A Day at the Beach

Having one more avatar meant one more safeguard for her life. Better to have one than none.

"But it really is a tough choice."

Just thinking about having to go to the Maid Cafe filled her with despair.

The others looked at Su Lin, who seemed utterly dejected, with strange expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong, Su Lin? I'm violating you here, and you've already given up resisting?" Torhu Hagakure jokingly rubbed her calf, easing everyone's worries.

Torhu was adorable to begin with. If she were not invisible, she would probably be quite popular.

Yukino snorted, drew up her legs, and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. Then she suddenly felt that pose was too feminine, so she simply stretched her legs out again.

She did not feel very good right now, mostly because she lacked strength. Of course, it was not that her strength had actually decreased. Rather, an indescribable weakness kept spreading through her muscles, like the damage to muscles and bones caused by overexertion.

"Let me get out of bed."

She removed the blanket covering her abdomen, lifted her feet, and gently placed them into her shoes.

"Damn, these legs really are pretty."

From the perspective of a shut-in guy, Yukino's legs were the kind that could stir desire. While controlling his avatar, he would not actually do anything, but certain thoughts in his mind were still impossible to suppress.

Even when facing a mirror, he would subconsciously recall the Yukino doujins he had read before.

Naturally, that was followed by a wave of nausea. The heroine of those doujins was now herself, and she could no longer view such things with the mindset she had once had.

"How do you feel? Is anything wrong?" Momo Yaoyorozu walked over and supported her.

"I'm fine. I can walk on my own."

Yukino's gaze swept past Yaoyorozu's chest. She gave a dry cough and slowly walked out of the infirmary.

"Child." Recovery Girl, who had been leaning back in her chair, turned around. "You've basically recovered. Don't train so intensely in the future. Your body can handle it, but I'm worried the mental burden will become too much."

"Thank you. I'll be careful."

A heavy burden?

If it was voluntary, there was not really any pressure.

Ever since enrolling at U.A., Su Lin had reduced the intensity of his training. When ordinary people stopped exercising, their muscles gradually "atrophied." Only after returning to their previous training levels could they recover their peak condition in a short time.

But Yukino's body seemed incapable of regressing.

In other words, as long as she kept going, her strength would eventually reach max level in close combat.

As long as she did not train herself to death, she could train herself to death.

As she stepped outside, a gentle breeze brushed past her, making Yukino's long hair dance.

After temporarily saying goodbye to everyone, she deliberately climbed to the rooftop terrace of the school building, planning to enjoy the scenery from up there.

"First, let's split off the main body."

The avatar ability did not necessarily have to handle only one task at a time. Sometimes, splitting up was the only way to improve efficiency. Not to mention that information was transmitted instantly between the two bodies. The benefits of that went without saying.

The main body arrived downstairs, took out his phone, and prepared to find a suitable job.

Then he saw it... the Maid Cafe.

"Pfft, do I really have to work at a place like this?"

On second thought, perhaps he really did.

Since arriving in this world, Su Lin had always suffered from poverty. Yet because of his age, education, and other factors, he could not find a job that would support him.

Some maid cafes, however, clearly had no strict age requirements.

As long as she was pretty and not too young, she would basically be set.

"Sigh, how pitiful. I have to do something like this."

On the rooftop, Yukino sat atop a raised platform, enjoying the breeze while admiring the beauty of the entire academy.

"I kind of feel like I'm wasting my youth."

"I think it's great."

As Yukino murmured to herself, a male voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.

"Hm?"

Yukino turned her head and discovered a student with round, dot-like eyes standing beside her.

Golden hair, a highly distinctive appearance, and a U.A.-style uniform.

After thinking for a moment, Yukino recalled his identity.

Miro Togata, one of U.A.'s upperclassman Big 3, the person closest to Number 1. His Quirk was Permeation.

In truth, Miro's Quirk was not particularly good. It was extremely difficult to control, and one mistake could get him killed. Because of this Quirk, he had once been a poor student. But after striving relentlessly, training hard, and suffering countless injuries, this seemingly ordinary person had become an unquestionable powerhouse.

"Sometimes, relaxing can also be a way of enjoying your youth."

Yukino frowned. She realized why he was saying this.

"You've seen me before?"

"Of course. I saw you while passing by when you were training at Seaside Park."

Fine.

Yukino sighed inwardly. How would someone without talent, who had grown stronger through desperate effort, view another person who was similarly desperate?

Especially when Yukino worked even harder than he did.

"I just want some peace and quiet."

"Haha, sorry about that. I didn't mean to disturb you. I just happened to run into you." He scratched his head, then vanished from before her in the next moment.

Yukino knew that he had phased underground.

"This guy... isn't practicing here, is he?" she muttered, then jumped straight down and left the school building by the stairs.

A Day at the Seaside

The next day, Seaside Park.

"What the hell is this?!"

Her fist slammed heavily into a refrigerator, leaving a massive dent in its surface. In exchange, the skin on Yukino's fist was scraped open.

"This is really miserable."

Several meters away, the main body held a cup of milk tea and looked at his avatar's reddened eyes. He actually felt a little sorry for her.

Such a delicate-looking girl had to keep going despite obviously being in pain. What normal person could bear to watch that?

Besides, he was in a terrible mood right now.

Last night, he had sent Yukino to apply as a maid. After testing her, the Maid Manager had mercilessly commented, "This is absolutely terrible. What's with that disgusted expression on your face? You call yourself a maid like this? What a waste of such a pretty face."

Then she had been assigned to clean.

That was right... cleaning. A job like a janitor's, at a Maid Cafe!!!

"Aaaah, this is so annoying. Let's take a break."

The thought of having to work as a cleaner at a Maid Cafe made her feel like coughing up blood.

But... that salary did not allow her to refuse.

Yeah, she clearly hated it, yet she still had to force herself to accept it. Awkwardly cleaning up all sorts of trash in a place like a Maid Cafe.

"Tsk, I never should have trained my back muscles."

A sharp pain pulled Yukino out of her thoughts.

Feeling this much pain every day would drive anyone crazy. She did not know how she had endured it all this time. Taking the milk tea from the main body's hand, she gloomily put the straw in her mouth and took a sip.

"Gulp—"

As she slowly chewed the red beans and tapioca pearls, Yukino suddenly froze and looked at the cup in her hand.

"Does this count as an indirect kiss?"

There was still some saliva on it.

If that was the case, then all those times they had shared food, bitten the same apple... they had done that sort of thing plenty of times.

"Why the hell am I thinking about this?"

Her face reddened. Yukino hugged the milk tea with both hands, shook off those thoughts, and continued drinking.

A few seconds later...

"Damn Youlemei!"

She flung the milk tea cup into the distance and cursed in Chinese, utterly annoyed.

An advertisement kept playing in her head while she drank milk tea. That was seriously goddamn mental pollution.

"Su... Su Lin."

While he was mentally splitting himself apart in all sorts of ways, an unwelcome voice suddenly came from behind him.

He turned around and saw a green-haired boy with a hesitant expression. It was indeed Izuku Midoriya.

"Why did you come here?"

The main body asked in a cold tone.

"Sorry, I was a little worried about you, so... Su Lin really was training here?" Midoriya looked like an anxious child.

Yukino Yukinoshita sat atop an old refrigerator, her hands braced against the smooth metal as she gently swung her legs. Izuku Midoriya subconsciously looked up, only to catch sight of the safety shorts beneath her skirt. His face instantly reddened, and he guiltily lowered his head.

"Hmph. More accurately, you didn't come to see me. You came to see my avatar, right?" Su Lin demanded irritably.

"Huh? No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I really came to see you." Izuku Midoriya's gaze shifted evasively, and he looked somewhat guilty.

"..."

After a brief silence, Yukino took a deep breath and asked again, "How well have you mastered your Quirk? Do you still get hurt when you use it?"

"Yeah." Midoriya nodded.

"As expected, ONE.FOR.ALL isn't so easy to control."

"Huh?" Izuku Midoriya froze. Then his eyes widened, and his body instinctively shifted into a defensive posture. "Why do you know that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yukino chuckled. "I saw through the secret between you and All Might at a glance."

Cold sweat appeared on Izuku Midoriya's forehead. He was clearly frightened by her words.

"Relax, I won't tell anyone. How about this? I'll give you some pointers. If they work, you treat me to meals for a month."

"O-okay." Midoriya nodded instinctively.

"Okay." Yukino immediately perked up. "So, you normally fight using your arms, right?"

"Yes, but unfortunately, I can only use it once," Midoriya said dejectedly.

"Then why not look at it from another angle? Since you can fight with your hands, why not use your feet? All Might's Quirk shouldn't only be released through his fists, right? So try spreading that power throughout your whole body. Adjust it to a range your body can withstand, cover your entire body with it, and strengthen your control over every detail."

"My feet... my whole body?!"

Those few words left Izuku Midoriya enlightened.

That was right. He had been fixated on his arms, forgetting that ONE.FOR.ALL could be released from more than just his arms.

The first time he used that Quirk, he had used his legs to launch himself into the sky and completely destroy the enormous Zero-Pointer.

Yet in his heart, he had still been fixated on using his arms to unleash that power.

"Lastly, All Might doesn't have much time left as a hero, does he? I want to know, how did he pass his Quirk on to you?"

Izuku Midoriya immediately became wary, but he soon relaxed and answered, "I ate his hair."