The Quirk of Solitude by ShadowAlchemy

Chapter 6

The moon never even moved an inch after being stared at for an incalculable amount of time. Izuku was lying on a nearby sand dune zoned out thinking about how much time had passed since he first showed up here. What was this place? How do you leave? Were the two dominant questions in his mind followed closely by What can I do? I'm so bored! There was nothing but an endless sea of sand dunes surrounding the square tiles where Starrk still lay sleeping peacefully. He tried practicing his kanji in the sand but it was too hard to make the proper strokes with just his fingers.

If only he had his backpack. At least then he could be doing something. Starrk began to stir and let out a loud yawn. Rubbing his head he slowly sat up and opened his eyes. He had a nice headache from overexerting himself protecting Izuku and he really wanted to go back to sleep but not before checking on the kid's wellbeing. Who happened to be now sitting on a sand dune looking at him expectantly. Huh? Starrk focused and double checked his senses to ensure he wasn't hallucinating. When he focused on Izuku he got two impressions. The first was the kid's still passed out body in the derelict school bus and the other was a signature verifying he was also on the sand dune in front of him.

"It's too early for me for this sort of stuff." Starrk complained while rubbing his temple with both hands in a clockwise motion. "How did you get here, kid?"

Izuku got up from the sand dune and made his way to the tiles where Starrk was sitting. "I don't know. I remember being grabbed by a monster in the doctor's office and next thing I knew I was here. You were in a huge pillar of blue energy that slowly got smaller until it vanished and you could barely answer two questions before passing out. Where exactly are we?"

Starrk remembered the event and cause of his current headache. "This place is in your subconscious, call it whatever you want. This is where I normally rest and talk to you. When that monster grabbed you, you were beyond panicked and couldn't hold a coherent thought. I had to use my full power to protect you and get you somewhere safe. I killed that monster before finding a garbage filled beach to rest in. It was extremely draining on both of us so don't expect to walk away from this feeling good."

Izuku was surprised. They were in his subconscious? There were so many questions and he didn't know where to start. For the time being the most important question was, "Can you send me back to my body?"

Starrk closed his eyes and felt the tile floor with an open palm and answered "I could, but it would be a bad idea. From this place I am gently using my power to slowly restore your body. You wouldn't be able to move right now and it would feel like every muscle was on fire. So no. I won't be letting you go back until it's recovered. Don't worry, there is a sufficient layer of my power coating you. No critters will bother you nor are you at risk from freezing from the night's chill."

"It's already night? We were at the doctor's office around noon." inquired Izuku

"Correct. Over using my powers like that made me incredibly tired. It also gave me a headache so please do not try and get grabbed by another monster in the near future." Starrk quipped and gave a sarcastic jab to emphasize his inconvenient state of being.

Izuku nodded in agreement before Starrk continued a little more seriously,

"Speaking of my powers…I need to know something from you here and now before ever letting you back into your body. What are you going to do with them?"

"What do you—" Izuku began to ask but cut off

"My powers!" Starrk said with a firm voice "The power your very soul criticized but envied and called for to appear and is now in front of you!" He stood up, squaring up to Izuku. "I am the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk. Whose aspect of death is solitude. And by extension…so are you." He pointed straight at Izuku who wasn't sure how to respond at the moment.

"I told you before you will have the right to wield it as you see fit but I haven't gotten the slightest degree of interest from you. You've chosen not to fight back against anything or anyone for your entire life so far. You've not even asked me what powers I can give you or what requirements you would even need to start. If you aren't going to do anything then say it right here and now and I'll just take over your body every single time you're in trouble to keep you alive and hidden! Is that what you want?" Starrk declared giving a deadly serious look towards Izuku.

Internally Starrk knew he was being very strict and harsh towards the boy but he couldn't afford to be so impassive. He understood Izuku better than anyone and he needed to be pointed in a direction. Starrk didn't care which direction, but a direction to at least start towards. He cared for the boy's well being and didn't want to see him get pushed around by the world which already had taken so much from him. He crossed his arms and continued in a softer tone,

"Let us sit and talk this out. Everything. Every question, every doubt, every dream and ambition. I want to hear all of it. There are no wrong answers but I will not tolerate half hearted answers. I can not read your mind but I can feel the general directions of your emotions. So come, let us speak from one Primera to another."

Izuku was overwhelmed with a conflux of emotions. Here, deep in his mind or soul for all he knew, was the only being that legitimately cared and wanted to know him better. The only person who saw and had expectations that he should act on his potential. Tears formed on the edges of his eyes and he was threatening to release them. Starrk took a seat and suggested with his palm for Izuku to sit across from him, which he did oblige. Like a dam breaking, the violent torrent of thoughts, emotions, and questions poured out of Izuku. Everything from the feelings of hurt and confusion of why he was abandoned into the orphanage as a baby, to the way the other children there or at school shunned or hurt him, and to how cruel the world really was. Starrk took it in stride. He answered the kid's questions and addressed his concerns with his own experiences or practical advice. It was like a father talking to his son.

Time did flow differently in this subconscious world but neither person cared how long this conversation took. Starrk had seen Izuku's memories before but now he understood them and had a better grasp on the kid's true feelings from them. Izuku never knew anyone who really understood his loneliness before but Starrk could explain it in a clear picture with better words. Finally, nearing the end of their lengthy conversation, Starrk's question from before was addressed.

"I did and still do want the strength you have." Izuku said while wiping his tear stained eyes with his soaked and damaged uniform sleeve. "But I don't know how to fight and I am afraid of overdoing it. I mean yea, I'd like to stop people from hurting me and others but I don't feel it's right to take their life. The thought of me making some other kid feel the way I've felt or worse… like putting them in an orphanage because I killed their awful parents who were being mean to me…I…I don't want to be the cause of suffering to those who didn't do anything wrong. I would want to use my power to put some justice back into the world even if it doesn't want it."

Starrk closed his eyes and felt Izuku's conviction in his declaration. "Well kid, I am happy to finally hear what you truly want to do. I will teach and show you how to control your developing powers. It will come slowly because you need to strengthen your body first to handle it. Right now the amount of increased speed, strength, and recovery you have is negligible."

"Can't you add some muscle tissue as you help my body heal itself?" Honestly asked Izuku while feeling some motivation stir within him.

Starrk shook his head, "That's not how the recovery power works. It only restores the body to its current state. It's similar to that of the quirk of that one hero lady you wrote about in your notebook. It cannot add anything but if you get advanced enough you might be able to regrow missing parts of bone and organs. You're not going to be able to do that for a long time and if I do it for you then it will probably cause me to sleep for a day or two due to the fatigue. I'm not specialized in that kind of healing."

"I remember reading that part. You are more specialized attacking with cero and your soul weapons. Are you going to—" Izuku couldn't finish before Starrk interrupted

"NO! I will absolutely never teach you how to split your soul and make them into my wolf bombs…Without it you may never reach full power but I can't…I can't afford to risk losing you to a technique like that." He started loudly and grew softer in his explanation. Even if it was fake, it was real to him: losing his soul portion of Lillynete in his final battle was devastating.

"Kid, you are a human and I'm not. There's no telling what splitting your soul into a weapon like that would do. If given significant time, yes my fractured soul would've repaired itself but never forget: I am an arrancar, and we don't age like humans do. So please…never ask me to teach you that. I couldn't bear the risk of it killing you."

Izuku was silent and was slightly ashamed of himself for asking about that so thoughtlessly. "Ok. I promise I won't ask you to teach me that technique. Which one do you think would be best for me?"

Starrk smiled at the verbal promise and replied, "Pesquisa will let you detect life forms in a focused area. Or Sonido, channeling energy into your footwork to teleport to a focused destination. I do not want to teach you any offense techniques until you are able to detect and escape danger. The less you are reliant on my manifested power, the better."

Izuku gave him a confused look, "Isn't everything I use your power?"

"I guess I should've started with this." mumbled Starrk while scratching his head "Every time you saw or used the blue flames that was my manifestation. It doesn't use your energy but mine. I get fatigued a bit every time the blue flames are seen or used and I would like to refrain from manifesting if possible. Taking over your body was an extreme emergency and I can't maintain myself for very long especially if I'm in combat. You using one of my techniques is simply your own body and stamina. When you grow strong enough I can show you how to take my released form for a massive power boost for a small duration of time. Don't worry about the advanced stuff, you'll get there if you put in the honest hard work. Actually we should be focused on finding a reliable source of food and shelter for your body. It is nearly healed and is in desperate need of sustenance. From here I will keep your hunger pains at bay but you should not delay finding some food."

Izuku acknowledged Starrk's information and advice and was looking around for a door or something to appear.

"Actually. That's not a bad idea." Starrk had an idea pop into his head as he saw Izuku looking for an exit. "Garganta."

A small rip of reality appeared hovering over the tiled floor big enough for a single person to enter.

"When you go in, you will immediately be back in your body waking up. You are healed but might be a little stiff."

Izuku smiled and thanked Starrk and went inside the rift and it closed seamlessly behind him. The sun was beginning to rise and Izuku stirred awake from inside the school bus. He felt sore and stiff, like he had completed a full body workout the night prior. Rubbing his neck he was surprised it did not feel tight because he was sure his head was unmoved for several undisturbed hours. Must be Starrk's help. He thought while exiting the bus's rear door. This was the first time he had ever been to this beach but he remembered hearing about it through other peoples' conversations. Apparently this used to be a clean and nice relaxing spot at one time. Now, it's a bountiful illegal dumping ground for used up equipment and just junk in general.

Before he started his search for food, he found a pile of stacked tires to climb safely in order to survey his surroundings. Izuku grimaced at the enormous amounts of junk. He made a mental note of his location and decided to make his way towards some mobile storage containers a bit further up the coast. Carefully, he navigated through random piles of debris until he got to his destination. Despite his best efforts he couldn't get the rusty levers to move and gave up after a few minutes of trying. He felt his stomach rumble and then heard Starrk's voice,

"Don't exhaust yourself further. I'm using my energy to keep you going until you find something to eat, but even I have a limit of how much I can supply."

Silently agreeing, Izuku made his way towards the city. He was hoping to find some coastal shops or restaurants. But I have no money and actually… He just remembered he didn't have his schoolbag or ID and he was still wearing his burnt school uniform from yesterday. If anybody sees me they'll probably call the police and then…No. Absolutely not. He absolutely refuses to go back to that awful orphanage or school. Luckily he didn't have to look very hard for a small coastal cafe which had yet to open. He could smell the morning pastries and coffee being made from inside and his stomach growled again. This will do, am I going to…steal? That thought irked him and caused him to pause. Stealing would definitely get himself noticed and personally didn't like the idea of being a thief.

Shaking his head he made his way around to the back of the cafe which was a shared alleyway for a couple different businesses. Izuku quickly moved up to the cafe's dumpster and opened the lid and was in luck. He grabbed a couple discarded bagels that were near clean and immediately wolfed them down. His stomach greedily welcomed the food and churned in delight. Starrk let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't much but it was a start and he could slowly let up from supplying the kid with his own energy. Izuku took another look inside the dumpster and grabbed a couple more before he started to walk away feeling a little victorious. To satiate his thirst he found an outside water spigot near the beginning of the alley that the cafe uses to fill up its water cans for the decorative pots and plants. The cold water came out and Izuku gulped it down not caring how much it splashed him. Starrk couldn't help but pity the boy and was a little lost in his own thoughts. Watching the new young primera drink from a garden hose and eat from a dumpster was not a life he ever would've envisioned. However, a presence was coming from the alley behind them and Starrk thought it would be wise to let the kid know.

"Hey kid, there is someone approaching from the alley."

Izuku stopped drinking and turned the water off before standing up to look in that direction. There indeed was a lanky man with gray hair with side bangs above his eyes. He was humming a tune while smoking a cigarette all the while looking at Izuku with a cheerful grin.

"Kinda beaten up looking aint ya kid? Did ya get in a fight with someone on your way to school?" The man asked without losing his cigarette or smile

Internally, Starrk had his eyes narrowed. In his personal experience this was a false sense of caring that had hidden ulterior motives. He remained silent, letting Izuku decide what to do and how to respond.

"Um…yeah. I lost." Izuku responded to the stranger, his eyes holding his standard distant expression but was understandably wary of this stranger. This time however, Izuku was very mindful not to show his tattoo'd number 1 on his left hand.

"Hehe, didn't mean to pry kiddo it's just you look like absolute shit and it's not normal to be drinking out of a spigot. Name's Giran by the way. I'm a middleman of sorts to get people what they need." Giran introduced with a partial salute and took a good puff from his cigarette before continuing "If yer willing to do a small favor for me. I can hook ya up with some food or at least some wearable clothing."

Izuku didn't like how this man's grin never onced faded. It's like he knew about Izuku but that couldn't be true, right? Giran honestly didn't know who or why Izuku was here. All he saw was a potential easy picking to deliver to a mad scientist that paid good.

"Perhaps another time…forgive me but I don't trust people right after meeting them." stated Izuku not taking his eyes off Giran for a second.

Giran chuckled again and raised his hands in a surrender pose. "Fair enough kiddo I actually give you a little more credit than I initially thought. So listen. I'll come back here in three days at the same time and see if you've had a change of heart. We'll see if you still don't need a good meal or clothing. See ya." He partially saluted again and went back into the alley. Izuku only left his spot once he lost sight of Giran. It would be bad if he or anybody else saw him return to the beach.

Starrk nodded at Izuku's decision and reaffirmed his choice, "That was wise not trusting him. In my eyes, he is the type of individual who never does anything without it benefiting himself more than the ones he helps."

Izuku agreed and eventually made his way back to his school bus. They discussed a list of priorities to hash out before training could begin. First, was to scout the immediate area for anything useful and turn the bus into a proper shelter. Second, was to forage for supplies and secure them. Once both criteria were met, then he could focus on clearing out an appropriate sized area for training. Starrk would use his Pesquisa periodically to check for anybody potentially looking for him or getting too close. Luckily, nobody got closer than the walkway which ran parallel to the coast so the tasks could be completed in peace.

By the sunset of the first day Izuku had some impressive results. He found some very worn tools that he could use to loosen the school bus seats and put them together to make a mattress. Rusty nails were hammered into the buses's outer shell to keep some tarps in place. Izuku could roll them up for good weather and let them down to keep the cold air or rain out. By far the best find he had was a couple medical crates found by the mobile containers. Inside were stacks of unused medical bandages, tourniquets, splints, cotton balls, and various other supplies. Even if they were never used, hospitals still rotated out stock based on the manufacturers labels guarantees of staying sterile. In an adjacent crate were expired packages of unopened crackers, cookies, and small bottles of water. They looked and even tasted fine, just a little stale.

When he laid down to rest for the night, Starrk offered,

"I need to rest and recuperate the energy I spent today. Dedicate half of your day tomorrow looking for more stuff to forage and we can start with our first lesson afterwards."

"Yes sir!" Izuku answered with a happy yawn and quickly fell asleep. Starrk was pleased at the kid's excitement. He never taught anyone before but he was looking forward to trying as well. Both primera fell asleep with hopeful anticipation.

In an unknown laboratory

Doctor Ujiko had just finished writing out an impressively long equation on his personal chalkboard. Ever since he saw the results from Izuku's lab report he spent many hours erasing and rebuilding his theories using chalk. It may be a bit antiquated but being as old as he was this used to be common practice. No, No, close but not quite there. He thought to himself after reevaluating his work. There was a breakthrough in the Noumu project close to being discovered. Seeing Izuku's quirk genetics proved that to him. It was all about figuring out how to get to the same answer.

If he could figure out how to pair bond quirk genes without forcibly splicing them together the results would be worth the long hours of calculation. The current Noumu have a very simple genetic formula. They may have a couple compatible quirks but couldn't bring them out efficiently. Some could only use one at a time exclusively otherwise their brain function would fail. They essentially were simple foot soldiers easy to produce but could be overpowered by new heroes or anyone that had good control over their quirks.

Ujiko looked at the large collection vat of stored genetic material from all of the donors. Right now it would be easy to imagine it as salad dressing. The heaviest physical genes such as mutation type quirks rested closer to the container's floor while pure emitter type quirks floated near the top. Enhancement quirks were all around the middle like a bridge. Unlike salad dressing, shaking the container would not encourage the contents to blend together: some other catalyst or combination was needed. Once solved, the amount of possible combinations with previously incompatible ones would pave the path for much stronger and deadlier Noumu series. The thought of successfully making a Noumu with the necessary quirks to specifically counter All Might made the doctor happy. He gleefully erased part of his chalkboard equation and began again. The sound of scratching chalk was the only thing that broke the otherwise monotone humming of the laboratory equipment.