"Kacchan!" - Speech
'Shitty Deku!' - Thoughts
"I AM HERE!" - All Might Speech
"Detroit Smash!" - Special Technique Usage
Beta'd by BigCC
Chapter 3: A Rival Appears!
Three Years Later
Enryū Dojo, Musutafu City
Midoriya Izuku, age seven and a half, dodged a punch from his opponent before smoothly repositioning to launch an open palm strike at their solar plexus. As the other boy gasped and reeled from the blow, Izuku moved forward, kicking their feet out from under them before swiftly following downward to place a fist in front of their throat, indicating a solid strike there.
"Cease!" Kanzashi-sensei declared. "Point and match to Midoriya-kun!"
"Dammit..." the boy Izuku had just beaten grumbled as he regained his breath.
"Sorry, but you left yourself overextended after that last punch; you need to be careful about putting too much power behind a strike you're not sure will hit." Izuku offered helpfully as he extended a hand to help his opponent up.
The other boy glowered up at him for a moment before sighing and accepting the aid. He had a basic Emitter-type Quirk that multiplied his strength so long as had one of his fists clenched, [Boosted Knuckle], so he tended to go into fights trying to overwhelm his opponents with pure power rather than using technique or planning, a habit that both Masuo and Kanzashi were trying to break him of.
Kanzashi looked on proudly at Izuku, particularly pleased with his use of minimum force to achieve victory over a more physically powerful opponent. Izuku might not be what most would consider a prodigy, but he was the type of student any true master would give an arm for. Diligent, hard-working, always willing to listen to advice and instruction and equally eager to improve, all while retaining an individual spark that pushed him to push forward on his own as much as he did under her guidance. Besides, just because he wasn't a prodigy didn't mean he wasn't talented. He was immensely quick study on nearly everything she tried to teach him, rarely needing to be corrected more than once or twice before he understood the full breadth of a lesson and began to internalize it.
She was an accredited Master of all five of the major ancestral styles of Tai Chi, but so far her training with Izuku had only been focused on the Chen style. He'd already shown a natural inclination for it, and she was certain that he'd prove equally as capable with the Yang and Wu styles as well. The Sun style was a bit more of a toss-up, but she was confident in her student's ability to at least learn something from it.
Sadly, she was fairly certain the Wu Hao wouldn't quite fit with her student's personal style and growth, which was a bit of a shame, but no great loss. Izuku was aspiring to be a hero, not a martial arts master; that meant focusing his training on what would best suit his abilities. If his dreams changed as he grew (something she particularly doubted, there was fire in her student whenever he spoke about being a hero) then they could readjust his training plan accordingly.
Inko had even signed up for basic lessons on purely exercise-based Tai Chi to both help the woman slim down from her comfort eating after the stress the poor woman had gone through since Izuku's fourth birthday, and to give both mother and son something to do to spend more time together.
Kanzashi had grown quite fond of both the Midoriyas, both were honestly good people with warm hearts and kind souls.
"Alright everyone." she called out, clapping her hands to get the class's attention. This was one of the days where her and her husband's class mixed together to gain experience and an understanding of different styles. They occasionally even invited one of the other dojos nearby to participate, though it was much rarer. "That's the last match of the day! Go clean up and get changed for your folks picking you up!"
As the assorted boys and girls scattered off to the separate changing rooms, Kanzashi sighed in slight envy. Her Quirk, [Body Memory], allowed her body to perfectly and instantly memorize any physical motion that she made and keep it recorded for as long as she wished it. That had made learning the various kata, forms, and techniques of Tai Chi a very quick process indeed for her. By the time she had turned eighteen, she was already swiftly rising through the ranks of the martial arts. She'd never considered becoming a hero, she was at her core a baseline human with a superhuman memory. While she could quickly acquire the skill needed, she had always believed she'd lacked the power to match the more dangerous powers out there.
Skill could overcome much, but there was little even the best martial artist could do against someone who could turn into a fifty foot giant at will.
Besides, she looked ridiculous in spandex.
She'd faced her own trials though; her ability to learn the forms with little effort had ended up making her arrogant in her younger years. Luckily her sensei had quickly and utterly beaten that out of her; in spite of her perfect memorization of style and technique, her body had lacked the speed and power needed to use those movements to the fullest extent and she'd been utterly crushed. It had been a particularly painful wake-up call and she'd sworn that it would be a lesson she'd never forget.
It was also one she knew she'd need to pass on to her students as well.
Izuku was one of the first out after getting changed, and Kanzashi had to smile at how cheerful and happy he was now. There were very few signs left of the skittish, bullied boy who'd first set foot into her dojo, replaced with a friendly and confident child that had earned his own sense of self-worth. He'd never be the most outgoing child, and he was still skittish around those with particularly…volatile Quirks. The latter was something they'd have to work on later, but she'd already decided that could wait for a few more years until she was sure the boy had regained his emotional stability.
Pushing too hard, too fast with children was never a good thing. Sometimes you simply had to take it slow and guide them gently toward the end goal.
"Midoriya-kun." she beckoned the boy over. "How's Inko-san doing after the divorce?"
Izuku grimaced slightly. "She's...well, glad it's over, really, sensei."
Kanzashi withheld a wince. The divorce between Inko and her husband had been a rather turbulent one, to say the least. Hisashi had been stalwart in his refusal to even entertain the idea, more out of concern about how the insinuation that he couldn't balance his home and work lives would affect his career than any care for his wife or child. He'd also refused to damage his career by taking a position back in Japan and spending more time with his family, convinced he'd be able to advance his career far more quickly in the American offices. That refusal to bend or sacrifice anything involving his career for his family had been what had eventually made Inko snap and demand the divorce.
It had taken two months of constant arguing between the two before cooler heads had stepped in on both sides (Hisashi's American bosses for him and Bakugō Masaru on Inko's side) and the two had been forced to come to an amicable agreement. In the end, they had split their assets down the middle, and Hisashi had agreed to make child support payments every couple of months. Thankfully, the man hadn't even tried to gain custody over Izuku; either out of a belief that raising a child on his own would take too much time away from his career, or his understanding that his wife would gladly murder him if he tried.
Inko had just been relieved when it was over. Granted, she hadn't been happy in any way that her husband had ended up choosing his career over his wife and son. Indeed, it was something she was a bit bittersweet about. She'd fallen in love with Hisashi partly because of his dedication and focus, particularly when it came to his goals in life, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow when she realized that she and their son would always come secondary to those goals.
"Well, please let her know she's always welcome to stop by for tea if she ever needs someone to talk to, okay?" Kanzashi said with a sigh.
"Hai, sensei." Izuku nodded, a slightly unhappy look on his face. Knowing that his father had chosen his job in America over his mother and him must have been a blow, even if Izuku himself barely had any memories of the man. He'd taken the transfer to America when Izuku was only a year old and had rarely ever come back to visit his home or family.
"So how have the latest batch of tests you've been trying with your Quick coming?" the Tai Chi master asked, knowing just the subject to quickly get her student out of his sour mood
Immediately perking up, the green-haired boy smiled excitedly. "Really great sensei, I can channel [Hamon] through pretty much anything! It's a little weird but liquids are still the best conductors that I've found. Oh, I've also been working on sending my energy outward through my feet like you suggested in addition to simply channelling it through my hands and it's working really well!"
"That's very good Izuku." Kanzashi nodded approvingly. "A lot of Emitter Quirks are easier to manipulate through the hands and arms, but very few think to do the same with their legs and feet. I'm sure you'll only improve in time, but eventually I want you to learn to focus your [Hamon] through any part of your body you could use to strike with, or even your entire body should it be needed. The important thing is to simply take this one step at a time, master your legs and feet first then move on.
"Yes, sensei." the boy nodded.
Just then, Inko arrived and swept Izuku up into a hug that the boy returned eagerly, making Kanzashi smile softly. The two had the best relationship possible for a parent and child; they were best friends as well as a loving mother and son. Honestly, it made her the smallest bit jealous...maybe she should talk with Masuo later about starting a family of their own...
After the students left, Kanzashi headed back to the office and decided to get an early start on their paperwork. It was an endless battle, partly because there were a number of people out there who wanted people to focus solely on a person's Quirk and thus were trying to get rid of a lot of the pre-Quirk martial arts and have them replaced them with Quirk-focused schools and training centres. Quirkism was sadly still an issue in their society, and while they rarely advanced far in the government, extremists still managed to weasel their way in and make life difficult for dojos like theirs that focused on the art rather than getting the most out of a student's Quirk.
Fortunately, she had learned more than a few tricks over the years to take care of that particular brand of annoying asshole, so it was something she dealt with easily. Just as she finished with it and was thinking about whether she wanted to cook tonight or if they should simply get take-out, the phone on her desk started to ring. Sighing in exasperation, as this happened every time, the woman picked up the phone.
"Hello, Enryū Dojo, Master Bushi Kanzashi speaking." she said professionally. "Yes...ah, you want to enrol your child? About seven years old? That's no problem. Yes...the gi is extra, I'm afraid...you own one already? That's good, so I take it she has some previous training? Oh, it's not a problem. My husband and I just like to evaluate the skills our future students have before we enrol them formally...yes, Saturday's fine. Of course. See you then, ma'am."
Hanging up, Kanzashi smiled. "Well now...I wonder what this new student will bring to the dojo?"
The Next Day
Rairosu Elementary School, Musutafu
"Jirō-chan, wait up!" Izuku called as he ran after his friend. They had both gone to the same school once they left Kore Ria Kindergarten and they were both now in the second grade, albeit in different classes.
"C'mon, Izuku." the purplette called back, waiting impatiently for him to catch up to her. "We're gonna be listening to my mum and dad's new song today!"
Jirō Kyōtoku was a music composer, while Jirō Mika was a musician with a preference for punk rock. Both had earned enough in their respective fields to a build a small recording studio attached to their home, where all of Mika's songs were tried out before going on to the record company. Their daughter had inherited their talent with music and the two often let her listen to their songs to get a more honest second opinion…mostly because Kyōtoku was a doting husband and couldn't say a bad word about his wife to save his life. Since the two had bonded in kindergarten, Izuku had often been invited to join her in these listening sessions.
"Sorry, I was helping the teacher carry things to the staff office." the greenette replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he caught up.
"Again?" Kyōka groaned, pinching her nose in annoyance. "Dude, Kiryūin-sensei is a grown up; she can handle carrying a few files." There were times her bestie's do-gooder attitude really got on her nerves. He was just so…sweet. He helped teachers carry things, stopped fights between classmates, offered help on homework, fed stray animals...honestly the guy was a total cherub most of the time.
It really made it hard to believe how tough he was when he went into what she'd dubbed 'badass mode.' She'd only seen Izuku go there a few times since they became friends, but the verdette had several lines he wouldn't let be crossed; push him there and you'd be shocked how fast the fluffy little kitten turned into a fierce tiger cub.
"That's no reason not to be helpful, Jirō-chan." Izuku said reproachfully.
That was another aspect of her friend's nature that irked Kyōka. He was so damned polite! She had given him permission to call her by her given name after they were friends for a year, and he'd never once used it!
'Probably has something to do with whoever that 'Kacchan' kid was.' the purplette thought, a flash of anger sparking in the back of her mind at the though. It had taken a bit of time, but she'd eventually been able to get the full story around Izuku and his history with his former friend/tormentor both before and after his fourth birthday from him and his mother.
Even now, there were times she really wanted to meet the little prick and give him a nice close look at her jacks before raising the volume up to 11 on his ass.
Kyōka's Quirk was very similar to her mother's, close enough to share the name of [Earphone Jack], but like many cases, her Quirk had grown a bit when it had been passed on to the next generation. Mika could use her jacks as listening devices just like her daughter, but could only channel the sound of her heartbeat through it, causing a small surge of pain. Jirō on the other hand could amplify the sounds of her heartbeat to a level that she could easily crack stone if she wanted, although it hurt her to push herself that far.
Izuku, the little Quirk Geek that he was, had theorized that it was the influence of her father's Quirk that had prompted that mutation. Her dad's Quirk, [Sound Enhance], allowed him to act as a living amplifier, multiplying the strength of any noise he produced or that was produced by something he was touching.
"Fine, whatever." Kyōka muttered, it wasn't worth arguing with her friend over something like that. "Let's just get going already, I want to meet up with mum on the way!"
As luck would have it, Kyōka lived nearby, so Mika met them halfway, just in front of the first set of traffic lights they would have to cross. Jirō Mika was a pretty woman, in a demure way. She had the same purple hair as her daughter, with a large bang of it hanging over the right side of her face and she wore square glasses. Wearing fairly ordinary clothes consisting of a thigh-length black skirt, lilac tights, a white sleeveless shirt and a plain jacket over that, she was pretty but couldn't really be compared to her stage persona.
Something Mika tried to do as much as possible, keeping her stage life as far away from her home life as possible.
"Ah, Kyōka-chan, Izuku-chan, how was school today?" Mika asked, offering the two kids a serene smile. Like her daughter, Mika was a rather stoic individual, keeping her emotions close to the chest unless she was alone or with people she truly trusted. In Kyōka's case, when combined with her father's triangular eyes and slightly more severe features, this made her look irked most of the time.
"Boring." Kyōka replied with a huff.
"I had fun." Izuku said with a smile. "Is your song ready?"
"Yes it is. Kyōtoku is doing some last minute adjustments, but he's just fussing." Mika replied as she grabbed a hand from each of the two and started to lead them back to her home. "I think this song's going to be a good one."
As her daughter and her friend chatted on the way to their home, Mika's smile became a bit warmer. Kyōka had been smiling so much more since she met little Izuku. Despite her attempts to seem annoyed with his 'goodie two shoes' nature, it was obvious to both of Kyōka's parents that she was truly attached to the smaller boy. Her daughter tried too much to imitate her own stoic nature, keeping the teasing she'd undergone at her old kindergarten to herself, but luckily a member of the staff had enough of a conscience to inform her and her husband about it before things went to far, advising them to pull Kyōka out of that kindergarten due to its anti-Mutation leanings.
Despite their Quirks being a hybrid of Mutation and Emitter, Mika was well aware that there were plenty of people who were stupid enough to have a bias against Mutation Quirks just because they tended to make their owners differ greatly from the human norm. She'd been absolutely furious that her precious daughter had been bullied for such a baseless reason, quickly putting her foot down and withdrawing Kyōka in the same day she'd confirmed it. She'd also put in an anonymous tip to the local authorities and school board regarding the leanings of the kindergarten.
She'd been quite pleased to learn that it had been shut down a month afterwards, and the results for her daughter spoke for themselves. She was happy, healthy, and growing up beautifully, and had even found herself a 'bestie' in the form of the quiet, but sweet, Izuku.
Mika smiled as she saw her home in the distance. She wondered what the two kids would think of her new song...
That Saturday
Enryū Dojo
"Haaaaaaah...!" Izuku breathed out as he launched one of his fists forward, slamming it into Bushi Masuo's waiting palm. The golden aura around his body flared with the exhalation, pulsing brightly into the Karate teacher's arm and forcing the arm, which was nearly as thick as Izuku's torso, back several inches.
"Whoa there." Masuo muttered in approval, shaking his hand out slightly. "That one had some power, little man; it actually stung." Coming from Masuo, whose muscles were so dense that they acted as a form of subdermal armour against most forms of blunt force, that was a real compliment, especially for someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet.
There was no doubt that the kid would be a powerhouse one day.
"You've been practising." he added thoughtfully, the kid's timing and control with his Quirk had really been improving lately.
"The qigong and neigong breathing exercises that sensei's been teaching me really helps!" Izuku said as he shook his own hand gingerly. That had felt like punching a frozen side of beef!
"You may want to try a kiai as well." the Karateka offered. "Letting out a yell infused with pure ki or qi might help you further refine your control and release. It might not as well, but it's worth thinking about giving a try at least." the large man grinned before leaning forward conspiratorially. "Beside, all the cool heroes have a battle cry, right?"
"Right!" Izuku nodded happily, his mind instantly going to one battle cry in particular.
"Well, you two will have to wait a bit to test that out." Kanzashi offered from the entryway. Coming into the dojo proper, she grinned at her student and husband. "There's a new student who's going to show up soon, and I was hoping Izuku you could spar with them."
The [Hamon] Quirk user perked up slightly. Saturdays were usually when he got personal training from Kanzashi; for his Master to have purposely invited a new student over, that must mean...
"They studied martial arts before coming here?" he guessed.
"Yup. I think you'll get a challenge out of this one." the Tai Chi Master smirked before a knock came from the front door. "Ah, that'll be them now. Two secs."
Kanzashi headed out and was back a bit over a minute later, accompanied by two females that were obviously mother and daughter, both having the same bright orange hair and teal-colored eyes. The older one had tired bags under her eyes and looked every bit the part of a busy, overworked housewife. The younger looked to be the same age as Izuku and was wearing a green t-shirt and cream skirt with a sports bag in one hand, likely holding her own gi. Unlike her mother, who wore her hair straight and cropped at the base of her neck, hers was tied up in a long side-ponytail. Her eyes had immediately started curiously moving over the dojo before locking onto Izuku.
"Dear, Izuku, allow me to introduce you to Kendō Itsuwa and her daughter, Kendō Itsuka." Kanzashi offered with a smile. "Kendō-san, Itsuka-chan, this is my husband, Bushi Masuo. He's the one who specializes in karate, so he'll be acting as Itsuka's primary teacher while she studies here. The little one is my personal disciple and student, Midoriya Izuku."
"Hello, Bushi-sensei, Midoriya-kun." Itsuwa smiled tiredly. "Say hello, Itsuka."
"Hi! Are you strong?" Itsuka asked immediately, her eyes still locked onto Izuku.
"Er...ah..." Izuku floundered. Even with being friends with Jirō for three years, he was still a bit nervous around girls.
"He is." Kanzashi confirmed. "He's a bit shy but still one of the strongest boys in his age group. He hasn't fought any girls aside from me yet though."
"Mum told me it's bad to hit girls." Izuku said with a frown.
"Just running up and hitting them out of nowhere for no reason, sure, but that's true for hitting just about anyone." Masuo agreed with a bark of laughter. "But sparring with them when they are also trying to hit you, or fighting back if they're attacking you for real, is perfectly permissible. It can actually be insulting to refuse to spar with someone based simply on their gender."
"I'm not trying to be mean!" Izuku protested.
"Then you won't mind sparring with Itsuka-chan here, Quirks allowed." Kanzashi said briskly. This was something else she had been meaning to do. Japanese culture looked down on boys hitting girls, regardless of the last two and a half centuries of Quirks influencing things. Izuku had internalized that idea more strongly than most and had found very creative ways to avoid sparring with the female members of the dojo.
She was certain that at least a part of it was due to that former friend of his that Inko had mentioned. The other boy had run around doing whatever he wanted to whoever got in his way after his Quirk appeared and the idiots in charge of him had allowed it. Izuku's negative experiences with that kind of behaviour had likely resulted in him (consciously or not) taking his behaviour in the opposite direction, finding excuses to avoid fighting or hurting others when he could help it. It was a misguided approach that was only going to overstress and harm the child in the future and it was well past time that it was dealt with.
"O-Okay..." Izuku said meekly.
"Good boy. Limber up while Itsuka-chan gets changed." Kanzashi ordered.
With Itsuka
Kendō Itsuka followed the strong lady to what she was informed was the girls' changing room with a pensive expression on her face, one that Kanzashi noticed.
"What's up, kid?" she asked.
"Why is hitting girls so bad to that boy?" Itsuka asked as she started to change clothes.
"Ah, there's a bit of a story there." the Tai Chi teacher sighed, thinking for a moment on what to tell without violating her disciple's privacy. "You see, a couple years ago, Izuku had a friend. When that friend awakened his Quirk, it turned out to be pretty strong, and Izuku's friend let that go to his head. The other boy started using his Quirk to do whatever he wanted and turned into a bully."
"Bullies are dumb!" the orangette quickly put in, with all the surety of a young child stating a fact of the world.
"Yes, yes they are." Kanzashi agreed with a small smile. "Anyway Izuku is naturally a very kind boy. He saw how his old friend acted and he's tried to be the exact opposite, doing his best to not hurt people whenever he could. We had a devil of a time getting him to start sparring properly because of that."
"That sound…silly." Itsuka offered, tilting her head slightly as she tightened her belt.
"People tend to be pretty silly at times, and boys get silly ideas stuck in their heads" the elder martial artist stated with a small shrug. "Your mother sent over your records when she filled out the paperwork. Ten spars in a row without a single defeat, very impressive. So, I'd like to ask a favour of you." When Itsuka looked at her curiously, she grinned. "Give my silly little student a real hard fight, push him as far you can. Show him that he has to fight back if he doesn't want to lose. After all, the best way for martial artists like us to talk is with our fists, so tell him loud and proud that you want to fight."
"Got it." Itsuka nodded. She liked helping people, and if beating this guy in a fight would help him, she was more than willing to step up!
Returning to the main dojo showed that the boy (Izuku) was finished with his exercises and was a bit less nervous-looking. Maybe Masuo-sensei had given him a talk of his own?
Moving to the middle of the dojo floor, Itsuka entered into the starting stance her papa had taught her, designed to maximize the strength of their Quirk, [Big Fist]. Izuku moved to stand opposite of her, two feet away, and fell into a strange stance that she guessed was some kind of Tai Chi stance. She'd never seen someone fight with Tai Chi before, she'd always thought it was just an exercise routine like Yoga, but since this dojo seemed to specialize in both Karate and Tai Chi, she was probably wrong about that.
"Ready?" Kanzashi stood aside with her husband and Itsuwa and looked between the two kids. Seeing their nods, she raised her arm and then brought it down. "Hajime!"
Immediately, Itsuka leapt forward on the attack. A strong offence was the best form of defence, her papa had said that, and she agreed. The fact that the strategy worked best with her Quirk only helped matters. She started out by launching a quick one-two punch combo that her opponent easily dodged around, swiftly following with a sharp snap kick. This time the green boy couldn't dodge, instead blocking with both forearms and then using the same movement to knock her back and off-balance, quickly following after with a counter-attack, attempting to grab and throw her.
'He's moving way too slow.' she thought irritably as she easily darted out of the way of the grab. He'd moved so much faster when he was blocking and dodging, so why were his attacks so slow? See locked eyes with her opponent and saw the slight traces of hesitation meandering in those green eyes, causing Itsuka's temper to flare. 'Sensei said that I needed to push you to take me seriously? Fine, then lets see if you're willing to listen when I let my Quirk to do the talking for me.'
Charging in again, Itsuka threw both of her fists forward in a double-punch that Izuku automatically moved to avoid, only for her to activate her Quirk in the last moment. In a sudden surge, her fists grew to the same size as her torso, multiplying her range and power several fold.
Izuku didn't have any time to react as both enlarged fists raced towards him.
"Sōtaiken! (Double Jumbo Fist!)" she cried as she struck. However, a moment later her eyes popped out slightly as she saw her opponent hadn't been sent flying by her best move. Instead, Izuku had somehow managed to bring his arms up to absorb most of the impact before flipping in mid-air and using the force of her blow to propel him backwards. The boy was still grimacing in pain from the impact to his arms, but it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been.
Unclenching his arms, Izuku looked at her again, and she was pleased to see that the hesitation was gone; instead, there was a spark of challenge in those narrowed eyes that had her blood pumping in excitement. Then he took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly…and suddenly his body erupted into an absolutely beautiful golden glow. Even more interestingly, there were small little bolts of what looked like golden lighting crackling over his fists. Itsuka took the mutters and gasps from the Bushi couple to mean that this was a new development.
Neat.
"Haaaaaaaaahhhhhh...!" the green-haired boy breathed out slowly, the golden glow around his body intensifying slightly before he surged forward so quickly that Itsuka actually lost sight of him for a moment, only to see that he was right in front of her, one fist drawn back.
"Hamon Shissō! (Ripple Dash!)" Izuku intoned grimly before his fist flew forwards Itsuka's unguarded left side. She hastily blocked with her elbow, but the blow struck and then Izuku said something else.
"Overdrive!" he hissed and she felt the golden energy pulse for a moment before being sent flying back as if she'd been shot by a cannon. She quickly reoriented herself and landed feet first, skidding across the polished floor on her bare feet before launching herself back into the fray with an excited shout.
Now this was what Itsuka called fun.
As the two kids went at it, Kendō Itsuwa turned to Kanzashi and Masuo with wide eyes. "I've never seen anyone her own age keep up with Itsuka once she starts using her Quirk. Just who and what is that boy?"
"Izuku-kun possesses the [Hamon] Quirk. It's an Emitter type that allows him to create and control that golden energy surrounding his body." Masuo replied, noting the skills of the girl fighting his wife's apprentice with an interested mien. "The energy acts as a powerful physical enhancer, augmenting his strength, speed, endurance, reflexes and durability to astonishing levels while he maintains that aura of his. In addition, he can manipulate his energy to further amplify the power or even the damage of his strikes. I have to admit, your daughter's already a very talented fighter; she's the first student in his own age category to land a solid blow on Izuku-kun in the past six months."
"R-Really?" Itsuwa blinked, surprised that there seemed to be someone who could match her martial arts prodigy of a daughter. "Well, the credit goes to my husband; he's the one who taught her our family's style of karate. We've just had to move from Chiba Prefecture due to my job changing and my idiot husband threw his back out moving things. I told him we should just hire movers, but no...now we have to hire movers, Itsuka has to learn at an outside dojo until my husband recovers, and we have doctors bills. Haaah...so much for saving money."
"Sounds tough." Kanzashi said lightly as she eyed her apprentice's movements. Ever since Itsuka had landed her first blow, there hadn't been as much as a hint of hesitation or holding back in his movements. Good, a solid challenge was just what the doctor ordered. Izuku worked harder and fought smarter than almost any of the other students his age, and more than a few of those older than he was, so he was already at a level surpassing most of his age group. That was fine, but not being properly challenged could cause his skills and strength to plateau. That wouldn't do if he wanted to become a hero.
Which he did. It was impossible to know Izuku and not see the passion he had for his dream.
As the two kids staggered back from one another after another exchange, the Tai Chi Master decided to end it before they could actually hurt each other. "OK, that's enough, both of you."
Izuku and Itsuka looked up at her in surprise. Normally the spar would continue until one person scored a match point.
"This spar was only to determine Itsuka-chan's skill level, as well as break through your inability to fight girls, Izuku." Kanzashi said with a chuckle. "Itsuka-chan, you've done very well. It would be our pleasure to have you attend our dojo."
"Thank you, sensei." the young orangette bowed, a happy expression on her face.
Once both Itsuka and Izuku cleaned themselves up and got changed, the former and her mother had to head off to register for school, while Izuku had to wait for his mother to come and pick him up.
"Hey, Midoriya!" Itsuka called before she left. "Next time we fight, I'm gonna win!"
Startled for a moment, Izuku smiled shyly at her before replying, "Not if I can help it!"
The three adults present suppressed smiles at the slight competitive spirit that the children had. A few minutes after Itsuka left, Inko picked her son up.
"Looks like Izuku has a little rivalry starting up with Itsuka-chan." Kanzashi mused to Masuo once they were alone. "It'll be good for him."
"Mm-hm, good for them both. Nothing better than a rival to help push a talented kid just a bit farther." her husband rumbled as he was distracted by something he'd noticed during the spar. "Dear, do you think that Tai Chi alone is completely suited for Izuku's fighting style? He tends to fight defensively with it fine, but offensively, aside from throws, he tends to be pretty linear."
"Like karate." Kanzashi agreed. "So you think he should work on inventing his own style? A Mixed Martial Art?"
"Something like that." Masuo affirmed. "He rarely makes use of quite a few portions of the Chen style, aside from practising them. I'd guess that a custom style is needed to suit the use of his Quirk anyway."
"Probably. I was hoping not to have to do that, but I guess it was wishful thinking." his wife sighed.
Unseen by the two martial artists, a black and white chequered top hat faded from existence above their heads.
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Next Chapter: True Overdrive
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