A/N: Thank you for deciding on giving this story a shot!
"...and you say that this transformation was completely random, Miss Nakamura?"
"Yes, sensei, it's exactly as I said," a young lady in her mid thirties, with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a worrisome expression nodded towards the doctor across from her. To her side, a young five-year-old boy sat patiently on top of the examination bed, kicking his feet off the side while his wondrous eyes stared at the new brown appendage jutting out from his back. "I just found him like… this. There were no tell tale signs beforehand, and I'm pretty sure no one from my family's side has or ever had any monkey quirks."
"I see," the aged doctor hummed, scribbling down notes on the papers piled randomly on the desk, "then, if you are to permiss Miss Nakamura, I would like to collect some samples from your son to send to the local labs and have them tested for any anomalies in his new quirk."
"... Yes, I think that will be fine… as long as he is safe."
"Of course, we practice the safest procedures with all our patients," the doctor smiled sagely, bringing his attention to the young boy in his own world, "now, Kazuya-kun, how are you feeling right now?"
"Hmm… I'm okay," Kazuya grinned happily, showing no signs of being bothered by his new physical state.
"That is good to hear… do you feel anything different? Besides your new tail, of course."
"I feel super energy!"
"Energized, Kazuya," his mother chided in the background.
"Haha, that's good to hear too," the doctor grinned, absentmindedly adding more notes on his papers, "well… you've given me more than enough information to establish a name for your quirk, Kazuya-kun. How about… Apex Drive?"
As Kazuya's eyes sparkled, his mother merely curled a brow in confusion. "Apex Drive?"
"Yes, by comparing his previous physical record to what he has shown now, I've deduced that his quirk has granted him some degree of heightened physical prowess. The prehensile tail only adds towards the beastliness of his quirk."
"I see…" the mother simply nodded, neither certain nor unsure about how she should feel about this. Nonetheless, she glanced towards her son. "Kazuya, what do you think? Do you like the name?"
"Yeah! Apex Drive sounds cool!" Kazuya exclaimed in elation.
"Are you sure? It'll be difficult to rename your quirk afterwards."
"Yeah! I really like it!"
"... Well, you heard the boy," the mother sighed softly, giving a small tired smile towards the doctor.
The doctor laughed heartily. "Very well, I'll have the rest of the paperwork completed in due time. In the meantime, congratulations on your new quirk Kazuya. This is a milestone of your life that you should take pride in."
Indeed, the young Kazuya expressed great pride in his newfound quirk, and his inexperienced mind ran rampant on the many possibilities of his newest skill set. Only time would tell the tales of his endeavors, and those were times he was more than excited about exploring.
An Incandescent Warrior
Chapter 1: I Guess I'll Give It A Shot Part I
Some time after quirk diagnosis…
"This world shall burn… and I shall watch it all dilute in the endless void of space."
"N-No… you can't! I won't let you!"
It was two in the afternoon of a bright, sunny summer day. The weather was nice, and life moved in peace. However, Kazuya was in a state of unrest. He was distraught, aghast, and terrified of the scene that was unfolding before him. He sat in front of the television in the small living room of his modest apartment, watching with lingering hope that the heroes of his beloved series Energy Scouters would win their fight. The heroes always won, and they always ended with their cool poses and the awesome theme song.
But… today wasn't the case. They were losing… the heroes were losing. No, it wasn't even that anymore… they had been defeated!
"Beat him, Red Scouter!" The young Kazuya shouted out to the television, as if the fictional characters would hear his support. It was clear how devastatingly important this fight was to him, as he was oblivious to the embarrassment behind his own actions. Though, a notion like "embarrassment" was of no concern for him at the moment. What he wanted was a good ending for his favorite characters, but that path was looking to be bleak.
"It is futile to resist, scouter," the colorfully vibrant villain cackled, his evil oversaturated face sending shivers of emotions down Kazuya's spine, "this time, I take this victory home, and for you… you will find yourself homeless!"
With that, the villain sent down his attack, which hurled towards the heroes without stopping. Kazuya was in alarm; they were too weak, they couldn't defend themselves… he had to do something! Something to protect the sole heroes of the day! And with that desperate thought, he did do something.
"NOOOO!" Kazuya roared out, throwing his hand forward in a futile attempt to block the attack. Or perhaps it was to shield his teary eyes from witnessing his hero's deaths, which certainly would've added to his scarce collection of traumatic experiences. No matter what it was, none of it would've prepared him for what happened next.
PEEWW BZZZT DOOF!
Kazuya flinched hard from the sudden loud noise—much louder than what was shown on the TV. He opened his eyes in alarm to not find the destruction of his heroes, but rather the destruction of his very own television, which now had a sparking clean hole through the center of the screen. And just faintly did he catch the sight of light dimming from the center of his palms.
10 Years later…
"Haa!"
"Grk!" A tall burly man in his late forties let out a grunt as he blocked the roundhouse kick from his much smaller assailant. Thereafter, he just as quickly parried a jab that was thrown less than a second later towards his neck, then another three more at different angles. The onslaught continued as such, with each strike, kick, and punch being thrown at such high speeds and strength that it would put any average fighter in the dirt in a matter of seconds. Naturally, this was a performance expected from his students, and especially from this prodigious boy.
Being satisfied by the performance, the man pushed forward to end the fight. An experienced and well-timed palm thrust shot out towards the boy's chest like lightning, but surprisingly the technique did not succeed as per usual. Instead, the boy reacted in time, sidestepping from the attack and wrapping his arms around the man's extended arm.
"Hargh!" With a loud heave, the boy immediately attempted to pull the man with all his might. But the action, while sudden, was unfortunately a complete failure, and the man's body refused to budge. It was a poor move, and the man took advantage of his students' defenseless flaw.
"Foolishness," the man grumbled in admonishment, landing a chop directly on the boy's head.
"Agh! Owowow…"
The fight had ended, though in part-disatisfaction. The man crossed his arms and gave a questioning look towards the boy. "What exactly was that, Kazuya-san?"
"... Uh, thought I could do a shoulder throw," Kazuya, now fifteen years old, winced with a small grin, rubbing his head, "I'm getting close to benching around your weight… but I guess I'll need to do more."
The man clicked his tongue. "Fool, you're years from achieving such a feat… and do I have to say anything about how that little stunt would've gone out in real life?"
"No, I get it… I was too open… I was just trying it to get a feel, though."
"There's no trying when your life could be on the line. Remember that," the man grumbled, though his tone held no anger. He knew Kazuya, and he knew the boy was level-headed. It was just natural for the young to be curious and daring sometimes, so a small thing like this during training could be let off. Just this once, of course.
"How much do I have to bench so I can lift you, Sensei?"
"... what an odd thing to ask your teacher."
"Just wondering."
"Wonder elsewhere. It takes more than just raw strength to pull off such a move… your enemy's strength is your weapon."
Kazuya curled a brow in confusion, but he nodded. "Sounds philosophical."
"As is every aspect of life, Kazuya-san," the man hummed calmly, walking over towards the side and grabbing some water bottles from a table. He came up and offered one to Kazuya. "Speaking of life, what are your goals? You're nearing graduation and you haven't spoken much."
The statement had two meanings. Indeed, Kazuya was nearing graduation from the dojo, but he was also graduating his Junior High not soon after. He was coming close to a big split in the path for his life, and no one really knew much about it. However, the boy wasn't showing much stress about it. "Not sure, really. My current goal is to work over the summer… help my mom a bit and save for boarding school. Can't say much afterwards."
"Is that so…" The man hummed, his gaze lingering towards the window. It was evening, and so their class was ending soon. The next time he'd meet his student is uncertain, and that becomes guaranteed after he graduates. In other words, this was an important time frame for him to say what's in his mind. "Say, I have a friend in Chiba who also owns a dojo."
"Sensei has friends?"
"Quiet," the man snapped, giving the teen a brief serious look before continuing, "his daughter will be trying out for UA. How about you give it a shot as well?"
Kazuya's eyes widened in mild shock. No amount of disinterest in heroes could make someone not hear about UA at least once in their lives. Everyone and everything knew about this school, and just how strong the competition was. "That big shot hero school in Musutafu? I heard that their acceptance rate just dropped down to 1%."
"All the more reason for you to give it a shot," the man grinned, almost as if the absurdly low acceptance rate was a challenge (really, it was), "it's free of charge, so you have nothing to lose."
"... I dunno sensei," Kazuya appeared apprehensive. The thought of attempting for UA was far from anything he'd thought about since… forever. "I don't know if my grades would be good enough to get in."
"You know it takes more than that."
"... so you vouching that I'd make it?"
"One hundred percent."
"... and it goes to show that, despite the backlash for the extensive property damage that had occurred during the incident, All Might's skirmish against the fire triplets remains as one of the most pivotal and most action-packed moments in his career."
"I totally agree, and there has even been speculation that this fight was the catalyst that made All Might forgo the cape and change into his current Golden Age costume."
"And I think we all know why that's the case, haha! Actually, speaking of All Might's current Golden Age, what do you say about…"
'...Woah, chili chews are getting expensive,' Kazuya thought to himself, momentarily distracted from the podcast playing in his ear pieces as he read the yellow price tag stamped underneath the packaged gummy snack. With such a price, he could buy three school days worth of other snacks… maybe even a drink if he budgeted. There probably must be a shortage of some kind, so unfortunately it would look like he'd have to pass on the Chi-Swirl-Lits today… this week. It sucked that it was one of his favorites too.
'Better luck next week,' The slight disappointment carried with Kazuya as he walked away from the cashier with an alternative warm plastic wrap of honey-filled pastry. Despite being a second rate option, the warm baked bun was an inviting sensation—as was anything warm that could fend off against the cold winter winds from the shores. Even if his quirk made him less susceptible to climate conditions, he never was a fan of cold stuff. Maybe a cold soda, sure, but generally he likes stuff warm.
As if to prove his point, as Kazuya walked out through the sliding doors of the convenient store, a strong gust of frigid sea wind slammed into his face, involuntarily causing him to shiver. He tried pushing against the tundra-like sensations, but the flimsy school uniform failed to be anything more than a piece of fabric. It looked like this was something that he would have to endure until he got home… and if that's the case, he's putting hope that this foreign podcast he was listening to would be the distraction he needed.
'I needed to work on my English, anyways,' Kazuya amused to himself as he began his walk back home. He didn't regularly listen to podcasts, but whenever he does, he always found himself listening to ones outside of Japan. It's interesting, really, listening to what others have to say about his homeland, and despite the mixed view he hears, most of it is pretty accurate. Like this one with All Might and his track record as a hero… though, with the amount of fans that man has, it wouldn't be a surprise that most information on him is accurate.
"... under his collaboration with Edgeshot, they were able to produce 45 million yen in just five months! That's over three hundred thousand USD for our western listeners."
"Pretty crazy considering that their initial goal was only 10 million yen. But when it comes to All Might, it's no surprise fans would times that by 350%!"
"And as promised, all the funding went directly towards children's hospitals in Niigata. Researchers visited and reported that doctors were able to purchase the proper equipment, and over fifteen hundred children had been properly treated in the first month!"
"Many thanks to those who contributed towards this cause. Clearly, no one was against this fundraiser."
"... ah, unfortunately that's not the case, Daniel. There were actually some groups who started up protests weeks after the fundraiser closed. The message wasn't necessarily targeting the cause of the fundraiser, but rather the limitation of just—"
SKRRR BOOOM!
"W-Woah!" Kazuya flinched as a sudden explosion came from literally out of nowhere, overriding the conversation he was listening to. His instincts went on high alert, and as he began searching around for the cause of the explosion, he quickly found the source just down the curve of the street he was climbing. Two cars had entered a side collision, with one black sedan blocking a silver suv. It was bad, but judging by the fact both drivers were getting out of the car, it wasn't horrific. "... Damn, I thought that was an explosion."
For a moment, he stood idle and watched as the drivers began to argue between each other. A car accident was rare in his town, especially since not many people had cars aside from the working adults. In fact, this was a really inconvenient accident, since it happened directly at a blindspot on the road. Personally, it wasn't much of an issue for Kazuya… but for anyone else who owned a car, it'd be a pain to get past this. Hopefully the police arrive soon to clear this up.
With that in mind, Kazuya turned around to make his way back home. But just as he was about to do that, a loud cry of pain paired with a loud thud could be heard, and he once again had to look back. To his shock, the driver of the silver suv was slumped on the ground beside his car, a visible dent on the door and a trail of blood running down his forehead. As for the other driver… well, the swirling water around his fist was a pretty strong indication of what happened.
'...Yeah, looks like I'll have to be the one calling the police,' A sweat drop ran down Kazuya's face as he cut off the running podcast and dialed for the police. As much as he would rather not be involved in this sudden event, after seeing someone try to kill someone else, it'd feel wrong to just walk away.
Unfortunately, him standing idly brought attention to himself. The assailant driver turned his gaze towards Kazuya, and seeing the phone, his face went livid. "Put that phone down!"
"..." Kazuya made no attempt to respond as the phone began to ring. Maybe this was a good move, maybe not, but it didn't really change the fact that the man started running towards him. "...shit."
"I said put that phone down!" Like a madman, the villainous man lunged for Kazuya, his quirk running at full throttle as he had intent to harm. Fortunately, the man's stride was mediocre and predictable, so Kazuya was able to maneuver away from the attack. He made distance, but the man was eager to close in. All the while, the phone continued to ring until someone picked up.
"110, What's—"
"Car crash on Shiokaze Street," Kazuya quickly cut in, ducking under the water-covered fist. He could see some strands of his hair float in the air, indicating that the attack has some cut to it. "One of the drivers attacked the other—"
"SHUT UP!" the man roared, lifting his fists for a sledgehammer attack. Unfortunately, he left himself completely wide open, and Kazuya took that opportunity to do a sweep kick at his feet. "Guh!"
Kazuya made some distance, taking a quick glance back at the other unconscious driver. "... one of the drivers attacked the other and targeted me for witnessing."
"Copied. We'll have—TZZT!" The responder was never able to finish their sentence, as a blitz of blue crashed into Kazuya's phone and sent it flying out of his hands in millions of pieces.
"?!" Shocked, Kazuya looked back, seeing the man stand right back up with one of his palms extended. "... dude, that was my phone."
"Don't dude me, you fucking brat!" The man seethed, his eyes filled with malice. "You should've kept to yourself, dumbass! Now I've gotta fucking kill you as well!"
'... he was probably already in some shady business before the crash,' Kazuya reasoned to himself as he gave the madman no benefit of a response. If there was one thing his teacher taught him, it was that he should solely focus on the fight. Words mean nothing to the fist, and with that mentality he readied himself into his trained stance.
Seeing there would be no talking, the man lunged with bloodlust. His water quirk extended to a whip, and he sent it slashing towards Kazuya's chest. It was clear this man was experienced in violence. Unbeknownst to the man, however, Kazuya was experienced and agile, and so the attack was easily dodged. And using the same momentum, Kazuya sent a hooked jab towards the man's rib cage, roughly where the liver was located. This move alone dictated the end of this short fight, with the man instantly slumping down on the ground in pain.
Sluggish, haphazard, and weak. This was all that Kazuya could make up for his first-ever confrontation with a villain… if he could even call this man a villain. A criminal at best… nonetheless, it ended way too fast.
'Talk about severe road rage,' Kazuya grumbled to himself, patting down his uniform and checking for any damage. Looks like he managed to keep himself relatively unharmed… except for his phone. '... Agh, fuck man…'
"Outstanding performance, young one," an old and crackly voice suddenly spoke from above. Kazuya looked up to see an old lady looking down from the top of the stone wall that hugged the street, "you taught that fool a good lesson."
He simply gave an exasperated smile. He hadn't realized someone else had also been watching… well, it's good witness for his defense. "Yeah, but at the cost of my phone…"
"I'm sure there will be compensation for a hero like you, young man."
"... r-right," Kazuya nodded awkwardly as the lady disappeared from the ledge, wholly dismissive of the whole ordeal. A hero, she said? A hero… this was the first time someone has genuinely called him that. And… he didn't feel all that bad about it.