Keiji Tsushima had long since had it drilled into his head that he wasn't a computer and he'd never doubted his older brother's firm and convinced words.
He did now.
The Hero Formation Program had many unrevealed projects which would definitely cause a scandal should they ever be revealed; the Rewrite Project, the Wired Coding, the Blue Moon Experiment, and even the Arahabaki Project to some extent. How else would the HPSC ever be able to find such powerful and perfect heroes like Hawks without resources? Most people were much too gullible to ask questions, but there was no need to blame them.
Each and every one of those experiments--because what other word was there to describe them?--always ended up with specific requirements. The Wired Coding had one from the beginning.
The subject must have an electricity-related quirk.
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[ 87% Complete ]
Denki internally swore, pulling Izuku along as they tried to avoid the gravity nullifier's line of sight.
"Denki."
He almost jumped, whipping his head to face the shorter teen. Izuku was the one who'd suggested they stay quiet to maximize their chances of slipping away; he'd been so silent that Denki forgot the boy had been there despite his body automatically pulling him along. The brunette let go of his companion's wrist, checking around to make sure they weren't being spied on.
"Yes, Midori-kun?"
"I think-- what did you call me?" Izuku froze, turning a both murderous and considering face towards him. Denki shrugged.
"Doesn't matter, what were you saying, Midori-kun?"
[ 92% Complete ]
The white-haired teenager paused for a moment, expression remaining unchanging even when Denki randomly frowned and muttered about something being slow before he abruptly pulled his companion to the ground. Denki didn't flinch when he was almost immediately turned around so he was the one pinned to the ground, Izuku's face scrunched up in displeasure, "Never do that ever again. We should go to UA."
Denki smirked and let the subject slide, "Why?"
"If she's undercover, attacking us near UA would be a horrible idea," the white-haired boy let go of his friend and stood, pulling the brunette to his feet.
"Whatever you say."
[ 97% Complete ]
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"Make sure you don't damage his nerves too much."
But of course, requirements change. What started with electricity quirk-users--with a stroke of luck--turned into one electricity ability-user. The Tsushima brothers had truly been a miracle for the HFP; they were both successes in their respective experiments.
Though when Shuuji had been found, Keiji had been nothing more than a year old. In consequence, he was kept away in a separate room until he had grown older. By the time the younger Tsushima had been four, his older brother had turned ten--at the time, a veteran doctor from the Great War had affiliated himself with the Hero Commision as an overseeing doctor. That same doctor has brought his younger sister along under the pretext that the environment would be beneficial to... advantagely channelling her frightening excitement.
"His nerves are crackling..."
"What are you doing?! Neutralize him immediately!"
Unlike his brother who'd nearly forgotten his own name, Keiji couldn't forget it, courtesy of said brother making sure he remembered no matter what. Yet, that didn't mean he didn't have a number. (The Little Prince was right, grown-ups really care about numbers)
S-01, the first ability user in the Wired Coding.
"Shit-! Who left the wires in here?! They're about to burst!"
That didn't mean they had managed to successfully control him after all of this time.
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"You... can drive?"
Denki stared at Izuku with an overly offended look, mouth wide open in a shocked gasp, while simultaneously dragging the unconscious driver out of the car, "Ex-cu-se you~ My brother can't drive without supervision," he got into the vehicle and shut the door, watching his companion get in from the passenger side.
"He can drive just fine, he's just too lazy to," Izuku smiled sunnily, rummaging through the car to find weapons.
"...what!?"
[ Conversion from Electrification to Stormbringer 100% Complete ]
Denki smirked and got the car going, spreading his ability to the car to increase the speed. How he missed having his ability.
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Keiji didn't know any genuinely nice people. Even Shuuji was slightly wrong in the head and his dream of trying out suicide of all things--it was the first word he'd taught him when they reunited--didn't help at all. He'd always been in either his room or his specialized test room; all Facility #11 subjects only gathered once every month to have their monthly changes thoroughly analyzed.
On the seventh gathering of the year, at the age of four, he met number 71. A few days later, disaster struck; not once, but twice.
Arahabaki and The Book.
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Keiji jolted at the sudden explosion he heard outside his walls. He flinched when he heard the cracks and shatters. The alarm ringing was loud, loud enough to mingle with the panicked cries outside the room; even the door rattled at the impending impact. The child hugged his knees close in fear, while desperately trying to shut out the noise with his hands.
[ Volume: 0% ]
All of the sounds went away. In surprise, his hands fell to his sides, eyes wide in disbelief, and he shakily stood, "It's so quiet..." he heard the soft whisper he emitted despite being unable to hear anything else.
Hesitantly, Keiji closed his eyes to concentratrate, trying to control the volume.
[ Volume: 15% ]
"Keiji!"
The kid yelped at the sudden sound of his name being called, and whipped his head to see the blond mop of hair of another older subject of the coding; Q-16, Denki Kaminari. The 14-year-old picked him up and dashed out of the room, not even stopping as Keiji struggled out of his grip.
[ Volume: 100% ]
The 4-year-old gasped at the sudden influx of noise and started crying loudly, calling for anybody willing to help. He missed the sad look the older gave him as they went on. All Keiji wanted was his brother but he couldn't find him anywhere.
Then he heard static.
[ Shutting down... ]
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"Remind me to never let you drive for me ever again," Izuku glared at him darkly, getting out of the car as soon as they had arrived in the vicinity of UA as well as lost Ochako's trail. The white haired boy tussled his hair thoughtfully, probably thinking about how to get their hair dyed as soon as possible.
Denki grinned, stepping out as well, "Woah, that's the moodiest I've seen you; might need to make you stay away from Chuuya-san for a while," he glanced at the entrance of the school and raised both eyebrows, "We have people waiting for us."
The other teen's eyes flickered towards where he was looking, "I expected him to get Atsushi, honestly."
The brunette furrowed his brows as he saw Todoroki and Akutagawa running towards him, the younger looking confused while the other had a slightly more troubled look than usual, torn in between suspicion and relief. The first words the mafioso told him made him practically bug.
"The boss created a new group for us."
Denki wished he had any other idea which boss Akutagawa was talking about. That action in itself was suspicious.
His phone rung.