(Kata POV – Kata's House, Next Morning)
After I was toyed with yesterday, Midnight eventually left with a smug smirk and a promise to visit more often.
Despite that, I considered the day a success. I healed All Might, exposed the class traitor, and extorted three favors from Nezu.
Himiko was still deciding on the design for the protective charm she wanted, so I redirected my efforts to improving home security.
I made the house as safe as possible without turning it into a death trap. First, I layered it in Telekinetic Energy sensitive to malicious intent. It would only target enemies and let those with good intentions through.
Next was spatial stabilization to prevent unauthorized teleportation. Only those I explicitly allow can enter this way. I reinforced the structure with telekinetic shields strong enough to resist 100kN of force per atom. Is it overkill? Maybe... But I still don't feel it's enough.
Then came destructive Telekinetic Energy to attack and erase any intruders. No crime can be committed if there's no evidence.
Then, I implemented temperature regulation, internal electricity generation, and a long list of quality-of-life features. It's a house, but a fortress.
I briefly considered spatial expansion, but the house was large enough for the 3 of us.
As expected, Nezu worked fast. By morning, he'd sent me the paperwork to enroll Eri in one of Japan's top elementary schools.
We already bought school supplies during that outing with Momo. All that's left is getting a uniform, a backpack, a few miscellaneous items and she's good to start Monday.
'Should I enchant clothes too?' I had considered the thought.
And finally, there's this morning.
I sip tea while watching the news. A sigh escapes before I can stop it.
"It hasn't even been a full day."
Articles flood in. All Might's sudden uptick in heroic activity framed as a move to reassure the public after the Hosu attack.
'Nezu probably just made the best of the situation.' I think. A calculated distraction. All Might probably wouldn't sit still now that he's been healed, so Nezu made use of it. Makes sense, especially after U.A.'s press conference.
They defended their decision to let students into real-world combat, emphasized how unexpected the Hosu incident was, and made sure to highlight how many lives I saved.
Then Stain's video was released with perfect timing, and more chaos followed.
I wouldn't normally have any business with the fallout. But I captured him. Opposed him and his ideology. And naturally, the broadcast included a butchered version of my words.
They clipped segments out of context, twisting them into a neat little headlines making me the villain.
"'True heroes don't believe they are one!' U.A. student doesn't consider himself a hero. What is he? A villain?!"
"U.A. distinguishes between pros and true heroes. Can we trust pros if they aren't real heroes?!"
"U.A. student claims not to want to save people!"
I watch the anchor's forced concern with a flat expression.
'It's subtle.' I think dryly. They painted Stain as the misguided tragic victim with righteous intent, and me as the cold-blooded enforcer stomping out his righteous spirit. A very convenient narrative.
I admire the effort, but it's now getting buried under All Might's increased heroism. His actions overshadowed everything.
'But the damage is done. The public won't forget this. Fear always lingers longer than reason.'
'People find comfort in a predictable, though negative, emotion like fear. It doesn't bother me. They've got nothing to fear... so long as they do nothing stupid.'
I check the time.
'It's almost time for my internship with Rumi.' I smile faintly. 'It's the last day. And after her request yesterday... it's bound to be interesting.'
I change into my hero costume and bid farewell to Himiko and Eri before teleporting to Rumi's house.
I don't leave a clone behind this time. The house is secure now. And I have a feeling I'll need every ounce of strength for what's ahead.
(Rumi POV – Rumi's House)
I tap my foot against the floor in rapid-fire bursts, arms crossed, eyes locked on the empty space in front of me like it personally slighted me.
"Where the hell is that brat?" I growl, my jaw clenched. "He's late."
"Technically," A calm voice says behind me, "I'm an hour early."
I don't flinch. I just twist around slowly and glare up at him, already annoyed. He pulled this same sneak-up trick yesterday. I tried to kick him, but the hit didn't land. No point in trying again.
'Just remembering it pisses me off.'
"I was waiting for you," I snap, jabbing a finger into his chest, "so you're late."
I grin. "I'll let it slide if you let me get a hit in."
He rolls his eyes. "Your impatience isn't my problem. Why would I apologize for your lack of patience?"
"Tch." I click my tongue. "Learn some damn respect, brat."
Without waiting, I grab his arm and yank him inside my house, dragging him like luggage before hopping backwards onto my couch, landing with a bounce and a thud.
"Let's get started," I say, practically vibrating with anticipation. "I'm ready."
"You sure?" He asks with a tilt of his head. "I'm fine with boring fights. But if this works the way I think it will, you might get addicted... and likely start bothering me more."
I glare at him.
He sighs. "Alright, alright. Don't say I didn't warn you."
'How addictive could it possibly be?' I scoff internally.
"I'll disconnect your senses, while I work so you don't thrash around." He says casually.
And just like that, everything from the neck down goes completely numb.
I blink.
"Wait. That's it? You already started?" I ask, glancing down at myself. "And I can handle any pain, y'know."
"Yeah, I've started." He says mildly. "And I'm sure you can handle pain, but this is easier for me. I'm less worried about you being in pain, and more about getting kicked."
I frown at his tone. 'I know he doesn't believe me—but whatever. I'll beat some respect into him later.'
A few more seconds pass in total silence. Then—
"It's done," He says.
"That was it?" I ask, trying to sit up—only to realize I still can't move. "Why can't I get up? Don't tell me you're going to ogle me again." I say teasingly.
He deadpans. "You really think so little of me?"
I smirk. "After the last two times? Can you blame me?"
He ignores that. "Like I said... the change is quite significant. I'm saving your house by keeping you paralyzed a few seconds longer. So relax, and don't move yet. Seriously."
I raise an eyebrow. 'What the hell's he on about now?'
Then he nods. "Okay. Try moving now. Slowly—"
Too late.
The moment I try to sit up, I launch off the couch like a damn rocket and smash straight into the ceiling. My head hits hard—but there's no pain. Not even a throb. And the damn thing somehow stays intact.
"What the hell?!" I shout, flipping in the air before trying to reorient myself—and I overshoot again, spinning like a top. Wind howls past my ears until something catches me mid-air.
Kata.
"I told you to slow down," He says flatly as he keeps me steady with his quirk. "I made your body much stronger, so the same effort creates wildly different results."
'Ah…'
I float there for a second, held effortlessly in his grip. Then I look down at myself, flex a hand... and I feel it.
'Something's very different.'
I clench my fists again, harder this time, and the air shudders around me. My body hums with energy. Power simmers beneath my skin, waiting to be let loose.
A grin stretches across my face. It's wild and feral.
"Hey," I say, my eyes gleaming. "How strong am I now?"
Kata sets me down onto the sofa gently, stepping back like he's handling unstable explosives. "Your base level is about the same as mine. You can probably casually lift 10 tons, sprint 50 m/s easy, with a max out of about 300 m/s. You can punch through concrete walls with a light jab, and bullets probably just sting."
I blink and frown. "That's it? That's worse than before."
He looks confused for a second—then smirks annoyingly. "That's without your quirk."
I freeze.
"You're joking."
"Nope." He shrugs. "From what I can tell, your quirk amplifies your physical strength by... maybe 15 to 20 times? Give or take. Durability and instincts, senses by maybe 10 times at worst. It's hard to be precise."
My eyes widen. My grin returning instantly.
"So what you're really saying..." I say, practically trembling with excitement, "Is that I'm a goddamn monster now."
"Something like that."
"Fuck yes." I slam my fists together, creating a shockwave that shakes the building, but everything is miraculously unaffected. My heart's pounding. Every inch of my body feels like it's bursting with energy.
'I feel like I could jump and stomp a mountain flat!'
"I get it now." I say, staring down at my arms, flexing. "This is what you meant. This feeling... is intoxicating. I've never felt this good."
Kata sighs. "You said you wanted to be strong enough to make me enjoy a fight. Try learning how to walk without punching a hole in your house first."
"Screw that!" I shout, spinning and grabbing his arm. Wind whips around us from the sudden movement, and I can't stop grinning. "There's no better teacher than experience!"
Before he can protest, I dash toward the door, kicking it flying, and drag him outside.
"Let's see how long you last, brat," I laugh, the battle-lust rising like fire in my blood. "We ain't stopping till I'm satisfied and exhausted!"
(Kata POV – Clearing Near Rumi's House)
I narrow my eyes at my arm, feeling a faint sting beneath my costume where Rumi's grip still lingers.
'Her casual hold was enough to actually hurt me?'
The ache fades quickly, and I glance up just as Rumi finishes her warm-up stretches. She's practically buzzing with restless energy, every muscle coiled and ready to snap.
'At least she dragged us far enough from her house that I don't have to worry about collateral damage... hopefully.'
She catches my gaze and smirks, eyes sparkling with burning desire.
"You ready?" She asks, practically vibrating.
I nod, my tone slightly teasing. "I won't use my shield, intangibility or other tricks like that. Otherwise you'd never land a hit."
She shrugs, completely unfazed as her smirk deepens. Normally that'd get her riled up, but right now, she seems more hungry than offended.
Before I can process it, she stomps the ground and launches herself at me with supernatural speed.
A roundhouse kick rockets toward my stomach. I follow its entire motion with my radar, but my body is too slow to react. Reflexively, I activate my barrier, blocking the strike.
The shockwave detonates like a bomb, dirt and debris swirling up in a hundred-meter radius from us. Then comes the delayed sonic booms from her movements.
'Fifteen times the speed of sound...' I analyse. 'Why did the ground shift if my barrier absorbs the impact?'
Rumi hops back, landing lightly with a grin that's equal parts feral and gleeful.
"So much for not using your fancy shield." She laughs triumphantly.
I meet her gaze without blinking. "It won't happen again. You're really fast now. And strong." I add, looking at the debris that was sent flying.
Her grin widens, eyes narrowing. "Getting cold feet, brat? Are you scared?"
"Nope." I shake my head. "I just realized that I underestimated you."
'Or overestimated myself.' I think. 'I could've dodged if I had prepared and enhanced my body with Telekinetic Energy.'
"How serious are we getting?" I ask, trying to gauge how far this is going.
Her grin splits her face as she practically sings. "To the death!"
My eye twitches involuntarily.
"What? You brought that brat from Hosu back to life. You even said you could revive me if I hadn't been dead too long." She says, voice thick with excitement.
"That doesn't mean we should fight to the death." I deadpan.
She rolls her eyes with mild annoyance. "You already said you won't die even if I kill you, and you can revive me if I kick the bucket. So what's the problem? It's all good!"
"Nothing about that sounds good," I shoot back, unease sinking in.
"Who cares what you think? I'll fight 'til one of us drops." She snarls, as I sense her muscles tense. "With my current stamina... we'll keep going forever if you don't get serious."
'This... was definitely a mistake.'
"So..." She licks her lips, eyes glittering with pure hunger. "Fight... or die! Don't disappoint me."
And then she's off—blurring forward at a speed so fast she's invisible to the human eye.
I can feel her intent to kill, as she knows neither of us will actually die.
'I should've kept my mouth shut when she asked.'
***********
A/N: Hello Everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or powerstones. It really helps the book out.
On to the chapter. Do you guys consider this nerfing? I mean, I'm not trying to, so I'd take feedback. Rumi could reach supersonic speeds before the enhancement. Assuming this modification boosted her base power by 10 times (now that I think about it, isn't that too low? It's almost closer to like 50, but whatever. It's to the same extent as Kata). Then her quirk has a 10 to 20 boost to everything, so she can technically go at 20 times the speed of sound at max speed. Kata's radar allows him to detect everything, but he still has to think and react, and he was caught unprepared.
What I'm contemplating is whether Telekinesis is instantaneous, or to make fine targetting more difficult at those speeds. That'd make the fight more entertaining, but it could be either or.
We'll finally see Kata go a bit crazy with his power. Keep in mind, he's still holding back. He's thrown away a lot of his invincible defense, and isn't using insta-kill skills like grasp heart (if you know, you know). So no, it wouldn't be his max power level, since this is still a friendly spar, even if till death do they part (was it funny? No? Yeah, probably not. I'll stop.)
I also have some unfortunate/fortunate news for some of you. Depends on your stance. So... Technically, I'm like 6 chapters ahead on Patreon. And the story has been developing, and I kinda hit a wall with the love interests. And after lots of back and forth, and difficulty choosing... Provisionally (unless there's overwhelming opposition) that Toru will be the last member instead of Jiro.
Yes yes. I know I've been hyping up Jiro for a while now🫠. But when I actually got to the chapter, there was too much in favour of Toru with regards to the character and forming relationships and so on. And I had enlightenment that while Jiro is the best girl to merge into the harem, it's not necessary about finding balance and avoiding overlap. But sometimes, it's about doing so despite that, and making it work (kinda my problem, not everyone else's).
Next, is that I've thought of Kata's Karaoke song, and it's one everyone likely knows, so you can guess if you want in the comments. I might or might not mentions who's right.
Anyway, that's all from me, hope you all have a great day!