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Chapter 2 - Beating Up A Kid

"Tch. Did you even sleep last night? You look like shit," Jiro Kyoka said bluntly, walking beside a visibly drained Tsutsumi Ryokou.

The two strolled at a slow pace down the sidewalk, heading toward Shizuoka Futaba High.

"I did," Tsutsumi answered calmly; the aftereffects of that world still affected his body, making him more tired than usual. That's also not to mention the Ackerman Awakening gave him a massive headache, which he has to take some pain medication to avoid losing control of his power.

Jiro shot him a sideways glance. She didn't buy it for a second.

Tsutsumi yawned, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, when he felt something inside.

His brows drew together in confusion as he pulled it out, revealing a card.

Attack Ride: Earphone Jack

He nearly tripped on the sidewalk.

Earphone Jack is Jiro's quirk, his friend, someone he has a bond with. 

Tsutsumi really didn't expect that his quirk, now fully awakened, could gain other people's quirk too. 

Tsutsumi exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing. Without a word, he closed his palm, and the card disintegrated into light, absorbing into his body like the others.

A person's quirk is like their identity in this world; if people found out that he could gain other people's quirk, it might not be long until he becomes public enemy number 1.

Great, another part of my quirk that needs to be hidden.

If he could pass it off as temporary mimicry, maybe he'd be safe. But even that felt risky.

His thoughts were cut off as Jiro suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Don't drag your feet, slowpoke! We're gonna be late!"

She tugged him forward, breaking into a light run.

Tsutsumi didn't resist. He just followed, letting her pull him along.

Fortunately, they made it just in time.

...

"As you all know, graduation is just around the corner," the teacher droned from the podium, "so it's time you start taking your future seriously."

Jiro tilted her head a little, looking at the back of the classroom and seeing Tsutsumi scribbling something on a notebook, not listening to what the teacher said.

Sighing, she turned back to focus on the teacher's words as she began passing down a career application test for the students to write what they want to do after graduating from junior high.

Currently, Tsutsumi was still lost in thought about the discovery of his quirk's true power. And what he can and can not reveal to other people about it.

Copy quirk is rare, but the only reason why not many pay them too much attention is that they need the help of other people to be fully utilized during hero work. Plus, learning to use a new quirk every time you copy them could be difficult for many.

Tsutsumi's quirk now reveals that it didn't copy; it basically photographs the power, equipment, and even form of other people onto cards that can be used repeatedly as long as he gains access to them.

A soft sigh escaped him as he stared at the blank application sheet in front of him.

He didn't even know what he wanted to do after graduation. His thoughts had always been consumed by a single goal, finding his missing mother. Everything else felt like background noise.

She'd left behind a massive inheritance. He barely used more than 2% of it a year. His house was already paid for, utilities somehow covered. All he ever spent money on were food, clothes… and hiring private investigators who always ended up hitting dead ends.

"Tsutsumi, still don't know what you want to do?" a voice asked from the seat in front of him.

Tsutsumi blinked, looking up.

It was a boy. Someone from his class, apparently. The awkward part? Tsutsumi had no idea what his name was, and asking now would make it worse.

"Yeah," he replied simply. It came off cold, but better that than admitting he didn't know the guy.

"Why not apply to U.A.?" the boy suggested with a smirk, clearly mocking. "I mean, with a quirk like yours, becoming a hero should be easy, right?"

Laughter came from his friends nearby.

Ryokou didn't flinch. "Sure."

If he wanted to, he could become a top-ranked hero. Or a villain. But that wasn't the point.

Becoming a hero might make things easier. Give him resources, access, and freedom. And if it helped him find his mother faster? Then fine.

Under the surprised stares of his classmates, he casually wrote "U.A. High School" onto his paper. It was the closest hero academy to Shizuoka, located in Musutafu, and the #1 ranked school in Japan for heroics.

Afterward, he went right back to doodling, ignoring the whispers and side-eyes.

Time passed, and Tsutsumi stepped out of the teacher council room.

After reviewing his application to enroll in U.A. High, Japan's #1 ranked hero academy with an infamously low acceptance rate, the faculty had tried to dissuade him. They gave the usual speech: "It's a tough path," "You should consider alternatives," and "Not everyone makes it." But Tsutsumi hadn't cared then, and he didn't care now.

For him, becoming a hero wasn't a dream, it was a tool.

A means to an end.

With a tired exhale, Tsutsumi didn't bother returning to class. Instead, he made his way up the stairwell to the rooftop. He checked his surroundings, empty. With a simple wave of his hand, a ripple shimmered in the air, and the Aurora Curtain enveloped him, pulling him into another world.

Now seated in a completely different classroom, Tsutsumi glanced around, noting how much this school contrasted with his own. The atmosphere, the uniforms, even the way the students talked, it was all different.

A different school, huh?

He leaned back silently and waited. Maybe something interesting would happen.

Nothing much happened until the explosive blonde with an Explosion quirk, whose personality is a bit bad, and likes to bully other people. Decide to go bully the green-haired kid again. Tsutsumi simply watched as the blonde, Bakugo Katsuki, picked on the quirkless boy, Midoriya Izuku.

Not seeing any point in continuing to pick on a defenseless kid who didn't even have a quirk.

Tsutsumi stepped forward, calmly placed a hand on Bakugo's shoulder, and said flatly, "That's enough."

Bakugo flinched at the touch, then turned with a sharp slap, knocking Tsutsumi's hand away.

"Don't touch me, extra!" he snapped, his palms already crackling. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Tsutsumi looked him dead in the eye. "Just a passing-through Rider. Remember that."

Confused murmurs rippled through the classroom. Bakugo, of course, didn't care.

"You tryna act cool, huh!?" he shouted, and with a sudden swing of his hand, unleashed a blast toward Tsutsumi. Smoke and dust filled the room.

Crack!

A fist shot out from the smoke, smashing into Bakugo's face and staggering him back.

"You..." Bakugo hissed, eyes blazing. His hands sparked again, angrier than before.

The dust settled.

Tsutsumi still stood in the same spot, calm and unfazed.

The effect of Ackerman Awakening had given him the experience of many trained warriors. So even without the main effect of Ackerman Awakening, of making him into a human titan, it is still enough to give him the confidence to charge into combat.

"You, me, rooftop. Now." he said coolly, then turned and walked out.

Bakugo's jaw clenched. He trembled with rage, but followed. His lackeys trailed behind him. So did Midoriya, for reasons unknown even to him.

The two teens stood face to face, neither backing down.

The two didn't say anything, and Bakugo charged forward, using his explosion to close the distance, getting right in front of Tsutsumi and delivering a powerful right hook.

Tsutsumi tilted back just in time. The fist skimmed past his nose. He avoided the right hook. Letting gravity pull him down, Tsutsumi placed his palm on the ground, using it to support himself before he swung his right leg, kicking Bakugo directly on the face.

Relying on the built-up momentum, Tsutsumi spun around quickly getting back on his feet. The hit sent Bakugo tumbling, but he rolled back up almost instantly, fury crackling at his palms. He launched himself again with another explosive burst.

He was about to counter the flying blonde again, but upon noticing Bakugo's palm crackles with a miniature explosion and his arm was about to swung toward him. Tsutsumi quickly shifted his body to the side, rolling on the ground and avoiding the explosion that tore through where he had stood a second earlier.

Attack Ride: Earphone Jack

Tsutsumi's earlobes transformed into jack cables, stretching outward like coiled whips. The cords wrapped around Bakugo's arm, stabbing into the skin.

"Bastar-" Bakugo cursed, but Tsutsumi reeled him in and drove a punch into his face, snapping his head to the side and drawing blood.

Daze, Bakugo tries to steady himself, only for Tsutsumi's knee to crash into his guts, making him cough up a mouthful of saliva. 

Another punch hit his head, another his his shoulder, then his right leg, before another hit to the face, unable to endure much more, Bakugo tried to release a massive explosion in front of him, fully releasing his quirk. Grabbing both of his wrists, Tsutsumi redirects Bakugo's hands outward, causing his explosion to miss there target, before driving his knee into Bakugo's gut once more.

"Is that all?" Tsutsumi asks, releasing Bakugo and letting the blonde fall to the ground, his earphone jacks withdrew, then disappeared.

"Damn... bastard." Bakugo cursed under his breath, doing his best to push himself up despite his trembling hand.

"Kacchan!" a voice cried out from behind.

"Stay out of this!" Tsutsumi didn't even bother turning back and simply backhanded whoever was running toward him and Bakugo. He could feel his hand make contact with someone's soft face, mixed with the sound of nose breaking and the sound of a body hitting the ground hard, skidding across the rooftop tiles.

"What the hell are you doing?" he said, kneeling beside Bakugo. "Stand up."

His hand landed firmly on the blonde's shoulder. "Aren't you going to become a pro hero? Was that all bark but no bite?"

"Shut up!" Bakugo roars, trying to push himself up.

"Then get up!" Tsutsumi continue. "Stand up and prove it! Show me that even if you're knocked down, you can still have the strength to get back up. So, stand up and fight for your ideal!"

"If you want to prove others wrong, then show it. Prove that your ideals mean something." He said before standing up.

Bakugo groaned, his entire body shaking as he planted one hand on the ground and forced himself upright.

Bruised and bloodied, the young hothead glared at purple-haired teen before him, his breath ragged, but defiance still burning in his eyes.

A grin tugged at his lip. "Tch… didn't think someone like you existed in this dump."

He wiped the blood from his face. "Bakugo Katsuki. You?"

"Tsutsumi Ryoko," he replied calmly, watching as Bakugo's glare shifted from hatred to a begrudging respect.

A soft pulse stirred in his jacket pocket. Curious, Tsutsumi reached inside and pulled out three new Rider Cards. He smiled, the quietly pocketing them.

"Not bad, remember this feeling. Never give up on your purpose and ideals." Tsutsumi said, turning toward the exit. "And you will become a great hero." 

With that, he walked through the rooftop door.

Bakugo shouted after him, but by the time anyone reached the door, Tsutsumi had vanished.

Back in his world, Tsutsumi reappeared atop his school's rooftop, his uniform shifting back to its original form.

The sky had deepened to amber, the sun beginning its descent.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he made his way back to his classroom to retrieve his bag.

But someone was already there.

"Oi!" Jiro called out from his desk, his bag dangling in her hand. Her expression was somewhere between annoyed and concerned. "Care to explain where you disappeared to all afternoon? I've been looking all over for you."

Tsutsumi slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Beating up a kid," he answered coolly.

Jiro: "..."

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