5 -||

As Time Passes…

Things quickly settled into a routine, as life was wont to do, but with a few additions; Izuku's day was about the same, except that after school, he would run down to Dagoba Beach and haul trash for hours. All Might would occasionally call for him to instead exercise with certain pieces, working on building his muscle mass.

While this did cut into the time he spent with his Not Serious Girlfriends, it wasn't by that much. After hours of rigorous exercise, Izuku would tap into his chakra to deal with the most serious aches and pains.

His Saturday's, however, had become swallowed by training, heading for the beach before the sun had risen and staying until it had set.

Needless to say, his cleaning progress was quite rapid, but there was also a lot of trash.

It was the month after he'd begun training that Izuku figured out a way to introduce Himiko to Toshinori.

…

However, the Number One Hero was running late that Saturday, so the two of them began to train.

Yes, they started training while waiting to train.

The scene that All Might finally arrived at was a vicious, high-speed knife-fight to the death between Young Midoriya and what appeared to be another Young Midoriya. The air whistled and shrieked as they slashed and stabbed at each other, eerily silent except for the crunch of sand and grunts of exertion.

He interceded, landing between the two teenagers and throwing his hands out, the sheer strength he possessed ensuring he didn't even have to touch them to push them apart. "What is going on here?!" He thundered, glaring impressively.

The Midoriya on the left dropped their knife and their jaw, green eyes going wide. "A-All Might…" Said Pro Hero jumped in shock as Young Midoriya's body collapsed into grey sludge, his mind instantly jumping to the villain who'd caused such a ruckus not long ago…and then the slime slid down to reveal a teenage girl with blonde hair and honey-colored eyes.

…Who was also naked.

All Might lost his hold on his form, the expelled steam luckily covering his vision and even then, he spun around shrieking, "Gah!" With his hands clasped to his eyes, he asked, "Young Midoriya, what is the meaning of this?!" He paused, an eye shooting open. Then he bulked back up. "Young Midoriya! And friend! It was just a sand cloud! You saw nothing!"

"…Did All Might just turn into a skinny dude?"

"Toga-chan! Clothes, please!"

"Alright, alright…"

There was a rustling of cloth and shuffling on the sand, and eventually Izuku cleared his throat. "She's, uh, dressed now, Yagi-sensei."

Toshinori turned around, nervous sweat dotting his brow. "Midoriya, explain! ...Also, who is this 'Yagi' person you speak of?" He added lamely, wincing.

The boy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's too late for that, Yagi-sensei, Toga-chan's got sharp eyes. She saw everything." He strode over to the girl, now dressed in a baggy shirt and shorts, staring at him with wide eyes. "This Toga Himiko, my best friend and training partner. Toga-chan, this Yagi Toshinori, also known as All Might."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Young Toga," All Might greeted her with a terse smile, before turning a dark look on Izuku, "M'boy, an explanation-" he shrunk down with a surprised cough and a spray of blood from his mouth, making the girl jump with a squeal. "…Sorry…"

Himiko looked down at the crimson liquid soaking into the sand, then at the gaunt man it had issued from. "He just spit blood!" She pointed out, head whipping over to look at an unconcerned Izuku. "Blood! He spit it! That's bad!"

Toshinori blinked at the girl, then at the boy. "…You didn't tell her?"

Izuku shook his head. "Not my secret to tell, I just wanted to introduce you two and see if you could train her, too. Or at least help, I guess." He shrugged helplessly. "We waited for you for like, an hour and we got bored and started training. I guess we lost track of time, sorry."

The gaunt man sighed and sat on a concrete block, pulling a water bottle from his pocket and swishing a mouthful of water before spitting it out. "Can't be helped, I guess," he ran a hand through his lanky hair and met Toga's honey eyes with his shadowed blue, "Please, Young Toga, don't tell anyone what you've seen today."

She nodded firmly. "Of course, All Might," then her lips curled into a frown. "Can I ask how that happened, though? And why it hasn't been healed?"

Toshinori shook his head slowly. "It's not something that can be healed, m'dear, and I'd rather not speak of it. Let me say it's a painful reminder and leave it at that. As for training you…" He eyed her critically, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Hmm…going by your build, I would say you're suited for speed more than power; which, if you might not be aware, is kind of my whole thing."

"You are fast, though," Izuku chimed in, "Eight years ago you caught up to Hog Wild on foot, and he was on a motorcycle."

"'Hog Wild?'" Himiko asked incredulously, her face scrunched into a frown, "Like Ino?"

"Hog Wild was a Villain from America who terrorized the Cereal Belt with his Quirk, Wild Hog, which let him integrate mechanical parts into his body," the green-haired Hero-in-training explained, "He preferred to use old-fashioned motorcycles. All Might defeated him by tangling his weapon of choice, a length of chain, in his wheels which ended up ripping him in half. He survived, but was so traumatized that he gave up Villainy and started building cars."

All Might blinked. "…How do you remember a random Villain from America? I barely remember that…and I didn't mean to rip him in half, that was entirely an accident which he eventually forgave me for." He coughed into his hand, more to get the conversation back on track than anything else. "A-anywho, yes, I am fast but as a result of my power, not because of it. I don't think there's much I could teach you beyond some general tips. My apologies, Young Toga."

Himiko sighed but shrugged. "That's better than nothing, I guess. I'll just stick to my training and up the intensity when I need to. Speaking of, Izuku-kun, can you put my bands back on?" She lifted her shirt up and All Might turned away, though he noted Young Midoriya using his Quirk to shape glass bands under her clothes, as well as the fact that he picked up the knife she'd dropped and gave it back.

"I feel I should ask why you two appeared to be fighting to the death with knives when I arrived," Toshinori pointed out, followed up by, "Also you're both too young to carry weapons."

"They're rubber," Toga explained, holding the knife up to the light to reveal that it was, in fact, heavy rubber instead of cold steel, "They're just training knives."

"…Why are you training with knives?"

"I'm going to use one with my Hero Gear," she replied, neatly spinning it between her fingers.

"Hm," All Might hummed. I guess as long as she's careful and understands the danger, it's fine. Snipe uses guns, after all. "Where'd you learn such a thing, if you don't mind me asking?"

The two youths traded looks, communicating something without words. Toshinori got the feeling that they weren't just training partners, or that they would remain that way for very long. If they weren't dating by the time UA started, he'd eat Nezu.

"There's a…manual, or a guide, I guess, that showed us how to train some important skills," Izuku began cautiously, eyeing All Might, "It's a guide for the style called Serration, but we just call it The Red Book. Ever heard of it?"

The Number One Hero blinked blankly at them. "…Where'd you learn it?"

Toga's eyebrows went up. "The Red Book, All Might."

"…Where, did you say?"

"The Red Book," Izuku stated clearly.

"…Where?"

"Wow, that is weird," Himiko muttered.

"What's weird?" Toshinori asked.

"The Red Book."

"…What's weird?"

Izuku sighed. "The internet. That's where we found it."

"Bah, the things on the internet these days!" All Might guffawed, slapping a knee, "As long as you're careful and you understand the dangers of using such a weapon, it'll be fine. Might want to carry a first-aid kit with you, though. Now!" He clapped his hands sharply, the sand around him shivering, "It's time to clean, Young Midoriya! Double time!"

…

True to his thoughts, All Might didn't have much to teach Toga, merely a few pointers on her diet and exercise routine. Oftentimes she would join them on the beach to do her own training and the Number One would offer a bit of advice now and then.

Of course, training wasn't the only thing going on.

He paid less attention to school than ever before, as he already knew the syllabus backwards and forwards. Instead, class was where he relaxed and focused on his 'Heroes of the Future!' (now on volume three) and occasionally tweaked his training scheme or snuck in a brief meditation where he could.

The biggest change at school came from Bakugou, actually. She was still brash, loud, shouty and pushy, but there were times when Izuku would see her quietly observing him, something inscrutable in her eyes. And her minions left him alone as well, though that may have been because he'd charged a Villain and thus a couple of a-hole teens simply didn't register anymore.

And there was a change in his personal life, as well. It had only been a matter of time before Ino and Sakura had found out about what Izuku, Himiko and Sukuro had gotten up to in the shower and, not wanting to fall behind in some invisible race, had decided to be a bit more…hands on.

A new line had been drawn in the sand.

Sex was off the table as that was indeed Something Serious, but almost everything else was up for grabs, as it were. It became a normal cap to the Sunday Dates for the chosen girl to pull him into her room and onto her bed for a heavy make out and usually some over the clothes action, but occasionally some heavy petting as well.

Turns out there were more benefits to their hand conditioning than was first apparent, which The Red Book gleefully pointed out.

While the training to increase Izuku's muscle mass continued apace, he found himself stalling in other areas, such as his Martial Arts. While he was loath to think such a thing, it was clear that All Might wouldn't be able to help him when it came to grappling, either physically or mentally. The man had punches, kicks and maybe two throws in his arsenal.

And that was how Izuku found himself dialing the number of one Takeyama Yu.

…

That was not to say he hadn't talked to her before then; they traded texts every other day, and he had called her with a question on the minutiae of being part of a Hero Agency. Turns out, there was a decent amount of paperwork involved, moreso if one power had the potential for large amounts of collateral damage, and also if one was attempting to leverage their Hero Career for a modeling one as well.

So when his number appeared on her phone, Mt. Lady answered the call with a smile and a cheerful, "Kohai!"

"Can you teach me how to grapple?"

"…Is that a come-on?"

He blinked. "…No?" Clearing his throat, he continued with, "How would that be a come-on?"

Yu thought for a second, then shook her head. "Never mind. What makes you think I know how to grapple? And why should I spend some of my valuable time teaching it to you?" Though there was a teasing lilt to her voice, it was a serious question. Rookie or not, she was a Pro Hero with responsibilities.

"Well, with the increase in size and strength from your Quirk, property damage would be really easy to inflict and when fighting a similarly-sized opponent, grappling and restraint would be helpful in minimizing possible damage," he pointed out simply.

Mt. Lady blinked, mind racing. …He's right. Uh oh… "Ah, s-see, I knew you'd figure it out quickly!" She chirped, hoping he couldn't hear the surprise in her voice.

"As for a trade, well…you're trying to be a Model Hero, right? Like Ariel and Uwabami?"

"But better."

Izuku nodded. "How's it going for you on that front?"

She puffed out her cheeks and leaned on her counter, running a hand through her loose blonde hair. "Not super well, but it makes sense. I just debuted after all and most agencies are looking for models with some staying power. I mean," she glanced at her reflection in the window above her sink and posed, "I'd definitely hot enough, just not popular yet."

"I know a model who could put in a good word for you," he replied. His mom didn't have a lot of clout, but her and Mitsuki working together would at least open a door for Yu. "Fair trade?"

On her side, Yu arched her eyebrows in surprise, then remembered that the teen she was talking to was also the mysterious, anonymous Sculptor. "Alright, you got a deal, Kohai. Gimme a week to set up something and we'll see what I can teach you, okay?" She got an affirmative and hung up, her cheerful smile dropping. Ah fuck, I don't know any grappling!

What she did have, though, was the resources to learn.

So, after booking some time in a nearby dojo, Yu was confident enough in what she'd crammed into her head for the last week, enough that when Izuku showed up and saw her in a gi, she giggled freely as he blushed. To his credit, he recovered quickly and pulled on the clothes set aside for him and stood across from her on the mat, face determined.

"So, Kohai, before we begin, I just wanna know…why can't you practice grappling with your training friend…Toga, right?" She tilted her head curiously, amethyst eyes glittering.

"She's too small," he answered with a shrug, and Yu hissed mockingly, "Not like that!" He sputtered inelegantly, cheeks red. "She's slim!"

"Not better, Kohai," she stuck her tongue out playfully, but smoothed out her expression and cleared her throat, "Alright then, do you have anything about grappling that you know? Just so I know where to start."

Izuku tapped his chin in thought. "I've seen some stuff on the internet, pictures and some videos. I'm pretty sure I could pull off a triangle choke or an armbar, and Aikido was something we could do together, so I know some of that." He blinked as she held a hand out towards him. "What?"

"Show me," she nodded, wiggling her fingers, "I'm serious, I wanna know." She also wanted to see her cute li'l kohai struggling because it would be funny.

He gave her a small frown but shrugged. Then his hands darted up and circled around her wrist, and she had a bare second to wonder why his nails were white before they were digging into her flesh and she was suddenly looking at the floor and her arm was burning. Then he twisted and there was a flurry of sound and vision and she was on her back on the floor.

"Um, Mt. Lady- I mean, Senpai- are you okay?" Izuku asked anxiously, brows creased together in a worried frown.

Yu coughed and hurriedly sat up, rolling her shoulder. "What was that?"

"Wrist lock takedown," he replied simply, fidgeting and glancing away, "You said you wanted me to show you…"

"You showed me, alright," she muttered, flexing her hand experimentally before eyeing him, "…Maybe you could show me some more of that, eh Kohai? I can show you the basics of grappling-" because that's all I know, "-and you can show me the basics of that, okay?"

"Sure!" Izuku smiled brightly, bouncing on his heels like an excited puppy, "You go first!"

What followed was an hour of basic restraints; how to knock someone off-balance so that they couldn't escape, how to leverage their own center of gravity and their limbs against them. Yu had expected that a teenager having his hands on her beautiful body (even if only her hands and shoulders-for now) would've reduced him to a blushing mess, but she'd been taken off-balance ironically enough by the laser-like intensity of his focus, his hands nor eyes straying once. On one hand, his attention was admirable and would serve him well; on the other, it was her.

"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Yu announced, flicking her head back and running a hand through her hair, sighing breathily, though as far as workouts went, it'd been a low-key affair. She still loosed the belt of her gi and fanned herself like she'd worked up a sweat, and somehow the slightest glimpse of her unflattering sports top was enough to make him turn red and take a vested interest in his water. "So, Kohai, that thing you did, what was it called?"

"Aikido," he replied helpfully, "It's a Martial Art based around locking, restraining and turning an attackers body against them. It's also entirely non-lethal, though there was this one ancient American actor who used it to kill in his movies."

Izuku hadn't been a fan of that; also the acting sucked and the story was nonsensical and there were way too many of said movies. And they were unrealistic. And they didn't age well, either.

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully, tapping her bottom lip, "And that move, the wrist lock, that was a basic move?"

"Yeah. Some of the higher-level stuff is crazy, like this one diagram I saw of a Master using two fingers and doing this," he mimed jamming his forefinger and thumb under his jaw, "And using that to throw someone across a room. N-not to say I'm even close to that level, but I, uh, I know a good amount. It's one of the things Toga and I can practice together."

Yu nodded, flexing her fingers. "Alright, so show me how it works," she held her hand out, then snatched it back, "Not the hurty part, just the mechanics, please."

Izuku nodded seriously and carefully took her hand, a little heat in his cheeks at the silky smoothness of her skin that he valiantly ignored. "The wrist lock is actually one of the most important moves in Aikido, as well as basic. The hand and wrist have so many points of articulation and nerves that a sudden strain can lock up the whole arm," he demonstrated by laying his palm on the back of her hand, his fingers pressing lightly on her wrist before he gently turned it inwards.

Mt. Lady grunted quietly, her eyes narrowed in discomfort. "I see," she murmured, flexing her arm and feeling the tightness under the skin.

"And after you lock it, the whole limb becomes a lever, and with enough leverage you can do a lot," he continued, "You can push or pull or twist," he did so and her upper body followed, "And with an adjustment, you can dislocate the wrist easily. I remember reading somewhere if you're fast and strong enough, you could dislocate the wrist, elbow and shoulder all at the same time."

Yu nodded and withdrew her hand, rolling her wrist. "Teach me, please?"

What followed was another hour of basics; Izuku showed her how to grip the wrist properly, correcting her when needed, and going through the motions before going full speed. She nearly dislocated his wrist twice before getting the hang of it.

"One more time?" He asked, checking the clock.

Yu nodded firmly, rolling her stiff shoulders. "One more time, full speed," she readied herself, hands open before Izuku struck. Though her eyes widened at his speed, her hand shot up to intercept his, grabbing and twisting to flip him on his back in a textbook wrist lock throw. "Ha!" She crowed, jumping to her feet, "I did it!"

Izuku's wrist, still in her hand, came up with her. His body, on the mat, did not.

There was a loud pop and his face went white, a high-pitched whine coming from behind his clenched teeth.

"Ah! Kohai!"

Five minutes later an apologetic Yu held his hand, the wrist wrapped in ice, cradled against her chest. "It's alright, it was an accident," he soothed, grateful that the combination of fading pain and cold gave him something to focus on, "It went right back in and I heal fast, I'll be fine."

"Okay…" The Rookie Pro Hero sighed miserably, carefully examining his wrist, "Are you sure I didn't break it? I'm pretty strong…"

Izuku wiggled his fingers. "It's definitely not broken," he said dryly. At first her panic had been kinda funny and a bit cathartic, but she was looking so contrite that it was starting to make him feel bad. "Seriously, Senpai, it doesn't hurt that much."

Yu nodded wordlessly, her eyes still raking his hand for some hidden injury. He has a lot of calluses, she noted, unconsciously dragging a nail along a series of discolored marks. And scars, too…what does he do, punch trees? She shook her head slightly. "I'm still sorry, though. How about I buy us some food, make it up to you?"

He looked, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "It's really fine, Senpai, you don't have to do anything…also I kinda have to leave soon, mom expects me back for dinner. Thank you, though."

She huffed, chewing her lip. "Alright, fine. Do you want to meet next week, then? Do this again?" Despite how it ended, it had been oddly fun teaching a prospective Hero something new, though getting schooled had been less amusing. She quickly amended her question. "Well, if I don't get called in to fight a Villain."

Izuku thought it over for a second. I can move that around, I think All Might would let me take other Friday afternoons for this, I've made a lot of progress and it is still training. "Sure," he nodded with a smile, "I need to ask permission first, but I'm certain I'll get it. Text you later?"

Yu grinned eagerly and nodded, blonde hair bobbing. "Definitely, Kohai!"

He smiled at her for a bit longer, emerald eyes warm like the sea on a sunny day.

She smiled back, blinking glimmering amethyst eyes.

After a minute, his smile faltered confusedly. "…Can I have my arm back?"

"Oh, right! Sorry Kohai!"

…

The next day, Saturday, Izuku stopped in front of All Might, the skeletal man perched on top of a concrete block. "Yagi-sensei, can I dedicate Friday afternoons to other training?"

Toshinori arched an eyebrow. "Midoriya, m'boy, if you need more breaks, just say so. I knew there had to be a limit to your energy, and there's nothing good that comes from a burnout."

Toga completed an upside-down crunch on the other side of the block. "He's not asking for a break," she commented, dropping back and then levering herself back up with a grunt, "It's really just a different kind of training."

"Oh," the Number One Hero turned back to the younger man, "What kind of training?"

"Grappling, holds and stuff," he replied with a shrug, "Mt. Lady offered to help me with it."

"Mount Lady?" Toshinori asked, squinting in thought, "Is she the one who rides a unicorn?"

"No," Himiko said, balancing on her fingertips on the edge of the block, holding herself completely steady, "She grows in size and wears a tight suit."

"Oh," the gaunt man shrugged, "I guess that's fine then," his grin gained an edge, "As long as it's actually training and not just an excuse to spend time with an older woman!"

Izuku covered his face, mortified as Toga giggled. "It is training!" He protested hotly, jabbing a finger at the two.

"I don't know, Izuku, a couple private hours with a good-looking lady getting your hands all over each other," Himiko teased with an upside-down grin, "Maybe you need adult supervision?"

"Don't say it like that!" He squeaked, turning to All Might as the gaunt man laughed, "And she is an adult!"

Toshinori waved his protestations off as he stopped, coughing into a hand. "Anyway, Young Midoriya, it's fine with me, as long as you work extra hard on Saturday!"

Izuku saluted, "Yes, Sensei!"

…

And that was how Friday afternoons became grappling practice with Yu.

Or as Himiko liked to call it, 'Friday Night Booty Call.' Also 'Mounting the Lady.'

They would meet most Fridays, slowly working up from the basics of random grappling techniques and Aikido, respectively. Every so often she'd miss it, called away to deal with a Villain, but she always made it up.

There was, of course, some friction.

…

Yu found herself biting back a frustrated curse as she picked herself back up from the mat, rolling her shoulders. Turns out Aikido was hard and took a lot of practice to get down; it had been four times in a row that Izuku had reversed her lock and flipped her to the floor. Her pride was smarting at a junior, not even a trainee Hero, tossing her around like she wasn't a Pro Hero who'd graduated from Yuuei.

"Are you alright, Senpai?" Izuku asked, concern in his eyes.

And that was the worst part; Izuku was such a teddy bear that getting even inwardly mad at him made her mad at herself which made her madder at him which continued looping viciously. She smiled up at him, "Kohai, can you show me that one move with the hip?" She fluttered her eyelashes for an innocent effect.

He blinked at her. "…You mean the hip toss? We did that last week." He'd seen the way her neck had been tense, and the way it hadn't stopped despite her innocent expression. "Sure, I guess?"

She stood back up and got into position. As he circled around to examine her stance, she suddenly reached back and grabbed him, pulling him into her hip. Grinning at his surprised yelp, she tossed him to the floor and pinned him with her elbow. "How's that?!" Ah, but victory was sweet. Even underhanded victory.

Izuku blinked up at her, confused and a little concerned. "…Um, pretty much perfect, Senpai? I don't think you need anymore help with it," he replied to her rhetorical question honestly.

And just like that, her victory tasted of ash. "…Dammit," Yu muttered, releasing her pin and rolling on her back, scowling up at the ceiling.

He propped himself up on an elbow, looking down at her with a worried frown. No two people were alike, but the tightness of her expression and the frustrated way she tapped her fingers on the floor reminded him of when, after hours of studying, Toga's brain had been filled too much and she needed a physical release. And since a heavy make out session was off the table, that left one thing.

"Do you want to spar, Senpai?"

Mt. Lady twisted to look at him, squinting. Then she nodded. "Yeah."

They stood across from each other in ready stances, eyes locked. Then Yu launched herself into a kick with a sharp yell and Izuku spun out of the way; she landed and immediately turned on him with a flying elbow that he blocked, preparing to counter before her knee came up at his stomach. He shoved her away for some distance but she bounced back, closing the distance and raining blows at him.

Izuku did his best to dodge or block, his forearms smarting from the force of her strikes; she still hadn't landed a clean hit, though. Her next punch was a tad slower and he deflected it, striking at her chest, but it was a feint; she spun and ducked, lashing out with a sweeping crescent. As he nimbly hopped over her leg, she planted her foot and lunged at his floating chest.

He grunted as he caught her strike and landed, twisting his shoulders and tossing her over his head. She spun and landed on her feet, looking up at him with a near-feral grin. "What style is that?" Izuku asked, panting slightly.

Yu drew her hands in and took a pose, one arm up and the other pointing directly at him. She then beckoned him forward. "I know Kung Fu," she said in a breathy masculine voice.

Izuku squinted at her. "…Is that a reference to something? I feel like it is."

She dropped her stance and shrugged. "I mean, I think it is but I'm not-hiyah!" She launched herself at him mid-word.

Yelping, he reflexively lashed out, snatching her wrist and twisting it, spinning down to yank her off her feet and slam her into the mat over his shoulder.

Yu blinked, wondering just how she'd gotten on the floor. She made to get up but paused as she realized Izuku's hand was leveled at her throat, her arm twisted into a lock, his knee pinning her hip to the ground. She'd lost.

"…Fuck," she murmured, her face twisting into a grimace, "Fuck!" She yanked her arm away from Izuku and turned away from him. Part of her was embarrassed that she was acting like an angry child. The other parts were angry.

"…Yu-san?" He asked quietly, and she could see him fidgeting with his fingers out of the corner of her eye, "Did I do something to make you angry?"

"Yes!" She snapped, and he flinched back with a quiet little 'oh.' Her chest seized and she instantly felt worse.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, voice trembling.

Yu inhaled sharply and turned back, seizing the sleeve of his gi. "Don't apologize," she whispered, sitting up, her hair hanging over her face, "I lied. It's not you, Midoriya-kun…it's me. It's just…" she cupped her face, shamefully burning tears leaking from her eyes, "Dammit!"

"What's wrong?" Izuku tentatively laid a hand on her shoulder and when she didn't shrug him off, he gave her a gentle squeeze. "Senpai?"

She sighed deeply, slumping. "I just said it…I lied, Midoriya-kun…I'm angry at myself because I'm angry at you, and I'm angry at you because I…I don't know how to grapple, okay? I've been cramming every chance I get, and then you are teaching me and…" She threw her hands up with a growl. "This is stupid! I'm being stupid! But…"

Concerned, he began to run her back and stiffened when she leaned her head against his shoulder, and he could see the sadness and disappointment writ on her visage. "I don't think you're stupid," he offered cautiously, and she snorted inelegantly.

"Don't know me very well, then," Yu muttered, squeezing her eyes shut, "I'm sorry, Midoriya-kun, but I feel like an idiot around you sometimes. Before you pointed it out to me, I never once thought about using locks and holds when I fight, but I fuckin' should've! It seems so obvious in retrospect, but it never occurred to me…and there you were, just making it obvious."

"Well, it seemed obvious to me," he whispered, feeling sheepish.

"It should've been obvious to me but it wasn't and I feel stupid and I'm taking it out on you," the blonde woman stated, shaking her head. "Some Hero I am, huh?"

Izuku frowned. "I think that might be taking it a bit too far, Senpai. It's just something you overlooked, we all do it. It doesn't make you less of a Hero or anything, just human." He shrugged helplessly, "And that, I'm sorry to say, is what everyone else is, too. I guess, what I'm saying is, Senpai…you're not special. Too bad for you."

Yu snorted, a wry smile on her lips. "Too bad for 'Yu,' you mean?"

"Agh! No puns, please!" He recoiled theatrically, but smiled and continued to rub her back, "Do you feel better, Yu-senpai?"

The rookie Pro Hero nodded firmly and pushed herself up, offering him a hand, "I do, thanks Izuku," she hauled him to his feet, but didn't let go of his hand. She licked her lips, suddenly nervous. "N-now that you know, about me not knowing…do you still want to continue? I won't lie, besides the parts when I feel sorry for myself and the other parts where I'm irritated at myself for feeling sorry for myself…I like this. Teaching, and learning…it's nice. I-I'll understand if you don't though…"

Izuku gave her an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? I'd have to be crazy to give up spending time with you, Yu…uh, Senpai. Now that we're level with each other, I think we can make some real progress together. I think someone important said teaching material helps you learn it better." He smiled brightly, only to lose it as she dropped his hand.

"I still have something to teach you today, Kohai," she said seriously, eyes narrowing, "The most important move, the ultimate grappling technique…" Yu held her arms out and stepped in, wrapping them around him, "…Hugs."

"…"

"…"

"…That was really cheesy, Yu-senpai."

She gave a careless shrug, stepping back from him with a beaming smile. "I don't care." Her eyes found the clock and she sighed. "That really is the last thing today, though. Our time's up."

Izuku nodded, pulling his gi off to reveal the shorts and shirt he wore underneath. As he made to dump it in a nearby bin, he paused. "Actually, Senpai, do you want to come over for dinner?"

Yu thought back to the last time she'd eaten Midoriya Inko's food, the mere memory making her salivate. "Who would I be to refuse such an invitation, Kohai? What's your mom making?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well, I'm making chicken fried rice. Mom wants to make conversation to see if she wants to help you." They left the private room, padding down the hall of the dojo to the front, where their shoes and jackets waited.

"Help me with what?" She asked, pulling on a light but warm fleece jacket. Summer was well on the way out, and the air was already bringing with it chilling twilight hours. Fall would be coming soon.

Izuku gave her a curious look as they set off down the street towards his home. "My part of the agreement, remember? You would teach me, and I would introduce you to someone in the modeling industry. My mom." He paused, eyes flicking up in thought, "Although you have already met her…"

"No way," The blonde cut the air with her hand, "There's no way that tiny little woman is a model. I mean, she's cute and all…" She trailed off as her walking partner stopped by a small store, flicking through a magazine rack quickly before snatching one up and showing her the cover.

There, bundled up in a comfy sweater, looking appealingly tired but adorably comfortable in a chair with a mug of cocoa was Inko, under a title reading 'Adult Extra Smol: Fall Edition.' It was her first cover, even, and she'd just about had a panic attack when she found out her low-key, half-asleep shoot ended up being the front.

"No way…" She snatched the magazine from his hand and quickly flipped through to the centerpiece of the Fall Edition, eyes finding the bottom of the page. "Midoriya Inko…"

"I told you," Izuku commentend, snatching it back and returning it to the rack, "I'll finally introduce you, like I said I would." He left the store and continued down the street.

Yu quickly caught up with him, a bit of heat in her cheeks. "I'm not gonna lie, I totally forgot that part of the deal," she admitted, blushing a bit as he turned a surprised gaze on her. "What? In-between Hero work, cramming the lessons and actually teaching them, it kinda slipped through the cracks."

"That makes sense," he nodded, offering her his arm, "Shall we?"

She gladly looped her arm through his and they continued down the street.

…

It was natural that, with as much training as Izuku went through that time seemed to pass like quicksilver through an oiled tube, and it seemed that the beach had become halfway clear in no time flat; except that it had been about five months. Much of the little to medium-sized trash had been cleared away, leaving the larger appliances since like double-wide fridges and cars behind.

It was also when he met someone very important.

…

It was on a Thursday afternoon that Izuku found himself at the beach, leaning against the concrete block that All Might had claimed as his seat as he waited for the man himself to show. As he overlooked the small hills of golden sand leading down to the gentle lapping of foam-tipped waves, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, tempered with the determination at the sight of the rest of the trash.

His phone chimed and Izuku checked it, frowning.

Yagi-Sensei: YOUNG MIDORIYA! I APOLOGIZE, BUT I WAS FORCEFULLY REMINDED THAT I HAVE A CHECK-UP TODAY! I'M AFRAID I WILL MISS OUT ON YOUR TRAINING THIS AFTERNOON, BUT TAKE HEART! I WILL RETURN ON SATURDAY! IN THE MEANTIME, SIMPLY MOVE THE TRASH FROM ONE SIDE OF THE BEACH TO THE PLACE I USUSALLY PARK MY TRUCK! WORK HAT!

He squinted at the last word, wondering what that was about. His phone chimed again.

WORK HAS!

He blinked. It chimed again.

WORK HARP!

It was followed by a clarification a second later.

Work hard, I was trying to say.

Izuku bit his lip, trying to restrain a giggle that burst out anyway. Then his phone chimed again and opened the message.

How to escape from a checkup.

It was then swiftly deleted and followed by, You didn't see anything.

He fell back, clutching his stomach as he laughed freely, the sounds of his mirth echoing over the beach. "Himiko's gonna love this!" He giggled, imagining her reaction which brought on a fresh wave of the chuckles.

Eventually it faded, and he pushed himself off the block, wiped an errant tear of laughter from his cheek, and got down to business.

A few hours later, Izuku had just packed a broken fridge with smaller trash and had started dragging it across the sand towards the pile when he heard, "HEY!" The angry shout made him jump and nearly drop the fridge on his foot, and he spun towards the source just as it lunged at him. He reflexively hardened the sand under his feet, planting himself like a pillar and his attacker smacked into his chest and bounced off, landing in the sand with surprised grunt.

He blinked down at them as they immediately bounced back up, pink hair thrashing as a pair yellow eyes glared up at him, the look made more effective by the crosshair-shaped pupils. "Um, hi?" He offered tentatively.

"You!" He realized it was a girl, clad in a black jumpsuit with a similar-colored hair band holding back a headful of pink dreadlocks, as she jabbed a finger at his nose, "You're the one who's been taking my salvage! How'm I supposed to make super cute babies without stuff?!"

"I don't…know?" Izuku shrugged, leaning away from her hand, "Besides, I'm not taking this, I'm cleaning up the beach. If you want to salvage, do it now, because I won't stop until it's spotless…relatively speaking."

The girl grunted, crossing her arms as her eyes scanned the heaps of junk, and he swore he could see the crosshairs narrowing. "I could've made so many more babies but the materials are heavy so I had to build something to carry them but the materials I need for an even better baby are too heavy for me alone and-Ah-ha!" She crowed triumphantly, spinning back around to point at him again with a wide grin. "I know how you can pay me back!"

He frowned at her. "Pay you back for what?"

"Taking my salvage!" She declared, jabbing a hand at his makeshift trash sled like it was damning evidence.

Izuku glanced at it, then back at her. "…No."

The girl huffed but despite the frustrated sound she looked almost eager. "Fine, then! I guess we need to make a deal, then!" She waved a hand at the junk, "If you'll carry the stuff I need, I'll make a super cute baby for you! How does that sound?"

"…I'm guessing 'babies' are gadgets of some kind?" He queried. At least, I hope so…He hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "I don't know about that, I'd have to see some of your uh, babies before I take that deal." I have an idea~!

"Behold!" She announced grandly, throwing an arm out towards the road as her other hand dug in a pocket, "My Hover…my hover…! Hold on," she frantically patted herself down, rapidly muttering under her breath, then grabbing the zipper at the collar of her jumpsuit and pulling it down to reveal a hefty set of cleavage clad in a black tank top. Transfixed, Izuku watched as she shamelessly shoved a hand in between her breasts, the peach colored flesh pillowing out before she withdrew a cobbled-together remote. "Here it is! Behold, my Hoverbaby!"

With a grand press of a button, a wide, floating tray came over the sand of the beach, halting in front of them with only the slightest wobble. Izuku felt his eyebrows go up as he examined her creation. It was about the size of a truck bed, with a seat from a car bolted to the front and a rimmed edge to keep whatever it carried from spilling over. And despite the obvious origins of her materials, the patched-together metal from various cars not exactly blending, it was very well made. Huh…if this is what she can make with junk, I wonder what she could do with real stuff…

"Impressive, right?!" The girl crowed, flicking her nose triumphantly.

"It really is!" Izuku agreed enthusiastically, circling the hover sled and testing it, nudging the side to see if it was steady, leaning on it to see how much weight it could carry, etc. "You made this from the stuff you got here?"

The pink-haired girl grinned at him, a hint of red in her cheeks. "Yup! I got a new Reclaimer yesterday, so I came to get more stuff so I can build even better babies! Do we have a deal?"

"Sure!" He smiled, waving a hand at the junk, "Just point out what you want and I'll get it for you!" Best part is, this is still technically cleaning the beach! Win-win, to me.

For the next hour and a half, she directed him to grab various things, usually old computers and the batteries out of wrecked cars, plus the fridge of stuff he'd been dragging when she had attacked him. To Izuku's delight, it was just as taxing a workout as usual, though a challenge arose when she jimmied open the hood of a truck (the only intact part of the vehicle) and squealed. "This! I need this!" She threw her arms around the engine block, uncaring of the grease that was smeared on her cheek.

Izuku frowned, scratching his cheek. "You know those things weigh like, eight hundred pounds, right?" Not that he couldn't lift it, just that the whole point of the training was to build his base strength, without his Quirk.

"But I neeeeed it!" She protested, turning to him with pleading eyes. The crosshairs in her gaze only added to the inherent cuteness of the look.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you need an entire engine block for?"

She fruitlessly tugged at it, cheeks puffing out from exertion. "I don't really need the whole thing," she admitted, though it pained her to say so, "Just the majority…but think of what I could build with it! Like a robot!" Her eyes glazed over, visions of a no-doubt impressive piece of machinery dancing in her head. "…Wait, I would use my own engine for that, not one from a truck…but I need materials! I have babies that need making!"

Izuku didn't fold under her teary eyes, though it was a close thing, instead stepping up to the engine and bending over it. "Let me see what I can do," he muttered, examining it closely. Maybe I can separate it into parts instead? That turned out to be a fruitless endeavor, as the bolts keeping the engine together had been gunked up with a mixture of sand and old grease, and offered no purchase.

Yanking out the rest of the engine, discarding some of it but transferring the rest to her hover cart gave him some more room to think. Well, I'm supposed to carry the stuff with my Quirk; doesn't mean I can't use it to make it easier to carry, does it?

He gathered a handful of sand in one, but laid his empty palm on the engine, closing his eyes and reaching out with his power.

Solid rock, to his power, felt like solidified, stoic potential, just waiting for him to bend it to his will but equally willing to sit and wait forever like a tamed, experienced animal. Sand was the opposite, like an excited puppy bouncing around, so damn happy to be played with it was a minor miracle it hadn't peed itself.

Metal was more akin to a stubborn animal, unwilling to bend or even acknowledge his presence, like trying to reach for the beast through an inch-thick sheet of glass.

He could feel it on the edge, just out of reach…but it wouldn't answer his call.

Sighing, Izuku directed the sand to slip through the cracks and wrap around the bolts and screws then made it spin. Sanding through the metal took time, but it quickened once the first was done. Even though he couldn't use it directly, he could still pick up the metal dust with his sand.

As the first chunk fell away, he grabbed it with a grunt and set it on the hover trolley before turning back. The girl tilted her head, levering the piece over to examine the metal, the crosshairs in her eyes narrowing as she ran a finger over the smooth surface. "How'd you do that?" She asked quietly, making him turn around with another piece in his hands. "I'm pretty sure you don't have buzzsaw on you," her eyes narrowed and swept up and down his body and he resisted the urge to cover himself, "You don't."

"It's my Quirk," he answered vaguely, hefting the chunk of metal in one arm before holding his free hand up, spinning the sand between his fingers.

She looked back at the metal, then at his hands. "How 'bout we alter the deal?"

Izuku quirked an eyebrow at her. "Alter it how?"

"Make babies with me," he nearly choked on air, "Well, help me make babies, and I'll make babies for you!" She leaned back on her pile of junk with a catlike grin. "How about it?"

If that sled or trolley or whatever is an example of what she can do, then maybe we won't have to wait until we get into Yuuei to get Toga's Support Gear, he thought before nodding. "Alright, that works for me." He held out a hand. "Midoriya Izuku."

She clasped his hand with a surprisingly strong grip. "Hatsume Mei. Now come on, I got super cute babies to make!"

"Who's making babies?" Himiko's voice came from behind Mei, making the girl jump and tumble off of her sled. "Hey, another girl with pink hair."

Izuku pulled Mei back to her feet, his gaze on his roommate. "Hey Toga-chan," he greeted her with a wave and a smile, "What're you doing here?"

"I finished all my homework and I'm bored," she replied with a shrug, looking over the pile of junk, "Whatcha doin'?"

He gestured to Mei, who hopped back onto the sled, "Himiko, this is Hatsume Mei. Mei, this Toga Himiko," he left them to introduce each other as he continued to pull apart the engine and haul each piece back. Once he set the last chunk on the sled, he leaned against it and wiped his forehead. "Is that all you needed?"

Mei looked away from the notebook Toga was holding up in front of her, blinking at him and then at the junk next to her. "Oh yeah, that's enough…for now! There will always be more babies to be made!" She cackled for a scant second before stopping. "Hop on uh, Midori! Let's start making babies right away!"

Izuku squinted at her, then at the setting sun. "We've been here for hours, Hastume-san, aren't you hungry?" She hadn't worked as hard as he had, but she also wasn't him, and he felt he could comfortably stomach a quarter of a horse.

"Hunger?!" She scoffed theatrically, "Ha! As if-!" Whatever she'd been about to say, it was drowned out by the roaring of her stomach. "…Alright, maybe we should refuel first. But we're making a baby tonight!"

After twenty minutes in which Mei drove the sled along the sidewalk while Toga called a nearby eatery for a delivery and Izuku called his mother to let her know they would be back late, they arrived at what looked to have been an auto shop at some point. Another press on her remote had the garage opening up, her sled settling into a groove as she hopped off.

"Green guy!" Mei chirped, tapping Izuku's shoulder to get his attention.

"Midoriya Izuku," he reminded her.

"Li'l Green!" She corrected, batting his fluffy green hair, "Put the stuff in those bins, then come help me with my babies!"

Izuku unfolded from the sled, stretching his arms out above him. "I'm taller than you," he pointed out absently as his eyes scanned the 'bins' which were, in truth, piles of stuff with a labeled bin somewhere in the chaos.

One was a mess of batteries from various sources, labeled 'Power Babies!' Another was a morass of various circuits and computers, named 'Tech Babies!' And the final quagmire was of random metal scraps titled 'Heavy Babies!'

"Big Green, then," she waved him off, then waved an amused Toga over to her. "Come on, blondie, over here!"

As Izuku carried and sorted the junk on the sled, Mei and Himiko moved over to the other side of the garage, where various possible gadgets lay strewn about. "What do you need me for?" Himiko asked, eyeing the other girl appreciatively as she peeled the top half of her jumpsuit away and tied the arms around her waist.

Mei pulled on a large pair of steampunk-ish goggles with lenses that were crossed, hefting a large, clunky boot with what seemed to be rockets on the side onto a table. "Some of my old babies just don't match up to my standards anymore," she patted the boot wistfully, "Or they're just prototypes scrapped together from what I could find…but then I got this!"

She whipped a thick canvas sheet off of some big ol' piece of technology, like a smelter had a child with an ancient computer. "What's it-"

Before Toga could even finish her question, Mei had gleefully stripped the plating from the old boot and dropped it into the smelter part along with other random metal scraps. Then she flicked on the computer side and typed out a quick line of code. As it groaned like an old metal beast, the pink-haired girl happily explained. "It's a Reclaimer Mark Eight, Personal Scrap Recycler! It's just like the ones the Big Support Gear companies use, except less fancy! And smaller!"

Toga leaned over as a section she thought was a table began to move, carrying sheets of clean metal to a basket at the end. "…Huh," she said, impressed, "So you're going to reclaim all the materials from your old stuff and use it to make new stuff? Smart."

"Old-y Baby is New-y Baby~!" Mei sang girlishly as she stripped the boot down to the frame in seconds.

"Ahem," she couldn't help but grin at the other girl's energy, but there was something a bit more important that needed to be done. Toga pulled the notebook out of her pocket and flipped to the right page. It depicted a sketch of herself in a skin-tight suit, a mechanical collar of sorts around her neck that led up into a mask. She tapped the body of the suit with her fingernail, specifically a section with a note. "Do you think you can do that?"

The other girl stared at the letters with narrowed eyes, chewing her lip in thought before huffing. "No, I can't," she ground out reluctantly, sounding physically pained, "Those materials exist, I know that, but I don't know how to make them. I might be able to figure it out in the future, but right now…no. I don't have the right stuff for it."

Himiko sucked her teeth in disappointment, flipping the page to the next section. "How about that?"

Mei blew a raspberry. "Pfft, that? Of course I can make that!" The doorbell rang and she pointed the blonde towards the door. "Can you get that? You ordered it." As Toga skipped off to do so, the dread-locked girl whistled to get Izuku's attention. "Big Green! You done yet?"

The only boy there nodded, cleaning his hands with a rag. "Yup. Did you need something?"

"Mm," she beckoned him over and pointed at the stacks of fresh metal in the basket, "I need you to take those over to there." She waved a hand at a metal bench with a variety of tools scattered on the surface and hung on the wall. "I'm gonna make a new baby while you're watching so you know that Hatsume Mei is the best inventor you'll ever meet!"

"Okay," he agreed amiably, carrying the metal to the bench as she began to strip the other boot. "Can you explain to me what you're doing while you do it?"

Mei paused and looked at him over her shoulder, blinking at him. He blinked back. "You…you want me to talk more?" She asked incredulously.

"Sure," Izuku shrugged, smiling slightly as he gestured at the mass of potential machinery all around them, "I mean, it's obvious that you're a genius, so I'm kinda hoping that I'll pick up a little of it while you're talking. Plus…well, you've got a nice voice."

She licked her lips and subtly cleared her throat. "S-sure!" She chirped, inwardly wondering why her face was a little hot, "So! It started when I remembered that a lot of Heroes or ones with less physically mutating Quirks would need a faster way to get around; hence Rocket Boots!... Unfortunately, all the other versions were too powerful or too weak, and rocket fuel is actually really expensive but the alternatives take too much to achieve the same lift-"

-Izuku carried another armful of metal sheets to the bench, balancing a length of wire on top-

"-so I figured I would settle for Hover Boots instead and now that I have my Reclaimer I can finally use actual materials instead of junk, sorry baby-" She patted an odd, cobbled together harness apologetically before ripping it apart, "-so now I can make them the way I want!"

-Toga came back with a pair of bags filled with containers, setting them on an empty bit of table before handing them out with chopsticks-

"My aesthetic can wait, I wanna establish quality first, but there's nothing wrong with a simple, clean look-"

Before their eyes, the metal framework of a pair of chunky boots was assembled on the bench. Izuku set an open container of teriyaki chicken next to them.

Mei ignored it completely in favor of lacing the skeletons with wire. "-Paired with some sort of grapple system I'm sure Hover Boots could be used with almost the same agility as Rocket Boots, possibly with more efficiency! And then of course the power draw-"

-As she set the frames aside in favor of building another pair of frames, these ones for what looked like small but thick fans, Izuku sneakily pushed the boots aside and replaced them with the teriyaki. A few minutes later she swung back and unconsciously started eating.

That didn't mean she stopped talking, though.

"-sho of corshe the high-intenshitty phans neeb to be balnched to keep the usher lebel-I hab a babby in miand for that-"

As she continued, Izuku leaned forward to watch her with interest, while Toga loosed a bored groan and lay back on the table, kicking her feet.

An hour later Izuku was holding plates in place for Mei to secure, nodding along as she explained the finer points of lighter, springy materials, while Toga was on the ground, idly batting a loose bundle of wires hanging off the edge of the table.

And then, thirty after that, she jumped as a low whine rang through the shop. "Time to try 'em on!" She crawled out from under the table and found Mei pulling on the now-completed boots, taking a length of cable running from the boots to a phone and standing up. "Alright, flight test number one of the Hover Boots!" The pink-haired girl announced with a wide grin. And without another word, she hit a button.

A low whine squealed out of the soles of her boots, slowly then quickly upping in pitch until they settled into a dull roar. As the noise rose, so too did Mei, gusts of wind emanating from her boots until her knees were shoulder-level with Izuku. As she continued to rise, the pink-haired inventor quickly tapped a command into her phone and descended with a wobble, leveling out as she turned to the two other teens with a blinding smile.

"I did it!" She whooped, throwing her arms up, "Look how cute my baby is-!" Then she shot forward, rocketing into Himiko, picking the blonde up and crashing both of them into Izuku, who quickly wrapped them in a protective embrace before slamming into the car seat bolted to her hover sled.

Blinking and groaning painfully as the fans died down with a whine, Izuku looked down at the two girls cradled to his chest. "You alright?" He asked softly.

Toga nodded, rubbing the side of her head. "Yeah," she muttered, wincing. They looked at Mei, who had recovered quicker and was rambling to herself.

"-battery failure led to a sudden surge as the auto-balance tried to correct itself. Maybe next time have some kind of emergency landing thingy in case I crash?" The inventor shook her head, "Nah, just don't crash next time." She glanced up at them and grinned, patting Izuku's chest and propping herself up on an elbow, "I'm fine! You make a pretty good landing pad, Big Green!"

Her pushing herself up also inadvertently gave the both of them a very clear look down her prodigious cleavage. Izuku blushed and quickly blinked, trying to ignore the fact they were pushing against him. "U-uh, yeah, happy to help," he coughed.

"Wanna squeeze," Himiko whispered, eyes darting between his reddening face and her pillowy chesticles.

"Anyways!" Mei bounced back to her feet, reaching out a hand to haul the other girl up, "Now that you've seen what me and my babies can do, what do you think? You want me to make babies with you?"

"Definitely!" The boy nodded with a smile, "I have so many ideas, but first I want what was promised for my side of the deal." He started patting himself down but paused upon realizing that he was in his workout clothes and had only his phone and water bottle. "Oh, right. Do you have any paper-?" A page and a pencil were offered to him before he could even voice his thought.

As Izuku began to scribble, Himiko got Mei's phone number and snapped a picture of her 'future baby' that was then sent, followed by a promise that it would be worked on. Mei then leaned over his shoulder and watched him sketch out a rough schematic for some kind of armor, it looked like. Hey, he's really quick and precise, I bet I could get his help for some delicate wiring jobs, she noted, blinking as Izuku finished and held the paper up. "What's this?"

"It's a blood draw bracer!" He announced, excitedly showing it to Himiko, "It's a way to quickly and painlessly draw blood and store it in vials for later use! That way, no one has to get bitten!"

Toga recoiled with a hurt expression, her eyes darting to the pink crescent on his throat.

"Just as an alternative in a hurry!" Izuku hurriedly added, meeting her eyes and subtly shaking his head. Then he glanced back at the inventor and started, as she was in his face, crosshaired eyes peering at him searchingly.

Then her fingers were in his mouth, pushing his lips aside. "Why blood? Are you a vampire?" She asked, tilting her head at his perfectly normal mouth full of straight, even teeth. "You don't look like a vampire."

"…Ah'm mot," he denied, leaning back out of her range and wiping his mouth, "It's for Toga-chan." He blinked and Mei was suddenly all up in Himiko's business, peeling back her lips to gaze at her teeth. "…She's not a vampire either, it's just part of her Quirk."

"What Quirk needs you to drink blood?" Mei questioned, lightly poking one of Toga's enlarged canines, "Does it give you super strength? Super Speed? Super reflexes? Mind reading? Future sight? Empathy?...Does it make you sparkle?"

Himiko jerked her head back then snapped her teeth near Mei's hands. "Outta my mouth," she warned, "There's only two things I like suddenly being between my lips and neither of them are your fingers." She eyed a red Izuku and gave him a sultry wink. "But no, none of those. I need to drink blood to transform, and I can only transform into people I've drunk blood from."

"…So that's why you want the super-stretch costume," the inventor realized, tapping her chin in thought. Then a wide grin split her face and she darted for her bench, snatching the sketch out of Izuku's hands and grabbing more paper to draft more in-depth blueprints. "Oooh, I can use a- or maybe one of-!"

Izuku and Toga traded looks, watching as the pink-haired girl worked herself into an inventing frenzy. "…And I thought she talked a lot before," he muttered, scratching his temple and inadvertently checking a nearby clock, the surface of which was cracked. "Ah, we gotta get home…Hatsume-san?" That failed to get her attention. "Mei-san?" Still nothing. "We've gotta go home." Nope. "She's really focused, huh…maybe we should leave her a note?"

Mei eventually looked up from her five pages of schematics with an excited grin, only for it to falter as she realized she was alone in her workshop. "…Guys? Blondie-er, uh…Hemiko? Big Midori?" She blinked, noticing a piece of paper trapped under a leftover container of food. "'Hatsume-san, we had to go home because we have school tomorrow, and we didn't want to interrupt you while you worked. We're usually at Dagoba beach Monday through Thursday and Saturday if you want Izuku's help with salvaging stuff after school gets out. See you soon! XD'"

She set the paper down, humming thoughtfully. Her eyes flickered around the workshop, wondering why it felt so large all of a sudden. "…I guess I'll see them tomorrow, then. Better set a reminder."

And then she started on the bare bones of the blood draw bracer, a miniscule frown tugging at her lips even her hands danced over her tools.

…

Friday afternoon rolled around and despite repeated texts, Izuku and Himiko had heard nothing from Mei. They sat on a bench at the junction where he would split off for 'Mounting the Lady' practice and she would head to the park for some light training, his phone held up between them as a dial tone buzzed.

"This is Mei! I'm probably making a baby right now! Leave a message using twenty words or less!"

Izuku hung up as it went to her voicemail again, frowning at his roommate. "Do you think we might've come on too strong?" He worried, chewing on his lower lip.

"Us?" Toga asked incredulously, rubbing the corner of her mouth, "We weren't the ones who stuck their hands -greasy hands, mind- in other people's mouths."

He tapped his fingers on this thigh, slipping his arm around her shoulders to hug her. "I'm worried," he admitted, followed by a shrug, "Maybe I'm paying it too much mind, but she didn't strike me as the kind to not show off her babies."

"She struck me as the kind to forget our names, though," she pointed out, leaning into his embrace. Between the ever-present training and the other girls, it was growing increasingly rare for the two of them to have time for just them. He did his damnedest to hug her as often as possible and her one trump card of living with him meant she still had the majority. She knew it was all for the best, in the end. "She might've forgotten she has our number. But, if it makes you feel any better, I'll go check on her, okay?"

"It does," Izuku muttered, brushing her cheek with his lips and squeezing her gently, drawing a quiet, pleased hum from the girl. He rested his cheek on her crown and let his eyes close, basking in the warmth of her body, the silk of her hair against his cheek, the subtle scent of her peach shampoo and the always underlying taste of copper that made up her presence. It was a combination that always turned his mind back to their nights, wrapping his arms around her stomach and burying his nose in her hair, falling asleep with the last scent of her.

Their mornings were similar, but more often than not her scent was joined by his and the tang of sweat.

Himiko sighed gently, her hand reaching up to rest on his cheek even as she tilted her head back and turned, her lips brushing the pink crescent left by her teeth sinking into his throat, drawing a little shiver from both of them. She kissed it gently, then dragged her mouth up along his neck, sucking softly until her lips found his earlobe, which she nibbled until he groaned, low and deep in his chest. Izuku shifted to face her, dipping to press his mouth insistently against hers, his thumb stoking her shoulder as she carded her fingers through his hair.

They stayed connected, chastely but passionately embracing with their lips until air became an issue.

Izuku separated from her with a soft sigh, resting his forehead against hers. "…I love you," he murmured, his eyes snapping open and his body stiffening with shock…before he let them close and relaxed. It might've slipped out, but he meant it and there was no shame to be had in loving another.

He could feel her smile and a happy hum that vibrated from her chest. "I know," she whispered, her nails lightly kneading his scalp.

They stayed there a while longer, simply holding one another until his phone shivered in his pocket. "I gotta go," he sighed, making no move to do so.

"Yup," she agreed, stroking the back of his neck one more time before leaning away. "Remember, if you 'accidentally' grope Mt. Lady, tell me what it felt like."

Izuku flushed and groaned. "That's all I'm going to be thinking about now!" He complained, standing up and pulling her into a hug, "I hate you…"

"Nuh-uh," she sang into his ear, "You looooooove me~!"

He grunted agreeably, pecking her temple and squeezing her one more time. "I really do." Izuku sighed and stepped back. "I'll see you at home, alright?"

"I'll be there after I check in on that busty inventor," she grinned, giggling as he cheeks darkened again, "See ya!"

Toga skipped off down the street, pausing once in a while to make sure she was on the right track before she came to the old auto shop that was Mei's home. She knocked curiously, but was left with no answer. Tapping her foot, she pulled out her phone and called the number, and was once more left without a reply. Growling under her breath, she tried to turn the doorknob, only for it to stay firmly in place and a hidden microphone to pop out of the wall.

"Who. Is. This." It said in a stilted, robotic voice.

"Um, Toga Himiko?" She replied.

"'Um, Toga Himiko?' Not. Recognized. Please. Vacate. Area. Or. Be. Vaporized." The microphone slid back inside, leaving a frustrated blonde seething outside.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus herself and figure out a solution. She tapped out another text to Hatsume, sucking her teeth as once more there was no reply. As she tapped the call button, a thought occurred. "…That wouldn't actually work, would it?" Just to test it, she pulled on the doorknob again just as the dial tone ended.

"Who. Is. Th-"

"This is Mei!" Her phone replied before she hung up.

"Welcome. Mother," the voice replied, the door clicking and opening on its own. "Am. I. A. Good. Baby."

"Big ol' security risk right there," Toga muttered, closing the door behind her. She scanned the room, seeing a kitchenette, an empty bed, a messy dresser but no pink-haired inventor. Pushing open the door to the workshop, she face-palmed as she beheld her target sprawled on the concrete floor, loudly snoring with her goggles still fixed to her face.

Scattered around the various benches and tables were bracers in varying states of completeness. There was one that was entirely complete sitting in the middle of Mei's workbench; it was unpolished and a little greasy, but it was whole.

Himiko nudged the snoozing inventor with her toe, and the other girl snorted loudly but did nothing else. Shrugging, her form shifted into that of Izuku, but completely naked. With his higher strength and height, it was very easy for her to pick Mei up and carry her into the living part of the living space. A minute of poking around revealed a bathroom, where Toga set the inventor on the toilet before grabbing a cloth that she then soaped up and used to scrub away the grease stains.

After pulling away the goggles, she found the area around Mei's eyes dark and swollen from what had to be long hours with the rims tightly held to her face. Shaking her head, Himiko finished cleaning what she could and picked the inventor back up, carefully carrying her to her bed and setting her down. "Seems like we'll have to talk later," she muttered, tucking the other girl in.

Before she left, she ran a critical eye around the workshop and eventually found a phone buried under a pile of wires. Tapping it yielded nothing; the phone was dead. Taking it to Mei's bedroom, she found a cord plugged into the wall and hooked it up, a progress bar popping up on the screen.

It then proceeded to be filled in about five seconds and automatically turned back on.

Suddenly, the speaker blared about twelve different alerts, an alarm and four missed call notifications.

Mei jumped out of her bed with a scream, tumbling to the floor. Toga flinched and slapped at the screen, eventually shutting all the alerts down by chance more than skill. Massaging a ringing ear, she glanced over at the groaning inventor. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to wake you."

Rubbing a bloodshot eye, the inventor yawned. "S'alright, I's s'posed to…" She looked at the person talking to her and blinked. "…Midori? Why are you naked?"

Himiko looked down at her body. "Oh, right." She turned on her heel and walked into the bathroom, climbing into the bathtub and literally shrugging Izuku's form off of her, the grey sludge missing her clothes entirely as it splashed into the tub. Returning to the room in her actual form only made Mei more confused. "It's me, Himiko. I was just using my Quirk."

"…Your Quirk makes you other people, but naked?" She couldn't help but ask, before shaking her head, "No wait, I remember, that's why you wanted the super stretch stuff."

"Speaking of my Quirk, I saw like ten of those bracers in there," Toga nodded at the workshop, "How long were you working on them? It's been two days since we left you there."

Mei blinked, quickly tapping her phone and wincing at the date and time. "Um…I don't think I stopped?" She offered with a shrug.

The blonde girl blanched. "…Two days…two days without sleep? Are you nuts?" She shook her head, "Your determination is impressive, Hatsume, but also really stupid. What if you'd passed out holding a soldering iron or something?"

"Pfft, like I'd do that," the inventor waved her off, skipping to her feet, "Now come on, lemme show you how it works!"

Toga darted forward and quickly tackled the other girl onto her bed. "Oh no you don't! You're getting some fuckin' sleep before I let you back into that deathtrap you call a shop!" Ah, if only Izuku was here to see this, she thought mournfully, wrestling the pink-haired inventor into a lock, shoving her face into a pillow. If he was here and I was in this position, I could wink at him and he'd probably faint! Eeeeee!

Mei shouted something into the cottony gag that was her pillow, thrashing for a bit longer before going limp.

The blood-drinking blonde relaxed her hold slightly. "Gonna stay here?" She asked.

"Yes…" The inventor groaned, thumping her head on the bed, "Can I at least show you that it works?"

Toga thought it over for a second, before giving a grudging nod. "Sure, but I'm going to get it, and you're gonna stay here, got me?" She arched an eyebrow as Mei refused to answer, and shook her like a disobedient puppy. "Got me?"

"Yes!" She growled, though the sound was so tired that it was more pitiable than scary.

Himiko hummed and carefully let her up, watching to make sure that the inventor stayed put. Eyeing her, she quickly slipped into the lab, snagged the completed bracer and dashed back before Mei had even taken a step off of the bed. "Aha! Sit your ass back down before I tie you to the bedframe with your sheets!" Ooh, idea!

The pink-haired girl huffed and flopped back down, sticking a hand out expectantly. When Toga handed it over, she opened it and clamped it around her forearm, pulling a vial out of her cleavage. "See, here's how it works-"

What followed was a babbling storm of words that Himiko understood on some level, but not that level; something about several small needles targeting different areas so that the strain didn't make one vein collapse and also if you connected the dots the shape would be a heart. She then connected the vial and red blood began to fill it.

"Barely felt anything," Mei announced proudly, removing the vial as it was filled. Then a section of the bracer dinged and a slot opened up, dispensing a slightly steaming cookie. "…I don't remember putting that in, but hey, it works! Mm, oatmeal raisin!"

Toga blinked as the other girl offered her the vial of blood. "You're letting me have your blood?" She asked, surprised and a little touched. "You know I'm gonna drink it, right? Then I'll be able to look like you whenever I want?"

The inventor tilted her head. "…So?"

Himiko smiled slightly and raised the vial to her lips, then paused, "…Probably during sex stuff, you know?"

Mei squinted. "…What's 'sex'?"

The blonde froze, looking at her incredulously. …Is she joking?...She's not joking. Uhh… "Don't worry about it," she said hastily, tipping her head back and letting the warm, carmine liquid pour over her tongue and slip down her throat, pooling in her belly and emanating throughout her body. "Haaaahhh…" she moaned, closing her eyes and luxuriating in the warmth of fresh blood and the new taste.

The copper was stronger than usual, with a slightly greasy edge almost like a pan-fried penny, that carried an electric tingle up her spine.

Toga slumped into the chair with a sigh. "…'bout as good as sex," she mumbled, uncurling her toes.

"…That was sex?" Mei asked curiously.

"…No," the blonde replied dryly, patting her stomach and leveling a narrow look at the other girl. "…Can I commission a baby from you?"

The inventor blinked, perking up so excitedly that if she was a dog her tail would be making a mess of her sheets. "Ooh, what is it?! Some kind of needle glove, or a poison spitting-!"

Himiko reached over and clapped a hand to her mouth. With the other, she drew a page torn from a notebook and handed it to Mei. "It's this."

Mei scanned it quickly, crosshairs narrowing. "…Hmm…I think I can make this…no, wait, I definitely could! I'd need to salvage a lot of stuff, probably go to a store, maybe try…" She trailed off, tapping her chin in thought before jumping to her feet. "Alright! Time for Baby Ma-!"

Toga lunged forward and pushed the other girl onto her bed, pinning her by the wrists as she straddled her waist. "No! I didn't mean now, I meant soon! Izuku's birthday is coming up and I don't want sleep-deprived you messing it up somehow! So go to bed or I swear, I'll stay here all night just to make sure you do!" By the time she had finished her threat, Himiko had leaned forward until their noses were nearly touching, her chest mashed up against the inventor's.

Said inventor pouted, then gained a thoughtful look as she glanced down at their cleavage. "…Is this what friendship is?" She asked innocently, "I remember reading somewhere that friends give each other stuff and also sometimes threaten each other to be more healthy."

The blood-sucker blinked, nonplussed. "…I…guess? Do you want…to be friends?"

Mei shrugged. "I don't know, I've never had any. When I tried, people just told me to stop talking so much." She squinted in thought. "Wait, does that mean Izuku wants to be friends, too?"

Himiko experimentally pressed her chest down on Mei's noting the give, and squeezed her thighs with her legs. You know what, this works. "Yes, actually," she admitted, and it's not a lie, either, "He's just too shy to say it so bluntly and hey! You remembered his name! That's the first step right there. The second step is taking care of yourself so your friends don't worry about you, okay?"

The inventor glanced away, a streak of pink in her cheeks. "…Okay," she mumbled, wiggling, "Can you get off? I promise I won't go back into my workshop and get some sleep, er, friend." She looked up at the girl pinning her, a pleading glimmer in her yellow eyes. "Could you stay with me until I fall asleep, though?"

Toga nodded and carefully lifted herself up, tucking a blanket around Mei's shoulders. "Alright, sure. And you can call me Toga-chan or Himiko, not 'friend.'" She settled into the chair once more, making herself comfortable. "…Alright, sleep."

Mei shuffled onto her side, looking at Toga. "Can you tell me a story?"

Himiko grunted under her breath, then brightened. "Sure, why not? This is a tale of a very lonely girl who had to hide who she was, until she met a very lonely boy who became the most important person ever to her…"

…

No singular support can hold an entire pillar by itself. No singular methodology of construction is superior. An alloy is stronger than one pure material. No man is an island. Variety is the spice of life.

All true adages.

Another truth?

Teamwork makes the dream work.

…

…

…