Kaito Arakawa, now five, navigated Musutafu Elementary like a mouse in a snake pit. The school's halls were a kaleidoscope of quirks—kids conjuring sparks, stretching limbs, or whispering to plants that curled toward their voices. Kaito kept his head down, his amber eyes scanning for Riku's spiky black hair or the snickers of his gang. A month into the school year, and the word quirkless had become a chain around his neck, dragging him lower with every taunt. His All Might t-shirt, once a badge of hope, stayed hidden under a gray hoodie, a shield against the stares that followed him like vultures.
The morning started quietly, a rare mercy. Ms. Tanaka droned through a math lesson, her telekinesis quirk lazily flipping pages in her textbook. Kaito sat at the back, his notebook filled with doodles of heroes—All Might smashing villains, a faceless figure swinging on ropes, a dream he couldn't name. He scratched at a bruise on his wrist, a gift from Riku's shockwave during yesterday's recess. It ached, but Kaito was used to aches—Reiko's sharp words, Daichi's absence, Hana's indifference. Pain was just another shadow in his world.
The bell rang for lunch, and the classroom emptied, kids spilling into the courtyard with their quirks on display. Kaito lingered, tucking his notebook into his backpack, hoping to slip out unnoticed. But Riku was waiting, leaning against the doorframe, his smirk a blade. Two other boys flanked him—Kenji, who could harden his skin to stone, and Sora, whose voice could mimic any sound, a trick he used to lure Kaito into traps.
"Quirkless," Riku drawled, stepping closer. "Still think you're gonna be a hero? Or you just here to waste space?" His shockwave quirk hummed, a faint ripple in the air that made Kaito's ears buzz.
Kaito's jaw tightened, but he kept his eyes on the floor, Reiko's warning echoing: Don't tell anyone. Don't make trouble. "I'm just trying to eat," he muttered, sidestepping toward the door.
Kenji blocked his path, his skin glinting like granite. "Eat? Heroes don't eat with losers." He shoved Kaito, hard enough to send him stumbling into a desk. Sora laughed, mimicking Kaito's voice in a high-pitched whine: "I'm just trying to eat!" The sound twisted Kaito's stomach, a mockery that stung worse than the shove.
Ms. Tanaka was gone, probably in the staff room, and the other kids in the hall pretended not to see. Kaito clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. "Leave me alone," he said, his voice low but trembling with something new—anger, small but growing, like a spark in dry grass.
Riku's eyes gleamed, sensing the challenge. "Or what, quirkless? Gonna cry to your mommy?" He flicked his hand, and a shockwave slammed into Kaito's chest, knocking him to the floor. The air rushed out of his lungs, and pain bloomed across his ribs. Riku stepped closer, looming over him. "You don't belong here. Go back to your corner and stay there."
Kaito scrambled to his feet, his hoodie torn at the sleeve, revealing the All Might shirt underneath. Sora pointed, laughing. "Look at that! Thinks he's All Might with no quirk!" The other kids in the hall joined in, their giggles a chorus that echoed in Kaito's skull. He wanted to run, to disappear, but his legs wouldn't move. Instead, he glared at Riku, his amber eyes burning.
"I'll be a hero," he said, his voice shaking but clear. "Better than you. Better than anyone."
Riku's smirk faltered, replaced by something darker. He raised his hand, the air crackling with another shockwave, but Ms. Tanaka's voice cut through the tension. "What's going on here?" She stood in the doorway, her glasses glinting, a stack of papers floating beside her.
Riku lowered his hand, his smirk returning. "Nothing, sensei. Just talking." He sauntered off, Kenji and Sora trailing him, leaving Kaito panting on the floor.
Ms. Tanaka sighed, her quirk nudging Kaito's backpack toward him. "Arakawa, don't provoke them," she said, her tone more exhausted than concerned. "You know how it is. Keep your head down." She walked away, the papers trailing like obedient pets, and Kaito was alone again, the bruise on his chest throbbing in time with his heartbeat.
Lunch was a solitary affair, Kaito eating his stale sandwich by the fence, far from the courtyard's chaos. He watched the other kids play hero-villain games, their quirks flashing—fireballs, levitating rocks, bursts of speed. A girl with wings swooped overhead, laughing, and Kaito's throat tightened. He wanted to be up there, soaring, fighting, seen. But he was grounded, tethered to a world that didn't want him.
After school, Kaito walked home alone, his torn hoodie flapping in the autumn wind. Musutafu's streets were alive with hero worship—billboards of All Might, street vendors selling Endeavor merch, a newsstand with headlines about Daichi's latest villain takedown. Kaito paused at the newsstand, staring at his father's photo, his shockwave quirk shattering a building. The headline read: Shockpulse Saves Downtown! Kaito's chest ached, not with pride but with a hollow want. Daichi hadn't been home in weeks, and when he was, he only saw Hana.
At the apartment, Reiko was on the phone, her voice bright as she bragged about Hana's quirk control. "She's already mastering flare bursts," she said, oblivious to Kaito slipping inside. Hana was in her room, practicing, the faint glow of flames seeping under her door. Kaito headed to his corner, but Reiko's voice stopped him.
"What happened to your hoodie?" she snapped, hanging up the phone. Her eyes raked over the tear, then the bruise peeking from his collar. "Were you fighting again?"
Kaito shook his head, his throat tight. "I didn't—Riku pushed me. I didn't do anything."
Reiko's lips thinned, her gaze cold. "You must've done something. You always do. Stay out of trouble, Kaito, or you'll make things worse for all of us." She turned away, dismissing him, and Kaito felt the familiar sting of being unseen.
In his corner, he pulled out a broken toy car he'd found in an alley, its wheels snapped off, its paint chipped. He'd been collecting scraps—screws, wires, bits of metal—hiding them in a shoebox under his mattress. With a bent screwdriver, he pried open the car, his small hands steady despite the ache in his chest. He didn't know what he was building, not yet, but the act of fixing something, of making it work, felt like fighting back. He twisted a screw, imagining it was Riku's smirk, Ms. Tanaka's pity, Reiko's disdain.
The tablet in his backpack buzzed, its battery low but still alive. Kaito opened it, pulling up a grainy video of All Might saving a school bus from a villain. The hero's laugh filled the air, bold and unbreakable. "No matter the odds, I'll always win!" Kaito's eyes stung, but he didn't cry. Crying was for kids who had someone to comfort them. Instead, he gripped the toy car, its jagged edge cutting into his palm.
"I'll be a hero," he whispered, his voice a blade honed by pain. "I'll make them see me." The city's hum answered with its endless drone, and Kaito worked into the night, piecing together broken things, unaware of the threads fate was weaving, threads that would one day bind him to a spider, a girl, and a world that would try to break him again.
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A/N: Go check out my other MHA stories!
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