01/02/2022

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The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 43

Yakuni rubbed at his throat. It hurt. It was like he was coming down with something except he had no other symptoms. It was just the sore throat and the lack of breath that caused. It wasn't enough to stop him from coming to work.

Especially now that he had a quirk to copy. He finally had the sample and was now setting it up in a growth tube. It would accelerate the growth from mere cells to a clone that was about three and a half years old before he allowed it to grow at a natural rate. It had been tricky to get the sample without altering Dragon, or his friend, but Dragon's dad had been clear. And no matter how he felt about Dragon, and he liked to think that the teen was a friend, Dragon's dad paid the bills. So in the end, that was that.

He'd also put a copy of the sample on record. He didn't know what this quirk did but if the boss, Ujiko's sponsor, Dragon's father, wanted another copy then it would be simple to take that sample and grow another clone. Ujiko had been full of praise when he suggested that they start keeping records like that.

Durama was a great biologist. There was no question of that in his mind but after working with him for a while now, Yakuni could see that he was also very results oriented. He didn't think about the process much and certainly almost never documented things properly. On the other hand, he liked systems and thankfully Ujiko didn't seem to mind when he implemented them, especially if it would make something easier in future.

That was great. This had already been close to a dream job but given that he'd gotten a quirk out of it, and he got to work on cutting edge biology, it was as close to perfect as he could imagine.

If only his throat would stop hurting.

His rubbing it had caught Ujiko's attention too. The man was working in front of a tube that had a teenager in it. The boy had been overweight but was now trim. It made his wings look even larger. There was already a copy of the teens quirk being grown. Dragon's father wanted it for Dragon.

"I'll be fine," Yakuni told the man.

"I'm sure you will," Ujiko replied without turning to him.

Yakuni pressed the last few buttons on the tube, letting the process begin before he turned away.

Where had he put that gargle… He needed the pain relief. And then… he'd figure out something later.

-ted-

Garaki sighed when Yakuni disappeared. The boy was going to have to make a choice soon and hopefully he picked the right one. All For One was not in the mood to be challenged. Not after the failure with the change quirk. And there was something else bothering Sensei. He didn't know what it was but the man was frustrated about something more.

When Kurogiri had found Sensei, he'd been summoned, and had quickly inserted the breathing tube again before moving him to the nutrient bath. That had probably been unnecessary this time but it did allow him to better gauge Sensei's recovery. Even so, Sensei should have known better to experiment on his own but…

The Doctor shook his head. He was not going to change the man.

At least the subsequent experiment had been with him present but the results had not been pleasing. Using the girl's quirk, All For One could change his form to his uninjured state, however, as soon as the change wore off, he was absolutely exhausted.

It wasn't just a temporary exhaustion either. Kyudai had measured Sensei's blood sugars and other stats, and they were all depressed. Using the quirk had a huge toll on his body, even more than a combat quirk. He suspected it was because the quirk didn't want to change a body to look like itself and that drained more energy. Or because it was temporarily fixing his injuries. Both were viable theories.

It made the upgraded helmet he was working on all the more important. The one Izuku had given him was good but it lacked the ability to dispense the drugs Sensei required to function. The new one would but it was difficult to get the dosage right and to have the dispensers actually integrated.

Maybe if he spoke to Izuku's friend?

That was a question for another day though. For now, he was about to take Tsubasa out of the tank. The first stage was done. His grandson was now a healthy weight. He drained the tank and waited. The controls would cease administering the relaxant with the liquid gone and then Tsubasa would wake up.

He waited, watching his grandson. He took a few deep breaths and then his eyes opened. Kyudai watched as he stood in the tank. The motion was good.

"Tsubasa?" Garaki said. He would have expected a bit more motion from his grandchild but he was just standing there, dripping as the liquid rolled down his body.

"Yes, Grandfather."

He felt a moment of relief before a stab of worry. Tsubasa's voice was too controlled.

"Tsubasa, are you all right?" He deliberately kept the question mild as he suppressed his worry. He'd done this many times before. First stage was simple. It simply enhanced the body. It didn't do anything for the mind. It was a way of making even the most useless villain into something worthwhile, a way of making fit, strong, foot soldiers, regardless of their quirk.

The second stage ensured absolute loyalty to Sensei and was when he started implanting secondary and tertiary quirks. It was then that they lost their minds, and most died, only to be revived. First stage was just an enhancement.

Nothing had gone wrong.

"I am operational, Grandfather."

Kyudai felt sick. It wasn't possible. Except it looked like it. Tsubasa wasn't even shivering in what had to be the cold of the tube. He was just standing there. He gulped. "Tsubasa, this is not the time to play."

There was no response to that. The Doctor gathered himself. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath before looking over at his grandson. The boy was just looking at him.

He had hoped for a spark of personality. For something but there was nothing.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

What had he done?

-ted-

Inasa looked around. He should have specified where he'd meet Izuku! The Lake Hamana quirk use day was bigger than he thought it would be. From the way some of the officials were scurrying around, it was bigger than they thought it would be too! At least some Heroes were here. They were patrolling quietly and were all smiles in the atmosphere. He didn't recognise them but they weren't major heroes from Tokyo. Still, they were doing their job and everyone seemed happy to know they were here.

There were rows of shops in tents lining a good portion of the foreshore. Most of them were selling food but a couple had games set up and were catering to those who had less physical quirks. There were even some buskers and entertainers who were using their quirks to amuse those gathered. The atmosphere was good, jovial and fun. There were families walking through the shops and he wondered if there would be fireworks tonight.

While it was great that people were here and having fun, it did mean he was having trouble finding Izuku. Are you here? He sent the simple text.

Yes. I'm at the north gate.

The response was quick.

"North gate, north gate," Inasa muttered to himself, looking around. Why wasn't anything labelled? Well, that way was north, so he should go in that direction. I'm heading there now, he sent through to Izuku. He didn't want to pass his friend accidentally.

As he strode to the gate, there was a flicker in the corner of his eye. Inasa's head snapped around to face it. There was nothing there. He didn't have time for this. He started again but he hadn't gone more than three paces before the flicker appeared again. The other eye this time. Again, by the time he turned it was gone.

Inasa shook his head. He knew he had fast reflexes but when he turned there was nothing there. He was seeing things…

Or was he?

The suspicion spread through his mind. This was a quirk use day. For most people, it was an opportunity to come out and have some fun with their quirk, especially if they couldn't use it in their home, as it was known a lot of people did. He and Izuku used theirs to fly, so did other people. But there were other quirks and people to use them. Some of them weren't as much fun. Some of them were villainous.

And while villains didn't care about quirk use days, they just used their quirk whenever they wanted, this was an opportunity to use their quirks in a relaxed environment when people were both expecting a quirk to be used, but not expecting them to be used against them.

He began walking again, this time a bit slower. As he did Inasa focused on the people around him. The flicker came back quickly and this time, even though he really wanted to, he controlled his reaction and kept walking.

Inasa let himself appear distracted as he looked up to the sky. There were a few people flying around and a smile crossed his features. That was what a quirk use day was meant to be about.

The flicker came back and this time it stayed and then there was the impression that it got closer. He was waiting for this and despite wanting to turn to confront the person he knew had to be there, Inasa kept walking. His mind was focused though. It almost seemed as if his perception narrowed but at the same time he was intimately aware of everything going on around him. It felt like time had slowed down. Then someone broke away and came towards him.

He was ready for them and as the person lunged towards him, Inasa threw his hands out, summoning a whirlwind. He created it from the ground up, under the person, lifting them up. The flicker in the corner of his eye vanished and there was a shout from the person. They flailed in the air, yelling in surprise.

Inasa finally got a good look at them. Whoever it was, they had a long coat, from which several things had fallen. Inasa adjusted his whirlwind, letting the things fall but he didn't let them hit the ground. He caught them before then and brought them to himself. They were phones, wallets and a couple of odd shaped things he wasn't sure what they were.

"Give them back!" The cry came from above.

Inasa opened two of the wallets. There were licenses in there. Minako Yasuda and Shouhei Iwai. Two different names.

"I don't think they're yours," Inasa said calmly. He was aware of the people watching them.

"Good work Kid!" He didn't expect that.

Inasa spun towards that voice. A hero stepped from the gathered crowd. He didn't recognise them but that wasn't surprising. There were a lot of heroes.

"Your control is great!" The hero continued.

"Thank you."

"I've been watching this guy for a while," they said.

Inasa felt a stab of surprise at that. If the hero had been watching, why hadn't he stopped them. "Do you want to let him down?" he asked.

He nodded.

"This is wrongful arrest!" The floating guy yelled.

"For wrongful pickpocketing?" the hero asked.

"That brat has no right to use his quirk!"

At that the Hero laughed. "This is a quirk use day. The kid at least used his quirk to help," the hero replied, producing a set of cuffs from the back of his belt.

The watching crowd was dispersing, which was making Inasa feel better. He didn't want to make a scene but he wasn't about to let the guy get away.

"Gently," the Hero urged as Inasa dropped the pick pocket down. "I'm Shadowcrawler by the way," the hero said, stepping up to the pickpocket and snapping the cuffs around his wrists.

"Nice to meet you," Inasa said, concentrating on dissipating his whirlwind carefully, while keeping the phones and wallets still suspended. It was good practice. He could make himself fly but he didn't have to pick up other things that much. It was definitely something he should practice more often. "Can you take the wallets?" he asked.

It would be far better for them to be dealt with by a Hero than him.

Shadowcrawler nodded, giving him a look that said he knew why he was asking. With the rather minor villain apprehended, the hero reached out and plucked the various items from the air. "You've got great control," he murmured, running one hand through the whirlwind Inasa had created.

"I practice a bit," Inasa admitted.

Shadowcrawler gave him a knowing grin. "For heroics?"

He nodded.

The hero chuckled. "Here," he said.

Inasa looked over. Shadowcrawler was holding out a small electronic device. It took a moment for him to realise it was a phone.

"Take my details. I'd like to talk to you later about heroics," Shadowcrawler said. Inasa nodded and took his own phone out. He tapped it to the hero's and heard the beep of the contact being established. "For now though, I'd better take this guy to processing and find the owners of this gear," the hero said.

"You did good, kid," Shadowcrawler said as he moved away.

Inasa blinked. He wasn't expecting the praise. It felt nice. He smiled and then turned to head again to the North Gate.

"Inasa!"

That was Izuku's voice. He turned to it. His friend was waving enthusiastically to him. He had a big grin on his features. The sight calmed him. Inasa smiled at his friend. He wasn't here to arrest villains, he was here to have fun.

And for the rest of the day, that was all he intended to think about.

"Izuku!" he greeted, cheerful. "You'll never believe what happened."

His friend laughed. "You caught a villain and Shadowcrawler saw it?" he suggested cheekily.

"You saw?"

"The last bit," Izuku admitted with a grin. "You've been practicing?"

"Well, I couldn't fall behind you."

At that, Izuku laughed again. "Why don't you show me?" He suggested, gesturing towards the sky where people were still visible flying around.

Inasa nodded.

Yeah, it was time to fly. He gathered a whirlwind under each foot. "Come up!" he encouraged as he took to the sky.

Izuku nodded and leapt after him.

He would think about heroes and heroics later. This was what a Quirk use day was meant to be about.

-ted-

Well mistakes and fun this chapter and obviously some foreshadowing but I'll let you pick out which bit is which :D

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!