Chapter 3: Sweat, Spirits, and Selective Amnesia
(Sunny Midoriya POV)
Katsuki Bakugo was currently a very angry walking firework display.
"I'm gonna pop you like a balloon, you freak!" he yelled, his palms crackling with the scent of burnt caramel and bad attitudes.
I leaned back, my heels digging into the air as if it were a solid reclining chair. I pulled a wooden toothpick out of nowhere and started cleaning my nails. "Pop me? Kid, I've been flattened by a steamroller and turned into a literal accordion this morning. You're gonna need more than some spicy sweat to ruin my day."
"Kacchan, stop!"
I blinked. Izuku had stepped forward. My little brother, whose knees were shaking so hard they were making a rhythmic drumming sound (THUMP-THUMP-THUMP), was standing between me and Bakugo's crew. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the kid Bakugo had been picking on.
"It's not right!" Izuku squeaked, his voice cracking but his eyes—man, those eyes were burning with a fire that not even Toon Force could replicate. "If you're gonna be a hero, you can't treat people like this! I won't let you!"
Bakugo paused, a sneer twisting his face. "The Quirkless nerd wants to play hero? Fine. I'll start with you."
He lunged.
I didn't move. Not because I didn't care, but because I knew Izuku needed this moment. He took the blast—a small one, but enough to send him skidding back into the sand. He didn't cry. He got back up, his face covered in soot, and stood his ground again.
That was my cue.
"Okay, enough of the 'Serious Shonen' drama," I sighed, snapping my fingers. BOING! I appeared directly in front of Bakugo.
Bakugo swung a right hook. I didn't dodge; I simply let my head spin around my neck like a merry-go-round. His fist went around and around, following my head until he was tied in a literal human knot.
"Hey, watch the merchandise, kid," I said, my head snapping back into place with a CLACK. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a giant, oversized bottle of 'Soot-B-Gone' and sprayed it directly into Bakugo's face.
POOF! The explosion-boy was suddenly wearing a pink tutu and holding a bouquet of wilting daisies. He froze, his brain trying to process the sudden wardrobe change.
"Aqua! Now's your chance! Do the thing!" I yelled.
Aqua, who had been hiding behind a slide, jumped out with her staff raised. "DIVINE BLOWING BUBBLES!"
Instead of a tidal wave, she managed to create a beautiful, shimmering stream of bubbles that floated around the playground. It was useless in a fight, but it looked fantastic. The other kids stopped, mesmerized by the colors. Bakugo, humiliated and confused, scrambled away, trying to get the tutu off.
I walked over to Aqua and patted her blue hair. Her head felt like a soft, water-filled balloon. "Nice job, Bluey. You didn't flood the sandbox. That's a win in my book."
Aqua's eyes went wide. She let out a tiny, high-pitched squeal, her face turning bright red, and then—literally—she melted into a puddle of shimmering blue goo at my feet.
"He... he praised me..." she gurgled from the ground.
"Get up, puddle. We've got a doctor's appointment."
(Izuku Midoriya POV)
The doctor's office smelled like antiseptic and broken dreams.
I sat on the tall table, my legs dangling. The doctor was looking at the X-rays of my foot. I already knew what he was going to say. I could feel it in the silence.
"You should probably give it up, kid," he said, his voice flat. "Double joint in the pinky toe. You're Quirkless."
The world felt like it went gray. My chest hurt—not like a bruise, but like someone had reached inside and pulled out my heart. I looked at the All Might poster on the wall. He was smiling, but I couldn't smile back.
"And as for the other one..." The doctor turned to Sunny, who was currently sitting on the ceiling, drinking a soda through a straw that was six feet long. "I don't even know where to start. His bone structure is... well, it isn't. It's more like a collection of highly resilient sponges."
Mom looked like she was about to cry for both of us. "Doctor, please. Is there... is there any explanation?"
"I've never seen anything like it. It's an anomaly. I'll have to report this to the Quirk Registry Office, and likely the National Research Lab. A child who ignores physics to this degree... he'll be under 24-hour observation for the rest of his—"
CHING.
The sound of a spinning coin filled the room.
I looked over. Sunny was standing on the floor now, his expression uncharacteristically calm. He was spinning a gold coin on the tip of his finger. It was spinning so fast it looked like a blur of light.
"Hey, Doc," Sunny said, his voice dropping into a hypnotic, rhythmic tone. "Look at the shiny. Focus on the 'heads' side. It's a very interesting coin, isn't it?"
The doctor's eyes glazed over. He watched the coin as Sunny moved it back and forth in a slow, sweeping arc.
"You're tired, Doc," Sunny whispered. "So many files. So much paperwork. You don't want to deal with 'anomalies.' You want a nice, easy day. My brother? He's Quirkless. A shame, really. And me? I've got a Mutation-Type quirk. 'Elastic Body.' Boring, right? Very common. Nothing to report to the labs."
"Nothing... to report..." the doctor droned, his head bobbing.
"I'm just a squishy kid with a stretchy quirk. Write it down. 'Elastic Body Mutation.' Now, give us the lollipop and forget we were ever here."
The doctor blinked, shook his head, and turned to his computer. He started typing. "Right. So, Izuku is Quirkless. And Sunny... ah, here it is. 'Elastic Body Mutation.' Quite a simple emitter-mutation hybrid. Nothing out of the ordinary. Here are your lollipops."
As we walked out, Sunny caught the coin and vanished it into his sleeve. He looked at me, and for a second, the 'Bugs Bunny' smirk was gone. He looked serious.
"Don't worry about the labs, Izu-chan," he muttered. "Nobody's putting us in a cage. As for the 'Quirkless' thing? The doctor's a hack. You're gonna be a hero. I'll make sure of it."
(Sunny Midoriya POV)
A week later, I realized that if Izuku was going to be a hero, he couldn't just rely on me to turn his enemies into bowling pins. He needed grit. And Mom? She was healthy, but in this world of monsters and villains, she was as fragile as a porcelain doll.
"Alright, family meeting!" I announced at 5:00 AM, blowing a brass bugle that I'd pulled out of my pillow.
Mom and Izuku tumbled out of their beds, bleary-eyed. Aqua, who had been sleeping in a bathtub in our guest room (don't ask), stumbled out soaking wet.
"We are starting a training regime," I declared. "Every morning. Five kilometers. No excuses."
"Sunny, honey," Mom yawned. "I haven't run since I was in middle school."
"I... I can't even reach the end of the block without wheezing," Izuku added.
"And I'm a Goddess! Goddesses don't run! We are carried!" Aqua wailed.
"Is that so?" I smirked. I pulled out a long fishing pole and tied a bottle of 'Divine Vintage Wine' (actually just sparkling grape juice, but she doesn't know that) to the end of the line. I dangled it in front of Aqua.
Her pupils dilated. Her tongue flopped out. ZOOOOOM! She took off like a blue blur, her legs turning into a literal wheel of motion. "WIIIIIIIIINE!"
"That's one," I muttered.
Now for the hard part. Mom and Izuku started jogging, but after 100 meters, they were doubled over, gasping for air.
"Too... hard..." Izuku wheezed.
I frowned. I needed to motivate them. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a giant, five-foot-tall Bitter Melon. It had a face. An angry, judgmental face.
"If you don't keep moving, the Giant Healthy Veggie is going to give you a hug!" I yelled, giving the melon a shove. It started rolling toward them with a menacing RUMBLE-RUMBLE.
"EEEEEK!" Mom screamed, and she and Izuku bolted. They managed a full kilometer before they collapsed on a park bench, shaking.
"I can't... I really can't..." Mom panted.
I looked at them. They were looking at me like I was a monster. They saw me as the "Gag Kid," the one who never felt pain, never got tired, and never took anything seriously. They didn't think I understood.
"Okay," I said quietly. "Commercial break."
I closed my eyes. I felt the Toon Force—that buzzing, golden hum in my DNA—and I pushed it away. I locked it in a box deep in my mind.
THUD.
The world suddenly hit me like a physical blow. The air felt thick, like soup. My clothes, which usually felt like nothing, were suddenly heavy. The gravity of the Earth, which I usually ignored, began to pull at my bones with a vicious, grinding intensity. Every breath was a labor. My heart, no longer a rhythmic 'thump,' was a frantic, heavy drum.
I looked at Mom and Izuku. They gasped. They could see the change. My colors seemed a bit more muted, my edges more defined. I looked... human. And I looked exhausted.
"Sunny?" Izuku whispered, reaching out. "You're... you're shaking."
"The world is... heavy," I grunted, my voice raspy. I took a step. It felt like walking through wet cement. "It's hard. It's tiring. And it hurts. This is how you feel every day, isn't it?"
Mom covered her mouth with her hands.
"I'm running with you," I said, sweat beads already forming on my forehead. "No tricks. No gags. Just... me. If I can do it, you can do it. Break's over. Let's go."
I started to jog. It was pathetic. I was slow, my lungs were burning, and every step was agony. But I didn't stop.
Seeing me like that—seeing their 'invincible' brother struggling just to breathe—did something to them. Izuku's face set in that look of grim determination. Mom wiped her eyes and stood up straight.
"We're coming, Sunny!" Izuku yelled.
We ran. Two kilometers. Three. At four kilometers, I thought I was going to pass out. My non-toon body was weak. I realized then that if I ever faced a real villain and my "Gag" failed, I'd be dead in seconds. I had to train this body. I had to be strong enough to protect them even when the world wasn't funny anymore.
"Almost... there..." I wheezed.
Mom and Izuku were running beside me now, shouting encouragement. "You can do it, Sunny! Just a little further!"
We hit the 5km mark. I collapsed onto the grass, my heart hammering against my ribs. I let the Toon Force back in.
SPROING! I bounced back up, my color returning, my exhaustion vanishing instantly. I was a cartoon again. But deep inside, I remembered the weight.
Suddenly, a blue streak came screaming toward us.
"MINE! IT'S MINE!"
Aqua had completed approximately fifty laps around the neighborhood and finally caught the 'Wine on a Stick.' She was panting, her hair a tangled mess, but she looked triumphant.
She skidded to a halt in front of me, clutching the bottle. I smiled and gave her a firm, solid head-pat.
"Good girl, Aqua. You're a cheetah."
She let out a long, blissful sigh, her eyes rolling back into her head, and for the second time that day, she melted into a puddle of pure, divine happiness.
"I... I am... the fastest... goddess..."
I looked at my brother and my mother. They were tired, but they were smiling.
"Same time tomorrow?" I asked.
Izuku nodded, his fist clenched. "Same time tomorrow."