Chapter 180 – One Of A Kind
Sunlight peeked in through the window, casting its warmth over John's face as he was slowly aroused from his slumber. The sounds of doves cooing nearby, with the backdrop of a busy-sounding city in the distance, made him realise his head was splitting worse than any hangover he had ever had before.
"Damn it. Heal!" He chanted, pressing a hand against the back of his head. He could feel the large bump on his skull shrink in real time as the spell brought the swelling down and cleared his mind. His eye snapped open, looking around at the strange room he found himself in. It was bare bones, with just this mattress on the floor and a small dresser along one wall. His jacket and boots had been taken off and his pants undone, though it appears whoever did that didn't take them off all the way.
Maybe they loosened the waist to make me more comfortable? I have no idea... Speaking of no idea, what in the hell happened? Why do I feel like I went toe-to-toe with Bryn in a face-slapping competition, and she went first? Last thing I remember was sitting next to a koi pond... but... wait, I was there to deliver stuff to Mirko. Is this her house? How did I get in here?
He didn't see his luggage or that briefcase sitting anywhere, so he stood up, got dressed and left the room. The door was a sliding one, with a wooden frame and covered in something that looked almost like wax paper. He made his way down the hallway that was covered in soft mats, and entered a more open space where there was a more modern looking kitchen on one side of the larger room, and small living space that had a low table with several cushions around it, along with another room filled with cushions and a small, portable television that appeared to be covered in dust.
His briefcase and boots were beside the door that looked to lead outside, but other than a single dove on a windowsill, he appeared to be alone in the house. He put his boots on and stepped outside, wondering where his luggage and his host were. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the bright morning light, but he was indeed in front of the small house of Mirko, as the edge of the Koi pond was only about twenty feet away.
*SHHHHCK-THWACK*
Startled by the sound, John looked towards the dojo. The doors and windows were wide open, and at one end of the room was the rabbit hero, drawing his bow and firing arrows at a target on the other end of the dojo.
*SHHHHCK-THWACK*
Lightning came off the arrows as they left the bow, almost looking like the pistol shots from his Infinite Frontiers magnetic weapons, burying themselves deeply into the steel plate she was using for a target. The remains of several other targets were broken on the floor around it.
*SHHHHCK-THWACK*
"Good morning," John said, walking up beside the dojo.
"Oh, thank god, you're awake." The woman said, bringing the bow down and turned to him. "If you didn't wake up today, I would have had to contact Recovery Girl and beg the Principal not to call the HPSC on me for attacking a civilian."
She attacked me? That explains the headache and injury.
"Well, other than waking up with a headache, I seem to be fine. Might I ask why you are shooting my bow?"
"Oh... well, it has been two days... Yesterday, I started panicking a little, so I went through your things to see if I could find any more information on you. In the process, I found these two weapons, and I got curious. The sword is a little weird, as it won't hit anything, but this bow is quite an incredible piece of technology. You Americans have quite the assortment of gear for Quirk users, though it makes me wonder why you have it over here."
Won't hit anything? That is odd.
"Well..." John started to come up with an excuse for why he had it, but she kept going, ignoring him.
"Then I had a friend look you up. You are Star and Stripe's brother, aren't you? America's number one hero?"
He sighed. "Yes, I am."
"Well, I figured she must have given you some stuff to keep you safe while you were over here, since you can't keep a firearm on you anymore. And you were carrying it around since you just arrived at U.A. and don't have a place to live yet."
"You seem to have learned a lot about me." Star and Stripe, or Twinkle as he called her, probably didn't even know he had left the country, let alone sent him with some advanced American weapons for Quirk users. John was happy enough to omit the truth for now. Being a magic bow and sword didn't sound as far-fetched in this world as in others, but Quirk weapons could be a thing.
"Well, I had to prepare for my trial once you press charges on me."
"Trial? What trial? I was on your property, at night, dressed in black. Why in the world would I press charges on you, and in what court would that hold any weight?"
She cocked her head to the side. "You really have no idea about Japan's laws, do you, John? You were unarmed and posed no threat to me. I can't claim to be a small, defenceless woman, since in a fist fight I could go toe to toe with anyone in Japan, if not the planet, and hold my own. Essentially, I just assaulted a harmless, middle-aged man who came to drop off some paperwork from U.A."
He laughed. "I would hardly call myself harmless, though to someone like you, I can see what you mean."
"Well, you see my issue then. I have no problems going up against any villain or a number of villains. I love the challenge, the thrill of battle." She said, sounding excited for a moment before becoming almost demure. "But, put me in the middle of a legal battle, one that I could lose my hero license from a lapse in judgment, and I become quite nervous. So, please accept my apologies, John. I was wrong to attack you before confirming your identity." She bowed her head to him.
He blinked and shook his head. "Darling, you don't need to worry none about me going to some police officer over this. It was just a misunderstanding. Though, did you say I was out for two days?"
"...Yes."
"Crap, well, I have a file for you from Nezu. If I can get my stuff back, I'll be on my way. I have a few more files to deliver and now a day less time to do it in."
"It's already done."
"What?"
"Well, when I went through your briefcase and saw what was in my file, I realised that you had a bunch of similar things to drop off. So, I did it all yesterday. I had... a bit of energy to burn."
I'm not sure I have ever met such a straightforward and honest person before.
"You... You know what, thank you. It was more for me to get used to Japan, but now I can focus my time on finding a place to live instead of meeting a bunch of heroes. I'm here as a therapist for the students, not to run around and meet a bunch of the pro heroes."
"You're a therapist? I would have never guessed that. Your record says you're a teacher."
"Yeah. I am confused as well, though that is what Nezu hired me for. I didn't get a chance to correct him on it as they were still dealing with that U.S.J. stuff. I think he really just wanted to get rid of the new guy for a couple of days so they could focus on that. I'll bring it up on Monday."
"Well, you can stay here for now if you want. It isn't much, but in case you don't have a job in a week, you won't be stuck with an expensive lease."
"Wait, what? You would invite me into your home just like that?"
"It's the least I can do for someone I attacked out of the blue and who isn't going to press charges. I'm usually only here at night anyway, as I travel around to different cities to patrol every day. Just make sure you take your boots off at the door, and we won't have any problems."
"What's the catch?" He asked. He didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this was out of the blue.
"Let me use this bow a bit more. I haven't had a chance to use one since I was a kid, and I've forgotten how fun it is. The electrical element these arrows have makes it even more interesting."
"Only if you don't let anyone know about it, it is one of a kind."
"Deal." She said with a wide smile, then drew another arrow and sent it downrange.
*SHHHHCK-THWACK*
Rumi spent another twenty minutes firing arrows into the nearly 1-inch steel plate she had dragged from somewhere before she handed him the bow back. They had chatted idly, first telling John not to call her by her hero name here in her home, and then about her daily routine. She would be out in the dojo just before dawn, practising her martial arts, then head to the station, hop on a random train, and start patrolling a city on that route. Then she would come back to Jaku later in the day, patrol this city a bit, and come home to train more before relaxing by her pond before bed.
Sometimes, she would mix it up and patrol at night instead, so the villains would never know when she would be active. She basically lived a life of fighting and training, with very little else going on. She used to train students, but her hero work interfered with scheduling, so she stopped doing it and focused on her job.
John could appreciate all the time and effort she put into getting where she was now. Her quirk gave her some increased strength and speed, but compared to other pro heroes, she was essentially just a martial artist.
Just a martial artist? She is the pinnacle of a martial artist. If she were an actress instead of a pro hero, it wouldn't surprise me if she became the 'Chuck Norris' of this world.
She left the compound shortly afterwards to start her patrol, reiterating to John not to get her Tatami mats dirty with his boots. This left John in a quandary about what to do now. He sat down by the koi pond again to ponder a few things.
Well, I have a place to stay, and Nezu’s list is complete. I have the rest of today and tomorrow to explore before I need to go back to U.A. So, do I use this opportunity to return to DEN?
That felt like the right choice, as he had two more worlds to open up before they let him continue on his journey again. He needed to get back to The Great Cleric and see Nanaella again, then acquire more spell tomes to expand his healing repertoire. Even if resurrection magic wasn't there, Purification was, and he needed that in Warcraft so he could heal those people. From there, he could get resurrection magic and then return to DXD and IF and save Issei and Ash.
Something was stopping him from doing it. As crazy as this world was, he saw an opportunity here that he had been lacking in other worlds. A chance to learn martial arts from one of the best practitioners of it. He didn't need to become some grand master, but if he managed to become somewhat competent in it, that would give him a few extra bonuses in the process.
One, with his title You Can Bring It With You, he could grow his physical stats by practising, thus saving the stat points from DEN to go to his Intelligence, Wisdom, and maybe into another level of Mana.
Two, he would be less reliant on a weapon. If there was some reason he couldn't bring the sword or his armour out, he would be able to better utilise his size and strength in a fight. Even in worlds with firearms, it couldn't hurt to have faster reaction speeds.
Three, he was curious about how being a therapist would work out. This body had a short, online course that he took, but otherwise it was something new for John. Could he make a real difference in these kids' lives, or would he just be ignored, as most adults are by kids? He didn't know, but he would be interested in finding out.
That said, nothing was stopping him from coming back later and doing all that. Come back here with more skills and abilities from other worlds, and he wouldn't have to be as concerned about villains as he was now. He wouldn't always be able to ambush them; it could have quite easily been him the other night those two had tried to rob.
He stood up and walked back to the dojo, picking up his bow by the door. Whatever he chose, he was at least going to fire this off a few times. He hadn't had a chance to use it since his shoulder was repaired, and watching Rumi use it made it look fun.
*SHHHHCK-THWACK*