Chapter 221: Chapter 220
Though he wasn't 'required' to do so, Izuku felt that, following his time with the girls, it was only fair to give the boys an opportunity to train in the dreamscape. Before entering with the girls, however, he told them it was okay to bring their respective partners, leading to a situation where Izuku needed to bolster the Bond Levels of quite a few girls.
Fortunately, with few exceptions, most of the girls attending UA had seen Izuku's photos circulating through the school's back channels. As a result, when they arrived for the event Izuku was scheduled to take part in, most had Bond Levels in the late sixties or early seventies. Some were ready to join the Party immediately, but Izuku chose not to single them out since it might complicate their relationships. Instead, they were asked to gather alongside many of his harem mates, fan club members, and even a few of the girls' mothers as Izuku put on a concert, singing songs he and Kyoka had composed. It was one of the most nerve-wracking things he had ever experienced, but Izuku gave it his all, and it paid off, as, by the end of the more than two-hour concert, nearly everyone in the 300+ member crowd had a Bond Level exceeding 80...
...
..
.
In the wake of his concert, Izuku was relaxing in his makeshift dressing room with a hot towel over his eyes, enjoying Kyoka's lap pillow. She had been his bassist and backup singer during the concert, so they were both exhausted but satisfied with the outcome.
*tok* *tok* *tok*
'I guess I shouldn't be surprised that at least a few people came to track me down...' thought Izuku, alluding to the fact he had broadly invited the entire crowd to join his Party. Because of that, the number of people who could discern his location had increased exponentially...
Rising to a seated position and removing the towel from his eyes, Izuku briefly tensed when he saw the names of the people standing outside his door. Kyoka was similarly surprised, but instead of questioning why they were there, she asked, "Should I leave...?"
"I want to say no, but it's probably for the best..." replied Izuku, prompting Kyoka to nod and rise from the sofa they were relaxing on, taking it upon herself to answer and subsequently depart through the door, allowing two spiky-haired individuals to enter.
"That was some concert," mused Mitsuki, her red eyes glistening slightly as she wore a distinctly expectant smile. Next to her, a middle-aged man of average height and build with spiky brown hair and brown eyes behind thick-rimmed glasses added, "I now understand why Mitsuki changed so drastically after your visit. You've matured into a truly outstanding young man, Izuku-kun."
"I appreciate the compliment," replied Izuku, doing his best to appear calm and casual even though it felt incredibly awkward to be praised by the husband of a woman he had fucked silly. The fact the man, Masaru, had a Bond Level of 96 made the situation even more discomfiting...
"Anyways, we came by to ask if we could attend the 'retreat' you have planned for tomorrow," explained Mitsuki. "Oh, and before you ask, we already spoke with Katsuki. We didn't explain everything, but he's all for us learning Magic and becoming stronger. Here, check this out..."
Holding up her right hand and forming it into a fist, the casual clothes Mitsuki was wearing abruptly burst away, replaced by a scant top and bottom that would barely qualify as a bikini. Less notably, two slightly curved horns protruded from the sides of her head, making her look like a demon, while a fur-lined cape, black on the outside and red on the inside, adorned her shoulders. Other than that, she also had what looked like a black, fur-lined arm warmer on her right arm, a cloth scarcely concealing her voluminous ass, and banded leather greaves like something a female warrior or gladiator might wear in an RPG.
"How is it? Pretty cool, right?" asked Mitsuku, linking her thumbs through the side of her thong-like bottoms and pulling them up to emphasize her cameltoe as she added, "I received these clothes after Katsuki snuck me into a breach and had me receive its Blessing. More importantly, I gained the power to analyze the effects of Artefacts, so I'm currently in contract negotiations with the Principal about becoming a member of UA's Support Department."
Disregarding the awkwardness of the situation, Izuku smiled as he gave Mitsuki a once-over, remarking, "I'd say it's a breathtaking outfit, but it's only because you're the one wearing it. You looked incredible before, but I can tell you've had a bit of your youth restored..."
Grinning as she rubbed the underside of her nose, Mistuki replied, "That's right. But I didn't come here solely to have you pay me lip service. Before I became a member of UA's staff, Masaru and I had something to discuss with you..."
Following Mitsuki's words, Masaru revealed, "Mitsuki and I have been considering a divorce for the past three years. Not because we've fallen out of love, per se, but because I've found someone else to serve as my muse. The primary reason we married was to provide a stable home for Katsuki, but since he's fully matured and has acquired the means to live independently, we're considering moving forward with the proceedings."
Placing his hand on the small of Mitsuki's back and pushing her forward slightly, Masaru added, "To that end, it would ease most of my lingering concerns if you were to take Mitsuki into your care. She hasn't been able to get you out of her head since her birthday, so I can think of none more suited to receive and care for her."
Though the development was so far outside his expectations he felt like he was dreaming, Izuku appeared calm as he met Mitsuki's nervous and increasingly flushed expression. She was well aware of how absurd their request was, so her teeth clattered faintly as her body trembled due to a mix of fear and anticipation.
Relieving Mitsuki's anxiety and causing Masaru's Bond Level to increase to 100, Izuku adopted a smile and replied, "I'd be a fool to refuse such an offer. But, should you become mine, know that your days of sleeping with other men will be over. You will remain in my 'care' until the day you die..."
"I've already experienced having a family, a successful career, and pretty much everything else the 'mundane' world has to offer..." replied Mitsuki, lowering herself before Izuku and performing a dogeza-like bow with the tips of her fingers touching as she asserted, "Now, my only desire it to live a free and unfettered life in your service..."
Resisting the urge to point out the contradictions in such a statement, Izuku gave an approving nod before meeting Masaru's gaze. In response, the spiky-haired man smiled and offered a courteous bow before silently excusing himself, leaving Izuku and Mitsuki to mark her unexpected entry into his service alone...
...
..
.
In preparation for inviting more complex organisms into his dreamscape, Izuku started caring for Rumi's pet rabbits before working his way up to Chiyo, Hanako, Nemuri, and the voluptuous bunny girl herself. Ryuko had also volunteered for the experiment, but it was determined that she would enter with the larger group as Rumi vehemently refused to let anyone else give birth before her.
"Waaaaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaah-!"
As they were much smaller than Mana had been when she was born, Izuku trembled from his core as he carefully transferred his and Rumi's first child, a 2.7kg little girl with reddish-brown skin, tufts of green hair, rabbit ears, and a tiny tail, to one of the attending nurses.
Wearing a supportive smile, Hanako chimed, "Just two more. Stay strong, Rumi-san...!"
"Izuku! You better prepare yourself because I'm going to fucking murder you after this is over...!" shouted Rumi, sweat covering her body and tears streaming from the corner of her eyes as she strained to give birth to their children.
Though she had been sedated to restrain her tremendous strength, Rumi responded to Hanako's words by straining against her wrist bindings with enough force to tear away the railing on the left side of the delivery bed. Fortunately, Nemuri was right beside her, caressing Rumi's head as she increased the potency of her pacifying pheromones, her expression and tone gentle as she whispered, "There, there...you're doing well..." with a loving smile on her face. Soon after, Rumi birthed her and Izuku's second child, a little boy with the expected rabbit features but with an increased volume of green fur above his brows and along his forearms, the backs of his hands, calves, the tops of his feet, and much of his back. His face and body structure were distinctly human, but it was readily apparent that his Heteromorphic traits were more pronounced than those of his mother and sisters, not that Izuku minded in the slightest...
...
..
.
In the wake of seven-hour labor, Rumi, heavily sedated, gently cradled her children in her arms with a loving but absentminded smile as Izuku sat next to her, silently observing the scene with boundless affection in his gaze.
"They inherited your hair color..." Rumi remarked, a tear cascading down the left side of her face. She previously had innumerable apprehensions about being a mother, but now that she had her children in her arms, she felt more happiness, more 'complete' than she had in her entire life.
"And with you as their mother, they'll be strong enough to walk any path they choose..." expressed Izuku, reaching out to brush away Rumi's tear, compelling her to turn her head and meet his gaze. Luckily, she no longer felt like murdering him. Instead, as tears built in the corners of her eyes, she adopted a paradoxically ugly yet indescribably beautiful expression that was a mix of relief, confusion, love, and a multitude of emotions that couldn't be put into words, so, instead, they came out as tears...
...
..
.
"From what I can tell, Rumi and your children are perfectly healthy..." said Chiyo, checking over the triplets' files while seated across from Izuku at her desk in the real world. She had everyone, including Izuku, undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation when they returned. Thus, he wasn't particularly surprised when Chiyo met his gaze and slid him what looked like an MRI of a person's head, stating, "The problem is you..."
Looking between the various images, which exhibited brain damage on par with a catastrophic aneurysm, Izuku jokingly remarked, "Well, that explains why I was bleeding from my nose and ears before passing out. But we anticipated something like this occurring before we commenced the experiment. What's the problem...?"
"Look at the final image. It was taken 'after' your body regenerated, and Eri used her power to treat you..." stated Chiyo, unable to conceal a hint of regret in her distinctive purple eyes.
Doing as he was told, Izuku looked at the final image, taking note of the tiny specks of white located through his brain, most barely as large as a granule of sand but some nearly as big as a grain of rice.
Seeing through Izuku's thoughts, Chiyo explained, "It's not cancer. At the very least, not any I'm familiar with. From what we can tell, prolonged use of the dreamscape has started...crystallizing your neurons, forming lattice structures similar to a high-grade Mana Crystal. The change doesn't seem to have impaired you, but there are no medical precedents for what you're experiencing. If it were up to me, I would call off further experimentations entirely..."
"Have you told anyone besides the Principal about this...?" asked Izuku, looking up from the MRI to meet Chiyo's gaze. As a result, a weary sigh escaped Chiyo's throat, but she thankfully revealed that the information hadn't been made known to anyone outside of Nezu, Toshinori, and Gran Torino. Thus, while it was potentially dangerous, Izuku elected to continue the experiment, unhesitantly choosing to prioritize the lives of his children and the empowerment of his allies over his personal well-being...
...
..
.
(A/N: O_O...)