, crossing her arms. "With you three—Mina, Toru, and Setsuna—playing, it starts off innocent, gets embarrassing, and before you know it, somehow it all ends up on camera. Then, one of you will use it to embarrass me years later at some get-together. No thanks. I'd rather avoid that."
Mina rolled her eyes, grinning. "You're paranoid, Jiro!"
"Anyone with friends like you three would be," she countered, earning a supportive nod from Tsu.
"Oh, fine! You're no fun!" Setsuna groaned, sticking out her tongue. "What about a movie, then?" she suggested.
"Hmm, not a bad idea, but what are we going to watch?" Momo replied, thoughtfully rubbing her chin. "All my anticipated releases were postponed last year because of the war, and they won't start up again for a few more months since they'd have to rebuild the sets from scratch," she explained, taking a seat next to Jiro.
"Wow, you really know a lot about this stuff," Ochako remarked, clearly impressed.
"Well, I made a few contacts while interning with Uwabami in our first year," Momo explained, scratching her cheek with a bashful smile. "No offense to Uwabami, but that was pretty much the only benefit I got from interning with her," she added, chuckling softly.
"You're lucky you got something out of your internship," Itsuka grumbled bitterly. "I, on the other hand, just wasted my time."
"We'll mourn your wasted internship later," Mina said, steering the conversation back on track. "Right now, we need to decide on a movie before the sun sets and the boys get back from their outing."
"Pony, why don't you suggest some shroomtastic English movie for us?" Kinoko suggested.
"I mean, I could, but I can't think of anything good that we haven't already seen," Pony said, rubbing her chin. "I'm pretty sure we've watched all the good action movies that were released in the past year."
"I mean, we don't have to watch action movies, per se," Jiro said. "We could watch something comedy or romance, if everyone's okay with that."
"Ohh, something romantic, you say, Jiro?" Mina teased, a devilish grin spreading across her face. "Don't tell me you're imagining yourself and a certain green-haired classmate of ours as the lead couple!"
As soon as Mina said those words, the room erupted with laughter, and two girls comically spat out their hot chocolate. The first was Jiro, her face red with embarrassment, and the second was Ochako, who, for some reason, was glaring daggers at Jiro, much to the amusement of the other girls.
"Ohh! I didn't know Broccoli Head already had someone staking their claim on him. Isn't that right, Ochako?" Setsuna asked, grinning mischievously with her sharp teeth.
"W-What?!" Ochako stammered, her face a shade of scarlet that nearly matched her cheeks. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Setsuna, stop teasing Ochako," Momo said, elegantly sipping her hot chocolate. "Besides, Izuku isn't an object for anyone to lay claim to, no matter how long they've known him."
"Oh? And what do you mean by that, Momo?" Ochako asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Nothing at all," Momo replied dismissively, waving her hand and ignoring Ochako's intense gaze as the room chuckled around them.
"I don't blame you, Momo. The green, sweet, punching machine has the personality of a chocolate boy with the body of a gym bro—makes him quite the catch in my eyes," Setsuna said, as Ochako's glare shifted toward her. "I mean, even our class prez already has a thing for him."
"Shut up, Set!" Itsuka yelled, throwing a pillow at her. "Or I'll tell everyone what I saw a few months ago when I came to your room to call you for dinner!"
"Prez! Don't you dare open your mouth!" Setsuna growled, pointing a threatening finger at Itsuka.
"Calm down, guys," Momo sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, so what movie—" She was suddenly cut off as a soft flapping noise drew their attention. A stunning white owl glided into the room, its feathers glinting in the sunlight, and perched gracefully on the kitchen counter, one leg extended. An envelope was attached to it.
"Oh my gosh!!!" Mina exclaimed, suddenly startling everyone. "I'm going to Hogwarts!"
"Shut up, Mina, you'll scare the owl," Jiro said, poking Mina with her ear jack. Mina yelped, rubbing her arm while glaring at Jiro. "So, does anyone know what's going on here?" she asked as the owl looked around with an intelligent, knowing gaze.
"I don't think any of us have the answer to your question, but I believe this majestic creature has a keen intellect and is aware of everything happening around it," Yanagi said. As if to confirm her theory, the owl gave an approving hoot, puffing up its chest.
"Well, it's definitely an intelligent owl, no doubt about that," Itsuka said, glancing at the white owl. "But the real question is, what do we do next?"
"I mean, the little guy—" Suddenly, the owl flew toward Setsuna and pecked her on the head. "Is it a girl?" she asked, rubbing her head with a wince. The owl nodded. "Okay..." she said, dragging out the last syllable before turning to Itsuka. "I mean, the little gal here does have something on her feet. Why don't we check it out?"
"We could do that, but is it really wise?" Itsuka asked. "It could be something dangerous. What if it's sent by a villain?"
"That's highly unlikely, 'ribbit,'" Tsu said, placing a finger on her chin. "My instincts aren't telling me to run away like they usually do in dangerous situations," she added, with Pony nodding in agreement.
"So...should we open it?" Momo asked, eyeing the owl's outstretched leg.
"Might as well," Kyoka shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"You really have the guts to say that after the last two years?" Itsuka shook her head. "But I agree, we don't have much choice. It doesn't look like this owl is planning to leave unless we take that parcel," she added, and the owl nodded in agreement.
"In that case, let's relieve the little gal of her responsibility," Setsuna said, crouching in front of the owl and untying the envelope from its leg. As soon as she did, the owl hooted loudly before flying away with some of the girls waving and saying goodbye.
"Now, let's see what you've got," she said, opening the envelope to find a letter and a USB drive inside. Setsuna placed the USB drive in the center of the table, unfolded the letter, and began reading it.
Hey girls,
While looking across different worlds, I happened upon yours and noticed you were struggling to find a good source of entertainment. So, I decided to lend a hand and sent you a USB stick... yes, the very one you have with you now. Inside, you'll find an event—a story from another timeline that runs parallel to yours.
If you're curious, just plug in the USB stick, and you'll be watching an event that never happened in your timeline... but could happen, depending on your choices after watching. Enjoy the show.
Yours truly,
Grey, The Overseer of the Multiverse.
"Okay, this sounds like an elaborate prank," Itsuka said, looking around at her friends. "There's no way any of you actually believe this, right?"
"I don't want to believe it either, but it's not impossible," Momo said thoughtfully. "I mean, we already know people who can affect the fundamental forces of nature. For example, Eri can reverse time, Ochako can alter gravity, and Kurogiri can transport people through space. Considering all of that, is the multiverse really so far-fetched?"
"I guess not," Itsuka admitted, although still looking unsure.
"Why don't we just plug the stick into the TV and see what's on it, 'ribbit'?" Tsu suggested. "At worst, it's just a prank with something inappropriate on it. In that case, we can track down whoever sent it and make them pay," she added, her tone sending a shiver down everyone's spine.
"If we're going to do this, let's wait a bit," Momo suggested. "We should get some snacks first, and then we can begin." Everyone agreed with Momo's plan, and half an hour later, all thirteen girls gathered in the living room, the USB stick already plugged into the TV.
"Alright, let's see if this is a prank or not," Momo said, turning on the TV.
******
The screen lit up, revealing Izuku and Yawara Chatora, also known as the pro hero Tiger, training together in a familiar wooded area.
"Look! Isn't that Deku and Tiger?" Ochako exclaimed, her voice laced with surprise as she pointed at the screen, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Momo nodded, focusing on the scene unfolding before them. "Yeah, it really does look like them," she agreed, squinting as if it would help her understand better. "If that's the case... maybe this really is showing us something from an entirely different reality," she mused aloud.
"Hold on. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Itsuka interrupted, cutting into the conversation before the speculation could carry on. "This could just be footage from a training session we didn't know about."
'Never let it be said that this Midoriya kid couldn't go Plus Ultra,' Yawara thought as he twisted around another brutal haymaker.
"Well, Prez?" Setsuna smirked, raising an eyebrow as she gave Itsuka a sidelong glance. "I'm pretty sure we don't have the tech yet to capture people's inner monologues."
Itsuka sighed, her shoulders dropping slightly as she processed the situation. "Fine, fine... I guess we have to accept it—this really is another reality," she admitted. Shifting her gaze back to the screen, where Midoriya was relentlessly pushing Tiger to his limits, she added with a touch of admiration, "And look at that. Midoriya's really giving Tiger a hard time. That's impressive, considering Tiger's skill and experience."
Setsuna grinned, crossing her arms. "Guess it's proof that Prez doesn't need much to be impressed by Mop Head."
"Shut up, Set, or do you want another pillow to the face?" Itsuka growled. Setsuna raised her hands in playful surrender, though the grin on her face made it clear she didn't regret her comment one bit.
Training should have ended a half hour ago for all the students, both in Class B and Class A, with the promise of an evening at the lodge's hot springs afterwards, but Izuku Midoriya had begged Tiger to continue anyway and since Tiger could keep fighting much longer than the hero students could, so if Midoriya felt ready to fight on, who was he to deny the kid?
"That's just like Deku," Ochako sighed, shaking her head with an exasperated smile. "He just can't help but go overboard, even in training."
"Well," Tsu chimed in, giving a gentle nod, "I'd rather he push himself a little extra in a safe, monitored environment where he can grow his skills than get carried away with his quirk in the field and risk getting hurt, 'ribbit'."
"Exactly," Toru added, her invisible form somehow managing to radiate relief. "It was honestly painful to watch him breaking his own body over and over again back then." She paused, the memory lingering briefly before she brightened. "At least he's gotten way better at controlling his quirks now. We don't have to worry as much about him pushing himself too far and ending up in Recovery Girl's office."
The two had abandoned stamina training entirely in favor of one-on-one sparring now that they were alone. While Midoriya had yet to even touch Yawara's significantly more pliable body, the pro could see the student learning with every punch thrown, each blow coming closer and closer to connecting.
"Ugh, just watching them train is getting my blood pumping," Itsuka said, clenching her fists with excitement. Her competitive spirit flared to life as she felt the familiar surge of energy she got before a big workout or a sparring match. 'It's been a while since I trained with Midoriya. Maybe I should talk to him about setting something up,' she thought, already mapping out ideas in her mind.
Even with his heavy breathing and sweat rolling down his face, Midoriya kept up his assault, his eyes betraying both his next move and his almost terrifying intelligence.
Dear god, he was like a Human Nezu.
Everyone shuddered as they imagined Izuku in a suit, laughing evilly like their principal, his grin wide and unsettling. The thought of their typically kind and earnest classmate adopting that crazy, calculating demeanor sent a chill down their spines.
A collective gulp echoed around the room as the realization hit them. "We still have a year left of school," Ochako muttered, her voice quiet but filled with dread. "And there's a very real chance Deku could end up mentored by... him."
The group fell silent for a moment, each of them picturing Izuku under the guidance of their terrifying, ever-smiling rat of a principal.
"Izuku in a suit... laughing like Nezu," Momo said, her voice trailing off as the idea took root. "If that happens, villains or the world, either one is doomed."
"You almost ruffled my costume with that one!" Yawara taunted, once more warping his body to deftly dodge a jab. Not one to simply take a beating, Tiger threw his own punch from his awkward position and forced Midoriya to choose between taking a hit or losing his momentum.
With green lightning wreathing his body, the kid lept backward to avoid Tiger's attack and ground his feet in the dirt to avoid flying too far away. It was only due to the pro's years of experience that he noticed the lightning spark a little brighter around Midoriya's legs before the kid lunged much faster than before. In the blink of an eye, the kid appeared in front of Yawara, his leg pulled back for a textbook roundhouse kick. Battle instinct overcame Tiger and the pro squished his entire body to duck underneath the hero student. "Too slow!" Now in midair, Midoriya didn't have a chance to dodge Tiger when he sprang to his full height, slamming a gloved fist into the student's gut in the process.
Unfortunately for both of them, Yawara miscalculated how much force was behind his uppercut. For the fifth time that day, Midoriya was sent flying, victim to physics and brutal teaching styles. Unlike before, there was no tree to stop his flight; his ragdoll body soared over the forest entirely before crashing somewhere in the distance.
A heavy silence hung in the air as everyone stared at the screen, their mouths agape at the scene unfolding before them.
Setsuna was the first to break the silence. "How the hell does Midoriya keep finding himself in these situations?" she asked, her hands thrown up in exasperation and her voice dripping with disbelief.
Jiro, leaning back with a sigh, crossed her arms and shot a dry look at the screen. "Honestly, at this point, I think he has another quirk that just makes him a trouble magnet," she muttered. "Like, it's almost impressive how consistently he gets himself tangled up in these insane situations."
A thoughtful pause followed, and then Momo nodded slowly. "You know, after learning about everything the past One for All users went through, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a quirk like that stockpiled somewhere in there. Maybe it's hidden deep within the power, just waiting to activate at the worst time possible."
"...whoops."
Yawara quietly prayed that the amount of broken bones in the Sports Festival wasn't due to the Midoriya kid having brittle bones, but the quirk his body attempted to contain. He breathed out an amen before starting his trek towards where the boy was flung.
"Does anybody else get this sudden urge to do something... painful to a pro hero?" Ochako asked, her voice low and ominous, a chilling aura radiating from her that made Tsu and Jiro instinctively scoot away from her.
"Ochako, while I understand your reasons, I don't think it's very heroic to threaten bodily harm to someone," Ibara said.
"You're right, that wasn't very nice of me," Ochako nodded, taking Ibara's words to heart. "But..." Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "That doesn't mean we can't prank him. Some well-planned, deliberate pranks," she giggled, rubbing her hands together with a look of glee. "I wonder how much time it would take to record the sound of a chalk or nail scraping across a board and hide it somewhere in Tiger's bedroom."
The room fell silent for a moment before Setsuna's grin appeared, sharp and knowing. "Oh, I like the way you think," she said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "We should definitely collaborate on something like that in the future."
"Oh god, I hope school survives next year," Itsuka sighed dramatically, already dreading the inevitable chaos.
Meanwhile, miles away, a certain pro hero suddenly felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine. He paused, glancing around the empty room as an unsettling feeling gnawed at his stomach. He couldn't quite place it, but for some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to lock every door in his house, double-checking them carefully for the next few days.
******
Mina was having a great day.
"She's always having a great day, that's just Mina for you," Toru said with a grin, earning a playful poke in the stomach from the pink-haired girl.
The sun was nice against her skin the whole day, and it was the boy's turn to clean this time so the girls had more time to lounge in the hot springs. But she had that mischievous itch grinding in the depths of her mind. With how busy they were, she didn't get any chance to tease anyone today. It was annoying, to say the least.
"You just can't go a day without annoying someone, can you?" Jiro asked, narrowing her eyes at Mina.
Mina grinned, unfazed by the accusation. "Never!" she replied defiantly, sticking her tongue out at Jiro.
"Wow, very mature," Jiro muttered dryly, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms.
"Hey, if being mature was my thing, I wouldn't be Mina Ashido!" she said with a wink. "But I'll take 'annoying' as a compliment."
Jiro let out a defeated sigh but couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "You're impossible," she muttered.
"Sooo...." she began, searching the crowd of class A and B, "you think any of the boys are going through our stuff?"
Momo gasped, making Setsuna grin in response to the rich girl's reaction. Ah yes, a fellow trickster.
"Well, that wasn't very nice of you," Momo huffed, crossing her arms and pouting slightly, looking every bit like she'd just been wronged.
"Oh, come on! That wasn't even one percent of what I could do," Mina scoffed, rolling her eyes with a playful smirk. "If I really wanted to mess with you, Momo, you'd know it."
"I'm certain Iida or Midoriya would put a stop to that even before it happened," Itsuka mumbled, going back to washing her aching forearms. "They seem to be the type to have some morals."
"...I cannot believe you just killed every other guy in the hero course," Tooru dead-panned, using the best part of her quirk. No one could tell that she had a shit-eating grin on.
"Well, to be honest, I don't think any of the boys, other than Mineta, would perv on us so blatantly, 'ribbit'," Tsu said, matter-of-factly, "At worst, they might sneak a glance, but they'd back off if we asked."
"That's true, but aside from Iida and Deku, I doubt any of the boys actively try to stop Mineta from perving on us," Ochako added, frowning. "Even though he's not as bad as he was at the start of our first year, Mineta still creeps me out."
"Trust me, Ochako, you're not the only one," Momo said, her voice filled with a similar frustration as she shook her head. "In fact, even Izuku refuses to leave Eri alone with Mineta. He told me once that, while he doesn't think Mineta would say or do anything inappropriate around her, he still can't bring himself to fully trust him with Eri—not after that one comment Mineta made when she first visited our dorms."
The girls of 1A collectively grimaced, recalling Mineta's remark from back then.
"Can't say I blame him," Setsuna chimed in, folding her arms across her chest. "Honestly, I still don't understand how Mineta made it through our entire first year without a single warning or mark for harassment."
"It's baffling," Jiro muttered, her voice tinged with irritation. "I mean, we've got such amazing people in our class, and then there's Mineta, somehow slipping by without consequences."
Ochako nodded thoughtfully. "You'd think that, with all the pro heroes and teachers around, someone would've stepped in by now. At least Izuku and Iida are willing to call him out when he crosses a line, but it'd be nice if he learned some respect on his own."
"I doubt that'll happen anytime soon," Momo sighed. "I just hope he gets his act together; otherwise, the media will tear him apart at the first chance they get, one of the war heroes or not."
Tsuyu tilted her head, opened her mouth like she was going to add to the conversation, then shut it closed, eyes widening an increment in her usually stoic face.
"Kyoka, do you hear that?"
The punk rocker looked confused for a second before letting her hearing engage, noticing the sound. "What is that?"
Ochako's eyebrows stitched together in the cutest way, confusion apparent in her entire being. "What's what?"
The idle chatter of the hot springs died out, only the sound of the water pouring into the artificial pond echoing against the walls filling the cold night air.
"Of course, we can't have one quiet, peaceful night, can we?" Jiro muttered with an exasperated sigh, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest of the couch. "Maybe Green's luck is rubbing off on all of us."
Then they all slowly started hearing the slight whistling.
"Is that a bug?" Kinoko whispered, getting met with shushes as the women looked around, growing more wary as the sound increased in volume.
Momo broke the silence, "You think it's Mineta?"
"Oh I was waiting for a reason to kill that grape," Setsuna chuckled, her head detaching and floating up to see what was going on.
"Good hunting, Detective Setsuna!" Tooru cheered from the ground, all of the girls looking up to catch any updates on the source of the sound. Everyone was keenly waiting for any thing.
"Damn, I wish I could join my counterpart," Setsuna said, a predatory smile spreading across her face and her eyes glinted with excitement.
"Amen to that, sister," Mina chimed in, her own grin matching Setsuna's. "I've got a special blend of acid prepared for days like these."
The others exchanged glances, both amused and slightly concerned by the intensity of the two girls' excitement, but then shrugged, realizing who was going to be on the receiving end of their pranks.
Setsuna floated a little further into the forest, squinting at something the girls couldn't quite see through the walls of the bath. "Is that Izu-"
The confusion was switched with utter shock as everyone caught a glimpse of Izuku of all people crash into the floating head of Setsuna. Skip over the surface of the hot spring. And slam into the wall of the building.
"I always thought the perfect guy for me would fall from the sky and crash into my life, but I never imagined it would be like this," Setsuna snickered, her voice full of amusement as she watched the chaotic collision play out on the screen. "Well, at least now I can call him an angel, since he literally fell from the sky."
Mina giggled. "I don't think Midoriya was exactly planning on that kind of dramatic entrance, but hey, you can't say he didn't make an impact!" She shot Setsuna a teasing glance, and both of them shared a laugh.
Ochako was the first to shake off the shock of what just happened and rushed to the crash-site. "Deku! Setsuna! You two ok?"
The two classes got the creepiest image of Setsuna's headless body doing a once over of herself, before a quiet voice echoed out from the cloud of dust Izuku had kicked up when he slammed into the wooden wall of the bathhouse.
"Set, have you ever considered doing horror movies?" Pony asked, tilting her head in curiosity. "I bet you'd be really popular as a ghost girl, especially in American horror films."
Setsuna chuckled, her grin wide and mischievous. "I don't know about acting, but Halloween is always fun in my neighborhood," she said.
"A little shaken... but I am feeling really good but Mean and Green is down for the count."
Mina's grin grew wider, her eyes practically gleaming with mischief as she glanced over at the rest of the group. "Oh, I just realized, Midori is now trapped in a hot spring with all of us girls," she said, her voice full of amusement. "This is going to be fun... way too much fun."
To be continued...
******
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