Chapter 79: Two Heroes Arc (3)
~Ren Y. POV~
[I-Island, Central Tower, Shield's Lab]
"Toshi – A-All Might?"
I raised an eyebrow, seeing the nervous expression on their faces. Did they not expect him, or were they just stunned?
Their body language says otherwise. But I'll reframe from acting for now. Knowing the movie plot, I heard Sam speak in a stunned tone, "Is that really you?"
All Might lunged over to David in a tight bear hug, greeting him in a friendly and happy tone, putting him down, "Haha! I came all this way just to see you, Dave, old buddy."
Melissa went over from behind with a blissful smile on her face and asked in a cheerful tone, "Well, Papa, are you totally surprised?"
Leaving the poor man speechless, he spoke in a stunned tone, finding the will to speak, "Uh. Yeah. Completely astounded."
I smiled innocently as All Might exclaims out loud in a proud tone, letting David stand up, "We both have Melissa to thank for that. Man, how long has it been?"
Raising his fist tapping over his beefy arms, David exclaimed as Melissa came near me in a happy tone, "Oh, now, come on. Don't make me say it. I already feel old enough, ya jerk."
They both laughed, with All Might commenting in a happy tone, "Hahaha! You do have a point. Glad to see you again, my friend."
David looked at All Might happily as he said in a fond tone, "Agreed. I've missed you, too."
Man. The bro romance between them is real with their fist bump. If I was Mina, I would say I would ship it.
Holding a light chuckle, I continued to listen till All Might greeted me, David, in a proud tone, dropping the bomb, "Young Yuki. Let me introduce you to someone incredible. David Shield. And Dave, meet my successor, Ren Yuki."
David's face froze, as did Sam at this revelation. Well… Thanks a lot, All Might you aren't dropping bombs but fucking tactical nukes to my life.
Hearing All Might refer to me as his successor, David's eyes widened, a hint of panic appearing in his gaze as he questioned in a startled tone, "Wha… what! You mean you already found someone to be your successor…?!"
Nodding at him at this revelation, All Might smiles as he taps his back in a proud tone, informing him of me, "Worry not. I'm still as strong as ever, but no man lives eternally. I've decided to use my chance to cultivate the future generation of Heroes. And this young man is quite extraordinary as he helped me with…"
From that point, he whispered to David's ear as his eyes widened, exclaiming, "No kidding?!! Seriously…!!"
His expression soon shifted into a genuine, sincere smile as I introduced myself to David Shield in a chill tone, "Nice to finally meet you, David Shield. I'm Ren Yuki. It's a pleasure to meet you and the guy that sent those Quirk Ores to I-Island."
He smiled even a bit wider as he shook my hand, doing a handshake as he exclaimed in a genuinely happy tone, "Oh! So, you're the boy that Nezu sent those Quirk Ores you called them to I-Island. Then it's a real pleasure to meet you, young man. Your English seems to be pretty good."
I smiled hearing that as I puffed my chest out proudly. With my [Language Comprehension], I'm fucking multi-lingual to learn all kinds of language.
Even fucking coding language. Heh.
But that was when All Might coughed lightly. I got the picture as did David looking a bit serious as he spoke in a calm tone, "Listen, it's been a long time. Can the two of you give All Might and me a little time to catch up?"
I grinned at this, nodding my head in a respectful tone, moving towards Melissa's direction, "Yeah. Of course! David, is it okay that I would like to tour around the island if that's alright with you?"
David stared at me before looking at his daughter, wanting to discuss with All Might in private in a calm tone, "Melissa, can you show our friend here around the island? Give him a tour."
Melissa smiled as she nodded her head happily, grasping my hand with David flinching in an excited tone, "Sure thing, Papa. Sounds like fun."
Grinning, I did a mock bow, gaining a giggle from the girl in a humble tone, "I'm honored to have you, miss, guide me around."
She laughed at my antics as she explained, leading me out of her father's lab in an excited tone, "Sure are a charmer, aren't you? But I'm honored to show off our hard work to a future hero. Especially being All Might's Successor. Please come right this way."
Following her, I felt someone glaring daggers at the back of my head. But I ignored David's stares as I happily replied, "Thanks! This is so nice of you!"
/////
[I-Island, Central Tower]
*Thud*
We exited through the door with a large metal corridor Melissa soon asked me in a curious tone, "So what do you want me to call you? By your real name, or do you have a hero one already?"
Hearing that, I nonchalantly said in a neutral tone, enjoying the company, "Just Ren Yuki. Are you fine with me calling you Melissa? Or do I say, Miss Shield."
She giggled lightly, shaking her head as she was casual with me walking with a smile on her face, "Nah. You can just call me Melissa."
Smiling, seeing we would be chill between each other, I asked curiously about her achievements, "Very well, Melissa. But let's not talk about me, tell me about your research, Melissa. I've analyzed some of the patents you've filed. In fact, it was because of that I got the idea to create my Morphing Band from your advanced shapeshifting theory."
Gazing at my Morphing Wrist, my support item, her eyes sparkled as she asked, knowing some facts about me, in an excited tone, "Really! I heard from Uncle Might you've worked in multiple courses at UA. But what does this one do?"
*Click*
*Shiii*
Instantly, in a flash of small light, I returned to my casual attire as Melissa looked at my work interested as I explained in a proud tone, "It holds my hero suit. The effects are instantaneous in the effect of light shining over the person based on your shapeshifting theory. It helps hold my suit on the fly and functions as a camera, clock, and video recorder with a built-in restraining rope. Do you wanna look?"
I unclipped my Morphing Band as she looked at it in an excited tone, grasping it and looking at different angles, "Amazing! How did you manage to make the suit compress into the band but have multiple functions at once? Does it work based on the biological space quirk function? Or a different kind of metal… maybe light conversion with an understanding of atomic structure?"
I chuckled at her interaction as I asked curiously about her in a chill tone, "Hahaha… you know Melissa, you remind me of my friend Mei Hatsume back at UA. I bet you have lots of friends – "
My words stopped in my tract, noticing her body movement. Oh, my god, she doesn't have any friends if my [Language Comprehension] is anything to go by.
But her words, asking in an innocent tone, certainly took the cake, "Is that… what it means to have friends?"
This time, I took a quick pause to consider answering that question. Instead, I decided to be a bit direct, seeing her confused face, "You… don't tell me you don't have friends?"
She blushed, genuinely embarrassed, as she looked away, noticing the shift changes in her body language telling me enough, "W-Well… I wouldn't say that but when I hang out with them, they just feel too… formal. I don't hate it, but I don't like it either. It was the reason why I spent most of my time at my workshop."
I opened my mouth soon asking in a curious tone with my arms crossed asking, "Are you comfortable with them?"
Genuinely asking out of concern and curiosity Melissa thought about her answer for a few minutes before she ultimately shook her head in a neutral tone, "Not really. Being with them feels like I should watch my every move, it feels rather… uncomfortable. But it probably doesn't help I graduated faster than my peers going up a few grades."
Ah. That would probably do it then. Jealously is seriously an ugly thing in people… and Envy from Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.
Placing a hand over her shoulder, I grinned, jabbing my thumb to myself in an upbeat tone trying to encourage her, "Then they should be acquaintance at best. Trust me, I've been in your shoes, not having friends before… There are only a few people I'd call friends in this world, and I'm glad to have you be one of them. If you are alright with it?"
Giving her a light wink, she laughed at my antics, wiping a tear off her eyes as she explained in a lighthearted tone, "Really? Then I guess we're friends then. Is it really this easy to make friends, though? From what I read in a book, it's rather complicated."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes but smirked as I responded as we continued walking down the metal corridor of the Central Tower, "Meh. Don't trust that stuff. It's way easy to make friends; the only real hard part is choosing a good one. Now, come on! We're wasting daylight!"
As I took charge, Melissa soon stopped me with a raised eyebrow, making me freeze at her words, "Do you even know where to go?"
Ah… I forgot that I don't know. I awkwardly whistled innocently, looking at the side, causing her to giggle as she held my hand tightly in a confident tone. "Come on. Let me lead you. I will show you every interesting place on the island."
Melissa dragged me through the metal corridor. In a hushed tone, shuffling a bit closer to me, she asked, "Hey Ren, are you perhaps able to invite me to your party…? I heard from Uncle Might that you gain perks reaching a certain status level, almost like a Quirk… you don't have to if you don't want to, but I promised Uncle Might I would help and support you. I assume being in the same party will help with that."
Smiling, knowing where this was going, I happily agreed with a nod, confirming her casually, "You're not wrong, but sure. When All Might-Sensei told me of this, I figured I needed to open my circle of people knowing this ability sooner or later. And besides, with you agreeing to support me, I should do everything in my power to help the people who helped me in return."
She seemed to blush a bit at my words, muttering in a hushed tone, "Thanks… I really mean it…"
Understanding her insecurities and where she's coming from, I get it. She was born Quirkless with no superpower, but to be able to get one by raising her stats, even if they seem useless, like her Father's Quirk, she still wants to be a part of the mass majority.
I wonder what All Might is telling his old friend about. Hopefully nothing bad about me considering I'm sort of taking his daughter away from him.
/////
~Third POV~
[I-Island, Central Tower, Shield's Lab]
When Melissa and Ren both left Sam soon followed by David's request wishing All Might and David a good day in a friendly tone, "See you two soon."
Just when Sam left All Might soon depowered down into his normal form with smoke escaping his form causing David to be alarmed asking in a concerned tone, "Hey. Are you alright, Toshi?"
Almost stumbling, All Might manages to gain his composure as he mutters in a tired tone, thanking David, "Thanks for catching it. No worries, I'm simply overexerting my powers no need to be alarmed."
David eyeing his old friend checked his condition as he asked to confirm in a serious tone, "You said it was bad in your email. But I had no idea how serious this is."
Waving off his concerns, All Might stood up and took a seat, having the chance to gain a breather with a grin on his face, "It was for a time. But thankfully, Ren managed to mitigate my issues. Although having expertise and checkup from you would be ideal. Although I have gotten much weaker, I can at least keep up my Hero Work for those in need."
Hearing that immediately alarmed David as he said in a scared tone about his friend and hero, "Y-You can't! Not yet All Might! The world still needs you! The world still needs its Symbol of Peace!"
All Might waved his hands, speaking in a proud tone, understanding his own mortality about the situation, "It's inevitable. I'm just now a flickering flame about to burn out. But I have no worries because when that time comes, there will be someone who will take my place. But before my successor does, I'll do everything in my power to help him grow and his generation the best I can before my time comes."
David looked unconvinced, but he didn't say anything as he thought in a serious tone, 'I-I have to do this… for All Might to return being the Symbol of Peace.'
/////
[I-Island, Central Tower, Elevator]
Taking the elevator down, Ren soon spoke out loud, forming a party with Melissa, in a chill tone, "Alright then, here goes. Form a Party with Melissa Shield under the name Gamebreaker. Let's see, did it work?"
Melissa paused for a few moments before seeing a pop-up screen appearing in front of her in an amazed tone, "It did! This totally feels like a video game, almost like wearing a VR headset!"
['Melissa Shield' you have been invited to the party 'Gamebreaker'.]
[Do you accept/deny?]
Melissa excitedly pressed the accept icon on the screen. She soon got to see her visual status in front of her, shaking in excitement.
----
Name: Melissa Shield
Quirk: N/A
Race: Human
Title: Shield Heiress
Level: 10 Exp: 0/20%
HP: 550/550
PP: 1550/1550
STR: 10
AGI: 15
VIT: 25
INT: 90
SEN: 20
LUCK: 1 (+25)
Stat Points: 50
Money: David's Allowance
----
While inspecting her status, Melissa's curiosity and excitement continued to increase until she noticed her title and its effects. Ren saw it as well and saw what the title does as she clicked, reading its description for the extra +25 LUCK.
[Title: Shield Heiress
Description: A title given to those belonging to the Shield Family, granting them great wishes and luck on their side! When equipped with this title, you gain the passive skill [Mechanic Luck], allowing you to have better control and brilliance in working with machinery and +25 LUCK for the item to be successful!]
Melissa looked a bit excited seeing her title granting her +25 LUCK. She almost assumed to be a Luck-Based Quirk in her eyes as she gave it a quick once over and asked in a curious tone, "So you're able to distribute a person's stat points to help them get stronger and assign them Quirk-like perks, right? I'm starting to get excited…"
Melissa soon adopted a somewhat sad smile as she looked at Ren she revealed in a vulnerable state, responding in a happy tone, "You probably already know, but I'm part of the 20% of the population born without a Quirk. I've always dreamed of having one, even something as simple as my father's [Squirmy Fingers], so thank you, Ren. Thank you for allowing me to join your party."
Ren genuinely smiled, helping her out, patting her head using his [Massage] skill to help her relax in a calm tone, "No worries. Since you'll be supporting me, it's the least I can do to help you unlock your potential. But like I've said to a friend of mine before, Quirks don't make the hero; courage and brains do."
She released a soft giggle from his words, feeling motivated and inspired in an innocent tone, "You're really humble, you know that."
Melissa soon began to adjust her status, feeling the perks in effect when she added +25 to VIT, +10 to INT, and +15 to LUCK. Having been the first to have gained the passive skills of [Peak VIT], [Peak INT], and [Enhanced INT], Melissa felt a comfortable sensation wash over her body.
She began panting slightly feeling the changes as Ren looked a bit concerned asking, "You okay there Melissa?"
Having her body go into overdrive with the sudden boost in status, panting in a pleased tone, she answered, "Oh wow… I didn't anticipate that having my stats increased would feel so… pleasant… I've never felt that I had so much energy before."
Ren simply nodded as he gazed at Melissa with genuine curiosity, seeing the effects of his Party System on a person in a curious tone, he thought, 'Interesting… so when they increased their stats, they felt a pleasurable sensation wash over them. I checked using [Transparent World] to notice when she added her stats, they overcharged and adjusted her cells to make the boost possible. That's an interesting development…'
*Ding*
Upon getting her boost, they exited out of the elevator as Ren whispered to her in a hushed tone, "Good for you, Melissa. But can you keep my 'real' quirk a secret? The last thing I need is others finding out if you will. You're practically the only one I've done this to and told my dearest secret."
She nodded her head in understanding with a smile on her face, agreeing to help her hero in an excited tone, "Yes! I'll be sure to keep your secret safe and help you if you need me. Now then, I'll show you a tour around I-Island in I-City. Teehee…"
*Doki*
*Doki*
Ren was awarded of hearing Melissa's heartbeat increase slightly when he spoke his words to her and being the first to know of his secret grin slyly as he thought proudly, 'That girl has a crush on me. And adding she's the first to know my secret, then my friends must have given herself a high opinion of me. How cute.'
What Ren thought was indeed true as, in Melissa's eyes, he already gave her all that she wanted, having what is essentially 3 Quirks in the form of passive skills and a title that made a great impression on her. Enough to develop a crush with his words and personality charisma that's on par with her worship of All Might.