Looking at Nezu's hair, just within reach, Neito felt the familiar surge of jealousy again. Possessive thoughts raced across his mind.
"It's mine."
He wanted it—needed it. High Spec. The quirk that seemed to embody intellect made Neito itch with desire.
With a sharp inhale, Neito grabbed the strand of Nezu's fur tightly. His fingers curled around the white hair, and he let the surge of jealousy take hold, just for a moment, before he felt the familiar pulse of his own quirk activate.
But this time—something was different. Neito's eyes widened. It's working, he had copied a mutant type quirk.
The sensation of the quirk spreading through him felt precise. The patterns of High Spec's abilities flowed into him like a perfect puzzle piece slotting into place.
Neito's mind raced, expanding, calculating faster than ever before. He could feel the full scope of High Spec warping his cognition—accelerating, sharpening, making the world feel… clearer.
His heartbeat quickened, and the world seemed to slow down for a moment. Thoughts were firing off at an impossible pace—strategies, data, observations—all coming together in an instant.
He could practically see the entire structure of the car he was in, analyzing the design with an architect's eye, noting flaws, strengths, and even planning improvements.
"I— I did it," Neito muttered softly, his voice was filled with awe.
He couldn't help but look at the white strand of hair again, still tightly clutched in his hand, feeling a new kind of power inside himself.
But there was more.
Suddenly, the data within his head began to form new patterns. High Spec was never just about intelligence. It had the ability to understand and process information at an exponential rate. But it had another facet—one Neito hadn't expected.
Control.
The next thing he noticed was the way his body responded—an involuntary shift in posture. His muscles relaxed, and then tightened with efficiency, as though his body was learning how to move in the most optimal manner without conscious thought.
Every motion seemed to become more precise, more fluid. He felt as though he was operating at a level of physical awareness that would make even a seasoned pro feel sluggish by comparison.
It was like his body understood how to move, how to react to any given situation. His reflexes were already sharper, his balance perfect, his breathing more controlled.
This is... incredible.
For a brief moment, Neito felt invincible.
But as quickly as the power surged through him, he snapped out of it, realizing just how strong this quirk was.
"I can't believe how powerful this is..."
Nezu meanwhile had been watching quietly, eyes narrowed as if waiting for the moment to pass. He'd already seen what was happening to Neito.
"So, jealousy is your quirk's driving factor? Understandable, feelings of jealousy compels you to copy quirks."
Nezu observed and analysed Neito without any shame, he was not even fazed by Neito's angry glare.
"Don't look at me like that, Neito-kun. I have to collect data on your quirk if I want to train you."
Neito shot him a side-eye. Collect data? Was that what Nezu was doing? He gave him the high spec quirk as an experiment, to test how his copy quirk worked.
"I'd appreciate a little heads-up before you run any more experiments on me," Neito replied, his tone was cold.
His parents looked shocked, surprised by Neito's upset tone. They'd never heard him speak like that—especially not to a grown-up.
Nezu, on the other hand, looked completely excited. In fact, he started giggling. It wasn't a polite chuckle. It was a full-on, maniacal laugh.
"Haha! You don't want experiments done on you without consent? Ha! I get it, Neito-kun!" Nezu laughed so hard that his tea spilled everywhere.
Neito raised an eyebrow and felt silent. He knew Nezu must be thinking about the days when he was a lab rat, and people experimented on him without consent.
Nezu soon stopped laughing and quickly wiped his eyes, his smile softening as he turned serious again.
"Alright, alright. I get it. I'll behave. No more surprise tests, I promise."
Neito gave him a skeptical look. He seemed genuine enough, but he wasn't about to let his guard down anytime soon. Nezu was still a wild rat.
"I accept your apology, so what now?" Neito asked, getting back on track.
Nezu didn't seem bothered by the attempted shift. He leaned forward with a smile, eager to continue.
"Well, Neito-kun, since we're halfway there already, why don't you come and experience UA for yourself, it'll help you make a decisi..."
Neito suddenly zoned out mid conversation, as his copied high spec quirk dissappeared. Nezu rambled on about stuff he couldn't understand. All he could tell was that the man was talking to his parents after he zoned out.
Though that's all he could say for sure, currently his mind felt strangely stagnant after losing high spec—Neito was mentally exhausted from the rush he'd felt from high spec.
Before long, the vehicle pulled to a stop. Neito finally collected himself somewhat, and Nezu turned to him with a smile.
"We're here. Take a good look, Neito-kun. This is your future home. You might need to manage all of this one day."
Neito blinked and looked around. This was UA High, the place was huge. Impressive, to say the least. But it felt so… big. He wasn't sure he was ready for this.
Although, he didn't have much choice as he'd already attracted attention.
He got out of the car and his parents followed him out of the armored vehicle. Shibasaki, his dad, already started up a conversation with Nezu.
"This is one hell of a place you've got here, Principal Nezu," Shibasaki said, the anger in his voice was gone and his tone was full of respect.
Nezu smiled widely hearing this. "You have a good eye, Shibasaki-san. I designed it all myself! Hahaha!"
The two looked at each other and shared a laugh, like they were old friends, even though Shibasaki wasn't fond of Nezu, he decided to make peace with the guy who might be Neito's future mentor.
After coming here, he understood that UA was too big and rich, signing the contract might not be bad for Neito.
Neito's mom meanwhile was getting stressed, seeing how smoothly everything was going with his dad and Nezu, she knew her husband might have decided to accept the offer.
But she wasn't ready, she wasn't convinced that this was the best deal for Neito.
"Neito, come here, baby."
Neito turned to see his mom motioning for him. She had that soft look in her eyes, the one that always meant she was worried about something.
He walked over to her, and before he knew it, she had him in her arms.
"What's up, Mom?" he asked, genuinely confused.
Her eyes softened as she looked down at him. There was that protective look again.
"Neito, your dad might be thinking of accepting UA's offer, but If you don't want to, I'll get you out of here. No one can force you."
Neito smiled while shaking his head, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry, Mom. I know what's going on. But frankly we don't have a choice. I have attracted too much attention after Nezu came to me personally."
Hana Monoma clenched her jaw, frustrated by the fact that her son had been dragged into this mess because of his quirk and Nezu's actions.
She hated how the world worked. Nezu saw Neito's quirk, and he assumed Neito might end up like a villain who had a similar quirk. Why does it have to be like this?
Sighing, Hana patted his head and gave him a kiss. "I'll keep an eye on you. Just... be careful, okay?"
Neito nodded feeling a little wobbly. He was still trying to forget the high he had just experienced with high spec.
Hana was also in her own world, as it was Neito's birthday today— She'd had the evening planned. But now, everything was ruined because of Nezu.