Bruh, I literally wrote the whole chapter once, only for it to get accidentally deleted. I also feel like that first version was way better than this one which sucks. So RIP the first draft you will be missed. 🫡
Anyway, I rewrote it but that's what took me so long sorry if there is a dip in quality because honestly my heart just wasn't in it for the rewrite.
——-[Izuku Midoriya POV]——
———-[Bang's Dojo]———
"Damned old man what are you a sadist or something?" I said, running along the ground on all fours, whipping the floor with wet towels in hand, like some hygiene-obsessed rat. I breathed hard as my pace slowed, but my stamina skill helped reinvigorate me, doing nothing to relieve the soreness in my limbs.
"Less complaining more wax on wax off!" Bang shouted taking another potato chip from the bag in his hand.
"Hey isn't that just from Karate Kid? Also, how the hell am I supposed to do that while I'm still blindfolded?" I questioned loudly turning my head in the vague direction of the man's voice.
"Less talking Daniel~san more training," Sensei said returning his attention to the TV playing some random old movie.
"Fine," I said as I continued to move but my mind wandered to what the point of this all was.
It had been two more weeks since I started the extra lessons with Sensei Bang. I didn't mind the extra work after all it was all for my own good. But what I didn't understand was the need for a blindfold for the entirety of my training.
Sure punching the ironwood trees might be helpful. I've heard of monks and other martial artists doing similar things. But it was Sensei's insistence on the blind fold cuppled with the random throwing of objects at me that I don't understand.
I sighed stopping and turning when I sensed a wall in front of me. Switching directions I started a new line and began to continue wiping down the dojo floor.
But as I kept wiping I suddenly felt something. Twisting my head it was like the darkness of the blindfold disappeared for a brief moment and my sight returned. Soaring at my face was another branch from one of those ironwood trees.
"Flow like the river and turn your ripples into waves" I ducked as the branch twirled end over end above my head.
"What does that even mean old man!" Lifting my head back up I looked over to Bang whose attention had turned from the TV to me once again. It was an odd sensation. There was a faint darkness at the edge of my vision.
"Thats old man sensei to you bratt." It seemed to grow darker as I lost focus a bit but I had a moment to stand up and study my hands. At this point, they had just started to gain a few calluses. I had avoided them in my last life mainly thanks to the use of gloves.
Now I ran them along my face feeling for the black piece of cloth around my head. Was it still there? Had it fallen off somehow as I was working?
But no. The cloth was still there and the darkness grew once again until I could no longer see my own hands in front of my face. Then I saw nothing at all as the blindness fully returned to me.
"What was that?" I asked aloud astonished by the strange phenomenon. Before I could get an answer from Sensei Bang the system answered for me.
[Congratulations Host🎉]
[You have gained the skill: Observation Haki!]
[Description: A form of spiritual awareness that allows the user to sense the presence, strength, emotions, and hostile intent of others, even if they are hidden or out of sight.]
I almost gasped out loud when Sensei Bang cut in.
"That my young apprentice, is a phenomenon known as haki. It is something very few people in this world know about. However, should you master it you may be able to surpass the power of some quirks entirely. Come sit I'll explain it to you in more detail."
I walked over quickly taking a seat next to him only to realize that I still had my blindfold on and yet somehow found my way over without tripping. It was weird. I needed answers quickly. I already knew this world was more of a mix than it seemed on the surface but if I could unlock haki what other sources of power could I find?
XXX
Two months after that things were in full swing for me. I spent my days hanging out with my new friends Ojiro and Kendo while training extra with Bang as well. There were some days when nothing seemed to change much.
An annoying comment from Katsumi here and there. Sometimes if to out to the mall with Izumi and Toga until suddenly things felt different. I was taller, stronger, faster, and far more muscular than I had ever been in this life.
Not to mention I was making strides in my research. For example in the middle of the Atlantic Greed island was a real place. Heaven's Arena was a massive tower located in the middle of New York City. Several of the islands from One Piece were either mixed with the real world places or added to the Japanese archipelago.
For a while, it seemed like there was nothing I could do but keep training and preparing for next year when the plot of MHA should start. So that's exactly what I did and it wasn't all just exercises.
I started writing music mainly anime intros that were missing from this world. Designing costumes that I thought might work for me in the future. I even started looking into learning a few instruments as well. Money from school kept flowing in and all seemed well if not a bit monotonous.
But it wasn't until the day that I finally managed to achieve my first true goal in my training that I realized just how far I had come.
XXX
I stepped in dodging a strike from Ojiro. I countered quickly with a swift jab but he casually dodged and stepped back still light on his feet.
"Is that all?" He said smiling grinned and shook my head charging back in. Off to the side, Itsuka chatted with Izumi. Himiko cheered for me to win in the background something that I usually found embarrassing but she insisted on every time I sparred against my two friends. Unlike my normal training sessions with Bang today I was meeting up with everyone in a nearby park, the one I usually do my morning run in.
Itsuka, Ohiro, and I took turns sparing slightly. None of us had truly learned how to use Rock Stream yet. From what our sensei said it usually takes months to even get the first steps correctly and years to become proficient. Even without it though we got better at fighting.
But that was an estimation for someone with average or below average talent and Bang had already disabused me of the notion that I had none. However, that didn't mean I was the only talented student of his. By Bang's own admission, Ojiro and Kendo had great potential as well.
After the first month of private training, I had casually let it slip in conversation that I was having the extra sessions. Kendo was somewhat jealous but got over it pretty quickly. Ojiro just laughed it off and insisted on training more to keep up with me.
He had his own background in mixed martial arts while I had the experience of a past life. Although I didn't dedicate it to the art of fighting my past experiences surpassed his. However, he made up for that difference in skill with his extra limb.
Speaking of extra limbs I ducked a tail strike from him, then lowered even further to duck the following back spin kick. Lunging in I used a series of swift strikes to keep him off balance. Left straight, right straight, arm grab into a knee followed by two upper cuts, though not at full strength.
He pushed me off quickly trading two more blows before knocking me back with his tail. Before I could regain my balance he rushed me again trying to knock me off my feet. I stepped back again this time jumping slightly and using my brief airtime to regain my stance, but he just used that seemingly unnatural agilityof his to swoop down and sweep my legs with his tail in a spin.
His tail wasn't the only thing special about Ojiro that I had noticed. His legs seemed to be stronger than the average human, and he also seemed to possess a near superhuman level of agility that most men and women simply couldn't match without proper training. It had even made me consider that it was possibly a secondary feature of his quirk, like Tokoyami's bird head, or Todoroki's hot and cold resistance despite their actual abilities being something else.
For a moment my legs hung in the air and it felt like time had frozen. My observation hami had activated of its own will again something that has kept happening ever since I unlocked it. Time seemed to slow a little as I planted my hands behind my head and flipped away.
I stood there shocked for a second as never in my two lives had I ever pulled off a backflip. However, seeing my stunned state Oniro decided to press his advantage and come back in for the attack.
"Come on Izuku kick his stupid tailed butt!" Togo cheered in the background but I all but ignored her existence. Instead, my haki activated again, this time of my own free will, and I saw his attack coming from a mile away.
Then I felt something strange. It was that same feeling I had gotten when chaining kicks together to gain a new skill. My surroundings faded until only me and him remained. No sound no sight just me and my opponent.
I waited for him to approach closer gauging the exact time he planned to strike. Then, when the blow came, one of my arms shot up and diverted the power of the strike. Thinking of the ripples in the water of the river, I diverted the power of his blow right into my next one firing my fastest punch right into his chest.
"Ack!" He cried out flying back off the portable mat we had set up for outdoor training. I rushed over to him, I was wearing gloves so he should have been fine. The others stopped talking and Toga stopped cheering. Crouching over him it didn't take long to see he was fine.
The others came over quickly as well. Izumi and Kendo were worried of course but Toga seemed more curious than anything else. He groaned and opened his eyes to see me and the others looking down at him.
"Damn, you got knocked the fuck out!" Toga said giggling as he sat up. He shook his head but couldn't help the smile on his face.
"You good?"
"Yeah, I'm good that one hell of a punch though. Was that a water stream? Sensei said we shouldn't be able to use it yet." He said as I reached out a hand to him. He took it and I helped pull it up.
"Also he didn't knock me out I was just a little stunned," he said looking glaringly at Toga with no real heat behind it. She jumped and playfully hid behind Izumi who looked nervous. He shook his head and unable to resist teasing him a little further I laughed and said.
"Well, I mean me personally I could never lose a fight to a quirkless kid but that's just me." I shrugged turning as Ojiro deadpanned to the sound of Himiko and Itsuka's giggles. I walked away to my nearby bag grabbing a water bottle from its holder.
I decided to check my system and just as I had suspected there was another update. I decided to check it later instead of now and I took a sip of my water.
Soon after we all backed up our bags and started heading our way to the train station to drop off Itsuka and Ojiro. It wasn't a far walk and it was pleasant laughing and chatting with them.
Soon enough winter would roll around and then the holidays and of course after that it would be the last year I would have before canon started. I tried not to get too lost in thought as we got closer to the station though.
It was honestly a lot different than what I was expecting when I got here the first time. To my surprise it wasn't as crowded as you would think and it also had hologram ads and other semi-futuristic features that trains in the 21st century up to when I lived had.
It wasn't as extravagant as what you would see in movies or games like Cyberpunk but honestly, it was still impressive. But this time my focus was on saying my goodbyes to them and moving on with my day. I needed to go home and shower anyway so I walked back with Izumi and Toga faster than normal.
Perhaps they could tell I was drifting into my own head as the conversation fired up pretty quickly. We came home to Mom making dinner as usual. It was just an ordinary night at home. But for me, this was the night things would change permanently, though I can't say weather its for better or for worse.
[Chapter Image]