Harry walked into the guest room at the Dojo and fell helplessly on the bed. The three Basilisks - which had previously slept in the briefcase with his suit - slithered towards their master with concern. In a last week they grew surprisingly quickly, Rowena and Helga each became fifty centimeters, but Godric remained small, he grew only up to fifteen centimeters and stopped.
§Sssalazar, are you wounded?§
Rowena hissed, wrapping herself around his right shoulder. She had dark green scales and three horns on her head. Her right eye was green and the left one was blue. Harry had never seen the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, so he didn't know that the sisters looked like a small copy of the beast inside.
The teenager didn't want the snakes to call him 'master' or even worse 'father'. So he told the Basilisks to call him Salazar.
§No fatal woundsss, Row. You don't need to worry.§
Harry had bruises and cuts all over his body from the blows. His nose was broken twice more, and his joints were dislocated five more times. So he looked... Wary.
§I don't like the old human. How dare he wound Sssalazar?!§
Helga hissed viciously and wrapped her body around his left shoulder. The twin differed from Rowena only in one thing, her right eye was blue, and her left one was green. So when they stood side by side, they seemed to be a reflection of each other.
§The old human helpsss Sssalazar grow ssstronger. He preparesss him for the danersss of the big world.§ Godric hissed back, speaking as if he were explaining to a child that the sky js blue.
He slithered into Harry's hair and tied it back, he was big enough to do that himself. Now he had shiny black scales, yellow eyes and five small horns on the head. Harry thought that he resembles a king cobra reduced in size.
§Sssetle down, little onesss. Ric is right, the old human is helping me to get ssstronger, ssso you ssshouldn't try to kill him. Is that clear?§
He waited until each serpent nodded and closed his eyes to sleep. Harry already knew how bloodthirsty Basilisks can be. On the third day of their lives, they have already brought him eight mice... Each... There are no mice in their Orphanage... He had to explain that he could get food himself not once, but several times.
'At least they can't kill with their gaze... Yet... But what can they do? I'll have ask about it later, they're too young to know.'
---
On the morning of the second day of the internships, Harry's body was still aching - of course it still hurt, he fought Bang for three hours straight - and his joints refused to move. The teenager, by sheer willpower, made his body move and again went out into the courtyard, where the old man was already waiting for him, hands behind his back.
Harry, after three years of their meeting, he became a cut taller than his teacher, and given the fact that Bang constantly walked slightly bent over, he seemed even lower.
"Morning, Bang." Harry yawned and began his daily workout.
"Good morning kid. You'll be learning something new today."
Bang's face was conflicted, as if he couldn't decide whether to teach his student or not.
"Oh? You've finally caved in and decided to teach me the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist?"
Harry asked curiously as he began doing clap push-ups. The old man looked at the teenager for a moment and nodded to himself.
"Yes."
As soon as that word left Bang's mouth, Harry fell face down to the ground in surprise. The teenager quickly pushed off the ground with his hands and looked at the old man with wide eyes.
"Seriously?! But you said you stopped teaching ages ago! Why the fuck now?!"
Bang sighed heavily and waved his hand towards the teenager to continue his workout. Harry continued doing push-ups, but he was still sending glances at the old Hero.
"I never told you why I stopped teaching, right? One of my best students, Garou, beat all my other students to a pulp in one day and ran away. He started out as a Villain and slowly became... a Monster. My brother and I ended up being able to get him out, but... "Bang looked at his fist for a moment "Before he was captured, Garou killed Bomb. I lost all motivation to teach after my brother died."
Harry stood in and listened to the story of his teacher in shock. Bang had a brother? A student who became a villain- no, a monster? What the hell happened in the old man's life?
"But you... The kid I found in the woods three years ago piqued my interest. The fact that Envy is perfect for using martial arts is just a bonus. I was surprised at your learning speed and I just kept throwing new martial arts at you." Bang laughed, remembering Harry's face after the first few training sessions "But I see that you still limit yourself to one martial art at a time, so I decided to teach you my martial art. Especially since you took the path of a Hero, it will help you a lot along the way."
Harry could only nod silently, the old man did not give a direct answer to his question, but he would let it slip for now... After fifteen minutes he finished his workout and the pain in his muscles was gone. His body became plastic again.
The green-eyed teenager looked at Bang expectantly. The old man, seeing that his student gave him all his attention, began to explain the basic principles of his martial art.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is the ultimate art for redirecting force. Before it, your fists are as tree leaves in a raging river. My martial art is extremely effective and powerful when used by a skilled fighter. Some say it is the perfect blend of offence and defense. Users of my martial art can repel the attacks of their opponents, nullify them, or redirect them with twice the power."
Bang, during his explanation, began to slide into the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist fighting stance. But this time, a blue aura seemed to flow behind his arms and legs, which reminded Harry of a flowing river. The old man sent a quick kick upward and the clouds over the Dojo parted from the shockwave. The wind ruffled Harry's hair and he had to cover his eyes with his hand to protect himself from the dust.
The old hero put his hands behind his back again and continued his explanation.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is capable of deflecting bullets, rapid blade attacks, and even attacks of pure energy. Furthermore, when in crisis, this martial art allows the user's body to move on its own to counterattack. I would tell you about some of my techniques, but you still have a long road to walk before learning that."
Harry nodded and scratched his chin deeply in thought.
"Where do we start?"
"You will change your thinking. You have to imagine that your body is a calm river, capable of turning into a furious stream of water that smashes rocks. Your muscles should be relaxed before a blow and ready to be tensed in a moment. You have seen my stance hundreds of times, but you do not have to use it. Use what suits your body best, what feels right."
"Got it."
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It will be difficult to imagine changes in the body and not to use Envy.
'A calm river, capable of turning into a furious stream of water that smashes rocks...'
The teenager slowly put his left leg behind his back and bent his right one at the knee. Harry turned his body slightly to the left, but continued to face forward. His right arm was extended forward and slightly bent at the elbow, while his left was next to his shoulder. He imagined his body becoming a river and his muscles relaxed.
Potter's breathing was even, and after a couple of minutes, Bang could swear that his hand flashed with a blue aura for a second.
'Terrifying speed...'
---
By the end of the day, Potter was still unable to properly take advantage of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and Bang decided to try a different approach. He said that Harry would be able to hone his skill in battle, and that was followed by another three-hour sparring session. Surprisingly, during the battle, the teen was able to activate the aura during a couple of attacks, but he could not maintain this state for more.
Right now, Harry was standing at the stove and preparing omuraisu for dinner, the Basilisks took their usual places. Godric held his hair back while Rowena and Helga wrapped around his arms and rested their heads on the back of his palms. Bang looked at his apprentice's new companions with interest.
"So you're saying you raised them from a couple of chicken eggs? You know it's hard to believe even in the Quirk era?"
Bang was one of the few people to whom Harry told the whole truth, so he revealed to him the way to create Basilisks. Well, maybe he didn't know about being reborn part.
"Yes. But it seems to me that only I can create these... not so little guys anymore. Just the Quirks of my body." Harry chuckled at his bad pun.
The teenager shrugged his shoulders and put the finished omuraisu on a plate. He sat down opposite the old man and began to eat.
"Hmm... And why are they looking at me like that?"
Rowena and Helga kept their eyes on the old hero the whole time. They were still waiting for an attack and were on their guard. Harry just raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? You beat the first living thing they saw after they were born into a pulp. Of course they'll be looking at you like that."
Bang had the guts to look embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.
"Haha... Well, ladies, I'm sorry about that."
The sisters looked at each other and nodded, the old man's eyes widened at this.
"Ho... They understand human speech? Smart snakes."
"Basilisks. Their kind is called Basilisks."
He corrected and continued to eat, giving a couple of bites to the twins and Ric. During the time when he lived with the Basilisks in the same room, he learned that they are omnivores. Helga was even able to digest a small piece of metal... So he did not worry too much about their food.
"Well, tomorrow we'll go patrolling, so check your costume and rest. If we run into a villain, then you are only allowed to use Envy and Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. The only exception are situations where your life or the lives of civilians is in danger"
"Wait, seriously? You won't even train me for a couple more days?"
Bang looked at Harry like he was an idiot.
"You have sparred with me since the age of twelve and are used to my attacks. You need more experience and opponents. Tomorrow night we will go to Kawasaki, this city is quite close to Tokyo and there are many more people than around here, so there are much more crime and villain attacks."
Harry nodded and finished his omuraisu.
---
In a dark room, a man with long gray hair sat on a stone throne and looked at his creation. A two-meter mountain of muscles, looking more like a gorilla than a human, just looked at its master with empty pupils.
"Bring me the lost Stones. Now is the time to collect my debt."
Behemoth with black hair groaned for a couple of seconds, but slowly turned around and walked out of the room.
"Going to kill that kid. What a pain." his voice sounded tired.
There were shackles on his wrists with long metal chains, which he dragged along the floor with him.
"I am going to kill him... And then I am going to sleep."
The man looked at his creation with indifferent expression on his face. He didn't care if Sloth came back alive, he just needed to watch the boy fight for his life in order to come up with a suitable plan... And then all Stones will return to him.