Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all passed in a blur. Mornings started early with Dante having to wake up at 7:30 every morning. He did his morning 5km run and then got ready for work for 9AM. Work was steady, he simply stocked shelves, cleaned and dealt with customers. Kazuya and his crew swung by every now and then, mostly to joke around and keep troublemakers in check.
On top of that, Dante had created quite a fan club in only three days. People would come to the shop just to see the cute little guy working hard all day long.
However, when it came to the gym? It was way different.
Tuesday was all about Speed, Agility and Endurance. Dante would have to push himself to the limit, forced to keep running drills that kept him on his feet and kept his reactions sharp while also weaving bits of his quirk into the mix. He had to practice quickly shifting between solid and liquid form, experimenting with how smoothly he could morph between movements without losing his momentum. By the end of the first day, surprisingly enough he actually felt faster, more fluid.
And then it was Wednesday. Dante spent hours refining his combat mastery over the ICCS martial arts thingy Kaijin had made him, going over every strike, counter and movement from the list that Kaijin had given him. He sparred against Kazuya and a few other guys who all made sure that Dante had no time to slack off. It was extremely frustrating at some points, but with every session, Dante's instincts sharpened, and his ability to merge his quirk with hand to hand combat grew more seamless.
Thursday was rough, all focused on strength and combat hybrid training. Heavy lifting, explosive movements and just raw power. Dante endured this horrible day designed to build muscle and reinforce his fighting ability. He incorporated his quirk into strength based techniques, learning how to morph his sludge form in ways that would strengthen his strikes without sacrificing too much energy and speed. The day left him exhausted, but he was starting to feel more energised overall.
…
Friday seemed a bit more exciting though…
Dante sluggishly walked into the gym, his body was in agony but he was still alive and striving to grow. The weight of the week was slowly catching up to him, but that only meant he couldn't slow down else it'd catch him. Today was the only day he got to fully focus on quirk training, and Dante had a few ideas he had been wanting to test out.
Kazuya was off doing his own training today thankfully, leaving him and Kaijin in the empty training space along. The older man leaned against the wall, waiting for Dante with his arms crossed.
"Yesterday you told me you had a few ideas for your quirk right?" Kaijin asked. "Let me see them."
Dante grinned. "Okay then, first one… a way to grow extra sludge limbs?"
Without hesitation, Dante activated his quirk, willing two thick tendrils of sludge to burst out of his shoulders. They twisted and coiled like an extra set of arms.
"When I thought of this one, I had close combat in mind, but I thought of a way to make it even better." Dante smirked.
The two arms retreated back into Dante's shoulders, he shuddered for a second before another two thick tendrils of sludge burst out from his back this time. They coiled and floated around him like some kind of protective gear, then they stretched forwards infront of Dante as he tested their movement. With a flick, the tendrils lashed out , one to his right and one to his left absolutely mauling two training dummies, then piercing straight through them before retracting, dragging the messed up dummies along with them.
When Dante finished, he quickly fell to his knees, "Woah… That burnt the hell out of my energy." He chuckled before he quickly reached into his bag and ate two protein bars before standing back up.
Kaijin smiled and gave him a small nod. "Pretty good offensive potential. How about control? Could you try using them to climb or to grab something?"
Dante turned his head to the nearest wall then activated the tendrils once more and launched them upwards. They latched onto the wall, piercing to secure their place. He gave a small tug, testing their grip, before pulling himself up. It felt surprisingly natural and easy, almost like having two sets of secure gear to climb with. Once he reached the ceiling, he let go and dropped back down, landing smoothly on his feet with barely any calorie loss.
Kaijin tapped his chin. "Functional. But if you can only use two at a time, you're limiting yourself. Try making even more."
Dante looked at Kaijin in disbelief before shoving even more food into his mouth with a pout.
Then he took a deep breath and focused. Instead of two, he willed four tendrils to emerge. Two from his back and two at his sides. The strain was noticeable, but it was manageable. He tested their flexibility, twisting them in different directions. It really was just like having extra limbs, even so, they still felt a bit clumsy as of right now.
"I need to work on more detailed control, also just using it more often in general should help with lowering calorie loss." Dante admitted.
Kaijin nodded. "Fine control will come with practice. Any more ideas?"
Dante itched the side of his face. "Controlling sludge after it has already left my body? I think I've done something like that before."
He extended his arm, letting a glob of sludge detach and splatter onto the ground. Normally, once his sludge separated, it was useless. But this time, just like when he fought Kaijin, he willed it to return to him. At first, nothing happened. Then, the sludge twitched.
Kaijin's eyes narrowed. "I remember you doing this before? Again, I am certain that you can do it."
Dante repeated it, focusing harder this time. The sludge trembled, then started moving. Slowly, but definitely under his control. He grifted his teeth, pulling at it with all of his willpower. The sludge wobbled before suddenly shooting back into his arm.
A small smirk tugged at Dante's lips. "This could end up being crazy good, I also feel like some of my energy returned with that…"
Kaijin nodded. "If you can refine that to its full potential, you won't be wasting any sludge in battle and you could even gain energy back?"
Feeling encouraged, Dante moved onto his final test. He stretched out the two antennae like extensions that were already on his head, thin tendrils meant for sensory rather than combat. He stretched them out, focusing on his surroundings. At first, it was subtle, all he could focus on was that everything around him moved like waves in water. But now, he could feel it. Every single small movement in the air was being completely wired back to Dante's brain. Even the shift of Kaijin's stance was noticed, which it hadn't before and even the faint vibrations of the distant footsteps from inside the main gym were felt.
His eyes widened, "My sensory ability… It has improved greatly?!"
Kaijin raised an eyebrow. "That radar thing? That's good news. Could it be because of how far you stretch it? Try making it longer."
Dante focused once more to test the range, stretching the antennae longer, attempting to feel the world around him in order to make it clearer. It was not perfect, but it was way better than what he had before.
Kaijin smirked. "These are great discoveries, now, we will refine all of them. We'll be here a while and dinner is on me tonight."
Dante cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Sounds great, I was getting all riled up anyways."
…
…
"Ahh, my back kills!" Dante rubbed his back when he got back to the store. The night was very quiet, the streets were empty. His body was sore thanks to the long training sesssion but his belly was full thanks to Kaijin's lovely donations. Either way, he was very satisfied with the day, and if every week was like this… Dante knew he would grow rapidly and truly become a force to be reckoned with. He was making progress, getting better.
When he stepped inside the store, the first thing he noticed was that the lights were still on, and they revealed The Boss slouched at the counter, head resting on his arms. Soft and steady breathing told Dante that he was fast asleep.
He sighed and shook his head. "Guess he was too tired to lock up and go home?"
Moving quietly as to not wake him, Dante grabbed his blanket and draped it over the Boss' shoulders. He barely stirred, only shifting slightly with a muttered sigh.
Dante looked over to the entrance, making sure the doors were locked. And well, they weren't. And thankfully no one had come in.
With a quick click, he secured the lock, double checking as to make sure everything was shut tight. Then, satisfied, he made his way back to his room.
He collapsed on the sofa after taking his sweaty shirt off, muscles screaming in protest. His body was trained, his mind was sluggish, but he was proud of himself.
As his eyes fell shut, one thought crossed his mind.
'I'm absolutely certain that I'm finally getting somewhere…'
And with that, sleep took him.
——
A/N : How do you guys feel about a 5/6 year time skip? Anything else you'd like to see before the full training arc begins?