Hey, sorry about disappearing for the last few weeks.
Chapters will be uploading now to make up for the backlog over the next week or so, assuming my schedule keeps being as generous as it has been the last three or four days.
Hope everyone enjoys the chapters. Happy reading!!
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Jun woke to the sound of his alarm.
He reached over and silenced it before slowly sitting up. As he stretched, soreness pulled through his muscles, but the pressure that had been pounding behind his eyes was gone.
Finally, my headache's gone.
Jun picked up his phone and checked the time. It was his usual wake-up time, leaving him plenty of room before school.
He climbed out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes.
For a moment, Jun considered creating #2 and #3 immediately, but stopped himself.
If I stink, they stink.
He headed into the bathroom and took a shower first.
Once Jun returned to his room clean and dressed for school, he created #2 and #3.
The two clones finished forming beside him.
"You guys know what you're doing today?" Jun asked.
"Of course," #3 said. "I've gotta figure out how this Quirk works."
#2 nodded. "I'll be here doing what I usually do."
Jun gave them both a nod before grabbing his schoolbag and heading downstairs.
His mother was setting breakfast on the table when he entered the kitchen. One of the plates was piled noticeably higher than the others.
Jun stopped beside the table.
"Huh?"
His mother looked over at him.
"Oh, look who's awake. You barely ate last night, so I thought you'd be hungry this morning." She gestured toward the heaping plate. "Go on."
Jun sat down and pulled the plate closer.
"Is Himiko still sleeping?"
"I think so. She hasn't come downstairs yet." His mother looked toward him. "You're not going for your jog today?"
Jun shook his head.
"Not today. Not after my headache yesterday."
He started eating.
A few minutes later, Himiko entered the kitchen. She slowed when she spotted Jun sitting at the table.
"Feeling better today?"
Jun gave her a half-smirk.
"I feel better every day."
Himiko rolled her eyes before sitting down and joining him for breakfast.
[Later That Morning...]
Before class began, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero gathered around Jun's desk while Mineta turned around in his seat.
Jun rested one elbow on the desk while the others talked around him.
Behind Jun, Tsuyu, Toru, Jiro, and Mina had gathered around Momo's desk.
Kaminari leaned toward Jun. "Hey, dude. Are you adding any more council members?"
Kirishima nodded. "I'd be up for helping out."
Sero shrugged. "Yeah, I could use a job too."
Mineta raised one hand. "The council needs someone to look over the class uniforms, right? I can be the inspector."
The conversations around Jun stopped.
Even the group behind him fell silent.
"Mineta, no."
"But that's the number one thing a council needs! The people's—"
"The class council does not require a uniform inspector," Momo said. "We trust our classmates to follow U.A.'s uniform regulations. Unless you have a legitimate concern?"
"Well, not really," Mineta admitted. "But what if someone tries to shorten their skirt or—"
Jun raised one hand. "Mineta, just drop it, okay?"
Mineta's shoulders slumped. "Okay."
The conversations around the two desks resumed as everyone moved past the interruption.
Jun rolled his eyes.
Mineta is just as perverted as I remember.
[The Next Day...]
By Friday, the new routine had started settling into place.
Classes and hero training continued while Jun worked alongside Momo and Iida on the class council. Momo handled things calmly and methodically, while Iida eagerly threw himself into whatever needed doing.
Yep. That makes sense. They ended up as the class representatives in canon.
When lunch arrived, more than half of Class 1-A had crowded around the same long table, their conversations overlapping as they ate.
Kaminari looked around at everyone. "So, what's everyone doing this weekend after surviving our first week at U.A.?"
Kirishima thumped one fist against his chest. "Training. Gotta keep these gains going."
Sero looked over at him. "Dude, we train every day. Can you not do something fun once in a while?"
"Training is fun."
Iida adjusted his glasses. "I intend to visit my brother. We may train together if his schedule permits."
Sero stared at him. "You're not helping."
Toru waved her sleeves wildly. "I might go shopping."
Mina tapped one finger against the corner of her mouth. "There's so much we could do... Maybe karaoke?"
"Speaking of karaoke..." Jun looked toward Jiro. "Isn't that band from the song you sang last time playing a concert soon?"
Jiro's eyes widened, her earphone jacks twitching in surprise.
Kaminari looked between them. "Wait a minute. You guys went to karaoke?"
"Oh, yeah," Mina said. "We went to celebrate getting into U.A."
Jiro kept her eyes on Jun. "Wait, you remember?"
Jun shrugged. "Well, I like their music."
Jiro brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, they're playing nearby soon. Are you thinking about going?"
"Well, I was thinking it could be something we all do," Jun said. "At least those of us who are interested."
He looked toward Mina and found her already pouting at him.
Jun blinked before looking the other way.
Himiko gave him a quiet side-eye.
Oh. I should've kept my mouth shut.
"Yeah, I mean, I was going to go anyway," Jiro said. "If other people are interested, sure."
From there, the conversation opened up across the table as everyone began comparing bands and arguing over their favorite kinds of music.
[Saturday Morning...]
Jun returned from his morning jog and made his way upstairs.
For the past few days, he had kept #2 and #3 active without remerging them, allowing #3 to continue working on #2's body without losing any progress.
Jun opened the door to his room and stopped.
Jasper stood near the bed.
At first glance, the disguise looked almost exactly as Jun remembered it. The same slightly taller, more mature build and orange hair.
But one detail was different.
The orange hair was no longer a wig.
Then Jun noticed a bag sitting on his bed.
"Okay, how the hell did you get into the house looking like that?"
#3 shrugged from beside the desk. "Oh, I pulled him up through the window."
Jun sighed. "Okay, man. Whatever you need to do."
Still wearing Jasper's appearance, #2 walked over to him. "Right. You need this."
He placed a hand against Jun's forearm and remerged.
Memories flashed through Jun's mind.
#2 stood in the middle of the room while #3 worked on the Jasper body, adjusting one detail after another.
Brief images passed by. #3 taking a small amount of #2's blood. Swallowing it. Returning to work on the Jasper body.
Then the memory shifted.
The noise of the gambling den surrounded Jasper.
He reached across the table and clasped Jin's hand. "You've gotten better. Good job." Jasper glanced toward the chips in front of him. "You're actually going home with something worth calling winnings."
Jin laughed. "Well, you've been teaching me these last few weeks. I think I'm getting the hang of it."
"Remember, winning is good, but winning too much is bad."
Jasper looked toward the dealer. The dealer gave him a sidelong glance before returning their attention to the table.
"Yeah, yeah. That makes sense," Jin said. "I've seen some people maybe cheat, maybe win a little too much, and then never come back."
The memory shifted.
Jin and Jasper sat at the gambling den's bar, nursing their drinks.
Jin looked Jasper over. "You look filled out again. Did you lose some weight and start gaining it back or something?"
Jasper glanced down at himself. "Something like that. I had some things to take care of. This place is more of a hobby for now. My real work is rather intense."
"Real work?" Jin asked. "What, are you some kind of big shot?"
Jasper laughed. "I'll leave that up to the people I work with."
Jin laughed loudly. "You're definitely somebody important. Maybe you can get a friend a job."
"Is that what we are?" Jasper asked. "Friends?"
Jin put his glass down. "Isn't that why you've been helping me?"
Jasper finished his drink and turned the empty glass upside down on the bar. "Why wouldn't I? You're a likable guy, Jin."
He stood, patted Jin on the shoulder, and started walking away.
Jin watched him go. "Yeah, well... you're not so bad yourself!"
One thing stood out among the memories. The alcohol had affected #2 less than expected.
Jun blinked several times as the memories finished settling into place and his room came back into focus.
He got closer to Jin while testing the more solid disguise. Smart.
But something else had changed.
Perfect Duplicate felt larger. Like there was more room inside the Quirk than before.
Jun opened his hand.
Two bodies formed as normal.
Then two more bodies formed around him.
#3 looked around at the sudden increase in people. "Oh, dear Lord. There's six of us now."
#3 looked over the four clones. "Uh, which one of you is #2?"
They looked at one another before one clone stepped forward. "I'll take that role."
#3 looked him over. "You kept none of the changes. Dang, now I have to start all over again."
The newly designated #2 walked over to #3 as Jun looked toward the remaining three clones.
"I guess that leaves just us, huh?"
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