A/N: In my own time I created a drawing of Izuku, which I am incredibly happy with. So much so that I've decided to make it the new cover art of this story, since I think it really fits. Hope you like it!
A side note also, is that due to complaints, I've again revisited every single chapter of this story and completely removed Izuku's stuttering, unless it's somewhere it is actually needed.
I had many reviews pointing out how hard this was to read, and I agree fully. I did this because I want to create a story not only interesting for old readers but also newer readers. If by chapter 10, people were getting frustrated by his stutter, then I'd failed at that, so I've removed it, and only left it where it is necessary. I really hope that is okay :3
Sitting back in the water, Izuku could finally let his body relax properly. He always felt like a warm bath eased his tense muscles, and this time was no different.
"This seat taken?" Todoroki asked, pulling Izuku from his thoughts.
"N-No." The startled greenette managed to say, quickly moving his hand down to the towel around his waist to make sure it was secure. Todoroki let out a small chuckled and slowly took a seat at his friend's side, leaning against the wall as bubbles were gently jetted out from behind them.
"How are you feeling?" The half-half boy asked curiously, looking over at Izuku with a concerned expression.
"I'm fine, less sore than earlier." The greenette responded. Todoroki nodded slowly.
"That's good. I feel like this will be really good for you. Taking a break, I mean." He said calmly. "I've had something similar happen to me when I was younger. I didn't use my quirk for a few months after that, but, when I finally used it again, I felt stronger, and more able than ever before." Todoroki proceeded to explain, looking down at his lap as if he was remembering something dark.
The greenette watched him and swallowed saliva nervously. Izuku wasn't able to utter the words, but he agreed with his friend. He often found that with studying. Doing the same thing again, and again, constantly, would make it harder and harder to focus on, no matter how interesting he originally found it. Something that helped him, was moving onto a different topic, and when he finally came back to his original topic, he felt re-energised and motivated.
It was the same with One For All. All he really needed, was to completely give his body time to rest and recover. Major changes had occurred to it over the past few months after all. His muscles had filled out, so much so he was beginning to catch up to Bakugo's build, and his stamina and reaction times had improved drastically from before he had this quirk.
However, he'd never really given his body time to catch up with those changes. He'd slowed things down from time to time, but he'd never really given it long enough to fully repair it's torn muscles and reinforce it's battered bones.
"Midoriya?" Todoroki asked suddenly, startling the greenette again. Had be been muttering to himself, or had he spaced out whilst Todoroki was talking to him?
"Don't you agree?" He asked again. Izuku shook himself and nodded enthusiastically.
"Y-Yeah, definitely!" He said with a smile. Todoroki let out a soft chuckle again and sat back, relaxing his head against the artificial rocks and looking up to the small wooden outcrop above them.
"What about you, Todoroki-Kun?" Izuku asked, copying his friends actions. The half-half teenager hummed an inquisitive sound in response.
"How are you feeling after all of this?" Izuku continued. Todoroki was quiet for a moment, thinking.
"I feel stronger. The difference may not be as drastic as I'd hoped, but I can feel it." He replied after a few short moments. Izuku felt the same. Although getting stronger as fast as possible felt like the most important thing to him at times, it was important to think things through and not be narrow minded. They might not be in the future, but his class was a team, and he wanted to help them in any way he could, along with helping himself.
"Are you nervous?" Izuku asked again. Todoroki didn't say anything, but shook his head.
"About what?" Todoroki retorted. Izuku opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again and sighing.
"Being responsible for saving all those lives once we qualify... It doesn't worry you?" Izuku asked, feeling a tad pathetic. How was Todoroki always so level headed, even when things were difficult. The only time Izuku had really seen him about to step out of line, was when they first spoke to the police chief after the incident with Hero Killer, Stain.
"No. I understand your feeling of responsibility... I feel that too. But, right now, we're students. This weight most of us feel is because we look into the futures and see ourselves only with our current levels of strength. Realistically, when we're all professional heroes, we will be so much stronger than this." He explained. Izuku felt his heart flutter with realisation.
"I don't worry, because I know I'll be strong enough to save those lives that need saving." The half-half added. Izuku could feel himself wanting to tear up, but tried his very best to suppress it. What Todoroki had said was very true, although a tad different for Izuku.
The greenette looked into the future not only having the strength he currently did, but also that if he did get stronger, he'd be just like All Might. It wasn't being like All Might as a person, because he'd always wanted that. It was being what All Might was now, in a physical way.
His health was on the decline as they spoke, and he wasn't the hero he used to be after everything he'd been through. But, what Izuku had to remember, was that it didn't mean he would suffer the same fate. This was all the more reason he had to give one-hundred and ten percent to his training, and not fall where All Might so unfortunately had.
"You'll be fine, Midoriya. I know it." He added with a warm smile, patting his greenette friends shoulder reassuringly.
"Thanks, Todoroki-Kun." Izuku responded with a warm smile, before they both returned their heads to the rocks, staring up at the wooden ceiling. This was perfect.
"It's not a good idea Mina." Uraraka warned as the pink skinned, Acid quirk user kicked her legs in the water, firing a glance over her shoulder at the thick wooden divider between them, and the boys bath.
"Come on Uraraka, you can't tell me you don't wanna lil' peak." Mina taunted, rolling her shoulder and leaning on her knees. She was right, Uraraka was only half tempted to try, but the risks were too great. She couldn't even believe herself for considering it in the first place.
"You can't Ashido, it would not be appropriate now you're dating Midoriya. It wouldn't be appropriate in any regard in fact." Momo warned, trying to keep her voice low in case she was heard.
"That's the only guy I'm lookin' for!" Mina exclaimed, making Momo wince with anxiety. "I don't need to see no-one else but my Midori." She added sternly.
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting a look at the cute nerd either- Todoroki too." Jiro said suggestively. Mina immediately snapped to look at her friend with an expression of encouragement, although she was feeling a little defensive on the inside. Izuku was for her eyes only.
"You can't." Momo spoke up, raising her voice a little more as invisible feet tapped past her and towards the pink skinned girl.
"Me too!" Toru exclaimed. "Let me see!" She beamed childishly.
"You're lying to yourself if you won't look at another guy, Ashido." Tsuyu said suddenly, acting as the second voice of reason. Uraraka was way to flustered to even try and argue, which had left Momo, so it was nice having someone to take her side.
"Whad'ya mean by that?" Mina asked, sounding a tad offended.
"Your a teenage girl. I know if I was in a relationship I'd still struggle to keep my eyes fixed on one boy." The Frog quirk user bravely admitted. Mina wanted to argue, but deep down she knew Tsuyu was right.
"UGH! Fine, you win." Mina groaned, folding her arms across her full breasts and huffing with defeat.
"Honestly, I wonder if having a relationship has relaxed you too much." Momo sighed, shaking her head.
"Excuse me!" Mina exclaimed with half fake offence. "Even if I wasn't dating Midori, I'd still wanna try sneak a look at him and that package." She muttered, lowing her voice to a mock seductive tone, which caused Uraraka to shy away even more.
"Even so, you can't. Knowing Aizawa, he'd make you spend the next month doing written work." Tsuyu warned. Mina knew she was joking, but she also knew that Aizawa would more than likely retaliate to this with such a punishment, and she didn't want to risk wasting valuable time.
"Ah! Why's he gotta be such a party pooper." Mina cried, sliding from the edge of the bath, into the water.
"I'd say he's more making sure the male students are comfortable and secure." Jiro argued, to which Mina quickly looked over her shoulder.
"Hey, I thought you were with me on this one! What about how comfortable we feel! They have Mineta over there, or did you forget?" She exclaimed, asking her friend in a sassy tone, to which Jiro raised her hands and shrugged.
"The only person we really have to worry about is Mineta-Kun, and maybe Kaminari-Kun." Momo giggled, shaking her head and sliding her hair behind her shoulders. Mina pouted more and sunk into the water, just about keeping her eyes above the surface and folding her arms across her chest. She was joking for the most part, but she did secretly want to sneak a peek at Izuku.
"So what'll we be doing for the rest of the day, do you think?" Jiro asked openly, changing the subject to something more appropriate, getting up and walking around the side of the bath before slipping back into the warm water beside Momo, Toru, and Uraraka. Mina looked over them all carefully.
Had Izuku ever looked at any of them in 'that way'. Momo was fuller than the rest of them. All of them took good care of their body. It didn't really matter how Toru looked, even a floating pair of underwear would probably be seductive to some of the boys in her class. Jiro, Uraraka and Tsuyu all had proportional bodies, well toned and strong, and then Mina was on par with them.
It reassured her knowing that she wasn't the only girl in this group who worried about how she looked, but she wondered why Izuku found her attractive over the other girls. The only thing Mina knew she had going for her, was her body structure. Not only was she nicely endowed, but she also had quite a bit of muscle on her because of how athletic she'd always been.
She couldn't help but feel a small urge to cover herself up. Normally she had confidence in her body, and even now she did. But, ever since she'd been dating Izuku, she couldn't help but constantly have a small nag in the back of her mind.
"I know we're cooking our own dinner tonight. I think I overheard Midoriyasay he was going to make something, which I'm quite looking forward to." Momo said, thoughtfully.
"Really! I didn't know he could cook." Toru exclaimed, excitedly. Mina shook the thoughts from her mind and made her way over to her friends. There was no point thinking about it. She knew she looked good, she knew Izuku thought the same thing, and she knew there was nothing to feel jealous about compared to the other girls. It was probably just teenage paranoia.
"I still can't get over the fact he cooks, period. He never told me about that." Mina pretended to sulk. "I'll bet he's pretty good though huh?" She added rhetorically.
"Do you think he'll teach me? I've always wanted to try, and boys find that important when looking for girlfriends, don't they?" Jiro asked, twiddling her thumbs. The girls all turned to frown at her.
"You could've asked me during the study session. I'd have been more than happy to teach you a few little dishes." Momo offered kindly.
"Well... I know I just... I haven't really thought much about it until now." The black-haired teenager muttered, shrugging with a timid blush on her cheeks.
"I'm sure Midori would be more than happy. What gotcha worried about that? Someone ya gotcha eye on?" Mina teased. Normally Jiro never showed any interest in guys, so why was she suddenly so concerned?
"Not really, I just thought it'd be nice to learn whilst I have the chance. Better late than never right?" Jiro asked, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. Mina folded her arms and looked at her with a sideways frown.
Liar... She muttered to herself.
"Yes, I'm sure Midoriyawill be more than happy. You know him." Momo complimented, shifting and lowering herself further into the water, resting her head back and letting out a content sigh.
Mina had never really noticed it as much before, but people really did talk about Izuku a lot. People often looked to him for help, but never ended up asking him because of how busy and focused he always seemed. It didn't surprise the pink skinned girl, however. If there was anyone to rely on here, it would be Izuku.
Izuku had forgotten just how good and refreshing a warm bath was. He felt like a completely new person. He'd brought along a pair of cargo trousers, a tank top and a sleeveless hoodie to change into, since they were clothes he saw as expendable, and now he was changed, himself and the boys and girls of class 1-A, were all headed back towards the dorm building.
He felt surprisingly sleepy after that. His head and eyes felt heavier than usual, and thanks to the humid weather, the warmth wasn't helping much either. He felt bad for feeling tired, because compared to everyone else today, he'd done virtually nothing.
"Yo Midoriya, y'alright over there?" Kirishima laughed, as Izuku's eyes slowly fell shut for a very brief moment. Having his name called definitely woke him up a bit, but not a lot.
"Y-Yeah. Sorry, I feel really drained for some reason." The greenette responded, gently shaking his head and rubbing the brim of his nose.
"I'll say. Why don'cha get some sleep now?" Kirishima suggested, pushing his hands into his pockets. Izuku shook his head.
"I'll be alright." He smiled. "It's not that major." He added, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. Kirishima nodded, accepting Izuku's answer, before turning back to Kaminari and Bakugo. He only had dinner left to make with the others, and finally he'd be able to go to bed and get some sleep.
"Hey, Midoriya-Kun." Another voice perked up. Izuku looked over his shoulder after finishing his satisfying stretch, and spotted Jiro making her way over to him.
"Jiro... Everything alright?" He asked, slowing his pace so she could catch up.
"Yeah, Everythin's fine. Just wanted to ask if you could give me a hand with something." She started confidently. Izuku was unnecessarily taken aback by her statement, but quickly shook himself.
"S-Sure, what did you need?" He asked, pushing his hands into his pockets as they walked.
"You do cook, right? Tsu told us." She stated. Izuku's stomach dropped a little, and he fired the Frog quirk user a glance.
"I-I do, yeah... Why?" He continued questioning.
"You wouldn't mind teaching me how to make something, would you? I just figured, if we're gonna be cooking anyway, might as well kill two birds with one stone." She asked with a shrug.
"Oh..." Izuku hummed quietly, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "Sure, I-I don't see why not." He muttered with a smile. He'd never really taught anyone anything before, especially not cooking.
"Awesome, thanks! I'm sure it'll be nice to have an extra helpin' hand if your cooking for the whole class, anyway." She beamed, before quickly calming herself and hiding her embarrassed blush, making up an excuse.
Izuku quietly laughed to himself before letting out another yawn. It felt almost impossible to hold them back. It was like the fatigue of the past few days was all coming through to him at the same time. Right now, he felt like he might never recover from the physical tax of his training.
He was incredibly proud of himself however, even after getting himself into this situation. Only around a month ago, he was capped at using around ten percent of Full Cowling whilst keeping his body comfortable. Now, after everything that he'd been through, and all the rigmarole of training for hours and hours, every single day, he could almost use twenty percent.
It was an enormous leap, not only in his eyes, but also in his classmate's eyes. They'd all seen him struggle with his 'unknown' quirk, and they'd watched him get this far, and although he didn't know it, they were all proud of him.
Twenty percent of One For All, even using his Full Cowling technique, was a huge power boost. At least compared to the five to ten percent he used to limit himself at. It was all the proof he needed that, even though he'd thought so differently, he was developing at a good pace.
So, finally, even after all the breaks he'd been intentionally given, this was the chance he was taking to let himself relax. It was somewhat scary missing out on physical training that could boost him forwards in terms of strength, but resting his body would do him good in the long term, because he could come back at one-hundred percent strength. Cooking would be the best place to start too, so it was nice that Jiro asked to join in.
"Yo Midoriya, where'd you say the aprons were?" Jiro called from the other side of the kitchen area.
"They're hanging in that cupboard." Izuku called back, turning away from the sack of potatoes on the sideboard, and pointing to a small supply closet to her right. She didn't reply to him, but headed inside, rustling around as she squeezed around the countless boxes and shelves.
The group had collectively decided on a potato salad. Quick, easy and pretty nice if cooked right. Luckily, it was something Izuku was a fan of eating at home, so he prided himself on this dish.
Potatoes, salt, pepper, eggs, mustard, English cucumber, ham, corns, mayonnaise aaand... Carrots. That's everything. Izuku listed in his mind. Thanks to the stock of the dorm building, it would be no problem making enough to feed everyone. Rikido had offered to help, and accepting that offer would probably have made it much easier to portion the ingredients, but it was nice to give the class chef a break.
"So... Oh, shit..." Jiro started from within the cupboard, before tripping over something and stumbling out of the door. Izuku watched her and quietly laughed, to which she quickly straightened herself and and tried to play it off.
"Umm... So... What is it we're making again?" She asked, jogging over to him and stopping at his side, watching as he ripped open the small bags of potatoes and grabbing two saucepans from the rack along the window.
"Potato salad." Izuku replied, smiling and holding a squeezy soap bottle over to her. It took her a moment to realise he was asking her to wash her hands, but once it'd set in, she quickly rolled up her sleeves and held them out.
Izuku squeezed soap into her hands, before the two proceeded to wash them. Then, after they were dry, Izuk took two potato peelers and handed her one. He couldn't help but smile. The face she looked so daunted, even at something like a potato salad, made him chuckle, but he quickly suppressed his amusement.
"It's easy enough, don't worry. I'll explain it all to you." He smiled. "We need to start off by peeling the potatoes. Knowing everyone appetites we'd probably be better off prepping all of them, so I'll give you these two bags, and I'll do these ones." He explained, grabbing the other two bags, opening them, and handing them to the Earphone Jack quirk user.
"Right, easy." Jiro retorted confidently. Izuku fired her a final smile, before turning to his own potato, and grabbing the first one, before quickly and tidily beginning to peel it.
He'd always found this little task quite satisfying and entertaining, mostly because it felt so easy and sounded so calming compared to the harsh work of hero training. He'd have liked to cook with Mina, but he also didn't really know Jiro that well. So, if there was a time to summon his confidence and get to know her, it was now.
"So, you don't cook that often then?" Izuku asked, trying to gently ease a conversation into motion.
"Well... Not really. I have tried before, but I'm not what you'd call a 'Master Chef'." She responded with a nervous chuckle. "I'm glad you offered to teach me though." She added quickly.
"Don't mention it. I'm glad I've got someone to talk to. I was going to ask Mina if she wanted to join me, but I don't think it's really her thing." He explained with a small laugh. Jiro giggled in response.
"Yeah, she's a little... Umm... Heavy handed?" The Earphone Jack quirk user replied in a questioning tone. Izuku thought on it for a moment, before nodding in agreement.
"That sounds like Mina." He smiled, finishing his first potato and dropping it into one of the saucepans, before grabbing another one and starting on that.
"So how are you two then? All Mina ever seems to talk about is you." Jiro said coolly, trying to ease the conversation to something she'd wanted to talk with him about for a while.
"I think we're good. Not that I have anything to compare us to." Izuku responded quietly, a half genuine smile on his face. It was probably a bit of a personal question now she thought about it, and Izuku wasn't like Mina in that he was comfortable talking about it.
"It's really nice to see Mina so happy. You too, obviously." The said quietly. "She's always had her eye on you, by the way." She added. Izuku was taken aback by this, and looked at Jiro with a sideways expression.
"S-She did?" He asked, Jiro nodded. Last she'd told him, she only started talking to him to pass time faster on the train. Had she really liked him beforehand?
"She used to talk about you pretty often when we were out." She said with a laugh. Izuku felt his cheeks heating up a little and went back to timidly peeling potatoes. It was somehow reassuring to him, knowing that Mina liked him before they first started talking made him feel even more secure in the kind of impression he'd made.
He always, occasionally even now, worried about the kind of person Mina saw him is, past being her boyfriend of course. He never really thought much about relationships before Mina came along, but when the thoughts did start coming to mind once he hit fifteen. He never believed anyone would find his nerdiness attractive; his overenthusiastic attitude and how easily flustered he could be. Mina however, did.
"Midoriya, you good?" Jiro asked with a smile.
"Sorry, I spaced out." He admitted, quickly going back to peeling the last of his potatoes.
"So, what do we do now?" She asked, changing the subject once she'd finished her last bag of potatoes. Izuku stayed silent whilst he finished off the last two of his own, before putting the peeler down on the side and picking up their large bowls of peelings.
"Next, we cut all the potatoes in half, then boil them till they're nice and soft." He said with a smile, tipping the two bowls into the large food bin before turning and walking back over to her.
"Alright then. Knife please." Jiro smiled. Izuku took two small cutting knives from their wooden holding block and handed one to Jiro.
"Be careful how you cut the potatoes. Use your hand like a claw and cut by your nails, you'll save cutting your fingers then." Izuku warned a little more sternly than he'd meant to sound.
"Yes Sir." Jiro responded in a sassy tone. The two shared a small laugh before starting on cutting the many vegetables. Then the sound of the door opening brought both teenagers attention to a small figure who'd just walked in.
A young boy, with dark hair and narrow, deep brown eyes. A red hat sat upon his head with two pale horns sticking from the front, and he was dressed in new looking trainers, a white shirt, and blue-grey shorts. He looked like he couldn't quite figure out where it was he'd just walked into, and stood staring at the with a strange air of disapproval.
"Hey there. D-Did you get lost?" Izuku started softly, putting down what he was doing and turning to the boy with a warm smile. The boy responded with nothing, staring at Izuku with a deep, hateful frown. Even though he was young, his eyes punctured Izuku's very soul, it felt like.
"You're in my way." He growled quietly, before putting his hand on Izuku's forearm, and pushing him aside, making his way over to the work surface beside Jiro. She fired Izuku an uneasy glance and quickly moved away from the boy, watching his carefully.
Without paying the Earphone Jack quick user any mind, he grabbed an apple from the bowl by the microwave, before turning and walking out, staring at Izuku as he did. Izuku gulped saliva quietly and watching the young boy carefully. For someone of only five or six years old, how could he have so much aggression towards them? Why? He scoffed at Izuku and turned away.
"Calling yourselves 'heroes' and 'villains'. Killing each other like it doesn't matter. Idiots." He snarled, leaving the kitchen and closing the door hard after himself. Izuku stared at where the boy had stood with a stunned feeling in his stomach.
"What was his problem?" Jiro asked nervously. Izuku turned to her with a worried expression.
"I don't know, but no-one of his age should feel that way... I wonder if Mandalay knows him..." Izuku said, more to himself than to his friend. Jiro slowly nodded in response, although this was probably because she didn't know what else to say, over agreeing with him. He'd have to catch up with the pro hero over dinner. It wasn't his place to get involved, but if he could help that boy, he'd like to.
Mina looked over their training timetable with a heavy heart. They only had two days left of the training camp, and she was dreading the day it came to an end. She was really looking forward to meeting Izuku's mother at the end of this whole thing, but she loved every second of being out in the wilderness.
She couldn't help but wonder, after all of this, what the class would end up doing once they got back to school. They'd done so much training they had no need to do that much in school now, and the last thing she wanted was to sit around doing theory work all day, because it was about as boring as boring could get.
Something Mina did was to bring up to Mr Aizawa, was doing maybe a one time topic on hero teams. She'd never really thought much about being part of a team when she became a professional, but now she was dating Izuku, and she'd felt what it was like to fight alongside another hero, she had pondered it every so often.
Her and Izuku's quirks were very different, but she could see ways in which they could work really well together, and she wanted to try it. Even if being a team didn't work out, there was no harm in dipping their toes into it. She could ask Izuku over dinner, what he thought of trying a bit of hero teamwork with her.
"Ashido, if you keep looking at that timetable so sternly, it'll catch fire." Tokoyami commented, strolling past her with a book in his hand. Mina let out a quiet and embarrassed chuckle, before turning back to the rest of the class and strolling over to one of the empty beanbags.
"I don't want this to end." She sighed heavily, falling back into the large pink sack of beans.
"Tell me about it." Kaminari said, stretched out in his seat with his feet under the desk and his head leaned over the back of the arm sofa. "It's soo nice here." He added.
"I'm enjoying training with the Pussycats too. I don't wanna leave." Toru complained in a childish manner. Mina felt a little bad for Izuku, not only for the fact he was told to take a break until tomorrow, but also because he didn't get to talk with the Pussycats as much as he'd liked.
"Hey, anyone else seen that kid around recently? I think he's Mandalay's." Sero spoke up. The classes attention was now diverted to him and everyone shared confused glances.
"I saw him yesterday, but all he did was frown at me..." Todoroki said, almost as if he was hurt by the fact. Momo gave him a half joking, half genuine pat on the shoulder, and smiled at him warmly.
"I think I've seen him too." Uraraka added. "He looked at me the same way." She sighed.
"Kids these days are all like that. I don't know why you're surprised." Bakugo growled, scoffing and going back to scrolling through his phone.
"He made me nervous. Never seen a kid frown like that." Sero laughed, Kirishima chuckling along too. "Imagine Midoriya's face if he ran into that kid." Sero added, looking at Mina with a smile.
"He'd either freak out or think nothing of it." She said with a shrug. "But there'd be no in between." She added fondly. She kind of wanted to see how Izuku would handle a child like that.