To Remove a Quirk

To remove the quirk...

I still hadn't thought of a way by the time we reached the Association.

And so we stepped into a private training room.

"Introductions first."

"Hm? Of what?"

I drew the mannequins, B, and Toy out of Storage.

"Puppet 1, Puppet 2, Puppet 3, Puppet 4, Toy, and this one... you don't need to know."

A thumbs-up. A nod, and another nod. A miserable little slump.

"Whoa! What?! That's incredible! Hi, hi! But Jaeha, what is this? Where did they come from?"

"Oh, this? It's nothing much. It's called Storage. Ever heard of it? Not a big deal. Just the rank-one perk."

I didn't waste the opening. Out they came, one flashy reveal after another.

"A rank-one perk? That was a thing?"

"Aaah. So you didn't know."

"I said I don't! Just tell me!"

In the end Sia smacked my shoulder, pat-pat. A nostalgic sensation. Better explain before the scolding got any worse.

Maybe because the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠puppets were inanimate, Storage would hold them too. Hauling them around outside the Tower had been a pain anyway, so this worked out nicely.

"Then isn't that ridiculously good?!"

"Is it? That good?"

"Stop that!"

Pat, pat. Scolded again.

If anything, I liked it.

"So, what were you about to say earlier?"

"Right."

I couldn't put it off any longer.

"To remove the Vivid Presence quirk, I have to use Puppetry on you."

"On me? I'm not a puppet."

You kind of are, though.

I couldn't say that.

"Turns out if the 'form' in it means a human-shaped body, it applies to anything that fits. Works on zombies, too."

"What?! Then you can control zombies?"

"Yeah."

I'd tested whether I could bring a zombie out of the Tower. It failed. The link severed on its own. Granting will to a stage-two zombie probably wouldn't change a thing.

"Then can't you just do it?"

"You might end up having to obey my orders."

"I already did whatever you said inside the Tower."

"You did, didn't you?"

Now that I thought about it, it hadn't been veteran hunter Sia calling the shots. I'd been the one yanking her around—do this, do that. Maybe I'd been a little arrogant. That wasn't what I'd meant, of course.

"So what do I do now?"

"Hmm."

I could have applied Puppetry right then. But she was calmer than I'd expected, and I wanted to tease her.

"Kneel, bow, and say you'll serve me as your master. That's it."

I said it with a mocking little smile. Without warning, she dropped to her knees and actually started to bow.

"I'm kidding, kidding! Heh heh."

"Hey!"

Sia shot me a glare, playing at anger. Then she bowed anyway.

"I will serve you as my master."

"Aaaagh! Don't! I said it was a joke!"

I'd only meant to needle her. I hadn't thought she'd actually do it.

"Hmph!"

She'd landed the blow instead. And maybe she wanted to leave me squirming, because she didn't get up right away. Standing there staring felt wrong, so in the end I pressed my forehead to the floor.

"I'm sorry for teasing you..."

She lifted her head.

"Heh."

A light, victorious little scoff. I couldn't raise mine.

"Now do it for real."

"Fiiine..."

The joke was one thing. Actually applying Puppetry was the real problem.

How am I even supposed to say this?

The method was simple. You put a hand on the chest.

Yeah. But I couldn't do that! Wouldn't she beat me senseless and have me hauled off before the cuffs even clicked?

"Th-that's... we have to hug."

It didn't strictly have to be a hand. Any part of the body only had to touch the chest. That was why it had worked even when I was running with a hunter on my back.

Nnngh.

I was mortified she'd think I was a pervert. I am one, but still!

"Youuu—you're messing with me again!"

"N-no, I'm not! I'm completely serious! Think back to how I grant will."

Sia had watched me grant will plenty of times. She knew how I'd done it. She stared upward as if pulling the memory into place, and then her face went scarlet.

"S-so let's just use a hug instead..."

"Ngh...!"

This was why it had been so hard to say. Sia dropped her head without a word.

"Mm..."

She gave a tiny nod and opened her arms.

Ghk!

Why are you opening your arms?! And the moment I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠actually moved to hold her, my heart—!

Gaaah. Call an ambulance! An ambulance! Somebody's dying!

I took one step in and hugged her, lightly.

Fwaaah—!

Blue light washed over us, and Puppetry took hold.

"D-done!"

"Wow, whoa! That was simple?"

"R-right?!"

I'd fumbled so badly it was embarrassing, and I was sweating on top of it.

Wait. Hold on.

An idea flashed through me.

"Sia!"

"Wh-what?! What, what?"

"You know I can restore my puppets, right?!"

"Huh? Yeah."

"Then what if I used Restoration on your mother?"

"Aaaaaaah?!"

Cancer treatment. Wouldn't it work?!

"Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Neither of us said where. We broke into a run at the same time.

We reached the hospital where Sia's mother was admitted. Sia's face was flushed with nerves and hope.

But.

"Sia."

"Yeah!"

"Calm down for a second."

"Okay!"

She did not look calm at all.

"It might not work."

"Th-that could happen!"

"Even if it doesn't, don't take it too hard. All right?"

"Yeah..."

The Restoration tests weren't finished. How far it reached. Whether it mended only external wounds, or internal ones too. Whether it could cure disease. How far back the present a state had to be before it counted as whole. All of it was unclear.

So.

"Let's ask the doctor first."

"Mm."

We decided to explain my skill and get a medical opinion. Though—

This might end up announcing my skill to the world.

Other active-type unique skills had limits on how often they could be used. Puppetry had none. Maybe because it was an EX-grade Unique Skill. So what happened if people learned it existed? Wouldn't society fall into chaos, everyone demanding to be healed?

Eh, who knows!

As long as I could treat Sia's mother, that was enough.

The attending physician's schedule was backed up, so we waited four hours. I explained the skill.

"That would be difficult."

"What? Why?"

"It's an unverified treatment. We can't know what side effects might occur."

Just as I'd feared.

"If Patient Seo Eunju proceeds with adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery, her prognosis is fairly good. Introducing a variable could work against her."

Sia's face darkened.

"If you can obtain the chemotherapy drug you mentioned before, the prognosis will improve further. There are already successful cases overseas."

So we really did need the drug? I'd been half convinced and half doubtful myself. Cancer was still human cells, in the end. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If Restoration couldn't tell healthy cells from cancer cells, the worst case was that it would restore the cancer right along with everything else. That was why I'd wanted the doctor's judgment.

"I'm not denying the skill's potential, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but for now the safest course is the scheduled surgery and chemotherapy."

What mattered most was her mother's safety. If the existing method could treat her, there was no need to force Restoration. And all we had to do was get the drug, wasn't it?

"Thank you for explaining. Let's go."

Sia bowed her head and rose from her seat.

"You okay?"

She answered me evenly.

"I'm okay! We just have to go get it, right?"

She forced a bright smile.

"Yeah. We'll get it. No matter what."

For now, all I could do was hold her hand.

We came back to the Association. Obtaining the chemotherapy drug meant a lot of preparation, so I started by buying what we needed immediately.

I can't keep using the crowbar like this.

It was sturdy, which was nice, but it didn't absorb impact, so swinging it raw was rough. The materials were self-fusing silicone tape looted from a hardware store, plus a baseball-bat cushion grip and hockey tape recommended by my dedicated support officer. Obvious junk loot, and it cost an insane amount.

Damn it. I already burned through the money from the gold bars!

Still, it was a necessary investment. I wrapped the self-fusing silicone tape around the crowbar's handle for a cushioning layer, wound the baseball-bat cushion grip over that, and finished it tight with hockey tape. A light swing, and the vibration that used to slam into my palm was definitely weaker.

It works this well?

I'd done the work myself, and it was far more effective than I'd expected. Almost no fatigue at all. I scanned it with the app.

Ah—a Dexterity bonus!

Dexterity had stacked impact dampening, recoil suppression, and reduced fatigue buildup onto it. At this level, I could swing it for a long time without a problem.

Next was Sia's turn.

"I'll take the quirk off first. Tell me if anything feels wrong."

"Okay."

The moment I willed the quirk to be drawn in, orange light burst from Sia and transferred into me.

"Hup!"

"You okay?!"

"Yeah. It just gave me a little chill."

Oh. So it was only a chill.

Then don't make weird noises! It throws me off!

I opened the Tower of Calamity app to check.

The quirk had been added to me.

But what do I do with this thing?

My current number of operable units was zero. I couldn't slip it into another puppet and sever the link the way I'd planned. I could sever Sia's link and apply Puppetry again, of course.

Then we'd have to hug again, wouldn't we?

Oh. That was a pretty good method, though.

"Jaeha, is it done?"

"Huh? Ah! Yeah!"

Explaining that out loud was not going to be easy.

Ahem. F-for now, should I just grant it to Toy?

Toy's presence could grow all it wanted. It still wouldn't be in any danger. With the quirk removed, next came the test.

"Sia, hold this."

I handed her a hand axe.

"Feel anything?"

"Mm, not really?"

"Then hit the dummy."

"Okay."

Thud. Thud. Crack!

"How is it?"

"Uh, well..."

"Feel something?"

"I dunno? Mmm. It's like it fits my hand better than before?"

"I knew it!"

The puppets moved on the foundation of my own body. The more familiar I became with an axe, the more naturally they swung one. I'd wondered whether that would carry over to Sia. It did. She'd handled axes before, though, and the gap between our proficiencies wasn't large, so the effect seemed small.

"What? What is it?"

"Looks like when I train, the effect applies to you too."

"Like the mannequins?"

"Yeah."

At that, Sia's eyes went wide as a startled rabbit's. Then she grinned, thick with mischief.

"Jaeha."

"Y-yeah?"

"Then what if you and I trained different things?"

"Uh... training efficiency would double, right?"

Sia's growth would definitely speed up even more. But this, somehow, felt like I was about to suffer horribly.

"Let's go!"

"Wh-where?"

"To train!"

"Right now? We should at least eat someth—"

"We don't have time for that, you know? Run!"

Sia grabbed my hand and took off. Dragged along by force like this, what choice did I have? Heh heh.

"Trainee. Back in one piece?"

"Yes!"

The pleasant moment didn't last. The second Sia saw me come in to train, she went straight off to her own assigned instructor. I had the distinct feeling I'd been had.

"Then we'll begin."

"What? Already?!"

We finally see each other, and I don't even get a hello. I don't get to hear what happened in the Tower. We can't even share a meal?!

"As requested, I'll start by demonstrating practical crowbar combat."

Training began on the dot. Five thousand crowbar swings.

I... had to do it, didn't I?