Red in Different Shades

25. Ultimate!

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Edited 18.MARCH.2022

Edited 24.OCT.2024

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Gym Gamma was one of many training facilities sealed off to students unless being used for class. Other gyms were available. Well, several were, actually, but Gym Gamma was essentially just a massive room with a concrete floor.

When the pro hero Cementos was around, though, Gym Gamma became TDL. Training Dining Land.

Using his Quirk to manipulate the terrain and structure of the concrete, Cementos-sensei could create the perfect training environments, tailored to each student. Hence the "Dining" part of the nickname. Though honestly, actual food would be nice right about now.

"Your ultimate moves don't have to be purely offensive," Ectoplasm had said, using Iida's engine boost as an example of a non-attacking power that could be honed into an ultimate move.

But Niwa wasn't focused on that at the moment. She sat cross-legged on the cold concrete floor, her arms resting loosely on her knees, trying to look somewhat meditative. She had told Aizawa-sensei she wanted to focus more on developing the true form of her Quirk. 'Beast Mode,' as the boys in her class called it. She had to admit, it was a pretty funny name. Accurate enough, too.

While she was supposed to be meditating, Niwa used the moment to think. Ultimate moves...

This whole exercise was both exciting and frustrating at the same time.

She was tasked with coming up with an ultimate move. Essentially, it was just a matter of creativity and resourcefulness. So, she sat there, mentally picking apart what her Quirk could actually do.

Even though she wasn't looking for it, that familiar thread in her mind, the connection to her boosted power kept stirring. Ever since her little emotional breakdown, when she had finally calmed down enough to regain some inner clarity, that power lingered close by. Always present.

Is this what other people feel like when they can turn their Quirk on and off? she wondered.

Shaking off the stray thoughts, Niwa refocused, trying to ignore the blasts and chaos erupting around her as the rest of the class worked on their own moves.

Her Quirk. recently renamed Primal Force, altered her muscles and body in powerful ways. She could break most objects with ease and snap bones with little effort. Jumping stupidly high and running ridiculously fast? Sure, she could do that, as long as she had enough ground to build up speed.

Her body could absorb the shock from falling from heights with minimal damage. Her tensed muscles could stop knives before they pierced too deep, so long as the knife-wielder wasn't packing a super-strength Quirk of their own. And to top it off, her senses were sharper than average. Her hearing and sense of smell, in particular, were way beyond normal human capabilities.

With all that, how could she not be a fighter? She wanted to fight. Her body was built for it.

But even with all those physical advantages, her mind kept circling back to the same issue: all she could think about was fighting.

It felt too basic. Too... boring. Kicking someone into a concrete wall? Easy. Too easy. Anybody with enough strength could do that. And what about going all out with a full-power punch? That felt even worse. The human body was... squishy. She'd probably punch straight through someone if she went full power, and those she couldn't take out with one hit? They'd still probably be going after a single attack.

Niwa wasn't All Might.

She couldn't change the weather with a punch or send massive blasts of air, only little ones, when she attacked. All Might could level half a mock city with a single swing of his fist. Well, he used to be able to.