While Yuto was walking around the park next to the store, he kept thinking about his options: call the police, or ignore it and hope for the best.
He recognized that he didn't want to cause any drama, even though he clearly should have checked with the authorities.
Yuto took out his phone and stared at it for a few minutes.
...
And thought, What's the worst that could happen?
He opened his phone and started disconnecting all the accounts he had linked to it. Even though it was clearly a bad idea, he didn't want to end up finding out that the "FBIG" was looking for him for hacking from some Russiatic country.
But the combination of curiosity and not wanting to bother his parents with a mistake, "his mistake", was enough to make him try it.
At the same time, he took notes of his passwords and usernames. He had to take advantage of the fact that he had his school backpack and notebooks with him, right?
Fortunately, Nakuri-to Park was treated more as a tourist attraction than anything else, which meant there was decent signal overall, even if it was a bit slow due to the large crowd.
Once Yuto confirmed that his phone was almost back to factory state, he decided to see what that app actually did. Because really, who names an app "My Quirk"? It sounded more like a daily routine tracker.
Disconnecting the internet to make sure no more viruses came through the app, he tapped it and it began to load.
//////////Loading/////////
A black screen appeared with a blue slider and a red message:
|||Please do not remove your hand from the device until the loading is complete||||
Without realizing it, Yuto followed the instruction.
He stayed like that until he began to notice the phone heating up, the sensation spreading into his hand.
Yuto, now genuinely worried that his phone might explode, considered throwing it, but first decided to step aside to avoid anyone getting hurt if it did.
As for himself, at the end of the day, his resistance quirk wasn't just for decoration, right?
So he waited, now crouched in an alley beside a huge green trash bin, pressed between it and a brick wall, heart pounding in his throat, hoping the phone wouldn't explode or short-circuit.
Bruumm
The tension was broken by the growl of his stomach. Definitely not the best time to be hungry. Looking down at it, he couldn't help but think how fickle his hunger could be, and maybe stress just made it worse.
Ding
That didn't last long, as his phone beeped to indicate the end of the loading. Looking back, he saw his screen full of green 0s and 1s, remembering what the repairman had said.
At this point, Yuto was almost sure this was some kind of cruel prank by a hacker, since instead of simply stealing or blowing up his phone, they just kept putting him through nerve-wracking situations and now were making references to old robot or AI movies.
A few more seconds of flashy effects later, a minimalistic screen appeared with three sections: "Me," "Scan/Access," and "Extraction."
Yuto thought for a moment which one to check first, deciding to go from the bottom up, under the logic that he didn't want to start with a folder full of his personal information, either to blackmail him or to sell to someone.
To his surprise, there wasn't much.
In Extraction, there was only a loading bar with a speed indicator beneath it. Yuto assumed it was for downloading, but it was ridiculously slow, going at barely 1&/s, and the progress bar filled up only slightly in the corner.
He double-checked that both his internet and mobile data were off—which they still were, or at least that's what his phone showed.
With some hesitation, he moved to Scan/Access, which displayed a Wi-Fi connection symbol in the background, but was otherwise empty, until a message popped up from below:
"Field signals too weak. Please relocate."
Yuto, of course, ignored it. One thing was playing with fire, another was jumping straight into it. Though, now that he thought about it, he'd probably be fine anyway.
Finally, he opened the "Me" section.
Again, a loading screen appeared, and his phone started heating up slightly. This time he was ready, prepared to throw it into a nearby metal trash can to avoid an explosion.
But it wasn't necessary... at least not yet—or so Yuto thought.
Only a pixelated but recognizable image of himself appeared, along with ....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuto
Strength ≈1↓
Endurance ≈1↑
Agility ≈1↓
Dexterity ≈1↑
Vitality ≈1↓
Intelligence ≈1↓
Spirit ≈1
Will ≈1
Emotivity ≈1↑
Emotional Range
////////////////////
Abilities
"Physical Body 1.0": Quantumly interlinks the user's body with itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honestly, Yuto had imagined many possibilities for what could appear, nude pictures, his home address, hell, even another flood of pop-up ads, but all that came up was what looked like a game stat screen, or maybe a workout tracker with a theme.
And the stats were wrong too! Was the programmer trolling him again? How could Vitality be low if my quirk basically keeps me at 100% capacity? But before he could think too hard about the "Me" screen…
Bruuummm
His stomach reminded him of its existence and the emptiness within it, demanding food to continue his risky ventures.
With no choice left, Yuto decided to eat. Luckily, he had brought food—the one food that could probably survive even an apocalypse: simple, tasty, and mighty—the sandwich. Mwahaha.
That's what Yuto thought as he stood up from the corner where he had been crouching and left the dark alley which, in hindsight, probably wasn't the best place to linger for so long. Still, nothing bad had happened in the end.
Stepping into the light of the main street, Yuto didn't notice the several reflections watching him. They quickly turned away as he walked off, escaping by sheer luck.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruummm
"Mmm, weird," Yuto muttered to himself, looking down at his stomach, which was still growling even after eating five egg sandwiches. He was still hungry. His quirk did increase his appetite, but lately it felt like it had gotten even worse.
Without thinking too much about it, he checked his wallet to see how much money he had left. With his stomach roaring like a combustion engine, he decided to head to the restaurant section instead of eating on the park benches again.
Pushing through the crowd of tourists trying to see the All Might monument and the streams of determined shoppers growing as the sun rose, Yuto finally reached the food area of the district.
The smell of sweets, food, and fish mixed with the howls of hungry children, forming a chaotic but cheerful atmosphere that invited anyone to come in.
And with his current hunger, Yuto naturally accepted the place's not-so-silent invitation.
He went to order a few bowls of ramen from a small stand that had more plastic around it than a plastic factory. Most of the tables and chairs were foldable, and only the side ones were wooden with cushions. Yep, a cheap place to eat—just right for Yuto.
While waiting for his order, Yuto sat in a corner table and turned his attention back to his phone and the stats screen.
After thinking for a moment, he realized that he hadn't actually been hacked; or at least, only the most basic data had been used. It seemed more like a basic presentation of his quirk.
Because really, if his quirk made Vitality below average, people would shatter like glass just from slipping, or a punch would make someone implode.
Strength below average would mean people without power-type quirks could barely lift a stick or their own weight.
And the most insulting one—Intelligence. He might not be a genius, but he definitely wasn't stupid… although he had to admit he'd been going through a rough patch lately. But that wasn't important!
At least the values seemed random, though some raised more questions than answers—especially the "Emotions" one. Was the app creator a troll? A psychologist? A sociologist? Questions no one could answer.
Toc toc toc
Footsteps approached Yuto's table, it was his food being served. He turned his attention away from his phone to thank the waiter and started eating.
Yuto didn't notice that his phone had received a new notification.
//////Weak field signal detected. Beginning scan//////
A new loading screen appeared, this one progressing much faster, while Yuto enjoyed his ramen.