ATOMIC STRUGGLE

7「old wounds」6

(Welcome back everyone! It's the last day of the month, and you know what that means~ an update! Comment goal is stilllll 23, so good luck and happy reading~)

"Whoa, there's a cave up here?!" Mihoko gawked as she and Kota arrived at the cliff that the 5-year old had dubbed his secret hideout. 

"Yeah, it's been here ever since I can remember," Kota answered, then made a face as his stomach growled. Mihoko just giggled before focusing on her own stomach, which in turn made its own sound. Kota blinked at her, trying not to laugh. 

Then his stomach growled again, and the brunette willed hers to do the same, and suddenly they were competing to try and make their stomach growl the loudest. "I heard that," A voice sounded from the ridge leading up to the cave, causing both of the kids to startle. "You guys must be hungry," Midoriya smiled as he approached the two. "Here, I brought you some curry."

"No way!" Kota stepped in front of Mihoko as if to protect her from the greenette, causing the girl to deadpan as the teen sweatdropped. "How'd you find this place?!"

"Oh, sorry, I followed your footsteps," He explained as he came closer. "I thought you two might like soem dinner before it gets cold."

"Whatever, we're just fine," Kota sneered at Midoriya. "Get lost, and forget about our secret hideout!"

"..This is a secret hideout?" Midoriya looked around as Kota huffed. 

"Spending your entire life trying to improve your quirk, it's dumb! All you wanna do is show off, get lost already!"

"Kids under ten only!" Mihoko decided to join in, mostly because she really didn't want to give the guy a chance to hand them the bowls in his hand. If he did, she'd chuck hers over the side of the cliff, no hesitation. 

"Kota, about your parents," Midoriya's eyes tracked from Mihoko to the 5-year old. "I was wondering, were they the Water Hose heroes? With the water quirks?"

"DID MANDALAY TELL YOU?!" Kota demanded, now even angrier at the greenette as he seethed. 

"No! It's, um, well.. sorry," Midoriya hung his head. "But, I heard a little about what happened to them, and based on that information, I figure.. I remember reading about that horrible incident a few years ago."

"Go away," Kota grumbled, gritting his teeth. "Everyone here's so crazy. Calling people stupid names like hero and villain and killing each other because of it. Always focusing on their quirks. If they hadn't been showing off, they'd still be here! Idiots."

"You are the absolute worst, Middy!" Mihoko burst forward, causing the greenette to flinch. "He obviously doesn't wanna talk about it! Don't poke old wounds, or however the saying goes! Screw off, go back and fawn over Izzy or something!"

"I-it's not like that!" Midoriya's face blew up at the insinuation before clearing his throat when he realized he was being affected by an eight year old's provocation. "Alright, I'll go, but I'll leave the curry."

"Please don't."

In the end, Midoriya left with the curry and a limp, and Mihoko was smirking victoriously since she'd been the one to kick the guy's shin and drive him off. "Hey," She looked towards Kota, concerned as she tilted her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," He confirmed, still looking mad but not as tense as he plopped down on the ground. "Thanks, Mihoko."

"Sure!" The girl beamed instantly before moving to sit beside him. Then her stomach rumbled, and she sent him a challenging expression. "Shall we continue where we left off?"

"...You're on."

~*~

The next day, everyone was back up bright and early to continue their training. Izak was starting to get real tired of exercising, mostly because of how repetitive and boring the reps were getting. "Hey remedial group," Aizawa suddenly spoke up, wrapping Kirishima's head in his capture weapon. "Keep at it."

"Yes sir!" Kirishima squeaked. 

"I'm sorry, but I need more sleep," Kaminari complained as he wobbled alongside Sero and Sato. "Who knew yesterday's extra lessons.."

"Would go on until two in the morning," Sero finished for the electric blonde. 

"And start back up at seven," Sato groaned. 

"I told you it would be tough," Aizawa sounded a bit exasperated, but an expectant exasperated. "Remember, you're not just improving your quirks, you're also working to overcome the many weaknesses I saw on the finals," He said, causing them to wince at the harsh words. "Think carefully about why you're more tired than the others before you start whining. You have much to improve here."

"Right, yes sir," They all agreed as he retracted his capture scarf. 

"Uraraka, Aoyama, the same goes for you," Eraserhead called over to the two as the former was walking around while floating a bolder, and the latter was coming out of the port-a-potty. "Your team didn't fail but you were very close. I'd say you passed the perverbial finish line by only a hair."

"That bad?!" Uraraka asked. 

"Don't lose focus. Each of you can move faster," Their teacher continued, now addressing his entire class rather than the close-to-failing students. "And no matter what you're doing, just remember where you started from. Don't forget who you were before UA. Always keep in mind why you're sweating, and why your limits keep getting tested. That's what it means to improve."

Where I started, Izak thought, who I was, why I'm here. I started as a lab rat, I was practically a god, and I'm here because the government thinks I'm a threat. I'm sweating because no one knows what else to do with me. Man, he frowned slightly, all of those answers are really depressing, he deadpanned to himself with a sigh. Oh well, not like I can do anything about it. Better to just put it out of my mind. 

"Meow meow meow!" Pixiebob was just the distraction he needed. "More importantly, tonight's gonna be fun! We're pitting classes against each other in a test of courage!" She grinned. "I know you've been training hard today, and later you'll get to play hard~ how's that for a reward?!"

"It just sounds like more training."

"And training in the dark, no less."

"Revelry in the dark."

"How much can we do in one day?"

"Haha, at least we get to beat class A, amirite?"

"Don't slack now! Make sure you keep pushing yourself as you work!" Pixiebob didn't take in any of the complaints, too excited to even care as the day continued.