I still need something

[10 days later] [Saturday - 7:00 a.m.]

Like every day for a little less than a month, Doryoku was in the Gamma training room, practicing with the Rubik's cube to perfect his control of it as much as possible.

In the last 10 days, Doryoku reached the maximum he could do in Aikido without a suitable rival, learning all the poses, but still unable to live that doctrine.

As a little curiousity Last laser reminded him every day before training that no matter how much he trained, an arrogant enemy was a dead enemy, something that became almost a mantra for Doryoku.

Doryoku had improved a lot in a short time, now he could use his quirk for two and a half hours without overheating, although his improvement in this also remained stagnant there.

As said by Last laser, even the most genius must get their hands dirty sometimes, so Doryoku would only keep getting better over time and with the actual experiences he gets.

Doryoku looked around in confusion when noticing that Last laser had not appeared in 1 hour, especially knowing that he was almost as punctual as himself.

Doryoku simply shrugged and continued practicing with the Rubik's Cube, as well as the occasional practice in his Aikido postures, all with his bracelet activated.

And after another half hour, Last laser arrived, which seemed to have something in his right vest pocket.

"Good morning Laser-sensei" Doryoku said approaching him with a bit of curiosity and respectfully as always.

"Sorry for the delay brat, I have what you need for your last test" said Last laser returning the respect and walking towards the center of the training room.

Doryoku was a bit surprised by this and followed him, until Last Laser sat in the lotus position and took out what was in his vest.

And when Doryoku looked closer he could see that it was... a small white cat with blue eyes.

"Believe it or not, this is your last training" Last laser said trying to keep the seriousness of the strange situation.

"Meow!" growled the little cat trying to scratch Last laser without any success and causing him to let go.

"I hate animals" said Last laser with a serious tone and scaring the cat quite a bit.

The little cat looked around for more threats and could see Doryoku who caught his interest, while the latter deactivated his bracelet knowing what was going to happen.

The cat suddenly became... docile, and approached Doryoku and then passed by his right leg looking for caresses.

"Yes I understand you, it must have been quite ugly" Doryoku said calmly, bending down and stroking the cat while Last laser looked a bit surprised.

"That was quite interesting to see" Last laser said with a bit of surprise at the sudden change in attitude of the animal.

"Yes, although I don't get along with dogs, possibly because I always behave like a cat around them" Doryoku thought as he stroked the little cat and recalling his fateful encounters with dogs.

Doryoku once went to a classmate's party that Oboro made him go to and it was pretty... quaint.

There was a dog, a small one and not at all aggressive.

Some children stroked him, some teased him, some even put their hands on his nose, and the dog never did anything.

But when Doryoku arrived with just one look between them, the dog hated him with all his soul, it almost seemed possessed by a ghost, and so that's it with all dogs.

No matter what he does or how he behaves, he always win the hatred of dogs, without fail.

"Well this is not the time for your traumas brat, you have to continue with the training" Last laser said, cutting off Doryoku's narration all of a sudden.

"It's quite simple what I have in mind, I want you to touch the cat with your quirk activated" Last laser said seriously while he was still sitting and Doryoku still looked confused.

Doryoku took the cat (which was already almost asleep on his lap) and placed it in front of him, being careful not to disturb him.

Following this, Doryoku activated his bracelet and reached out with his right hand to touch the cat.

And just inches from touching the animal, Doryoku's entire body tensed and great terror flooded his mind.

All kinds of horrible scenarios passed through his mind where the little cat ended up dying because of his quirk, so he withdrew his hand with considerable shock and fear.

"There it is, just like I thought..." Last laser said with a hand on his chin in understanding seeing Doryoku's reaction.

"L-Laser-sensei, w-what was that?" Doryoku said with a lot of confusion and trembling with fear as he deactivated his quirk to calm himself.

"Don't be innocent brat, do you think a kyanseru will heal overnight?" Last laser said with a serious tone and then let out a tired sigh and explain the situation.

"I know everything relevant to your quirk, that includes your fear of him as a kyanseru, but there is something else" Last laser said in an explanatory tone while Doryoku paid attention still a little shaky.

"You did not stop fearing your quirk, you simply repeat that it is impossible for it to harm you with the bracelet, but that does not mean that you are incapable of harming other defenseless" Last laser said with a serious and explanatory tone, throwing the bomb on Doryoku.

"This is your last test for one and simple reason, it is the only thing you lack and it is something I cannot help you with, you cannot be a hero if you let someone go immediately after saving them" Last laser said with a warning tone and causing Doryoku to decay quite a bit.

He innocently thought that he had overcome his fear and that he should only train more to control his quirk, but he was simply leaning on his bracelet, nothing more.

Like always, the only thing keeping him alive was that damn bracelet.

Doryoku was frustrated, some tears came out of his eyes as he held his wrist tightly and the little cat approached trying to comfort him.

It was the same, always the same, nothing had changed since it all began, he always had to depend on something.

Suddenly as Doryoku sank in frustration, a hand hit his shoulder hard making him upset.

"Boy, I am not trying to say that you have not achieved anything, what this test means, is the last and most difficult step, to stop being a kyanseru" said Last laser crouching in front of Doryoku and with a more comforting tone.

"You have very little left, don't let your fears bring you down and don't give up now" Last laser said, patting Doryoku on the shoulder and then getting up and leaving the room.

Doryoku sat in his place assimilating Last laser's words and felt much better thinking more clearly.

Although he still depended on his bracelet, he was closer and closer, he felt more and more, and he depended less and less on it.

"Meow" said the little cat which seemed a bit worried and then received a little caress from Doryoku.

"I'm better now, at least now I know I'm missing" Doryoku said, smiling slightly and quite grateful to his teacher.

Doryoku kept trying to touch the little cat without success at any time, but still, he was never discouraged by this.

This was the last step, the last step to leave all his traumas behind, and even if it was complex, Doryoku would try as many times as necessary.

The rest of the hours it was the same, Doryoku tried to touch the little cat but it was completely impossible, without any kind of progress at any time.

But this was the last thing Doryoku lacked, the last thing that kept him from being free again and being able to fully live with his quirk.

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After trying unsuccessfully to touch the little cat for the rest of the day, Doryoku decided to go home and try another day.

The little cat was a stray, and he didn't seem to be in bad shape, so Doryoku just left him in a safe place.

Although he wanted to take him home, his mother was very allergic to cats, and Doryoku was sure that this cat did not want to be locked up in a home with a normal owner, he was already used to being a stray.

Doryoku walked as always enjoying his journey until he reached his home, where when he entered, as he always did, he prepared everything for when his mother arrived.

Half an hour later, Nintai arrived and as always Doryoku attended her with her purchases and prepared the table for both of them to start eating and chatting.

"Today, a very... unique customer arrived?" Nintai said trying to be as respectful as possible to the strange customer.

The anecdote was quite strange, basically because the man was looking to unite everyone in the restaurant to his religion over divine intergalactic spaghetti.

The result? Much more people than expected joined, although at the end of the day they were all kicked out of the restaurant by Hiro's hand.

"Hehe, there is always something new to learn" said Doryoku laughing slightly and quite amused with the diversity of the world.

"Dory-chan, you have changed so much in such a short time, you seem more expressive every day" Nintai said with a rather happy smile when she saw the progress of her son.

"Yes, I suppose it was a good decision to be a hero and above all to learn more about myself" Doryoku said with a thoughtful tone and also quite happy.

"But fear not! Okā-chan will always have the most important place in my heart" Doryoku said smiling broadly and quite confidently.

"Awww Dory-chan, now you're even cuter" Nintai said moved, giving a little kiss to Doryoku's forehead with a lot of affection.

"Whenever you need support Dory-chan, I am here, you just have to keep yourself safe and I will always be happy to support you in everything" said Nintai smiling happily and with determination as well, giving her support to Doryoku unconditionally.

Doryoku continued to speak calmly with his mother, until she decided to ask something that worried him a little.

"Okā-chan, wh-what do you think of my quirk?" Doryoku said a little nervous about his mother's response.

For Doryoku his quirk only meant pain and trouble, he always thought being a quirkless would have been better, but he never had the courage or the need to ask his mother about it until now.

Nintai was slightly surprised by Doryoku's question, and then smiled slightly to say.

"Dory-chan, your quirk is exactly what you are" Nintai said in a calm tone surprising Doryoku greatly.

"A quirk that is difficult to control, but when controlled it will be the strongest, one that can mean both absolute peace and complete destruction, one that always returns what it receives both good and bad and above all a quirk with which each person you save, will never have felt in danger" said Nintai with an explanatory and comforting tone causing Doryoku to be shocked by his words.

"I think, no, I'm sure your quirk is exactly the one that you should always have Dory-chan, even if it caused us pain, it could only correspond to someone like you" Nintai said calmly and patting Doryoku's head with affection.

Doryoku thought about it and felt... relieved, happy and even for once in his life, he felt a bit proud of his own quirk of his.

"Thank you Okā-chan, I will always remember it" Doryoku said with a grateful smile and then continue eating.

The following days Doryoku kept trying to touch the little cat without any success, and that was until he finished Doryoku's training.

Last laser said if he had to give him a rating it would be 99. Did it hurt? And a lot.

Still, Doryoku now wanted to control his quirk not only to be free from him, but to also know how far they would both go.