Izuku looked up from his notebook when he heard Yui-nee's soft steps on the sand. She gave him that smile that had sent shivers down his spine when he’d first seen it. It was sharp and almost feral and made her eyes look like they glowed when she used her Quirk. He matched her grin, hopping off the washing machine and shoving the notebook and pen in his bag. That grin always promised a challenge.

“So Izu, ready to start your summer break by running into walls and garbage?”

He hopped up and down, “Yeah!”

“You got your clothes to wash? Whatever you were going to bring?” At his nod and holding up a duffel bag, “Then let’s go. I’ll carry that. Anything breakable?”

“Just my bones!” He grinned at her.

She turned to him and raised an eyebrow “I told you your bones were supposed to be inside your body, why are they in the bag?” her tone was dry even if her lips were twitching, fighting a smile.

“Yeah, but you never said I had to listen to you,” he handed her the bag and she swung the strap over her shoulder and secured it at her side.

“Brat, I’m eating all the ice cream without you,” she threatened as she led the way down the street.

Izuku gave a theatrical gasp, his hand over his heart, “No! Not the mint chip! I won’t be able to go on!”

“You can have the pistachio, it’s basically the same,” She rolled her eyes at him.

“It is not the same, you heathen!”

She snickered softly as they turned down an alley, the end was blocked by a concrete wall and there was a dumpster pressed against it.

“Okay bean sprout, try to follow me, this is a slightly longer route than I usually take but it’ll be a good learning experience for you.” With that she was running down the alley before she leapt, her foot on the wall and she kept running until she hopped to the top of the wall.

“if you need to you can close the dumpster and use that to help you jump,”

He looked up at her, his eyes like emerald fire “I want to try how you did it first!”

At her nod, he started to run, jumping at the same spot and he almost made it to the wall before his foot slipped. He landed in the open dumpster with a squeak, quickly getting up.

“Don’t worry, the dumpster is used by the seamstress in that building. She mostly throws away clothing scraps she can’t use. You almost had it on the first try, you’ll get better once we build up those leg muscles more.” Yui-nee smiled, still chuckling softly, “You’ll need to make more jumps to keep momentum. Maybe add some spins? Remember, I’m taller than you and have been doing this a lot longer. Even I slip up from time to time. So don’t get discouraged.”

He nodded before he climbed out of the dumpster, closing the lid. “Okay! I can do this!” he backed up, bouncing on his heels as he envisioned where he wanted to jump. He took off, kicking off the building to reach the dumpster lid, to against the wall and then leaping off the building again to reach the top of the wall. His arms wind milled, almost pitching forward to the other side before a firm hand grasped his shoulder and held him upright.

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“Good job bean sprout, only two tries. Now there’s only about six more of those till my place.”

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Izuku was exhausted when they finally made it to the apartment building. He’d fallen in too many dumpsters and twice he'd face planted into brick when his feet slipped. But it was important to know how to get around the city quickly and it was still fun! And Yui-nee didn’t make him try to get up the fire escape to her room like the original plan!

He looked around, surprised by how…barren everything was. It didn’t look like anyone lived there. She pulled him into the bathroom, making him sit on the toilet as she cleaned his scrapes and put the bandages on.

Yui-nee smiled as she stood up, “Clean up, Izu. I’ll start on the wash and dinner while you soak, hand me your clothes through the door so I can wash those too. I’ll give you some of my clothes to wear for bed,”

He was quick to undress and pass his clothes off to her through the opening in the door and closed it when she took them.

He rocked back and forth on his heels as the tub filled, sinking into the warm water once it was full. He let himself soak a bit, the warm water feeling almost heavenly against the sore muscles and bruises, as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tub.

Eventually he sat up to get clean, wrinkling his nose at the grayish color the water turned. He made sure to rinse out the tub and make it look like it did before.

He wrapped himself in a towel, and opened the door to peek out. On the floor were folded clothes, he smiled as he scooped them up to change into. Black sweatpants and a dark green hoodie that was a little big on him, she'd even included a pair of boxers for him. I bet she bought these…she really is too nice.

He walked out, his mouth starting to water when he smelled what she was cooking. He wandered into the kitchen as she finished putting the cut up pork cutlet on top. His eyes filled with tears and he sniffled, making her turn to see him in the doorway.

“You said katsudon is your favorite…I thought you deserved a treat…I can make something else if you don’t want it.” Her voice was soft and uncertain in the way he’d noticed only happened around him, when she didn’t know if she stepped over a line. He’d realized within the first week that she was like him, she didn’t have any friends before she met him. She said she’d been homeschooled since they moved around a lot, she’d already passed out of middle school and was waiting on turning fifteen to take the high school classes, but she took online college courses to keep from getting bored or behind.

He wiped his eyes, “I haven’t had katsudon since my mom…it looks so good, thank you, Yui-nee.” He sniffled, smiling one of those sunshine smiles up at her.

She relaxed as she smiled back at him, “Thanks, Izu.” She handed him a bowl before she shooed him to the living room, kneeling in front of the coffee table that already had two glasses of milk. He knelt on the other side, picking up his chopsticks.

“Itadakimasu!” He chirped before he started to eat, blinking back more tears. “It-It tastes like my moms…you’re a really good cook, Yui-nee…”

Her lips curled in a smile, “Thank you, Izu…I cook a lot for myself, I figured I should enjoy what I make, you know? Or I’d be eating a lot of cup noodles.”

“You hate cup noodles,” He giggled as he chewed.

“That’s exactly why I hate them. I basically lived off of them for a year. If I threw a bunch at Endeavor and Manual, do you think they’d get cooked?”

“Pfftt, Endeavor work with someone? Especially Manual, he’s not in the top ten, and those are the only heroes Endeavor would speak to.” He snorted, “Though, in an alternate universe where they’d work together? Maybe, Manual would have to soak them first, and Endeavor would have to hold back….Never mind, there can’t be a universe where he wouldn’t just incinerate them all.” He waved his chopsticks in the air as he gestured.

She snorted, “Good point, so, what movie did you want to start with?”

“You said you never saw any Disney movies, right? We should watch Mulan! You’ll love Mushu!”

She opened her mouth to reply before the front door opened. She vaulted across the table, yanking Izuku to his feet and going for the window.

“Yui? Dear? Who is this?” The woman’s voice a cold purr, and as Yui-nee turned to face them, her whole body was tense as she hid his smaller body behind hers. Izuku couldn’t help but notice that her hands were trembling.