章節 69: CHAPTER 065(Awakening Thesis)
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CHAPTER START---
Sitting in Nezu's office, in Nezu's chair, Horizon has his back to the door as he stares out the window.
Playing the same training game he's been at all day, constantly moving the same raindrop from one inch above the floor to the top of his room, quickly exhausting himself through focus and Quirk use.
Hearing the door open behind him he closes his room and spins around to face Nezu and Yagi, with Nezu holding a small gift bag in his arms.
"You look good in that seat," Nezu says as he and Yagi move to sit on one couch.
"I look good in any position of power," Horizon gets up and moves to sit opposite them. "But if I wanted to work hard all my life without going anywhere, then sure I'd be a teacher..."
"Ouch," Yagi says.
Nezu just sighs, "it's been all of 5 seconds and you're already insulting us."
"So what'd you need to talk to me about?" Horizon asks. "I've already given Eraser my paperwork."
"I saw, he's already filed it, Endeavor...are you sure that won't be a problem since, well, the sports festival."
"I'll handle it," Horizon says. "So, what's up?"
Nezu quietly starts making tea for the three of them as Yagi speaks to Horizon.
"Do you recall the first time we sat here, when you gave a breakdown of what young Midoriya was doing wrong with his Quirk?" Yagi asks.
"Yeah, what about it? I already told Nezu I'm not here to teach, especially not that loser."
"I see," Yagi taps his chin and leans back, considering his options, eventually deciding to take the direct approach. By this point, he clearly understands that Horizon doesn't like his time wasted. "What would it take for you to help him."
"Eh, double my bank account?" Horizon shrugs.
Yagi considers it, then turns to Nezu.
"You can't afford that," Nezu says plainly. "And I'm not spending the worth of a small country for this."
"Two small countries," Horizon says with a chuckle.
"Is there anything that could change your mind?" Yagi asks plainly.
"Why do you care so much about him?"
"Well, he's one of my precious students. With the internships starting Sunday it's possible that something could happen where he'd have to act, right now if he does that he'll probably die."
Horizon leans back and nods, taking in the answer. "Ok, so that's half the reason, what's the other half?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you told me the problem, you didn't tell me why you care so much about Deku," Horizon points out.
Nezu just shakes his head before sipping his tea. Clearly amused by how hyper-aware Yagi was that he was currently walking a minefield.
"Well..." Yagi awkwardly rubs the back of his head, trying to find the words. "I've taken an interest in him. I actually first saw him a year ago, I saw him stand up to a villain even knowing that he couldn't use his Quirk. He ran in and tried to help, and probably would have died if I didn't show up, but he tried when others were standing around doing nothing...I can't help but want to nurture someone with such a strong heroic spirit. Seeing him on the first day at UA...it felt like destiny telling me I had to teach him to be a great hero."
Nezu was genuinely impressed with the lie. Littering the tale with truths kept Yagi's emotions at the surface, had this been anyone else they would have easily accepted this truth, but Horizon isn't just anyone...
"Close," Horizon says. "But you're still holding something back, so the full truth, or I'm gonna lean forward and polygraph you. Because if something didn't change you would have asked me to do this sooner."
"Gran Torino sent Midoriya an internship offer," Nezu says bluntly which causes Yagi to sputter and panic.
"Who the hell is Gran Torino?"
"He was Yagi's teacher, he only spent one year at UA, and was close with Yagi's mentor...so he's kind of like Yagi's uncle I suppose," Nezu says.
"Oh, so Yagi told him about Deku...now he wants to meet Deku...but Yagi is scared that Torino will be disappointed by his non-existent teaching ability, right?"
Yagi feels an arrow to the heart.
"Exactly," Nezu says.
Another arrow to the heart.
"So can't teach and he's a pussy...damn meathead," Horizon grumbles.
"Mhm," Nezu takes another sip of his tea, and by this point, Yagi is slumped forward on the couch.
"Still not enough of a reason for me to care about teaching Deku anything."
"What if it helps your reputation?" Nezu asks.
"I'm not going for the 'golden-hearted hero' reputation, so I'll pass."
"What about as a genius Quirk specialist," Nezu says, knowing exactly what buttons to press to get Horizon to play along. "The world doesn't actually have many of those since humanity has mostly just accepted Quirks and doesn't bother looking deeper...but you have a theory or two that could put you on that short list."
"My Quirk Mastery theory, you want me to publish it through UA?" Horizon asks.
"It would push your imagine that much further," Nezu says.
"Hmm," Horizon leans back and considers it while Nezu takes a box out of the bag he brought. A brand new chess set. As he's setting up Horizon just leans forward and picks up the small rulebook included. "Never actually played before..."
"I've always wanted to play you in chess," Nezu says with a smirk.
Yagi just sits back and drinks his tea, watching Nezu prepare the board while Horizon learns the rules, and a minute later Horizon puts down the book and gestures to the board.
Nezu moves one pawn forward.
"Have you, decided on your answer?" Nezu asks.
Horizon moves his piece, "I need real publicity."
Nezu makes a move, "what do you mean?" And between each sentence, they'd make a move, their own little chess timer.
"I need witnesses, publishing the thesis isn't enough, I need people to see me in action breaking down his Quirk."
"We can't do that," Nezu says. "But I will second your thesis under my name, and use my connections to help get it passed around in the scientific community."
"That'll work, what about Hero Network access?" Horizon asks.
"Giving you access to that is treason."
"For anyone else, yeah, but you're Nezu. And I need access if I'm gonna be doing solo work during summer."
"Hmm," Nezu pauses, breaking the momentum of the game to consider his next move. Then he just sits back on the couch, done with the game. "If I'm agreeing to these terms then this needs to be a full class instead of a 1-on-1 session with Midoriya."
"Quirk Mastery 101...fine, but they get the basic rundown then I help him," Horizon says.
"I won't be giving you access until you get the Provisional Hero License."
"Not like I'd need it before that," Horizon shrugs. "Quirk use is illegal in public, and I'm not really the type to go meddling in other people's lives."
"But a hero's job is to meddle," Yagi blurts out.
Horizon pauses, then slowly turns his head toward Yagi. "Oh...that explains a lot. Deku learned that shit from you, then he taught it to Todoroki...then I kicked in Todoroki's teeth because of it, good job, All Might."
"Huh, that's why you---"
"Nezu," Horizon cuts off Yagi. "We have a deal? I teach one class, you publish and push my thesis to get me some spotlight, and I get Hero Network access when I get the license."
"Deal, have the thesis written and sent to me later tonight," Nezu says. "Have a good night Horizon."
"Yeah, you too."
"Have a pleasant evening," Yagi says.
"Don't ever tell me what to do," Horizon immediately warps away, swapping with the card he left in his apartment in the city before it warps back to him.
Yagi just sighs and downs the rest of his tea, "he hates me."
"You're being dramatic, he doesn't hate you, he just doesn't respect anything about you," Nezu says plainly.
"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I was only correcting you, anyway now you don't have to worry so much about Midoriya, Horizon will take care of it. But you should tell Midoriya to try and avoid contact with Horizon."
"I'll be sure to do that, I can't believe he figured it out when neither of us could, even you."
"Well, Quirk application and development isn't something I'm good at, at least not for battle Quirks. My brain is hardwired for algorithms and logistics after all, at that, I'm far beyond everyone, even him," Nezu says.
"And you're also the only person that can properly negotiate with Horizon, or maybe it's just because it's me, well?"
"A mix of both," Nezu says. "I'm the only person he's ever truly lost to, and we have a certain understanding. Thankfully he is a professional about it, so we get along just fine."
"I suppose that makes sense, but didn't that deal seem a bit one-sided, you gave him a lot, all things considered. I honestly feel kinda bad now."
"Any improvement to his public image is a step closer to him embracing the role of a true hero, and becoming our next Symbol Of Peace," Nezu proudly says. "Getting him to help Midoriya was honestly more of a bonus for me."
"I see, but you realize that if young Midoriya master One For All, he could very well overcome Horizon and be the next me. You've essentially helped the competition by doing this," Yagi says.
Nezu hops down from the couch and begins cleaning up the teacups, "well he is one of my students so it is my duty to do anything I can to help him. But I doubt this will truly matter that much."
"You're really that confident in him huh..."
"Well he's Horizon, there really isn't any competition, but I'm sure Midoriya will still become a great and powerful hero in his own right," Nezu says with a small chuckle.
"Well we'll just have to see what the future has in store for our students," Yagi says as Nezu begins clearing the chessboard and packing it away. "How come you didn't finish the game?"
"Oh we did, he would have won within the next seven moves."
Yagi's eyes open in absolute shock at that, "I thought you said you were the smartest on the planet earlier? And didn't he just learn to play from the book?"
"I am, but his ability to intuitively understand things, especially regarding Quirks and combat is second to none, the only person who comes close...at least from my former students, would be---"
"Endeavor," Yagi says. "Guess they're pretty similar in that regard, and neither of them like me..."
"Well Endeavor is overly competitive," Nezu says. "But at least for Horizon you know he just doesn't like you as a person."
Yagi groans, "thanks a lot...just what I needed to hear."
Nezu packs up the gameboard and turns to move to his desk, but he pauses, just staring at his desk and chair, a mischievous grin on his face.
Yagi raises a brow and asks quietly, "what are you smiling at?"
"I was just thinking, he really did look good in that chair..."
END CHAPTER---
章節 70: CHAPTER 066(Horizon Sensei)
Discord: https://discord.gg/t7bHrdRY7Y
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene
CHAPTER START---
Sitting in the cafeteria Horizon was at a quiet table with Sero, Jiro, Momo, and Sato. While they were all enjoying their food he had already eaten his meal bar and was just scrolling through his 'Yay!' profile.
"Kamui Woods, that's pretty cool," Jiro says to Sero. "He's new but pretty popular, and he works just one train stop away from here."
"Yeah, honestly I didn't even know who he was until I saw he sent me an offer," Sero chuckles in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck. "I looked at some of his videos online, his Quirk gives him wooden limbs that he can grow to swing around and restrain people, basically like a different version of my Quirk."
"That's so lucky," Jiro says. "I'm honestly a bit jealous, sound-based Quirks aren't that rare but heroes with them are. My options would basically be Mic or Gang Orca, but teachers can't use us as interns and Gang Orca didn't send a request."
"Not surprising," Horizon says without looking up from his phone. "You didn't even get past the cavalry game, everyone probably just thinks you have long earlobes since they never saw you use sonic attacks."
Jiro frowns and glares at him, "you say that like you aren't the one who eliminated my team...not that I blame you or anything since it was a competition."
"It doesn't matter how you feel. You lost your headband because you gathered a weak combination of Quirks for your team. Then you attacked someone you knew you had no business fighting out of desperation, so you got punished. If you aren't smart enough to put on a show for the pros then none of them are gonna care about you. Should have at least used your Quirk to shatter the ground or something so they know you aren't just hitting people with your ears."
Jiro just frowns and looks down at her food, while Horizon is still casually on his phone. "Right, well I'm gonna be over in Aldera with Death Arms, maybe we'll see each other during the week Sero."
"A team up, that'd be cool," Sero gives her a thumbs up.
"That's actually who I was gonna work with too," Sato says. "But I think I'll apply at someone else, I just don't think Death Arms can teach me what I want."
"What exactly is it that you want?" Momo asks.
"Well, I've been thinking. Maybe I should learn some more technical fighting, like I've been wrestling since middle school but if I'm gonna be a pro I should know something like Karate right? So I'm looking for a martial arts hero, maybe I'll ask Ojiro where he's going and apply with him."
"Bad idea," Horizon says. "That's a complete waste of time. Stick with Death Arms, or maybe someone like...I dunno some other meathead brawler."
Momo gives him a strange look, "but aren't you always saying people should avoid being 'meatheads'?"
"Yeah, I figured if I learned a martial art it'd help me out a lot, like maybe from Gun Head."
"Nope, waste of time," Horizon says. "Villain fights aren't in a ring, or fighting for points, think of it as to the death, no rules. If you try something super technical like Karate it could work, or one of the movements could leave an opening for you to get stabbed. If you try wrestling you'd be able to pin lots of villains, but then their friend stomps on your head."
"Ouch," Sato rubs his head. "Ok, so what should I do."
"Boxing, kickboxing, maybe some Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The goal in a streetfight is to keep your guard up, stay on your feet in case you get jumped, and never take your eyes off the enemy. You do those simple things and you're better than most. Trying fancy shit looks cool and can work...if you're a lot better or stronger. Keep it simple and it's much more reliable. Jiu Jutsu is like wrestling with actual finishers, boxing and kickboxing are endurance, balance, and striking, you'll learn them a lot faster than karate or anything like that."
Sato falls deep into thought as he quietly considers his options.
"But don't you know multiple fighting styles?" Momo asks Horizon.
"Yeah, and they took me 11 years of non-stop training to master, you've got 3 years and you also have to train your Quirk, learn academics, and how to operate as a Pro Hero. Keep it simple and efficient. I don't even need the fancy shit 99% of the time."
"Damn," Sero says, with a dramatic whistle. "No wonder Bakugo couldn't hit you...totally not fair."
"I get that a lot," Horizon sees a message from Nezu pop up, asking him to come to his office. "So what about you Momo?" Horizon says while getting up.
"Oh, I've already requested my internship be with Uwabami," Momo says proudly, clear excitement in her voice as she gives him a dazzling smile.
"Oh," he sounds almost disappointed, but mostly surprised. "I didn't think you were trying to be one of those heroes..."
"Huh, what do you mean?" Momo asks.
"It's nothing important, none of my business anyway," Horizon warps one of his cards into his hand and places it on the table in front of Momo. "I need to go see Nezu, do me a favor and keep this on you in case our talk runs a bit too long..."
He immediately warps away, leaving them all staring at the metal card with his logo on it.
Twenty minutes later Momo is walking at the head of her class, everyone now changed into their Hero Costumes.
While making their way to training ground Beta, she idly stares at the metal card in her hand, intensely studying it.
"Sooo," Mina speaks up, leaning forward a bit to get a look at the card. "Can it do anything cool?"
Momo narrows her eyes at it and shakes her head. "It appears to just be a carbon-metal alloy, the edges are sharp but I doubt he intends to use them like weapons. But it does have his logo on both sides."
"Maybe he needs his logo on it to warp around with it," Mina says.
Behind them Iida speaks up, "but he warps with other random objects and people as well. I think his quirk is less restrictive than needed a marking of some kind."
"Maybe it lets him see us," Mina suggests.
"What do you mean?" Momo asks.
"Like he gave it to you so he could see into the locker room while we changed."
Momo and Jiro blush furiously at that before Jiro speaks up. "I don't think Horizon is the type of person to do something lame like that."
"Yeah," Tsu agrees. "Besides can't he just see through the walls?"
"He can do that?!" Mina asks.
"Well I don't know, but it would explain how he can see where he's warping, right?" Tsu says.
"His quirk is so weird," Mina sighs. "Maybe it's actually part of his Quirk or something? I mean who knows what weird things he can make..."
"Well, you could just ask him," Jiro suggests.
Mina chuckles nervously at that, "uh...I'd rather not get into a discussion about Quirks with him...he can be a bit much sometimes and my Acid isn't really impressive." Mina's eyes shift over to Momo, she gives her class Vice Rep a pleading smile, "but you could ask him Momo."
"Hmm," Momo gets a bit nervous at the thought, but she remembers Horizon hasn't been mean when they discuss his Quirk. She nods, determined to get to the bottom of this, "alright, I'll ask him when we see him. I'm sure it's simply too complex for us to understand, his Quirk is Mystery Class after all, by definition it's beyond human comprehension."
A few moments later they round the final corner and enter the tunnel to training ground Beta, only to get confused by the assembled crowd.
Eraser Head was standing off to the side with Vlad King -class 1B's homeroom teacher. Also joining them were Midnight, Ectoplasm, and Snipe. And in the middle of the road in this city-styled training ground was all of class 1B. Everyone was in full Hero Costume.
The teachers just glance at 1A and turn back to their conversation, but Kendo takes the initiative as Class Rep to walk over.
"Hey 1A, nice costumes!"
"Likewise," Momo says as everyone just stands around confused. "What's going on, is this a joint training class?"
"Huh, your teacher didn't tell you?" Kendo ask. "Apparently Principal Nezu asked Horizon to teach us something today," she shrugs.
Most of 1A wince at that idea, and some begin sweating nervously.
'Maybe if I stand at the back he won't see me,' Deku thinks as he begins taking careful steps to the back of the crowd.
Kendo notices their reaction and tilts her head to the side, completely confused. "What's wrong?"
"Uh, it's just that, well, Horizon has very high standards for everyone around him, and he can be a very...honest, person," Momo says.
"What?"
"Tch," Jiro rolls her eyes. "What she really means is that mister miracle thinks anyone who isn't at least near perfect is garbage and he's a complete ass about it."
Kendo's eyes shoot open in surprise as her classmates begin walking over and introducing themselves. "Really? He was always so cool around us, I never would have guessed."
"Well the asshole in him only comes out when people challenge him, disappoint him, or if he thinks they're wrong...so we have to deal with it a lot," Jiro growls out. "Because mister 'I'm perfect' always finds something wrong with us..."
"It can't be that bad," Juzo joins their little chat, wearing his full costume with his face blocked by the visor, similar to Horizon and Ectoplasm.
"It is," Jiro says. "Just try not to get noticed by him."
"I think it's actually good for us," Momo admits, surprising her classmates. She sees their nervous looks and corrects herself. "What I mean is, whilst I'm sure he could be nicer, and kinder, and more pleasant. His harsh words push us to prove him wrong by improving... it's like he's worried about us in his own sort of loving way..."
Kendo sees the blush on Momo's face and immediately realizes what's going on, 'oh...she's in denial. Well, he's pretty cool at least so I kinda get it, but he just sounds like a jerk to me.'
"Being a bully doesn't help anyone," Jiro argues. "He's just an ass sometimes but gets away with it because he's Nezu's favorite. He can't just go around tearing people down like that, think about their mental health."
"Oh, then you should talk to him about it," Juzo recommends.
"Uhh..." Jiro sputters and begins playing with her earlobe nervously, looking at the floor between them. "Well...I mean... it's not that simple. Like it's Horizon, he's kinda a lot you know."
Kendo raises a brow, looking at Jiro's reaction at the thought of confronting him, seeing right through what most would think is fear of him, but what is more likely a fear of disappointing him.
Looking between Jiro and Momo she just shakes her head, 'maybe his Quirk is pheromones or something, he can't be that bad if he's got both of them acting like this...'
"Huh!" Momo gasps in surprise as Horizon's card flies out of her hand and floats roughly two meters away from them, hovering in the air.
SHAMBLES!
He swaps with the card, appearing in full Hero Costume, sword at his side, with Nezu sitting on his shoulder tapping away on a tablet.
"That really is convenient," Nezu mutters, still tapping away. "Much better than using my adorable tiny legs."
Horizon ignores him and just looks around at everyone, seeing both classes mingling, and already seeing Deku trying to avoid his gaze, standing at the other side of Iida.
Off to the side he sees Sero and Kodai talking, well, Sero is talking, Kodai is just nodding along with a blank expression.
'Really? Took him all of five minutes to find the hottest girl in their class, nice work Sero.'
"Alright, everyone shut up!" Horizon yells out, slicing the crowd. "Welcome to Quirk Mastery 101, a one-time-only class where I explain exactly how to get the absolute most out of your Quirk..."
He sees almost everyone in his class smile widely at that, as if a golden ticket to being a top pro fell into their lap, because that's exactly what him teaching them personally would be.
"Don't get too excited, I'm not gonna hold your hand and spoon-feed you the answers. I'm giving you the breakdown then what you do with it is on you, now... let's start..."
END CHAPTER---
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