Siren Song (All Might x Reader)

Chapter 11: Movies

(This part takes place before the Halloween special, if you've already read that)

"FUCK!" You snarled, a crash sounding throughout the room. Your combat training had only begun half an hour ago, but it was already unbearable.

"Let's try again, (y/n)." Toshi encouraged you. "I'll go easier this time. I didn't mean to hit so hard."

"Yeah, sure!" You coughed sarcastically, clambering off of the pile of furniture you'd knocked over. The training had begun easily enough. They'd told you proper fighting stances, how to distribute your body weight into each blow. They'd shown you how to dodge as well, All the basics. But they shoved you right into fighting after that, all of the men watching as you got your shit kicked in by Toshi, who swore he was trying to be easy. He looked like he didn't enjoy hitting you, but it certainly didn't feel like he was going easy when his fist slammed into your ribs.

"You're leaving too many open spots. Focus on where he aims his hits and react accordingly!"

"It's hard when he can move faster than I can think!" You groaned, standing on wobbly legs and regaining your stance. Toshi sighed and looked to his teachers. Did he really have to keep hitting you?

"Keep going until she gets at least one punch in on you. She can do it." Sir instructed, crossing his arms and looking at you. He was measuring you, you could tell; seeing how strong you were, if you were up to the task, whether you were worthy of all their effort.

You sighed, shaking out the muscles in your neck. You looked at Toshinori with determination. "You heard him! Let's go again." You were going to get a hit on him somehow. You had to. If you couldn't do this now, in the safety of Might Towers, how were you ever going to defeat villains who definitely were not going to hold back

You saw a smile curl the corner of Toshi's mouth. He was impressed at your resilience. When he first began training with Gran Torino and his mentor, he felt so close to giving up. The first day he'd collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, but he kept going. You seemed to have that same spark of determination he did.

You studied Toshi closely, waiting for him to move, hoping he'd have some sort of tell that would let you know when he'd come for you. It took a lot of trial and error, but finally you saw it, the tiniest bit of movement before he lunged, a tiny twitch in his calf. Once you noticed, you dashed to the side, throwing your arms down to block the inevitable blow to your stomach.

You weren't able to resist the force of his fist and you skidded backwards against the ground, but you hadn't fallen, you were still on your feet.

"There you go!" Toshi chuckled heartily. "Good job!!"

"I'm gonna be so freaking bruised," you sighed, thinking of how battered you already looked.

"You were able to block his attack, but now you have to learn to retaliate at the same time. You have to learn to hit back while your enemy is attacking, that's when the most opportunity arises. Wait and see what openings he has when he comes for you, then counter them."

"You do realize this guy is faster than I can even see, right?" You said snarkily.

"Would you rather train with me?" The old man grumbled.

"No!" Toshi answered for you, eyes wide in fear. "I'll slow down. Just land a hit on me and we'll go back to the basics again."

"Jesus, okay." What was his deal with Gran Torino?

You hesitantly watched again, seeing if his tell still held true, and dodged at the right time. It took a few more tries, but suddenly as you swung at the opportune moment, you felt your first connect against muscle, cracking painfully as you punched at his ribs. You pulled your hand away, shaking off the pain and gritting your teeth. You'd forgotten how solid he was.