Rejected Stones

Courage to Strengthen

This document beta'd by kylekatarn77

Courage to Strengthen

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.

-Mark Twain

The sun was barely up when Izuku got out of the train station, and he ran all the way to school, his breathing steady, only a little sweat running down his face. He'd missed the day before's exercise routine after all, having been so exhausted he'd simply passed out after dinner. But now he was up and ready for a new day, a new life where he was finally on the road to being a hero.

Except, that wasn't really true. He'd been on that path since he met Mei. The only difference now was that others believed in his dream too. But as long as he had Mei, it would be alright. They'd make it through.

He arrived at school well before 6:00am, and set about doing the rest of his exercises. He put on his PE clothes and did his push ups, sit ups, and squats, then started running around the track. He took it easy, going at a steady pace, but not pushing himself too hard. After a few minutes, Shinso showed up, wordlessly setting down his pack, taking off his school jacket, and falling into place beside Izuku.

"Good morning," Izuku said, unsure of how to treat Shinso. He didn't know the boy well, aside from yesterday they'd never spoken before.

"Good morning," Shinso grunted, sweat starting to trickle down his face. "You do this everyday?"

"Y-y-yeah. Um, I sort of, change what I do. The running and most of the exercises are the same. But today's Monday, which means 100 lunges and 100 side to side jumps."

Shinso nodded. "And the other days?"

"Um, Tuesday is 100 curls and 100 bench presses. I, um, I'm at about 25 kilos for the curls, and 45 for the bench press. And on Wednesday, 100 jumping jacks and 100 jump rope hops. Then on Thursday 100 pull ups and 100 leg lifts with weights. Friday is 100 sitting toe touches and 100 seconds standing on one leg. E-each one. Then Saturday is 100 punches and 100 snap kicks, on a bag. I um, I have one at home, in my room. Sunday you just do the core routine."

Shinso ran quietly for a second, then shook his head. "That sounds frankly insane. How do you have time for anything aside from exercising?"

"W-w-well, I, um, I don't get out a lot," Izuku admitted. "A-a-aside from Mei, I sort of, well, I don't have any friends. And it only takes about two hours! Most of that is the 10k run, but if you work hard you can get it down to less than an hour!"

"Two hours of exercise. Eight hours at school. Two hours of studying, at least that's what I have to do. That leave's 12 hours. What do you do, aside from eat or sleep?"

"Um, well, actually, I...I only sleep for about 6 or 7 hours. And, well, Mei and I eat together as we work. So, um, I have about 4 hours to work with Mei. Usually...Usually I run to school in the mornings. It, um, it saves time. And I sleep over at Mei's house, or she sleeps at mine sometimes. To, um, save time."

"No wonder you two weren't 'playing ball'," Shinso muttered. "You're both too damn exhausted to do it."

Izuku blushed, looking down. That had a grain of truth in it. He was pretty tired most of the time. On Sundays, he usually slept for a good 10 hours, then spent the rest of the time with Mei. She seemed to need less sleep than he did, though she also didn't spend any time exercising.

After a few laps, Mr. Kan came out to watch them, his arms folded across his chest. Izuku and Shinso finished their lap, then came up beside him.

"Not bad," Mr. Kan mused. "You two might make it after all, if you show this kind of dedication every day."