Manly Ramen Enjoyers unite!
[Here's the theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MipRa9CM1sw]
"This is the place," said Hifumi.
The boys were in front of a small ramen bar, with Hifumi standing proudly at the front of the group.
"Oho? Looks nice. The vibe alone is making me feel like I'm growing a beard already!" Said Inigo.
"It's my uncle's place. You could say manliness runs in the family!"
"I hope you brought money today, man!" Bobby joked, giving Sandatsu a friendly punch in the shoulder.
"Yeah, I got some pocket money recently. It's not much, but it'll do." The truth was that he stole the wallet from the boy he killed in his last mission and
After entering the small restaurant, the boys were greeted by the sight of Hifumi's uncle, a balding old man with a stern look on his face.
"Hey uncle!" said Hifumi announcing the group's presence "Looks like the sign is still holding on strong!"
Uncle Hiroshi sighed, and moved towards the small kitchen while waving his hand at the kids, signaling them to come in.
"Just don't make a ruckus. Sit your asses down while I make you something."
The boys chatted while they waited their food. Just as Hifumi had said, the place had a certain charm to it. It only took the boss a few minutes to have the steaming hot ramen bowls in front of the group, all ready to eat.
"Man, I can't believe we lost; that's so frustrating!" complained Inigo as Gigan fetched another bottle of soy sauce for him. "And I got knocked out for a good chunk of the exercise too!"
"Don't sweat it, man; I got locked down in a fight against Shinkan and almost ran out of juice while fighting thanks to Genma," said Bobby.
"Oh yeah. Man, you really duked it out for a long time, huh?" Said Inigo "I thought Shinkan was just a brawler, but he knew some moves too!"
"If we're talking technique, though, then Hifumi takes the cake." Sandatsu was almost halfway through his ramen. "Seriously, pulling off those attacks and movements? with eyes closed? And teleporting around? I feel like my heart will break just trying to imagine it."
"Hm," Hifumi had to finish slurping some noodles before speaking, "It's all about muscle memory. Once those movements become automatic, you can pull them off in weird situations like that."
"So you're saying that quirkless combat training makes all the difference?"
"Nah, Bobby, I'm telling you to get good."
The boys laughed, with Bobby almost choking on his ramen at the unexpected jab.
"Your boxing looked pretty cool, though!" Said Inigo, before lifting the bowl to drink the remaining soup.
"Come on, throwing punches around is nothing to write home about," said Bobby, scratching the back of his head.
"Have you seen my attacks? Your jabs are definitely crazy. I'd kill to be able to punch like that," said Sandatsu.
"Your form is pretty good, man," added Hifumi.
"I want a demonstration, dude! I need to know how to throw a good hit when I'm fighting with Gigan as armor!"
After giving it some thought, Bobby stood up, moved to the small space between the seats and the tables on the other side, and got ready for a demonstration.
"Well, the trick is to adapt the jab to your needs. Hifumi's strikes are pretty good too because he knows how to pull off the first part of the process."
Bobby got into a comfortable position for punching, with his body slightly sideways and his face facing forward. He raised his arms, getting ready.
"I guess you got this from Kendo. When you strike unarmed, you naturally start with your lead foot slightly forward and build power from there. Since it's pretty hard to get a solid foothold teleporting around, you should go for fast hits, like this."
Bobby threw a quick jab at the air. Even without his empowerment, the hit had good enough form and enough strength to knock out pretty much any normal person. The boys clapped after Bobby's example.
"I see, so street fighting can only take you so far before you need to train your technique." Hifumi was seriously analyzing Bobby's movements.
Bobby continued with his lesson.
"Now, this goes for Inigo in case he goes into melee with Gigan in armor mode, but for Sandatsu too since we've seen you are a brawler too."
Bobby got into a stance again.
"You can't just go around throwing haymakers. You can go for quick hits like before, and then if you see an opening, you go for a strong punch. Pack more power starting with the leading foot, like before, but you also build more strength through rotation of your waist, bringing back the shoulder of the arm you aren't using, and pushing off your back foot. Then it's a matter of keeping your arm straight and delivering.
Bobby threw a stronger punch this time. Strong enough that his friends expected to see the faint glow he emitted when he used his quirk. But there was no glow; that jab was all natural.
"...a good punch. Also, try to aim behind your opponent's head."
"Woohoo, man, that was pretty sick!" Cheered Inigo, with Gigan clapping while sitting on his head.
"Hmmm," Hifumi said, seriously analyzing Bobby's technique. He was sitting there, concentrating with his arms crossed. "You know, now that I think about it, your quirk doesn't affect your speed, does it?"
"No, why?" Answered Bobby as he sat again.
"If you don't need it for speed, then how about turning it on right before your hits land? You'd probably save a fair bit of energy if you did that instead of keeping it going constantly. It might not be that useful in situations where you need your durability too, but if you focused on improving your agility, it could be useful, don't you think?"
"Woah, Bobby sensei lost his place as the fighting teacher of the group!" Said Inigo
"Long live Hifumi sensei." Added Sandatsu
After paying and saying goodbye Hiroshi, the boys decided to walk together to the station, making small talk on the way.
"Man, you are living in the woods behind the school?" Bobby was taken aback by Sandatsu's living arrangements, if they could even be called that.
"Living by yourself in a tent in the woods... Doesn't that sound pretty manly?" Hifumi, on the other hand, found a certain appeal in his friend's situation.
"Maybe we could go camping together! Imagine it. Spending time in nature, living off the land... Maybe we could bring some girls too!" Of course, Inigo would be the one to bring up the topic of girls.
"Hey Bobby, what do you think? Maybe you could ask Hailey and her friends?" Said Hifumi.
Bobby sighed.
"I mean, I don't think they'll agree to do it unless it's like a very sanitized version of camping. to a point where you'd even have a hard time calling it camping.
"Hmm, maybe you're right." Hifumi was giving it some serious thought.
"Plus, there's no way they are going if Inigo is going too."
"Ah, dammit, you're right." Hifumi stopped thinking about it, looking defeated.
"Oh, come on! My PR can't be that bad!" Complained Inigo.
"Come on, man, cheer up," said Sandatsu as he looked for something in his back. After finding it, he handed it to Hifumi. It was a small endeavor sticker, still unused and very old judging by the degradation of the colors, but still in very good condition.
"Uh? Wait what?" Hifumi was surprised by the sudden gift.
"It's a first edition Endeavor sticker, from the first batch after he became Number 1. I checked the serial number it had on the back."
"Damn man, where do you even find this?" asked Bobby.
"I mean, the dude survives by scavenging, so I suppose his being good at looking for stuff is a given! Haha!" Said Inigo, looking at the sticker that was now in Hifumi's hand.
That sticker was something Sandatsu found among the boy's possessions from his previous mission as an enforcer. Based on how the boy had taken it with him when he went into the mountains, it must've been very valuable to him.
"Well, I guess it's only natural for Hifumi to get something like this. After all, not only is he an Endeavor fanboy, but he's also going to be the next Number 1 hero, isn't that right, bro?" Said Bobby, putting his arm over Hifumi's shoulder.
"Aiming straight to the top, I see!" Said Inigo "Just so you know, we won't tolerate any more losses like the one today. We won't tolerate anything less than victories all the way on your road to the Number 1 spot!"
"Oh, you know it!" Said Hifumi.
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ReapRIP has entered the chat
*SunlightManliest: ayy, welcome to the groupchat
IniGOAT: I honestly didn't expect you to have a smartphone
NothingPersonnel: didn't I tell you that I set him and Bobby up with some other people the other day
IniGOAT!: idk smoke signals or something
IniGOAT!: hey Sandy are you in the class groupchat
ReapRIP: No
ReapRIP: You guys are the only contacts I have
NothingPersonnel: I feel u
NothingPersonnel: there is a time in every man's life when they only have their family members as contacts too
ReapRIP: I don't have my family as contacts
IniGOAT: lmao
ReapRIP: My mother would kill me if I even asked for her number
IniGOAT: WHAT
SunlightManliest: wtf haha
ReapRIP: :)
IniGOAT: the smiley oh god my sides
NothingPersonnel: dont laugh, he might not know how to use emojis properly
SunlightManliest: anyway, how about we plan that camping trip
SunlightManliest: we go by ourselves first, and then some other time we invite more people
NothingPersonnel: sounds good
NothingPersonnel: well be counting on your experience Sandatsu-sensei
ReapRIP: I have to work now
ReapRIP: So just leave the details written on the groupchat and we can do it whenever you guys want
SunlightManliest: but what about things to buy and all that
ReapRIP: I thought we weren't bringing anything
NothingPersonnel: wow
NothingPersonnel: talk about a detached lifestyle
IniGOAT: its just that its been long since Sandy has returned to monke
SunlightManliest: bro if you work then why tf are you poor
ReapRIP: Its not normal work
ReapRIP: Its just stuff I have to do since I have my provisional license and all
NothingPersonnel: yuo ahve a license already????
IniGOAT: god Im hyped for the camping trip