Chapter 8: Ren Kimura
"So, I saw you and Timeswapper on the news yesterday along with those UA kids," Ikeda said to Ren as the two of them were eating lunch at a restaurant and catching up with each other. Ikeda had retired young from Golden Time Agency a month previous at the age of 30 due to extensive injuries and although her quirk was still as powerful as ever (she could control animals with her mind) her body was compromised. She could barely walk on her worst days. She had to use a cane then. But she could still put a man twice her size on his back if it came down to a fight. Ren and Ikeda had become good friends over the last couple of years and Ren had hoped she would stay on doing clerical work or some other desk job at Golden Time. Ikeda had decided that would be painful for her, she had loved being a hero and the idea of working a mundane desk job at the same agency she had been an important hero asset for would be too harsh of a reminder daily of how much she had lost. One of the teens that had fought alongside them the day previous, Yamada also known as Present Mic, had live streamed the post-fight action on one of his social media channels. That alongside with the regular news coverage had given Golden Time, the 3 UA students, and some of the UA faculty some positive press. Yamada had a pretty huge social media following and Ren wondered down the line if he could be an asset to Golden Time. "That kid has a future in broadcasting if the hero thing doesn't pan out," Ren thought.
"Okay Ren. I have to ask. I chickened out earlier, but we're friends now so I hope you won't take me too forward but….."
"I'll stop you right there Ikeda." Ren grinned. She knew what tree Ikeda was barking up, and was surprised it had taken her so long to ask. She had been hinting about the question earlier in their conversation.
"Yes, Timeswapper and I have a "normal" marriage. That's all I'm going to say about it. We have to just be very careful obviously." Ren stated plainly, a sly smile on her face.
Ikeda blushed and stammered. "Sorry for asking Ren, just, well, was curious…"
"You and everyone else." Ren laughed. Ren's quirk was Pain. If any person's skin came into contact with her skin, they felt a shocking pain so immense they were paralyzed. And this was only a few seconds touch. Surpass that and they would pass out. An even longer touch could give permanent nerve and brain damage. A powerful, useful quirk, but the downside was she could not control it. It was always active so she had to wear full body clothing to keep others safe. Turtle necks, long sleeved shirts, gloves, pants, even in the summer. She also had a secondary quirk, Restoration. When she was injured, she could heal her wounds quickly by activating this quirk. A deep gash that would take a few days to heal normally would only take her about twenty seconds to heal with her quirk. This quirk was not passive. She could control it. Her healing quirk was one of the quickest known. This coupled with her Pain quirk made her a powerful hero. Due to her marriage with an even more renowned hero, from time to time the gossip mags would speculate about the couples "love-life." For obvious reasons due to Ren's quirk, intimacy could prove difficult. But they had a surprisingly normal, physically loving relationship. As long as one of them had their skin covered, and they were mindful, they were safe. Really day to day mundane activities had proven to be more difficult, seemed to cause them more trouble. Timeswapper had passed out on many occasions and even more occasions he was brought to his knees for a few moments in immense pain. Washing the dog, unpacking boxes, bumping into each other around the house, Ren looking into Goro's eye to see if something was "there".
Their marriage was something Ren didn't think possible when she was younger. She thought surely her quirk would make finding a boyfriend difficult. And the idea of something long term seemed so unlikely. Who would want to constantly be battling the possibility of being zapped with her Pain quirk? But Goro had surprised her. They met when she signed on with Golden Time Agency a couple of years after she graduated from UA. He showed her the ropes the first day. She was star struck. Two weeks later they started dating. Two years later they were married. In a few years they would start a family. Ren would be backing off her hero work some to begin studying for a teaching degree. They had decided once they had their first child, she should teach because they felt one of them needed to have a safer career. Although their lives were stressful, the fact they had found each other, and cultivated a happy marriage, made Ren feel like the luckiest girl alive. It was a dream come true for her.