Ryoga stumbled back to his tent.
As often was the case when he lost to Izuku, his body flared with pain… Not his entire body, but specific weak spots of the human body.
His head, elbows, ribs, throat, nose, chin, spine, shins and toes were all things Izuku loved to hit with great precision and strength… But today, the biggest pain by far was his knees.
Izuku had done a massive, massive number on them earlier.
On the half an hour trip back to the entrance of the school, Ryoga felt a searing, BURNING feeling of utter pain wreck his knees with every step, as all his adrenaline began to fade, as it always did after the fight was over.
Today though, was a bit different than most of his bouts with Izuku.
For though his body had taken a vicious, vicious beating, his mind and soul were still AFLAME with his wish for revenge!
However… The reality of it, as he finally, FINALLY managed to stumble his way back to the tent, and zipped the door open, then shut behind him as he crawled in, was that he needed to rest.
His body needed to heal up from the beating if he was going to be in any shape to resume his quest of retribution.
As he lay there, pain beginning to set in, the thought struck him that despite it all, this was no different than any other time he and Izuku had dueled before.
Frustration at the way it had ended… Brought to an end because of some cut hair…
He did hope the girl was alright though… She had seemed… Rather upset.
He wouldn't know.
He had one hairstyle he'd worn his entire life.
He did not have the luxury of being able to keep any sort of hairstyle he couldn't cut or style himself, so any longer hair had always been out of his reach.
Despite how badly hurt he was, he did not fall asleep. He wasn't tired, he just hurt, really, really badly.
He knew from harsh experience that it would be 3 days before he was in shape to resume his hunt.
The next day would be the worst, when all of his damaged muscles screamed in pain and swelled… The second day it would begin to get a bit better, but it would not be before the third day before he was in shape for any sort of further trek.
As he lay there, hours on end, and outside the tent, the sky began to darken, he had no one to talk to, no one to help tend his wounds… No companions at all.
Not like Izuku.
Another thought that stung.
He had his parents… And now that he was here at the Tendo Dojo, he had two girls, no doubt fawning over him and showering him with attention, fretting over his wounds.
Thoughts of his own family seemed so distant in his mind.
It had been… 7… Or was it 6 Years now? At least half a dozen long years since he'd seen his mother, father and sister…
His only true, lasting companion through those years, had been his faithful hound Shirokuro… But he'd been forced to leave her at his home when he realized Izuku was heading to Africa.
There was no way he could ever have risked dragging her with him to a land where Botflies ranged, eager to infest any canine flesh they came across.
And since then… He'd walked alone, on a lonely path.
Those had been 3 long years alone on the road… First through Ethiopia where the power of the Arc of the Covenant permated unseen by most of the Human race, then on the way down to old Zimbabwe where they had learned secrets of the veil between the living Earth and the realms beyond… then north-west to Benin, where only trips to dreams had allowed them to experience the sight that was the second greatest single structure the Human race had ever made that was now lost to time thanks to the British Army… Then through the old lands of the Mali Empire, where they had learned the art of the hammer and anvil, and after that… then came the single worst trip of his life, the closest he had ever come to actually dying on the trekking part of his journeys when he crossed the Sahara desert.
Then the long, winding road through Europe, before the climax when Izuku, put a blade through his steely hide in Poland…
He felt the old wound throb in the night, another feeling to accompany the pain in his battered body.
And then… There had been the trek east, before… Before China.
Where his life had ended.
There had been a time in his life, when Ryoga had been able to take pride in his ability to make such immense treks, and cover more distance on his journeys than Izuku did several times over.
In fact… He'd actually calculated that he'd roughly traveled 50-60 times longer than the distance than Izuku and his family had, in the same amount of time, since they left Japan.
That had been… Something he could take solace in. An accomplishment.
Not the accomplishment he truly wanted… But something nonetheless.
Something he could look to, as a sign it had not all been a waste.
No more.
That had ended in China.
Yes… As he lay there, the sounds of the night now reigning outside, the thoughts of his current… Life… Kept the smoldering flames in his heart alive. Anger.
It was the ONLY thing that could manage to drown out the deep, primal feeling of loneliness in his soul.
I
Hinako sat, one leg draped over the other, as she sat down in her apartment, her rather generous rear softly planted on her couch and sighed.
Another day, another duel… Another cycle of sun and moon where she felt like she had wasted her life.
She shouldn't feel like that. She was, after all, a teacher, with a very well paying salary, who helped dozens of young souls through their lives as they prepared for the final stretch before High School…
Unfortunately for her, the reason she had been hired by Furinkan, with such a massive salary, was also the source of all her problems.
Namely, her romantic woes.
Her unique ability to shut down Ki users as she did made her perfect for overseeing Duels amongst Ki users, and keep them on the level so no one took it too far… But it also came with problems.
Problems that had for all intents and purposes made it impossible for her to land herself a steady boyfriend.
All the guys she had actually dated for real had taken one look at her… Condition… and given up on the relationship before it got off the ground.
And as for men who would be more than willing to look past it… Those who had struck her as the sort of men she did not want to touch with a ten foot pole.
That meant, if she wanted to keep a partner, she effectively had to cripple herself by never expelling her gathered Ki at all… But therein lay the next problem.
Because her condition didn't just make her dating life Hell… It also sharply limited her dating pool on top of it.
As a respected Ki user, Hinako should have had an easy time finding a partner amongst her own peers… After all, as any marriage with a Quirk user had a stupidly high chance of snuffing Ki out from any possible offspring, Ki using families rarely married outside of fellow Quirkless groups.
Unfortunately for her, her condition, and with it, its limited inborn Ki capacity and potential, just like Quirks, could be passed down to her own children.
It was one of the reasons nobody actually wanted this technique if they understood its powers and side effects.
As such, the one group that would be inclined to be willing to overlook her problems… Was also the only group of people who, though more than willing to help her out with all her Ki related problems, was also as dry as a desert as far as people interested in her as a marriage partner.
That… Hadn't bothered her in her younger days.
Then the 20's had begun to slowly tick, tock, tick, tock away, until she had reached her third to final year before her 30th birthday.
That was nearly 2 years ago now.
And now, after 2 years of endless looking for a partner… She had suddenly found herself with an offer.
An actual marriage offer. One with some truly severe strings attached… But an offer nonetheless.
She sighed, as she lifted her phone, though her actual thoughts were in her other hand, where a business card she had been given in a recent letter, rested.
She was thinking about the offer that the orange mask represented, when the person on the other end finally picked up the phone.
"Hello, Mrs Hibiki? Yes, it's me, the teacher from Furinkan… Yes, your boy came, as you expected… Yes, he did end up fighting a duel with Midoriya… Who won? Midoriya."
There was a distinct pause on the phone, before the voice continued.
"Yes… He's outside the school right now, sleeping off his injuries… How long will he stay? I have no idea… You're certain you don't want me to carry a message to him?"
On the other end there was an affirmative no, followed up with an assessment that if the two were fated where to meet, they would, and if not, they wouldn't.
What a strange family this was, the Hibiki's.
I
Then again… A family whose primary martial art style was named "Hibiki's Wilderness Survival Arts" had to be an odd bunch.
An exasperated sigh escaped Inko's mouth.
"No restraint, no restraint at all with those two boy's."
She was clearly annoyed as she set to work with Akane's dye.
"It's alright…"
"If it was alright, I wouldn't be doing this now would I?"
She shook her head.
"Izuku is USUALLY so well behaved… He doesn't usually act this carelessly… Then he and Ryoga get together, and it always ends in nonsense…"
"They've… Been at this for a while, huh?"
"Yes… Since they were little kids."
It was… Interesting actually, now that she considered it like that.
Akane had been so distracted by… Everything else really, that she hadn't actually considered how deeply the rivalry between Izuku and Ryoga went.
"How did this start?"
To this, Inko snorted, which… Was not much like her.
She was clearly, really annoyed by what had happened to her hair… And Izuku's part in it.
"In the DUMBEST way imaginable. Back when we lived in Ryoga's hometown, they went to the same school together, and during lunch Izuku ended up snatching the last package of a type of bread Ryoga loved. That led to a duel, and snowballed into him chasing Izuku through the entire world, in his quest to surpass him as a martial artist."
She shook her head.
"You'd think at some point he would have stopped, but he never did."
Akane considered that.
On one hand… It was so, so stupid. That his and Izuku's rivalry, which clearly was a defining part of Ryoga's life, had all started because of an argument in a cafeteria… That was DUMB.
Immensely so.
On the other hand…
There was something… Genuinely admirable, about the way he'd NEVER given up on his journey.
A lot of people… Inko, clearly amongst them, considered that rather stupid.
But… Akane knew what it was like to chase something, and just keep going, stubbornly, and never giving up no matter what, even as people told her it was stupid, and she should quit.
Ryoga, whatever flaws he certainly seemed to have, never had.
That said…
"You're… Really angry about this Mrs Midoriya."
"Your hair? Yes. Yes I am. I am glad you two made up so quickly, dear… But the fact is, it should never have come to this. Izuku needs to learn we are NOT on the road anymore. This is our new home, and him making big mistakes like this, isn't something that can be dealt with by leaving town."
That sounded…
"Did you… Do that often?"
"Not in the way you just implied dear… Izuku usually tried to make up with people he made mistakes with… But it didn't always work… In particular there was… Well, regardless, there were times when we, and him just had to go… And accept things were the way they were."
She sighed, this time much more melancholically.
"But as I said… That ISN'T an option anymore. You three are his fiancees, his future wives… He NEEDS to learn that mistakes here have consequences that can't always just be shrugged under the rug by labeling them "Growing Pains"."
And just like that she made Akane feel awkward, by reminding her about the engagement.
It was one thing she didn't like all that much about Izuku's mother, who she generally got along well with.
While she might not coach it in terms of Izuku "Taking care of her as her husband" as her father would have, she and Hisashi were both just as adamant and immovable as her dad that this marriage WOULD happen.
She… Still was nowhere near comfortable with that.
Behind her, Inko stiffened, then, in a move that actually would have reminded Akane a lot about Izuku if she had been able to see it, she threw herself into a question she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to ask.
"...You've …This is a bit off topic I know... But before this… You've never had a boyfriend before Izuku, have you Akane-Chan?"
"No."
Akane replied, feeling suddenly annoyed.
"Why?"
"Just… I thought so… You've… Reminded me a lot of myself… When I was younger, and in my first relationship… Though, you're a bit more… Spirited than I am."
This did surprise her.
"Really? You had boyfriends before Mr. Hisashi?"
"...I see your father never talked much about me, did he?"
"N-not really? Daddy mostly only talked about Hisashi and… Well Izuku too, but…"
"I understand, dear… Yes… I can see that… That's one point he's not like Hisashi… My husband… Well, he loves to talk about anything and everyone that interests him… But yes, to answer your question, I had several relationships before Hisashi."
For a moment, she considered the closest comparison she could make, which was Nabiki… But she quickly dismissed that.
She didn't have a full picture of Inko… But she understood her enough to know she was NOT like Nabiki, who's hedonism ruled her life.
She was far, far more like her own mom.
On that specific point, Akane was about as far, far removed from reality as she could possibly be… But not due to any misassumptions of Inko Midoriya.
"But… In regards to you dear… You remind me a lot about me, during my first one. I… I was not sure either what I actually wanted. Everyone around me… Was all dragging me in entirely different directions… My mother one way, my father another… My friends told me I should go that way instead… And of course there was my own wishes that nobody seemed to care about…"
"I… I see…"
"That part at least you don't have… Your path forward is clear dear… Not like mine… But you are still filled with doubts and worries, as everyone pulls at you, aren't you Akane-Chan?"
She'd somehow looped this conversation back to her and Izuku getting married being an absolute certainty… But she did have a point.
"Yeah… Like… I'm Starting to figure things out, but… It's… Well, I'm gonna have to think more about it."
Inko nodded, as she kneaded the blue balm into Akane's hair.
She… Wasn't sure this way was the usual way people dyed hair, but Inko seemed to know what she was doing, so Akane didn't argue.
"Take your time dear… You have that… Half a year before you have to decide on your path forward."
It suddenly hit Akane that Inko was talking about her choice of school.
"I'm… Pretty sure I'm going to Yuei."
Behind her head, Inko smiled.
"That's the spirit girl. Keep it up. Don't let other people tell you where your limits are. Figure those out for yourself, because you're the only one who can move them."
Again… There was a clear common connection… But she felt like her and Inko were talking about two different planes of thought.
"What… Happened with your first boyfriend anyway?"
"...He one day told me he was leaving me for another woman, more mature, beautiful, richer and powerful than me. His words, not mine."
"That… What an asshole."
"Yes… He really, really was. I am so glad I did not end up marrying him… Then again…"
She sighed deeply.
"Other than Hisashi… I cannot claim any of my other men were particularly better."
I
Izuku did not seek out Ryoga on Monday.
His tent was still there, but for the moment, any enthusiasm for seeing him was sorta dampened by Akane's haircut and… Well… All of it really.
Akane just… Pretended her new awkward haircut was intentional on her part, and not anything more complicated.
She… Looked nice.
But it did not escape Izuku's notice(And honestly made him feel like someone was pricking him deep with a needle every time), that seemingly everyone had the same line every time.
"It's nice, but… Eh, not as good as your previous one."
It had some variety… But that was the common assessment.
It was shorter, and strangely wavy at one, specific point… But it was the now completely absent bangs around her face that really made it look like a downgrade.
A downgrade he had played no small part in making.
It was a decent fix… But the only reason it had needed to be fixed was because he and Ryoga had wrecked it to begin with.
Whatever Akane thought on the matter, she didn't say to him, though she seemed to take her classmates and friends' thoughts in stride.
It was as he walked out of school that he noticed Ryoga's tent wasn't there anymore.
The boy had packed up and left.
He felt a bit… Melancholic about that… But he didn't let that bother him.
Now that he knew he was in the area, Ryoga would be back.
It would take him some time, be it weeks or a month, but he'd be back.
Hopefully with less… Terrible consequences this time.
I
Ryoga wasn't sure what led him to abandon the school now that he'd found it. Maybe just a wish NOT to have to finish this with that terrifying demon teacher from Hell lurking about, overlooking his every move.
But also… It was not where he wanted his final battle to take place.
Not a school ground.
No… This had been a mistake.
His goal had been Tendo Dojo… And THAT was where he would finish this!
And if he had to wander around another month, looking for it… So be it!
I
It took less than a week.
Ryoga stared at it.
It was pouring down, and between him and the rain from above, only his parasol, which he had diligently repaired(Though the shaft had needed to be completely replaced), separated him from being soaked in the cold, September rains.
Destiny.
Yes… That had to be it.
He cracked his neck, before he jumped up onto the wall of the Dojo.
It was in the middle of the night… But he had no trouble making out the large, immense Dojo before him.
It was huge.
It could easily have housed dozens of people… And the property around… It was a massive thing. You could have built the Dojo 3 times larger, and still had a bit of green room to spare around it.
This thing, in the middle of Tokyo, even here in Nerima, had to be worth an absolute fortune.
It had clearly been hammered together from a dozen different properties that Mr Tendo must have bought up.
Even without anything else, this place represented true, immense wealth.
And it would be Izuku's.
That thought… Boiled his blood.
He was utterly, utterly miserable… The only true reward he had gotten out of this journey…
Meanwhile, Izuku had this… And two no doubt beautiful girls who fawned over him.
He jumped down onto the grass, and as he began making his way over to the side of the house, he distinctly kept his distance from a large, if shallow pond beside the house.
He then stopped.
Once again… His prey just… Walked there in front of him.
He attacked with a roar.
I
Izuku had been making a night trip to the toilet, and back to his own room… When out of the blue, a ROAR made him snap awake.
"IZUKU!"
Izuku got one split second, before with a loud crack of sound, Ryoga kicked him to the side, smashing him into the ground, and making a crater that broke into the pond!
He suddenly felt both a sharp pain in his cheek, as well as a biting cold.
He rose from the pond and spat, feeling… Annoyed more than anything.
"Ryoga! Come on man… It's the middle of the damn night… We can do this in the morning! And besides… You've always hated night battles."
Ryoga was not amused, though the extremely demonic face was sorta undercut by the fact he was carefully protecting his body from the rain with his umbrella.
"SILENCE! DOES REVENGE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAY!?"
Izuku, still feeling incredibly annoyed, sighed.
"Alright… So… What DID happen in that valley? It has to have been something BAD for you to still be THIS ticked off."
"What happened to me in that valley…"
He actually visibly shuddered, and Izuku could tell it wasn't because of the actual cold around.
"What befell me… I'll say one thing, before I send you to Hell… A name you asked for… Jusenkyo… Does that answer your question?"
Izuku actually startled at that, immediately realizing what he meant.
If he was this wroth over something that befell him in Jusenkyo, there was only one, possible answer to what it could have been.
It completely recontextualized EVERYTHING about his latest attitude.
Then, the obvious hit him.
"Wait… If you… Got cursed… And you turn into something when you get wet… And you're this pissed about it… Why the Hell are you picking a fight with me outside, in the MIDDLE of a rainy night?"
Ryoga stared at him, his demonic visage suddenly becoming more…
"...You didn't consider how vulnerable this made you for this fight, did you?"
"SHUT UP!"
He raised his hand to pull out a bandanna, but Izuku did not give him the chance.
He jumped out of the pool, and attacked.
This was not the same as their last duel though.
As Izuku had noted, Ryoga was at a MASSIVE disadvantage.
He could only fight one handed, and constantly had to readjust his umbrella to shield him from the rain.
Meanwhile, Izuku had both longer reach, as well as higher speed.
Still… He gave an admirable showing, even as he was completely on the backfoot, fighting defensively all the way.
I
Akane had been awakened from her sleep at 02.37 by a loud sound coming from outside.
She immediately felt… Annoyed.
In the morning it was Sunday, and she had been looking forward to enjoying it… So having it interrupted as it had literally just begun a few hours ago did not help her mood much.
Any idea of just ignoring it and going back to sleep though, was cut off as more sounds erupted from outside.
She immediately startled awake in full, and shot up out of bed, and grabbed her old Kendo sword out of the closet.
A burglar! Or… An intruder! Whatever it was, she would deal with it the best way she knew how!
Beating them to a bloody pulp!
She rushed out of her room… And immediately ran into Kasumi who was already there.
"Oh Akane. Good."
Her sister's voice was… Bizarre.
It was tension incarnate.
Not fear, there was not a trace of that… But tension that SOMETHING was about to happen. It permeated the entire hallway, all emanating from Kasumi.
There was not a trace of that in Kasumi herself though.
She looked the exact same as she always did, only with a jacket thrown over her nightdress.
Her voice though, was… It was like a pulled bowstring, ready to let go and fire at any time.
"There's an intruder outside."
The statement was punctuated by more sounds, this time of clear, high level fighting.
Akane nodded, and together the two of them headed over to the balcony window… Where they got a look of Izuku, clearly fighting some dark, shadowy figure, in the shade of an umbrella.
"It's a burglar! You can tell, he's got a huge pack for stolen goods!"
Akane nodded, but missed the way that behind her, Kasumi's raised hand suddenly relaxed, going from an open palm, seemingly ready to chop, to instead just a fist.
"Burglar or intruder, I don't care… I'm going to go beat his brains out!"
"No need to go out and get wet, Akane."
Kasumi's hand went to the interior of her jacket, and pulled out an artillery shell, perfectly sized for fitting in her hand.
"Use this."
Several thoughts went through Akane's mind as she stared down at it.
Why did she have this?
Did she always carry around Artillery shells in her personal hammer space just in case?
The one she said out loud though, was:
"Where did you get this?"
"The Japanese Defence Force."
That… Just raised more questions than it answered.
Akane, though, did grab the shell.
I
Ryoga's entire fighting style was based around aggressive, hard hitting blows, with no thoughts to how his enemy might damage him as he charged.
As such, even Izuku, the one person in the world who knew Ryoga's fighting style better than anyone, was genuinely impressed as Ryoga held his own against him here in the rain.
Addmitingly, Izuku wasn't actually going all in to remove the umbrella, but the simple fact Ryoga was able to fight him defensively while also giving out some massive blows, and not be immediately punished for it was… Real growth on his part these last two years.
If only he was able to mix this into his usual fighting style, he might create a real monster of an art…
Still, everytime Izuku forced him into the air, he almost lost the umbrella, as it was here that the younger boy had all the advantages, and was in his own element.
He might not be able to fly… But the heavens still belonged to him.
It was where he was at his strongest.
Not too surprisingly… It was as they clashed in the air, when it did end… Though not due to Izuku.
Headblows were always something one needed to look out for, even amongst the most powerful of Martial Artists.
Especially given that more than any other types of attacks, it was blows to the head that could most easily take advantage of one of the most common weaknesses of Ki users, namely that, if suddenly taking an unexpected blow they didn't see coming, their superhuman durability was sharply reduced compared to one they took if they expected it.
This weakness, as it happened, was not something Izuku and Ryoga had though, as they had long since overcome this natural weakness while training in Africa.
And that was rather lucky for Ryoga… Because it was that training that ensured that rather than caving his head in from behind, the artillery shell Akane Tendo threw at the back of his skull instead "only" gave him a massive concussion, as well as a lot of pain, as the momentum sent him slamming into Izuku, who he had been fighting in the air as it happened.
He only blacked out for a moment… But it was more than enough to completely lose his grip on his trusty umbrella… leaving him all exposed to the rain.
I
"Ryoga?"
Akane was pretty sure she for a brief second saw Ryoga, as after she brained him with Kasumi's artillery shell, he lost his umbrella and went tumbling down into the pond along with Izuku.
"Oh, so it was just Izuku's friend! That's… Fine I guess… He could really use a better sense of when to duel though."
On that part, Akane completely agreed.
As Akane tried to look down into the pond, she saw Izuku rise, along with him holding a huge backpack, and some other things, so she assumed he'd helped Ryoga out of the pond.
I
Izuku dropped off Ryoga's stuff, all of which he had to awkwardly hold with one hand, as in the other, he held something that really, really did not want to be held, in his own room.
Ryoga's bandanna betrayed him though, as despite all his struggling, he had no way to turn his body around to bite, get footing, nothing… Not that his new, cursed form had any ability to match Izuku's raw strength.
It was kinda sad to be honest… The boy who prided himself on his raw power above all, reduced to…
After dropping off Ryoga's clothing, he then headed towards the bath, where he poured forth a massive, warm, steaming indoor lake…
He then took a final look at what he held in his hand.
A tiny, angry pig.
Not even an adult pig, but a tiny little piglet, with a thin but total layer of coal black fur, glaring at him with angry, pissed off eyes.
Then, after a windup, he let go of the bandanna so the piglet sailed through the air… And crashed into the warm waters with a splash.
As expected, an almost naked boy rose up from the depths with a truly pissed off look on his face.
"A pig… A tiny baby pig… My God what a horrible curse…"
As he said that though, he also had positioned himself right next to a water faucet (And accompanying showerhead now in Izuku's hand) on the opposite wall from the bath.
Ryoga bared his teeth, but he didn't miss the threat.
Izuku, being much, much faster than Ryoga would have no problems dousing him in cold water if he tried to close the distance between them and attack.
"So you did go to Juesenkyo!"
""Yes… Chasing you, I wandered throughout the vastness of China."
He looked down and brought a hand down on the bath's side in utter despair.
"Until that fateful day… And what followed… Was one horror after another…"
I
Ryoga was lost.
That was not unusual for him.
Today however, he was FAR more annoyed about it than usual.
A little local girl had informed him that Izuku and his family was in this valley, Right now!
This very day, they were supposedly here, only planning to leave the next morning.
That put a massive deadline for him finding them.
He had to find them before the sun set, or he'd be spending another half a dozen months tracking them down again.
It had been… Much longer between now and their last encounter than usual.
He blamed that on China's vast wilderness.
Damn it was easy to overshoot and get lost here in this ancient land.
It had no easily understandable and recognizable border ends like the Sahara.
No, the country didn't actually stop at the mountains… And the northern borders didn't stop at some river or something. Just… Lines on the map out in the wilderness.
It was a beautiful place… But he was getting sick and tired of wandering through it.
Right now… He just wanted to FIND Izuku again.
As for this place, this valley… It was… strange.
Below him, down below the cliff he was walking on, there were thousands of small, lesser pools, each with bamboo poles sticking out of it.
Why people called this the famous training grounds was beyond him. He could not for the life of him figure out why people would actually want to train here.
It was as he walked though, that he heard commotion to his left, as something clearly came barreling through the thick underbrush.
Ryoga, acting on instinct, jumped, as out from the forest came a massive Panda, running at ludicrous speed, and on two legs no less, only to immediately halt at the sight of the cliffs.
The panda had seemingly not noticed him though, as he had sailed some good 10 meters above him, and was going to land somewhere in the brush…
Then something SLAMMED into him at massive speed, and he was sent flying.
The last thing he saw before the top of the cliff cut off his falling sight, was a huge girl, readjusting herself as she also had to adapt to the sudden fall after their in-air collision… Only she landed on solid ground.
He meanwhile plummeted down the cliffside, a drop of some 60 meters!
Well… One way or another, this was going to destroy his supplies.
His thoughts were probably nonchalant about it all, but he knew from experience that this fall wouldn't be that disastrous for his body… It was the fact all his supplies would be smashed to bits, or utterly soaked and waterlogged, or both, that would be the big, big problem.
At least, that was what he thought… Right up until the water smashed into him, and he became engulfed by it.
Suddenly, he was smaller.
All his clothes other than his bandanna immediatly slipped off of him, as he struggled in the water, his strength almost completely gone.
He broke the water's surface and tried to call out, but the only thing that escaped his lips were squeals!
He splattered and splashed, and the water several times threatened to engulf and drown him… But somehow, he managed to get himself back to the water's edge, where he harked and coughed…
Or the equivalent anyway.
It was only then, that he realized he had become transformed, CURSED it a form of… He wasn't sure.
It was small, and had strange feet, and…
Something picked him up by his bandanna.
It was… The girl who had told him Izuku was in the valley?
The girl smiled at him, in a… Very different way than she'd earlier that day.
"-Very good little piggy… You almost fell into…-"
She looked at the pond…
"-This be… The pond of drowned, Azure, Serpentine Dragon I think. Very different from the pond of drowned Western Green Dragon. But you be no dragon, yes?-"
She smiled.
"-You're gonna be good food, yes!-"
Then, threading his bandanna on a stick she was carrying, she then hoisted it and him over her shoulder, and began walking while whistling.
As he bounced, he had a horrible, horrible realization… That he had no capacity to actually resist this tiny, little girl… Oh God… Was she really going to kill him!? Was this truly how it was all going to end!?
How had this accursed place cursed like him like this anyway?
The only thing he could do, was squeal, and squeal he did, as his life depended on it!
The girl carried him to a small, old school style Chinese building, more a glorified hut than anything… It had a very large stove though, and… Everything else you'd need in a kitchen… Like huge, butcher knives.
He felt a horrible chill run down his spine.
There was a man in the building, wearing what looked like centuries old clothing, patched up countless times, with a distinct patch covering the top of his hat where whatever it had replaced, was now showcasing the dragon symbol of the Chinese Republic of modern day.
"-Oh, that's a very nice pig you found Plum!-"
In any other situation, Ryoga would have said he looked like a very, very silly man… But the grin as he pulled a butcher's knife was ANYTHING but comedic.
"-Let us kill, and eat it, RIGHT NOW!-"
Plum handed over Ryoga to the man who presumably was her father, who in turn fastened Ryoga's hind leg to a rope… That he then used to hoist the little pig above the stove, where a large cauldron of water was quickly placed as Plum began heating the flames below.
The older man then began sharpening the large instrument of chopping up flesh and meat… All the while making casual small talk with his daughter.
Ryoga was POWERLESS.
Maybe there was a way to channel his Ki through this little body, but if so, he had NO IDEA how to do it, and so as the steam began to rise, he was starting to realize that he saw no way out!
He was going to be killed by being boiled alive by these two! And after he had been cooked, they would then cut up his tenderdized body!
He squealed and squealed, but for the two, it was as if he was completely silent, neither showed a hint of caring about the sounds of his death struggle!
It was as the water REALLY hit the boiling point, that the older man turned to him.
"-In Jusenkyo, we have the spring of Drowned, Black Pig… Here is a sad story of black, baby pig who drowned here one thousand four hundred years ago…-"
The man pulled him down and loosened the rope, now holding him by his leg directly.
"-After this… Everyone who drowns in this pond… Becomes that same black, baby pig!-"
He lifted Ryoga up so they were face to face.
"-Maybe here is a poor, poor soul, who fell into this pool, and is now cursed into the form of a little black pig…?-"
Ryoga nodded furiously, realizing this was his only chance at salvation from the imminent death below!
"-That is why we have to boil all creatures we catch first… On the chance they are… Ah, but that is just a joke. That NEVER happens. We're gonna eat delicious pig flesh tonight!-"
He then dropped Ryoga into the water without any further words.
A naked, teenage boy exploded from the cauldron, suddenly desperately trying to get out of a boiling pot of water, while also burning his ass, feet, hands and legs on the metal edges.
"OW OW OW OW OW OW!"
Finally he managed to tip the thing and spilled himself and the water all over the floor!
"-Wait… It was a person after all?-"
"-Darn… That means what we don't get to eat pig tonight dad…-"
"-Yes… It's very sad.-"
"YOU FUCKING PSYCOPATHS!"
"Now, now, dear guest, we not know you cursed… Now we clothe you, as is custom and help you get home safely."
I
"The damn hideous and powerless form that curses me… The devouring that nearly befell me… and everything afterwards… They are all YOUR FAULT IZUKU!"
He pointed a finger angrily at Izuku's face.
Izuku for his part, had a horrified reaction on his face, in sharp contrast with Ryoga's.
There was sudden, genuine guilt in his heart.
"If you hadn't dragged me on a chase through China I-" "So THAT'S WHY you're so mad at me!"
It all fell into perfect place.
"It's not just the usual, long period that frustrates you like usual… It's actually the fact that I was the one who accidentally knocked you into the cursed spring! I just thought it was a random Heron I crashed into or something… But it was actually YOU! I'm the direct reason you're cursed! That's why you're so angry!"
That made perfect, perfect sense to Izuku, who suddenly felt genuinely, really, really guilty about what had happened to Ryoga.
Ryoga though… Ryoga just stared at him with mouth agape and an expression that was… Hard to read.
Then, off to the side, the door slid open, and his father in his panda form poked his head in… Then once he saw Ryoga he pulled out a sign: "Ah Ryoga… So Akane was right. Keep it down you two, people are going back to sleep."
Then he promptly turned and left.
"A… Panda…"
Ryoga's face now was easy to read.
Utter shock.
And then…
"Soooo… That girl… The one who OBLITERATED my life… Was actually YOU!"
The thought that maybe Ryoga hadn't QUITE understood before now how justified his wish for retribution actually was, finally went through Izuku's mind.
He rose from the bath, and completely uncaring of any threat, he lunged forward!
"AND NOW YOU DIE!"
Before his hand came even close to reaching Izuku though, he was suddenly doused in cold water from Izuku's showerhead.
He immediately turned back into a pig.
"Now… Calm down a bit Ryoga. We can talk this out and-"
The pig lunged forward across the floor and bit it's surprisingly sharp fangs into Izuku's legs.
The "force" behind the sharp bite however, wouldn't even leave a bruise on his superstrong skin.
"Ow. How terrifying…"
He sighed, as he shook the piglet off.
"Come on Ryoga, you are about as able to hurt me like that as a-"
The pig let go, and with a speed that no actual pig, adult or otherwise should have had, he bounced out the still open door.
For a moment Izuku just stared after him in shocked surprise.
"What… Oh come on man! You CANNOT be serious Ryoga!"
It was the middle of the night, in a huge storm, and he was surrounded by massive walls.
Even if he could manage to get back into his human form, he…
Izuku, who had been about to run after him, considered that very point.
The fact was… He wasn't all that keen on running around the house looking for Ryoga in the middle of the night.
He was tired, sleepy, and hadn't actually gotten to get warm again after Ryoga threw him in the pond.
Ryoga had no way to escape the house, even if he did manage to get himself turned back.
Not without an umbrella. Be it his own or the Tendo's.
As it happened, Izuku knew where all of those were… While Ryoga's personal umbrella was in his own room.
After debating it with himself, he decided on what he would do.
He made a quick trip into the tub, feeling its warmth, while the cold left his body… As well as his manhood returning.
Then, he pulled out the plug and got up and dried off until he was dry… Before heading out and then going to pick up the house's umbrellas', after closing the door to the bath behind him.
He wasn't in the mood to go chasing after Ryoga right now… Especially given he'd be at the height of his anger right now.
He'd deal with that… Tomorrow.
Ryoga had no way to escape, and what sort of harm was he going to do as a pig anyway?
And besides… Ryoga was not someone capable of hiding his Ki.
Now that Izuku knew he was there, and wanted to settle a score, even if he transformed back, he would most certainly immediately wake up at it, the threat to his person being very real.
So long as he didn't just doze off completely anyway, and he was nowhere near that tired.
He'd had his next chat with Ryoga when the sun came up, and he'd hopefully calmed down a bit.
I
Akane was feeling rather annoyed as she walked back to her room.
All that ruckus… In the middle of the night.
Once again, she felt the anger that had been boiling during Izuku's fight with Ryoga at school begin to shimmer again… Though it didn't have the same power as last time… In particular because it had already ended, so she could actually go back to sleep.
And from what she'd seen of Izuku on his way through the house, he seemed to be well enough, other than a single facial bruise.
…Why he had decided to gather up all their umbrellas was a bigger mystery, but… She didn't really care about solving that right now.
Now she just wanted to go back to sleep.
She felt it almost immediately after closing the door to her room behind her.
Instinct, a deeper sense warned her that there was someone in the room with her.
Not Ki sensing, but an older, deeper warning sense screamed that there was someone in there with her.
A more cunning fighter might have used that to their advantage, and hidden the fact they knew while taking in their surroundings to spot the intruder.
Akane though, was about as unsubtle as the giant mallet she carried around with her in her personal hammerspace.
Instead she got into a low guard boxing stance, to maximize her striking power.
"Who's there!? Show yourself!"
Something shot out from somewhere on the wall by the bookcase.
"NO!"
Using the power of her stance, she slapped it hard, and sent, whatever it was, flying over into the lower wall by the window.
Surprisingly, it got back up, and faced her…
Akane… Suddenly felt both silly, concerned and intrigued as she realized what it was, and got on her knees, facing it.
"It" in this case was a small, black, baby pig.
The pig looked both weary and incredibly hostile… Which she supposed wasn't too surprising.
She had just sent it flying.
The fact she didn't question why it was durable enough to not become paste from the force of the slap, was another perfect showcase of why both her sisters regarded the idiot amongst the sibling trio.
Instead she focused on the pig's emotional state.
It was scared.
"Where did you come from, little guy?"
The piglet scooted away from her as she reached out a hand towards it.
"Here piggy…"
Her hand reached its snout, which the pig wearily didn't shy away from.
"Come on, don't be afraid…"
She scooped the pig up in her arms, where it pretty much melted into her warm embrace.
"You're drenched… Were you out in the rain all this time?"
She carefully walked over to her drawers where she pulled out a towel, and began wiping the water off from the pigs body.
The pig, as if it had seemingly understood that Akane meant it no harm, immediately stopped any pretense of resisting, and let her dry it off without any fuss.
As she did ao, she noticed a massive bump on the back of its head.
"Did someone hit you little guy? Common… Let's get some medicine for that bump."
She picked him up again, and walked down to the kitchen with him, where she applied a salve over said bump, and despite a momentary flinch from pain, it once again did not make a fuss.
It must have been someone's pet, she realized.
He was so well behaved, there was no way he was some wild animal.
The poor guy had to be someone's stray, probably thrown out on the streets for whatever reason.
"It must have been hard out there… Alone on the streets… But don't worry little guy… I'll take care of you."
The pig made a squeal that sounded… Very happy.
I
It had been… Ages since another Human being had hugged Ryoga.
Literal years.
He shouldn't… But he melted into her embrace…
It was kinda pathetic… But the genuine kindness she showed him that night… The feeling that someone, anyone showed him as he was at his most vulnerable, defenseless other than his ability to run, was…
It reminded him of what it actually meant to be a Human being again.
And so, he melted into her warm, kind embrace that night…
Part of him understood what was going to happen in the morning.
That there was no way this was going to end well… But… The warmth that she showed him, the kindness suddenly had lit aflame, a feeling Ryoga had not felt in ages… A feeling so grand that it actually managed to drown out his rage… The feeling of having somewhere to belong…
To not be alone anymore.
It was… It was a feeling beyond ANYTHING he had felt in his life.
Only someone, who had lived alone in the wilderness, sometimes months on end, without even seeing another human, and yet desperately wanting to find one… Could have felt he did now.
He had… He had always felt like there was a wall between him, and everyone else… And that wall had been there before he had ever gone to China.
And yet… Akane Tendo had ripped that down with kindness and hugs… And showed him the warmth that was on the other side.
If he had been in his Human form… He would have cried at it all… How good it felt that night… How wonderful to actually be alive.
To be cared about by another Human being.
I
Izuku had not been sure where he would find Ryoga.
Maybe outside the bath… Maybe somewhere in the kitchen trying to tame the water from the sink… Maybe he was hiding somewhere out on the Tendo grounds, too proud to actually stay in the same house as Izuku…
The only thing he was sure about as he got up from a too short sleep, was that after having calmed himself down, and did what he could to sense everyone on the property, he was sure Ryoga was still a pig.
Where Izuku actually found him was in the main living room, the Midoriyas and Tendos used both for communal eating, as well as just hanging around.
Where he found him, was not nearly as surprising as to whom he found him with.
He found the black pig, being hugged by Akane, who was feeding him some meat from the fridge.
The way she held him was as if he was some dear pet.
For a moment, Izuku just stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
His brain then tried to think up a scenario where this would possibly make sense…
For a brief moment, he considered the idea that maybe Ryoga had sneaked his way in so he could enjoy the attractive teenage girl embracing him in a warm, passionate hug!
He dismissed that immediately, on the grounds that Ryoga was even shyer, and more innocent than Izuku as far as girls went.
There was no way that was his actual motivation.
He was admittingly giving Ryoga too much credit… But the conclusion he arrived at wasn't too far off.
Namely, that Ryoga had been so desperate for ANY kind of Human affection that he'd accepted this role… Whatever this "Role" was, that he had just gone along with whatever Akane had wanted.
It was sad… Just downright sad, and pathetic…
Regardless… Whatever his motives… He would now have to deal with the consequences, as Izuku was going to cut this short.
As neither the pig-boy, nor girl had noticed him, given he had tried to be stealthy, Izuku went over to the kitchen, and as quietly as he could, he filled up a glass of warm water from the sink.
Then he tiptoed over to behind Akane who was whistling a tune as she had just finished feeding Ryoga with a pair of chopsticks.
Izuku saw the utter fear in Ryoga's eyes as the glass was turned upside down, but he did not stop.
The water was warm, but not scalding by any means.
It got the job done though, as suddenly in Akane's lap, an almost naked boy suddenly sprang into being.
Izuku did not get to see Akane's face, but he felt her shock… Then ANGER.
"You… FUCKING PIG!"
He winced as Akane sprang up, lifted Ryoga by the throat, and sent him flying out into the rain through the window, and out over the wall with a massive PUNCH!
She took heavy breaths, in and out, in and out.
Izuku, feeling Akane still being very, very angry, began tiptoeing away.
"I… Should probably go take care of him before a stray dog eats him or something…"
"He can go DIE for all I CARE!"
Yep… She was MAD.
I
"You know Ryoga, that was… Probably the DUMBEST thing I have seen you do in years… Almost as stupid as that time you nearly got yourself adopted by that German opera singer."
He had expected the boy, who he had just thrown back into the Tendo bath for a second time, to react angrily at that.
Instead, he had slowly risen to his feet in the water, and was now slowly, but steadily bonking his bead on the room's wooden wall.
He kept doing that for a while, seemingly oblivious to Izuku still being there.
"You… Okay Ryoga?"
"God… I fucked it up…"
He sounded absolutely despairing.
"Yeah… You pretended to be an actual Pig… That's… How could you POSSIBLY think that would end well… What… Was the plan here?"
"...There wasn't any plan… I just… She hugged me and…"
Izuku just stared at him, feeling genuinely incredulous.
"You know… When I said that about the Opera lady, I didn't mean it literally being the exact same thing!"
"It wasn't… Akane was… Much, much kinder…"
Izuku kept staring at him.
He had nailed it spot on it would seem.
Ryoga was so desperate for any and all Human love that he just bent like paper the moment someone gave any bit of it to him.
Izuku sighed.
"Well… Whatever you hoped… I think that's sailed now… The best thing you could do now is apologize and-" "Yes!"
Ryoga suddenly seemed to snap awake anew!
"Apologize, yes! That's what I have to do now! There is no other alternative!"
Izuku blinked as the boy suddenly got up from the bath, and headed over to where their towels were, Izuku seemingly completely forgotten, in favor of more important things, as Ryoga began heavily drying himself off.
"Apologize… Like… Right now?"
"Of course right now! When else? The next time I show up here? That could be weeks, or months! I have to do it NOW!"
"Um… That… Might actually be for better if you come in a week or two… Let Akane calm down before-" "Manipulating her further!? Like Hell I am! That's what got us into this mess in the first place!"
Izuku stared at him, looking over his suddenly determined and alive smile…
He… He was serious.
"Alright… I'll go get your clothes, but… I'm telling you… I think this is a really bad idea, man."
I
Akane was FUMING.
She was fuming in a way she hadn't in ages.
Her anger at Izuku during the whole mess with the duel might have been more serious, more real, more… Lasting… But her current rage was in her own way, even worse.
She felt so utterly humiliated as she pulled out half a dozen spring rolls from the fridge, and bit into one as she stomped her way to the kitchen table, before she promptly sat down hard.
There were many things that REALLY pissed Akane off… Having her deeper feelings be ignored was one of those things, as Izuku had learned… But another was to have those feelings manipulated, her good intentions used for someone else's gain or amusement.
It was one of the reasons she often got so mad at Nabiki… But Nabiki was her sister.
Her flesh and blood.
The fact was, for all their clashing, Akane would always have Nabiki's back when it mattered.
Nabiki was one of the most important people in Akane's life.
Ryoga was… Just some… Guy.
She had no real connections to him.
No history, no interactions, nothing.
Even KUNO who she DETESTED, had actual history with when he had been her Kendo Captain when he did not act like a perverted asshole to her.
She had shown real, genuine kindness tonight, opening her heart to someone she thought needed it, and in turn she had been met with immediate betrayal.
She'd even gotten up very early to get Ryoga some food, which meant she was now in the terrible position that she had gotten just enough rest that she couldn't just easily go back to sleep, and yet also not enough that she wasn't still sleepy.
In other words, her irritability levels were heightened at a time when she was inclined to already be really, really mad.
It was the absolute worst time to approach her about anything, much less if one were the target of her ire…
Which was exactly what that target of her ire did.
Ryoga stepped into the room, looking appropriately nervous, but also very determined.
Akane felt her free hand immediately ball into a fist.
"What do you want Ryoga?"
For a moment, the taller boy just looked at her, then he stepped up to her… And then fell to his knees, and brought his head down upon the floor with enough force that the room shook!
"I AM SO SORRY ABOUT TONIGHT!"
Akane… Actually stiffened in shock.
It was… Such an out of left field thing to do.
"Last night… As I fled from Izuku… You showed me kindness, and warmth… And I IMMEDIATELY betrayed that trust! I am so sorry that I deceived you as I did!"
"Um…"
She… Honestly didn't know what to say.
Her anger was certainly not gone… But… This was something so new she honestly did not know how to react.
"When you hugged me, at my weakest and most vulnerable… It was a warmth I have not felt in 6 years… It was like being embraced by my mother again… It reminded me about how GOOD it was to still be ALIVE… But that is an explanation! It is no excuse! I have no such to give you! I can only give my apology, and BEG you for your forgiveness!"
Akane… For a moment, forgot about her anger.
Instead… Her mind focused on one thing. One detail from his apology.
"Is that… True? You… Haven't seen your mother in 6 years?"
Ryoga slowly got up from his face down apology, and then sat in a more proper position as he looked up into her eyes.
"I… Have not, no. I haven't seen her since I began to chase Izuku through the Americas."
"I… I see."
Her anger, despite just how potent it had been, merely a few moments before, suddenly began to just… Deflate.
It was… A weird feeling. Even with Izuku's apology, it had been a very different thing. It had been building up to a specific point for an entire evening… And even at the end… It hadn't completely gone over in an instant.
It had lingered… And there had been a lot unsaid.
Ryoga's apology was… Blunt. Raw. Straightforward. And yet… It seemed… Completely honest.
"You're… Actually sorry aren't you."
The boy looked down on the floor, and he genuinely blushed, though not for any perverted reasons she thought.
"Yes… Tonight… I shamed myself… My honor… My name… My family… You… Showed me a kindness I have rarely been given in my entire life… And rather than reward you, or try to reveal the truth… I instead spat on it. I… I am so sorry Akane Tendo."
Honestly, he… Reminded her in that moment of Kuno. Straightforward, and generally honest to a fault… And yet… This kind of display… And Kuno's lack of such, was one of the reasons she would never be able to call him her friend again.
She considered what to do then.
Even if she did forgive him… She… Wasn't sure how to proceed.
"Do you… Want some spring rolls? They're cold but…"
He looked up again.
"I… Would like that very much, yes."
I
Ryoga… Talked with Akane through that morning.
It was… Honestly rather nerve wracking.
She asked him about a lot of things.
His family, his journeys, his relationship with Izuku…
She… Genuinely seemed interested in him. His history.
She cared. She… Actually cared.
It once more made him feel guilty as he thought about that.
She did not, at any point, actually say the words "I forgive you"... But Ryoga would take the yet beating kindness she showed him, and try his damndest to live up to it!
He would NOT screw up again as he had that night!
"So… It actually WAS Izuku who knocked you into the spring?"
The fact that he had almost completely forgotten about Izuku during the talks, despite how frequently he came up, spoke about how nervous he was about this talk. How focused he was on Akane.
Then again… He genuinely felt happy just talking with her.
It was… So nice to just talk to someone in a normal conversation.
He'd actually forgotten about that in the endless streams of chats about martial arts.
"Yeah… He did…"
"You know, I honestly thought your rage was… Really misplaced… but I guess there was an actual reason for it after all… Better than bread anyway."
He felt his entire face go red.
"Izuku… Told you about that, did he?"
"Actually no, it was Inko-San."
"Ah…"
Him and Inko had a… Complicated relationship.
"Well that… Was kinda where it started, yes… But it became so much more! So much grander over time!"
Akane actually smiled at that… A beautiful, wonderful smile that made his heart skip a beat.
"Sounds like you finally managed to work through your rage towards him."
"I… Guess…"
Honestly, his rage and anger towards Izuku had suddenly become… Smaller now this morning.
Like… Well it wasn't gone… But it was… Suddenly less important to him. It had been… Eclipsed by something much, much more powerful.
Yesterday, he would not have thought that possible.
"Good to hear… I… Don't think I'm gonna be watching you two duel anymore… But I'm Glad you got that murderous rage out of your system! Honestly, you are way, way cooler when you're not shouting your head off in rage."
He felt his stomach… Go weird at that.
"You remind me of a cool doctor I know…"
"Thank you… That is… Good to hear."
He had no idea who this doctor was, but the tone suggested she generally admired him.
Akane looked him over, but suddenly she sighed… And her smile turned into a frown of sorts, which immediately soured Ryoga's mood.
Akane shouldn't be unhappy.
"I suppose… If you can find it in yourself to actually be a mature adult and… Forgive Izuku… I can do the same noe…"
He bowed his head.
"Thank you…"
"I… Well, you… You did apologize. I… I appreciate that… I almost never get those…"
"Do… Do people often act so badly to you like I did?"
"Actually… Yeah they kinda do."
He suddenly felt anger… And even bigger shame.
"I am so, so sorry to hear that…"
"It's alright."
There was something in her voice then, like something finally went out of it.
And she spoke again, she sounded far more… relaxed.
"I miss my mom…"
He looked up again, and her face was suddenly… Very, very sad.
"You… Acted like a total creep… But… I understand what it's like to be lonely Ryoga… But… You shouldn't act like this. There are other, better ways…"
"I… Yes… That is…"
Akane, though, continued.
"Do you… Plan to see your mom again? Now that you're back in Japan."
"Um… Well… I want to, but… Want and able are two different things. My family's sense of direction is… Something else. I'll see her again one day, I'm sure, but… That could be a year from now. More."
Honestly that was a bit overly optimistic of him.
It would probably be a bit longer.
Especially given he was not really planning on aiming to stay at his home.
He now had…
Actually that was a good point.
Suddenly, he felt a much, much bigger wish to stick around here than he had actually to find it, when he had sought it out.
The question of why that was, was answered as Akane smiled again.
That wonderful smile, like a small sun that lit up the world, even as the rain he hated beyond words poured down outside.
"I hope you meet her again soon Ryoga… And when you do… I hope it's everything you want out of it."