RAISE UP YOUR GAME! || Izuocha||

3.) The Golden Boy

Ochako's POV

On Tuesday, Sadly the day of my first private tutoring sessions. I crossed the bridge, the grand homes loomed into sight. I walked all the way to the end of Bokeh Street to my destination–and that's when my jaw almost hit the ground. My new tutor lived in one of the largest houses in all of Musutafu. I had biked past it once or twice but, never really stopped to marvel at the size. In fact, to call it a house seemed insulting. Mansion might have been a better word to put it.

It was built red brick in the Victorian style, with a wrap-around porch, gigantic shuttered windows, a round tower, and iron bar fencing off the front garden. Yet despite its grand exterior, whoever was in charge of the gardening must have been on permanent vacation. As I pushed open the heavy bulky gates and headed up the stone path toward the front door, I noticed that weeds sprouted from every crack and crevice. The shrubs by the fence were wildly overgrown. Something thorny snagged my ankle and I had to tug my jeans free.

At the front door, I used a heavy bronze knocker shaped like a rose to announce my arrival. Minutes passed, but nobody answered. Frowning, I tired to peer in the window, but the curtains were drawn and I couldn't see anything as they were blackout curtains.

I was about to knock again when the door flew open. I stepped back at the sight of a towering man in dark business attire. He was about fifty, with salt-and-pepper hair, square black glasses, and cold blue eyes under heavy brows.

"No soliciting!" the man practically shouted.

I gulped. "Sorry. Do I have the wrong place? I'm supposed to be getting tutoring lessons with–" I checked Naomi's note. "Someone named I. Midoriya?"

The man's bushy eyebrows pressed together. "I?"

Finally, he blinked. "Ah," he said. "You must mean Izuku. My apologies, I'm Izuku's father."

Mr. Midoriya turned around and headed into the house, clearly expecting me to follow. After a moment of hesitation, I did, closing the solid oak door behind me. So, apparently my tutor wasn't going to be some nerdy girl with a personalized protractor...it was a nerdy boy with a protractor.

Hurrying forward to keep up with Mr. Midoriya's long-legged pace, I couldn't help but gape at the huge entry hall, which was paneled in gloomy, dark wood. I tried not to stare as we passed through the enormous living room, which was...not at all what I expected it to be.

The furniture was all fancy carved wood and silk and velvet, but it was also extremely old. Like it had been bought way back when the house was first built. The silk was faded and threadbare, and the mantle piece, but it was covered with a piece of black cloth so that I couldn't see what it pictured. What appeared to be a grand piano squatted at the far end of the room, also covered in a dusty cloth. The stale air and the high ceilings made the place feel like a recently closed museum. Not the sort of place where you could picture kids living.

Mr. Midoriya turned the corner into the dinning room, and I darted after him...before skidding to an abrupt stop as I suddenly found myself gazing at the single most gorgeous boy I had ever seen... Green hoodie.

"Hi," said the single most gorgeous boy I had ever seen. Seriously. His flawless skin seemed straight from a commercial for face wash, while his perfectly tousled green hair could sell shampoo. "I'm Izuku, Izuku Midoriya."

Most of the time, I'm not aware of my heartbeat, but suddenly I could feel the rapid thump-thump-thump pulsing through my chest like the booming bass coming from a fancy stereo. It was so loud the Izuku could probably hear it, too. In fact, anybody living in the United States could have probably heard it.