This Time

Chapter 39

Toshinori had been expecting delight, or the rushing tide of word vomit that was the green-hair boy's usual response to something exciting when he posed his question - a question that he honestly hadn't even thought that much of. The bewildered surprise and wide-eyed disbelief was neither of those two, and he waited with patience and smidge of concern for the kid to remember how to speak coherently again.

Midoriya was still mildly out of breath from this morning's training, and Toshinori was glad that he'd been able to meet up with the boy to help him work through his latest brainstorming on Shoot Style. He still was pushing himself harder than he probably should between school, work study, and training his powers, but his mentor was tired of sounding like a broken record on the subject. As long as the boy wasn't neglecting his health, he'd bite his tongue. His fierce determination was a good thing, after all.

"You want to... hang out?" Midoroya finally stuttered, and his hero nodded easily.

"Sure. As long as you don't already have plans?" It was entirely possible the boy did have plans, after all - maybe he was going to visit his mother, or hang out with his classmates - and perhaps it wasn't the most responsible thing for him to pull him away from studying, if that's all the teen had intended to do with his afternoon. Regardless, Toshinori thought the boy deserved a break.

"Ah, n-no! I was just going to study and train a little more," he said, confirming his mentor's previous guess.

"Take a break, my boy - you've earned it." The retired hero clapped one large hand over the boy's shoulder as he smiled at him, and it took only a second for an answering grin to spread across Midoriya's face.

"Yeah, okay!" he agreed cheerfully.

Despite autumn looming in the distance, today was a scorcher, and when Toshinori suggested they grab some ice cream, Midoriya nodded enthusiastically. So together they walked, the green-eyed teen chattering happily and the blonde man listening contentedly. The boy's stories were peppered here and there with questions for his mentor, and All Might was amused to compare him now to the anxious middle school kid he'd begun training almost a year and a half ago. Even after all these months, Izuku was still a fanboy, but it warmed Toshinori's heart to see the noticeable difference in his comfort level around his hero. He was less anxious when he asked questions now, and seemed more confident in the way he spoke to him.

In the past, All Might would have been annoyed with all the questions - Midoriya always seemed to have a ceaseless supply of them ready - but today, the retired hero was happy to indulge the kid, and in fact even asked a few questions of his own. It was nice getting to know his boy a little better.

Once inside the ice cream shop, Izuku peered over the flavor options with such concentration that one would have thought there was a much more serious decision being made here. "What's your favorite flavor?" he asked the older man thoughtfully.

"Hm. Definitely mint chocolate chip," Toshinori hummed, smiling. "What about you?"

"Uh... cookie dough, I think. Or maybe Oreo," he answered, still considering his options seriously.

The hero chuckled. "We'll get you a scoop of each then," he said, nodding politely to the girl behind the counter.

It had been ages since the last time Toshinori had ice cream (really he was supposed to be careful with dairy products since his gallbladder had been one the organs he'd lost years ago), and he enjoyed the small cone of lactose-free mint chocolate chip almost as much as he enjoyed the smile on the green-haired boy's face as they walked with their treats.

"What's your favorite part of Japan? You've been all over the country," Midoriya conversed, continuing the never-ending game of Twenty Questions.

"That's an easy one," All Might replied immediately. "Yakushima."