It was a dark, dreary Sunday morning as rain poured down on the streets of Tokyo. Small streams of water flowed into storm drains, ripples appearing in them as more drops fell. People huddled beneath umbrellas as they moved down sidewalks, trying to stay as dry as they could. The unlucky few that lacked such protection were drenched from head to toe as they hurried through the crowds.
Izuku Midoriya was among these individuals.
However, it wasn't rain that soaked his shirt and shorts, but sweat. And he wasn't running for cover, but rather for the finish line.
At least, he was attempting to run.
Perspiration dropped from the Quirkless boy's face as he gasped for air. His chest felt as if it were on fire, and his ragged wheezing only seemed to make it worse. His legs felt like lead weights had been strapped to them as he attempted to keep moving forward, his "run" more of a sad jog at this point. He tried to ignore the incredible nausea in his stomach, trying to focus on finishing this final lap.
Eisley Gym was not somewhere Izuku normally went, but today was an exception. With the weather outside the way it was, he was unable to go running along Dagobah like he had originally planned, opting instead for the indoor track here.
This was his first time ever running a long distance like this. One might question why such a weak, scrawny guy like him would be even trying to go for as long as he had, but he had his reasons.
How else would he be able to receive the Quirk of the greatest hero to have ever lived?
To make a long story short, Izuku Midoriya, a worthless, Quirkless nobody, had somehow been chosen by the one and only All Might to receive his power and become his successor. The concept of being able to "give" a Quirk seemed like a fantasy, but after learning the truth about his idol Izuku believed it.
There was a catch, though. One for All, the name of All Might's power, was so strong that it would rip its user's body apart if they weren't built to handle it. And with Izuku being as out of shape as he was, there was no way that wouldn't happen if he were to receive it now. Because of this, the #1 hero had designed an incredibly intensive workout regiment for his successor… That would last ten months.
Izuku remembered nearly fainting when he first heard that.
That said, he was more than prepared to go through with it. Ten months of hell was a small price to pay for finally getting the chance to finally have a Quirk he could call his own. The chance to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a hero. No matter how tough the training got, he was confident he could handle it.
…At least, that's what he thought a few days ago.
It hadn't even a week since he started and already Izuku's enthusiasm was starting to waver. When All Might was there to cheer him in on it was one thing, but without him? The frail boy was very aware of how weak his body was, and how pathetic it was for him to be struggling with the exercises he had been given.
Frankly, he hated the fact that he had to come here to run. Dagobah was remote and quiet in the morning, and there likely would have been nobody there to see him. Here?
"On your right!"
He winced as that voice called out to him again. Half a second later, that figure he had seen pass him by so many times now blew by him. It was a girl that looked around his age that seemed to have bright pink skin and hair.
Whoever she was, she was clearly having a much easier time of this then he was. She must have passed him… Three? No, four times on this lap alone. A testament to just how slow he was going despite the fact that he was giving it his all. Clearly, his all wasn't enough.
…Would it ever be good enough?
Izuku felt himself slowing down even more. His body screamed at him to stop and rest, but he needed to finish this lap before he could. However, the closer he got to the finish line, the farther away it seemed to get. What was likely only a few dozen feet now looked to be miles away.
"Come… On… Iz… U… Ku… Just… A… Bit… More…" Every syllable was separated by a loud, raspy gasp as the exhausted boy tried to get as much oxygen to his lungs as he could. Just a little more and he could finally stop.
Just a few more feet, he could do it.
…
Izuku stopped in his tracks, bending over as he rested his hands on his knees. His legs were too heavy. His chest was too sore. He was about to lose what little there was in his stomach.
…He couldn't do this.
Dark thoughts began filling Izuku's mind, blocking out what little self-confidence lingered like the clouds outside blocked out the sun. Voices he had heard all his life began ringing in his head.
He was weak. Worthless. Stupid, useless Deku, the Quirkless loser who would never amount to anything. Who was he kidding, thinking he actually deserved One for All? He had barely started his training and was already failing miserably.
That voice in his head telling him to keep moving grew harder and harder to hear as countless insults drowned it out. He tried and tried to ignore them, but they were thoughts that had been buried in his psyche for years now.
Someone like him could never be-
"Hey come on! You're almost there!"
A much louder voice suddenly called out, cutting through the darkness. It took Izuku a second to realize that it wasn't in his head, but someone actually speaking to him.
Looking up, he saw that same girl that had been lapping him now next to him, running in place a bit as she looked at him. He noted her unusual eyes, with black sclera instead of white, and what appeared to be small horns jutting out of her head.
"Just a little more dude, come on! You can do it!"
Her voice was as cheerful as the smile that was on her face. She waved her hand toward the finish line a couple times. Her words stunned Izuku for a moment. She wasn't making fun of him for being so slow? For being so tired this soon?
That little voice returned, echoing the girl's encouragement. Izuku's legs started to move again.
He could do this!
"There you go!" The pink girl kept pace with him, cheering him on as they moved. Half a minute later and they reached the end of the track, completing the last lap Izuku needed to do.
The second they reached it, though, the boy almost immediately collapsed on the ground. Rolling onto his back, he stared hazily at the ceiling as he sprawled his arms out. His chest rose and fell rapidly as practically gulped down air in a vain attempt to quench his burning lungs.
A figure appeared in his vision, looking down as it stood over him. It was that girl again, and she was holding something out to him.
"This yours?" Focusing on the object in her hand, Izuku recognized his All Might-themed water bottle. Moving like a blur, the parched boy ungraciously snatched the bottle from her hand, sitting up as he began sucking down water with so much force that the bottle's sides began to crinkle. He squeezed down on it, desperately trying to get as much liquid down his throat as fast as possible. Eventually he stopped even drinking it, instead just letting it pour onto his face.
Unfortunately, he drank with a little much gusto; he was practically inhaling water, and it wasn't long before some went down the wrong pipe. Suddenly feeling sick, he doubled over as he began coughing violently, trying to get the liquid out of his lungs.
"Woah, woah, slow down!" The girl cried as Izuku pounded on his aching chest a few times. It took several seconds for him to settle down.
Having caught his breath a little, the sweat-drenched boy began to collect himself. He turned his head to look up at the pink girl.
"You good?" She asked, smiling. Realizing how ridiculous he must have looked during all that, Izuku's already red face deepened in color just a bit. Still, he nodded.
God, what must this girl think of him, he wondered? She was clearly quite the athlete, based on how easily she made her way around the track. Had she seriously felt so sorry for him she felt the need to slow down to make him feel good?
Izuku was used to being treated like dirt. He was used to people like Bakugou tormenting him just for lacking a Quirk or mocking him for wanting to still be a hero despite that. He could take the laughter, the insults, even the occasional beatings.
What he couldn't take was the pity. The people who wouldn't actively mock him, but silently judge as they wore fake smiles. They'd awkwardly pretend to be his friend, always watching what they said or how they said it. He was a fragile, helpless thing to them. They treated him well to feel better about themselves as opposed to having a genuine interest in being his friend.
This girl was likely one of those people. She (probably) didn't know he was Quirkless, but she did see how pathetic he was. She was – both literally and figuratively – looking down at him right now.
"Helloooooo?"
A pink hand waving in Izuku's face snapped him out of his thoughts. He shook his head a little, looking back at the hand's owner.
"Kinda spaced out there, dude." She paused. "You normally talk to yourself like that?"
Oh, wonderful. He'd been mumbling that all out loud. Now she probably thought he was a wimp and crazy.
"Well anyway, I was trying to say… You gotta pace yourself better, dude."
"Huh?" What was she saying?
"Your running. You started off like, full sprint. That's why you were so out of breath at the end there."
"…Oh." She was giving him advice now?
"Let me guess, just started running? A lot of people make that mistake at first."
Ouch. Was it really that obvious?
"…I see." Izuku felt even more embarrassed now. He was so bad this girl felt the need to start lecturing him? God, he could just feel her judgement.
His heart was pounding, and it wasn't just from his run. He needed to get out of here.
"Yeah, see you want to keep a nice-Huh?" As the girl kept going, Izuku got to his feet and began making for the exit at a hurried pace. "Hey, where are you going?"
"S-Sorry, gotta go!" The flustered boy called back to her. He felt a little guilty just leaving in the middle of a (one-sided) conversation, but he just couldn't stand it anymore. This was exactly why he didn't want to come here.
He ignored the girl as she kept calling out to him. Reaching the door that led out of the track to the rest of the gym, he gave one last glance back at the strange-looking girl. She mostly looked confused, but also a little… Hurt?
Ignoring the growing weight in his chest, Izuku turned back and left the room.
Well it's been a hot minute, but here we are again. A short start yes, but hopefully there's enough there to grab your interest.
The stuff below is more for older followers. Feel free to ignore if you're new here.
So after a long break I've decided to come back to the fold. Apologies for the absence, but there were a few reasons for that. Namely that the a lot of the writing community for this ship can be kind of toxic, to the point it was actively killing my love for the curly couple. Much of that comes from the fact that the biggest writer for it is an absolutely insufferable ass, which kind of spoiled the whole thing.
Luckily after cutting ties with all that, my love for this stuff has slowly returned. Now some of you folks may recognize this as part of an older story I had up here that was discontinued. Well I've decided to return and finish what I started. Let's hope I can see it through this time.