Chapter Text
Authors Note:
You didn't think already being decently strong meant the quirk was already his, did you?
As they walked to the beach two days later, Síat still a little sore, but healthy enough to function, and All Might back to fighting form, they discussed the concept of the transfer.
"So you're the eighth holder, then?" Síat kept glancing around, making sure nobody was in earshot.
"Yes! And you will be the ninth! I think your body is more than ready, too!" All Might looked him up and down, and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"Well, I do appreciate that, but I want to shoot for my goal before I get it." Síat looked up at him with a grin. "I'd never forgive myself if I didn't try. Let's say I take nine months to try getting that Prius out of the sand. If I can do it before then, we'll have more time to see what your quirk does to me, but if not, I'd still like a month to get used to it before the exam."
"That sounds... Actually reasonable." All Might's grin was less performative here. "A man who wants to try to reach his goals without help, just to see if he can, but practical enough to account for time."
They stop at the stairs leading down into the junkyard.
"Well... This is a magnificent amount of garbage... Is that a bank vault?" All Might looked it over.
"Yeah, it's not even blown open or anything, it was just filthy." Síat smacked the side of it. "32-21-00, by the way. I'm keeping it, I've cleaned it out and sanitized it. It's where I've been sleeping. The insulation is perfect for the weather."
All Might froze. "You've been... Sleeping here?"
"All Might, I've been homeless since I was 8. Y'didn't put that together when I told you my da disowned me?" Síat didn't seem bothered by this, he just leaned back against the vault.
"Young Rahill... How did you even get to Japan?"
"Took a construction job. I had a DEEP voice for a 13 year old." Síat preened.
"So your strength..."
"Been carrying a hod and lifting steel beams for almost a year before I got here." Síat flexed proudly, then grew serious. "Didn't like the forklift. The reverse beeps... Loud, high pitch noises are an anathema to my central nervous system. You know what an absence seizure is? Yeah, if I go more than five minutes sitting in that thing in reverse, I just... Stop. Last time it happened, they thought I died. Woke up well before the ambulance, and my eye was almost hurting worse than the stiffness. One of those English Cu-... ahem... one of those assholes pried my eye open and flicked it to see if I was faking. I wasn't, but when I came to, it still hurt."
"That... Is something we will need to work on. Has that five minute threshold ever improved in any significant way?"
"Oh aye, to be sure, when I was a wee boy, I couldn't last ten seconds. Fire alarms used to be a major issue." Síat shrugged. "Seems like I'm naturally growing resistant to it, I never really tried building resistance with immersion, I just kept building resistance as I got older."
"Ah! Well, that's a relief. So, do headphones help any?" All Might hopped up onto the vault to sit.
"Mmm, a little. Mostly it's the rattling in my chest and spine. But I'm betting denser bones will probably make some of that problem go away."
"Possibly. I'd have to ask a medical professional. I might know one that would have an answer. You'll meet her at UA. Recovery Girl."
Síat tilted his head. "That's the hero with the Mommy Kisses quirk, yeah?"
All Might's eyes widened so much his white sclera became visible. "The Mommy Ki- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "PLEASE let me be there when you call her quirk that to her face!"
Síat chortles. "You'll have to be there at our first meeting, then. It'll be awkward if I say it after having met her a few times. Right then, I should probably get to work."
"Ah... You should probably take it easy for now. You're still low on blood." All Might scratches his head.
"Aye, but I'm also learning Japanese from you too, right? Come on, tell me how to say my name."
The training was grueling. Over the next few months, Síat pushed his body to its limits, and then pushed it some more. All Might sat with him, coaching, encouraging, and eventually only speaking in Japanese, with the occasional English translation when Síat looked confused about something. By month four, there was actually sand that Síat could use to practice writing. By month five, he was packing refrigerators with metal parts to make them heavier. And by month seven...
「Come on, young Rahill! Dig deep! That Prius is rising, I can see it!」 All Might was not in fact looking at the Prius, though it indeed was lifting out of the sand. He was instead marveling at the clean beach. The only thing left was this Prius. (All Might insisted on paying for a motel room, and had moved Síat's vault to his agency for safe keeping [🥁🥁🥁] until Síat had a permanent residence to put it.)
"Ogma of the wide shoulders," Síat whispered to the air, "I am a warrior of the dirt. Give me the back to lift this world..." He gritted his teeth and dug his heels in as he pulled. "AR SON NA HÉIREANN!!!!!!!" Síat roared, as the little hybrid tore from the sand and rolled on its flat tires.
All Might beamed. He went over to Síat, but apparently Síat wasn't done.
Síat pulled the driver door open, grabbed the wheel and the doorframe, and pushed the car, steering it up the stairs. When he got it to the top and parked it in the parking area, he then collapsed into the seat. 「My next goal, after I acquire One for All, will be to be able to lift a semi truck. I will never be satisfied with my strength until there is no weight on this planet I cannot lift, for then, nothing shall stop me from saving a citizen.」
「Ah, young Rahill...」 All Might seemed to think better of doubting him in that moment. 「Well, you've certainly shown determination, and proven yourself capable of the impossible.」
「Impossible is a word society taught themselves to limit what they can do. Quirks are just the evolution that biology used to remind us that the word is made-up.」 Síat held up a triumphant fist.
All Might laughed as he reached for his head.