Gurē
Shihai stared back at him, her face unreadable. Despite the Commission's orders, she wasn't particularly eager to be examined like a specimen.
"Ms. Owari," Saraki finally broke the silence, his voice smooth and disinterested. "Welcome. I understand you've been sent here for a thorough examination of your quirk."
Shihai nodded curtly. "Correct."
Saraki gestured to a chair, indicating she should sit. "Your quirk, Death Empowerment, seems straightforward enough. Enhancement of physical abilities based on death in your vicinity. The potency increases if you are the cause of said deaths."
He had other quirks he'd rather study. But work was work.
Shihai didn't react to his words, merely taking the seat offered.
A few weeks later, Dr. Saraki found himself engrossed in a particularly challenging quirk analysis when a knock on his office door brought him back to reality. He almost forgot about Shihai Owari until he saw her imposing figure standing in the doorway for her scheduled checkup.
"Ah, Ms. Owari," Saraki said, masking his surprise with a professional tone. "Come in. Let's see what you've been up to since our last session."
Shihai stepped into the lab, her presence as commanding as ever. Saraki led her to the examination area and began his routine tests. As the machines hummed and clicked, he noted the readings with growing interest.
"Your strength levels have increased significantly since our last meeting," Saraki remarked, adjusting his glasses. "The capacity for growth in your quirk is quite remarkable for a power-up type."
Shihai remained silent, watching him work. Saraki turned to her, a clipboard in hand.
"I need you to list any occurrences in your recent missions where you felt your quirk become stronger," he said.
Shihai nodded and began recounting various missions, detailing assassinations and other tasks. Most were straightforward, but one particular instance piqued Saraki's interest.
"During one assassination," Shihai explained, "I used poison. The target died several hours later, and I felt the increase in strength only after I knew the target had died."
Saraki paused, his pen hovering over the clipboard. "You felt the increase only after you knew the target was dead?"
"Yes," Shihai confirmed. "I was far from the target when they died. The boost in strength came after I received confirmation of their death."
This detail intrigued Saraki. Up until now, he had considered her quirk to function by absorbing the vitality of living beings that died near her. But this instance suggested something different.
"Interesting," Saraki muttered, jotting down notes. "This implies a psychological component to your quirk, linked to your awareness of death."
Shihai nodded, unfazed. "Is that so?"
While her rank kept rising at an incredible pace, Shihai Owari rarely showed up for her scheduled checkups. Dr. Saraki had pushed his questions about the enigmatic Enforcer's quirk to the back of his mind, preferring to focus on studying quirks that defied even quirk standards. However, today was different. Shihai had returned after a particularly dangerous mission three weeks ago that left her incapacitated.
When Shihai arrived, Saraki was already prepared, his usual clinical detachment firmly in place.
"Ms. Owari," he greeted her with a nod. "Let's begin."
Shihai nodded and followed him to the examination area. As she settled onto the examination table, Saraki began his routine tests. He noted her vital signs, muscle density, and quirk activity levels. Despite the significant trauma she had endured, her body appeared to be in peak condition, almost unnaturally so.
"I've heard your heart stopped for ten hours," Saraki said, not looking up from his clipboard. "seems like it took them quite a while to rescue and resucitate you."
Shihai remained silent, her expression unreadable. Saraki continued with the examination, running a series of scans and measurements. The readings showed that her physical strength had not diminished; if anything, she seemed even more formidable than before.
Saraki furrowed his brow. "Feels like a monster," he thought to himself. "I wonder what could have stopped your heart..."
He proceeded with the usual checks, methodically noting down her responses and the data from his instruments. As he wrapped up the physical examination, something unusual caught his attention. He double-checked the results, then turned to Shihai.
"Physically, you're fine," he said. "But there's something else."
"What is it?"
"You're pregnant."
Shihai's reaction surprised Saraki. She didn't seem shocked or disturbed. Instead, she nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"I know," she said calmly.
Saraki blinked, taken aback by her composed response. Before he could say anything further, Shihai stood up, ready to leave.
"Thank you, Dr. Saraki," she said, her voice steady. As she turned to go, she flashed him a smile that sent a chill down his spine. It was the most revolting smile he had ever seen.
Dr. Saraki sat in his tiny and cramped office, the rustling of paper the only sound breaking the silence.
Piles of reports and documents cluttered his desk, but his focus was on a specific set of files. He still remembered the first time he read about Sandatsu Owari's father. According to the official narrative, the man was an American covert operative with a quirk that allowed him to temporarily steal the quirks of those around him. Saraki scoffed at the notion; it seemed absurd, even by the standards of quirk lore.
The idea of copying two quirks and using them simultaneously was already remarkable. Did people really believe that villain's father had this quirk? It seemed more like a fairy tale than a scientific possibility.
In front of him, once again, sat Ao Kizawa.
Saraki tossed the reports aside and sighed. "It makes no sense," he said, his voice laced with frustration. "Though, I must admit, it is interesting enough to warrant further scrutiny."
Kizawa raised an eyebrow. "What specifically doesn't make sense?"
"Judging by the most recent reports, Sandatsu Owari is completely different from the time his biometric readings were captured in Europe," Saraki explained. "There's more to it than just the discrepancies in his quirk factor."
"For example?" she made no effort to hide her annoyance at having to be there.
"The newer readings fail to pick up the data on the multiple quirks he contains, even though he was most certainly using them." Saraki said, flipping through the pages of the reports.
Dr. Saraki leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he prepared to delve into the more perplexing aspects of Sandatsu Owari's case. "About the blood samples retrieved after his attack on Shiketsu," he began. "I brought these samples to a select array of individuals from my own personal list—those with useful quirks that could shed some light on his power."
Kizawa frowned, leaning forward slightly. "And what did they find?"
"The results were, frankly, completely absurd," Saraki said with a chuckle. "But I wasn't bothered. In fact, I found it amusing."
Kizawa's frown deepened. "I still don't understand how Sandatsu seems to have a quirk but no quirk factor. Get to the point."
"We can identify some of the mechanics of his power, such as his range and the consequences—like the absorption of quirks. But we can't see the whole picture. Or rather, there's nothing to be seen. As I said before, it makes no sense no matter how we try to see it."
Kizawa sighed, rubbing her temples. "Just focus. Let's go back to the topic of blood samples."
Saraki passed a set of files across the desk to her. "My helpers got results that seem conflicting, to say the least."
Kizawa opened the files, her eyes scanning the data. She could see that the results were a mess. "What am I looking at here?"
"The data came from a selection of individuals with clairvoyance and quirk perception quirks," Saraki explained. "And all of them gave the same results."
"This has to be a joke."
"Sandatsu Owari is both himself, his quirk, the combination of both, and none. All at the same time." Saraki nodded nonchalantly. "Exactly. Some of the individuals tasked with studying the sample with their quirks suffered cognitive overload. One specific case even resulted in brain death."
"So? Is this all?" Kizawa wasn't impressed. She had once again met with the psycho that sat now in front of her because she knew he'd have something useful about that monster.
Saraki leaned forward, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "I have a theory," he began, his voice measured and deliberate.
There it was. Kizawa raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"Unlike quirk mimicry, where the user has an 'undefined' quirk factor that alters to replicate the capabilities of other quirks, or absorption quirks that assimilate the DNA containing the quirk of the target into their bodies, Sandatsu's quirk operates differently."
Saraki continued, "If someone dies, say, 15 meters from Sandatsu, there's nothing to be seen being absorbed. No 'invisible quirk dust' moving from the target into him. No DNA transfer. Nothing. But it's not replication either. The quirk from the target is most certainly the one he gains."
Kizawa frowned. "Then how does he acquire these quirks?"
"My theory," Saraki said, leaning back in his chair, "is that Sandatsu's quirk operates purely on information."