Being taken to the woods from a stranger was starting to get weird and suspicious to Kaminari. The distance they were walking while the man was trying to find something to generate small talk about weird topics was too far for Kaminari to consider this to be a kidnapping. At least, from what he heard at least.
It cultivated in the group arriving at a large tree with a gnarly trunk that casted a large shadow from the setting sun. The man that was leading them stopped abruptly. The trio braced themselves for something as he turned around towards them.
"Well, here we are! It's just down here." The man said, walking towards the tree. Kaminari held his breath in preparation but he lost it in confusion as he watched the man just walk into the tree in a blue shimmer.
"Whhhaat? Maybe it's his quirk?" Kirishima whispered. Sero slowly approached the tree and reached out. His hand sunk in with the same blue shimmer. Sero slowly pushed himself in, vanishing from their view entirely. Kaminari and Kirishima waited for what felt like an eternity.
It was a few moments but Sero's head popped back out but he was amazed with what he apparently saw. "Guys, you might want to see this." The two looked at each other and nodded towards Sero. They walked towards him and slowly walked into the tree.
Walking into the false bark didn't have the feeling Kaminari was expecting. He thought it'd feel like walking through a stream of water but his skin just tickled and felt fuzzy. On the other side, Kaminari saw what Sero was talking about.
While inside the tree, the entire thing acted like a window from the inside, a clear view of everything around them as if the tree wasn't even there. In the middle of the tree though, was a stone staircase that descended downwards, covered in dirt and various foliage that wasn't fooled by the illusion of the tree.
"Oh. This isn't suspicious at all." Kaminari said.
"Yup, this isn't going to lead to a lair." Sero responded.
"Hey, you guys coming?" A voice yelled down the stairs. The trio looked at each, sighing and starting to walk down the stairs. Only a few steps down, Kaminari began to look at the walls. He noticed that there was some weird looking technology that looked jury rigged together embedded into the wall that hummed in power.
'Is that what's making the tree?' Kaminari wondered. 'I didn't even know something like that could be possible without a quirk. Maybe it is actually part of a Quirk?'
"So, how is this place?" Sero cautiously asked. Kaminari didn't know what he was trying to do since It made sense, atleast to him, that the person wouldn't willingly disclose whatever this area is.
"Oh, it's great. The Farmer's market a few days ago went well and there's a puckel game in a day. I'd recommend you guys see that." Kaminari and Sero gave each other a puzzled glance at that. Puckel? What in the world is that?
"Yeah, that sounds fun." Kirishima chimed in.
The two looked at him after his response. He shrugged in response, seeming to be genuinely interested in that offer. The plant person lightly chuckled.
"Yeah, it's a small team but they put their all into it. Gotta admire that." He told them. "Ah, looks like we're almost there." He informed them. Kaminari peered over his large form and saw that one of the walls ended, leading into what Kaminari assumed would be a hollowed out room.
Oh, how wrong he was.
It was safe to assume the three of them had their jaws drop when they walked past the opening and saw a cavern housing a sprawling town inside. A river ran through the middle of the cavern, splitting the town in half. Kaminari's eyes drifted, spotting several houses and ledges built into the walls of the cavern, increasing the sheer scale of the town they found.
The three remained in quiet awe as they finished their descent down the stairs. The buildings were now within arms reach and towered over them. The man led them through streets that were barren and silent. A few vehicles were parked alongside the road, having weird names etched into the sides. Although, there weren't any wheels on them that Kaminari could see.
They walked towards an open area next to the river, where there were two bridges, each leading towards a different direction on the other side of the riverbed.
In front of them was a large building with a clock tower. It was far more decorated and ornate than the other buildings they had seen on their walk here. Kaminari glanced at the clock. It looked to be almost five.
Meaning his parents would soon be returning home. Probably should find a way to wrap this up soon.
"Well, now that we're in the town's square, it's only a short walk to my residence. Then, once we become acquainted, maybe we go to Ms. Muzu's bakery. You guys like her food, right?" He asked them.
"Sir, I don't know what you're thinking but I don't believe we're on the same page here." Sero pointed out. "We didn't even know this place existed." The plant man blinked.
"Wait, what?"
He didn't even get a chance for a question before the clock tower chimed as it struck the hour. They all turned to it and the plant man groaned.
"Great! I didn't check the time! And I brought people who are outsiders! Wonderful! Great timing Eric. You grimebark." He cursed himself. Kaminari almost questioned that last part before the sound of people got loud. He turned around and had his jaw drop once more.
He watched in horror as what appeared to be a wave of people began to walk out of buildings and walk towards them. The roar of voices got louder as the wave advanced towards them, a senseless chatter of unknowing chaos.
"And here comes the closing hour. Stick together." The man told the three. Kaminari braced himself as the horde got closer.
They began to get swarmed as people began to make their way past him towards the other bridges. Some stopped to speak with others, some just continued on their path. Kaminari felt himself being pushed by the swarm. Elbows were pushed into him from those big and small. It was like he was trying to fight the current and was being pushed along no matter how hard he had tried to resist it.
And man, some of those pushes really, really hurt.
"Guys? Guys!?" Kaminari yelled out. He didn't know which way he was getting pushed, or which way the others really were. It wasn't long but the numerous shoves and jabs eventually ended almost as soon as they started and Kaminari stumbled his way out of the crowd.
Kaminari gasped for air, mainly in an attempt to recollect himself from that experience. "Guys?" he quietly asked around him. Only the numerous mutant quirk users who flooded the streets moments before were around, the entire chaotic moment having quieted down.
He looked around. He was at the edge of a street that most of the people were filing out of. He looked behind him into the massive crowd and then back to the street ahead. Maybe he could find a place to leave from? Or someone to give him directions? It was worth a shot. He didn't want to hurt the feelings of the plant man but Kaminari was far too creeped out about the entire situation at the moment to care.
So, he turned down into the street.
As Kaminari walked down the street, he felt all the stares directed towards him from the passersby. No one around him seemed to have anything other than a mutant quirk, making him feel alienated.
Everyone was avoiding him, he could hear hushed whispers around him that he couldn't make out but as they were looking at him as they spoke, he didn't have to think very hard on who they were talking about.
He hurried his pace after that, pushing forwards.
The amount of people around him started to dwindle as people made their way towards the center. He seemed to have entered just a normal neighborhood, if any of this could be considered normal.
It was still weird to him, an entire subterranean city full of mutant quirked people. Maybe they just wanted safety? He knew there were a lot of issues regarding how people with mutant quirks were treated but he didn't know that it was this bad. To hide an entire subterranean town near a city seemed a little extreme.
He looked at the buildings around him as he walked down the barren street. They looked to be carved from stone rather than built out of any materials. Although, with the way they were carved, it made it look more like one solid shape. If it wasn't from the small imperfections in the buildings, he wouldn't have even thought they were carved straight from the stone.
"Hey." A voice called out from behind Kaminari, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to see a humanoid mantis walking out of one of the buildings. The figure wore baggy jeans, an old looking t-shirt and a long coat with boots to follow. As they approached Kaminari, he quickly noticed how hostile they seemed towards him and how they were able to tower over him even with a slight slouch.
Oh, he definitely wandered into the wrong part of town.
"What's a human doing here? You lost?" They growled at him. He held out his hand and Kaminari watched as a blade slowly protruded out of the backside of it, growing long and wickedly sharp.
"Hey! Uh, I mean no trouble here! I'm just lost! If you can just give me some directions, I'll be out of your hair." Kaminari raised his hands to try and show he meant no harm but the other looked at him as if he just insulted his family name.
"Yeah, no way you found this place without help. How'd you find us? You with the human pros?" He questioned, getting closer.
"Wait, what do you mean by human pros? Aren't we all human?" Kaminari asked. The other blinked in confusion.
"Either you're playing dumb or you're a moron, and I'm inclined to the second one. Now, how did you get here?" He asked again.
"I mean, if you want the story, some plant guy with a weird smell brought me here." He looked at Kaminari as if he was trying to play a joke on him. "I swear! I'm not lying." Kaminari added in a panic. The mantis thought for a second before squinting his eyes.
"Did you mean a Methanosian? Then why are you all the way over here? The only ones I know live on the other side of town." He asked, pointing in the general direction that Kaminari came from.
"Methanosian? What's that?" Kaminari asked.
"That "tall plant guy" that brought you here. Those are Methanosians." He explained to Kaminari. He started to have the wheels in his head turn.
"Wait, are you implying that everyone I've seen here isn't a- well, I don't know what the scientific term is but human?" He asked. The other sighed in exhaustion.
"In very basic terms, everyone here is an alien. Not human. You, an actual human, walked into a town full of aliens. Not a human lives here." He explained. Kaminari just stopped and thought about it.
"I thought aliens were little green guys? Big eyes, small arms and big heads?"
"Ok, you have no idea how much I'm resisting the urge to hurt you." He said. Kaminari took a step back, showing the watch in a defensive response.
"Don't try me! I've got a quirk and I'm not afraid to use it here, buddy. Crashhopper will make quick work of you! Don't test me." Kaminari bluffed. He hoped he would manage to put the other on edge to leave him alone but all it did was leave him confused.
"Crashhopper? Is that the name of your quirk?" He asked.
"Well, it's a part of my quirk. It's the name of one of my forms." Kamianri replied, keeping up a tough guy persona.
"Oh yeah? What does it do?" The other smirked, trying to call his bluff.
"He can hop around. And, uh, he's got a strong head." Kaminari faltered. Ok, now that he said it aloud, it sounded pathetic but the other guy only blinked. He looked at the watch and then back at Kaminari. Something seemed to click for him.
"Wait, hold on. This sounds familiar. Does this "Crashhopper" form have a three point crown on his head? Are they around my height with most of the height being in the legs?" He asked. Kaminari stood silent. He was kind of shocked at how well the explanation of Crashhopper was from him. It seemed he was there in the training ground to witness him using it, which was not at all creepy.
"Uh, yeah?" Kaminari responded, puzzled.
"Have you ever heard the term Omnitrix?" He asked him. Kaminari nodded slowly.
"Yeah, the guy who brought us here said that." Kaminari stated. His eyes widened and the blade he produced retracted. Kaminari paused, waiting for a response.
"I thought it was just a legend. Holy shit. It's real. I'm standing right before it." He mumbled, slowly approaching Kaminari. He quickly took a step back and raised his hand in response, ready to activate it if he needed.
"Explain! A lot of weird things have happened today and I don't know what is going on. I also wouldn't mind not getting carved into next year." Kaminari yelled. The other raised his own hands to calm him down.
"Relax, I'm not going to kill you. At least to me, you just described an Orthopterran. They're similar to the grasshoppers you find here on earth." He explained before gesturing towards himself. "I'm a Mantithar, a species similar to your praying mantises. We Mantithar and Orthopterrans come from the same planet." He said.
"If what you're saying is true and- actually, are you wearing an ID mask?" He asked Kaminari before continuing on.
"What?" Kaminari blurted. What in the world was an ID mask? The other just rolled his eyes.
"Pull on your nose. Just- just do it for me." Kaminari slowly reached for his nose and tugged downwards. Nothing obviously happened and the other nodded.
"Alright, so you are a human. So, I'll give a little story then, maybe this will help clear up a few things. Potentially." He said.
"When I was younger, my mother told me stories about a device. It was something that could be worn on your body, and this device could allow one to become various life forms around the universe. This device is called the Omnitrix. Does this sound familiar?" He gestured towards Kaminari's wrist.
"No? This is just something to help my quirk." Kaminari explained.
"Well, explain another form you have turned into." He asked. "Don't give me any ability, just a physical description."
"Uh, well, I can turn into this blue dinosaur with black scales. They got a black cone-like helmet that gives me a visor?" Kaminari loosely explained.
"Oh, a Kinercelerran? You have super speed in that form?" Kaminari blinked.
"Yeah, he does, but how did you know that?" He asked the stranger. "What sounds more plausible, coming up with a reason for the unexplained ability with quirks or having a device that allows you to turn into different species?" There was a moment of awkward silence between the two after they had finished talking.
"You know what? Forget it. Let's start over. Hi, my name's Kamakiri. Nice to meet you." Kamakiri held out his hand towards Kaminari. He hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand.
"Kaminari. Nice to meet you? This is all just really weird. A weird day, I guess." He sighed. Kamakiri chuckled.
"I'm sure you'll get used to it soon. You said a Methanosian brought you here?" He asked Kaminari.
"Yeah, but I got separated from him along with my two buddies." Kaminari said. There was a look of worry that appeared over Kamakiri's face when he said that.
"What? Why are you making that face? Wait, are my friends dead? There isn't an alien here who'll eat humans right?" Kaminari panicked.
"Nono, there isn't any species here that eats humans for their primary diet." Kaminari sighed in relief. "But there are species that consider humans a delicacy."
"WHAT?" Kaminari yelled in shock. Kamakiri gestured to him to bring his voice down. "Just hope your friends were found by the nice people here. As for you, you don't need to worry. You got the Omnitrix." He pointed towards his wrist and Kaminari looked at it.
"I can bring you to where I know the Methanosians live but since you're a human, you're probably going to get looks or taken aside for food. So, if you can turn out of a human form, you won't get as many eyebrows raised when you walk past people." He explained.
"Oh, so I'll just turn into Crashhopper. No problem." Kaminari opened the hologram interface to select them but Kamakiri leaned over to look at the face plate.
"What?" Kaminari asked him. Kamakiri shrugged. "Just wanted to see what you can turn into." He said. He examined the other heads and nodded his head. He raised his hand and pointed towards them as he spoke to himself.
"Hmm, I don't know what those two are. And for that one, I don't know how that one works here if I remember. Oh wait, is that what I think it is? Kaminari, turn to that one." Kaminari obliged, slowly turning to a hulking form that Kamakiri wanted to see.
He quickly started laughing, which was a series of clicks and chirps, when he saw it. "Oh man, you can turn into one of those? That's great. Oh, that's funny. But that'd be a disaster. Hmm, oh wait! Try that one!" Kaminari turned a few more and the large humanoid form of a plant appeared.
It was the same as the person who brought them there.
"Man, what are the odds you can transform into a Methanosian? That'll work perfectly. Try that one." Kamikiri gently pointed downwards at it. Kaminari hesitated. Maybe there was some way, some way that with the truths behind presented were all some elaborate joke set by a magnitude of people. This guy being able to identify and find amusement in his forms? Had to be a ploy.
Maybe it was a coincidence?
Only one way to find out.
He pressed the dial down and had the feeling of light wash over him. It was starting to feel less foreign and natural now. He felt his form bulk up as his hair flared up into an array for flower petals.
When he was done transforming, he felt taller, stronger. He took a sniff, maybe as a way to confirm his suspicion or to find a way to refute everything.
All he could smell was the same rotten gas from before.
'Ok, ok, so I lost my quirk and got the ability to become aliens. Admittedly, that's actually,' He thought about it for a second while Kamakiri gestured him to follow back to where he came. 'Pretty cool? Cool? Yeah, that's it. I can turn into aliens. Why was I freaking out about this?' He slowly questioned himself as he walked a few meters behind Kamakiri.
'Maybe it's because it all happened so suddenly? But wait, then how did mom and dad actually get this thing? If it's an alien thing, why did some American scientist have it? Was he an alien? Did he make it? Maybe I'll ask them.'
He thought that line over for a few moments.
'Actually, I rather not. Mom would probably flip.' He shuddered to think what his mom would do if she found out. He'd know what his dad would do. Probably not something a parent should do but he knew what he'd do.
"So, how does it feel?" Kaminari blinked out of his daydreaming to Kamakiri's question.
"How does it feel? Transforming?" Kaminari said hushed.
"Yeah." Kamakiri affirmed. Kaminari thought about it for a second, rolling his shoulder and then his wrist. Thinking about the feeling. "Hmm, I don't really know. I'm still new to it. All I can really say is that it feels weird." He concluded.
Kamakiri scoffed and shoved his hands into his coat. "Lame."
There wasn't anything beyond that in their conversation as Kamakiri brought Kaminari across the town towards where they had originally started. Kaminari noticed that no one was staring at him anymore despite the weird badge burrowed into his skin.
Was that even the proper term now that he thought about it? Well, that's going to hurt his head to think about now.
Kaminari distracted himself by looking down into the river as they crossed it on one of the two bridges. The edges of the river were a sea foam green but the large center was almost pitch black.
"Hey uh, how deep is this river actually? Like 3 meters?" He nervously asked Kamakiri.
"I think it's 30 meters. Why?" He turned back to Kaminari, who turned his head away from the river and was now firmly focused on the floor of the bridge. "Oh, of course it is." He grumbled to himself.
Kamakiri kept his eye on him and shrugged it off as they got off the bridge. Kaminari glanced up off the ground to pay attention to where they were going as they walked through streets. To Kaminari, they didn't look that different from the street that he met Kamakiri on from the other side.
They walked a short distance before coming onto a lone house that sat on the edge of a river bend. It was a small two story stone house, but unlike all the other houses on the street, every window was directly boarded up and seemed more abandoned than a house someone actually lived in.
"You sure this is the house?" Kaminari asked. "Looks like no one has lived here in years." Kamakiri nodded.
"To my knowledge, this is where a few Methanosians live. Chances are, this is where the guy you met lives." Kamakiri reasoned. "Yeah, but why does this place just look," Kaminari paused for a moment to think of the right word to say here.
"Abandoned?"
Kaminari nodded and Kamakiri sighed. "Well, when you are a species that most other species consider to smell like shit, yeah, it's very plausible you're going to choose to live in the spot where you don't have neighbors." He theorized.
"Wait, then why aren't you bothered by me?" Kaminari pointed to himself as he looked down to Kamakiri.
"Just like the insects here on Earth, most insectoid species aren't bothered by bad smells. If you want to know what true rancid smells like, meet a Lepidopterran. Now those guys, those guys stink." He said as he started to walk away.
"Wait, where are you going?" Kaminari turned to him as he left.
"Errands? I don't know why you'd think I'd stay." Kamakiri told him over his own shoulder. Guess that makes sense to him. He did leave his house already to travel, he supposed.
"Well, I'll see you again?" Kaminari asked.
Kamakiri shrugged. "I suppose. Don't die, you moron." He waved him off before walking away, leaving Kaminari to stand by himself in front of the door.
"Well, he's probably expecting us, so can't keep them waiting." He took a deep breath and walked towards the door. Now that he was closer to the door, he could definitely get a whiff of the same smell that was coming off himself.
"What's this going to smell like when it opens?" He mumbled to himself as he raised his knuckles to the door. He tapped on the door a few times, listening in. He heard something stop on the other side and someone walk up to the door.
The door opened and Kaminari blankly stared into the house. He blinked for a moment before looking down, locking eyes with a child version of what he was. They looked at him with wonder for a moment.
"Dad! There's a guy at the door!" The child yelled into the door. Kaminari heard someone move behind them and the man that brought them to the town rounded the corner.
Kaminari just slowly waved as the man inspected him. His eyes drifted until it settled on the badge on his chest and it dawned to him. "Oh, Kaminari. I didn't…" He paused before sighing.
"Mura, could you pick up your toys so Kaminari doesn't trip?" He moved out of the way as the child nodded and moved past him. "Why don't you come in? I think there is some talking we have to do, don't we?"
…
"Whoa."
Kirishima slowly wandered store fronts, admiring the signs that were a mix of something he couldn't read and Japanese. The people on the street were giving him some looks but he assumed that was an aspect of the staring.
"Who knew such a cool place was near home?" He said to himself. To think, he wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for those guys, Sero and Kaminari. He was trying to train his Hardening quirk to get its strength up to par with someone who'd be in the Hero course by trying to break stone but then those two guys popped up.
They were interesting. Kaminari had a flashy quirk but it was weird to him. He heard quirks that needed support gear to properly function but he never heard of a quirk that functioned like Kaminari's before. Maybe it was because he preferred heroes like Crimson Riot and Fourth Kind, who were more focused on civil duties and recuse than combating villains.
The quirk was flashy too, a transformation quirk that not only gave multiple forms but also allowed him to get even more quirks? That was so much cooler than his own. But there was something that slightly nagged him about Kaminari's quirk.
He was inexperienced with his quirk, to a degree that was way too weird for Kirishima. Even if he only got his support gear about a week ago, wouldn't he have some idea on what his quirk could have done or some of its limits? Maybe Kirishima just didn't get it. Quirks were weird.
Then there was Sero. Kirishima thought he was cool. His quirk seemed way more useful to him than his own and it's strength was surprisingly something to not scoff at. Sure, he could cut it after hardening but he was surprised that it was hard for him to pull his arms apart after they got taped together. He had to harden in order to weaken it for himself and Kaminari struggled to pull his legs apart as his Crashopper form.
Now, that was an impressive quirk.
"Wait, what is that smell?" Kirishima sniffed the air. The warm smell brought him out of his thoughts and made him remember some holidays when he was younger. Warm days and joyful times.
It was the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries. A bakery must be nearby.
'Didn't that plant guy say something about a bakery?' he thought. 'Maybe that's where everyone else got rounded up too.' He walked towards the smell and stopped when the smell was the strongest. He turned and glanced up.
Muzu's Bakery.
'Yeah, that's the name of the place he mentioned, right?' He glanced into the window of the small shop, various pastries were on display in the window with wooden chairs and tables creating a cozy atmosphere inside. There was a larger display that served as the counter further on inside, filled with even more pastries and breads. Behind that counter was a door that led into a backroom and a large menu that covered the back wall.
It was hard to read from the window but Kirishima was pretty sure some of those letters weren't kanji.
He slowly moved to the door and walked in, a bell above the door chiming as he entered. "Coming dear." A soft voice came from the back room. Guess there was someone here. Kirishima walked towards the counter, eyeing the walls as they had several planks of wood that had various imagery carved into them. Forests, mountain ranges, rivers, and seas were some of the few they had. The rest had wooden caricatures of people who had mutant quirk qualities to themselves, perhaps the town folks that visited the shop.
"Oh my, such a young fellow. What can I do for you, deary?" Kirishima looked to the counter as an elderly woman left the room. Besides the baker's apron and gray hair tied back, she had features that Kirishima wasn't honestly expecting. Although it was wrinkled, her skin was a shade of crimson that reminded him of Crimson Riot's hair. She had two sets of yellow eyes, although that wasn't the only thing she had another set of as she possessed a second set of arms underneath the ones Kirishima would find normal.
But maybe the weirdest thing to him was how lean she looked to Kirishima. Even through the age, Kirishima could definitely make out some muscle mass.
But Kirishima, that just made her look like the sickest grandma.
"Hello miss, I'm just a little lost. I was wondering if I could stay here for a moment?" He politely asked her. She gave him a kind grin and nodded.
"Of course dear, take the time you need. Would you like anything to eat?" She asked him. Kirishima patted his pockets. He didn't have his wallet with him and he could only feel a small bit of yen in his pockets.
"Sorry, I don't really have any yen on me, miss. I'm good." The elderly woman looked shocked at him. Kirishima almost felt bad because he worried that he had accidentally insulted her.
"Nonsense! You look so thin. You must have something to eat. I insist!" She began to move to the display case and scanned the shelves inside for something. "Nonono, I'm good. You don't need to give me anything to eat." His plea was met on deaf ears as she placed a small loaf of bread on a small piece of wrapping paper on the counter and smiled at him.
"Here, it's small but it's one of the freshest batches I've made for today!" She proclaimed. Kirishima sighed and grabbed the bread. He felt guilty about taking it without pay so he dug through his pockets for whatever yen he did have.
"No no no, it's in the house. Consider it a gift." She waved one her hands at him to stop digging in his pockets. "Just enjoy the meal." She told him.
"Are you sure? I feel wrong with not paying for it." Kirishima said. She winked at him, which was a little weird for Kirishima because half of her eyes did it, and smiled. "It's the small things that help the world, isn't it?" She asked him.
"I suppose so." Kirishima replied. She flicked her hands at him in a shooing manner. "Go on, sit and enjoy it. You can relax while you wait for whatever you are waiting for."
Kirishima gave a small nod and sat down in one of the chairs. He looked at the bread in his hands. It was warm in his hands and felt firm. He brought it up and took a bite.
It was probably one of the better pieces of bread Kirishima had in a while.
He sat there in silence as he looked around the bakery, at the walls and the other empty seats. "Is it usually this empty here?" He asked.
"Oh, no. In the afternoon, it gets a lot quieter. You're the first visitor I've had in a few hours." She responded. Kirishima nodded before looking back to her.
"Is it just you? I don't know much about baking but isn't it stressful?"
"Oh, you're so considerate. But, no, it's not a problem for me." She flexed her palms at Kirishima in unison. "It's far easier when you have a second set of hands to help you multitask." She chuckled.
"But, I do occasionally get help from my son on the weekends when the rushes are the most extreme. He's such a kind man." She boasted to Kirishima. He nodded as he took another bite.
"He's a plumber, you know?" She told him. Kirishima just slowly nodded, she was probably just boasting about her son. He knows his mom had similar moments before.
"But," She started again, but this time with a somber tone. Kirishima's attention was grabbed as he looked back to her as the bread in his hands was one good bite away from being finished. "I wish he chose another career path."
Kirishima couldn't think about that before a voice started to speak outside. He turned to the window to see two figures pushing each other around and laughing loudly to each other. He heard a sigh from behind him.
"Those hoodlums again!" Kirishima looked back at the two in the window and watched as they just seemed to mess with each other.
"Is there a problem with them?" He asked, setting down his bread.
"Yes. They're always awfully loud and always pester anyone who'd want some food! I always wonder what their parents are doing to allow their children to behave in such a disruptive manner." She complained.
"Do you want me to go ask them to stop?" Kirishima offered.
"Oh no, dear. You don't have to do anything. You're just here to wait. Let them be, they'll leave eventually. They always do." She reaffirmed him. Kirishima slowly stood up from his table. "Oh, it's no deal. I'll just ask them to be quiet at least. They are quite loud anyway." He told her as he walked towards the door.
"Well, be careful." She told him as he opened the door. Kirishima stepped out, the volume from the two being exemplified by standing next to them. They didn't seem to notice his presence as they were too absorbed in messing with each other to take note of him.
'Ok, just going to ask them to quiet. Should be easy.' He told himself. He slowly walked towards the two and he immediately realized something.
Both had blue and black scales while one had a pointed cone head and the other had black claws on their hand.
'Wait, are these guys related to Kaminari? They look exactly like his fast form.' He thought before clearing his throat. The two stopped their roughhousing and slowly turned to Kirishima, piercing white reptilian pupils staring deeply into Kirishima's soul.
'Ok, not related.' He concluded. "Hi, I was just wondering if you guys could quiet down?" He kindly asked. The two looked at each other and slowly smirked.
"Heyyy buddy. Whatcha doing here?" The one with the helmet chimed as he slowly approached him with open arms. Something was telling Kirishima that he wasn't opening his arms in a buddy manner. He was acting like the bullies that littered his middle school.
"Just asking you to be quiet. Nothing else." The tension was building from the two, Kirishima could feel something was coming from that. He slowly hardened his torso as the other two seemed displeased in his answer.
If he was able to take Kaminari's blows for a bit, he should be able to withstand most of their blows, even if for a bit.
"Well then, we'll leave." The one with the helmet closed the gap between them, standing over Kirishima, in an attempt to be threatening. Kirishima's fist tightened. "But," They trailed off, clenching their own fist.
'This is it. The first test. The first time you'll see if you're ready to be a man. No backing down, no surrender.' Kirishima tightened his body as the first blue blur of a blow struck, faster than he could perceive. The helmeted one recoiled in pain after striking his stomach, gritting his teeth as he staggered backward.
Kirishima expected to feel that blow, he felt the ones from Kaminari but the punch he just got barely tickled. His eyes drifted to his hand, the knuckles scraped and raw.
Kaminari had claws like the other one, right? That must be why, maybe it helps striking.
"Oh, I see. Hey Trey, want to help me out?" The helmeted one cracked the knuckles in his other hand, wincing from the feeling. The other, Trey, nodded and brandished his claws. Despite their speed, they slowly approached him, trying to impose some sort of fear into Kirishima.
'Don't bend here. They're just some punks who are causing trouble.' Kirishima reaffirmed himself, hardening his body to its limit. The others just snickered at his appearance.
"Heh, that's rich. You're really in for it now." The unnamed one said. Kirishima tightened his body, raising his arms to block his face. Even if he can harden, he can't harden everything so compiling his defense to increase its effectiveness is the best course of action for him.
They began to strike him. He could feel himself buckle under the amount of blows they were giving him but he held his ground. Whoever had the claws, he could definitely feel the blows coming from him but they weren't as hard hitting as Kaminari was earlier.
Even with their being two of them, Kirishima was sure he could hold his own here.
"Come on! Just fall already!" Someone yelled. Kirishima grunted, trying to keep his composure. He was starting to reach the point where he could feel it through his armor but, if it means they'll leave the area for her, he can endure.
No chance he'll buckle like last time.
It took a bit but their punches stopped. Kirishima lowered his arms as the two took a few steps back, panting frantically. "What…the…hell?" Trey panted through his breaths. "How is he still standing?"
"I don't know, but he can't stand straight for very much longer. Come on, let's try again." The other suggested. Kirishima gritted his teeth and tried to harden again but there was a chime of a bell that stopped the three of them.
"Alright you hooligans, scram!" The baker came out of her bakery, carrying a wooden spoon in one hand.
"Oh god, it's the baker! Run!" One shouted. Trey turned to Kirishima and growled at him. "You'll regret this someday." And at the moment that sentence ended, the two sped off with the patter of their feet hitting the stone and dirt ground beneath them. A dust cloud was kicked off as they sped off into the distance and Kirishima took the time to relax and soften.
"Oh dear, are you alright? Oh my, your poor shirt!" She slowly approached Kirishima in worry. Kirishima looked down at his shirt, now tattered and ripped from the claws on the unnamed thug. Kirishima patted his body down, nothing felt wet or broken. That was a good sign.
"Ah, it's fine. I've got other shirts. This was just a work out shirt." He reaffirmed her.
"Nonsense, I can sew that together. I'm sure it can be done by the time your friends meet you." She told him. "Who are you waiting for actually?" She asked him.
"Uh, my two friends and excuse me for this, but some plant guy who smells." Kirishima told her. She took those words and processed them for a short moment. "Hmm, I think I know who you are trying to find. I believe that man you're looking for is a Methanosian right?"
"Methanosian?"
"An alien deary, you didn't know that, did you?" She asked him.
"Aliens exist? Huh, that's cool." Kirishima smiled. She only chuckled at him. "My, you are quite the fellow. About that Methanosian, there is one who lives nearby. He's got the cutest little daughter. It's a shame they can't visit here more often." She reminisced.
"Thank you, Miss Muzu?" Kirishima asked.
"Yes, Muzu is my name. Don't ware it out, you know? Now, let's go fix your shirt." She began to turn towards the door. "That's good but could I just have the directions?" Kirishima pointed towards the direction he came but there was a hand that rested on the top of his head. Ms. Muzu was staring at him, with one hand on his head.
She smiled at him. "When someone offers you a service like this for free, you accept it. You hear?" The smile slightly grew as Kirishima started to feel intense pressure build from underneath her finger tips.
Suddenly, Kirishima knew all the reasons that those muscles weren't at all for show.
"Yes madam!" Kirishima quickly cheered, albeit there was a tingle of pain in his voice. Her smile faded back into a kinder one. "Good, now, let's get that shirt all fixed up and you'll be on your way."
…
"God, what even is this place?" Sero mumbled, marveling at the sheer scale of all the scrap around them. He seemed to have stumbled into a junkyard on the edge of the cavern when he was split up from the group, how that happened is beyond him.
He was walking along what appeared to be a self made trail in the heaps of junk, surrounded by mountains of scrap and garbage that seemed to be waiting for any moment to collapse onto him.
Some of the scrap looked new, maybe just broken in a spot or two. Other's looked like they'd be a health code violation and bring a business down under.
He continued walking through the valleys of the mounds that loomed over him. As he walked into the heart of the scrapyard, something began to echo through the crevices. Sero slowed, keeping himself quiet as he moved on towards the echoing noise.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, followed by the sound of something large and metallic collapsing in on itself. Its abruptness made Sero flinch. Ok, maybe someone else was in this scrapyard with them.
"Let's hope they're friendly." He told himself. He reached a clearing in all the mess and he seemed to find the source of the noise, and whoever caused it.
Inside the clearing were three things of note. Firstly, the rundown small house on the other side of the clearing, that seemed to be slowly being engulfed by the junk. The other was what Sero assumed was the source of the loud sound he heard. It was a large block of metal, assorted with metal pipes, wheels, dials, even a few other pieces of junk was built into it.
However, Sero could tell that the ice that was growing from the inside out was very obviously not an intended effect and what likely destroyed the machine, ripping it apart.
Near the contraption was the last thing of note, two red goblin-like creatures that seemed to be arguing. While both had salty gray hair, one had all their hair on their head and the other had a full beard. Both were dressed in conventional mechanical outfits, fit with what looked to be grease stains and various burn marks.
"I told you! You overloaded it!" The bearded one yelled. Sero slowly crept into the opening and got closer to the two of them.
"I did? I thought we made it to handle producing a ton at once!" The other replied. That seemed to confuse the other for a moment before he started to laugh uncontrollably.
"We did, didn't we? Haha, that was fun!" The bearded one said again. "What's next on the list?" The one with the head full of hair was going to say something but that was when Sero's presence was discovered. They looked at him and pointed towards him, awestruck.
"Great scothy! A visitor!" One cheered. "That never happens!" The other said. Before Sero could say anything, the two rushed him and started to actually climb all over him.
"HEY! Get off!" Sero tried to swipe one of them off but they were too quick for him to get them.
"Hmm, he's got weird elbows!" Sero shuddered as he felt cold, scaly hands poke at his elbows and push the inside of the reels.
"Hmm, no horns so he isn't one of those guys." One mumbled as they rummaged through his hair. Sero's annoyance was starting to hit an all time high, especially when one of their tails dragged itself across his face.
"Oooo, what's in his pocket?"
"NOPE! That's it, get off!" Sero began to swipe wildly at whatever red he saw on his body and the two managed to get the message somehow. The two scampered off of him and stood a few meters away as Sero recollected himself.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" Sero snarked as he fixed his clothes and hair, making sure they didn't swipe his phone or anything else he had on him.
"Oh, Mama Grit? Yeah! She taught us DDF!" One chimed.
"Discover, Disassemble, Fix!" The two said in unison. Sero blinked a few times. "What?" The two snickered at Sero's confusion.
"Have you never met a Planchaküle? Hehe, this is one weird human Lathrop." The one with a head of hair remarked.
"You said it, Emmett!"
"Wait, why do you guys have English names? Are you guys from the United States?" Sero questioned.
"Nope! Spent most of our lives here." The one named Lathrop said.
"So then why the English names?" Sero repeated.
"Oh, English is the most common language here right? Gotta learn the most common language before you learn the smaller ones!" They said, causing Sero to realize something.
"Wait, what do you mean by here? And you said human earlier." Sero paused for a second. They're referring to humans as if they aren't that. But they have qualities that would suggest quirks. So, are they some kind of animal with a quirk? They did say something about English being the most common language here, but not in Japan. Maybe they were referring to the world as a whole? That lines up with the English thing.
But they referred to themselves as a planchaküle, and Sero had never heard of that animal before. Was it German? It somehow sounds familiar.
"Oh, we're aliens." Emmett bluntly stated.
"Oh." Sero replied. Aliens. Aliens were right in front of him. "Wait, wait, you've got to be tugging on my leg. No way you guys are aliens."
"Well uh, don't know what to tell you buddy!" They answered.
"Well then uh, what were you even doing? What's just, all this?" He gestured towards the machine that was killed by the ice swelling inside.
"Oh that? We were trying to make a machine to make smaller ice! Uh, what did we decide on the shape?" Lathrop asked Emmett.
"Cubes! Because it's easy to build with!"
Sero blinked.
"You guys tried to make an ice maker, and somehow blew it up." Sero slowly said. The two looked at each other before snapping back to Sero. "Humans have something already for that? Incredible!" They seemed marveled at that revelation, making Sero deadpan.
"Yeah, we made it like 600 years ago! How did you not know that?" Sero questioned. Ok, he can believe they aren't humans if they seem this arrogant with human culture.
"Well, we don't really talk to people and you're the first human we've talked to!" Emmett said, with Lathrop nodding. "Most people avoid us!"
Sero glanced at the machine next to them. "Gee, I wonder why." He sarcastically mumbled.
"Wait! What about that human at the scrap yard we take stuff from?" Lathrop realized. Emmett turned towards him. "No, we avoid him, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Well, it's been easier these last few months at least!" He chuckled.
"I'm so confused. Are you guys taking from somewhere up on the surface?" Sero questioned. "Yeah, we took some new scraps from a dump! The human running it has been busy the last few months because of some old guy in a cart bringing new stuff every so often." Sero slapped his forehead.
"Don't you have enough stuff here? I mean, what have you built here that hasn't collapsed?" Sero questioned. That seemed to perk them up. "One moment!" They said in unison. Sero watched them scamper back to the rundown shack and enter. Sero stood there for a moment, hearing something crashing inside. They soon exited and stood in front of him.
"Here, we have our greatest invention!" Lathrop held up a cube towards Sero. "We call this our puzzle cube, trademark pending. Marvel at the many colors and squares!" Sero took the cube from him and looked at it.
It was just a Rubik's cube.
"This… this is something we also made. Like 600 years ago." Sero slowly told them. He looked down and tried to turn one of the sides at least to demonstrate he knew what it was.
The entire cube crumbled into multiple pieces in his hands and fell to the ground.
"Wait, you can turn it? We always just break it and assemble it." Sero watched as Lathrop picked up all the pieces and without much warning, saw his hands fly and bring the cube back to its original state, colors lined up and all.
"Wait, how did you do that?" Sero asked.
"Like this." He crushed the cube again, all the pieces falling to the ground, and with the same speed, reassembled it back to perfection.
Sero pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "That's- Ugh, ok. Anything else?" Sero asked the two.
"Oh yeah, we made this." Emmett brought out something metallic that was the size of a brick. Its plates were a mix of a creamy beige with stormy gray with a few bolts of the same colors holding it in place. He took a step back and brought the brick up, aiming towards Sero.
There was a click and Sero watched as there was a mechanical whirring coming out of the brick. The plates slid back and something swung out and expanded outwards. Sero was silent as he watched plates folded out from themselves and click into place, turning the brick into something that resembled a gun.
"What is that?" Sero's interest had skyrocketed. He'd never seen anything even close to that in terms of well, anything! He doesn't know anywhere that would have something that seemed advanced, not even support gear for pros.
"Oh? This is our homemade Prototool version 3! You humans don't have this?" Emmett asked.
"Duh, of course not! We had to make our own. Earth just became a level 3 planet. This thing is like level 7." Lathrop smacked the back of his head for what seemed to be such a simple statement for them.
"What does it do, beyond that?" Sero asked, curious.
"Oh, we primarily use this to weld and jumpstart whatever we have on hand." To demonstrate their point, they pulled a trigger and an intense flame flickered out of the nuzzle of the tool.
"Wait, so it's not a gun?" Sero questioned.
"Yeah, you can have it shoot energy blasts and other things. You'd just have to program it but we don't know how you do that." Emmett said, retracting the tool back into a brick in a smooth manner.
"Don't you have to connect to a database?" Lathrop pointed out. They were silent for a moment before they erupted into laughter.
"We definitely don't have clearance to do anything like that! Hehehehe." They chuckled among themselves for a bit while Sero stood there. He looked at the frozen machine next to them and all around. There was a bubbling sense of curiosity in him, if these guys really were inventors that could somehow do something that defied the laws of physics and space, creating something that seemed so revolutionary…
"Hey, do you guys think you guys could show me how you guys make this stuff?" Sero asked them. They looked between themselves and grinned.
"Sure! We can even teach you how to make something!" They claimed. They rushed to Sero's side and began to drag Sero's hands. Despite their size, the two of them were easily able to overpower Sero's attempts to not get dragged by them.
"Wait, I just wanna watch! Not learn. I gotta leave to go find my friends!" Sero complained aloud.
"Eh, we know the tunnels better than most. We can probably find your friends with ease." Emmett brushed aside his complaints as the three entered the house.
…
"Why don't you have a seat?" He gestured towards a table to the left of the room they were in that had three chairs. Kaminari took a glance around the room he was in as he slowly made his way to the chair. It was a small singular room that was split into a dining and cooking area, but the walls in the living area were adorned in cases that housed terrariums of plants he couldn't even identify.
The farthest wall only had two of them, but they were far larger and in a specific case. One was a tree that seemed to function just fine and to the right, the other was a series of vines that were growing alongside the left side of the terrarium.
"So uh, you have the Omnitrix. I'm just going to assume you don't know what that is, Index?" He asked, taking the seat that was closest to the stove and counter. "Index? Who's that?" Kaminari asked as he pulled out the seat nearest to him.
His brain seemed to register what he had said and he sighed. "Sorry, Index was a nickname of an old buddy. I must have slipped up. Anyway, how did you get the Omnitrix? I'm not mad but just curious, you know?" He asked him.
"Well, uhm, I just found it in the basement of my house. My parents won it at a fair from some American. I opened it and put it on." Kaminari explained. "Originally, I thought it had allowed me to control my quirk after it mutated…" Kaminari paused, thinking about something.
"Wait, then why did I lose my quirk?" He questioned aloud.
"Well, I'm sure it was devastating for you, given how much importance humans place on quirks. But you have to think past that now." He tried to point out to Kaminari, who nodded.
"Yeah, I basically have ten quirks now with these alien forms." Kaminari looked at himself and then back at the man. He started to realize some differences. For starters, the man looked ever so slightly greener than himself, and his plumes and petals were more pronounced. There were also his shoulders, which were slightly more pronounced and had swirls to them. The only major difference Kaminari had from him was his hands.
For Kaminari, his fingertips were covered in a singular thick yellow petal that resembled a fingernail, but the man didn't have anything unique on his own hands.
"So wait, if we are the same alien, then why do I look different from you?" Kaminari asked.
"Well, humans aren't the only species that has variation among their own populus. Plus, you seem to be a young Methanosian. There's obviously going to be differences between me and you." He explained lightheartedly.
"Oh, that makes sense." Kaminari guessed. "Now, I have a question for you, Kaminari." The man leaned forwards towards him and Kaminari could feel the atmosphere change.
"What are you going to do with the Omnitrix? What's your intentions with it?" He asked.
"Oh, I want to become a hero. Is that bad?" Kaminari blurted out loud. The man seemed surprised with his answer and was taken aback before he began to chuckle, placing his finger towards his mouth to hush him. "Good good, I was worried for a second. Are you already at a hero school? You're old enough for that, right?" He quietly questioned again as he leaned back.
"Oh, I was going to try to go to U.A." Kaminari replied. "It is the top school so it's gotta be great, right?" The man thought about it for a second before laughing.
"Wow, you really do remind me of Sparky! Sorry, it's amusing. So, you're aiming high, huh?" He asked him. Kaminari nodded eagerly. The man was silent before he sighed, the excitement dying down.
"I should let you know a few things then. It's going to be hard, I hope you know that." Kaminari nodded. "And I don't mean academically. I don't think I need to explain why?" Kaminari tensed, thinking about that. He exhaled, pushing the thought of that day out of his mind.
"Yeah." He wearily whispered. The man nodded and held up two fingers.
"Secondly, I'd recommend you keep the story of you having a weird quirk for as long as you can." The man paused to have Kaminari process that before continuing, "Most people don't know about aliens and it's a good idea to keep that a secret. I don't know about you, but how would the general population learn that aliens also live here?"
"Oh, not well, right?" Kaminari answered, and the man nodded to confirm his assessment.
"Remember, quirks were such a revolutionary change for humans that what do you think the revelation that they aren't even the only sentient species on their own planet would be?" He proposed to him.
"Oh. Yeah, that'd be pretty bad. But there has to be some part of the world that knows aliens exist, right?" Kaminari asked.
"Well, yes but I'm referring to the public at large. But regardless, I think it might be wise to keep the secret for as long as you can." He reiterated to him before raising a third finger.
"The final point I want to add is to just inform you about some things down here. Even if you come back here, whenever you become a pro, you can't be doing pro work here. No heroing." He whispered the last part.
Kaminari blinked. "Wait, why?" Wasn't the point of pros to do that sort of thing?
"We might take some things from human society and have it be a part of our own lives, but that doesn't mean everything. We have our own laws, our own law enforcement. And pros, well they aren't really a thing down here." He explained.
"So, even if I become a pro, if I tried to be a pro down here, I'd be a vigilante?" The man nodded to Kaminari's guess. "Pros are mainly a human thing, there really isn't the concept, at least at large, in the larger part of the galaxy. So, I just want to tell you so I don't hear any rumor of some human in a cell here, please don't engage in vigilantism here." He placed emphasis on those words towards the end and Kaminari nodded.
"Oh, yeah." Kaminari's eyes slowly glanced around, anything to change the conversation. He looked down at himself and got an idea. "Hey, what can I do as a methanosian?" He asked him.
"Ah well, uh, we can all do one thing but I'm not really good at it, but we can do some plant things I suppose." He held out his palm and a few seed pods grew from his palm, falling flat once they finished growing. They stayed in his palm and Kaminari could hear what sounded like a soft hiss and a sweet smell. The seeds resonated with the hiss and smell, slowly growing into a small vine in his hand.
"Oh, we have plant powers!" Kaminari said. "Wait, that makes sense." The man chuckled before crushing the seeds in his hand. "Hmm, what else?" He said.
"Oh, we can do this, I suppose." He opened his palm again and a brown liquid started to bubble in his hand, consolidating into a blob that had this rancid aroma. The smell only really bothered Kaminari as the man moved the slime through his fingers.
"We can create this mud substance from consolidating some gasses. Sticky to something that isn't a plant, hardens at extreme temperatures. Cold temperatures though, makes it brittle though." He explained.
"Consolidating gasses?" Kaminari asked.
"Yeah, Methanosian isn't just a name. We can create some forms of gas from our bodies. Methane, fertilizer, sleeping gas, that sort of thing. Gasses that'd be a byproduct from natural plants." He turned his hand over and the mud plopped onto the table. Kaminari poked it, noting it didn't stick onto his fingers but was firmly stuck onto the table.
"Anything else?" Kaminari asked, glancing up from poking the mud.
"Well, I suppose we can also modify our bodies to a degree. I've never really been able to do it though so I don't know how to really show you. Other than that, not really much." He shrugged.
"Guess you'll have to figure it out on your own." He concluded.
"Yeah, I suppose. I've gotta figure out a name for this form though. How about Bramble?" Kaminari waved his hand, as if to sell the prospect of his name to the man.
"Name? You're naming your transformations?" The man chuckled. "Seems a bit weird, doesn't it?"
"Well, this pro who took me in recommended I come up with names for my transformations so it's easier to refer to a specific one in a situation, plus, it's pretty fun I suppose!" Kaminari said.
"Oh, who's the pro? I must have missed them walking out." The man questioned.
"Oh, his name's Yosuke. He's a part of the Best Jeanist agency." Kaminari replied. The man was confused for a moment but seemed to realize something before nodding. "I see, well, I suppose getting a mentorship from the number 4 hero is a good way for you to train and learn your transformations." He concluded.
"Yeah, It's kinda cool. Getting training from such a high ranking pro." Kaminari said, envisioning the idea. "He graduated from U.A., right? I used to know someone who graduated from U.A." He commented.
"I guess? I don't actually know. Wait, you know a pro from U.A? Who?" Kaminari asked curiously. The man chuckled before leaning back, staring at the ceiling. His smile weakened and became somber as he sighed.
"Not a pro. It was someone who went there for the general education course. But, I haven't heard from him for many years. But," He straightened himself and forced a smile. Kaminari got a sense that whoever he was talking about was probably a bad topic. "I think you'd do fine at U.A. You want to be a hero right?" He seemed to emphasize the last part after seemingly avoiding it but a loud gasp came from Kaminari.
"Hereo?!" Kaminari turned and jumped as the child ran up towards the table, barely being tall enough to clear the tabletop. "You're going to be a Hereo? Like all those guys on the tv?" She cheered.
"Heh, Mura loves heroes. Maybe a little too much." He explained.
"Yeah! They go bam and pow. They're awesome." She cheered again, throwing up her hands.
"I'm going to be honest, I forgot for a moment she was here." Kaminari mumbled. "But you watch heroes right? Do you like anyone in particular?" He asked her.
"Nuh uh, they're all cool." She dramatically shook her head. "I like it when they fight the bad guys." Kaminari looked at the man who nodded. "Well, maybe one day he can be a hero. We'll just have to wait and see." He told his daughter.
"Yay!" She threw her arms up in celebration before running back to the otherside of the room.
"She really likes pros, doesn't she?" Kaminari whispered after turning around. The man nodded tiredly. "Yes. It's a little bit of a hassle to try and to appease her fascination. I've tried a few ways to see if there is a way to get her attention directed towards something else." He explained.
"Like at the pet store?" Kaminari remembered. "But, aren't you supposed to encourage stuff like this? I mean, with the way you've presented this," He gestured towards his body "and how you managed to fool Mr. Hiroshi, I think she could be a he- I mean, uh, pro?" He guessed.
"Well, I'm a little worried. All of the pro content she watches is, well, both pre-recorded and filtered. Because, well, I guess this is some human that's spilled onto me but," He sighed. "I want to keep her safe. And maybe when she's older, I'll let her see more of that but for now, I kind of want her to be happy."
"Ah, that's sweet." Kaminari remarked. The man nodded, prodding the mud on the table.
"You know, Kaminari, could I ask you a personal question?" He asked him.
"Yes, Mister?" Kaminari asked, not actually being sure of his name.
"Eric. Eric's fine. But, I was wondering." He continued. "If you can get to U.A, and start the path to becoming a pro, could you help Mura learn what a hero is beyond those, sort of child friendly moments?" He asked quietly.
"So a role model?" Kaminari concluded.
"Yeah, I trust you. I mean, you have the Omnitrix so you can kinda understand what it means to be us, right?" Eric asked him.
"Yeah, I suppose. But I have a question."
"Yeah?" Eric asked. Kaminari pointed to something that he'd assumed was where a nose would be. "Is there any reason why my nose feels stuffed?"
"You're asking the wrong person. I don't really know how the human nose feels beyond what I've heard of the common cold." He bluntly told Kaminari. He couldn't help but laugh at that one.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Kaminari said. He paused for a moment, thinking about it.
It kinda felt a little heavy now.
"Yeah, I guess." He repeated. Eric nodded, before standing up. "Well, we should probably talk outside. I don't know how long you've been here but it's not going to be fun for you to be here when you transform back."
"Why? I mean, it smells off here but it's not that bad." Kaminari reaffirmed, his badge starting to beep with the timing.
"Yeah, but you're a Methanosian. A species adapted to live on Methanos, a planet whose atmosphere is mostly methane." He walked past him and opened the door.
"The air in here is ever so slightly toxic to anything but us."