The smell of cold pepperoni and melted cheese hit Izuku the moment he opened the door. The second thing was a sight that made his brain, already overloaded, stop dead in its tracks.
The bluish glow of the television flickered over the living room as the only source of light. And there, in the center of the sofa, occupying the space with the authority of a bored empress, was Yu Takeyama.
No spandex, no mask, no designer clothes. Yu was wearing the bunny onesie. That one-piece suit, made of immaculate white plush with pastel pink details, that Izuku had pointed out in a catalog as a joke about her rivalry with Mirko. It had a hood. And the hood had long, ridiculously fluffy ears.
Yu fished a slice of pizza from the box on her lap without looking at the door.
"You're late, Izuku," she drawled, stretching her vowels with that studied laziness. "The pizza has officially gone from 'crispy' to the 'industrial gum' category. If you get indigestion, I don't want to hear any complaints. You brought it on yourself."
Izuku closed the door and leaned against the wood, letting out a sigh that emptied his lungs.
"I'm sorry, Yu," he murmured, rubbing his eyes. "Everything just... got complicated."
Yu stopped the slice halfway to her mouth. She turned her head slowly, and the hood's ears tilted, contrasting with the sharpness of her violet eyes as they scanned him.
"You look terrible," she said, lowering the pizza back into the box. She wiped her fingers slowly. "And I don't mean your 'I've studied too many statistics' face. I mean your 'I just saw a ghost' face."
Izuku took off his red sneakers and aligned them mechanically.
"Something like that."
"Something like that?" Yu sat up a little, crossing her legs. "What does 'something like that' mean? Did you see a ghost? Did you fight with Aizawa? Did you get suspended for touching another girl's boobs?"
"I didn't get suspended."
Izuku walked toward the sofa with heavy steps. He dropped into the free space next to her, burying his head in his hands. The scent of Yu's strawberry shampoo hit him, a slap of normalcy.
"Yu, I have to tell you something," he said against his palms. "Something... bad. Very bad."
Yu went still.
"Did you break something?" she asked with a cautious tone. "Something more expensive than the sofa? Because if it's the TV, I swear I'm charging interest."
"It's not about furniture, Yu."
Izuku raised his head. She stared back at him from inside her rabbit costume, her brow furrowed.
"It's about my Quirk. And Melissa's. And about... a villain who should be dead, but who has plans for my future."
Yu's laziness vanished. She straightened up and turned completely toward him.
"Speak."
Izuku took a breath and let it all out. The incident in the classroom, the vision, Kenta Midoriya, the biological connection with the blonde girl. And finally, the name.
"All For One," Izuku said.
The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
"Kenta said he's still alive. That if he finds out Melissa and I have met... he'll come for us."
Silence filled the apartment. Izuku expected her to pack her bags. But Yu had her eyes fixed on the pause screen. She was processing.
"An immortal demon," she said finally. "That's what you're telling me. A guy who has been stealing powers for years has you on his shopping list."
"Basically, yes."
"And he wants to kill you. Not capture you, not interrogate you. Eliminate you."
"Me and Melissa. We are... loose ends to him."
Yu nodded slowly.
"Okay. Got it."
"Okay?" Izuku blinked. "Just 'okay'? Yu, this is serious. This is the villain who put that hole in All Might. If I stay here, I'm putting you in danger. Maybe I should..."
"If you finish that sentence with 'leave,' I will hit you with a slipper." She turned her head sharply. "Do you think I'm scared of an old man who needs to steal powers? I've fought giant robots, Izuku. I've dealt with the tabloids and my agent when my check is late. A historical villain is just another Tuesday."
"This isn't another Tuesday, Yu."
"Shut up, I'm thinking."
Yu bit her lower lip.
Fear.
Yes, she felt fear. A cold knot in the pit of her stomach. But right behind it came something more sour.
Melissa. All Might's heir.
Yu dug her fingernails slightly into the plush fabric.
They are connected by fate. Their Quirks need each other biologically. It's perfect. It's a fairy tale. She has the raw power, he has the control. Where does that leave me? I'm the landlady. The boss. The girl who pays the bills.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to ask: What about me? Am I not necessary?
But she looked at Izuku's hands. They were trembling. A slight tremor in the fingers, but it was there. He was terrified of what his presence could do to her. Yu's selfishness shattered.
If I make a scene out of jealousy now, I'm an obstacle. I'm a burden. If I let my insecurities divide us, he'll push me away to protect me. And if he pushes me away, he dies. I won't let that happen.
Yu made a decision. She closed the mental box on her jealousy and activated her protective instinct.
"Stop shaking," she ordered.
"I'm not shaking," Izuku lied.
"Yes, you are. You're vibrating the sofa. It's annoying."
Yu flopped to the side, completely invading Izuku's personal space until her head rested on the boy's chest and her arm wrapped around his torso. She lifted her legs and draped them over his thighs, intertwining like a vine.
The smell of strawberries flooded Izuku, erasing the memory of blood from his vision.
"Yu..." he stammered. "What... what are you doing?"
"Taking up space," she murmured against his gray shirt. "I'm Mt. Lady. I take up space. That's my job description. And right now, my space is you."
"But..."
"Shut up. I'm comfortable. And you're a decent space heater."
Izuku stayed there with his arms raised, seeing only a hood with ears and a mass of blonde hair.
"Yu, seriously... if that guy knows where I am..."
"Let him come," she said, tightening her hug. "If he comes, I'll crush him. I'll shove a twenty-meter heel down his throat before he can get near you. And if he's immortal, I'll crush him forever. I have patience."
"He's very strong, Yu. Stronger than anything we've seen."
"I don't care," she replied fiercely, lifting her head to dig her chin into his chest. Her expression was a mix of childish defiance and deadly seriousness. "You are my investment, Midoriya. You are my assistant, my brain, and... my roommate. Nobody touches my stuff. Do you hear me? Nobody."
Izuku saw the determination in her violet eyes. He saw how she was using her own fear to hold onto him. The tension left Izuku's shoulders. He lowered his arms and placed a hand on her back.
"You are... very territorial," he said quietly.
"I'm a giant cat disguised as a rabbit," she replied, resting her head back down. She sighed. "Accept it."
"And about... about Melissa..." Izuku added. "The connection... is strong. It's biological."
He felt Yu tense for a microsecond.
"I know. I know it's necessary." Her voice sounded a bit duller. "We need it. If we're going to fight a historical monster, we need heavy artillery."
She traced invisible circles on Izuku's chest.
"But don't forget who gave you a home, Izuku. Don't forget who trusted you when you were just a dog walker with a notebook full of scribbles. The blonde might have your genetic heritage, but I have your electric bills."
A small, tired smile pulled at Izuku's lips.
"I would never forget," he said, hugging her more firmly. "You are the center, Yu. You always have been. Since that alleyway."
Yu relaxed completely, becoming heavier against him.
"Good. Correct answer. Extra points. Now shut up and put on the movie. And pet my head. The ears are making me hot and itchy."
"What movie are we watching?" Izuku asked, stretching to reach the remote.
"'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,'" Yu said with total seriousness.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. I need to watch something so stupid it kills my brain cells one by one. I don't want to think about demons or genetic legacies. I want to see rubber vegetables eating people. Hit play."
Izuku obeyed. With one hand he navigated the menu and with the other he played with Yu's hair.
The movie was a crime against art. Tomatoes that looked like beach balls and dialogue that made no sense. But it was their bubble. A fortress of blankets and pizza designed to keep the world out.
Yu felt happy. No posing. No sucking in her stomach. She just wanted to be the weight keeping Izuku grounded, making sure he didn't float off toward his destiny without her.
I love him, she thought, listening to his heart. I'm in love with this analytical idiot. And I'm terrified to tell him. Because if he rejects me, if he decides the perfect blonde is better... I'll break. But until then, I'm going to hold onto him with tooth and nail.
When the credits rolled with eighties pop music, Izuku thought she was asleep.
"Yu," he whispered. "The movie's over. We should go to bed."
"I don't want to move," she murmured. "Your bed is far."
"It's in the next room. It's five meters."
"Too far."
Silence. Then, Yu's tone changed.
"Izuku."
"Yeah?"
Yu sat up and straddled his legs, face to face. The pajamas were wrinkled, one ear flopped over an eye, a red mark on her cheek. But her expression froze Izuku's blood.
"Tomorrow," she said. "Cancel my schedule."
"What?"
"Cancel everything. The hair salon, the interview, the accountant. Everything. Call my agent and tell him I'm sick. That I have... Hero chickenpox. Whatever."
"Yu, the interview with 'Hero Weekly' is important..."
"I don't care. Tomorrow I don't exist to the world."
"Why? What are we going to do?"
Yu leaned in until she was inches from his face.
"We're going to train. You and me. For real."
Izuku blinked.
"For real? Yu, we already train hard..."
"No," she cut him off sharply. "We've been playing. I've been letting shame hold me back. I've been worrying about my dignity, about if you see me naked, if it's 'too intimate.' I've been training to be famous, not to be lethal. It's over."
She took Izuku's warm hands and brought them to her chest, pressing hard over her racing heart.
"If that monster is coming for you, you need to be strong. But you are the brain, Izuku. I am the muscle. And I need me to be strong to protect you. I need to be a wall that nothing can knock down."
The intensity was overwhelming. It wasn't Mt. Lady. It was a desperate woman.
"So I don't care what you have to do, Izuku. I don't care about your 'Trust Equation.' I don't care if you have to use your Quirk on every inch of my body. I don't care if I have to be naked, if I have to do embarrassing things, if I have to moan or scream or cry. I don't care if you have to touch me until my nerves burn or if we have to break the entire apartment."
"Yu, that's..."
"Use me," she stated, locking eyes with him. "Make me stronger. Make me the heroine you need me to be. Optimize me until there isn't a single flaw left. Because I won't let them take you. I'd rather die of shame in this living room than see you die in a real fight."
Izuku looked at her, stunned by the ferocity of her devotion. He swallowed, feeling her rapid heartbeat under his hands. He understood that he couldn't refuse. To refuse would be to insult her determination.
He nodded, slow and solemn.
"Okay," he whispered. "Tomorrow... we break all the limits. No barriers. No shame. Only results."
Yu smiled. A small, brave smile that softened her face.
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear."
She let go of his hands and slumped forward, hiding her face in his neck again.
"Now turn off the light," she murmured with a tired voice. "Tomorrow I'll be your weapon, your project, and your soldier. But tonight... tonight I just want to be your bunny. Hold me until I fall asleep. And don't you dare let go."
Izuku wrapped his arms around her, feeling her relax, trusting that he wasn't going anywhere.
"I won't let go," he promised the darkness.
****
Author's Note: The next chapter might be the first R18 of this fanfic.