A Day Destined to End in a Beating...

Time flew like a shuttle, always pressing mercilessly forward, never willing to pause for anyone, not even for a moment.

Yet someone had also said that time was like water, forever silent... as though keeping a quiet watch, accompanying us without a word.

But no matter what time was like or how it passed, Uraraka Shige knew only two things at that moment.

First, his plan to develop his older sister Ochaco Uraraka's Quirk had ultimately failed... at least, he considered it a failure.

He had not managed to train Ochaco into a proper heavily armored loli with a contrasting style. Instead, over the past few days, he and Ochaco had done an excellent job developing the slingshot and compressed marbles, which he had always felt clashed with the style he had imagined.

Nor was it his fault, or a lack of effort on his part. The restrictions on his sister Ochaco's Quirk were simply too severe and too stringent... at least, that was certainly how it was for him.

His sister had the Quirk Zero Gravity, so picking up those tremendously powerful heavy weapons made from building materials and putting on that extremely thick heavy armor made from cement slabs posed no problem. There was just one issue: after his sister put those heavy weapons in a state of Zero Gravity, they remained in that state even when used to attack.

In other words, to bring out the full power those heavy weapons were supposed to have, she had to deactivate her Quirk just before they hit their target or as she swung them. Otherwise, a heavy weapon in a state of Zero Gravity was like a huge, sturdy balloon model: it looked impressive, but was really just an empty shell.

Take Comet Home Run, the improvised ultimate move developed during the indoor Quirk test in the original story. It looked quite extraordinary, sending a mass of rubble sweeping forward amid the whistling and howling of the wind, but in reality, it had only the limited attacking power generated by the force of her own swing of the cement pillar, which sent the rubble flying like baseballs. It was more a move for restricting the target's vision.

Because of her Quirk, the cement pillar's own weight was unaffected by gravity and therefore was not brought to bear at all.

And in his view, since Ochaco was using heavy weapons, her armor ought to be heavy too, made from things like a tank's steel plating or a rocket's alloy plates. The weight of armor made from such materials went without saying, and the current Ochaco simply could not deactivate her Quirk on some objects while keeping it active on others.

The problem was therefore obvious. Ochaco, at least as she was now, could not deactivate her Quirk on only some of the objects affected. If she really developed in the direction of a "heavily armored loli," as Uraraka Shige envisioned, rather than the "light and nimble" direction of the original story, then whenever she attacked with a heavy weapon, the equally heavy armor protecting her body would be affected by gravity again, crushing her flat.

In other words, the current Ochaco could only choose between heavy weapons and heavy armor.

If she chose the terrifying offensive power of heavy weapons, she would have to give up the considerable defense provided by heavy armor. Although she could smash rocks apart in a single blow, she had to deactivate her Quirk when attacking, and she herself could not withstand a single attack from someone else. She would be like a high-damage, low-health assassin in a game: flashy and capable of taking out the AD in a second, but also liable to be picked off by two basic attacks from the AD. The risk was too great.

If she chose heavy armor, she would certainly gain immense defensive power, and thanks to her Quirk, her mobility would not be affected much. But a long defense was bound to fail eventually. Without the ability to attack, she could only take hits passively, surrendering the initiative. Although there were times when she could gain an advantage by defending instead of attacking, such situations were rare, and it hardly seemed worth the cost.

Still, this was not really a major problem. As she trained her Quirk and grew older and stronger, the day would naturally come when she could do it. It was just that by then, she might no longer be a "heavily armored loli," but perhaps a heavily armored young girl, a heavily armored mature beauty, a heavily armored middle-aged woman, or a heavily armored old granny...

Yeah, especially the last two. Talk about intimidating!

The more I think about it, the scarier it gets...

Second was the scene unfolding before his eyes...

"Mom, Dad, I've been developing my Quirk with my little brother! I'll definitely be able to help out at your company someday!"

Ochaco had activated her Quirk and, prompted by Uraraka Shige's joking words, lifted the very sofa on which they had played a pillow fight together a few days ago. Both her cheeks were flushed with excitement...

That was right. Apart from the sofa in Ochaco's hands, her slightly more mature appearance, and the height she had gained over the past three or four years, this was exactly like that scene from three or four years ago—the one shown in the original story, in Ochaco's recollection of why she wanted to become a hero...

But...

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have joked with my sister like that..."

Watching the scene, Uraraka Shige smacked his right hand against his forehead.

There was no need to say or ask anything. Surely anyone who saw this would understand?

A little girl of just seven was lifting a sofa big enough for three girls her size to lie on...

"Ochaco, put the sofa down, quick!"

Sure enough, their parents panicked the moment they saw what Ochaco was doing. Although they knew about her Quirk, there was always the chance of an accident, not to mention that the law restricted the casual use of Quirks...

Besides, the sight was genuinely astounding. It was like seeing Archimedes pry the Earth up with a chopstick...

So...

They'll definitely turn her down, right? Turn down Ochaco's request to help out at the family construction company...

Otherwise, if they really agreed, then in the future, just seeing a little girl running back and forth on a construction site, swinging building materials dozens of times her own weight that looked capable of killing someone in one blow, would probably send everyone fleeing out of concern for their own safety. Then there would be nobody left to work, right?

Uraraka Shige's expression grew even more miserable. He could already see what was coming.

For one reason or another, his parents were bound to refuse, and from that certainty Uraraka Shige could see that once they really did turn Ochaco down, he would surely come to a bad end too. After all, he was the one who had led Ochaco to make this request again and, out of a mischievous streak, had gotten his sister to lift a sofa big enough for three of her to lie on...

Unable to suppress the tangled feelings in his heart, Uraraka Shige let out a sigh.

"Sigh..."