At midday, Dante stretched as he stirred awake, blinking at the sun. He had expected to feel like absolute garbage after the overuse of his quirk last night, but surprisingly, he wasn't too bad off.
Dante yawned, "Guess protein bars actually work."
Still, he wasn't about to stay on another random rooftop scribbling in his notebook like usual. The sun was out today, he should probably go somewhere more comfortable.
"I guess the river, I could clean up there too."
He had beat up Bakugo and his friends there a few days ago, but it was a pretty good spot. The air was fresh, the sound of the river was calming… And most importantly, it was far away from the alleys crawling with lowlifes.
Eating a rice ball quickly, he made his way down the fire escape and took off toward the river.
The walk was peaceful and the city was wide awake, commuters and shopkeepers working hard. It was normal.
'Weird.'
Dante had been through hell just last night, but the world kept moving like nothing happened, well it's not like they knew what happened...
He reached the riverbank and crouched near the waters edge, splashing some into his face before rinsing off his arms. His clothes were still kinda disgusting but he could atleast wash himself.
Satisfied, Dante moved up the bank a little further where the sun hit just right and sat down. He pulled out his notebook, flipping to an empty page.
Encounter with Villains (?) - Night 7
- Woke up to voices, more than one person, didn't recognise.
- They were talking about stolen goods. Black market trade? Gang related?
- Made a noise. They noticed and chased me, next time I'll just mind my buisness if I'm not planning on fighting.
Dante then tapped the pen against the page and thought back to how he'd used the quirk.
- New form of mobility? I used sludge to climb up a wall somehow.
LegTraction(unexpecteddevelopment)
Here's where it got weird, my feet didn't push off ground. Instead, they had just turned into sludge, reducing friction, and just like that I was sliding up the wall like it was water flowing down, only I was flowing up.
It wasn't like climbing. It was more like I was getting pulled along. My body wasn't fighting gravity the way it should have. It was adapting and allowing itself to move like a liquid with the control of a solid.
The weirdest part? It was effortless. I wasn't even consciously doing anything, my body just did it.
Potential Applications
Controlling this could mean,
- Near instant vertical movement (no need to climb, I can just slide up surfaces.)
- Maybe I could even stick to ceilings if I figure out how to balance myself while using it.
- Speed boosts? If I can make my feet glide like that on the walls, maybe I can on the ground too.
The fact this happened instinctively means my quirk is developing in ways I haven't trained for. Maybe I could try to trigger this consciously?
Dante turned away from his book for a moment and just looked up at the sky, "Maybe now I could fuse Krav Maga and Muay Thai? Then focus on quirk training after that since there's too much to think about regarding my quirk right now? Sure."
Neither style was made for him. Not completely.
Sure, both styles were great but Dante wanted something made just for him.
His quirk changed everything. It altered how he moved, how he fought. He could break the boundaries of both styles. Trying to apply traditional techniques without adapting them was inefficient. If he wanted to thrive, he needed something new.
Back to the notebook,
Observation Log - Combat Adaptation
I've trained in Keag Maga and Muay Thai for a couple days now. Both have strengths but neither fully integrates my quirk. Both fighting styles are great when it comes to fighting up close with a regular human, but this world was not regular. My body is not normal.
My quirk adds another layer : Fluidity and Transformation. I can alter my limbs, extend my reach and even reshape my attacks mid-motion. That means I need a fighting style that blends all three.
Key principles for new style :
1. Adaptability - My movements should change as I move. Krav Maga's efficiency, Muay Thai's raw power and my quirks versatility should all flow together.
2. Unpredictability - No wasted movements. Every strike should lead to another, adjusting based on the enemy's reaction.
3. Maximising my quirk - I should be able to switch into sludge mid-attack, extend my reach, reinforce my strikes with hardened fists or morph into weapons mid strike and use my body's flexibility to dodge and counter.
Dante stood up, rolling his shoulders. Theory was nothing without execution. He needed to test it.
He started with the Muay Thai strikes he'd learnt, throwing powerful elbows and knees at a nearby tree, focusing on precision. Then, he tried to mix in Krav Maga counters, imagining an opponent grabbing him, breaking their hold and countering with ruthless tactics.
Now he just needed to integrate his quirk.
Dante threw a punch mid step, shifting his forearm into sludge, extending it slightly before hardening it right before impact. The force cracked against the tree bark. A fluid strike with reinforced impact.
A grin spread across his face.
Here we go. This was his style.
He kept going, kept practicing different combinations and writing new moves and ideas down in his notebook. A knee strike that turned into an elongated sludge kick. A counter where his arm dissolved to escape a grab before reforming into a hardened strike.
Hours passed. Dante was drenched in sweat, so he stripped and took a wash in the river.
He also soaked his clothes and reigned them out before packing up and heading to the convenience store with the old man from before to pick up some water on his way back.
…
He stepped into the small convenience store, the familiar scent of old wood and coffee welcoming him in. He walked through the aisles and picked up a few large bottles of water and a couple rice balls in case he needed them, making sure to ration his money. Who knew when he'd get a chance to have cash in his pocket again…
As he made his was to the counter, he noticed the old shopkeeper, the same one who had helped him return the kitten, was too focused on his newspaper to even acknowledge him standing right there.
Dante gently placed his items down on the counter and coughed awkwardly, "Something interesting?"
The old man grunted and flipped the paper around for Dante to see, showing him the front page. "RedDevil! Who Will Find The Identity Of This Blonde Delinquent!" The photo beneath the headline showed Bakugo—bruised, bloody and absolutely fuming—while reporters surrounded him.
Next to it was a grainy security camera image of a small hooded figure with glowing red eyes flying up a wall.
And below that, there was an old homeless man with his head wrapped in bandages ranting about some "Psycho homeless brat" who had slammed his head into the wall of an alleyway for politely asking for some food.
Dante blinked, "Damn… who's this idiot that's going around and picking fights with random people..?" He scoffed and shook his head while crossing his arms, keeping his voice casual. "Guess some kids just looooove causing trouble! Where are his parents? They aught to be ashamed of themselves for raising such a brat!"
The shopkeeper chuckled. "Troublemakers are everywhere, boy." His gaze fixed on Dante for a moment before lazily scanning his item. "Kids these days, climbing walls like damn spiders. Back in my day, you ran on the GROUND like a normal person."
Dante forced a laugh, then he paid for his food and grabbed his bag. As he was about to exit, the old man shouted out to him.
"Hey! If you ever want to help out around the shop again, you're more than welcome! These old bones can't do everything!" The old man shouted out and gave Dante a small wave before going back to reading his newspaper.
Dante chuckled and gave the man a thumbs up, "Sure will, I'll let you know if I ever need a job." Before exiting the shop.
As he fully walked out of the shop and was sure the old man wasn't looking, he exhaled slowly. "That was too close, seriously?! What the hell is their issue… what's wrong with climbing walls!" At least the security footage was way too grainy for anyone to notice that it could have been Dante.
Right as Dante stepped into the sidewalk, he could hear the old man chuckling from behind him.
"Don't get into too much trouble, kid."
Dante stiffened up for a second and turned his head, he saw the old man reading the newspaper before he walked off. "Does he know?"
Nah, he was probably just messing with him…