Research into body development or optimization wasn't really that fruitful. Especially when all the "good stuff" was behind a paywall.
Do I need to go clean up a fucking beach?
Jun was tempted, really tempted, but that was Izuku's hurdle. Not his.
Besides he couldn't remember where it was, and even if he did? Would he be able to get there?
So Jun did the next best thing, cleaning his neighborhood. Starting by each street. He only got two days into the routine before school came knocking.
Reluctantly he went to school.
When he arrived, people came up touching him all buddy buddy, laughing and telling him jokes and what he missed.
What he noticed overwhelmed him, dozens of pulses by the time he was able to sit.
Shit! Is this what killed this kid?
Jun barely noticed his seat partner looking at him with curiosity.
When he turned to look, he froze.
Blonde hair, slitted eyes, fangs.
"Welcome back, Mori-san."
"Toga?"
"Um?!? W-we aren't close, please don't use my first name." Toga quickly looked away, annoyed or embarrassed, Jun couldn't tell.
"Sorry, could you remind me? Doctor said I lost some information after my… thing."
Toga looked at him again, less suspicious. "Yet you remembered my first name? That you never called me before?"
Jun looked straight into her eyes with pure confidence. "Yes."
Toga burst out laughing, quickly covering her mouth. "Sorry, sorry… you just said it so confidently."
"How about this? You can use my first name if I can use yours, Toga-chan."
Toga pouted. "You just used it! Fine, Junya-san."
"Just Jun is fine, easier to say."
"Jun-san?"
Jun shrugged. "That works."
Toga smiled and looked back towards her desk. "Does that mean we're friends?"
Jun looked over at the future villain. I remember that something bad is in her backstory, but I don't think I caught up to that point.
"Sure, why not. Take care of me, Toga-chan." Jun extended a hand to shake.
Toga looked down at the hand, grabbing it slowly as she shook it. "Take care of me too, Jun-san."
***
When Jun got home, he was experiencing a killer headache.
These pulses… what the hell.
Collapsing onto his bed, he closed his eyes delving into his empty space.
Once he was there, he saw a multitude of orbs of various colors floating. All small except a blood crimson orb, it was double the size of any of the new orbs.
Jun reached over, gaining a small trickle of emotion. Gratitude.
He smacked his lips, suddenly thinking about blood. Toga's quirk? She had cravings like this? I thought she was just crazy in the anime.
He went through each of the orbs, none he recognized so he turned them off.
I'll test them more later, when I know who's who and if their quirk is worth it.
He grabbed the large grey orb, letting its energy soothe him which he quickly fell asleep.
***
School was routine. Time doing work, learning Japanese schooling, luckily core education learning transferred over even if he had to pay attention to the more local stuff like history.
Toga talked to him a little each day, but Jun could feel that the rest of the class kept a distance.
Letting his curiosity guide him, he finally asked. "Why do they do that?"
"What?"
"Stay away from you?"
"Oh… promise to not be weirded out?"
"Promise."
"I… I talk about blood a lot. It freaks people out." She looked down as if afraid to see Jun's reaction.
"That's it?"
"No… I might have mentioned blood… tasting good."
"Oh? Is that a special hobby?"
"No! It's because of my quirk… I think."
"Then that's that. Can't help quirk stuff."
"Huh?" Toga looked up, confused.
"What? Your quirk probably deals with blood or ingesting it if you like tasting blood. It's probably a side effect so you don't gag on the actual taste of blood."
Jun spun his pen into his other hand, poking his index finger until a drop of blood appeared.
Internally he activated the blood crimson orb, then placed his finger into his mouth. "See? Not that weird."
Toga watched in fascination. "Did you just… taste blood without…"
"Yep. So I'm weirder than you so don't feel bad."
Toga laughed, hard enough for the room to go quiet and look over at the duo.
She didn't care. "You just…hahaha! You just sucked your own blood! Hahaha!"
Jun smiled. Cool, I'm now a future villain's weird friend.
***
Jun's neighborhood cleanup was going well, he continued his cleanup efforts in a street by street grid.
He was young and small, so he focused on keeping movement and stamina.
Jun found himself faster and less tired as the weeks piled on.
Okay, that's not normal. I have no physical quirk equipped. The only thing that I've been doing is… the grey orb?
He stopped jogging, sitting down on a bench, letting the trash bag fall to the side.
A moment later, he was in his empty space, grey orb in hand.
He felt the soothing effect against his sore muscles and joints. Reinforcement? Accelerated healing? So many questions.
He frowned at the orb of his quirkless mother. Does this mean she has a hidden quirk or do quirkless have their own things physically?
He came out of the space with more questions than when he went in. Doesn't matter. Once I meet another quirkless I can test it. I'll take the buff, thanks mom.
He picked up the trash bag and continued his run.
***
Time passed quickly, soon Jun was 10 years old.
Toga at school had been in a different class but in the breaks she sought him out with obsession.
Jun once observed her before she was let out of class. What he saw was a lonely girl who was ignored.
But when she saw him, she basically transformed into a different person.
She had at one point asked to taste Jun's blood. He obliged, wanting to see her reaction.
The conclusion? Jun tasted good, not food wars good, but enough to want more.
Another development was the blood crimson orb growing in size. It was still smaller than the grey or white orb, but marginally bigger than any of his others.
He discovered through an accident that he was able to partially transform his appearance just like Toga once he consumed someone else's blood.
It was only a limb but it was enough to confirm that the orb's growth was tied to the effectiveness of the quirk copied.
Mr. and Mrs. Mori were most likely maxed out, a cheat for the orb's emotional status since his parents were present and very involved in his life.
He gave a name to the effect that the grey orb gave. He knew that once another quirkless orb appeared it could destroy his theory but he did it anyway.
He named the effect "Growth", as it seemed to nurture his body. The effects of the last two years were good to say the least.
His physique was easily gaining him first in most physical activities at school. But he knew once quirks were unleashed he was behind the physical types.
But progress was gaining. His neighborhood trash run was seen as beneficial and praises were common.
He eventually started gaining small amounts of change here and there along with praise. He didn't refuse, he used it to open a bank account.
At age 11, he committed his first crime.
He gambled online underage. Luckily for him, he was able to take the blood from his dad and change his voice.
Thanks to his bad habits in his previous life, money multiplied easily enough. Enough to buy himself a new phone, and Toga one for her birthday.
That's when the news came.
Jun was moving.
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Welcome to my new novel that probably winning second place on my p*treon poll. Theres still time to vote!
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