"Alright, let's start with Mistral. They'll probably have some Hunters who're a bit closer to household names for you so that'll be easier to use as a base of information for your studies than just starting with Hunters you've barely heard of... or that everyone's heard of."
"Sounds reasonable to me."
Well Izuku and Pyrrha were glad of that, cause honestly, he wasn't entirely sure how the tutoring was going to go down himself. Back in Mountain Glenn, not a lot of kids would actually approach Izuku for any of his information. Sure if people were desperate when it came to an assignment or last minute studying for a test they might end up asking Izuku to crack open his notes and help them out... and Izuku being the guy he was would do so. Just because they were jerks didn't mean it would've been right to just abandon them when they were asking for help. Izuku wanted to be a Huntsman and a Hero... not a whole lot of room for petty reprisals in that dream, in his opinion.
Of course as soon as they didn't need his help anymore they'd go back to their old ways but... well, it was something he'd gotten used to. His knowledge was something sought out in desperation...
It wasn't something people usually reached out for when they just needed some help with their studies. Yet again though that was where he knew he had gotten lucky with Pyrrha; in exchange for a very good session of Aura training not too long ago in which she gave him all sorts of tips and knowledge in how to shape and control his Aura, he just had to sit here and talk about something he knew...
Admittedly he was actually going to have to 'teach' and tutor someone now, a skill he wasn't exactly great with... but it was a start nonetheless.
As it turned out his initial lesson went gangbusters. By using more common names in Mistral, he was able to branch out and use the weapons, themes and abilities of those hunters in order to explain more complex concepts. Taking the obvious that everyone could see, he was able to work his way back into more basic Hunter tactics. How certain weapons that might be common among them were used for certain tactics. The difference between the more urban and the more rural hunters, etc. Pyrrha really seemed to be absorbing the information he was giving her, a flurry of writing flowing from her hand as she took down Izuku's lessons as best she could.
They both continued on for some time before they took a moment to stop, partaking in some snacks that they had gathered up. As the two enjoyed the break, Izuku looked up curiously at Pyrrha. For as much as Izuku had talked about himself, he really didn't know too terribly much about his partner...
"So." Pyrrha turned to face him, all the while he was munching on his snack a bit as he thought what to ask, "What's it like? Mistral I mean. I've never actually been to Mistral... probably no surprise. I've only ever read things about it but I realize this is probably my best chance of asking someone who grew up there what it's like. If you wouldn't mind sharing, that is..." Pyrrha just smiled warmly as she shook her head, her ponytail waving around her.
"Of course I don't mind. I may have left but Mistral is my home. I'd love to tell you about it... though I'll admit, it isn't all great." Pyrrha tapped her fingers against her book as she thought for a moment, thoughts crossing her green eyes as she sought to organize them. "Well... I have no doubt you've heard about Mistral's reputation for being a hive of criminal activity. Even people who know very little hear about that. As much as it pains me to admit it... that is a thing. There's a lot of criminal syndicates that dot Mistral and their influence, historically, has run pretty deep. Thankfully this new Era of Hunters has started to tap down on that but... well, old connections run deep in Mistral."
"I started with that because I wanted to get the bad out of the way first." Pyrrha practically answered Izuku's question before he could ask it as her eyes lit up. "Because honestly, Mistral is such a beautiful place to grow up. There's been a long focus on refinement, culture and art over the years and it really shows in everything. Statues that line the streets, beautiful arches that tower over the major intersections, the buildings, the landscape, both natural and tended to... it all comes together to just make this place of beauty that isn't like anything else in the world. It's all set into a mountain too so there's this sense of scale to the city that... don't get me wrong, Vale is a very efficiently laid out city and it has its own charms but... Mistral is just something else entirely. There's this Grand Structure that sits at the top of it and a waterfall flows forth down from it! It's... ah, I'm sure you've seen pictures of it, but to actually live in Mistral, to get to see it up close... aaaah, it was amazing."
A slightly mischievous grin formed on Pyrrha's lips as she looked over to Izuku, with an almost unnoticeable hint of red along the bridge of her nose "It's not allowed by law, but it's common practice for kids a little younger than us to dive into the reservoir at the bottom of the waterfall." Izuku actually chuckled a bit. He didn't think he'd ever do something like that, or at least, he wouldn't have done it after the fallout with Bakugou, he definitely would've done it way back when he and Bakugou were still... close? He guessed he would call it? Still.
"It sounds really nice. Have you ever done that Pyrrha?" The smile that was on her lips faded a bit as he asked, her green eyes glancing off to the side for a moment before she shook her head.
"No, ah, afraid not. My parents were very aware of my schedule. I was... quite busy." Pyrrha said plainly as she shrugged.
Izuku nodded, 'I can imagine being a... sports star?' he blinked for a second, 'I guess? Would be a pretty busy lifestyle. And her parents probably wouldn't approve of her doing things that, technically, flew in the face of the rules.'
"Sounds like you really love home though." Pyrrha's smile returned in full force as she nodded, turning towards him.
"I do. It has its faults, like I said, but... well, I can't imagine you wouldn't say the same of Mountain Glenn."
"And you're right, I wouldn't." Izuku admitted with a small smile. Eventually the two of them returned to their tutoring, going back to teaching Pyrrha about Mistrali Hunters and their tactics.
Izuku drew his fist back, pivoted his hips and shot his jab forwards with all of his weight, the sound of his knuckles smacking against the punching bag echoing through the oddly silent gym. It was getting dark outside, most of the lighting having already been turned off by the other occupants as they left to get some shut eye, yet he kept on his routine, continued to drive himself further forwards. He needed to, even as he brushed one of the sodden green locks of hair from his fringe, forehead covered in perspiration and face red with effort.
"You're doing it wrong by the way." Yang called out from the doorway, her voice sending a jolt down Midoriya's spine, making him jump slightly in surprise, much to her amusement.
Turning to face her, he blurted out "I'm sorry. I'm still figuring out this combat style and putting theory into practice is more difficult than not without a skilled teacher, nottosaythattheoneswehaveareinadequteoryouhaeaunfairdisadvantage…." slowly descending into a nonsensical mess of murmers and horrified assumptions that he might have insulted her.. Izuku's hurried apologies and multiple bows were quickly stopped by Yang's arm holding him in place, causing the young man to quickly turn red with blushes.
"What? I mean, I get it, I really do. Not everyone has the advantage of awesome teachers like me and sis, even if dad's a bit to well...dad. But you're learning it all from a book? No wonder you're getting it wrong. Come on." Yang quickly pulled Midoriya towards the ropes of the boxing ring.
"I appreciate it, I really do, but I'm focusing more on a grappling style rather than boxing. I don't want to hold back your own training."
"And I'm not your type oh mighty buff bookworm? I'm almost insulted by the implication you wouldn't want to grapple with me." At this Midoriya began to look like he was about to suffer a heart attack at any moment, wondering at some still working part of his brain who would get his Toshinori merchandise if he were to be found dead from cardiac arrest within the school gym. Hopefully his Mom wouldn't throw it out. There were some pretty expensive collectors items in it.
"Besides, its the largest clear space in here and i need a partner to spar with. Best to help you learn how to do your kung fu without any bad habits as i work out the rust from my guns." Yang explained, stretching out her fingers as she turned to face today's opponent. "Day of desk study and a combat training ignored by Goodwitch makes a very unhappy Yang." Treading lightly, she circled him, forcing Izuku to turn to remain facing her, predatory smile on her face. "Now shut up and hit me."
Izuku narrowed his eyes, gave his trademark smile of determination and nodded sharply. Stepping forwards he rocketed forwards, clenched fist hurtling forwards and passing smoothly through the location Yang once occupied. Next thing he knew, he was heading towards the ground, his legs swept away and the floor rushing upwards to meet his descent.
"You haven't been doing this for that long have you?" Yang asked, offering him a hand up, one which he gratefully accepted. "I mean, you can throw a punch at least, but you don't seem to be throwing the right kind."
"What do you mean?" Izuku questioned, fishing out his scroll and a bottle of water, taking in a refreshing gulp.
"You're overextending yourself too much. If you're trying to go all out, then fair enough. That Nevermore showed everyone you can give the Grimm the bird, whenever you want." She cackled silently at her wit, eying the vents just in case her partner was hiding nearby. Izuku continued to listen intently, rather than complain about her humour, a point to him and extra approval for his friendship with Ruby it seemed. "Throwing your weight behind your punches is a good way to deliver a little extra umph, but it leaves you wide open. You need to hold back a bit, strike faster and smarter rather than harder." Yang explained, reliving old lessons from her old man.
Looking at her silent audiences reaction, she found him typing her wisdom into his scroll's keypad, murmuring about combat styles, targeting of weak-points and endurance training to shore up his defense and so on, eventually devolving once more into an incomprehensible babble. Not that she disapproved of being paid attention to, but that sure was a tad unsettling. It was like watching Ruby go full out nerd on the subject of weapons, or cookies. Never a good sign for mental wellbeing, no matter how dorky or cute it was in her little sis. "You sure know alot about this." Izuku spoke, breaking the awkward silence as they sat on the boxing ring's floor.
"Well, I can't have the other shotgun enthusiast show us up, can I? Besides, hand to hand was Dad's area of expertise. I might not need most of it to dish out twice the damage i take, but it doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention. It just means I spend more of the fight working on my punchline….get it?" Izuku may have only given out a nervous chuckle, but she'd take what she could get at this point. It was a better alternative to her partner's tongue lashing.
...
Izuku stared at Yang, who slammed her fist into her remaining open palm.
"Come on maggot, let's see what you've got!"
'How...how did we get from there to here?'
What happened was something that often happened. After she began to show him how to fight better, he began to copy her form. And he had done pretty well. Well enough that...well, Yang had gotten that look in her eye.
It was the look of Cat about to eat a mouse…
'I guess that fits for Team TABY,' Izuku thought to himself, before returning his gaze to Yang, 'Well, if she wants to spar, I'll give her a spar!'
He suspected she would kick his ass but hey, if he learned something then it'd be fine. In the end they both decided on a set of rules; no Semblances, Izuku for obvious reasons as he had no doubt that One For All would kill Yang, and Yang because he wouldn't use his against her and she wanted a fair fight. They also both decided on not using their gauntlets... as it was a spar meant to help Izuku improve his form, there'd be no point if a blow from Yang's weapon, Ember Celica, knocked him out of the fight in just a couple rows.
'Which, to be fair,' Izuku conceded, 'it looks like Yang is going to do that on her own no sweat.'
Other than that, the rules were standard Sparring; if a fighter got knocked down to the red in their Aura, they'd both call the fight and be done with it. The sides of Yang's mouth curled ever upward, and she then said one terrifying sound.
"DING!"
And then she disappeared. And the next second, Izuku was coughing up air.
Yang was faster than him, it was plain enough to see. Before he could properly react Yang had run up on him and had driven her fist into his stomach. He couldn't even parry it with his arms up in their defensive position, the blow just hammered into his gut. He choked out, body tensing as his muscles tried to resist the force of the blow. Immediately he tried to throw his fist down at Yang, a slightly desperate throw as he attempted to get back at her, but it was far off thanks to the force of her blow.
"Come on there Slugger, you've got to focus if you want to even have a chance at hitting me!"
'Sad thing is that if I were brawling like I'm used to, the blow might've had a chance to hit,' he thought. 'But... but I am trying to improve. To fight in a way that would give me more opportunity to hit harder and better. Something more advanced.'
'So I have to focus on improving here, rather than trying to just win the fight.'
He had been rewarded for his determination by Yang throwing an uppercut, slamming her fist into his lower jaw. He, once again, couldn't reach his hands forward in time to stop her and the blow just plowed into him, knocking him back slightly as, for a moment, he swore he was lifted up off his feet from the sheer force of it. A slight growl escaped his lips as he threw a fist forward, trying to connect and finding himself wanting. It looked like Yang's about to get ready to playfully jab at him again verbally as she threw a fist forward... that time though, he did manage to deflect the blow, sending it off course as the lilac eyes of his sparring partner gleamed a bit.
He tried to follow up that success with another blow, only to find it wildly missing. He might've knocked off Yang's attack, but the force had been enough to knock his own stance out of whack.
It was a sudden rush of trades as the two of them began to fall into a rhythm of exchanging blows. Or, Izuku attempted to exchange blows with Yang and failed while she landed multiple on him. After his failed attempts to strike back at her, she rushed forward and threw a punch toward his ribs. Despite his best attempt to dodge he felt her fist slam in, causing him to cough and hack again as his Aura pushed back. He groaned but did what he could to push forward, pulling his fists back and attempting to slam them into Yang. The blows were on a direct course to hit and it seemed like Yang smiled at that but... well, with two well-timed slaps she moved both of his hands away, sending them flying off to the side.
Immediately after, taking advantage of the opening, Yang threw another fist and again he couldn't do much to push it away as she once again landed a blow in his gut, causing him to cough as he momentarily bent over from the force of it.
"Come on! That was a love tap there Slugger, you can't quit on me now!" Izuku groaned as he reared back and threw his fist at Yang, once again heading straight for her. Yet, once again, Yang slapped the blow away but she still seemed very pleased. She again threw a fist and it slammed across his cheek sending him rearing back... he could feel his Aura flicker. It was exhausted. Before the system could even register it, he knew deep down that he'd gone into the red... he'd lost and he knew it. Still, he wanted at least one good showing. One to give Yang at least one good punch before the fight ended! He'd have to give it his all! Yang honestly seemed surprised when he ground his teeth and threw himself back toward her and, despite his exhaustion, he actually managed to throw his punch.
A wide grin stretched across Yang's face but, as before, she managed to slap his hand away from her, sending it flying off. Finally the buzzer went off, signaling that he'd fallen into the red and that the fight was over. Izuku groaned slightly, sounding disappointed as he collapsed onto his hands and knees. His head was ringing and his gut was sore as he sweated heavily, taking deep, gasping breaths as he tried to get air back into his lungs.
"Man Slugger, I gotta hand it to you. You held on there... for someone who just unlocked their Aura, you lasted longer than I thought you would." Yang scratched her chin a bit as she tilted her head to the side, watching as he continued to shake a bit from the effort. "You're also not bad for someone who's been training on their own with this for just some odd months..."
'Well-'
"Come on Midoriya, follow through on the throw! My style's not just about throwing it's about resisting being thrown! Plus you gotta learn the base forms if you really want to get this down so let's see you roll with it this time! You gotta learn by doing Midoriya, let experience be your teacher!"
"WAAAAAAAAAH!"
Toshinori was right about one thing, the new training... well, he'd been surprised when he got to it. It was a pretty big shift: he was used to the training from Hell from before, of course, being so exhausted that he could barely move at the end of it... and then going back home to pick up his own training and studying. Now though it seemed like Toshinori was using the fact that he had Aura as a reason to push him even harder and faster than before.
In that case, it involved throwing him repeatedly around the room, his screams echoing off the walls as he got sent sailing. Thankfully, Toshinori had the foresight to put down some mats before commencing the training...
Bad news was that he was still being tossed around by Toshinori. Sure, he was learning as he walked through his forms, showing him each step in the process... but still, he was being tossed around by his mentor. It wasn't exactly fun... then again, it wasn't meant to be fun. It was meant to teach Izuku what he needed to be a Huntsman, a Hero. So he'd take his lumps from Toshinori, doing what he could to learn what he could and get better.
In the end, Toshinori lived up to his promise too; he did his best to teach Izuku and he was put as much of it into it as Izuku did. Plus having someone who 'really' knew what he was doing teaching was a lot better than trying to do self study. Even with only a couple hours he felt like he managed to make some serious progress.
'-A few odd months and one odd day to be technical.'
"But?" He gasped out as Yang just nodded.
"But you've got a ways to go. I was going at it with about as much as I've got... well, as much as I've got without a Semblance. You're a ways behind me in terms of raw strength and poise there... honestly I'm surprised you asked me to keep going with everything I've got. Sure you don't want me to tone it down a bit? Gonna be hard learnin' if I'm kicking you around while you're trying to learn."
"If... if I'm going to get better, then I have to give this everything I have and more. I have to try harder and work harder and... and if that means taking my lumps, then I'll do it! If you hold back, then I won't learn anything about fighting a serious opponent. Not criminals, not the White Fang and definitely not the Grimm!" Izuku got up as he said this, holding onto his fading bruises as he looked up at Yang. "I'll learn and get better from this!"
"Now that's the kind of spirit I like to hear from a sparring partner!" Yang belted out with a laugh as she slapped him across the back, nearly launching him forward onto the ground as she did so. "Alright there Slugger, you're a bit winded at the moment though so... eh, take some time. We've got a while before we've gotta go our separate ways. Might be able to squeeze in another quick round before we have to get going. What do you say?"
"Yes, definitely..." Izuku said with a firm nod as Yang just showed a wide grin.
"Great!" With that, Yang plopped down herself, dabbing at her forehead with a cloth produced from her shorts as she took a bit of a breather herself. It was fairly clear between the two of them that she'd definitely had the lesser workout... though it might just be that she'd knocked the wind out of him so many times now that he just looked like he'd had a harsher workout than Yang. Still, he did get her blood pumping which seemed to have been enough for her. As he continued to take labored breaths, he just leaned back a bit, his body supported by his arms, as he looked up at the ceiling.
"Now then, to actually get down to what I promised you; telling you what you're doing wrong and helping you improve." Izuku flinched a bit as he turned to Yang, the young woman looking down over at you with her lilac eyes as he nodded. "Now, don't take anything I'm gonna say too personally alright; you've been training by yourself for a while so it's actually just really impressive that you've gotten as far as you did on your own." He nodded again, somewhat hesitantly, as she took a bit of a breath.
The next hour or so was Yang basically breaking down his form; A LOT of it is what he was doing wrong as she showed him with her own stance what he'd been messing up when it came to his punches and kicks. More of it was also how he'd not quite focused well when it came to his blocking and how he had let his motions carry him out of his stance. It was all very informative and he made sure to take notes on his Scroll where he could and, eventually, the hour drew to a close and he did feel somewhat revitalized. When Yang noticed that she quickly dropped the teacher visage, grinned in a predatory manner, and dragged him back onto his feet. The next round began!
They both settled back into their stances, Izuku taking advantage of Yang's lessons in order to adjust himself into a better one, as Yang just cracked her neck a bit. She was giving him a grin as, same as before, she dashed forward. Her hands were at the ready to resume beating him up but this time, he felt like he was much more ready. He took a breath as Yang reared back for a punch and, in a crystallizing moment, he punched his own hand forward and knocked hers way off path, leaving her guard open. Yang's lilac eyes went wide in surprise but he didn't waste a second just sitting around as he quickly brought his own hand back and, in as fluid a motion as he could, punched forward to try to strike her. Yang flinched a bit and it was clear she was trying to bring her guard back but, well, it just didn't come in time. You manage to land his first blow against Yang in the entirety of these two rounds, a slight smile reaching his lips as you felt his fist bury itself in her gut...
Only to know for a fact that it did absolutely nothing. Her Aura tanked the entirety of it without even fluctuating, he realized. Before he could get discouraged however, Yang just started laughing boisterously.
"Now this is what I call improvement! Maybe I need to take up teaching!"
With that Yang threw herself back into the melee and Izuku, distracted by his attack's failure, ended up getting caught across the face by the blow. He ground his teeth together and dug his heels in to try to force himself back into his stance to throw a punch, but his head was still swimming form the hit. He ended up missing by a pretty wide margin, one wide enough that it let Yang dip back into his guard and, without much effort on her part, land another hit to his gut. He gasped a bit as he felt the air leaving but he just bit his cheek a bit as he fought to regain his standing.
He threw another blow at Yang and it still missed wildly as he still felt shaken off by the blow. Though the next time Yang reared around to try to beat him upside the head for his mistake, he managed to bring his arm up in time to bodily block the hit before shoving it off and away from him. He followed this up with an attempt to strike Yang once again but found there was no element of surprise working for him that go around as she caught his fist before it could connect. Both of them having knocked the others hand away, they both realized they each had an opening again. Both clenched their fists and, in near synchronization, forwent defense in order to try to land one last hit.
Yang did, connecting with Izuku's cheek as she plowed her fist into his face. He did too, surprisingly, but as before the blow to Yang's ribs was tanked almost entirely by her Aura. He heard the dinging of the system as he sighed. He'd once again fallen into the red without even leaving a mark on Yang. How-
"Man, that really was some improvement there Slugger. You couldn't even land a hit on me last round and here you are landing two! Man, I really do have talents I know nothing about." Yang grinned as she scratched at her nose, Izuku looking up at her with a somewhat weak smile, knowing she'd just tried to soften the blow.
"Yeah but... those attacks didn't even do anything to you."
"Yeah I know, Aura tanked them almost entirely. But hey, we're not here to work on your damage, we're here to work on your form and, man Izuku, I'd say we took a nice step in the right direction here." Izuku smiled a bit as she patted him on the back, he himself just barely managing to keep standing as she grinned. "Now, while we make sure you actually make it back to your dorms in one piece, how about we go over what you still did wrong in this fight, eh Izuku? You still got some stuff to learn." Izuku just nodded enthusiastically, gripping his fist.
"Whatever you've got to tell me, I'm ready to hear it." With just one more nod he and Yang left the arena and started heading for their dorm rooms, Yang giving Izuku pointers here and there as they went.
E/N: The flashback before the spar with yang was "How To Throw A Punch" by Dovasith. Fun Fact: That was the first omake to be extensively edited for the sake of better integration rather than just the basic perspective and tense changes everything gets.
-Shovern
Most of the changes were minor, but it was necessary to try and keep the tone of the scene.
Really the big push was to make the transition between the outtake and the original scene fit with each other.
-Wind-Waker