My Hero Academia - Under Pressure: Chapter 1: A Different Kind Of Hero

"We live in a world full of heroes."

"That's a line that should be something fictional to say, and yet, that is the world in which I come from. From one, came all, and "all" in this instance is Quirks. Abilities that allow people to go beyond what they were before. It can be as simple as having extra strength, or be as complex as having your body be like an animal. If you have a quirk, you have the potential to be something more. 80% of our world has Quirks. And me? Yeah, I'm one of them."

On the streets of Japan, a boy walked down a sidewalk. He's a bit tall for his age, but is also a bit lean. He has basic blue jeans, a red shirt with a red and black blazer jacket and bright orange shoes. His straight-style hair is brown but his eyes are bright blue. He had a kind smile on his face as he went down the street.

"Yep, that's me, Tonen Keitomo. But you can call me TK, almost everyone does, even my parents! You might think that this is just me showing you what I'm like before I tell you the true heart of my story. But...you'd be wrong."

As Tonen went down the street he started panning his view from left to right and back again. At times he even looked behind him as if expecting someone or something to approach.

"You see, in my world, anything can happen at the drop of a hat, and that means you have to have your head on a swivel. Especially if you expect someone to get hurt if they're not careful."

Tonen paused his walk as he saw a girl around his age walking across the street. She had headphones on and the music was blasting, but Tonen didn't focus on that. He instead noticed that this girl didn't see the car that suddenly turned onto her path. He eyed both quickly and then sharply exhaled from his nose.

A rush of air hit the car and caused it to swerve around the girl. She jumped back in shock and screamed as she realized how close to danger she was. Tonen contained a laugh and moved on.

"See what I mean? Anything can happen in this world. Head on a swivel."

Tonen continued down the street and steped off the sidewalk as he entered an area of construction near a local store. He waved to the workers, who smiled and waved back. Just as he passed by, a man exited the store, hands full of items, so much so they blocked his view and he ran into a piece of scaffolding so hard it shook the platform. The man kept going, but the platform shook so much that a piece of pipe fell and raced towards the man.

"Look out!" a construction worker shouted out.

Tonen heard this and quickly saw the pipe and man and exhaled again. Another burst of air bounded forth and knocked the man backward just enough to miss the pipe by an inch. Though his items fell to the ground as a result.

Seeing this, Tonen went over to help the man out.

"Oh, thank you, young man," said the man with relief.

"No problem," replied Tonen as he gave the man the items that fell.

"I almost had an incident there, glad the wind knocked me back, or that would've been bad!"

"Indeed."

Tonen finished helping the man, and then left after getting a final thank you.

"Now I wish I could tell you that minor events like this were all that happened in our world. People just needing a hand and needing to pay attention and all that...but it wasn't the case all the time. This is a world full of heroes, and many were absolutely needed as when trouble came..."

A small scream sprang forth. Tonen stopped cold and looked around for the source. A more muffled screamed followed from a nearby alley and Tonen raced to its edge and peaked into the area. A woman was getting mugged by three men with knives.

"...it came hard."

"Give us the money you have and maybe we won't hurt you too much," said the man pinning the women to the wall as he stroked his knife on her cheek. "Depends on my mood."

The other thugs laughed at this, which made the woman shake even more than before. Tonen bared his teeth and looked around frantically to see if any Pro Heroes were around.

"What's that old phrase? Oh yeah, never a hero around when you need them. Which meant I had to step in."

"Hey! Back off!" shouted Tonen, appearing in full before them all, jacket off and slung over his shoulder.

The men looked at one another, unsure of what was happening, and then they burst out laughing once again.

"Oh look! A wannabe hero." said the man from before.

"I'd rather be that than a wannabe man." bit back Tonen as he laid his jacket on the ground.

The other two thugs made sounds of someone getting burned, but were silenced via a glare by their boss.

"Big talk, kid. You'll pay for that."

"Do I look scared to you?"

Tonen flashed a big smile to show he was unafraid. The thug rushed him, knife ready to strike. Tonen shifted his position and prepared himself to fight back. Just before either side was in range, everything froze.

"Let's pause here for a moment, ok? Because you might think that I was going to use the Quirk I have that take him down. One problem, I can't. I'm not a hero yet, I could use it, yeah, but I'd get in trouble for doing harm to a villain even in an emergency circumstance. It sucks, but what are you going to do? However, what this yutz didn't realize is that I'm not the only hero in my family. My dad is a support hero, and my mom is a sidekick to a relative bigshot on the superhero charts. Do you really think two parents like that would let their young one wander the world without some basic training? I think not."

Time restarted, and the thug lunged his knife at Tonen, he dodged with a shift of his body then kicked the support leg of the man, causing him to instantly buckle. In quick succession Tonen drove a knee into the arm of the man, which made him drop the knife, and then into the man's head. He crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Feeling his first foe was finished, Tonen turned to the other two, "Who's next?"

Shocked, but confident, they rushed Tonen at the same time. Tonen maintained a calm posture as they did and watched both carefully, waiting for one to make the first move. The one on the left did just that. Also lunging with the knife.

This time though, Tonen dodged the opposite way, giving him an opening to shove the two men into one another. The action made them both drop their knives, and as a result Tonen opened up a slew of punches and kicks on them until both were knocked out.

Confident the fight was done, Tonen turned to the woman to check on her, "You alright?"

The woman laughed in joy and relief but then her expression soured, "Yes I'm...look out!"

Tonen turned just in time to see the boss thug lunge at him with the knife from before. Though he mostly got out of the way, the knife slice through some of his right arm. He bore his teeth in pain as this happened but kept focused and used his left arm and legs to deliver true finishing blows to the man. When he was down, Tonen quickly kicked all three knives out of range of the men.

"Stupid", Tonen muttered to himself. "You're supposed to make them drop the knives THEN secure the knives! Idiot."

He berated himself for a bit, forgetting that the woman was right there, who was very confused, "Are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just mad I didn't do due diligence. If you're ok, you should call the cops, and ask for an ambulance for all injuries present."

At first the woman was surprised by his clear and authoritative thinking. But she eventually pulled out her phone and made the call. Tonen rested against the wall and grimaced at his now bleeding arm.

"Yeah...not my best moment, but I was still young at the time, and without the ability to use my Quirk. I remember later that day I said I would try not and get injured like that again...if only I knew what was to come...I wouldn't have said that at all."

Sometime later, the cops had arrived and arrested the three men. Tonen and the woman were questioned about the incident. Tonen was scolded lightly by the cops but overall was praised for his heroism in the matter. They guided him to the ambulance so he could get stitched up.

The medic cleaned the wound and then careful sewed it up, Tonen flinched repeatedly as the medic did so, "Ow."

"Ow is appropriate," laughed the medic, "you're lucky the knife didn't go deeper. It's a surface wound overall, but you should be glad that's all it is. You won't need any Quirk healing thankfully, but don't push your luck next time, ok?"

"I'll do my best, doc. She needed help, and I was the only one there to help."

"She was lucky to have you then," came a voice.

Tonen and the medic turned and before them was a Pro Hero. He was tall, semi-muscular, had a basic skin-tight suit on, with an odd shaped helmet on his head, and unique gauntlets on his wrist.

"Compact, wow," said Tonen in amazement at the hero before him.

Compact took off his helmet to reveal the man underneath, he looked ordinary outside of hero gear, but Tonen knew that was the point. He smiled at the praise he got from him.

"Pro Hero, Compact. Quirk: Shrink and Density. He can shrink down to small sizes up to a certain limit, and when he does, his density gets higher and higher, meaning he can be the size of a toddler...but have the strength of a tank. This is just one of the many heroes that go around Japan trying to defend it."

"Always nice to meet someone who knows me," Compact said while still smiling. "I do apologize for not being around, I was several blocks away handling a robbery when I heard about the police being called in for something. Also, it's standard procedure for me to ask..."

"I didn't use my Quirk, promise," said Tonen cutting him off. "My parents are heroes, I know the drill."

Compact gazed into Tonen's eyes to see if he was telling the truth, his smile re-emerged when he got the answer he was seeking, "Very good. How old are you?"

"14. Why?"

"I could tell you weren't a high school student because of your outfit. Will you be heading to U-A if you get the chance?"

"...yeah, that's the goal. If I'm lucky."

"I won't ask your Quirk, but you have my support and well-wishes. We need more young people like you becoming heroes. In fact, if you wait a bit I think the media are on the way. We could do an interview together about what you did and send a message for others to rise up."

Tonen turned to the medic and pointed to his arm that was now all bandaged up. The medic nodded that he was good to go and Tonen took that opportunity to get up and move his arm around.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he noted as he tested his arm and the bandage. "I'm not one for media attention. If it's ok with you, Compact, I just want to go home."

Compact was shocked at this reply but nodded and put back on his helmet, "Very well. Off you go. Thank you again for doing what you did, and I hope this isn't the last time I hear of you saving someone Mr...?"

"Tonen. Tonen Keitomo. And we'll just have to see, won't we?"

With a smile and a shrug to Compact he turned and left, leaving the Pro Hero and the medic a bit confused as to what Tonen meant.

"'Not one for media attention', that was a line I would be saying a lot in my life as time went on. You see, while we do have a hero society, it's very much based on heroes getting paid to not just save people, but be "beacons" or "symbols" to the population to raise morale. It works, don't get me wrong. But some heroes are more obsessed with the fame and fortune than actually doing their job. My path wasn't going to be like that. I had a different motivation, I wanted to be a different kind of hero."

Inside an apartment complex not far off from the accident, a man tinkers on some gadgets on a table. He stopped when the sound of a door opening gets his ears.

"That you, TK?" said the man.

"Hey dad," replied Tonen as he entered the main room.

The man turned to face his son, he was wearing an impressive set of goggles and gloves that looked more machine than material. He smiled proudly at his son as he approached.

"Welcome home, son."

"Meet my dad, Shitaka Keitomo. Quirk: Fixer Upper. He has the ability to look at a broken item and know how to fix it. To him, the words "beyond repair" do not exist. Which frustrates my mom to no end, but that's love for you."

"Glad to be home, dad"

Tonen took off his jacket and hung it across the nearby table jail. When he did, he exposed his arm, which had the bandage on it.

Shitaka eyes narrowed upon seeing it, "That looks nasty."

"Sorry," Tonen said with a sigh, "I fought some thugs terrorizing someone and I got sloppy. Forgot to secure the knife they had."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not as bad as before. That's the only injury I got, promise."

Content, Shitaka put back on his goggles and started tinkering on the items before him again, "You know your mother and I are happy to let you do your own hero work as long as you follow the rules. But you can't get reckless, even with your training. Be sure to tell your mother about this when she gets home."

"Yes, dad. She still on patrol with Uncle Brazen?"

"Indeed, she'll be back tonight though. We're having her special Teriyaki tonight, so no snacking before dinner!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, I'll be in my room if you need me."

With a passing wave Tonen headed to his room. Once the door was shut to it he leaned against it and sighed heavily. His room was basic, and yet colorful. There were art supplies all over the place, yet all neatly organized. He had a bookshelf full of items from books to sketchpads to training guides and beyond. On his wall was a singular poster that read "Len The Leaper", showing off a Pro Hero posing heroically.

Tonen grabbed a sketchbook off his nearby desk as well as some pencils and laid down on his bed. He rested there for a bit before opening up his sketchbook to an open blank page. As the pages turn multiple people are visible, each one having their own page.

Upon reaching the blank page Tonen went to work. An image eventually formed of the woman he saved from before.

"Curious? I don't have a crush or anything. Call this a coping mechanism if you will. No matter how good or bad my "hero work" goes, if I help save someone in a major way, like with this woman, I draw them. It helps me remember who I'm fighting for and why I do what I do. I may have been only 14, but I helped a lot of people by that time and I was absolutely proud of that."

The next day, an alarm sounded and woke up Tonen who forcefully slammed the alarm off.

"Why is it always so loud?" he muttered to himself as he arose.

Tonen put on a grey outfit with a logo upon it. Before he left his room he went and grabbed a backpack and made sure it had all the items he needed.

As he made his way to the dining room are a woman in a slick black and copper outfit was at the stove. She turned as Tonen approached.

"Morning, honey!" she said with a beaming smile before it shifted upon seeing Tonen's very tired expression. "Honey, we really got to take you to a doctor to help with your sleeping problem."

"Blame the Quirk," he muttered as she laid a plate of eggs and bacon and toast in front of him.

"Ah, didn't get to release your Quirk any yesterday?"

"Only a little. I'll head to the junkyard later to let loose if something doesn't pop up."

She chuckled before heading back to the stove, "Just make sure you clear it with Mr. Ichimuro before you do, ok?"

"This is my mom, Soyuki Keitomo. Quirk: Wires. Don't ask me how, but she has the ability to shoot out strong wires out of her body, hence the outfit that helps her focus it. She's limited in what she can do with the wires, but they absolutely come in handy when tripping up or tying up villains and saving people. Making her a perfect sidekick for a certain "Uncle" of mine."

"Yes, mom," Tonen replied still very tired.

"Finish up eating soon so you won't be late for school. Run if you have to if you need to shake off that tiredness again."

Tonen muttered in acknowledgement and this seemed a worthy answer for Soyuki who finished up on the stove before leaving.

Tonen eventually headed to school, his Jr. High where many young kids like him dreamed of being heroes, even if they couldn't do as much as some of the pros. As he approached the entrance various kids of all shapes sizes and even forms look and wave at Tonen who, now more awake, waved back and greeted them. A bell sounded and they all rushed inside.

As Tonen made it to his main classroom the sound of loud voices caught his attention and he tensed up, "Not again."

Inside the classroom, a series of tall kids were picking upon a rather diminutive child with big eyes like an owls. They were holding up his books and dared him to try and get them.

"Come on, flap like the owl you are!" taunted one bully.

"Yeah, if you reach it it'll be a...hoot!" added another.

They roared in laughter as the owl-eyed kid tried and failed to get the books. None of the other students in the classroom made to stop them and either looked away or joined in on the laughter. A sudden rush of air slammed into them and they all froze. They all turned to see Tonen in the doorway, expression furious and hair suddenly flying upwards slightly.

"Next burst puts you through the window, now give him back the books," he ordered with clear malice and intent.

The bullies bared their teeth at Tonen, but eventually relented and gave the books back and went to their desks. Tonen glared at the rest of the class and they all rushed to look away from his gaze.

"That's what I thought."

Content for the most part, he went to his desk and sat down. The Owl-eyed boy sat in the next desk over and leaned over, "Thank you".

"Anytime, Deshida. Stick with me for the rest of the day, ok?"

Deshida nodded happily and focused on his books as the teacher came in.

"Good morning, class!" the teacher said upon reaching his own desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Utasu," the class answered back.

Mr. Utasu pulled out a book from his bag and held it up, "Today we're going to be focusing on history, specifically the history of our world and how it shifted from what it was to a hero society. You can expect an essay to write after we're done so be sure to listen well..."

The students dove into their studies as the teacher taught, but Tonen's mind was elsewhere.

During a break, the boy named Deshida walked down a path outside the school, the bullies before saw this and started to move towards him. But as Tonen appeared beside him and glared them down they stopped. He guided Deshida down the path and talked with him as if nothing was wrong.

"I once heard a Pro Hero say that 'villains aren't everywhere, they are few and only strike out when they have power and seek more of it'. Anyone in a school will tell you that's a lie. Bullies are villains, and they start out at a young age. Some even are born before their quirks even emerge. That's true villainy, not striking out when you have power, but striking out when you THINK you have more power and are "superior enough" to exert it. If you can't tell, I hate bullies. I did then, I do now."

Later on, school resumed, and during a study session, Tonen, Deshida and certain other students are huddled around and working on various projects and papers. Repeatedly, they ask Tonen for help and he happily helped them.

"I've been called a lot of things in my life, but one thing that started after a key event in my life was being called a "big brother". I'm an only child but after I learned about my quirk, and my parents started training me in martial arts, I felt more of an urge to protect others in big ways and small ways. Stop bullies from harming them. Help them get through the hard times in their lives. Or even just helping them with homework. This was part of my path of being a different kind of hero. Not just "saving the day" but helping make people's lives better overall. Shouldn't that be the true goal of a hero? To help others in need and not just when their lives are at risk?"

As school ended, Tonen waved goodbye to his friends and headed off, but not for home, not yet.

Instead, he headed into a more industrial area of his hometown. This petered off eventually until he arrived at a junkyard. In a small office building within it, an elderly man was reading a book when Tonen appeared at a nearby window and tapped on it to get his attention.

The man was surprised at first but after seeing Tonen he got up and went to greet him, "Hello there, TK. Need a "breather", as it were?"

Tonen rolled his eyes and gave a mock laugh, "Ha, ha, ha, Mr. Ichimuro. Not like I haven't heard that joke a thousand times before."

"The classic jokes don't go out of style, never forget that."

"How can I when you don't stop making them?"

The two stare down for a bit, but Tonen lightened up and laughed, getting Mr. Ichimuro to join him, "Never knock the power of a good laugh, my boy. It'll help more than your "pressure release" will be."

"Hmm...doubt it," scoffed Tonen. "Do you have a place you'd prefer I let loose in today?

Mr. Ichimuro looked around and pointed to a tall pile of rubble full of metal items and waste, "We got some strong industrial items in yesterday, that should hold your blast for a good while. Just don't overdo it like last time. You almost broke my office."

"Will do, thank you, Mr. Ichimuro."

He bowed to the man and then headed off. The junkyard was full of all sorts of items, which is why Tonen knew that this was the perfect place to "cut loose". As he approached the desired area he indeed saw all sorts of heavy machinery items. There were broken hydraulic presses, some construction vehicles, even a safe or two strewn around a series of other dense objects.

Tonen looked around and was impressed by what he saw, "Yeah, that'll do. Let's secure some of this though...just in case..."

Knowing what was coming, he went around and either lowered items that could be blasted away easily, or secured items that seemed to have a loose footing. When he was done with one section he went to another and made sure it was as secure as possible.

"You're probably very confused by now. '"What in the world is he doing?" That's what you're thinking, right? Well, here's the thing, my Quirk? It's not what you're expecting. You've seen it, but you don't truly know what it is, not yet."

Content with the security of the items, Tonen headed to the center of the clearing and closed his eyes. He held his breath for a while and then repeatedly did deep inhales and exhales. Each time, a wave of air shot out from him.

"You see, my Quirk isn't typical. Usually, when you have two Quirk-filled parents, you either get one of theirs, or you get a combination of the two in some fashion. I'm a mutation. A Quirk that doesn't belong to either side. It's rare, but it happens."

Tonen again held his breath, and when he did his body shook. Slowly at first, and then violently.

"My body? It's a pressure cooker. Specifically, air pressure. You might have though I have gusts of wind within me or am controlling the wind or air around me, but I'm not. I AM the air in certain ways. My body slowly but surely builds up the pressure. So much so that a simple exhale can shoot out a wall or blast of air from any body part I want. It's very powerful, but it comes at a cost, because not unlike a pressure vessel, you need to release the pressure...or the vessel suffers. That's why I was there at the junkyard. Because I had stored too much pressure within me, and there was only one way to let it all out..."

Tonen gritted his teeth as his body continued to violently shake, but eventually, he let it out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His scream unleashed his power in all directions, wave after wave of air poured out from his body. It crashed into the nearby items and either pushed them back, bent them, or even breaks them. Vehicle windows shattered, metal bent or crushed, and any loose items were shot into the air. Some even reached the office of Mr. Ichimuro. Who rolled his eyes and scoffed at the items as they bounced away.

"Kids," he muttered as the items continued to fly by.

Eventually, after a long scream, Tonen stopped. He returned to his deep breathing exercise and looked around at the carnage that he caused.

He chuckled, "Hmm...good thing I didn't go all out, some of these things could've really flown."

Tonen looked at his hands and felt them shaking, vibrating from the release of pressure that he had just done. He clenched his fist and headed out of the clearing.

"My name is Tonen Keitomo, my Quirk is Air Pressure, and this is how my story begins. But just so you know...just because I'm telling you this story...doesn't necessarily mean I'm alive at the end of it."

*credits*