51 Chapter 50
Over the course of his conversation with Mirko, Izuku learned quite a few things about the Party System. First and foremost, any pop-ups, meaning notifications or status windows, were visible to everyone. Secondly, it was possible to check the status of other members and their proximity relative to the speaker with the voice command 'Check Party Status.' Lastly, when Mirko joined his Party, he got a long list of Perks he could 'confer' her, but only six in total.
Though it was impossible to see detailed information, such as Quirks and Perks using the 'Check Party Status' command, Mirko had Izuku show her his status page directly, remarking, "Wow, you have a fuck-ton of Quirks..."
"Yeah, it's complicated..." replied Izuku. "But that's not important right now. We should be focused on allocating your attributes and choosing Perks that suit your nature and fighting style."
Prompted by Izuku's words, Mirko returned her attention to her status screen, frowning as she remarked, "I feel a strong urge to increase my Intelligence, but I've gotten this far without it. It might be better to just pump my Strength, Agility, and Dexterity to 500 before investing the rest into Vitality. Or maybe I can invest everything into Vitality to choose one of the stronger Perks...?"
Pulling up the window displaying various Perks, Izuku focused on the group that required 1000 Vitality, remarking, "Super Regeneration might be a good choice. If it functions similarly to the Quirk of the same name, you could even regenerate lost limbs."
Waving her hand, Mirko confidently remarked, "I've already been a Hero for eight, going on nine years. If I were going to lose a limb, I would have lost it as a rookie. Now, show me the Perks related to Luck. If it turns out we can share Experience, I might be able to power-level you a bit."
Though he did as Mirko instructed, Izuku asked, "Are you sure? Pumping your Luck isn't the worst idea, but doing so to help me a is little much. I really appreciate the sentiment, but-"
Before Izuku could finish, Mirko elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to trigger his Bronze Skin perk across his torso, a serious look on her face as she said, "I got as strong as I am through hard work and effort. I would be lying if I said the thought of getting stronger didn't rile me the fuck up, but I don't need handouts from some brat. If Luck is related to talent, I'll boost it to the max and get stronger the same way I always have, training my ass off and beating the shit out of people."
Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Izuku adopted a smile and remarked, "You really are an incredible woman..."
Snorting through her nose, Mirko retorted, "Yeah, and I don't need you, or anyone else, to point it out. I know exactly how badass I am because I'm the one who put in the work. Now, let's get this over with so we can get to our training. Don't think I've forgotten about kicking your ass."
"Right..." replied Izuku, showing Mirko the list of Luck-based Perks before helping her allocate all of her AP to Luck. He was the only one who could do so, so if members of his Party wanted to use the Free Attributes they got from Leveling, they would need to come to him in person...
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Name: [Rumi Usagiyama]
Quirk: Rabbit
Bond Level: 92->93
Current Level: 83
Effective Level: 219
[Attributes]
Strength: 388
Agility: 442
Vitality: 647
Intelligence: 39->50
Dexterity: 460
Luck: 224->628
Free Attributes: 0
[Perks]
[Fleet-Footed], [Thunderous Thighs], [Healthy Body], [Second Wind], [Keen Senses], [Lucky Rabbit's Foot]
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Though the increase in Luck didn't make her feel any different, Mirko knew Izuku's power was the real deal when she acquired the Healthy Body and Keen Senses Perks. The moment she acquired them, most of her fatigue vanished, and each of her five senses became much sharper. As for her other Perks, she didn't feel like Fleet-Footed did anything, but Thunderous Thighs may as well have been made for her. It allowed her to accelerate and decelerate nigh-instantaneously, storing the energy in her thighs before unleashing as blades of wind, something Izuku referred to as 'Fangs.' As such, she christened the technique 'Luna Fang.'
"Luna Fang...!" shouted Mirko, sending a crescent-shaped blade of energy flying at Izuku. Fortunately, she was a master at controlling her strength, so even though the blade impacted him directly, cutting across his chest and arms, it only left a shallow cut on his Bronze Skin.
Hissing due to the fiery pain, Izuku extended Blackwhip to a nearby tree, pulling himself away just as Mirko landed a destructive dive kick where he had been standing. Since he was too weak to fight her directly, they were currently playing a game of 'cat and mouse' in the forests surrounding her home. In essence, she was chasing him around to acclimate to her Perks while he did his best to 'survive' as long as possible...
Seeing Izuku begin to weave and bob between trees like a certain web-slinger from New York, Mirko's already predatory smile became even more sinister as she abruptly combined two of her Ultimate Techniques, Luna Ring and Luna Fang, christening the ability, "Luna Eclipse...!" as she spun her body in a swift circular arc, extending both her legs 180 degrees from each other. The result was a perfectly circular 'fang' spreading out from her body, slicing through several trees and leaving a deep gash in a nearby boulder.
Hearing a sharp wooshing sound, Izuku dove forward just as the fang of energy passed over him. Its strength had weakened considerably by then, but a cold sweat broke out across Izuku's body when he got up and saw it had cut nearly halfway through the tree he dove behind.
Taking advantage of Izuku's momentary stupor, though he could at least get his guard up, Mirko crashed down on him from above, driving her heel into his guard as she shouted, "Luna Arc...!"
Unable to endure the force of Mirko's blow, Izuku was forced to one knee as her heel forcibly uncrossed his arms and drove his hands into the dirt. Then, reversing her motion, performing a nigh-instantaneous backward somersault, Mirko added, "Luna Reversal...!" as she kicked him in the chin, sending him spinning head over heel through the air. And with that, even though only a few minutes had passed, everything went dark...
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Though he awoke to the feeling of a pleasant warmth enveloping his body, Izuku couldn't help groaning, "Ugh...my head..." as he gradually realized he was in the bath.
"Stop bitching..." came a familiar voice, seeming to emanate from behind Izuku's head. Fortunately, his mind wasn't playing tricks on him as Mirko was presently supporting his body, allowing him to rest against her with his head against her breasts.
Before Izuku could comment on the situation, Mirko asserted, "You're a lot weaker than I expected. I get that you can only use your 'maximum' power for a few seconds, but at this rate, you'll die the moment you fight a powerful villain. Even if you can take the main guy out in one punch, his goons won't hesitate to stomp your head in once you collapse..."
Closing his eyes, Izuku remained silent for a few moments before replying, "I know...but I've only had this Quirk for around two years, and it's barely been a month since I gained my amplification ability. I'm doing my best to improve, but there's only so much I can do when half my day is dedicated to general education and socializing..."
Recalling her struggles during school, requiring her to transfer no less than three times, Mirko promptly decided not to be too harsh on Izuku. She nearly forgot since he was so mature, but he was still a brat, bound by the expectations of adults and the restraints of society. In that regard, his talent and capabilities were probably a tremendous burden...
Catching Izuku off guard, Mirko flatly remarked, "We may have more in common than I thought..." in her characteristically husky tone.
Before the words could reach Izuku's lips, Mirko shook her head and said, "Don't ask. As I stated previously, I'm not the type to brood over the past. Life has more meaning if you live every day as if it were your last..."
Emboldened by her own words, Mirko grabbed the sides of Izuku's face, surprising him with a lingering kiss before pulling away to say, "Since you lost so quickly, we still have a bit of time before breakfast and my morning patrol. If you can pull yourself together, I might consider letting you blow your load a few times..."
Though his body protested as he did so, Izuku leaned forward and forced himself to stand, stating, "Even if all my limbs were severed or broken, I'd still come running at such an offer..."
Raising her brows, Mirko was about to call Izuku a dumbass but settled on rolling her eyes when she noticed his not-so-little brother rousing. It seemed even bigger when he was standing in front of her, but instead of feeling even remotely intimidated, Mirko rose to her feet, fixing her hair as she said, "Let's do it in the bedroom. Cleaning this bath is already a royal pain in the ass, so I don't want semen getting in the water and sticking to shit..."
Following her words, Mirko turned to leave, stepping out of the tub and letting the water drip from her body. When she didn't hear Izuku following after her, she turned around to find his eyes glued to her ass, prompting her to narrow her own and remark, "Looks like you were all talk after all..."
Adopting a serious expression and a grin, Izuku confidently retorted, "Girl, don't make me carry you like a princess..."
Snorting through her nose, Mirko replied, "You wish..." before swaggering out of the room, intentionally swaying her hips as she did so...
("I fucking love rabbits...") thought Izuku, following after Mirko with a pep that belied his fairly serious injuries...
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Though he wasn't complaining in the slightest, especially when Mirko was present, Izuku's internship became a fairly monotonous routine of getting his ass beat, having sex, eating breakfast, seeing Mirko off, feeding her rabbits, welcoming her return, having sex, etc. He was gaining between 2-3 Free Attributes every day, but he almost felt like Mirko's househusband, waiting for her to return so he could alleviate her stress before sending her off once again.
Despite her promise to show him the ropes of being a Solo Hero, Izuku's internship reached its final day without Mirko taking him on a single patrol. She welcomed him to join her, but since she refused to reduce her patrol speed so that he could keep up, all Izuku could do was watch her take off into the sky before returning to the gym to train. It wasn't that bad, but he lamented being so weak that he couldn't even accompany her on a simple patrol...
Interrupting Izuku's training session, Mirko, having returned a lot earlier than normal, asked, "Is today the last day of your internship? I forgot to keep track of the date."
Racking the weight he had been squatting, Izuku replied, "Yeah. And it's been fun, even if I didn't learn as much as I'd like."
"Yeah...sorry about that..." replied Mirko, rubbing the back of her head with an uncharacteristically awkward look on her face. She wasn't very good at apologizing to people, so instead of focusing on that, she met Izuku's gaze and said, "You've worked hard this week and didn't bitch too much whenever I kicked your ass. I've prepared a little reward for you, so head to my room and wait like a good boy."
Rising to his feet, Izuku quipped, "I'm the 'best' boy." before running past Mirko and making a comically mad dash for her room. She rolled her eyes as he passed her but then adopted a smile as she imagined his reaction to her surprise. His comment about wishing he could have been her first had left at least a small impression on her heart, so Mirko had visited her old family home and dug out her middle-school outfit just for him. It didn't fit her at all, the top exposing half her abdomen and the skirt barely covering a quarter of her thigh, but Mirko doubted Izuku would complain...rather, if he did, she might use her penultimate technique against him, Luna Tijeras, an attack where she flexed her thighs with enough force to decapitate or outright crush her opponent's head...
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(A/N: I have some complaints...)
