Hey guys, Alex here.This is the end of my current MHA three-day cycle.
I accidentally started this one a day early, so the timing ended up a little weird. I posted early, realized it the next day, took that day off, and then used the following days for planning. But with this chapter, I've officially finished the three chapters per cycle I'm aiming for.
My next three-day cycle is going to be focused on planning, note-taking, and getting things ready for the next writing stretch.
Right now, that'll probably mean HeroxGacha and Marvel: APEX. Since this third cycle is more of a catch-up / whatever-I-feel-like-writing cycle, there's also a chance MHA shows up again if the motivation hits.
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Jun sat on his bed counting bundles of cash. Last night was a bigger cash out because of a bigger buy in. He walked in with 200k and walked out with nearly 800k.
He suspected that the several weeks in-between his visits along with taking losses along with calculated wins let him fly under the radar for now.
He zipped up the bag, sliding it under his bed. Today was a new discovery, a new bond with that Jin guy.
The smallest kind but the quirk? Jun had felt the smallest memory surge that gave him the briefest idea.
And it terrified him. Clones. Shadow clone Jutsu Naruto level type of clones.
He hadn't slotted it in yet but he was tempted, but he didn't know how the clones worked. If they worked.
Trying to put that issue out of mind, he focused on the bond space.
Testing more quirk fusions. A lot of the small useless bonds were fusing together removing clutter but the end result wasn't impressive either.
His larger bonds didn't fuse easily. He felt he could force them to, but he remembered the pain that happened and decided to not risk it.
What surprised him was how easy Kirishima's and Jin's quirk fused. The bell noise was only heard once and left him with a mild headache.
Hardening and…. Cloning? What could they possibly fuse into?
Jun grabbed the orb, gaining the briefest understanding of the new fusion.
Perfect Duplicate? Should I test it?
He slotted it in, replacing Empath.
Then came out of the bond space.
"Okay, perfect duplicate, let's see what you got."
Jun's body blurred as his form split into 2… then again. Until a total of 4 Juns stood in his room.
Jun blinked. "How... is this different from Jin's?"
The other Jun raised. "Call me #1, but we can't feel the bonds in your bond space, but I know I have one."
The other 2 Juns nodded. "Yep." "Yep."
"Wait, you have your own bond space?"
#1 nodded. "We do, I can feel your space but it feels like it's separated behind a wall."
Jun stroked his chin. "Cool. How do you… you know?"
#1 looked at the other 2 clones. "Well, it's either damage, time, or conscious effort right? That's the classic trope."
"That doesn't feel right either…" One of the other Juns said scratching his face.
The last clone clapped his hands. "What if it's like that guy from the x-men movie?"
Jun looked at the clone. "Didn't he kinda fold in on himself?"
All the clones nodded. "It wouldn't hurt to try."
#1 held out his hand, Jun grasped it.
The moment they both consented to the remerging #1 folded into Jun.
He experienced the memories of #1 in a rush. All at once that seemed to compound on his earlier headache.
"Ow…"
One clone winced. "Ouch. You look like you got a brain freeze."
The other laughed, hitting the shoulder of the one who made the comparison. "Dude, he totally did!"
Jun shot them a glare. "So, how does it feel knowing you aren't the original?"
Both clones shrugged, the one who said brain freeze replied. "Liberating. We know we're you but not you. So what happened with the folding?"
Laying on his bed, Jun closed his eyes. "I get a rush of memories from the close, so your experience becomes mine."
The clone that laughed raised his voice. "Dude! That's so naruto!"
The other clones smacked the other in the back of the head. "Headache, dumbass."
That one stuck out its tongue as it rubbed the back of his head. "Just call me #3, it's obviously you're #2"
Jun let out a sigh. "Let's get it over with. Come here."
Sitting up, he put out his hands.
The clones grabbed one and folded into Jun.
Jun let out a groan. "Not as bad? Maybe it's like alcohol… easier the second time."
Definitely feels like a hangover. I gotta sleep…
Rolling over onto his pillow, Jun almost immediately felt himself drift.
***
The weight rack wobbled as Jun racked his bar. "Eijiro, how was that?"
Kirishima looked over, his own body starting to match the one that Jun recognized in canon. Even the hair, red and spiky, which made Jun grin.
"Bro! That's at least 90 kilos!" (200 pounds for my American friends)
Jun rolled his shoulders, nodding to Kirishima's praise. "Pretty good without a quirk for it, but not my personal best."
Kirishima rolled his eyes. "Then why ask me, bro?"
"Because it feels good?"
Kirishima barked out a laugh. "Here I thought we were humble!"
Jun waved his hand dismissively. "Humble is good and all but what do real men do?"
Standing up in a flex, Kirishima called out. "Real men don't make humble progress!"
Chuckling at the remark, Jun stacked more weights. "Close enough."
"But how's the quirk progress?"
Kirishima's energy faltered for a moment, but he grinned as he flexed his quirk. "I can apply it to a larger area now!"
"That's good, but wasn't your main worry the pain?"
At that, Kirishima's grin widened. "Real men aren't afraid to push through the pain, Jun."
Jun was the one to roll his eyes at that. "Then you're probably more manly than me, I like to avoid pain if possible."
Kirishima sat back down grabbing a dumbbell. "Avoid pain? But you're walking into that?"
Jun followed where Kirishima looked. Mina and Toga were running on a treadmill, Toga sending glares at Mina as Mina had a carefree smile as she waved at Jun.
"No comment on that, my friend."
Kirishima laughed. "Alright man, your funeral."
***
After the gym, Jun headed to a park restroom where Clone #1 was waiting.
"How was the gym, Prime?"
Jun gave a noncommittal nod. "The usual, how was class?"
#1 gave the same noncommittal nod. "Finding a school to do it all will be hard. I recommend using #2 and #3 to expand options."
Jun rubbed his eyes. "Freerunning, Weapon training, and hand-to-hand. Of course one place wouldn't have it all."
#1 gave another nod. "And I know we made the joke about nightwing, but his sticks might actually be a good option. Especially if they combine into a staff."
Jun looked at him. "You're much calmer than the other two."
#1 shrugged. "No reason to be inefficient."
Jun matched the shrug. "I'll trust you to find the right training, then I'll assign it to #2 and #3."
#1 nodded again. "That works. Should I remerge now or stay out longer?"
Putting out his hand, Jun shook his head. "Merge now, less of a headache."
#1 didn't object, immediately merging into Jun.
The rush of memories was expected now, Jun let himself read them, blinking as he wobbled.
"Not as bad. Definitely just need more practice."
He looked through the memories as he washed his hands. #1 had found multiple schools but like they said, nothing that was all in one.
But #1 being efficient made a list to remember for options to use if needed.
"Well, he's efficient. Already skipping a step. Now to sign up online and send my boys to work."
Then his mind snagged on a stray memory of #1. What if we can use Prime's bonds?
"Huh… I didn't think of that."
Looking up from the sink to the mirror. "Next time."