The Magical Hero: Equinox. Chapter 6

Dreadfully sorry about the delay. Exams kept me busy for a while, but I also got back into the groove of writing.

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Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Musutafu City, Year 2252.

Past the doors lied a particularly grimy gym, half full of boxers and lit with dirty sodium lights, the low ceiling amplifying the heavy thump of gloves against pads. In the centre was a boxing ring, where a stocky man with flames for hair sparred with a man with four arms, all of the appendages moving alarmingly fast. The latter clearly taking advantage of his modified body despite the unfair advantage – he struck with punishing force, catching his opponent off guard with a barrage of jabs, leading a grizzled man with dark features to yell advice from the edge of the ring.

The gym had a distinctive and overwhelming scent to it, that no matter how many times the floor was cleaned welcomed all who entered. It was the scent of sweat, of hard work, of dedication, with a healthy dose of body spray all bound together through years of training and practise. The subdued hum of an air conditioner was accompanied by the clanking of weights, squeaking of trainers, and slapping of jump ropes. Gym-goers briefly chatted and chuckled between sets.

After the warm-up of having jogged to Joe's Gym – the owner wasn't even named Joe, but Izuku was too shy to ask further – together with his brother the two were currently doing their usual set of exercises. Adapted for the progress they had made in the six months of training.

"Come on, Izuku." Hari encouraged as he spotted for his brother. "Just a little more!"

With a grunt of effort, a red face and shaking arms the green-haired, prepubescent boy did as told. A few seconds later and the bar with a moderate amount of weights for Izuku was suspended in the air above him, before clinking back into place. Izuku immediately sagged in relief, his muscles burning bright in exertion, giving Hari a look that asked for relief.

Hari shook his head with an indulgent sigh. "What's our motto?" one expectant eyebrow raised.

"We don't stop when we're tired." Izuku panted out, swallowing the spit pooling in his mouth. "We stop when we're done."

"Exactly! So get to it."

Hari watched with a regretful expression briefly flaring up as Izuku went to do the cooldown exercises. Since the talk after their last birthday a fierce fire had been lit under Izuku, born from his brother's belief in him. Never once complaining about the effort or struggle involved in the sometimes gruelling training sessions. Sure, there were tears in his eyes more often than not – be they from anger, exertion or happiness – but he never complained. Apparently all it had taken was one person to believe in him. Despite his words before, Hari had actually needed to stop Izuku from overworking himself several times. Though, if Izuku wanted to become a hero he needed to work harder than anyone else.

Hari also adapted the training, supplementing it with a spontaneous pop-quiz or two. The topic, of course, being Quirks and their history. Izuku's mind was too sharp for it to go to waste by only physical training, and this way he learned to multi-task. It also should help him later on, should the Pro-Hero gig not work out.

Sadly, not everything went well in the beginning. Unfortunately the widespread discrimination of Quirkless went so far that most gyms didn't allow them entry on the grounds of not catering to 'disabled' people. Even in this rundown establishment they were now looked upon with pity or resentment. Only allowed in due to the owner needing money and customers badly enough. Though not a single fellow gym-goer – be they trainer or trainee – was interested in helping out once they found out both boys were classified as Quirkless. A fact they didn't keep secret at all on Hari's urging, seeing no point in lying about something that would come out sooner or later.

Folks had found out before, but the collateral damage here was profound. What had once been hopeful acquaintances shifted uncomfortably in their presence and even strangers seemed eager to avoid the twin brothers. Nameless guilt and faceless blame were their ever-present travelling companions, and every social grace they extended seemed tainted – treated akin to the stink of something rotten.

Luckily Hari did have personal experience in training people from his memories as an Auror. Heck, as Head of the Auror Department he had revolutionized the subpar training regimen of the entire British Aurors corps, which unsurprisingly hadn't included any physical conditioning at the time.

'This will be our last month here, I think.' Hari decided, not willing to give money to people who couldn't be bothered to help him while being paid for it. Only doing so for access to the facilities and the rudimentaries could be bought cheaply either way or acquired from the trash heap at Takoba Beach. Only really using this gym to lay the foundations for Izuku and build the habit of exercise.

Once both were finished with their set and showered they put on clothes and headed home for the day.

The outside world was pinched by the icy grip of winter, with a gentle flurry of snowflakes gliding through the air. Street lights hummed over the empty road. A hollow wind blew leaves over the cold concrete, as dogs barked in the distance. They plodded through the city slums, masked by their own billowing breath. Pallid mists filled the streets like frigid phantoms, obscuring the dilapidated buildings and those who haunted them. Among this labyrinth of frozen squalor, snow-choked alleyways were home to some shivering wretches begging for food, their pitiful weeping heart-wrenching.

Hari watched as Izuku, as was his wont, gave the homeless what he could spare. Unheedful of the fact that they'd probably use it to buy liquor, drugs or financing other destructive habits. He didn't say anything though, knowing that was just who his brother's way.

While Izuku went on the way home Hari did not. Instead opting to do his daily visit to check on Himiko.

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Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Musutafu City, Takoba Beach, Year 2252.

A long, wooden cabin abutted the ocean, frozen rain battering the slanted roof. The slate shingles were fringed with accumulated salt, and teemed with a lichenous growth that thrived in the damp. The narrow door at the end of the cabin was flanked by two windows, gazing out like empty eyes as raindrops slithered down the panes. If this old building had ever seen better days, they were long gone. Hazard tape fluttered in the wind in front of a shattered window, twirling like a ribbon in the chill air. A part of the roof was caved-in, gaping like a massive head wound, leaving the top floor open for pigeons to roost and for the muck-laden rain to soak. But it was not only patchy-feathered fowls and shattered memories lingering here.

The wizard took in the sight before him, holding a bag with groceries in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Satisfied with the simply illusionary wards covering the place among the dumping ground disguised as a beach.

Without further ado he approached the door and knocked on empty air.

"Hari-kun!" Himiko cried out happily as she opened the door and saw him standing there, having sensed him coming closer. A new ability she relished to use as much as possible. Immediately she lunged at him in wild abandon, nearly knocking him to the ground and into mounds of trash at his back.

Despite living alone in an outwardly rundown and abandoned fisher's hut in the bad part of town, Himiko evidently couldn't be happier. The fact that her parents weren't there was what made all the difference. Well, it was a huge contributing factor. However, the bigger factor was because either she frequently visited the Midoriya residence or Hari visited her. It was surprising how much difference friends who cared could make.

Other than usual Himiko did not wear her Seifuku. Instead she was adorned by a simple but beautiful green Yukata from her now large collection of clothes Harry had given or procured for her. The enthusiastic girl of course still wore her hair in two messy buns, wild strands sticking in every direction.

Himiko still went to school and lived her life like before. Normally it would be impossible without her parents' approval or help. However, Hari knew people like them would be unable to stand having any kind of negativity stain their perfect public image, in this case being labelled a failure as parents. So he had made a deal that simply said they paid for insurance and other necessary things until she came of age, while Himiko was taken out of their hair by him. Similar to his Hogwarts arrangement without Himiko needing to return there anymore.

The raven-haired boy subtly grimaced a little at the display of overt affection, not wanting to be too obvious and her to take it as rejection, which she had experienced often enough in her life. He was simply painfully aware of puberty right now hitting Himiko like a speeding truck. In the back of his mind he saw the truck back up and preparing to do it again. Where before she was a normal if a little hyperactive girl, she now began to blossom into a beautiful young woman. Hitting her growth spurt and generally being an early bloomer in that regard, making her a little bigger than him in height as well right now.

"Hello, Himiko-chan." he murmured, patting her back. "I brought your groceries." he left out that he basically grew most of the stuff with magic, outside of meat and fish, of course.

"Oh, thanks!" she exclaimed giddily, a thousand megawatt smile on her face that stretched from ear to ear. "Come on in!"

The interior wasn't as rundown as the outside suggested. It wasn't in anyway luxurious, magically expanded or anything. The place therefore was rather tight with only three small rooms, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and living room. Not that Himiko needed much space living alone. However, as a consequence it had a much more homely and warm feeling to it. Any appliances she needed Hari simply took from the trash outside and fixed them up with a simple 'Reparo' spell.

Her furniture wasn't what one would call ordinary and Hari preferred to see it as unique. Much of them decorated with bones or skins from animals Himiko had hunted in an effort to stave of boredom or hunger in the beginning of moving in. As they had found out there was more to her instincts than simply a hunger for blood. There also were her slitted eyes enabling her to see in the dark, her uncanny ability to read body-language and excellent control of her muscles. All while being completely silent on her toes, like she was born to be a predator.

It made sense though. Quirks weren't so simple as to be defined by a singular ability. Most came with built-in mutations to enable the efficient use of said Quirk. One obvious example being a resistance to heat for a flame Quirk. The three categories of Mutant, Emitter and Transformation Quirks as such had a rather wide overlap in many cases. Sometimes even technically belonging in two categories at once, sometimes all three.

Not that Hari prescribed to the quite idiotic view of people being influenced to such a degree by their Quirk as to make them helpless to act in spite of it. People still had free will, and those who solely defined themselves over such physical characteristics were beyond stupid in his view. It was akin to saying the Quirk made the hero, or that someone was a good person because they were beautiful. That would be a simplistic and fallacious view of the world. Deeds and intentions were what made people who they were; be it a hero or villain.

'That still doesn't explain recent additions, despite the obvious similarities.' Hari thought with a sigh, looking at Himiko gutting the fish with practised ease as he prepared to boil the rice.

She didn't use a knife though. Instead she did so with a sharp claw of bone protruding out between the knuckles of her index and middle-finger. Now being able to make three such blades appear on each hand and a bigger bone spike on each elbow and knee. These had suddenly appeared three months ago, evidently now a permanent part of her body and as such a Mutant-type Quirk in nature instead of a transformation she could undo or dismiss. A similar, if not exactly the same, Quirk as the one thug drug dealer they had met.

It wasn't impossible for someone's Quirk to have multiple applications, but quite unheard of for a single person to develop two distinct abilities not connected. The latter of which was clearly the case with Himiko, and through no doing of her own. The obvious connection and theory Hari came up with was that he somehow bestowed those claws onto her with his own Quirk – those prehensile spikes. Probably by using the DNA he got from the thug and stinging Himiko with them afterwards.

A suspicion supported by the fact that he had something akin to a mental catalogue in his brain for stored DNA, giving him rudimentary knowledge of the stored Quirks' nature. A place where currently only Star's Quirk resided right now, from when he stung her in America. Curiously enough he could not use those Quirks himself, making it a purely supportive ability. Not that he needed to when he already had magic at his disposal.

"Any problems with your new... additions?" he asked hesitantly for what felt like the hundredth time. Still worried for the other shoe to drop and some backlash to occur. She wasn't originally built with that Quirk in mind, after all. Thankfully it wasn't one that required particularly extensive mutations to work. Simply being collapsible bone claws that retracted into her hands, knees and elbows.

Himiko gave him a radiant and cheerful smile. "Nope!" she retracted the singular claw, by now able to make them appear independently instead of all at once. Next she proudly showed him the perfectly gutted fish. "Works all fine for me still."

"I'm glad." he said with a relieved sigh, having prepared all he could for the meal. It had been a shock to one day see the bony weapons appear without warning. Thankfully no one else had been present.

"When are you gonna tell Izuku and Saiko about your Quirk?" Himiko asked once she finished washing the fish, followed by prodding him in the side a few times with a pout.

Hari grimaced at that, knowing he'd have to tell them eventually. One part of him dreaded telling Saiko, already picturing the smug look of superiority that clearly proclaimed: 'I told you so!' While another part of him was aware that he could probably give Izuku a Quirk, which would only embolden the boy to risk his life more than he already did. Refusing to give him a Quirk was an option, but that'd be quite a cruel thing to do, if gifting one was as easy as it seemed.

"Soon." he said evasively, turning slightly away from her. "Once we understand better what it does."

Her pout grew more fierce, threatening to turn into a frown. "They can help with that, too. Saiko is smarter than both of us combined and Izuku is really good with Quirks!" she exclaimed, telling him what he already knew.

"I'll do so in the beginning of the Middle school, I promise." right now they were just shy of beginning their last year of elementary school, which in Japan went from six to twelve years old. That left him with a year of figuring out how this thing worked and its drawbacks and limitations. "I just want to experiment with it on my own some more."

Himiko was confused and a little bit put off by that. "Why would you need to do that?" she tilted her head cutely to the side, golden slitted eyes focussed on him. "You've been all like... pow, bam and kaboom!" she described enthusiastically with glittering eyes, wild gestures accompanying the words often found in comics.

He laughed at that, grinning at her indulgently. "Sure. I may not need to, but I want to."

"OK." she pouted, followed by a severe frown as she pondered something. "How did you do all that, by the way?" this time there was only open curiosity in her voice and expression. "Those thingies of yours sure seem like they can do anything!"

"Yeah.. hehe." came the sheepish reply, trying not to look away and be more suspicious.

Himiko didn't even notice, lost in her own world right now. "Oh, oh, oh." she began, waving her arm in the air enthusiastically as if waiting to be called on by a teacher. "You gave me those claws, so did you maybe give yourself all of those Quirks?"

Only a brittle smile was her response, which she took as confirmation.

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Japan, Musutafu City, Masegaki Primary. Year 2253

It was currently time for the pupils to show their self-made presentations at the end of the school year. Well, after their teacher had spent about ten minutes trying to calm the rowdy elements of the class down.

The topic? Heroes, of course.

Predictably many of their peers chose to cover All Might's career, with only a few exceptions here or there. Most of them didn't add anything new to the conversation of the man. Simply rehashing the same tired old story a hundred times. The most daring tried to clumsily explain the man's Quirk, and failed miserably at that.

Right now it was Saiko's turn. The silvery-haired girl was just starting and already some class clowns were groaning in an exaggerating fashion.

"It is now accepted among historical scholars that in the decades before the Collapse, America suffered from the sickness of racism and "cultural identity." Everyone wanted to be seen as special. Every group had to be "equal" or preferably better than its neighbours, and fought to protect its "special" rights. If anyone had something that someone else wanted, they were painted as racist, sexist, elitist, or worse. This divisive "me first" attitude eventually tore the fabric of American culture apart and caused it to self-destruct in a fireball of competing ideologies none of which truly recognized each other's validity. Diversity led inexorably to anarchy."

Their teacher grimaced, knowing he'd have little to add to her thoroughly researched presentation. Except trying to keep the length below twenty minutes.

Saiko followed it up quickly. "In this work I will endeavour to cover how that affected the American implementation of the Hero system during the Rhode Island New State Statute of 2176. Why from 189 exceptional Vigilantes that were affected by it initially only 7 became accepted as official heroes. As well as the consequences that rippled outwards to the other countries implementing similar systems."

Her work was one of the few exceptions that did not cover an individual hero, but explored how Quirks and individuality correlated to a Hero's popularity and showcasing examples during the beginnings of the hero system in the U.S.A. A point in time where only a handful of Vigilantes were given the title of hero despite many more working just as hard or harder than those, but being less popular to the public. Harry suspected she harboured a deeply hidden resentment for not having a flashy and therefore popular Quirk. As such he knew the topic was near to her heart.

Himiko followed after that, but also not covering her favourite Hero. That being the Blood Hero: Vlad. Kind of an uninspired name in Hari's opinion, but not too bad. Instead the peppy blonde decided on something controversial instead, even if she apparently didn't notice the Teacher growing rigid.

"My presentation is about this!" she exclaimed proudly, holding aloft a blood red book with what appeared to be many stains of black ink on the cover. It had evidently seen better days, with many of its pages ear-marked, rippled from soaking up water or other signs of its age. The words on it read "Meta Liberation War".

From there on Himiko held a surprisingly passionate presentation about the history of Destro, real name Chikara Yotsubashi, and his contributions to Hero Society.

Chikara had been born to a now unknown mother during a time when people still had prejudices against anyone with meta powers. As he grew up, he had been treated with disdain by his peers because of his Meta Ability, which left his mother distraught at the rejection her child faced from society. His mother had proclaimed his powers as nothing more than a Quirk of his. Her plea was today understood to be the start of the colloquial term "Quirk" to describe Meta Abilities, giving her the title "The Mother of Quirks", which for many of their peers – Hari included – was not common historical knowledge. At some point, the mother of Destro was murdered by opposers of meta powers who didn't want things to change and because of her support of her son's uniqueness. Her death ultimately became a stepping stone for his future as a revolutionary.

Himiko had chocked up a bit at the part of his mother dying, but soldiered on regardless in telling the story.

With the proliferation of Meta Abilities the government began to regulate their use, implementing the Hero System. Himiko heavily implied they also used Chikara's mother's previous statement and adoption of the term "Quirk" to advance their own agenda of suppressing and policing Quirks. By using the original meaning of the word they could then claim that a meta ability was part of someone's personality – a Quirk. This inherently created the idea that if someone had a misunderstood, undesirable, or stereotypical Quirk, their personality was also those things. A struggle many people, be they villain or hero, faced even today. Destro had been against such a controlled system, believing that free use of a Meta Ability was a basic human right.

To fight for that ideal he then founded the Meta Liberation Army. Only to be defeated after years of struggle, being incarcerated and finally committing suicide in prison. However, not before writing a biographical book. A copy of which Himiko now held in her hands.

The Wizard clearly saw the theme of being persecuted for traits one had no control over resonated with Himiko, which is why he helped her write it. Even if he didn't know how she got her hands on such an old copy of that book. Hari also couldn't help but sympathise with Destro, seeing painful parallels to the Statute of Secrecy and the various Ministries of Magic controlling the use of Magic itself. Later in life regretting to work for the very institution that had made his life so difficult previously. Not much having changed in the grand scheme of things at the point of his death.

Their teacher looked like he'd eaten a bushel of lemons all at once, lips pursed so much they disappeared entirely. Without saying anything about the presentation of Himiko he made some hastily and angry notations on a paper before he called the next one up. "Next is Midoriya Hari."

Giving Himiko a smile and a thumbs-up for her performance, Hari went to the front and presented his own work. His also did not focus on a specific hero. "I thank your for your time and attention." he began grandly, a little mocking jest hidden behind his loop-sided smile. "My own work can be seen as a continuation of Saiko's and dear Himiko's works, tying in where they left off. And hopefully adding something useful to the conversation."

While his work unknowingly covered a similar avenue as Saiko's, his went about it from a different angle. Not focussing so much on a singular aspect of the Hero's System's flaws, – such as popularity being a major factor in a Hero's rank – but more on the history of its implementation. Being like a combination of Saiko's and Himiko's own works. Aptly named "Heroes: A tool of oppression."

He went over how the creation, usage and legalities of heroes was no different than restricting people's access to weapons like it was done in mediaeval times. Where peasants hadn't been allowed to carry swords to defend their lives from attackers, which often times had been their lord's warriors themselves. Essentially curbing their means of self-defence so the government had an easier time of controlling the masses, and preventing a possible revolution.

After a good ten minutes Hari approached the end of his presentation.

"Indeed, even the very inception of Heroes is a tainted remnant and not as glorious as advertised. Not implement in an attempt to see to the safety of the citizens. If that had been the goal why wasn't the police simply empowered to use Quirks?" Harry questioned to the bored faces of most of his class, outside of his friends. While aware of societal issues, they all also had grown up around heroes and worshipped them as much as the rest. "Simple. At the time, as Himiko so thoroughly illustrated, Anti-Meta sentiment was still relatively high and the government didn't want to be seen associating with such people, lest the politicians lose what little popular support they still had at that time."

Himiko beamed at his praise of her. Both cheeks red, yellow eyes squished and her fanged smile wide; an expression of joy that seemed to make others uneasy.

"On the other hand they also couldn't let the anarchy and villains run rampant to do as they pleased. However, what many people today forget is that in the Era of Upheaval most governments were seen as weak and incompetent. Not many obeyed the law anymore, much less trusted the police." a truth if ever Harry heard one. Truly exceptionally rare was the ever elusive competent government. "With only a few desperate and blind individuals trusting in them to be able to solve the issues that plagued their time. As such they lacked the most important thing a government cannot function without: Legitimacy."

He took a deep breath and continued. "That's where heroes came in, or at least those few that enjoyed widespread popular support." he turned to the last page of his work, written on paper and not done on a tablet like most of his classmates. "Those men and women were offered amnesty for the crime of protecting their homes, neighbours and lives in those desperate times. All they had to do was join the government and give them their legitimacy by proxy."

Here he turned his head slightly and nodded to Saiko. "Of course not everyone was fit to represent the government in such a fashion, and as such judged harshly by specific criteria. Surely they must've taken the most capable and dedicated to their ideals as heroes, right?" he shook his head, answering his own question. "Alas, that was not the case. As Saiko mentioned and I hinted at, only the most popular were chosen. Which at the time excluded those with undesirable mutations or so called villainous Quirks." it didn't even matter that many Quirk-users at the time were persecuted and needed to use their abilities for self-defence. Regardless of that all were lumped in together as vigilantes by the government.

"A practise still employed bi-annually to this day in the form of the Hero Billboard Charts." he swept his bloodstained gaze over the silent crowd and bowed. "Thank you."

Himiko jumped in her seat, shouting gleefully. "Yeah. Down with the oppressors!" though a truly venomous glare from the teacher saw her and those about to join in back down.

With that he sat down again, waiting for the class to end. Not much followed afterwards, only one other presentation about All Might occurred.

Just as soon as the bell rang and the pupils stormed out, their teacher called out. "Toga, Intelli, Midoryia! Please stay behind for a bit."

Saiko gave Hari a look that said she expected to be rewarded for excellent work. While she did do an exceptional job or researching and presenting her paper, she once more made the mistake of thinking saying the truth would lead to a good outcome.

Once the room was cleared and the three were assembled before his desk, he harshly barked out. "Detention, all three of you! For a month straight."

"What... why?!" Uncharacteristically stunned Saiko brought the words out in shock, violet eyes wide in disbelief. She began to assemble her mind back together to point out that none of them had delivered inferior products, only for her words to not even make it past her throat.

"I won't have any Liberation Army propaganda in my classroom!" the teacher bellowed, making Himiko and Saiko recoil before getting himself back under control. The issue not being the quality of their work but the nature of it. "You three are lucky enough that this isn't evolving into a suspension or even a Black Mark on your record." his dull brown eyes bored into Saiko's "Do any of you want one on the grounds of cheating by using a Quirk to create your essays?"

"No, sir." Saiko bit out, followed by an echoed reply from Himiko and Hari.

After being dismissed an indifferent Hari, subdued Himiko and seething Saiko left the classroom.

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"That presumptuous, stupid, little weasel!" Saiko ranted the moment they were far enough away from school. "How dare he imply I'd cheat using my Quirk?! I'm smarter than him by a mile without even using it!" her rage was so strong in its intensity it was nearly physically palpable in the air. "Not to mention pretty much threatening to ruin our lives with a Black Mark!"

Himiko piped up uncertainly, fiddling with her fingers. "Is a Black Mark really so bad?" she also dearly hoped the teacher didn't talk to her parents about it. Despite no longer living with them their shadow still stretched over her, clinging to her mind like a bad breath.

Their incensed friend growled from the back of her throat. "It is if you want to go to a prestigious institution like U.A High School! Or be able to get your foot in the door for a decent job without being dismissed outright."

"I didn't know you wanted to become a hero." Himiko commented, walking beside her friends as they made their way to the train station. More than a little bit surprised that someone like Saiko would chose the career of a Pro-Hero.

The wizard agreed with a nod as they took a shortcut through some alleyways. "You don't strike me as someone like that."

"Why, because I don't have a 'heroic' Quirk?" she hissed back, eyes narrowed in contempt. "I thought you'd not have such views after your presentation!"

"I don't," Hari shrugged in reply and shook his head a little. "but you evidently do. Otherwise someone of your prodigious intellect would've long since started a physical workout regimen to prepare for U.A. I actually hope you don't subscribe to the belief that your Quirk and sharp mind would only allow you to be useful in coordinating Pro-Heroes, predicting Villain attacks or even solving various crimes." there was no condemnation or disgust in his tone. "Though, I'll admit that with those skills you'd make an excellent support hero." his striking eyes seemed to pierce right through her, making Saiko flinch at the support comment.

The purple-eyed girl rallied herself, glaring defiantly at him. "I'm not such a massive hypocrite or delusional enough as to do that." that would be quite a cognitive dissonance. "There is no shame in being a support hero; they're the backbone of Hero Society. What I do have a problem with is that people only pay attention to the public fights or arrests of dangerous villains." she began to rant passionately. "They don't see the logistics involved in the whole endeavour! As for trying to train my body. Why would I bother when all evidence suggests a less than optimal outcome even with training?" Saiko replied clinically, completely aware of her physical limitations.

Hari sighed in relief. "I was worried there for a second." he grinned at a blushing Saiko. "So the only reason why you reacted that way was because you wouldn't get the recognition your ego demands."

"Yes, pretty much." she agreed shamelessly. Self-aware enough to not be embarrassed to admit such a thing. Here she snorted as a stray thought went through her head. "As long as you can't improve my own or gift me a second Quirk, that is."

Caught off guard by the out of the blue mention of something so specific an awkward silence ensued, followed by Hari looked away and Himiko's eyes got wide in surprise.

"What?" Saiko blurted out, noting their reactions as her mind began running a mile a minute. "Your Quirk, what is it?"

Hari sighed in defeat, knowing that he wasn't gonna get out of this one. Completely aware that her mind and Quirk would figure it out sooner or later. The only question was how long that'd take. He briefly thought about wiping Saiko's mind. An act he chastised himself immediately for even considering.

"OK."

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For those wondering: Hari's Quirk will be purely supportive in nature. He CANNOT grant himself Quirks with it, or take away those of others. However, he can pretend it does to explain his magical abilities with an explanation that's believable to Heroes and others.