A.N: So uh, been a while XD. Really though, I apologise for the lateness of the chapters that have been coming out. To be honest, this is the furthest I've ever go in a story, and the most consecutive chapters that I've done if that makes any sense, and admittedly it's a bit tiring when combined with all the scholarship and university stuff. Of course, I don't love the story or your support any less, just to be clear. I'm considering taking a break, but at the same time not really... eh, either way, I will NOT abandon this story, and I have you guys to thank for the motivation. Also, new cover art! Someone saw my work and liked it, and they commissioned the new piece recently. I don't have a link to their Instagram just yet, but I'll definitely give it to you all once I've got it again. Onto the reviews!

StandUpKeepMovingForward: I know right? Always knew he was tall, just not taller than Endeavour XD.

SkeenTheDream: That is indeed correct! I should've more explicitly stated that the start of the story takes place 10 years before the main timeline, but you are correct indeed in saying that big things are in store. Also, good catch on the relationship between Muscular and Nobunaga. You'd be surprised, but they have a bit of a thematic role to play in relation to Rumi's own relationship with her father. Thank you once again for the love dude!

ChernoAlpha117: Having a Cap. America type character would be pretty cool and kinda funny XD Kendo will get genuine boxing-training to further supplement his MMA skills, though that'll come a bit later. Not to mention, his hands are largely his speciality right now, so it wouldn't take him too much time to pick up some boxing-skills via analysing tapes alone. Thanks again for the thoughts and support dude!

Doctor Snake Eater: Perhaps not the best father, but a good one at least XD.

Kenrio: Regarding both reviews, I've checked out Webnovel, and while it's definitely an idea I've entertained, I don't think I'll be putting my story there, largely because the novels that have been put up there are original works rather than derivative of another series. On the other hand, I've also thought about doing a child of Rumi/Kendo, only problem is that Izuku in the current story is roughly 5/6 years old while Rumi and Kendo are 15/16 respectively. Regardless, thank you for the thoughts dude!

Onto the show!

Rumble, Young Man Rumble!

Chapter 35

First day back

Rumi waited as patiently as possible by the train-station, a simple white blouse and ripped-up jeans as she stayed seated on the nearby bench. She idly looked at her phone, a bit surprised at just how little time had passed since she arrived here, yet it felt like she had been waiting forever.

'Maybe… nah, not maybe,' She chuckled, 'I can't wait to see him.' Her foot tapped the ground as her mind wandered. 'Is he alright? Is he looking forward to seeing me too? How strong has he gotten?' The idea of seeing his face made her stomach flutter, and she held back a giggle. After all, Rumi Usagiyama did not giggle like a schoolgirl, she snickered. Big difference. The sliding doors to the station opened and her head snapped forward, a massive grin blossoming on her face and a laugh working its way up her throat.

"I think I'm getting a bit desensitised to seeing injuries on you," She said, standing up with a bit of difficulty.

"Hey now, you aren't one to talk," Kendo chuckled back, motioning towards her own bandages, visible through the rips in her jeans and on her arm. For a moment, they stood in front of each other and just smiled. Something seemed to spark between them, not antagonistic in the slightest, more happy and excited. Still, it was a relatively public place, and as such they managed to restrain themselves for the time being. Regardless, she bounded into him, careful not to knock him over as they shared a tight embrace while laughing all the while.

"Y'know, I missed you real bad," Kendo sighed, still easily holding Rumi off the ground.

"Hmph, you'd better!" She barked, though her cheeks coloured in delight before she buried her head in the crook of his neck and softened her voice. "I missed you too Kendo." She hopped down, both of them calm and happy as she motioned off to the side. "Wanna grab a bite to eat? It's just barely past 1:00, but I'm pretty sure we could both use a solid meal."

*GRRRRWWWLL*

"… my statement still stands," She snickered as Kendo turned a bit pink, "And I'll just take that as a yes."

"Let's just go," He grumbled, embarrassed to all hell as Rumi just laughed outright. The feeling was obliterated as Rumi held his hand, the familiar callouses and warmth making him smile giddily. A simple noodle-stand was close enough for the both of them, along with being a very nice option in terms of cuisine. They ordered quickly, though paused as they both took other their wallets.

"…Rumi, I can pay for it," He said evenly.

"Dude, you already had to deal with a longer and more expensive train-ride than me," She pointed out.

"You're injured," He tried to shoot back.

"And you were in a tougher fight than I was," She shot down playfully. Kendo sighed, racking his brain for a moment before coming up with something.

"… Rock paper scissors?"

"Hmph, you're on!" Facing each other, they paused for a moment. It was as if there was a standoff. Both combatants with loaded guns (hands) ready to fire off at a moment's notice. Still, that didn't stop them from attempting to strategize.

'Rumi's faster than me,' Kendo thought, 'But… I can still throw a feint! If I can feint 'rock', then she'll jump the gun and I can switch to scissors!'

'I dunno what Kendo is gonna throw out,' She admitted, 'But one thing is for certain: he's not gonna play defensive. I'll have to bet everything on that!'

"Ready…?" Even the stall owner went along with it, acting as the referee. "GO!"

"JAN-KEN-PON!"

Their hands moved in a flash, Kendo proudly throwing out a scissors at the last moment: only for his face to fall in despair as he saw her fist clenched in a solid rock.

"Strong women are always going to be your foil," The stand owner chuckled, patting the boy on the back as Rumi smugly payed the bill.

"Ain't that the damn truth," Kendo sighed, grinning as Rumi kissed him on the cheek.

"Consider it a reward for working so hard," She said cheekily. "Though, you still owe me some stories about what went down."

"I mean, now's as good a time as any, right?" Kendo chuckled, slurping up some udon. "So, when I first get to the Agency, everything seems pretty neat right? But then I enter Nighteye's office, and you would not believe the amount of…!"

…

"…Holy shit, Satsujin Wu?"

"Yeah, talk about a serious fuckin' coincidence!" Kendo laughed. Both of them just almost finished their meals in their entirety, and Kendo was coming close to the ending of his story. "But yeah, the dude was… really strong. Almost as fast as you overall, and stronger than Tetsu outright. Only thing that I could really take advantage of was how raw his technique was and how his quirk started to weigh him down after a while. Even when I managed to give him one good hit, the bastard stood right back up and something happened to his quirk."

"…you're not saying what I think you're saying," Rumi said lowly.

"Yeah… the bastard's quirk evolved. He was stronger, faster, his body just wasn't taking any lasting damage from my punches. He looked different too, skin turned a weird purple, veins popping up, eyes turned pitch black and shit…"

"That doesn't sound too dissimilar to how you looked using the Advance against Tetsude," Rumi pointed out.

"I know right?" Kendo chuckled, "But seriously I had to push the Advance to as far as my body could handle safely just to keep up with him."

"Kendo…" Rumi growled lowly.

"I know, I know," He said, trying to calm her. "I won't be using the Advance for a while, and I got a medical check-up on my body to make sure nothing went wrong. I'm getting stronger and more able to use the Advance without any drawbacks, at least up to a certain point. It was enough to help me survive against a monster like that, after all."

"Hmph… I guess that's a fair point," She conceded, "But no going wild with it! That shit's becoming a crutch for you whenever you feel like you're getting pushed into a corner."

"I guess so!" He laughed, "Besides, that's why I've been working on my own fighting-style, so I don't have to use the Advance as much. I've got faith in the benefits it gives me, but it's not something I want to spam like a noob."

"Since when did you use the word noob?" Rumi snickered, slightly kicking him in the leg. "But… that's a relief. Since we're both done… wanna show off a bit in the park? Don't need to go all out or anything, but enough to show what we learned."

"Hell yeah, I'm all for it!"

…

"This was a terrible idea!" Kendo groaned, both he and Rumi laughing as they laid flat out on the grass.

"Agreed," She sighed before they both pushed themselves to sit up. "I gotta say, you're like a whole other person when you're fighting with the Niko Style! Your kicks are actually pretty decent too."

"Mm," He hummed, "I still need to be more flexible if I wanna consistently kick to the head, but it is what it is. Any tips?"

"Well… the Water Kata is all about relaxation and locking techniques, right? Your locks aren't bad at all, but you're havin' some trouble relaxing. I know that you ain't able to show off more of the Niko Style thanks to both of us being screwed up, but one of the keys to being able to fight effectively, no matter the weight class, is learning how to properly relax." She stood up, her body completely relaxed. "That was part of learning the Recoilless Kick. It's all about not wasting any energy whatsoever and focusing all of your speed and momentum into that one perfect strike." She demonstrated with her good leg, sharply breathing out as her left foot shot out far sharper than ever before. A small gust of wind washed over Kendo, the boy grinning in excitement.

'I've never seen her throw a kick that good before,' He thought, 'She's definitely on a higher level than during the Tournament. I can't wait to see what it's like when she's in her best condition!' He idly looked at his own fist, clenching and unclenching. 'Not to mention… I've also stepped up my game. We've both been in a kill or be-killed deathmatch, so I know that if Rumi's improved this much, then so have I, and I'll get even better once I learn how to properly relax my body!'

"Boop," She said as she tapped him on the nose, sitting right next to him. "You look lost in thought."

"Yeah, I was thinking on how much stronger you got," He said honestly, "And that I've still got something cool to work towards."

"Dude, don't overthink it so much," She said with a genuine smile, "You didn't just get stronger, you got better. You're at your absolute best when you stop thinking and just… go with the flow, y'know."

"Heh, rhymes," He chuckled, smiling wide as they both just stared at each other for a moment or two. They scooted closer at the same time, her hand on top of his as they blushed a bit. "… you're super pretty, you know that?"

"Oh hush," She chuckled, bashfully looking away as her stomach did flips at the compliment. "You've got some good looks yourself."

"God, I'd hope so!" He laughed, both of them getting closer. "… hey, d'you mind if I kiss ya?"

"Was gonna ask the same thing," Rumi chuckled before they gently pressed their lips together. It was like a shot of adrenaline and euphoria all over again, both of them melting into it with ease. They had missed this, and now was as good a time to catch up as any.

…U.A, the next day…

"Good to see that everyone has been doing well," Aizawa droned, "Especially considering the incident that had befallen all of you, it's a relief that none of you have been seriously injured. That being said though, now is as good a time to remain as ready as ever."

"…So in other words, we're just gonna brush off the fact that some of us were attacked by killer robots, is what you're saying." Ryuko summed up, getting an annoyed glare from the scruffy teacher.

"Moving on," He sighed, "…grab your gear, we've got a training exercise for today. I'm here to see how far you've improved your quirk and skills over the past week."

A burst of excited chatter filled the classroom as everyone was quick to stand up and file out. Some were ready to show off their newfound abilities, others simply surprised at the opportunity.

"Shinji, you ready to show some of that slangin' wood today?" Kendo joked, earning a small groan from the wooden boy.

"Please don't refer to my quirk in that way," He sighed, "But yes, I'm quite prepared to show the fruits of my training. Working with a high-ranking hero like Edgeshot has given me a great deal to works towards, and a much wider use of my quirk."

"Heh, sounds good! I've got some stuff to show off too, so I'm lookin' forward to it. I'm guessing the same applies to you too Sendo?"

"Well, I'm quite proud so say that I too have become a good deal stronger!" The happy-go-lucky boy said. "My abilities have transcended time itself, and I've attained a greater power than before…" The two boys stared at him for a moment. "… too dramatic?"

"Eh, I'd give it a 6.5/10." Kendo answered honestly.

"Seven for me," Shinji followed up, "The serious tone was a good sell, yet the mention of 'transcending time' somewhat breaks it."

"Aww," Sendo fake-wept, earning a good laugh from both of them. "Anyway… Kendo, wasn't your gear damaged during your internship?"

"Part of it, yeah," He admitted, "My gauntlets are just fine, it's mainly the cloth that's been ripped. Apparently they've got it fixed up and altered for better performance or something." Having entered the changing-room, he opened up his locker and took out his case, opening it up and staring into the contents. Both eyebrows went up. "Huh."

"So, what's it look like!?" Sendo asked excitedly, both him and Shinji peeking over his shoulder. "…huh. That's…"

"Try it on," Shinji urged.

…

"Our runner-up ace is running late," Yu joked, earning a few chuckles from the rest of the girls, Rumi included.

"Everyone needs a little bot of makeup," Ryuko pointed out, "Maybe he's just putting on some eyeshadow to bring out those sexy eyes of his."

"Oi, hands off," Rumi growled playfully, "I don't blame you, but that man is mine." Ryuko laughed heartily, both hands up in surrender.

"Speaking of which, here he… comes…" Yu and Ryuko's eyebrows went up, and Rumi turned around to see what all the fuss was about. The moment she did, her mouth dried up as her face turned hot. Kendo's costume was noticeably different than before. His gauntlets looked the same, though what was really eye-catching was the brand new body-suit that he was wearing. Pitch-black, his was seemingly skin-tight, fully showing off his incredibly built physique that was underneath, thin grooves cut into the fabric accentuating the lines and definition of his muscles. Said muscles moved more fluidly than before, every motion rippling across the fabric. The simple dark-red waist-cape attached to the utility belt that was seemingly built into the suit was perfectly accentuated, the combat-boots with grey soles being the finishing touch.

In short, Rumi thought he was hot.

"So uh…" Kendo asked with a shy grin, "Whadda you think?"

"…I'm about five seconds away from making out with you," She said bluntly, Kendo's face going pink as he grinned bashfully.

"…so it's good then?"

"Dude, you're a lady-killer in that outfit," She said with a wink. "And your ass is all mine."

"Duly noted," He nodded sagely, fighting to keep a satisfied and goofy smile from his face. The objective of the current exercise was a simple race through a damaged city block. Buildings were toppled and building-sized rubble stood in the way, so it wasn't as if it was going to be a straightforward walk in the park.

"Everyone, get ready…" Aizawa's thumb drifted over to a stopwatch as the class got ready to break for it. "GO!"

And just like that, everyone was off like a shot. Right off the bat, there was a two-way tie for first place: Rumi and Kendo were neck and neck, their speeds shockingly equal. Nobody was surprised at Rumi having edged out in speed, but what caught everyone off guard was Kendo's own newfound agility. Even Rumi's eyebrows shot up as she saw him deftly leap over or slide under debris with ease. Though she was pulling ahead at a steady pace, he consistently kept his speed up. 'Damn, he really has improved!' She grinned and picked up the pace, front-flipping and kicking off at odd angles to continuously propel herself forward.

Kendo's eyes snapped up and he kissed his teeth. 'Damn, I can't hope to catch up to her in raw speed. How do I get an edge!?'

'You're at your best when you don't think.'

'Part of what allows you to fight and move so well is your raw instinct.'

'Relax.'

'…Screw it, let's just go all in!' Closing his eyes for a moment, Kendo exhaled deeply, his body slowly down for a moment before his eyes snapped open. 'Raging Flash!' The floor under his feet shattered as he shot forward like a bullet towards a wall.

'Jump over? A Flashing Wrath technique? No…' He simply clenched his fist. 'This'll be enough.' He shot his fist forward, all of his momentum enough to shatter the reinforced concrete. He tore his way past several upturned desks, reaching the end of the room and preparing to punch, only to see a hole in the roof that he quickly jumped through. Aizawa wasn't one to miss the change in his movements. They were more coordinated, more efficient, and far sharper than before.

'Not bad at all,' He conceded, 'But what about a sudden change of environment?'

A quick button-press caused small and controlled explosions to rock the place, debris beginning to fall randomly from overhanging buildings. The majority of the student's reactions were expected: Rumi bounded through the air, lashing out with kicks that easily shattered stone, Yu simply growing larger to negate any damage, Shinji getting creative as tendrils of wood spiralled into the air like a fan, batting away the falling concrete at all angles. Kendo on the other hand did touch a single one. His footwork let him seemingly dance and weave around the falling debris, his face beading with sweat at the utter concentration that he put himself under.

'Don't waste energy, don't waste energy, don't waste energy…' He did his best to let his body do the talking, but it was hard trying to resist his mind telling him to start punching. Regardless of the internal conflict, one thing was for sure: he was having fun. A genuine grin spit his face as he picked up speed, getting closer and closer to Rumi, something that the girl didn't miss.

'Since when could you move like that…?' She wondered, tempted to watch in awe as Kendo continued to improve. 'No… improvement is too light a word. You've always been able to do it, haven't you?'

A massive boulder broke free from a building, over ten feet in height came rapidly rolling right towards Kendo. 'No room to dodge, can't jump over or slip under…' He clenched his fist one more time. 'Wrathbreaker… I can't waste energy on getting too emotional. I gotta be as badass and stone-cold as Iron…' He grit his teeth as he fired off his knuckles once more. He snapped his muscles unto place, tensing every single one of them right as his fist made contact. 'Adamantine Kata: IRONBREAKER!'

The boulder exploded, shards of it flying everywhere as Kendo stumbled for a moment before finding his footing and sprinting off after Rumi. Aizawa, having slightly panicked at the unexpected boulder, now relaxed, smirking a bit. "So he hasn't peaked yet. Good."

(To Be Continued…)

A.N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter as per usual, be sure to let me know how it was, and peace out!