"So, he came after all, huh? And an hour early, no less!"
That was the first thing that Mikazuki heard after he took a step out of the bathroom, and as soon as he heard his voice, the boy's usually sour expression was quick to change, if only a little, as his lips edged upwards just enough to be noticeable. Shortly thereafter, Augus, still half naked and with a small towel draped over his neck, turned towards the source of the voice and smiled just a little when he saw his oldest friend standing not too far from him.
"Ah, he did," confirmed Mikazuki, with his tone of voice sounding rather disinterested as he walked past the taller boy, who was leaning against the closest door frame, and into the room he shared with four others. Approaching the room closet, Augus was quick to open it and reach for one of his many jackets, a long sleeved, puffy green one that looked way too stuffy to be worn regularly… and yet, Mikazuki did so anyways… and as he watched his short friend put it on, the taller boy found himself grimacing a little.
"Are you ever gonna stop wearing those jackets, Mika?" asked the taller boy as he watched Mikazuki adjust the collar of his jacket, and upon hearing him, Augus froze, if only briefly, as he processed his friend's words, though not even a second later, he responded.
"No," responded Mika, prompting the taller boy to sigh a little as he shook his head. Typical… for as… mature, so to speak, as Mikazuki Augus was… he was still surprisingly sentimental, and him doggedly refusing to stop wearing those damn jackets was proof enough of that. But even so… the guy couldn't bring himself to force Augus to not wear them…
After all, they were the only things that they had to remember them prior to their deaths…
"Suit yourself, I guess…" muttered the taller boy as he brought a hand up to his head and ran his fingers through his stylized lilac hair. It was probably best to change the topic, he reckoned, as he noticed that there was a bit of green visible in Mika's eyes. Not a good sign, so to speak. "Anyways, how's about you introduce me to your friend?"
"Awa?" inquired Mikazuki rhetorically, prompting his friend to chuckle briefly as he shook his head. Ah… typical Mika, giving the people he liked as acquaintances a nickname to forcefully disassociate themselves with being his friends. Honestly speaking, his issue with trusting anyone outside of the orphanage was one of his many flaws, one that everyone here wished to help him overcome, though they doubted that it would be easy.
But then again, nothing worth doing would ever be easy, and they were all up to the challenge.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt to call him Awase, right?" tried the taller boy as he crossed his arms disapprovingly at Mikazuki, and for the briefest of moments, the shorter boy did seem to be a little guilty of all this. What was left of his consciousness knew that he liked Yosetsu in his own way… but even with that said…
"I know. But… Awa is easier to remember," assured Mikazuki, with him deflecting his friend's silent nudge as he walked past him, with him pulling on his jacket all the while. His words sounded incredibly fake, even to himself, though for the sake of his friend, the taller, lilac haired teen simply shook his head and grumbled a little to himself.
"That's what you always say, Mika…"
Downstairs
"Alright so… I just press Fight?"
"Yep, and you can press the cards here. Buster, Quirk and Arts."
"Buster! I'm going all in with Buster!"
"Hold on! You might want to consider… ah, and there he goes…"
Chad's laughter capped off that little exchange between Yosetsu and Shino as he shook his head at their attempt at getting closer to one another, and all the while, the latter held onto the former's mobile phone as it displayed a game that Awase really liked to play on his downtime.
Following Mikazuki's retreat into the showers, Yosetsu did make an attempt to continue studying whilst waiting for Augus to return, though after a few minutes of that, Shino, in all his infinite wisdom, insisted that he stopped doing that and just relax for a while. Chad was, understandably, against all this, as Awase didn't really need to listen to Norba in the first place, though surprisingly enough, the headband-wearing boy ended up listening to the pink scaled teen, as he quickly snapped his textbook shut and placed it back into his bag.
"I know it's important, but fuck it. If I stare at the words for any longer, I'd get a brain hemorrhage or something," reasoned Awase at the time, with Shino having laughed at that excuse while Chad flinched a little at how morbid all that sounded… not that either knew what a hemorrhage was, anyways.
Regardless, after a few awkward seconds of silence, Yosetsu had ended up pulling his phone out of his pocket and began to swipe through it a handful of times, with him inevitably ending up in his personal favorite mobile game shortly thereafter, and unsurprisingly, it took both Shino and Chad less than a handful of seconds to grow curious on just what he was playing… and inevitably, Norba insisted on playing as well, thus leading to the present, with Shino growling a little to himself as the team he had assembled in the game was slowly but surely getting dismantled by the opposition.
It was rather amusing, all things considered, as Shino had picked a team composed of busty ladies, something that made Chad give Yosetsu the cheeky side eye, to which the latter responded by looking away innocently whilst whistling, much to the former's amusement. Regardless, Norba wasn't doing so hot at the moment, and as his last on screen character faded into golden dust, he threw his hands up and shouted out in exasperation.
"Dammit! I nearly had them!" protested Shino with a pout as both Chad and Yosetsu laughed at his overreaction, though their laughter was quickly cut short when Norba let go of Awase's phone. The headband-wearing boy gasped a little as he watched it soar into the air, though before it could land, Chadan sprung his arm towards it.
The headband-wearing boy widened his eyes when he saw that Chad was just a little too far away to catch his phone, though much to his surprise, his entire arm ended up stretching a tiny bit, almost as though his joints had dislocated briefly, as it sprung forwards just that little more, allowing him to snatch his phone out of the air before he swiftly retracted his arm. An uncomfortable snap sound could be heard as his joints reconnected with one another, and not even a second later, Chad handed Awase's phone back to him.
"Thanks for that, Chadan-San," thanked Yosetsu awkwardly as he watched Chad hold onto his arm and flex his fingers a little, with the guy nodding a little all the while. As he did so, Awase found himself growing a little curious as he watched Chad crack his knuckles, eliciting a somewhat satisfying pop all the while, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out; "So, that;s your Quirk?"
"My Quirk, huh? Yeah, that's my Quirk," confirmed Chad, with him smiling a little as he nodded. Yosetsu blinked a little at that, with him nodding a little as Chadan rolled his shoulders. "I don't know what to call it, but…"
"We call it-" piped up Shino…
Chad Chadan
Quirk: Full Body Dislocation
Should he wish to, Chad Chadan can willingly dislocate any of his joints, stretching his limbs further and granting them more flexibility than any regular joint! However, his joints will swell up if he uses it too quickly or overuses it!
"... and that's his Quirk!"
"Damn… seems pretty useful," commented Yosetsu with a lopsided smile as he glanced over at Chad, who appeared rather bashful as he scratched the back of his head. It was rather clear that he's never really gotten much praise for his ability prior to now.
"Nah, don't say that. At best, it's just good for throwing stuff," deflected Chad humbly as he waved his acquaintance off. At that, Norba snickered a little, having remembered all those incidents with Chad overdoing it whilst playing ball with the younger kids, though he kept that thought to himself for now as Awase responded to Chadan's deflection.
"Yeah, but trust me, when your phone drops and your arm is just a little too short to reach it, I'd say a Quirk like yours is preferable over mine," assured Awase with an ok sign and a wink. Chad ended up blushing a little at Yosetsu's praise as he smiled, with one hand over the back of his neck whilst the other slid into his pants pocket. As he did so, however, he found his glaze shifting towards Norba rather curiously as he asked him a nonverbal question, which was answered with a grin as the guy chuckled.
"Oh, my Quirk, hm? Well-"
Norba Shino
Quirk: Ryusei-Go
Named after a Pre-Quirk era species of lizard (that doesn't exist, no matter how hard Shino tries to say otherwise), Norba's Quirk grants him the abilities of a lizard. Cold blooded, a lot faster on foot and superior eyesight. His skin is a little rubbery as well, and the scales on his body are on par with kevlar. Contrary to what most would say, he does not like to eat bugs.
And as he concluded his brief explanation, or at least, after he was forced to wrap it up by Chad before he became a little too self aggrandizing, Norba Shino found himself glancing over at Awase with an expectant look on his face, and it remained plastered on as he watched the younger boy rub his chin thoughtfully whilst he stared at him.
"So… can you walk on walls?" asked Yosetsu curiously after a brief bout of silent thinking. The guy was clearly rather proud of what he had, though that prideful exterior cracked a little when he was asked that question, more or less answering Awase's inquiry as he snorted. "I take it that's a no?"
"No! I… I just haven't tried it yet!" shot Shino with a grimace as he waved a finger at Yosetsu, and at that, Chad rolled his eyes.
"He can't," stated Chadan flatly, to which Shino pouted intensely, a sight that made both Chad and Yosetsu snicker a little as he waved an accusing finger at the guy.
"Chad, you traitor! You will rue the day you turned on me!" threatened Norba as he glared at the standing teen, who simply rolled his eyes as he feigned horror, something that amused Yosetsu to no end as he held a hand over his mouth and snickered into it.
"Oooooh, I'm positively shaking in fear, Shino," responded Chad as he briefly dislocated his arms and waved them around in the air, adding a rather comical edge to his words as he taunted Norba over his inability to walk on walls, and at that, a tick mark appeared on the Ryusei-Go User's head, a sign that he was getting a little ticked off, as Chadan relocated his limbs, with a rather 'menacing' pink aura surrounding Shino all the while.
"Why you…"
And yet, before things could really escalate, the two Chryse orphans paused their little argument when they heard some laughter coming from their visitor, prompting them to turn towards Yosetsu. They were quick to blink when they saw that the guy was laughing a little as he looked away from the duo, with one hand gripping firmly onto the lower half of his face whilst the other was resting against his stomach. His hand did very little to stifle the fit of laughter he was experiencing, however, and by the time he realized that he had been caught, he wasn't able to calm himself down fast enough to shrug it off.
"I… u-uh… pretend you didn't hear that!" protested Yosetsu in embarrassment as his cheeks reddened a tad, and at that, Chad and Shino found themselves laughing once more as they shook their heads. Ah… what a strange kid this was, though then again, strange was commonplace around these parks, so he'd fit right in… in a good way, of course.
"If you were anyone else, I probably wouldn't have bothered to do that, but just for you, I'll do it, Awa," joked Shino with a sly wink as Awase sighed in relief, with him missing the flirtatious tone of voice Norba had whilst Chad simply sighed at the kid's innocence. Not long after, however, Shino ended up rubbing his chin a little as he stared down at Yosetsu, and at that, he smiled a little as he snapped his fingers. "Actually, I'll only pretend to not hear your downright adorable laughter… on one condition."
"Erm… and what would that be?" asked Awase carefully as he acknowledged the sly look in Norba's eyes. That was certainly the look of a predator, no doubt about it, and he'd have to be wary about it… or at least, he would've been if it wasn't for Chad sighing in bemusement at Shino's acting. To a visitor, the guy's flirting could come off as a little excessive, perhaps even a little hot at times, if Yamagi's confession a few years ago was to be believed… but to a good majority of the Chryse orphans, they could very easily tell that, with each word he spoke, he was trying not to burst out into laughter.
"Tell me, Awa," the twitch of Yosetsu's eye was promptly ignored, "what is your Quirk?" inquired Shino curiously as he stared down at Awase, who blinked a little as he scratched his cheek awkwardly, seemingly having not expected that question at all. Likewise, Chad seemed surprised that Norba hadn't asked a lewd question as he blinked in shock, though his shock was quickly replaced with no small amount of curiosity as he rubbed his chin, and before long, he ended up glancing down at Yosetsu with an interested look in his eye. "Mika told us that you can fuse your locker shut. Can you, like, oh I dunno… combine things?"
"Well, uh… yes, actually!" confirmed Yosetsu with a grin as he held an index finger up, and at that, Norba raised a brow at the prideful tone of voice that Awase was now speaking in. He must really be confident in his Quirk for this sudden boost in confidence… even if his tone of voice did sound a little forced… "It's called We-"
"Well, it's good to see that you're fitting in with everyone just fine, Awase-Kun."
Yosetsu's words were unceremoniously cut off, however, when a new voice butted right in, prompting everyone to turn towards its source, which turned out to be a rather tall, tan skinned teen that stood about half a head taller than Awase walking down from the second floor. His lilac hair was spiked up, with one of his bangs stylized in a rather awkward crescent that pointed downwards, and his yellow eyes were locked onto Awase specifically.
A small shiver went up Yosetsu's spine when he acknowledged how the newcomer was silently judging him, as evident by how his eyes narrowed a little as he walked down, with Mikazuki following closely behind him. The shorter boy's bulky green jacket was certainly an amusing sight, though at the moment, Awase's attention was held completely by the lilac haired boy, and it remained that way as the guy walked up in front of him and stared down at the younger boy with a somewhat casual stare.
A casual stare that hid a buttload of warnings, telling Yosetsu that if he came here with any ill intent, then he wouldn't be leaving in one piece, and though he wasn't the best at reading someone's mood, he could read this guy's just enough to know that he held more than his fair share of authority around here.
"Erm… well… everyone here's pretty nice… so I guess that's a contributing factor?" tried Yosetsu rather sheepishly as the tan skinned boy quite literally shadowed Awase beneath him, and for the briefest of moments, the guy appeared rather surprised at the headband-wearing boy's response, with him bringing a hand up to his chin as he processed his words. All the while, Mika moved to claim the empty spot beside Yosetsu, with him sitting down beside him with an unceremonious plop, a plop that Awase all but ignored as he watched the lilac haired teen rub his chin intently.
And rather abruptly, his mood took a complete 180 turn as the edges of the lilac haired teen's lips curved up into a rather genuine smile. Yosetsu was rather thrown off by it as he blinked in shock, though as for Shino and Chad, they shared a laugh at his expense while Mikazuki rolled his eyes at his longtime friend's blatant teasing of his acquaintance.
"Boss, you're scaring the kid!" pointed out Shino with a laugh as he wiped at his nose, and to that, Awase blinked and snapped out of his brief stupod, to which the 'boss' snickered at. Likewise, Chad huffed a little in amusement as well, with his laughter being much more subdued than Shino's, while Mikazuki remained quiet as per usual.
"Yeah yeah, sorry about that, kid. Awase, right? Awase Yosetsu?" apologised the lilac haired boy as he brought a hand forwards and moved to pat the aforementioned boy's head, though before his hand made contact, Yosetsu leaned back and scooted away from the guy's palm. His hair was already ruined enough times today, and he'd be damned to let it be messed up a third time! And by all means, the guy was taken aback at first, though he quickly got the memo as he smiled a tad. "Hm? Oh, hair problems, huh?"
"Yeah… it's not really easy to keep it like this," apologised Awase sheepishly as he shrugged, with him trying not to acknowledge how it was technically his fault for styling it up like this in the first place, and at that, the lilac haired boy nodded understandingly as he smirked and settled for a handshake as a greeting. Yosetsu accepted it without much hesitation, and he had to admit, the handshake was a lot gentler than he was expecting, especially when one considered just how ripped this guy was. "But yeah, I'm Awase alright."
"Heh, well it's certainly a pleasure to meet you, Awase. I'm Itsuka. Itsuka Orga," responded the lilac haired teen with a grin, and as he spoke, he broke off the handshake and moved to sit on the empty spot on the couch next to Augus. The blue eyed boy had the faintest of smiles present on his face as he saw his pal sit down beside him, though it wasn't too obvious as Orga continued speaking. "I have to say, Awase, you actually agreeing to come visit, ahead of schedule no less, was pretty ballsy."
"Well, it was an invitation, and it'd be rude to not accept it…" admitted Yosetsu dismissively as he shrugged, with him not wishing to admit that he didn't exactly have the guts to turn down Mikazuki. Believe it or not, the boy did quite like the short dude, and considering just how few friends he already had, he really didn't want to squander the chance to have somebody close by before graduating to high school.
The look on Yosetsu's face ended up telling almost everyone present about how he felt towards Mikazuki at the moment, and though it was subtle, the blue eyed boy in question found himself growing just a little bashful at that realization as he glanced away from his acquaintance whilst attempting to look disinterested in all this, much to Chad and Orga's amusement. As for Shino, however…
"Jeez, kid, you know you could reschedule or something, right?" inquired Shino with a small, teasing smile as he flicked Awase's nose, prompting him to grumble in irritation as he turned to glare at Norba mildly, and at that, the tiny amount of built up tension inside him was released as he grumbled and pinched the older teen's cheeks out of irritation, with that sudden gesture catching everyone, including Yosetsu himself, off guard.
"I'm not an asshole, dammit! To say that you wanna reschedule is an indirect way of saying that you're not interested!" protested Yosetsu in a hurry as his cheeks reddened in insult, and though Awase was putting quite a bit of force behind his 'attack', Norba didn't seem to register it at all as he laughed enthusiastically whilst Chad and Orga both snickered at the sight. Mikazuki remained as stoney faced as ever, though the faintest wisps of a smile could still be seen as he shook his head in amusement.
"There's a fine line between being an asshole and rescheduling, Awase!" protested Shino in between his groans as the aforementioned headband-wearing boy pulled on his cheeks, and at that, Yosetsu relented, if only by a little, as he acknowledged some truth behind Norba's words, though before he could release the pink scaled teen's cheeks, he felt Mikazuki's knuckles gently thump against the top of his head, and by gently, I mean that there was enough force behind the hit that it ended up jolting Awase into allowing Norba to be released.
"Ouch…" muttered Yosetsu as he instinctively rubbed the back of his head, and all the while, he glanced back at Mikazuki, who stared at him in bemusement as Orga rolled his eyes at Shino. Chad found this all rather amusing, though he said nothing as Awase pouted a tiny bit at Augus. "What was that for?"
"Stop harassing Shino," scolded Mika flatly, and at that, Norba lost his shit as he burst out laughing, with everyone else snickering between themselves as they watched Yosetsu roll his eyes and rub the back of his head. Ah, the shorty's deadpanned delivery never ceases to amaze them… though as for Awase, who still wasn't used to Mikazuki's manner of speech, he found himself rolling his eyes a little as he jerked a thumb towards the pink scaled teen.
"Stop harassing him? Seriously? I feel like it's the other way around!" complained Yosetsu defensively as he crossed his arms with a dissatisfied look on his face, and at that, Augus glanced over at Norba, who whistled innocently as he tried, incredibly poorly, to blend into the background. For the briefest of moments, nothing really happened as Shino simply whistled out a catchy tune… and then… it happened.
Within the blink of an eye, Mikazuki's irises abruptly took on a greenish tint as… something burst out from below his green jacket, moving so fast that Awase was unable to see what it was exactly. As soon as it sprung out from beneath the jacket, the thing swung itself towards Shino and whacked him over the head, prompting him to gasp in shock as the thing swiftly retreated back up into Augus' jacket, leaving Norba to hold his head in pain all the while.
"Ouchie…" whined Shino as everyone simply stared at him with amused looks on their faces, sans Mika and Yosetsu anyways. The former still had his resting bitch face present while the latter was more confused than anything…
"What just-" began Awase, though before he could finish that statement, Augus cut him off.
"Stop harassing Awa, Shino," scolded Mikazuki flatly as Norba, with his head bowed down and a comically large bump atop it, offered him a meek thumbs up as stars began circling the top of his head, and at that, he nodded in satisfaction as he huffed whilst Chad lost it, with him swiftly bringing his hand up to his mouth in order to stifle the snickers.
As for Orga, however, the big boss of the building found this all rather intriguing. One of the perks that came with knowing Mikazuki for as long as he did was that he knew how he behaved, and by proxy, Itsuka knew about how… defensive the guy was with his Quirk, up to the point where he refused to let anyone know just what it was. To show someone outside of the orphanage even a glimmer of his personal ability was enough of a rarity, so for him to actively use it to berate Norba just for an acquaintance of his…? Well, that in itself was more than enough to make Orga a lot more interested in the guy…
"There. You're even now," commented Mikazuki flatly as he ignored the pained groans from Shino, with drool falling from his lips, and focused his attention on Yosetsu, who gulped a little as he watched Norba remain in his dazed state.
"Yeah, but it looks like you hit him with a sledgehammer, though…" pointed out Awase as he sweatdropped a little whilst staring down at Shino's dazed form with widened eyes, and to that, Mikazuki raised a brow as the back of his jacket began to shift a little.
"He can take it. But if you're so keen on equality, Awa, do you want to try it so that the two of you are actually even?" asked Mikazuki, and considering how there was no sign of sarcasm in his voice, Yosetsu found himself sweating a lot more as he shook his head vigorously. While he was by no means a toothpick, Awase knew that Norba was a lot more durable than he was, if the muscles were anything to go by, and considering how whatever hit him was able to make him temporarily braindead… Yosetsu had a feeling that if it hit him, it might actually split his skull!
"Erm… h-how about no?" responded Awase as he waved his hands around, to which Mikazuki nodded, with the movement beneath his jacket halting at the word no as Augus huffed a little to himself all the while. As this happened, however, Norba nearly fell off the couch as he remained in a dazed state, though Chad was able to extend his arm out and grab onto his neck before that could happen.
"Well in any case, I think I oughta get this guy to bed or something before he hurts himself," commented Chad as he effortlessly hoisted Shino up and over his shoulder, with him keeping one hand on his back whilst the other remained on the back of his thigh to keep him stable. Awase found himself sweatdropping a little at just how casually everyone was taking this, almost as though this were a normal occurrence around here, though he didn't comment on it as Orga nodded in approval.
"Go do that, Chad. Just… don't wake Eugene up while you're at it, alright? You know how cranky he gets after being woken up from a Quirk-Overuse-induced sleep," warned Itsuka rather knowingly, with his grin growing a tiny bit as he noticed the Dislocation User sweatdropping at the unsavoury memories of Eugene's grumpy state of mind, though he shoved them to the back of his mind before nodding in acknowledgement and speeding off, and with that, it left Orga, Mikazuki and Yosetsu alone in the living room.
A somewhat uncomfortable cough ended up escaping Yosetsu's lips after a few minutes of awkward silence, with Mikazuki all but ignoring it for the time being while Orga flashed a small smile as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Raising one of his arms up, Itsuka rested it up against the top of the couch's backrest before going silent for a handful of seconds, though before long, a rather loud boom could be heard from the backyard of the orphanage, and while Yosetsu was rightfully taken aback by it, as he was quick to jolt up upon hearing it, having expected a Villain attack, both Orga and Mikazuki remained unphased.
Hell, the former ended up smiling a little in amusement as he shook his head, almost as though this were normal.
"Hey, Mika, go check on the old man, if you will," insisted Orga as he gently nudged Augus' elbow with his own, and without a second thought, the boy in question nodded and stood up, with him sliding both his hands into his pockets all the while. Itsuka huffed a tiny bit in dissatisfaction as he watched Mikazuki silently leave the room with a steady stride, and as soon as he shut the backdoor, the Chryse Orphanage's boss shook his head a little as he crossed his arms and exhaled sharply, with him clearly dissatisfied with just how little his old friend has changed over the past few years, though as for Yosetsu, he found himself blinking a little as he glanced over at Orga.
"Is… he always like that?" tried Awase curiously as Orga blinked and stared over at him, and at that, the lilac haired teen hardened his gaze, if only a little, as a sign to Yosetsu that this was a rather personal issue that he was talking himself into, and upon acknowledging this, the headband-wearing boy was quick to nod and hold his hands up. "Alright, I probably shouldn't have-"
"What's it to you, anyways?" asked Orga rather curiously, surprising Yosetsu quite a bit as he blinked and tilted his head a little, a clear show of confusion. Itsuka was rather amused by the sight, all things considered, though he didn't let it deter him as he found himself testing Awase, so to speak.
He knew that Mikazuki liked this guy, for better or for worse, and though he didn't seem too spectacular in Orga's eyes, he knew that Augus' judgement was good enough that he could very easily figure out who was worth trusting and who was not. With that being said, however, it didn't mean that Itsuka could let his guard down. People were fallible, after all, and for as different as he was, Mika was no different. His judgement could, has and will inevitably fail him from time to time, and whenever it did, it was up to his friends to help him out before his decisions blew up in his face once more.
"Come again…?" muttered Awase, with him not quite getting what Orga was asking of him as he glanced over at the lilac haired teen, to which the guy rolled his eyes.
"Mika likes you, kid, and in some way, it looks like you like him back as well, and honestly, for as nice as that is to me, for all of us living here, rather, to know this… I'd like to know why," clarified Orga as he leaned forwards and clasped his hands together gently, with the gesture putting Awase a little on edge as he listened to him speak. "Look, it's not like I don't trust you, but Mika… he's got a bad history with betrayal, and he's not one to trust easily. So I just want to know if you're worth it…
"I want to know if you're going to use him in any way, or rather, if you have any ulterior motives with him… because if you're going to lead him on and leave him behind in the future, well… let's just say that this entire orphanage doesn't forgive very easily."
A mild gulp was the only response the headband-wearing boy could offer as he looked away from Orga, who remained steadfast with his defensive nature towards Awase as he kept his gaze leveled with his. He knew that he was coming off as incredibly hostile towards the poor kid, but he didn't want him to potentially hurt his best friend in any way, shape or form, and if he had to resort to using his Quirk just to get the answers he wanted, then so be it…
"Well… I guess I can see where you're coming from with all this, Itsuka-San," admitted Yosetsu rather awkwardly as he crossed his arms and leaned back a little on the couch, with the headband-wearing boy frowning deeply as he spoke in a softer tone of voice. Orga was surprised by this, as he didn't expect anyone his age, outside of Augus anyways, to be able to speak in such a solemn tone of voice, though he said nothing about it as Awase continued. "I'm not exactly a stranger when it comes to not trusting others, after all."
"Really now?" muttered Orga curiously, with him starting to grow a little intrigued in Awase for reasons outside of his acquaintanceship with Augus, as he held a hand up to his chin thoughtfully, and to that, Yosetsu nodded.
"Ah. It's… personal, of course, but people don't really like me that much, you see," admitted Yosetsu rather offhandedly as he waved a hand in the air. "It's more or less my attitude and partly because of my Quirk. Most people don't find much interest in a guy that's just slightly above average on all fronts, especially someone as introverted as myself, and my Quirk isn't exactly fancy enough to make people look at me more than once."
"Heh, well, in that case, I guess that means that you and Mika have more in common with each other than you'd expect," pointed out Orga with a small smile as he leaned his head back in exasperation. Yosetsu was rightfully taken aback by this as he opened his mouth to ask just how they were alike as, outside of being a pair of introverts, they seemed to be nothing like one another, though Itsuka was quick to cut him off. "Let me ask you something, you do know that Kamishiro isn't the first middle school that Mikazuki joined, hm?"
"Well… yeah. I heard that he transferred between a few schools in the past," admitted Yosetsu rather meekly as he felt a little bad for overhearing such a personal part of Mikazuki's life, and yet, his unease was quickly put to rest when Orga waved him off, assuring him that it was alright.
"Yeah, well, he transferred from school to school for a variety of reasons. He's just… incompatible, shall we say, with a good majority of the ones he enrolled into. Hell, the last school straight up kicked him out after his Quirk got out of hand when some kid pushed him over the edge!" grumbled Orga, with him catching Awase off guard with his sudden tirade as the lilac haired Chryse boss grimaced at the memory of Old Man Yuki and himself visiting his friend's previous school after he was expelled from it. Aggravated assault, his records said, and the one that pissed Mika off in the first place didn't even get so much as a stain on his perfect record! It made Itsuka want to burn the entire school down right there and then!
Of course, for legal reasons, that did not happen, though the look on Mika's face back then almost made the guy cross the line… almost…
"... Kameshiro was our last resort, really," continued Orga after a few seconds of silence, with him grimacing at the sudden influx of memories that came with talking about all this, though he forcefully suppressed them as he clasped his hands together a little tighter, with Yosetsu visibly flinching a little at the sight. "It was the closest school to the orphanage, but it had the highest standards out of all the others. We wanted to enroll Mika into it at first, but uh… don't tell him this, we didn't think he'd pass the entrance exams. It's a damn miracle that he actually managed to get in there in the first place… but if I have to be blunt with you, Awase… none of us were expecting it to last."
"You were expecting him to be expelled sooner or later?" clarified Yosetsu with his eyes widened quite a bit at that admission, to which Orga let out a choked laugh as he nodded, with his fingers tightening themselves around each other all the while.
"Yeah… it's a terrible thing to admit, but by all means, past experience has taught us to expect the absolute worst out of things," clarified Orga, with him offering a sad smile as he spoke. "We kids are optimists, but at heart, we're realists as well. We expect the worst out of… everything, really, but as Mika's best pal, I have no real excuse for… any of this, really. I should've thought better than that…"
Leaning forwards and resting his elbows down onto his thighs, Orga found himself growing a little upset at himself as he rested his forehead against his clasped together hands, and the sight alone was more than enough to make Yosetsu feel a little off. He didn't know the guy that well, though from what he's experienced thus far, the Chryse 'boss' was a good person at heart, and he didn't deserve to put himself down for thinking realistically, regardless of how cruel his thoughts might have come across as, and with that in mind, he offered Itsuka a weak smile and brought his hand up towards him, with him resting it atop his shoulder shortly thereafter.
"... hey, look, you may have thought the worst at the time, but so far, Mik- geh… Augus hasn't been expelled, right? He's still part of the class, and I doubt that'll change anytime soon," pointed out Yosetsu as he held an index finger up into the air, and at that, Itsuka perked up a little as Awase continued to speak. "I… uh… I've seen how he performs in class, and he's not bad. His scores are alright, definitely not bad enough to warrant an expulsion, and he doesn't go out of his way to find trouble."
"Heh, typical Mika. He's the smartest of us here, not that he'll admit that, anyways, and trust me, he won't trouble trouble until trouble troubles him," chuckled Orga, with that last statement confusing Yosetsu briefly before he understood what Itsuka meant and nodded. "But it's only a matter of time before they find out about his Quirk… and when that happens, things won't end well for anyone."
"They… as in the teachers? Don't they already-" began Yosetsu, with him assuming that they already knew about Mika's Quirk, whatever it may be, by virtue of them being the ones that taught them, though Orga was quick to cut him off.
"They do, or at least some of them do. But they won't do anything to Mika, regardless of them knowing about his Quirk or not. They're paid to put up with him, after all," clarified Itsuka as he sighed. "No, it's the kids that're the main problem. I'm not sure if you've heard this saying, but kids… are cruel, Awase, and when they find out just how… different Mika's Quirk is from theirs, they won't stop pestering him about it."
"Why's that…? What even is Augus' Quirk'?" asked Yosetsu out of instinctual curiosity, to which Orga chuckled.
"It's not my place to reveal it," apologised Itsuka as he shook his head apprehensively, with him knowing that Mikazuki trusted him even more than he trusted himself at this point, and though he doubted that telling Awase about his Quirk would damage his faith in him in any noticeable manner, the guy would rather not risk it just yet as he continued to speak. "Mikazuki's Quirk is a touchy subject, and he hates it a lot more than he's willing to admit."
"I… see. Well, I'll drop the topic for now, then," commented Yosetsu, with him nodding in understanding as he huffed a little. In a way, he could understand hating one's Quirk, as, when he learnt about his own, he used to think that it was terrible thanks to how… mundane it was when compared to most others. His opinions regarding his abilities have changed now, sure, though conversing about his Quirk was still a bit of a touchy subject to him.
"Heh, well, that puts you several steps ahead of the assholes back in Mika's previous schools," quipped Orga as he finally unclasped his fingers from one another and shook his head. "They teased him a lot, you know. Back in the old places, the kids didn't like Mika's attitude, and they enjoyed looking down on him. But when his Quirk was revealed to them, they shunned him completely."
"Why, though? Quirks shouldn't be used to attack people, physically or verbally," groaned Yosetsu, with him grimacing a little at the mention of his acquaintance having apparently been bullied in the past, though he was quick to let it simmer down and be replaced with surprise when he realized that he was mad on the behalf of Mika… something that was… unexpected, to say the least. Itsuka noticed this as well, prompting him to smile a little as he chuckled.
"Again, that puts you further ahead of those brats in Mika's old schools. You see… Mika's Quirk… it's not exactly the prettiest of things. It's a violent thing… Villainous, if you will…" explained Orga rather bitterly as he forced himself to recall a handful of the jeers his pal had to put up with in the past. It was honestly amazing how Augus didn't do so much as bat an eye at the insults that were hurled his way by his peers, though the same couldn't be said for when they roped any of the other orphans… or her into the equation.
That was how he got his first expulsion, actually… stabbed a guy through the shoulder with his Quirk and got forced into a ten day suspension because of it… only to be expelled at the end of it all. Shino had to be tackled down to the ground by the entire orphanage before he could actually set the damn school on fire out of spite…
"That's just stupid, Itsuka-San."
Orga's little trip down memory lane was quickly interrupted, however, when Awase spoke up, with him shaking his head and glancing over at the aforementioned boy as he raised a brow at his words, and admittedly, he was taken back a little when he saw the irritated look on Yosetsu's face. He seemed different, so to speak, as he crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch, with his frown noticeably deeper than usual as he spoke up.
"There's no such thing as Villainous Quirks. There are incredibly powerful Quirks that border on being broken, sure, and there are Quirks that're… less noticeable than others," began Awase, with him noticeably flexing his fingers a little as he said the second part, with the gesture being picked up by Orga, who said nothing on it for now as he continued. "But I refuse to believe that such a thing as a Villainous Quirk exists."
"Oh? And why's that?" asked Orga, with his interest in Yosetsu growing with each word he spoke. His smile slowly grew in size as he heard him respond, and though Awase was, admittedly, a little annoyed at having to repeat himself once more, he didn't let it stop him from speaking up regardless.
"Because it's not the Quirk that defines someone. It's who they are on the inside that really counts," explained Yosetsu, with him bringing a hand up to his heart and tapping his chest twice with his fingers in order to emphasise his point, and to that, Orga found himself smiling a little as Awase elaborated on his words. "A lot of Heroes have some rather… Villainous Quirks, but no one looks down on them for it. Take Hound Dog for instance. The guy's pretty frightening looking, but he's one of the nicest Heroes in Japan… when he's not angry, anyways. Hell, the current Number 2 has a pretty dangerous, and dare I say Villainous, Quirk, but people still adore him… for better or for worse…"
"Heh, not bad… I think I'm starting to see why Mika likes you, Awase," commented Orga approvingly as he stared down at Yosetsu with a new glimmer in his eye, and to that, Yosetsu turned a little red as he blinked in surprise.
"... mind if I know why? I'm still wondering why he even gives me the time of day, especially when I'm not that interesting," inquired Yosetsu as he stared at Orga curiously, with him choosing to leave out how he felt as though Augus was stalking him, and at that, Itsuka laughed a little as he shook his head.
It would've been so easy to tell him that Mika liked him just because he treated him like a normal human being, even if he didn't know what his Quirk was yet… but where was the fun in that?
"That is for me to know…"
"Itsuka-San, please don't finish that statement…"
"... and you…"
"I swear to All Might-"
"To find out!"
And to that, Awase picked up his English textbook and slammed it against his forehead in a childish display of irritation, prompting Orga to burst out laughing shortly thereafter.
Outside, a few minutes ago
The mild sensation of electricity passing through him was a clear indication to Mikazuki that Dante had activated his Quirk, and as he thought that, the blue eyed child shook his head a little as he shut the backdoor behind him.
"Dante, why'd you do that?!" whined Ride with an irritated scowl as the guy in question chuckled meekly as the two of them sat down at the center of the Chryse Orphanage's backyard. Beside them were Yamagi and Takaki, who remained neutral and smiling, respectively, as they watched Mass raise his fists and 'punch' Dante several times over for letting his Quirk run wild, however briefly, and to that, Augus scoffed a little as he shook his head.
Dante Mongro
Quirk: Electronic Warfare
Dante is able to fire an EMP burst, which has a range that varies based on his liking. The EMP burst can either short out the electronics of all nearby electronic devices permanently or temporarily disable them, though the latter effect requires more effort on his part. If overused, or if the range of the EMP is too wide, Dante's body overheats and he'll run a decently high fever.
"Gah, Ride, give me a break! How was I supposed to know that the leg armour was meant to shift like that?!" protested Dante defensively as he waved his arms around at Ride in an awkward manner. Mass didn't really care, unfortunately, as he continued to thump on his raised arm, and as this all happened, Takaki found himself chuckling a little as he shook his head.
"Be nice, Ride. Dante was caught off guard by this, right, Yamagi?" scolded Takaki gently as he tugged on his collar and glanced over at the aforementioned blonde, who nodded in a bored manner. Mikazuki frowned a little when he noticed that Uno was still wearing his personal jacket that made him sweat a lot more than usual, though he knew that it was unavoidable thanks to how… sporadic his Quirk was. Likewise, the blonde's gloves were required thanks to his Quirk as well, which was a shame. He had nice hands.
Without much thought, Takaki tugged on one of his gloves and pulled it off completely. As he did so, the thing the four of them were working on began shifting a little, and within seconds, a metal object flew up into Uno's hand, causing his entire arm to recoil backwards as he winced a little as the metal object flew into his opened palm. Even so, Takaki was no pushover in terms of physical strength, allowing him to absorb the impact with little issue whilst Mika frowned a little deeper at the sight…
Takaki Uno
Quirk: Unwanted Attraction
Takaki's entire body, sans his head, is a magnetic conductor, which causes anything magnetic to gravitate towards him at speeds that depend on the object's weight and distance away from him. The magnetism can only be deactivated when Takaki is unconscious, though it can be mitigated by making him wear incredibly thick clothes that effectively neutralizes the magnetism.
It was a curse to live this way, but Takaki did so regardless, and if he were honest about it, Augus admitted Uno for powering through all the countermeasures that were required of them to contain the power of his Quirk, all whilst still maintaining a smile, no less.
That was something that Mikazuki could never hope to do…
Rather abruptly, however, Dante noticed Mikazuki standing by the backdoor of the orphanage, and at that, he seemed to panic a little as he abruptly swatted Ride's head and motioned towards where Augus was standing. The younger trio noticed his presence not long after, and at that, they panicked for whatever reason as Takaki jumped up to his feet and picked whatever they were working on off the ground, assisted by his magnetism, and rushed off. The scene was enough to confuse Mikazuki quite a bit as he raised an amused brow, though before he could walk up to them and ask about it, Ride Mass quite literally teleported right in front of him and held both hands up in a halting position.
"Augus-San! We were totally not working on a super secret project that you can't learn about!" proclaimed Ride awkwardly as he kept Mika at bay for the time being, prompting the boy to roll his eyes a little at his efforts. He could very easily push past Mass, but for his sake, he opted not to as he glanced down at the ginger with an unamused expression. "Trust me! Why would I ever lie to you, Augus-San?"
"..." the silence that followed more or less answered Ride's question for him, with the poor lad sweatdropping a little as he chuckled meekly, and not long after, he quite teleported out of existence yet again, with him reappearing behind Dante this time as he and Yamagi walked up to Mikazuki in a rather awkward manner.
"F-Forget I asked…" whined Ride as the tears on his body intensified further, a clear sign of stress as he peeked out at Augus, who rolled his eyes dismissively in response to his words.
Ride Mass
Quirk: Ride'n'Go
Ride is able to teleport short distances with his Quirk, though with each use of his power, he becomes less anchored to reality, so to speak. When overused, his Quirk can very well go out of control, causing him to teleport sporadically, and when on the verge of becoming overused, his Quirk begins to cause his body to distort. The distortions tend to disappear after a few hours of sleep.
"Already done, Ride," commented Yamagi as he stepped towards Mikazuki, who remained as passive as ever as he stared up at him, with the shorter one narrowing his eyes at the taller briefly before shrugging. "We weren't doing anything scandalous, Augus-San."
"It's that project of yours?" asked Mikazuki, with him shoving his hands into his pockets as he asked, to which Gilmerton, despite knowing that Augus already knew about the answer, in no small part thanks to his Quirk, shrugged. He may know what they were working on, but where was the fun in telling him right off the bat?
"Perhaps," answered Yamagi rather cryptically as Mikazuki snorted and patted him over the head, a gesture that annoyed the kid more than anything as he rolled his eyes and shrugged his hand off. Augus didn't take any offence to that gesture, however, as he walked a little further into the orphanage's backyard, with Yamagi following him all the while.
The orphanage's backyard wasn't much, honestly. Sure, it was rather large, what with it being almost twice the size of an average backyard, though it was also incredibly empty. The only thing of note was how Old Man Yuki's car repair shop sat at the far end of the backyard, though it wasn't as though he got many customers anyways.
"So, uh, Mika… why're you here, anyways? I thought you'd wanna chat with your friend," inquired Dante after a few seconds of silence, to which Mikazuki scoffed. Friend… he didn't really think of Yosetsu as a friend, honestly… he just liked how he didn't treat him like garbage, that's all…
"Awa i… something blew up. Orga wanted me to check what it was for him," grumbled Mikazuki, with him cutting himself off before he could refute the point of Awase being his apparent friend as he shook his head in annoyance. His minor slip-up didn't go unnoticed by any of his fellow orphans, however, as Ride and Dante shared a look with one another and smiled. Ah, this would be good teasing material… not that Mika would react to any of it, anyways…
Yamagi, on the other hand, thought nothing about this as he nodded and gestured towards Old Man Yuki's car repair shop, which, now that he was focusing on it a little more closely, seemed to be smoking a little. Considering how Yukinojo didn't have any customers for today, or at least none that Mikazuki knew of, he reckoned that the old man was just working on a personal project of his. He had a tendency to do that whenever he was bored…
"Nadi-San wanted to try and improve one of the engine blocks you and Takaki brought home. It didn't work," explained Yamagi, short and simple as the guy he was speaking to scoffed a tiny bit, with him opening his mouth a little to comment on the issue, only for Gilmerton to cut him off. "Yes, it's a dumb thing to do, but it's fun for him, so who am I to judge?"
"... hmph," was all Mikazuki bothered to say in response to Yamagi's on point prediction on what he was about to say, and upon hearing that, Gilmerton had to resist the urge to fistpump victoriously, which he managed to do so with little issue. As for the victorious smile? Well, he didn't manage to keep it down as effectively…
And all the while, Mikazuki gave the shorter blonde the side eye as he resisted the urge to smile as well. Yamagi may have been a rather stoic young boy, but even he took pride in being correct, and when you had a Quirk like his, being correct was a lot more commonplace than one might expect…
Yamagi Gilmerton
Quirk: Unspoken Truth
With enough focus, Yamagi is able to forcefully read another person's thoughts so long as the person whose mind he wishes to read is in his direct line of sight. The effectiveness of his Quirk varies from person to person, as it is noticeably weaker on those with willpower that is stronger, or at least on par, with Yamagi's.
Of course, the eyepatch was a little unnecessary, though then again… considering how his Quirk worked whilst using both eyes, he reckoned that it was best to keep it on unless absolutely necessary…
"So, how's Awase, anyways? Is Orga treating him alright?" asked Dante rather casually as he dusted himself off and bonked Ride over the head as punishment for trying to hit him a few moments prior. Mass didn't take kindly to this as he teleported behind Mongro and jumped onto his back, where he began to smack him in the back, much to his chagrin. "Geh, why you little-"
"Orga likes Awa," responded Mikazuki passively as he crossed his arms with an indifferent look in his eyes, with him ignoring the escalating fight between Ride and Dante all the while, though Yamagi, unsurprisingly, knew that he was pretending a lot more than he was willing to admit, a perk that came with being able to read minds, he reckoned. Of course, the sideways glare that came from Augus was more than enough to tell Gilmerton that he didn't appreciate him butting in on his privacy, especially in regards to how he felt towards Yosetsu, and before Yamagi could sever his connection to Mikazuki's mind, the blue eyed boy forcefully blocked him out with a small amount of concentration. "Stop doing that."
"... sorry," apologised Gilmerton as he felt a massive chill go up his spine, with him acknowledging how, despite Mikazuki being mostly fine with him looking into his mind, when it came to issues that were personal to him, such as his apparent friendship with Yosetsu, he very much preferred to maintain his privacy, and by all means, his willpower outranked Yamagi's tenfold, making it incredibly easy to block the young blonde out. "I… forgot…"
"It's fine. Just don't do it again," scolded Mikazuki passively as he flicked Gilmerton's cheek, a gesture that made the blonde redden in embarrassment as he nodded, and at that, the guy gently squeezed the younger boy's shoulder and walked past him, with him moving towards Old Man Yuki's repair shop all the while.
Before he did so, however, Augus raised a hand up and pinched Ride's ear right as he teleported in front of him, effectively halting him in his tracks before he could go back to making a fuss with Dante, and before the aforementioned teen could laugh at the younger boy's predicament, Mikazuki walked up to him and kicked him in the knee, forcing him to yell out in pain as he jumped up and down, clutching his kicked knee all the while.
"Stop making a fuss," scolded Mikazuki as he released Ride's ear, effectively stopping his little fight with Dante as Mass nodded meekly, and after he could confirm that they weren't going to start it up again, he nodded in satisfaction and turned on his feel, with him shoving his hands into his jacket pockets before he continued to walk off.
"Jeez, he didn't need to be so rough on me…" whined Dante with a mild pout as his knee slowly but surely recovered from the shorter boy's kick, even if it still ached a little, a testament to just how tough Mika was despite him being almost half a decade younger than Mongro himself. Yamagi held back an amused snicker as he shrugged, with his opinion on the matter being neither here nor there, while Ride scoffed.
"Speak for yourself! He nearly ripped my ear off!" complained Ride as he waved his arms around in anger, to which Dante grimaced.
"Oh yeah?! If you lost an ear, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if my knee broke, I'd be a cripple!" protested Dante as he pointed a finger at Ride, who took the bait, hook line and sinker, as he shot back.
"I'll have you know that I like having two ears! And besides, you're growing senile, Dante! You need a wheelchair to move around!" retorted Ride, and the smugness of that latter comment made Mongro redden in insult as he leaned down towards Mass and held a finger towards him.
"Eh?! Why you little baby shit-"
And rather abruptly, something swung down on the empty space that was in between Ride and Dante, with it moving so fast that it was nothing more than a blur to the naked human eye. Both orphans were quick to widen their eyes and step backwards when they felt it swing past their respective faces, and as soon as they did so, the thing that broke their little argument up slammed into the ground with enough force to send some dirt soaring up into the air.
As soon as it hit the ground, the thing began dragging itself through the dirt before it retracted itself back up into Mikazuki's jacket, and at that, everyone present turned their attention back towards him. Yamagi remained mostly passive as he scoffed and shook his head, though as for Ride and Dante, they shuddered a little as their eyes met Augus' mildly irritated gaze.
"Stop making a fuss," repeated Mikazuki in annoyance as the back of his jacket shifted a little, a telltale warning of what was to come if they didn't heed his warning, and by all means, while neither Ride nor Dante considered themselves to be cowards by any stretch of the word, neither wished to challenge an annoyed Mikazuki anytime soon, prompting them to nod quickly as they stood at attention.
"Yes sir!" proclaimed both Ride and Dante in near perfect synchronization as they stared at Mikazuki antsily, and after he was certain that they wouldn't start anything again, he sighed and nodded, with him waving them off as he turned and continued walking towards Yukinojo's repair shed.
"Smooth," teased Yamagi in amusement as he watched both Dante and Ride sigh in relief, with both leaning against each other for support as they acknowledged how they had dodged a massive bullet back there. Villains may have been scary, but Mikazuki being sent to break up fights in the orphanage was much more terrifying…
"Shut it, Yamagi," grumbled Dante as he pinched the bridge of his nose, to which the blonde rolled his eyes and shrugged, with Ride sighing as he fell flat onto his back, flattening the grass beneath him all the while, as Gilmerton shut his eyes and shook his head, with him still amused at how immature Mass and especially Mongro could be despite the latter being a legal adult at this point.
And then… something hit him, prompting him to forcefully open his eyes in realization when he remembered where Augus was headed off to.
'Wait… shit! They're still working on it!'
"Old Man, are you here?"
Mikazuki's response from inside the repair shop was a quick cough from the old man in question, alongside a squeak of terror from Takaki who was hiding in the smoke for some reason, and not long later, the sound of a fan turning on could be heard, with it effectively blowing away all the smoke that was obscuring Augus' vision shortly thereafter.
As soon as it cleared out, Mikazuki ended up raising a confused eyebrow when he saw that Takaki was standing with his back pressed up against the repair shop's storage room door, with him hyperventilating a little as he kept his back against it. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he tried to calm himself down, though Mika wasn't exactly sure if it was because of the stuffy clothes he was wearing or because he was in a hurry to do something…
"Ah… Mika! What brings you here?" inquired Old Man Yuki in between coughs as he waved his hand around to dispel whatever remained of the smoke that was clogging up the shop, and as soon as he regained his bearings, the blue eyed boy in question found himself raising an eyebrow when he saw the engine block Yukinojo was working on sitting atop the repair shop's main table. The damn thing was still sparking as Yuki grumbled and hit it with a mallet, somehow stopping the sparking all the while. "Aside from… y'know."
"Orga told me to come check on the explosion. I thought we were being attacked by a Villain," explained Mikazuki, with him sounding a tiny bit excited at the prospect of fighting a Villain as he crossed his arms in apparent disappointment. At that, Yukinojo had to resist the urge to shudder as he recognised how much of a contradiction Augus was, though he laid those thoughts to rest for now as he nodded understandingly.
"Heh, well, considering just how intense that explosion was, I wouldn't blame you. Tried to supercharge this damn thing," explained Yukinojo absentmindedly as he kept Mika's attention on him specifically, just long enough for Takaki to lock the door to the repair shop's backdoor and skidaddle out of there, as he patted the engine block's top a few times to emphasise his points. "Thought that if I could get something to be as fast as, or maybe even faster, than that Hero from… uh… Hosu, was it? The guy in white armor…"
"Ingenium," muttered Mika, to which Yukinojo snapped his fingers and nodded.
"Yeah! Ingenium! That youngster's been outpacing cars for so damn long that I'm starting to grow jealous! If I design an engine that lets a car go faster than that kid, then who knows, I might be able to get a better job somewhere," confirmed Yukinojo, with him smiling gratefully at Augus as he spoke, and at that, the blue eyed boy huffed a little as he nodded.
After he nodded, the boy went silent as he glanced over at the old man, who found himself huffing a little as he picked up a flathead screwdriver and used it to pry open the side of the engine's chassis. He didn't need to be told what Augus was thinking at this point, as he's seen that look on the kid's face enough time to know what he was thinking of when it was on show.
"I know you'd rather me stay put in the shop to support the young'uns, kid, but do remember that sometimes, life throws a wrench in your face, and you need to make do with it," advised Yukinojo as he pried off the side of the engine's chassis and pulled out one of its damaged gas compressors with a gloved hand. Staring at it briefly, the guy quickly figured out that the damn thing was busted beyond repair before he threw it over his shoulder, causing it to land straight into a bin, before he moved to find a replacement part. "But still, your concern for both myself and those lil' brats is nice. It makes an old, Quirkless quack like myself feel appreciated."
A simple grunt came as Yukinojo's only answer from Mika, who rolled his eyes a little as he jumped up onto a wooden table and sat down atop it, to which Yukinojo, after giving him the stink eye for sitting on something that wasn't meant to be sat on in the first place, sighed a little.
"Hmph, regardless of how you kids feel towards me, shouldn't you be going back to your pal or something? I'm sure Mr Awase would like to talk to you or something," pointed out Yukinojo as he pulled a spare gas compressor out of nowhere and jammed it into the engine he was working on. Mikazuki took a few moments to watch in amusement as the old guy forced the gas compressor into place before responding.
"I invited Awa over so that all of you would stop pestering me about it. I didn't do it to befriend him," grumbled Mikazuki as he remained mostly passive, though there was an undeniable shift in his demeanor as he spoke in a more defensive manner, and while Yukinojo wasn't as adept at reading the kid as Orga, or any of the other kids that spent more time with him were, he was still able to tell that the boy was lying.
Ever since the kid has met this Awase kid, Yukinojo did notice how differently he had been acting. It wasn't an intense difference, but it was there. A slightly more noticeable spring to his step, his lips curling up a little more from time to time and with him even laughing on occasion. He had dismissed it as nothing at first, but then Yosetsu's existence came to his attention, and it didn't take long for him to connect the dots, especially after he personally confronted Augus on the matter.
The somewhat bashful, at least by Mikazuki's standards, smile that he tried to hide when he was confronted on the issue was enough evidence to Yukinojo that he liked this kid, and now, he had a perfect chance to ask him about it, one that he didn't squander at all.
"Really now? Cuz it doesn't sound like you mean what you said, kid," quipped Yukinojo with a knowing smile as he glanced over at Mikazuki, and his smile only grew in size when he acknowledged the conflicted expression that was stuck onto his face, one that confirmed his suspicions as he grinned. "You like him, don't you? I don't blame you, really. Mr Awase is a good kid."
Opening his mouth for the briefest of moments, Mikazuki seemed ready to refute, or at the very least work his way around that statement, though ultimately, he relented as he went silent yet again, prompting Yukinojo to smile just a little as he shook his head. Call it his parental instincts acting up or whatnot, but he was not willing to let Augus' conflicting emotions towards Awase stand for any longer, not while he could do something about it!
"You don't think you can trust him, hm?" inquired Yukinojo after a brief few moments of silence, and Augus' continued muteness was more than enough to confirm his thoughts, prompting him to groan a little as he continued. "Kid, I understand why you're apprehensive over all this, but you do know that… that incident wasn't your fault."
"What does that have to do with anything?" grumbled Augus abruptly as he jolted his head up, with both his tone and his hardened glare reflecting with no small amount of annoyance as some heat entered his voice, one that made Yukinojo pause briefly as he winced at the boy's shift in demeanor, though he didn't let it deter him for too long as he shook his head and exhaled gently.
"Well, let's just say that you've closed yourself off from everyone after that incident, Mikazuki. You're still blaming yourself over something that was completely out of your control…" explained Yukinojo, and at that, Augus' eyes flashed green for the briefest of seconds as he leaned forwards on instinct, with his upper back bulging upwards a little as he felt himself growing irritated at the old man's prying, though he quickly calmed himself as he shook his head and grumbled to himself.
"It was my fault, Old Man," grumbled Mikazuki with some heat in his voice as he grimaced at his senior, with the grief that lined his voice being more than enough to tell the guy that he was still feeling an immense amount of guilt over that incident, even after four years have passed. "I could've done so much better. I could have helped them… they looked up to me as their Hero despite everything I've done… and yet I… I failed them… I-I…"
"Stop beating yourself up over it, kid. I've told you this once, and I'll tell you a million times more; it was not your fault," cut off Yukinojo as he rolled his eyes and forcefully hammered in the gas compressor. The hammer impacted the aforementioned piece of equipment with enough force to make the engine block shudder, and it effectively silenced Augus for just long enough to allow Nadi to continue speaking. "You didn't fail them, we failed them… the system failed them, and we all suffered because of society's negligence towards people like us."
There was no response from Mikazuki, as the boy knew that Yukinojo was right… not that he was willing to accept that fact, anyways, as evident by how his head dipped down a little lower than usual. Upon noticing this, Yukinojo sighed to himself and shook his head, with him placing his hammer down and removing his gloves before he began approaching Augus with a steady stride. It took him a handful of seconds to walk up in front of Mikazuki, though as soon as he got there, he slowly raised one of his hands up and gently patted him over the head. The gesture got Augus' attention, though he didn't seem to care much about it outside of him giving a mild huff of acknowledgement.
"Listen, Mika, I know that it's cruel for me to say something like this, but all that stuff with those two is in the past, and you have to learn to grow past all that," muttered Yukinojo gently as he smiled at his little friend, and at that, the boy huffed and avoided direct eye contact with him, though his shoulders noticeably sagged a little as he listened. "You remember what you told me back then, don't you? After all of it happened… that you want to be a-"
"... a Hero…" muttered Mikazuki quietly as he recalled that promise he made so long ago, to which Yukinojo nodded in approval.
"Well, do you still want to be a Hero, kiddo?" asked Nadi, and at that, Augus simply nodded, however disgruntledly the gesture may have come across, prompting his smile to widen a tiny bit. "That's good. You have every right to pursue your dream… but even so, do you want to know something that I've come to learn about Heroes, Mikazuki Augus?"
The grunt from the blue eyed boy was all the confirmation Yukinojo needed to hear as Mika glanced at him expectantly, and at that, he continued.
"It's that even Heroes need help from time to time as well. And yes, that includes you, kid," said Yukinojo gently as he ruffled up Augus' hair and removed his hand from his head. "You're in pain, you have been for a very long time, and admittedly, I… haven't been doing my part in helping you through it, but in my defense, I'm not the best with kids… but you've been doing better ever since you met Mr Awase."
"I don't want to make any of my problems his, Old Man," muttered Mikazuki dishearteningly as he frowned a little deeper, and at that, Yukinojo laughed and shook his head, a sound that irritated Mika a little, prompting Nadi to elaborate a little before he made the boy genuinely made.
"Well, if I'm honest, the kid doesn't seem like the kind to mind you sharing your problems with him, really," admitted the old man with a smile as he gently punched the kid in the shoulder, eliciting no response from the guy all the while. "He's good natured, and, according to what Yamagi told me just now, he actually does care for you. Mr Awase likes you, Mika, and trust me, if someone likes you enough, they won't mind sharing whatever problems you have."
Not much of a response from Mikazuki as he averted his eyes from Old Man Yuki, who crossed his arms patiently as he watched the boy think about all of this. On one hand, Augus did like Yosetsu to a certain extent. Hell, he's liked him quite a bit ever since the day he thanked him personally. It was a small thing, but it was enough to sway Mika's opinion on him into the positive. But at the same time, he really didn't want to get the guy caught up in his own problems.
He was a good kid, or at least he seemed to be a good kid, what with his grades being rather high, according to what Mikazuki knew at least, and his behavior and attitude being slightly above the acceptable standards. The orphan really didn't want to drag him down in any way, as, at this point, finding trouble seemed to be a normal thing for the boy… and by all means, Yukinojo noticed his confliction in regards to all this, as he shook his head a little and spoke up yet again.
"Look, Mika, I'm not going to force you to befriend him. Becoming friends with someone isn't easy, especially after what you kids have been through, but at least give it some thought. The other kids here are good and all, but you won't be with them forever, you know?" commented Yukinojo solemnly as he placed a hand on the kid's shoulder, prompting him to raise a brow at his words, a sign for him to elaborate. "Considering the line of work you're aiming to get into, you'll be leaving this orphanage after next year. You'll be working with people outside of this place frequently, whether you like it or not, so in a way, you being with Yosetsu can be considered… training, so to speak?"
"... I'll consider it," groaned Mikazuki in defeat as he sighed dispassionately and pinched the bridge of his nose. Damn this old man and his persuasive ways… not that Mika minded them, anyways. He was a good man at heart, and at the very least, he recognised the fact that there were some emotional boundaries set in place by Augus that weren't meant to be crossed.
"Good! Now stop wasting your time talking to an old timer like me, kid! Mr Awase's right there and he's no doubt trying to find a topic to talk to Orga about!" protested Yukinojo with a smile, with him feeling rather proud of himself for being able to talk some sense into this kid for once as he slapped him on the back, a gesture that gave him enough momentum to fall off the table and land on his feet all the while.
"Ah. See you," responded Mikazuki absentmindedly as he shook his head and waved at the old man before leaving the shop, to which the guy laughed a little. What a strange kid Mika was, though he supposed that it was to be expected at this point. Chryse was home to many strange kids, after all…
Mikazuki didn't know what to expect when he had entered the backdoor of the orphanage once more, though by all means, the sight of Orga holding onto Yosetsu's phone with a determined look on his face, all while the aforementioned headband wearing boy was cheering him on as he played a game on the thing, was certainly not on the list.
"C'mon, Itsuka-San! You're so close!" proclaimed Yosetsu enthusiastically as the lilac haired boy smiled widely and thumbed his phone a little more intensely, with him leaning forwards more violently as he was really getting into it. "C'mon… c'mon!"
"Shush! I'm concentrating!" bellowed Orga, equally as enthused as Awase was as Mika huffed a little as he gently shut the backdoor, though the sound of the door impacting its frame was promptly ignored by both his friend and… acquaintance as they were too engrossed in winning whatever game they were playing.
"Use your BURST!" advised Yosetsu as he clenched his fists in front of his chest in excitement, and just as he had advised, Orga activated his in game character's BURST, the FIGHT BURST, evidently, as a red glow shined on Itsuka's face via the phone as it was activated.
"Even the thinnest of threads can braid the mightiest of ropes!" proclaimed the in-game character, evidently Pro-Hero Best Jeanist, as the BURST was activated, and as he approached the two, the sound of fighting could be heard, and by the time he stepped behind the two of them, all Augus could see was the in game avatar of Best Jeanist finishing off a random villain, with the word WIN appearing on screen, and at that, Orga and Yosetsu whooped victoriously as they high fived one another.
"YES!" proclaimed both Orga and Yosetsu as they cheered victoriously at their in game victory, though as they did so, they abruptly took note of Mikazuki's presence behind them, and though Itsuka was rightfully taken aback by the guy's sudden appearance, he was quick to get over it and smirk at the boy as he offered him a two fingered salute.
Meanwhile, Awase was understandably spooked by Mika's sudden appearance behind him, though he didn't let it show too much as he smiled gently and waved at him.
"Uh… hey there, Augus. Since when-" began Yosetsu, only for Orga to cut him off.
"Don't question it, Awase. Mika's good at stealth," assured Itsuka with a wink as he stared up at Mika, who simply remained neutral, outside of a mild roll of his eyes, as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
"Or you were just too distracted," countered Mikazuki as he glanced down at Yosetsu's phone with a mild sense of curiosity. It displayed Best Jeanist posing rather dramatically on a victory screen, and the sight of that was almost enough to make him huffed in amusement as he eyed Yosetsu. "With that."
"Well, Orga was wondering about the games I had, so I let him have a go at Pro-Hero; Plus Ultra Maxi-Boost ON. He did pretty good, all things considered," explained Yosetsu, sounding a lot more casual than he usually did as he held his phone up and pointed towards the silver A rank Orga had received following his most recent victory in the game. Augus nodded a little at that, with him moving to sit beside Yosetsu shortly thereafter.
Awase was noticeably surprised at the gesture as he stared at the shorter boy sitting next to him, with him noticeably flinching at just how close he had sat as the blue eyed boy remained mostly neutral as he got himself comfortable. Admittedly, Yosetsu had to hold back a snicker when he noticed how Mika's feet were hovering quite a bit above the ground, a testament to how short he was as a thirteen year old, though he didn't voice it out as the boy spoke up.
"Show me," insisted Mika, with Yosetsu, understandably, not really understanding what the guy was asking for whilst Orga blinked in apparent surprise at first, though his initial surprise was quickly replaced with a prideful grin as he winked at Augus, who rolled his eyes a little as he shook his head. "Show me the game."
"Oh? Well, I don't see why not!" replied Yosetsu enthusiastically as he noticeably perked up at the chance to show his acquaintance one of the many games that he had on his phone, and at that, he held his phone up towards Mikazuki to give him a better view of it.
And from there on, Orga watched on in amusement as Awase showed off the various aspects of the surprisingly intricate mobile game. Augus was noticeably put off by how flashy some of the moves were, though he didn't complain about any of it as he watched Yosetsu, playing as Pro-Hero Gang Orca, compete against a max level AI opponent. The rank he got was a B, though it didn't really matter, as he had gone up against the AI at max level and won.
Mikazuki ended up having a go at it as well, with him choosing the Pro-Hero Hound Dog for his run. Unfortunately for him, his run didn't go as well as Yosetsu's, even though he was competing against a low AI opponent, with him ultimately receiving a rank of C at the end of the match, though he didn't complain about it as Yosetsu smirked and congratulated him for his victory.
And by all means, the small smile that appeared on Mikazuki's face was quite the pleasant surprise to Orga, who found himself grinning a little before Augus realized what had happened and forced his grin to die down.
"Not bad! You did pretty good for your first go, better than I did at least…" commented Yosetsu, impressed as he smiled a little at Mikazuki, who gave him the apprehensive side eye as he handed him his phone back. Awase noticeably flinched when he realized that his phone was already at less than 30% of its battery by now, though at the same time, he was also shocked to see just how late it already was. "Shit… it's already seven?!"
Blinking a little at his words, both Orga and Mika glanced over at the clock that hung by a random part of the orphanage's walls. The former winced a little as he too acknowledged just how much time had passed, though the latter didn't seem to care that much as he glanced over at Awase, who scratched the back of his neck in an awkward manner.
"Hey, uh… I'm sorry for making this so abrupt, but I should be heading home now. I know it's not that dangerous here, but I don't want to take any risks with walking home in the dark!" apologised Yosetsu as he scrambled up to his feet and hastily packed his things, and at that, Orga laughed a little as he got up and motioned for him to calm down.
"Calm your tits, Awase. There's still some light out, so you can afford to slow down a little. If worst comes to worst, we can make Mika bring you home," assured Orga with a smile as he winked at Augus, who gave him a sour look that Itsuka snickered at. Yosetsu seemed to calm down at that prospect, however, as he found himself smiling a little as he nodded. "And besides, I'm sure the others will want to say goodbye to you first, so take it slow for now and give me a moment…"
And with that said, Orga, after standing up and gently patting Awase on the shoulder, left the orphanage via the backdoor to tell the others about Yosetsu's eventual departure, in turn leaving the boy with Mikazuki for now as he stood up and adjusted the position of his backpack on his back all the while.
Whilst all this happened, Mikazuki himself stood up and stared up at Awase, who glanced back at him as soon as his bag was properly stuck on, and at that, the two of them remained silent for the briefest of moments before Yosetsu broke it with a small smile and a gentle punch to Augus' shoulder, with it being so damn gentle that Mika didn't even feel it.
"For all it's worth to you, Augus… today has been fun," muttered Yosetsu bashfully as he winked at his acquaintance, and for all it was worth, those words elicited a positive response from Mikazuki, who smiled just a tiny bit as he nodded, a sight that caught Awase off guard as he flinched a little.
"Ah. They like you, Awa," replied Mikazuki in apparent approval as he stared up at Yosetsu, who blinked a little before he shrugged. He was a little proud of himself for being able to make these kids like him, but at the same time, he didn't know if they were just being nice to him. He wasn't much, after all, especially when compared to these amazing kids. Though for the sake of the current mood, he didn't let those thoughts slip as he shrugged.
"What can I say? It's part of my charm," quipped Awase, with him still feeling a little on cloud nine after that match on his phone, and to that, Mika nodded a little, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Yosetsu's comment as he shook his head passively.
"I see. I should take some lessons from you, then," commented Mikazuki, with him sounding a little sarcastic as he eyed the taller boy dismissively, and shortly thereafter, the guy snickered a little as he nudged him.
"Not a good idea. I'm not really a good teacher, after all," quipped Awase with a smile as he nudged his acquaintance, to which the blue eyed boy rolled his eyes.
"You taught Orga how to play a game. That's good," assured Mikazuki as he crossed his arms, with his comment being enough to make Awase grin as he nodded in apparent agreement.
"Well in that case, maybe I oughta become a mobile game teacher… Norba-San could definitely use one after that lackluster performance," joked Yosetsu with a grin as Mikazuki rolled his eyes yet again. So this was how it felt to have a normal conversation with someone from outside the orphanage, huh…?
"The others won't mind you being their teacher. They like you enough," assured Mikazuki with a shrug, prompting Yosetsu to grin a little.
"Is this an invitation to return in the future?" asked Awase, and at that, Mikazuki eyed him a little before nodding.
"Yes, Awase. It is…"
And by the time Yosetsu could register the fact that Mika had actually called him by his actual surname, he found himself being greeted by the entire orphanage, who saw him out with enough enthusiasm to make even All Might envious.
Hey hey people, not Sseth here. Back atcha with another chapter and all that!
This was a fun chapter to write, honestly. Definitely my favorite so far. Yes, the Quirks are different for most of them from the originals. I didn't put too much thought back in the day, but now, I'm taking this more seriously!
What is Mika, Orga and Yosetsu's Quirks? Who knows! Well… you all know what Awase's is at this point so… heh.
Not much else to say, really… oh, wait! The Quirk narrations! Because of personal tastes, instead of Present Mic narrating them, they will be narrated by Atra Mixta, because she's adorable and suits the role!
Review replies!
Spyro fanboy: yes I have a tendency to swap between first and last names when writing to keep things interesting. It's a habit I can't kick. And as for his Quirk, I am neither confirming nor denying.
ThatSpaceMann2: well I'm glad you find it interesting!
See you guys next chapter!
"Okay, so he didn't see it, right…?"
Ride's question was warranted, sure, but even so, Old Man Yukinojo couldn't help but roll his eyes at his worry as he shook his head and motioned towards his shop's backroom door. He was closing up for the day, and honestly speaking, Mass' sudden appearance in his shop right as he lowered the shudders was almost enough to give him a heart attack. Ride was amused at the sight, or at least he was until Yukinojo knocked him over the head for catching him off guard.
This wasn't the first time this had happened, but regardless, he never got used to it.
"Yes, Ride, he didn't see it."
"Good! We can't let him see it before he graduates into U.A!"
"You're very confident that Mika's going to graduate there, huh?"
"Yep, because he will graduate into U.A, and once he does, the armour we made for him will protect him from all the Villains he'll face!"
"Heh, I'll hold you to that, you little brat…"
And as he said that, he patted Ride over the head and turned the shop's lights off, and all the while, in the locked backroom of the repair shop, a single set of armour, constructed out of a mishmash of metal plates that were salvaged by the orphans, stood by a improvised armour rack, silently waiting for the day where it would be used in active Pro-Hero Duty.