4 days later, after the exams had already finished, Dante was heading to Kaijin's gym, hands in his pockets, his hair still fairly long, he hadn't asked for it cut yet. Summer break had already started, a few days having passed since the final exams wrapped up, and as per usual, he passed.
There wasn't a big celebration for him. No party, no group hangout at the mall, no fireworks. Just a quiet exhale and a return to the routine from before, though, he was going to get food with Kendo tomorrow, so that's great.
The second Dante stepped through the gym's doors, the atmosphere shifted.
The low thud of gloves hitting punching bags echoed across the open floor. Weight plates clanged in rythm. Music played low from a distilled speaker in the corner. People were training hard and when some of them spotted Dante stepping in, there was a brief pause.
A few familiar faces nodded or gave quick greetings.
"Hey, Dante's back!"
"Didn't think I'd see you in person again, Mr. Hero!"
Dante gave them all a brief greeting, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly upward unconsciously. Not quite a smile but close enough for those at the gym.
He moved across the floor, grabbing a towel from the rack and heading straight for the weights. He was excited to start working out again, he knew absorbing people would be easier. But hey, this was a more heroic way of getting stronger.
That's when Kaijin appeared behind him, arms folded, standing beside one of the metal pillars with that same observant expression of his. He waited until Dante finished up his set before fully approaching him.
"I figured you'd show up eventually," Kaijin said, his voice low but warm. "You look good!"
Dante chuckled dryly, setting the dumbbells down with a metallic thud. "You should've seen me before the exams. Looked a lot worse."
Kaijin motioned them to walk, and the two started walking together to the edge of the gym near the stretching mats. They settled in, Dante beginning to stretch out his shoulders and arms while Kaijin sat cross legged nearby.
"So, tell me. How did your exams go?" Kaijin asked.
Dante took a deep breath, rolling his neck before responding. "Written exam was fine. Practical exam… it was rough." He paused. "I was paired with the ice guy from the festival. They had us fight Aizawa."
Kaijin blinked. "Wait, your teacher?"
Dante nodded. "Yeah, they set it up like a real match. my quirk kept getting cancelled, real pressure. It wasn't staged. I actually thought I'd die, even still, it felt like he was holding back."
Kaijin smirked. "But you won?"
"Yup." Dante said, exhaling through his nose. "We won. Barely. But still, now we get to go to this cool training camp in the woods, I'm really excited."
There was a quiet moment.
"You're gonna be way stronger than anyone else some day," Kaijin finally said. "You keep getting stronger and stronger!"
Dante nodded slowly, reaching down to tighten the wrap on his wrist.
"Yeah. Also, when is Kazuya getting here? I wanna talk about my internship with Mirko, I have some crazy info."
Kaijin chuckled then tossed him a water bottle, "I'm not sure, he hasn't messaged me in a while."
Dante caught the bottle mid air and cracked it open. "Hmm, okay then. I'll do my workout, then I'll wait for him so that I can tell you."
…
The weights hit the floor one last time and Dante straightened up, sweat glistening around his shoulders and neck. His muscles ached, but it was the good kinda ache, the kind that told him he would be getting stronger after this. He wiped down the equipment with a towel, tossed it over his shoulder and let out a long breath as he glanced around the now empty gym.
Still no sign of Kazuya.
He furrowed his brow slightly.
Kazuya was almost always around. Especially after a gym session he'd be around for a talk, go on about how no girls wanna date him while shadowboxing in a corner. But tonight? Nothing. Not even a message.
"Something on your mind?" Kaijin asked, leaning against the wall near the exit, a cup of tea in one hand.
"Kazuya still isn't here." Dante shrugged. "Not really worried. Just… strange."
Kaijin nodded in acknowledgement, taking a sip. "Could be caught up in something. He'll show up eventually, he always shows up at the perfect time."
Dante lingered for a second, then walked over, rolling his shoulders as he leaned against the wall opposite Kaijin.
"Hey," he said, voice quieter than usual. "Can I tell you something? Something about my internship?"
Kaijin's brow lifted slightly, but he didn't hesitate. "Oh yeah! The internship, tell me. Mirko is no joke, she's one of the toughest around."
"That's right, her training was crazy and she taught me how to instinctively fight." Dante said, then he added, "but there's something else. Something I haven't told anyone."
Kaijin crossed his arms, listening.
"I can absorb people." Dante spoke the words plainly, but they held weight. "If I submerge them, cover them completely, I can… take something from them. Strength. Skill. Knowledge."
Kaijin's eyes narrowed, curiosity and even… hope? "You're saying—what? You get stronger based on who you absorb?"
Dante nodded. "It's kinda like muscle memory, but more. During the internship, I absorbed a bodyguard working for a villain. When he was fully gone, I suddenly knew how to make bullets. I knew how to use a gun perfectly. I didn't even realize it until later. But it was in me, like I'd trained with a gun my whole life, I even learnt some shitty martial art from it."
Kaijin was silent for a second, absorbing it himself. Then he muttered, "That's… dangerous. And very rare. Almost like a copy quirk? But you don't take the quirk right?"
Dante nodded. "It doesn't work like that. And I don't want to use it ever. It kills the person."
Kaijin looked him over again.
"Well… thanks for trusting me with that. And good luck with training. Try not to die!"
Dante smirked as he started to leave, wiping his hands on his towel before putting it back on the rack. "No promises."
Kaijin called after him, "I'll stay open a bit longer, I'll tell you if Kazuya comes around."
Dante left the gym with a sigh, then he chuckled and started walking.
About six minutes went by and then he heard a sound.
A voice. Muffled, but close.
He stopped mid step, instincts sharpening. His body sank low and he slipped into an alley beside the street. His antenna extended slightly, he tracked the vibrations toward the side of a nearby building. There. The second floor. A broken window slightly ajar, barely visible from the street.
He climbed the wall quickly, his hands turned to claws and gripped the bricks. As he neared the open window, the voice became clearer.
"He left around five minutes ago."
A pause.
"They should've already infiltrated."
Dante's blood turned to ice.
That voice, that figure, he'd heard it before. Not just today. Several times, the guy that was following him before.
He leapt into the room and crashed down in front of a figure cloaked in black.
The figure yelped, spinning in panic, but Dante was way faster. His sludge tendrils shot out, grabbing the target and slammed them into the wall with just enough restraint not to kill them.
"Who sent you?" Dante hissed, already reaching for the mask.
The figure struggled weakly.
Then Dante ripped the mask off, and his eyes narrowed.
"…Lazer belly dude?"
Aoyama, his classmate blinked at him, wide eyed, panicked and far too guilty.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Dante growled. His anger flared, laced with confusion. "You've been following me, right?"
Aoyama said nothing, just trembling.
Dante's fist crashed into his gut. Not hard enough to rupture anything, but enough to hurt.
"Don't play silent. 'They should've infiltrated' who's they?" He struck him again. "You working for villains?"
Still no answer. Just more wheezing and shaking.
After 5 more minutes of a beatdown and relentless questions, Dante suddenly grabbed him by the collar and lifted him.
"I swear to god if you've let anyone near Kaijin or the gym—"
Then it hit him.
"I-Infiltrated…?"
His heart dropped.
Eyes widening, Dante threw Aoyama to the ground like a ragdoll and took off sprinting out of the room.
"They're inside. They're already inside—"
He had spent about 7 minutes with Aoyama, that means whoever they are had been in there for 13-14 minutes and he would get there in 2 minutes.
Dante's teeth clenched, dread catching up to him.