Spark's Writing (And Maybe Other Stuff Too)

[Through the Living Hope]

1 minute ago, Hawks said:

 

Hehehehhe

Slayyyyyyahh

New addiction

Hehe

This story is great

Thanks! I don't want to overload with too much at once, which is why I've only done about one a day so far, but if you want more...

[Keke They/he]

Just now, Spark of Hope said:

Thanks! I don't want to overload with too much at once, which is why I've only done about one a day so far, but if you want more...

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Hehehehehe

[Through the Living Hope]

2 minutes ago, Hawks said:

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Light Hero: Illumea - Chapters Three and Four:" Family, Friends, and Secrets", and "A Sip of Tea"

Spoiler

That night, I cooked dinner for me and Uncle Shota - well, okay, just me. Uncle Shota tends to just fall asleep the minute he gets home, so I was only expecting to make dinner for myself. I made a couple sushi rolls for myself. I could wait for Uncle Shota to wake up from his nap, but with sushi, if you want it done right, you do it yourself.

Not long after I started eating I heard Uncle Shota’s footsteps come down the hallway. “You’re up early tonight. I expected you to be asleep for at least another thirty minutes.”

“No food for me, Rui?”

“Like I said, I wasn’t expecting you to be awake. You can take some of my food, if you’re hungry.”

“Nah, I’ll eat later.”

I smiled. “Jeez, no need to send me on a guilt trip like that.” He sat down at the table across from me, a ghost of a smile (and a nap) on his face. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

I swallowed my bite of sushi. “Hey, Sho?”

“Mm?”

“What was that about earlier? With Izuku?”

“What do you mean?”

“You erased his quirk in the softball throw. I heard what you said to him, but… a lot of it went over my head. Like,” I waved my hand about ten centimeters above my head, “way over.”

He sighed. “You can’t look over the entrance exam results and feedback, can you?”

“No. I technically wasn’t even allowed to look at the class roster either, but you still showed me that.”

“Yeah, keep that on the down low, if you can,” he winced.

“That was the plan.”

Uncle Shota sighed again. “Well, during the entrance exam, he broke both of his legs and his right arm using his quirk.”

I started to choke on the sushi piece I had just put in my mouth - like, not cough on it, actually choking! Uncle Shota came up behind me and did the Heimlich and got me to spit out what I’d been choking on.

“You good?”

“Yeah, don’t mind me, just choking to death.” Uncle Shota smiled. “But, seriously, three limbs from using a quirk?”

“Mhm. And when you talked about him when you were younger… wasn’t he quirkless?”

“Yeah… at least, I thought he was. Is it even possible to develop a quirk at 15?”

“I thought it wasn’t, but…”

“Mm…”

I glanced at the clock. “It’s pretty late… I’m gonna shower and go to bed. My appetite’s gone.”

“Alright. I’m taking the rest of this, then.”

“Got it.”

I climbed into the shower and let the hot water run down my back. I release my wings and the water flows between my feathers. I may not have used them that day, but it felt (and still does feel) really good. Water flowing down my primary feather shafts felt almost better than a back scratch - which is really saying something. 

After I left the shower, I climbed into bed with my wings still out. Yeah, my bed had quite a few blankets on it, but I like wrapping my wings around myself to get warm.

That night, the warmth from my blankets and wings lulled me to sleep. Whenever I wrap myself with my wings, I do have to be careful not to break any feather shafts - it takes a couple of days for primaries to grow back, and my flight would be off until then. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and I don’t even remember falling asleep.

 

 

 

The alarm’s incessant annoyance woke me up. I picked up the clock and threw it. “Ugh. Waking up.”

 

 

 

Uncle Shota’s voice came through the wall. “Doesn’t change the fact that waking up and getting up are two very different things.”

“And neither of us want to get up, do we?”

No response. I smiled. Akarui, 1,289, Shota, 836. I wasn’t hungry at all, so I decided I wouldn’t eat breakfast. My bike’s padlock got stuck, so I decided to fly to U.A. About three-fourths of the way there, I saw Izuku walking alone.

“Hey!” I shouted down. Izuku looked up and waved. I adjusted my position to land next to my old friend.

“That was the most majestic landing I’ve ever seen from you,” he said. “Actually, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Ha!” I responded. “Who could possibly land from a flight better than me?”

“Hawks, maybe.”

I shut my mouth. Of course, I thought. Now I might give up too much information and tell him about my brother! Nezu had never said I couldn’t reveal that I was Keigo’s sister, but you don’t just say that you’re the sibling of the #3 hero. Even as a little kid, I understood that. Yeah, Todoroki was the #2’s son, but being someone’s kid is different. They’re from different generations. I was just trying to seem like any other U.A. student.

“Is… everything okay, Akarui?” Izuku asked.

“O-oh, yes! Just noticed something that distracted me. But, yeah, you’re right, Hawks is a lot better at landing than I am.” 

“Of course he is! Not only is he six years older than us and had more training than us, especially in fighting and hero work, it’s absolutely amazing that he’s the number three at only six years older than us-”

“Izuku?”

“-think about how much work that must have taken! Plus, he didn’t even go to a hero school, he just got scouted by the hero network-”

“Izuku.”

“-not to mention his quirk. Not only can he fly, he can send his feathers to evacuate people from a disaster at the same time that he’s fighting a powerful villain with some other feathers-”

“Izuku!”

“Ack, sorry!”

I laughed. “Some things never change, right, fanboy?”

“Ha, ha.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right!” I remembered what Uncle Shota said about his entrance exam, and yesterday when he broke his finger. “You have a quirk now, right? Did it just manifest within the past few months?”

“Y-yeah, you could say that! I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“But… you were made fun of for being quirkless. I thought you would want to talk about it.”

“It’s… complicated.”

If Izuku didn’t want to tell me, he really didn’t want to talk about it at all. “I understand. Just know I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

He smiled faintly. “Thank you.” He faced forward and said, “So, Mr. Aizawa. What do you think about him?”

I shrugged. “He seems passionate about how he teaches. He wants to make sure the next generation of heroes can protect themselves and civilians at the same time. I think he’ll be a good teacher.” Plus I don’t want to say anything bad about my adoptive father.

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.”

“Anyway, I am happy that you got a quirk, Izuku.”

“Thanks.”

By this point, we were in the 1A classroom. We both went to our seats and sat down. Uraraka came up to me. “You’re really good friends with Deku, aren’t you, Akarui?”

I smiled. “I’ve known him since we were little, and I was one of the few people who was nice to him for a while.”

“Wait, what?”

I laughed. “Nothing.”

“What really surprised me was that he let you call him by his first name. He must trust you a lot.”

“I guess so.”

“You can call me Ochaco, if you want.”

“Sure!”

The rest of the girls came over as well. “You’ve got a really cool quirk!” Hagakure said.

“Thanks!”

We spent a bit more of the time before school talking, and they all told me I could call them by their first names. I was apparently really good at making friends!

Before noon, things were really boring. That’s when we did normal classes. English… math… boring… Lunch was okay, though. I sat with Ochako, Toru, Mina, Yaomomo, Kyoka, and Tsu. Izuku was over with Iida and Todoroki.

That’s when things got exciting - heroics training was after lunch. Everyone sat at their desk when the newest U.A. teacher came barrelling into the room. “I AM HERE!!!

“...THROUGH THE DOOR, LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!”

There was a swell of murmuring that I couldn’t really pick out. There was both outfit criticisms and excitement at being taught by All Might.

“Foundational hero studies!” he shouted. “For this class, we’ll be building up your hero foundation through various trials! You’ll get tons of credit for it! Let’s jump right in with this… THE TRIAL OF BATTLE!” I’m not sure how everyone else reacted, but I, for one, was excited!

“And to go with your first battle… we’ve prepared the gear we had you send in requests to match your quirks!”

“Our battle gear!” we yelled. “Awesome!”

“Get changed and we’ll be ready to go!” All Might said. “Everyone gather at Ground Beta! And don’t forget… from here on out, you’re all officially… heroes!”

 

 

~~~

 

 

We lined up in our hero costumes. Everyone looked sick! Not only were the costumes awesome looking, the support items some people had were going to be really helpful. I saw that Katsuki had some grenade-looking gauntlets on his wrists, and I thought they looked really cool.

I looked at my costume as well. It was a dark, titanium-woven, armored dress with a slit at my left knee. It faded to a bright reddish-purple color at its rim. The shoe on my left leg was a brown, high-heeled boot that went above my knee, and on my right was just a brown, high-heeled pointed shoe. There were gold highlighted hems throughout the dress. I had a staff that better allowed me to aim my Exploding Flame and other ranged attacks better, and that I could use like a bow staff. I had a rose gold crown of sorts on my head with a diamond-shaped amethyst hanging over my forehead. A red shield was strapped on my left arm.

“Wow, your costume looks awesome!” Kirishima said.

“Heh, thanks.”

“Bakugo, doesn’t her costume look sick?”

“DON’T TALK TO ME, EXTRA!” As expected.

I started to zone out, and my memory of the battle trial is really faded - mostly because I had to sit out, which sucked. Things went exactly as I had figured they would for a while, so I looked at my phone. I’d gotten a text from Asami Suzuki (she’s Keigo’s girlfriend).

 

Akarui! Heard you got into U.A. I’m so happy for you!

 

I decided to respond.

 

Thanks! It’s been pretty difficult, though. These are some hard classes!

 

Yes, I expected that much. U.A. isn’t the best hero school in Japan

for nothing!

 

Yeah, that’s true. Isn’t K the only top 10 hero that didn’t go to U.A.?

 

I think so. Pretty cool, considering how alike you two are.

 

I was typing my response when.

“Who’re you texting?” Izuku asked.

“I-It’s nothing!!” I was surprised to see him here.

“You really think I believe that?”

“Heh, no… but it’s really nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

He looked at me intensely. I felt my face heating up a little bit. “Really?”

“Really.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katsuki glaring at Izuku. It wasn’t his usual “DEKUUUUU” glare, either… something else. I had no idea what, though.

I looked at the broadcasting screen for the rest of the period, but my classmate’s fights didn’t interest me in the slightest anymore. I heard conversations on the fights going on around me, but I didn’t pay attention to who was saying what. I was just thinking about Katsuki’s glare. He’d never looked at Izuku like that before… it was almost… defensive. But what did it mean?

 

 

 

The next morning, a ton of reporters were outside the U.A. entrance. I’d walked with Izuku again, and the mob of people intercepted us before we could get in.

“What’s it like learning from All Might?” one reporter asked.

“Huh?! Uh, sorry, but I have to go to the nurse’s office…” Izuku responded.

“And I had to sit out and didn’t really pay attention…” I added.

Eventually, the reporters let us pass to interview more students. It was a sigh of relief. I was raised by one of the most media-avoiding heroes, after all. I’m okay with it sometimes, but not if I’m interviewed against my will.

We got into class along with everyone else, and Mr. Aizawa grumbled something about reporters. He doesn’t just avoid the media, he doesn’t like the media. I don’t really, either, so I can’t complain.

“Good work yesterday,” he said. “I looked over your grades and evaluation. Bakugo. Stop acting like a seven year old and grow up already. You’re wasting your talent.”

“... I know.”

A snort escaped from me and I knew if I was anyone else (other than his mom - she’s scary) I would be dead the next time I looked at him.

“And you,” Mr. Aizawa continued. “Are you always planning on destroying your arm, Midoriya? If you keep going ‘I can’t adjust my quirk so I have no choice’ you’ll never get far. I’ve said it before, so don’t make me say it a third time. Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, you’ll be much more flexible, so I need to see some sweat out of you, Midoriya.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Now let’s get on with homeroom business. I’m sorry I have to spring this on you all, but…” What now?! Another pop test? “We need to pick a class representative.”

“Finally something school-like!”

There was an explosion of excitement of people who wanted to be class rep. I’m not going to lie, I was one of them.

“BE QUIET!”

I jumped. If anyone was going to yell like that, I wouldn’t have expected it to be Iida. “This is a task laden with responsibility where you must carry and pull everyone else’s weight. Just because you’d like to do it doesn’t mean you can! It is a sacred office that requires the great esteem and trust of those around you. The only truly worthy leader will emerge from a democratic choice reflecting the will of the people! Which is why this must be settled by a vote!”

“He’s really being lofty, isn’t he? With that proposal,” Kaminari muttered.

“It’s still too early to have developed any trust in each other,” Tsu told Iida.

“And everyone will just vote for themselves!” Kirishima added.

Iida responded, “And that’s precisely why the person who does manage to earn multiple votes will be the truly appropriate person for the job! Is that alright, Mr. Aizawa!?”

“However you want to do it’s fine. Just make it quick.”

“Alright, I agree with Iida,” I said. “Let’s do this!”

Yaomomo used her Creation quirk to give everyone a slip of paper to write their vote on. As much as I wanted to be class rep, it didn’t seem right to me to vote for myself. I glanced around the room, but couldn’t decide who to vote for. Then my eyes landed on Izuku and Katsuki. Izuku would be a great rep… but then again, so would Katsuki. I eventually decided to vote for Katsuki. He was a great leader when we were kids, so I guess that’s why I voted for him.

The votes were revealed. Izuku had three, Yaomomo had two, Iida, Todoroki, and Ochaco had zero, and everyone else had one, myself included.

I was confused. I hadn’t voted for myself, which meant someone else had.

Wait.

Katsuki was in the majority that only had one vote, and so was I. I hadn’t voted for myself, and he only had one, which means he didn’t either.

Did he… but why would he? He would want to confirm his spot… right?

Izuku was surprised that he had three, Katsuki was infuriated that Izuku had three, and Iida was devastated that he didn’t have any.

Once again, the conversations around me had no affect on me. I was confused by the actions of Katsuki again. Why does it seem like he’s trying to get my attention? Is it just my imagination…? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

 

 

 

Most of the girls sat together at lunch. Ochaco sat with Iida and Izuku, but the rest of us sat together.

“Congrats, Yaomomo!” Mina said.

“It’s really nothing,” she responded.

I was still lost in thought for a while. A few minutes into lunch, the girls started to notice that something was off.

“Are you okay, Akarui, ribbit?” Tsu asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine, I’m just thinking.”

“About what?” Kyoka asked.

“Well…”

“Okay,” Mina interrupted, “when you start a story with ‘well,’ you just know there’s going to be some tea involved. Spill.”

“It’s about the votes.”

Silence.

“That’s some bland tea,” Toru muttered to Mina.

“There’s something she’s holding back,” Mina smirked.

I sighed. “Fine. I voted for someone that wasn’t me, the person I voted for only had one vote, and I had one vote.”

“Now that’s tea,” Mina responded. “So, who’d you vote for?”

“Isn’t this supposed to be an anonymous election?” I asked. “Who I voted for is my business. Just… don’t worry about who it is I voted for.

Mina squinted, picked up her tea (the drink) and sipped, still squinting at me. I held her gaze. When she set down her cup, she asked, “So who’s the boy?”

“W-WHAT!?”

“I asked, who’s the boy? You’re really cagy on telling us who it is, so I know it’s a guy. Maybe one you find, oh, I don’t know…” she leaned in closer to me, “...cute?”

My face heated up rapidly. “Ooh, you’re right, it is a boy!” Toru sang.

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”

“It’s definitely a boy.”

“Tell us who it is!” Yaomomo requested.

I sighed. I wouldn’t be able to hide it much longer, so why not just tell them who I voted for? “Fine.” Mina grinned (and I think Toru did too, but I don’t know because… well, because she’s invisible). “I voted for-”

The alarm cut me off. I sighed and muttered, “Saved by the bell.”

“Wait, that’s the siren!” Toru yelled.

<SECURITY LEVEL 3 HAS BEEN BREACHED. STUDENTS, PLEASE PROMPTLY EVACUATE.>

“What’s security level three?” Kyoka asked.

“Someone’s infiltrated the campus!” I responded. “The last time an SL3 breach was in the news was three years ago! Let’s go!”

We all rushed the exit. The crowd separated the groups that were together so I lost the girls. I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying through all the commotion.

Suddenly, Iida flew up over the crowd. I looked up through the pushing and the heads of the other people. “What is he doing?!”

He landed on the exit sign looking like the guy on fire escape signs. “EVERYTHING’S FINE!”

The pushing stopped a bit. “It’s just the press! There’s nothing to worry about! You’re at U.A.! Let’s conduct ourselves in the manner of those enrolled in the highest high school of Japan!”

Things settled down, and we all went back to class. Izuku and Yaomomo went to the front to make an announcement… thing.

“All right, class rep, start us off,” Yaomomo said.

“W-we’d like to choose the other student council members!” Izuku stuttered. “But before that, I need to say something. In the end, I think that Iida would be the better man for the job!

“You all saw how well he led everyone in that crisis. I think he’s the right choice for the job.”

“Yeah, he’s got a point!” Kirishima agreed. “Iida really showed his stuff back in the cafeteria! Not that I’ve got anything against Midoriya!”

“He reminded me of that warning sign you see on emergency exits!” Kaminari said.

“Me too!” I responded.

“Whatever, just get on with it already… we’re not getting any younger here,” Mr. Aizawa muttered.

Iida shot up. “If it’s the wish of the class rep, then I can’t refuse!”

“Do us proud, Mr. Emergency Exit!” Kaminari yelled.

“Emergency Exit Iida!” I agreed. “Don’t let us down!”

 

[Keke They/he]

38 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

The alarm’s incessant annoyance woke me up. I picked up the clock and threw it. “Ugh. Waking up.”

VIBE

REAL

ME EVERY MORNING

39 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Hawks, maybe.”

heh

Meeeee

45 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Light Hero: Illumea - Chapters Three and Four:" Family, Friends, and Secrets", and "A Sip of Tea"

  Hide contents

That night, I cooked dinner for me and Uncle Shota - well, okay, just me. Uncle Shota tends to just fall asleep the minute he gets home, so I was only expecting to make dinner for myself. I made a couple sushi rolls for myself. I could wait for Uncle Shota to wake up from his nap, but with sushi, if you want it done right, you do it yourself.

Not long after I started eating I heard Uncle Shota’s footsteps come down the hallway. “You’re up early tonight. I expected you to be asleep for at least another thirty minutes.”

“No food for me, Rui?”

“Like I said, I wasn’t expecting you to be awake. You can take some of my food, if you’re hungry.”

“Nah, I’ll eat later.”

I smiled. “Jeez, no need to send me on a guilt trip like that.” He sat down at the table across from me, a ghost of a smile (and a nap) on his face. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

I swallowed my bite of sushi. “Hey, Sho?”

“Mm?”

“What was that about earlier? With Izuku?”

“What do you mean?”

“You erased his quirk in the softball throw. I heard what you said to him, but… a lot of it went over my head. Like,” I waved my hand about ten centimeters above my head, “way over.”

He sighed. “You can’t look over the entrance exam results and feedback, can you?”

“No. I technically wasn’t even allowed to look at the class roster either, but you still showed me that.”

“Yeah, keep that on the down low, if you can,” he winced.

“That was the plan.”

Uncle Shota sighed again. “Well, during the entrance exam, he broke both of his legs and his right arm using his quirk.”

I started to choke on the sushi piece I had just put in my mouth - like, not cough on it, actually choking! Uncle Shota came up behind me and did the Heimlich and got me to spit out what I’d been choking on.

“You good?”

“Yeah, don’t mind me, just choking to death.” Uncle Shota smiled. “But, seriously, three limbs from using a quirk?”

“Mhm. And when you talked about him when you were younger… wasn’t he quirkless?”

“Yeah… at least, I thought he was. Is it even possible to develop a quirk at 15?”

“I thought it wasn’t, but…”

“Mm…”

I glanced at the clock. “It’s pretty late… I’m gonna shower and go to bed. My appetite’s gone.”

“Alright. I’m taking the rest of this, then.”

“Got it.”

I climbed into the shower and let the hot water run down my back. I release my wings and the water flows between my feathers. I may not have used them that day, but it felt (and still does feel) really good. Water flowing down my primary feather shafts felt almost better than a back scratch - which is really saying something. 

After I left the shower, I climbed into bed with my wings still out. Yeah, my bed had quite a few blankets on it, but I like wrapping my wings around myself to get warm.

That night, the warmth from my blankets and wings lulled me to sleep. Whenever I wrap myself with my wings, I do have to be careful not to break any feather shafts - it takes a couple of days for primaries to grow back, and my flight would be off until then. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and I don’t even remember falling asleep.

 

 

 

The alarm’s incessant annoyance woke me up. I picked up the clock and threw it. “Ugh. Waking up.”

 

 

 

Uncle Shota’s voice came through the wall. “Doesn’t change the fact that waking up and getting up are two very different things.”

“And neither of us want to get up, do we?”

No response. I smiled. Akarui, 1,289, Shota, 836. I wasn’t hungry at all, so I decided I wouldn’t eat breakfast. My bike’s padlock got stuck, so I decided to fly to U.A. About three-fourths of the way there, I saw Izuku walking alone.

“Hey!” I shouted down. Izuku looked up and waved. I adjusted my position to land next to my old friend.

“That was the most majestic landing I’ve ever seen from you,” he said. “Actually, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Ha!” I responded. “Who could possibly land from a flight better than me?”

“Hawks, maybe.”

I shut my mouth. Of course, I thought. Now I might give up too much information and tell him about my brother! Nezu had never said I couldn’t reveal that I was Keigo’s sister, but you don’t just say that you’re the sibling of the #3 hero. Even as a little kid, I understood that. Yeah, Todoroki was the #2’s son, but being someone’s kid is different. They’re from different generations. I was just trying to seem like any other U.A. student.

“Is… everything okay, Akarui?” Izuku asked.

“O-oh, yes! Just noticed something that distracted me. But, yeah, you’re right, Hawks is a lot better at landing than I am.” 

“Of course he is! Not only is he six years older than us and had more training than us, especially in fighting and hero work, it’s absolutely amazing that he’s the number three at only six years older than us-”

“Izuku?”

“-think about how much work that must have taken! Plus, he didn’t even go to a hero school, he just got scouted by the hero network-”

“Izuku.”

“-not to mention his quirk. Not only can he fly, he can send his feathers to evacuate people from a disaster at the same time that he’s fighting a powerful villain with some other feathers-”

“Izuku!”

“Ack, sorry!”

I laughed. “Some things never change, right, fanboy?”

“Ha, ha.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right!” I remembered what Uncle Shota said about his entrance exam, and yesterday when he broke his finger. “You have a quirk now, right? Did it just manifest within the past few months?”

“Y-yeah, you could say that! I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“But… you were made fun of for being quirkless. I thought you would want to talk about it.”

“It’s… complicated.”

If Izuku didn’t want to tell me, he really didn’t want to talk about it at all. “I understand. Just know I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

He smiled faintly. “Thank you.” He faced forward and said, “So, Mr. Aizawa. What do you think about him?”

I shrugged. “He seems passionate about how he teaches. He wants to make sure the next generation of heroes can protect themselves and civilians at the same time. I think he’ll be a good teacher.” Plus I don’t want to say anything bad about my adoptive father.

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.”

“Anyway, I am happy that you got a quirk, Izuku.”

“Thanks.”

By this point, we were in the 1A classroom. We both went to our seats and sat down. Uraraka came up to me. “You’re really good friends with Deku, aren’t you, Akarui?”

I smiled. “I’ve known him since we were little, and I was one of the few people who was nice to him for a while.”

“Wait, what?”

I laughed. “Nothing.”

“What really surprised me was that he let you call him by his first name. He must trust you a lot.”

“I guess so.”

“You can call me Ochaco, if you want.”

“Sure!”

The rest of the girls came over as well. “You’ve got a really cool quirk!” Hagakure said.

“Thanks!”

We spent a bit more of the time before school talking, and they all told me I could call them by their first names. I was apparently really good at making friends!

Before noon, things were really boring. That’s when we did normal classes. English… math… boring… Lunch was okay, though. I sat with Ochako, Toru, Mina, Yaomomo, Kyoka, and Tsu. Izuku was over with Iida and Todoroki.

That’s when things got exciting - heroics training was after lunch. Everyone sat at their desk when the newest U.A. teacher came barrelling into the room. “I AM HERE!!!

“...THROUGH THE DOOR, LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!”

There was a swell of murmuring that I couldn’t really pick out. There was both outfit criticisms and excitement at being taught by All Might.

“Foundational hero studies!” he shouted. “For this class, we’ll be building up your hero foundation through various trials! You’ll get tons of credit for it! Let’s jump right in with this… THE TRIAL OF BATTLE!” I’m not sure how everyone else reacted, but I, for one, was excited!

“And to go with your first battle… we’ve prepared the gear we had you send in requests to match your quirks!”

“Our battle gear!” we yelled. “Awesome!”

“Get changed and we’ll be ready to go!” All Might said. “Everyone gather at Ground Beta! And don’t forget… from here on out, you’re all officially… heroes!”

 

 

~~~

 

 

We lined up in our hero costumes. Everyone looked sick! Not only were the costumes awesome looking, the support items some people had were going to be really helpful. I saw that Katsuki had some grenade-looking gauntlets on his wrists, and I thought they looked really cool.

I looked at my costume as well. It was a dark, titanium-woven, armored dress with a slit at my left knee. It faded to a bright reddish-purple color at its rim. The shoe on my left leg was a brown, high-heeled boot that went above my knee, and on my right was just a brown, high-heeled pointed shoe. There were gold highlighted hems throughout the dress. I had a staff that better allowed me to aim my Exploding Flame and other ranged attacks better, and that I could use like a bow staff. I had a rose gold crown of sorts on my head with a diamond-shaped amethyst hanging over my forehead. A red shield was strapped on my left arm.

“Wow, your costume looks awesome!” Kirishima said.

“Heh, thanks.”

“Bakugo, doesn’t her costume look sick?”

“DON’T TALK TO ME, EXTRA!” As expected.

I started to zone out, and my memory of the battle trial is really faded - mostly because I had to sit out, which sucked. Things went exactly as I had figured they would for a while, so I looked at my phone. I’d gotten a text from Asami Suzuki (she’s Keigo’s girlfriend).

 

Akarui! Heard you got into U.A. I’m so happy for you!

 

I decided to respond.

 

Thanks! It’s been pretty difficult, though. These are some hard classes!

 

Yes, I expected that much. U.A. isn’t the best hero school in Japan

for nothing!

 

Yeah, that’s true. Isn’t K the only top 10 hero that didn’t go to U.A.?

 

I think so. Pretty cool, considering how alike you two are.

 

I was typing my response when.

“Who’re you texting?” Izuku asked.

“I-It’s nothing!!” I was surprised to see him here.

“You really think I believe that?”

“Heh, no… but it’s really nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

He looked at me intensely. I felt my face heating up a little bit. “Really?”

“Really.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katsuki glaring at Izuku. It wasn’t his usual “DEKUUUUU” glare, either… something else. I had no idea what, though.

I looked at the broadcasting screen for the rest of the period, but my classmate’s fights didn’t interest me in the slightest anymore. I heard conversations on the fights going on around me, but I didn’t pay attention to who was saying what. I was just thinking about Katsuki’s glare. He’d never looked at Izuku like that before… it was almost… defensive. But what did it mean?

 

 

 

The next morning, a ton of reporters were outside the U.A. entrance. I’d walked with Izuku again, and the mob of people intercepted us before we could get in.

“What’s it like learning from All Might?” one reporter asked.

“Huh?! Uh, sorry, but I have to go to the nurse’s office…” Izuku responded.

“And I had to sit out and didn’t really pay attention…” I added.

Eventually, the reporters let us pass to interview more students. It was a sigh of relief. I was raised by one of the most media-avoiding heroes, after all. I’m okay with it sometimes, but not if I’m interviewed against my will.

We got into class along with everyone else, and Mr. Aizawa grumbled something about reporters. He doesn’t just avoid the media, he doesn’t like the media. I don’t really, either, so I can’t complain.

“Good work yesterday,” he said. “I looked over your grades and evaluation. Bakugo. Stop acting like a seven year old and grow up already. You’re wasting your talent.”

“... I know.”

A snort escaped from me and I knew if I was anyone else (other than his mom - she’s scary) I would be dead the next time I looked at him.

“And you,” Mr. Aizawa continued. “Are you always planning on destroying your arm, Midoriya? If you keep going ‘I can’t adjust my quirk so I have no choice’ you’ll never get far. I’ve said it before, so don’t make me say it a third time. Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, you’ll be much more flexible, so I need to see some sweat out of you, Midoriya.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Now let’s get on with homeroom business. I’m sorry I have to spring this on you all, but…” What now?! Another pop test? “We need to pick a class representative.”

“Finally something school-like!”

There was an explosion of excitement of people who wanted to be class rep. I’m not going to lie, I was one of them.

“BE QUIET!”

I jumped. If anyone was going to yell like that, I wouldn’t have expected it to be Iida. “This is a task laden with responsibility where you must carry and pull everyone else’s weight. Just because you’d like to do it doesn’t mean you can! It is a sacred office that requires the great esteem and trust of those around you. The only truly worthy leader will emerge from a democratic choice reflecting the will of the people! Which is why this must be settled by a vote!”

“He’s really being lofty, isn’t he? With that proposal,” Kaminari muttered.

“It’s still too early to have developed any trust in each other,” Tsu told Iida.

“And everyone will just vote for themselves!” Kirishima added.

Iida responded, “And that’s precisely why the person who does manage to earn multiple votes will be the truly appropriate person for the job! Is that alright, Mr. Aizawa!?”

“However you want to do it’s fine. Just make it quick.”

“Alright, I agree with Iida,” I said. “Let’s do this!”

Yaomomo used her Creation quirk to give everyone a slip of paper to write their vote on. As much as I wanted to be class rep, it didn’t seem right to me to vote for myself. I glanced around the room, but couldn’t decide who to vote for. Then my eyes landed on Izuku and Katsuki. Izuku would be a great rep… but then again, so would Katsuki. I eventually decided to vote for Katsuki. He was a great leader when we were kids, so I guess that’s why I voted for him.

The votes were revealed. Izuku had three, Yaomomo had two, Iida, Todoroki, and Ochaco had zero, and everyone else had one, myself included.

I was confused. I hadn’t voted for myself, which meant someone else had.

Wait.

Katsuki was in the majority that only had one vote, and so was I. I hadn’t voted for myself, and he only had one, which means he didn’t either.

Did he… but why would he? He would want to confirm his spot… right?

Izuku was surprised that he had three, Katsuki was infuriated that Izuku had three, and Iida was devastated that he didn’t have any.

Once again, the conversations around me had no affect on me. I was confused by the actions of Katsuki again. Why does it seem like he’s trying to get my attention? Is it just my imagination…? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

 

 

 

Most of the girls sat together at lunch. Ochaco sat with Iida and Izuku, but the rest of us sat together.

“Congrats, Yaomomo!” Mina said.

“It’s really nothing,” she responded.

I was still lost in thought for a while. A few minutes into lunch, the girls started to notice that something was off.

“Are you okay, Akarui, ribbit?” Tsu asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine, I’m just thinking.”

“About what?” Kyoka asked.

“Well…”

“Okay,” Mina interrupted, “when you start a story with ‘well,’ you just know there’s going to be some tea involved. Spill.”

“It’s about the votes.”

Silence.

“That’s some bland tea,” Toru muttered to Mina.

“There’s something she’s holding back,” Mina smirked.

I sighed. “Fine. I voted for someone that wasn’t me, the person I voted for only had one vote, and I had one vote.”

“Now that’s tea,” Mina responded. “So, who’d you vote for?”

“Isn’t this supposed to be an anonymous election?” I asked. “Who I voted for is my business. Just… don’t worry about who it is I voted for.

Mina squinted, picked up her tea (the drink) and sipped, still squinting at me. I held her gaze. When she set down her cup, she asked, “So who’s the boy?”

“W-WHAT!?”

“I asked, who’s the boy? You’re really cagy on telling us who it is, so I know it’s a guy. Maybe one you find, oh, I don’t know…” she leaned in closer to me, “...cute?”

My face heated up rapidly. “Ooh, you’re right, it is a boy!” Toru sang.

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”

“It’s definitely a boy.”

“Tell us who it is!” Yaomomo requested.

I sighed. I wouldn’t be able to hide it much longer, so why not just tell them who I voted for? “Fine.” Mina grinned (and I think Toru did too, but I don’t know because… well, because she’s invisible). “I voted for-”

The alarm cut me off. I sighed and muttered, “Saved by the bell.”

“Wait, that’s the siren!” Toru yelled.

<SECURITY LEVEL 3 HAS BEEN BREACHED. STUDENTS, PLEASE PROMPTLY EVACUATE.>

“What’s security level three?” Kyoka asked.

“Someone’s infiltrated the campus!” I responded. “The last time an SL3 breach was in the news was three years ago! Let’s go!”

We all rushed the exit. The crowd separated the groups that were together so I lost the girls. I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying through all the commotion.

Suddenly, Iida flew up over the crowd. I looked up through the pushing and the heads of the other people. “What is he doing?!”

He landed on the exit sign looking like the guy on fire escape signs. “EVERYTHING’S FINE!”

The pushing stopped a bit. “It’s just the press! There’s nothing to worry about! You’re at U.A.! Let’s conduct ourselves in the manner of those enrolled in the highest high school of Japan!”

Things settled down, and we all went back to class. Izuku and Yaomomo went to the front to make an announcement… thing.

“All right, class rep, start us off,” Yaomomo said.

“W-we’d like to choose the other student council members!” Izuku stuttered. “But before that, I need to say something. In the end, I think that Iida would be the better man for the job!

“You all saw how well he led everyone in that crisis. I think he’s the right choice for the job.”

“Yeah, he’s got a point!” Kirishima agreed. “Iida really showed his stuff back in the cafeteria! Not that I’ve got anything against Midoriya!”

“He reminded me of that warning sign you see on emergency exits!” Kaminari said.

“Me too!” I responded.

“Whatever, just get on with it already… we’re not getting any younger here,” Mr. Aizawa muttered.

Iida shot up. “If it’s the wish of the class rep, then I can’t refuse!”

“Do us proud, Mr. Emergency Exit!” Kaminari yelled.

“Emergency Exit Iida!” I agreed. “Don’t let us down!”

 

YEAH HECK YEAG EMERGENCY IIDA

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Hawks said:

VIBE

REAL

ME EVERY MORNING

heh

Meeeee

YEAH HECK YEAG EMERGENCY IIDA

Well you did see that he's her brother, right?

[Keke They/he]

2 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Well you did see that he's her brother, right?

Yeah

Lol 

also I'm pretty sure m ive got a therian tupe thats s a hawk, hemce my name. But the wings are blue

 

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Hawks said:

Yeah

Lol 

also I'm pretty sure m ive got a therian tupe thats s a hawk, hemce my name. But the wings are blue

 

Want more?

[Keke They/he]

Just now, Spark of Hope said:

Want more?

Yeeee

[Through the Living Hope]

1 minute ago, Hawks said:

Yeeee

Low-key I love this next part. Chapter six is a long one

Light Hero: Illumea, Chapters Five and Six - When the Going Gets Tough... and ... The Tough Get Going

Spoiler

“For today’s basic hero training, All Might, myself, and one other will supervise,” Mr. Aizawa told us.

“Um, what are we doing, exactly?” Sero asked.

He answered, “Be the hero everyone needs, whether it’s a flood or any other disaster. It’s rescue training.”

“Rescue…” Kaminari muttered. “Sounds a bit difficult this time around…”

“Totally!” Mina replied.

“Come on, this is what being a hero’s all about!” Kirishima yelled

“If it’s a flood, that environment’s my specialty, ribbit,” Tsu said.

“Hey, I’m not done yet,” Mr. Aizawa droned. “As I was saying, this time, it’s entirely up to each of you whether or not you wear your costume. Some of your costumes probably aren’t adapted to the task at hand, after all. The training area is fairly far away, so we’ll get there by bus. That’s all. Go get ready.”

We dispersed. “Kiseki.” I turned to Mr. Aizawa. “I need to speak with you.”

I walked toward him, aware of the 40 eyes glued to me. I tried to ignore them, but they felt like heated lasers burning my skin. One by one (or I guess two by two, because everyone has two eyes) I felt people stop looking at me as I walked out of the classroom with Mr. Aizawa.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Nezu was concerned,” he responded. “He’s concerned that you might give out information that students shouldn’t know.”

“Is that all?”

“...”

“I know to be careful, Mr. Aizawa. You and Principal Nezu can trust me.”

“It’s not just me and Nezu.”

“What do you mean?”

“All of the teachers know. Nezu figured it’d be better if we didn’t keep this a secret from the staff. It’s just the students who can’t know.”

“Oh… okay. That doesn’t really change much, but I do know that I need to be careful. You can trust me.

“Good. That’s everything.”

“Wait, what should I say to anyone who asks what we talked about?”

“Oh yeah. Your brother says hello, too.”

“Sho- Mr. Aizawa, I’m serious!”

“Just say we needed to talk about your scores in other classes.”

“I don’t want to lie to them, though.”

“Really, though, your grades have been really good. You’re doing great in everything.”

“Sweet- um, I mean thanks!”

He sighed. “Go get ready.”

“Yes, sir!”

I went back and grabbed my costume case. Tsu had waited for me.

“Is everything okay, ribbit?” she asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I responded. “He just was surprised at how well I’m doing in all of my classes this early in the year.”

“That’s nice of him.”

I nodded. “I’m going to go to the locker room and change, but thanks for checking, Tsu.”

I pulled on my costume in the locker room and walked outside. When I got out there, Izuku looked really pumped up. He was talking to Ochaco, and in his gym clothes. His costume got destroyed during heroics training yesterday.

On the bus, I ended up between Izuku and Sato. Some time into the trip, my stomach growled.

“Ugh, I forgot to eat breakfast today!” I groaned.

“Do you want this granola bar?” Sato asked. “I always have some on me.”

“Sure, thanks.” I took a bite. “Wow, this is really good!”

“I make them myself.”

“No way! You’re great at making these, Sato!”

“Thanks, Kiseki.”

“Call me Akarui.”

I kept eating the granola bar. I just couldn’t believe how amazing it was! I heard Tsu talking on the other side of Izuku.

“Hey Midoriya, I always say what’s on my mind,” she said.

“Huh? What is it, Asui?”

“Call me Tsu. Your quirk reminds me of All Might’s.” Now that she pointed it out, they did seem pretty similar…

“R-really? Ha, but mine isn’t like-”

I leaned forward even further to see Kirishima talking on the other side of Tsu. “Wait up, Tsuyu, All Might never gets hurt! That’s where the likeness ends! I’m kinda jealous of that kind of simple enhancer-type quirk, though. You can do a lot of cool stuff with it!”

He lifted up his arm and hardened it. “My Hardening power isn’t bad in a fight, but it’s pretty boring.”

Izuku responded, “Well, I think it’s an awesome quirk! Definitely a quirk that’ll be of great use to a pro!”

“Pros, huh,” Aoyama said on the other side of the bus. I leaned back. “But, you know, heroics has a lot about it that’s more like a popularity contest too, right? My Navel Laser is both flashy and strong enough for the pro level.”

“But it’d be bad if your stomach collapsed!” Mina joked. Aoyama’s face got a little shaded.

“If we’re talking the double whammy of flashy and strong,” I added, “you can’t not mention Todoroki and Katsuki!”

“Tch.” Katsuki had been looking at me as I said that, but now he looked away.

“Bakugo’s always angry, so he won’t be very popular,” Tsu replied.

“WHAT’D YOU SAY, FROGFACE?!”

“See?”

“It’s only been a brief while since our socialization has commenced, and yet already we have been made apodictically cognizant of your personality, redolent as it is of a turd getting steamed in a sewer,” Kaminari teased.

“Huh? What the [heck] kind of vocabulary is that? I’ll kill you!”

“Do you even know what any of those words mean, Kaminari?” I asked.

“Not a clue! Well, except for ‘turd’.”

Yaomomo muttered something near the back of the bus, and Ochaco replied, “I think it’s fun!”

Kirishima shook his head. “Dang, Bakugo, you are one foul-mouthed dude.”

“We’re almost there. Settle down already,” Mr. Aizawa said.

“Yes, sir!”

We’re all amazed when we get there. “Amazing!” I shout. “Is this U.S.J. or something?”

“Flood wrecks, landslides, fires, et cetera, et cetera. This is a practical training area I created to simulate all kinds of accidents and disasters,” pro hero Thirteen said, “and its name is the Unforeseen Situation Joint!”

“It really is U.S.J.!” Kirishima laughed.

“No way!” I giggled. This time, I caught a glimpse of Katsuki glaring at Kirishima, the same glare he had used on Izuku earlier.

“Hey, Thirteen, where’s All Might?” Mr. Aizawa asked. “I thought he was meeting us here.”

“From what I was told, Shota, it looks as though he’d been out hero-ing while commuting up until his time was up. Now he’s resting in the break room.” She held up three fingers.

“That guy’s the height of irrational. Oh well. Let’s get started.”

“Before we begin, just one thing… or two… or three… or four…”

“They’re increasing,” I muttered to Kirishima. He laughed. Katsuki glared.

“I’m certain you’re all already quite aware,” Thirteen said, “but my quirk is called Black Hole. No matter what material may get sucked into its vortex, I’m afraid it will turn to dust.”

“Now that’s a quirk that’s perfect for removing wreckage and saving people injured by disasters!” Izuku analyzed.

“Yes… it is, however, a power that could also easily be used to kill people. And in that way, it’s no different from the quirks of everyone here. Naturally, in this society of superhumans, quirks are strictly regulated, and the requirements for their lawful use are enforced. We can tell at a glance that that is the makeup of this world. That being said, please don’t forget that each of you possesses a quirk that could go awry. One wrong step is all it takes to be able to kill others accidentally.

“During Mr. Aizawa’s physical strength tests you learned of your respective power’s true potential, and during All Might’s trial of battle, I think you took away a true sense of the danger of brandishing those powers against one another. This lesson will serve as a fresh start. Let’s get to studying about how to wield our quirks for the sake of human life.

“Your quirks empathetically do not exist to hurt others. Please leave this exercise having fully understood that your quirks exist to help people! That is all. You have my gratitude for listening so intently and patiently.”

“That was awesome!” Ochaco said.

Mr. Aizawa sighed. “All right, first thing’s first-”

Something’s wrong. I followed his gaze to the center of the U.S.J. There was a rift of some sort. It was a dark, black-ish purple… hole? A pale hand reached out-

Oh no.

A face with a blue disconnected hand peered out through the rift.

“HUDDLE TOGETHER AND DON’T MOVE!” Mr. Aizawa yelled. “THIRTEEN! PROTECT THE STUDENTS!” Countless people emerged from the rift.

“What is that?!” Kirishima asked. “Is this like that training pattern in the entrance exam?”

“DON’T MOVE! THOSE ARE VILLAINS!”

Mr. Aizawa isn’t one to joke. When you live with someone your whole life, you know that.

“Eraserhead and Thirteen…” the black rift said. “According to the teachers’ curriculum we procured yesterday, All Might was supposed to be here, and yet…”

“I knew it,” Mr. Aizawa muttered. “So yesterday was this guy’s fault…”

“Where is he?” the man with the hand on his face growled. “We went through all this trouble and rustled up so many of us to bring along. You can’t tell me All Might… the symbol of peace… isn’t here.” He looked upward. “I wonder if he’ll show up if we kill the kids…?”

Nononononononononononononono...

 

 

~~~~

 

 

“V-villains?!” I couldn’t believe it. “There’s no way! What kind of numbskull would think honest-to-God villains would just be able to waltz right into the hero home base?”

“Mr. Aizawa!” Yaomomo yelled. “What about the intruder alarm sensors?!”

“Of course we have some set up,” Thirteen replied, “but…”

“Is this the only campus they’ve infiltrated, or are they attacking all the others, too?” Todoroki asked. “At any rate, if the sensors aren’t responding, then that just means they must have one amongst their number who has a quirk that can jam them.

“An isolated space away from the school building… at a time when there’s a class scheduled… it may seem out of the question, but they must have some solid objective. This isn’t an ambush without a carefully planned scheme behind it.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” I responded. “This does seem like they have an objective to complete…”

Mr. Aizawa had more instructions. “Thirteen, do the evacuation procedure, and try calling the school! These villains know how to get around the sensors, there’s a chance there’s an electrowave-type guy who’ll try interfering! Kaminari, you too! Try contacting U.A. with your quirk!”

“Mr. Aizawa!” Izuku yelled. “Are you going to fight them alone? Even if you suppress all of their quirks, there’s so many of them! The battle style of Eraserhead is to capture villains after erasing their quirks, head-on battle isn’t...”

“A hero always has more than one trick up their sleeves. Thirteen, I’m counting on you!” Mr. Aizawa leaped down the stairs and into the fray.

“We need to stay back as long as we can,” I said. “These are real villains, and we don’t know if they know our quirks or not. We can’t risk it!”

The villains started talking and attacking Mr. Aizawa. He displayed his close combat skills against a mutant-type and easily took him down.

“Incredible,” Izuku muttered. “I forgot one-on-group battle is Mr. Aizawa’s specialty!”

“This is no time for analysis!” Iida said. “We’ve got to evacuate!”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that.” I turned toward the exit and saw that the black rift had appeared behind us.

“Greetings,” the black rift said. “We are the League of Villains. I apologize for the audacity, but we took it upon ourselves to enter U.A., the base of heroes, in order to engage with All Might, the ‘symbol of peace.’ We were wondering if we might be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him, you see.” W-what?!

“We were under the impression that All Might would be here today, but… It seems his schedule has been altered? Ah, well, no matter…” Thirteen flipped open the hatch on her finger. “...my role remains unchanged.”

Kirishima and Katsuki attacked the black rift. Kirishima taunted, “Not if we end you first! Bet you didn’t see that coming!”

“That was close,” the black rift replied. “To be expected. Though you may be mere students, you are the best of the best.’”

“No, get back!” Thirteen instructed. “Both of you!”

“BE GONE. WRITHE IN TORMENT UNTIL YOU BREATHE YOUR LAST.”

“EVERYONE!” I shouted. The black rift surrounded us. I was falling through the air. I looked around. I was in the Ruins Zone. Kirishima and Katsuki were here too. I released my wings and grabbed them quickly.

“You guys okay?!” There was too much going on right then to ask calmly.

“I’m… well, I guess I’m okay given the circumstances?” Kirishima replied.

“SHUT UP, FEATHERBRAIN AND HAIR-FOR-BRAINS!” Katsuki yelled. He’s fine.

I saw a building with a broken window. “Brace for impact!” I dove at the window and we crashed inside. As Katsuki and Kirishima hit the floor, the impact made me release my hold on them. I bounced once and landed on my stomach. “Another graceful landing.”

Kirishima offered his hand and pulled me up. Katsuki glared at him again. We formed a circle (or a triangle, I guess?) and prepared for combat. I readied my shield and put my wings away, Kirishima hardened himself, and Katsuki got more alert than usual.

Villains bursted through the room’s door. It was directly across from me. “Katsuki!” He looked towards me and saw the villains in the corner of his eye. “Got it!” He backed up a bit, Kirishima followed his lead, and I focused on the villains. 

Gotta time this just right… 3… 2… 1…

“NOW!” I curled up and leaned my shield on myself and the floor. Surprised, the villains were ramped up into the air and were flying right towards Katsuki and Kirishima. Katsuki started blowing up the villains, and Kirishima punched them with his hardened fists.

It wasn’t long before all the villains were writhing in pain on the floor. “Wave One, complete,” I gasped.

“Wave Two?” Katsuki asked.

Footsteps thundered by the door. I turned and got ready to use the same strategy. “About to be crushed.”

Katsuki smirked and Kirishima nodded. “We got this!”

We used this strategy for a few more waves before the villains started to figure it out. “This isn’t going to work for much longer!” Kirishima said after Wave Five.

“Shut up!” Katsuki and I shouted in unison.

I shook my head. He was right. “New plan! Follow me!” I started running into a different room than the one we were in. We seemed to be in a ruined office building. I pointed to the office desks and partitions. “Rearrange these into a bunker in that corner, then I’ll tell you the rest of the plan!”

Honestly, I was surprised how easily Katsuki was going along with the plan. No resistance at all! But, I guess, when your life is on the line and someone says they have a plan, you follow their lead. I took a few desks to barricade the door shut.

We ducked behind the bunker as the door began getting crashed into from the other side. I began to whisper. “We only have a few seconds, so here’s the crash course: Katsuki, stay here and wait for Kirishima and me. Kirishima, you and I are going to lure the villains to the bunker so Katsuki can explode them all at once.”

“That’s not a bad plan!” Kirishima said quietly.

“It could be a lot better, but it’s the best I could do with such a short time.”

“It could be a long shot, but I think it should work pretty well,” Katsuki whispered.

“All right, then.” I put my fist in the center of us. Katsuki put his hand on mine, and Kirishima on top of his. “Let’s do this!”

Kirishima and I leaped over the bunker walls and ran to the door. I readied my shield in case I needed it and Kirishima hardened his arms. The door got busted open.

I smiled and started running, weaving between the desks and partitions we hadn’t used, running through it like it was a maze, making sure half of the villains were following me.

I changed course and hightailed it towards the bunker. I emerged from the supplies at the same time as Kirishima and we both screeched to a halt in front of the bunker. I curled up beneath my shield and Kirishima hardened his entire body. “NOW!”

“SURPRISE, IDIOTS!” Katsuki leaped out of the bunker and I heard a large explosion. Once the noises stopped, I peeked over my shield. The villains were all down and Katsuki’s hands were smoking.

“I don’t think I have another one of those in me,” I gasped.

“Is that all of them?” Kirishima asked.

“Man, they were weak,” Katsuki complained.

“I’d prefer them being weak to them being strong!” I half-joked.

“Come on!” Kirishima shouted. “We gotta go save the others! Since we got warped here, that must mean the others are also still inside the U.S.J.! I’m worried for the people who don’t really have any ways to attack! Thirteen’s probably got her hands full since we rushed ahead like that. If she’d been able to suck up that black mist, things wouldn’t have turned out like this! As men, we need to take responsibility…”

“Guess I’m off the hook then!” I joked. “Relax, I’m just kidding.”

Katsuki turned to Kirishima. “If that’s what you want, then go alone. I’m just gonna go murder that warp gate guy!”

“Now, of all times, you come up with lines a little kid would say?! Plus, physical attacks against that guy are-”

“Shut it! He’s the enemy’s escape and entrance hatch… their revolving door. Bring him down and they have nowhere to run. And it’s not like I don’t have a way to beat him.”

“Do you really think it’ll work?” I asked.

“You’ve known me for years, featherbrain,” Katsuki replied. “Of course I think it’ll work, and you know it.”

I sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Course I am. I’m me.” A guy with a knife began to sneak up on him from behind. Katsuki moved his arm back and blew him up. “I mean, if all they’re sending against us are these idiots, we should be fine.”

“You mean that’s why you’re so calm right now?” Kirishima asked. “Wow…”

“I’M ALWAYS CALM, HAIR-FOR-BRAINS!”

“Ah, there it is!” Kirishima teased.

“I’m outta here.”

“Wait up! I believe in my pals, and you’re starting to sound real manly, Bakugo!”

Katsuki glanced in my direction. “Just don’t tell me what to do.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that,” I panted. “I’m all leadered out for right now.”

Katsuki smirked. “Then let’s go.”

I warped us to the center of the U.S.J. and we took some cover behind a rock. The man with all the hands on him started talking to himself, and muttered something about a Kurogiri and Warp Gate (“Kurogiri must be the rift guy!” I whispered) and scratched himself. My adaptation Scan activated, and it said that the guy’s name was Tomura Shigaraki (or Tenko Shimura, I wasn’t sure which. They both showed up) and his quirk was Decay.

I looked in front of Shigaraki and almost screamed. I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stop from crying. Kirishima and Katsuki noticed and looked where I was looking before being shocked themselves.

Mr. Aizawa - no, Uncle Shota was being held down by a hideous mutant man with his brains partially spilling out. The area around his eyes was bleeding really bad.

“S-s-s-sho…” I whispered into my hand.

“Mr. Aizawa!” Kirishima muttered. Katsuki cursed under his breath.

I couldn’t look at him anymore. I shifted my gaze slightly to the side, at the lake. Then I could finally move my hand away from my face. I saw Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta. I was glad that some others were okay. I tapped Kirishima and Katsuki and pointed to make sure they could see them. They nodded.

Suddenly, the man with the hands ran towards the trio in the lake. I put my hand over my mouth again to muffle my gasp as best as I could. Shigaraki’s left hand touched Tsu’s face and Izuku silently freaked out. I think Mineta passed out.

He spoke up. “You really are pretty cool… Eraserhead.” Uncle Shota was staring directly at Shigaraki, hair raised.

Izuku attacked him. “GET OFF HER!”

I barely heard Shigaraki say, “Nomu.” Izuku’s punch landed…

…on the wrong person. The mutant who had been holding down Uncle Shota was now between Izuku and the Shigaraki.

“Quite a move you just pulled off.” His voice was so gravelly. “You called it a ‘smash’... are you a fan of All Might? Well, whatever.”

Suddenly the main entrance’s door was busted down. “Have no fear…”

“For I am here!” All Might stood at the entrance…

and he wasn’t smiling.

Shigaraki said something to All Might. I couldn’t hear what. I faced away from the battle.

“This is too much,” I whispered into my hand. “I don’t think I can take much more of this…”

For the first time I remember, Katsuki didn’t retort with a rude or condescending comment. He just came over and wrapped me in a hug. He smelled like smoke and sweat.

What… what is he doing? I didn’t say a word, but I wanted to know what was going on. Katsuki was actually… being nice?

He put his hand on the back of my head and whispered into my ear, “Honestly, I’m a little scared too.” I started to cry, making sure to keep myself quiet, and Katsuki started rubbing the back of my head with his hand. He muttered to Kirishima, “You mention this to anyone and I will personally kill you.” Kirishima nodded fast before shifting his attention to me.

“You must be really stressed right now,” Kirishima whispered, “and I completely understand why. You’ve got a lot on your shoulders. Not only do you have to watch all of this, you were responsible for the plan that put our lives and yours on the line. But it worked. You saved us.” Katsuki released me for a moment and Kirishima hugged me. “Thank you, Akarui.”

“K-Kirishima…”

“Eijiro. Please.”

He released me and I nodded. I kept crying and Katsuki hugged me for another few seconds. We listened to the fight happening behind the rock, but I couldn’t bring myself to look. Kirishima watched out of necessity - one of us had to watch what was happening. 

Katsuki left to join the fight. I didn’t have the mental or physical strength left to stop him. For the first time since All Might appeared, I began listening to the fight more closely.

Explosion. “OUTTA THE WAY, DEKU!!” Kirishima- no, Eijiro sneaking away to fight. I needed to at least watch. I took a deep breath and turned to peek over the rock. Eijiro was sneaking up on Shigaraki. Katsuki was getting ready to talk.

“So I heard you people are here to kill All Might.”

“RAAH!” Eijiro missed his attack. “Crap! I almost had him!”

Katsuki. “No funny business out of you, you shadow-[butt] mobling!”

Todoroki. “Scum like you could never kill the Symbol of Peace.”

Izuku. “Kacchan… guys…”

I couldn’t watch and listen at the same time. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to keep my crying quiet. But I had to watch, so I covered my ears. All Might was spitting blood, and then he said something. There was a conversation between All Might and Shigaraki, with some input from Izuku, Eijiro, Katsuki, and Todoroki.

I was calm enough now to uncover my ears. “If you think you can take me, then BRING IT ON!” All Might taunted Shigaraki, who groaned.

“As expected,” Todoroki said. “It looks as though we’re not going to have the chance to fight.”

“Hey, Midoriya!” Eijiro shouted. “We oughta just hang back for now. Rush in and they might take you hostage or something…”

“No!” Izuku responded. “That’s…”

“The kids are holding back for some reason,” Kurogiri told Shigaraki. “The reinforcements should arrive in a few minutes. But if the two of us double team him, we still have a chance.”

“Yes… you’re right,” Shigaraki said. “Yes. Right. Right. We can do this… the final boss is right in front of us.”

“All Might is taking care of the big fish,” Eijiro said. “Let’s go see if we can help the others.”

“Midoriya.” There’s something about the unwavering calmness of Todoroki’s voice that was reassuring in such a dangerous situation. Izuku was muttering to himself. He suddenly launched himself in an attack toward the man.

The rift guy, Kurogiri, moved in closer to All Might, along with Shigaraki. They were about to attack him when suddenly Izuku jumped in the way.

“Midoriya!” Eijiro yelled.

“GET AWAY FROM ALL MIGHT!” Izuku was never able to attack because someone else landed a hit first.

A bullet hit Shigaraki’s right hand. I turned to the direction the bullet had come from. Snipe! The teachers were here!

“Sorry we’re late, everyone,” Snipe said. “We brought everyone we could.”

“Class 1A! Class Rep Tenya Iida! I’m back!” It wasn’t just Iida - there were 11 U.A. teachers here, including Principal Nezu! 

“Oh, they’re here. It’s game over,” Shigaraki muttered. “GAH!” A barrage of bullets fired on his location.

“Did he get weaker?” he rasped. “What a lie! We were completely smashed with just your presence. Not even my Nomu was capable of- that’s cheating! He didn’t get any weaker! That guy… did he just fool me?”

There was a second of peace. I took that opportunity to sneak back to the entrance by the teachers. I felt it was safe to go back now.

Then the moment passed. “What is it? Aren’t you going to fight?” All Might taunted. “Weren’t you blabbering about completing your mission just now? What’s up? What is it?”

Shigaraki looked up and scratched his neck. “If only Nomu was still here! That guy would be able to go to him with no fear!”

“Tomura Shigaraki, please calm down,” Kurogiri instructed. “Look carefully. The damage Nomu did to him is clearly visible!”

On the ground, Izuku seemed to mutter something to himself. Thirteen made another appearance, but she was badly injured.

“I may have failed here, Symbol of Peace,” Shigaraki said. “But the next time we meet, you’re dead, All Might!”

“What in tarnation?” Snipe asked.

“They just fled? And after such a dramatic intrusion?” Midnight asked.

“They really hit us where our guard was down,” Vlad King said quietly.

“Never mind that for now, we must tend to the students!” Nezu still had a fairly happy attitude. I like how optimistic he is.

“Not just them either…” Cementoss hinted.

Todoroki said something to Katsuki and Eijiro. Eijiro yelled, “Midoriya! You okay?!”

“Kirishima!” There was still a wall of dust, so I couldn’t see Izuku very well.

Eijiro ran toward Izuku and were All Might had last been seen, but a wall of cement stopped him right before he got there. Weird, why would Cementoss stop him? Cementoss said something to Eijiro, to which he responded, “Makes sense! Roger that!”

The teachers made sure everyone didn’t have any terrible injuries and then escorted us back to the main campus, where police cars waited for us. I’d wrapped myself in my arms and wings. Eijiro came up and patted my shoulder. I looked at him and he smiled. I guess smiles really are contagious.

“16… 17… 18…” one policeman counted. “Everyone’s pretty much unharmed.”

“I see, so everyone else was fighting garden variety thugs, too,” Eijiro said. “They must have just written us off as kids. Lucky they did, though, because that allowed Akarui’s plan to work!”

I moved one hand to shield my face. “It was really nothing-”

“She was awesome back there!”

I smiled a bit and moved over by the girls. I don’t know why. I heard Tsu ask, “How is Mr. Aizawa?”

I made a mental note to kick myself. I should have asked about him!  The policeman’s face got sad fast. Oh no…

“Both arms were smashed to splinters, and he’s suffering from facial fractures as well. Thankfully, he didn’t receive any brain damage.” Phew, that’s a relief! “It’s just… well, his eye sockets have been crushed into a powder. There’s a chance he may suffer from long term lack of vision… or so I’ve been told.”

I put my hand over my mouth to hold in a sob but let the tears fall. The students who saw me cry probably just thought I was concerned for the safety of a teacher, but they wouldn’t understand the full extent of it. They didn’t know the full extent of my relationship with him.

The officer went into detail on the medical status of Thirteen and All Might, but I didn’t listen. I was too worried about Uncle Shota. There were conversations around me and the officer left, leaving another in charge.

After he left, I started to listen. “We have to focus on fortifying our security across the board,” Nezu said. “As a quirk, warping is exceptionally rare. There are only two students in the entirety of U.A. with the ability to warp.” I’m just one? Eijiro and Katsuki glance in my direction. “It’s really too bad that a warping ability of that scale fell to the villain side.”

Another officer yelled to the one who had left, calling him Detective Tsukauchi. Now I at least had a name to the face of the bearer of bad news. 

Tsukauchi came back. “Mr. Principal, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to investigate every nook and cranny of the campus.”

“Oh, yes, yes, of course!” Nezu replied. “I realize the police are often buffeted by less-than-civil remarks these days, but we realize their jurisdiction over these matters is higher than ours. When it comes to investigations, that is you gentlemen’s field of expertise! Please, by all means, conduct yourselves as usual!”

The officer left. I considered walking home, but I really didn’t want to be alone. I knew the school would be closed the next day for the investigation, and that Uncle Shota was too hurt to be able to come home. I sat down on a bench by the exit. I watched the pool of people leave and the teachers go inside. Eventually it was just me and Katsuki.

“Thought you’d be going home by now,” I said.

“Look who’s talking,” he replied. “You seem really stressed.”

“Really, I didn’t notice.” I looked away from him.

Katsuki sat down next to me, making sure no one was watching him. “You want to talk about it?”

“I don’t want to talk about anything,” I answered. “But, at the same time, I don’t want to be alone either.”

“So go home. I’m sure your family will help you out.”

I closed my eyes. I can’t tell him. “Featherbrain? You good?”

I sighed. “Wait here. I… need to check something really quick.” I stood up and walked into the building, taking a moment to glance at his confused reflection in the glass. Why is he so mesmerizing? Nezu was standing not far away. “Principal Nezu!”

“Ah, Akarui Kiseki! Can I help you with something?”

“Yeah, but… can I ask you alone?”

“Of course!” Nezu lead me into his office and gave me a cup of tea. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“About… that.”

“Ah, that. What about it?”

“Someone led me somewhere in a conversation that had to do with… my family.”

“And you don’t know what to tell them.”

“I know what we agreed on, but… I’ve known this person for a long time. I trust them, and they can keep a secret.”

“Fine, I guess, as long as you make them promise not to tell anyone.”

“Thank you. Oh, and thank you for the tea, as well.” I sat down the empty cup and walked out of the building.

Katsuki was still waiting on the bench. “That was a long check.”

“I needed to talk with Principal Nezu about it.”

“Hah?”

I glanced both ways, making sure no one was around. “You can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”

“What?”

“Technically, no one is supposed to know that doesn’t already, but I asked Nezu, and he said I can tell you as long as you don’t tell anyone else.”

Katsuki looked up, thinking. “Deal.”

I cupped my hands around his ear. “You know Mr. Aizawa?”

“Yeah…?”

“And how I live with my uncle who doesn’t usually like people?”

“Yeah…?”

I lowered my voice more. “Yeah… my uncle’s the same person as Mr. Aizawa.”

I backed away to see Katsuki in utter shock. “What?”

“Yeah… they’re the same person.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“... well, you said I could go home to my family, and I don’t live with anyone else, so…”

“Don’t you have an older brother?”

“Yeah, but he’s really busy and lives and works out of town, so I can’t see him very often. It usually has to be pre-planned.”

“Oh, I see.” I scratched the back of my head. “Well, just come over to my place.”

“A-are you sure, Katsuki?”

“Sure. We’ve got a guest room.”

I smiled and relaxed a bit. “I’ll have to stop at home and grab some things first, but I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah. And you do remember the rules, right?”

I laughed. “Stay on your mom’s good side and no matter what I think of the food, say it’s delicious.”

Katsuki nodded. “I’ll text them to let them know you’re coming.” He stood up and left.

 

[Keke They/he]

15 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

Low-key I love this next part. Chapter six is a long one

Light Hero: Illumea, Chapters Five and Six - When the Going Gets Tough... and ... The Tough Get Going

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“For today’s basic hero training, All Might, myself, and one other will supervise,” Mr. Aizawa told us.

“Um, what are we doing, exactly?” Sero asked.

He answered, “Be the hero everyone needs, whether it’s a flood or any other disaster. It’s rescue training.”

“Rescue…” Kaminari muttered. “Sounds a bit difficult this time around…”

“Totally!” Mina replied.

“Come on, this is what being a hero’s all about!” Kirishima yelled

“If it’s a flood, that environment’s my specialty, ribbit,” Tsu said.

“Hey, I’m not done yet,” Mr. Aizawa droned. “As I was saying, this time, it’s entirely up to each of you whether or not you wear your costume. Some of your costumes probably aren’t adapted to the task at hand, after all. The training area is fairly far away, so we’ll get there by bus. That’s all. Go get ready.”

We dispersed. “Kiseki.” I turned to Mr. Aizawa. “I need to speak with you.”

I walked toward him, aware of the 40 eyes glued to me. I tried to ignore them, but they felt like heated lasers burning my skin. One by one (or I guess two by two, because everyone has two eyes) I felt people stop looking at me as I walked out of the classroom with Mr. Aizawa.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Nezu was concerned,” he responded. “He’s concerned that you might give out information that students shouldn’t know.”

“Is that all?”

“...”

“I know to be careful, Mr. Aizawa. You and Principal Nezu can trust me.”

“It’s not just me and Nezu.”

“What do you mean?”

“All of the teachers know. Nezu figured it’d be better if we didn’t keep this a secret from the staff. It’s just the students who can’t know.”

“Oh… okay. That doesn’t really change much, but I do know that I need to be careful. You can trust me.

“Good. That’s everything.”

“Wait, what should I say to anyone who asks what we talked about?”

“Oh yeah. Your brother says hello, too.”

“Sho- Mr. Aizawa, I’m serious!”

“Just say we needed to talk about your scores in other classes.”

“I don’t want to lie to them, though.”

“Really, though, your grades have been really good. You’re doing great in everything.”

“Sweet- um, I mean thanks!”

He sighed. “Go get ready.”

“Yes, sir!”

I went back and grabbed my costume case. Tsu had waited for me.

“Is everything okay, ribbit?” she asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I responded. “He just was surprised at how well I’m doing in all of my classes this early in the year.”

“That’s nice of him.”

I nodded. “I’m going to go to the locker room and change, but thanks for checking, Tsu.”

I pulled on my costume in the locker room and walked outside. When I got out there, Izuku looked really pumped up. He was talking to Ochaco, and in his gym clothes. His costume got destroyed during heroics training yesterday.

On the bus, I ended up between Izuku and Sato. Some time into the trip, my stomach growled.

“Ugh, I forgot to eat breakfast today!” I groaned.

“Do you want this granola bar?” Sato asked. “I always have some on me.”

“Sure, thanks.” I took a bite. “Wow, this is really good!”

“I make them myself.”

“No way! You’re great at making these, Sato!”

“Thanks, Kiseki.”

“Call me Akarui.”

I kept eating the granola bar. I just couldn’t believe how amazing it was! I heard Tsu talking on the other side of Izuku.

“Hey Midoriya, I always say what’s on my mind,” she said.

“Huh? What is it, Asui?”

“Call me Tsu. Your quirk reminds me of All Might’s.” Now that she pointed it out, they did seem pretty similar…

“R-really? Ha, but mine isn’t like-”

I leaned forward even further to see Kirishima talking on the other side of Tsu. “Wait up, Tsuyu, All Might never gets hurt! That’s where the likeness ends! I’m kinda jealous of that kind of simple enhancer-type quirk, though. You can do a lot of cool stuff with it!”

He lifted up his arm and hardened it. “My Hardening power isn’t bad in a fight, but it’s pretty boring.”

Izuku responded, “Well, I think it’s an awesome quirk! Definitely a quirk that’ll be of great use to a pro!”

“Pros, huh,” Aoyama said on the other side of the bus. I leaned back. “But, you know, heroics has a lot about it that’s more like a popularity contest too, right? My Navel Laser is both flashy and strong enough for the pro level.”

“But it’d be bad if your stomach collapsed!” Mina joked. Aoyama’s face got a little shaded.

“If we’re talking the double whammy of flashy and strong,” I added, “you can’t not mention Todoroki and Katsuki!”

“Tch.” Katsuki had been looking at me as I said that, but now he looked away.

“Bakugo’s always angry, so he won’t be very popular,” Tsu replied.

“WHAT’D YOU SAY, FROGFACE?!”

“See?”

“It’s only been a brief while since our socialization has commenced, and yet already we have been made apodictically cognizant of your personality, redolent as it is of a turd getting steamed in a sewer,” Kaminari teased.

“Huh? What the [heck] kind of vocabulary is that? I’ll kill you!”

“Do you even know what any of those words mean, Kaminari?” I asked.

“Not a clue! Well, except for ‘turd’.”

Yaomomo muttered something near the back of the bus, and Ochaco replied, “I think it’s fun!”

Kirishima shook his head. “Dang, Bakugo, you are one foul-mouthed dude.”

“We’re almost there. Settle down already,” Mr. Aizawa said.

“Yes, sir!”

We’re all amazed when we get there. “Amazing!” I shout. “Is this U.S.J. or something?”

“Flood wrecks, landslides, fires, et cetera, et cetera. This is a practical training area I created to simulate all kinds of accidents and disasters,” pro hero Thirteen said, “and its name is the Unforeseen Situation Joint!”

“It really is U.S.J.!” Kirishima laughed.

“No way!” I giggled. This time, I caught a glimpse of Katsuki glaring at Kirishima, the same glare he had used on Izuku earlier.

“Hey, Thirteen, where’s All Might?” Mr. Aizawa asked. “I thought he was meeting us here.”

“From what I was told, Shota, it looks as though he’d been out hero-ing while commuting up until his time was up. Now he’s resting in the break room.” She held up three fingers.

“That guy’s the height of irrational. Oh well. Let’s get started.”

“Before we begin, just one thing… or two… or three… or four…”

“They’re increasing,” I muttered to Kirishima. He laughed. Katsuki glared.

“I’m certain you’re all already quite aware,” Thirteen said, “but my quirk is called Black Hole. No matter what material may get sucked into its vortex, I’m afraid it will turn to dust.”

“Now that’s a quirk that’s perfect for removing wreckage and saving people injured by disasters!” Izuku analyzed.

“Yes… it is, however, a power that could also easily be used to kill people. And in that way, it’s no different from the quirks of everyone here. Naturally, in this society of superhumans, quirks are strictly regulated, and the requirements for their lawful use are enforced. We can tell at a glance that that is the makeup of this world. That being said, please don’t forget that each of you possesses a quirk that could go awry. One wrong step is all it takes to be able to kill others accidentally.

“During Mr. Aizawa’s physical strength tests you learned of your respective power’s true potential, and during All Might’s trial of battle, I think you took away a true sense of the danger of brandishing those powers against one another. This lesson will serve as a fresh start. Let’s get to studying about how to wield our quirks for the sake of human life.

“Your quirks empathetically do not exist to hurt others. Please leave this exercise having fully understood that your quirks exist to help people! That is all. You have my gratitude for listening so intently and patiently.”

“That was awesome!” Ochaco said.

Mr. Aizawa sighed. “All right, first thing’s first-”

Something’s wrong. I followed his gaze to the center of the U.S.J. There was a rift of some sort. It was a dark, black-ish purple… hole? A pale hand reached out-

Oh no.

A face with a blue disconnected hand peered out through the rift.

“HUDDLE TOGETHER AND DON’T MOVE!” Mr. Aizawa yelled. “THIRTEEN! PROTECT THE STUDENTS!” Countless people emerged from the rift.

“What is that?!” Kirishima asked. “Is this like that training pattern in the entrance exam?”

“DON’T MOVE! THOSE ARE VILLAINS!”

Mr. Aizawa isn’t one to joke. When you live with someone your whole life, you know that.

“Eraserhead and Thirteen…” the black rift said. “According to the teachers’ curriculum we procured yesterday, All Might was supposed to be here, and yet…”

“I knew it,” Mr. Aizawa muttered. “So yesterday was this guy’s fault…”

“Where is he?” the man with the hand on his face growled. “We went through all this trouble and rustled up so many of us to bring along. You can’t tell me All Might… the symbol of peace… isn’t here.” He looked upward. “I wonder if he’ll show up if we kill the kids…?”

Nononononononononononononono...

 

 

~~~~

 

 

“V-villains?!” I couldn’t believe it. “There’s no way! What kind of numbskull would think honest-to-God villains would just be able to waltz right into the hero home base?”

“Mr. Aizawa!” Yaomomo yelled. “What about the intruder alarm sensors?!”

“Of course we have some set up,” Thirteen replied, “but…”

“Is this the only campus they’ve infiltrated, or are they attacking all the others, too?” Todoroki asked. “At any rate, if the sensors aren’t responding, then that just means they must have one amongst their number who has a quirk that can jam them.

“An isolated space away from the school building… at a time when there’s a class scheduled… it may seem out of the question, but they must have some solid objective. This isn’t an ambush without a carefully planned scheme behind it.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” I responded. “This does seem like they have an objective to complete…”

Mr. Aizawa had more instructions. “Thirteen, do the evacuation procedure, and try calling the school! These villains know how to get around the sensors, there’s a chance there’s an electrowave-type guy who’ll try interfering! Kaminari, you too! Try contacting U.A. with your quirk!”

“Mr. Aizawa!” Izuku yelled. “Are you going to fight them alone? Even if you suppress all of their quirks, there’s so many of them! The battle style of Eraserhead is to capture villains after erasing their quirks, head-on battle isn’t...”

“A hero always has more than one trick up their sleeves. Thirteen, I’m counting on you!” Mr. Aizawa leaped down the stairs and into the fray.

“We need to stay back as long as we can,” I said. “These are real villains, and we don’t know if they know our quirks or not. We can’t risk it!”

The villains started talking and attacking Mr. Aizawa. He displayed his close combat skills against a mutant-type and easily took him down.

“Incredible,” Izuku muttered. “I forgot one-on-group battle is Mr. Aizawa’s specialty!”

“This is no time for analysis!” Iida said. “We’ve got to evacuate!”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that.” I turned toward the exit and saw that the black rift had appeared behind us.

“Greetings,” the black rift said. “We are the League of Villains. I apologize for the audacity, but we took it upon ourselves to enter U.A., the base of heroes, in order to engage with All Might, the ‘symbol of peace.’ We were wondering if we might be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him, you see.” W-what?!

“We were under the impression that All Might would be here today, but… It seems his schedule has been altered? Ah, well, no matter…” Thirteen flipped open the hatch on her finger. “...my role remains unchanged.”

Kirishima and Katsuki attacked the black rift. Kirishima taunted, “Not if we end you first! Bet you didn’t see that coming!”

“That was close,” the black rift replied. “To be expected. Though you may be mere students, you are the best of the best.’”

“No, get back!” Thirteen instructed. “Both of you!”

“BE GONE. WRITHE IN TORMENT UNTIL YOU BREATHE YOUR LAST.”

“EVERYONE!” I shouted. The black rift surrounded us. I was falling through the air. I looked around. I was in the Ruins Zone. Kirishima and Katsuki were here too. I released my wings and grabbed them quickly.

“You guys okay?!” There was too much going on right then to ask calmly.

“I’m… well, I guess I’m okay given the circumstances?” Kirishima replied.

“SHUT UP, FEATHERBRAIN AND HAIR-FOR-BRAINS!” Katsuki yelled. He’s fine.

I saw a building with a broken window. “Brace for impact!” I dove at the window and we crashed inside. As Katsuki and Kirishima hit the floor, the impact made me release my hold on them. I bounced once and landed on my stomach. “Another graceful landing.”

Kirishima offered his hand and pulled me up. Katsuki glared at him again. We formed a circle (or a triangle, I guess?) and prepared for combat. I readied my shield and put my wings away, Kirishima hardened himself, and Katsuki got more alert than usual.

Villains bursted through the room’s door. It was directly across from me. “Katsuki!” He looked towards me and saw the villains in the corner of his eye. “Got it!” He backed up a bit, Kirishima followed his lead, and I focused on the villains. 

Gotta time this just right… 3… 2… 1…

“NOW!” I curled up and leaned my shield on myself and the floor. Surprised, the villains were ramped up into the air and were flying right towards Katsuki and Kirishima. Katsuki started blowing up the villains, and Kirishima punched them with his hardened fists.

It wasn’t long before all the villains were writhing in pain on the floor. “Wave One, complete,” I gasped.

“Wave Two?” Katsuki asked.

Footsteps thundered by the door. I turned and got ready to use the same strategy. “About to be crushed.”

Katsuki smirked and Kirishima nodded. “We got this!”

We used this strategy for a few more waves before the villains started to figure it out. “This isn’t going to work for much longer!” Kirishima said after Wave Five.

“Shut up!” Katsuki and I shouted in unison.

I shook my head. He was right. “New plan! Follow me!” I started running into a different room than the one we were in. We seemed to be in a ruined office building. I pointed to the office desks and partitions. “Rearrange these into a bunker in that corner, then I’ll tell you the rest of the plan!”

Honestly, I was surprised how easily Katsuki was going along with the plan. No resistance at all! But, I guess, when your life is on the line and someone says they have a plan, you follow their lead. I took a few desks to barricade the door shut.

We ducked behind the bunker as the door began getting crashed into from the other side. I began to whisper. “We only have a few seconds, so here’s the crash course: Katsuki, stay here and wait for Kirishima and me. Kirishima, you and I are going to lure the villains to the bunker so Katsuki can explode them all at once.”

“That’s not a bad plan!” Kirishima said quietly.

“It could be a lot better, but it’s the best I could do with such a short time.”

“It could be a long shot, but I think it should work pretty well,” Katsuki whispered.

“All right, then.” I put my fist in the center of us. Katsuki put his hand on mine, and Kirishima on top of his. “Let’s do this!”

Kirishima and I leaped over the bunker walls and ran to the door. I readied my shield in case I needed it and Kirishima hardened his arms. The door got busted open.

I smiled and started running, weaving between the desks and partitions we hadn’t used, running through it like it was a maze, making sure half of the villains were following me.

I changed course and hightailed it towards the bunker. I emerged from the supplies at the same time as Kirishima and we both screeched to a halt in front of the bunker. I curled up beneath my shield and Kirishima hardened his entire body. “NOW!”

“SURPRISE, IDIOTS!” Katsuki leaped out of the bunker and I heard a large explosion. Once the noises stopped, I peeked over my shield. The villains were all down and Katsuki’s hands were smoking.

“I don’t think I have another one of those in me,” I gasped.

“Is that all of them?” Kirishima asked.

“Man, they were weak,” Katsuki complained.

“I’d prefer them being weak to them being strong!” I half-joked.

“Come on!” Kirishima shouted. “We gotta go save the others! Since we got warped here, that must mean the others are also still inside the U.S.J.! I’m worried for the people who don’t really have any ways to attack! Thirteen’s probably got her hands full since we rushed ahead like that. If she’d been able to suck up that black mist, things wouldn’t have turned out like this! As men, we need to take responsibility…”

“Guess I’m off the hook then!” I joked. “Relax, I’m just kidding.”

Katsuki turned to Kirishima. “If that’s what you want, then go alone. I’m just gonna go murder that warp gate guy!”

“Now, of all times, you come up with lines a little kid would say?! Plus, physical attacks against that guy are-”

“Shut it! He’s the enemy’s escape and entrance hatch… their revolving door. Bring him down and they have nowhere to run. And it’s not like I don’t have a way to beat him.”

“Do you really think it’ll work?” I asked.

“You’ve known me for years, featherbrain,” Katsuki replied. “Of course I think it’ll work, and you know it.”

I sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Course I am. I’m me.” A guy with a knife began to sneak up on him from behind. Katsuki moved his arm back and blew him up. “I mean, if all they’re sending against us are these idiots, we should be fine.”

“You mean that’s why you’re so calm right now?” Kirishima asked. “Wow…”

“I’M ALWAYS CALM, HAIR-FOR-BRAINS!”

“Ah, there it is!” Kirishima teased.

“I’m outta here.”

“Wait up! I believe in my pals, and you’re starting to sound real manly, Bakugo!”

Katsuki glanced in my direction. “Just don’t tell me what to do.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that,” I panted. “I’m all leadered out for right now.”

Katsuki smirked. “Then let’s go.”

I warped us to the center of the U.S.J. and we took some cover behind a rock. The man with all the hands on him started talking to himself, and muttered something about a Kurogiri and Warp Gate (“Kurogiri must be the rift guy!” I whispered) and scratched himself. My adaptation Scan activated, and it said that the guy’s name was Tomura Shigaraki (or Tenko Shimura, I wasn’t sure which. They both showed up) and his quirk was Decay.

I looked in front of Shigaraki and almost screamed. I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stop from crying. Kirishima and Katsuki noticed and looked where I was looking before being shocked themselves.

Mr. Aizawa - no, Uncle Shota was being held down by a hideous mutant man with his brains partially spilling out. The area around his eyes was bleeding really bad.

“S-s-s-sho…” I whispered into my hand.

“Mr. Aizawa!” Kirishima muttered. Katsuki cursed under his breath.

I couldn’t look at him anymore. I shifted my gaze slightly to the side, at the lake. Then I could finally move my hand away from my face. I saw Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta. I was glad that some others were okay. I tapped Kirishima and Katsuki and pointed to make sure they could see them. They nodded.

Suddenly, the man with the hands ran towards the trio in the lake. I put my hand over my mouth again to muffle my gasp as best as I could. Shigaraki’s left hand touched Tsu’s face and Izuku silently freaked out. I think Mineta passed out.

He spoke up. “You really are pretty cool… Eraserhead.” Uncle Shota was staring directly at Shigaraki, hair raised.

Izuku attacked him. “GET OFF HER!”

I barely heard Shigaraki say, “Nomu.” Izuku’s punch landed…

…on the wrong person. The mutant who had been holding down Uncle Shota was now between Izuku and the Shigaraki.

“Quite a move you just pulled off.” His voice was so gravelly. “You called it a ‘smash’... are you a fan of All Might? Well, whatever.”

Suddenly the main entrance’s door was busted down. “Have no fear…”

“For I am here!” All Might stood at the entrance…

and he wasn’t smiling.

Shigaraki said something to All Might. I couldn’t hear what. I faced away from the battle.

“This is too much,” I whispered into my hand. “I don’t think I can take much more of this…”

For the first time I remember, Katsuki didn’t retort with a rude or condescending comment. He just came over and wrapped me in a hug. He smelled like smoke and sweat.

What… what is he doing? I didn’t say a word, but I wanted to know what was going on. Katsuki was actually… being nice?

He put his hand on the back of my head and whispered into my ear, “Honestly, I’m a little scared too.” I started to cry, making sure to keep myself quiet, and Katsuki started rubbing the back of my head with his hand. He muttered to Kirishima, “You mention this to anyone and I will personally kill you.” Kirishima nodded fast before shifting his attention to me.

“You must be really stressed right now,” Kirishima whispered, “and I completely understand why. You’ve got a lot on your shoulders. Not only do you have to watch all of this, you were responsible for the plan that put our lives and yours on the line. But it worked. You saved us.” Katsuki released me for a moment and Kirishima hugged me. “Thank you, Akarui.”

“K-Kirishima…”

“Eijiro. Please.”

He released me and I nodded. I kept crying and Katsuki hugged me for another few seconds. We listened to the fight happening behind the rock, but I couldn’t bring myself to look. Kirishima watched out of necessity - one of us had to watch what was happening. 

Katsuki left to join the fight. I didn’t have the mental or physical strength left to stop him. For the first time since All Might appeared, I began listening to the fight more closely.

Explosion. “OUTTA THE WAY, DEKU!!” Kirishima- no, Eijiro sneaking away to fight. I needed to at least watch. I took a deep breath and turned to peek over the rock. Eijiro was sneaking up on Shigaraki. Katsuki was getting ready to talk.

“So I heard you people are here to kill All Might.”

“RAAH!” Eijiro missed his attack. “Crap! I almost had him!”

Katsuki. “No funny business out of you, you shadow-[butt] mobling!”

Todoroki. “Scum like you could never kill the Symbol of Peace.”

Izuku. “Kacchan… guys…”

I couldn’t watch and listen at the same time. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to keep my crying quiet. But I had to watch, so I covered my ears. All Might was spitting blood, and then he said something. There was a conversation between All Might and Shigaraki, with some input from Izuku, Eijiro, Katsuki, and Todoroki.

I was calm enough now to uncover my ears. “If you think you can take me, then BRING IT ON!” All Might taunted Shigaraki, who groaned.

“As expected,” Todoroki said. “It looks as though we’re not going to have the chance to fight.”

“Hey, Midoriya!” Eijiro shouted. “We oughta just hang back for now. Rush in and they might take you hostage or something…”

“No!” Izuku responded. “That’s…”

“The kids are holding back for some reason,” Kurogiri told Shigaraki. “The reinforcements should arrive in a few minutes. But if the two of us double team him, we still have a chance.”

“Yes… you’re right,” Shigaraki said. “Yes. Right. Right. We can do this… the final boss is right in front of us.”

“All Might is taking care of the big fish,” Eijiro said. “Let’s go see if we can help the others.”

“Midoriya.” There’s something about the unwavering calmness of Todoroki’s voice that was reassuring in such a dangerous situation. Izuku was muttering to himself. He suddenly launched himself in an attack toward the man.

The rift guy, Kurogiri, moved in closer to All Might, along with Shigaraki. They were about to attack him when suddenly Izuku jumped in the way.

“Midoriya!” Eijiro yelled.

“GET AWAY FROM ALL MIGHT!” Izuku was never able to attack because someone else landed a hit first.

A bullet hit Shigaraki’s right hand. I turned to the direction the bullet had come from. Snipe! The teachers were here!

“Sorry we’re late, everyone,” Snipe said. “We brought everyone we could.”

“Class 1A! Class Rep Tenya Iida! I’m back!” It wasn’t just Iida - there were 11 U.A. teachers here, including Principal Nezu! 

“Oh, they’re here. It’s game over,” Shigaraki muttered. “GAH!” A barrage of bullets fired on his location.

“Did he get weaker?” he rasped. “What a lie! We were completely smashed with just your presence. Not even my Nomu was capable of- that’s cheating! He didn’t get any weaker! That guy… did he just fool me?”

There was a second of peace. I took that opportunity to sneak back to the entrance by the teachers. I felt it was safe to go back now.

Then the moment passed. “What is it? Aren’t you going to fight?” All Might taunted. “Weren’t you blabbering about completing your mission just now? What’s up? What is it?”

Shigaraki looked up and scratched his neck. “If only Nomu was still here! That guy would be able to go to him with no fear!”

“Tomura Shigaraki, please calm down,” Kurogiri instructed. “Look carefully. The damage Nomu did to him is clearly visible!”

On the ground, Izuku seemed to mutter something to himself. Thirteen made another appearance, but she was badly injured.

“I may have failed here, Symbol of Peace,” Shigaraki said. “But the next time we meet, you’re dead, All Might!”

“What in tarnation?” Snipe asked.

“They just fled? And after such a dramatic intrusion?” Midnight asked.

“They really hit us where our guard was down,” Vlad King said quietly.

“Never mind that for now, we must tend to the students!” Nezu still had a fairly happy attitude. I like how optimistic he is.

“Not just them either…” Cementoss hinted.

Todoroki said something to Katsuki and Eijiro. Eijiro yelled, “Midoriya! You okay?!”

“Kirishima!” There was still a wall of dust, so I couldn’t see Izuku very well.

Eijiro ran toward Izuku and were All Might had last been seen, but a wall of cement stopped him right before he got there. Weird, why would Cementoss stop him? Cementoss said something to Eijiro, to which he responded, “Makes sense! Roger that!”

The teachers made sure everyone didn’t have any terrible injuries and then escorted us back to the main campus, where police cars waited for us. I’d wrapped myself in my arms and wings. Eijiro came up and patted my shoulder. I looked at him and he smiled. I guess smiles really are contagious.

“16… 17… 18…” one policeman counted. “Everyone’s pretty much unharmed.”

“I see, so everyone else was fighting garden variety thugs, too,” Eijiro said. “They must have just written us off as kids. Lucky they did, though, because that allowed Akarui’s plan to work!”

I moved one hand to shield my face. “It was really nothing-”

“She was awesome back there!”

I smiled a bit and moved over by the girls. I don’t know why. I heard Tsu ask, “How is Mr. Aizawa?”

I made a mental note to kick myself. I should have asked about him!  The policeman’s face got sad fast. Oh no…

“Both arms were smashed to splinters, and he’s suffering from facial fractures as well. Thankfully, he didn’t receive any brain damage.” Phew, that’s a relief! “It’s just… well, his eye sockets have been crushed into a powder. There’s a chance he may suffer from long term lack of vision… or so I’ve been told.”

I put my hand over my mouth to hold in a sob but let the tears fall. The students who saw me cry probably just thought I was concerned for the safety of a teacher, but they wouldn’t understand the full extent of it. They didn’t know the full extent of my relationship with him.

The officer went into detail on the medical status of Thirteen and All Might, but I didn’t listen. I was too worried about Uncle Shota. There were conversations around me and the officer left, leaving another in charge.

After he left, I started to listen. “We have to focus on fortifying our security across the board,” Nezu said. “As a quirk, warping is exceptionally rare. There are only two students in the entirety of U.A. with the ability to warp.” I’m just one? Eijiro and Katsuki glance in my direction. “It’s really too bad that a warping ability of that scale fell to the villain side.”

Another officer yelled to the one who had left, calling him Detective Tsukauchi. Now I at least had a name to the face of the bearer of bad news. 

Tsukauchi came back. “Mr. Principal, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to investigate every nook and cranny of the campus.”

“Oh, yes, yes, of course!” Nezu replied. “I realize the police are often buffeted by less-than-civil remarks these days, but we realize their jurisdiction over these matters is higher than ours. When it comes to investigations, that is you gentlemen’s field of expertise! Please, by all means, conduct yourselves as usual!”

The officer left. I considered walking home, but I really didn’t want to be alone. I knew the school would be closed the next day for the investigation, and that Uncle Shota was too hurt to be able to come home. I sat down on a bench by the exit. I watched the pool of people leave and the teachers go inside. Eventually it was just me and Katsuki.

“Thought you’d be going home by now,” I said.

“Look who’s talking,” he replied. “You seem really stressed.”

“Really, I didn’t notice.” I looked away from him.

Katsuki sat down next to me, making sure no one was watching him. “You want to talk about it?”

“I don’t want to talk about anything,” I answered. “But, at the same time, I don’t want to be alone either.”

“So go home. I’m sure your family will help you out.”

I closed my eyes. I can’t tell him. “Featherbrain? You good?”

I sighed. “Wait here. I… need to check something really quick.” I stood up and walked into the building, taking a moment to glance at his confused reflection in the glass. Why is he so mesmerizing? Nezu was standing not far away. “Principal Nezu!”

“Ah, Akarui Kiseki! Can I help you with something?”

“Yeah, but… can I ask you alone?”

“Of course!” Nezu lead me into his office and gave me a cup of tea. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“About… that.”

“Ah, that. What about it?”

“Someone led me somewhere in a conversation that had to do with… my family.”

“And you don’t know what to tell them.”

“I know what we agreed on, but… I’ve known this person for a long time. I trust them, and they can keep a secret.”

“Fine, I guess, as long as you make them promise not to tell anyone.”

“Thank you. Oh, and thank you for the tea, as well.” I sat down the empty cup and walked out of the building.

Katsuki was still waiting on the bench. “That was a long check.”

“I needed to talk with Principal Nezu about it.”

“Hah?”

I glanced both ways, making sure no one was around. “You can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”

“What?”

“Technically, no one is supposed to know that doesn’t already, but I asked Nezu, and he said I can tell you as long as you don’t tell anyone else.”

Katsuki looked up, thinking. “Deal.”

I cupped my hands around his ear. “You know Mr. Aizawa?”

“Yeah…?”

“And how I live with my uncle who doesn’t usually like people?”

“Yeah…?”

I lowered my voice more. “Yeah… my uncle’s the same person as Mr. Aizawa.”

I backed away to see Katsuki in utter shock. “What?”

“Yeah… they’re the same person.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“... well, you said I could go home to my family, and I don’t live with anyone else, so…”

“Don’t you have an older brother?”

“Yeah, but he’s really busy and lives and works out of town, so I can’t see him very often. It usually has to be pre-planned.”

“Oh, I see.” I scratched the back of my head. “Well, just come over to my place.”

“A-are you sure, Katsuki?”

“Sure. We’ve got a guest room.”

I smiled and relaxed a bit. “I’ll have to stop at home and grab some things first, but I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah. And you do remember the rules, right?”

I laughed. “Stay on your mom’s good side and no matter what I think of the food, say it’s delicious.”

Katsuki nodded. “I’ll text them to let them know you’re coming.” He stood up and left.

 

Ahahshdhdhdhdhhd

Katsuki aqwwwqw

Heheheheheh

Bakubro is truly awesome. 

[Through the Living Hope]

4 minutes ago, Hawks said:

Ahahshdhdhdhdhhd

Katsuki aqwwwqw

Heheheheheh

Bakubro is truly awesome. 

I’m at lunch, I’ll post more in a bit

13 minutes ago, Hawks said:

Ahahshdhdhdhdhhd

Katsuki aqwwwqw

Heheheheheh

Bakubro is truly awesome. 

Light Hero: Illumea, Chapter 7: Crush-ing Pressure

Spoiler

ft.

Chapter Seven

Crush-ing Pressure

 

I left a few seconds after he did, but I flew home to be quicker. I grabbed some sweatpants, a loose T-shirt, jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, another change of my uniform, my toothbrush, and my small Hawks plush. I put them in my bag with my schoolwork when my phone buzzed.

 

 

 

AKARUI! ARE YOU OKAY?!?!?!

 

 

 

I always get really happy when Keigo texts me since it doesn’t happen often, and I was glad that he checked on me.

 

 

I’m fine, well, physically, anyway. Today was… to put it plainly, a mess.

 

And… Shota?

 

I haven’t seen him yet, but he’s got some really bad injuries.

 

I’m sure he’ll be okay.

 

Yeah, he will be.

 

So… are you just going to be alone tonight?

 

I’d go INSANE if I stayed alone. No, a friend invited me over.

 

Good. I’d come see you in person, but a lot’s going on here.

 

Relax, I get it. Thanks for reaching out, though.

 

 

 

I walked outside, held my bag to my chest, and began flying to Katsuki’s house. I was glad he’d extended the invite. Like I’d told Keigo, I would go absolutely insane if I had to comprehend the attack alone. Now, at least, I could be with other people.

I landed in front of the house and rang the doorbell. I waited for a few seconds and Katsuki answered the door. “Thought you’d be here sooner.”

I rolled my eyes. “My brother texted me, so I responded to him - it was the polite thing to do.”

“Just come in.” He opened the door wider for me to walk in.

“Thanks again, Katsuki.” I looked around. I’d been a while since I’d been to his house. “Hey, can you show me where the guest room is?”

“Fine.” He led me up the stairs and opened one of the doors. It was a room with a bed, a desk, and a dresser. “Put your stuff in here.”

I sat my bag on the bed and opened it. I pulled out one of my notebooks and set it on the desk. When I turned around, Katsuki was coming up off the floor. “What’s this?” He was holding the Hawks plush.

“Ack!” It must have fallen out of my bag when I grabbed the notebook!

“Why do you have a plush of… is this Hawks?”

“He’s my favorite pro hero, okay?! Just… please be careful with it! I got that from Hawks!”

“Wait, what?!”

I looked down. “Well, like I said, he’s my favorite hero, and I go to as many of his events as I can. He noticed me during one, saw how excited I was, called me over afterwards, and gave it to me.”

“That’s…”

“Let me guess. Unrealistic. Dumb.”

“No… that’s pretty cool. If my favorite hero gave me something like this, I probably wouldn’t be acting much different than you are right now.”

“Yeah, it’s just… he’s so cool, so whenever things get to be too much,” I put emphasis on those words to imply the attack today, “it just comforts me a lot.”

He nodded, catching on to my implication and gave it back to me. “My parents are going to be at work for a couple hours. Just hang out here.” Katsuki left the room and closed the door.

I sat down and opened my notebook. I decided to start with math. I found it pretty easy. I finished that homework quickly, and then moved to English. The entire time I was doing the English homework, Present Mic’s lousy memorization- helping raps got stuck in my head and I got distracted. It took a while longer. Just as I finished, I heard Katsuki’s mom, Mitsuki, come into the house.

“KATSUKI!” she shouted. “GET DOWN HERE AND HELP ME MAKE DINNER!”

I put my notebook back in the bag and Katsuki opened the door. “My mom’s home.”

“I noticed. She’s as loud as you!” He punched me in the shoulder and I grinned. Worth it.

Katsuki went down the stairs first, and I stayed upstairs. I wanted a bit of time by myself. I lied down on the bed and closed my eyes, playing the U.S.J. attack behind my eyelids. It was the best I could do to process it at the time. It didn’t feel like much time later until Katsuki’s dad Masaru came to get me for dinner, but according to the clock it had been an hour.

During dinner, Mitsuki kept asking me questions about how I was doing. It had been years since we’d really talked. I made sure to humor her, not saying anything that would get her mad. And I didn’t have to just say the food was delicious - I really meant it (then again, Keigo and I are always happy when something has chicken).

After dinner I got in the shower and turned on the warm water. I released my wings and massaged the sweat and dirt out with the water and soap in the shower. After I finished, I changed into my sweatpants and T-shirt and climbed into bed. It was still pretty early, but I was really tired. I wrapped my plush in my arms and tried to fall asleep.

About an hour later I woke up in a cold sweat. My hands were shaking. I’d been having probably the worst nightmare I’d ever had in my life. It was just a replaying of the events at the U.S.J., which already was a nightmare, with a major change at the end. Instead of jumping at Tsu, Shigaraki leaped towards me, hand stretched out to my face, and Uncle Shota was facing the other way.

My breaths came fast and shallow. It would be impossible to calm down with these thoughts bouncing around inside my head. I turned slightly. The clock said 8:17. Katsuki should still be awake… maybe I can talk to him about it?

With the plush still held to my chest, I walked slowly down the hall to Katsuki’s room and knocked on the door.

“Oi, what d'you want?”

I responded in a whisper. “K-Katsuki?”

“... come in.”

I opened the door and walked in slowly. Katsuki was just sitting on the end of his bed. He had a desk with a chair in his room, too. I sat down in the chair and told him about the nightmare.

“The attack really left an impact on you, didn’t it?”

“No, I just always have nightmares about my day.”

He smirked a bit, then tried to hide it. “It’s just in your head, though. It didn’t really happen.”

“Tsu’s lucky to be alive!”

“And are you Tsu?”

“If I was I’d still probably dream this!”

“Okay, okay.” He sighed. He grabbed a couple of blankets. “Let’s go.”

He walked out of his room and into the guest room, grumbling to himself. He laid the blankets on the floor at the foot of the bed and lied on them. “I guess I’ll just sleep on the floor in here tonight.”

“Thank you, Katsuki.”

“Whatever.” Is his face red? No, it’s probably just the lighting.

I got under the blankets again and fell asleep. I felt much more comfortable knowing that I didn’t have to go through this alone.

My phone was still in my sweatpant pocket. I pulled it out and texted Keigo.

 

 

 

Do you think you’ll be very busy tomorrow?

 

Probably not. Why?

 

Well, after today, we’re going to have tomorrow off.

 

Yeah, things have been pretty peaceful here. SYT, then?

 

SYT.

 

 

 

It was a lot easier to sleep after my plans for the next day were solidified.

Left the formatting this time because I love how I did texts in the actual doc and for my sanity.

This is all you get today, Hawks! I'm not here to spoil you!

[Through the Living Hope]

@Hawks

Light Hero: Illumea, Chapter 8: My Brother and My Classmates

Spoiler

The next morning, I thanked the Bakugos for their hospitality. Then I flew to Kyushu, where Keigo lived and where is agency was. Asami lived there, too, so I’d probably see her as well.

My feelings about Kyushu are… mixed, to say the least. I was born here, and my brother and his girlfriend live here, but my biological father - the villain - wasn’t the best to Keigo, from what he’s told me. He doesn’t like talking about it to anyone.

I land at the outside of Keigo’s house and knock. I have a certain pattern of knocking whenever I visit him so he knows it’s me. Dat, da da dat, da da dat, dat, dat. Keigo opens the door and wraps me in his arms.

“Rui!” We were always happy when we got to see each other, since it wasn’t very often that we got to.

“K,” I sighed in relief. There was always something relaxing about being with Keigo. It was therapeutic. “Can I come inside?”

“Of course!” he replied. “Asami’s here, too.”

“I figured she would be.”

I walked inside Keigo’s house. “You hungry?” he asked.

“Starving,” I gasped. “Flying takes a lot out of you, especially when you haven’t had breakfast.”

“I know the feeling. Asami’s making chicken.”

“Score! Two meals in a row!” I pumped my fist.

“Lucky…”

“Well, you two better stop yapping and help me in here!” Asami ordered. “Bird’s almost ready.”

Keigo and I wrestled with each other while running to the kitchen and ended up tripping on the rug. As I fell, I stretched my arm as far as I could and barely touched the kitchen tile. “Ha! I win.”

“This time, anyway,” he smirked. “You won’t be so lucky next time.”

Keigo stood up as I winced at the sores from the fall, and then he pulled me up. “Thanks.”

“Will you two stop being so immature and help me already?” Asami asked annoyedly.

“Sorry, Asami.” Keigo got some coffee mugs out and I prepared the coffee beans. Keigo, Asami and I all like it the same way - sweetened. Once the ground beans, creamer (French vanilla), and sugar were ready, I filled a kettle with cold water and started to boil it. Once the kettle whistled, I fully prepared the coffees and set them on the table.

“Drinks are ready,” I said.

“Bird’s ready,” Asami added.

“My stomach’s ready,” Keigo joked.

Keigo and I stuffed our faces full of chicken (we may have a problem). Asami just watched us and shook her head.

Asami had to work that day (she’d just stopped by for breakfast), so she left once she’d finished. Keigo and I decided to walk around Kyushu. He can’t hide his wings like I can, though, so even in casual clothing, people would still be able to recognize him, so we avoided busy streets.

In doing so, we had to take a few alleys to avoid large groups of people. In one dark alley, we heard crashes in front of us. Keigo held his hand to stop me and showed me where to hide. I did, but I still peeked out to watch the scene at hand.

There was a group of thugs mugging an older woman. Some of them held her back, and one of them was going through her purse - he seemed like he was the leader. Keigo sent out a feather to pin the leader to the wall, and then two more to pin the lackeys. He returned the purse and items to the woman, came back to me, and told me to go back to the house while he took them to jail. I nodded and did as instructed.

“He’s just so cool!” I said to no one in particular on the way back.

“Kiseki?” a familiar voice asked.

I turned toward the voice in surprise. “Kaminari? Kyoka? I didn’t expect to see you two today!”

“Me neither!” Kaminari replied. “I was just checking this place out with Jiro. Apparently there’s a really good music shop in town.”

“Not apparently, there is one!” Kyoka punched his shoulder. “Anyways… what’re you doing, Akarui?”

“I was visiting my brother. He lives in town, and I don’t get to see him often.”

“Do you think he’d be cool if you came with us?” Kaminari asked.

“I’ll have to text him. Give me a sec, okay?”

“Sure thing!”

I got out my phone and asked Keigo if I could go with Kyoka and Kaminari. A bit later I looked up from my phone. “He’s cool with it. Lead the way!”

“Sweet!” Kaminari said.

As we walked there, Kyoka got curious. “So, are you a musician?”

“Yes, why?” I answered.

“You wouldn’t be interested in coming to the music shop if you weren’t, would you?”

“Fair, fair. Yeah, I am. I’ve been playing violin and trombone for years, and I like singing, too.”

“My parents are musicians too, so I’ve liked playing music forever. I can play lots of instruments, but my primary instrument is bass.”

“So Kaminari’s a musician too?”

“You bet I am!” he replied. “I really just play guitar, though.”

“Guitar is a major instrument, though,” I told him, “and so is bass! You really only hear violin and trombone in classical music, but guitar and bass you can find pretty much anywhere.”

“That’s true,” Kyoka responded.

“You know a lot about music,” Kaminari observed.

“Like I said, I’ve been playing for years. And once I get more free time, I want to learn to play guitar, too!”

“We’re here.” Kyoka opened the door and we walked inside.

We all looked at sheet music, and Kyoka and Kaminari looked at their respective instruments as well. None of us ended up actually buying anything, but it was a fun experience, to say the least.

“I had a great time with you guys!” I said to them when we left. “Still, I should probably get back to my brother’s house. See you tomorrow, Kyoka and Kaminari!”

“Bye, Akarui!”

I flew back to Keigo’s house to shave off some time. As soon as I opened the door-

“You’ve been gone for a while.”

“I know, I didn’t expect it to take so long.”

Keigo grinned. “It’s not about that. We have a visitor.” He led me into the living room where Uncle Shota sat on the couch.

“Uncle Shota!” I smiled from ear to ear. His face and arms were completely wrapped in bandages. “Wait, they let you out of the hospital? That detective guy said-”

“I know what they said,” Uncle Shota replied calmly. “I’m not going to let something like this stop me from doing stuff.”

“That reminds me,” Keigo said, “I was meaning to ask - what all happened yesterday? Obviously the news didn’t give much information.”

Uncle Shota told Keigo everything that had happened at the center of the U.S.J., and I relayed everything that I had experienced. Then I paused.

“There’s something else,” Uncle Shota analyzed. I told them about the nightmare I’d had… the one with Shigaraki.

“Oh, man…” Keigo put his hand on his forehead. Uncle Shota seemed to tensen. 

“Wait, were did you spend last night?” Uncle Shota asked. “After that, you wouldn’t have been alone.”

“She told me that a friend invited her to spend the night,” Keigo replied. I nodded.

“I see.”

Uncle Shota stood up. “We don’t want to be keeping you any longer than we need to. Tell Asami I said hello.”

Keigo saluted. “Yes, sir!”

“Don’t do that.”

I smiled and stood up. I hugged Keigo. “See you later.”

“Later.”

I grabbed my bag, helped Uncle Shota walk out, and we took a cab to Musutafu. I led him back into our house. We didn’t talk much. He spent the rest of the day sleeping in his room, and I just did quiet stuff so I wouldn’t wake him.

It was a sad and boring day.

 

***

 

 

 

The next morning, he wasn’t much better, but I knew he would still want to show up for homeroom. I left pretty early and walked. I was still pretty upset, so I didn’t want to fly.

I got to the building before anyone else in 1A, so I just sat in silence for a while. One by one the others came in. Once everyone was there, Iida started talking at the front of the room.

“All right, listen! It’s time for this morning’s homeroom period! Take your seats, everyone!”

“We are in our seats, you’re the one who’s not,” Sero muttered.

“Morning,” Mr. Aizawa said as he walked in.

“MR. AIZAWA, YOU’RE ALREADY BACK?!” the rest of the class said in unison. “That’s beyond pro!” someone added.

“Mr. Aizawa! You’re all right!” Iida shouted excitedly.

“Can you really call that ‘all right’...?” asked Ochaco, looking at Mr. Aizawa’s condition.

“Don’t concern yourselves over me,” Mr. Aizawa responded. “After all, the battle hasn’t really ended for you yet.”

“The battle?” Katsuki murmered.

“You don’t mean…” Izuku began.

“MORE VILLAINS?!” Mineta freaked out.

“U.A.’s sports festival is approaching.”

“Oh, yeah, this is a school!”

Shoji muttered something about villains trying to infiltrate the festival. I really wouldn’t have been able to deal with that, so I panicked a bit.

“On the contrary,” Mr. Aizawa said. “Since we’re going ahead with the festival, it means that the school is confident it has all its ducks in a row when it comes to crisis control now. Police presence will be five times bigger than the past few years. What you should be thinking about is: what a huge chance the school’s festival presents to you all. This isn’t some event that’ll be brought to a halt by the likes of villains.”

“No, if villains do appear, can we halt it please?” Mineta complained.

Izuku turned around. “Mineta, have you never seen the U.A. sports festival?!”

“Of course I have! That’s not what I mean-”

“Our sports festival is one of Japan’s biggest events,” Mr. Aizawa interrupted. “In days past, the ‘Olympics’ was the sports festivity that whipped all the nation into a froth of enthusiasm. But now, as you know, the extent and population have shrunk and it’s lost a lot of substance. So what has taken the place of the Olympics in Japan is the U.A. sports festival.”

“The country’s top heroes are all sure to be watching us!” Yaomomo added. “They’ll be there as scouts!”

I’d forgotten about that! During the sports festival every year, pro heroes watched and scouted out students for an internship. It doesn’t only provide experience working with pros in the office, you also get to see them work up close and personal! That’s why I’d been sure to watch Keigo in the alley - watching heroes work helps you figure out how you can be the best hero you can be!

“I’m thinking I might follow the tactic of going sidekick for a pro hero’s squad after graduating,” Kaminari said excitedly.

“But there are loads of people who get stuck as sidekicks forever and miss their chance to break out as solo heroes,” Kyoka responded annoyedly, “And you seem like just that kind of idiot, Kaminari.”

“Huh?”

“Naturally, entering the squad of a famous hero will get you higher status and more experience,” Mr. Aizawa explained. “Remember, time is limited. If you get noticed by a pro, that gives you the standing for a brighter future than otherwise. This is the chance you’ll only get once a year… for a total of three chances. If you aim to be a hero, this is an event you can’t overlook.”

The bell rang. My eyes trailed Mr. Aizawa as he left the room. Next was Modern Lit with Cementoss, but since no one was able to pay attention, he basically just gave us a free period. It wasn’t long before we had a noon break. 

“This has got me so freaking pumped!” Eijiro said.

“If we put in the effort and stand out to a pro, it’ll be a giant leap forward!” Sero replied.

Izuku and Iida were talking away from the big group. I didn’t hear the start of their conversation, but then Iida yelled, “You’ve enrolled in U.A. to become a hero, so getting fired up is only natural, man!”

Ochaco’s face became shaded. “Let’s crush the sports festival,” she snarled. I was kind of scared of her in that moment.

“What’s up with her?” Mina asked. “Uraraka’s being kinda… not uraraka. Maybe it’s-” Tsu slapped Mina with her tongue.

“Guys! I’m! Gonna! Crush this!” Ochaco lifted her fist in the air and stepped out. 

“Woooo!” Eijiro agreed. “But… eh, it’s like your character is floating off!”

Izuku went off somewhere else during lunch. It didn’t bother me that much, though. I hadn’t really sat with him at all yet.

I ate lunch with Katsuki, Eijiro, Sero, Mina, and Kaminari. The latter three of those were extremely talkative, while me, Katsuki, and Eijiro were really quiet. Well, okay, Katsuki was yelling telepathically at Eijiro. I’d imagine it was along the lines of “YOU TELL ANYONE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BEHIND THE ROCK AT THE U.S.J. AND I’LL-”

“Dude, I know, just calm down!”

That day, after school, the hallway outside of 1A’s classroom was absolutely crowded with students. “What the heck?!” Ochaco yelled as soon as she opened the door.

“It’ll be nearly impossible to weave through this crowd!” I analyzed.

“They’re crowding the exit! What’re they here for?” Mineta asked.

“They’re scoping out the competition, pint size,” Katsuki answered. “We’re the kids who survived a villain attack. They’re checking us out before the big battle, asshole.” He turned his attention to the crowd. “It’s pointless to try to stop me, so get out of my way, extras!”

“You can’t call people extras just because you don’t know their names!” Iida panicked.

“I came to see what you guys are made of, true,” one voice said. “But I didn’t think you’d be this arrogant. Are all the kids enrolled at the department of heroics this way?”

“HAAAAAH?!”

“I’m a bit disillusioned, so that’s it, huh?” The voice belonged to a boy with upright purple hair and tired-looking eyes. Scan said his name was Hitoshi Shinso. “There’s a lot of kids who end up in the general education department or other departments because they failed the heroics one. Did you know that? And based on the results of the sports festival… people can even come under review to be transferred to heroics, and the reverse is also a possible outcome… Scoping out the competition? If nothing else, a general ed kid like me is thinking, ‘Hey, why don’t I try pulling the rug out from under those heroics kids while they’re on their high horses?’ Consider this a declaration of war.”

The purple-haired kid turned and walked away, leaving us darn near speechless. 

“HEY! YOU!” A white-haired boy yelled. Scan said Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. “I’m from class B! I heard you fought some villains or whatever so I came to hear it direct! But I don’t wanna hear from some snot-nosed punk! Don’t embarrass us during the main event, you hear me?!”

A moment of silence, and then-

“Wait a second, man, what did you just do?!” Eijiro yelled to Katsuki. “Thanks to you we’ve got a whole mob of haters now!”

“I don’t give a crap.” Katsuki replied. “I’m heading for the top. Why should I care?”

“Oh, man…” Eijiro gasped. “So straightforward and manly!” I shook my head.

“He does have a point,” Tokoyami muttered. “The ‘top,’ huh…”

“Don’t listen to that guy!” Kaminari yelled. “All he did was make us new enemies for no reason!”

The days before the festival flew by and I wouldn’t be able to relay everything that happened to save my life. Everyone was so excited by the sports festival that the teachers knew we wouldn’t pay attention, so they didn’t teach much… or maybe that was just 1A.

But eventually, the day came.

I made sure to arrive at the building 20 minutes early. I had a feeling there would be a flood of reporters waiting for the festival to begin. Luckily for me, they’d decided to open the doors to students early. Class 1A met in one of the waiting rooms to prepare for everything. Once everyone was ready, Class Rep Iida began checking on everyone and everything to make absolutely sure everything was ready.

“Everyone, are your preparations complete?” Iida asked. “The event begins soon!”

“I wish I could’ve my costume,” Shoji complained.

“They’re not allowed so everything is fair,” Ojiro told him.

“Midoriya.”

Izuku turned to the speaker. “What is it, Todoroki?” Katsuki became alert. 

“On an objective basis, I think I’m above you in terms of practical strength,” Todoroki replied.

“Huh? S-Sure…”

“You’ve managed to get All Might’s eyes on you, right? I feel no need to pry into that, but… I’m going to beat you.”

“Oh, what’s this?” Kaminari laughed. “A declaration of war from one of the strongest kids in the class!”

“Hey, man, why pick a fight now?” Eijiro asked, tapping Todoroki’s shoulder. “We’re about to go on-”

“I’m not here to play nice and make friends,” Todoroki replied, “but whatever.”

Izuku looked down. “I have no idea what you want from me… telling me all that… You’re definitely stronger than me. I can’t measure up to most of the others here in skill, looking at it objectively…”

“Come on, Midoriya, don’t be so negative!” Eijiro said to pump him up. 

“Even so,” Izuku continued, “everyone - even the kids from the other courses- are aiming for the top with all they have! So not even I can just let myself fall behind! So I’m going for it too - with everything I’ve got!”

The room fell silent. There was so much tension, it was all we could do. I wiped some sweat from my head. This is definitely going to be an… interesting day for all of us.

I glanced at the clock. The festival would be starting within a few minutes. I stood up, breaking the tense silence. “The sports festival is starting soon. We should probably head out.” My classmates nodded silently and stood up as well. We walked down the tunnel as a group… no, as some sort of family. 

“It’s the first year stage!” Present Mic’s voice boomed through the speakers. “And the students are making their entry now!”

Izuku was in front of me. Ochaco was on my left, Tsu was on my right. Shoji and Katsuki were behind me. We stepped out of the tunnel and into thunderous applause.

 

[Keke They/he]

9 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

@Hawks

Light Hero: Illumea, Chapter 8: My Brother and My Classmates

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The next morning, I thanked the Bakugos for their hospitality. Then I flew to Kyushu, where Keigo lived and where is agency was. Asami lived there, too, so I’d probably see her as well.

My feelings about Kyushu are… mixed, to say the least. I was born here, and my brother and his girlfriend live here, but my biological father - the villain - wasn’t the best to Keigo, from what he’s told me. He doesn’t like talking about it to anyone.

I land at the outside of Keigo’s house and knock. I have a certain pattern of knocking whenever I visit him so he knows it’s me. Dat, da da dat, da da dat, dat, dat. Keigo opens the door and wraps me in his arms.

“Rui!” We were always happy when we got to see each other, since it wasn’t very often that we got to.

“K,” I sighed in relief. There was always something relaxing about being with Keigo. It was therapeutic. “Can I come inside?”

“Of course!” he replied. “Asami’s here, too.”

“I figured she would be.”

I walked inside Keigo’s house. “You hungry?” he asked.

“Starving,” I gasped. “Flying takes a lot out of you, especially when you haven’t had breakfast.”

“I know the feeling. Asami’s making chicken.”

“Score! Two meals in a row!” I pumped my fist.

“Lucky…”

“Well, you two better stop yapping and help me in here!” Asami ordered. “Bird’s almost ready.”

Keigo and I wrestled with each other while running to the kitchen and ended up tripping on the rug. As I fell, I stretched my arm as far as I could and barely touched the kitchen tile. “Ha! I win.”

“This time, anyway,” he smirked. “You won’t be so lucky next time.”

Keigo stood up as I winced at the sores from the fall, and then he pulled me up. “Thanks.”

“Will you two stop being so immature and help me already?” Asami asked annoyedly.

“Sorry, Asami.” Keigo got some coffee mugs out and I prepared the coffee beans. Keigo, Asami and I all like it the same way - sweetened. Once the ground beans, creamer (French vanilla), and sugar were ready, I filled a kettle with cold water and started to boil it. Once the kettle whistled, I fully prepared the coffees and set them on the table.

“Drinks are ready,” I said.

“Bird’s ready,” Asami added.

“My stomach’s ready,” Keigo joked.

Keigo and I stuffed our faces full of chicken (we may have a problem). Asami just watched us and shook her head.

Asami had to work that day (she’d just stopped by for breakfast), so she left once she’d finished. Keigo and I decided to walk around Kyushu. He can’t hide his wings like I can, though, so even in casual clothing, people would still be able to recognize him, so we avoided busy streets.

In doing so, we had to take a few alleys to avoid large groups of people. In one dark alley, we heard crashes in front of us. Keigo held his hand to stop me and showed me where to hide. I did, but I still peeked out to watch the scene at hand.

There was a group of thugs mugging an older woman. Some of them held her back, and one of them was going through her purse - he seemed like he was the leader. Keigo sent out a feather to pin the leader to the wall, and then two more to pin the lackeys. He returned the purse and items to the woman, came back to me, and told me to go back to the house while he took them to jail. I nodded and did as instructed.

“He’s just so cool!” I said to no one in particular on the way back.

“Kiseki?” a familiar voice asked.

I turned toward the voice in surprise. “Kaminari? Kyoka? I didn’t expect to see you two today!”

“Me neither!” Kaminari replied. “I was just checking this place out with Jiro. Apparently there’s a really good music shop in town.”

“Not apparently, there is one!” Kyoka punched his shoulder. “Anyways… what’re you doing, Akarui?”

“I was visiting my brother. He lives in town, and I don’t get to see him often.”

“Do you think he’d be cool if you came with us?” Kaminari asked.

“I’ll have to text him. Give me a sec, okay?”

“Sure thing!”

I got out my phone and asked Keigo if I could go with Kyoka and Kaminari. A bit later I looked up from my phone. “He’s cool with it. Lead the way!”

“Sweet!” Kaminari said.

As we walked there, Kyoka got curious. “So, are you a musician?”

“Yes, why?” I answered.

“You wouldn’t be interested in coming to the music shop if you weren’t, would you?”

“Fair, fair. Yeah, I am. I’ve been playing violin and trombone for years, and I like singing, too.”

“My parents are musicians too, so I’ve liked playing music forever. I can play lots of instruments, but my primary instrument is bass.”

“So Kaminari’s a musician too?”

“You bet I am!” he replied. “I really just play guitar, though.”

“Guitar is a major instrument, though,” I told him, “and so is bass! You really only hear violin and trombone in classical music, but guitar and bass you can find pretty much anywhere.”

“That’s true,” Kyoka responded.

“You know a lot about music,” Kaminari observed.

“Like I said, I’ve been playing for years. And once I get more free time, I want to learn to play guitar, too!”

“We’re here.” Kyoka opened the door and we walked inside.

We all looked at sheet music, and Kyoka and Kaminari looked at their respective instruments as well. None of us ended up actually buying anything, but it was a fun experience, to say the least.

“I had a great time with you guys!” I said to them when we left. “Still, I should probably get back to my brother’s house. See you tomorrow, Kyoka and Kaminari!”

“Bye, Akarui!”

I flew back to Keigo’s house to shave off some time. As soon as I opened the door-

“You’ve been gone for a while.”

“I know, I didn’t expect it to take so long.”

Keigo grinned. “It’s not about that. We have a visitor.” He led me into the living room where Uncle Shota sat on the couch.

“Uncle Shota!” I smiled from ear to ear. His face and arms were completely wrapped in bandages. “Wait, they let you out of the hospital? That detective guy said-”

“I know what they said,” Uncle Shota replied calmly. “I’m not going to let something like this stop me from doing stuff.”

“That reminds me,” Keigo said, “I was meaning to ask - what all happened yesterday? Obviously the news didn’t give much information.”

Uncle Shota told Keigo everything that had happened at the center of the U.S.J., and I relayed everything that I had experienced. Then I paused.

“There’s something else,” Uncle Shota analyzed. I told them about the nightmare I’d had… the one with Shigaraki.

“Oh, man…” Keigo put his hand on his forehead. Uncle Shota seemed to tensen. 

“Wait, were did you spend last night?” Uncle Shota asked. “After that, you wouldn’t have been alone.”

“She told me that a friend invited her to spend the night,” Keigo replied. I nodded.

“I see.”

Uncle Shota stood up. “We don’t want to be keeping you any longer than we need to. Tell Asami I said hello.”

Keigo saluted. “Yes, sir!”

“Don’t do that.”

I smiled and stood up. I hugged Keigo. “See you later.”

“Later.”

I grabbed my bag, helped Uncle Shota walk out, and we took a cab to Musutafu. I led him back into our house. We didn’t talk much. He spent the rest of the day sleeping in his room, and I just did quiet stuff so I wouldn’t wake him.

It was a sad and boring day.

 

***

 

 

 

The next morning, he wasn’t much better, but I knew he would still want to show up for homeroom. I left pretty early and walked. I was still pretty upset, so I didn’t want to fly.

I got to the building before anyone else in 1A, so I just sat in silence for a while. One by one the others came in. Once everyone was there, Iida started talking at the front of the room.

“All right, listen! It’s time for this morning’s homeroom period! Take your seats, everyone!”

“We are in our seats, you’re the one who’s not,” Sero muttered.

“Morning,” Mr. Aizawa said as he walked in.

“MR. AIZAWA, YOU’RE ALREADY BACK?!” the rest of the class said in unison. “That’s beyond pro!” someone added.

“Mr. Aizawa! You’re all right!” Iida shouted excitedly.

“Can you really call that ‘all right’...?” asked Ochaco, looking at Mr. Aizawa’s condition.

“Don’t concern yourselves over me,” Mr. Aizawa responded. “After all, the battle hasn’t really ended for you yet.”

“The battle?” Katsuki murmered.

“You don’t mean…” Izuku began.

“MORE VILLAINS?!” Mineta freaked out.

“U.A.’s sports festival is approaching.”

“Oh, yeah, this is a school!”

Shoji muttered something about villains trying to infiltrate the festival. I really wouldn’t have been able to deal with that, so I panicked a bit.

“On the contrary,” Mr. Aizawa said. “Since we’re going ahead with the festival, it means that the school is confident it has all its ducks in a row when it comes to crisis control now. Police presence will be five times bigger than the past few years. What you should be thinking about is: what a huge chance the school’s festival presents to you all. This isn’t some event that’ll be brought to a halt by the likes of villains.”

“No, if villains do appear, can we halt it please?” Mineta complained.

Izuku turned around. “Mineta, have you never seen the U.A. sports festival?!”

“Of course I have! That’s not what I mean-”

“Our sports festival is one of Japan’s biggest events,” Mr. Aizawa interrupted. “In days past, the ‘Olympics’ was the sports festivity that whipped all the nation into a froth of enthusiasm. But now, as you know, the extent and population have shrunk and it’s lost a lot of substance. So what has taken the place of the Olympics in Japan is the U.A. sports festival.”

“The country’s top heroes are all sure to be watching us!” Yaomomo added. “They’ll be there as scouts!”

I’d forgotten about that! During the sports festival every year, pro heroes watched and scouted out students for an internship. It doesn’t only provide experience working with pros in the office, you also get to see them work up close and personal! That’s why I’d been sure to watch Keigo in the alley - watching heroes work helps you figure out how you can be the best hero you can be!

“I’m thinking I might follow the tactic of going sidekick for a pro hero’s squad after graduating,” Kaminari said excitedly.

“But there are loads of people who get stuck as sidekicks forever and miss their chance to break out as solo heroes,” Kyoka responded annoyedly, “And you seem like just that kind of idiot, Kaminari.”

“Huh?”

“Naturally, entering the squad of a famous hero will get you higher status and more experience,” Mr. Aizawa explained. “Remember, time is limited. If you get noticed by a pro, that gives you the standing for a brighter future than otherwise. This is the chance you’ll only get once a year… for a total of three chances. If you aim to be a hero, this is an event you can’t overlook.”

The bell rang. My eyes trailed Mr. Aizawa as he left the room. Next was Modern Lit with Cementoss, but since no one was able to pay attention, he basically just gave us a free period. It wasn’t long before we had a noon break. 

“This has got me so freaking pumped!” Eijiro said.

“If we put in the effort and stand out to a pro, it’ll be a giant leap forward!” Sero replied.

Izuku and Iida were talking away from the big group. I didn’t hear the start of their conversation, but then Iida yelled, “You’ve enrolled in U.A. to become a hero, so getting fired up is only natural, man!”

Ochaco’s face became shaded. “Let’s crush the sports festival,” she snarled. I was kind of scared of her in that moment.

“What’s up with her?” Mina asked. “Uraraka’s being kinda… not uraraka. Maybe it’s-” Tsu slapped Mina with her tongue.

“Guys! I’m! Gonna! Crush this!” Ochaco lifted her fist in the air and stepped out. 

“Woooo!” Eijiro agreed. “But… eh, it’s like your character is floating off!”

Izuku went off somewhere else during lunch. It didn’t bother me that much, though. I hadn’t really sat with him at all yet.

I ate lunch with Katsuki, Eijiro, Sero, Mina, and Kaminari. The latter three of those were extremely talkative, while me, Katsuki, and Eijiro were really quiet. Well, okay, Katsuki was yelling telepathically at Eijiro. I’d imagine it was along the lines of “YOU TELL ANYONE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BEHIND THE ROCK AT THE U.S.J. AND I’LL-”

“Dude, I know, just calm down!”

That day, after school, the hallway outside of 1A’s classroom was absolutely crowded with students. “What the heck?!” Ochaco yelled as soon as she opened the door.

“It’ll be nearly impossible to weave through this crowd!” I analyzed.

“They’re crowding the exit! What’re they here for?” Mineta asked.

“They’re scoping out the competition, pint size,” Katsuki answered. “We’re the kids who survived a villain attack. They’re checking us out before the big battle, asshole.” He turned his attention to the crowd. “It’s pointless to try to stop me, so get out of my way, extras!”

“You can’t call people extras just because you don’t know their names!” Iida panicked.

“I came to see what you guys are made of, true,” one voice said. “But I didn’t think you’d be this arrogant. Are all the kids enrolled at the department of heroics this way?”

“HAAAAAH?!”

“I’m a bit disillusioned, so that’s it, huh?” The voice belonged to a boy with upright purple hair and tired-looking eyes. Scan said his name was Hitoshi Shinso. “There’s a lot of kids who end up in the general education department or other departments because they failed the heroics one. Did you know that? And based on the results of the sports festival… people can even come under review to be transferred to heroics, and the reverse is also a possible outcome… Scoping out the competition? If nothing else, a general ed kid like me is thinking, ‘Hey, why don’t I try pulling the rug out from under those heroics kids while they’re on their high horses?’ Consider this a declaration of war.”

The purple-haired kid turned and walked away, leaving us darn near speechless. 

“HEY! YOU!” A white-haired boy yelled. Scan said Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. “I’m from class B! I heard you fought some villains or whatever so I came to hear it direct! But I don’t wanna hear from some snot-nosed punk! Don’t embarrass us during the main event, you hear me?!”

A moment of silence, and then-

“Wait a second, man, what did you just do?!” Eijiro yelled to Katsuki. “Thanks to you we’ve got a whole mob of haters now!”

“I don’t give a crap.” Katsuki replied. “I’m heading for the top. Why should I care?”

“Oh, man…” Eijiro gasped. “So straightforward and manly!” I shook my head.

“He does have a point,” Tokoyami muttered. “The ‘top,’ huh…”

“Don’t listen to that guy!” Kaminari yelled. “All he did was make us new enemies for no reason!”

The days before the festival flew by and I wouldn’t be able to relay everything that happened to save my life. Everyone was so excited by the sports festival that the teachers knew we wouldn’t pay attention, so they didn’t teach much… or maybe that was just 1A.

But eventually, the day came.

I made sure to arrive at the building 20 minutes early. I had a feeling there would be a flood of reporters waiting for the festival to begin. Luckily for me, they’d decided to open the doors to students early. Class 1A met in one of the waiting rooms to prepare for everything. Once everyone was ready, Class Rep Iida began checking on everyone and everything to make absolutely sure everything was ready.

“Everyone, are your preparations complete?” Iida asked. “The event begins soon!”

“I wish I could’ve my costume,” Shoji complained.

“They’re not allowed so everything is fair,” Ojiro told him.

“Midoriya.”

Izuku turned to the speaker. “What is it, Todoroki?” Katsuki became alert. 

“On an objective basis, I think I’m above you in terms of practical strength,” Todoroki replied.

“Huh? S-Sure…”

“You’ve managed to get All Might’s eyes on you, right? I feel no need to pry into that, but… I’m going to beat you.”

“Oh, what’s this?” Kaminari laughed. “A declaration of war from one of the strongest kids in the class!”

“Hey, man, why pick a fight now?” Eijiro asked, tapping Todoroki’s shoulder. “We’re about to go on-”

“I’m not here to play nice and make friends,” Todoroki replied, “but whatever.”

Izuku looked down. “I have no idea what you want from me… telling me all that… You’re definitely stronger than me. I can’t measure up to most of the others here in skill, looking at it objectively…”

“Come on, Midoriya, don’t be so negative!” Eijiro said to pump him up. 

“Even so,” Izuku continued, “everyone - even the kids from the other courses- are aiming for the top with all they have! So not even I can just let myself fall behind! So I’m going for it too - with everything I’ve got!”

The room fell silent. There was so much tension, it was all we could do. I wiped some sweat from my head. This is definitely going to be an… interesting day for all of us.

I glanced at the clock. The festival would be starting within a few minutes. I stood up, breaking the tense silence. “The sports festival is starting soon. We should probably head out.” My classmates nodded silently and stood up as well. We walked down the tunnel as a group… no, as some sort of family. 

“It’s the first year stage!” Present Mic’s voice boomed through the speakers. “And the students are making their entry now!”

Izuku was in front of me. Ochaco was on my left, Tsu was on my right. Shoji and Katsuki were behind me. We stepped out of the tunnel and into thunderous applause.

 

Oooooooooh

one sec

Quote

Spoiler

HSDSUITHOGVNI KEIGO MY HUBBBYYYY I LOVE HIM SO SO MUCH ASHHHHASHHEHHSH AHHHH

 

Ahem

tyhis is so good

Edited March 27, 2025 by Hawks

[Through the Living Hope]

Just now, Hawks said:

Oooooooooh

one sec

Ahem

tyhis is so good

Lol!

[Through the Living Hope]

@Hawks

LHI, Chapter 9: The Race and the Pastes

Spoiler

The crowd applauded and cheered louder than anything else I had ever heard. I looked through the stands, not managing to pick out a single recognizable face. 

Present Mic yelled through the speakers again. “The U.A. sports festival! Where our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle! First up, you know who I’m talking about! The miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villain attack with their steely willpower! The first years of the hero course! It’s class 1A!”

The spectators roared once again. “Wow, they’re really giving us too much credit!” Eijiro said excitedly. “I’m getting nervous now… what about you, Bakugo?”

“No way I’m nervous!” Katsuki replied. “You’re just getting stage fright, wuss!”

“And following class B,” Present Mic continued, “here come classes C, D, and E from the department of general education! And now, here are classes F, G, and H of the department of support! Now for the department of management’s-”

“S-so many p-people…” Izuku stammered.

“And we’re expected to put on our best performance in front of so many spectators!” Iida asked. “I suppose this is merely one more necessary skill to become heroes.”

A kid from one of the other classes complained, “Man, it’s like we’re just here to make the others look good. Hard to get motivated…”

“Now, now, fair play!” Midnight shouted to us. I turned my attention to a podium at the center of the arena. There was a bit of murmuring among the students - and with so many of us here, it was actually really loud.

Present Mic continued, “PIPE DOWN! Now, player representative! Katsuki Bakugo of class 1A!”

“What?! Our representative is Kacchan?!” Izuku asked in disbelief.

“He placed first in the entrance exam, remember?” Sero replied.

“Tied for first,” I corrected. “Both of us got 77 points.”

“Yeah, in the heroics entrance exam…” a girl from another class said spitefully.

I facepalmed. “Get ready to be embarrassed…”

We watched Katsuki intensely. “I just wanna say… I’m gonna win.”

“Dang it, I knew he was gonna-” Eijiro began.

“DON’T PUSH YOUR LUCK, CLASS 1A!”

“WHY DO YOU INSIST ON LOWERING OUR GOOD GRACES?!” Iida scolded.

“You’ll all make fantastic stepping stones, I’m sure,” Katsuki muttered to no one in particular. He moved his thumb over his neck in a “you’re dead” motion.

“This kid’s unbelievably overconfident,” Tetsutetsu said. “I’m gonna be the one to crush him!”

Katsuki stepped off the podium. No, I thought, looking at Tetsutetsu. This is deliberate. I grinned. He wants you to get mad so he can show you just how powerful he is.

“All right, with that we can move directly into our first event!” Midnight shouted.

“Wow, never an idle pause at U.A.!” Ochaco joked.

“These are the qualifiers! Lots of fine folks end up choking on their tears here every year! And this year’s first round of destiny is…!” I tensened and focused. “THIS!” The board behind Midnight read “Obstacle Race.”

“It’s a race between all 11 classes!” Midnight continued. “The course makes a nearly four kilometer ring around the entire stadium! We always sing about our freedom on campus… Well, this is what it’s all about! You’re free to do anything, anything, so long as you remain on the course!” 

I smirked. “I thought this was supposed to be a challenge.”

“What do you mean?” Kaminari asked.

“That’s right!” Eijiro realized. “You can just fly over everything!”

“She can FLY?!”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I won’t go too fast.”

“So.. let’s get cracking! On your marks…”

I put myself at the back of the pack. They’re going to need all the help they can get.

“Get set… START!”

I released my wings and flew over everyone. I was one of the first people through the gate. I turned around, found a surprised Kaminari in the crowd, and saluted at him as I turned back and flew away. 

This high above the crowd, I could see a lot of the current standings. Todoroki had a major lead on the rest, who he had frozen the feet of in ice. I lowered myself behind him. “Missed me!” I taunted.

“You’ll have to try harder than that, Todoroki!” I heard Eijiro yell from not too far behind me. I looked and there was a small pack (upside down from my perspective) consisting of Eijiro, Katsuki, Yaomomo, Aoyama, and others I couldn’t see. 

“We won’t let you get away that easy, half-and-half!”

I can’t look behind me for the whole race! I turned back forward just in time to avoid crashing into the zero-point robots from the entrance exam. I hovered for a few seconds to catch my breath. I flapped as hard as I could once and was propelled five meters over the robot. I had gotten flipped upside down from the sheer power of my wings, so I saw Todoroki freeze the giant in place.

I stayed upside down for another two seconds to see the robot crash down, blocking a lot of the others from following. Two people emerged from under the rubble - I recognized Eijiro’s bright red hair. The other I couldn’t recognize, but when I looked closer, the features matched those of Tetsutetsu. Katsuki flew over the wreckage, followed by Sero and Tokoyami.

I turned forward once again. Straight for a while, and then a deep pit with narrow platforms. Again, nothing that would hinder me.

Or so I thought.

I crashed into something above the pit and slid along the side of it - an invisible barrier. It was too low to fly beneath, and I wasn’t going to weave between the platforms. I hopped from platform to platform with no pausing in between running and jumping, using my wings to steady myself. At most 20 seconds later and I made it past the obstacle.

Unfortunately, Todoroki emerged at the same time I did, and I tripped on the ground as I ran, falling into second place.

I slowed down to recover, but in doing so, I was passed by a crowd of people that included Katsuki and Izuku. Katsuki then passed Todoroki. I released my wings again and flew about half a meter off the ground, making sure to be fast. There was a minefield ahead of me that the others were blowing up left and right. I dodged the dust from the explosions caused by the others, getting some on the edge feathers of my wings, which were also slightly singed by the blasts.

Not long at all later, I was flying slightly behind Katsuki and Todoroki. As that happened, a loud explosion came from the entrance of the field, and I flipped over so that my back faced the ground. The explosion was sky high, and a piece of debris came flying down. Wait- is someone on that sheet of metal?!

I dodged the sheet of metal as it came flying down, catching a glimpse of Izuku riding on it.

Katsuki noticed him as well as he flew over him and Todoroki. “DEKUUUUUU!” Katsuki yelled. “DON’T YOU DARE GO AHEAD OF ME!” Todoroki iced over the path behind him.

Izuku smashed the metal sled on the ground between Katsuki and Todoroki, causing another mine to explode, which stopped Katsuki, Todoroki, and I for a few seconds. Izuku effectively took the lead. “Not bad, Izuku Midoriya,” I muttered. “Not bad.”

Izuku ended up getting back to the stadium first, followed by Todoroki, then Katsuki, then me. Fourth place. Not as high as I would’ve liked, but I definitely got noticed. I glanced up to the commentary booth. Mr. Aizawa nodded slightly. I finally let myself exhale. The rankings appeared on the board.

 

1. Izuku Midoriya - 10,000,000

2. Shoto Todoroki - 210

3. Katsuki Bakugo - 205

4. Akarui Kiseki - 200

5. Ibara Shiozaki - 195

6. Juzo Honenuki - 190

7. Tenya Iida - 185

8. Fumikage Tokoyami - 180

9. Hanta Sero - 175

10. Eijiro Kirishima - 165

11. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu - 160

12. Mashirao Ojiro - 155

13. Yousetsu Awase - 150

14. Tsuyu Asui - 145

15. Mezo Shoji - 140

16. Rikido Sato - 135

17. Ochaco Uraraka - 130

18. Yaomomo Yaoyorozu - 125

19. Minoru Mineta - 120

20. Mina Ashido - 115

21. Koji Kota - 110

22. Kyoka Jiro - 105

23. Sen Kaibara - 100

24. Kosei Tsubaraba - 95

25. Denki Kaminari - 90

26. Kojiro Bondo - 85

27. Reiko Yanagi - 80

28. Hitoshi Shinso - 75

29. Itsuki Kendo - 70

30. Shihai Kuroiro - 65

31. Yui Kodai - 60

32. Hiryu Rin - 55

33. Nirengeki Shoda - 50

34. Kiniko Komori - 45

35. Togaru Kamakiri - 40

36. Neito Monoma - 35

37. Pony Tsunotori - 30

38. Toru Hagakure - 25

39. Setsuna Tokage - 20

40. Manga Fukidashi - 15

41. Mei Hatsume - 10

42. Yuga Aoyama - 5

 

42 people had moved on, including all of class 1A, most of class 1B, and two others, the tired-looking purple-haired boy from general ed and a girl with pink hair from support. I did slightly cock my head in confusion, though. What were the numbers after our names supposed to mean?

“The 42 at the top have earned the right to advance,” Midnight explained. “I’m sorry for the kids who failed, but don’t worry! We’ve got another way for you to show your stuff! And now the main selection REALLY begins! The press corps’s going to be jumping out of their seats, so give it all you’ve got! Now, on to the second event! I already know what it is, of course… Dying in suspense? Next up is…”

The screen then read “Cavalry Battle.” I touched my chin in thought. I had done these before, but I didn’t understand how this would choose who moved on. Midnight then explained the rules, and it made much more sense. She continued to explain that everyone had a point value. So that’s what the numbers mean. Mine was 200. Izuku’s was-

“TEN MILLION POINTS!”

“Okay, I am pleased with fourth place, good day!” I saluted and pretended to walk away. Katsuki grabbed my shoulder hard.

“We’ll be putting together teams of 2-4,” he said. “You are coming with me.”

I pulled away and crossed my arms. “And what if I don’t want to come with you?”

“I destroy your team and put all of you in the infirmary for the rest of the day.”

“You got room for me?” Other people began to crowd me and Katsuki. I recoiled away from the most of it. “Whoa, guys, 2-4! We can’t take all of you!”

“Todoroki’s already got himself a full team, the jerk,” Eijiro said. “Bakugo! Let’s team up!” 

“Hair-for-Brains.”

“The name’s Kirishima! Remember it! I know you wanna be a rider, right? So your front horse better be someone who can take all those explosions, yeah? Who might that be?!”

“He does have a point,” I muttered to Katsuki.

“Somebody not afraid to die,” he answered.

“Nope, it’s me with my Hardening! We’ll be a horse that can’t break! And you wanna take Midoriya down, right?!”

Katsuki smirked, and I have to say it was contagious. Sero ended up joining the team. Mina was our other candidate, but Sero won out. Our team’s total was 750 points. Katsuki was our rider, and Eijiro was the front. Sero and I held up the rear I was on the right and he was on the left..

“We’ve all got one target,” Katsuki muttered. “You guys better not screw this up.” The buzzer sounded, and we stayed back to analyze. Izuku’s team consisted of himself, Ochaco, Tokoyami, and the pink-haired girl from support (Mei Hatsume, according to Scan). Suddenly, they were launched in the air. I saw a jetpack on Izuku’s back.

“Support item!” I yelled. “It doesn’t look too stable, so this might be the only time they get to use it!”

They landed on the ground and were stopped by Shoji, Mineta, and Tsu. They wouldn’t be able to move…

… or defend from an aerial attack.

“I’ve got an idea!” I explained my plan and we decided to use it. Katsuki launched himself into the air, per the plan.

“GETTING PRETTY FULL OF YOURSELF, HUH, YOU [JERK]!” Katsuki yelled at Izuku.

“TOKOYAMI!” Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow blocked Katsuki from getting the headband.

Katsuki was furious. “What the [heck]-”

“Sero! NOW!” I yelled. Sero released his tape and pulled Katsuki back onto the horse. People asked if that was a legal move, and Midnight said that since Katsuki never touched the ground, it was legal. They put the current scores up on the board and - what?! 

“ZERO?!” Kirishima yelled.

“Like taking candy from a baby, class A,” a blond kid from 1B yelled. I vaguely recognized him from the entrance exam.

Katsuki yelled, “Give that back! I’ll freaking kill you!”

I shouted, “He got us!”

The kid launched into a spiel not too different from Izuku’s muttering episodes. “When Midnight announced the first event, it didn’t take a genius to realize they wouldn’t be thinning our numbers that much in a preliminary. It wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine they’d be letting a good number of us advance to the next event. Forty or so seemed reasonable. It was the perfect chance to hang back and observe our soon-to-be rivals’ quirks and tendencies. So it’s only fair that we ended up placing more modestly.”

“The whole class is surrounding us!” Kirishima yelled. He was right. All of class B was surrounding our team.

“Not good,” I agreed. 

“Well, not everyone, but that wouldn’t have been a bad idea instead of aiming for some fleeting first place, like a horse dangling for a carrot. Ah, but you’re already a celebrity, aren’t you? The victim of that sludge incident! I’ll have to ask you sometime! How does it feel to get attacked by villains on an annual basis?

It took everything I had not to send a Bombshell at him, so I could only imagine how enraged Katsuki was.

Then I found out just how mad he was. “Horse… change of plans. Before we go for Deku… I’ve gotta murder every last one of them!” His voice was as threatening as I had ever heard it.

“Dad come pick me up I’m scared,” I muttered.

“Quit getting them so riled up, Monoma!” a red-headed 1B girl said. The blond kid - Monoma - went into another spiel that I found boring. Katsuki started grunting.

“Get it together, Bakugo!” Eijiro urged. “If you don’t calm down we’ll never be able to take back those points!”

Katsuki just kept grunting. Then he replied, “Push forward, Kirishima. Right now… I’m as cool as ice”

“Come on, man.”

Monoma slapped Katsuki’s face and it blew up. “Oh, that’s neat! Nice quirk ou’ve got!”

“That’s my-!” Katsuki panicked.

“He has your power too, Bakugo!” Eijiro asked.

“EAT THIS!” Katsuki yelled at Monoma. He made an explosion that would hurt, but not do any lasting damage.

“Though my quirk is far greater,” Monoma taunted. His arm looked the same as Eijiro’s did when it was hardened.

“What?! My quirk too? They’re taking everything from me!” Eijiro raged.

“That ain’t it,” Katsuki muttered. “This guy has a copy power.”

“Correct!” Monoma replied. “Well, I suppose even an idiot would get it right away.” Sero and I glanced at each other. If he was calling Katsuki an idiot…

A weird goop splashed on our group. “Bondo! So you’ve come to fight!” Monoma smiled.

“Monoma, you can get away now. With that many points, you’ll be in the top four for sure!”

I started to formulate a plan. “If that’s so, then we may not even need Izuku’s team’s band… we just need these guys’!”

Those of us in the horse tried to move. “It’s all hard now! I can’t move!” Eijiro told us.

“I can try to break it with one of my abilities, but I can’t aim it very well,” I supplied.

“Hurry! We don’t have any points!” Sero replied. I made sure my left hand had Katsuki steady and removed my right. Katsuki and Monoma bickered a bit. I moved my right arm to face the substance right at the center of where it had hardened. 

“Aw, don’t be mad,” Monoma taunted. “You brought this on yourself, after all. Hey, what was that pledge you made earlier? Seems kind of embarrassing now… Well, whatever. Thanks for the points!”

“I’m taking first place,” Katsuki muttered to himself. “But not just first place… I’m taking the first to end all firsts!” That was all the time I needed to make sure my quirk wouldn’t hurt our horse.

“Bombshell!” I yelled. A small explosion occurred in the substance, shattering it. “Okay, let’s go!”

We started chasing after Monoma’s horse. “WAIT JUST ONE STINKING MINUTE!” Eijiro yelled. Katsuki jumped off of the horse and into the fray. “GET BACK HERE, BAKUGO!”

“Idiot,” I muttered.

“Tsuburaba! Guard!” Monoma yelled.

“Got it!” said a boy. He must be Tsuburaba! He breathed, forming a shield of solid air. Katsuki grunted as he collided with it headfirst. In an instant’s decision, Katsuki changed his course and ripped two headbands off of Monoma’s neck.

“YES!” I yelled. “That gets us to third place!”

“We told you to warn us when you jump off!” Sero scolded Katsuki.

“But at least now we’ll definitely place high enough,” Eijiro replied.

“I AIN’T DONE YET!” Katsuki yelled. “I’m not settling for some half-assed first place! NOW MOVE! We’re gonna take our points back, and then the ten million!”

“This guy…” Sero muttered.

“Soy sauce face! Tape, now!” Katsuki ordered.

“My name’s Sero!” He shot his tape out.

“Featherbrain! Cut off their escape!”

“It’s Akarui!” I held out my arm to help my aim. “Pillars of Light!” As I said it, pillars of blue light fenced them in. We rushed forward and at the last second, I swiveled my foot and helped turn the horse. Katsuki stretched out his arm and grabbed the last headband from Monoma.

“NEXT! DEKU AND TODOROKI!”

With six seconds left, Katsuki flew off of the horse towards Todoroki and Izuku’s teams. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to grab another headband before-

“TIME’S UP!” Katsuki fell to the ground.

“Guess we hear the results now,” I sighed. The people who had been our horse ran over to Katsuki, who was right by Izuku and Todoroki’s teams. 

“In first place, Team Todoroki! In second place, Team Bakugo!” Katsuki hunched over and screamed at the criminalistic dirt. The rest of us celebrated by pumping our fists. “In third place, it’s Team Tetsute- wait, huh? Hey! It’s Team Shinso?!” Izuku began to apologize to his team, when Tokoyami started to talk. Dark Shadow lifted up a headband. “And in fourth place, Team Midoriya!”

Izuku started crying vertically. “That kind of looks like my Pillar of Light,” I muttered. Sero and Eijiro heard me and started to laugh.

“The first four teams will move on to the final event. The final event will be after a one hour lunch break. See you then.” Then Mic lost some professionalism as they walked away from the booth. “Hey, Eraserhead! Let’s go get some food!”

Most of 1A walked off together. Izuku and Todoroki vanished, and soon Katsuki did, as well. They were gone for all of the break. 

“Wonder where those three went…” Kaminari muttered.

“Probably settling a score of some kind,” I answered. “After all, Izuku and Katsuki have been rivals forever, and I mean forever, and after Todoroki’s declaration in the waiting room, we might have a rival trio.”

“That does make sense. Wonder why I didn’t think of that…”

“Because you’re an idiot.”

“Hey!”

I laughed. “Am I not allowed to joke? It’s all in good fun, Kaminari.” I saw Mineta talking to all of the girls. I glared and growled, “Be right back.”

I walked over to the group and towered behind Mineta. When he turned he was terrified. Good. “What do you think you’re doing?”  I snarled.

“Apparently we’re all supposed to wear cheerleader uniforms for the next announcements?” Kyoka replied.

I laughed. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those. Uh uh, no way. You guys know he just wants exposure.”

“But what if we get in trouble!” Toru asked. “I think we should!”

I shrugged. “You do you, I guess. But he’s not fooling me.” I walked back over to the main group. “I hate that guy.”

“Hate is a strong word,” Eijiro replied. “And in this case, it’s accurate.”

Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa climbed into the commentary booth. “Alright, then. Let’s get ready.”

“Before we get started with the final event, I’ve got good news for all those out of the running! In the end, this is still a sports festival! So to have everyone to continue to be able to participate, we’ve got some recreational events for all participants! Just look how fired up those cheerleaders we called from America are- Huh? What’s this?” They fell for it. “WHAT HAPPENED, CLASS A?”

“A perv got put in our class, that’s what happened,” I muttered, punching straight down on Mineta’s stupid head.

“MINETA!” Yaomomo yelled. “YOU TRICKED US, DIDN’T YOU?!”

“Not going to say I told you so, but…” I shrugged.

“Hope everyone enjoys this recreational competition! And after that, it’s the final event! From the four teams, sixteen individuals have made it through! IT’S A TOURNAMENT! We’re pitting them against each other in one-on-one battles!”

“A tournament, eh?” Eijiro smiled. “Finally I’m gonna have the opportunity to appear on the stage that I see on the TV every year!”

“There was a tournament last year, too?” Mina asked.

“Some details end up changing, but each year is always one-on-one,” Sero answered. “Last year, it was foam sword fighting.”

“The matchups will be decided by drawing lots,” Midnight explained. “Once that’s settled, we’ll move on to the festivities, and then the tournament itself! It’s up to each of you 16 finalists whether or not you participate in the fun. I expect some of you would rather take a breather and save your strength. Now, let’s starts with the first place team…”

“Um, excuse me… I’d like to drop out,” Ojiro said, which surprised everyone.

“Why?! This is your chance to get noticed by the pros!”

“The cavalry battle… I have no memories of anything that happened up until the tail end. It’s probably his quirk that did that… I know this is a great opportunity. And I know how stupid it must seem to throw it away, but this final tournament… Everyone else made it here by their own strength. Yet I’m standing here, and I don’t even know how or why. I just can’t take it.”

“You’re thinking about it too hard!” Toru protested. “Just show what you’re made of in the tournament!”

“By that logic, I really shouldn’t be here either!” someone added.

“No, I’m talking about my pride here. I don’t think it’s right. And why the heck are all of the girls in are class dressed like that, anyway?”

“Almost all,” I muttered.

“I can’t remember anything either… I wanna withdraw too!” class B’s Shoda Nirengeki agreed. “This is a contest of skill. Letting someone who didn’t do anything advance… doesn’t that defeat the whole point of the sports festival? Isn’t it even against the rules?”

“These guys… so manly!”

“We have a strange turn of events…” Mic commentated. “What will the coordinator, Midnight, decide?”

“How naive and green… I like it!” Midnight said. “Shoda and Ojiro have officially withdrawn!”

“I’ll win it for ya!” Aoyama comforted Ojiro.

“Replacing those two will be members of Team Kendo, which took fifth.”

“If it’s gonna be like that, shouldn’t it be them instead?” Kendo asked. “I mean, we were immobilized practically the whole time. But they were giving their all to keep what they had until the very end. Team Tetsutetsu, I mean. Don’t worry, we’re not colluding or anything. This just feels right.”

“Y… You guys!” Tetsutetsu yelled.

“So be it. Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki bring us back up to 16 competitors! And here are the matchups!”

I looked up at the board for the lots. I was paired with Aoyama. I glanced at him. He was smiling that creepy smile he always had, but his eyes were panicked. I don’t want to be feared, but it’s good to know that people think I have a powerful quirk. 

“Now, let’s set aside the tournament for the time being, and get on with the thrill-a-minute festivities!” I bunch of time passed and we all prepared ourselves for our fights. I spent some time working on aiming my Exploding Flame and Pillar of Light. Without my support staff, I would really have to pay attention to what I was doing. 

“Thank you, Cementoss!” Mic announced. I should get back. I walked back into the stadium and sat in 1A’s reserved stands. “Hey, guys, are you ready?! You’ve been through hell to get here! But now it’s time for the one-on-one tournament! You’ve only got yourself to rely on! Even if you’re not a hero, this saying holds true! You know it! Spirit, technique, strength, wisdom, and knowledge! Use ‘em and show us your best!

“The first match! Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it’s Izuku Midoriya, from the hero course!” Loud cheers from 1A’s part of the stands erupted. “Versus- Sorry, but this guy hasn’t really done anything to stand out yet! It’s Hitoshi Shinso, from general studies!”

I could feel a lot of tension coming up from the stadium. Shinso had said that if he did well enough, he could be considered to transfer into the hero course, and that the reverse could happen, too. Mr. Aizawa had said that Izuku hurt himself really bad in he entrance exam, and he got hurt at the quirk apprehension test, too.

“The rules are simple! Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to say ‘I give up’! Bring the pain! We’ve got our good old Recovery Girl on standby! And fight dirty if you must! ‘Ethics’ have no meaning here!”

“I dunno, I feel like ethics are pretty important,” I muttered to Eijiro. He laughed a bit.

“Well, of course, going for the kill is a no-no! You’ll be disqualified! Because a true hero’s fists fly only when in pursuit of villains!”

“And you still shouldn’t mess ‘em up too badly,” I said quietly. “Villains may be evil, but they’re still people.”

“Now let’s get this thing started! Readyyyy! START!!”

Izuku suddenly lunged at Shinso. “WHAT’D YOU SAY?!” Suddenly, he stopped moving. 

“[Dang] it, Midoriya!” Ojiro panicked. “It’s that kid’s quirk. If you acknowledge what he says, you have to follow all of his instructions!”

“Dang it, Izuku!” I yelled.

“What’s going on?” Mic commentated. “This battle’s just beginning. Show us some spirit! Mere seconds into the match, Midoriya’s frozen in place?! Looking confounded, he’s not even twitching! Could this be Shinso’s quirk? We were barely aware this guy even existed, but now, he sure is one to keep an eye on!”

“That’s why I’ve been saying the entrance exam is illogical,” Mr. Aizawa’s voice said over the loudspeaker. “Here are the simple specs on these two. I’ve got them here because we knew this would be a quirk versus quirk battle. Shinso failed the practical part of the exam, so he lost a spot in the hero course. He got into general studies, though, and that’s all he could have hoped for. His quirk is extraordinarily powerful, but given the format of the practical exam, his ability didn’t help him out.”

Izuku began to walk out of the ring/rectangle. “Whoa! Midoriya’s following orders like a good little boy!” Mic said. Suddenly, there was an almost unnoticeable shift in the air.  I leaned forward and looked closer at Izuku. Two of his fingers were pulsing. He snapped his fingers and the shock wave allowed him to move naturally again.

“H-how did he manage to break out?!” Ojiro asked.

“What the- Midoriya! He stopped!” Mic announced.

“His fingers are broken…” I muttered.

Shinso started to bicker with Izuku, trying to get a response out of him. It didn’t work, though. Izuku made sure to remain silent. They got into a fistfight, during which Izuku lifted up Shinso and slammed him down outside of the ring, winning the fight.

“He also got you with that shoulder toss, right, Bakugo?” Kaminari asked.

“Shut it, dunce face,” Katsuki replied. “That little, useless-”

“Goodness gracious! We’re off to an uneventful start! Well, put your hands together for our fierce competitors!” They walked out of the stadium arena.

“Next fight’s between Todoroki and Sero,” I remembered.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t put our horse to shame,” Eijiro joked.

“If he does, I’ll kill him,” Katsuki replied a little too seriously.

I shook my head. “No, you won’t. You say you will, but you won’t.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, folks! Next up, it’s these two! The cream of the crop! Yet this guy’s somehow still as plain as they come! Hanta Sero of the hero course! Versus! The best of the best! Strongest of the strong! Shoto Todoroki, also of the hero course!”

Sero shot out some tape at Todoroki and wrapped him up. He started to fling Todoroki out of the ring. “He’s trying to push him out with a surprise attack! It’s probably the best strategy for him! Sero’s giving his all!

Just then, Todoroki unleashed a colossal spike of ice that encased Sero. “Dang it, man!” Eijiro slammed his fist down.

“And so Shoto Todoroki advances to the next round! With the arena all thawed out, it’s time for the next match! It’s class B’s assassin! Every… something- or-other has its thorns, right?! It’s Ibara Shiozaki! Versus… The sparkling, killing boy! Denki Kaminari!” I recognized Shiozaki as the vine-haired girl I saw at the entrance exam.

“Pardon my objection, but what exactly did you mean by ‘assassin’? I have merely come this far seeking victory…” Shiozaki protested.

“S-sorry about that!” Mic apologized.

The fight was over as soon as it had begun. Shiozaki shielded herself from an electric attack and wrapped dumb-Kaminari in her vine hair.

“Wish me luck!” I sang as I left the stands. My fight would be the next one, and I wanted to be ready. I got to the waiting room and looked at the screen as I thought about my tactics. Iida’s fight was just a long commercial break. Hatsume stepped out of the ring as soon as she had said all she wanted to say.

How am I going to take down Aoyama? I was sure I’d already been noticed - I’d managed to bypass a lot of the obstacle course and was in one of the most chaotic horses during the cavalry battle. Even so, I need to get as far as I can in this bracket. The further I get, the better the heroes that will want to take me on. I knew I’d get an offer from Hawks’ agency no matter what, but I didn’t want to accept that if I had any others. And I wanted as many options as possible.

Eventually I came up with a plan. Aoyama could only shoot his laser for a few seconds before he was incapacitated - as far as combat goes, anyway. I needed to dodge his lasers for the time he was able to shoot and then take him out. Dodging wouldn’t be a problem with my warping and my flight, but my Pillars of Light were extremely powerful, and I didn’t want to lose control over one of them or an Exploding Flame.

My final strategy was solely dependent on my wings. I would use them to fly over the laser shot, and then come back around and slam into him, and hope the sheer power would be able to take him down.

I took a deep breath and exited the waiting room. I walked down my tunnel and stood at the entrance of the arena. “It’s time for our next round!” I heard Mic say over the loudspeakers.

I stepped out into the roaring applause. “She’s a bit of a wild card with an extremely powerful wingbeat! I’d stay off her bad side if I were you! Akarui Kiseki from the hero course! Versus! The Frenchie with the banana hair, Yuga Aoyama from the same course!”

“Banana hair?!” Aoyama asked in disbelief.

“Well, it does look like a bunch of bananas,” I replied sassily.

“BEGIN!”

Aoyama began charging his laser and I spread my feet apart. Wait for it… wait for it… He fired the laser beam at me and at the last moment, I released my wings and instantaneously flew upwards. I was now opposite of the commentating booth. “WHAT IS THAT POWER! She just launched herself so far in the air with a single flap that she’s on an equal level as us!”

I saluted Mic through the glass and plummeted back toward the earth, tucking in my wings for a moment to increase my speed. Just two meters above the ground, I spread them out and flew parallel to the ground. I angled myself just right and crashed my left wing right into Aoyama’s stomach.

“Aoyama, can you move?” Midnight asked out of formality, probably knowing full well that he couldn’t.

“Non.”

“Kiseki advances to the next round!” Cheers erupted all around me. I waved a bit and walked out of the tunnel, collapsing against the wall as soon as I was out of eyeshot of the stadium.

“That. Was. Exhausting,” I sighed. I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. I laughed weakly. “At least I get a break between fights.” The laughing put a stitch in my side and I put more weight into the wall. I took some deep breaths and calmed myself down. “Don’t overdo it.”

Keeping one hand against the wall, I somehow made my way back to the spectator stands. I sat down next to Eijiro again. He looked like he wanted to ask about why I was holding my side, but I shook my head. “I’m fine, really.”

The next fights were Yaomomo against Tokoyami (Tokoyami won) and Eijiro against Tetsutetsu (they tied, but Eijiro won the tiebreaker).

“In some ways, I’m most worried about this next one” Tsu said.

“Honestly, I don’t wanna watch,” Kyoka shivered.

“For the last match of the first round, a celebrity since his middle school days, with a face only a mother could love… it’s Katsuki Bakugo of the hero course! Versus… My personal pick to win! Ochaco Uraraka, also of the hero course! Start!”

Ochaco charged at Katsuki, who prepared his usual start of a right swing. The explosion was just as large as it would be against a full-grown male opponent.

“WHOA! That wasn’t cool, Bakugo!” Sero yelled.

“If there’s anyone who won’t go easy on anyone else - even if it’s a girl - it’s Katsuki,” I told him. He didn’t respond.

Ochaco disappeared in the smoke, and the next time I saw her, she wasn’t wearing her jacket. Oh, that was her plan! The jacket’s a decoy!

Katsuki realized it was a trick one moment too late. “She threw her jacket over and sent it floating, all on the fly!”

“He reacted after spotting her,” Sero muttered. 

“Smoke screens won’t work against reaction time like that!” Kaminari agreed.

“Ochaco’s quirk doesn’t work if she can’t touch him,” I responded. “And it won’t matter in the end because she’s slower than him.”

“Uraraka wastes no time. She’s charging again!!”

“Well, I know who Mic’s favorite student is,” I muttered.

Another explosion directly to Ochaco. “Ochaco…” Tsu worried.

“I don’t get it,” Mineta said. “Does he swing the other way, or…?” Kyoka had her face covered up with her hands.

“She keeps charging relentlessly, but… this is…” Mic commentated

One of the pros stood up in another part of the stadium. “Hey! That’s not the way someone who wants to be a hero acts! If you’re so much stronger than her, just throw her out of the ring and finish it! Stop toying with the poor girl!”

“Yeah! That’s right!” another pro agreed.

“They didn’t look above the stadium, did they?” I asked quietly.

“I guess not,” Monoma replied from not far away. I glanced at him and we both smirked.

“A group in the crowd has started booing! But to be honest, I agree- OW! You elbowed me! What’s the big idea?”

“Is the one who said he’s toying with her a pro??” Mr. Aizawa stole the microphone from the other announcer. “How many years of active duty? If that’s what you’re taking away from this, you can leave. No point in watching. Go home and start looking at job-hunting sites. She’s come this far, and he knows her strength. His caution shows that he recognizes her as a worthy opponent. It’s exactly because he wants to win so badly that there’s no room for carelessness or holding back.”

Ochaco did the pose she went into when she released her quirk and Monoma and I laughed. He started spieling again. “Maybe Bakugo didn’t notice since he’s so close, but the pros in the stands were the ones who were booing. They should be ashamed for not noticing. By charging in low every time, she kept Bakugo’s attacks and attention focused on the ground, all to set up her weapons. With the constant attacks and vision-obscuring smoke screens… he never realized.”

Rocks rained down on Katsuki.

“A METEOR SHOWER?!” from an ecstatic voice followed by a “Pay more attention” from a tired sounding one.

It didn’t matter much, though. With a single large explosion, he took out every single rock.

“What an explosion! Uraraka’s secret plan just went up in smoke!!”

Ochaco made another attempt to attack, but fell to the ground. Midnight came over to her and announced, “Uraraka is unable to move. Bakugo advances to the next round.”

 

 

[Through the Living Hope]

Currently untitled

Spoiler

The hovel on the edge of town is from hundreds of years ago, and many rumors surround it. Some say that it had been inhabited by monsters - this is partially true. Some say it’s haunted - this is not. The truest rumor is the story of a young girl named Nezetta.

Nezetta lived in the hovel with her parents when Alryen was still a town centered around a castle, when this region was ruled by a dynasty of kings. One of these great kings was named Derek. Derek brought a time of peace and prosperity to his kingdom. He was known for his power, and although he did not oppress the people, he ruled with an iron fist. Despite his massive support from the public, he died prematurely, and at first the cause was a mystery. It was solved quickly by his son Elric, the new king. Elric sent a regiment of his knights to the hovel. 

Nezetta stared out the window while her parents spoke with the king’s guard. She saw how tense the situation was, but not the words that were said.

One of the guards, one who outranked the others, stood at the front, and he asked, “Does she know about your true… ‘profession’?”

“No,” Nezetta’s father answered. “She knows only what we’ve told her - that we are traveling merchants. By the life of the king, she doesn’t know anything else.” He froze, realizing what he had said. “The new king.” For the first time in a long time, he was being truly honest.

The guard raised his eyebrow and did not move for a moment. This man and his wife were known liars. They were not to be trusted. Still, he would have no reason to lie now. It would not benefit him. The guard figured that he was being truthful, and he nodded. He would follow the orders his king had given. The girl was unimportant. She would be left behind, and her parents would be taken to Alryne.

The soldiers led Nezetta’s parents away in shackles. She stared in confusion and watched her parents being led away, and she didn’t know why.

 

 

~~~

 

Nezetta went to the village a couple days later to buy food. She’d been on her own before, and she knew how to handle herself. Her parents left all the time to sell things to the various villages of the kingdom. From a young age, they had taught her to shop and act as an adult.

Tradition says that Nezetta didn’t want to follow the guards and her parents to Alryne. She had never gone beyond the village alone. It was not something she felt she was able to do. What we know for sure, whether she was scared or not, is that something changed her mind. Somehow, she had been influenced into bravery.

The shopkeepers in the market say it was one of their ancestors. Those stalls have stayed within families for years. Many of us have grown to believe it, as well. It makes more sense than any other explanation we have. As she went throughout the market buying food, the merchants spoke with her.

“Your parents out on another trip, hon?” the baker asked.

Nezetta hesitated for a moment. “I guess you could say so. They aren’t at home.”

“‘You could say so’? Is something wrong?”

“Well, they’re going to Alryne, one way or another.”

“My apologies, dear,” the baker said. “May I ask why?” The baker most likely assumed Nezetta’s parents to be dead. Alryne used to be what people in our area called God.

“I… I don’t know,” Nezetta answered.

“Don’t you think you should?” the baker asked.

The line behind Nezetta started to get reckless. “Move, stable cleaner!” one person is said to have yelled.

“I apologize for holding you up. Thank you for your time - and the bread.”

“Of course, dear. Alryne’s blessing.”

Nezetta left the market, and tradition tells that she left with new purpose. History confirms this to be true.

She returned home to gather a few things - the map of the kingdom that is kept in our town’s museum among them. She put this and her other supplies in her knapsack. Now, this knapsack had been gifted to her by her parents. It was one of the few things they had acquired legitimately, and it was able to store everything she needed for her journey to Alryne. If she needed any more food, she could stop in villages along the way.

She walked the path through the village that led towards Alryne. Just before she crossed the last house, she stopped. This journey would be long, and it would be hard.

Nezetta steeled herself. It would be worth it.

For the first time in her life, Nezetta went beyond the village.

 

 

The first struggle was the mountain range. Now, we have the mines and highways, tunnels that go through the mountains. Back then, they didn’t. Nezetta could either follow the path around the mountains and spend more time - weeks, months more than planned - on her journey to Alryne, or she could climb over the range and save time with more exertion.

She chose the latter option. We believe her story is the first known time anyone had gone through the mountains instead of around.

It took two weeks and most of Nezetta’s supplies to cross the mountain range. Still, that was less time than the other route would have been. Two days past that, she found another village and was able to resupply.

 

 

The next obstacle was the guard checkpoint on the path. This was similar to toll booths on highways now - knights from Alryne checked everyone on the path to ensure the safety of the travelers. They would check for weapons and allow the journeyers who were low on supplies to take a little of theirs. The guards may have been brutal, and trained well in force, but they were not unnecessarily cruel.

However, Nezetta had had very limited exposure to them, and the only encounter with them that she remembered was when her parents had been taken.

It isn’t only oral tradition that verifies this story. The checkpoints recorded every conversation they had with travelers, and this conversation between them is recorded word for word.

“Halt,” a guard commanded. We assume she did so, because he didn’t have to reiterate himself. “We have to check that knapsack, ma’am.”

“‘Ma’am’, huh? Not ‘saddle cleaner’ or some other insult to someone of my status?” Nezetta asked.

“His Majesty King Elric does not condone such disrespectful statements.”

“I- I see.” She handed her knapsack over, and it was checked.

“You seem low on supplies,” the knight said. He signaled to another guard, who resupplied her. “Now we just need to check you for weapons.

“You won’t find any,” Nezetta answered. She put up her arms, though, and they searched her. Just like she said, she did not have any weapons.

“Alright, then. You may continue.” The guards blocking the path moved to let her through. “Safe travels, miss.” Nezetta left the checkpoint.

 

 

Other than these, though, Nezetta did not have any major obstacles on her way to Alryne. When she arrived, she found one of the locals. “Excuse me, sir. Would you mind telling me how to get to the king’s castle from here?”

The man smiled. “Tell you? I’ll take you!” His expression fell slightly. “There’s a handful of thieves acting more often. You won’t be safe on your own.”

“I see… Thank you, then.”

The two set off. “Of course. Although, I would have thought criminal activity would have died down after…”

“‘After’?” Nezetta asked.

“There was an execution a few weeks ago. Two criminals from the outskirts. The king didn’t say what they were guilty of, only that they were condemned to death.”

Nezetta fell silent. Those two had to have been her parents. She would’ve thought it took more time than this to corrupt a king.

The man noticed her silence. He figured that the best thing would be to let her process this - he didn’t know why she’d gone quiet, but was sure she had reason.

After a few minutes of walking (and the feeling of gazes from the alleyways), the two arrived at the castle. It was a towering Gothic structure made of wood and limestone. Most of the towers doubled the height of the wall, but one tripled it far above the size of the others.

“We’re here,” the man said. His words were lost, though, in her amazement. Despite being there to confront the king who lived with in, she could only stand in awe at the sight before her. The man left; he had fatherly business to attend to.

After a long moment of staring at the wondrous stronghold, Nezetta snapped herself out of her trance. She had work to do.

She approached the guards at the gate. “I would like to speak with the king,” she said confidently.

One guard eyed another. The second one nodded, and the first moved to let her into the castle.He followed her; after the death of King Derek, the guards had drastically increased security. They couldn’t take any more risks.

The grass in the courtyard was a third dead and unwell-kept, trodden down in paths. These paths diverged to a few main destinations. If you looked down from above, it would look something like a wavy tic-tac-toe board. The most major path was the one she needed to follow; it was the one that led to the throne room.

Nezetta stepped into the chamber with the knight close behind her. She immediately, she saw who she was looking for.

King Elric sat on the golden throne with an arrogance that could only have come from someone born with pride. The throne itself had intricate patterns carved into its armrests and the arch that went over it. It matched the golden pillars that held the ceiling like the ancient Greeks said Atlas held the sky. Snakes were embroidered in Elric’s suit, and their presence seemed to solidify the evil she believed him to be. She looked into his lapis eyes and saw only hubris, and it disgusted her.

          If Nezetta had looked slightly deeper, she may have seen that this was not the case. She may have realized that everything she saw was a façade, and that his hardness and cruelty was not just that. She would have seen through his mask of a king, and into the soul of a prince lost in grief and the desire to keep his people safe.

“And what is this?” he asked.

“I have something to say to you,” Nezetta said. “You took my parents - for no reason at all - and killed them. If you truly believe you were in the right, then at least tell me why they’re dead.”

Elric’s eyes softened, just a little. “Those two… they had a child?”

“Yeah, and that child wants to know why you killed two innocent people. They were just merchants! What could they have done?”

The king’s mask completely vanished. “They didn’t tell you? Well, I guess the less you know, the better for everyone involved…”

“What pool of dragonsblood are you talking about?”

“Please watch your language,” Elric commanded. “And to answer your question… those two were assassins. They specifically are responsible for the premature demise of many good people, including my father. I do regret that they left you in the dark, and that you had to go through this turmoil. I don’t want any lives to be lost - even evil ones. I’m just trying to protect my people.”

Nezetta stood in shock. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing! But he was telling the truth. Plus, her parents never told her much about their “sales”, so what could she say?

Then, she knew. “So what are you going to do with me? My parents killed your father, and I had the audacity to get mad about it.”

“I’m not going to do anything to you - not anything bad, anyway,” Elric responded. “I do not believe children are responsible for the actions of their parents, so I’m going to let you go. What I will do to you is commend your bravery. You came here on your own, which was an ordeal in and of itself, and then you were bold enough to face someone who could’ve had you killed.”

“I… I understand,” Nezetta said. “...Your Highness.” She turned and left the throne room.

Elric continued to sit on his throne after she left. “That was quite the guest, was it not?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He moved his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “You and you-” he indicated to another guard in the room “-make sure she gets home safely.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

 

The journey home was longer. The guards couldn’t move as quickly in their heavy armor, and they had to be cautious of heat stroke. They called it “sun illness”. This time, she went around the mountains - Nezetta didn’t want to make the guards go through that.

Eventually, though, she arrived at the hovel where she’d lived for years. She thanked the guards for their escort and wished them safe travels back to Alryne.

She lived just as she had before any of this ever happened. The only difference now was that she lived with the confidence of someone who had confronted the king as a daughter of two criminals, and survived.

 

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

8 hours ago, Spark of Hope said:

Currently untitled

  Hide contents

The hovel on the edge of town is from hundreds of years ago, and many rumors surround it. Some say that it had been inhabited by monsters - this is partially true. Some say it’s haunted - this is not. The truest rumor is the story of a young girl named Nezetta.

Nezetta lived in the hovel with her parents when Alryen was still a town centered around a castle, when this region was ruled by a dynasty of kings. One of these great kings was named Derek. Derek brought a time of peace and prosperity to his kingdom. He was known for his power, and although he did not oppress the people, he ruled with an iron fist. Despite his massive support from the public, he died prematurely, and at first the cause was a mystery. It was solved quickly by his son Elric, the new king. Elric sent a regiment of his knights to the hovel. 

Nezetta stared out the window while her parents spoke with the king’s guard. She saw how tense the situation was, but not the words that were said.

One of the guards, one who outranked the others, stood at the front, and he asked, “Does she know about your true… ‘profession’?”

“No,” Nezetta’s father answered. “She knows only what we’ve told her - that we are traveling merchants. By the life of the king, she doesn’t know anything else.” He froze, realizing what he had said. “The new king.” For the first time in a long time, he was being truly honest.

The guard raised his eyebrow and did not move for a moment. This man and his wife were known liars. They were not to be trusted. Still, he would have no reason to lie now. It would not benefit him. The guard figured that he was being truthful, and he nodded. He would follow the orders his king had given. The girl was unimportant. She would be left behind, and her parents would be taken to Alryne.

The soldiers led Nezetta’s parents away in shackles. She stared in confusion and watched her parents being led away, and she didn’t know why.

 

 

~~~

 

Nezetta went to the village a couple days later to buy food. She’d been on her own before, and she knew how to handle herself. Her parents left all the time to sell things to the various villages of the kingdom. From a young age, they had taught her to shop and act as an adult.

Tradition says that Nezetta didn’t want to follow the guards and her parents to Alryne. She had never gone beyond the village alone. It was not something she felt she was able to do. What we know for sure, whether she was scared or not, is that something changed her mind. Somehow, she had been influenced into bravery.

The shopkeepers in the market say it was one of their ancestors. Those stalls have stayed within families for years. Many of us have grown to believe it, as well. It makes more sense than any other explanation we have. As she went throughout the market buying food, the merchants spoke with her.

“Your parents out on another trip, hon?” the baker asked.

Nezetta hesitated for a moment. “I guess you could say so. They aren’t at home.”

“‘You could say so’? Is something wrong?”

“Well, they’re going to Alryne, one way or another.”

“My apologies, dear,” the baker said. “May I ask why?” The baker most likely assumed Nezetta’s parents to be dead. Alryne used to be what people in our area called God.

“I… I don’t know,” Nezetta answered.

“Don’t you think you should?” the baker asked.

The line behind Nezetta started to get reckless. “Move, stable cleaner!” one person is said to have yelled.

“I apologize for holding you up. Thank you for your time - and the bread.”

“Of course, dear. Alryne’s blessing.”

Nezetta left the market, and tradition tells that she left with new purpose. History confirms this to be true.

She returned home to gather a few things - the map of the kingdom that is kept in our town’s museum among them. She put this and her other supplies in her knapsack. Now, this knapsack had been gifted to her by her parents. It was one of the few things they had acquired legitimately, and it was able to store everything she needed for her journey to Alryne. If she needed any more food, she could stop in villages along the way.

She walked the path through the village that led towards Alryne. Just before she crossed the last house, she stopped. This journey would be long, and it would be hard.

Nezetta steeled herself. It would be worth it.

For the first time in her life, Nezetta went beyond the village.

 

 

The first struggle was the mountain range. Now, we have the mines and highways, tunnels that go through the mountains. Back then, they didn’t. Nezetta could either follow the path around the mountains and spend more time - weeks, months more than planned - on her journey to Alryne, or she could climb over the range and save time with more exertion.

She chose the latter option. We believe her story is the first known time anyone had gone through the mountains instead of around.

It took two weeks and most of Nezetta’s supplies to cross the mountain range. Still, that was less time than the other route would have been. Two days past that, she found another village and was able to resupply.

 

 

The next obstacle was the guard checkpoint on the path. This was similar to toll booths on highways now - knights from Alryne checked everyone on the path to ensure the safety of the travelers. They would check for weapons and allow the journeyers who were low on supplies to take a little of theirs. The guards may have been brutal, and trained well in force, but they were not unnecessarily cruel.

However, Nezetta had had very limited exposure to them, and the only encounter with them that she remembered was when her parents had been taken.

It isn’t only oral tradition that verifies this story. The checkpoints recorded every conversation they had with travelers, and this conversation between them is recorded word for word.

“Halt,” a guard commanded. We assume she did so, because he didn’t have to reiterate himself. “We have to check that knapsack, ma’am.”

“‘Ma’am’, huh? Not ‘saddle cleaner’ or some other insult to someone of my status?” Nezetta asked.

“His Majesty King Elric does not condone such disrespectful statements.”

“I- I see.” She handed her knapsack over, and it was checked.

“You seem low on supplies,” the knight said. He signaled to another guard, who resupplied her. “Now we just need to check you for weapons.

“You won’t find any,” Nezetta answered. She put up her arms, though, and they searched her. Just like she said, she did not have any weapons.

“Alright, then. You may continue.” The guards blocking the path moved to let her through. “Safe travels, miss.” Nezetta left the checkpoint.

 

 

Other than these, though, Nezetta did not have any major obstacles on her way to Alryne. When she arrived, she found one of the locals. “Excuse me, sir. Would you mind telling me how to get to the king’s castle from here?”

The man smiled. “Tell you? I’ll take you!” His expression fell slightly. “There’s a handful of thieves acting more often. You won’t be safe on your own.”

“I see… Thank you, then.”

The two set off. “Of course. Although, I would have thought criminal activity would have died down after…”

“‘After’?” Nezetta asked.

“There was an execution a few weeks ago. Two criminals from the outskirts. The king didn’t say what they were guilty of, only that they were condemned to death.”

Nezetta fell silent. Those two had to have been her parents. She would’ve thought it took more time than this to corrupt a king.

The man noticed her silence. He figured that the best thing would be to let her process this - he didn’t know why she’d gone quiet, but was sure she had reason.

After a few minutes of walking (and the feeling of gazes from the alleyways), the two arrived at the castle. It was a towering Gothic structure made of wood and limestone. Most of the towers doubled the height of the wall, but one tripled it far above the size of the others.

“We’re here,” the man said. His words were lost, though, in her amazement. Despite being there to confront the king who lived with in, she could only stand in awe at the sight before her. The man left; he had fatherly business to attend to.

After a long moment of staring at the wondrous stronghold, Nezetta snapped herself out of her trance. She had work to do.

She approached the guards at the gate. “I would like to speak with the king,” she said confidently.

One guard eyed another. The second one nodded, and the first moved to let her into the castle.He followed her; after the death of King Derek, the guards had drastically increased security. They couldn’t take any more risks.

The grass in the courtyard was a third dead and unwell-kept, trodden down in paths. These paths diverged to a few main destinations. If you looked down from above, it would look something like a wavy tic-tac-toe board. The most major path was the one she needed to follow; it was the one that led to the throne room.

Nezetta stepped into the chamber with the knight close behind her. She immediately, she saw who she was looking for.

King Elric sat on the golden throne with an arrogance that could only have come from someone born with pride. The throne itself had intricate patterns carved into its armrests and the arch that went over it. It matched the golden pillars that held the ceiling like the ancient Greeks said Atlas held the sky. Snakes were embroidered in Elric’s suit, and their presence seemed to solidify the evil she believed him to be. She looked into his lapis eyes and saw only hubris, and it disgusted her.

          If Nezetta had looked slightly deeper, she may have seen that this was not the case. She may have realized that everything she saw was a façade, and that his hardness and cruelty was not just that. She would have seen through his mask of a king, and into the soul of a prince lost in grief and the desire to keep his people safe.

“And what is this?” he asked.

“I have something to say to you,” Nezetta said. “You took my parents - for no reason at all - and killed them. If you truly believe you were in the right, then at least tell me why they’re dead.”

Elric’s eyes softened, just a little. “Those two… they had a child?”

“Yeah, and that child wants to know why you killed two innocent people. They were just merchants! What could they have done?”

The king’s mask completely vanished. “They didn’t tell you? Well, I guess the less you know, the better for everyone involved…”

“What pool of dragonsblood are you talking about?”

“Please watch your language,” Elric commanded. “And to answer your question… those two were assassins. They specifically are responsible for the premature demise of many good people, including my father. I do regret that they left you in the dark, and that you had to go through this turmoil. I don’t want any lives to be lost - even evil ones. I’m just trying to protect my people.”

Nezetta stood in shock. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing! But he was telling the truth. Plus, her parents never told her much about their “sales”, so what could she say?

Then, she knew. “So what are you going to do with me? My parents killed your father, and I had the audacity to get mad about it.”

“I’m not going to do anything to you - not anything bad, anyway,” Elric responded. “I do not believe children are responsible for the actions of their parents, so I’m going to let you go. What I will do to you is commend your bravery. You came here on your own, which was an ordeal in and of itself, and then you were bold enough to face someone who could’ve had you killed.”

“I… I understand,” Nezetta said. “...Your Highness.” She turned and left the throne room.

Elric continued to sit on his throne after she left. “That was quite the guest, was it not?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He moved his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “You and you-” he indicated to another guard in the room “-make sure she gets home safely.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

 

The journey home was longer. The guards couldn’t move as quickly in their heavy armor, and they had to be cautious of heat stroke. They called it “sun illness”. This time, she went around the mountains - Nezetta didn’t want to make the guards go through that.

Eventually, though, she arrived at the hovel where she’d lived for years. She thanked the guards for their escort and wished them safe travels back to Alryne.

She lived just as she had before any of this ever happened. The only difference now was that she lived with the confidence of someone who had confronted the king as a daughter of two criminals, and survived.

 

Loved that. Chefs kiss *Que the Italian hand gestures* 

[Through the Living Hope]

Coming soon: a bunch of things I wrote in like kindergarten

Sneak peek. 

Spoiler

A long time ago, bears lived in caves. 

Then died.

Now just caves. 

 

[Keke They/he]

On 4/1/2025 at 9:04 AM, Spark of Hope said:

@Hawks

LHI, Chapter 9: The Race and the Pastes

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The crowd applauded and cheered louder than anything else I had ever heard. I looked through the stands, not managing to pick out a single recognizable face. 

Present Mic yelled through the speakers again. “The U.A. sports festival! Where our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle! First up, you know who I’m talking about! The miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villain attack with their steely willpower! The first years of the hero course! It’s class 1A!”

The spectators roared once again. “Wow, they’re really giving us too much credit!” Eijiro said excitedly. “I’m getting nervous now… what about you, Bakugo?”

“No way I’m nervous!” Katsuki replied. “You’re just getting stage fright, wuss!”

“And following class B,” Present Mic continued, “here come classes C, D, and E from the department of general education! And now, here are classes F, G, and H of the department of support! Now for the department of management’s-”

“S-so many p-people…” Izuku stammered.

“And we’re expected to put on our best performance in front of so many spectators!” Iida asked. “I suppose this is merely one more necessary skill to become heroes.”

A kid from one of the other classes complained, “Man, it’s like we’re just here to make the others look good. Hard to get motivated…”

“Now, now, fair play!” Midnight shouted to us. I turned my attention to a podium at the center of the arena. There was a bit of murmuring among the students - and with so many of us here, it was actually really loud.

Present Mic continued, “PIPE DOWN! Now, player representative! Katsuki Bakugo of class 1A!”

“What?! Our representative is Kacchan?!” Izuku asked in disbelief.

“He placed first in the entrance exam, remember?” Sero replied.

“Tied for first,” I corrected. “Both of us got 77 points.”

“Yeah, in the heroics entrance exam…” a girl from another class said spitefully.

I facepalmed. “Get ready to be embarrassed…”

We watched Katsuki intensely. “I just wanna say… I’m gonna win.”

“Dang it, I knew he was gonna-” Eijiro began.

“DON’T PUSH YOUR LUCK, CLASS 1A!”

“WHY DO YOU INSIST ON LOWERING OUR GOOD GRACES?!” Iida scolded.

“You’ll all make fantastic stepping stones, I’m sure,” Katsuki muttered to no one in particular. He moved his thumb over his neck in a “you’re dead” motion.

“This kid’s unbelievably overconfident,” Tetsutetsu said. “I’m gonna be the one to crush him!”

Katsuki stepped off the podium. No, I thought, looking at Tetsutetsu. This is deliberate. I grinned. He wants you to get mad so he can show you just how powerful he is.

“All right, with that we can move directly into our first event!” Midnight shouted.

“Wow, never an idle pause at U.A.!” Ochaco joked.

“These are the qualifiers! Lots of fine folks end up choking on their tears here every year! And this year’s first round of destiny is…!” I tensened and focused. “THIS!” The board behind Midnight read “Obstacle Race.”

“It’s a race between all 11 classes!” Midnight continued. “The course makes a nearly four kilometer ring around the entire stadium! We always sing about our freedom on campus… Well, this is what it’s all about! You’re free to do anything, anything, so long as you remain on the course!” 

I smirked. “I thought this was supposed to be a challenge.”

“What do you mean?” Kaminari asked.

“That’s right!” Eijiro realized. “You can just fly over everything!”

“She can FLY?!”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I won’t go too fast.”

“So.. let’s get cracking! On your marks…”

I put myself at the back of the pack. They’re going to need all the help they can get.

“Get set… START!”

I released my wings and flew over everyone. I was one of the first people through the gate. I turned around, found a surprised Kaminari in the crowd, and saluted at him as I turned back and flew away. 

This high above the crowd, I could see a lot of the current standings. Todoroki had a major lead on the rest, who he had frozen the feet of in ice. I lowered myself behind him. “Missed me!” I taunted.

“You’ll have to try harder than that, Todoroki!” I heard Eijiro yell from not too far behind me. I looked and there was a small pack (upside down from my perspective) consisting of Eijiro, Katsuki, Yaomomo, Aoyama, and others I couldn’t see. 

“We won’t let you get away that easy, half-and-half!”

I can’t look behind me for the whole race! I turned back forward just in time to avoid crashing into the zero-point robots from the entrance exam. I hovered for a few seconds to catch my breath. I flapped as hard as I could once and was propelled five meters over the robot. I had gotten flipped upside down from the sheer power of my wings, so I saw Todoroki freeze the giant in place.

I stayed upside down for another two seconds to see the robot crash down, blocking a lot of the others from following. Two people emerged from under the rubble - I recognized Eijiro’s bright red hair. The other I couldn’t recognize, but when I looked closer, the features matched those of Tetsutetsu. Katsuki flew over the wreckage, followed by Sero and Tokoyami.

I turned forward once again. Straight for a while, and then a deep pit with narrow platforms. Again, nothing that would hinder me.

Or so I thought.

I crashed into something above the pit and slid along the side of it - an invisible barrier. It was too low to fly beneath, and I wasn’t going to weave between the platforms. I hopped from platform to platform with no pausing in between running and jumping, using my wings to steady myself. At most 20 seconds later and I made it past the obstacle.

Unfortunately, Todoroki emerged at the same time I did, and I tripped on the ground as I ran, falling into second place.

I slowed down to recover, but in doing so, I was passed by a crowd of people that included Katsuki and Izuku. Katsuki then passed Todoroki. I released my wings again and flew about half a meter off the ground, making sure to be fast. There was a minefield ahead of me that the others were blowing up left and right. I dodged the dust from the explosions caused by the others, getting some on the edge feathers of my wings, which were also slightly singed by the blasts.

Not long at all later, I was flying slightly behind Katsuki and Todoroki. As that happened, a loud explosion came from the entrance of the field, and I flipped over so that my back faced the ground. The explosion was sky high, and a piece of debris came flying down. Wait- is someone on that sheet of metal?!

I dodged the sheet of metal as it came flying down, catching a glimpse of Izuku riding on it.

Katsuki noticed him as well as he flew over him and Todoroki. “DEKUUUUUU!” Katsuki yelled. “DON’T YOU DARE GO AHEAD OF ME!” Todoroki iced over the path behind him.

Izuku smashed the metal sled on the ground between Katsuki and Todoroki, causing another mine to explode, which stopped Katsuki, Todoroki, and I for a few seconds. Izuku effectively took the lead. “Not bad, Izuku Midoriya,” I muttered. “Not bad.”

Izuku ended up getting back to the stadium first, followed by Todoroki, then Katsuki, then me. Fourth place. Not as high as I would’ve liked, but I definitely got noticed. I glanced up to the commentary booth. Mr. Aizawa nodded slightly. I finally let myself exhale. The rankings appeared on the board.

 

1. Izuku Midoriya - 10,000,000

2. Shoto Todoroki - 210

3. Katsuki Bakugo - 205

4. Akarui Kiseki - 200

5. Ibara Shiozaki - 195

6. Juzo Honenuki - 190

7. Tenya Iida - 185

8. Fumikage Tokoyami - 180

9. Hanta Sero - 175

10. Eijiro Kirishima - 165

11. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu - 160

12. Mashirao Ojiro - 155

13. Yousetsu Awase - 150

14. Tsuyu Asui - 145

15. Mezo Shoji - 140

16. Rikido Sato - 135

17. Ochaco Uraraka - 130

18. Yaomomo Yaoyorozu - 125

19. Minoru Mineta - 120

20. Mina Ashido - 115

21. Koji Kota - 110

22. Kyoka Jiro - 105

23. Sen Kaibara - 100

24. Kosei Tsubaraba - 95

25. Denki Kaminari - 90

26. Kojiro Bondo - 85

27. Reiko Yanagi - 80

28. Hitoshi Shinso - 75

29. Itsuki Kendo - 70

30. Shihai Kuroiro - 65

31. Yui Kodai - 60

32. Hiryu Rin - 55

33. Nirengeki Shoda - 50

34. Kiniko Komori - 45

35. Togaru Kamakiri - 40

36. Neito Monoma - 35

37. Pony Tsunotori - 30

38. Toru Hagakure - 25

39. Setsuna Tokage - 20

40. Manga Fukidashi - 15

41. Mei Hatsume - 10

42. Yuga Aoyama - 5

 

42 people had moved on, including all of class 1A, most of class 1B, and two others, the tired-looking purple-haired boy from general ed and a girl with pink hair from support. I did slightly cock my head in confusion, though. What were the numbers after our names supposed to mean?

“The 42 at the top have earned the right to advance,” Midnight explained. “I’m sorry for the kids who failed, but don’t worry! We’ve got another way for you to show your stuff! And now the main selection REALLY begins! The press corps’s going to be jumping out of their seats, so give it all you’ve got! Now, on to the second event! I already know what it is, of course… Dying in suspense? Next up is…”

The screen then read “Cavalry Battle.” I touched my chin in thought. I had done these before, but I didn’t understand how this would choose who moved on. Midnight then explained the rules, and it made much more sense. She continued to explain that everyone had a point value. So that’s what the numbers mean. Mine was 200. Izuku’s was-

“TEN MILLION POINTS!”

“Okay, I am pleased with fourth place, good day!” I saluted and pretended to walk away. Katsuki grabbed my shoulder hard.

“We’ll be putting together teams of 2-4,” he said. “You are coming with me.”

I pulled away and crossed my arms. “And what if I don’t want to come with you?”

“I destroy your team and put all of you in the infirmary for the rest of the day.”

“You got room for me?” Other people began to crowd me and Katsuki. I recoiled away from the most of it. “Whoa, guys, 2-4! We can’t take all of you!”

“Todoroki’s already got himself a full team, the jerk,” Eijiro said. “Bakugo! Let’s team up!” 

“Hair-for-Brains.”

“The name’s Kirishima! Remember it! I know you wanna be a rider, right? So your front horse better be someone who can take all those explosions, yeah? Who might that be?!”

“He does have a point,” I muttered to Katsuki.

“Somebody not afraid to die,” he answered.

“Nope, it’s me with my Hardening! We’ll be a horse that can’t break! And you wanna take Midoriya down, right?!”

Katsuki smirked, and I have to say it was contagious. Sero ended up joining the team. Mina was our other candidate, but Sero won out. Our team’s total was 750 points. Katsuki was our rider, and Eijiro was the front. Sero and I held up the rear I was on the right and he was on the left..

“We’ve all got one target,” Katsuki muttered. “You guys better not screw this up.” The buzzer sounded, and we stayed back to analyze. Izuku’s team consisted of himself, Ochaco, Tokoyami, and the pink-haired girl from support (Mei Hatsume, according to Scan). Suddenly, they were launched in the air. I saw a jetpack on Izuku’s back.

“Support item!” I yelled. “It doesn’t look too stable, so this might be the only time they get to use it!”

They landed on the ground and were stopped by Shoji, Mineta, and Tsu. They wouldn’t be able to move…

… or defend from an aerial attack.

“I’ve got an idea!” I explained my plan and we decided to use it. Katsuki launched himself into the air, per the plan.

“GETTING PRETTY FULL OF YOURSELF, HUH, YOU [JERK]!” Katsuki yelled at Izuku.

“TOKOYAMI!” Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow blocked Katsuki from getting the headband.

Katsuki was furious. “What the [heck]-”

“Sero! NOW!” I yelled. Sero released his tape and pulled Katsuki back onto the horse. People asked if that was a legal move, and Midnight said that since Katsuki never touched the ground, it was legal. They put the current scores up on the board and - what?! 

“ZERO?!” Kirishima yelled.

“Like taking candy from a baby, class A,” a blond kid from 1B yelled. I vaguely recognized him from the entrance exam.

Katsuki yelled, “Give that back! I’ll freaking kill you!”

I shouted, “He got us!”

The kid launched into a spiel not too different from Izuku’s muttering episodes. “When Midnight announced the first event, it didn’t take a genius to realize they wouldn’t be thinning our numbers that much in a preliminary. It wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine they’d be letting a good number of us advance to the next event. Forty or so seemed reasonable. It was the perfect chance to hang back and observe our soon-to-be rivals’ quirks and tendencies. So it’s only fair that we ended up placing more modestly.”

“The whole class is surrounding us!” Kirishima yelled. He was right. All of class B was surrounding our team.

“Not good,” I agreed. 

“Well, not everyone, but that wouldn’t have been a bad idea instead of aiming for some fleeting first place, like a horse dangling for a carrot. Ah, but you’re already a celebrity, aren’t you? The victim of that sludge incident! I’ll have to ask you sometime! How does it feel to get attacked by villains on an annual basis?

It took everything I had not to send a Bombshell at him, so I could only imagine how enraged Katsuki was.

Then I found out just how mad he was. “Horse… change of plans. Before we go for Deku… I’ve gotta murder every last one of them!” His voice was as threatening as I had ever heard it.

“Dad come pick me up I’m scared,” I muttered.

“Quit getting them so riled up, Monoma!” a red-headed 1B girl said. The blond kid - Monoma - went into another spiel that I found boring. Katsuki started grunting.

“Get it together, Bakugo!” Eijiro urged. “If you don’t calm down we’ll never be able to take back those points!”

Katsuki just kept grunting. Then he replied, “Push forward, Kirishima. Right now… I’m as cool as ice”

“Come on, man.”

Monoma slapped Katsuki’s face and it blew up. “Oh, that’s neat! Nice quirk ou’ve got!”

“That’s my-!” Katsuki panicked.

“He has your power too, Bakugo!” Eijiro asked.

“EAT THIS!” Katsuki yelled at Monoma. He made an explosion that would hurt, but not do any lasting damage.

“Though my quirk is far greater,” Monoma taunted. His arm looked the same as Eijiro’s did when it was hardened.

“What?! My quirk too? They’re taking everything from me!” Eijiro raged.

“That ain’t it,” Katsuki muttered. “This guy has a copy power.”

“Correct!” Monoma replied. “Well, I suppose even an idiot would get it right away.” Sero and I glanced at each other. If he was calling Katsuki an idiot…

A weird goop splashed on our group. “Bondo! So you’ve come to fight!” Monoma smiled.

“Monoma, you can get away now. With that many points, you’ll be in the top four for sure!”

I started to formulate a plan. “If that’s so, then we may not even need Izuku’s team’s band… we just need these guys’!”

Those of us in the horse tried to move. “It’s all hard now! I can’t move!” Eijiro told us.

“I can try to break it with one of my abilities, but I can’t aim it very well,” I supplied.

“Hurry! We don’t have any points!” Sero replied. I made sure my left hand had Katsuki steady and removed my right. Katsuki and Monoma bickered a bit. I moved my right arm to face the substance right at the center of where it had hardened. 

“Aw, don’t be mad,” Monoma taunted. “You brought this on yourself, after all. Hey, what was that pledge you made earlier? Seems kind of embarrassing now… Well, whatever. Thanks for the points!”

“I’m taking first place,” Katsuki muttered to himself. “But not just first place… I’m taking the first to end all firsts!” That was all the time I needed to make sure my quirk wouldn’t hurt our horse.

“Bombshell!” I yelled. A small explosion occurred in the substance, shattering it. “Okay, let’s go!”

We started chasing after Monoma’s horse. “WAIT JUST ONE STINKING MINUTE!” Eijiro yelled. Katsuki jumped off of the horse and into the fray. “GET BACK HERE, BAKUGO!”

“Idiot,” I muttered.

“Tsuburaba! Guard!” Monoma yelled.

“Got it!” said a boy. He must be Tsuburaba! He breathed, forming a shield of solid air. Katsuki grunted as he collided with it headfirst. In an instant’s decision, Katsuki changed his course and ripped two headbands off of Monoma’s neck.

“YES!” I yelled. “That gets us to third place!”

“We told you to warn us when you jump off!” Sero scolded Katsuki.

“But at least now we’ll definitely place high enough,” Eijiro replied.

“I AIN’T DONE YET!” Katsuki yelled. “I’m not settling for some half-assed first place! NOW MOVE! We’re gonna take our points back, and then the ten million!”

“This guy…” Sero muttered.

“Soy sauce face! Tape, now!” Katsuki ordered.

“My name’s Sero!” He shot his tape out.

“Featherbrain! Cut off their escape!”

“It’s Akarui!” I held out my arm to help my aim. “Pillars of Light!” As I said it, pillars of blue light fenced them in. We rushed forward and at the last second, I swiveled my foot and helped turn the horse. Katsuki stretched out his arm and grabbed the last headband from Monoma.

“NEXT! DEKU AND TODOROKI!”

With six seconds left, Katsuki flew off of the horse towards Todoroki and Izuku’s teams. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to grab another headband before-

“TIME’S UP!” Katsuki fell to the ground.

“Guess we hear the results now,” I sighed. The people who had been our horse ran over to Katsuki, who was right by Izuku and Todoroki’s teams. 

“In first place, Team Todoroki! In second place, Team Bakugo!” Katsuki hunched over and screamed at the criminalistic dirt. The rest of us celebrated by pumping our fists. “In third place, it’s Team Tetsute- wait, huh? Hey! It’s Team Shinso?!” Izuku began to apologize to his team, when Tokoyami started to talk. Dark Shadow lifted up a headband. “And in fourth place, Team Midoriya!”

Izuku started crying vertically. “That kind of looks like my Pillar of Light,” I muttered. Sero and Eijiro heard me and started to laugh.

“The first four teams will move on to the final event. The final event will be after a one hour lunch break. See you then.” Then Mic lost some professionalism as they walked away from the booth. “Hey, Eraserhead! Let’s go get some food!”

Most of 1A walked off together. Izuku and Todoroki vanished, and soon Katsuki did, as well. They were gone for all of the break. 

“Wonder where those three went…” Kaminari muttered.

“Probably settling a score of some kind,” I answered. “After all, Izuku and Katsuki have been rivals forever, and I mean forever, and after Todoroki’s declaration in the waiting room, we might have a rival trio.”

“That does make sense. Wonder why I didn’t think of that…”

“Because you’re an idiot.”

“Hey!”

I laughed. “Am I not allowed to joke? It’s all in good fun, Kaminari.” I saw Mineta talking to all of the girls. I glared and growled, “Be right back.”

I walked over to the group and towered behind Mineta. When he turned he was terrified. Good. “What do you think you’re doing?”  I snarled.

“Apparently we’re all supposed to wear cheerleader uniforms for the next announcements?” Kyoka replied.

I laughed. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those. Uh uh, no way. You guys know he just wants exposure.”

“But what if we get in trouble!” Toru asked. “I think we should!”

I shrugged. “You do you, I guess. But he’s not fooling me.” I walked back over to the main group. “I hate that guy.”

“Hate is a strong word,” Eijiro replied. “And in this case, it’s accurate.”

Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa climbed into the commentary booth. “Alright, then. Let’s get ready.”

“Before we get started with the final event, I’ve got good news for all those out of the running! In the end, this is still a sports festival! So to have everyone to continue to be able to participate, we’ve got some recreational events for all participants! Just look how fired up those cheerleaders we called from America are- Huh? What’s this?” They fell for it. “WHAT HAPPENED, CLASS A?”

“A perv got put in our class, that’s what happened,” I muttered, punching straight down on Mineta’s stupid head.

“MINETA!” Yaomomo yelled. “YOU TRICKED US, DIDN’T YOU?!”

“Not going to say I told you so, but…” I shrugged.

“Hope everyone enjoys this recreational competition! And after that, it’s the final event! From the four teams, sixteen individuals have made it through! IT’S A TOURNAMENT! We’re pitting them against each other in one-on-one battles!”

“A tournament, eh?” Eijiro smiled. “Finally I’m gonna have the opportunity to appear on the stage that I see on the TV every year!”

“There was a tournament last year, too?” Mina asked.

“Some details end up changing, but each year is always one-on-one,” Sero answered. “Last year, it was foam sword fighting.”

“The matchups will be decided by drawing lots,” Midnight explained. “Once that’s settled, we’ll move on to the festivities, and then the tournament itself! It’s up to each of you 16 finalists whether or not you participate in the fun. I expect some of you would rather take a breather and save your strength. Now, let’s starts with the first place team…”

“Um, excuse me… I’d like to drop out,” Ojiro said, which surprised everyone.

“Why?! This is your chance to get noticed by the pros!”

“The cavalry battle… I have no memories of anything that happened up until the tail end. It’s probably his quirk that did that… I know this is a great opportunity. And I know how stupid it must seem to throw it away, but this final tournament… Everyone else made it here by their own strength. Yet I’m standing here, and I don’t even know how or why. I just can’t take it.”

“You’re thinking about it too hard!” Toru protested. “Just show what you’re made of in the tournament!”

“By that logic, I really shouldn’t be here either!” someone added.

“No, I’m talking about my pride here. I don’t think it’s right. And why the heck are all of the girls in are class dressed like that, anyway?”

“Almost all,” I muttered.

“I can’t remember anything either… I wanna withdraw too!” class B’s Shoda Nirengeki agreed. “This is a contest of skill. Letting someone who didn’t do anything advance… doesn’t that defeat the whole point of the sports festival? Isn’t it even against the rules?”

“These guys… so manly!”

“We have a strange turn of events…” Mic commentated. “What will the coordinator, Midnight, decide?”

“How naive and green… I like it!” Midnight said. “Shoda and Ojiro have officially withdrawn!”

“I’ll win it for ya!” Aoyama comforted Ojiro.

“Replacing those two will be members of Team Kendo, which took fifth.”

“If it’s gonna be like that, shouldn’t it be them instead?” Kendo asked. “I mean, we were immobilized practically the whole time. But they were giving their all to keep what they had until the very end. Team Tetsutetsu, I mean. Don’t worry, we’re not colluding or anything. This just feels right.”

“Y… You guys!” Tetsutetsu yelled.

“So be it. Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki bring us back up to 16 competitors! And here are the matchups!”

I looked up at the board for the lots. I was paired with Aoyama. I glanced at him. He was smiling that creepy smile he always had, but his eyes were panicked. I don’t want to be feared, but it’s good to know that people think I have a powerful quirk. 

“Now, let’s set aside the tournament for the time being, and get on with the thrill-a-minute festivities!” I bunch of time passed and we all prepared ourselves for our fights. I spent some time working on aiming my Exploding Flame and Pillar of Light. Without my support staff, I would really have to pay attention to what I was doing. 

“Thank you, Cementoss!” Mic announced. I should get back. I walked back into the stadium and sat in 1A’s reserved stands. “Hey, guys, are you ready?! You’ve been through hell to get here! But now it’s time for the one-on-one tournament! You’ve only got yourself to rely on! Even if you’re not a hero, this saying holds true! You know it! Spirit, technique, strength, wisdom, and knowledge! Use ‘em and show us your best!

“The first match! Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it’s Izuku Midoriya, from the hero course!” Loud cheers from 1A’s part of the stands erupted. “Versus- Sorry, but this guy hasn’t really done anything to stand out yet! It’s Hitoshi Shinso, from general studies!”

I could feel a lot of tension coming up from the stadium. Shinso had said that if he did well enough, he could be considered to transfer into the hero course, and that the reverse could happen, too. Mr. Aizawa had said that Izuku hurt himself really bad in he entrance exam, and he got hurt at the quirk apprehension test, too.

“The rules are simple! Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to say ‘I give up’! Bring the pain! We’ve got our good old Recovery Girl on standby! And fight dirty if you must! ‘Ethics’ have no meaning here!”

“I dunno, I feel like ethics are pretty important,” I muttered to Eijiro. He laughed a bit.

“Well, of course, going for the kill is a no-no! You’ll be disqualified! Because a true hero’s fists fly only when in pursuit of villains!”

“And you still shouldn’t mess ‘em up too badly,” I said quietly. “Villains may be evil, but they’re still people.”

“Now let’s get this thing started! Readyyyy! START!!”

Izuku suddenly lunged at Shinso. “WHAT’D YOU SAY?!” Suddenly, he stopped moving. 

“[Dang] it, Midoriya!” Ojiro panicked. “It’s that kid’s quirk. If you acknowledge what he says, you have to follow all of his instructions!”

“Dang it, Izuku!” I yelled.

“What’s going on?” Mic commentated. “This battle’s just beginning. Show us some spirit! Mere seconds into the match, Midoriya’s frozen in place?! Looking confounded, he’s not even twitching! Could this be Shinso’s quirk? We were barely aware this guy even existed, but now, he sure is one to keep an eye on!”

“That’s why I’ve been saying the entrance exam is illogical,” Mr. Aizawa’s voice said over the loudspeaker. “Here are the simple specs on these two. I’ve got them here because we knew this would be a quirk versus quirk battle. Shinso failed the practical part of the exam, so he lost a spot in the hero course. He got into general studies, though, and that’s all he could have hoped for. His quirk is extraordinarily powerful, but given the format of the practical exam, his ability didn’t help him out.”

Izuku began to walk out of the ring/rectangle. “Whoa! Midoriya’s following orders like a good little boy!” Mic said. Suddenly, there was an almost unnoticeable shift in the air.  I leaned forward and looked closer at Izuku. Two of his fingers were pulsing. He snapped his fingers and the shock wave allowed him to move naturally again.

“H-how did he manage to break out?!” Ojiro asked.

“What the- Midoriya! He stopped!” Mic announced.

“His fingers are broken…” I muttered.

Shinso started to bicker with Izuku, trying to get a response out of him. It didn’t work, though. Izuku made sure to remain silent. They got into a fistfight, during which Izuku lifted up Shinso and slammed him down outside of the ring, winning the fight.

“He also got you with that shoulder toss, right, Bakugo?” Kaminari asked.

“Shut it, dunce face,” Katsuki replied. “That little, useless-”

“Goodness gracious! We’re off to an uneventful start! Well, put your hands together for our fierce competitors!” They walked out of the stadium arena.

“Next fight’s between Todoroki and Sero,” I remembered.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t put our horse to shame,” Eijiro joked.

“If he does, I’ll kill him,” Katsuki replied a little too seriously.

I shook my head. “No, you won’t. You say you will, but you won’t.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, folks! Next up, it’s these two! The cream of the crop! Yet this guy’s somehow still as plain as they come! Hanta Sero of the hero course! Versus! The best of the best! Strongest of the strong! Shoto Todoroki, also of the hero course!”

Sero shot out some tape at Todoroki and wrapped him up. He started to fling Todoroki out of the ring. “He’s trying to push him out with a surprise attack! It’s probably the best strategy for him! Sero’s giving his all!

Just then, Todoroki unleashed a colossal spike of ice that encased Sero. “Dang it, man!” Eijiro slammed his fist down.

“And so Shoto Todoroki advances to the next round! With the arena all thawed out, it’s time for the next match! It’s class B’s assassin! Every… something- or-other has its thorns, right?! It’s Ibara Shiozaki! Versus… The sparkling, killing boy! Denki Kaminari!” I recognized Shiozaki as the vine-haired girl I saw at the entrance exam.

“Pardon my objection, but what exactly did you mean by ‘assassin’? I have merely come this far seeking victory…” Shiozaki protested.

“S-sorry about that!” Mic apologized.

The fight was over as soon as it had begun. Shiozaki shielded herself from an electric attack and wrapped dumb-Kaminari in her vine hair.

“Wish me luck!” I sang as I left the stands. My fight would be the next one, and I wanted to be ready. I got to the waiting room and looked at the screen as I thought about my tactics. Iida’s fight was just a long commercial break. Hatsume stepped out of the ring as soon as she had said all she wanted to say.

How am I going to take down Aoyama? I was sure I’d already been noticed - I’d managed to bypass a lot of the obstacle course and was in one of the most chaotic horses during the cavalry battle. Even so, I need to get as far as I can in this bracket. The further I get, the better the heroes that will want to take me on. I knew I’d get an offer from Hawks’ agency no matter what, but I didn’t want to accept that if I had any others. And I wanted as many options as possible.

Eventually I came up with a plan. Aoyama could only shoot his laser for a few seconds before he was incapacitated - as far as combat goes, anyway. I needed to dodge his lasers for the time he was able to shoot and then take him out. Dodging wouldn’t be a problem with my warping and my flight, but my Pillars of Light were extremely powerful, and I didn’t want to lose control over one of them or an Exploding Flame.

My final strategy was solely dependent on my wings. I would use them to fly over the laser shot, and then come back around and slam into him, and hope the sheer power would be able to take him down.

I took a deep breath and exited the waiting room. I walked down my tunnel and stood at the entrance of the arena. “It’s time for our next round!” I heard Mic say over the loudspeakers.

I stepped out into the roaring applause. “She’s a bit of a wild card with an extremely powerful wingbeat! I’d stay off her bad side if I were you! Akarui Kiseki from the hero course! Versus! The Frenchie with the banana hair, Yuga Aoyama from the same course!”

“Banana hair?!” Aoyama asked in disbelief.

“Well, it does look like a bunch of bananas,” I replied sassily.

“BEGIN!”

Aoyama began charging his laser and I spread my feet apart. Wait for it… wait for it… He fired the laser beam at me and at the last moment, I released my wings and instantaneously flew upwards. I was now opposite of the commentating booth. “WHAT IS THAT POWER! She just launched herself so far in the air with a single flap that she’s on an equal level as us!”

I saluted Mic through the glass and plummeted back toward the earth, tucking in my wings for a moment to increase my speed. Just two meters above the ground, I spread them out and flew parallel to the ground. I angled myself just right and crashed my left wing right into Aoyama’s stomach.

“Aoyama, can you move?” Midnight asked out of formality, probably knowing full well that he couldn’t.

“Non.”

“Kiseki advances to the next round!” Cheers erupted all around me. I waved a bit and walked out of the tunnel, collapsing against the wall as soon as I was out of eyeshot of the stadium.

“That. Was. Exhausting,” I sighed. I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. I laughed weakly. “At least I get a break between fights.” The laughing put a stitch in my side and I put more weight into the wall. I took some deep breaths and calmed myself down. “Don’t overdo it.”

Keeping one hand against the wall, I somehow made my way back to the spectator stands. I sat down next to Eijiro again. He looked like he wanted to ask about why I was holding my side, but I shook my head. “I’m fine, really.”

The next fights were Yaomomo against Tokoyami (Tokoyami won) and Eijiro against Tetsutetsu (they tied, but Eijiro won the tiebreaker).

“In some ways, I’m most worried about this next one” Tsu said.

“Honestly, I don’t wanna watch,” Kyoka shivered.

“For the last match of the first round, a celebrity since his middle school days, with a face only a mother could love… it’s Katsuki Bakugo of the hero course! Versus… My personal pick to win! Ochaco Uraraka, also of the hero course! Start!”

Ochaco charged at Katsuki, who prepared his usual start of a right swing. The explosion was just as large as it would be against a full-grown male opponent.

“WHOA! That wasn’t cool, Bakugo!” Sero yelled.

“If there’s anyone who won’t go easy on anyone else - even if it’s a girl - it’s Katsuki,” I told him. He didn’t respond.

Ochaco disappeared in the smoke, and the next time I saw her, she wasn’t wearing her jacket. Oh, that was her plan! The jacket’s a decoy!

Katsuki realized it was a trick one moment too late. “She threw her jacket over and sent it floating, all on the fly!”

“He reacted after spotting her,” Sero muttered. 

“Smoke screens won’t work against reaction time like that!” Kaminari agreed.

“Ochaco’s quirk doesn’t work if she can’t touch him,” I responded. “And it won’t matter in the end because she’s slower than him.”

“Uraraka wastes no time. She’s charging again!!”

“Well, I know who Mic’s favorite student is,” I muttered.

Another explosion directly to Ochaco. “Ochaco…” Tsu worried.

“I don’t get it,” Mineta said. “Does he swing the other way, or…?” Kyoka had her face covered up with her hands.

“She keeps charging relentlessly, but… this is…” Mic commentated

One of the pros stood up in another part of the stadium. “Hey! That’s not the way someone who wants to be a hero acts! If you’re so much stronger than her, just throw her out of the ring and finish it! Stop toying with the poor girl!”

“Yeah! That’s right!” another pro agreed.

“They didn’t look above the stadium, did they?” I asked quietly.

“I guess not,” Monoma replied from not far away. I glanced at him and we both smirked.

“A group in the crowd has started booing! But to be honest, I agree- OW! You elbowed me! What’s the big idea?”

“Is the one who said he’s toying with her a pro??” Mr. Aizawa stole the microphone from the other announcer. “How many years of active duty? If that’s what you’re taking away from this, you can leave. No point in watching. Go home and start looking at job-hunting sites. She’s come this far, and he knows her strength. His caution shows that he recognizes her as a worthy opponent. It’s exactly because he wants to win so badly that there’s no room for carelessness or holding back.”

Ochaco did the pose she went into when she released her quirk and Monoma and I laughed. He started spieling again. “Maybe Bakugo didn’t notice since he’s so close, but the pros in the stands were the ones who were booing. They should be ashamed for not noticing. By charging in low every time, she kept Bakugo’s attacks and attention focused on the ground, all to set up her weapons. With the constant attacks and vision-obscuring smoke screens… he never realized.”

Rocks rained down on Katsuki.

“A METEOR SHOWER?!” from an ecstatic voice followed by a “Pay more attention” from a tired sounding one.

It didn’t matter much, though. With a single large explosion, he took out every single rock.

“What an explosion! Uraraka’s secret plan just went up in smoke!!”

Ochaco made another attempt to attack, but fell to the ground. Midnight came over to her and announced, “Uraraka is unable to move. Bakugo advances to the next round.”

 

 

Oh my goshhhh thats so good!!!!! 

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

On 9/18/2025 at 6:59 AM, Spark of Hope said:

Coming soon: a bunch of things I wrote in like kindergarten

Sneak peek. 

  Reveal hidden contents

A long time ago, bears lived in caves. 

Then died.

Now just caves. 

 

Wow very caves

[Through the Living Hope]

Guys what is my brain

@Cash67

Spoiler

Drip drip

Raindrops

Pumpkin coffee, cozy

This book makes me cry every time 

My favorite part is coming 

Oh, my show’s on, I’ll read more later 

I need to do laundry but 

Why do I always have to be productive 

Why do I remember when I’m comfy

Oh and now the cat’s on my lap 

I can’t be productive now, tis the law

Can’t move with a cat on your lap 

Slightly shift my leg, gasp in suspense 

Okay the cat stayed

Oh, that was an amazing one liner 

The cat has my lap instead of their tongue 

Now the cat’s out of the bag

I love wordplay and puns 

NO the cat got up

Oh wait just shifting its weight 

Crisis averted 

Wait 

NOOOO

Now I have to do laundry 

But the couch still has me in its clutches 

Let me clone myself 

Pleeeaaasssseeee

Oh dang is that a clone of me? 

OH DANG IS THAT A CLONE OF ME?

WHY AM I FLOATING

AAAAAH IM BEING ABDUCTED 

Wait is that Chewbacca?

Hold up guys 

Thats flipping Chewbacca

HAN SOLO?!

LUUUKE??!!

LIGHTSABERRRR!

Haha suckers I have a lightsaber now

TEACH ME TO FLY HAN SOLO

This is the weirdest day ever

I LOVE IT

 

Edited October 28, 2025 by Spark of Hope

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

10 hours ago, Spark of Hope said:

Guys what is my brain

@Cash67

  Hide contents

Drip drip

Raindrops

Pumpkin coffee, cozy

This book makes me cry every time 

My favorite part is coming 

Oh, my show’s on, I’ll read more later 

I need to do laundry but 

Why do I always have to be productive 

Why do I remember when I’m comfy

Oh and now the cat’s on my lap 

I can’t be productive now, tis the law

Can’t move with a cat on your lap 

Slightly shift my leg, gasp in suspense 

Okay the cat stayed

Oh, that was an amazing one liner 

The cat has my lap instead of their tongue 

Now the cat’s out of the bag

I love wordplay and puns 

NO the cat got up

Oh wait just shifting its weight 

Crisis averted 

Wait 

NOOOO

Now I have to do laundry 

But the couch still has me in its clutches 

Let me clone myself 

Pleeeaaasssseeee

Oh dang is that a clone of me? 

OH DANG IS THAT A CLONE OF ME?

WHY AM I FLOATING

AAAAAH IM BEING ABDUCTED 

Wait is that Chewbacca?

Hold up guys 

Thats flipping Chewbacca

HAN SOLO?!

LUUUKE??!!

LIGHTSABERRRR!

Haha suckers I have a lightsaber now

TEACH ME TO FLY HAN SOLO

This is the weirdest day ever

I LOVE IT

 

wat

[Through the Living Hope]

59 minutes ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

wat

I had no idea what to write and every line was just the next thing that came to mind

I started with the weather outside

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

1 hour ago, Spark of Hope said:

I had no idea what to write and every line was just the next thing that came to mind

I started with the weather outside

dats bars

[Through the Living Hope]

On 9/18/2025 at 8:59 AM, Spark of Hope said:

Coming soon: a bunch of things I wrote in like kindergarten

Sneak peek. 

  Reveal hidden contents

A long time ago, bears lived in caves. 

Then died.

Now just caves. 

 

Finally doing this… sorry for the wait! Spelling and grammar have been left bad intentionally, and I put in current-me commentary

Spoiler

Animal collection

Spoiler

Insects are bone free. Insects have hard scin.

Parrot fish live in aqaireums. Some parrot fish live in oshin water. Parrot fish hach from eggs.

Koalas can have a 1 or 2 babie’s. To koala’s family the mother koala is afade

In caves a long time ago bears liveed. As they got older they had babys. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Then dieed. Now just caves.

Wales spra out blue water. This Wale is spraing water. (Illustration of a whale)

Being Scard of School! NO!

Spoiler

One the frist day of school I was scared! (Scared is written shakily, it looks almost hairy) Then wuns I got deeper and deeper into school I felt happyer and a tinny biut scared (again written shakily). And then I got a worksheet. It said Can you find 10 pink flowers? at Math. I said Mabby. At last it was time to go home. “Bye” I said. “COOL!” said Kaden. (Kaden was a friend I had from daycare who eventually moved between 2nd and 3rd grade)

Spoiler

On my trseth(?) Valentins day whun I was 20 years old I was happy. Then I got my valentines. I was………………. EXCITED! (Excited is the only word on the page) Then we aet supper. The supper was spgedi! YUM YUM! (I’ve always loved spaghetti)

Worms

Spoiler

Worms have 5 hearts. Wroms have a ring aroad their middle. Worms don’t have any bones. Worms slip and slid.

Spoiler

Win I was a baby, I cried (the c was backwards though) alot like this “WA WAWA!” Win I am six I will be HAPPYYYY! and………Esitiiid! Will you? I hope so. Then win Iam 7 all be more happy.

Spoiler

One evnening me and my mom went to Super-target. We go down the ballarena iel.

Crismis

Spoiler

Last Crismis I got something I relly wunted! A OOpsiees OOpsiees Lalaloopsees! And I allso got Lalalopse littles. And I……….. LOVEVD THEM! Then finally my parints opened thar prezit. The end.

Princess day! Purple Queen. Little pink prinsess. Prinsess and queen at school book.

Spoiler

Once a pon a time two lovely prinsesses named Ally and (my name) started to wite a story. Win…………. the storybook was finiched……… they soewed thar techer. After thay soewed thar techer it…. it was time to… leve school.

Context here… I used to have a pet rabbit named Holly.

Spoiler

Good bunny! Bad bunny! Then one nieit, she dieed! (There’s an illustration with a “bunny” with her collar and her spots on her) Bie! I love you Holly! With all my hairt! She was 7. Was she my good bunny? Yes! She was! Then my Dad beared her. Bie good bunny! STOP DAD STOP!

Birth.

Spoiler

Win I was born my Mom throue me up in the air. Then win I trned 1 year old I lrnd to walk! It was… AMAZING! SWEET! Then win I trnded 5 I cad tip-toe and wisper and YELL! The end.

Spoiler

Soon I want to get my hare cut to the bottom of my neck. The resin why is because it tikls me and it gets my back wet. I heyt that! I love thes coloers Pink purple blue green redishpinkish wiete. I love Alll thos coloers! And if it dos that I will be HAPPY! Do you want your hare cut?

Spoiler

One niget at Chukchesis taey invited the royl pepel. Win we wrestle on the road we drivd to Chukecheses. “Mom” “yes” “win will we be thar?” “in one minit” Win we got to Chukechesis, I saw Ajerran. He is nice! (I’m guessing Adrian? He was a friend of mine in daycare)

Win I was a baby.

Spoiler

A long time ago whun I was little I criaed alot. Now I’am 5 in years half years old I don’t cria any more. (Liar) And on taet paje we wre playing princess. (referring to my illustration) Thun they left I felt sad. It was sad. Thay wre sad too.

Win I tho(ugh)t I cood make transportatin

Spoiler

Wen I tho(ugh)t I cod make a car oout of jelo and if it went under water I tho(ugh)t that a sha(r)k wod bit it, thair would be a hole. Then I tho(ugh)t of makeing a sailboat out of paper. But that wood be bad. Then I tho(ugh)t of makeing a taxi out of crinsruchshin paper, but I tho(ugh)t that wood brak. Ah. And thin I tho(ugh)t of makeing a tra(i)n. That wood be good. Yesss!

Driving with grandma going to her wrak (work).

Spoiler

One day me and my grandma drove to her work. Whun we got there I got to see evry area. She had a lot of fri (I’m guessing I was going to write “friends”). I felt sad whin we left.

Spoiler

Whun I was in pre-k class on our valentins day parety Sidney was feling sad because she frgot to bring her valentin. She was criing. But whun I sad her my valentin she smiled. Thin we daset to music. I daset with Kaden. He said twl. We dased dased and dased utel the songs wr over. Thin it was tim to leve.

Spoiler

Once a pon a time I washed My little pony friendship is magic. Next I ate Resese puffs for brekfist. Thay wre yummy! And delishis! Then I went to play. I played frez-tag. Wut did you do? Thay played Rock-star. Next me and my Dad played School-day. My mom and Carey(?) played House-fun. And then we me and my Mom and Dad and my baby (sibling) (name) had family time.