The world of quirks is a mysterious one. No one knows exactly how quirks first came about, they just appeared. Scientists have been getting closer to an answer, but they still don't have solid proof yet. How long will it remain a mystery? Only time will tell. But, with the sudden appearance of quirks, new occupations appeared. One of these occupations was being a Hero. Being a Hero meant that you would risk your life for the safety of others using the quirk that manifested in you. When Heroes started appearing, Villains also started growing in numbers. It was basically a game of cat and mouse for many years, maybe even decades. But, eventually, a symbol appeared. Someone who can prove that we can defeat any Villain that appears. That symbol is All Might, the symbol of peace. As the symbol of peace, he fought for everyone's lives, but in fighting for others he's also risked his life. As long as we have our symbol, we can defeat anything that comes into our path. I'm Akira Kato and this is my Hero's journey.

At the age of four, my quirk manifested like many others. My quirk, Terrain Manipulation, allows me to control the earth below us. Letting me cause earthquakes and rocks to come from the ground. It's pretty cool when you see it in action but that's beside the point. With my quirk, I planned to become one of the greatest Heroes of all time. Although maybe the greatest of all time is a bit of a stretch. I'm nowhere near as strong as All Might after all. No one's even close to his power. But, I could still do well and try as hard as I could to become a great Hero. Now that I think about it, the fifth best hero is more realistic than the number one hero. Oh, I'm getting off track again, sorry. Hmm, I think I should give some background on myself first.

Like many other people, I manifested a quirk at age 4. That quirk is Terrain Manipulation. I've already explained the basics of it so I won't go over it again. My life was pretty simple, I had a stay-at-home dad who cared for me and my mother was a hero. My mother had a quirk similar to mine except she had less control over the ground compared to me. She was a great hero. She was my idol. But, when I was 10-years-old... she went missing. The cause of her disappearance was unknown and after a while... the case to find her was put on hold. To a kid, losing one of your parental figures is one of the worst things that can happen. When I was around 14-years-old, my father gave up on my mother ever returning, but I held on to the hope. Even though it seemed nonexistent, I held on. The hope that I held onto gave me the motivation to become a great hero, to find my mother. My father tried numerous times to explain to me that she just wasn't coming back, but I never listened. Eventually, he gave up on trying to talk some sense into me since he knew that the hope of my mother returning was fueling my motivation to become a hero. He wanted to support me in my dreams and that was the only way he could.

I've decided to start my story at the beginning of my high school days. It was my last term of middle school and I was 15-years-old. People were choosing high schools that they wanted to attend and preparing for their entrance exams. While I was still trying to figure which school I wanted to go to. Obviously, I wanted to attend UA Academy, the best Hero school in the world. But, I always told myself that I needed to think realistically and just choose a different Hero school that has a higher acceptance rate. But, one conversation with one of my old pals changed my view.

January 17, 2009
Saturday

I was laying on a patch of grass on my old middle school's grounds, thinking about my high school options.

"Hmm... Maybe that one? No, I've heard the Heroes that come out of that school aren't that great." I pondered, "Maybe... No, definitely not. Hmm... I can't think of anything!" I yell out, flailing my arms in the air. I guess my buddy must've heard me yell so he came over to check on me. My friend is Goro Nakano. He's been my friend since we were kids. He's pretty short for his age. At the time he was about 5'3" or so. He had a buzz cut similar to the style you'd see in an anime. Green eyes and pretty skinny. He was a bit of an oddball, but we were good friends. Wait a minute. I just realized that I never explained what I looked like in middle school! I had blue eyes, well, I say "had" but I still have blue eyes now. And I had really messy brown hair. I was a pretty carefree kid in middle school. My grades weren't the best, but I was passing. But nevermind all that, let's get back to the story. Goro walked up to me, seeing that something was obviously wrong. He asked,

"Hey, Akira? What's wrong?" Reluctantly I turned my head towards him and sighed.

"Just trying to figure out what high school I want to go to." I said as I turned my head back to the sky, "All of these schools just don't seem fit for a Hero." Goro put his hand on his chin and started humming like he was thinking. After about 30 seconds or so of him humming he said,

"Why don't you just go to U.A.! I mean, your quirk is powerful and flashy enough to get in." I picked myself up quickly and turned my head to look at him.

"Seriously?!" I shouted, "I always thought my quirk wouldn't be good enough for U.A." After I said that Goro started laughing. "What? It's true!" I yelled. He wiped away the tears from his eyes and took a deep breath.

"That is not true." he said with a serious, yet convincing voice, "Your quirk is one of the best in the class. Of course it would be a good quirk for a Hero." My mouth slightly opened as I stared at Goro, speechless. His face turned a light shade of red and he looked the other way. "T-that's what I think, at least." I slowly stood up and I put both of my hands on Goro's shoulders.

"Thanks, Goro. I really needed someone to talk some sense into me." I said. I took my hands from his shoulders and clenched my fists, "It's settled then... I'm applying to U.A. Academy." I said, full of confidence.

"And I am too!" Goro yelled excitedly.

"What?!" I yelled back at him, "You're going to apply to U.A. too?!"

"Yea! So we can go to the same school!" He smiled, "And U.A. is the best Hero school around, so why wouldn't I want to go!" I smiled and put my arm around him.

"Well, if we're both gonna go we need to get training. The entrance exam is in a little over a month." I said. Goro chuckled,

"Don't worry, I be we can get into U.A. without even training!" I looked at him with a confused face and just shook my head.

And this was the beginning of my future as a hero. But, at the time of this decision, I didn't realize how much it would change my fate. For better or for worse.