Starlight: The Rise of a Hero
Chapter One: Sunlight
Out in the countryside of rural Japan, a small, traditional house sits comfortably at the bend of a river. Its quaint exterior is a light beige, and its gardens are well-manicured.
In a room down the hall from its entryway, the sound of a boxing glove striking a training bag snaps forth. An older woman, her hair light and features attractive, prepares a late lunch in the kitchen. An older man, his face not belying his true age, sits out back, deciphering charts of the night sky. The steam from his tea is swept away by the breeze, and he watches, thoughtful.
The bag sways on its chain, the force from a blow slowly dissipating. There is sweat on the floor, in his hair, on his gloves. Gasping for air, the young man lays on the ground, smiling through it all. His nose is a bit large, but not overly so, and is matched by a strong jawline. His dark hair is cropped close on the sides, the rest supposedly having been combed to the side before his workout. His sunny demeanor is interrupted by a shout from the kitchen; "LEON! Come eat, for the umpteenth time!"
Leon lifts himself off the ground, his arms and legs creaking. "I'M COMING!" He shouts in return, rushing to his room to re-apply his deodorant. It's a quiet, modest space, and he reaches for the stick on his dresser, popping the cap off and taking a whiff. It smells of vanilla and pine, and is the only scent he's found that won't give him a headache. "If only they made sunscreen that smelled like this," he mumbles to himself, stumbling to his adjoining bathroom.
After washing his face in his bathroom sink, he focuses on himself in the mirror. His fair skin is marked with many freckles; up and down his arms, across his nose, absolutely everywhere. His grey eyes crinkle in annoyance. "Goddamn quirk, why are there more?"
He towels off his face before heading to the back of his house, late as always.
As he finally enters the kitchen, the steaming cup of instant ramen beckons to him. "Itadakimasu~" he says hurriedly as he sits down with the rest of his family.
His father has the grace to allow him his first slurp of noodles before he interrupts. "Would it be too much to ask that you learn to be on time? Third-year at the most renowned school in Japan, still doesn't manage to be punctual. You're lucky to have such great friends," he finished, high-and-mighty as ever.
"Love you too dad," he says over an empty cup of noodles. "Great as always, Mom," he remarks, impish.
"Only the best for my family," she quips sarcastically, giving them both a thumbs up and winking in a comical and exaggerated fashion.
Pushing in his chair behind him, Leon nods to his father. "I'm going to train outside, across the river. If you need me, just holler."
"That would explain why you didn't shower… don't forget your sunscreen, if I have to treat you for severe sunburn again this week, so help me god."
A small smile graces Leon's face as he walks back the hallway to his room. "I won't forget, don't worry about it," he says, waving his hand in a non-committal fashion.
A sigh can be heard from the kitchen, where the two adults are still eating in comfortable silence. "He's too much like you, Liv. How I keep up, I don't know anymore."
"Eat your noodles and shut up. For the kajillionth time, you need to relax, Jason. Our son is a capable, intelligent young man, and he reminds me of how you used to be. Now eat your noodles before they get cold."
"Stubborn hag." There was a smile on his face as he started to eat in earnest. "Wait for it, wait for it…"
"Crippled bastard."
Leon's arms roar with light and heat as he holds them out to his sides, drawing energy out of what seems to be thin air. The air holds the scent of ozone, as it always does when he activates his quirk.
Called Sunlight, he can absorb solar radiation of any kind to boost his physical strength and fire ranged attacks. When it first manifested when he was four, all it could do was give him sunburn. Now, he is truly a force to be reckoned with.
He grimaces, letting the absorbed energy flow around and throughout his body. It hurts just as much as it did yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. Slowly raising his absorption rate, his power rises gradually. As he rises past twenty-five percent, a powerful breeze kicks up around him. His aura grows bright and riotous, and he struggles to maintain control as he fills his body past fifty percent of his capacity. Around him, lightning clashes against the ground, sparking off his body.
"Okay! Sixty percent, here I go!" His shout is unheard under the cacophony that is the force coming off of his body. The windstorm is violent now, with the air shivering with energy.
And it's like a dam breaking as he reaches sixty percent, his power jetting off of him in hot-white-burning-streams. A violent shockwave rushes outward from his body, flattening the plant-life of his training grounds for what has to be the thousandth time.
He clenches both of his fists as he assumes his fighting stance, right fist up by his head, left arm and fist curved out to his front. And then he moves. Barely perceptible, he phases back and forth across his training ground, practicing a rough kata based around his fighting style.
Throwing his right elbow forward, the hand touching his upper-left chest, generating a blade of light and air. It strikes a nearby tree, which is cut in half with an audible crack. He launches himself forward, spring-boarding off the tree and firing himself into the air.
Concentrating the light energy into his right fist, he launches his arm forward in his signature move.
"Starlight!"
For a second, his shoulder is pushed back by the recoil. It's like firing a shotgun the size of an artillery cannon.
A massive, translucent beam of heat and light rushes forth. It pierces the heavens and launches itself into the upper atmosphere. Leon is pushed backwards in the air, keeping the beam up for as long as possible, letting it dissipate in the exosphere.
"Thank god for hero licenses," he thinks glibly. He maintains his ten percent base form for just long enough to land safely on the ground.
THROB. His skin explodes in barely-contained agony. His eyes sting, and he is suddenly very aware of how dry and warm his body is. His entire right arm steams, his energy levels dropping back to zero. His muscles are clearly strained, with how his limbs are shaking.
"I almost burnt my hand there, that wouldn't have been good. Not a bad result, for sixty percent, though," he mutters to himself, engrossed in his self-analysis.
The first time he went higher than fifty percent, he'd given himself sun poisoning. Over time, and with help from a few close friends, he'd gained a greater grasp on his limits. He'd been so weak, before they stepped in.
He removes his training shirt, revealing a toned physique.. And as he turns toward the declining afternoon sun, he thinks of simpler times. Times of running across beaches, of running through abandoned buildings. Times when he didn't look at her and think about what could be.
"Mirio, Tamaki, Nejire… I miss you guys."
And the March sun had no response.
A/N: And that's the end of the first full chapter! Please tell me what you think, any feedback would be very much appreciated.
