Chapter 9: there really is an aura!

After Nemuri and Shino left the room, Kai abandoned his lotus position and lay down on his bed, with a complicated expression on his face. After all, even though he was really testing his quirk at that moment, closing his eyes and the lotus position was all a show, just an excuse not to have to look at them directly. The more he looked at them, the harder it was to hide the discomfort he felt.

Knowing there was nothing he could do about that uncomfortable feeling for now, Kai decided to focus on the other strange sensation he was experiencing, one that he incredibly found in Daniel’s memories.

(But no matter how you look at it, this is [Kenbunshoku Haki] from One Piece. The sensation I feel is exactly the same as described in the series, and also, Midnight's explanation of my father's quirk. Strengthening the body, hardening it, and increasing when applied to specific areas sounds too similar to [Nen] from Hunter x Hunter. The only thing is that when I supposedly used it, I didn’t see any aura... could it be that I haven’t opened my Nen nodes in my eyes?)

With his curiosity piqued, Kai decided to try it casually, so he closed his eyes and began to imagine 'strengthening' his eyes the same way he did when he was running with his legs. After getting used to the sensation, he started doing the same with his arms and then opened his eyes.

(Damn it, there really is an aura!)

The overwhelming surprise interrupted Kai's concentration, causing the strengthening to stop and the aura to disappear from his vision. After calming down a bit, he tried again, but this time only 'strengthening' his arms. When he didn’t see anything, he once again 'strengthened' his eyes.

With ‘Gyo’ activated, Kai could see a faint milky white aura surrounding his arms, which filled him with excitement as he got lost in his thoughts, internally debating the strange phenomenon in front of him.

(Is this really [Nen]? And if it is, why can I only see the aura when I strengthen my eyes? Or could it be something different and it’s just a coincidence?... Hmm... hard to say, since it could well be [Nen] and the aura is by default in [In] state, making it necessary to use [Gyo] to see it... well, there’s only one way to find out.)

With growing excitement, Kai sat on the bed and looked around, quickly noticing a pitcher of water next to a transparent cup on a nightstand and a vase with some flowers on the other side of the room. He quickly ran to it and plucked a small leaf from one of the flowers, then picked up the cup and took everything to the bathroom.

(Well, it's a plastic cup and the leaf is a bit small, but I guess it should work...)

In the bathroom shower, Kai filled the glass to the brim and placed the small leaf on top, then took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

(Well, this is the moment of truth.)

With his heart racing, Kai activated ‘Gyo’ again and then 'strengthened' his trembling hands, slowly bringing them closer to the glass. Not long after, the leaf suddenly moved.

(Damn it!!! It really moved. Am I a manipulator or… well, it could also be a coincidence...)

As Kai tried to analyze the event, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the water changed color and started overflowing from the glass, forming a puddle on the bathroom floor.

(It can’t be!! Emperor Time from Kurapika? Impossible!!!)

Panic-stricken, Kai immediately ran to the sink, jumped onto it, and started frantically looking at his eyes in the mirror, only to let out a slight sigh of relief shortly after.

(Well, luckily, they’re not red, but could I be losing time from my life while using my quirk? No, calm down, think a bit. My ‘Nen’ is a bit strange, so it's not certain that it’s consuming my life span. Besides, there was also that theory that the loss of life for using [Emperor Time] is a pact and limitation made by Kurapika himself to enhance and control his red eyes at will, as well as counteract its side effects in battle. After all, it’s very strange that he knows the exact cost of using it.)

Kai got down from the sink and sat on the floor with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths for a few minutes to calm down. Then he took the cup of water and the leaf back to the sink, where he performed the water divination again after getting back on the sink to look at himself in the mirror.

As the colored water overflowed in the sink, Kai stared at his reflection while intermittently using ‘Gyo’, but the only change he noticed was that the milky white aura appeared and disappeared from his vision.

(My eyes don't change color, nothing strange happens, and my emotions are stable, so there shouldn't be anything potentially harmful...)

After continuing the same for about 10 minutes and making sure to taste the water, which indeed changed flavor, Kai decided to stop and return to bed. Using more water, he washed away the remnants of the colored water from the shower floor and the sink drain. He then destroyed the leaf and flushed it down the toilet.

After thoroughly washing the cup in the sink, ensuring no traces of colored water remained, Kai returned to the bed, not without first placing the cup back exactly as it was before he took it.

(Well, my eyes never turned red, I didn’t feel anything strange in my body or my emotions. Also, the most reassuring point is that my 'Nen' never changes like Kurapika's; it is by default 100% efficient in all categories, so I suppose I can breathe easy for now.

So that only leaves [Kenbunshoku Haki], which must come from Mom. After all, her quirk involves sensing the emotions of others, one of the capabilities of [Kenbunshoku]. And on one occasion, Mom knocked out a couple of drunk bastards who tried to touch her when we were coming back from shopping, something really similar to [Haoshoku Haki].

So Dad's power was 'Nen' while Mom's was 'Haki'? Or were they just similar and mutated to be what they are when they combined in me? There are many questions and no clues to the answers...

On the other hand, if I am really in the world of [Boku no Hero Academia], the fact that there's 'Haki' is not so strange. After all, I remember Daniel reading somewhere that the author was quite a fan of One Piece and used it as inspiration, which opens another question.

If all this is real, did the author of the manga in Daniel's world create this world, or is it simply one of the many possibilities in which particles can group in the infinite universe, and the author, by coincidence or some strange mystical mambo, created a story very similar to it? Damn it, more and more questions arise and no answers.)

Kai almost started to hyperventilate from the mess in his mind, but after a moment he calmed himself by breathing deeply for several minutes and went back to meditate on his situation.

(For now, let's define some things. As a first measure and for the sake of my mental health, this is a real world, and everything I am experiencing is also real, just one of the almost endless ways matter can group outside the Hubble sphere of Daniel's Earth. And the author, by chance or because the 'mystical' in Daniel's world was not just quackery, created his work, which, as far as I know, can be said to have elements of this world. Yes, I like that. It will be my mantra of tranquility from now on, decided.

Secondly, and for my peace of mind, the loss of life of Kurapika when using [Emperor Time] is a pact and limitation imposed by himself, because otherwise he would not have a way to know that he loses life time when using it and much less the exact proportion he loses. Moreover, even if this were not the case, my affinity with all categories of [Nen] has nothing to do with [Emperor Time], since it is not only by default but also because I feel nothing when using my quirk. Therefore, I should not hesitate to use it at any time.

Phew, alright, now with the two most important bases defined, let's start answering questions. Number one, were [Nen] and [Haki] my parents' abilities, or were they similar and mutated when I inherited them? Hard to tell, I don’t remember the details of their quirks very well, so it remains pending with a low level of importance.

Secondly, what am I going to do with my life from now on? I have no idea. I know very little about this world due to Kai's age, so for now, let's give a half-answer and say that I will go with the flow and keep training to maintain my mental stability.

Third, what is my quirk? This is a very interesting question. If we assume that my quirk is a mutation of my parents' abilities, what else can it do, besides [Nen] and [Kenbunshoku]?

At first glance, these abilities have nothing in common, except that [En] has an effect similar to [Kenbunshoku]. Even so, according to the original works, one comes from vitality and the other from willpower. However, if we go a bit further and take 'inspiration' from other famous shonen works from Japan and their power systems, there is something in common between [Chakra], [Ki], and [Nen], the three most famous 'energies,' which, despite their differences, can be defined as the mix between physical and mental strength.

Additionally, if on the other hand, we define [Haki] as the manifestation of willpower, there is the fact that the pacts and limitations of [Nen] are definitely a way to empower willpower, which undoubtedly links these two power systems.

But, if we define [Haki] as the materialization of spiritual strength, it would start to have similarities with [Reiryoku], and if we go a bit further, the release of large amounts of [Reiatsu] has effects similar to [Haki], such as intimidating enemies, stunning them, hardening, detecting presences and changes in the environment, etc.

And if we add all this to how spiritual particles gather in the forests and how the Quincy absorb them as a source of power, this directly relates to [Natural Chakra]. By the way, [Natural Chakra] or [Nature Energy] is something that, to a greater or lesser extent, is alluded to in all power systems.

Besides, I can’t forget that, as the cherry on top, in all these power systems there are characters with the ability to ‘see the future’, so the question is, do I have any way to verify all this?

It’s quite difficult. Firstly, I only have a partial certainty that the world of [Boku no Hero Academia] is real, and secondly, all these ‘power systems’ are similar to each other to the point that some could simply be expressions of the other.

For example, almost all the basic abilities of [Ki] can be explained as a type of [Nen], especially [Enhancement] and [Emission] and some [Manipulation], while [Chakra] is much more versatile and covers more categories, but it’s more or less the same, [Enhancement], [Transmutation], [Manipulation], and a bit of [Emission]. So, this leads to, does all this have any utility?

And the answer is a resounding YES. Although quite similar to each other, it’s the differences that make them unique and tremendously useful. For example, in [Chakra], which in my opinion has the most similarities with [Nen], there are sealing arts, which are very powerful and versatile. In their most basic forms, they have super convenient things like explosive tags and sealing scrolls.

And although with [Nen] similar things have been seen, they are super complex abilities with many limitations. On the other hand, [Ki] not only has things like divine Ki and Ultra Instinct but also has less restrictive and more versatile training methods than the pacts and restrictions of [Nen], along with a higher limit. The same goes for all the others; they all have that special something, and I could spend an entire day thinking about each one of them.

So, the only thing I can do in this case is to try to master all categories of [Nen] to the fullest while using my hypotheses about the other power systems as ‘inspiration’ to develop my abilities. Therefore, TIME TO TRAIN!!!)