Chapter 28 - Flexible Training

Author's Note: I actually made multiple chapter drafts, but they were all shit. I typed those chapters on a phone since the rewiring for my house was only now completed. I was staying in a relative's house this past week, which is why I was inactivity. Enjoy!

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In a private gym that every Platinum-ranked student has and is built to their own style, Leo was using his to the fullest. Instead of the typical gym room with multiple weights, he was going through an improvised obstacle course of sorts.

During middle school, Leo took gymnastics as an after-school activity to improve his flexibility and bodily mechanics. However, it was merely that, an after-school activity.

He was okay at it, capable of doing handstands, cartwheels, front, and back flips, and standing on a foot for a period of time. The easy stuff. Relatively flexible, too, with only lean muscles during the time and less bulk.

So, what made Leo suddenly focus on finer motor controls?

[FLASHBACK]

Half-naked in the changing rooms, Leo sat with a lax expression. Warm showers after an intense workout always did have that effect on people. He ignored the hushed chuckles in the background; it wasn't anything new.

Though, maybe because of this event, he would start paying more attention to laughs when he's so carefree.

And when his eyelids dropped a bit, something slapped against his back, right in the middle of his thoracic. *SMACK!* "What!? Oi!"

It didn't hurt. It startled Leo instead. And what came next was a burst of booming laughter. His close friend, Percy, and Ned, whom he casually converses with occasionally, were snickering and hurriedly fled.

"HEY!" The pranked teen shouted, almost darting out the door, but before he could step out, he halted himself like a car screeching a no-speeding zone.

Looking down at himself, he palmed his face tiredly; he was in his boxer briefs. And with a noticeable bulge on them, he doubted students would want to see them.

Rather than chasing them through the school half-naked, he decided to let them be with an annoyed sigh. Though he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. 'Ah... I'll get back at them in sparring.'

Leaving it at that, he tried reaching for the slapped sticker on his back. And to his horror, he couldn't reach and grasp the thing off his back. "Wh-What the!? I can't reach it?"

Similar to an insane person, he flailed his arms, both trying to remove the slapped sticker on his back. During his attempt, he ended up in front of a mirror. Much to his chagrin, it was a hotdog with two rambutan fruits on one of its sides. Forming a set of hairy dick!

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no... Who the fuck makes these kinds of stickers anyway!?" Leo exclaimed irritatedly, still flailing about to remove the 'dick.'

"AND WHY CAN'T I REACH!?"

[FLASHBACK END]

And because of that, Leo decided to retrain his acrobat and calisthenic maneuvers. Because of that one prank, Leo could glean a weakness he would never have thought of.

He absent-mindedly focused too much on building muscle and strength that he forgot flexibility and mobility. Hence here he was, running through an obstacle course with someone.

And that someone is actually an expert at bodily movement, his fellow strongman, Diana. Accompanying her was Ei, their classmate who excels in rapid and instant change of movement. Considering her quirk allows the drastic increase in her speed with lightning, delicate and masterful movement is a must for her.

Ei being negligent in her movement would be hazardous for her and those within her vicinity. When moving like a bullet, proper posture and positioning are key. Not only does it help in the aerodynamics of the body, but it also helps to keep you from flailing and accidentally striking something.

With Ei's potent quirk, casual flicks of the body would send small arcs of electricity when used. Significantly when, she's enhancing her movement with her quirk.

As the two ran the course, Ei stood on the sides, observing Leo to give advice on how to better his motor skills.

With Leo and Diana, with each lap they pass, the mechanism of the course starts getting more complex. The speed and variability of the moving obstacles increase with each round they go.

Dianna spoke as they dodged and weaved through the course like nimble rabbits, not caring for the moving obstacles around her. "I can see you're relying on your quirk to keep up; you shouldn't rely too much on it. Rather than be a boon, it would become a crutch."

Leo had his quirk boosting his nerves, improving his perception of time, making everything seem slower, and giving him ample time to think ahead. Though the only reason Diana could tell was that Leo's golden irises were glowing. Indicating the usage of his quirk.

"You're using your quirk as well, though?" Leo reasoned with a raised brow. Diana shrugs, "Mines doesn't have an off switch; not my fault, big guy." Her voice was smug, saying, 'You guys got to turn your quirks on?'

'She does have a point,' Leo thought. And immediately, he turned his quirk off. But that proved to be a wrong decision entirely.

During their talk, Diana instinctively avoided a moving wall. Leo wasn't so lucky from the sound of a wall smacking hard against flesh.

*SMACK!*

From his perception of things going slow and instantly going fast again, he couldn't adapt fast enough to react smoothly. Hence a solid hit to the side of his body, sending his body racketeering out of the course.

Ei, watching silently, couldn't help but giggle from behind her hand. But Diana isn't like Ei; she is blunt in these matters. "HAHAHA, that was hilarious! Your face slowly morphing as you got smacked was a highlight for today!"

But with a somewhat power play move, Leo nonchalantly stood up, as if he didn't just receive a wall moving at 70km/h straight to the side of his body.

'Leo could probably jump from the Empire State Building and still be fine. Gods, you might end up asking the pavement if it was okay instead.' Diana couldn't help but consider what she's seen of Leo over the months.

Even when their Teacher, Ban, held sparring sessions with her going against Leo, it was actually a chore to bruise his body. And she vividly remembered his 'spar' against Eren. When Eren transformed, even with bright yellow and sparks covering him, those who could see fast-paced things saw muscle wrap around Eren. Proving that Eren isn't the Giant but pilots one, so to speak.

And her seeing how Leo sicked Eren was quite the show. He LITERALLY plunged himself into the 'body' of Eren and pulled the boisterous kid out! And proceeded to beat the living shit out of the guy. Even shouting how it was because of Eren that his legs hurt during the exam.

Anyway...

"Lesson learned," Leo commented as he dusted himself off. Even with a straight face, his face reddened somewhat due to what happened, causing Diana to laugh even again.

"Yes, I sure do hope you learned from it. While you're exceptionally durable and strong, your speed is fast, no doubt as well. However, you lack a decisive speed like mine," Raiden commented, offering her thoughts. "And since I have been moving with lightning-fast responses for years, I can instantly adapt to the speed of things. So, that is something you must train."

Hearing this, Leo gave a deadpan expression. "You're literally capable of moving at lightning speeds. Granted, only a short while, but barely anyone could match lightning in a speed contest."

While Raiden can move at lightning speeds, the energy she burns is enormous. From her view, it's a minute; for others, it's instant. But after doing that, she's spent. So, it became a trump card for her.

Leo knew this because Raiden used it against him in a training session, knocking him out cold for a solid minute. Leo was out cold, but Raiden's situation wasn't any better. Her hand and forearm crumpled against Leo's defense. She only wasn't able to feel the pain, for she too passed out in exhaustion, allowing Angela, their healer classmate, to restore her hand to perfect condition. In Angela Ziegler's words, 'If your forearm is a plain sheet of paper, it became a crumpled ball in the end.'

Remembering himself getting knocked out caused him to chuckle.

"You're weird at times, do you know that? We're talking about our speed, and you suddenly laugh out of the blue." The violet-haired girl voiced with a miffed expression and started walking away, leaving Leo and Diana to themselves. "Where are you going?" Leo asked out loud, "Sleep is calling for me; I advise you two to sleep as well. Good night, and thank you for your hard work," was her response before completely disappearing after the door closed.

Diana walked over to Leo with a knowing smile and said, "She has a point, Leo. You, at times, chortle out of nowhere." Her fingers jabbed at the side of his arms.

Turning his face to her, he looked at her stiffly, "And you never bothered to tell me?" He asked with hands on his hips, his smile strained. "At times, you look handsome. But like Sun Tzu says, let the enemy make a fool of themselves... or something?"

Hearing her compliment and ignoring the rest, Leo's confidence soared. "The ladies do love my smile," he blurted out jokingly. At times, girls tried to get his attention, but Leo doubted their intentions. Most of them were on the lower ranks, so he suspected them of wanting his rank's status.

But Diana simply rolled her eyes and smiled. "Heh, Ewww, would be my response to that. Anyway, I'll meet my support buddy. She said she made me a lasso to hold people down, saying it fitted me; bye, for now, Leo." She walked out of Leo's gym while waving her hands.

"A support buddy..." He tried looking for one but didn't find anyone that suited him; he did this after the specialist reminded him of their importance. Most of them prioritized their future resume, which was fine, while others' personalities didn't suit his liking. He preferred someone that would grow with him, rather than them trying to treat him as an investment so that they can rise above him and leave when things get rocky.

As much as Leo wanted to work alone, he denied it. He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could do everything alone. He wasn't God. Nope. He was only a 14-year-old kid with goals. If All Might makes mistakes, then who's he to say he won't?

A Hero can only reach the top with a proper team at their back. No one has reached the top alone. If someone has, then props to them. Even Japan's All Might had a sidekick. And his sidekick was only physically fit, not exceptional to make it his signature, yet they... matched? As the specialist said, get one that matches you.

Sighing, Leo left it at that. If he couldn't find one, then he wouldn't force it. For now, it was fine. There was no urgency.

After a cool-down session of stretching, he showered with ice-cold water. Even if it wasn't pleasant to the touch, it was advisable. It reduces muscle soreness if he has one. Then, he cozily tucked himself to sleep, ready to face tomorrow.

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It felt weird in class.

Everybody present in the room can feel it. Well, only the students. For Ban? Well... he just stood there with a shit-eating grin. "Good news, ya brats!" Holding an exclaimed finger up, "After your Winter Exam, the Academy will hold its annual Student matches. ARRHHHHH! OHHH! Can't you feel your blood pumping!? Cause I can! And before you bombard me with questions, it's basically like that anime, Food Wars." He said it with such joy, almost as if he was waiting for children to get beat up.

At that, the students held understanding expressions, but some were clueless. People like Alatus were one of them. And seeing some didn't understand, Ban explained. "This is an Academy tradition, held after the Winter Exam. Students can challenge another student for their rank. And before you say anything, after every month, there are rewards for every ranking category. It amps up the want and needs to challenge."

This is a tradition that isn't advertised to the public. It's not a secret or an illegal act; there's just no reason to share it with the outside world. If the public knows about it, then it's okay. Well, it is known, but only to those who genuinely dig their nose in.

With everyone calm and collected, someone literally just dropped a tornado on a peaceful village. Alatus, the quiet one, raised his hand.

"So, who or how do we become ranked one within the class?"

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CHEERS!