"This is where you are going to start your training, Young Yoshiyasu." All-Might asked as he watched Kenshi peer over the side of the beach's parking lot to see the miles and miles of garbage that was left to the side.
"Dang…And people have just been throwing their trash out here?" Kenshi asked as he looked for the steps and began trudging his way down. "I thought this'd be something that Heroes would jump at the chance to make them more popular."
"That is a very good point, Young Man…But tell me why you think that they don't." All-Might prompted him as he hopped over the barrier and into a pile of broken up boxes. "Because it's part of the reason why kids want to become Pro-Heroes nowadays."
Kenshi picked up an empty beer bottle and looked it over cautiously when he saw a hermit crab scuttle out from under the other piles. "Because fighting villains is more popular and viewable?"
All-Might flashed him a thumbs up. "Correct! Though that's not the full reason." He pointed out as he pressed a hand on the top of a derelict fridge. "You see, Heroes used to be Heroes because they wanted to change things…Not because it got them money or status but because it was the right thing to do. Now Heroes do things with the reward in mind but you and I both know that being a true Hero is a lot more than that!" He detailed and then crushed the fridge down like it was a soda can. "You and that other young man didn't jump in because you thought you could get paid or a sponsorship…You jumped in because it was the right thing to do, didn't you?"
Kenshi nodded; "The kid that was in there…Bakugo…He wasn't exactly a friend, quite the opposite actually." He detailed as he remembered the things that the Explosion boy did to both him and to Izuku. "But I jumped in to help because I knew that if I didn't do anything, I wouldn't be able to call myself a good person, let along a Hero or a cop."
"It's one thing to jump at the chance to help someone else, but to put your own self at risk for someone who had done nothing but terrorise you? That takes a special kind of person to do that." All-Might thought to himself and then shrank back down to normal as he saw Kenshi looking uncertain. "Something troubling you, Young Yoshiyasu?"
"You said this was going to help my Quirk, right? So then how will I use it in all this mess?" Kenshi asked as he noticed that even though the garbage had piled high, using Super Speed in a place like this wasn't advised unless you wanted to take a trash bath.
"Hm, I was wondering when you started to consider it…Think of it like this: So far when you started using this power, you've been going full throttle and not been able to stop, correct?" All-Might asked as he walked over to Kenshi.
"Yeah, I actually got in trouble with my ma…She yelled at me for causin' a racket when I accidentally dashed into a wall when I woke up in the morning." Kenshi explained, the 5am walk to the bathroom because less fun after that.
Toshinori Yagi couldn't help but chuckle a little at the young man's predicament as he understood where it was coming from. He himself had a few "accidents" when he was in Buff form and using his Super Run. "It's a difficult thing to control when you're moving at high speeds but that's part of why you're here besides an all-round workout…Since you have no problems with starting off at full power, we can do dash training by starting you off in small bursts and seeing how you can brake…Then slowly work down your speed until you can walk without breaking your nose on walls, asphalt or street lamps."
"I guess that does make sense…But wouldn't be easier to make a track first?" Kenshi asked curiously; "I'd like to at least make a straight track before I do a full run."
"I don't see much of an issue with wanting to set yourself up…Very well!" All-Might grinned as he turned buff; "Your first task is to start clearing a path for you to walk! By doing this you can train your Speed Quirk but you will also have a walkway to make it easier to pick up garbage….So mush, Young Yoshiyasu! Mush!" He said and got back into his Drill Instructor mode.
Kenshi had a lot to think about when he was told that he only had 8 months until the Entrance Exam for UA but All-Might managed to come in clutch when he had a custom training program made up specifically tailored to build up his body more. "I appreciate the help but he really knows how to push it when it comes to training me." He thought as he picked up a broken bike wheel and tossed it in a dumpster that All-Might left nearby to help with the trash moving. "Being fast is fun and all but watching All-Might hit Villains in one punch is always awesome to watch." Kenshi mumbled to himself and then stopped when he saw a mini-fridge that had been tossed lopsidedly in a heap. "If Al-Might's wonder-Training can make me strong enough to get into UA, then I could probably go smushing fridges too…" He remarked to himself as he placed a hand on the top of it, trying to emulate what All-Might did before; However all he could really do was make the plastic creak on the top of it, though he neglected to notice that the entire bottom of the fridge had buckled under from his push as he walked away to continue his "Training".
Days passed into weeks as Kenshi continued to keep up with All-Might's almost brutal training; He spent mornings either cleaning up the trash or practicing his starts and stops with his Speed Quirk which seemed to slowly get better despite the cramped space, after that was studying and trying to bump up his grades for the last few moments that he had with school. Though something felt off despite the whole thing; Nearly everyone was questioning him about the Slime Villain incident and more specifically about him and his outed Quirk.
"What gives, man? I thought you were Quirkless?"
"Yeah, if you spoke up that you actually had a Quirk then you wouldn't have been bullied…"
"He did spend all his time hangin' around Midoriya…Maybe he just felt bad for the guy…I know I would."
Most of these times were manageable since they were the same iterations of the same questions but hearing about Izuku and people commenting that the greenette's story at the school was just getting sadder and sadder. Despite this; Kenshi did try to approach Izuku when he could to see if he could either apologise for what happened before or just to give him the full story, though doing that seemed harder than sticking up for Midoriya when people started pitying him more. Any time that Izuku did show up was when everyone was clamouring for him and that only made him feel worse to leave before hearing Kenshi trying to come after him. Eventually coming to a head in class after school as Kenshi tried to talk to him, the taller boy tried to argue his case and explain that he still wanted the two to be friends despite everything.
"Just leave me alone, Kenshi…" Izuku spat out as he walked past Kenshi, throwing away any sense of friendship that the two shared because of what had happened by ditching his nickname.
Bakugo on the other hand didn't pick on either of them as much as he used to, he either made sure that he kept a wide berth from the two, especially from Kenshi but even when they were in the same classes had him ignore them exclusively.
The two former friends had never felt so lonely even when surrounded by people, Izuku had all but stopped coming to school and Kenshi was practically getting mobbed with attention now that people knew he had a Quirk. Guys from sports clubs tried to scout him for his running and people who had pretended that both boys didn't exist start trying to hang out with Yoshiyasu more; even when he told them that he was fine, they kept pushing and pushing, until…
"Come on, Yoshi! Why've you gotta be playing so hard to get!" A member of the Middle School track team continued to bug him constantly.
"Yeah, you've got a Quirk so you don't have to worry about bein' on your own plus everyone sees how tough you are by walking out of the hospital without even a scar from that fight in the classroom." Another student tried to push it as they crossed their arms.
"Plus we never doubted how cool you were! You seriously don't have to try playing hang-on with Midoriya anymore…Plus you can always hang out with us…After school too~" One of the girls who DID deliberately ignore the two boys suddenly changed her tune once she realised what kind of prospect he was.
"Stop it! All of you!" Kenshi yelled at them, "You guys all pretended me and Izuku were non-existant and NOW you wanna be friends?! The only guy who WAS my friend won't even talk to me anymore and the only reason you want to hang around me is BECAUSE I have a Quirk!"
"Are you kidding? You're tall, handsome and you've got a good set of muscles on you!" Another one of the more vain girls tried to push her way in and pressed a manicured finger to his chest, "I did always think you were a 9…You having a Quirk just made you into a 10~ So how about it? You wanna go fool around after class~?"
Hearing that cinched it for Kenshi as he decided that he didn't like the popularity here anymore; The vanity trying to grip onto him, the people thinking that he was useful purely for his Quirk and the fact that everyone acted like he was one of the coolest around despite having teased and bullied him for all that time. He used his Speed Quirk to head out of the door and run away from them.
It took until the last bell of the day for the other students to give up temporarily on trying to get their hands on Kenshi, their defeated grumbles seemed to be greeted in kind as they dispersed to either go home, hang out or go to their clubs. As soon as the last student exited the gate; The koi pond that once nibbled on Midoriya's journal now suddenly had Kenshi standing by it after appearing from practically thin air. With a confused blink and a stare down at his hands.
"Huh?! The hell was that? I know that those guys should have seen me back here…Wait, maybe…" he thought to himself before he then peered into the Koi pond and then tried to focus on that feeling from before; After a few seconds he saw eyes glimmer a faint green before his body slowly fade in colour until he disappeared from the pond's reflection entirely, "I…I can turn invisible?!" Kenshi mentally screamed when he saw this and that sudden outburst made him reappear instantly. Kenshi was beyond worried and bordered into confusion, there was no possible way that he could do this when his Quirk was what he thought was Speed. "All-Might's gonna want to hear about this…" He said as he came to the realisation that this was either really good or something to be scared about.
—The Next Day—
"I can see you've been making some good progress with the beach front, Young Yoshiyasu. Though you did say over the phone that you had something that you absolutely had to show me…Would you mind explaining what it was?" All-Might asked as he wore a trainer's tracksuit and stood by the beachfront.
"Well...This is the thing, I don't exactly know how it happened and I'm not even sure if what I saw was even real or I'm just exaggerating." Kenshi said with a somewhat nervous tone and then decided to try showing rather than telling. "Now you see me…." He announced before vanishing. "Now you don't…."
All-Might had to steady himself as he ended up shocked beyond words, "What in the world…First the Super Speed and now Invisibility?! This young man is full of surprises…Nonetheless I'm going to need to make an important phone call…" He thought frantically as this definitely was not normal for any Quirk user outside of his own and…Well, he'd rather not talk about the other. "Young man? Are you still here?! I want to find out how this came about." He called out to the beach but then looked down to see Kenshi's footprints slowly moving around in the sand.
Kenshi soon reappeared as he shook himself off. "Honestly I don't know..." He then explained about what happened at the school with trying to get the chance to apologise to Izuku and the subsequent mobbing of the other students. "The next thing I know; I'm hiding out by a koi pond, no one can see me but I could see them…I only found out I was invisible because I saw my reflection…Well, lack thereof."
"Astounding…It's a rare thing for a Quirk to have different offshoots in one person but to have multiple Quirks entirely is only exclusive to two people…Maybe your Quirk is an Adaptability type?" All-Might suggested before he pulled out his phone and started dialling, walking away to give himself space for what he was about to talk about.
"Man, if Izuku didn't stop talking to me…Or at least didn't hate me…This would blow his mind." Kenshi thought to himself as he drew in the sand, feeling down after reminding himself about his old friend. "I just…Want the chance to just talk, explain things to him and let him know that I wasn't lying…" He mused but considering that once he remembered Izuku; He began recalling everyone else at school plus Bakugo's terrorising which only made him go from sad to angry.
"Dave? It's me…Look, I know it's a little last minute but I need you to arrange a consultation…Yeah, I know it's been a while but this is important." All-Might talked into the phone as he decided to try taking matters while he could since they were still halfway through the timeframe.
"A Consultation? I mean… I'm happy to do it, Toshinori but can it wait until tomorrow?"
All-Might was about to okay it when he heard a yell of frustration from where Kenshi was and nearly dropped his phone when he saw what his student did.
Kenshi had been keeping a good lid on his frustrations since what happened, however now that he had the beach to himself while All-Might took his call; He vented his frustrations by grabbing the closest thing to him and threw it as hard as he could toward the sea, however said thing was that same mini-fridge from before.
Toshinori Yagi watched in a combination of shock and awe as he saw that mini-fridge that would normally take two people to lift getting thrown far out into the sea like he had merely thrown a pebble, without even so much as blinking; He lifted the phon back to his ear and decided to reaffirm. "No….No I-uh…I think we need to schedule this…Right now, actually." He mumbled and hung up the phone.
—3 hours, 1 Express Jet and a brief promise to explain everything later—
"How come we had to take a plane out of Japan, Mr. All-Might? I didn't get a chance to tell my folks I'd be gone or even get a change-a clothes…" Kenshi mentioned as he sat restlessly in his seat on the airship.
"I know it's a little last minute, young man…But lately your body has been exhibiting more and more changes than I thought…This is just a precautionary check with professionals to make sure we know what exactly your Quirk is and how we can maintain it without having a heart attack every time something new happens." All-Might explained from his chair as he peered out of the window, keeping an eye out for the island they were going to.
"I…guess that makes sense but me bein' angry when it happened ain't a problem…Is it?" Kenshi asked nervously, worried that he might've overstepped earlier.
"Kenshi, my boy…I just saw you throw a fridge over the coastline like you were skipping a stone…That's the part that concerns me." All-Might pointed out as he still couldn't believe it; "I could be an optimist and say that he's pretty much shaping up to be a mini-me but I could also use a practical perspective to make sure that he's not at risk from the Quirk Singularity theory…Or that he's not secretly some petty plaything of All For One…"
By the time that the two landed, the sudden realisation came to Kenshi; "This is my first trip out of the country!" He thought as he then followed after All-Might. "Uh, Mr. All-Might? Where exactly did you take me?"
It then occurred to the now buff All-Might that his young student was effectively in the dark. "Oh, um…My apologies, Young Yoshiyasu…Since everything's happened so suddenly; My mind is admittedly all over the place…Welcome to I-Island!" He announced grandly as he welcomed Kenshi. "It's a moving island made by scientists! For scientists! It's primarily a research lab but it also houses I-Expo…An event that showcases the technological advancements made by the researchers that are studying Q-"
"UNCLE MIGHT~!" A girl's voice could be heard as a blur of blonde hair practically jumped into All-Might's arms. "You didn't tell me that you were visiting, does Dad know that you're stopping by?" She asked as she was lifted up by the larger Hero like she weighed practically nothing.
"My, my! You've gotten so big! Has it really been so long since I last saw you?" All-Might asked with that trademark grin of his but somehow, Kenshi could see that it looked far more genuine than anything. "Oh, my apologies…Melissa, this is Kenshi Yoshiyasu. He is going to be my student until he can take UA's Entrance exam. Yoshiyasu, my boy…This is Melissa Shield, she is daughter to one of my closest business friends."
"Hi, it's nice to-" The girl said cheerily at first, she rarely got to see her Uncle All-Might all that much except for his annual visits to her dad but it was a first that he decided to bring someone else along. Her eyes landed on his black hair and nearly got herself lost in his brownish eyes before taking stock of his build from an inventor's perspective; The baggy dark blue tracksuit that looked like it was used for workouts or at the very least heavy lifting left a lot to discovery…Though admittedly a small, curious part of her wanted to see more.
"Melissa? Melissa?" A deep voice and a pair of large fingers snapped in front of her face twice; "Are you still there?"
Melissa finally blinked and snapped to attention like someone had rang a gong behind her during a nap. "See you! It's um…Very good to see you…" She said and tried to play it off with a polite smile.
Kenshi had clammed up when he heard this girl calling his teacher "Uncle Might" and was desperately trying to put together a sentence that was at least coherent and polite enough to to match but in the face of this particularly cute girl had tied his tongue up so bad he could only make out one word. "Hi, nice meetchoo." He blabbed out but it somehow managed to relay the message properly.
"Anyway…Is your dad still in his laboratory?" All-Might asked as he tried to cut through the second hand awkwardness that only two teens could bring.
"Yeah, he said that he was waiting for you there and to "Bring details"…What details exactly?" Melissa asked curiously as she adjusted her glasses.
"Well, Young Yoshiyasu here has a very peculiar Quirk and I wanted to address it with your father so he can try to…Assess it…So we can walk up to meet him and this young man here can test himself to see what exactly he can do." All-Might explained as he slapped Kenshi on the shoulder encouragingly.
"I can do it!" Melissa said with her voice breaking a little and with eagerness betraying her voice a little. "Dad taught me about how to operate the Quirk simulation machine so maybe I can take the notes and send it to Dad while you two catch up." She tried to negotiate.
"But don't you have research or tech to work on? I heard I-Expo was coming up soon so I thought you would want to make a good impression." All-Might pointed out but then balked when he saw Melissa shake her head.
"Yeah but I could use a break and it's not really that often that I can socialise with people my own age…So why not tour him around the island before we run the tests?" Melissa asked him as she looked to Kenshi who seemed to be both fully at attention but also eager to see this new place.
All-Might could see the equally excited Melissa and despite the fact that he wanted to act the tough Uncle figure to Melissa, he couldn't in all honesty say no to her when she put it like that, "Alright, I'll let your father know and we'll wait for you later…Young Yoshiyasu, a word if you please."
Kenshi stepped back to talk with All-Might, "Yes, Sir?"
"Alright, Young man…You'll be in good hands with Melissa, she may be your age but she is incredible when it comes to tech research…" All-Might explained to reassure him but then became serious. "But along with that, this girl is close enough to be my niece…I don't want to hear about anything…Said or done toward her, understand?"
"Said or done?" Kenshi asked in confusion. "What exactly do you mean by that? We're just going to look around the Island, weren't we?"
"Yes, but I also know how teenage boys can get…I should know, I was one…What I mean is I don't want you trying to flirt with her or do anything to try…Getting close to her…Do you get what I mean now?" All-Might asked, making sure he hammered home the point without having to resort to being outright angry.
"I don't think it's like that, sir…" Kenshi admitted before starting to get embarrassed; "I wouldn't even know how to."
"Good lord, he's actually serious…" All-Might thought as he came to the realisation that Kenshi wasn't lying but he did also recognise the look on Melissa's face when she saw him. "I'll be honest, I'm quite surprised to hear that…But my word still stands, be on your best behavior while you're with her." All-Might reiterated as he then watched the boy nod and walk off to go join Melissa.
"So, what did Uncle Might have to talk to you about?" Melissa asked as she was waiting not too far ahead of them both though she hadn't been able to hear what he said.
"Uh…It was about being careful on the island…Making sure not to get lost, behave and stuff like that." Kenshi said to her; While not technically lying to her about it, he wasn't inaccurate with All-Might's request.
"Really? But I-Island is one of THE safest places in the world! It's been made to cater to the scientists and engineers that conduct research on this island…Including the stuff that I do for my own work in the labs." Melissa explained as she showed off the various sightseeing spots of the island and she had to admit; She had the impression that he was going to be some rough and serious guy but it flip-flopped when she realised how new he was to all of this, it almost made her heart melt when she saw how in awe he was at everything on the island. "Dang it, how can a guy be so tough looking one minute and adorable as heck in another?" She found herself thinking as they reached her lab. "So…You ready for your assessment?"
"Ready as I'll ever be…" Kenshi mentioned as he wandered into the simulation room to see a giant black cube in the centre with a set of stalks at the top. "What's this?"
"The first Quirk Assessment: Strength…This'll help with determining how much you can lift with or without a Quirk." Melissa explained over the intercom as she tapped a few buttons. "From what I overheard on Dad's phone call with Uncle Might, you had a speed Quirk but you also threw something really far…So this way we can see if it is just a Speed Quirk or if you have a special Muscle Strength type Quirk….So stand under the cube and we can start measuring."
Kenshi nodded as he stood under it; "I'll do my best!" He promised as he placed both hands under the cube with his palms slowly pressing against them. "Let the Tests begin!"
Melissa had no idea about what his strength was and decided to start him off with the basics; Tapping the keys on her keyboard and watched the cube press against Kenshi. "Let's start with 50 kilo…Half of the average 15 year old's deadlift." She mused and saw the number slowly tick upwards. "52, 66, 75…Looking good so far…"
Kenshi on the other hand barely looked even phased since the cube felt light as a feather. "Uh, is this thing on? I can't really feel it changing that much." He yelled out to the booth that Melissa was in, "Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude but I think I can go higher."
Melissa blinked in surprise as the counter ticked over into 120 kilos; "Nearly the threshold for the average and he's not even phased, let alone breaking a sweat…" She thought to herself and activated the intercom; "Alright, I guess we can try increasing the weight modulation."
"150 Kilos….400 Kilos…800 Kilos…" The AI in Melissa's software announced to Melissa while she started taking notes once she realised that this was escalating faster and faster.
Kenshi nodded as he could feel something pushing down on him but it barely felt like holding up a plastic lid between his fingers. "Okay…Starting to feel…something at least…"
Melissa on the other hand was taking notes quickly; "Amazing…He's going a lot further than what I expected of hi…Wait….What's that?" She mumbled to herself and adjust the camera to zoom in on Kenshi's face; He looked like he was holding the weight without issue but now his eyes were constantly flickering between a light brown and a dark blue colour before settling his eye colour into a darker brown shade.
"Now breaching the 4 Ton limiter…" The Software warned Melissa as it began to double again at a faster pace before breaking into double digits.
"Okay…Starting to feel the strain now." Kenshi started pushing back since it was starting to lower itself onto his head, though as he lifted the cube with a hefty push though it sounded like he overdid it; He heard the entire thing start to creak at the joints before it sparked and shut itself down. "Whoops..."
Melissa on the other hand adjusted her glasses as she put the fire extinguisher down, she saw the entire system for the cube burn itself out and spark itself into inactivity. "Uh...Okay, that was good...Let's move on to the next one." She said with a somewhat anxious yet chipper tone. She wasn't taking risks when it came to assessing Quirks, especially not one that burned out a machine designed to simulate the accumulated weight of a pod of blue whales. "Either he is THAT strong or the machine couldn't take the sudden, conflicting strain on either side."
—A couple of hours later in another Lab—
"Well, it's looking good, Mr. Number 1 Hero…You're certainly doing very well for someone with internal injuries." David Shield tried to keep a chipper tone as he had the shrunken All-Might on a table to be scanned and assessed.
"I appreciate the positivity but maybe I'd much rather have "Off Duty David" for this one, I can handle you giving it to me straight, doc." Toshinori explained as he sat up.
David sighed heavily as the cheerful tone was replaced with something more serious. "Toshi, this is exactly why we have yearly visits and why you call ahead…With those injuries as they are, we need to stay on top of them if you insist on still working as the Number 1 Hero!" He explained as he looked at All-Might's chart; "Well…I guess if we're looking at this optimistically; At least you haven't diminished as severely as before."
Toshinori nodded; "I know, I know…But if it helps, I have been trying to look for a successor recently." He pointed out as he twiddled his thumbs; "I know that I'm getting weaker and that's why I want to try finding someone who can become the next Symbol of Peace when I…can't anymore."
David nodded as he sat down; "Okay, at least you're approaching this reasonably, have you got any candidates in mind?"
"My old sidekick Nighteye DID have one kid…Name is Mirio Togata, from what he told me this kid was the whole package; Strong Quirk, kind and upbeat plus he's already gifted enough on his own to be a high ranking Hero in his own right." All-Might explained. "Which should make him a perfect fit but…" He mentioned but stopped; David knew about All-Might's injury but not about the intricacies of OFA.
"But it's not the one for you?" David finished that sentence as he leaned back in his chair. "There are literal billions of other people that'd jump at the chance…What about the kid you were telling me about earlier on the phone…Y'know, before you told me it was urgent?"
A separate screen flashed up as Melissa popped up; "Daddaddaddad!" She babbled at a machinegun pace as she was clutching a notepad.
"Melissa sweetie, slow it down and take a deep breath, what's the matter?" David asked as he noticed that if his normally level headed daughter was this frazzled, it meant this was important.
"It's about that kid who came here with Uncle Might; I think that there is a lot more to him that what we initially thought!"