To Indra074, I have something for Eri in mind, but with "All for One" in attendance, I doubt it'll be something that's "been done before"~
To GrimmPandaMan, Bakugou definitely deserves a brow-beating every once in a while. And I love the stories where someone actually has him suffer some sort of penalty. For similar reasons, I dislike stories where Izuku is a spineless doormat, but I digress…
To Sultan Asil Arslan-Hiatus, the idea of "Neural Load" in relation to Quirks comes from the Sci-Fi I've watched, but it certainly helps that canonically there are people who can handle multiple Quirks without "surgical modification".
To (Lucas Oliveira), that'd certainly make for some interesting dialogue, since the entire point of [One for All] is to defeat [All for One], only someone else beat them to the punch.
As for other "SS-Class Villains"… It's possible that there are others scattered throughout the world, but instead of being a measure of raw "stopping power", it's more a measure of their influence in national affairs. Lex Luthor for example is just a really smart guy, but his money gives him "staying power".
To ManWithTheMilk, I just really doubted Bakugou would be civil at an "Anger Anonymous" meeting unless he were strung up like Hannibal Lecter~
To LoamyCoffee, it always did bother me that Pixie-Bob was single when she didn't want to be; hence why Kenji is so incredulous about the prospect. That they've both had a shitty love life just let the dialogue "flow" out of me once I put them in the same room, you know?
To SIMPDESTROYER, part of the reason he's still so angry is because "a nobody" like Kenji was able to do what All Might could not, which spits in the face of his "might makes right" mentality. Kenji sending him to AA was less about helping Bakugou and more about "asserting dominance", albeit indirectly; he doesn't really care if Bakugou kills anyone at AA or not, it's just that now that he's in a position of power, he's going to abuse it like he himself was abused.
To SonicMax, I think the reason Pixie-Bob always gets the shaft even when older women are added to Izuku's harem, is just because she's been "typecast" as a "crazy cat lady". Mind you, the internet's a big place and maybe we haven't personally seen it…
To (Guest), I feel like Shigaraki would outright kill Overhaul just to prevent Kenji from getting at it.
To StormySpartan, I didn't really care one way or another if Bakugou died or not, but the way he was saved was definitely inventive since they didn't just rush him over to Eri. Also, it must really suck for Edgeshot to be stuck at the size of a goldfish; unless he can regenerate his body, but now I'm stuck thinking of Klaus from American Dad…
To For'Sleep 3rd, it's less that All Might created "Fame-Hunting" Heroes in then-modern Japan, and more like he made it safter for "anyone with a pulse" to get a license. His presence in of itself was a "nuclear deterrent" against the sorts of Villains that can level entire neighborhoods, which resulted in an over-saturation of the industry where literally half the applicants for a Provisional License can get it, meaning that's 1,000s of people being added to an already competitive workplace. That they ramped their vetting to only 100 possible people passing was a phenomenal stroke in the right direction.
Also, that Shie Hassaikai member you're thinking of, Yu Hojo, what he makes with his [Crystallize] Quirk has zero financial value because the crystals are basically "fake". Pauly from Tiger & Bunny on the other hand, makes legit Diamond coating with his [Diamond Body] ability, but I only bring that up as a point of contention.
Also, I feel like if more products of Quirk Marriage were shown, that it'd have made for compelling storytelling, but I guess that's what FanFiction are for… They'd certainly make for interesting sympathetic Villains, if not "evil for evil's sake" Villains.
To Dregus, Kenji Sato is a "burned out wage slave", so his frustrations with the world aren't so much a reflection of my own frustrations in my IRL life, but more like the frustration at how the world of MHA operates. If we treat what happens at Aldera as the standard fare, then it just leans into the HeadCanon I have that the closer you are to a Hero Academy, the more "toxic" everyone is.
For example, in my other MHA work, Another Hero Academia: Out of Time, Damoto Chugakko from Nurse Hitomi's Monster Infirmary, is more laid-back as far as meta-abilities are concerned because there is not a nearby Hero Academy for everyone to be "fixated on". Everyone is really cool with one another because there isn't a "motivator" nearby to draw out the absolute worst in people.
But I digress.
To Austin, not only is Kenji clearing out the clutter in his "brain soup", and not only is he bolstering the strength of the "Hero Faction", but he's also diversifying his income. Even when the HPSC stops giving him lucrative "contracts", he'll still be bringing money in as well as spreading his influence; something All for One could've come up with had he actually gone to School. Because seeing him in the Flashbacks, I feel like he was getting "high off his own supply" and just hamming it up like a comic book villain.
As for the "other countries" interest in him, I have something in mind…~
As for Eri, I have an interesting plan for her~
To (IzukuUseSTRUGGLE), that isn't an un-true assessment. They are a little obsessed with meta-abilities in of themselves. Something I plan to confront more-directly in Another Hero Academia: Out of Time.
Love that I got so many Reviews, now on to the show.
*SIAFO,SW?*
"How can you be so calm about this?!" Toshinori demanded. "He knows about [One for All] and Midoriya!"
"Well, he obviously doesn't hate you enough to hurt Midoriya or he'd have ousted your secret to the entire internet, so that's something," Nezu hummed into his teacup after turning away from his desk monitor. "Besides, you're the one antagonizing him."
"But that's only because he-"
"-is commodifying his meta-ability exactly like you used to," Nezu interrupted. "Honestly, what did you think he was going to do once he got a hang of [All for One]? Go back to being a brow-beaten wage slave making snow angels in piles of paperwork after having his daily episode of burnout?"
" . . . "
"If you keep lashing out at him like this, you're more-likely to push him into the arms of the League of Villains, and then we'll be worse than where we started because he actually has more than two braincells to rub together," Nezu continued. "Unless… that's what you want~?" he accused causing a chill to go up All Might's back. "For Midoriya to complete your 'mission' instead of leaving it in the hands of a complete nobody~?"
"I-I would never!"
"Except you are. Without even realizing it, you've built up your whole identity around that one goal, and now that someone's pulled the rug out from under you, you don't know what to do with yourself."
" . . . "
"But don't worry. I doubt All for One didn't plan on the possibility of you actually being able to kill him. This time. Properly," Nezu said steepling his paws together. "Shigaraki is still out there, and I'm sure Midoriya will have his hands full with him. Especially once it gets out that Mr. Sato plans to leave the grunt work to us."
"I'm not sure how I feel about that. Him just… sitting it out like this," Toshinori said crossing his arms.
"He and I have actually discussed this at length. Allegedly, as long as there's a singular 'symbol' keeping the Villains at bay, the 'Hero Faction' won't grow. That the only way for things to change is for a 'wildfire' to burn out all the 'undergrowth' and let new growth come about."
"He would just… turn his back on all those people?!"
"Fair's fair. The world turned its back on him his entire life. Why should he treat the world any differently? All his life he was shown the absolute worst in people, so of course he wouldn't feel any sentimental attachment to them. I certainly don't~"
"Urk!"
"But really, though, what did you think would happen with the world you helped create? You spent so much time with your head in the clouds, you never stopped to consider what the lives of those in your shadow are like. And I worry that it'll be just as Kenji predicts; that the Quirkless, the Mutants, and those with 'Villainous Quirks' will all flock to Shigaraki's cause now that you aren't there to push them down any longer through force of arms."
"But I never pushed anyone down!"
"Maybe not explicitly, and maybe not directly, but the fact remains that you never helped the unfortunate masses either," Nezu countermanded. "As far as the world knows, from the age of four you were blessed with the Quirk that would let you go on to become the No.1 Hero, with all the wealth and fame that came with it. So of course everyone who looked up to you would think that's all that matters. Why, just take Katsuki Bakugou for example~" the well-dressed chimera chuckled amusedly. "He looked up to you his whole life, but all he ever took away from your platitudes was 'might makes right', actually thinking that would let him become No. 1. 'The frog in the well knows nothing of the sea', as the old proverb goes. It's why so many middle school 'bully-types' end up washing out, and more-often not becoming Villains because they refuse to give up 'the power' that has seduced them."
" . . . Have I really wasted all my influence?" Toshinori asked himself after a long moment, falling back into his seat.
"Well, you know what they say about hindsight," Nezu hummed aloud.
"And I'm sure you'll quote another proverb about me being 'blind' this whole time, right?"
"You're becoming self-aware on that front, so I don't really need to~"
" . . . I should apologize to him."
"Maybe wait until after the License Exams are done. Give him a chance to cool off."
" . . . I'm gonna have to offer him another bribe, aren't I?"
"Mayhaps. But maybe this time not something you-themed."
*SIAFO,SW?*
"So Bakugou, how was Anger Anonymous~?" Kyoka grinned the following morning.
"STOW IT, WASHING BOARD!"
"Hey, don't you talk to her like that!" Mina cried furiously.
"SHUT IT, RACOON EYES!"
Meanwhile as this was going on...
"Remind me again why he's your friend?" Todoroki asked.
"Erm… Well… We were friends since preschool," Izuku answered.
"And? What else?"
" . . . "
" . . . "
" . . . "
"I think there's something fundamentally wrong with your relationship," the dual Quirk-user stated after a long moment.
" . . . I know…"
*SIAFO,SW?*
Meanwhile, in the Class 1-B dormitory…
"So… I hear Mr. Sato and the Pussycats will be joining our training today!" Itsuka said enthusiastically as everyone ate.
A bit of a class tradition since moving into the dorms had been for everyone to make food in bulk so they'd have more energy to dedicate to training, and also so there would be leftovers later in the evening. Sometimes it was western-style breakfast, sometimes it was Japanese, but there were also the mainstays like cereal, fruit, toasted bread, and Vlad King had been more than willing to help set things up for them. It also created a sense of "community" as opposed to the disparate cliques seen in their rival class.
"Yeah? What of it?" Kosei Tsuburaba scoffed.
"I mean… All Might and Nezu vouch for him. That has to mean something."
"Just means we're going to be second banana to 1-A…" Monoma grumbled.
Like clockwork, Itsuka chopped him on the back of the neck.
"JESUS CHRIST!" Pony Tsunotori suddenly cried out in full English.
"Pony! I know Itsuka's response was a little extreme, but how dare you profane the name of our lord like that!?" Shiozaki demanded, only for Ponyto grab her cheeks and turn her toward the horizon. "JESUS CHRIST THE REDEEMER!"
*SIAFO,SW?*
And just what had our favorite body-snatcher gotten up to that morning?
"So… So warm…~!" Pixie-Bob swooned as she felt warm hands upon her skin, a broad chest pressed against her back. "Ahn~!"
"I-I didn't hurt you did I? It's… my first time doing something like this."
"N-No! You're doing great," she sighed at his breath on her ear as he held her.
"Do you have to do this in the yard where we can all see?" Mandalay sighed from off to the side.
"Hey, this is my yard, don't forget," Kenji huffed over his shoulder, only for Pixie-Bob to paw his cheek and turn her back towards her.
"Eyes on me, remember?" she asked from her place in his lap, his hands on her bare shoulders as he leaned into her, paw-clad hands on the ground.
"R-Right," Kenji returned, momentarily lost in the smell of the pretty blond's shampoo. Something she clearly caught onto if the amused- "Huhu~" -noise she made and the pressing of her hair into his nose was any indication.
"So what exactly are you two weirdoes doing?" Kota asked brusquely.
"According to the reports, All for One had a Quirk that let him use other people's Quirks through their bodies like his own," Kenji replied as Pixie-Bob leaned into him, making the exercise more-intimate than it needed to be. Not that he was complaining, mind you. "I'm trying to work out the 'how' of it. The 'why' and the 'what' can come later."
"Heh. Come~" Pixie-Bob purred.
"What's so funny about that word?" Kota scoffed, Mandalay shooting her friend a cross look.
"You'll find out when you're older," Tiger hummed thoughtfully.
"O-Oh! I felt something!" Pixie-Bob squeaked as she felt an unnatural 'closeness' spill into her body from where his fingertips lay on her shoulders.
"Yeah, I felt it too," Kenji nodded, turning his attention away from the warm body in his lap towards the Quirks he'd pinched from All for One.
Feeding his [Forced Quirk Activation] into her body through his fingertips, the earth at the center of their expansive training yard churned like ocean waves, but didn't otherwise form any sort of defined shape. Stumbling upon another Quirk, [Sensory Control], he allowed that to spill into Pixie-Bob's body as well, suddenly becoming strangely aware of all her sensations; the tactile interior of her padded gloves, the strong hands on her shoulders, the muscular chest pressing against her back, the warm breath on the nape of her neck.
"I feel funny…"
"Funny how?" Mandalay asked. "Funny 'good'? Funny 'bad'?"
"Funny… weird," Pixie-Bob eventually answered. "How about you, Ken-chan?"
"It's similar to how I feel when I'm using [All for One] to take people's Quirks, only your Quirk is staying exactly where it is now but I can still use it," the man answered as he pushed his 'will' into Pixie-Bob's body, a rounded humanoid shape not unlike a fantasy Golem rising from the ground.
"Hm. Not bad for a first try~" she grinned, strangely proud. "Course, I can populate an entire forest with Rock Monsters, but you know, who's counting~?"
"You trying to get a rise out of me?" Kenji grinned.
"I'm getting a rise out of something~" she grinned curling her faux-tail around his waist, pressing her derriere into his-
"AHEM!" Mandalay coughed loudly.
"They make lozenges for that."
"You know what I mean, Mr. Sato…!" she growled.
"Well, while you've got my Quirk, what're you gonna do with it~?" the pretty blond grinned.
" . . . To think that All for One had a Quirk like this all along," Kenji hummed more to himself as his grasp on Pixie-Bob's shoulders became more tender, a soothing coo leaving the woman's lips as he intoned- "Gift." -and enveloped her in a halo of bluish-silver light, motes of the same color gathering into her body.
Ragdoll, using her [Search] to try and figure out just what was going on, almost had her eyeballs goggle from their sockets as she beheld an enormous amount of power flowing into Pixie-Bob's [Earthflow], followed by the whole property shuddering as the earth beneath their feet came alive.
*SIAFO,SW?*
"And you really thought making Christ the Redeemer was a cosher thing to do with Ryuko's Quirk?" Nezu asked as he and Kenji had a light brunch in his office, looking out his window to see the enormous messianic silhouette looming high above campus in the middling distance.
"To be fair, it was my first time using [Gift] alongside all those other Quirks, and it was either that or the Greek guy sitting on the john," Kenji replied.
"And this [Gift] Quirk you found is like Trigger, but without the usual drawbacks?"
"From what I can tell, it lets a person 'gift' their lifeforce to another person to either heal them, or boost their power if they're already at peak health," Kenji began. "All for One took it because it was another 'shiny spoon' held out in front of him, but he didn't have the right 'spirit' to make use of a gift that relied on some sense of 'altruism', so eventually he just forgot about it. Not like he's one for giving Quirks back."
"Hm. Makes me wonder what else he had that he simply forgot about."
"Well, if I dredge anything else up from his Brain Soup, I'll be sure to let you know," Kenji replied as he drank his tea. "By the way, how bad is Small Might sweating it out?"
"All things considered, he looked worse than usual."
"Well, that's usually what happens when you get one stomach ripped out and blow out the replacement like an abused tire."
"Not surprising. That's just a consequence of wanting to hold up an entire country, and then succeeding."
"Honestly, I'm amazed the bad guys are so slow on the uptake. I mean, All Might was down for a week or however long it took them to scoop his entrails back in the first time he fought All for One, and half the country was on fucking fire."
"Well, it's more like they're worried about you stealing their Quirks if they step out of line. Eventually they'll figure out you aren't interested."
"You know, they say that Nero played the fiddle as Rome burned, but I think that's complete bullshit."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Because Rome burned in 64 AD and the fiddle wasn't invented until the tenth century."
"Well I mean, if you take the whole 'fiddle' thing literally…"
*SIAFO,SW?*
The benefit of additional Hero Staff at Yuuei meant that the Hero Course classes could train for longer, and also at the same time.
Case in point, Class 1-A and 1-B were able to train simultaneously instead of sequentially, with 1-A in Gym Gamma with Eraserhead, Ectoplasm, and Cementoss while 1-B were out in a lovely summer day in the woods just-behind with the Wild, Wild Pussycats. With Pro Heroes watching over them both, they could essentially double the amount of time they trained for the Provisional License Exam. Assuming they adequately paced themselves.
The presence of Kenji Sato, new wielder of the over-powered Quirk [All for One], threw normal conventions out the window, because somehow, rumors had begun to spread that he was selling Quirks in exchange for a monthly fee.
These rumors at the moment were "unsubstantiated", but the moment anyone from 1-A or 1-B began throwing around an additional Quirk, he'd be thrust even farther into the spotlight; as would those associated with him. And it'd certainly catch the attention of the League of Villains…
"C'mon, kitties! Show me what you're made of!" Pixie-Bob whooped as she sent out some half-sized Rock Monsters for Class 1-B to test their burgeoning Super Moves on.
"Pump those arms! Pain is just weakness leaving the body!" Tiger roared as he ran those with more physical Quirks through grueling exercises.
"You're doing great!" Ragdoll cheered while Mandalay offered advice telepathically.
"So, what do you think of them?" Vlad King asked as he and Kenji watched from their perch, also made by Pixie-Bob.
And honesty, working with Pixie-Bob instead of Cementoss was hardly any sort of loss, because the real world wasn't climate controlled. Not only that, but she could do Cementoss and Ectoplasm's jobs. And really, having the Pussycats operating out of Yuuei in general just opened up all sorts of training scenarios.
At least when they weren't helping Kenji train himself up to become a WMD.
"I think they have an enormous amount of potential. If it'd been them who were attacked at the USJ instead of 1-A, in all likelihood, the shoe would've been on the other foot," Kenji hummed, combining what he himself knew about the dynamic between Class 1-A and 1-B from their media exposure, with what All for One the 'gossip whore' was aware of.
Then again, when you look like a testicle with teeth and you're completely blind, there's not much else one can do for enjoyment...
"Anyone you'd want to cut a… deal with?" he found himself asking.
Nezu had briefed the staff on the possibility, and said to let it happen as long as he didn't shove a Quirk down anyone's throats. Not only to strengthen the "Hero Faction", but to also allow Recovery Girl to collect biometric data on the subject; data which would prove beneficial in combating the growing threat of the bio-engineered Noumu.
"Perhaps. Am I allowed to approach them?"
"As long as you don't force anything on them."
"If I did that, how would I get my money?"
" . . . Well, you aren't wrong," the Blood Hero sighed, the whole thing still mind-boggling no matter how much he chewed on it. "I'll follow your lead, if only so they know you're on the up-and-up."
*SIAFO,SW?*
"HYAH!" Itsuka cried as she struck out at her target with her enlarged fist, still drawing a blank on something new she could do with her Quirk that she hadn't done already.
Sure, maybe Vlad King would let it slide if she took one of her own pre-existing techniques and gave it a flashy name; but she would know she'd taken a shortcut, and she couldn't stand for that. Or at least her pride wouldn't allow-for.
"Kendo Itsuka, the Class Rep of 1-B, correct?"
"H-Hai!" the red-head yelped as the controversial staff member approached her, but maintained a respectable distance. "Did you need something?"
"How aware are you of the latest rumor surrounding me?"
"Yaoyorozu asked for my input," Itsuka answered. "I wasn't exactly sure what to say to her."
"If I offered a similar deal, could you offer a more objective commentary?" Kenji inquired.
" . . . Similar how…?"
"As I was sifting through All for One's brain soup, I dredged up a Quirk that, while useful for me, might actually be stronger if mixed with yours," the man summarized as he held out his right hand, fingers extended and slightly spread apart, his left hand bracing his wrist. "Justice Flash!"
His fingertips glowing yellow with crimson edges, almost like they were tipped with miniature suns, the next moment grape-sized energy balls were fired out like a machinegun, peppering one of Pixie-Bob's Rock Monsters. A single projectile didn't appear to be all that powerful, only about as strong as a fistful of firecrackers, but they were many, and they were swift, and a sustained fire ripped its target in half after several seconds.
"Wait, you think my Quirk would make [Justice Flash] even more powerful?" Itsuka asked, since her fingertips were easily thicker than her own bicep.
"Actually, that Quirk's name is [Scatter Finger Beam], but yes, you would be right," Kenji amended. "From what I was able to figure out, the original wielder had much daintier hands than these, and so the Quirk was proportionally weaker. Ergo, bigger hands means a bigger Banshee Blast."
"Wait, then why did you call it 'Justice Flash'?"
"That's what sucks about getting old. No-one gets your retro jokes," Kenji sighed hanging his head dejectedly. "That aside," he said pulling a piece of paper from his hoodie. "Are you interested?"
" . . . Does it come with a Demo Mode?" she asked after several seconds, piquing the interest of her classmates.
"I think I worked out something like that this morning," Kenji said as he idly glanced in the direction of 'Christ the Redeemer'.
He agreed to take it down in the middle of the night if only so such a "political statement" wouldn't be made where everyone could see.
Honestly, the fact that things hadn't been worse for him -and by extension Nezu- was that it was only roughly the shape of Christ the Redeemer, instead of an outright reproduction.
And the fact that the original hadn't been taken down as some kind of "political statement" over the last two centuries amazed Kenji, from a meta-perspective.
" . . . Alright, so how does it work?"
"Roll up your sleeve and use your Quirk through your dominant hand."
Itsuka complied, her right hand ballooning to massive proportions, her rolled-up sleeve leaving her forearm bare. A moment later, Kenji laid his left hand upon her skin, a creeping shudder going through her as his skin actually fused to hers like with Yosetsu Awase's [Weld] only more… more "wrong"…!
"Ah-!"
"Trust me, this is hardly pleasant on my end either," Kenji cut in right as Itsuka moved to speak up. "And no, don't ask what All for One used a Quirk like this for. I don't even know, and I don't want to know."
" . . . So this extra Quirk, I just-"
The next moment her fingertips lit up with miniature suns the size of grapefruits, the girl letting out a startled yelp as the recoil from [Scatter Finger Beam] threatened to knock her from her feet; Kenji would've gone along for the ride too if he hadn't willed [Air Walk] to cushion his shoulder blades.
Of course, even though Itsuka's aim was positively atrocious, to hers and the other students' amazement, each energy blast went off on a Rock Beast with all the force of a live hand grenade, felling a half-dozen in mere moments.
"W-Whoa!" Itsuka gawped at the carnage.
Not only of the Rock Beasts, but of the multiple trees that'd been mowed down. And Kenji had been right about how her larger fingertips had made the Quirk more-powerful.
"Just throwing this out there, but maybe on your Quirk Registration Form, just call it something streamlined like [Finger Gun]," the jaded man hummed as he pulled the Quirk back into his body before breaking the 'fusion' between him and the high school girl.
"S-Sure, I'll keep that in mind," she nodded as she turned off her Quirk, still a little terrified at how it wasn't actually her that used that additional Quirk in 'Demo Mode', only just now beginning to realize what kind of monster All for One really was.
Which had her wondering, why'd he use so few Quirks against All Might?
Not that she was complaining, mind you.
*SIAFO,SW?*
"O' lord, please grant me your guidance," Shiozaki prayed with clasped hands.
The next moment a brilliant halo of golden light washed over her and those nearby, her peers stupefied as Gregorian chanting began to fill the air.
"In nominee Patris~ Et Filii~ Et Spiritus Sancti~ Et cetera~ Et cetera~"
"Jesus Christ in heaven…~" Shiozaki swooned as a figure descended from on high, wreathed in golden radiance and exuding an air of other-worldly majesty with arms outstretched as though to embrace the world.
And then the light died revealing a muscular white-haired man in an All Might hoodie with a smartphone jutting out of his pocket…
"Y-You cad!" the greenette cried feeling the warmth inside of her curdle.
"Hey, you're the one who automatically associated halos of light and Gregorian chanting with the divine," Kenji said as he remained floating/standing; one of his favorite Quirks by far. "I never once claimed to be some sort of divine emissary. If there's anyone you should be pissed at, be pissed at All Might the 'almighty'."
" . . . Oh my God, I never realized…" she gasped as it dawned on her.
Vlad King also never realized, but he was better at schooling his expression.
"I mean, with how much people worshipped the ground he walked on, I'm surprised there weren't more All Might cultists out there, but I digress. I'm not actually here to mock your faith."
"Why are you here then?" she asked brusquely, unsure of how to feel about a man who could make his immortal soul jump between bodies.
It just wasn't natural!
Then again, two-hundred years ago, vines growing out of one's head would also be considered "unnatural", but that was besides the point!
"As I was riffling through All for One's 'brain soup', I came upon a Quirk that might compliment yours; in exchange for a small tithe."
" . . . I am listening," Ibara returned after a moment, deciding to treat this as another of God's tests.
With All Might no longer their society's guardian angel, the mettle of man truly would be tested in the dark days to come...
"May I see one of your vines?" he inquired with hand held out, Ibara giving him a flat look before breaking one of her vines off and handing it over.
The white-haired man giving the vine a once-over, pulling at it to test its strength and then doubling it over before giving it a loud *SNAP!* like a belt, he then spun it above his head before letting his hand fall to his side, the severed vine coiling into a spiral at his feet. The man letting out an exhale with his eyes closed, his eyes suddenly shot open and grew fierce, a tongue of flame shooting down the vine in his hand surrounding him with flame.
"Pixie-Bob, give me a big one!"
"You got it, darling!" the pretty blond grinned with a wink as she palmed the ground, which churned powerfully before manifesting into a huge Rock Beast in the shape of a two-headed dog. The Orthus-like form galloping towards him, Kenji kicked backwards off the ground and twirled the now-flaming vine above his head before lashing it out behind him.
"Come forth, consuming flames! WICKER MAN!"
Snapping the whip forward, the sudden acceleration fed the flames into a raging inferno, the loud *CRACK-BOOM!* of the blazing implement breaking the sound barrier heralding the utter destruction of the Rock Beast, which was split in half down the middle by the raging wildfire weapon. To everyone's shock, as he dispelled the fire Quirk and drew the vine whip back into his hands, it remained unburned, a categorical impossibility.
"Wicker Man…" Ibara ruminated. "From Celtic Paganism?!" she gasped affronted. "Such blasphemy!"
"Wow, so much for 'love and acceptance'," Kenji deadpanned as he tossed the spiny vine aside. "And here I thought you were better than your forebearers. Then again, what was I expecting from the girl whose religion led every major 'Purge' of Mutantkind over the last two centuries?"
At the mention of such religious persecutions, Togaru Kamakiri, Jurota Shishida, and Kojiro Bondo let out involuntary shudders.
"How… How DARE YOU?!" she demanded as her vines rose up menacingly, Vlad King and the Pussycats moving to step forward before Kenji waved them down.
"What? Is your resolve so fragile that a few truthful words can raise this much ire?" he taunted with a sneer that'd have made Monoma jealous.
"These insults against my faith… I SHAN'T LET THEM STAND!" she roared as her vines dug into the ground before multiplying. "ARISE, O WALL OF GREEN!"
"YES! GOOD! LET THE HATE FLOW THROUGH YOU!" Kenji proclaimed as a thorny verdant wall rose to overwhelm him.
"HRAAAAAAGH!" Ibara roared sending what could easily classify as a Super Move forward.
"Air Cannon plus Air Slash!" he intoned swinging out his hand, a cascade of crescent blades mulching the building-sized tidal wave of vines in an instant and filling the air with the scent of cut grass while the air pressure threw Ibara onto her butt. "So," he hummed shaking out his hand, "do you feel calmer now?"
" . . . Hai," she answered after a moment, rising to her feet and clapping the dust from her rear before bowing to her teacher. "Vlad-sensei, I will accept whatever punishment you deem necessary," she said somberly, feeling utterly ashamed of herself.
Vlad King looking up, saw Kenji tracing a colorful pattern through the air with his finger with yet another obscure Quirk, backwards, before saying/reciting- "Um, no harm, no foul, as the saying goes. Just… promise you'll reflect on this momentary lapse," he said reading what the man was tracing before the man swiped his hand through it and making it vanish like a mirage.
"If that is your decision, sensei," the devout Catholic nodded before turning around and bowing her head. "Mr. Sato, I wish to apologize to you as well."
"No need for apologies on your end. That provocation was quite intentional," Kenji waved off. "Still though," he said holding out the folded paper for her to take. "Which do you believe to be more important? Following the will of the papacy, or the interest of the greater good even if it contradicts the pope's will? Because make no mistake, what I said about your faith leading the purges against Mutantkind was not a mere provocation."
"What…? No, those cardinals and priests were disavowed…-!"
"Someone had to be the fall guy. And reason I know that is because All for One was a huge gossip whore. Or harlot. Or whatever religiously-correct word you people use nowadays for sex workers."
" . . . How do I know you're telling me the truth?"
"All for One was a liar too, and look what happened to him~"
" . . . I'm not sure if that answers my question or not."
"Well, don't worry about it too much. If the current Pope starts getting any funny ideas, I'll just flatten Vatican City so you won't be called upon to do 'the Lord's work' or however they'll spin it the next time it's time for a 'crusade'," Kenji hummed with a dismissive wave of his hand, a shudder going up Ibara's spine as she envisioned the home of the Roman Catholic Church turned into a hole in the ground like Kamino Ward had been…
*SIAFO,SW?*
"Well howdy there, little lady. And how is this fine summer's day treating you?"
"I'm doing fine. By the way, your English is really good."
"Well, it is my primary language," Kenji hummed as he and Pony conversed in English. "And I must say, your Japanese is exceptional."
"Well thank you, good sir," Pony replied politely, miming a curtsey. "Honestly, I was a little worried I wouldn't be ready in time to attend school here in Japan."
"If I might be so bold as to ask, what made you come all the way to Japan for higher education? With a Quirk and technique like yours, you could've easily gotten into Sky High, even if the competition is far steeper than here."
" . . . Promise not to laugh?" she asked with a pink dusting on her cheeks.
"I doubt your motive is funny as in 'ha ha funny'. If anything, it's funny as in 'interesting'."
"Japan was the birthplace of anime, ninja, and samurai!"
"Oh, so you're a weeabu then?" he hummed, causing the Mutant girl to blush further. "Nothing wrong with that. Many people a decade older than you find it difficult to confess to their interests."
"Where do your interests lie, if I may ask?" Pony inquired, happy to use something other than her stilted Japanese in conversation.
"Retro anime. Living life as a Quirkless person can leave you feeling quite excluded, so I was usually by myself."
"That hardly seems fair at all!" Pony pouted.
"Life often isn't. Retro anime and I had a great deal in common; we were both considered obsolete with no-one to care about us," Kenji replied somberly, Ryuko slumping off to the side since she learned English to widen her dating pool and thus was privy to everything.
"Maybe, but you're making friends now. And maybe this won't mean much coming from me now, but if we grew up together, I think we would've been friends, Quirk or no Quirk."
"Well, that's a lovely sentiment," Kenji smiled. "I'd pat you atop the head, but that'd probably cross a line, so I won't."
"Maybe it'd cross a line just a little," Pony chuckled. "So, did you have a Quirk you wanted to sell me?"
"Nothing nearly as flashy as what I offered Kendo or Shiozaki, but I think it'll let you get more mileage out of your Quirk. Everything else would come down to hard work."
"Cool beans!" Pony beamed in stilted Japanese.
*SIAFO,SW?*
"Sup, Villain-Killer?" Setsuna grinned.
"Oh, you know. Strengthening the Hero Faction, making a little money on the side," Kenji hummed, returning the girl's contagious, energetic smile.
"Not sure how well 'Demo Mode' will work, all things considered," she hummed aloud as she segmented her arms for emphasis.
"Don't worry, I can demonstrate by example for this one," he said popping the knuckles of one hand before, much to hers and the others' horror, the flesh on his forearm literally began to bubble into cancerous walnut-sized growths that threatened to upsend the lunch from many stomachs. The greenette holding down her own lunch, could only watch in horror as he scraped the cancerous growths from his arm before lobbing them at a stationary Rock Beast.
Though each growth was only about the size of a walnut, each one detonated with the force of a hand grenade. Further amplifying the "Ick Factor" was that the flesh he scraped away regenerated, leaving nary a trace.
His attention then shifting to another Rock Beast, his opposite hand was dominated by cancerous growths before he leapt forward struck it with the force of an artillery shell, the explosion scattering human viscera.
"W-What the heck was that?!" she screamed as blood dribbled from the man's forearm.
"The Transformation-Type Quirk, [Bombify]," Kenji answered as his arm regenerated. "Your Quirk lets you segregate parts of your body like Buggy the Clown's [Chop Chop] power, and you can regenerate the parts you lose, so this Quirk mixed with yours would essentially turn you into a living minefield."
"Well, sure, but does it have to be so gross?" Setsuna asked, going a little green around the gills.
What kind of nutjob turns themselves into a bomb like that?
"I've also got a Quirk that'd let you launch your body parts super-fast, but you can probably get the same results with rigorous training," Kenji said dismissively. "So I guess the question is, do you want a 'shortcut', or will you put in that 'Plus Ultra' effort?"
"I mean… I guess as long as I can make my body parts explode remotely and I don't have to look at it…" Setsuna admitted.
If her body parts were going to get destroyed anyway¸ she might as well make the bad guys pay for every literal inch.
"Or you could say 'no'. That's an option too."
" . . . Why're you so-eager to hand these Quirks out?" she asked after a moment.
Her entire life, she'd watched people put so-much value on their Quirks, often demeaning one another for having lackluster Quirks if not none at all; so the idea of just giving away Quirks was completely alien to her.
"Cleaning out some of the clutter. The less 'mess' there is, the easier it is to sift actionable intel out of All for One's 'brain soup'," he said making a twirling motion next to his temple. "Plus, the fewer Quirks there are in here, the less-likely it is I'll fire off a Quirk I don't want to use by mistake."
"What an amusing problem to have~" Monoma scoffed from off to the side.
" . . . Neito Monoma, might?" Kenji asked turning his attention to the blond, the [Copy] user flinching in terror as the man strode over to him before holding out his hand. "Don't let what other people have to say about copy abilities get you down. You have an enormous amount of potential. All for One himself considered you a threat in the near future."
"Tch. You're just saying that," the blond scoffed as he turned away.
"I suppose the words of a passerby wouldn't ever truly satisfy you," Kenji hummed as he ran his fingers through his hair before bringing it back over to Monoma, a few platinum hairs curled up in his knuckles. "I'm idly curious; do you have to source a person's Quirk Factor from the tap, or can you use effluvia as well?"
It took several moments, but all of a sudden, Monoma made a gob-smacked expression that just screamed- "Shock!"
"I'm guessing the issue is, you didn't take the 'activation criterion' of your Quirk 'too literally', only 'literally enough'," he said holding out his clenched fist, Monoma reaching out for the hairs that fell from the man's grip like an autonomic response.
The blond closing his fingers around the dropped hairs, the temptation to activate his Quirk too much to resist, suddenly felt the world go black around him. A monstrous weight like an inverted pyramid pressing down between his shoulder blades, threatening to crush him underneath, a terrified shudder ran through him as he felt a titanic presence looming over him he dare not face before he cast the hairs aside, the summer day returning much to his relief.
" . . . Heh. I guess that Quirk of yours is a little too powerful for someone like me," he hummed self-deprecatingly. "Still, you've given me a great deal to think about. I guess there's more to my [Copy] than 'Colors' and 'Blanks'."
"Glad to hear it," Kenji hummed with a nod. "Your classmates take very good care of their hair. I'm sure if you explain things in impossible-to-misinterpret Japanese, you'll have a whole slew of Quirks to practice with at all hours of the day. Heck, you might even be able to surpass your own limit. Become one of the strongest copy ability users of all time."
" . . . That's high praise from a guy who can use so many Quirks so well."
"It's not that I'm particularly adept. It's more like the other guy was a literal man-child who read too many comic books."
"I'm not sure who that's more of an indictment of…" Monoma chuckled amusedly. "By the way, how many students in Class 1-A did you offer a deal to?"
"Only two," Kenji replied, something eager shining in Monoma's eyes. "Why do you ask?"
"Ohhhhh~ Nothing~ Nothing at all~"
Kenji highly doubted that, given the condescending look on Monoma's face not directed at him, but then again, he didn't have the bandwidth to genuinely care about inter-class drama at the sort of school he'd never have been allowed into.
*SIAFO,SW?*
In the minutes to follow, Kenji would approach a few more students, offering advice and clarifying it with anecdotes of people All for One had fought and Quirks he'd used. It was a little startling to have someone with that sort of life experience just… there… but some of what he had to offer was truly insightful.
Not that the deeper context wasn't horrifying, because it definitely was. To each and every one of them, their Quirk was an indelible part of their identity, and the stories of the Quirk-stealer little more than a Boogeyman tale meant to keep unruly children in line. So to actually be talking with a person who could steal Quirks, after stealing the body of a person who could steal Quirks, set off their battle instincts like no other.
Only a single student thus far managed to stand his ground; Tetsutetu Tetsutetsu, who had the most redundant name Kenji had ever happened upon.
"Quick question."
"Yes?"
"You… offer a Quirk to Kirishima?" Tetsutetsu asked rolling the appropriate word over his tongue.
"Not yet, no."
" . . . If you do offer him one, can it not be like the one you're offering me? Hypothetically of course."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Kenji said as he eyed the chrome-skinned student over. "So… is your Quirk only surface-level, or does your [Steel] go all the way down to the bone?"
"Down to the bone," he said popping a squat on a fallen Rock Beast. "Still gotta breathe, though."
"What about fatigue toxins? Does your body get a 'soft reset' whenever you use your Quirk, or is it still waiting for you when you change back?"
"Huh. Never thought into that, but I guess I can check," he hummed, scratching at his hair.
"If a piece of your body gets chopped off while using [Steel], does it stay as steel, or change back?"
"Well that's kinda dark…"
"Just asking because, if that does happen but it stays as steel, maybe you can weld the part back on," Kenji shrugged. "Since you're a frontline fighter, that sorta minutiae might be important."
" . . . That snippet seemed very specific."
"I saw it in an old video game."
"How old?"
"Old enough," Kenji shrugged. "Hey, since your Quirk is a lot like my [Heavy Rock], could you help me check something?"
"Like what?"
"If [Impact Recoil] has more 'oomph' while used with [Heavy Rock] or not," Kenji said turning his fist into tungsten for emphasis.
"Why not ask one of them?" he asked gesturing to the Pussycats.
"Tiger's the hardest-hitting of the bunch, but his fist is still only human. You seem like you'd hit like a truck. Or at the least, a very large scooter. That and you can probably tank my recoil easily enough."
"Maybe, but, I don't wanna hurt you or nothin-"
The next moment Kenji let out a belly laugh, deep and loud, long and hard. It wasn't the sort of laugh you'd normally associate with an SS-Rank Villain, but then again, Kenji didn't have quite that much malice behind him. If anything, it sounded like he'd just been told the world's greatest gut-buster of a joke. Or watched someone famous get nut-shot on a funny internet video.
"W-What's so funny?!" Tetsutetsu demanded, his cheeks reddening as the man's laughter filled the woods.
"HAHA-Oh, wait, you're serious?" Kenji blinked.
"Y-Yeah I'm serious! I might be a first-year, but-"
"Kid, if All Might couldn't kill All for One six years ago when he was sixty times stronger than he was at Kamino, I don't think I've got anything to worry about from a 'Baby Hero'," Kenji waved dismissively.
" . . . You're bluffing."
"I'm really not. All Might was that powerful once upon a time. It's just that he's wasted away to such an extent because the rest of the country is filled with so many do-nothings that he felt like he had to power through getting half his entrails ripped out."
"Literally or metaphorically?" Togaru Kamakiri spoke up.
"Literally. Then again, his 'Talking Fishbone Mode' should've given it away."
" . . . I feel like I really want to punch you."
"Well, when you talk smack about someone's god like that, that's usually a given."
"HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Ibara cried from where she was training.
"ORAH!" Tetsutetsu cried striking the face of the SS-Rank Villain, the deep *POW!* like a punching bag hit by a speeding moped.
Kenji was jerked back from the impact, but not nearly as much so as Tetsutetsu who was thrown off his feet and to the ground after his fist rebounded into his own face.
"Your technique's a little off, but then again, insulting someone's god like that does tend to-"
The next moment Kenji had to dodge a vine whipping at the back of his head, an idle backhand sending crescent blades into the tendril and chopping it like celery.
"-throw them off," he continued without missing a beat.
"For someone that's never fought, your battle sense is pretty good," Kamakiri hummed.
"I've had arrogant pricks using me as a punching bag with their Quirks my entire life," Kenji shrugged dismissively, upsetting everyone with such a black comment. "Honestly, I'm amazed I even survived middle school with how evil everyone really was."
Everyone's unease increased even further.
"The only solace I have is that everyone in my graduating class who did become a Pro Hero is just a no-name who will probably die in the coming war; assuming they don't abandon ship and change their names in a different country on another continent."
That one was just horrifying!
"Hey, are we doing this or not?!" Tetsutetsu growled as he banged his metal fists together.
"Yeah, yeah," he said rolling his neck before his skin to the tips of his chalk-colored hair turned a darker gray than the kid's own [Steel]. "Not c'mon, hit me with your best shot. Make sure to get it right in my good side."
"Alright! You asked for it!" Tetsutetsu said in challenge, rushing forward before Vlad King could stop him. "Go Beyond! PLUS! ULTRAAAA-"
*Clang!*
*BOOOOOOOOM!*
"UWAAAAGH!" Tetsutetsu cried as he was thrown back like from a bomb blast, his arm dislodged from its socket before he crashed through a tree at his back.
"What the hell was All for One thinking, only using that Quirk by itself?" Kenji asked after rushing forward and firing his Air Cannon into the tree before it could actually land on the boy. "Hey there, kiddo. You still alive?"
" . . . Owwwwwww…!" Tetsutetsu groaned, holding his bum arm as Vlad King fell into a crouch beside him.
"All's fairness, I definitely felt that one," Kenji said holding out his hand. "Gift."
Radiant bluish-silver light washing over the white-haired teen, with a gasp, his humerus jumped back into its socket, all of the pain abating. Not only that, but all the fatigue from the day's training evaporated as well.
"You have the gift of healing…!" Ibara gasped in amazement.
"Yeah. Shame the guy that had it before All for One was such a piece of shit," Kenji hummed helping the boy to his feet. "It'd probably bum you out if I told you about it."
" . . . I will return to my training," Ibara said as some of the awe left her.
" . . . So why did you approach me?" Tetsutetsu asked, not feeling as though it'd been to be offered an additional Quirk.
"I wanted to see what made you… 'you', and not a palette-swapped version of that dye-jobbed kid."
"Wait, Kirishima dyes his hair?!"
"Yes. Did you not know that?" Kenji asked amusedly.
*SIAFO,SW?*
"Something I have to ask."
"Go on."
"If you hate Heroes so much, why take an interest in our kids?" Vlad King asked; he'd observed the advice Kenji had given, and it was all very sound.
To Yosetsu Awase, he'd put the idea into his head that instead of [Weld]ing stuff onto people's bodies one piece at a time, he [Weld] people onto stuff; like pushing someone back-first into a wall and pinning them there followed by their limbs, or tackling someone to the ground and using [Weld] to take away their leverage. To Togaru Kamakiri, he'd suggested stacking blades on top of blades, making for serrated weaponry; a must-have against Noumu because, the more-jagged the cut, the longer it'd take them to regenerate, if they could regenerate at all. To Yui Kodai, he suggested commissioning Momo Yaoyorozu to craft some Tungsten implements to use her [Resize] on, because pound for pound, Tungsten was the strongest metal in the world. To Kinoko Komori, he'd quite morbidly suggested she make mushrooms grow inside people's airways to subdue them, since without a self-sustenance Quirk of some kind, suffocation was usually a TKO. To Jurota Shishida, he suggested the teen look into "autohypnotic suggestion" so his decrease in brainpower when he used his Quirk would be less of an issue. To Kosei Tsuburaba, he simply suggested that the teen commission a Training Mask Support Item to get the absolute most out of his training. To Manga Fukidashi, he suggested keeping honey on his person at all times, because not only was it delicious and replete with health benefits, but it was also an all-natural voice protector. To Reiko Yanagi, he'd suggested commissioning some ultra-strong, ultra-light cable-type Capture Items to get the most out of her Quirk not unlike how Best Jeanist used his.
To be honest, the guy'd have made one hell of a Support Hero, or even an instructor if society had given him the chance as opposed to writing him off "just because".
Of course, if even half of his black comments were to be believed, then the man had had to be incredibly clever to survive to adulthood, and if Kenji was on their side, just how many people as smart as him would fall to the side of villainy?
"It's less about the Heroes themselves that I hate, and more like the status quo," Kenji returned. "Now that All Might has 'died' and he is no longer 'here', it's up to the next generation to pull away from their predecessors' bad habits; and they only way they can do that is I let the coming 'war' happen so they learn first-hand what happens if they stay the course," he said causing Vlad King's shoulders to slump. "As for why I've taken an interest in these kids…"
At this, he furiously scratched at his hair.
"All for One was like a child, fascinated with every interesting Quirk that crossed his path like a spoiled brat in a toy store, but after All Might smeared his brains all over the asphalt six years ago, he had to be a lot more selective as to what Quirks he took. Some of that interest has bled over, but unlike him who lacked any form of restraint, I'm perfectly aware when enough 'is enough'."
"So you don't plan to stockpile Quirks endlessly?"
"I'll still pluck a Quirk from a Villain if they're fool-enough to appear before me, but there's more money to be gained in selling Quirks than hoarding them like, well, a hoarder."
"You know, if you went after the League of Villains now, you'd probably win."
"While your confidence is flattering, like I told Nezu before, me 'party wiping' the League of Villains wouldn't solver the underlying problems with your society. In order to wipe away the muck, the streets must first run red with the blood of hypocrites."
As he said this, something malefic rose off of Kenji and rolled over Vlad King like a fell wave, the big man shuddering involuntarily.
"The so-called 'peace' that All Might gave to the people, they think it's something they're entitled to; a house that they now own; but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Peace is like a hotel you stay in during vacation, and eventually, the bill will come due. It always, comes due," he said turning a crimson eye to the side. "The people in this super-powered society, they've forgotten what it's like to be at the bottom of the food chain as I have. To be powerless and trod upon by those stronger than they, living in a constant state of fear. But in the war to come, they'll learn. Even if it's the last lesson they ever do learn~"
"And you're just… going to let that happen?"
"Fair is fair~" Kenji grinned in a sing-song tone that turned the man's blood to ice water. "That's the thing about being 'Quirkless' for so long. I got to learn early on that true evil existed in the hearts of the people well before Quirks ever existed. Before Quirks existed, people said video games were the source of all evil. Before video games, it was the printing press. Before the printing press, it was money. Before money, it was the written word. Before the written word, it was the spoken word. Before the spoken word, it was 'the other tribe'," he listed in a sage tone. "Over and over, people foisted the blame onto something else, refusing to admit that throughout the ages, the true source of evil was the people. It's easy to be evil; being good is the hard part, and Quirks simply allowed people to be true to their truest selves."
"If you really feel that way, why strengthen the 'Hero Faction' as you put it at all?"
True, none of the Hero Course students had taken him up on his offer, not immediately, but it would happen eventually.
"Well for one, all that money I've been wringing out of the HPSC won't mean a thing if Japan turns into Mad Max or Planet of the Apes or every other post-apocalyptic movie franchise," Kenji shrugged. "Secondly, all the little boys and girls who haven't been taught how to be evil little hate monsters yet, they at the very least, don't deserve to pay for the mistakes of you and yours. That's why I'll wait it out, gather my strength, and then once the old growth has been burned away, step in if need be. And those kids out there…"
At this, his expression softened, and for a moment, the malefic aura flooding out of him abated.
"Those kids are the future. They'll be the ones to shepherd the next generation. And when the last of the Quirkless bloodlines dies out and this super-powered society begins to cannibalize itself all over again, well… I'm curious to see what they'll do in the face of that unfairness," he hummed.
" . . . Well, I guess it's better than having you as an enemy," Khan admitted.
Of course, what was he to expect when one of the people who'd been abused the most by their society happened upon the strongest meta-ability.
And it wasn't like he could exactly fault the guy for just "letting" people die in the war to come; assuming things actually deteriorated to that point. After all, the world he'd lived in, the world he'd benefited from, had been complicit in Kenji Sato's suffering. That he hadn't turned to villainy had been an outright miracle, because a body-swapping Quirk like his... Just how much damage could he have caused if he decided to let his Quirk run wild at the JP Hero Billboard where all the country's top heroes lined themselves up on time and like clockwork, neat in a row like ducks in a summer festival shooting gallery?
And not because he could steal whatever body he wanted. No, that'd be too obvious.
As a man who had to bolster the technical use of his Quirk to its utmost limit to remain competitive in this cut-throat industry, and as a teacher who passed that importance onto his students to make up for a lack of overwhelming power like some of Eraser Head's top students, it only took him a few minutes to come up with the absolute worst-case scenario for an unrestrained user of [Body Change] to let himself run wild.
That worst-case being, to rapidly swap bodies in a chain, completely upending the consciousnesses of the Top 10, reducing them to mere novices in bodies that weren't their own, and then hit up all the attending Heroes, causing yet more damage before slinking away in his own body, having utterly "annihilated" the fighting ability of Japan's heroes. A loss that would take a lifetime of training to recover from, if ever at all, not to mention the existential horror of such a thing.
Truly, Kenji Sato had a will of iron to have not fallen to his baser impulses.
*SIAFO,SW?*
"Mr. Sato. Guests. Welcome home," Moko bowed at the waist.
"Hm. We're back," Kenji nodded as he hung up his latest All Might hoodie.
"Hey, body-snatcher."
"Hm?" Kenji blinked, turning to find the Pussycats' 'young ward' staring intently at him.
"You hate Heroes like I used to, don't you?"
"I hate all people equally; not just Heroes," Kenji answered. "Certain exceptions notwithstanding."
"Awwww~" Pixie-Bob grinned as the man's expression softened in her direction.
"Gross," Kota huffed at his auntie and the body-snatcher making googly-eyes at one another. "But… I guess I feel a little sorry for you. You had it way worse than me. I'm sorry about that."
"What are you apologizing for? You're just a product of this twisted world. You aren't actually a contributor," Kenji said as he walked past the boy before stopping short. "This probably doesn't mean a thing coming from me, but I don't think I could've brought myself to hate your parents."
At this, Mandalay's attention was piqued.
"Your parents had every intention of coming home to you. They had no right throwing hands with a Villain of his level, not in a hundred years, but even so, they blasted one of his eyes out of that fat head of his and chased him off when so many Heroes before them failed without leaving a dent. So don't mistake what happened as 'suicide' or a 'sacrifice'. They fought like hell, and went to heaven. And I'm sure after you've lived a life well lived…"
And that was where he kinda trailed off awkwardly.
" . . . You're alright. For a shut-in body-snatcher," the spiky-haired boy eventually huffed, moving to walk away before he himself stopped short, looking over his shoulder. "You take good care of auntie Ryuko. You two can be awkward weirdoes together."
"H-Hey, I'm quirky, not 'awkward'!" Ryuko protested cutely.
"And it still boggles the mind that someone as great as her is still single," Kenji hummed aloud, giving the woman a gooey center. "I can promise only to do my best."
"Umu."
And like that, he was off to his own devices.
*AN*
There wasn't any sort of plan to give members of 1-B more offers than 1-A, that was just how things played out. [Parallel Processing] inspired by So I'm a Spider, So What? for Momo, and [Midnight Sun] inspired by the Emperor Crow's [Emperor Shadow] in late-series Toriko for Tokoyami, just came to me as I was writing in the ideas as I experimented with the idea of someone with [All for One] handing out Quirks in exchange for a monthly fee.
I don't think anyone else has done a story quite like this one; I don't know, I didn't check. But I'd like to think that maybe Readers could drop ideas in the Review Section on what they'd want to see for whom, while also being mindful that too-many "powerful" Quirks in one body would render that character clinically braindead. Some people may have higher "thresholds" than others, but Todoroki's body definitely couldn't handle even the most minor of Quirks because he's alarmingly close to Singularity; the point where an un-augmented human doesn't have powerful enough "software" to run their Quirks' "hardware".
Until next time on whatever story I happen to update next in or out of my "Rotation", I'll see ya when I see ya!