Siren Song (All Might x Reader)

Chapter 6: Do you even lift?

The instant Toshinori took you down to the gym for training you knew exactly what Saffron meant by 'the show'. He was shameless as he worked out, wearing some grey joggers and absolutely no shirt. He was shirtless before you even started any workouts, having called you down soon after he'd gotten home and changed out of his hero garb.
    "I'm going to be honest with you," You sighed as he read over the plan Saffron had written up for you. "I have absolutely no experience with exercising. I can swim and that's about it. I also absolutely hate exercise."
    "Swimming is one of the more difficult exercises out there," He said, not even looking up, "It uses pretty much all of your muscles, and it's really good cardio. That muscle strength will translate" He was talking more casually now, not in the flouncy hero voice he'd used up until now. Maybe he was more comfortable around you now, or maybe he was just too exhausted from his patrol. He seemed physically fine, but maybe it was mentally exhausting as well.
    "As far as liking exercise, I can't really change that. I'll attempt to make it enjoyable the best I can, but no guarantee.
    "And I guess I'll do my best to enjoy it..." You huffed in faux annoyance. He smiled and patted you on the back, causing you to stagger a bit.
    "Well, we definitely have our work cut out for us. A 10km run, 100 situps, 100 push ups, and 100 squats. Some lifting and then we'll learn the basics of combat."
    "O-Oh my god," Your mouth dropped open. There was no way in hell... absolutely no way.
    "I'm just kidding..." He snickered, "That's the goal for your final week. Well start with 50 of each and a 2km run on a treadmill."
    That sounded much more doable, but still pretty strenuous.  Luckily for you, Toshinori was encouraging and non-judgemental company.
    "5 more!" He cheered as you were finishing out your squats. It was the last leg-related thing you had to do before you started lifting.
    "I'm trying!" You wheezed as you completed another one. Sweat dripped down your forehead as you wobbled down and back up. He had been doing them with you the whole time, not even a hint of perspiration on his body.
"Three more! Come on! Almost there and then I'll give you a break!"
    "Okay!" You wheezed again, squatting once more, almost falling but managing to stab yourself.
    "One more! Make it the best one!"
    You inhaled deeply, doing your best to make it the perfect squat. You got all the way down, lingered for a minute, wondering if you'd be able to get back up, but with a final grunt of effort you made it back, breathing in deeply and stumbling a little bit. Your legs felt like jello.
    "Holy... holy shit..." You gasped as you leaned over and wheezed, hands on your knees. "I need to sit down..."
    "You can't sit down! We have more to do!"
    "But... Toshinori you said I could have a break," You closed your eyes and groaned. You could smell the saltwater drifting in from the pool. It smelled so inviting. Maybe if you jumped in after the workout, you could heal your sore muscles. Swimming was exercise, wasn't it?
    "You can have a break, but if you sit down you won't want to get back up. Here, drink." He passed you a bottle of water, which you eagerly accepted, chugging it down quickly.
    "You gotta remember, Mr. Number One Hero, the only exercise I ever do is swimming."
    "I thought you wanted to be more muscular than me?" He winked, causing you to blush.
    "I do... but it'll take time! I need more protein powder!"
    He chuckled loudly, handing you another water battle and leading you over to the weight machines.
"Well." He looked at the clock, it was nearly dinner time, "We can get the lifting part done and then we'll get you some protein powder." He patted one of the largest barbells in the room. All of them looked way to big for you to even consider lifting. You walked over and looked at the one he was holding, reading the number engraved on the weights.
"OH MY GOD!" You recoiled in shock. "300 pounds? Plus the bar... you can lift that?" You looked up at him in amazement.
"Of course! Easily," He smiled, enjoying the attention.
"Show me!" You goaded him, wanting to see exactly how much he could lift.
"Really?"
"Yeah! I wanna see!"
"Alright," He chuckled, reaching over with one arm and casually lifting up the bar as if it was nothing. You could see the muscles in his arm contract and move as he lifted it, smiling at your astonished face.
"Oh my god! Isn't it heavy?" You apparently had way underestimated his ability.
"Not at all, I use this as a warm up."
"That's amazing! Can you lift two of them? You pointed to the one on the other side of him."
"No problem," He reached over to the other one, lifting them both in the air without the slightest amount of effort.
"I love it!" You squealed in delight, "Lift more stuff!"
"Uh... like what?" He set the other two weights down with a loud slam.
"Ummmm I dunno... Lift the fridge!"
"The fridge?"
"Yeah! Lift the fridge! I bet it's super heavy." His refrigerator was a large, stainless steel one with double doors. It was about as tall as him, but a bit wider in each dimension.
"I... I guess."
You led him into the elevator and into the kitchen, giggling with excitement as he walked over to the fridge. Without even a grunt of effort, he planted his arms on either side of the fridge, lifting it up off the ground.
"I'd lift it higher but it's plugged in."
"That's soooo coooool!" You cheered. "I wish there was something else heavier! Like a car! Oh well!"
"How about I take you out one day and show you what I can really do?" He smiled.
"I'd love that!" You said, clapping your hands a little. You don't know why his strength entertained you so much, but damn did it make you feel good when you saw him lifting shit for no reason.
"I haven't forgotten about the lifting you have to do though. Let's get back to the gym and finish up."
"Okay," You grumbled, you'd forgotten about that for a moment. He led you back to the gym, instructing you to lay down on a nearby bench. He went over to one of the large weights and lifted it up.
"Ready?" He said, walking over to you, dumbell reaching over you.
"WHAT? NO! I CAN'T LIFT THAT!" You said, quickly sitting up and scooching away.
He laughed heartily, "I'm just teasing." He sat the bar down again. "Let me go get the smaller ones."
You breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Toshinori walked over to a small closet. He opened it, filling his arms with a variety of barbells and weights, bringing them over to you and dropping them onto the floor with a loud clatter.
"I think these are a bit more your size," He smiled.
"I don't think that was very good for the floor..." You said, looking at the pile of weights on the floor.
"..... I guess you're right. Oh well! What's done is done. It looks fine. Anyways, let's start with 25 reps of the 30 pound weights,"
"Jesus christ," You mumbled under your breath, "Alright!"
    If doing squats was torture, these weights were straight up hell. You did multiple reps, bumping up the weight each time. Then, you switched to the bench press. As much torture as this was, there were benefits.
    Toshinori spotted you, making sure he was there to lift the barbell if it dropped on you or it became too heavy. You felt a little pervy, looking up at him while you were supposed to be working out. He was good motivation, however. You wanted to impress him, to meet his expectations and then exceed them. It was a motivation that forced you to do rep after rep, even when your muscles screamed.
    "Good job, (Y/N)!" He smiled when you finished your last rep, using the last of your energy to perch the bar back on the hooks. You let your arms flop down, immediately letting out a huge sigh.
    "Do my muscles look bigger yet?" You asked him, weakly flexing your arms as you sat up.
    "Pretty big..." He chuckled, "But not as big as mine yet. But I'm impressed. You did good. You've still got a ways to go, but this is a good start."
    "I'll continue to work hard," You said with determination, "Unless my limbs fall off. Then I'm screwed."
    "I won't work you that hard. This routine fitness plan was made with your body in mind. It's nothing you can't handle. Tomorrow we'll start combat training."
    "That sounds good..." you said, silently praying that he wouldn't be your teacher. There was no way you could fight him. He was enormous. Based on the way he could lift practically anything, one flick of his wrist could probably kill you.
    "How about we get something to eat?"
    "Sure! Lemme dip in the pool first. Maybe it'll help my muscles".
    "Alright! Just come up and find me when you're done, if you'd like." He smiled, heading over to the elevator.
    You sighed dreamily, hugging your chest as he walked away.    
    After you'd taken a quick dip in the water to soothe your sore muscles, you made your way up to the kitchen tosee if Toshinori was there.
    "Have a good soak?" He asked, sitting on the couch and swiping through his phone.
    "Yeah! I feel a lot better," You smiled, walking past him to your room. "I'm gonna shower really quick and change out of these clothes."
    "Sounds good, I'll start dinner."
    You heard him shuffle up from the couch as you closed the door to your bedroom. Throwing off your tennis shoes and stripping down, you looking in the large mirror in the corned of the room. Sadly, you didn't look any more toned or muscley. Just sweaty and wet.

    With a sigh of disappointment you walked over the bathroom, throwing your clothes into a hamper and quickly stepping into the bath. Unfortunately for you, showers weren't exactly something you could do, so bathing was a rather drawn out process. You washed your hair quickly with the hose, not even bothering to fill the tub. You cleaned every ounce of sweat from your body, and as soon as you dried off you threw on a pair of soft shorts and a t-shirt.
    After you'd brushed your long hair out, you headed back to the kitchen. Toshinori had his nose buried in a cookbook, brow scrunched as he scanned the page.
    "Whatcha makin'?" You asked, leaning against the counter next to him. You looked over at the cookbook, but it was entirely in English. You could make out basic words and ingredients, but the rest was entirely unintelligible. Toshi had a bag of groceries next to him, which he must've ordered. You hadn't taken that long in the shower, unless there was a convenience store close by.
    "It's one pan chicken and garlic potatoes. I used to make it with my friends in college. It's pretty easy."
    "Sounds interesting!"
    "Sure! I haven't made this in a while, so I'm trying to remember the steps."
    "How can I help?"
    He looked at you, pleased at your offer. He reached into the grocery bag, rustling around and pulling out a head of garlic.
    "Can you mince two cloves for me? The knives and cutting board are over there," He gestured to the corner of the kitchen.

    "Sure!" It had been forever since you'd cooked, but the two of you worked well together, making two plates of steaming chicken and potatoes, with plenty leftover.
    "I'm surprised," He smiled through a bite of food, "You're a better co-chef than I anticipated."
    "I used to cook with my mom all the time. I guess it's like riding a bike, you never forget."
    "Was it just you and your mom?" He asked curiously, shoving another large forkful of food into his mouth.
    "Yeah... my dad left when I was in middle school. I haven't seen him since..."
    "I'm sorry to hear that. Any siblings?"
    "Nope, just me. Shouldn't you know all of this from the police files?"
    "I only looked at what I needed. I didn't want to pry. I figured you'd tell me what you wanted."
    "I see. So you don't know my blood type or which side I sleep on or that junk?"
    "No... should I? Why would that be in a police report?" He stared at you blankly.
    "I... I was trying to be funny."
    "Oh...whoops. Sorry." He awkwardly shoveled another bite of food into his mouth.
    "Well.... You know so much about me. Tell me about you, Toshi."
    "What do you want to know?"
    You finished your last bite of food, tapping your chin as you thought.
    "Why did you want to become a hero?"

    "You're really going for the low-hanging fruit there," He snickered as you picked up your empty plates, rinsing and washing them off in the sink.
    "I dunno. I figured that it would tell me a lot about you. People have all sorts of reasons. Money, competitiveness, fame."
    "Well, I don't really care about any of that. I just want to help people."
    "Really? No ulterior motives?"
    He sighed, leaning back in his chair and staring off wistfully, "I want to make a world where everyone smiles. For that to happen, the world needs a symbol." He'd given this speech once before, you could tell from how easily the words flowed as if they were rehearsed.
    "A symbol? What kind of symbol?"
    "A symbol of peace. I want to be a pillar of hope that people can rely on. Someone that will strike fear into the hearts of villains, and make the world a safe place to live in."
    You looked at him in awe. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he imagined his world, a bright smile lighting up his determined face.
    "Toshi... I think you've accomplished your goal, Mr.Symbol of Peace." You smiled up at him.
    He snapped out of his trance, looking down at you and giving you a thumbs up. "I still have a way to go. My work is nowhere near done yet. Not until One for All... Nevermind. Let's not talk about that now." He was suddenly more somber. "What about you, (Y/N), why do you want to be a hero?"
    You looked at him for a moment. You'd hoped he wouldn't ask that question. Should you answer truthfully? You couldn't lie to him... he was so honest with you.

    You looked away from him, biting your lip slightly.
    "Well, Toshi... To be honest, I don't".