Sleepless nights were a normal thing for Mikazuki, and by all means, he hated each and every one of them like there was no tomorrow.
Though he wouldn't exactly call himself an insomniac, the boy was still a frequent victim of late night thoughts, even more so than any of his friends, as he tended to have a lot of thoughts running through his mind whenever he let his guard down for even a second, and because of this, he never really did manage to get that much sleep in. Typically, his night time thoughts include regret over past mistakes, his anger at himself for being unable to stop an old friend of his from running off thanks to a miscommunication… or just malicious worries that wracked his soul…
… but now, things were rather different, as, rather than worrying about any of those issues, the boy found himself grimacing as he rolled to one side uncomfortably, only to grimace further when he felt his handcuff stopping him from doing so. Opening his eyes, which seemed to shine a little amidst the darkness, Mikazuki sighed and glared at the metal restraint that forced him to remain latched onto his hospital bed. He understood why they needed it, but he still found it rather excessive.
What did they think he was gonna do? Run away? To where? Naomasa was in town, as was Ms Joke. Mikazuki doubted that he'd be able to get far without being pinned down by either within the hour.
Regardless, the blue eyed boy sighed a little as he laid his head back down against his pillow, with him trying to fall back asleep all the while, though he didn't manage to do so as he grimaced and parted his eyelids once more. Turning to one side, he attempted to drift off into slumber once more, only to get the same result, and when he turned the opposite direction, he got the same result, though it was probably more because his arm was being pulled in an awkward direction rather than because of his thoughts wandering about aimlessly.
In an unexpected turn of events, however, before Mikazuki could repeat this cycle once more, the boy felt a sharp tip prodding his cheek rather gently, with it trying to get his attention all the while. He knew what was trying to call out to him, and, rather dispassionately, he opened his eyes and glanced to his side to see his Quirk, Rex Tail, hovering by his cheek via its fleshy tendril. The fifth limb of his hovered worriedly by its user's side, with its featureless bone-blade surface somehow managing to exude a small amount of concern for its host as it tilted its blade adorably to one side, prompting Mikazuki to scoff.
Though its sentience could be debated, Mikazuki, alongside everyone else that knew about the existence of one of his two Quirks, knew that, to a certain degree, the Rex Tail was capable of thought. Shino had compared it to one of the dinosaurs from the prehistoric era… a Sauropod, was it(?), where it would have two brains to control its massive body, though in this case, instead of controlling another part of his body, Augus had a second brain that controlled half of his Quirk. That certainly did explain why it seemed capable of forming some emotional bonds with others, with the most recent being Ms Joke, though that one was debatable, as it could just be Mika projecting his emotions onto the tail.
Quirks were weird… or as Shino and Eugene liked to call it… bullshit.
But that aside, the Rex Tail, despite its distinctive inability to show any form of emotion whatsoever, still managed to convey a sense of worry towards its host, with it hovering about in a jittery manner as it observed him at a distance. Mikazuki responded to this by huffing and rolling his eyes, with him finding its worry to be unwarranted, though then again, it was connected to him on an incredibly deep level, and it could tell when he was lying, prompting it to judge its host once more, causing him to sigh.
Alright fine… perhaps he was worried about something. But it wasn't as though he could do anything about it! The boy… he was still worried about Awase. Though he's done his best to keep his worries at bay, his overall companionship with Yosetsu was too important to him for him to simply 'stop worrying' about him on a dime, and likewise, Tsukauchi had not made due on his offer to get Augus the chance to visit his Welder friend. Hell, he hasn't seen him since the end of that interrogation between himself, Naomasa and Ms Joke, something that irked him quite a bit as he sighed to himself in annoyance.
Noticing his discomfort, the Rex Tail, despite its intelligence, followed its baser instincts and hovered towards the handcuff that bound its host to its bed. Raising a brow at this, Mikazuki watched as it nudged the metal ring around his wrist with the edge of its bone blade, trying to get something across to Augus all the while. It took him a millisecond to realize what it was trying to 'tell' him, and once he acknowledged it, he snorted in amusement.
"We can't cut it. They'll be angry if we-" began Mikazuki, only to pause when he felt the tip of his bone blade nudge his hand itself, prompting him to go silent once more as he watched the semi-sentient Quirk try to get something across to its host. The tip of its bone blade nudged the base of Augus' thumb joint with quite a bit of force before it motioned to the inner ring of the handcuff around his wrist, and after repeating this twice over, Mika finally understood what it was trying to get across to him.
And when he did, he almost cracked a smile at the semi-sentient Quirk's simple yet effective thinking.
Yosetsu couldn't sleep.
Well, he could… but whenever he got too far into his small bout of slumber, the Welder would be jolted awake by the memories of how he had been so close to becoming an item on the black market, and every single time, he'd jolt upwards in a cold sweat as he found himself hyperventilating, something that didn't bode too well for him as he had to continually assure himself that he was out of danger every single time.
It didn't work, per se, as his heart and his mind refused to cooperate, and because of this, he kept waking up and falling asleep at random intervals, with minutes of staring up at the ceiling spliced between the two. He didn't like this feeling… the sensation of dread that came with what he had done mere hours ago. How did the Pros even manage to accomplish such a thing? To head into danger, headfirst, without any care for their own safety? And how'd they deal with the aftermath… especially if it was this hard to cope with?
Huh… now that he thought about it, the Pros deserved much more respect than Awase used to give them. He always thought that Hero work involved nothing more than just cool fights and defeating the Villains, but now that he's actually faced a genuine threat on his own, regardless of whether or not he was a Pro-Hero, he could see that it was much more than what he had initially believed. Heroes, like everyone else, had to deal with the damage that came after each mission, be it financial, physical or emotional, and for Heroes like All Might or Ingenium to be able to hold their heads high despite them having to go up against emotional trauma like this on a daily basis… well… it was impressive, to say the least.
Maybe that was why he didn't deserve to be a Hero. If he couldn't combat something as laughably simple as the aftermath of a… mission… then well, what hope did he have at becoming a Pro? The sensation of being a Hero had long since faded away by now as Yosetsu realized that he had done very little to actually help anyone back there. At best, he had only been a mild distraction. At worst… he had been a liability, and that thought haunted him a lot more than he wanted it to.
He didn't like to feel like he was dead weight. It just… hurt him. It hurt him a lot to think of himself in such a way… and to know that others might've been hurt because of him… it just made a pit form at the base of his stomach as he curled in on himself and made another attempt at falling asleep…
… though before he could succumb to sleep once more, the Welder perked his ears up when he heard the doorknob to his hospital room twist to one side, opening it up with very little issue all the while. On instinct, Yosetsu winced and shifted away from the slowly opening door, with him remaining on guard should anyone with less than savoury intentions come at him. Slowly but surely, the door squeaked open, allowing a decently sized shadow to be seen from where he laid.
The mere sight of this aforementioned shadow was more than enough to set Yosetsu on edge, and he felt his hair standing on end when he saw a hand grasping onto the very edge of the door to push it open further, and by all means, his fight or flight instincts were just about to kick in as he got ready to jolt himself up to his feet and bolt out of there…
… mere seconds before his body could respond to its usual fight or flight instincts, however, the Welder paused briefly when he saw the intruder's head poke into view, with the aforementioned intruder's blue eyes seemingly shining in the dark all the while. Though Yosetsu was briefly intimidated by his sudden entrance into his room at first, the boy found his eyes quickly widening in recognition when he saw the intruder's ahoge bounce upwards ever so slightly as he turned to make eye contact with him, and shortly thereafter, his name left the guy's mouth in surprise.
"Augus-Kun…?"
Just hearing Yosetsu say his name was almost enough to calm Mikazuki down as he stepped into his hospital room and shut the door behind him, with his Rex Tail hovering by his side all the while. Strangely enough, through the darkness, Awase could (just barely) see that Augus' left thumb was swollen for some reason, though he said nothing of it.
"Awase-Kun."
When he had fully shut the door, however, the shorter boy found himself surprised when the Rex Tail abruptly launched itself towards Yosetsu, who flinched as it approached him at such speeds, though before it could potentially injure the Welder, the bladed tail changed its trajectory and began to circle itself around Awase's body. Coiling itself loosely around the taller boy's frame, it made use of its unseen eyes to scan the Welder critically, only to 'nod' a little when it confirmed that nothing was wrong with him, prompting it to lower itself down and rest its 'head' on Yosetsu's lap seconds later.
"... erm…" muttered Yosetsu as he felt incredibly awkward about the situation he was currently in. Mikazuki… didn't seem keen on helping him at the moment, as he simply walked up to his bed and stared up at him in silence, and shortly thereafter, he motioned towards his Quirk with his chin.
"He wants you to pat him," stated Mikazuki as though it were common knowledge, with his words somehow eliciting a sound from the tail that sounded like a cross between a purr and a snarl, as though it agreed with its host but was too prideful to admit it, and seconds later, the blue eyed boy simply stared at it in annoyance. "You want him to. Don't lie to yourself."
"..." rather awkwardly, Yosetsu ignored the conversation between host and parasite as he reached his hand down and caressed the side of the Rex Tail. Rather unsurprisingly, the bone blade was incredibly rough, to the point where it felt a little weird to glide his fingers over its surface, but even so, Awase didn't let it deter him as he patted it like it was a particularly demonic kitten, and for all it was worth, it appeared to be enjoying it as it somehow kyooned in approval of his touch. "... this is fucking weird…"
"Hmph," grunted Mikazuki, who offered no real comment on that matter as he did his best to ignore the phantom sensation of Yosetsu's fingers running down the back of his spine whilst he patted his Rex Tail. It was an unavoidable side effect of it being permanently attached to him, and after going nearly his entire life with it latched onto him like some sort of parasite, the boy has learnt to be able to deal with it relatively easily.
"... so, this is your Quirk, huh?" observed Yosetsu as he took note of the fleshy tendril connecting the bone blade to Mikazuki's upper back, eliciting a nod from the boy as he avoided looking at his acquaintance. Awase found that rather odd, to say the least, though he didn't think to point it out for now as he smiled and scratched the bottom of the Rex Tail's blade, presumably its 'chin', causing it to… purr all the while. "How the fu-"
"Yes. It's my Quirk," answered Mikazuki as the Rex Tail tilted its head up to 'stare' at its host, who mostly ignored it as he kept his gaze away from his acquaintance. He… really didn't wish to see his reaction to this reveal, as he's lived through this moment several times prior. Though his Quirk mutation was by no means excessive, it was still an unsightly thing to behold, or so he was told, and he's always done his best to keep it a secret from any potential friends around him, Yosetsu included.
He always knew that he'd find out one day, but until that day came, he did his best to hide the Rex Tail from Awase in a somewhat desperate attempt at maintaining their acquaintanceship. It just felt nice to have someone by his side in school for once, and Mikazuki had fully expected for Yosetsu to, like so many others, keep his distance from him the moment he discovered what his Quirk, or at least a factor of his Quirk, really was.
What he didn't expect, however… was for a soft chuckle to erupt from the Welder as he grinned and stroked his Tail Blade with a tiny bit more affection, and out of no small amount of shock, the blue eyed boy turned towards his acquaintance with a raised brow and gave Awase a pointed look… only to slack his shoulders when he saw that Yosetsu was smiling as he processed this new piece of information.
"...?!" not much was said as Mikazuki watched the Welder chuckle a fair bit as the Rex Blade shifted upwards and nuzzled his cheek, eliciting a snicker from the kid as he turned towards him with a grin. There was nothing malicious about the way he stared at him, nor was there any hidden suspicion or the longing to get away from him in any way, shape or form. No… Yosetsu looked to be… just as he always was.
Hell, if anything, the realization of just what Mikazuki's Quirk really was seemed to put him at ease as he exhaled softly and spoke up after a few moments of silence.
"Y'know, I always wondered what your Quirk was. I used to tell myself that it was probably an Emitter type, one that made you suppress your emotions in exchange for that absurd amount of strength that you can achieve. Or, I guess, your Quirk makes you short or something, I don't fuckin' know," laughed Yosetsu incredulously as the Rex Tail hovered skywards and looped itself around the Welder's body, with it coming to a stop atop the young boy's shoulder as it crooned happily, eliciting a tiny smile from him as he patted its side, once more surprising Mikazuki with just how… accepting he was of his Mutation all the while. "I never did expect you to have… well… this."
"... and you're not… afraid?" tried Mikazuki worriedly as he stared up at him through the darkness, eliciting a blink from Yosetsu as he stared right back at him. His blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark as they maintained eye contact for the briefest of moments, and though it was subtle, Awase has known the Tail wielder long enough to know how to tell when he was distressed. Now was one such occasion, and though he wasn't an expert at doing so, the boy still did his best to assure him that things were fine between the two as he offered him a reassuring smile.
"Why would I be? This shit's awesome!" responded Yosetsu with a grin as the Rex Tail shrieked out in agreement, only for Mikazuki to swat it over its 'head', annoyed at how it might have possibly revealed the fact that they were here all the while. Thankfully enough, however, no one investigated the loud noise, much to their relief, and seconds later, Awase continued to speak. "Like, don't get me wrong, it is kind of freaky-"
A growl emanated from the Rex Tail in annoyance as it flicked the tip of its blade away from Yosetsu.
"-but it's still pretty cool! Not many Heroes have Mutation Quirks like this, y'know? The only one I can remember is Hashmallim, and even then, she was a Hero from half a century ago!" stated Yosetus, with him sounding more interested in Mikazuki's Quirk than actually wary of it as he spoke. This caught the boy off guard, as he found himself temporarily overwhelmed by the Welder's words, but even so, he found himself giving him a half-smile as he nodded in agreement.
"Yamagi told me about Hashmallim a lot. Said I was like her. That I could be like her," pointed out Mikazuki as his Tail wrapped itself around Yosetsu's neck like a scarf. It gave him an Eraserhead-esc vibe to him, oddly enough, though Augus didn't question it as the Welder grinned.
"Well, I don't see why not! You're already Hero material in my eyes, so I don't doubt that you can make it big if you put your heart into it!" said Yosetsu with zero hesitation, and at that, the host of the… parasite… the Quirk found himself widening his eyes in surprise as he looked away to conceal a small smile that was present on his face.
"... I see… thank you, Awase-Kun," thanked Mikazuki silently, with him keeping his voice relatively low, to the point where Yosetsu could barely even hear him as he spoke. Hearing him thank him was one thing, but to hear him refer to him as Awase-Kun was something else entirely, and honestly speaking, it felt rather nice to be called as such, as evident by the doofy grin present on his face as he processed that thought.
He got over it relatively quickly, though.
"You're welcome. You're making it sound like a pretty big deal, though. It's not like you can't be a Hero. Anyone can be a Hero, so long as they put their hearts into it, and considering how you ran head-fucking-first into danger just to save my sorry ass, I'd say you're more of a Hero than most of the limelights that I've seen on TV," laughed Yosetsu with a smug smile as he spoke, eliciting a blink from Mikazuki as he spoke. How strange… though he has very well been told by others that he could be a Hero in the past, their words typically held no weight behind them.
And yet… when it came from Yosetsu… it felt almost earth-shattering to hear. The Welder wasn't exactly the best person ever, something that he's admitted to on a handful of occasions in the past, but to Mikazuki, his words held a lot of meaning behind them, and to hear him say such a thing to him out of the goodness of his own heart… well, it made the boy's very own skip a beat happily as he almost smiled at his kindness.
"You… really think that, Awase-Kun?" asked Mikazuki as he stared up at his acquaintance in disbelief, eliciting a smug grin from the taller kid as he nudged him with his elbow.
"Augus-Kun, you've literally rushed in to save my ass back then. You didn't even care to call for anyone else's help, you just rushed in, without any care for your own wellbeing, just to rescue me and a few other kids. If that doesn't scream Hero to absolutely everyone out there with a brain, then I don't know what does!" laughed Yosetsu as he grinned at his pal enthusiastically. For his part, the Tail user was taken aback by his words, more so from Awase's somewhat naive view on Heroism as seasoned Pros would've considered what he had done to be outrageously reckless and more than a bit illegal as Heroes typically tried not to kill Villains, but even so… part of him still couldn't help but feel touched by his words as he offered the Welder a half smile and nodded as thanks. "That's what a Hero does, after all. They run into danger just to save others!"
And at that declaration, Mikazuki couldn't help but give his acquaintance a cheeky grin. Well, cheeky by his standards, anyways, as, in the dark, and without looking very closely, even Yosetsu wasn't able to see that smile as he spoke.
"Just like how you rushed in to save Atra back there? And me, later on?" asked Mikazuki fondly, with him recalling how he had saved him hours prior, and likewise, how Atra had recounted how he had rushed in after her before she could be caught. Those were impressive feats of bravery on Awase's part, and Augus didn't wish to discredit him for either. "Both were pretty selfless."
"Y-Yeah. I guess I did do those things, huh? What else could I do, though? It's not like I could just let Atra get kidnapped… or you to get killed," stated Yosetsu meekly as he glanced away awkwardly, eliciting a nod from Mikazuki as his tiny smile increased in size, if only by a little.
"I see. That's very heroic of you," praised Mikazuki bluntly, with him not bothering to beat around the bush as he spoke. This comment seemed to catch the Welder off guard, as he ended up widening his eyes in surprise as he felt his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. Interesting… it seemed as though Yosetsu hasn't been told such a thing prior to now. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh! Well… no… it's just that… I've never been told that before now, is all," admitted Awase bluntly as he tapped his fingers together. At the same time, the Rex Tail squaked a little as it reclined a tad bit against Yosetsu's abdomen, catching his attention and making him turn down and pat its side gently.
"Explain," requested Mikazuki flatly. Honestly speaking, it was less of a request and more of a demand, as he ended up, somewhat unintentionally, giving his acquaintance a death glare through the darkness, though Yosetsu, thankfully enough, did not notice it as he simply sighed and did as requested.
"Well, I won't bore you with the details, but my Quirk… it's not exactly the most… combat oriented or flashy one out there," stated Yosetsu sadly as he held a hand up and splayed his fingers apart a few times to put a tiny bit of emphasis behind his point. Mikazuki was well aware of what his Quirk, Weld, was and what it could do, and to be frank, he didn't agree with that statement, but at the same time, he said nothing of it as he didn't wish to cut him off. "Because of that, I… wasn't exactly really considered Hero material by others back in Elementary School."
"And what about-"
"If you were gonna ask about Choritsu, then you don't have to. Things are… better here," cut off Yosetsu before Mikazuki could finish his statement. In response to this, Augus simply nodded as he went silent and allowed his acquaintance to continue speaking. "But honestly speaking, that's not the point. The point is that shit used to suck big time for me. Other kids usually ignored me thanks to my weak Quirk, and on particularly bad days, they liked to pick on me. Nothing too bad, but it wasn't really pleasant."
"Hmph. Bullies…" grumbled Mikazuki distastefully. The boy's had his fair share of bullies in the past, and he could very well understand just how cruel they could be from experience. "They told you that you couldn't be a Hero?"
"... yeah. Is it really that obvious?" inquired Yosetsu blandly, eliciting a deadpanned stare from Mikazuki, one that he barely caught amidst the darkness, a sight that made Awase snort in bemusement as he continued. "Yeah. Apparently it is. Can't blame em, though. Something as simple as Weld can't really-"
"It can."
This time, Mikazuki was the one cutting Yosetsu off as he stared at him sternly. For his part, Awase was taken aback by just how forceful that cutoff was, though he said nothing of it as he glanced down at his acquaintance in surprise. Vice versa, Augus was giving him a look that held a mixture of amusement, annoyance and, to a certain degree, anger as he studied his pal closely.
"There are a lot of Heroes that don't rely on combative Quirks to be successful. Some Heroes don't even make use of their Quirks, but rather, they use their Support Gear," stated Mikazuki flatly, though in spite of his apparent tone of disinterest, the Welder beside him could sense a small amount of passion present in his tone of voice as he spoke. "Eraserhead has a Quirk that's not flashy or combat-oriented, but he's still successful as an Underground Hero. So is J-Der, who relies almost entirely on Support Gear to use his Quirk properly, or Shiranui Oowashi, whose Quirk doesn't change the fact that he relies entirely on his skills.
"You said it yourself too. Quirks shouldn't define a person or a Hero. Their actions should. You said that to the other orphans a lot. Did you forget that you said it?"
"I… I did, huh? Well, I wouldn't say that I told them that to make them feel better about themselves, but even so… I-I never thought that any of you guys would flip it around and use my own words against me, even as praise!" stated Yosetsu meekly as he smiled and scratched his cheek sheepishly. Mikazuki hummed in amusement at his words as he nodded, finding some logic behind what Awase had just said all the while.
"Hmph. You don't understand how much your words meant to us back then. Now you do. The younger kids in Chryse see you as a Hero, even before now, Awase-Kun. I'm sure the older ones will see you as one as well, after your actions today," said Mikazuki bluntly, to which the Welder blushed a little as he rubbed his cheek self-consciously.
"And… what about you?" inquired Yosetsu, with him tilting his head curiously as he spoke. Mikazuki didn't understand his question at first, prompting the Welder to explain. "They see you as a Hero too, right? Hell, don't you want to be a Hero as well? I already said that what you did back there was hella heroic, and with your abilities and your Quirk, I'd say you'd make a fine Hero, maybe even part of the top ten!"
"... you're not wrong," muttered Mikazuki after a few moments of silence. His sudden agreement with Yosetsu's words had legitimately caught him off guard, prompting the Welder to turn towards him with a surprised expression on his face, and, sensing his surprise, the shorter boy huffed and explained himself. "I… want to be a Hero as well, Awase-Kun."
"O-Oh… sorry, I… I was just under the impression that you didn't want to be a Hero for some reason," apologised Yosetsu, with him bowing his head as he spoke. Mikazuki scoffed at that, with him finding the apology to be unnecessary, but he said nothing of it as he nodded.
"It's fine. It's not like I showed much interest in being a Hero, anyways," assured Mikazuki as he waved Yosetsu off. The Welder chuckled a little at that, with him acknowledging how, in the past, Augus had never shown any form of care when on the topic of Heroes. Hell, the only time he would converse about Heroes in any meaningful way was with Yamagi, and even then, their conversations were mostly held in private and were usually about Heroes that Awase has never heard of, such as the Floating Hero, Nimbus, or the Jet Hero, Gran Torino. Outside of those rare occasions, however, Mika never showed any care for the profession, and as such, it surprised Awase a lot to learn that he wished to become one.
"Well, if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to become a Hero, anyways?" asked Yosetsu curiously, eliciting a snort from Mikazuki.
"Why do you?" deflected Mika, prompting Yosetsu to blush a tad bit as he scratched his cheek meekly.
That… was a good question, really. As a child, Yosetsu has always wanted to be a Hero because he thought of it as being a cool profession. However, when he grew older, and after doing quite a bit of research behind the Hero profession as a whole in his spare time, he's come to realize that there was much more to being a Pro than to simply look cool, and all of that culminated in him meeting a Hero, in the flesh, for the first time in his life…
"Hey, Augus-Kun, you remember how I have an autograph from Centipeder hung up in my room?" inquired Yosetsu meekly, to which Mikazuki nodded. At that, the Welder continued. "Well… when I met him back in Elementary School, I asked him… could I be a Hero? And with him being a Hero, he obviously said yes… but still, he told me that it would be dangerous. That Heroes risk a lot just by doing their job.
"Of course, I asked why he kept doing it, if it's so dangerous. Why did he continue to be a Hero, in spite of the risks. His answer ended up making me reevaluate how I saw Heroes as a whole… and honestly, I still need to thank him for doing that.
"He told me that though he risks a lot just by being a Hero, to him, it's worth it if he can keep those around him safe. He told me that being cool isn't the only reason why most Heroes do that they do, but they also do it to protect the public and make everyone feel safe… and I guess that's when I found myself thinking that I couldn't be a Hero…"
"...?" the confusion was rather obvious in Mikazuki's expression as he tried his best to figure out what Yosetsu was trying to get across, and upon noticing this, Awase smiled and elaborated sadly.
"Well, back then, I was lot more… let's just say vulgar than I am now. I threw the F bomb around like a sailor, and I gave everyone the stink eye just for looking at me the wrong way. My elementary school taught me that if you're weak, then you're nothing, so I had to make up for all that by pretending to be tough," explained Yosetsu, with him rubbing his wrist awkwardly as he spoke. Those were some… interesting days back in elementary school, with him pretending to be a hot shot whenever he arrived in class. "But Centipeder's words were a wake-up call to me. I realized that I didn't exactly have the presence or the charisma to be a Hero. That I wasn't strong, reassuring or even flashy enough to make a crowd feel safe. So…"
"So you gave up," finished Mikazuki, with him raising a brow in… disappointment(?) at Yosetsu as he concluded his words. In response to this, Awase simply chuckled blandly as he nodded, having found no faults in his short acquaintance's words all the while.
"Yeah. I just… went radio-fucking-silent, I guess. I just kept to myself, did my own thing, and kept out of the way of the students with flashy, combat oriented Quirks. I just didn't see any reason to pursue a dream that I wasn't fit to go after in the first place," lamented Yosetsu sadly as his shoulders slumped a little, though before he could get too self-depreciative on his formerly lost dream, the Rex Tail abruptly lifted itself off his lap and began coiling the fleshy tendril connecting it to Mikazuki's upper back around his body.
Rather understandably, Yosetsu was caught off guard by what the Rex Tail was doing, though, seeing as how Mikazuki wasn't stopping it, the Welder put his faith in his acquaintance and allowed the tail to do its thing. Ultimately, Awase found himself coiled up in the bone blade's tendril like a mouse ensnared in a snake's grasp, and the bone blade itself ended up resting the bottom of its 'head' atop his shoulder once it was done coiling around his body.
"Uh…"
"It's a hug," clarified Mikazuki, eliciting a mild blink of apprehension from the taller boy as he stared at him uncertainly, though not long after, he found himself rolling with it as he nodded and, somewhat awkwardly, patted the 'head' of the Rex Tail. the bone blade crooned with approval as the Welder patted it like a particularly strange cat, though not long after, it simply settled down atop his shoulder and went momentarily dormant.
"Quite a… weird hug… but I guess it's hard enough to hug when you've got not arms," laughed Yosetsu with a smile as he nudged the Rex Tail's side with some of his fingers, eliciting a squak of mild, possibly faux, annoyance from it all the while. Mikazuki responded to that claim with a mild shrug of his shoulders.
"Whatever. But why do you think your dream isn't worth pursuing?" inquired Mikazuki, to which Yosetsu winced.
"Well, dreams are nice and all, but you gotta be realistic, right? You can't just become a Hero just because you want to. You need to know what to do if you wanna become something… and I don't think that I have what it takes to become one," stated Yosetsu, with his voice more or less showing how he felt about his previous dream as he spoke. To him, that was more or less final, as he didn't have any real way to achieve that old goal of his, but to Mikazuki…
"Bullshit."
It was just that; bullshit, and to hear him swear so brazenly… it made Yosetsu flinch a little as he turned towards his acquaintance with a bewildered look on his face as he elaborated.
"It doesn't matter if your dreams are unrealistic. The future is built on dreams, and without them, we wouldn't get anywhere," stated Mikazuki flatly as he turned to give Yosetsu a mild glare from the side. "Do you think that any of the Heroes we have now would become Heroes without a dream?"
"W-Well… no, but-"
"Exactly. They dreamt of being Heroes, and they became Heroes because of it. They became Heroes because they put in the effort to fight against all odds to protect others around them. Other people may not think that you're a Hero, but who gives a shit. If you think that you can be a Hero, then that's all that matters," ranted Mikazuki, with him sounding more than a little annoyed as he spoke. For his part, Yosetsu was taken aback by what he had just heard, as he never thought that he'd hear Mika, of all people, rant to him about dreams. But even so, it was still enough to make him smile as he let what his acquaintance said sink in, and when it did, he felt his heart swelling up as he nodded in thanks and rubbed his upper arm awkwardly.
"... you're right, I guess. I shouldn't let others dictate what I want to be," stated Yosetsu with a half-smile as he nudged his acquaintance's elbow endearingly. Satisfied with his answer, Mikazuki answered with a firm nod of his head, and though moments later… "What about you, though?"
"What about me?" inquired Mikazuki. His tone of voice told Yosetsu that he knew what he was getting at, but even so, Awase didn't acknowledge it as he shrugged.
"You want to be a Hero, don't you? Well… I may as well ask why? I mean, I told you why I wanted to and why I gave up initially, didn't I? It's only fair if you do the same," clarified Yosetsu, eliciting a nod from Mikazuki seconds later. The Rex Tail user didn't seem comfortable with this at first, with him frowning as he racked his brain for a way to tell Awase about why he wanted to be a Hero without revealing too much. The Welder seemed to mistake his silence for him being uncomfortable with sharing, however, as he continued with: "Hey, if it's too personal, then-"
"Because it's the only way for someone like me to support my family."
Mikazuki had cut Yosetsu off rather gently, or as gently as someone like him could, anyways, though considering just how much conviction was behind those words, he may as well have shouted them out, as Awase was quick to snap his jaw shut before turning to stare at Augus curiously. His gaze told him that he wished for an explanation, and as such, he gave him one.
"Awase-Kun, do you know what my Quirks are?" inquired Mikazuki, eliciting a blink from the aforementioned boy as he turned towards the shorter one's tail.
"I'm guessing it's this fella? Wait, hold on for a fucking minute… did you say Quirks? As in… plural?" stated Yosetsu, only to realize something as he stared at his acquaintance in disbelief.
"Yes. Plural. I have two Quirks. Or at least I think I do. Everyone in the orphanage says I have two, but Old Man Yuki and Takaki say that I have just one that mutated," explained Mikazuki, with him rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he spoke. Yosetsu, for his part, felt rather taken aback by this, as, despite how dual Quirks were very much a real thing, they were absurdly rare, and to own two Meta Abilities all at once more or less guaranteed a path to stardom, one way or another… "Either way, my Quirks are Lupus Infection and Rex Tail.
"Collectively, everyone calls it Lupus Rex."
"Lupus Rex…" echoed Yosetsu as he raised his arms up to allow the Rex Tail to uncoil itself from his body. As it did so, the tail blade moved to hover beside Mikazuki and allowed him to stroke its side as he explained his abilities.
Mikazuki Augus
Quirk - 1: Lupus Infection
An Accumulation/Emitter Type Quirk, the Lupus Infection effectively transforms emotions into adrenaline. The type of emotion is irrelevant to the Accumulation cycle, as Mikazuki can gradually build it up by feeling either positive or negative emotions, though the latter option noticeably builds up the Accumulation faster. Depending on how much energy has been accumulated, when activated, Mikazuki's eyes will glow either green or red, and the effects of his Quirk, which are akin to a particularly strong adrenaline boost, will be amplified depending on the colour.
"That's… awesome," admitted Yosetsu, amazed at just how interesting that Quirk of his was. Despite this, however, Mikazuki found himself disagreeing as he looked down sadly.
"It isn't," responded Mikazuki bitterly as he looked away sadly. Yosetsu was… taken aback by his words as he heard this, though not long after, Augus explained why he thought this way. "My Quirk works on emotions. If I'm happy, it begins to build up. If I'm angry, it builds up faster. I… can't be happy or angry. I have to be… this."
As he said that, Mikazuki pointed to himself solemnly as Yosetsu let that realization sink in. The boy beside him had never acted how he did because he was an antisocial prick… he had done so because he didn't wish to inadvertently activate his Quirk…!
"You need to be how you are… so your Quirk doesn't inadvertently activate on its own," stated Yosetsu, to which Mikazuki nodded.
"It normally doesn't activate when I don't want it to, but if I gather up too much energy and don't use it, I won't be able to stop it from turning on by itself," explained Mikazuki flatly, with him frowning as he spoke. Yosetsu flinched a little at that, with him frowning as he acknowledged how much that had to suck, especially with modern Quirk laws forbidding civilians from using their abilities in public. "I can't get rid of the stockpile… not unless I either activate my Quirk, or if I fall asleep, and even then, sleeping doesn't deplete it to zero."
"... don't you have a medical certificate, though? Those that have Accumulation type Quirks tend to have cards that state that they have permission to use their Quirks freely, if only to get rid of their stockpile," stated Yosetsu, eliciting a deeper frown from Mikazuki.
"I used to have one, but it was… lost. And I didn't have enough money to buy a new one. I was offered one five years ago, and the cost of that one card would've required the Old Man to sell the entire orphanage away," grumbled Mikazuki, with him grimacing at the memory. Yosetsu noticeably flinched at that realization as he nodded sadly and clasped his hands together tightly, with him finding some pity behind how Mikazuki, in a somewhat literal way, could not afford to emote as he stared down at the ground sadly.
It didn't take long for Mikazuki to notice Yosetsu's sadness regarding his Quirk condition, however, as the boy sighed and nudged his acquaintance gently, and seconds later, he continued to speak.
"My other Quirk…"
Mikazuki Augus
Quirk - 2: Rex Tail
A strange Mutation Quirk that emerged when Mikazuki was between the ages of 5 and 9, the Rex Tail is a bony blade that is connected to the upper segment of his spine, specifically the 11th to the 14th columns, via a fleshy tendril that can reach up to ten metres in length. The Tail is partially sentient through unknown means, but it's 'emotions' seem to mirror Mikazuki's, and its actions seem to be driven by them.
"... and I still don't know why it emerged."
A soft squak of indignation was heard by both boys as the Rex Tail 'huffed' angrily. Turning towards it, they watched as the blade hovered over to the corner of the room thanks to its ten metre tendril and sulked by the corner, amusing the two of them all the while.
"It's a weird Quirk, I'll say that much… but it does seem nice, I guess?" muttered Yosetsu awkwardly as he scratched his cheek. As he did so, Mikazuki huffed and nodded in mild agreement. He knew that, despite it usually being a chaotic agent of chaos, the Rex Tail would not step out of line, especially when he didn't want it to, though he just wished that it could act just a bit more maturely at times.
"... Takaki theorised that it's an… auxiliary stockpile for my Quirk. That it helps the Lupus Infection hold more power by being a seperate containment area… I think," said Mikazuki as the Rex Tail, having heard what Yosetsu had said about it prior, hovered under his arm and more or less demanded for him to pat it. Awase did so with little issue as he smiled down at it rather gently, and moments later, he turned back to Mika, who, strangely enough, shuddered a fair bit as he felt his 'tail' getting stroked.
"Well, whatever the reason behind your secondary Quirk's existence, I gotta say that it's pretty cool. Rough around the edges in a very literal way, but I like it," stated Yosetsu with a smile, and to that, Mikazuki offered him a smile that he could barely even see as he nodded in appreciation.
"That would make you one of the few," sighed the boy as his tail slouched a little as he spoke. Yosetsu raised a brow at his words, more or less asking for an elaboration with just his facial features alone, and not long after, Mikazuki offered him one. "You must be wondering how this relates to me wanting to be a Hero, huh?"
"Well… yeah…" admitted Yosetsu sheepishly as he scratched his cheek meekly, though that act went unnoticed by the boy beside him as he responded accordingly.
"It relates to me being a Hero because… when I was still floating around various schools… a lot of… things happened to me," began Mikazuki, with him frowning as he recalled his multiple transfers amidst his Elementary school days, and likewise, he also recalled his few transfers amidst his Middle School years as well. Yosetsu himself was unsure at first, though he was quick to recall some choice words from his teacher from near the start of the school year as he stared at Augus uncertainly.
Mikazuki Augus is in a rather… tense situation right now, so to speak. There are issues in regards to his past that contribute to his mental health, and believe me when I say that Kamishiro Elementary is not the first school he's been to.
Suddenly, those words from his Quirk History teacher all those months back made complete sense to him…
"Were people… mean to you?" tried Yosetsu, to which Mikazuki grimaced.
"No… it was the opposite," stated Mikazuki, with him almost snarling as he spoke. This came as a surprise to Yosetsu, as he never thought that anyone would complain about others being nice to them, though before he could point out the strangeness behind his words, the boy elaborated. "The schools I went to before Choritsu… they all saw me for my Quirk, never for who I was.
"They all put me on a pedestal because of my Quirk. They didn't care about who I was as a person, all they said was that I would become a great Hero with my powers, and that was all they cared about. People only came up to me because of my Quirk, because they thought that it was powerful. And I hated it.
"I hated how everyone treated me like I was already a Hero in my old schools. I transferred from school to school twice before I began hiding my Quirks. I never liked to show them off in the first place, so it was easy, and the tail didn't mind either."
A soft croon from the aforementioned tail confirmed Mikazuki's words, and to that, the Welder winced as he asked the Lupus Rex wielder something that was on his mind.
"It couldn't have been that bad, right?" said Yosetsu, with him tilting his head a little as he spoke. Mikazuki's response to that was a mild scoff of amusement. Unlike him, Awase has never seen just how corrupt the education system could be, if only to gain some notoriety amongst the other schools in the country. To get even a single student into U.A, especially the Hero Course, would be good publicity for any school, and though they would vehemently deny such claims, even the most prestigious and humble of education centers would kill to get a chance at getting one of their own into the best High School in Japan.
"No. It was worse," groaned Mikazuki, and thereafter, he began to recall a handful of situations where the schools he attended attempted to make him look good. Most of his retellings included them trying to prop him up on a pedestal by altering his grades to be much better than they truly were, or, in one instance, blame a particularly violent, out of school but still in uniform, fight between Mikazuki and three upperclassmen from the same school as him on the Quirkless person that Augus was fighting to protect back then.
That one in particular had angered the usually emotionless boy to the point where he had asked to leave the school on the spot.
"I don't like Quirk Descrimination. It's stupid," grumbled Mikazuki as he concluded his retelling of that last issue, eliciting a nod of agreement from Yosetsu as he said that.
"Yeah, I get that. But even so… isn't it expensive to hop from school to school? Like, no offense, but you don't have much in the way of cash, right…?" commented Yosetsu, to which Mikazuki went silent briefly as he reminisced about his days before the orphanage.
"That's… irrelevant, Awase-Kun. Back then, all that mattered to me was that the school was being Quirkist. And I don't like Quirkists. So I left," grumbled Mikazuki, eliciting a mild nod of respect from Yosetsu as he sighed.
"Well… and what about the Quirkless kid you saved?" asked Yosetsu, and at that, Augus nearly smiled as he stared off into the distance momentarily before answering.
"She… she's doing fine," stated Mikazuki fondly as he crossed his arms, eliciting a raised brow from Yosetsu as he nodded. She, huh? Interesting… "But that's besides the point. All of those schools thought that I could be a Hero because I had a strong Quirk, and that's it. I hated it. I hated being treated like I was better than everyone else when, in reality, I wasn't. I wanted to be a Hero, yes, but not because it was expected of me," stated Mikazuki coldly. "I wanted to become a Hero on my own terms. Not anyone else's."
"I can respect that notion," muttered Yosetsu wholeheartedly as he nodded in approval of Mikazuki's words. Augus showed his appreciation with a nod, and moments later, Awase continued. "But I still don't understand why you want to be a Hero, though…"
"... I want to be a Hero mainly to support the orphanage. The money a Hero earns will be enough to give the kids that can't or those that don't want to be adopted a comfortable life," explained Mikazuki solemnly as he leaned forwards and rested his elbows atop his thighs. For all it was worth, Yosetsu could respect the noble intentions behind Mika's reasoning for wanting to be a Hero, though he was quick to continue before he could comment on it. "And… and I'm hoping to find a sponsor or two to help me spread the word about Quirk Discrimination.
"No one's willing to listen to a nobody like me. But if I can become a Hero… an successful one at that, and if I can get some people to listen… I… I could make not just the other orphans' lives better, but maybe even the lives of others with weak or no Quirks as well."
"That… that's actually pretty fucking cool of you, Augus-Kun…!" said Yosetsu, shocked at just how far Mikazuki was willing to go as a Hero, not for himself, but for the betterment of others. The boy's response to this praise was to smile, if only by a little, as he nodded in appreciation, though seconds later, that smile faded away as he sighed and slouched his shoulders a little.
"But it's… going to be difficult for me to be a Hero now. I've done a lot of bad things in the past, and I'd be lucky to even be able to leave this hospital by tomorrow," lamented Mikazuki sadly, eliciting a tilt of Yosetsu's head as he spoke.
"Bad things? Like… erm… what you did with our kidnappers?" inquired Yosetsu, with him shuddering a little as he recalled what was left of those monsters in human skin as he spoke. Though never explicitly told to him, Awase was subconsciously aware of how those bastards would not be walking anywhere any time soon, especially when he had quite literally stepped on a puddle of blood when he had been leaving that building hours prior.
"Yes. That, and a lot more that you don't know of," muttered Mikazuki, with Yosetsu barely catching his words as he spoke. He said nothing of it, however, as the shorter boy sighed deeply and continued. "I… I honestly don't know if I'll be able to see you again after today."
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! You're talking like you're going for a life sentence after this!" bellowed Yosetsu in shock, to which Mikazuki gave him a deadpanned stare, with his blue irises almost glowing in the darkness all the while. That response more or less gave the Welder his response as he paled significantly. "Wait… a-are you being serious…?"
"I'm always serious, Awase-Kun," answered Mikazuki flatly as he gave his acquaintance a deadpanned stare. As he did so, he rubbed one of his hands awkwardly and frowned a little at the phantom pain lingering in the limb. Dislocating one's thumb in order to force it out of a handcuff was… unpleasant, shall we say? "I only snuck in here to confirm that you are alright since you're being released tomorrow."
"... how do you know that I'm being released tomorrow?" asked Yosetsu meekly, to which his acquaintance almost cracked a smug smile whilst responding.
"I didn't. It was just a guess," stated Mikazuki with a smile as he shook his head in amusement. Yosetsu… blushed a fair bit at that, with him almost laughing at how Augus had manipulated him in such an amusing manner, though he didn't think much more of it as he sighed and nodded in defeat. "But I was worried about you. That's why I came here in the first place, to confirm that you were okay."
"I'm guessing that you didn't get clearance, huh?," guessed Yosetsu, eliciting a shrug from Mikazuki as he answered.
"I tried. The Detective didn't give me an answer," answered Mika, short and simple as his acquaintance chuckled and shook his head in bemusement. "So I made the executive decision to break the law and come see you for myself."
"How does that- actually, know what, I don't wanna know," began Yosetsu, only to cut himself off when he realized that he was better off not knowing the answer to that statement. Mikazuki snorted in amusement at that, though he didn't say much else as Awase continued to speak. "But still, that doesn't explain why you told me all this… about you wanting to be a Hero and encouraging me to follow my dreams, I mean."
"I just thought that it would be a nice thing to do. You always had the heart of a Hero, buried underneath all your faults, and I thought it would be a waste to not nurture it," answered Mikazuki, with him shrugging as he spoke. To him, reigniting Yosetsu's former dream of being a Hero didn't seem like too big of a deal… but to Awase himself, it meant the world, as his eyes felt rather glassy after a few moments, with him wiping at them as he fully processed what his acquaintance had just told him. Augus, admittedly, found himself worried for him as he held a hand up to ask about his condition, though the Welder was quick to wave him off as he lowered his arm with a smile.
"D-Don't worry, these are happy tears…" assured Yosetsu with a smile as he chuckled and eyed his acquaintance gently. Mikazuki didn't appear too convinced by this, though he said nothing of it as he watched Awase wipe at his eyes a little before sighing a little. "Those were probably the nicest thing that anyone's told me, discluding anything from my parents, anyway. Are you sure you're not a Hero, Augus-Kun? Cos you sure sounded like one back there."
"I… I don't think I am. I doubt I'll even be allowed to be one after today, anyways," lamented Mikazuki sadly as he shook his head, and to that, the Welder smiled in determination as he raised an arm up to squeeze his acquaintance… his friend's shoulder, surprising the shorter boy with just how strong his grip could be if he put his all into it.
"Have faith, Augus-Kun. After all, you need faith to slash into the future, don't you know?" grinned Yosetsu, to which Mikazuki raised a brow in a mixture of appreciation… and amusement.
"You got that from a game you play, didn't you," accused Mikazuki boldly, to which the Welder blushed and looked away meekly.
"N-No…" deflected Yosetsu, with him hoping that his shorter friend would not remember the Seven Sword Hero's, Conversationalist, existence. Either way, Mikazuki didn't seem to dwell all that much on the issue as he nodded in a somewhat knowing manner, and seconds alter, the two of them went silent as they simply basked in the serene tranquility of each other's presence.
Both, on a subconscious level, knew that this could possibly be the last time they saw one another in a long while, and they simply wished to take in the other's presence for as long as humanly possible before they parted ways. After some time, however, the silence was broken by Mikazuki, surprisingly enough, who opened his mouth to fill in the dead air between the two.
"Awas-"
"Yosetsu."
Only for the Welder to cut him off before he could even finish his first word. Upon hearing this, the Rex Tail wielder, alongside his aforementioned tail, perked up as they gave Yosetsu a confused stare, and seconds later, Awase smiled and continued to speak.
"You can call me Yosetsu, Augus-Kun," stated the Welder, who smiled as he watched Mikazuki blink in surprise. This wasn't a small decision to make on his part, as calling one by their first name was very much a privilege that had to be earnt around these parks, but even so, Augus acknowledged how the two of them have been together for the better part of half a year, and they've grown to respect each other tremendously.
Such a mutual level of trust had placed the two's relationship on a level further than being mere acquaintances, and though he wouldn't admit it, not yet anyways, Mikazuki did legitimately see Yosetsu as a friend. So, to have him to brazenly ask him to call him by his first name… it more or less sealed the deal on the issue as a whole as he nodded in acknowledgement of his words.
"... only if you call me Mika," stated the Tail wielder, surprising even himself with his request as he blinked a little in surprise. Only close friends were offered the chance to call him by his nickname, and for him to so willingly offer Yosetsu the chance to do just that… it was certainly a shock, but even so, he didn't retract that statement as he watched Awase grin and give him a thumbs up.
"Alrighty then, Mika," said Yosetsu with a wink as he grinned a little at just how… right it felt to be calling the orphan that. Vice versa, Mikazuki smiled just a fair bit as he nodded in approval of him speaking his name, though aside from that, he remained silent as Awase continued. "So… you were gonna say something back there?"
"Ah. I was wondering, Yosetsu…" began Mikazuki, with the aforementioned Welder smirking at just how right it felt to have Augus use his first name, though as with Mika, he didn't say anything about it as he listened to him speak. "... what would you use as your Hero name?"
"Hero name, huh? Never did put too much thought into it," admitted Yosetsu as he chuckled lightly. If he were honest, he had quite a few cringe-inducing names filed in the back of his mind, but he'd never tell any of them to Mika, even when threatened with death. "I was thinking of Welder, but-"
"That's too boring. Try something else," stated Mikazuki, eliciting a wince from Yosetsu as he acknowledged that, despite him considering the shorter boy his friend at this point, Mika was still very much a blunt individual who didn't care if he hurt his feelings with his words. "You can do better. Maybe Acceleron. Or BigWeld. No, that one's stupid. Furnace, maybe? No, too simple."
"Acceleron does sound pretty cool…" admitted Yosetsu with a grin, though moments later, he shrugged and leaned back in confusion. "But still, you're saying all this as if you know I'll be a Hero, Mika."
"That's because I know you will become one," stated Mikazuki outright, with him almost cracking a smile as he spoke. Yosetsu was momentarily stunned by this comment of his as he blinked owlishly at his… friend, though moments later, he grinned a tad bit as he answered with a nod.
"I… appreciate the sentiment, Mika. But, honestly speaking, I'd much prefer being a Hero… with you," stated Yosetsu with a somewhat cheeky grin, and to that, the aforementioned boy was rendered speechless as he stared at his… friend in surprise.
Surprise that quickly melted away to show no small amount of amusement as he nodded in apparent agreement. Left unspoken was how he too wished for the same outcome, but he didn't wish to dampen the mood by stating that he was more likely to go to prison than he was becoming a Hero. He wanted this feeling of camaraderie to last for as long as humanly possible, and to mention that would kill it in less than a millisecond.
"So you'd best fuckin' get out of whatever situation you're currently in and meet me at the gates of U.A, you hear me, Mika? And no, this is not a request, it's a fucking demand!" added Yosetsu lightheartedly, eliciting a tiny grin from Augus as he chuckled and nodded. So much for keeping the feeling of camaraderie, he supposed, but then again, it was getting a little weird to not hear Awase lightheartedly cuss someone out, Mikazuki supposed, so he didn't dwell on the issue too much as he watched his Welder buddy reach forwards and hold his hand out good-naturedly. "You got it?"
And to that, Mikazuki, after staring down at his own hand for the briefest of moments, ended up smiling as he nodded and accepted the handshake with little recourse. Though he still fancied himself an irredeemable scumbag of a boy, Augus still could not bring himself to actually deny Yosetsu something as important as this clearly was to him as he offered his new friend a tiny smile alongside him shaking his hand, and vice versa, Awase appeared to be beside himself with joy as he winked at his Tail having friend and offered him a thumbs up.
"Things'll be fine, Mika. Trust me on that!" cheered Yosetsu optimistically as he flashed his friend a thumbs up, and thereafter, the boy could only nod sadly as he did his best to accept his words.
"Yeah. I hope they will be."
Been a while. I was working on other stories (Read: Tekketsu No Kyojin), but Iron Blooded Heroes will be updated a little from here on. C11 is already in the works as I speak.
As with Tekketsu No Kyojin, and all my other stories, I'm working on shortening outros so as to not waste time. Personally I'm not good at these anyways. Were Mikazuki's Quirk explanations left vague for a reason? Perhaps? There's so much to add on in the future! I cannot wait!
Review replies!
wd12091111: I'll always update my stuff if it's fun to write and if people (however few) like them!
Spyro fanboy: personally I just thought that it would be more appropriate if it were flesh. Makes it seem like it's a proper part of Mikazuki rather than an external joint. Also thanks. I never did interrogations before this, so that's good to hear!
Yeah that's basically it. Hope you enjoyed this kinda return to old form with the overly long chapters!
Ciao!