As if to build up dramatic tension, Ryoya didn't appear at the beach until two months later, at the end of the sixth month. Izuku and Ochako had just finished moving more trash and begun their sparring. If he had to estimate, they were roughly 75% done with the whole beach, and should be done within the next month or so. Great progress and easily ahead of All Might's supposed ten month timeline.
During the spar, Izuku did what he usually did. All Might was in his skinny form, watching as he stuck to the defensive and mostly gave Uraraka pointers on how to improve. Like just then, he noticed that her attempt to grab him with a bit slow, and obvious, so he easily took several steps back and caused her to over-extend and nearly fall over. When she recovered, she dashed at him again, but this time with a lower center of gravity, hoping to take out his legs.
She didn't expect for him to simply leap over her entire hunched over form in a single front flip and land easily back on his feet, before turning to swiftly face her. "You're being too predicable, Uraraka-san." Izuku said politely. "I get that you need to touch someone to remove their gravity, but just dashing doesn't really do much besides put you directly in line for a counter attack."
"You sound like Ryu-sensei. I thought I was supposed to be the stoic one in this dynamic." A voice coming from the top of stairs. He didn't need to turn around to see who it was. But he was surprised when he did.
"Oh wow, you cut your hair." Was the first thing out of Izuku's mouth. Ryoya's hair was now much shorter. Before, it ended just below his shoulders and his bangs extended beyond his chin, giving him a very mysterious and scary look. But now, his bangs still framed his face but only reached his chin and though he still had a small ponytail, Izuku could tell that now, his hair barely reached the nape of his neck.
"There was uh, an accident when training. Bogard-san apparently doesn't know the meaning of the word 'restraint' and he set my hair on fire." Ryoya said slowly, grimacing at the memory.
Izuku winced, but nodded as if that was a normal behavior. Both Uraraka and All Might looked on in visible concern.
"That's a shame. Doesn't he leave today?"
"Yesterday," Ryoya corrects and he actually looks happy to say that before his face returns to neutrality. "The last six months were the most I've ever been set on fire and punched in the face. I'd rather we just not do that again."
All Might and Uraraka gave each other a lot. What exactly was happening at this dojo?
It was then that he looked over to the hero and his successor. "Hello again, Skeleton-san. Pink Cheeks-san."
"Hi, Harushi-san." Ochako chirped. From what she was told about him from Midoriya, which was a lot might she add, the boy in front of her was nothing if not just as great as her green haired friend.
"Hello again, Young Harushi." Toshinori greeted. "Are you perhaps joining us for training today?" Toshinori wanted him to agree. After hearing so much about him, Young Midoriya was quite adamant about praising his "best friend/rival", he wanted to see the boy in action, if only a little.
Ryoya looked at the three of them before shrugging. "Maybe, not entirely sure."
"Oh, come on, Harushi-san!" Ochako waved. "Midoriya-kun here says you're really strong."
Ryoya gave Izuku a withering look, which he played off by whistling innocently.
"I'm... competent."
Toshinori chuckled at that, "Ah, no need to be so humble, Young Harushi. From what we've been told about you, you would be a nice addition to this session." 'Just take the bait, kid.'
Ryoya looked him up and down. "Eh, what Izuku told you is probably exaggerated anyway. He tends to make his friends seem way better than they actually are." Ryoya dismissed the idea.
Izuku snorted and Ryoya glared at him for it. "I'm fine with just watching."
He turned to find a seat in the sand, but not four steps later, he heard Izuku's voice. "Hadoken!" It was a light one based on the ki behind it, light and slow. Purely on reflex, Ryoya spun on his heel and kicked the ball of energy directly upwards like a soccer ball.
"...I should've expected that honestly." Ryoya grumbled while All Might and Ochako's jaws dropped to the sand.
"It's been a while since we sparred anyway." Izuku said while stretching out his shoulder. "Full power anyway, and I've been wanting to show you what I've learned."
Ryoya scoffed then a fierce grin appeared on his face and his fangs sent a shiver down the observer's spines. "Cheeky bastard. You just want to fight here since you have all this metal to work with."
Izuku didn't deny it at all. "Saw right through me, huh? So how about it? One for old time's sake? Besides, I've been meaning to see what you learned over these last few months. I've told you about me, but you've kept yours a secret."
Ryoya made a non-committal sound then his ki flared up. Black wisps of energy appeared around his hands and feet as he assumed his stance. Izuku wasted no time at all matching his friend, taking a nearly identical stance, the only difference being that his ki looked more thick and inky in it's manifestation.
"Rules?"
"Dojo rules."
Izuku nodded and his eyes narrowed with determination.
Ryoya's golden eyes glowed.
All Might and Ochako were on the edges of their metaphorical seats and the Symbol of Peace even sneakily took out his phone to record this for investigative purposes. If Naomasa's findings were accurate and this boy truly did have ties to the Oni Akuma, seeing how he fought would be invaluable.
"Ready?"
"Go."
And with that, the boys blurred towards each other. Ochako struggled to follow even the first move, while All Might watched in astonishment. They dashed passed each other before both pivoting at the same time and punching in identical motions. Their fists connected with the sound of a shotgun blast and the echo spanned the whole beachfront. The shockwave alone from such an impact kicked up a large amount of sand and momentarily blocked the pair from view. When the dust settled, neither Young Midoriya nor Young Harushi were in the same spot, instead both sliding back at least ten meters away from each other with visible trails in the sand.
"Geez, you hit harder than before, Izuku." Ryoya complained while shaking his fist.
"You're one to talk. You've normally never been able to match my upper body strength. Looks like the training with Bogard-san paid off." Izuku shot back with a smile. He looked more... well wild would be a good word for it, than All Might had ever seen him.
"It has." Young Harushi said simply before the two closed the distance in an instance. Punches, kicks, elbows and knees all flew at frankly disgusting speeds, and each interaction seemed filled to the brim with feints and hesitations. They went at it for a solid fifteen seconds with Young Harushi being the main aggressor before either one landed a clean hit. It was Young Harushi who faked a high knee, only to immediately turn his body and hips with cat-like grace and kick Young Midoriya in the side with enough force that the sand on his opposite side was disturbed.
Toshinori had seen greater men felled by similar attacks, so imagine his surprise when Young Midoriya just grit his teeth and clamped his arm around Young Harushi's leg and started to spin before throwing him like a ragdoll. Displaying an impressive amount of dexterity and agility, Young Harushi simply arched his back to get his hands parallel with the floor before pushing off and using his momentum to perform several backflips before regaining his composure.
And this was the young man who didn't want to be a hero!? That just wouldn't do at all!
"You still hit really hard, Ryoya." Izuku wheezed while holding his side. "But I have new tricks of my own."
Then, the black, inky energy slowly changed into a neon green lightning that violently sparked all around Young Midoriya's form. He rubbed his hands together and then held them to his side, palms facing downward. 'Attract.' Almost instantly, small bits of metal started drifting upwards before taking the shape of two, rough metal spheres. Ryoya watched closely. Izuku then pointed his hands and the two metal spheres at him and golden eyes widened minutely when he saw the objects also take on a green, staticky glow. 'Repel!' The clumps of metal shot off from his hands at speeds that Ryoya wasn't expecting but thanks to his reflexes and a small bit of luck, he managed to avoid being hit.
The pile of garbage behind him wasn't as lucky. When the clumps impacted, the entire pile started to glow green as if also fully charged with electricity. Seeing the sparks flying off of some stray pieces told Ryoya all he needed to no. Getting hit by that = bad time.
"Isn't that a bit much to pull out in a spar?" Ryoya asked with a raised brow.
Izuku scoffed. "As if anything less than my best would be enough to stop you."
"Touché." Then Ryoya's ki, in it's black wispy state, started to spiral around him like a candle flame before shifting into the bright orange blaze Young Midoriya had mentioned. "But I have my tricks too." The fire then turned blue and coated Young Harushi's right fist. He raised it high. "Power - ."
"Oi, what are you two doing!?" A sudden voice said off to the side. It was a woman with short, blond hair styled in a bob and wearing a sweat suit. "Public quirk usage is illegal! I'm calling the police!"
Toshinori inwardly swore. Just when he was about to properly gauge the boy's power level, this random woman interrupted just when the fight was getting good. But he had to admit, this looked bad. Young Midoriya and Young Harushi weren't exactly being subtle in their impromptu spar. Before the jogger could do such a thing, All Might, in all of his professionalism, defused the situation. "Uh, run away! Scatter!"
The next day was a bit of a surprise. School was as school was. Him and Ryoya usually only interacted with each other, with the occasional person either randomly joining their conversation or for lunch, and that was about it. Bakugo still ignored him which Izuku was immensely thankful for, but the tension between Ryoya and Bakugo was starting to reach a boiling point. They were bound to clash at some point, and Izuku only wished that the next few months flew by as to avoid that.
After what happened yesterday, All Might gave them the day off, so Izuku used this opportunity to invite Ochako to the dojo proper. He figured that if she was going to be training with him when the beach was done, she may as well meet his trainers now to get used to their... eccentricities.
They stopped at the door. Izuku put a concerned hand on Ochako's shoulders and looked her dead in the eye with the most serious expression on his face that she'd even seen. "Uraraka-san." He started gravely. Ochako was officially getting scared. "Before we go in, I must warn you. Ken-sensei is a bit... much."
"Wha - what do you mean?"
Izuku didn't say anything, instead just resigning himself to his fate. He opened the door and took a single step in and -
"You're wide open, Izuku!"
Was promptly floored by Ken's kick to the side of the head. Ochako gasped.
"It's one of those days, isn't it?" Izuku grumbled while Ochako helped him to his feet. The girl looked between scared and confused and Izuku honestly couldn't blame her.
Ken just laughed and put his hands on his hip. He was wearing his standard red gi, but upon further inspection, he looked pretty rough. He sported rough burns and several bruises all over his person and was that a black eye?
"Um, Ken-sensei? What happened?" He looked around and didn't see Ryu-sensei, though he did sense him in the back.
"Ah, me and Ryoya got a bit heated in a spar." He said with a wide smile before pointing his thumb to the boy who, like he seemingly always was these days, laying on the floor gasping for breath. His body was smoking and Izuku pitied him, truly. "Kid's gotten really strong since you unlocked magnetism. You two should fight sometime!"
Izuku wanted to tell him that they fought the other day, but nothing got him a kick in the ribs quicker than telling Ken-sensei he missed a fight somewhere.
"Anyway, who's this little lady? I assume this is the Uraraka girl you've told us about?"
Uraraka sputtered at the thought of Midoriya telling people about her but she recovered quickly. "Um, hello!" She said intelligently and with finger guns.
"I like her already! Why haven't you brought her around sooner, Izuku!? Are you ashamed of us!?"
Well, honestly, only partially. These two were pretty much father figures to him at this point, since his real dad was in the U.S and they weren't as close as they once were. "N- no sir, Ken-sensei. We were just so so busy from cleaning the beach."
"Ken, for the love of god, stop yelling." Ryu said, returning the room with a first aid kit. "Hey, Midoriya. Who's your friend?"
"O-oh, this is Ochako Uraraka. She's uh, the girl I was telling you about." Izuku said sheepishly with a faint blush on his cheeks. Ryu gave the girl a once over and nodded.
"Nice to meet you," He said casually while treating Ryoya. "I hope Midoriya has been treating you well these last few months."
"Yes, sir he has! He's been a great help and he's been trying to teach me 'Sho-ko-ken' style that he knows, but I couldn't get it to stick." Ochako responded, her nerves starting to fade away.
"Shotokan," Ryu corrects, not taking his eyes off of Ryoya. "He tried to teach you huh? It probably didn't suit you, which is fine. It's not a style for everyone despite it's simplicity. How'd the lessons go?"
"Well, uh, lessons is a strong word. He just showed me the stance and stuff."
Ryu made a sound when Ryoya grunted in pain. "Hold still and stop being a baby. It's your fault for accepting Ken's stupid challenge." Ryu gave his best friend a dirty look from across the room. "But Ken could've held back a bit more."
"Hah! Are you kidding? I stopped holding back against these kids two years ago. This was just the first time I used my own ki against him."
"...Hate you so much right now..." Ryoya said, casting a near identical dirty look at Ken as well.
"Oi, don't give me that. You and Midoriya are strong now. I can't afford to hold back anymore. If I do, I might lose!" Ken said dramatically, looking scandalized at the very idea.
"Who cares if you lose a harmless spar against a teenager!? There's nothing to gain from winning and nothing to lose!" Ryu argued.
"I do!" Ken said back without a single hint of shame.
Izuku's face went flat and Ochako covered her mouth to suppress a giggle at their antics. "Anyway," Izuku said dryly. "I was wondering if we can talk about Uraraka-san applying here in like a month? We're training for UA and Al- her trainer said she could use the combat experience."
"Hm? Yeah sure. That's no problem. Since you said Shotokan wasn't really working for her, and I know Chun-Li is busy with work, I think I know someone who you can train with." Ryu said while putting his index finger and thumb on his chin in thought.
"...are they blond, have blue eyes, muscular, and extremely energetic?" Ryoya's voice was enough to evaporate water. Uraraka wondered absently if the boy was okay.
"...Maybe..."
"...Pink Cheeks-san." Ryoya said, sounding tired. He looked at Uraraka with half-lidded eyes and the girl froze on the stop.
"Y- yeah?"
"Run while you can."
"She's not that bad." Ryu tried.
"You meaning R. Mika?" Ken chipped in. "Yeah, no. She's not bad, Ryoya! She's like me!"
"Sweet bleeding Jesus, that sounds awful."
Ken dramatically gasped. "You wound me, Harushi!"
It was three months later, during the beginning of the ninth month, in the wee hours of the morning, Izuku arrived at the beach. Normally, he got there long before anyone else and had time to get a quick kata in. This morning though, was very different. This time, he was joined by All Might who apparently wanted to talk to him personally about something important. They walked side by side in silence until All Might spoke.
"So, has Young Harushi changed his mind about being a hero?"
Izuku maintained his stride but looked at All Might curiously. This wasn't the first time he'd ask this question nor was it the first time Ryoya was brought up seemingly at random by the hero. "No, he hasn't."
All Might clicked his tongue, seemingly in disappointment. "That's a shame. Has he given it any thought as to what he's doing after middle school?" All Might pressed on. Hopefully the boy would at the very least maintain contact with Young Midoriya. Anything to make it easier to keep tabs on him.
"He said he might be applying for UA's general studies. He hopes that there, he'll find something he likes and wants to do."
"Ah, that's brilliant." All Might said with a bit too much fanfare for such a mundane thing, Izuku though. "It's expected really. He's still young. One can't be expected to know what you want out of life that early. That's why many heroes become teachers, you know?"
Izuku, at this point, just had to ask. He stopped walking and looked at the gaunt man. "All Might, why are you interested in Ryoya? You ask about him a whole lot." All Might looked at Izuku with a raised brow and the boy immediately panicked and back-tracked. "N- not that there's anything wrong with that or anything! Just - just that you seem oddly fixated on him." There, it was out in the open. It was something that Izuku wanted to ask for a while but now, it was time.
"Young Midoriya... do you remember the mall collapse?" All Might asked suddenly, completely catching Izuku off guard with the apparent topic change. When Izuku just slowly nodded, All Might continued. "That day, you were truly a hero. You put your life on the line in such a trying time and from what I heard from police reports, you also fought off a villain and rescued a little girl from an unpleasant fate. Had it not been for your selfless actions, who knows what would've happened." Izuku was confused as to where All Might was going with all of this, but was too touched to interrupt. "I told you that you could be a hero that day. But I foolishly forgot about all about due to being rather busy in the following months. And we met again, and I crushed your dream." All Might then bowed to Izuku in at a perfect ninety degrees. Izuku was shocked. "For that, I am truly sorry."
"Wa - wait a second, All Might! You don't have to say sorry! It - It's fine, really!" Izuku frantically waved off. But All Might was hearing none of it.
"Had I taken the time out to simply ask you how you intended to be a hero, my answer would've been different." He continued. "You ask why I'm interested in Young Harushi, well it's simple. I came to learn recently that he was also at the mall. And it was due to his exploits in stopping the villains single-handedly, that you were able to make it out as easy as you did." All Might said smoothly. He omitted the part where his eyes nearly bulged out of his head at reading the report and seeing just how brutal Young Harushi had been with them, and how one nearly succumbed to his injuries. He also didn't mention that the boy, according to Naomasa, had done some digging on the boy and found several very interesting details, such as villainous parents. That, and his apparent connection to Akuma, along with his ability to replicated the same aura as the Oni.
Toshinori would stop at nothing to make sure that power was on their side. One Akuma was already bad enough.
"The boy seemingly has the spirit of heroism that we could use in this younger generation if your words on him were to be believed. I'd just think it'd be a waste if such a talent didn't become a hero." He finished genuinely. He believed it too. Based on what Young Midoriya had told him, Young Harushi would be an exceptional hero. He didn't exactly have an outgoing attitude, but he more than made up for it with his relaxed and calm personality.
Izuku soaked it all in. "I agree, All Might. My friends and I in our chat group have been trying to convince him for a while to be a hero, but he just isn't budging on it. And as much as I don't like it, I do respect it. He's my best friend. One of the first people who took my dream seriously and pushed me to achieve if. The least I can do is support him in whatever he does." He said firmly. "Do I wish he'd be a hero? Yeah, I would. But I'd rather him be happy over anything."
All Might couldn't argue with that. Young Midoriya was rightfully in his friend's corner, but that didn't mean that Toshinori didn't have to speak to Nezu about this later.
"AHHHHHHH!"
"Was that Young Uraraka!?" All Might shouted before dashing forward. Young Midoriya was gone in an instant, appearing to the beach front before stopping and gasping. Toshinori definitely understood. The beach was completely spotless. Most of the trash was stacked in a pile while the remainder of it floated lazily overhead before slamming down in a thud. "Wow! She did it! She even cleaned the parts I didn't tell her to! She exceeded my expectations! Oh my GOODNESS!" He said while bulking up. When he looked up, he saw Young Uraraka standing on the last pile wearing a thin tank top with holes in it and dirty sweat pants. She was covered in sweat but had a smile on her face. Then she started to sway and fall, but Young Midoriya moved like the wind and caught her bridal style.
"Uraraka-san, that's incredible! You did it!" Izuku said excitedly.
Ochako at this point, was blubbering happy tears and crying into Izuku's chest. "I did it..*hic* I did it!" They held each other lightly while Izuku smiled widely.
"WELL DONE, YOUNG URARAKA! YOU KNOW, A WISE WOMAN ONCE TOLD ME, THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON, AND EARNING ONE! AND YOU, YOUNG URARAKA, HAVE EARNED THIS! NOW, IF YOUNG MIDORIYA WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO PUT YOU DOWN...!"
Huh? Izuku only just realized that he was still essentially cradling Ochako in his arms and she was still very much wrapped tightly around him like a koala. He felt his whole face burn, and moved to put her down, but the girl suddenly leapt away from him like he burned her. "Oh! Sorry!" She shrieked before making a futile attack to shield her face and hide her loud blush.
"HAHA! LOOK AT YOU NOW, YOUNG URARAKA!" All Might reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone. Then he showed the duo a picture. It was of Ochako, some nine months ago. She was a in her workout clothes and it was clear she was a bit pudgy in some areas and her arms were thin. But now? She was lean. He could see the faint outline of abs and her arms were cut an impressive. "YOU FINISHED A MONTH SOONER THAN I THOUGHT TOO! YOU PROBABLY WOULD'VE BEEN DONE BEFORE THAT HAD I HAD YOU BOTH IGNORE SPARRING UNTIL THE END, BUT THIS STILL WORKS REALLY WELL! YOU REALLY ARE A SUITABLE VESSEL FOR MY POWER NOW, YOUNG URARAKA. SO HERE," All Might reached up and plucked a single hair from his head. "EAT THIS."
Then silence.
An awkward, deafening silence.
Then Ochako blinked once, then a second time. "Wha - what?"
"YOU HAVE TO INGEST SOME OF MY DNA TO COMPLETE THE TRANSFER. AND THIS IS JUST THE LEAST GROSS WAY. WHEN MY MASTER GAVE IT TO ME, I HAD TO EAT TOENAILS!" All Might said fondly, which made Izuku gag.
Ochako took the strand cautiously and gave it a smell. It at least didn't smell bad. Then she looked at Izuku, who was watching her expectantly. "Can you uh, turn around? This is um, pretty embarrassing'." She said in such a cute way that Izuku nearly forgot that she was capable of moving several tons of large trash in a single morning. Nearly. Izuku coughed awkwardly.
"S - sorry." When he spun around, he heard Uraraka gulp then swallow before letting out a full body groan.
"So gross."
"So, how do you feel?"
"I don't feel any different yet."
"THAT'S BECAUSE IT HAS TO TAKE TIME TO DIGEST! FOR NOW, WE HAVE A MONTH LEFT UNTIL THE UA EXTRANCE EXAMS, SO WE CAN FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS SUCH AS COMBAT! YOUNG MIDORIYA, DID YOUR TEACHERS SAY ANYTHING ABOUT TRAINING YOUNG URARAKA?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah, they did. They said she can come around, but my particular style isn't suited for her. So when she comes, they're going to call one of their wrestling friends to help."
All Might deflated. "Excellent. I can't wait to meet the men behind your strength, young man. We'll go tomorrow when we're sure that the transfer is complete. Tell me, did you tell anyone about Young Uraraka's quirk? Someone like Young Harushi?"
Izuku shook his head no. He figured it wouldn't be a good idea to do that because they had no idea what would happen to her quirk once she gained One For All.
"That's good. For now, just head home and rest. Message me if you feel different, at all. I'll see you both tomorrow!"
It didn't even take until the next day for Izuku to get to the dojo and maybe think that bringing Uraraka and All Might here might be a bad idea. Namely because that when he got there that afternoon simply to catch up with his friend, he was met by a short tan, white-haired girl with long rabbit ears and athletic build standing in the middle of the dojo yelling profanities while trying to hit Ryoya. Standing off to the side, were Ryu and Ken, with the latter looking excited while the former looked exasperated.
"Stop. Fucking. Dodging!" The girl yelled as she threw a relatively fast kick, that Ryoya side stepped.
"Um, what's going on?" Izuku asked when he approached his mentors.
"Dojo hunter." Ryu said while dragging his hand down his face.
"Dojo hunter? What's that?" Izuku asked with a tilt of the head.
"Ah, we never told you since we didn't think we'd get one in a QUIRKLESS DOJO!" He said while saying the last part just loud enough for this mystery attacker to hear.
"Oi! Fuck you! There's no way this guy is quirkless! You're just lying so I'd take it easy on him!" The girl shouted back.
"Dojo hunters are basically people who well, hunt dojos. They go from place to place and challenge everyone there. I don't know why they do it, I don't know when it started, but it happened to us years ago."
Ah, that explained it. "So why is she fighting Ryoya?" The greenette asked, turning his head back to the fight. Ryoya just kept dodging, honestly seeming bored with the whole ordeal.
"Because instead of just saying that our students aren't here, Ken decided to sic Ryoya on her completely against his will." Ryu's deadpanned look could honestly give lesser men fits.
"That I did!" Ken said confidently. "There's no way Ryoya would ever lose a fight to this girl!"
"Oi!" The girl yelled. "Fuck you!"
"Fight is a strong word," Ryoya said as he easily blocked a punch to the abdomen. "More like, flailing angrily."
This only served to further enrage the girl. "That's fucking it! Fight me like a man!" She lunged forward faster than she had before and Ryoya raised a brow. If he had to guess, she was probably as somewhere between Izuku with ki and him with Denjin Renki activated.
Ryoya, once again, dodged the very telegraphed heavy kick she threw. Ryoya groaned when the girl roared again.
"Ryoya." Ryu said, sounding as tired as Ryoya felt. "Just end it."
Then something in the air changed. Ryoya's body suddenly relaxed and he faced the girl with his eyes burning bright. The girl stopped mid stride. Then a feral smile came to her face. "That's what the fuck I was waiting for! Come at me!"
But Ryoya didn't budge. He just watched as the girl dashed at him with another very telegraphed kick but instead of dodging, he activated his ki and simply caught her ankle. She was stunned by this, and just as easily as she was caught, Ryoya used his leg to sweep her other foot from under her, causing her to fall on her backside.
"Can we just call it there, Bunny-san?" Ryoya asked, giving the girl an impassive look.
"Bunny-san!? Who the fuck are you calling a bunny!? I'm a rabbit, dumbass!" She angrily got to her feet. "And my name is Rumi Usagiyama! And this isn't over until I beat you!" She proudly proclaimed.
"I guess we'll be here forever then." Ryoya smoothly countered with a long suffering sigh.
They were there for a grand total of forty seconds after that. Usagiyama-san tried as best as she could to hit Ryoya, but failed each and every time. Izuku observed her movements and easily spotted the issue. The girl wasn't much of a martial artist. She was a fighter, most definitely, but clearly a brawler who relied more on simply overpowering her opponent with the natural speed given to her by her quirk. She had some technique, Izuku notes, but it was muddied by her frustrations. In the end, Ryoya ended the fight by hitting Usagiyama's guard with a punch so strong, the girl flew back and slammed into the wall on the other side of the dojo.
"That's it, Bunny-san." Ryoya said simply. "There's no reason to fight anymore."
To her credit, Usagiyama got back to her feet, albeit very slowly and shakily. She had a couple of nasty bruises forming on her arm from the point of impact and Izuku didn't doubt that she had one on her back from hitting the wall. "Are you kidding me? This is the most fun I've had in years!" She said with a feral grin despite looking like she was seconds away from keeling over. "Come on! Let's go again."
"Unfortunately, we'll have to call it for now." Ryu, even the responsible adult, announced. "It's getting late and you're clearly not in any condition to continue, young lady. I have first aid in the back, but after that, it's probably best that you head home."
She waved Ryu off. "Nah, I'll be fine. I'll just be a bit sore in the morning. And I can go another round with this guy! He's strong!"
"No, you can't, Bunny-san." At this point, Izuku was certain that Ryoya kept calling her that simply to mess with her. "Look, it was fun. But I'm not gonna fight someone who can barely stand on her own two feet."
Rumi growled, but couldn't really argue with that. "Fuckin' fine. You win for today. But I'll be back as soon as I'm back to one hundred percent to kick your ass!" She announced. "And stop calling me Bunny-san, you fucker! My name is Rumi! Ru-mi!"
"I'll stop calling you that when you beat me." Ryoya actually grinned while saying that and Izuku nearly had a heart attack.
Ryoya Harushi teasing someone? Did he die? Was this real life? Was he not kidding when he said Ken-sensei and Bogard-san were rubbing off on him.
Usagiyama growled. "I'll kick your ass! Just you wait!"
After that, she tried to storm out of the dojo, but it came out more as a pained limp. Ryu sighed at the stubbornness. "Ken, can you make sure she gets home safe?"
"Way ahead of you, called a cab the minute you told Ryoya to end it."
If anything, Izuku realized, this last month won't have a single dull moment in the lead up to UA.
A/N: Ah yes, Ryoya's power... evolution? Progression? It's not the same level of evolution as Izuku's magnetism, but it's something. Blue flames, the next logical step to his fire. (Since I lowkey have no idea what else he could've had that could've even matched Izuku's new skill). Also, showed a bit of how Izuku will use his ability. But tragically a wild Karen appeared and stopped the fight.
I'm sure this won't open up any traumatic wounds for a certain Number Two hero's family. And I'm also sure that someone in 1-A with a cold quirk will be completely fine with this.
Also, someone needs to help Ryoya with his whole deal with blonds. He's suffering out there.
This is how Ryoya looks for context, and this was Ryoya's face as Ken willingly volunteers him to fight a stranger: .
Ryuujin96: EM Izuku will be a blast honestly. And Izuku still practiced his basics every morning since like he said, beating Ryoya is going to be near impossible without his best.
Ah yes, the All Might plot line will be touched upon a bit further in the next chapter. It was touched upon in this one, but it's building up to something. Who knows what Izuku will think when he finds out what All Might is doing. Bad news though, his police friend did find some things, all of which only bolster All Might's suspicion and will only cause him to go Plus Ultra to avoid what he thinks will be a Akuma #2.
I greatly appreciate the support. It's because people like you read and review is why I'm able to update as fast as I do.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you!