Chapter Text
Wake up, brush teeth, sustenance, commute, school, gym, come home, shower, more sustenance, brush teeth again, then lie down to do it all over again the very next day.
Until it's time for the UA entrance exam? Tsuyu's been forced into a lifestyle of neglecting what she wants, to do what she needs. What does she want to do exactly? spend time with Samidare and Satsuki, taking care of them however she can, being responsible for them while Ganma and Beru are busy as usual at work.
But she can't, it's the price she has to pay to make it into the greatest hero school in the world. Habuko, her one and only friend, is currently elsewhere doing the exact same things she is to get into Isami, so she simply has to trust a literal third party to pick up her slack.
A third party. Tutoring Samidare and Satsuki? cooking for them? playing with them? talking to them? creating memories with them? it all made Tsuyu feel like she's missing out.
Her younger brother edges ever closer to the impending disaster of becoming a teenager, and her younger sister gets to simply enjoy being a child. Even as she walks back home from the station, she couldn't stop herself from thinking if maybe she herself grew up a bit too quickly.
Four years separates her between now and either a hero license or getting inducted into university. By the time she even has the time to spend with them like she used to? they'll both grow up faster than she ever realizes.
But it's her own hopes and dreams at stake here. Even though she knows she never should've been allowed to be Beru's substitute as their mother? the whole thing only amplified her own attachment towards them as their older sister.
To the point where she's still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Ganma finally decided to take a chance on somebody outside of their family to take care of them instead.
Worst of all? Tsuyu hasn't even gotten the chance to meet Samidare and Satsuki's new babysitting tutor. All she got from Ganma and Beru had been the fact the babysitting tutor's a boy her age, the son of an acquaintance of a friend from the Shizuoka Prefecture, despite the fact they live in the Aichi Prefecture.
No mentions of a name, just reassurances to her about the fact "they'll be safe with him". As if her being curious about who he is happens to be a bad thing, like a taboo she'd be better off not knowing.
Regardless of how much more curious the secrecy made her? she's either too busy or too tired to press further.
"If your parents say he's trustworthy, then what's the problem?"
As much as Tsuyu tried to explain it to her best friend, she had to ultimately concede that Habuko had a point: it's not as if Ganma and Beru welcomed an anti-mutant supremacist into their home, so why let all of this distract either of them from their respective training?
Samidare and Satsuki are family, they'll always be there for her as much as she's always been there for them. Besides, maybe some time and distance really does make the heart grow fonder.
Meanwhile, Tsuyu has to do her best to maximize the potential of her quirk as much as possible. Simply being able to do whatever a frog can doesn't just stop at an outrageously long tongue, paralyzing mucus production, toxic stomach inflating, surprisingly powerful legs, secure wall clinging, and reasonably sustainable camouflaging.
There are more species of frog than she has the time to make herself remember, yet she knows she's barely scratching the surface of a simply defined quirk with high growth potential. Instead choosing to practice what she already can do, choosing to leave the experimentation for if and when she makes it into UA.
Any more messing around with abilities she may or may not be able to do at the gym? and she might as well be a stranger to Samidare and Satsuki from now on. Her schedule must remain strictly optimized, or else she'll burn out long before she can even get on the train to UA. What a drag. Especially when she barely gets enough time for herself to rest on the weekends.
With such a heavy weight dragging down Tsuyu by the chest? she freed herself from her shoes before sliding the key into the front door separating her from Samidare and Satsuki, as well as the shower.
The metal felt warm on her calloused fingers, acting as the physical reminder of her eagerness to get past arguably the most brutal part of the routine. Turning it, she prepared herself to enter and see what lies behind the door. Not knowing exactly what she'll find.
Domestic terrorism in the kitchen? the family table scattered all over the floor? the sofa and the beds clogging all the windows on the other side? the TV barely hanging onto the walls? the AC in the bathroom?
Instead, the door swung open and silence greeted her.
With a reluctant step inside and a gentle click of the door shutting. Tsuyu neatly placed her shoes to the side, sliding into her usual pair of slippers before observing the scenes before her.
No nuclear warzone to clean after coming home before more sustenance. No chairs in cabinets, no cushions in the shelves, just Samidare and Satsuki sitting perfectly still.
Curious, attentive, silent. Thinking about what to say to a green-haired boy she's definitely never seen before.
"I wish my sister were here." Samidare replied, speaking in English and obviously being unaware of Tsuyu's presence at the doorway. "I want my sister to come home earlier."
"Ah. While what you said in English can work? you're still swimming in the ocean like it's just a river." The stranger explained, already confusing Tsuyu even further with the lack of context. "You could've either said "I wanted my sister to come home earlier" or "I want my sister to come back home already", it's all about being able to say the exact same thing in as many different ways as possible, Samidare-kun."
"Why does English have to be so hard?" Satsuki asked, not quite able to understand why learning foreign languages operate so differently. "Can't I just choose a few words and not waste my time learning a trillion different ways to say the exact same thing?"
"Because it's all about knowing as many different options as possible, Satsuki-chan. Expanding your own pool as much as possible before it's time for your moment," The stranger answered, with a seemingly endless amount of patience and the most infectious attitude Tsuyu has ever seen from anybody about learning English. "When it's your time to leave the pond to join the river? you'll be prepared to swim better than anybody else around you, long before you ever get to the ocean."
"Ribbit," Tsuyu announced, stepping out from the shadows of the entryway and into the warm light of the kitchen revealing her presence. "I'm home."
With the speed and accuracy of a demon? the green-haired boy practically spawned from a seated position on his chair to standing militaristically straight. The metal chair legs barking loudly against the linoleum floor. The mechanical pencil he had in his hands slipped from his fingers, bouncing off the wood of the table before he frantically caught it. With a face painted in a catastrophic shade of crimson? he manically devolved into a blurry flurry of bowing that left only his legs visible.
"O-Oh! h-h-hello! g-good e-e-evening! y-you m-m-must b-be A-a-asui-san!" The stranger stuttered, his voice jumping an entire octave as his free hand flew up in a defensive waving motion. "I-I'm M-m-midoriya! M-midoriya I-i-izuku! m-my M-m-mom-"
"Tsu-chan!" Satsuki called, not even allowing the frantic boy to finish his sentence as she bounced in her chair, holding up a page covered in handwritten English vocabulary. "Look! Midori-chan's helping us expand our pools! ribbit!"
Tsuyu nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't move immediately. She stood perfectly still in her slippers, allowing herself all the time in the world to absorb what her eyes and ears just received. This was the secret. This was the boy from the next Prefecture, who her parents weirdly refused to elaborate about. He didn't look like somebody she should never know about, instead? he looked like a hyper-prepared, incredibly gentle nerd wearing an unflashy Endora Public High uniform.
Her eyes drifted past his trembling shoulders to the table, catching a heavy, thick textbook with a dark spine sitting right next to her siblings' homework sheets. The bold lettering on the cover reading: "Advanced Structural Logistics & Quirk Dynamics: Entrance Prep For Koreria University".
She blinked slowly, her finger migrating back to her chin in that classic, observant tilt of her head. He's around her age, aiming for one of the most brutal university tracks in the whole country. Yet? he was sitting at the family table, with an endless reservoir of patience, using pond metaphors to make her lonely brother speak English. The whole thing felt surreal, ridiculous even.
"You're very efficient, Midoriya-chan." Tsuyu said, her voice dropping into its usual blunt, steady cadence as she walked up to the table. "Samidare-chan usually tries to climb the kitchen walls by now."
"Hey..." Samidare whined, in his usual monotone and reserved manner. "I'm not that bad, ribbit."
"Yes you are, ribbit." Tsuyu deadpanned, then immediately returned her attention to Izuku as if nothing just happened. "You've got an interesting way of teaching English, it's incredibly precise and easy to follow. Phrased like a life lesson, even."
"W-well... t-t-thank y-you, but I don't know if I would go that far," Izuku chuckled, sweating bullets with the relentlessness and intensity of an armed militia in the rainy season. "I just explained it the way I would with anybody else."
"Which already makes you a better teacher than most." Tsuyu replied, sparing herself a moment to extract her disgustingly sweaty workout clothes from her bag and dump it into the laundry basket. "If I walked in any later than I already did, I would've assumed you were giving me advice on my quirk."
"O-o-of c-course I-i-i w-wouldn't!" Izuku exclaimed, notably covering the cover of his textbook as if it were doujinshi. "I-i-i w-would n-n-never a-assume I-i-i k-know a-a-any b-better t-t-than y-you d-d-do."
With either side unsure of what to say next, the silence hung in the air uncomfortably. Both unable to tell exactly how the other's thinking and feeling right now.
"I'll be taking a shower now, Midoriya-chan," Tsuyu stated, completely throwing Izuku off his guard. "Please make yourself comfortable, I'll be making dinner after I'm done, ribbit."
"Y-you d-d-don't h-have t-t-to, A-asui-san!" Izuku protested, flailing his hands around as if it'd actually do anything to change Tsuyu's mind. "R-r-really! I-i'll b-b-be f-fine! I'm sure you already have a lot to deal with before your parents come home-"
"Rule no. 1 of cooking: it's always easier to cook for more people than for less." Tsuyu countered, with the perfect excuse in mind to keep Izuku where she wants him. "Samidare-chan, Satsuki-chan. What do you both think?"
As soon as Izuku turned to look at Samidare and Satsuki? he instantly knew he's got no way out now.
When Inko proposed becoming a babysitter and a tutor at the same time to a bunch of kids Izuku never met before? he didn't exactly jump for joy at the idea of going back and forth between Prefectures after school on a fairly regular basis, to be a student acting like somebody else's teacher.
In fact? he didn't feel like doing much on his free time at all. The pain of what his former idol said still felt fresh, it still stung too deeply. Why would he be outside of his own room at home for any longer than he has to be?
Being quirkless meant society refused to allocate resources for him to improve himself, being quirkless meant Katsuki hounded him for even trying to practice what little he could find online, now being quirkless meant even the symbol of peace tried dissuading him from becoming a hero.
Izuku initially expected to be on the receiving end of children screaming slurs and death threats at him, but what he actually got had been anything other than that.
While choosing a school far enough from both Aldera and UA meant nobody bullied him anymore? the lack of friends there meant he could maximize his own energy into trying something that hadn't originally been his dream.
But even he had to admit: he's surprisingly decent at it. Both Samidare and Satsuki are receptive to him, and their engagement gave him a proper channel to let his knowledge shine somewhere.
Despite knowing his situation? Ganma and Beru have been more welcoming and respectful to him than the painful majority of people he's ever met in his life. Even making it a point to ensure the chances of him ever having to even greet Tsuyu would be virtually nonexistent, for his comfort.
Until today.
Firstly? Tsuyu's not just hot, she's not just beautiful, she's gorgeous. Based on Izuku's time at Aldera? pretty girls may as well be a synonym for trouble, despite being two words.
Secondly? Samidare and Satsuki are making it borderline impossible for him to chop the vegetables up as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Blocking him from both the door to grab his bag and books from the family table, and the door back out into civilization.
Thirdly? it'd be stupidly irresponsible to leave them in the kitchen with an active stove. He may have left his entire All Might merch collection in a box outside Katsuki's home, he may not want to be a hero anymore, but he's not going to abandon them at a time of need for supervision and dinner.
Cups of rice into the bowl, wash, then press buttons. Easy.
Frying salmon, boiling spinach, and cutting mushrooms for the soup. Normal.
Samidare and Satsuki making suggestions to Izuku to adjust things to Tsuyu's liking. Hard.
"Tsu-chan likes to add some extra salt on the salmon towards the end."
"Oh yeah! and Tsu-chan likes to add cashews onto the pan before sprinkling it onto the spinach!"
"Okay! okay! just don't get any closer to the fire! okay?"
It's not about Samidare and Satsuki making Izuku readjust constantly in the middle of cooking, or even the fact that he's somehow found himself cooking for them in their kitchen. It's about making sure he can get it all done before Tsuyu walks out of the shower.
He may not be aiming for UA anymore, but the concept of "going beyond" certainly stuck around. Because admittedly? he's grown to care for them both, he's only been doing this job for a few months, and he's already treating them as if they're his own siblings.
Either that or he's fully lost his mind. Why's he still here? surely they can handle taking the piping hot-
Never mind, he'll deal with it.
With a huff after exiting the steamy bathroom, Tsuyu couldn't even take a full step out before she could both smell and hear the cooking.
'Wait. Did Mom come home early? who's cooking in the kitchen right now?' Tsuyu thought, as she poked her head out into the living room. 'Where did Samidare-chan and Satsuki-chan go? what's going on in there?'
As Tsuyu fought through her exhaustion to force herself to get closer to the kitchen, she could hear Samidare and Satsuki in there. Which didn't exactly help to settle her nerves, because there are reasons why she's the one in charge of the kitchen in Beru's absence.
Then as she got close enough to see? she found Izuku dabbing the salmon with a touch of dark soy sauce.
Blinking twice before looking again, Tsuyu is indeed watching Izuku making dinner while Samidare and Satsuki watch from a distance she immediately deemed as still not far enough. Even though she managed to delay his inevitable train ride back to his own home, she never asked him to get in the kitchen. After all, tomorrow's a typical Tuesday on a typical school week.
But at the same time? there's no guarantee she'll ever get a chance like this to actually talk to her siblings' babysitting tutor, she's somehow managed to come home before he leaves. Every time, for months. She also knows both Ganma and Beru won't be home until well past their bed times tonight, so why not?
Besides, she's definitely in a talking mood. Especially if his cooking tastes as nice as it smells, even from out here.
With the door making way to let Tsuyu in, she immediately decided not to speak. Just so the obviously nervous and anxious Izuku doesn't hurt himself while he's in the middle of plating.
Wordlessly? she kept the plates coming his way, while handing the bowls to Samidare to deal with the rice cooker. Somehow, Satsuki gave nothing away during the whole sequence.
The whole thing felt incredibly domestic, as if it's perfectly normal for the babysitting tutor to be in the kitchen with them working together to get dinner onto the table.
Craziest part of all? he's so absurdly focused, he doesn't even notice her presence in the kitchen now. Not even as he fills the final plate and prepares to deal with the soup.
"I can handle the soup, ribbit. You've done enough."
"Oh, it's not a problem! really! I honestly don't mind pouring the soup too, Asui-"
By the time Izuku could process the sight of Tsuyu, with her hair still wrapped in a towel, in a shirt and shorts, already getting to work with the soup? he blue-screened.
The fact he managed to get everything sorted before his mind crashed should be considered a miracle. Now his jaw can safely drop next to the bottom of the oven, his eyes can widen hard enough for a second and third helping respectively, and his face can explode into a shade red enough for a nice kettle of tea too.
He barely broke out of his total catatonic paralysis to find her passing him chopsticks and cutlery.
"I already brought the plates out, and Samidare-chan did the same with the bowls." Tsuyu explained, as Izuku regained enough brainpower to step to the side to let her start pouring the soup into bowls. "Seriously, you did enough. Thank you. Now take a seat."
"A-A-A-"
"I mean it. Outside. Now. Ribbit."