Chapter 6: Rival

"A now to the popular appearance of Japan's number one hero, All Might! As you may be aware, two days ago, a sludge-like entity appeared and captured a middle school student. The student, Katsuki Bakugo, was the top-ranked student from Aldera Junior High and is currently on his way to apply to U.A."

"All Might heroically appeared out of nowhere and used his famous Detroit Smash to blow the villains to pieces, saving not only the top-ranking student but another reckless boy who also attends Aldera Junior High that ran into the villain, wasting Knuckle Dusters and other heroes' time."

The news station then panned to an interview they were having with the ash blond-haired boy who was previously held captive,

"The feisty student had some words to say when we interviewed him. 'I wasn't trapped, rather I was caught off guard and was testing that villain's capacity. Since I'm going to be going to U.A. such ability and intellect are to be expected.' After getting such a pompous remark, we asked him about his fellow students from his school."

"That stupid Deku, he's weak, idiotic, and a quirkless nobody. Rather than him dreaming of being equal to All Might, I'll SUPAS-And that was, unfortunately, all the time we had with this precious youth who will surely become one of the leaders of the next generation of heroes. Rather, let's review the punch that decimated the unfortunate villain. "

The TV rewound to a few seconds before All Might arrived.

The villain had just opened his eyes after being assaulted by a yellow book bag.

The owner was a green-haired boy who looked way in over his head and held a frightened look on his face.

A dark green tendril was stretched out towards the boy from the sludge monster, and it seemed that another hostage would be taken imminently.

However, suddenly the sludge monster closed his eyes, he held them as if they were burning and thrashed around momentarily, letting go of Katsuki Bakugo.

All might descended from the sky, and so everyone who had some droplets appear on them assumed it was his sweat, and the yellow color was caused by his hair or quirk, there'd been odder quirk caused situations and the general consensus was such an asnwer. 

Yet...Micturition, commonly referred to as urination, is what was occurring. Droplets of urine in the eye would normally cause mild irritation and rubbing, that's about it.

However, with the quirk spray bottle, a separate space to store certain liquids was created, as a defense mechanism, the quirk has the ability to isolate food and store certain liquids in that special area for desperate times.

Due to the lack of water in the main area that would be used for spraying, that special area was used as a substitute.

Urine with high pH levels was what was spayed across the building from where Suijin was to the crime scene.

For those below who felt some tiny droplets, luckily none got into any eyes and they were unharmed.

The sludge villain, on the other hand, was hit head-on with urine with higher than-normal pH levels and was sent screaming and scrambling around to get rid of the pain. 

It scrubbed its eyes, not realizing that this would only cause more pain and, ultimately, not heal, if not quickly treated the Urine may even cause blindness.

Suijin quickly left the scene for fear of being found, yet his movements couldn't escape the eyes of a yellow bunny haired man.

Now in the comfort of his home two days later, Suijin looked up at his mother, who was hugging his neck tightly, She was squeezing his neck while rubbing her face over his 'head'. 

This would normally kill someone because they wouldn't be able to breathe with her strength wrapped around their neck, but that was just another benefit of the odd quirk spray bottle.

Because liquids are how they get their nutrients, they can temporarily use the oxygen from water to substitute for breathing.

Ding-Dong

Enkai, who was sitting on the couch watching the news, got up and opened the door.

Suijin turned his gaze away from the TV and looked to see both Akrai and Aiya, who were Shoji's parents, though a quick look around showed Shoji wasn't there and as he was about to speak up about it,

"Hey Suijin, you really took after your old man, eh? I remember when he was in the bathroom and blew off the stall's door with his quirk. "

"Eh, Akrai, how many times have you gone to jail for sexual harassment?"

"You bastard Enkai, I'm innocent It's not my fault that the trains are packed during rush hour.

"Yeah, Yeah, tell that to me when your unbanned from every train in the country permanently. Hahahaaha, hell how did you get reported by Mr. Johnson, an 80-year-old man to the police."

Akrai shook, visibly fuming from what looked like anger but could also be considered embarrassment, while both Erena and Aiya ignored them and continued chatting about Aiya's new clothing design ideas she was cooking up.

"I saw the news, Suijin can now use his quirk? Oh how they grow up so fast, I remember the other day when his bladder went the wrong way."

"Or that day he went to the pool and got too excited and released.-"

Suijin, at this point, was also "red".

Whether that was possible or not, nobody would know since while the adults were immersed in their world, he escaped into his room.

Inside the place he slept, Photos of Gang Orca, Wash, and other non-famous heroes who have true mutant quirks were lined up on his wall.

Near the desk that was facing the rightmost wall, crumpled-up stacks of paper were lying around, each held plans he wanted to enact in the future as Shoji's political and media supervisor. 

Of course, Shoji had no knowledge of their existence since the last time Suijin showed him ideas for his future as Shoji's advisor, he crushed the entire notebook into a ball and threw it farther than the eye could see.

Suijin walked over to his coffee table, which was in the middle of the room, and sat down. He stared at the paper, which had been sitting there for 3 weeks.

The paper reads, [Future Plans], 'This was something so simple,' Suijin thought.

He had had a rough idea of how his life would end up since he was 6, the year he got an in-depth explanation of his quirk from his father and understood the reality of himself. 

He was devastated that he couldn't become a hero, his father said that he may awaken the quirk, but to the child in him, that may might as well have been the door to herohood being shut.

He had wallowed in sadness for weeks, this change in him didn't stop the people who bullied him, but rather, without his usual peppiness, it got harsher since this meant that they could do more without him saying anything against it.

It was only when Shoji, who had just moved in next door, saw this and beat up his bullies, that Suijin decided to live out the dream of being a hero throughout Shoji.

With that in mind, he should have an easy time filling this paper out, he's had weeks to do so and turn it in, yet he waited this long to even put pen to paper. 

And with the events that occurred two days ago, he was even more confused about his future.

'Become Shoji's advisor, since I'm sure I can eventually convince him to accept. Or something more...'

Sigh

"Here I thought that you would be happy about saving someone.*

Whipping his head around, Suijin spotted his window open and Shoji standing in front of it. Being too fatigued mentally to give him a quip, the boy just stared at him.

Of course, Shoji knew what he wanted to communicate and stepped off the window sill and sat on Suijins bed like he owned the place.

From where they were, if you walked into the room, you'd see Suijin's desk on the right, him sitting at the coffee table with his back to the door, and Shoji on his bed facing with his back to the window.

"You still haven't filled out that sheet, It's due at the end of the week? That's not a very true mutant of you. "

Suijin let out a dry Chuckle.

Shoji looked at him and his face went from joking to serious. Since the younger boy was confused as to his future being there for his best friend was imminent.

"Suijin…"

Inhale

"Shoji, it's not like you to hesitate, that's not very true mutant like you are either."

Although Suijin's joke was lame, the slight shifting of Shoji's turquoise mask showed that he at least cracked a smile.

"Ever since I was young before I moved here, I was isolated because of my arms and mouth. When we moved, I promised myself to stand up for myself and not disgrace my dad. Then I saw you being bullied, so I used my strength, which I had been hesitant about using for good, and helped you. And instead of running away like others, you not only thanked me but then stuck around me. Not for protection, or out of fear that I may hurt you if you left, but as a friend. "

'It was for protection in the beginning though.' Naturally, Suijin wouldn't say this.

"You are outgoing, upbeat, and a cool guy to hang around with. The opposite of me. Others regard me as scary and dark, so being friends with you is something I cherish. Although you may not notice, there have been some people over the years that were drawn to your aura and admired you. " Shoji looked lost in thought before coming back.

"You always said that you'd be my assistant once I made it big when I became a hero, and although I brushed you off every time, it felt good that someone believed in me. Over the years, I myself envision the future of you giving me instructions from my headquarters once I become a hero. " Suijin stifled a chuckle as both of their thoughts coincided. 

'If that's the case, then I guess my future is settled. Disappointing my friends isn't something I do.' He reach his hand out for the pencil to start writing on the paper.

"So when I saw what you did two days ago, I needed to think. You did something that I didn't even think I could do, and that made me reevaluate my entire thinking. "

Suijin paused when his hand was near the pencil as he heard what Shoji had to say. 

"T-that was a one-time thing. Don't stifle yourself short, I am sure you could achieve the same results as me if you were there."

'That's a Lie.' A voice in his head tells me. 

Deep down, he remembered the scene as clearly as if he was still there. Death Arms, Power Loader, and other heroes were useless on the scene. 

He believes in Shoji., however, Suijin is a rational guy and even though he could understand that Shoji wouldn't be much help on the scene, but a part of him doesn't want to admit it.

Shoji shook his head at my weak attempts to fling Suijin's effort off.

 "That's what I'm talking about. You say you're weak, and yet I see someone who's more humble than anyone I've ever met. Someone who, despite being so-called weak, flung themselves into danger to save someone else. I came to the realization that I was being arrogant. The thoughts that you wouldn't become a hero were planted inside of me, and so when you fired that shot out of your nozzle, I became a bit scared. "

'Shoji Scared?'

"I know, but the thought of you becoming a hero, and achieving heights far greater than I ever could and that you would leave me behind frightened me. Before you say that's not possible, The first time you used your quirk, you shot a high-pressured beam of water over 100 meters. "

"Tha-"

Shoji put his hand up to stop the boy from saying anything, and his face went from melancholy to determined.

"Don't worry, I've realized that such thoughts are useless. You will never surpass me. "

'Ah, so he came to the same conclusion as I.' This was the conclusion Suijin had come to for years, something that he already knew. And yet the shaking of his hand couldn't be stopped.

There was something bittersweet in Shoji's comforting, yet cruel realization, yet Shoji's next words left him in bafflement for the second time today.

"Because every time you achieve something nobody thought was possible, I'll strive to achieve more. Every time you do the impossible, I will work just as hard to achieve it and more. "

'Huh?'

"I came here to tell you this."

Shoji stood up, and so did Suijin.

His height dwarfed Suijin's, and so when he normally bends his neck down to talk to him, Suijin got the feeling that he was looking up at Shoji both literally and figuratively.

But now that feeling was gone, the look in Shoji's eyes had changed, and a fire of determination burned brightly, equal to the one Suijin usually saw in the mirror.

"Suijin, You are my rival, I'm going to attend the U.A. entrance exam, pass it, and eventually become the #1 hero. It is up to you if you become an obstacle in my path." Shoji after leaving that bombshell just left.

Leaving Suijin even more confused than when Shoji first came in the room.

 'Rival, #1, what?'

His brain couldn't understand, but the real craziness wasn't over yet.