Quirks Not Required
OC
MHA
II: Test Series 64432B
"Test subject on spinal tissue number 64432, batch Beta. Testing for spinal regeneration between a duplicated Lumbar 2 to Lumbar 4 vertebrae." Kato recorded into a speakerphone, as he examined his experiment through an electron microscope.
The electron microscope zoomed-in, Kato examined the cell activity and as he was about to see if there was cellular activity. Then, the door to the lab opened and Shuzenji Chiyo, Recovery Girl, entered the lab "Still here, I see." The tone of understanding in her tone.
Kato nodded "I've lost too much time, what with physiotherapy and all." The Nurse nodded, complete in understanding and with ease and adjustment she hopped onto a seat and peered into the microscope.
"Youthful Hero: Recovery Girl, UA Nurse; upon examination of Lumbar Vertebrae cells of sections two through four have seen marginal intl growth recovery." Kato's breath caught in his throat, his heart skipped a beat.
This couldn't be the breakthrough he was looking for! Could it? He was sure that he'd stated the ingredients and the procedure! Garaki-sense would be impressed! Kato had been working himself up into a frenzy about this particular procedure, Garaki-sensei had informed him that he'd have three weeks to wait before he could start his internship.
Even for a streamlined and favour pulled request, even Garaki-sensei wasn't above medical legalities and procedures. He was able to bypass all but the most important sections. "Kato-Kun, please, don't burn yourself out if nothing immediately becomes available. A medical internship at your age is remarkable and commendable; especially a specialist one even more remarkable and let's not even discuss the fact someone is willing to sponsor you." The seasoned voice of the pro and Kato's mentor said.
"But…I can't let Garaki-sensei down."
"He will tell you the same thing. Don't bite off more than you can chew, he will suffice with your incredibly detailed process of recording."
Kato nodded tears in his eyes "Thanks, Recovery Girl. Thank you for seeing me for who I am, still and not for being a charity case…" He trailed off as Recovery Girls syringe-styled cane caught him in the nerve of his pinky finger.
"You are not a charity case. You, Daiten Kato, are one of the most gifted and intelligent students to grace the UA Institute For Education. What happened to you, is a truly horrific circumstance, one that UA will do all it can to reduce from happening again. You must never consider yourself a charity-case. I know who might be sprouting such horrible and debased comments and rest assured they will be disciplined. Now, do I need to request Midnight's assistance in extracting you from the lab? Also, do I need to speak to Nezu to bar you from the lab for a week?"
"No. Although Midnight's ass…instance would be wonderful, but not what you're implying." Recovery Girl chuckled, Nemuri Kayama and her student had a…unique relationship. She had no stance or position in what happened between the two, aside from as long as her student was safe.
She had been worried that her student would have isolated himself in his room or the lab, buried in his research in a reckless sociopathic fervour to repair his legs. However, the Modern History Teacher had aptly stepped in and after a mutual accident that had stemmed from someone being extracted from the pub, the wheelchair-bound student had relaxed considerably. There were still mountains of unresolved issues; that was too be expected, but at least he wasn't alone.
Kato and Recovery Girl cleaned down the lab, then Kato wheeled himself to the door and managed to open it for the elderly hero. "I might not have legs, but I can still be a gentleman." The recently turned twenty-four-year-old commented. As the duo left the lab, Kato almost wheeled himself into Midnight.
"Kato-Kun, what a lovely surprise to see you here." Midnight commented, swaying her hips slightly.
"Midnight, what happened this time?" Kato replied, deadpanned. He knew the difference between the heroines' dominatrix and borderline sueable hero alias and the logical, witty and in Kato's personal opinion the better side of Kayama Nemuri.
"A few petty villains couldn't handle me."
"You sure you're not referring to morons? What'd they do?"
"Knocked over several OAP's and grabbed their wallets."
"Morons then. Not exactly, villainous…Villains, I'd associate with more brutal acts; typically associated with America."
Kayama choked on her comment "That's…harsh."
"But, you're not saying I'm wrong though," Kato replied, a grin on his face.
"True. Anyway, one of them had a heating quirk and set my ass on fire."
"At least we're not in a dry-heat and you've to burn off the moss. Anyway, I'm going to the String. I'll see you later if you choose to be there." With that, the twenty-four-year-old wheeled away.
Kayama turned to Recovery Girl "Nothing's going on. Aside from he's able to drink on par with me." It was true, however, the excuse sounded weak and the three of them knew it. Recovery Girl nodded, before shuffling off heading back to her office.
Kayama Nemuri, better known as Midnight, turned and followed the young man. "Kato, hold the door!" She shouted as the elevator dinged open.
Kato turned and with a shit-eating grin on his face shouted back "NO! Of course, I will."
Midnight made it to the lift "Running in heels, is something I dislike doing."
"Let me guess if I comment about your footwear; you'll complain about how it doesn't fit your hero attire, which is in essence nudity."
"When did you become such a foul-mouthed individual?" Kayama whispered, in that spine-tingling voice that he liked so much.
"I have always been a cocky shit, then all parts of life happened." Kato retorted, before rolling his shoulders to get rid of the feeling. Just because he couldn't feel his legs didn't mean the nerves and other sensations of being a young male didn't react; Kayama did that to him. Whatever happened between them, stayed between them. They'd had woken up together but that was because they were both drunk as skunks and had the idea of getting a cab to the closest residence.
Besides, if things went the way they did; as long as it didn't happen in UA owned residence, which if Kato remembered Nemuri didn't, then no-one could or would say a thing about it. Kato was still getting paid out by the government; his cause had caused the HPSC to buckle and pay out handsomely. "When's your next shift and meeting with the Doctor?"
"I'm in a meeting with him on Monday, I'll be finished by about eight. Probably in the local for nine. When's your patrol?"
"I've swapped mine so Monday is off…make of that as you wish, the company is always appreciated," Kayama said, Kato and she had become good friends, well they'd been friends or as friendly as one can get when one is a Hero Teacher and Hero and the other is a Scientist Undergraduate. They'd gotten closer over the years, due to one point during the holidays; Kato hadn't been able to go home due to lack of accommodations and Kayama had gladly put him up for the Summer.
That had been when he was twenty-two. They'd lived their more or less day-to-day lives as individuals who shared a house together. They'd celebrated his twenty-third birthday together and that had been an experience, one that had been repeated irregularly. Kato, grinned as he let himself into his apartment, who knew Power Loader and Cementoss had a home-building company! It made living on campus that much easier. When he got home, he wheeled his way over to his freezer and he quickly scrolled through his inventory of home-made meals and picked a chicken dish.
After prepping the vegetables and beginning to defrost his dinner, he wheeled over to his desktop computer, placed in the flash drive, opened a word document and began to transcribe his ramblings. After typing his notes up, he transferred them to an email and sent them to Kyudai.
The email he received back was amazing
Kato-Kun
Just received your latest ramblings, as you've decided to call them. I understand you have plans to work on this in my labs tomorrow; as we've discussed. However, an old friend of mine has asked me to find a man of character and substance, one that is not afraid of getting his hands dirty and willing to engage us in expanding our horizons.
Yours faithfully and most sincerely
Kyudai Garaki
Kyudai-Sensei
My thanks for this opportunity. The fact you're willing to sponsor me in what is potentially a futile effort puts me in your debt. I would be most honoured if you are considering me to join you and your friend on this investigation of scientific discovery.
Yours most sincerely
Daiten Kato
P.S. What science doesn't involve getting ones hands dirty? Hands on is the best way to learn after all.
(Shigaraki Sr. and Garaki)
"Has he responded? Will he respond and meet us?" Shigaraki asked, his voice raspy and gravelly from disuse and the surgeries.
"What did I say, about using your voice?"
"Even after nearly 150 years, they haven't improved those electronic readers and speakers."
"That is true, Shigaraki. Now please, rest your voice…I hate having to repeat surgeries on people, especially you after you've decided to do something monumentally stupid."
The supervillain pouted, then through the electronic speaker "What did you do for him, my friend?"
Garaki grinned "No tricks, I offered him a chance to do something revolutionary. I might not have filled in all the paperwork and in case, it comes to light…I've got leverage."
Shigaraki chuckled "He lost something and wants it back."
"His legs."
Shigaraki would have blinked if he had eyes, but the heart machine showed his heart skipped a beat "A boy would burn the world to get his legs back?"
"If Endeavour somehow arises in our debates…No Shigaraki, we're not deliberately doing that; it needs to be purely natural, no pre-planted seeds of deception. I would wager, my copied quirk that he'll join us willingly if it meant he could have two yens worth of revenge against Endeavour; if your Shigaraki Tomura is to replace you, then Daiten Kato will replace me."
(Monday)
Kayama picked him and dropped him off at the Hospital. But before kissing him on the lips "See you tonight?"
Kato nodded and he wheeled himself inside. Garaki met him as he rolled into the foyer "The genius and visionary of the moment! Your verbal and written documentation of your experiments so far have been outstanding! Naturally, as with all science, nothing is verified until multiple people have attempted it."
Kato nodded knowingly "Naturally. I want this done right...Anyway, Garaki-sensei, what's so urgent that you've decided to meet me the moment I wheeled in? This friend of yours can't be that eager to meet me…"
Garaki chuckled "Oh my boy, my friend is more interested in meeting you. You see, those with longevity quirks much like those with blood quirks, tend to flock together."
Kato nodded, trying to process the information "His cells…or a longevity quirk, if one can get to the very essence of a quirk…and see how it works; then examine…the possibilities." "Daiten-Kun, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, sensei…just thoughts and ways to investigate quirks to assist in my research based on new information."
Garaki chuckled "Shigaraki, the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions…Daiten-Kun; your arrival at the gates of hell will be magnificent."
As Kato followed the elderly doctor, some thoughts came to mind "Whatever, I will do now will forever change me. Why does it suddenly feel that Garaki-sensei and I have become Dr Faustus and Mephistopheles…I feel as I have made a deal with the devil…It matters not; for my research, for my legs and the future of human-kind, I must do this. Homosapiens must evolve; even if it means I nail myself in history next to the likes of Josef Mengele. Kayama Nemuri, I am so sorry. For now, I must weave a secondary mask, who I appear to be to mask who I have become. I only hope that this works."