Hero La Kill Ch. 15: The First Step in Training
Written by Aduubo, Buckichamp, and PikachuSpartan.
I OWN NOTHING. KILL LA KILL IS OWNED BY STUDIO TRIGGER AND KAZUKI NAKASHIMA. MHA IS OWNED BY TOHO ANIMATION AND KOHEI HORIKOSHI.
—
-Honnō City, Local Bar. 11:00 p.m. Eight hours after the USJ incident-
Night time settled over the island that resided in Tokyo Bay. Mikisugi had ventured out on the town and over to the local bar located on the fourth level of Honnō City, the slums. The slums were the living space for the lowest of the low and separated the poor from the island's rich.
Smog polluted the streets of the alleyways, creating a sea of mist that was nearly ankle deep. This part of town was nearly shrouded in complete darkness, with the shines from lamps and small shops' interiors being the only source of light.
Mikisugi sat at the bar with saké in hand as he collected his thoughts on the current events of UA. His processing was then cut short as he noticed the needle bobbing up and down, perfectly centered in his drink. A light grin stretched across his lips.
"I already know what you're going to say, Tsumugu. "Never interrupt me." Am I right?"
"What do you want?" The man in question, Tsumugu Kinagase, asked as he appeared leaning on the bar table beside Mikisugi, practically without a sound.
"Pull up a seat! There aren't any Kiryuin spies in this dive-"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
Tsumugu's patience ran thin, to which Mikisugi sighed before getting to the point.
"I want you to leave Matoi alone. It's a critical time for her."
"I can't do that."
"Except for the Kansai region, and all the Hero schools, Satsuki Kiryuin has taken over every school in the country," Mikisugi declared.
"Don't tell me that you were somehow behind the invasion on the USJ."
"No. I wouldn't endanger other kids if I didn't have to." Tsumugu responded.
Mikisugi sighed in relief as he knew Kinasage still had morals. Which meant that he could maybe still be convinced.
"Do you remember what Dr. Matoi said? "Use the Kamui against the Kiryuins." That's what everyone at Nudist Beach signed on for. All you're doing now is getting in the way."
"That uniform is too dangerous."
"I get that, but Matoi could prove to be a powerful ally. And with UA on our side, we need everything we can get," Mikisugi extended his arm, with a bottle of sake in hand to pour a cup for Tsumugu. His hand then lingered over the cup, stopping Mikisugi from pouring.
"If she's consumed by the Kamui, it'll cause problems worse than the Kiryuins. That's why I have to destroy it. Now. Before it turns her into a monster."
"At least wait until AFTER the Sports Festival if you're going to go after her. It's a big event, and Ryuko needs to focus on that."
"Every second I waste is another second of that Kamui causing destruction."
"Heh. "People and Clothing aren't enemies." Isn't that what Kinue said?"
That name. That name struck a nerve with Tsumugu as his stone cold glare suddenly became unraveled. All the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling traveled all the way to his hand, which completely crushed the cup beneath him.
"I owe you. And I'll do anything you ask. EXCEPT when it comes to a Kamui," Tsumugu gritted his teeth as he attempted to keep his anger from seeping out. His hand released the broken shards of glass, with no scratches present on his hardened grip. Tsumugu soon turned around to take his leave.
"Okay, but if HQ finds out about this, They're going to take all your gear away," Mikisugi remarked, which made Tsumugu stop at the edge of the door.
"Then I'll go after that Kamui as a naked nudist. That doesn't change a damn thing."
Kinagase took his leave, disappearing into the sea-like smog.
..~~~HLK~~~..
-Musutafu, Danchi. 9:00 a.m. Morning after the USJ incident-
Izuku had gotten dressed into his typical T-shirt and shorts, nothing too elaborate since he was training with Ryuko. Speaking of which, he needed to let her know that he was heading to the beach. The boy reached for his phone, cycling through his contacts to find that Ryuko wasn't there.
"Huh, I guess I never asked for her number. I'll just drop on by. I'm sure she'd be awake by now."
Before Izuku had come out, Inko had prepared a home-packed meal known as Bento for his training. She even prepared three more boxes under the impression that he and Ryuko would be out for a while. A mother's senses knew no bounds.
Izuku thanked his mom for the food before setting out towards the front. He tied on his trademark red shoes before stepping out into the hallway. Izuku then walked up the one flight of stairs with the bento held with care and stopped at Matoi's door before knocking. A few seconds had passed and no answer.
"Huh? Isn't she awake?" Izuku knocked on the door once more, but with some extra force.
"Sheesh… Did she forget that we were training this morning?" He carried on with just continuously knocking, but would not stop until she would come out.
Inside the apartment, Ryuko's leg dangled from the bed as she was out cold in her slumber. It didn't help that she wasn't much of a morning person, favoring to sleep through the majority of the day. On top of that, she was exhausted from the USJ attack, and from Recovery Girl's quirk.
"...uko"
"Mmmm?"
"Ryuko."
Ryuko yawned as she stretched beneath the covers, trying to get her limbs to wake up.
"Ryuko…" Senketsu voiced sternly, grabbing the girl's attention.
"Don't give me that attitude, Senketsu," she chided him, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.
"Someone has been knocking at the door for five minutes."
"God, damn it. I'll go get it," she yawned. She shook off the covers and groggily walked toward the entrance.
"Barazō, Matarō, I swear to god… if you're both just trying to sneak a peek in again…"
Ryuko violently yanked the door open, drawing a large gust of wind inside the unit. Her chiseled chin was the first part of her that popped out of the frame, followed with a set of a reddened gaze of what could be described as wearied fury.
"I'm going to jam my foot right up your-!"
Only to find Midoriya standing a few feet from the door. She then realized that she was still attending UA with Izuku and not in the slums with the Mankanshoku family.
"Wha- Oh...Hey Izuku…" Ryuko mustered with a yawn.
"Jesus, what time is it?" Ryuko asked her friend, who for some reason was not responding.
She took one look at his face to see his skin tone took on a beet red hue.
"Uh, dude? You okay?"
"...w...white...and...b-b-blue…" Izuku sputtered out as he stared downward, mumbling like he was completely out of his mind.
Ryuko looked down to see what he was staring at, only to realize she forgot to put pants on.
And her underwear was out for the whole world to see.
"OH SHIT!" Ryuko exclaimed, her face turning an even deeper red than Midoriya's. She slammed the door shut in Izuku's face and rushed back to her room to grab some pants.
"I'm guessing that… How do humans say it? He caught you with your pants down? Well in your case, pants off," Senketsu said in a snide tone, adding on to the embarrassment that she was already feeling as she went to pick up her pajama pants.
"Will you shut up?! God dammit! Why, Why, WHY did I do that?! Now he's gonna think I'm one of those damn floozies he sees on American TV!"
"I think you're taking this a little out of proportion. Teenagers are known to be more… carnal in terms of affection. I have no doubt he has the same… well, thoughts," Senketsu stumbled, trying his best to ease Ryuko's embarrassment.
"Yeah, that's IF Izuku was like most teens. But he's not! The guy literally had a damn panic attack looking at me and Uraraka IN OUR COSTUMES! How do you think he reacted to what he just saw?" Ryuko said, gesturing to her current risque attire.
She stuffed both legs through and pulled the pajama bottoms up to her waist. This wasn't the morning she imagined she'd be having.
Ryuko stormed back to the door and threw it open, finding him slouched against a wall and mumbling incoherently.
'Man, this definitely wasn't how I wanted to start the morning,' She grumbled inwardly, dragging him into the unit and laying him on the carpet.
She quickly went to grab a glass from the kitchen and filled it up with cold tap water, turning the faucet off once it was halfway full. She made her way back to Midoriya, sat him up, and splashed the water on his face, breaking him out of his dazed state.
It was all like a fever dream for the green-haired boy. But now he was at least a bit calmer, as he looked at Ryuko, now with pants on.
"I'm sorry about that," he sighed.
"Dude, did you not have any girls talk to you before UA?" Ryuko questioned.
Midoriya shook his head, looking down at the purple carpeting as he let out a defeated chuckle.
"Well, a lot of girls wouldn't want to hang out with the quirkless kid. So, interactions with girls weren't exactly part of my highlights of middle school."
"Tch, what I usually hear is that most people's social life don't really start until you get into high school. Quirk or no Quirk. So don't sweat it," Ryuko encouraged and patted Izuku's back.
"Wait, why are you here again?"
"We agreed to train…?"
"Oh! Shit! Sorry! I'll go get ready! Why don't you just hang out inside until I'm done?"
"I-Inside?"
"Yeah. Just so you don't stay outside the whole time?"
"O-okay."
Ryuko exited the living room to freshen up, leaving Izuku to stand in the middle of the room, unsure what to do...alone...in his friend's place...his friend who just so happens to be a GIRL. A pretty girl at that.
'Okay...okay! This is fine. Totally fine. I just need to wait and Ryuko will be out and we can start training. I need to wait...while she showers...which is conveniently right next to me-OKAY THIS IS NOT FINE AT ALL! WHY DID I AGREE TO COME INSIDE? DIDN'T MOM TEACH ME MANNERS?! What's worse is that I can HEAR the shower running, that means I can hear Ryuko- AH, I'm making it worse!' Izuku thought, while having what can only be described as a mini panic attack.
'Get a grip, she won't be there long...oh God, what if she comes out with only a towel on by accident?! Wait, no! What is this, some weird romcom where the nerd gets the emo girl and they live together and-okay, I need to stop reading Kacchan's shoujo manga the next time Mrs. Mitsuki invites mom and I over.'
Within 15 minutes, Ryuko had taken a full shower and gotten dressed. She clipped the straps on the waistline of her Kamui and sported her white shoes before stepping out into the living room.
"Izuku? Are you here?"
"Ryuko?" Senketsu gestured with one of his eyebrows.
"Yeah? Oh…"
Izuku was seen standing outside on the balcony, planted there almost as stiff as Iida was in class. His arms were completely parallel to his body as he just stared off into the horizon. If this were nighttime, seeing this would be outright horrific.
"Sheesh… Poor Izuku. At least he's considerate, unlike two other boys back at the slums," Ryuko chuckled before she opened the balcony door and dragged Izuku by his collar and exited the apartment, his feet also dragging behind as they walked down the stairs.
"Chin up, Izuku. We've got a lot to work on. I want to be in top shape to knock Satsuki's teeth in."
She had been dragging Izuku around for well over 10 minutes now, since he was still spaced out. But she was traveling rather aimlessly, as she had NO clue where the municipal beach was. So for the time being, she was just taking random turns within the city in hopes of finding the damn place.
She had passed multiple shops of interest in Musutafu such as; Utahime Karaoke Bar, a local batting center, and a Cabaret club. It seemed like they were traveling for forever until Izuku had finally regained his bearings.
"Um, Ryuko?"
"Not now, Izuku. Trying to find us a space to train."
"Ryuko," Midoriya said with a little more emphasis.
"Give me a minute!"
"RYUKO!" Izuku shouted. The higher level of volume in his voice startled the girl as she stopped and spun around.
"WHAAAT?"
"The beach is right there," he pointed to their left.
It was a spacious area, and really pristine too! It looked like the perfect spot to get some work done.
She felt bad for ignoring him at that moment, and it made her feel a bit embarrassed that she couldn't even see the beach right next to them.
"Heh, sorry. This doesn't look like a bad spot to train at. It looks really clean, too!" the girl remarked as the two of them headed across the road.
'Huh. Maybe one day I'll tell her that I'm the one who cleaned this beach up, since nobody else knows.'
..~~~HLK~~~..
The two then settled on the beach with relative ease since they didn't really bring that much with them out here, other than the bentos. They gazed out to the ocean before deciding on what to do now.
"So, training. Where do we start?" Ryuko asked.
Izuku brainstormed for a moment to come up with training routines. He didn't exactly know what to start with. He wanted to come up with the best exercises that could benefit them both, and not waste her time.
"Why don't we just spar for the time being? It'd be a good way to figure out what we need to work on. Plus I'm having a block right now and can't think of anything at the moment."
"Guess I gotta give a knock on that bushy noggin of yours to get that brain going, huh?" Ryuko chuckled.
"Hahahaha! Ah… please be gentle. You're really strong."
The two teens laughed in unison before they took a few steps apart and got into their stances. Both tightened their formations and took deep breaths, getting into the proper mindset before they lunged forward, charging towards each other.
They started off small, refraining from using any super moves to avoid injuring each other. Well, more so to keep Izuku from injuring himself. Ryuko didn't even go into sync mode during this drill. So they stuck to basic combat during their practice, which Ryuko absolutely dominated.
Thanks to her street fighting experience and many years of honing it, she completely surpassed Izuku in close quarters. He was able to dodge and get a few punches in every now and then, but she constantly caught him by surprise with grapples or sneak attacks. Even after all of that, Izuku wouldn't yield and continued to get up.
This level of persistence actually brought up an opportunity for Ryuko to give him a few tips of her street smarts.
"Izuku, did you ever have any combat training before getting into UA?" The girl asked.
"Well… No actually. For the first ten months, I was training my body to just be able to use my power. So, I haven't really had any time to practice anything else," Izuku responded.
"Figured as much. From what I saw during the Battle Trial, you and Katsuki rely too much on your quirks to get ahead. As much as I hate to say it, he had a better grasp on fighting than you did. You didn't know what to do when he came up close. Which is why I'm going to teach you," Ryuko then smiled.
"Whoa, really?"
"Yep. There's other ways to win other than just using quirks. Even the quirkless can be badass, remember?"
The greenette suddenly felt a burst of life from within. Hearing such inspiring things being said about the word that most would dread upon, it gave him a sense of joy that he couldn't contain.
"Alright! I'll do my best!"
"Hell yeah! That's the spirit, Izuku! Let's get to it then, shall we?"
After a moment to breathe, the two stood face to face for her to instruct him on the basics of her style of combat.
"First thing, don't tighten up your muscles. You want to have a balance between keeping them firm, but loose to maintain your speed."
As Matoi was instructing him, she began to take a few steps to the side to see how Izuku would track her movement and follow.
"Keep yourself centered and square to your opponent. Use your feet, and look for an opening when it comes."
She then opened her palm near her face, which was a signal for Izuku to place a light jab into.
"Like that?" He did as instructed.
"Yeah, that's it," Ryuko congratulated with a smile.
"Okay. This time, just lay it on me. Right on the jaw. I can take a hit."
Midoriya mulled over punching his friend in the face. But this was for training, and he had hit her plenty of times beforehand. Keeping his similar position, Izuku threw a right hook into Ryuko's face. The punch made her stumble just a small bit as it didn't do too much damage.
"A-Ah, sorry!" Izuku apologized.
"No no! It's all good! You did great. Once you learn how to maintain proper form, you'll be well on your way."
"You really think I can do that?"
"Remember, I saw you fight during the Battle Trials. You know how to keep your body balanced in your stance! You're smart. You'll figure it out! I'll teach you some more as we continue to spar. And one more thing, there are no rules in a fight. So don't be afraid to fight dirty."
Ryuko soon got into another stance as the next set of rounds would soon begin. Izuku did the same thing and was prepared to put his new lessons to the test.
For the next hour, Izuku was able to put up much of a better fight than he initially had done. Ryuko remained victorious in the majority of the matches, but her lessons had truly come through to the greenette.
Later, Midoriya let his back be cushioned on the sand as he was currently out of breath. Ryuko stood over him while just mildly sweating.
"Not bad, Izuku. I'd say you're really quick on your feet for someone that's never done this before."
"Hehe, Uhm…T-Thanks. Not exactly my style, but it's a good thing to learn," Izuku strangely winced from that comment, his eyes darting away from Ryuko's. He then shook it off before he quickly stood himself back up.
"Just remember what I taught you. Other than that, did you get any idea on what else we could work on, teach?"
Izuku wrapped his palm around his chin, analyzing everything he was paying attention to during their sparring match.
"Look at him go. He's quite the analyst, isn't he?" Senketsu commented.
"Yeah. If he could hear you, I'd love to see what crazy stuff you two could come up with," Ryuko responded.
"You talking to Senketsu again?" Izuku asked while snapping out of his usual muttering.
"Huh? O-Oh! Yeah! Senketsu was just talking about how smart you are."
"H-huh? Oh… Thank you so much, Senketsu…" Izuku turned his glance away once again.
"Oh! Speaking of Senketsu, what are you particularly working on with him right now?" He quickly changed the subject. Ryuko began to notice another strange habit in his behavior, but pushed it to the side for now.
"Hmm… I want to fight longer without having to worry about passing out from blood loss. My stamina goes down the longer I wear Senketsu, which doesn't bode well in drawn-out fights. You should have seen how much that Momo chick kicked my ass during the Battle Trial."
"Stamina, huh? I see. Hmmm… right now for me, I'm still trying to control my power. Whenever I use it, I break my limbs. I've been using this power for a month and a half, and I still haven't made any progress," Izuku said with a somewhat downcast expression.
Ryuko noticed the glum look Deku gave about his lack of progress and smiled. She sat down beside the green haired teen before playfully kicking some sand beside him, spiting a laugh out of him.
"Hey, don't sweat it. I've had Senketsu for a couple days and I'm still trying to understand how he works. Half the time, he doesn't even know how he works."
"Hnnnh… Unfortunately, you're right about that," Senketsu groaned.
"You don't need to do this alone. We did say that we'd get stronger together after all, so there's no better time than now. We'll learn how to fix ourselves up and become the most badass heroes out there."
Before her very eyes, the foliage haired teen perked up; sprouting with optimism, a smile gracing his lips. His eyes beamed with life as his eyes furrowed, creating an expression of power, and the want for discovery.
"Yeah. Our first step starts here," Izuku initiated and raised his fist out to Ryuko.
"Hell yeah."
The two fist bumped, solidifying their word to one another. With the exciting mission to get stronger, they set out to continue training until the sun would fall, though occasionally stopping to eat the Bentos prepared by Inko. Even with the extra meals, the two teens walked home with agonizing hunger, craving for the work of art that was crafted by her.
..~~~HLK~~~..
-Musutafu, UA High School. 7:00 p.m.-
Within the faculty meeting room, a handful of faculty staff members were present. Aizawa and Thirteen were the only ones that were missing, as they were still in the hospital. The staff members sat together at their desks as they received a status report from the detective in the police force, Naomasa Tsukauchi.
"Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about this so-called "League of Villains."
"We've made some progress, but we can't find anything on this Shigaraki so far. We've searched our records for men in theirs 20s and 30s who are registered as having some sort of disintegrations Quirk, but so far we've come up empty. The same goes for the warp gate villain Kurogiri," the detective looked up from the intelligence report.
"So they're either not citizens or they're using aliases. Hard to find either way."
The present faculty took a moment to absorb what was laid out for them. No one really knew anything, a disturbing fact given how little data they had on the enemy.
"I shot the ringleader, but once he heals up, he'll likely go causing trouble again. What a pain," Snipe lamented.
All Might sat there trying to decipher everything. Something bugged him about this.
"The attack on the USJ was too bold. No sane adult would ever attempt it. The ringleader kept bragging about Nomu's abilities like he was a pet and looked like he wanted to throw a tantrum whenever something didn't end up going his way."
Toshinori sighed, tilting his chin up toward the ceiling.
"I guess bragging about Nomu's Quirks was a quick way to draw me into a fight."
Tsukauchi took the floor again to continue with his team's report.
"There were 72 villains arrested in the aftermath of the USJ attack, mostly small-time thugs who usually hung around back alleys. What worries me is that this "man-child" got them all to follow along with his crazy plan. They viewed him as a real leader. Villains are growing more desperate with the world brimming with heroes. It might explain why so many backed such a simple-minded plan."
"Guess that makes sense," Vlad King noted.
"There are plenty of people out there lookin' for a cause to get behind," Snipe added.
"So what can we do to stop them?" Midnight wondered aloud.
Nezu mulled over the possibilities and motives behind this attack. All Might was right about one thing.
"I would agree with a point you made earlier, All Might. That attack seemed too bold. It makes me wonder if another source could have been behind this attack as well," the principal commented.
Tsukauchi glanced over at Nezu as the other teachers wondered what UA's head honcho was talking about.
"Allow me to explain. All of the teachers here are aware of the situation of one of our first-year students involved in the attack, Ryuko Matoi. She came over from Honnōji Academy, under the direction of Satsuki Kiryuin. They're creating uniforms that boost their student's powers and abilities to be on the level of some high-powered quirks with Life Fibers. Her mother is none other than Ragyo Kiryuin, head of the family's conglomerate and of course, REVOCs."
"Life Fibers?" Midnight asked, looking over at Snipe and Vlad King, both of them shrugging.
"For some reason, it does ring a bell. But I can't put my finger on it," All Might pondered. "Still, what's this got to do with Young Matoi?"
"Principal Nezu, are you trying to say that you believe the Kiryuin comglamerate had a hand in this attack? I'm not sure I see the connection," Tsukauchi asked.
"I think there's a possibility, certainly. The other evening, Ms. Matoi and another student were attacked by one of their school's strongest students and someone very close to Satsuki Kiryuin, but were forced to retreat and reportedly saw other powerful forces from the academy make an appearance, albeit briefly," Nezu explained, drawing Toshinori's attention.
"It was a bold and aggressive attack, as you said All Might. I want to make sure that this wasn't also a way for the Kiryuins to go after Ms. Matoi."
Tsukauchi hadn't thought of that connection popping up. He was aware of the Public Safety Commission's recent activity, though could Honnōji and other outside forces have aided in this endeavor?
"While it's certainly a possibility, our preliminary findings don't show any evidence of that. Of course, we haven't been talking about the Kiryuin family outside of closed doors given some sensitive investigations," the detective stated coyly, not able to tip his hand of what little he did know.
"I'm sorry if that moved the conversation off track, but it's been on my mind since things have started to settle down."
With Nezu done speaking, Tsukauchi shuffled his papers before continuing on.
"We'll keep that in mind, principal, rest assured. Anyway, it is thanks to you heroes that we have time to devote ourselves to this case and searching for the perpetrators who planned this attack."
"That's all I've got for right now. Does anyone have any further questions?"
"If I may, are you able to talk about these Life Fibers the principal mentioned?" Midnight posed to the detective.
"I'm not the guy with the answers to that. I can acknowledge we are looking into Principal Nezu's concerns, but the information you probably want is higher up than even where I stand. I'm sorry about that."
The meeting soon ended, with the present faculty having not moved an inch from their seats.
"These "Life Fibers" you're talking about principal… Should we be more concerned about them and Ragyo Kiryuin?" Midnight inquired.
"I'm preparing a briefing for the entire faculty to go over once Aizawa and Thirteen are able to be present. Rest assured, there'll be more answers at that point. Though for now, it's business as usual. Which reminds me of another important matter to discuss."
..~~~HLK~~~..
-Musutafu, Danchi. 7:30 p.m-
Having returned to the apartment, Ryuko and Izuku settled in the living room to wait for Inko while she prepared dinner.
"Hey Ryuko, I just remembered something I wanted to ask you."
"What's up, Izuku?"
"When you beat Sanageyama, I saw strands of bright red… threads flying towards you? It was like you absorbed it or something. What was that?"
"Oh! Senketsu basically absorbed the Life Fibers from his Kamui. It basically makes him stronger the more he takes in since he's made of the same material."
"That's so cool! So you have two ways of augmenting your abilities! Wait-Oh… I guess that method is out of the question since I imagine Honnōji is the only school with Kamui wielders. You probably would have been better off there," Izuku's optimism faded as he kept talking.
"What? Dude, are you kidding? Before I got Senketsu, I got my sh- butt kicked in! No hurt can come from strength conditioning the old fashioned way, right? It'll be fun to one up Senketsu and show him who's really pulling the weight," Ryuko chuckled.
"Must everything be a competition with you?" Senketsu groaned.
"Besides, I'm glad I came back here. It's great to see you again after all these years," Ryuko spoke softly and truthfully.
Izuku was silent for a moment, taken back by the sincerity in her words.
"Yeah, me too," He responded with a smile.
"So don't you worry about me. We'll figure this out, right?" She reached forward for Izuku's hair and ruffled it playfully.
"Haha, right. Right," He laughed before they heard All Might's voice come through the computer.
"Dude, how many times have we watched this already?"
"If it took you this long to notice, it only means that this video is timeless!" Izuku remarked as the two were watching his favorite video of All Might.
They were doing some reps with Izuku's dumbbell while occasionally switching each set. The video of All Might was set to play on repeat during the entirety of this exercise. For 20 whole minutes.
The tender mother turned to see her son having some quality time with his friend, her cheeks rising up in a smile. After 10 years of isolation, bruises and quiet nights, her son finally found someone he could call a true friend. And a pretty girl to add as a bonus!
"Is this what you watch all the time, Izuku?" Ryuko asked.
"To be honest, yeah. Being a hero is still everything to me. I haven't exactly picked up any other interests," Izuku responded sheepishly. That sounded absolutely sad now that he thought about it.
"It's not all bad. You should pick up other hobbies or interests to keep yourself occupied. It'll be good to know what you want to do in the long run besides hero work."
"Like you're one to talk," Senketsu added.
"Anyway, let's waaaatch… this. I think you'll like it."
Ryuko began typing into the search bar and pulled up an absolute classic, none other than the Neo vs. Morpheus Dojo fight from the Matrix. The two teens sat with their eyes glued to the action; Matoi already being a big fan of the franchise, and Midoriya being drawn in by the martial arts.
"Wait, so we're going from an action video of All Might saving civilians, to a fight scene from an action movie?" Izuku asked.
"It's totally different! Keep watching!" Ryuko pressed on.
The duo sat for a moment while watching the scene that took place on the laptop. While the video of All Might inspired Izuku, this scene got his blood pumping.
The pace of the action was so quick, he couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Imagine being able to fight like that. Izuku normally didn't consider presentation and flashiness to be important qualities of being a hero, but the thought of performing these stunts excited him.
"Can we watch something else?" Senketsu asked.
"Hey, c'mon now. These videos are timeless!" Ryuko reiterated Izuku's statement before following up with a laugh. Izuku soon joined in when he realized that she was talking to Senketsu.
The Kamui groaned as he was forced to sit through more of this hell loop.
The hysterics finally died down with the two continuing the light exercise, yet Izuku's smile never faded.
'So far… things have been amazing at UA. But I'm still so far from becoming a real hero. I really screwed up big time with how I acted during the USJ attack. I may have helped All Might… but at the cost of hurting my friend. If I had more control of One For All, things would have turned out differently.'
'In order to oppose evil, and save everyone, I have to make All Might's power my own. I have to embody One For All and master every aspect of it, until it's second nature to me. I've been so blessed with all of the help people have been giving me. And with a true friend to count on.
The green haired teen turned his gaze over to Ryuko. He couldn't help the flutter that came to life in his chest, but her smile was something that he wanted to maintain.
'With all of these gifts, I'll make everyone proud!'
Inko then called the two teens over for dinner. The duo responded immediately, jumping up and heading over to their seats at the table in record time.
Ryuko looked side to side at the two people she was dining with. Today couldn't have been any more perfect. She and Izuku had a good, productive training day, and the perfect dinner to end the night on. Having Inko's cooking was great and all, but to eat it together with others, just made it all the more sweet.
She still remembered the dinners she would have with the Mankonshoku family, keeping it as a permanent memory. Hopefully when this was all over, she could keep doing this with everyone.
Outside the apartment on a neighboring building stood the Life Fiber hunter Tsumugu. He had a pair of binoculars staring at the complex where the two teens were staying. He lowered the binoculars down as he stared intensely into the darkness of the night.
"I hope you've enjoyed your time with that Kamui, because I WILL take it off of you…"
Tsumugu turned his attention to the boy sitting beside his target.
"...and I know just how to make it happen."
To Be Continued…
Buckichamp A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! It's good to be back to publishing. That break was a real energy booster, so we want to thank you for being very patient with us. We should be back on normal schedule. So… I guess that means we'll see you later this month on the 27th (Jan 2022, for those reading in the far future).
Also, please discuss what happened in the chapter and ask questions! We don't need to have every chapter summarized with a mini recap lol.
Aduubo A/N: Now it's time for reviews!
Q: Wow WOW WOW WOW! You guys are amazing! This Chapter is amazing! The only Problem I have is that I have to now wait for the next chapter! I did have a question about Ryuko's power scaling. I know and understand that you guys are scaling her power back since in kill la kill she eventually becomes like a super-saiyan, lol. However, Ryuko in KLK wasn't all powerful at first either, much like how deku becomes more powerful in the show and manga, Ryuko does the same. Its not an fair to compare her power levels from the start of the show and her saiyan form at the end. So my main question is how powerful will she become? While I doubt she will reach the power of Super-Saiyan Deku, will she reach a comparable level or do you guys have something else planned? Other than that, once again, amazing job! Hero La Kill is the best fanfic I've read to date!
-A. Rosales
Aduubo: That's a fair point. Though Ryuko still pulls off some amazing feats that would make her absolutely demolish the entirety of class 1A. Remember that she was sent off to UA right after her first fight with Satsuki.
Q: Okay, I'm not a reviewer in English, but I'll make an exception.
First of all, I congratulate you on the fic you have written, it is a pretty good one. Although the narration is simple, it is noticeable that they are improving little by little, that is the path of any writer, so do not worry and continue.
…
The elements of KLK are well implemented to fit the world of BNHA, so that in the moment where the two collide they are something very epic to read.
On the other hand, I must mention a point that they also changed and I find it interesting and that is Yaoyorozu's. With that ... personality change. That apparent envy and resentment that is blooming in her can be an interesting play, maybe she could end up being an eventual antagonist or in the best case the direct rival of Ryuuko, it is a very attractive idea to know if she knows how to create the living fibers or give him some Goku uniform.
Another thing that I did not like was the rhythm in certain parts, I honestly find it somewhat tedious to have to read, for example, the part where Iida calms the students when the press is on, I don't see it necessary to put so much focus on it, I know they are trying to go with the hand to the events that happen in BNHA and later implement occasionally some enemy of KLK, but for these types of moments they feel somewhat slow to read and in my opinion unnecessary, since they can be skipped very easily. Equally, it is my opinion.
Very good fic, I wish you good luck and I wait patiently for the next chapter. All the best.
Dark-Mask-Uzumaki
Buckichamp: I cut this up a bit to get to one or two of the points we wanted to touch on.
First, thanks so much for the review! Much appreciated given you're not normally an English reviewer.
With Yaoyorozu, she's a character that we talked about near the beginning having some knowledge of Ryuko's past, if indirectly. Having those two go at it has made things interesting here, and as you said, a rival or antagonist. The Goku uniform idea isn't something I even thought about!
As for the rhythm, that's very warranted. We have had a lot of these chapters in a backlog for months given the upload schedule rate, and near the beginning, we were trying to play things safe and figure out what directions to go in. We didn't want to have a knee-jerk reaction and suddenly go one way with everything, if that makes sense. Not painting ourselves into a corner for lack of better terms.
As time goes on, I think you'll see more of the originality for the story appear, so as to not make it seem so close to canon and fix the rhythm. We're trying to follow the two stories as much as possible, but even recently we've seen the need to take some extra risks and open ourselves up a little more.
Aduubo: We're keeping the intro of the question in cuz its so awesome that someone liked our fic so much that they chose to write the review in english YEAAAAAAH LETS GOOO