"Ready, Tsuyu-chan?" I asked, glancing back at her.
"Yup," she nodded, crouched and ready to spring.
I turned back and looked at my target. A trio of crude, concentric, chalk circles, drawn on the flattest tree we could find.
I took the first tennis ball from the bag I had slung over my chest. I wound up. I threw it, about half as hard as I could. It hit just outside the middle ring. And then, thanks to the uneven bark, ricocheted high and to my right. Tsuyu tracked it. Her tongue shot out, reeling the ball in. She slipped it into a second bag, even as I launched again.
At first I had been worried about this exercise. Sure, throwing was good for my Strength and Agility. And snagging the balls after they flew off in a random direction was good for Tsuyu's tongue control and aim and tracking in general. But she was also grabbing tennis balls with her tongue. After they had hit a tree, and possibly the chalk target. Then I remembered I had first met her when she was playing Tarzan by swinging from branches with that same tongue. So I had proposed it. Tsuyu had immediately agreed, saying it was a good idea. So here we were, playing one of the stranger games of catch I could think of.
"Izuku-kun."
We were switching bags to start again, and Tsuyu had just swished her mouth out.
"Yes?" I stopped at her prompting.
"Your birthday is next Saturday, right?" she asked, "One week away. Is there something you want?"
I had to blink back tears.
"You're the first person to ask me that, besides my mom," I told her at her concerned expression, "And just you and your siblings coming over for dinner will be more than enough."
"We already do that once a week," she pointed out. Then paused to consider.
"What if I didn't bring them?" she asked, "What if they stayed with our aunt, and it was just the three of us?"
"That would be nice, too," I said. I liked her siblings well enough, but it would be good not to have to talk about the latest episode of Ducky Momo. Or play Heroes Musou on the lowest difficulty.
"Then maybe you could stay over," I suggested, "and we could watch Infinity War through Endgame in a marathon."
Mom and Tsuyu both agreed that the MCU was a bit too much for the younger Asui siblings. So we could only watch the movies when the kids had something else to do. And since Tsuyu had never seen any of them before, I was determine she see at least the first forty movies before the UA exam. Besides just being good movies, they were an interesting look into how people had viewed powers before Quirks existed. And there were some interesting ideas you could take away from them.
"That would be fun," she said, but there was bit of a hitch in her voice, "I'll check with my aunt."
"And I'll ask my mom," I agreed.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?" she pressed.
"If you really want to give me something," I deflected, "You might want to talk to my mom. She always makes me give her a list, and I wouldn't want to risk you two doubling up. Though this year it is mostly study materials."
If I had written it down, the kanji for 'study materials' would have read 'skill books'.
"Maybe I'll do that," she said thoughtfully.
"Okay, back to work?" I said quickly, hoping she would forget it. I would have rather Tsuyu spent the money to buy something she wanted, knowing how hard her parents worked and that she spent most of her allowance on her brother and sister. But I also knew she wouldn't be happy if I told her that.
"Ribbit," she nodded.
The next morning, Sunday July 9th, we played catch again, only this time a more brutal version. We took turns throwing the tennis balls at each other as hard as we could. Tsuyu never failed to catch one, and I... I gained a few levels in Physical Resistance.
We did this on the beach, barefoot in the sand. We had brought out lunches with us, but left our shoes in the lockers. When it was time for a break, a bit earlier than normal, we sat down with our feet in the water.
"I talked to my mom," I told her, "and she is fine with it, though she said you'll have to bunk with her."
"That's fine," she said, "My aunt agreed to watch Samidare and Satsuki next weekend, both Saturday and Sunday."
"Great," I smiled happily at her, and she grinned back. Then something cold and wet smacked the side of my face. Tsuyu blinked, but when I touched it, it was just water. It was a raindrop, but one almost the size of a grape.
Sploosh. Another giant drop hit the lake audibly, created two centimeter tall ripples. We both looked up as more started to fall. Thick clouds had rolled in, and a cold gust of wind hit us.
"I didn't see anything about storms on the news this morning," she noted as the rain began to fall in earnest.
"We should probably head back," I said, "at least to the cave."
"Yes," she agreed. We collected the tennis balls and I packed them in my bento box. Even moving as quickly as we could, the rain was starting to get heavy and we were moderately soaked by the time we got back into the forest. The ground was wet and slippery, so we couldn't move to fast.
KRA-KOW! The air around us shook as lightning hit somewhere north of us. We exchanged looks. We both knew in a thunderstorm, you were supposed to seek shelter, stay low, but not stand next to trees. The outcropping was still our best option, so we picked up the pace.
Through the dark and rain it was hard to see, but I knew the forest around there well enough to know we were getting close. Tsuyu got a bit ahead of me, more sure footed in the rain. We had maybe another fifty to one hundred meters to go, when it happened.
KRAK-BOOOM! The lightning strike was close. So close I was blinded even though I wasn't looking at it. So close my ears were ringing. I shook my head, trying to clear it, when I heard a rumbling, and then...
"IZUKU!" Tsuyu screamed with far more emotion than I had ever heard in her voice before. I looked towards her, my vision starting to clear. Her tongue shot out. Wrapped around my waist. Pulled me back towards her.
Except the ground was slick. And I weighed at least as much as she did. So even I was yanked towards her, she stumbled towards me. We bumped. She let go with her tongue. I slipped and fell to the ground. The forest shook, and a shockwave washed over me.
[-11 Health]
I raised my head up, and saw Tsuyu lying on the ground. Surrounded by a halo of slowly spreading red.
"TSU!" I shouted, scrambling over to her. There was a large gash in her head, deep enough I could see the white of bone through it. Even worse, a broken branch had skewered her, entering near or through her right kidney, and exiting near her navel. I felt tears forming in my eyes, and panic in my stomach. Then a spike of ice shot down my spine, vanishing the fear and filling me with focus.
"Analyze," I snapped.
[Name: Tsuyu Asui
Race: Human (Quirk metagene positive)
Age: 14
Level: 5
Active Title: Frog Girl
Health: -24/246
Stamina: 122/132
Condition: Dying]
She was still alive. But she was dying. And I didn't know how long she had. She had almost 250 HP, at level five, so her physical abilities had to be high. Her Endurance should be at least 35, probably over 40. But that meant she had somewhere between twenty minutes and an hour left.
And the rain wasn't helping, chilling her and hindering clotting. Tsuyu had told me she wasn't good with cold. Okay, first thing was to get her out of the downpour.
I had to be careful. I wrapped Tsuyu and part of the branch in a shell of telekinesis. My psychic power wasn't enough to lift her, yet. What I could do was hold her steady. Then I activated Ki Reinforcement, boosting my Strength. With a single chop, I shattered the branch just outside the barrier. Neither Tsuyu nor the embedded stick moved.
I lifted her gently and ordered, "Activate Jet Set Run!"
She felt so much lighter than that first day she crashed into me. I hoped it was just my increased Strength and new and improved skills.
I set Tsuyu down as far back in the outcropping as I could, using my body to shield her. Another Analyze showed she had lost another point of Health.
"Okay, what now?" I mused. I took my phone out of my Inventory. But as I expected, nothing. The coverage in Endoru was spotty at best. In the midst of a thunderstorm, I had no signal.
"I could go to the road and try to flag someone down, or wait for the bus. But I don't want to leave Tsuyu alone."
"Izuzuzu," she groaned, her eyes flickering. I took her hand.
"If I had the next Ki talent, I could heal her," I mumbled, "Or if I had first-aid as a Skill, I could at least try to stabilize her. Mom might be able to do it. If I try a Reflective Dungeon, Mom would be pulled in too. But I don't know if she would exit with me or go back where she started."
I hadn't experimented with that power, since Mom was always in my party, and I didn't know the risks.
"Either way, if she is here she could help, and if she goes back she could call an ambulance... But that's assuming we don't get immediately attacked in the dungeon and get hurt or delayed. And I still don't want to leave Tsu."
Time was the enemy, but lack of information was a close second. But then I remembered a book I had read, and way it said villains had cheated.
"Party Invite, Asui Tsuyu!"
The window appeared. I gently lifted Tsuyu's hand, and used her finger to hit 'Accept'. Thank you, Kawahara-sensei.
[Nice workaround. Wit +1]
"Disable notices for Midoriya Izuku until further notice," I barked, "Party."
I immediately clicked on Tsuyu's panel in the tab, showing her full Status page. I ignored her Skills and Talents. I saw something that would give me time.
"Tsuyu," I called out to her gently, "Please, if you can hear me, say 'Status'. Tsu, just say 'Status'."
"Status," she complied, barely coherently. But the screen appeared.
[Name: Tsuyu Asui
Race: Human (Quirk metagene positive)
Age: 14
Level: 5
Active Title: Frog Girl
Health: -26/246
Stamina: 122/132
Condition: Dying
Attributes:
(S)trength: 26
(A)gility: 45
(E)ndurance: 44
(Q)uickness: 43
(W)it: 12
(I)ntuition: 18
(C)harisma: 10
(D)etermination: 10
(L)uck: 5
Unused Points:
Attribute: 7
Skill: 6
Talent: 1]
Seven unused attributes points. That would get her 23 more health, putting her at -3 compared to 51 Endurance. That would give her three to four hours.
"Sorry, Tsuyu," I told her, and lifted her finger again. I began tapping the button next to her Endurance, increasing it and relaxing slightly as her Health increased with each point. Before I could assign the last point, another pop up stopped me.
[Congratulations!
Endurance has reached 'Peak Human' tier. Please select a bonus Talent.
Tempered Breathing
Reduced Stamina usage.
Tough as Nails
Reduced physical damage taken.
Efficient Sleeper
Decreases sleep requirement.]
I frowned. That was less information than I received about my Talents. I couldn't help but wonder if one of them had a hidden Attribute bonus that would help Tsuyu. Again, I needed more information. More information...
"Analyze!" I ordered, staring at the first Talent panel.
[Tempered Breathing
Reduce Stamina cost for activated Skills by 20%.
Increase iteration timer for continuous Stamina Skills by 20%.
Prerequisites:
Endurance 50+
50+ levels of Stamina based skills]
Useful, but not in this situation.
"Analyze!"
[Tough as Nails
Unlock Skill 'Physical Resistance' at lvl 10, or increase current Physical Resistance Skill by 10 levels.
Limit Break Physical Resistance Skill (new max level 140).
Prerequisites:
Health 250+
Must have been reduced to negative Health at least once]
Again, nice to have, but not what I was hoping for.
"Analyze," I said less hopefully.
[Efficient Sleeper
Reduces time for a full night's sleep from 8 hours to 5 hours.
+5 Endurance
Prerequisites:
Endurance 50+]
There it was. Five more Endurance would put her above zero. I almost hit the button for it. Then I paused.
I retrieve my stored first-aid kit. I got out the tweezers, and filled the pipette bottle with one of the two pouches of distilled water. I dropped the Reinforcement of my Strength, switching it to Agility. Then holding Tsuyu still, holding her insides in place, with my Telekinesis, I pulled the wooden stump out. Looking inside her, I almost vomited. Gamer's Mind kept me steady. Barely. I used the little prongs to remove any splinters or other fragments, then washed the wound out. She lost two more health, but as soon as her injury was as clean as I could get it, I lifted her finger. Hit the panel for 'Efficient Sleeper'.
It was interesting, and more than a little disturbing. Watching her organs regrow before my eyes. In a matter of moments, Tsu was left with two large, round gashes, one on each side of her abdomen. And the one on her head had shrunken down to the point I could no longer see her skull. They were three bad injuries, enough to send her to the hospital. But they were no longer life threatening.
But it was still better not to move her, not during the rain. Not when her Health was still in the single digits. And there was a good chance I could slip. Besides, the wet and cold would still be bad for her injuries.
I took out a tube of ointment. The kind that would supposedly ease pain, prevent infection, speed healing, and limit scarring. I rubbed it gently on the wounds on her front and back, and then wrapped the gauze around them. I dabbed it on her head, and the wrapped that one, too. I took the adhesive bandages, which already had the same compound already applied. I put them over all the smaller cuts. Then I crushed an ibuprofen, mixed it in the remain water in the bottle, and piped it into her mouth. I rubbed her throat gently to encourage her to swallow.
Tsuyu was no longer openly bleeding, but she shivered. I took out my towel, and carefully, respectfully dried her as best I could. Then I traded that for my other two track suits, and draped them over her. Finally, I settled down next to her, my arm pressed against her back. I pulled the suits partially over me, so she could share my body heat.
I felt suddenly exhausted. I checked, and found my Energy was 0. Between all the TK, and having both Ki Reinforcement and Jet Set Run! active, I had drained my tank dry. I shut off the two continuous Skills. I edged up closer to Tsu, just in case. I tried to keep my eyes...
I woke up to feel something warm and soft pressed against my chest and legs. The side I was laying on felt uncomfortable, I was on a surface a lot harder than my bed. It was quiet, and golden sunlight was hitting my back, warming it slightly.
The my brain slipped into gear. My memories reasserted themselves. My eyes popped open.
In my sleep, I had rolled onto my side, which wasn't that unusual for me. Except I had rolled towards Tsuyu. Against her. We were spooning, my arm pulling her closer.
And she wasn't asleep. She had twisted slightly, and was studying me. I wanted to believe there was a light blush across her cheeks, but the late afternoon sun made it hard to tell.
Embarrassment would have to wait. There was something much more important here.
"Tsu," I gasped in relief, "You're awake. How are you?"
Rather than speaking, she lifted her hand and pointed.
I hadn't noticed the yellow box floating a dozen or so centimeters away from her face.
[Party plus proximity power propagation provoked:
You have had a decent lunch and an extended afternoon nap. Health and Stamina fully restored.]
"Analyze," I said blatantly, "Status."
[Name: Tsuyu Asui
Race: Human (Quirk metagene positive)
Age: 14
Level: 5
Active Title: Frog Girl
Health: 281/281
Stamina: 163/163]
And my window told me it had been not quite six hours since the last time I checked.
"Thank godness," I stumbled over the words slightly, as I hugged her, "I was so worried."
I separated from her, pulling my spare workout clothing back into my Inventory. Then I dropped the rest of the way down into a full dogeza kneel.
"I am so sorry for wasting your precious Attribute points and bonus Talent," I cried, "I swear I will find a way to make it up to you."
Tsuyu frowned at me in confusion.
I told her everything about The Gamer. And how I used it to save her. Asui-san listened closely, only asking a handful of questions.
"... so I will help you gain more levels," I told her quickly, "Maybe see if there is some way you can get quests. Or something, to make up for using your points against your will."
"Izuku," she said gently, "It's fine. You used something I didn't even know I had to save my life. And you trusted me with this."
"Only after I hid it from you," I countered.
"And I can understand why," she shot back, with a bit of heat, "You have a power that isn't a Quirk. There is no telling how the government would react. Or what Villains would do to get their hands on it."
"I know," I admitted, "But that doesn't mean I have to feel good about it. And besides, you saved my life first."
"Actually," she tilted her head, "You saved my life first, I saved your life second, and you saved my life third."
"You said that fall wouldn't have hurt you," I reminded her, shocked, "That you had fallen from higher than that."
"I might have been exaggerating," Tsuyu told me, "I have fallen from higher, but it was more of a controlled fall, and into water."
"Still, I shouldn't have," I continued to protest my guilt.
"Izuku, it's okay," she reassured me, "I might have even bought that sleeping thing myself. Three extra hours every day."
She adopted a mildly blissful expression, reminding me how busy she was.
"I'm just happy to come out of it unhurt," Tsuyu said.
"Speaking of that," I began, "Can I check?"
I pointed to the many and various bandages crudely applied. She nodded.
I started with the one on her head. Though the gauze was still caked in blood, underneath there was nothing. Not the original gash, not a scab, not even a scar. Like my fingers, Tsuyu's forehead healed like the injury had never happened. I removed the band-aids on her face, neck, and arms. To the same result. Finally, I unwound the large bandage around her abdomen. This time there was some blood stuck to her skin. But I brushed it away to reveal the same smooth, unblemished skin she had shown off with her bikini.
"You are really okay," I sighed. She looked down at her stomach in amazement.
"I don't remember a lot of what happened," she admitted, "But I did see the branch sticking out of me. For it to heal that quickly and fully... That's a pretty impressive power, ribbit."
We sat regarding her uninjured self for a moment.
"Well, it is after five," I broke the silence, "I don't think we are going to practice anymore today. And the rain stopped. So should we start heading back?"
She didn't react immediately. Then her expression told me she had come to a decision.
"Hold on, Izuku," she said. She reached down to the bottom of her bloody and ventilated shirt, already partially raised. She began to take it off, so I turned around.
"Good idea, you should probably change first," I said, "Or Samidare and Satsuki might get scared."
It didn't occur to me in that moment, that she didn't have anything to change into.
"Don't look away," she told me softly.
I thought she must have had her swimsuit on underneath. I hadn't really paid attention during the storm. If I had...
Tsuyu had fully removed her shirt and was covered on top only by a bra. Not a sports bra, or a simple one, either. It wasn't terribly fancy. Nor was it tawdry. But it had just the right mix of lace and cotton, and highlighted her figure well.
I should have looked away. Or at least blinked. But I couldn't. She told me not to. And I was young, lonely, teenage, and entranced.
Then she reached around behind and... Unbuttoned? Unsnapped? I wasn't sure how girl's underwear worked, but Tsuyu unfastened something. The cups started to loosen.
My hands shot up, grabbing her shoulders. Not incidentally locking the straps in place, preventing anything more from showing.
"Tsu, what are you... you... doing?" I stammered, my voice jumping up at least an octave.
"This."
She leaned in, pushing my arms back without knocking my hands off. She pressed her lips to mine.
The kiss was tender, affectionate, and more than a little awkward. Her lips had the faint taste of chicken and berries from her salad. And she smelled like a clean brook, bubbling past on a warm spring day. The move, probably not accidentally, left my fingers on her shoulders while compressing her chest against my forearms.
"I like you, Izuku," she said, using one of the more loaded and ambiguous Japanese versions of 'like', "And I really want to..."
She blushed and rolled one hand.
"Don't you?" she asked shyly.
"I don't," I said, far more quickly than I would have thought possible. Tsu's eyes widened, and she started to pull back. But I was still holding on.
"Don't misunderstand," I continued, "You are cute and sexy. You are my best friend. And I like you a lot. Part of me would like nothing more than to take the lead here and keep going. But even more I don't want to.. I can't have sex with you Tsuyu."
Her eyes stayed on me, gently begging me to explain.
"A big part is this situation," I said, "Our emotions are both running high, we just saved each other, and it seems like you feel obligated to me. Maybe that doesn't have anything to do with this, but on the off chance it does, I can't take advantage of you like that."
She frowned, but didn't protest.
"Plus, I don't want to do it on hard, damp dirt," I looked around, "It's just not right, right?"
She chuckled.
"My mom is trusting us out here. Alone. Together. And I don't want to betray that trust."
She nodded sadly.
"But the real reason is all me," I explained, "Let me show you? Quests."
Tsu reconnected her bra, and made a very deliberate show of adjusting her breasts in it, Then she scooted around, pressing herself against my arm. The next instant her eyes widened.
"I get one chance to make it into UA," I said, "As a Hero. If I don't, I lose The Gamer. And I don't know what that means. At the very least, I lose the windows, the control and information. And at the worst, I might lose everything I have gained since that day. Go back to being that person. I don't know if I could handle it. And I wouldn't feel worthy of you if I were the old me."
She started to object and I held up my hand.
"I know you aren't like that. Like I said, it's about me. My past, my insecurities. And also my goals and promises. I can't afford distractions."
"any more than I already have," I mumbled under my breath, acutely aware of her body with more than one of my senses.
"If we were to make love right now, I wouldn't want it to be a one time thing. And if it were, it might even be worse. But if we started skipping training to go on dates... to make out... It would be such an easy trap to fall into. And I was so far behind to start, I can't afford to..."
I looked at her, feeling tears in my eyes again, "I'm sorry if I'm not being clear. And I understand if I sound pathetic. But I'm not rejecting you, Tsu-chan. I'm just saying not today. Or tomorrow. But if it is okay with you, maybe we can talk about this again after we both make it into UA."
She smiled slightly, and kissed me on the cheek, saying, "I'll hold you to that."
"Great," I smiled again. Though I quickly dialed it back, "You can borrow one of my tracksuits for now. We can say that your clothing got soaked, which is true, so I lent it to you..."
We caught the next bus, and got back early. We blamed the rain. Tsuyu's sibling accepted that at face value. But I could tell Mom did not.
After dinner, and saying our goodbyes to the Asuis, Mom faced me directly.
"How is Tsuyu-chan?" she asked softly but firmly.
"Fine," I told her, "A bit shaken, but otherwise, fine."
I told her. Not the part where Tsu tried to seduce me. But about the morning, the sudden storm. The tree, how Tsuyu saved me. And how I saved her. The fact that Tsuyu now knew about The Gamer.
"And how are you doing?" she asked, once I trailed off.
"Actually," I considered it, "I think I am good. Better, even. Like some weights I didn't know I was carrying are lighter."
Hiding my power. Guilt and doubt that I might have been able to do something for Kacchan. Those pressures weren't gone. But they were definitely less.
Then I looked over at her cautiously, and asked, "Is this the part where you say we can't train anymore?"
"No," Mom smiled, "This is the part where I tell you how very proud of you I am."
"Mom?"
"Izuku," she said, "It was an accident. Not much different than if a truck's brakes failed. You can't predict these things..."
"Sir Knighteye could," I could not help but note. She ignored me.
"Just locking you away isn't the answer," Mom kept going, "You handled the situation calmly, and rationally. And you saved Tsuyu's life. You didn't hesitate to give up your secret... though maybe you could have hesitated a little... if it meant you could help."
"So no, I'm not going to forbid you two from going to Endoru to train. I'm not going to yell at you. I'm just going to say again how proud I am of you. Of both of you. And ask to have the first-aid kit, so I can refill it. And maybe I will show you a few mistakes you made, based on your description."
I felt like I was seeing my mom for the first time in a while. She looked taller and thinner. At least a little. Or maybe it was just my mixed up emotions.
"You've gotten stronger, Mom," I told her.
"Thank you, Izuku," she said, "And I'm guessing today probably made you stronger, too."
"Oh, right," I remember, "Enable alerts."
My vision was flooded. Charisma bonus for smooth talking; I wasn't sure when that happened... Maybe when I was apologizing for using her points. Lots of Skill increases, most of my attributes went up at least one. But best of all...
"I made it to level four," I told Mom, working to close all the screens. And spending my one point on Luck.
"That's great, honey. Now, first-aid kit. And then you definitely need a bath. It is a good thing Samidare and Satsuki didn't notice the blood on you..."
I pulled the box out of Inventory and set it on the table. Then I hurried to the bathroom. My nap hadn't been long enough, so I was still tired, injured, and looking forward to a good soak.
"I'm not strong enough yet," Inko let herself relax, the hidden worry seeping back into her face.
"But I will be."
She began repacking the kit, using Gravity Pull as much as she could.
Current Status:
Name: Izuku Midoriya
Age: 14
Level: 4
Active Title: The Gamer
Health: 92/106
Energy: 6/124
Attributes:
(S)trength: 12
(A)gility: 20
(E)ndurance: 19
(Q)uickness: 25
(W)it: 25
(I)ntuition: 24
(C)harisma: 10
(D)etermination: 19
(L)uck: 4
Unused Points:
Attribute: 20
Skill: 6
Talent: 0
Skills:
Analyze (W): 16
Dodge (A): 6
Telekinesis (I/D): 16
Strength Training (S): 6
Basic Karate (A): 14
Parkour (A/Q): 18
Physical Resistance (E/D): 9
Running (Q/E): 14
Acrobatics (A): 2
Ki Detection (D/I): 2
Ki Projection (D/W): 2
Ki Regeneration (D/E): 2
Ki Reinforcement (D): 5
Throwing (S/A): 2
Telekinetic Attack (I/A): 2
First Aid (W/A): 2
User has chosen to conceal (15) skills
Talents:
Studious
Gamer's Body
Gamer's Mind
Telekinesis, Basic
Inventory II
Reflective Dungeon
Free Runner
Ki Initiate
