Chapter 218 - 217: Each Other's Progress

Location: Shizuoka - Grandma Saki House

Time: Few Days Later

CLICK.

The front door unlocked and pushed open.

Kaito took his shoes off in the entryway. He set his travel bag down on the wooden floor and also a red transport case.

PAT. PAT. PAT.

Small, fast footsteps echoed down the hallway.

A little girl ran around the corner. She wore a bright yellow dress and held a stuffed rabbit in her hand. She had dark hair and wide, excited eyes.

"Uncle Kaito!" little Emmy yelled.

Kaito smiled. He dropped to one knee and caught the three-year-old girl as she crashed into his chest.

He picked her up and stood, resting her easily on his hip.

"Hey there, Emmy," Kaito said, poking her nose. "Have you been behaving for Grandma?"

Emmy nodded rapidly, hugging her stuffed rabbit.

Kaito carried her into the kitchen.

Grandma Saki stood near the stove, stirring a pot of soup.

She wore a plain apron over her clothes.

She had a calm smile on her face and completely flawless skin.

"You finally decided to take a break from continuous work," Saki said, turning the stove down. She wiped her hands on a towel.

"I finished my contract with pro hero Death Arms," Kaito told her, pulling out a wooden chair and sitting down with Emmy on his lap. "I am officially on vacation. I figured we could take a trip somewhere. Maybe go down to the hot springs in Kyushu for a few days."

Saki laughed quietly. She walked over and pinched Kaito's cheek lightly.

"I would love to go to the hot springs," Saki teased him. "But someone has to watch this little troublemaker."

She tapped Emmy on the head. Emmy giggled and hid her face in Kaito's shirt.

"Kenji and Kimiko are completely swamped," Saki continued, pulling out a chair and sitting across from him. "The Golden Bites franchise is opening new locations this past few month. The CEO and the regional manager are working fourteen-hour days. I barely see them."

Saki crossed her arms and gave Kaito a knowing look.

"And whose fault is that?" Saki asked jokingly. "Who created a massive fast-food empire and then handed all the daily operations to others?"

Kaito laughed out loud. He rubbed the back of his neck. While placing a red transport case down.

"Alright, that is definitely my fault but I trust them," Kaito admitted. "I admit that I just give them the new menu items every now and then. While Kenji-san and Kimiko-san handles the company."

"By the way Kaito, what's with the case you brought? A new appliances?" Grandma Saki wondered looking at the red case.

Kaito looked around the kitchen. He noticed a large, wide charging station plugged into the wall near the refrigerator. He then brought the red transport case near it.

"Actually, I brought something to help you around the house," Kaito said while plugging it.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped an application on the screen.

BEEP.

The charging station lit up.

FWOOOP.

A tall, completely white robot inflated and stepped out of the station.

It had a round body, short legs, and a soft-looking exterior. Two black dots and a single line made up its face.

"Wow!!" Emmy gasped. She pointed her stuffed rabbit at the robot.

The robot walked slowly toward the kitchen table. Its footsteps were completely silent.

"Hello," the robot spoke. It had a very calm, friendly, and soft voice. "I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare and household companion."

Saki blinked in surprise. She looked at the robot, then at Kaito.

"A robot?" Saki asked.

"A housekeeper," Kaito corrected her. "He is programmed with millions of recipes. He can clean the floors, do the laundry, act as a babysitter, and can even give you dozens of massage techniques. His exterior casing is made of thick vinyl. He is completely soft."

Emmy reached out from Kaito's lap and poked Baymax in the stomach.

SQUEAK.

Her finger pushed into the soft vinyl. Emmy laughed loudly.

"He is also a full medical assistant," Kaito added.

Baymax turned its head toward Saki.

VZZZT.

A thin blue light emitted from Baymax's eyes. The light swept up and down Saki's body in a single second.

"Scan complete," Baymax announced in his soft voice. "Subject: Saki Arisaka. Heart rate is steady. Blood pressure is optimal."

Baymax paused. He tilted his round head slightly to the left.

"Anomaly detected," Baymax stated. "Subject is listed as seventy years old in the local registry. However, cellular decay is halted. Telomere length and cell division rates match a perfectly healthy thirty-year-old human. Medical database is confused."

Saki looked at her hands, then smiled at Kaito.

Kaito cleared his throat quickly. He reached over and slapped Baymax on the shoulder.

"Your scanners are just adjusting to the new environment, buddy," Kaito said casually, completely ignoring the medical report.

He didn't want to explain how he secretly used his reality-warping to keep his grandmother healthy. "Just ignore that anomaly. It is a software glitch."

"Acknowledged," Baymax said simply. "Ignoring anomaly."

Kaito pointed at Emmy.

"Baymax, give the kid a lollipop," Kaito ordered.

Baymax reached into a hidden compartment on his side. He pulled out a small red lollipop and handed it carefully to Emmy. "Here... Have a lollipop."

Emmy grabbed it instantly, her eyes shining with pure joy.

"Thank you, marshmallow man!" Emmy cheered.

"You are welcome," Baymax replied. The robot turned to the stove. "I will finish stirring the soup. Please relax."

Saki watched the robot take the wooden spoon and stir the pot perfectly. She leaned back in her chair and smiled at her grandson.

"He is very polite," Saki noted.

"He was programmed to be lovable," Kaito agreed, watching Emmy unwrap her candy.

...

Location: Musutafu - Todoroki Estate Outdoor Courtyard

Time: Evening

FWOOSH.

Fast wind spun around the center of the courtyard.

Snow and heavy heat clashed directly in the air.

Shoto Todoroki stood in the middle of the grass.

He held his left hand out, releasing high-temperature flames. His right hand released freezing air. The two extreme temperatures collided perfectly.

It created a localized blizzard. The atmospheric pressure dropped, pulling the wind into a tight, howling storm around him.

To survive the violent temperature shift, a layer of dark blue frost covered Shoto's skin.

The ice exoskeleton wrapped around his arms and chest, protecting his internal organs from the sudden pressure changes.

Endeavor stood ten yards away on the stone path.

The wind pulled at his clothes. He held a digital stopwatch in his right hand. He kept his eyes on the timer.

The numbers hit exactly ten minutes.

BEEP.

"Stop," Endeavor called out. "Power down. Ten minutes is the limit for the exoskeleton. Your core temperature will drop too far."

HUFF-PUFF.

Shoto exhaled slowly. He dropped his hands.

SWOOSH.

The wind died down instantly. The snow stopped falling.

The dark blue frost armor on Shoto's skin melted away, dripping onto the grass.

Shoto stood up straight. He was panting and covered in sweat, but he wasn't shivering. He didn't have any frostbite on his arms.

Endeavor walked over and handed him a clean white towel.

"You held the atmospheric pressure stable the entire time," Endeavor said, looking at the melted ice on the ground.

Shoto wiped his face with the towel. "The exoskeleton keeps the heat and cold from tearing my skin apart. It makes it easier to balance."

Endeavor nodded.

He thought about the document he bought from Kaito Arisaka years ago.

Shoto followed the exact training manual. He combined the fourth concept with the third concept.

The results were terrifying. Shoto could control the weather and wear unbreakable armor at the same time.

"Go inside," Endeavor told him. "Take a hot shower and eat something. You need to replace those calories."

"Okay," Shoto agreed.

He turned around and walked toward the sliding doors of the main house. Endeavor stayed in the yard to check the stone walls for ice damage.

SLIDE.

Shoto pushed the wooden door open and stepped into the hallway.

The house was quiet.

He walked into the main living room.

Fuyumi and Natsuo sat on the floor near the low wooden table. Two open travel duffel bags sat on the tatami mat next to them.

Fuyumi was packing plastic Tupperware containers into a blue cooler. Natsuo was tossing a baseball up in the air and catching it.

TOSS.

CATCH.

Natsuo looked up and saw Shoto walk in. Natsuo reached over, grabbed a bottled sports drink from a plastic bag, and threw it.

Shoto caught the bottle with one hand.

"Did you freeze the yard again?" Natsuo asked, sitting up.

"I held the storm for ten minutes," Shoto said. He unscrewed the cap and sat down on the floor across from them. He took a long drink. "The pressure stayed stable."

Fuyumi smiled. She snapped the lid onto a container of rice.

"Are you packed for tomorrow morning?" Fuyumi asked him. "I made extra soba and grilled fish to bring to Mom."

"I will pack my bag after I shower," Shoto said, setting his drink down.

Natsuo leaned back on his hands and groaned loudly.

"Grandpa is definitely going to make us pull weeds again," Natsuo complained. "Every weekend we drive out to the countryside, he finds some random yard work for me to do."

"He just wants to keep you busy," Fuyumi laughed, putting the cooler bag next to her duffel. "Mom likes seeing the yard clean anyway."

Shoto listened to them talk.

Years ago, Endeavor apologized for his actions.

He started paying for the countryside house and all the medical bills.

He gave their mother the physical space she needed to heal. They were still married, and Endeavor supported them entirely, keeping his distance so she could have peace.

Because of that arrangement, the siblings drove out to their grandparents' house to visit her every single weekend. There was no stress. There was no fear.

"I can help you pull the weeds," Shoto told Natsuo. "I can just freeze the roots. They pull out easier."

"Perfect," Natsuo grinned, tossing the baseball again. "We will finish the yard in ten minutes."

Shoto picked up his sports drink.

He leaned against the edge of the low table and watched the baseball go up and down.

Kaito's interference in the past really changed their situation right now.

...

Location: Musutafu - Old Town MMA Gym

Time: Night

SWISH.

Bakugo slipped his head to the right. A heavy boxing glove sailed past his ear.

He didn't step backward but instead moved directly inside the instructor's guard.

Bakugo grabbed the thick fabric of the man's gi.

"Aghh!"

He pivoted his left foot and dropped his hips low and hooked his right leg behind the instructor's calf and pulled hard.

It was a clean judo trip.

"Woaah!" The instructor stumbled. He lost his balance for a split second.

Then physics kicked in.

The adult man weighed almost a hundred pounds more than a middle school student.

The instructor shifted his center of gravity. He planted his heavy boots flat on the mat and pushed his weight down, completely crushing Bakugo's leverage.

BAM.

The instructor wrapped his arm around Bakugo's chest and threw him backward.

"Damn it! Old man!" Bakugo hit the blue foam mat hard.

The instructor landed right on top of him, locking him in a heavy grapple hold.

TAP. TAP.

Bakugo tapped his hand against the mat twice. He yielded.

"Haha! Not today kid!" The instructor let go and stood up.

Bakugo sat up on the mat. He breathed heavily.

HUFF-PUFF.

Sweat dripped down his face and soaked his gray t-shirt. He didn't scream or curse at the man.

"My hip was too high," Bakugo said between breaths. He looked up at the older man. "When I stepped in, my center of gravity was off."

The instructor grabbed a towel from the corner ropes and tossed it to him.

"Your hip placement was fine, kid," the instructor told him plainly. "Your technique was clean. You just ran into a weight problem. You are trying to throw a two-hundred-pound man over your shoulder. Leverage only goes so far when you lack the physical mass."

Bakugo wiped his face with the towel. He stood up.

"You slipped a boxing jab, moved into a Muay Thai clinch, and went for a judo sweep," the instructor noted.

He looked at Bakugo with genuine surprise. "Is this really your fourth gym this year?"

"Yeah," Bakugo answered.

He turned around and walked toward the benches near the brick wall.

"You pick up combat styles fast," the instructor said, grabbing his water bottle. "Most adults take years to blend strikes with grappling. Take a five-minute break. We will work on ground escapes next."

Bakugo sat down on the wooden bench. He unzipped his duffel bag.

GULP. GULP.

He grabbed a sports drink and took a long sip. He set the bottle down and looked inside the bag.

Sitting right on top of his spare clothes was a sleek, black metal case with the Detnerat-Shield logo.

He popped the latches open. He bought the heavy compression gloves using his own saved allowance money.

He stared at the thick, shock-absorbing material.

His mind flashed back to Takoba Beach. He remembered Izuku ducking under his spinning kicks perfectly.

He remembered the electric bola wrapping around his arms. Deku fought with fluid, disciplined martial arts.

Bakugo clenched his fists.

Deku spent the last three years fighting real villains in alleyways. He fought people with knives and illegal quirks. He had a massive head start in actual street experience.

Bakugo knew he couldn't replicate that on his own.

He couldn't just punch trees in his backyard.

So he spent every yen he had enrolling in the best dojos and gyms in the city. He learned boxing, kickboxing, and grappling. He built a fighting foundation from the ground up to counter Deku's vigilante experience.

He grabbed the heavy black gloves from the case.

The painted wooden sign on the wall clearly said: STRICTLY NO QUIRK USAGE.

He couldn't spark a single explosion in here.

He didn't care. He slid the tight gloves onto his hands.

The internal dampeners added a lot of physical weight to his arms.

He wore them during shadow-boxing to build his shoulder stamina. He needed his muscles ready to handle the insane recoil of his new quirk techniques and attacks.

He stood up from the wooden bench. He tossed the towel onto his bag.

He walked right back to the center of the blue mat.

The instructor blinked. "You still have three minutes left on your break."

Bakugo dropped into a low, balanced fighting stance. He kept his heavy, gloved hands raised in a tight guard.

"Old man!! Show me the counter to the weight difference," Bakugo said. "Stop dilly-dallying!"

"What an unlovable kid.." The instructor complained.

...

Location: Naruhata Ward | Kaito's apartment room

Time: Evening | A week later

CLINK.

"I swear my fingers are going to fall off," Tamao said, rubbing her wrists. "The music academy is no joke. The piano piece for my midterm is ten pages long. My left hand can barely keep up with the tempo."

Kazuho took a bite of her fried chicken. She sat at the dining table next to Koichi.

"At least you just have to read the sheet music," Kazuho said. "Try writing original lyrics. I have a pop melody stuck in my head for a week, but I can't figure out the chorus. Everything I write sounds completely cheesy."

"I can help you rhyme some words later," Makoto offered from the small sofa. She picked up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks and ate it.

Koichi shoved a huge bite of grilled fish and rice into his mouth. He chewed quickly and swallowed.

"I missed real Japanese food so much," Koichi said, leaning back in his chair. "The portion sizes in America are insane. A medium soda over there is the size of a bucket."

"You were over there for months," Kaito pointed out. He sat across the table, finishing his own bowl of rice.

"Yeah, and it was rough," Koichi rubbed his shoulder. "Working with Cow Lady was a great experience, but those street villains in the States hit like freight trains. I got thrown through a brick wall in my last fight before I came back. My flight and mobility are fine, but I just don't have the heavy firepower to put the big guys down quickly."

"Now that I remember.." Kaito reached into his pocket. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.

BZZZT.

Koichi's phone vibrated loudly on the table next to his empty bowl.

"I sent you the file," Kaito told him. "It is about two hundred pages long. Read the first section."

"Is it what I think it is?" Koichi picked up his phone excitedly. He opened the digital document. He scrolled past the title page and started reading the text out loud to the room.

"[Quirk Development: Vector Reflection...]" Koichi read, his eyebrows pulling together. "[Alter the direction of friction at microscopic speeds to reverse incoming kinetic impacts...]"

He scrolled down further.

"[Absolute Kinetic Anchor. Stop all momentum within a city block...]" Koichi stopped reading. He stared at his phone screen. He looked up at Kaito.

"Kaito, this is crazy," Koichi said. He started sweating. "This training plan is insane. You really think I can do this with my quirk?"

"You already mastered flight." Kaito answered smoothly. "You have the base control. Now you need to weaponize it. Keep reading the warnings section."

Koichi swiped the screen.

"[Warning: Microscopic frequency vibrations will cause severe micro-tears in the arm ligaments. Daily regeneration inside the O'Clock Agency bio-tank is mandatory to prevent permanent nerve damage.]"

Koichi swallowed hard. "I have to sleep in the medical tank?"

"Yes," Kaito said bluntly. "You are forcing your quirk past its natural limit. It will hurt. The bio-tank will fix the tissue damage while you sleep."

"Fufufu.." Makoto laughed from the sofa. She pointed her chopsticks at Koichi.

"You better say thank you, Koichi," Makoto said. "Do you have any idea how much he charges pros for those exact manuals? Millions of yen. You just got a corporate-tier quirk consultation for free over dinner."

Koichi gripped his phone tightly. He bowed his head slightly toward Kaito across the table.

"Thank you, Kaito," Koichi said seriously. "I will start the training tomorrow."

Kazuho leaned over from her chair. She looked at the complex physics equations on Koichi's screen.

She puffed her cheeks out and looked at Kaito.

"Hey," Kazuho complained. "Where is my overpowered training manual? I want to freeze a city block too."

Kaito laughed. He waved his hand at her.

"Sure.. sure..," Kaito reminded her. "Don't worry, I will also customize one for you."

"Hehehe... Thanks in advance, Kaito." Kazuho smiled, satisfied with the promise. She went back to eating her chicken.

Makoto swallowed another piece of sushi. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Speaking of quirks," Makoto said, looking right at Kaito. "We all know you are Hero X. The public believes Hero X can do literally anything."

Tamao nodded from the sofa, listening closely.

"If the public believes you have unlimited power," Makoto continued, gesturing with her hands. "Can you just snap your fingers right now and give me a second quirk? Just make it appear out of thin air?"

"..."

"..."

The room went quiet.

Koichi, Tamao and Kazuho stopped eating. They looked at Kaito, genuinely curious about the answer.

Kaito grabbed his glass of water. He took a slow drink.

"No," Kaito answered.

Makoto blinked. "No? But they think you are omnipotent."

"They don't think I can give out quirks for others," Kaito corrected her. "The public thinks I am a super-genius or they think I am the greatest underground doctor and scientist in the world. They believe Hero X can fly, impervious and etc. But right now, they haven't believe Hero X can grant quirk for others. I cannot make a quirk factor appear out of thin air."

Kaito set his glass down on the wooden table.

"So if they think Hero X can give other people quirks. You can do it in the future?" Tamao asked curiously.

"Yeah, pretty much that sums up." Kaito replied.

"Your quirk is really insane Kaito.." Tamao was really dumbfounded by the sheer absurdity of Kaito's quirk. Meanwhile her quirk was just ordinary unlike her father.

"Compared to my quirk. Mine was far behind." Kazuho agreed.

"Haha...Tell me about it.." Makoto also laughed while comparing her quirk to Kaito.

"However," Kaito said, looking directly at Makoto. "The public believes my surgical skills are flawless."

Makoto stared at him.

"You should already knew about it," Kaito explained, his tone completely serious. "I could perform a biologically impossible, flawless medical surgery. I could graft a second quirk factor directly into your DNA. You wouldn't feel a thing, and you would wake up with a brand new quirk."

Kaito extended his hand toward her.

"I can do the surgery right now if you want," Kaito offered.

"...."

Makoto completely froze. Her face went pale.

She waved both her hands rapidly in front of her face. She pushed herself backward against the sofa cushions.

"Nope!" Makoto said quickly, her voice cracking. "No thank you! I am perfectly fine. I like being normal. Please do not cut me open on the dining table."

"I'm just kidding." Kaito burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!" Koichi, Tamao and Kazuho started laughing too.

Makoto looked genuinely terrified of the casual surgery offer.

"I am good too," Koichi added, holding his phone up defensively. "I will just stick to this training manual. No DNA surgeries for me."

"Suit yourselves," Kaito smiled, picking up his chopsticks again.

Sigh.

Makoto let out a long breath and reached for another piece of sushi, grumbling quietly about Kaito's sense of humor.

The conversation shifted back to normal topics.

Tamao asked Kazuho about the tempo for her new song, and Koichi started talking about the weird heroes he met in the United States.

They sat around the table, eating their food and talking through the rest of the evening.

...

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