Fear Time, Second Period

Izuku swallowed nervously as he stepped out to the field in his gym uniform. It was after school and everyone had gone home already — except for Izuku, obviously. It was another after school training session with All Might. Impromptu, might he add. They don't usually train on Fridays. But of course, because Gran Torino was here and wanted to see how well All Might's protege was developing, they made an exception to it.

Izuku felt he had to, lest he suffer the wrath of the man with the teeth strength of a nutcracker. He shivered at the thought, then rubbed his arms as he took his place in front of both heroes. 

He glanced around, then frowned. 

"Um… No Koro-Koross-sensei?"

All Might rubbed the back of his head while his smile strained. "I'm afraid not, my boy! He, er, said he had an errand to run in… Italy, apparently. In any case," the man paused to clap his hands. "We'll be practicing your fighting technique in preparation of you actively using your quirk!"

"Um, nn-not to, uh… not t-to be a-a downer, b-but, don't you remember a-all the times, um, we didn't ha-have Koross-sense —"

All Might gave a loud cough, after feeling a hard and judgemental stare from his old mentor. "You're under strict instructions not to use your quirk today, Young Izuku!"

Izuku shut his lips, then nodded. Ah, he understands. That's kind of funny, actually. 

They spent at least five minutes trying to perfect Izuku's stance — something different than what Karasuma's been teaching, because in All Might's eyes, assassination training had no place in the world of heroism.

Izuku tried not to feel unnerved by the frankly unreadable expression that Gran Torino wore. It was like he was trying to dissect him but also terrorize him? He just… stood there, watching with his arms crossed and a pensive look in his brows.                           

"Perfection!" All Might boomed, smiling at his protege seemingly proud but Izuku knew that nervousness he had all day never went away. "Now, let's practice some punches —"

"Toshinori," Gran Torino spoke—the first since they had begun and All Might's form shook before stilling, tense. He turned around, a brow raised. The older hero stepped toward them, arms unfolding from their tombstone stillness over his chest. "Allow me, will you?"

"Uh- I-I, G-Gran Torino, are- are yo- he's just a chi—"

"Quiet you! Let me have some time with the boy. I can see time has made you soft—he's strong enough, he can take it."

All Might looked like a kicked puppy at that point and Izuku could only swallow pathetically before Gran Torino pushed him further into the woods. Wheeere is he taking me…? Oh… Oh God, he's going to murder me, isn't he? Oh God, oh God! I'm not ready to die! I have so many things I want to do! Please, no!

If the panic was evident on his face, the old pro kept his lips sealed—or he was just straight-up ignoring him. Which was fine too. Whatever. Maybe he could slink away and oh, you know, not die? It took a good while before even All Might caught up—or maybe he should say 'got the courage to follow with.' Good to know Izuku wasn't the only one thinking this whole thing was sketchy as hell. 

Then Gran Torino stopped and turned around, hand behind his back while the other rested on his cane. This time, a smile pulled his wrinkly lips back and both student and teacher together froze with fear shuddering their spines. 

"Okay, this should be fine. Now, fight me."

"Wh-what?!"

All Might looked like he was about to watch a murder take place right in front of his eyes. "Gran Torino, you can't seriously—"

"I'm not talking to you, you bumbling idiot! Let the child try and fight me!"

"But- But he's only a child! Think of the trauma—"

His words were cut off by a loud Thwack! and Izuku turned around to see the blond's head nearly snapped back and Gran Torino's wooden cane fell onto the ground behind him. Izuku gaped stupidly—and All Might brought his face back forward, a red nose with a trickle of blood beginning to drip to his lips, still smiling but with a notable degree of emptiness. 

"Ah," the hero began and started to walk over to the side. "I'll just… sit over here."

Gran Torino humphed with a nod and returned his attention to Izuku, gaining his full attention. "Great. Now, come at me, boy! Let me see how much of a grip you have on One for All!"

Ah, fear. 

"U-Um, I d-don't—"

He was cut off by a blast of wind knocking him off his feet and into the roots of a tree behind him. He braced for impact, eyes closing shut as he tumbled back and into a large external root. Grunting, Izuku cracked his eyes open to see Gran Torino looming over him. He must have blown right past him, damn… 

Then, Gran Torino vanished—er, well, he zipped to another tree, then another and another, shouting, "Up! Git up, boy, and take the reigns!"

The green-haired boy scrambled up to his feet and assumed a fighting stance—he tried mimicking the stance All Might had just taught him, but it just… felt so wrong; not natural—or perhaps just not what he was used to. 

"Quit that, now," Gran Torino called from his perch on a tree branch. "Use what comes naturally! Just because it's used in shady ways doesn't make it wrong!" And once again, he shot off to another tree, then straight for Izuku. 

Heart lurched in his chest and he dodge rolled out of the way just as the old hero's foot slammed into the exposed roots of the tree, snapping them. Izuku skidded and tried to calm his thumping heart. 

"I-I can't um— use- use my quirk y-y-yet!" he dumbly tried to explain just as Gran Torino shot off again. He looked like a bouncing ball in a screen, except extremely fast and lethal. 

His quirk is Jet — He can shoot intense jet streams from his feet, allowing him to maneuver like a rocket- er, a jet… Actually, kind of like Iron Man, huh? Wait, unrelated. Restart—his thoughts were cut off when a strong kick sent his body toppling to the ground like a ragdoll, the wind struck out from his chest. He coughed deeply then struggled to stand again. 

"Is that all you've got?!" the retired hero taunted, ceaselessly bouncing around the recovering boy. 

Shaking his head to shake off the coming headache, Izuku tried to track the old man's "jet streams", bracing himself properly again—this time listening to Gran Torino's advice and assuming a much more comfortable position, like in Karasuma's assassin training class. There was confidence with this form.

Unfortunately, Gran Torino still got a few more hits off Izuku—the teen could tell he was holding back for the sake of keeping him conscious for the exercise, but to him it felt like a mercy he could exploit. He faked a stumble forward after a fourth blow, this time to his back. He fell to his hands and knees and coughed hard into the grass, forcing out a pathetic moan. The sound of Gran Torino's quirk ceased and he heard a branch creak. 

"What, giving up so soon? Even Toshinori held out longer than this."

Izuku shook his head, feigning breathlessness. He was nothing if not an excellent actor to the unfamiliar. "N-nn-no," he breathed, then swallowed thickly before going back to trying to 'catch his breath' while pushing himself up, making his muscles shake underneath himself. "I-I can- I can ss-still fuh-fff-fight."

He could practically feel the smirk Gran Torino must have been holding on his face. "Good! Then one more go, boy. Up you get!" 

Focus, focus —

The sound of wind in his ear— there! He was finally on his feet right before he whipped around and grabbed the old man's foot aimed straight at his face then used Gran Torino's own momentum against him, slamming the old man over himself into the ground. The adrenaline felt like it was going to squeeze his heart into a pulp, but it made him feel so light at the same time—charged air pumping through his veins, and then— oh no . 

He heard the sound of a snap before he felt it—but when he felt it, oh lord, he felt it. As soon as Gran Torino barreled into the ground, Izuku screamed—more from shock than the pain, but he collapsed to his knees, his hands pressed into his chest protectively. 

All Might perked up immediately, rushing to the boy's side. "Young Izuku?!"

"I-I'm—" I'm fine, he wanted to say. He only screamed because it surprised him, that's all! He didn't mean to activate his quirk, and his pain tolerance was already kicking in—until he tried to unclench his broken hands and Oh sweet honey iced tea, that HURTS! But, hey, at least it wasn't All Might's fault this time! It was—Oh, frick, actually—

He snapped his head up, looking for Gran Torino and saw the man still on his stomach, struggling to push himself up. "Oh n— G-Gran Torinnn- Are- is- is he o-okay?" the boy looked to All Might for an answer. 

Gran Torino answered him from his grounded position, raising a hand to wave him off. "I'm fine! Ya just knicked me with yer quirk, boy, that's all. My foot's a bit… preoccupied at the moment. Good job, by the way. Really impressive!"

"I- er, th-that…" Ah, the man had him at a loss for words now. At least he knew the retired pro had a sense of humor… Izuku swallowed and looked down at his beet-red hands, fingers mangled like a mesh of spaghetti tangled.  

"Um… Wh-what nn-now…?"

It was All Might's turn to be at a loss for words now. He paused, considering his options and Izuku could see the gears turning in his head. He thought that calling Korosensei would be the smarter option, but Izuku knew that All Might was… kind of a wuss when it came to confronting people he considered worth fearing, so he most likely wouldn't be—

"Okay, I've got it! Can you stand, Young Izuku?"

"Oh- uh- um, y-yeah, it was- it was jus' my- my hands, ss-so…"

"Wonderful! I'll get Gran Torino and then have Ritsu call a friend of mine."

"... Ex- Excuse me?"

---

It was always a mystery how Izuku gets himself into these situations, but he does! Maybe that's his quirk—'stupid' luck instead of just 'bad' luck.

Well, at least he's not alone in the 'stupid' department, but he wished he could forgo the whole "getting scared pantsless" thing…

He and Gran Torino sat in the nurse's office—oh, sorry, he meant Recovery Girl's freaking office. His hands were bandaged up heavily and Gran Torino had a new brace around his foot. All Might stood off to the side next to Gran Torino while the old healing hero tore them both a new one. Izuku just met the woman, and he already felt like his parents were having an argument, and honestly that was not a feeling he wanted to experience when he thought of Gran Torino, All Might and Recovery Girl. Now he's going to associate them with that, freaking dammit—

The woman let out a huff, and Izuku raised his head, wondering if Recovery Girl was done with her chastising the two men. She then reared her head to him—and he seriously couldn't tell what her expression was supposed to come off as. Was she worried about him? Was she pissed at him? What the hell was even happening anymore? Either way, he shrank back in his seat on the cot. 

He was still reeling over the fact he was at freaking UA for this. Best day ever? Worst day ever? Both. Both is good.

"How are your hands now, deary?" Recovery girl asked as she approached him. He let a subtle sigh of relief leave him as he relaxed—she seemed really nice, buuuut just in case, he was going to play up the 'poor boy' card a bit more. 

"Uh- um, they- uh, th-they ss-still hurt, um, a-a bit…" his voice was tiny and he didn't look at her directly, instead bowing his head to look at his hands. The last thing he wanted was to rile Recovery Girl up and then get her on his tail like she did with the two heroes before. His shoulders rolled back again, knees bouncing on the side of the cot and he sniffled. "I-I di- di'n't, um, I di'n't mm-mean to, uh, to- to- to use my- to use my quirk…"

Understanding filled her face as she nodded but she shot All Might another death glare before gently taking the boy's hands to see if they needed more healing or not. She already planted a kiss on him before she tore into All Might and Gran Torino, and he took a ten minute nap at the beginning of it, but when he woke up and the one-sided reprimanding was still going on, he knew this woman was not someone to get on her bad side. Recovery Girl straightened his palm against hers, testing his fingers' flexibility and seeing if it was still fragile as before or hurt or anything she would need to repair. 

"No pain when I apply pressure here?" she asked as she tested his hands and fingers, squeezing them here and there and each time Izuku would shake his head or comment that it felt tight or weird. 

Her healing quirk was so fascinating to him—it was so much different than Korosensei's when felt like instant surgery, binding everything together. An outside source of recovery, while Recovery Girl's felt like his cells were tingling inside the area, working extra hard to heal itself, which would explain why he felt so dead-tired after she healed him. Accelerating the body's natural healing process probably did a number on the body's inner energy source. He made a mental note to ask her some questions about her quirk later—when it would be less likely to set her off.

When she was done with her examination, she gave his hands one more tiny peck just to be safe and then gave him a small bag of gummy bears. "Alrighty, that oughta do it, young lad," she kindly pat his hand again, gesturing him to stand and hold the candy bag himself. "Be careful not to strain your hands or pick up heavy objects for a while. And try to do some hand stretches in the morning to relax and prepare the muscles for the day, you hear me?"

Izuku nodded quickly and bowed to her, muttering a squeaky, "Th-thank you!" 

She bought the poor boy act, so he felt more at ease knowing she wasn't mad about him doing this to himself and to Gran Torino (though he still felt h o r r i b l e ). He recalled one of her argument points being that he was just a child, not even in high school yet, and these two men were being so unbelievably reckless and—yeah, it was a fair argument, honestly, but still. 

Recovery Girl nodded and rested her hands on the top of her syringe-like cane. "Good. Now off you go! Might I suggest seeing a quirk therapist to help you master your new quirk instead of these bumbling idiots you call teachers," then she turned on the men, who looked desperate to leave the room already. "And you , if I hear about another accident with this boy, I am coming straight to your homes and giving you what-for, do you hear me?"

They started to stumble over their words and for once it was great to see someone so able-tongued just tripping and tripping over their own words for a change—and two of them at that!

Recovery Girl didn't seem amused and repeated herself louder, "I said do you hear me?!"

The two straightened up and bowed to her, "Y-yes, we do!"

If there was one thing Izuku learned today… old people were terrifying.