Chapter 39: Pre-Adolescence - 14
As the bell rang to signal the end of school, Isshun started to stand—only to be stopped by Toru.
"Shunkan-kun."
"Yeah?"
"...Do you really think I can be a hero?"
Isshun paused, then sighed internally.
’She already asked me this earlier...’
Still, he nodded.
’I mean, if she was able to get into Class 1-A in the original story, then nothing’s stopping her.’
"Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to ask."
Toru smiled faintly, then added, "Are you going to try and be a hero?"
"Hm? Obviously." Isshun tilted his head. "Are you still doubting yourself?" He raised an eyebrow.
Toru fell quiet. Even without seeing her face, Isshun could tell she was hesitating.
’...What’s with all this overthinking? Aren’t you only in 5th grade?’
He exhaled.
"Then don’t believe in yourself, Hagakure."
"Huh?" Toru tilted her head, confused. "Then what was all that stuff you said earlier supposed to mean...?"
"Believe in the me that believes in you," Isshun said flatly. "After all, I’m the strongest."
Toru froze, then raised a hand to her mouth.
"Pfft—what’s that supposed to mean?" she giggled. "The strongest is obviously All Might."
"Sure, sure." Isshun shrugged and grabbed his backpack. "Either way, I don’t like answering the same question twice, so don’t ask again."
"...Thanks, Shunkan-kun," Toru mumbled.
"No problem. See you."
"Mhm! See you tomorrow!"
--<>--
Enough time has passed.
Just kidding.
Only a few weeks passed.
Isshun hung his backpack on the hook beside his desk.
"Good morning."
"Mornin’, Shunkan-kun!"
Ever since that conversation, Toru seemed a little more confident.
At least, she didn’t seem to be embarrassed to tell her dreams to her friends from what Isshun could tell.
It was good that she seemed a little happier.
Isshun didn’t know when he’d developed a soft spot for energetic people, but seeing Toru like this wasn’t bad.
As he sat down, he immediately winced.
’...This was a mistake.’
It had been a while since Isshun had exercised seriously. Part of it was because he hated working out. The other part was because Nejire was way too enthusiastic about it.
Recently, she’d started hounding him nonstop to train again, and after enough pestering, Isshun agreed.
Since there weren’t any places nearby to learn at Nejire’s place, and signing up for another felt like a waste of money, Isshun just decided to just leave working out to themselves.
He already had enough knowledge of anatomy and science to get a Sports Science degree, so it wasn’t like they were going to get hurt accidentally.
He’d even learned a new skill after a few days of experimenting.
Artificially creating microtears in his muscles so he could technically get stronger muscles without ever exercising.
Naturally, Isshun preferred that method.
Nejire, on the other hand, absolutely did not.
Rather, unlike Isshun, who was fine just not being fat enough to not hate himself, Nejire’s entire Quirk was based on her stamina and energy.
Isshun, who couldn’t even zoom enough to see let alone manipulate atoms yet, couldn’t artificially increase Nejire’s ATP count.
So instead—
Came running, cardio, and an egregious amount of laps.
And Nejire, being Nejire, refused to train without her "promised partner."
Thanks to the influence of her new friends, she’d also started coming up with increasingly dramatic ways to call for him.
Her current favorite was:
"I choose you! Shun-chan!"
Isshun didn’t lie to Nejire for no reason, so when Nejire asked the best way to build stamina, Isshun naturally delivered.
He regretted it deeply.
’...I fucking hate cardio.’
Isshun inwardly cursed, massaging his calves under the desk.
"You okay, Shunkan-kun?" Toru asked, watching him.
"No. I am currently in excruciating pain." Isshun replied evenly. "Of course I’m in pain. You’re not blind, are you?"
"Hey! I was just trying to be nice!" Toru crossed her arms in indignation.
"Is that so? Then I apologize." Isshun bowed to Toru in apology.
"...You don’t have to be that serious about it."
"Then I take my apology back." Isshun straightened up, getting comfortable in his seat, so he wasn’t in a position where his ass was hurting every second.
"...Hah?" Toru blinked in confusion at the sudden change in tone, before realizing that Isshun was playing her the entire time.
"What’s that supposed to mean?!" Toru slammed her desk in frustration.
The two girls sitting in front of them glanced back, then immediately turned around once they realized it was just the usual.
After a few weeks of interaction, Isshun had learned one thing: Toru’s reactions were very entertaining.
From Toru’s perspective, being friends with Isshun was both fun and extremely annoying at the same time.
"So, why are you sore—wait, don’t answer that," Toru stopped herself, eyeing Isshun’s expression.
Rather, Toru had already asked this question multiple times before, it was just a habit to ask why.
"...You were exercising again—wait, don’t answer that either."
She thought hard, trying to avoid another obvious comeback.
Then her face lit up.
"You’re totally doomed! We have P.E. today!"
She crossed her arms smugly.
"Says the person who wants to be a hero and hasn’t trained at all yet other than P.E."
That wiped the smug look right off Toru. Isshun could see heat rising to her face.
"I—I mean—!"
RING! RING!
Toru visibly relaxed in relief.
Isshun leaned closer and whispered, "You know I can still see you, right?"
She turned toward him and shot him a very un-threatening glare.
--<>--
"Stop dodging!"
Toru shouted, lunging at Isshun and aiming straight for his sore muscles.
"Why would I?" Isshun replied, sidestepping easily.
"How are you dodging so perfectly?!" Toru complained, after trying again.
"Math."
"Kgh!" Toru grit her teeth, before trying again, but before she could move, she was called out.
"Hagakure! Are you messing around again?" The P.E teacher shouted, which got Toru to stiffen.
Isshun, of course, made it worse.
"You know, for someone who’s invisible, you sure get caught a lot."
Her face heated up.
Then—
Isshun froze, cursing internally.
’...I’m cooked.’
"Alright! Partner up with your seatmate!" the teacher clapped. "We’re stretching before we run laps!"
Toru’s expression immediately brightened.
She completely forgot about the stretching! Stretching meant contact.
She walked up to Isshun and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"...Mercy."
Toru smiled.
"Not a chance!"
--<>--
A/N: I think i just like writing the bubbly types
Also, just to reiterate, this is single fl. I’m probably going to do if stories if i ever finish the fic tho so if the girl you chose doesn’t win, she probably will in another universe.
Also new MHA fanfic out!
--<>--
3500PS - Not Complete
7000PS - Not Unlocked