chapter 10
Soft hydraulic pressurized whooshing noises sounded in time with the harsh beeping of the blood pressure monitor as the subject lay immobile on the gurney.
"In theory, the subject should be able to hold one, maybe two more quirks All For One." The good doctor looked up from the subject before cutting into the soft fleshy mass between his fingertips with practiced ease.
"Excellent." All For One watched the doctor work on his most recent experiment. "When will it be ready for the field? I know Tomura is very anxious to try him out. We need to make sure this Nomu is durable enough to take on All Might. I doubt it will be able to fully defeat All Might, but it should weaken the fool enough for Tomura to finish him off."
"If all goes well today, a month, maybe two. I'd like to take him to the country first, for a trial before he accompanies the young master to UA." The doctor pulled the outer flaps of the incision apart, blood and organs bulged to the surface of the opening under the release of outside pressure. "It depends how the trial goes, but most likely, a month."
"We were fortunate to find that man with the regeneration quirk." The doctor mumbled as he reached into the subject with a closed fist, the tracking module tucked safe inside. With a grunt and a sickening squelching noise of wet suctioning flesh, the doctor pulled his hand back out of the subject, now empty and began the tedious job of suturing the incision. "There are only two documented regeneration quirks of varying power levels since quirks were introduced to the world.'
"Yes, fortunate indeed." All For One agreed. "More so because of the new addition to our ranks. If all goes well, we'll no longer have a need for regeneration quirks."
"Oh?" The doctor hummed his interest conversationally. "The young master managed to bring her around, did he? I never would have guessed, but the young man does show great potential...never thought I'd see his softer side though." The doctor scratched his chin, ignoring the blood and fluids that got stuck in his beard.
"Tomura is an unusual young man doctor. He of course still has room to grow but what we must remember, is that he has the capacity to do so, if he so desires. He's been a bit scattered as of late, a bit floundering. I think the kunoichi will help quell that anxiety, and help calm the insanity of his past." All For One would have smiled then if he was able, but unfortunately, as he had told Sakura, a former injury did not allow him such common pleasantries.
"You're putting a lot of faith into a woman you've just met." The doctor turned toward the sink to wash his hands and his beard. "What if she decides to join the other side, what if she decides to join the heroes? We'll have a real fight on our hands then."
"It is true we have just met, but I have been watching her for a very long time, for years and she's the one. I'm sure of it. She has grown in the ways Tomura has not yet, she has seen the darkness in others and still walks in the light." All For One chuckled slowly. "She has faced her demons and left them broken and bloodied. Have no fear, my good doctor. She is the one best suited for Tomura. She understands him."
"Still." The doctor tossed his now clean scalpel on top of his rolling cart, picked up a syringe, tapped out the bubbles then shoved it forcefully into the neck of the subject. "It's a lot of weight to put on her shoulders. Are you sure she won't break under the pressure?" He pushed the plunger down, ignoring how the subject's arms and legs began to twitch and how his abdomen began to convulse.
"If she breaks, Tomura will be there to fill in the cracks. I'm not worried." All For One tented his fingers together over his lap. "However, I doubt she will break."
"Hum." The doctor nodded. "He's ready for the next quirk. After you've given it to him, he'll need to rest for a week, then we can start the process over again for the remaining quirk." The doctor told All For One what he already knew.
"Yes. I look forward to his testing." All For One sat back in his chair as the doctor wheeled the subject out of the room and down the hall.
"Someone is stalking you?" Shouto must not have heard her correctly, she didn't seem nearly as upset as he thought she should be, as upset as he was getting.
"Kinda." Sakura took a sip of her latte. "Mmm, this is really good."
"Kinda?" Shouto set his espresso down. "Do you know him?"
"I met him after I met you in the park. I stopped a robber from running away with a bag of money he stole from the book store down the street and…" Shouto cut her off.
"You stopped a robber?" He leaned forward, dropping his voice. "Are you insane?"
Sakura blinked, surprised he was acting so, so hostile. "It was before that guy in the park, before you took me to your house. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to use my, uh, my quirk without a license yet Shouto." She pointed out narrowing her eyes at him. "I haven't used it in public since yesterday." She assured him.
Shouto swallowed. He hadn't meant to get upset at her but she couldn't keep doing things like this. She would get in trouble, she would get arrested and if she was running from her past, he didn't understand why in the fucking hell she was making herself so visible! He clenched his fists under the table. He needed to calm down. He could already see her digging her heels in.
"You know now though." He schooled his face into a calm, placid reserve.
Her eyes were still narrowed but she nodded. "I know now." Her tone laid more emphasis on the 'now'.
Shouto took a deep breath, picked up his espresso and took a few sips, without breaking eye contact with her.
Sakura waited. Clearly, he had more to say. Would he try to lecture her again, or would he change the subject and lighten the mood like he had done last night?
"I need to train for my UA entrance exam. I know you're not sure if you want to take it or not but if you want to train with me, for the sake of training, I was going to train every night until the exam in my family's courtyard. You're welcome to join me if you like." He offered, changing the subject.
Sakura smiled. "Okay. I'm interested to see how you train, as well as what your quirks are. Ice and fire, I want to see how you'll use them."
Shouto nodded, he was pleased she had taken him up on his offer. If she was with him, she would be safe. Maybe she could take care of herself, maybe she couldn't but the idea of some male stalking her and her being okay with it...did not sit well with him in the least.
"How's your coffee?" Sakura asked, noticing he still had almost a full cup, even if it was tiny while she had maybe one or two swallows left of her own.
"Good." Shouto picked his cup up, drained it, then set it back down in its holder. He wanted to confront her, to ask her more about this 'stalker', but he wasn't sure what kind of a relationship they had, if they were in a relationship yet.
"Mind if we stop by my house before we go anywhere else? I want to change my clothes." He plucked at his wet dress shirt under his school blazer with two fingers and a grimace. If they were in a relationship, it would be within his right to ask her those more invasive questions, wouldn't it? Weren't that how relationships worked?
Sakura laughed, pleased he hadn't asked her any more questions about the card Shigaraki had given her. "Of course, what did you want to do after you changed? Did you want to start training or did you have something else in mind?" She hadn't planned anything for the rest of the afternoon. Her and her clones had gotten everything they needed to get done before meeting him at the coffee shop.
"It's early yet. Do you need anything? I might know where to find things easier than you." He wanted to ask her where she was staying at night but after their stalker conversation, he wasn't sure he wanted to know, or that she would tell him. Shouto considered his options. He wanted a relationship with her but he wasn't sure how to bring it up.
They hugged and held hands. She had come over to his house, eaten dinner with him and his sister. That made her his girlfriend, didn't it? The more Shouto thought of it the more convinced he was that they were already in a relationship, but did Sakura think that?
"Well…" Sakura hesitated, completely oblivious to Shouto's inner thoughts. "Is there a decent weapons maker here or would I have to go to another village for that, I mean city?" Weapons were expensive and she wasn't sure if she should use Shigaraki's card for that or not. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to find what she needed in this world.
"Weapons." Shouto hesitated. "Why do you want weapons?" Her question caught him off guard. He was thinking of their relationship, and she was thinking of weapons.
There it was again, that tension, he didn't understand. He could see the lines around her mouth tightening. Had he said something wrong?
"Never mind." Sakura drank down the rest of her latte and stood up. "Let's go back to your house so you can change. You wouldn't want to catch a cold. You must be uncomfortable in those wet clothes, right?""
"My left side keeps me warm." He pulled his messenger bag strap over his head, preparing to leave.
"Right." ...and I can kill any bacteria in your blood with my chakra. "Well, still let's get going." Sakura stood up, then pushed her chair back in heading for the doors.
Shouto followed Sakura out of the coffee shop. Something had changed between them and not for the better. He had reacted poorly to her inquiry about a weapons maker, that's when her eyes had changed. Shouto kicked a rock out of his way as they walked quietly down the sidewalk together. What should he do? He didn't like this feeling of distance between them, this polite reservation.
It felt like they were saying goodbye.
"Sakura." Shouto took her hand in his without looking at her. "I'm sorry." That's what boyfriends do when they upset their girlfriends right? They apologized and then their girlfriends forgave them. He saw it in a movie once and on a television show last year.
"Oh." Sakura squeezed his hand in surprise. "I understand."
Shouto felt his heart unclench. He had chosen correctly. He was right. They were together.
"I'll stop judging you." He told her bluntly. "I didn't mean to." He waited for her to forgive him.
"It's hard not to judge when someone's view of the world is in such contrast to your own isn't it?" He understood and she was grateful. "It's nothing. I'm sorry too, maybe I was being a little sensitive. We're good."
"I'll try." He promised her.
Two words. It was more than those closest to her back home had offered her.
"Thank you." Her voice broke but she didn't cry.
They walked back to Shouto's house in easy silence, their fingers linked together at their sides.
She used his card. Tomura stared at his computer monitor. She had bought coffee at a coffee house and had used his card. Tomura narrowed his eyes. Coffee for two. An espresso and a caramel hazelnut latte. Who the hell was she drinking coffee with! He threw his mouse across the room, watched it smash against his wall and began scratching his neck and muttering to himself as he turned back and continued to stare at the screen.
He had to find out who she had been drinking coffee with. If it was a female friend, she just made that was one thing, but if it was another male...
Sakura held her breath and dug her bare feet into the grass. Shouto's kick was well placed, powerful and impressive, but it wasn't anything she hadn't experienced or seen before while training with her genin team, or fighting against enemy shinobi on missions. She had to admit though, he wasn't half bad. She was impressed.
Only...
"Stop holding back Shouto. I thought you were going to show me your quirk." She taunted him. She wanted him to come at her with all his strength, but he wasn't.
Shouto ducked under her grab, stepped back, waited for her to step toward him, then lunged forward with his left hand grazing her cheekbone.
"You dodged, you're good." He was impressed. He had been correct, she had been trained and she was very, very good. "I can't get a hit on you."
"That's because you're holding back, I can tell." Sakura growled. "Stop holding back, trust me when I tell you I can take it." She spun to the right, then the left, jumped, twisted her abdomen in midair to avoid his well-placed kick, grabbed his foot pulling it toward her chest, twisted back, then slammed him on his back.
"Fight me like you mean it, or this isn't really training, is it?" Sakura drew back from his body, her arms raised and ready. "Show me your quirk Shouto."
Arching his back, Shouto jumped to his feet. Cocking his head to the side he considered the girl before him. She was right, he had been holding back. He didn't want to hurt her but he was quickly realizing that might not be an issue with her, but he had to be sure.
"Your healing quirk, it works on yourself right, if you get hurt or if something happens?" He saw her roll her eyes and changed directions swiftly. "To me I mean, in case you need to heal us both." He tried to backtrack which made her roll her eyes even more.
"Would you shut up and just fight me for real?" Sakura barely got the words out of her mouth before he darted toward her, much more quickly than he had been moving before.
"That's more like it!" Sakura laughed as he threw punch after punch at her head. "You should have started out like this." She was pleased, and he was smiling. This is the release they had needed.
"I wanted to make sure you could handle it, but it backfired on me, didn't it?" Shouto's right arm began to ice up, the ice fog rolling off his skin. "You wanted to see my quirk, right?"
She saw the decision in his eyes, giving her the two seconds needed to not only avoid his blow but to use it against him. Shouto was good, he really was, but she was better.
Shouto jumped and kicked out midair, throwing his body weight backward, his left arm hidden behind his back. Before he could pull his weight completely around to face her, she ducked and slid under his body, with her back to the ground she grabbed him by the waist with her legs and slammed him down into the ground with just a touch of her chakra.
Endeavour watched his son and his friend from the shadows of the house. His normally stern featured face broke into a wide grin when the pink haired girl wrapped her legs around his son and threw him to the ground. She had seen through Shouto's moves and had used his attack against him. She was strong and she was smart.
Shouto had chosen wisely.
"Damn Sakura. You're fast." Shouto rolled over onto his back, his chest heaving, straining to pull air into his lungs. "...and strong." She had knocked the wind out of him.
"I couldn't get a single hit on you." Shouto rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the ground. "...and I was trying there at the end." She was almost too good, he grimaced as his hand passed over the growing lump on the back of his skull.
"Here." Sakura knelt down by Shouto's head, placed a hand on either side and lifted it off the ground a few inches, sliding forward and setting it on her lap.
Very carefully, she coated both of her hands with her chakra and reduced the swelling from the impact, soothed his nerves and lowered his blood pressure for him. "Better?"
Shouto nodded, speechless. She was good. Really good. The same warm feeling spread over him that had spread over his hand when she had healed his cut. "That's amazing Sakura. You're amazing."
Sakura smiled, his head still in her lap, as she looked down at him. Neither of them noticed Endeavour, leaning out of the shadows, his flames extinguished, as he too stared at the girl. She could fight and heal. He had to secure her quirk to his family tree.
"Oh Sakura! So nice to see you again, will you be staying for dinner tonight?" Endeavor watched Fuyumi walk out into the courtyard and smile at the girl like an old friend. It was like she was already part of the family.
Sakura opened her mouth to accept but Shouto beat her to it.
"Yes." He answered for her. "She will be staying for dinner."
Endeavor was pleased, already his son was laying claim to the girl and taking control of their relationship, he couldn't be prouder of the boy. All the training, the blood and the sweat would prove its worth soon. Shouto would do what the others could not, he was his perfect Masterpiece, the one who would take the world for all of them, the one who would knock All Might off his pedestal and create the next new generation of Superheroes.
Sakura grit her teeth, he was doing it again, speaking for her, making decisions for her without asking her what she wanted.
Shouto looked from his sister back to Sakura who hadn't moved and turned his head in her hands. "Only if that's okay with you?"
A breath she hadn't realized she was holding poured over her lips as she smiled down at him. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Great!" Fuyumi smiled at her little brother and his girlfriend. "I'm making ginger chicken with udon. You'll want to get cleaned up for dinner, right? Sakura, you can use my bathroom if you want. Give me a minute and I will set a towel out for you." Fuyumi waved Sakura's thanks away as she walked back to the kitchen.
"Dad stopped in a bit ago but I think he left. He won't be home for dinner so it will just be us!" She called out over her shoulder.
Shouto didn't move and neither did Sakura. He didn't want to move, he liked her holding his head and since she wasn't moving either he hoped that meant she liked it as well.
"You didn't show me your strength quirk." Shouto looked up into her green eyes.
"I didn't want to ruin your courtyard." Sakura pulled her hands out from underneath his head, hesitated when he frowned, and settled for laying a hand over his arm. "Since I came here, to Japan, my energy has been fluctuating a bit. I didn't want to risk losing control of it while sparring with you, and some of my moves have a rather large area of effect."
"Like you did with Kimoji in the park." He understood. "Your healing quirk though, that's different? You're not worried about the fluctuation while healing?"
"No, I suppose it's because I can't over heal you. I can mend a broken arm, but I can't make your bone grow larger or the volume of your blood extend the boundaries of your body." She tried to explain the difference.
"Hn." Shouto nodded, and felt her fingers twitch against his arm. "You, okay?" He asked her.
"Yeah, sorry. That sound you make sometimes, it just, heh, it reminds me of an old friend, kind of." Sakura looked away.
He didn't like that she wouldn't look at him when she spoke of this friend of hers.
"An old boyfriend?" He asked, his voice calm.
A soft humorless sniff escaped her lips. "No, Sasuke wasn't my boyfriend. We went to the academy together, grew up in the same village together, but he was never my boyfriend."
"You don't want to talk about him do you, did something happen?" He asked her bluntly. He could tell it was a sensitive subject for her. She seemed to close in on herself.
"He tried to kill me, twice." He almost didn't hear her, wouldn't have heard her, if he hadn't been so close to her already.
Fire erupted from his left side, surprising even him, he could barely control it. "He what?"
Sakura leapt back into a crouch, her fingers sliding through the grass and dirt, her knee scraping against the rocks in the soil.
"Shouto." Her voice was flat. "He's not here, in this...in Japan. It was a long time ago." She waited for her words to sink in, resigned by his outburst.
Shouto's fire fizzled to a light flame that flickered in the breeze. "Is that why you left? Is he why you're here? I don't want to ask you things you don't want to answer but I need to know, are you still in danger, are you…"
"No." Sakura walked back to stand before him. "I'm not in danger, Shouto, not from him." She took his hand.
He cared. She didn't know why. They had just met, but she knew human nature. She understood emotions and reactions. He cared about her. Behind that blank calm, he burned with a passion as hot as his flames, she could see that now. He just didn't like to show it.
"I'm not here because of Sasuke." She looked down at his hand. It was still hot to the touch. With little effort she cooled it for him with her chakra.
Shouto sighed, he had lost his temper again, just like his father. He hated that, he had to try harder.
"I'm sorry." He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. "I just…"
"It's okay." She understood. He was still warm, but only on his right side. It was odd but exciting. His whole left side had burst into flames. Flames of righteous passion.
For her.