[SLIGHT REWRITE FOR THIS CHAPTER! WON'T AFFECT THE STORY TOO MUCH!]
Disclaimer - Don't own anything in this story aside from my original characters.
Chapter 5 - "Training"
[Third-Person POV]
1 year until the Entrance Exam...
With its extremely low acceptance rate of 0.6%, Yuuei(UA) High School is one of the most revered schools in Japan. Regardless of the course, anyone who attends this prestigious High School is guaranteed a modicum of success.
Along with most of its alumni heroes being chart-toppers for the last sixty years, this school is seen by plenty as only a dream, the already low rate of acceptance scaring many young prospects away. Some say that one would be "crazy" to even think of applying.
But those "crazy" ones are people who'd work the hardest.
"...42, ...43, ...44" Hana grunted. Following the advice of Miruko, she decided to work on her lower body, with squats being her first exercise. She'd decided to work on her body, keeping Hashiro's words in her mind
"You... aren't as athletic as the boy..."
"No duh... 45." She collapsed onto her yoga mat, her workout clothes dripping in sweat. A couple of days after her father's meeting with Miruko, he'd obliged and had a basic gym installed in their mansion, something he'd previously been against.
It had the basic equipment, a treadmill, squat and weight racks, full-body mirrors, everything one would expect in a gym.
She initially expected to work out at Miruko's agency if her father didn't agree, but...
Hana couldn't help but feel giddy after being given the freedom to exercise, even though all she could feel now was the intense burning in her thighs.
She steeled herself, "I can't become as great of a hero as Rumi-senpai if I can't even last a mile..." She brought her hands to her face, breathing out.
Then she slapped her cheeks with both hands.
"There." She said matter-of-factly, "Focus, damn it..." She picked up a 30kg kettlebell, getting into her squat position.
'I can't be behind...'
...
"AHHHH!"
Kinoru yelled as he charged at Black Ram, only to get knocked to the ground, with the intern not even budging.
"We can stop, you know. Rumi-san might've told me to spar you but..." The intern said, scratching the side of his head. "I feel kinda bad."
Kinoru shook his head while getting up, "If I'm going to take the UA entrance exam, I'm going to need to learn how to fight." He looked at his body, "Instead of just relying on my physique."
Black Ram nodded, admiring the boy's determination. "If you insist..."
"AHHHHH!" Kinoru charged him again.
BEHIND YOU!
The next thing he knew, he was on his back and staring at the ceiling.
"You should quit yelling when you're attacking, kinda ruins the point." He said, entering the boy's field of vision.
"How are you getting past my instincts?" The dog boy asked.
Black Ram leaned against a squat rack, picking at his fingernails. "I'm not." He looked at the boy with contempt, "You remind me of myself before I started interning for Ms. Rumi, kid."
He tapped the side of his head, "You've gotta think."
Kinoru got up and took a moment to collect his thoughts.
'If he's not sensing me, then he's probably using his quirk...?'
He readied his fists, and instead of charging...
"You're expecting me to go to you then?" Black Ram laughed, his bravado quickly changing to more of a serious tone. "Fine." The hero began stretching and cracking his knuckles, "You asked for it."
Kinoru stood still with his arms raised, ready to block his attack.
He cheered mentally, 'What could he possibly do-'
?!
This time, he was able to see the man's attack. He saw him with his head tucked into his chin, his curled horns now protruding further than the top of his head. Though he did make one slight miscalculation...
BAM!
The force of his tackle knocked Kinoru backward about 3 meters, straight into a padded wall. The boy struggled to rise, with the impact taking most of the breath out of his lungs. The outside of his forearms throbbed in pain, a dull throbbing that meant he'd have a bruise in that spot. Kinoru saw him walk closer,
"You seem to have forgotten what rams tend to do." He flexed his biceps, emphasizing his point.
Kinoru tried to slow his spinning field of vision, "...some annoying tackle you've got." He said while clutching his head.
Apparently, Soryu took this as a compliment, as he saw the hero grin, "You figure it out yet?"
The dog-eared boy looked at him, "Your quirk gives you a strong offense," He was able to get into his stance again, and rubbed his forearms, "But I don't know what the hell you're doing to defend against me."
Black Ram made a 'tsk' sound, "You've got one half of it at least." He observed the boy, who appeared to be backed into a literal wall.
Kinoru kept quiet, instead, he scanned Black Ram's movements.
LEF % T
'Wait... something's up with his foot?' Kinoru looked at it, and sure enough, his left foot seemed to be flexed more than his right. Thanks to the rule set by Rumi, sparring is only allowed barefoot, meaning...
'He's not able to hide his foot, so his weight should be distributed on his right?'
It was then when the ram charged once more, his heavy footsteps indicating that he was going even faster than before.
"I'M NOT GOING EASY ON YOU!" The intern shouted, closing in on Kinoru.
Betting it all on his instincts, Kinoru lifted his right leg-
FWIP!
He felt a force hit the side of his leg, the pain instantly setting in. It felt like someone swung a hammer at his leg.
'ITHURTSITHURTSITHURTS' His brain throbbed.
"AGH! FUCK!" He heard his opponent grunt.
Opening his eyes, Kinoru saw the man on the ground, hugging his shin. He noticed the pained expression on his face.
"...what happened?" He asked.
Through his pained grunts and moans, the black-furred hero spoke, "You- ugh- snapped my damn leg!"
"Wha-?" Kinoru said, surprised.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! Call an ambulance!" He said, still clutching his leg.
...
Kinoru watched as the ambulance drove off, a guilty expression on his face. He sat on the curb while resting his palms on his face.
A bunch of people who were in the building came out initially to look at the commotion, hearing a teenager frantically asking for an ambulance.
"Hey Inube-san." Rumi said, standing behind him.
He didn't respond, but he glanced at her.
"If it weren't such a bad injury, I'd laugh at the dude." She thought for a moment, "He'll be out of commotion for a couple months, you snapped his tibia clean in half." She looked back, seeing the boy's conflicted expression.
"It was honestly his fault, he was supposed to be the one to help you develop a fighting style, but..." She decided to sit down next to him.
"He gets too enthusiastic when sparring-" She chuckled, "I've seen him do an arm bar on a ten year old."
Kinoru looked at her oddly with that one, but he decided to brush it off.
As the crowd around them went back to own their business, they talked on the curb.
"So who's supposed to teach me now?" He asked.
Rumi hummed, "I'm a little preoccupied with work, but I think I could find some time." She smiled.
He raised a brow, "I don't want to fight you."
She laughed, waving her hand in front of her.
"You misunderstood, you aren't going to spar against me."
He had a puzzled expression on his face, his ears raising unconsciously.
"Well then who-" He stopped, recognizing a familiar scent in the air.
"...Kino-kun?" A voice said, as he turned to the source.
It was Hana wearing what looked like black sweatpants and a sports bra, she seemed equally surprised to see her childhood friend.
Kinoru's enthusiasm left his face, "You can't be serious..."
Rumi put a hand on his shoulder, "Aren't ya happy? Your new sparring partner is Hana-chan!"
He stood up looking insulted, "I'd rather spar you than her!" He said, pointing at Hana.
"Excuse me? I should be the angry one here! And why'd you say that like it's a bad thing?!" The cat girl fumed, crossing her arms.
Rumi got up, trying to calm them down, "I really don't get why you two are so against it, I mean, you've fought before haven't you?"
Their expressions told her that wasn't the case.
Kinoru scoffed, "It would be unfair for me to fight her, and besides..." He looked at her, "Kitten's Dad would never allow her to spar-"
'Oop. She won't like that one...' Rumi thought.
Hana stomped towards him until their faces were inches away, "You're so annoying Kino, I apologized already!" She pointed to the rabbit hero, "And we already came to an agreement."
"I get one shot at becoming a hero, and I'm not going to let your pettiness get in the way of that."
Her dilated pupils burned into his, the two had an intense stare-off before Kinoru walked towards the building.
"Whatever." He said, entering.
Rumi put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "You sure about this, Hana-chan?"
She nodded, "When I said I wanted to be like you, I wasn't joking around."
The two entered the agency.
...
[Kinoru Inube]
I'm pissed.
Whenever I see Hana, I get reminded of all the times her 'friends' and her bullied me, only to remember out that she was the same.
I'm not getting bullied anymore, but still.
I looked at my opponent, she was currently in the process of wrapping her hands, and she needed some help from Rumi in order to wrap it correctly.
Some part of me felt bad that I was about to destroy her, but it might be the animal part of me really, REALLY wanted to.
"You good there, Kitten?" I knew this would piss her off.
She glared at me while putting the protective headgear on, and seeing her expression...
She's pissed.
"This match is to see what your skill level is Hana-chan, so don't be too sore if you lose," Rumi said. She'd be serving as the coach for both of us, at least until our entrance exams.
Hana nodded, she looked really serious even though it was going to be some light sparring...
I took my stance. Black Ram thankfully taught me how to keep a proper guard... before I broke his leg.
She didn't seem to have a stance, instead, she had her arms at her sides, palms open.
Rumi saw that we were ready, and held up her right arm, "Fight!"
As soon as she dropped her arm, Hana sped towards me, her hands ready to grab me.
UNDER!
I thought she'd try to tackle me, so I planted my feet and tried to guard my midsection.
THUD!
What I DIDN'T expect, was for Hana to jump at me with her limbs extended, wrapping her legs around my guard.
I tried to peel her off of me, but my arms were trapped behind her legs, not to mention she was guarding her face with her free hands.
She used my disadvantage in balance and dropped both of us onto the floor. She sat on my chest with her fist raised.
According to spar rules, I had to tap out.
Hana got off of me, a sly grin on her face, "You good there, Mutt?"
' I deserved that...'
I groaned, I was staring at the bright lights of the sparring floor once again, this loss feeling worse than when I sparred Rumi.
"Where the hell did you learn how to do that?" I asked.
"You'd like to know that wouldn't you?" She jested, she was getting on my nerves...
The pain of my loss only got worse when I saw Rumi walking towards me, a smug expression on her face.
"Sorry Kinoru-kun, I might've given Hana-chan some tips. Though I didn't teach her how to do a flying front mount," Her attention moved to Hana, "That was all her."
I sat cross-legged, "What sort of tips?"
"If you really wanna know." Hana mused, her eyes matching her attitude. "Say sorry.."
"Why would I-" I stopped myself.
'I'm behind.' I thought.
'Behind in training, behind in skill...'
I clenched my fists, 'Behind Hana...'
I cleared my throat and looked her straight in the eyes.
"I'm... s-sorry." It pained me to even apologize to this girl.
Hana was giggling like a child, and I swear I could see tears at the corner of her eyes. She looked at Rumi, who nodded, then began explaining.
She cleared her throat, "For starters, I'm already ahead of you when it comes to flexibility."
She demonstrated by lifting a leg, which easily reached the side of her head.
"Your quirk?" I asked.
"Acrobatics." She replied.
Learning more about her made me realize that I didn't really know her at all...
"Anything else I should know?" If I had to talk to her, I'd rather be as sarcastic as possible.
She thought for a moment, leaning against the wall of the sparring floor.
"My birthday is on February 7th, my favorite food is Salmon, and I have an... expensive taste." She declared, expecting me to be impressed.
I stared at her, letting my annoyance show.
"I didn't need to know that much."
"It's to make up for the time we could've spent hanging out." She blew a strand of her hair to the side, "You're welcome"
She looked bemused as if my lack of progress was some form of entertainment.
Rumi inserted herself into our conversation, "I've figured out both of your strengths and weaknesses, by the way."
I glanced at her, "Really?"
She looked at me, "Kinoru-kun, you've got the physical ability... but you're lacking in skill."
"That's obvious," Hana said, chuckling.
Rumi directed her attention towards the cat girl,
"You can fight, and from the submission you used, you know Jiu-Jitsu?" She asked, getting a nod from the girl.
"My dad forced me to get self-defense lessons, he may be doting, but he's smart," Hana said.
"You're the exact opposite of Kinoru, which makes you two each other's perfect sparring partner!"
She said that like it was a good thing that I'd get my ass beat.
I sat against the wall and looked at her, "So what am I supposed to do? Besides being Hana's punching bag?"
The rabbit hero had her hands on her hips, "Simple." She pointed to Hana, "You're going to get stronger by doing endurance sparring." Her finger flicked to me, "You're going to learn how to read your opponent, and how to fight."
I blinked.
"You know for a hero known for brute force, you sure know how to use your brain," I stated, getting her to laugh.
"Wasn't that funny..." Hana mumbled.
...
9 months until the Entrance Exam...
The last few months showed me some of the worst pain I'd ever felt.
Because I was taking Hana's punches and kicks at full power (which were surprisingly hard), I went home with bruises and cuts all over my shins and forearms. It didn't seem like I was making any progress either, because I was a living punching bag that didn't get a chance to attack back.
It wasn't that I couldn't, it was just that Hana wouldn't let me.
If I tried to counter her tackle, she'd hit me with a shin kick, bringing me off-balance, and choking me out.
If I tried to counter her shin-kick, she'd grab my arm and shoulder throw me.
I had to admit, she did help me improve my so-called instincts, as instead of scrambled garbage, sometimes they formed coherent sentences that helped me dodge correctly.
So the training was working. Just more for her.
I laid in bed staring at the ceiling, the morning light told me it was around 6 A.M.
The weekends were our rest days, so I made sure to take advantage of every single second.
But my injuries sort of made it difficult to do so.
"Ugh.." I grimaced as I forced my sore body to get up. As I passed it, I noticed in the mirror how apparent the bruises were, they made my body look gaunt.
I noticed something else... it might've been the lighting, but my muscles appeared to be pretty well-defined from the hits I was taking.
It's not like I was unfit before I started sparring, but the repeated contracting of my muscles, combined with the impacts inadvertently made for a pretty good workout.
I opened my door and headed towards the kitchen.
Because I'd been burning a lot of calories during our sessions, I had to consume almost double the number of calories I used to, daily.
Of course, that costs money, and thankfully Rumi was fine with covering the costs.
I reached the fridge, grabbing a bento from one of the shelves.
As I sat at the counter eating the yakitori, my mom appeared at the bottom of the stairs in her formal suit.
"You're up pretty early, Ki. Isn't it the weekend?" She asked, grabbing her wallet and keys.
"Mhm," I said, as I had a mouthful of rice.
Taking a second look, her eyes scanned my body.
Her eyes widened after noticing something... wait.
"Where did you get those bruises..?"
Now, normally I'd have been wearing a long sleeve or a hoodie to cover my upper half, as I tended to only go outside when it was the evening.
But because I woke up early today, she had a full view of the injuries on my arms.
"Um... It's nothing-"
"Kinoru." She interrupted me, her use of my full name told me that she was definitely pissed.
It sort of slipped my mind to tell her about my training, as most days I was too tired to explain.
"I'm being trained by a Pro Hero so I can apply to Yuuei," I said bluntly, because honesty is the best policy, right?
Her frown showed that she didn't believe me.
She brought her phone out from her purse, "I'm calling the school..."
I practically jumped out of my chair to stop her, "H-hold on! I'm telling the truth! Don't you have work?"
She looked me in the eyes, "I can miss a day."
As I tried to grab her phone, I noticed a slight tremble when I grabbed her hands, hearing a sniffle come from her.
"We never talk anymore, Kinoru. I-I have no idea what's even going on in your life because you always go straight to your room or practice..." Her eyes brimmed with tears.
'I... didn't realize what I was doing until she mentioned it...' I thought, kicking myself mentally.
"When you were still in elementary... I noticed the bruises and cuts all over your arms."
'She knew...?' I sat down on a chair across from her.
She wiped her face, "I n-never tried talking to you about it because I thought that you were still angry at me for your father's absence."
My Dad was a sore topic because for as long as I remember, she avoided talking and answering any questions I had regarding him. Seeing her so distraught over it for so long... gripped my heart.
I rested a hand on hers, "That's not true! It wasn't your fault! It's just-"
I still couldn't help but fail to meet her eyes while speaking to her, it's as if my childhood trauma prevented me from doing so.
I felt her squeeze my hand, a reassuring smile was on her face.
'I've got to tell her...'
I sighed, "There's a lot of things I haven't talked to you about, I just want you to know," I forced myself to meet her gaze, "I don't blame you for anything."
That was probably the first time I looked at my mom with resolve, which had the unintended effect of causing her to bawl.
So afterward... I told her everything.
I told her about the bullying, the reasons why Hana stopped coming to my house, the injuries, just a summary of things that we should've spoken about long ago.
I hugged her while she cried into my shoulder, it was an odd feeling, but for some reason, I felt a lot better.
Then I got to the present, the reason why I always came home so late these past few months...
"Wow." She said, her makeup was now ruined because of the tears, but she had a smile on her face. "I mean... I wanted to speak with you about this at some point, but I should've made the connection..."
"Connection?" I asked.
"I saw on the news that your school was attacked, but I didn't think that my child would be the hero." She joked, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yeah..."
It was like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, the distant feeling I never intended to have towards her was now gone, replaced by a familial bond.
"Good news though," I told her about the fact that Rumi took an interest in me, how she'd be helping me get to Yuuei, and this time it looked like she finally believed me.
"So you and Hana-chan are alright now?" She asked, her ears were visibly perked up, so her interest was probably around my childhood ""friend""
Heavy emphasis on that term, by the way.
"Sort of, she's the one who gave me these injuries after all," I admit, I had to recognize the skill that that girl had, even if she was a nuisance to be around...
Mom had a look of reminiscence on her face, which quickly turned into a sly smirk.
"Thank goodness, I was worried I wouldn't have any grandkids to dote on." She joked.
My face was probably red as a tomato because I had to look away and groan at her remark.
After a brief fit of laughter, she seemed to have calmed down from earlier, as she had a serene expression.
"After what you told me, It's only fair..." A more solemn expression settled onto her face,
"I'll tell you about your father."
...
[Hana Naneko]
"This makes it... 46 to 0, right?"
I declared, looking at the exhausted boy in front of me.
Kino took off his headgear and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
"One of these days..." He mumbled, grabbing his water bottle.
This routine we have of me beating him up was honestly a stress reliever for me, as I had Rumi-senpai's permission to go wild.
It is for both of our sakes... after all.
I grabbed my bottle and sat down next to him.
As I drank, I noticed his eyes wandering over my body...
I couldn't help but tease him.
"You need something?" I asked, surprising him.
He seemed to have seen that I noticed him, crimson settling on his face.
"I'm not staring for the reason you think, Hana." He tried defending himself, but I had to delve further.
"So you admit that you were staring?" I giggled.
"You've gotten a lot stronger since we started training," Kinoru said. He had this odd smile when he said it.
This was probably the first time I've ever gotten a compliment from him... so I couldn't help but hide my face behind my hands.
"Thanks..." I choked out. That felt weird to say.
We talked for a bit about school, which felt like a much-needed change from his previously cold demeanor towards me. Then he began gathering his things, putting them into his gym bag.
"I've gotta get home, my Mom's probably worried right now." He said, tossing his protective headgear into the bag.
I paused.
'Wait... his mom?!'
I cleared my throat loudly, getting his attention, "I haven't talked to your Mom since we were kids..."
He looked at me, eyeing me directly this time.
"I was thinking..." I continued, "How about I go say hi-"
"I'll stop you right there." He interrupted me, holding a hand out.
Crossing his arms, he seemed to slowly return to his colder attitude.
"If you're trying to get into my room, it won't work." He stated.
I clicked my tongue, 'Damn...'
Kinoru had looked at me, his gaze digging into my face.
"And besides..." He glanced away, "Won't it look weird?"
"Won't what look weird?" I asked.
He mumbled, "You know... me inviting a girl I'm not dating, to meet my Mom..."
Oh.
He's embarrassed!
"I didn't think that you thought about that sort of stuff." I joked, but I knew that I was probably equally as red as he was right now.
"We're not kids anymore Hana, of course, I do." He said bluntly. I felt my face begin to heat up.
The fact that he managed to turn the teasing to me... ugh. Impressive, but annoying...
"I'm heading home now."
He slung his bag over his shoulder, "See you next week." His figure disappeared into the stairwell.
Then I was alone in the sparring area.
I sighed, spreading myself across the foam floor mats. I stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Dummy..."
...
6 months before the Entrance Exam...
[Rumi Usagiyama]
Something's up with those kids...
As I observed their usual sparring session, it seemed like there was an unusual tension between the two of them.
Kinoru, a stubborn and arrogant boy who at first couldn't guard a single attack, was now able to properly guard and counter the cat-girl.
Hana on the other hand, a previously fragile and unconfident girl who always gave her all in training... had an expression that screamed murderous intent.
"That's enough you two." I stopped their sparring, giving the point to Kinoru, who scoffed.
"You never stopped it when I was getting pummeled by Hana, but you did when I was getting ready to?" He asked.
"You weren't going to do anything," Hana said bluntly, irritation visibly showing on Kinoru's face.
"Woah Woah Woah, I thought you two were all 'buddy buddy'? What happened?" I asked.
Kinoru crossed his arms and stayed silent, while Hana had a strand of her hair in between her fingers, idly twisting it.
I sighed, these two weren't going to budge.
"I won't intrude on this little squabble you've got going on, so let's leave it at this for today." I dismissed them.
"W-Wait," Kinoru asked, "Who won the spar?"
"No one did, it's a drawing dummy." She retorted.
'They're acting like kindergartners...'
"You know, I've had it up to here with your sass. Kitten." He poked a finger at her shoulder, which only caused her to walk closer.
"Don't call me that, Mutt." She glared at him. Both of their fangs seemed to be bared, giving me a bad feeling.
"Let's face it, you're just jealous of-" Kinoru continued. They were inches from each other's faces at this point, I could hear a low growling and hissing coming from both of them.
"Why would I be jealous? You haven't even beaten me once." She sneered.
Guess I have to use the angry voice.
"Enough!" I yelled, getting their attention.
"Clearly there's something I'm missing here." I motioned towards the floor mats to my right.
"You two are going to calm down, sit, and talk to one another, or else I'm going to stop our training here," I said with a stern tone.
They reluctantly followed my words, but they decided to sit almost ten feet away from each other, frustration showing on their faces.
"So what happened?" I asked.
"It's nothing, it's about some dumb-" Kinoru started,
"Oh? So you think it's dumb?" Hana interrupted with an edge in her voice.
I could tell they were about to have another shouting match, so a quick glare from me shut them up.
"Explain." I ordered, "One at a time, please."
Visible discomfort was present on both of their faces, with their body language telling me that they didn't seem to want to speak.
I looked at Kinoru, who looked to the side offhandedly drinking from his water bottle, clearly unwilling to snitch.
'Hmm...' If he didn't budge, then...
"Hana?" I smiled.
She looked at me wide-eyed, before sighing.
"Fine." She said, sitting straight.
"Kino-kun cheated on me."
A loud 'PSSHHBTT' sound came from Kinoru, who choked on his drink.
"What the-" He coughed a couple of times, "Hell are you talking about?"
Hana simply huffed and turned away from me.
"You wanna clarify?" I asked, leering at the boy.
"Of course I do! She's just jealous that I'm hanging out with a girl other than - cough her!" He said it as if it pained him to say so.
I subconsciously relaxed after hearing that it was about such a... childish reason. I'd previously thought that it was a major problem.
'So it wasn't a big deal after all...'
"Okay, first off: You two aren't a 'thing' are you?"
They reacted rather vehemently to my words, so it was clearly a no.
"And second," I continued, "Good because catching feelings for another hero could affect your careers."
They seemed surprised at the second part, but I ignored it.
"Have you ever caught feelings, Rumi-senpai?" Hana asked curiously.
That was an easy one.
"Nah. I'm way too busy for that sort of stuff." I stated proudly, my chest puffed out.
I expected a little ooh-ing and ah-ing from them, but all I saw were displeased expressions.
Kinoru scoffed, "Why should I take relationship advice from someone who's never been in one?"
I had to admit, his reasoning wasn't that far off.
"They're a waste of time. now listen to your senpai..." I ended our conversation with a brief lecture on the negatives of dating in my line of work and dismissed the teens.
'I have to watch those kids closely from here on out... who knows how much more they could improve?'
...
3 months before the Entrance Exam...
[Kinoru Inube]
"Focus..." I breathed out.
My senses flooded with alerts from all directions: From the buzzing of streetlights to the scents, each person that passed me had, nearly everything was distinguishable now. My quirk went from a simple Mutant type to a more refined version of itself.
'Thanks to my training, I've improved a lot... now time to test it out.'
It was currently nearing the middle of the night, and I was out on the dark streets of Mogetsu practically looking for trouble. All to test my limits once more...
While I walked along the dimly lit sidewalk, I couldn't help but feel nervous. This was going to be my first time fighting someone who wasn't Hana, so I couldn't help but hesitate. Add on the fact that I could get in some seriously big trouble if I'm charged with unauthorized quirk use, I'd say I'm right to feel this way.
I noticed a particularly unlit space between two buildings that reeked of alcohol, and I could sense that there were about three figures.
I entered the alley, pulling my face mask on.
As I got closer to the source of the scents, I could hear the faint, idle conversation, which stopped as soon as they spotted me.
"Yo." I heard one say. "You guys know that kid?" He asked his companions as he pointed to me, but they seemed equally surprised.
"Nah. But I don't like the way this brat's looking at me..." He had his hands in his pockets, and from the metallic smell, he most likely had a knife.
I realized that I was frozen in fear, so I swallowed it and spoke.
"D-do you g-guys have anything to do with the Murder G-gang?" I stuttered out, mentally slapping myself for being such a wuss.
Their scents changed, I could feel a tension begin to build up.
"What do you care? You're not a hero are ya?" One with a gold nose-ring asked, but his eyes were hidden due to the dark.
"N-No! But..." I tried to explain, but a piercing pain went through my head.
'What is it now...?' I thought.
"Good. But you should still pay up, ya know whose territory you're standing on, right?" He grinned, stained teeth flashing.
10 METERS, ONE HAS A WEAPON
My instincts were right, as the one to Goldy's right revealed a switchblade.
"You guys aren't going to let me go, are you?" I asked.
As expected, the armed one charged at me, with another casually walking towards me. Goldy was still in the dark, smiling.
'Looks like they think I'm easy prey...'
LESS THAN 3 METERS, ONE IS CHARGING-
I sidestepped, then tripped the one with the knife, luckily we trained to deal with armed people...
Because he had all of his weight behind the knife in front of him, he fell to the ground. His knife slid away from him, the metal clattering against the concrete.
"You should watch where you're going." I kicked the downed man in the side, he wasn't going to get up from a hit to the liver anytime soon.
I looked at the other two, the one who was walking towards me stopped, while Goldy stopped grinning.
"I never should've hired that idiot... you. Go." He said to the other man, who hesitated.
"H-He's a kid you know, it's not rig-" The man started, but was cut off by a huge force that pushed him into the left side of the alleyway. But when he slumped unconscious against the wall, there was nothing there...
"Useless idiots..." The gold nose-ringed man turned him towards me, eyes were hidden. "Kid. Don't go poking your nose in other people's business."
He began walking towards me, which made me tense up. The man pulled something from his pocket, but my instincts told me nothing.
"Don't move" I instructed, but he ignored me.
"You're going to regret dealing with me..." I heard him grunt as he appeared to have stabbed something into his forearm, then he collapsed.
'The hell?' I thought about checking on him, but he then lifted himself up and continued walking.
As soon as he walked under the moonlight, his eyes were finally visible.
They were glowing, a solid glowing light in place of his pupils, and he looked REALLY angry.
Then he started running towards me, his arms extended.
"YOU'RE GONNA GET IT NOW!" He roared.
2 METERS AND CLOSING-
I noticed that his body appeared to be steaming, with the white glow appeared in his veins.
'His punches are going sting if they land...'
I waited until he was close enough to hit me. Then as soon as his fist neared my chest- I used it.
...
"Argh!"
I rubbed my back as I lifted myself up from the mat. It was a daily routine at this point...
"It's not even that hard to do, ya know." Rumi made a bunch of indecipherable gestures, "You've just got to, I dunno. FEEL it."
"I can see why you don't teach me about things other than fighting." I groaned.
She thought for a moment, before lighting up like she realized something.
"Instead of waiting for your instincts to tell you where they're coming from, use your brain instead."
"But aren't my senses the ones doing all the work? " I asked.
She shook her head, "Your issue is that you keep thinking of your instincts and your senses as separate things. Try to group them together."
I hummed, "It's not a terrible idea..."
"Right? Oooh- come up with a name for it too." She added.
I wanted to ask why, but she cut me off,
"You'll thank me later."
...
"HUNT!" I roared.
I felt my heartbeat quicken, with my eyes starting to strain. But I could see... incredibly well.
I was already able to see fairly well, as my quirk gave me decent vision, but my new move- 'Hunt', allowed me to increase it tenfold.
With my heightened vision, I was able to properly analyze the man with precision.
'His posture's off, meaning his quirk's hurting him... and since I can't touch him, I have to incapacitate him using the terrain.' I looked at the now glaringly bright alleyway-
There were trash and bottles strewn about across the pavement, with a garbage bin to my left. If I can get him to trip...
"YOU'RE MINE!" He barely looked human anymore as I was within his arms reach, but thanks to my increased sight I could see his attack.
His right fist aimed for my head, which I dodged by simply ducking. I could feel his body heat as it nearly singed my clothes, his quirk taking effect.
He laughed maniacally as he turned around, "Take a good look kid, this is what REAL power is like!"
My hoodie seemed to have been burnt just by grazing him, I couldn't get close enough...
I eyed the bin to my side.
'Right...'
"You do something to your quirk?" I asked, trying to grab his attention, as I slowly inched towards my right.
"None of your goddamn business, now stop dodging!" He began charging towards me again.
I quickly passed the bin, kicking it so that its contents were spread across the alley. Bottles of glass and plastic decorated the black pavement, but weren't apparent thanks to the lack of light- I could only see them because of my increased vision...
"The fuck are you aiming for?" He laughed.
I saw my vision pulse, my stamina was running out fast as I could feel my heartbeat slow.
'It's going to get dark soon... need to end this quick.'
I headed straight for the glowing man, making sure to avoid the obstacles.
"Finally! You wanna fucking go-" He taunted, but tripped on an empty bottle of sake. A loud 'crack' sound reverberated from the alley, with the back of Goldy's head impacting the ground.
'It worked...?'
Because his body went horizontal, he hit the ground headfirst, and it looked like he was knocked out cold. The glow from his quirk died down, so I deactivated 'Hunt'.
I looked around the alley, the three men were now either incapacitated or unconscious.
"Looks like my job is done here." I breathed out, relieved.
I looked closely at the leader of the so-called Murder Gang, his quirk seemed to be something that let him produce light... but it seemed oddly strong to be a common criminal's quirk...
"He looked like he injected something into his arm..." I inspected the ground, finding an odd-looking pen next to his unconscious body.
' What is this...?' It had a rubber button to push, and the bottom was coned, almost like a sharp edge should come out. There was a glass side piece that was supposed to show the fluid...
I shook my head and pulled out my phone, sending an anonymous text to a local police hotline. Once I got a reply, I quickly left the alleyway, running home.
"I've gotta ask Rumi-san about this..." I said under my breath.
...
1 month before the Entrance Exam...
[Hana Naneko]
"Oh my gosh! You're so slim now, what's your secret?" A blue-haired girl asked.
I'm currently sitting at my desk surrounded by my classmates, it's been a while since they saw me, as I was given as much time as I needed by the school to recover after the villain attack.
Well, so did Kino-kun, but he hasn't been to class in-person once for the past year.
'I should've stayed in independent study too...'
"You're like, totally hot Hana-Chan! Maybe now you'll get a boyfriend!" One of the girls said, causing the rest to laugh.
Now normally I'd laugh along, but I was getting tired of this passive-aggressive vibe.
'Can't get in trouble right before the exam...' I told myself.
So I smiled along, "Thanks."
I hate to say it, but I sort of miss Kinoru's visible hatred of me. At least he showed it, unlike these girls...
They asked me a bunch of questions afterward, about my routine, what I did over my leave, and how many times I got hit on. I could tell that most of the people in the class were listening in, so I just made idle chatter while waiting for the morning bell to ring...
"What high school are you going to once you graduate?" I heard one with a plain face ask.
The old me would've stalled or lied, acting like I didn't care where I went so long as there were cute guys there. But I'm different now...
I straightened my posture, "I'm going to apply to UA."
Silence filled the room once I mentioned the famous hero school, then the people around me broke out in a frenzy of conversation.
"Isn't UA High like, super hard to get into?"
"You've got to be joking..."
"For a joke, that wasn't very funny Hana-chan."
Their words irritated me a lot, as they clearly showed that they didn't believe I had what it took.
"You heard me." I repeated, "I'm going to get through the entrance exam for UA, AND I'm going to get in."
I couldn't help but grin at their dumbfounded faces, but then one, in particular, grabbed my attention. They were standing in the room's doorway...
"I see you're still as stubborn as ever, Hana."
It came from a messy-haired boy whose ears I recognized immediately...
"Back from independent study so soon Kino-kun?" I retorted. I noticed the class's attention shift to him instead of me.
The stunned silence quickly turned into an explosion of conversation, with many of the people around me moving over to Kinoru.
"Inube-kun's back!"
"Woah... you're a lot more fit than I remember!"
He stood there with a smile full of confidence, answering questions the best he could. It was weird seeing him like this, as he was introverted a year ago... though his popularity only went up.
It was probably because I've been sparring with him for the months past, but he looked pretty much the same to me. There was a noticeable muscle definition though...
Once he was finished chatting with the curious students, he made his way towards me.
"Hey." He said, sitting down at a desk to my right. His eyes wandering to the top of my head,
"You've stopped hiding your ears?"
I was sort of surprised he noticed, but I forced myself to not show it. It was kind of awkward between us after that little fight we had...
"Well yeah." I replied, "It's not like the entire school saw them during the attack or anything..."
He held his hands up, "What's with the edge? Just because we stopped sparring together a month ago doesn't mean we're complete strangers, right?"
'This boy... I swear he knows exactly what to say to piss me off sometimes...'
I ignored him, focusing my gaze on the front of the room.
"Class hasn't started yet."
"I'm diligent," I remarked.
I heard the sound of him unzipping his bag, he continued to make conversation as he set his stuff on the desk.
"Sure feels weird being back. Did you know Koya-senpai graduated already?"
'God damn it.'
"I don't care," I said bluntly, which made him chuckle.
He idly spun a pencil, "So... anyone mess with you? Cause' of your quirk?" I noticed out of the side of my eye that he was looking at me warily, his pointed ears were raised in interest.
For a mutt, he's quite considerate.
I scoffed. "Why? You going to beat them up for me?"
He stopped spinning his pencil.
"So they did?"
I turned to him, his eyes fixing on mine. "Why do you even care about what I do? You didn't bother doing anything when we first started training under Rumi-senpai." I felt anger slowly rise throughout my body, as well as my ears folding backward from the emotion.
His face looked... serious, with his heterochromatic eyes seemingly brimming with rage. I decided to speak before he could interrupt me,
"And besides, a rumor started going around shortly after we left that we were getting trained by Rumi-senpai. So all of the attention that you got went to me."
He seemed to calm down, loosening his grip around his pencil. He turned his head away from me, scoffing.
'Turns out he was serious about fighting them for me.'
I guess a little conversation wouldn't hurt...
"The test is in a month, you know." It grabbed his attention. He put down the pencil, turning to face me.
"Soon... Huh." Kinoru sighed.
"Yeah. We've been training like crazy." I said, idly twisting my hair in my fingers. I had a tendency to do this whenever I was nervous, which he definitely picked up on.
"I wouldn't be scared if I were you, I mean... you kicked my ass in sparring."
'...He actually complimented me!' I cheered mentally.
I huffed, "Yeah, but you managed to get a couple of wins. I was hoping I'd keep a clean record..."
"54 to 13, right?"
He laughed loudly, getting the attention of our classmates.
I rolled my eyes, "What's so funny?"
He wiped the tears from his eyes, "Ah... it's just surprising. "Both of us have changed a lot since the start of this year."
He leaned forward, "I thought you'd sooner die than give me props."
'He's not wrong...'
I glanced towards the clock at the front of the room.
"Looks like class is about to start. After this, it'll be the last class we'll have together..." I stated.
"Well then." He had a determined expression on his face, his eyes serious.
"I guess I'll see you at UA."
END OF CHAPTER 5
A/N: Apologies for the wait, now that I've finally graduated, I have more time to write! Chapters are going to be longer to account for more content, thanks to those who are still keeping up with this story!
Don't know if anyone noticed, but Kinoru's quirk seems to be improving o.O, I figured it should be a more natural progression rather than an instant power-up. I've decided to stick with the focus around animal-type quirks, as it seems like a great avenue to expand upon this gem of a universe!
The exam should be next chapter, get ready!
(Please give feedback! I don't have any beta readers so your feedback will be extremely helpful!)