章 1445: 33
Abandoned: Humanity's Drift - Chapter 33 - shansome
Chapter 33
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
"Are we going to be sparring today as well, Atlas-sensei?" Momo asked, glancing up at the man as she completed her warmup. Her body felt loose and prepared, full of lipids and stamina.
Her skills had increased exponentially after only a single day of training under him, so much so that it was almost unbelievable. They had fought for hours and hours, until Momo's mana had completely dried up and she was too exhausted to even hold her staff. He seemed to know exactly where her limits were, giving her lengthy breaks and plenty of food(Atlas, as it turned out, was an excellent cook) before they were up and sparring again once more.
It was endlessly exhausting, but at the same time perfectly rewarding in its own way.
"Nope," Atlas replied. "I can tell that you're still somewhat tired from yesterday, Creati-" Somewhat? "-so instead of sparring again, today we'll be focusing on your magic."
He tossed something small at her and she caught it instinctively in her hands. She glanced down at her cupped palms curiously to see a small rock, light gray and jagged in its edges.
"You probably already know this, but the simpler an object's structure the easier it is to visualize and reinforce it," Atlas started, his voice falling into that warm yet level tone that always accompanied his lectures. She listened attentively. "Since you actually create all of your own weapons, you're already intimately familiar with their structures."
"That's awesome and efficient for combat, but not that great when it comes to working on actual technique."
"So you want me to practice reinforcing an object that I am unfamiliar with instead, in the hopes of improving my skill at reinforcement magic itself?" Momo summarized.
Atlas nodded. "Exactly."
That was logical- it had been quite some time since she reinforced something she hadn't made herself, actually.
Momo looked down at the rock in her hands and concentrated, letting her mana gently flow into it. Bright pink energy gradually coated the edges of the rock and wrapped all the way around its gray surface. It took a little bit more effort than she was used to, with how pointed and uneven it was compared to her clear-cut and perfectly shaped staff, but she had more than enough experience to power through.
A few seconds later, and Momo had a reinforced rock sitting in the palms of her hands and thrumming with power. She looked up at her teacher.
"Not bad!" Atlas noted, pleased. "Now, do the inside of it."
Momo blinked, suddenly very confused.
"...What?"
"You reinforced the outside of the rock pretty well- whoever taught you during your Drift did wonderful imparting the basics," Atlas praised. "But we're not sparring right now, so you have more than enough time to fully reinforce it."
"Wait-wait a minute," Momo raised up her hand to halt his words, her thoughts racing. "Are you implying that it is actually possible to reinforce the inside of an object, Atlas-sensei? Not just its outside surface?"
Atlas tilted his head. "...Yes? Why wouldn't you be able to do that?"
"That doesn't make any sense!" Momo blurted. "Since reinforcement is an extremely precise process, everyone knows that you need to be able to see exactly what you're reinforcing in order to cover it with your mana. Theoretically, yes, fully fortifying the outside and inside of something would increase your efficiency tenfold- but no one could possibly manage such a feat!"
"It's simply impossible to flow mana well enough inside something, because you can't see its exact internal structure as you do it."
A flicker of confusion and an odd disappointment passed over Atlas's features in an instant before they vanished again just as quickly. Then he hummed, thoughtful. "What about your creations, then? Can you reinforce the inside of one of them?"
Momo shook her head. "No. I know precisely how to reconstruct atoms into an object as a result of my quirk, but I don't get a mental snapshot or any detailed interior knowledge."
If she could do anything so marvelous as that, her magic would be so much more useful. Unfortunately, she and the rest of the people who used reinforcement magic would need to settle for fortifying only the parts of things they could see-
"Wait a minute, but you don't have that limitation, Atlas-sensei," Momo suddenly realized, her eyes widening. "You did it with your staff, when you reinforced the entire classroom earlier, and especially every time you somehow fortify the air itself. How do you do it?"
A flash of violet and the space between them shifted.
Momo watched as a small rock was drawn out in front of her, impossibly outlined onto the very air itself. Next to it a stick figure was formed, complete with little dotted eyes and a smiley face.
"Say that this is rock is what I want to reinforce, and this is me," Atlas stated, making the stick figure wave at her. Momo waved back, suppressing a small smile at the silly display.
"The first step is to coat it in my mana." The stick figure extended out his thin arms as Atlas talked, and from the ends of them came a violet mass of energy that floated towards the rock to swiftly outline all of its edges. As he did so, the violet around the 'object' become more pronounced to convey what was being reinforced. "I observe it closely, carefully reinforcing every external part of the structure as much as I can. Now, I have made my object a decent bit stronger and more durable."
"And for most people, this is enough." Atlas continued. "But if I want to reinforce the object even further I need to take the next step- moving my mana further into the 'object' to fill it up from the inside."
The stick figure attempted to do so. More violet energy was transferred over to the rock, running inward from its glowing exterior to color it in completely. But once it was inside of the rock, the mana seemed to have zero control or direction, swirling around in an unstable mess and failing to take any proper shape.
A violet question mark appeared above the stick figure, and his smiling face curled into a frown. Oh, no!
"Which is tricky considering that, as you said, I can't consistently visualize the inside of the object during the process. And if I can't visualize the object, I can't reinforce it! How do you think I got past that roadblock, Creati?"
Momo cupped her chin, contemplative. How indeed?
Raw power? Atlas certainly seemed to possess that in spades, while her own mana reserves didn't even come close to his. But that was way too simple- if that were the case, he would most certainly not be trying to make her think like this.
Perhaps it was some sort of high-level mana control technique? As in, you had to move your energy in this complex weave, or else the whole thing wouldn't work? Strange, but possible. Or maybe-
She was overthinking this, wasn't she?
"You can't reinforce something that you can't consistently visualize," Momo repeated slowly. "So that means that you must have figured out how to consistently visualize the inside of an object, correct?"
Atlas beamed at her, emerald eyes gleaming. "Exactly."
Momo glowed with the affirmation.
"Tell me, how good is your mana sensing, Creati?"
"Decent, I suppose. But a rock wouldn't show up with much mana though, would it? It isn't alive."
Atlas smiled. "Maybe not, no. But finding nearby mana isn't all there is to it."
The question mark above his stick figure disappeared and was soon replaced with a lightbulb(how he was even managing such intricate detail here was beyond her). The stick figure extended his thin arms out again to emit more violet mana- but this time, the energy skimmed over the entire rock instead of reinforcing it. An image appeared next to the lightbulb as he did so, depicting the inside portion of the 'object.'
The stick figure went to reinforce the inside of the rock again, and this time his mana flowed throughout with clear knowledge of what he was doing- just like when he was reinforcing the exterior edges.
The stick figure's frown curled back up into a smile.
"What most hu-people don't seem to realize is that your mana is a part of your body- an extra limb that can feel things just like any other. With some training, you can learn about objects through contact with your mana, to the point where you can entirely scan something before you reinforce it."
"...I see," Momo breathed. That made so much sense! But the sheer skill it must take to use mana itself as some sort of scanning device was almost unimaginable. How did Atlas even come across such a technique?
Atlas waved his hand and the air drawing disappeared.
"Ready to try it out yourself?" He asked.
Momo nodded back, full of determination. "Yes!"
She was not ready.
Utilizing mana as a sixth sense turned out to be far, far more complex than he had made it seem. She needed total and exact control of her abilities to even begin to sense things with them, and a ton of power behind that control to get anywhere.
Momo wasn't putting in any physical effort during this exercise- she was simply attempting, unsuccessfully, to scan a small rock in the method he had explained. Yet, the sheer concentration required in that very action made her feel like spikes were piercing through her brain.
It was a similar feeling to when she first started practicing with Creation, but even worse since continuous mana usage also exhausted her body's stamina. It was entirely unfair and didn't seem to make any sense- but then again, neither did magic in the first place.
"...This is much more difficult than I expected," Momo finally admitted thirty minutes in, pausing in her efforts to wipe a bead of sweat off her temple.
Atlas hadn't moved a single muscle since her confident declaration earlier, standing as a still as a statue in the same position as before. He had melded into the silent space around her so well that she had almost forgotten he was still there and quietly observing her work.
"Maybe," Atlas responded lightly. "You're making good progress, though."
Momo frowned. What?
"But I've barely made any headway towards the reinforcement yet, Atlas-sensei," Momo protested. "Even acknowledging the difficulty of the task, I should have something to show after wasting so much of your time."
Five whole years of practice, and she still couldn't make this single leap in skill despite being gifted with such a thorough lecture-
Atlas's chuckle shook her out of her thoughts. "Creati, I'm not expecting you to get this down instantly- frankly, I'd be more surprised if you did. It took me quite a long time to figure this out myself, and even longer to apply it successfully. I said you were making good progress because you are."
Momo felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment, both at her own impatience and from his confirmed praise of her growth.
"...Thank you, Atlas-sensei."
"No problem, Creati."
Momo took a deep breath in, let it out, and resumed her training once more.
Endeavor spent the next day training their offensive potential.
Or, more accurately, they practiced in the training room with the supervision of his sidekicks while the Number Two Hero himself went in and out of the agency for hero work.
He 'didn't have any time' to spar with Akari today, either, and instead had them both destroy a bunch of training dummies to learn how to efficiently deal as much damage as possible. They were built somewhat durable, but crumbled apart under her and Todoroki's attacks fast enough to make the whole thing very boring.
Endeavor did work with Akari on her light magic for a while(not that he actually had any useful advice for her) and tested her 'enhanced strength' with various equipment before largely leaving her to her destroy more lame practice dummies. He seemed to be pretty impressed with what she could do but didn't actually show much interest in her as an intern at all.
All of Endeavor's focus, instead, was on Todoroki and teaching him to use his newly regained flames- how to output as much fire as possible, how to use his Flashfire Fist to condense that fire to be even more powerful, and how to push past and ignore the burning heat that came with their powers to keep using the quirk.
And at first glance it was a nice scene- an experienced hero father teaching his hero student son what he knew and passing on his knowledge and skills. But with context and a working pair of eyes, well, it just wasn't.
Endeavor didn't talk to Todoroki like he was his son, or even like he was a person. He treated him as if he was a weapon he had created, an extension of himself that's sole purpose was to meet the expectations he had set.
It was all so weird to her. Akari knew in theory that terrible, abusive parents existed, of course, but the only ones she had met and talked to and understood were amazing ones like her Dad, Mom, and the Hagakure's. How twisted do you have to be to raise your child for the sole purpose of becoming the most popular warrior in the country?
Todoroki was learning a lot, clearly making leaps and bounds in his fire manipulation over the course of the day. But at the same time, the boy looked so obviously uncomfortable to be around Endeavor that it was a wonder the man himself couldn't see it. It didn't show in Todoroki's face, naturally, since he was far too good at appearing blank and expressionless, but instead in his slightly too stiff shoulders and tightly clenched fists.
Akari hated it.
They left the agency a few hours later. She snuck subtle, concerned glances at him all the way back to the train stop, wanting to say something but having absolutely no idea what to say. Todoroki himself was just as quiet as he usually was, leaving them in an awkward silence that she very much wanted to break.
"Are you okay, Todoroki?" Akari finally settled on.
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
Todoroki blinked at her. Then he tilted his head slightly, considering. "Yes. My body's condition is perfectly fine overall, though I am somewhat exhausted."
"...That's uh, great. But what I meant to ask you was how you were feeling after all of that. I didn't even know someone could be that condescending- is Endeavor always like that?"
"Yes, he always is," A pause. "After spending my Drift away from him, I seem to have far less tolerance for it than I used to."
Akari couldn't imagine getting used to that kind of treatment.
"Well, I'm glad that you got to live those five years without him," Akari said instead.
Todoroki's eyebrows scrunched up the slightest bit. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you happy about that?" Todoroki asked again, sounding genuinely confused. "Why do you care if I'm okay, Midoriya? You asked me that yesterday as well."
"'Cause we're friends, Todoroki," Akari said simply.
"...We are?"
Akari shrugged. "You dumped all of your trauma on me, we talked about it, and then I beat you up on national television. Pretty sure that makes us friends, right?"
Todoroki stopped walking completely. She paused too, glancing over to see him staring at her in stunned surprise, his heterochromatic eyes wider than he had ever seen them.
"I don't mean to assume anything, though," Akari added. "I befriend people pretty fast, and you seem like a cool person- no pun intended. If you don't want to be friends with me, then that's perfectly fine-"
"I would like to be your friend," Todoroki interrupted hastily. "I think."
"Oh," Akari smiled. "Great."
A pause. Then-
"Midoriya, do you mind making an extra stop on our way back?"
They took the train back to Musutafu. It was already evening by the time they got off at the stop, the sun just beginning to dip under the horizon.
Todoroki led her to a small apartment that rested comfortably in the city, noticeably close to U.A University. He stepped up to the entrance and knocked thrice.
Akari heard loud footfalls approach from the other side of the door before it swung open to reveal a young man with a head of spiky, white hair- a few shades off from her dad's snow-white and instead more reminiscent of Todoroki's right side. At the sight of Todoroki, a wide smile broke out across the man's face.
"Otouto! You didn't tell us you were gonna be stopping by!"
"Natsuo," Todoroki returned politely. "I apologize for showing up so abruptly-"
Natsuo waved away the apology with a grin. "It's all good, little bro! Fuyumi and I are always happy to see you-" His gray eyes widened as he finally noticed Akari. "-and it seems you've brought a guest with you! Hey, aren't you the winner of the Sports Festival?"
"Yeah, I am," Akari confirmed with a nod. "It's nice to meet you, Todoroki's brother."
"Likewise!"
"Who's there, Natsuo?" Another voice called from inside the apartment before a woman curiously peeked out the doorway. Her hair was mostly white with little red traces throughout- sort of like Todoroki's.
"Fuyumi," Todoroki greeted, his stoic voice just the slightest bit softer than it was before.
"Oh-Shouto! I didn't know you were coming over today! How are you?"
"I'm doing good," Todoroki replied simply. Then he gestured towards Akari. "This is my friend, Midoriya."
Fuyumi froze in place, suddenly as still as a statue. Natsuo blinked twice.
Todoroki didn't seem to notice their reactions. "And Midoriya, this is my sister, Fuyumi."
"It's nice to meet you, Todoroki-san," Akari said, awkwardly.
Natsuo snapped back to reality first. "Hey, wait a minute, why does Fuyumi get an introduction and I don't?"
Todoroki just shrugged at him.
"...It's wonderful to meet you as well, Midoriya-san," Fuyumi finally said with a smile.
"Why don't you two come in?"
Nothing could ever beat the taste of the Midoriya family's cooking, a culinary art steadily worked upon for hundreds and hundreds of years.
But Todoroki Fuyumi's food came close.
"This tastes fucking incredible," Akari told her amazing host, trying her very best not to devour all of her sushi in an instant. She had manners, after all. "Like, whoa."
Fuyumi smiled back, warmly. "Thank you! I've had a lot of practice, so to speak."
"Ever since our housekeeper broke her back all those years ago, Fuyumi's been the one cooking for us," Natsuo explained proudly. "She's amazing."
"You're giving me too much credit, Natsuo! You cook well too- we take turns, remember?"
"On Earth, yeah. But you handled most of it while we lived on Frigus-"
" Natsuo -"
"He can't actually make anything without using up an entire kitchen's worth of seasoning," Todoroki explained helpfully.
Akari glanced over at her friend with a startled laugh. "Really?"
"Yes."
"I heard that, Otouto!"
"And you didn't deny it, did you?" Todoroki pointed out, nonchalantly.
"You little-"
"I've heard from Shouto that you're very well-skilled yourself, Midoriya," Fuyumi gracefully moved on. "Is that true?"
Akari nodded. "Yeah, I learned a lot from my parents. Only like five people in our class can cook, for some reason, so we just have this weird rotation while we try to teach everyone else- speaking of which, how in the world does Todoroki only know how to make soba when he has you two for siblings?"
Natsuo snickered. "Shouto does love his soba, huh? He could definitely learn to make other things if he wanted to, especially with his quirk, but he just doesn't."
Todoroki blinked. "But why would I ever need to eat anything other than soba?"
Fuyumi sighed. "Shouto, I love you, but you cannot survive solely off soba."
"Why not?"
"You're going to get tired of it."
"But I love soba too much for that."
"She's right, sadly," Akari interjected. "That's what happened to me for a while. Katsudon has been the best thing ever for me ever since I first tasted it, so this one dec-year when I was younger I decided to only eat katsudon whenever possible. Long story short, within months I didn't even want to look at any of it- despite it being my absolute favorite food."
Todoroki's eyes widened.
"I could...get tired of soba?"
"Potentially, yes."
Todoroki looked down at his hands in despair. "What a cruel, cruel world we live in."
Akari sighed. "Tell me about it."
The dinner conversation drifted to U.A University, their teachers and classes there, and then the Sports Festival that both Fuyumi and Natsuo had attentively watched. Thankfully, neither of them seemed to hold a grudge against her for beating the hell out of their youngest sibling.
And then Fuyumi brought up their internships.
"Wait, you also chose that bastard, Midoriya?" Natsuo blurted, incredulous. "Why?!"
It was very simple, really.
"To punch your father in the face," Akari answered honestly.
Silence.
Fuyumi coughed. "...I'm sorry?"
"Todoroki told me about the quirk marriage," Akari stated. "Along with some other things about his past."
Fuyumi and Natsuo looked at Todoroki. He shrugged.
"That, combined with the frankly horrible personality I've already noticed Endeavor has, didn't exactly give me the best opinion of him. So while it really isn't my place to do so, I very much want to cut him down to size."
"She can probably do it, too," Todoroki added. "Midoriya is very strong."
Huh. When had his faith in her changed that much??
"Holy shit," Natsuo's eyebrows shot up to the ceiling. "Fuyumi, can we keep her?"
Fuyumi ignored her brothers, gray eyes focused on Akari. "Do you want to spar with Endeavor or challenge him to an a-actual fight? Because both can end up being extremely dangerous for you, Midoriya. I've seen you block massive explosions at the festival, but Endeavor's flames are far, far worse than that."
"I know that," Akari responded, calm. "I'm saying that I can beat him anyway. And for that man, nothing will be worse than losing to his own intern in full view of his son and sidekicks."
"...That's certainly true," Fuyumi admitted. She seemed interested in the prospect, if not still intensely concerned. "But what about the aftermath? Even if you do win, you still have almost half of your internship left to complete with him."
Akari opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again.
"Honestly, I hadn't thought that far ahead, yet," Akari said, sheepish.
"Of course you didn't," Fuyumi muttered.
Natsuo chuckled at that, lighthearted. Then the edges of his smile curled down, his expression falling into something serious for the first time.
"Trust me, I want to see that bastard get taken down a peg more than anything. But he isn't worth getting burned over, Midoriya. Are you completely sure you want to try humiliating the second-highest-ranked hero in Japan?"
Akari just smiled.
"Yep."
Notes:
I love Fuyumi, she's amazing and deserves so much more love in this fandom. And Natsuo barely seems to exist in it at all!
Fuyumi is a lot more tolerating of Endeavor's behavior in canon compared to this fic, because five years away from that asshole and constantly doing her best to hold the family together changes some things. It also makes Todoroki less used to interacting with Endeavor and increases Natsuo's hatred of him.
Next chapter, hopefully, I can get to the Endeavor beatdown!
As always, feedback is welcome.
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