Chapitre 15: Preparation
"Kazuya? Where are you going this early?"
Mom asked with a sleepy look as I was currently putting on my shoes by the sofa.
"Just a morning run, mom." I said. "Gotta get some training in, sports festival is coming up remember."
"Ah, that's right. Alright then, just make sure to get back by breakfast."
I just nodded as I started my morning run. I've been keeping this routine ever since Aizawa announced to us that sports festival is coming up soon. The sports festival is one of the biggest events in all of Japan. Any U.A. student that wants to make it big HAS to give a good showing during the event, as it is one of the ways to be scouted by Pro Heroes for internships.
It didn't take long for me to complete my run. It was only around 50 laps around the neighborhood after all.
By the time I got back, my family was already waiting by the breakfast table.
"Welcome back, sport. Hurry and wash up so you can join us." My dad greeted me as I entered the house.
"Sure thing, dad."
I quickly washed up and immediately joined them. Mom cooked us some delicious bacon and eggs and I'll be damned if I let them go to waste.
"So Akio, you're going to have the sports festival soon right?" Raizo, my brother, started the conversation. "Think you're gonna win?"
"Hmm, hard to say." I said while chewing on a piece of bacon. "There are a few crazy strong ones in my class. Do you know that Endeavour's son is one of my classmates?"
"Is that right? How's he like?" My mom asked.
"Ehh, kinda antisocial." I shrugged. "I don't really know too much about him since he's not really one to socialize. Crazy strong tho."
"Do you think you can beat him?"
"Who knows… If I go all out, then maybe? I haven't really seen him fight much to be honest. By the time he fought in the USJ, I was already unconscious."
"So there really are people who can force you to go all out, huh? Interesting." My brother said with a grin.
"No one is really stopping you from doing your best, Akio." My father stated as he drank some water. "Your mother and I are also kind of curious as to where you stand among your classmates. Being a hero has been your dream ever since you were in elementary school and have been working hard with Hitoshi since then. This is a good chance for us to see the fruits of your hard work."
"Heh, imagine if you and Hitoshi get first and second place. That would be awesome." Raizo looked at me before saying. "You know there has always been a betting pool at my workplace about the winners of the Sports Festival once it reaches the third round." He said with a grin. " I plan on putting a lot of money on you. So you better win lil' bro."
I just deadpanned at him. "Mom, are you hearing this?"
"W-Well, it's not like we aren't doing the same thing…" Mom said with a cough.
"Wait, what?"
"We're planning on playing the sports festival back at the Cafe so people could watch. We're also throwing a betting pool, similar with your brother. It was your mother's idea."
I threw the same deadpanned look to my mother.
"Don't look at me like that, Akio. I'm a business woman at heart, and this is a business opportunity." Mom defended herself.
I just sighed at that and smiled at them. "Well, I'll try my best. But if you're serious about doing this, then you're going to help with my training for the rest of the week before the sports festival." I pointed to my brother.
"Hm? Yeah I don't mind as long as we do it after work hours. What do you need me to do?"
"Just help me out in some quirk training. I got an idea and I want to test it out."
"Sure thing."
"Speaking of Hitoshi, how has he been doing?" Mom asked. "I haven't seen him ever since you two started your year at U.A."
"He's fine. We've made a couple of friends in class and everyone's accepting of him. It's definitely different from our middle school, that's for sure." I said while getting another bite of some bacon.
"That's great. I'm glad to see he's made friends. How about you ask them to come visit the shop once in a while, Akio?"
"I mean, if that's what you want. I've been meaning to hang out with them before the festival anyway."
"That's perfect! Tell me when so I can prepare, okay?"
"Sure thing, mom."
We continued doing small talk around the table as we finished our breakfast.
Much later, my brother and I went to the courtyard of our home to start my training.
What I really want to focus on today was quirk training. Right now, the issue I have with my quirk is that most of my bigger moves require way too much stamina for them to be useful in battle. It was the culmination of using Dimension Blade a number of times and the Vacuum Sphere that made me fall into a coma back at the USJ. I can't afford to do so if I want to improve as a hero.
First of all, the Vacuum Sphere works by marking the air in front of me. However, I never used it because doing so is so inefficient. The air around me has no solid form, so limiting the area my quirk covers to create a mark is hard, where it eventually just creates a tag too big and too spread out. Meaning a huge waste of stamina for just one marker. Back at the USJ however, It worked because I willed it to cover as much area as possible since Kurogiri's attack range was wide.
Not to mention that putting my tags on non-solid material cuts the time the tag is placed by a lot.
But right now though, I want to recreate one of the attacks that Kurogiri did against Thirteen. The ability to teleport attacks and using them against the users.
It should be simple in theory, as I already implemented the necessary skills needed on my other supermoves.
First to imbue my quirks properties on my kunais, giving them the ability to warp anything they cut. Next uses the teleportation aspect from Vacuum Sphere to teleport things in mass. With this, I should be able to create a new move where I'll be able to redirect ranged attacks.
The two kunais that I held immediately glowed red before they dissipated. Its effects seem similar to when I use my Dimension Blade.
'Hmm…'
I quickly put this to the test. I told my my brother to get the water hose and aim it at me.
"Uh, are you sure?" He looked at me like I just asked him to do something stupid.
"Just do it." I said.
"Alright then, suit yourself."
I stood in the middle of the courtyard with kunai's held in both arms as my brother aimed the hose at me. He turned the knob and water immediately came gushing out of the hose towards me.
I immediately pointed one of my knives towards the upcoming stream of water while the other was pointed to the side.
The moment the water touched the knife, it seemingly sunk into the blade as it reappeared shooting out from the other kunai.
[AN: Think Ukitake's shikai ability from Bleach.]
"Wow, can't believe that worked." I chuckled as I studied my knife.
"That was pretty cool, did you teleport the water or something?" My brother asked.
"Yep, I got the idea after seeing one of the villains back in the USJ." I smiled. "It's created to fight people with long ranged attacks since I'm kinda weak in that area. With this, I've gotten even stronger."
"Yea, it's settled. Your classmates don't stand a chance." Raizo chuckled, which I responded to with a grin.
"No, no they don't."
— The Warping Hero —
'98….99…100!'
Shinso got up after finishing his goal for the day. It's become his daily routine to always do a basic workout, only these have gotten more intensive due to the upcoming sports festivals.
That itself brought him to think about what exactly he could do to win.
He was confident in his strength and quirk. But he believes that won't be enough to take down some of the powerhouses of the class. Especially the smarter ones who have probably figured out how his quirk works.
He needs a trump card. Something that could give him an edge against other people who are not only stronger, but also faster than him.
A minute passes before Shinso sighs.
'I'll think about this later.'
He quickly took a towel to clean himself up before resting for the rest of day.
Shinso is currently lounging in his room after the intense training session. He's looking through an online video website scrolling away looking for something to watch, when a particular video caught his interest.
It was an amateur video taken from the side of the road, where a car crash seemingly happened. The video was about a mother who lifted the entire car single handedly and saved her 4 year old daughter's life. Later, it was revealed that she didn't have a strength quirk at all and according to her, 'I panicked and did what I could to save my baby.'
Shinso seeing this was intrigued. He did more research and came upon an article that explained something called 'Hysterical Strength'. The theory said that humans are capable in unleashing much greater strength, surpassing what their current physical bodies are capable of. This however, causes anyone who uses it to end up suffering injuries or become exhausted.
He immediately looked into it in more detail. Experts say that the only way to access this 'Hysterical Strength' is when someone is faced with a life and death situation. Another say that it's linked towards the mind. Where one is subconsciously limiting himself from releasing 100%.
And that right there is all he needed.
He immediately got up and put it to the test. 'Hmm, how should I do this? If a person's mind is what's limiting them, then perhaps…'
Although the amount of improvement and control Shinso has over his quirk increased ever since he awakened it when he was 4, not once has he ever thought of the possibility of brainwashing himself.
'It's worth a shot.' He thought.
He immediately tried giving himself a question, and answering mentally while focusing the powers of his quirk.
All of a sudden, he felt something wash over himself, like shackles covering his body. His eyes looked blank and glazed over as it seemingly lost focus.
'So this is what it feels like.' He thought to himself. He always was curious on what it feels to be influenced by his quirk. 'So how do I exactly do this? Just will myself to be stronger?'
He felt something happening to his body, but wasn't actually sure what. Planning to test things out, he mentally willed his body to grab a large dresser in his room with one hand, and lift.
To his surprise, his body did exactly that. The large heavy dresser that he usually struggles to move is now being lifted on one of its corners with one hand. It all suddenly stopped however, when a stab of pain hit his system. He broke out of his daze and the dresser dropped to the floor with a bang.
Shinso glanced down to see his arm red and in pain, but he grinned at the results.
'I could definitely work with this.'
— The Warping Hero —
"Oi, Hitoshi. My mom said it's been a while and she wants you to visit." I asked Shinso, once class ended.
"Sure, could definitely do with your mom's coffee." He said.
"Hey Kazuya! Shinso! Some of us are going to hang out for a while, you guys wanna join?" Mina waved enthusiastically in our direction while we were packing our bags.
"Wait, you guys are going out?" I asked curiously. "What a coincidence. I was actually planning on inviting the class out to my family's cafe."
"Wait Kazuya, your family owns a cafe?" Kaminari asked as he approached us. Apparently, he and Mina were the ones to initiate the class outing and were still figuring a destination.
"Yep, it's not far from U.A. and prices are affordable if you're interested."
"Of course, that's perfect! Mina and I were just wondering where to go and a coffee hang out sounds fun."
"That's great." I said with a grin. "So who else is going?"
"You, me, Mina, Jirou, Shinso, Sero, and Tokoyami." Kaminari answered as he, Shinso, and I walked over to said group who are already talking excitedly among themselves. "Guys, Shinso and Kazuya are joining us! And get this, we're all going to his family cafe and it's all on the house!"
"Wait, that's not-"
"Really? Thanks Kazuya!" Mina shouted excitedly.
"No guys I-"
"That's our class prez for ya!"
"I said-"
"Come on! Let's all eat to our hearts content!"
"Ah, forget it." I sighed, before shrugging and giving a smile.
"So Kaminari lied about that huh, figures." Jirou snorted as she walked beside me. The rest of the gang already making their way outside of school.
"Oh well, Mom always had a soft spot for friends so she's probably gonna do it anyway." I glanced at her. "Do try to give a good impression, yeah?"
She gave me a grin. "Don't worry red, I'll try my best."
We all continued walking until we arrived at said Cafe. It was a large sized building with a decent crowd already inside.
I lead everyone inside as we secured a seat for ourselves. I signaled one of our employees, and noticing it was me, she immediately came to our seat to get our orders.
People usually have to line up at the queue before they choose get to their seats, but being the owner of the establishment does have its perks.
"This is good!" Mina said as she took another bite of the cake she ordered.
"I know right! Kazuya, why didn't you tell us sooner about this sooner?" Kaminari exclaimed while admiring a cheesecake.
"It just never came up." I chuckled.
"Told ya." Shinso drawled as he took another sip of his coffee. "Akio's mom's cooking is to die for."
We continued our conversation well into the evening. Naturally, our topic of discussion is about the sports festival.
"So what do you guys think we're gonna do at the sports festival?" Mina, the ever loving extrovert, started the conversation.
"All the events are usually randomized from what I remember. But the last event will always be a one-on-one competition." I informed them.
"So you really have to be prepared for everything, huh?" Tokoyami commented. "As expected of U.A."
"Yeah but they also have to make the events interesting so people would watch it. Remember, the sports festival is basically Japan's version of the Olympics." Kaminari said.
"Which means we'll also be seen by the world itself when we perform. Talk about pressure." Shinso said with a frown.
"Yeah, but isn't that fun! Everyone's going to see how awesome we are!" Mina cheered.
"Only you would enjoy that kind of attention, Mina." Jirou commented.
"You don't seem that excited about it, Shinso." Sero noted.
"The whole point of the festival is to get Pro Heroes to notice us, right?" Shinso shrugged. "It's for internship offers. Or at least that's what Aizawa said. As long as you can get the camera on you most of the time, then you already accomplished its purpose."
Shinso then grinned. "But you're wrong, Sero. I'm pumped for these exams. Sure, I might not usually enjoy the attention, but the festival is a perfect place for me to get my name out there."
"What do you mean?" Mina asked, confused.
"You know what my quirk is, right?" He sighed. At everyone's nod, he continued. "Well let's just say things weren't easy growing up. When you have a quirk like mine, people tend to judge you on the things you could do with it."
Everyone just kept silent at that, while I just listened with a smile. Knowing where this is going.
"That's why I'm here to be a hero. To prove to the world that even a guy with a villainous quirk like me could become a hero. To prove that the quirk doesn't define the person. That's my dream."
Everyone stayed wide eyed at Shinso's declaration. They all quickly grew smiles, acknowledging his determination and goal.
"Hell yeah man! We're with you all the way pal!" Kaminari said with a pumped fist.
"I'm rooting for you, Shinso!" Mina cheered.
"If you want the world to notice you, means you have to win, yeah?" I commented as I looked him in the eye. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you bared your heart to all of us here." I said with a grin.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." He said while giving me a fistbump.
The rest of the gang showed just as much support and words that they would give their all. Shinso immediately laughed it off. But everyone noticed that his smile grew a little but wider for the rest of the day.
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Hey y'all!
A training chapter explaining what exactly our heroes are up to in their downtime before the Sports Festival.
The Sports Festival itself will start next chapter. Honestly can't wait since writing it would be pretty fun.
Shinso and Kazuya has managed to unlock some new moves. Expect them to showcase what they can do very soon.
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That's all for today's AN!
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