It's time to see what kind of training Izuku and Bakugo will receive now that they are apart of Project Velocity. How will it help them become better heroes.
Alright time for a bit of a confession. Originally after last chapter, the story was suppose to do a bit of time skip to a few months before the UA Entrance exam. And the training arc of the next few chapters are didn't exist. As I edited and got ready to post last chapter, I had to have a talk with myself about whether I would do the time skip or try to create a training arc, since I'm the not the best at writing training arcs. I spent half an hour going over this in my head and the biggest factor was in the story I wish to publish as a book, there going to be at least one massive training arc. And I need to start gaining that skill at some point.
So the follow chapter is really my first attempt at a training arc of any kind. Will I eventually come back and rewrite to make it better? *shakes magic 8 ball* It says, "Most likely" but that will most likely not be until much later this year, maybe even beginning of next year.
But as always I do not own any rights to MY HERO ACADEMIA or any of their characters.
With that, finger's crossed, let's start with a bang
Once Mareo returned home he held a small celebration with his wife. While his wife was always supportive of her husband's antics, she did have some concerns over Izuku being the son of Lady Nagant. But she had also walked the girls growing up, she had a soft spot for them. She did prefer Inko, but Mrs Mareo was happy with how much Kaina wanted to protect her younger sister. Mareo promised that she would be able to meet the boys as well, but it won't be for some time.
The following Sunday was the start of everything, Izuku and Bakugo were brought back to the training facility, along with Inko and Mitsuki. Once in the building, they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, where they found Mareo waiting for them. When they walked out of the elevator, he turned away from an overturned whiteboard and looked at them, putting a smile on for them. "Good afternoon and good news the Council has approved the training of Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo. Today will be Day One of their training to become pro heroes."
"I'm pretty new to this and Inko has explained a bit, but how exactly will you be training our sons?" Mitsuki asked, she had never had an interest in becoming a pro hero. She had always chosen to be a fashion model as her dream career and she didn't expect there to be much overlap. It was actually her pursuit of fashion design that sparked her friendship with Inko. Inko always claimed that it was because Mitsuki wouldn't leave her alone, but Mitsuki just saw it as giving some much-needed friendly advice.
Mareo gave a small chuckle as he walked back to the whiteboard and flipped it around, "Anticipating this, I took the liberty of writing some stuff down." On the whiteboard were several different items ranging from nutritional balance to increase muscle growth and recovery time, to the amount of training that would be done each day to maximize growth in skill and muscles, while not damaging the body.
Mitsuki and Inko looked over the board. Inko didn't remember Project Velocity being this organized when she was being trained. It seemed in the years since she left, the program had become more refined. The two mothers looked down on their sons, as it was clear they had a lot of work they would have to deal with. Yet they looked more eager than ever before.
"This is a …." Inko paused as she tried to figure out the best word to use.
"A bit much," Mitsuki said, not worrying about finding the right word, "They are only five years old."
Mareo looked at the board and saw how misleading it could be, "Oh forgive me, much of this information wouldn't come into play until later. But Inko was you can Project Velocity has come a long way since your time here" - Mareo flipped the whiteboard back around - "For now we'll begin with the basics. Learning what limits their quirks have."
"But you have their government quirk files." Mitsuki pointed it out. Mareo worked for the HPSC, so he should be able to easily get ahold of any government document.
Before Mareo could ask, Inko did so, "A file can tell a story, but not the whole story. When I first joined the program, it was believed that I could only pull small objects to me, but as my quirk was tested and stretched I learned that I could do more than just pull small objects to me. I had telekinesis in its entirety."
"Precisely, that is why it's common for someone to change their quirk file as they get older, as they come to better understand how their quirk works. It happens all the time, even with more common style quirks. No two quirks are exactly the same, it's those little differences that can be the most important. We don't have that much time so step one is figuring out how exactly their quirks work. How does that sound, boys?" Mareo asked, looking at Izuku and Bakugo.
They looked at each other, then back at Mareo and began nodding their heads. They couldn't wait to learn what the limits of their quirks were. How powerful they were, how powerful they could become. If it meant getting one step closer to becoming a pro hero, then they were up for anything and they were excited.
Mareo chuckled a bit at their enthusiasm, hopeful they would keep it over the years. It would be important to keep it as the driving force that got them out of bed every day and continue training. For the rest of the day, Mareo ran tests to have a better understanding of their quirk. At the end of the day, Mareo sent them home with the homework that they needed to think of unique ways to use their quirks. Didn't matter if it looked stupid or useless, any kind of skill could have its uses.
Over the next month, Mareo trained with the boys and the range of their quirks. Izuku learned the range of his quirk was a mere 200 meters, but through training and practice, he was able to slowly increase that range and his accuracy. He was able to place nearly every shot into the center of the target, something he always smiled at no matter how often he got a bullseye. Bakugo focused on his quirk recoiling on his body and how he could use the momentum generated by his explosion to move around his enemy and attack from different angles. They often came home Sunday evenings exhausted and this caused their mother to believe their schoolwork would suffer, but every Monday they were up out of bed and eager to go to school.
The boy paid attention in class and was the top student, earning the highest scores in each of their classes, especially P.E. Their education grew so quickly they were easily months ahead of their fellow classmates. So part of training became further their education. Yet no matter how hard the week was or how long it felt, on Saturday morning the two of them were as excited as ever to train
In the coming year, as the two practised with their quirks, they gained a strong fundamental understanding of their quirks. By the time of his sixth birthday, Izuku was able to increase his range to 300 meters and learned that he could hold a total of 60 bullets, and he could hold them for two weeks before they disappeared and needed to be replaced. On the other hand, Bakugo learned that while his quirk was mainly in his hands, if he focused long enough he could get a smaller explosion to form around his body.
With every new skill they learned, they practised and trained until they had perfected it. By the time they were seven, they had skills that most first-year hero students didn't. But that didn't stop them, as Izuku and Bakugo would spend evenings together thinking of new ways to use their quirk. Many ideas were found to be just impossible, while there were a few that would have to wait until their bodies and quirks were stronger.
This irked Takami a bit, using younger kids easily matching up to his skill levels. He refused to be beaten by some brats. Though that didn't diminish his friendship with them, he enjoyed hanging out with them. Even coming over to either of their houses for dinner often. Their time together was mostly spent training under the program, they tried to get together outside of training.
Once Mareo was sure the two of them had an adequate handle on their quirk, he moved them onto the skill part of training. Martial arts, it being decided that karate and judo would best suit them, then beginning Bukijutsu once Mitsuki and Inko were comfortable with their son handling weapons. It was two weeks after Izuku's seventh birthday and it was Mitsuki's train to drive them in. And as Mareo had called the previous night telling them he had a surprise for them, Izuku and Bkaugo were very eager to arrive. Once Mistuki parked the car and unlocked the doors, Bakugo and Izuku rushed out of the car. Mitsuki cursed a bit as she fumbled to get out of the car and had to run after them, all the way screaming, "Wait you like maggot? Stress doesn't look good on me.'
Mitsuki managed to catch up to them as they ran through the front doors. However, she wasn't able to catch her breath until they got into the elevator. She shot a glare at the two of them as she was doubling over and breathing heavily. Mitsuki was in good shape, she had to be a fashion model, but there was a difference between a fashion model and a professional athlete. Mitsuki was still catching her breath as the elevator arrived on the fifth floor and Izuku and Bakugo rushed out. They found Mareo waiting for them, his kine smile very evident. And behind him were two people dressed in Martial arts attire, both having black belts tied around their waists.
The gentleman on Mareo's right was of a large frame and tall statue. He held a narrow look on the boys, as he had his hands folded against his chest. His black hair was cut to right above his shoulder and slicked back so as not to impede his vision. He had a weathered look, with a scar that started under his left ear followed back his jawline and ended at his chin. He looked over the two boys, their strength evident in their tiny frames.
The woman on Mareo's left was of a shorter stature and smaller frame, but she didn't look less immediate. Her blonde hair was braided behind her head and went down to her waist. Her piercing green eyes made it feel as if her stare was going straight through Izuku and Bakugo. She gave an animalistic smile that she knew put her co-workers on edge. She was going to enjoy seeing what the two were made of. And while the man was barefoot and had no gloves, the woman had a pair of fingerless gloves and socks on.
"Good Morning, Boys. I'm glad to see you are as eager to train as ever. Today I would like you to meet your new instructors. Sensei Hakaku and Sensei Hitomu, are Hero Public Safety Workers, but they are masters of the art of Karate and Judo. And they have agreed to train you two. You will train with your respective sensei, and then every two weeks you will switch and train with the other sensei. And when they agree you have the basics down, you will be trained on how to use your new skills in tandem with your quirks. Any questions?" Mareo asked and when neither of the young boys spoke up he continued with, "For now Midoriya, you're with Sensei Hitomu. Bakugo you're with Sensei Hakaku.
The two boys looked over their new mentors and then bowed, yelling, "Thank you for teaching us!"
"Dismissed, your new uniforms are in the changing rooms." Mareo said, waving the boys off to get changed. While the boys disappeared to change, Sensei Hakaku leaned over To Sensei Hitomu and whispered.
"Mareo undersold how eager they would be towards being trained. I could feel my frozen heart being thawed from their smiles." Sensei Hakaku
"Well don't get your hopes up, not even Endeavor can do that. Everyone's eager in the beginning, they all eventually break and then the real training begins." Sensei Hitomu said in a downtrodden voice as she shook her head.
The boys return shortly after, wearing martial arts attire that Mareo had set aside for them. Sensei Hitomu looked at Izuku and said, "Alright Dye Job, looks like you're with me for the next two weeks. Come with me."
Izuku bowed, then followed Sensei Hitomu to a different area of the floor where some padded floor mats were waiting for them. Izuku looked them over, then turned to Sensei Kuma to ask a question, "How are we going to begin…"
He was interrupted as he saw a fist getting close to his face. Yet before the attack could connect he jumped back and landed on his hands as if to springboard himself further away from Sensei Hitomu. However he didn't, he just put his feet back on the ground and began to stand. Yet those few seconds, Sensei Hitomu used her speed to get in close. Just as Izuku was straightening her back Sensei Hitomu dropped down and swept Izuku's feet out from under him. It took Izuku and gravity to realize his feet were no longer under him. Just as Izuku realized he was no longer standing, his head hit the pads. If it wasn't for the pads, he would have likely been knocked unconscious.
"Sloppy and lazy. Mareo told us you have some close quarters training, but obviously you are still a novice. You need to train those skills until they become second nature. Until You can act as such without having to think about it, or you would have reacted towards my follow up attack and not currently be on the floor. Your reflexes are good, a positive side effect, no doubt from your enchanted eyesight. Sensei Hakaku and I's purpose here is not just to teach you the art of Karate and Judo, but to expand your mind in the art of martial arts. To teach you the skills to win against any opponent and part of that is reading your opponent's movements and reacting accordingly." Sensei Hitomu said as she held out a hand to help Izuku to his feet.
Izuku took his hand and was hauled to his feet. Once had his balance he readjusted the shoulder of his gi as it had begun to become loose. As he did, in his peripheral vision he saw Sensei Hitomu attacking. With her advice still in his ear, instead of jumping back, Izuku dove to the side and quickly rolled out of the way. However as he sprung back up to his knees, Sensei Hitumo was waiting for him and put Izuku in a headlock.
"You were quicker and more effective this time, but a well trained opponent knows the same move won't work twice. After every fight anyone could improve and become better, but those who can improve themself during a fight are those who always find victory." Sensei Hitomu said as she increased the pressure on Izuku's neck. The edge of his vision was starting to go black and his eyes were bulging, but he would still breathe for the most part, "But this isn't like those video games you kids play. You're not the only one that leveled up, while you learn about your opponent's moves, your opponents will be studying your's. There are steps to mastering a skill. First there are the basics, improve upon those to have a solid foundation. Then comes advancing your skills, learning attacks that have more risk, but more rewards. But always be cautious, as there is always room for failure. Then comes mastery, your movements and skills are now second nature. You are able to react and fight through years of practice and training, your body and mind become one."
Sensei Hitomu released Izuku. Izuku leaned forward and worked to catch his breath. He took slow breaths until his vision turned to normal. Izuku then stood up and faced his senseo, "Now tell me what comes after mastery of skill."
Izuku paused as he couldn't guess. Mastery of anything was supposed to be the highest level a person could achieve. "I do not know Sensei."
Sensei Hitomu wasn't expecting Izuku to know. He was only six years old, and it wasn't something many learned of. "Few learn what the final step is, and fewer learn how to achieve it. So when you learn what the final step is, that's when you become unbeatable."
"I understand Sensei." Izuku said, with a bow.
Sensei Hitomu gave a small smile. Before she retired from being a Judo Instructor and became a worker for the Hero Public Safety Commission, she had seen many people come into her dojo. All eager to learn how to fight, yet the longest she had seen someone stay as eager as they were when they first walked in was one week. Past that, many dropped out, and those who stayed lost their spark to learn more. She was hoping Izuku wasn't like that, "Tell me, kid, what's your purpose here."
Izuku was confused and showed it on his face. He thought it was obvious, "Aren't I here to train in Judo and Karate." He didn't know that this morning, but that was what he was doing here.
Sensei Hitomu laughed and said, "You really are an innocent kid, Dye Job. Why are you here? What force drove you to get out of bed and made you come here to suffer through training that would make most grown adults cry."
Izuku thought about it for a second, still confused, and then he understood what his new sensei was asking. "I want to be a hero. To be able to rescue others with a smile on my face, as All Might does every day."
Sensei Hitomu looked Izuku in the eyes. Izuku believed in the purpose he had just stated, but under the stare he was getting he began to wonder if that was the wrong answer. No, it was the right answer, it was if he understood what it meant. Everyone said they wanted to be liked by All Might, he became the most popular hero. But what did it mean to be All Might? What skills would Izuku have to learn, what kind of training would be needed, and what practice would he have to learn to fight while always having a smile on his face?
"Fanboy, aren't you? So is the rest of the world kid, you say those words, but you are here to prove them. So let's start with the basics." Sensei Hitomu said, holding out her hand in a handshake gesture.
Izuku reached forwards to shake Sensei Hitomu's hand, however, Sensei Hitomu grabbed Izuku's wrist. Before Izuku knew what was happening he was lifted above her shoulder and slammed him into the ground. Izuku tried to take a breath, but Sensei Hitomu was quick to wrap Izuku's arm with her legs and then cut off Izuku's airway with her ankles. "And step one to learning is learning how it feels to be put into lock. You want to do it properly, you need to know how it feels to be on the receiving end. Feel how your body becomes locked and is now no longer able to move on its own. The force of your opponents becoming an immovable wall, that you have little chance of pushing back. To learn this, for the next two weeks, you'll be like this. You with your back on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Once you have that, then I'll teach you how to free yourself."
"I understand Sensei." Izuku said in a breathless voice
Sensei Hitomu looked over Izuku and she believed there was some truth to Izuku's statement. Within only a few minutes, Izuku had gained a better understanding of what it meant to be a pro hero, and what it meant to train within martial arts. And that was more than most people she met.
The rest of the day, Izuku was put into different Judo locks of Bent arm, Leg arm, Cross arm, Straight arm and Knee arm. Sensei Kuma forced Izuku to hold each lock for ten minutes while instructing him to feel how the different locks moved his muscles, forcing his tendons to an extreme range of motion. How that prevented him from moving whatever was being locked and how it immobilized the other parts of his body.
Bakugo wasn't much better. He spent just as much time on the mat as Izuku did. He had spent the whole day learning how to block an attack. That or learning how to take a punch or a kick.
When the two of them got home, they were never more grateful to be about to take a warm shower than to go to bed. While both options, Judo and Karate, were open to Izuku and Bakugo, they still had their preferences. Bakugo excelled at Karate, getting the basic stance and form down quickly, while Izuku had taken to Judo like a prodigy. Every time Sensei Hitomu showed him a new move, Izuku internalized everything. How his body felt, how it was unable to respond and most importantly how Sensei Hitomu taught him to break free.
Over the next six months, Izuku and Bakugo's skills improved greatly as their sensei held nothing back. By the time winter hit, the boys had a good enough baseline that Mareo saw fit to let them use their quirks during martial training. That was where they would learn how to use their new skills and quirk in tandem. So in terms of Karate Bakugo practiced adding force to his attacks with his explosions. With a palm thrust, unleashing an explosion as his fist hit to increase the force directly into his options chest. While within Judo Izuku worked on the timing of transforming his arm to suddenly increase the range of his attack and push his opponents away from it. On the side, Izuku learned how to create better leverage with his elongated arm to either break out of a hold or to better immobilize his opponents without having to use much strength.
While they practised these skills with Sensei Hakaku and Sensei Hitomu, the boys found it better to practice with each other. So Every first Saturday of each month was set aside for the boys to spar against each other and train with someone of their own skill level. Mareo noticed along with the Sensei that as soon as the spar the boys' already accelerated growth was becoming more so. And Mareo remembered how well Kaina and Inko had progressed when they fought each other.
Every day Mareo marked their boys' progress and every day he was satisfied with how well everything was coming together. Project Velocity had just started out a program to feel a problem no thought the world had. He was lucky that the old HPSC President saw the same program. He was lucky to find Kaina and Inko. He was lucky that when it came down to it was decided he was too invaluable to the program to taste to the side. He was lucky to be able to find Takami and now he was lucky that he was training Izuku and Bakugo.
Mareo turned off his computer after finishing the day's assessment. As he stood up, he couldn't help but wonder when his luck was going to run out. If he was lucky, never, but like all other recourse eventually it would be run dry.
And Training has begun and it seems that Izuku and Bakugo are absorbing anything and everything they can. As posting the next few chapters, I hadn't really done a training arc, so I skip time a bit to their first major evaluation. It will be to show how the tow of them have grown and what progress they wish to make in the future.
Next Time: Evaluation Part 1
Review and tell me what you think.
