Assume this fic is a bit after move to the UA dorms, but on some sort of off day where they have some limited ability to go out and live their lives. Idk.
Izuku didn't really have off days, even if UA did. He was constantly playing catch-up, both with his classmates and with his own power. Morning runs and leg day gained a bit more urgency when they were the main thing keeping his legs from becoming two giant slabs of ground beef.
His morning jog was a bit later than usual, to exploit the lack of school, but it was still early. (Perhaps too early for most people, especially considering the rigor of UA's courseload.) The sun barely peaked over the horizon and there was just enough of a chill to be grating… if you weren't running around like a crazy person. Legs burning, heart pounding, the people opening the stores spooking as he shot past…
Panting, he came to a stop near a cafe, where he spotted a vibrant head of green hair - and no, he hadn't just caught his own reflection in a window. After a moment, Izuku recognized the hair to actually be the vines of his schoolmate Ibara Shizoaki. Admittedly, he had a bit of trouble recognizing her in something other than a UA uniform or her… combat toga? He wasn't quite sure what she was going for there…
Whatever. The simple dress and blouse she wore now definitely seemed more practical for a simple morning spent reading at a cafe. Reading a physical book, even. "Oh, hello. Is that you, Midoriya?"
"... Yeah." He took another deep breath. Phew. "Hi, Shiozaki."
Shiozaki stared at him, her eyes flicking down for the briefest moment… (He was sweating. He was really sweating. Oh no.) "Maybe you should take a seat, Midoriya."
A seat… one of two seats, at a table, with a girl. Somehow, Izuku managed it, even if he felt an almost instinctual urge to shrink in on himself. Ibara laid her book down – The Bells of Nagasaki? He wasn't entirely sure what he expected, a Bible or something? – asked him: "Do you want something to drink? You look… exhausted."
Sweaty. He looked sweaty. Still, he supposed a drink wouldn't hurt right now. He looked at the vividly green drink sitting in Shiozaki's cup. "I'll have what you're having."
Shiozaki lifted her eyebrow. "I don't think you realize what you're asking for, Midoriya."
Izuku looked at the drink again. Sure, it was a vivid shade of green, but he had choked down his fair share of nasty fitness drinks before. His body was really craving some electrolytes right now… "It's just a smoothie, right?"
"It's fertilizer, Midoriya."
He looked at the drink again. "... What?"
"Well, it's an organic blend of nutrients for plant growth… but it is fertilizer, specially made for…" she made a vague gesture at her hair, which rose up above her shoulders for a minute before tying itself into a braid.
"Really?" Izuku asked, his interest piqued. He looked at the cafe proper and saw a brand logo… he supposed it made sense. There were lots of people who needed special diets for their quirks, but he had to wonder how niche the products actually got. Like, he figured that you couldn't just pour regular old liquid fertilizer in a cup and mask it with sugar…
"Nothing that crude," Ibara answered his thoughts. Muttering again… "But they do sell regular drinks, so worry not."
He tried to tamp down on his curiosity. What would fertilizer taste like? His diet focused on building muscle, hers must have a much higher focus on plant matter… Shiozaki passed him a menu. Supplements for a carnivore's diet, organic sources of calcium and other minerals, portion sizes ranging from normal coffee cups to enough to fill up a barrel.
Through the cafe's window, he saw a member of the staff, looking like a slab of rock salt behind the register. He was chatting with a man who had a broad hole cut in the back of his vest for a snail shell the size of a washing machine.
His drink was out in no time at all – something blue and not too sweet, just tart enough – and he almost wanted to dive inside and vanish. Instead, they talked.
"What's your book about, Shiozaki?"
She grinned. Really grinned. (Woah.) "It's about a man named Takashi Nagai."
"Was he a hero?" Silly question, but Izuku had been running on hero brain for the past fifteen years, give or take.
"In a sense. He died before quirks were a thing… but he lived like a hero should."
Izuku knew the idea of the superhero came to be before Quirks did – it was the model they followed – but there was also 'just' the hero. The lion's share of heroes must have been Quirkless. Sure, they were on an even playing field back in the day, but they still did incredible things. "What did he do?"
"He was a radiographer," noticing his expression, she explained: "someone who performs X-rays. Even knowing that performing them would put him at risk…"
"That's incredible!"
"You think so?"
"Of course."
Ibara smiled. "I do think self-sacrifice is what it means to be a hero, really. Speaking of… let me pay for your smoothie."
Wait, Izuku shouldn't… Well, this wasn't a date or anything – perish the thought! – but he had to pay for himself at the very least, right? He reached for his pocket. "I can…"
"I insist. I made you sit, did I not?"
"But I ordered the drink and I can't let you-"
This is inspired by that classic meme: "this juice is bangin', yo" "it's paint"
