If there's one thing I've realized from all the years I've been alive, it's that people with strong quirks are privileged. Now, I don't mean to get all preachy on you but I'm just saying that people with quirks often abuse their power and to be honest probably won't be able to live life without them. They take their God-given powers for granted. They think that just because they were gifted with inhuman abilities that they can go around wreaking havoc and do as they please without anyone's concern for others. Don't they know that some people just want to live a normal life?
I was lying face down on the ground. I can smell the scent of fire in the air. It rushed up into my nose and down my throat making my chest tighten. Every breath I took made me want to cough. Tears stung my eyes making it hard to see. It felt like my eyes were burning. I can hear the muffled cries of civilians screaming for help with their footsteps vibrating beside me scurrying away to safety. There also was a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I can hardly make out the voices that were zooming past me.
"It's a villain!"
"Run!"
"Call the heroes!"
A villain attack? Oh, yeah... That's right. I remember now. I was on my way home from school after buying some comics for Hiro...
"Hey, Coconut Head! Come 'ere."
I turned around to see that I was face to face with Bakugo, an egotistic classmate of mine who liked teasing kids with weak quirks. Behind him were his two friends who equally took part in his antics. They looked pretty suspicious since they were hiding in the dark alleyway that was beside me. Add on the snarky grin on their faces, and they almost looked like they just finished committing arson or some other crimes teenagers do.
"Coconut Head...?" I muttered to myself as I heard his friends chuckle.
That was a new name. In 7th grade, he just called me "nerd". And yes, if you were wondering, I did get bullied by Bakugo. It lasted only for a month though. I think it was because he thought my reactions were too bland. But that didn't stop him from ridiculing me every chance that he got.
"I know you were listenin' to our conversation," he accused, getting his face into my personal space.
I uncomfortably leaned away to put some distance between us.
"...You mean when you were in the classroom after school with the quirkless kid?" I said, trying not to look at him in the eyes.
"Obviously. What else would I be talkin' about?" he said, getting even closer to me. His two friends behind him chuckled in amusement.
As all bullies do, Bakugo has a favorite victim that he likes to tease. His name is Midoriya. I sat behind in class last year. He's a nice guy despite being berated by Bakugo and ignored by his classmates all the time. One time he lent me his history notes because I forgot to study before the test. I still failed, but it was the thought that counts, right?
The reason why he gets rained on all the time is that he doesn't have a quirk. In a world full of superpowers, he happened to be one of the unfortunate 20% of the population that didn't manifest a quirk. Even so, I heard that he wants to be a hero. I guess that annoys Bakugo for some reason, so that's why he's always picking on him.
I peered up at Bakugo to see his angry eyes staring at me.
"Yep. I was," I replied honestly. "And uh, you wanted to be a hero right? Threatening the quirkless kid isn't very hero-like-"
An ignition from his left hand exploded interrupting my sentence. A threatening smile appeared on his face.
"What would you know about being a hero?" he sneered. "I've never even seen you use your quirk."
"Well, that's because we're not allowed to use our quirks at school-"
"Shut up!" He barked, letting out another blast from his hand. "I didn't ask you!"
His friend with the John Lennon haircut let out a snort.
"Oi, Bakugo, you should go easy on her. It looks like she's about to pee herself."
Well, I did need to pee so he isn't exactly wrong about that.
Bakugo let out a snicker.
"Heh. Damn loser. Scared of a little fire?" he taunted. "Say, since we're outta school, why don't you show us your quirk?"
His friends immediately approved that idea as a mischievous grin crossed their faces. They all stared at me expectedly. Turning a bit uncomfortable, I said,
"You're not supposed to use your quirk in public places," I replied, trying to getaway. "So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna head home."
I attempted to make my escape when he grabbed me by my arm. He yanked me into the alleyway and slammed me against the wall, in an unromantic way. Don't let your fantasies get to your heads, dear reader.
"Where do you think you're going?" Bakugo said, wearing a fake smile on his face. "I said, 'Why don't you show us your quirk?' Unless..."
His friend with the ruffled hair that was shimmering with hair gel joined in on the fun.
"Ha? Don't tell me she don't have one!" he exclaimed.
The kid with the John Lennon hair snickered.
"Seriously? We have two cripples at our school?"
The two of them erupted into laughter as the grin on Bakugo's face grew more threatening. I was beginning to sense that I was getting deeper and deeper into trouble.
Now you may be wondering, why aren't I do anything? Why don't I defend myself? In other stories, you'll usually see the main character talk back to him with a witty remark that boils his blood which somehow leads the two into a very passive-aggressive romance. But you see, I'm not that type of character. I get tired easily. Bakugo's energy drains me. I'm more of a pacifist; I don't like conflict. Besides, I wouldn't want to get in a fight with him. With his explosive quirk and my unknown power, it's almost definite that it's gonna get messy.
Let me clarify something before you start jumping to conclusions. When I say "unknown power", it's not in a "super strong hidden quirk that will immediately pulverize buildings and break my bones every time I use it" kind of way. It's more like "I literally have no idea what my quirk is".
I know I have one. My parents even brought me to the doctor to make sure that I had that extra joint in my pinky toe. But it's been nearly ten years since and I still haven't found out what my quirk is or even how to activate it. So in essence, I've basically been quirkless my entire life. I've even gone as far as thinking that maybe my quirk is being quirkless. It seems kinda sad if an outsider were to look into it, but it's totally fine. I've survived this long without it, so who says I can't live out the rest of my life without ever using my quirk? I'm not gonna lie though, sometimes I wish I can use it to make people leave me alone. I tend to be a walking magnet that attracts trouble wherever I go. But it is what it is, and I'm stuck with the cards I was dealt with.
I attempted to walk away from the situation again.
"Can I go home? I need to deliver these comics to my brother," I said, with my voice unwavering.
I guess something good about getting into conflict all the time is that you become used to it. At first, I was terrified with every fight I got dragged into but now it's just pestering.
Bakugo peered down at the shopping bag that was in my hands.
"Oh? You mean these?"
He grabbed it from my hands and proceeded to set them on fire with his quirk as his friends urged him on.
He's messing around more than usual. Usually, he'll just insult me or hit me with his shoulder and walk off but he's going as far as burning the new comics I bought? Before I saw this as a minor inconvenience but now I was actually getting annoyed. Hiro is gonna give me crap for ruining his comics that he lent me money to buy for him. I can already hear him complaining. At times like this, I wish that my stupid quirk would come out already.
"...Why would you do that?" I muttered in distaste. Bakugo carelessly threw the charred comics onto the ground like it were trash.
"Because I can," he retorted. "And I'll do that to you if you tell anyone about this."
Gosh, dealing with Bakugo is like talking to a spoiled 5-year-old who had way too much candy. He really thinks he can do anything since he has a strong quirk, huh? Doesn't he know that there are ways of using it without disturbing the peace?
"Let's scram," Bakugo announced. To add some extra salt to the wound, his John Lennon friend spit on the charred comics. His friends laughed. But that's when I saw a stream of sludge slither across my shoes.
It was only for a split second, but I saw it. His friends did too because they stopped laughing. Their eyes widened and they backed away in fear.
"Hey, look..." They both said in unison.
Behind Bakugo was a muddy figure looming over him. It looked like slime. I smelled the scent of dirty sewage.
"An invisible cloak with a great quirk!" It exclaimed. It opened its mouth preparing to engulf Bakugo, as he stood there with an expression of shock, anxiety, and anger. Then it attacked.
A fistful of fire exploded from Bakugo's hands as he directed it toward the sludge monster. I shielded myself in an attempt to block myself from his explosion and the villain's attack. I expected to feel the impact but I didn't. I felt a hand push me out of the alley and into the street. Next thing I know, I'm on the floor as fire and terrified people surround me.
Damn you, Hiro. Why do I always end up in trouble when I'm running errands for you?
My ears stopped ringing now. I can hear a familiar voice a few feet away from me along with the wicked laughter of the sludge monster.
"A child was taken hostage?!" A voice exclaimed. "You coward!"
It can't be me; I know how being a hostage is like. Then if it isn't me, it must be...
I looked behind me to see that a muscular hero with meaty hands trying to punch the sludge monster. Inside the monster was a certain spiky-haired boy struggling to escape.
It's Bakugo.
The rest of the heroes came sprinting over when the hero trying to attack the villain was slammed away. The villain proceeded to go on a rampage attacking any heroes who tried to get close to it with its slimy arms. Meanwhile, Bakugo was trying his best to resist getting swallowed into its body.
How long has he been like that? I'm shocked that he hasn't been eaten yet. If I were in his situation, I probably would've given up. Although I didn't really like Bakugo, I almost wished I was in his position instead. I've grown accustomed to villain attacks and had my fair share of being held, hostage. At least I know I wouldn't be so afraid. I know he will never admit it, but I knew that he was scared. I also knew that he would never admit to pushing me out into the street. Because of that, I began to feel bad for him.
I was so busy staring at the scene in front of me that I didn't realize that a branch was wrapping around my body. Within a flash, it dragged me away just as Bakugo erupted the entire place in explosions.
I was thrown into a nearby building with people who were watching the events unfold above. The hero who saved me, Kamui Woods, didn't even have time to acknowledge me since he was running back into the scene to rescue more civilians. There were a lot of heroes on the scene: some were rescuing people, others were trying to put out the fires, and there was a handful trying to free Bakugo from the villain's clutches. It was no use though; they couldn't do anything. The situation was getting worse by the second. Some high school girls started crying. A guy behind me was recording the entire thing with his phone. Everyone was in a panic, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I guess a negative thing about being involved in villain attacks all the time is that when you're finally not a part of it, then you feel guilty for not being involved. It's strange. Just knowing that these people are experiencing an attack for the first time and knowing how scared they are, makes a small pit form inside my stomach. Wouldn't it be better to have someone who's used to a situation be in that situation rather than having a newcomer experience it?
At times like this, I wish that my stupid quirk would come out already.
"Idiot! Stop!" A voice suddenly exclaimed from below.
My eyes immediately snapped onto a kid around my age going full throttle toward the villain. He had unruly green hair and wore the standard gakuren uniform from my school. His face screamed "terror" yet he kept on running. The heroes were all caught off guard by this and hardly had any time to react to such a bold move. The people around me gasp in a mixture of shock and horror.
"Die in a fiery explosion!" the villain cried, preparing to attack. I'm not sure whether it was in a panic or he planned it out, but the kid flung his backpack at it momentarily blinding the monster. That loosened its hold on Bakugo and the boy proceeded to free him.
"Kacchan!" he screamed.
Wait a minute... Kacchan? Did he just say Kacchan?
It was a bit hard to see up here due to all the smoke that blocking the view, but I squinted hard at the figure that was desperately clawing at the sewage.
"...Why.." I breathed in awe. "Why is Midoriya here?"
I placed my hands on the building's wall leaning down in anticipation. I wanted to get a better view of what was happening but it was getting harder to see with all the smoke buildup.
Something that I don't get is why Midoriya's helping him. It's not unnatural to try to help someone in need but he was trying to save Bakugo, the guy who tormented him for being quirkless. Honestly, if I were him, I wouldn't know what to think. Despite all the things Bakugo put him through, he's still willing to run out and save him.
Despite not having a quirk, he moved.
"One thing that defines a hero is their ability to respond to cries of help without hesitation."
With a flash, I watched the number one hero rush in and defeat the villain with the swipe of his fist. The villain was instantly pulverized. A spiral of air shot up near me, and I had to hold onto the railing to stop myself from being blown away. After a second or two, rain began to fall.
"Gosh..." I muttered, as everyone watching erupted in cheers.
I was tired from going through and witnessing all the excitement but I was also in shock from the turn of events. Bakugo was held hostage, Midoriya ran out to save him, and All Might came. Most of all, I was moved, which shocked me. I always thought of myself as a relatively apathetic person who was just existing to exist. I had no purpose.
I am... here.
I held my hand to my forehead in a mixture of weariness and disbelief.
"Who knew the quirkless kid had it in him?" I said to myself, cracking a small smile.
Although I didn't know it yet at that time, something was beginning to spark within me. I felt it only for a moment when I witnessed the brave acts of a quirkless kid that I hardly knew, but it was there. As the year continued to pass, that feeling was only growing stronger.
And one day, it erupted.