A.N: So uh, kept ya waiting huh? Yeah, again I apologise for the lack of updates from me and this story. Again, don't worry, I refuse to drop it, simple as that. University has just been really busy and packed with work, and I admit that I'm still trying to get used to the workload, but no more sappy shit, because holy SHIT 189 Follows and 173 Faves? I love y'all. Thank you for sticking with me, and thank you everyone who's new. Speaking of who's new, holy crap its ShorelineHorizen! We meet again, even if not directly XD

Be sure to check his stories out, I'm not sure of he writes anymore on this site, but he's a kickass writer. That being said, review time!

SkeenTheDream: You're just gonna have to wait and see dude ;D. Happy you liked the chapter dude, and don't worry, I admit that I'm trying to work the 'roadhouse' meme into Rumi... somehow XD. Thanks again my man!

Kenrio: Really glad you liked it dude, I'll be sure to keep the work up!

Freshthresh: Yup! I'm a really big fan of GOH and Mori's fighting style, and with Rumi essentially using her own kick-based style, it wasn't hard for me to get inspiration.

Ompfs: Well, you're a bit early in the story and there is a reason, so all will become clearer in time. On the topic of U.A getting sued, you'd think that would've happened by now right? Personally, I think that U.A gets away with a LOT of shit, solely because it's a hero-school. They should've been shut down after the summer-camp attack, but thanks to their backing (and plot) that didn't happen.

(Guest) Jeff: Indeed, tis' a Jojo reference, fellow man of culture. There are MANY more to look forward to.

Now with that being said... this chapter is dedicated to one of the first people to ever support the fic, JaxTheGamer, thanks to an idea of his that I've been dying to place into here. Onto the show!

Rumble, Young Man Rumble!

Chapter 38

The Awakening!

Nobunaga sat in his chamber, legs crossed and eyes closed. If anything, the man looked incredibly serene, a calm expression on his face that almost appeared as if he was sleeping. In contrast, his bare upper body was violently warping and contorting, as if something was attempting to burst from his skin. His eyebrow suddenly twitched, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated intensely. The writhing under his skin became more violent and sporadic for a few seconds before it froze, everything snapping back into shape.

'There!'

Muscles tensed and grew in size, skin suddenly flushing purple. He opened his eyes and slowly got up, attempting to be very careful with his movements. "So, this is the Removal… hmm…" He knelt down, idly tapping the ground with a single finger. There was a sharp *CRACK* as half his fist was buried into the solid concrete, cracks spiderwebbing across the floor.

"Amazing strength, enhanced durability, speed," He summed up, "But at a cost. Fine muscle-control is all but gone, stamina is rapidly decreasing in order to maintain increased muscle-strength, and bone-structure undergoes strain in order to support enhanced musculature. It has its flaws, but… certainly worth keeping over regular Muscle-Enhancement." The purple skin faded and the man was back to normal, popping his back and rolling his shoulders. "Right, now that that's done, what else was on the list today?" He hummed as he made his way to a small desk in the corner of the room, picking up a piece of paper and looking at the contents.

"Let us see…" He muttered, "Check the drones, calibrate power-output of the basic assault units, meditation, quirk practicing… ah, today is the U.A exams!" He put the paper in a pocket and hurried out of the room, making his way to another room filled with monitors, all of them on and showing different areas within Musutafu. Sitting down in front of one, he typed rapidly on his keyboard and brought up multiple videos detailing every exam performance so far. He ignored the ones he didn't have time for and went straight to the first name that popped out to him, Rumi Usagiyama. He pulled up robot's camera-recording of the fight while Nobunaga sat back and watched. He grinned as he saw her utilize her strange nerve-based ability, and the sheer speed it possessed along with incredibly kinetic vision. The increased sensitivity was an issue to be sure, but one that was easily solvable via simply cancelling out pain-receptors.

'Hmm, an excellent performance! I was correct to watch her. Now, the next person up is…' His eyes widened at the name, and his grin turned feral, drool momentarily slipping down his lips before he reigned himself in. 'Alright then, let's see what you're made of. Show me the potential, the relentless malice locked deep within you… Ashura.'

…

"Do you think that was enough?" Rumi asked. She was sitting down on one of the chairs provided for the students who had completed their respective exams. "God, I'm not so sure about that last move. I was close to… agh, head hurts…" She groaned, Kendo gently shifting the icepack to rest closer to her temple.

"Don't talk too much, just rest," He said with a smile. "You did awesome babe. You used every single option that you had instead of just jumping right into the fray. And hell, the Lightning Dragon Kick went off without a hitch, huh?"

"Yeah, true… but maybe that was too much at the end," She muttered, ears drooping as she toyed with a strand of hair. "I might've taken it out, but who's to say that was the end of the fight in a real situation? I would've been left vulnerable if there were minions around. Not to mention, I still got tagged more than I should've, and-!" Kendo silenced her by swiftly planting his lips to hers, her ears shooting up for a moment before she melted into it. They broke off after a few moments, both of their faces a bit red, and both of them grinning giddily, though Kendo had a more serious look in his eyes.

"Rumi," He said evenly, "Just shut up for a second or two. You aced it, okay?"

After a moment, she sighed and nodded, smiling brightly at him before she pecked him on the cheek. "Thank you, you blockhead."

"Anytime Usagi."

"Well, I hope you aren't too distracted," Aizawa cut in, much to the amusement of the rest of the students (and naturally the slight embarrassment of the couple in question), "But suit up Rappa, you're next."

"You got it Sensei," He stood up, cracking his neck as his grin widened. "Wish me luck babe."

"Oh please, as if you need it," She said, rolling her eyes playfully, "… just kick ass out there and get back here."

If that wasn't incentive enough, Kendo wasn't sure what more he'd need in terms of motivation. He nodded, and everything after that seemed to be a bit of a blur, lost in his own head as he talked to himself.

'So, the plan for today?' The other him asked.

'Honestly…' Kendo still wasn't able to shake the earlier hatred from his system, snarling a bit. 'I'm pretty fast, but I don't think that I'll be able to outrun whatever is coming for me.'

'So beat the living shit out of it then.' The other him said sagely.

'Yeah, that.'

"3, 2, 1, START!"

Kendo instantly sprinted into the environment, the exact same forest and hills-biome that was used during his own entrance exam, a grin spitting his face at the mere remembrance of this place. Still, his mind worked at the possibilities at what he'd face.

'Some good open space to throw out big attacks, a few trees here and there, though not enough to make ya think that something is gonna use it to create new angles of attack or hide. So…'

'It probably looks something like that,' The other him pointed out politely before screaming 'FUCKING DUCK!' A massive blur of green and brown seemed to appear from nowhere, Kendo yelping as he barely managed to duck, the entire uprooted tree sailing over his head and crashing somewhere behind him. On his feet and his hands up in a fighting stance, his eyes were on the enemy in front of him. 'Oooh, this is gonna be FUN!'

Seven feet tall, its metal plating a dull red with symmetrical lines of white running all over it, this thing was utterly imposing. Unlike a lot of the other robots the others had faced, this one was shockingly human-like in its appearance and proportions, minus the vertical visor for a face. On top of that, its plating was carved in a way that made it look though relatively slim, terrifyingly muscular: it was pretty clear (no thanks to the tree it threw) that this particular robot was a powerhouse.

'…huh. I was expecting something with camo, maybe something that drills underground or just sneak-attacks in general. Why the fuck would they give me a power-type? I've always matched toe-to-toe with real people like this.'

'Even better then! Let's-!'

"You're in my way," It said in a deep voice, "To stand in front of me is to threaten me. And to threaten me is a crime for which you will die by my hand."

'Since when could these things talk like that?' Kendo asked. 'Well, I don't give a shit. I'm just here to break it.'

Both of them dashed forward, hands up in a guard as their respective attacks flashed out, sharp jabs meant to guage the distance, knuckles connecting with a *BANG*.

'Guess we know who has the reach advantage,' The other him scoffed in annoyance. Kendo grunted in assent, his palm stinging as he gripped the robot's hand while his own jab failed to reach it, barely an inch away from its face. Instead of following up though, it backstepped, which was odd considering that Kendo was its target. He scoffed and moved to step in, only for a sharp right cross to catch him clean across the cheek, stunning him, and yet… It stood back, hands held low as it appeared to stare at him.

'Why is this thing so weak?' Again, Kendo stepped in, weaving his head past a flurry of sharp jabs before aiming a low kick at its ankles. It stepped in strongly, absorbing the kick higher up on its leg and countering with another sharp yet unnaturally light right cross, before it stepped back to avoid Kendo's left hook. 'Again with that soft-ass punch! What the hell is with this thing?' Annoyed, he dashed in more aggressively, weaving much more sharply and lashing out much faster with a left hook to its body.

"Fire Kata: Phantom Pace!"

Kendo almost froze in shock as it copied his own technique, instantly stepping around him and raising his open hand to chop down. Snarling, Kendo pivoted around and blasted his fist into its chest point-blank, a roar of "Ironbreaker!" booming through the environment. It was launched clean off its feet, back crashing into a tree with a *THUD*.

'Wail into him! Flashing Steel BLAST!'

His body blurred across the distance as he speared out his elbow, aiming to cave its skull in. Instead, his elbow smashed right into the tree with an echoing *CRACK*, the bark exploding as the tree was torn in half. It had managed to duck out of the way in time, Kendo caught in a vulnerable position as he threw his arms up in a tight guard and tensed his muscles hard, planting his feet in preparation to take the hit. Yet again, light jabs prodded at his defences before it retreated, watching him closely.

'I get it now: this fucker's holding back.' A vein popped up on his forehead and his lips were pulled back into a vicious snarl.

…

"Sensei, why did you give Kendo such a passive opponent?" Shinji asked, "It doesn't appear to be doing much damage at all, and it only seems to be angering him."

"I think you're looking at it wrong," Rumi spoke up, her eyes watching the screen intently. "It ain't weak, it's holding back in order to piss Kendo off. It doesn't matter who you are, once you lose your cool, you're bound to get sloppy. That's what it's aiming for, no doubt about it."

"Good observation Usagiyama," Vlad commended. "There's no doubt that out of everyone here, Kendo is outright the best at a point-blank brawl, an instinctive genius at it." Rumi grunted, lightly annoyed, but couldn't help but agree. "However, we're here to test you and your weak-points: Kendo's struggle is at a smart fight."

"Mm," Aizawa hummed. "He'd be pushed to making a mistake and paying for it, all because he doesn't have the best control over his emotions. However…" Both he and Rumi smirked at they watched the screen displaying his face. "I think that this isn't something that we'll have to worry about while we grade his performance."

…

'RIPANDTEARRIPANDTEARRIPAND-! We're not ripping and tearing. Why?' The other him asked, disappointed that Kendo didn't explode into a violent rage.

'It's pretty obvious, ain't it?' Kendo thought, his face going even as he calmed himself. 'They're tryin' to see how well I do when I get riled up. I lose my temper, I lose this fight. It's holding back on purpose to try and get me to rush in all sloppy. This thing can chuck fucking trees around, I just know that it's waiting for a wide-open chance.'

'…So we still rip and tear…' The other him realised excitedly.

'In a smart way.' Kendo finished with a grin, tightening his stance and bouncing on his toes. 'Now let's get this show on the road!'

(Killer Instinct OST: I'm Back (To Rise!), TJ Combo's Theme, starting point 0:35)

Sensing the change that had come over Kendo, the robot came right at him, and the real fight started. It shot out its perfect jab and Kendo slipped by, firing back with a quick cross-jab that snapped its head back. It tried to retaliate with a sharp right, Kendo smoothly using Weeping Willow to redirect the punch before smashing his elbow into its face, following up with two left hooks to the body and head. Its faceplate cracked as it was knocked to the side, green visor glowing violently.

"Nobody defies the Crimson King!" In a flurry of motion, it set its feet and threw out a flurry of random punches, fast and incredibly heavy. Grinning, Kendo kept his guard and eyes open, excited to try out something new. His head bobbed and weaved sharply, punches just barely brushing past his head. He could see the punches coming, each and every single one of them so obvious, so thrilling. In comparison to the many people he had fought before, the knife-edge dances that he constantly bounded from, this was nothing special. Had he lost his cool, he would have been hit: his experience had turned this fight into a mere training-session.

"Redirection: Flowing Edge!"

The robot's strikes suddenly seemed to bend through the air, its balance thrown off little by little. Using his forearms and the back of his hands to deflect each strike as he moved in, making sure to stay aware of his range and what the robot was throwing out. As soon as he was close enough, Kendo's face twisted with exertion as he shot his right hand out at its face with a big windup, one that wasn't missed by the robot's processing as it moved to counter with a blurring chop to the head.

'Weeping Willow!' Kendo twisted and caught the chop on his shoulder and buffeting the impact with his hands, gripping as he used its own momentum against it. He yanked hard and sent the robot flying over his shoulder, though he wasn't able to follow up as it purposefully threw itself over him and slipped free, twisting and landing on its feet before dashing in again with a right-straight.

'Flashing Steel BLAST!' Its metal chest cracked and caved in under the counter-strike, its legs shaking as it struggled to compensate for the sudden damage. 'Let one strike compliment the next!' A jab, cross, left-hook blasted into its face, shards of steel flying through the air before it tried to retaliate with a still-sharp right-hook. Kendo had already ducked, drilling two more left hooks into its ribs, metal groaning and caving in. It tried to shoot for his temple with a chopping left hook, yet Kendo ducked even lower, stamping hard on its foot instead before rising up and elbowing it right in its jaw. The sheer force behind the blow whipped its head back as its systems blacked out for a single moment, a moment that Kendo took full advantage of.

'Relax your arms, let them flow like water, and redirect every strike at complete random!'

"SWIMMING SWALLOW!"

His arms turned into whipping blurs, roaring and twisting through the air to blast into the robot with a rhythmic *BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG*, armour cracking and breaking off in places, rapidly losing integrity. Still, its systems refused failure as an option an it planted its feet hard, its systems on full throttle as it swung a blazing right hook at Kendo's head, only for him to weave right under it, it attack coming to an abrupt end, hands in a tight guard and protecting everything from his cheeks down. It tried to lash out again with a left-straight, only for Kendo to weave under the punch yet again, his eyes almost shining.

'Spring off the toes…'

His head weaved back and forth rapidly, blurring into an infinity motion. Every attack that the robot threw whiffed by, unable to hit him even at full power and speed.

'Quickly shift my weight, relax and contract my muscles all across my legs, and from the momentum…!' His left arm was cocked back, and recognising the unavoidable danger, the robot was barely able to get its guard up. 'SLAM PUNCHES IN FROM LEFT AN' RIGHT!'

*BOOM*

There was a horrible shriek of metal as Kendo's body turned into a smear of motion, something ripping through the air and blasting into the robot's guard with such force that its right arm was torn clean off, guard blasted wide open.

"IRONBREAKER DEMPSEY ROLL!"

Punches exploded across its face like rapid-fire bombs, barely a millisecond or two between each terrifyingly powerful right and left hook, its skull caving in as it was bounced around between each strike. One more left hook whipped its head so hard that it almost fell over, barely able to catch itself with its hands, but Kendo wasn't done just yet. Going with the moment of his attack, he twisted and spun on the spot, whipping his right foot off the floor and high into the air with a savage grin on his face.

"Redirection and Fire: WILL-O'-THE-WISP!"

(Music End)

His foot came down like a nuke in a full-body stomp, his heel smashing into the back of its head and sending it a foot deep into the dirt with a final telling *BOOM*, the ground heaving and cracking from the sheer weight behind the stomp. Even then, Kendo wasted no time, kneeling and smoothly taking out the capture-cuffs, clicking it into place.

"Villain secured!" He shouted, his breathing rapid and his grin as wide as ever.

"EXAM OVER! Kendo Rappa, PASS!"

…

Nobunaga sighed, frustrated at what he had witnessed. Certainly, the boy had grown considerably stronger, improving the efficiency of his quirk. There was no denying that his skill would have been enough to beat his own son, and yet… he wasn't satisfied. The further Kendo pushed his Quirk, the easier it would be for Nobunaga to utilise and maximise its potential.

"Hmm… ah, here's an idea!"

Accessing 'King Crimson's' schematics and inner programming, his fingers flew across the keyboard, a grin on his face.

"Those fools really thought that by removing my chips that I no longer had control? Hah!"

Self-Repair Function: Activated.

System Overclock: Activated.

Hardware Overdrive: Activated.

"They just made the biggest mistake of their lives."

…

"THAT'S HOW ITS GODDAMN DONE!" Rumi roared with excitement, much of class 1-A cheering alongside her. Rumi was utterly enraptured with Kendo's fight, seeing the full extent of his combat ability was frankly breath-taking: his efficiency, his strength, his speed, his relentless attack, and that all too familiar grin on his face. He stood up, wiping some sweat from his face before he looked around to find a camera, smirking once he saw one and raising his fist in the air. Rumi just knew that he was looking right at her, yellow eyes shining with the light of triumph.

'God I'm so lucky,' She thought, her cheeks going hot as she grinned right back.

"Impressive," Aizawa nodded, "Both you and Kendo aren't half-bad. Still have some work to do, but good job regardless." Coming from a teacher as staunch as Aizawa, the compliment floored her, and above all else gave her hope. There was a flicker of motion on the screen and her eyes snapped back to it, eyebrows raising in surprise. The robot that Kendo had just beaten into the ground calmly pulled itself out, Kendo glancing back at it with surprise.

"Damn, I'm… surprised its still up and running," Yu said, her own voice betraying her surprise. "Kendo hit that thing so many times that… oh wow, it's fixing itself." Indeed, it was calmly piecing itself back together, picking up its arm and re-attaching it, wires writhing on their own as they were knit by an invisible force. Rumi's face started to go cold, the sight incredibly familiar to her.

"Sensei…" She started, "Is it supposed to be able to do that? It never used it when Kendo was fighting with it, so…"

"I wasn't aware that this one in particular had the ability to repair itself, nor did Power loader make me aware that it had this. Something's off." He leaned into the microphone, calling out to Kendo, who himself was suspicious at the robot's actions. "Kendo, please make your way to the exit as quickly as possible, that android isn't supposed to-!"

There was a high-pitched hum as steam suddenly burst from the metal plating of the robot, its leg blurring as it kicked a storm of dirt right at Kendo. He leaped back, barely managing to avoid it, though it was clear that he hadn't fully recovered from expending so much stamina so rapidly, his movements less snappy. In that moment, Rumi watched in raw horror as it blurred behind him, Kendo too slow and caught off-guard to react as it brought both fists down on the back of his head with a sickening *CRACK*. His eyes went wide before they rolled up into his head, his body ready to drop like a sack of potatoes. The thing that snapped her out of it was it grabbing him by his neck, raising its hand to chop it his head one more time.

"KENDO!" She screamed in horror, muscles bunched up and ready to launch herself towards the testing facility, until Kendo's hand shot up and grabbed its wrist, squeezing so hard that the metal was crushed under his grip like tinfoil. He outright tossed the robot into the air like a ragdoll and it landed hard on its feet, struggling for balance at the force behind the throw.

"You've got some balls…" Everyone froze at Kendo's voice: it was speaking with his voice, but it was so unhinged, so untamed, so violent. "Thinking you could hurt 'us' like that." Aizawa had already left, rushing to Kendo's area while everyone stood in shock at the monitors, tears of fear and confusion running down Rumi's face. "You made a big fucking mistake…" He raised his head, and chills went down everyone's spines.

This was not Kendo. Its smile was unnaturally wide and wild, his face contorted with twisted, predatory glee, accentuated by its hunched posture. "You caught Kendo off guard with a blow meant to kill, I've give you props for that. But thanks to that, you'll have to deal with me now." He stood up straight, every muscle tensed and ready to explode into action.

"And I'm gonna kill you."

Ashura had awakened.

(To Be Continued...)

A.N: And so, shit has hit the fan at terminal velocity. Been building up to this, but the question is what 'this' is? Well, stick around for next time! Peace out and love y'all!