The Dragon & The Kitsune.

Chapter 9 - Izuku.

Izuku smirked as he wiped a towel over his face and back of his neck, clearing the sweat that dripped off him. He glanced over at the others who were collapsed on the floor, moaning that they couldn't feel their limbs. Anyone would have thought he had been training them hard - news flash, he hadn't. He'd only done basics for now to get a feel of where they all were. Rhyki handed him a bottle of water and he guzzled it back while walking to a table.
"Ok, get up. It wasn't that bad." Rhyki snorted.

"That bad? I think my limbs are going to fall off!" Kirishima whined.
"Anyone would have thought you hadn't trained before. It wasn't that hard. Besides, I think you'll appreciate this." That got them all glancing over to him.
"What is it?" Bakugou clambered to his feet and Izuku could see his muscles twitching.
"Here." He handed over cloudy zip locked bags.
"What are these?" Mina asked, opening it.

"Swim wear. I figured, since you did pretty well for your first time with us, we'd soak in the hot tub for a bit to help sooth your muscles."
"Hot tub?!" Kaminari grinned, getting excited.
"Yeah, go get changed." They wandered off to the changing rooms, albeit slowly, making him roll his eyes at their antics. Rhyki grabbed her own swim wear from the table before glancing at him.
"Do you reckon they've got potential?"

"Honestly Rhyki? I do yeah. Sure, it's going to take some seriously hard work for them to get to the top of their game or whatever, but with the right guidance, dedication and heart, they'll do it." He answered honestly.
"And who has impressed you the most so far? I know how hard you are to please when it comes to training and whatever."
"Jesus, you make me sound like I'm an old man! Anyway, I think the one who has shown the most potential at the moment is Bakugou. He was all about swearing, showcasing he's better than everyone else and all that, but now? I think he's realising that he doesn't need to be like that and just focus on making himself better."

"Izuku, I love you and all that soppy shit, but you do act like an old man at times. You sure you're only a teenager? And you really picked up on all of that?" Rhyki stared, amazed at his perception.
"And you didn't? You've been teamed up with him for the past couple of hours R."
"True, but you've been watching from the outside, so you'd have a better vagueness of what has been happening."
"Good point. Anyway, go get changed. Towels are fresh in the changing rooms. I know you'll want to wrap one around yourself until you get in the tub. And do me a favour?"
"What?"

"Try not to blush too much when you know that Bakugou is going to blatantly stare at you." He laughed as she launched a fist at his face that missed as he stepped to the side. Using her momentum, he placed a kiss to her cheek, grabbed his gear and went to get changed.
"Motherfucker!" He heard her curse as he opened the door to the changing room. Stepping in the room, he pulled up short as Bakugou, Sero, Kaminari and Kirishima were staring at him. They'd already changed into their trunks.
"What is it?" He asked as he slipped his shoes and socks off.

"We were talking quickly and wanted to know why you both agreed to bring us here considering you don't actually know us all that well. Not that we aren't grateful or anything though." Kirishima said, drawing Izuku's gaze.
"You want to know the real reason?" He faced them fully.
"Yes please." Sero answered.
"Ok. So, me and Rhyki have always been the misfits. The two who don't fit in anywhere. It might seem like we do, but we are the first to admit that we don't. We are as close as two people can get who are not blood related. As far as me and Rhyki are concerned, we are brother and sister. Two halves of a whole. We might hold hands, or in our case pinkies, but that's us. We don't let people close because we don't trust easily." He sighed and sat down, rubbing his palms against his eyes. He hated talking about this, but they needed to understand.
"Why not?" Bakugou's voice made Izuku remove his hands and he sat back a little. All four of them were kneeling around him with genuine concern on their faces - even Bakugou!