Recruitment

Manami told me that there was six books she thought would cause me to gain more abilities. Most were from an ancient martial art she was trying to decode and had given up on, but the last was something she desperately wanted to keep hidden. She told me she wanted it to be a surprise for whatever reason.

While she did that, she recommended I try and check out the mysterious blue fire sightings even deeper within the forest. She told me the little knowledge she had about it and left on her merry way to go grab the books.

I really wanted to give the Azure Dragon skills a twirl on the trees, but I held back and Dashed even deeper into the forest. Without my positively OP Quirk, I wouldn't have expected much. The blue flames had only been seen in the depths of night, and when heroes had checked, they hadn't found anything either.

With my Quirk though, it was as simple as bringing up the Map and searching for nearby presences. I didn't know if my Quirk would count them as enemies until I met them, but people still appeared on my map regardless. When I pulled it up and didn't see anything, I ran for a few minutes until I saw a single grey dot on the far corner of my map.

I ran towards it but slowed down as I approached it. If it was a villain, I wasn't about to lose my chance to run away when things boiled down to it. I slowly approached, until I saw a man with black hair walking through the forest.

Maybe it was wrong to say, but he looked villainous. The terrifying patches of possibly burnt skin only proved my point. They ran up his arms, were underneath his eyes, and basically covered the bottom half of his face.

However, despite all of that, the information above his head was still more striking.

[Ignis Caeruleum Fatuus]

[Lv. 55]

[Dabi]

Damn. No matter how I sliced or diced this, a fight wasn't happening between us. I would simply stop existing if a fight did happen between us. No, serious.

Based on his stats, I wouldn't be fighting against him as much as being pummeled and turned into literal ash. Cremation, his Quirk, would certainly make sure of that.

But… why was his title so odd?!

Most of the titles I'd seen were fairly obvious. "The One Behind The Screen" and "Hidden Vigilante" didn't keep you guessing like this one was. I wasn't even confident in saying it without biting off my tongue or summoning some sort of deity.

Regardless, my point still stands. I wasn't gonna fight Dabi.

But he wasn't just another mob. I didn't need to fight and defeat him. I just needed to convince him.

Just needed to convince a man―who definitely had a strong Quirk for most of his life―I didn't know to join me in changing how society sees people with poor Quirks or who were Quirkless. That… would be an uphill battle if I ever saw one.

But I had two things on my side. Well, more like 1.5, but still.

For one, I didn't have to win today. I had a month time limit, but that didn't mean I had to recruit Dabi today. Yes, the earlier the better, but it wouldn't mean anything if I was reduced into a pile of ash anyways.

The other 0.5 lies in the environment. We're in the middle of the woods, and for some reason, Dabi didn't want to be found. Meaning, he probably wasn't gonna unleash any large attacks that could burn down the forest.

The reason why it was only half a point instead of a full one was because I was almost entirely sure that Dabi could beat my ass black and blue even without using his Quirk.

I had no idea what he had done to get such insane stats but sheesh….

All his physical stats were closer to 100 than not, with the lowest one, Vitality, sitting at an intimidating 89. I don't even think Kazuho had stats like that. Whatever Dabi was doing on his off time, it was definitely showing.

With all that information, I could give myself a week―two weeks at most―to convince Dabi. With someone of his level on my side, I'd be in an incredibly good situation, but getting him on my side wasn't worth risking any serious amounts of lost time regarding any planning or training I'd needed to do before the operation.

I glanced over his stats, Quirk, and general information once more before crafting a plan.

Activating Azure Dragon's Dash, Azure Dragon's Scales, and using Azure Dragon's Flight to leap into Dabi's vision, I took a deep breath.

"This hero society is fla―"

"Leave or die, your choice," Dabi interrupted me, his words cold and sharp. I didn't know how much of his threat was empty, but I assume that a lot of it wasn't. Just based on his status screen, he wasn't particularly put-off by my presence either.

Was it possible that he noticed me earlier, but just thought it wasn't worth confronting me? If that was the case, would he run after me to kill me? Probably not.

"Or what? You'll burn down the forest?" Maybe I was stoking the dragon, but I could tell what kind of person Dabi was, so this wasn't too foolish. Well, maybe that was just what I was telling myself.

"…No, I'll just bash your face in," Dabi spoke, his sharp words contrasting his nonchalant tone. His eyes stayed firmly locked onto me, focused.

I basically just told him that I knew his Quirk to some extent, but he didn't show any reaction besides spending a moment to presumably think. His expression didn't change much, and he didn't make any abrupt moves.

Even after checking his status screen once more, it only showed that he was slightly intrigued. Still, it was something to build off.

"If you don't listen to me, I'll just come back later," I shrugged, smirking with confidence I most certainly didn't have.

"Fine then. I'll just handle you right now," Dabi spoke simply, and I could feel Sense Bloodlust spike up in response. It was subtle compared to the skeleton boss, but it was certainly still there. I was in danger now, real danger.

"Can you?" I taunted, and then I Flew away, leaping from one tree to another. I didn't even care to turn back as I pushed my skills to their limits.

Burying my feet into the trunk of one tree, I rocketed off it, spiraling through the air before I swung off a heavy branch into a flying somersault. My hands met the ground, and I was off it again. I was flipping before I knew what was happening, and then I was running again.

I didn't even know I could move like that, but it felt so natural. It was amazing.

This was freedom, I grinned. I could move so much, without a single fear. This was the power I desperately wished to have for my entire life.

I Flew from one tree trunk to another, then another, and one more. Before I knew it, I was stumbling, awkwardly trying to reorient myself as all my skills faded.

My MP was gone in what could've been 15 seconds at most. And that was when I was trying to flee, not trying to attack or advance in the slightest.

I looked behind me, and Dabi must've either stopped running after me or just didn't even start at all, but he wasn't there regardless.

I looked down to my hands, swiping away the notification for an additional status point in Dexterity and Vitality.

[Due to utilizing the power of your pure body, a new skill has been created. Skill: Martial Arts Mastery.]

[Due to drawing upon the long-forgotten techniques of the Azure Dragon, a new skill has been created. Skill: Seiryu's Azure Dragon Technique.]

I almost fell into an unconsciousness, but I barely held myself together and fell into a Mortal Meditation instead.

I'd get Dabi as an ally, I know I would.