Mind v.s Might: Heroes Burn Eternal (A Villain!Deku Fanfic)

Chapter 28-WARM UP

"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success." – Henry Ford.

Monika charged Jitsuna with her spear as they sparred in the training room. Jitsuna easily dodged the attack and then countered her with a blow of his sword, which the purple-haired girl simply blocked with her new mechanical arms. The process of surgery and rehabilitation was challenging. Still, thanks to the Cult Technicus' superior technology, she was up and running in no time, and the technology of her arms made her stronger than she ever was, allowing her to swing her speed at almost inhuman speeds. Jitsuna, though, still managed to counter every blow with relative ease, as he too had gotten a boost from his new mechanical heart. He was once at the brink of death, but he was now stronger than he ever was. The efficiency of his heart meant that more nutrients and oxygen were delivered to all his organs, allowing him to gain even greater strength and resistance, and his already inhuman senses were turned up to eleven.

Jitsuna dodged and blocked the attacks from the tornado that was Monika's attack. Amidst the chaos, the swordsman was able to see through the barrage an opportunity, which he immediately took, kicking Monika in the ribs. Capitalising on his previous blow, Jitsuna struck Monika on the head with the back of his sword, sending her to the ground. Jitsuna stepped on her spear and aimed his sword at her neck as the girl tried to stand up. Monika sighed, and once again, she admitted her defeat. Keeping his manners, Jitsuna then extended her hand at his comrade in arms, helping her up. "Even with all this training and new strength, I still can't beat you," Monika said with an air of disappointment.

Jitsuna chuckled as he placed his sword away. "One day, you will, I'm sure of it." To which Monika rolled her eyes. "What if I can't?" The purple-haired girl asked. As an answer, the swordsman just shrugged. "Well, you will still be able to kick bad people's ass, which is what matters in the end," Monika chuckled as she too placed her weapon away. "Touché," As she turned to see Jitsuna, she noticed him with his hand on his chest, at the side of his heart; he seemed to be in deep thought. "How are you adapting?" Monika asked, seemingly bringing Jitsuna back down to this plane of existence. The swordsman let out a sigh of melancholy.

"It's weird knowing that there's something inside of you that isn't really you," Jitsuna stated as he turned to look at his friend. "Especially knowing that no matter what, you will never be able to get rid of it... That you will never be truly whole again." To this, Monika looked down at her arms and frowned. "I wonder if this is how the Phoenix feels every single day," Jitsuna pondered, causing Monika to look up at him once again. "I doubt someone like him gives this sort of matter much thought if any at all." To which Jitsuna nodded. "Possibly... Or maybe we just tend to look at him as beyond human too often." Jitsuna then chuckled at that but then continued. "What about you? How are you adapting?"

Monika once again looked down at her arms. "I suppose what bothers me the most is that I won't be able to feel with them anything at all anymore." She stated as she looked back at Jitsuna. "I know these arms are there, feeling the void the real ones left; however, I do not feel them." Jitsuna looked sadly at Monika before replying. "I sometimes wonder, how much can I replace of me, before I stop being me? Where's the line where I can say I am still human?" Monika smiled at Jitsuna and walked up to him, placing her mechanical hand on his chest. "Metals and wires may replace our bones and flesh, but as long as what's inside here doesn't change, we are still us, and we must continue to think ourselves as such." Jitsuna looked at Monika for a moment before he smiled at her. Then, they both felt like a mechanical discharge, Monika on her hand and Jitsuna on his chest. "Did you feel that too?" Jitsuna asked in disbelief, to which Monika nodded in amazement as well, as that was the first time she had felt something ever since she got her arms. The sensation happened again. "What is this?" Monika asked, still in shock.