Several weeks passed since the night at the gambling den. Jun funneled his cash into his account or just straight up used cash when he could.
For training he bought weighted accessories for his arms and legs, and signed up for martial arts classes.
He knew how a brawl was supposed to go—on paper. But knowing efficiency was what was going to be the difference between him being effective and alive and… not.
Jun stopped at a bench, collapsing onto it as he took deep breaths. Running his usual laps around the neighborhood had gotten harder since he added the weight.
Heavy Touch didn't care about the number of objects as long as it was touching him. So all the weights were increased by a fourth of their mass, increasing the difficulty as well.
Damn, Weight + Gravity training? Who am I? Goku?
Jun chuckled as he squeezed the water into his mouth then some over his head. "That's fantastic…"
His phone buzzed in its holder on his bicep, so he took it out.
Oh? The lawyer got back to dad about moving forward with Toga's schooling.
Groaning as he stood, he deactivated Heavy Touch. Training's cut short today. Toga comes first.
***
Opening the front door, Jun was still sweating as he clicked off the ankle and wrist weights.
Toga was already there, wiping him off with a towel. "You're home early, thought you'd be running for another half hour."
Jun smiled as he took the towel. "I like how you say it like it's our home."
Toga went red, stammering. "T-that's… you know… yeah…"
Jun laughed, then winced. "Okay, tomorrow's a rest day. I'm sore."
He slung the towel over his shoulder, walking upstairs. "I'll take a bath, then we can talk, bloodbug."
After a quick bath, Jun came back downstairs and sat on the couch leaning his head back.
"So did my dad tell you about the lawyer update?"
Toga, who was watching TV, looked over, nodding. "He told me the lawyer was confident about the case."
Letting out a sigh, Jun fell to his side on the couch. "That's good, soon you'll be safe and able to live your life again."
Toga scooted closer, lifting his head to place in her lap. "I'm already safe here, Jun…"
Jun didn't bother opening his eyes as she threaded her hands through his wet hair. "Did you text Mina?"
Toga's fingers tightened on his hair for a moment before she answered. "She was saying something about being busy training for U.A."
Opening one eye, Jun looked up at her. "Well, that makes sense. U.A. is tough. That's why I've been busy too."
Toga kept threading her fingers slower through his hair. "You'll probably meet all sorts of friends in U.A. with everyone working hard…"
Jun nodded. "We're all aiming to be heroes, so we'll have that goal to work towards together."
Her grip tightened more. "But where will I be? While you're at U.A?"
Jun opened both eyes. "Well, where do you want to go?"
That stopped her hands. "I… I want to go too."
Jun sat up, sitting next to her. "That? That we can plan, just gotta figure where you're going."
Toga looked at him like he was crazy. "B-but my quirk?"
Jun shook his head. "Not a huge factor. We build around it. You're more than your quirk."
Toga changed her look, now more curious than baffled. "How?"
"We train. We focus on you before even touching your quirk."
Jun laid back down. "Today? We just talk about where you want to go in U.A."
Toga let her hands rest in his hair again. "Isn't U.A. for heroes?"
Closing his eyes again, Jun let out a sigh. "U.A. has several courses, the Hero course is the most popular obviously."
She let herself play with Jun's hair. "I'd like to go to the same course as you."
Jun pursed his lips. "That's tricky. Do-able. But tricky. The Hero course has the biggest hurdle for admission."
"Training is definitely needed, and maybe you need to join me in some martial arts lessons."
Or let her use a small baton? She had a knife in canon
"But you'll probably need equipment, since your quirk isn't super physical."
She pulls on his hair. "Stay here. Not in the future."
Jun winced, opening his eyes. "Okay, okay, I got ahead of myself. I just want you to go with me."
Toga smiled, letting out a giggle. "Just don't go planning my future without me."
Jun nodded. "You got it. But training is still my domain, so consider me your trainer~"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, you are a training maniac. You've been doing something all the time since we were kids."
Smiling, Jun responded. "A good body makes a good mind."
Threading her fingers through his hair once more, Toga let out a contented sigh.
Jun closed his eyes again, letting the quiet, his soreness, and tiredness lull him to sleep.
***
The gambling den was as stale with cigarette smoke as the last time Jun had visited.
It's been several hours since he arrived, already taking his 2nd vial to keep the disguise up.
He looked down at his hand, noting the cards seemed good enough but could be better. Focusing on Empath he let himself feel the people around him. One was worried, one was confident, another seemed just as relaxed as his outward face.
Behind him at one of the smaller tables, he heard a raised voice that he recognized. Not because he knew them, just that he had heard them before.
Glancing over, he noticed it was the man with the odd forehead scar.
"Cmon! He cheated! There's no way he had all the aces!"
Empath read the situation with ease, there was smug satisfaction from the guy the scarred man was pointing at.
Jun laid his hand face down. "Excuse me a moment, I'll fold if I can't take a break."
Not waiting for a response from the dealer, Jun got up, straightening his jacket.
He made a beeline to the man who was radiating smugness. Slotting in Heavy Touch as his third as he grabbed the back of his neck.
Suddenly the man grunted as his mass changed, looking back at Jun who had a smile. "Hello~"
The man's stare went to a glare as he opened his mouth only for Jun to shush him. "Cheaters don't get to talk."
Jun reached into the man's sleeve pulling out several ace cards.
Seen this trick plenty of times, odd this place didn't flag it.
The staff at the lower tables that were restraining the scarred man switched targets immediately.
Jun stepped back, watching them work.
The scarred man laughed. "That's what you get! Hahaha!"
He walked next to Jun. "Thanks a whole lot, maybe tonight is my lucky night after all."
Jun held out his hand. "Name's Jasper. You seem familiar?"
Clasping his hand, Jun felt the same surge of quirk information when he made a bond with someone.
"I'm Jin Bubaigawara, we met a few weeks ago. Your hair is a giveaway."
"Orange can't be that rare~"
Jin laughed. "On a guy who's as friendly as you? Might as well be a beacon!"
Jun looked back to his table, the dealer had held his hand offering him his seat back. "Well, Jin, I got a hand to play. Don't be a stranger if you see me in the future."
Jin grabbed his chips, walking to the exchange. "I'm calling it a night. Ran my luck already with you."
Jun sat at the table, shooting a wink at his competition. "Yeah, I can spot cheaters, so no cheap tricks~"