"So, [Name]," Mitsuki smiled. "You were saying that you just recently moved to the area and started attending the same school as Katsuki. How are you liking it so far?"
You made sure to swallow the food in your mouth, then nodded. "It's been good. I mean, I guess I'm still pretty new to everything, but I've been liking it so far. The people are... nice. Yeah."
Naturally, you were lying. About pretty much all of it. Most of your classmates were actually major assholes, given how horribly they treated Izuku. Not only that, but your dickhead of a teacher seemed to have it out for you, which made things a hell of a lot more tedious. Katsuki himself had bullied you on more than one occasion, but you felt it was best to keep from mentioning that to his parents and getting him in trouble.
So, yeah. Your school life definitely wasn't perfect, but you were trying to make the most of it.
"I'm glad to hear it," she hummed, briefly shooting her son a glance. "Katsuki. I hope you've been welcoming towards [Name]. It isn't easy transferring in late and not having any friends. If you were in her position, I'm sure you'd appreciate someone looking out for you, so make sure to do the same for her, alright?"
Katsuki took a heaping spoonful of curry, grimacing all the while. "I don't need anyone to look out for me. I sure as hell wouldn't want some extra's help. I'd kick their ass if they even tried."
"You're still talking like that? When are you going to stop being so fucking stupid?!"
"Quit yelling at me in the middle of dinner, woman!"
"I'm so sorry," Masaru sighed, shaking his head while the two argued in the background. "They're always like this. I really wish we could have made a better impression. You must be shocked to see what things are like around here."
You beamed. "No, it's okay. It's pretty lively, actually. I don't mind it. Even if their words can be a bit brash at times, I can still tell they really care about each other."
I actually wish I could bicker with my family like this. It'd be better than not knowing anything about them.
"Thank you for being so understanding," Masaru smiled back. "You seem like a very nice person. I hope Katsuki doesn't scare you away. He used to have a friend like you, back when he was younger. A rather shy boy, but incredibly kind to everyone around him."
You pieced together right away that he was referring to Izuku, but unfortunately, so did Katsuki.
"Shut it, shitty old man," he grimaced. "This conversation ends right here."
Masaru nodded hurriedly, looking quite a bit dejected as he did. You weren't sure exactly how much his parents knew about Izuku and why their friendship had fallen through. Maybe they simply thought they had drifted apart from each other over time? Or maybe they already knew about how Katsuki had actually been bullying the freckled boy ever since. Either way, this wasn't your family, so it wasn't your business to burden them with the truth.
For a little while, the atmosphere was noticeably more tense, so you did your best to steer clear of that particular topic.
"This curry is super good," you enthused. "Would you mind sharing the recipe with me?"
Mitsuki chuckled. "Of course, sweetheart. I'd love to. Will you cook it on your own, or make it with your parents?"
"Um... I'll try it on my own first. I'll wait until I've got the hang of it before letting my parents have a taste," you said, awkwardly scratching your cheek.
You must not have sounded very convincing, because Katsuki gave you a funny look just then. Thankfully, he didn't try and press the issue.
"Oh," Mitsuki realized. "You'll have to modify the recipe a bit, though. Katsuki loves spicy food, so when it's just the three of us, I use the full spice amount as outlined in the recipe. But since I wasn't sure how good your tolerance was, I toned it down quite a bit. I suppose you'll have to fiddle around with it to try and find out what suits your palate best."
"That's alright. I'm sure I can figure it out." You paused, gaze eventually drifting towards Katsuki before you broke out into a grin. "So... spicy food, huh? That definitely suits you. Hey. If I cook your mom's curry recipe and bring it to school one day, will you give it a try?"
Katsuki stiffened up. "Huh? Why the fuck would you do that? I don't need it, and whatever you make would probably end up tasting like shit anyways."
STATUS UPDATE:
[Bakugou Katsuki refuses to admit that he kind of wants to try your food.]
[+10 love points.]
As always, he was saying one thing and thinking the exact opposite, but you were starting to get used to it by now.
Mitsuki, however, didn't much seem to care for his tone.
"Take that back, you little shit!" she cried out, swatting him across the head. "[Name]'s being nice enough to offer you food, and that's how you speak to her?"
"Ow! How many times do I have to tell you to stop smacking me?! And I'll speak to her however the hell I want!"
You couldn't help but chuckle. They were both explosively abrasive, but by the looks of things, it never got boring around here.
"Thanks," you smiled, so brightly that your eyes crinkled. "I'm really glad you invited me over today. You were right about what you said earlier, Mrs. Bakugou. I definitely wouldn't have had as much fun eating alone."
Mitsuki happily ruffled your hair. "Oh, aren't you such a darling? Of course! It's our pleasure. Having you over has been a lot of fun for us too. We almost never get to do this, after all."
For the next little while, you focused on finishing off the rest of your food, but there was one last notification you got.
[Bakugou Katsuki thinks your smile is annoyingly pretty.]
[+10 love points.]
[Current progress: 90/100]
*****
After meeting All Might, Izuku had begun a strict training regimen, and based on the fact that he looked like he was barely keeping his eyes open during class, you could tell that it was really doing a number on him.
He was a lot busier than usual, which unfortunately meant that you couldn't meet up as often outside of class, but you still made sure to walk home together practically every day. You obviously didn't reveal that you knew his secret, but you assumed he was probably strengthening up his body so that he could properly inherit One For All. You couldn't imagine just how much work went into achieving such a thing, given that All Might was incredibly powerful.
Since you couldn't put yourself in his shoes, the most you could do was be supportive, and you were more than happy to.
"From what you've told me, your training sounds pretty intense," you remarked. "I know you're doing an amazing job, so just make sure to take some breaks every now and then, alright?"
Despite his visible fatigue, Izuku nodded happily. "Yep! Don't worry. I can handle this much. I know I have to work harder than everyone else. There's just no other way around it."
"I respect that about you," you smiled. "It's really cool how determined you are. Whenever I feel down about something, I just remember how hard you're working, and it really helps."
"R-Really?" Izuku squeaked, blushing almost immediately.
STATUS UPDATE:
[Midoriya Izuku is really happy that he can help motivate you.]
[+20 love points.]
"Of course," you hummed. "There's almost no one who works as hard as you, or who's as nice as you. I'm lucky to have you as a friend. Seriously, you have no idea how much you've helped me."
If not for you, I probably would have lost my sanity a long time ago.
Izuku was still blushing, but there was no mistaking the silent look of pride he wore. It was a hero's job to make others feel safe and inspire them, so your words probably meant a lot more than the system was even hinting at.
[Midoriya Izuku wants to become the most amazing hero, so that he can look out for you and other people he cares about.]
[+20 love points.]
[Current progress: 200/200]
Oh. So, this means...
STATUS UPDATE:
[Rank up! Midoriya Izuku has gone from being your "friend" to being your "best friend". Love point meter refreshed.]
[Current progress: 0/500]
Just like that, you'd officially reached a new milestone with Izuku, which also meant that you'd unlocked another skill point. You weren't sure exactly how long it would take for all your skill points to start showing visible results, but you would take any bit of progress you could get.
Recovering your memories was still priority number one, though. Well, that and breaking free of the system's control, but you had a feeling that the two probably went hand-in-hand.
You let out a happy sigh and made a big show of stretching your arms. "Izuku," you said. "I know you've probably got your hands full with training and all, but how about we pick up a yummy snack before we hop on the train?"
The way his freckled cheeks scrunched up when he smiled was as endearing as always.
"Sure!"
*****
[Add one (1) skill point to strength?]
>>[YES]
"I think this is probably the right move," you said, tapping on the screen to confirm your selection. "You said before that my critical hit ability scales based off my strength, right? I'll prioritize strength for the most part, but also invest the other skill points I get into agility and vitality from time to time. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to get new skill points, but... I feel like physical strength is just pretty useful all around."
["Just do whatever feels best. It's your body, at the end of the day, so I can't really say what'll work for you. It might take a bit of trial and error to figure out which areas need more development. You're not a total idiot, so I'm sure you can figure it out."]
"Why do you always feel the need to slip in a diss?" you sighed.
As much as you couldn't say you got along with the system, things had been relatively tame lately. They seemed perfectly content so long as you were adhering to their rules and making steady progress. You'd also learned that they didn't even mind if you outright insulted them-as you'd accidentally blurted out on more than one occasion. They just didn't want you to put up a fight or refuse to do your tasks. Otherwise, pretty much everything else was fair game.
But despite all of that, you couldn't forget. It was impossible to pretend like they hadn't already tormented you by trapping you inside that terrifying dark place, and even forced you to experience death at some point. You didn't want to let your fear rule you, but at the same time, you knew you couldn't afford to get complacent either.
The system wasn't your friend, and they never would be.
As part of your daily task, you'd gone on a run through a different part of the city than you were used to, and you were now taking the scenic route back. Well, not really the scenic route. You were still very much in a dense urban area, but it was nice to familiarize yourself with everything these new streets had to offer.
I still have some distance left to cover for my task. I wonder if the system will let me get away with a light jog this time...
You gave it a try, but it seemed that your current speed was too low for it to be considered a run. Letting out a mildly irritated huff, you picked up the pace, albeit a bit too abruptly.
["No! Don't go that way-"]
As luck would have it, you ended up colliding with someone who'd just turned the corner. You spluttered, as startled as anyone might be, but the person you'd crossed paths with had a much more visceral reaction.
"Don't fucking touch me!" the man hissed, pushing you away without stopping to blink.
It wasn't until you had him properly fixed in your gaze that you stopped to take stock of the situation.
And when you did, you could feel the blood in your veins run cold.
Short-cropped dark hair, golden eyes framed by long lower lashes, and a mask on his face-even though it was different from the plague doctor one you'd seen before. Not that the minor details really mattered. What mattered was that you were face to face with the man you'd seen before in the system's simulation.
The same man who'd killed you.
Your heart felt like it was caught in your throat. You hardly even dared to breathe, let alone blink and let him out of your sight. A cold sweat was quick to form on the back of your neck, and you could feel a panic attack slowly building.
All of a sudden, it came back to you. You'd never completely forgotten the feeling, even though your real body hadn't actually been harmed. But now that he was right in front of you, it was like your brain was instantly relaying the information you'd so desperately hoped to repress. You remembered the excruciating pain that followed once his ungloved fingers had made contact with you, and you couldn't help but violently grip your arm, just to make sure that it was still intact.
The man stared at you in disgust-even with his mask on, it was obvious-and furiously wiped down his clothing, as if he feared you'd contaminated him somehow. Despite being near hyperventilation, you could clearly see that angry hives had risen to the surface of his skin.
"Well?" he gritted out. "Aren't you going to apologize for bumping into me? Filthy little brat."