Training For Three And A Half

Estelle rushed around the gym as the three students around her worked on their quirk. Earlier that morning, she was visited by Izuku, who had asked her for support in training, and Estelle didn't have the heart to decline. Since she had already accepted his offer, Estelle decided to make the most of it by requesting Tokoyami, Dark Shadow and Kaminari to join for their own workout. She would do her hero/spirit work later.

She was mainly just overseeing their work as they trained. But, eventually, the trio started yelling over each other for help. This led to the current event of a growingly frustrated Estelle, who kept moving back and forth.

She regretted this now.

She couldn't back out since she was already in the middle of it, but eventually, Estelle had enough. "Alright, alright! Call me one at a time. I swear if you all request me like little children again, I will grab a pan from the kitchen and hit you with it! Got it!"

Sweatdropping, the three students agreed with their heads in a frantic nod. Sighing in relief, Estelle went back to face Tokoyami. "Alright, so you've managed to get a few breathing techniques under your belt. Have you tried using them within the dark?"

"No, I have yet not."

"How come?"

"I..."

Looking at the male's face, Estelle let the frown on her face show. From what she could tell, he still held some reservations about his self-control in the dark. Dropping onto her knees to face the boy, Estelle gazed at him as he stared at the floor of the gymnasium.

"You can tell me, you know?"

"I want to work with Dark Shadow, I do. I just fear the potential consequences if it doesn't work. What happens if I hurt someone? I still feel the guilt of what happened during the attack during training camp. I refuse for it to happen again."

"Good."

"Huh?" Tokoyami asked, his eyes flickering to Estelle in stupefaction.

Shaking her head with a small smile, she explained. "I know it's fruitless telling you it is not your fault because you won't believe me either way. But that resolve you have within you to make yourself stronger is a strength within itself. Because with that, you will do everything possible to make sure it won't happen again. Facing that fear is a step to achieving that, and you do not have to do it alone."

"What do you mean?"

"I will join you. We will both revel in the dark as you try to work with Dark Shadow. If you slip up, I will be there to shine the light. You have nothing to fear." Estelle voiced softly as Dark Shadow slowly revealed himself behind Tokoyami.

"Thank you", They both muttered back softly, gratitude underlining their words as they stared back at the otherworldly girl.

For Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, Estelle was a gift that kept giving. She always seemed to know what to say and was always happy to provide reinforcement when needed. They were internally grateful for her. They both struggled a little from the attack, but they never said anything to the other students. He was at fault for losing control of Dark Shadow; he had no right to complain.

But still, Estelle continued to step forward and help the rest of their class on their journeys of becoming better heroes. The duo couldn't fathom how Estelle always seemed to label herself as a girl who was neither hero nor villain. Estelle's words never seemed to match her actions; it was like polar opposites sometimes. She was blunt, rude and cold on occasion, but she had never said no to a request for a helping hand. The fact she had asked Tokoyami, Dark Shadow and Kaminari to join without thinking about it; proved it.

It was a pleasant shock for him when she referred the question to the two of them. Nobody had ever done that before apart from his family. He could hear Dark Shadow's ecstatic enthusiasm when Estelle asked him and Tokoyami. It warmed the two of them to the very core.

"Hey, Estelle! Can you come over here for a sec?" Kaminari yelled out, interrupting the exchange.

Giving Tokoyami and Dark Shadow one last shy and a tiny smile to reassure them. Estelle stood back up and turned around to head to the lightening filled male. They watched as she walked away with a sigh. It was time to head back to work.

Meeting Kaminari on the other side of the gym, Estelle was greeted by an overjoyed Kaminari. "Look at this!" He cried as he let out some electricity whilst following Estelle's movements. It was still clumsy, but he was improving well.

Nodding in agreement, Estelle was given an almost teary look by the teen in front of her, "I can't believe I did it!" He murmured, a childish joy covering his features. Estelle felt a small smile grow at her lips as she nodded back at the male.

"You did it. Just like I said, you could. Now, we move on to the next phase. We're going back to what we tried to do previously, and I'm going to shoot the lightning at you instead. I want you to think of it as a game of pass, okay?"

"Gotchya, captain."

"Let's begin, cadet", Estelle stated as she backed away from him to a distance. Letting the lightning grow within her, Estelle flowed out her arm slowly and sent out a strike to Kaminari. Watching as the blonde took a deep breath and followed the movements that Estelle forced him to ingrain into his training. Kaminari had shown the most progress he had even done by letting a quarter of the lightning return back to her.

Adding more power to the lightning, Estelle continued to throw the electricity back at the male. In conclusion, they were playing a game of pass. The student's confidence began to grow the longer they played, and eventually, Kaminari was throwing back half of the strength of the lightning.

His beam could be seen as he repeated the movements taught to him. Eventually, his childish glee of laughter could be heard as he started to move with flair. Amused and satisfied with his change in confidence, Estelle let out her smile as they continued to train.

"That's it, now try put some of your own lightning into it if you can, cadet."

"Got it, captain!"

Estelle was now working with Izuku. Tokoyami, Dark Shadow and Kaminari had left as they were done for the day. Estelle wasn't surprised she was left with Izuku, his drive was incredible, and Estelle understood his reasoning, even if she couldn't empathise with them.

"Izuku, do you know of football?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I do."

"Have you ever tried examining the sport?"

"Um, no. Not really. Why do you ask?" Izuku questioned, halting his movements as he turned to the thoughtful Estelle.

"Well, I found out about it the other night. Do you know that the trajectory of the kick determines where the ball lands?"

Still unsure of where she was going with her question. Izuku nodded in answer; he knew she would get to the point, but he always found it fascinating to listen to the journey of how she got there. "Well, what if you took those techniques and applied them to your own kicks. Projectiles, incoming attacks or hell, even people-"

"And consequently, I would have more control over my kick style!" Izuku blurted out in eureka. Snickering slightly, Estelle gave a quick smirk in approval as Izuku lunged for his journal to note down his thoughts. "Wow! I had never thought about it like that before!"

"I don't think you'll find it difficult. I've seen how you calculate and try to predict the outcome in your brain. But, you should have it reflexively entrenched in your movements. You can't always think about it before you proceed. You have to know and strike. Football is just a means of getting there."

"You are a genius! Really! That's truly impressive!"

Blushing slightly at the blunt compliment, Estelle turned her head away to hide the rosiness on her cheeks. Fulfilling the itch at the back of her neck, she shook her head in answer. "Nah, It just comes to me."

"Still! I saw the way you taught Kaminari. You broke the movements down so simply that he couldn't get them wrong!"

"That's because when I tried doing it normally, the kid fried his brain the whole day."

"Ha. Ha. Right! But still, you worked around any roadblocks easily!"

"Alright, alright. Enough with the compliments." Estelle muttered, her cheeks reddening even more with his persistence. Chuckling, the green bean gave a light laugh, red cheeks of his own as he glanced at the blushing Estelle. It was never a side he had seen of her before, and he revelled in it; she looked like an ordinary embarrassed teenage girl. It was adorable.

"Deku."

"Wahh!" Izuku cried, his body turning robotic as he faced the gym entrance. Estelle joined him as she turned around, only to be met by ruby eyes. They weren't looking at her, though, but they were glaring at the male next to her. Furrowing her brows in confusion, Estelle flickered her eyes back and forth between the duo as they shared a silent conversation.

The broccoli next to her turned more shaky and red every time her eyes flickered back to him. The blonde was just refusing to back down from his glower. Hoping to save the melting male next to her, Estelle stepped forward with a sigh. "Are we done silently admiring each other? Do you need something, Bakugo?"

"Tch, you weren't answering your phone. Dinner is ready. Idiots."

"Come on, Izuku, we can finish your training another time." Estelle monotoned, her eyes flickering over him as she ignored Bakugo's death stare. Still recovering from the event, Izuku nodded in approval. It was then that a surprising thought entered her brain when she turned to leave.

Turning back to face the startled Izuku, Estelle let out a smirk that made him squeak. "That look on your face; I can just imagine dying whale sounds in the background."

"Wha-what?!"

"Come on," Estelle muttered, continuing to ignore the ruby eyed male who was cackling in response to her jab. Grinning wildly, he followed the duo out once they passed him.

Finally seeming to be fully recovered on the way back to heights alliance, Izuku asked. "Hey, would it be okay if you helped out with the football stuff? I think it would be great to have your mind since it was your idea."

Estelle wonders why she even bothers bringing this stuff up when she was supposed to be miles away from them. But, she knew it was getting harder to say no to these kids. "I'll see what I can do."

"That means no, dipshit."

Estelle gave Bakugo a glare before facing Izuku once more. "Don't listen to him. I will; I just have a hectic schedule."

Nodding understandingly, Izuky gave a broad and innocent grin in answer. "Of course! You have plenty of other things to do! I wouldn't want to pressure you! You can choose the time and place!"

Shaking her head fondly, Estelle viewed Izuku like a child sometimes. He was just so vibrant and full of life, hopes and dreams - like a child - that every time she was near him, he just radiated it. It fulfilled some odd part of her that loved children, with all of their naivety and innocence. Giving his hair a quick ruffle reflexively, Estelle gave a brief smile before she picked up the pace.

Bakugo remained silent behind her as Izuku tried to recover once again. Estelle held a soft smile and strolled into the dining room to face a hot meal. Gosh, she was hungry. Diving into the meal headfirst, various classmates watched on in humour as Estelle shuffled food into her mouth before she had the chance to even swallow.

"Stop that, Idiot!" Bakugo growled, thumping her back when she choked slightly.

"Hungry."

"I got that!"

As quickly as she arrived, Estelle was already getting up to leave to the class's dismay. "Where are you going?" Momo asked with concern.

Gazing at the students with confusion, Estele answered in an unmistakable tone. "I'm going to work?"

"What?! Why?!" Sato asked, slightly upset that she wouldn't be there for sugertime.

"Because I was training today...and I need to work?"

"Surely you could wait a day?" Iida voiced, raising his glasses.

Clenching her jaw, Estelle was suddenly smacked with fear, wondering if she was starting to get too deep with these people. There she was, refusing to spend time with anybody. Now, she was training them and spending time with them like she wouldn't be leaving. It was so frustrating for her. Why was she acting like this? It was like she was getting weaker by the day. She needed to get her priorities in check.

Dodging Bakugo's raised hand, Estelle let out a grunt of disapproval as she glared at him with annoyance. The action caused the ruby eyed male to freeze in place, an unidentifiable emotion flickering in his eyes. Her back continued to face the class as she muttered sternly, "No, I cannot. Have a good night."

"Now wait a damn minute-"

Silence.

"Gahhh! That girl will be the death of me!"

"Patience, Bakugo."

"Shut the hell up, IcyHot!"