Hello Hello, Sorry for the long wait, it had been a hectic few weeks, and it's not stooping anytime soon it seems, Here's chapter 6 and 7 is on the way, but as of now, it's unknown when it will arrive, but rest assured, i'm trying my hardest to pump these chapters out.
Ever since that day when Nezu called, Tetsu has been spending more time in the ring trying out different moves and techniques rather than working the bag himself. This was because of the upcoming class that he was supposed to teach, and seeing that he had the whole afternoon, and that meant 4 hours, he had to make sure to teach the basics enough for them to branch out into their own style. After all, copying can only get one so far before they hit the ceiling.
Two days in, however, he had noticed that there was an audience watching him as he was practicing, facing the two onlookers, he looked at them with a questioning look.
"...Don't the two of you have things to do?" He asked the two, making the rabbit hero cackle out at his question
"We have the day off, so we decided to come to the gym, and watch what you are doing at the same time. Speaking of which, what are you doing? Seems like you are practicing different techniques and trying to make them easier to execute..." Ryuko replied with a questioning look while taking a sip of her bottle, causing Tetsu to do the same as he made his way to the side of the ring, picking up his bottle with a hum.
"Well, I have to teach CQC to a class in U.A, and I have the basics down, so I thought that imparting some techniques might help them to come up with their own for the future, after all, they can only do so much alone without help, and letting them copy all the way isn't an answer as well." He said while taking a sip of his bottle. Now it was Ryuko's turn to hum in thought as Tetsu himself placed his bottle down and went back to the center of the ring, taking up a random stance.
After a few more techniques and testing, Ryuko stood up, making Rumi look at her with a raised eyebrow, then a grin as she knew what she was going to do. Tetsu himself continued to try different ways, before stopping as he noticed Ryuko standing beside him with a discerning eye.
"You have a good grasps on techniques, but master of none... That's because you have your self-taught style.." He nodded to her words as she was technically correct, that's why he was here trying to dumb it down in the first place.
"In that case, then you shouldn't be trying to dumb down your techniques, because it wouldn't work that way. Instead, even the basics, can become a technique." With that said, Ryuko got into a stance herself, her feet in front of the other at shoulder width apart and bent at the knees, with her arms raised. Taking in a deep breath, and exhaling, she repeated this a few more times before her eyes sharpened as she focused, the right arm close to being straight with a clenched fist, while the other was close to her body.
Another second, and as she exhaled, her body twisted to the left as her fist thrusted forward with a sudden force that made Tetsu whistle in admiration. Breaking her stance, she breathed out again before turning to face him.
"All techniques, or rather, most techniques have the basics in them. It's all about how you use them, or how you twist and utilize them, forming your own techniques." She finished, making him hum in thought as he rubbed his chin.
"A standard one inch punch uses the body to generate momentum to deliver that force.. So if I change it a little and instead use a bit more wind up and at a distance, it changes into a charge attack.." He mumbled to himself, making Ryuko smile and giggle as he seemed to get the right idea, before leaving the ring as Tetsu continued to mumble, getting into various stances and testing things out.
Taking a sit beside Rumi, she took a sip of her bottle, before feeling Rumi leaning close to her with her signature grin of 'I'm about to say something sexual'. Before she could stop her however...
"Experience much~?" That... wasn't what she was expecting, but it still made her choke on her drink, coughing a little before turning to face the cackling woman, and gave said woman a chop on the head making Rumi cackle even louder.
-Line Break-
Three more days passed with Tetsu practicing and training, he became more confident in teaching now that he had a full grasp on what Ryuko told him. Putting it simply, it was a matter of linking and generating where starting from zero, generate one, and link that together to form a technique, simple math. To be fair, it didn't take him long to see this because of the fact that he did it without knowing.
Since his style of fighting involves taking someone down without excess force, he had always focus on the more permanent portions of the body. More specifically, the muscles. If you can impede someone's range of motion down to zero, then there is no way he or she could recover fast enough to counter the last attack to knock them out. So far, it had worked in his favor that he didn't even need to go beyond... maybe 30% of his strength for most of his capture.
He could see now what All Might have been doing his entire life while being the number one hero, constant control over his strikes to the point where he tries to minimize collateral damage, focusing all on the villains. In that sense, he supposed he was the same because while he didn't use his full strength anymore due to obvious reasons, it wasn't as if he couldn't but more of the fact that he only wanted the most efficient way to take someone down.
So breaking his style down, it was fundamentally easy to understand. Ground zero is knowledge of the body, which would explain why he kept failing to dumb down his technique. Because before physical, he needed theory, some of which might not be present unless said someone studied about the human body fully. Next step was figuring out motor functions, then what the Chinese call 'Acupuncture Points'.
Now with Acupuncture points, it's more focused on the internal organs than anything, because a heavy damage to either one is going to cause lots of problems, so knowing them is a must to prevent further damages. Now one might ask, why? Why not just know the body fully and stuff? That has something to do with the fact that the body is generally the same for everyone, but some might have extra things, or different placement of said organs.
Acupuncture points however, are always the same in reference to the body. Meaning to say, based on anatomical landmarks, palpation and feedback, he is able to tell if he had done more damage than necessary, or not. That is going to be a lot of information to consider however, so he mainly stop at motor functions for an easier time since it was faster that way. That, and Acupunctures uses thin needles, something his fingers cannot reproduce without constant practicing.
Without muscle control, you can't move much less stand. Although if really necessary, he would decide which pressure points to target to the point of unconscious, or kill if necessary. So far however, it seems like he didn't need to go that far yet, so good on his Vigilante image.
Sitting in front of his computer with a stretch, he finished up with his textbook on CQC, mainly just 10 pages of in depth basics and how to start forming techniques when suddenly, his phone rang with Nezu calling. Raising his eyebrow, he answered the call.
"Hello Uncle Nezu, what's up?" He asked while still typing with a hand, eager to finish first before anything.
"Tetsu, could you come in earlier on the day itself? There is something All Might and I feel that you should know, especially if you are going to teach the class." Now that confused the man as he hummed.
"I can, but why?" An expected question from him, but the rat only chuckled.
"You will know when you arrive, oh and Ryukyu might be standing in as your assistant teacher upon her request." Now that got his attention as he stopped typing.
"...Ryuko will? That's strange..." It was strange indeed, but before he could speculate more, Nezu cut him off.
"Well you are going to teach CQC right? Who else better than one of the top 10 heroes with knowledge in CQC since her quirk demands it in small spaces?" To be fair, he got him there with that.
"Well.. you aren't wrong there.. Why not I suppose, it would be a small show for the kids then." Nezu only chuckled in his signature ho ho ho making Tetsu smile with a chuckle of his own. "Anything else Uncle?" A moment of silence, before the rat cleared his throat.
"...I didn't know you were on first name basis with Ryukyu... Is there something you want to tell me?" Now that hit him hard with his guard down as he stammered for a moment, before clearing his throat.
"I'm her friend, and she insisted so I obliged" Thank god for that excuse. Nezu himself only hummed, and he could have sworn, he heard the grin on the rat's face.
"Don't do something I wouldn't do." God damn it Uncle!
-Line Break-
Today was the day of the class, and the whole of Class 1-A was talking about it. After all, all they were told was that a temp teacher will be here to teach Close-Quarter Combat with an Assistant, and that it will only be one class. Of course that would raise a few eyebrows with more questions if Midoriya Izuku have anything to say about it. To him however, able to learn CQC is always a plus since his quirk damages himself every time he uses it. The strain was too much to bear and even the attack on U.S.J proved it even more.
He still felt guilty despite it not being his fault, that All Might had to push himself to the extreme to defeat the Nomu and cause his time in Muscle Mode to decrease. Sighing to himself, someone pat him on the shoulder making him look up at his friends Uraraka Ochaco and Tsuyu Asui looking at him worried. Giving a smile, he shook his head saying that he is fine before the P.A sound appeared, telling the Class to gather at Gym Gamma in their hero outfit.
Of course, everybody started scrambling, but Izuku took his time, making sure that he didn't miss anything and most importantly, his notebook, before making his way out with his class towards the gym.
Opening the doors to the large gym however, all the class saw was a huge boulder in the middle of the enclosed space and... Ryukyu!? All hell broke loose as everyone immediately swarmed her, making her raise her hands to try and calm the class down. Not that it worked of course as everybody was too excited about seeing one of the top 10 heroes. Although to be fair, it would have been two, if Rumi didn't have a last minute job, but she said she was going to arrive a little late so that can be a surprise for them.
After some time of her getting them to calm down, one of the class member, the honor student kind called all of them to quieten down as Ryuko gave her thanks.
"Ahem... As you all know me, I'm Ryukyu, and I'm here as an Assistant Teacher for your Close Quarter Combat class for today." Just as she finished that, a whole lot of murmurs came up with an somewhat angry blonde all the way at the back of the class scoffing. One hand raised up however, and Ryuko saw that it was a green-haired student before pointing at him.
"If you are the Assistant, then who is the teacher?" He asked, and without saying a word, she just knocked on the boulder with a amused smile as a groan was heard on the top of the boulder making them all look up to see a figure getting up before jumping down and landing in front of them.
Dressed in loose pants and a tight fitting T-shirt, Tetsu gave a small stretch with a yawn before smiling at Ryuko as thanks, then facing the class with a hum.
"Hmm... My name is Tetsuya, but Tetsu for short will be fine too, and I'm your Teacher for CQC if Ryukyu didn't mention that already." Now a whole lots of talking appeared, and if he strained his ears a little, the comments were rather interesting ranging from who is he and why is he not registered in the Hero database, to holy shit that upper body, to why him and not Ryukyu. Raising his hand to make them quiet down, he decided to answer all their question.
"I heard some questions so I will answer them. Firstly, I'm not a pro hero, I'm a civilian-" Holy hell, they never stop exclaiming do they? Looking at Ryuko, she seemed to think the same, but laughing at his misery if her amused smile twitching has anything to say. Clearing his throat loudly, the class seemed to stop again as he sighed.
"Let me finish before asking more questions yes? Otherwise we would be here all afternoon." The nods coming from the class made him smile again before he continued.
"I assure you that while I'm a civilian, Principal Nezu have seen fit that I teach this class so I don't plan to do it half-heartedly. Secondly, I'm the main teacher for this is because while Ryukyu is better at CQC due to her quirk's nature, I'm more trained in the basics of CQC and that's what you guys will be learning first today. So without further ado, each take one."
Taking a stack of books, he handed them out to the students and letting them take a small read first, before clearing his throat to get their attention again.
"Now as you may have noticed, the books are the basics of CQC, but CQC isn't just a boxing match. It embodies the basics to create your own style of fighting in close range when all else fails like your quirk for example. Because in the real world, there will be times where your quirk isn't going to help you at all, and you will only have yourself, and your body."
More murmurs was heard as another student raised her hand, she looked like Yaoyorozu Momo if he remembered correctly before pointing at her.
"What do you mean by creating your own style of fighting? I thought the basics are basics?" Hearing that made him smile as he was right to assume that the students didn't know that to create techniques, are just layers of basics tied together making it advanced.
"A very good question, but before I answer that, you will have to see it with your own eyes." Finishing that sentence, he nodded to Ryuko who got into a stance in front of them facing the boulder. Taking a few deep breath, her eyes focused up as the class stayed silent, watching in anticipation as Ryuko got raised her hands into her one-inch punch stance. Letting it loose with an exhale, she drove her fist into the boulder making a deep fist imprint as spider web cracks formed around it, not enough to break the boulder but enough to showcase the force behind such a punch making all the students wow as she didn't move from her spot.
"Thank you Ryukyu. Now looking at the books and what Ryukyu did just now, can anyone tell me what are the basics that was in play?" There was a few answers being shouted out, before he randomly pointed at someone who happened to be the local green-haired student that Nezu and All Might talked about.
"..I believe she employed the basics of momentum to generate thrust for her to hit that hard, and to get that momentum, she pivoted her body about her feet." Hearing the words from the boy, he smiled with a nod.
"Correct. Now, by pivoting your body about your feet, you generate momentum and thrust for your fist. What is most important is that your body must be relaxed for you to generate the most speed. If you tense up, you tend to react slower and it's the same for this case, where you instead move slower than intended." Seems like murmurs are a common within this class, not that he hated it as it shows that he got their attention.
"Now, let's say that instead of pivoting about your feet, you instead move with rotational force while stepping forward. What would happen?" This time around, another hand rose up and it was a Brunette? that answered, Ochaco.
"The momentum would be increased as the body weight is added into the equation, making whatever hit that is coming, hit with more force?" Another nod from Tetsu as he clapped his hands.
"Very good. That is surface level of course, as there are more things to take into account like how much you need to spin, foot placements, and such. But those are only when you have a clear idea of what your technique is going to be. Now, If I employ what you just said..." Trailing off, he stood in front of the boulder with his legs shoulder-witdh apart, taking a few deep breaths and out before focusing like Ryuko, raising his hands like a boxer would.
Instead of pivoting however, he stepped forward like a dash and rotated his body a 180 degrees, before using the momentum he had to slam his shoulder against the boulder with a very loud crack and crash as the boulder crumbled into large pieces, making the students gasp out while Ryuko just shook her head with a smile. Breathing out, he relaxed his body before facing the class with a smile.
"With proper form, the force increases by a lot, and with added strength, it doubles." This time around, the class was stunned into silence, before they burst into a loud chatter with more questions making Tetsu raise his hand to calm them down. Jeez, it wasn't that difficult to destroy the boulder since Ryuko already did some damage...
-Many questions later-
The class was split now to practice the basics, or rather, incorporate the basics into their current fighting style without using their quirk. Most of them got the hang of it rather quickly, needing a few advice here and there before they started on getting their CQC style of combat. After all, practice is the only way to get better at CQC. Some however, like the invisible girl, needed more help due to the fact that no one could see her except for her gloves, and so Ryukyu being a female as well, had to get a little hands on to move her into the proper form fitting for her stature.
Once that was all said and done however, the sparring between students was something to behold, because they caught on so quick that it made him wonder if he even needed to teach in the first place. Although looking around, he noticed that Izuku was more focused on techniques rather than his own fighting style, if the awkward movement he saw from him is called that in the first place. Thinking back to what All Might said, he gave a soft hum.
-Before Class-
Tetsu knocked on the door leading to Nezu's office, hearing a come in before he opened the door to reveal a rather thin man, and Uncle Nezu himself.
"I'm here, so what's the surprise?" He asked Nezu, looking between the thin man and the rat who only chuckle before pointed to the former, making Tetsu do a double take.
"...What am I supposed to see?" He was confused to say the least. As the thin man cleared his throat, He suddenly buffed up to superhuman size, making Tetsu jump back slightly with an alarmed look. "What in the actual...?"
"Ahem... As you can see, this is All Might, or known as Yagi Toshinori. An injury from a certain battle have given him a time limit on how long he can stay in that form. As for the rest... All Might should tell you himself." Nezu said taking a sip of his tea while Tetsu's eyes squinted in confusion, before deciding to take a sit as Yagi poof back into his normal form.
"...Young Tetsuya.. What made me decided to tell you this secret is because of the past battle we had, and what Nezu has told me. I have a Successor, Midoriya Izuku, who ingested my DNA and in turn, given him One For All, a stockpile Quirk that grows stronger each time it is passed on. The requirement for taking in the quirk... One have to be Quirkless in order to counteract the quirk clashing problem." Yagi said with a serious look, making Tetsu nod as he listened.
"The only thing is, he can't use his quirk without hurting himself and as his teacher... I am ashamed to say that I do not know how to fix it. So this class, I was hoping that you could teach him something so that even if he can't use his quirk, he can still do something." This made Tetsu hum in thought.
"I see... So you want me to teach Izuku so that he can defend himself... But why tell me all this? It is a big secret that you are hiding, and that will make it even harder to keep the more people you tell." Tetsu was genuinely confused, after all, he is hiding a big secret himself. Yagi sighed at this, seemingly in thought before facing the former again.
"Because Nezu trusts you, and with your strength even when Quirkless, I was hoping you would be one of the people that can help Izuku if he needs it. There is only a handful of people that knows about me being like this, and Izuku. Detective Tsuckauchi, Nezu and Recovery Girl are such people, including you now of course." Now it made much more sense to him, before he hummed in thought again. Shaking his head, he smiled at the thin man.
"In that case, I will try my best to do so. However, since you have taken the liberty to trust me, to tell me all this... I have to ask, what are your views on Vigilantes?" That question stumped Yagi for a moment, before he cleared his throat.
"To be frank, I don't... really mind Vigilantes, because pro heroes can't be everywhere at the same time. However, I don't condone excessive force nor inhumane actions that result from doing vigilantism. If someone is strong enough to be a Vigilante and he is driven, then I will say by all means..." This made Tetsu smile again, nodding his head before standing up and turning to leave.
"...I agree. I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure Izuku grows as intended. After all, the hunter of the night keeps his promises." With that said, he left the office, leaving Yagi dumbfounded, and Nezu chuckling with another sip of his tea.
"Is he...?" Yagi had to ask, but he couldn't finish the sentence. Nezu of course, knew what he wanted to say, so he nodded.
"That just means you also knows his biggest secret now, that makes it even. That, and he trusts you enough." Nezu said as a matter of fact, making the thin man deflate slightly with relief, before smiling.
"I see... Who would have thought the kid I fought before, turned out to be the Castigator..."
-Present-
"Izuku is it? Follow me for a moment would you?" Tetsu asked the green-haired boy while pointing to a rather empty space just away from everyone else. Tilting his head in confusion, he nodded regardlessly and followed the teacher to the side, before Tetsu faced him with a hum and started to whisper.
"Okay before I help you... Just know that All Might told me the secret. He has also requested that I teach you something due to the drawbacks of your quirk." This made Izuku's eyes widen in shock and surprise, turning to look around in case someone might have overhead, making Tetsu chuckle. Breathing out, the former sagged his shoulders in relief before facing his teacher again.
"If All Might have seen fit to tell you, then I will trust in his judgement. As for the quirk... Whenever I try to use it fully, my body... or rather, whichever body part that I use will be damaged very heavily..." Pulling up his sleeves, he revealed the scars from using OFA, making Tetsu hum in thought.
"Use fully you say... In that case... Let's say that when you use your quirk, it's at 100%. Then what's stopping you from using a percentage lesser than that?" Tetsu asked with a raised eyebrow, making Izuku do the same before a sudden realization zinged into his head, making him take out a notebook from god knows where and started to mumble to himself while writing something down.
"Why didn't I think of that? If One For All uses 100% and destroy my body, then I just need to tone it down to the point where my body won't get damaged... But in that case, I need to determine my limits and..." Tetsu only kept his eyebrows raised in amusement, reminding him of himself, before he snapped his fingers, snapping Izuku out of it with an apology.
"You can try that later, for now, I shall teach you something. Tell me, what do you think the essential of CQC is?" Tetsu asked the boy who scratched his head in thought.
"Fight someone in close range with techniques?" This made Tetsu shake his head as he smiled.
"Close. Essential of CQC, is that you take your techniques, and try to counter and overpower the opponent, or if unable to, defend yourself well enough to at least get a draw. Although technically... It is fighting someone in close range with techniques..." This made Izuku smile as Tetsu stroked his chin in thought, before shrugging.
"In any case, CQC can be anything. It can be punches, kicks, slaps, knees, grapples, holds and even weapons. It is the same thing as saying anything goes, as long as you come out on top. So with that in mind, tell me, If you face someone with an exceptional sense for kicks, or using his legs, what do you do?" He threw a QNA at the boy making him think deeply with a serious look.
"... I will have to somehow immobilize his legs somehow to stop that... That means I can either get him on the ground with a grapple... or get in close to prevent the usage of his legs..." He trailed off, looking up at Tetsu with uncertainty making the latter nod in approval.
"Very good, the good thing about legs, is that it is three times stronger than your arms and it has a longer reach. However, move in close, and that reach and strength becomes null-" He stopped himself as he turned to look at the class, wondering why there were mutterings as everybody stopped what they were doing, and looking at a rather large piece of the boulder remaining.
Izuku himself looked confused as he turned to face the rest, noting that Ryukyu was looking amused at something before Tetsu turned back to face him.
"Well you get the idea I was telling you, now let me go and a-" Tetsu didn't finish his statement when all of a sudden, a white and brown blur shot straight at him from the top of the boulder, making him exclaim in surprise as he raised his hands to block the kick that flew straight into his arms, sending him sliding back as a rather familiar cackle reached his ears, making his eyes twitch in annoyance.
"...Miruko... What are you doing here?" He asked while shaking his hands, feeling the strong impact and force behind her kick. Izuku on the other hand, was gawking between him and Rumi, as the latter stopped her cackling with a toothy grin.
"I'm here to help." Now that made the whole gym rumble with just how many exclaimation there was from the students. Some of them asking why is Miruko here, and some going on about why do he know them, and a select few going about the hero outfit she was wearing, and about those thunder thighs of hers. That last one made his eyebrow raise as he briefly scanned her thighs... he was a male too after all.
Rumi herself heard the questions, and also saw his eyes scanning her thighs, making her flex them slightly with a grin. Knowing that he was caught, he sighed before going to the center of the gym and addressed the whole class.
"Well... Since the Miruko has graced us with her presence, Ryukyu, can I bother you to move the pieces out of the way?" Ryukyu nodded at his request, before transforming partially making everybody there wow in awe at the scaled hero, having a first class seat at Ryukyu's abilities at work even if it's just clearing rubbles.
"If everyone would gather here, I will now spar with Miruko to show you what CQC actually do and how it can help is most situations, provided the opponent isn't too overwhelming like the bunny in front of me." For a moment, nobody moved for it was just absurd to hear that, a civilian, sparring with Miruko? The hero that was told to be a battle-maniac? And he even called her bunny? After a while though, and with Izuku going to the designated spot and taking the front roll sit, the rest started to move as well, or scrambled to their seat.
"Now, I implore you guys not to move out of this area, because I don't want to be held responsible if one of you got hit by her." That made them pale slightly at the thought of her kicks, while the rabbit in question just cackled with a grin making him sigh in resignation. Gesturing to the rabbit as Ryuko cleared the rumble, he nodded his thanks to the dragon who just smiled back in acknowledgement.
With Rumi on one side, and Tetsu on another side, it was exactly like how they sparred all this while, but now, with an audience of 20 students. Releasing a breath, the whole gym suddenly tensed as everyone could feel the tension and pressure from the two in the middle of the gym. Tetsu's eyes looked into Rumi's, telling her that this was a demonstration and not their regular spar. The amused twinkle in her eyes didn't give him must reassurance, but he liked to believe that Rumi is not that dumb to go all out or otherwise, he might have to stop bonking her on the head so much.
Tensed silence of the two staring at each other, Neither moved for a moment until Tetsu broke it, dashing in with a quick step left and right closing the distance within a second. Rumi of course, followed his movement fairly easily and rushed to meet him with a step of her own, but instead, she raised her leg in a side kick towards his sides.
Multiple gasps came from the students watching, but what happened next didn't come as expected as Tetsu immediately stepped back just enough to let her leg swing wide, before stepping in as she was still spinning in place. He didn't miss the grin on her face however as she shifted her footing, and with incredible agility as expected, she hopped and launched a back kick towards his chest with a surprising speed.
Able to see the kick coming and instead of stepping to the side to dodge, he dived towards it, leaning just enough to let it graze his shirt and wrapped his arms around her knee area and with a twist of his body, sent them rolling to the ground into a grapple. To the students, all of this happened within 5 seconds with made them all stunned at just how fast paced it was, even though it wasn't too fast to the point that they couldn't catch what they were doing.
Rolling to a stop above Rumi, Tetsu scrambled to get a better hold releasing her legs to pin her down, but Rumi being Rumi, she of course didn't take it lying down, and with all the times they have sparred, she knew his habits and moves well enough to counter. Using her free legs in that split second when he released them, she raised them over and around his neck in a fit for flexibility that caught him off guard as his arm raised up to try and pry one off to no avail, those legs were inhumanly strong after all.
Having him trapped, she used the brief moment to push herself up, flipping them over before slamming his back onto the ground with a loud sound, making the students wince at the sound as Rumi released her hold just to sit on his abs with a smug grin.
10 seconds in total, that was how long it took for that whole exchange to happen, Izuku counted for two reasons, one to see how long the new teacher would last, and for his own knowledge. Because what he... what all of them saw just now, was two masters going at each other, even if they were holding back... Well at least for Tetsu's case.
"...I told you to hold back.." Tetsu's eyes twitched as he laid there "pinned" under Rumi, the latter just grinning down at him with mischievous eyes.
"You did?" Oh this little... Another twitch of his eyes, and Rumi grinned wider, knowing that she got under his skin as all of a sudden, the air tensed around them again, but with much more... seriousness? Izuku wasn't sure how to word it right, but he knew one thing, it wasn't over just yet. Ryuko on the other hand being one of the spectators, just pinched the bridge of her nose with a deep sigh.
"Here we go again..." She said in resignation making the students gawk as the word 'again' popped up, making them look at the pair sparring in disbelief. 'This wasn't the first time?' Was the question running through all their heads making them wonder just who their new teacher was. They didn't have to think long however as there was suddenly a pressure exerted all around them, and disappeared just as it appeared.
Ryuko took out her phone to record, knowing that it would be good teaching material after they were finished. After all, with them about to actually fight, the speed they go to were rather... quick even by her standards and so, it's better to take a video than actually try to follow their movement if the students even could.
A moment, or rather, 5 seconds to be exact, neither of them moved, before with a sudden move from Tetsu, throwing her off of him as the rabbit hero cackled, rolling from the throw and getting to her feet, only to find him already rushing her with a dash, hands raised yet loose. A brawl it was as Rumi jumped forward, meeting him head on with a kick which he blocked, countering with a swing to which she blocked as well, swaying her body to send her knee towards his stomach.
A few cycle of this happening, made Ryuko aware of what was happening after countless times of seeing it happen before, but for the class, it was like watching two people dance. The flow was so fluid, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that they choreographed this before hand as they were drawn into it exactly like the first time Ryuko watched it, although the latter still found herself slowly falling into the flow despite knowing what was happening.
Punch, kick, block, counter. This four moves were repeated each time, as the two just went faster with each cycle, sounds of their blows connecting into each other's guard drumming rhythmically. Of course, Rumi have seen this coming, and tried very hard to change the way she attack and block, focusing more on variety to try and stay off rhythm. However, she found herself being lured into a corner as her variety became more and more repetitive.
It was a tiny and faint flash of his eyes, from brown becoming just a tad brighter with a hint of blue before going back to brown, but both Rumi and Ryuko caught it all the same, since one was staring at him from the start for obvious reasons, while the latter was watching his moves closely, looking for anything to question. They didn't have time to think much of it as Rumi faltered for the briefest moment, and the dance was over.
"Urk!" Her upper body leaned forward from the force of his punch on her abs, making her cough out as she was sent flying back a short way as his counter found its mark. With him releasing a breath, he relaxed his stance and shook his arms before looking at the down but not out rabbit, already getting on her feet. "Not again! I need to stop falling for that.."
"That's because you don't focus enough, that brief distraction or loss of focus is what matters in an actual fight." Tetsu replied with a chuckle, before patting his shirt down and facing the class, all of which had their mouth open stunned into silence. Rumi herself grumbled before shaking her own arms and legs, feeling some tension in them.
"Anyway.. So what do you guys think?" He asked the class, in which no replies were given as they all just stared at him making him chuckle with a scratch of his cheek. "I guess we went overboard huh.." It was an understatement as that seemed to shock them out of it, before a whole lot of questions and exclamations rise from the students again.
"What was that?" "How did you even move that fast to keep up.." "That was so cool!" "It was like a dance.." "I fell into a trance!" It was some of the student's remarks at the fight they witnessed, making him shake his head and raised his hands to calm them down.
"One at a time, we still got about... 30 minutes give or take." He said before taking a sit on a piece of boulder in front of them pointing to a yellow-haired student, the one that generates electricity if he didn't remember wrong.
"How are you able to keep up with Miruko?" A standard question making him chuckle as he rubbed his chin in thought.
"A good question.. I have been training every since I was 5, and until now, I have never skipped a day regardless of what I have to do. Honestly speaking, I think my body might have mutated like how when someone gets a quirk. Instead, I got this strong." Now that he thought about it, it really was strange even if his strength was logical due to what he did, but to be this strong is really questioning even for him.
The stunned look that most of the students gave him made him smile with a laugh, before shaking his head and pointing to another student that was raising their hand, Izuku to be precise.
"Sensei, what is your quirk if you don't mind me asking?" Ah... That was honestly not a surprise that someone would ask that, making his smile drop a little that was noticed by everybody there, with Ryuko and Rumi sharing a look while Izuku recognized it, as he himself went through the same thing when in the past, people asking him that as well.
Staying silent for a few moment, he debated whether to tell them the truth, or make something up which wouldn't be far-fetched given his strength. So deep in thought, he didn't even realize Rumi stepped behind him with a hand on his shoulder, making him tilt his head towards her seeing her smile with a nod. He released a sigh, before smiling back as he turned to face the class.
"I don't have one. That was why I started training." For the unknown-th time today, the students gaped in shock and surprise, much like how Ryuko and Rumi was the first time. Even the always angry Pomeranian looking student and indifferent red/white hair student were surprised. Clapping his hands to snap them out of it, he chuckled again.
"Any other question?" This time around, a purple grape-looking hair student raised his hand in which Tetsu pointed to him,
"How did you meet Miruko and Ryukyu?" This one got a laugh out of him as he gave a smug look to the rabbit who scoffed and crossed her arms, her ears flicking left and right like a rabbit throwing a tantrum.
"Looks like it's up to me to explain, one day, they decided to enter a gym that I was at. When I was working the punching bag, Miruko here asked me for a spar and insisted." Another laugh escaped him as Ryuko gave an amused smile, while the rabbit grumbled under her breath.
"I won't go too much into details about the spar, but long story short, she lost and I won. She was going easy though, so she gets a pass." Now the again from Ryuko made sense to the students. Although, that didn't stop the students from gaping at him.
"Then, we happened to meet again at a cafe for lunch, and they forced me to sit with them. The rest is history." He left out most of the details for obvious reasons, but the answer seemed to satisfy them so that's a plus. Looking at the time, he gestured to the clock. "Alright, the class is ending so one last question before I let you all go."
Pointing to a pink-skinned girl who seems to be the hyperactive one of the class, seeing that she was almost bouncing in her place as she raised her hands.
"Are you in a relationship!?" Now that completely stunned him, and for some reason Ryuko and Rumi as well, as the former found herself wanting to know the answer as well, while the latter gave him the intrigued side eye. Tetsu himself didn't speak before he just started laughing and pointing at Rumi.
"If I was, I would have been dumped with how many times she appeared at my doorstep. But no, I am as free as a bird." Despite the somewhat strange expression on the student's face, Ryuko slumped in relief before straightening her back as she shook the thought out of her head internally. She is still in a class and she will be damned if she let her personal feelings get into her work.
Rumi on the other hand, took offense to that with a hey as she jumped him, scratching and pulling at his collar in which he just pulled her cheek. It was a spectacle to behold, seeing one of the top hero and a civilian being that childish. Words were thrown around ranging from bunny to long ears to all brawn and no brain for Rumi, and emo, to kid, then to no substance.
It really was like children fighting as Ryuko shook her head with a sigh, amused before going up to them before chopping both of their head hard, making them exclaim while holding their head.
"You are still on the clock, you can do that later." She said with finality and an aura that everybody seemed to agree, do not mess with Ryukyu. Rubbing his head, he grumbled about Rumi starting it first before clearing his throat.
"Anyway... This marks the end of the CQC class, Ryukyu will send the video of our spar to the principal. If you want to review it, feel free to do so, but please, do not spread it around. I am still a civilian, and I like to keep my life simple." The unspoken words seemed to reach them, as all of them agreed with a bow, making the two minus Rumi bow back, the latter who just gave her toothy grin.
Letting the class go, Ryukyu sent the video to Nezu, telling him that it's for the students to review if they wanted it while Tetsu stretched while rubbing his shoulder.
"Whew... long day long day.. What are the two of you going to do?" He asked the other two, making Rumi hum.
"I still have a job to do, but it should be quick so dinner afterwards yeah?" She asked with a bounce in her step, making him chuckle before waving her away.
"Alright alright, now go and do your job." The Rabbit just cackled, before walking towards the entrance of the gym while Ryuko was still in thought.
Turning to face her, he raised an eyebrow seeing her, before going up to her and waved a hand at her face. It seemed to work as she turned her head to face him with an unreadable expression, one that made him all the more confused. What she said next however...
"Tetsu... are you the Castigator?"
If he was surprised or even shocked, he didn't show it or at least to Ryuko, he didn't. His eyebrow was still raised, and nothing had changed, but he did seem confused, which was a good sign to Ryuko at least, is it?
"What brought this on?" He asked with a slight smile. Although, she noted that he didn't say no, that means it might be a yes.
"...Reports have said that the Castigator has silverish-hair, similar to yours." Starting slow, she measured her words carefully before speaking, making Tetsu hum as he chuckled, shaking his head as he moved his thumb and index finger into a L shape before placing it under his chin.
"I know the resemblances is uncanny, but I have seen the video, he has teal eyes that glows red while I have brown. That, and he kinda looks way bigger than I am." He defended with a joke making Ryuko raise an eyebrow at him, before smiling with a soft chuckle.
"...Yeah, you are right." She said, making him sigh internally in relief, but at the same time, fully guarded still as it was a little too easy if he had anything to say about it. Knowing how she is, either she believed him, or bidding her time. "Besides, I think the Castigator is cooler than you are." Okay now that's rude.
The offended look on his face made Ryuko giggle before she turned around, looking over her shoulders at him as he looked back at her. That slight smirking smile she gave him was.. no way around it. Hot as fuck.
"Dinner's on me tonight, keep yourself free." It wasn't a request, making him return an amused smile as he shook his head. Satisfied with the unspoken answer, she started to leave herself while Tetsu himself hung around. Waiting for a few moments, Nezu made his appearance with a smile, walking towards him as Tetsu smiled back at the rat, taking a sit on a low-laying boulder.
Nezu himself took a sit beside him as the two of them stayed silent for a few seconds, before Tetsu broke it.
"...Ryuko asked me if I am the Castigator." He said with a low voice. Nezu didn't say anything except for his knowing smile, looking up at the male.
"I know." It was enough for Tetsu as he chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"You... No, I suppose someone asked you to set this up.. Is it the detective?" He asked, as the rat's answer to him gave him a lot of information. It was always like this with the two super minds, short and direct answers, yet it communicated a lot. Such is now as the two words the rat said, was enough to tell him that it wasn't his choice to do so, but out of necessity for him.
"Someone else my dear boy." Now that surprised him a little, making him hum as he thought about it, before slapping his forehead. How stupid of him.
"Ah.. It was Ryuko and Rumi wasn't it.." The light chuckle from the rat gave him his answer as he himself chuckled.
"More of Ryukyu than Miruko, but that's the gist of it. I suppose she wanted to confirm it for herself before anything." There was a hum of agreement coming from Tetsu as he knew how Ryuko was, and she would definitely let Rumi know as well since he is their friend first. He also knew she probably wanted to help him if he said he was. After all, she is the kind of person to take care of her friends, or whoever she felt deserving.
Another moment of silence, as the rat turned to face Tetsu again, the smile now turning into an amused one as the latter raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"So which one do you fancy?" Tetsu coughed as he choked on his saliva, knocking on his chest to stop the coughing fit. That came way out of left field that he got caught off guard. After he calmed down enough, he gave a pointed look to the rat, before relenting as he sighed, he always was open to Nezu with a lot of things after all.
"I... I don't know.." He was genuine when he said that and Nezu could tell, staying silent to let the man collate his thoughts.
"Ryuko is a hard worker and kind, professional and yet, vulnerable when no one is looking.. She tries too hard on her work, and her personal life is almost none existent.. Not to mention, her love life is dead in the water, can you believe that? A wonderful woman like her, and no one looks beyond her ethics and quirk.." He ranted about Ryuko to the rat, whose smile only grew with understanding. After all, he knew the famous Ryukyu well enough to know what he said is true. The part about relationship however, he had only heard rumors that it might be that case, though when Ryuko was asked, she just said working as a pro hero is her focus.
"Rumi... a brat through and through." That made Nezu chuckle with ho-ho-ho as Tetsu smiled himself. "She is brash, direct, and yet straightforward and honest. She takes her work seriously, almost the same like Ryuko does, just that professionality goes out the window with her. I can guess that Rumi is too free-spirited to be tied down by something like a relationship to be honest, seeing that she is a battle-maniac, she might even reject anyone not able to give her a fight."
Now that, Nezu can agree if his chuckle was any indication. He was happy that Tetsu were friends with them, and even more so that he was conflicted with them because that means that the two of them meant more to him than he let on, more than friends.
"I just... Well, I just wish Ryuko would stop putting herself down whenever and wherever possible, humble and nice, but too much is not a good thing after all. As for Rumi... well she better not end up in any hospital or I'm making sure she stays there for a longer duration." He finished with a small smile, as Nezu smiled at the man as well for one reason, he was protective of them.
Seeing the issue here, the rat just chuckled again as he clapped his hands.
"I can see that they also care about you, seeing that Ryuko herself came down to request this class. But my boy, if you can't choose, maybe you don't need to choose to begin with." That made Tetsu's eyebrow rise as he looked at the rat questioningly to which the latter just continued his smile. Shaking his head, Tetsu thought about it for a moment.
"...Maybe." The chuckle from the rat made him smile again as he chuckled himself. After all, how can he choose between favorites?
-Line Break-
The dinner they had was a pretty normal one at a normal restaurant that Ryuko booked in advance after she left the gym, although she came in her black dress and Rumi just dressed casually with dark blue jeans and a loose T-shirt. The waiter had recognized them both and soon, everybody in the restaurant did. It was a spectacle watching the two turning left and right to calm everybody down.
Once it was calm enough though, they were led to a corner booth away from prying eyes which made Tetsu chuckle as he took his seat opposite of the two and they ordered what they wanted. He also took the chance to tell the two about the fan page and local news that covered them with him, making Rumi cackle while Ryuko just sighed in amusement. It was the norm for fans to speculate, and for paparazzies to blow things out of proportion just because they took a photo.
During the meal itself, Tetsu had a warm smile as he watched the two opposite of him bicker with each other over something small. It was... nice to say the least, that he could enjoy their company. Nezu's words had stayed in his head, making him release a soft breath closing his eyes. When he opened them, he found the two smiling at him making him smile back as they finished their meal.
Now on the way back, Rumi kept complaining that his food was way better and Ryuko saying that it wasn't that bad when compared to his, making him laugh out as he pat the rabbit on the head on accident, making his hand stop just as he realized what he did. The ears that flopped on his hand and the look that Rumi gave him, one with a smile that bordered a grin, made him shake his head with a smile as he continued, a hum of content leaving the rabbit hero. What can she say, his hand and pats were soothing.
Ryuko on the other hand, smiled in amusement at the whole ordeal, giggling at her friends' antics, it wasn't often that she saw Tetsu do something out of the ordinary after all, and much less for Rumi to allow it. Though if she had to guess, Rumi did it on purpose when he noticed. It didn't take long for them to reach under Tetsu's house since the restaurant was just a few blocks away, and said person's hand was finally free from the ears that kept it there.
"For the record, next time dinner's on me" He said, much to the amusement of the two ladies. They didn't fight him over it however, as he did say it first. That, and it was indeed his turn.
A brief goodbye was exchanged between the three before he took the lift up to his home. Now to be fair, he would have walked them home, if Ryuko wasn't pushing him away, leaving the two to walk towards their house in brief silence, Rumi looking over to Ryuko with a look before poking her sides making her jump slightly with a eek, and then turning towards the culprit with furrowed brows.
"What got you much in thought?" Rumi asked the other, making her hum in thought before facing the front again.
"Tetsu said he isn't the vigilante." This time, Rumi hummed in thought.
"Isn't that a good thing?" she asked, as Ryuko furrowed her brows because she just couldn't shake that something was off, not to mention, that faint flash of blue around his eyes. Though, she thought she might have imagined it, not knowing that Rumi also saw it.
"It is... but.." She was about to continue, when the other placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Do you want him to be?" This got Ryuko to shake her head while Rumi just smiled. "Then unless the vigilante reveals himself as Tetsu, we don't have to do anything yeah?"
This got the dragoon hero to nod before the rabbit sling an arm around her neck with a cackle.
"Besides, if he was indeed the vigilante, you think we would rat him out?" That got the former to consider it seriously, as the smiling visage of Tetsu appeared in her mind, making her flush as she smiled softly, shaking her head no.
"No.. I don't think I will." Rumi cackled with a smile, pressing herself against Ryuko.
"Exactly, that and I don't think you'd want to arrest someone you have feelings for yeah~?" That got the latter to blush as she looked at the former like a deer in headlights, said person having a teasing grin on her face. "What, you think I wouldn't notice? Besides, you have been giving out signs."
Ryuko wanted nothing but to dig into the ground and hide for a while, but all she did was clear her throat and face away from the rabbit.
"Was it that obvious?" She thought that she played it off pretty well all things considered. So either Rumi just knew her well, or that she wasn't as good as she thought.
"Well, to me at least. Besides, after that little dinner date you had with Tetsu-" She was cut off by Ryuko replying with a 'Not a date' making her cackle before she continued. "And a week after that, you suddenly asked me about being in a relationship? Girl, that's a big hint if I'd ever seen one kekeke."
Looks like she wasn't really good after all, as she looked back at Rumi with the blush, before shaking her head.
"I... don't dare to ask.." She was... afraid of his answer, should she ask. After all, he was not only her friend, but someone she can count on and lean on occasionally when she needed aside from Rumi. She didn't dare to break what they had should he say no. It seemed that the rabbit hero knew what she was thinking, because her ears swirled and slapped the cheek of Ryuko's.
"Stop that thinking, you are going places you shouldn't. Why do you think I always push you to go on dates?" Ryuko knew the answer, it was to help her own self-esteem when it comes to relationships. The dates she went on did help to some extent, but the outcome was somewhat expected at least to her, because it was worse when she was younger, and the only reason why she was respectable was because she worked hard to prove to them all that she could be a hero.
However, this and that were vastly different, because this was Tetsu they were talking about, someone with a good bond with the two. If she had asked and he said no, or worse, broke off... Well she wouldn't know what to do to be frank. Another light tap on her cheek by the fluffy ears, Rumi gave her a smile.
"Do you think Tetsu is the kind of guy to fully reject you just because you asked him out?" Ryuko supposed he technically wouldn't, since he does value his friendship with them. That soothed her if anything, but then, what happens if he says yes?
"I suppose not.. But if he does say yes, then what about you?" She was concerned, because even if polygamous relationships weren't unheard of, and isn't illegal, it wasn't the norm in this country. That, and Rumi is technically considered hers in a sense, so she refuse to move on without her. Much like how Rumi wouldn't move on without her. This however, got her to laugh.
"Ryuko, don't worry about me and go for it. Regardless of what happens, I will always be here with you every step of the way, even if he accepts you, and doesn't for me." Rumi said with a grin, although she doubted that Tetsu would reject her if Ryuko was accepted, she could always tell him that they came together, so both or not at all. The only issue is that, does he feel the same for the love-struck dragon?
Ryuko's smile fell slightly at her words, leaning her head against the rabbit's shoulder.
"You know I can't do that.. We are a pair after all." She said, making the latter nuzzle her cheek with her own.
"Plan B then." Now that got the dragoon hero's attention as her eyebrow raised.
"What plan B? You had a plan B?" Rumi only cackled at her confusion as she grinned mischievously, making Ryuko slightly worried, just slightly.
"We shall both confess to him." Now she was fully worried as that could go so wrong so fast. But there was just one detail about that, that she couldn't help but ask.
"...Rumi, do you like him also?" Now, it was the rabbit's turn to stutter with a unconvincing laugh.
"W-Whatever do you mean? Me? Like him?" It wasn't a no if Ryuko had anything to say about it, and so her worried look became a small grin as she got Rumi.
"Look at that, little bunny is crushing over someone too~" The flush on said person's face was well worth it as she stuttered again.
"W-What are you talking about!? I am not crushing over him!" The grin that stayed on her face, told Rumi that she didn't believe that one bit, and honestly, she doubted she would believe that herself if she was Ryuko. The latter after having her short fun, wrapped an arm around the rabbit.
"Since when?" She asked, genuinely wanting to know the answer, and Rumi relented despite her reluctance since it's Ryuko, having to think back.
"I honestly don't know when.. It just happened one day, and can't get him out of my mind.." She wasn't sure when it happened, nor when did she felt something for him. But the more she thought about it, the more she found her answer as she smiled, making Ryuko giggle.
"It probably started a few months after we met Tetsu.. I don't know, he treats me like a regular person.. like he looks at me as Rumi rather than Miruko, he puts up with my antics even though there were times that even I thought were bad. He cooks for us despite his complaints.. He cares for us, and even that meal he made for you that time you came back late, he didn't ask any questions when I mentioned that."
Ryuko knew how she felt honestly, because she was the same thus making her smile as Rumi talked about it.
"He is strong too, and he is always willing to compromise.. I don't know, I just want him close." Rumi finished with a blush as she admitted it, as Ryuko just hugged her to her side as they reached their penthouse.
"As Tetsu once told me, love is Illogical after all.." The hum of agreement from Rumi made the dragoon hero chuckle, as they entered the house. The two looked at each other for a brief moment, before sharing a kiss.
After they broke it, the two just looked at each other with a smile, bordering a grin before they nodded, Ryuko feeling a lot more confident now that Rumi is with her in this.
""Plan B.""