Late Autumn, second year
The dorms at Chikara were fancy. Even after living there for more than a full year, Koushi couldn't help but be impressed from time to time. His family home had been small, and his room on campus was bigger than both his and the twins' rooms combined- Not that he was complaining or anything! Sometimes he just missed living out near Ito. He certainly missed living with his family, but the dorms were spacious and lively and their rigorous schedules left little time for homesickness.
Besides, all of this would be worth it in the end. Three years of hard work was nothing in comparison to the rest of their lives, and Koushi didn't want to squander the opportunity he'd been given. He wasn't the typical Chikara student, after all, and knew how lucky he was to have the chance to study at the top hero school in the nation. Ogawa Mio herself had seen potential in him, which was, from what he understood, rather rare. So, yeah, he counted himself fortunate.
It was a free day – they always had Sundays off, but due to a particularly rough exam week, the students had been granted the following Monday off as well. Koushi could not find it in himself to protest that, either. Not that he would; It wasn't often that they got random breaks like this and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest.
The first item on his agenda was to sleep until noon, though that had failed spectacularly. His internal clock was so used to waking up at six in the morning that he rose just three minutes after his alarm would usually go off, and any further attempts to go back to sleep were thwarted by the fact that he was hungry.
He managed to lounge in bed for about an hour and a half before starvation had him extracting himself from the warm sheets. Koushi staggered a bit as he headed for the door, rubbing the last lingering bits of sleep from his eyes. It was likely that there would be a few other students up and about, at the very least, even this early in the morning. Some of them probably woke up early on purpose instead of out of necessity, like Koushi. The psychopaths.
Even still, he was quiet as he headed down the hall, not wanting to disturb anyone who still happened to be asleep.
It wasn't a terribly long walk to the main shared space. An open floor plan with a large living room - complete with a couple of couches, recliners, and a TV – that branched out into a dining area and full kitchen. The entire area smelled strongly of coffee, and there were several other students mulling about, most of them with some form of caffeine in their hands. He couldn't blame them, honestly, what with how early it was.
Koushi padded into the kitchen and beelined toward the fridge - there was a pizza in there that was going to go bad soon, and he wanted to eat it before they had to throw it out. However, he simply couldn't ignore the odd duo lingering by the counter.
Dorobo and Ariadne were like oil and water most of the time, but in the mornings they united over their love of coffee. It was a fragile truce, because soon enough the two of them would finish their brew and remember that neither of them were the other's biggest fan. It wasn't as though they had any knock-down, drag-out fights or anything, but they had the tendency to avoid one another.
The height difference was quite funny, however. Ari was one of the rare few in the class shorter than Koushi himself – the girl stood at five-foot-two. Meanwhile, Dorobo was just shy of two full feet taller than her. They looked almost comical, standing beside one another while nursing their respective cups of coffee. The same mug that looked so large in both of Ari's hands appeared to be no more than a teacup in Dorobo's.
Koushi didn't like coffee, personally. He strongly preferred the tea that Akito often brewed, but even then, he wouldn't often drink it for caffeine. Most of his energy came from food so there wasn't much need for that type of thing.
"Good morning, you two!" he chirped, much more enthusiastic than was warranted. Koushi wasn't a morning person by any means, but it was kind of fun to watch Dorobo's singular eye twitch a little in mild annoyance. The big guy put up with Koushi pretty well most of the time, though they weren't particularly close. Regardless of that, Koushi didn't sense any real hostility; just a few sarcastic remarks here and there, but certainly nothing he couldn't handle.
The large boy squinted his dark red eye at Koushi. "If you say so," he huffed, taking another sip from his cup. So the energy had kicked in enough for him not to be too grumpy, but it hadn't taken effect fully just yet. Not that pre-caffeinated and post-caffeinated Dorobo were too different in the first place.
Ariadne was... not someone who needed more energy. Honestly, she hopped out of bed just as lively as always. Whether she had coffee or not was of no importance.
"It is a good morning!" she responded with a broad grin, intention to get on Dorobo's nerves clear as day. Koushi loved her. "Want some coffee, Koushi?"
He shook his head, opening the door to the fridge. "Gross, no. I don't know how you people drink that shit," he declined, and then, like a hypocrite, reached into the box of several-day-old pizza to nab a slice.
Dorobo wrinkled his nose. "You have no right to judge us when you're eating old pizza at seven thirty in the morning." Which was probably true. When Koushi bit into the pizza he almost immediately regretted it – it was stale and tasted like the inside of the fridge. Maybe it was getting too old to eat, but he wasn't about to throw away this particular slice.
"It tastes fine," he lied, then proceeded to wolf down the rest before someone more responsible came by and took it from him. "Cold pizza is the breakfast of champions!"
Ari stole a look at the pizza box like she planned on grabbing a slice as well before thinking better of it and shutting the fridge. "Maybe we should order more pizza tonight," she offered, rather than admonishing Koushi for his inability to throw food away.
"Pizza?" came a new voice. The three of them turned to look at Wakana as she appeared from around the corner. Her cobalt blue hair was braided, bangs held back with a bandana. She was a taller girl, built strong and solid, and had piercings all over the place. Koushi always considered her pretty, but intimidating as fuck. Though, with a little help from some of the more extroverted students in the class, she wasn't as gruff as she'd been during their first year. "I'd be down for that, later."
Unsurprisingly, Ariadne lit up at the sight of the older girl – they grew much closer over the past few months, after all. Her eyes widened and she bounced over, excitedly chattering about something that happened the day before. Dorobo hadn't moved from his spot by the counter, though he had turned to pour himself another cup of coffee.
The kitchen was spacious, but four people made it quite crowded – especially with someone as large as Dorobo – so Koushi decided to quietly take his leave.
He didn't get very far, though. Initially, he'd planned on heading outside, but there was a worthy distraction in the living room. On one of the couches, manga in one hand and teacup in the other, sat a highly-composed Akito. He didn't even have the television on! It was likely the other boy wanted to enjoy a peaceful morning by himself, and it was up to Koushi to interrupt it.
It was a sort of system they had set up. Or, at least, it was a system that Koushi set up. Akito didn't have much of a choice in the matter but seemed to tolerate it decently well, regardless. Better than he had during their first year, anyway.
Koushi strode over with a purpose, draping himself over the back of the couch and glancing between the manga and the teacup. The book had a pretty, detailed art style, and the tea was a grassy green. It smelled nice, and Koushi found himself relaxing, lazily scanning over the manga heroine's internal dialogue on the page.
Akito hadn't even looked up yet. The other simply flipped the page with his thumb and took a sip of his drink, seemingly engrossed in his activity.
"Is your tea good?" Koushi asked, glancing over at Akito. His hair was short, ink black, and kept in its usual side-swept and straight style. It was like he never had a hair out of place – Koushi couldn't help but think he'd look nicer if he allowed himself to be a bit more unkempt from time to time.
"Yes, it is," Akito responded without looking up from his novel. "I could make you some, if you'd like."
A smile formed on Koushi's lips and he shook his head. "Nah, I'm good for now. Thanks though." He straightened up and crawled over the back of the couch to flop down against the cushions, brazenly pressing his sock-clad feet against Akito's thigh to leech off of his warmth. If the other teen had a problem with it, he didn't say anything. "What's your manga about?"
Akito flipped the page and hummed in thought. "It's a romance manga. The story is complex and the characters are written well. The main girl, Hanae, is stuck between two potential love interests, Asana and Nozomi..."
Koushi found himself lulled by the soft, deep tone of the younger boy's voice. It looked like he might get to sleep a little longer than he expected.
Rising for the second time was not as pleasant as the first. Koushi's vision was immediately filled with the narrowed, chocolate brown eyes of one Shiruko Kagura. If he hadn't just woken up, he probably would've been excited to see the black-haired boy if only so he could provoke him, but he was still groggy and couldn't help the annoyed expression that crossed his face.
"Can I help you?" Koushi asked, arching an eyebrow and rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes.
Kagura wrinkled his nose a little and crossed his arms over his chest. Now, Kagura wasn't a bad person; This was something Koushi knew very well. The two of them just... clashed. Where Dorobo and Ari were like oil and water, they were more like fire and gasoline. For some reason, Kagura simply didn't like Koushi, and Koushi certainly did his part to purposefully make every single encounter between them worse than was necessary.
"Are you planning to take up the entire couch all day?" Kagura demanded, looking extremely miffed.
Koushi perked up at that, looking down the line of his body to the other end of the couch. Akito must have gotten up at some point, which allowed Koushi to starfish out in his sleep. He wondered, briefly, if he'd kicked the other off the couch. Oops.
A wry smile formed on his lips and he turned his attention back to Kagura, offering him a wink. "You could always join me," he flirted shamelessly, which never failed to absolutely infuriate this particular target.
Sure enough, rage flooded Kagura's expression and his face reddened, which only increased the triumphant feeling bubbling up in Koushi's chest. It was these kind of reactions that spurred on his more devious side.
"You-!" Kagura began, visibly bristling in anger.
There was no telling where that conversation would've led, had they not been interrupted. Just as Kagura opened his mouth to speak, Joichiro – god bless him – hurried over to douse the flames. It was rare for their fights to become physical in nature, but it has happened before, and Koushi was secretly grateful not to have an impromptu sparring match today. Kagura was quite a bit stronger than him, so he had to work pretty hard to keep up with the more established fighter.
"Hey, guys," Joichiro interjected, tone as kind as always. He was a little taller than Kagura but otherwise shared the same inky hair and well-groomed appearance. However, Koushi tended to like Joichiro much better than his more aggressive counterpart. "Everything okay over here?"
"It would be, if he would quit taking up so much room. He's been on the couch for hours," Kagura complained. He didn't seem to want to bring up the teasing, which Koushi expected. It always seemed to get under his skin, and Kagura didn't often like to admit to that.
Koushi sat up with a soft groan, stretching his arms over his head. "C'mon, now. I didn't say I wasn't gonna make some room," he placated, getting to his feet and gesturing with a flourish to the now-empty space. "All yours." He wanted to add a snarky "Princess," to the end of that sentence, but he was a lot less inclined to do so with Joichiro there. It was much harder to be an asshole with the more pleasant boy in the vicinity.
A huff escaped Kagura before he took a seat where Koushi had been before and switched on the television, seemingly satisfied for the moment. Tomorrow would probably be another story, but they could handle that when they got there.
Besides, Koushi did want to go outside. A quick check of the time told him it was nearing one in the afternoon, which... yikes. He had been on that couch for a good while – no wonder Kagura was a little pissed about it. It didn't give him the right to act out over it, but it was a little bit more understandable. Still, Koushi didn't feel the need to apologize, so he wordlessly turned to head outside.
It took him a second to realize that Joichiro followed him to the exit. Koushi paused in confusion, turning to face his friend, and looked up a bit to make direct eye contact. "Yes?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Maybe you could go a little easier on Kagura?" the other teen suggested, his green eyes approachable and a small smile on his lips. "I know it's probably fun, but it isn't nice to tease him like that."
Why am I the one being told off? Koushi wondered petulantly, brows drawing together and eyes narrowing a little. "Kagura is usually the one who starts it," he explained. "The guy hates me."
Joichiro cringed a little, thought for a moment, and then spoke again. "Maybe don't do it inside, at least," he amended. "I know you two don't actually fight very often, but you know the school has rules about sparring in the dorms." He smiled again. "Just in case."
Well, shit. Koushi couldn't argue with Joichiro – not when he was being so non-confrontational and reasonable. He sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders, shifting his feet. "Yeah, yeah. Alright. Not in the dorms," he agreed, and Joichiro relaxed a little.
"Thank you," he said, and Koushi couldn't help the upward twitch of his own lips.
"Keeping us all in line as always, Jo," he teased lightly. "What would we do without you?"
A laugh pealed from the other boy as he stepped away, clearly intent on heading back into the living room. "You'd most likely tear each other apart," he responded, green eyes scrunched a little as he smiled. "I don't even want to consider the property damage. We've got enough of that already."
Koushi cringed, knowing that he was the cause of quite a bit of that. "Yeah," he admitted. "You're probably right."
Joichiro chuckled again, fondly, before stepping back towards the kitchen. "Well, I'm gonna go make lunch. I'll see you later, Koushi," he said, and then went on his way.
"See ya," Koushi called, then slid on his shoes and made his way outside.
The fresh air was cool – still clinging to the last vestiges of warmth from the fading autumn. It was a beautiful day, cloudless and sunny, and Koushi couldn't wait to spend an indeterminate amount of time just wandering around the gigantic campus to enjoy it.
He walked down the clean, metal steps, and glanced over toward the large garden that surrounded their dorm. They had gardeners come by once a week, but the students were encouraged to care for it as well, should they want to. Koushi wasn't much of a gardener himself, but he knew that a few of his classmates enjoyed caring for the flowers, bushes, and trees that made up the landscape.
Few students, however, were more invested than Akashiro Daiyu. It was likely that she was out busying herself there now, actually. Though he found himself hoping they didn't run into one another – things had been... weird between them since they'd broken up a couple months ago.
It was an odd situation. Most of Koushi's relationships were brief flings here and there, and they usually broke things off on mutual terms. He had never had an issue with a jaded ex, and he wasn't sure how to handle it, to be honest. What was even more confusing was that she hadn't even seemed to be all that into him in the first place.
The gravel crunched beneath his sneakers as Koushi made his way down the path. And, lo and behold, Daiyu was precisely where he'd expected her to be. It was easy to spot her in the foliage – she looked like a random patch of snow against all that green.
She was pretty, of course - unique and striking. It was her eyes that drew Koushi to her at first, with those dark scleroses and red irises. No one else looked quite like her, and he found himself developing an interest a few months ago. She'd reciprocated, and boom – dating. It wasn't a particularly exciting relationship though, and Koushi fell victim to both boredom and a partner who seemed less romantic and more possessive.
Not to say that Daiyu was a bad person, either. They'd been friends before they dated, and Koushi hoped that once this all blew over, they would become friends again. He felt a little bad about hurting her feelings in the first place because that hadn't been his intention. It just wasn't something he was used to, so he didn't know how to approach the situation.
The two of them made eye contact, and Daiyu tensed before turning her attention back toward the flowers. Koushi was halfway tempted to approach the girl, but figured that it would be a bad idea and decided to just head on his way. He expected she'd be more receptive to conversation sooner or later, and he was willing to wait.
These daily walks around campus were becoming routine for Koushi. It was far better than hanging around inside all day long, after all. They were to live here permanently for their entire high school lives, but the grounds were so expansive that it didn't feel stifling or restrictive. Besides, during the day they were allowed to head out into Tokyo to explore if they wished, so long as it didn't interfere with classes and they were back by dark. It wasn't bad at all.
Besides, the people were cool enough. Most of them were fun to be around - or at the very least, they were fun to tease - and Koushi enjoyed the last year and a half immensely. There was rarely a dull moment, and he'd improved a lot since his first day. He was still far from the best in the class, of course – at least in combat. Koushi had always been fairly proud of his grades, and he needed to keep them up to maintain his scholarship so he could graduate and get his hero license.
He was getting closer to the main buildings now. There were more students lingering closer to its crisp, white architecture – support course students, mostly, as well as some first-year hero students. Chikara wasn't known for producing multitudes of heroes, but they were certainly known for producing quality ones, with just one class per year. It was one of the things that marked them as the best – rarely did they produce a hero that was unsuccessful, whether they were an underground fighter or preferred the spotlight.
"...think that out of the second-year hero class, Dorobo is the scariest."
Koushi perked up at hearing his classmate's name, glancing over to the source. Some third-years, from the looks of it. Support students, for sure. He huffed out a laugh and headed over, eager to join the conversation. Their class certainly had some scary figures. Wakana was particularly intimidating, and Ari had her moments, as well.
"No, no, I don't think so," one of the students – a girl with green hair - said. "I think it's gotta be that Jun guy. Have you seen all those scars on him? It looks like he was burned half to death!"
That certainly had Koushi halting in his tracks. He blinked a few times and attempted to compose himself so that he didn't come out of the gate swinging on this one. Instead, he plastered a smile on his face and approached them, hands in his pockets.
"Hey, guys," he greeted casually, scanning over the four of them. Three boys and a girl – all of whom looked rather wimpy, if he did say so himself. "What'cha talking about?"
They studied him for a moment and must have decided that he was one of the less intimidating hero students, because none of them so much as looked sheepish about their statements. In fact, they seemed rather excited to have another person around to gossip with. Especially one with insider information.
One – a boy with blue hair - spoke up first. "We're talking about who the scariest person in your class is, actually!" he chirped. "Now, personally, I think it's that Daiyu chick. I mean, she's a spider, for fuck's sake. Her eyes are so creepy, and she's so pale – doesn't she ever scare you?"
Koushi felt himself bristle up defensively. He and Daiyu weren't on the best terms right now, and sure, she'd accidentally bit him that one time and he'd had to go to the hospital, but she certainly wasn't what Koushi would consider scary.
"And I think there's no way it isn't Dorobo," interjected the first boy who'd spoken. "He's so big, and his face is all... scrunched up. Plus he's only got the one eye! He looks like one of those ogres you have to fight in video games."
Sure, Dorobo was kind of a dick sometimes, but Koushi didn't think that made him scary, either. It wasn't like he was some mindless ogre about to rampage at any second. He just looked a little different – that was all. Though it seemed like that was all the criteria these assholes needed to decide that someone was frightening or intimidating.
"But you have to consider Leon, as well. He's so skinny, and he's got that pale skin, and that weird blue tongue," the last boy remarked. As though Leon had any capacity at all to be intimidating – the boy was a marshmallow, in Koushi's experience.
The girl shook her head vehemently. "Leon's a little creepy, but I'm telling you! Jun is the scariest. He's quiet, he's got those scars and the mask, and that smoke shit of his is so... ominous." She laughed then, and it grated on Koushi's ears. "I wouldn't want to run into him in the middle of the night. I can't believe they're letting some of these guys be heroes. The people they save will be scared to death."
"Go fuck yourselves," Koushi snapped, a bit louder than he'd intended. His entire body was trembling with fury, his fists clenched so tightly that he could feel his fingernails bite into the flesh of his palms. "All of you. You think it's funny to mock people for the way they look?"
The four of them had the decency to look cowed, for just a moment, before the blue-haired boy spoke up again. "We aren't wrong!" he argued, squaring his shoulders and narrowing his eyes at Koushi. "Sometimes people look scary, especially with weird mutations. I wouldn't want anyone with spider eyes trying to save my life! It'd just scare me more. Imagine how a little kid would react!"
"Then you're a goddamn coward," Koushi spat, glancing between the four of them. The other three stood up straighter as well, bolstered by their more bold companion. Tensions were rising, and Koushi vaguely wondered if they were about to actually fight. He was certainly at a disadvantage – even if he was in the hero course, he had no true offensive abilities, and it was four against one. He'd definitely lose. "It's pretty damn obvious why you losers couldn't make the hero course. You're a bunch of pussies."
"Who's a bunch'a pussies?"
Koushi glanced behind him to locate the new voice and felt himself relax minutely. Otoba was probably the best person he could've asked for in this situation – at least, for conflict reasons. The older boy certainly didn't appear to be the most intimidating person around, standing in at around five-three with frosted-tipped black hair that spiked up like a hedgehog, a convenience store baggie in his hand. If Koushi had to pick someone to have his back in a situation like this, however, it'd be Kuha Otoba, hands down.
"These assholes were ridiculing some of our classmates because of the way they look. Apparently looking different makes you scary," he explained, relaxing his fists a bit. It would be a bad idea to physically fight these other kids, even if they really deserved it.
But that didn't mean they couldn't intimidate them.
"Wow, making fun'a someone fer their physical appearance? Dick move," Otoba jeered, dropping his bag and heading over to stand beside Koushi. "Ya pricks got nothin' better to do than sit on yer asses all day and bully people?"
The blue-haired boy spoke again. Koushi wished he'd just shut the fuck up. "They're not even around to hear it! What's it matter to you if we joke around a little? It's not like we're saying it to their faces," he defended, though he did seem much less confident now that there were two hero students to face off against - even if Koushi and Otoba were far from the most intimidating duo around.
Still, he looked nervous, and they could certainly work with that.
He and Otoba shared a look, and the older boy grinned before turning his attention back to the four students in front of them. The pebbles around their feet began to bounce a little as Otoba released a bit of energy – the sound wave was quiet, but it was intense. Almost like having the bass boosted in a car. It created a sort of pressure that had the support students shrinking in on themselves.
Koushi focused in on the others and quickly came up with something he could use. He warped their perspective significantly, painting a scene where Otoba and Koushi both loomed over them, their figures dark and intimidating. Throwing in a vibrant red sky for good measure, Koushi wiped out the pearlescent white buildings around them. The isolation and shifted perspective combined with the ominous bass certainly made for a scene straight out of a horror movie, and Koushi felt pride well up in his chest at the panic spreading across the bully's faces.
His Quirk wasn't made for offense, but being able to radically skewing someone's view of the world around them definitely had its perks. Making four dick-wads think the apocalypse was upon them was just one of those features.
After just a few seconds of that, though, Otoba stopped creating the vibrations and Koushi let the illusion fade. The third years looked shaken enough, and it wasn't like they wanted to torture the four of them. It was just to send a message, and judging from their reactions, the message had been received.
Otoba crossed his arms over his chest and stood up straighter. "There's more where that came from," he added, narrowing his eyes at the shell-shocked teens. "If we catch ya talkin' like that again, we'd be happy to give ya an example."
"Maybe you should reconsider who the scariest hero course students are," Koushi drawled, leaning forward and basking in the surge of delight that flooded him when they flinched back.
Good. They should be scared.
"We-we're sorry," stammered the girl, her face ghostly pale. "We won't do it again. Promise. We're sorry."
The three boys hurried to agree with her, their words a jumbled mess, but the meaning was clear. Koushi didn't doubt that they wouldn't do anything like this again – and if they did, he wouldn't be as lenient next time.
"Good. Now get outta here," Otoba growled, taking a step back to let the four students scurry off like the little weasels they were.
There was a brief period of silence as the hero students watched the bullies hurry away. It was clear that Otoba felt just as proud of the whole ordeal as Koushi did, because as soon as the other students were out of their line of sight, the two of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"That was fuckin' hilarious!" Otoba crowed, bent over and holding his stomach. "We gotta' do that more often, Koush."
Koushi was having a hard time catching his breath. This was definitely the most fun he'd had all week. He sucked in some fresh air and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Seriously! Those pricks got what they deserved," he gasped, regaining his composure and standing up straighter.
Otoba snorted and placed his hands on his hips. "Hell yeah, they did," he agreed. "This'll be the best shit you and I've ever gotten in trouble fer."
"I doubt they'll tell anyone," Koushi reasoned, running a hand through his hair. "You know Chikara's no-bullying policy. I wouldn't really go around advertising what a piece of shit I was, if I were them."
"Yeah, yer probably right," Otoba drawled and picked up his forgotten convenience store bag. "So, where're ya heading?"
Koushi hummed in thought. "Probably gonna take a quick trip to the city and walk around there a while," he responded. "What about you?"
"Headin' back to the dorms," the shorter teen responded. "Gonna veg out a while and play some games."
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Koushi agreed. If he wasn't going so stir crazy, himself, he might go join his friend, but he needed to walk. As much as he enjoyed having these two days off, having nothing to do made him antsy. He had to keep himself active in some way, and after running into those support students, his desire to leave campus only grew.
The city was the perfect solution. There was still plenty of daylight left and Tokyo was bustling with activity and distractions. Koushi bid Otoba goodbye and continued on his way.
Koushi was always careful to return back to the school grounds before it got dark. It was unlikely for them to be attacked in broad daylight, but a Chikara student would be tempting for any villain after the sun went down. The school was filled with kids from rich families, and being the most prestigious hero academy in all of Japan meant that whoever managed to kill or capture one of them would gain instant notoriety.
So, he got back to the dorms just before nightfall. Koushi didn't want to try his luck against whatever potential evils lurked in the shadows of Tokyo. He did cut it rather close this time, though – the sky was streaked a deep purplish pink, and the sun was almost fully beyond the horizon. Still not close enough to risk violating curfew, though.
He was pretty worn out from all the walking, though, and was itching for some human interaction. Thankfully, he had a living room full of comfortable furniture and three whole classmates to hang out with.
Asami and Marin were settled on opposite ends of the couch and Leon's lanky frame took up one of the recliners. The television was on, displaying some news station, and Koushi bypassed all of that comfortable furniture in favor of sitting on floor with his back to the couch.
"What'cha watching?" he asked, resting one elbow on the cushions to turn back and look between the girls.
Marin was the first to answer, per the norm. "Kinetic is on the news. He and Jetstream are working together," she explained, gesturing to the television.
Koushi looked back at the screen. It was live – the footage clearly from a helicopter, and the camera struggled to focus in on Jetstream as he breezed through the air. Kinetic dangled from his arms, energy blades in hand. The two of them seemed to be circling around a villain with an intense transformation Quirk – they were massive, with misshapen body features and loose skin. They were hanging onto the side of a building in downtown Tokyo, swinging a massive arm to try and swat the heroes down like they were nothing more than a buzzing mosquito.
Jetstream dropped his passenger over the villain, and Kinetic cleanly sliced their hand off at the wrist. The resounding screech was intense and pained, and they managed to swat Kinetic with their forearm instead, sending the much smaller man flying backward.
It took no more than a couple of seconds for Jetstream to swoop back in and catch their teacher before he hit anything, and the two of them resumed circling their target.
"Who wants to bet he's gonna whine about this tomorrow?" Asami asked, a wry grin crossing her lips. She hadn't always been the most social girl around, but lately, Koushi noticed her loosening up a bit.
Leon raised his hand in solidarity from where he was settled halfway across the room. He was another quiet one, though he seemed a lot more content around their classmates recently. Koushi took note that the white-and-blue boy gravitated toward one in particular, though. The redhead tried to stay out of that situation as much as possible, but it was fun to watch, nonetheless.
"Oh, for sure," Marin agreed, stretching her short legs across the cushion between herself and Asami. "He's gonna complain about his back and make us all look at his bruises."
That was definitely something their teacher did a lot. New scars or bruises were trophies for him, and he was always eager to show them off. It wasn't as cute as it sounded.
Jetstream and Kinetic did another round, and this time, Kinetic landed on the gargantuan villain's shoulder. The skin seemed to give under his feet, and he fought for purchase. Once he got it, though, he ran up toward the target's head, where he twisted and slammed one of his blades into the giant's cheek, eliciting another screech of pain from them. It seemed as though Kinetic didn't intend to be shaken off so easily.
Koushi heard a noise behind him, and glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen. It was just the guy he'd hoped to see – Jun just finished shutting the fridge door, a jar of jam in his hand. He scrambled to his feet and jogged over to the other redhead, nearly tripping over one of Asami's long legs.
Jun was much taller than Koushi, standing in at around six-foot-three or so, so Koushi had to tip his head back to make eye contact with the other. Steam slipped out from beneath the hem of his t-shirt, tangling around Jun like little wispy clouds. His Quirk was cool, but quite damaging – especially when he was younger. There were large burns covering much of his face, arms, and shoulders, and a few small holes in his cheeks and throat.
What a stupid thing to pick on someone for. Koushi wished he'd had it in him to throw a good punch at the other students earlier. At the very least, he could've scared them more.
"Hey, Jun," he greeted, offering the older boy a smile. "Making a PB&J?"
Jun smiled in return, nodding his head. The steam billowed out more heavily and began to form words that suspended themselves in the air.
WANT ONE?
Koushi grinned and hopped up to sit on the counter top. "Sure!" he responded, rubbing his stomach. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and he was getting pretty hungry. "Thank you."
The older teen nodded his head and set about making the two sandwiches. Koushi noted that Jun handed him the better-looking one, and couldn't hide the small smile that formed on his lips at the realization. Jun was way too nice for his own good.
As they ate, Koushi regarded his companion with an analytical gaze. Jun seemed to be doing pretty well recently, and went so far as to take his mask off around his classmates. None of them particularly cared about what he looked like, but he really struggled at first. The support students really rubbed Koushi the wrong way earlier, and he hoped no one said anything like that to Jun's face.
Jun looked up from his sandwich and arched an inquisitive brow in response.
"Ah, it's nothing," Koushi said, waving off the taller teen's concern. "Your hair looks good today."
A smile spread across Jun's angular features, and the swirling steam around him spelled out a quick THANKS. Koushi hadn't wanted to bother him with the idea of bullies, even if it was tempting to ask. It was just something Koushi would have to keep an eye on in the future.
They finished their sandwiches, and Jun made to head over to the living room. He gestured for Koushi to follow, and his Quirk activated again.
ARE YOU COMING?
Koushi shook his head. "Nah," he dismissed. "I'm a little beat. Gonna head to my room." They did have school tomorrow, after all, and even though it was only around seven-thirty, Koushi wanted to wind down a bit.
Jun dipped his head and went to go sit down between Asami and Marin, who were still watching the fight on television.
It was too tempting not to watch the last couple minutes of the altercation, though. Jetstream and Kinetic had all but subdued the massive person. They were on the ground now, with the two pro heroes taking turns distracting and attacking.
The villain looked exhausted, though. Their movements were sluggish and uncoordinated – almost like they weren't in control of their own body. Eventually, they simply collapsed into a heap of moving flesh, writhing on the asphalt. Poor guy didn't look like they had full control over their Quirk. Unfortunately, not everyone was given the opportunity to harness their abilities like they got here in Chikara, and Koushi couldn't help but feel a little bad for whoever was on the screen.
Shaking his head, Koushi turned to head down the hall toward his bedroom.
For a day off, things had certainly been busy. His feet hurt and there was a dull throbbing in his head. The illusion earlier was fairly complex, and he was eager to sleep off the lingering headache.
One of the bedroom doors opened and Koushi, who happened to be directly in front of it, was not quick enough to avoid having it slam directly into his nose. Pain lanced through his face and he groaned, taking a step back and cupping his hand over his face.
"Are you okay?"
Prying his eyes open, Koushi peered up at his assailant. He and Mitsuru were the same height normally, but Koushi bent over a little in response to the pain, so he did have to tip his head back a bit.
Koushi took a moment to survey the palms of his hands, and upon finding no blood, relaxed a bit. "Think so," he responded, taking a deep breath and straightening up. It still hurt, but he doubted it was broken or anything. It'd just been shocking.
"Sorry about that," Mitsuru said. They looked... awkward, and a little concerned, but mostly like they would rather be anywhere else than here, dealing with this. Mitsuru was quiet and withdrawn, and Koushi didn't know them all that well. The two of them rarely interacted at all unless the other teen was getting onto him, Otoba, and Ari, for breaking rules or being stupid. It wasn't like Koushi disliked them or anything – he just didn't know quite how to approach them, seeing as they weren't quite as receptive as some of the other introverted students.
He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Maybe just... check both ways before swinging your door open next time," he offered stupidly, his skin crawling with the awkwardness of the whole situation. It was rare for Koushi not to know what to say, but Mitsuru tended to have that effect on him.
Mitsuru gave him an odd look. "I'll... keep that in mind," they murmured, and without another word, turned to head down the hall.
That was typical of their conversations, though. The two of them simply weren't a good mix by themselves. It wasn't a common problem, but sometimes those awkward, stilted interactions were unavoidable.
Koushi's nose throbbed in time to his headache, and he groaned, heading into his nearby bedroom. Now he really wanted to sleep off the day. He dimmed the lights immediately and padded over to his mirror, removing the sheet so that he could peer at his nose and make sure it wasn't horrifically disfigured or anything.
A gentle prod at it revealed that it was tender to the touch but ultimately didn't appear to be broken. Koushi leaned in a bit and tilted his head this way and that, just to be sure.
Suddenly, half of his reflection's face began to melt.
The redhead jerked his head back, watching as the left side of his expression started to deliquesce, just as the giant's body had on the television. The sight was horrifying and visceral, and despite knowing that it was all in his head, Koushi couldn't help but touch his cheek.
Solid and smooth, with a slight give. Koushi squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head firmly, and when he opened his eyes again, his face was back to normal.
He immediately tossed the sheet back over the mirror and turned the light all the way off before heading over to bed. It was easy to find his way in the dark – it was rare for him to have any form of light at all when he slept. The light made it too easy to picture things in the shadows. If he had complete darkness, he didn't have to worry about that so much.
Koushi groaned and flopped against the pillows, letting his eyes fall shut. Sleep would be unlikely to come easily that night.
An – Thank you all for your patience while Yuu and I picked the characters! We're still in the process of choosing side characters and things like that, but I received 57 whole forms for this story! That was absolutely insane and I can't thank you enough for the support and kindness you've all shown.
Unfortunately, as you could imagine, cutting down from 57 to 12 forms was incredibly difficult and took well over 15 hours in total to do. I believe we have ended up with an absolutely amazing, diverse cast, and I love all of them. However, that does not discredit all the work that other people put in to their characters, nor does it mean that your character was bad or even needed any improvements at all if they did not get in. We loved them and we had a ton of fun reading all of your forms.
Without further adieu, here's the main cast:
Hado Koushi – me
Akashiro Daiyu – Yuu
Watanabe Wakana – MyDearWatson
Kondo Mitsuru – wjolix98
Katabe Dorobo – BigChokka
Shiruko Kagura – LevelNineCPU
Kominato Akito – LightFlair
Kuha Otoba – LDOLDAL
Kiritsuki Jun – AK-Martin
Yamada Asami – LoganPerdue
Sakai Joichiro – rj67552
Ariadne Gallot – scarletrubies
Leon Collins – SomeWarlock
Momoda Marin – sheepthrills
Thank you all again! I hope you like the chapter. Please let me know what you thought about it in reviews or on the discord!
Have a great weekend!
-van
