The sun continued its gradual fall towards the horizon. The lobby at the Vandyne Center grew crowded as heroes finished their afternoon patrols and schools closed for the day. Koichi remained isolated near the reception area, his back leaned against a decorative marble planter as he sat on the floor. He was lost in thought, the sounds of the bustling foot-traffic around him only served as white noise.
Speaking with Ryan gave Koichi a lot of things: perspective, solace, courage. But by the same token, it also dredged up the insecurities he tried to bury. His mind drifted back to his failures at that shipyard. He could have done more to save that woman, but he couldn't bring himself to harm anyone, not even villains. He was scared of his own quirk, just like the old man said.
When he awoke in the hospital, the first thought Koichi had was to go and find the hostage. But Makoto told him to let the FHC handle it. But now, he felt he shouldn't have listened. Violence was antithetical to Koichi's nature, but according to Ryan, failure to achieve one's goal, regardless of circumstance, is antithetical to being a hero. Koichi viewed his reflection on his phone screen, fixating on his scar.
He turned the phone on. Illumination overtook the screen, drowning out the somber reflection. He stared silently at his contacts with his thumb hovering inches above the screen.
Not long after that, Charles made his re-appearance. His body language was composed as usual but his eyes had an atypical intensity to them. Charles noted Koichi's wariness to his gaze and attempted to lighten the mood.
«I apologize for my absence. Seems like the breakfast didn't agree with me.»
Koichi quickly pocketed his phone and rose to his feet.
«Must have been some disagreement!»
«Right, let's get back on task, shall we?» Charles continued, attempting to quickly change the subject, «We'll be in the east wing this evening, floor unit twelve. Meet me there once you've gotten changed.»
Koichi nodded and headed off towards the locker rooms. At Vandyne, there were an assortment of training spaces to choose from. The central area housed acclimation chambers most commonly used by students and provisional heroes to test the upper limits of their quirks in a controlled environment. The two wings of the facility both catered to live combat, though with varying applications. The west wing was the more impressive of the two. It contained a state-of-the-art disaster simulation facility. It came equipped with life-like android civilians and high-end Villain Bots. Additionally, it's split into several zones that simulate different urban disasters. Such diversity has made it Vandyne's main attraction for local heroes who wish to keep their crisis-management skills sharp. The east wing, on the other hand, was simple. It mainly served as a sparring facility, allowing heroes to fight against one another or against Villain Bots in an orchestrated simulation.
Koichi strolled into the locker room. As advanced of facility that Vandyne was, they still had not figured out how to quell the stench here. Granted, it wasn't all their fault. When there are heroes whose quirks make them sweat chemicals like sulfur, there is only so much you can be about odor. At this point, however, he had grown accustomed to the smell.
Koichi waded through crowds of half-dressed heroes, making his way towards his locker. Number 494, a benign number for Americans here but one that made Koichi's hair stand on end the first time he saw it. Unfortunately, his previous request for a locker transfer was denied since, besides the supposedly cursed digits inscribed upon it, the locker itself was perfectly fine.
Koichi placed his thumb against the locker's biometric pad. There was a small click as the locker slowly swung open. An automated voice emanated from inside.
"Welcome back, Mr. Haimawari! Your reserved session begun eight minutes ago. Please report to floor unit twelve."
Koichi got to work removing his hero costume, neatly folding it before placing it on the locker's metal shelf. He did his best not to disturb any of the purifying talismans he'd taped onto the locker's interior. Koichi reached for the blue tracksuit hung beneath the shelf. These tracksuits were provided by the Vandyne Center and were quite advanced. They housed several microsensors that allowed facility operators to monitor a hero's vital while they trained.
As Koichi got dressed, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror at the back of the locker. While his body was far more toned than it was during his vigilante days, the number of scars had multiplied as well. Still, that didn't stop him from flexing a bit here and there. After all, being this fit was still a novelty. The automated voice returned.
"Mr. Haimawari. Operator Bailey has signaled your session to expire in three minutes due to inactivity. Please report to floor unit twelve."
Koichi grabbed the top half of the tracksuit and slammed his locker shut. He made a dash for the door, amidst the snickering crowd. He leaped down the stairs, bounding over each flight using his quirk. Soon Koichi found himself on the main floor of the east wing. Each unit on the floor was around the size of half a football field.
Koichi bolted towards the center of the floor where unit twelve was located. Charles stood with his arm crossed. A red-haired woman stood next to him, manning the control booth. Instead of a formal greeting, Koichi was hunched over trying to catch his breath.
"S-so sorry for taking so long, Ness!" Koichi muttered through loud huffing.
"See!" The red-haired woman shouted, pointing at Charles, "That's what an actual apology looks like, Chuck."
"I did give you an apology-"
"With about as much sincerity as your boss would give you, I take it." The red-haired woman replied. Charles didn't attempt another rebuttal and remained silent.
Vanessa Bailey. She's the only one Koichi had seen speak brazenly with Charles. More so, she could break through his stoic demeanor with ease.
"Alright, enough yapping," Vanessa said as she fiddled with the controls on the operator's podium, "You guys were already late and I have an evening lecture to give, so we'll just do warm-ups and then go into the high-level drills. Sound good?"
Koichi, having finally caught his breath, nodded affirmatively.
"Could we try the simulation I mentioned last time?" Koichi asked.
"Uh, the one with the teleporting holograms, right? Yeah, I can whip up an algorithm for that real quick," Vanessa replied, a snide grin flashed across her face as she finally got a good look at Koichi, "Though before that, six-pack, you might want to zip that up. The sensors won't be accurate if you wear it that loose."
In his haste, Koichi only managed to drape a single sleeve of the tracksuit over his shoulder. The jacket hung awkwardly at his side.
"R-right! Sorry you had to see that!" Koichi stuttered as he wrestled with his attire.
After sorting out his wardrobe malfunction, Koichi stepped inside the chamber. A mechanical hum was audible, reverberating off the sterile white walls. In the operator's booth, Vanessa programmed this evening's training simulation with speed that rivaled Dean's skills with a keyboard. Meanwhile, Koichi began his warm-up: jumping jacks, deep stretching and some quick sprints. It did not take long before Vanessa reached out over the intercom.
"All set on my end Koichi," Vanessa continued, "Whenever you're ready just stand on the anchor point and I'll let it rip!"
Koichi nodded and walked towards the center of the chamber.
There was a large section of tile that was segmented from the rest of the chamber floor. Koichi stood atop it as the lights above painted the colorless chamber a vibrant shade of red. An alarm began to sound as other segments of the floor began to spring upwards, creating barriers and various other obstacles. Once the room had finished its transformation, a large hatch in the chamber's ceiling opened and dispensed two Villain Bots.
One of the droids had a hulking, heavy frame while the other was more compact and had a vaguely humanoid shape. Vanessa's voice once again sounded over the intercom.
"Unfortunately, teleporting robots aren't in my wheelhouse yet, so we'll improvise. The big one will be the muscle and main aggressor and the smaller one will set up holograms and stay in your blind spot to try and take you out. Incapacitate both and the session is complete."
Koichi gave a thumbs up and Vanessa activated the drones with the flip of a switch. The two mechanical terrors spurred to life. The smaller robot got to work quickly and made several projections of itself around the chamber. As Koichi panned around, searching for its real body, the larger robot charged in. Koichi raised an arm, bracing for the incoming strike. But before the metal behemoth could land a blow, the smaller robot emerged from behind a wall and struck Koichi in the back, sending him flying across the chamber floor.
Using his quirk, Koichi anchored himself to the floor and came to an abrupt stop. He gave a puzzled look towards the operator booth. Vanessa stared back with an unbothered expression and shrugged.
Sliding along the floor with hands and feet, Koichi re-engaged the two robots. Once again, the smaller one immediately began projecting holograms. As the projections surrounded Koichi, the larger robot took the opportunity to strike. Koichi quickly leaped to his feet, outstretching his arms while two glowing rings emitted from his palms. On impact, these rings grew larger, absorbing the force of the robot's attack.
Yet again, the smaller Villain Bot attempted to strike from Koichi's blind spot. However, this time he was prepared. He directed an arm towards the approaching robot. With the glowing rings of his quirk aimed at both assailants, Koichi exclaimed mightily.
"Kuzushi!"
The glowing rings on his palms shrunk violently, expelling the energy they had previously absorbed. Both robots were sent flying across the chamber room. Koichi let out a sigh of relief. Though his reprieve was short-lived as Vanessa quickly interjected.
"Not bad! Though I'll be honest, a move like that is only putting down minor-league crooks. Any villain worth their salt is shrugging that off no problem."
Whether intentional or not, Vanessa's word had hit a sore spot for Koichi. As if on cue, the large Villain Bot quickly recovered and began lunging at Koichi. But this time he did not wait for it to attack and went on the offensive himself. Koichi reeled back his right arm, his hand made into a fist with small glowing rings adorning his knuckles. From outside the chamber walls, what was a simple punch sounded like an explosion.
The large robot laid mangled on the floor, a gaping hole in its metal frame. Before the dust had settled, the smaller droid once again tried to blindside Koichi. Koichi tried to keep a steeled demeanor. However, what he saw when he turned to face the droid made him hesitate.
The plating along the robot's face had been cracked, leaving a jagged fault that resembled a lightning bolt. But that's not all Koichi saw. Spiteful yellow eyes stared back as a vindictive smile grew across the bot's previously feature-less face.
«See? I told you the nice guy act was pointless.»
Koichi fist met air as the hologram dissipated around it. Several more holographic feints followed as the smaller Villain Bot remained hidden amongst the chamber obstacles. All the while Koichi could hear the voice of Number 6 taunting him.
«Ya Know, when I gave you that scar it was supposed to be a reminder of you failing to save me. Now you went and let that broad get kidnapped. I'm feeling a bit jealous.»
Several more holograms leaped out at Koichi. But rather than taking the offensive like he had done earlier, Koichi slid away, avoiding the confrontation.
«Old habits die hard I guess. What happened to all that bravado Mr. Pro Hero? Finally realizing this stuff is out of your depth?»
While sliding backwards, Koichi extended an arm outwards, firing a volley of repulsion blasts, dispersing the holograms.
Charles watched on as Koichi darted around the chamber. His movements were sharp, but his strikes were vastly weaker than before. A quirk formidable enough to best what the FHC would label a 6-star villain threat, that night in Naruhata. Yet here he was, struggling to incapacitate a singular robot. In that strife, Charles saw his younger self. Right now, it wasn't disappointment that ate away at Charles, it was regret.
"I know you couldn't have killed him, Charlie. He was our brother..."