Izuku's bones ached as he dragged himself to LeBlanc. All Might's training had only started two weeks ago, in the middle of April, which wasn't enough time to see real results yet… other than muscle strain and tiredness that is. But Izuku relished the pain; it meant he was getting stronger, strong enough for All Might's quirk, strong enough to be a hero. He would put up with anything in order to become a hero.

The cooldown walk to LeBlanc was nice, with the weather just cold enough to cool his skin. He got there right before closing and, with the sun rapidly setting, he knew he'd have to take the train home. It was for the best. He probably wouldn't have the energy to walk back.

The bell dinged cheerily above him as he walked in the door. The café was abandoned except for Boss and, surprisingly, the delinquent, both behind the counter. It looked like Boss had been teaching him how to brew coffee when he came in.

Izuku managed a weary smile. "Good evening."

"Evening," came the rough reply. "Why don't you sit down, kid? I'll whip up your usual."

"No thanks, Boss." Izuku hated to deny, but All Might's diet plan didn't have room for Sojiro's curry, even if it was tasty. "Just my usual coffee, please."

He'd started drinking coffee on recommendation from All Might. He'd asked just so he could still have an excuse to continue walking all the way to Yongen-Jaya.

Boss gave him a look, but began to prepare his coffee, a macchiato with a hazelnut syrup. Izuku sat in his usual chair in front of the coffee maker, trying not to look at the delinquent. His name was Akira, Izuku had learned on his visit the previous week, but Izuku had yet to speak with him, only seeing the boy in passing as he went to the attic after school. In his efforts to keep from looking at Akira, Izuku found himself locking eyes with Boss. That seemed to be enough permission for Boss to get all serious on him.

"Has everything been okay at home lately, kid?"

Izuku could feel Akira's curious eyes on him and decided not to let anything slip. "Things have been fine. Why do you ask?"

"You've been coming in later than usual, these past two weeks. Stopped ordering food too." Sojiro's eyes roamed his body, as if checking for wounds. "Makes me worry, is all."

Smiling sheepishly, Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work out a kink. "Sorry, Boss. I've just started some really intense training, that's all. I'm on a diet now too, to help build muscle, and I have to keep to it if I want to get stronger. B-But I still love your curry! I'll just… save it for special occasions."

Boss probably didn't believe him—Boss had a remarkable talent for knowing when he was being lied too—but fortunately he didn't press the issue and gave Izuku his coffee. As Izuku took out his notebook to work, Sojiro flipped the tv over to Hero News. "So long as you're not over-working yourself. You don't want to collapse on the way home."

"I won't. Thanks, Boss!" Izuku sipped his coffee, his taste buds only saved thanks to the hazelnut flavor, and got to work on analyzing. He didn't want his skills to rot while he worked on improving his body after all. A hero needs to be smart and strong, with the focus being on the former, like Nii-san used to say.

Halfway through updating his entry on Lockrock (who'd stopped an entire building from collapsing earlier that day and inspired Izuku to rethink the hero's quirk again. Who'd think a simple immobilizing quirk would be so complicated!?), when a black cat hopped up on the counter beside him. Boss didn't seem to notice, busying himself with putting the leftover curry away, but the delinquent did, watching with wide eyes behind his glasses.

Izuku blinked. The cat blinked back.

Okay, then. Weird. As he went back to his work, the cat leaned over his notebook, like he was observing it, and let out a little chirrup. Boss looked up from his dishes and saw. "Don't get on the counter during business hours!" he snapped, nudging the cat away from Izuku. "Go on, shoo!"

"It's alright," Izuku tried to reassure, but the cat already jumped away, meowing and chirping the entire time. The noisy cat seemed to address Akira, looking at him as it meowed away, going for over ten seconds before stopping. Izuku watched sadly as the cat ran up the stairs to the attic; he would have liked to pet him.

"Sorry about Morgana," Izuku glanced up to see Akira in front of him. He slowly pulled his notebook back towards him, not wanted him to see the detailed breakdown of a hero's quirk. "He's usually a lot better behaved. Was he bothering you?"

"No, it was alright. I didn't mind so much." Izuku wanted a cat for forever, but his dad had been allergic and their apartment didn't allow for them, so Izuku would be forever catless until he moved out.

"That's good," he said and did Izuku imagine the way his eyes peeked at his notebook? "What are you working on?"

No, he hadn't imagined it. In fact, Akira seemed a lot more interested in Izuku's notebook than Izuku himself. "Just some schoolwork," Izuku lied, closing the notebook cover down so Akira couldn't see the title and slipping it back into his backpack. "It's rude to work on it here though."

"Oh." Izuku tried to convince himself that the older teen was just curious, but the interest and subsequent disappoint in his eyes couldn't be hidden behind glasses. And Izuku couldn't think of a single good reason why a boy on probation would be interested in the analysis of hero quirks. "Is it difficult?"

"Yeah," Izuku answered as he chugged down the rest of his coffee. "I should really go home so I can finish it. My mom will be worried if I don't come home soon. Thanks, Boss!" Izuku threw down more than enough yen for his coffee and bolted for the train station, leaving a confused Sojiro and Akira behind him.

The last thing he needed was for some delinquent to get his hands on his notebook! Imagine the harm he could do to a hero! Izuku would have to work on a way to protect it. A code, maybe? He'd ask Alibaba for recommendations when he got home.