[closed] hold onto your heart

[glaciers]

WHO: Shouto Todoroki, Izuku Midoriya
WHERE: The beach
WHEN: Late morning, June 18th
WHAT: Training
WARNINGS:--


[Shouto did say that they were going to be training together. They've just been busy since the whole shrinking incident. They could've gone to the gym, but at the same time, the beach is only a bus trip away. It's not too far, and Shouto's very happy to get out of the house when his father is home for the weekend.

Mom took to his hair change easily enough, but his old man... He doesn't want to hear the inevitable lecture about how all he's good for is his good looks. Whatever, he doesn't matter. That's what he keeps telling himself.

Once they've arrived, Shouto starts stretching his arms and legs.]

It's important so you don't lock up or pull muscles.

[He's sure Izuku's at least had gym, but who knows how much Izuku actually absorbed.]

Comments

[heroforall]

[Izuku has had gym, much to his own misfortune, and he's used to each class being started with a series of stretches, but he's never questioned the reason why. After all, walking can be considered an exercise and he's never had to stretch before doing that.

But he just nods his head and begins following Shouto's example, stretching out his arms before bending at the waist to touch the ground.]

How long do we have to do this for? [He asks after he straightens back up.]

A-and what kind of training can we do here? It's a little difficult to run on sand. Wouldn't the park be better? [He's more then willing to follow the other boy's lead here, as he has more experience in this area, but he can't help but be curious.]

[glaciers]

[Shouto kind of enjoys the gym, but he gets that plenty of his peers do not. Izuku seems like the type who wouldn't.

For now, he'll stretch his arms above him before touching his toes with surprising ease.]

Five minutes of stretching.

It's harder to run on sand, but it's better for training your legs. And you're less likely to get hurt in it than solid ground.

[heroforall]

[A fair assessment, but it doesn't help that Izuku's ideas of training are tied to images of muscular men hitting punching bags and running up and down several flights of stairs a la Rocky. So a gym just seems like the logical location in his mind.]

Oh. Okay. [He stretches an arm behind his back, grabbing the elbow with his other hand and pushing down gently for a deeper stretch. Somehow he thought training would be more...exciting.]

Hmm. I guess if the goal is to strengthen the legs, then speed doesn't matter as much. [There's also an implication in there that he would be likely to get hurt on solid ground which...let's be real Izuku could probably hurt himself walking on the side walk if he wanted to. Good thinking Shouto.]

[glaciers]

[Izuku... Izuku why are you like this?

Though the other reason they're here is that Shouto doesn't want to be anywhere near home when his father is. Not that he'll admit that quite yet.]

It's more about endurance than speed.

[Shouto is like 75% sure Izuku could injure himself if he tried hard enough. At least sand is pretty forgiving, unlike concrete.]

[heroforall]

[He nods again and moves through a few more stretches while he thinks. While having speed can be advantageous in certain situations, endurance is probably the best area for him to work on to start with. After all, speed means nothing if you tire out quickly.

Besides, as someone not used to exercising on the regular, he really could use some endurance.]

So what are we starting with? Laps up and down the beach?

[glaciers]

[Shouto gives a little nod as he finishes up his stretches.

The endurance is easier to start with and it also means Izuku can start running and exercising for a longer distance... eventually.]

Yeah. Just start with jogging and don't try to push yourself to go too fast.

[heroforall]

[He nods.]

Got it.

[Once they're done with stretching, Izuku takes a spot near the water, far enough away that the waves crashing onto shore can't reach him, and begins to run.

He starts out in a slow trot, adjusting to the feeling of running in the sand. But it's not long before he notices things washing up onto the sand.

Candy wrappers and plastic bags and...is that a tire? He walks over towards it and pulls it further up the beach so it can't be pulled back into the waves.]

It's so dirty. Why would people do this?

[glaciers]

[Running in sand, while good for joints and good for somebody who might fall- is a unique type of suffering. There's no purchase, nothing solid. The ground shifts and moves as they run along.

Just twenty minutes of running feels like an hour or so on the solid ground. It's actually more awful than Shouto made it sound.]

Sometimes people don't listen to don't litter laws.

[heroforall]

Yeah...but don't they worry about what they're doing to the water?

[He sets the tire down on the sand and looks at it for a long moment, a idea beginning to form.]

Um...maybe we can use it though. As part of our workout.

[glaciers]

I don't think they're worrying about anything.

[But Shouto looks over the beach for a moment.]

If you'd like to. It'll work out more of your muscles since garbage is awkwardly shaped.

[heroforall]

[Izuku bites his lip, considers for a moment, and nods. If they do it this way it can be beneficial to his training and allow them to clean up the beach a little.]

Okay! [He hefts the tire back up and slides his arm through the hole so it rests on his shoulder. It feels even heavier this way, but he's determined now.]

Let's go! [He begins to run again, at a slower pace due to the weight of the tire weighing him down.]

[glaciers]

[Shouto watches him pick up the tire before picking up another piece of trash. How did a metal bar get all the way out here... Then again, a tire is pretty weird too...

His pace gets a bit slower, but he's still slightly ahead of Izuku.]

How is it?

[heroforall]

Just....hrg..great!

[Sweat is beginning to pool down Izuku's face, but he doesn't stop, not even to wipe it away. His breathing is getting heavier as well.]

Just...gotta...keep...going.

[glaciers]

... You're... definitely going.

Are you sure you're okay?

[heroforall]

..Y.uh..es..

[Is the tire getting heavier? It feels like it's getting heavier...]

How much...nhh..further?

[glaciers]

To the beginning of the beach?

[He watches Izuku struggle for a moment, but Izuku hasn't given up yet. There's no reason to pluck the tire out of his hands.]

... About half a mile.