[Chapter One: It Had Began]
The Hoth Junior High was one of many middle schools in the Musutafu Prefecture of Japan, sharing similar naming convention to Star Wars' location, much to Kiyoshi amusement. The black haired boy sat quietly to the side, not quite close to the window, and observed the cacophony of chaos around him. Those that had deemed themselves as a part of his social clique gathered around, talking of frivolous topics in an attempt to seek his attention. It was moments like this where Kiyoshi couldn't understand the appeal of his popularity. They were all so... fake. He actually rather joined in with the kids at the other corner talking about anime and video games rather than whatever celebrity news or school gossips to be shared. Kiyoshi merely gave a disinterested nod as another teen informed him of a recent shoe brand that came out yesterday before his statement was rebuffed by another who claimed that particular brand was a cheap knock off of his favorite.
However, once the topic of Hero News came up, Kiyoshi perked, finally showing visible interest. It was a deep discussion about the new hero's debut this morning, the colossal Mount Lady. Yet of course, they only talked about her physical assets rather than the intricacies of her superpowers, the mechanics of her gigantification and how it affect mass, density, square cube law. He was almost excited when there was that one kid who wanted to join in the discussion regarding the heroine's Quirk, but his opinion was immediately dismissed by Hashimoto with a well constructed sneer. Kiyoshi however, one to find pleasure in the bully's embarrassment, fit to include the other teen along with the conversation. It was disconcerting how the frail, thick-framed, glass wearing boy seemed to fidget under his attention. Kiyoshi's reputation as a stoic and unapproachable persona working against him once again. He honestly couldn't see how he was in anyway intimidating, compared to that one guy whose body was thrice larger and seemingly composed of pure muscles, he didn't physically tower over anybody. Although, maybe it wasn't his physical stature that had some so hesitant in approaching him.
Thankfully, the arrival of a teacher quietened down the classroom enough to end Kiyoshi's headache. As the middle aged man went on about his lecture, Kiyoshi tuned most of it out, his mind wandered back to the event this morning. Today was the day that would forever sealed the fate of this world. His eyes then roamed the classroom's clock, in another few hours, that green cinnamon would face his first endeavor. The rest of the day blurred by for Kiyoshi, school was rarely a challenge to him, seeing that he technically had long graduated middle school anyway. This served more as a recap to his education. By the start of the last period, the golden-eyed boy was mostly off in his own little world, ignoring the chatter of the class.
"Today, I'll be handing out printout for your future life-course. Please think carefully, as this will be about your future," teacher ranted, bringing Kiyoshi back to attention at the familiarity of it all. "Oh who am I kidding, is there's anybody here that doesn't want to be a hero?"
Kiyoshi's brain short circuited at the sheer coincidence he found himself in. While the exact line and scenarios were different, he could see the parallel of this scene to the anime. His eyes wandered to the classroom, seeing excited adolescents boasting their Quirks enthusiastically, at one corner, he could see Hashimoto turned his fists into thick stone, unlike the thin dirt layer of his younger years, the teen's defensive form had grown ever since. At his side, the thin boy, Izo, generated blue energy spheres from his palms in equal enthusiasm.
The teacher, an aged woman with leaves for hair, sighed. "Settle down you tykes, this is a classroom not a zoo."
Hashimoto, it seemed, hadn't taken the teacher's advice at heart and instead proclaimed out loud. "Hey, Hayashi, why did you lift your hands? Did you really think you're fit for the job, dude?" His word earned a snicker from Izo.
The recipient of the insult, Daiki Hayashi, flinched before glaring at the spiky-haired bluenette. "I'm c- certainly more h- heroic than you!"
Kiyoshi frowned at the confrontation, while half of the class seemed to find the same amusement as Hashimoto, the other half merely looked on in either pity or ambivalence. From what he recalled, the boy's Quirk allowed him to animate origami constructs and feel the environment through them. He could see how that ability could be useful for scouting or rescue work, but it didn't exactly lend itself well to combat situation. At least, not as it is now. Kiyoshi internally grumbled at Hashimoto and his insufferable attitude, there it was again with his Quirk discrimination. He honestly couldn't tell why that origami kid was the only one singled out, but he had his guesses. Probably because Hayashi was one of the rare "lesser" people who dared stand against him.
"Ah, Hashimoto-san, I recall you apply for Shiketsu High was it?" The teacher opined, probably in an attempt to curb whatever conflict that was to arise. Kiyoshi could commend her attempt, as futile as it was. Though, the mere mention of Shiketsu did surprise him. The raven-haired boy turned a glance at the spiky-haired bully and saw his face twisted to a smirking grin.
"Of course, teach! That's the place where I'm aiming for, the top!"
"Shiketsu? That prestigious hero school?" One student voiced their awe.
Another joined in, just as surprised. "That's the school where the elite of the elite go right?"
"I heard they had a very strict requirements to go there, and you need a very strong and flashy Quirk to get in!" The third voice stated to further boost the teen's ego.
With each new words only served to bolster Hashimoto's confidence, his smug grin became wider and his attention to Hayashi, who seemingly deflated at the news, turned to a prideful snicker. The teacher however, was seemingly not done, and turned her attention to Kiyoshi. "Oh, speaking of prestigious school. Congratulations, Kiyoshi, your application for U.A. had been accepted. It's seems like they're impressed with your preliminary written exam."
That statement brought utter silence to the class and Kiyoshi could admit he took great joy seeing the shocked expression of Hashimoto who slightly shrunk back to his seat. The preliminary written exam was something never mentioned in the anime, but apparently if you've proven yourself as a great potential earlier on in school, you can request a special written exam and minor physical test. It basically made him a quasi-recommended student like Shoto Todoroki and Momo Yaoyorozu while still needing to take the physical exam.
"Holy shit, U.A? That's like the top hero school isn't it?" One kid exclaimed enthusiastically. His exuberance shared among the class and chaos descended.
"The entrance rate is really low too, only like somewhere around three to five percent of people made it in the Hero Course!" A pink haired girl exclaimed.
A guy with long blonde hair that covered half his eyes gave his piece, "well, I mean it's Shichirobei, I'm not really surprised."
"Huh, I guess it make sense if the Class Superstar made it in, huh?" Another girl expressed. Kiyoshi pointedly ignored that title and quashed his cringe-induced heartache at that alias. If he gotten to U.A, he would ensure that such embarrassing nickname never follow him in life ever again.
"Hell yeah, Shichi!" Izo's encouragement surprised Kiyoshi, as he subtly glanced to the side, only to see Hashimoto glared at his friend for the perceived betrayal. Not that the skinny kid noticed.
Oh Kiyoshi knew that cesspit of expertly concealed jealousy wouldn't take well that someone else managed to one up him. That boy hid it well behind his lapdog persona, but Kiyoshi knew how much Hashimoto truly disliked him but never had the nerve to challenge him, not after the many times he's proven himself "superior" to him. The ability to conjure literal stars, reduced as they were, had their benefits. The fact that he could control the little details like heat, luminosity, density, gravity and everything related was a great boon. With creative application, one could pretty much replicate the effects of other Quirks. Though that notion of "superiority" did made him a little uncomfortable, it hit a little too close to a particular volatile blondie.
When the bell rang, Kiyoshi could feel the thumping of his chest. His gaze shifted outward, the reddish haze of the sun partially covered by clouds. He could already see the events taking place now as a rather violent and explosive teenager threatened a meek green-haired boy. His eyes wandered to the window, imagining a notebook being thrown out followed by a cry of desperation of a discriminated teen. Kiyoshi sighed and shook his head, he honestly respected the boy's heroic resolve. If it was him, he'd be thinking of going villain a long time ago—well, not really, he wasn't stupid, but that thought would've surfaced more than once.
The dark haired teenager quickly packed his stuff, idly listening as his peers began discussing about heroics, and that topic quickly shifted to his', and Hashimoto's school acceptance. Technically, both of the school were pretty equal in most regard, other than a few minor deviances, but what made U.A so sought after was its association to the Number One Hero. A school that produced All Might, Best Jeanist, Mirko and some of the best in the nation. Hell, even if All Might wasn't a graduate of U.A, it was still considered an elite hero academy nonetheless. Kiyoshi deftly avoided being drowned by mountains of questions. In just ten months, he'd be out of Hoth and started his journey. Ten months of continuous training. Ten months of non-stop workouts to refined his Quirk to its fullest. The teenager internally winced. This was it, this was the moment where the notion of "normal life" no longer applied to him.
As Kiyoshi expertly danced around a discussion of U.A with a group of rich-looking girls (a biased assumption, he was aware. Not that they presented themselves any differently), he silently thought back of the moment where he found himself in this path. He hadn't really hid his desire to become a hero to his mother and was not surprised by the overwhelming support she gave to that idea. What parents wouldn't want their child to become a superhero? Of course, that prospect kind of falls apart under scrutiny when you realize the danger of a hero's work, but it was something Kiyoshi had accepted as a normality in this bizarre world. Although, from the (what appears to be) nostalgic smile of his mother, he was sure this had something to do with his apparent father, whose presence he'd never seen, nor would he get the opportunity to—unless there was a resurrection Quirk somewhere out there. He recalled his mother talked a lot about that mysterious man, how he was a valiant and intelligent hero, not one to ignore the plea of the innocents yet also wise in his decisions. Kiyoshi never really got the chance, nor the nerve, to ask who his dad actually was. Of what little that he knew, that man was a sidekick of a famous hero. Whom they exactly were, was something that was never established, nor something he wished to know—not yet at least.
The hallway, as it often was, were packed with students calmly talking or walking with each other. There were none of the chaos Kiyoshi had experienced in his previous life. He supposed it was a difference of culture. However the tribalistic mindset one expected in a highschool musical was most apparent here. The nerds gathered at one corner, the jocks at the other side, the populars found themselves their own territory, and so on and so forth. It was something he'd seen in media, sure, but never expected it to be replicated in real life. It was especially perplexing that he was dragged unto the latter category all because of his Quirk, and maybe also because of his advanced education—but he felt that aspect barely played a part to his popularity. He was by far the most powerful student in Hoth Junior High, a feat earned through hard work studying every little details and limitations that he could push his Quirk to do.
The light breeze of the evening air was a welcome change of pace to the harsh summer glare this morning. Kiyoshi maintained a cordial front towards people advancing to his personal space, as per usual, giving meaningless praises for his achievements. This, of course, served only to frustrate the teen. They weren't being genuine, or at least most of them weren't. If not for his advanced maturity and life experience, Kiyoshi couldn't have discerned such empty platitudes. Now, their admiration for his power was something authentic, but that was as far as their interest went. For all intent and purposes, he was a stranger that act as a vessel for a powerful Quirk. Anybody else could be in his place and nobody would care.
The walk outside the gate was at least peaceful. Kiyoshi had a lot of followers, but no true friends, no one he could share this lovely evening with. The few ties he tried to established felt hollow, made only for connections in the school's ever intricate social hierarchy, a practical way for others to used him as a mean to ascend themselves in the school's nebulous social ranking system that did not actually exist but everyone insisting that it did. Though, not to say he inherently disliked the few connections he made at Hoth. Fake as they were, the unique and interesting factors of their Quirk made for an intriguing topic of discussion. Too bad not many had found the means to truly optimized their gifts to its fullest, exploiting the boundary of their Quirk's limits or striving for a greater heights with their power. He felt affronted that none knew the concept of minmaxing one's skills. Pushing all you could with what little you have, most Quirks were bullshit in nature, some inherently breaks the laws of nature—something that can be easily exploited and expanded upon. Yet all he saw were lazy application to their surface ability.
His deep musing however, interrupted, by an odd noise he knew did not belong. Kiyoshi turned, frowning as the oddity grew ever more audible. The faint sound of impact followed by a distant grunt of pain, then accompanied by laughter. The raven haired boy stopped, curiosity and concern wormed its way to his heart. The sound grew louder, this time with a much dire cry of pain, with the sneering laughter followed by an inaudible but undeniable words of mockery. Now, that was certainly something of his concern.
Kiyoshi averted his steps and trailed the source of that disturbance, this part of the street was quite secluded despite it being near the main road. The teen's mild worry blossomed to perturbation once he recognized that voice. Slick and slimy, oozing with smugly tone of concealed complex, the light tenor of Hashimoto's grated his ears. "You're so fucking delusional, you know that? I'd say that you're close to Quirkless yourself. What, you think you'd somehow get a power up or something? Maybe get boosted by your 'determination'? Oh grow up Hayashi, you fucking nerd."
The victim, Daiki Hayashi, trembled under his tormentor's gaze but held himself firm, shakily rising to his feet and glared at the spiky-haired teen. "Q- Quirk isn't everything, Hashimoto-san. Anybody can be a hero if they try hard enough!"
"Heh," Hashimoto chuckled, his rock covered fists cracked with every tiny movements he made. The condescending attitude made it all the more infuriating for the fallen teen. "You read that from the internet, Origami Boy? Did you tell yourself that everyday before going to sleep?" The stone-armed Quirk user stepped forward and kneeled before his victim. "Unlike you, Shithead, I earned my place there. When I go to Shiketsu, you're going to hear my name mentioned by everyone in the country while you're busy making puppet show at the streets. You'll see that I'll be the best goddamn hero, so great that I might even reach the top ten."
"O- oh?" Daiki snarked as a shudder ran his spine. Kiyoshi had to give it to that kid, he was clearly afraid but that did little to dissuade his fighting spirit. "Are you sure? Maybe Shichirobei will take that away from you."
That particular comment sparked a rage from Hashimoto that his next punch actually drew blood, enough so to splatter the ground in a spread out paint. The larger teen grabbed his victim by the collars before slamming him to the wall, an action that alarmed Izo who had been at his side the entire time but remained mostly silent throughout the entire exchange.
"That fucker got nothing on me, you hear me?" Hashimoto growled out. "He's just a fuckin' cheater! A lucky bastard who got fed by a silver spoon. Big fucking deal. A goddamn momma's boy who is good at nothing but be a pretty little trophy for our school. Guys like that don't survive the real world. You think he's some hot stuff? I assure you that I can take him on easily enough. His pretty little moons and stars and shit can't do a single fuck on my fists, you here me?"
"Is that so?" Kiyoshi dramatically made his entrance, keeping his footsteps casual and his face in a perpetual indifference. In the inside though, he was far from calm, that brat's little comment about his mother really set him on edge. "I see that you have quite the confidence, Hashimoto."
The pale expression of the other teen nearly set Kiyoshi on a laughing fit. He didn't exactly did that, but there was a tiny smirk which broke his stoic face.
"H- hey, Shichi dude. What's up?" Izo chimed in, wanting to ease the tension.
"Nothing much, just having a little stroll and taking out trash. Doing a little community service if you don't mind," Kiyoshi gave Izo a terrifyingly polite nod, his calm smirk did little to ease the pressure in the air.
Hashimoto stood agape, unsure how to broach this subject before the boy decided to heed his brutalized ego and double down on his stance. "Fuck off, Shichirobei, this have nothing to do with you."
Kiyoshi raised a brow, a simple motion that conveyed so much expression. "Oh, I beg to differ. This seems like it has everything to do with this little... momma's boy."
Hashimoto flinched but did not back down, the stones on his limbs grew thicker, larger, stronger. "You must think yourself some hot shit don't you? What, just cause you got your asses kissed so much you think you're the king of the fucking world?"
"That is amusing coming from you," Kiyoshi replied succinctly.
Hashimoto actually snarled, frustrated that his usual words did little to affect Hoth Junior's so-called Superstar. "You sure talk big, Shichirobei. All of that means shit in an actual fight. I honestly don't know what the girls in our school see in your stupid ass face."
Kiyoshi did not comment on that last part. Honestly, he didn't even know what's that supposed to mean, and he had developed quite the skill in ignoring the bullshit. That, and he frankly felt a tiny bit disappointed that was the prominent thing the boy focused on. At least Bakugo, for all of his abrasive personality, was a genuinely hardworking, bone breaking, individual that really pushed himself to claim that Number One spot. He could tell that Hashimoto was afraid, the little shudder, his hitched voice, the darting gaze. From what Kiyoshi could tell, the boy never really pushed himself beyond his limits, always lived a life in a leisure cruise, betting on his Quirk to do all the work for him. The kind, he suspected, Eraserhead hated most.
Izo, surprisingly, was pretty rational about this and stepped forward. "Y- yo, Hashimoto, chill out man. You don't mean all that stuff right? We're all just playing here..."
The glare from the spiky blue-haired teen quickly shut the other boy up. Seeing his friend not taking his side stewed that envy into deep vitriolic jealousy. "Shut the fuck up, Izo. If you're such a pussy about this then get the fuck out of my way!" His fist cocked, anger clouding his judgement, Izo's eyes widened in greater shock at the sudden turn of event. Yet, before anything could be done, Hashimoto felt his limbs held by an invisible force. A quick glance revealed three miniature terrestrial planets appeared near his forearm, all the size of a baseball.
It was one of many neat tricks Kiyoshi learned to do. With the ability to alter his construct's gravitational field, he could create a telekinetic anchor using them, and the strength of those fields could increase up to a ridiculous level. Controlling the specific shapes of gravitation was another layer of difficulty, and to ensure the field was potent but concentrated enough to not affect its surrounding was once a task that demanded great focus. Now, all of that process required only a mere flick of a thought. Hashimoto's face revealed just a sliver of fear before it morphed to more rage. His moved his other hand, trying to pry the tiny planets away.
Kiyoshi dismissed the three celestial constructs and immediately summoned another above the boy, a larger planet with a ring orbiting its body. He spun the planet at an accelerated rate, combining both gravitation and electromagnetism to generate a powerful pseudo-telekinetic field before the collected energy released into a potent concussive force. The teen winced when he saw the ground below Hashimoto cracked. He knew the boy would be fine, he was tougher than most, but property damage was something he hadn't intended to do.
Hashimoto rose to his feet, slightly dazed, but still full of anger. His armored legs immediately carried him forward, running towards his opponent in what he hoped was an easy victory. Kiyoshi reflexively formed a thick polychromatic nebulaic cloud full of ionized particles. A simple reconfiguration of its material composition and he had a thick, colorful, mist full of contained electrostatic charge. Something the other teen quickly discovered once he made it through, the current that ran through him was enough to put a normal adult to catatonia, but Kiyoshi knew it was just potent enough to momentarily paralyze his opponent. For his last attack, the black haired boy did not bother with anything fancier than a classic haymaker to the face.
"Good riddance," Kiyoshi murmured. His attention then turned towards Izo, now he may not be his friends or anything, but as cordial acquaintance, it would do him best to at least be polite. After all, the boy was just at the brink to be a victim of a physical assault. "You okay there?"
Izo gaped for a moment, both at the display and his friend's aggression before the teen shook his head. "A- ah, yeah. I'm good."
Kiyoshi turned to face another teen, Daiki Hayashi, whose freckled face and brown eyes stared back at him in awe. "How 'bout you?"
"I- I'm okay, Shichirobei-san," the boy looked like he'd seen Allmight or something. Kiyoshi shook his head and gave a sigh of relief. This was not how he planned his evening routine at all.
"Can you at least stand up?"
"Ah, yeah..." Daiki pulled himself up as he grabbed his bag. One could see him wincing with every steps, his one hand clutching his side.
Kiyoshi frowned, his gaze fleeted back to the unconsciousness Hashimoto. If this was back at his world, a knockout like that was a subject of medical concern, but whether it was due to anime logic or the sheer superhuman trait of this world, he wasn't worried much. Not to say that guy would walk out of his unscathed of course. Just to be safe of course, he pulled the spiky blue-haired to the nearest bench and promptly dropped him there. Afterwards, he informed Izo to watch over the guy, much to the other teen's discomfort. It seemed like his friend's unprompted aggression affected him quite deeply.
With all that said and done, Kiyoshi continued along his walk with a leisure stroll uninterrupted. Or at least, that was the plan before Daiki Hayashi decided to trail his back for a light conversation.
"You were so cool back there Shichirobei-san!" Exclaimed the excitable boy. Now this was an aspect Kiyoshi never seen from him, he pegged Hayashi to be the quiet type. Although, he supposed that was mostly because of Hashimoto. "You took him out like a seasoned Pro!"
That was an exaggeration. Kiyoshi had seen what a Pro Hero could do and he could safely say that he was still far from close to that.
"And your Quirk is amazing too! How you summon those planets and clouds and stuff, and use them with combo attacks!" The teen continued before his tone suddenly switched to a sombre note. "It isn't like mine at all."
Kiyoshi was silent, waiting for the other boy to continue, but seeing that the silence only extended, the black haired teen sighed. "Say, your Origami Quirk. I'm curious. What's is its specifications actually?"
Hayashi blinked before he replied, "I can control origami paper, although they mostly behave according to the appropriation of their shapes. Like if I make a butterfly, then it can fly, if I made a goose then it can float on water."
"Then if you make a bull, or a lion, or an elephant... would it have greater strength, speed and durability proportional to the animal in question?" Kiyoshi pondered.
"Ah, no. Well not quite. The emulated effects isn't that strong," Hayashi smiled bitterly to himself. "I've tried making origami armor, but it's only slightly stronger than wood."
"Your Quirk, does it only work on paper?" Kiyoshi edged on, trying to find anything he could brainstorm. "How about other stuff like cardboard?"
Hayashi brightened at that, seemingly excited to discussing his Quirk. "Oh yeah, I can even use it with leather, sandpaper and even plastic. As long as the material is flat and foldable. I've even made physical model using different materials before, it was kind of fun!"
Kiyoshi, in turn, smirked when he realized something. "So, in theory, you can use something like carbon fiber, or steel-woven paper board, right?"
Hayashi paused at that, his face expressing disbelief, his eyes widened and jaws slacked. "I... I don't know."
"And I've seen how fast you can control your origami constructs, and quite far too. It'd be easy to overwhelm an opponent by creating a swarm of carbon fiber hummingbirds and use them like homing missiles. Hell, if you extend this even further, and use that special diamantine metamaterial they have on the market I saw once, you would have a near unbreakable, highly heat resistant and water proofed army at your disposal
"I...uhh," Hayashi stammered, his eyes now widened like saucers. Whatever respond he had stuck in his throat. It truly seemed like the boy suffered a stroke with the way he acted now. His previously depressed tone shifted immediately to excitement, a look of pure unadulterated joy that someone other than his parents not only believed on him but also revealed an aspect of his Quirk he never even imagined. "I, thank you Shichirobei-san! I never even thought of all that! How can I be so blind?"
Kiyoshi did not verbally respond, merely maintaining his casual stroll with a smirk on his face, unseen by the other teen. "Just call me Kiyoshi, dude. I know my name is a mouthful like that."
"T- then please you can call me, Daiki," stuttered the boy even further. It seemed the idea of suddenly befriending one of the school's most popular kid was a surprise to him that it almost feel unbelievable.
Kiyoshi huffed, a smile on his face. It felt good, doing something as simple as this. It wasn't the grand heroic gesture many pictured someone like Endeavor would do, but he felt that little, personal, moments like this had its place. "Say, Ha- Daiki, does your Quirk also give you innate knowledge to make origami construct, or is it something you need to learn yourself?"
"Hah? O- oh, well I– wait, what's that?" Daiki suddenly perked, his gaze wholly focused on the gathering crowds.
Kiyoshi quirked his brow and turned to face the source of the commotion himself. There were a lot of people nearby, a mass of bodies congregating to see a spectacle. Internally, the young teen rolled his eyes. "Probably a villain attack or something."
"Again?" Daiki murmured as he, just like the others, gathered to see the incident. "T- there was a villain attack this morning too."
"I know, I was there," Kiyoshi stated as he too approached the crowd to satisfy his own curiosity. What he saw however immediately dawned on him. 'Of course, this is something I should've expected.'
The familiar yet alien sight of the malleable form of the sludge villain made Kiyoshi tense in anticipation. The guy's black sheen surface rippled unlike any liquid Kiyoshi knew, the mud-like consistency of his body stretched and compressed at random areas where his two large, circular, eyes slid across the surface in a constant wavy motion. The villain's hands both sparking with fiery explosions, leaving destructive path in his wake. There was a sick, gurgling sound coming from the villain, something close to a grunt and a laughter.
"Poor kid," a voice amongst the crowd said aloud. "He got caught up by a villain."
"What a horrible way to go," another stated with what sounds like a horrified gasp.
"I thought that guy was being chased by Allmight? Where did he go?"
"A kid?" Daiki voiced to his side, the teen's eyes kept firmly towards the villain. From this angle, one could see the spiky-haired blonde trapped in the mass of sludge, his desperate struggle obvious to all who've seen it.
Kiyoshi tensed, waiting for that moment to come, and he was not disappointed when a blur rushed forward, much to the alarm of many. His mop of curly green hair stood out now that he was separated from the crowd. With a single leap and a clumsy throw, the teen managed to hit the villain in the eye with his school bag. The momentary distraction was enough to pull that one boy from the villain's grasp. It wasn't obvious from where he stood, but Kiyoshi could already visualized the short conversation between the two. The rage filled question from Bakugo that was met with the determined exclamation from Midoriya.
"What the the hell is he doing!?" Daiki gasped at his side, his shock shared among the crowd. "Did he want to die– wait is that All Might!?"
Kiyoshi nearly chuckled when a new presence made itself known. A figure that stood well over six feet, with a large, sculpted stature for a body. Even clad in his civilian form, the blonde man seemed larger than life. His iconic twin ahego perked upward, his shaded eyes and gleaming smile made the crowd literally go wild. There he was; All Might, the Symbol of Peace.
"A- All Might!" The sludge villain cried in terror. His reforming body rapidly changing in desperation, doing his best to cling unto Bakugo. There was more exchange between the two but was left mostly unheard.
Like the living personification of a greek god, his sheer strength managed to drag out both teen from the villain's grab and with a bellow, "DETROIT SMASH!" The air rippled under a single, yet effective, siege. A power so great that the atmospheric pressure shifted and the weather buckled. Whatever remains of the villain scattered to the wind—probably dead, though most unlikely. Kiyoshi had to braced himself when the buffet of wind hit him and the crowd, the sheer momentum of the air itself made it felt like he was fighting against a river's current. Even after all these times, the existence of Quirks still felt unreal to him. The boy stood still, taking in the scene as the walking legend subtly glanced at his future protege, before his attention was faced back towards the crowd, proclaiming something about justice and heroism before he blurred away from everyone's sight.
"Oh my god, did you see that!?" Daiki exclaimed in exuberance, his body literally vibrating. "That is why All Might will always be Number One! I can't think of any other heroes who could change the weather with a single punch!"
"Mmhmm," Kiyoshi entertained the brown haired boy with a mild response.
"He was like, 'Detroit Smash', and everything goes 'BOOM'!" He continued, using hand gestures to accentuate his point.
Kiyoshi raised his brow at the teen's change of demeanor. He thought him to be a meek, socially awkward person, but this exchange seemed to flipped his outlook of him. Perhaps this was Daiki's true persona beneath the bundle of nerve and self-doubt resulted from years of bullying—it certainly reminded him of a certain someone.
"Heroes are so cool!" Daiki finally finished his piece.
At that, Kiyoshi couldn't deny. A short chuckle escaped him as he replied, "yes, they are impressive. Is that why you want to become one?"
Daiki shook his head with a soft smile to his face. "N- no, well not mostly at least."
"Oh?" Kiyoshi perked, waiting the boy to elaborate.
The other teen clenched his fist, brows scrunched to a focus. "I want to become somebody when I grew up you know? A grand purpose in life. To, uhh... prove people wrong, that anybody can be a hero. Even those with weak Quirk..."
Kiyoshi smiled, "that is a noble pursuit."
"Y- yeah I guess," Daiki murmured before he spoke up. "Why do you want to be a hero?"
"To make my mother proud, mostly. That, and I guess I also want to make a change," along with many other reasons that he didn't bother to explain. How could he described someone that he knew, vaguely, of what to comes, of the stake at hand? His memory was hazy at best, but the information was invaluable for this world's destiny. The League of Villains, the Nomus, the Meta Liberation Army, the various psychopathic villains only few of which he could name.
"Make a change of what?" Daiki tilted his head.
Kiyoshi mused of what appropriate answer he could give. "Make a change of everything. The world, its future. Stuff like that."
"W- wow, I guess I should've expected something so philosophical coming from you huh?" Daiki muttered.
Kiyoshi perked at that but said nothing of it. Truth be told, he was mostly planning out his upcoming goal for the approaching event. He knew there was little he could change, at least in the grand scheme of thing, without risking a butterfly effect spiralling out of proportion. Besides, he didn't even know what he could do at this point. Kiyoshi was not a fighter in his past life, he had spent most of it avoiding conflict, but here it was different. He had to force himself a change, suppressing his doormat nature to take on a more aggressive—but not necessarily, violent—stance in life. It wasn't easy, at least for the first few years, especially before the discovery of his Quirk, but with the awakening of one, it had helped a lot. The existence of his Quirk aided significantly in his quest to gain the confidence he never had in his previous life—that, and the past experiences helped too.
The idea that one day he have to confront the League made his skin crawled and his heart lurched, but that was another matter to be seen in a later date. Kiyoshi had spent his time enforcing the notion that this wasn't the anime he knew, with his existence, he doubted something like plot armor or narrative convenience existed for him. This world was as real as he could make it be, it wouldn't do him good be delusioned by a sense of grandeur. Moreover, he didn't even want to entertain the idea that this was but a fictional world filled with caricatures, with each characters made to fill out a certain role, especially not when he had such an amazing mother. Even the slightest prospect that she wasn't "real" was a nightmare on its own.
"You know, you are different than what I thought you'd be," Daiki continued the momentum of their conversation. Kiyoshi allowed his silence as a sign for him to elaborate, "I always had the impression you're the cold, stoic, unapproachable kind of guy. I- I mean, you still kind of are, but you're not as bad as my friends made it out to be."
"Hmm," was Kiyoshi's response. What was there to say? He honestly couldn't blame them with the way he presented himself. It wasn't like he acted like a total ass, but the lack of any true attempt for genuine connection was something he suspected others misinterpreted for arrogance. Honestly, that interpretation of him doesn't sound too bad compared to Hashimoto's reputation. What did surprise him however, "you had friends?"
"O- oi that was mean," Daiki pouted as his shoulders slumped a bit. Ah, Kiyoshi admonished himself, that did come out a little rude didn't it?
"Sorry, I didn't meant it like that. I just assumed Hashimoto would've surely chased away any attempt to befriend you, that guy seems like he had a grudge against you or something," Kiyoshi intoned. "I'm glad that's not the case though."
"Ah well," Daiki scratched his cheek uncomfortably. "I wouldn't really call them 'friends', but more of... 'acquaintances' that shares the same misfortune I suppose. I'm not the only target of Hashimoto. That guy like to lord himself over others a lot, I'm just one of the few who is stupid enough to calls him out for it."
"Courage and stupidity often overlaps, I'd argue that to confront an opponent of overwhelming strength to stand against injustice is more the former than the latter," Kiyoshi said his piece. "Then again, being heroes require us to be stupid sometimes. It is the nature of the job."
Daiki seemed surprised at that statement, his previously slumped shoulders slightly raised and a blossoming smile emerged on his face. He honestly couldn't remember the last someone stood up for him, much less agreed to his foolish desire. Not even his parents were this supportive of him, not that they were terrible in anyway, but they had their doubts. "I- I guess so... say, U.A, huh?"
"Yes, what of it?"
"I- I don't know, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Especially with the way you used your Quirk earlier, I'd say you'd fit right in. Not me though, I don't think I can even pass the written exam and I heard their practical is way harder than most hero schools," Daiki said dejectedly.
"Why's can't you?"
Daiki pulled his bag, his gaze cast downward. "I mean, with my Quirk..."
"Even if my suggestion doesn't work, you'd still have a swarm of drones at your disposal. Paper might seem underwhelming on the surface, but even a manila card being hurled a great speed can do a lot of damage to the human body. Say, how fast can you launch your origami anyway?"
"I... I don't know, I mean I only made birds, planes and bugs so far, and they can move pretty fast..."
"See, you don't even know your limits. How do you know you're not cut out to be a hero without pushing yourself to its fullest?" Kiyoshi lectured. Daiki stopped, the school ace's words struck a deep cord to him. With another sigh, Kiyoshi decided on something he never expected. This was not how he wanted to spend his next ten months, but he supposed fate had other plans for him. "I'll tell you what, I will help you."
"W- what?" Daiki blinked, the sudden proclamation caught him by surprise.
"Your little Quirk problem, I'll help. I can even buy you those metamaterial stuff to test out if it worked."
The other teen shook his head in panic and waved his arms. "Y- you don't have to!"
"I insist," Kiyoshi firmly declared. "Do you want to be a hero, or not?"
"B- but-"
"Do you want it or not?" Kiyoshi gave his best sergeant glare. The gold hue of his eyes really helped accentuating his points.
Daiki gaped no longer as he hesitantly responded, "I, I do!"
"Then you will have to work hard for it!" Kiyoshi exclaimed, one finger pointed to the brown haired boy. "Ten months of non-stop, gruelling, work! You will push yourself beyond your limits, reaching a height unimaginable and an aim most illustrious, like U.A!"
"U- U.A? B- but-"
"Do you hear me, soldier?"
"Sir yes sir!"
Kiyoshi nodded sagely, "good. Your training starts tomorrow!"
That was not what he had originally planned at all. He wanted to help, sure, but persuading that kid to U.A was not part of his goal. Kiyoshi sighed, well he couldn't back down from his promise now could he?
"Ma, I'm home!" He declared as his shoes were neatly placed on the rack. The boy let his eyes roamed the living room, the polished white marble and wooden wall decorated by well placed furnitures. It was a contrast compared to the humble domain of his childhood years. His mother might not be a hero, but her years learning in U.A as a General Education student aided in her optimized application of her gravity-based Quirk, especially with the help of his own advice. The ability to generate concentrated gravitational field, even in a small area, allowed the woman to synthesize rare minerals which turned out to be useful for most Support Gear company. The ten years of hard labor had allowed Akame Shichirobei to climb up to become a prominent executive member of a rather large corporation.
The loud declaration of her son was met with a warm smile of her own, "how's school today, Sunshine?"
"Not bad. A lot of leeches still trying to latch on me again, but I managed to deaw them away," Kiyoshi bluntly explained just as he dropped off his bag. "Saw a villain attack twice today, so it was rather eventful."
"Are you alright?" Akame immediately voiced her concern.
"Not a scratch on me," Kiyoshi shrugged before he set out and prepared his meal in the kitchen. The boy grabbed the utensils and raided the fridge. "So what do you want to eat today?"
"Oh, no no. Absolutely not. I'm supposed to be the mother here, you go upstairs and take a bath. I haven't touch the kitchen for three days now."
"Oh c'mon, I'm sure you're tired with all of those work of yours," Kiyoshi insisted.
Akame smirked, "oh, do you not like my cooking or something?"
"Okay that's not fair when you pull that card," grumbled Kiyoshi but relented anyway. Grabbing his bag, the teen made his to the second floor, the pristine wooden floor made nary a sound as he went to his room. The boy smiled slightly at the sight, some might say it was barren of personality but honestly he appreciated the simplicity of it all.
After a quick shower and wardrobe change, Kiyoshi sauntered back downstairs. His nose twitched at the delectable smell of his mother's cooking, her culinary skill still remain unrivalled even after all these years.
"Oh, tempara?" Kiyoshi uttered as he chose his seat. "I'm actually glad that I let you take the kitchen for once today. Just for today though, tomorrow I'm taking over."
The smirking visage of Akame approached as she set down the pot at the middle, warm steam still rose from its lips. Where most Japanese family grabbed their chopsticks, theirs used western utensils instead—something Kiyoshi was kind of relieved off. Now, he wasn't terrible with it, but they still feel unfamiliar to him. "We'll see about that."
"No kidding though, your cooking is amazing, Ma. It really taste like a professional at work," Kiyoshi complimented with a grin.
Akame chuckled as she shook her head. He really was a splitting image of his father, "you're not bad either, Kiyo. I'm proud you don't have your father's artistry—or shall I say, lack of one?" That earned a giggle from the both of them. Kiyoshi may not know of his father, but he had learned enough of his profile from his mother. "You're a lucky child, Sunshine. You had both our our looks, a strong Quirk, good head and greater heart. You'd be a good fit in U.A, I just knew it."
"Ah, speaking of U.A," Kiyoshi approached the subject. "I made a promise with a classmate, said I'd train him to apply for U.A."
"Oh, do you now?" Akame beamed, overjoyed that her son might finally had a friend of his age after all these years. She knew her little Sunshine couldn't fit well with his peers, even with all the admiration and praise directed towards him. He was not one to let those get over him, something even his father had trouble during his younger years. It made her all the more proud of him. "Do you even know how to train someone?"
"Eh, just some basics. Nothing too complicated," Kiyoshi dismissed her concern. "We just have to brainstorm some ideas for his Quirk... and maybe build up his body too. He is kinda scrawny now that I think about it."
"That's good to hear, Kiyo. You're finally making friends!" Akame exclaimed.
Kiyoshi blinked at that, seemingly surprised by his mother's proclamation. "Huh, guess I did, didn't I?"
"Though, if you're planning to train his Quirk, there is a Quirk gym back down at Yavin District. I knew the gym coach there and I can introduce you both to him, if you'd like."
Kiyoshi perked and smiled at that. "Yeah, sure. That'd be good." Now, he only needed to plan out what he should actually be training Daiki for...