IZUKU POV

"Alright kid, the UA entrance exam is six months away. As you are now you still won't be able to pass it so we can't afford to stop working." Pops was looking at his timer as I ran on the treadmill. "That's not to say that you haven't come a long way from where we started."

It was true, the past year had been a journey. The scrawny kid that could hardly handle a conversation with someone was gone and was replaced with a strong, confident young man… for the most part. While I had physically changed quite a lot I still wasn't the best around people at first, but my stuttering had stopped so hey silver lining. My mental state was much better however Ms. Midnight did find out I have trust issues to an extreme level. It was hard to believe that a single year in a healthy environment could make such a change and turn me into someone I never truly thought I could be.

"Got it Pops I'm not stopping anytime soon." I picked up the pace of my running.

"Good." Without looking up we walked to the other end of the room and started to throw tennis balls at me.

As each thrown ball came closer I raised my hands to knock away the ones I couldn't dodge. "You won't get me this time."

The first few were easy to duck under or smack out of the way. We did this same drill a couple times a week for the past few months. It wasn't a necessarily hard drill, the issue was that I was confined to a single spot. As the next wave of balls approached I slowed my pace and jumped over the ones that were aimed at my legs. Landing on a moving treadmill wasn't an easy task but I had done this enough times now to not break my nose…. again.

"Good, your reaction time has improved." He picked up a few more and threw them at me as he smirked.

This time something seemed off. The ones he threw this time were moving slower than the others. That smirk he has during training has always pissed me off. He does it whenever he thinks he has me trapped. Just once I want to wipe that smirk off his face. Ducking under the first ball I saw another coming straight towards my face. It was moving slow enough to not be a threat so I decided to try and catch it so I could throw it right back at him. Hopefully that would surprise him enough to get rid of that stupid smirk.

Everything was going exactly as I hoped it would. I snatched the tennis ball out of the air and brought my arm back ready to throw it back at him. "Perfect, now get a load of this old man." As I started to bring my arm forward I could see his smirk hadn't faltered at all. I could also see another tennis ball mere inches away from my face. "Oh shit."

Even though they weren't thrown extremely hard it didn't mean getting hit in the face and knocked off of a moving treadmill any less painful. As I sat there rubbing my face waiting for the sting to go away I heard him walk over to me. "I thought I wasn't going to get you this time?"

"Lucky shot I guess." I sat up as I started to drink some water.

"Whatever you say." He grabbed himself a bottle as well. "But you're still improving, which is good. I wasn't expecting you to try and throw one back at me."

"I was hoping it would wipe that smirk off your face, it seriously pisses me off." I stood up and started to stretch.

"Good it's supposed to." He made his way over to a table and grabbed a word knife. "Alright it's time to work on close combat with a weapon. Most pros don't have to rely on things like these but you'd be surprised just how many times it comes in handy." He tossed the fake knife to me.

Catching the knife I looked at him surprised. "So what am I supposed to do, become some kind of master of the blade?"

"Master no, good enough to handle yourself against someone that knows what they're doing, yes." He picked a fake knife as well. "For someone that doesn't have a body enhancing quirk that fights close quarters, something like this will become your new best friend."

Spinning the fake knife in my hand a small laugh escaped my mouth. A year ago I would have been shaking at the idea of using a knife but now it was kind of exciting. "So I guess this will be my go to in the field. It's not flashy but neither am I so I guess it will do."

Pops raised an eye at me confused. "What were you expecting to use, a broadsword?"

"No no no." I spun my knife one more time before finding a comfortable grip. "But that scarf of yours would have been pretty cool."

He let out a laugh as he readied his knife with a smirk. "How about this if you ever beat me I'll teach you how to use it. Now let's see how well you can do without any instructions on proper knife combat."

"Sounds good to me but try not to be too upset when you're teaching me your trademark moves." I got into a comfortable stance and tried to ready myself for the ass kicking I was about to receive. There was no question as to who would win. The question was how bad it would be and for how long.

An hour and a half later I found myself in my room wondering how in the world one man could pin a person to the ground with a knife to their throat in so many different ways. I mean seriously some of those seemed to defy all laws of physics and when I asked him he just shrugged as if he had no idea how he was doing it.

I threw on a black tank top and fell onto my bed. I heard a small meow from Licorice who was laying on my pillows. "Yes I know he does it just to mess with me, but I can't help but get annoyed."

Licorice let out another meow.

"No I'm not going to throw acid at him, it wouldn't be as satisfying as kicking his ass… plus it's also illegal." I flipped onto my stomach and looked at him

He let out another meow as he looked at me confused.

"No I'm not going to use fire either, can you please just drop the idea of burning his face." I buried my face into my bed shaking my head.

Licorice jumped off my bed and let out one last meow before walking out of my room.

"Oh ha ha ha that's so funny, but jokes on you I'm already in therapy." I sat back up and saw Midnight standing at my door with an amused look on her face.

"Still talking to the cat I see." She leaned against the wall shaking her head.

"Yeah." I leaned to try and look out the door while raising my voice. "Too bad he's a stubborn asshole that won't listen to anyone."

She shook her head as she sighed. "I guess it takes one to know one."

"Hey don't talk about Licorice like that, I love the little guy." I pretend to wipe a fake tear from my eye.

She continued to shake her head as she walked out the door. "Come on, it's time for your session this week."

"Alright I'm coming." I stood up and threw on my black hoodie before making my way to the living room.

Midnight was already sitting on the couch with her legs crossed waiting for me as I sat across from her. "So is Shota here or is he out?"

"He's out with Mana Joke, apparently she said that they haven't had enough 'personal time' lately." I shivered a little not wanting to even think about what the implied. "Wait, how did you even get in the house? He left a while ago."

"Oh that's easy. He gave me a key so I could let myself in just in case he was gone and you were asleep." She just smiled as he leaned into the couch.

"Wait, so you just came into my room not knowing what I was doing? Are you crazy?" I looked at her shocked.

"Izuku, which one of us is the therapist and which of us is in therapy?" She leaned forward a little.

A soft meow could be heard from the room behind me.

I turned my head to stare at the room. "No one asked for your comments, Licorice." I let out a sigh before facing her again. "But still for all you know I could have been… you know."

She started to laugh because apparently what I said was funny to her. "Well as embarrassing as I'm sure that would be for you it wouldn't have fazed me. But if you were, it would have been fine. It's completely natural for a boy your age to have urges."

I felt my face get hot as I turned away from her. "That's not the point!" I took a deep breath as I tried to compose myself. "So what are we doing today, more deep diving into the inner workings that is my head?"

"No not this time, today we're going to be talking about something a little closer to what you just were saying." She relaxed into the couch and pulled out a notepad from her purse.

Now I was completely confused. "I'm sorry, come again?"

"We're going to talk about relationships, specifically any romantic ones you had." She had a slight smile on her face.

I continued to stare at her with a blank expression. "I've already told you about what happened between me and Kyoka. Why do I have to tell you again?"

"Yes yes I know but just humor me and answer a few questions. For instance, what would you do if you ran into her on the street?" She clicked her pen as she prepared to write down some notes.

It didn't matter how much confidence I had gained in the past year. When it came to questions about Kyoka I might as well be the nervous kid that could barely speak. "I… I'd probably just pretend I didn't see her."

"Mhmm." She jotted down a few notes. "And what if that wasn't an option and she confronted you?"

"I guess I'd just be myself and be polite and ask her how she's been." I felt my foot nervously tap the floor a few times.

Her eyes darted to my foot before going back to my eyes. "What if she said she still loved you and wanted to get back together with you?"

"That would never happen." I looked at the ground slightly. "We didn't end on good terms."

"Yes I know but a woman's heart can be a fickle thing." She jotted down a few more notes. "Alright Izuku have you ever thought of yourself as someone that could be a family man. You know, having a wife, a child or two, and maybe even a pet if you'd like."

"No.. not really… I never thought that far ahead." I leaned back into the couch and crossed my arms. "No one ever paid any attention to me like that until I met Kyoka and even then I didn't think anything of it."

"And why do you think that is?" She leaned forward a little as she twirled her pen.

"I never really knew what it was like to have a family so I never really saw the appeal of it." I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Sure I had dinner with the people that watched over me every now and then…"

"But it's not the same." She interrupted as she kept eye contact with me. "I can understand that you don't get the full experience of a family from spending a few hours with them occasionally."

"Yeah." I started to relax on the couch a little.

"Well how about now?" She leaned forward again. "You've spent the past year with Shota and Emi. I'd say they more or less have become your family."

"I guess so. I honestly still don't know how I fit in or if they see me like that?" I crossed my arms again. "But it has been nice finally having a place I felt comfortable calling home."

A smile spread across her face. "That's great." She started to jot down a few more notes. "So after experiencing what it feels like to have a family, what do you think?"

I took a minute to think as a smile started to form. "Yeah I think I'd like that someday."

"That's good but you know the first step to starting something like that is trust right?" She set her notepad down and leaned back onto the couch. "That's going to be a big hurdle for you. Do you think you're up for that?"

"Definitely." I looked her in the eyes and did my best to show confidence.

"Well let's take another step towards that goal." She sat upright as she grabbed her notepad again.

"Sure." I gave her a small nod.

"Alright I'm going to ask you the first few questions again, but this time I want you to be honest." She clicked her pen as she leaned forward.

I looked at her confused. "But I was honest?"

"Not entirely. I know you're still hiding something and it has to do with her. Over this past year your confidence has skyrocketed and it's amazing. But every time she's brought up you regress and try to brush over things as if they were no big deal." Her eyes locked onto mine the only other time she had this intensity in a gaze was the first time we met.

"Wh… what do you want me to say?" I tried to avert my gaze from her but couldn't.

"I want you to tell me what really happened between you two." She clicked her pen a few more times as she kept her eyes locked on me.

"I.. I… I didn't tell her anything." I took a deep breath as I looked to the ground. "I left without telling her a thing and I left a note on my desk that said, 'I'm sorry goodbye' I didn't even tell her I was alright. I… I just disappeared and let her imagination run wild."

"I see and why didn't you just tell her that you were moving?" Her eyes switched from a stern gaze to a curious one.

"I didn't know what to tell her." I interlocked my fingers and squeezed my hands together. "There was so much going through my head the night I made that decision and I didn't know what to do."

"What was going through your head?" She leaned in a little more as she waited for my answer.

"Anger, pain, confusion, loneliness, terror." I could feel my breathing start to pick up as I recalled the memories from those days. "I knew she could do better than me." A small laugh escaped from me. "Well the bastards who said that were right. I mean look at me, I'm fifteen and I'm in therapy, I've got scars from all the nights the damn voices wouldn't shut up, you could easily call me a recovering alcoholic, I drove my own mother into a mental rehabilitation institute just because I could have used my quirk on her, I don't know who my father is, I don't have any friends my age, I've nearly died three time and two of them were by my own hand, and to top it all off the one person that genuinely cared for me I didn't even have the balls to tell them I was leaving because I was to fucking stupid to realize that she didn't pitty me. I really am fucked up aren't I? She... she deserved so much better."

Midnight didn't say anything as she wrote down her notes. She stayed quiet until she finished and looked me in the eyes. "Izuku, how much did that girl mean to you?"

I took a minute to regain my composure and wipe away the few stray tears that escaped during my rant. "She was everything to me. She would always cheer me up somehow when things were bad."

"And what does she mean to you now?" She relaxed into the couch a little.

"I don't know… she was my first real friend so she's always going to be special to me. But every time I think of her I hate myself a little more." I leaned forward resting my arms on my knees.

"Have you ever thought about going to talk to her?" She uncrossed her legs as she wrote a few more notes.

"Yeah, but by now she's probably already forgotten me and if not I don't want to open up any old wounds again."

"Maybe she has and maybe she hasn't but I highly doubt you'll be able to fully trust anyone until you get over this situation." She set her notepad down and made her way over to my couch and sat next to me. "But for now get some rest and think about all we talked about today and don't worry as always I won't tell Shota or Emi anything." She took my head and rested it on her lap as a pink fog started to float around me.

I let out a content sigh. "This is the best part of therapy."

She ran her hand through my hair with a smirk on her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what you think. It's like a heavenly pillow mixed with an intoxicating scent, what's not to love?" I could feel my eyes getting heavier.

She let out a small laugh. "You cheeky boy. You know words can't begin to describe how proud I am of you with how far you've come since we met. Now get some rest. I'll see you in a couple weeks."

JIROU POV

"It wasn't easy but it's finally done." I stood on the beach and looked down at the shoreline. There wasn't one piece of trash left. It was a long year but it was well worth it. "I hope you're enjoying the view as well Izuku." Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and fell onto my back enjoying the warm sun.

"Really Jirou I thought you came here to train or something not to enjoy the sun?"

"Who said I can't do both?" I opened my eyes and saw a new friend I had made while cleaning the beach. "Why the hell are you here Kaminari?"

"Come on, don't be like that." He put his hands up in defense. "It's a public place so I can come here as often as I want and besides I helped clean it so I might as well enjoy the view as well."

"I wouldn't necessarily call what you did cleaning." I sat up and looked out over the water. "You only started cleaning two months ago and by that time it was almost done so you don't do much."

"Hey you said every little bit helps so I technically did clean it up as well." He came and stood next to me. "Besides, it turned out to be a lot of fun too."

He wasn't wrong, it was fun. He may have not been the sharpest tool in the shed but he was a good guy. I'm sure he was the class clown of grade but he clearly owned it.

"Yeah I guess you're right." I stood up and started to stretch. "Well if that's all you wanted I'm gonna get started on my training." With that I took off down the sand before he could answer laughing to myself.

Two months ago I made my way to the beach to start cleaning and I found him here trying to pull some of the bigger pieces out of the piles. It was honestly funny watching him struggle so I decided to watch him and enjoy a much needed laugh. After ten minutes I decided he had struggled enough. After helping him I decided to start cleaning as well but he kept trying to start up conversations. I figured if I ignored him he'd eventually stop trying, eventually left and I was able to clean in peace. However the next morning I came to start my day with a nice jog on the beach before cleaning. Apparently the universe decided to fuck me again because as I made my way down the stairs he was as moving more trash again. This happened every day for the next week and eventually I gave into his constant pestering and need for conversation. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the talks we had. He always found a way to make me laugh. He was a nice guy and he cared for his friends, honestly he'd be great if it wasn't for his tendency to try and flirt with anything that had a pulse.

As I jogged down the beach I heard the sound of footsteps in the sand coming closer. "What do you want now?"

He caught up and matched my pace. "Well I actually wanted to ask you a question."

"You could have just texted me." I gave him an annoyed look.

"Yeah I guess but I felt like it would be better to do it here." He gave a cheesy smile.

"Well make it quick I'm kind of busy." I felt myself growing impatient. I hated being interrupted while trying to train.

"Well since the beach is cleaned now I was wondering if you wanted to go out some time?" He put his hands behind his head.

My jog came to a stop and I just looked at him with a bewildered look. "I'm sorry I think I just had a stroke. What did you just say?"

"Oh no, that's just Milton. He opened up a toast stand last week." He pointed over to the area above the dunes to a stand that had an old man waving at us. He waved back and let out a sigh. "I have no idea why he opened up a toast stand but apparently it's doing pretty well."

I looked at him even more confused and shook my head. "Well that answers one question but could you repeat what you said earlier?"

"Oh I wanted to know if you wanted to know if you wanted to go out some time?" He gave me another smile.

"Oh… I see… no." I started on my jog again.

"What? Why not?" He started to jog after me.

"Because I'm not looking for something like that right now and even if I was I wouldn't want to go out with someone that hits on anything that moves."

"I don't do that." His jaw dropped as he looked offended.

"Oh really." I looked to my right. "Oh damn that girl is hot as fuck."

He quickly moved his head to look where I was looking. "Where is she." He looked around then looked at me. "Oh… point taken. But I can change that."

I let out a sigh. "Even if you could, I said I wasn't looking for something like that."

"What if we just go get dinner?"

"No."

"Maybe we come to the beach and train together?"

"No."

"What about we go listen to some music?"

"No."

"Come on Jirou, just one date." He stopped and put his hands together pleading.

I stopped and let out a sigh. "If I tell you I'll think about it, will you stop bothering me?" He quickly nodded yes. "Fine, if you can go until the entrance exams without flirting with every girl you meet I'll consider going out with you."

"That's a long time but I can do it no problem." He gave a thumbs up.

"Just know if you lie to me about it I'll know and you won't ever get a chance." With that I started my jog again leaving Kaminari to do his happy dance.

The rest of my training was thrown off by the events that had happened. I couldn't focus on anything I was doing and I was just getting more and more upset. I decided to call it quits and I made my way back home. Much to my surprise dad wasn't here so the house was quiet.

"Oh Kyoka you're home early." Mom came from around the corner. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really, I just have some things to sort out." I started to walk up the stairs.

"Is it boy troubles?" She stood at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed.

I sighed as I turned around and made my way to the couch. "Have I ever told you how much I hate that you can do that?"

"Yes." She sat down next to me. "So what's going on now?"

"You know that guy I told you about that helped clean the beach a little?" I crossed my arms, annoyed having to think about what had just happened.

"The idiot?" She looked at me slightly confused.

"Yes, the idiot."

She let out a sigh. "Alright well what did the idiot do?"

"He asked me out on a date again!"

"Oh no, that's so terrible." She rolled her eyes at me.

"Mom I'm serious, he's really starting to piss me off."

"Alright calm down. What did you tell him?" She took her glasses off and started to wipe them.

"I told him no and that I wasn't looking for a relationship and that even if I was looking for one it wouldn't be with someone who flirts with anything that has a pulse in a ten mile radius." I used my jacks to draw a circle in the air.

"Wow you really don't hold back at all do you?" She had an amused smile on her face. "So why are you still mad? You told him no so that's the end of it."

"You'd think that but he kept on asking the only way I could get him to shut up was to say I'd consider it if he could go until the entrance exams without flirting with every girl he sees." I threw myself back into the couch crossing my jacks just like my arms.

Mom looked at me with a blank face. "Well you have no one to blame but yourself for that."

"I know! That's also why I'm so upset. Why the hell would I say something like that when I don't mean it?" I uncrossed my jacks and arms as I sat up.

"Ahh teen hormones, such a wonderful yet confusing time of life." She looks to the roof as if she was reminiscing.

"Mom seriously, now is not the time for that. I'm having a crisis here." I wrapped my jacks around her arms and shook her a little.

"Kyoka sweetie I don't know what to tell you besides this is just a part of life."

"Well it sucks." I stood up and made my way upstairs to my room.

Up in my room I changed into my deep dope tank top and some running shorts. I picked up Izuku's guitar and started to play. It had been a long and hard year but everything was more or less normal again. A smile spread across my face as I listened to the sound of my playing. "Teen hormones may be a bitch in a half but I always feel like I'm playing better when I'm like this." I continued to play until I started to yawn. Looking at my clock I shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a nap in the middle of the day." Turning off the lights I fell into bed and looked at the picture of Izuku and I on my nightstand. I couldn't help but smile at it. "I don't think he'd be too upset if I took a nap instead of training more today."