ShuraZero
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CHAPTER 96
🕑 Added 2025-07-25 06:03:43 +0000 UTCThe team arrived at the small apartment complex just as the sun was painting the sky a soft orange. The scent of fresh katsudon wafted through the hallway, warm and inviting, like an embrace waiting for them after the intensity of Hosu. Izuku turned the key and opened the door with a mixture of relief and nervousness.
“We’re home!” he announced, his voice echoing in the small foyer.
Inko emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a flower-print apron. Her face lit up at the sight of her son, but her smile froze when her eyes landed on Yu Takeyama—Mt. Lady, the renowned hero—standing in her modest entryway.
“Izuku, honey, it’s so good to…!” She paused, her eyes widening in surprise. “Oh… good heavens. You’re… you’re Mt. Lady. In my doorway! Izuku, I thought you were joking when you said Ms. Takeyama was coming for dinner. The house is a disaster! I haven’t even dusted the top shelf!”
Yu let out a genuine laugh, a warm sound that instantly dispelled Inko’s tension.
“Please, call me Yu. Your home is lovely, Inko-san. It smells like a real home, something I haven’t felt in a long time. Thank you for having me.”
Inko, blushing, waved her hands as if to bat away her own embarrassment.
“Oh, please, listen to me! Come in, come in! Make yourselves at home! Dinner is almost ready.”
The moment Izuku crossed the threshold, a blonde figure leaped from the sofa with the energy of a miniature hurricane. Himiko Toga latched onto his neck, her arms squeezing him with unrestrained enthusiasm.
“Izuku! Finally! I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!” she exclaimed, swinging like a koala. “These last few days have been torture! Ms. Inko wouldn’t let me sharpen the kitchen knives and made me watch a show about gardening. GARDENING! Do you know how boring it is to watch a plant grow when you could be watching someone bleed?”
Izuku laughed, hugging her back with a familiarity that surprised Yu, who arched an eyebrow with interest.
“I missed you too, Toga. I promise training will be more fun tomorrow. Were you good?” he asked with a patient smile.
“I was an angel!” Toga declared, finally letting go. “An angel with occasional homicidal thoughts about garden gnomes, but an angel nonetheless.”
The dining room was a scene of cozy chaos. The table was laden with bowls of steaming rice, crispy katsudon, and platters of simple but comforting side dishes. Conversations intertwined, creating a symphony of normalcy that contrasted with the tensions of the week.
“Inko-san, this katsudon is… criminally good,” Yu said after a bite, closing her eyes in delight. “They should arrest you for cooking something this delicious. Now I understand where Izuku gets his energy.”
Inko, flushed with pleasure, waved a hand dismissively.
“Oh, you’re too kind! A boy who works so hard needs to eat well. Tell me, was he well-behaved? Did he give you much trouble?”
Yu glanced at Izuku with a mix of exasperation and affection.
“I don’t have the full report, but this week he got himself impaled on a sword to save me and helped take down the Hero Killer. I’d say recklessness is his natural state.”
“That wasn’t recklessness, it was a tactical sacrifice!” Izuku defended himself, raising his hands.
“Call it what you want, prodigy, but you nearly gave me a heart attack,” Yu replied, taking another bite.
At the other end of the table, Toru nudged Yu with a mischievous grin.
“Hey, Yu-san, is it true that Endeavor wears a toupee made of fire for important interviews? I read it on a hero forum.”
Yu winked at her, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“Honey, industry secrets stay in the industry. But let’s just say his ego is the only thing about him that’s one hundred percent natural.”
Ochako, sitting next to Momo, whispered enthusiastically.
“Do you think my dad would like a book on reinforced polymers for his birthday? It’s for his construction work.”
“That’s an excellent choice,” Momo replied instantly, her mind shifting into analytical mode. “We could review the tensile strength and durability indexes together to select the most cost-effective and safe material.”
Dinner progressed amidst laughter and stories. The girls shared details from their internships, from the absurd moments to the challenges that had made them doubt themselves. Izuku listened, offering shy but sincere comments, while Inko watched with a maternal smile, clearly happy to have a house full of life.
Toga, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly fixed her gaze on Yu with a sweet and unsettling smile.
“Hey, Yu-chan… you’re very pretty. And huge. And you smell nice.”
Yu raised an eyebrow, amused by the compliment.
“Thanks, Toga-chan. You’re pretty cute yourself.”
“So… would you give me a little bit of your blood?”
A dead silence fell over the table. Everyone’s chopsticks froze mid-air. Yu, who was about to take a sip of water, slowly set her glass down.
“Excuse me?” Her voice was dangerously calm. “What the hell would you want my blood for, kid?”
Toga, unperturbed, explained with terrifying and enthusiastic logic.
“It’s a reward for Izuku! He’s earned it. He was so brave and almost died for you. He needs to relax. And I know his secret—not-so-secret—dream has always been… well, your thighs. So I thought, if you give me a little bit of your blood, I can transform into you. Then he could use your thighs as a pillow. He gets his dream, you don’t have to do anything, and I get to practice my Quirk. It’s a perfect plan where everyone wins!”
Izuku choked on his drink, sputtering and coughing as his face turned a deep shade of red.
“TOGA! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NO! YU-SAN IS OUR GUEST, NOT A BODY-PART CATALOG FOR YOUR PERVERTED EXPERIMENTS!” he yelled, flailing his arms in a panic.
Inko, instead of intervening to save her son, placed a hand on his arm with a malicious glint in her eyes.
“Oh, don’t worry, Izuku. Don’t be so modest. I think I understand Toga-chan perfectly. After all, your… appreciation… for Yu-san’s physique is the reason we’re all here, isn’t it?”
Izuku stared at her, betrayed.
“Mom, you too?”
Inko smiled, turning to Yu, who was watching the scene with a fascination that had eclipsed her initial shock.
“It was right after your debut, Yu-san. The day everything changed for us. Izuku was downtown, and suddenly, everyone was screaming about a giant villain. Then, out of nowhere, there you were. A giant, beautiful, powerful woman, who defeated him with a single kick. Izuku came running home, out of breath, yelling that he was going to get into U.A., that he was going to be a hero. I had never seen him so motivated. His little eyes were shining like stars. And, I have to admit, your legs are top-tier.”
Yu threw her head back and laughed, genuinely flattered. Izuku sank into his chair, wishing he could disappear.
“But the best part was at night,” Inko continued, savoring the moment. “I’d hear him in his room, half-asleep, mumbling things like, ‘So strong… so perfect… I wish they’d crush me…’ I nearly died from both laughter and embarrassment! My little pervert!”
The table erupted in laughter. Yu slammed her hand on the table, her own laugh echoing through the dining room. Ochako and Toru were crying with laughter. Momo, more composed, covered her mouth, but her shoulders were shaking. Izuku covered his face with both hands, his soul leaving his body.
In the midst of the chaos, Momo, noticing Izuku’s mortification, felt a wave of empathy. She leaned toward him, her face flushed but her voice firm.
“Izuku… if… if you don’t find me insufficient… I could… you could use my legs to relax if you want. They aren’t as… monumental as Yu-san’s, but their muscle composition is optimal for rest.”
Izuku stared at her, stunned. For a moment, the chaos at the table faded away. He thought he had seen an angel. He was wrong. He had just seen a logical goddess with the best legs in the universe.
“Your legs are more than enough, Yaoyorozu,” he whispered, so low that only she could hear.
Momo blushed even deeper, but a small, satisfied smile appeared on her face. Ochako, who had caught the exchange, frowned slightly, though she said nothing. Toru, for her part, didn’t miss a thing and let out a little “Ooh!” that was lost in the noise.
Dinner continued with more anecdotes. Inko told stories from Izuku’s childhood, from the time he tried to “save” a cat stuck in a tree and ended up getting stuck himself, to his first attempts at training. Every story was a reminder of how much he had changed, but also how much he was still the same determined boy.
Yu, more relaxed than she’d been in weeks, shared a few stories from her own career. She talked about her first official mission, when she accidentally knocked over a lamppost while trying to pose for the cameras, and how she learned that heroism wasn’t just about strength, but also about responsibility.
“It’s funny,” she said, looking at her nearly empty plate. “When I started, I thought being a hero was just about punching villains and smiling for photos. But after Hosu, after working with you all… I think I’m starting to understand what it really means.”
“And what does it mean?” Ochako asked, genuinely curious.
Yu smiled, a flash of vulnerability in her eyes.
“It means being there. For the people who count on you, even when there are no cameras. It means carrying the weight of their hopes, even when you’re not sure you can.”
The silence that followed was warm and thoughtful. Even Toga, who would normally have interjected with some eccentric comment, seemed pensive.
When the plates were cleared, Inko brought out a tray of tea and homemade cookies. The conversation turned lighter, but no less meaningful. They talked about their plans for the rest of the week, about their classes at U.A., about the training with Gran Torino that awaited them. Every word strengthened the bond between them, a reminder that they were more than classmates: they were a team.
Toga, however, couldn’t sit still for long. As she helped clear the plates, she approached Yu with a new proposal.
“Yu-chan, if blood is too much, how about a lock of your hair? I could make a keychain out of it! It would be super cute.”
Yu looked at her with a mix of amusement and caution.
“Toga, honey, you’re adorable, but my hair is staying on my head. How about I give you an autographed photo instead?”
Toga pouted but accepted with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“Deal! But only if you write, ‘To my number one fan, Toga-chan’!”
When it was time for goodbyes, the atmosphere was bittersweet. Yu called her driver.
“Kenji, come pick us up,” she said into her phone. Then she turned to Inko. “Inko-san, truly, this has been one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for reminding me what a home feels like.”
She approached Izuku, who was still recovering from the earlier humiliation.
“And to you, Izuku,” she said, leaning in to give him a quick but firm kiss on the cheek. “That’s for being my hero. And next time you want to use my legs as a pillow, just ask for it yourself, got it?”
Izuku blushed intensely, stammering something incoherent. Ochako and Momo gave him awkward hugs, still flushed from the evening’s jokes. Toru wrapped him in an enthusiastic embrace.
“Noted!” she exclaimed. “Goodbye kisses and hugs! The harem theory grows stronger!”
Toga was the last. In a swift, feline motion, she gave him a fleeting kiss on the lips.
“And that’s because I missed you. Only for that,” she said, winking at him before slipping back into the apartment, leaving Izuku frozen in the doorway, his brain completely overloaded.
As Yu’s car drove away, Izuku stood in the entryway, watching the city lights. The night had been chaotic, embarrassing, but also perfect. For a moment, the weight of being a hero, of expectations and dangers, faded away. There was only him, his friends, and the promise of a katsudon that tasted like home.
