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'Inner thoughts'
"Outside Chatter"
LEVEL START!
Pain reintroduced itself to his awareness when his eyes opened—bright lights, gamer's true weakness.
"Motherfuck-!" His curse was interrupted by a sharp cough. Konami blinked rapidly to adjust his vision and take stock of his situation. Ah, this must be an Infirmary. He racked his head for the latest memories, although those were fuzzy. He remembered the entrance exam, a blur of metal getting crushed, followed by a blur of movement as he dashed around.
He reached the finish line after helping Blondie get there. That sounds right. So what happened then?
"-are you listening? Brat!"
"Eh?" Konami refocused on what he realized was the nurse he recognized as Recovery Girl. Was she talking this whole time? Maybe he was more out of it than he thought. "Sorry, you say something? I feel more distracted than usual."
The sharp gaze delivered his way softened before she sighed heavily. "This answers how you're feeling… you suffered from a crash thanks to your dangerously low sugar levels. Are you diabetic by chance?" Konami was genuinely shocked, enough that his lips twitched downward in concern.
"No? I'd be the first in the family if I did." Granted, given how his parents hid how dire their financial situation was, it wouldn't shock him if they kept medical issues hidden, too. The thought alone soured his mood further, and the effort put in pushed his grin into a frown.
"I see. I gave you a glucose shot to bring things back to normal levels. Since I'm waiting for your medical records, I'd like to hear if you have any guesses about the sudden crash. What can you tell me about your quirk?" Konami resisted the urge to sigh, realizing he was about to be asked this question from now on.
"I'm no expert on the medical terms. The doctor once said my quirk Power-Up gives me an adrenaline rush when in use. Common Power-Ups last half an hour, but I can end the timer early by letting them go. That way, I can reroll for a new Power-Up after a minute cooldown." He kept it brief, able to scoot himself to sit up for the conversation. He noted one of the other beds had curtains around it. Did someone else get taken in? Konami brushed it off as another had gotten roughed up in the exam.
Recovery Girl herself looked troubled for some reason. Did he have to elaborate further? Suppose he should, given how recently his Quirk gained a new tier. "Oh! The Uncommon Tier I unlocked a few months ago has a shorter run time. So far, it's been five minutes for the ones I've gotten, which sucks but probably for the best. Not sure what I would do with being entirely metal for more than that-"
"You're telling me your quirk developed further than originally documented?" Rude. Konami bit back a retort and gave her a nod. "Unbelievable. Out of all the reckless, irresponsible-!" Man, now he was stuck listening to the old crone go off.
Konami grumbled, finding it tedious to tune out the rant now. His ears were annoyingly receptive to the spiel she delivered. Something about overusing adrenaline leading to heart problems? He fidgets in the bed as restless energy stirs within once more.
"... develop heart problems if you keep up this 'reroll' nonsense!" Wait, that sounded important.
"Wait, what? I need to reroll, though!" How else could he ensure he had the best power for a given situation? He needed to have the options available to him! "What if I save it for emergencies? Hero work can be dangerous!"
"One, I already have had doubts you'd hold up to such a promise. Two, the results are far from being processed for you to know you passed." Harsh. Konami could still respect the blunt assessment.
"Okay, but if I did, would my being careful make you less angry?" He attempted to bat his eyes, even if his resting smiley face ruined the image of innocence.
Recovery Girl wasn't impressed. Persuasion Check Failed!
Fine, he could be serious for a few seconds—Reroll time.
"Listen, I already have the threat of a mother's wrath breathing down my neck. If you need more assurance than that, I will even let you explain the details to my parents."
He'll regret that. Konami didn't have a single doubt in his mind.
"You troublesome child… I expect you back so we can adequately evaluate your quirk. No argument. Even if you failed, I refuse to let a child cut their life short for overusing a quirk not correctly diagnosed."
Persuasion Check Passed! Nobody can resist this smile for long.
"I believe you have a call to make. I'll clear you afterward to make sure everything is in order. Restrict your quirk usage until our assessment." Konami gave a mock salute, earning a huff and shake of Recovery Girl's head before she stalked out of the office. Once she was gone, Konami gave a heavy sigh as he deflated.
It was kind of her to offer some privacy since he had no doubt he'd need to prepare himself for the most formidable challenge yet.
"Boss inbound," he muttered before reaching for his phone, which rested on the bedside table. How convenient they had put this within arm's reach. It wasn't like he hoped to push back the call because his phone was in the locker. Konami grimaced as he realized his headphones were back at his apartment. Great, this will be a speaker call.
Although he had made peace with his default grinning state, his ears were an unfortunate mutation he wished weren't part of the package deal. Who would have thought microphones as ears have more cons than pros? Metallic grating with a stadium shape made wearing earbuds impossible, and cleaning was always awkward.
Right as he unlocked his screen, a ruffle from the nearby patient bed caused him to pause. Hello, convenient distraction! The curtain was still up, but Konami didn't doubt his hearing to know someone was behind it, having either woken up or had been awake for a hot minute.
"How long were you waiting to interject awkwardly?" Konami wanted to cackle at the nervous gulp, phone set aside for a far less threatening conversation.
"I woke up while you explained your quirk. I'm sorry for eavesdropping!" The guy sounded a few steps away from a panic attack. Rather funny. "It's an exciting quirk despite the concerning drawbacks! I wondered what constitutes a Power-Up and how many higher tiers could unlock over time," Huh, he caught that part. Wait, was he still going? It was a rapid mumble at this rate, but Konami could hear every word. "Does the aftereffects stack with every 'reroll'? Or does the quirk reset it back to base, thanks to the added rush you get? Do higher tiers get a greater boost in adrenaline the body has to adjust to?"
See, any sane person would interject or try to snap this mutter-storm. Instead, Konami opened the notes app on his phone to start typing as fast as his thumbs allowed. What? Konami wanted to let this random guy cook. It's far better than him having a panic attack.
Plus, part of him had to be impressed by how those words flowed. If this guy didn't pass the exam, he should consider rapping as a career choice. M.C Mutter?
A few minutes after the analysis started, Konami wondered if this guy's quirk had let him ignore the breathing requirement of living. He was about to ask before Recovery Girl made a timely return alongside some blonde scarecrow-looking man. Konami approved either way—freaky face to another.
Konami only briefly glanced over, a tilted head as a greeting before he refocused on his notes. Did the time of day affect what he rolled? Probably not. Reroll back-to-back stack or not? Recovery Girl probably shouldn't be told that one. All of this was better than mashing his buttons repeatedly until something happened.
Recovery cleared her throat, but the muttering kept going. Konami sighed as he realized the gold would have to stop flowing. Maybe he could get this guy's number for future mix-tape drops.
"Yo, Mutter, we got guests," He said loud enough to snap Mutter's overflowing informative bars. The boy outright stammered an apology, so Konami offered mercy as a kind soul. "Thanks for the suggestions, by the way. I'm Konami, by the way, Konami Coleson."
"Oh… I'm Midoriya Izuku-"
"Yes, yes, introductions are over now. Coleson, you can go for now. I expect you here tomorrow at 8 AM sharp!" Recovery Girl interrupted the formation of true broship. Alas, Konami will have to delay this confidant's rank up for another time.
Thankfully, the time he spent relaxing was enough to allow him to shift and get out of bed without any aches.
"Good luck, Mutter! Hope to see you in class!"
Konami cackled without restraint as he walked out, this time at Mutter's befuddled sound at the new nickname.
Despite only living in this new apartment for a month, Konami was relieved when he got off the train and made his way up the stairs of the complex. Today's events were catching up with him, and the overall fatigue from today's exam was kicking in. Recovery Girl healed the bruises and scrapes, but nothing could recover the exhaustion from quirk use.
It was relatively late since he had to take the last train. He did his best to keep his noise to a minimum and managed to cause minimal noise with the keys to unlock his door. His escape indoors was interrupted by another door opening up, Ochako's head poking out.
"Coleson? You're just getting back? What happened? I didn't see you anywhere once testing finished." Huh, was that a concerned tone? She must have noticed he didn't get on the train or see him leave the school alongside everyone else. Hmm.
"Passed out near the end. Quirk thing. You looked for me?" His eyebrow arched in bemusement, which earned an irritated huff. Heh, she looked like Kirby.
"Well, yeah! It'd have been nice to have company heading back. I thought you went on ahead…" Her frown lessened as she gave him a look over. He refrained from teasing, even if his smile twitched higher in amusement. Seeing a potential friend show such concern from the go felt nice. "Try to take it easy. Those Exams were tough, especially with those Zero Pointers…"
There was a faint tremble there in her voice. Did she have a close call? Shit, now he's worried. Were they close enough for that? Probably not. He could do a check-in tomorrow.
"It was good to see all that tax money go into good use. Building-sized robots to terrify middle schoolers," Konami cracked a joke and got the desired effect. A huff of laughter was good enough, in his opinion. "Can we chat more about how the exams went tomorrow? I'm exhausted, but I got my parents to call. We can swap stories tomorrow if you're free." Maybe less of a slasher smile? Konami tried, but he was sure it looked cringeworthy without a mirror to correct himself.
Ochako showed mercy to this ever-smiling soul. She sent a far more normal smile, followed by a slight nod. "I'd like that. Good luck, Coleson, and Goodnight!"
"Sleep tight!"
Hmm, this friend thing was alright. Plus, he could reduce the rant to fifteen minutes if he mentioned it was a cute girl next door. Mom was a sucker for the cliches.
First things first, though. Once inside, Konami locked the door behind him and courteously looked around. Everything seemed to be in order. The one-room apartment had all the necessities and was the cheapest one his parents could find. It was close enough to other businesses looking for hire in case he had to pick up part-time if this plan fell through.
Not that his parents would approve of that, but that's what lying was for. They needed the money, and he refused to be deadweight when his quirk could do something to help.
Konami walked over to his dresser, where he grabbed his trusted headphones—a gamer's headset Dad owned. They rested over his ears perfectly, and he flopped back onto his single bed with a tired sigh.
Part of him wanted to play music and zone out, but he made a promise.
Aux cable plugged into his phone, Konami dialed his mom's number and waited. At this hour, she should be out of work and at home for a break before the night shift. He was proven right when she picked up at the third ring.
"Konami! Are you okay? Do you realize how late it is, young man?! You didn't get lost on the trains, did you? How confident are you with the Exam? Do we need to go by and pick you up? Help with bags or bring a cake? Your father is still at work, so-"
Konami let Mom run her course. She ranted when nerves were high. Interrupting her would quickly lead to the Bad End, thanks to her temper.
"-don't get me started on how Jessica was at work. I swear I was about to tear her a new one! Now, speak up and tell me what happened!"
"Okay, so I met this girl on the train…" As Konami recounted his story so far, he had to admit it was nice to talk with Mom like this again. Calls like this were sparse, given how he tried to focus on his studies for the exam, and they were both busy taking extra hours. So, he may have milked the opportunity for its worth during his tangent.
Did he downplay some of the dangers? Of course. It made the inevitable explanation near the end less impactful if she was in a lighter mood.
"After I helped Blondie finish, I let go of my Power-Up instead of letting it run out. A mistake, given how I ended up passing out."
"WHAT?!"
"Mom! I'm okay! Deep breaths. The exam was over, I didn't hit my head, and Recovery Girl herself gave me the all-clear. I'll get myself checked out tomorrow with her even to make sure nothing like that happens again." Involuntarily.
He waited patiently as her labored breaths shifted into frustrated growls. Konami kept calm despite a not-so-subtle fist slam against the wall.
Sorry, Dad. Hopefully, it's not too big of a hole to fix up.
"I want you to call me the second you get the results. Both tomorrow's and whenever school sends the letter."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"You will be a gentleman to that nice girl next door."
"Absolutely, Ma'am."
"I love you, but I'm hanging up before I break another phone. There will be no video games tonight, and I expect you to be in bed early."
"I love you too. Understood."
His sigh of relief only came when the call ended. Dad would be the one to handle Mom's lashout. The quirk Fury was volatile, which is where the adrenaline part of Power-Up comes from. According to Dad, it wasn't that bad when her anger spiked and she became violent. Konami fully believes Dad is a filthy liar and possibly a masochist.
Welp, I survived that call. The follow-up should be just as fun. Now, I need to unwind and try to follow orders—for Dad's sake.
He scrolled through his nighttime selection with squinted eyes before he found the perfect tune. He didn't even bother to undress from his regular clothes. Tomorrow's Konami could deal with the consequences of his filthy actions.
Now Playing: Alleycat (Persona 5)
Tomorrow, I can try making curry. Post exams treat.
He barely remembered to set the alarm for tomorrow morning before his consciousness faded for the second time today.
AN: Yo! So, I managed to get this out on time and force myself not to think too hard about potential flaws! Progress! A lot of chatter in this chapter, with some more next as we get to peek more into Konami's personal life. I hope this proves entertaining as we move on to newer pastures. I plan to post a proper Character Sheet for Konami on my profile, covering the basics at the very least. Spoiler-free, mainly for review on what the hell is going on.
Let me know what you think! I don't have much else to say aside from that. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Oh, and I forgot to mention a disclaimer: I don't own MHA nor any properties mentioned from power-ups, music, etc. I only own the OCs and the dumbass art used as Cover Story Art.
See y'all next week!