“I'm in position!” Izuku shouted and waved at Tanya from across the large field that they had decided would be best for testing their homemade ammunition. “The recorders and cameras are set up and ready!”

The earbud Izuku wore crackled before Tanya's voice came out of it. “You don't have to shout. The microphone transmits normal speech.”

“S-sorry!” Isuku said loudly and then winced. “I mean, I'm sorry.” He said in a normal voice.

Tanya chuckled in his ear. “You'll get used to it. How do the targets look through the viewfinder?”

Izuku picked up the old military viewer and gazed through it to look at the makeshift targets. “Everything is five by five.”

Tanya laughed again. “I shouldn't have given you that military training manual.”

“It's great! The primer for exercising has been helping me a lot.”

“I know, that's why I gave it to you. I just didn't expect you to absorb the terminology so quickly.” Tanya said. “All right. Choosing target one. Loading Door-buster rounds.”

“This is going to be so cool.” Izuku whispered.

Tanya smiled and didn't tell him that she could easily hear him. They weren't called 'whisper mikes' for no reason. “Testing unmodified air rifle. Standard cartridge. Pressure normal. Aiming.”

“Do it. Do it. Do it.” Izuku whispered.

Tanya squinted her eye and aimed, took a deep breath as she charged the rifle and ammo with her quirk, then exhaled as she pulled the trigger.

*WHOOOSH!* *KABOOOOOM!*

“Holy CRAP!” Izuku shouted as the target imploded. The tiny flattened head of the pellet that was only two millimetres wide, had made a one foot wide hole in the reinforced wooden target for about an instant and then the rest of it just seemed to flutter away into pieces.

“That... was a lot more effective than we calculated.” Tanya said.

“That's with an unmodified rifle, too!” Izuku exclaimed. “Holy CRAP!”

Tanya thought about that. “I don't think there's enough target left to need the other four shots we planned.”

“I couldn't get a shovel to make a dirt mound behind them. I'm sorry.” Izuku said.

Tanya laughed. “Find me a nice rock or an appropriately sized bump.”

“I'm on it!” Izuku said and used the old army viewfinder to scan the area. “I have a large rock at ten degrees left from your two o'clock.”

Tanya used her magic quirk to produce a similar field as the viewfinder. She spotted the rock and dismissed the spell as she took aim. “Do we have at least one camera on this?”

“Yes. It's only wide angle, though.”

“Good enough.” Tanya said. “Choosing rock target for Door-buster. Pressure normal. Aiming.” She said as she squinted her eye and aimed again, took another deep breath as she charged the rifle and ammo with her quirk, then exhaled as she pulled the trigger.

*WHOOOSH!* *KRACKOOOWW!*

“Holy CRAP!” Izuku shouted. “I didn't see that! I didn't!”

Tanya used the view spell again and saw the large rock had split right down the middle and about a foot of the top part had been blown off. “Okay. Wow.”

“Tanya? Have I told you how awesome your quirk is?” Izuku asked.

“Only every third day or so.” Tanya said.

“I need to say it more.” Izuku said and she laughed a little. “Want to switch to the penetrators?”

“Why not? The log's face is offensive to me.” Tanya said and unloaded the Door-buster ammo and put in the spiked Penetrators.

Izuku laughed because they had attached an old picture of Bakugo onto it. “It won't know what hit it!”

Tanya said the same thing she had before, only with a different target and ammo. She took careful aim at Bakugo's forehead and pulled the trigger.

*WHOOOSH!* *THHHUUNNKKKK!*

“That... it can't do that, can it?” Izuku asked as he stared at the puff of dirt from the pellet hitting the ground a hundred feet behind the log.

“What did it do?” Tanya asked, slightly concerned.

“Um... it kinda... went right through the log. From end to end, I mean. I'm looking at the puff of dirt where it landed.”

“You're kidding.” Tanya said, her voice disbelieving.

“No. You hit it right on Bakugo's forehead. It's a perfectly round hole, too.”

“Confirmed aerodynamics and penetration power for penetrator ammo.” Tanya said for the recorder's benefit. “I'm taking the other four shots for extra data.”

“Go for it.” Izuku said and went back to watching.

Four more shots and four more sounds with puffs of dirt later, Bakugo's eyes and cheeks had perfect holes in them, as did the log behind the picture.

“Data confirmed. Similar results for all four follow up shots.” Izuku said and went quiet for a moment. “That's so awesome.”

Tanya smiled and then her smile faded. “Explosive ammo next.”

“Oh, god.” Izuku whispered and then spoke normally. “I'm retreating to a safer position.”

“You beat me to my recommendation.” Tanya said and loaded the explosive ammo. “You brought the riot shield, didn't you?”

“On my back.” Izuku said and she watched his small figure run closer towards her to the back-up view spot. He took the shield off and propped it up into the dirt in front of him. “All right. I'm in position.”

Tanya took another deep breath and let it out before she switched the nearly expended air cartridge for a fresh one. She did the same verbal cues about the ammo and target before she charged the ammo with the explosive spell and pulled the trigger.

*WHOOOSH!* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Tanya and Izuku winced at the extremely loud explosion. Even from this far away, it had hurt their ears a little. When they looked for the target she had shot... there was nothing except a small crater... that was a lot bigger than their numbers indicated.

“Do you think we designed the pellets too well?” Izuku asked. “They literally maximize their purpose.”

“I think you're right. These things are too good for me to use.” Tanya said.

“Why do you say that?” Izuku asked, concerned.

“I was only charging them with the minimum amount to get them to work.”

Izuku stared at the devastation the last test had left. “Holy crap! Crap crap crap!”

“My thoughts exactly.” Tanya said and unloaded the air rifle. “I'm actually afraid to try the spiral formed Sniper ammo for the distance test.”

“We should abort that and replace it with using just a normal pellet with no modifications.” Izuku recommended.

“Agreed.” Tanya said and loaded the cartridge with normal ammo. “Do we do all of the tests over?”

“We have the backup targets, so sure.” Izuku said. “I don't know how effective normal pellets will be for the different tasks, though.”

“Let's find out.” Tanya said. “Choosing target six. Normal ammo while using Door-buster option.”

There was a similar whoosh sound and then a thump as the pellet hit the wood. It made a much smaller hole and didn't break apart the target.

“It's much less effective than specific ammo.” Izuku said. “It still works.”

“Trying the penetrating option. Bakugo needs a nose ring to go with the other annoying holes in his face.” Tanya said and Izuku chuckled. “Aiming.”

Another whoosh and a less substantial thunk.

“I need to go measure.” Izuku said.

Tanya put her rifle down. “Cleared field of fire.”

Izuku ran partway across the field to the log and bent down to use a small laser depth gauge. “It only went in a couple of feet, so the same result. It works and is not as effective.”

“Head back. I'm trying the explosive one this time.” Tanya said and waited for Izuku to go back to his position, only he went back to the first one and not the safer one. “Izuku.”

“I'll be fine. I think the normal ammo verifies our numbers for the effects we calculated. We must have missed an unknown factor with the specifically formed ammo.” Izuku said. “Go ahead and call it out.”

Tanya did and aimed before she charged the ammo and fired. The explosion was a little smaller than they had estimated, even if it did still destroy the target. It didn't annihilate it, though.

Izuku gathered everything up as he shut the equipment off, packed it away, and carried the two large cases all the way back over to Tanya. “What are your thoughts?”

“You first and I want your honest opinion.” Tanya said and he nodded.

“I think we should abandon the idea of mass producing the specialty ammo. It's just not practical to have you dealing with all of the ramifications of an overcharged pellet that you didn't overcharge.”

Tanya let out a long sigh. “I have to agree. I'll still carry an assortment of the specialty ones, for emergency situations where the power is needed. Until then, basic ammo is all I should use.”

Izuku frowned and crossed his arms. “I don't like that you have to limit yourself. Your quirk won't get more powerful if you don't use it to its potential as much as possible.”

“Izuku...” Tanya started to say.

“If the stupid government hadn't cut you off, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You could easily use one of their many firing ranges and training facilities to get better control of your quirk.” Izuku said and turned to look at the field.

Tanya reached out and touched his shoulder. “I'm not sorry they did it.”

Izuku blinked his eyes and remembered saying something similar after she had kissed him. He turned to look at her and was startled at the intensity in the ice blue eyes that locked onto his.

“I never would have met you.” Tanya said and saw the raw emotions in the boy's eyes. She also suspected that hers looked very similar. “Let's get all of this back to the house.”

Izuku nodded and they carried everything over to the cart that was on the back of Tanya's bicycle. They strapped everything into place and Izuku jogged alongside her as she pedalled. It was just as awkward going back home as it had been going to the field in the first place. Izuku couldn't volunteer to ride it, either. It was something that he had never learned because his dad had left when he was a kid.

“We'll figure it out. It's what we do.” Tanya said as she hopped off of the bicycle to let Izuku catch it.

“Yeah, it is.” Izuku said with a smile as he took the bike into the house for her.

“Are you staying over tonight?” Tanya asked as they unstrapped the cases from the bicycle.

“Mom's got some weird thing planned for tonight. She wouldn't say what, though.” Izuku said.

Tanya chuckled. “If it's squid tentacles for supper again, throw one in her hair!”

Izuku laughed. “She screamed at us for two hours after the last time.”

“I am not eating something that can grab onto me and crush me in its natural environment... that we are completely surrounded by.”

Izuku laughed again and walked over to her front door. “I'll see you later, Tanya.”

Tanya walked over to him and smiled. “Bye, Izuku.”

Izuku opened the door and felt a hand on his, keeping it on the doorknob.

“One last thing.” Tanya whispered and he turned to face her. She puckered her lips slightly and she leaned in as she briefly kissing him. “Thank you for not freaking out today.”

“Didn't I? I did say crap a lot.” Izuku said with a grin on his face, which was slightly red.

Tanya had to laugh at the reminder. “Never mind then! Give me that kiss back!”

Izuku froze for a moment, then he leaned in with puckered lips and kissed her for a second. “Bye.”

“G-goodbye.” Tanya said, her own face slightly red. What the hell is wrong with me? He's twelve! I was a grown woman in my past life and I shouldn't be embarrassed by a simple kiss!

Izuku walked down the short driveway and didn't hear the door close behind him like it should have. He turned back to see Tanya holding the door open and staring at him with an odd look on her face.

“I don't know why I did that, either.” Izuku said, then he smiled crookedly at his best friend and started running towards the train station.

Tanya watched the enigma run away and disappear from sight. She shut and locked the door, set the alarm, and walked past the cases of her things. She ignored the need to clean everything to put it away. For now. She had some serious thinking to do and went to her bedroom to lay on the bed as she started to go over in her head all of the personal interactions she had had in her past life.

It took her hours to go through everything, especially the ones she had during the wars she fought with Viktoria at her side. When she was done, Tanya took in a sharp breath. She finally realized what was happening to her. She had seen it countless times in her life, both here and in her past lives. She also knew that there was something definitely wrong with her.

Tanya had finally met someone that was just as enigmatic as she was, someone that was just as inherently smart, and someone she could relate to on a personal level. She never had that happen before in any life, despite having multiple female bed partners in her last life and lots of personal company that she enjoyed.

I can't believe this! Tanya thought as she stared up at the ceiling. I'm falling in love with him!