Chapter 8!
Another chapter! I had a little bit of fun with this one but I jumped around to a number of things and this chapter has a bit of that faster pace like some of the previous ones but things will slow down as the focus goes back to solely Itsuka and Izumi.
User/Reviewer yomunot: Thanks as always for the reviews! Izumi is always full speed towards something but eventually she an Itsuka will get on the same page and be able to grow together a little more.
To everyone who faved, followed, or reviewed thank you so much!
Enjoy, more notes at the end!
Chapter 8: Harmful Habits
*Itsuka POV
Itsuka focused on a certain offer on her internship list.
"Can you at least think of one thing that would have caught Ryukyu's eye?" the orange haired girl asked again to Midoriya who was still thinking since the first time the question was thrown to her.
"Yer straights have a unique feeling ta them," the greenette offered and Itsuka almost wished that she had asked someone else.
"Really, that's it?" she groaned since that wasn't even something the dragoon hero could possibly know.
"I'm sayin' they hurt like all hell," Midoriya reworded as she elbowed the orange haired girl in the arm, "tha basis in yer punches are more karate like which is probably why they feel weird ta me."
While not fully counting on her karate experience, it was true that Itsuka's punching form drew from what she'd learned and was most comfortable with. It was why straights were some of her better and more preferred punches even if they fell easy prey to Midoriya who could memorize the repetitive attacks and dodge.
"Isn' she from Okinawa?" Midoriya suddenly asked since she wasn't quite as familiar with heroes due to her self focused attitude, "maybe ya can learn some Okinawan martial arts," the green haired girl suggested while shadowing a straight punch, "learn ta do a seiken."
"I hadn't thought of that," Itsuka admitted in surprise.
It was true that Ryukyu was from Okinawa and could have experience or knowledge of the area's martial arts. Other than being a high ranked hero, that was plenty of motivation for Itsuka to not over analyze the offer and just accept. Maybe she couldn't figure out the reason but Ryukyu seemed to have one so the orange haired girl just needed to reap the experience presented to her.
"Have you decided yourself yet?" Itsuka wondered back and Midoriya stretched her arms forward as she shook her head.
"I'm just usin' tha default list they gave tha students without shit fer offers," the greenette told her, clearly not having an answer yet.
Midoriya had been abruptly moved up to the Hero Course so some potential offers might not have been sent in assumption that she would have been transferred later. The other less reasonable reason was also because she was quirkless so despite winning there was still that discrimination.
"Right," Itsuka replied, finding herself again disgusted with people, "so anyone catch your eye?"
"Nah, I don' even know a third of em," Midoriya admitted with a sharp laugh of amusement.
"Well run it by sensei or some of the other hero staff," Itsuka directed, "they should be able to help you pick."
"Good idea," Midoriya accepted surprisingly easily, "least I finally got my hero costume too," the greenette noted as well before pointing off, "anyway later, I'm gonna ask sensei 'bout who I should pick."
The pair exchanged a quick goodbye and the green haired student ran off energetically, leaving Itsuka alone to think about things. Since the greenette brought it up, Itsuka's mind naturally wandered over to Midoriya's hero costume. She had expected it to look somewhat the way it did but Itsuka was still bothered by it in more ways than one. Obviously the costume was boxing related but it was quite a simple overall design.
Midoriya had a black ring entering jacket with the inside being colored orange as well as a white arm band on the left sleeve that sported two orange lines along it. On the jacket's back was a fearsome looking tiger with red eyes roaring proudly and displaying its teeth. The greenette then wore a plain black crop top that had an extra line of fabric that went across just beneath her collar bones. A pair of belted, black shorts that hugged her thighs while a slightly transparent piece of white fabric acted like a partial skirt going nearly all the way around her thighs except it was laced with orange string on the outside of her left leg. Baggy leg sleeves, the left one white and the other black, and a pair of black, orange accented, boxing shoes. Finally, she had an orange pair of finger less gloves that could fit over hand wraps with extra padding around the knuckles and white framed, orange tinted, round sunglasses that she said she just wanted.
Other than there being not much to it practicality wise, the outfit exposed Midoriya's stomach, thighs, and her arms when she was wearing the jacket over her shoulders, and Itsuka was continually drawn to her. She had been conflicted with herself as her gaze traced the greenette's exposed skin when Midoriya first revealed the costume. The orange haired girl had found herself at times solely admiring the greenette's body rather than Midoriya herself and strange thoughts found their way into her head. Per usual, Midoriya would just tie her hair up in whatever way she felt, often a high ponytail, but the first time she wore the costume she decided on twin tails on a whim and Itsuka even found herself gazing at the back of Midoriya's neck of all things. The orange haired girl would not say it, she refused to acknowledge it...
But it was getting harder to ignore.
-break-
*Vlad King POV*
Sekijiro nearly knocked over his cup as his newest student loudly burst into the staff room.
"Heya sensei," Midoriya announced loudly as she jogged over and held up the internship choice list, "which one is least likely ta give me shit fer bein' quirkless?" she asked, direct and immediately to the point and reason.
"Manual in Hosu," he answered without hesitation after giving the limited offers an up and down but his student didn't look convinced, "both Eraser and I have met and worked with him personally," he assured and she gave the list a look again herself.
"Anyone else workin' at his place?" the green haired girl followed up, checking about if she'd meet a student who would have an issue with her.
"Iida from 1-A," he reported to her, remembering his fellow homeroom teacher commenting about it, as he gauged her reaction.
Midoriya gave a hum, running through her thoughts to refresh herself on the other student's identity, "Alright, I can stand him fer tha most part," she stated with a breath, "thanks sensei," the greenette waved, leaving as quickly as she arrived.
"If there's anything else you need then feel free to come to me again," the blood hero told his student before she could disappear and the greenette paused for a moment.
"I'll think about it," Midoriya replied in a lower voice and then was off as the 1-B teacher went back to his work.
That'd be enough for him.
-break-
*Ryukyu POV*
"Fuck I should have just sent the offer regardless!" Rumi raised her voice as she paced around and Ryuko looked over from where she was sitting.
"Midoriya was it? She only just moved into the Hero Course," Ryuko reminded, remembering the way Gang Orca had recounted his and the white haired woman's conversation to her, "I'm still surprised that you actually want to train someone," she commented while thinking of her friend's solo work style.
"You said it yourself, it's just training not a team up," Rumi reasoned with a huff at her loss, "anyway, I knew she interested me more than just from how she fights," she grumbled as she tapped one of her feet, "I met that Midoriya kid around a decade ago!"
The reveal had gotten Ryuko to pop her head up in surprise, "What really? You'd think you'd remember someone like her," she noted aloud and Rumi gave her head a shake.
"She wasn't nearly as wild back then as she is now," the rabbit hero told her in self annoyance at not realizing it sooner, "plus I only talked with her briefly."
"So what's the story behind that?" the dragon woman inquired curiously.
Rumi would have been in high school at that point and she was from and went to school in Hiroshima while Midoriya was likely from Osaka. If the two had really met then, then it must have been quite the event for one of them to be where the other was at that time. The rabbit woman plopped down in a chair across from Ryuko and one of her ears twitched as she recalled the memory.
"I was in Osaka around that time and was looking for a mask to crash an underground fighting ring," the rabbit woman explained nonchalantly, Ryuko vaguely recalling a similar incident, "anyways I ran into a scuffed up little kid with a good look in her eyes and she picked a tiger mask for me."
"A tiger mask?" the dragon woman laughed in amused questioning as she imagined the sight and Rumi snorted in annoyance.
"That little street cat said rabbits were lame compared to tigers," the white haired woman frowned, the decade old comment probably still hurting her pride.
"Well she was a little kid then," Ryuko laughed, "there was no winning against her there."
"Jokes on you," Rumi grinned cheekily, "I suggested a dragon next and she said tigers beat them everyday of the week."
"No comment," the dragon woman replied, not wanting to jump at the rabbit woman's teasing, "you can always scoop her up later," she suggested, bringing the topic back around.
"Yeah but look how things turned out," Rumi exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat, "she's a puncher!" the rabbit woman pointed at her phone screen of a replay of the greenette's matches, "I coulda turned her into the world's second best kicker!" she proudly yet frustratingly announced.
"She still would have been a puncher even if you got her right out of the Sport's Festival," Ryuko told her, "Midoriya has probably been a puncher since you first met her."
"Ugh, true but next time that kid is training under me!" the rabbit woman proclaimed, staking a claim that she was bound to make happen.
Ryuko gave a smile at the white haired woman as she continued excitedly talking about her plans of training the greenette. That wild kid Midoriya was too much like Rumi for the bunny hero to ignore and it was like the rabbit woman had finally met someone she always wanted to. Her friend didn't just want a trainee.
She wanted a good fight and she'd found it.
-break-
*Izumi POV*
Izumi didn't keep up with all the hero and villain stuff that much but she did hear things through her class regardless.
Even before getting into 1-B, the greenette had heard plenty of gossip around the Hero Killer but she'd recently learned that his latest victim had been the Turbo Hero Ingenium, who so happened to be the older brother of the student she was now interning with. Some of her classmates overhead it earlier in the term and it came around in light of the incident. The greenette half listened as Manual was speaking, the Normal Hero living up to his role model status and not having an issue with her being quirkless, but every so often she'd shoot a glance over to her internship partner.
Even through the armor like costume, Izumi could see Iida's eyes. Yeah, she knew that look...nah, it was more like she understood the feeling that was causing it. That was the feeling when you swore you were going to hurt someone so bad that they'd be sorry they ever crossed you. She'd felt that a good number of times herself over the years from a range of different situations but it wasn't looking so clean for the blue haired boy.
Both she and Manual figured that he was aiming for the Hero Killer.
Izumi didn't really go picking fights, at least not much nowadays, and for as in the moment thoughtless as people told her she was she did consider some stuff before getting into a situation. Just based on the Hero Killer's number of both kills and cripplings of pro heroes you could tell that he wasn't someone you wanted to run your head into purposefully if you could help it. That being said, if it couldn't be helped then Izumi would throw down in a heartbeat.
Maybe it was just her but today had a fighting feel to it.
-break-
"Two injured people an a murderer that I can't outrun if I'm toting em," Izumi made note as she walked down the alley where she heard the yelling.
Neither the hero or Iida seemed to be able to move, their bodies looking strained though, so Izumi figured it had to do with the Hero Killer's quirk considering his weapons and abnormal tongue. The villain had backed off a touch from her initial arrival but he stood his ground and Izumi could tell he was dangerous and unwilling to back off.
"Even more crawl out like-" the Hero Killer Stain began but Izumi darted in and he barely swayed her left jab while his sword missed her by an inch.
"What use is talkin' when I'm just here ta beat ya?" the greenette posed and dodged a couple of thrown knives, "yeah that's more like it," Izumi smirked and he managed to dodge her right as he tried to come at her from the side before retreating again.
It was more like they were just getting a feel for one another as they both struggled to land something that would break the stalemate but despite the lack of connected punches Izumi felt herself getting fired up. Their pace was dizzying and she was getting a pretty crazy vibe from her opponent as things heated up. That was some serious blood lust coming from the villain now and Izumi subconsciously grinned.
This was cool! This was so cool!
Sure she was helping people who needed it but that didn't mean a serious fight couldn't get her blood pumping. This feeling wasn't something that she'd be able to give up.
It was going to be even better too when she won.
-break-
*Stain POV*
The strain and excited rage on her face made the greenette look like some kind of demon.
She didn't know what retreat was and if you wanted her to back off then you had to dive right in the den and use force. There was no time to exchange words between them as neither of them could fully find an advantage over the other at the moment. Any of the man's attempts at blindsiding her ended with a mind numbing punch just barely missing him. Stain knew that it was a single hit destruction kind of punch as his body had experienced what it was like to be hit by one a long time ago. However, this girl's punches were even stronger and chiseled away at someone mentally as well.
Stain had no grasp of the girl's character but she was certainly no hero. Despite that, her actions showed both that she could be heroic and that she had the potential to be as bad as any villain. An intimidating aura mixed with hints of blood lust rolled off the girl that was confronting him but she was squarely situated between him and his previous prey. He couldn't initially categorize her as she slid along from one side to the other and he found her fickle actions, emotions, and nature to be, for a lack of a better word, human. Regardless though, beyond her physical strikes she had another terrifying ability. The ability to discard that humanity like a shed skin. She was truly just a vicious monster who might kill him first if he wasn't serious.
He had to make sure she died.
Stain closed the distance again, the greenette responding in kind and this time their trading of strikes rewarded both of them, a minuscule cut on each of their cheeks from the respective strikes, but he had gained more with this. No matter how insignificant the amount of blood was his quirk would activate and he brought the blade close to his mouth while he jumped back. As quickly as the masked man had retreated, the green haired girl had chased and managed to get within arms reach of him as he was tasting the blood. An uppercut slammed into his chin from out of nowhere and at a much greater speed than before but he could still taste blood. It ended here he thought to himself as he activated his quirk but his body trembled in place while his stare was locked onto the greenette's predatory gaze.
It hadn't been her blood.
"If I had hit ya tha way I wanted then I might've made ya bite yer own tongue off," she noted as she plucked the blades he was holding out of his hands and tossed them to the sides. "Ya got an activation condition an time limit ta yer quirk," the greenette observed, "means ya can't just turn it off an cancel it can ya?"
Stain battled his own quirk to try and force his body to move but it was as she said and he was trapped.
"I can tell, ya were gonna kill all of us here so ya ain't got any right ta complain fer whatever happens ta ya next," she explained while removing the rest of his weapons and quickly finding something to bind him with later.
Stain's instincts told him that there was still danger despite her seemingly softer approach and he realized that she was practically at play right now and once the greenette decided on what she was going to do then she'd show her fangs.
"Ya know, there's a reason ta be wearin' gloves," she continued on, "bothers me that I didn't slug ya while we were fighting but I can't have ya moving round after catching ya." The green haired girl pried off her gloves, "Left or right? Nah, doesn' matter I'll just give ya one good one," she decided while clenching her fists, "these knuckles of mine really hurt ya know."
He was frozen in place and at the utter mercy of a tiger.
-break-
*Tenya POV*
It was beyond the point of anyone intervening in the shouting match that was occurring.
"You can't simply use that excuse over and over!" the hound man explained once more, clearly frustrated with the greenette's stubbornness.
"S-E-L-F D-E-F-E-N-S-E" Midoriya yelled at the police chief, spelling out the excuse as if that was going to make it work, "I ain't even got a quirk fer ya to get pissy 'bout," she reminded, "take it or leave it."
"and why should we?" the chief demanded from her and Midoriya gave an exasperated huff.
"Cause I ain't askin' ya ta roll over an die like ya are fer us," she retorted with an accusatory point of her finger, "he ain't even hurt bad," Midoriya said, referencing the Hero Killer's physical state.
"A few fractured ribs is not something you'd consider light," the hound gruffly bristled but the greenette fired back.
"From a single punch! Ya miss that part where all of fuckin' Japan knows I'm quirkless?!" she raged, her engine firing up and Manual tried to calm her but her anger caused everyone to balk. "Wait fer a hero, wait fer a hero!" she repeated as her voice grew, "WHAT FUCKIN' HERO?!" Midoriya shouted bitterly, "THA ONE SLUMPED ON HIS ASS THAT I HAD TO KEEP ALIVE? HOW BOUT ONE WHO WAS COMING TA SEE THREE DEAD BODIES?!" The greenette questioned as she observed the police chief and ground her teeth, "IF YA DON'T GOT AN ANSWER FER ME THEN JUST KEEP THAT YAP OF YERS SHUT!"
No one dared to speak, the entire vibe around Midoriya having changed and Tenya himself was at a loss in what he was supposed to be thinking or feeling. It was true that he had strayed off the path of a hero but seeing how adamant Midoriya was about the actions she took being the correct ones when they had been scolded over it was making him question exactly if there was a set and singular path of heroism. Tenya just watched from the sidelines as the 1-B student stormed out and instead of Manual following her or apologizing to the police chief the room remained extremely quiet.
Tenya had a lot to think about but he had realized that a pro hero and hero held some different meanings.
-break-
*Itsuka POV*
Her arms had been numb since the opening of the fight.
After just one glance at Midoriya after the internships, Itsuka had stuck her in the ring and prepared herself to be slaughtered. The greenette was far more enraged this time around than the previous venting spar and Itsuka barely even had to try to get her to snap. However, the fight was going much differently than before.
Itsuka had actually been landing far more punches than the greenette, actually Midoriya only managed blocked hits so far, and blood and bruising now covered the angered girl's face as she chased after the orange haired girl. It was a combination of Itsuka's own training and experience from her internship as well as having somewhat grown used to aggressive fighters thanks to Midoriya herself. Although, there was likely another factor here too. It was almost as if Midoriya was aiming to be hit and as Itsuka's right, a seiken like the greenette suggested she learn, sent the girl skidding back she tried to more carefully observe her opponent's stance.
Stomping her feet down and supporting herself on her knee, Midoriya brought herself back up and was directly facing Itsuka, her guard almost nonexistent, and all the best places to hit her were exposed. Was she just goading her to aim for the head or was it a trap? The greenette had the ability to dodge with just the slip of her head but with how many hits she had gotten in would Midoriya still be capable of it? Itsuka's brain worked overtime as she found herself backed near the ropes from the pressure while trying to figure out just what the greenette was going for here but it all suddenly clicked.
Midoriya was conceited.
She didn't care if she was hit, maybe the greenette even thought it was more exhilarating that way, since all that mattered was that she was the last one standing. Her style and only her style was how she would fight and win. The stance that she used often telegraphed her punches and left her open to attack but as the person receiving, there was an intimidation that you needed to fight through with her. The greenette was ready to be hit if it meant that she could hit you back and even five of your own punches would be equalized if not overtaken by one of hers.
She truly had unfair fists.
Midoriya's bloodied face of rage made the orange haired girl flinch away and the familiar scene was unfolding as Itsuka's back dug into the ropes from the sudden storm of punches and Midoriya was now settled into her preferred range. A heavy left straight slammed Itsuka back again and as she was flung forward by the ropes, Midoriya's hands started taking the standard fighting pose just in reverse.
Quick shift.
The greenette was in southpaw so the next punch would be a right handed smash and Itsuka was already preparing to dodge but something about the form was off. No, Midoriya lowered her stance and the extra time it took to setup had already thrown Itsuka, who was still in motion, off. The greenette was throwing the punch from a lower altitude to increase its power even more. There was no choice, she had to block so Itsuka steeled herself to withstand the single punch.
The monstrous blow met her guard and almost everything in her body down to her toes went numb while her brain blinked off for a moment. Itsuka had still felt her feet leaving the canvas and her upper body began tipping back while her mind tried to regain itself. Where was she in the ring? Was Midoriya coming at her for another attack? The orange haired girl registered that she still wasn't feeling anything beneath her and as her eyes regained focus she realized in panic that she was in the air and going over the top of the ropes.
Itsuka started to flail in surprise but she felt Midoriya's arms circle around her back and in turn she wrapped her legs around the greenette's body. The panicked girl had finally regained feeling throughout the rest of her body and her arms trembled as they were supported onto Midoriya's shoulders. Itsuka's breathing was erratic as she slumped her head forward in exhaustion, fighting the greenette like this was getting more and more dangerous.
It only took a few more moments for Itsuka to calm down enough while the two of them remained in the same position, still in that close proximity, and the orange haired girl re-evaluated the situation. She had slightly accustomed herself to the greenette's pressure from her rage induced fighting but that now left her conscious of the position that they were in. Her body was tingling with warmth but she told herself that it was just the adrenaline from the fight. Since Itsuka was still in physical contact with the greenette, she was able to observe that the other girl was now coming off of her fighting high. Had Midoriya been able to calm down from this?
Itsuka almost yelped when Midoriya held her tightly and brought her into a more convenient position before helping to set her back on the mat. The greenette hadn't said anything yet and had started pulling at her own gloves after exiting the practice ring. Her behavior was making Itsuka nervous but the orange haired girl just hoped that the fight had been enough venting for her. She removed her gloves as well and Midoriya turned around to her which snapped Itsuka to attention.
"We don't gotta spar anymore," the greenette suddenly announced, confusing Itsuka since she was already out of the ring.
"Ah, yeah I think we're done for the day," the orange haired girl agreed, glad that she didn't seem mad at her.
The greenette shook her head, "Nah, I'm sayin' I'm not sparrin' ya again," she revealed and Itsuka was about to protest but Midoriya grabbed her bag and went for the front door. "I thought ya wanted ta be a hero," the greenette said as she was exiting, "not a punchin' bag."
The orange haired girl had no words as the door closed behind her and the greenette eventually vanished from sight. Hurting and being hurt was a way that people could grow to understand one another and Midoriya had again caught the orange haired girl's intentions while Itsuka had now also been able to realize one of the greenette's feelings.
It was that Itsuka had disappointed her.
Notes and Stuff
Despite the couple of places I could have written fights, I found this chapter wasn't exactly about that.
I really wanted to do a chapter that really highlighted most of the bad things about Izumi. The earlier chapters had some of it but it was mixed in and overshadowed by stuff like the discrimination she's faced through her life or the kinder side of hers. However this chapter let me just really show of different parts about her that can't generally be considered good. Conceited, impatient, angry, fight obsessed, it's all on display here.
Seiken is a straight punch utilizing the waist and using the first two knuckles. It seems quite prominent in Okinawan martial arts and Ryukyu is from Okinawa while Itsuka is versed in karate.
Izumi's hero outfit. If you need an image of it then look up 'Odo' sung by Ado with music, arrangement, and lyrics, by Giga, TeddyLoid, and Deco*27. Izumi's color scheme is changed to fit more with Takeshi Sendo and she usually wears a high ponytail and forgoes the shades though she has them.
About Rumi having met Izumi before in this. The info is from BNHA Vigilantes in which a 3rd year high school Rumi crashed an underground fighting ring in Osaka wearing a tiger mask and under the ring name 'Tiger Bunny'. Since this Izumi is from Osaka and has heavy affiliations with tigers I figured that'd be a cool thing to add since I already set them up to eventually interact a few chapters back.
The Stain part about destructive punches was also a Vigilantes thing where his noise was smashed by Knuckleduster.
Izumi's used a low altitude smash like the one Sendo shows off at the end of chapter 100 of HNI.
Itsuka has some struggles on a couple fronts going forward but now that I've moved by a number of events I can start the focus on just the two of them and just let them continually interact in different ways and settings, be it one to one or otherwise.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!