Chapter 13: CHAPTER 012(Toshinori Yagi)
Read auxiliary chapter World Info before starting the story.
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CHAPTER START---
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Law and Nezu turn to look down the connection hallway from their seats in the living room.
"Right on time," Law mutters, still not entirely used to the slightly mechanical nature of his voice through the visor.
Getting up he walks down the hallway and in a few steps is at the front door. Opening it he's greeted by the sight of a 180cm -5ft11- man in a beige trenchcoat, a suit kept below it. And standing behind this man is a 204cm -6ft8- blonde man, with spiky hair with two bangs at the sides of his face. Blue sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, appearing emaciated, as if he was ready to fall over into a shallow grave.
Both men stare back at Horizon, slightly surprised to be greeted by the black visor that only had two triangular blue eyes. A white body glove hiding every piece of skin that would have shown with his pair of black shorts and t-shirt.
"Come in," Horizon steps aside and gestures for them to enter, locking the door behind them. Both men gave him a nod as they pass by. But Horizon can't help noticing how the blonde man towered over his 180cm -6ft- self, along with the fact that his suit was a few sizes too large, hanging off his frame.
Walking behind both men the trio joins Nezu in the living room.
"Now that we're all here, how about introductions?" Nezu asks.
ROOM!
Horizon reaches out to the plain-looking man in the trench coat, "I'm Horizon, the doctor."
The man shakes his hand, "detective Naomasa Tsukauchi," after a firm handshake Tsukauchi steps back.
"Detective? As in the detective from when I met Nezu?"
Tsukauchi only nods and moves to take a seat.
Next, the tall blonde man reaches out with a large hand, Horizon feels the man's hand like a vice around his fingers for a moment, "Toshinori Yagi, it's a pleasure to meet you, doctor..."
Horizon's face tilts downward, shifting from looking up at the man to looking at his torso, "wow, so you must be my patient," he releases the man's hand. "Don't worry Yagi, I can help you."
"Please call me Toshinori if you'd like," the man says as he moves to join Tsukauchi on the couch, leaving Nezu and Horizon on single seats.
"Yagi is shorter," Horizon moves to take his seat. "I don't particularly care for naming traditions and formality, I always use the short or easier-to-say name," he shrugs.
"Ahh, that's fine as well," Yagi says.
Horizon nods, then claps once to get their attention, "so, now that the small talk is over, how much do these men know about me Nezu?"
"Only the bare minimum," Nezu says, putting down his tea cup. "Toshinori only knows that you're a miracle doctor, detective Tsukauchi knows the circumstances under our introduction, but your name, face, and everything else has been withheld, as well as the specifics of our deal, just as I promised."
"Good," Horizon reaches down to the table and picks up his glass. "Oh...help yourself to anything in the kitchen," the base of his visor retracts slightly so he can take a sip of his scotch. "So... I assume you're the one I'll be operating on in a minute or two?" he nods at Yagi.
Yagi freezes, looking between Horizon and the glass of alcohol in his hand, then back at Horizon, "you shouldn't drink before performing medical acts," he says. "Actually, you shouldn't drink at all, aren't you a minor?"
"And you shouldn't be alive with those injuries, but here we are," Horizon says.
"..."
"What? I can't have one or two drinks before performing a super invasive operation?" Horizon asks, half-jokingly.
Yagi and Tsukauchi freeze while Nezu quietly giggles to himself.
"I'm kidding, alcohol doesn't work on me, I just like the taste, also, don't ever tell me what to do," Horizon says. Yagi looks at Tsukauchi while Horizon keeps talking, "besides, you're already dying anyway, not like I could make it worse."
As Horizon takes another sip the trio stared at him, Tsukauchi and Yagi were surprised by the casual manner in which he spoke about death, but Nezu wasn't surprised in the least.
"What do you mean?" Yagi asked.
"Well," Horizon raises a hand to count on his fingers. " One; You've only got one lung and its barely functioning, two; your stomach is the size of an apple and is also barely functioning, three; both your intestines are missing most of their length, four; your bone marrow doesn't have enough nutrients and can't process enough water to make blood, and five; your left kidney has already failed."
None of them are surprised by the diagnosis, this was all that they'd known for years, but Yagi asked what they were all thinking. "How do you know about all of that?"
"When I shook your hands," Horizon says, placing his now empty glass on the table and his visor seals itself, voice becoming slightly mechanical once more. "I did a full body scan of both of you, I can single out the obvious things with just a passing graze but if I'm going to scan down to the cellular level I need a few seconds."
"That's why you didn't let go at first," Yagi says.
"Mhm, and it's also how I know that the detective has some kind of ear Quirk, unless those extra bones in there are for show," he turns to Tsukauchi. "So, Super Hearing?"
Tsukauchi sighs, "lie detection, and impressively, you've never lied in my presence."
Horizon chuckles, "I see why Nezu keeps you around, and yeah, lying is for people too weak or pathetic to handle the consequences of their actions, it's beneath me."
Tsukauchi shakes his head, "I don't know if I should be impressed or concerned that you genuinely believe that..."
Nezu laughs, causing everyone to look at him, "well it's good to see everyone getting along well enough."
Tsukauchi grumbles but they ignore it as Horizon speaks, "so I assume you can't tell me what caused the injuries, right?"
"So long as you don't share the information with anyone else," Yagi says.
"Doctor-client confidentiality, I'll take it to my grave."
Yagi looks at Tsukauchi who nods, then he explains. "I was attacked, Rivet Stabs, Super-Power, Lighting Surge, and a few other Quirks, all at once."
"I see, a team of villains huh," Horizon says. Yagi nods along, not wanting to expose the truth of All For One. "Well from the looks of it you've got, at best eight years."
"That long!" Yagi's eyes open wide. "But the other doctors said that my injuries...that nobody can survive in my condition..."
"How long ago did this happen?"
"Four years ago," Yagi says.
"I see," Horizon leans back and taps the chin of his visor. "Well, you wouldn't have lasted even a few minutes if your Quirk wasn't so abnormal."
Nezu, Yagi, and Tsukauchi all sit up straight at that. "What exactly do you mean?" Nezu asks.
"His quirk is like nothing I've ever seen before, at least not outside of myself."
"Your Quirk is like mine?"
"No, not at all, your Quirk is obviously a power-type, the complete opposite of mine. But while mine allows me a sort of dominion over my mind and body like no other, yours provides energy at a cellular level. Your organs haven't been able to sustain you for years but it's like your Quirk has so much energy that it stretched your final few minutes into years. Assuming you never actively use your Quirk, the energy it provides you can take you to eight more years at best."
"That long," Yagi whispers in awe. "But what if I do use it?" he can't help but ask.
"I can't imagine a situation where you'd ever think that was a good idea," Horizon says. "Every bit of energy you expend is directly taking time off your life, the time you could be spending with your family or friends, if you want those full eight years then you should retire and try to take it easy."
"Mmm, everyone says that, but I can't do that, not yet, not until---" Yagi stops himself, realizing what he was about to say. "Not quite yet."
"Well it's your life, throw it away if you want," Horizon shrugs. "But for the record, I don't appreciate people wasting my time, and me extending your life for you to throw it away is exactly that, you're lucky being your doctor is part of my contract."
"Thank you," Yagi bows respectfully. As he sits back up he then asks, "how exactly can you help me? The best doctors in the world couldn't do anything," Yagi immediately panics and waves his hands about, "not that I'm doubting your abilities doctor!"
Horizon grumbles slightly then thinks for a moment, "I won't be able to completely save you from death, only extend your life slightly. If I was the doctor on site when you were first injured I could have gotten you back into top form...but at the time I was only eleven---"
"You're fifteen!" Yagi and Tsukauchi yell.
"Huh, I assumed you knew," Horizon looks at Nezu.
"I told you they don't know anything but the bare minimum," Nezu shrugs.
"Right, but I assumed you told them my age at least," Horizon sighs. "But anyway, perfect training since I was four then manifesting a powerful Mystery Class Quirk when I was five---"
"Mystery Class!" Yagi yells. Horizon revealed this about his quirk simply because the classification was on his ID.
"Plus constant training...means I'm the miracle doctor of your dreams, at only fifteen," Horizon shrugs. "And yeah, Mystery Class."
"A Mystery Class healing Quirk?" Yagi asks.
"Healing, warping, some other things too," Horizon shrugs. "All that matters is that it'll let me operate on you. I'll be able to restructure your organs and some of your bone marrow while healing it, pushing cell regeneration as opposed to cell activation, which I assume Recovery Girl used a lot to keep you alive, right?"
"Right," Nezu nods.
"Yeah well, most Heal Quirks force cell activation, effectively healing you by cutting down your life span since cells can only divide so many times within a lifespan and that's what it triggers. I'm able to use external energy to trigger 'cell regeneration', which is an unnatural process that doesn't cut into your lifespan. That paired with some of the other things I can do, I'll be able to get you from eight years up to fifteen years...assuming you don't use up more energy than needed to survive," Horizon shrugs, as if it were such a casual matter.
"A living miracle," Nezu says, all while Yagi and Tsukauchi are staring in awe. "I see why you chose that name for your company."
"Thank you," Yagi nearly doubles over as he bows, sincerely thankful for anything Horizon can do to help.
"Is there any way we could have saved him entirely?" Nezu can't help but ask, and all eyes shift to Horizon once more.
"Yeah, organ transplants within a week or two of the injury. It's too late for any of that now, his Quirk saturated the damaged tissue so much that if any foreign organs try to attach the energy it provides would overwhelm, reject, then destroy it," Horizon shrugs.
"I see," Yagi says. "And are you ready to operate?" he looks around the small apartment, unsure of what happens next.
"Yeah I've got everything set up," Horizon stands up and begins walking away, waving his hand in the air, "just follow me, this should only take an hour or two at most..."
END CHAPTER---
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Chapter 14: CHAPTER 013(Doubts)
Read auxiliary chapter World Info before starting the story.
Discord: https://discord.gg/K7f8qGpvuk
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CHAPTER START---
Retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge Tsukauchi returns to his seat on the couch, anxiously waiting for All Might and Horizon to return, ready to act in case anything happens.
Taking a sip from his water he places it on the coffee table and leans back, glancing over at Nezu who was happily reading something on his phone.
"How can you be so calm about this?" he asks Nezu.
"About what?"
"All of this, I know you have 'an intellect beyond human comprehension,' as you say because of your Quirk, but isn't this a bit much even for you?"
Nezu puts down his phone to give Tsukauchi his full attention, "you don't think we can trust Horizon?"
"He has power, motive, and at the moment since he has Toshi under the knife, leverage," Tsukauchi says.
"True," Nezu confirms. "Thankfully he doesn't care about any of that."
"And you're sure of this?"
"I already told you, I had him figured out from the moment I sent you that recording to verify. As powerful and capable as he is, his weaknesses are quite obvious, his family, and his obsessive need to upkeep any contract he agrees to, even if it turns out to be much more difficult than expected. He'd die before he breaks or renegotiates a contract, and all he wants is his family back, we can trust him so long as we don't betray his trust in us...in me."
"And what will Toshi think about you letting a serial assassin off the hook just so he can operate on him, you and I are a bit looser in situations like this, but you know he isn't, not if it's to save only his own life instead of others."
"He'll see all the good Horizon can do when he becomes a hero," Nezu says matter of factly. "That should convince him that I made the right decision, plus, he's only a child still. As mature and experienced as he may be, he's young, without his parents whispering in his ear who knows what he'll become."
Tsukauchi sighs, "that's what I'm afraid of, we don't know what he'll become. But we know what he is now, this could go very badly Nezu."
"Or we could have a new national power on our hands," Nezu says.
Tsukauchi immediately realizes what Nezu is thinking, he takes a deep breath and tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Nezu," he pinches the bridge of his name, "what is his Quirk really?"
"Hand Of God."
Tsukauchi's eyes shoot open and he stares at the bear-mouse. "What? What the hell does that even mean?"
"No clue," Nezu shrugs. "He refused to give me more than a name, didn't explain or list any abilities, but gave me the classification, Mystery Class."
"So you're taking his word for it that his Quirk 'exceeds all logical and scientific comprehension' to be named Mystery Class, you realize only one person in history has ever gotten that classification, right."
"I know."
"And how is our government dealing with Horizon suddenly appearing in their system with that Quirk?"
"I've spoken to Pantu and Bosu about it, they won't bother us," Nezu assures him.
"And when America learns that they aren't the only people with a Mystery Class, that suddenly Start and Stripe may have competition..."
"Obviously the requests will flood in for him to study and migrate to the states, but he'll stay here since that's his contract."
Tsukauchi sighs, "you seriously want to make this kid into the next All Might?"
"No, he'll never be All Might," Nezu leans forward and takes a sip of his tea before he continues. "A few days ago he contacted me, told me he wants to show everyone how useful he is, its obvious what method of thinking he follows."
"And what might that be?"
"Simply that it's better to be a necessity than to be liked. He will never be a symbol of peace like All Might, but he will be a dependable hero that Japan can lean on in the future, and that's enough, don't you think?"
"Assuming he doesn't put a sword in your back," Tsukauchi grumbles in response. "My Quirk hasn't detected a single lie out of him, ever, but I just don't like this whole situation. A confirmed killer walking the streets like a hero, sitting in a classroom with people who want to be real heroes, it's... I can't even put a word to how messed up it is."
Nezu sighs, "if people were incapable of change, especially people so young, then I would still be on my quest to eliminate all humans for what they did to me in that lab," he raises a hand absentmindedly to touch his scar. "I believe he can be a force for good, just like I am now."
Tsukauchi relents, "yeah...I suppose that's true. But I'm still not won over just yet, even if he does help Toshi. He's dangerous Nezu, don't ever forget that. Healing and Scanning aside, Warping is a monstrous Quirk in the hands of any enemy, and we know he's good at fighting with it. Only a few of those Quirks exist in the world that we know of, and he's the only one proficient or actively using his."
"I know, all the more reason to finally have a hero with a warping Quirk, don't you think."
"Yeah, I suppose. But what about that thing he did to Chrome, tore through his organs and brain without cracking his tungsten skin, did he say anything about that ability?"
"No, he refuses to speak on his Quirk, says the information is too valuable to be in any system or the hands of anyone else."
"Of course he'd be paranoid, when considering his criminal life and history it makes sense."
"Mhm," Nezu nods in agreement. "If he had the attitude of a hero I would have pushed for him to get a full hero license immediately, already more capable than most pros. But as you know, he needs time among aspiring heroes so that he can see what it's really all about, it won't work unless he wants to be a hero on his own."
"If he's as smart as you say then you realize he knows that's your plan, right?"
"He does, he essentially confirmed as much, he also told me his plan to use his new Medical License to build his brand, and I offered a way to help him."
"Build a brand?"
"Horizon Miracle Solutions," Nezu waves his hands about as if it were a big reveal, only to earn a blank stare from Tsukauchi.
"What?"
"I used my connections to get him access to some influential people, that way when he enters UA he won't be starting from zero in terms of name recognition."
"And it'll instantly put eyes on him, get him into more situations where he gets essentially forced to see how great heroes can be, and accelerates his growth because of it. You're using his plan and popularity to guide him to be more heroic...that's damn brilliant."
"Exactly, since it's the same as his own plan nothing has to change, I've simply made it much, much more effective. But there is one thing I can't account for..."
"What's that?"
"His attitude, you've heard him speak, what do you think?"
"Aside from the fact that he's an uncaring asshole?" Tsukauchi asks, recalling how casual Horizon was about delivering life-changing news and a death sentence earlier. He recalls what Horizon said about liars and people who break contracts as well, and something clicked in his mind, "he's a very hard judge...of himself, right? He holds everyone to the same standards as himself and isn't shy about telling them when they're failing."
"My thoughts as well," Nezu nods along. "He's also very direct and abrasive, downright vulgar to get his point across most directly, hates being told what to do, and will attack anyone who even mentions his parents in a bad light, add the fact that he'll talk down to or ridicule anyone who doesn't meet the standards he has for himself and I don't know what effect being at UA could have on him, much less being a full pro."
"A powder keg to blow up in our face or to take down villains, damn..."
Nezu nods along, "I'm sure he will do great things for us. And Japan will finally have its own Mystery Class hero, with All Might stepping down, hopefully soon, we'll need it..."
---1 Hour Later...
"You've finished already?" Tsukauchi asks, blatant concern in his voice as Horizon takes a seat opposite him.
"Yeah, it went exactly as I said, he's already getting dressed and should be out in a minute," Horizon leans back and takes a deep breath. "Everything ready Nezu?"
"You can head to the airport immediately, everything is already set up and they're expecting you, and you'll be using my jet."
"Perfect..."
A few minutes later and Toshinori enters the living room, looking around and taking careful steps, trying to get used to the strange feeling in his body.
Tsukauchi gets up and walks over to him, "how are you feeling? You should sit down. Is everything alright?"
Toshinori laughs and pats his friend on the shoulder, "I haven't felt this good in years, I can finally breathe properly...and, I'm hungry."
"I fixed your stomach," Horizon says, already scrolling on his phone. "You went from having eight years to having fifteen years, don't waste them. I'm sending Nezu a list of vitamins for you to take daily, they should help, plus a new diet. Aside from that, you're all done here," he shrugs.
"I see," Toshinori says before turning to Horizon and bowing, completely doubling over. "Thank you doctor Horizon, I'll never forget what you've done for me today."
Beneath his visor Horizon rolls his eyes, "don't thank me, thank Nezu, I was just doing my job and sticking to my contract, no big deal."
"But still, thank you."
"Sigh, yeah yeah, now if that's all can we please wrap this up, I've got a jet waiting for me..."
END CHAPTER---
Volume 1 is complete, onto volume 2...
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