Chương 38: Learning Quirks
"Ooh, that's some good footage." There had been two changelings prepared for this session. Initially, they had merely camouflaged themselves, but as soon as attention turned to fighting, they reverted forms. They didn't need to be human to work cameras. Each had a tripod with a high-speed camera. With two angles, they had captured everything.
Just a little editing to cut them together, clear up the audio, maybe some music, and this was going to be a gem.
But that would have to wait for later. Kai turned his attention to Deku. He looked a little scared and worried. Not for himself- he was looking in the direction Bakugo had gone.
"You think I was a little hard on your friend?"
"Kacchan-"
"Let me stop you right there, Stockholm." Kai didn't want to hear any excuses. And hearing the nickname used, he felt his stomach flip. That was very personal and intimate, for someone who had a habit of both physical and verbal abuse. Deku was just too nice a person, to treat Bakugo like that despite, him being, well, Bakugo.
Maybe that could be fixed.
"Today isn't about him. In fact, I think that nothing is ever about him. It will be for his health if he learns that. Not all of that was taunts. If I'm not mistaken, there wasn't anyone at his level before coming here, was there?"
"Ah, um… I guess so," Deku said. Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen somebody give Bakugo a hard time.
"Yeah, people like him will be brimming with confidence. I guess you weren't there for it yesterday, but I'm sure you know that many heroes die in their first years on the job. If Bakago doesn't learn he will join them just because he overlooks someone weak whose power is more than enough to destroy him. I could give a six-year-old a gun, and he'd be just as dead as if he went against a powerful villain.
"But enough of that. Tell me, how does it feel to go from Quirkless to holding All Might's power?" Kai led Deku over to the grass to sit down. "Yagi-san did tell you that I know your secret, right?"
"Y-yeah. Ummm… can I ask how you knew? All Might didn't explain much." Deku said nervously.
"You are someone who likes watching heroes and their Quirks, you tell me," Kai said with a grin.
"B-but we were trying to hide it! People-"
"That is why you failed." Kai said with mock sagacity, stroking an immaterial beard. "Never underestimate a geek in a story-like situation. You still haven't answered the question."
"W-well… it's crazy. I still can't believe it, sometimes. And now that I have this power, I have to live up to All Might's expectations, and become a great hero!" Deku's eyes shone with determination.
"Well, I think you are well on you way to being a hero. You already know something a great hero was known for- that 'with great power comes great responsibility.' Or you could call it 'noblesse oblige,' the responsibility of the powerful towards those who have no power. Bakago appears to think that the world should worship him for having sparky sparky boom fingers. Tch.
"Anyways, let's talk about using your Quirk. Controlling it. What has All Might taught you? Let's see if we can pick up the pace." Kai put his hands together in an attentive position.
"Um, after I used it for the first time in the entrance exam, he told me that the key was the sensation of it. That I had to remember that feeling and recreate it. It was like …" Deku had a little light in his eyes as he talked about his conversation with All Might, egg in a microwave example and all.
Meanwhile, the more Deku talked, the opposite happened to Kai. "So, he just said to lower the timer and the wattage, and things would work out eventually?" He picked his ears, hoping he was hearing wrong.
"Y-yes?" Deku realized that Kai's mood had shifted.
"Out of curiosity, do you have his number?" Kai was sure he would. "Could you please call him for me?"
Deku didn't see where this was going, so he did so. After All Might picked up, Kai snatched the phone from Deku's hands.
"You are an idiot, and you should know that some time during the next week, a random person you pass on the street will smack you upside the back of your head," Kai said as he hung up and passed the phone back to a shocked Deku.
"By Iroh's rancid sandals, you have a terrible mentor." Kai pressed on the bridge of his nose to suppress a rising headache. "I'm going to need to ask him, but I'd wager that he had no problem getting used to… I just realized that I don't know what your Quirk is called, so I'll just call it the Inheritance. He has no idea how it works. I have no problem with your image, if that was your sensation of the power, but he literally just told you to explode yourself, but not as strong. That's just…"
Kai sighed. It wasn't going to be hard to track All Might and have a changeling tail him and carry out his threat, was he going to threaten the most powerful and popular hero in Japan every single day?
Actually, thinking about it, did he even get a teaching license? Kai sent the changeling that had been doing housekeeping in the apartment to do some book shopping. "Teaching for Dummies" sounded like a good start. All Might could probably use it. No wonder he had so many problems.
"Okay, let's start this over again. Figuring out a new Quirk is almost nothing like that. That might work for something that is simply on or off, but you want to control your strength so that it doesn't reduce your bones to dust like that. You just can't keep doing that. There are only so many times that you can go from having bones to having dust in your arms and then get healed back. I'm amazed that you managed the precision that got you through Aizawa's test with such instruction.
"You do need to think about the first time you used it, but you are thinking about the wrong things. Think about the process. Think about where the power came from. How you directed it. You find that pathway, and you broaden it."
"What do you mean broaden it? My problem is that too much power comes out and it destroys me! Wait, before that, why do you think you can teach me how to learn a new Quirk?" Deku suddenly realized what had been bothering him with this whole situation. Things were crazy enough without Kai being involved.
"Did you hear from the class about my Quirk? The things that Ayako told them?" Kai said with a wicked grin. "Think about it for a little while."
Deku thought about it, resting his chin on his fist. After a little while, his eyes widened. There was no way, was there? By the time he looked to Kai to ask, the latter's smile had turned sly. With a flourish, Kai snapped his fingers. As he did so, two little candle-like flames appeared over his fingers.
"So, want to listen to me for a little longer?"
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Tvrkm
Tvrkm Seven years of work for a little flame. Prioritized because fire is always useful, but in the end, a mostly abandoned venture. Too much risk for such little reward. Much easier to focus on mitochondrial optimization and basic somatic improvements.
I think Kai is more qualified than All Might, who is an idiot, or Gran Torino, who has never learned a new Quirk.
Yes, Deku has Stockholm Syndrome. A quick google search will confirm it applies to abuse victims just as much as kidnapping victims. Feel free to discuss this, but I think it is a valid diagnosis. Maybe he gets over it pretty soon here, but my point still stands.
Anything else.....
My writing rate has gone down for some reason. Still have some chapters in stock, but don't expect a mass release soon.