"You lost?!" Midoriya's jaw hung low as he stared at Luke.
"Not just lost," Nyx cawed. "We got butchered…"
Midoriya winced, as if he could see Luke getting beaten. "… Sand's Quirk is awesome," he mumbled. "There's just so much he can do with his control over sand. I am still amazed that I didn't hear of him before joining UA…"
"I am sure it's because of my father," Luke shrugged, not mentioning Sand being an Assassin and not a Hero before their UA days.
Midoriya frowned. "Still…" he let out a sigh. "I have thought about it. Many times. But I could not find any way to win against Sand… if he really decided to win, you know."
Luke knew exactly what Midoriya meant.
If Sand one day became a Villain, then the number of people who would lose their lives would be in the thousands.
But that was true for any Hero.
Catching on to Deku's mention of thinking about a fighting scenario, Luke asked, "Did your Full Cowl improve again?!"
Midoriya let out a wry chuckle. "Not much. I am around 15% now."
Luke's eyes narrowed slightly. It was 13% the last time during the Final Exams, he remembered. Only a few weeks had passed since then. Now he gained another 2% so soon?!
Suddenly, Nyx slammed her wing on the back of Luke's head. "Not everyone's like you!" she cawed. "Deku's training to improve. And you? All you do is stuff yourself with food and gain an inch…"
"Nyx!" Luke gasped.
Even Midoriya put a hand on his mouth, looking around.
"OH MY GOD!!" Nyx rolled her eyes. "Look at you two! Perverts! I meant gaining an inch of height! HEIGHT! Seriously?! Deku, you were pure back then… I remember. Tch-Tch! What would All Might say? His chosen one turned out to be a pervert…"
Midoriya lunged and grabbed Nyx's beak, making her flap her wings. "… Shhh!" he put a finger on his mouth. "Mom will hear…"
Luke leaned back on the sofa, looking at himself.
In his previous life, he had been 182 cm tall. Now, in the last two years after his resurrection, he had already become 185 cm tall.
It became even more apparent as he sat next to Midoriya.
And… amazingly… Luke was still growing.
Out of nowhere, the news channel switched topic, catching Luke and Midoriya's eyes.
Deku's gaze gained a hard look. "I still can't believe all this," he said. "Why would Dr. Blessed and Stain go after Dr. Sam… in America? And they even caught Stain…"
Stain, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, the dead Near High End Nomu, and Dr. Blessed and his associates, including the strange 12 ft tall creature he had with him, had all become the greatest viral topic in Japan.
Not only were all the people involved Villains, but most of them were active in Japan, putting the entire country in the spotlight.
"They are bringing him to Tartarus, right?" Luke thought aloud.
Deku nodded. "Can't be as simple as for cooperation…"
Midoriya and Luke exchanged looks, both realizing a deep motive behind the USA's inexplicable generosity.
But from all these events, one thing was sure.
Villains were getting powerful… much faster than the Heroes. If something like that had happened at UA, other than All Might, who could have stood up to their combined might?!
Even with the USA's top Heroes facing Stain, Shigaraki, Dr. Blessed, and others, they still lost a life.
Midoriya licked his lips.
The few percentage points he gained in Full Cowling in the last few weeks, by constantly training day and night, didn't nearly seem enough now.
He had only one thing to look forward to now.
The Training Camp!
"All Might called yesterday," Deku said, his eyes glued to the news. "He said some seniors will be there, too. To help us out with the training."
Now that piqued Luke's interest.
"Seniors?!" he asked, sharing a glance with Nyx. They couldn't recall Momo mentioning any Senior during the Forest Training Camp. "… Like UA's pass out?!"
Midoriya nodded. "He said…"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Ms. Inko Midoriya walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies. "You boys must be hungry…"
Luke's eyes glowed as he smelled the freshly baked cookies.
The moment she put the tray down, both Luke and Nyx pounced on it.
"… Hnbmf…" Luke grumbled. "… So gowwd, Ms. Inko! Oi, Nyx, ewt slowly!!"
Midoriya chuckled, picking a cookie for himself, too.
Suddenly, tears welled up in Ms. Inko's eyes. "… It's alright! I baked a lot… It's the first time Midoriya brought friends home…"
"… Mom…" Deku's eyes shifted between his mother and Luke, embarrassedly.
Luke chewed fast and gulped the cookie down. "You are overly worried about Midoriya, Ms. Inko," he said, smiling. "He's doing fine at school. Even got a girlfriend before all of us…"
"… Ah!" Midoriya bit his lip as his mother gasped.
Luke and Nyx laughed as a blushing Deku ignored Ms. Inko's incessant questions, sending her away.
Touching his lip and tasting blood, Midoriya looked at Luke and Nyx, who were laughing out loud.
"… Seriously?" he asked, his face still gaining a pinkish hue.
"Oh, come on!" Luke threw another cookie in his mouth. "You gotta twll her about Uraraka…"
Midoriya jumped on Luke, putting his hand on his mouth. "… What—are—you—saying?!!!"
"Ah… sweet sixteen…" Nyx let out a reminiscing sigh. "… Those were the days. All the ravens… flocking around me…"
Luke dusted the crumbs off his body as Midoriya backed up. "… Nyx is right," he said after a while. "You need to ask her out, man."
Deku hurriedly shook his head. "There's nothing like that between us… Let's not talk about it anymore."
Looking at Midoriya's tomato-like face, Luke sighed. "Alright. Continue where we left off, then?"
The blush on Deku's face faded slowly. "I'm okay with you pushing me harder," he said seriously. "I want to unlock them, Luke. I want to talk to them… as soon as possible."
Luke nodded, accepting the boy's request.
Because… Midoriya wasn't the only one who had an interest in One For All's past users' Vestiges!
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