My Swarm Academia: Call Of The Void

Monday's arrival came without incident. Time was closing to the sports festival. With that in the forefront of everyone's minds, they looked to Kai's after-school training with a little more eagerness than usual.

Of course, they were still mad at Kai for before, but they wouldn't let that stop them from taking his help to do better.

"So far, we have been watching your forms and strengths as you spar against each other," Kai said to everyone once they had gathered at the athletic field. "Now, I am going to show you what I have learned about you. In return, you can show me anything you have learned.

"Deku, I'm starting with you. Ayako, you pick an opponent as well."

Gesturing, Kai led Deku to a rectangle painted on the ground and took up a ready stance. Deku looked nervous, but looking into Kai's eyes, he felt like he could relax.

Then Kai advanced, sending a quick strike straight for Deku's face. Instinctively, Deku swept one arm out to push Kai's fist to the side. Now that the fight had begun, his mind went a mile a minute trying to plan out his next move.

On Kai's side, Kai kept seamlessly moving from attack to attack, keeping his speed at a level that Deku could barely handle. Watching how he moved, Kai nodded with approval.

"You have seen the core of the Battle Dance, haven't you?" he asked while pausing and circling Deku.

"I- I think so?" Deku wasn't sure of himself.

"The Battle Dance simplifies combat. Instead of trying to watch a move, you sense the rhythm. Then, you can react without knowing, and attack at what you do. You don't have to think as much when you know when to move," Kai said as he launched himself back into the offensive.

Feeling the Battle Dance, the Rhythm of War, moved the battle into instincts. Deku had good instincts, and experience watching heroes, villains, and their Quirks to draw on and feed those instincts.

Not only that, his ambitious dream to become a Symbol of Peace, like All Might before him, drove him to grow quickly. Only two weeks into school, and only a little more of having his Quirk, and he was already quite skilled. Not a master, but certainly one who showed promise to becoming one.

However, there were many things that Kai could see holding Deku back. He was straightforward, like All Might before him. Honesty in battle was more of a liability than a strength. He was just a child at the moment, and had time to grow. Still…

"Do we really have enough time…" Kai muttered.

"Huh?" Deku just barely caught Kai's words. Hesitating, wondering what he meant, he was caught by surprise with a kick to the ribs.

"Oh. Sorry about that. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that much compared to breaking all of your bones like you have been, right?" Kai leaned over to help Deku up.

"R- right. Um… what was that you were saying…" Deku asked nervously.

"You don't have to worry about that right now," Kai said tersely.

"But, what did you-"

"I said you don't have to worry about it. I am helping you all to get stronger, and that is all that is important at the moment. You think too much sometimes, and that is probably one of your biggest weaknesses, besides your obsession with the old man."

"Eh?"

"Just think about it when you have the time. Which is not right now," Kai finished, sending his fist on a direct course for Deku's solar plexus.

Deku yelped and jumped back. Kai followed, once again raining blows without end. This time, he staggered his breaths, making it so that Deku couldn't find any rhythm to follow but the attacks themselves.

After dealing a series of direct strikes, Kai withdrew to let Deku catch his breath. Deku was showing some great growth, but he was still slow. Perhaps his personality was better suited to just being a tactician, after all.

Which would be a pity, if he would soon have the power that All Might had.

Or perhaps he just needed some insight. In which case, it might be best to wait and see if the Sports Festival would show any results.

Everything was taking too much time. Maybe it would have been better to try Plan G from the start…

But that would be too much blood. Not that Kai would have a problem with shedding it, but the world's governments would. Then they would get involved, and Kai wouldn't be able to deal with them all.

Plan G would be easier if war broke out.

Or rather, when, but there should be at least three years before that happened.

Time indeed, but these children would still be such in just that much time. After this little Sports Festival, some… acceleration might be in order.

Suddenly, a shiver went down the spines of Class 1-A. Instinctively, many eyes turned towards Kai, but his face was… serene, if one could use that to describe someone who had just beaten Deku into submission.

A few, like Asui and Tokoyami, felt that in itself was cause to worry.

After a few more rounds of taking opponents and pointing out weaknesses to cover, Kai called the practice to an end.

"You all are making progress in your combat awareness," he said. "Not as much as I would like, but we still have plenty of time before you really need it. Which, by the way, isn't this little show on Friday."

Kai shook his head. Even if he could understand why such an event happened and why others were so… invested? Fanatical? … he couldn't empathize. People could find themselves fixated on the most unimportant things sometimes.

"What are you training us for, then?" Deku asked hesitantly.

"Not important, at the moment. Worrying about it would just be more trouble to you than its worth. You can at least see that I will make you stronger, better heroes, right?"

"But-"

"You can't change my mind. Not now. Not when you have yet to show that you can do it. After all, why would I tell you to do something while it is impossible for you to do it? Let's just say that it is in the end unnecessary, but I would like some help in the future. Since the current generation of heroes here are pitiful, I will raise the next from the ground up.

"The fire of true heroism has long since been killed," Kai turned to the rest of the class. "In Japan, one Top Hero is snorting the ashes, while the second kicks them about. Thus, it falls to others to light a new flame. To me, if I can.

"I will have you burn brightly. But for now, go home and rest.

"You will need it when the flames come."

As everyone scattered on their way, Kai and Ayako walked side by side to their own home.

"You really can't just tell them? It wouldn't really take long."

"Was my reasoning wrong? They know enough. For now, the fear of the unknown will be enough. They will anticipate and work for the day that their efforts are seen as worthy, even though they have no idea what they want to be worthy for," Kai said with a small smile.

"Do you feel bad at all about manipulating them?"

"Not at all. After all, I have told no lies, and they know that I'm hiding things from them. 'The most difficult form of manipulation is being genuine, but it's the only way to gather true allies.'"

His mom was crazy, but she had been right more often than not.