Oh no, isn't there where I was? Arata thinks as her stomach lurches downward. Don't tell me that the entire time I was at the restroom, the female janitor had been lying unconscious inside one of the stalls... And there was that yellow-eyed creep too... Was this his doing?
"Is it possible that she got knocked out by someone, um...?"
"Denise Renault, just call me Denise. It doesn't seem so," Dace's mother answers. "The janitor said that it was just exhaustion catching up to her."
"Are you sure, Denise-san?" Arata fidgets, uncertain whether she should come forward and tell them about the strange demon she met there. If she did, would she be accusing him of a misdeed that hadn't been proven yet?
"I don't know, girl. Being the owner of an automobile manufacturer doesn't make me proficient at analyzing people, only machines. But, I was there when the janitor woke up. I heard her admitting it with her own mouth."
If the janitor really collapsed from exhaustion, then was his being there just a coincidence? Arata thinks, racking her brain in silence. Was he merely a creep who snuck to a girl's restroom?
"What's up? Do you happen to know something about it?"
"About the janitor? No, but I bumped into a strange man when I went there..."
"A man? In the women's restroom?" Shoto shoots her an incredulous look, his gaze sharpening.
Nodding in agreement, Kirishima also interjects, "That is so not cool!"
"23rd century, the time where world is becoming more and more infested with disgusting creeps." Denise facepalms and glances at Arata in worry. "You okay? Did he try anything to you?"
"I... kind of left and went straight here before he could do anything drastic."
"Good choice!" Kirishima slaps his fist to his other palm. "We won't let him hurt you, Arata-chan!"
"For sure, because Extra obviously can't fend for herself."
"Hey, it's not that," Kirishima says when Arata's expression clouds over. "Friends gotta help each other in need, Bakubro."
"Tch. Whatever you say, Shitty Hair."
"Sheesh, what a creep that man is." Dace rolls his eyes. "I bet he's an ugly old geezer with wrinkles and a disturbing smile. Am I right, Arata?"
"Um... It's quite the opposite, actually..."
"What? Really?"
"Idiot," Bakugou grumbles, loud enough for Dace to hear. "You're even dumber than you look. Damn Fish Brain."
"Sheesh, really, Dace... This time I gotta agree with Bakugou."
"Oi, Mom! Why are you taking that punk's side instead of mine?"
"You've watched too many movies," Denise reprimands her son and pulls his cap over his eyes. "In reality, some creeps don't look half-bad, you know."
Ignoring Dace's complaints, she directs her attention to Arata. "You have to report it to the security. They will ask you for the details on his appearance or identify him using the CCTV recordings. There is no CCTV inside the restroom because of privacy issues, but I think there's at least one along the corridor. If someone knows whom to watch out for, they can prevent him from doing it again."
"Thank you, that's a good idea," Arata mutters, feeling grateful that someone knows how to handle this kind of situation. Previously, she wasn't sure what to do. "Do you think he, um, had a hand in the janitor's fainting?"
"I don't think so. If he did, why wouldn't the janitor say anything? She insisted that it happened just because she was tired from working."
"I see..." Then, it might very well be a coincidence...
"Although, it doesn't make sense why she was being very evasive about it," Denise continues, tapping one finger on her lower lip. "She had this flustered expression on her face, complete with red cheeks and stutters and all."
"She shouldn't have. Working hard is not something to be embarrassed about!" Kirishima remarks in enthusiasm.
On his side, Bakugou scowls and crosses his arms, turning away from the group. "Why the fuck are we gossiping about this kind of nonsense?"
Paying the ash blond teenager no mind, Denise resumes, "Right? Geez, fainting due to exhaustion shouldn't feel like a sin. I, for one, hold some mad respect for people with that kind of work ethic."
A sigh escapes her mouth as she nudges her son with her elbow. "That being said, this doesn't paint a pretty picture for your father's research, though."
"What does it have to do with— Oh! Crap, the janitor is quirkless?" Dace ruffles his blond hair under the cap. "Wow, this sucks. Dad is going to get wiped out by other scientists, months of research be damned."
"Dace, language!"
"What is the research about?" Arata inquires, making the mother-son pair exchange glances at her curious tone. "I mean, how are the fainting accidents connected to it?"
"It's actually kind of a long story... You should explain about it, Dace."
"What? Don't pin this on me, Mom!"
"My specialty is in automobiles and machines, not... this research thing. You're his son. His big brain genes are in you."
"So is my specialty! There is a reason why I'm a racer, not a scientist. And, you're his wife! You've had decades of practice of explaining about his work!"
"Brat! I'm not that old!" Denise slaps her son's shoulder playfully, then shakes her head. "Sheesh, fine. I'll do it. Do you really want to know about it? It's pretty boring, honestly..."
"Well, count me out." Bakugou shrugs his shoulders and walks away. "I didn't come this far to listen to another lecture."
"Sorry guys, but it seems that we have to go." Kirishima shoots them an apologetic grin before he steps out the circle to trail behind his friend. "Catch you all later! Oi, wait for me, Bakubro!"
"Well, that got him running with his tail between his legs fast," Dace comments under his breath. "You're still interested, Arata?"
"If it's okay..." Arata replies as her green eyes flick to Shoto. "Um, Shoto-san... Do you mind waiting for a little longer?"
"It's fine."
"Before we start, I'll have you know that I don't understand enough to give you detailed answers." Denise sends Arata a sheepish smile, who nods in turn. "Hmm, I wonder where I should start... As you know, around 80% of the world population's born with a superhuman ability, while the other 20% without. This superhuman ability is known later as quirk."
"Yeah."
"Quirks are believed to be a manifestation of physical evolution and extension of our bodies. Currently, the most popular method to distinguish whether a person is capable of developing a quirk or not is by examining whether they have an extra joint or not in their pinky toe. One joint means normal, while two joints means quirkless. Are you with me at this point?"
"Yes, but I still have no idea what you're trying to say..."
"We're getting there, don't worry. According to a few scientists, including my husband, the absence of this extra joint implies that there can be a significant difference between a quirkless and a normal person with quirk."
"Why?" Arata creases her forehead, confusion written plainly on her face.
"Hmm, how to put this... Take Todoroki here for example. He can emit ice and fire from his body. Then, Dace with his Overclock. Do you think a mere absence of a toe joint can make up for it?"
"No..."
"The tradeoff doesn't make sense. The energy used to develop quirks is not interchangeable with the energy used to create a toe joint. In hypothesis, quirk development must have charged our body with something far, far bigger."
"Okay."
"Suppose that all humans begin with the same raw capacity. While normal people's bodies use up their capacity to take form as quirks, the quirkless' don't. It means that the quirkless are left with a huge chunk of unmanifested capacity. My husband and his colleagues coined the term 'dormant potential' to describe it."
"Dad actually also said that not all quirks consume the same level of capacity," Dace adds. "To put it simply, the more complex your quirk is, the faster you burn through your dormant potential. Some quirks need a lot of 'fuel' during use, so when your body can't generate enough dormant potential to keep up, it can be pretty self-destructive. But, you see, if you had no quirk, does it mean that your dormant potential would be left untouched until the day you died?"
"If that's the hypothesis your father believed in, he would call it the 'wasted potential' instead," Shoto remarks with a flat tone, eliciting a light chuckle from the mother-son pair. "There must be a reason he thinks of it as 'dormant'."
"Maybe it takes form as something else?" Arata suggests to Denise. "Something unrelated to quirk... like better health or longer lifespan?"
"That's what my husband said too!" Denise agrees, eager to continue. "His current research is still on the preliminary study stage, so we can't be certain of it yet. But, he is of the opinion that bigger dormant potential implies a better quality of life. He is going to hold a short seminar to seek support and further research from the scientist community later, during the welcome party."
"Or, at least, that was the case before we found out there were these quirkless fainting incidents," Dace interjects. His tone sounds uncaring, but Arata can see a glint of worry pass through his blue eyes. "Not just a couple of them, but four. Four on the same day, damn it. Like, if this so-called dormant potential really existed, why would those quirkless drop easily like flies?"
Well, I'm starting to see why they freaked out about the faintings, Arata grimaces in her own head. Dace's father's research can lead to something groundbreaking... And to have these occurrences happened on the same day... Such rotten luck they have.
"Dace!"
"Sorry, Mom! I really believe in Dad and his research. Oh hell, his nose's almost always buried deep in books every time I saw him. I know he's worked so hard to get this opportunity. In a place as prestigious as I-Island, even. But, how will these faintings reflect on the notion he's suggesting? They surely don't help his case at all. How can the other scientists take it seriously?"
"I'm sure he can change their minds with the results of his preliminary study."
"In the face of contradictory real-life events? I'm not sure," Dace challenges, throwing his hands in the air. "What is he even going to say? That there's a leak in these four quirkless' dormant potential that caused their engines to fail to function appropriately?"
"'Engines'?" Shoto raises his eyebrows at his last sentence.
"Sorry, I meant 'bodies', not 'engines'."
Arata catches a giggle from coming out with her left hand. Next to her, Denise looks torn between laughing out loud and reprimanding her son.
"You're really my son, all right," Denise groans into her palm. "Let's just support your father. I'm sure he can pull this off. I've seen him do it countless of times. Speaking of which, I promised him we would meet him and your brother at the entrance of I-Speed at 17:30, and that's ten minutes ago..."
"What? Mom, you should've said so from the start!"
"I'm sorry for holding you back, Denise-san, Dace-san!" Arata bows her head a little, feeling guilty.
"Nah, it's fine." Denise waves her hand. "He'll be happy to know that we've pitched his research. Word of mouth can go a long way. If you're curious about the details, please drop by during the party! Look for Dr. Jace Renault. My husband would love to explain it himself to you. But, for now, we gotta run! Catch you kids later!"
"Bye, Todoroki, Arata. Don't forget to report that creep to the security. Until we meet again, take care of your dormant potentials!"
"Oh, sure. Thanks for explaining!" Arata waves and smiles back. Behind her, Shoto raises his hand to acknowledge their parting.
Dormant potential... Quirkless... Faintings... Yellow-eyed demon... Arata can't put her finger on it, but somehow, something doesn't sit right with her. Are they all actually connected? But, how?