124 Chapter 123

Checking himself out in the mirror, dressed up in his Hero costume, Izuku couldn't help remarking, "I look like a jackass..."

Though he was quite fond of his costume, Izuku had never seriously worn it publicly. Now that he was considering going on patrol around New York, he suddenly felt reluctant. It didn't help that, while utilizing Blackwhip, he looked more like a villain than a Hero.

*do-do-do-do-do~*

Hearing the phone to his room, Izuku turned away from the mirror, making his way over to an ornate landline, seemingly comprised of gold and ivory.

"Hello...?"

"Apologies for the disturbance, but is this Mr. Paragon speaking?" asked an exasperated-sounding man.

"Who's asking?" asked Izuku.

"This is Thomas Nicholson of the concierge, calling on behalf of Ms. Luna De Luca. She insisted that the two of you were acquainted," explained the voice.

Raising his brows, Izuku thought, ("I know her Bond Level shot up to 88, but I couldn't have left 'that' deep an impression on her...")

Looking at the phone's built-in clock, Izuku noticed it was around twenty minutes after Luna's shift had ended. He figured she would just go about her business if he didn't show up, but he was apparently mistaken.

"Is she there right now?" asked Izuku.

Before the concierge could respond, the sound of the phone being snatched away from him echoed through the phone, followed by the voice of Luna answering, "Heeeeey~! Where the heck are you? Weren't we going to hit the town together?"

"Sorry, but some things came up," replied Izuku, adding, "I didn't exactly come to New York to play around..."

"Well, are you busy right now?" asked Luna. "We don't have to go clubbing or anything. We could always go for coffee. Or, if you have time, maybe go to the mall, watch a movie, and grab a bite to eat? I know this darling little diner on West 23rd Street."

Exhaling a faint sigh through his nose, Izuku replied, "Sorry, Luna, but I'm busy. Maybe some other time."

Though there was a slight pause, Luna eventually replied, "Hey, it's okay. I would have preferred it if you had let me know in person, but it is what it is. Let's talk tomorrow at breakfast, okay?"

Before Izuku could respond, Luna apparently returned the phone to the concierge, prompting him to state, "I apologize for the inconvenience..."

"It's fine," replied Izuku, hanging up the phone and feeling the slightest tinge of guilt. He hated lying to people and felt partially responsible for leading Luna on, even if that was never his intention. Odds were, she just wanted him to take her to an expensive restaurant or buy her some stuff, but he couldn't know that without actually going out with her.

Shaking his head, Izuku made his way to the master bedroom, pulling out an armored briefcase and retrieving a thick laptop to peruse the files that Nezu had forwarded him. Luna might not have seen his Hero costume, but she knew his Hero Name. New Heroes drew a lot of attention, so now that he told her he was busy, going out on patrol was no longer an option. He could lie to her again by telling her he was forced to go out, but piling lies upon lies was rarely a good idea...

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"I"m baaaaaaack~!" called out Melissa, entering Izuku's suit around 10:20 PM. By then, Izuku had already changed back into civilian attire or, more accurately, business casual. After all, he had no way of knowing when Historia would come to bother him or if someone important would show up.

"Welcome back," replied Izuku, emerging from the master bedroom with a smile. "Have you eaten? If not, there's Pho in the fridge."

Returning a luminous smile, Melissa revealed, "I went to dinner with my Papa. We had Italian food at a restaurant called Trattoria Sofia."

"I'm glad you were able to spend some time with your father," remarked Izuku, gesturing to the couch and adding, "Do you want to talk about the conference?"

Though she exhaled a tired sigh, Melissa joined Izuku on the couch, snuggling up to him as she complained, "People can be so dumb, Izuku. Nearly half the scientists at the conference believe we should prioritize finding a way to stabilize the breaches, not close them. Like, I understand where they're coming from, but we have enough problems trying to solve the crises of our world. Proposing to send expeditionary forces to others is no different from invading foreign lands. It's only going to make things worse. If anything, we should be trying to reach an accord with those on the other side..."

Nodding his head, Izuku muttered, "Then that's what we'll prioritize once the breaches materialize in Japan. If there are entities on the other side we can communicate with, we'll try to reason with them. If we can't, we'll focus on finding a solution to close the breaches permanently..."

Regaining her smile, Melissa placed her head against Izuku's shoulder and mused, "I knew you'd see things the same way as Papa and me~!"

"Well, peace is always better than war..." replied Izuku, punctuating his statement with a kiss to the bubbly blonde's crown. He would have liked to do more, especially after such an irksome day, but circumstances didn't permit it...

"And how was your day?" asked Melissa. "Meet any cute girls to tour the city with~?"

"..."

Raising her head from Izuku's shoulder, Melissa blinked cutely and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shaking his head, Izuku revealed, "I received an invitation but ultimately shot it down. I mainly just spent the day here..."

Adopting a slightly concerned look, Melissa asked, "It wasn't because you were worried about what I would think, right? I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to be with you, Izuku. You don't have to force or restrain yourself on my behalf..."

Exhaling through his nose, Izuku assured, "I'm really not...I just didn't think it would be appropriate to fool around while we're on a diplomatic mission with the Principal..."

Furrowing her brows, Melissa asked, "Is that really the case? You're not just trying to put my mind at ease, are you?"

Though she didn't think Izuku was lying outright, Melissa's Intelligence had surpassed 400 during her stay on Ōkunoshima. Her intuition and mental acuity had increased alongside it, so she could tell he wasn't being completely forthright.

Adopting a wry smile, Izuku answered, "You're right. The truth is that I'm tired of you girls seeing me as some sex-crazed beast that can only think with his lower head. I don't 'need' to have sex with every single girl I take an interest in..."

"But you 'want' to, right?" asked Melissa, adopting a gentle smile as she added, "If that's the case, you should just do it. None of us are going to judge or resent you, Izuku. We love you just the way you are."

"..."

Feeling that she had put Izuku on the spot, Melissa tried to lighten the mood, leaning against him and adopting a teasing smile as she added, "Now, tell me all about her. She must be attractive or fairly unique to have caught your attention."

Though his response wasn't immediate, Izuku eventually told Melissa everything he knew about Luna, including her affiliation with the Italian Mafia. Melissa wasn't all that surprised by the latter, as a lot of Italians in New York had at least a tangential connection to the Mafia, but her brows raised quite a bit when she learned that Luna was a full heteromorph.

"Did you get a picture of her?" asked Melissa, genuinely curious to see what Luna looked like.

Shaking his head, Izuku replied, "No. She gave me her number and told me when she would be getting off work, but I kind of stood her up. Not intentionally, but she had the concierge call around twenty minutes after her shift ended..."

"Oh, wow," said Melissa, subsequently asking, "What was her Bond Level before and after your encounter? You must have gotten a look at it, right?"

"It was 71 the first time I looked and 88 when we parted ways," replied Izuku, recalling the information as images within his mind. And, now that he said it aloud, 71 was quite high for an initial impression...

Thinking the same thing as Izuku, Melissa remarked, "That's pretty high. Maybe she recognized you from the UA Sports Festival? It was broadcast around the world."

"It's possible," admitted Izuku. "But it's equally likely that she views me as a nice-looking wallet. She knows I'm visiting from another country, so she could just be aiming for my money under the guise of having a good time."

"Isn't that better?" asked Melissa. "I know the thought of 'using' women makes you uncomfortable, but you should be able to satisfy your curiosity and move on fairly quickly this way."

"Well...you're not wrong..." replied Izuku, adopting a wry smile due to the sheer ridiculousness of the conversation. He never expected Melissa, of all people, to be the one encouraging him to have a vacation fling or one-night stand. Women could be frightfully adaptive at times...

Nodding her head, Melissa stated, "I'm planning to accompany my father for the second day of the conference tomorrow. You should take Luna on a date and explore the city. You can't stay cooped up in your room during your first trip to the US."

Though he was tempted to suggest accompanying Melissa and her father to the conference, Izuku eventually forced a smile and joked, "Assuming she isn't too upset about me blowing her off this afternoon..."

"She asked you to meet her again, right?" asked Melissa. "She can't be 'that' upset. If so, you could make it up to her by buying a pendant or a pair of shoes. If she's half the gold digger you suspect her of being, that should silence any complaints she might have. Just make sure to get her photograph. I'm sure the others will want to see what she looks like."

"Sure..." replied Izuku, feeling like he had just been coaxed into something he had made a concerted effort to avoid. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but, at the same time, a small part of him was looking forward to the following day. At the very least, he wouldn't be stuck inside, bored out of his mind...

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"You're here~!" exclaimed Luna, dressed in a distinctly different outfit from her waitress getup. In place of a white blouse, bowtie, apron, and slacks, she now had on blue-blocker glasses, a punk rock t-shirt, form-fitting leather pants, a stylish biker jacket, and boots.

Raising his brows, Izuku asked, "Do you not have work today?"

"Not exactly," replied Luna, briefly poking out her tongue before clarifying, "I asked my friend, Becky, to cover my shift. I figured you would be busy again this afternoon, so I thought we could at least enjoy a meal together. Whaddya say?"

Since pretty much everyone from the group chat had spurred him to accompany Luna on a date, Izuku adopted a smile and replied, "Sure, sounds good. Do you want to eat here or go somewhere else?"

"Oh, can we!? I know a ton of great restaurants!" exclaimed Luna, linking her hand around Izuku's bicep and pressing the side of her boob against him as if it were completely natural.

Nodding in affirmation, Izuku replied, "So long as they aren't too far from the hotel. We could also go and see a movie. I don't have anything going on today."

"Really!?" asked Luna, her ears and brows perking up as her bushy tail began to sway excitedly behind her. It wasn't full-on wagging, but she was clearly thrilled by the prospect of a day, potentially even a night, on the town.

"And it'll all be my treat," replied Izuku. "Consider it my apology for not accompanying you yesterday afternoon."

"Seriously?" asked Luna. "You don't need to apologize or anything. It was my bad for thinking we had agreed to meet up. Anyways, just forget about all that. Let's go have some fun~!"

Pulling Izuku by his hand, Luna guided him to the elevator, taking it down to the employee parking area in the basement. There, she revealed to him the true reason she had on leather pants and a jacket. Rather than simply thinking they were stylish, it was because she had an actual sports bike...

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(A/N: For those that are curious, I wrote two chapters of a Bleach Fanfic pilot and posted them to my Patreon. I'm not planning to drop this story, but I just wanted to get the idea on paper before it disappeared into the abyss. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)