Knock-Out!
Round 1: The Boxer
...3 Months Before UA...
A 14-year old boy was seen jogging around the streets of Musutafu. He was wearing a grey tracksuit, the jacket wrapped around his waist. Featured on him were the green boxing gloves tied to the jacket. The boy was Izuku Midoriya, rising star of Japan's Featherweight division. He was currently running to train for his next match, currently having run 4 Kilometers (Roughly 2 Miles for us Americans) prior. He slowed to a stop next to a water fountain, wiping the sweat from his brow before drinking some water, wiping his face with some before jogging down to his local gym, labeled Hansuke Boxing Gym.
The gym Izuku went to was one normally seen in things such as boxing movies. The walls were lined with punching bags and boxing equipment, with a ring in the center for practice or spars between patrons. He entered, greeting a few regulars to the building before seeing a man by the name of Kaito Hansuke. He was a rather tall man, once the former champion of the Middleweight Division. He had tan skin, glasses, and short blond hair, a scar across the bridge of his nose. He wasn't as muscular as he used to be, but it had been a few years since his last fight as the Middleweight Champion of Japan.
"You done with your run, kid?" He asked.
"Yup! If you need me, I'll be practicing punches." Izuku said. He walked over to a punching bag, where Kaito stood with a clipboard and a stopwatch. He then activated his Quirk, which would give him much faster eyesight and processing at the expense of becoming nearsighted after his boxing career ended.
"Ready? Go." Kaito said, as Izuku began to wail on the bag. Kaito counted each and every punch thrown, even though the rest at the gym saw it as a blur of fists. "Stop." He said after Izuku spent two minutes consecutively punching. "Exactly three hundred punches in two minutes. Not bad, kid. I'll set up a match with the next fighter soon."
"Can't wait!" Izuku said, starting to lift a few weights, each one about fourty pounds.
"So, how's the home life?" Kaito asked, counting his reps. After about one hundred reps, he put down his weights, and proceeded to do chin-ups, some of the regular attendees watching him train.
"It's been pretty weird living on my own since mom got sick, but at least the fight money pays for her treatment." Izuku said. "Other than that, it's been alright."
"Good, good. Any school you're planning on going to?"
"I'm planning on going for UA's hero course, actually." Izuku said, to Kaito's shock.
"UA?! How are you going to balance your boxing career with trying to become a hero?" Kaito asked.
"I know It'll be hard, but I know I can pull it off." Izuku said. "The extra training will help in both fields anyways." Izuku said, putting down the weights.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Now, step in the ring. I wanna give you a little practice session to make sure you're good to go for the next fight." Kaito said.
"Let's do it!" Izuku said. He climbed the ropes to enter the ring, his coach following a second after, putting on boxing mitts.
"You know the drill, right?" He asked.
"Yep!" The boxer responded. Kaito stuck up the mitt on his right hand, and Izuku punched it with his left.
"Good." Kaito said. He held up the right, and Izuku punched it with his left. Kaito held up both, and Izuku punched one after another, ducking suddenly when the mitt flew towards his head.
"Perfect. Again!" Izuku and Kaito would spend the next ten minutes doing the same steps, punching each mitt with the opposite fist, moving and ducking under Kaito's movements as if this were and actual match. After they finished, Izuku pulled the gloves off of his hands, placing them on the side of a bench as he chugged from a water bottle, his mentor retreating to his office to handle the gym's finances. A moment later, he heard the door open, to see a girl roughly Izuku's age enter. She had a black ponytail, with a single fringe adorning the right side of her face, and her grey catlike eyes scanned the arena before finding the young boxer. She walked her way towards him, as he now noticed a clipboard under her arm.
"I was sent by my parents to look for one Kaito Hansuke to present an offer of a sponsorship for one Izuku Midoriya. Do you perhaps know where I could find either of them?" She asked.
"That's me." Izuku said, and Momo blinked in surprise.
"Well that makes my job easier." She said. "Momo Yaoyorozu, it's a pleasure to meet you." She introduced while holding out her hand, and Izuku blushed slightly, shaking the outstretched hand.
"It's n-nice to meet you as well." He responded, unwrapping his hands. "What was this about a sponsorship?"
"Oh! My parents enjoy seeing the youngest professional boxer in Japan fight. They wanted to sponsor you by doubling the pay you earn from each match." She said, and his eyes widened in shock.
'That's a lot of zeroes.' "I-I'm grateful, but I would rather if the money went directly towards my mother's treatment." He said.
"Oh, is she doing alright?" Momo asked.
"A villain's Quirk hit her a year ago, and forced a dangerous illness onto her. I'm using the fight money I don't use for rent to pay for her to be treated." He said.
"I hope she makes it in good health. Also, I can talk to my family about that instead of the original terms of the sponsorship." She responded. She checked her watch, and frowned.
"Oh dear, it seems I must take my leave. Can I have your contact information before I go?" She asked.
"S-Sure!" He said as he blushed, fumbling for his phone. The two exchanged phone numbers quickly before Momo left, Izuku remaining on the sidewalk to process what just happened.
'I JUST GOT A PRETTY GIRL'S NUMBER!' He screamed within his head, shaking it to clear his mind before standing up, seeing a poster of the current Featherweight Champion of Japan.
'One day, I'll beat you.' He thought, before he enteed the shower rooms to clean the sell of sweat from his form. Izuku took the time while he was there to remember all that happened, from his early training, to meeting Momo.
"Found a lady for yourself kid?" Kaito teased, making Izuku jump with a blush, thanking the face that he usually wore a towel when using the public showers.
"N-N-No! S-She just presented an offer for more funding to my mother's hospital bill, is all." He said, scratching the back of his head.
"Suuure. You tell yourself that. Anyways, I have the next fight set up for you. It'll be next week at the Musutafu Arena. Be ready and keep up your training." He said.
"You got it! I'll be ready to fight!" Izuku beamed, exiting the shower room. After learning of the next fight, Izuku was pumped full of hype and determination. He was so pumped that he didn't bother going to bed when he finally went home, opting to train the night away rather than go to sleep.
...
A/N: Yo! If you're new, welcome to Knock-Out! I hope you'll be able to give my story a chance. Maybe you'll like it! On another note, if you have read the earlier chapters, this is a much shorter one compared to that because of a specific purpose. I changed it since the whole "bad man tries to take advantage of main girl, gets stopped by main male and two main leads meet" made Momo seem much weaker compared to her old self. It lost a few hundred words shifting over, but I hope this makes up for it. I'd love it if you'd stick around for the ride. See you next chapter!