Step Into The Parlor [Ken & Cait]

G was often busy, whether it was spending time with Hanako, his kids, friends, business, whatever the case may be. The point was that despite training under him, Kenshin could not always do his training with the guy. And that was fine. Kenshin was grateful for whatever time G could spare for him. The boy wanted to make sure that the time G had spent on making the boy his pupil would not go to waste. Due to this, Kenshin would often continue to train hard even without G being there. The boy was determined to stay at the top of his game. After all, villainy never rested. So why should he?

Kenshin changed into a white tank top, black shorts and sneakers, and a red hooded jacket. After grabbing his phone and bag and letting his parents know what he was doing and where he was heading off to, Kenshin headed out, making his way into the Pink Jackal to do some more training. Ever since that day he fought Chise, Kenshin made the spot a regular destination of his. It was a convenient place to go to, not too far off from where he lived, unlike Shien's Dojo which the boy had to go all the way to Musutafu to get to.

In addition to getting some training done, there was one other big reason Kenshin began to visit the Pink Jackal with increased frequency. He hoped to see a certain spider lady there. Ever since he and his spider-headed friend Kumoko met the pro hero Army of One at the park about three months ago, Kenshin was eager to meet with her again. After the hero told the two that they could find her at the Pink Jackal, Kenshin wanted to visit the place and see her. However, an unfortunate combination of school, sword practice, bass practice, and criminal asskicking meant that the boy did not have as much time to visit the place as he would have liked. And on the few times he has gone to visit, the spider hero was not there, presumably busy with work or something important.

Making his way into the workout area, Kenshin was eager to get started immediately. However, the moment he got there, he noticed the pro hero doing her thing. Kenshin immediately lit up with excitement. Oh shit! It's her! Army of One! Greatly resisting the urge to begin fanboying and making a complete fool of himself in front of the hero, Kenshin smiled and lowered his head slightly in a respectful bow. It looked like she was busy at the moment, so Kenshin did not want to interrupt or bother her by talking out loud. Instead, he went to the closest punching bag and began to work on it, punching it twice, kicking once, and then repeating.

Kenshin hoped that she would come say hi once she was done if she wasn't busy. Hell, maybe he would greet her himself once she was finished with her conversation. After their last meeting, Kenshin was hoping to get to talk with her some more. Maybe if he was lucky enough, he would get to train a bit with Army of One. How awesome would that be?

Word count: 538

Notes: To say he's excited is an understatement

Kenshin's smile faltered a bit as he began to be filled with confusion. Wait, did... did she not remember him? The boy would be lying if he said that it didn't bother him even a bit. Then again, Army of One was a pro hero. With all the people she saved and everyone she spoke with on a daily basis, it was only understandable that she wouldn't remember literally every single name and face she saw or spoke to. Who would be able to in her position? Plus, Kenshin aimed to be the kind of hero who focused on fighting crime and saving lives, not on fame or popularity. As long as he could save those in trouble, it would not matter if no one remembered him. Fame did not matter to him.

...So why did the spider lady not recognizing the boy bother him so much?

"Uh hi, miss Army of One. I mean Itsy! Er, which would you rather go by?" Kenshin nervously chuckled as he respectfully bowed once more. "I think you might be mistaken. I'm not an employee here or anything like that. I'm just a visitor. One of my friends and colleagues brought me here before. He calls himself G. Maybe you know him? Tall guy with shades, hair color similar to mine? Anyway, he brought me here before to get some training done, and I've recently been popping in here more often." And now he was randomly babbling. Quick, time to try to fix this and not make the pro hero think that the boy was a complete dumbass.

"My name is Kenshin. We've met before, actually. In Tokyo Park, around three months ago. You might not remember me, but maybe you remember my friend Kumoko? She has a giant spider for a head. Big fan of yours. You gave her an autograph, calling yourself the second most beautiful spider even though she disagreed. You even saved her from these quirkist assholes who showed up to cause trouble. That was really awesome, by the way. And afterwards, you told us that we can find you here at the Pink Jackal if we wanted to talk again."

Would that be enough to jog her memory? Well if it wasn't, then Kenshin would not press the matter any further. He already felt bad enough to be intruding on the pro hero and wasting her time. The last thing he wanted was to be even more annoying than he already was.

"Um, if it's not too much to ask, ma'am, may I ask you for a favor? Could I train for a bit with you? It's fine if you're busy. I'll leave you alone if you'd prefer. It's just that I want to get better at fighting, because I hope to one day be a protector of the people. A hero like you. Well, not like you specifically, since obviously there's no way I'd ever be able to hold a candle to someone amazing like yourself."

God freaking damn it, why am I such an awkward babbling mess?!

Word count: 511

Notes: oof, totally not awkward or anything

Kenshin's face lit up with happiness. She did remember him! Not that it would have been a bad thing if she had not. Again, it was completely understandable if she did not remember him, whether right away or at all. There was no way Kenshin could blame or be upset by Caitlyn.

Now if only she knew that, and if only Kenshin knew to tell her that.

"I'm sorry I haven't really taken you up on your offer until now. Things have been hectic recently. But I can make a better effort to clear up my schedule to visit more often if you want!" Despite what happened with those idiot quirk haters last time, Kenshin had a lot of fun in his last meeting with the spider lady. He really did not want this to be the last time the two got to chat. If she was okay with it, of course. The last thing Kenshin wanted was to be annoying.

Kenshin was shocked to hear that Army of One was actually G's mentor. And that meant that she was Kenshin's mentor too. Holy shit, that was awesome! The boy could not remember if G had brought up this fact in the past or not. "Wait, seriously?! That's amazing! I'd love to learn from you! It would be an honor and pleasure to be your student!" Kenshin bowed in respect before wondering. "Does this mean I should refer to you as sensei? I just want to make sure I'm not being disrespectful."

Kenshin was puzzled when Caitlyn mentioned him teaching her the improper ways. Wait, what? The boy could not imagine being worthy enough to be a teacher to someone cool like Army of One. Besides, she was an adult, an experienced one at that. What would he even be able to teach her that she could not learn from a far more reliable source? Still, if she did want to learn anything from him, Kenshin would of course accept without hesitation. After all, who was he to refuse someone so cool?

"So, what kind of lessons do you have in mind? What should we do?" Kenshin was curious as to what Caitlyn had in store for him. Would they spar, or do some other kind of training? Would he need to use his quirk? So many things the boy was not sure of. But there was also so much he was looking forward to.

This was going to be interesting.

Word count: 411

Notes: Spider-sensei? Has a nice ring to it!

Kenshin could not help but smile at Caitlyn's kind words. It felt like she was assuring the boy that he was not in fact a waste of her time. He was determined to do whatever it took to make sure it stays that way. After all, the last thing he wants is to be a burden to her, or anyone for that matter.

She brought up a good point. The more Kenshin comes here to train, the more he would get to see the pro hero. G was bringing him here to train, and it was not like he had that many other places to train to pick from, so of course Kenshin would not have a reason not to come here. Caitlyn then revealed that she actually lived in the Pink Jackal, on the floor above this one. That was sweet! Kenshin was more than happy to be able to visit her at any time.

Seonsaeng? Being someone who was only fluent in Japanese and knew a little bit of English and nothing else, Kenshin had no idea what that word meant, or even what language it was. Korean, maybe? He quietly and slowly repeated that word so as not to butcher it when saying it aloud. "Seonsaeng it is! I'll try not to botch the word too much when using it." He gave another small respectful bow.

The boy became excited upon hearing that he would not need to hold back. Oh hell yeah! Kenshin was one who loved a tough battle, and being able to go all out made it that much sweeter. But then he became a bit concerned when he saw the spider lady cough so suddenly. Oh no! Was she sick or something? Kenshin did not want to force a training session if she wasn't feeling well. He could always wait. Caitlyn's health was far more important. But then she continued speaking as though nothing was wrong. The boy did not know what to think, but decided not to bring up the matter. If it was something serious, surely she would mention it, right?

"My quirk is a transformation based one. Essentially, I gain a red armor that grants me several abilities. Actually, I feel like my words alone don't do my quirk justice. Instead, I'll show it to you. Action speaks louder than words, after all."

With a smile, the boy closed his eyes for a moment. Upon opening them, he activated his quirk. Unlike every other time, Kenshin said the word aloud rather than just thinking it. "Henshin!" (translation: 'transform')

Immediately, the surface of the boy's body was covered in green lines which crisscrossed to form a grid. On top of the green grid, his armor began to materialize. The red parts that were as durable as stone, the black and purple leather-like parts, the black and white emblems on the boy's chest and back of his hands, the helmet and sunglasses-like visor, and the white hair-like cape that grew out of the back of his helmet. Once Kenshin was fully transformed, he extended his right arm outward while keeping it pointed away from Caitlyn. He then focused, and his right hand began to glow and change shape, becoming his signature red blade made of hard light.

Kenshin then suddenly chuckled nervously. "Please don't think I'm showing off or anything. I just feel like I do a terrible job at explaining. It's a lot more impressive seeing it rather than hearing me fail to explain it properly." Kenshin then glanced at his red blade before looking back to Caitlyn. "Oh, you don't need to worry about the sword. It's not sharp enough to be able to cut too deep, so there's no need to worry about dismemberment or anything like that. Not that I would ever do that to anyone, and not that you would ever need to worry about someone less skilled than you ever being threatening enough for you to have to worry about getting hurt." Another nervous chuckle. I'm babbling again. God, I should stop embarrassing myself and just keep my mouth shut.

"I'm ready to begin as soon as you give the word, Seonsaeng." Despite worrying about making a fool of himself in front of the spider lady, Kenshin was really excited. He could not wait to get started.

Word count: 721

Notes: Excited in battle, awkward outside of it. Pretty much Kenshin in a nutshell.

As Caitlyn's constructs took a more aggressive stance, Kenshin smiled as he did the same. This was going to be so much fun! And with how spacious this room was, the boy would not have to worry about his attacks and movement being hampered, nor would he have to worry about damaging any of the equipment. All he needed to worry about was the fight and doing as much damage as possible while his transformation lasted. "Understood, Seonsaeng! No holding back!"

To help envision the two constructs as more than just training opponents, Kenshin momentarily closed his eyes and imagined that the pair were criminals. Vile, amoral, and despicable quirkists like the ones who had attacked Kumoko long ago. Ones that go after mutants, attacking anyone who they would look down on and call 'freaks' or some other bullshit, the ones that pissed Kenshin off upon seeing the injustices they get away with on a daily basis. The boy gritted his teeth in righteous fury. Scumbags like those were the worst! There was no way he would ever allow them to hurt innocent people! The boy would not let them get away with this discrimination and hate! Not without a fight!

Opening his eyes, Kenshin then made his move. Extending his sword arm out, Kenshin began to focus his energy on his sword, causing it to start glowing. Then, the boy hopped back a bit to distance himself a bit from the two constructs. With a swing of his blade, Kenshin unleashed his sword beam, instinctively calling out the name of his attack while doing so.

"Scarlet Saber Slash!"

However, it did not take long for Kenshin to realize that something was different about his sword beam. If the constructs moved out of the way of the attack, the boy would have noticed that the beam flew out farther than normal before disintegrating. If the attack hit, then the damage done was more than what the boy was used to seeing, with the sword beam now being able to damage something as hard as stone rather than something like wood. Regardless of whether the attack hit or not, there was one other key difference that the boy would immediately notice.

His sword arm was still glowing. He could fire another sword beam!

Holy shit! To say that Kenshin was surprised was a massive understatement. It had been a while since he had to use his sword beam in combat, so he did not even realize that it had become more powerful. But how? Was this a result of the boy's training with G? Kenshin had gone to him to train his body to be able to fight without relying on his quirk. But did this training also boost his quirk somehow? Kenshin still was not completely aware of the exact mechanics of how his quirk worked. Maybe it got stronger as his body did too? Anyway, if Kenshin's sword beam was now stronger, who knows what else has improved! Only one way to find out!

Dashing at Caitlyn's constructs with the enhanced speed that his quirk provided for him, Kenshin swung his sword arm at the nearest one, unleashing a second sword beam. Whether that one hit it or not, Kenshin would immediately dash towards the other one, aiming to slash it. Upon seeing his sword arm, Kenshin saw that it was no longer glowing. Ah well. Still, being able to fire two sword beams now instead of one was still a very nice improvement.

But no time to think about that! The boy was warned to not hold back for a reason. After attacking the second construct, Kenshin would back away a bit to observe their movements, see how they responded to his attacks, learn about how they attack. This was no time to be reckless! One wrong move on his part, and the fight would be over before it could get started.

Word count: 654

Notes: I really should go more in depth with the mechanics of Kenshin's quirk sometime

As Kenshin's sword beam hit Ukon (though as far as the boy knew, the constructs were nameless), he was able to see for a fraction of a second the kind of damage it had done to it. Although the boy had already exhausted both uses of his sword beam for the duration of his transformation, that was okay. His sword arm's strength was about the same as that of his sword beam, so a slash from his blade would cause similar damage.

That was if these constructs didn't possess a regenerative ability of some kind, and if the boy could even get that close enough to strike.

Speaking of getting close, Saikon was able to reach Kenshin as he was backing away to observe. Despite the boy's best attempts, he could not escape the construct's ambush and was now pinned down to the floor. As Kenshin struggled, he saw the creature's head open. The boy's eyes widened behind his visor as he saw all of those spiders, fangs bared and ready to bite down.

Huh, she really wasn't kidding when she warned not to hold back.

Kenshin needed to think of how to get out of this. Right now, he was going off on the assumption that Caitlyn would not stop her spiders from attacking. At the moment, the boy was covered in his armor. Unless the spiders' fangs could pierce stone, or they felt the boy's armor and realized that only the red parts were durable, Kenshin was safe for now. The boy quickly activated his retractable mouth cover to cover his mouth and exposed skin near it. The last thing he wanted was for the spiders to jump inside his mouth. That would be extremely unpleasant.

The boy may not be in danger in that instant, but that did not mean that he was safe. If the spiders jumped down and swarmed the boy, there was a possibility that a few of them would land on the emblem on his chest. All it would take would be a few spiders landing in that spot, and then Kenshin's transformation would end. Then he was screwed. He could not allow that to happen. Come on, think! How to get out of this?

Kenshin started by headbutting the construct. The goal was not to inflict pain, as he was told earlier that it would feel none. Instead, the boy aimed to create a small opening. If he was successful, the boy would use his enhanced strength to either punch, kick, or swing his sword at Saikon (depending on which limb(s) were not being held down). Hopefully, this would be enough to get Saikon off of Kenshin. If not, Kenshin would keep trying to struggle to free himself.

The boy was on a timer. He did not have a lot of time left. While trying to deal with Saikon, Ukon was free to do whatever it wished. Kenshin needed to try to free himself before Ukon decided to go over and assist its fellow construct. Not only that, but Kenshin did not have much time left to maintain his transformation. He needed to free himself, attack both constructs, and land a decisive blow on the two, all before his quirk ran out.

But would Kenshin succeed? Or would the constructs prove to be too difficult to overpower?

Word count: 555

Notes: Time's ticking

Well things were certainly looking hopeless for Kenshin. His arms and legs were pinned down, headbutting proved to be useless as the constructs would not be dazed like a human would be in this situation, and time was running out. Were this not a training session in a controlled environment, it would essentially be game over for the boy. To be fair, this was a pro hero he was training with. Of course Caitlyn would be anything but a pushover.

Well shit. Looks like I'm screwed.

Despite the hopeless situation he was in, Kenshin was no quitter. His battle spirit would refuse to let him give up so easily. So the boy kept on thrashing again and again. He then came up with an idea. If this didn't work, nothing would. Kenshin tried to headbutt Saikon again, this time adding some speed in an attempt to make the attack more effective in loosening the construct's tight hold on the boy. But would the attack prove to be effective?

Ultimately, it did not matter. Regardless of whether or not Kenshin's speed-boosted headbutt managed to work, Kenshin's emblems on his chest and the back of his left hand began to flash in a red light, with the flashing getting more and more frequent by the second. "Damn it." The boy sighed. It was no use. His body could not maintain the armor any longer. As soon as the flashing stopped, Kenshin's armor began to dematerialize, disintegrating until only the green grid of lines that lay underneath it remained. This too began to fade until it was completely gone.

Now that Kenshin's quirk had run out, the spar was as good as over. Without his armor and the speed and defense it granted him, what could he even do against Saikon and Ukon? Kenshin wondered if Caitlyn would call the match over now, or if he was expected to keep on going despite losing his armor. Not that he minded either way. Kenshin was just curious to know what the pro hero thought of his capabilities.

Word count: 343

Notes: At least you tried your best, kid