AN: YO WHAT IS UP ZACCYBOI IS BACK AT IT WITH ANOTHER RARE PAIR!
THIS TIME, IT'S THE GHOST GIRL OF 1-B, ALSO KNOWN AS EMILY, YANAGI REIKO!
Breathing deeply, a girl with short gray hair that covered her right eye wrote her name on a blackboard with a passive expression on her face.
This girl was Yanagi Reiko, a 9th-grade transferee and today was her first day in Aldera Junior High.
"Greetings, my name is Yanagi Reiko. I have expectations that you all with treat me fairly during my accommodation at this facility of education." She then bowed.
The class returned her greeting with weird stares.
"Ehm… great. Thanks for that, Yanagi-san." Their teacher then turned to address the whole class. "As of today on, she will be part of this class. We may only have a year to go before you all move on to High School, but until then, treat her well."
The whole class reluctantly nodded. "Great, now Yanagi-san your seat will be… there!" He pointed over to an empty seat behind a green-haired boy.
A student raised their hand. "Sensei?"
"Yes?"
"Someone already sits there, he's just playing hooky."
Their teacher gave him a stern glare. "Which means he's not here. And I keep telling you all to inform me about your absences before classes start. The least you all could do is email me." He sighed.
"Go on, Yanagi-san. Please head over behind Midoriya."
The girl nodded.
Once again, the students and the teacher alike were very confused at what seemed to be her usual posture.
Not that there was anything wrong with it, except for the fact that her hands were draped down held up as high as her elbows.
It reminded them of a ghost, and it sort of creeped them out. The bags under her eyes didn't help either.
She made her way to her designated seat, however, she stopped on a chair just before her own, in front of a green-haired boy focused on something in his notebook.
"Salutations." She greeted. "My name is Yanagi-"
"Y-Yanagi Reiko-san, right?" he looked at her and shyly smiled. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, p-pleased to meet you."
"It is certainly delightful."
He felt his cheeks grow warm. Did she mean that?
"Y-Yeah, sure it i-is."
"Oh hey, Midoriya, how about you take Yanagi-san around campus during lunch. How's that sound?"
Midoriya conflictingly nodded. "I-I guess I don't see why not."
The girl let out a pleased hum. "That would be most beneficial, not to mention I do so would like to see what the school has to offer as well as the city. I moved in quite recently, you see."
The boy flushed. Did s-she mean to have him w-w-walk her around? J-J-Just the two of them?
He was reluctant, but then again he figured no one else would do the job. He couldn't say no.
"A-Again, I don't see w-why not." He said. "N-N-Now if you don't mind, maybe sit down so sensei can start with his lesson?"
"That is agreeable." she nodded and sat down.
And the teacher then began his lesson.
In a certain boy's mind…
'I talked to a girl!'
"May I, in the most polite way possible, ask, what on Earth is occurring here?"
As she and Midoriya had gone through campus, the boy had somehow been able to properly inform her about the many amenities and common happenings at the school.
He told her about the courtyard, the field and what they do with it, along with schedules of classes and what to expect.
But now, in Aldera Junior High's cafeteria, it was a sight so strange, it made her eyes widen upon seeing it.
Countless students were forming a crowd as several of them tried to sneak their way past the counter.
"This is, well…" Midoriya sighed before continuing to explain what was happening. "Yakisoba Bread is really popular here. It's become so popular that the school only sells them on Wednesday… and since today is Wednesday, w-w-well, you get my point."
She seemed to get it. "I see. Then Yakisoba Bread is a luxury worth this many people I presume?"
He nodded.
"I should try my hand at acquiring these snacks." She nodded to herself.
The boy's eyes widened. "Y-Y-You can't be serious!" He balked at Yanagi's statement before he began muttering. "I-I-I understand that you're new here a-and all but you underestimate the type of chaos that comes with trying to get yakisoba bread. I've been in this school for a while now and never in my years have I managed to grab a yakisoba pan-"
"Midoriya-san."
"The risks far outweigh the return-"
"Midoriya-san."
"A-Although I never tried, doesn't mean I don't want one, but it's too dangerou-"
He snapped out of his muttering, as an object wrapped in plastic floated right by his chest.
Yakisoba Bread?!
He caught the bread as it began to fall. He put his head up to look at the girl from before.
Only this time, said girl had another yakisoba bread in her hand.
His eyes widened.
"H-How did- What did you- Ho- Ha- Wha- Did- H-H-How?!"
She shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't have the slightest possible opinion as to how I managed to secure one. All I did was walk forward and seconds later I reached the counter, asked for Yakisoba Bread, and here it is."
The boy just had his jaw open.
"Well, now that I've acquired food, I believe we can eat at one of the tables if I'm to be correct?"
At this, Midoriya looked down.
"W-Well, the tables are over there as you can see." He said, "Feel free to sit anywhere."
She raised an eyebrow. "You won't be joining me to partake in a meal?"
"I-I-It's… I just don't eat in the cafeteria. That's all." He smiled. "I don't h-have any problem with you. I-I-I think you're quite n-n-n-nice."
She suddenly lit up. "Show me where you eat then."
"E-Excuse me?"
"You stated that you don't eat in the cafeteria. That tells me that you still eat somewhere." She told him. "I'd like it if you took me to wherever you'd be eating."
"B-B-But you have tables here and everything. Where I eat, I just place my bento on my lap."
"That is fine with me as well."
"H-Hang on- B-B-But- Ah fine." he said as he made his way to a nearby staircase. "B-B-But don't say I didn't warn you."
"Noted. However, I would like you to move with haste. I am famished."
Midoriya sighed.
He couldn't understand half the words she said sometimes.
Thank goodness for context clues.
The pair were now on a rooftop. Sitting together on a bench nearby a couple of plants here and there, it made for quite the peaceful scene.
Yanagi took a bite out of the bread, chewing it before swallowing the piece and letting a brief smile show on her face before it faded away.
"I can definitely see why Yakisoba Bread happens to be popular. The taste and textures just absolutely envelop the taste buds." She said as she took another bite and hummed.
Midoriya couldn't help but nod his head. He took another bite of the same sandwich.
"Y-Yeah, this is actually the first time I've ever eaten it."
"Do you jest?"
Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "If you mean am I joking, then no, I'm not." He replied before taking his last bite.
Then the boy took a box covered in green cloth, untying the knot to reveal a bento box.
Yanagi did the same, except hers was wrapped in a purple cloth.
Once Midoriya opened his bento, the girl beside him smiled, then faded like it did before
Was that…?
"Katsudon?"
Midoriya blushed in embarrassment before he nodded. "Y-Yeah, I mean it's my favorite a-and my mom loves cooking it."
She nodded. "I don't see anything wrong with that. I myself have rolled eggs, ghost hotdogs, rice, and some vegetables on mine."
He raised an eyebrow. "Ghost hotdogs?"
"Yes, although I have no knowledge of how my mother prepares them. I just like them better. Unfortunately, I am partial to them and thus will not give or exchange them with anyone else other than my targeted significant other."
The boy understood only the first half of the sentence. The second half he didn't listen to. He got all the information he didn't anyway.
She liked the… ghost... hotdogs, and wouldn't be giving any, that's all. He thought.
"Itadakimasu~"
Both clasped their hands together.
And so the two of them ate their food at the rooftop. With the nice breeze, shade, and general atmosphere, it made for a peaceful moment.
Not soon after, the two finished their meals and went packing. Knowing they still had time before class, they didn't rush since they had no need to.
"Oh, that reminds me. Do you always partake of food at this venue?"
He nodded. "Y-Yeah, more often than not. The rooftop's always open and people rarely go up here."
"I see." She said, "You have company whenever you proceed to the rooftop?"
He paused before he tied the knot of his bento's cloth and looked at her with a somber expression.
"Y-You see, I-I'm… not the most interesting person."
She only shook her head. "On the contrary, actually. Mmy transfer to this place of education has been nothing but delightful since you've kept me company."
The boy chuckled and smiled at her.
Yanagi's eyes widened.
Contrary to his facial expression, she saw the boy's eyes.
They say the eyes are the window to the soul. If so, then why?
Why had the boy in front of her held so much sorrow?
"That makes me happy, Yanagi-san. Really." He swayed around the girl and went down the stairs before he called out once more.
"Come on, before anyone catches you."
She broke out of her stupor, took her bento, and followed suit.
"Right."
And so the bell rang, signaling the end of class for the day.
And as Midoriya was packing his books, Yanagi was already standing to the side of his chair.
"I remember Sensei stated that you are to guide me through the routes and pathways of the district as well." She said in a slightly chipper tone.
With his head down, the girl didn't notice but he raised an eyebrow.
She sounds kind of… happy, excited, even.
"Y-Yeah, sure. Not a problem." He said, "Just let me grab my bag and we'll be off."
She nodded. "Agreed."
The boy stood up and grabbed his bag before heading out of the classroom with Yanagi following from behind.
Walking down the road, the pair held an awkward atmosphere as they kept silent during their trip.
Yanagi didn't look like it was bothering her.
But, Midoriya wasn't fine with this.
"S-S-So- Uhm, w-what do you think of Alder-"
Time seemed to stop for him as a ball was heading for his face. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain-
There wasn't?
Opening his eyes, he saw the same ball. But this time, it stayed still.
It was floating in the air.
Then, a boy hurriedly came up to them and bowed.
"Sorry about that mister! I hit the ball too far."
Still shaken up, he spoke. "I-It's fine. Just make sure to take care."
"Here is your ball, young adolescent." Midoriya looked at her to see her levitating the ball into the boy's hands. "Do make sure to be cautious of what the ball's trajectory will become once thrown."
The boy smiled. "I ain't got no idea what you're saying lady but thanks!"
She nodded as she watched the boy go back to his friends.
The girl turned to look at Midoriya. "You were askin-"
"What was that!?"
"What is… pardon?"
He pointed towards her, then the boy, then her again, and to the boy again. "T-T-The ball."
"Oh, you must mean my quirk."
Midoriya rummaged through his bag, only to close it and sighed. "I can't believe I left my notebook at home."
She raised an eyebrow. "Notebook?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "I have this notebook that I use to take down notes on people's quirks, and I left it at home."
She then started walking, and he followed. "Am I right to assume you wish to gain knowledge on my quirk?"
"W-W-Well, y-yeah. If you don't mind."
Without his notebook, Midoriya made sure to keep an ear out.
"I don't mind. However, I've been told that my explanations take a while.."
He shook his head. "It's not a problem. The longer it takes to explain, the more stuff I can put in my notebook."
She nodded. "I see. Very well then."
"What my quirk does is technically telekinesis. However, I do not refer to it as such. I call my quirk, Poltergeist. I can move objects of a certain distance and…"
It was going to be a long walk home.
15 minutes later...
"-And as of now, my limit is 40 pounds. Going over 40 pounds and under 50 requires strenuous work, but it's manageable. However, anything above that is out of reach for me."
She then paused and turned to her right. "Oh, it appears we're in front of my abode." She then looked back, expecting to see a tired expression and slumped posture.
But what she received in return was a smile.
"Alright then, mine's still a ways up." He began walking, then he paused when he was right next to her.
"E-Eh, I know transferring is tough and all. B-But I do hope you learn to like where you are now." He smiled waving her goodbye as he walked away.
Yanagi could only follow his silhouette and wave back.
As she watched him, she wondered.
'What would happen tomorrow?
Yanagi groaned as she packed her bag.
The day was brutal. It was lectures for the whole day, and what's worse is she wanted to have lunch again with Midoriya, but he was already gone.
Almost as if he'd been avoiding her for some reason.
She shook her head. She didn't have any reason to think that. Plus, they had gone off on such good terms yesterday.
Regardless, it was now the end of classes and a good time to offer the boy some company walking home.
However, as she put her things back into her bag, she had a thought.
Every class or school had several classes.
That is what Yanagi Reiko always knew.
As far as she knew, there were 13 types.
An overachiever, the teacher's pet, the hard worker, the star, that one student no one knows is smart, the comedian, the idiot, the nerd, the artist, the drama queen or king, the bully, the natural leader, and lastly, the sloth or slacker.
She didn't have enough information to single out what type Midoriya was, but…
"Whoa, Katsuki! You've pinned down what your quirk is!"
"Heh, you should've expected as much. That's why I wasn't here yesterday."
"Come on man, spill the deets!"
"I excrete sweat similar to nitroglycerin from my palms and can ignite it at will to create explosions."
"Nitrogl-what?"
"Don't mind it, you damn extra."
"Regardless, man that's so cool! It's definitely going to be a strong quirk!."
"It's already strong, dumbass!"
Did she say 13?
No, she meant to say 14.
She forgot to mention the sycophants or to put it simply, the suck-ups.
Then her eyes looked up to see Midoriya grabbing something from his bag and writing on it. As he was writing, he suddenly stood up, crumpled a piece of paper and threw it to the trash bin behind the room.
"Oh? You still writing down about heroes and stuff, Deku?"
"K-K-Kacchan! Y-Yeah I am. There's nothing wrong with t-that, right? I write about everyone."
Deku? Wasn't his name Midoriya Izuku?
"Everyone huh, then does that include them? Me?"
"Y-Yeah, of course, it doe-"
"Then quit it, nerd! When I find that notebook, I'm going to blow it up and throw it down the pond!"
Instinctively, Yanagi took the notebook on her classmate's desk and kept it safe in hers.
She wanted to look back but…
The other girls nearby knew what she was doing, one had called out to her.
"Don't."
A girl called out and shook her head.
Not knowing what was going on, she did as she was told. But that didn't stop her from pretending that she was doing something and listening.
"B-But I need it! Especially if I'm going to be a hero I need to learn about quir-"
The next thing she knew, her hair was briefly and lightly swayed by the wind to the side, and then she heard a loud noise coming from the window.
Judging from how her other classmates had abruptly stood up, without looking she knew what had transpired.
The bully had used his quirk to zip right to Midoriya who the bully now had held the window with both hands on his collar.
"Oiy Bakugo, that's enough!"
"Leave him be!"
"Shut up!" Bakugo exclaimed. "Listen to me, you will never become a hero Deku. You know why?"
"I-I-I can become a her-"
"Because you don't have a quirk Deku!"
The silver-haired girl's eyes widened.
"Let me tell you something. The only one that's going to U.A from this generic school is me!" H e said, "People like you should learn their place and stop aiming for what they can't become! They'll just hurt themselves with the truth later on."
The girl gritted her teeth.
She had enough.
The girl narrowed her eyes and focused on using her quirk to move the bastard off of Midoriya.
But she had never used her quirk on a person before.
Instead of moving the bully, she used her quirk on Midoriya.
It made her frantic.
And in her panic, instead of moving him inside, her loss of control caused him to move the slightest bit outside the window.
But in his position, the sudden force of movement sent Bakugo off-balance that caused him to let go of Midoriya's collar.
And it also caused Midoriya to lose his balance, being on the brink of falling from the window.
Yanagi snapped her head to the boy on the window. An expression of anxiety and worry present on her face.
'Quick! Use your quirk!'
'But what if I make him fall even more?'
'What if he falls if I don't do anything?'
'What if he falls if I do something?'
These thoughts plagued her mind, rendering her unable to move.
"Oh shit Midoriya!"
"Hang on!"
Luckily, some of his good classmates came and pulled him out.
"Man, what was that?!"
"I-I-I don't know."
"Bakugo! You went too far this time. What if he went out the window?!"
Yanagi grimaced.
This time…
Which meant that this was a regular occurrence.
Her head turned to the door to see the same bully out the door, walking out with a smirk on his face.
Of course, he had to say his last words.
"Hell if I care. I could be doing him a service, you know? If he dies, he might be born with a quirk in his next life."
Then he walked out the door, and his clique trailed behind him.
The rest sighed.
"How long will you put up with this, Midoriya?"
"I-I-It's just how he is."
"Whatever you say."
As Midoriya was talking to a classmate, a female walked over to her desk.
"Hey Yanagi-san, was it? Sorry you had to see that but Bakugo gets really pissy with Midoriya every time they speak to each other." she said, "Look, I know you and Midoriya are acquainted with each other and I know you tried to help, but listen to me when I say this."
The girl went close to her ear.
"It'd be best not to get yourself involved with them. You might end up as a target just like Midoriya." She sighed "I'm not saying don't do anything, just don't interfere more than you need to, or worse, while it's happening. Who knows what'll happen? He's really good with his quirk, and he's got enough influence in the classroom as is."
She then waved her goodbye as the rest of the class exited the room, except for those who had cleaning duties like Midoriya.
And so with gritted teeth, clenched fists, and barely restrained frustration and anger, she walked out the door. Walking faster than anyone else just to get out of the school premises.
Needless to say, she was pissed.
With the bully, or herself you ask?
She honestly didn't know, maybe it was both.
Walking up to her room, she tossed her bag into the bed, causing its contents to spill out.
She slumped to her computer and sat with her arms around her legs.
She booted up the computer. Using her quirk, she levitated the content of her bag around her.
It was a hobby and stress-reliever for her, internet surfing.
But even then...
'I-I can't… I can't even…"
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Eyes following every single item that orbited around here, even the noteboo-
'A notebook?'
She kept the others moving while the sole notebook came to her and landed on her head.
She grabbed the notebook and looked at its title.
Hero Analysis For The Future
Then she remembered.
This was Midoriya's notebook!
Without thinking, she turned pages and came across a familiar section.
And in it was a sketch of herself, levitating the same ball from yesterday.
It even had her posing the very same way!
Such detail.
Her facial expression was on point, her posture was a given, her hands and body structure too.
Just how long did he need to look at her to get this detailed!?
Then she came across another section.
Name: Yanagi Reiko
Quirk: Poltergeist
Description: Can telekinetically control any object within a 2-meter radius. Can also control multiple objects, granted weight limit of all objects does not grow past the 50-pound weight limit.
Known Limitations:
Current weight limit is 50 pounds.
Objects must be within a 2-meter radius.
Possible Limitations:
All objects follow a pattern to avoid mental strain.
Bigger objects need more focus.
Possibilities:
Current weight limit could be improved.
Current distance of controllable objects could be improved.
The movement of a living being.
Usage of quirk to oneself.
Creation of offensive and defensive equipment.
As she read, her eyes widened at the information.
Half of it she didn't even think of until now!
Although one particular line struck out for her.
Improvement
Levitation
Levitating oneself
'If I was just a bit stronger, then maybe…'
She closed the notebook, let it float alongside the other items, and made them all land next to each other down on the bed.
She typed on the keyboard without having to look at it.
Forums to get quirk advice
And then she pressed search.
It was interesting how you could find all kinds of stuff on the internet. Good or bad. But she had considered herself to be experienced enough to know which was which.
All sorts of results came up.
Ways to improve your quirk
.com
Tired of being too weak? Maybe you can consider buying our new product, the Enhancer deluxe...
Better get swole!
.com
Join our gym now! My name is Machio Naruzo and I'll be your guide on this quirk, physical and mental journey...
Quirks are badass, but they can get better!
.com
In the majorly hero and quirk driven society, what does it take to get to the top? Visit this article now and fund my website for more…
She sighed.
Nothing good. Just articles and whatnots.
She then viewed the tab for the results on page 10.
Because page 10 was always the money shot.
And she was right.
The Great Deku Forum
.com.
Yoooooooo. No kiddin, there's this dude on a forum and it seems kinda shady with the plain website and all, but the Great Deku Sage…
She raised an eyebrow at the fourth one.
Let it be known that the internet was also a very confusing place.
She moved her mouse and clicked the link on the fourth one.
And seconds later, she saw…
Ads… Ads everywhere.
But it wasn't like she wasn't used to this. She had top-notch antivirus after all, as long as she didn't fall for anything too suspicious, she was fine.
'Something about that Great Deku thing got me. Let's see..'
She then proceeded to read the post.
August 15, 17:05 Posted by Brocolli
Yoooooooo. No shit, there's this dude on a forum and it seems kinda shady with the plain website and all, but the Great Deku Sage never lies! It's really simple. All you gotta do is ask him about something on the website. And he replies with advice on how to use your quirk! And it's really helped me out too. I suggest y'all try it. It worked for me. Here's the link! .com
Like • Comment • Share
Gren101, Vegetable, Mudax1000, and 5 others liked this post.
Gren101 I know right! It's amazing. Whoever this guy or girl is, they're a genius!
Vegetable It's a slow process, but thanks to him I'm a bit better at my quirk!
Mudax1000 This guy is legit. Don't mind the website though.
Her eyes narrowed.
This is shady!
On all accounts, it was shady.
But the girl didn't really have anything to lose, and if there were malware, she was prepared.
And so she clicked. And what she saw made her eyes grow wide.
It was a plain website with green and black background color, a textbox present in the middle, and an option to read the owner's bio.
But this was strange.
It was HTTP, which meant it wasn't secure, anybody could hack into it. But the fact that there weren't any advertisements made her doubt the legitimacy of the website.
'Let's see… who is this guy?'
She popped down on the bio.
On it, was the avatar of All Might with the name TheGreatDeku below it.
TheGreatDeku
Hey there! Nothing much to say about myself. I'm a normal guy in school who likes to write about heroes and quirks in my notes. I break them down and build them back up. I also like Katsudon. I don't have much of a schedule and I'm free almost anytime. I'll reply to your requests at a moment's notice!
Her eyes widened.
Was this… Midoriya Izuku?
It seemed too far fetched, there were many people in the world.
'But that Bakugo guy called him Deku didn't he?'
Then she had an idea.
Why not just ask him?
He wouldn't be able to run away, she'd make sure of it.
Friday came in.
Let it be known that Yanagi Reiko wasn't limited to her quirk. She had other abilities.
Just as how she'd been able to acquire yakisoba bread the other day since, she could easily lower her presence if needed.
She couldn't grab hold of Midoriya at lunchtime, much to her dismay. She went up to the roof-top in hopes of finding him.
And when the bell rang, the boy had immediately stood up, grabbed his bag, and left.
What he didn't know was thatshe was right behind him.
And it was at this moment that she let her presence be known.
"Midoriya-san, greetin-"
"AAAAAH!" He shrieked out and jumped back.
'Holy crap was she always there?!'
He turned around, flustered. "H-H-H-Hey there Yanagi-san."
"Hello." She then pulled out her phone and shoved the forum up in his face right then and there.
"Is this yours?"
When his eyes grew wide in recognition, Yanagi knew she was right.
"W-Wait… t-t-this is…"
"I was right, it's yours."
Midoriya was shaken up.
'I made this years ago and I'm sure it would've been buried! Jjust how did she find it?!'
Honestly, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"H-H-How did you find that?"
She put her phone bag in her pocket. "I was looking for help regarding my quirk and- a moment please, I almost forgot about your notebook." She went through her bag and pulled out a familiar blue notebook before offering it to him.
"H-Hey, my notebook." He happily took it. "I forgot I left this back at school yesterday."
She frowned. "I wish to inquire about yesterday as well. If I may ask, what had happened that bully's treatment of you is unpleasant."
He raised an eyebrow. "Bully?"
"The blonde one."
"Ah you mean Kacchan, and he's not really a bully."
She scoffed. "Does he hit you?"
"E-Eh, well y-yes but-"
"Does he lower your reputation to your classmates?"
"M-My reputation is a-already low-"
"Does he call you names?"
"N-No he doesn't."
"He called you Deku and from my knowledge of the word, it could very well be an insult."
He chuckled sheepishly. "W-Well… not really I- I-It's a nickname-" He tried to find an excuse before he sighed and his head dropped down. "He calls me that because I don't have a quirk and therefore makes me useless."
He shook his head and spoke before the girl could be able to. "A-A-Anyway, you said something about your quirk?"
Subject change! When done right, it could excuse the most endangered person out of any situation.
"Right, of course," Yanagi said. "Although I reckon this will take a while. Let us sit down on those benches yonder." Then she started walking.
Midoriya sighed. 'Coming from her, yeah this will take a while.'
But at least it gave him something to do.
It was the weekend, and no doubt he'd just be playing games in his room all day.
At least it gave him something productive to do, right?
"So you took a look at my notebook."
"Yes."
"And then decided you wanted to better your quirk."
"Affirmative."
"And you came to me for help?" Hhe asked her, baffled. "Why would you go to me for that?"
"But you can, can't you?" Sshe raised an eyebrow.
"W-W-What made you think that!?"
She gestured to his notes. "Your notes about my quirk had details I had never even thought about, like for example the creation of defensive and offensive weapons."
"Look, the only reason I thought of that was because I thought your Poltergeist could pick up particles off the ground like a ton of rocks, and have them form a small shield in front of you."
And for the first time, Midoriya saw Yanagi smile.
He blushed. Her eyes just kept pressing him.
Then he gave in.
"F-F-Fine I'll help." He answered sheepishly as Yanagi pumped a fist up in victory. "B-But again, don't expect too much help from someone who doesn't have a quirk-"
"A person who doesn't have a quirk and yet is the most knowledgeable quirk connoisseur I know." She said,
He blushed again. "N-N-Now you're just buttering me up."
"Is my flattery working?"
Midoriya suddenly stood up. "A-A-Alright. If we're working on your quirk, then that's going to take a while. I'm going to have to make a plan…" He put a hand on his chin as he got to planning.
She stood up as well. "I'm free tomorrow at any given time."
He nodded. "That's good to know, so am I." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, I know. You know of the junkyard nearby?"
"You mean the beach that's littered with disposable machinery and garbage?"
"No, not that one. An actual junkyard, although it's more of a scrapyard-"
"Ah, then yes I do know of that location. The one near the vulcanizing shop am I right?"
He nodded. "Let's meet up there at… what time would be convenient?"
"I suppose the afternoon would be best." She told him. "But are we allowed to be there?"
"Yep. I know the guy who works there. I'm sure he'll let us."
"If you say so." she nodded. "And about the time frame?"
He nodded. "I see… How about 2 pm?" he suggested. "Until 4 pm maybe?"
She nodded. "Until 5 pm would be best. I only have to make sure I get back to my abode before dark.."
"Then it's settled." He crouched down and picked up three rocks as big as his hand. "In the meantime, I wanna test something." He tossed her the rocks.
She instinctively caught them using her quirk.
"What you'll be doing 'till you get home is rotating those above your head the whole way." He smiled. "How does that sound for training?"
She smiled back.
"That is a task of very little difficulty."
He nodded. "They're supposed to be. I just wanted to measure just how much you could carry while maintaining composure.," He said, "I'll make something up today. Tomorrow, we start for real."
"And you were saying you weren't the best person for this request of mine." She smiled.
"A-A-And I'm s-s-still not. It's just-"
"2 pm, correct?" she interjected. "I'll see you then. Don't be late."
He nodded. "I won't."
And so the pair made their way home. All the while rocks were seen floating atop her head.
When the next day came, Yanagi Reiko wore a black and white tracksuit and went to the scrapyard.
There she saw Midoriya crouched right by a mountain of undefinable scrap. Next to him was a weighing scale while in his hands was a new addition.
A green notebook, where he was writing down something.
It looks like she didn't need to worry about him being late after all.
"Hello, Midoriya." Sshe greets. "I arrived here at 2 pm sharp. I am in no shape or form late, whatsoever."
"D-D-Don't worry, you're not late." He chuckled. "I had to come early and get things ready, of course."
"Good thing you did kid."
A man clad in brown and denim overalls, along with a hard hat, knee-pads, work boots, goggles, and a red shirt came up to them with a cart of scrap. "Cause I just got everything you needed just in time."
Midoriya stood up. "E-Eh… Yanagi-san, this is Mr. Dell Conagher, but he likes being called Engineer."
The engineer offered a hand, which she clasped and shook it. "How do you do young lady?"
"I'm doing well enough, thank you very much." she said as the man let go of her hand.
"Well mannered too, would you look at that." the engineer chuckled.
"Engineer owns this scrapyard, and technically we wouldn't be allowed in it." Midoriya said. "But he owed me, so this is what I asked for."
"He owes you?"
The engineer scoffed. "Owed. But hey, thanks to this lil' dude I still get to live another day."
Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "Please elaborate."
Midoriya came in between them and faced Yanagi. "I-I-I-It's nothing much! I just helped out on the shop-"
"Long story short, Mido here went over to the shop to get some parts, for what I didn't know." he said. "But good thing he did, if not I wouldn't even be here right now. I swear the kid got my quirk all together seconds after I told him what it was."
"What is your quirk, Engineer? Are you a retired hero?" Yanagi asked.
He shook his head. "Not a hero kiddo, just a simple engineer." he told her. "As for my quirk, It's called Construction. As the name says, I can make anything out of anything, I just need to make sure I got the right materials and the blueprint in my head."
He chuckled. "Anyway, I was in this scrapyard that day, then a small quake happened. Next thing I know is I'm a car door away from the massive rubble that wants to squish me."
"I-I-It's not really a big dea-"
Yanagi wanted to know more. "Then?"
"Well… he asked me what my quirk was, then he told me to build whatever I could continuously. Then we both got out of there alive." he ruffled the boy's hair. "Quirkless or not, you know a lot of quirks." he chuckled.
"Well, this is the last of the scrap I won't be using." he said. "It's really a good thing you came here an hour early, else you might've been wasting time waiting for me to pull out scrap."
"Thank you, Engineer." Midoriya bowed.
He chuckled as he started walking back. "Don't sweat it kid. You need anything built, just gimme a holler." he spun and tipped his hard hat. "Stay safe."
And then he disappeared into the shop.
Midoriya then turned around to Yanagi with a smile.
"Let's get started."
"First things, first…" he tapped a pencil against his notebook. "Is increasing your weight limit."
Yanagi nodded. "Affirmative. What will I be doing?"
"Pretty simple actually. Like weights, all you really have to do is pick up heavier and heavier objects day by day and gradually increase the weight of the object you control and eventually it'll pay off." he turned around and brought forth a strange machine.
Was that there before?
"Think fast!"
Not a moment later, a spherical object suddenly shot out to her.
Her eyes widened before a split second later, she barely caught the object with her quirk.
Just before it hit her in the face!
What the hell?
"Oh, you caught it! Great!" the boy in front of her cheered. "I was worried it might hit you. W-Well n-not like I wanted you to get hit I-I just wanted to test your reaction time."
She shook her head and deactivated her quirk.
"It's no inconvenience. I understand the purpose." she told him. She pointed towards the machine to the boy's side. "May I ask what exactly… that is?"
He nodded. "I'm glad you asked!" he said. "This right here is a slightly modified baseball launcher that can shoot out all sorts of objects! Courtesy of the Engineer." he then glanced back at the invention and frowned. "Although now that I think about it, it kind of looks like a catapult…"
She chuckled.
He smiled. "Well, nevertheless, it does the job." he then brought out his notebook. "What I threw you just now was a baseball with a weight of just about any other being 149 grams." he told her.
She nodded.
"Now, I know you could easily levitate that. And so while we're training to get your weight limit higher, I wanted to test another aspect of your quirk, or rather, your mind."
Ah, so that was how it is.
She understood now.
"My reaction speed." she predicted.
It made sense after all. Just like all quirks, hers needed focus to lift even the lightest object. And though she was proud of her ability to focus and be unaffected by most, her reactions were a bit… sluggish.
He snapped his fingers. "Exactly! We'll be using this thing along with occasional volleys to test your reaction speed."
She nodded. "That sounds fair."
Not a second later, another ball went flying to her, except this time, it took her completely by surprise.
She briefly saw the ball on the corner of her eye. She instinctively closed her eyes and ducked.
As to be expected, the ball went over her.
In her defense, she really didn't expect it.
MIdoriya was sneaky.
She stood back up and opened her eyes to see Midoriya writing on his notebook.
"Yeah. I guess we have to work on your flinch reactions too." he told her. "You want to take control of the ball, not avoid it completely."
She nodded. "That seems fair as well."
He walked closer to her and showed her his notebook. And in its contents was some kind of plan.
"So on weekends from 2 pm to 5 pm, we meet up here and practice your quirk. Each week the scrap you control will be heavier and the speed I shoot them out will be slightly faster. Hard work is the sum of continuous efforts after all." he told her. "That seems good?"
She frowned. "Yes. It is perfectly acceptable. But may I provide a suggestion?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Sure! Fire away."
"Yesterday, you mentioned how much I could carry while maintaining composure." she told him. "I would like to implement that as a daily routine. Levitating objects around me whilst attempting to be composed. It would gradually help my control and focus."
He blushed. "B-B-But t-that wo-would mean walking together a-almost everyday…"
She tilted her head. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"I-I-I j-just don't think it's too good an idea-"
"Really so? I disagree." she stated. "We are students of the same school. We pass each other's abode on our way home. You walk home, I too walk home. And I could practice my quirk more." she listed. "I could list mor-"
"B-But i-its weird! A girl and boy walking home together everyday-"
"You stated that hard work is the sum of continuous efforts." she quoted him. "I just-"
"Alright sure!" he finally said. "Fine, sure. I'll make up something for you to do when we walk home."
She nodded. "I knew you'd agree. It's a splendid idea is it not?"
He only nodded, defeated.
Midoriya cleared his head.
'If she doesn't think anything weird with it, then so will I. It's pretty much… normal, right?'
He sighed. "Alright. Not to rush, but let's get started shall we?"
She nodded. "Right."
The machine beside Midoriya started humming to life as he prepared several objects behind it. All of the different sizes and unrecognizable shapes.
"So, for today and tomorrow, what I'll be doing is having this machine throw scrap at you at a decent speed but it'll still be fast." he said as Yanagi stretched. "Your goal is to catch and levitate as many as you can. There'll be a two-second interval between each projectile."
"I see."
"But don't worry, we'll be taking breaks every now and then." he pointed to his backpack and what looked to be two boxes beside it. "I packed some food for us."
Oh.
How thoughtful of him.
"Anyway." he nodded. "You ready?"
"I am."
He flicked a switch and the first projectile flew.
And so began part of Yanagi's training.
And so for the whole week, Yanagi and Midoriya had worked together. Another thing about Yanagi was her stamina. She could a whole way, but not with several objects at once.
She held up to 10 pieces of scrap before straining herself and letting her control of them go.
It wasn't the weight that was the problem. It was the sheer quantity of the items she took control of.
It was something they had to fix obviously.
But nevertheless, she improved her control by having Midoriya distract her of their ways home while she levitated a book and her pencil case above her head like a halo for the whole week.
She could honestly say she had gotten better, and maybe, just a little bit, raised her weight limit.
And right now, it was the second weekend of training. Sunday to be exact.
And she was about to find out just how much her weight limit had gone up.
"Alright, Yanagi-san. I'm going to be putting down 6 bundles of scrap of measured weight on the ground, each one heavier than the last." he said as he laid them down from a cart. "Just like dumbbells, lift them and let the results show themselves."
She nodded. Simple enough.
He walked over to a small bundle of scrap. "This one's worth 20 pounds." he told her. "Just to get you warmed up."
"I see."
It came as no surprise to both of them when she levitated it with ease.
He nodded. "Next. This one's a 30 pounder."
She used her quirk and let it float in the air for a moment, before setting it back down.
"No surprise. Next is the 40 pounder."
She used her quirk, and still lifted the item up with minimal strain.
"Alright. Great job so far. But here's where we turn up the difficulty." he said. "You told me that your quirk's limit was 40 pounds, and you could manage a 50 with effort, right?"
She nodded. "That is correct."
"Well then. Let's see if it still takes the same effort as before to lift 50-pound material."
She nodded and breathed out.
She was positive she had gotten better, but she still couldn't help but become nervous.
She brought her hand out and attempted to lift the object with effort and-
"Whoa!"
Midoriya had to take a step back as the scrap suddenly shot up to chest height.
Yanagi blinked.
"That… was unexpected." she said.
She had used the same amount of effort she had always used when she lifted objects of that weight. But compared to before…
She could lift the 50 pound metal with minimal effort!
She smiled. "It's… It's not very difficult."
Midoriya smiled. "Now we're not done yet." he gestured towards the two remaining pieces of metal."
Yanagi nodded.
The next one was probably worth 60 pounds.
Once again, she prepped herself and found that 60 pounds was slightly more difficult to carry. Almost half as harder to lift than the previous one. But nevertheless, she managed to lift it up to chest height for a moment before setting it down gently.
"Wow I'm impressed. You managed 60 pounds!"
Yanagi smiled. "I must admit it is starting to be strenuous."
"That's perfectly fine." he said before moving to the last one. "Now, this here's worth 70 pounds. That's equal to a bushel of corn, 9 gallons of water, and maybe even a 7th or 8th grader, probably."
She nodded.
"Remember, if you can't do it. Don't." he advised. "Going over a limit too far has repercussions."
"Thank you for your concern. I will do as you say."
She went closer to it, held her palm out and tried to lift-
This is heavy!
Gritting her teeth, she stretched her palm out. Beads of sweat rolling down her face.
She grunted as she struggled to lift it up to chest height. Slowly but surely, it reached the point of altitude she needed, and so did her stamina.
Abruptly letting go of the metal, it fell to the ground with an audible thud. Yanagi panted and fell on her backside.
Midoriya wrote in his notebook and looked back at her with a smile.
"Congratulations! Your limit now seems to be 70 pounds! You've jumped 20 in a single week!" h clapped. "That's amazing!"
Yanagi chuckled. "I couldn't have done it without my teacher."
He scratched the back of his head. "Aw shucks. I just tell you what to do. You're the one doing all the heavy lifting, literally."
The two of them shared a brief chuckle.
"Hey you two! Wanna have some apple pie to celebrate the improvement?!"
Both of them turned around to see the Engineer walking towards them carrying a plate with sliced apple pie while wearing oven mitts.
Both of them nodded and immediately brought out foldable chairs and a makeshift table for them.
The Engineer set the pie down as Midoriya and Yanagi sat down
"I didn't know you could bake." Midoriya asked him.
"I'm more surprised to discover that there's an oven." Yanagi remarked.
The engineer sat down. "I wanted to learn how to cook since a friend of mine has it as a hobby so I made myself an oven. While I may not be as experienced as you when it comes to cooking, but man am I proud of my apple pies."
"I'll say. It smells nice." he said as he was about to take a slice of the pie when-!
"Ouch!"
Yanagi slapped his hands and glared at him.
"W-What?"
"Always use clean hands when touching food to avoid bacteria."
She put hand sanitizer on his palm. "Wash."
The Engineer laughed at the skit. "Mind if I have some too little missy?" he took off his oven mitts.
"Absolutely not." she put hand sanitizer on the Engineer's palms as well. "Good thing one of us knows about hygiene."
Midoriya chose not to comment. She would only use it against him.
"Well, now that we're all nice and germ-free," The Engineer took a slice while Midoriya and Yanagi followed suit. "Let's dig in while it's still hot."
And so they enjoyed a nice warm meal with beverages brought by Midoriya to rejoice.
And all the while, Yanagi couldn't help but grin as she ate.
"Alright, class. As all of you would already know, exams are this Thursday and Friday. Make sure to listen to the lesson as this will be on the test." their teacher told them.
Midoriya's eyes widened.
He forgot!
He turned around to look at Yanagi, who only shook her head and pointed up.
'We'll talk during lunch.'
At least, that's what she understood from her. He nodded and turned his attention back to the lecture.
But there was one thing he was bothered about.
Something almost every hero, heck, everyone trying to improve themselves went through. And something that Yanagi would no doubt encounter.
Not if he could do anything about it however.
Whilst writing down notes on the lecture, his mind looked for solutions.
The power ceiling.
A point in improvement where one reaches an inevitable stalemate.
But so far, none came to mind.
He shook his head and focused on the lesson instead.
He'd ponder about that later.
"No, the training continues." Yanagi insisted. "Our training for the week is only at dismissal correct? Then fear not, It won't impede my studies. And although I am a tad slow when it comes to science and math, it will not bother me."
Midoriya sighed.
Once the bell rang at lunch had begun, Yanagi all but dragged him up to the rooftop.
"I-I know it might not but it's midterms we're talking abou-"
"Midterms are on Wednesday and Thursday." Yanagi said. "Surely you could think of something."
He groaned. "Look, I'm not as smart as you think I am," he told her. "What? Am I going to ask you mathematical equations while you're using your quirk to better your focus or control or whatever?"
…
…
…
Midoriya looked back at Yanagi, who had a smug grin on her face.
And just then, did he realize what he said.
"And you said you weren't the man for the job."
He only clicked his tongue and ate his food.
Yanagi giggled at him.
"I knew you'd think of something." she remarked as she took a bite out of her bento.
Midoriya blushed. He wanted to change the topic.
Change it to anything really!
"Oh look a flock of birds!" he called out.
Yanagi nodded. "Yes, I see that. They appear to form a V-formation." she said.
Midoriya nodded. "It's that time of year."
"It's amazing how small pieces form a bigger picture. Like those birds." she said. "Individually, none would be the wiser. But all of them in a group are somewhat… different."
Midoriya absently nodded.
Before he froze, chopsticks brought down and eyes widened.
Wait…
What?
"Smaller pieces…"
Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"On their own… a group… a puzzle…"
"Midoriya-kun?"
Then she watched as he nodded to himself, and then…
The boy turned to her with the biggest grin on his face.
"What?"
His grin grew wider.
"Lightbulb."
"If I may ask… what are we doing again?"
Yanagi looked around them to see a lonely playground near their homes.
Truly, she didn't know what Midoriya had in mind. All she knew was that after class, he all but dragged her with him with a giddy smile on his face.
"I have an idea!" he told her.
"And that is?"
"Well… earlier you mentioned something about pieces and a group and I got this idea!" he took a nearby bucket of sand nearby and brought it in front of her.
Yanagi raised an eyebrow.
"Now, what I want you to do is lift all the sand in here, every grain, up in the air."
She nodded. And since the sand was relatively light, she could lift it up without problem.
"I don't see how this would benefit me more."
He smiled. "What is the symbol of Magnesium?"
She blinked.
Where'd that come from?
Nevertheless, she answered. "Mg."
He nodded. "Of course you know about that. Now, I want you to write it out using the sand."
Oh.
Oh.
Ooh!
Yanagi's eyes widened as she did as she was told. She controlled each and every grain of sand to form into the letters M and G.
"The symbol of Sodium."
She molded the sand to form the letters N and A.
"What is 6 squared?"
She molded the sand once gain as she-
Just then, a few grains of sand fell out of her control and onto the ground.
She tsked. "Mental mathematics is… more difficult while I'm using my quirk."
"That's just as I expected," he told her. "You see, if we kept going at the pace you were, then that's not a problem. But if we kept doing the same thing over and over again, then you'd hit something I like to call the power ceiling."
"The power ceiling?"
He nodded. "Basically, it's a barrier which prevents one from improving any more than they already have, similar to writer's block." he explained. "So to prevent that, we're going to try more unconventional methods." he said with a smile.
She smiled as her eyes gained a twinkle.
Here she was, someone who had just transferred to his school a week ago.
And yet here he was, helping her without even looking bothered by it.
To think this kind of person was being bullied just because he was quirkless...
She grit her teeth, but soon shook her head.
She'd do something about it.
Once she got better at her quirk, she'd repay him.
"And since you told me you were bad at math and science, I thought of teaching you while helping you better your control at the same time!" he excitedly told her. "B-B-But how d-does that sound?"
She smiled and used her quirk to mold the sand into one giant thumb up.
"It sounds brilliant!"
And so for the rest of the week, Midoriya helped Yanagi improve her control even more and tutored her in her worst subjects.
To her surprise, Midoriya was a really inventive person when it came to quirks.
And so Saturday came, and it was the day after the exam results had come back.
With her paper in hand and a smile plastered on her face, she excitedly skipped towards the scrapyard.
She was looking forward to today's session! But much more than that, she was excited to show Midoriya her results.
Wait, did that mean she was excited to see Midoriya, or improve her quirk?
She shook her head and dismissed it as being excited to see Midoriya because her training came from him.
And a few minutes later, she arrived at exactly 2 pm. But alas, Midoriya had arrived earlier, just like before.
Although for some reason... She didn't want to simply state her presence.
'I'll sneak up on him… and then present my paper!'
With her plan in mind, she slowly approached him from the side, making sure to lower her presence to avoid notice.
But it didn't look like she needed to, he was already immersed with his notebook.
From Yanagi's sight, Midoriya all focused and murmuring made for what she could call a very fetching image.
A light blush crept up her face.
What was she thinking?
Approaching him, eventually, she got right behind him without her noticing…
And slowly slid her paper down his face.
"I must say. Your methods, albeit unconventional. They surely work!" she couldn't hide the giddiness in her voice.
Taking the paper and scanning it, the boy's eyes went wide and smiled.
"I acquired an A in both math and science. All thanks to you Midoriya-kun!"
"This is awesome!" he turned to face her. "This is all you Yanagi, I just helped."
Yanagi took her paper and sighed.
Yeah, she wasn't getting through him, not today.
"Anyway, what are we going to be doing today? Lifting?"
He shook his head. "I told you we're mixing things up right?" he started up the pitching machine behind him. "We're also going to be working on your output propulsion."
She tilted her head.
"Basically how strong you fire out the objects you take control of telepathically."
"I see." she nodded.
"We can stop anytime. But your main goal has always been to push yourself." he told her. "So do your best to grab everything that goes your way and then when the pressure is getting a little bit heavy, chuck it with all your might."
She cracked her knuckles. "Control, strength, and capacity in one fell swoop." she grinned. "You're truly inventive."
"I just take inspiration from hero documentaries is all." he chuckled.
"Ready?"
"Aye."
And so Yanagi trained herself the whole afternoon.
Although was it just her or was everything she was holding felt lighter?
Like how when playing a game, you could turn the mouse sensitivity up and everything moved at the slightest nudge of the mouse.
That was how she felt as of now.
And truly, she felt refreshed, albeit slowly getting tired.
A whole two weeks have passed since then. And in that time, Yanagi switched from playing volleyball, dodgeball, to spelling out the alphabet while gathering more materials each letter, drawing animals and silhouettes using her telepathy, to building shields and weapons from scrap, to even making a miniature tornado of scrap!
All in all, she felt as if she had gotten better drastically.
And now, she was making her way to the scrapyard on a Saturday while levitating her bag behind her.
Although when she got there, to her surprise, Midoriya wasn't there.
"Midoriya-kun! Are you here?" she called out.
Strange, he always did arrive earlier than she did.
"He ain't here yet missy."
She turned around to see the Engineer behind a 7 feet tall tower of scrap, sitting on a mechanism of some sort with levers in front of him.
"Oh hello there. Mind if I wait here?"
He chuckled. "Not at all, you've been here for the better of each weekend for the past 4 weeks after all."
"Thank you."
She grabbed a nearby foldable chair and sat down.
And then the engineer decided to make a short conversation.
"Midoriya is a great kid isn't he?" he said. "He really works hard, harder than anyone his age should actually. And I'm surprised he decided to help you out too."
She raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"He really wants to become a hero. He's really dedicated to it. But he's quirkless, that automatically scrubs the being a hero part out of the board. He should have so much time on his hands, but he doesn't. He uses it all up researching and writing in that notebook of his."
"Then… why did he?" Yanagi asked. "Now that I think about it, helping me improve my quirk doesn't have any benefit to him. And… it seems unfai-"
"Alright missy I'm going to stop you on that." the Engineer interrupted. "No benefit? You couldn't be possibly further from the truth."
"There is?"
"If you can't see it, then that means you're digging too deep into it." he put his cap on and smiled.
"He just wants to help. And that, in and of itself, makes him happier than anyone." he said. "And that is also why I respect him."
She agreed. Her opinion of Midoriya was rather high from the past few weeks, but now, it has rose higher.
He was kind, kinder than anyone she had ever interacted with. And she didn't make a comment about her posture either.
The world truly wasn't fair. A person with as pure of a soul as him, a person willing to go so far to help someone, a person dealt the bad hand by fate…
"Oh would you look at that, he's here now." the Engineer told her. "Why don't you go on ahead and greet him? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you earlier than him."
She nodded and without saying another word ran off to the green-haired boy.
Behind her, the Engineer smiled softly.
'They've come a long way. Both of them.'
He then sighed and fixed his hard hat, before narrowing his gaze on a car frame suspended in the air right on top of Midoriya.
'I do hope this works kid.'
Back to Yanagi, she waved her hand up and called out.
"Midoriya-kun!" she called out.
He smiled nervously.
Wait, nervously?
"A-Ah hello Yanagi-san! I was just a little bit caught up on-"
*CREAK*
Her eyes looked up to see a car frame falling as the world entered slow-motion for the girl.
She didn't know how.
She didn't know why.
But if the frame fell, Midoriya would surely get hit.
And she didn't know why. But the thought of Midoriya being hurt… caused her pain.
Was it the fear of being alone again?
Was it the fear of losing a friend?
Honestly, she didn't know.
But what she did know, was she wanted to use the fruit of her efforts, and get the boy she so fondly referred to as Midoriya-kun out of danger.
"Watch out!"
In a spur of the moment, she hadn't realized it.
But a large amount of scrap suddenly went floating.
She could control all of it.
Using them, she made all of them form a big enough dome around the pair and blocked the frame from falling onto him.
But she wasn't done yet.
Willing to let out her frustrations, she inverted the dome and linked together each piece of scrap to make sure the frame wasn't in any risk of falling.
Once she was absolutely sure, she grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him out of the zone, and onto a safe area.
One without any falling hazards.
"Midoriya-kun! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Perhaps you have acquired scratches? I have bandages in my bag if you need them. Also I-"
"I'm perfectly fine Yanagi-san! Really." he said. "I expected that to happen-"
He covered his mouth as his eyes widened.
Crap, he wasn't supposed to say that.
Maybe she hadn't heard it-
"OH, what was that?" her eyes gleamed. "I'm afraid I did not hear it clearly. Say that again, once more."
Nevermind. She definitely heard it.
"Please do go on, you have my full. Undivided. Attention."
Midoriya's eyes glanced at the site to see the Engineer sneakily returning to his shop. Dodging the imminent fury of the woman before him.
"Well? I'm listening?"
He gulped.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.
"So let me just get this straight." she looked down. "You deliberately set yourself up for harm thinking that I would no doubt save you?"
A make-shirt table was in front of them, with Yanagi and Midoriya sitting on one side on foldable chairs.
"Yes." he said, not seeing a reason to deny.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? It's for your training of course!"
"You didn't have to go so far for me you know."
"Well, several studies have shown that real courage comes from unexpected situations, and therein lies the true character of a person." he told her. "You saved me today Yanagi-san. It only shows how far you'v-"
"What if I didn't?"
He chuckled. "But you have. And besides, even if it was me, it's only just me-"
"Don't say that!"
The memories hurt Yanagi.
It was only her that was weird, without her the class would be normal.
It was only her that was different, everyone else was normal.
It was only her walking by, there wasn't a need to be acknowledged.
It was only her eating, she wouldn't want to inconvenience others by taking a whole table.
It was only her that was different, it didn't matter whether she had friends or not.
"Saying things like it's only this and only that… I'm done saying and hearing those things…"
Chuckling, he smiled. "Well, if you need a proper reason, because I trust you," he said.
Her eyes widened.
"Sure enough, it didn't take long for the whole class to categorize you as odd. But then again, is being odd really such a bad thing?" he said.
She clenched her fists.
"I'm more different than odd in terms of not having a quirk, but thanks to that, I might know how you feel." he told her.
She breathed in and out. "I may have a habit of dragging out my sentences."
He chuckled. "You sure do. But I don't mind, honestly."
"Really?"
"Well, if I'm really being honest, I was kind of confused for the first week, but I just thought of it as you being you and saw no need to correct it." he told her.
She smiled.
He didn't see the need to change anything about her.
Just accepting her for who she was, flaws and all, as his friend.
If she and her family had never moved, maybe they would've never been acquainted.
But now that they were…
"Midoriya-kun, I'm really glad you're my friend." she smiled at him. "My best friend."
He blushed. Not only at the compliment, but the sheer joy that radiated through her rare smile.
"I-I-I'm glad as well," he said. "A-And I'm also glad to let you know that your training is done! There is nothing else I can tell you to do except keep doing what you've been doing and practice your control." he gleefully told her.
She pumped her fist in the air. "Yes!" she chuckled.
It felt good to have her efforts bear fruit.
Everything just felt… lighter. It was amazing.
"Oh right, speaking of, I have something for you."
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace with a white ghost pendant.
"I remember you referring to your quirk as Poltergeist and guessed you might've liked that kind of genre." he told her. "So, here you go. A necklace from me to you to celebrate the occasion."
She slowly took it off of his hands and wore it with a smile.
"I love it."
Would she be weird to feel wetness in her eyes?
Because she was sure if only a little bit she might've been crying.
This was a truly great day.
But even if there wasn't anything she needed to do, maybe there was one more thing.
"Midoriya-kun."
"Yes?"
"We'll still be walking home together, correct?" She didn't ask him. She more like stated it. "Eating together at lunch, hanging out and all else…"
"We'll still be doing that? Am I right?"
Midoriya shivered. "Y-Y-Yes ma'am!"
She giggled. "Good. Just making sure."
Midoriya dryly laughed along with her.
"Oh right. Midoriya-kun, did you manage to measure just how much I can carry now?"
He grinned. "Well, I can safely say you can carry more than 120 pounds judging by how much scrap you carried when you made that dome."
Yanagi's eyes widened as she fell silent.
"Ehm… Yanagi-san?"
Only a few moments later, Midoriya felt himself swept up in a bone-crushing hug.
"YES!"
"You still got that notebook shitty Deku?1 I thought I told you to get rid of it?"
"T-T-This is my notebook Kacchan! I can't just throw it away!"
Yanagi sat and waited patiently as the bully and Midoriya encountered each other behind her.
The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and with so few minutes left before lunch, it didn't look like he was arriving any time soon.
And within that time, Bakugo had decided to terrorize the green-haired boy.
But now, she had a plan to stop him.
Away from prying eyes, she levitated a bucket of water on the ceiling right atop the bully.
Now all she had to do was wait and…
"Then I'll do it for you! Gimme that notebook-"
*SPLASH*
The whole classroom was devoid of noise from the recent happening.
What… had just happened.
Bakugo took the bucket of water off his head only to find Midoriya was already gone.
He tsked. He couldn't even use his quirk because he was wet.
He only narrowed his eyes and looked around the classroom.
"What are you all looking at?! Huh?!"
In his anger, he didn't notice a certain gray-haired transferee was also gone as well.
Right as the bell rang.
Chuckling.
Uncontrollable chuckling was heard on the rooftop.
Yanagi held her stomach as she laughed at what she had just done.
"Oh my goodness what would happen if Kacchan realizes you've done this?" he shakily opened his bento while Yanagi struggled to do the same.
"He won't. I'm a transferee." eventually stifling her laughter and wiping tears off her eyes.
He only nodded.
He believed her anyway. Kacchan would never suspect her. Even if he did, she was sure to be at the last of her list.
"How'd you even know water was enough to temporarily disable his quirk?"
"Your notebook. He's in there as well."
He clicked his tongue. "Ah right, I forgot." he blushed. "T-T-Thanks though," he said.
She smiled and opened her bento. "Not a problem. What are friends for?"
He was her first friend. Someone who didn't judge her openly, someone who was fine with her presence. Someone who didn't want to change who she was just to make themselves more comfortable.
Midoriya had taught her hard work, the whole lot of it.
But one thing she was sure both of them had learned…
And that was Spirit.
The spirit to go forward, the spirit to move past boundaries.
The spirit to break past walls, limits and go even higher.
Yanagi took Midoriya's words to heart.
He might not have known about it, but Yanagi owed so much to him. He put so much trust in her, and so did she.
And she decided. Midoriya's enemies were her enemies.
Anyone that would dare lay a malicious hand on him would have to face off with a poltergeist.
"Oh you have those… hotdogs again." he couldn't remember how she referred to them.
"Ghost hotdogs."
"Y-Yeah, ghost hotdogs."
He picked up a pair of chopsticks and smiled.
"Is that katsudon?"
He nodded. "Yeah, it is." he said. "You want some?"
She nodded. "If you insist." she said. Before she had an idea. "Hey, if I'm taking a piece of your lunch, want to take a piece out of my lunch?"
His eyes widened. "I-Is it alright?"
"Of course. I wouldn't have offered it if it were not."
"W-Well not that I'm opposed to it but just because I said it was okay to take some of my food shouldn't mean that you have to offer yours as well-"
Midoriya didn't get to finish as Yanagi all but showed a ghost hotdog on a toothpick right into his mouth.
He chewed.
Yanagi smiled. "It's good isn't it?"
He nodded.
"Yeah, a little bit spicy but it's really good."
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear you like them as well."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, don't think too deeply about it. You'll know when the time comes."
Without anyone seeing, she blushed.
She'd be sure to tell him just how fondly she thought of him.
And teach him all. About. It.
AN: I HAVE TO ADMIT, WRITING YANAGI WAS QUITE THE CHALLENGE. SHE'S MENT TO BE WEIRD IN A NOT REALLY WEIRD CASE. HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE.
NEVERTHELESS, SHE'S REALLY FUN TO PLAY AROUND WITH.
I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THE STORY WHEN I WATCHED X-MEN AND SAW MAGNETO.
I DO HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THIS SHOT. IF YOU DID LET ME KNOW. YOUR REVIEWS AND COMMENTS GIVE ME LIFE AND STRENGTH. THEY FUEL MY ENGINE.
Signing off… Zac.