"You know... I kind of almost wasn't expecting to hear from you after last week..."
"Huh, why?"
Izuku blinked slightly as, in a bit of a change of pace, He and Blake were sitting around in an off corner of the library. As it was the weekend, the library was pretty much entirely empty with only a few overachieving students having gathered in and around the section of the school to help finish up their class work or to quickly study for some upcoming test. Thus it made it incredibly easy to find a few seats and a table in the library far away from anyone and everyone in there for them to just hang out like she suggested last week. Izuku wanted to take some time to let the whole situation with Blake really sink in before he did so but, a week later, he felt ready to get back into it. Blake was his friend, after all, and he meant every word said. So to hear Blake's suggestion had surprised him. Blake seemed to realize that as she gave a soft smile and shook her head.
"It's... it's nothing about you Izuku. It's my own worse nature... I guess I figured that... well, after finding out, you'd have second thoughts." She shook her head before he could open his mouth to rebut her. "I know, I know. You, Izuku Midoriya, turning your back after everything you said, that's ridiculous. It's just... well, that's just the kind of thing I've gotten used to." He nodded, but with a firm, tense expression on his face as he looked Blake in the eye.
"Look Blake, you don't have to worry about that with me. I'm your friend and I said I'd keep your secret and do what I can to help you and I meant it. You can trust me." Blake's smile grew for a moment.
"Yeah... I've been kind of wrestling with that throughout this past week. It's... it's been something to get used to." Blake leaned forward in her chair, resting her forehead in her hands as she took a bit of a breath. "Back in The Fang, everyone already knew I was a Faunus and... that was just the thing to be. I didn't have to worry about keeping any secrets because everyone already knew everything and backed me to the hilt on it... well, I suppose that's not true. No one knew I was going to leave the Fang till literally the last second. That was probably a bit of a surprise." Blake snorted derisively as she took a breath. "But... it's been different here in Beacon. No one but you knows that about me... it's... it's weird."
"How so?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he did so.
"... It's like... it's like I have a sword hanging preciously over my head while also knowing I have an out anytime I need it." A visible look of confusion caused Blake some mirth, though it was expressed in the usual way for the stoic Cat girl. "Like I said, it's weird. On the one hand... you know my secret. At any moment, you could accidentally let it slip or someone could force it from you or you could tell someone else if you thought it was the right thing to do and there's not much I can do about it. It's out of my control... and unlike in The Fang, it's not just something that 'is'. People don't know about it... and they probably shouldn't..." He nodded, understanding Blake's general worries, even as he thought that she didn't need to worry about it.
"But... at the same time... I..." Blake took a breath as she looked at him. "I've been so stressed. There's been so many times where I thought 'this is it, this is the moment where I get caught'. There was this time where I was in the shower, my bow off on my pile of clothes, and Yang just walked in-" Izuku did his best to not let that mental image sink into his head, "-and she thought my ears were my bow. If she had turned her head just the right way, she would've seen my bow on my clothes and then..." Blake heaved a heavy sigh as she shook her head. "I've been having to keep this to myself. Just... just constantly worrying over it. All by myself...
"... Now though... now I have an out... now someone knows. Someone that knows my secret and... and just doesn't care. Someone I can just..." Blake motioned a finger between the two of them, "just... talk to. I don't have to constantly worry about it like I do with everyone else... there's a place where I'm just... safe. Safe to be a Faunus rather than a human girl with a penchant for constantly wearing her bow twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week... which, let me tell you, not comfortable." He nodded his head understandingly... as understandingly as he could given he had no Faunus features himself and so didn't know exactly how it would feel to have something constantly pinned down.
"Well Blake I'm glad that I can help in that small way... but really, you don't have to worry about me telling. I swore I wouldn't and I'll keep to that." Blake smiled slightly.
"I know... I just... I just need to get used to this again. It's... it's been a long time since I've been in the company of someone that I'm just supposed to trust implicitly. The last time... well, it was a couple months before I left the Fang. Back when I still thought that we were an absolute good. That our mission was entirely just..." Blake sighed as she shook her head. "After that... well, you can't exactly spend nearly a year living constantly looking over your shoulder and then go back to just trusting people again. I... I need to get used to that again. I need to work on it..." At that, he watched Blake frown slightly.
"What's wrong Blake?" The Cat Faunus glanced back at him for a moment, her eyes darting down to the side again before she sighed.
"Like I said, I need to work on it... that means... I really do just need to trust you. To... open up a bit..." Blake scratched the back of her head as she faced him fully. "Izuku... you've shown me around your home town. You've told me your dream and everything that's gone into it. You've exposed how vulnerable you used to feel back when you thought you were Br... a Moon Child."
"It's okay if you're more used to saying Broken... I know none of you guys mean it in a bad way."
"I'd prefer to refer to it as having been a Moon Child... call it a consideration." Blake's bow twitched slightly. "Anyway... I know all this stuff about you and... and you only know about my biggest secret. Yeah, that's a big thing to know but... well, you don't even know where I come from. Something as a simple as my home that I know about you..." Blake took a huge breath, trying to ease her nerves as she very slowly exhaled it. "So... I need to fix that. I need to trust you with that kind of information..." Blake rested her chin on her hands.
"So... I want you to feel free to ask me about... well... me, I guess. Whatever you feel like you need to know, just ask me and I'll... I'll do my best to answer..." He nodded slightly as he brought his hand up to his chin and rubbed it slightly.
"Alright... well, I better start with this then. I mean, I have to... it's only fair that I do after having asked people like Weiss and Pyrrha about this." Blake nodded, understandingly, as she took a deep breath, as if bracing herself for the incoming question. He looked straight at her for a second, feeling the tension in her, before his face folded into a confused, questioning look. "Why do you fight in high heels anyway?"
Blake immediately let out that gust of air all at once, practically coughing as she looked at him incredulously.
"Really?" He chuckled a little as he raised his hands.
"Sorry, sorry. It is something I'm curious about but... well, you just seem so dire about this Blake. I'm here as your friend... I wanted to remind you of that. You know, ease the tension a little. You don't have to be so worried about all this. I'm not going to ask anything that would be too bad... and if I accidentally do, you can tell me no. I just wanted to lighten the mood to meet that..." He said with an earnest smile as, slowly, Blake's own look softened, the smallest, 'smallest' sign of a smile on her lips before that too evened out.
"... Alright. Thanks, I guess. That was a little bit of a surprise." Blake took another breath as she shakes her head. "Anyway, alright. Why do I fight in high heels. Well... at this point, it's more habit than anything. I've been fighting in them for so long that it's just more comfortable for me to do so than not... I've got the balance down and whenever I fight outside of them... well, my feet never quite end up where I want them too. Rather than have to relearn how to adjust my footing, I've stuck with what works... but I'm guessing you want to know why I started fighting with them in the first place, right?" He nodded and Blake gave a slightly coy grin. "Well, that's easy enough to answer." For a moment Blake looked around the library, her bow twitching as she likely tried to ensure that no one was around the immediate area, before she turned her head behind her.
Izuku blinked in surprise as, in a show of flexibility, Blake quickly kicked her right leg back behind her, letting it bend till it's just about level with her chair. Having already turned her head, Blake reached back with her right hand to fiddle around with the heel of her shoe. At first he was confused as to what she was up to... but then, after a click, his eyes went slightly wide as Blake detached her heel from her shoe. With a flick of her thumb, the end of her heel suddenly produced... a bit of metal? No, not just a bit of metal...
"Is that a lock pick?" Blake nodded as she twisted the heel and lock pick around in her hand.
"Yep. You'd be surprised how many places get really thorough with their checks up in Atlas these days. It's not just your pockets up there... if they think you're suspicious, they'll pry open your mouth and check your teeth before letting you into an event. 'Extra security' they say. Which, fair enough, I know a few members of the Fang who did hide things behind their teeth... or, say, under a filling, a while back. I really didn't want to have a hole drilled in my mouth just for the pleasure of hiding something though, so I decided to go with a hiding place that wasn't even checked out at all. You'd be surprised how much security this bad boy got through just because of this hiding place." Blake quickly bent back, flicking the lock pick back into her heel before reattaching it. "Of course, this meant that I was pretty much always going to be walking around in my heels, don't want to ever be without your little tool after all, so it just seemed like the logical step. If I was always going to be in heels, I'd better learn how to fight in them. Enough Huntresses do it that it's a common sight so it's not like I'd every draw any attention that way."
"... Do you have anything in your other heel?" he asked, curiously, as Blake just smiles.
"Nah... that one's just hollowed out in case I ever needed to clandestinely transfer messages someplace secure." He nodded slowly, eyes wide as he looked up at her.
"That... makes a lot of sense actually. That would be useful all things considered." Blake nodded slightly as she looked down at the tables.
"Yeah. Pick up all kinds of neat little tricks when you're... well, when you're a terrorist..." Izuku nodded in some solemn agreement, though he offered her a smile.
"Well you never know; those kinds of skills might be useful in the urban parts of being a Hunter. I'm sure Aizawa has all kinds of tricks and stuff like that up his sleeves." Blake offered a small smile at that, even as she shook her head.
"As shady as Aizawa can be sometimes, I doubt he has tricks like those... but I appreciate the attempt there Izuku." With that the conversation died down slightly while he rubbed his chin.
"Well alright, how about where you're from? Like you said, you know where I live, so I thought it'd be pretty cool to know where you come from." Blake nodded, likely having expected a question more along those lines.
"Fair enough. Well... let's start with the basics. I'm... kind of complicated, I guess. I guess you could say that I'm from Menagerie, if we're going to give me a birthplace and home." His eyes went slightly wide at that, leaning forward as he tilted his head to the side.
"Woah, really? You're a Menagerie Faunus?" Blake chuckled a bit at the term but nodded.
"Yep. Born there way back when. My family's actually lived in Menagerie dating back to my grandfather after the Great War... and my dad fought in the Faunus Rights Revolution to preserve our freedoms and to keep us from living there exclusively. I know, it's a bit of a surprise to see one of us not living there but... well, it's the truth."
"What's it like there. I mean, I hear most of the island is desert, so..." Blake nodded, though there remained that smile on her face.
"Yeah, it is. Kind of crappy that we got stuck with an island that was mostly desert but... well, given what Vacuo's stuck with, I guess it could've been worse." Blake offers a slight chuckle. "Still, don't let that description fool you... most of Menagerie might be a dangerous desert full of terrible Grimm and wildlife... but the parts of the island where stuff does grow? Gods, it's a beautiful place. Lush and vibrant with trees unlike anywhere else I've seen traveling the world. The sky and the water are so blue and stretch for so long that it just seems like they end up meeting each other in the horizon perfectly. Because so little of it is habitable, a lot of people on Menagerie live in very close proximity on the coasts of the island... but that just makes the community so energetic. You can go out into the waters and see fish or other aquatic Faunus just swimming to jumping in the water or working their jobs as fishermen. The markets are always active because the island might be dangerous but we still got some good stuff there. There's Dust out in the desert if you're willing to brave it and... well, the farmland isn't 'great' but it's enough to grow some really nice fruit thanks to the climate. You never have to worry about racism there either... after all, everyone's a Faunus. There's only ever been 'one' human on the island itself since it was given to us after the Great War and... boy, was he a heck of an exception."
"That sounds pretty nice." He said with a smile as Blake just nodded.
"Yeah... yeah it was... but when I was young, I didn't get a lot of chances to really sit down and enjoy that. My parents... were part of the early White Fang. The Fang led by Ghira Khan. Because the White Fang back then was an organization meant to travel around and help strike or protest for Faunus Rights, that meant my family and I moved around Remnant a lot. I've actually been to all Four Kingdoms. Seen them all and, for various amounts of times, lived in them all. It's... why it's kind of weird to call Menagerie my home. I've lived outside of Menagerie for longer than I've lived in it... honestly, I'd consider one of the Four Kingdoms my home more than Menagerie at this point. Still, what time I did spend there was just... just amazing. No fears or worries except for the occasional Grimm. A real, honest to goodness home... but a home that I was willing to leave along with my parents. I wanted to fight for our rights. so that Faunus who chose to live outside Menagerie could do so without fear from humans. So they could live as freely in the Four Kingdoms as they could in Menagerie... I really believed that. I really thought my parents... and Ghira Khan believed in that idea too."
Despite the earlier, happier tone, the conversation dipped here as Blake rubbed her hands together slightly. Izuku nodded slowly at that, a slightly tight expression on his face as he looked over at Blake.
It took a few moments of waiting as Blake took a slight breath. He didn't want to push Blake too hard. She was opening up to him at her own pace and he didn't want to push too far too fast and go beyond what she was comfortable with. Eventually Blake just closed her eyes and shook her head, looking back at him.
"Anyway... that was home while I was there. Eventually my parents wanted to leave The Fang around the time Ghira retired and Sienna stepped up to become the next Khan. I... was stubborn. I wanted to stick around. Sienna Khan's message of defending ourselves proactively rather than just taking the abuse... well, it appealed after I saw how the peaceful approach wasn't just earning progress fast enough. I thought... I thought it was all just in defense of Faunus. That's how it started anyway... but it obviously didn't stay that way. That's another story though..." Blake brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she did so, Izuku moving on to his next question.
"Well alright, here's something I'm curious about then; how did you learn to do all the stuff you do? I mean, the fighting and stuff. Did you have a mentor or was it all self-taught or..." His voice died slightly as Blake visibly paled a bit. There was a clear look of discomfort on her face as he asked the question, the cat Faunus having again messed with her hair.
"... A lot of it was self-learned, especially when it came to my day to day activities but... yeah... I-I guess I had a mentor when it came to learning how to fight..." Blake glanced down to the side, before looking back at him. "Listen... Izuku, I know what I said but... could you... maybe ask something else? I'm... well... this is kind of personal for me. It's not something I'd really want to talk about..."
Izuku immediately shook his head as he smiled apologetically at Blake. "No, no, I get it. This is pretty personal." Blake nodded, sending a grateful look his way while he leaned forward a bit. "So, you mentioned wanting to make up for what you did, right? You got any plans for that, beyond becoming a Huntress?"
"... Gosh, that's just the question of the year right now..." Blake sighed as she leaned forward on the table as well. "If I'm being completely honest Izuku? I have no idea. Everything's just kind of come and gone so quickly when it's come to my life at this point. I started questioning the motives of the organization I practically dedicated my entire life to, then I quit and ran away leaving behind everyone I had ever known... I snuck around for a while and then, by some miracle, I managed to get my way into Beacon off of some friends. Now... I just don't know. Everything these past several months has pretty much me moving from one spot in my life to another, just trying to make sense of things. Right now... I don't really have a plan. I haven't really had time to just sit and think about it with everything constantly changing... or, who knows, maybe that's just another excuse for me to run away from that question..." Izuku frowned slightly hearing Blake put herself down like that. Eventually, however, he just smiled as he nodded understandingly.
"No, I think I get what you mean. Don't forget, I had my own pretty big changes not too long ago, so I get what you mean. But it's like I said at the fountain; I want to help you moving forward, to focus on the future... and from here on out, that means I want to help you figure out what you want and support you every step of the way." He smiled warmly, genuinely at Blake who just smiled back. "So let's figure out what you want together, one step at a time. That sound good, Blake?"
"... Yeah, yeah that sounds good Izuku... thanks."
"It's no problem Blake. That's what friends are for." Blake gave a small chuckle as she nodded her head understandingly.
"Yeah... guess that's something I just have to relearn." He smiled at that. Sure, the thought was sad, but... to a degree, that means Blake was learning it again. From him, of all people.
After that the two exchanged just a little bit of extra history. He was really interested in learning about Menagerie, and hearing all these stories from Blake was certainly an enlightening experience. After a while, the day grew late and it seemed like it was a good time for them both to go ahead and get back to their dorms.
"Finally feeling gutsy again eh Slugger? Gotta admit, after our last fight I figured it'd be a while before you'd take me on for a spar." Izuku smiled slightly as Yang spoke, the blonde brawler stretching herself out as she prepared for their spar, the two of them in their training attire as they looked ready to pair off into another fight. Yang had been right; he had been putting off challenging her to another spar since their last bit punch up in Combat Class. That fight had been intense... because he'd been using his Smash so liberally. By Glenn Smashing at her, he'd managed to level the playing field against Yang, pushing her to her own limits and getting her to activate her own Semblance. It'd only been at the end, both of them thoroughly beaten down and exhausted, that the fight had been called in her favor. While he was proud of how close he got it, even he was full well ready to admit that he'd only gotten as close as he had thanks to the Glenn Smash. In a straight fist fight between himself and Yang, like she said in Peach's office, she would've clobbered him.
Now though? Now he'd trained a bit more. He was more than he used to be, though he'd admit he probably had a bit of a way to go. So he wanted to get back into sparring with Yang. It was really fun to do and Yang usually had some good tips or suggestions for improving his form, something he was always looking for when it came to your training. Plus, well...
"Well I've gotten stronger than I was during that spar Yang. I thought I'd see how far I'd come since then to see how I'd stack up against you." Izuku saw Yang grin slightly, the slight glint of that battle lust that he'd seen during his fight with her and the lead up to it shining through.
"That right Slugger? Well, if you say that then I know you must got something special up that sleeve of yours." Yang against went into some stretches, shifting from side to side as she stretched out her legs. "Though, don't get my expectations too high there Slugger; you don't want to disappoint a girl by over-promising and then not delivering... it'd be a real departure coming from you too." Izuku watched as Yang offered him a slightly coy wink. "After all, you've been such a gentlemen so far, it'd be just terrible if you broke that streak here." Izuku went a bit red at that, reminded of their last couple outings with Yang but, to a different degree, their fights. They really have been pretty exciting and fun times and, each time, he could tell Yang was in some way looking forward to it. The temptation to really surprise Yang and knock her off her feet was pretty strong, as he knew that Yang would take it as a treat.
"Well, I don't intend to Yang..." Izuku muttered slightly, cracking his knuckles as he did so. "Because... well, you just made it look so cool that I had to get one of my own." At that, Yang curiously arched an eyebrow, the blonde brawler crossing her arms as she tilted her head to the side, watching as he slowly bent his knees and strained his muscles.
"Oh, what would that be, Slugger?" Yang asked, a grin forming on her lips as she watched him scrunch his face up in focus. Izuku took a deep breath as he pulled upon that chunk of One For All he could control, that 5%, and then push it throughout his entire body. Izuku managed the feat well enough and, within seconds, his body was slowly but surely beginning to spark with that green electricity that had marked his initial activation of Full Cowl. HIs skin glowed more and more as the energy built up in him, going slightly golden while even his eyes started to shine, emerald irises giving a shine as his muscles swelled under the influence of the power of 5% of One For All. Yang just watched, her grin having disappeared while her jaw hung open slightly when he, finally, finished pulling out all the power he needed.
"A super form, of course... I call it Full Cowl." Izuku said with a slight smile, feeling slightly sheepish at the very slight amount of showmanship he was putting on, though he figured Yang of all people would've appreciated it. For a moment, it seemed like that Yang was just stunned at the sight, a slight tilt to her head as she took him in...
He wasn't surprised when, all of a sudden, that look of shock turned into one excitement. Of anticipation.
"Well, well Slugger. First my weapons and now my Semblance? You really must like what you see on a day to day basis if you're so intent on flattering me with imitation." Izuku couldn't help but blush slightly as those lilac eyes slowly turn red and offer him a bit of a wink. "If you start wearing a tube top though, I think you'll have gone a little too far... though that would show off your abs more..." Then... Yang did something that confused him a bit. Izuku watched as Yang reached up for Ember Celica, which had still been deactivated on her wrists while she'd been stretching out to prepare for the fight... and just slipped them off of her. The young woman cracked her neck slightly as she reached up and cracked her knuckles, her gloves still on her hands despite having tossed her weapons off to the side.
"Yang, what are you-"
Before he could ask a question, he watched in stunned silence as Yang drove her fist into her ribs, a glow of her Aura shining for the briefest of moments before it immediately dulled, allowing her fist to just 'sink' into her side. Izuku watched as Yang hacked out a sharp breath, a little spittle having splatted onto the ground in front of her as she coughed ever so slightly. That cough turned into a chuckle as Yang swiped at her mouth, giving him a wide smile as she did so.
"Well, I'm just going to have to show you why you can't beat the original." With that Yang reared both her fists back to the side and... well...
'I probably should've seen this coming.'
Yang slammed her fists into each other and immediately her body went alight with her Semblance. Her hair rocketed above her, as if held aloft by some invisible gust of wind behind her, as it glowed and burned with the varying colors of a roaring inferno. Her eyes were fully red as they stared at Izuku while her entire body just glowed with her power.
"Now Izuku... this is a spar and all and you're supposed to learn... so, let's make it even footing. Your 'super form' versus mine. I'll learn you a thing or two about how it's just not all about raw power." Despite her words, there was a wide smile on her face as Yang cracked her knuckles once again, the movement met with an appropriate flexing of the brawler's powerful Aura. The overwhelmingly excited but playful tone, plus Yang's pep talk from before, told him she hadn't been sore about how the last fight turned out... but it was above clear that she wanted to really put Full Cowl through its paces. He'd gotten her 'excited'.
Well, as Izuku slipped Emerald Gust off of his arms, keeping his gloves on his hands to help protect his fingers and hands, he couldn't help but oblige her. It was just a spar after all.
"Alright Yang, let's do this." Izuku quickly got into his stance, which just caused Yang to bark out a laugh.
"Exactly what I wanted to hear, Izuku!" With that, he and Yang immediately charged in for each other, both their speeds immediately boosted by their Semblances.
It was with a bit of deception that Izuku tried to start this fight. He knew that, having struck herself so directly, that Yang would likely be a little bit off her game, more so than usual. That presented an opportunity, he though. A way to perhaps break through that barrier of defenses Yang had from her intense training in the martial arts. A feint, properly executed and taking advantage of Yang's self-inflicted injury, could give him an opening into striking her if the opportunity allowed for it. So he quickly moved in, giving a quick shout as he tried to fake Yang out, pumping in One For All ever so slightly into his right hand as if he was preparing for a Smash. However, Yang's red eyes narrowed at the sight and, rather than obviously dodging in a way that would upset her footing, the blonde brawler just adjusts herself ever so slightly, just in case. The feint, having not knocked her off her usual game, failed as he gritted his teeth, preparing for Yang's counter attack.
Izuku knew what Yang was capable of when powered up. She hadn't taken nearly as much damage from her own fist as she had from your Glenn Smash, but he knew that Yang was an 'incredibly' capable fighter. So he was surprised when he saw that, rather than the full barrage of blows he knew that Yang would be capable of sending his way, the girl went for more obvious, slower strikes than the rapid ones he knew she could unleash... that's not to say he wasn't overwhelmed when five swings headed for him but he knew she was capable of more...
Then again, it wouldn't be much of a spar meant to help teach him forms if Yang just beat him into the dirt without even trying, right? So he did his best; some of the strikes were too far off to be even a slight concern about dodging, but three of them were on point. He did manage to easily beat off one of the attacks with his own fists while a quick dodge got him to avoid another attack but... well, his Aura couldn't save him from that last punch. By the Gods, did it hurt too. It doesn't punch through his Aura, especially not with One For All coursing through his body, but he still felt the pressure of the hit and it made his ribs scream slightly. He 'definitely' didn't want to know what it was like to be hit head on by one of those punches without his Aura protecting him.
Figuring that with Yang's expertise that the feint wasn't going to work from here on out he went in for a rush of attacks. Three fists went flying and they're all on point, the last of them, as usual, being a Smash. Yang easily slapped the first one way... but then he watched as she noticed the second one coming right for her. It was close, but he knew that Yang could conceivably push her Aura into her to help avoid the strike. Instead, Yang took it head on, his fist driving itself into her stomach as the young woman bent over slightly. It' was with a wide grin that Yang looked at him, her eyes shining with that excited energy, as she laughed while going in for her next assault, her energy practically infectious. What wasn't great was the fact that another hit managed to get through to him after the assault, the rain of blows having overwhelmed his defenses to the point where he'd had to burn some Aura early to dodge one of the hits.
The one that landed only grazed him but, even in doing so, still hurt ever so slightly. His own hit was stronger, he imagined, but that was a pretty direct shot at Yang's core. Hers only grazed his side and it still stung like Hell. With his Aura dwindling from Yang's assault he took a deep breath and went in for another flurry of blows... there was no hesitation that time, Yang just parried and dodged out of the way as one of his potential hits just flew far off to the side, missing her entirely. Yang, with a quick battle cry, got in past one of his parries and then drove a fist into his stomach, causing the air to be driven from his lungs as the signal for him entered the red rang. All at once, both Full Cowl and Yang's Semblance died out, which had caused Izuku to feel even 'more' exhausted while Yang just took a step back. He would've fallen on his butt, his footing having been supported by Yang's fist at that moment... had it not been for Yang quickly reaching out and grabbing him, supporting his weight on her.
"Woah there, easy fella. You've taken enough hits without collapsing onto the floor, right? Let's get you onto a bench. Sound good, Slugger?"
"Yeah, sounds good Yang..." Izuku winced as he talked, his core still feeling sore from the hits it took from Yang. The two of them walked, well Izuku stumbled next to Yang while she supported his weight, over to a bench. He was grateful that Yang didn't take the opportunity to tease him about his proximity as she sat him down onto the bench, the young woman heaving a slight breath as she rubbed at her own stomach, right where Izuku'd struck her.
"Gotta hand it to you Izuku, in terms of sheer speed, your... Full Cowl?" Izuku nodded as Yang sought confirmation. "Yeah, Full Cowl pretty much has me beat. You could probably dance circles around me in the time it'd take me to catch up to you." The lilac eyed young girl winced ever so slightly as she hit a particularly sore spot on her exposed abdomen. Her short jacket and tube top made it easy to see her stomach and while it wasn't bruised in the aftermath of the fight, it was still pretty red. "Let's you hit pretty hard too. Gotta say, I approve..." She offered him a wry grin. "Did you really come up with it to copy my Semblance though? If you did, really, I'm flattered... but it sounded like just some cool pre-fight banter." You grin ever so slightly as you look up at her.
"Actually, if I'm being really honest, I didn't really 'come up with it' per say. I wasn't working toward it... well, I kind of was but I didn't know it." Yang tilted her head to the side as he leaned back, a slight smile on his face. "You see... while talking with Nora after she knocked me into a wall during a spar, she let me in on a little detail about how most people used their Aura. That you all keep it on all the time, just under the surface, rather than just digging down into it whenever you felt like you needed it." Yang nodded her head at that, putting her hands on her shoulders.
"Yeah, you figure that out pretty quickly. It's just kind of a part of getting used to... ah Hell... that had to suck to learn..." Yang rubbed at the back of her head as Izuku nodded.
"I'll admit, I felt pretty thick at the time. Something so simple about how Aura worked and I didn't pick up on it until I had it explained to me. I'm thankful still but, yeah, it wasn't a proud moment." Yang offered a sympathetic smile as she continued. "Anyway, Nora didn't just flat out explain it. She actually used a metaphor to help paint a picture. She used a metaphor about-"
"Let me guess, pancakes?"
"Got it in one."
"Well you can't say the girl doesn't know what she likes." Yang offered with a smile as he chuckled.
"Yeah... but it was really helpful in this case." Izuku looked up at Yang who was just looking down at him expectantly. "You see, the way Nora put it, she wasn't just 'turning the heat on' at a high blast whenever she needed her Aura. That she had to keep the heat on consistently so that it'd heat up the entire pancake and help it cook." A smile slowly but surely grew on Yang's face as if she was seeing where the entire thing was going. "So when I tried applying that metaphor to my own Aura, it made me think over to my Semblance too; I was only pulling that bit of my Semblance that I could control whenever I needed it, using it rather than making it a part of me. So-"
"So you used Nora's pancake metaphor in order to figure out Full Cowl?" Izuku nodded, sheepishly, as Yang barked out a laugh. "Oh my Gods, Slugger! You sure you want 'that' to be the story about how you figured out Full Cowl? A metaphor using pancakes is pretty..." Yang snorted through her nose as she tried to hold back some laughter, still smiling at him as she did so. "Is pretty funny, don'tcha think?" Izuku nodded slightly at that, remembering back to Toshinori's hesitance about his egg metaphor for his first step in understanding One For All. Still...
"Well, two people have been okay with it, and Nora was really enthused about it and hey, so long as it works for me it should be fine, right?" At that Yang just gave him a wink and a smile.
"Of course. Wouldn't suggest anything less than that. I'm just saying, you could stand for a slightly cooler story there Slugger." Yang gave a widened smile as some thought crossed her eyes, the blonde stroking her chin slightly as she looked off to the side. "Then again, maybe this metaphor works out just fine for you, Slugger. After all, what better way to describe Full Cowl than with a pancake metaphor? From here on out, you're gonna be pretty busy-" Izuku prematurely groaned as he put a hand on his face, smiling nonetheless as he knew what was coming, "-laying the bad guys 'flat'! Eh, eh?" It was a horrible pun, but still, he couldn't help but chuckle a little as Yang grinned.
"You know if Tsuyu ever finds out you made that joke, she'll probably tongue lash you really hard?" Yang shivered a bit at that, before grinning down at Izuku.
"Well Slugger, is she ever gonna find out that I made an awesome pun?" Izuku just smiled and shook his head, Yang lightly putting her hand on his shoulder to show appreciation 'without' hurting him. "That's why you're a good person there, Slugger."
"Oh yeah, not because I want to be a hero or anything." Yang barked out a big old laugh as she reached a hand down to help his out of your seat.
"Right! That's just all secondary to the fact that you like my puns and you're not gonna report me to my partner. Because you're such a gentleman, Slugger, I'll be happy to help you to your dorm room." Izuku rolled his eyes slightly as he took Yang's hand, letting her lift him up.
"You know, considering you did a number on me with your Semblance, it might've just been nice if you did that no matter what."
"Pssh. As if tough guy. You're getting the pleasure of being around Yang Xiao Long. That alone requires an extra fee." Izuku just blushed a bit but smile as Yang helps you walk back to his dorm room, the two of them talking along the way... most of the discussion being Yang making more pancake puns to go along with Full Cowl.
E/N: Two chapters three Waifu candidates, But only one will win...
-Shovern