Chapter 19: Kicks That Pulverize Concrete! And Why Does My Boss Fit In My Pocket?

4,000 + Words

The training field was as deserted as ever, with the lonely hills and reinforced walls in the background, so far from everything that not even the wind seemed to feel like passing through. Izuku hopped down with his notebook tucked under his arm, breathing in the open air with a smile.

Mirko was the first to step onto the grass, and she did it by stretching her arms up toward the sky with a yawn before bending forward to touch her toes.

Rumi had swapped her hero suit for gym clothes, dark leggings that clung to every muscle in her legs and a top that left her arms bare, and with the stretch the fabric tightened over the curve of her ass until it turned into the most dangerous view on the field. Izuku froze in place, his notebook halfway to falling and his eyes locked on a very attractive spot in the scenery.

Wow… honestly, gym clothes really do her justice.

WHAP!

The smack landed right on his head and pulled a groan out of him.

"At least try to hide it a little, you degenerate," Yu said beside him, one eyebrow arched and her hands on her hips. "You're drooling all over your notebook."

Izuku rubbed his head and let out an embarrassed laugh while scratching his cheek.

"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help it," he admitted without a shred of shame. "A guy does what he can, boss, but some views just impose themselves."

"Hey, hey! Drop that sophisticated art critic act and behave like a normal person, would you?"

Yu huffed and stepped away a few paces to start warming up on her own, swinging her arms with a scowl. The sun was beating down on her and her mood soured with every minute she spent in that empty field.

"I can't believe you two dragged me out here again," she grumbled while bending down to stretch a leg, clearly annoyed. "Today's Sunday, you know? My one day off. The only day of the week I was planning to sprawl out on the couch and not lift a single finger… and you two go and drag me out here to train."

"Well, look on the bright side, you could take some pictures with the hills in the background," Izuku offered. "They look pretty good."

"Listen up: if I'm gonna post pictures, they're gonna be from a fancy café, with a stupidly expensive latte and the AC cranked all the way up. After killing myself as a hero six days straight, I deserve a full day of luxury… not chasing after a hyper rabbit and putting up with a certain perverted assistant."

Mirko burst out laughing without pausing her stretches.

"Quit whining, Yu. Rest is for the weak," she said, rolling her neck from side to side. "Besides, you're the one who ran after us. Nobody forced you to come."

"I came to make sure you two don't destroy anything!" Yu protested, completely red. "Somebody responsible has to be here!"

"Uh huh. Responsible," Mirko repeated, winking at her. "Keep telling yourself that, see if you buy it."

This time the trio had set up in a different corner of the field, one where someone had put up a row of concrete blocks with red targets painted in the center, meant to take hits without complaining about it. Mirko planted herself in front of them, cracked her knuckles, and shot Izuku a thumbs up with a fight-hungry grin.

"Alright, broccoli. I'm ready," she announced, hands on her hips. "Come touch my ass already, I don't have all day."

Izuku stepped forward without a second's hesitation.

"Coming right up, Mirko-san, with pleasure."

A hand grabbed his arm before he could move. Yu had him in a firm grip, staring at him with a vein throbbing on her temple.

"Huh?"

"At least try to hide it," she hissed. "You agreed so fast I swear you were about to sprint over to her. Seriously, could you stop drooling over Rumi for five minutes?"

Izuku let out a dramatic sigh, every ounce of resignation in the world painted on his face.

"Boss, you're asking me to hide it and asking me to do my job at the same time," he said, voice full of martyrdom. "A professional gives a hundred percent. If it falls on me to touch an ass for the sake of the world's heroic progress… I do it with my head held high and without pretending I don't enjoy it."

"Ha! You hear that, rookie? The kid's got more guts than you," Mirko cackled while shooting Yu a sideways look. "And drop the jealous face already. Anyone would think you were worried someone was gonna steal your bodyguard away from you."

"Jealous?! Not a chance!" Yu protested, shoving Izuku away. "I couldn't care less who this idiot flirts with! I just wanna get this over with!"

Mirko grinned, completely amused by the reaction.

"Sure, sure… whatever you say, giant girl."

Izuku walked up behind Mirko, and instead of going straight for what everyone was expecting, he took one of her hands with his and placed the other on her hip, settling against her back with a calm that threw both women off.

"Get ready, Mirko-san," he said close to her ear. "I wanted to try something different this time."

Yu, who was already loaded up to yell at him for lunging at Rumi's ass, cut off mid word, blinking.

Izuku hadn't tried any of his usual antics. He was simply holding one of Mirko's hands while resting the other on her waist, settling behind her with a suspicious calm.

Yu blinked a few times.

"Huh…? Wait a second… You're not gonna do anything stupid? Now that I didn't see coming."

She narrowed her eyes and pointed at Izuku with an accusing gesture.

"No, no, no. Something smells off. You don't act this proper for no reason. What are you up to, Midoriya?"

"I'm working," Izuku answered without turning around. "Focus on the experiment and not on my hands, please."

"That's exactly why I'm worried about those hands! I'm not lowering my guard!"

Mirko, trapped between Izuku's arms, tilted her head with a smile.

"Huh? Well, kid, this is turning out sappier than I expected," she commented. "What's the deal? You playing gentleman, or you just don't wanna end up smacked against a wall?"

"A little of both," he admitted.

Izuku started slowly rubbing Mirko's hip with his thumb in soft circles while closing his eyes and focusing on what he wanted to pull off.

"I need you to do something for me," he said quietly. "Close your eyes and picture explosions, okay?"

"Explosions?" Mirko arched an eyebrow, though she played along and closed her eyes. "I can do that. I love explosions."

"Perfect. Think of the biggest ones you can."

While Mirko imagined, Izuku did his own part in silence. He didn't really know how his thing worked, he never had, and the only thing he was clear on was the feeling of wanting something with all his might and letting it happen under his fingers, so he squeezed his eyelids shut and thought about air bursting outward with every hit, just like that time with Midnight, when he asked her to use her gas and she suddenly discovered she could do new things.

Under his hand, Mirko felt a tingle rising right where Izuku was touching her and spreading through her whole body, running up her arms and down her legs in a warm tickle that gave her a light itch. She almost said something, but decided to hold it in, she wasn't about to ruin the experiment over a dumb itch.

What a weird feeling…

Mirko frowned and huffed.

Eh, not bad. If the kid's got some trick up his sleeve, let him use it.

Izuku held on for a few more seconds, let go of Mirko's hand, and gave her a couple of friendly pats on the ass.

"And with that… we're done," he announced, stepping back. "Honestly, I have no clue if it worked, I never know if it works until we test it. Go hit one of those blocks and let's see."

Mirko opened her eyes and patted her arms. She didn't feel anything different, not stronger, not faster, only that the itch had vanished without a trace.

"I don't feel any change," she said, frowning. "You sure you did something?"

"Only one way to find out," Izuku replied, pointing at the row of concrete. "Kick."

Mirko shrugged, walked up to the closest block, and without giving it much thought, let a kick fly at the red target in the center.

BOOM!

The block crumbled into dust in an instant, and a shockwave of air shot forward with a roar that shook the grass for meters around. The blast caught Izuku and lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing, sending him flying backward.

"Whoa!"

Izuku sailed a couple of meters and landed right in Yu's arms.

"Ugh!" she grunted, stepping back to catch her balance while holding him against her chest. "Hey, hey… are you serious? You weigh way less than I expected."

She looked down at him with a teasing smirk.

"One little gust of air sends you flying and here you are on top of me… You're gonna have to get stronger, don't you think?"

Izuku, comfortably settled in her arms, made zero effort to get up.

"Won't argue with that," he said, looking up at her with a relaxed smile. "If being weak means ending up here, in the arms of the most beautiful hero in all of Japan, then I'll gladly let myself get knocked around as many times as it takes. It's the comfiest thing that's happened to me all day."

Yu rolled her eyes, though her cheeks pinked a little.

"Unbelievable. You go flying through the air and still find time to flirt," she huffed, and opened her arms without ceremony. "Get real, idiot."

Izuku hit the grass with a thud.

"Ow!"

A few meters away, Mirko was staring at the pile of dust that had been a concrete block seconds ago.

"What the…?" she muttered, and a laugh rose from the bottom of her chest. "HA! HA, HA! Did you see that?! I didn't even kick for real!"

She moved to another block and let loose a second kick, and another explosion cracked through the air, launching pulverized chunks of concrete in every direction.

"I have no clue what you did, Midoriya, but this is insane! Every kick hits like a damn bomb!" Without stopping for a second, she shot toward the next target. "Ha! I love it! This is the best feeling in the world!"

"Glad you like it!" Izuku called back from the ground, still brushing grass off his clothes. "Keep testing and we'll write down the details later!"

"Screw the details, this is meant to be enjoyed!" And with that, Mirko threw herself at the row of obstacles, delivering kicks left and right between laughter and explosions.

*

Izuku flopped onto his back on the grass, hands behind his head, and tilted his face to look at Yu, who was still standing next to him with her arms crossed.

"Hey, boss. Don't you wanna give it a shot too?"

Yu looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Try what, huh? Because coming from you, this is definitely gonna end with a hand on my ass. Don't think I don't know you."

Izuku faked a very dignified cough.

"Cough, cough. Well, that's… probably true," he admitted. "Not gonna lie to you, boss."

Yu gave him another smack, softer than the last one.

"You are way too annoying," she sighed, and to Izuku's surprise, dropped down onto her knees beside him. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Great, then…"

"But…" Yu cut in, crossing her arms while flashing a confident smile. "If you're gonna give me something, it better be worthy of the great Mt. Lady."

She pointed at herself with pride and added:

"Mirko can have her upgrades and all that, but I'm not about to fall behind. I'm a professional hero, you know? So surprise me. Do you actually have something spectacular for me… or are you just good at throwing out compliments?"

"Uh… I'll do my best," he managed to say as he got up. "I'm sure you're gonna love it."

Izuku got to his feet and positioned himself behind her, repeating the same thing he had done with Mirko. He took one of her hands, rested the other on the curve of her hip, and started rubbing slowly, focusing on what he wanted to achieve.

Yu braced herself for a weird sensation, and what she felt instead was a cool current running down her back, leaving her body relaxed and pleasant, so pleasant that a sigh slipped out before she could stop it.

Ohh… this feels pretty good.

Without realizing it, or pretending not to realize it, she pushed her ass back until it was resting comfortably against Izuku's hand, and she stayed there with her eyes closed and the most innocent expression, pretending her mind was anywhere but where her assistant's palm was resting.

Izuku noticed the movement perfectly, and decided, for his own mental health, not to comment on it.

Focus, Izuku, don't get distracted. You're a professional. You're not gonna fall that easy.

"There," he said after a few seconds, stepping back. "You can open your eyes, boss."

Yu opened her eyes and turned her head a little toward him.

"And now what? I don't feel like I can blow anything up."

Izuku smiled at her.

"I don't want you to blow anything up. Mirko's already got that covered," he said. "What I want you to try is making yourself small."

Yu stared at him without understanding a single word.

"'Small'…?" She arched an eyebrow, looking at him like he had just said the dumbest thing of the century. "Hey, Izuku, did you forget what my Quirk is? It's called 'Gigantification', you know? My specialty is turning gigantic and hogging all the attention! Asking me to make myself small would be like asking Endeavor to put out the fire. It goes totally against how my power works… and honestly, against my style too."

"Maybe yes, maybe no," he replied with an exasperatingly calm shrug. "Trust me, boss. I think you can do it."

"Sounds crazy."

"All my best ideas sound crazy," he admitted. "Try it. What's the worst that could happen?"

Yu let out a tired sigh that came from the depths of her soul.

"Fine, fine. But when it doesn't work, I don't wanna hear a single word from you," she warned, closing her eyes. "Here goes."

Yu concentrated, clenched her fists… and started to grow.

In a blink she went from a normal woman to a several-meters-tall giant, and a huge shadow fell over Izuku, who had to roll to one side before he ended up crushed under a knee the size of a car.

"BOSS!" he yelled from the grass. "The other way! Move the other way, please!"

Yu shrank back to her normal size just as fast.

"See? I told you!" she proclaimed, crossing her arms with a smug smile. "My Quirk only does one thing: make me gigantic! Shrinking goes completely against my nature. So we're done with the experiment, got it?"

"Not a chance. Again," Izuku insisted, jumping to his feet. "You were close, I know it. Focus on the opposite, instead of stretching upward imagine that you're getting tiny, that you fit in the palm of a hand. Try again!"

"Man, you're stubborn…" Yu huffed as she closed her eyes again. "Fine, one last time. But when we're done, I'm inviting myself out to a nice meal."

Yu focused again, frowning hard, and her body stayed the same size without the slightest change. She opened one eye, looked at him with a small mocking smile, and tilted her head.

"See, genius? I warned you. It doesn't wo…"

Her taunt cut off mid word. Out of nowhere she started shrinking. First the grass came up to her waist, then her chest, and she kept going down and down amid a shriek of surprise, until Yu Takeyama, the proud giant hero, was reduced to the size of a finger, standing on a mountain of fabric.

Izuku crouched down and his eyes went wide when he found her down there, tiny and completely losing it.

"You did it!" he exclaimed with a smile. "I knew you could! This is incredible!"

"Incredible?! IZUKU!" she cut him off, in a tiny high voice while hurriedly covering herself with her arms. "Stop looking at me and turn around right now! I'm not gonna let you see me like this!"

Izuku blinked, glanced down a little more, and finally spotted the small detail he had missed in his excitement: Yu was completely naked.

"Ah." Izuku snapped his head to the side. "Um… right, right, clothes don't shrink, that's… that's a problem I hadn't accounted for."

"'A PROBLEM YOU HADN'T ACCOUNTED FOR'?!" Yu exploded, clinging as best she could to the pile of fabric around her. "Are you kidding me, Midoriya?! I'm naked, I'm smaller than one of your fingers, and I'm dumped in the middle of nowhere!"

Yu shot him a scorching glare, completely red with embarrassment.

"Do something already! I'm a professional hero, not a pocket action figure! What if someone shows up?! My career would go straight down the drain!"

"Yes, yes! Try to grow, focus like you did before," Izuku said, his face still turned toward the horizon. "Come on, boss, you got this."

Yu shut her eyes as hard as she could and clenched her tiny fists, trembling with the effort, and nothing happened. She tried again, holding her breath until she was red in the face, and stayed just as small as before.

"No… no, wait…"

Yu squeezed her eyes tight and focused again. Her tiny body shook while she tried to activate her Quirk one more time, but nothing changed. Not a single inch.

She snapped her eyes open and looked at her own hands, completely pale.

"What…? No way…"

She tried again, breathing deep until her lungs burned. Still nothing.

For the first time since this whole mess had started, Mt. Lady's usual confidence cracked.

"It… it isn't working…" she murmured. "I'm using my Quirk and nothing's happening!"

She whirled toward Izuku.

"Midoriya, I can't go back to normal! I can't grow! What the hell is going on?"

Izuku forgot about the awkwardness for a moment and turned back toward her, this time with a worried frown.

"Easy, Yu, just breathe," he said, crouching down to her level. "Rest for a second and try again, okay?"

"Don't give me that 'breathe' stuff! This is all your fault!" Yu shut her eyes tight and tried again, shaking with frustration. "Nothing! Still not working! What the hell did you do to me? You promised me something spectacular, not that I'd end up trapped like this!"

"I thought it was gonna be reversible!" Izuku defended himself, starting to break out in a cold sweat. "Well, I've never shrunk anyone before, honestly, this is new for both of us!"

"OH, WHAT A COMFORT!"

And right at that moment, Izuku noticed the field had gone quiet. Mirko's explosions, which had been going off one after another for a good while at the other end of the field, had stopped, and there were no more kicks or laughter, just the wind moving through the hills.

Which meant one very simple and very dangerous thing: Mirko was on her way back.

"Oh no," Izuku muttered, going pale. "Yu, the explosions stopped, and that means Mirko's coming over here."

"What?!" Yu covered herself even more, alarmed. "No, no, no! She can't see me like this!"

"We could just tell her the truth," Izuku proposed, talking fast. "Mirko-san is loud, but she's not a bad person. If we explain that it was an accident, I'm sure she'll help us…"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Yu cut him off with all the force she could squeeze into her tiny body. "Shut up and listen to me carefully, Izuku Midoriya! Nobody but you is gonna see me in this state! I'm the most beautiful hero in Japan, I have a reputation! Can you imagine the headlines?! 'Japan's Most Spectacular Hero Shrunk Down to the Size of a Bug!' It would be the end of my career!"

"But…"

"No buts! Hurry up and hide me!"

Izuku didn't have time to argue. He looked around for a quick solution and, not finding anything better, brought his hand down to the ground and offered her a finger.

"Climb on, quick," he said. "I'll take you to my jacket."

Yu grabbed the finger with both hands and tried to climb up. Izuku helped her carefully, pushing her from below with the tip of his finger, and Yu turned bright red when she noticed exactly where that finger was resting.

"Izuku…" she said with a dangerous calm. "Be very careful where you put that finger."

"There's not much to hold onto! I'm doing what I can!"

"Your finger is right on my ass!"

"I know, I know, and trust me, under other circumstances I'd be enjoying this a whole lot, but right now I'm in emergency mode!"

With one last push, Yu managed to climb onto Izuku's palm, and from there he set her down carefully inside the chest pocket of his jacket, where she settled with only her head and arms peeking over the edge, still red with embarrassment.

"And now what do we do?" she asked in a distressed whisper. "What am I supposed to do stuck in your pocket?"

"I have no idea," Izuku confessed. "We improvise. You trust me, I'll handle this."

"MIDORIYA!" Mirko's voice boomed across the field, getting closer through the hills. "This is amazing! How could you keep something this fun to yourself?! If I'd known you could pull off crazy stuff like this, I would've kidnapped you weeks ago! I smashed all those blocks and I haven't even started warming up yet!"

Izuku stood there frozen, wearing a nervous smile and hiding a tiny woman on his chest.

From the pocket, Yu leaned against the edge of the fabric, poked her little head out just enough for only Izuku to hear her, and with every ounce of anguish in the world squeezed into her throat, she murmured the only thing that came to her in that moment.

"Izuku…" she whispered. "Now what do we do?"

********

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