The first time they trained together, Nejire underestimated him. It wasn't arrogance; she simply assumed someone who looked like a twenty-year-old bodybuilder probably wasn't as fast in the air as she was. She had spent years mastering her Wave Motion quirk, building tight control over her spiraling energy. But the moment they started warm-up laps above the shoreline, her assumptions evaporated.
"Takeru-kun, how are you keeping up with me? I'm at full output!" Nejire called out, twisting through the air with a burst of spiraling golden energy behind her.
Takeru flew beside her, relaxed and steady. "This is easy for me."
She narrowed her eyes and accelerated. Takeru matched her without any visible effort. She tried a tighter angle. He followed. She shot upward. He rose faster. She banked into a hard left turn. He slowed down just to keep from overshooting.
Nejire stopped abruptly, hovering in the air with her hair fluttering wildly. "Okay, that's just unfair. You don't even look like you're trying."
"I'm holding back," Takeru replied simply.
Nejire's expression softened into a mixture of awe and genuine curiosity. "Your Smart Atoms quirk must be insane."
He shrugged. "It's manageable once you understand the mechanics."
"I want to understand the mechanics," she said, drifting closer. "Teach me something."
They landed on the sand, and she stretched her shoulders before explaining her own quirk in more detail. "My Wave Motion takes stamina and converts it into propulsion," she said, demonstrating a swirl of blue energy around her feet. "But I can't just generate force from anywhere. It starts from my limbs, which means I tend to push myself forward instead of lifting straight up. I compensate with technique, but it gets messy when I try to fight while flying."
Takeru nodded thoughtfully. "So you produce thrust, but not lift. That means your center of gravity shifts constantly."
Nejire blinked. "Exactly! That's why I wobble if I stop too suddenly."
He stepped behind her and pointed. "Shift your weight into your hips. Not your legs. When you stop, roll your hip forward before reducing output. It redistributes the momentum."
She tried the motion again, hesitated, then adjusted. Her landing was noticeably smoother. Her eyes widened. "That worked. How did you figure that out?"
"I watch body movement," Takeru said, his gaze briefly tracing the curve of her athletic form. It's gorgeous, he thought, forcing his focus back to the task at hand. "And I think in terms of leverage."
"Leverage," she repeated, smiling. "Okay. Teach me more."
Over the next several weeks, they developed a consistent training routine—early mornings on the beach, flight drills, speed runs, directional control, and eventually hand-to-hand sparring over the sand. Nejire loved sparring, even if the difference in strength was comical. Takeru was trying hard to keep things professional, but Nejire's upbeat attitude and bombshell good looks were making it very difficult to keep his thoughts clean. Sometimes he wondered if she was flirting with him. He hadn't been popular with women in his previous life, but with his massive muscular body and powerful quirk, maybe things were different. Or, more likely, Nejire just had no sense of personal space, constantly bumping into him or grabbing his arm. When she "accidentally" rubbed her curves against him, Takeru wanted to dunk his head into the sea to stop himself from doing something stupid.
During one session, she rushed him with a spinning kick, Wave Motion spiraling around her leg. Takeru caught her ankle with two fingers and stopped her mid-motion. Nejire dangled upside down for a moment, her face flushed. "This is extremely embarrassing."
"You're too light," Takeru said, setting her back on her feet. "And you overcommit. The kick was telegraphed; I could see it coming from a mile away. Any trained fighter, even without my reflexes, would have anticipated it."
"Overcommit?"
"You focus everything on one strike. If someone counters before it lands, you can't recover your balance."
She sighed. "So what do I do?"
"Redirect," Takeru replied. "If your energy is all in your leg, then your arms should be ready to push or pull. Don't attack in isolation. Use misdirection. Set up your big power kick with feints, making your enemy second-guess themselves."
She practiced the movement again. Her second attempt was better, but still lacked stability. Takeru stepped behind her and adjusted her stance, trying not to think about how slender her waist was or how great her hair smelled. "Feet closer. Shoulders relaxed. Don't square your hips too early."
Nejre gave him a coy smile that seemed out of place on her cute and innocent face. She leaned back against his chest, her ample butt brushing against his crotch. Nejire glanced over her shoulder. "You're a surprisingly good teacher, Takeru-kun."
Takeru almost fell from the sky. He could feel his pants tightening. "It's just observation," he said, trying to mask his embarrassment.
"No," she insisted. "You explain things in a way that makes sense."
"Takeru-kun, I have so much fun training with you. Let's take a break, and let me treat you to dinner."
Takeru's heart was beating so fast. "Hrrmmp," he cleared his throat. "It's not necessary, Nejire-chan. I... I..." he stuttered, any semblance of composure gone. "I eat a lot," he said, knowing how weak his excuse sounded.
Neijre pouted. "It sounds like an excuse. Do you not like spending time with me?"
"No, no! I learn a lot from you. I plan on going to UA because of you... Yeah, sure, let's have dinner. In fact, I know a yakiniku place. You only have a week for your exams and you've been working hard, so let's go have a good time." Takeru finished, proud of saving himself from embarrassment.
Neijre grabbed his arm; he could feel her soft breasts pressing against it. "It's a date!" she said, and flew off, a blush on her face.
Takeru's eyes widened, and then he grinned to himself.
Takeru showered and prepared himself for his first date in this lifetime. He wore a black polo shirt, blue denim jeans, and black sneakers with blue highlights. He wasn't much of a fashionista; maybe he should ask Hawks for a stylist. He would need one if he went pro.
The clock said 19:45, so he had another 15 minutes. Nejire lived in the nearby building, so Takeru decided to leave. But before he opened the door, he saw a blue-haired girl knocking directly on his window while floating eighteen stories above the ground.
He slid the glass panel open. "Nejire?"
She waved enthusiastically, her hair drifting behind her in the breeze. She looked ethereal in a white summer dress patterned with blue flowers. "Takeru-san! I finished studying early. Let's go get dinner?"
Before he could respond, Ren walked into the room with a stack of reports. He froze at the sight of Nejire hovering outside. "Ah… Takeru-Kun? You have a guest?"
"Yes," Takeru said calmly. "I'm going out."
Ren set the papers down, still looking mildly stunned. "Understood. Enjoy your evening."
Takeru stepped onto the balcony, and Nejire looped an arm through his without hesitation. They landed on the boardwalk.
"Let's go! I found a place with really great pizza."
"I thought we were going for yakiniku," Takeru said as they descended.
"Yeah, change of plans. I want pizza!" she said, skipping along the sidewalk and almost dragging Takeru along.
The pizza parlor was small, warm, and tucked between two older buildings near the boardwalk. They took a corner table, and for a few minutes, Takeru ate and nodded as Nejire talked about her UA studies and heroics.
Eventually, Nejire set her soda down and leaned forward slightly. "Takeru… can I tell you something?"
He nodded.
"School was hard for me," she said, tracing circles on her soda cup with a fingertip. "People talked to me, but not genuinely. They said I acted like I was better than them just because I asked too many questions, or they ignored me." She forced a small laugh. "Some said I was stuck-up. Others said my quirk made me arrogant. I never meant any of that. I just… wanted to know things."
Takeru listened without interruption.
"I thought maybe I had a bad personality." She looked down again. "Or maybe I was too much."
"You weren't," Takeru said quietly, moving his chair closer to hers and putting a massive arm around her shoulder.
Nejire blinked and looked up, surprised by the certainty in his voice. "You're curious. That's not arrogance. People who said that were probably jealous because you're beautiful and you have a powerful quirk." He hesitated only a moment before adding, "I wouldn't change anything about you."
Her eyes softened, and her lips trembled slightly. "You… think I'm beautiful?"
"I do," Takeru said with a smile.
A tear slipped down her cheek without warning. Takeru straightened, unsure what he had done wrong. "Nejire, I'm sorry."
"No," she said quickly, wiping her face. "Don't apologize."
Before he could speak again, she leaned into his chest and kissed him on the lips. It was soft at first, tentative, like she wasn't sure he'd accept it. Takeru froze for half a second, then returned it gently, his hand lifting to steady her shoulder. Before he knew it, Nejire had clambered onto him, and they were making out.
Takeru was terrified. What if my tongue shatters her teeth? He took a deep breath and relaxed. He pulled back from the kiss and stroked Nejire's face, which was flushed with arousal and then regret.
"I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" she asked cautiously.
"No, no, it was wonderful... I, uh... sometimes, because of my strength, I'm afraid I might hurt someone. I might hurt you," Takeru said, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice.
Nejire smiled. "You will never. I know it." She started kissing his chin and then his cheek, and then they started kissing again.
After what could have been minutes or hours, she pulled back, wrapped her arms around him, and tucked her head against his chest. Her voice was small, muffled, and sincere. "I'm so happy I met you," she said. "My life has been so much better since then."
Takeru held her carefully, unsure how tight was too tight, but unwilling to let her go. For once, he let himself enjoy the moment, relishing the arousing scent of her hair and the curve of her waist. Takeru was feeling bold now, like something dormant had been awakened. He grabbed her ass firmly but gently, hearing her mewl cutely, and positioned her over his hardness, which she could feel through his pants.
He tilted her head up and kissed her and said, "I think this might be the best day of my life, Nejire-chan. Thank you for disturbing my meditation that day."
Nejire giggled. "You seem quite disturbed right now, Takeru-kun," she said, grinding herself against his hardness. "Why is it so hard?" she asked cutely, but the lewd smile on her face revealed the dirty little minx within.
"That's nothing," Takeru said with a grin. "Just a sign of how much I appreciate your beauty." He kissed her forehead as she nuzzled into his chest.
Nejire didn't move for a long time. And Takeru didn't mind staying like that at all.
Life was getting better, he thought to himself