I've posted the first 5 chapters on AO3 as an xReader. This is the xOC version, so the heroine has a full name (more info on my bio).
Cover Art © idk I found it by accident on Pinterest and I couldn't find the artist :')
Happy reading!
The summary I have on AO3:
She was born with the rare ability to read someone's memory when she touched their head. Everybody told her that she was unqualified for combat.
He was born with the rare ability to control someone's mind when they responded to his words. Everybody told him that he was better off as a villain.
Once upon a time among hundreds of people who aimed to become the best, they met, they said hi, and they learned that perhaps the world had a greater plan for them than what they had for themselves.
Chapter 1: Two Far-Off Dreams
In this eventful morning, there were some kids who couldn't hold back their tears after undergoing the ten-minute practical test for Yuuei's entrance exam. Maybe that was the first time they realized that many people worked really hard for their dream, but it could only come true for the chosen ones, for those who were blessed with a ferocious quirk that could easily eliminate all kinds of obstacles. Maybe they felt deep regret for not opting for a less prominent school. Maybe later that night, they would lie in their bed and finally understand that they weren't as terrific as what their family always told them.
After closing the day with a small briefing about how they would get their result in a week, one particular girl walked out alone while keeping her head down, away from the field of vision of those she didn't know. She wasn't born in this populated town, so besides from asking for a direction to some teachers, she didn't really talk to anyone throughout the day. Unlike the faces she had already forgotten back there, she didn't show a single ounce of grievance, but unlike a few others, she didn't look content either. If she smiled, it would most likely be a strained one. It was apparent that she had so many things going on in her mind.
Five minutes hadn't passed when she arrived at a 4-star hotel nearby. Before she even entered the front automatic door of the tall building, she changed her mind by strolling more than twenty meters further. She stopped when she reached a burgundy-dominated two-story café that went by the name "L'Etoile". She peeked through the walls made of glass to find a lot of customers inside, probably more than fifteen. There were some young-looking ones who sat with one or two adults. They might have been those who just came back from Yuuei and the older ones would most likely be their parents.
She didn't ponder longer than needed as she walked in and headed straight to the counter. While she waited for three people to be served before her, she read the list of menu displayed on the black board on the wall. There were many familiar drinks that she'd had in other places, but the overall price was cheaper. Not much cheaper of course, but saving a couple of yen could mean the world for many people. She wondered if the reason was because there were many students living in this area, so the owner of L'Etoile was considerable enough to not take too much profit off them.
Her turn to order came earlier than she anticipated. She was greeted with the bright smile of a young male cashier in a long sleeve white shirt, a tie that had the same dark color as the walls of this place, and black trousers. She had no other choice but to give him the same smile back before she grabbed her white wallet from her brown backpack.
"Good morning. How may I help you today?" the cashier asked the exact same thing he did to the previous customers.
"Good morning," she said. "Can I get one blueberry parfait?"
"The parfait can't be boxed. It must be eaten here. The other snacks and drinks can."
"Hm?" She titled her head sideways, feeling puzzled at his speculative reply. "I'm planning to eat it here."
"Oh! I'm sorry! It's because you're wearing gloves, so I thought you had your bicycle outside and would just—anyway, I'm sorry for assuming too quickly. That's very rude of me," the cashier tried to explain as he inputted her order into the cash register. "It's nine hundred yen."
She opened her wallet and took a one thousand yen note. The cashier accepted the money and gave her the change of a single coin. She put her belonging back into her bag as she watched another guy in his mid-thirties working on her dessert, but it was as simple as opening a refrigerator and taking out a round glass bowl filled with some layers of fresh blueberries, vanilla custard, graham crumbs, and a few other minor ingredients. Some parfaits used yogurt or ice cream instead of custard. Some used granola or toasted coconuts with almond meal instead of graham crumbs. She didn't mind either as long as it was delicious.
"Here we go. Enjoy." The cashier placed the cold bowl on the counter after the plastic wrap was removed from the top, with an addition of a square white plate beneath it and a mini stainless-steel spoon beside. This must be the reason why this thing couldn't be brought home—because everything would be washed and reused again for the next batch.
She thanked him before grabbing the plate with two hands and walking to an empty table for two near the window. She knew she'd look lonely within the sea of loud people, but it wasn't like this was her first time spending a few hours with no one to talk to. She sat down, laid the plate onto the table, took her phone from her backpack, then placed it back on the chair in front of her. How lucky was she to be born in the age of technology? Even when she was alone, she wouldn't look like an awkward idiot by not doing anything and there would definitely be some random articles to entertain her.
But her attention was taken by the LINE notification on the bright screen. She removed her black gloves because it was never pleasant to type with them on, before she unlocked her phone using her fingerprint. She moved to open the green app and sighed upon seeing some messages sent by the same person. She already knew the kind of things she was going to read, but her curiosity led her to tap the chat. She had nothing but a straight face as she read the lengthy sentences written there.
Sanae
How's your day? I'm sure you failed the practical test and nailed the written test because that's all you can hope for 10:39 AM
I've told you so many times to just stay in Osaka and attend a high school here. You might have a better chance getting into their heroic course 10:39 AM
Sure Yuuei is free and whatever, but do you think your apartment and food cost nothing? After you graduate, I'm sure you'll struggle to pay back even 5% of what our parents have given you 10:39 AM
You're such a burden to everyone because you think you can become a hero with the quirk that you have 10:40 AM
Or well, you can always work for the police force, but I'm not even sure if they want to accept you because your power isn't that well-developed and I understand that being hero is so much cooler. You just want to be cool and popular, don't you? How childish 10:40 AM
I don't know what you want to do with your life 10:40 AM
Oh, maybe you can find a rich husband in Yuuei and become a housewife. You can at least do that right? 10:40 AM
She didn't write one word back and simply locked her phone, keeping it beside her plate. She wasn't hurt from the harsh scolding. She just felt that it was very unnecessary and would only do more harm than good, no matter if it was sent to her or other people. Granted, there were some parts of Sanae's logic that seemed to be reasonable, but most were just rude senselessness.
She decided to take the first bite of her parfait, attempting to fit everything she could taste on the small spoon. It took her a couple of seconds to process all the sweetness inside of her mouth. The blueberry was a bit more sour than the one she normally got from the supermarket in her hometown, but it was far from being subpar. The vanilla custard was incredible, it could be her new favorite. The graham crumbs were made from the regular store-bought graham crackers, so it was nothing sort of special. She was satisfied and her day had gotten better.
"It's alright if you can't get into the heroic department. It's not like your future means nothing if you can't become a hero."
The advice from an old man sitting to her right piqued her interest. She glanced at his direction and noticed a girl of her age lowering her head in front of him, looking very gloomy and woeful. She didn't blatantly gawk at the two of them because that'd be creepy. She just wanted to listen more, so she did as she took another spoonful of custard and crumbs.
"Just because you have an offensive quirk to defeat a villain, it doesn't mean that you can be a successful hero like All Might," the old man continued. "We don't even have to use that example. Someone could sing like a nightingale, but it's not guaranteed that they would become the number one singer in the world. You don't have to be so stressed out because I believe everyone is meant to create something great in their life. You might end up working in a bank or in a library and it doesn't mean that you have less worth than friends. I know being a hero is impressive and will give you a great income, but please don't force it. If it fails, you'll get hurt instead. You can't take back all the years you've spent on something futile."
The girl didn't say a thing.
"Or you can try to join the heroic department in another school? It doesn't have to be Yuuei, right? Not all heroes graduated from there," he added, trying to lift the spirit that he'd crushed just seconds ago. "You said that you didn't do that well in the written test, so I'm not sure they will accept you into their general education. Cheer up! We'll make it work! It's not the end of everything!"
She breathed a sigh of grief, but also relief. At least she wasn't insane because clearly, she wasn't the only one being this stubborn and determined.
Yuuei was the best hero academy in Japan, if not on earth. They only accepted forty students in their department of heroes, while there were thousands of hopeful applicants from north to south. They travelled across the globe just to be here today, not minding the fact that there's always a bigger chance of them failing. No donation could be enough to grant them a seat, so those who managed to go through the entrance exam were truly the best of the best.
They also had some other departments. The general education that acted like a regular Japanese high school, the support that provided courses for developing equipment for the heroes, and the management that was full of people who wanted to focus on the business side of the heroic world. Those who couldn't enter the department of heroes could be accepted into the other departments, although not many people would do that since they'd just apply to other schools. Being in any heroic course would be so much better than following a study that has nothing to do with their passion.
In this case, she and the girl beside her weren't one of them.
"Kaa-san, hey." A tall guy with messy purple hair rested his back on the wall of his small hotel room. His gakuran laid on his queen size bed, leaving him wearing a plain white shirt and pitch-black trousers. He was too lazy to change into something cozy. He had to call someone very important and he didn't want to wait any longer.
"Hitoshi, how's the exam?" a gentle sound from the other side of the phone greeted him back.
"I won't get accepted into the heroic department," Hitoshi answered in one breath as he slipped a hand inside of his pocket.
"Eh? Why did you say that? Was it that difficult?"
"It wasn't difficult, but it was impossible for me," he grimly stated. "The written test was easy, but the practical test was specifically designed for those who had a physical type of quirk, not a mind power like me. I knew it all along."
"What did you have to do?"
Hitoshi sighed as he recalled what happened just under an hour ago. "There were some robots and we had to rack points by immobilizing them. They came in some versions that would give us different value. I couldn't do a thing because using or working with someone else was prohibited. What I did for ten minutes was stand still like a stupid person. The practical test is the most important and I scored zero. Among one hundred people, probably there were only less than five who had a non-violent quirk and I was one of them."
His mother fell silent for some time before she responded, "I'm so sorry to hear that, Hitoshi, but you won't give up that easily, will you? Do you want to search for other schools? There's still enough time to do that."
"No," he quickly rejected her alternative, eyes burning with anger and eagerness. "I've applied for the general education and I'm positive of being accepted there because there's nothing in the written test that I couldn't answer. There's also a rule in Yuuei that if a student does extremely well, they can be transferred to the heroic department at any time. I'll do my best."
"What? But what if you can't make it? I'm not saying that I don't believe in you, but that school is well-known for being full of talented kids. Hitoshi, it doesn't have to be Yuuei—"
"It has to be Yuuei, Kaa-san," Hitoshi interrupted his mother's plea. "I want to go to Yuuei. I want their facilities, their teachers, and everything they can offer me. I'd rather spend three years in their general education than three years in some random school's heroic department. I'm not sure if I'll get accepted somewhere else, anyway. This society simply doesn't want my quirk, but through Yuuei, I'll prove them wrong. I have a plan, so you don't have to worry."
Once again, his mother became soundless. As someone who only had one child, she wanted to provide the best for Hitoshi. But as someone who knew how to raise a son in a healthy way, binding and coercing him into doing something he didn't want would be one of the worst things she could do. She would never let him stray off the right path, but he was a smart kid. His plan wasn't all talk and had a great rationality to it. He knew what he must do to reach his everlasting dream. A mother should be proud and not berate him instead.
"Okay, Hitoshi," she finally spoke, lighting her son's heart. "I understand your point and it's not like trying is bad. There must be a lot of benefits that you can get from a school like Yuuei, but you should still apply to other schools in our town, just in case Yuuei won't accept you. Just in case."
Hitoshi weakly tugged one corner of his mouth. "I will. Thank you."
(The chatting format is so messy on this site, I'm super sad. You should check the version I have on AO3 if you want to, it's perfect there!)
Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated! ❤
