Chapter 3!
Another chapter here and another solo update. I want to update The First Steps Upwards when I can but even though I've been working on it at a good pace I find that there's just so much I want to put there. It could very well become a 4 chapter update when I'm finally satisfied with it and that's not mentioning the other stories that I nearly have updates for. Regardless, thank you all for your patience and support.
User/Reviewer yomunot: Izumi's got her fists, instincts, and love for fighting and I'll be damned if she and I don't make them work haha. Thanks as always for the reviews!
To everyone who faved, followed, or reviewed thank you so much!
Enjoy, more notes at the end!
Chapter 3: Careless
*Itsuka POV*
"I hope you know I hate you," Itsuka growled in annoyance as Midoriya patched her up like always.
"Not my fault yer head is a glass mikan," the greenette chuckled despite being the one who put her in such a state once again.
"No it's because your punches are screwed up," the orange haired girl argued back, she couldn't believe how easy it was for Midoriya to get to her, and the greenette just kept going about her business.
"Come on, I held back enough ta not kill ya," Midoriya admitted as if that was going to make her feel better.
"What do you count as holding back about this?" the beat up girl prodded, pointing at a few of her more obvious bruises, and Midoriya brushed it off.
"Threw an 8 instead of a 10," the green haired headache poked fun though in this case the differences in those punches were monumental and Itsuka bristled.
"Your 8 is stronger than most peoples' 10s you animal," she shot back, Midoriya moving on to the orange haired girl's battered arms, but the greenette just laughed off the name.
"Animal? I'll take it as a compliment," she grinned to herself and the orange haired girl studied her for a moment.
Itsuka knew that Midoriya was being thoughtful here. She never used her lack of quirk as an excuse but the greenette also didn't forget that that was her case. Midoriya had to break through human limitations since she was being forced to compete against quirks and in a sense she had actually managed to compensate for it. Midoriya knew her hard limitations but she still pushed forward at a crazy pace because of her own desires and Itsuka couldn't help but feel like the greenette would leave other prospect heroes in the dust.
It didn't hold true for all of them but there were a large number of heroes and villains, people in general, that were reliant on their quirks. Many of them weren't trained up the way Midoriya was and in their base form there was no way they could match the power or durability that the greenette had. Even those who put in much more effort, would they be able to stand up to Midoriya's punch? The orange haired girl had seen someone like Togata-senpai being knocked out by the green haired girl so Midoriya definitely had a chance. Plus, if people thought that she was limited to boxing forms then they were dead wrong because Midoriya could punch from wherever she felt like and even if she couldn't get her body into the punch then she still had her abnormal arm strength.
"What ya thinking while staring so hard?" Midoriya asked after finishing patching her up, Itsuka must have been quiet in thought for too long.
"About how many people are never going to want to fight you again," she replied, knowing that others were going to be ground to dust under those fists.
"Well yer not one of em at least," Midoriya half complimented and continued on while tapping a finger against Itsuka's head from her seat beside her, "little somethin' in tha back of yer head can't accept losin' ta me without givin' it back," the greenette provoked, though she hit the nail on the head.
"Difference is it takes more to rile me up," Itsuka tried deflecting but Midoriya's fun apparently didn't end there.
"Challengin' me again? Guess I shoulda used a 10," she baited, partially serious, and Itsuka couldn't help answering back.
"I'll make sure to bring you back to Osaka once I'm done," Itsuka told her, provoking her back, and they stared at one another dead serious for a second before the greenette laughed.
"Not easy ta rile up huh?" she jabbed smugly and Itsuka was just waiting for the day when they did a non-boxing spar.
"Oh shut up," the orange haired girl shoved her with an elbow and Midoriya stood up.
The greenette stared pulling at her top, "I need ta wash off," she stated, her stomach now exposed and Itsuka yanked the top back down.
"Go in the back before you start taking your clothes off," she admonished, pointing to a door that led further in while Midoriya whined.
"It's just my shirt an it's just us two," she reasoned and Itsuka just eyed her in annoyance.
"Did you forget people can look in here?" she questioned, this time pointing towards windows of the entrance.
"Fine, fine," Midoriya dismissed, waving her hand but following what the orange haired girl said.
"You're too careless," Itsuka shook her head as the greenette snorted at her words while going for the door that led to the locker area.
Midoriya started removing her shirt, exposing her upper body save a black sports bra, despite the fact that she was still heading to the back and Itsuka's eyes lingered on the greenette's body for moment while her right hand rubbed along her left bicep. Midoriya eventually disappeared behind the door but the orange haired girl continued thinking of her before suddenly glaring down at the floor.
Stop it, Itsuka commanded herself while her fingers dug into her arm.
She needed to stop looking at Midoriya like...that.
There had been a number of female students that had admired Itsuka like a big sister but the orange haired girl noticed them in a different way. No, nothing was wrong in her and Midoriya's relationship. The two were just friends and Itsuka was allowed to be worried about her so this was just natural for her to do. The orange haired girl only...checked on the greenette's condition.
She had just been curious and worried, that was all, end of story.
There were other things that should have been on Itsuka's mind and she shoved her current thoughts into a far corner of her head. They would be starting their first term at U.A within a few more days but the two of them wouldn't be in the same course. In fact, even though Midoriya was planning to move up to the hero course it wasn't guaranteed that they would be in the same class. Could they compensate for that? They lived in the same area so naturally they would go to and leave campus together and they already spent time together outside of a school environment.
Itsuka caught herself again, she wasn't just getting ahead of herself but also being delusional. The orange haired girl splashed some water on her face and stared down while trying to calm herself. She had been the careless one hadn't she? She didn't, she wasn't...
Itsuka really hated this.
-break-
*Hitoshi POV*
"Midoriya Izumi. Don't got a quirk."
Hitoshi could only stare at the green haired girl, the same as the rest of the class, as she finished her quick introduction and sat back down. The class had to be called back to attention, the students whispering to one another, and Hitoshi noted that Midoriya didn't look to bothered but a complicated feeling was welling inside of the purple haired boy.
He had always been ridiculed for his quirk and he'd known a few other students that had gone through the same because of their powers but the idea that someone didn't have a quirk was never really on his mind. He knew quirkless people existed of course but he had never met a quirkless person before now. Part of what made the feelings he was having difficult was Midoriya's lack of hesitation or care about announcing her quirkless status. Hitoshi surveyed the class and found more than a few people who were giving a mix of negative reactions, from uncomfortable pity to mocking, and the purple haired boy was baffled by how Midoriya acted ignorant of the looks.
She had to know since this couldn't have been her first time getting such responses but she just overall didn't care about this level of discrimination. It wasn't like with Hitoshi when he brushed things off on the surface and he also doubted that the greenette was completely unaffected but the purple haired student was still lost for thoughts in regards to her. Class pressed on until it was finally over and once again Midoriya managed to surprise Hitoshi.
One of the students had tried to trip Midoriya when she went on her way so the greenette swung her foot harder, trapping the sides of the offender's leg between her own and the desk leg, and pushing forward so they were yanked out of their seat and spilled out onto the floor. Snickers ran through the students who weren't complete idiots and Midoriya went on her way while Hitoshi tried followed her out for whatever reason.
"He'll probably try something else again," the purple haired boy advised and Midoriya shifted her sharp eyes over to him and shrugged like it didn't matter.
"I'll deal with it if it happens," the greenette stated firmly, not worried about the potential trouble.
The two already knew the other's name, and quirk or lack there of, so he didn't bother introducing himself again but another point came into Hitoshi's mind. He wasn't sure if Midoriya knew or was interested but he figured he'd bring it up anyway.
"Apparently you can move up into the Hero Course through stuff like the Sport's Festival," he informed her and the girl gave a hum.
"Yeah, I heard 'bout that an I'll be goin' fer it," Midoriya relayed, confident in her words, "ya plannin' tha same?"
"Yeah," he answered back quietly, rubbing the back of his neck, "it'll be tough for us though huh?" he remarked, not wanting to sound like he was writing her off for lacking a quirk when he himself faced discrimination but Midoriya shook her head.
"Might be hard fer ya but not me," the greenette told him and he bristled a little from what she'd said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he stopped in place, Midoriya also pausing to face him.
"Ya look like bamboo," the other student commented like it was a fact, giving him an up and down with her eyes, and Hitoshi's initial anger disappeared.
"What?" the purple haired boy questioned in confusion and Midoriya circled around him once while he stood there.
The greenette raised a hand, showing her palm, "hit," she told the boy but Hitoshi was still taken aback and the greenette looked annoyed, "come on, give me one a yer weak punches of weakness," she taunted and Hitoshi snapped out of his state of confusion.
Without a word, he'd gone and struck her hand as hard as he could but it didn't even move and inch and he stared at her in shock. Not only did it not move but Midoriya didn't even flinch at all. Was he really so weak?
"Yer quirk is handy but not physical," Midoriya reminded him, "ya never really bothered workin' on that did ya?" she asked, though not expecting a response, as she walked away, "ya don't need me ta tell ya everything, sometimes ya can help herself without waitin' around fer someone ta tell ya what ya already know." Midoriya waved a hand without sparing another glance, "Later, we don't got anything else ta talk about."
She'd left him to stand alone and Hitoshi knew he needed to reconsider somethings.
-break-
*Izumi POV*
She just wanted lunch.
There had been some rumors and other crap regarding the first year hero course kids, expulsion, dropouts, injuries from a villain attack, but truthfully Izumi didn't pay much attention to it. Sure she knew the villain attack happened, not like she could go anywhere around the school and not hear it, though the green haired girl was busy with the same shit she always was tied up with when it came to school. She had expected it and most of the time it didn't really bother her but hearing it over and over, and sometimes being confronted, would grate on her nerves.
No matter how much people talked about it she wasn't going to just stop being quirkless so it was old news by this point.
What did really piss her off was when people thought she wasn't capable of simple shit or thought that she would just roll over and take it when they were messing with her. It was seriously a pain, didn't they have better things to do? Izumi would consider scratching your head more important than trying to pick on a stranger over something this dumb. Really, she wasn't even listening to the students who were standing in her way but she did need them to move.
Now what was she going to do about this?
-break-
*Recovery Girl POV*
Things looked as if they were going to get ugly for a moment.
Chiyo recognized the girl, she was the school's only quirkless student, but this was her first time seeing her in person. It was time for lunch and the nurse had gone for a walk around the halls and noticed the little commotion surrounding Midoriya and it was brief but the old woman saw a pretty frightening look in the green haired student's eyes but the greenette ended up pushing straight through the blocking students and covering her ears with a bored look on her face. Midoriya was clearly annoyed simply out of repetition but overall she would remain unbothered as long as no one took things too far.
The provoking students, who Chiyo was surely going to remember as well, were about to escalate things but the old heroine stepped in and scolded them. They looked frightened at the prospect of being in trouble but none of them looked ashamed for what they'd done. The little troublemakers had been lucky that the heroine intervened when she did or else they would be seeing her in the nurse's office instead. Other than stopping the opposing students' unacceptable behavior and potential injuries, she also managed to keep Midoriya out of being punished for whatever she was going to do.
"Looks like ya kept us all outta much trouble granny," the greenette chuckled, not put out about what did and could have happened.
"You mainly," the old heroine reminded, not bothered at all at the student's way of speaking.
"Eh maybe," Midoriya shrugged, the two falling into step as they walked towards the cafeteria, "Sure I woulda given ya somethin' to keep ya from being bored but I'm not one ta strike first over that kinda crap," she admitted, unapologetic despite the fact that she had been going to get into a fight.
"Try using words first," Chiyo scolded but the greenette barked a laugh to herself over the words.
"That means ta use my fists if it doesn' work," Midoriya shot back playfully and Chiyo shot her a side eye.
"Don't get smart with me young lady," the heroine huffed, really this girl just couldn't help herself could she?
"Would ya prefer if I was dumb?" the green haired student quipped back innocently.
"Would you prefer if I took my cane to your head?" Chiyo shot in response, not going to be outdone by this youngster.
"Yer a mean one huh granny?" Midoriya prodded but it wasn't out of ill will and Chiyo had a good read on the girl.
"If it's what it takes, little punk," the old woman replied and the greenette snorted but became thoughtful afterwards.
"I'm makin' no promises, plus tha Sport's Festival is comin' up an I ain't got anything else," she reasoned, referencing her lack of quirk, and Chiyo simply accepted it as the girl did.
"Then it seems my job will be harder this year," the nurse sighed, wondering if the greenette was as strong as she projected.
"Sucks fer ya then," Midoriya stated the obvious with another laugh and Chiyo waved her off.
"Go eat lunch," the heroine told her, feeling like an old grouse from how easily the greenette was able to be a pain in her neck.
"Right, right," the student waved from behind her back and the nurse told her one last thing.
"If you have troubles then come by my office," she let the greenette know and Midoriya turned back with a goofy smile.
"Thanks granny!"
Notes and Stuff
I like having Izumi get a little on Itsuka's nerves and rile her, and some of that more competitive side of her, up cause then I can write them like this.
That being said, unlike in Tiger's Bite, the original idea had it to where Itsuka kind of struggled with herself about her sexuality. I usually don't put that in my fics and just say its completely accepted by the characters in and out of the relationship but this time around I wanted to explore some, though not all, of the difficulties there.
Shinsou was kind of at a loss for words here with Izumi and she's also less likely to give out much help beyond some ideas. She's much more self focused in Tiger's Hunt. I kind of picked Recovery Girl to interact with Izumi on a whim but I liked how it turned out and Sendo was raised by his grandmother in HNI so it was a nice detail to use here as well. Recovery Girl and Izumi aren't related of course but Izumi just calls her granny cause she's old.
Between working on updates I'm gonna try and think of ideas for pairings I haven't done before. There's plenty of characters I want to write in pairing with Izumi so I might even get back to putting things in my one/short shot fic just so I can have them semi-realized.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!