Chapter 3

Biker Girl

It was Wednesday, and he was almost done with school. What they were required to do was practice with their quirks. He had the 'luck' of being against Katsuki.

"Shitty Deku!" he yelled. He jumped to him to use his quirk on him. Out of instinct to defend himself, he took his chance and hit Katsuki in the gut, using his own quirk. He was much better with One For All now that he's had it for a little over a year, but there were still time when he over did it a little bit.

The spiky blonde was knocked back, and a sharp pain spread through Izuku's right hand. He didn't let it distract him too much as Katsuki kicked him in the chest. He was about to use his quirk on his face, but Aizawa quickly stopped him with his quirk.

"That's enough. Bakugo wins."

Izuku got to his feet and shook his right hand. He had already damaged it enough, plus there were the scars on his arm. His hand wasn't broken, but it still hurt a lot. He guessed that it was either a major sprain or a minor fracture.

He heard the bell go off for the end of school.

"Come on, we're still outside!" he heard Kaminari whine. Izuku still needed to change before he even left the school. He ignored the pain in his hand and did just that. It took him only a minute to get back into his school uniform while in the changing room. Then he rushed to the front of the school.

Izuku only had so much time until he had to be back at the park. Unfortunately, he had another set back. The route he used to get home was being worked on today, so he had to take a longer route. Once he did get home, he changed into the same black hoodie as last time, dark blue jeans, and his red boots. He said a 'goodbye' to his mom just before leaving. When he was close to the park, he checked his phone. It read 4:33.

'Oh no, I'm late!' Izuku thought frantically. He turned his fast walk into a run. About a minute later, he spotted Ritsuko's light blue hair. She was at the same bench as yesterday.

"Sorry I'm late!" he called before reaching her. She was wearing a white, long sleeve shirt, black tights, and white boots that had short fur on them. They reached halfway to her knees. He saw that she had the same heart necklace as before.

'It seems like she never takes it off,' he noted in thought.

Her dark grey eyes scanned his attire. She saw that he was panting. Ritsuko had to take a second look at him when she noticed his right hand was a bit purple and swollen.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked him. He stood up straighter and finally got decent breaths in his lungs.

"O- oh, I used my quirk a little past my limit, so I kinda hurt it," he told her. A sheepish smile appeared on his lips when he added, "I- it's not a big deal though! It will heal."

"Sit," she commanded, tapping the spot on the bench beside her with only her index finger. He sat down, and then he felt her hand lift his. A blush crossed his face as she touched his hand, making him wince. Like almost everything before, her index fingers were never placed on his skin.

"Minor fracture," she suddenly said. He sighed at hearing that one of his guesses were right. Then she stood up.

"Come," Ritsuko ordered. When he registered what she said, he got up and followed her. They ended up outside of a store not too far away. "Wait here."

Izuku waited just outside like she wanted. After a couple of minutes, she returned with a box. He followed her to a bench that was against the building. She opened the box and took out a roll of bandages. Then she roughly grabbed his right hand, causing a yelp to escape him. It made him go red in embarrassment, but it got worse the more she fiddled with his injured hand. He watched her wrap the white bandages around his hand, and she stopped when she got to his wrist. There wasn't much left, so she decided to continue and wrap part of his forearm. When she was done she looked at the passing cars.

"Th- thanks," he stuttered. She nodded after a moment.

"Where to?"

"O- oh, uh, d- do you have anywhere in mind?" Ritsuko shook her head. "Okay. Th- there's an arcade nearby if you want to go."

She quickly got to her feet, and so did Izuku. He took her to the place he was talking about. The inside of the place was a bit dim, but the lights of the machines were plenty to light their way around the building.

They tried a few simple games at first, but he noticed that a first person shooter one caught Ritsuko's eye. He went over to it, and she followed. It was a partner game, so they both picked up the plastic pistols the machine provided. Izuku inserted some money for it to start up. It didn't take long at all for them to start shooting, but he quickly noticed that she was a much better shot than him. Not only that, but she was showing off a more psychotic side he didn't think she had. They defeated the boss at the end and won the game.

"Get fucked!" Ritsuko said a bit loudly after seeing the winning screen. Her sudden vulgar word startled him. There's was something different about her voice, and the smirk she wore made him feel a bit scared of her.

"W- why d- don't we try a- another game?" he suggested nervously. She nodded, her murderous attitude vanishing and being replaced with her stoic one again. Then someone approached them. It was a tall male with black hair.

"Hey, me and my friend watched you two on that shooting game. Why don't you guys try to beat us in a racing one?" Izuku glanced over to Ritsuko and saw her staring at the teen boy in front of them.

"Yes," she declared for him. It made him become nervous. Still, they followed him to the machine he was talking about. It was a motorbike game that was designed for partners on each bike.

"Since we challenged you two, we'll pay for you," said the black haired male's friend. He had blonde hair.

"I will drive," Ritsuko told Izuku. He saw her get on the bike as one of the other boys placed money in for them.

Hesitantly, Izuku got on the back of the bike. He felt her tense up, and his cheeks headed up. Although, she relaxed after a few seconds. The other two boys were on the other bike, fighting over which track they wanted.

"This one," Ritsuko said, getting them to look at the screen. She picked one with both small and sharp turns. They agreed.

"Have you guys played this before?" the blonde asked.

"No," both Izuku and Ritsuko answered.

"The jist is that the driver obviously drives, and the passenger is responsible for using the items that get picked up. Of course, you and your partner want to win first place," the black haired boy explained.

It took only a few moments for the game to start. Izuku kept his eyes on the screen to focus, as did the other three. He noticed that she let the boys take the lead which confused him. After a few seconds, she ran into a box that gave them an item. It was something to throw at the others. He looked over Ritsuko's shoulder to see the buttons available to him. His finger pressed a forward arrow, and then one pressed a red square. The item was thrown forward, colliding with the ingame bike in front of them.

"I knew I should have been the one driving!" the blonde yelled the boy.

"Whatever, man!" responded the black haired one.

Izuku attention was focused back on the game when Ritsuko caused the bike to lean to the side. He held on to the back of the fake bike so he wouldn't fall off. The leans continued unil the two boys actually caught up to them. The green haired teen was about to throw the item they had back at them, but Ritsuko stopped him by tapping his hand. Instead, he saw her slip a pen into her hand that was hidden beneath her left sleeve. She quickly tossed the pen at the black haired male, making him get distracted and nearly crash into a wall in the game.

"Hey, what the hell?!" he shouted.

"I guess we're playing dirty then!" the blonde yelled with irritation. He got out a little piece of gum that was still in its wrapper and threw it them. It hit Izuku right in the eye, and he leaned a little to the side. This made Ritsuko lean with him, but she quickly recovered.

"Doesn't matter," she told them. "We win." Izuku looked at the screen to see them pass the finish line. He hadn't even realized that they were on the third and final lap.

"That was cheap!" the blonde said. She turned her head to them. He barely saw the devilish grin she gave them.

"Too bad," she shrugged. After the two boys got off of their bike, she did the same. Izuku got to his feet once her feet were on the ground.

"Question: Are you two dating or something?" asked the black haired one. Izuku nearly choked on his own spit, a crimson blush getting to his cheeks.

"N- no, we're not!"

"Damn, you two would be a cute couple though!" a girl told them as she approached. She walked over to the two boys. "Jeez, I left you two for like, five minutes and you go back to this game. I swear, you're addicted to this one."

"Right, sorry," they said in unison. The light brown haired girl turned to them.

"Sorry if they caused you any trouble."

Izuku raised his hands and waved them, "N- no, I- it's fine!" The girl smiled and dragged the two boys to another section of the arcade. He looked to the light blue haired girl standing beside him and saw her dark grey eyes gazing at him.

"Ridden a real motorcycle?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"N- no. I don't k- know anyone that drives one."

"Do you want to?"

"Y- yeah, it would be cool! It would be really fun driving around the city with one. Feeling the wind as you go would be pretty nice too! You can-" Izuku was cut off when Ritsuko gently flicked his nose. He didn't mean to go into his mumbling habit. The hero in training tried to break it last year, but it was something that just couldn't happen. Although, he is more conscious of it now. At least, he tried his best to be.

The taller girl motioned for him to follow, and she walked towards the exit. Quickly, he trailed after her. They stopped just outside ofthe arcade.

"Stay. I will be back in a few minutes," she told him. He was about to protest, but she was already quite a few steps away. Izuku waited there for about fifteen minutes before he saw a motorcycle stop in front of him. The driver removed their helmet, and it took a moment for him to register that it was Ritsuko. She was atop a nice looking, clean, black motorcycle with a few white highlights. She was wearing a simple white helmet. Ritsuko tapped the small space behind her, signalling for him to sit. He walked over to the bike and hesitantly sat down. She tensed like last time, but relaxed quicker than before. Izuku was handed a spare helmet that was like hers, except it was black. He put it on his head as she began to drive.

There weren't many cars on the streets she chose, so they were able to drive pretty fast. They went through the intersections, just going around town for a while. At one point, Ritsuko took her helmet off and placed it in front of her to let her hair move around more. Izuku sometimes had to move her light blue strands of hair out of his way so he could see.

With a boost of confidence, he daringly removed his helmet as well. He felt the wind run though his wild, forest green hair. It put a huge smile on his face as he began to laugh.

"This feels amazing!" he shouted to her over the wind. Izuku saw her turn to see him. On her face, he saw the faintest smile. He blushed a faint pink. It was the first genuine smile he had seen her make since meeting her.

"This is one of the only things that make me really happy," he heard her say. She pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. Her foot pushed down the rest so she wouldn't need to hold the bike up herself. The place they were at now was empty; no one else was there.

"W- what else makes you happy?" Izuku inquired her. He felt her very lightly lean into his chest. His breathing hitched for a moment, a blush returning to cheeks.

"Music," she answered, feeling him take his breaths.

Ritsuko was only comfortable with letting two people lay their hands on her. Her father and her close friend. Her mother would have been included. However, she wasn't around anymore, so she didn't count her. Now though, it was increased to three. She was alright with Izuku's touch since she trusted him, but she still needed time before she eased into it.

Izuku looked at his phone, and his eyes widened. It was 10:48. He knew it was late, but he didn't think it was that late. "I- I have to go! I- it's a lot later than I thought."

"Okay," she said as he climbed off the bike. He handed her the helmet she let him use.

"W- we can meet again at the same place and time if you want," he suggested.

"Okay," she repeated. A smile went onto his face.

"Oh, and thanks for the bike ride," he told her with a small smile. She nodded, and he turned around. As soon as he rounded the corner he stopped. There was a voice. Curiosity got the best of him, so he stayed put and listened.

"Ritsuko!" someone said. Izuku peeked around the building, making sure that he wasn't seen. He saw a girl with long purple hair beside her. "Who was that boy?"

"No one."

"Aw, but he's so cute! If you don't take him soon, I'm gonna have too!"

"Whatever."

The new girl sighed, "Well, are you still coming to that race, or did you change your mind?"

"Where and when is it again?"

"It's at that area where there was that huge firework display last year in the forest! It's this Saturday at midnight!" she said excitedly. Izuku had a guess of where the girl was talking about. It was a big deal when it happened, so he remembered the general area of the event. If he looked at a map he would be able to find it.

"Yes," Ritsuko answered, "I'm still going."

"Awesome! Oh, and Haze told me he needed to talk to you. Anyways, gotta go. Cya then, Ritsuko!" With that, the girl dipped into the alleyway behind her.

Izuku saw that the light blue haired girl was uneasy. He had a feeling it was related to this 'Haze' guy that was mentioned. Either way, he resumed walking to his house. He couldn't help but get this weird, worried feeling tingle in him.

About ten minutes pass, and he realized just how far he was from his house. He wished that he asked her to drive him closer to his house. It would take about another thirty minutes to get home, which would make his return time around 11:40. His mother was probably already worried. He took out his phone to let her know he would be back at around then to lessen her worry. Just as he tapped on her profile to call her his cellphone died.

Just his luck.

"What?! No!" he shouted. Izuku pressed the power button a few times in the hopes that it would turn on, but it was in vein. With a defeated sigh, he put his phone away and picked up his pace.

Another three minutes or so pass, and he hears the engine of a motorcycle approach him from behind. He turned and saw the headlight of the bike, blinding him for a few moments. Izuku blinked the dark spots from his eyes and saw Ritsuko parked in the street, her dark grey eyes staring at him.

"I'm taking you home," she declared. Ritsuko didn't want to go back yet. She didn't want to see Haze yet. By taking him home, she could delay it for a bit.

"N- no, you don't have to!"

"I insist!" she said loudly. He heard the smallest hint of fear in her voice. Then he thought about how his mom would be extremely worried if he didn't get back as soon as possible. He gave in.

"Alright, I'll tell you where to go." Izuku saw her tense shoulders relax. He walked over to her and got on the back of the bike, ignoring the heat in his cheeks. She went down the streets he told her, and they got to his house in no time. He looked in the window and saw a light was on, meaning that his mom was probably still up.

He got off of the bike and paused for a second. Then he turned to her and said, "Th- thank you, Ritsuko! This helped me out a lot!" He began walking to his place.

"Izuku," she suddenly breathed. It made him stop and spin around. That was the first time she had actually said his name. He had honestly started to think earlier that she had forgotten his name.

"Yeah?"

"May I stay tonight?" Izuku thought he didn't hear her right for a second. When it fully registered in his head, he went completely red.

"A- are you sure? I mean, wh- what about your parents?"

"They won't care."

Izuku looked down at his feet. He was absolutely nervous to let her, but she had sounded a bit desperate when she asked. With his crimson face he finally said, "I- I guess, y- yeah."

"Thank you." Now that she said that, there was no way he could back out of this.

He saw the girl walk her motorcycle closer to the sidewalk before he walked her to the apartment he and his mother shared. He took in a deep breath, put the key in the knob, heavily and nervously exhaled, and then opened the door. Slowly, he motioned her into the room. Izuku looked around and didn't see his mom. Yet.

"Nice place," she whispered. He was glad that she was quiet. However, just then, his mom walked into the room. Her eyes widened as she ran towards him.

"Izu, you're back! I was so worried about you!" she said as she embraced him into a tight hug. He could have sworn that she would actually squeeze the life out of him one day.

"Oh, you had a cute girlfriend and never told me?!" she asked when she saw Ritsuko after letting go.

"Sh- she's not my g- girlfriend, mom!"

"Oh, of course not~!" she sang.

"You must be Ms Midoryia," Ritsuko voiced.

"Please, call me Inko!"

"Alright. I'm Ritsuko. I'm staying here."

Izuku felt heat in his cheeks and put a hand on his face. 'She's so blunt!'

"I'll go get you something to drink then!" his mom said.

"Tea?"

"Yes, I'll make some tea for all of us!"

"Mine hot please," Ritsuko requested. Inko nodded as she went to the kitchen.

"I- I'll, uh, g- get you s- something to change into," Izuku stuttered. He headed to his room to find something for her. His room was still full of All Might stuff even well into his second year. Although, he had gotten rid of a few of those things. A few.

Izuku went to his dresser and looked around for something she could wear. Ritsuko was a few inches taller than him, plus she had a decent chest, so whatever he got her would be tight on her. He managed to find the biggest shirt he had, which was a blank, light grey shirt with short sleeves. He also got a pair of red shorts for her to wear.

"Fanboy," Ritsuko blurted, startling him into a near heart attack. He didn't even know that she had followed him.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry."

He sighed and handed her the clothes. "H- here, y- you can ch- change into these."

She nodded, and he showed her where the bathroom was. Ritsuko went inside to get herself in the clothes he provided. When she came out Inko told them that the tea was finished. Her feet quickly brought her to the kitchen.

"Thank you," she voiced as she lifted her cup of tea.

"Of course! Anything for a friend of my little Izuku."

"Hey, mom," Izuku said as he turned the corner, "I'm going to get a spot ready for her to get to sleep."

"Why not let her sleep in your room?" his mom suggested, making a shade of pink light his face.

"I don't mind; as long as I get to sleep," Ritsuko stated. Izuku opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it and walked away.

"Oh dear. We broke him," Inko said. Ritsuko picked up the cup of tea he was suppose to get.

"I'll take this to him."

"Goodnight, Ritsuko!"

The grey eyed girl made her way to his room. Once she got there she saw a few blankets and a pillow on the floor. She placed his tea on his desk while taking a sip of her own.

"You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the floor," Izuku informed her.

"Alright," Ritsuko replied quickly. She placed her cup on the desk having just finished it. Then she went over to his bed and layed down, wrapping the blankets around her. The boy went over go his desk and picked up a notebook. He shoved the book into his school bag and then zipped it up. When he stood back up he turned to her.

"Do you need anything before you-" He stopped talking when he realized that she was already asleep. A small smile appeared on his features.

Izuku glanced down to the hand that she had bandaged for him earlier in the day. When he went to school the next day he would ask Recovery Girl to help him.

The aspiring hero turned the lamp on his desk off and layed down in his makeshift bed. He could hear soft, quiet snores coming Ritsuko, but it didn't bother him at all. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep either.

Word Count: 3914

~ Posted September 20, 2018