Chapter 9

Izy

"That's nice of him," a green haired teen stated. The girl that was a few inches taller than him hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, it is," the light blue haired girl responded. "He got me out of trouble with my dad, which I was grateful for."

Ritsuko and Izuku were walking around when the latter had brought up the brunette he had seen the day before. She had assured Izuku that he didn't mean any harm, and she told him about a kind act the brunette had done for her in the past to hopefully convince him that Kaito was truly a kindhearted person. The boy had helped her out when they were younger. In response, he had told her about something nice that his mother had done for him when he was younger.

"Your mother is very sweet," she told Izuku. "Never let anything or anyone hurt her. Don't worry her too much either."

"I- I won't!" he assured quickly. Then he let out a short breath. The boy was really glad that Ritsuko had done what he had asked her when they were in the treehouse. She was talking more, and he likes it. He was able to learn more about her and hear more of her opinions. It was like he was able to tear down one of the many walls surrounding her, slowly breaking her from her reserved self.

"Oh, were back here," he pointed out before taking a sip of his coffee. They met at the park like always, but they went to a nearby café for some coffee. Izuku was just absent mindedly following her, and, since she was just going where her feet carried her, she had taken them back to the park. She began to walk forward, so he trailed her. They ended up walking to a play structure.

"Why don't we play a game?" Ritsuko asked. Izuku tilted his head slightly.

"What kind?"

"Maybe tag? I played it a few times with Kaito and Haze when we were kids, and I kind of miss the game," she explained. He thought for a moment. Then he nodded.

"S- sure!" He took her cup of coffee and placed both his and hers on one of the bench tables. Then he went back over to her and tapped her. "Tag, you're it."

Ritsuko saw the green haired boy run off onto the bark dust. She rushed after him to the play structure. Luckily, there were no kids, so they can push and shove all they wanted to without risking hurting someone else.

The girl climbed to the top of the structure and spotted Izuku at the top of one of the large slides. She quickly ran to the other side toward him. Her finger was about to tap his shoulder, but he let himself slide down the blue slide. Her dark grey eyes watched him reach the bottom before she went down herself. Ritsuko chased him around until she finally managed to tap his hand.

"Tag," she said, causing him to come to a stop. When he looked to her, he saw her running in another direction with a smirk on her face. He changed the way he was facing and sprinted after her. His green eyes stayed on her as he got closer. Then he remembered the deal with her right hip, and he started thinking that maybe running around like this wasn't the smartest idea. If he ran into her with too much force and momentum, it could really hurt her, especially her hip. Still, he went to tag her, but more mindful of how he approached her. When he was close enough, he was able to grasp her wrist.

"Gotcha!' he said, holding onto her. She looked to him with a smile on her face. It made him smile in return as well. Then, after realizing he was still holding her wrist, he let go and looked away to hide his face.

"What's wrong?" she inquired.

"N- nothing!" he said nervously. He shook the pink from his cheeks and turned to her. "Do you maybe want to play hide and seek? In a park like this, it would be pretty fun!"

Ritsuko stared for a moment. "Yeah, sure."

He smiled, "Alright, since it's just us though in this big park, let's stay near the playground. Let's say that the boundary is... out to that tennis court over there. You were the tagger first, so I will seek first."

"Okay. Count to a hundred," she told him. He nodded, closed his eyes, even covered his eyes with his hands to ensure he wouldn't open then, and began counting from one. When he got to a hundred, he uncovered his eyes and began searching the area. First, he started at the play structure. He didn't find her there, so he looked around in the trees near it. Still, Izuku didn't find her, so he picked up his pace a bit to cover more ground quicker.

He stopped near the tennis court they had agreed to be the boundary. Izuku's green eyes scanned the area, but she was nowhere. The boy began to walk around some more until he heard the rustling of leaves above him, causing him to look up. Something fell from the tree, and it landed right on his back. It caused the poor teen to let out a groan when he hit the dirt.

"You know, you're not exactly the greatest cushion," Ritsuko informed him.

"Why did you even do that?" Izuku inquired. Her weight lifted from his back, allowing him to sit up. When he realized she wasn't right next to him anymore, he turned his head to see where she went. His eyes landed on her sitting against a tree, so he scooted back and sat beside her.

"Can we talk about something?" she suddenly asked, a serious expression on her face.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"It's about when you got drunk after the race."

He tensed up, "Oh god, I didn't do or say anything embarrassing, right?!"

"Relax, you didn't. I don't see it that way at least," Ritsuko said in reassurance. It made him exhale in relief.

"O- okay, what happened?"

"A bit after we got to the treehouse, you began to cry," she told him. Hearing that made him want to curl into a ball. He couldn't believe that he had cried in front of her.

"I asked you why, and you told me about you being bullied, how you felt, and your parents. You keep on a happy smile just so your friends don't worry about you."

"I said that?" Izuku questioned. He didn't want to tell anyone about those things. If anyone knew, he felt that they would judge him or something of that nature.

"Yes. I also need to tell you something else that I feel you should know. It's about my father. He's..." She trailed off, debating whether or not she should actually say it. Although, Kaito told her to be honest with him, and that was what she was going to do. Even if it would effect or possible even destroy the friendship they had made.

"I know, your dad is Shigaraki Tomura," she heard Izuku say. Her head turned to him, surprise on her face.

"How did you figure out?" she asked him. There was a short pause.

"Uraraka showed me a picture. It was you, your mom, your dad, and Kaito," Izuku explained. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.

"Where did she get it?"

"I assumed that she went back to that treehouse and looked in that box of pictures you had."

Ritsuko pulled her knees to her chest. She looked a little sad as well. "He is probably your number one enemy, so, me being his daughter, I understand if you no longer want to be friends."

Izuku raised his hands and waved them, "No no, it doesn't change anything! We're still friends, him being your dad changes nothing. You're you, not anyone else."

She lowered her head slightly. The girl thought he would want to cut off all contact with her, but he did the opposite. It made her smile a little from happiness. Izuku noticed, and it made a pink hue dust his cheeks.

"You and I are a little bit alike. We make sure others are happy. You smile for your friends, and I smile for the people the villains keep."

"You mean, they have prisoners?"

"Yes. I play violin for them to keep them happy, I smile and talk to them, and I have read stories for them sometimes," Ritsuko informed him. The blue haired girl lifted her head, and her dark grey eyes met his green ones. Then she turned away.

"Hey, Izuku, why did you talk to me that night we met?"

He turned his head to see the rest of the park for a few moments. "You seemed so... sad and hopeless. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I could tell that there was more to it though, and part of what makes a hero is meddling in some things that don't involve you."

"That can get you in trouble though," she pointed out.

"That's a price for doing something to help someone else sometimes."

Ritsuko turned her head to the side a little. "By the way, I'm sorry about that night of the race. You know, for letting you drink without telling you it was alcohol. That was wrong of me, especially since I know you want to become a pro hero and all."

"Hey, don't worry about it too much! That's just between you and me anyways. The only two that know are Uraraka and Iida, but I trust they wouldn't tell anyone," the boy assured. "On the plus side, I now I'm not going to delve into alcohol so much in the future," he joked a little. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Why did you participate in that race anyway, Ritsuko?"

"Well, All Might kinda beat the one responsible for the income that the league relied on, so we needed a new way to gain money. They told me that I would do really good in racing with my bike, so they convinced me to start doing it. Basically, through those races, I'm the main source of income now," the blue haired teen explained.

Izuku laughed nervously, "I guess so."

The two sat in silence for a minute or two, simply enjoying the company of the other. Then Ritsuko finally spoke. "Would you be alright if we went to your place? I honestly don't like staying where I do, partly because of the people in the league. You're place is a lot nicer and more quiet. It's more comfortable too."

"Yeah, sure!" Izuku got to his feet, and she did the same.

The two walked side by side through the park. They stopped by the bench table and retrieved their coffees before making their way to one of the exits of the park. They were quiet for most of the way, but it was a comfortable quiet between the two. Neither of them had felt the need to speak. Once they had reached the apartment building that he and his mother lived in, the two teens climbed the stairs until they got to the right floor. When they got to the door, Izuku unlocked it and stepped into his house, Ritsuko following behind.

"Welcome back, Izuku!" Inko called out. When she came around the corner and spotted the blue haired girl, she added, "You as well, Ritsuko!"

"Good to see you again, Inko," Ritsuko said, a small smile on her face. His mother smiled as Izuku went to his room after locking the front door to go do something.

"It's good to see you too. You know, you're the first friend of his that he has brought home in a while," she informed the teen. "It makes me happy that he's finding time to bring people over; I enjoy meeting who he's been spending time with."

"Really?" she inquired.

"Yes, and I'm sure that he really cares for you. Honestly, I think you two would be cute together," she said before going back around the corner. That made the blue haired girl feel a small bit of heat rising to her cheeks. Though, she shook her head after a moment and thought of something else.

Not knowing what she should do, she decided to go to Izuku's room. Ritsuko opened the door and saw said boy. He was changing his shirt at that very moment, so she was able to see his torso. The thing that caught her attention was the scars on his right arm. She went over to him, and he started stuttering and making weird noises. The flustered boy covered his red face with his arms.

After a second, Ritsuko gently grabbed the wrist of his right arm. She slowly pulled his arm down revealing one of his closed eyes. Her free hand traced the scars on his pale skin.

Izuku opened one of his green eye and watched her finger follow the scars on his arm. Then he looked at her face, and saw that she wore a saddened expression. "What's wrong?"

She sighed, "You shouldn't have scars; you're only sixteen."

"N- no, it's fine! Not that big of a deal!"

"It's mostly your quirk. It hurts you if you over do it. I learned that from the sports festival last year. And I heard some of the people in the league mention it after that whole camping incident." Izuku thought for a moment. She let go of his wrist and went over to his bed. The girl sat down on the edge.

"It's 8:30, so I'll just stay here for the night," she declared. Then she shifted a little. "If that's okay; I don't want to force you to let me stay."

Izuku didn't even realize it was that late. "No, it's fine!" He went to his dresser and got some clothes for her to wear. It was one of his white All Might shirts and a pair of black shorts. Ritsuko got up and took them in her hands. The teen saw her leave to go to the bathroom. Izuku put on the shirt he had gotten out before she stepped in and then threw himself onto his bed.

After a few minutes, he heard the door to his room open, so he raised his head from the pillow. He saw Ritsuko standing in the doorway. She was now wearing what he had given her.

"Your mom told me to tell you that dinner is ready," she informed him. He quickly got to his feet and followed her to the kitchen table. On it was his favorite food: Katsudon.

"Awesome! You made my favorite; thanks, mom!" Izuku said happily as he sat down.

"Of course!" Inko replied with a smile. The boy was already stuffing his face with the food on his plate by the time Ritsuko sat down.

"You should eat slower; you might choke if you don't," the girl warned. It made him realize how he was eating, so he took her advice and slowed down. Admittedly, he felt embarrassed that she saw him eat like that. However, when he looked up, he saw her with a faint smile. Then he saw her take a bite of the food.

"What is this again?" she asked.

"Katsudon," Izuku answered.

"This is the first time I've had it," she admitted. That worried him. It was his favorite food, after all, but he wouldn't let it get to him if she didn't end up liking it.

"Isn't this your favorite, Izuku?" she questioned.

"Yeah, but its okay if you don't like it," he assured her.

The girl took another bite. "You have good taste. It's not my absolute favorite, but it's pretty good."

He sighed with relief before taking another bite of his own. It didn't take too long for them all to finish. When they were, Izuku volunteered to take all the plates and clean them before heading back to his room. Once arriving there, he saw that Ritsuko was laying down comfortably in his bed. Her dark eyes were closed, and her head was resting on his soft pillow. She looked really peaceful, and she seemed at ease at that very moment. Although, Ritsuko's grey eyes suddenly widened as if she remembered something. Ritsuko got up and went to the clothes she had been wearing before. From the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a phone. Then she stepped over to Izuku and handed it to him after she unlocked it and pulled up the contacts apps.

"Can you put your phone number in this?" she asked. Hesitantly, he took the touch device and did just that. When he gave it back, she looked at the screen. "Do you mind if I change your contact to something else?"

"Go ahead. Just nothing weird please..."

"Don't worry, I'm just simply changing it to 'Izy'," she informed him. Then she looked to him, furrowing her eyebrows slightly for a second. "Is it okay with you if I call you that as a nickname?"

Admittedly, he kind of liked it, partly because it was a new nickname. "Yeah, sure; that's fine!"

A faint smile appeared on her lips, "Cool. It's 9:30 now, so why don't we go to bed? You have to go to UA tomorrow anyways, so it would be smart for you to get some sleep. From what I know, it's a difficult school."

"It sure is. Sometimes the tests are really hard, especially the physical ones," he explained. Izuku went to his closet, got a few blankets, and then set up a place on the floor. "You can have the bed; I don't mind taking the floor."

The girl nodded and snuggled herself in his bed as he got in the makeshift one. From walking and playing a few games earlier in the day, he was able to get to sleep pretty quickly. However, just before he did, he heard a quiet whisper from Ritsuko.

"Goodnight, Izy."

Word Count: 3031

*Momentarily rises from the grave to finally post the next goddamn chapter*

First post of the decade!

I know, it's been forever, but I am finally back for the most part. The timing is honestly really weird because I have finals for my semester in the next week or two, but you know, whatever.

As far as I know right now, I should be able to post the chapters for this story more consistently, so that's a plus! The next chapter should be out fairly soon too.

~ Posted January 19, 2020