A.N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the long break, had an exam last Friday, and of course planing out the next Arc of the story: the Sports Festival! No story of going through U.A is complete without it! Anyway, I can't thank you enough for your continued support, be it from current followers or new faces, for what has become my most popular story yet. Onto reviews!
Skeenthedream: Damn straight my man, always want to balance out action and emotion. Sure, I love to see it, but it makes me happy to know that you're loving it so far too!
Kevin J Rosario Cruz: Thank you dude, glad it was worth it! Apologies again for the wait regarding this chapter.
StandUpKeepMovingForward: Eh, I'm more of a 'yahoo!' dude myself, but live and let live :p.
God Doesn't Love You: (I couldn't help but laugh at the name, sorry XD) Well, I'm more or less gonna answer that question in this chapter, but to be more specific, no harem for Rappa. Don't have anything against a harem-story, because they can definitely be pulled off really well, but it's not something I have any experience with.
KingNate2001: Welcome aboard the train dude! Hope you like what's to come, because I've got some crazy shit planned.
With that said, hope you enjoy this chapter! This is gonna be another more narrative one, since the last chapter already had Rumi vs. Tetsude, but don't worry, the action will pick up during the actual sports festival in a few chapters. Onto the show!
Rumble, Young Man Rumble!
Chapter 11
Promises, a debt from passionate hearts!
It was odd, seeing how quickly normality set back into their lives. At least, relatively speaking. A few weeks after Rumi's brawl with Tetsude, classes returned to the forefront of their mind, though everyone was noticing the shift to much more physical activities. "Not complaining, but why are we working out so much?" Kendo asked as he jogged next to the much smaller Shinji, the wooden boy panting slightly as his stamina began to flag.
"I-I… I believe that it is because of the… Sports festival!" He panted out.
"The hell is that, some kinda Olympics?" Kendo asked, a bit more curious.
"You'd be surprised, it kind of is!" Sendo said to his left. "I believe that it's actually on its way to surpassing the overall popularity of the Olympics in the next decade or so."
"Sounds neat, but what's in it?"
"Well, it always begins with a race of some sort followed by another elimination even in the middle. You'll love the final section though: one on one fights!" At that, Kendo literally tripped and fell flat on his face, his body slamming into the ground with a sharp *THUD*.
"O-oh God, Kendo!?" Shinji and Sendo immediately ground to a halt, almost slipping on the dirt to check on Kendo. "Are you alrigh-!?" Kendo's face shot up out of the ground, and the look on his face scared the daylights out of them: a giant, bloodthirsty grin stretched across his face, an almost animalistic look of glee in his eyes.
"So it's basically a fight to the finish then?" He asked, the air around him roiling with some form of oppressive heat. The two of them backed away from him slightly, their faces uneasy as he slowly rose. All of a sudden, that pressure seemed to vanish, and all that was left was his goofy grin. "Sorry about that," He chuckled, brushing off dirt from himself. "Got a little fired up there…"
"I'm going to make the assumption that you quite like fighting?" Sendo asked, more than amused.
"I live for it," He sighed as they continued to jog, "But there's… someone that I need to settle the score with."
"Tetsude?" Shinji guessed, "I'm certain that you and Rumi have already driven your respective points home, and handily to boot."
"Him? Nah, though he's been stepping his game up, so I wouldn't mind kicking his ass again," He chuckled, before his eyes drifted to one of the few people far in front of them.
"…Ah, it's Rumi!" Sendo guessed, a grin on his face. "I can only assume that because how friendly you are." That got Kendo thinking for a bit. He wasn't necessarily wrong to say that they were friends, but ever since the Tetsude incident, they had become undoubtedly closer. They regularly went home and studied together, normally in Kendo's room, and sometimes just opted to chat for hour after hour with no regard for the time.
"Friend is a bit… light," He admitted, "She's… she's my equal. If I don't fight her, that's an insult to the both of us." He noticed how quiet the others had become and looked at them curiously. They were both staring at him, eyebrows raised in surprise from Shinji and glee from Sendo.
"You like her."
"Of course I do, if I'm cool with someone then of course it's natural that I'd like them-!" Kendo started, confused.
"No-no, not just in a platonic way, you like her romantically!" Sendo squealed almost girlishly, his hand slapping to his cheeks as his eyes shined with joy. "I can't believe that I was right!"
"Hold up, romantically? H-hell no!" This was the first time Kendo had ever felt something like this. He was honest-to-god mortified, heat spreading up his neck and flushing his face. "I-I…" Despite his embarrassment, it did put a few thoughts of his into perspective: how he noticed the little things that she did, like when she glared she started with narrowing her left eye first. Or when she was frustrated with something, she idly wrapped her hair around her finger. Her when the corners of her mouth trembled when she was trying to hide a smile or a laugh. Or just how damn good she looked in general. "…oh… ooooh shit."
"He realises!" Sendo squealed once again, absolutely ecstatic.
"It is good that you've come to understand your feelings," Shinji said softly, the three of them finally completing their lap and comping to a stop. "And regardless, you should know that it is a blessing to have someone who would so deeply care for you enough to fight whoever has committed a wrong against you." The mood turned heavy as Shinji stared at the floor for a moment, pain and sadness in his eyes.
"Shinji…?" Kendo started, snapping the boy out of his trance.
"Ah. I apologize for that, I'm quite alright," He sighed, sending them a more reassuring smile. "It's in the past now. Either way, I wish you the best of luck in your attempt to deal with these feelings of yours."
"Well now, that's up to Kendo, now isn't it?" Sendo chuckled, helping lighten the atmosphere. Kendo rolled his eyes but didn't bother to hide his smile.
"…If that's how I feel about her, I ain't gonna say anything just yet," He said decisively. "She already went above and beyond to kick Tetsude's ass for calling me out, and it's something that I'm gonna return. I'll meet her in the matches and we'll fight each other with everything we have. It's the only way I can really pay her back." Just as he said that, Rumi was on her way over to him, a thin sheen of sweat on her face, though she didn't look tired at all.
"That was a pretty good warmup huh?" She said with a grin, flicking her hair away from her face. Just being around her calmed him down, a grin of his own stretching across his face.
"Yeah, but it is what it is," He sighed.
"Warmup?" Shinji groaned, lying flat out on the grass, "I, in my own professional and unbiased opinion, feel like I may well die soon."
"Huh, come to think about it you don't do too well in the heat, do ya bark-boy!" Rumi laughed, tossing a bottle of water onto his chest. "Compliments from yours truly."
"I'll take what I can get," He said as he downed the bottle in a matter of seconds, much to the humour of everyone around.
"Okay, gather around you lot!" Aizawa called out, quieting down the small rabble of students. "You all are most likely aware of it at this point, but the main reason why we've been pushing for more physical activities is due to the U.A annual Sports Festival coming up." Cheers of excitement broke out for a moment before Aizawa raised his hand to silence them. "Classes as of next week are off, though you are still free to come to U.A and utilize its facilities to train. Either way, the day is done. Even if tomorrow is the start of your weekend, I expect you all to remain vigilant about your training. Class dismissed."
…
"…So leg-strength is what you're going for," Kendo summed up as he held his push-up position. He grunted as he went from his palm to his fingertips, strengthening his joints to hold the pose for the last stretch. Rumi was currently sitting in his back, her feet hooked under his armpits as she constantly did sit-ups.
"Leg and… 297… leg and core strength, yeah!" She huffed out, gritting her teeth. "298… I wanna be able to… rip someone's head off with my thighs!"
"Pfft, hahaha!" Kendo cackled, even as his arms shook slightly. "Y-ya know… All Might probably could, with those giant fuckin' muscles of his."
"He… 299… he has!" She chuckled breathily, "Saw him crush a robot's head. Fuckin… 300!" Both of them finally collapsed, Kendo's face hitting the floor while Rumi was splayed out over his broad back. "Fuckin amazing!" She laughed, rolling off of him and landing beside him limply. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, content to just relax and cool off, leaning on each other for the time being. The silence let Kendo think for a moment, processing the events of the past few weeks, and his emotions towards Rumi.
"You good big-guy?" She asked softly, startling him a bit. She was really close, red eyes full of concern. 'Concern for me,' He thought warmly.
"Yeah, I'm good. I just…" He paused, not sure how to word it for a moment. He felt a rough but gentle hand on his shoulder, looking to see her eyes burning fiercely.
"That bastard talking shit again? I'll kick his ass ten times over!" She snarled, though she stopped when Kendo laughed, amused (and admittedly touched) at her instant enthusiasm.
"Nah Usagi, it ain't him. It's… you know the Sports Festival right?" She nodded, curious to what he was going to say. "… Usagi. You're my best friend, my equal, but… I've never got the chance to prove that to you. You've done more than enough for me, putting up with me, your promise to my parents, and kicking Tetsude's ass because of what he did. I owe you for that – "
"You don't owe me jack!" She said strongly. "Kendo, I did what I did because I wanted to, and I knew that I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I stood by and did nothing. Even more because you're my best friend, my equal." The way her cheeks went slightly pink made Kendo want to break out into a goofy smile, but he kept it to himself thanks to the seriousness of the situation. "So don't think you owe me anything, Kendo Rappa, because I'll do everything I did again if I had the chance."
"That's the thing Usagi! I'll never let this shit go until I repay you. I don't ever want to regret that, and you especially know damn well what I'm talking about!" She went silent at that, though she was still clearly confused. "Listen, I'm not that smart, nor am I creative, so I'll repay you the only way I know I can." He looked down at his fist and clenched it, almost chuckling at how 'anime' the moment was. "Let's meet in the final round of the tournament. I promise that when we clash, when we settle our score there, that I'll give you everything I have. I'll fight to win, because I think you're more than worth the effort." He looked down to see Rumi looking at him with a completely blank expression, and Kendo genuinely feared that what he said was just plain weird, or even an insult to her. Besides, what sane person would consider fighting each other a gift? Rumi was by all means a sane person.
But above all else, she was a fighter. Even while she was supposed to be relaxing, she felt her heart start to beat a bit faster, heat spreading across her cheeks as excitement and… something else bubbled up in her chest, something warm and tingly, like butterflies. She grinned wide, unashamedly delighted at finally being able to fight him. It didn't help that ever since they entered U.A, they never had the opportunity to fight or spar even once. To be able to put their hearts on their sleeves and their lives on the line, pitting power against power… that was something that both of them found to be undoubtedly intoxicating, a thrill that let them express who they really were, how they really felt without words. Her hand wrapped into his, squeezing, his body relaxing as they both smiled at each other. "Thanks Kendo," She said softly. "Just… promise me that you won't lose to anyone else. I want to fight you in the finals."
Relief and joy flooded him as he squeezed back, almost like a handshake between the two. "I promise Usagi. Let's sweep the competition up!" They both laughed, a bit bashful at the realisation of how close they were.
"Damn right," she chuckled before she stood up and brushed herself off, still unable to hide her smile and slight blush. "Anyway, it's getting late, even if it is a Friday night."
"Yeah, you're right," He laughed, "Sorry for keeping ya up Usagi."
"No worries, always a pleasure workin' out with you," She sighed happily as she towelled off her hair and face, the two of them walking to the entrance of Rumi's dorm.
"Pleasure's all mine," He said as he opened the door for her. "Don't keel over in your sleep now."
"Hah, you wish!" She cackled, leaning on the door-frame for a bit and quickly thinking. Sure, maybe fighting was one way of showing how you felt, but… "Hey, Kendo." He had turned to walk back into his room, but he paused and twisted to face her. At that moment, she darted forward, taking him by surprise. When she landed back on her feet, her smile was even bigger, her face redder than before. "G'night." She promptly closed the door and leaned on it, covering her face with her hands.
"Fuck Rumi, why the fuck did you do that!?" She groaned, though that didn't stop the smile from shining across her face. She was a person that went off of impulse, and as embarrassed as she was for letting her impulses do something like that… she certainly couldn't find any reason to regret it. The more and more she thought of it, she couldn't hold back her laughter as her mind replayed the scene. "… shit, he's cute when he's surprised," She snickered to herself.
Kendo on the other hand stood outside for a moment, his body frozen stiff and his jaw hanging open. She shape of Rumi's lips were still fresh on his cheek as he stiffly forced his body back into his room, showering off quickly and pulling on his sleeping clothes. He turned his lights off and plopped down onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't hold it back anymore, throwing his arms up into the air and roaring with all his might and joy, "YEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!"
*BANG-BANG-BANG*
"Shut the fuck up kid, I'm tryin' to sleep!" Someone shouted from the room next to him.
"Sorry!" Kendo called out, laughing a bit as he closed his eyes, grinning like a madman. 'Usagi… I promise I'll repay that ten times over. Just you wait, I'll give you the fight of your life, and I'll repay your feelings with my own!'
(To Be Continued...)
A.N: So yeah, Rumi and Rappa. Been trying to build up to moments like these since their initial meeting, and I hope it doesn't come off as forced. That's not to say that they're now a thing, but consider it the first real step into a relationship beyond just friends. Both of them by nature are impulsive, so I don't find it odd for someone like Rumi to be more forward than other people. Either way, hope you enjoyed this chapter, because we get some good ol' fashioned training and learning next time. Peace!