บท 2: Changes [2]
Kaigen was almost giddy as he rushed to the bathroom. He could see Mizuki throwing him a weird glance, but he didn't care, he had rolls to make.
Kaigen closed the toilet's lid and sat on top of it. He focused, and the status window appeared.
He planned on going Skill > Power > Perk simply because he wanted to see what skills he could get. Perks had been undeniably better than powers, and it was better to leave the best for last.
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Skill: Lawyer.
Category: Formal Education.
Description: Equivalent of a law degree.
-+-
Kaigen suddenly felt like he could recall most things about the law and how to apply it in difficult circumstances. As if he was a competent student that paid a lot of attention in class.
Kaigen was satisfied; it wasn't the best, as he could've gotten Martial Arts or something similar that boosted his combat effectiveness, but this would be helpful when he became a hero and somewhat help him out in the history part of the written exams.
A bit impatient, Kaigen started rolling the Tier 0 powers.
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1.
Power: Efficient Autonomic Systems
Category: Brute/Breaker
Tier: 0
Description: Every autonomic part of your body has been streamlined and optimized for peak efficiency. This optimization means that minor injuries and illnesses heal faster, you fend off infections and diseases more effectively, require less sleep without sacrificing restfulness and your lymphatic system is heightened, minimizing downtime and maintaining your peak physical condition.
Additionally, minor imperfections like wisdom teeth, certain bones like the fabella, and inverted eye cones have been corrected.
- [Scrap] - [Accept]
2.
Power: Bullet Time
Category: Thinker
Tier: 0
Description: You can process information at an unprecedented rate. When this power is active, the world seems to slow down to a crawl, making bullets seem to move no faster than a jogger. You can toggle this effect on and off. Overuse leads to headaches.
- [Scrap] - [Accept]
-+-
Kaigen didn't hesitate, he immediately accepted both powers.
The first one might give him a slight strength enhancement but a big stamina enhancement, though a part of him couldn't help but complain, 'Is the System trying to make me into a workaholic? First Power Nap, which makes sleep more effective, now this power keeps me in peak condition. Now I have no excuse but to work hard.'
Kaigen liked his first power but loved his second. Now this was something useful for combat. He'll have a massive advantage in fights by having more time to make decisions and react to his opponent's moves.
Kaigen took a deep breath and rolled a new perk.
+-+
Perk: Olympic
Description: Your muscles, natural regeneration, bone density, memory, perception, and senses are all just short of Parahuman.
Prepare for unconsciousness:
Activating in 3...2
+-+
Kaigen quickly left the toilet seat and lay on the bathroom floor, looking up. Despite the feeling of disgust, he had no choice but to do it. Who knows? Maybe he hits his head against a corner and dies?
That'd be a pathetic way of dying.
The moment he lay down and looked at the ceiling, unconsciousness took him. The next moment Kaigen felt that he had woken up, with no time in between.
Though everything was different, he felt more real; his senses picked up the slight smell of disinfectant, the slight crack on the floor, and the feeling of discomfort from his torn-up clothes as they tried to contain someone too big for them.
Lastly, there was the flabbergasted expression on his aunt's face.
It took him a moment to process that last one. There was an awkward stare between the two. She stood there on the open bathroom door, holding a marker in her hand as she leaned against the frame with a blank expression.
Kaigen stared back, lifting his head slightly from the floor. A few moments passed in silence until Mizuki spoke.
"What happened to you?"
"I've been chosen by God."
"Really?"
"No."
The marker hit him squarely on his forehead. The next second she was squatting next to his chest, grabbing the strands of his shirt, and shaking him wildly.
"What's going on!? I thought you were mas-"
"Stop. Please don't finish that sentence."
Kaigen pushed Mizuki's forehead, causing her to lean back against the wall. He then stood up and took the remains of his shirt.
What looked back at him seemed to be a body forged from years of hard work. His body went from skinny to Olympic swimmer, but he didn't have too much time to examine his changes because his aunt looked worried.
Just as Mizuki was about to speak again, Kaigen beat her to it.
"I'm pretty sure it's my Quirk."
"Huh?"
"You're the pinnacle of eloquence." She smacked his calf, and Kaigen continued speaking, "I've been having these weird feelings these past two weeks."
"Okay, I know I haven't been in your life much, but I'm sure you are Quirkless." Mizuki looked doubtful. "So your Quirk awakened with your parent's death?"
"I mean, I don't have any better guesses about what's going on." Kaigen turned towards her as she stood up and, for the first time, equipped a power. Hoping to convince her with the changes from his power.
[Power Slot 1: Efficient Autonomic Systems.]
The next second he felt a thousand burning ants spread through his body, but he kept his gaze on her aunt. Her face quickly forms in shock, but then into a horror-stricken one.
"What's happening to you!?"
As Kaigen realized, using Efficient Autonomous Systems (EAS) to demonstrate his 'Quirk' might not have been the best idea since its first use would eliminate all imperfections, which must be quite horrifying to watch in real-time.
Kaigen took a quick peek at the mirror. His body trembled as if worms had taken over and were flowing through it. One look was enough for Kaigen; he left the bathroom and went to his room.
The pain slowly got more intense, until he all but wanted to scream; however, it then quickly faded away. This experience left him numb and blankly looking at the ceiling.
It didn't take too long for Mizuki to enter his room and say worriedly, "I called for help, don't worry, everything will be fine."
Kaigen turned his head to -once again- stare blankly at her. He wanted to complain, but it was quite reasonable to call for help after what she saw. Besides, he doubted he could convince her to call them off.
Kaigen lay his head back on the bed and said, "I'm fine, whatever happened is over now."
Mizuki sat on the bed next to him. "Are you sure?"
Kaigen replied, "Pretty sure."
They waited in silence.
Kaigen was worried about how he was going to explain his powers. It's going to be inevitable that he's going to have to go through some sort of medical checkup, which could reveal something weird in him.
Like possible growths in his brain, which would lead to deeper investigations.
Maybe even brain surgery.
Kaigen shivered.
Mizuki spoke, interrupting his thoughts, "I think you may have always had your Quirk."
Kaigen looked at her baffled, "What?"
Mizuki evaded his gaze. "Your father, he was quite proud of being Quirkless. He almost bragged that from his great-grandfather to him, there have been no Quirks at all."
Kaigen was only looking more confused, "That's weird." He chuckled, "Maybe he was a supporter of the Quirk Doomsday Theory."
Mizuki looked to the side.
Kaigen almost yelled, "He was!?"
Mizuki nodded and said, "I've been thinking about your Quirk. I don't believe you awakened it two weeks ago, but you've had it all along, and your father forbade you from using it."
Kaigen had to admit, that was a much better excuse, considering it was really weird to awaken your Quirk at fifteen instead of four years old. He could only play along with it and apologize to his 'dad' for tarnishing his reputation after his death.
"That seems much more likely."
Whatever Mizuki said was interrupted as the sounds of sirens made their way through the window.
Mizuki stood up and said, "C'mon, stand up, they're here for you."
Kaigen stood up and followed her downstairs. The sound became louder and louder until it stopped right in front of his house.
Mizuki had opened the door, and Kaigen followed behind her.
A man stepped out of the ambulance. He seemed to be in his late forties or fifties; his mask seemed to be like a motorcycle helmet and skin-tight padded suit. The man wasted no time and said, "I'm Ramedi, the paramedic hero! Young man, please step into my office!"
Kaigen looked at him and thought, 'Is this what a mid-life crisis looks like?' and stepped into the ambulance.
Mizuki greeted the hero and started explaining what the situation was. As Mizuki talked, the hero asked, "Do I have permission to use my Quirk, Scan, on you? It'll let me see through your body and see any abnormalities."
Kaigen reluctantly nodded, and Mizuki kept talking about what happened to him.
Apparently, he had passed out for close to an hour. That's why she opened the door, she tried calling him but wouldn't respond. Only to find him looking at the ceiling and then at her.
Kaigen heard Mizuki's description as a 'cosmic horror trying to enter our world' as his EAS transformation and realized he had traumatized her.
Her description might not be wrong. Kaigen had wondered if he had a shard connected to him or if it was just 'system-powered.' He also wondered if he counted as 'Quirkless', 'Parahuman', or both.
All of these options had wildly different implications for his body.
Quirkless people still surpassed what was normally possible. Parahuman aren't different than normal people unless their power changed that, and he had no idea what would happen if these options were mixed.
Kaigen was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as Ramedi finished the examination and announced to everybody, even some nosy neighbors looking through their windows.
"You are in perfect health!" Ramedi paused and continued, "There's nothing to worry about, kid."
Mizuki let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you! I guess, I panicked for nothing. It was just his Quirk acting up."
Ramedi laughed heartily, "It's better to be safe than sorry! But if you don't mind me asking, what's your Quirk young man?
Kaigen looked at the man, thinking of his Quirk, he might be able to tell if he was lying by seeing the state of his body, so he did his best not to lie.
"I'm calling it Roulette. It can manifest in a lot of different ways, but only one at a time and, so far, in minor ways."
Ramedi patted Kaigen's back, "Very adaptable!"
Mizuki then asked hesitantly, "He has amnesia as well since his parent's accident two weeks ago. I know he has two growths in his brain; could they be the ones keeping him from accessing his memories?"
Kaigen's heartbeat shot through the roof as he looked at his aunt in shock and the news that she had just delivered. After a second of processing the information, he thought, 'Is she trying to lobotamize me!?'
Ramedi looked at Kaigen worriedly. "It seemed you didn't know about those growths. But don't worry, they aren't the cause of the amnesia. As far behind their purpose is that they help you manage your powers."
Ramedi paused for a moment and added, "Which is normal, as most people's brains nowadays differ greatly in managing their mutations and Quirks."
Kaigen let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Quirk shenanigans made his abnormalities a lot closer to the baseline, thanks to that the man wasn't questioning it too much.
Remedi seemed to take it as if he was glad there was nothing wrong with the growth in his brain. While Mizuki was caught between relief and disappointment, from Kaigen being fine but not getting back his memories.
Kaigen thanked Remedi, and after some bureaucracy, the hero left, leaving him and Mizuki alone in their home. Kaigen thought this might be a good time as any to tell her that he wanted to be a hero, but for a second he wasn't sure how to tell it to her.
Kaigen then decided to rip off the band-aid and said to Mizuki, "I want to go to U.A."
Mizuki looked at him in shock before she ran her fingers through her hair and said tiredly, "Let's talk about this tomorrow. I need a drink." She walked to the kitchen and took a beer out of the fridge.
Kaigen felt a bit guilty about dropping all of this on her. Mistakes were made today; he should've handled things better. He knew that his powers wouldn't harm him thanks to his perk, but other people didn't know that, and he will definitely take that into consideration in the future.
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A/N: I had a lot more scenes planned for this chapter, but things just got out of hand with bad rolls. Don't get me wrong, each of these powers, skills, and perks are amazing.
But what dice giveth, dice taketh away. It rolled a 13 out of 100 on:
Does Kaigen do a good job of telling Mizuki he has powers?
(13) HE DOES NOT.
I called it like this: 50 is decent, and closer to the edges is how bad or good it goes. So now Mizuki is traumatized.
Question: Do I capitalize quirk and quirkless?
Note: I don't know when I'll update. I'll just say I'll try my best to write. Just started a new job and getting used to it.
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