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The Road to Greatness: One Quirk at a Time - Chapter 6
🕑 Added 2024-02-03 01:49:51 +0000 UTCChapter 6
I slowly came too, feeling groggy and a bit disoriented. I didn't even open my eyes before I realized I was in a hospital bed. It was the smell, antiseptic and impersonal, and then there was the feeling. I don't know what it is about hospitals but they have this feeling to them that always makes me feel uncomfortable.
My eyes snapped open as the memories of what I'd done just before passing out came back to me in a rush. My eyes snapped open and I sat up to look around the room. Clearly the day had been won but...
I sagged and lay back down. Midoriya was dead and I had One For All now.
Now that I remembered, I could feel it, like a cancer inside of me. Worse, I could feel the Quirks it had taken into itself and copied from me. It was proving its relationship to All For One to me.
I hated it.
Most people might think having permanent empowered Quirks copied forever would be amazing.
Honestly, it kind of is.
Yet, it was stomping on my pride. I worked my ass off to get my Quirk to where it was. I forged my body with my own blood, sweat, and tears. I talked to the people who gave me their Quirks. They were friends, of a sort. I worked with them, made promises to them, and now this fucking Quirk was making a mockery of everything I'd done to make myself into the hero I wanted to be.
I know some people in my situation would do whatever it took to go after someone like AFO to copy his Quirk and then use it to permanently steal AFO for themselves. I admit, I once had the same thought. But... Quirks are amazing and they are a part of the people that have them. Taking that away from someone, permanently? That was a horrific crime.
Now... now I would permanently copy any Quirks that I copied. One For All would steal a part of those people and devour it with its greed. But... what if it was worse than that?
My eyes widened in horror as I remembered that there were aspects of the wielders of One For All within the Quirk. Granted, they all had the Quirk first but... But what if it also copied the persona, or will of the people whose Quirks I copied? Was I capturing part of their essence permanently every time One For All copied their Quirks?
Just the possibility was horrifying.
I could feel it, inside of me. The changes it had made to me. Its power. Its greed.
One For All really was the brother of All For One. They were just two sides of the same coin. One blatant, the other subtle. Either way, they both stole Quirks.
I'd never been happier that I'd waited to copy someone's Quirk. I hadn't, yet, installed Kirishima's Quirk into myself and now I never will. I couldn't do something like that, copying his Quirk permanently. I couldn't do that to anyone in my class. Hell, I couldn't do it to anyone in my school! Robbing a villain of their Quirk was one thing, robbing heroes and civilians was something else entirely.
I was forced to stop thinking about it when the door to my room slid open. The nurse that opened the door stopped in surprise when she saw I was awake, “Oh! Good morning. We thought you would be asleep for a while longer. I'll get the doctor for you.”
Before I could say anything, she stepped back out of the room and closed the door. I just sighed and used the controls on the bed to move it up into a sitting position. I tried my best not to think about how One For All was fucking with my dreams and focus on what I could do moving forward.
Thinking about it, I cussed, “Fuck.”
I was going to have to go full Rogue for a while. Otherwise I'd risk copying the Quirks of anyone I touched. My Quirk automatically copied the Quirks of anyone I touched. Normally, not a problem because I could just 'forget' it immediately or let it time out. The only exception was if I was already holding four Quirks.
Now I needed to learn how to notautomatically copy everyone's Quirks.
Oh fuck. Quirk singularity was a thing, wasn't it? I think something weird happened to Tomura in canon and he mutated somehow? I never saw or read that, but I think I remember seeing or hearing something about it. If that shit was real... Was I at risk of becoming some mutant freak if I copied too many Quirks?
Shit.
Thank god the door opened and a middle-aged man in a white coat walked into the room with a congenial smile on his face, “A Monoma-san, it's good to see you up and about. We were worried for a while there.”
“Why? What happened?”
The doctor consulted the papers on his clipboard, “Well young man, it seems that during the... altercation yesterday, you somehow managed to give yourself some pretty significant brain damage.” He flipped the page and nodded, “You were lucky you managed to use your Quirk to copy that.. things regeneration or you would have risked permanent damage. Still, we expected the damage to take longer to heal once your copy of it ran out.”
Ah, right. Doctors had access to the Quirk registry to make sure they could properly treat their patients. Mine was slightly out of date but mostly accurate. Or at least, it was. The doctor continued, “I'm surprised you managed to wake up so soon. We'll need to take some scans to confirm, but I suspect the damage will either be gone or greatly reduced.”
After that, he finally focused on me, “More importantly, how are you feeling young man?”
I gave a somewhat rueful smile, “I feel perfectly fine.” Aside from the monstrous Quirk inside of me, “do you know what happened after I passed out?”
The doctor shook his head, “I'm afraid not. I expect your questions will be answered when the police and school representatives come to get your statement.”
I nodded, that sounded about right. I sighed and slumped as much as I could. I knew I was in perfect condition. The Nomu's regeneration made sure of that. My problem was, I had no idea how I was going to deal with All Might and being his new successor after the death of Midoriya.
The doctor informed me that the police and school rep would be on their way soon to meet with me. During that time I spent it thinking about how to drop a hint that All Might would get. I just hope All Might is one of the people who will be visiting me. I suspect he will be due to Midoriya's untimely demise.
-----Line Break-----
It was about an hour later, after a nice lunch, that the police arrived. Along with them came Bubble Girl, Nezu, and skinny All Might, who was introduced as Yagi Toshinori. I'm pretty glad he's here.
The officer, Tsukauchi Naomasa, was the one to ask the questions. He was a middle aged looking man with dark hair and eyes, wearing a classic beige colored trench coat and matching hat. He looked like a detective from those old classics. His first question wasn't unexpected, “Monoma-san, I'd like you to explain to me, in your own words, what happened at USJ.”
I sighed and explained everything that happened until I got to the point where I joined the fight against Tomura and the Nomu. “I saw that Tomura guy charge at three other students. Aizawa stopped this Quirk before he could use it on Asui-san. I tried to help by launching Tomura into the air. That Kurogiri guy and the Nomu rescued him, freeing Aizawa and the others. I didn't expect that Tomura guy to act like a whiny child throwing a temper tantrum. He ordered the Nomu to kill everyone.”
I looked down, “I just reacted. I grabbed Midoriya, Asui, and Sero all at the same time with a Telekinesis Quirk I have access to. I pulled them all toward me as fast and hard as I could to get them away from the Nomu. That didn't stop the Nomu though. It moved faster than I could pull them... It... it punched Midoriya and all I felt was pain.”
Just remembering that head splitting pain hurt, “I felt like I was dying and then something hit me. I don't know exactly what happened, but when I regained my wits...”
I took a deep breath, “Thinking about it... I think I was in shock at the time. I don't remember feeling much. Anger... for sure. Midoriya he... he was on top of me... I don't know exactly how bad his injuries were... All I know is when he coughed on me blood came from his lungs.”
I shuddered at the memory. Seeing it in my mind, it was horrifying. I watched someone die. He might not have been my closest friend, or even more than an acquaintance. Yet... tears were coming from my eyes as I pictured his body in my mind. He was my age, and he was dead. While I never treated this world as a game or something to be taken too lightly... I'd honestly never even contemplated the thought that any of the students could actually die...
Midoriya was dead.
The protagonist, the one who should have had plot armor... died.
My heart hammered in my chest, I could feel it slamming into my ribs, hear it pumping furiously with my ears, so loud it even blocked out the sounds in the hospital room.
Midoriya was dead.
But... he wasn't supposed to die.
Did... did I kill Midoriya?
Would he have lived if I sat back and did nothing?
I... I always tried to do my best. From the very moment I was conscious in this world, from the moment I knew its dangers, I'd worked hard. I'm not the smartest person, so I studied hard. I'm not the most athletically gifted, so I worked hard. It gave me pride in myself to know I wasn't wasting this life like I wasted my last one. I did everything I could to improve myself and it gave me pride.
I felt a jolt of morbid amusement as I remembered an old proverb, 'Pride cometh before the fall.' It sure as hell came before mine. Did my pride kill Midoriya?
“...noma...”
“Monoma-san!”
I jerked as I heard something other than my heartbeat. I looked up and was reminded that I wasn't alone. I reached up to wipe the tears from my eyes. The other people in the room giving me looks of understanding. Thankfully there were no looks of pity or I might have lost it. I didn't need anyone's pity!
“Sorry... I got... lost for a moment there.”
My voice sounded dry and hoarse even to myself. Bubble Girl picked up a disposable plastic cup and filled it with ice water before offering it to me, “Here, drink this.”
I accepted the cup and took a few sips. Once I felt calm enough to talk, I continued, “I could see the light fading from his eyes but... he smiled.” I looked up at them, “He smiled and called me number ten.”
I saw several eyes widen at that, All Might, Nezu, and Naomasa all reacted. I looked down and took a deep breath, “After that... I watched him die.” My voice sounded hollow, even to me, “I heard his last breath. After that... Things get a bit blurry. I had access to Midoriya's Quirk due to his blood and it... Well it overcharged me. I don't know what his Quirk was but it had a ton of power. It amplified everything I did.”
I took another sip of water, “I can't remember everything I did, but I know I attacked the Nomu. Then, that sick fuck Tomura said something and I attacked him. After that its a blur of punches. I remember my arms shattering with every blow and then repairing before the next hit. I don't know how many times I broke... at least hundreds, maybe thousands of times. I don't know. But I remember one final blow, Nomu flying, and then darkness. After that, I woke up here.”
Naomasa checked through his little notebook, flipping pages and rereading some of his prior notes, “As far as I can see, everything you've said matches up with the statements from other students. According to them, during your battle with the Nomu, you attacked Tomura. It appeared as if you'd crushed his limbs, but we have no proof and he hasn't been seen or taken to any hospitals.”
He looked up from his notes and pinned me with a stare, “Regardless, if true, that would be going completely overboard. Actions like that could get you in a lot of trouble. Keep that in mind in the future, alright?”
I numbly nodded. I think I remember that. Tomura saying something and me using telekinesis to attack him. If I crushed his limbs, all the better. In canon Snipe had merely shot him in his limbs. Bullet wounds would heal significantly faster than having all four limbs turned into a mangled mess with powdered bones. Without a major healing Quirk or exceptionally powerful regeneration, it would probably takes months, or maybe even longer.
If it meant AFO having to waste resources on Tomura, even better. Part of me wishes I'd killed him but... I don't know if I could actually do it. Not anymore. A few days ago I would have proudly proclaimed how I'd gladly kill Tomura. Yet... I didn't when I could have and now... I don't know anymore.
Naomasa closed his notebook and put it in his pocket, “That's all I needed, for now. If there's anything else I'll let you know Monoma-san.”
I nodded. Naomasa glanced at Nezu and skinny All Might. Nezu nodded and spoke up, “Awata-sensei, would you be so kind as to accompany Detective Tsukauchi out?”
Bubble Girl looked a little put out, but nodded anyway and the pair left. Nezu turned a stern look to All Might, who closed the door and made sure it was locked. I watched the pair, silently. Once the room was secure, Nezu looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes, “You left out some important bits in your talk with the good detective Neito-san.”
I slowly looked up and stared into his black eyes, “I don't know what you're talking about.”
All Might, turned and there was an explosion of white mist as he transformed into his muscled state, “Yes you do Neito-shounen. Mid..” He choked a little and I could see he was fighting back tears, “Midoriya-shounen called you the tenth. The tenth holder of his Quirk, my Quirk, now your Quirk. One For All.”
I stared at All Might, unable to even muster the energy to pretend to be shocked. Instead, I felt nothing but venom at the name of the Quirk, “You mean the cancerous thieving Quirk of his? It was yours and you passed it on to him?”
Both All Might and Nezu looked taken aback at the venom in my voice. All Might, a bit too emotional, couldn't talk so Nezu took over, “Neito-san, can you explain what you mean by that?”
My focus shifted from All Might to Nezu, “Midoriya's Quirk, it's evil.”
I honestly believe that now. Sure, in the manga and such it was awesome and made Midoriya worth something. But feeling it inside of me? It felt disgusting. Oh sure, it was powerful and had powerful Quirks already incorporated into itself. I mean, hell, I had an actually flight Quirk instead of bootleging it with telekinesis, and that was cool. Then there were the danger sense and tentacle Quirks that made me a bootleg Spiderman, also cool. But, in the end, it was the Quirk that not only stole my Quirk from me, but also copied any Quirk I copied and kept it within itself. It made me into the one thing I never wanted to be, a thief.
At my proclamation, the pair looked confused and All Might looked insulted. Nezu, never one to let a bit of knowledge slip though his fingers asked, “Why do you say that?”
I turned to glare at All Might, “It stole my Quirk and incorporated it into itself. If I'm the tenth, then you and Midoriya were originally Quirkless.”
All Might jumped in shock at that, “W-what?”
I continued to glare at him as I explained, “I can feel it, inside of me, like I can feel any Quirk I copy. I know it as if I've always had it and I can feel them inside of me, the Quirks it stole from the people who used it.”
I closed my eyes to focus on what I was feeling inside, “Two of the Quirks are horribly mangled and twisted around each other in some sort of macabre effort to combine them or something. I assume that's the original, a Quirk that takes the life force of the person it's inside of and turns it into power.” I opened my eyes and glared at All Might, “It will slowly kill me over time.”
All Might spluttered at that, it'd never done anything like that to him! Or any of the other wielders for all he knew... then again they tended to die young. I think only one ever lived long enough for OFA to kill them. I continued to glare, “That life stealing Quirk is tangled up in the one that let Midoriya pass it to me. Then there's the other six within it. That makes seven people, you're eight, Midoriya is nine. I just assume it was you two without Quirks, but I suppose it could have been someone else earlier in the line.”
All Might looked shaken while Nezu looked interested. It was Nezu who spoke, “Can you use these Quirks you feel?”
My gaze turned to Nezu, “If I wanted, yes. There's also copies of the Quirks I used during the fighting, after I gained it.” I finsihed with a growl, “ITstole copies of every Quirk I used. I can feel them all.”
Nezu tilted his head slightly, which kind of made him look adorable, “So you have permanent copies of...?”
I sighed, “Several things. Telekinesis, for one. A minor regeneration Quirk. And then there's the other disgusting thing I took into my body, the mangled mass of Quirks the Nomu had. It feels... like someone ripped the Quirks into shreds and stitched them together with shoelaces, bubble gum, and staples. They're powerful, and they work, but that fucking stockpiling Quirk is taking already strong Quirks and making them even stronger.”
I stared directly into Nezu's eyes, “I don't know what it will take, but it would take a serious amount of something to do any real damage to me now.” I turned to look at All Might, “That Nomu was specifically designed to kill you. Super strength, speed, endurance, and regeneration. And to top it all off? A shock absorption Quirk, which I think is mutating into an immunity, or as close as to make no difference. The Nomu ripped itself in half to get free of Todoroki's ice and regenerated the lost body parts like it was nothing. I don't know exactly how much stronger it is now, but strong enough that I could do the same in seconds, for sure.”
My eyes locked onto All Might's, “I'm stronger than you in your prime could even hope to be. Add in over powered regeneration and everything else... you get the idea. The problem is, my body isn't strong enough to handle it, yet. I wasn't joking when I said every time I punched the Nomu that my arms crumpled like the crumple zones of a car.”
All Might turned serious at what I said. I could see he was conflicted and worried that I now had One For All within me. He proved it with his next words, “If it's too much for you to bear, we can find someone for you to pass it to.”
My eyes narrowed and I grit my teeth as I spoke in clear anger, “I'd rather die. If I tried to pass it along it would take my Quirk with it, leaving me with nothing. I'd be Quirkless.”
All Might grimaced but nodded in acceptance. There was literally nothing he could do to force me to pass the Quirk on. There was a component of Will to the Quirk. I had to will it to pass onto someone who had recently ingested my DNA. Otherwise a single kiss would pass the Quirk along. So, even if they took my blood, hair, or whatever else and passed it to someone else, that person wouldn't get One For All without my permission.
I'd never give it. I meant it when I said I would rather die.
Nezu broke into the conversation with a sigh, “I see.”
I snapped to Nezu, “Do you? Do you see? I'm now the thing I've been accused of being since I got my Quirk! A Quirk Thief! If I touched you right now, I would permanently gain an empowered version of your Quirk. Just a single one of your hairs fallen on the floor touching my bare skin and BAM! It's mine forever, whether I want it or not.”
That's when the true enormity of what's happened to me seemed to hit Nezu and All Might. I was now an even more dangerous version of All For One. His Quirk left a trail, his victims could be found. It was possible to figure out whose Quirks he stole by his victims. Not easily for sure, I'm certain he killed them and hid there bodies. But people would disappear.
Me? I could just walk down a crowded street and copy dozens of Quirks. A stroll through a super busy area like Akibahara? Thousands of Quirks in a day! Obviously not all of them would be powerful, useful, or whatever. Some would downright be stupid. But finding a couple worthwhile ones and amplifying them to a ridiculous degree by way of Stockpiled Power, or finding ways to combine the Quirks for amplified effects? Wouldn't be an issue.
I could very easily become the most powerful man in the world. Even strong people like Star and Stripes from America. She had a ridiculous Quirk. Yet, all I had to do was touch her once, and that Quirk would be mine. If I was a villain then just a single punch from her is all it would take. I'd be willing to take one on the chin to get my hands on her Quirk, if I was a villain.
The silence lasted for a long while before there was a knock on the door. All Might and Nezu exchanged glances before Nezu nodded. All Might opened the door a little and peeked through the crack. Once he ascertained who it was, he opened the door and let Bubble Girl step into the room. Seeing as she didn't appear surprised to see All Might, I can only assume she knew who he was all along.
When she caught sight of me, I could see serious concern on her face. I must have looked like hammered crap for that look to surface on her face. I gave her a small smile but didn't say anything. What more was there to say?
Nezu though, he had more to say, “Neito-san, your class has been given the rest of the week off. On Monday, after classes, I would like you to report to my office. All Might was helping Midoriya learn to control his Quirk since theirs were so similar. I think he can help you learn to control yours and the changes its undergone.”
I could get the drift of what Nezu was hinting at. It would be obvious that my Quirk's change would need to be explained. An awakening, perhaps. In that moment I copied Midoriya's Quirk permanently, but it was a one shot deal, something like that.
There wasn't much more talk before the three excused themselves, All Might shrinking down to his skinny form before leaving.
Part of me had wanted to rip into him, tear him to shreds verbally for wasting the little time he had to use his Quirk each day on small saves. I mean, I get wanting to help people, I wouldn't be training to become a hero if I didn't want to help people. But, he had responsibilities. Stopping a purse snatcher? So low on to totem pole as to be insignificant. That was something a side kick should be taking care of, not the number one hero in the nation.
I wanted to tear into him because if he hadn't wasted his time, none of this would have happened. Part of me felt like it was his fault for doing something so stupid, knowing he had a class that would last several hours that he needed to teach. Yet, I also knew he wouldn't be All Might if he hadn't helped those people.
Frankly, the whole situation just pissed me off and I knew I was looking for someone to blame when there was really no one.
Well, I guess there was AFO and Tomura. But I'd already put Tomura in traction... did having all your limbs shatter mean you were put in traction?
Whatever. Bitch was broken and that's all that matters to me.
-----Line Break-----
I was stuck in the hospital for another day. True to his word, the doctor had more scans done to check the damage I'd done to myself had been healed. It had and there was no sign of it. My best guess is that brain damage takes longer to heal than simple body wounds. The brain is the most complex thing in the human body, after all. Not to mention how delicate it is.
It was also most likely to be my biggest weakness now.
Once I was released, I called a taxi to take me home. My parents were... let's call it 'hands off' ever since I started my last year of middle school. I was, of course, always more mature than other kids my age so they didn't feel the need to watch me as closely. Once I got into Yuuei, they essentially left me to my own devices. I'm basically an adult in their eyes. Hell, I even have a part time job when I do my modeling and it pays pretty well.
Once I got home, I plugged my phone in to charge it. It, along with my costume, had all be bagged up when I was taken in. Luckily, Bubble Girl was nice enough to bring my school uniform from the school to the hospital for me so I had something decent to wear home.
Once it booted up, I saw a lot of text messages from a lot of unknown numbers. Only one came from someone I'd actually given my number to, Kirishima. Reading it, I smiled in exasperation. He was nice enough to ask how I was doing while also apologizing for my number getting out. Mina had wheedled it out of him and spread it to the class.
Going through the messages, I saw that the majority of the class had sent me messages asking how I was and wishing me well. I sent them all a reply letting them know I was okay and that I would see them all on Monday morning.
With that done, I made my way over to my first aid kit and started prepping all my tools the same way I did when putting a new Quirk in my body. With everything sterilized, I used the scalpel to slice open my arm where one of the thin lines denoting a Quirk braid resided. It bled a little, as expected, but nothing else. I picked up the tweezers to pluck the braid out and was stymied by the fact that the cut was completely gone.
Right... regeneration.
“FUCK!”
I threw the tweezers at the wall, accidentally using so much force that they pierced through it, through my parents room, and through their wall as well. I stared at the hole in the wall with a grimace. I hoped that didn't hurt anyone. Fuck, I couldn't even express my anger properly!
I, carefully, got to my feet and made my way out of the house. I needed to go somewhere I could vent, somewhere I wouldn't hurt anyone. Because, soon, I would have permanent copies of all the Quirks I had carved into my own flesh. They were now impossible to remove with taking off my entire arm at the shoulder.
Sure, I could rip my own arm off and just grow a new one but... There's no way in hell I could get up the nerve to do that. I just wasn't that into self mutilation... or pain. Having ridiculous regeneration didn't stop the pain, it just made it go away quicker.
I left my house, my annoyance and anger still simmering beneath the surface. I started to reach for my phone, but stopped.
“Fuck it.”
I tapped into OFA and pulled on one of the Quirks it contained. I don't know exactly how the quirk worked for Midoriya, but that's how it worked for me. I had to use OFA in order to access the Quirks within it, just a fraction of a fraction was good enough. Unlike Midoriya, I knew exactly how to use the Quirk and had perfect control over it thanks to my original Quirk.
The Quirks it copied from me were in a different... zone? I suppose that's the best way to think of it. The Quirks that OFA contained in its core were from the original wielders and had been incorporated into the Quirk over the decades that All Might had it. The new Quirks, while copied, hadn't been pulled that deep into it yet and, therefore, were always active, like my Original Quirk still was.
I was just lucky my Quirk didn't automatically copy the implanted Quirks. Due to how many I was 'touching' at once, I was given the choice of which to copy. I hadn't been choosing any of them so no new Quirks had been copied. This trick didn't apply when touching someone new sadly.
I tapped into Float and rocketed into the air. There weren't many people with flight Quirks and none of them worked between my home and my destination. Using the amplified version of Float was something else. I'd flown using Telekinesis but it felt very different. Using Telekinesis was like I was picking myself up and carrying myself where I wanted to go.
Float? It was like... Like gravity meant nothing and I just had to will myself in a direction to head that way. It was such a freeing feeling that I knew I could easily get addicted to it. Unbidden, a smile slowly formed on my face as I flew up near the clouds where the air was biting cold.
Freedom.
I thought I knew what freedom was before. I knew nothing.
My annoyance only returned when I was getting close to my destination, Yuuei. It was sunday, but I expected some of the staff would still be around. Nezu for sure. I don't think the little chimera had an actual home. Given his physical size, a single room in the school could easily be converted into a multistory home with appropriately sized appliances, furniture, and such.
Just picturing it cooled my annoyance for a moment, before it was back once more. I flew down to the main entrance to the school building and let myself in. The halls were quiet, empty. It was weird. I didn't see a single soul as I made my way to the door of Nezu's office. I have a simple knock to see if he was in. I wasn't too surprised when I heard his distinct voice call out, “Come in.”
I opened the door and stepped into the office. Nezu looked up from some paper work and I could see he was a bit surprised to see me, “Neito-san, I didn't expect to see you again until Monday.”
I threw myself onto the couch, and let out a sigh, “Me either, but I needed a safe area.” The annoyance was still bubbling away but I pushed it aside to explain, “I was at home. I wanted, no, I needed to remove the hair samples I implanted in my arm, to keep that evil Quirk from taking them for itself. Only, I can't.”
Nezu instantly understood, “Your regeneration.”
I nodded, “I couldn't cut them out. They're still sitting there and it's only because I'm touching so many at once that they're not all being copied. It's a weird sort of loophole in my Quirk. Touch a single person, or even up to four, and I'll automatically copy their Quirks. If I simultaneously touch five or more, I have to choose. If I touch a sixth while still in touch with the first five, I will automatically copy the sixth.”
I growled, “But that goddamn regeneration is always on. I can't turn it off and it's stopping me from doing what I need to do. So, I got angry. I threw my tweezers and they plowed through two walls.” I lifted my head and stared into Nezu's eyes, “I need a place to practice controlling my new strength.”
“I was under the impression that you had to actively use One For All to access its power.”
I nodded, “True. But on top of that, I have the Nomu's strength and it's always on.”
Nezu blinked and then nodded, “I hadn't quite thought of that.” He turned to his computer and hit a few buttons, “I'm giving you access to Gym Gamma and sending Cementoss a message to meet you there. He'll help give you targets to practice with.”
I nodded and climbed to my feet, “Thanks you, sir.”
“Before you go, there's one other thing we need to discuss.”
I stopped at the door to look at him. He continued, “A cover story for the change in your Quirk and abilities.”
I sighed and returned to the couch, “Let's hear it.”
Nezu nodded, “Given the stress of the situation, I believe we can say you had an awakening allowing you to permanently copy your Midoriya's Quirk. The truth about One For All can never get out.”
“Is that really the best we can do? How will that explain my regeneration or shock absorption?”
“The same way you explain your other Quirks, though in this case, a bit of bone rather than hair. Todoroki-san did cause the Nomu to lose two whole limbs, after all.”
That was a little more gross than what I preferred, but it would work. I had planned on doing something similar to the Nomu's severed limbs anyway. Before things changed.
“Fine. I can stand behind that story. Was there anything else?”
I know I was being a little short with Nezu, but I was still annoyed and it was slowly turning back into anger. I really needed to punch something and soon.
Nezu studied me. I'm sure he noticed how my leg was bouncing and how I was gritting my teeth. I'm sure Nezu could read my mood like a book. He shook his head, “No, that's all for now.”
I nodded and climbed to my feet once again. This time I actually made it out of Nezu's office. I made my way through the campus until I came to Gym Gamma, better known as the Training Kitchen Land. It's the place where classes 1 A and B would do their super move training later this year, before the provincial license exams.
I was just going there to blow off some steam.
Cementoss met me at the entrance. I had to admit, his Quirk was pretty epic, but also limited. It would be far less effective in a rural area than it was in the city, or here in a gym where everything is made of concrete. His Quirk let him control concrete with a touch. I wander what that would be called in the kinesis family? Tactile Concretokinesis? I dunno. But with just a touch and a thought, he could change the shape of concrete with his will.
Without him, Yuuei wouldn't be nearly as awesome as it was. He alone probably built up ninety percent of the buildings and such within the other training grounds where to took our exams and had our first class with All Might.
He gave me a stoic nod, his square face the color of concrete not lending itself well to expression. Once we were inside, he looked at me, “Is there anything specific you would like?”
I shrugged, “Just pillars or thick walls. Something to destroy.”
Cementoss nodded and knelt down to touch the ground. The floor wiggled and rippled like liquid then deformed and rose into a myriad of pillars and walls. I grinned and tightened my hands into fists. My annoyance and anger came out fully as I finally let my control over my emotions slip.
I'm not an idiot. I know that feeling like I do isn't normal. There's no way I should still be annoyed or angry over what happened at home. Yet, it kept coming back. Just the fact it wouldn't go away annoyed me, which was annoying, and it became a vicious cycle of annoyance.
Time to get started. I leaned forward and put strength into my leg. The concrete beneath my feet shattered when I put pressure on it and propelled myself toward the nearest pillar. I cocked my arm back mid-leap so I could punch the pillar. My eyes only had time to widen in surprise when I realized I was moving faster than I expected. Instead of meeting the pillar with my fist, I met it with my chest.
Normally I'm certain such a hit would have caused serious damage, but my new shock absorption Quirk took the hit for me and I hardly felt anything. But my balance was lost and when I hit the ground I rolled for a few feet before coming to a stop.
I growled and climbed to my feet. This time I walked up to the nearest pillar. I cocked my arm back and slammed my fist into the pillar with all the strength I could muster. I hardly felt the impact of my knuckles and only some stress on my arm as I obliterated a column of concrete at least a foot thick.
I was tempted, oh so tempted, to use the Quirk that let me change my perception of time to cheat my way into handling my new speed, but I didn't give in to the temptation. Instead, I slowly worked my way up to faster speeds. Each pillar I smashed my way through with either fist or foot gave me more experience in using my new strength and speed. The lack of pain in my knuckles was something I wasn't used to. On the flip side, I wasn't breaking any bones this time. Then again, I didn't have a monster with its own shock absorption Quirk slamming its fists into mine.
I'm not certain how long I spent smashing my way through concrete columns and walls, but, eventually, Cementoss rescinded them all. I turned to question him, but stopped when I saw the skinny form of All Might standing next to Cementoss.
I couldn't resist letting out a put upon sigh as I made my way over. On the way I noticed that despite the workout I'd just had, I wasn't breathing hard and was barely sweating. Super Endurance was no joke. When I arrived near them, I could see how strained All Might's smile was. All Might gave a nod to Cementoss, who returned one of his own then turned and left the building. I stared at All Might and asked the moment the door closed behind Cementoss, “Is there a reason you interrupted me getting a hang of my new Quirks?”
All Might sighed and I knew my pissy attitude wasn't endearing me to him, but I couldn't help it. I was pissed and I didn't know what to do with myself anymore.
All Might spoke up, breaking the awkward silence, “I am sorry to interrupt, but there is much we need to discuss.”
I just stared at him and he took it as a sign to continue, “I need to tell you the history of One For All, why it exists and what it's meant for.”
I activated the Float Quirk and used it to sit lotus style in the air, “I'm listening.”
All Might looked a little surprised at the position I'd taken but pressed on. He told me the story about One For All that I was familiar with. He also told me the story of how he met Midoriya and gave him the Quirk. I wanted to rip him apart for picking Midoriya. Hearing the story from his own mouth just made it sounded even dumber. He basically witnessed one heroic act and decided to give the kid who performed it one of the most powerful Quirks in the world.
I honestly expected there to be more. I could see a story shortening things to get the story moving, but no. That's apparently exactly what happened. Fucking stupid.
I couldn't hide a wince when he lifted his shirt and showed me the wound from his battle with All For One, “Due to this wound, I'm am limited to three hours of hero work a day. It was given to me by the one that One for All was meant to defeat, a true monster, All For One.”
“All For One?”
I had to ask, even though I knew. Not asking would be suspicious and I didn't need him or a paranoid Nezu thinking I was in league with that sick fuck and his little psycho puppy.
All Might waved it off, “Not something you need to worry about. I defeated him eleven years ago now. Though... this League of Villains bothers me. It's not his style, but with his ability to take and give Quirks...”
“The Nomu.”
All Might nodded, “Yes, the Nomu. It is unnatural and it has me worried.” His electric blue eyes locked onto mine, “You will need to train harder than ever to be able to deal with what I fear is coming.”
I clench my hands into fists. I probably delayed things with the damage I did to Tomura, but I didn't stop anything. Even killing Tomura wouldn't stop AFO, he'd just find a new puppet to do his bidding. No. I needed to get strong enough, and find the willpower, to not just defeat, but to kill All For One, once and for all.
It would put an end to whatever plans he had, for good.
At least I hoped that it would. I have no idea if he has contingency plans for his death. It he does, I'll just have to deal with them as they come. But I know this much, I don't want him managing to run things from within prison.
I sighed and looked down at the ground, “Where do we begin?”
All Might tried to smile, but I could see the strain. I wasn't his chosen one but he was doing his best. It was the only thing that helped me hold my tongue and not flay him with it.
“Well, the first step is usually to make your body stronger. However, it appears you maintained a rigorous regiment even before you entered Yuuei.”
I nodded, “A strong mind resides in a strong body. A strong body protects a strong mind. I always wanted to be a hero, but without borrowing someone's Quirk, I might as well be Quirkless. If I had no Quirks on hand to copy, I needed to be strong enough, fast enough, and agile enough to get close and touch the villain and copy their Quirk. Not training my body would be wasting time and the height of hubris.”
Okay, couldn't hold my tongue quite enough at the end there, but that's as nice as I can be right now. All Might took what I said in stride, “Next would be learning to control the output of One For All until you have mastery over it. Unfortunately, things aren't quite normal for you in this area. Not only must you master One For All, but also the Quirks that are a part of it and becoming a part of it.”
I tilted my head, “I can't say I have complete mastery of every aspect of One For All, but I can regulate its power output as easily as breathing. I've yet to figure out what all of the Quirks inside of it do, exactly, but I have the basics. For example, this quirk is a flight one.”
All Might's eyes widened as he reverently whispered, “Float...”
I arched an eyebrow at him. He swallowed thickly and explained, “It's the Quirk of my master, Shimura Nana. She died decades ago at the hands of All For One. After she did, I left Japan for America. The rest is history.”
He took a moment to gather himself before asking in an emotionally clogged voice, “What other Quirks are there?”
“Well, Float here is the newest, so I'll go backwards from newest to oldest. This one is from the sixth user.”
Purple smoke erupted from my body and filled the area around us. I flicked it off only a moment after I turned it on, “A smokescreen. Nothing very impressive, but it has its uses.”
I clapped my hands together hard enough to cause a shock wave and clear the smoke from around us. I tapped into the next Quirk causing tendrils of black energy with a teal colored outline to sprout from my body. I arched an eyebrow at them and snickered, “Well, my girlfriend will be happy with this one.”
All Might gripped his stomach as blood burst out of his mouth in a morbid form of spit-take, “What?!”
I dismissed the tentacles, “Holy shit dude! What the hell! That was supposed to be a joke, not kill you!”
All Might wiped some blood off of his chin, “I did not expect a comment like that from you Monoma-shounen.”
I just smirked unrepentant, “I'm more mature than my peers in some ways. Even have a job sometimes. Anyways, moving on. The Quirk from the fourth holder is... Ah, a sixth sense ability that triggers for danger. Not sure how accurate it is or what information it relays.”
I remember this one as part of the 'Spiderman' set that Midoriya had. I didn't know exactly how it functioned and there are so many sixth sense type Quirks that it's hard to tell with them without being told what they do. I snickered, remembering I have hair for a sixth sense Quirk that could sense when someone dyed their hair. I kept it because it was mildly entertaining and the guy who had it was a riot to talk to.
All Might looked curious, “We'll have to experiment with that one to understand it better.”
I nodded in agreement, we would, “Alright. Time for the Third holder.”
I activated the Quirk and felt it out. Once I did, I smiled. I recognized this one. I think it's name was Djinn? Something like that. I never saw it in the anime, but I heard about it in some Youtube videos. With the Quirk activated, I began to perform curls with my right arm. It slowly began to glow red as it gathered kinetic energy, “This is pretty awesome. It turns repetitive movement into kinetic energy and stores it for later use.”
All Might watched with interest as I lowered my legs to stand once more. I aimed away from us, cocking my arm back and firing off a punch. I didn't put any of my strength into it, but the blow was still powerful enough to cause a small blast of wind. After only a few curls too. Pretty impressive.
I dropped the Quirk and activated the last one, “And the Second user... Oh, this is nice. It's a Quirk that allows for speed control of anything I touch.”
I raise a hand and use Telekinesis to pluck a small bit of broken concrete up and bring it to me. I set it on my palm and then gave it a casual flick. The moment my finger touched it, the small piece of concrete flew off with a sonic crack similar to a bullet. We both watched as it hit the back wall of the gym and shattered, “Wow.”
I turned back to All Might and once more used Float to sit lotus style in the air, “You're familiar with the power of the First user already. The twisted sick thing that took these Quirks from the people who owned them for itself.”
All Might grimaced at the venom in my voice. I still wasn't over One For All's theft of my Quirk and the Quirks I was entrusted with. It'd take a while.
All Might sighed, “We should begin practicing with all of the Quirks you have at your disposal now. You will need to learn to use them together to get the best effect our of them in whatever situations you find yourself in.”
I nodded, “I understand. When do we begin?”
“After classes are finished on Monday. We need to get you prepared for the Sports Festival.”
I stare blankly at him, “Why the hell would I care about that abomination?”
All Might looked taken aback, “What do you mean Monoma-shounen?”
I gave him a flat stare, “All the Sports Festival is, is an excuse for Yuuei to exploit its students for profit while simultaneously pitting them against each other in blood sport.”
All Might looked uncomfortable, “Is that what you really thing?”
“Not entirely. I also think it's exceedingly stupid for any student that wants to be a hero to participate. I mean why is a hero school actively encouraging its students to show off the strengths, and weaknesses, of their Quirks on national television where any villain could easily see it. Yeah, super smart to show all the bad guys, and future bad guys, how to kick your ass for free.”
All Might looked uncomfortable but spoke his mind, “I always thought of it as an opportunity for the students to show the world that the next generation was training to protect them. To show them that they are here! To discourage those who might become villains at the thought of having to face the next generation of heroes.”
“See it how you want, but tell me this. Would Yuuei let their Sports Festivals be so violent if they didn't have Recovery Girl here to fix all the damage done?”
All Might looked rather uncomfortable at the pointed question. I nodded, “Exactly. Name any other school where injuries from their Sports Festival might include things like broken bones, burns, frostbite, or any of another dozen different types of Quirk related wounds.”
All Might looked even more uncomfortable so I left it at that and instead asked, “Besides, what does the Sports Festival have to do with me? Why do you want me to participate?”
“I believe it to be an excellent opportunity for you to show the world what you can do. To stand up and say 'I AM HERE!'. It... was what I planned to have Midoriya-shounen do.”
I stared at All Might in silence for a long moment before I sighed. He looked like a kicked puppy and I already felt like shit for how I was being. I could give him this, “Fine. I will participate in the Sports Festival, but I will do it my way. I will come in first, but... I mean do you honestly think that it will be even remotely fair? I could probably win the whole thing just using the Telekinesis Quirk by itself. Adding in One For All would just be overkill.”
I leaned back with my arms crossed over my chest, “I mean, before I got it I was a hell of a lot more versatile and could still spank Todoroki even though, technically, any Quirks I used were weaker than his. Now? I'm pretty sure I could spank him with just the Telekinesis Quirk on its own.”
All Might silently considered it for a while, “Well, however you wish to play it, I would request you just do your best to win with honor.”
I sighed but nodded in acceptance, “Still feels like cheating to me. But, fine. I'll win it and try not to make everyone look like children when I spank them.”
After that we spent some more time talking before I left to make my way home. Surprisingly, I felt calmer after my talk with All Might and I had no idea why. Well, it wasn't worth thinking about. I felt better. Though now I needed to think about the Sports Festival. I really hope they change it from what I knew in canon, otherwise this was going to be a super easy win for me.
Well, I'll see when the festival happens.
Comments
Cody S.
Thanks!
Ehren Morris
Nice chapter that was fast.
Cody S.
Thanks for catching those. I'll do an edit. I hate the similar names of OFA and AFO since I swap them sometimes, just like I did in here.
Cory
Thanks for the chapter really enjoyed it, but a couple of things I saw. "I know some people in my situation would do whatever it took to go after someone like OFA to copy his Quirk and then use it to permanently steal OFA for themselves." I think the OFA's are supposed to be AFO's? Also, he thinks about danger sense early on, and then when talking to All Might it seems like he doesn't know what the quirk is? " Then there were the danger sense and tentacle Quirks that made me a bootleg Spiderman" then this is later, "Anyways, moving on. The Quirk from the fourth holder is... Ah, a sixth sense ability. Not entirely sure what its attuned to yet.” I don't remember this one so I can only tell so much without using it a bit."
