Enma's fists had weight. He didn't know how hard he could punch because he hadn't ever focused on it. While he didn't punch with every ounce of strength that he had, what happened to Kikurage would mortify him. Instantly as the crack of thunder roared from his fist going into her gut would draw instant panic and send her into a second wind frenzy, he could only stand still and accept what was coming.

The anger was clear and reasonable. As Kikurage punched with a little squeak against him, he would reflexively apologize. "I'm so sorry--" Squeak. Pressure against his chin, he would accidentally clench his teeth with a bony click that made him bring a gloved hand to his mouth. She would continue attacking, spreading a corrosive smudging of black spores that would sizzle against his skin.

"This is fine. I deserve this. Please keep hitting me." As the steam of bubbling surface-level skin cells would trickle off, he would stand there and watch the crumpling Kikurage while he looked down in great shame. Slumping his shoulders and letting the gloves slip off, he wondered if he should carry her. Taking one step forward, Khepri suddenly appeared in defense for her. "Khepri I--"

Looking around, anxiety began welling in his chest. Khepri didn't look at him with the kindness she had when they first met, surely everyone looked and judged at either how cruel or how foolish he was for not knowing how to hold his punch back. He didn't want to leave such an awful impression of himself on Rahul or Lucille either. Worst of all, he hurt Kikurage. She didn't deserve that, that wasn't the point of this exercise.

"This is my incompetence, not your teaching Oberon-senpai. I'm very sorry for injuring her." Still sizzling, Enma would be more concerned about Kikurage than his own dissolving skin. Thankfully, he was tough enough where it wasn't severely injuring before it faded away, but her injury seemed much worse. Retreating into himself, Enma watched her get cared for while bringing his hands behind his back and clasping one behind the other.

There was nothing he could do or say to rectify the mistake now, he just had to swallow it until she could speak. Eventually, he'd need to make it up to her.

Lucille Arbogast junsuina 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲 Kikurage Shimeiji Farrin Mafdet Khepri Ylva Riis

That hand on his chest, those words, that face...Enma was enthralled. He looked forward to every moment spent with her as she introduced feelings into his life that he never knew were possible. Where he was ready to fight until he had fallen with no one waiting for him back home, now he had more purpose to survive and not be so reckless. She opened his eyes to the darkness within, even if they hadn't spoken on it.

She didn't sustain any heavy injuries. Good. Maybe a little darkness was fine in life-or-death situations, but what if he scared her? "My ribs are healing, the core is a bit harder due to location." Feeling his stomach, he looked up at her and felt not pain from the still-mending ribs, but butterflies. Oh, the butterflies were fluttering with fiery excitement. Then she...she invited him into her room?

This is moving so fast...Do I make a move? Is this where I hit her with shock and awe like Papa Arashi said? Swallowing his anxiety, he shakily followed and when she wasn't looking, let the tough act drop. Whenever she looked at him, she would see a stone fortress. Upon viewing a room that was mostly akin to his, he saw the main difference: flowers. It was beautiful, like her. Full of surprises, like her. Well-cultured, like her.

"Tea sounds wonderful, Masao." Setting Raiju on the weapon rack, he would take a seat on her bed. He began fidgeting with his hands on his thighs. Did he take his shirt off here? No, what if he was wrong!? She returned shortly after and he was laying on his side, leg propped up and an arm wrapped around his torso. He tried to look cool and relaxed, but felt silly and immediately sat up.

"Ahem, yes, I only recently spent more time in mine as I made a new friend. I...found a new hobby! Her name's Jun, she has shown me the game 80K. I've been preparing for our face-off where I will surely crush her!" Smacking a fist down into his hand, there was only determination in his face. Hopefully she wasn't the jealous type, but it would be the first time Masao would hear about a friend of the opposite identity.

As she sat down with him and began telling him of the villain she fought, he started to feel extremely worried. She was clearly fine, but he still pondered the possibilities. That's why they sparred, so she could be a stronger warrior. Have faith in her. She's stronger than you. When she told him that the thought of him helped her push through, a few things dawned on him. The first was that he couldn't imagine a world without her, truly.

So trapped in his head for a moment as this revelation began surging through him, his grip tightened. Not so strong that it hurt, but tightened with emotion. The other revelation was that thinking of her was near constant and helped push him through the darkest times. Thinking of her felt like breathing and if she hurt, he choked. These things only meant one thing, and as he was so captivated by the thought, his mouth moved with his mind.

He didn't mean to interrupt her, but there was nothing stopping him speaking at the same time she mentioned her father. "I love you." Catching his mouth, Enma felt something so foreign take hold. He loved Masao? He loved Masao. Her father was...he was...was he going to die? No, but he would faint.

Masao Ando

With reckless blows, Enma surely wouldn't sunder anything. When there was nothing in his hands, he began to realize the weight of his fists. The balance was not quite the same feeling as Japanese steel slicing through the air. No, these were blunt forces being levied that weren't indestructible either. Enma, catching his breath, would look at his teacher and wonder what the next move was. Lawbringer was right, as he needed to combine more than just being fast and strong.

"Okay...Your body is strong. I've heard that the strongest skin comes from the most broken men that heal through the trauma. I can only imagine..." Striking a stance once more and analyzing his approach, he needed to think and refine like a master of war. Making subconscious adjustments and muttering under his breath in between words the exact thoughts, Enma showed he wasn't some lunkhead.

"...What you've been through to be that tough. If you're a shield, then I'm a sword." This next approach was a bit more calculated. Before, Lawbringer was deflecting his blows through sheer anticipation. This time, Enma wanted to use a series of jabs and shifting movement to test and overload Lawbringer's capabilities. Low committal, numerous strikes should be good enough for finding a crack in his reactions.

Maybe no crack in the armor, but if he could just find a way...then he would finally land a proper attack. "My quirk doesn't work with my body, but my power comes from me still." Throwing in a feint, he'd use it to try and slip a punch for the man's solar plexus. It was still sloppy, but the approach showed adaptation that only natural born warriors had the knack for in the heat of a fight.

"Was that better?" He'd ask, success or failure aside. If Lawbringer saw that he was making improvements, then it meant that he wasn't beating a dead horse.

Lawbringer

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Quirks were strange. Enma knew that the unique features of every individual would mean new experiences for him no matter what age he was. At a place like UAU, this would be especially true. Those hoping to be heroes would have the wildest powers, beautiful and scary. As he began packing up his machine, he used the intermission as an opportunity for him to return the equipment to his father's shop.

"You should be careful. I don't think anyone is indestructible, even if you appear to be." It was stern, but Enma wondered if this person thought that they simply couldn't die. Clumsiness invited weakness, created openings. Even if you could create gaping holes through her head, someone would be able to kill Wendy. A dead hero was not a useful hero. As Khepri returned, he would put a hand up.

"I actually need to return this, but I appreciate you getting the water. Khepri-san, Wendy-san, it was nice meeting you. Feel free to join me whenever I'm out here." Nodding, he was being as polite as he could be. It wasn't expected to have met them so suddenly, but it did help his goal. He needed to open up, so while he couldn't promise regular hangouts, he could at least be inviting enough for them to meet in the future.

Still, if alone time was what he wanted, he needed to take it elsewhere.

Mafdet Khepri Wendy

When Enma was taught how to wield a sword, he was only shown a few basic moves when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Lawbringer had given him some useful advice, but of course he needed a consistent tutor. With the focus on helping Masao be as good a warrior as she was a swordsmith, he hadn't spent enough time learning how to rely on his own body. After the assassination attempt, it was important that he not rely entirely on Raiju or the sword his girlfriend made for him.

That's where Farrin's teachings came in. At first, Enma had rough imitations of what he was being told. It took some workshopping, but he did eventually start to feel where things felt right. While his form wasn't that of a trained boxer or similar unarmed combatant, the fighter in Enma knew what felt right and what didn't when it came to function. The power of a human was that their body could operate like a machine all it wanted, but the brain is what empowered its actions.

Figuring it out like a puzzle and nodding along with Farrin's words, he wouldn't say much in return. When Rahul showed, he would return with a courteous, almost friendly, nod. Eventually, Kikurage and him would get paired up. She formed mushroom gloves, which looked soft and pillow-y. "Oh, sure." It would come in handy, he didn't want to hurt her too badly. As Farrin wanted to teach them 'dirty boxing', he knew that Papa Arashi would be furious to know the warrior wasn't learning something more 'honorable'.

That didn't matter, as Enma learned first-hand that enemies would use any matter of tricks. Villains were the worst of it, thinking on the cybernetic assailant that shifted forms. "Nice to meet you, Kikurage-san. Arashi, Enma." While Enma was learning to balance his movements, he was still keen. Studying Kikurage's approach, she would let off a few awkward jabs that were easy enough to deflect.

Rahul approached and helped her adjust her stance, nodding back at Enma and allowing them to start proper. As Enma would continue with her, he would do as Farrin instructed and block the next attack, only to return with a great force behind his own punch. Enma was strong and didn't know how to regulate his strength properly without a sword. It was one thing to know how a sword cuts, but he didn't fully grasp how his fists could shatter stone.

"Like that, Farrin-senpai?"

Kikurage Shimeiji Farrin Mafdet Khepri Lucille Arbogast 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

The Night Before...

The time has come. A girl has invited Enma to her place where they would be alone. If there was ever a reason to call the Emergency Arashi Roundtable, it was now. The room was dark, light only illuminating what was a repurposed poker table typically used for his father's pachinko nights with friends. The three Arashis sat with their elbows on the table, fingers bridged together in deep contemplation. Shadows cast over the upper half of their faces as they took this matter with upmost seriousness.

Nothing could bring Papa Arashi and Father together in a room in such unison, nothing bridge years of estrangement more than the only remaining heir stepping towards the inevitable destiny of being the next man of the house. Papa Arashi wore a traditional hakama and had a long, thin set of three handles making up his facial hair. Two from his upper lip, one from his chin. It formed almost a trident. His hair was tied in a bun with his head being mostly bald otherwise, but by choice and not genetics.

Father wore his uniform from working, having rushed over immediately to discuss and strategize at this EAR meeting. Enma wore his typical all-black UAU uniform and coat, Raiju resting against the table. After what happened just outside of his father's store previously, he wouldn't risk it. There was a great silence that loomed over them as they found the words for each other. It was no easy thing to come together and maintain the peace, but for Enma?

For what was coming to pass? They'd do anything. "Father, Grandfather, I have ordered this meeting to ask of you something I never thought I would. I need your help. As you know, my girlfriend -- yes, girlfriend -- invited me to her dorm while her roommate was gone. You know what this means." It would be Papa Arashi who would speak next, the most petrified of the deep-thinking men being Father.

Still, their face shrouded by the single-bulb lighting and hunched over in contemplation, the words were chosen with sincere confidence. "Enma, boy, the time has come. You will finally be a man and inherit the Arashi clan." Without breaking posture or pose, Father chimed in. "While I am still very much healthy and alive, father, I must agree that the time has come. We've prepared a contingency for this moment."

The two hadn't spoken in years outside of the tragic news of Enma's mother and sister. Yet, there was an unspoken agreement between the two. Maybe a spoken one when Enma was still very young, an undying pact that has now come to fruition. Enma was terrified at the prospect, trembling at his ankles but rock-solid in his upper half as to not show that fear to his fathers. "You will not leave here unprepared." Nodding in unison, Papa Arashi and Father synergized in their agreement. "And you will not leave here without knowing how to be responsible."

Enma began nodding along with them, but also had an internal realization. This was an awful idea. "So to treat a lady right--" Papa Arashi went head-first into how the warrior would be both one in the battlefield and in the bedroom. "And the importance of contraceptives before financial security--" Yes, Father chose until Enma was twenty-two to finally have THAT talk.

It was a long night.

The Next Evening...

The EAR did not cure Enma of any anxiety. He texted her a few times that day to show he was looking forward to their time together, but wanted to seem cool. Finishing up any courses he had, he would immediately make for her place. Knowing how she liked to surprise him with her boldness, he took some extra steps to really amaze her today. Standing in the mirror with a new shirt on, it would be a turtle-neck with no sleeves that he might've not fully researched into before getting.

It was cotton and thin and hugged his muscular figure quite well. The neck was thick and the only pattern it had was the vertical lines of stitching. Exposing the surrounding area around his arm shoulder sockets, it really put a focus on those beef sticks of his. Wearing red slacks and black shoes, Enma tapped into this unknown fashionable spirit and wore a black and red bead bracelet. Bringing Raiju along as a precaution, he would not leave them vulnerable.

Wrapped in cloth and tied to his back, Raiju was hidden tastefully as to not scare anybody. Arriving, he looked at Masao and smiled confidently, hiding his utter enthrallment with her. When she hugged him, he wouldn't hesitate to turn it more romantic with a kiss. This is where he took Father's advice. Be passionate, slow and methodic. Given that she accepted the kiss, show Masao that he was bold and confident and kept her guessing.

"My day? My day. My day has been good, yeah. I've been thinking about you all day. How's your injuries?" Be caring, be mindful. Taking a look around the dorm, it began hitting him that he was in a girl's dorm room. They were alone. It was his girlfriend and him with all the time in the world. What if he wasn't ready!? "Tea would be good, Masao." A warm smile her way, he took Raiju from his back.

"I...did not want to come unprepared in case...well, you know. Where may I set Raiju?" A precaution, but one that may be needed to defend himself if he terribly misinterpreted how the night was going to go. According to his fathers, he was the one expected to make the plays. Plays were dangerous. Always be prepared. Use protection! He heard repeat in his head. Clearly that meant use Raiju to defend himself if Masao began murdering him.

But that wasn't going to happen! Right?

Masao Ando