Annnnd Kei was immediately caught. Damn it. "It was that obvious huh?" God, he hadn't even lied. He was just omitting a truth! Why was he so bad at this?

In seeing the guy's own pets though, he relaxed. "Yeah that does help. Though I will say, at least yours are meant to be on land." Because yeah, fox and lynx were weird, but they still weren't shark with feet weird. He's still not mentioning it though- at least not yet. He didn't want to look like he was competing with Jack on who had the most odd pet.

They had a job to do anyway. Kei's eyes were drawn to the sketch, nodding. "We need the GPS to pinpoint where you'll end up for sure. Gotta be detailed enough that you don't end up in a wall or somethin'." Oh boy, the potential problems were leaking in already.

Hopefully he wouldn't bring down the guy with his negativity.

---

Kei nearly called it quits at one point. The time he and Jack spent testing his quirk turned from days to weeks; several items broken as results ranged from duds to the subjects getting burnt to a crisp to the device itself exploding.

Sure, the support student was used to failure. Yeah, he expected this to happen when working with such volatile energy. But with each burst and object ending up "dead" by his standards - and those standards were high, this thing was supposed to be used by person eventually - came the increasing realization that maybe he wasn't cut out for this. That he found a limitation he couldn't surpass.

Teleportation? Man, who was he kidding, being the one to accomplish that? Jack was such a good guy too. He was gonna let him down.

But then the apple teleported.

It was charred; burnt once again due to the energy it endured but the fact it moved at all was insane, let alone the distance. It cleared the entire room. Previous tests it couldn't even nudge itself a centimetre. He didn't realize he was cheering until Jack joined him. All they needed was to adjust the power and the limitations of the teleportation and they were set.

---

And just like that, the day of final tests had come, and Kei was as excited as Jack was.

He was preparing to leave his apartment when he received the call, brow perplexed at the request. "Bring Jawny? What do you need him for?" As if on cue, the shark padded his way to the student's feet, tongue lolled out as he looked up at him. Kei covered the receiver with his hand. "No Jawny, it's not time to walk yet-" Oh god he was giving him those eyes again. The kind that would net him treats outside what he was allowed to eat. The gadgeteer was getting better at resisting him during those times, but trips out weren't nearly as bad surely?

Kei groaned as he lifted the phone back to his ear. "Yeah, I'll bring him." Jack would hear barks on his end as the support student laughed. "I'll see ya in a bit." Hanging up, there was one more number he needed to call. He raised the phone again after clicking his favourite contact. "Hi Yaoyao, I'm takin' Jawny out..."

---

He was in the lab now in his usual jumpsuit, the landshark nestled at his side gnawing on a piece of jerky while he scrolled on his phone, waiting. What could Jack be planning?

Jack Orion

[attr="class","likedo"]

The rabbit exploded. Kei coughed heavily, having inhaled the resulting smoke. It was when it cleared and he saw one rabbit remain that he realized what happened.

How it happened however was unclear to him. Did they have a short lifespan? Was it a reaction to some outside stimulus? Wait- no- was it his doing? Kei pulled back his jacket sleeve. Fiddled with the wristband hidden underneath. It was still working- no malfunctions from what he could see. Had he surpassed its protocols then somehow? Did he become stronger again-

The rabbit duplicating itself made him yelp in surprise.

Kei yelled again when Rahul manifested out of nowhere. "God what-" And deposited in his hands were all the things he thought he lost. "Oh." He blinked down at the rabbit, then at the kit and drink, then turned to the bunny-clad student with a strained smile; a sorry attempt at hiding his earlier panic. "Thank you Rahul! And oh, it's okay- I know you're just havin' fun."

Moving to a table to place everything down - making sure the bunny in particular was plopped safely on the surface - he sat in a chair and opened the sewing kit. "Gonna go ahead and fix this though. I don't think people appreciate the look."

Kei had selected his button to replace the lost one with when Ylva unexpectedly took to the stage, singing her rendition of a popular nursery rhyme. His eyes widened, was this part of her competition against Masao? Thinking that was the case he applauded her; he was nowhere brave enough to do what she did so she deserved it. "Good job Ylva, you sounded great!"

Sumi Okita,Samaritan,Freja Helt,𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲,𝕐 + 𝕐,junsuina,Mafdet Khepri,Takanashi Misaki,Ylva Riis,Masao Ando,Yanai Yoko

Kei could only watch as the dragon came to the realization on his own. How would he react to the - well it wasn't even a reminder, moreso an explanation on why unsealable drinks would be not great in a lab. Was he the type to wave it off and assume things would be fine? The guy who'd leave the room and throw it away? He seemed considerate enough so Kei hoped he wouldn't react badly to the callout.

What Kei didn't expect though was for the guy to chug his drink. His eyes grew wide as he reached out to the student, only to halt the motion so he didn't surprise him mid-sip. "Hey dude, it's okay! Nothin's runnin' right now so you don't nee-" but just like that, he was done. Blinking, he pulled his arms back with a smile. "Yeah, bottles would be better."

Jack looks to be ready to get started, which Kei was thankful for. And seemed to have his own ideas already about how to go about the device. "Oh don't worry about it, I'm a lot too," he admitted with a laugh. It came with his tendency to ramble- which he was sure the guy saw a glimpse of already. With a free hand he pushed aside his papers to make room for Jack to put his own down. "And go ahead! I'm interested in seein' what you got in mind."

As the dragon student drew, Kei blinked at his questions. Now those weren't project related. He didn't expect them so it took a bit for him to answer. "Pet! Yeah I do, I have a pet-" he pause, lips pressed in a line. He probably shouldn't open with the fact he has a shark. So he went for a more generic descriptor. "Dog-like creature!" Nailed it. "His name's Jawny, loves to play and run around. Always begs for treats and I have a hard time denyin' him."

He eyed the sketch Jack was making and nodded at his words. "That makes sense. Teleportation's a big feat, so I wouldn't be surprised if it needs a lot of power to make it happen. I'll try to make it as flexible as possible so it doesn't mess with your maneuverability."

Jack Orion

Character Name: Kei Hada

Link to Character: Profile

Speciality: Kei rocks Engineering (S+) which lets him craft gear, specializing in portable items that are versatile and/or accommodates and enhances the user's quirk. Larger pieces such as armour don't fall out of the realm of possibility though! He also has a subspecialty in Chemistry (B+) should you need something that would more fall in that aspect of his skill.

Faction: Kei mostly provides gear for UAU and those in the Hero Industry, though it's not unusual for him to accept requests from the average civilian. This is especially the case for Hōjō clients as he works there. Also he's very easy to threaten if one's morality is less than stellar.

Preferred Contact: DM or tag me in Discord (Sol), either's fine with me.

OOC Name: Sol

By now Kei was done, so he idly turned his finished piece in his hands as he listened to Rahul's answer. "Ooh a wildlife agency! It's cool that you're choosin' to work outside the city. You'll have a lot more fresh air there than around here." He could see it honestly. The guy was a thoughtful sort who looked like he didn't favour noise, and he needed more space to unleash his bunnies than the crowded streets could provide.

Oh god though he's asking about Yaoyao and Jun- did he read his mind or something? He paused. "I... don't know." Kei said lamely. "I never asked. Yaoyao I know is an apprentice in a tattoo shop and also works part time in a dojo. Not necessarily her plan after graduatin' but it could involve those things." He looked down at his glove as he fidgeted with a blemish that wasn't there. "Jun on the other hand I don't know where she works. We haven't really had a chance to talk about that stuff."

Kei placed his own creation down so he could hold Rahul's half of the project in his hands. A critical eye would hover over the piece as he turned it in several angles, and his thumb flicked aside some loose shavings of metal.

Eventually he smiled, satisfied. "Awesome job Rahul, it looks good!" Lifting both gauntlets again, he held it out for the other student to take. "All that's needed now is to try 'em on and make adjustments as you see fit."

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲