Without hesitation, Tatsuki started using the superspeed superpower he plundered from someone. This time, he was just in time. Before the rotors could cut his son into tiny little strips, he caught his son and grabbed him as tight as he could.
And right at that moment, Satoshi turned off the rotors and stared at his dad with a mischievous grin on his face. It only took a split second for Tatsuki to realize that he was utterly deceived.
"Looks like I won, dad." Satoshi smiled.
Tatsuki sighed in relief. "You got me there. That was good execution! How does it feel to finally beat your dad with a handicap?"
"A handicap?!"
"Of course, if it were a fair fight, there's no way you'll beat me." Tatsuki chuckled, patting Satoshi on his shoulder.
In response, Satoshi couldn't help but smile. His dad was genuinely happy right now. Who knows how long he waited for this moment wherein he could finally show off in front of his son?
"But dad, I didn't know... so your Plunder doesn't just apply to superpowers? Isn't that kind of broken? So if you wanted to be the best actor or the best singer in the world, you could do so in a snap of a finger?" Satoshi couldn't help but ask. He didn't want to believe it at first but after seeing his dad move just like him, he realized that his dad was much more powerful than he thought.
"Not really, you know that superpowers have certain rules, right? It may look awesome at first glance but there are limitations." Tatsuki continued. "For example, even though I can sort of Plunder anyone's physical capabilities, I can only use it for a certain amount of time within a day. After that, there's a span of time when I won't be able to borrow from that certain person again. Also, even though I borrowed someone's physical capabilities, I could only execute it perfectly. If someone could fully utilize their powers, they would be able to defend against me since they know the techniques better. It's like a game of chess, if I only replicate the opponent's moves, then I'm bound to lose one hundred percent of the time, right?"
"And also, as for my Plunder superpower, there are certain limitations as well. I can't plunder every superpower I see, only the simple ones. For example, your superpower, I tried taking it a moment ago but to my surprise, my Plunder doesn't work on you."
"So that's why you didn't move at all at the start! Nevertheless, that's pretty cool! I can finally brag about my superpower to you dad, you won't be able to copy it after all." Satoshi grinned.
"Heh, even if you didn't, I'm more than proud of you already, even before you got your superpower," Tatsuki said. "Anyway, five in the morning, every day, I'll be waiting for you here in our lair. I will input your handprints on the system so you can enter here and train at any time. I'll also train you how to become a respectable superhero. And if you want to build your body, you can just access the gym by the garage. But I'll tell you though, the equipment here is better than the ones you have in the garage."
"You're going to personally train me, dad? Wouldn't that usually cost hundreds of gold or something?"
"What are you talking about? Don't you know how long I've waited for this moment— the time I could finally pass on my legacy to you?" This time, Tatsuki grabbed his son by the shoulder.
"Can I really go here any time I want?" Satoshi was more than overjoyed as he scanned the entire lair one more time, etching the picturesque in his brain so he won't forget about it.
"Of course!"
.....
Chirp chirp!
Satoshi immediately blocked his eyes from the sun rays which were peeking through the gap in the window curtains. With his blurry eyes, he could vaguely make out the time on his alarm clock, which read a quarter before four o clock. Usually, he wakes up earlier than that for a morning run but due to the events that happened yesterday, he slept like a log that night.
With eyes half-closed, he sleepily put on his slippers and headed to the bathroom to give himself a nice rinse on the face. He then changed into sports attire and headed to the lair. There he saw his dad patiently waiting for him. He was throwing a few punches at a punching bag.
After a quick greeting, his dad assumed a fighting stance, and then the training started. This time, the training didn't include any superpowers, they fought like two rugged men in a street. "I know you already know this, Satoshi... but don't rely on your superpower too much. There will be times when you won't be able to use your superpower and the only thing you could count on is your physical strength. Don't ever forget that."
Once the training was over, Satoshi headed to school bringing only the upgraded nailgun since the others were too obvious. He began to wonder if he could get another upgraded item that would work as a storage for every familiar he has.
— And that's right, ever since Tatsuki called them his familiars, Satoshi stuck to the name. He also gave every Familiar he has some nicknames so he could call them out as if he was summoning a bonafide familiar.
As Satoshi got to the bus stop, he saw a familiar face. "Good morning." Hiroshi greeted as he waved a hand at Satoshi. His eyes darted from Satoshi to somewhere else, as if he felt guilty about something.
"Hey, Hiroshi, good morning. You live here too?" Satoshi asked as he stood beside him, waiting for the bus to arrive. He was surprised that Hiroshi would strike a conversation with him after everything he did to him during the initial tests on the first day of school.
"Yeah," He simply responded before looking away. "Look, I'm sorry I lost my cool back there. I was a bit pressured since my favorite superhero was watching, you see. And also, I really thought you didn't have any superpower, sorry."
"No worries, who was it?"
"Who? Your parents, of course!" Hiroshi exclaimed as if it was such an obvious thing. "In any case, have you heard about our homeroom teacher?"
"No, I was too tired. I fell asleep as soon as I touched my bed." Satoshi teared up as he let out a yawn.
"Yeah, okay, hear this out. Apparently, there's a rumor that our teacher is KnightHawk!"
"What?!"