For some, to be or to not be a hero was decided from birth. Someone who could shoot lightning bolts or outrun the Shinkansen, they'd have no trouble. Quirks like those were in high demand, after all. Some people had to really figure out their quirks to be in with a shout of getting their hero license, though. Either they were impractical, or what uses they did have would only be useful in a fight if the person thought outside of the box. There were some people whose quirks seemed downright absurd or silly to contemplate, and who had to work hard just to be taken seriously, let alone have a chance at being a true blue hero.
That last one's pretty much the story of my life. Ever since I was a little girl, I desperately wanted to be a hero. Heroes like All Might looked so cool on TV, but it wasn't just that. It was being surrounded by love and adoration, it was making a difference and saving people, you know? I wanted to be able to help as many people as possible, and I never wanted to do that in a different way than to be a hero. Unfortunately, my quirk didn't really have much use compared to something like All Might's insane physical strength. Oh, believe me, I don't bemoan the lot I was dealt; Frog-Form has a lot of uses, now that I've had time to explore it, and it's saved me from a pickle once or twice. It's a part of my identity, for all the good and bad that can come with it. I love having the quirk I do, and I wouldn't trade quirks with anyone else in the whole world.
It does come with some issues, though. Not everyone can be as enlightened to how totally awesome and not gross frogs are, like me. I grew up in Hokkaido, just north of Sapporo. My dad runs a little organic farm that supplies some retailers in the city, planting sweet potatoes, corn, and barley at the start of the summer. My uncle ran a little beer brewery, so part of the barley would go to him. Dad's quirk gave him sticky fingers that could extend up to twenty feet, so even though it made planting seeds and harvesting his crops a lot easier, it also meant he had to endure a lot of jokes about tentacle hentai. He took it in stride, though, and always had a good sense of humor. My mom's quirk let her breathe underwater, let her swim really fast, and made her three times stronger when she was submerged. She was basically a Gyojin from One Piece. She found work in aquaculture just west of Otaru, helping to cultivate fish spawn to supplement the ones caught in the wild. She wasn't around very much, but whenever she came home, she'd bring me all sorts of crazy stories about her job.
When school was in session, I'd take a bus from dad's farm into Sapporo to attend classes. I'd have to get up early to make it there in time, so I became kind of a morning lark. When school was out for a vacation, I would help dad on his farm or explore the wilderness near his house; when I wasn't studying for the next semester, that is. I would hop from rock to rock, trying to avoid falling in the river as long as I could. I loved to look at frogs and salamanders while I was out and about, and only got bitten by snakes once in a while. Since I didn't have all that many friends, I didn't have much company when school wasn't in session. I fought the loneliness by making up stories about what kind of hero I'd be, when I got my hero license someday. I'd call myself Froppy, I had that much figured out ever since I was in elementary school. I'd be comforting and reliable, and would always show up whenever someone needed me. Just like a frog was a lucky animal for people, I'd always have the best timing, always rescuing people right when they needed me to. It took me a few years to realize that it was bad form to not be punctual when a hero was required, but I still would sometimes entertain fantasies like those when I was wandering the wilderness.
In retrospect, being such a dreamer might've been part of the reason it was hard to make friends. Of course, the main reason was the whole frog thing. People were just kind of weirded out by my frog legs, by my big eyes that stared a lot. They kept their distance from me most of the time, not really wanting to get to know me any better than what little they did. They just assumed I was weird or creepy, and made up their minds that way. Since I made it to middle school knowing I wouldn't be making many friends at school, and since being the daughter of a farmer added a stigma of people assuming I was a hick, I decided to leap headlong into my studies. I kept my grades up high, I made a strong showing in athletics, and I was diligent about my extracurricular activities. I managed to graduate from my middle school as an honors student, and so I set my eyes on the next milestone of my life.
Yuuei was an intimidating high school in more ways than one. There was its reputation to reckon with, of course. As the #1 ranked hero school in the nation, and considered by many to be the greatest hero academy the world over, it produced some of the most famous heroes the world had ever known! When I first stood in front of it, it really looked the part, too. It looked like one of those buildings from the comic books, like S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters or something — a fortress of glass and steel and concrete, unassailable and imposing to behold. Just standing at the front gate and looking up at the H-shaped front of the building was enough to make me a little woozy. But I sucked it up, tightened my grip on my bag, and made my way in despite my anxiety. I'd never know how far I could go until I tried, and I'd never be a pro hero if I didn't surmount the challenges Yuuei would throw at me. There were other hero academies, but there was only one Yuuei. For a heroine who took pride in her convictions, like me, only Yuuei would do…And if I failed to even make it in, I'd live my whole life wondering if it was just a matter of not giving it my absolute all.
The lecture hall was well-lit and spacious, with padded wooden seats instead of hard plastic like at my middle school. Sitting down heavily, weighed down by the atmosphere of the place, I slung my book bag under the chair and looked around. Everyone was silent as the grave, and many of them looked a little frightening due to their quirks. Only the occasional clack of a pencil being set down or an errant cough broke the silence withal. That is, until a peppy dance beat began to flow up the rows. I glanced around, and noticed one of the doors from the side being pushed open. The man who jogged out had a ridiculous wing-shaped hairstyle and neatly trimmed facial hair, plus shades and a huge set of headphones. He wore a slim bodysuit that extended from his wrists to his ankles, closed around his neck by what looked like a speaker system. That electronic rhythm was definitely coming to him, picking up briefly as he jogged over to the lectern, before slowing to a stop while he shuffled some papers around. For a moment he just fussed with some items I couldn't see very well, before clearing his throat ominously.
"WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO MY LIVE SHOW," his shout suddenly rocked the lecture hall. "EVERYBODY SAY HEEEEEY!" He cupped his hand by his ear, listening for a response. I certainly was too startled to respond, and it sounded like everyone else was just as inclined to remain quiet. Only a cough from somewhere in the upper corner broke the silence. The instructor pursed his lips, looking pretty deflated by the chilly reception. Taking a deep breath, he resolved to continue. "I'VE GOT SHIVERS DOWN MY SPINE, TOO, LOYAL LISTENERS," he boomed. "I"M GONNA GIVE YOU THE LOW-DOWN ON HOW THIS IS GONNA GO DOWN! ARE YOU READY!? YEEEAH!" The crowd still wasn't biting. I had to stifle a tiny giggle behind my hand, disguising it as another cough. This guy was trying really hard to get us pumped up.
"NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, LOYAL LISTENERS," the super hero DJ (I had to be reminded later that his name was Present Mic) blared out. A branching box diagram appeared on the screen behind him, helping to illustrate his explanation. "WE'LL BE TESTING YOUR METTLE BY WAY OF A TEN-MINUTE PRACTICE RUN AT OUR REPLICA CITY DISTRICT," he declared. "YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU LIKE! EVERYBODY GATHER AT THE DESIGNATED MEETING AREA AFTER THE PRESENTATION, YA DIG!?" His howl of 'O.K.' echoed forlornly up and down the lecture hall, as students quietly whispered amongst themselves here and there. The screen began to show more diagrams to accompany his explanation, and I had to hide another giggle at the very blatant Super Mario Bros. silhouettes that were used to illustrate the point.
"WE'LL BE SPRINKLING A SLEW OF 'VILLAINS' OVER THE BATTLEFIELD," Present Mic elaborated, "AND THEY'LL APPEAR IN THREE DIFFERENT VARIETIES, WITH POINT VALUES SCALED ACCORDING TO DIFFICULTY!" The diagram changed to show Mario silhouettes dispatching some Goomba silhouettes. "USING EACH OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL QUIRKS, DISPATCH AS MANY 'VILLAINS' AS YOU CAN," the very vocal hero instructed. "YOUR GOAL, LOYAL LISTENERS, IS TO RACK UP A HIGH SCORE!" He suddenly took a slightly harder tone as he warned, "AND DON'T YOU THINK ABOUT ATTACKING YOUR FELLOW COMPETITORS OR ANY OF THAT NASTY ANTI-HERO STUFF! THAT'S AGAINST THE RULES, CAPISCE!?" I was beginning to feel a little woozy again, so I was thankful when a studious-looking guy stood to address the bombastic hero at the front of the room.
"Excuse me," the young man loudly asked, "may I ask a question?" He had short, neat black hair, and stern eyes behind his glasses. I was surprised to hear him call the teacher out with, "On the hand-out, there are clearly four types of villains listed!" Oh yeah. The hand-out. Glancing at the hand-out I'd gotten at the entrance to the lecture hall, I could see that the Class President-looking guy was right; it was kind of hard to notice with Present Mic dominating my ears, though. "Such an error would be the height of embarrassment for a hero academy of Yuuei's caliber," the bespectacled young man thundered. "The reason we are here today is because we seek guidance on the path to becoming model heroes!" Much to my mounting shock, he suddenly pointed out some random kid a few rows up behind him. Eyes wide open, the new target of the glasses guy's ire looked like a deer in the headlights.
"Moreover," the shout-y guy snapped, "what's with you? Yeah, you, curly-haired kid!" That poor guy looked like he was going to have a heart attack. "Can't you sit still for a second? You're distracting! If you think Yuuei is some pleasure jaunt, leave here at once!" Wow. What a jerk. I was feeling really sorry for that curly-haired guy, getting called out like that in front of God and the whole prospective student body. I could just barely hear him squeak out an apology, sinking into his seat like he wanted to disappear. As some random girls around the lecture hall giggled, I tried to ignore the overwhelming sympathy. I went to jot down a note to avoid the guy with the glasses, when Present Mic suddenly boomed a reply back to him. I dropped my pencil right down in the floor, and went to reach for it before I got my head bit off or something.
I was surprised to see a pinkish-colored hand reach down and pick it up. The girl had tufty hair a paler shade of pink than her skin, plus two little horns that twisted back on themselves at the ends. Her eyes were black where they should have been white, but she had a winning smile on her face as she handed my pencil back to me. "Mina Ashido," she whispered her name to me with a wink. I mumbled my name back, smiling at her widely. I was hesitant to make any assumptions, but I was excited at the thought of having made a new friend so soon! Calming my jittery nerves, I resolved to talk to Mina if — when we passed the entrance exam. I turned my attention back to Present Mic down on the lecture hall's floor, gesticulating wildly behind his lectern. Apparently, the fourth kind of 'villainous' robot would be unbeatable, and thus worth zero points to discourage attempts to fight it. The point was illustrated with the silhouette of a Thwomp, so I had to squash another giggle with my hand. Mina was stifling her laughter, too.
Much to my surprise, Present Mic alluded to the obvious Super Mario Bros. analogy that needed absolutely no alluding to. The overly-serious guy sat down with a really rigid bow, declaring his apologies for being rude. "Apologize to the kid you flipped out on," I muttered under my breath. Mina giggled at my comment, and offered her hand under the desk. Startled by the offer for a moment, I accepted the offer with a quiet low-five. I was relieved to hear Present Mic winding down his lecture, and could feel the call for Yuuei's motto coming from a mile away. "Plus Ultra," I whispered under my breath, getting up with the rest of the class to move to the testing area.
Plus Ultra. Further beyond. That was what I came here looking for, to go further beyond into the world of the pros. Now, I just had to do it.