🌸Before You Read 🌸

🌸...This chapter you see will probably show why this crackship wouldn't work, but all at the same time, they really could work out at be really cute.

🌸Just imagine these two actually having a good sparring partner. No one would ever know who'd win, lose, or if they'd just end up stopping in the middle and having a deep heart to heart before going to get smoothies or something.

🌸Yeah, it's times like this I'm glad KL and INH happen at WAAAAY different times; otherwise, the drama would be off the charts! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

🌸 Tough Love🌸

Sweat rolled down the side of my face as I clenched my hand in a fist. My eyes concentrated on the red bag hanging in front of me. My mind was concentrated on one thing and one thing only.

"There was a villain...he tried to kidnap me," her tired voice echoed in my ear.

My fist thrusted in front of me, slamming against the bag. It wasn't even that long ago, and yet it was all I could think about.

"Had you been captured by true villains, you could've ended up dead..." I remember Mr. Elastic's voice warning Tami once when it came to her Quirk, reminding me just how vulnerable she really was.

As the bag swung back, I used my elbow to block it. It didn't go back as far, but enough for me to make it rock back a bit.

"You're weak," his voice rang into my ears, irritating me to no end. "We don't need another useless hero, son."

With those words ringing in my head, I couldn't hold back. My muscles expanded as I let out a frustrated scream. With that scream, I took both my hands and slammed it against the bag, causing it to swing off the hook. It never stood a chance, not when I could've easily broken it in two or pushed it off the chain with the first swing.

I just didn't want to spend anymore money on a damn punching bag, not when the school warned me that if I broke another one this week during my own private sessions, I had to pay for it myself. While we had the money, I knew my mamá would be furious.

All I wanted was to get stronger. There was nothing wrong with that, but breaking another punching back this week, well, it wasn't worth it. It wasn't when I had other things to worry about.

"Damn, Yamamoto, what did that punching bag do to you?" a feminine husky voice jabbed from behind.

I turned around to see one of the tallest girls in school: Kita Yukimura. Honestly, I never really paid attention to her height until Kaito brought it up to me the other day. It didn't really take much for someone to be taller than him, but he did have a point when it came to Yukimura. Not like she could help it though. Not like anyone should really care. The only thing that mattered was what kind of hero she'd be. Knowing that she was there to help train Tami, and was there to help her out of a sticky situation, I knew there was nothing to worry about.

Nothing to worry, that is, except for trying to keep up with her.

"None of your concern, Yukimura," I muttered as I turned around and picked up the 200 pound punching bag before hooking it back on. "I take it you're here to train."

"I was," Yukimura admitted. "I thought it'd be a good change of pace to come here."

Of course. At least it was just Yukimura that came in. I knew Tami wasn't a fan of many people knowing she was getting some training in. Not that I'd tell anyone even if she wanted them to know. What she did was her own business. All I was here for was to get her stronger. If that meant adding an extra hour to my usual training, then so be it.

"The punching bag's yours if you want it," I said, turning around to look at her. The girl was stretching her arms across her body, clearly warming up before using one of the few pieces of equipment in the room. "Just clean the equipment when you're done."

I didn't think much about what I had just said as I had turned around to grab my gym bag and head out. Normally, I wouldn't care about walking back to the dorms the way I did after training, but that changed after some training sessions with Tami. The showers weren't that far away from this gym, and she would always clean up afterwards. I figured if we were both clear from any signs of training, it'd keep her secret a bit longer.

Yet she didn't show up today.

"You need to tell me how to take care of the equipment, Yamamoto. I spend damn near as much time in a gym as you do," Yukimura fumed as my hands wrapped around the straps of my bag.

My head turned to look at her. She was stretching her arms out in front of her, warming herself up for her training. It wasn't like I was telling her how to take care of the equipment; I was just reminding her to do it. People did that all the time. Whatever bit her in the butt this morning, I wasn't going to ask.

I just needed to make one thing straight.

"You wish," I muttered as I slumped the bag on my shoulders and started to make my way out of the gym.

My comment wasn't one for her ears to hear; however, those pink furry flaps on the side of her head twitched at the sound. I could feel my stomach turn before she could even admit she heard it. Knowing her, she wasn't going to let it slide, not when her arms dropped with her hands clenched into fists.

"What did you say?" she demanded.

I let out a small breath of air. "Nothing you need to worry about. Don't you have some training you need to get to?" I questioned.

Yukimura didn't waver once at my suggestion. Instead, her golden eyes hardened on me. If it wasn't for the ram horns on her head, I could've been fooled that her Quirk was something that would've sent deadly lasers at me. I didn't move because of it. Instead, I stood my ground, waiting for her to turn around and punch the poor punching back that took a beating not too long ago.

That never happened. The only thing that broke the conversation was the small fly that must've hit Yukimura's arm as she quickly slapped it, breaking eye contact as she did it. I rolled my eyes, knowing it wasn't worth my time arguing with her anymore. If anything, it was just a painful reminder that she'd be training here when I should've been training Tami.

While I was hoping Yukimura would let it go, she didn't.

"Look, if you can say it under your breath, then you can say it to my face, Yamamoto," Yukimura growled.

Hearing her words, I knew she wasn't going to be happy if I had just left. I wanted to leave. If anything, I wanted to get out of the gym right away, but Yukimura wasn't going to let that happen. She might have, but then going to lunch tomorrow would be hell.

"You said you train as much as I do," I recalled as I turned around, slipping my gym bag off my shoulder. "You wish you trained as much as I did. I've been doing this since I was three. You don't train as much as I do, so you don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

That did it. Even though we were at a good enough distance from each other, I could see her eyebrow twitch at the comment. Her head lowered, almost to point her rounded horns in my directions. It was enough to intimidate a good number of people, but she had nothing when it came to the beat downs my own father gave to me during our training sessions.

Yukimura drew in a deep breath before lifting her head up at me. Her golden eyes darkened as she did.

"Sorry I didn't have the luxury of someone training me the moment I could walk," Yukimura seethed. "But I still work my ass off, training three hours each day. And even though I didn't have 'all that training', I can still keep up with you. I can prove it!"

I clasped my hands in front of my stomach as I cracked my knuckles at her comment. She could still keep up with me? Bullshit! She wished she could keep up with me. After our last spar, the fight we had when we first met, I had trained even harder. I wasn't going to let some girl try and best me again, especially not someone who was in 1-A.

"You want to test that," I challenged. "Because I don't plan to lose to anyone. Not anymore."

Her lips tugged upward at the suggestion as she bent her knees down. She didn't need to say a word to know she accepted the challenge. Even though my bag was already on the floor, I kicked it to the side, not wanting Yukimura to use it in some way. I knew the way she fought. There was no way she'd go easy or fair on me which was alright by me.

Honestly, I wanted her to go all out. It'd be nice to have something hit back for once, rather than the punching bag just swinging back at me. With Tami bailing on our usual training session, I really needed someone who wasn't going to back down.

I just hope Yukimura won't be wasting my time with this impromptu spar.

As I had thought, Yukimura came running towards me, showing off her golden horns as she did to try to knock me off my feet. With the amount of training we've done together in our classes, I thought she would have tried to start off a bit differently. Then again, this was Yukimura. She always ran into battle head first.

One of these days, it was going to be her downfall. I had a gut feeling about it.

Knowing how this would work, I waited there until she got close enough to almost hit me to step out of the way. The girl almost stumbled on her own two feet as she realized she didn't hit her target. I didn't give her the time to go any further as I grabbed her arm, activating my Quirk as I did. Her head turned around as she turned her body and swung her leg at me. My free arm barely had time to block that when her leg clashed into my leg, we both skidded backwards.

"Thought you weren't going to use your Quirk, Yamamoto," Yukimura declared.

"How fair would that be when you almost rammed into me with your horns?" I shot back.

The girl's mouth twitched into a smile. "Fair point."

She didn't have time to say much more as I decided to make the first move, running into her. The girl planted her feet on the ground and was about ready to swing her arm at me. I was just quicker this time, remembering watching the baseball game with Tami on my laptop last night and how one of the players slid into home base. I didn't think something like that would carry into a fight, but as I used it, I realized how well I could put that move into use.

Even with Yukimura's incredible balance, the speed behind my slide was enough for her to fall down towards me. Her golden eyes widened in shock, but I didn't stop there as I grabbed her arm and flipped her over. She landed on the ground behind me with a giant thud. I didn't even look at her as I stood up, cracking my neck as I did.

"I thought you said you could keep up," I commented, not bothering to look back at her. "Have to say, I'm a bit disappointed."

There was a bit of silence when I was done cracking my neck. The girl was probably feeling bad that she couldn't keep up. It wasn't her fault she couldn't. After our first few spars, I had to up my own training to make sure I would never end things in a tie with her again. I needed to prove that I could beat anyone from 1-A.

If anything, I needed to prove that I was the stronger hero in training. I wasn't doing it for myself. I needed to be the best to protect those who couldn't defend themselves.

So why did Tami bail on a training session that would protect her from harm in the future?

I didn't have time to mull over the thought much longer after that. In fact, I didn't even have time to turn and walk out of the room as something slammed into my back, throwing me down into the ground. My chin bounced off the gym floor, and soon after, a foot slammed into my back, almost as if the person standing there was telling me there was no point in moving.

"Who said I was done?" Yukimura's voice darkened above me.

Cheap move, I wanted to comment, but I couldn't. We were going to be Pro Heroes someday. We had to be prepared for the villains that would do the same cheap move as Yukimura just did to me. If this was a villain attack, I couldn't let this be the end.

Yukimura took this as her chance as I felt her hand grab the back of my shirt. As she lifted me up to toss me across the room. I slammed into the wall. My body ached upon impact. She really was going all out.

But if this was a villain, I wasn't going to stop.

I pushed myself off the floor to see Yukimura flying in towards me. Her leg was lifted up into the air, preparing for her Ultimate Move: Flying Hoof Assault. Despite being a Muay Thai fighter, Yukimura did have some moves of her own. This was one of them.

Luckily for me, I had been preparing for this. My muscles doubled as I quickly crossed my arms in front of me, bracing the attack Yukimura had thrown at me. Her leg dug into my arms, but she still flew back a bit after hitting me as she couldn't break through.

"You're really going to give me a run for my money, aren't you?" I asked as I stood up. I was already covered in sweat from training, but now, I could feel it dripping off my hair and onto the sides of my face.

The girl across from me smirked, wiping away the sweat on her brow. "I told you I could keep up. Maybe we need to train together more often."

She didn't give me a chance to respond as she ran towards me once again, lowering her head for another headbutt. I didn't have time to dodge as she was too fast. I wasn't sure if she planned it or not, but I could feel her horns tearing through my shirt, jamming into my rib cage, almost knocking the wind right out of me. Despite how hard it was to breathe at that moment, I had to remind myself to keep fighting.

After all, if Yukimura was a villain rather than a sparring partner, she could have easily used this as her chance to hurt more civilians. There was no way I was going to let that happen. As long as I could still see, there was no way I was going to give up.

My hands grabbed the back of her head, grabbing onto the base of her horns. I planted my right foot behind me and used her momentum to swing her around, tearing her feet off the ground. The moment her feet left the ground, I tossed her body into the nearest wall. She slammed right into it, laying back down. My breaths became more staggered, but I didn't dare tear my gaze off of her. That was my mistake earlier.

This time, I wasn't going to be fooled by any of her tricks.

"Damn, that hurt," she cursed under her breath. She pushed herself off the floor as she sat there. Her head lifted up to look at me. Seeing the look she had in her golden eyes made me want to help her up, but I knew better than to be fooled. Why Yukimura always tried that on guys was beyond me.

Actually, no, it wasn't. She was using her womanly charm on them. A good seven out of ten times, she'd make it work in her favor. It wasn't saying much if she was up against people like Kaito, who was easily distracted, but I wasn't going to fall for it.

"I never hold back in a fight," I told her. "Doesn't matter who it is, you just don't do it."

Yukimura let out a small laugh at my comment. "Glad you don't, but I think I know when to stop."

My muscles relaxed as I heard her say that. If she was admitting defeat, then so be it. She put up more of a fight than I thought she was, but it was for the best. At least I could get more intense training in.

Looking at her, I could feel my anger go away. Whatever I was irritated about earlier, I had forgotten about it. There was nothing a good fight couldn't fix when it came to things like that.

Being that Yukimura had given up, I walked over towards her and offered my hand for her to stand up. Sweat poured down the sides of her face as her face was more flushed than usual. I knew she went all out in this fight, but I didn't realize she went that full out in it.

Her hand was gentle at first when she grabbed my hand and used me to stand up, but that was the only thing that was soft about her. For a moment, I thought we were done fighting, but the pink-haired girl crushed my hand instead of letting go. I was about to pull away, but I was too shocked, giving Yukimura the upper hand once more.

Only this time, instead of fighting me, she twirled me around until my back hit the wall. She took my hand that was in hers and placed it on the wall while her other hand was right next to my head. I wasn't sure where this was coming from as she closed the gap between us that I could feel her body touching mine. Her head lifted up so that she could look up at me with her golden eyes. She didn't look mad or even looked as if she was trying to challenge me further.

In fact, there was only one time I saw that look. Seeing it on Yukimura's face was honestly terrifying.

"Should we go another round?" She asked. "Only this time, we can up the stakes. If I win, you have to take me out for dinner."

I took my free hand and carefully placed it on her shoulder, pushing her back as far as I could. She was strong, pushing back on me that the best I could do without using my Quirk was push her off of me by an inch. It was better than having her on top of me, so I could breathe.

Besides, as much as I could tolerate her company, I did not like it that much.

"You're out of your damn mind," I commented.

Her face flushed even more as she smiled. "Unless you just want to take a break and go out for lunch now."

"Why would I do that?" I asked. "You smell."

That should have been enough to get any girl off of me, but it wasn't. Seeing Yukimura push seemed way too out of character. She was always headstrong, I knew that, but this was a bit too headstrong for her.

Instead of giving me my space, her nose just simply scrunched up while her ears dropped. She didn't move despite being bothered, making me realize there was only one way to get her off of me. I used my Quirk one last time, feeling my muscles expand before I pushed her off of me. To anyone else I would have done that to, they would have fallen on the ground, but Yukimura's Ram Quirk saved her the trouble. All she did was stumble back a few steps.

"Are you too scared you're going to lose?" she challenged. "Just one more fight. Loser buys dinner tonight, after we both shower."

Was I scared? No. I wanted to just smack some sense into this girl. She had just lost a fight against me, and here she was wanting to do it again?

Unless she didn't really lose. Her face might have been flushed while sweat poured down every inch of her body, but she wasn't breathing as hard as I admittedly was.

She was probably just doing what she could to wear me down, seeing if there was a way to win before challenging me. That didn't seem like her. If anything, she wasn't acting like herself.

That was when it hit me. I took a step back, remembering the last time I saw some girl's face flush just like that, acting a bit out of place. I wasn't sure when or how, but Yukimura had to have been hit by some Quirk that was making her attracted to me.

There was no way I was dealing with this.

"I'm going to pass," I told her, slowly backing out of the gym, forgetting my bag that had laid on the floor as I did. I'd come back for it later as getting out of here and away from this girl was much more important. "I need to get some homework done."

Before I could say anything else, I turned on my heel and sprinted out those gym doors. Saying no when she was in a state like this was dangerous, but I couldn't stand being around her like that. Yukimura was nice, I'd give her that, but she wasn't someone I wanted to be that close to. I'd be careless if I wanted that since she was the most reckless person I knew. Knowing her, if I got that close to her, most of the relationship would be me fixing her mistake, and there was no way in hell I was going to do that.

As I ran down the hall, I could hear Yukimura's footsteps behind me as she tried to catch up.

"Come on, Yamamoto! Get back here!" she yelled.

Before I turned the corner, I muttered that "there is no way in hell I'm doing that." It wasn't loud, but I knew she'd hear it. That was all I needed.

While I was trying to get her off my back, I could feel her inching closer. I turned the corner, almost stopping because of what I had just witnessed.

On the other end of the hall, I saw Tami and Akiba sitting on a bench together. His hand was placed on the side of Tami's head as he leaned closer to her. I couldn't tell what her expression was, but I knew there was no way that was normal. It couldn't have. Why would Tami miss out on our training session for him?

There was only one thing I could do to make sure I was right in all this.

"Tami!" I shouted. "Akiba! Move!"

My words were all it took for both of them to break apart. Tami's face dropped as she saw mine, but almost in a relieved sort of way. I wasn't sure how to explain it as she was good at creating these facial expressions I had never seen anyone try.

She didn't look disappointed, and that was all that had mattered.

If only she was the only girl in the hallway.

"Don't be a coward, Yamamoto! Come back and fight me!" Yukimura continued to challenge.

I wasn't being a coward. If anything, I was just doing what I could, so she wouldn't make a mistake. There was no way she was thinking straight. If I was right in what was going on, there was only one way to help her.

For both Yukimura and Akiba, I hope they'd both forgive me for what I was about to do. If not, then it was their problem.

The moment I reached the bench where Tami and Akiba were sitting, I grabbed the dark haired boy by the arm and swung him around. I didn't expect Yukimura to be standing right there, but she wasn't even a foot away from me. It must have been a perk of her damn Ram Quirk. At least this time it worked in my favor as Akiba crashed into her before I had the chance to push him into her.

Tami squealed in shock from behind, and I could feel myself flinch at her sudden outburst. My instincts told me to turn around and see if she was okay, but I knew that wasn't why she squealed. She was just shocked at what I did as Akiba fell on top of Yukimura. The two 1-A students grunted a bit on impact, shaking their heads as Akiba rolled off of her.

"Ouch," Akiba grumbled.

His head turned to look at Yukimura, who grabbed the sides of her head as she sat up. "Wha—Akiba? Why am I...I thought I was in the gym."

I sighed in relief, realizing I was right. Yukimura had to have been hit with that one Quirk, the same one that caused problems for a lot of us a couple of weeks ago.

That kid promised he wasn't going to use his Quirk on anyone, I remembered. So why—

I turned around to see Tami scratching the back of her head as she tilted it to see both Yukimura and Akiba. The confusion on her face was all it took for me to know she had no idea what Akiba was doing to her. It was safe to assume that like Yukimura, he was a fellow victim of that fucking Quirk.

Past Tami, I saw something move out of the way. There was a flash of dark hair. My hands tightened into fists when I saw it.

"Tami, let's go," I muttered as I walked towards her and grabbed her arm, pulling her with me.

She tripped over her own two feet as she tried to keep up. In the corner of my eye, I could see her looking back, utterly lost as to what was going on.

But I knew as I turned the corner seeing both a small girl with long dark hair trying to hide behind a taller boy with bat wings. He almost looked as annoyed as I felt, but he still protected our small friend as he moved his one wing, so I couldn't break past him.

The boy with the Cupid Quirk was nowhere to be found. If he knew what was good for him, he needed to stay away. I wasn't blind to what Sakura was trying to do. She has tried this kind of thing hundreds of times on both Tami and me.

How many times did I have to warn her not to meddle with things? She was going to regret that. Not only could she have ruined Tami and my friendship, but she almost ruined our friendship with Akiba and Yukimura.

At what lengths was Sakura Sakai willing to go to get what she wants?

🌸End of Part 3 🌸

🌸Chapter Question:🌸
How would you feel if you found out Sakura tried setting you up with your crush or anyone for that matter by using Aida's Quirk?

🌸Quick shoutout to aBitGrim once again for creating some beautiful Lovestruck artwork. Look how beautiful these pieces are!? Thank you so much🌸

🌸Character Spotlight: Kita Yukimura🌸
Book: Kita's Legacy
Likes: Muay Thai

🌸Character Spotlight: Raiden Yamamoto🌸
Book: I'm No Villain
Likes: Sparring

Song: Zen Zen Zense from Kimi no na wa

...yes, I've probably overused this song for so many fics, but IDC!! It's so stinking good! And the anime is gorgeous!