Luke tasted fever in his mouth before he even opened his eyes.
It tasted like dry vomit, with a touch of bitterness like sucking the juice of a very dry lemon.
In the next moment, as his eyelids began struggling to lift themselves, he began decrypting how long it had been.
[Six days,] Miss Justice answered him. [I wanted to suggest to stop using decryption, but… It seems pointless now. It has become a part of your identity. I have never heard of such a thorough digestion of Potion… You are a genius. Rash. Idiot. Prone to spontaneous bursts of emotions. But, yes. Genius.]
Did I do it, Miss Justice? Luke asked, whiteness washing away the blackness in his eyes. Did I… change fate?
The moment Luke had activated the X Complexity Quirk, Fake Rewind, he had lost himself. It was like he had jumped into a depthless ocean, drowning little by little, feeling absolutely nothing.
[I…] Miss Justice said. [I don't know, either. I tried to persist after you had lost all your faculties, but… I did see something.]
What? Luke asked, his heart beating stronger than before.
[A young All Might. Very young…] Miss Justice described. [He stepped between you and All For One and… sent the Villain flying!]
A tired smile crept up on Luke's face.
At the same time, a nurse entered the room and saw that smile, instantly turning around and shouting for the doctors.
By the time the doctors arrived, Luke had already regained his vision.
Can you bring up my Stats? He asked as they did several checkups on him.
[…] Miss Justice sighed. [It was pure insanity what you did… I told you…]
Luke took a deep breath, requesting that she bring them up anyway.
…
[
Blessed Stats:
Quirk — Bioalchemy
Sequence:
— Seer, Clown, Magician
— Apprentice, Trickmaster, Astrologer
— Marauder, Swindler, Cryptologist
Stats:
— Spirit: 30/490
— Stamina: 50/200
]
…
Luke almost cursed.
His Spirit Points and Stamina Points were both blinking bloody red.
It didn't take him long to realize that part of these 30 Spirit Points also contained the Points that had returned from Mushroom-nimi this week.
That made the number look even more ridiculous and dangerous.
This was especially true for Luke, who was not an ordinary person in this world, but a Beyonder!
[Don't even think about using a Beyonder ability or your Quirk for some time!] Miss Justice warned, bringing as much seriousness as she could in her sweet voice. [It's truly a miracle that you didn't mutate on the spot. A Beyonder with such a blow to his Spirituality… How did you get away with only a feverish coma? Sigh… Praise be to Mr. Fool.]
Luke repeated the words within, thanking Him too.
There was no direct indication that Mr. Fool had helped him survive. But, given His utterly ridiculous powers, he had strong reasons to believe that, one way or another, He did help him… somehow.
"Nyx…" Luke said to the doctors, his voice coming out broken and feeble.
"I have never seen a tougher bird!" the older doctor said, sounding astounded. "Woke up even before you. I heard she's a part of your Quirk? Yeah? How's that work?"
Another doctor cleared his throat, sharing a knowing glance with the older doctor.
The older doctor coughed. "She's doing alright. Just next to your room. Should I bring her to you?"
Even though the doctors tried to hide it, Luke instantly caught on to their fears.
Which meant his father must have warned them about a potential disaster.
Which also meant he wasn't at the Blue Site. Perhaps, not anymore.
[You can at least pretend not to decrypt,] Miss Justice said with a touch annoyance. [It's not good for your mental health for some time.]
Luke found some sense in her words as he could already feel a headache building up.
He lifted his hand, making all the doctors jump, and rubbed his temples.
"No…" Luke said. "Let her sleep. I need to rest, too…"
The doctors looked at each other with relief.
"You really don't sound like a 16-year-old," the older doctor said. "Alright. Rest. I have already called Mr. Reijirou."
Luke nodded, closed his eyes, and began cogitating.
He would decrypt later how in the name of Mr. Fool he reached home that night!
…
Later that day,
"Aina!" Luke's voice gained a sharp pitch. "You are… killing me!"
Tears streamed down Aina's face as she clutched Luke, her face pressed against his chest. "I knew it!" she mumbled out a few words. "I knew! You overexerted yourself at the Training Camp! Why?! Why did you need to act so… macho?!"
Luke's lips twitched.
So they think that my situation is because of the Training Camp, he thought. Hmm… Let's go with that, then.
Then, after he complained about not being able to breathe, Aina pulled herself away and began telling him everything.
The more Luke heard, the more he found himself holding back a smile.
[It's as you expected,] Miss Justice nodded. [They are blaming Dr. Blessed for All Might's Quirk's disappearance.]
That's the best way to hide the matter of One For All now, Luke replied. Fake Rewind was only to make All Might younger. I don't think I am even capable of affecting the Quirk Factors in the same way. And… even if I could, I don't think it would have worked on One For All.
But when the exhilaration of securing a minor win against fate abated, Luke found himself concentrating on All Might's form.
Because that was not something he had planned at all.
It seems… Luke thought, seeing more people enter his room as Aina kept babbling on. Blessed Gone Insane Quirks can have immense, unpredictable results. Sigh… I don't think I can use it soon without any fear of dire consequences…
Dire consequences like becoming a wriggling mass of flesh, losing everything.
As Miss Justice heavily nodded, agreeing with Luke's thoughts, the fresh batch of visitors forced Aina to go out of the room and surrounded him.
"I guess I missed a great opportunity…" Luke lampooned, smiling as he looked at his father, Sand, Erasure Head, and All Might. "If I had put money on All Might saving the day, I would have made a fortune!"
Sand and All Might smiled.
Mr. Reijirou let out a breath, his shoulders relaxing.
Only Erasure Head kept staring at Luke, his face gaining a hard look. "We need to talk… about your punishment."