Jun sat in the living room of his house. "Moving? Why?"
His dad picked up his cup taking a sip before continuing. "I got contracted to a hero agency as its therapist and part of its medical staff."
Jun held his breath. Contracted by an agency? One that can afford its own therapist and medical staff? That's insane.
"How far?"
"Mustafa. The agency even told me it could enroll you into a private school given how good your grades are."
Jun sighed. "What about my friends here?"
"It's not the end of the world, technology exists and it's about time we got you your own phone."
Jun felt a flicker of guilt at jumping the ball on that one by himself. "How about enrolling me in a combat class instead? Or even a physical trainer?"
His mom sighed. "Why combat classes? A physical trainer is more than enough."
Jun looked down. "I want to apply to U.A."
Both parents looked at him with surprise, but his dad was the first to recover. "U.A? That's… admirable. But you know how difficult that is?"
Jun recalled the anime where the Zero pointer appeared. "More than you know."
His mom sat next to him. "You're going to apply to general studies, right?"
"No, mom. I want to be a hero. A proper one."
His parents looked towards each other, something unspoken passing between them.
Jun felt his throat dry. "And there's something else… I think my quirk had an evolution."
That refocused their attention on him, mostly his dad. "When, how?"
"It was when I had that hospital scare a few years back. My memories were jumbled and I didn't know what was what. As for what it does, I think… I think it allows me to copy quirks based on emotional bonds. The deeper the bond, the stronger the copy."
Both his parents' jaws slacked open.
"That's not all, it works on quirkless too but it has no concrete baseline on how other than mom."
His mom straightened her back. "Me?!?"
"Yeah, honestly mom, your bond has probably been the strongest I have currently. It lets me recover faster, train harder, and just be healthier."
His mom smiled and gave him a hug. "I'm glad I could help you."
His dad looked over, now feeling competitive. "And me?"
"Due to our strong bond, I gained your full power, but I keep it off because I think it's too hard on my mind. Your sense of emotion is so enormous that it causes headaches and nosebleeds if I'm in a crowded space."
Dad slumped in defeat. "Too enormous? I never knew compliments could hurt."
Mom giggled at her husband. "At least one of us is useful."
Jun rolled his eyes at their banter. "What I'm saying is that I can be a hero. But I'm going to need a good team to reach my full potential. And for that? No better place than U.A."
Dad looked back up, pride taking over his earlier defeat. "U.A? Fine. We'll get you to U.A. Best be prepared then because we'll do our best to support you."
Jun cracked a smile. "I won't let you down."
***
Jun waited after school at the doors, ready to head home. Toga was late today. Ever since she heard he had to move, she'd been more distant.
He took out his phone, hitting Toga's contact.
He let it ring a few times, already heading inside to go look for her.
He hit call again once it stopped ringing.
That's when he heard it. Laughter and in between? Toga's ringtone for him.
He followed it, only stopping at the girls' restroom door.
He frowned, but as he turned to walk away he heard one of the girls inside.
"Ew! She's so gross! She really drank your blood! What a creep!"
The sound of laughter from multiple other girls followed.
Jun took a deep breath. 1… 2…
"Ew!!!! She's using her quirk to turn into me!! Gross Gross gross!!"
3!!!
Jun kicked the door open, startling the girls inside.
"Eeek! A boy! Pervert!!!"
Jun ignored the girls, walking over to the girl on the ground. She was a near perfect copy of the girl who had just called him a pervert.
He extended a hand towards her. "This is your quirk? Impressive work, Toga."
The disguise started to slip, and Jun caught a glimpse of Toga beneath it, eyes shining with tears. "Really?"
"Yeah. Way more impressive than any of these girls, they're just jealous."
One of the other girls sputtered out. "We can't be jealous of a freak!!!"
Jun silently looked over. "Careful, your insecurity is showing."
The girl looked shocked then glared back. Jun fully turned to the group.
"You want to talk about quirks? Then let's talk about yours. What's so great about them? What allows you to decide who's the freak?"
"Because let me tell you something. Quirk or not? You're bigger freaks than her any day of the week. Now scram."
The girls backed away leaving one by one, glaring at Jun as they did.
"Good riddance."
He turned back to Toga. The disguise was fully gone, and she looked up at him with tearful eyes.
"Jun…"
He reached out a hand again. "Take it, the floors are dirty."
She sniffled as she grasped his hand allowing herself to be pulled up.
But Jun didn't stop there, and pulled her into a hug.
"Listen to me, Toga. Your quirk is awesome. Even if the whole world says otherwise, I'm in your corner."
Toga finally let the dam break as she cried into Jun's shoulder.
Jun let her cry as he stroked her back. He had similar experiences with clients in his past life, but this… this was real. There was no payment. Just a girl who had the world against her for a gift she didn't ask for.
"Let it all out, I'm here."
He heard the angry calls of the girls coming back alongside an older voice. A teacher.
"Hey, Toga, want to see something cool?"
Toga looked up from Jun's shoulder nodding.
Jun activated the blood crimson orb and bit Toga's finger.
Toga gasped, not in pain but surprised as Jun slowly turned into another Toga. "Ta-da! Now let's get out of here!"
Toga laughed as Jun dragged her out of the restroom, running from the teacher.
***
Jun loaded the last of his luggage into the moving van.
Walking around to hide from his parents, he took out his phone texting Toga.
[Junfun: Last of my luggage is loaded, remember to text often bloodbug.]
Almost immediately the three dots appeared, already typing away.
[Bloodqueen: its bloodqueen! Not Bloodbug! JunYA.]
Jun chuckled, pocketing his phone. Ever since Toga figured out he didn't like the ya part of his name she used it every time he teased her.
Rounding the corner, he saw his dad on the phone talking to someone. His mother was moving some of the final small items into the car.
"Almost done, huh…" he looked at the house that had been his home for the last 3 years.
"Gonna miss it but the future is bright."
He turned away, climbing into the back of the car, closing his eyes to focus on the grey orb, quickly falling asleep.
***
The move to Mustafa was uneventful, but what can you expect during prime All Might era Japan? It's probably the safest country on earth until the plot starts.
Jun was introduced to his school and the gym that his Dad paid a membership for, along with a personal trainer.
On his first day of class, he stood out in the hall waiting to be introduced. He yawned as he looked at his watch.
Then the door opened. "Mori-san, please come in and introduce yourself."
Jun entered, not looking at the class until he was at the side of the teacher's desk.
His eyes nearly popped out as he took in a certain pink haired girl with antenna.
Ah, fuck…
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