30/11/2021

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WARNING - Surgical blood and gore in the first part of the chapter

The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 24

Performing surgery on someone with a regeneration quirk was a nightmare. After all, they weren't meant to need surgery in the first place. But Garaki persevered and was thankful that All For One had an extremely high pain tolerance or this would not have been possible. Anesthetic had simply been metabolized, which meant that this had to be done without that benefit. Hisashi was not willing to risk the amounts of drugs that would be required to knock him out.

Still, every time Garaki cut, the wound healed quickly. It meant he had to cut larger portions, so that he could work on an area before it healed and that had left him covered to the elbows in blood.

"This is not working," Kyudai growled, as he cut again at the skin that covered Sensei's eye sockets. He had everything ready to go for the moment he made the cut and the new eyeball was resting on the man's cheek.

Garaki cut the skin away and then shoved the eyeball into the opening before regeneration could take effect. It wasn't exactly his finest work but he kept coming back to the fact that surgery was not something someone with a regeneration quirk needed. He was meant to delicately place the eyeball and ensure that the optic nerve connected along with blood vessels but just didn't have that long to work. So this was more akin to introducing foreign, yet familiar material and hoping the regeneration quirk accepted it.

It was not working.

Kyudai shook his head and pulled back his hands. The cut he'd made healed as he watched and the eyeball was absorbed into Hisashi's body.

"I'm not sure this is possible. Or if it is, you are going to give up the regeneration quirk while I conduct surgery," Garaki told All For One.

The man brought himself out of whatever trance he had put himself in while Kyudai was operating. Garaki watched as Hisashi flexed the muscles on his face. It was as if he was stretching the scar tissue again or feeling how the muscles went together. The Doctor couldn't really fault him for it. He had had to cut quite a bit, but now that the operation was over, there was no change to Hisashi's condition.

"Prepare something then," All For One said, as he sat up. He summoned a small basin and spat blood into it before hissing as he ran one hand over the depressions that were his empty eye-sockets.

"I will," Garaki promised.

"It is perhaps too good of a quirk. Is there anything else on the registries?"

"Nothing obvious," he replied. He ran constant searches over those quirk registries he had access to but people tended not to put descriptive names down for regeneration quirks. Garaki suspected it was one of those policies that was never officially written down but was enforced. It made sense and was much safer for the individual.

All For One nodded. He knew that, and he knew relying on registries was a poor way of finding quirks but at the moment, he was somewhat limited. He much preferred to see a quirk in action before he took it. Then he would have a better idea of its limitations and the most obvious uses.

"I think it's time for Izuku to acquire another few quirks," he murmured.

The Doctor knew what he meant but it wasn't up to him to do anything. "I'll go clean up," he said, reaching over to remove the surgical sheet from Hisashi. It was, like most of the things involved in this surgery, covered in blood.

All For One didn't reply and Kyudai knew the man was thinking.

He shook his head. There had to be an easier way of doing this.

He just had to find it.

-ted-

One of the things Izuku had been able to pull off his old phone was Inasa's number. He'd messaged his friend as soon as he was able to, explaining that his phone had been destroyed and that he'd only now gotten a new one. That's when Izuku had learned that silence was really hard to deal with. It had taken days for Inasa to answer but eventually the black eyed boy had.

Izuku had breathed a sigh of relief when the message came through and then, so he didn't appear too eager, he'd waited for ten minutes before replying. They were the longest ten minutes of his life.

But it led to this so he could relax. Here was Kasumigara Bay. The Prefecture ran quirk practice days. So long as you didn't hurt anyone, you could come at the designated time and use your quirk. It was particularly popular with those who had flight or water based quirks. They couldn't really use them in day to day life. Flying above the lake was good practice and those who could use water, or who had gills or something similar could dive into the lake.

When he'd told Kurogiri he wanted to go on one of the Quirk Practice Days, the misty man had been unsure, but his father had been supportive. Dad had pointed out that it was a good opportunity for him to practice his quirk and see what other quirks there were. Izuku hadn't mentioned he'd be meeting a friend. Inasa had to persuade his parents that it would be a good idea for him to go. It would help in his training.

Kurogiri had dropped him off earlier and Izuku had already gone through the mandatory registration. For today he was Izuku Renshi and his quirk was Flight. He wouldn't get to practice fire breath or anything else but he would get to see Inasa. He was waiting for the other boy now near registration.

Izuku's face broke into a smile when he saw his friend. "Inasa!" He yelled, waving almost frantically.

The brown haired boy looked around before spotting him and smiling. "Gotta check in," Inasa told him.

He nodded. Like the first time he'd met Inasa his hair was white and his eyes were gold. It was a default but he knew his dad didn't like him using it. Dad had explained that he was flattered Izuku would look like him but he was worried that Izuku would be found because of it. Except he had no choice but to meet Inasa looking like this because that's what the other boy would expect.

Izuku was working on making another default of purple hair and auburn eyes. It was a mix from Ochaco and Hitoshi. He'd almost managed to make it one of the defaults he flashed to if he suddenly needed to change his hair and eye colour. It was easiest to copy someone who was present but that wasn't necessary now.

He waited while Inasa registered. It was a quick process. They simply wanted your name, address and quirk… plus the fee. Izuku had used his name. Kurogiri had given him a PO Box address to use when he'd given him the money for the fee.

"Have you had much chance to practice?" Izuku asked when Inasa was registered.

The two of them showed their passes and walked to the shore.

"Not as much as I'd like," Inasa admitted. "I can hold the six whirlwinds but I still can't turn as tightly as you can."

"Do you want a lift then?" Izuku teased with a grin.

For a moment it seemed as if Inasa would take offence, but then he shrugged. "Why not?" he laughed.

"I'm not practicing fire today, for obvious reasons," he said, gesturing to the air. There were already fliers out. Some were individuals and others were flying in groups. A little way from them, Izuku could see a father hovering in the air, encouraging his daughter to fly to him.

On days like this, he missed his dad.

He made a platform and stepped on to it. "Hop up," Izuku said, nodding to the space beside him. He made himself light with kilo to make it easier to carry Inasa.

The other boy took a deliberate step and seemed surprised when his foot encountered the solid platform.

"I told you I make platforms," Izuku giggled at his surprise, and then they were off. He took them out on a diagonal.

"This is a bit more than a platform! How are you moving it?"

"Practice. The platform is made of air, and I simply push it around by making other air molecules do the work. Or I can just keep making platforms and run around on them."

"Don't you fall?" Inasa asked as they rose above the lake.

Izuku couldn't keep his expression clear at that.

"You do!" Inasa read the answer as he laughed.

"It's not like I can see them," Izuku defended, as they came to a halt. They were a good 300 metres from the shore and maybe 100 metres up. A fall from this height would kill you but they both had flight quirks. He turned to Inasa. "Tag?"

The brown haired boy grinned. "But you're it!" he agreed, jumping off the platform. There was a whoosh of wind as he flew away.

Izuku grinned and waited a few moments before he took off after Inasa. He wanted to see how much his friend had improved.

-ted-

Izuku gasped as he lay on a platform. Inasa lay beside him in a similar state of breathlessness.

He really hadn't expected others to get involved in the game of tag but it had taken on a life of its own. First another girl had joined in and then… actually, Izuku wasn't sure but it seemed as if everyone had joined in, turning their simple game of tag into a free for all. He wasn't even sure if he'd been it anymore!

"You okay holding us up here?" Inasa gasped the question.

"Yeah," Izuku gulped, chest heaving. "Still platforms are simple," he explained.

Eventually the game went from a free for all to everyone against him and Inasa. It had been fun, but chaotic and eventually the two of them had to retreat. There were so many people here! The people below, on the shore and in the water had cheered the aerial game although Izuku was positive no one knew if there were rules or teams or anything. It simply looked good.

"You've gotten better," Izuku told his friend.

"I still can't turn as tightly as you," Inasa objected. He was probably remembering the first pass. He'd left it too late to dodge and Izuku had clipped his side.

"It's just practice. You'll get there," Izuku told him.

"Oi! Are you two still playing?" someone called from below.

Izuku rolled over on the platform, hanging his head over the edge. "In a minute," he yelled back. "Gotta catch our breath," he added.

The woman who had called grinned. She was dressed sensibly for today in a tight fitting jumpsuit that had openings for her wings. They were glorious feathered wings that stretched each side of her. She wasn't the only one with wings but in Izuku's opinion they were some of the most beautiful. Others had insect wings, or bat wings. And a lot of people had no wings but the ability to fly as part of their quirk.

Below them, in the water, there were the shadows of lots of people. Some were under the water, and seemed content to stay under the water. Others were cavorting in the water swimming far faster than a normal human could, or leaping out of the water, performing impressive tricks. Izuku resolved to watch them later.

"You have gotten better," Izuku repeated to Inasa. "I can tell you are using far less powerful whirlwinds to remain aloft, so that's good."

The other boy nodded. "I've been trying to work on everything," he explained.

Izuku grinned. He knew how that went, though he couldn't explain everything. He watched the melee beneath them. It was still a free for all, though as he watched he could see teams beginning to form. It seemed to be as if it was going to be the winged quirks versus those without.

"Do you want to play more?" Izuku asked.

"Not yet. I kind of feel a bit tired," Inasa admitted. "How are you holding up?" He asked, ignoring the irony of the question, given that Izuku was holding them aloft.

"I'm only using one aspect of my quirk, so it's easier," the white haired boy said. "Do you want lunch instead?"

"That sounds good," Inasa sighed.

Izuku chuckled and then began shifting the platform. He watched where they were, relative to the lake and when they were over the land he let them drop straight down. Not too fast though. He didn't want Inasa to think that they were falling.

There was a row of shops set up in tents forming a street near the lake bank. Izuku brought them down over a grassed area where there were already some people sitting on tarpaulins. The two boys smiled at the people as they touched down.

"You even land better than me," Inasa said.

"Practice," Izuku said. "You'll get there," he encouraged the other boy.

Inasa stopped, looking at him seriously. "We aren't meant to use our quirks," he said. "Only heroes are allowed to. Days like this," he said, gesturing to the people flying and swimming, "are great but there's a fair chance they'll be shut down eventually. So how much do you practice?"

Izuku gave him a wry smile. He knew all of that. Days like this one, run by the Prefecture were tolerated but if something went wrong, then he knew that it would be shut down. Quirk use in children was overlooked, especially if they weren't hurting anyone, or it was something harmless.

"Almost every day," Izuku admitted. "But usually only little things."

"So how did you get so strong with flying? You aren't showing any signs of quirk exhaustion," Inasa noted.

"Little things, every day," he repeated. It also helped that it was a sunny day today and he was converting that light into energy. He couldn't tell Inasa that though. "I know something you could try," he suggested. "I did it when I was learning to make platforms," he added.

"What is it?"

"On one day, I tried to walk an inch above the ground. I tried it everywhere. In the house, outside, on grass, over water, everywhere. And because it was only an inch, if I lost concentration I didn't fall far and people didn't really trip on them if I wasn't quick enough to remove it when they were walking near me."

Inasa's black eyes widened as he thought about it.

"I'm not sure if you'd be able to do that though. Can you get your whirlwinds that small?" Izuku asked.

"Probably not to an inch, but I could try for a couple of inches," he said as he thought.

Izuku looked at his friend, looking up and down. Inasa was much taller than him. "You can't go too high," he pointed out. If he did, Inasa would hit the door frames!

"Oi!" the black eyed boy said as he caught the reference.

Izuku grinned, and slipped out of reach when Inasa reached out to him. "I'm not the one who's going to hit my head!" he teased before running off, laughing.

The brown haired boy followed. "Get back here!" Inasa yelled but it was a happy yell.

"After lunch," Izuku replied as he led them towards the row of stalls.

Inasa laughed and Izuku grinned.

It was going to be a fun day. He was glad he could come.

-ted-

So the Doctor has just found out how messy it is trying to operation on AFO... Really that regeneration quirk... useful but maybe a bit too strong for AFO's purposes now. The next surgical experiment will come in due course :D

And Izuku has reconnected with another friend! Inasa, his flying buddy! While I know Quirk Practice or Quirk Use days are not something in the MHA Universe, or at least not mentioned, they are one of those events I think would get support. People want to use their quirks. The MLA is almost founded on that belief (and some other BS) so I think the opportunity for a regular citizen to use their quirk in a safe and fun manner, would be something that gets support, especially if it shows quirk violence goes down as a whole!

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!