Alright, so, here's a new chapter for you lot! As much as I want to say I have everything planned out, I'm mostly just pulling stuff out of my ass. I have a general plot outline (like most of my stories) but some things are subject to change, like how things play out. So, just a warning on that front, if some things seem wonky, it's because I mostly just slap shit together that I think would be cool (kinda like how this story came into existence, lol).
However, as always, before we begin, I have to respond to some comments.
[Response to Reviews/Comments]
(Guest) OwO: Good, I'm glad that the… ugh… The Femboy Kingdom appreciates my work. I hope I continue to impress. (Also lowkey fuck biology class, that shit stinks)
(Guest) ArguableReader: It's more of a "insert accidentally fucks up canon without even realizing it" kind of story. And yes, I am painfully aware that my MC will, realistically speaking, destroy this universe BECAUSE of [Devour] and [Analysis]. I'm not the type of person to make it seem as if my character is overpowered and then have a villain that should stand no chance casually kick their shit in (I HATE those types of fanfics, tbh) unless there is a genuinely good REASON why they would be able to do that. Not that that is the case here. So, yeah, I'm aware, and I intend to abuse that fact.
Take, for example, my "The Pig, The Mask, and The Slayers" fanfic. This is like that, but not as dramatic and more on the comedic "MC does what the MC wants to do and that's final" kind of thing. So, if you're worried about this just being a retelling of canon at some point, and a massive underpower of the abilities that our boy Tanner has, then don't be.
Besides, Tanner isn't the "fight them head-on" type anyway. You'll see what I mean once we get later into the story since we're only in what I like to call "the setup" stages of the story.
Also, I just realized I spent the last three paragraphs responding to you and your question… Damn, I ramble. Anyway, MOVING ON!
HoodedGenius98: "Lead" claws. I know that pencils don't contain actual honest to god lead. I'm dense, but I'm not that dense. Also, keep in mind what [Analysis] is. If you don't know what I mean, you'll see what I mean later on.
AstolfoBrHue: gracias!
Dregus: While I haven't watched FMA: Brotherhood (Something I should do seeing as I hear that the show is peak anime from a few of my friends) That is a pretty good analogy for what happened. And everything else is just spot on. Tanner will become one of those Overpowered MCs, and not a damn thing will stop him.
(Ao3) Kirisuma: Well, it is the future (a month in the future, L) so here is more!
(Ao3) AnxietySlime: I'm glad you like it! And, well, here's another chapter!
Now, before we begin…
[-This Chapter was brought to you by BLACK MEMORY by THE ORAL CIGARETTES-]
[-Ch. 3: Exploring Capabilities-]
Tanner wasn't normally one to be against talking to others. Hell, for the last two days he had been in this orphanage, he had been trying to get to know the other children. He had learnt a few of the kid's names outside of the ones he had already known, like Aiya Sugikuni, Taimichi Oshiko, Daisuke Tamaki, and Fumiko Akamichi.
And while that was all well and good, and while he had gotten to know a little bit about them but not enough he cared to remember today, he just wanted to be alone. Why? Because everyone he had ever talked to in this place was extremely, and he meant extremely, childish.
It was to be expected. He was in an orphanage for Christs' sake. An orphanage, mind you, filled with a majority of the kids having been 3 to 9 years old, with the teenagers having been what some of the staff were referring to as "lost causes," the only one that didn't refer to them with such vile nicknames being Ms. Tadakami.
It showed Tanner that even though there were places where homeless children were allowed to go, there was an unspoken rule that if you weren't adopted at a certain point, the orphanage would stop caring. And that… that left a sour taste in Tanner's mouth.
But then again, such was life. Life was a bitch named Emily and said bitch hated everything with a pulse, so there was that. For some reason, life hated him the most. Seriously, if he had just decided to stay home, he wouldn't be in this mess. He would probably still be at home, waiting to hop on Call of Duty with his buds when they got home after school, or maybe hit up the local skatepark.
But no! He had to be Isekai'd into My Hero Academia. Because fuck him, right? To make things worse, he was a goddamn toddler. Or, at least, the equivalent of one. Everyone treated him like it too, and it pissed him off.
Needless to say, it was extremely annoying. But, of course, his troubles didn't end there. Because of course, they wouldn't.
The only person he could hold a genuine conversation with without having a migraine after the fact, was Kai Chisaki, and to rub salt into the wound, he wasn't even here for most of the day. He was here in the morning, and partway through the afternoon, but that was it. After that, he was picked up by his "pops" and didn't come back until the next day.
And when Kai leaves, that meant that Tanner was all alone without anyone to really talk to, sans for maybe the odd hello he'd greet the other students with. And while it was technically forced, who could blame him? He wanted nothing to do with these children. It wasn't because he felt superior, it was because he couldn't relate to them.
Unfortunately for Tanner, if that was all he had to put up with, then maybe he'd be okay. But that wasn't the end of it.
On top of looking like a 4-year-old, he had to deal with a bunch of staff who coddled him and were extremely helicopter-parent-y because he looked like a toddler. The only staff member who didn't do that was Ms. Tadakami—and now, he was beginning to see a pattern. But wait, there's more! On top of all the previously mentioned things, he also had to put up with the other children constantly trying to bug him, and when he tried to speak to those who might have a shot at relating with him, those who were older than him wanted absolutely nothing to do with him because he was the equivalent of a toddler.
So, in other words, Tanner found this place to be nothing more than a hell hole. Which then looped him all the way back to his current predicament, and his only real escape from the madness that was this orphanage.
The only thing that Tanner could do to get some solace was to avoid everyone. But, even that was difficult for Tanner to do.
See, the orphanage wasn't all that big despite the number of people who lived and worked there. The only place that he had to himself was the library, and that was off-limits to him without Chisaki being here. Which meant that he was basically fucked if he wanted to be alone without Chisaki around.
The reason for this was that most of the rooms on the upper floors were forbidden for a kid "his age" to go to. The older kids? No problem! They got to hide away from the little brats for as long as they wanted. The only time they'd have to come down was when everyone was called to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Meaning, Tanner was trapped on the same floor with all the annoying, whiny, self-absorbed little twits. And he knew that was a harsh thing to say, but a guy could only take so many of the same stupid questions like "why do you have red eyes," or "why is your hair different from the rest of us" or "why do you act like the older kids" or "why are you so mean". That last one was a little strange, considering that he wasn't mean at all unless someone were to piss him off.
Now that he thought about it, yeah, he was probably mean to them because they kept pissing him off.
So, with all of that in mind. What was there left for him to do? How was he going to get some time to himself? How was he going to get some fresh air without being hounded by the other children of the orphanage?
Well, there was one way.
Ms. Tadakami sympathized with him a great deal. The reason for this was that he had told her that he functioned higher than anyone else in the building because of his Quirk and how his "parents forced him to become more mature by abusing his Quirk." At least, that was the sob story he made up to explain his abnormalities.
The best part was that it worked, and Ms. Tadakami gave him some special privileges. One of those was that he was allowed to leave the orphanage whenever he so pleased, so long as it was between the hours of 8 AM to 6 PM, and so long as he got someone to go with him.
It wasn't particularly ideal, but it was the best thing he had at the moment. Until he got older, or until he got adopted, this was the best option he got. Luckily for him, one of the staff members, Mr. Okisu if he remembered correctly, had volunteered to go with him, making him Tanner's temporary favourite staff member in this whole building, excluding Kai, whomst he saw as a brother figure to replace his sister.
Speaking of Mr. Okisu, he was a rather thin guy compared to the rest of the staff, middling around the ages of 23 to 24 or somewhere along those lines—if he was any older Tanner would be pretty impressed that he had been able to look like a 20-something-year-old. He was wearing a white and black striped shirt, and a pair of brown cargo shorts. His hair was the strange part, as it was made out of what appeared to be seaweed, which was most likely his Quirk. It kinda reminded Tanner of Ibara Shiozaki's Vine Hair Quirk.
This brought Tanner to a realization….
Quirks in My Hero Academia were strange and not in a bad sense. Because they were so strange, there were some pretty busted powers out there that normally would seem weak by regular shonen manga standards like, for example, Aoyama's belly button laser. It wasn't exactly super powerful, but it was still fairly interesting. Sure, it gave Aoyama stomach troubles when used, but that was still a beam of pure light, which implied that he could attack at light speed with it—duh.
And, because it was pure light, if that beam hit something, anything that beam hit was going to either have a hole blasted through them or, they were going to get a pretty sick burn. And because this was no longer an anime that meant that anime logic did not necessarily apply to him. It meant that those kinds of Quirks were going to have real-life properties.
And … that only made the weirdness of this world and its superpowers even stranger. That being said, Aoyama's Quirk wasn't the strongest. That honour belonged to that Kojiro Bondo kid's glue Quirk. Seriously, it was super, super weird. If it just allowed him to spew glue out of his mouth, then that would be fine, but it turned his head into a strange… bell looking thing. That was beyond bizarre and also made no sense. But, then again, who was he to judge? Bondo probably didn't get a choice in the matter, and thus, it hardly mattered.
All in all, Tanner was glad he got to choose his Quirk, even if it was a blatant rip-off of Rimeru's Predator ability. But, considering it was a blatant rip-off of Rimeru's Predator ability, it immediately made him the strongest thing to breathe air in this universe. Granted, there were some limitations, and he'd have to experiment with them, but at the end of the day, all he'd have to do was grow up, and he was pretty certain his power would grow exponentially.
But, that was the future. And he had years to wait for that to happen. And that was assuming that he would survive long enough in this world to get that power. Unlike Rimeru, he wasn't a slime. He was a human. A fragile, weak, human. Humans could die to the stupidest of things, so he had to do something in order to prevent that.
Which led Tanner to what he was doing right now.
Right now, Tanner was just walking down the sidewalk of the bustling Musutafu city next to Mr. Okisu, minding his own business. He didn't have a destination in mind, aside from getting away from the orphanage. Although, one of the things that he wasn't too happy about this arrangement, and one that the had no say in, was that he had been made to wear different clothes. He was stuck wearing a black shirt, and a pair of grey shorts with black ankle socks and shoes, with a little badge on his shirt that said he was from the Little Home For Wayward Children.
But, that was the least of his worries. Why? Because he had made a rather upsetting discovery about one of his Skills.
On his walk, he had deployed his [Lead Claws] skill and upon further investigation, i.e. accidentally hitting them against a metal poll on his walk, Tanner found out that the title had been extremely misleading. They were quite literally just pencil tips, which made sense considering he got it from a pencil. Even so, it disappointed him. Because of that, he had that voice in his head, or whatever it was, rename it to [Pencil Claws] so that he didn't get confused. He was half-tempted to get rid of the Skill, but he decided against it. It was still a Skill, and it could still have some minor use.
That didn't stop him from being upset about it. He had been excited to test them out in case he got into a fight, assuming he was going to get into any of those anytime soon, that was. But, if they were gonna break upon making contact with anything that wasn't paper, then that sucked! It was such a waste of a skill if you asked him. Oh well, the bright side to it was that at least he wasn't going to need pencils anymore, seeing as he was a walking pencil.
After what felt like an hour of walking and passing by shop after shop that he couldn't purchase anything from because he lacked money, the blond was beginning to get bored. That was until he had discovered something on his little walk that made him stop. And what was that discovery, exactly? Well, simple.
A rundown-looking playground.
Or, well, it looked rundown, considering the amount of rust and broken equipment. That meant that it wasn't kept up to code, which probably meant it was shut down. Looking down at his hand, he got an idea. Maybe he could test his Quirk out here? It was far enough out of the way that no one would really pay attention to the place, and seeing as no one was there, it gave him the perfect opportunity to do so.
His only issue was Mr. Okisu. As long as he got him distracted, or as long as the man didn't care, he could probably get away with using his Quirk in public scot-free! He glanced over to Mr. Okisu and smirked. "I'm gonna go over there, don't stop me," Tanner said pointing toward the rundown playground as Mr. Okisu looked at him, then to the park, then frowned with disinterest.
"If you get hurt, that's on you," Mr. Okisu replied nonchalantly as Tanner shrugged, walking over to the rundown playground. He had a few ideas in mind for what he wanted to do, namely of which what would happen if he used [Devour] on a larger object compared to his own body. He knew the voice said that it wouldn't do anything, but he wanted to test it personally.
Standing across from the rusted playground, a good three or so feet away, Tanner narrowed his eyes and aimed his hand out toward the rusted playground. When he did, he selected [Devour] and closed his eyes, before casting the skill. "Devour" Tanner said, as the black mass that was his Devour Skill warped around his hand, formed the giant maw that came with it, shot forward and… as soon as it hit the playground it dissipated, making Tanner frown.
"So, it wasn't kidding. [Devour] only works on things relative to my body size or smaller. Damn… I mean, that makes sense. I doubt that if Rimeru started as human rather than a slime, he wouldn't be able to do half of the things that he did…." Tanner thought as he picked up a handful of gravel. Seeing as it was smaller, he'd try it, just to see if he could get anything out of it. "Devour" Tanner mumbled, as the black, purplish mass came over his hand, formed a mouth, and ate the gravel. Once it was gone, the gravel in his hand disappeared as the voice in his head spoke to him.
[-Analysis of "Gravel" beginning… Analysis Complete. Devouring "Gravel" has given you a new skill [Rock Body]. [Rock Body] is a passive skill that makes your skin less pervious to damage!-]
Tanner smirked. He looked at his hand and clenched his fist. Glancing over to one of the polls of the rusted, rundown playground nearest to him, he punched the metal beam, and where he assumed that he would usually feel something, nothing came of it. He didn't feel a thing. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing being gained from this endeavour. "Heh, so this wasn't a waste, then…."
"Oi, kid," the voice of Mr. Okisu spoke up behind him, as Tanner turned around, greeted by the man looming over him with an annoyed expression on his face. "You do know that you're not allowed to use your Quirk in public, right?" Mr. Okisu questioned as Tanner sighed.
"No one's here to get hurt, and besides, what's the harm in it? I'm just testing out what my Quirk can do. I'm sure you did that when you were younger, too, Mr. Seaweed hair," Tanner bit back as Mr. Okisu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"That's not the point. Just because you're a kid doesn't mean the police won't take kindly to you doing that sort of thing. It's better to heed the law than to break it because you find it stupid. Believe me, I have a criminal record because I used my Quirk in public to save a cat from getting run over. It's bullshit, but the law's the law…." Mr. Okisu said as Tanner narrowed his eyes.
He was punished… for saving a cat? What kind of ass backward nonsense was that? He didn't like that. Not one bit. No one should be punished for being a good person, and no one should be punished for saving the life of an animal. "But… that's… that's just stupid!" Tanner spoke up as Mr. Okisu nodded.
"Yeah, it is kid… said I should've left it to the heroes, but there were none around. The worst part was that the cat belonged to my cousin, and… well, bah, you know what, that doesn't matter…" Mr. Okisu stopped, biting his tongue as he turned around. "Look, just… if you want to train your Quirk, or try and see what it can really do, the best place to go for that is the forest near Jaku Hospital. I'll take you some time when you have free time. Just don't say I told you, got it?"
The blond-haired kid felt a knot form in his stomach. He knew that Quirks weren't allowed to be used in public thanks to his Manga knowledge, but even so… he had no idea it was enforced that hard. To have a criminal record because Mr. Okisu saved a cat. A fucking cat. That was stupid, even to him. Whoever charged him for that must've had a stick up his or her ass.
Oh well, at least he was going to get something out of it. A place to train his Quirk. Mr. Okisu seemed like a nice guy. He didn't strike Tanner as being a creep
"Yeah, okay…." Tanner muttered, before glancing back over to the rusted playground. He noticed something in the gravel, something sparkling in the sunlight. Something reflective. He glanced over to Mr. Okisu, who had turned his back to him again. And so, seeing his chance to check it out, Tanner did just that.
Walking over to the sparkling object, he found a small, broken-off piece of rusted metal, which he picked it up. When he did, on instinct, activated Devour in silence so as to not alert Mr. Okisu. Seeing as the piece of metal would serve no purpose other than being used to test his Quirk, he did so with that in mind. The darkness came over his hand, chomped down on the piece of metal, and just like the gravel, it disappeared. When it did, the voice in his head spoke to him once again.
[-Analysis of "Rusty Piece of Metal" beginning… Analysis Complete. Devouring "Rusty Piece of Metal" has granted you two new skills. [Poison Resistance 1] and [Iron Body]. [Poison Resistance 1] grants you immunity to basic poison-type skills or attacks and basic poisons that would otherwise cause bodily harm internally or otherwise. WARNING, Analysis is detecting an ERR. Both [Rock Body] and [Iron Body] do the same thing. Suggestion... Fuse both [Rock Body] and [Iron Body] to create [Ultimate Defence]?-]
Tanner raised an eyebrow. [Ultimate Defence] sounded pretty wicked. That, and if what he thought was true, then it meant that he'd be safe from getting hurt by small things like paper cuts, stubbing his toe, or even getting hit by a car—although that would probably still hurt, it wouldn't do any real damage to his body. Like, he wouldn't break his arm doing it. Without hesitation, he answered with a firm "yes" as the voice in his head responded.
[-Understood. Beginning Fusion… Fusion Success. [Rock Body] and [Iron Body] have been fused into [Ultimate Defence]. [Ultimate Defence] prevents all physical damage above a certain threshold. This threshold is 10 tons of force-]
Okay, so he was wrong. It just straight-up nullified pain to a certain threshold. And that threshold, if he paid attention in physics class enough, would be the same amount of power to destroy a large building in a single blow.
That… was pretty impressive. Even so, there were still some people in this universe that could probably hit harder—the thought of Muscular came to mind, which made his body shiver. Looking over his shoulder, Mr. Okisu wasn't paying attention, meaning he could probably do something else. He glanced over to a bush and smiled.
On the bush were some red berries. He had no idea if they were poisonous or not, but regardless of if they were or not, he was going to try them anyway. If they weren't poisonous, then he'd just have to wait to find out just how strong [Poison Resistance 1] was. If they were, then it was worth his time to try it out. That, and he was a little hungry, so snacking on some berries wouldn't be a bad idea, now would it?
With that in mind, Tanner walked over to the bush and began to pluck a few berries, before putting them into his hand and then proceeding to pop them all into his mouth, chewing, then swallowing.
They were pretty bitter, that much was for sure, but aside from the bitter taste, they were pretty good. Licking his lips, he felt something wash over him. It wasn't painful, but if he were to describe the feeling, he would say it felt as if something was being forced out of his body by magical means. That meant that it was most likely [Poison Resistance 1] activating.
And while he was glad that it worked, he felt a little stupid for being, well, so gung-ho on trying poisonous berries. What would've happened if the poison was stronger than what his new skill could've protected him against? It was a bit of a no-brainer, and maybe it had something to do with him being, well, a four-year-old.
Nevertheless, they were still safe for him to eat. That meant that he was safe to snack away for as long as he could get away with. By the time he nearly picked the bush clean, Mr. Okisu finally noticed what it was he was up to and nearly had a panic attack.
Thankfully, he had reassured the man that he was fine and that the berries weren't poisonous. Well, to him, at the very least. But he didn't need to know that. Mr. Okisu still reprimanded him for eating something without at least telling him so that he could verify if they were poisonous or not.
And thus, he was dragged back to the orphanage, much to his chagrin…
xxXXxxXXxx
Korosan Chisaki was a man of resolve. Korosan Chisaki was above those around him, for the simple fact that he was the leader of the Shie Hissaikai. And while he was above those around him because of that fact, at the end of the day, he was still a humble—if not extremely dangerous—old man.
Koroson was an admittedly tall, greying-haired man with pale skin, and red eyes. He usually wore a green and black Kimono, over which he wore dark red Haori and white Hakama Pants, with wooden sandals. It was the traditional outfit of the leader of the Shie Hissaikai, and the one that his successor would wear in his stead once his time to retire had come.
It had been passed down to him from his father, and his grandfather before him. It was a sacred Chisaki family heirloom. One that he would never pass down to anyone who didn't share the name Chisaki. That was his one and only rule.
And then, there was his Quirk.
His Quirk wasn't all that strong in comparison to his adopted sons, but his ability to create shockwaves with his punches, which he named his power Deadly Wave, was still extremely strong. Anyone who thought him a pushover learned extremely quickly that he was no such thing.
He was the type of person to make sure everyone and anyone was aware of the power he held. Just because he was nearing his late 70s, did not mean that it wasn't a fact that he had gone toe to toe with Nana Shimura, aka Skydive, in her prime 22 years ago.
He remembered that the battle was long and hard and that he had nearly died on a few occasions, but one clean punch to the stomach was enough to make her retreat. He had no idea why, but she left faster than she had come. Something had been up back then, and he had no idea what it was, but Korosan didn't care in the slightest. He counted it as a victory, and then some.
Unfortunatly, with her passing away 18 years ago, he could never fight her head-on ever again, and see if his victory was warranted, or just a fluke.
Another thing about his Quirk was that it was a mutation between his parents' Quirks. His mother's Quirk was to generate vibrations on things she touched, and his father's Quirk was to project waves. Combine the two and you'd get something akin to a Radiowave Quirk. Yet, his Quirk was a far deadlier variant of that.
For example, if he were to activate his Quirk while punching something, he could easily destroy a small building. Granted, he'd have to be pretty up close and personal with that building, but he could still blow it away as if it was a piece of paper in the wind. It was how he beat all of his rivals, and it was how he cemented The Shie Hissaikai as the strongest Yakuza to ever exist, even in this dark time of heroes.
If he was able to have a child, then his natural-born child would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that. He had erectile dysfunction and his semen was infertile. Thankfully, he had a brother that could continue the bloodline. He was thankful for that, above all else. So, at the very least, the Chisaki Bloodline will continue, even if it wasn't because of him.
That aside, there was the pressing issue of his old age….
For as strong as he was, he had to admit that it was coming close for him to start thinking of retiring. He had already passed down the title of future leader to Kai, as much as he was against it. He wanted Kai to have a proper childhood, and live a life away from crime.
But seeing as his brother's daughter was only just turning 20 now, and was only just starting to date, a natural-born heir to the clan wasn't going to happen for a while, seeing as his brother made it clear that his daughter was going to have nothing to do with The Shie Hissaikai, which was something that Korosan was going to respect.
The woman's son and or daughter, however, was a completely different story. That was the deal he and his brother made. That the offspring of his brother's child would have to take up leadership of the Shie Hissaikai by the time they became a full-grown adult.
And while Chisa wasn't too fond of that, it wasn't as if she had a choice. The only other option would be for her father to commit seppuku for letting the family down, along with himself. And that was something that Chisa did not want. But that wouldn't be for years now, and by the time that child was old enough to lead, he was probably going to be dead anyway. His brother, not so much, seeing as he was 20 years younger than Korosan.
Even still, there had to be someone to fill in the gap. And that somebody just so happened to be Korosan's adopted son. Besides, with how mentally strong and physically strong Kai was, he knew that Kai was going to be a great leader, he could see it in the young boy's eyes.
Kai, while somewhat misguided in his dislike of Quirks as a whole, was still a good boy. He was helpful to those who asked for it, and he was equally brutal to those who dared hurt those he allied himself with. And while he had wished for Kai to just move on, he knew that that wasn't going to happen. Granted, it wasn't as if Kai was aware that he was going to become the next leader of the Shie Hissaikai—he was going to wait for the boy to finish his tutor's studies before he told him that—but that point still stood.
Right around now, it was dinner time. They were sitting down to enjoy a healthy serving of Rice Curry. It was all his tired bones could make for tonight, and seeing as Kai was busy with work, he wasn't the one to make the food, which had annoyed him—not out of pride, but because it meant that Korosan had to do something that wasn't relaxing after a long day of managing a Yakuza.
It was one of the things that Korosan liked and disliked about Kai. He knew Kai meant well, but he was far too worried about him rather than himself. It was clear that all of this helping out and all of this stress was making Kai worry far too much about not only his future but Korosan's health. Sure, Korosan was old, but he wasn't so old that his bones creaked when he moved. If that were the case, then that would mean that he'd be in a nursing home and not here.
It was why he had suggested Kai do something else to preoccupy himself. That being to get a job at the orphanage that he had been adopted from. Kai wasn't too gung-ho about the idea, but after a few days of convincing, Kai took up the opportunity to make some money and distract himself from his duties at the house.
However, Kai also had an ulterior motive, one that Korosan picked up on rather easily. Kai was looking for someone else for Korosan to adopt so that he could have an extra pair of hands. Korosan wasn't exactly all too keen on adopting another child, but, he saw where Kai was coming from, and loosely accepted the idea that adding another member to the Chisaki household would be a good idea, if not for the extra pair of hands.
However, they hadn't talked about it since Kai had started working there. And that was a whole three months ago. However, today, when he had come from the orphanage, Kai seemed to have a lot on his mind if the gleam in his eyes was enough to go by. Seeing as they had some time to talk right now, Korosan decided that it was about time he spoke on this issue.
"So… Do you think there is someone in that orphanage that could be a good fit for an extra pair of hands around the house?" Korosan asked Kai as the boy swallowed his food before speaking up.
"Yes, Ji-san. A foreign boy by the name of Tanner Hemmingway," Kai replied as Korosan raised an eyebrow.
"A foreign boy? How come?" Korosan asked as Kai smiled. Now, that was a rare sight. In fact, it had been years since Kai had ever smiled like that. Two things could come from that. Either A. he was planning something. Or B. He was happy for once.
"Well, for starters, despite being four years old, he's as smart as me, if not smarter. He was able to solve an entire book worth of Kindergarten to 7th-grade math problems, can read up to young adult-level books without any mistakes, and speaks as if he's older than a four-year-old. He can read, write, and speak at a higher grade level than anyone in the orphanage, and then, there's his Quirk." As Kai spoke, Korosan listened intently.
Kai had never spoken of someone so highly, other than Korosan himself. Not even the other members of the Shie Hissaikai were close to having this level of praise given to them by Kai. And what made things better was that Kai was a pretty damn good judge of character. And, for Kai to bring up Quirks with adoration…. "What about his Quirk, Kai? I thought you disliked them?"
Kai frowned. "Don't get me wrong, I still think Quirks are nothing more than crutches on human society. But… Tanner's is beyond anything I've ever seen," Kai began as he pulled out a little notepad, and slid it over to Korosan. "I took some notes on the boy's Quirk. It's hard for me to articulate in speech, so, if you would, please read this over."
Korosan picked up the notebook labelled "Hemmingway's Quirk" before opening it. And the first page was packed full of information that read as follows.
Hemmingway's Quirk is beyond anything I have ever seen in my entire time here at this orphanage. He called his Quirk "Predator." It sounded strange, but when I got to see it in action, it reminded me of the rumours of the man who could give and take Quirks that I've seen all over forums online.
Essentially, what his Quirk seemingly allows him to do, upon further study, is that anything the black mass that he can generate "devours" as he puts it, he gains something from the item. For example, he used his "Predator Quirk" to "Devour" a book about math from K level to 7th-grade level, and immediately was able to solve the hardest question in that book without even reading the contents of it or studying once.
I also saw him use his Quirk on a pencil, and it gave him claws made out of pencil Lead and the ability to manipulate wood. It seems that whatever his Quirk devours also lets him gain other Quirks. I have no idea what happens when he uses it on a person, but he has told me that his Quirk only works on objects or things the same size as him.
I look forward to seeing what else could come from such a powerful Quirk. That, and perhaps, I can convince Ji-san to adopt him.
Korosan looked over the first page and hummed. From what was described, it truly did remind him of the legend known as All For One. Except, All For One wasn't a legend. He was real. Sure, he was presumed dead, but a man of that calibre dying was not a possibility. Chances were he was just in hiding. Even after the fight he had with All Might two weeks back, he could tell the man was still alive, even if he was supremely damaged.
That aside, he looked over to Kai and nodded. If this boy truly did have a similar power, or a power stronger than that of All For One's… then that meant that with the boy, he could uplift The Shie Hissaikai beyond that of just a regular old criminal organization, but perhaps, an organization to be feared.
An organization to bring back the age of the Yakuza.
"After looking over these notes, Kai… I would like to meet this boy as soon as you can arrange a meeting between myself, him, and Ms. Tadakami. I would like to explore the possibility of adopting him in the near future."
And Kai's smile widened even more that day.
-To Be Continued-