Heroics and Other Things

Chapter 37: It Tests Something Alright

"Midoriya!" called Tiger, cutting through the warm haze in Izuku's mind. "Time to switch up!"

Izuku blinked a few times, then remembered himself enough to stop moving. He had fallen into a kind of trance while strength training with the others, the simple and repetitive motion of his body lulling his mind nearly to sleep, and now he had to shake the fog from his head and refocus on where he was and what he was doing. The first thing he became aware of was how his muscles ached, a stiff soreness that made each of his limbs uniquely painful to use. The unvaried movement of the strength training was good for settling into a rhythm, and he had worked himself nearly to exhaustion without even noticing.

The second thing he noticed was how hot and thirsty he was, sweat sticking his uniform to his skin and his mouth dry and gummy. He'd been so hypnotized by the workout that he hadn't even noticed how much fluid he was losing. Staff drills were even more arduous, and required more of his focus, so it would be harder to ignore dehydration. He swallowed painfully, then looked up at Tiger.

"Can I get some water first?" he asked, voice weak to his own ears.

"Two minutes," Tiger instructed, pointing at the truck where Pixie-Bob watched Yaoyorozu and Satou stuffing their faces, which also served as the water station.

Izuku nodded and turned to the truck, stumbling his first few steps as his body remembered how to move normally before breaking into a jog. Once he reached the truck he was sheltered a little from the scorching summer sun by the nearby cliff, and he filled a paper cup with water and gulped it down gratefully. After two more cupfulls he stopped, panting for breath, wondering how long he could get away with standing here to rest before going back to-

Strong arms closed around Izuku's waist from behind, and Izuku stifled a yelp.

"Shh," said a familiar voice, and Izuku twisted his neck around until he caught a glimpse of Shouto's red hair. "It's just me."

"What are you doing?" Izuku squeaked. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Shouto said, not sounding very sorry at all. His face was buried in Izuku's hair, and for the first time Izuku had cause to be thankfully that it was so fluffy, as that meant it probably wasn't soaked in sweat.

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was another little cry of alarm as a body collided with his other side and another pair of arms went around his shoulders.

"You didn't think you were going to enjoy hugging Izuku without me, did you?" asked Hitoshi before Izuku could wonder who it was.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Shouto casually.

"Guys!" Izuku whined, squirming as realized he was completely caught between the two of them. "What are you doing?"

"Recharging," Hitoshi said, nuzzling Izuku's hair gently.

"What does that mean?" Izuku demanded.

"Means we've been working all morning," Shouto replied easily, tightening his grip on Izuku's waist.

"We need some positive energy to keep going," Hitoshi continued for him, one arm coiling close around Izuku until his hand could play with the hairs on the back of Izuku's neck. "You give off the good vibes, so we need to soak them up."

"Like cats in the sun," Shouto concluded.

Izuku shivered. "This is gross," he said petulantly. "I'm all sweaty."

"We all are," Hitoshi assured him, like that made it any better.

"Shouldn't you be wet?" Izuku grumbled, nudging Shouto slightly with his elbow. "You were training in the water barrel."