Disclaimer:
My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. This story uses plot elements and characters from them.

The Quirk War
By: RB3
Building the FoundationCh 4: There's aZombie on Your Lawn

A new video had been uploaded to the video web site Vtube, the largest video site of Japan. It opened with a view of a man in his thirties with grey hair and moustache dressed in a fine suit. "Good day, ladies and gentlemen! You must be wondering what caper I'm going to perform today. Here it is," said the man, who spoke with a refined British accent.

The video showed an image of a convenience store known as "J Convenience." It then showed various news stories on the internet about J Convenience having altered expiration dates on their pudding to later than they really were. These activities created a scandal for the company and forced members of its board of directors to appear before the media to address complaints and accusations of fraud which put the public's health at risk. Naturally, J Convenience assured the public that it would investigate and punish whoever perpetrated the crime.

"J Convenience thinks they're saving money by changing expiration dates, but they're about to find out that won't be the case," said the refined man.

The next scene showed the refined man brandishing a knife at the clerk of a J Convenience while presenting a steel briefcase. The clerk started to shiver visibly as he kept his arms raised in surrender. "Wait, I know you! You're that guy on the video who robs stores!" said the clerk.

"Kindly put the money in stacks of ten bills please, before those worthless heroes come," said the refined man.

"Sure, of course," replied the clerk.

The video sped up as he loaded the case with money from his cash register. As he turned to leave with the money, a pair of a pro heroes arrived at the J Convenience's front door. "Put the weapon down and surrender!" demanded one of the heroes.

"This is bad, Gentle! There are two heroes! What are you gonna do?" asked the refined man's female mission control.

Gentle chuckled. "Calm down, La Brava. Do you think this duo of dodgy do-gooders could stop me?" asked Gentle.

Another three pro heroes came to join the first duo and support them in stopping Gentle's robbery of the J Convenience. Gentle sighed as he dropped his knife. "Smart move! Now that briefcase!" demanded one of the pro heroes.

Gentle placed the briefcase on the ground, but he was not preparing to surrender. Instead, he was going to take on the pro heroes. "La Brava, please cut to black," said Gentle.

"Okay, here we go," said La Brava.

After a brief scene of black static, the video resumed with Gentle walking out of J Convenience. All of the pro heroes were sprawled on the ground unconscious while the J Convenience building itself seemed to be wobbling like it was a mass of gelatin. The caption for the scene said that "Gentle is so strong!" as he walked away from the devastation he had wrought. "Gentle, you forgot the cash!" said La Brava.

"Pishposh! I'm merely paying the appearance fee. My goal is not money, but to put my name into the annals of history!" said Gentle. He turned and faced the camera. "That was me, Gentle Criminal, at your service. It's now time for me to head away until next time. Cheerio!" As his final action in the video, Gentle walked away into the rocky wilderness and the video ended.

Some time after this video, Gentle had donned plain clothes and a face mask as he headed to the Mustafar Mall with his partner, La Brava. Gentle Criminal, whose real name was Danjuro Tobita, had the Quirk of "Elasticity." It enabled him to touch objects, including the air itself, and have them take on elastic properties. This was the cause of the strange wobbly appearance of the J Convenience in the video. His Quirk was a versatile one with applications for defence and mobility via bouncing from elastic objects.

His partner in crime was La Brava, whose real name was Manami Aiba, a redhead with hair tied into ponytails. She was a short woman who could easily be mistaken for a child. She also wore a pair of pink heart earrings. It matched the Quirk she had, "Love," which allowed her to empower someone she loved. The stronger the love, the more power she imbued, but it had a few limits. Her boon could only last for a few minutes and could only be activated once every 24 hours.

While acting as his partner, Manami normally wore a feminine version of Danjuro's gentlemanly suit. It had hearts on the seams as decoration and a stomach piece resembling a heart. Today, she was also in plain clothes and a mask to avoid drawing attention to herself while out shopping and relaxing in public. "Your new video's views are still going down. That's about the best we can get it," remarked Manami.

"It seems I must accomplish greater feats to go down in the annals of history," remarked Danjuro. "That will be later. For now, we'll sample the tea at the new shop which opened at the Mustafar Mall."

The duo entered and found a table at the busy food court of the mall. After getting their order, they started to savour the tea of the nearby tea shop. A boy with green hair came by and looked at the menu of a nearby Mexican fast food booth. Suddenly, Manami felt pressure bothering her from behind the waist. "Danjuro, I have to go to the bathroom for a bit," said Manami.

"Go ahead, I'll wait here," he replied nonchalantly.

Manami rushed off to the women's washroom and made use of an empty stall to relieve herself. Afterwards, she went to the sink to wash her hands before returning to drink tea with Danjuro. Unheard over the rushing water, an explosion had ripped through the mall, releasing a strange crimson gas over the food court. People were panicking and fleeing in terror from the explosion and what appeared to be some form of toxic gas dispersed into the environment.

When Manami got out of the washroom, she saw all this commotion and gasped while covering her mouth. "Danjuro! Where are you? Speak to me!" she cried out while trying to stay as far as possible from the strange gas. It looked like poison, which she did not want to come into contact with.

Danjuro did not respond, for he likely could not hear her over the screaming, nor see her through the fog. Rather than risk running into what appeared to be poison and fighting through the chaos, Manami decided to head outside the mall to see if Danjuro had escaped. Luckily, he did, but had been stopped by paramedics to check him for contact with a biological or chemical agent. It was hours before he was finally released, fortunate that no one recognized his face from the videos of his crimes on Vtube. He was also fortunate that he did not appear to be ill in any way.

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The next day, Danjuro had a nice dinner with Manami consisting of turkey, rice, and vegetables with milk as their drink and persimmons for dessert. While Manami only had a single serving, Danjuro ate that and another seven, yet even that large amount did not satisfy him. "Danjuro, are you okay? That's your eighth serving already!" said Manami, seeing him eat another.

Danjuro's stomach growled. "I feel so hungry, like I haven't eaten this past week," replied Danjuro.

"We eat dinner like this every day. I don't understand why you're so hungry," said Manami.

"I don't know either, but my stomach keeps grumbling. I'm more than famished, I need food," replied Danjuro.

Manami frowned. "Don't eat too much. You're gonna get sick! You need to be in top form to pull off your next caper," scolded Manami.

"I won't. This will be my last piece," assured Danjuro.

"That reminds me. We're almost out of tea. Could you go pick up some at the store?" asked Manami.

"Of course!" replied Danjuro.

Once he consumed his last serving, he donned plainclothes and a mask before heading to the nearest convenience store. He bought the tea as requested and began his journey back home to Manami. That was when his hunger acted up again and made him feel weak. He ended up wandering into an alley in his confusion. Then, the change happened. His skin shrivelled and turned a bright, chlorophyll green. His face became sunken and rendered his former appearance unrecognizable.

Now clad in tattered clothes, he was one of the undead, but with chlorophyll skin which gave him a plant-like appearance. "Ugggh..." he groaned as he wandered out of the alley in search of food.

Now a zombie, he was slowed by rigor mortis and took several seconds just to reach the street. He smelled some delicious food and wandered towards a large Japanese home in the nearby wealthy district. By now, the sun had almost completely set and night was quickly approaching. He saw a man trimming the grass on the lawn. "Ugggh..." groaned the transformed Danjuro, both from hunger and being forced to move in his deathly state.

When the groundskeeper heard rustling from behind, he stood up and turned around to see what was making so much noise. He saw the plant-like zombie advancing towards him with arms outstretched. "AAAAH!" he screamed, before vines from the zombie caught him.

"Brains..." groaned the plant-like zombie as he closed, then chomped down on the man's head.

Sometime deeper in the night, Danjuro regained consciousness in an alley, somewhere far from the convenience store he had visited to purchase tea. He looked around, but could not find his tea, even after he patted his pockets to look for them. He was also somewhere unfamiliar in the city. The tea was now the last thing on his mind. Manami had to be worried since he never returned home after what was supposed to be a short trip to a convenience store.

Danjuro left the alley and looked around, eventually wandering into a more familiar area of town. Once back at his front door, he knocked and Manami answered the door to her jaw dropping. "Danjuro! What happened? You're a mess!" asked Manami.

"I don't remember. All I remember is my hunger getting the better of me after I bought the tea. Everything is darkness after that," replied Danjuro.

"You don't know how worried I was! At least you're home, safe and sound," said Manami, hugging the man she loved.

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The day after, the mangled body of the dead gardener had been found by the owner of the home, which got the police involved. They had cordoned off the grassy area as they questioned the owner and his neighbours fruitlessly. Whoever or whatever had attacked the man had chewed through his skull and eaten his brain. It then chewed off some of the man's flesh for additional nourishment. Although the police tried to view the footage from the home's security cameras, they found that it did not exist, eliminating one clue which could reveal the perpetrator.

Some time later, one detective of the Mustafar Police Department left the crime scene and returned to his office at the police station. He took off his trench coat and fedora and hung them on a rack by his desk. The man himself was a fairly ordinary Japanese man, though somewhat tall with rectangular eyes. He was Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi. He sat down and looked over the dossier of photos and reports from the crime scene. It was one of the most bizarre events he had ever witnessed in all of his years on the force. This was in a world full of Quirks, a world where the bizarre was simply a fact of life.

An officer with the head of a ginger tabby cat knocked on his office door. "Come in!" called Tsukauchi.

"Coffee's ready! Come and get it while it's hot!" called the cat officer, who was known as Samsa Tamakawa.

Tsukauchi got himself a cup of coffee and sipped it as he returned to his desk. From what the dossier told him and remembering the crime scene as he saw it, it sounded like the work of some deranged cannibal. The gardener was working alone late and no one else was around to witness the crime. The video footage from the cameras had been lost, or possibly sabotaged to prevent discovery. Only the victim's remains served as a clue to what happened to him.

Tsukauchi's smart phone started beeping. His eyes lit up when he saw the name of the caller, Toshinori Yagi. This man was not just any man, but a good friend of his. He was the true identity of the pro hero All Might, the Symbol of Peace and the number one hero of Japan. "Hi! What did you need?" asked Tsukauchi.

"Hi Tsukauchi! Listen, I haven't been able to get any information from my other contacts. Have you gotten any leads on it yet?" asked All Might.

He sighed. "Sorry. I've turned up empty myself. This is proving one tough nut to crack," remarked Tsukauchi.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. Things have been difficult for me after being forced into semi-retirement," apologized All Might.

Tsukauchi sighed again. "I know. Nothing lasts forever. Your role as the Symbol of Peace was our deterrent against crime. Now that you've dialed it back, the criminals must have become aware of this golden opportunity and are getting bolder. It's only a matter of time before they lose their fear of you completely," said Tsukauchi.

"There's still hope. I've been looking for good candidates to carry on my legacy," said All Might. "Principal Nezu of my alma mater had offered me a teaching position there. I'm taking it. UA High is the best hero school in Japan. There are many young heroes who could take up my mantle."

Tsukauchi positively beamed with joy upon hearing that. "Good! I hope you train your future protege well," remarked Tsukauchi. "Why don't you join me at the cafe for lunch?"

"Sounds good! I'm free after eleven," said Toshinori.

At the same time, Atsuro had left the crowd at the crime scene. After ducking into a hidden alley, he had returned to the Spade Merc Domain at Mustafar Park via teleportation. "It's true. It was the work of an Atma Avatar," Atsuro told the others as he entered the colosseum.

"What kind are we dealing with?" asked Abel.

"Most likely a zombie. So, we're likely facing dark powers," replied Atsuro.

"Did you see where he went?" asked Midori.

"No. It's been several hours, enough time for him to have moved from the scene," replied Atsuro.

"Keep looking for him. He's bound to turn up eventually," said Abel.

Later that night after school, Izuku returned to the Mustafar Park Domain to master Altered Beast and continue training to become a demon hunter. He met Abel at the magic firing range enclosed by the chain link fence. Abel smiled. "Glad you could come! Today, we'll develop some secondary forms of Altered Beast, the Garuda or Were-eagle, and the Triton or Merman form," said Abel. "The Garuda will be one of your most mobile forms. It can fly and has control over air and force. Transform into it now and let's begin."

Izuku focused deep within and focused upon the image of an eagle. The transformation caused fierce winds to slice off pieces of the flesh on his arm. His bones started to reshape underneath and extended to form the skeleton of a wing. His face tore off as the flesh below reshaped into a beaked, feathered head. The bones of his feet started to expand, tearing through its flesh and growing into talons.

Izuku felt sheer lightness while assuming the form of the Garuda. "Whoa!" remarked Izuku.

As the Garuda, Izuku took to the sky, then circled the magic range. He brought his wings close to his body and formed the wind around his body into a cocoon. He shot forward rapidly, carried by the force of the wind like a missile. This technique worked much like the afterburner of a jet, granting him a burst of speed for an emergency. After Abel created dummies, Altered Beast could see them clearly, even from so high up in the sky. Like an eagle, the Garuda had greatly improved eye sight for spotting earthbound prey.

He circled around, then dove at them and fired feather-like flechettes. They were not actual feathers, but small masses of air moulded to appear like them. They spewed out like bullets from a machine gun and shredded the dummies. A few of them survived, so Beast swooped down upon one in a "Peregrine Dive" and caught it in his talons. Altered Beast flapped his wings to gain altitude and once high enough, he dove back down at top speed and released his victim for a one way trip to its doom.

The dummy impacted the ground as though a bomb had gone off. The blast bowled over the others, leaving only three alive. He hovered before them and flapped a whirling tornado into existence. The tornado tore its way through the dummies until only tattered cloth and leather remained. Altered Beast flew back before Abel and resumed his human form. "Whoo!" cheered Izuku. "I think I'm going to love this form!"

"No doubt about it. Good work with the Garuda. Let's get some practice with the Triton now," said Abel. "It's your aquatic form for exploring underwater. I'll create water for you to test it."

Abel held out his hands and from them came streams of water. It rapidly arose and filled a cube-like area, despite nothing visible to hold the water in this shape. Izuku moved into the water and began a transformation into the Merman. His skin ripped off as fins burst out of his back and limbs. The flesh of his hands tore off as webbed claws pierced through them like plastic gloves. Scales coated his newly formed green flesh with gills on his neck and a piranha-like head.

Abel created a few new dummies in random spots within the cube of water. Altered Beast circled around, then swam towards them, spitting bubbles. The dummies were battered and knocked through the water whenever they took a hit. He swam away, then turned back for another pass. The dummies were annoyingly separated from each other, making it hard to destroy them quickly. He created a churning maelstrom in the water, which pulled all of the dummies together. He then pummelled them all to shreds with a volley of bubbles.

Altered Beast swam out of the water cube near Abel, then transformed back into human form. "So, how do you like the new forms?" asked Abel.

"I love them, especially the Garuda! It's so thrilling to fly through the air. I feel so free like that," said Izuku, beaming with joy at the experience.

"I'm glad you like it," replied Abel.

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A few days after the incident, Danjuro and Manami found themselves enjoying dinner once again. This time, Manami made a meal of teriyaki chicken served with rice and assorted vegetables. Their main course had a sweet, yet savoury taste, washed down by Danjuro's green tea. As their last meal, Danjuro went for an eighth serving again. "You're hungry again?" asked Manami, her eyes widened upon seeing how much he was eating.

"I really don't understand myself," replied Danjuro after starting on that eighth serving.

"Ever since that bombing, you've been acting very strange. The medics cleared you, but they must have made a mistake. Eating this much isn't normal!" remarked Manami. "I think that gas did something to you. We need to find a doctor and get a second opinion!"

"Okay. I'll do the dishes tonight. Find me a doctor in the meantime," said Danjuro.

"Thank you. I'll look up the best doctor I can find," assured Manami.

After wolfing down his meal, Danjuro cleaned the dishes while Manami began the search on the internet. Since he was washing dishes for two people, he had finished the job after a few minutes. Afterwards, Danjuro sat on the sofa in the den to relax. He took a deep breath and exhaled. As he reclined in the sofa, the hunger continued to pester him and grew worse with each passing minute. Without food, the hunger started to consume his mind. He got up and tried to get to the fridge for food, but the pangs of hunger had become unbearable.

Upstairs, Manami found information for a doctor which specialized in gastrointestinal issues, which she recorded on a slip of paper. "Good news!" she called to him as she came downstairs. "I found a good doctor for..."

When she entered the den, she sensed that something did not feel right. "Danjuro" turned around. "Ugggh... Brains..." groaned "Danjuro" as he advanced, arms stretched out.

He had sunken eyes and shrivelled green skin with a texture similar to leaves. He wore a tattered suit looked like an animate corpse. "AAAAAH!" screamed Manami as she froze.

Suddenly, a mass of vines wound around Manami's legs. She tried to wrench herself free, but they were too tight. "HELP!" she screamed as loudly as she could, trying to get someone, anyone, to come assist.

The plant-like zombie slowly advanced towards her, helpless to escape despite rigor mortis making his pace as slow as a snail. When he finally reached her, Manami closed her eyes to brace for the inevitable. The zombie held her head and prepared to chomp down when suddenly, someone grabbed him by the chin. Manami opened her eyes and was stunned to see someone holding zombie Danjuro back with a single hand, then carry him away.

Her saviour slammed the zombie into the ground and pinned him there. He then force fed the zombie a strange crimson muffin made of what appeared to be gelatin. The zombie wolfed down that strange morsel of food and became sedate, then reverted back to his true form, that of Danjuro. Manami's jaw dropped. "Danjuro? That was you?" asked Manami, shocked to see it was her beloved that nearly feasted on her brain.

"Manami?" asked Danjuro. "Oh no! Not again!"

"You were lucky I was here! If I was any later, you would have chomped on your girlfriend's brain," said the saviour.

"Who are you?" asked Manami.

"Just call me Atbro," replied the man. "You must be curious as to what just happened and why your friend suddenly became a zombie."

"Yeah! What's wrong with my Danjuro?" asked Manami.

"He has been infected by the Atma virus. It's what caused him to turn into that zombie," replied Atbro. "There's no cure, but it's contagious, meaning your friend can spread it to someone else if he were to bite them as a zombie. From now on, he must consume Magatsuhi, or he'll transform again and go hunting for brains."

The shock of this revelation made Manami's jaw drop. "So he's going to keep changing into a zombie to eat people's brains?" asked Manami.

"Yeah. He's not the only person like this. I happen to be part of a group trying to gather infected people like him. We do what we can to help them manage their condition. You two should join so we can help your friend," said Atbro.

"If you can help my friend, I'll take you up on your offer. He can't go on like this," said Manami.

"What about you Danjuro? Will you come?" asked Atbro.

"If you can stop me from hurting any more people, I'll gladly go along with your scheme," replied Danjuro.

"Okay. Head to Mustafar Park. There are some people I need you to meet," said Atbro.

Atbro led the two lovers to Mustafar Park, to the tree marked with the symbol of the spade. The environment around the trio suddenly changed to the crimson skies and vast plains of the Domain. Danjuro and Manami were left slack-jawed to see such surreal events take place before their eyes. Numerous strange, supernatural creatures flew the crimson skies of the Domain. In the distance stood a ziggurat with the Roman Colosseum to its left.

As Atbro led the duo to the centre of the colosseum, the two could not stop themselves from gawking at such surreal sights. At the colosseum, they found a mysterious young man in a black cloak waiting for them in the bleachers. "This is my friend. If you wish to know more about Atma, please talk to him," said Atbro. "You can call him the Immortal Stranger."

"Hello," said the Stranger. "Please introduce yourselves to me."

"I'm Danjuro Tobita and this is my friend and beloved Manami Aiba. It's good to meet you ol' chap," said Danjuro.

"Pleased to meet you too. You must have a lot of questions. What did you need to know?" asked the Stranger.

"What is Atma and where does it come from?" asked Manami.

"It's a virus which changes people into demons," replied the Stranger. "As for where it came from, that would be another version of Earth called 'Nirvana.'"

"Another version of Earth? Like an alternate timeline?" asked Manami.

"Something like that," replied Abel. "We're not sure what happened, but somehow, Atma had been altered and given to the MLA for use at the Mustafar Mall," replied the Stranger.

Danjuro's eyes widened. "The bombing!" said Danjuro.

"Yes. Our group is trying to find those infected and provide them a support network. We provide proper food to keep them from going berserk and teach them how to manage their condition without causing harm to those around them," said the Stranger. "Having heard that, here's where I ask if you are interested in joining our organization. You may choose how you wish to contribute, but if you're willing to become a demon hunter, I must warn you that it's a dangerous job, and will involve killing those infected by Atma. We won't force you into it."

Danjuro saw a major opportunity ahead of him. He would become a hero, albeit one that works in the shadows to protect the people. It was what he dreamed of during his youth, but killing sounded quite unpleasant and barbaric, even though pro heroes did have to kill villains occasionally to survive. "I will join and protect the people as a demon hunter," replied Danjuro.

"Me too. If Danjuro is joining, please count me in. I want to be there to support him," said Manami.

"Thank you for your cooperation," said the Stranger.

"You said 'demon.' I thought I was a zombie, not a demon," said Danjuro.

"A 'demon' is what we call any supernatural being. They include zombies, but also angels, fallen angels, gods, mythical beasts, and so on. Most demons don't come from Atma, but are their own beings. They hide in the shadows and prey on the vulnerable. Our group hunts demons to keep them from being preyed on," replied the Stranger.

"So if I have Atma, do I have supernatural powers like the demons do?" asked Danjuro.

"Yes. As you train with us, we'll help you master these powers. However, they come with a cost. Demons eat Magatsuhi, which is the experiences, emotions, and souls of sapient life given form as a blood-like substance. You must consume Magatsuhi too, now that you're infected. If you had a Quirk before, you lost it after your first transformation," replied the Stranger.

"So I've lost my Quirk," lamented Danjuro. He tried to make the ground elastic, but nothing happened, true to the Stranger's word. "What kind of powers do I have now?"

"Your Atma is called 'Plant Zombie.' Its Avatar, or demonic form, is a zombie as its name suggests. You have the power to control plants and dark powers such as necromancy. You can use some of your plant and dark powers while human, but you must transform to access your full repertoire," replied the Stranger.

"Why are they here? What do the demons want with us?" asked Manami.

"At I-Island, there were experiments which created holes into the Expanse, the home world of the demons, to draw energy. The demons used those holes to get into your world. Now that they're here, they know there are lots of people they can feast on," replied the Stranger.

"How do you know all this?" asked Danjuro.

"We're demon hunters. In our version of Japan, we've had run-ins with demons ourselves," replied the Stranger.

"How did you get here?" asked Manami.

"We used a ship which flies through the Expanse," replied the Stranger.

Manami's eyes flared. "A ship? Like a space ship? That sounds like something right out of a sci-fi show!" remarked Manami..

The Stranger smiled at Manami's remark. "Something like that," replied the Stranger.

"I can't think of any new questions. What do we do now?" asked Manami.

"To begin with, you may call me Abel while here in our Domain. Danjuro has Atma powers, but you, Manami, will need an equivalent power if you're to work with us. This is for your protection. While Atma can't be cured, there are ways to gain immunity to it," replied the Stranger. "I'll grant you a new power which will confer such immunity, but it would come with the loss of your Quirk."

Manami's eyes flared upon hearing that. "You can do that? If I can get stronger to help my Danjuro, I'd gladly sacrifice my Quirk!" stated Manami, head held high to demonstrate her determination.

"Very well. Please hold still," said Abel. He held up his hand and a violet aura surrounded it. A tingling sensation washed over her as the power filled Manami. "It's done. Your new power is what we'll call a 'Standing Persona.' Its name is 'Kingdom of Hearts.' It allows you to manifest a spiritual castle with card soldiers and servants at your beck and call. It has access to holy and heart-related powers such as charming magic."

"Wow! That sounds so much more powerful than my old Quirk!" remarked Manami.

"It is! Come back tomorrow night to start your training. Now that you've decided to join, do not let anyone know of the things you've learned while here. That knowledge can be quite terrifying and demons feed on fear via Magatsuhi. We want to avoid causing panic in the general public," said Abel.

"Okay. Understood," replied Danjuro.

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The next night, Team Gentle arrived at the Domain to begin their training in the demon hunting arts. They went to the locker room where Danjuro found Izuku and David already changing in the men's room. "Jolly good friends! You must be fellow Atma infectees!" greeted Danjuro cheerfully.

"That's right. I'm Izuku Midoriya. I'm a student in middle school, final year," replied Izuku.

"I'm David Shield, Doctor of Quirk Sciences," replied David.

"Ah! I've heard of you! You've made many devices to help people with their Quirks. You've worked with All Might, the number one hero of Japan," said Danjuro. "Forgive me. I'm Danjuro Tobita. It's nice to meet you, Izuku and David," said Danjuro, shaking hands with both of them. "How long have you been training?"

"Not long, only a few days now. I'm still new like you are," replied Izuku. "What's your Atma power? Mine's 'Altered Beast.'"

"Altered Beast? Do you change into an animal?" asked Danjuro.

"Half-animal, half-human creatures like a Werewolf," corrected Izuku.

"That sounds like a powerful ability. Mine is called 'Plant Zombie.' I take on the form of a plant-like zombie which can control plants and use necromancy," replied Danjuro.

"That sounds pretty powerful!" remarked Izuku. "You can do so many things with plants. I'm sure necromancy has a lot of applications too, but it's a bit creepy."

"Mine is 'Gear of War.' It lets me create military equipment like guns, vehicles, and so on," said David.

"That's quite versatile! Well met, everyone! I'm sure we'll get along just fine!" remarked Danjuro.

At the women's locker room, Manami met Melissa and had introduced themselves to each other. "Nice to meet you Manami!" said Melissa with a smile. "My Atma is 'Metal Gear.' It lets me manipulate and store metal."

"I don't actually have an Atma Avatar. I was lucky that Danjuro didn't bite me," said Manami. "Instead, Abel gave me a Standing Persona called 'Kingdom of Hearts.' I have my very own castle and I'm the Queen!"

"That sounds quite powerful! You basically have your own army to command," remarked Melissa.

"What are we doing today?" asked Manami.

"I've got martial arts with Atsuro, or Atbro as you might know him. Since you're new, Abel will want to train powers as soon as possible to get you familiar with them," replied Melissa.

Melissa, David, and Izuku parted ways with the new recruits while Danjuro and Manami joined Abel at the magic range to train in powers. Danjuro was the first to go and assumed the form of Plant Zombie. For practice, Abel had him create vines to capture an array of training dummies created from the Domain's matter. He started off by creating a single vine, but quickly graduated into creating two or three at a time to capture multiple victims.

While he practised this technique, Abel had Manami call out the Kingdom of Hearts. It manifested as a vibrant, ghostly pink castle with spires tipped with hearts. She then summoned the card soldiers to her side. As expected, they were like living playing cards who carried spears. They resembled the Queen of Hearts' soldiers from Alice in Wonderland, but all had a flaming aura of pink surrounding them to indicate their spiritual nature. The card soldiers stood before Manami at attention.

"What is thy bidding, my liege?" asked the chief soldier through telepathy.

"Attack the target dummies," Manami replied likewise.

As soon as Manami broadcast that command, the soldiers swarmed the dummies, surrounding and repeatedly stabbing and slashing them into tatters. "Good! Now repair those dummies you destroyed," said Abel.

Manami summoned the Kingdom's medical team to the field. A group of card nurses swarmed the field and sprayed pink magical energy upon the dummies. They gradually repaired until completely new, like they had never suffered any harm to begin with. "How was that?" asked Manami.

Abel gave the two a thumbs up. "Good! Both of you are making steady progress," replied Abel.

END OF CHAPTER