My Hormonal Control Quirk

Freedom.

Freedom is an illusion.

Or is it?

Felix was fighting for his life to regain his freedom, though he wasn't imprisoned anywhere. His captivity needed no wall. Metaphorically speaking, he never wholly escaped from his Canadian cell.

Blackmail. Coercion. Threats. This isn't really freedom. Isn't it?

Well, to be fair, these three factors shaped his whole life, and he didn't have much choice in the matter. His luck ran off when his mother ran off, too. We don't choose where we're born, our family, or our genes. We live with it, no matter if it hurts us or not.

"Shut up, little shit. Suffer in silence."

Given the number of times his father said that to him, he couldn't possibly forget that line. It was like a haunting punchline that reminded him not to end like him.

Thankfully, the buzz of his odd phone snapped him out of his musings.

—A message from Mt. Lady and Daphne... at the same time.

He still used the phone Mei made for him. This time, however, it was more refined. It almost looked like his professional phone. Thanks to Mt. Lady's money, he paid her to upgrade the phone in order to use three SIM cards simultaneously.

The phone was also shielded against EMP attacks. With what he had left, he now used three different phone numbers.

A spy was tailing him.

He knew it.

First, Mei fried all the hidden microphones.

Then, he managed to... defeat Hawks, their greatest asset.

Since then, Rumi told him she had heard suspicious noises around his flat, especially at night and sometimes when they were chilling in town, like after they headed for a bar after the reunion with the HPSC and other heroes.

Given that they fear getting busted, they probably use only a single spy. Based on his information and the animal pheromones he recognized around his flat, it was Chameleon-Frog man.

So he had an idea to fool them.

Given that Himiko asked to help him, he requested her to use his blood, transform into him, get out of his flat, and do things in town. After a while, he heads out to do his things with no one spying on his ass. He knew it was risky, but risks had to be taken.

Since all the security cameras had yet to be replaced after Hawks destroyed them before his attack, they couldn't fully follow his movements—a blessing in disguise.

They would end up finding the situation really weird, but since Himiko is as slippery as a fish, they will find nothing, and it will just add to the confusion. At least, he hoped.

Taking him out of his musing once again, his phone rang.

—Ah... I don't recognize the number. Maybe it's Giran...

"Hello?"

{Greetings. Am I with Mr. Tremblay?}

"...Yeah, that's me." For a second, his brain froze. She was speaking English with a pronounced Japanese accent. She listened to his advice. "And you are?"

{I am Chitose Kizuki, Head of Shoowaysha Publishing. I am contacting you heretofore following the message you sent me eleven days ago. I must say you got my attention.}

"Oh... I thought you would never call."

{I'm certain you already know about my... curiosity if you sent something directly to my private phone number.} She giggled as he heard her writing something. {I have no idea how you obtained my private data, so I'm very curious. So, of course, I am going to contact you.}

"Well, I won't give you the answers you seek without meeting you for real."

{How business-like. I suspected as much.}

"Yeah?"

{Yes. I am curious but cautious enough not to jump into the lion's den without knowing who I am truly conversing with, so excuse my rudeness, but I aim for this discussion to be brief. Thus, since what you sent me seems too good to be true, I would like to receive an e-mail from you with further details, explanations and at least one proof of what you mentioned... before we meet face-to-face.}

"Eh, I don't bite, you know."

{Hmhm.~} Her little hums seemed like her way of giggling. {That is good to hear. Not that I do not like bites, though."

"Whatever that means."

{I am just merely trying to steer curiosity in you, too. Curiosity is key. It must go both ways in any relation or agreement so things do not become dull. Apathy kills relations faster than any hurtful words can.}

"Alright, alright. I'm down to do that, Miss Head of Shoowaysha Publishing."

{Ha! Please. I was not trying to brag.} She chuckled. {A summary and some proof, like a photograph or a video, would be soundest to see if I am inclined to take the crapshoot. Or I could come to the spot and see the scene by myself without you being here. The more proof, the better.}

"I don't think the last part is a goo—"

{I won't pilfer any of these photographs because if I did that, I wouldn't be able to interview you. So do not fret about that, sir.}

"It's not the issue. Right now, I could just show you my body. It might be enough for you to believe me."

"Oh? Steering my curiosity, are you?"

"I haven't completely healed since he attacked me." He admitted, without telling her, that he cut off the majority of his growth hormone, IGF-1, and insulin to slow down his healing. It was hard to move and fuck since he was still covered in bandage, but at least he had proof on his body. "You could see for yourself."

{A proof of Hawks attacking you... It's been more than eleven days...} She doubted. {I give you the benefit of the doubt. Send me everything you can. Once done, if satisfied, I'll mail you the place where I want to meet you. Only us both. Nobody else.}

"Noted."

{If true, we'll have to think about when to broadcast such a bombshell of a scoop. Until then, sir, take care.}

Ending the call, she left him alone with his thoughts. So Manami wasn't lying. She really hacked into this gal's accounts to find her data.

He already took a few photos of the aftermath of Hawks' attack with her help since she said she wanted to avenge the two girls that the hero allegedly raped, but was it enough to incriminate the former hero and, by extension, the HPSC?

—Probably not... It's a big fish. I need something more.

Well, he already had a few aces up his sleeve, but still, he had to wait.

Making this a scoop too soon would be a bad move. He had to wait until the HPSC was weakened enough. It's easier to topple a leaning tower.

Cutting off his musing once again, someone tapped his shoulder—a girl with light brown, large, dark brown eyes and plump and glossy lips: Camie.

"Dang. Did I surprise you, Mister?"

"Hey... Yeah, a bit..." He sighed amusingly, inviting her to sit next to him since nobody on the train wanted to sit their ass down next to a foreigner. "Why are you here? You don't live around here, do you?"

"Oh, right, it's like, you know, I got that thing, the remedial classes for provisional hero license exam, or something. I overslept the day it took place, so..."

"Yeah... Your Mom told me you oversleep a lot." He chuckled, pretending not to see the HPSC agent tailing her. In the end, Camie had nothing to do with the organ-smuggling business organized by her father, but he still had to tell them to investigate her. "They threatened you to throw you out of Shiketsu, right?"

"Yeah, but you know, it's like, my bed doesn't wanna let me go or something?"

"Yeah, I know the feeling." He made sure to speak quietly enough while the train became fuller and fuller with each train station. Knowing she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he had already prepared something. "By the way, how's it going? You look fresh. ...And how is your father, of course...? I don't wanna be impolite."

"I always look fresh, but thanks! But for Dad... I dunno. He's been grim... I saw him move in and out a lot of stuff lately, hm..."

"He wanna move?"

"No, no! He's been moving stuff in our holiday home. He was saying he was on edge lately..." She shrugged with a darker expression. "Mom tried to stop him, but he hit her..."

—He's moving shreds of evidence... So they're really wary now. And it seems like Daphne listened to me about trying to make false proofs... and got hit because of that...

"Everything alright, Mister?"

"Yeah, yeah... I mean... after all that, do you still love your father?"

"I... I guess he's my father, so of course I love him...? I'm... just sad that I can't make him proud. I'm kind of a failure, you know."

"Your dad's a fucking asshole. He's gaslighting you into thinking that."

"...M-Maybe... I know he's kind of a bag guy, but he's still my father, isn't he…? That's also why I wanna become a hero, so..."

Patheading her instinctively, he sighed. He didn't want to talk about sad stuff like that, as he knew how she felt. The amount of gaslighting parents can make their kids go through is sometimes staggering.

Surprisingly, as they both exited the same train station, Camie shifted away from her sour mood.

"So, where you goin'?"

"To U.A. High School."

"Um. Aren't you a bit too old to be a high schooler?"

"I'm going there to work, dummy."

"Oh, oopsie. You know, I, like, tried their entrance exam last year, but I didn't pass. My grades and quirk weren't up to snuff, they said. I was, like, totes depressed."

"You could try this year's entrance exam, too. I could help you with that if you want... With your quirk... and especially your grades."

"That would be bonkers!"

"Stop with the slang... I'm not native..."

"You're, like, illiterate in Japanese?"

"Illiterate, my ass."

"Haha! I'm just clownin', Mister, don't get worked up."

"Aren't you supposed to be my future spouse?"

"S-Stop reminding me that, Mister..."

"I'm just clownin' on you, Camie." He chortled, turning to her as they had to take different paths at the end of the staircase. "Well, until next time. I need to go... I'm already late."

"Yeah! Me too, see you, Mister Felix!"

As Camie ran, the agent tailing her tried to speed up, too, pushing people around in the crowded staircase like many others. In his haste, he jostled Felix, causing him to bump with force into a girl with long blue hair, causing the contents of her bag to scatter on the floor while the fall had pulled up her skirt enough for her panties to show.

Since he was already a bit late, he hesitated to help her, but seeing no one was keen to do it in his stead, he gave her a hand, assisting her to her feet and removing the dirt from her school jacket.

"Sorry for that."

Blushing a bit as she readjusted her skirt, the girl avoided eye contact and picked her belongings up with Felix's help.

"Thank you! Sorry for the bother, though."

"I'm the one who bumped into you. I'm the one who's sorry."

"No big deal! Oh, by the way, you can call me Nejire! Oh, what's your name? I mean, you surely work at U.A., right? Nobody stops at this train station except for staff members, students, and medics."

"...Just call me Felix." He answered as they both started to walk. "And nah, I'm not working at U.A., but I hope I'll be working there soon."

"Working here soon?"

"Yes, I'm going for a job interview."

"So, you're gonna get a job here, huh? What's the job?"

"Medic."

"Oh, nice! And by the way, you have an accent. What country are you from? There's nothing wrong with that, of course. I'm just curious... Where did you learn Japanese?"

"I'm from the U.S.," He lied, knowing that telling the truth could be problematic. Speaking too much is risky, but having another ally is always good. Might as well sow the seeds of a possible new relationship. "I learned basic Japanese at home. I had a Japanese girlfriend. I only become better at it when... I became an intern."

"My guess is that she was an exchange student!"

"Well, her name's Samantha... She was only half-Japanese, but yeah, she was an exchange student. If I remember correctly, her non-romanized name is Sumika. She should be back in Japan by now..."

"Her name means Beauty and Good Fortune!"

"Yeah, well, she didn't bring any of that into my life."

"Ah... Oh..."

"Haha! Don't make this face. It's alright."

"O-Okay... Well, I guess I'm also curious about your age... You look like a college student, um... Is it your quirk? What's your quirk?"

"I'm twenty-one."

"And your quirk?"

"I turn people into chatterboxes."

"..."

"What?"

"Not cool."

"You're a bit of a smother—"

"Oh! There's a friend of mine!"

"Yeah...?"

Hiding behind a tree, a pale-skinned young man a bit shorter than Felix, with pointy ears and messy dark hair, gazed at them. After seeing Felix, he approached them but hid behind her.

"Hi, Tamaki!"

"Hello... Nejire... Who is this...?"

"It's Felix! He's gonna be a medic at U.A. next year!"

"Oh..."

"You're more optimistic about this than me."

"I'm always optimistic! I'm sure we're gonna see each other again!"

"Alright." Felix chuckled before waving at them. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

"Lovebirds...?" Nejire muttered, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"N-Nejire... Ah... Nothing..."

As the two students left, something was pretty evident. One was in love, and the other was oblivious. This Tamaki guy also released a ton of animal pheromones. It didn't seem to be his own, but still... That was a lot. He had the potential to... become something animalistic.

—Whatever. I should call Recovery Girl to tell her I'm here.

He had been requested to enter the school by the backdoor.

After a few minutes of waiting, Hound Hog—the lifestyle guidance counselor—the last person he got on the phone before coming here came to pick him up and shook his hand. He was speaking softly, explaining that the louder he speaks, the more what he says sounds like barking.

To be fair, it still sounded like barking when he spoke in hushed tones, so since it was a butchered, half-barked Japanese, Felix struggled to understand anything he said.

If he had to write down what he was saying as dialogue in a book, it would look like gibberish.

Hound Hog took him straight to the Teacher Lounge. Usually, he would have given him a tour of the school, but at this time of year, he has a lot of work to do, especially because of students with too much energy.

"Vou can venter. I vope your interview voes smoothly."

"Thank you... and good luck with the students."

Entering the room, a Big Rat and Recovery Girl were already sitting on a large red sofa, drinking tea. Midnight—this time in her hero costume—was making herself a cup of coffee.

He didn't know what would entice someone to make a hero costume like this, especially knowing it was a downgraded version of her former costume—the thing showing almost everything.

In her early career, Midnight single-handedly kickstarted the creation of a law on hero costume limitations.

Her costume was even tighter than Mt. Lady's, plus the white fabric was almost see-through—so it could be easily torn apart for her to use her quirk. He could clearly see the form of her areolas and nipples under it. Her garter belt pushed up her ass, making it even more enticing... And her leotard stopped under her breast, letting them jiggle and move around.

That she was allowed to teach dressed like that was probably one of the most astonishing things he's seen so far.

—I know I would have liked going to school if I had a teacher like that...

"Oh, you're finally here, Mr. Tremblay." Midnight smiled, inviting her to sit down. "Please, just take a seat."

"Have you studied what I told you to study?" Recovery Girl asked, frowning.

"Yeah, yeah. Further uses of steroids. I did what you asked. And hi, by the way."

"Good. We're gonna focus on peptides next week."

"Geez... Let me breathe..."

"Hm." Nezu coughed to have their attention. "I'm Nezu, also called Mr. Principal. Pleased to meet you."

"A pleasure," Felix answered, shaking his hand.

"I'm gonna start this... interview, if we can call it that, by stating my sincere thoughts. Without Recovery Girl, I wouldn't have accepted another medic in our ranks, but I'm indebted to her and trust her judgment. This is why I'm giving you a chance. If, at any point in this interview, I judge that you're not fit to be part of our team, I shall send you back home."

"..."

"Don't worry," Recovery Girl sighed. "At first, he's like this with everyone."

"I just can't accept anybody."

"Of course. I understand. It's alright."

"Perfect, then." Nezu smiled, taking a sip of his tea. "I've been made aware of your quirk. However, given what Recovery Girl told me you can do, I believe there might be more to your quirk than you want to admit. Probably something tied to quirk inheritance. Your DNA probably merged between two different quirks... However, it's obviously expected and understandable, as I also keep secrets about myself and my quirk. Heroes do, too."

—This rat is far more intelligent than anyone I met until now...

"I'm already ready to repay Recovery Girl by making you part of our staff, but only at some point. I'm not willing to do this without you getting proper qualifications and practice. That's why we invited you here today."

"Here, Mr. Tremblay." Midnight smiled, handing him a cup of coffee. "One for you, one for me."

"Thanks."

"Having a fresh face around would be nice, but we can't accept you as a full-fledged medic. Yet." She winked at him while taking a sip of her coffee. "That said, after meeting Mirko and Bubble Girl at the meeting with the Hero Commission and knowing you work with Endeavor, I think giving you a chance is justified. Hound Hog think the same."

"You want me to be a student?"

"No, dummy." Recovery Girl grunted, pointing her cane at him. "We're willing to do a test phase with you as an intern. You'll be here two days a week for the rest of the year. We will pay you 50% of what a normal medic makes here. And... if everyone is satisfied with your work ethic and standards, you'll become my right hand. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, obviously." He chuckled, holding back a grin. "That would be like a dream come true. You already know that."

"If you want to stay there long, you must be as clear as day," Nezu stated, looking him straight in the eye, gauging him. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear."

"Very well. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I like that." Nezu admitted while they shook hands to seal the deal. "Well, then."

"Here you go, Felix."

Smiling, Recovery Girl was handing him the contract that would grant him more freedom.

They had no clue what this deal represented for him. It was more than just a piece of paper that allowed him to earn money.

It was the actual first real job he ever got, too. Before that, it was only boosting people for money. Illegally. Or in the shadows. Even in Canada, because of them, he couldn't even get a regular job, forcing him into the life of an outlaw—all that to finally be thrown in jail.

He read the whole contract, but as expected, since Recovery Girl and Nezu wrote it, it was perfectly legit, and there was no crooked subparagraph forcing him to do things against his will. Contrary to what the HPSC President and Mt. Lady made him sign.

It was a curious type of freedom.

—Finally...

"You finished your coffee, Mr. Tremblay?"

"Yeah... but please, just call me Felix."

"Alright. You call me Nemuri, then." She smiled before standing up, showing her ass to him. Whether it was voluntarily or not was another question entirely. "Want me to show you around the school?"

"Can't say no to that."

"Very well, you two," Nezu said as they left. "Be careful not to disturb the students."

"Of course, sir."

The place was big enough to be labeled a maze. From the exterior, it seemed like it was just a big building forming an H, for Hero...

—For Hentai soon enough...

However, the main building was way taller than it seemed, and there were also a lot more buildings next to it, hidden behind vegetation. The corridors seemed endless, too—

"Oh."

"Ah."

"What?" Midnight uttered before turning to where Felix looked. "Oh, I see."

A young man as tall as Felix with blonde hair and beady blue eyes stopped dead in his tracks after dashing through a wall like a ghost. His costume showed the number 1000000 plastered on his pecs.

"Mirio..."

"Y-Yes...?"

"What did we tell you about running laps in the building?"

"To not do it..."

"Exactly."

"...But it's the best way to train my quirk."

"Ask Bibimi to create an obstacle course for you. She'll be happy to help."

"Her obstacle courses are..."

"Weird or not, it's better than running around and risking misusing your quirk in here."

"But—"

"Two hours detention tomorrow."

"Dang..."

"You can continue for today... but just for today."

"Haha! Alright! Thanks, sensei!"

Stopping his laugh, he dashed through the wall, leaving Midnight and Felix alone. His quirk reminded him of one of these old comics from decades and decades ago... He's sure an X-Men had a power like that...

Anyway, they visited everything—everything but the cafeteria—and given the hour, Midnight had an idea.

"Want to eat something, Felix?"

"As long as I'm not the one paying."

"Haha! I'll be paying next time, then. It's free for the staff. Lucky you," She giggled, pushing him gently into the cafeteria. "Here we go. The food here is excellent."

"The chef is Lunch Rush, right?"

"How do you know?"

"He has won several awards in France. Several Michelin stars. He has been invited to Quebec, so North America knows him a little."

"I see... You didn't strike me as someone interested in cooking."

"Clothes don't make the man."

"Mhm... I like pastry."

"That's my area of expertise."

"Oh my. Lucky me."

"You're such a flirt."

"You like it."

"I do."

"Haha!"

Walking toward the staff cantine where they could be in peace without all the noises the students made, he came across Nejire, who was waiting in line with her friend. She discreetly waved at him and muttered something to him that he could only understand by reading her lips.

"Did. You. Get. The. Job?"

Looking at her with a smile, he put his thumb up, causing her to jump arms in the air as her friends looked at her, surprised.

"Woohoo!"

"Yes..." He muttered. "Woohoo... finally..."

"Did you say something, Felix?"

"Oh, no, nothing," He said, grinning. "Talking to myself."

—One step at a time... But two steps ahead...