"Midoriya, this oil I'm applying is for massage, but oil means fat, right? And in cooking, fat increases calories. So what does that mean?"
Huh? Where did this pop quiz come from?
Oil... food... fat... high calories... ah.
"Maybe that oil also has Fumiko's 'Quirk' in it..."
"Correct. I dissolved 'Energy' into it. Using this for massage supposedly gives an insane fatigue recovery effect... someone who tried it said their accumulated fatigue from endless overtime and holiday work just vanished, and they felt great going to work the next day."
"...No, I don't need that much... please spare me! I sleep and eat properly every day, so fatigue doesn't accumulate. Normal rest is enough..."
A naked oil massage by a girl, that situation is way too stimulating...
Actually, it's already partly too late. On top of that, Fumiko's outfit, which she changed into with full motivation, is way too stimulating, causing a certain part of my body, I won't say where, to deform beyond my control.
So even if I try to persuade her to stop the massage, I need to wait a bit before standing up to go change. Since I'm only covered by a single bath towel, it'll definitely be noticed...
...Earlier, during 'Full Cowl' training, she already saw the same phenomenon... or rather, I even ended up pushing it onto her.
From that experience, even if she noticed, she probably wouldn't mind, but this is a matter of male pride...
While I was thinking all this, Fumiko kept applying oil to my back without stopping her hands.
"No, no. Whether you notice it or not... Midoriya, you've accumulated fatigue."
"No, that's not true... I wake up feeling great every morning? Actually, recently, thanks to Fumiko, I've been able to exercise well, so I sleep soundly and wake up refreshed."
It's true. Not every day, but recently, with after-school special training and various self-training she's advised me on, I've been sleeping soundly.
Quality fatigue, maybe? The fatigue properly becomes part of me, but it doesn't linger afterward. So I haven't had mornings where fatigue lingers or I feel rough lately.
But Fumiko's answer was... beyond my expectations.
"No, that's not what I mean... I'm talking about the fatigue that's chronically, or rather persistently, accumulated in Midoriya's body. Fatigue that's been building up over a very, very long period."
"...? Um, what do you mean..."
"This is just my guess, but Midoriya... about a year before entering U.A. High School, didn't you go through a period where you trained your body in a pretty reckless way?"
"...!"
I couldn't help but gasp.
Because that was exactly right. The ten months from when All Might recognized me as his successor until the U.A. entrance exam... Those days were spent entirely on training, centered around cleaning Takoba Municipal Beach Park, along with strict dietary restrictions and sleep schedules.
It was definitely an incredibly harsh period, and I was exhausted to an extraordinary degree every single day.
"Probably that, or something close to it. I'm sure your body was trained to some extent at that time. But at the same time, the fatigue from continuously applying excessive strain over a long period has stuck to you like a fossil and stubbornly remains. This isn't about feeling tired; it's about muscles hardening and becoming difficult to loosen, solidifying in that state. So in normal daily life, you can't recognize it as 'fatigue,' and normal rest alone won't remove it."
...Back then, when I was still 'Quirkless,' I thought I had to put in many times more effort than everyone else... To the point where I kept training my body to the point of overwork, thinking I had to exceed even All Might's expectations.
Later, my training plan was adjusted, and All Might told me overwork was counterproductive, right?
I thought I had overcome that too... but maybe I hadn't...?
In a way that even All Might hadn't noticed, the effects of that recklessness remained in my body...
"Your reaction tells me I hit the mark. Originally, Midoriya's physique, while trained, undeniably feels like it was hastily built, like rushed construction, similar to your Quirk. The result of forcibly shaping a body that should have taken years to build in a short period inevitably created strain. Hmm... to put it in gaming terms, it's like the time needed for grinding was shortened, but a negative modifier was applied to the ability increase. Understand?"
"Yeah, sort of... But how did you know that?"
"It's not like I grapple with you every time during ground technique training for nothing. There were many situations where my prediction of how Midoriya's body should move when I applied a technique differed slightly from his actual movement and power, so I felt something was off. I thought there might be a slight problem with the body itself."
To be honest... hearing that was a bit of a shock.
It felt like a flaw had been found in this body I built under All Might's guidance... No, I understand that Fumiko is saying this with genuine goodwill and accurately pointing out an undeniable truth...
But from the way she's talking now, perhaps Fumiko can...?
"Half the purpose of this overnight special training was originally that. 'Learning how to move your body' and... 'returning Midoriya's body to a truly perfect state.' It's an unavoidable step if you want to aim higher."
"Ca... can it be fixed?"
"Fix it, or rather, I'll fix it. We're starting serious training from tomorrow, so I absolutely have to do this before then. At the very least, I'll improve it. For that, of course, just eating, bathing, and sleeping isn't enough. I'll use my Quirk at full power for a massage to loosen the muscle fiber coagulation and bring you to peak condition. Since we're breaking down the current state, there will be some strain and damage to your body tissues, but I've put enough energy into your body to cover that with your self-healing ability and more... So, is that enough of an explanation for you?"
•••
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