"WHAT! You failed your exam?"
"Sorry, Mom... I-I... It was tough..."
"Huh? This is just a 10th-grade test — and you failed this? How dumb can you be?"
"Huh? You fainted just from running? Seriously, you're so frail! '#$@@!' HAHA!"
"Yes sir... I just don't actually do p-physical stuff."
"Sorry, but I'm busy... also, '#$@@', it's not really funny to just play the same video game."
"Oh? I-I didn't—"
"You know what, you're a bit pathetic, man. I mean, don't take it hard, but as your classmate, I have to tell you the truth."
"Jus-Just a classmate? I'm not even a friend... I thought..."
---
"Hey, hey, Hayashi-kun, wake up. Class is over." A sweet female voice sounded in my ears — soft enough to melt any male.
I opened my eyes. The faint sunlight entered directly, making me immediately close them again by instinct.
When I opened them once more, my blurred vision cleared, and I saw a girl — my classmate, Ochaco Uraraka.
A short girl with a slender yet curvy figure, fair skin, and auburn hair that matched her eyes. She had a perpetual pink blush on her cheeks, and her hair reached just above her shoulders, with short bangs hanging above her eyebrows.
"Hayashi-kun, did you have a bad dream or something?" she asked, her face very close to mine.
"Too close!" I backed away instantly, my heart beating a bit too fast.
"Huh? Sorry, my bad."Uraraka gave me an apologetic smile.
"Ahh, it-it's okay, Uraraka-san... ahh, did you have something to say?"I sounded so lame. I really wanted to just die at that point.
"No, it's just that we're all going to hang out. You know, it's the first day of third year... so do you want to come? It's gonna be fun." She said it with her usual cheerful personality.
Truth be told, she was a bit too bright for a person like me. I'm certain it's only because we were in different classes before that she's acting so kind to me.
After all, if I look behind her, I can see those who were in the same class with me last year... showing uninterested faces, like it's just some kind of formality.
Well, I can't blame them. I'm not the social type.I don't really have anyone I can call a friend.
And you know what — it's fine. I probably won't see these people next year anyway.
"Huh? So what do you think?" She asked again, bringing me back from my thoughts.
"Ahh, sorry, but I'm a bit busy. I'm going, sorry."I stood up and started packing my bag. Seriously, times like this make me want to just disappear.
I can't even talk properly. Though Mom says it's fine to be like this — that there are others just like me —it makes me wonder: why haven't I met any of them yet?
"It's perfectly OK! I bet you're busy. I heard you say you want to be a doctor, right?" She asked curiously.
"Huh?" I blinked and looked at her face — it was cute.
"Well, I heard when the teacher asked... you said your mother was one too, right?"She asked again.
I noticed that from the beginning, that quiet and pleasant smile hadn't left her face — which was a bit unsettling for me.
"Yeah... she is one. I h-hope to be just like her — to help people heal since I have the quirk 'Heal'."I said it with a neutral tone.
Because it was a lie.
"So nice of you to help people. It's much more meaningful than mine, at least," she said softly. Her tone carried a bit of envy and sadness. Even for me, it was easy to tell.
"Uraraka-san, please don't say that. It pisses me off," I said, doing my best not to shout.
Such a show-off. She wants to be a hero, her quirk is amazing, and yet she has the nerve to say her life is less meaningful than mine.
So unfair.
"Huh? I'm sorry, did I say something—" She looked nervous, even flustered. The people in the classroom were now more interested in what was happening between us.
"Hero... you want to be a hero. How can that be meaningless, Uraraka-san? I'm sorry, but please don't say that to me ever again."I walked out of the class through the back door near my seat — I always sit at the back bench.
---
"Uraraka-san, are you alright?"
Ochaco Uraraka looked at her worried friends and gave them a small smile with a nod.
"Yeah, it's just... I think I said something that made him angry," Ochaco said with a sad tone.
"Don't worry, he's a bit weird anyway. Don't mind him," the girl with long hair said.
"Right, he's like that. He doesn't talk much. I've been in the same class as him since first year, and we've never talked," said a boy with a rather macho build.
"Still—" Ochaco wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by another friend of hers.
This one looked fairly normal, but her quirk allowed her to grow her teeth long and sharp.
"I heard his father was actually a support hero, but..." The girl hesitated to say more, though the others looked curious.
"Come on, just tell us the full details already," one classmate urged.
Ochaco also nodded, since she really wanted to understand what made Hayashi-kun so angry.
"I don't know much, but... he died saving some people. I heard he had the same quirk as Hayashi-kun," the girl said softly, her tone carrying some sadness.
"Really? I never knew Hayashi-kun's dad was a hero," one of the students said in surprise.
The others were amazed. After all, heroes could be seen roaming the city easily — but how many people could actually become one?
It wouldn't be surprising if none of their classmates managed to become heroes in the future. What would be surprising was if someone actually did — even though most of them wanted to and planned to apply.
Ochaco looked toward the door where Hayashi-kun had left and fell into deep thought.
'I said being a hero is less meaningful... did he think I was indirectly saying that his father's death didn't have much meaning?'
Akari Hayashi... she had noticed him since the start of middle school, even though they hadn't been in the same class. It was hard not to notice a good-looking person, after all.
At first, he was the talk of the school. But slowly, as people realized how ordinary he was, everything went back to normal.
After all, no matter how good-looking someone is, if they don't have the qualities to back it up, people eventually start seeing them as just another unimportant face.
'Still... I feel somewhat relieved and motivated,' Ochaco thought.
She wanted to be a hero so she could make her parents' lives easier.
In her mind, she always thought that was a selfish reason — but today, someone said it wasn't meaningless. Even if that wasn't exactly what he meant, Ochaco felt a bit happy... and a little relieved.
---
"High School Girl Attacks Classmate — Drinks Victim's Blood"Tokyo Prefecture — Police are searching for 16-year-old Himiko Toga, a student who assaulted a classmate earlier today. Footage of the girl smiling while covered in blood has gone viral online
"'Blood-Loving Girl' Still on the Run"The student, identified as Himiko Toga, disappeared shortly after the incident. Authorities believe her Quirk, which involves blood, may have contributed to her abnormal behavior.
"Is Society Failing Its Children? The Case of the Smiling Murderer"Psychologists comment on how pressure and obsession with 'normal' Quirk use may have driven Toga into madness.
A boy with black hair and eyes, and a handsome face, scrolled through the news on his phone as he walked along the pathway. He was Akari Hayashi.
"This is all over the place," he said as he continued walking toward his home.
Then, with a hint of envy, he quietly muttered, "Must be nice, huh?"
Suddenly, Akari felt a strong gust of wind. He looked up with wide eyes — and even though it was too fast for him to see clearly, he caught a glimpse of him.
All Might.
The Symbol of Peace. The No. 1 Hero.
"All Might..." He looked up at the sky where the hero had passed just moments ago, then turned his gaze toward the horizon — but he was already gone.
"He's so strong... must be nice to have such a powerful quirk."
Suddenly, a deep and painful voice echoed inside Akari's mind.
"Powerful quirk... huh? Such a convenient excuse that is... You're so pathetic, you know, Akari Hayashi."