Very minor 6 month time skip from the previous chapter
If somebody were to ask Yosetsu how he'd handle physical training under the guidance of the Chryse Orphanage before he were to get all friendly with them, Yosetsu would give a resounding: "I'll probably be dead within the month…"
Of course, he never had to answer any question like that as he never had anyone to talk to in a friendly manner before Mikazuki squeezed his way into Yosetsu's life. Though in all fairness, the boy wasn't completely wrong as physical training under the care of the orphans was comparable to military training.
Before it all began, Yosetsu was given a timetable for the training dates he'd be given. It, at least to Yosetsu himself, seemed rather fair for what it was. Nothing too stressful… or at least he hoped it wasn't. He had shown it to his parents for their confirmation. They weren't too eager, but they agreed to the idea on the condition that Yosetsu come back in one piece and that he returned home before they did. The latter was easy to follow, though the Welder didn't know if he could give any promises on the former.
"It looks… simple," admitted Yosetsu when he first saw the timetable Orga had presented to him. Orga's response to that was a soft chuckle.
"Looks can be deceiving, Yosetsu," he warned with a smirk as he tapped his Welder friend on the forehead, and Yosetsu simply shivered in response. However, he wasn't exactly wrong about it being simple looking.
The timetable Orga had presented took up mostly weekdays. Mondays and Tuesdays were taken by Mikazuki, Akihiro, Eugene and Orga. These days would be for developing his upper muscle strength and would, according to Itsuka, be enough to cramp his muscles intensely.
Wednesdays were taken mainly by Shino and Ride and, in truth, was Yosetsu's least favorite training day as the two of them would mainly help with developing his leg muscles. Yosetsu could run, yes… but not for the distance Shino would make him go for.
Thursdays and Fridays were occupied by Takaki and Yamagi and were mainly used for Quirk training and self-esteem/confidence development. Personally, Yosetsu enjoyed these days the most.
In all sessions, Atra was meant to be with them at all times just in case Yosetsu was injured. Merribit herself would also preferably be there herself, though she would usually be unable to do so on Wednesdays.
There was a small note at the bottom of the timetable which stated that attending the training programs was not compulsory, though Yosetsu had no intention on skipping any of them unless he absolutely had to. He did voice that out to Orga and Shino. The two of them had differing thoughts on that. Orga found it admirable that Yosetsu was so determined, and while Norba felt similarly, he added that Yosetsu was a little too eager to achieve his dream. When they shared what Yosetsu said to them to everyone else, they didn't exactly have many thoughts on the matter, though Atra did express her worries for Yosetsu.
"He's brave… but he's also pretty impulsive… and it may get him hurt," she had said uncertainty.
"Yeah, but I like it…" admitted Shino, smirking wildly as he clenched his fist tightly. "He's got a heart that burns brighter than the sun in the middle of July! Such determination… it's overwhelming!"
"Cheesy as always, Shino," grumbled Eugene, pinching the bridge of his nose as he yawned. To his side, Takaki nodded in agreement while Yamagi gave him a mildly annoyed look. As for Ride, however, he flashed a smirk that was potentially as large as Shino's.
"He's not wrong, y'know!" exclaimed Ride, holding a fist up into the air and nearly punching Akihiro's jaw as he did. The muscular boy grimaced as he took a step back, though Ride didn't seem to notice as he struck a dramatic pose. "Yosetsu's heart burns with immense determination! Such passion… I can only bow down in respect for it!"
"That made very little sense, Ride…" muttered Akihiro as he ruffled up his small pal's hair, causing him to chuckle ever so slightly. "But I get where you two are coming from. The Kid's determination is impressive, and him swearing to come on a daily basis is even more so."
"Just make sure you don't smack him again, Ride," added Orga, elbowing his ginger haired friend as he gave him a rather accusing stare. Mass pursed his lips as a handful of the other orphans chuckled. Once the chuckles died down, however, Orga spared Merribit and Atra a look before continuing. "But still, his determination is a bit… worrying. To put himself so willingly in danger just to achieve his dream is a little… ill advised."
And what followed were a few minutes of silence. No one could exactly deny that, and even Shino and Ride, who were cheesily enthusiastic in regards to Yosetsu's determination, had no argument to give Orga. However, right before Takaki could mention the sudden awkward silence, Mikazuki, of all people, spoke up.
"I have faith in him," was what he had said, making everyone turn to see him, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. His Tail hovered behind him rather ominously, and the boy himself seemed as neutral as ever as he spoke. "Yosetsu's not dumb enough to agree to something if he thinks it's too much for him to handle. He'll be fine."
And everyone seemed surprised that he would say that. It was not common for him to say that many positive things about a singular person, especially one who was not from Chryse, enough to make even Merribit nod ever so slightly.
"I suppose… but him being injured is enough to worry me…" admitted the Orphanage owner, cupping her hands over her lap as she closed her eyes.
"Actually, you're just being pessimistic now!" protested Takaki, making the present company turn to him. Takaki himself smiled as he spoke. "As Mika said, Yosetsu isn't a dumbass! He can handle this, I'm sure of it! Besides, if he's injured, Atra can heal him back up!"
Everyone whom was currently present nodded and gave acknowledging grunts which showed their agreement with Takaki. Merribit knew that there was no way to change their minds now, so she sighed and nodded.
"Very well then," she said with a nod. "Just make sure he goes back to his family in one piece, alright?"
"Understood!" was her response in varying volumes from everyone else in the room, all perfectly in sync, prompting the blonde to wince thanks to her Quirk.
Mondays and Tuesdays
Yosetsu's training days on Mondays and Tuesdays were usually separated into 2 separate sessions, muscle development, with the occasional sparring session, and… erm… 'body analysis'.
Muscle development sessions were usually lead by Mikazuki and Akihiro, with Orga taking the place of either one or both of them whenever they were unavailable, though it only happened once when Akihiro had experienced some form of muscle cramp. The name of the session was self explanatory, and it was very taxing to say the least.
On Yosetsu's first session with Akihiro and Mika, the two orphans did try… try to be gentle with him. It only made Yosetsu wonder if they even knew what the word even meant as on their first session, Akihiro made Yosetsu perform about 20 sit ups, 20 push ups and 20 pull ups all without pause. According to his trainers, or at least Akihiro, it was to help prepare Yosetsu for the next few days of upper body training.
At least, that was what Akihiro thought. As it turned out, practically nothing would prepare Yosetsu for the Chryse Orphanage's level of physical training. All it really do was make Yosetsu's muscles cramp up for the better part of the week. Though to his credit, Yosetsu didn't let his muscle cramps deter him from showing up for training. If anything, it motivated the boy to do better as, according to Orga, muscle cramps would become less frequent if he were used to exercise. Merribit did once smack Orga, Akihiro and Mika over the heads for encouraging Yosetsu to come back for training despite his cramped muscles, but she already knew that Awase was never going to not attend. His spirit was a little too strong for his own good.
After their first session, it only got much worse for the boy. Akihiro was in charge of giving Yosetsu his daily lifting schedule, with Mika being there to offer assistance whenever needed. For the first few months, it remained as 50 push ups, sit ups and pull ups all across the board. But after a rather misplaced comment from Yosetsu stating that he did feel a tad tougher during the last few days of month 5, Akihiro upped the ante and made Yosetsu do double the amount.
"100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 pull ups… every Monday to Wednesday…" muttered Eugene, giving Akihiro a somewhat irritated look as Mikazuki and Atra knelt beside Yosetsu, whose body was slick with sweat. He was on his 82nd push up, and both Mika and Atra were holding self made flags with the words Go Yosetsu! scribbled on them, waving them around as they cheered him on. "You're joking, right Aki?"
"Nope," replied the Akihiro with a small smile as Yosetsu, with an intense grimace, performed his 83rd push up. "If he feels tougher, we may as well push him harder, eh? I mean, he has no objections to it so far."
"Yeah… I guess if he doesn't have a problem with it then there's no need to change it just yet… but I can't shake the feeling that we're copying a training routine from some anime which Ride, Takaki and Yamagi watch…" muttered Eugene, rubbing his chin as he tried to put his finger on what that particular show was called. He didn't manage it, but he did know that the protagonist was bald for whatever reason.
"Perhaps," was Akihiro's response to the boy beside him as he shrugged. And as those words left his mouth, the two heard the sound of a human body collapsing behind them, prompting them to turn around and see Yosetsu lying on the ground, breathing heavily as Mika turned to Akihiro, giving a thumbs up to tell Akihiro that Awase had gotten to 100 while Atra helped Yosetsu onto the couch. Akihiro gave a nod to acknowledge Mikazuki's gesture, and when he turned to check on Awase, he could see that his attire, a light grey t-shirt and light brown pair of bamudas, were soaked, so much so that it seemed as though the boy had gone for a swim.
Right as Atra got Yosetsu onto the couch, and after Mika gave him a bottle of water, Awase decided to ask: "So… how'd I do…?"
"You did pretty good, Yosetsu! You successfully performed all 100 push ups! In record time, too!" congratulated Atra, giving a double thumbs up. It took a while, but Yosetsu raised an arm weakly to return the gesture.
"I just hope we don't end up killing him on accident with overexhaustion, you know?" muttered Eugene.
"Don't be like that, Eugene," scolded Akihiro with an small smile. "Yosetsu's a tough kid. I'm sure he'll be able to handle it."
"Whatever you say, Aki," was his response along with an eye roll from Eugene, whom still remained uncertain.
While sessions conducted by Akihiro and Mikazuki were exhausting for Yosetsu's body, sessions conducted by Orga and Eugene were more exhausting for his mind.
'Body analysis' was a name which weirded Yosetsu out at first, much to the confusion of the two who were conducting it. When the Welder asked what the session would be on, Eugene (somewhat) helpfully explained that they would be telling him which parts of the human body he should strike first if he wanted to achieve a quick victory, something which relieved Yosetsu as 'body analysis' was a rather… suggestive name to say the least.
Through the course of the 6 months of… body analysis with Orga and Eugene, the two would constantly barrage Yosetsu with information in regards to specific parts of a human's body he should strike and how much force he should apply with each blow if he wanted to incapacitate or outright kill a man/woman. Of course, everyone had differing levels of endurance so what Yosetsu was being taught wasn't entirely accurate… that, and it would be hard for Yosetsu to kill a person with his bare hands, especially with his current physicality and reluctance to really injure anyone, but Orga decided to teach him anyways, just in case.
Most of the time, Orga would test Yosetsu on how much he understood their sessions by making him strike Eugene in the areas he had specified earlier. Orga placed clear emphasis on striking joints such as the knees or elbows if he wanted to weaken an opponent and going for areas like the neck if he wanted to end confrontations quickly.
For the most part, Eugene's Quirk made him be able to resist Yosetsu's punches and kicks aimed at various weak points. The fact that Yosetsu wasn't exactly that strong, at least during the first few months of training, made it a little easier to do so… at least until a rather… interesting session when Awase accidentally kicked a very specific area of a human male's body and made Eugene scream so loud that the entire Niigata Prefecture may have been able to hear him before sending him sprawling on the ground.
"I-I-I… didn't m-mean to d-do t-t-that!" was the first thing Yosetsu managed to utter out as Eugene laid on the ground, writhing in pain, both hands covering his crotch. Atra was already by his side by then, ready to use her Quirk to heal her friend, but everyone who was currently in the orphanage, even Eugene himself, gave a resounding: "no!"
"W-Well… I can't exactly blame you for going for that specific part of the body," admitted Orga, still looking somewhat baffled as he stepped away from Eugene, whom was being ushered to the couch by Mika. "We were gonna teach you to do that someday too…"
"R-Really…?" muttered Yosetsu, slacking his shoulders a little, only to tense up once more when he heard Eugene silently curse to the heavens.
"Yeah…" confirmed Orga with a nod as he gave a mild chuckle. "We weren't gonna cover that part for some time… but when we get there, Eugene would've focused all his power into protecting that area. If he does, he'll hardly feel a thing… but if he doesn't… well… you already know what'll happen."
Yosetsu simply gave an uncertain nod as Eugene took in several deep breaths, with Mika patting his back as he did. Atra, once again, insisted that she healed her friend, something which both Eugene and Mika, once again, denied permission to do so.
"Y-Yosetsu…" muttered Eugene after a few seconds of recuperation, an index finger up in the air as he spoke. He sounded as though he was going through the most agonizing pain ever, and Yosetsu simply looked at him in fear as the by spoke. "I… don't think I'll be able to help you in body analysis training tomorrow…"
"U-Understood…" was his simple response. And that was the only time when Yosetsu willingly let a session end early.
Wednesdays
Wednesdays were probably the bane of Yosetsu's training weeks.
If he were 100% honest, the Welder considered this day of training to be much more tiresome than Mondays and Tuesdays simply because he had to run.
Now, while Yosetsu wasn't exactly considered slow by any means, as evident by how his top speed was actually pretty damn high and how he was considered to be among the fastest sprinters in his class. However, the boy's stamina was what worried Ride and Shino. Sure, he was fast, but that didn't matter at all if he couldn't maintain that speed for a consistent timing, something that the two worked vigorously on changing.
As such, Ride and Shino made/forced Yosetsu to run close to 10km every Wednesday. Yosetsu would be lying if he said that he never fainted at least five times at the end or in the middle of each run, though the latter only occurred once or twice during his first few days of practice. He vaguely remembered being splashed awake with ice cold water and given the choice of ending the session early or continuing those two times. And both of those times, Awase chose the latter option, something that both impressed and worried his conductors.
To Yosetsu's surprise, the Wednesday runs did not start at the Chryse Orphanage. Instead, they would begin at the doorstep of a small shop-house combo which was at least half a kilometer away from the Orphanage, a shop-house owned by a lady called Haba, an apparent acquaintance of Merribit. She had brown skin and a rather lovely face, but Yosetsu never really saw her much as he was too busy running. However, ever since the seventh week of leg training, Haba seemed to have decided to pitch in a little by creating a flag to signal the start of the boy's run.
It had also taken Awase a few more weeks, perhaps three months, to learn that Atra worked part-time at Haba's store. She didn't mind doing so, and as a bonus, the Chryse Orphanage got some free snacks from time to time, in return for some of their assistance around the place anyhow.
The route of Yosetsu's run was mapped out by a complete psychopath… or at least that was what he had assumed at first. He was incorrect in his assumption, as Ride had mapped out the route, and Awase had to resist the urge to faint when he first saw it. The running route consisted of several (hundred) twists and turns, a multitude of U turns, and a whole lot of sprinting, jogging and walking. The 10km run was no cakewalk and it most likely never will be, and Yosetsu eventually came to terms with that.
In all fairness, Ride, Shino and Atra (who was more or less obligated to be there) would almost always be by his side during their running sessions. Ride and Atra would usually offer verbal support to Yosetsu while Shino would hold a stopwatch which Takaki had put together to see how long it took for his charge to finish the 10km run. His average timing was roughly an hour or much more, though he was steadily improving ever so slightly with every passing week.
Rather amusingly, at least for Yosetsu, Atra's legs were too short to be able to allow her to keep up with the three of them, so Shino had to give her a piggyback ride for the entirety of the 10km run. It was frankly adorable seeing her cheer him on from the back of Norba, even if the cuteness did overwhelm him at once point and made him run straight into a tree once.
At the end of each run, if he had not fainted, Yosetsu would always note that Shino didn't seem winded in the slightest. Sure, he was sweating, but he wasn't panting at all. In fact, he looked like he just came up out of a swimming pool, not stopping after a long run. Even Ride appeared at least a little winded when they stopped the run. And, when Yosetsu had finally asked, Shino simply chuckled.
"They don't call me the Ryusei Go for nothing, kiddo!"
Norba Shino
Quirk: Speeding Meteor (Yosetsu given name), Ryusei Go (Chryse name)
As the name which Yosetsu gave Shino's Quirk would imply, Norba's Quirk enhances his stamina by tenfold. The boy can maintain an endless sprint if required, though his base speed is not enhanced. His Quirk does not have any noticeable drawbacks, though making quick turns or stopping abruptly before traffic when he is at his top speed is another issue all on it's own.
"Is that c-considered… cheating…?" muttered Yosetsu when he heard of Shino's Quirk for the first time. His response was a gentle, almost affectionate boop on the nose from Shino, a gesture that made Awase turn red in mild insult as his instructor smirk deepened.
"Maybe to you, my apprentice," was his response. "Never forget, no fight is ever fair."
Yosetsu simply gave a nod in response.
During his runs, Yosetsu often found himself getting a lot of unwanted attention from random civilians around the area, though to be fair it was most likely thanks to the fact that Yosetsu was giving Atra a piggyback ride as he ran alongside him. For the most part, the boy did manage to ignore a majority of the stares given to him and his friends, but it wasn't easy when the person who noticed him was a class or schoolmate from the Bandai High. Most of the time when someone he knew spotted him, they'd widen their eyes and stare at him in shock as he dashed past them. The boy tended to speed up whenever he made eye contact with someone whom he knew by face, regardless of his fatigue.
The boy also noted that more people in school seemed to have a newfound interest in Yosetsu. Either that or they were coincidentally staring at him while whispering among each other. The Welder was usually unable to hear everything they said about him, but he could often catch snippets of conversations. Most of them were about his run around the town while others were bewildered comments on how Yosetsu was able to befriend the Chryse kids so easily. One specific bit of gossip which seemed to be making the rounds was made by Kio himself, who stated that Yosetsu was being trained to be a future villain by the Chryse kids. Yosetsu did feel somewhat hurt at that remark, not just for himself, but also for those who were helping to train him.
Though to his surprise, when he told Shino, Ride, Atra and Eugene about it, they simply laughed it off as though they were sharing a joke, or at least Shino and Eugene did. Atra felt hurt that her friends were seen in such a negative light while Ride seemed to be hoping that he was given the greenlight to hunt down Kio and smash his skull in, as evident by the fact that he was cracking his knuckles rather dramatically.
"Ah, that's hilarious right there," said Shino, wiping an imaginary tear away from his eye before he put on his best Kio voice. "'We're helping the least popular and weakest boy in Bandai High become a villain!'"
"Yeah, as if," added Eugene, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he shook his head. "Look, Yosetsu… no offence, but you're not really the villain type. You're more of a Rescue Hero kinda guy, with your Quirk and all." Eugene lifted Yosetsu's still rather frail arm up into the air and wiggled it around to prove his point. "That and you're still a little… frail. Of course, we'll change that soon enough."
"I…" began Yosetsu, a smile gracing his youthful face, prompting the four to chuckle at that genuinely adorable expression of his. "T-Thank you, Eugene-San! Shino-San!"
"You're most welcome, kiddo," replied the two in unison, smirking at their 'apprentice' as Atra and Ride chuckled happily behind Awase.
"Don't let what they say get to you, Yosetsu!" encouraged Atra, smiling as she pumped her fists enthusiastically, showing how much she believed in her friend.
"I second that," said Ride with a huge smirk as he gave a thumbs up.
And that just the right amount of motivation Yosetsu needed to get through his 10km run on that Wednesday without stopping, and by the time he was done, he was winded, that much was obvious, but he hadn't fainted.
So Shino did the most sensible thing and increased the length of the run to 15km. Of course, Yosetsu never complained, even if it was even more torturous.
Thursdays and Fridays
The final two weekdays were usually Yosetsu's favorite by default.
The two days were always taken by Yamagi and Takaki, and while the sessions on the other three days all focused on physical development and to exhaust the kid beyond his limits, the sessions with Uno and Gilmerton were focused on Yosetsu's Quirk development and to build up his confidence.
In regards to his Quirk, Yamagi and Takaki were very analytical when they were faced with helping Yosetsu develop his unique ability as it was not easy for either of them to find a way for the Welder to implement it in an offensive way. Despite that, the duo were not phased in the slightest as they were seriously determined to help him develop his Quirk. Hell, Takaki even kept a notebook which held all the things he thought Weld could do.
While Yosetsu believed his to be a weak and very situational Quirk, better for passive uses rather than aggressive, Yamagi, Takaki and the notebook Uno had with him every session begged to differ. They knew that every Quirk had a unique gimmick of sorts, something that ensured that no two Quirks were alike. Yosetsu's Weld had to have one, and they only found out about that through a rather daring stunt while Ride, Orga, Atra and Merribit watched from the couch.
"Alright, now, Yosetsu," began Takaki, opening up his notebook and flipping to the latest updated page. He examined it for a few, brief moments before he went on. "Me and Yamagi have been doing a lot of talking about your Quirk… and we managed to think up something that your Quirk is capable of doing…"
"With help from me!" piped up Ride from the couch, making Yamagi and Takaki look past Awase and glare at their friend, reminiscing the horrible time they went through with Ride speaking up several hundred times while they discussed Yosetsu's Quirk, not really 'helping' them much. As for Yosetsu, he simply looked over his shoulder rather awkwardly, staying silent while Ride chuckled awkwardly. "Ah… hehah… forget I said that!"
"Already done, Ride," replied Yamagi, immediately ignoring Ride once those words escaped his lips and turning back to Yosetsu. Mass looked down at his feet while Atra patted his back, and after he cleared his throat, somewhat dramatically, the Yamagi continued speaking. "Yosetsu, ever since our first session with you, me, Takaki… with the help of almost everyone else from time to time, managed to think of a way for you to use your Quirk in an offensive way…"
'Though frankly, most of what's in here is mostly nonsensical stuff Ride came up with…' added Yamagi mentally as he sighed. Deciding to not beat around the bush, he came immediately told Yosetsu what he and Takaki thought that Yosetsu's Weld was capable of. "We think that you could probably weld items onto human flesh."
What followed was several seconds of silence. And once said amount of time was up, Yosetsu gave a sheepish expression and an awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. "...I never thought of that…"
Yosetsu's reply was a gentle chuckle from Orga, Takaki and Ride while Yamagi stayed politely neutral. If they were honest, they did expect that reply from Yosetsu anyways. The boy never did have any reason to use his Quirk in the way they just described. At least, Yamagi assumed he didn't need to Weld anything onto his body before they had met.
"Well, I guess now you will," said Takaki with a smile as he stared at his notebook for a moment. After said moment was up, Takaki snapped it shut, making Yosetsu jump a little in the process, and went on. "Anyhow, your Quirk welds objects together at an Atomic Level, if you remember correctly."
Yosetsu gave a small, timid nod, prompting Takaki to go on.
"So, me and Yamagi wondered: 'what if you welded an object right onto your arm with your Quirk?'," suggested Takaki with a smile, and it took Yosetsu a couple of seconds to realize what Takaki was getting at. Uno himself seemed to notice, as he gave a chuckle and continued, a smirk on his face as he went on. "If you can weld something onto your body, you can potentially weaponize your Quirk in some unpredictably creative ways! Shrapnel can potentially become objects you can weld onto your arm to create makeshift blades! Pieces of metal can become shields! The only thing which prevents this… is our uncertainty on if this theory of ours will work…"
"But we're at least 60% sure it will work at the moment…" finished Yamagi, crossing his arms. "And we may as well see if our theory is correct, since you're here."
Rather nervously, Yosetsu watched as Takaki reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, broken bolt. The blonde seemed to always have a nut, bolt or screw with him at all times. It was odd, but Yosetsu decided not to asked his friend about it. Better to always be prepared, he supposed.
In a blink of an eye, Takaki tossed the bolt towards Yosetsu. The boy caught it, just barely, before staring at it uncertainty. Looking back at Yamagi and Takaki, the latter was giving him an encouraging look while Yamagi remained neutral, though Yosetsu knew that the blonde was a little expecting. Turning back to face the others in the room, Yosetsu saw that Ride, Orga and Atra were giving him encouraging looks, with Atra even giving him two thumbs up. Only Merribit looked completely uncertain about all this, though she didn't voice it out to keep Yosetsu's head up.
Seeing his friends give him such encouraging looks, Yosetsu pursed his lips nervously and nodded, not willing to let them down as he stared at the bolt. "...where should I weld it onto…?"
"Preferably onto the side of your arm," replied Yamagi. Yosetsu simply nodded before he rested the bolt against the side of his arm. Closing his eyes and concentrating intensely, Awase grit his teeth as he activated his Quirk. For a long while, Yosetsu didn't feel anything different. He could still feel the cold metal bolt against the side of his arm, not welding with it.
After two minutes of trying, however, Yosetsu felt the coldness of the bolt fade away. And a few gasps, Yosetsu snap his eyes open and face Yamagi and Takaki, both of whom had smiles on their faces. The Welder could see the others, but Merribit seemed shocked while Atra, Orga and Ride were smiling proudly, with Atra even holding her cheeks with her hands as she gave a shocked expression.
And finally, Yosetsu stared down at the side of his arm, only for his eyes to widen intensely.
'It's Welded onto my arm…' was the only thought which went through his mind when as he stared at his arm. Some skin was stretched around the bolt, welding firmly it onto his arm. Experimentally, Awase tugged on the Welded bolt, only to realize that it wasn't about to come off anytime soon, almost as though the bolt was now a permanent part of himself.
"I… did it," muttered Yosetsu with a small, proud smile as Takaki himself moved close to him and tugged on the bolt, seeing if it was firmly welded onto his arm. Once he confirmed it, he turned back to Yamagi and gave a thumbs up..
"You did," confirmed Yamagi with a nod. "Though judging from how long it look for you to weld it onto your arm, it'll probably take a lot of energy for you to weld larger materials onto human flesh. We'll have to work on that."
Yosetsu gave an acknowledging nod before Takaki dropped a rather large (proverbial) bomb on him.
"Well, now aside from helping him weld items onto his body faster, I'd say we'd need to help him learn how to unweld items he's welded together…" he said, and Yosetsu's somewhat proud expression turned into a slightly horrified one. "We suspect that you can unweld items you've welded together, like unwelding that crack on our wall you've welded together back then."
"...and unwelding this bolt from my arm…?" asked Yosetsu, sounding a little nervous. Yamagi nodded in response.
"Yeah," said Yamagi with a nod. And Yosetsu's face paled a tad when he saw Gilmerton's usually neutrally confident expression turn at least a little uncertain. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to unweld that item from your arm within the day."
And it took Yosetsu the better part of three hours to unweld the bolt from his arm. And even then, it was only by accident. That told Yamagi and Takaki that Yosetsu would need a lot more time to learn to unweld items he welded together. The two were ready to help him learn how to do it naturally.
Even if it did take them the better part of two to three months to even get Yosetsu familiar with the concept of unwelding things he's welded together.
The other half of his Thursday/Friday training sessions were conducted primarily by Takaki. However, this half session was more or less conducted by… everyone. That, and the place where the half session was conducted in was not fixed. The half session would most often be held in the Chryse Orphanage, though from time to time, it would be held in other areas such as the Yoshihara Park, if whoever was trying to build up his confidence wished to stare up at the trees, or Yosetsu's house… if Atra wished to be his conductor and kick his ass at Monopoly at the same time.
The entire Orphanage was dedicated to helping Yosetsu build up his confidence at all costs. As such, each of them contributed in some way to build up his confidence. Of course, some ways were much more effective than others, such as Takaki, Yamagi, Orga, Atra, Merribit and Akihiro tactics for building his confidence up. They preferred to talk to him and passively build up his confidence, something that did work, however slowly.
As for Shino and Ride, however… their tactics were much more aggressive to say the least. They seemed to think that acting as a drill sergeant would be more effective… and it probably made Yosetsu less confident than he usually was. As such, Merribit quite literally forbade those two from conducting sessions like these in the future.
Mika and Eugene, however, seemed reluctant to join in. Eugene did step in from time to time to fill in whenever needed, though he was often too worn out to do so. Mika, however, only stepped in once, though Yosetsu had that one particular event ingrained in his brain by now…
"I still think that the flowers here are pretty."
Blinking at the sudden voice of Mikazuki piping up beside him, Yosetsu turned over to the side as he stared at his comparatively shorter friend, who was still staring up at the trees that lined the sides of Yoshihara Park.
Thanks to the fact that everyone was suspiciously missing for today's half session, everyone but Mika anyways, the Tail-boy had taken it upon himself to conduct the lesson on behalf of every one of his strangely missing friends. Mikazuki himself did not pay it any mind, however, and quickly, and rather abruptly, suggested that they visit the Yoshihara Park. Awase didn't raise any objections.
The park wasn't exactly that great, but Yosetsu enjoyed walking through it either way. Like most parks he knew of, the place did have several trees filled with cherry blossoms and quite a few sights to behold. The Welder was unsure of why Mika had suggest the place, though he didn't complain. The Tail-boy seemed to be enjoying his stroll through the place, after all.
Still… it wouldn't hurt to ask…
"It sure is…" agreed Yosetsu, awkwardly scratching his cheek as Mika nodded. And they walked in silence for roughly five more minutes before Awase cleared his throat, prompting Augus to turn to face him as he fumbled for a conversation starter. "So… Mika… why… did you w-want to come here?"
"Sitting around in Chryse and talking doesn't appeal to me," replied Mika almost instantly as he held out his hand and gently snatched a cherry blossom petal out of the air. He examined it with his usual neutral gaze before letting it go, allowing it to drop to the ground as he crossed his arms, before turning to Awase. "Yoshihara is a beautiful park. It helps calm the mind."
"I…" muttered Yosetsu, pausing as he let what Mika said sink in. Looking around Yoshihara Park, the boy did admittedly find the place to have an oddly calming feel to it. The cherry blossoms slowly falling to the ground almost as though they moved in slow motion, the distant sounds of the younger gents running about in the nearby playgrounds and the general lack of any real threatening things in the area seemed to put Yosetsu's normally rampant paranoia at rest. So, deciding to not argue, Awase gave a smile and nodded. "... I guess you're right."
And they walked in silence for a few more minutes, with Mika's Tail swishing from side to side on occasion as they walked.
"Hey… Mikazuki…?" said Yosetsu after some silence, prompting the boy in question to turn to face his pal. "Why exactly did you approach me…?"
"Eh?" was his immediate response as Mikazuki stopped dead in his tracks, not understanding a question. Yosetsu paused a little ahead of his friend, looking mildly confused as he had never seen Mika freeze up in such a way before. Augus himself uncrossed his arms and stuffed them into his pockets as he eyed Yosetsu, staring him up and down before he gave a small smile and continued walking, with Awase following beside him. "I have my reasons…"
"W-Well, is it alright if you told me those reasons?" inquired Awase, tapping his fingers together in a somewhat nervous fashion. Mikazuki gave him an odd glance, perhaps to test his sincerity, as both he and Yosetsu made their way over a small wooden bridge of sorts that overlooked a small pond. As soon as he stepped onto it, Mika opened his mouth to reply, only for Awase to give a slight groan. "It's damaged…"
Blinking, Augus turned back and saw that Yosetsu was kneeling by the edge of the bridge, examining a shockingly large crack that had formed at its base. Raising an eyebrow at how he was unable to notice it before Yosetsu, Mikazuki simply watched with his neutral gaze as Yosetsu, without even a second thought, Welded the sizable crack up with his Quirk. Once he was done, the boy stood up and slapped his hands against each other before turning to his friend.
"Better safe than sorry," said Yosetsu with a nervous smile, scratching his cheek as Augus nodded. And within a few seconds they were on their way, with Yosetsu still expecting his answer. Mika himself noted it and decided to reply truthfully.
"That's why I approached you, Yosetsu," answered Mika without missing a beat as the duo stopped to take a seat on a bench not too far from the small bridge Yosetsu had just repaired. Awase gave him a confused look, prompting Mika to give a small, almost inaudible chuckle, as he rephrased himself. "You're interesting, that's why."
"B-But… how so?" asked Yosetsu, genuinely surprised at Mika's words. His Tail-having friend, on the other hand, calmly explained.
"Any other person would've given up on their dream after having it put down so many times," explained Mika. "Any other person would have viewed me as a Villain and stayed well away from me, and any other person would've viewed everyone in Chryse as a future Villains who don't deserve respect. But you… you didn't.
"You hold onto your dream of becoming a Hero despite what I assume to be years of it being put down. You saw me as a normal kid and not a Villain. And you actually visited Chryse and treated everyone there with respect… like they're normal… and that… that makes you interesting."
By the time Augus had finished, Yosetsu felt his jaw cramp up from being opened for an extended period of time. Once Mika shut it for him, the Tail-boy gave what Awase thought to be his very first genuine smile directed towards him and gave the Welder a gentle squeeze on the shoulder… one that nearly dislocated his shoulder.
"I'm happy… that I can call you my friend…"
And by then, Yosetsu felt something wet trail down his nose as he promptly lost consciousness, something that did make Mika widen his eyes ever so slightly and shoot a hand out to seize his friend's wrist before he fell off his chair.
"Yosetsu… you alright?" muttered Mika, shaking Awase. He was unresponsive, so Mika decided to call off the lesson as he slung his pal over his shoulder and marched towards his home.
Saturdays, Sundays and various other days without school
On days without school, Yosetsu would often do one of two things; he'd either push himself harder in training or he'd take the day off. The boy would almost always do the former, using the extra time he had to work on developing his muscles and Quirk, with the only day where he'd willingly take the day off was on Sundays, where he'd spend his time with his family.
On various occasions, however, Yosetsu would take his Saturdays off to take a break. It wasn't common, but he would do it on occasion. Whenever he did, Yosetsu did take trips to the Chryse orphanage to visit his friends. Shino was curious as to why, as most kids at his age would be messing around in their rooms, either watching anime, playing games which were too violent for them or just wanking off (Eugene had slapped a hand over Shino's mouth to prevent him from saying that last one).
Yosetsu's reply was a simple: "Well… I guess I'm just different!" followed by an awkward chuckle. That did prompt some laughter to erupt from the room he was in at that time.
During his many visits to the orphanage, Yosetsu shared many things with his friends, such as his love for mobile games. Apparently, none of the Chryse kids owned a mobile phone as it would be too expensive for them to buy. Merribit did apparently offer to buy them a handful of phones, but they were all against it. The only one whom had a phone was Merribit.
Another thing the boy shared with the kids were a handful of incidents in his childhood, most of which being his time being bullied. The orphans really didn't like to hear of that, so Yosetsu decided to tell them of his much more positive memories, such as his trip to the Gundam Base in Odaiba during his ninth birthday and when he began to like the Rescue Hero, Crimson Typhoon, as much as he did among other things.
Most of the time, however, Yosetsu would simply play a good game of Snakes and Ladders or more recently, Monopoly, with the orphans. The boy was the uncontested king of the first game, but with Monopoly, Atra, Yamagi or Takaki would often emerge victorious. If he wasn't messing with board games, he'd most likely be watching tv with the others and laughing a with them, almost as though they were longtime friends of his.
For the most part, Yosetsu was happiest whenever he was around the orphans. His parents felt the same, perhaps even more so as the two had never seen their son this happy around company before. They just wished that they could be around to see him smile more and not always be occupied by their job.
In short, Yosetsu Awase, for the first time in a very long time, felt happy on a consistent basis.
Well, this chapter was much shorter than the others usually are.
Seriously. The last chapter was nearly 20k (roughly 17K, actually) words long, and this is ¼ that length. Ah well. Can't have em all be 10k+ I suppose.
Now, onto a more important note, you must be wondering why this took so long, right? About 6 months of wait for a 4k word chapter. Well the answer is simple.
I was stuck in a creative loop for this chapter. I had tons of ideas, but could never write the out in a good way. So I fell into a loop of writing, checking to see if it was good, deciding it wasn't, deleting and writing again. In the end, I ended up with this. The original drafts were meant to be twice as long, but I could never write them properly.
That and the original drafts revealed a rather big secret which I'd prefer to keep under wraps… for now.
Anyways, onto the replied before I go celebrate my mum's birthday.
gold crown dragon: I'll have a look. And you've got a good eye :)
Guest: I'm sure some IBO fics will be up soon. I know I may have a few planned ;3
Megatron Kim: firstly, thanks. And secondly, thanks for the compliment. And expect the unexpected, I suppose :3
Nevada el Diablo: firstly, your name is awesome to me for some reason. Secondly, thanks and I hope ye enjoy this one too!
Venandi: I don't have any way to reply to you without being rude.
Anyways *puts on party hat* see you guys next time!
Edited on: 21/5/2019