[Insert funny Kung Fu Panda gif here]
—[Third Person POV]—
—[Izuku Mydoriya]—
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Summer break had come and gone quicker than Izuku had hoped it would. He'd kept up his training like he always did but it wasn't enough to satisfy him. He'd also grown taller again after another growth spurt, and he'd needed to buy some new shoes for his bigger feet.
But by the end of it, he'd gotten the hang of full concentration breathing and could now hold it for substantial periods of time. He'd also been pushing himself to try and unlock armament haki but he hadn't managed to get there just yet.
He'd also taken the time to write and record his first few real songs. He had mainly stuck to anime intro style songs that didn't already exist in this world. At first, he'd wanted to hop from genre to genre but others already made a lot of the music he knew. Even so, he wrote down and recorded what he could find that wasn't already taken. Plus being Japanese and all kinds of helped with that anime intro factor as well. He hadn't released any yet though instead, he planned to do it the day of the entrance exam.
Now it was the beginning of the new year and the holidays had passed relatively quickly. Izuku celebrated Christmas alongside his family as well as the Bakugos and he had even managed to get Katsumi not to blow up his gift, but he mostly chalked that up to her mother's scolding.
After that on New Year's, he celebrated it with his family as well and with the addition of Kendo, Ojiro, and Bang they'd gone out to watch fireworks at a festival. He'd had fun and on top of that, there was a moment as well when he and Kendo had been alone watching the fireworks as well. He'd almost gone in for the kiss but he'd hesitated at the last moment and it passed him by. On the upside, her bond level had shot up past most others to match Toga's own bond level.
Things had been a bit awkward between them for a little while after that to the point even Ojiro had picked up on the odd vibe between them but in the end, things went back relatively to normal. Izuku had simply thought he'd missed his chance and decided to move on for now at least until another opportunity presented itself.
So instead of focusing on his romantic failure Izuku had thrown himself fully back into his training in the new year. Now he was in the Silver Fang dojo practicing harder than he had in weeks.
Izuku breathed rhythmically in a pattern he'd been using for months now. First inhale, then a 4-second hold, 4-second exhale, and lastly another 4-second hold, repeated continuously. Each moment he held the flow his body seemed to feel lighter, his mind clearer, and his reactions faster than before.
Meanwhile, his body smoothed quick but smoothly. His arms met wooden poles that quickly spun around with each contact. Every movement spun the wooden dummy faster and faster increasing the speed of the emerald boy's flow.
(Switches to Baki Narrator Voice)
The wooden dummy wasn't just for random punching it was for Wing Chun. It's a custom Mook Yan Jong with iron studs and a spin straight out of Kung Fu Panda. It's a traditional training tool shaped like a human torso with arms and a leg, designed to simulate an opponent for practicing Wing Chun techniques, footwork, and center line theory without a live partner, offering physical resistance and feedback for developing structure, coordination, and accuracy.
The martial art itself was the next step in his training. The water stream wasn't just a single style of fighting. It was just a constantly evolving flow of reactive attacks and counters peace together by multiple martial arts capable of evolving on the spot.
So far Izuku had integrated elements of Kung Fu, Tai chi, and karate as well as a few others into the flow of water stream rock smashing fist. The next step was to integrate Wing Chun into his toolkit of martial arts.
Wing Chun is a Southern Chinese kung fu system designed for close-quarters self-defense, emphasizing speed, efficiency, and centerline control. It features rapid chain punches, "sticky hands" (Chi Sao) for sensitivity, and simultaneous attack-defense. Developed by Ng Mui and famously practiced by Bruce Lee under Ip Man, it focuses on using an opponent's force against them.
(Switches back to normal narrator voice)
For a whole hour, he blocked parried, and attacked the wooden dummy until an alarm went off. Instead of stopping and taking a deep breath Izuku kept up his full concentration and walked over to the dojo alarm.
He still wore his blindfold so instead of relying on sight he used his haki to navigate around the dojo. He walked past the wooden dummy and over to the front of an obstacle course of them. Each of the dummies had the same spin and blunted metal spikes all over them.
Izuku walked over to the starting line and stared out into the deactivated course. He wasn't sure if he was ready yet but he wanted to try. There were multiple levels of intensity set up but the basic gist of it was to try to make it to the other side without getting directly hit.
He nodded to himself pressed the button and charged. About five minutes later he lay on the ground bruised, sore, and tired. Needless to say, he failed to get past the course unscathed. He went to get up and try again when a voice interrupted him.
"At this rate, you'll never get there. You need to relax." Bang said walking into the dojo. He was just returning from a supply run to Tattooine station when he found Izuku lying on his floor again snow white gi soaked through with sweat.
He'd just been hungry and now the emerald child had exhausted himself doing something he wasn't ready to do.
Again.
Bang sighed and walked in setting down a few grocery bags to the side. Lucky the kid didn't mess up the main dojo this time only one of the smaller training rooms. Last time he'd made sure to have Izuku personally help with all the repairs in order to teach him a proper lesson on valuing his surroundings. Plus it doubled as collateral damage training as well.
Win-win.
"And what did I tell you about sweating all over my floor? Bang said walking off to the side and taking a seat cross-legged. He popped a chip into his mouth from a half-empty bag and watched Izuku struggle to sit up.
"I'm making progress old man, I just need a few more tries," Izuku said panting, "Also it's a dojo where else am I supposed to sweat old man?"
"Hmph tell me what is that's bothering you so much? I know your training for the entrance exam but that's still over a year away so why push so hard? If you keep going at this rate you'll overtrain yourself." Bang said looking down at the exhausted teen.
Izuku was silent and still for a long moment before fully sitting up he didn't want to admit it but even with all his training and all the time he'd taken to grow strong and still that voice in the back of his head didn't go away. He made his way over and sat across from Bang criss-crossing his legs.
"I'm… I'm not ready yet. Even after all this time and all this training I'm still not ready to be a hero. What if I freeze? What if I mess up when it really counts? What if I'm not strong enough to beat a villain and I don't come home one day?" Izuku looked down at his own emotions saying on him like gravity. He'd staved off this conversation for years but 14 was one too many even for him. He took a deep breath and continued his pride aching, but he knew he needed to get the words out for his own good if for nothing else.
"My mom, you should see how she worries sometimes when she thinks I'm not looking. What if I fail or I let them all down what if I don't pass?" He wanted to say what if they were all right about me but at the end of the day he just wasn't ready to say it. Then he looked up locking eyes with Bang.
"Don't get me wrong I'm still all in on becoming a hero and nothing in this world will stop me, but I'm just… worried that's all." He said his green eyes still shone with determination and a will like fire.
"So that's it. Even after all the time I've known you, you're still doubting yourself?" Bang questioned that his voice was filled with wisdom that only time could provide.
"You knew?" Izuku was surprised, he thought he was keeping it hidden well enough but he supposed that someone like Bang had way more experience reading people than Izuku did at deceiving them. His surprise faded quickly and he started to focus back in on Bang's words.
"Of course, I know I'm your sensei after all it's my job to know." Bang sighed and ate another chip closing his eyes his tone changed.
"Over the course of my life I've had many students Izuku, of all of them there have been three that I've accepted as my apprentices true potential successors to my martial arts style. Each of them is different and each of them have their own flaws. In the end, do you know what distinguished them from everyone else I've trained?" Bang said, picturing three powerful figures in his head that he'd trained and helped grow to a level that few would ever achieve.
Izuku shook his head still hanging in Bangs every word. The old master put the bag of chips down and reopened his eyes. Silver locked with emerald and Izuku understood that Bang's next words were the most critical words he'd spoken to him so far.
"Each of them had a strong will. No matter what their doubts or insecurities were every single one of them never let those doubts drag them down. Perhaps you might think that they never once doubted themselves or had complete and utter confidence in their abilities. But I can assure you that's not true." Bang said his eyes drifted away from Izuku and to the distant past the memories of days long gone filled his head with emotions and regrets he'd rather not speak of.
"It's okay to have doubts and it's okay to worry but there's one key lesson you should always remember when going into a fight."
"What's that sensei?"
"Never go into battle planning to lose. If you believe that you'll lose then that's that but if you plan to lose then you might as well throw in the towel from the very beginning."
"True strength isn't about this," Bsng lifted a fist.
"Its about this." he put his clenched fist over his heart.
"And this." he lifted his hand and tapped a finger on his forehead. He let his hand down and looked his eyes with Izuku's own once more.
"That sister of yours, your mom, Ojiro, Kendo and so many others believe in your dream. You convinced them that it is possible to be a hero to become a hero even without a quirk. All you have to do now is prove them right." Bang leaned over and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"So if there ever comes a time when you no longer believe in yourself. Believe in those who believe in you. And just know that I believe in you too kid."
The emerald-haired boy rolled the old man's words in his mind over and over again trying to make sense of them. They flowed through him, wisdom trickling in with each moment and Izuku tried to comprehend it all. Then he nodded in acceptance.
"Alright. Thank you sensei." Izuku for the first time in longer than he'd realised let a genuine smile cross his face. He looked back down at his hands and clenched them back into fists.
"Good glad we hashed that out." Bang smiled and stood up walking back over to his groceries. He hadn't meant to stop for so long only to check in on Izuku one last time before sending him home. His fire still burned, his will didn't go out, and his doubt submerged itself once again.
Bang picked up his groceries before moving back towards the door. "Oh and brat," Bang said looking back over his shoulder at Izuku.
"Yes, sensei?" Izuku looked up again eyes now more focused than Bang had ever seen them before he had even started his concentration breathing all over again.
"This year were going to push your training harder than ever to break your limits so rest up while you can you'll need it," Bang said with a small smirk before turning back around.
"Right!" Izuku said reinvigorated and nodding his head sharply. Then a small thought entered his head and he asked Bang a question.
"Hey, sensei," Izuku asked one hand scratching his chin.
"Hmm?" Bang turned his head to look back at the jade child again.
"Wait that thing you said earlier was that Gurren Lagann?" He said his voice hesitated to ask the seemingly ridiculous question.
"Nonsense just who the hell do you think I am brat?" Bang chuckled and closed the door.
[Chapter Image]
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For those of you who might be worried Izuku's self-doubt just needs a little character development and it might be gone or it might develop into full-on imposter syndrome who knows?
Woah woah fight the power