Ashes to Ashes, Power to Power: Chapter 4

“I'm back!”, I called out to the house as I closed the garage door, picking up the bags filled with grocery attached to the sides before opening the door and walking over to the entrance to take off my boots and jacket.

Hearing no response, I blinked as I picked up the bags and walked to the kitchen only to give a nostalgic smile at the note on the table.

Hey, sweetie. Just went over to Ms. Kuchiki for my book club meeting. Will be back late so at least make yourself something to eat instead of ordering take-out like you used to.

'Yep, she did not change at all,' I thought with a smile as I placed the bags down, packing out the groceries and putting them away before sitting down a few items down on the table.

'A stainless steel spoon, a ceramic plate, a wooden chopstick and a plastic cup,' Sitting down in front of the items, I picked up the spoon with my right hand before taking a deep breath and activating my Quirk.

In an instant, I felt the composition of my body shifting, watching as my arm took the form and composition of the stainless steel before taking a deep breath and letting the growth continue.

With every second, I let the transformation crawl up my shoulder, across my chest and down my left arm until I stared at both arms now fully metallic and heavy under the dim kitchen light.

'That…was fairly easy, but…I can see why Kevin used to do his whole body instead of just one,' Even as I just sat still and held my arms up, I could feel it beginning to put both of my shoulders under heavy strain.

However, I reached out with my left hand and grabbed the chopstick with a delicate grip, watching as the dense stainless steel shifted to mimic the lighter and more flexible wooden material of the chopstick.

At that same time, I frowned as the strain intensified, my mind split between keeping the wooden flexibility of my left arm and the stainless-steel of my right arm.

'Okay, time to go further,' With another deep breath, I exhaled slowly as I dismissed the wooden left side while pulling the steel further, watching as my entire body slowly took on the dense stainless steel.

It felt as if I had dipped myself into a vat of honey and was now walking around without the stickiness, clenching my fists and hearing the clanging of metal on metal before nodding.

'Full-body assimilation was a success. Now, time to see if I can move,' Trying to stand up from the chair felt like standing up with a full weighted bodysuit of at least 100 kg, my muscles screaming in protest and feeling my lungs burning as I stood up straight.

“One step at a time,” I muttered to myself, a bit startled at my distorted voice that sounded like metal scratching on metal as I took the first step forward.

The sound of the wooden flooring creaking alarmingly under my foot made me jump for a brief moment before I continued, each step feeling like I was being pulled down towards the ground before I finally ceased the transformation.

The metal vanished all at once and I gasped as I fell to my knees, panting hard and letting my body fall to rest on the cool wooden floors.

“Two minutes…fifteen seconds,” To this world, that might be weak as hell, but for me, that was more than enough for a first time.

'First, it's just two minutes. Then, it's five, ten and soon…however long I need it to be,' Staying on the ground for a while as I let my body heal, my mind was already thinking of tomorrow.

Not only do I want to continue pushing my Quirk further, but I also wanted to prepare for Aizawa's training. After all, with what I can remember of the man, he was a harsh trainer that pushed people beyond their breaking point to see whether they would quit or not.

'Urgh, tomorrow's going to be hell,' I thought with a groan as I sat up, wiping away the sweat on my forehead before blinking as my stomach rumbled.

'Right, still need to eat…Well, time for some egg fried rice.'

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“…Huh, you actually came early even if it's about half an hour earlier than I said”, Toga spoke with a raised eyebrow as she walked up to the gym, to which I just shrugged as I sat on my bike with my gym bag over my shoulder.

“Thought I just follow what you said and get on Aizawa's good graces. Why are you so early, though? I was expecting to sit here for another half hour,” I said with a smirk as I climbed off, walking up to her as she placed her key into the front door.

“Because I'm the morning opener, dummy. Besides, when do you think I get my own exercise in?”

“Wait, what time does the gym open?”

“About 6 am to 6.30 am depending on how I feel,” She answered with a smile, giggling as I just watched her walk in before shaking my head as she gestured for me to come in.

“You don't got to worry about your bike?”

“Have you heard how loud she was yesterday? Besides, she has a built-in microchip and a nasty bit that activates when someone tries to use her without my key.”

“Such as?”

“A metal pipe about the length of a ruler and the girth of a soda can that shoots out from the seat,” I answered and she just raised an eyebrow before looking back at the bike.

“Good to know. Remind me to never borrow your ride without asking,” She said with a smile as she turned on the lights, to which I just shrugged while watching as she took off her hoodie.

The light blue leggings she had on was quite different from the spandex short as they hugged her lower body quite nicely, but I quickly just shook my head while placing my jacket and bag on the ground.

“So, where do I put these?”

“In your locket near the back. Also, you wanna do the same as yesterday or go a bit more intense?”, She asked as I walked towards the back and I just turned to see the look of anticipation on her face.

“How about a little easier?”

“Oh, you know we don't do easy around here,” She teased with a smile before walking over to the weight section with a playful swing in her step, making me chuckle as I put my things in the locker before walking over to her.

“Also, you want to get ready for Aizawa, right? Believe me, then. It's better we burn your body out here before he decides to break you back there.”

“Got it,” I nodded and she hummed before I watched as she pointed to the treadmill.

“Alright, warm-up first. Ten minutes on the treadmill at a jogger's pace. Then, we move onto a mix of strength and endurance training until you pass out. Sound good?”, She asked and I just followed after her before raising an eyebrow as she punched in the settings for both machines.

“What? Like I said, I got to get my training in too.”

“Huh, guess I get to push you as far as you push me today, then?”, I said with a grin as I walked onto one treadmill, to which she just hummed as we began to pick up pace.

“You think you can make me quit?”

“Oh, I don't think because that leaves the possibility of you not quitting. I know I can make you quit,” I said with a grin, to which she just smiled before turning up both machines to a runner's pace.

“Forget jogging. Let's go until we can't move.”

“Okay then.”

“Ohoho~ You're about to be handled, little man,” She said with a challenging grin and I just gave a thumbs-up as we began speeding up.

“I'd like nothing more.”

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“You two challenged each other's egos, didn't you?”, I just gave a tired thumbs-up at Aizawa's words as I sat against the wall, Toga nodding from where she was lying on a bench while trying to catch her breath.

“Y-Yep, turns out Kevin here…got a lot in the tank.”

“When you were thought to be Quirkless for most of your life…you tend to get pretty good physically…really fast,” I answered, taking a gulp from the near-empty water bottle before turning to Aizawa as he spoke.

“You thought you were Quirkless for most of your life?”, He asked and I saw the raised eyebrow on his face as well as Toga's intrigued look before nodding.

“Kind of, yeah. That's what the doctor told us, but then a couple of days ago, I saved this kid called Bakugo during the villain attack in the shopping district just down the block. That was when my Quirk activated.”

“So, you just decided to go and rescue a kid even though you were Quirkless? Sounds stupid to me,” Aizawa spoke with a scoff and I smiled before nodding.

“Honestly, it was, but at the time, I wasn't thinking about whether or not it was the right thing or not. The only thing on my mind was seeing a kid in danger and that I was close enough to help him. That's all I needed.”

“Huh, sounds like something All Might would say,” Toga spoke up and I chuckled as I remembered the large blonde man.

“Funnily enough, he said the same thing to me when he finished the job and captured the villain. He did ask me to promise him not to go out villain hunting, which I'm doing because I'd rather have the license than worry about becoming a vigilante.”

“Good. Now, come, it's time for your training. Toga, make sure to open the gym.”

“6.30 am. I'm still resting,” She spoke while I groaned as Aizawa helped me up, chuckling as the man just sighed before I took out my bag from the locker and followed the man to the back.

“So, what are we going to train today?”, I asked as we walked into the fighting/ training room, placing my bag down near the entrance as he raised an eyebrow.

“We're going to see how good your instincts,” His words confused me slightly as I watched him walk over to a cabinet before pulling out a pair of gloves and pads.

Tossing them at me, I barely caught them as I felt my muscles still being fatigued, putting on the gloves with a frown while he strapped the pads to his forearms.

“You're worn out and your body's in a stressed state. This is the perfect time to see what you can do when you're reacting and not thinking.”

“You sure this is a good idea?”

“It is. Villains won't wait for you to catch your breath and neither will life, kid. Now, come on,” He said as he clapped the two pads together, to which I just nodded with an exhale and raised my fists.

“Alright then. Let's go,” He took a stance and raised the pads as I stopped in front of him and right as I went to throw a jab, my eyes widened as he lunged forward.

His left arm came fast like a whip and I barely raised my right to block the attack, grunting as it made me stumble before watching as he hopped backwards.

“You didn't think I'd stay still, did you?”

“…Honestly, I kind of was,” I answered as I stood up straight only to be placed on the back foot as he continued with another swing from his right arm.

Leaning back, I blocked the following left strike before throwing a jab on my own, but both of us could see that my fatigue was holding me back as he easily dodged to the side.

“Too slow. You're thinking too much. Just move,” He said as he feinted high and swung low to my right side, barely tucking in to block the side before leaning away from the jab at my face.

“Don't predict and plan. You're on the back foot so just react and find your opening.”

'Don't plan. Just react. Don't plan. Just react,' I repeated the words in my head as he lunged in again, trusting my body as I blocked the right hook.

Dodging the left jab at my chest and shifting to the side and under the left hook, I threw my own jab at Aizawa's side, catching the slight smirk as he pulled back to dodge the attack.

“Good. Now, keep that up for the next thirty minutes,” He answered and instead of groaning, I just nodded before I lunged in this time.

The next hour was a blur as Aizawa and I sparred with each other. Every time I felt my mind wander to figure out my next move or focus on how tired I was, I either got a slap to the gloves or a sharp tap to my sides to draw me back in.

At one point, I think my breathing had synced up with my steps as I was taking short breaths through my nose, hopping from side to side with soft and light steps before stopping as Aizawa stepped back.

“You're rough around the edges, but it's good enough,” He spoke and that was enough as I slumped to the floor, catching the amusement in his eyes as I let myself have a smile at my success.

“Only those with true power in this world survive by being the strongest or the fastest. The rest of us survive by never freezing when the real fighting between the powerful start. Panic kills more people than villains do and that's the first lesson you need to take to heart.”

“Got it,” I nodded, letting the words sink in as Aizawa sat down and took out a stopwatch.

“Five minute timer then we start again. This is how your new schedule is goig to be. Breakfast, gym with Toga for an hour and 3 half hour-long sparring sessions with me. After that, you're free to go, got it?”

“Got it.”

“Also, make sure you get enough sleep every night because you're going to need it,” He spoke and I just gave a thumbs-up before letting my arm fall back to the floor, taking deep breaths while smiling as I replayed the lessons over and over in my head.

'One step at a time, Kevin. One step at a time.'

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My hands were stuffed in my pockets as I stood outside the gates to the U.A. campus, my temporary pass hanging around my neck like many of the prospective heroes that were here to take the same test as I was.

'It's been a long six months since I've arrived,' I thought with a smile as I walked through the gates, following the crowd to the test destination while remembering the hellish training I had put myself through for this test.

Toga's sadistic endurance and strength training, Aizawa's spars that seemed to go on forever and my own Quirk training to make sure I was still keeping up on that front were all focused to take me to the breaking point and beyond.

It was a painful and gruelling experience, but it was an insightful one as I did learn something cool about my Quirk.

'I can do more than just matter absorption,' I thought with a smirk as I took out the battery I kept in my left jacket pocket, holding it between two fingers before immediately draining the potential energy from it.

With a hum, the electricity sparked from my mouth and into the air, making my hair raise slightly before I patted it back down.

That's right. Just like the original Kevin, I can also absorb and redirect energy as I want. However, what I found was that it was still a bit painful to absorb and redirect flames, which didn't honestly surprise me.

After all, fire was still fire.

“Hello, everybody!”, I blinked as I found myself standing at the front of the group, wondering just how the hell I went from the middle to the front before looking at the hero in front of us.

The first thing I noticed was the form fitting and sleek black bodysuit, scarlet red lining along the sides of the arms and legs while a black belt with a mouth with vampire fangs as the belt buckle was tied around her waist. The next was the red baton at her side styled in the rough form of a cross and as I looked at the blonde hair and the mischievous look in the woman's cat-like eyes, I simply shook my head as Toga grinned at me.

“Holy shit, it's the Duchess.”

'The Duchess?…Honestly, it's a bit fitting,' From a side view, she kind of did look like a vampire cosplaying as an anime character and she seemed to know that as she placed her hands on her hips with a smile.

“It's nice to see that there are so many people here, but unfortunately, there has been a slight change of plans in the tests,” Her words made me narrow my eyes and I caught a few others doing the same, the rest looking a bit panicked as Toga continued.

“Today is no longer going to be a writing and a physical test. Instead, we're going to do some rescue work! As young adults and older adults, we know that you all know it's not just about how strong one is that makes them a hero. It is also about us seeing whether or not you can handle the responsibility of saving people in life-or-death situations. This is where we're going to do it. Welcome…to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint or the USJ!”, I had to admit that I was a bit in awe when the door swung open and we followed her in, staring at the various sites that were made to simulate numerous disasters.

“Everyone will go in and face different scenarios and your job is to go in, rescue the civilians and get out. There are sixty of you here and six zones so you'll be going ten in a zone. There is no time-limit and also no do-overs. You'll be scored on how effectively you complete each rescue in each zone, how fast you can act under pressure and how well you think on your feet.”

'Don't think. Just react,' The words of Aizawa clicked in my mind and I smirked as I realized why the man was drilling it so much into my mind, nodding before looking to Duchess as she pointed at the large screen off to the side.

“Look at where your name is and in what group you are. Find your group and then wait your turn. The first group is going to start in five minutes. Now, go prepare yourself,” She spoke and I just walked over to the screen, scanning through it before smirking as I saw myself in the third group.

'Okay, time to go get ready.'

A/N: Like I said, this is going to be a far different test than the one Izuku and the others had. Instead on focusing on the fighting aspects of being a hero, we're focusing more on the rescue parts.

Next chapter: A Test of Heroism.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!