Testing Limits

'Come on!' Mina groaned, seated with her back against the wall.

"Get up, intern. We haven't even gone through the first half of this checklist." Burnin strode forward with her arm on her hips.

"Before we even begin assigning missions, I must know all your capabilities."

With a sharp breath, Mina stood up. So far, her first day has been tireless training.

'I hope you're better off, Eiji.' She huffed before kicking off, charging towards Burnin.

Her heartfelt thoughts were for nought, sadly, as Kirishima was in a hell of his own.

"Kyaah! It's him!"

'Fuck me,' Kirishima smiled, "welcome to Okuto Island, mam; we're glad you've decided to spend your time with us."

With a small bow, he went to introduce himself and show them around; sadly, he was more of a waiter or guard on this side of the island.

A lot of the VIPs were rich families and spoiled daughters who came to the island for the beautiful beach and seaside view from the resorts. As such, many of the spoiled girls would try to gain his attention or take up his time.

His hero costume did not help him at all. Only makes him stand out more.

"Are you single? Can I get a selfie with you?"

"Do you know Shoto Todoroki?"

He was bombarded with questions like these. Aside from that, however, he took his job seriously.

Walking past the various buildings overlooking the sea, he enjoyed the atmosphere. Everything was fine; nothing weird or suspicious was noted while he patrolled the resort.

which, sadly, only meant more situations like this would happen. A group of three girls his age, he assumed, were walking towards him.

'Oh no,' he said, avoiding eye contact as they were in bikinis; 'the sky looks great.'

He moved to the side, but they followed him. One of the girls gasped, "Oh my god, you're the new guy! First place in the UA tournament!" She spoke with glee.

"Yep, that's me! How can I help you today?" There was no point in trying to escape.

Her two friends giggled, moving closer in; they even leaned forward a bit, showing their

"Can you take a picture with us?" The left girl spoke up.

"A picture, I'm so sorry I've been called to a meeting," he lied through his sharp teeth; it was hard enough to look them in the eyes as is.

It was then that Mark appeared out of nowhere. "It's alright, the problem was handled; allow me, madams, to take the picture," he smiled, but it was not a helping smile.

The girls thanked him, handing him their phones. They each pulled Kirishima by the arms. He pulled back to protest, but Mark fueled the flames. "It's just a picture, Red Riot; why so distant?" Mark always walked with his eyes shut.

So when they opened to take the picture, Kirishima knew he was enjoying it.

...

"Woah!" Bunin jumped back, avoiding a wave of acid.

"Something's not right," Mina muttered. For some unknown reason, her horn twitched and a rage swelled up from within.

"Well, whatever it is, put it into this fight! A real villain won't wait for you!"

...

"I thought you were my ally," Kirishima, face down, sulked.

With a chuckle, Mark helped him up: "I am, trust me, you are only here for a week; the worst stuff is catering inside the hotels."

"And it's your fault for scoring so high in the tournament; people recognise your face so naturally that they'd want to have you around to gloat to their friends."

"Come on, we still have a few more patrols before the sun goes down. We also patrol at night, but you won't be doing night shifts."

...

With a soft thud, Kirishima falls on his bed and says, "It's finally over. Well,  for about an hour before I meet Gang Orca."

The day had been mentally draining, so he thoroughly enjoyed this moment to relax. Pulling out his phone, he reached out to everyone.

"First day going great, guys?"

It didn't take long for someone to reply, the first being Mineta: "This fucking stinks! I'm learning nothing; she's using me as a cleaner; Mt. Lady is a slob!" (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

'I almost feel bad, then again, it's Mineta, so...' He gave the text a thumbs-up.

Not everyone was on their breaks, so only a few answered. Regardless, time flew by.

"Kinda cool, working alongside pros, wbu?" Kaminari.

"My breaks over," he typed while getting up. "I've gotta go train with Gang Orca. Wish me luck!"

Kirishima went to the door and opened it. He saw Gang Orca entering the building. "Ready?"

Walking up to him, Kirishima nodded, and the two left the building. "I heard you were popular with our guests," Gang Orca mused as they went through the forest path.

"So about my training."

"Hahaha, sure, how do you feel about swimming?" he asked as they neared an open beach.

"I've practised; I can hold my breath for a few minutes."

"Oh? I thought you wouldn't need to breathe when you use your quirk. Isn't your transformation-type quirk different from others? I recall reading this on your profile."

Stopping at the boat, the conversed Kirishima explained that he wasn't yet able to transform his insides and was only able to reach the bone, but with his training, he would eventually get there.

"Then equip this." Gang Orca handed him a mechanical face mask. "It'll help you breathe underwater."

"What exactly was the training you had in mind?" Kirishima said as they boarded the boat and left the island.

The sun was soon to set, and the two were currently in the middle of the ocean. "From what you've stated, your body adapts to stress and pressure, rebuilding itself stronger."

He then pointed to the sea, and Kirishima understood, "And since it has to be a great force to ensure some growth, I'll be taking you to the bottom."

Kirishima gulped to the bottom of the ocean. He put on the mask and stood, his body creaking as he hardened. "I'm ready."

...

'I did nothing besides sparring today!' Mina clicked her teeth.

She was currently on a bath road, her body partially soaked from the shower. "At least they gave me a nice room."

Recalling the events of today, she sighed. She rolled over, flicking through her phone. 'My messages are still unread? What are you doing?'

...

'I'm going to die.'

Darkness—nothing but cold, endless darkness—surrounded him as he was floating down the ocean. Another shrill creek reverberated through his body.

At first, the descent was nothing to him, but once light couldn't reach his body, he began to feel the pressure. It was as if weights were placed on his body evenly, and it only grew.

-Crack!

His body was breaking, his shell was suffering. 'It's so heavy, so cold.' It was taxing and dull, pulsing pain like an overworked muscle constantly being pushed further, threatening to burst under the pressure.

"Kirishima, we're nearing the bottom of the ocean," Gang Orca said through his breathing mask, though he didn't need it; it was a way for him to communicate with Kirishima.

And then he released his grip. 'What?' Kirishima was lost, floating in the deep.

"As I said, it has to be a great force to ensure growth; the pressure of the ocean is the least of your worries."

Red eyes gleamed through the darkness, advancing towards him. A chill coursed through Kirishima.

'I need to block!' He crossed his arms, and as a fist slammed into him, the water rippled! And he went crashing into the ocean floor.

'Aarh! Fuck!' He held back the urge to scream and stood up on one knee, his body shaking and cracking further.

"In the water, I am far stronger, so not only will you deal with the ocean but with me." Gang Orca offered no warning. He saw Kirishima on his knees, and despite the weakened look, he knew Kirishima was bracing himself for the next punch.

'I want to cry, but I can't. Man,  this is tough.' With a grin on his face, Kirishima stood up, raising his fist and taunting the darkness since he couldn't see.

"Good, you have spirit," Gang Orca said before advancing even faster than before he reeled back and slammed into Kirishima.

He felt his defence crack from the contact as he embedded him further down the ocean floor.

"Again," he heard.

To no surprise, Kirishima rose, pushing the rocks aside, and so he charged again, this time using his tail to smash Kirishima further in! But wasn't it something he followed with a flurry of punches?

-Boom!

The ocean floor shook with every blow. He made his punches slow and heavy so Kirishima could ask him to stop in between, but even after a hundred blows,

'How is he getting back up?' He wondered.

'I can take another...'

-Boom!

'If I can take just one more...'

-Boom!

'If I can last just one... second. Longer!'

Gang Orca was baffled by the sight before him; the cracks shrunk, and the screeching of metal followed as Kirishima pulled himself together.

There is a difference between his strength when on land and when submerged in water, so Gang Orca had to hold back when dealing with these punches.

If his strength on land was measured, then in water it would be double.

So what baffled him was that the strength he was using right now—the power he held back at the bottom of the ocean unleashing upon Kirishima for training—was a level or two beneath his power on land.

'I recall in his report that he took blows from Nomu, who was made to surpass Allmight's strength. If he adapted and grew from that trauma and kept growing from that point on, then right now What would the outcome be if?'

"Are you getting tired, sir?"

His thoughts were cut off by Kirishima.

"..."

"Gang Orca, sir?"

'Very well then, I guess, should loosen up a bit.'

Kirishima called out between heavy breaths. Only to be met with silence that lasted a few moments, allowing him to force the cracks in his body to tighten.

"!"

-Boom!

-Crack!

Kirishima flew across the ocean floor; blood wanted to escape his throat, only for him to force his body to endure.

'Something broke; come on, body, don't fail me now!' He saw the approaching red eyes and braced himself as another fist slammed into him.

This training is supposed to last four hours, break included, but it's only been one hour. And Kirishima didn't plan on taking breaks.

Through all his thoughts, Gang Orca had forgotten one fact: that Kirishima was not only taking him but the constant pressure of the sea itself.