As everyone get closer to the training grounds, the clouds begin to dissipate little by little and the temperature begins to get warmer. Aneko looks back at Riku and gives him a small smile, and he returns it with one of his own. They reach the training grounds; Aneko wide eyed with nervousness. It's an open field, not a single tree in sight. Soft, green grass meshing under everyone's footsteps. As the class continues to follow behind Endeavor, he abruptly turns to the class, still looking down the bridge of his nose at everyone.
"Stand back. The last thing I need is one of you getting burned."
The class backs up as he walks more onto the field. In a swift motion, he uses his powerful quirk to singe the grass around him into a large circle. Aneko watches in awe, since this is the first time she's seen him use some of his power up close. He slowly spins around clockwise, carefully burning the ground around him.
"I wonder what this is for? This looks similar to...an arena? Is that what this is?! Are going to have to go up against him?!" Aneko thinks to herself. Her mouth gets dry at the thought of sparring with Endeavor. He finishes and lets the smoke clear before motioning for the students to come closer. The students walk towards the circle that he's created and he closes the distance by walking towards the group as well.
"If it isn't obvious, I've created a small arena. Yes this is the first day, but that does not matter. I want to see exactly how much control you have over your quirks, as well as how you do with hand to hand combat. No, I won't use my full power. Yes, I'll have weights around my wrists and ankles, but that does not mean I want you to hold back. If you get hurt, Recovery Girl will take care of you for the most part."
"Hand-to-hand combat?! Regardless of the handicap...oh no this isn't going to go well."
Endeavor placed the weights on his wrists and ankles and diminishes his flames by a small amount as he scans the class back and forth. After a few seconds, he locks eyes with a student and points at her.
"You. You're first."
The class turns to her and she stares back at her, confidence oozing from her shoulders and glistening in her forest green eyes.
"This should be fun." The student said as she sashayed towards the circle. Aneko begins to twiddle her thumbs as the match starts, her focus mainly on Endeavors counters and how he maneuvers around the ring. The student is able to keep up, despite getting knocked down every other moment. One by one, students line up to face their teacher. Some actually win, others aren't so successful. After these few matches go by, Eneko feels an unknown presence next to her. She turns and looks directly into the eyes of Andrew.
"Looking a little nervous there..." He says in a low tone.
"Uhh...yeah...this is Endeavor I'm up against..."
"Yeah...you think you can't beat him or something?"
"I'm thinking that my ass is going to be thrown around this arena like a rag doll."
He chuckles under his breath and licks his lips. "Nah...I think you'll be straight."
"Let's hope so...I haven't done any hand-to-hand combat in a while."
"Oh so you have training?"
"My dad...well, he's one of the--"
Before she could finish her statement, Endeavor calls her name.
"Aneko! You're next." He yells out and all of the students turn around to look at her. She takes a deep breath, grabs her long ponytail and twists it into a firm bun on top of her head. She takes one last look at Andrew then slowly makes her way through the group towards the arena.
"Don't waste my time. Come on. Let's see what you've got." Endeavor says with a haughty smirk.
"Aye yo you've got this Aneko!" Andrew yells from the middle of the group. She looks back at him and smiles, then her eyes fall on Riku. She gives him a closed mouth smile and he returns one with a wink. Aneko turns and faces Endeavor, gawking at his 6'5" huge frame towering almost a foot over hers. In what seemed like 2 seconds, he charges after her.
"I see you have a cheerleader. None of those will help you if you're unconscious." He almost lands a punch but he misses by an inch. She dodges to her left, heart racing in fear that she almost got hit in the face. She backs away slowly and keeps her eyes on Endeavor, as he turns around and shoots a flame from his right hand towards her. She dodges that one, but completely missed the flames coming from the left. They hit her and send her spiraling a few feet backwards, almost knocking her out of the arena.
"You can't spend the entire battle trying to dodge attacks." He walks towards her. She stands and feels something wet on the corner of her mouth, and in wiping it, she realizes it's blood. He gets ready to land a punch when she reaches out to use her telekinetic power to grab his fist. Her adrenaline begins to pump through her system as the class gasps.
"Aha...so you're a psychokinetic..." He smirks and gets ready to land an attack with the other fist, but she dodges and kicks him in the ribs as hard as she could. He stumbles back and looks down on her again. She presses her palms to the ground, yet keeps her eyes focused on her current target.
"Ogun, I call on you to help me defeat my enemy. Chango, I call on you for strength to win this battle. Orula, I call on you to bestow wisdom upon me." She says to herself. In that instant, two gold slivers of light stand on both sides of her. They combine and swirl around her in a giant ball, illuminating her gold bracelets and rings around her neck, as well as the tattoos on her arms and collarbone.
"Well then...that tickled, but that's not enough. You're holding back, Aneko! Bring it or leave my class!"
Almost immediately, Aneko let's out a scream and charges at him. They collide, blow after blow, flames thrown left and right. After a while, she immediately stops, both breathing heavily. She points at Endeavor's feet and when he looks down, he realizes that he's standing outside of his singed circle. She actually won. She presses her palms together in a praying hands fashion and says "Amen" out loud and the gold lights fade away slowly. A few of her classmates cheer and clap for her and she looks at her teacher, who gives her a nod of approval as he crosses his arms.
"Well done, Aneko. Believe in yourself more." She bows to him and hobbles over to the sideline with the rest of her classmates. Almost instantly, Andrew and Riku simultaneously approach her.
"I'm impressed." Riku says.
"Yeah, and you were over here all nervous." Andrew follows up.
"I was still nervous the whole time, guys."
"Still, a job well done, Aneko." Riku replies.
"Thanks...I still have a lot to learn."
"We all do...this is only the beginning." Andrew says.
Endeavor makes his way back to the middle of his arena, then looks back over to the group of students.
"Riku! You're next."