The autumn sun hung low over Musutafu, casting long shadows across the schoolyard of Musutafu Elementary. Kaito Arakawa, five years old, clutched his backpack straps, his gray hoodie sagging from the weight of another day's bruises. The tear in his sleeve, a memento from Riku's shockwave yesterday, flapped in the breeze, exposing the edge of his All Might t-shirt. He'd tried to stitch it with a needle and thread scavenged from Reiko's sewing kit, but his clumsy stitches only made it worse, a jagged scar mirroring the one on his pride. The word quirkless clung to him like damp cloth, heavier with each step through the school gates.
Today was the annual Hero Day assembly, a school tradition where students showcased their quirks in a mock hero-villain game before an audience of parents and local pros. Posters of All Might and Endeavor plastered the walls, their grins promising a future Kaito could only dream of. The other kids buzzed with excitement, practicing their quirks—flashes of light, gusts of wind, a girl turning her hair to steel. Kaito kept his head down, weaving through the crowd, his amber eyes scanning for Riku's spiky hair. He just wanted to survive the day, to fade into the background like the ghost he was becoming.
In the classroom, Ms. Tanaka was organizing the game, her telekinesis quirk sorting name tags into teams. "Heroes and villains," she announced, her voice clipped. "Show your quirks, impress the scouts. This is your chance to shine." Her eyes skipped over Kaito, as if he wasn't there, and his stomach twisted. He wasn't assigned a team—no one wanted the quirkless kid in a game built for gods.
Riku, leaning against a desk, caught Kaito's gaze and smirked. "Yo, quirkless," he called, loud enough for the room to hear. "You gonna play? Or you just here to clean up after we're done?" Kenji, his stone-skinned lackey, snickered, while Sora mimicked Kaito's voice: "I'm gonna be a hero!" The class laughed, a sharp sound that cut deeper than Riku's shockwaves.
Kaito's fists clenched, his nails biting into his palms. "I don't need to play your stupid game," he muttered, but his voice shook, betraying the fire in his chest. He turned to leave, but Ms. Tanaka's quirk snagged his backpack, floating it back to his desk.
"Arakawa, you're participating," she said, her tone more annoyed than encouraging. "You can… assist. Carry supplies or something. Just don't disrupt the game." The class snickered again, and Kaito's face burned. Assist. A fancy word for stay out of the way.
The assembly was held in the gymnasium, its bleachers packed with parents waving banners, some holding signs for their kids' quirks: Go, Sparkler!Fly High, Wingbeat! Reiko wasn't there—she was at Hana's quirk showcase across town, cheering for flames while Kaito drowned in shadows. A few pro heroes sat in the front row, their costumes gleaming—Shockpulse, Kaito's father, wasn't among them. Daichi was on patrol, or so Reiko claimed, but Kaito knew the truth: he didn't care enough to show up.
The game began with a roar from the crowd. Kids split into teams, heroes in bright vests, villains in black. Quirks erupted—fireballs arced, vines sprouted, a boy turned his arms to rubber, bouncing off walls. Kaito stood on the sidelines, tasked with hauling water bottles and bandages, his hoodie sagging under the weight of his uselessness. He watched a girl with a speed quirk dart past, her laughter like a blade, and his chest ached with a want he couldn't name.
Riku's team was the main attraction, dubbed the "Thunder Heroes." He led with his shockwave quirk, sending villains sprawling with controlled bursts, his smirk never fading. The crowd cheered, parents snapping photos, a scout nodding approvingly. Kaito's hands tightened on a water bottle, the plastic crinkling. Riku was everything he wasn't—powerful, wanted, seen.
Then it happened. Riku, showboating for the crowd, spotted Kaito and grinned, a predator sensing weakness. "Hey, quirkless!" he shouted, breaking from the game. "Let's give the crowd a real show!" Before Kaito could react, Riku flicked his hand, and a shockwave hit him square in the chest, sending him skidding across the gym floor. The water bottles scattered, rolling like fallen soldiers, and the crowd gasped, then laughed, thinking it was part of the act.
Kaito's ribs screamed, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He scrambled to his knees, his hoodie torn wider, the All Might shirt glaringly visible. Sora's voice rang out, mimicking Kaito's pain: "Ow, that hurt!" Kenji joined in, hardening his skin and shoving Kaito back down, his stone fist grazing Kaito's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Stop it!" Kaito shouted, his voice cracking, raw with a fury he'd never let out before. He lunged at Riku, fists swinging, but Riku's shockwave sent him sprawling again, this time into a pile of gym mats. The crowd's laughter grew, a tidal wave drowning Kaito's defiance. Parents whispered, kids pointed, and the pros watched, their faces unreadable.
Ms. Tanaka stormed over, her quirk yanking Riku back. "That's enough!" she snapped, but her eyes flicked to Kaito with something like blame. "Arakawa, get to the nurse. Riku, back to the game." She didn't punish Riku, didn't call his parents, didn't care. Kaito was the problem, the quirkless kid who didn't belong.
The nurse's office was a small, sterile room, its walls plastered with quirk safety posters. Kaito sat on a cot, a bandage on his cheek, his ribs aching with every breath. The nurse, a kind-eyed woman with a healing quirk, patched him up but couldn't touch the deeper hurt. "You need to be more careful," she said softly, as if Kaito had chosen to be a target. He nodded, his throat too tight to speak.
School ended early for Hero Day, and Kaito walked home alone, the city's hero worship a constant jab. A street TV blared news of Hana's showcase, her flames lighting up a stadium, Reiko's proud face in the crowd. Kaito's steps slowed, his eyes stinging, but he blinked the tears away. Tears were for kids who had someone to wipe them.
At the apartment, Reiko was waiting, her arms crossed, her eyes narrowing at Kaito's torn hoodie and bandaged cheek. "What did you do?" she demanded, her voice a whip. "I got a call from the school. They said you disrupted the assembly."
Kaito's jaw clenched, the bruise on his ribs pulsing. "I didn't do anything," he said, his voice low but edged with something new—anger, not just at Riku, but at her. "Riku hit me. Everyone laughed. The teacher didn't care."
Reiko's lips thinned, her gaze flicking to Hana's trophies, as if they could shield her from Kaito's failure. "You must've provoked him. You always do. Do you know how embarrassing this is? Hana's out there shining, and you're… this." She gestured at him, her hand slicing the air, dismissing his existence.
Kaito's hands balled into fists, his nails drawing blood. "I didn't ask to be quirkless," he whispered, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
Reiko froze, her face a mask of fury and shame. "Don't say that word," she hissed. "Not in this house. Go to your corner and stay there." She turned away, her heels clicking, leaving Kaito trembling in the doorway.
In his corner, Kaito pulled out his shoebox of scraps—wires, screws, a bent spring from a broken pen. His hands shook as he worked, piecing together a crude slingshot from a forked stick and rubber bands. It was clumsy, useless against Riku's shockwaves, but it was his, a piece of the world he could control. He aimed it at a crack in the wall, firing a pebble that missed by a foot. The failure stung, but Kaito didn't stop. He'd make it better, stronger, like the hero he swore he'd become.
His tablet buzzed, its battery flickering. He opened a video of All Might saving a factory from a villain, his fist shattering steel. "No obstacle is too great!" the hero roared, and Kaito's heart pounded, a spark of hope refusing to die. He clutched the slingshot, its rough edges grounding him.
"I'll make them see," he whispered, his voice a vow carved in pain. "I'll be a hero, no matter what they say." The city's hum swallowed his words, but Kaito worked into the night, building from broken things, unaware of the threads tightening around his future—a spider, a girl, a world that would test his defiance to its breaking point.
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A/N: Go check out my other MHA stories!
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Chapters ahead: 3