[ENG]Shoto Todoroki : Modern-day Terrorist

Chapter 136

Further out on the lawn, dressed in shorts and t-shirts that almost made me wonder if they'd all developed a resistance to the cold during the night, were a mix of students from Elite Class and 1-A.

They were stretching, doing push-ups, laughing merrily before slapping each other on the back to encourgage each other to get back to work.

Hands in my pockets, I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up, feeling Katsuki getting out of the shared showers.

My attention was caught by the shadow of a body suddenly moving in my periphery.

Kirishima and Dek-Izuku were in full hand-to-hand combat, exchanging blows more for the sake of form than to actually hurt each other.

Kirishima stopped, spoke quickly and mimed a blow, taking care not to overdo it.

Izuku nodded and imitated him, but his poorly supported right leg twitched as if it wanted to follow the movement.

Kirishima nodded and the two boys smiled, then clapped their hands.

Immediately, Izuku turned around and I raised my head towards the door, looking as if I had something else on my mind.

There was an imperceptible creak, as if he'd just stepped on the season's icy beginnings and, seeing me, hesitated to move forward.

He hung there for a moment, hesitating, then trotted over to the faucet that came out of the wall and served as a water fountain.

I turned my head toward him and he suddenly looked away, leaning forward to drink from the hose.

The sound of his wet, disgusting sucking annoyed me almost as much as the lack of diligence of the group of teenagers behind him.

Izuku sat up, wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand, gave me a hesitant look, looked away, pretended to walk away, stopped, and finally stammered nervously:

- Are you waiting for Katchan?

He seemed to shrink into himself.

Even under his baggy T-shirt, I could see the hardened line of his once sluggish shoulders.

I looked away.

- Yeah

Izuku continued to fidget nervously with his hands and I was suddenly very irritated to see so much anxiety in one loose body.

I looked at the time on my cell phone again and my irritation increased.

What the hell is he doing?

I was almost tempted to go up and drag him out by his hair.

I glanced sideways at Izuku, who was watching the other students.

Hesitantly, his lower lip quivering, his right foot twitching nervously, as if he wanted to walk towards them, but something held him back.

He met my gaze and gasped.

- Hey

He stopped, rigid as a pillar set in cement.

He stuttered.

- Yes ?

I felt like grabbing him by the collar of his T-shirt and slap hm.

Urging myself to calm down, I continued in an indifferent tone:

- When you strike, your posture must be more solid.

He blinked like an owl waking up in the middle of the day.

- What ?

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, looked up to the second floor where I could still feel Katsuki's pampering himself, and then took two steps towards Izuku.

I spread my legs and put both my fists in front of my face.

- Each of your punches must start from the bottom of your body, I said. If your posture isn't solid, you'll lose power.

I mimed a sharp blow to my opponent's jaw.

- People are fragile. If you use the right amount of power in the right place, you can beat just about anyone.

People made fun of martial arts more than ever now that children could be born with the ability to fart fire.

What's a flamethrower against good hand-to-hand combat ? Answer: barbecued meat.

I threw a few more hooks at my imaginary opponent for form's sake before straightening up, feeling Katsuki the princess finally bring her royal butt outside.

Izuku lost his air of frightened childishness, mimicked my stance to perfection and sent three sharp blows straight ahead.

His gaze was resolute, determined, the opposite of the fragile boy who walked around with his head in his shoulders, so much so that it took me another second to connect this assertive version of him with the fragility he usually exuded.

An immortal able of giving back blow for blow...

I suddenly felt a thrill of excitement.

Izuku straightened up and looked at me questioningly.

-... t's not as disastrous as it used to be...

The corners of his mouth turned up, uncertain, but I was already standing next to a grumbling Katsuki (for a change) who had just kicked open the front door, startling everyone within a ten kilometer radius.

- You took so long I really thought I'd have come and pull you out by your ass

He raised an eyebrow, then slipped his cell phone into his pocket.

- Waiting for me? (Then his lips curled over his sharp teeth) Oh yeah, I forgot I was the only one of us with a real Hero job. How's the community service going ?

- Don't make me believe that apart from bringing coffee to my old man's meetings, you're good for anything else

- Says the guy who wears a bricklayer's uniform and spends his days chasing pigeons