『Hakari Kotaro』
"Release...!"
"Red Rend!"
As the several tons of rock came hurling in my direction I quickly jumped back and the blood that poured out of of the cuts on my wrists and formed several whirling razor blade like disks that shot out and sliced the chunks of rubble to bits before they even touched me.
'Flowing Red Scale!'
Dragging the blood I sent out back into my body I increased my heartbeat and blood performance before sprinting towards Uraraka who looked ragged but still followed my movements with her eyes, keeping her center of gravity low with her arms spread, ready to intercept me.
Seeing through her plan rather easily, I sent a blood bullet towards her that exploded mid air into a mist of blood that obscured her vision before closing in while seeing through the cloud with [Piercing Eyes].
"Hup!"
Despite me hiding from her, Uraraka still did a guessing swing towards where she assumed I'd be, but missed the mark by a mile as I jumped over her arm and landed behind her before poking her side with my index finger, making her startle and jump. And marking the spar as over.
"Eep! Do you have to poke me every single time...?"
"It's more fun that way."
Uraraka flushed and looked away before sighing and collapsing onto the floor like a pupped with its strings cut. Her face looked very queasy as she put a hand over her mouth.
"Uweh... the nausea is horrible...!"
We had been practicing for a decent amount of time now, and Uraraka was doing fairly well even by my standards. She took it seriously and was willing to experiment with her ability. Like my idea of affection a bunch of rubble and throwing them at once before cancelling her ability so that they carry the momentum so that she had a ranged option.
And it also gave me a bunch of targets to practice my Greater Hemokinesis with.
I sat down next to the sweaty and worn out Uraraka and placed a hand on her arm.
"Mind if I use my ability on you?"
Normally, I wouldn't ask, but using healing on someone, and manipulating their bloodstream were completely different things.
"Ugh... go ahead?"
While she was busy battling with the urge to puke, I commanded her bloodstream with Greater Hemokinesis. As long as someone was not resisting my control, controlling their blood was not too difficult even if it was a bit exhausting. Normally I wouldn't even dare try this, but my Biology skill made me quite confident in it.
By applying Hemokinesis, I slightly increased her cerebral blood flow just enough, stabilized her blood pressure and suppressed her Vasovagal drop to combat her feeling of dizzyness and nausea.
Her eyes opened wide and Uraraka looked at me as if I were a fish that crawled out of water and grew legs. Her bright brown eyes were filled with a mix of awe, respect and gratitude that made my own wilt just a little.
"Woah! How did you do that? You eliminated the side effect of my quirk like it was nothin', that's so cool!"
She was so excited that her natural accent slipped out without her noticing, but I made no move to point it out. I thought it was pretty cute myself.
"I alleviated the symptoms of nausea and vertigo, you probably shouldn't push it though, it will return with a vengeance if you do. Thought I'd offer some help considering we are about to have lunch soon and all."
Uraraka popped right up to her feet with a cheerful attitude and looked brighter than ever with her cheeks glowing a healthy flush.
"Still, that's incredible y'know? Usually, my quirks side effects are horrible, but right now I feel like I could take even you on!"
I chuckled lightly and couldn't help but pat her head, making her blush even harder.
"Save that energy for lunch, will ya? I'm pretty beat myself."
Greater Hemokinesis wasn't my most costly ability due to the fact that I manipulated existing matter instead of creating new like Candy Paramecia. But pushing blood in and out of my body could get tiresome to say the least.
"Y-yeah, let's go."
Uraraka and I headed back to the changing rooms of the Training Grounds Zeta which was a large rocky cliffside place and reconvened at the entrance of the training grounds to walk to the cafeteria which was roughly a few hundred meters or so away.
Seeing as how there was an awkward silence as we walked side by side, I decided to fill it with a question that was plaguing my mind ever since asked me to train.
"So, what's got you so pumped about the festival? I've never seen you so gung-ho before."
She froze in her steps immediately and rubbed the back of her head while sporting a red pink blush.
"Aw geez, you noticed that? I really want to place high in the festival, because... well, it's related to why I wanted to be a hero in the first place."
I raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to go on.
"Well, it's just... I want to be a hero so that I can use my Quirk to help my parents with their work and earn money as a Pro Hero to help them. Y'know? I know it isn't as admirable as someone like Deku but... yeah, that's about it."
Oh, now it's coming back to me. I pulled a drink out of my Bag of Holding and cracked it open while taking a sip and thinking of what to say.
"That's nonsense, I think that's a reason as good as any, better than most even. There is no reason to be ashamed about it. Most people become heroes because they have something to prove or because they want the glory. You want to be a hero because you already have some people in mind that you want to save. I think that's really admirable."
Uraraka looked at me with shining eyes, as if I had said something really profound and blushed ever harder before putting her hands together.
"Woah, you sounded like a real hero just now, Hakari-kun, like Aizawa-sensei." oi. "But thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. You're right, I have people to save! That's why I'm gonna do my best!"
She pumped her fist up again with renewed determination, for a girl with Anti-gravity powers, she sure had guts. Most people with her powerset would be afraid to get in close but Uraraka was not a wimp, she actually stood on business and wanted to make the most of her ability even if it was unconventional.
I could respect that, definitely.
"Sooo, what's your reason for becoming a hero, Hakari-kun? I bet it must be something really cool or inspiring."
Eh.
I rubbed my chin. How do I even answer that? I couldn't just say I came here because of the tickets, nor could I say it's because I wanted the shit to not hit the fan because I messed with the curses.
Come to think of it, why am I here? Beyond the tickets, hot girls and canon? What do I want to when I actually graduate from this place? If I manage to survive that is? Do I care about actually becoming a hero?
"I don't know yet. I'm hoping UA will maybe give me a reason later down the line. I got plenty of time to figure it out."
Uraraka furrowed her brows but nodded nonetheless.
"Hmm, I guess that makes sense. I thought you were the type of guy who just knew everything and had everything figured out Hakari-kun, I guess seeing that even you don't know what to do is a bit reassuring."
Hearing this I couldn't help but give a sideye.
"Do I really give off that vibe?"
She cradled her chin and nodded.
"Yeah, you always seem so composed, cool and nonchalant, like nothing in the world phases you and cannot surprise you. Kind of like Todoroki-kun, but less detached."
Huh, I didn't think I really came across like that. I wasn't exactly trying to, I should probably try harder to express myself. Working for the Yakuza does that to you. Though in Todoroki's case it's mostly getting beaten and trauma.
"Would you rather I talk like Kirishima?"
She took only a moment to imagine it before shaking her head like a wet dog.
"No way, you're pretty cool like you are Hakari-kun. A-At least that's what I think."
"Thanks, you're pretty cute too, Ochako-chan."
Ochako looked at me blankly for a second.
Wait for it.
"Eehhh!? C-cute!? I-I mean."
There it is.
I do love teasing her. Her reactions are so fun.
⚀—⚁⚂⚃—⚄—•⚅•—⚄—⚃⚂⚁—⚀
After my light flirting, the walk towards the cafeteria and grabbing our lunches was a very quiet ordeal, Ochako looked like her head was all over the place. The lunch hall was less populated than usual, but whatever people were inside paid special attention to us, probably because we were the class that survived a terrorist attack, but they did not have the balls to approach us.
When we sat down, Toga and Deku joined us with their own lunches, Toga sat down next to me while Deku and Ochako sat across from us. As we ate and chatted about random stuff, Deku breached in with a new topic.
"So, you guys are training together, right? Hakari-kun, Uraraka-san?"
"H-huh? Y-yes, we are!"
Ochako was snapped out of quiet deliberation by Deku's words. But the knowing look Toga sent her way made her return to her reddened tomato state. So I decided to cut in instead.
"Yeah, we are, what's up Deku?"
"Oh it's nothing, I just wondered if you had any advice for training with my ability too, Hakari-kun. Everyone talks about how you're so good with so many quirks and I wanted to know if you could help me with mine. And, my ability is rather self-destructive as you know, so seeing as you are the nurses assistant and have a healing ability, I was hoping you could help me."
Hooh? Deku is approaching me? I didn't think he'd seek me out for this since we weren't particularly close but he was showing some good forward-thinking here. Originally, since Recovery Girl was a stickler and her healing was exhausted, he couldn't exactly risk training with his ability, but with me here, he had a way to train his ability in relative safety even if it could be excruciating.
"So, you want me to help you train since you can't train otherwise because you keep shattering your entire skeleton?"
Deku flushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, that's- that's the gist of it."
I crossed my arms and nodded.
If I help Deku achieve full cowling early on, that means I have a stronger Deku on my side, not to mention I get a feat and I have a sparring partner that can match me.
"Alright, I'm game. Tomorrow, 3rd period, training grounds Beta."
Deku's fists clenched and he gave me a look that was equal parts determined and thankful. His eyes were a little moist even.
"Yes, thank you Hakari-kun!"
"Save the thanks for the training. You'll be regretting saying that when the time comes. Say, is this fine with you, Ochako-chan? If you want, we can train later in the day after I'm done wearing out Deku." "W-wear out!?"
But before she could reply, Toga slammed a hand down on the table and raised another hand with an ecstatic grin.
"No need! Ochako-chan and I can train together! You want to get better at touching people, right? I'm the best at touching others, we can train together tomorrow."
I cannot refute Toga's claim at being very good at touching people. That was indeed her expertise.
She was also very good at tagging people in combat, especially in terms of getting around guards and slipping out of view. Training with her will probably benefit Ochako more than training with me now that I think about it.
Ochako blinked a few times in befuddlement before nodding slowly like a creaky machine.
"Yeah, I'll be in your care Toga-chan."
"Yay! This will be so fun."
For some reason, I feel like Toga will be the only one really having fun in this scenario.
My condolences ahead of time, Ochako-chan for what Toga is about to do to you.
And the same for Deku, for what I will be doing to him.
A/N: Hakari and Ochako are getting closer together, Ochako is really fun to write with how down-to-earth she is, she talks naturally with Hakari and their interactions feel very fluid to write. And it helps that I really like her character in general. I placed a bit of emphasis on how others see Hakari here and that makes him feel a bit introspective.
Deku is a man with a plan, he comes approaching Hakari since with him around, he can actually try and train with his ability, and Hakari can respect being willing to break your body just to train. Will Hakari and Deku's bromance finally bloom fully? Find out in the next chapter of Gambler Ball Z!
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