09/10/2021
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The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 09
Yakunita Tanaihito, known as Yakuni to the few friends he'd managed to make at school, sat under a bubbling tank as he read the book in his lap.
Given he was dressed in a t-shirt and a tatty pair of jeans, his choice of reading would surprise many. High School Calculus was not what you expected a teen to read, except when they were doing homework, or actually in school. Even then, one would expect most of them to attempt to skip reading it.
Except Yakuni was reading it intently, and he was actually working his way through the examples in the notebook that was balanced on his knee.
It wasn't exactly the best study environment but Yakuni knew that his employer, one Daruma Ujiko didn't care if he studied, so long as he got his job done. Infact, the man seemed to encourage his learning and had taken the time to explain what he was doing.
Yakuni knew it would revolt most people. He knew they'd have reported Daruma to the Heroes but he didn't care. What did it matter that a couple of quirked gits got dead? It wasn't like it didn't happen to people like him and no one gave a fuck, just because he was quirkless.
He might have been quirkless, but he'd gotten through Elementary, and Middle Schools with the highest scores. Of course, no one at his school would admit it, and the teachers seemed ashamed that he'd done better than the kids with quirks. He certainly hadn't been acknowledged as Dux of his Middle School.
They'd told him but they hadn't acknowledged him.
He'd shrugged at the time. After all, they were giving him those grades and that's what it took to get into High School, good grades, and passing the entrance exams, and his Middle School couldn't change that. So he'd applied to several High Schools. He wasn't applying to anything fancy, like the small Hero School that was for the Prefecture, just the local High Schools that offered classes. He'd sat their exams and then heard nothing.
That was normal, he told himself. That's what everyone told him.
He'd thought they were just telling him to wait.
They weren't.
They were telling him that he just wasn't going to get an answer.
It had taken until the day results were officially released. He'd gone to school, intent on finding his name on the board, and to be fair, his name was there, along with the others in his class who were graduating. He'd waited to see the board. Yakuni knew better than to try to push his way forward to see it through the crowd. That would be asking for trouble.
It hadn't taken that long before he'd been able to get to see the board. Kachi had been with him. It wasn't hard finding his class's listing. They were the last piece of paper tagged on to the board. Kachi's name was there, as was his, and Michita's. He'd been happy to see them both there, until he saw the symbols beside their names. It was a simple dash. Kachi had admitted that she hadn't applied to any High School, and that she was here for moral support.
He'd looked at his own name then, wondering what High School name he'd see there.
Except he hadn't.
There was no name.
There was only a NA.
Not Accepted.
That wasn't possible. He'd passed the entrance exams. He knew he had.
Kachi had shrugged, as if she'd expected it but she had tried to comfort him. It hadn't worked.
He tried to find out more information but there didn't seem to be any appeal, or any way to ask questions. Eventually he'd gone to the Principal of his Middle School. The woman had looked at him as if he was wasting her valuable air but he was used to that look.
She'd then told him that the Not Accepted was correct, and wasn't a typo. None of the High Schools had accepted him. Yes, he'd passed, but they had offered the positions they had to other students.
She didn't have to tell him why.
He knew.
Quirkless.
That was the only reason.
In this world, that's all that seemed to matter. Not brains. Not motivation. Not skill. Not willingness to learn.
Just a quirk. It didn't matter what. Just something.
All the hope he'd nursed through the years. All the work he'd done to ensure that he studied hard and earned his grades. Everything didn't matter, because he didn't have a quirk!
He'd looked for alternatives. He'd applied late to any High School anywhere that had that offer but none had even bothered to reply.
His parents suggested that he get a job.
Except the only jobs he could get with a Middle School education were menial. And… he didn't want that! Kachi told him that Michita had found one but it was the only job in the area for someone like them. She'd checked.
He'd applied at places though. The supermarkets. The Mendy's. The Wacca's. The Jack's Hungry. The Kyoto Fried Chicken. Rawsons. Family Kart. Yoshinoza. Zukiya. MOOS Burger. Mazuya. Everywhere.
No one replied. No one offered anything.
And then, unsolicited, he got a message. Daruma needed people. How Daruma had gotten Yakuni's number, he still wasn't sure, but he wasn't questioning it.
Daruma needed people to work in his research lab. He needed them to be intelligent, hard working and reliable.
He'd almost deafened the man screaming yes, he'd work for him. Given the dearth of jobs available, working in a research lab, even as a lowly assistant that had to wash everything was better than anything else he would ever be offered. And then he'd found out that Daruma didn't mind if he continued to study… And actually encouraged him to increase his knowledge by explaining what he was doing.
This was as close to heaven as he could get.
The man was old, and his research… well Yakuni knew it wasn't legal but he didn't care. It was research and the man was obviously backed by someone well funded. This wasn't the future he'd envisaged for himself but it was a good future. He could live with it.
He could live with Daruma's personality quirks. He could live with the fact that he didn't know where he was, and he could live with the fact that his contract included a confidentiality clause that was iron-clad. None of that mattered because this was an opportunity and he was going to take it.
If a few quirked bastards fell along the way, then so be it.
Yakuni took a deep breath, and leaned back, closing his book as he looked up at the tube. It was bubbling so he couldn't really see who or what was in it. That didn't matter. It was still operational and lights on the control panel hadn't changed, so it didn't need attention.
He got up. He had to check the others. This was barely work but he knew it could change quickly if he wasn't careful but everything seemed fine.
He stretched, looking around the tanks. Ujiko had told him that there were several experiments going on, including some to copy quirks. The man had been nonchalant about it. Yakuni walked over to those tanks. Inside them was a mass of flesh. It wasn't identifiable as a Human, but he knew it had to come from human DNA.
Ujiko said he was working on trying to copy a quirk faster and there had been a whole heap of technical information that had accompanied the explanation. Now Tanaihito knew he only had a Middle School education but he didn't understand why the Daruma was doing it this way. The man was an amazing biologist so surely he could simply clone the person? Given that Daruma didn't object to doing live experiments, Yakuni couldn't see why he'd object to cloning.
There was a noise from the side. A door opened.
"Sir!" Yakuni called out so that Daruma knew he was here.
"Yakunita," came the answering reply. It was a request for an update.
"Everything is fine," he reported.
"Excellent," Daruma appeared from between the tanks. The man paused at each one and looked up at the occupant.
"They are going to be great," Yakuni said.
"They will," Ujiko nodded, reaching out to make a few small adjustments.
"Sir, I have a question," he said, a bit tentatively.
Daruma encouraged questions but he didn't always have time to answer them. The man looked over at him, and Tanaihito knew that Ujiko was noting where he was standing. "I have time," he said, giving permission.
"I was wondering why you were copying quirks this way? If you clone someone, doesn't it copy their quirk too?"
Ujiko nodded at his question. "Theoretically cloning should copy a quirk and while you do get something, it's not always the same, and is always weaker. It has to do with the accelerated growth."
Yakuni nodded. Daruma could probably tell him the technicalities of why that happened. "Does that work even if you allow the clone to grow naturally from childhood?"
The man looked at him sharply.
"I don't know a lot about cloning, Sir, but all the information I've seen indicates that most clones are grown to the infant stage and then allowed to grow up in a natural environment."
"Animal cloning?" Ujiko asked.
"Yes Sir," Yakuni nodded. He'd read about animal cloning from before quirks. The fact that Daruma immediately knew it was just proof of the man's abilities. "It would take a while, I admit, Sir to grow at a natural rate but the quirk would form in due course when the clone was about four."
The memories he had of that time in his life were not good. He pushed them aside. He didn't need to be reminded again of what had happened then.
"It may work," Ujiko nodded. "I will get permission to try it," he added. "A very good suggestion."
"Thank you, Sir!" Yakuni said, feeling light.
"I knew you were the right choice," Daruma said.
He didn't know what to think of that, but Yakuni felt a smile split his features and for a moment he allowed himself to think of everyone who'd told him he'd amount to nothing in one of the tanks.
Maybe another day.
-ted-
"You have a way to copy quirks painlessly?" All For One asked intently when Doctor Garaki reported to him.
"Yes," the Doctor nodded. "At least, in theory," he added the condition.
Sensei was quiet for a few moments, waiting for the other conditions. He'd learned enough to know with the Doctor that there almost always was.
"It would take longer though."
There it was. "How much longer?"
"Four to five years," Kyudai said the numbers quickly, as if rushing through them would make them smaller.
All For One nodded. This would be an investment then. "You are sure?"
"The theory is sound," the Doctor said.
"Who's theory?"
Kyudai looked away from him. "One of my new assistants," he admitted.
That was interesting. The new assistants were quirkless, mostly teenagers, who had been abandoned by society. The Doctor had employed them, and he'd ensured that no matter what happened they could not speak against him. The Russian quirk was proving quite useful, even with its limitations. It appeared though that at least one of them probably hadn't needed to be conditioned.
"Very well," All For One said. This would be an investment. He ran some numbers through his mind. Except for the time taken it would be a relatively cheap investment but one that would be well worth it should it work. "Use Atsushi's quirk."
The Doctor was silent for a moment before he nodded, obviously recalling who Atsushi was. The boy had been involved in the attack on Izuku all those years ago, and while he had been collected with the others involved, All For One had shown mercy to him by ensuring that he would become a Nomu, rather than be used in experiments for awakening quirks.
Atsushi's quirk was named Space. He could fit anything into a pocket. It was a very useful quirk.
"Make five copies," All For One instructed. That would be one copy for him, one for Izuku, several for the Nomu and a reward. "Give the boy whatever assistance he needs but make it his subproject. Tell him that if the procedure works, one of the copies will belong to him."
Garaki looked at All For One sharply. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Ideas are to be encouraged," Hisashi said. He thought a few moments longer. If this assistant was as loyal as All For One thought he might be, then it may be possible that Izuku could practice with him. They still needed to find someone for Izuku to practice taking a quirk from. He would be happy to loan the teen one for that duty… No. Not yet. That might be too much. It would wait. But All For One remembered something else. "I am also given to understand that congratulations are in order, Doctor."
"Sensei?"
"You have been published again," All For One commented idly.
"Ah, yes, Sir," Kyudai said. "It was an article simply pointing out the truth," he said deprecatingly.
Hisashi cocked his head, amused. "Do not all scientific papers point out the truth?" he questioned in a slight rebuke.
"Some truths are more palatable than others," the Doctor said.
That caused All For One to chuckle. He knew exactly which paper the Doctor was referring to. His singularity theory remained unaccepted by the majority of the scientific community. It must be galling that his theories on quirklessness were more accepted. "You have follow up papers?" He asked.
It was one thing to be published, but it was important to follow up your theory with further publications. The scientific community wasn't known for its detective work but if a paper was noticed, then it was important that Garaki's alias seemed air tight. More papers were one way to establish that. There were always some requests for employment in the comments after all, and he didn't need any of them finding out that Garaki was using an alias. Scientists could be vindictive and very persistent if given reason.
"I do," Kyudai assured him. "One is already going through peer review. It analyses several blood lines, showing that those who have incorporated quirkless individuals into their family tree actually have more stable and developed quirks."
"Will you need to present?" All For One asked.
Publishing papers was one thing, but sometimes, it led to invitations to present at various conferences. Kyudai could not afford that exposure. "No," the Doctor was firm. "The publications I've submitted to do not run events."
There was a note of longing there. The Doctor would dearly love to present at a conference, or to submit his papers to the bigger journals.
"Patience, my friend," All For One cautioned. This had come up several times in the past. "History will prove your theories," he stated.
The Doctor gave him a long look. Even though Hisashi couldn't see it he knew what it was like. "Singularity will be proven by the acceptance of your other theories," he reassured the Doctor.
"I hope so," the man said. "I hope so," Kyudai repeated.
A singularity was not something to be desired, and he hoped the world would wake up before it happened.
He suspected they wouldn't and then he hoped that the controlled singularity Izuku represented would be enough of a counter to the one that would arise.
Only time would tell.
-ted-
We know Kyudai can copy quirks but I've shown it to be painful to AFO. This way will be far more time consuming but painless if it works. It will take a while to test the theory... but if it works... then we will see :D Why didn't Garaki come up with it since it is kind of simple? AFO wants answers NOW. This idea he can pass off s someone else's if AFO doesn't like it. This is a bit of a planning for the future chapter. This is a bit of a planning for the future chapter.
Yakuni is kind of like a slightly different version of canon Izuku, though he doesn't want to be a hero. He's someone smart, who the system repressed until he'll take whatever he can get, though he is lucky. If he'd have been a few years earlier, he'd have been in the tank but not now, thankfully. The list of places he applied at should be pretty obvious :D Wendy's, Macca's, Hungry Jacks (Burger King for American readers), KFC, Lawsons, Family Mart, Yoshinoya (yummy and cheap if you are in Japan), Sukiya, MOS Burger, Matsuya. Basically a lot of large chain fast food or convenience stores.
I have a new, empty discord server but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to get the link here... try AO3?
-ted-
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