The door opened and she saw what looked like a control room with a window that overlooked what seemed like a training arena. The walls and floors of the arena were much rougher than the pristine surfaces of the lab. Whatever had happened in there prior had been overhauled multiple times over.
I wonder just how much he lets loose in here… and on who?
Snapping her out of her daydream, Overhaul began," You've seen my—"
"No, I haven't." She cut him off, knowing he was eager to see her use it first. "I may have read reports and seen photos, but I haven't actually seen you use it. So…" she motioned her hand for him to begin.
He scanned her for a moment before indulging her, "Alright, what would you like to see?"
"Just do whatever you were trying to do to me in the back of the car, hm?" she smiled but the emotion didn't reach her eyes.
He narrowed his gaze at her, seemingly amused. He went to a place on the wall, looking between Nanami and it comparatively before removing his glove. He pressed his bare hand to the wall, taking a chunk out of it to create a golem-like figure of her. It didn't have much detail specific to her, but it had arms, legs, and a head. He removed the other glove slowly placing both hands on either arm of the golem. Within a second both arms were gone, now particles floating in the air. Within the next second, they were back, formed exactly the same as before. It was odd seeing it used on stone walls when all the reports spoke of flesh and bone. Though she'd never wish anyone to be a test subject, it was a little underwhelming seeing it this way.
Overhaul must have seen the thoughts across her face as he paused before calmly rolling up his sleeve. She could see him tense for a split second before his arm was disassembled then reassembled in the same breath.
As terrifying as it was to see him dismember himself so easily, she was also professionally (and morbidly) intrigued. How much detail would one have to know and actively apply in order to disassemble and completely reassemble something as complex as a limb in that short a time span? It was as fascinating as it was terrifying.
"Now," He began, rousing her from her thoughts, "I'd like to see something from you. What exactly did you do to me in the car?"
"Oh… that? That was um..." suddenly she was embarrassed, feeling her cheeks warm as she remembered the moment and her very ill-timed thoughts. "It was nothing."
"It didn't feel like nothing. Explain."
"Well, I call it Reverb—not the most interesting name, I know—but it's basically…" his eyes narrowed as she hesitated to answer.
"Out with it." He said, getting impatient.
"I... tickled you?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's really a harmless move."
"Harmless?" He said with more incredulity.
"Ok, so your ego was a little bruised, but your cells should have recovered just fine. How are your abdominals and obliques doing?" She asked sincerely this time, hoping he wouldn't think she was trying to tease him further.
Sighing, but still quite irritated, he replied, "They're fine. What exactly did you do to produce that... 'tickling' feeling?"
He's definitely pissed…
"I guess another firsthand demonstration would be out of the question, so here" she replied as she approached the wall, placing both hands on it carefully. She turned to see if he was watching her and though he was obviously still irritated, his eyes were tracking her every move. Nanami focused, replicating what she had done on him days before. Small pieces of the wall began to undulate, disassembling and reassembling in the same instant making the wall seem as though it was rolling. She stopped and the wall continued to reverberate the movements she had started as she explained in detail what was happening.
"… I see." He spoke affirmatively as though he was mildly impressed, his eyes now trained on the wall. She had to admit a certain sense of pride welled up in her at the thought of impressing him in some way. It was difficult not to imagine having some kind of connection when you know you share such an intimate part of yourself with another person… Even if they are a bit more morally ambiguous than I'm used to…. Nanami admitted to herself.
"How else do you utilize my qui— I mean overhaul?" He queried.
The correction was small, but she was appreciative nonetheless. Thinking in earnest how to answer the question, she began," Well, it's nothing special since I don't use it on as large a scale as you, quite the opposite, really." He gave her a look encouraging her to elaborate. "I prefer to use traditional methods in my line of work, but if the situation calls for it, I can also use it to create and remove clots."
"You mean causing a pulmonary embolism?"
"NO. My gosh, no for the exact opposite reason. Everything train goes straight to Murder Town™ with you, huh?" exasperated Nanami before she continued, "If reaching the artery is too invasive, I can break it down through a small incision in the skin preventing fun things like what you mentioned. Besides healing, I usually only use it for self-defense and smaller transformations. I… don't use it very often." At this Overhaul noticed what sounded like shame in her voice. She'd been told throughout her childhood she was a freak after the incident as she'd refer to it. Even now, it felt like a sore subject. He knew he'd be able to coax the story out of her, but it wouldn't be tonight.
"Then tell me, how were you able to negate my attack in the car?"
"That I can't tell you." She replied simply.
He shifted his weight, folding his arms, "If we're going to make this research count, we'll have to cooperate. Don't you want to see how far this power can be taken?" He coaxed.
"One, I don't have a particular lust for power, so that ~thing~ you're doing with your eyes won't work on me. And two, even if it did, I couldn't tell you. Not just because I find the idea of you being able to nullify a quirk to be… unsettling. But because I literally don't know how I did it either. It just happened."
He searched her features for signs of deception but found nothing. "Then it looks like we'll have to get to the bottom of that as well. " He moved suddenly towards her and she braced herself, but he continued to walk past her and back into the lab.
It looks like we're playing the long game then… Nanami noted inwardly. He could have tried testing her again physically, but hadn't. It was an intentional show of restraint to get her to let her guard down. She wasn't naïve enough to think it was just out of some newfound comradery, but she also wasn't 100% sure it was some malicious power play. Manipulation was something she assumed he'd employ but seeing it in action was a different story. He's good at this.
She followed him after a beat into the lab to see him writing notes down on the white board.
"Now that we've demonstrated what we know to be physically true, we can begin crafting a hypothesis and concrete testing procedures, a.k.a. the fun part." He said after hearing her enter the room. He finished the observations he was writing and sat down at the workbench, motioning for her to sit across from him. "Let's compare notes, shall we?"
She sat down and began looking through the file of her he'd created as well as some hypothesis he'd come up with. It was odd reading such a detailed report about herself and even more so imagining how he'd gotten the information so quickly, but she was relieved to see there wasn't a mention of the incident. Brushing the obvious invasion of privacy aside, she was grateful to see that even though quirks were a virus to him, his assessment of why they shared the quirk was very similar to hers: genetic mutation.
Closing the folder on the table, Nanami began "It looks like agree on the premise of this experiment. Now we can—"
"Not entirely." He cut in.
"Please, don't say it…" Nanami sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"But it has to be said. We can acknowledge quirks as a genetic mutation while also acknowledging the origin of that mutation was a virus."
"That's just… no. Sure viruses can be 'passed down' in the sense that their genetic leftovers might show up in offspring, but that doesn't mean that's what quirks are. They're much too drastic of a change to just be caused by a virus. No other virus behaves that way."
"Until recent history, quirks were not normal. They are an anomaly so it's no stretch of the imagination to say that the virus that created them would also be an anomaly. You're being close-minded about this, and it will hinder the process." He stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm being close-minded? This coming from the guy who won't accept the consensus of thousands of scientists. If I'm close-minded, you're downright obtuse!" She retorted.
The argument went on for the next 15-20 minutes, both of them behaving much like children in the eyes of Kurono who had returned 10 minutes ago, but decided it was best to wait outside until they'd finished whatever spat they were having. Now silent, they were both standing, leaning over the table and glaring at each other. Suddenly, Nanami saw an epiphany flash across Overhaul's face and consequently a look of annoyance came across hers.
"Let's make a bet."
"No way." She responded immediately, but judging by the look in his eyes, he had already made plans to change her answer.
"You haven't even heard the terms. "
"Knowing what I know about you, I don't think I want to..."
He continued as though he'd already won, "If your hypothesis is correct, you may ask one favor of me. Anything you want."
"And if you win? What fresh hell will I be in then?"
"I get the same; nothing more, nothing less. Any favor I ask, you have to grant it."
"There is literally zero reason for me to indulge in this."
"That sounds like something a loser would say."
Brows raised in disbelief Nanami retorted, "Are you... trying to goad me?"
"Is it working?" He replied smoothly, knowing the answer.
"… You're on." She knew she'd regret letting her pride get the best of her, but she also knew she'd win. Nothing wrong with a casual, life-altering bet every now and again. She reassured herself.
"Perfect. We'll begin blood sampling and testing during your next visit. In the meantime, I'll be thinking of a fitting favor as my prize."
"As if you haven't already decided…" Nanami said under her breath. When she looked back at his face, she caught a glint of pure mischief in his eyes.
Yup, definitely going to regret this.