Written by Aduubo, Buckichamp, and PikachuSpartan.
I OWN NOTHING. KILL LA KILL IS OWNED BY STUDIO TRIGGER AND KAZUKI NAKASHIMA. MHA IS OWNED BY TOHO ANIMATION AND KOHEI HORIKOSHI.
—
-UA Nurse's Office, 5 p.m.-
The clock ticked by as Izuku and Recovery Girl sat idly by the bed. When UA's resident nurse first saw Midoriya standing out in the hallway upon opening the office door, she wondered what he did to injure himself this time.
But when she saw his eyes and then looked directly at the beaten and battered Ryuko in his arms, she beckoned the two inside to immediately begin treatment on Matoi.
"I'm glad you brought her here, Midoriya. This could have been much worse if you'd been spotted carrying her like that," the elder said somberly.
"Yeah, I happened to know there were some back routes to get here. I figured it would be better to not have people stopping me and asking questions about her," Midoriya agreed.
The two sat quietly as time and rest would be the only things that would get Ryuko back to normal.
It was strange how Tsumugu had left them alone. What Izuku found even more interesting was the man seemed to hear Senketsu talking. But why couldn't he hear the Kamui? Not to mention that during that whole fight, Izuku was jacked up on adrenaline and fury. He was through with being a useless weakling.
Soon enough, Ryuko started to stir in her bed. She was struggling, seemingly working through a nightmare as Recovery Girl and Midoriya could only look on.
"SENKETSU!"
The girl sat herself up in a scramble, messing up the covers as she looked around the room to figure out where the hell she was.
"I'm over here, Ryuko."
The girl looked up above her to see Senketsu placed on a hanger, which soothed her nerves somewhat.
"Ryuko…"
Matoi whipped her head to the right to see Izuku's gentle smile, as tears welled up at the corners of his eyes as he approached the bed and hugged her tightly.
"Thank goodness! I was so worried," he breathed out shakily.
She was still wide-eyed and stunned, seeing Recovery Girl at her desk and having Izuku holding her.
"Umm… how did I get here?" She asked.
"You can thank Midoriya for bringing you to UA as fast as he could. I'm surprised you're already awake after the injuries you sustained," Recovery Girl answered.
The teenager started to smile as she briefly returned Midoriya's gesture before the two separated.
"Hey, did you carry me here like… this?" Ryuko asked Izuku, waving her hand over her upper torso.
It was only then that the rush of adrenaline and danger having passed that Midoriya came to a very, VERY awkward realization.
'I just carried a girl to UA who is practically naked!'
Midoriya's face turned scarlet red as steam blew out his ears. Before he could devolve further into a state of panic, a hand grasped his and squeezed tightly, snapping the greenette back to reality.
"Hey, you did what you had to do. Even if you're feeling uncomfortable now… thank you, Izuku. You saved my butt and Senketsu's back there."
Izuku's emerald green eyes met her gear blue gaze, as her warm smile calmed his racing heart and mind. He managed to save her, that was most important. While the red didn't fade completely, instead leaving a light blush, he relaxed and gave her a grin. He didn't need to say anything else, only nodding to make sure she knew he understood.
"I swear, how in the name of all that is right are the two of you not dating?" Recovery Girl chimed in, catching both teens by surprise.
"Will you stop with that bullshit, ya old hag?! Not you too!" Ryuko exclaimed with a mild blush, while Izuku's shade of scarlet returned, his hands trying and failing to cover his face.
"Hmph, kids these days. They don't show any respect for their elders anymore. Honestly, why can't you be more like your boyfriend there. He at least has a good head on his shoulders... despite how much trouble it gets him into."
"HE'S NOT MY FREAKIN' BOYFRIEND!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."
With that last snide remark, Recovery Girl left the two students alone in the infirmary. Both of them tried not to bring up the tension building between the two. Neither one of them tried to look at the other, especially after what happened not too long ago.
But with the two teens alone, this was the perfect opportunity for Matoi to break the ice.
"You know, since I have you here now, Izuku… We need to have a talk."
"A talk? About what?"
"C'mon, don't play dumb with me. I'm onto you. Those bright green eyes of yours have been wandering far past their boundaries."
An eyebrow soon raised from the blue haired girl. Her eyes gave off a very unamused expression, just barely inching toward full on disappointment.
Oh god! Was she pairing him up to be with Mineta? Because of the times he had accidentally seen her… in the moonlight?
"W-wait! Ryuko! Y-you've got it all wrong! All of those times, they were accidents! I s-swear!" Izuku's hands began waving in front of him, as if he was a wounded animal that was trapped in a corner. But given what Ryuko was implicating, he might as well be one.
"~You've been laying your eyes on Uraraka lately~" Ryuko cooed in a teasing voice.
"What?"
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Matoi's voice exploded with laughter. She reared her head back and forth before leaning too far and falling off of her bed.
"OW! PFF-AHAHAHA!"
"Uggh," Senketsu groaned in the distance.
Today was an absolute hell, thanks to that asshole ally of the damn teach. Ryuko knew that this must have been traumatic for Izuku, given that he'd already gone through so much. So to get rid of all the tension, she did the one thing she could think of: Screw with him.
She climbed back onto her bed, only to meet a dumbstruck, then soon to be annoyed green mop top.
"Is that part of the joke too?!"
"No, I'm actually serious about Uraraka! I saw the way you were looking at her during her hero speech. You were all lovey-dovey in the eyes. It was cute. You are totally into her."
Thinking back to that moment, Deku recalled when he internally commented on Uraraka's facial features. Funny enough, the mention of that moment turned his face into the same shade of Uraraka's blush.
"W-what?! No! I would never! I was just admiring her for her admirable goals! Oh god, I said admire twice!"
"Izuku. C'mon, it's me. Ryuko. I'm your friend."
Midoriya at least knew she was trying to ease his nerves a bit, but the implication that he actually liked someone? Particularly that someone being a girl, and Uraraka no less.
"I-I-I do-don't know… my heart is racing," the boy tried to breathe as his upper torso slumped over on the end of the bed.
"C'mon dude. I think you should totally try and go for it! Why not?"
"W-well, I've never even tried to ask a girl out. And I'm also worried about something else…" Izuku trailed off, with Ryuko understanding exactly what he meant.
"You don't have to tell her that secret about your Quirk right away, ya know. Is that really what you're worried about?" Ryuko asked.
Izuku nodded as he turned his gaze to meet hers.
"What about you?"
"Huh?" Ryuko responded.
"If I were t-t-to d-d-date Uraraka, how would I be able to spend time with you?"
Midoriya wasn't being dumb. Rather, he was concerned for Ryuko. She mulled over what he said before letting out a light chuckle.
"I'm your friend, dude. That's not gonna change. I'll always have your back, 100%!" Ryuko encouraged him.
Izuku didn't know what to say next. He wasn't necessarily as physically exhausted now as he was emotionally. He needed time to ponder what the next move was, or if there was a move to make at all.
"Are you feeling well enough to put on Senketsu and head back home? I need to think things over when I'm not so… wound up."
"I guess. Though what are we gonna tell your mom if she spots me?"
"Well, we need to head back to the beach and grab our stuff. I didn't grab it on the way over here. We'll have time to figure that out."
"Heh, okay. Let's go," Ryuko slid the covers off as Izuku's blush returned in full force, which she took notice of.
"Izuku, c'mon. You've seen me synced up and don't have a problem. I'd think you'd panic more when I'm like that. It's fine."
"It's still… not something I'm used to seeing," the greenette sighed as she slipped the Kamui on and escorted both of them to the door.
"Just try not to spaz out if something like this happens to me again, okay? If you were anyone else, I'd punch you. But I trust you, so I don't mind… as much. I guess it is a little awkward, huh?" Ryuko giggled as they both walked off campus with smiles.
-Danchi, later that night-
It was getting late. Ryuko finished cleaning up and had a few helpings of Inko's food. It was hard to believe everything that'd happened that day, and the sports festival was less than a week away! And Mako would be on her way soon.
"You're a good friend for trying to help Midoriya," Senketsu said from his hanger.
"What can I say? He deserves some happiness," Ryuko yawned as she tucked herself under the covers.
"I'm honestly surprised given how close you both are that you're trying to hook him up with another girl."
"Wha-What!? He's a good friend, Senketsu! It's not like I like him in that way."
She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. But something felt off. Why did she suddenly feel her heart flutter?
"If I were t-t-to da-date Uraraka, how would I be able to spend time with you?"
"I'm honestly surprised given how close you both are that you're trying to hook him up with another girl."
Ryuko pushed those words away and out of mind. She was good friends with Izuku, that's all. There's no way she could date him, right?
That last thought gave her pause, but she brushed it aside like the others. She had a festival to win and her training with Izuku came first and foremost.
..~~~HLK~~~..
-Four days before the sports festival, Dagobah Beach-
A few hours passed since the two teenagers started their training routine. It was getting close to noon and the temperature was getting a bit warmer than normal for this time of year.
Matoi threw a right hook toward Midoriya's chest, which he caught with both hands, deflecting the hit and separating a few feet away from his sparring partner.
"C'mon Izuku! Don't tell me you're done!" Ryuko playfully smirked.
"You wish!" He shot back.
Despite the heat, they were having fun. With no more words needing said, Ryuko kicked into a higher gear than a minute ago, catching the greenette off guard as she booted him into the ocean water with a splash.
"Oops!" Ryuko covered her mouth.
Izuku shook his head, trying to dry his hair a little bit.
"At least I ended up here and not somewhere where I can't even have my feet touch."
Just as he was about to wade back and leave the water, a sploosh could be heard next to him. He looked to his left, seeing Matoi's head pop out of the water.
"Man, this water feels nice," Ryuko sighed with content, as Izuku started to laugh. He also couldn't help but blush at seeing her peek out of the water like that. It was remarkably cute.
"You didn't have to join me, you know."
"Eh. We haven't taken a dip in the water for the last week and a half. But I think I'm done for now."
The two made their way back to the dry sand, laying down for the moment to finally take a real rest.
"Aren't your clothes going to be all wet when you desync?" Midoriya asked.
"Not really. That's why I jumped in while I was synced up so my clothes wouldn't be soaked."
"That's interesting," the greenette mulled over as a lightbulb went off. He'd meant to ask this question before, but it always slipped into the background when he wanted to bring it up.
"Hey, I was curious about something," Midoriya pondered.
"Mhm?"
"You said you were sent away from Honnōji to get out of Satsuki Kiryuin's influence, right? What exactly happened between you two?"
"Oh, that stuff? Yeah, I…kiiinda got in a fight with her and maaayyyybe destroyed half the school-"
"YOU WHAT?!"
"Look, she came at ME, okay?! Hell, she's the one who started it."
Izuku looked at Ryuko, an eyebrow slightly raised.
"..."
"...What?"
"Why do I feel like that's not completely true?"
"Okay, I MAY have said some stuff."
"..."
"Okay, I said A LOT of stuff. And I did insult her a few times."
"...Ryuko."
The girl let out a heavy sigh. She gave Izuku a onceover before managing to clear her mind of her frustration.
"Alright, I insulted her a shit ton. But she deserved it. I only wanted an answer about her involvement with the scissor blade. But nooooooo! She either hints that she did, or that she didn't, and dicks me around. And when she isn't doing that, she sics the entire school after me and Mako or would give me a thrashing of a lifetime. All while preaching about how pure her "ambitions" are, and mine aren't, WHILE standing on her high and mighty pedastal."
Izuku sat and listened attentively to Ryuko's mild rant about Satsuki. He had a hard time believing that someone was so willing to give her such a hard time over a question. But then he remembered that his scenario wasn't much different from an ash blonde known as Katsuki Bakugo.
"I can now see why you went off on her. I'd get ticked off too. Reminds me a lot about Kacchan. But, I'll do my best to help you get stronger so that you can finally knock her off of that pedestal."
Ryuko felt as if she was floating from her spirits being lifted. What Izuku said was so simple, but very impactful.
"You always know what to say, huh, Izuku? You really are a hero," She said with a warm grin. The setting sun bathed her in a crimson glow, making her smile shine brighter than ever before.
Unfortunately, the sight was wasted as Izuku turned his gaze away once again. His eyes were lowered and droopy, while his lips were drawn in tightly. A feeling of unease clung to him as his head shrunk into his shoulders. It happened again. He was uncomfortable, like he was about to break down momentarily.
But almost instantly, he'd bounce back from the moment of dread and do his best to smile. However, it was a shaky one.
"T-Thanks, Ryuko… I try my best. It's what I've dreamed of, after all. I-I think this is a good time to head back. I'll grab the duffle bags," The greenette said in a quick haste before he walked back to grab their stuff.
"Oh…okay," Ryuko responded blankly.
Izuku may have readjusted himself, but Ryuko was able to see what happened very clearly. This wasn't like him at all, especially closing up shop on their training so early.
Every time she or someone else would compliment him, he'd shut it out quickly. It was almost like someone was insulting him. Seeing this, and his nervous body language had her wondering. Katsuki had something to do with this, but just how far was he willing to go when it came to Izuku?
..~~~HLK~~~..
-Pier Dock, 6:00 a.m., two days before the festival-
The entire UA gang had arrived at the pier. Ryuko had gotten back in touch with Mako to check when she'd arrive so they could pick her up.
It wasn't long before the same ship she'd crossed over from a few weeks ago came into sight. Gamagori was steering the vessel while the girl of the hour, Mako Mankanshoku, was waving like crazy for her friend's attention.
"Oh my gosh! She's so cute!" Uraraka beamed gleefully upon finally seeing Mako.
"Holy crap, you weren't kidding, Matoi. She and Uraraka might as well be twins," Jirou added.
"Wait, where's Mineta? Thought he was coming with," Kaminari asked.
Meanwhile, Mineta still slept in his bed with a makeshift trophy wrapped tightly in his arms from his mockup celebration of his victory at the Sports Festival. Everyone wondered if they should call him, but then shrugged it off as the watercraft finally approached.
Once the boat stopped, Gamagori stepped out of the cockpit, the doorframe revealing his giant form in the process. He stood up tall, nearly matching up to the tip of the sail. The gargantuan size of this man shook the people around Ryuko to their core.
"Holy shit! H-He's huge!" Kaminari shouted.
"Yeah, a huge ass!" Ryuko shouted loudly, making sure that the man himself heard it. The little reveal of his clenched teeth showed that her method was successful.
"I knew he was tall, but this is crazy! He's even bigger than All Might!" Izuku gasped.
Ira opened the door of the boat, letting Mako step out onto the dock before she immediately launched herself into the air towards Ryuko.
"RYUUUUKOOOOOOOOO!" A high pitched bundle of joy squealed.
Everyone braced for impact while Ryuko only smiled and lent her arms out. Fully meeting Mankanshoku's embrace, Matoi caught the girl in her arms before doing a twirl to recoil from the force that flew towards her. Everyone took a step back to avoid being struck by Mako's legs, except for Kaminari who was cleaved across the face from her heels.
"PFFF-HAHAHAHA!" Jirou burst out into laughter, which alerted the two girls of what just happened.
"Oh! Sorry!" Mako apologized.
"Whoops, yeah, sorry," Ryuko repeated the motion.
"Hnnngh… Why me?" The blonde groaned.
"Ryuko! It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much!" Mako snuggled up against her friend, which was embarrassing for Matoi since it was in front of everyone.
"I missed you too, Mako. I'm glad to see you're doing alright."
"Hi Mankanshoku! It's so awesome to meet you! When Ryuko said that we were alike, she wasn't kidding! I can't believe that I'm meeting my twin!"
"WOW! She's right! Are you a long lost sister that my dad had in wedlock?" Mako released Ryuko before grabbing Ochako's hands and inspecting them.
"Yo… I'm Denki Kaminari. The guy you kicked in the face," The blonde stood back up and rubbed his cheek.
"Sorry again!" Mako apologized while strangely pointing her entire palm at him.
"Welcome to Musutafu, Mankanshoku. I am Tenya Iida!" He introduced himself.
"Hi Tenya! By the way, you guys can just call me Mako! My last name can be quite a mouthful," Mankanshoku declared.
"W-well, I'm Jirou. Kyoka Jirou. Also, are we gonna skip the fact that she just called Uraraka a bastard child?!" Jirou exclaimed, trying to bring a small level of sense back into their encounter.
However, everyone laughed at the implication as they figured it was just Mako being silly.
"H-Hello Mankanshoku! I'm-"
"Mako! Remember?" Mako cut him off.
"R-Right! Sorry! I'm Izuku Midoriya. I'm an old friend of Ryuko's," Deku introduced himself.
"Wait… Izuku Midoriya? You're the childhood friend Ryuko wrote about?"
"Yep, it would seem so."
Mako remained silent for a moment, which was an odd transition from her just bouncing around the circle of friends that surrounded her. Everyone began to get cold feet from this strange behavior, especially Izuku since he was the one Mako was staring at.
"Stare…" She verbalized quietly, though everyone could hear her.
It was like she was studying him, taking him apart for inspection. Even Ryuko was puzzled by this, as she had never seen Mako be so focused in her entire life.
-squish-
"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-eEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!" Izuku let out a curling screech.
The sound startled everyone, but not as much as when they found out the perpetrator for Midoriya's malfunction: Mako's hand grabbing his right pec.
"Wowee, you're a lot more firm than you look!" Mankanshoku continued squeezing his chest.
Ryuko stared in horror at what happened in front of her. What the hell was Mako doing?! Her blush worsened, enveloping her entire head in a shade of red.
"Mako, that is highly inappropriate! And a violation of personal space!" Iida protested.
"MAKO! STOP THAT!" Ryuko swatted the Brunette's hand away immediately.
"What the hell? A girl making the first move? MIDORIYA, TELL ME YOUR SECRET!" Kaminari barged for information.
"Don't make me give you the Grape Treatment," Jirou threatened him.
Meanwhile, Uraraka remained silent. A redder blush could be seen fading over her prominent pink ones. If the others weren't so preoccupied with Mako's shenanigans, they'd definitely have seen it. She couldn't help the image of Izuku's shirt outlining his firm pec that was burned into her mind.
"So it seems that you've gotten well acquainted here, Matoi," Gamagori commented as he approached the gang.
"What? You don't think I can make friends?" Ryuko retorted.
"Knowing your track record, yes. But this is an interesting development. Ahem, I am Ira Gamagori, Disciplinary Committee Chairman of Honnōji Academy.
"Hello Sir! I am Tenya-"
"At ease. I heard all of your names from across the dock. I am rather short on time to be hearing introductions again, as I must return to the academy."
Before he could do anything else, Mako reached upward and clutched one of Ira's giant fingers.
"Thanks again for dropping me off, Gamagori! I definitely owe ya for it!"
"No you don't," Ryuko barked.
Mako then sported her trademark smile that shined brighter than the gold accessories that he wore.
The chairman inwardly gasped as he too was consumed by the crimson hue that donned on his face. Never before had he ever seen something so endearing.
"A-Ahem, you can thank Lady Satsuki for arranging this."
"No she won't," Ryuko barked again.
"But you were willing to take me out here. So I'll still say thanks for that!"
He hesitated at first, but he softened up enough to accept the gratitude.
"Very well. I better be going then. Enjoy your stay," Ira said before he turned to the boat to make his leave.
Once Mako had finally reunited with Ryuko and met the new gang, the majority of the group went their separate ways to continue their training. With just two days before the Sports Festival, Izuku, Ryuko, and Mako were on their way towards the apartment to let her rest after her trip.
"First we let Mako get some sleep, and then it's back to training!" Ryuko stretched her arm over her head, unable to contain the excitement to get her hands in the sand again.
"Oh, you guys were going to wait for me? Why don't we just go straight to training? I don't mind!" Mako suggested.
The gang stopped for a moment, as they were just about to reach an impasse that led to either Danchi, or Municipal.
"But Mako, aren't you tired from traveling all the way over here?" Ryuko asked.
"Yeah, you did get here pretty early," Izuku chimed in.
"It's okay! I brought this just in case!" Mako reached into her backpack before pulling out a whole sleeping bag.
"Wait a minute…"
"That looks just like…"
The sleeping bag that Mankanshoku had brought… It was the exact same brand as what Mr. Aizawa had. Suddenly, they both shared a thought of both Aizawa and Mako being sleeping buddies. Ryuko slightly turned to her side, meeting Izuku's gaze to see if he thought of the same thing. Once it was confirmed, the two began to chuckle at the idea of the polar opposites engaging in similar interests.
"The sand is quite comfy, so I'm sure that will work for her," Izuku remarked.
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe the places I've seen Mako sleep at back at Honnōji," Ryuko added.
Once that was settled, the gang then made their decision and began walking straight to Municipal Beach. Normally, Mako would be skipping ahead of the duo due to her tendency to skip during traversal. But she lagged behind a bit, as they were the ones who knew where to go.
..~~~HLK~~~..
The trio had arrived at the beach, which remained as clean as ever, perfect for the kind of training that Izuku and Ryuko went through. Mako sat herself on the soft sand beneath her, unpacking her backpack before something came to mind.
"So Ryuko, where are you staying at right now?" Mako asked.
"Well, I live in the same apartment complex as Izuku-"
"YOU TWO LIVE TOGETHER TOO?"
"Wha? No, I just live in the room above his!" Ryuko tried to explain. But it was too late, as Mako had fallen back into that silent phase once more. Her bangs covered her eyes as her glance shifted down to the ground.
"Oh no…" Ryuko grimaced, while Izuku covered his chest.
"What's she gonna do this time?!" The greenette asked in fear.
"Izuku?" The brunette asked calmly.
"Y-Yes! Er- I mean, yeah?"
Standing up and lifting her gaze to face the two, Mako began to take a deep breath. Her eyes were full of focus, more than Ryuko had ever seen before. Whatever she was going to say, it must be important.
"GAAAAH!" Mankanshoku screeched, which startled the two in front of her.
"HUT!" A bright spotlight surrounded Mako, who then leaped spectacularly high into the air in theatrical fashion to close the gap between herself and the duo. Once she landed, she bowed down in front of Izuku.
"Please promise me you'll take good care of Ryuko!"
"... What?"
Mako then stood and crossed her hands before continuing with her charade.
"Ryuko is my BEEESTEST friend in the whole WIDE world! The only thing I ask is that you make her as happy as she can possibly be!"
"What?! H-Hold on, Mankan-Er-Mako! Do you really think that her and I are-"
"Make me happy?" Ryuko wondered.
Once the realization settled in, Ryuko suddenly felt her head grow very hot. Steam began to emanate from the top of her head as her face was sizzling.
"M-Mako! My god, you've got it all wrong! It's nothing like that at all! Izuku's just being a g-good friend! That's all!" Ryuko began to mutter, a trait that she picked up from the person in question.
"Are you sure? You guys look really close! Literally!" Mako pointed out.
Now that Ryuko thought about it, she and Midoriya were standing rather close. Her leg then stretched outward, taking a big step away from Izuku to increase the gap between them. The girl's head lit up like a chimney as puffs of smoke continued to fill the air with her embarrassment.
'W-Why did she step away from me?!' Izuku wondered, feeling hurt by Matoi distancing herself from him.
"L-Let's just get some training done! Mako, y-you should get some rest!"
"Aaaaalright! I'll get some shut eye. ~That way you two can get some alone time~" Mako winked as she snuggled into her sleeping bag.
"Will you stop?!" Matoi huffed as she continued to get flustered.
Within seconds of laying herself flat on the sand, Mako was fast asleep and snoring quite loudly. Izuku couldn't help but admire her ability to drift into deep sleep at such a speed. He definitely could have used that skill when he first trained with All Might over a year ago.
..~~~HLK~~~..
Hours passed once Midoriya and Matoi continued their training with significant progress. Izuku was starting to get a better feeling of 5% with less of a strain compared to when he first started using it. Thanks to this, his fighting prowess was a lot more efficient. He wished he figured this out from the start, but Rome wasn't built in a day. He took whatever he could get with gratitude regardless.
Ryuko too noticed great improvement in her stamina, which led to more occurrences where she didn't realize she was still in sync mode. Thanks to the two working together, they would continue to find methods to better strengthen their resolve. After a few hours of exercise and sparring, the two stopped to catch their bearings.
"Wow. This is great! I feel like I have a better grasp on my power than I ever have before!" Izuku exclaimed.
"Yeah, you're getting there! But there's something missing about it," Ryuko brought up, which intrigued the greenette.
"What is it, Ryuko?"
The girl stood and thought for a moment and placed her palm under her chin to think. After about a minute, she thought of something to test out.
"Izuku, I want you to hit me. Use 5% while you're at it," Matoi instructed.
"Huh? Well, uhm, alright," Midoriya was a bit confused, but he knew that she had a reason behind this.
The boy got into a stance and began to channel 5% of One For All as he was soon enveloped in small bolts of green electricity. Taking that as a que, Ryuko readied her stance and formed her arms together in preparation to block it.
"SMASH!"
Izuku sprung forward and punched straight into Ryuko's arms. A loud thud could be heard once his hit made contact, along with Ryuko barely nudging in place. Her feet only treaded a few centimeters back from where she initially stood.
"Stay right there. Don't move," Lowering her arms, she relaxed her posture before walking circles around Izuku to get a look at his form.
He did exactly as instructed, putting his trust into her and not questioning her motives.
"I think I see something we can work on now."
"Oh, okay. What would that be?"
"After being knocked around by Satsuki, I was able to tell that you aren't punching quite as hard as you could be."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"You're not fully leaning into your punch. Remember to twist your body so that your shoulder can really extend out your strike. You're restricting the reach of your punch if you're mainly just relying on your arm, which will make them a lot less hard-hitting."
"Lean your body into the punch. Also, fun tip, use your knuckles more instead of the flat part of your fist when punching a face. It'll help make it hurt a lot more. I don't even think a certain blondie will be able to take that without crying," Ryuko chuckled.
Izuku nodded as he ran her lesson through his head multiple times before she stepped back into formation and put her guard up.
"Let's go again. You know what to do."
The greenette got into stance once more as he channeled his power. He exhaled deeply before he opened his eyes and performed a big swing.
"SMASH!"
Wanting to deal as much damage as possible, knowing that Ryuko was strong enough to take it, he shifted his fist down slightly so that his knuckles made contact with her arms.
A louder thud could be heard this time, sending Matoi skidding back on the sand a bit farther than before.
"Much better," Ryuko lowered her arms shakily, her smile signifying that his refined form had made the difference.
"Awesome!" Izuku exclaimed before analyzing his fist.
"Now, you aren't going to have that kind of wind up time in a real fight. We're going to go a few rounds again. You're going to have to learn how to use them here, especially during quicker jabs when you're trying to rush your opponent," Ryuko continued her lecture before something collided with her train of thought.
"Shit! This probably should have been the FIRST thing we worked on. And I only just taught you this two days before the Sports Festival! Crap. Sorry that I didn't think of this sooner, Izuku."
"D-Don't feel bad about it. These kinds of things happen. Better late than never, right? I've been training for a year and only now have an idea of how to use my power," Izuku reassured her.
A smile worked its way up on Ryuko's face. No matter what the situation was, or how bad it is, Izuku's optimism always found a way to make things better.
"Then let's make the best of what time we have left," She nodded before getting into an actual fighting stance, to which Izuku followed suit.
With the augmentations of One For All's 5% giving quite the boost, as well as a proper fighting style to work off of, Izuku stood more of a chance at possibly winning this than he ever did before. If he knew this back then, he could have easily beaten Bakugo during the battle trial.
The two began a set of sparring matches for the next hour. This time, it was a lot more evenly matched than the previous sparring sessions. Ryuko actually had to exert a lot more of her effort into staying one step ahead of Izuku.
Finally, the two had completely exhausted their efforts and had come to a complete stop.
"You were right Ryuko. I can definitely feel that my punches are getting stronger!" Izuku expressed as he plopped himself down.
"Yeah, you're really packing more of a wallop in every scuffle!" Ryuko responded before sitting down onto the sand, feeling her legs worn out for the time being.
"You know, there's two things I realized."
"What's that?"
"When I punched the Nomu, not only was I able to control the output of my smash at the last moment, but my arm wasn't broken because the brain creature absorbed most of the whiplash. You're really strong, right? So you've been a great… umm…"
"Punching bag?" Ryuko laughed.
"Not the exact words I'd use, but yeah! Plus you'll be able to work on your durability with the more hits you take. Whenever I'm able to land them, that is," Izuku chuckled, remarking on how Ryuko's speed was still superior to his.
"Really now? Hmm…" Matoi clasped her chin in her fingers, looking back to the times Satsuki got her hands dirty and struck her. The thought of soaking the damage from her without flinching would cause a priceless reaction out of the top-dog. A smirk grew on the girl's face before she forced herself back up.
"Izuku! I want you to keep hitting me with whatever you can dish! I want to see how much I can take!"
"W-What?! But shouldn't we take a break?! You couldn't even stand a moment ago!" Midoriya protested.
"This'll be the only way I can really get back at that bitch, Satsuki Kiryuin! I want to see the look on her face when her 'all-mighty' attacks don't even phase me!"
"I'm scared to know what you'll do after you get your revenge…"
-8:00 pm-
Ryuko finally had enough of the training... as well as taking straight punches from Izuku for an unhealthy amount of time. She laid on the sand desynced, staring up into the stars as Izuku sat down beside her.
"Finally had enough?" The greenette asked.
"I'd say no, but my body screamed yes," Ryuko responded, which brought a chuckle out of the two.
The red streaked girl sat upward and scaled the entire beach with her eyes, something piquing her interest.
"We've been coming here everyday for the last two weeks, and I haven't seen a single other person come here. Why's that? This beach is gorgeous."
"Over a year ago, there used to be piles of waste and trash that surfaced here from the ocean. It got so bad that this beach was basically deemed unusable by tourists, and soon became vacant. This was where I began my training when I received my quirk."
"Wait… you're telling me…"
"...Yep. I've been meaning to tell you that for a while. I just couldn't exactly think of the time to bring it up," Izuku sheepishly chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"Wow. You did such a damn good job. Everytime I see the sunset here, it's like magic. You never really change, do you, Izuku? You've always worked harder than anyone else," Ryuko took a deep whiff of the clean air, drawing in its pleasant scent.
Izuku smiled warmly from Ryuko's compliment. Even after all these years, and all that's happened, she's still as supportive as she ever was. In fact...
"Thank you. Honestly, I could say the same thing about you."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Matoi asked, turning her gaze over to Midoriya.
"A while ago, you mentioned that you changed when you were at boarding school. And on the surface, there's some truth to that. Your temper hasn't exactly been in control lately, and you… tend to act before thinking."
She began to see how he would think that, thanks to her actions in previous events that took place. Ryuko often would get unraveled and not be able to straighten things out until the last possible moment. There were still loose ends that lingered in her mind that she couldn't tie: Such as the moment when Izuku was about to be killed by the Nomu. Was it due to her own recklessness and not waiting for back up? Or was it her lamenting that she couldn't save him, just like her father?
Those dark thoughts clawed at her from the back of her mind. Had she really changed that much for the worse over all these years?
"But other than that, you're still the same Ryuko I knew years ago."
The girl's brows raised as Izuku's acknowledgement surprised her.
"You're polite, hard-working, helpful, and most of all, you're still as kind as you ever were years ago. Sure, you would shout, but that's because of Kacchan being well… Kacchan. He brought that onto himself, straight in the jaw."
Ryuko began to chuckle, recalling how far she threw him into the wind with her uppercut weeks ago.
"You really haven't changed that much, Ryuko. I think of it more as… layers being added. I know it's probably an odd way of saying thank you, but… you know me haha. Plus, I wanted to say something nice back from all the compliments you've been giving me."
Matoi's cheeks began to bloom a bright red, her heart regaining the feeling that had been stuck with her lately. Once again, leave it to Izuku to lift up another's spirits. He was always thinking of others, almost to a fault. But she had been starved for appreciation in the past decade, so she didn't oppose it.
"Thanks Izuku. That means a lot."
"Oooh, what are you guys talking about?"
The exchange of smiles came to a grinding halt as Mako was suddenly sitting behind the two. They both rocked in the sand out of shock, kicking up clumps of it in the process.
"Jesus, Mako, could you give a warning when you wake up? Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" Ryuko shouted.
"I did. I don't think you two heard me since you were both talking about stuff."
Both Izuku and Ryuko paused for a moment, their bodies quivering while hoping that Mako didn't hear anything they said.
"Why don't we get back to the apartment? It is getting late," Izuku changed the subject quickly.
"Right! Wow, it is late. C'mon, let's head back. Mako, you can stay over at my place," Ryuko added as they all began to pack up.
Once everything was put together and ready to go, the trio headed through the city on the way back to Danchi. Things seemed fine until Mako started throwing glances at Izuku, seemingly intrigued by his continued presence.
"Izuku? Are you following us?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Midoriya asked.
Mako began to hum in an off-key tune as she began to think of all sorts of possibilities of why the boy was walking with her and Ryuko. She assumed that he would have split off a while ago, and yet here he continued to walk alongside them. There was only one conclusion the brilliant eldest child of the Mankanshoku family could draw.
"It's night time, and you're the only boy here with two girls. Izuku..." The brunette placed her palm up to her pursed lips, dawning a rather unusual sultry look in her eyes.
"...Are you planning to coerce your way into a sleepover with us?" She then curled her hands up to her cheek, taking on a rather bashful look while shining her eyes at the boy.
Midoriya stopped and shuddered, his face looking like a beefsteak tomato.
"W-w-w-w-Waaa..!"
"WHAT?!" Ryuko shouted, inadvertently finishing his sentence.
"~Oh MYY, how daring~! I've only been here for hours and already the boys here have more backbone than at Honnōji!" Mankanshoku continued, playing with her face as if it was some sort of moldable dough.
Deku let out an involuntary squeak, unable to formulate a proper response due to the major malfunction that occurred in his mind, along with the increased amount of blood pressure in his body. This girl wasn't here for even a day, yet she was a lot closer to killing him than the League of Villains ever were.
"Don't make stuff up!" Ryuko unleashed a karate chop straight to the top of the brunette's scalp, silencing her immediately from a yelp.
"Besides, it's nothing like that at all. Did you forget that we live in the same building? Really?" Ryuko chided the brunette, who giggled in response.
"Oh yeah! Toootally slipped my mind," Mako responded, completely dropping her charade and continuing on as if nothing had happened.
'This is Ryuko's friend from Honnōji? I'm concerned about what it's truly like over at that school," Izuku collected his thoughts and his composure as they continued on home.
..~~~HLK~~~..
It wasn't long until Inko had become acquainted with the brown bundle of joy that was Mako. As expected, she practically bounced around the room with her infectious energy like the Tasmanian Devil. The two other teens attempted to keep the girl at bay, but Inko didn't mind. After all, Izuku was practically the exact same way when he was a child.
Seeing her son with new and old friends made her reminisce of a better time before Izuku was diagnosed Quirkless. He had definitely fallen into a dark place through the last decade, and only a few days ago, bits and pieces of his old self began to return when Ryuko came back into the picture. Inko occasionally made glances towards her whenever she and Izuku spent time together. Could she be the one to bring him back?
Inko let the thought rest as she prepared dinner for the three teens that eagerly waited at the table. She knew that this question was never a matter of if, but only when.
"Is this... real meat?" Mako's eyes sparkled once her taste buds were introduced into a whole new world of flavor. She was sent into enlightenment from the pure sensation of having real food in her mouth rather than the "you-know-whats" inside the mystery croquettes. She loved her mother's cooking, but this was on a whole other level.
"Why yes. Have you...never had meat before?" Inko wondered.
"Nope! Back home, my family would only eat Croquettes that were filled with "I-dunno-what" and a pot of Miso soup with all sorts of things I also don't know!"
The world soon became dark with silence as the two Midoriyas seated at the table nearly had their sense of cognitive thinking broken by Mankanshoku's explanation, followed by the sound of chopsticks clattering onto the table that dropped from Izuku's hands.
"Er… Are you guys okay?" Mako bolted her head back and forth, eyeing the Midoriyas as their jaws hung low, almost reaching the table.
Ryuko darted her eyes back and forth between the two greenettes and could spot the similarities between them, such as their cute button noses and soft round eyes. The only major difference was that Izuku's jawline was much sharper than Inko's, along with the different shades of green in their hair.
Were it not for those details, the two were nearly identical as they dawned the exact same expression. Ryuko giggled at that thought before taking a bite out of her meal and pitching in to break the ice.
"Guys, it's cool. It seems crazy at first, but they're totally legit. I've eaten these a lot back at Honnōji."
Inko then snapped herself out of her trance and regained her merits as she did not want to be rude to Mrs. Mankanshoku.
"That sounds wonderful, Mako. I would ask for the recipe to try to make it myself, but it seems that escapes us currently."
"That's cool! This food tastes sooooooo good! Oh man, who would have thought I'd have a wonderful dinner and a pretty boy sitting in front of me?! Dinner and a show! I'm so jealous you get to keep this all to yourself, Ryuko!" Mako muttered out loudly in between stuffing her face and leaving glimpses towards Izuku, who promptly covered himself up.
"Mako… We really need to teach you tableside manners," Ryuko sighed as her crimson ridden face rose up from a double-handed facepalm.
"As long as she can keep things clean, there's no trouble at all, Ryuko! Having new faces at the table definitely makes dinner more interesting!" Inko chirped with the utmost positivity.
How Inko was able to maintain so much optimism when meeting Mako for the first time was beyond Matoi. Even she had a bit of a learning curve when she first met the girl. Oh, Inko was too pure for this world.
While Mankanshoku was going on her usual nonsense, something caught Matoi's eye. Midoriya had his arms up, shielding himself once again. It wasn't as bad as how it was at the beach, but he still had that minor scowl on his face. She had to do something. If this went on any further, it could affect his performance at the Sports Festival. Matoi just needed the right moment.
After helping clean up all of the dishes and saying bye to Inko, Ryuko and Mako stepped outside while Izuku held the door open. Walking up the stairs, the trio had arrived at Ryuko's apartment. Before the red streaked girl would open the door, she turned over to face Mako.
"Mako, listen. There's something I'd like to talk to Izuku about. Mind giving us a minute? You can unpack inside."
"Oh, okay! I'll go do that then. I promise I won't break anything!" Mako responded before she hopped on inside with the door shutting behind her.
Ryuko turned around and leaned against the door, her entire front now facing Izuku's.
"Izuku… There's something I need to talk to you about," Ryuko tucked her hands into her pockets and looked down, her bangs covering parts of her face.
"What's up, Ryuko?" Izuku asked.
They were alone now, there was nobody else there. The moon shined on the two, highlighting both of their faces in dusk. There were no shadows cast on them, no way to hide. Ryuko lifted her head, her eyes appearing out of the shadow and into the light. Her blue gaze matched Izuku's emerald green.
"I've been concerned for a little while. There's some things I've noticed during our training. Anytime I'd try to compliment or say something nice, it seemed like whatever I said would be shoved away. From my perspective, it looks like you were going through something. Is everything okay?"
Izuku clutched at his chest. It felt as if he was sinking into a deep, dark void. His lips opened, but all that came out were a few shortened breaths before he could come up with something.
"N-Nothing's wrong, Ryuko. Compliments just make me all flustered. That's all," he said.
While it was partly true, it was clear that he also came up with the lie on the spot. Ryuko looked at him rather unconvinced.
"If it were just that, I'd believe you. But other than shying away, you looked like you were in a lot of pain. Being embarrassed is one thing, but nearly having a panic attack is another. You also shrink into your shoulders and don't look people in the eye when talking to them."
"I erm… still have a bit of trouble taking compliments. It feels like I don't deserve them," Midoriya admitted dryly.
"That's not true, Izuku. You're nice to everyone, and you don't ever put yourself on a high horse. People don't say nice things to you enough," Ryuko stepped forward and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Clearly, it's Katsuki who's behind this. But, you never told me what he did after I was sent off to boarding school. Beating you up is one thing, but a lot more went down if it's got you right on edge so quickly, huh?"
Midoriya maintained eye contact with Matoi through this whole discussion. She was clearly worried for his well being, and he felt that he was partly responsible for causing it.
"I'm not accusing you of anything, man. I want to help you, Izuku. Something like that, especially over a long time, it takes a lot more time and effort to begin moving forward. You won't have to do it by yourself. If I can help, all you need to do is ask or talk to me if there's ever the feeling to open up if you need to. I'm here for you," Ryuko assured him.
The advice was sound, but he continued to hesitate. Open up? To who? Even with his newfound power, he was still weak to his own problems. No amount of strength could tackle what happened from within.
"I…" Izuku muttered, melancholy.
He spent so much time trying to build himself back up. But he was just as vulnerable as he was years ago. Opening up to others? He felt that he'd just cause them more trouble than he already did when he was quirkless.
"N-No. I'm Okay. Really. I appreciate you trying to help me," Izuku removed Ryuko's hands from his shoulders slowly, holding them gently in his grasp for a moment.
Her eyes scanned his body language, looking for any clues that would let her help him any further. Her eyes softened and grew neutral once there wasn't anything she could find. If she kept pressing, Izuku would go into a shell and not come out.
"Well… Okay then," Ryuko said. There was a moment of silence between them as the moon continued to cast a light above them. Without anything else being said, Ryuko turned around to grab the doorknob.
"R-Ryuko."
The girl turned around to see the boy looking her in the eyes.
"I-I hope you have a good night," Izuku muttered quickly.
Ryuko's eyes lit up from him being able to muster that up. Even when she couldn't get through to him, he still kept that upbeat attitude, presumably to keep the positive mood between them. She smiled slightly. Maybe there was still a chance. But not today.
"Heh, yeah. You too. Good night, Izuku," She twisted the knob of her door before walking inside her apartment.
To Be Continued…
Buckichamp A/N: Hey everyone! We have an important announcement to make.
We are not publishing another chapter for four weeks. We're taking a quasi-break/work catch-up break.
Yep. And those four weeks start from today, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Chapter 19 is confirmed to release on Thursday, March 24, 2022 (Because February is the red-headed stepchild month of the year lol). We should be back on an every other week schedule per usual when we return in late March (subject to change).
The reason –Or rather reasons– why we're taking this break? I'll quickly bullet them to spare the word garble.
-First: To give ourselves a breather from the writing process and take a mini vacation
-Second: To finish up the final touches on something everyone's been waiting on from us
-Third: Retain our sanity
-Fourth: Attempt to rebuild a little more of our backlog for the future (if possible)
-Fifth: Continue producing good, quality content while doing some of the other things above and more!
We know some of you may not like to hear this and impatience will creep in, but we promise you the rewards will be well worth the wait! If we get our short rest to recharge and we're able to accomplish everything listed above, it's all systems go folks. ;-)
Chapter 19 has a lot of goodies that people have been asking for and (perhaps) a few minor payoffs as well. I'll keep that cryptic and let you take guesses in the reviews. Please discuss the chapter contents and ask questions rather than straight recapping it if you can. It makes Q&A mailbags a lot more fun!
Big things are on the way, and we can't wait to share! With more content coming, you should 100% subscribe to Aduubo on YouTube and his other social media to keep up with the–
What's that? Oh yeah, ~can't mention that yet!~
Anyway, see you in 28 days!
P.S. Someday, you will see the "alternate scene" we have stored away and locked in a vault from this chapter. We were howling that night when Pikachu Spartan wrote it up! Unfortunately, we all agreed we'd need to save it for another time.