CHAPTER 2: TRAINING DAY
"Today's the day," Izuku said to himself in his bathroom mirror. His smile hadn't faded once since the previous day, meeting Terry and having someone believe that even he could be a hero. This was important to him, and it also terrified him beyond belief, "No. No more doubts and fears now. You already agreed to meet with Mr. Bogard; it's now or never Izuku." Smacking his cheeks with his hands, Izuku grinned, ready for what awaited him.
-Jacco Park-
Terry had gotten to the park early; he sat on the same bench where he and Izuku shared an Ice Cream with a gym bag sat beside him. Today he was wearing a red letterman jacket with white stars on both shoulders. The rest of his attire was the same, down to the white t-shirt and jeans.
'Am I really considering this? Taking on a student? Man, Andy's really rubbing off on me,' sighing Terry, standing up from the bench as he saw Midoriya approaching him from the park entrance. 'Huh. He actually showed up. I guess there's no going back now.' Terry smirked at his inner thoughts, rubbing his head as he waved to Izuku.
"Morning, Mr. Bogard. I-I'm ready for my first lesson today! Let's go!" he shouted, excited to go. Terry chuckled only to pat the young man's head and smile.
"Glad to see you actually made it, but your first test isn't gonna be here. Come on; I wanna take you somewhere."
Izuku raised a brow at his teacher's words. He was curious as Terry picked up the bag and proceeded to lead him towards the train station. As the two sat beside one another, Izuku struggled to break the silence between them.
"U-Um… Mr. Bogard?"
"Hm?"
Terry raised a brow and snapped out of his daze.
"I-If you don't mind me asking? If we're not training at the park, where exactly are we going?" the middle schooler asked while scratching his head. Terry leaned back into his seat, his arms crossed as a serious expression appeared on his face.
"Listen, Izuku. I'm not training." Izuku's face appeared shocked as Terry continued. "At least not until I know you can handle it first. Which means you're going to need to prove yourself."
The young boy gulped at Terry's serious expression; he held back his trepidation, however. It was far too late to back out now, and he wanted to get stronger. To see his goal through. Clenching his fist, Izuku turned to Terry with eyes full of determination.
"I-I understand, Mr. Bogard. I'll promise to do my best!"
Terry's eyes widened at Izuku's declaration; a smirk appeared on his face as he gave a thumbs up while looking away. A grin spread across Midoriya's freckled face. Terry turned away as he couldn't stand to look at the bright exuberance of a child. In reality, Terry exhaled as he finally relaxed.
'Christ is this what responsibility of a kid feels like?! Damn Andy, how do you deal with this pressure?'
-Elsewhere in Japan-
A man with blonde hair reaching his shoulders sat beside a river meditating in silence. His eyes widened as he suddenly looked up to the sky with a raised brow, "Huh. Why do I suddenly feel a large sensation of vindication?"
"Andy! Dinner's ready!" declared a female voice from the campsite.
"Coming, Mai."
-Back with Terry and Izuku-
"Uh, Mr. Bogard." Izuku looked up hesitantly at the large facility near the water. Above the doors was the word GBW in white; he was clearly confused at where his supposed teacher had taken him to. "Are you sure this is the place?"
Terry whistled with an impressed expression, "Yeah. This is the place, a friend of mine owns this building. C'mon. The old man's probably waiting for us."
Terry opens the doors to the facility, and in the door frame was a towering bald man that was two heads taller than Terry. The large man with a beard of blonde hair, whose stature sent shivers down Izuku's spine, stared down at the two with the logs for arms crossed across his chest. His attire was a tight white t-shirt with the same letters as the building and a pair of black shorts, highlighting his leg muscles.
'H-Huge!'
"Bogard. So you actually showed up and on time too. That's a first." he said in an Australian accent. To say that Izuku was intimidated by the man's size was an absolute understatement. What shocked him, even more was the bright grin that stretched across his bearded face.
"Hello, there, young man! I'm so happy to see a new student attend my school. My name is-" Terry interrupted.
"Bear. This kid's with me; actually, he's not signing up."
In an instant, all sense of joy left the man's face, and he resumed glaring at Bogard. Terry laughed before patting the man on the arm. All the while, Izuku just looked on in confusion. He didn't know how to react to the now tense air around the two giants before him; swallowing his anxiety Izuku shakily raised a hand.
"U-Um…" he squeaked out. "I-I actually would like to know why I'm here, Mr. Bogard. It just seems very… random."
The two men stopped their silent showdown from looking at Izuku; Bear groaned while rubbing the back of his neck. Terry laughed before patting the junior high boy on the back; holding his shoulder; he gestured to Izuku to enter the building.
"Listen, the Ol' Bear, and I have some catching up to do. Why don't you head inside and get ready, don't be afraid to talk to the crew there. 'Kay?"
The boy nodded before nervously skirting Bear's large body into the building, where once again, he was amazed by the contents inside. A fully functioning gym with a giant wrestling ring set smack dab in the middle was in the building. He was a little surprised by the lack of attendees outside of a tall young man in a yellow t-shirt and black shorts sporting spiky brown hair lifting two punching bags over his shoulders. The other teen turned to Midoriya and smiled as he approached Izuku with a bright expression. This all served to make Midoriya even more of a trembling mess.
"Hey there, I've never seen you around the gym. Always nice to see a new face around here. Where are my manners? I'm Sato Rikido. And you are?" he asked, holding out a hand to Midoriya. Izuku nervously held the boy's hand, noting the rough texture of his palm as a sign of how hard he works.
"M-Midoriya Izuku. I just started today. I'm fourteen years old!" screamed the nervous freckle-faced teen. Sato laughed in response.
"Fourteen, huh? That makes us the same age then. Welcome, Midoriya. Come on. I think Sensei and the crew are coming back from road work. I'll introduce you to them." said Sato as he led Midoriya to the backfield.
-Meanwhile-
Outside of the building, Terry Bogard sighed as he locked eyes with the large man named Bear. Terry tied his hair back into a ponytail and began to stretch his arms and legs.
"Been a while since we tussled, huh, Bear?" asked Terry with a smirk on his face. Bear chuckled as he ran his hand through his beard and looked down at the man before him. Cracking his knuckles, he crouched and entered a classic wrestling stance.
"Not since the second King of Fighters. I may be an old man, but I can still kick your ass, Bogard," answered Bear. Terry released a loud laugh in response and clenched his fists before rushing forward in a blur. Bear smiled before raising his arms to block an overhead flip kick from Terry. The wrestler winced at the impact before smiling and grabbing hold of the blonde warrior's leg with his free hand.
"Gotcha!" he screamed before throwing Terry towards some nearby trees. The fighter winced before spinning in mid-air, bouncing off the tree with his feet. He clenched his fist as his right fist glowed bright blue; Bear's eyes widened as he remembered the upcoming attack.
"BURNING KNUCKLE!" declared Terry loudly. His fist contacted Bear's cheek sending the large man flying back a few inches before regaining balance. Terry shook his hand and resumed his stance, only to be interrupted by the giant wrestler slamming his shoulder into his chest. Knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him tumbling across the dirt. The old wrestler rubbed his shoulder after his attack.
"Damn. I forgot how much Giant Bomb hurts, but…" his body tensed up as he looked overhead to see Terry descending on him with his fist glowing blue as he yelled.
"POWER DUNK!" Bear sidestepped out the line of fire, Terry's fist crashing into the dirt with a loud crack. Before Bear could counter-attack, however, Terry launched himself from the ground with his hand and spun in mid-air, landing a solid heel kick to Bear's right ear.
Staggering from the attack, Bear wiped his cheek and glared at Terry, who stood opposite to him. Unfazed and unbothered by their current bout, he expected nothing less from the hungry wolf. The two stared down at one another, the air growing tense in anticipation for their upcoming clash.
"So, you ready to get serious, old man?" asked Terry. Bear's eye twitched at Terry's question because the Australian man had been going all out since the beginning. But not one to shy away from a challenge, Bear cricked his neck and flexed his fingers; Bear stood ready. Terry did the same, the two digging their shoes into the dirt before bolting forward at one another at full speed. The smile on his face was bright and wide as he bounced in place, his fists clenched and ready.
-With Midoriya-
"Man. I didn't think Sensei would go this hardcore today?" Sato said while rubbing the back of his neck. Izuku was stunned by sight; seemingly, a dirt road leading deeper into the woods was in the back of the gym. But what made the teen's mouth agape was the sight of several grown men and women littered before him, gasping for air and food. Several seemed to be experiencing untold amounts of pain and exhaustion, one of which even muttered something about seeing his grandmother.
"T-This Sensei of yours? Are you sure he's okay?" asked the trembling Midoriya. Before Sato could answer, a loud and boisterous cry rang out from the road as those on the floor and even Sato himself tensed up at.
"EVERYONNNNNEEEEE!" The crew on the floor scrambled to their feet in fear before it was too late. They looked towards the road; a figure was running towards them at inhuman speeds. Ramón sent the one furthest behind the crew flying as he received a dropkick to the back by the acclaimed Sensei. Midoriya's face went blank as the dust cleared and the screams went silent. Standing before him was another blond-haired foreigner who sported an eyepatch over his right eye. Sato's sensei stood with his arms crossed and a toothy grin on his face, wearing a black compression shirt with green tiger striped sweatpants and green and black Nikes. As if he hadn't just dropkicked one of his students seconds prior.
"¡Muy Bien Trabajo!" yelled the foreigner in a bright tone. Izuku stood stunned as Sato groaned at his Sensei's actions. The man turned to the two teens and smiled at the sight of an unfamiliar face. "¡Hola! Are you the surprise visitor Bear told me about?" asked the gentleman.
Midoriya's body froze before trembling at the sight of the man before him, "Y-You're him. The Raging Luchador, Jungle King-Ramón! You were one of Mexico's greatest heroes back in your day!"
This brought a smirk to the adult's face, holding his chin as he looked at the starry-eyed Midoriya. "I see, so my legend even reaches Japan. Then dear fan, what brings you to our humble academia of muscle and strength? I mean, other than my prestigious reputation and good looks."
While watching the former pro-hero admire himself, Midoriya tried to speak up and explain himself to the former pro hero standing before him.
"Um, actually, I'm here with…."
The boy was then swiftly interrupted by a loud explosion coming from the front of the building.
BADOOOOM!
Sato and the others fell to the floor from the sheer impact of the explosion; Midoriya himself tensed up as he fell onto his behind. However, the older man vanished without a trace as they saw the smoke plume from the front of the building.
"Mr. Bogard!" yelled Izuku as he quickly rose to his feet and took off around the side of the building. Sato, still shaken by the explosion, slowly arose and followed in pursuit. What the two saw was nothing more than a spectacle of pure power before them. Standing to the left was Terry, who smirked as he brushed the dirt off of his jacket. Dirt and grime scuffed his face with minor bruises, but both teens could tell that he clearly had the upper hand. On the right was Bear, who sadly wasn't fairing as good as his younger opponent. His body sported bruises and marks from the battle, and he looked exhausted as his stamina was nearly zero.
"Damn it, Bogard. You went and got even stronger on me again." Bear chuckled as he rubbed his cheek. Terry exhaled and began to laugh as he untied his ponytail, offering a hand to the aged wrestler.
"For now, you've gotten better too. Glad to see you've still got it."
The two fighters held hands and shared a laugh; Sato and Izuku watched with intrigue and awe at the scene. It was only interrupted by a loud, boisterous cry from the sky above, "FLYING BODY ATTACK!" followed by an explosive crash.
Midoriya and Sato held up their arms to block the cloud of dust bursting from the impact. Once it cleared, the two looked on as Ramón stood atop the two warriors. His hands on his hips and a wide grin stretched across his face as if he was proud of his surprise attack on the two fighters.
"¡Viva México!" he declared as loud as he could, followed by boisterous laughter.
"Umm… is he-" Before Izuku could finish his sentence. Sato's face fell into his palm with a groan, nodding slowly.
"Yeah, he's always like this."
After getting treating the wounds of the two senior fighters, Midoriya found himself sitting beside Terry, who was currently enjoying a burger. He hesitated to ask, something the older man noticed but gulped before asking the burning question in his mind.
"Mr. Bogard, sir. If it's okay to ask, w-what exactly are we doing here?" he asked. Terry placed his food onto the table and rubbed his chin in silence as he pondered the answer. Izuku was nervous, worried about his mentors' possible words before Terry finally answered.
"Simple. We're here," Terry took a brief pause.
Izuku gulped, scared of what the following words would be.
"To work out."
"Eh?"
"Before I teach you anything, you gotta get in shape. Not gonna lie, kid; you're practically a string bean. But, Bear and Ramón owe me some favors, so I asked them to take care yah." answered Terry, who scarfed down what remained of his food and stood up. Izuku scrambled to his feet after him, with a panicked expression on his face.
"W-Wait. What about your teaching me?" Terry stopped in his tracks and stared forward, avoiding eye contact with Midoriya as he spoke.
"Simple. For every day of training with Bear and Ramón, I'll teach you something that only I can teach you. Think of this as a preliminary test to your proper training, okay?"
Izuku looked at his hands and then the broad back of his mentor; clenching his fists, he nodded.
"I understand," Terry smirked and gave a thumbs up. Unknown to Midoriya, Terry was shivering as he honestly didn't realize what he just agreed to.
'Holy crap. I can't believe I pulled that off!' were the words going through Terry's head. "Now, Midoriya. I'm gonna head out with Bear for the rest of the day till I come back. Ramón will have you and the Sato kid running drills. If you can survive till I come back, I'll teach you your first lesson."
"Understood, I'll do my best!" announced Midoriya, punctuated with a bow as Terry left the building. After rising, Midoriya took a deep breath and turned to the gym, Ramón standing in the center ring talking with Sato.
"So then, care to explain who's the kid?" asked Bear. Currently, he and Terry were in the Gym's personal truck heading into town. Terry stared out the window, groaning as he remembers his first encounter with Midoriya.
"He's just some kid I saved from bullies the other day. Nothing more, nothing less," he said, avoiding the older man's gaze.
"You're a shit liar. You know that, right?"
"Oh, stuff it. Let's just hurry up and get the food. I dread what Ramón is doing to those kids." The two men shivered at their image of Ramón's training. Terry praying for Midoriya's safety and sanity.
If Izuku could summarize this experience with a single word, Izuku would undoubtedly use hell to describe the last hour and a half. He laid on the cold gym floor in a pool of his own sweat, his chest heaving from the workout Ramón had put him through. Due to his weak stature and the fact that he'd never really worked out in his life, Ramón decided to break Midoriya's body and build it back up. A long run in the backfield with him and Sato stretches that seemingly pulled almost every muscle in his body, followed by weight lifting and intense Hindu Squats. Safe to say, Izuku felt every fiber of his being was ablaze and dying.
"Rough day?" asked Sato, who stood over Midoriya with a cold bottle of water in hand. Midoriya shakily grabbed the bottle and dumped the freezing liquid on his face, exhaling as he felt his blood rushing through him once again. Sato laughed at the sight, holding out a hand for the moss-haired teen to grab hold of.
"Y-You could say that." squeaked out Midoriya. Sato patted him on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement.
"Don't worry, Ramón-Sensei's drills are insane but doable. Give it some time, and you'll hopefully get the hang of it." A soft smile appeared on Midoriya's face; he looked at the grinning bit before him and returned the smile.
"Hey! Breaks over you two" yelled Ramón off to the side. "Get your butts over here and show me what you got!"
His orders sent shivers down their spine, but both boys soon broke into a small laugh. They walked together towards the rest of their painful training.
"I can't believe you got us lost! Some navigator." snide Bear from the driver seat to Terry.
"Oh, will you stuff it? I get it. Let's just hurry and unload the groceries. I'm starving."
"Oi! Didn't you eat before we left?"
"Yeah. And?"
The older man mumbled a swear under his breath, pulling the vehicle into the gym's garage. They found Sato exhausted as they entered with several groceries in hand, leaning against the front doors drenched in sweat. Bear rushed to the teenagers' side, fear painted on his face.
"Sato! Are you okay?" yelled the veteran wrestler. Sato slowly pointed to the ring with his trembling hands; there Ramón stood with his hands on his hips. On his hands and knees was a drenched Izuku Midoriya who looked seconds away from exhaling his internal organs.
"Okay, Midoriya. I think that's enough for today," said Ramón as he turned his back to the teen.
"No."
The one-eyed luchador stops in his tracks, turning around, and finds Izuku staring back at him with his emerald eyes shining with determination as he grips the top rope.
"I-I can keep going, Mister Ramón. So let's go on." he declared, in between deep gasps for air. Terry watched on in silence; before Izuku could take a step forward, a towel fell onto his face. Terry stood off to the side of the ring, his eyes obscured by his hair, before pointing to the door with his thumb.
"Midoriya, we're leaving," he said. Turning away in silence, leaving everyone to watch as the blonde warrior exited the wrestling gym. Izuku blinked as his mentor left him behind. Scrambling after him, Izuku grabbed his bag and wiped off his face before following after him. Ramón and Bear watched in silence. The latter of the two, however, sported a large grin on his face.
'Well, Bogard. What will you do now?' he thought to himself.
The silence was tense and tangible for all to see, for the train ride back and even now as the two walked several feet apart from one another. Izuku rubbed his shoulder and hung his head, his nerves at the moment granting his aching muscles a brief reprieve. After a short walk from the station, Terry stopped in front of the park where they had met and proceeded inside. Hesitant, Izuku slowly followed Terry and found the older man sitting on a bench with his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Take a seat, Midoriya," he said, a clear change in tone and mood in his voice. Izuku swallowed as he slowly took a seat beside Terry, trying to avoid looking at the man beside him.
As they sat on the bench, the sun lowered past the horizon. Izuku held his knees, shaking at the tense silence that had appeared ever since they left Bear's gym. Terry had escorted them to the same park they'd met and sat down, waiting for the teenager to follow.
"Midoriya, " Terry broke the tension. "I-Well, you did pretty well today. I don't know many people who can handle Ramón's training for more than thirty minutes. But you did it for more than even that. I commend you."
"Oh! T-Thank you, Mr. Bogard. I honestly don't think I would've lasted long, in all honesty." Terry raised his brow.
"Sato, he helped me through most of it, honestly. If I felt like dying or giving up, he was there, ready to help me out to pep me up. I don't think I could do this without him." The blonde fighter looked at the freckled boy's face, a small smile sneaking onto his visage. Releasing a heavy sigh, Terry stood up from his seat with his hands in his pockets.
"Listen, kid," Terry began. "I lied to you earlier. About teaching you the stuff I know."
"Eh?! B-But you-"
"Lemme finish!" he yelled, avoiding eye contact with the green-haired boy behind him. "When I brought you to Bear's place, I expected you to ditch the idea of learning how to fight after Ramón's hellish training. But then, I saw you in the ring next to Sato. Standing there, defiant as you told Ramón, you could keep going. It was damn near inspiring that look in your eyes."
He'd be lying if he said he felt a bit embarrassed by Terry's compliments, especially when he remembers being seconds from vomiting when he said that. Shaking his head, Izuku continued listening to Terry's words.
"I saw that look before; it's one that any seeking strength has. So my question to you, Midoriya Izuku, is this. Why? Why do you want the power I present?"
Why did he seek this power? Izuku had never thought of it in full; he'd never considered how it might appear to Terry with him wanting to learn how to fight after being saved from bullies. He clenched his fists, slowly standing from his seat with his eyes glued to his feet.
"My whole life, I've never been what you'd considered strong, in any sense of the word. I'm quirkless, scrawny, and never won a fight in my life. But, I've always only wanted one thing in my whole life. I-I want to be someone who can save people, who people can rely on."
Terry's ears perked at the sound of this declaration. Midoriya continued.
"When I was young, a group of bullies attacked one of my classmates for not listening to them. I didn't have a quirk back then or even any friends to back me up. But I wanted to help him. I tried to, at least by standing my ground." Midoriya's hand traveled to his chest, clenching his shirt as he fought out the words. Tears were bubbling out in the corner of his eyes.
"But I failed. He got hurt, injured too, all because I couldn't protect him. I'm tired of being weak, Mr. Bogard! I'm tired of being hurt. I can't do anything because I was deemed worthless without power. I-I want the strength to stand on my own two feet and help others in need instead of being the one who others get hurt saving. I-I..."
"Want to be a hero. Am I right?" Izuku raised his head; Terry stood before him with his arms slack and a smirk evident on his face. Raising his hand, Bogard placed his gloved hand on the boy's bush of dark green hair. "I understand now. Very well, Midoriya. Now, wipe your tears. It'll be hard to teach you your first lesson if your eyes are full of 'em."
Izuku couldn't form any words; tears ran down his cheeks as he clenched his shirt collar and looked in awe at the smiling Terry. He nodded, using his arm to wipe his tears away before new ones made their appearance.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Hey now. I'm not even close to a sir. For now, just call me Terry. Okay?" asked Terry. Izuku nodded furiously; Terry laughed as he patted the boy on the head once again. This would be a difficult journey, but one he'd never dreamed of before this moment.
Izuku Midoriya! Student of The Hungry Wolf of Southtown!
ELSEWHERE
Bodies littered the alleyway floor; most were signed and burnt, others were injured beyond recovery. The clack of heeled boots echoed through the area towards the last victim, who was crawling on the floor. He could hear a small chuckle from behind him before a black boot slammed down on his left leg. A loud painful shriek quickly followed the loud snap.
"Having fun?" asked the attacker. "Because in all honesty, this is very annoying for me. After all, I asked a simple question: that was it, but no. You chose to prolong this."
"W-Wait. I'm sorry, give me a chance to expla-"
A loud snap echoed in the area before the following sound.
FWOOSH!
In seconds, the alleyway was consumed in flames. Minutes later, the heroes and Emergency crews arrived, rushing to kill the flames and save the bodies, but it was too late by that point. All had died and were burnt to ash, and not a trace remained of them.
"Damn. Oh well, I guess I'll have to change locations then. Onto the next city." The arsonist claimed as they watched the crews cleaning up their work from the rooftops. As they walked away, they produced a small booklet and crossed out the name Shibuya from a list of names. The name underneath was Mustafu.
-NEXT TIME ON MHA: MARK OF THE WOLVES-
"Your first lesson, Midoriya, is easy. Land a single finger on my person."
"Are you sure he can handle it?"
"I'm sure."
"Bonjour. You look like you could use some help?"
"My name? Oh, it's Crimson.
Chapter 3: The Sneering Blaze! Ash Crimson
So I feel the need to update everyone on why this chapter took so long—namely, two big important factors.
1: I didn't think this dumb idea I had would be this popular, by my standards, and that really made me nervous about how to approach the second chapter and the larger story as we advance.
2: I just started school again for my final semester and have been pretty busy, so most of my writing time is saved for late at night when I have the time and don't just pass out.
I've talked to friends about this fic and have a solid and concrete idea of how to proceed and what SNK characters will show up, which will impact the overall plot. But with the recent KoF15 trailer reveal at Gamescom, I felt that I needed to finish the chapter and get it out during this window of hype. So I look forward to that, especially during the Sports Festival and beyond. I can't wait. Let me know what you think of the chapter in the comments, and are you excited for KOF15?
I know I'm in the minority, but I actually really like Shun'ei, and I'm super interested in the new characters we have to choose from. Thanks again.