"One, two, three, four... fifty two, fifty three." his voice was steady, showing no sign of exhaustion.
His hand'd gotten red from the pressure, but he wasn't flinching a bit. The pain was part of the rhythm now. He'd like pain, makes it better. Because he felt that pain was progress. Progress was life.
Ryo pushed himself up again. "Seventy-nine, eighty..." And though he didn't look exhausted at all, his hands just... gave up. He dropped onto the floor, his shirt looking like it had been dipped in the ocean.
Pain burned in his palms, veins screaming under the skin. And yet… he felt alive. The tape around his knuckles had torn from overusage.
Ryo rolled onto his side, shaking out his arms, then grabbed the punching bag in the corner.
"Hey, Takeda! You ever sleep, or are you just addicted to self-torture?" Ryo heard as he pulled back his fist.
Ryo glanced toward the voice. It belonged to Mikio, a tall, stringy guy with a lightning-quick quirk that let him throw punches almost faster than the eye could follow.
Mikio leaned against the wall, smirking.
"I prefer the word 'progress,'" Ryo responded, waving hi to Mikio.
From the bench, Hana, a cheerful girl with a quirk that let her temporarily harden objects she touched, rolled her eyes.
"You're going to collapse before lunch if you keep that up, Ryo. No one cares how many push-ups you can do if you can't survive a fight that lasts more than five minutes."
"The fuck? I beat all you guys in a spar."
"Shut up." Hana retorted.
Ryo ignored her jab, spinning back to the punching bag. Left! Right! Left! Left!
From the corner, Daichi, a hulking guy whose quirk multiplied his strength but slowed his speed, slammed his gloves together. "Seriously, Takeda, some of us need to train without watching you self-destruct!"
"If I'm gonna be a hero, I can't half-ass it, dawg," Ryo said, still throwing hooks at the bag.
Whistle
"You wanna become a hero, right? You applying for U.A.?" Hana asked.
Ryo paused mid-swing, letting the bag sway slowly back and forth.
"Yeah," he replied.
Hana smiled warmly, "Good luck, Ryo! I know you'll do well, except for that temper of yours."
Ryo let out a low chuckle, wiping sweat and a little blood from his palms.
"Thanks, Hana, but I'm locked in right now. I can't lose my temper."
Hana nodded, "Sure."
Ryo let out a deep breath and wiped his hands on his shorts. "Alright, Daichi. You really wanna go?"
Daichi smirked, the muscles in his arms flexing with a subtle shimmer from his quirk. "Thought you'd never ask, Takeda. Let's see if all that self-punishment paid off."
They stepped into the small sparring area, the gym suddenly shrinking around their presence. Hana and Mikio leaned back against the wall, watching with amused interest.
Ryo circled Daichi, fists raised, eyes locked. "Don't hold back, big guy. I want the real thing."
"Man, shut your bitch ass up. You have this cheat of a quirk, and you're too smug about it. I can't even complain cause you work harder than me. Speed on the left, power on the right… damn, Takeda."
Ryo dashed forward, left arm flicking out in a blur, tagging Daichi's shoulder. Daichi grunted, swinging back with a heavy right hook. Ryo twisted, letting the punch smash into the mat, then slammed his right fist into Daichi's side.
"GCK!" Daichi wheezed. Before he could respond, Ryo shifted to his left side and barraged him with punches.
But he managed to get a hit in at Ryo, making him stagger.
Ryo quickly recomposed himself, dodging Daichi's heavy swings. He swept his leg, making Daichi lose balance. Then grabbed Daichi with his right and slammed him into the ground.
...
"You good, big guy?" Ryo asked.
"I'm too slow, and you're too fucking fast," Daichi muttered, wheezing.
...
"It's alright, Daichi." Mikio tapped Daichi's back.
"Guys, shouldn't you all be getting to your homes? It's 11:00 P.M., we have school tomorrow." Hana reminded.
Ryo put a finger on his chin, "Oh, tomorrow's the last day of Middle School for me..."
Ryo paused. "Last day of middle school… huh. Kinda weird to think about it."
Hana raised an eyebrow, amused. "Weird? That's an understatement. You've spent half your life obsessed with training. Bet you're not gonna miss the boring classes, huh?"
"Guess so." Ryo turned to the exit.
"Ryo!" Hana called. "Can I come with you?"
"Eh?"
-------------------
Hana jogged up beside him, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I mean, I don't want to sit around the house while you brood over your last day of middle school. Could use a little company."
Ryo blinked at her, caught off guard. "You… want to come watch me be nostalgic?"
She shrugged, grinning. "Nah. I just want to make sure you don't trip on your own feet or collapse from exhaustion on your way home."
He snorted, shaking his head. "Fine. But you're just along for moral support. No commentary about my heroic brilliance."
"Whatever, my last day was last year, I know how life feels after middle school, it doesn't hit the same." She said.
He raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Last year, huh? And you survived? Barely, I hope."
Hana elbowed him lightly, grinning. "Barely? Ha! I had some fun. Learned a lot about surviving idiots like you."
He laughed. "Yeah, guess I'd count as an idiot, huh?"
"One of the worst," Hana teased, bumping her shoulder against his. Then, her tone softened just a fraction, a small warmth in her eyes. "But… one of the best, too."
He felt a strange flutter in his chest. He looked down at her, caught off guard by how close she was, how her hand brushed his as they walked. "…Huh," he said, quieter than usual.
Mikio looked at them both from a distance, "Hmm... sus, ain't it, Daichi?"
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... very sus indeed." He responded, not before making sure they weren't audible to them.
A few minutes later... the two reached Ryo's house. Ryo stopped and looked at her. "Goodnight, Hana. See ya' tomorrow," he waved her goodbye.
Hana smiled as she waved him goodbye, and she began walking again. "Say hi to your mom for me."
"Sure," He responded before he opened the door.
"Ryo? Is that you?" his mother called from the kitchen.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees...."
"Late again, huh? You're going to wear yourself out if you keep pushing like this." She studied his tired, sweaty face for a moment. "Hana's with you tonight?"
His eyebrows shot up, surprised that she noticed. "Yeah… she walked me home."
A soft smile touched his mother's lips. "Good girl. Makes me glad you're not wandering alone all the time."
"I'm not alone..."
...
...
"What? I'm not gonna admit it." He looked offended by that.
"It's okay, son. Your father's upstairs doing some work. Can you call him down to eat dinner?" She requested.
He kicked his shoes off and dragged his sore legs toward the stairs, muttering under his breath. "Man… didn't even know it was this late."
"Dad..." He called as he opened the door to his parents' room. "Mom's calling you down to eat dinner."
He was sitting at his desk, glasses perched on his nose, pen tapping against a stack of papers. The faint blue glow from his laptop screen painted his face in shadows.
"Busy," he muttered, voice low but firm.
"Mom said dinner," Ryo repeated, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
"You're late."
"Don't change the topic, man."
"Come on. Before your mother gets annoyed." His father finally got up, resting his glasses on the desk.
They headed downstairs together.
"About time," she said. "Sit, both of you."
Dinner started quietly, no words between any of them. Well, Ryo and his father were eating, but his mother... she just stared awkwardly, not eating.
"You're applying to U.A." It wasn't a question.
Ryo's chopsticks paused mid-air. He swallowed slowly. "Yeah."
"You carry the Takeda name. Don't shame it."
Ryo clicked his tongue. "Don't worry, old man. I won't. Now, shut up."
"Ryo!" His mother called out.
Ryo froze, "What?"
"Is that any way to talk to your father?"
Ryo nodded slowly, "You're right, Mom. I'm sorry, Dad."
His mother looked at him disapprovingly. He mouthed 'what?'.
"You're applying to U.A. because you want to be a hero. That's good. That takes guts." His father said suddenly, looking at Ryo.
Ryo blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift. "Uh… yeah. Thanks."
His father set down his chopsticks, studying Ryo with a look that was equal parts pride and concern. "Your quirk... It's powerful, but it's also dangerous."
"I know the risks," Ryo said, flexing his left hand unconsciously.
"Do you?" His mother leaned forward, worry creasing her brow. "You come home every night looking like you've been hit by a truck. Your hands are always torn up, and sometimes I hear you muttering in your sleep about rhythm and timing."
"Ahh, making me sound insane..." he grumbled to himself.
They didn't understand. They couldn't understand the feeling of being so close to something greater, something that went beyond just having fast punches or strong ones.
"I'm fine," he said.
"The entrance exam is in ten months," his father continued. "U.A. doesn't just test your quirk—they test your mind, your judgment, your ability to work under pressure. Raw power means nothing if you can't control it."
"I can control it."
"Can you?" His father's voice carried a sharp edge. "Because from what I hear from the gym, you nearly hospitalized Daichi last week."
"That's put outside context."
"Heroes don't just save people," his mother said quietly. "They have to know when not to use their full strength. When to hold back."
"I know that."
"Do you?" His father leaned back in his chair. "Because there's a difference between knowing something and feeling it in your bones. Your quirk is evolving, Ryo. I can see it. The way you move, the way you think about combat—you're not the same kid you were six months ago."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying be careful," his father said. "Power without wisdom is just destruction waiting to happen. And U.A. will test both."
"I'm going to bed," he said, standing abruptly.
"Ryo—" his mother started.
"I'm fine, Mom. Really." He managed a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks for dinner."
In his room, Ryo sat on the edge of his bed and stared at his hands.
His phone buzzed. A text from Hana.
"Don't overthink everything. You're going to be great at U.A. Just... don't kill yourself before you get there, okay?"
He typed back: "I'll try not to. Thanks for walking me home."
Her reply came almost immediately: "Anytime. Someone's got to keep an eye on you."
Ryo set his phone aside and lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Ryo Takeda didn't know what he was gonna be, neither did the man who created him.