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"Y/N," HITOSHI BREATHED HEAVILY, face flushed red, leaning his sweaty palms onto his shaky knees. "You're too fast, I can't catch up."

"Come on, one more time." you urged. "You need to do more."

"I..I can't feel my legs." he pants as rivers of sweat glide down his face. "I don't think I can even move my toes."

His legs were numb from overexerting itself, and his arms were shaking from all the push-ups he were forced to do. He's already struggling enough balancing on his two abused, aching feet. He was sure that walking home in this state by itself would be a hard task already.

You, on the other hand, was just getting started. All those years of training weren't for nothing. Ten laps around the neighbourhood, seventy pushups, eighty sit-ups, forty squats, two-minute planks and repeat. Repeat until you collapse that is.

This was the same routine that you were made to do back when you were seven, just three years after getting your quirk. And that too, as your mother put it, was far behind compared to what this certain Todoroki kid had been doing.

During those days of training, you always heard your mother repeat that name repetitively like a chant played on a broken record. Whatever you do, no matter how much you try, you can never manage to satisfy your mother's wishes. You're always behind in the progress of that Todoroki. Todoroki this Todoroki that, god it was getting so frustrating.

You were sure whoever told your mother about that boy was just bluffing though, there was no way after all, for a six-year-old kid to have already perfected their control over their quirk, well half of it as you heard.

The Todoroki had been blessed to have two opposite quirks that would no doubt make him op in many, if not all situations. You heard they both help cancel out each other's drawbacks too, which might explain how quick he was to advance with his skills. It makes him last longer in trainings, as well as battles against villains in real-world situations. The mix up was a bit cliche though now that you think about it, fire and ice? Come on, isn't that a bit too coincidental? This seemed more like a product of a quirk marriage--

Shaking out of your thoughts, you turned around to glance at Hitoshi's wilting figure, his t-shirt clinging onto his back with his sweat soaking through the material. Your heart ached a bit hearing his raspy breaths, knowing well aware that you were being a bit, if not, too unreasonably harsh to him.

He clearly had no experience in training, and even though this was the easiest routine you knew, it doesn't take that much brain cells to realise that this was too much for his body. His physique also made it easily apparent that it would be highly difficult for him to catch up to where you are in such a short span of time, but that doesn't mean you won't try.

You slowly walked towards him and leaned down a bit to meet his eyes, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Hitoshi, you good?"

Hitoshi continued to pant hard ignoring your question, still trying to catch his breath. After a while of waiting, you decided to guide him towards the shade and placed him down on a root-made chair that you had created just a few seconds before. Your quirk might not be strong, but it sure as hell is convenient.

Maybe one day, after you retire from being a hero, you can sell furniture made from your quirk. And you can use that money to travel around the world and taste all the cuisines in the world! You silently patted yourself on the back, praising your genius idea before getting back on track and handing a water bottle towards Hitoshi.

He gratefully took the water bottle from your hand, touching just the tip of your fingertips as he did so. Your heart did a slight leap as odd as that sounds, you don't really understand what that weird feeling was. It was as if a frog hopped against your ribcage, it was subtle but in a weird way. Are you sick? Is this a symptom of heart disease? Either way, you'd have to get that checked soon.

You recoiled your hands back and stuck them underneath your thighs, watching Hitoshi gulp the water down his throat like a mad man. You don't know what it was, but your eyes started to drift towards his mouth, and soon towards the small stream of water that had escaped his lips, trailing slowly down his neck and finding its way into his shirt.

When Hitoshi placed his water bottle down, you immediately snapped out of your trance and shamefully stuff your burning face into the crook of your arms. What the fuck is going on, why are there so many weird thoughts inside of your mind? He's your friend y/n, your best friend.

The frog that had been hopping in your chest began to bang furiously against your ribcage, so much so that you were convinced there were actually more than one. Some lonely caterpillars also decided to join the weird disco party and began inching their way towards the spot just above your stomach.

Pop rocks danced and fizzled against your skin, sending shock waves of goosebumps down your arms and legs. You were sure if you were to look at a mirror right now, your face would be redder than a juicy, ripe tomato on a cloudless sunny day.

Hitoshi side glanced you worriedly, thinking that you might've gotten another stomach bug. "Are you alright?"

"Yep." you managed to squeak. "Just fine."

Hitoshi took you for your words and decided to kick back and relax on the custom chair you had built for him. It was rather comfy, not gonna lie, despite it only being made out of sticks and twigs. It supported his back well and made him feel like he was sitting on weightless clouds rather than a solid chair.

It's really sturdy too, may he add, he might even say they're better than the chairs he has back home. Not that they were expensively custom made for him or anything, it just surprised him how professional it felt compared to a factory-made chair.

Does that mean you did this often? There's no way you were able to make the roots form in such a complicated structure on your first try, all the roots fit snuggly against each other like a perfectly formed puzzle.

Maybe he'll ask how you managed to flawlessly control your quirk like this when you guys go out for dinner. One thing's for sure though, he'll have to think of more opportunities to sit in one of these again.

Hitoshi leaned back against the chair and heaved a heavy sigh, gazing up at the swinging limbs twirling along with the clouds. A moment of tranquillity filled the silence with ease, a smooth transition to the hell-like torture he involuntarily endured. The silence was more or less mutual, allowing both of you to relish in the soft summer breeze.

A few daydreams revolving around a certain purple sheep passed before Hitoshi finally decided to break the silence. "This is hard," he pouted.

"No shit." You chuckled and folded your legs into a nice criss-cross apple sauce, subconsciously tilting your head to admire your friend's soft expression.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes and flopped his head onto the soft grass below, blowing a few loose strands of hair from his eyes. Thinking that Hitoshi was trying to slack off, you gently slapped his head, urging him to sit back up. "If you think we're done for today, you're dead wrong."

Hitoshi laid unbothered and shifted into a comfier position. "And if you think that I'm able to get up after that torture, good luck."

You huffed and crossed your arms in front of your chest, obviously, a bit upset at Hitoshi's response. You pondered a bit through your mind, juggling the factors in your head while tapping your foot against the blades of grass in thought.

If you were to make Hitoshi run another mile and push him a little bit more, he would be a step closer to getting into UA. But there's also the chances that he'd feel like it's too much and give up on training until another few weeks, which would make him far more behind than just letting him off for now and come back again tomorrow.

"You know what? Fine." you sighed.

Hitoshi turned around to face you, clearly not buying what you said. "Wait really? I thought you were going to force me to do another set of pushups or something before we leave."

"I was, but then I realised that it would be more beneficial to take baby steps. Unless you want to do another set?" you asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm good for today." Hitoshi immediately declined with no hesitation. "But are you sure you're not just letting me off easy because you're hungry?"

Just as if on cue, your stomach responded to the accusation and let out an embarrassingly loud growl, leaving you in a blushing mess.

You coughed into your hands and cleared your throat, avoiding his eyes and attempting to block the heat rising in your cheeks. "Maybe..."

Hitoshi chuckled a bit in response, and sighed as if saying "I knew it."

Embarrassed, you puffed out your cheeks and sent him a rather startling stare. "Anyways, you better shut up before I change my mind and make you run another mile."

Hitoshi won't admit it, but that stare was probably the scariest thing he had ever witnessed. He'd have to remind himself not to taunt you as much if he was trying to keep his head on his shoulders. "Yes yes your highness, now where would you like to have your feast?" he saluted.

A puff of air escaped your lips before you caught yourself and think of a good place to eat, placing your index finger on your chin.

Hitoshi's heart fluttered seeing that he was able to make you laugh, even if it was just barely for a second. (Especially right after you looked like you were going to chop his arms off.)

You can say his ego flew up a few levels upon just thinking that he was special enough to be able to calm your nerves down, with just a simple remark nonetheless.

"Kinda like that feeling of accomplishment after taming a baby lion." he thought.

"Let's go home and clean up first, we can meet again at my house before leaving to get something to eat," you suggested.

Hitoshi deadpanned. "Why your house?"

"Because I'm too lazy to walk to yours," you responded.

"But, I'm the one that's actually tired from this training!" He remarked. "You didn't even sweat half as much as I did."

"And I'm the one that let you off for today, now would you rather run a mile or walk a few blocks down my house?"

"..."

"I thought so."

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unedited
1864 words

also, thank you guys sm for reading this story, u have no idea how happy i am to read each and every one of your comments JSJSKSK

remember to stay safe and drink plenty of water ok? don't forget to eat either bbys ❤️

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❤️✨❤️ ok now bye for real now. ❤️✨❤️