A.N: Hellooo y'all, and welcome back! I'm so happy to see the story growing more and more, and I'm glad to see brand new faces hopping aboard the train! Let's get right into the Reviews!
SkeenTheDream: Glad you both see and like the direction I'm taking Kendo dude! Instead of sticking solely to brawling like his canon-self, I wanetd to expand his repertoire, so calling him a swiss army-knife fighter is pretty apt. Indeed, I've fully read G.O.H and that is where I pulled the 'Recoilless' technique from! Rumi's fighting-style seemed heavily influenced by Taekwondo, so what better way to improve her current skill set, right? Well, that's if she manages to learn it ;D. Glad you liked the chapter, though you're right in saying that they've been a bit short as of lately. I want to keep updates as consistent as possible for now while keeping each chapter entertaining. Don't worry though, as the story progresses then the chapters will increase in length (similar to what I was doing at the start of the story This is basically Season 2, and it'll follow a similar format.) Thanks for the support dude!
ChernoAlpha117: Hey dude, glad you liked the chapter! Now that's a weight that works more feasibly for someone that size XD. All things said though, I get why Cherno tends to be favourite amongst fans. For me personally though, favourite Jaeger has got to be Tacit Ronin. He was only shown in the opening for a brief moment, but I love his overall sleek design that kinda reminds me of a Gundam, and I'm especially a sucked for the triple-jointed feet of his. Thanks again for the support and thoughts dude!
Alex Bloodbane: Welcome aboard dude, and I'm so happy that you like the story! I'll make sure to keep things awesome!
Galaxy Knight: Hehe, I see what ya did there dude XD. Still, I'm happy that the training segment makes sense and gets its point across, letting the characters know that they're good but improvement is always better. Thanks again for the support!
StandUpKeepMovingForward: ;D (Dunno how to do a thumbs up on a keyboard XD)
Skandalf: (I'll be covering all your reviews in this one section as best as I can, hope you don't mind) Welcome aboard dude! First and foremost, I'm happy that you're liking the story so far and I'm glad that you're voicing their thoughts and opinions. Firstly, glad you like the overal concept of it: I originally wanted to do something more Izuku-centric, but after re-watching Rappa's fight scene I just had to do something with his character. Second, I'm relieved that the dyslexia plot-point was believable! I wanted to make Kendo a more relatable character in regards to his backstory and to his current attitude, and I'm glad you like how it played out. Third, and the most important one. I wholeheartedly admit that I get way too carried away with the fight-scenes and power-scaling gets shot out the window XD. There's no denying that everyone seems to be ridiculously strong despite being in their first year: however, I also wanted to balance it out with the current chapters, showing that they've got a lot of work to do to match up with the current Professional heroes of today's world. Not to mention, it isn't as crazy as you'd think: sure, they seem almost brokenly powerful for first years, but remember that not only are all of them notable heroes in the current canon, but also that they're more or less equal to the current timeline's 1-A in a few ways, eg. Deatharms and his Blast-Core technique isn't equal to Bakugou's max-power explosions, or Kamui's strange wood creation in his last fight doesn't even compare to a base-Todoroki. Kendo's current maximum output is only really around a 10% Full Cowl, which is kind of insane, but it's more due to specific circumstances. Still, I don't fault you for suspending your belief at times, because shit does get pretty wacky at times, I'll openly admit XD. Finally, I'm happy that the Rumi/Rappa couple is cool for you, and that Kendo decided to intern under Nighteye.
Apologies for the long-windedness of the reply, but I'm just happy that you were honest and polite in your thoughts and criticism, I really appreciate it dude! Stick around, because things are gonna get fun!
Now with all that said, let's hop right back into the show!
Rumble, Young Man Rumble
Chapter 30
Mission set!
"Come on now Shinji, maintain your flexibility! You must continue to change between tense and relaxed if you wish to improve!" Shinji was doing just that, sweat pouring down his face as he constantly swung from place to place on the ceiling with his branches, changing their structure as much as possible. As times he made his branches solid to bring him to a sudden stop in order to quickly change direction or making them more flexible and bendy for a wider range of motion. It was such a simple concept but had nonetheless already been paying off in terms of its usefulness. The wood he created with this constant practice had in turn increased both in its solidity and flexibility, already giving him a greater array of ideas for future attacks.
"Yu, don't get comfortable in a single size! Keep changing between each attack, and you'll be entirely unreadable!" Said girl was green in the face, her main goal for the internship week being unpredictability. She went from an uppercut, changing her size suddenly with each attack. Sprinting in her normal size and jumping suddenly growing into a jumping dropkick. An uppercut where she increased her size, taking the training dummy all the way to the roof before getting smaller as she grabbed it and dove into a suplex, her feet still touching the ground. She looked a moment away from vomiting up her guts thanks to the constant level-changes and forcing her body into different proportions at a rapid rate, but she too had improved dramatically.
"Alright, that's enough!" At that, both of them stopped, Shinji barely catching himself as he landed in a roll while Yu fell onto her back, both of them dead tired.
"You're all doing quite well so far," The number 25th ranked hero, Edgeshot said, "I think it's best for us to stop here for now. You two have made great progress over the past four days. I think that it's about time we get ready for actual patrolling tomorrow."
"Really!? Finally, I get to show off just how amazing I am!" Yu said, her pride completely eradicating her exhaustion for the time being.
"It will be a great learning experience for us to watch a high-ranking hero in action," Shinji said respectfully.
"It's good to hear that eagerness from the both of you," Edgeshot said with a grin. "Rest up for the day and be ready for tomorrow. A ninja is always ready, after all."
…
"DAMMIT!" Rumi shouted. The room was littered with shattered stone, literally hundreds of slabs reduced to rubble under the power of her kicks. And still, it was not what she was looking for. She collapsed to the floor, exhausted from the many, many fruitless attempts of attempting to cut or pierce through a single slab rather than break it.
"How… how the hell does he do it!?" She kissed her teeth, glaring hard at her most recent failure. Truthfully, she was inwardly glad that she had a goal to work towards and that she had already greatly improved her current offensive capability. Huffing to herself, she quickly swept away as much of the debris as possible and stood in the middle of the room, breathing deeply to calm down and focus.
'Luna Dreamwalk.' Her feet started to move rapidly, her movements waving like a mirage as she seemed to glide around the room.
'Luna Ring: Formless.' Pushing off with her powerful toes, her whirling kicks became erratic, slicing through the air at infinitely unreadable angles. She didn't stop moving around either, her body twisting and cutting through the air as she constantly kicked off whatever her feet managed to touch. Making one final push off the ceiling, she grit her teeth and curled up into a ball, extending her right leg right past her head.
'Luna Arc!' Her heel chopped straight down in a terrifying axe-kick, powerful enough to cleave through a car. Smoothly touching down, she moved her weight forward, lashing out with a kick that appeared to aim high before suddenly changing direction and cutting down at an angle. 'Luna Fall!' Even after that she didn't stop, throwing out one final attack.
'Luna, Three-Point Kick!' Left roundhouse, right-roundhouse, finished with a spinning hook-kick aimed at both temples and the back of a target's head. She stopped, sighing out and still frustrated. '…I've increased my repertoire of moves to better suit a more flexible attack-style, but it ain't enough. What am I doing wrong?' She sat and thought hard for a while, trying to sort out what was going wrong. She played back her several sparring-matches with Musha, trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. As far as she remembered, she was sticking to her range, lashing out with her movements and trying to hit him while he countered with such ease, his movements so simple…
Her eyes snapped open, jaw dropping slightly. 'That's it!' She shot to her feet, setting into her stance with a grin. 'I'm trying to rush into using Recoilless but doing that isn't gonna help at all. Everything about Sensei's attacks at their very core is basic! He knows when to strike, where to strike, and what to strike with, because he's completely mastered the basics: he doesn't need super flashy or elaborate techniques! That's gotta be the key to Recoilless.' Concentrating again, she remembered all of his teachings, applying it to her attacks.
'Front kick to the hip.' Her leg snapped out before she slowly placed it down. 'Cross to the bicep, uppercut into his arm.' Her two punches moved out steadily, sharp and crisp in their execution. 'Rising roundhouse to the armpit…'
Unbeknownst to her, Musha silently watched out of sight, a smile on his face. 'Very good Usagiyama. Strengthen your foundation, and the path to Recoilless will become clear to you.'
…
"Wrath Helix!" A machine-gun level *BANG-BANG-BANG* echoed through the gym before he was forced to back off from a lunging grab by his opponent. "Damn, you're the second person to take my punches like they're nothin'!" Kendo laughed, a light sweat on his face as he bounced on his toes.
"Hey now, don't sell yerself short kid. You're the first person to make me burn through this much fat in one go!" Former Tokyo Police Officer, Taishiro Toyomitsu chuckled as he put his own fists up, supressing a wince of pain. 'This kid is somethin' special! I don't think I've ever taken this much damage at all, and his strikes have a lasting effect. He ain't even in his physical prime yet…!' Taishiro grinned, his confidence surging. 'But I can take 'em! Even if he can damage me, he'll need to pound away for at least another half an hour if he wants to burn through my fat! Still though, I'm gettin' real tired. I'll end it with a quick strike and a grab!'
They both charged at each other, Taishiro leading with a right cross that was incredibly sharp for someone his size, Kendo meeting his punch with one of his own, or so it seemed. Letting his punch travel through, Kendo swayed back as much as possible, springing off the floor and grabbing his wrist while he wrapped he legs around Taishiro's neck.
"Water Kata: Bind of Pisces!"
'Oh shit, he changed his tactics!' Taishiro panicked, 'My quirk works just fine for physical blows, but locks and pulls are a different story: he can break my arm!'
"Fat-Burst!" Channelling the stored kinetic energy from his main body to his arm, there was a burst of energy as Kendo was forcibly thrown off of the larger man, quickly rolling to his feet to see that Taishiro had… shrunk, somewhat. He had his hands on his knees, breathing heavily "Wheeew!" The large man chuckled, both combatants relaxing. "Kid, we've been at this for half an hour and you still haven't gotten tired? Yer makin' me jealous!"
"Don't sweat it Fat-Sensei!" Kendo laughed, rolling his arms out. "So, whadda ya think I gotta improve on? We still got time before Nighteye shows up."
"Well, safe to say I'm tapped out," Taishiro sighed, "But I'd be glad to give a few pointers! First off, yer kicks have already gotten way better, but make sure you know when to snap a kick versus cutting right through. Grappling on your part is also improving, but I notice that you only really use it as a counter. Don't be afraid to use it right off the bat! Hell, use your combinations and then lead into it if you wanna use it pre-emptively. One final thing," He hopped out of the ring and beckoned Kendo over. Curious, he followed him over to where Taishiro's bag was and saw the larger man pull out a disk after a moment, jogging over to the nearest TV.
"Your combinations need work," Taishiro said as he inserted it, "Don't get me wrong, your form and technique is just fine. Still, the main thing you gotta improve is making your combos more effective rather than just throwing out random punches. Here's a boxer who I know you could definitely learn from! He's from the pre-quirk era, and from Japan too!"
Sitting down, Kendo squinted a bit as he focused on the words on the screen: 'Ippo Makunouchi, Greatest Hits!'
"He was the Undisputed Featherweight Champion for twenty years," Taishiro explained, "Eighty fights, three losses, and seventy-three wins all by K.O."
It didn't take long for Kendo's jaw to hit the floor again. The champion was rather short, almost kind looking with his rounded face and messy black hair. However, that didn't change the raw muscle packed onto his body. His stance was crouched, both hands up in a tight peekaboo guard as he dashed forward, his movements sharp and precise. Despite the majority of his opponents being taller than him, the champion never once faltered, expertly slipping and weaving past their punches. His jab shot out like cannon-fire, always blowing his opponents backwards and driving them to the ropes. From there, the magic happened.
Right hook into a right uppercut, followed by a left overhand. A wild right hand from the opponent was swiftly dodged before his head started to weave into an infinity-pattern, toes pushing off the ground with each weave. Kendo's eyes went even wider as the pattern was abandoned all together, lefts and rights raining down onto his opponents from every conceivable and inconceivable angle. Even when he wasn't doing what the commentators were calling the 'Dempsey Roll', even his basic exchanges and combinations were incredible, each blow packed with bone-crunching power that could topple bigger and larger men.
"Yer seein' it too, right?" Taishiro asked with a grin, noticing the look of awe on Kendo's face. "One punch leads into or compliments the next. He starts low and then switches to high, and pounds away at high to stab in low. He'll throw a great combo, faint or stutter to get a response and then counter to lead into another exchange. You gotta have that same mindset, instead of just throwing out random punches or just sticking to something too short to do any lasting damage."
"Yeah…" Kendo breathed, still enraptured by the display of boxing in front of him. "Yeah, I think I get what you mean."
"Let's hope so," Kendo snapped out of his trance to see Nighteye walking up to them, a wry smile on his face. "I trust that training has been going well?"
"Yup! Fat-Sensei's been helping me a lot with my kicks, and my flexibility's really improving thanks to all that stretching. We're just watching something to help with my combos."
"Good to hear your improvements," Nighteye said, "I believe it is time to put them to the test." Grinning at the implications he turned to properly face Nighteye, the man pulling out a file from his suit. "We've been getting some reports about an Underground fighting-ring that been taking place across Japan, one called Purgatory. Its being largely supported by corrupt officials and politicians who we've been trying to make a case in for the longest time. Recently, I've been tipped off information detailing that the next match is going to take place close by."
"Sounds like fun!" Kendo said. "Though, what're you gonna need me for?"
"Well, this hasn't been confirmed but there's supposedly an incredibly dangerous fighter there. They're rumoured to be your age, actually. There's no better test of your current abilities than someone who may be equal to you."
"So kick his ass," Kendo summed up, a grin on his face. "I can do that."
"Let's hope so. In case that isn't possible, Taishiro-san is here as backup to restrain this person of interest."
"Alright then… time to put myself to the test!"
(To Be Continued…)
A.N: Hmm, wonder who the mysterious fighter might be ;D? Also, Fatgum! Wanted to have a few interactions between him and Kendo, kind of as a parallel to their deathmatch in the proper canon. That being said, hope you all enjoy, and keep your eyes out for the next chapter! Peace out!