"So, you actually accepted the offer, huh?"
In response to Yamagi Gilmerton's words, Yosetsu found himself blushing a little as he stood in front of the gates to Chryse, where the blonde stared down at him with mostly indifference and maybe, just maybe, a small bit of respect. Regardless of whether or not Awase had imagined that last part, the Welder still rolled with it as he allowed Yamagi to lead him in.
As soon as he stepped into the building, Yosetsu felt a faint chill go up his spine, prompting him to turn and spot Embi closing the door behind him. Upon noticing that he had been busted, the ghostly boy blew Awase a raspberry before sinking into the floor, eliciting a snort from the kid as he shook his head and continued after Gilmerton. He allowed the blonde to lead him in front of Orga, who was currently pitting himself against Shino in an arm wrestling contest, and though Norba fought valiantly, Itsuka ultimately claimed victory by slamming his opponent's hand against the table they were using, causing the small crowd around them to cheer a little as the tanned young man whooped victoriously.
As the crowd dispersed, and as Orga brushed away all the praise he was getting, he found himself quick to zone in on Yosetsu, who looked rather awkward in his casual attire. Itsuka wasn't one to judge, however, as he smiled and approached his friend's friend and gently punched him on the shoulder, eliciting a tiny wince from him all the while.
"So, you here to accept or decline our offer to train you, kid?" inquired Orga, with him smiling a little all the while, and though Yosetsu did seem hesitant at first, he subsequently hardened his features and answered accordingly.
"I'm here to accept your training offer, Orga! If I'm gonna be the best fucking Hero I can be, then I'll need help from the best!" stated Yosetsu, with him putting every ounce of courage he had into his words as he clenched his hand into a fist. He was determined to live up to the expectations that everyone had of him now, and in his mind, only the Chryse orphans would be able to force out his full potential.
The determination that was oozing off the Welder's body was very much contagious, as the likes of Shino and Akihiro found themselves grinning in approval, and likewise, Yamagi seemed mildly impressed when he saw that there was no trace of a lie detected within Yosetsu's mind after taking a poke inside it. Trow and Hirume both grinned as they knew that Awase's spirit would serve him well, especially considering how tough his training regiment would be, and though subtle, the likes of Pedro and, the newest member of the dysfunctional family, Rita cracked small grins at the headband-wearing boy's enthusiasm.
Orga, however, was fully smiling at this point as he clenched a fist tightly to match Yosetsu's fiery determination. His direct interactions with Yosetsu were few and far between, but Mikazuki has always said that Awase could very well make a ruckus whenever he felt like it, and to actually witness it first hand… well, it was rather inspiring, to say the least.
And it also told the entire orphanage, Atra included, that they didn't need to hold back for the kid, and without pause, Yukinojo, who looked to be the most reluctant of the bunch, sighed and handed Yosetsu his training regiment. Upon viewing it… the Welder paled a tiny bit.
"This… seems excessive, don't you think?" commented Yosetsu, with him gulping at how jam-packed his weeks were gonna be now, with the exception being Saturdays, where his therapy sessions would be taking place. In response to this, Takaki, of all people, stepped forward and spoke up.
"Perhaps, but we don't have much time to waste either way. You're currently 13, soon to become 14, years old, and by the time you reach the age of 15, you'll be entering the U.A entrance exam. We have… let's say a year and three quarters to turn you from a boy to a man, and we can't waste any time with small details," stated Takaki boldly as he smiled and clenched his fist with determination, and at that, Yosetsu gathered his thoughts and exhaled sharply.
"Alright! I wanted this… I made my bed, so it's time to lie in it! Throw everything you've got at me! I'll take it all on, and then some!"
And though he knew he'd regret his words, Yosetsu didn't think that it would happen so soon…
"Huff… huff… huff…!"
"C'mon, Awase-Kun! Keep going, you can do it! Just one more kilometer!"
"You… said… that… five… kilometers… ago!"
The wheezing from Yosetsu was almost enough to make Shino stop out of pity, but unfortunately for the welder, Norba wasn't about to let him stop any time soon as he cheered him on, hard, with him waving two flags with the Welder's face printed on them as a way to cheer him on harder. Awase didn't want to comment on how he thought that was kinda creepy.
It has been barely a week since the training regiment has been put into motion, and throughout those few days, the Welder has been suffering a lot more than he wished to admit. According to Takaki, Yamagi and Akihiro, the ones that made most of the training plan in the first place, the Chryse Muscle Growth RegimentTM was made to exercise all of his muscle groups, with every hour of every day (sans Saturdays) being dedicated to him working out every single muscle that he knew, and at times didn't know, he had.
Currently, Awase had to work on his legs, and Shino was in charge of that category. Though he was certainly a good at cheering others on, Norba was lousy at spotting signs of massive fatigue, and he refused to let Yosetsu stop for even a second, with him stating that in a real scenario, the Welder would have no chance to stop for even a second, and he would have to go PLUS ULTRA if he wished to become a Hero. That usually got the kid to pick up the pace, though not by much.
Before long, Yosetsu's legs gave way as he face planted onto the ground beneath him, with him skidding to a stop while Shino gasped in shock. Coming to a screeching halt himself, Norba was quick to rush to check on Awase in a hurry, and after peeling him off the pavement and dragging him off to a convenience store, where he got a bottle of water for the kid to rehydrate himself with, he sat the Welder down on a conveniently placed bench by the road and watched as he began to cool off.
"You good, kid? I might have overextended a little, considering how this is one of our first rodeos," apologised Shino sheepishly as he watched Yosetsu cool off, eliciting a snort from the Welder all the while. Yeah, he definitely overextended, but in truth, Awase wasn't willing to tell him that, as he knew that, despite his teaching methods, Norba meant ell.
"I… could be better, I guess. And i-it's alright… I did say to not hold back, didn't I? I'd be quite the hypocrite if I c-couldn't take what I asked to receive…" chuckled Yosetsu weakly as his breathing slowly began to steady itself. The same couldn't be said for his legs, unfortunately, as they kept aching like there was no tomorrow, but he wasn't about to admit that he wanted to go home and sleep forever anytime soon as he offered Shino the brightest smile he could muster and continued to speak. "If I want to be a Hero… then I've gotta go Plus Ultra, you know? I gotta be at least on par with some of the younger kids in the orphanage…"
"Wanting to be strong is a good thing, but don't forget about your limits, alright? You just started out, and if you push yourself too hard, you might break something that you didn't even know you had in the first place, got it, kiddo?" advised Shino, with him smiling a little, almost as though he knew how that felt, as he spoke. Yosetsu was briefly taken aback by the unexpected wisdom on Norba's end, though he otherwise nodded in acknowledgement of it as he watched the Ryusei-Go user stand up and stretch a little. "But enough talk, kid. Don't sit for too long, cos we're walking back to the orphanage. Even if you're exhausted, you still need to stretch those muscles of yours before they stiffen up. You may not like it, but you'll thank me tomorrow."
And though he was incredibly reluctant to do so, Yosetsu did as he was told. Shino was his boss at the moment, after all.
"Alright Awase-Kun! Ten more reps! C'mon, work those abdominal muscles out! HUT HUT HUT!"
Yosetsu… felt as though he had eaten an entire bucket of curry as he continued to perform sit-ups with Ride Mass as his wingman. The ginger haired boy was nothing if not shouty, and considering how he wasn't exactly the oldest person in the orphanage, he rarely got the chance to use his drill sergeant voice on anyone… until now.
Honestly it seemed as though the kid was deriving more pleasure from shouting at Yosetsu as he ordered the older boy to perform several sit-ups in rapid succession. To his credit, Awase did admirably for quite some time, with him being able to perform up to twenty sit-ups without pause, but after the… goodness, was it the fiftieth sit-up already… after an indeterminate amount of repetitions, the Welder simply couldn't keep up with Mass' demands as he slowed to a crawl.
"C'MON I'VE SEEN SKELETONS MOVE FASTER THAN YOU! AND THEY DON'T HAVE MUSCLE! DOUBLE TIME! GIVE ME FIFTY MORE REPS!" demanded Ride as his Quirk began to act up, distorting his body something fierce as Takaki and Yamagi watched from the sidelines, seeming somewhat concerned for both Welder and Teleporter as the former held a notepad to record Yosetsu's progress.
Thus far, it has been about… a week since Awase began his training, and by all means, he was doing decently. He wasn't gaining any serious muscle, not yet anyways, but his stamina was improving bit by bit. On his first day with Ride, he could barely make it past twenty sit-ups in one go, but now, he was reaching about twenty-five without pause, something that was decent to say the least.
Of course, he wasn't that much better than when he had first started out, and inevitably, he gave way, much to Ride's chagrin as he sighed and turned towards Takaki and Yamagi. The latter, having kept count of Yosetsu's reps, relayed the info to the former, who jotted it down as they moved to crouch next to Awase's exhausted form.
"Fifty-four reps in about five minutes. Not bad, seeing as how this is only week two. You'll improve in time, don't you worry," assured Takaki gently as he lowered his notepad and smiled at the Welder, who breathed in and out deeply as he tried to respond, though he wasn't able to do so verbally, and as such, he simply brought his arm up and offered him a thumbs up. Ride snickered at that while Yamagi rolled his eyes in bemusement.
"You're definitely around the lower end of the stick at the moment, but given enough time, you'll be able to make some exceptional progress. Just don't slack off and you'll be fine," assured Yamagi as he stood up and dusted his clothes off. "It took me more than a few weeks to work myself up to a fraction of how I am now, so don't kick yourself for not improving right away."
"Damn, Yamagi cheering someone on? Are pigs falling from the sky, cos it seems as though some apocalyptic shit is about to take place!" laughed Ride knowingly as he sat down and leaned his body weight against both his arms, eliciting a frown from the blonde in question as he grabbed Takaki's notepad and smacked Mass on the head with it, causing him to whine in annoyance. "Youch!"
"Hmph. If memory serves me well, you fared much worse than me, and you took several weeks to get to where I was back then," reminded Yamagi, sounding almost smug as he grinned at Ride, who reddened in insult as he began to defend himself, having refused to believe that he was by far the weakest member of their brotherhood. Gilmerton simply kept quiet as he read Ride's mind, with him finding great amusement in all this despite him doing his best not to show it. He rarely ever did things like this, after all, and he had to savour it whenever he did.
Meanwhile…
"Does… this happen o-often?" asked Yosetsu meekly as he caught his breath, prompting Takaki to smile as he helped the Welder up to his feet. The older kid wobbled a little as he stood upright, though at least he didn't topple over as the blonde grinned with endearment and shook his head.
"Not often, but even so… whenever it does happen, it's amusing," snickered Takaki, and mere seconds later, Ride, having built up enough stress to cause his Quirk to go out of control, causing him to teleport to a random location thereafter. The three remaining kids were a bit worried about this at first, though they quickly calmed down when they heard Shino yelling about Ride landing in his tea.
"What about that?" asked Yosetsu once more, more so for his own amusement than anything, and this time, Takaki simply sighed.
"That, unfortunately, is common."
"C'mon kid, work those arms out! One, and a two, and a three! And a four!"
"Dante, go easy on him. Awase-Kun's barely gotten started with the weights."
At the behest of Akihiro, who was, by default, the owner of all the weight lifting equipment in the orphanage, Dante sighed and stopped his overly aggressive, if well meaning, coaching of Yosetsu, whose arm felt as though it was beginning to crumble under the twenty kilogram weight that was in his grasp. Even so, he didn't let it deter him as he did his absolute best to lift the weight up just one more time, though as he did so, his fingers unraveled and he dropped the dumbbell with very little fanfare.
Before it could hit the ground, however, Chad, who was overseeing from a distance, sprung forwards and employed his Quirk, dislocating his arm in several places to extend it out to catch the falling dumbbell. Yosetsu had to give him a sheepish smile alongside an awkward thanks as Chadan gingerly placed the dumbbell next to the spot that Awase was sitting at, and moments later, the dark skinned young man went back to do his own thing.
As it turns out, the Chryse Orphanage had a basement, and though he probably should've seen it coming at this point, Yosetsu was still surprised to learn that the orphans, namely Akihiro, Dante and Chad, had turned the entire place into a makeshift gym. All the 'gym equipment' they employed were mostly bought from hundred yen shops or simply cobbled together from whatever scrap metal the kids could find, and the dumbbell that Awase had been using previously was a cheap, solid plastic dumbbell that Mikazuki had allegedly bought several years prior to help train.
The Welder wasn't sure if he should be impressed at how the dumbbell had survived for all those years, or if he should feel insulted that Orga, or perhaps Akihiro, had asked him to start with something this old and, based on the other equipment present in the basement, so 'light'. Either way, Awase didn't comment on that as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"You okay there, Awase-Kun?" asked Akihiro out of the blue, with him sitting down on the empty spot next to the boy in question and clasping his hands together in an awkward manner. Upon hearing him, Yosetsu jolted upright a tiny bit and smiled gently, nonverbally assuring Atland that he was fine, not that he believed him, anyways. "You know, kid, before I came to Chryse, I saw my fair share of fake smiles, so I can tell that you're giving me one right now. So stop beating around the bush and tell me what's bothering you."
"... it's been three weeks, you know?" muttered Yosetsu after a few moments of consideration, eliciting a raise of Akihiro's brows as he nodded, acknowledging that, yes, it has indeed been three weeks. "And I… I just don't feel like I've made any progress."
"Really now?" huffed Akihiro, with him almost smiling, if a little somberly, as he spoke. Awase did not notice this, unfortunately, as he nodded and sighed to himself, with him pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke.
"Yeah. And it's just, I dunno… I feel like a fucking failure is all. I don't feel like I've managed to accomplish anything, that I haven't gotten anywhere with all my efforts," bemoaned Yosetsu as he buried his face in his hands, prompting Akihiro to nod in understanding as he turned towards Chad and Dante and motioned for them to keep their distance. The two nodded, knowing that their friend was likely about to speak with Awase on something… sensitive, and when they did, Atland placed one of his four arms atop the Welder's back and patted him gently. "... Atland-San?"
"Kid, let me ask you something; is anything easy ever worth doing?" asked Akihiro seriously, with him removing his sub arm from Yosetsu's back as he spoke. In response to this, the Welder blinked owlishly as he considered his words, and thereafter, he shook his head.
"Well… no… b-but… but I just feel like a failure. I don't feel any stronger, and if anything, my muscles feel weaker…" lamented Yosetsu, with him not understanding what Akihiro was trying to get at as he spoke. Vice versa, however, Atland understood what Awase was experiencing right now as he smiled solemnly. "I just feel like I'm letting everyone down… that I'm letting Mika down…"
Yosetsu's response from Akihiro was nothing more than silence as the older young man stared at him in bewilderment, with him wondering if the Welder was being sarky before realizing that he couldn't have been. Though the two had not talked all that much about him, Mikazuki did offhandedly remark about how Awase seemed to have issues with self-worth. Nothing too crippling, but enough that it made him doubt his potential for years, and as such, as the boy's personal trainers, Atland felt it to be their personal mission to build him up into the best Hero he could be, both physically and mentally.
"Hey, kid, you wanna know something?" began Akhiro after a few moments of silence, eliciting a confused blink from Awase as he glanced up at the older male and tilted his head a little. A yes, in Atland's book, so he continued. "I used to feel the same as you, you know?"
"...really?" muttered Yosetsu, surprised to hear that Akihiro had experienced such a thing before as he raised his brows in surprise, and at that, the hulking beast of a man smiled awkwardly as his twin back-mounted sub arms rose up to gesture a little.
"When I was younger… I had someone… close to me. I wanted to live up to his expectations, and more so than anything, I wanted to make him proud. He was… younger than me, and to him, I was his Hero, and I worked hard to keep that title," responded Akihiro with a gentle smile. His eyes became distant as he remembered the earlier days of his life, though before long, his smile faded into a neutral frown as he sighed and continued. "But I kept getting caught up on what ifs and worrying about if I could do better… that I just… stopped making progress. And I didn't realize that I had stopped improving… until it was too late."
"... what happened, Atland-San?" asked Yosetsu uncertainly, to which Akihiro chuckled.
"I… don't feel comfortable telling, not right now, anyways. Maybe some other day, but for now, maybe you could take a page out of my book and remember this," said Akihiro, with him deflecting Yosetsu's question with minimal effort before giving him some advice. "You can't rush progress, Awase-Kun. If you try to overextend, you'll find yourself tearing a muscle, and you won't like it when that happens. Go at a reasonable pace, find your eb and flow. And once you find the groove that you can stick to, follow it, and you'll find yourself improving in no time."
"... heh, I have no idea what you just said, but at the same time… I kinda get it," admitted Yosetsu with a small smile as Akihiro snorted and rolled his eyes. As one of the oldest orphans in the building, Atland, whilst not commonly, did try his best to divulge some wisdom unto his fellow orphans, but most of the time, his words tended to go over their heads with worrying frequency. At least Awase pretended to understand, he supposed…
"Good. Now go do some cooldown exercises, kid. We're sending you home!"
Atland Akihiro
Quirk: Rebaked Arms
A Mutation type Quirk, Akihiro's Quirk is present in the form of two extra sets of arms that protrude from his upper back, connected to the back of his shoulder joints. Thanks to their positioning, it is difficult to use them effectively in battle, though Akihiro has learnt to work around this, and he has trained them alongside his normal appendages to the point where they are just as powerful as his regular arms.
"Whoa!"
"Faster, kid!"
"GAH! STARK-SAN! MAYBE- OOF!"
"I SAID FASTER!"
"AAAAAAAH-"
"... should we-"
"No."
Chuckling awkwardly at Embi's response, Trow found himself growing rather concerned as he watched Eugene Seven Stark stand by the side of the orphanage's living room, staring over at Yosetsu as he crossed his arms and stared/glared at him with his naturally tired gaze. Vice versa, however, Awase was more worried about dodging around awkwardly as several pillows of varying sizes came flying at him from all directions.
This was Eugene's training regimen for Yosetsu's reaction time. All of the best Heroes needed to make split second decisions whilst on the field, and the orphans knew this, and thanks to Seven Stark's Quirk, they were able to train the Welder's reaction time up and up with very little consequence.
What was Eugene's Quirk, you may ask? Well-
Eugene Seven Stark
Quirk: Seven Stalks
A powerful Emitter Quirk, Seven Stalks allows Eugene to control an inanimate object with his mind. Similar in fashion to telekinesis, Eugene's is capable of slinging up to seven objects around at a time, and though he can levitate more than seven if need be, he strains himself whilst doing so. His Quirk also consumes a massive amount of stamina when active, resulting in his sleep deprived state.
Well it was more or less perfect in helping Yosetsu train his reaction time, which was going rather poorly, as evident by how Awase had just been smacked in the face by a sizable pillow. As this happened, the Welder staggered backwards before raising his arm up to block another one. Momentarily, he was pleased to know that his reaction time was improving… only for Eugene to grin and send another pillow flying at the back of his head.
"Awase-Kun! On your six!" cheered Trow, ignoring the bemused glare from Akihiro, who was supervising this whole thing. As for the Welder, however, the kid turned and raised his arm just in time to block a decently sized pillow coming at him from behind, and at that, he offered Trow a quick smile as thanks, though seconds later, Eugene rolled his eyes and, in a blink of an eye, buried Awase under several pillows that threatened to suffocate him. "...damn."
"Trow, we talked about this. Don't give him any help, it defeats the purpose of training his reaction speed," scolded Eugene lightly as he rubbed at his eyes. In response to this, Trow blushed lightly and scratched the back of his neck, with Hirume glowing faintly as he snickered while Embi snorted in amusement. As for Yosetsu, however, he was still being held down by all seven of the admittedly large pillows that Seven Stark used for his training, and as such, he couldn't hear any of this.
"Eugene, do you think that we should release him now?" asked Akihiro as he watched Eugene shrug and maintain his hold on the pillows atop the kid.
"Nah. This shit's what happens when you lose your focus in the middle of a fight. Consider it punishment. A possibly comfy one."
And to that, Akihiro, despite feeling slightly bad about this whole situation, simply nodded and watched as Yosetsu remained trapped under those pillows.
Yosetsu… didn't really know what to think of his therapist. He wasn't sure if he liked him all that much, as the guy was a little aloof, but at the same time, he was friendly and understanding, with him speaking to the Welder as though he were a friend rather than as though he were paid to do this.
The therapist went by the name Reiner Fleming, something that tipped Yosetsu off to him being a foreigner. The fact that he referred to the Welder as Mr Awase more or less confirmed it, and though the two did have a slight communication issue at first, Reiner ended up fixing it with some admittedly awkward Japanese. That aside, he looked rather normal, if a little friendly, with his reddish-brown hair swept off towards the right side of his head, jovial and caring red eyes that suited his role as a therapist and his overall friendly face. His attire was a blue shirt that looked similar to a stylised military uniform, albeit with all the emblems removed.
This was the third visit to Reiner at this point, and Yosetsu was already getting used to this. Sure, he wasn't completely used to Fleming's eccentricities just yet, but even so, he couldn't deny that there was something very calming about the older person's office. Painted in a calming blue and without anything overtly intimidating present, the therapy room was very much a place that Awase wouldn't mind coming back to on more occasions than one, but that's besides the point.
When he had arrived, Reiner greeted him with his usual jovial flare, and Yosetsu offered him an awkward response in return. The older man didn't seem to mind, if anything his small smile grew just a bit more as he watched the younger kid take a seat on the opposite side of his desk, and when he did so, Fleming flipped his laptop screen down so that he could focus completely on his patient. Awase had to admit, it felt strange to have someone's full attention, but even so, considering how nice the older guy's been to him thus far, he couldn't say that it was particularly uncomfortable.
"Welcome back, Mr… no, Awase-Kun. Sorry, it's been a busy week," apologised Reiner gently as he smiled at his slip-up, eliciting a wave of Yosetsu's hand, assuring him that it was alright. "But that aside, how have you been? I hope the previous week's been treating you well. Is school treating you alright?"
"Yeah, it has been…" assured Yosetsu, with him not wanting to admit to how strange it felt, for Mikazuki to not be in class with him. When school started for him, he ended up being bombarded with questions from his schoolmates about where he had been for the past week or so, and he did not enjoy it one bit. Thankfully enough, all of it inevitably died down, and life went back to normal, in a sort of way… "But things just feel off…"
"Off? How so?" inquired Reiner, with him perking up at that notion before he pulled a notepad out of seemingly nowhere and produced a pen to write into it. Yosetsu blinked a little at their sudden appearances, though he said nothing of it as he answered.
"I'm sure you know why I'm even here in the first place, right?" a nod from Reiner prompted the Welder to continue. "Well… my friend… Mika… he's… not exactly in a good spot right now. And it's all because of the trouble I got myself into back then. It's been weeks and… well… I don't know if he's coming back any time soon… and I'm worried for him."
"That is understandable. Friends naturally worry about one another, after all. You worrying about Augus Mikazuki is very much understandable in its own right," assured Reiner gently, eliciting a small smile from Yosetsu in the process.
"Well yeah, but still… it's because of me that he's in trouble. And I…" began Yosetsu, only to pause briefly when he saw what looked to be a chocolate bar floating in front of his face. Blinking owlishly at it, he turned towards Reiner and saw that he was smiling. It was a subdued grin that reflected no small amount of understanding towards Awase's current situation, and with a nod towards the floating chocolate bar, he assured the Welder that it was for him.
Awkwardly, Yosetsu held his hands up towards it to grab the chocolate bar, only for Reiner to clench his left hand into a fist, causing the floating bar to fall into Awase's hands. Widening his eyes a little at this, the younger boy stared at Fleming in confusion, with him not knowing what his Quirk was prior to now, and in response to this, his therapist simply winked at him as he motioned for him to eat it. The Welder complied, and as he did so, the older man spoke.
"You know, Awase-Kun, it's completely natural to put the blame on yourself. Humans are emotional by nature, after all, and on some level, we will always blame ourselves for things that happen, even if they are out of our control," stated Reiner gently, and as he did so, he began to caress his left ring finger gently. Yosetsu took note of that ring around it, though he said nothing of it as his therapist continued. "But as we should all know, humans are not omniscient beings. Well, unless you have a Quirk that literally allows you to be all knowing, though that's very unlikely. My hu-"
A quick pause with a clear of Reiner's throat followed, with him rewording himself quickly.
"My friend, who is an expert on Quirks, confirmed that All Knowing Quirks have next to 0.1% chance of coming into existence until the next few generations, but that's neither here nor there. However, what is here or there is the fact that things will happen that you cannot stop."
"But what if I could stop it, Fleming-San? What if I could've stopped… all of that from happening if I had been better…?" rebutted Yosetsu, with him growing rather frustrated at Reiner's apparent riddles. In response to this, the older man smiled solemnly as he nodded.
"Yes… that is a good question, now isn't it? Had been, could have, what if… it's what we ask ourselves all the time," said Reiner solemnly as he clasped his fingers together thoughtfully and eyed the younger boy with a sad look in his eye. Vice versa, Yosetsu seemed a little confused at what he was getting at, prompting the therapist to continue. "Humans are always fixated on the past, and for good reason too. We need to look to the past as we head for the future, after all. If we don't learn from the mistakes of our predecessors, then we're doomed to make the same mistakes as them.
"However, there is such a thing as looking too hard into the past, specifically your own."
"...I'm sorry?" muttered Yosetsu, confused to no end at what his therapist was trying to get across, and in response to that, the older man elaborated.
"Humans, or at least the ones I've spoken to, tend to be critical of themselves more so than anyone else. We look into our own flaws, and we try to correct them to the best of our abilities. In my eyes, that's what you're doing right now, Mr… Awase-Kun," elaborated Reiner gently, with him knowing that some of what he was saying might hurt Yosetsu a little, but as his therapist, he was obliged to speak to him the truth, if only to help him get through this. "Normally, some self reflection isn't all that bad. After all, as I sad, looking to the past is a good way to help venture into the future.
"However, from where I stand, it seems to me that you're fixated on the past. You keep focusing on the night where you were taken, and you won't stop blaming yourself for what happened."
"But it-"
"Perhaps it was your fault, Awase-Kun, or perhaps it wasn't. I was not there in person, and I've only read the report, so I can't say for sure," said Reiner, effectively cutting Yosetsu off as he spoke. He didn't want Awase to continue blaming himself like this, and though he would probably regret the more forceful tone of voice in the future, as a licensed therapist, he knew what he had to do. "What I can say, however, is that Augus Mikazuki's involvement in this whole debacle was not your fault. He chose to do what he did… and the injuries that he sustained were through no fault of your own."
Frowning a little as he processed this bit of information, Yosetsu said nothing as Reiner frowned and slouched his shoulders, just enough to be noticeable. Silently, he began to berate himself for being so forward with the kid. He knew that what he had just said was rather blunt, almost to the point of it being a little rude, in a sense, but at the same time, Awase had to acknowledge this. He had to acknowledge and accept that what Mikazuki had done on that day was not his fault…
Not much else was said between Yosetsu and Reiner until the end of the session, with the former requiring some time to process what he was just told whilst the latter gave him as much time as he need to digest this new piece of information. When Fleming had told him that their session was over, Awase simply nodded, stood up and bowed to him as thanks. The simple gesture was enough to make the older man's heart break a fair bit at how… subdued it was, though he still took note of that faint glimmer of acknowledgement hidden behind the Welder's gaze, something that told him that, despite him not wishing to do so right now, he still acknowledged the truth behind his words, and he would need some time to think on them.
Reiner only hoped that he didn't dismiss them like so many others did in the past.
With Yosetsu gone, the young man sighed and flipped his laptop open once more. Silently, he began cataloging the session he just had with the aforementioned boy, with him slipping on a pair of artist's gloves beforehand, though right as he got halfway through the document, his desktop phone rang, prompting him to slip the glove off his left hand to answer it.
After removing the phone from its base, Reiner brought the phone itself up to his ear and removed his hand from it. The phone remained afloat next to his ear, courtesy of the young man's Quirk, and as it remained there, the guy spoke whilst typing. "Fleming Reiner speaking… ah! Nedzu! To what do I owe this call?
"Hm… yes… a kid that requires my expertise, you say? Brought up by Might Industries, of all places… huh… cool. Send me his records and I'll look through them before calling you back on specific dates. Alright, goodbye, sir."
And with that, the therapist sighed and opened his emails, where, unsurprisingly to him, he was sent an email from Nedzu about that kid that required some of his expertise. Opening it up, he read through it quickly and hummed once he was finished, and after reading through his Quirk status, Fleming wasted no time in booking him in.
'Midoriya Izuku… a Quirkless Child… how very interesting…'
"Awase-Kun… are you alright?"
"Define 'alright', Mixta-Chan."
A gentle giggle was Atra's response to Yosetsu's comment, with her smiling a little as she watched him lay atop the orphanage couch. It's been about five weeks since Awase began training with them, and moreover, despite his concerns at first, he's made decent progress, with even the likes of Yamagi and Eugene begrudgingly admitting that he was doing alright. Orga was a little critical of his improvements, but he was still proud of him, for all it was worth.
Regardless, today's training was regarding resilience, and it was based around going to a nearby junkyard and lifting some scrap metal back to the orphanage. Close to the orphanage was a beach, Shidaihama beach to be specific, and there was a minor junkyard located not too far from it. It was owned by the Kitakambara district's mayor, though whoever they were, they didn't seem to care much about it in the first place, as no efforts were really made to clean it up. It only really grew larger and larger as the days went by, something that wasn't exactly ideal for most.
For the orphans, however, namely the Three Stooges (Takaki, Yamagi and Ride), who were aspiring inventors in their own rights, it was paradise, and they very often went there to get some scraps to tinker with. With Yukinojo's permission, of course. After some debate, and after Akihiro was confident in him being strong enough to help them out, the kids brought Yosetsu along to assist, with today being the first time they had done so… and suffice to say, it went… poorly.
"I should've heaved with my legs and not my fucking back…" lamented Yosetsu as he fell face-first onto the pillows, with him sighing all the while. This was definitely his fault, Awase reckoned, as his father did always tell him to lift heavy objects with his legs and not his back, but at this point, it didn't really matter. He'd just have a cramp for a day or two, so it could really be much worse.
The other orphans were currently absent, with a good majority of them gone to cover for this 'Haba' woman that Yosetsu has not met yet. Only Eugene and Embi were currently present in the building, though the two of them were upstairs, and Rita Reroutata was absent as he wished to patrol around the region and allow his Quirk to work its wonders. Akihiro and Orga were with him for the ride.
"M-Maybe, but you still got it back, didn't you?" commented Atra, with her cheering him on as she smiled gently, to which he sighed.
"Yeah, I guess," grumbled Yosetsu tiredly as he leaned his head back to stare up at Atra, who was smiling down at him gently, eliciting a smile from the Welder as he sighed. For as much discomfort as he was currently in, Awase could never not feel better whenever Mixta was around him. It was almost as if the girl had a Quirk that calmed those around her, but until she confirmed that she did in fact have it, the boy wasn't willing to make any assumptions just yet.
Smiling gently, Atra opened her mouth to say something to Yosetsu, though before the words could leave her lips, the duo heard the door to the orphanage being knocked on, confusing them briefly as the latter sat up and stared at the former in confusion. That was certainly odd, especially since everyone living in the orphanage had a key to the place. Did they have a visitor? Someone that wished to adopt one of these kids? Possibly, but, for as mean as it was to admit this, Awase highly doubted it, seeing as how Chryse had a piss poor reputation alongside the less populated area it was at.
Regardless, after sharing a quick look with Atra, and after the door was knocked on for the third time in a row, Yosetsu, ignoring the discomfort in his back, got up and marched up to it, with him gripping the doorknob awkwardly before shooting Mixta a quick look. Gulping a little at that, the girl held a pillow up as though it were a shield and nodded at Awase, prompting him to snort in amusement before he turned the knob and creaked the door open.
"Hello…?" muttered Yosetsu, with him sounding awkward as he peeked out the crack in the door, and when he did so, he was greeted by the sight of a young woman, probably no older than his therapist, standing in front of him. Her hands were behind her back and there was a frankly massive smile on her face, and though it took his mind a moment to fully acknowledge who was standing in front of him, the Welder quickly realized just who she was as he blinked in shock.
"He-" began the woman standing at the door, only for Yosetsu to shut it and stare over at Atra in disbelief. Vice versa, the pink haired girl looked confused as she titled her head at Awase, who shook his head and opened the door once more. "-llo!"
He then shut it again, with him rubbing his eyes as he did his utmost best to make sure that he was fully awake, and after slapping himself on the cheek, much to Atra's worry, Yosetsu confirmed that he was indeed awake and not having a mental breakdown as he opened the door for a third time.
"May I speak now?" asked the woman… the Pro Heroine standing on the other side of the door as she smiled down at Yosetsu in faux confusion, to which the Welder blushed. And then, he suddenly got the urge to laugh, though that was to be expected, honestly, considering how the woman standing before him was-
"M-Ms Joke…?" muttered Yosetsu in bewilderment, eliciting a loud, boisterous laugh to emit from the Heroine in question as she threw her head back in glee, delighted that someone actually recognised her, and at the same time, Awase smiled and snickered as well, with the Smile Heroine's Quirk inadvertently taking hold of him all the while.
"Ho-ly crud, someone recognises me, an Underground Heroine, out of costume?! I must be dreaming! What's next? Aizawa accepting my proposal?!" laughed Ms Joke as she held her hand out to shake Yosetsu's. The boy accepted the handshake, though as he did so, he widened his eyes when Ms Joke's hand literally detached from her body, causing him to squeak in terror as he staggered backwards and dropped the detached hand onto the ground. "Hah! The good ol' fake hand trick. Gets' em all the time!"
"..." no comment from Yosetsu, who found Ms Joke's overall demeanor to be rather… well, it was to be expected, really. Though she didn't have too much media presence thanks to her presence as an Underground Heroine, she was still decently popular, with forums posting about her semi-frequently. She, alongside the likes of the elusive Eraserhead, the Bunker Buster King J-Der and many others were considered to be the boogeymen of the Hero society, Heroes that the Villains spoke to one another about to get a rise out of each other for a laugh, but even if some questioned their existence, their skills and reputation marked them as individuals that were not to be trifled with, even if the Smile Heroine was a lot more easygoing than her fellow Underground Heroes.
With that being said, however, Awase knew that, if she wanted to, Ms Joke could very easily subdue everyone in this orphanage within the blink of an eye with her Quirk, and there would be nothing anyone could do about it. Sure, she didn't have as much of a fearsome reputation as the Quick Nullifier or the Disaster of Asia, but the Underground forums didn't refer to her as The Killing Joke for nothing, as there was, allegedly, at least one documented case that stated that she used her Quirk to kill someone via asphyxiation, and, should it be true, it painted her as an easy-going Heroine that was unafraid of going Plus Ultra whilst in on duty.
Despite this, however, Ms Joke's current persona told Yosetsu that she wasn't here to stir up any trouble. If anything, it almost felt like a social visit, with her grinning from ear to ear as she held her hands up to her hips. She quickly took back the detached hand prop and stuffed it into… somewhere before opening her mouth to speak once more, though before she could say much else…
"... Fukukado-Ka-san, are you done?" came the distinct voice of a boy that had been missing for the better part of several weeks, and upon hearing it, the Welder tensed up as he stared past Ms Joke, and when he did, he widened his eyes immensely when he saw none other than Mikazuki Augus peeking out from behind the young woman's back, with him staring up at the Smile Heroine awkwardly. Vice versa, the woman blushed slightly as she stared down at Mika, with her looking equally as awkward as he was all the while.
Moments later, Mikazuki stared over at Yosetsu, who was staring right back in wide eyed shock. At first, he was simply shocked at the boy's sudden appearance by the doors of Chryse, but as the seconds ticked by, his mind acknowledged several other things…
'Is that really Mika, or is my mind just fucking with me?!'
'Why is he with Ms Joke?'
'What even is Ms Joke doing here?'
'Wait… d-did Mika just call Ms Joke MUM?!'
And seconds later, Yosetsu's mind crashed from the information overload… and he fainted, much to everyone's dismay.
Mikazuki Fukukado doesn't have much of a ring to it, now, eh?
Who's Reiner Fleming? Who knows! You'll have to find out next time! Hopefully after Yosetsu gains more muscle!
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wd12091111: granted, not every chapter has a sneak peak so it's understandable.
Why am I updating this so much? Well, if I kept updating just Tekketsu No Kyojin, I'd go stir crazy!