Blood, Sweat, and Tears
The sun was rising. Rhythmical thuds echoed in the clearing. Under the clear winter sky, a wooden sword struck a tree from one side, then the other, and then it repeated. The bark had been torn off long ago. Now, the ripped off chips soaked in sap landed in the snow. The staccato finally stopped.
"One thousand." Hifumi said, and wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Are you sure you should be doing that already, bro?" Bobby asked, while spreading his arms and trying to catch as much sun on his face as he could. He disliked how short the days were this time of the year.
"Yeah, you just got out of the hospital." Inigo chimed in from his green Gigan sofa.
"It's fine. They fixed my body good as new. I'm just a bit stiff after such a long nap. Gotta get back in shape."
"Still, keep it chill. If something happens to you while we're supposed to babysit you, Hailey will get mad, then Minnie will get mad, and then I'll have to get mad at you, and we wouldn't want that." Bobby retorted with a smirk.
"Sure, sure. I'm only doing half of what I normally do, anyway." He answered while he started to do some stretches.
"Maybe that will teach you to not do drugs. Next time, 'just say no'."
A grimace flashed on Hifumi's face for a brief moment, but it was not a result of an aching muscle.
"You know, as terrible as the outcome was, I can't say that was the part that I regret. What I regret was letting it get to the point where that was my only way out. I should have been stronger. Worked harder–"
"Bro, we all know you work hard–"
"But it wasn't enough! I should have trained more! Maybe then I–"
"You did what you could have! Overtraining sure as hell won't help you prevent that in the future."
Hifumi took a deep breath. He had no answer. As infuriating as it was, he knew Bobby was right.
"Yeah. And it's not like you're the first in our class to land in a coma this year. By the way, what was it like? Any fun dreams? I want to know in case I'm the next one." Inigo said, stifling a yawn. He was not a morning person.
"I don't remember much from it. No dreams or anything like that. You know when you're so exhausted you just lie down, and suddenly, it's half a day later? It was like that, but longer. A funny feeling, actually. I didn't even notice, and a year passed me by."
Before they could see through his strained smile, he turned away and continued his routine while leaning on one of the trees. As the remnants of the spark in his eyes went out, he quietly brought up another regret before the Boys gathered:
"And now it's just the three of us..."
"And with this, we've ensured that the new sheathing mechanism will retain the previous properties, but we were also able to introduce a new one."
On the slideshow, the logo of Endless Horizons Ltd. was accompanied by a swarm of tables and charts. Chief Kuromizu pressed a button and the presentation switched to the next slide. Purple light reflected off the guests' faces.
"Using the same technology that was employed during the Shiketsu Battle Tournament, we managed to add a new mode to the sword. 'The taser mode' uses an electric shock to give you that extra edge in taking down Villains, without the need to deploy the actual one."
He pressed a button again, and the ending slide came up.
"And with that, we have reached the end of this brief presentation. My assistant will now give you the documentation, but I'd also be happy to answer any questions–"
Before the dark-haired girl could give out the folders she was holding, and suspiciously similar looking ones in the audience could applaud, she was rudely shoved aside by a woman lugging an oversized metal case.
"Yeah, yeah, we are all surely fascinated by hearing all about that glorified cattle prod, but maybe let's first talk a bit about the main star of the show." She said while setting the case down on one of the tables.
"That's extremely rude of you, Ms. Eichi."
"We agreed on the order and presentation time!"
"You can't just barge in here like you own the place."
"That's right!"
Multiple Bikis fired off one after another, and would continue if not for the voice of the person financing today's meeting.
"What do you wanna do, Babo?" Hailey asked while looking up from her phone. She seemed bored, but if one could see her screen, they'd notice she was searching for information that would help her understand some of the charts brought up before. "Do you want to finish the talk about the sword first, or do you want the general overview of all your new stuff, before getting into details?"
Hifumi looked at the girl leaning on his arm and smiled. She returned it and softly squeezed his hand. Feeling her warmth filled him with confidence. However, she couldn't hide the worry in the way she's been looking at him for the past weeks.
Normally, he might have refused such an expensive gift, but last year proved to him how far he still has to go. Getting some new gear will help him with that, and hopefully also ease her concerns.
"Yeah, the sword was cool, but I'll have the time to learn more about it later. For now, let's–"
"Thank you!" Rika said and flipped a switch. The case unravelled. A sequence of mechanical movements opened section after section of it, shifting slightly to best present the contents.
As spectacular the reveal of Challenger's new armour was, the costume itself didn't look that different from before. The overall shape and colour scheme remained unchanged; it was just slightly slimmer.
"Now that my colleagues from Ended Horizons have presented their new feature, we can focus on the real star of today's show. Besides the obvious fixes, the new features can be categorized in three groups."
She picked up the helmet from the stand and set it on a second table, steadily increasing the part of the lab occupied by her creations.
"First, we have upgrades to the communication systems. Access to data in the field is critical, doubly so for someone with a Quirk like yours. Besides the typical tech used in such systems, there is a HUD with a video display, and a cutting-edge spatial audio system."
She then reached for the chestplate, and set it open on a table in front of them, another piece of land conquered in her name. She pointed to some points in its lining.
"Second, we have an array of scanners. Combined with the communication systems, in particular the spatial audio, they'll help you detect nearby dangers and orient yourself in space with your eyes closed," she turned to look at Hailey, "and they'll also monitor his vitals and send an SOS in case of an emergency."
The girl responded with an approving nod, while the boy lowered his head. Rika ignored it and continued her presentation, this time grabbing the various pieces responsible for limb protection.
"Lastly, we have what I call an 'aerial mode'. It's a range of modifications, to help you with your mobility and safety in the air: improved aerodynamics, deployable wingsuit with stabilizers, and a built-in parachute."
She looked approvingly at the scene in front of her, with half the lab room covered in gear bearing her logo.
"Now, with the introduction out of the way, we can proceed to talk about the details."
Rapid thumps of bare feet rushing over the floor. The clashing of bamboo swords as they hit their targets and each other. Mighty shouts displaying the fighting spirit. These sounds formed the usual atmosphere at the Shiketsu Kendo Club's practice room.
Two practitioners bowed to each other, and stepped off the mats. As they headed towards the surrounding benches, they removed their helmets, revealing heads drenched with sweat. The temperature in the room was chilly in these winter months, but the physical exertion compounded with having to wear thick layers of armour was enough to stop anyone from complaining about that.
Hifumi reached for a bottle of water and offered it to Chihiro. She just shook her head as a response, pulled out a little towel from behind her breastplate and used it to wipe her face and hair. He shrugged and proceeded to guzzle the life-giving liquid by himself.
"Thank you for inviting me to train with you here."
"You're welcome. It's the least I can do to try to repay you for all the times you hosted the training sessions at your place."
"Our school's kendo club's level seems quite high. But I thought that as hero course students, we aren't allowed to join?"
"Well, formally no, but there are ways around it. I think on paper I'm a 'guest member' or a 'probationary member' or something like that. When it comes to just coming down here to practice, there are no issues as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of our classes. When it comes to tournaments, the paperwork sucks, tho. Why, are you perhaps interested in joining? We sure would like you to!"
"No... I think I have my hands full with the dojo... How did the tournaments go? Did you win?"
"I didn't participate much myself. Not enough time to prepare fully. The competition at the top is fierce. I didn't even try for the individuals this year, maybe the next I'll give it a go, but I'm in reserve for team matches. The last time I competed was in summer, I think, in the prefecturals. One of the senpais caught a stomach flu, so I replaced him. Then there were the regionals in November, but I was too busy with the internship to even consider starting. The team did well, tho. Enough to qualify for nationals in December. Those took place on the 27-28th, so I couldn't because... you know..."
"Oh... I'm sorry..."
"No, it's fine. There was no need for the reserve players anyway. We ended up without any medals, but in the second round we got matched against the team that ended up winning the whole thing. Anyway, if I remember correctly, the next tournament is in March, but it's just a municipal one that acts like a farewell for the seniors. You can come watch if you want."
"If I have the ti–"
"[TAKE THAT!]"
The words in English, shouted loudly by a female voice, brought their attention to one of the pairs practising. The two were in a bind, guards pressing against each other. Then, the smaller of the two let the tip of her sword drift pass her, pulling her opponent's alongside her, while she pressed the bottom of her bamboo blade to the sleeve on his right arm and dragged it through.
"[YES!]" She shouted while throwing her weapon away and running towards the benches. Tugging on her mask, she struggled to remove her helmet, but when she finally succeeded, a bright smile was revealed, framed by a storm of brown hair in disarray.
"Did you see that, Sensei? I caught him with that move you taught me last week!"
She bragged, looking for approval. Unfortunately, it fell to Hifumi to be the bearer of bad news.
"Great job, Sally! No point, tho."
The smile was replaced with an expression of fury.
"[What?!] What do you mean, 'no point'?! He wouldn't have an arm if that was a real sword!"
"Well, possibly yes, but we're doing kendo right now. It's a sport, there are rules. You hit outside the target zones, and you did not use the valid part of the sword. If the referee was strict, he could also complain about it not being a proper 'strike' or that you didn't keep your focus afterwards."
"He's right, Sally-chan. We're guests here, so we should go by their rules."
That seemed to calm her down, but not quite silence her.
"That's dumb. In a real fight, I'd have won..."
"I have to admit, kendo does feel to be a bit more about hitting than actually cutting..." Chihiro added, trying to sound as gentle as she could.
"I kind of get that." Hifumi started to defend his sport. "When it comes to actually cutting stuff, I can't hold a candle to Chihiro, as she proves each time we do test cuts, and that sure is a useful skill. Some more fancy stances and draw cuts are also cool. There is a reason why I come to visit the dojo when I have time. But! It's not like Kendo is useless. The skill set is quite limited compared to kenjutsu and iai, true, but what it does, it does well, and I think those skills actually translated better for me during the internships. You have the speed. You have the precision. And Hero work isn't about killing. I much more often had my blade sheathed than not, so the ability to smack someone in the head before they can react was more useful than slicing through them. A draw cut, like what you just did, wouldn't work in a real fight if you didn't have a sharp blade."
Sally still seemed a bit disgruntled, but some form of understanding did seem to form.
"[I guess...] It's a bit like me training with rubber bullets. The style is a bit different from going with the live ones."
Chihiro, however, didn't seem quite placated.
"That feels like it could form some bad habits. A sword isn't a toy. This approach seems to deny its nature, and that's a dangerous path to tread. Especially when it's those cases, when the blade needs to be unsheathed, that carry the biggest consequences."
Hifumi's expression turned more serious, and he considered his words for a couple of seconds before he responded.
"You're right, but I don't think I'm wrong either. Swords and guns are lethal tools in nature, and that can't be forgotten. When we take the safeties off, we need to be extra careful and know what we're doing. I carry a sword, so I should be ready to use it if it comes to that. I'll train for it." He wasn't sure how exactly to word his thoughts. "But as future Heroes, shouldn't we focus on trying to not let it get to that in the first place? If I can't subdue a villain without seriously injuring them, then in a way, I feel like I've already lost. That I admitted my defeat. That I wasn't strong enough to do the job right. I don't want to give up like that. I want to do my best to win that first battle. To live up to my ideal."
His speech was awkward. It felt naive. But the sense of earnestness behind it, convinced the girls with hands stained with blood, not to wake the boy up from his dream just yet.
"Elephant Emperor to C3."
"Starlight Saviour to E4."
"I castle and use Killer King's Quirk. Check."
Chris stared Hifumi down as the latter looked at the cards in his hands. After a moment of deliberation, he picked one of them and slammed it on the chessboard.
"Rocking Rider to D6 and I use Quirk Resonance!"
Chris just raised his eyebrow, but it was the girl acting as the referee that spoke up.
"You sound awfully confident considering that gives you only one-sixth of a chance to protect your king, and besides in three mo–"
"Let him think this through by himself, Hoge."
"What's the point if he'll just keep repeating the same mistakes?"
"Hey! I think I'm doing better. He did see through my attempt at a skewer tactic, but I think I can still turn it around. I just need to put more spirit into this!"
Hoge took off her glasses and rubbed her temples. Spending time with Inigo did teach her to be more patient with those led by their hearts rather than brains, but she still had her limits.
"Are you sure this has any benefits for him?"
"Chess has been proven an effective tool in imparting some basic tactical and strategic insights. Incorporating the profiles of Pros and Villains into the game did seem to help him remember them quicker, too. There are also studies how teaching by playing increases the effectiveness of learning in general, although, they aren't very popular in Japan. And he is indeed getting a bit better at the game. He is taking needless risks, but from a Pro perspective, that might not be the most terrible thing..."
"See?! Can I roll now?" Hifumi interjected, but his cousin just shushed him with a hand gesture, as she addressed Chris.
"How is that supposed to work?"
"Well, on the tactical level, it usually doesn't pay off, even with the whole 'high risk/high reward' scenario, but on the strategical, in this case career, level, you have to take under consideration the effect of that approach on the public image. Meticulous planning doesn't appeal to the masses. There were cases where Pros with better case resolution rates got leapt in rankings by Heroes who pumped their approval ratings by being first to the scene."
"There is nothing more heroic than the sight of someone jumping into danger to protect others. So, can I roll now?"
She rolled her eyes.
"I think actually saving someone is the heroic part, rather than just trying. But I forget that I'm the only one in this room who didn't land in a hospital because of her gung-ho approach."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. The outline of Hoge's figure blurred, and her voice sounded muted as she continued.
"Look, I'm sorry. It's just that... I'm worried about you two. I just wish you'd be more careful. I don't want anything bad to happen to you again... And yes, you can roll now."
The faint, awkward smiles soon turned more genuine, and Hifumi reached for one of the dice on the table. He shook it in his hands, before slamming it back down. The trio leaned in to see the result as he revealed it.
"And mate." Chris concluded.
The wind roared around him. He was falling head down, and he knew he had to remain as close to that position as possible. Falling into a spin would have been disastrous, and at this speed, any mistake could lead to that.
"Clear." A voice sounded in his ear.
He opened his eyes. In an instant, he was hundreds of meters away. And the first thing he realized, was that he had been lied to.
"Shit!"
He closed his eyes and teleported once again, before he'd crash into a half-transparent blue wall that had welcomed him on his return.
"Language. But overall, good reactions. Speed back up, and return when you're ready. I won't test you on that again."
"Aye, aye, Ms. Principal."
The standard procedure when he faced an obstacle like that, was to kill his momentum, so right now he was shooting upwards, slowly loosing speed. He had two ways out of this.
The first one was what was expected of him, what had been drilled into him over months of extracurricular classes. Half-rotate into the belly down position to come to a stop faster, then position himself head-down to once again start speeding up. The steady and relatively safe approach.
And then there was the option he went with. He opened his eyes, and right after closed them again. Now he was back to falling head down. Fixing his position through re-application of Blink was faster if he had to keep his momentum, but made targeting more tricky. The answer to his choice was an audible sigh in his speakers.
Within seconds, the sound of the armour's sensors announced that he was once again at target speed. He opened his eyes.
Without the wall in the way, he could clearly see the next objective. Hoops made of the same half-solidified air as the previous wall. Going through them was like threading a needle. He straightened his body with the sword pressed tight against it in front of him. With minor adjustments, he stabilized his trajectory. There wasn't much more he could do at this point, other than hope that during his course correction he didn't screw up his aim.
The result was a bit too close for comfort, but he did make it through. He exhaled with a sense of relief. Usually, he practised at lower speeds, so he still wasn't used to doing it so close to terminal velocity. But it was no time to rest.
"Passable, but we'll still have to work on that. Proceed to the next stage."
Now came the hard part. While his right hand clenched even tighter around his sword, the left one moved to activate the key element for what was to come.
The wingsuit deployed rapidly, but it took him precious seconds to fight off the turbulence caused by the sudden increase in drag. Doing that while keeping hold on his sword was possibly the most difficult part of today's test.
Somehow, he managed. Just in time to take a sharp turn into the obstacle course. The three-dimensional slalom alone was enough to push his gliding abilities to their limit, but getting cleanly through more hoops was not the only task he had to complete.
His unsheathed blade shone with a red light, marking his trail like a beacon on an airplane. Adjusting for holding the sword, made flying challenging enough. Trying to strike with it, when each cut threatened to send him into a spin, made it even more difficult. Yet, he persevered.
"Just one more target, and you can start the landing, Takeda."
The goal was in sight. Three hoops and a mannequin. He just had to go through them, and get one more clean hit. He just had to focus and–
That's when the wind hit him. A sharp gale pushed him from the side, right into one of the obstacles. The training tool formed by Karaburan was only half-solid, but at this speed, crushing into them was like getting smacked with a meditation stick. It was enough to cause him to lose control.
He drifted off course, while spinning rapidly. His sword slipped from his grasp, a very dangerous surprise for whomever it might fall on. That is, if it were to fall.
The gravity around him first slowed down, and then reversed. Like a gentle grasp, it brought him and his weapon close to a standstill, before carefully setting him down on the ground.
"Ah damn. Thanks, Sora." Challenger said, while folding up the wingsuit. He grabbed the sword that floated lazily towards him.
The hooded figure nodded. "I just did my job, that's all."
"Another failure, Takeda. I think that's enough attempts for today." Karaburan walked towards him, her eyes cold and steady.
They were met with the look of a youthful passion.
"I can do it, Ms. Principal! I know I can. If not for that wind at the end–"
"That's part of the test. If you can't handle surprises like that during practice, then you won't be able to rely on it in the field. You would pose a risk not only to yourself, but also to others. Imagine if a civilian got hit with that blade of yours."
"I know that! That's why I need to train even harder to get it under control. I think I'm really close to that, so I can't give up now. Just one more chance today, please!"
"Resting isn't 'giving up'; it's an important part of training. You're doing well at lower speeds, just limit yourself to those for now. We can pick this up during the next session..." She looked at the pleading eyes of the student in front of her. After a few seconds of the staredown, she added: "You kids are always so impatient nowadays... Fine! But only if Tanaka agrees."
"Please, bro." Hifumi asked towards the darkness under the hood.
"Alright, but just once more, that's all."
"PUSH! JUST ONE MORE! SHOW ME YOUR SPIRIT! GOOD! NOW ANOTHER ONE! DON'T GIVE UP! YOU'VE GOT THAT IN YOU! YES! NOW GIVE ME AN EXTRA ONE! THE FUTURE #1 CAN DO IT! UP! UP!"
With a grunt, Hifumi pushed with everything he had. Slowly straightening his legs, an excruciating inch by inch, rising above every instinct screaming at him to give up, he completed the final rep of squats. And the world before him went dark.
The green-haired giant, standing behind him, reacted quickly. With one hand, she grabbed him by the collar before he slumped on the ground. With the other, she held up the weight that had nearly crushed him. When she felt him regaining consciousness and stability in his stance, she let go of him, and went to re-rack the weights.
"That was some proper effort today. You alright, mate?"
" 'Lightweight Baby'." He answered weakly and tried to give her a thumbs-up as he waddled over to the water fountain. His biceps didn't want to cooperate with him after the yesterday's session, so his hand did not end up going very far.
"Lovely. Have a wee rest then, and hop on in the ring for some bag work."
She pointed towards where Orochi stood. The young lady of the Atsushi, was feeding some empty packages of protein powder to her tails.
"Just because I let him whale on me a bit and don't strike back much, doesn't mean I'm a bag. It's just the more effective way for both of us to train."
"Oh, don't be such a wanker, I was just being a bit cheeky with ye. We all know you could whoop him, especially when he's knackered like that. It's probably harder for you to hold back than anything."
Hifumi chuckled. He was not prideful enough to deny the truthfulness of Kaylee's words, even if they did sting. He knew that as hard as he trained, physically he could not compare with those two.
Orochi did not smile. There was some truth to that last sentence. Lately, her moods felt unstable. At times, she felt impassive, as if nothing she did mattered. At others, she was ready to snap at anything that came near her. The only reason she was here, was that she promised Bobby to help Hifumi train because he was busy this week.
Kaylee clapped her hands. "Alright then, chop, chop. That's enough faffing around."
"As much as I appreciate your help. I'd like to point out, I'm just a human."
"Oh don't whine. You're a promising little lad. We'll make a mutie out of you yet. Maybe we'll even fix your taste in women." She added with a wink. "Anyway, no need to thank us. Us Villain survivors need to stick together."
The atmosphere in the gym grew heavier.
"What's the point of this." Orochi spoke up, her tone sombre. "It's not like hitting some weights or sparring with me with help you in case you meet someone like Feral."
"Oh-ho, it's one of those moods today, innit? What are you even complaining about? You two beat your Villains. Ended up in a critical condition for it, true, but on the record the win was yours. Or a draw, at least. I was the only one who ended up in a coma with not much to show for it, and you don't see me fussing about it. But mark my words, I'll get that bloody slag the next time."
"Strictly speaking, I only got his construct. I never even got close to the Villain himself. But you're right. We're young, and full of potential. We're training hard. 'They may have struck as down, but' that only means 'we shall become more powerful than they can possibly imagine.' Each mistake is an opportunity to learn. If I compare myself to where I was those months ago, I know I'm stronger. And in a couple months, I know I'll grow stronger still. They might have got us back then, but in the future, we'll pay them back tenfold!"
As the optimists grinned at each other, Orochi just shook her head.
"That's if you stay alive long enough for that... Just come up here. If you want mistakes to learn from, I'll give you plenty of them. Just don't cry when I'll bite off more than you can chew."
The moon was high in the sky. Rhythmical thuds echoed in the clearing. Their tempo was increasing. Fuelled by grief and fury, each strike was more powerful than the last one. The intensity of the storm inside him spilled out and flowed through the wooden sword, threatening to overwhelm him.
The sword gave out first.
With a crack like thunder, it shattered in his hands.
A sharp pain slipped into his mind, waking him up from his stupor. He looked down at blood dripping from where a long splinter pierced his skin. He reached and yanked it out.
A guttural voice left his mouth. Slowly, it turned into an anguish filled howl.
He came out here, to calm his mind, but was unable to escape the racing thoughts.
There was a part of him that had hoped that maybe he could save him. It died together with Genma.
All that was left was regret and guilt. That he did not notice the signs. Or rather, that he noticed them, but did not act on it. That he didn't do something while there was still time!
That he wasn't strong enough... All that work and for what? He couldn't even reach him. He's the man that can cross kilometres in a blink of an eye, and yet he wasn't there when he was needed.
But if he was there, what could he even do? Months ago, he had lost their match. Since then, he deluded himself into believing that he had grown strong. Even if half the stories about the Reaper were true, it meant that the gap between them had only widened.
On the ground below his feet, marked with countless footsteps, sweat and blood, among scraps of wood, salty droplets landed and sunk in.
Hifumi breathed heavily. His broken heart beat like a drum. He threw away the remnants of the sword in his hands on the pile where its brethren found their last rest.
And then he steeled himself. He was weak. He had failed. Yet, he refused to give up.
The spark inside him grew again. A blaze of conviction. If he was weak, then he needed to grow strong. If he had failed, then all he needed was to win. That's all there was to it. There was no other path. Not one where he could look at himself in the mirror afterwards.
He walked over to reach for another sword, but no more wooden ones were left. Only the one, the sword of the Challenger, remained. It was heavy in his hands. The insignia of Endless Horizons upon it, a reminder of today's horrors. A reminder of what he had to fight for.
He had lost today's battle. He vowed not to lose the next one.
Under the crimson blade's touch, a tree fell.
And then silence followed.