Page 14
Microaggressions
"Hatred is a bottomless black lake. Everyone dips their toes in it at some points and it's fine to take a swim in it once in a while when the time is right, just be sure to always leave before your skin gets too prickled. The ultimate trap, one set-up where everyone has to pass by it eventually, tempting everyone to dive in. But once you do, it allures you to keep going deeper and deeper as if there's some prize at the bottom to achieve, yet all that'll await you if you keep going is nothing but darkness till you finally drown. Unable to see that you only put yourself into your own grave until it's too late."
It was one of the few lessons Izuku learned from his father and he tried his best to keep.
Izuku was never a hateful man. Can he be depressing? Yes. Maybe view things a bit too negatively at times? Sure. Have a lot of unhealthy habits that could and will do more harm to him than good? Of course! But he never slipped into that liquid jar trap that was hatred. That's why most times when he's dealing with people that aren't exactly to his flavored taste of company, he prefers to keep them in a 'distaste' category as opposed to pure hate.
That being said-
Izuku is extremely distasting Rideru's entire existence.
2 Years & 6 Months Left Before U.A. Entrance Exam.
It was clear-cut that training with Rideru was not going to be a pleasant experience but he never expected it'll be this aggravating. That was a lie, this was completely expected but experiencing it was another story. It's the equivalent of advocating for communism, it doesn't seem so bad at first in your mind but then actually experiencing it makes you wish that Russia would've stayed as a backward monarchy and Karl Marx should've died in childhood so that the world would never be haunted by some of his ideas. A slight exaggeration.
"It's honestly impressive, seeing how many times you can hit yourself in the face?" commented a bored Rideru. He was sitting on a foldable chair, resting with a vastly improper posture as he watched Izuku, still keeping that blank look in his eye.
Rideru looked different from usual, his hair was let down from its usually partially-braided fashion(though he still kept his hair in a way to cover his scarred eye) and his body was slightly bandaged up. When Izuku came in early today because Rideru said he had something to do later, the stoic greenet shut down any attempt to ask what happened by informing him ahead of time that he wasn't going to tell. The bags under his eyes showed that he was more tired than usual, which explained his more-than-usual-unkempt appearance. Izuku probably came in right after he got out of bed. He was laying down on the cot when the green fox first entered the storage unit Izuku was told to go to, it's only logical that he sleeps here. Izuku thought a building as spacious as a factory storage unit might be a bit much for a single person to sleep in until he remembered what Rumi said that doing certain things here can get you special privileges. Rumi was about to get an entire shaft to herself in X-Arena and being in Yasei is basically a social event for her, someone who lives here like Rideru would be able to get more.
Izuku only grunted in response to Rideru's comment, trying to ignore the stinging red mark on his face from repeatedly hitting himself. In his hand was a duranium whip, given to him by Rideru. After explaining the issue he was having with his new ability, Rideru handed him a whip at their next session and commanded that he use it until he gets better at manifesting the black tendrils he summoned. He stated it's because he's only willing to teach Izuku for at most three hours a day if he's feeling nice and doesn't want to deal with any of Izuku's "scrub issues" keeping his black tendrils in check that'll waste time. In his words, he'll find it annoying.
Their sessions will be solely focused on showing him ways to utilize. Rideru pointed out how whip-like his black tendril were and said how an actual whip would bring the closest feeling to wielding his tendrils. Izuku applying that feeling to controlling his tendril was on him to do on his own time, at least Rideru was generous enough to give some advice on what to do, except it was phrased in the second worst way possible.
"Just practice the whipping formation I showed and pretend like you're committing heinous flagellation of a hundred lashes against thirty prisoners of war."
…...At least he didn't make a slave owner reference.
"Run it back, this time actually think it through and wait for the right timing," demanded Rideru, he reached into the nearby recycle container to grab three two-liter bottles.
Izuku gripped his whip tight, shifting the arm he's holding it in back as he prepares for what's coming at him. As they've been doing for nearly the last two hours, Rideru tossed up the three plastic bottles at Izuku, letting gravity do most of the work as the projectiles dropped toward the green fox. Steadying his breath, Izuku spread his vision to all three of the bottles trying to think of a way to knock them all back. With the way Rideru designed and threw the bottles, all three were coming at him from different heights, angles, and speeds. His palms were sweaty the more hesitant he was about his swing, he had a single shot at this and didn't want to fail. As the window begins to close Izuku swings his arm forward, sending the whip forward toward the bottles. The black leather knocked one of the bottles out of the air and slightly nicked another one but failed to even scruff the third one.
As the clattering of plastic bottles rang out, Rideru shook his head, saying, "Guess I didn't make myself clear, either that or you need more hearing-aids than you already have. First off, fix your form, you're going to disjoint your arm if you keep swinging like that. Second, I said to think it out and get the timing, you're not even grazing all of them much less knock them out the air."
"It'll be a lot easier if you allowed me more then one swing, you're basically trying to have me hit three people in the face in a single punch," Izuku replied, he was grateful that at least he didn't hit himself in the face this time.
"...yes," said Rideru, his voice sounded confused at the statement, "That's kinda the point. Good to see you got some observation but what's the point of bringing it up?"
"Because it unnecessary, with a weapon like this realistically hitting multiple target-"
"Stop," interrupted Rideru, "Know where this is going. Every attack has a sort of cooldown, it's not like you can throw endless effective punches, you need time to wind back up again or else you'll be tapping them, unless you have some quirk for that. A whip is a weapon with a very damning cooldown, you can't swing it around like a guy on drugs if you're planning on actually fighting someone with it unless a sword or knife. Each swing needs to be as efficient as possible, therefore, you should be taking advantage of the range and other advantages it gives you since you're trading it off with the disadvantage of using it."
'He's not wrong and I hate it,' Izuku thought to himself, rubbing his shoulder to ease the pain.
The door to the building was opened, making the two boys turn to see what was there.
"Hey guys," yawned Rumi walking in, she was carrying a drink carrier holding three styrofoam cups, "How's the early morning training?"
"H-hey Miruko," greeted Izuku, quickly straightening himself so she wouldn't see him being exhausted, "What are you doing here?"
"I got us a pick me up," she told them, holding up the carrier, "Plus I wanted to see how my boys are doing, y'all getting along?"
Rideru was walking around cleaning up his place, hearing Rumi made him smirk and he said, "So Miruko, you finally accepted your role as mom?"
"No!" Miruko replied, frowning at him for his words, "Ryu, I told you already to knock that off."
"Wait, what?" said Izuku, unsure of the context of the comment.
"Don't worry about it," told Rumi, handing Izuku his coffee, "He's being stupid. By the way, I got you a mocha from the shop you like so much."
"Oh...ok, thanks," Izuku said, accepting the cup.
"Oi," Rideru called out, "I don't remember saying we're going on break."
Rumi walked up to her one-eyed friend saying, she shoved the hot drinks toward him declaring, "Well you're taking one now because I paid money on these and if they go cold I'm dumping it on your head."
"You're the one who wanted me to train the kid," Rideru replied, "After a check-up with Merrie I have to run a few errands for the others, there's limited time for today."
"Who cares, not like there isn't a tomorrow and I'm sure Izuku doesn't mind," stated Rumi, looking back toward Izuku.
Realizing she wanted his validation, Izuku told them, "a- yeah I don't mind, it's only a few minutes anyways."
A smile appeared on Rumi's face before she turned back to Rideru, pushing the cup that was his closer to him and stating, "See, now shut up and drink."
The greenet didn't respond at first, looking down at the drinks and taking in their aroma. Eventually, he grouchily said, "You know I don't like coffee."
"It's hot chocolate."
"So you finally remembered, color me impressed, a broken clock really does be right twice a day."
"Bite me-"
'I'LL DO IT!'
'Shut up brain,' Izuku told himself, realizing that this time there were no colored-bold words, 'Oh wait that was just me….shut up me!'
"-be happy I was kind enough to make yours myself since you're so picky," continued Rumi.
Did Izuku just hear her right? Hearing this made Izuku ask, "Wait, you homemade his but not ours?"
Turning back to the green fox, Rumi said in her defense, "It's really difficult to get this guy anything at times, he's really the worst when he's picky. I had to get his homemade because he hates the way most cafes make hot chocolate, and he refuses to drink coffee like a baby."
"I'm not even twenty. Why are you drinking it? You're younger than me!"
"Drinking a good blend once in a while ain't bad, I make it nearly every day anyways."
"That's how they get you! Don't blame me in fifteen years when you can't even get out of bed without your daily consumption of black slugs."
"Ew, don't say it like that," Rumi's frown reemerged when she said that, "It'll ruin coffee for me."
"Good! Once again I'm doing you a huge favor because you're too oblivious to the problem."
"Better wrap up your high and almighty trip, there's… I don't know, two minutes before your hair experiences a chocolate rain."
Rideru rolled his eyes at the threat and finally accepted the drink, saying, "Whatever, thanks."
As the trio rested and enjoyed their morning drinks, Rumi tried to fight the weird silence in the room since neither of the men were speaking much.
"Did you guys hear about Blue-Note?" Rumi asked.
"Yeah I saw the video online," Izuku energetically exclaimed, hero talk is something he can do, "it was amazing how calm he was when those villains attacked him during his concert."
"Meh," went Rideru shrugging his shoulder.
That reaction piqued Izuku's curiosity and he asked, "Do you not like him?"
"He's alright," was all Rideru said.
Rumi leaned in toward Izuku, telling him, "That's his code for heroes he actually likes."
"No it isn't," Rideru quickly told her, squinting at her.
"It's rare and he's just never honest about it."
"He makes decent music is all."
Rumi agreed with him, saying, "Yeah I hope one day he'll come to our area, I want to go to at least one of his concerts."
Izuku saw his chance. So far, the conversation has been heavily between the bunny and the one-eye boy mostly because the topics were things they're more invested in. Now they were trending in his field of expertise. Blue-Note was someone he had an interest in for a while before his true popularity emerged, he got tons of things to talk about. All he needed was one good line, something a bit flirtatious as well to really get Rumi's attention.
"l'Il love to go to a Blue-Note's concert as well. I've been a fan of his music for a while, listening to his tracks all the time when I'm doing homework," Izuku told the group, he actually had a soft smile from the joy of speaking on a topic he knows so well. He just needed to stay calm and execute the lines he mentally rehearsed for this exact situation, "If he ever hosts one in our town I wouldn't mind going with you, I'm sure the rocking time we'll have will hit all the right notes."
…
"What?" Rumi went, her face scrunches up in confusion hearing that last line.
'WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY! WHY AM I SO BAD AT FLIRTING!' Izuku screams internally, he was so close but ruined it with such a cheesy joke. He stammered to correct it, "A- you know. Because a good portion of his songs are from the rock genre and his most famous concerts are usually rock concerts so going there will be…..rocking….. and his name is blue note so….hitting all the….."
Not even Izuku could stomach finishing that sentence, using a fake cough as a cover to stop. Trying to explain himself made it even worse.
That was when Rideru cut in, saying, "I assume you didn't mean for that line to be so offkey."
Rumi's confusion quickly went away as she chuckled at the joke. She elbowed Rideru's ribs and said, "See, if you made more of those maybe you won't be struggling with that thing."
'Crap, crap, crap,' thought Izuku, he was losing again and needed to bounce back. Izuku raised up his coffee cup and said, "Heh, sorry about the joke. I guess I'm having trouble espresso myself."
…
"Didn't I get you a mocha?" Rumi asked, one of her bunny ears bent as she tilted her head trying to think if she got the right thing.
PAIN.
Izuku just calmly inhaled as he held in the massive amount of pain he was experiencing. Of course, that joke went over her head.
"Oh I get it," Rumi exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in realization. She gave a few weak laughs before saying, "espresso and expressing haha….yeah clever."
EXTREME PAIN.
The tone of her voice alone was like shoving a salt and lemon cocktail into his wounds. Rideru just shook his head disappointedly at the boy, even he felt bad and it was getting embarrassing.
"That's enough chit-chat," Rideru stated, setting down his cup and rising to his feet, "Back to business."
"Oh yeah, how is that going?" asked Rumi, looking toward Izuku for an answer.
Izuku felt like lying but felt like Rideru wouldn't immediately call him out on it, he had to make the statement honest enough to not get called out on but vague enough so she won't think he's struggling that badly with it. Settling on saying, "It's…..not bad."
"Phew, that's good. I swear with this guy the results can vary," stated Rumi, turning to Rideru to give him a stink eye. This wasn't the first time someone was sent to him for some sort of training or guidance and not all of them had the best experience. Even when they first met, where Rideru ordered by Simba had to show her around Yasei Alley, it almost ended in a fight because of Rideru's peculiar words.
Rideru simply shrugged at this, saying, "You know the risk when you asked, and you get what you get with me."
"It's fine," Izuku assured Rumi, "I'm seeing some silver despite everything."
"If a spectacle is all you wanted then go to a movie, you're here with me to obtain that treasure," Commented Rideru.
"I'm trying to," Izuku replied, "It's harder to do than say."
Rumi chipped in asking, "What are you guys currently doing?"
"Hitting three bottles out of the air with a single swing."
"Really? Seems pointless to do, just be quick enough to strike three times. That's what I usually do."
"That's what I said!"
Rideru scolded her for her ignorance, "Not everyone got your golden thighs you fucking crack-addicted bunny. Besides, even if he can swing his whip three times they won't mean much if they're not effective and will quickly become a crippling crutch that'll crumble the second anyone notices it to gain an edge."
"How about a demonstration?" Rumi suggested.
Rideru rolled his eyes, "I already did."
"You only showed me what form to do," Izuku stated, "I think visibly seeing you do it could really help since it's obvious we're both thinking with different ideologies."
"Yeah, come on oh so wise one," taunted Rumi, "Let's put some money where your mouth is."
Though the bandaged Greenet face remained mostly unmoving, the way it twitched showed that he was getting slightly miffed by the pair's insistence. Eventually, he calmly shrugged his shoulder and told them, "Fine, watch carefully cause I'm only doing this once. If you blink then that's on you."
While Rideru walked off to get in position, Rumi and Izuku smiled at each other before running to get the bottles. Izuku wasn't sure if he was going to get much from watching but this slight moment of Rumi and him technically being against him was giving him a bit of joy.
"Wait who's going to throw the third one?" Izuku asked Rumi, wanting to be sure to perfectly simulate the situation he had to deal with.
That was when Rideru cut in before Rumi could answer, "You both throw two, I honestly don't care."
With no reason to complain, they each grabbed two bottles and turned toward Rideru waiting to toss them at their pleasure. As Rideru looked back at them, he did a quick shake of his wrist. Izuku was lucky the room was utterly silent and he was paying high attention to him or else he could've easily missed the faint sound of rattling metal echoing out. Dropping out of both his sleeves were long iron chains, with moderate-sized hooks attached at the end striking the ground.
Rideru rested his arms at his sides, leaving the hook chain to lay coiled on the ground like a snake, waiting for a time to strike. He called out to the pair, "You can start anytime."
In her usual manner, Rumi turned to Izuku with a smile on her face and said, "Let's make him sweat a bit, it's going to be awesome."
Izuku nodded and together they each threw their bottles. Rumi threw curve shots while Izuku gave a lax lob but then for the second throw, a pinch of microaggression occurred within the boy. The exercise was supposed to be the bottle dropping down at Rideru with moderate speed as the focus was on proficiency, but as Rumi said, Izuku wanted to make this guy sweat a bit from his usually calm exterior. In a split-second decision, after delaying for a moment he hurled his second bottle directly at the stoic greenet. Something he instantly regretted when he felt he threw it too hard and saw it was heading toward Rideru's head.
The fox immediately went to call out a warning, he had a little over a second to make it but it could be valuable to help him avoid it, but then he stopped. Izuku watched as Rideru's face remained calm, though his attention was up in the air where the rest of the bottle were, his steely-eyed drifted down to spot the incoming bottle blitzing toward him.
The one-eye-showing boy jerked on the chain of one of his hook chains to bounce the hook up high enough for him to grab the base. With a single step, the bottle disappeared into nothing as he twirled his body around in a spin for a wind-up, loosening his grip on the hook to allow it to fly out and the chain to increase in length quickly with his momentum. His smooth movement and control over his weapon were equal to a ribbon dancer wielding their wand. When Rideru's body was close to facing the direction the other bottles were coming from, Izuku spotted the older greenet's hand wave around calm as water as it tugged on the chain and modified the trajectory. When he finally swung, there was a crack that rang out, and all three of the bottles were knocked out of the air scattering in all different directions.
This was an expected result for the bunny who knew of Rideru's capabilities, and annoyingly, even Izuku couldn't deny how well he handled it.
The fox gritted his teeth as he thought, 'Damn it, I only made him look more cool- woo!-'
His thought was interrupted when he felt something collide with one of his legs and yank it out, causing him to fall back onto the floor. Izuku looked down and saw Rideru's other hook placed around his ankle.
"And that's why it's important to make each swing count," Rideru states, "The more you get done with each move the more you can do at the same time. If you're wondering, I threw that hook out at the same time I knocked away the bottles. I'll say that's a lot better than spending all my time swinging two chains around just to deal with four projectiles. All you need is some creativity, thinking ahead, and timing."
With a flick of his wrist, he brought the hook off of Izuku's ankle and slowly reeled it back to him. Once it was rewrapped around his arm and hidden under his sleeve, he went to the other hook chain. At the very edge of the hook had punctured the plastic of the bottle Izuku hurled at him when he moved which was how he countered it. He removed the bottle before putting the other hook away as well.
Going up to congratulate her friend, Rumi cockily said, "Not bad at all, I could've done it better and knocked the guy out in an instant but it's still an impressive effort."
As Izuku picked himself back up, he grumbled, "Yeah….. impressive."
Oblivious to Izuku's tone Rumi continued, "Good to see a few wounds won't turn you into a pussy. You're still a….. What are you again?"
"Nice try," Rideru told her, "Seriously, stop taking bets you have no chance of winning."
"Didn't hurt to try," grumbled Rumi, she will remember what animal he is… eventually.
The door to the building could be heard opening causing Rideru to groan, this was the third person entering his place this morning, which is two too many than his usual daily limit. He growled out loud, "Sorry did I forget to take in the fucking welcome mat, or is today just the day everyone else felt like barging in unannounced."
Popping her head out from the doorway was the ever straight-man Tsuyu, she was poking the bottom of her mouth as usual, her eyes showed bewilderment and unease at how random the statement was to her. It wasn't until she looked in and saw who was in the room did it start to make sense and she looked a bit more relaxed.
"...Oh," Rideru softly replied, falling deadly silent at his mistake.
"Why what's up?" Rumi merrily asked him, leaning close to him, "Were you expecting her?"
The stoic greenet answered, "Yes, well kinda. After my visit to Merrie she was among the people I had to help out today."
"I was confused for a moment why I was getting yelled at like that when it was him who agreed to do it today. Then again, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had forgotten about it, especially since he has company," Tsuyu stated, her words didn't have any malice in them but Izuku recognized that tone from the multiple times Mitsuki used it. From what Masaru told him, whenever a girl used that tone it probably meant the guy screwed up in the past that she wasn't going to let out anytime soon.
Rideru exhaustedly rolled his eyes, he really wished she would forget about that instead of hanging it over his head. He snapped a reply to her, "Ey, don't come in here as if you did nothing wrong. It's called knocking."
"The door was open."
"..." Rideru snapped his head toward Rumi, giving her an utterly irritated look.
Seeing the spotlight suddenly being put on her, Rumi ear stood up and she said in her defense, "I was carrying in the drinks! Besides if anyone unwanted came in I would kick their ass thirty times over."
After another eye-roll, Rideru muttered at first before asking Tsuyu, "I swear I'm surrounded by idiots. What are you doing here anyway, we're not supposed to meet until around Noon?"
"I wanted to give you an update, there was apparently more we needed to do and I wanted to make sure you got the proper tools for it," Tsuyu told him.
"You couldn't have just texted me," Rideru asked, that seemed like an easier way to get in touch with him.
"Ribbit- I did!" Tsuyu yelled, she threw her hands up at him, "All yesterday night, and even this morning, you never responded. Came by just in case you were still alive to let you know so there were no excuses. I assumed either you got yourself killed or you broke your phone, possibly both. So what happened."
"...My phone works. I had a rough night and the screen cracked. After I finally had time to get the screen fixed it ran out of battery, so I plugged it into the charger and went to bed. I've been doing something all morning if you haven't noticed."
"So a bit of both."
"No."
"By the look of things, I say yes."
"Whatever, I'll turn my phone on after I'm finished with the kid, and then right after I'll head to Merrie. You don't have to stay here, this isn't exactly the place I like for idle chit-chat."
"I don't mind waiting," Tsuyu told him, finding a box tall enough she can sit on, "I wanted to talk to Merrie about something anyways."
The one-eye-showing boy shrugged, responding, "Do as you wish."
Turning back to Izuku, Rideru ordered him to get ready.
"Enough sitting around, you're going- Argh!"
Suddenly, Rideru screeched out in pain, clutching his bandaged up head and almost dropping onto his knees. Everyone went over to see if he was alright.
Yes, that included Izuku, he might distaste the guy but that didn't mean he was going to cruelly cheer when he's in pain like this. For now, depending on what he does later will determine if that changes.
"Your injuries, are they acting up?" a concerned Tsuyu asked, she moved to help keep him up.
Faintly pushing away from her, Rideru said, "I'm fine! Just a headache."
"That's more than a headache," Rumi told him, "You better go to Merrie to get yourself checked out."
Izuku jumped in, "Yeah please go, our training can wait tomorrow or even the day after if you need to rest. If you weren't feeling well you could've just said so, I had no issue canceling today."
"I wasn't asking for opinions-" Rideru growled at them.
"Hey!" Izuku called.
"Don't be your difficult-self right now," Tsuyu told him.
"Let me finish damn it," the older greenet told them, when they gave him time to speak he sighed before saying, "I was about to say that I hate working with a headache, we'll continue this lesson tomorrow."
Rumi shocked her head, saying, "I never get why you can never be direct about anything."
"Tell me about it," Tsuyu said, despite the one-eye-showing boy resistance, she still helped him up, "I'll make sure he gets there."
"Sounds solid to me, I'll lock up the place so don't worry about that," exclaimed Rumi, just like how she gave him a spare key to her place in X-Arena for insurance, Rideru did the same to her but for different reasons. Rideru would soon regret this decision when he realized how irresponsible Rumi can be with her keys but thankfully no mishaps involving keys have occurred.
With a silent nod and a comment to not break anything, the frog and currently-unknown-animal left after collecting Rideru's phone.
After seeing them off, Rumi hyped herself up as she turned to Izuku. She said, "Now then, we got this whole place all to ourselves! What to do first?"
…
'W-...was this a sign? A hint? A signal.' Izuku thought, the ideas were running madly in his head. Such a comment at a time like this, and the way she's moving, it's almost as if she's testing him, 'Oh god, I just reminded myself of her thighs. Her amazingly well-toned thighs! Stop thinking about it or else I'll stare!... Crap I'm starting to stare!'
"I'm feeling like doing something fun," Rumi continued, "And it is pretty spacious."
The white bunny walked close to him and smirked, "You think what I'm thinking?"
"Uhhhhhhh," Was the official response given by an extremely horny teen.
He may have a few issues.
Like, a lot of issues. This isn't normal behavior for a boy.
Despite that, he still jumped to action and softly grabbed her hand.
"Yes!" He told her.
…
Rumi looked almost surprised at Izuku's attitude, it's so different than usual and something she can dig. She stated, "Alright, let's get ready-"
Zip.
"-To train! I always wanted to use all the stuff Rideru uses in here but he always kicked me out."
A depressed sigh of knowing it might come to this rang out…...followed by the rezipping of something.
"What?" Rumi asked, she tilted her head confused from his sudden shift in tone, 'Why did he suddenly get all demotivated? A moment ago he was so excited he grabbed my hands at the simple question of training. Was he expecting something better? But what else can we do in here besides just train?''
The rebellious teens vs the symbol of authority adults, a war as old as time itself. The force of utter freedom smashing against the ever sturdy wall of control. A difference in generation, ideals, morals, and priority. An eternal duel that'll always be brutal and hate-filled.
"Are you kids doing ok in there?" called out Officer O'inks.
"Eat a dick and choke on it till you die puppet scum of the fascist order!" shouted out Rumi.
The humble officer was leaning against his cop car in uniform staring at a rusted gate in front of him. He knew what lay behind there was the ever infamous Yasei Alley, where tons of young teens and even a few young adults spend a tremendous amount of time in, and where many take shelter in. There were many entrances to Yasei Alley, some without gates, yet he always chooses this one on a mostly inactive street to come to whenever he stops by.
On top of the gate and the building next to it, were of course a couple of rowdy teens. One of the few instances you can see Spacians and Laguz together in arms, to shit talk a cop, having a common enemy always brings people together. Among them was, of course, Rumi. She was with Cassidy, Setsuna, Merrie, Tsuyu, and Izuku. It was mostly Rumi and her blonde partner in crime, with Setsuna once in a while throwing in a jab, along with the other randoms who were actually participating. Everyone else was mostly there for the crowd, or in Izuku's case, he's chasing some tail. A certain fluffy white tail attached to some irreplaceable chocolate.
"You guys need any assistance on anything? Something to be fixed!?" O'inks called out again.
"We don't need help from a puppet of the garbage imperial society! How does it feel to give away your soul for the flimsiest of your so-called protection you cold-blooded son of a bitch!?" Rumi shouted back, followed by the cries of some of the others participating.
"Well my wife feels secure enough to sleep peacefully at night, so as long as she's happy and can give off her heart-warming smile I'm feeling alright. How about you guys?"
"When you're dead and rot in the ground like the garbage you are, we'll be dancing on your grave!"
"I heard there was some noise last night. Is anyone hurt? I know some people that can give me some first-aid kits to give you."
"Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!"
"Alright if you say so, I need to get back on patrol. You guys need anything?"
Officer O'inks took a side step as a few eggs dropped at the ground he was standing at, avoiding them all. Thrown by the crowd, you can hear some of the teens shout, "Eggs and Bacon, go home!"
"Well now I'm a bit hungry, I did skip breakfast though. Welp, if you need anything, you know where I'll be," O'inks told him.
"Have a nice day," Izuku quietly said, giving him a small hidden goodbye wave. He was smart to not be obvious about it, especially after Rumi said the last person who said something that positive to a cop during one of these heated group events, he turned around to see a hail of animalistic-fist raining down on him.
With a wave, the officer got into his car and drove away with a smile on his face.
As the car went out of sight, a victorious cheer rang out from the residents of Yasei Alley. Once again the tyranny of society was pushed off and youthful independence can roam free for another day. Men and women cried and embraced each other, celebrating their triumph. A truly marvelous day for a great battle.
Then the two groups turned on each other, hurling insults and threats toward the people they were supposedly 'in arms' with.
"This feels so unnecessary," Izuku commented to Merrie and Tsuyu, who were seated a distance away from the crowd. After a few failed attempts of training with Rumi at Rideru's place which ended with them, mostly Rumi, breaking something and deciding it was best to call it quits and leave.
Despite all the disappointments, for Izuku it was an enjoyable day. They went to X-Arena and enjoyed a few great matches. For Izuku's sake, they opted for more of the racing obstacle course matches than straight physical violence. They even managed to spark a few great conversations, it was based around stats and possibilities of who'll win but it was still engaging. Then as the evening started to approach Rumi said she needed to be by one of the gates for something. This was it. Granted, by the sound of it, Rumi and her friends were actually supposed to be here to help keep watch for a few hours. Everyone else was here for shits and giggles.
"It's just them blowing off steam about their life," Merrie told Izuku. Since the trio of non-participants were….not partaking in the malarkey going on next to them, they decided to play a relaxing card game.
"But Mr. O'inks seemed to be genuine with his intentions, why are they rejecting his existence?" Izuku asked, to him this seems counterproductive then good, "Having someone like that on your side sounds like an amazing connection to have."
After playing her card, Merrie explained, "I know, it's confusing to wrap your head around. Think of it as most of these guys taking out their grudges against not just authority but adults in general. It's obvious but a lot of these people came from broken homes, and the cause of that brokenness usually relates to something an adult did to them. You already know about Yogi's Dad and the horrible orphanage he lived in right after but Simba's dad was also controllingly abusive toward him. Then there were situations where the parents abandoned them or the kid had to run away due to home conditions and took shelter here. After being betrayed by people who were supposed to protect them and then finding a place where they live happily and free, it wouldn't sit well with any of them to accept the hand of the people apart of the group who caused that pain."
That was a consistent theme he found here, pain, betrayal, and loss. Everyone is hurting here, almost all from circumstances they had no control over.
Just like him.
Yet, they still find ways to support each other and live with the joy he has seen with them.
"A- Don't think it's all doom and gloom here!" Merrie quickly said, chuckling because she felt Izuku's mood dimming, "There are more heart-warming stories! A vast portion of us do come from decent homes but they felt like an outsider in regular society for one reason or another, here they're welcomed just like everyone else no matter what their background is."
Tsuyu added in, "Yeah -ribbit, my family is wonderful but my parents are always working so they had to delegate me to take care of the house and my younger siblings. I don't mind it but it can be stressful at times, I just needed a place to be away from all the responsibilities once in a while."
"So you're taking a bubble bath," Izuku abruptly stated.
"...Kero kero-what?" responded Tsuyu, it wasn't hard to tell that Izuku was socially inept but this was on a whole new level of having random responses.
From seeing that reaction way too often, Izuku instantly went to rectify it, "O-oh, one of my Mom's…...c-completely platonic friend by the way, mentions how important her bathtime is since it's her me time for similar reasons like you."
"I think we all have our me time activity," Merrie giggled, "Or at least we tried to have our own."
"What about you Merrie," Izuku innocently asked, "Where do you come from?"
…
"Merrie?" Izuku repeated when there was no answer.
Merrie felt as chilly as her silence, as if winter had come early and she was so underdressed that she might as well be naked. Her eyes had no focus, only staring out into space.
So cold, she felt so very…..very….alone….vulnerable….. And trapped.
That was when she felt something icy touch her arm.
She jolted, letting out a tiny squeal before looking to her side and seeing a surprised Tsuyu with a retreating hand.
"Are you ok?" Tsuyu asked, this wasn't like anything Tsuyu ever saw from the gentle sheep, "You blanked out on us."
Merrie sighed in relief, telling her friends, "Sorry about that, my...mind wandered a bit as I was trying to think of what move to make."
She plays her next card.
"Oh thank goodness, I thought it was because of my question," Izuku said, sighing in relief as well.
"No, no don't worry. I'll call it a comedic coincidence," Merrie assured him, "If you want to know I'll tell you."
"If you don't mind."
"Of course not, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Where I came from was basically a home that didn't value genuine love or bonds. Which is why I'm thankful I came here, not only are bonds of all kinds welcomed here but I can give others the love and care they might not have experienced like I did."
She was right.
'This place was the most welcoming community I had since….the hospital where I was born…...ahem, I can only imagine what this place is for someone like Rumi who didn't have parents.' Izuku thought to himself, 'Oh god is that why she's like this? Is this some hidden abandonment issue she's having that she's acting out through a violet attitude! I gotta find out what happened with her parents one day, at the right moment. Bringing up her possibly dead parents might be a bit of a deal breaker when I'm trying to date her.'
"Also we do have some relationship with the police," Merrie told them, "They won't come busting in because doing so will reveal the dark truth about why we exist here and the impotence of people that lead to it. So it's kinda like a clubhouse in your parent's backyard, we basically run ourselves as long as we don't cause a big enough ruckus to gain too much attention. A few of the more senior members even work with some of the officers to help with cases in case a criminal or a crime gang tries to take advantage of this area."
Izuku's eyes light up hearing this, while assuring that Yasei Alley has some sort of check to it and it wasn't some pseudo dystopia run by a bunch of parentless teens but it still left Izuku uneasy about that last part.
"Oh that's….. Crime gangs?"
"I mean of course a place like this will always have less favorable people looking to take advantage of our autonomous nature," informed Merrie, "They're pretty easy to spot though. Unless you're someone like Yogi and Simba who've been here since they were basically kids and spent years doing service for the community, it's going to be pretty suspicious if a random twenty-plus year old no one knows shows up and even more so if he starts acting shady. We also delegate more senior people in shifts to either be watchmen to detect if any person of suspicion is walking around, investigate to make sure people internally aren't doing anything too immoral, and a bit of muscle if violence is needed to fight off a threat."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Izuku asked, it's surprising how structuralized this place actually is but some of this sounds a bit dangerous.
"It can be, which is why we leave it up to the most senior and capable residents to handle the more dangerous things. We have volunteers with competence to help cover the least dangerous shifts that'll be understaffed like keeping an ear out of any funny business or watching over a gate like Rumi is doing. On the few occasions that there is a need for a fight, it's usually a small group of thugs because anything bigger will alert police. While some battles will be harsh, a handful of adults are always turned away when dozens and dozens of beasts come out to play. Mind you, many of them will be people who spend all day every day here participating in activities that made them into better fighters for years."
Izuku shivered at the thought. He could only imagine the other fear a new member of some amateur gang might've felt falling into that trap. They'll probably feel like it'll be easy-picking busting their way into some zone a bunch of teens made up and showing them who's boss only to have a group of the kickass bunny, giant white bear, lion, whatever Rideru is, and thirty other animals all jump out to beat you up.
"It's almost one of the few times I see the Laguz and Spacians work together," Tsuyu stated, "Though I'm not surprised, for a majority of people here, this sectional hate is a glorified sports fan fight. They get riled up as if their life depended on it because being a part of a group helps make them feel like they belong, but outside they go back to being sensible people."
A wide-eyed Izuku said, "R-really?"
Tsuyu explained, "Yeah, apparently I have a Spacian who goes here from my school. When I forgot my book at school once, they brought it to me here with a smile. When I thank him and they said no problem, then immediately after told me to go fuck myself for being apart of the weaker race."
"Wha-...wow."
"I know, that's why I don't participate in most of the shenanigans that go on here, it's all a bit much for me for a huge facade."
That was when Cassidy stepped into the conversation, after having her filled with shouting she wanted to hang out with the people she's more familiar with. She tried to be sneaky saying, "Mooo!"
"I think the word you were looking for is boo Cassy," Merrie corrected.
"Darn, oh well. What are we talking about?"
"I was just explaining to Izuku how we protect ourselves here."
"Oh shoot! That reminds me, where Rideru!?
'Ok why does this fuck got a meeting with every girl in our group!' Izuku thought to himself, in hindsight, this shouldn't surprise him. Excluding himself, there are only three boys to the nine people of their friend group but petty teens be petty, "Why?"
"We were supposed to guard one of the entrances together last night but then something popped up and I needed to go home. Since they were short staffed, he told me not to bother looking for someone to replace for me and that he'll do it all by himself," Cassidy explained, she aggressively spat before continuing, "Not only did I miss a good fight but he got hurt because of it since he was alone. I've been looking for him all day but he's harder to catch up to than a weasel."
Merrie smiled as she told the blonde, "He came to me this morning and is doing fine. I checked him out, his wounds aren't severe and I gave him a Tylenol for his headache. He should be delivering something for Simba now."
"Great, I still gotta thank him," Cassidy said.
"Please don't," Tsuyu told her, "You know he doesn't like it when you do."
"I'm still gonna," sassed Cassidy before running off in a direction. She probably should've asked for directions first for she'll learn that the hard way.
Then suddenly a large cry from the group rang out. The trio looked behind them to see the crowd gathered around in a circle, apparently a one on one fight broke out between a representative of both groups. Of course, Rumi was a part of the crowd cheering them on.
Merrie sighed, getting up and dusted her leg off, "I better get over there. Knowing those guys, someone is going to need some medical aid."
With Merrie leaving to chaperone(slash be a mom) the fight circle, it left only Tsuyu and Izuku alone.
…
...
...
…
'I have no idea what to talk about with her!?' Izuku screamed in her mind, this was probably the first occasion he was actually to be with Tsuyu alone, every other time they were usually in a group conversation but never directly at each other, 'I guess I could start with what we usually talk about when we're in our study group-'
Izuku stopped dead. Suddenly his vision began to darken as everything else around him felt like they faded away. His tail tensed and his ears perked up, shaking from a natural reaction. There was something there that triggered his senses in a way he never experienced before. They were faint but he could never forget how those bolded black words floated in front of him.
DEATH…..
Izuku's fangs and claws popped, bearing themselves for a fight even though Izuku didn't want them to, it was just like when he was first dealing with his fox….well Kitsune appendages when he first got One For All. Instantly Izuku snapped his head around, looking for anything that could be the reason for it but everything was normal.
And almost as soon as it came, the feeling went away.
"First Merrie now you, what's with people suddenly staring out into space," commented Tsuyu.
Stammering from the…. Experience that occurred, Izuku replied, "S-sorry, I thought- nevermind don't worry about it."
"Ribbit- if you say so."
…
"You're pretty good at this game," Izuku said, unable to take the silence.
Tsuyu seemed unphased but replied, "Oh thank you, you're surprisingly good at this well. A week ago you barely understood the rules."
"You'll have to thank Setsuna for that one, she's teaching me how to be more tricky. She said being too direct will be bad for me, especially since the ability I awaken is basically a whip. Which is also why I'm training with Rideru."
"Smart move, that guy literally breaks logic with how good he is with a chain hook. People sometimes mistake it as his quirk."
"I've seen…...and experienced it first hand he's… great."
"You think he's an asshole don't you?"
"W-what!? No, no, no! It's not like that."
"You don't need to lie, it's written all over your face and voice."
"...Oh."
"Plus it's not that hard to assume. I mean, anyone who spends five minutes around him would have that as their first impression."
"Yeah, I don't want to hate him but he's just so… argh!"
"Excessively infuriating to be around?"
"Yeah, that."
"It's an acquired taste with him, once you get used to most of his antics and he gets used to you existing he becomes more bearable. As you saw with Cassidy he has some positive traits."
"It's been months! How long does it take for either of those things?"
Tsuyu shrugged at him.
"At that point, it doesn't seem worth it at all. It's hard imagining anyone wanting to be friends with him, much less be around him," Izuku told her, he was mostly speaking out of jealous but even without that he didn't enjoy always being berated by a guy who wasn't exactly is friend
"Hmm, yeah being with him can be a chore but that's the weird thing about this place. Even guys like him can be in a place long enough for people to see his good side. Not to mention here is a place where a strong presence is the ideal mindset, unironically the strong, silent, and slightly asshole type has its own niche here among the girls."
"Of fucking course! I can't imagine any sensible girl ever signing themself up for such a doom-to-fail relationship with someone like that," Izuku mumbled, which was hypocritical since he has never been in a relationship so why is he talking but hey, petty teens will be petty.
"I guess you're right, no one sensible would date him. Granted most of those girls who looked at him like that read stories about vampires so what did you expect."
Besides the whole Rumi thing, his biggest issue with Rideru was how off he was. Though the group in Yasei Alley was colorful for sure, from his perspective this man stood out like a sore thumb from all the other personalities he saw. Unlike Simba he's not a confident man who likes to overly boast his status, unlike Yogi he's not a stark contrast to his big bulky appearance with a teddy bear personality, unlike Merrie he's not a girl he doesn't have a golden heart that's the opposite of how he dresses, unlike Setsuna he's not an open devious person, he's nothing like Cassidy or Rumi, and he's not normal like Tsuyu. He just shows up, a lot of time out of nowhere, and is a dick to him. Almost like an older version of Katsuki but with less yelling and without the years of knowing him and genuinely being friends with at a time.
Though just maybe, sitting down and having a good conversation with the guy might change all of that.
He regrets ever having that thought.
Because the universe loves to torture him, it turned that innocent thought and turned it into something only make him suffer. Never in his life did he expect to have such a horrible day from being seated at a dining table with Setsuna as he's facing Rumi and Rideru sitting next to each other across from him. How did he get here!?
Oh right. Out of nowhere, when Setsuna was teaching him how to use distractions to make the opponent not notice your true intentions, she speed blitzed his mind by flat out telling him that she noticed Izuku trying to compete with Rideru because Izuku has a crush on Rumi. After a lengthy questioning, the lizard-girl got him to confess.
"Finally, geez Izuku for someone who makes his intentions so obvious, you're too tight-lipped. That means my system is working! Good news. The bad news is that you currently don't have a chance if you're actually trying to compete with Rideru for Rumi."
"A- why!?"
"The answer is simple, too simple that plain words won't be able to make you understand it."
"Setsuna, if there's anything you can do to help me understand it, I'll be willing to do anything!"
"Anything!?" A smile that said that Izuku will regret his words one day appeared on Setsuna's face.
"Yes!"
"Alright, but I'm going to have to show you. Once you see it, you'll get it but you might not like what you find out."
She was right, Izuku didn't like the answer he got.
They had a sort of trivia fact event that was a glorified way to find out things about each other. He learned a lot. Like how Setsuna can speak several languages perfectly, Rumi apparently had a crush on Hawks at one point, and the only thing Izuku ever witnessed that can shake Rideru is the sound of a plate breaking.
But all that was droplets to the true reason of why he was there.
The reason Setsuna mentioned was obvious now. There's no denying or escaping it.
He didn't have a chance in competing with Rideru because of one thing.
Rideru gets Rumi.
Throughout the entire event, Rideru seemed to know almost everything about Rumi. From her favorite activities to the way she likes to tie her shoes, he either knew the exact answer or could guess the kind of things she'll like. He finds ways to make her laugh or engage with her even if he had little interest in the topic himself. It could be the year gap between them or the fact that he met Rumi way before him, but it was undeniable that he knows Rumi a lot better than he ever did living with her.
It felt like a stake in the heart and he didn't need to be a vampire for it to hurt.
Was it even worth it anymore? Did he ever have a chance?
"So this was the green-haired yokai I saw before," Izuku commented, coming face to face with the creature that spent so long avoiding direct confrontation but always loomed around him.
The yokai didn't have much of a form, it had a normal body that was completely devoid of pigment and a mirror as a face.
"So what's this thing's gimmick," Izuku asked, staring right at the glass of the mirror.
He watched as the creature transformed first into nearly a perfect copy of Izuku. The yokai stepped up to Izuku and the green fox watched as this clone morphed its body into something else. It didn't turn into a different animal, it just mutated it's own body to look better than his. Already surpassing him in height and muscle, the monster's green hair grew out long enough for part of it to cover the creature's right eye. Overkill happened when the creature's hand turned into metal hooks.
"That's what it does," Lai's mask commented.
"Talk about subtle," Izuku sighed.
Setsuna warned him of this during the trivia event, at first it sounded like a stupid ice breaker, meant to start a conversation with information no one cares about. Now it took on a whole new meaning as those words echoed in his head.
"Green was the color of envy."
"Well, on the bright side, at least you're not going to pop your shoulder when you miss?" Rideru said to an aggravated Izuku, he was focused on his phone texting someone. He didn't need to look to know what happened, he can tell what had happened by the noise being made. Frustration, anger, and curses are signs things weren't going well.
Here they were, back where they started, doing the same exercise. The only bright side was that Izuku was sometimes hitting two bottles out of the air instead of just one.
Izuku grumbled to himself, he was even thinking when she said, "Rumi gave me some advice and how to-"
The fox stopped himself when he realized his mistake. Rumi made it clear to not use her actual name in Yasei Alley, with her father and dream of becoming a hero, she wanted her real identity to be as separated from Yasei as possible. Which is why she chose the name Miruko as a cover.
Rideru blinked blankly before replying, "Oh good, you know her real name. I was curious about your relationship with her and if you knew or not. I got my answer."
'He knew…...of course he knows her real name. He's probably the only one in the group who knows her actual name.' Izuku thought, he pretended to be surprised as he asked, "You know Miruko isn't her name?"
"I was the one who suggested the name," Rideru told him.
'Oh come on!'
"When Rumi first came here, she tried running with the name Usako. Which I instantly recognized from a few murmurs I heard about some bunny girl under that name from another city who got taken away from police after participating in an underground fight club that got raided by police. I was unsure at first if she was the actual person or an imitator because I couldn't believe someone would be that stupid of using the same fake-name they got caught in but…..knowing her now, that's completely something she'll do" Rideru explained.
Izuku looked away, he could see her doing that as well but didn't want to admit.
"Anyways, since Rumi was terrible at creating an alias for herself, I suggested one myself. It's actually supposed to be Mirko instead of Miruko but she kept mispronouncing it," Rideru continued saying.
"Wait, that doesn't explain how you knew her real name?" Izuku asked, noticing the missing bit of his story.
"Oh yeah….. She dropped her school ID when we were talking and that's when I discovered her real name. When I verbally expressed how dumb I thought she was, she literally tried bashing my head in hoping that if she gives me a concussion I might forget what I saw. Thankfully I manage to get some logic through that thick skull of her to get a new alias no one would think twice about since eventually someone else would uncover her old one and people won't like her if she comatose everyone who put two and two together."
Izuku sighed to himself, "Every time I learn something about her, I find out there's an entire gold mine of her I haven't discovered. This explains why she hates cops so much."
"Oh, you didn't know that?" Rideru said, he actually chuckled to himself at the thought, "Jeez kid, you really have to step your game. If you barely know the girl like that then how the hell do you expect her to ever consider dating you. It's not like you're the most bachelor choice for her either. At this point it's like watching a featherless midget bird dancing for the attention of a swan, it's just not going to happen."
…
…
…
'He had to go there didn't he.'
…
"Why did you stop?" Rideru asked, not looking up from his phone, "Oh right, you're waiting for me. Alright give me a minute, I'll be over to- hm?"
The older greenet felt someone grab his shoulder he stopped, lower his phone he looked to see what it was.
It was a hand.
And attached to that hand was an arm that led up to an enraged Izuku who collided his fist against the one-eye-showing boy's face. As the force sent Rideru flying back, Izuku let out a yell.
"Will you shut up!"
When Rideru landed on the ground, he covered his stinging face with his hand. Cursing out loud, "Ah, dick!"
Looking up, he witnessed as Izuku brought out his black tendril and struck at him. The older greenet reacted quickly, rolling out of the way of the attack shouting at Izuku, "The fuck!?"
"I am sick of your shit!" Izuku shouted at him, winding up for another assault.
Seeing it coming, Rideru dodged it again by reverse somersaulting to his feet. Again and again, Izuku lashed out his tendril at Rideru, with it being swiftly dodged by the older teen.
When there was a momentary time between Izuku's attack, Rideru asked him, "What is your problem?"
"You!" Izuku yells, swinging his tendril at him again.
Rideru ducked under it, popping back up to ask, "Yeah I get that but why?"
!
"Argh!" Rideru shrieked out when his terrible headache appeared once again, 'It felt like someone bashing a hammer on my skull. Talk about talking, what a drag!'
With him distracted, Izuku had charged at him and tackled him to the ground. As they slide, Izuku wasted no time striking at Rideru's undefended body. His first punch collided with Rideru's cheek, sending the boy's head flying to its side.
"You couldn't stop while you're ahead!" Izuku shouted, throwing another punch.
This time Rideru stopped it, grabbing his wrist and restraining it. Izuku's hand shook in his grip as it tried to break free.
Izuku pulled back his other hand for a strike, "You had to keep going! Had to take your freaking victory lap around your opponent! Isn't being with her good enough!?"
"You're literally making no sense to me right now!" Rideru replied, his headache popped up once again, allowing Izuku to get a few more hits on him. Shaking the painful feeling away, he was able to focus enough to stop Izuku's other fist the same way he did the first. While they struggled for control, Rideru continued to say, "I'm not a mind reader nor am I someone who followed your entire life story. Context matters!"
"You're better than me alright! I get it, everyone thinks you're so cool! Oh look at you! Everyone is always coming to you for stuff! That doesn't give you the right to treat me like shit!" growled Izuku. He thought back to all the insults he has heard through all his life. Half-breed, defected, half-baked. He thought the day where he would be berated like that would be over, yet here's this guy bringing him back to the moment in his life he wanted to leave behind.
The anger Izuku was feeling fueled his body, Rideru was lucky he was restraining him by the wrist or else his claws would've incidentally turned him into what your cat does to one's couch when you leave it alone. With a close-up, the older greenet saw Izuku's fangs bearing themselves, growing out by the second to a true predator's size. Their stalemate struggle began to favor Izuku as his rage grew, despite Rideru's resistance, Izuku's arms were still around to move back and slam into Rideru's face. They were effective at first, but each swing was stronger than the last, quickly turning painful.
'The hell was this strength before!?' thought Rideru, he was trying his best in the condition he was in to hold him back but it was proving more difficult than he thought, 'Did he really leave this much determination to fight me instead of training!? He gotta get his priorities straight!'
Releasing the grip on one of Izuku's hands, Rideru allowed Izuku's arm to swing at an unexpectedly high rate of speed and force. The greenet shifted his head out of the way of the green fox's punch, allowing it to crash into the cement. The blow echoed through the room, Rideru could feel the ground vibrating, it was a powerful one that hurt Izuku's knuckles from missing. As Izuku winced from the pain, Rideru brought out his chain hook, throwing it up behind the fox so it'll hook onto his shoulder. With a yank, it pulled off Izuku enough for the one-eye-showing boy to jab at his midsection, getting in three live blows. Stunned, Izuku clutched his sides, left breathless at this shocking feeling circulating through his body. After buying himself enough time, Rideru managed to kick Izuku off of him but while trying to get back up, another sharp pain rang in his head causing him to fall back.
Separated, the boys lay on the ground from their own pain. Izuku from the effects of a liver blow and Rideru from lack of a aspirin.
With their moment of rest, Rideru was the first to rise up. He was clutching his still bandaged-up forehead as he spoke to Izuku.
"You do know I talk shit and shit talk literally everyone I know right? Like I get if my words are a bit too vulgar to you but a hey can you tone it down a bit it's really upsetting mewould've worked a lot better than randomly attacking me. I would've said no anyway because fuck your feelings but I would be slightly mindful with my words."
"Will you shut up," Izuku yelled again, he got a run start before pouncing at the person who'd aggravated him for months, "This is more than just that!"
Displaying the same smooth agile movement during his demonstration, Rideru waited till Izuku was about three feet away from him before he moved forward, he went low enough to where he would be below Izuku's direct attack. With precise timing, the older greenet waited till Izuku was right above him. He calmly dug a hook into the collar of Izuku's cloth, with his other hand Rideru pushed against Izuku's stomach, distorting his trajectory. With Izuku flying off course, Rideru let the chain lead the chain a bit before gripping it. Yanking it to the side, the hook connected to Izuku's clothes took advantage of his free fall and sent him on a crash course through a window.
With the shattering of glass, the green fox fumbled across the ground until he came to a stop against the side of another building. He was in a small alleyway at the side of the building. There was about a nine feet width to the alley, filled with trash cans and other random trash.
Steadying himself, Izuku used the wall to get himself back up, being mindful to not cut himself with the shattered glass below him. On the other side of the fight, Rideru casually walked out a door that led to this side, popping a much-needed tylenol in his mouth and drinking from a water bottle. The older greenet made a mental note to ask Merrie if he can upgrade to an actual aspirin, hoping that'll take care of the headache instead of just numbing it. He took out the key and locked his door, no matter what this guy hated it when his door was unlocked.
Right as he put away his key and looked down the alley, he saw a trashcan heading his way. With it only inches away from him, he put up his arms in defense and blocked it, stumbling back a bit.
Rideru gave Izuku a spiteful look as he shouted, "Hey I'm locking the door, let me- oh right we're fighting."
"Can't you ever give me some respect as a human being!" Izuku yelled, picking a rusty crack pipe and chucking it at Rideru.
Side-stepping it, Rideru replied, "I just establish that I treat everyone this way!"
Izuku looked to his side and saw a bin filled with glass bottles. Swiftly going into it and began grabbing the bottles, he thought to himself, 'He won't be able to deflect these!'
"Come on kid, that's someone's recyclables," commented Rideru, who quickly moved to dodge the bottles when they were flung at him. He was about to move forward to stop Izuku but something stopped him, when he heard the glass bottles hit the ground, he paused. His eyes widen as if he had seen a ghost, losing focus of where he was. The one-eye-showing boy only snapped out of it in time to block the next bottle heading toward him, it smashed against his arm and the shards scattered everywhere. Again, Rideru's eye became unfocused, and his body shivered. He couldn't pursue as he wanted, only barely being able to get out of the way of the bottles as he tried to get a hold of himself.
As Izuku continued to unleash his wrath by violently tossing bottles at a man, he told him, "You already won, you could've won months ago! I don't get why you decide to drag it out like you get off from the pain!"
"Won? Won what!?"
"You know what!"
"I seriously don't! One minute someone I'm texting Tsuyu while talking about Rumi, the next thing I know you're-... Oh, are you mad about me saying you currently didn't have a chance with Rumi!"
"Yes! I didn't think you knew I liked her but it's obvious from how you taunt me about it! Why can't you just be with her without making me feel like shit because I can't match up to you!"
"...Are you fucking kidding me!?"
"No!"
'God fucking damn it!' Rideru thought to himself, his mood greatly shifted. He had enough time to get his focus despite the sounding of bottles breaking disturbing him.
Izuku's assault stopped when he saw what Rideru was doing. The older greenet was no longer standing on his two feet, instead he was on all fours. Like the predator animal he was, it was the first time Izuku saw Rideru bare his fangs, taking the stance of a true hunter of the jungle. The fight had mess with Rideru's bandages around his head, loosening it a bit which allowed his hair to fall out of shape from how he usually liked to keep it. For a single moment, Izuku's caught when the other greenet's hair slightly waves away from his face, revealing the scarred eye he usually kept hidden open.
In a flash, Rideru dashed from the position he was in. Izuku only caught the tail end of his body to know where to look, spotting Rideru hanging onto the side of a building like he was spiderman. Izuku barely could turn his head in that direction before Rideru leaped to the other wall, already closing more than half the distance between the two of them, and just as quickly Rideru was back on the ground charging at him from only a few feet away.
With Rideru already closing the distance so swiftly and looking like he was preparing to throw a punch, Izuku was pressed to counter and threw out a hook kick to strike his chest. Before the kick could connect, Rideru vanished once again. Swiftly Izuku's look around to see where he went but couldn't find him, he felt cold metal wrap around the ankle of the leg he was balancing on. Recognizing this feeling, he was too slow to react as his leg was swept out from under him, he could only turn around to see Rideru pulling on a chain.
As Izuku's back hit the ground, as he tried to get back up Rideru stomped on his chest to keep him down.
"Alright now you listen," Rideru calmly said.
Unable to squirm out from under his foot, Izuku brought out his black tendril and lashed it at Rideru's face. It was unexpected, smacking Rideru's face, thankfully for him Izuku's skill wasn't as good as cracking a whip like him so it wasn't so bad.
"Ah! Dick!" Rideru shouted out, holding his cheek. When Izuku went for another one, Rideru blocked it with his arm and grabbed it with his hand to stop him from using it again for a bit, "Listen you fucking dumbass! I'm trying to talk!"
"What!?" Izuku shouted up to him, "You're going to gloat more about how close you and Rumi-"
"I don't like Rumi like that!" Rideru shouted down at him.
"Don't lie! I see how you guys talk!" Izuku growled back.
"I'm serious, we're just extremely close friends."
"You two are always together when we're here!"
"That's kinda what friends do!"
"Like you two do! How about all the times you guys mentioned something that I wouldn't get that you wouldn't explain!"
"That's also something friends do. We don't explain every reference to you because some of it is private! Ironic because currently, I'm trying to get her to realize she has feelings for you to pay her back since she's helping me ask out Tsuyu!"
"Liar!"
"Dude, think about it for a few seconds! I like Tsuyu!"
…
"Oooohhh…. Uh oh."