- Invitation Status
- Look for groups
- Looking for partners
- Posting Speed
- Multiple posts per day
- 1-3 posts per day
- One post per day
- Multiple posts per week
- Writing Levels
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Preferred Character Gender
- Male
Before 1st Act
~~~~~
After 1st Act
~~~~~
It was some day after they returned from the spa. While there, Vitalis had learned a lot about relaxing, resting, and rejuvenation. Her day had been busy, and she had learned about the amazing calming effects of yoga.
Which is what she was doing, this day, in the gym. With a mat placed down, the girl, clad in a tanktop and yoga pants, she was busy stretching her legs. Grabbing them, pulling them this way and that. Then twisting her torso, and stretching her arms. It was so nice.
The spa trip was fruitful in more ways than one for the bugster, he's gotten a better insight on how some of his peers function. He went to gym to resume his usual workout session but was pleasantly surprised by a tiny vampire girl. "Hail, friend. How was the spa trip for you?" He said while tilting his head, perplexed by her movements.
Vitalis paused mid-stretch to turn towards the voice. She was reasonably flexible, and her current clothing choice allowed her free of movement, so her twist looked a bit suspect. "Oh, hi!" Her face brightened up. Somehow, she hadn't interacted at all with this particular classmate during the spa. But anyway.. "It was good.. Mimiyr, shiea'niyr. How bout for you Kaizzen?"
"I certainly had fun!" Kaizen said as he got down started doing one arm pushups. "I don't think I've had a chance to talk to you properly since our U.A days, how have you been?" Due to all the training they had, the bugster hadn't had the time to properly catch up with her. "That cousin of yours, Vigridis. She's certainly an interesting character."Despite being related, the two were so different from each other.
"I've been good.. Meiya neh ashier…" She mumbled in a soft tone. "Thankx for assking! It'z good you had fun! Sso did I! What did you do?" She cocked her head. It was unusual he'd just bring up Vigridis like that. "Hm? What do you mean? Did ssomething happen with my cousiin?"
"Been hanging out with some people both old and new. Bug catching with Goto, swimming with Haya, getting punched by Isa, oh and chatting with Hideki and your cousin." Kaizen shifted his body's position, so that he can push his whole body upwards with one hand on the ground. "Well, kinda when we returned, me and her had a sparring session. She nearly bisected me, but it was fun." Kaizen continued on without missing a beat.
"Bug catching??.." Vitalis repeated, with a cock of her head, staring at him. "Didn't that… Iduno.. Feel a bit weird?" she questioned. "Getting punched? Are you okay? Why did Isa hit you? Oh! You chatted with Vigridis? Really now? Didn't her personality annoy you? What did you talk about?" Vitalis, for one, could never find anything reasonable to speak with Vigridis about.
Wait, so they hadn't talked but fought? "She nearly did what?! What what?! Why?! Are you okay..? How.. how was that fun..?" The poor smol vampy couldn't understand.
"Not at all, I keep bugs in my room all the time as pets. I asked for it. She takes some getting used to, but I think she ultimately means well, most of them time. We talked about Hideki's performance and they eventually ended up fighting each other. It was… amusing to say the least." Kaizen quickly swapped to his other arm and repeated the same motion. "I also asked for that. You know how much I like fighting. You shouldn't worry about it too much. You know I'll always be fine, especially with this quirk of mine." Kaizen has always acknowledged that his quirk allowed him to take a lot more punishment than many of his peers, recovering from near death experiences in the matter of minutes.
Vitalis wasn't sure if she was surprised or not about Kaizen keeping bugs. Perhaps she shouldn't be, so she would just drop it. What he said about Vigridis, though, left her a bit confused. Were they talking about the same person? Her cousin? "I guess you two are similar in that way…" But she always thought Kaizen was a nicer person than Vigridis. "But yep, your quirk is tough.." She'd agree on that front, since that was an undeniable fact.
"Haha I guess we are.." Kaizen walked over to the dumbbells, easily grabbing the heaviest weight they had to offer and began doing curls with them. "What's the matter? You don't seem to fond of her." Kaizen picked up on her tone of voice, he felt that there was something going on between the two. "Does like to pick fights during family gatherings as well?" Kaizen asked half jokingly.
"Ehhh, ssorta. I'd ssay sso, I guesss. Shhe likess to boasst about her strength to me and "my siide of the family"," Vitalis answered. "Shhe's jusst like that, I supposse.. It'z hard to blame her, shhe wass raissed that way. We pretty muchh all were."
Vitalis paused for a moment. "Hmm.. You're alwayss doing that ssort of thing. Like weightlifting and the like. How bout join me for ssome yoga? I learned it'z as usseful, rejuvenating, and good for your musscles as it iss relaxing."
She was right, the bugster always lifting weights, so much so that they feel like a proper exercise anymore. Kaizen sighed and decided to join the small vampire. "Very well.. I'll try it your way for once." He walked over towards the vampire girl and sat down next to her. Size difference was very noticeable. "So… what exactly am I suppose to do?" He asked, patiently wondering what was the next step. He doesn't know much about yoga, so she would need to educate him in that.
Vitalis looked at the big bug-like person. There was a small frown on the crease of her lips. "Can you.. Can you even stretchh like that? Are you, you know, limber?"
"Of course I can! See!" Kaizen put his legs forward and reach out to touch his toes. Surprisingly, he was able to do so without too much trouble due to the multi-jointed nature of his limbs.
"Ooo~! Nicce! I seee!! Sso bugz can do yoga! Okay," she took up a stance, "follow me!" Then she began performing some various stretches around her body. Her legs, her arms, twisting her torso. These were the mundane ones at the start. Then there was going to be more meditative, yet tougher forms.
"Why not, our limbs can bend at unnatural angles sometimes, depending on orientation." He explained as he followed her. Kaizen always had a soft spot for Vitalis ever since their days in U.A. He couldn't quite explain it, perhaps it was a passing resemblance to his own petite little sister? Or maybe it was just her generally cute demeanor. While it started off as something more at first, he eventually treated her like one of his little sisters.
"I can do this all day!" Kaizen proudly announced, as he easily mimicked Vitlalis movement, the only difference being he was doing it three times the speed, treating it more like an actual exercise than stretching.
"Hmm…" Vitalis wondered. "If that'z the casse, I wonder if thiss iss helping you at all…" she mumbled. If his limbs could bend in ways a human couldn't then it was likely that yoga wouldn't do anything for him. At least not "human yoga", but it wasn't like she knew "insect yoga" or whatever.
"Do you feel anything from thiss? -Oh and you're going too fasst! Thiss iss suppossed to be a bit meditative! Go slower! It'z not a racce, siilly!!" Vitalis didn't really know that Kaizen viewed and treated her as a little sister-type. Many people probably did, but she was actually a bit oblivious to that sorta thing. This was just who she was, and what she was used to!
"Well, I dont exactly feel things the same way you guys do." Kaizen's insect physiology meant that he "felt" things differently from his peers. "That being said, stretching does help loosen the insect muscles. So yea, it does help." He replied with a chuckle. "Ok now that I've tried it your way, now is your turn!" Kaizen shifted his body and did a handstand. "Come on, its only fair!"
"Really? Iss that sso? Well then, good!" That was surprising to Vitalis, but she was glad to hear it all the same! She tilted her head. "A handsstand? Okay." He was playing low ball right now, right?
Vitalis leaned forward, and easily did a handstand. She was even able to keep the balance.
Kaizen didnt know Vitalis could do that; was she into gymnastics? The bugster decided to step up his game by lifting one of his hands off the floor. "Ok now do it with one hand!" For all he knew she could probably do it. Is there anything this Alucard could not do?
"Mm. Okay." Her soft voice came out. One of her legs extended for balance as she gradually lifted her other hand off the floor. "Th~ere." She was a bit wobbly, but otherwise balanced.
Kaizen could not believe his buggy eyes when he saw the little vampire balancing herself on one hand. "Wow, where did you learn to do that! What sorts of stuff do you guys do back in Romania? Can Vigridis do this as well?" He asked while maintaining his handstand. The bugster was curious as to how she was so talented in something like this.
"Vigridiss? Oh, haha!" Vitalis fell onto her back as she laughed. "Whoops~ Oh, yeah. Vigridiss can do WAY more than that! Shhe's an athletic geniuss! A siingle hand-sstand wouldn't even bother her. Shhe could maintain it all day if shhe wanted! Shhe can walk on her hands, all day, too. My cousiin iss a lot better at thiss ssorta sstuff than me. But um, uh, yeah, I mean, I heard my mother wass BIG into gymnasticss for awhile, sso I deciided to try my hand at them a bit, jusst to seee what my mother did to become a better hero."
"Hmm interesting… your family sounds very colorful. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to meet your other relatives." Was their family entirely made of individuals as interesting as them? "As expected, so Vigridis is that sort of person...I like her." He feels that he can relate to someone that tryhards in just about anything they do. "So you became a hero because of your mother?" Kaizen always wanted to know what makes people pursue such a dangerous career, was it for the fame and glory? Or maybe a sense of justice.
"Hm.. I'm shure you'd like a few of them!" she stated flatly. She knew there were peeps in her family she didn't want Kaizen to meet. Or ever interact with. Vigridis wasn't honestly one of the worst of her family, despite how.. she can be. But there were others she thought were fine. Or even fun. "There'ss a few like you. You like Vigridiss? Haha! That'z kinda new.. But I'm glad to hear it! I think… if Vigridiss hass ssomeone who actually likess her for her, as a person, then shhe'll gradually chhange and become better."
"Becausse of my mothher?.. Hmm.. I guesss you could put it that way," Vitalis answered, thinking on it. "But it wass becausse of what happened to her. Shhe fell into a coma for 18 yearss. My entire life. I never want to seee anything like that again. That classs a while back was the first time I had ever seen my mothher walking and talking! Sso I deciided I want to ssave people. Ssave everyone! Sso no daughterss or sonss or anyone have to seee their mothhers or fathhers laying bedridden. Or their family or friendss. It'z agony. That'z why I'm a hero."
"An admirable reason. So you more in it to protect people, an understandable sentiment that many can relate to, especially those who have suffered from tragedy." Although Kaizen didn't know the true circumstances of her mother's coma, having a family hurt was definitely something he can relate to. Although there was one thing that struck him as odd. During the reunion between mother and child, the child was apologizing to her, almost as if she was the one at fault. He curious about that as well, but it's best not to pry too much into other people's lives, especially with regards to sensitive topics.
"Well suppose it's only fair I tell you my reason. At first I only did it to help improve my family's social standing. To help them reclaim what was rightfully theirs. But some way down the line, I got caught in something much bigger than I was. I was the at the wrong place at the wrong time. And for that…" Kaizen thoughts briefly went back to the night where he fought in the warehouse. "I died." A certain innocence in him died that night, the naive and optimistic Kaizen was no more. In its place, a battle-hardened warrior that wanted to punish the evil doers that have wronged him and everyone else. "But I was reborn, a warrior, with a clear purpose. To overcome and overpower any threat that came my way. To constantly hone my skills and prevent others from suffering as I have, that is why I fight."
Vitalis chuckled. "Iss it admirable? I supposse sso.. Thankx, Kaizzen! Yeah! It really painss me to seee tragedy befall people. And to seee how that affectss their loved ones. I want to sstop that from happening. That'ss why I became a hero."
"Improve family'ss ssocial sstanding? What do you mean? What'z rightfully theirss? You died?! Huh??" She took it to mean metaphorically. Since he was literally alive right in front of her. "Uhh.. that'z a bit sscary. But um c-cool! Ssorta like me, then! To prevent ssuffering! Good, that'z good!"
"Nevermind don't worry about it. Whats important is the here and now." Kaizen said with renewed vigor as he finally returned to sitting down. "Geez look at me, pouring my heart out to explain my reason and you boil it down to "Prevent suffering." Hahahaha." Kaizen let out a hearty laugh.
"Pouring your heart out..? But you said never mind…" she mumbled in dissatisfaction. "But yeah, okay. You did ssay ssome thingss… Sso uh, now what?"
The small vampire didnt seem satisfied with his answer, which prompted him to reconsider his previous answer. "....My family...they were treated badly, because of our position in a hierarchy, I thought I could change that by climbing up the hierarchy. But it didn't change anything, it only opened my eyes to see how flawed such a system was. As for dying….." There was a brief pause before he continued his sentence. ".... I got into a fight where I was hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned. It was a long and grueling battle, took down quite a few of them too, but there was only so much you could do against guns with armor piercing rounds. Looking back at it, I am still wondering how I survived." Kaizen turned to Vitalis, hoping that she was an acceptable reply. "Are you satisfied with that answer?" He said to her with a solemn tone. He hasn't told that to anyone outside his family members.
She nodded. "Mhm.. That ssounds… Alsso siimilar to my family. But even more draconian. My family tendss to get too into "power" and trying to prove they're the besst and that ssorta thing. Exxcept 'family' iss consiidered a big deal there. It issn't a place to desstroy one another."
"Perhaps we are not so different after all, but hey at least you're still on speaking terms with some of yours." Kaizen was of course referring to her mother. It must be nice to have a family member she can still talk to. "Do you still keep in touch with other members of your family?" He wondered since he only knows about her mother and cousin.
"Um.. I supposse… Not really, though, siince I jusst kind of departed from them. And never really liked them. And Vigridis's siide hass a self-impossed rivalry with my siode of the family, but shure, I guesss," she stated. "My mother'ss the only one I really care about -and I almosst fucked that up."
She shook her head. "What about you? Iss there no one?"
Kaizen was taken aback by the girl's sudden use of foul language, he didnt think a lady, especially one as adorable as her, would utter such words. "Well, you certainly have colorful vocabulary." He remarked sarcastically. He doesn't know exactly what happened between them, but thats fine, it wasn't his business. "I suppose my mom and some other relatives still send me letters, but I haven't found the time to reply to them." That was a lie, he couldn't bring himself to answer his mother, not just yet.
Vitalis gasped, hand quickly moving to cover her mouth. "You heard that?! I thought I sspoke sso quietly!.." Her cheeks turned pink. "Pleasse, pleasse, pleasse ignore that! Don't ever mention it! I.. I didn't mean to! I don't normally usse suchh foul language!"
In her pleading, it seemed Kaizen moved on, and she sighed in relief. "Oh, well.. Don't the letterss mean they're thinking about you? Trying to get in touchh with you?"
"Hehehe, it'll be our little secret." The bugster reached out to the vampire girl and gently patted her on her head. "Yeah they are, and I'll reply to them when I am ready. I don't think they are all that bad per say, but some things take time to get used to, you know?" Kaizen got into a crossed legged position, and readied himself for a mediation session, something which he is actually familiar with. "Apologies for bringing such sad topics, but I am grateful that you are willing to share with me about your past." The bugster appreciated her openness to talk about her past.
Vitalis pouted when her head was pat in a condescending way. She nodded to what he said. Though she wasn't sure she really understood it. There really wasn't anything (other than a coma) that would keep her from her mother. "I haven't told you too muchh. My passt izn't that bad, beyond what I did to leave my mother in a coma for 18 yearss. Or rather, what my quirk did, siince ssome people want that disstinction, though for me, perssonally, I don't really seee a differencce. But yess, thankx for talking about yoursself!"
The girl sat down beside him in a meditative position.
"If there is one thing I learned from my family, it's that sometimes, it's best not to ask too many questions, especially regarding such sensitive matters. Though I appreciate that you are willing to clarify such a detail, I also understand why you would want to keep that hidden from most people." Kaizen had started putting pieces together and saw the bigger picture. To think such a sweet little girl had a quirk that could send someone into a coma.
"Hm.. Iss that so..? Maybe.." There seemed to be wisdom in that. Vitalis knew, anyway, that she did not want to ask questions of her family, so yeah. "Mhm.." She hung her head. "I feel so ashhamed about it! My own mother! I didn't mean to! I… I… I jusst can't believe I did that to her, you know? I wishh I could take it back, but it cannot be undone. It wass not even my choicce to."
"Hey don't beat yourself up, friend. Quirks can be dangerous sometimes, which is why it's important for us to control them and not let them control us." Thinking back, Kaizen wasn't the best role model for his siblings in his younger years. "You can't change the past. Best thing you can do is work towards a better future. Think of it this way. At least your mother is fine now. And you've learned to control your powers so that it will never happen again." The bugster had a more optimistic outlook in life lately. Some day, he might even return to his family's home for a reunion.
"Yep. I learned to control my quirk, sso that that would never happen again! Never! And yess, I'm alwayss working towardss a better future! That'z why I'm a hero!" Vitalis flashed him a big smile. She wasn't sure if her mother was really all that "okay", but that was neither here nor there, and didn't really need to be mentioned.
The bugster was impressed to see her unwavering resolve. "Good to hear! Now then.. how about we.. get something to eat." As if right on cue, Kaizen's stomach began to rumble.
Vitalis chuckled. "Shure. Though I don't think we shhould eat the ssame thingss.. Let'z go."
Which is what she was doing, this day, in the gym. With a mat placed down, the girl, clad in a tanktop and yoga pants, she was busy stretching her legs. Grabbing them, pulling them this way and that. Then twisting her torso, and stretching her arms. It was so nice.
The spa trip was fruitful in more ways than one for the bugster, he's gotten a better insight on how some of his peers function. He went to gym to resume his usual workout session but was pleasantly surprised by a tiny vampire girl. "Hail, friend. How was the spa trip for you?" He said while tilting his head, perplexed by her movements.
Vitalis paused mid-stretch to turn towards the voice. She was reasonably flexible, and her current clothing choice allowed her free of movement, so her twist looked a bit suspect. "Oh, hi!" Her face brightened up. Somehow, she hadn't interacted at all with this particular classmate during the spa. But anyway.. "It was good.. Mimiyr, shiea'niyr. How bout for you Kaizzen?"
"I certainly had fun!" Kaizen said as he got down started doing one arm pushups. "I don't think I've had a chance to talk to you properly since our U.A days, how have you been?" Due to all the training they had, the bugster hadn't had the time to properly catch up with her. "That cousin of yours, Vigridis. She's certainly an interesting character."Despite being related, the two were so different from each other.
"I've been good.. Meiya neh ashier…" She mumbled in a soft tone. "Thankx for assking! It'z good you had fun! Sso did I! What did you do?" She cocked her head. It was unusual he'd just bring up Vigridis like that. "Hm? What do you mean? Did ssomething happen with my cousiin?"
"Been hanging out with some people both old and new. Bug catching with Goto, swimming with Haya, getting punched by Isa, oh and chatting with Hideki and your cousin." Kaizen shifted his body's position, so that he can push his whole body upwards with one hand on the ground. "Well, kinda when we returned, me and her had a sparring session. She nearly bisected me, but it was fun." Kaizen continued on without missing a beat.
"Bug catching??.." Vitalis repeated, with a cock of her head, staring at him. "Didn't that… Iduno.. Feel a bit weird?" she questioned. "Getting punched? Are you okay? Why did Isa hit you? Oh! You chatted with Vigridis? Really now? Didn't her personality annoy you? What did you talk about?" Vitalis, for one, could never find anything reasonable to speak with Vigridis about.
Wait, so they hadn't talked but fought? "She nearly did what?! What what?! Why?! Are you okay..? How.. how was that fun..?" The poor smol vampy couldn't understand.
"Not at all, I keep bugs in my room all the time as pets. I asked for it. She takes some getting used to, but I think she ultimately means well, most of them time. We talked about Hideki's performance and they eventually ended up fighting each other. It was… amusing to say the least." Kaizen quickly swapped to his other arm and repeated the same motion. "I also asked for that. You know how much I like fighting. You shouldn't worry about it too much. You know I'll always be fine, especially with this quirk of mine." Kaizen has always acknowledged that his quirk allowed him to take a lot more punishment than many of his peers, recovering from near death experiences in the matter of minutes.
Vitalis wasn't sure if she was surprised or not about Kaizen keeping bugs. Perhaps she shouldn't be, so she would just drop it. What he said about Vigridis, though, left her a bit confused. Were they talking about the same person? Her cousin? "I guess you two are similar in that way…" But she always thought Kaizen was a nicer person than Vigridis. "But yep, your quirk is tough.." She'd agree on that front, since that was an undeniable fact.
"Haha I guess we are.." Kaizen walked over to the dumbbells, easily grabbing the heaviest weight they had to offer and began doing curls with them. "What's the matter? You don't seem to fond of her." Kaizen picked up on her tone of voice, he felt that there was something going on between the two. "Does like to pick fights during family gatherings as well?" Kaizen asked half jokingly.
"Ehhh, ssorta. I'd ssay sso, I guesss. Shhe likess to boasst about her strength to me and "my siide of the family"," Vitalis answered. "Shhe's jusst like that, I supposse.. It'z hard to blame her, shhe wass raissed that way. We pretty muchh all were."
Vitalis paused for a moment. "Hmm.. You're alwayss doing that ssort of thing. Like weightlifting and the like. How bout join me for ssome yoga? I learned it'z as usseful, rejuvenating, and good for your musscles as it iss relaxing."
She was right, the bugster always lifting weights, so much so that they feel like a proper exercise anymore. Kaizen sighed and decided to join the small vampire. "Very well.. I'll try it your way for once." He walked over towards the vampire girl and sat down next to her. Size difference was very noticeable. "So… what exactly am I suppose to do?" He asked, patiently wondering what was the next step. He doesn't know much about yoga, so she would need to educate him in that.
Vitalis looked at the big bug-like person. There was a small frown on the crease of her lips. "Can you.. Can you even stretchh like that? Are you, you know, limber?"
"Of course I can! See!" Kaizen put his legs forward and reach out to touch his toes. Surprisingly, he was able to do so without too much trouble due to the multi-jointed nature of his limbs.
"Ooo~! Nicce! I seee!! Sso bugz can do yoga! Okay," she took up a stance, "follow me!" Then she began performing some various stretches around her body. Her legs, her arms, twisting her torso. These were the mundane ones at the start. Then there was going to be more meditative, yet tougher forms.
"Why not, our limbs can bend at unnatural angles sometimes, depending on orientation." He explained as he followed her. Kaizen always had a soft spot for Vitalis ever since their days in U.A. He couldn't quite explain it, perhaps it was a passing resemblance to his own petite little sister? Or maybe it was just her generally cute demeanor. While it started off as something more at first, he eventually treated her like one of his little sisters.
"I can do this all day!" Kaizen proudly announced, as he easily mimicked Vitlalis movement, the only difference being he was doing it three times the speed, treating it more like an actual exercise than stretching.
"Hmm…" Vitalis wondered. "If that'z the casse, I wonder if thiss iss helping you at all…" she mumbled. If his limbs could bend in ways a human couldn't then it was likely that yoga wouldn't do anything for him. At least not "human yoga", but it wasn't like she knew "insect yoga" or whatever.
"Do you feel anything from thiss? -Oh and you're going too fasst! Thiss iss suppossed to be a bit meditative! Go slower! It'z not a racce, siilly!!" Vitalis didn't really know that Kaizen viewed and treated her as a little sister-type. Many people probably did, but she was actually a bit oblivious to that sorta thing. This was just who she was, and what she was used to!
"Well, I dont exactly feel things the same way you guys do." Kaizen's insect physiology meant that he "felt" things differently from his peers. "That being said, stretching does help loosen the insect muscles. So yea, it does help." He replied with a chuckle. "Ok now that I've tried it your way, now is your turn!" Kaizen shifted his body and did a handstand. "Come on, its only fair!"
"Really? Iss that sso? Well then, good!" That was surprising to Vitalis, but she was glad to hear it all the same! She tilted her head. "A handsstand? Okay." He was playing low ball right now, right?
Vitalis leaned forward, and easily did a handstand. She was even able to keep the balance.
Kaizen didnt know Vitalis could do that; was she into gymnastics? The bugster decided to step up his game by lifting one of his hands off the floor. "Ok now do it with one hand!" For all he knew she could probably do it. Is there anything this Alucard could not do?
"Mm. Okay." Her soft voice came out. One of her legs extended for balance as she gradually lifted her other hand off the floor. "Th~ere." She was a bit wobbly, but otherwise balanced.
Kaizen could not believe his buggy eyes when he saw the little vampire balancing herself on one hand. "Wow, where did you learn to do that! What sorts of stuff do you guys do back in Romania? Can Vigridis do this as well?" He asked while maintaining his handstand. The bugster was curious as to how she was so talented in something like this.
"Vigridiss? Oh, haha!" Vitalis fell onto her back as she laughed. "Whoops~ Oh, yeah. Vigridiss can do WAY more than that! Shhe's an athletic geniuss! A siingle hand-sstand wouldn't even bother her. Shhe could maintain it all day if shhe wanted! Shhe can walk on her hands, all day, too. My cousiin iss a lot better at thiss ssorta sstuff than me. But um, uh, yeah, I mean, I heard my mother wass BIG into gymnasticss for awhile, sso I deciided to try my hand at them a bit, jusst to seee what my mother did to become a better hero."
"Hmm interesting… your family sounds very colorful. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to meet your other relatives." Was their family entirely made of individuals as interesting as them? "As expected, so Vigridis is that sort of person...I like her." He feels that he can relate to someone that tryhards in just about anything they do. "So you became a hero because of your mother?" Kaizen always wanted to know what makes people pursue such a dangerous career, was it for the fame and glory? Or maybe a sense of justice.
"Hm.. I'm shure you'd like a few of them!" she stated flatly. She knew there were peeps in her family she didn't want Kaizen to meet. Or ever interact with. Vigridis wasn't honestly one of the worst of her family, despite how.. she can be. But there were others she thought were fine. Or even fun. "There'ss a few like you. You like Vigridiss? Haha! That'z kinda new.. But I'm glad to hear it! I think… if Vigridiss hass ssomeone who actually likess her for her, as a person, then shhe'll gradually chhange and become better."
"Becausse of my mothher?.. Hmm.. I guesss you could put it that way," Vitalis answered, thinking on it. "But it wass becausse of what happened to her. Shhe fell into a coma for 18 yearss. My entire life. I never want to seee anything like that again. That classs a while back was the first time I had ever seen my mothher walking and talking! Sso I deciided I want to ssave people. Ssave everyone! Sso no daughterss or sonss or anyone have to seee their mothhers or fathhers laying bedridden. Or their family or friendss. It'z agony. That'z why I'm a hero."
"An admirable reason. So you more in it to protect people, an understandable sentiment that many can relate to, especially those who have suffered from tragedy." Although Kaizen didn't know the true circumstances of her mother's coma, having a family hurt was definitely something he can relate to. Although there was one thing that struck him as odd. During the reunion between mother and child, the child was apologizing to her, almost as if she was the one at fault. He curious about that as well, but it's best not to pry too much into other people's lives, especially with regards to sensitive topics.
"Well suppose it's only fair I tell you my reason. At first I only did it to help improve my family's social standing. To help them reclaim what was rightfully theirs. But some way down the line, I got caught in something much bigger than I was. I was the at the wrong place at the wrong time. And for that…" Kaizen thoughts briefly went back to the night where he fought in the warehouse. "I died." A certain innocence in him died that night, the naive and optimistic Kaizen was no more. In its place, a battle-hardened warrior that wanted to punish the evil doers that have wronged him and everyone else. "But I was reborn, a warrior, with a clear purpose. To overcome and overpower any threat that came my way. To constantly hone my skills and prevent others from suffering as I have, that is why I fight."
Vitalis chuckled. "Iss it admirable? I supposse sso.. Thankx, Kaizzen! Yeah! It really painss me to seee tragedy befall people. And to seee how that affectss their loved ones. I want to sstop that from happening. That'ss why I became a hero."
"Improve family'ss ssocial sstanding? What do you mean? What'z rightfully theirss? You died?! Huh??" She took it to mean metaphorically. Since he was literally alive right in front of her. "Uhh.. that'z a bit sscary. But um c-cool! Ssorta like me, then! To prevent ssuffering! Good, that'z good!"
"Nevermind don't worry about it. Whats important is the here and now." Kaizen said with renewed vigor as he finally returned to sitting down. "Geez look at me, pouring my heart out to explain my reason and you boil it down to "Prevent suffering." Hahahaha." Kaizen let out a hearty laugh.
"Pouring your heart out..? But you said never mind…" she mumbled in dissatisfaction. "But yeah, okay. You did ssay ssome thingss… Sso uh, now what?"
The small vampire didnt seem satisfied with his answer, which prompted him to reconsider his previous answer. "....My family...they were treated badly, because of our position in a hierarchy, I thought I could change that by climbing up the hierarchy. But it didn't change anything, it only opened my eyes to see how flawed such a system was. As for dying….." There was a brief pause before he continued his sentence. ".... I got into a fight where I was hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned. It was a long and grueling battle, took down quite a few of them too, but there was only so much you could do against guns with armor piercing rounds. Looking back at it, I am still wondering how I survived." Kaizen turned to Vitalis, hoping that she was an acceptable reply. "Are you satisfied with that answer?" He said to her with a solemn tone. He hasn't told that to anyone outside his family members.
She nodded. "Mhm.. That ssounds… Alsso siimilar to my family. But even more draconian. My family tendss to get too into "power" and trying to prove they're the besst and that ssorta thing. Exxcept 'family' iss consiidered a big deal there. It issn't a place to desstroy one another."
"Perhaps we are not so different after all, but hey at least you're still on speaking terms with some of yours." Kaizen was of course referring to her mother. It must be nice to have a family member she can still talk to. "Do you still keep in touch with other members of your family?" He wondered since he only knows about her mother and cousin.
"Um.. I supposse… Not really, though, siince I jusst kind of departed from them. And never really liked them. And Vigridis's siide hass a self-impossed rivalry with my siode of the family, but shure, I guesss," she stated. "My mother'ss the only one I really care about -and I almosst fucked that up."
She shook her head. "What about you? Iss there no one?"
Kaizen was taken aback by the girl's sudden use of foul language, he didnt think a lady, especially one as adorable as her, would utter such words. "Well, you certainly have colorful vocabulary." He remarked sarcastically. He doesn't know exactly what happened between them, but thats fine, it wasn't his business. "I suppose my mom and some other relatives still send me letters, but I haven't found the time to reply to them." That was a lie, he couldn't bring himself to answer his mother, not just yet.
Vitalis gasped, hand quickly moving to cover her mouth. "You heard that?! I thought I sspoke sso quietly!.." Her cheeks turned pink. "Pleasse, pleasse, pleasse ignore that! Don't ever mention it! I.. I didn't mean to! I don't normally usse suchh foul language!"
In her pleading, it seemed Kaizen moved on, and she sighed in relief. "Oh, well.. Don't the letterss mean they're thinking about you? Trying to get in touchh with you?"
"Hehehe, it'll be our little secret." The bugster reached out to the vampire girl and gently patted her on her head. "Yeah they are, and I'll reply to them when I am ready. I don't think they are all that bad per say, but some things take time to get used to, you know?" Kaizen got into a crossed legged position, and readied himself for a mediation session, something which he is actually familiar with. "Apologies for bringing such sad topics, but I am grateful that you are willing to share with me about your past." The bugster appreciated her openness to talk about her past.
Vitalis pouted when her head was pat in a condescending way. She nodded to what he said. Though she wasn't sure she really understood it. There really wasn't anything (other than a coma) that would keep her from her mother. "I haven't told you too muchh. My passt izn't that bad, beyond what I did to leave my mother in a coma for 18 yearss. Or rather, what my quirk did, siince ssome people want that disstinction, though for me, perssonally, I don't really seee a differencce. But yess, thankx for talking about yoursself!"
The girl sat down beside him in a meditative position.
"If there is one thing I learned from my family, it's that sometimes, it's best not to ask too many questions, especially regarding such sensitive matters. Though I appreciate that you are willing to clarify such a detail, I also understand why you would want to keep that hidden from most people." Kaizen had started putting pieces together and saw the bigger picture. To think such a sweet little girl had a quirk that could send someone into a coma.
"Hm.. Iss that so..? Maybe.." There seemed to be wisdom in that. Vitalis knew, anyway, that she did not want to ask questions of her family, so yeah. "Mhm.." She hung her head. "I feel so ashhamed about it! My own mother! I didn't mean to! I… I… I jusst can't believe I did that to her, you know? I wishh I could take it back, but it cannot be undone. It wass not even my choicce to."
"Hey don't beat yourself up, friend. Quirks can be dangerous sometimes, which is why it's important for us to control them and not let them control us." Thinking back, Kaizen wasn't the best role model for his siblings in his younger years. "You can't change the past. Best thing you can do is work towards a better future. Think of it this way. At least your mother is fine now. And you've learned to control your powers so that it will never happen again." The bugster had a more optimistic outlook in life lately. Some day, he might even return to his family's home for a reunion.
"Yep. I learned to control my quirk, sso that that would never happen again! Never! And yess, I'm alwayss working towardss a better future! That'z why I'm a hero!" Vitalis flashed him a big smile. She wasn't sure if her mother was really all that "okay", but that was neither here nor there, and didn't really need to be mentioned.
The bugster was impressed to see her unwavering resolve. "Good to hear! Now then.. how about we.. get something to eat." As if right on cue, Kaizen's stomach began to rumble.
Vitalis chuckled. "Shure. Though I don't think we shhould eat the ssame thingss.. Let'z go."
~~~~~
Skipping lunch right before fighting a battle-crazed vampire wasn't exactly the best decision he has ever made, but then again it's far from the worst decision he has ever made. The rumbling of his stomach was enough to make him forget that he was nearly cleaved in two by an over enthusiastic vampire.
"Heh, I'll have to return the favor to her someday." The bugster thought quietly to himself as he turned on the radio to play some jazz before starting his cooking session. He decided to prepare some japanese curry. Seeing Amon enjoying such a familiar dish made feel homesick, so he ordered some from the online store.
It was then that Kaizen remembered that he agreed to give cooking lessons to Katsumi. Not wasting any time, he went outside and flew towards Katsumi's balcony to knock on her window. "Katsumi, are you in there? Your first cooking lesson is about to start."
Katsumi had taken a peek at the kitchen on her way to her room. When she didn't see her teacher there, she decided to head up. Maybe he'll come get her when he is ready, or he will forget. Maybe she should check back in 15 or 20 minutes.
She'd return to her room, sit on the bed, and maybe browse her phone for a bit until she heard a knock on her window. Her eyebrow lifted in confusion, wondering who that could be. She got up, went to the window, and opened it to reveal Kaizen on the other side.
"You… decided to come by my window? Is something wrong with the door?" She asked him a bit sarcastically, stepping aside to let him in if he wanted."
"I thought it'd be faster for me to fly up here rather than taking the stairs." Kaizen took a moment to inspect the girl's room. It was just as he expected, a lot of rich girl stuff. "Your room is….as to be expected." Kaizen said flatly. "Have you tried jumping out of a window to get down? It's an exhilarating experience!" The bugster said, still hovering over her balcony. "It's a lot faster taking the stairs, I can tell you that."
"A glamorous room, isn't it?" She responded with a smile. When Kaizen mentioned jumping out of the window, Katsumi hummed a bit in thought. "Perhaps one day if I own bungee equipment. I've only a sword and a quirk that could soften my fall, both of which would cause property damage. For now, I am bound to the stairs."
If only she could fly like a certain someone.
"Will you be carrying me out the window or will you fly down the stairs?" She asked him.
"I will carry you out. Consider me, your valet for this lesson." Kaizen went closer to the balcony to allow the girl to sit in his arms bridal style. It was the most comfortable way of carrying a person, lest she wants to be carried over the shoulder like a dirty rug.
Hearing that, Katsumi went outside her window and closed it behind her, "How very gentleman of you, thank you." She told him, ready for him to carry her.
The bugster carried her effortlessly on his wings. She was a lot lighter than he thought she would be. But it'd be best for him to not vocalize such thoughts. "Hope you're ready for this." The bugster launched himself skywards with a small explosion. He made a few loops in the air before finally landing in front of the doorway of the dorm. "Well, I hope that got your blood pumping. Today we'll be making Japanese curry. Similar to what Amon was making on our first day here." Kaizen explained before putting her down. He wasn't quite sure how much she knew about cooking but he was confident that she wouldn't burn the kitchen down as long as he was there.
By the time he'd finished their flight, Katsumi's eyes were wide and she was clinging tightly to him. Of course she anticipated speed, but she had not been expecting an impromptu rollercoaster ride. Her hair was a mess and she'd been shaking a bit.
"B-Blood is pumping...yes…" He was lucky she didn't pee her pants! The bastard!
She was put on her feet, her knees shaking a bit but taking a few breaths to regain her composure. "Japanese curry.. Sure. Let's begin the lesson without the theatrics." Katsumi borderline hissed out the word, but was nonetheless ready to begin.
"Perfect. We shall start with arguably the most important of cooking. Preparing the ingredients. Or as the french call it, Mise en place. I am sure someone of your social status knows what that means right?" Kaizen was sure that she had a chef prepare meals for her but she would at least know some cooking terms right.
Kaizen laid out the uncut ingredients on the countertop along with a list of what ingredients they would need and how they should be prepared. "Alright, let's start with something simple. How good are you with knives?" Kaizen said he sharpened one kitchen knives, rinsed it and planted it on the cutting board. "We're gonna be dicing some onions. Observe." After peeling the onion, Kaizen quickly diced the onions into neat, evenly cut pieces in less than a few seconds. "Now you try." Kaizen said as he handed her the knife and one unpeeled red onion.
Katsumi lifted an eyebrow. "No. No one in my family speaks French. But if I had to guess it means "something in place." She answered. Yes, Katsumi went to a lot of restaurants, but she didn't have a private chef or anything. Her mother mainly did the cooking, with her father helping every now and then. That was if they decided not to go out to eat.
"I'm well trained. A knife is basically a shorter sword." Katsumi told him, watching him sharpen then rinse one of the kitchen knives, then as he started to dice the onion at impressive speeds. Her eyes widened a bit, clearly impressed by it.
When it was her turn, she grabbed the onion and peeled it first, tossing the outer layer into the garbage before doing her best to mimic his actions. Of course, dicing an onion was much different than stabbing a person, so her movement was slower and her dicing wasn't as even as Kaizen's, but she was learning.
And there was something else.
Katsumi sniffled, using her arm to wipe the tears. "What next?"
"A little rough around the edges, but acceptable." Kaizen, happy that she was willing to learn something from him. Kaizen grabbed a deep pot, turned on the heat and placed it over the stove. The bugster quickly minced some garlic and put all the chopped ingredients into the pot along with one tablespoon of vegetable oil. "This is called saute, we are trying to fry it quickly in vegetable oil. We'll leave that there for about 5 minutes and come back to it later." Kaizen then grabs a few potatoes and carrots, peeling them and chopping them as well. He cubed the potatoes while chopping the carrots into bite sized pieces. He then passed the unchopped portion to Katsumi. "You want them to be at appropriate sizes so that they all cook at the same time. Some vegetables take longer to cook than others, so keep that in mind when chopping them up." Kaizen didnt just want her to know how to do it, but also understand why it was done a certain way. "Take your time, you shouldn't rush yourself, especially when you're holding sharp objects." Kaizen politely reminded her to be careful with holding a knife since he is pretty sure she can't grow back lost body parts.
As Kaizen was explaining the art of saute, Katsumi's eyes were irritated by the onion. Still she persevered, trying to pay attention to him as he continued the lesson. It was difficult, but she was doing her best.
She shadowed him, watching him work his magic on the pan and the vegetables. Was this what her mother had to do each time she cooked? All of this? Because if yes, she would have to show her mother more appreciation for her cooking than she normally did.
"Yes, I understand. I work with blades much bigger than this daily…" Katsumi reminded him, reaching for a paper towel and lightly dabbed out the remaining tears from the onion mishap, throwing it away so that she could try to focus.
With Kaizen's words and advice in mind, she steadied her hand and started working on chopping the vegetables. Katsumi peeled what was needed and readied them for the knife, dicing the potatoes and carrots. Again, they weren't completely even but this time they were better than the onion. She knew the potatoes would take longer to cook than the carrots, so she focused on making the pieces a bit smaller than the carrots.
"Here, it's done." Thankfully, the onion's irritation had fully gone away.
"Hmm, slightly uneven, but acceptable and an improvement compared to before!" Kaizen said upon examining her new cuts, they had greater consistency then before, but the potatoes were cut a bit too small.
"Alright now comes the chicken." The bugster grabbed the four chicken breasts he had taken earlier. He grabbed a separate chopping board and knife and started cutting two of them into good sizes. Once again, he did so with impressive precision. "Arguably, the heaviest part of the meal, the meat. Try to use separate knives and cutting boards when cutting raw meat to prevent cross contamination. I'd advise you cut them into these sizes, too small and they cook too quickly, too large and they won't cook all the way through." Kaizen understood the importance of hygiene when it comes to food. "After that, season it with your choice of seasoning. Today we will be using garam masala which is a combination of different spices. You can always buy pre-made ones in the store, but if I've got the time, I prefer homemade ones." Kaizen sprinkled the spice all over his portion of chicken, making sure to get a nice even spread. The bugster didn't get to go out to the store much as a child, so he mostly stuck with home made ingredients. Kaizen waited patiently for her to finish cutting her portion of the chicken.
Kaizen was much more knowledgeable with food and ingredients than Katsumi originally thought he'd be. From what her father told her, boys her age usually only know how to make the poor person's basics like cupped noodles. But watching the other work his magic on the vegetables and the chicken make Katsumi wonder a few things.
"Were you studying to become a chef before you came here or something?" She asked him, the question mostly rhetorical as he passed the chicken over to her.
Katsumi hated handling raw meat. It was literally the innards of an animal. Something's organs. She wasn't a vegan or anything, she just didn't like needing to handle these sort of things. Regardless, she spiced her portion of the chicken. Perhaps it had a bit more than needed, but overseasoned was better than underseasoned in her book.
She then readied the chicken to be cut, mimicking the size Kaizen cut his chicken into. It seemed that she would need a bit more training to get it perfectly correct, but at least she hadn't set fire to anything and the chicken wasn't on the floor.
Katsumi pouted a bit, "It's not perfect. Again." She muttered, becoming a bit frustrated.
"I started cooking because of my ma, the rest I learned from the internet." Was all Kaizen said when asked about his knowledge regarding cooking. He noticed how the girl perhaps put a bit too much seasoning. "Don't worry about it, it is your first time after all." Kaizen reassured her that it would be fine if as he dropped the chunks of chicken into the deep pot earlier. "And now we leave those in there for about 10 minutes until they are a nice brown color." While waiting for the chicken to cook, Kaizen began cleaning the cutting board and knives he had used before. "While we wait for that to cook, we can start cleaning the utensils we have used. Helps minimize clutter in the kitchen. Better to do it now then later." Kaizen believed greatly in living efficiently, which also includes cooking.
After 10 minutes have passed, Kaizen added chicken stock, the carrots, water and bay leaves into the pot. "The chicken will act as a base for our curry. While the bay leaf helps give it a pleasant smelling aroma. And now wait for the water to boil." They needed to wait for a period of time, so Kaizen took this opportunity to get to know her better. "What do you usually eat back at home, Katsumi?" The bugster wasn't too familiar with the background of her family. All he knew was she seemed like a rich person and had a strong quirk.
Katsumi sighed. At this point she was a bit discouraged but Kaizen taking the time to reassure her made her want to keep going. At least so the other knew that she wanted to learn and wasn't a waste of time.
Though it was impressive that Kaizen taught himself. Katsumi wasn't sure if she had the patience to teach herself if she couldn't get it right the first time.
She took mental note of Kaizen's directions, helping him clean the utensils while they waited for the 10 minutes. As it went by without much conversation, Katsumi resumed watching and listening to him, wishing she'd brought a notepad or something to take notes.
At his question, she looked at him. "Hm? Well, if we do not eat at a restaurant, my mother usually cooks something. Curry, cuisines, anything in a book she will try to make for us. My brother and I try to help her where we can." She answered him. Did she shatter his belief that she never lifted a finger?
"You said you learned from your mother. Were you made the chef of the family? Or was this just a hobby for you."
"Hmm interesting, so you help around the house as well. That's….good to know." Kaizen was indeed surprised to hear that her life wasn't as lavish as he thought it would be. "Not quite, we mostly take turns cooking and tending to the farm. It was more for necessity instead of a hobby but I do quite enjoy the process of learning new dishes.`` The bugster thought about how he always wanted to try outside food in his younger days. He quickly grated an apple for the next step
The chopped potatoes and grated apples were placed into the pot which was then sealed with the lid. He left it slightly ajar. "We leave the lid slightly open so that it reduces the liquid." and with that Kaizen turned his attention to making the roux.
"Alright, time for the roux, this is where most of your flavour will be coming from." He grabbed a bowl and mixed together a combination of spices and flour. He then placed a pan with butter inside over another stove element, turning up the heat. "You want to stir these slowly until it has absorbed all the butter evenly. And then after that you add these." Kaizen then added some tonkotsu, tomato paste and honey into the mix to finish it off.
"Alright once all of that is done, you start slowly mixing the roux into the main pot. Try not to pour too much at time, you want it to mix evenly." Kaizen demonstrated this by pouring a little bit of the roux at a time and waiting for it to mix well before continuing. "Here you give it a try." Kaizen handed the pan to her to let her try mixing it in. "I like you , Katsumi…. You are willing to get your hands dirty and try out new things which is not something everyone of your social status is willing to do." Kaizen commended the girl, his opinion of her has greatly improved over the course of this cooking lesson.
Katsumi raised her eyebrow at that. Oh, Kaizen worked on a farm? That was… different. Interesting. She assumed he was another city boy who lived across the town from Suppression or something. Or that he lived on the outskirts of the town. She wanted to ask him a few questions about his farm life, such as if they tended to animals or if they were a different kind of farm.
"Roux," what a strange word." She commented as she watched him start mixing the main pot. This part was definitely a bit strange for her. So many different things were all being tossed together with Kaizen knowing exactly what was needed by heart. What sort of wizardry was this?
After the next set of instructions, Katsumi was a bit surprised to hear him say he liked her and commending her for actually trying. She smirked at him.
"Are you speaking from experience or from stereotypes?" She asked him. "Yes, my family may be well off, but my father would be damned if his children grew into dependent adult babies. I share his sentiments. How can I be a hero if I am too afraid to get mud on my hands? Or if I'm so pathetic that I cannot take care of myself despite being able-bodied and capable?"
Katsumi, as she watched the food cook, decided to ask him. "The farm. Do you raise livestock or do you grow something?" She asked him. They were going to be standing around a bit, weren't they? May as well make conversation.
"More from experience I suppose. I grew up alongside some wealthy people. Some were nice but sheltered, others not so much. They think being born in a financially superior family makes them generally superior. Well… let's just say there are some things money can't buy or fix." Kaizen remembered how some of them used to pick fights with him thinking he was some pushover. He ain't.
"Our farm had both livestock and crops. The usual cows, sheep, chicken and pigs, all free range of course. A large assortment of vegetables with no growth enhancements or genetic modification. We were essentially self-sustaining for the most part." Kaizen remembered his time at the farm, as the eldest, he was expected to be able to take care of the farm and supervise his siblings when his parents were absent.
"What about you Katsumi? What does your family do? Your family name is familiar, but it would be rude for me to simply assume your story without hearing it from you." He was curious about her background. From her family name, he could surmise certain things but not everything. The food was still being cooked, so it would take some time before he had to show her something else.
"I see. Entitlement runs both ends of the spectrum, though upper class is much more common, and far more irritating."
Katsumi, too, had seen her fair share of individuals who believed they could live off their parents' money and spend the rest of their lives as lazy good-for-nothings. She never said anything to those types of people because she knew that they needed something bad to happen to them in order for them to learn a lesson.
She listened further, hearing about the livestock and the crops Kaizen had on his farm. It was exactly as one would expect of a farm. If Katsumi bothered, she might start calling him "Old Mcdonald."
"I see. Organic, no chemicals… Sounds delicious. Do you sell the crops in the market or through a family owned business? I might put in an order." It wasn't often that vegetables were grown pure after all.
When he asked about her family, she smiled. "Ah, my father was the former number one hero, Raiden. My mother worked as a wardrobe consultant in a modeling agency called Exozu. Both of them recently retired, but my mother still makes some money by selling some jewelry and weapons she forges." Katsumi's tone seemed to lighten talking about her parents. "My brother… Well, he's off doing his own thing. Truthfully, I don't know what he's doing and I don't really want to know."
"You won't have to, I already have some growing on the rooftop as we speak. Though I have to warn you, they are not as big or pretty looking as their enhanced counterparts." Kaizen explained, hoping that she would have more realistic expectations
"So you are his daughter." Looks like Kaizen's assumptions were right. That being said, he does recognize the pressure of being the former number one's daughter. "Must be tough to have all that expectation on you." Kaizen turned his attention towards the pot and realized it was just about time. He wanted to ask more about her family, but it's probably best not to pry. "And now, the finishing touch, this part is completely optional, my ma says it improves the taste and I don't think she's been wrong about anything in cooking." Kaizen added a dash of coffee powder onto the pot before mixing it in.
"Alright and we are done!" He proudly as he plated the curry alongside some rice. He gave the first one to Katsumi then for himself. "Give it a try." The curry was largely savory with a mild heat to it. Some chunks of chicken tasted a bit over seasoned. But apart from that, it tasted pretty good. "Here's a tip for seasoning next time, most of the time its safer to add less because you can always add more later. But apart from that, I think you did pretty good for your first time, Katsumi." He gave her his signature thumbs up of approval. "Though you cannot see it, I am actually smiling on the inside it." The bugster added humorously.
Again, Kaizen surprised her by mentioning that he'd been growing crops on the rooftop. "I assume you have it covered or something to keep it safe. But isn't it vulnerable to crows?" She asked him. Katsumi knew those were the smartest types of birds; would they find a way into Kaizen's plants. Would the other students who had access leave the plants undisturbed?
"You get used to it." She answered him. "If you focus hard enough on your goal you start forgetting how much pressure is put onto you."
Just like that, the curry was done and… did he just put coffee into the curry? That… was definitely not something she'd ever think to do. Ever. But he seemed to be enjoying it. Katsumi took the plate and grabbed some chopsticks to give it a taste.
Immediately she could tell exactly what Kaizen was talking about. The seasoning was a bit much and there was no way that she could remove it. But if she had put less, then she could have fixed it. Lesson noted. The flavor wasn't ruined by the coffee either and everything seemed to be well. Overall, it was a good meal but it could definitely be better.
"Understood." Katsumi responded. Though the food wasn't terrible, she did notice something. Something she wondered if it was normal.
And still she received a thumbs up from him. Despite messing up what would have been a perfect dish.
She'll have to practice more in her free time. Perhaps she could have someone sit and eat her test meals.
Katsumi smiled back at him, laughing a little at his joke. "Next time I will make a dish to bring that smile to the surface. For now, I need to practice. That means I'll have to have you test every meal I make. Every. single. one. Do you mind?"
"Uhh.. sure." Kaizen agreed cautiously at the girl's request. "Well, as your teacher I guess, I am invested in the improvement of your crafts, so why not. And here, I took the liberty of writing down the recipe and instructions for you in this notebook." Kaizen handed her a notebook that was humorously shaped like a rhinoceros beetle. The front of the book had a hand-drawn caricature of him holding a frying pan and giving a thumbs up.
Katsumi took the notebook and inspected the cover, unable to help the smile that crawled onto her face. "How cute." She commented, opening the notebook and spotting the recipe. She'd skim over it, seeing the precise ingredients and the steps.
"Thank you, I will practice this as soon as possible."
"Heh, I'll have to return the favor to her someday." The bugster thought quietly to himself as he turned on the radio to play some jazz before starting his cooking session. He decided to prepare some japanese curry. Seeing Amon enjoying such a familiar dish made feel homesick, so he ordered some from the online store.
It was then that Kaizen remembered that he agreed to give cooking lessons to Katsumi. Not wasting any time, he went outside and flew towards Katsumi's balcony to knock on her window. "Katsumi, are you in there? Your first cooking lesson is about to start."
Katsumi had taken a peek at the kitchen on her way to her room. When she didn't see her teacher there, she decided to head up. Maybe he'll come get her when he is ready, or he will forget. Maybe she should check back in 15 or 20 minutes.
She'd return to her room, sit on the bed, and maybe browse her phone for a bit until she heard a knock on her window. Her eyebrow lifted in confusion, wondering who that could be. She got up, went to the window, and opened it to reveal Kaizen on the other side.
"You… decided to come by my window? Is something wrong with the door?" She asked him a bit sarcastically, stepping aside to let him in if he wanted."
"I thought it'd be faster for me to fly up here rather than taking the stairs." Kaizen took a moment to inspect the girl's room. It was just as he expected, a lot of rich girl stuff. "Your room is….as to be expected." Kaizen said flatly. "Have you tried jumping out of a window to get down? It's an exhilarating experience!" The bugster said, still hovering over her balcony. "It's a lot faster taking the stairs, I can tell you that."
"A glamorous room, isn't it?" She responded with a smile. When Kaizen mentioned jumping out of the window, Katsumi hummed a bit in thought. "Perhaps one day if I own bungee equipment. I've only a sword and a quirk that could soften my fall, both of which would cause property damage. For now, I am bound to the stairs."
If only she could fly like a certain someone.
"Will you be carrying me out the window or will you fly down the stairs?" She asked him.
"I will carry you out. Consider me, your valet for this lesson." Kaizen went closer to the balcony to allow the girl to sit in his arms bridal style. It was the most comfortable way of carrying a person, lest she wants to be carried over the shoulder like a dirty rug.
Hearing that, Katsumi went outside her window and closed it behind her, "How very gentleman of you, thank you." She told him, ready for him to carry her.
The bugster carried her effortlessly on his wings. She was a lot lighter than he thought she would be. But it'd be best for him to not vocalize such thoughts. "Hope you're ready for this." The bugster launched himself skywards with a small explosion. He made a few loops in the air before finally landing in front of the doorway of the dorm. "Well, I hope that got your blood pumping. Today we'll be making Japanese curry. Similar to what Amon was making on our first day here." Kaizen explained before putting her down. He wasn't quite sure how much she knew about cooking but he was confident that she wouldn't burn the kitchen down as long as he was there.
By the time he'd finished their flight, Katsumi's eyes were wide and she was clinging tightly to him. Of course she anticipated speed, but she had not been expecting an impromptu rollercoaster ride. Her hair was a mess and she'd been shaking a bit.
"B-Blood is pumping...yes…" He was lucky she didn't pee her pants! The bastard!
She was put on her feet, her knees shaking a bit but taking a few breaths to regain her composure. "Japanese curry.. Sure. Let's begin the lesson without the theatrics." Katsumi borderline hissed out the word, but was nonetheless ready to begin.
"Perfect. We shall start with arguably the most important of cooking. Preparing the ingredients. Or as the french call it, Mise en place. I am sure someone of your social status knows what that means right?" Kaizen was sure that she had a chef prepare meals for her but she would at least know some cooking terms right.
Kaizen laid out the uncut ingredients on the countertop along with a list of what ingredients they would need and how they should be prepared. "Alright, let's start with something simple. How good are you with knives?" Kaizen said he sharpened one kitchen knives, rinsed it and planted it on the cutting board. "We're gonna be dicing some onions. Observe." After peeling the onion, Kaizen quickly diced the onions into neat, evenly cut pieces in less than a few seconds. "Now you try." Kaizen said as he handed her the knife and one unpeeled red onion.
Katsumi lifted an eyebrow. "No. No one in my family speaks French. But if I had to guess it means "something in place." She answered. Yes, Katsumi went to a lot of restaurants, but she didn't have a private chef or anything. Her mother mainly did the cooking, with her father helping every now and then. That was if they decided not to go out to eat.
"I'm well trained. A knife is basically a shorter sword." Katsumi told him, watching him sharpen then rinse one of the kitchen knives, then as he started to dice the onion at impressive speeds. Her eyes widened a bit, clearly impressed by it.
When it was her turn, she grabbed the onion and peeled it first, tossing the outer layer into the garbage before doing her best to mimic his actions. Of course, dicing an onion was much different than stabbing a person, so her movement was slower and her dicing wasn't as even as Kaizen's, but she was learning.
And there was something else.
Katsumi sniffled, using her arm to wipe the tears. "What next?"
"A little rough around the edges, but acceptable." Kaizen, happy that she was willing to learn something from him. Kaizen grabbed a deep pot, turned on the heat and placed it over the stove. The bugster quickly minced some garlic and put all the chopped ingredients into the pot along with one tablespoon of vegetable oil. "This is called saute, we are trying to fry it quickly in vegetable oil. We'll leave that there for about 5 minutes and come back to it later." Kaizen then grabs a few potatoes and carrots, peeling them and chopping them as well. He cubed the potatoes while chopping the carrots into bite sized pieces. He then passed the unchopped portion to Katsumi. "You want them to be at appropriate sizes so that they all cook at the same time. Some vegetables take longer to cook than others, so keep that in mind when chopping them up." Kaizen didnt just want her to know how to do it, but also understand why it was done a certain way. "Take your time, you shouldn't rush yourself, especially when you're holding sharp objects." Kaizen politely reminded her to be careful with holding a knife since he is pretty sure she can't grow back lost body parts.
As Kaizen was explaining the art of saute, Katsumi's eyes were irritated by the onion. Still she persevered, trying to pay attention to him as he continued the lesson. It was difficult, but she was doing her best.
She shadowed him, watching him work his magic on the pan and the vegetables. Was this what her mother had to do each time she cooked? All of this? Because if yes, she would have to show her mother more appreciation for her cooking than she normally did.
"Yes, I understand. I work with blades much bigger than this daily…" Katsumi reminded him, reaching for a paper towel and lightly dabbed out the remaining tears from the onion mishap, throwing it away so that she could try to focus.
With Kaizen's words and advice in mind, she steadied her hand and started working on chopping the vegetables. Katsumi peeled what was needed and readied them for the knife, dicing the potatoes and carrots. Again, they weren't completely even but this time they were better than the onion. She knew the potatoes would take longer to cook than the carrots, so she focused on making the pieces a bit smaller than the carrots.
"Here, it's done." Thankfully, the onion's irritation had fully gone away.
"Hmm, slightly uneven, but acceptable and an improvement compared to before!" Kaizen said upon examining her new cuts, they had greater consistency then before, but the potatoes were cut a bit too small.
"Alright now comes the chicken." The bugster grabbed the four chicken breasts he had taken earlier. He grabbed a separate chopping board and knife and started cutting two of them into good sizes. Once again, he did so with impressive precision. "Arguably, the heaviest part of the meal, the meat. Try to use separate knives and cutting boards when cutting raw meat to prevent cross contamination. I'd advise you cut them into these sizes, too small and they cook too quickly, too large and they won't cook all the way through." Kaizen understood the importance of hygiene when it comes to food. "After that, season it with your choice of seasoning. Today we will be using garam masala which is a combination of different spices. You can always buy pre-made ones in the store, but if I've got the time, I prefer homemade ones." Kaizen sprinkled the spice all over his portion of chicken, making sure to get a nice even spread. The bugster didn't get to go out to the store much as a child, so he mostly stuck with home made ingredients. Kaizen waited patiently for her to finish cutting her portion of the chicken.
Kaizen was much more knowledgeable with food and ingredients than Katsumi originally thought he'd be. From what her father told her, boys her age usually only know how to make the poor person's basics like cupped noodles. But watching the other work his magic on the vegetables and the chicken make Katsumi wonder a few things.
"Were you studying to become a chef before you came here or something?" She asked him, the question mostly rhetorical as he passed the chicken over to her.
Katsumi hated handling raw meat. It was literally the innards of an animal. Something's organs. She wasn't a vegan or anything, she just didn't like needing to handle these sort of things. Regardless, she spiced her portion of the chicken. Perhaps it had a bit more than needed, but overseasoned was better than underseasoned in her book.
She then readied the chicken to be cut, mimicking the size Kaizen cut his chicken into. It seemed that she would need a bit more training to get it perfectly correct, but at least she hadn't set fire to anything and the chicken wasn't on the floor.
Katsumi pouted a bit, "It's not perfect. Again." She muttered, becoming a bit frustrated.
"I started cooking because of my ma, the rest I learned from the internet." Was all Kaizen said when asked about his knowledge regarding cooking. He noticed how the girl perhaps put a bit too much seasoning. "Don't worry about it, it is your first time after all." Kaizen reassured her that it would be fine if as he dropped the chunks of chicken into the deep pot earlier. "And now we leave those in there for about 10 minutes until they are a nice brown color." While waiting for the chicken to cook, Kaizen began cleaning the cutting board and knives he had used before. "While we wait for that to cook, we can start cleaning the utensils we have used. Helps minimize clutter in the kitchen. Better to do it now then later." Kaizen believed greatly in living efficiently, which also includes cooking.
After 10 minutes have passed, Kaizen added chicken stock, the carrots, water and bay leaves into the pot. "The chicken will act as a base for our curry. While the bay leaf helps give it a pleasant smelling aroma. And now wait for the water to boil." They needed to wait for a period of time, so Kaizen took this opportunity to get to know her better. "What do you usually eat back at home, Katsumi?" The bugster wasn't too familiar with the background of her family. All he knew was she seemed like a rich person and had a strong quirk.
Katsumi sighed. At this point she was a bit discouraged but Kaizen taking the time to reassure her made her want to keep going. At least so the other knew that she wanted to learn and wasn't a waste of time.
Though it was impressive that Kaizen taught himself. Katsumi wasn't sure if she had the patience to teach herself if she couldn't get it right the first time.
She took mental note of Kaizen's directions, helping him clean the utensils while they waited for the 10 minutes. As it went by without much conversation, Katsumi resumed watching and listening to him, wishing she'd brought a notepad or something to take notes.
At his question, she looked at him. "Hm? Well, if we do not eat at a restaurant, my mother usually cooks something. Curry, cuisines, anything in a book she will try to make for us. My brother and I try to help her where we can." She answered him. Did she shatter his belief that she never lifted a finger?
"You said you learned from your mother. Were you made the chef of the family? Or was this just a hobby for you."
"Hmm interesting, so you help around the house as well. That's….good to know." Kaizen was indeed surprised to hear that her life wasn't as lavish as he thought it would be. "Not quite, we mostly take turns cooking and tending to the farm. It was more for necessity instead of a hobby but I do quite enjoy the process of learning new dishes.`` The bugster thought about how he always wanted to try outside food in his younger days. He quickly grated an apple for the next step
The chopped potatoes and grated apples were placed into the pot which was then sealed with the lid. He left it slightly ajar. "We leave the lid slightly open so that it reduces the liquid." and with that Kaizen turned his attention to making the roux.
"Alright, time for the roux, this is where most of your flavour will be coming from." He grabbed a bowl and mixed together a combination of spices and flour. He then placed a pan with butter inside over another stove element, turning up the heat. "You want to stir these slowly until it has absorbed all the butter evenly. And then after that you add these." Kaizen then added some tonkotsu, tomato paste and honey into the mix to finish it off.
"Alright once all of that is done, you start slowly mixing the roux into the main pot. Try not to pour too much at time, you want it to mix evenly." Kaizen demonstrated this by pouring a little bit of the roux at a time and waiting for it to mix well before continuing. "Here you give it a try." Kaizen handed the pan to her to let her try mixing it in. "I like you , Katsumi…. You are willing to get your hands dirty and try out new things which is not something everyone of your social status is willing to do." Kaizen commended the girl, his opinion of her has greatly improved over the course of this cooking lesson.
Katsumi raised her eyebrow at that. Oh, Kaizen worked on a farm? That was… different. Interesting. She assumed he was another city boy who lived across the town from Suppression or something. Or that he lived on the outskirts of the town. She wanted to ask him a few questions about his farm life, such as if they tended to animals or if they were a different kind of farm.
"Roux," what a strange word." She commented as she watched him start mixing the main pot. This part was definitely a bit strange for her. So many different things were all being tossed together with Kaizen knowing exactly what was needed by heart. What sort of wizardry was this?
After the next set of instructions, Katsumi was a bit surprised to hear him say he liked her and commending her for actually trying. She smirked at him.
"Are you speaking from experience or from stereotypes?" She asked him. "Yes, my family may be well off, but my father would be damned if his children grew into dependent adult babies. I share his sentiments. How can I be a hero if I am too afraid to get mud on my hands? Or if I'm so pathetic that I cannot take care of myself despite being able-bodied and capable?"
Katsumi, as she watched the food cook, decided to ask him. "The farm. Do you raise livestock or do you grow something?" She asked him. They were going to be standing around a bit, weren't they? May as well make conversation.
"More from experience I suppose. I grew up alongside some wealthy people. Some were nice but sheltered, others not so much. They think being born in a financially superior family makes them generally superior. Well… let's just say there are some things money can't buy or fix." Kaizen remembered how some of them used to pick fights with him thinking he was some pushover. He ain't.
"Our farm had both livestock and crops. The usual cows, sheep, chicken and pigs, all free range of course. A large assortment of vegetables with no growth enhancements or genetic modification. We were essentially self-sustaining for the most part." Kaizen remembered his time at the farm, as the eldest, he was expected to be able to take care of the farm and supervise his siblings when his parents were absent.
"What about you Katsumi? What does your family do? Your family name is familiar, but it would be rude for me to simply assume your story without hearing it from you." He was curious about her background. From her family name, he could surmise certain things but not everything. The food was still being cooked, so it would take some time before he had to show her something else.
"I see. Entitlement runs both ends of the spectrum, though upper class is much more common, and far more irritating."
Katsumi, too, had seen her fair share of individuals who believed they could live off their parents' money and spend the rest of their lives as lazy good-for-nothings. She never said anything to those types of people because she knew that they needed something bad to happen to them in order for them to learn a lesson.
She listened further, hearing about the livestock and the crops Kaizen had on his farm. It was exactly as one would expect of a farm. If Katsumi bothered, she might start calling him "Old Mcdonald."
"I see. Organic, no chemicals… Sounds delicious. Do you sell the crops in the market or through a family owned business? I might put in an order." It wasn't often that vegetables were grown pure after all.
When he asked about her family, she smiled. "Ah, my father was the former number one hero, Raiden. My mother worked as a wardrobe consultant in a modeling agency called Exozu. Both of them recently retired, but my mother still makes some money by selling some jewelry and weapons she forges." Katsumi's tone seemed to lighten talking about her parents. "My brother… Well, he's off doing his own thing. Truthfully, I don't know what he's doing and I don't really want to know."
"You won't have to, I already have some growing on the rooftop as we speak. Though I have to warn you, they are not as big or pretty looking as their enhanced counterparts." Kaizen explained, hoping that she would have more realistic expectations
"So you are his daughter." Looks like Kaizen's assumptions were right. That being said, he does recognize the pressure of being the former number one's daughter. "Must be tough to have all that expectation on you." Kaizen turned his attention towards the pot and realized it was just about time. He wanted to ask more about her family, but it's probably best not to pry. "And now, the finishing touch, this part is completely optional, my ma says it improves the taste and I don't think she's been wrong about anything in cooking." Kaizen added a dash of coffee powder onto the pot before mixing it in.
"Alright and we are done!" He proudly as he plated the curry alongside some rice. He gave the first one to Katsumi then for himself. "Give it a try." The curry was largely savory with a mild heat to it. Some chunks of chicken tasted a bit over seasoned. But apart from that, it tasted pretty good. "Here's a tip for seasoning next time, most of the time its safer to add less because you can always add more later. But apart from that, I think you did pretty good for your first time, Katsumi." He gave her his signature thumbs up of approval. "Though you cannot see it, I am actually smiling on the inside it." The bugster added humorously.
Again, Kaizen surprised her by mentioning that he'd been growing crops on the rooftop. "I assume you have it covered or something to keep it safe. But isn't it vulnerable to crows?" She asked him. Katsumi knew those were the smartest types of birds; would they find a way into Kaizen's plants. Would the other students who had access leave the plants undisturbed?
"You get used to it." She answered him. "If you focus hard enough on your goal you start forgetting how much pressure is put onto you."
Just like that, the curry was done and… did he just put coffee into the curry? That… was definitely not something she'd ever think to do. Ever. But he seemed to be enjoying it. Katsumi took the plate and grabbed some chopsticks to give it a taste.
Immediately she could tell exactly what Kaizen was talking about. The seasoning was a bit much and there was no way that she could remove it. But if she had put less, then she could have fixed it. Lesson noted. The flavor wasn't ruined by the coffee either and everything seemed to be well. Overall, it was a good meal but it could definitely be better.
"Understood." Katsumi responded. Though the food wasn't terrible, she did notice something. Something she wondered if it was normal.
And still she received a thumbs up from him. Despite messing up what would have been a perfect dish.
She'll have to practice more in her free time. Perhaps she could have someone sit and eat her test meals.
Katsumi smiled back at him, laughing a little at his joke. "Next time I will make a dish to bring that smile to the surface. For now, I need to practice. That means I'll have to have you test every meal I make. Every. single. one. Do you mind?"
"Uhh.. sure." Kaizen agreed cautiously at the girl's request. "Well, as your teacher I guess, I am invested in the improvement of your crafts, so why not. And here, I took the liberty of writing down the recipe and instructions for you in this notebook." Kaizen handed her a notebook that was humorously shaped like a rhinoceros beetle. The front of the book had a hand-drawn caricature of him holding a frying pan and giving a thumbs up.
Katsumi took the notebook and inspected the cover, unable to help the smile that crawled onto her face. "How cute." She commented, opening the notebook and spotting the recipe. She'd skim over it, seeing the precise ingredients and the steps.
"Thank you, I will practice this as soon as possible."
After 1st Act
The bugster finally decided to take his teacher's advice on taking a break from his usual training and fighting. He made a decision to catch up with the kids he had befriended from a nearby preschool. At first they were scared of him just like many other people, but eventually they warmed up to him. And they've been friends ever since.
Today was just like any day for him. They would play heroes vs villains, and the giant bug always ended up playing the villain because apparently he looked the part. So he decided to take a step further by transforming into a more monstrous form along with a modified voice box that gave him a creepy raspy voice.
It was business as usual, the active kids were blasting him with harmless and unrefined quirk based projectiles while the other kids laughed around and drew pictures of him. However, there was this one kid that tried to climb a tree to copy a move the bugster did and unfortunately fell down. He began crying from the pain, an appropriate response for a child. The bugster stopped playing for a while and tried to approach the kid to comfort him. "Come on, Takumi. You gotta be more careful." He spoke in a creepy raspy voice.
It hadn't been long since Hotaru transferred. Even if she had been a "model student" of her last class, the failures of the others to the extent of the class dispersing did hit morale. Then there was her new class, that was seemingly mass injured in a simple patrol. The bruiser didn't like to give in to stress, but she couldn't help but not really want to do anything at the dorms. No video games, no swimming, no training. She didn't want to just lay in bed though, either, so here she was walking.
Letting out a light sigh, it was a nice way to clear her head sometimes. However, as she was loosening up, something caused her to tense again. She heard a cry, something not so rare since they were near a little park. As she walked through it though, she saw something unordinary. The kid was crying, and there were a few others shouting and throwing things. Their target was a large, insect-like creature. Was it a thug? A villain? The voice didn't sound too friendly either.
She acted without taking much time, her arm shot out as an ebony whip, clasping at his leg before tugging him back towards her.
"You should take your own advice, screwing around like this in broad daylight."
"What are you-" Kaizen turned around a familiar looking tomboy looking girl, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he was very sure he had seen her before. The bugster barely budged from the tugged, indicating that she was using enough force in her pull. "How can I help you, lady? Are you lost? Do you need directions perhaps?" The black insect spoke as he slowly walked closer to her. His eyes looked way too menacing to be a friendly bug, and voice didnt help at all.
The kids got to their injured friend and comforted him before turning their attention to the commotion. "Is Mr Kaizen in trouble?' one of them asked, but none of them really knew what was going on. The bugster was just as confused as they were.
The sturdiness was a surprise, but probably to be expected. The thing was well over six feet and armored. As it approached her, looking down at her from his height, the black appendage returned to its normal form and folded itself with the other one.
"Trying to sound tough?" Hotaru questioned, staring up at him. "Cornering kids and making them cry. How about I show you what that's like?"
"Not at all…. Is that what you think I am doing?" Kaizen was mildly amused by her assumption, even letting out a small chuckle. Unfortunately this chuckle sounded more like the laughter of a demonic entity. "I remember you now….you're the one that calls yourself Titan, yes?" Its amazing how a simple change in the voice box can change the mood of an entire conversation. Instead of a friend reminiscing about schoolmates, he sounded like a thug picking a fight.
Hotaru's frown grew at that, seemingly none too amused. She wasn't sure how he knew of her, but she did have some work experience. Anytime someone seemed to pick up a mantle it also got some coverage as well.
"Last chance pincers. I'm not a kindergartner."
"Last chance, for what exactly?" The insect questioned in genuine confusion. "And for the record, I don't even have pincers. See" He added, as he showed his humanoid fingers. Which probably looked like he was about to attack.
The moment his hand moved toward her, Hotaru's hand turned black as she reached up to grab it. Twisting and pulling him forward, the girl yanked with full force to pull the larger figure over her and slam him onto the ground.
"An ass-kicking," Hotaru answered, cocking the other arm back before the blackened fist struck out towards the bug.
"Oh." was all Kaizen said before he was slammed into the ground by the deceptively strong tomboy. Strangely enough, he always wanted to fight her while he watched her on the sidelines during his UA days. Kaizen would catch her black fist, his own hands beginning to crush hers. "Haha, you know, I always wanted to fight you ever since I saw you in action." The bugster muttered as he got back up while still holding onto her fist. "But don't you think you should ask a person before you start fighting ?" He asked, which sounded extra condescending because of his voice. "Get 'em good!" One of the kids cheered on when he realized a fight was brewing.
Hotaru struggled a bit to push forward with her fist. Looking at the hand beginning to pressure hers, she returned her gaze upwards. Slowly, her skin started to blacken and pulse with red tints and strings gleaming across the surface of her body. Her physique morphed and grew in stature until her head reached an equal height to his, or what constituted for one. It was a mostly amalgamous form, albeit humanoid. The surface seemed sturdy, like armor, but fleshy and biological in nature still, and her hand no longer shook to fight against his grip.
"I'll give you my autograph." The voice that spoke wasn't feminine, but deep and modulated from the shift in her biology.
Suddenly, her other hand gripped his shoulder before her head slammed into his to stagger him and loosen his grip. She stepped forward a moment then, before glancing over to the voice of the kid.
"That's nice, but you should stay back, kiddo."
And there it was, her mesmerizing titan form, something which he always wanted to see, up close and personal. Unfortunately, the presence of the kids really sullied the moment for him since didn't want to see anything too violent. However, upon receiving the head butt, he knew he had to do something.
While she was distracted by the child's words, the bugster immediately grabbed the lady with a bear hug and attempted to fly skywards with a jump. "You know, as much as I want to fight you right now, I'd rather not do anything too violent in front of the kids.". While in the air, he got a good look at the girl's titan form, it was as inhuman as he was, something he found intriguing.
"Huh-" Titan had hardly enough time to mutter a reaction before she was taken into the air. He had a tight hold on her, but now that they were in the air, what was he planning? Perhaps a divebomb. To keep him from slamming her into the ground or into other debris, her own large arms wrapped around him as well and gave an aggressive squeeze. She even put some energy to increase the musculature in her arms just to make sure he felt it. "Oh, what a kind villain, stopping at making them cry. Maybe I'll cut you some slack and not rough you up that much!"
The kids looked up for a moment, they seemed impressed by the fight. However the attention turned to somewhere else when an ice cream stop nearby a street. Prompting them to head towards it with glee. Upon seeing this, Kaizen was happy to see that he had an opportunity to fight properly. "So I am a villain? Alright let's go with that…" he muttered out loud." I didn't think you were the hugging type." He added. Kaizen could feel the muscles around him tighten due to her squeezing. He laughed at the notion that she would go easy on him. "Don't hold back on my account." The bugster stopped fluttering his wings and allowed them both to free fall. "I'd recommend letting me go. It'd be a lot less painful for you."
"I'm a people person," She replied as they began to fall. She raised a brow, not that it could be seen. "You're threatening me with blunt trauma? I thought you were a fan."
As the ground draws closer to them, Titan pulls Kaizen forward to separate himself from the asphalt. Then he plants his feet against the exoskeleton to attempt a springboard off the so-called villain faster toward the ground..
"Really? You don't seem the type from what I remember…" Kaizen doesnt remember this titan girl being overly friendly with anyone. "Oh I am a fan, more than you know…" He didnt seem to resist the girl, allowing himself to springboard off as he plummeted into the ground. The bug stood back up with ease, even dusting himself off.
With the kids preoccupied with getting themselves ice cream, Kaizen was finally free to exercise a bit of his combat prowess. "Show me a good time, Tom boy." The bugster sprang forward with surprising speed, appearing as a blur to most normal people, shattering the ground behind him. He went for his signature gutbuster punch, putting enough force to break bones behind it. He usually wouldn't put that much force in his opening attacks but he had a feeling she could take it.
What he said made her pause, but she entered a stance anyway. Feet apart, arms up, prepared to react to any advance. When he shot forward, she hummed. So he was a speed type as well. Her arms raised, but not to block. The blow was quick, and struck her abdomen. Her body lurched slightly and her feet dug into the ground, mostly remaining rooted in place. Her arm shot forward during the impact, twisting her hips to carry the limb with more force aimed right at the villain's head.
"I don't think you have enough stamina.
The bugster took the blow to the head but instead retaliated with a much stronger strike after noticing she barely felt the first one. Unlike most people, he doesn't feel pain, allowing him to put more focus on counter strikes. "So you can take hits too huh? Good, that means I don't have to hold back as much!" Kaizen performs a back flipping kick, delivering two upward locks to his opponent's chin while creating distance between both of them.
Titan's head shot back as the hit collided with her chin. She took a step back, lowering herself slightly before pushing off the ground with great strength. The asphalt cracked underneath the weight and pressure and the behemoth shot forward like a truck barreling at full speed. She ducked low during her approach, aiming to spear him and tackle him to the ground where he wouldn't have that maneuverability.
The bugster stood his ground and was ready to perform another counterstrike until he saw something in his peripheral vision, the kids were returning from their ice cream truck escapade and running towards the two. Kaizen, distracted by the kids and knowing that he couldn't retaliate in proper brutal fashion, took the ramming attack head on and was subsequently pinned to the ground. "Mr. Kaizen, Mr. Kaizen we brought you some ice cream and…." One of them spoke while the other kids turned to Titan and looked puzzled and confused. A second later, one of them hurled a small and harmless pebble towards her. "Hey! Stop bullying Mr. Kaizen!" The kid.
"Hey now! Stop throwing stuff at her!" The bugster said while still being pinned by Titan. "She's not a bully..she's my…"He was looking for the right words to describe her without lying to the kids. "....my playmate! We were playing heroes and villains" he replied. "Oh!!! Does that mean she will play with us too?" The kids asked gleefully, jumping up and down from joy. "Of course she will! Right, Titan?" Kaizen said while looking back at her.
Titan was quick to mount over him, holding his collar down with one hand as another cocked back ready to punch. That was before the children returned. Titan looked over, about to tell them to keep away, before she started being berated by them and dubbed a "bully".
"H-Huh? I'm not-" It didn't hurt, obviously, but it was still shocking. She didn't expect the person under her to suddenly defend her either. "Uh…"
She looked at the kids, then back down at Kaizen who she was ready to punch. Perhaps Hotaru had jumped to some conclusions. "R-Right… right… yeah…!" She answered as her right arm lowered, still a bit confused though thankfully her face couldn't show it.
"Ehem.." Kaizen cleared his throat, somehow removing his creepy raspy voice. The bugster got up to his feet and patted her on the shoulder. "This here is Titan, she is also from UA." He introduced him to the kids as they all gathered around her staring in awe. "Woww how many villains have you fought? Are you always so huge? Do you want my ice cream?" She completely was bombarded by questions. One of the kids stepped forward next to Kaizen and gave him a chocolate ice cream cone. "Ah yes, thank you Takumi." The bug happily accepted it.
Giving Bugster some room, Titan stood up as the children descended upon her. She gave a small waif at her introduction, still only barely following along with the current developments. The assault of questions didn't help her retention.
"Well, I've fought quite a few--Ah, no… I can make myself bigger or smalle--Wha--I mean… I wouldn't want to take yours from you…" She also took note of how the person next to her suddenly didn't sound so creepy.
The kids played with the two for a while until it was time for them to leave. The group seemed really happy to have made a new friend. And left, making the two heroes promise to play with them again some day. Kaizen turned to Hotaru to properly ask what she was there for. "So do you just go around punching random strangers? I don't think that's very plus ultra of you." Kaizen teased. He briefly asked if she had any idea who he was. "So I take it youve been chosen for this program as well?" He wanted to confirm if they were new classmates.
Sighing a bit in relief as the kids had their fun, Titan turned to Kaizen and grumbled a bit embarrassed. Bringing a hand to her face, it ran down the front of her altered visage in disappointment. "No… I don't," She replied in a pout. "Wait, you're in Suppression too? Oh that's just great…" She didn't only try to beat up some kind of acquaintance, but a new classmate. "I'm sorry. I just transferred after enough of my class failed and I heard the new class just got merc'd by villains on a patrol, so I was on edge. I saw you with the creeper voice and the weird villain banter and the kid crying and didn't want to take a chance."
Letting out another sigh, it was even more embarrassing admitted. "Wait, so how do you know me?"
"In hindsight, it did look pretty suspicious." The bugster thought about the whole misunderstanding. "I was in the same batch as you in UA, from class 1A. I am Kaizen Shinkami, the Apex Bugster, or bug boy, whichever you prefer." He introduced himself with his name alongside his hero name, hoping that maybe she remembers him. "I am, as you said, a "fan". Pleased to make your acquaintance, Titan." He extended a hand to her, showing that he had no hard feelings despite the somewhat hostile encounter. He was curious as to what happened to her group. "I am sorry to hear about your class… is everyone alright?" Having experienced a life threatening situation himself, the bugster knew what it felt like.
"Kind of… but I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions… I can take a hit so I should've just walked up and asked," Hotaru said with another sigh before flinching. She turned to him and stared before pointing at him suddenly. "Bug guy!"
He was kind of hard to miss, but they were in separate classes, Hotaru didn't pay much attention, and she also had never seen him like this.
"Wait. You never looked like this! ...Did you?" She questioned grabbing his hand. She supposed she could've missed it, but Hotaru could've sworn he was usually smaller and more green. "Ah… They're fine, mostly. I just wasn't expecting for a portion of the class to fail. A couple were injured during patrol too, but they're fine. Hearing you guys were hit too, and worse, was what kind of worried me."
"Well, I like to change things up a bit, keeps my enemies guessing. And also I was supposed to look the part of a villain, hence the creepy voice." He explained to her, hoping to clear up any confusion. "Yes we were hit hard too, but we will recover from this. Our line work never gets easier, that's just the reality of it. Tell me, Titan. Why did you become a hero? " Kaizen always found it fascinating on why everyone wanted to become a hero since his reasoning...was less than heroic for the most part.
"Ah, so it's your fault," Hotaru said in jest. By this point, her armor began to shift and shrink, returning to her default appearance. She frowned a bit at his comment. It didn't really get easier, but that didn't mean she had to tolerate people getting hurt. "Huh? That's kind of out of the blue," She said with a small chuckle. "I didn't really have a good reason. I wasn't interested in anything in the way of a career, but my quirk is good and I have family experience so I went with this."
Her reason kind of sucked. She coasted off talent and no drive. It was why there wasn't much seen of her at U.A. All the big events most were hyped about, she didn't care for. Then the real Titan passed away and she was stuck with a mediocre track record. In a way, the original would've undoubtedly said no to being a part of something like this, but for her it was another chance at the Sports Festival to get Titan recognition.
"It took my grandad kicking me over and over before I got the inspiration to keep his name alive." She smiled a bit, but it didn't look that joyous. "What about you then?"
"Hmm.. interesting, you do this to continue his legacy…a noble cause." He thought about how meaningful her reason was to be a hero compared to his. He often had problems coming to terms with his reasoning on becoming a hero, unlike his fellow classmates who had noble and altruistic purposes, the bugster was much more machiavellian with his purpose. As much as he didnt want to admit it, he views himself to be selfish and unheroic as his main motivation was the pursuit of a worthy challenge.
Did he really care about his teammates and innocents being hurt? Or is that just a reason he uses to justify his violent retaliation, even he doesn't truly know. "I do it because I believe only a few people are truly capable of doing what we need to do. Those who are given more in life must not cling to it, but risk it all at every moment for those of us who cannot. The world can be a cruel place, but it doesn't mean it has to stay that way." He explained. He did to a certain extent feel a sense of responsibility, what was the purpose of his strength if not to fight the battles that others cannot.
"That seems pretty noble too. Why all the pondering?" Hotaru asked. It was a similar outlook to her grandfather, though a part of him just liked to stir up trouble. Still, he didn't like seeing people with no will to fight being picked on. It was a heroic sentiment, so she wondered why he seemed somehow unsure. "Or did I shake you up when I attacked you earlier…?"
"No you didnt hit me that hard…" he answered rather flatly before explaining his view. "Well… my raison d'tere has changed quite a lot over the past few years, sometimes I like to be reflective and look back at why I fight." Does it really matter why heroes fight villains? As long as they fought on the right side right? Those were the questions he had always asked himself. He admired people like Hotaru, they remained steadfast on their purpose, they seemed pure and benevolent with their intentions, without any ulterior motives. " Your grandfather sounded like a fun person to be around. To be inspired by family members, hmm I haven't felt something like that in years. " He thought out loud before adding another question. "So have you met anyone else here yet?"
"I don't see the problem," Hotaru stated. "I just told you I didn't have any reason, and that inspiration only started a couple years ago when he died." She wasn't sure where his confliction came from. One didn't need to be completely altruistic to be a hero. "He was fun though. You would've liked him I think." He already had a bit of a taste of Titan, which was either purposefully or otherwise inspired by the original.
"Uh… not too many. Mari. Kikyo. Uh, Isa… Oh, Vigridis," She listed off. It wasn't everyone she had spoken with but she also hadn't spoken at length with a majority.
"So you've met quite a lot of them already I see…. Did you give them a similar greeting as well?" He teased her, he still found the entire ordeal to be particularly amusing. But knowing that they were new students being brought in of her calibre made him happy, especially a familiar. "Regardless, I am happy to have you in my class and look forward to working with you on the field." The bugster was glad to have another muscle type, perhaps she too shared the love for battle as he does? "Its getting late, lets go home. Would you like to take the Bugster express? Beats walking, I assure you that." Kaizen offered his friend a lift, since it was the fastest form of transportation available to them right now.
"Agh-" Hotaru grumbled, a small tint of red covering her face as she slugged him in the arm. "No! I didn't! They weren't pretending to be a villain." She huffed before stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets. Hotaru gave a brief nod in response. "Thanks… hopefully I can make things easier on all of you a bit." There were still many she had yet to meet, but that could wait for now. She would be formally introduced eventually. For now, she figured it was best to continue as she had been and be ready the next time a situation popped up. "Oh! Uh… Sure. You're not gonna… like, do that thing where you spin around and try to make me sick are you?"
Today was just like any day for him. They would play heroes vs villains, and the giant bug always ended up playing the villain because apparently he looked the part. So he decided to take a step further by transforming into a more monstrous form along with a modified voice box that gave him a creepy raspy voice.
It was business as usual, the active kids were blasting him with harmless and unrefined quirk based projectiles while the other kids laughed around and drew pictures of him. However, there was this one kid that tried to climb a tree to copy a move the bugster did and unfortunately fell down. He began crying from the pain, an appropriate response for a child. The bugster stopped playing for a while and tried to approach the kid to comfort him. "Come on, Takumi. You gotta be more careful." He spoke in a creepy raspy voice.
It hadn't been long since Hotaru transferred. Even if she had been a "model student" of her last class, the failures of the others to the extent of the class dispersing did hit morale. Then there was her new class, that was seemingly mass injured in a simple patrol. The bruiser didn't like to give in to stress, but she couldn't help but not really want to do anything at the dorms. No video games, no swimming, no training. She didn't want to just lay in bed though, either, so here she was walking.
Letting out a light sigh, it was a nice way to clear her head sometimes. However, as she was loosening up, something caused her to tense again. She heard a cry, something not so rare since they were near a little park. As she walked through it though, she saw something unordinary. The kid was crying, and there were a few others shouting and throwing things. Their target was a large, insect-like creature. Was it a thug? A villain? The voice didn't sound too friendly either.
She acted without taking much time, her arm shot out as an ebony whip, clasping at his leg before tugging him back towards her.
"You should take your own advice, screwing around like this in broad daylight."
"What are you-" Kaizen turned around a familiar looking tomboy looking girl, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he was very sure he had seen her before. The bugster barely budged from the tugged, indicating that she was using enough force in her pull. "How can I help you, lady? Are you lost? Do you need directions perhaps?" The black insect spoke as he slowly walked closer to her. His eyes looked way too menacing to be a friendly bug, and voice didnt help at all.
The kids got to their injured friend and comforted him before turning their attention to the commotion. "Is Mr Kaizen in trouble?' one of them asked, but none of them really knew what was going on. The bugster was just as confused as they were.
The sturdiness was a surprise, but probably to be expected. The thing was well over six feet and armored. As it approached her, looking down at her from his height, the black appendage returned to its normal form and folded itself with the other one.
"Trying to sound tough?" Hotaru questioned, staring up at him. "Cornering kids and making them cry. How about I show you what that's like?"
"Not at all…. Is that what you think I am doing?" Kaizen was mildly amused by her assumption, even letting out a small chuckle. Unfortunately this chuckle sounded more like the laughter of a demonic entity. "I remember you now….you're the one that calls yourself Titan, yes?" Its amazing how a simple change in the voice box can change the mood of an entire conversation. Instead of a friend reminiscing about schoolmates, he sounded like a thug picking a fight.
Hotaru's frown grew at that, seemingly none too amused. She wasn't sure how he knew of her, but she did have some work experience. Anytime someone seemed to pick up a mantle it also got some coverage as well.
"Last chance pincers. I'm not a kindergartner."
"Last chance, for what exactly?" The insect questioned in genuine confusion. "And for the record, I don't even have pincers. See" He added, as he showed his humanoid fingers. Which probably looked like he was about to attack.
The moment his hand moved toward her, Hotaru's hand turned black as she reached up to grab it. Twisting and pulling him forward, the girl yanked with full force to pull the larger figure over her and slam him onto the ground.
"An ass-kicking," Hotaru answered, cocking the other arm back before the blackened fist struck out towards the bug.
"Oh." was all Kaizen said before he was slammed into the ground by the deceptively strong tomboy. Strangely enough, he always wanted to fight her while he watched her on the sidelines during his UA days. Kaizen would catch her black fist, his own hands beginning to crush hers. "Haha, you know, I always wanted to fight you ever since I saw you in action." The bugster muttered as he got back up while still holding onto her fist. "But don't you think you should ask a person before you start fighting ?" He asked, which sounded extra condescending because of his voice. "Get 'em good!" One of the kids cheered on when he realized a fight was brewing.
Hotaru struggled a bit to push forward with her fist. Looking at the hand beginning to pressure hers, she returned her gaze upwards. Slowly, her skin started to blacken and pulse with red tints and strings gleaming across the surface of her body. Her physique morphed and grew in stature until her head reached an equal height to his, or what constituted for one. It was a mostly amalgamous form, albeit humanoid. The surface seemed sturdy, like armor, but fleshy and biological in nature still, and her hand no longer shook to fight against his grip.
"I'll give you my autograph." The voice that spoke wasn't feminine, but deep and modulated from the shift in her biology.
Suddenly, her other hand gripped his shoulder before her head slammed into his to stagger him and loosen his grip. She stepped forward a moment then, before glancing over to the voice of the kid.
"That's nice, but you should stay back, kiddo."
And there it was, her mesmerizing titan form, something which he always wanted to see, up close and personal. Unfortunately, the presence of the kids really sullied the moment for him since didn't want to see anything too violent. However, upon receiving the head butt, he knew he had to do something.
While she was distracted by the child's words, the bugster immediately grabbed the lady with a bear hug and attempted to fly skywards with a jump. "You know, as much as I want to fight you right now, I'd rather not do anything too violent in front of the kids.". While in the air, he got a good look at the girl's titan form, it was as inhuman as he was, something he found intriguing.
"Huh-" Titan had hardly enough time to mutter a reaction before she was taken into the air. He had a tight hold on her, but now that they were in the air, what was he planning? Perhaps a divebomb. To keep him from slamming her into the ground or into other debris, her own large arms wrapped around him as well and gave an aggressive squeeze. She even put some energy to increase the musculature in her arms just to make sure he felt it. "Oh, what a kind villain, stopping at making them cry. Maybe I'll cut you some slack and not rough you up that much!"
The kids looked up for a moment, they seemed impressed by the fight. However the attention turned to somewhere else when an ice cream stop nearby a street. Prompting them to head towards it with glee. Upon seeing this, Kaizen was happy to see that he had an opportunity to fight properly. "So I am a villain? Alright let's go with that…" he muttered out loud." I didn't think you were the hugging type." He added. Kaizen could feel the muscles around him tighten due to her squeezing. He laughed at the notion that she would go easy on him. "Don't hold back on my account." The bugster stopped fluttering his wings and allowed them both to free fall. "I'd recommend letting me go. It'd be a lot less painful for you."
"I'm a people person," She replied as they began to fall. She raised a brow, not that it could be seen. "You're threatening me with blunt trauma? I thought you were a fan."
As the ground draws closer to them, Titan pulls Kaizen forward to separate himself from the asphalt. Then he plants his feet against the exoskeleton to attempt a springboard off the so-called villain faster toward the ground..
"Really? You don't seem the type from what I remember…" Kaizen doesnt remember this titan girl being overly friendly with anyone. "Oh I am a fan, more than you know…" He didnt seem to resist the girl, allowing himself to springboard off as he plummeted into the ground. The bug stood back up with ease, even dusting himself off.
With the kids preoccupied with getting themselves ice cream, Kaizen was finally free to exercise a bit of his combat prowess. "Show me a good time, Tom boy." The bugster sprang forward with surprising speed, appearing as a blur to most normal people, shattering the ground behind him. He went for his signature gutbuster punch, putting enough force to break bones behind it. He usually wouldn't put that much force in his opening attacks but he had a feeling she could take it.
What he said made her pause, but she entered a stance anyway. Feet apart, arms up, prepared to react to any advance. When he shot forward, she hummed. So he was a speed type as well. Her arms raised, but not to block. The blow was quick, and struck her abdomen. Her body lurched slightly and her feet dug into the ground, mostly remaining rooted in place. Her arm shot forward during the impact, twisting her hips to carry the limb with more force aimed right at the villain's head.
"I don't think you have enough stamina.
The bugster took the blow to the head but instead retaliated with a much stronger strike after noticing she barely felt the first one. Unlike most people, he doesn't feel pain, allowing him to put more focus on counter strikes. "So you can take hits too huh? Good, that means I don't have to hold back as much!" Kaizen performs a back flipping kick, delivering two upward locks to his opponent's chin while creating distance between both of them.
Titan's head shot back as the hit collided with her chin. She took a step back, lowering herself slightly before pushing off the ground with great strength. The asphalt cracked underneath the weight and pressure and the behemoth shot forward like a truck barreling at full speed. She ducked low during her approach, aiming to spear him and tackle him to the ground where he wouldn't have that maneuverability.
The bugster stood his ground and was ready to perform another counterstrike until he saw something in his peripheral vision, the kids were returning from their ice cream truck escapade and running towards the two. Kaizen, distracted by the kids and knowing that he couldn't retaliate in proper brutal fashion, took the ramming attack head on and was subsequently pinned to the ground. "Mr. Kaizen, Mr. Kaizen we brought you some ice cream and…." One of them spoke while the other kids turned to Titan and looked puzzled and confused. A second later, one of them hurled a small and harmless pebble towards her. "Hey! Stop bullying Mr. Kaizen!" The kid.
"Hey now! Stop throwing stuff at her!" The bugster said while still being pinned by Titan. "She's not a bully..she's my…"He was looking for the right words to describe her without lying to the kids. "....my playmate! We were playing heroes and villains" he replied. "Oh!!! Does that mean she will play with us too?" The kids asked gleefully, jumping up and down from joy. "Of course she will! Right, Titan?" Kaizen said while looking back at her.
Titan was quick to mount over him, holding his collar down with one hand as another cocked back ready to punch. That was before the children returned. Titan looked over, about to tell them to keep away, before she started being berated by them and dubbed a "bully".
"H-Huh? I'm not-" It didn't hurt, obviously, but it was still shocking. She didn't expect the person under her to suddenly defend her either. "Uh…"
She looked at the kids, then back down at Kaizen who she was ready to punch. Perhaps Hotaru had jumped to some conclusions. "R-Right… right… yeah…!" She answered as her right arm lowered, still a bit confused though thankfully her face couldn't show it.
"Ehem.." Kaizen cleared his throat, somehow removing his creepy raspy voice. The bugster got up to his feet and patted her on the shoulder. "This here is Titan, she is also from UA." He introduced him to the kids as they all gathered around her staring in awe. "Woww how many villains have you fought? Are you always so huge? Do you want my ice cream?" She completely was bombarded by questions. One of the kids stepped forward next to Kaizen and gave him a chocolate ice cream cone. "Ah yes, thank you Takumi." The bug happily accepted it.
Giving Bugster some room, Titan stood up as the children descended upon her. She gave a small waif at her introduction, still only barely following along with the current developments. The assault of questions didn't help her retention.
"Well, I've fought quite a few--Ah, no… I can make myself bigger or smalle--Wha--I mean… I wouldn't want to take yours from you…" She also took note of how the person next to her suddenly didn't sound so creepy.
The kids played with the two for a while until it was time for them to leave. The group seemed really happy to have made a new friend. And left, making the two heroes promise to play with them again some day. Kaizen turned to Hotaru to properly ask what she was there for. "So do you just go around punching random strangers? I don't think that's very plus ultra of you." Kaizen teased. He briefly asked if she had any idea who he was. "So I take it youve been chosen for this program as well?" He wanted to confirm if they were new classmates.
Sighing a bit in relief as the kids had their fun, Titan turned to Kaizen and grumbled a bit embarrassed. Bringing a hand to her face, it ran down the front of her altered visage in disappointment. "No… I don't," She replied in a pout. "Wait, you're in Suppression too? Oh that's just great…" She didn't only try to beat up some kind of acquaintance, but a new classmate. "I'm sorry. I just transferred after enough of my class failed and I heard the new class just got merc'd by villains on a patrol, so I was on edge. I saw you with the creeper voice and the weird villain banter and the kid crying and didn't want to take a chance."
Letting out another sigh, it was even more embarrassing admitted. "Wait, so how do you know me?"
"In hindsight, it did look pretty suspicious." The bugster thought about the whole misunderstanding. "I was in the same batch as you in UA, from class 1A. I am Kaizen Shinkami, the Apex Bugster, or bug boy, whichever you prefer." He introduced himself with his name alongside his hero name, hoping that maybe she remembers him. "I am, as you said, a "fan". Pleased to make your acquaintance, Titan." He extended a hand to her, showing that he had no hard feelings despite the somewhat hostile encounter. He was curious as to what happened to her group. "I am sorry to hear about your class… is everyone alright?" Having experienced a life threatening situation himself, the bugster knew what it felt like.
"Kind of… but I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions… I can take a hit so I should've just walked up and asked," Hotaru said with another sigh before flinching. She turned to him and stared before pointing at him suddenly. "Bug guy!"
He was kind of hard to miss, but they were in separate classes, Hotaru didn't pay much attention, and she also had never seen him like this.
"Wait. You never looked like this! ...Did you?" She questioned grabbing his hand. She supposed she could've missed it, but Hotaru could've sworn he was usually smaller and more green. "Ah… They're fine, mostly. I just wasn't expecting for a portion of the class to fail. A couple were injured during patrol too, but they're fine. Hearing you guys were hit too, and worse, was what kind of worried me."
"Well, I like to change things up a bit, keeps my enemies guessing. And also I was supposed to look the part of a villain, hence the creepy voice." He explained to her, hoping to clear up any confusion. "Yes we were hit hard too, but we will recover from this. Our line work never gets easier, that's just the reality of it. Tell me, Titan. Why did you become a hero? " Kaizen always found it fascinating on why everyone wanted to become a hero since his reasoning...was less than heroic for the most part.
"Ah, so it's your fault," Hotaru said in jest. By this point, her armor began to shift and shrink, returning to her default appearance. She frowned a bit at his comment. It didn't really get easier, but that didn't mean she had to tolerate people getting hurt. "Huh? That's kind of out of the blue," She said with a small chuckle. "I didn't really have a good reason. I wasn't interested in anything in the way of a career, but my quirk is good and I have family experience so I went with this."
Her reason kind of sucked. She coasted off talent and no drive. It was why there wasn't much seen of her at U.A. All the big events most were hyped about, she didn't care for. Then the real Titan passed away and she was stuck with a mediocre track record. In a way, the original would've undoubtedly said no to being a part of something like this, but for her it was another chance at the Sports Festival to get Titan recognition.
"It took my grandad kicking me over and over before I got the inspiration to keep his name alive." She smiled a bit, but it didn't look that joyous. "What about you then?"
"Hmm.. interesting, you do this to continue his legacy…a noble cause." He thought about how meaningful her reason was to be a hero compared to his. He often had problems coming to terms with his reasoning on becoming a hero, unlike his fellow classmates who had noble and altruistic purposes, the bugster was much more machiavellian with his purpose. As much as he didnt want to admit it, he views himself to be selfish and unheroic as his main motivation was the pursuit of a worthy challenge.
Did he really care about his teammates and innocents being hurt? Or is that just a reason he uses to justify his violent retaliation, even he doesn't truly know. "I do it because I believe only a few people are truly capable of doing what we need to do. Those who are given more in life must not cling to it, but risk it all at every moment for those of us who cannot. The world can be a cruel place, but it doesn't mean it has to stay that way." He explained. He did to a certain extent feel a sense of responsibility, what was the purpose of his strength if not to fight the battles that others cannot.
"That seems pretty noble too. Why all the pondering?" Hotaru asked. It was a similar outlook to her grandfather, though a part of him just liked to stir up trouble. Still, he didn't like seeing people with no will to fight being picked on. It was a heroic sentiment, so she wondered why he seemed somehow unsure. "Or did I shake you up when I attacked you earlier…?"
"No you didnt hit me that hard…" he answered rather flatly before explaining his view. "Well… my raison d'tere has changed quite a lot over the past few years, sometimes I like to be reflective and look back at why I fight." Does it really matter why heroes fight villains? As long as they fought on the right side right? Those were the questions he had always asked himself. He admired people like Hotaru, they remained steadfast on their purpose, they seemed pure and benevolent with their intentions, without any ulterior motives. " Your grandfather sounded like a fun person to be around. To be inspired by family members, hmm I haven't felt something like that in years. " He thought out loud before adding another question. "So have you met anyone else here yet?"
"I don't see the problem," Hotaru stated. "I just told you I didn't have any reason, and that inspiration only started a couple years ago when he died." She wasn't sure where his confliction came from. One didn't need to be completely altruistic to be a hero. "He was fun though. You would've liked him I think." He already had a bit of a taste of Titan, which was either purposefully or otherwise inspired by the original.
"Uh… not too many. Mari. Kikyo. Uh, Isa… Oh, Vigridis," She listed off. It wasn't everyone she had spoken with but she also hadn't spoken at length with a majority.
"So you've met quite a lot of them already I see…. Did you give them a similar greeting as well?" He teased her, he still found the entire ordeal to be particularly amusing. But knowing that they were new students being brought in of her calibre made him happy, especially a familiar. "Regardless, I am happy to have you in my class and look forward to working with you on the field." The bugster was glad to have another muscle type, perhaps she too shared the love for battle as he does? "Its getting late, lets go home. Would you like to take the Bugster express? Beats walking, I assure you that." Kaizen offered his friend a lift, since it was the fastest form of transportation available to them right now.
"Agh-" Hotaru grumbled, a small tint of red covering her face as she slugged him in the arm. "No! I didn't! They weren't pretending to be a villain." She huffed before stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets. Hotaru gave a brief nod in response. "Thanks… hopefully I can make things easier on all of you a bit." There were still many she had yet to meet, but that could wait for now. She would be formally introduced eventually. For now, she figured it was best to continue as she had been and be ready the next time a situation popped up. "Oh! Uh… Sure. You're not gonna… like, do that thing where you spin around and try to make me sick are you?"
~~~~~
After finishing his heart to heart talk with Agi, the bugster turned his attention to visiting the other two he had let down in the mission, his beloved cooking student and the second pretty boy of the class. He brought two fruit baskets, one of each of them, both filled with the fresh harvest from the rooftop gardens. He even brought some curry and rice if either of them wanted some. "Katsumi, Yori, are you guys awake?" The bugster came into their room rather shyly, carrying the goods. "I've brought you all some fruits from the garden. Freshly picked Agi, already got his so dont worry you won't have to share.'' He tried to lighten the mood, but he knew it wasn't gonna be that easy.
Kaizen placed the respective basket on the tables next to them before moving on to the main purpose of the visit. "I owe you both an apology. I should've been there besides both of you instead of messing around with those fellas up top." Kaizen gave a bow to both of them, knowing that if he hadn't held back in that encounter, the team wouldn't have sustained so many injuries. "I do not expect your forgiveness, but know that the next time we meet them I will deal with them appropriately. Their crimes will not go unanswered." The bugster gave them a promise that he is prepared to carry out, even if it will cost him a few limbs here and there. While he knew it wasn't very hero-like, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to return the favor to the perpetrators ten-folds.
Yori had come to visit Katsumi for the sake of talking through what had happened during the mission. Of all the people Yori had spoken to, Katsumi was the most stubborn about what happened during the mission. He knew he couldn't convince her, so he wasn't going to sit there and try for the next hour.
However, to their surprise, Kaizen had come to offer them what smelled like delicious food and lovely fruit.
"Yeah, come in!" Yori invited the other inside, greeting him with a smile. Though the same warmth was not met as their classmate started apologizing to them.
When he was finished, Yori had been the one about to speak up and tell him it was alright and that it wasn't his fault. However, Katsumi beat him to the punch.
"Why are you apologizing?" She asked him, getting up from her bed and standing up as best she could. Katsumi didn't exactly care if her hospital gown wasn't fully closed from the back. She was more worried about answering Kaizen.
"You've done nothing wrong! You fought one of the villains and sacrificed a limb to help Yori stop the bus. Yori was injured because the bus crashed; that isn't your fault. And I was injured because of my incompetence. My failure to do the task I was given is not something you should beg forgiveness for. If I had taken down that rotten little- that villain- I would have been able to come to your aid! You wouldn't be worrying about me or Yori right now if I could have done what I was supposed to! I should be the one apologizing to you. So, I'm the one who's sorry Kaizen. I apologize for being too weak to do the one job I had."
Yori's eyes widened a bit. In the weeks he'd known the proud and slightly egotistical Katsumi, he never thought he'd hear her go on a tangent about how weak she was.
He looked at Kaizen and awaited his reply.
In a similar way to Yori, the bug was also surprised by this, he never though Katsumi would openly admit her own shortcomings
"Not quite the response I expected."
The bugster spoke, he wasn't expecting the girl to be so understanding with her response. To think that Kaizen used to have such strong hatred against this girl and yet she was the one comforting him now. "You honor me with your words, Katsumi. But the truth is I could have easily won my fight had I'd been a bit more merciless against my enemies." and that truly was the reason why Kaizen felt terrible for the entire ordeal.
Kaizen was silent for a bit after this. He had some food for thought to process.
I had more than enough strength to end the fight there and then. And yet I choose to spare them my wrath. Agi told me that a true hero saves everyone, including the villains. But what good is that if it results in all of you getting injured or worse? Am I to prioritise the lives of criminals over my comrades? The bugster wondered to himself as he stepped forward and got a better look at the girl's injuries. "Does it still hurt? " He asked, feeling responsible for the girl's injuries.
Its easy for people to be idealistic when things turn out well or when no-one dies. If any civilians had died today, it would have been a different story because their blood would have been on our hands. And If any of my teammates had died, their blood would have been on mine.
Despite his inner thoughts, Kaizen puts up a positive front for his friends. While he was still not happy with the results, he believes it was pointless to share his point of view of mull over spilt milk. "Seems like we both have areas to improve in then. Now then, are any of you hungry? I made some curry for both of you." Once again he was thankful for not having a face. It was much easier to hide such dark thoughts when you always look like a bug.
'If he'd been merciless?' Yori asked himself as he and Katsumi both listened to the other's words.
In truth, everyone would have won their battles if they weren't holding back, but to what degree with Kaizen? He didn't know. All he knew of Kaizen was that he was powerful in his own right, while also being very kind.
"I mean, I can't feel anything cause of the drugs." Yori reassured his friend, trying to make Kaizen feel at least a little bit better if possible. "But even without them, I'm sure I'd be fine."
Katsumi wanted to ask more questions, but seeing how Kaizen shifted the subject to food, she decided she would ask it at a different time.
Yori moved in closer seeing the food with Katsumi. The blue haired girl was visibly pleased at the sight of the curry, while Yori himself was enthralled by the appearance and size of the fruits.
"Yes, please. Everything looks amazing, Kaizen! I've never seen fruit this big before!" Yori praised as he took one of the fruits to examine it. "Are you going to eat with us?" He asked.
"We'd be delighted if you could, Kaizen." Katsumi added.
"I am happy to hear that." The bugster said to Yori. He was happy to see that both them are expected to make a full recovery physically. "Yes, this harvest has proven to be very bountiful. Though there is only so much natural growth methods can achieve. These days, genetic modifications and specialized fertilizers can achieve much greater growth, though they do sometimes have the side-effects of making them less tasty. At least that's what I've heard. " The bugster explained his rationale for still going full organic.
"It would be my pleasure." Kaizen replied. He handed them both one lunch box each along with some utensils wrapped in napkins. The container contained both the curry mix and rice. "I hope you like it, I added a bit more heat this time, though it's not strong enough to burn you, I hope."
Yori looked at the fruit a bit more closely as Kaizen explained. The fruit itself looked amazing to him and he hadn't been able to eat as much fruit as he wanted since he got to Japan. The price for six strawberries was downright expensive. This was a damn treasure, and Yori wasn't going to miss out on it.
And neither was Katsumi.
"If it looks like a fruit and tastes like a fruit, I'll be happy to eat it. I haven't been able to eat one since I got back from touring." He responded, taking a fruit from the basket. Yori and Katsumi would also take the lunch boxes with a 'thank you'.
Yori would move to grab something that could be used as a table then pulled the visitor's chair over so all three of them could sit together.
"Come along Kaizen, let us enjoy this meal together." Katsumi gestured to the open chair, hoping the other would come and sit.
"As you wish." The buster sat at the chair and opened up his own container which was slightly bigger than the others. His curry smelled different as he put more heat in it. "Itadakimasu!" He slap while clapping his hands. "So. Had of your relatives visit you guys? I am sure some of them must be worried sick when they received the news." The bugster asked, as he did see some heroes exiting the hospital earlier.
"Itadakimasu!" Katsumi and Yori said with him, clapping their hands together as well before opening the box and unwrapping the utensils. They could smell a bit of heat in their curry, but Yori and Katsumi both didn't seem to mind.
Yori would be the first to answer. "Yeah, my parents and Amano. My brothers might come by later or wait until I'm out of the hospital." He answered.
Katsumi then said. "My parents stopped by already. They were… less than pleased, but not at me."
Her father looked like he wanted to murder the woman who sent Katsumi to the hospital, but a proper talk with him eased his rage… for now.
"And what about your relatives?" Yori asked Kaizen. "You did survive a bus crash, and sacrificed a limb to help slow the bus down. Have they come to show support?"
"I see..." it was nice to know that they had such a caring family, top heroes no less… unlike him. "I've survived the worst. So it's not surprising that they are not concerned. And even if they were, their visit would mean nothing to me." Kaizen spoke rather coldly. He still felt the sting of their betrayal till this day. "I'd rather not, involve them in my endeavours, we've caused each other enough problems." He, to a certain extent, acknowledges the rift was also partially his fault, but he still believed that it didnt justify their betrayal.
The two listened to him as he spoke, taking the obvious hint that Kaizen didn't care as much about his own parents as Yori or Katsumi. Seeing his reaction, they decided that they wouldn't ask about it further.
"I understand. Though, I have a question, if you don't mind me asking." Yori spoke up. "Did it, you know, hurt when you lost your arm? I'm sorry if it's insensitive." He added the last part. Having seen Kaizen so...purposefully and without hesitation put his arm into the engine, Yori was seriously curious.
"No, insects do not feel pain the same way humans do, all I feel are vibrations. I haven't felt any physical pain in a very long time. And even if I did, so long as I can regenerate my limbs, I would still do the same." There was a sense of zealous conviction in his voice. "The price of a few limbs is nothing compared to the life of my comrades." Despite the supposed grievous injuries he had endured, the bugster seemed unfazed revealing his somewhat inhuman nature. Growing up strong with the inability to feel pain and a healing factor to boot seems to have affected the bugster's way of thinking. He viewed himself as an expendable shield to take hits, as well as a sword that retaliates with unmatched ferocity.
Yori and Katsumi shared a glance after Kaizen said he didn't feel pain and hasn't felt it in a while. So, did that mean Kaizen couldn't feel other human senses that connected to pain? Like pleasure? Yori was the most curious, but he wasn't going to be asking that question anytime soon.
"I can't say I'm happy to hear that answer, but it's good to know you weren't hurt at least." Yori commented. "Just… be wary of that way of thinking. That can't be good for your mental health."
Katsumi would then add. "I hope you won't be so liberal sacrificing your life as you are with your limbs." She reached over and squeezed his arm. "Your arm can grow back, but we cannot get another Kaizen. Do you understand?"
Upon hearing their worries, the bugster can't help but sigh, they should know by now that he can't be brought down that easily. And yet, there was a warm feeling within him, knowing that his friends cared about his well-being that much. Katsumi's words in particular caught him off guard since it sounded like something his mom would say to him. "I…" Kaizen stayed silent upon seeing someone reach out to him in such a way before finishing his sentence. "I understand. I will endeavour to do better next time." He didn't promise them he won't get hurt again, only that he would do better. "We should probably eat our food before it gets cold." Kaizen reminded them that their food had remained untouched for a while now.
Kaizen placed the respective basket on the tables next to them before moving on to the main purpose of the visit. "I owe you both an apology. I should've been there besides both of you instead of messing around with those fellas up top." Kaizen gave a bow to both of them, knowing that if he hadn't held back in that encounter, the team wouldn't have sustained so many injuries. "I do not expect your forgiveness, but know that the next time we meet them I will deal with them appropriately. Their crimes will not go unanswered." The bugster gave them a promise that he is prepared to carry out, even if it will cost him a few limbs here and there. While he knew it wasn't very hero-like, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to return the favor to the perpetrators ten-folds.
Yori had come to visit Katsumi for the sake of talking through what had happened during the mission. Of all the people Yori had spoken to, Katsumi was the most stubborn about what happened during the mission. He knew he couldn't convince her, so he wasn't going to sit there and try for the next hour.
However, to their surprise, Kaizen had come to offer them what smelled like delicious food and lovely fruit.
"Yeah, come in!" Yori invited the other inside, greeting him with a smile. Though the same warmth was not met as their classmate started apologizing to them.
When he was finished, Yori had been the one about to speak up and tell him it was alright and that it wasn't his fault. However, Katsumi beat him to the punch.
"Why are you apologizing?" She asked him, getting up from her bed and standing up as best she could. Katsumi didn't exactly care if her hospital gown wasn't fully closed from the back. She was more worried about answering Kaizen.
"You've done nothing wrong! You fought one of the villains and sacrificed a limb to help Yori stop the bus. Yori was injured because the bus crashed; that isn't your fault. And I was injured because of my incompetence. My failure to do the task I was given is not something you should beg forgiveness for. If I had taken down that rotten little- that villain- I would have been able to come to your aid! You wouldn't be worrying about me or Yori right now if I could have done what I was supposed to! I should be the one apologizing to you. So, I'm the one who's sorry Kaizen. I apologize for being too weak to do the one job I had."
Yori's eyes widened a bit. In the weeks he'd known the proud and slightly egotistical Katsumi, he never thought he'd hear her go on a tangent about how weak she was.
He looked at Kaizen and awaited his reply.
In a similar way to Yori, the bug was also surprised by this, he never though Katsumi would openly admit her own shortcomings
"Not quite the response I expected."
The bugster spoke, he wasn't expecting the girl to be so understanding with her response. To think that Kaizen used to have such strong hatred against this girl and yet she was the one comforting him now. "You honor me with your words, Katsumi. But the truth is I could have easily won my fight had I'd been a bit more merciless against my enemies." and that truly was the reason why Kaizen felt terrible for the entire ordeal.
Kaizen was silent for a bit after this. He had some food for thought to process.
I had more than enough strength to end the fight there and then. And yet I choose to spare them my wrath. Agi told me that a true hero saves everyone, including the villains. But what good is that if it results in all of you getting injured or worse? Am I to prioritise the lives of criminals over my comrades? The bugster wondered to himself as he stepped forward and got a better look at the girl's injuries. "Does it still hurt? " He asked, feeling responsible for the girl's injuries.
Its easy for people to be idealistic when things turn out well or when no-one dies. If any civilians had died today, it would have been a different story because their blood would have been on our hands. And If any of my teammates had died, their blood would have been on mine.
Despite his inner thoughts, Kaizen puts up a positive front for his friends. While he was still not happy with the results, he believes it was pointless to share his point of view of mull over spilt milk. "Seems like we both have areas to improve in then. Now then, are any of you hungry? I made some curry for both of you." Once again he was thankful for not having a face. It was much easier to hide such dark thoughts when you always look like a bug.
'If he'd been merciless?' Yori asked himself as he and Katsumi both listened to the other's words.
In truth, everyone would have won their battles if they weren't holding back, but to what degree with Kaizen? He didn't know. All he knew of Kaizen was that he was powerful in his own right, while also being very kind.
"I mean, I can't feel anything cause of the drugs." Yori reassured his friend, trying to make Kaizen feel at least a little bit better if possible. "But even without them, I'm sure I'd be fine."
Katsumi wanted to ask more questions, but seeing how Kaizen shifted the subject to food, she decided she would ask it at a different time.
Yori moved in closer seeing the food with Katsumi. The blue haired girl was visibly pleased at the sight of the curry, while Yori himself was enthralled by the appearance and size of the fruits.
"Yes, please. Everything looks amazing, Kaizen! I've never seen fruit this big before!" Yori praised as he took one of the fruits to examine it. "Are you going to eat with us?" He asked.
"We'd be delighted if you could, Kaizen." Katsumi added.
"I am happy to hear that." The bugster said to Yori. He was happy to see that both them are expected to make a full recovery physically. "Yes, this harvest has proven to be very bountiful. Though there is only so much natural growth methods can achieve. These days, genetic modifications and specialized fertilizers can achieve much greater growth, though they do sometimes have the side-effects of making them less tasty. At least that's what I've heard. " The bugster explained his rationale for still going full organic.
"It would be my pleasure." Kaizen replied. He handed them both one lunch box each along with some utensils wrapped in napkins. The container contained both the curry mix and rice. "I hope you like it, I added a bit more heat this time, though it's not strong enough to burn you, I hope."
Yori looked at the fruit a bit more closely as Kaizen explained. The fruit itself looked amazing to him and he hadn't been able to eat as much fruit as he wanted since he got to Japan. The price for six strawberries was downright expensive. This was a damn treasure, and Yori wasn't going to miss out on it.
And neither was Katsumi.
"If it looks like a fruit and tastes like a fruit, I'll be happy to eat it. I haven't been able to eat one since I got back from touring." He responded, taking a fruit from the basket. Yori and Katsumi would also take the lunch boxes with a 'thank you'.
Yori would move to grab something that could be used as a table then pulled the visitor's chair over so all three of them could sit together.
"Come along Kaizen, let us enjoy this meal together." Katsumi gestured to the open chair, hoping the other would come and sit.
"As you wish." The buster sat at the chair and opened up his own container which was slightly bigger than the others. His curry smelled different as he put more heat in it. "Itadakimasu!" He slap while clapping his hands. "So. Had of your relatives visit you guys? I am sure some of them must be worried sick when they received the news." The bugster asked, as he did see some heroes exiting the hospital earlier.
"Itadakimasu!" Katsumi and Yori said with him, clapping their hands together as well before opening the box and unwrapping the utensils. They could smell a bit of heat in their curry, but Yori and Katsumi both didn't seem to mind.
Yori would be the first to answer. "Yeah, my parents and Amano. My brothers might come by later or wait until I'm out of the hospital." He answered.
Katsumi then said. "My parents stopped by already. They were… less than pleased, but not at me."
Her father looked like he wanted to murder the woman who sent Katsumi to the hospital, but a proper talk with him eased his rage… for now.
"And what about your relatives?" Yori asked Kaizen. "You did survive a bus crash, and sacrificed a limb to help slow the bus down. Have they come to show support?"
"I see..." it was nice to know that they had such a caring family, top heroes no less… unlike him. "I've survived the worst. So it's not surprising that they are not concerned. And even if they were, their visit would mean nothing to me." Kaizen spoke rather coldly. He still felt the sting of their betrayal till this day. "I'd rather not, involve them in my endeavours, we've caused each other enough problems." He, to a certain extent, acknowledges the rift was also partially his fault, but he still believed that it didnt justify their betrayal.
The two listened to him as he spoke, taking the obvious hint that Kaizen didn't care as much about his own parents as Yori or Katsumi. Seeing his reaction, they decided that they wouldn't ask about it further.
"I understand. Though, I have a question, if you don't mind me asking." Yori spoke up. "Did it, you know, hurt when you lost your arm? I'm sorry if it's insensitive." He added the last part. Having seen Kaizen so...purposefully and without hesitation put his arm into the engine, Yori was seriously curious.
"No, insects do not feel pain the same way humans do, all I feel are vibrations. I haven't felt any physical pain in a very long time. And even if I did, so long as I can regenerate my limbs, I would still do the same." There was a sense of zealous conviction in his voice. "The price of a few limbs is nothing compared to the life of my comrades." Despite the supposed grievous injuries he had endured, the bugster seemed unfazed revealing his somewhat inhuman nature. Growing up strong with the inability to feel pain and a healing factor to boot seems to have affected the bugster's way of thinking. He viewed himself as an expendable shield to take hits, as well as a sword that retaliates with unmatched ferocity.
Yori and Katsumi shared a glance after Kaizen said he didn't feel pain and hasn't felt it in a while. So, did that mean Kaizen couldn't feel other human senses that connected to pain? Like pleasure? Yori was the most curious, but he wasn't going to be asking that question anytime soon.
"I can't say I'm happy to hear that answer, but it's good to know you weren't hurt at least." Yori commented. "Just… be wary of that way of thinking. That can't be good for your mental health."
Katsumi would then add. "I hope you won't be so liberal sacrificing your life as you are with your limbs." She reached over and squeezed his arm. "Your arm can grow back, but we cannot get another Kaizen. Do you understand?"
Upon hearing their worries, the bugster can't help but sigh, they should know by now that he can't be brought down that easily. And yet, there was a warm feeling within him, knowing that his friends cared about his well-being that much. Katsumi's words in particular caught him off guard since it sounded like something his mom would say to him. "I…" Kaizen stayed silent upon seeing someone reach out to him in such a way before finishing his sentence. "I understand. I will endeavour to do better next time." He didn't promise them he won't get hurt again, only that he would do better. "We should probably eat our food before it gets cold." Kaizen reminded them that their food had remained untouched for a while now.