Hey there, sons, it's ya local lad that writes shit when he's bored, which is all the time, except that now I do it because I want those juicy reviews
Today's chapter is slightly shorter than you guys are used to, so sorry about that, but it is a chapter that opens up a lot of stuff I wanna work with, so if you do find it short, take it as just a little lead up, an appetizer, the bread sticks they put on your table before they bring the main course. Mmmm, breadsticks...I could use some breasticks right now. What the fuck am I talking about.
So yeah, see you guys next chapter and you better fucking post reviews so I break the fiddy review mark ya dirty bastards
"Uhh...yeah, you...d-do look familiar." Izuku said as he looked up at the girl, his tired gaze finally focusing on her properly to appreciate her cute face and rosy cheeks along with her nice getup, if simple, composed of a loose white shirt and pink painstakingly form fitting pants that reached down to her calves, along with a nice pair of sneakers.
"You were there, weren't you?" the girl asked with a faint blush on her cheeks as she tapped her fingers together with their respective pairs "When that scaled criminal got beaten up by All Might, it came out in the news and everything."
"Oh yeah, I think he called himself Big Croc, hehe...yeah, I was there." the green haired boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly with a faint tinge of red on his cheeks. How could he forget the day that started it all? When a simple detour of his usual path kickstarted his path to hopefully become a true hero, truth be told he remembered every detail. The fear he felt, the adrenaline that pumped through his veins, All Might coming to his rescue and...the girl… "Wait...t-that was you! You're the girl that saved me!"
The brown haired teen scratched the back of her head as she looked away from the boy all flustered as she laughed a bit awkwardly "I mean...I think 'tried to save you' fits better, that guy would have beaten me up if you didn't grab his attention again, soooo...guess we're even!" she said with a faint giggle before extending out a hand towards the green haired teen with a properly bright smile that almost made Izuku's heart melt "My name's Ochako, Ochako Uraraka."
Deku would shake the girl's hand a bit awkwardly. He wasn't used to dealing with girls...or how soft their hands were "I-Izuku Midorya...nice to meet you."
"Sorry if I was interrupting anything, I just couldn't ignore you after I saw you. I always wondered if you were okay after what happened." she explained with a soft sigh, which earned her a smile from the boy before her as he waved her worries off.
"Don't worry about it, I was taking a break anyways." he laughed softly as he looked up at her with a bit of awkwardness "And I'm fine, better than ever actually. I just got a few bruises from the day, nothing major."
"Phew, that's good to hear, I was really worried since...he kind of tossed you around pretty hard…" she looked down with a relieved expression as she took a deep breath
Then what followed were a few seconds of awkward silence as both of the teen's brains were struggling to come up with things to say next as they looked around a bit awkwardly. Should one of them leave? Was the conversation over? Some of the greatest questions unanswered in the world.
"So, uhh...you want to sit down?" Izuku would finally break the silence as he gestured to the now empty bench beside him.
"O-Oh, s-sure!" Uraraka replied before sitting her backside down on the wooden seat, keeping a respectful distance from the teen, but not as extreme as Katsuki had just a moment before. "So...ahem...are you planning on trying out for UA next year?"
"I mean...maybe." Midorya would cough a bit awkwardly at the question, which had a very, very complicated answer, at least when it came to his case in specific "If everything goes well...why do you ask?"
Ochako blushed slightly as she peeled a few loose strands of hair away from her face and cleared her throat "I just assumed so, it's everyone's big dream right now and all." she shrugged sheepishly with a smile "Plus, not just anyone stands up to a villain the way you did...and since I saw you working out, I imagined it'd be to get ready for the exam."
"It really wasn't that big of a deal…" Deku brushed her compliments off, though admittedly, they did tickle his ego in a right way "What about you? Are you going to the exam?"
"Yup!" the girl would answer nearly immediately with a thumbs up "I can take away the gravity of anything I touch, so I'm hoping that's good enough to get me into the hero course." she said with big, starry eyes.
"That sounds really useful for a support hero. You could lift debris and maybe even use it for combat if you adapt your fight style. Being able to take away your opponent's gravity would turn them into a sitting duck, so…." was what Izuku said before his words became too mumbled and low toned as he covered his mouth in another mumbling fit, spewing out all the potential he saw in the girl's powers, which made her blush awkwardly as she looked from side to side wondering what had gotten into the teen.
"Uhh...Midorya?" she called out "M-Midorya...Izuku, hey...HEY!" Uraraka shouted as she poked the top of the boy's head, instantly snapping him free of his mumble induced trance, prompting him to look up to her with a blush.
"O-Oh...s-sorry, guess I got a little caught up...hehe…"
Gosh, he was so adorable. It made Ochako want to squeeze him like a teddy bear...I mean, what?
"N-No problem, heh...so what's your quirk?" she asked with a smile
Crap.
How would Midorya explain this? He couldn't say he didn't have one, it didn't make sense that he'd be taking the UA test without one...plus, it might not even be true anymore if he accepted All Might's offer, however that worked. And he couldn't just say 'Oh, All Might's quirk', that sounded even stupider...best course of action was to try and describe whatever All Might's quirk was, which was a mystery to everyone in the world...great.
"Oh, it's...a little complicated." he said with a faint, awkward meep of a laugh "No one has found a way to describe how it works properly yet...but I guess it's a general physical improvement quirk...I'm a late bloomer so I only got it recently...relatively recently." he explained awkwardly with a cough on top
"Oh...okay." Ochako would answer with a raised brow "Well, a physical quirk is probably the best kind for the exam, so I'm sure you'll do great. Better than me at least...if I use my quirk too much I get so nauseous I can barely walk…"
"Hey...I'm sure you can find a work around for that." Izuku piped up with sudden excitement "Did you ever try yoga or meditation?"
"What…? I mean...not really, I only started jogging like, today." she squirmed with embarrassment as she looked down at her own stomach and those pesky pounds that she despised.
"They'd be good for you. They improve your breathing, which helps with nausea." Deku explained, being thankful he had researched all of that stuff about exercise when he did "It won't get rid of your quirk's side effects, but it would help you deal with it. I'm sure you'd be using your anti gravity better for the exam if you started practicing now."
"Whoa...I never thought of that." Ochako's interest seemed to be roused as she inched closer to the green haired teen "And you really think it'll work?"
"I don't see why not! Meditation is something I've been meaning to take up myself!" he laughed with a smile
"Oh, then we can be meditation partners! It's probably easier with someone else!" she exclaimed with a giggle
"Yeah!"
Wait...what? Did Izuku just get another cute girl to workout with him? Well, at least this time it was just meditation, you know, you had your eyes closed and nothing suggestive happened, he'd be able to focus without his hormones getting in the way.
"And I'm making you try out yoga too!"
Crap.
"S-Sure." Midorya would sigh as a bead of sweat dropped down the side of his head
"Hey, since we're going to be partners, we should celebrate by doing something together!" Uraraka suggested with an excited smile as she tugged on Izuku's shoulder. "Come on, it'll be nice."
"Alright, uhh…" Deku mumbled for a moment as he tried to think of the available options "There's a nice coffee shop nearby if you want to grab a bite."
"Do they have pie?"
"Loads of pies, actually."
"Let's go."
"Mmmmmhmhm...worth every calorie…" Uraraka murred to herself as she took the first bite of her cherry pie with ice cream. She'd have to get back on diet right after this minor escapade, but for now, she just wanted to sit back and let her taste buds enjoy it.
Izuku wasn't much of a sweet tooth, but he had to admit, the apple pie in this place was pretty tasty and homely feeling, the gentle sweetness of it coating his tongue nicely, which felt great combined with the heat of his cappuccino. After All Might had gotten him into it, Midorya had become quite the avid coffee drinker.
"Glad you're enjoying it." he said with a smile as Ochako sipped cheerfully on her hot cocoa
"I'm having...mmm...the time of my life!" she giggled in between mouthfuls before gulping loudly with a satisfying sigh leaving her lungs "So! I forgot to ask, but, you're trying out for the hero course too, right?"
Izuku laughed a bit awkwardly as he scratched behind his neck with a sigh "T-That's the plan…"
"Hey, that didn't sound too enthusiastic there…" she stated with a hint of worry fluttering in her expression
"It's just...I don't know." he scratched his head with a deep breath as he fiddled idly with his piece of pie, scraping all of the scattered crumbs together in a big pile in a corner of the plate "I guess...part of me is kind of scared…"
"Scared of not making it?" The brunette inquired as she leaned closer onto the table "Everyone's scared of that."
"Yeah, that too...but I'm also a little scared of getting in, to be honest." Izuku tried his best to explain, even if it all sounded awkward and messy in his head "Like...if we make it, everything just changes at once, you know? You stop being a normal person, you become a hero. You don't depend on people anymore, they depend on you...and I like how that sounds, I want to help people so much, but...I guess now that it's actually around the corner in a way...it's stupid, my nerves are just getting to me…"
Midorya was right with that statement, his head was throbbing the more he thought about the matter. He knew he couldn't stop himself from at least trying to make it, it had been his dream for as long as he knew himself...but how much was a dream worth when people's lives were at stake? Was he being selfish in wanting this so bad? The questions were stupid and were probably just him worrying too much, he knew that, but still they managed to torment him day and night.
But then, for a moment, it all seemed to fade. The doubts, the questions, the throbbing inside his mind eased as he felt the touch of Ochako's hand atop his, the softness of her palm calming him near immediately as he looked up to meet her soft smile, the sight melting away his worries as he felt himself slowly smiling along with her.
"I don't think it's stupid...I think the fact you worry so much means you're gonna be a great hero, Izuku." the girl said in a reassuring tone as she squeezed the green haired teen's hand a little tighter "Just don't let the worries stop you, and if you need, I'm here to shake you out of it. We're making it into UA together, alright?"
Izuku had to clench his other hand to keep himself from blushing too hard as he nodded fiercely with a bright smile on his face "Deal!"
After a few awkward seconds of silence, both of the teens became red and flustered before pulling away from each other and going back to eating their pie while trying to avoid each other's gaze, though they both had smiles on display.
"So, uhh...does wednesday sound good for the meditation thing?" Ochako asked sheepishly
"Y-Yeah, sounds uhh...great!"
"Also, thanks for the pie and all."
"N-No worries...hey, uhh…" Izuku would stammer as he let his gaze drift to the clock resting above the shop's counter "You mind if we talk later? I have to get going, there's something I have to do."
"Oh, sure, don't worry about it. See ya soon!" Uraraka would giggle to herself as Midorya wolfed down the rest of his pie and dashed out of the shop after leaving enough money to pay for both of their meals.
Ochako stuffed the last bite into her mouth with another murr as she watched the green haired figure disappear outside the window with a small smile "Mmmm...he's so fricking cute!"
"Ugh...t-twenty…" Toshinori would huff as he dropped the weight down on the floor with a long sigh. He hated being constricted to this light of a load in his weakened form, but he'd be damned if he let the wound get in the way of his exercising, he had been doing it daily for years and he wouldn't stop now.
Plus it helped to relieve stress and, truth be told, he had a whole lot of that to pump out ever since Izuku ran off yesterday...he was worried about the boy. Worried that he might have said or done something wrong, but he figured it'd be best to just give him some time to himself.
"Alright...one more set of sit ups maybe?" the blond said to himself as he looked at the clock with a thoughtful hum as he huffed heavy breaths "I got time." he'd say to himself as he stretched his arms above his head, getting ready for another set.
At least until his attention was pulled towards the familiar click of the doorway being unlocked as his green haired protege stepped in with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.
"Y-Young Midorya! You're back!"
The teen jumped a bit as he realized his tutor had been there all this time, it wasn't unusual to see him there but with the hero schedule, there was no way of knowing when they'd meet up at the gym, so Izuku wasn't entirely expecting to see him here...and still, he would take some time getting used to his weakened, scrawny true shape.
"H-Hey All Might...y-you startled me a little." the teen said with an awkward laugh "Sorry I'm late, I...got caught up with something." he said sheepishly with a faint blush, which earned a raised curious brow from the number one hero for a moment.
But there were more pressing things to focus on currently and Toshinori had to get to it as soon as he could, better to tackle it head on as he did everything else "Listen, young Midorya...about yesterday...I probably unveiled the news a bit too bluntly so, I'm-" the symbol of peace began speaking before being interrupted as Deku piped up.
"I accept."
"...what?" All Might would mumble in confusion
"Your offer. To become your successor." Izuku would clarify with a confident smile on his face "I accept."
"Oh...oh…" Toshinori would mumble for a moment as his mind processed what he just heard before suddenly, with a large puff of smoke, he'd transform into his bulky, athletic shape, porting his usual bright smile "OH! THAT'S GREAT NEWS!"
Izuku would suddenly find himself being scooped off the floor and twirled around in the Symbol of Peace's grasp as he laughed heartily "I knew you'd come around, my boy!" the blond would say as he placed the dizzy teen back down as he patted him on the shoulder "I mean, you were pretty shaken up about it yesterday, but I'm glad it passed! It did pass didn't it?"
"Well...kinda…" Izuku said as he straightened himself after shaking the dizziness away "I'm...still scared, I guess...but I know I can do it if I work hard enough!"
"That you can, young Midorya, I know it!" All Might would laugh as he suddenly pulled out a stack of papers and pushed it against the boy's chest "Which is why we are roughing up your workout!"
"W-What...?!" Midorya stammered as he looked at the new regimes, his legs already quivering at the things that were being asked of his poor self "B-But...the one I'm doing right now is already hard!"
"Stop reading the last pages! You'll climb your way to those!" All Might would say with a sweat drop as he patted the boy on the head "What we've been doing lately was just to get you started, with this new program you should be able to get my quirk for the exam with a few months to spare so you can start getting used to it!"
"I mean...that sounds good but…" Izuku flinched as he read the sheets of paper...what the hell even was an inverted sit up? And this muscle up thing looked pretty hard to pull off… "I...I can handle it." he'd say with a trembling, awkward smile
But All Might would correct him by flipping over to the first pages, specifically to one that seemed to enter a session called 'footwork' "Right here is where we're starting, leave the rest for when you're ready."
"Footwork…? Isn't that a thing in boxing?"