Quirk Derivatives and Drawbacks

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Hailstorm Vol. 2! We got a few cute and interesting things going on this chapter as our heroes try to make sense of the Black Whip quirk. As per the usual, I'd like to give a shout out to all of you, my readers, for reading and supporting the story up to this point. Now, with no review questions this week, let's dive on in!

U.A. High's Training Gym Gamma

"Come on, something wrong?!" Exclaimed Bakugou as he fired off several explosions at Midoriya, "don't tell me you're chickening out!"

"Wait a minute," said the One for All holder as he dodged the blasts by the skin of his teeth using Full Cowling, "it really won't activate! I'm trying but it won't come out!" Bakugou's answer to this was more yelling and more explosions as Midoriya continued running for his life around the currently rocky terrain of the gym. Clay and Slade, meanwhile, were alternating between rubbing their temples and the bridges of their noses while watching the apparent spectacle unfold. 'This is not what we had in mind when we suggested an outside stimuli,' thought the two of them.

"Wait, Bakugou," yelled All Might frantically, "this isn't what you're supposed to be doing!"

"Whaddya mean," asked the Explosive Blond as he landed a short distance away, "stuff like that quirk is supposed to come out when you're in trouble!"

"But this is practice to keep it 'from' coming out," All Might reminded him as Izuku landed next to them and deactivated One For All. Unsurprisingly, he was more than a little exhausted.

"And you do realize the more you make his life feel threatened the higher the chance is that his quirk will answer in kind, probably tearing apart this gym in the process," Clay pointed out.

"Plus, we don't have Shinso or Aizawa this time," said Slade, "so dial it back already before we have another accident."

"I don't think we really need to worry about that," said Midoriya as he examined his arm and hand, "like I said before, it really won't come out. The presence I felt before is gone."

"That's because you're not scared enough yet!" Said Bakugou as he pointed at Midoriya, "so if I beat you up even more, it'll come out suddenly for sure! And then I'll beat you up so completely while you're in that state-."

"GIVE IT A REST!" Clay and Slade practically shouted before Clay continued, "sheesh, your ears must've blown out years ago because we just finished explaining why that's a bad idea."

"I'm pretty sure it has to do with how One For All responds to my feelings," said Midoriya as he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath, "at that time, I was thinking that this new power is something that I won't use for a while. That might be the reason why this new quirk is locked away right now. If that is the case, then forming an image in my head of something locking and unlocking might allow me to consciously use Black Whip-."

"Don't bore us with the muttering, damn it!" Exclaimed Bakugou, "if you're saying you can't use it right now then there's no point in doing this. So I'm heading back, your muttering always gives me the creeps." He turned and walked away then, leaving the others to contemplate the current situation.

"I think we've made all the progress we're going to make for now," said All Might as he turned to the trio, "so let's stop for today."

"Before we do," said Midoriya as he turned to Clay, "could you give me a quick explanation on what it feels like to control your clouds? I know you've told me the basics of it before but are there any specifics about it you usually don't mention?"

"Well, when it comes to my quirk, I do make images in my head for what I want it to do," explained Clay as he held out his hand and produced some of his clouds. Though unlike the usual formless mass, his clouds were currently shaped and moving in a manner similar to how Black Whip had when it came out of Midoriya's arm earlier that day. "As you know, the clearer the image I make the more detailed my clouds become. For instance, your Black Whip quirk is pretty fresh in my mind right now so it's easy for me to visualize my clouds behaving in a similar manner. Though if we're just talking about basic activation, it's almost like tensing a specific muscle. The main difference is I'm focusing on a specific point or points where my quirk is gonna come out."

"That's right," said Midoriya, "that's why you usually produce them from your hands, feet or joints, they're easier spots for you to focus on."

"Exactly," affirmed Clay, "in your case, it looks like Black Whip is only produced out of your hands or wrists, so maybe a good first step is to approach it like you approached One For All: just give it a little bit of power at first and then gradually increase it until you reach a point that it can be used effectively." He dispersed his clouds then upon finishing his explanation.

"That does help a little," said Midoriya with a small smile as he looks at his hand, "I guess it's really no different from any other quirk. I just need time and practice."

"Which we can get to tomorrow," said Slade as he stretched a bit while yawning, "for now, we'd best get back to the dorms before everyone starts wondering where we are." The agreement was unanimous on that course of action.

A Short Time Later: U.A. Heights Alliance

"Yeah, you're right Tetsutetsu!" Exclaimed Kirishima as Clay, Slade and Midoriya all walked in the door where they quickly noted the lounge was a bit more crowded than usual.

"Good news you three," said Iida as he dashed over to them, "we're having beef stew for dinner tonight!"

"I'm guessing we'll be needing extra for our guests," said Slade as his eyes swept the room and took a quick count of all it's occupants.

"Are all the Class 1B students here right now?" Questioned Midoriya as he looked at the scene happily.

"Perhaps not all, but several of them are here to mingle and talk about today's training," explained Iida.

"How many of them helped with that torture contraption over there?" Questioned Clay as he noted Mina had Mineta tied up in a straight jacket in one of the lounge chairs. He was being forced to watch corrective programming while having his eyes kept open forcibly with what looked like jumper cables attached to his head. "Not that I don't think he deserves a good bit of that, but still, yikes."

"Oh, Mina promised he wouldn't be there long," said Iida with a wave of his hand, "anyway, feel free to converse with the others until dinner's ready. In fact, I'll go check on its progress now!" Iida turned and headed off after that, leaving the trio to wander around looking for a place to sit or stand in the lounge area. Midoriya quickly wound up in a conversation with Todoroki who was questioning him about his quirk acting up earlier, leaving Clay and Slade to slide into the group where Momo and Jirou were.

"Hey there Slade, Clay," said Momo who was dressed in a grey sweater, "we were starting to wonder where you guys were."

"Just trying to figure a couple things out with Midoriya about what happened back at class," replied Slade, "speaking of class, I know Kendo here but I'm less familiar with who this is."

"Oh, the name's Yui Kodai," Said the Dark-haired Girl with a quick bow, "I don't know if Pony or Kendo ever mentioned me."

"Once or twice," answered Clay as he and Slade shook her hand, "though with everything going on at today's training I guess we never really got a good chance for a proper introduction."

"Yeah, sorry if we got a little rough with your friends during training," she said, "I guess we were all feeling a bit competitive even if we didn't realize it. By the way, I heard your friends with the green-haired boy, Midoriya. Is he alright, and what exactly happened with his quirk?"

"He's fine, just a little rattled is all," assured Slade, "he used to break his bones on an almost regular basis, so he actually got off pretty easy this time, all things considered. Though he's just glad he didn't hurt any of you on accident."

"As for what happened with his quirk, not really sure," said Clay, "at the moment we're thinking it might've developed some sort of derivative ability. It could also have something to do with all that green lightning that surrounds him when he activates it."

"I see," said Yui, "well it's just good to hear that everyone got out of that match alright. I honestly wasn't sure what to do when I saw that black energy, so I just followed what the rest of the team was doing."

"No harm no foul is what most folks like to say," quoted Slade, "anyway, why not tell us what it's like to not be attacked by villains every other week. We got way behind on our rescue training because of that first one."

"Hmm, well I guess you could say it's alright," said Yui as she went into a story about her class's first day of rescue training. They switched between several other topics afterwards with Pony eventually popping in to say hi to Clay and the others. Before long, dinner was served, and everyone enjoyed a hot meal that was extra welcome thanks to the increasingly cold days of winter. The hours ticked by surprisingly quickly as the two classes conversed and soon enough, Class 1B had to return to their dorms.

Clay himself was feeling pretty worn out as well as he accompanied Jirou up to her floor. Though that didn't keep him from noticing her numerous nervous ticks throughout the evening. "So," he said as they were about to reach the door to her room, "mind telling me what's on your mind."

"Oh, guess you noticed, huh," said Jirou with a sigh as she continued to walk, right past her door, "yeah I had an interesting conversation a little earlier today while you and Slade were out trying to help Midoriya with his new issue. And while I'd love to say it's nothing and go to sleep, it's probably best we nip this problem in the bud." She stopped at Mina's door then and gave it a quick knock.

"Who is it," Mina said, sounding almost groggy for once.

"It's Jirou," she replied, "I brought Clay so could you let us-." She hardly finished her sentence when the door came almost flying open.

"Yep, come on in!" Sang Mina, her apparent tiredness from just a moment ago seeming to have instantly vanished. She'd fortunately switched to her pajamas already, so Clay was spared the possible embarrassment of seeing her in just her underwear. Though as fun of a thought as that was, it wasn't the most pressing matter on his mind at the moment as he took a seat on Mina's bed next to Jirou. For her part, Mina sat in her own chair though she was practically bouncing out of it for some reason. "So have you told him yet?"

"No, I haven't," replied Jirou with a sigh, "I thought it'd be a better idea if the both of us explained it together."

"This isn't some kind of weird confessional about to happen, is it?" Questioned Clay with a raised eyebrow.

"You could call it a confession of sorts," said Mina as she suddenly leaned forward into the Cloud Wielder's personal space, "Ya see, I like you Clay, and I mean really like you. Not just as an acquaintance or friend, but more than that."

"I, uh, well don't quite know where to begin with that," said Clay nervously as he rubbed the back of his head while avoiding eye contact, "I mean I'd suspected you liked me for some time, but I figured it'd go away once you realized I was kind of boring."

"Clay," said Mina as she sat back on the chair with her arms crossed, "in case you haven't noticed, we get enough excitement throughout our days in school, planned or otherwise. And I'll admit it, I'm a pretty energetic girl, but that doesn't mean I absolutely require a guy with the same level of energy. In fact, you being cool and collected has probably been one of the more attractive things about you from how you handle villains, the teachers, students and life in general. In a lot of ways, I guess you could say I feel a bit more complete with you around."

"I'm honestly flattered that you think so highly of me," said Clay, "but there's, something of a problem. You see, Jirou and I-."

"Are together now, I know," said Mina with a playful smile, "I gave her quite the interrogation earlier."

"All that was missing was the one-way mirror," said Jirou, "so yeah, she knows about us, Clay. Honestly, I was gonna tell her at some point but even if I didn't, she'd have figured it out pretty quickly."

"I might be on the lower end of the grades in class, but that doesn't mean I'm completely unobservant," said Mina, "at least I think that's the right word. But anyway, Jirou brought you here tonight because I was hoping you'd listen to a little proposition from us."

"Proposition?" Repeated Clay, "what sort of proposition are we talking about here?"

"To put it simply," said Jirou, not entirely believing she was about to suggest this, "Mina was thinking that since we both like you, that it'd be a good idea for you to try a date with both of us?"

"Date both of you?" Said Clay, "how would that even work?"

"Simple," Mina said as she held up a finger, "you'll first go out on a date with Jirou and then go out on a date with me. Depending on how things go, we might go out on a couple more, just to be on the safe side."

"And at the end of it, we'll figure out which of us is a better fit for you," finished Jirou, "I know it's an, odd, suggestion but I really want to avoid a drama filled bout between me and Mina if at all possible. Gotta keep the friendship intact, ya know."

"Well I feel like kind of a prick for not even noticing something like that was going on in the first place," said Clay as he rubbed his head, "or at least ignoring it when I did."

"Hey it's not your fault," said Mina before thinking on it for a moment, "I mean it kind of is. You were being you and all your other friendly gestures over this semester made us fall for you. Now it's up to you to see if you can resolve this issue peacefully."

"I mean I'm no diplomat," said Clay with a shrug, "but I would like to avoid the both of you getting into any disputes. Though you do realize that if we do this, there's still no guarantee no one will be hurt at the end."

"That's the risk we all choose to take when it comes to relationships," said Jirou, "and honestly at this point, we should all be used to taking risks. We're Pro Heroes in training after all."

"Right then," said Clay as he tried his best to keep his composure, "so if we're doing this, how do we wanna start?"

The Next Day: The Front of U.A. Height's Alliance

"The bad part of U.A.," said Eri as she peeked out from behind Togata's leg. And Clay could understand why, given that Monoma was standing right in front of them at the moment, laughing at Eri's comment.

"I told her you were the bad part of U.A. during the school festival," Togata explained. He was currently bundled up in a red coat with a black and tan scarf as opposed to his school uniform like the others were wearing. Eri had on a cream-colored turtleneck which was more than thick enough to keep her warm.

"But I'm a man right in the middle of the path of righteousness!" Laughed Monoma.

"To say that's debatable is an understatement," commented Clay, only half-paying attention to Monoma's antics as he continued to muse over last night's agreement. 'First a date with Jirou, and then one with Mina,' he thought, 'I'll say it again, how in the world did I wind up in this situation?'

"Um, what exactly is going on?" Questioned Midoriya as he was the most curious about Monoma's presence. His question would soon be answered by the approaching Eraser Head.

"Mirio, Clay, Midoriya," said their homeroom teacher with a wave, "sorry I had to make you all come out. There was something I wanted to ask Monoma to do, but unfortunately, his and Eri's personalities are a little too different."

"Oh, just what do you think of me, sensei?" Questioned the Quirk Copier with his usual crooked smile.

"I'm certain you're well aware what we all think of you at this point," said Clay before turning his attention back on his uncle, "anyway, what is it you need him to do exactly?"

"Follow me and I'll explain on the way," said Aizawa as he turned and started walking towards the building where Eri was currently staying at. It only took them a couple minutes to get there, and once they did Aizawa had Eri hold out her hand so that Monoma could touch it and copy her quirk. It took only a moment as a horn resembling Eri's grew out of the blond boy's head. "Well, how is it Monoma?"

"Hmm," he replied while trying to activate the quirk, "sorry to say, but it's a blank. It looks like I won't be able to do what you hoped for, Eraser."

"I see," said the teacher as he rubbed his head, "that's too bad."

"Why exactly do you want Monoma copying Eri's quirk, sensei," Questioned Mirio.

"And what do you mean when you say 'it's a blank'?" Midoriya also asked.

"It means Eri's quirk is a power-compacting or stockpiling type quirk," replied Monoma, "the same type as yours, right, Midoriya." The green-haired boy's eyes widened slightly at the realization. "What I copy is the nature of the quirk itself. But when it's a quirk that accumulate something and turns it into energy, I can't copy what's being accumulated."

"I see," said Midoriya, "so for example, if you copied Fatgum's quirk which stockpiles fat, you'd still remain skinny."

"Pretty much," replied Monoma, "I get blanks every once in a while, like when I tried to copy your quirk."

"Consider yourself lucky," said Clay, "Midoriya had to work for months getting his body in shape just to withstand his quirk even at a lower volume. If you'd tried using it in your current state at even five or ten percent, you'd probably have broken something or even blown a limb off."

"I would've what now?" Said Monoma shakily as he finally recalled what Midoriya's quirk used to do to his body.

"But why are you having him copy Eri's quirk in the first place," Mirio asked Aizawa.

"Even if Eri's able to activate her quirk again, the same thing will happen if she can't control it," said Aizawa, reminding them of how she reversed living things at an uncontrolled rate. "That's why I thought it'd be easier if Monoma copied her quirk and taught her how to use it directly. But it looks like it won't be that easy."

"I'm sorry," said Eri as she felt her horn, "I'm causing problems for all of you because of my power. It causes problems for everyone…..I really wish….I didn't have this power." As she was on the verge of tears, Clay poked her in the horn.

"Hey now, don't be like that," he said with an understanding smile, "your power isn't a problem, just a little puzzle that needs to be solved."

"He's right," said Midoriya as he knelt down to look her in the eye, "it does more than just cause trouble. I mean look at me, I'm here because you saved my life with that power. What I really think it's about is how you use it, kind of like one would use a knife. They can be used to do a lot of bad things, but the sharper they are, the more delicious food they can make. And your power can be just as wonderful as that, too."

"You're…..you're right," said Eri as the smile returned to her face, "I'll do my best and make my power as wonderful as it can be!"

"That's the spirit!" Cheered Togata as the others, save for Aizawa, quickly offered their own words of encouragement.

Later That Evening: U.A. Height's Alliance

"IT'S SNOWING!" Cheered Mineta as he and Kirishima ran out of the front door.

"Clear the mind and rub down with a dry towel!" Exclaimed Kirishima as he ditched his shirt for some reason.

"The towels will get wet, Kirishima!" Called Momo as she stood in the doorway with Slade, who's arm was around her shoulders. Iida, Midoriya and Jirou were also present.

"And please watch your step," said Iida, being his usual reliable self, chopping motions included.

"But I'm not even walking," said Clay as he relaxed with his hands behind his head while floating high in the air on one of his clouds.

"How in the world are you not freezing up there," called Jirou, noting he didn't have a jacket or sweater on over his casual shortsleeved shirt like most of the rest of them.

"I've been training to withstand the cold of high altitude," explained Clay as his cloud floated by, "I'll be down in a bit when it really starts to get chilly."

"Hey, close the window," Uraraka called from inside, "Tsu's not moving!"

"Oh, sorry," said Jirou as she ran back and closed the door, "I keep forgetting that she hibernates when it gets really cold."

"By the way, anyone checked the snow report?" Questioned Slade, "If we get enough, we might be able to do some snow sports tomorrow."

"I could always make a sled or something along those lines," said Momo with a smile, "Oh I know, it's almost Christmas time, right? And Midoriya, you and Clay went to visit Eri today?"

"Yeah, she's doing well," said Midoriya, "did you have something in mind?"

"I was just thinking we could throw a Christmas party," said Momo while clapping her hands together, "and you could bring Eri along."

"Eri's first Christmas," mused Clay as he sat up, "that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. And we'd best do it now while we got the chance. This is probably the most time we're gonna have on our hands for a while." Momo and the others nodded to that, ideas already forming in their heads on what to do. Though there was one event abou to occur that would sour it a little bit.

Deika City

The provincial city of Deika was like most modern small cities in that it didn't have quite as many buildings above four stories, save for the office buildings. Moreover, it was also quite secluded thanks to being located in one of the more mountainous regions of Japan. And like many small cities, it was a lot quieter than the usual places like Musutafu which had plenty of hustle and bustle. Though that usual quiet was being broken today, by something vicious suddenly busting through one of the larger work centers.

"Now this is quite something," said a young man as he stepped out of the hole he'd just made with a wide grin on his face as he looked up at several people in civilian clothes positioned all around him, "I knew your organization was large, but even I never thought you'd have this many to spare." The numbers hardly frightened the individual as he licked some blood off of his black sleeve. He looked over his outfit for a moment which consisted of black pants with red snake designs spiraling down the legs, a black long-sleeved shirt with the spiraling designs of red centipedes on them and a black shoulder cape which went down to his elbows with a red lion symbol on the back.

His enemies were about to say something back to him until the whole area started shaking. "Well look at that," he said as he watched the street and buildings start to collapse, "it seems the Doc was right on the money, which means the League of Villains is about to make a comeback." And what a comeback it would be.

Oh boy, it looks like the League is up to something in the shadows while our heroes are enjoying the end of the year, but what could it be? That answer and more shall be found in the upcoming chapters, until then, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes welcome Santa Eri! 'Til then.