Chapter 47

"Wait, I'm not going with you?" asked Izuku, standing outside Mirko's house as she prepared to go on her afternoon patrol.

"Are you an idiot?" retorted Mirko. "I won't stop you if you want to try, but you're still injured after I kicked your ass this morning. Besides, you aren't even in your costume. Did I hit you so hard you went dumb in the brain...?"

Furrowing his brows slightly, Izuku pointedly replied, "It won't even take me five minutes to get changed..."

Shrugging her shoulders, Mirko retorted, "As we sit here gabbing, villains could be running amok in my terrirory. Get changed over and chase after me if you want, but it would be better if you just stayed here and focused on recovering. We're fighting again first thing tomorrow morning."

Without waiting for Izuku's response, Mirko abruptly squatted low before kicking off against the ground with tremendous force. Izuku had to cover his face to shield it from the dust and debris she kicked up, his expression somewhat grim as he thought, ("I'm not surprised, but this is going to be more difficult than expected...")

Understanding he had no hope of catching up to Mirko when she could basically run through the sky, Izuku made his way back inside her house, resisting the urge to give it a more 'thorough' search as he made his way to the onsen-like bath. His body still ached quite a bit, so he elected to heed Mirko's advice, focusing on his recovery so that he didn't embarrass himself the following day.

Entering the changing room that preceded the bath, Izuku peeled off his clothes before carrying them to the nearby laundry hamper. As he did so, a 'very' racy pair of underwear came into view. At a glance, it resembled a thong made of lace, giving it a translucent quality that would doubtlessly look great against the backdrop of Mirko's bronzed skin.

("Right...she does live alone...") thought Izuku, placing his neatly folded laundry next to the hamper and pretending he hadn't seen Mirko's visibly worn underwear. A small part of him was tempted to pocket the probably fragrant garment, but he repressed it thoroughly as he made his way into the bath.

"Oh, hell yessss..." groaned Izuku, sinking his body into the murky mineral waters of Mirko's artificial hot spring. The notion that he might one day be able to bathe with the bronze-skinned bunny briefly crossed his mind, but his main focus was on his status.

Along with eating, hot baths and proper rest were the most optimal ways for Izuku to recover his Vitality and heal from injuries. While bathing, Izuku could literally see his Vitality replenishing in real-time, and as it did so, so too did his other attributes. This was one of the greatest perks of Digitalization, as, even if he lost a limb, he would 'theoretically' be able to regenerate so long as his Vitality was replenished. At the very least, that's what the information in his mind professed. He had never actually tried it, for obvious reasons...

"Hmmm...?"

Noticing his Vitality increase beyond 100, ultimately settling on 102, Izuku came to a grim realization. He knew there 'had' to be training methods for each of the six attributes, but he had yet to personally verify the methods for Intelligence and Vitality since he generally kept them higher than his other stats. Now, he knew exactly how to increase his Vitality...he 'simply' needed to get the shit kicked out of him and then recover. At least, that's what made the most sense since the injuries he sustained using One-for-All had never provided an increase...

("Well, at least I'll be able to grind some AP during my stay...") thought Izuku, simultaneously activating one of his Re-rolls to redistribute his stats. He didn't need the Eidetic Memory Perk atm, and his Experience gains after getting his ass kicked were fairly low. Thus, Izuku removed 50 points from his Intelligence and 30 points from his Luck, allowing him to increase his Strength and Agility to 50.

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Name: [Izuku Midoriya]

Quirk: Digitalization, Transfer, Stockpiling, Singularity, Gearshift(sealed), Fa Jin(sealed), Danger Sense(sealed), Blackwhip, Smokescreen(sealed), Float(sealed)

Current Level: 27 (849,008 EXP)

Effective Level: 39

[Attributes]

Strength: 10->50

Agility: 10->50

Vitality: 102->100

Intelligence: 100->50

Dexterity: 100

Luck: 75->47(2 points from Vitality)

Free Attributes: 0

Rerolls Available: 1

[Perks]

[Bronze Skin], [Fleet-Footed], [Lesser Regeneration], [Healthy Body], [Sharp Mind], [Nimble Fingers], [Keen Senses]

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("That should do it...") thought Izuku. ("I would be able to boost nearly as much as before, but I should be able to take more of a beating if I muster the energy of One-for-All at the moment of impact. I'll just use this as an opportunity to hone my battle senses...")

As he couldn't imagine a way to defeat Mirko without going all-out, at the potential cost of his life, Izuku decided on the most 'pragmatic' approach. If a single beating could net him 2 points in Vitality, that meant he could gain upwards of 14 AP before the end of the week. This was much faster than his more 'orthodox' training methods, but he was prepared to suffer a bit in the name of gains. Getting his ass kicked was a small price to pay for nearly three full Levels in stats...

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A few hours after Mirko's departure, Izuku heard a distant thud and felt a light tremor. Unsurprisingly, Mirko appeared a few minutes later, seeking him out directly.

Seeing Izuku in the middle of using her custom-made leg press, Mirko's brows perked up as she remarked, "Oh? Already healthy enough to start training? Or is this your attempt at physical therapy...?"

Locking the weights into place, Izuku rose to his feet, giving Mirko a view of his well-defined chest and abdominal muscles as he replied, "Welcome back. And yeah, I've pretty much fully recovered. I'm ready for round two whenever you are."

Though she snorted through her nose, Mirko narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and smiled as she said, "Training shirtless to try and rile me up isn't the worst approach. As for round two, it'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. I might not have trouble kicking your ass, but I need time to cool down after a patrol. Besides, did you forget our previous arrangement? Or is it that you don't want to give me a massage...?"

Exhaling a scoff-like chuckle, Izuku remarked, "I never knew you had a sense of humor. Only a complete idiot or a eunuch could refuse such an offer."

Nodding her head in approval, Mirko half-turned, intending to leave the gym after remarking, "Good. Give me a minute to wipe down my body and get changed. And keep in mind; you only get one shot at this. If your skills are dogshit, the only thing you'll be comforting the remainder of your stay is yourself."

Without waiting for Izuku to respond, Mirko turned around and sauntered out of the gym. As for Izuku, he just rolled his eyes and grabbed a towel to wipe his face. He wouldn't call himself a professional, but he was fairly confident in his massage skills. He could also 'smell' the arousal exuding from Mirko's body, undoubtedly the result of getting riled up while out on patrol, so the only thing he needed to be cautious of was being 'reserved.' After all, this was very clearly a test to see if he was all bark and no bite...

...

..

.

Since Mirko hadn't told him to meet her anywhere, Izuku elected to return to his workout instead of simply waiting for her return. He was pretty sure this was the 'correct' decision as Mirko returned with a smile on her face, commenting, "You're pretty enthusiastic about training, huh? That's good. It's fine to fool around a bit, but if you slack off too much, you'll become a useless piece of shit."

Racking his weights, Izuku made no effort to conceal his gaze as he gave Mirko a once-over, sincerely responding, "And I thought you looked good in your costume. You have an amazing physique."

With Mirko wearing little more than a pair of black yoga pants, a matching sports bra, and socks, Izuku's throat tightened involuntarily. As far as he could tell, these three were the 'only' garments she was wearing, all but confirming his suspicions that she was testing to see if he would 'attack' or 'retreat.'

Rolling her eyes, Mirko lazily replied, "Tell me something I don't know..." before looking around the gym and asking, "Where we doing this? You're the wannabe masseuse, so tell me what I should do."

Shrugging his shoulders, Izuku answered, "That depends on your level of tension. If you just want a back and shoulder massage, you can sit on one of the weight benches. If you're especially sore and want something more thorough, like a deep-tissue massage, I would ask you to lie down on one of the stretching mats. The only problem with that is your breasts...with how big they are, I can't imagine it would be too comfortable lying flat on your stomach."

Narrowing her eyes in amusement, Mirko asked, "Then what would you suggest, oh master masseur?"

Without any hesitation, Izuku replied, "Unless you have a massage table tucked away in a closet somewhere, your bed would probably be the best choice. The futon you lent me is the alternative..."

Though she maintained her smile, Mirko snorted through her nose and retorted, "And let you drink in my scent whenever you sleep? Nice try, kid, but we're using my bed."

Raising his brows, Izuku offered a retort of his own, asking, "And you think I have a problem with that...?"

Rolling her eyes a second time, Mirko turned around, saying, "Follow me," before leading the way to her bedroom. Izuku's 'cockiness' was beginning to annoy her a bit, but she didn't hate it. Japan's population had dwindled by more than 30% after the war, yet the birth rates hadn't increased much due to many Japanese men being herbivores. Things were a bit different among the Hero community, but due to the average Hero's 'moral code,' they were often incredibly boring. Mirko also resented those who teamed up with others, so she would be lying if she said she didn't have at least a few expectations for Izuku...

After reaching Mirko's room, a remarkably cluttered dwelling with clothes scattered about haphazardly and an unmade bed, the owner of said room turned to Izuku and warned, "If you have something to say, eat it. You're not even supposed to be here, so I don't want to hear jack shit about how messy it is."

Tilting his head to the side, Izuku questioned, "Why would I care about something like that? You should see how messy my room gets when I'm in the middle of a project. You can't even see the floor."

"..."

With a height difference approaching 12cm, Mirko had to look up at Izuku when they were close together. The room's low light made it difficult for normal people to see, but her night vision was better than her sight during the day. As a result, she could see Izuku's face clearly, and it didn't seem he was lying.

"What kind of projects do you work on?" asked Mirko, not really caring but feeling obligated to ask as she made her way over to her bed.

Following close behind, Izuku explained, "I've always been proficient with my hands and fingers, so I dabble in engineering and the development of Support items. I even have my own workshop, though I don't get to use it much due to my recent focus on training."

"Mmm...is that so?" asked Mirko, crawling onto her bed and lying on her stomach, using her elbows for support as she looked back to add, "Then let's see you put those fingers to work..."

With Mirko's ass appearing even more enticing while she was lying on her stomach, Izuku could hardly tear his eyes away from it. Fortunately, this wasn't his first rodeo, so he unhesitantly climbed onto the bed, earning himself a narrow-eyed stare from the beautiful bunny-eared woman as he straddled her thighs, nestled against her ass. Then, without dawdling, he began to massage her well-defined back and shoulder muscles, pushing up the fabric and working around the fabric of her sports bra as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do...

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(A/N: There are few situations where you wouldn't benefit from knowing at least some basic massage skills xD...)