MCU: No Limits

Keiji was sitting at the table, biting into an apple. His sister, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the rectangular wooden table in the center of the kitchen, had her shoulders slumped, looking at her plate with an omelet, her eyes moist.

With slow movements, Keiko picked up the fork and knife that were next to the plate and pierced the omelet with the fork just before cutting a piece of the omelet with the knife. She brought the piece of omelet to her mouth, testing the flavor. A few moments later, Keiko set her utensils aside and lowered her head, her hands trembling, without looking at Keiji.

"I... I am irresponsible..." She said, her voice low and a bit hoarse.

Hearing this, Keiji closed his mouth and lowered the arm that was holding the bitten apple before placing the fruit on a fruit tray beside him on the table. Then, he got up from his chair and walked around the table until he sat in the chair next to the one Keiko was sitting in. Maintaining an upright posture, relaxed shoulders, and making eye contact, Keiji listened to Keiko's lament.

"I should be taking care of you. I thought... I thought I was doing that."

"But you've always taken care of yourself. I was never here for a long time, it's as if I didn't even live here. And now you are… You are..."

Keiji remained silent, but did not stop listening to his sister's lament. He placed a hand on her shoulder, even though it wasn't much help in that regard. 

Internally, Keiji was thinking that just being there to listen when someone is in a situation like this is not really enough, but it helps. He recognizes that he is not good at giving words of comfort or encouragement, so he remains silent. Keiji doesn't want to say something that could be misinterpreted. He doesn't want to say or do unnecessary things that could be even more harmful to Keiko's health.

So, Keiji moved away from Keiko, grabbing his stool and placing it on the floor, a little further in front of the microwave. He climbed onto the stool and stretched out his arm, opening the microwave, where inside there was something round and covered with aluminum foil, on a plate. He turned off the microwave before carefully taking it with both hands.

Descending from his stool, Keiji went to the table, climbed onto the chair, and placed the plate on the table, but gently pushed the plate a little closer to Keiko. Subsequently, he ran to the pantry, grabbing 22 colored candles and a steel lighter.

Quickly, Keiji turned off the kitchen lights by pressing the switch.

Keiko was confused, wondering why the lights had suddenly gone out, not having seen her brother run through the kitchen with several things in his hands.

She heard the sound of something being unwrapped, before, seconds later, hearing the characteristic sound of a lighter. 

Then, the light from a lit flame shone on the wick of a candle. The light illuminated Keiji's face, who was lighting 21 other candles on top of a cake. After lighting the flame on each of the candles, Keiji placed the first candle in the center of the cake - it was the candle he used to light all the others.

The cake had a white icing, decorated with roses made of what seemed to be whipped cream. It was medium-sized and circular in shape.

Internally, Keiko was wondering why Keiji made this cake, and why he put those candles.

Then, Keiji sat in the chair next to Keiko, on her left side, and shouted in an animated tone, smiling a wide smile that reached his eyes.

"Happy birthday, sister!"

Honestly, Keiko didn't remember it was her birthday. Her birthday is on February 13th, exactly today, and she stopped celebrating it for various reasons. Work is one of those reasons.

Moreover, she was in doubt, wondering how and when her younger brother found out about her birthday. Keiko never told him her birthday, never even mentioning anything about it.

"How...?" She asked, her voice hoarse.

With her eyes wide open, Keiko watched her younger brother put his hand in the pocket of the plaid shirt he was wearing.

Then, Keiji took a driver's license that had his sister's photograph and held it with his left hand, pointing with the finger of his other hand at Keiko's birthday date.

Seeing this, Keiko was left speechless. She is not only surprised because Keiji took her driver's license without her noticing, but also because her younger brother had enough time to prepare something as time-consuming as a birthday cake - and did it secretly.

Even though Keiko had no idea when her brother learned to cook, she thinks it was some time ago, and she is no longer as surprised as she was the morning she saw Keiji cook for the first time.

Very briefly, Keiko smiled a small smile before her face twisted in sadness and her reddened eyes began to tear up. However, her smile did not disappear, especially when Keiji hugged her.

A few hours later, Keiji was standing on the living room carpet with his face turned towards the floor. Apparently, to untrained eyes or those not enhanced with the abilities of Gyo, he was just playing during a pleasant Thursday afternoon.

Distractedly, Keiji moved his wrist and repeatedly threw a plastic orange yo-yo, performing impressive maneuvers and movements with his fingers.

And surprisingly, the floor sank a little when the yo-yo hit the ground and began to spin forward on the carpet, but without moving from its spot. It was as if this simple toy were much heavier than it actually was.

A layer of robust aura enveloped Keiji's body and the toy yo-yo, but it was completely imperceptible to the eyes of ordinary people.

Then, Keiji gently pulled the yo-yo string with a flick of his wrist, making it return to his hand before repeating the same maneuvers and movements.

Keiji was training the principle of the cycle or covering, Shu, which is an advanced application of the concept of practice, Ren.

This principle involves covering the aura on objects and strengthening them, making objects stronger and more resistant than they would normally be without this advanced application. Moreover, this technique allows the user to treat an object as if it were an integral part of their own body.

Keiji had been practicing this principle for approximately a little over 53 minutes, but his technique had not yet dissipated, and he did not feel any noticeable fatigue.

In his inner thoughts, Keiji pondered how bizarre it is to have absurdly high talent and potential when his parents, in this life, are just ordinary people. For, most likely, an individual's talent and potential are relative to hereditary genetic factors.

A few minutes earlier, Keiji looked at some old and slightly yellowed photos in an album he found inside a cardboard box. Checking some photos, he saw that his mother and father did not seem to be the pinnacle of strength; they appeared more than malnourished.

A bit scrawny, even. 

But Keiji imagined that they could have been a dynamic duo of spies disguised as mechanics on a secret mission, however. With so many spies and hidden organizations out there, it wouldn't really be a surprise.

Moreover, Keiji never ceased to be amazed by the technology of his new Earth. Even though it was the year 2003, the technology seemed similar to what emerged between 2010 and 2015. Seeing a touchscreen phone that has a familiar appearance to the phones he had at some point in his previous life is a very convenient surprise.

However, Keiji was not surprised by this somewhat hasty technological advancement for long. He recognizes that there are many geniuses around the globe, so having several brilliant minds focused on creating these technological objects wouldn't be truly impressive, given the reality he is in now.

So, approximately 12 minutes later, Keiji's Shu dissipated.

After taking a deep breath through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, a bit mentally and physically exhausted, Keiji put his yo-yo in the left pocket of his pants, sat down on the carpet, and rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

"65 minutes, or 1 hour and 5 minutes." He murmured. "The Ren remains active for 1 hour and 2 minutes before dissipating. Zetsu lasts for approximately 56 minutes. 59 minutes for Gyo. The Ten, on the other hand, has an approximate duration of 1 hour and 9 minutes."

Scratching his neck, Keiji lay down on the carpet, his arms and legs outstretched and his face turned towards the ceiling, activating Zetsu to relieve his growing fatigue.

"This training is starting to bear fruit, and much faster than I initially imagined."

"That's good, of course. But just being good is not enough."

Keiji stood up, going to drink water.

"Eventually, I will be truly excellent. It was never a question of if, but always of when."