A.N: Hello once more! Honestly, this story has proved to be my most popular one in terms of how fast it's growing. Can't thank you all enough for the support! Onto the reviews.

JaxTheGamer: (Sips finely aged bourbon) Well good sir, it greatly pleases me to have managed to captivate your mind! Like I said before, I've always found Rappa and Rumi to be extremely similar, and I'm glad that they come across as a good match. And don't worry: they'll be making waves. Enjoy, fellow chap!

MrWinteck: I'm really happy that my reasoning made sense! And no need to apologize, the situation is actually kinda funny :p. Hope you're still enjoying the story!

Notsae: Oh yeah, don't worry, you'll find out just how far the scores have been topped. As for Rappa fighting while unconscious... it's certainly possible, but that's a conversation for a later chapter ;). Thank you for the luck and support (going to need it) and hope you continue to enjoy!

Kevin J Rosario Cruz: Really happy for the support dude, thank you! Hope this chapter is to everyone's liking.

Now, back to the show!

Rumble Young Man Rumble!

Chapter 5

A certainly uncertain tomorrow

"Usagi, this is like… the tenth day in a row of you eating carrot-cake. Like, that's the whole cake over the course of a week and then-some. Where the hell are you putting it all?" Rumi looked up just as she devoured the final slice of cake with a big grin, patting her stomach with a content sigh and leaning back, relaxing.

"Gotta bulk up a bit, you know? It never hurts to gain a bit more muscle, especially when it's gonna help me increase my striking-power."

"I mean… fair enough? But there's way better ways to go about that. You… know that right?" At that she froze, and he grinned widely. "Holy crap, you really don't know?"

"…know what?" She grumbled. He burst into near-hysterical laughter, drawing a few looks and a fuming glare his way. "Bastard, don't toy with me! Spit it out!"

"Haaah…! Damn, can't believe that you don't know about nutrition. Seriously, don't just go around wolfing down sugar and sweet shit. That just puts on fat: you gotta look for sources of protein for your muscles and calcium for your bones. Like meat and milk, for example, that kinda shit. I've gotta give you credit though, you've got a rockin' body for someone who eats so much crap." At that, Rumi's cheeks turned a bit pink, but her eyes shined and she visibly preened with pride, raising her arms and flexing its powerful muscle with a huge grin. There wasn't anything to hide really with her white tank-top

"Well, just chalk it up to my amazing stomach and work-ethic. Speaking of which, how're you feeling?" It was Kendo's turn to grin, idly popping his knuckles and rolling his shoulders.

"Getting better by the hour. Being able to stretch out without almost breaking something is pretty good," He laughed. "Honestly can't wait to get back to action. Three more days feels like a year though."

"We'll spar as soon as you're good to go," Rumi promised, smirking a bit. "You sure you don't need any help walking up the stairs this time?" It was Kendo's turn to be a bit embarrassed: five days into his recovery, he had attempted to walk up the stairs to his apartment, feeling that he was considerably better. In truth, he wasn't. His legs gave out by the second flight and he ended up tumbling all the way down the ground floor, greeting a near-hysterically laughing Rumi. "…I guess I wouldn't mind the help," He grumbled, reddening a bit as she laughed.

"Come on, I'm just about done eating up. Let's get you right on home without dying Meathead." Again he grumbled in annoyance but ultimately decided to follow her without arguing: she'd just find some way to embarrass him again. Their walk back to his apartment was mostly quiet, though not uncomfortable in any way. Rather, Kendo found himself deep in thought. More precisely, he was getting slightly worried.

'I know that I passed the practical exam. But… is it enough?' He glanced at Rumi in front of him, the girl happily humming as she skipped along. 'Usagi… she's smart as hell, so I know she blasted her written out of the water. Me though…' He grimaced. Shame coursed through his system for a moment. 'I can only damn hope.'

"Yo, meathead, we're here," She said, nudging him. She didn't show it, but she was concerned. "You alright big-guy?"

"Oh, uh… yeah. I'm good."

"Pfft, no you're not," Rumi chuckled, holding out a hand and smiling brightly. "Whatever it may be, don't worry about it. I promised your parents that I'd be with you every step of the way, and that's a promise I intend to keep." He smiled back, the heavy feeling in his chest lifting a bit as he took her hand, walking up the steps a bit slowly. Every day, he was feeling better and stronger, muscles knitting themselves together, the soreness and pains fading gradually. But he was genuinely grateful for Rumi being there helping rehabilitate him. They didn't take long to reach his apartment, but were immediately on guard when they saw someone standing at his door.

"Who… oh, hey mail-guy, what's up?" Kendo said as soon as he recognized him. He was Quirkless, but ultimately a nice guy.

"Oh, hello Kendo! Was just gonna deliver something for you. Small envelope, says it's from U.A." At that, Kendo shot forward and grabbed the package, a look of glee on his face.

"Thanks man, I've been waiting for this!" He practically kicked down the door and barrelled over to his desk, crashing into his chair. Rumi followed soon after, an excited grin on her face as Kendo tore open the package. A small, disk-like piece of metal fell to the desk, the two of them standing still in a moment of confusion.

"Is… is that it?" Kendo muttered, everything still for a moment before a small *beep* was heard, a flash of light popping out from the very top of it to reveal a projected screen. "Holy shit, a hologram? How much of a budget do these guys have?"

"Enough, clearly." Both pairs of eyes snapped to the smiling woman on the screen. Wearing a smart-looking business suit, she was extremely beautiful, with messy raven-like hair, red-framed glasses and startling blue eyes. Rumi was the first to recognise her, eyes wide in awe.

"You're Midnight! The Heroine that doesn't wear anything thanks to her quirk!"

"Ballsey. I like it!" Kendo said approvingly.

"Glad to know that I've already got a fan," She laughed, "And this cuts down on a bit of time too, being able to list off two Examinees in a single call. Anyway, I'm here to deliver your respective results, and I gotta say… I'm impressed. First though, Kendo Rappa, and your written exam." Her eyes turned to him, and he broke out into a nervous sweat. Worry crept up on him and his foot tapped on the ground. "Don't worry so much: we've already been made aware of certain circumstances. Still though, chin up: you passed with a solid C, 65%." Kendo nearly collapsed, releasing a breath he didn't know was stuck in his throat. Tears began to well in his eyes, an overwhelming sense of joy equal to the sensation he felt when his parents supported his decision. Rumi gently rubbed him on the back, a soft smile on her face.

"As for you Rumi Usagiyama, a B+, 77%."

"Alright!" She cheered, patting Kendo on the back a bit harder. The boy had wiped the small amount of tears from his eyes, his heart racing as he realized the implication of him passing the exam.

"Now, you should both be well aware that you passed the combat exam, though there's a bit more to it that you should know. Rumi, you of course got 110 points, easily more than enough to pass, and as a matter of fact, you have the highest amount of villain-points throughout the entire range of examinees."

"If I didn't try to aim at least that high, then I don't deserve to be here," She said with a grin, swiping at her nose with her thumb proudly.

"You also got the second highest score out of all the examinees."

"…Huh?" Both Kendo and Rumi uttered, confused. "But if Usagi got the most villains, then who…?"

"Kendo Rappa. Was it not you who stepped in to save Yu Takeyama from being crushed by the Zero-Pointer?" Midnight asked with a grin, the image of the screen changing to show Kendo rushing in and roaring at the Zero-Pointer's oncoming fist, before holding it up with his hands and proceeding to blast its arm clean off. "The point of a Hero is to step in and save someone, even more-so in a perilous situation. The point of a giant super-destructive robot like that was to create an opportunity for the Hero is someone to shine, should the situation arise. That is why we have Rescue-Points! Depending on what you do, a panel of judges, myself included, will give you a certain score based on what you do. Your actions were the definition of selflessness and Heroism, and as such, you were awarded a total of 90 Rescue-Points to give you a total of 170 Points!" The two teens were dead-silent, jaws dropped to the floor in shock and awe.

"Congratulations to the both of you. Your path to Heroism begins in one week." The hologram died out, and the two immediately broke out into cheering.

"HOLY SHIT, 170!? Fucking AWESOME!" He roared.

"Don't let it get to your head, I still got more villains that you did," Rumi growled playfully, flicking him on the forehead. "So you haven't beat me in that department yet."

"Hah, fine!" He laughed, crossing his arms and smirking right back at her. "But whenever we get to fight next in U.A, let's settle our score there and then! Forget some cheap little spar in a park. Let's throw around our full power to prove who's better."

"Bring it," She said, holding an open hand. "Then, no holding anything back and brawl right to the end, you got that?"

"Heh, one final match to settle the score. When the time comes, let's rumble, Usagi!" He said back, gripping her hand and shaking it. And as such, their final showdown was to commence.

… U.A, staff meeting-room …

"…And that's the last student?" The small, polite principal of U.A asked, looking through the last of the papers. It was unsure at to what he was: a mouse, or a dog, or even a bear. What was to be sure was that he was most certainly the principal.

"Yup, that's the very last one," Hizashi Yamada, aka Present Mic sighed, brushing off invisible dust from his shoulders. "Wheeew, talk about exhausting. Keep forgetting how many students there are. But man, that was fun!"

"Mmm, indeed," The lanky Ectoplasm agreed. "It's a relief to see every student pass their exams. Not to mention, the Combat Exams themselves were…"

"I think we all know who you're thinking of," Nemuri Kayama, the infamous Midnight, said with a grin. "Hey may have… certain difficulties, but he's already proved to us his combat ability is incredible, and his capacity to save others in an impossible situation is truly the sign of a great hero, and a good person at heart. Plus… I love that rugged handsomeness of his." She was immediately karate-chopped on the back of the head before she zoned out into what were definitely lewd thoughts.

"He's freaking sixteen and you're twenty-one, please don't get us into a lawsuit," Sekijiro Kan, known as Vlad King sighed. "…but you are right. Him, Rumi Usagiyama, and Yu Takeyama show a great deal of promise."

"Indeed, indeed," Nezu said jovially, before his expression dropped to something more… neutral. "Though I'm sure that we must come to question as to why young Rappa had to step in, and why the Zero-Pointer acted in such a way."

"… I don't follow." Hizashi said, confused, as was everyone else.

"Zero-Pointers are meant to cause extreme collateral damage, that is true," Nezu stated as he paced around. "So it's no surprise that Miss Takeyama was injured. But none of you seem to realize that it attempted to directly end her life with its own hand." All the teachers in the room were silent, horror dawning on their faces at the realization.

"… It… never stopped pushing down on Kendo," Ectoplasm muttered, "… so it was actively trying to kill them. Why?"

"Whoever was giving us our funding," Nezu answered instantly, a dark look on his blank face. "I was foolish to simply trust a near-anonymous source with such large swathes of money and equipment."

"Hey, hold-on, near anonymous?" Sekijiro grunted.

"Correct. It was my mistake: we've had fully anonymous donations beforehand, but I should've seen this coming from the sheer amount of we were given." Nezu reached into his pocket and proceeded to take out a small, black chip. "Nothing was necessarily wrong with the robots, except for this. This was found in every single Robot we had thanks to Power-Loader, including the normal ones. We should count ourselves lucky for not having a single casualty, and that the students took care of the majority of the Faux-Villains before their chips were activated."

"Nezu, what does this mean?" Nemuri asked, clear worry in her voice.

"It means that someone has their eye on U.A... and that the eye of the beholder has no good plans in store for us. I had Aizawa go around to try and find any possible clue as to the people behind this. Those robots were a message for that day. We must be prepared for tomorrow, and every day after that, should something arise. I trust my gut feeling on this one… something will arise." By looking closely, the black chip that seemed normal at first had only a single clue as to who was responsible, the kanji done in a bloody-red for a company that nobody had ever heard of until now.

Oda Operations.

To be Continued…

A.N: The majority of the teachers you see hear are of course familiar, returning faces. Mostly for the sake of simplicity, and because it should line up with everyone's ages. For anyone who knows a fair deal about Japanese history and culture (or played any Japan-inspired game), the name mentioned at the end might ring a bell with you all. Consider it a biiit of foreshadowing~

Even if this chapter wasn't action-packed, still want to try my hand at character-interactions, which are vital to any character-driven narrative. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Peace out!