Small update to the story. I've decided to change my initial ideas and go wacko mode in this fic. Shangri La-Frontier and its characters will be a part of this story. Screw cannon.... I'll do whatever I want.
Once this chapter goes live the previous update will be deleted. I dont like having fake chapters for length.
-x-
Rakuro jolted up as he regained consciousness. His chest felt heavy with an almost burning sensation. His left leg felt like there were ants biting it constantly.
"You can keep lying down." An older voice instructed. "Your lungs were punctured and your left leg was fractured. You need to rest a little more."
"That bad?" He asked in shock.
Recovery Girl looked at him in disgust and then scrunched up her forehead, her gray hair pulling forward, " Your last stunt trying to lift rubble led the previously fractured rib to break off cleanly and go through your lung. Idiot! Do you have a death wish? All for an exam?"
"I cannot be blamed fully for that." He tried to defend himself.
"You cannot?! You made those decisions." She thundered.
Rakuro shook his head, "Not really. My quirk prevented me from running away. The downside."
"If you cannot retreat.... hero work isn't for you." She replied coldly.
He looked at her, "The rest are fine?"
Recovery Girl judged him before sighing, "Yes. Bruised... but fine. The one under the rubble healed surprisingly fast. He's gone home already." Turning around she walked off to her pc setup and began typing, muttering, "Kids these days don't care about their own wellbeing...." She reached for the nearby radio and increased the volume on it.
"How long have I been hospitalized?" Rakuro asked.
"Two hours." Came the reply.
He laid back down and began contemplating if he had done the right thing. Objectively, he had done it to save a life. But in the same way, he had put his own in danger. Obviously there was the chance that the examiners wouldn't have let any mortal harm to come to any of them but in that situation... he just hadn't thought of that.
Was it the work of his ability or rather just an instinctual reaction at that moment?
He did not know. But it had gotten him in this bed, reinforcing the idea that he was not cut out for the hero life.
His sense of self preservation was too high.
But still.
Guard Dog.
What an ability..... it was probably among the worse abilities he had gotten. Conditional abilities were common among all his abilities but this was something else. Not only did he need to actively fear the enemy to gain a boost in strength... if he even entertained the idea of helping anyone then unless he successfully managed to do it he wouldn't be able to back down.
Utter garbage.
Well.... maybe good in some situations.
Which ones?
He couldn't tell you. He hadn't thought of them yet.
"- large scale protests around Rabbituza has led to increased hero patrol in the area. Citizens are advised to maintain a safe distance from the protestors and follow the commands of the heros on site."
Recovery Girl sighed and reached for her ear, "Is there a need for medical facilities near the protests?"
Rakuro looked up from his bed at her in askance.
She waved him off, "Quirk protests. For those with the Mutant type."
Ah. Mutant type quirk protests. It was a common occurrence. Because of their looks, most Mutant type quirk users had always received the short end of the straw. Bad work opportunities. Worse treatment in public. And often prioritized in checks by police.
They were ostracized.
And so they protested for better conditions and more inclusivity.
"Why do it in Rabbituza?" He asked her. "Shouldn't they be doing it here? Or in Tokyo? Or in any other densely populated place?"
Recovery Girl looked at the radio and sighed, "Safety. None of the protestors have a high chance of harm befalling them there. Rabbituza is a safe space. And as long as it is being ruled by him no one can change that. Protesting outside.... that can have various outcomes... and none of them good. Violence from and to the protestors is highly likely, even if the protest itself is peaceful."
"The threat of one of the Seven Colossi keeps not only villains but most of the government away." A new voice spoke from the entrance to the room.
The two occupants looked toward the voice.
"Nezu? Is something the matter?" Recovery Girl asked, her voice turning serious.
"Currently, the safest place for Mutant quirk users, aside from UA is Rabbituza. And I got to say. He has done a very good job of that." Neza, a small furred stoat like creature walked toward Rakuro as he said those words. He wore a suit and walked on two legs. A scar ran across the right side of his face and his ready eyes blinked as he took in his surroundings.
"It has been a while hasn't it Hizutome Rakuro?" He asked Rakuro.
"It has." Rakuro replied. "Nearly eight years."
"Imagine my surprise seeing you today... proving us wrong." Nezu smiled as he hopped up on a nearby seat.
Recovery Girl frowned watching the interaction.
"I had wondered why your public records hadn't been updated to match your quirk but did not really do much to investigate." Nezu admitted, his ready eyes staring at Rakuro. "Do you understand the statistical impossibility of what you did when you were younger?"
Rakuro nodded.
"That means you have control over your quirk now." Nezu pushed.
Rakuro shook his head, "Still random."
Nezu frowned, "Your quirk gave you the same ability six times in a row over twenty hours of testing."
"True randomness might often not feel random enough." Rakuro replied, "I have tried and tested this. I have gotten the same ability multiple times in a row and it had me questioning if it was indeed random." Rakuro chuckled before continuing, "It is."
Nezu leaned back, "Six times from a cataloged list of one hundred twenty three abilities." He tapped his paws together, "That is about a one in twenty eight billion chance. There might be a subconscious element to this. I take it the testing period was..... quite difficult for a child? Excessive stress could have been the reason."
Rakuro's eyes hardened as he started back at him.
"Don't harass my patient." Recovery Girl stepped in. "He is healing and I'm not going to watch you affect the process."
Nezu turned to her with a smile, "Of course." He hopped off his seat and began walking toward the exit. "I'll let the patient rest."
As he reached the door, he turned his head around slightly, "I am looking forward to having you here Hizutome Rakuro." His attention turned to another bed separated from Rakuro's by a curtain. "Recovery Girl.... the students this year are bound to keep you busy."
"Being a hero is more trouble than its worth." She commented off-handedly.
Nezu chuckled as he left.
The room was silent for a little while.
"The two of you have history?" Recovery Girl asked.
Rakuro nodded.
"A bad one?" She asked.
"My quirk is different. UA wanted to research it. This was a very long time ago. No child would prefer being under observation for long periods of time. Once they stopped getting what they wanted.... the research stopped. It wasn't bad or anything.... just tiring enough that I did not want to do it again."
Recovery Girl turned the volume on the radio down and typed his name into her computer. She began reading through his file and then read aloud, "Quirkability.... there is nothing about the quirk here..."
"My quirk gives me an ability from a pool of abilities randomly. These abilities can belong to any of the quirk types and last a total of four hour per usage. Then I have to activate my quirk again." He explained. It wasn't a big secret. People around his knew of it and the government sure did.
"You have multiple quirks?!" She exclaimed.
"One quirk. Multiple abilities." Rakuro corrected. "Completely different."
She titled her head, glaring at him.
COUGH
COUGH
"Ugh.... where am I?" The voice of a boy muttered in confusion.
The other occupants of the room had woken up.
Recovery Girl walked toward the bed and began speaking, "Stay in bed. Your body is healing and I'd rather not have my patient end up with issues in their bones due to them moving around before they've completely healed."
"The zero pointer...." He muttered.
Rakuro sighed. Another person traumatized by that stupid machine. Why they had even put that fella in he couldn't explain.
But what Recovery Girl said shattered his line of thought.
"A pile of rubble. Your punch blew a hole clean through it. It also ended up shattering your right arm. And the jump you did to reach it shattered your right leg."
Huh?
What?
Rakuro blinked in shock. Someone managed to beat that?
Was she serious?
Recovery Girl walked toward the computer, "Izuku Midoriya. Quirk: Super Strength." She looked over at the boy, "You need more control over that quirk boy."
"Ah.... y..yes. I'm sorry." The boy stammered back.
"Dont apologize for that. Apologize for getting hurt in the first place." She shot back.
Rakuro leaned back into the bed, in complete shock over what we was listening to.
Yeah....
Hero work definitely wasn't for him.