Chapter 1, Moody Motherfuckers
Heroes are supposed to save people at any cost. Would you?
A male student storms off of the UA campus, followed by a distraught looking girl. She catches up to him and grabs his shoulder.
"You can't just leave, the sports festival is in like, three days!"
He stops and sighs, before shrugging off her hand.
"Of course I can, it's not like they'll stop me."
She steps back, caught off guard by his harsh tone.
"Why are you so mad?"
He gestures at the school
"They're holding us back, making us learn bullshit instead of useful techniques. Why do I need to know edible plants when I'll work in the city? Why are they teaching someone like me ranged combat instead of hand to hand? Why do I need to be taught about my power by them?!"
He is hit with sudden blunt force trauma to the face in the form of her hand.
"What the fu-"
"I'M SICK OF YOUR EDGY BULLSHIT!"
"Kiri-"
"DON'T 'KIRI' ME!"
"KIRI I KILLED THE TEACHER"
She freezes, both figuratively and literally, slowly lowering the temperature of the air around her.
"you did wHAT?!"
"You heard me. It was an accident, but it's still my fault…"
"Is that why Ms. Yang has been gone?"
"Wow, you're a real detective aren't you."
"THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR JOKES!"
"Well, if you continue to live your life like that, you'll be a very boring hero."
She starts pacing and trying to calm down.
"W-well how did it happen?"
He sighs and begins the story.
Two days ago.
When I decided to walk down to the store to grab some shitty energy drink, the last thing I wanted to see was my teacher. She was in one of the aisles, fully decked out in hero gear. Of course, she was also where I needed to be, and after about seven minutes of waiting for her to move, I was ready for whatever fresh hell she would banish me to. Trying not to make eye contact, I quickly snatched the drink I wanted and briskly walked as far across the store as possible. Miraculously, she ignored me. Doubling back to the register, I noticed what would become my first big problem in the next ten minutes. The clerk was being held at gunpoint, with not a hero in sight but Ms.Yang, who was doing nothing to stop this situation. I caught her eye as she assessed the situation, before she took her groceries and left. Of course, everyone was thrown into a panic because the only hero present had just walked away. Eventually another hero resolved the situation, but nothing could erase that feeling of dread in everyone's hearts from that hero that left them to die.
The next day
The first thing I did after school was kick open the door to Ms.Yang's office. After trading glares with her all day, I was going to get some answers from yesterday.
"Young man, what gives you the right to barge into my office?! I could have you expelled!"
"What gives you the right to leave a group of people to die by the hand of an armed gunman?!"
"I have no need to justify myself to a child. You are a student and should not question your teacher this way."
"THAT'S BULLSHIT!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOUNG MAN!"
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR SHIT!"
"IS THAT A THREAT?!"
"Yes."
With a growl, the strain on the ceiling suddenly increased, noticeably cracking and crumbling, pieces of ceiling tile crashing to the floor around us. Clearly not understanding what was about to happen, she began packing up her things as I rushed out of the room, then brought the ceiling down on her with a swift hand gesture that may have involved the middle finger.
Present day
'Kiri' practically screams
"THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE AN ACCIDENT!"
He smirks.
"Guess not. It's funny how things like that work out."
She goes to slap him again,
"YOU'RE A PSYCHOPATH!"
He stops her hand.
"Maybe, maybe. But you'll still care. It's in your nature."
"But you killed someone.."
He lets her go and turns to walk away.
"She was a garbage human being that wouldn't have saved anyone if her life depended on it. How did she even become a hero?"
She sighs.
"There's no way to stop you from leaving?"
"Nope."
"They'll try to hunt you down…"
"I know."
"Just.. be safe."
He looks back over his shoulder.
"See? You do care."
The student strolls off campus and disappears down a side road moments later, only checking once to see if she followed.
By definition, heroes are the good guys. But if a "hero" isn't willing to fight to save a life, do they really deserve the title? If a "hero" abandons a civilian so they can live for their next paycheck, should they still be praised?