A.N: Okay, this is scaring me a bit. I'm shocked that this is getting as much traction as it is, and I'll chalk it up to My Hero Academia being a popular series. (not complaining though, keep the likes coming!) On a more serious note, three more reviews!

Carlomangno-2: Glad you like it so far! I'm also excited to show my interpretation of the pre-Deku world. As for Rappa being a teacher... you'll just have to wait and see~

Donovan2771: Yes, this is exactly the reason why I found the two to be such a good pair, at least friendship wise. That fact that you're also able to pick up on Rappa and Rumi's similarities gives me hope that other readers will see it too.

Raven Mordrake: THANK YOU. Looking back on it, I tried to make up some shit to put a significant enough age-gap between All Might and Rappa, but you're completely right on it been too short and it wouldn't fit in the long-run. As such, (at least not long after this chapter is posted) I'm gonna go and fix that, so thank you again for pointing that error of mine out. Though, I still plan on Rappa entering at Sixteen years of age, having just dropped out of high-school while Rumi herself is fifteen currently.

Either way, hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Rumble, young man Rumble!

Chapter 2

Punch and kick to a brighter tomorrow!

"Come on Usagi, you getting sloppy!?" He roared, a wide swing ripping through air. Rumi was quick to duck under it, her leg lashing out low to try and sweep his feet out from under him. "Oh please, you're the one swinging wide meat-head!" She tucked her body tight and sprung straight off her hands, both legs shooting for his face. He didn't block, fully expecting it and lashing out with a punch straight down at her feet. The clash blasted them both back, both of them regaining their balance before preparing to rush each other once more.

*DING-DING!*

The timer one a stop-clock rung through the air and they both relaxed, Kendo outright collapsing onto the seat of his pants. Rumi was a bit more refined, gently sitting down and tossing a bottle of water to him. With only a single month left until the exam, they had opted to constantly spar with each other ever since they met. Even though she was a year younger than him, Rumi was every bit as strong as he was. Since their first fight, neither managed to find any kind of advantage over the other despite their countless fights. "Nice job on those counters today, really got to me a couple of times," Rumi said after she had finished off her bottle, idly balancing it on her foot.

"Yeah, been trying to work on them to finally get to you," He laughed, "Though, I'm pretty sure you're getting way faster on your feet Usagi. You're a hard gal to tag."

"I'd better be!" She laughed back, standing up with a bit of difficulty. "By the way, since we're done, how're your old folks doing?" Rappa immediately froze up at that. "… you forgot something, didn't you?"

"SHIT, I DID!" He scrambled to his feet and nearly tripped over his own feet, snatching up his back before making a beeline for Rumi, grabbing her by the waist as she shrieked. "I forgot that I had to meet up with my parents today at a café!"

"Okay, but why the hell are you kidnapping me!?"

"Because they wanna meet you!"

"…Oh. Makes sense," She agreed before she rapped the top of his head with her knuckles. "So put me down dumbass, I've got legs too!"

"Fair point," He laughed, slowing down a bit and letting her hop off his shoulder. "We got like two minutes to get there, so let's book it!" Rumi by far was the fastest between the two, but Kendo was no slouch when it came to sprints either. Both of them tore down the street before they finally turned a corner, finding a small but well-kept Café, the duo practically leaping into a table for four. "Made it with time to spare!" Kendo gasped.

"Would've had more time if your thick skull remembered that you had this!" Rumi barked, annoyed and amused in equal measure. Though, he was surprised when her face suddenly turned nervous. "Is… is it okay for me to be dressed like this? We both kinda look like shit." She wasn't wrong: they both had a few scrapes, bruises and scuff-marks all over their clothes. A chunk of her shirt had been ripped away at the side, revealing a stomach that was very well-toned and well-trained. Kendo's own sleeves were non-existent, baring his extremely muscular arms and shoulders, every movement making look as if there were steel cables moving under his skin. "Yeah, but who cares?" He laughed, "You look fine Usagi, so don't worry about it! I'm pretty sure they'll like you just fine, especially my mom. Speak of the devil…" He leaned over and grinned wide, waving. "Hey mom, hey pops!" He bounded out of his seat and all three of them crashed into a massive embrace, laughter and a few tears shed from the normally strict parents ensuing.

"You've gotten even bigger, and you're in great shape! Never thought that was possible," His mother laughed, patting her son on the shoulder.

"It's good to see that you're doing well son," His father said proudly, "I can tell that you're taking this path seriously."

"I've got to! My job is gonna be to kick ass, and I won't fail when it comes to that," Kendo promised, his grin shining brightly with confidence. "Oh yeah, and I want you guys to finally meet my rival!" Rumi stood up and walked over to them, a bit shy but preening slightly under the attention.

"Hey Miss and Mr. Rappa, pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Rumi Usagiyama." She shook each of their hands, and things got a bit awkward at they stared open-mouthed at her. "D… did I do something wrong?"

"You're gorgeous!" Hanabi squealed, Rumi clamming up and immediately turning red. "Relaxed but well-mannered, responsible and goal-reaching if your application to U.A says anything about you."

"U-um…"

"Mom, please don't freak Usagi out, you two literally just met," Kendo sighed. "My mom's obsessed with getting me married off to someone for some reason." At that, Rumi couldn't help but burst into laughter, almost doubling over.

"Dude, you never said that your parents were this cool, I like 'em!" They sat down soon after their initial greetings and just began to talk freely, largely catching up with how Kendo had been doing for the past while, how he opted to try his hand as U.A, and his eventual first meeting with Rumi.

"So you mean to say that immediately after meeting with her… you decided to get into a fight with this young lady?" Ryu asked wryly. Rumi and Kendo both glanced at each other before looking back at his parents, confusion on their faces.

"Uuh, why not?" Rumi asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah, something wrong with that?" Kendo questioned, equally confused. "We both threw hands as a sign of respect for each other's strength. She's an awesome fighter! Hell, she knocked me clean out at the end of our first match."

"Same here," Rumi nodded with a grin, "Meathead's the only person who's ever fought me to a draw. Still haven't been able to beat him since then. He ain't much on extreme skill, but he's tough as nails and hits like a brick shithouse."

"Honestly, it's kind of disturbing how similar you two are," Hanabi laughed, an all-too cheeky twinkle in her eyes, though it faded as she coughed into her hand, a more professional look crossing her face. "Miss Usagiyama. On behalf of my husband and I, we thank you for becoming friends with our son. Rappa can be… difficult to understand for people his age."

"Oh please," Rumi scoffed, though she seemed to swell in pride, "That's only because he's never met someone that spoke his language, his equal. That's where I come in of course."

"And we're grateful for it," Ryu said with a smile of his own. "We were shocked to find out that Rappa even made a friend in the first place, let alone one as well kept as you are." Kendo lightly kicked Rumi under the table to stop her from gloating too much. "So, as his parents, we only ask one thing of you: as he goes to U.A with you, please take care of our son." The both of them bowed as deeply as they could while sitting down.

"Come on you guys, you don't need to…" When Kendo glanced over to Rumi, he trailed off in surprise: her eyes were welling with unshed tears. Despite that, he had never seen a more determined expression on her face, a fire in her red eyes that made his stomach feel pleasantly funny. She sniffed and wiped away her tears with her forearm, smiling with raw pride. "I promise that I'll take care of this meathead for you. I swear on the moon rising that I'll follow through." With promises made and the atmosphere significantly lighter, they went about ordering their food and idly chatting (Rumi of course having a carrot-cake). When all was said and done, they all shared their embraces and goodbyes. Rumi and Kendo's subsequent walk back to the park was peaceful, if somewhat uncharacteristically quiet between the two of them. For Kendo, he was still in shock at the sight of someone as strong as Rumi crying. "Yo, Usagi… you alright?" He asked, not entirely sure how to approach the situation. He had this gut feeling that there was something deeper to her actions that he just didn't see or know about. Rumi hummed for a bit, a slightly blank expression on her face as she thought to herself.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine," She said after a moment, before looking to Kendo. There was this really gentle look to her expression, but even Kendo could see the sadness in her eyes. "Your parents are really cool, you know?"

"A pain in the ass," He corrected with a grin, "But yeah… love em', putting up with my shit." That seemed to strike a nerve in Rumi: she wasn't necessarily angry at him, just… angry. Her face soured, her teeth grinding, muscles clenching in an attempt to contain a rage he had only ever seen in himself. She breathed out sharply, trying to let it go, but he knew that this ran way deeper than a simple huff of air could handle. "Sorry, it ain't you, I just…"

"Usa… no, Rumi. You ain't gotta tell me, it's okay," He said, lightly patting her on the shoulder. "Whenever you're ready, I'll listen."

"…thanks Kendo," She sighed, looking up and smiling at him, grateful. Looking to change the subject, he grinned back and pointed back towards the park.

"We're almost done with big tree, and we've got more than enough time for the rest of the day to finally chop that thing down. You up for it?" At that, the all-too familiar Rumi Usagiyama returned: bloodthirsty grin, burning eyes, clenched muscles and shining confidence.

"You're on Meathead!"

One hour later…

"I WON'T LOSE TO YA USAGI!" Kendo roared, sweat flying from his forehead, hair, and drenched shirt as his fists blasted away at the bark. Rumi herself was throwing everything she could to match him, knees, heels, rapid-fire kicks that managed to keep pace with the large boy. "OH YEAH? YOU'RE GONNA EAT YOUR WORDS MEATHEAD!" She roared right back, another roundhouse-kick tearing a good chunk of wood out. Over the time they spent training together, cutting down the big tree was becoming fairly easier with two people on the job. Two months in, and now they managed to shred through the bark with only three feet of wood barely supporting the top-half. 'My quirk's really tiring out my shoulders…!' Kendo strained as he was forced to deactivate it, resorting to his regular punches. 'Nah, I ain't gonna give in. Usagi's pushing past her limits… it's a slap in the face of her effort of I don't do the same!'

'Meathead's quirk is probably giving his shoulders literal hell right now… but I know him. He ain't gonna let shit like that slow him down,' Rumi thought as she lashed out with another side-kick, more splinters flying everywhere. 'I ain't got no excuses to slow down when my quirk don't got any drawbacks like his!'

'If I'm gonna surpass All Might…' both of them thought at the exact same time, 'I've gotta GO BEYOND!' Three feet of wood was ground down to barely a single foot of space left on between them, and its was disappearing fast. Kendo bellowed like a madman as he fired off his quirk at full tilt, his arms a blur. Rumi herself was roaring as her leg machine-gunned into the wood, almost matching Kendo's pace.

"PLUS…!"

Kendo's body twisted into one final, terrifying right uppercut while Rumi's left foot seemed to shoot straight up like a rocket as they both roared one final…

"ULTRAAAA!"

The top half of the tree was torn clean off in a shower of splinters, the dead hunk of wood, trunk and branches sailing through the air for a good few seconds before finally crashing to the ground. The two of them stood triumphantly, covered in sweat and shredded wood, but also wearing grins as the sun shined on them in their rather heroic looking poses, his fist and her foot extended straight up into the air. Breathing heavily, they both looked at each other with tired but excited grins, though their moment was interrupted by the sudden cheering and clapping of the crowd that had gathered. Both of them were flustered for a moment before they accepted the praise, if somewhat shyly.

"Helping people… is actually pretty fun," Kendo chuckled, his cheeks a bit pink as I waved over to the small crowd.

"Tell me about it," Rumi laughed, "I'm all for a good fight, but… being able to punch your way to a happier tomorrow is worth it too." On that, they both agreed.

To be Continued…

A.N: Just for future reference, I have my own backstory for Rumi. Should one be made for her in the near or later future, then I may try to alter my story to suit, but most likely I'll be sticking to my own interpretation that should hopefully play well with her character. Anyways, take care!