Hey Everyone! I'm gonna keep this AN short, but just let me thank all of you. We're currently about fifteen views away from 5,000! One thing I'd like to do before the end of the next arc is reach 50 Followers OR 50 Favorites, we're only ten away from both, so if you're enjoying this story feel free to do either.
Speaking of Arcs, this chapter marks the end of the Rough Beginnings Arc. Now we enter the Darkness Rises Arc. Also, I kinda screwed up in the class FH1 roster and forgot to include Nathan (palm meet face) so it's with great regret that I am announcing the removal of Jane Marlboro...who was one of my characters. I reviewed her story and decided we could do without her, so she's gone and replaced with Nathan.
Short An, eh? Damnit Buixy! Okay, last two things I promise! HUGE THANKS to IWriteWhenTheHiatusStrikes for Beta-ing this chapter! He's helped me immensely on the past three or four so shout out to him.
WE HAVE A DISCORD! Link in my profile (If it doesn't work just PM me and I'll send you another)
Finally, If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to Review, PM, or email me! I hope you all enjoy.
Purpose of a Hero
11 Years Ago
"Do I have to go, mama?" A tiny, red-haired girl said, with overly large green eyes, which were very close to welling up with tears. The toddler's mother smiled kindly and knelt down to her level.
"Yes, Peanut. I know it's scary, but school is fun! You are going to make so many friends and learn a bunch of new things!" The black-haired woman said cheerily. Melody glanced over her mother's shoulder and paled at the sheer amount of kids that had shown up to orientation. Seeing her daughter's gaze, Harmony Kristenson just pulled the girl into a tight hug. "Oh Melody, you are far too much like your father. Look at me, would I ever lie to you?"
"N-No, mama."
"I swear on my heart, hope to die, that you, Melody Ana Halloway, will have so much fun and make so many friends that you'll have to beat them away with a stick!" The woman proclaimed dramatically, causing her daughter to giggle. "There you go, alright. Orientation doesn't start for a few moments, why don't you go play for a bit, hm?"
"O-Okay, mama," Melody answered, albeit a bit hesitantly. Her mother smiled at her again and stood up, claiming she'd seen an old friend and wandered off into the crowd. Left on her own, Melody looked around nervously. She'd never been exposed to this many other kids her age before. Most of the time she only played with the ones that came to her father's pizzeria. Between her Pro Hero mother and business owner father, she'd rarely even left her neighborhood in all her three and a half years of living. The only exception was when she tagged along with her mom to the Teardrop Hero Agency. Stealing her confidence, she clenched her fists and took a step towards the nearest group of children...only to have something slam into her, sending her crashing to the pavement. "Hey!"
"Hm? When'd you get there?" The blond boy asked, tilting his head slightly, almost as if he were unsure why the redhead was sitting on the ground nursing a bruised knee. As she opened her mouth to answer, a loud shriek echoed over the sound of the dozens of playing children.
'NATHAN!" It was definitely a woman's yell and, by the way, the boy's eyes widened, Melody immediately assumed it was his mother. She didn't get the chance to protest as the boy grabbed her by the hand, yanked her to her feet, and took off, pulling her with him in a full sprint.
"W-Wait! Where are we going?" The redhead cried as she was dragged along, nearly tripping several times. The boy simply looked over his shoulder and gave the girl a smile that split his youthful face.
"Just over here. Gotta get away from that gammal kärring," Nathan called back, turning his focus back on the path ahead of them. The two continued running for a short while more, until the blond finally stopped behind a pair of large oak trees just on the outskirts of the school's playground. For a few moments, the only sound that came from the two was that of labored breathing. "So...I 'spose it's your first day as well?"
"Y-Yes," she replied shyly.
"Well, I guess it's nice to meetcha eldigt hår!" Melody blinked in confusion at the boy. When he noticed her gaze he turned beet red and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. Hard to juggle languages."
"You speak more than one?"
"Yep. My dad's Swedish, so I know that, and my mom is from someplace called, uh...Canada, or something. They speak French there. I learned because I was sick of having them yell at me in other languages. I'd have no idea what they were talking about, but my mother would always sound pissed!"
"Watch your language!" Melody cried, her intrigue turning into indignation.
"Huh?"
"My mama says that Heroes gotta be a good example. No swearing, it's not polite," she said matter of factly. To his credit, Nathan managed to hold in his laughter for a total of five seconds until it all burst out at once. 'Hey! I'm serious!"
"I know, that's why it's so funny. Come on...uh, whatever your name is...don't be such a dork," he said, his laughter giving way to light chuckles. "So, you wanna be a Hero? Have you gotten your Quirk, yet?"
"N-No not yet. But I turn four in February!"
"I haven't got mine yet either. Do you have an idea of what it's gonna be? Mine'll be animal related. People in my family have been some variation of cat-mutations for generations, but I'm different! I don't like cats…" the boy trailed off, looking as if he were in deep thought. However, that shifted almost immediately and his bright smile returned. "So? What are your parent's Quirks? My dad's is called Lion and my mom has a Quirk that lets her calm people down when she sings."
"Oh well, my mom can make water shoot from her eyes," Melody said hesitantly.
"So she cries? That's kinda...lame. Ah well, who cares I bet your dad has a really cool Quirk!" At his enthusiastic shout, the redhead's face fell and she felt a weight settle in her chest.
"A-Actually...my dad doesn't have a Quirk." Nathan's eyes widened both at this new piece of information and the incredibly sad look that came over Melody's face.
"H-Hey! Don't, uh, worry I'm sure your dad is plenty cool even without a Quirk!" He yelled frantically, waving his hands around wildly. "So...what class are you in?"
"Mrs. Ouellette's,' Melody responded meekly, slightly embarrassed over how she reacted moments earlier.
"Hey, me too! Alright, I've decided!" The blond declared. The girl looked at him in confusion as he held his hand out towards her. "You and me are friends, at least until we get sick of one another!"
"I...uh." Melody was shocked, she'd never had a real friend her age. However, as she was about to answer him, a stern-looking woman with Nathan's blonde hair came marching into the woods and grabbed the boy by his ear.
"NATHAN LARSSON!" Veronica growled as her son struggled to get away.
"Gah! Leggo, mom!" The boy whined though he was ignored.
"Running off like that, I can't believe you. I told you to behave, it's the first day for goodness sake. When your father hears about this you are going to get it! Hm? Who is this?" The woman asked, her eyes falling on Melody for the first time. 'She's scary.'
"Huh? Oh yeah! Mom, this is my new friend...uh, what's your name again?"
"I-I'm Melody. Melody H-Halloway." Upon hearing this, Veronica's eyes widened.
"Halloway, you said? Interesting, what a coincidence. This is the girl I was going to introduce you to until you went and ran off!" She scolded her son, who looked rather terrified as he looked up at his mother's sharp glare. The woman then sighed and shook her head. "I suppose it makes sense you would meet her like this."
"Melody?" Another voice asked. There was a rustling and out from the brush appeared Harmony, who looked somewhat worried, though that faded immediately upon seeing her daughter safe and sound. "There you are, Peanut. Please don't go running off like that, you're gonna give me more gray hairs. Your father is more than enough of a trouble maker."
"Sorry, mama." Harmony just smiled kindly and pulled the girl into a hug.
'I'm not mad, Peanut. I was just worried. I see you've met the Larsson's then? How are you, Veronica?"
"Hello, Harmony. I've been fine for the most part, just dealing with the worries of living with Axel and this little monster," the blonde replied with a sweet smile and another tug at the ear of Nathan. "I must say, it's good to see you out of uniform."
"Uniform?" Nathan questioned, looking at his mother quizzically, despite the fact that his ear was still trapped within her clutches. His mother shushed him, ignored his pout, and turned back to Harmony, who smiled and began to speak.
"Oh, it's not all that bad. The paperwork is always a killer, but that's all worth it when you're out patrolling the streets. Although, recently Lydia seems somewhat quiet. It's been hard on her after that whole ordeal in Yonkers, losing control of a Quirk as destructive as hers is always a problem. Anyway, we should probably be heading back. Orientation is starting in a few minutes. Come on, Peanut."
"Yes mama," Melody said, taking her mother's offered hand. A similar interaction took place between Veronica and Nathan, with the only noticeable difference being how the young boy had stuck his tongue out at his mom the moment she turned her back on him.
"That's a shame about Lydia. I imagine her Quirk can be slightly unruly at times, especially considering how dangerous magma is." Melody quirked her head at this and looked up at her mother in bemusement, but Harmony just smiled and shook her head, a message the redheaded girl knew quite well. This was 'Grown-Up Talk', something she wasn't allowed to know.
"She's just seemed so...combative these past few weeks. Getting into fights with my other sidekicks, shouting at citizens, brutally attacking villains. I'm not sure what to do, honestly. Every time I try to help she just brushes me off."
"I'm sure everything will work out, Harmony." It was at this point Melody noticed that Nathan had been trying to get her attention for the past several moments, as she'd been distracted. Grinning when he saw she was paying attention to him, he extended his hand once again.
"Like I said, friends?"
"Yeah," Melody agreed, reaching out to shake his hand, "Friends."
The Purpose of a Hero
Modern Day
"And that's that," Melody said as both Andi and Eris hovered directly in front of her face. It hadn't been an easy morning for the redheaded teen. While she'd gotten a fair amount of sleep, she was woken up by the shouts of Clara and Kira fighting over something trivial. After going through her morning routine she made her way to the common room and hung around with the aforementioned black-eyed girl. As it turns out she was much better at video games than Melody, up until they were interrupted by the rest of the girls joining them. It was when Melody had been asked what she had planned for the day that her morning really derailed. The next few hours were spent telling stories of her and Nathan's extensive friendship. "We've been friends ever since."
"Aw, that's adorable," Clara, from her seat at the table just five spaces away from the redhead and her little clique of friends, mocked with a roll of her eyes.
"Shut it, Clara," Kira threatened, causing the larger girl to scoff and turned her attention back to her lunch tray. Satisfied that the girl appeared unwilling to further her taunting, the black-eyed girl smiled, swiveling her head back to the others. "So, it's pretty clear to me that you're close with this Nathan guy, eh?"
"Yep. He's my best friend. Even when I thought I had nothing, I had Nathan. He was always by my side," Melody reminisced, a small smile gracing her lips. Unbeknownst to her, Andi and Eris both leaned back in their seats, to the point where they were staring at each other from behind the redhead's back, and shared a surprised look.
"Uh, sorry to run guys, but I've got to meet up with my brother," Eris quickly said, standing up and walking over to dispose of her tray. Andi also stood up but faltered slightly when making her excuse.
"Um, bathroom!" She cried and scurried off after Eris, leaving behind four immensely confused girls in their wake.
"What just happened?" Melody asked, her head tilted in confusion.
"I dunno. Those two were acting particularly weird this morning," Kira shrugged. The redhead pulled out her cell phone as she took a bit of her sandwich and nearly choked, her eyes becoming comically wide as she saw the time.
"Oh crap! I gotta go!" She quickly grabbed the wicker basket that contained a change of clothes and the post-spar food she'd made that night, and dashed out of the dining area.
Purpose of a Hero
To say Andrew and Narruk were confused at the sight that awaited them when they arrived at the sparring fields would be an understatement. Crouched behind a bush on the top of a hill overlooking one of these fields were Andi and Eris. "What are you two doing?" Andrew asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Shut it!" Eris snapped back, not bothering to even look a the boy. Instead of following his classmate's example, Narruk simply walked over to the bush and peered over it to get a view of the scene below himself.
"Spying on Melody? Mind if I ask what for?" The scarred boy whispered.
"She's meeting this guy, now be quiet!" Andi growled. The two boys looked at one another, shrugged, and walked away to find a different place to spar. The girls silently watched for several more moments as Melody went about stretching and throwing a few mock punches and kicks. Then...Nathan arrived.
"SURPRISE!" The cat-boy shouted as he, quite literally, pounced out of nowhere and threw a roundhouse kick at the redhead, who seemed to have been expecting it and shifted her head to the side to avoid the blow. In retaliation, she elbowed him directly in his stomach, causing him to bend over in pain. "Ow, what the hell, Mel!?"
"That's what you get for attacking a poor, defenseless girl just trying to relax," Melody retorted, though the smug smirk on her face gave her away.
"Defenseless my ass, your crazy dad taught you too well. Besides, it's a dirty move to aim just for pressure points."
"No such thing as dirty in a fight."
"That's what someone who fights dirty would say," Nathan scoffed.
"Says the dude who tried to sneak attack me. Jeez, I thought going here and getting your butt kicked would have deflated that ego."
"Helps that I haven't gotten my butt kicked recently. Although it's kinda hard to when you're second in your class. What were you again? Ninth?" The cat-boy taunted but there was no venom behind it. Melody stuck her tongue out at the boy and got into a fighting stance.
"You're gonna get it for that, furball."
"Bring it, Casper."
"S-SHUT UP!"
Purpose of a Hero
"So it's true then? This Narruk guy knocked you out in one blow?" Nathan asked in astonishment, an ice pack pressed up against a forming bruise on his cheek. Beside him, Melody was wrapping some bandages around her stomach, which had three very thin claw marks across it. 'Good thing I packed the first aid kit and ice packs. This idiot still doesn't get the idea of 'sparring'.'
"Yeah, and he's not even the strongest in my class...well, maybe he is physically, but he ranked fourth. Above him are that Clara girl I texted you about, the one that hates me, this guy named Andrew, who I haven't really talked to much, and this complete oddball Lyon. I swear this school is a meeting place for weirdos."
"That includes you then, eh?" The cat-boy teased.
"I will throw you in a pool, you overgrown tabby," Melody barked back, punching him in the arm. The two stayed quiet for a couple of minutes as they nursed their respective injuries until Nathan grinned.
"I also heard something pretty funny about the special classes yesterday."
"What's that?" The redhead asked warily.
"Apparently...you've got an admirer," he said, his smile growing when the girl groaned and hung her head.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes. There's this guy, Benji, who has literally hit on anybody of the opposite sex in this damned school, yeah. Well, last night something odd happened. He came stumbling into the dorm proclaiming he was in love. Said he'd never seen such a beautiful girl, he's got this thing for redheads see, and that he's going to woo her."
"Please stop, that's just creepy. Who just starts hitting on someone out of nowhere? Then he and Lyon nearly get into a fight. Ugh, I hope this first week was just an anomaly and I don't have to deal with this stuff for four years," Melody complained, hanging her head. Nathan snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Dad always said high school was either the best or worst time of your life. I wouldn't worry too much, things'll get better. Hell, this place is already a step up on middle school. We get to use our Quirks whenever we want, we get to live away from home, there's less of an emphasis on actual studying and more on training."
"Language. Huh, I guess I can see where you're coming from. I mean, I actually have friends other than you now, so that's an improvement," Melody stated, blatantly ignoring the indignant cry of her friend, holding one hand up to her chin. 'I suppose it should feel weird, having all these people wanting to talk to me when before Nathan was the only one I talked to. Maybe I just stunted my social growth by being too introverted. Everyone here is so nice though, it's hard to not be friends with them...except for Clara...and Benji...I haven't talked to many of the boys outside of Narruk and Lyon...okay, maybe I'm still being a bit socially inclusive but I'm definitely happier than I was in middle school.'
"Yo! Earth to Mel! You're having one of your weird inner monologues again, aren't you? Christ woman, no wonder I was always your only friend," Nathan said, rolling his eyes.
"If you're gonna be like that I'm not feeding you." In an instant, the boy's teasing grin disappeared and his eyes widened.
"Oh, uh...sorry Melody, I dunno what I was thinking. It's really quite a shock you weren't the most popular person in middle school. I think people were just afraid of you, not that you're unapproachable or anything! People probably just see your red hair and think 'all redheads are angry', or something, but I'd never think that! Nope, no way. In fact, I'd say-"
"Oh shut it! I swear you're such a kiss-up," Melody snorted, reaching into the wicker basket and pulling out two sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil.
"You never swear," Nathan muttered, regaining that snarky undertone his voice generally had.
"What was that?"
"Ah, nothing! Just saying how pretty you look today!"
"Nice recovery, moron," the redhead said as she tossed him one of the wrapped snacks. The cat-boy whooped and tore open the tin foil, his smile growing exponentially when he saw what was inside.
"YES! Tuna and salmon with melted cheese! Melody you are the greatest friend a guy could ask for!" He moaned as he sunk his teeth into the sandwich. Melody grimaced at the sight as she took a much smaller bite of her simple ham and cheese. 'How in the world does he eat that? It's disgusting. Just making the thing makes my eyes water and nose burn. At least he doesn't like pineapple on his pizza like dad does.'
"Hm? I didn't know eating was a part of training. Maybe some sort of carb-loading?" A familiarly creepy voice said from behind them.
"Hey Lyon," Melody greeted, turning her head to look at the orange-haired boy as she waved. 'He's still smiling. Does he ever not?'
"Yo, so you're the dude Benji was talking shit about, eh?" Nathan observed, seemingly unphased by the sudden appearance of Melody's classmate.
"Ah, you mean the pervert? Yes, I imagine I damaged his pride with my, how you say, 'verbal assault'? I assume he has not yet learned his lesson and is either planning some sort of way to win over Melody or some way to get vengeance on me," the boy said in his monotone voice.
"Eh, a bit of both. Said something about embarrassing you to get her attention since she was clearly interested." Despite the fact that she had only been vaguely paying attention to the boy's conversation, this line caught her off guard and nearly made her choke on her sandwich.
"What!?"
"I see I must have missed the signs. Melody is it true? I had thought you were more interested in that upperclassman with the bees than me."
"Melody interested in someone with a bee Quirk? Hell, the world must be ending," Nathan said with a laugh.
"Both of you shut up about my love life, which, at the moment, IS NON-EXISTENT FOR GOOD REASON!" Melody shrieked, punching Nathan and throwing the remainder of her sandwich at Lyon, both of which were dodged.
"Good reason you say? Does that mean you are suffering a heartbreak? I've read that these are particularly hard on teenagers, who are generally more emotional than adults. Something to do with a general naivety in terms of romance." At this point, Melody had given up and lied back on the grass, trying to ignore Nathan's chuckling. "I see, this is a much more complicated issue than I had first realized. Maybe that is why Andi and Eris attempted to stop me from approaching you."
"Andi and Eris? What do they have to do with this nightmare?" Melody inquired as she kicked Nathan in the stomach for his barely withheld laughter. Lyon, still smiling, pointed up towards a bush on the hill next to the training field.
"They have been watching you and your friend train for nearly an hour, constantly telling others not to disturb you."
"Why does that not surprise me? I'm just going back to having one friend, it was so much easier," the redhead growled as two girls emerged from the bush, each with a vaguely irritated look on their faces.
"Aw, I'm flattered, Mel," Nathan replied snarkily, wrapping one arm around the girl's shoulders. She quickly shrugged him off and shook her head.
"No, I'm going with Narruk. At least he's normal, unlike all of you!"
"What about me?" The scarred-boy in question asked as he strolled over to the ever-growing group.
"Melody says that you are to be her only friend, as having too many seems to stress her out. I do not believe that romantic feelings are playing a part in this decision, but it is a possibility," Lyon explained, only causing Narruk to blink in surprise and Melody to cry out in exasperation.
"I told you she liked Narruk better," Andi commented to Eris, who sighed and shook her head.
"Crap, I was really shipping Lyody," she stated sadly, causing Melody to raise her head to glare at the two.
"Melrruk for the win!" Andi cheered, pumping her fists into the air.
"Really? I hate all of you," Melody moaned and began slamming her head onto the ground from her prone position.
Purpose of a Hero
As usual, the main headquarters of the Miller-Braun Support company was in a frenzy. Its workforce numbered in the thousands, so the ten-story building was always a complete powderkeg of activity. Even the ground floor, perhaps the least inhabited by employees, was seemingly always in a rush. At the front reception desk stood a woman with short brown hair, which was held up in a small bun, and tired eyes. While she waited for her boss to return, she rather enjoyed watching the chaos. 'Man, it's such a nice change of pace to see everyone else running around like complete maniacs.'
As was par for the course with a company this large, people came and went in vast numbers throughout the day. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people with all different sorts of appearances, Quirks, and attitudes, all of which the brunette had become adept to identifying in her three years as a Pro Hero. So when the main sliding glass doors opened up to reveal a man with gold colored hair and a malicious smile on his face, she immediately began to feel on edge. She inched ever so closer to the front desk, which turned out to be the right move when the man opened his mouth and began to speak, though she couldn't hear his exact words. These words, however, were followed by a sea of black flames.
Purpose of a Hero
So I know it's annoying when characters speak in other languages, but I promise this is a rare event for the modern day Nathan. He rarely slips from one language to another, but this is to show just how smart he is. Despite his carefree demeanor, Nathan is extremely intelligent, kinda like Bakugo is, but instead of an asshole, Nathan wants to be everyone's friend.
Hope you all enjoyed!
*Nathan Translations*
gammal kärring=Old Hag
eldigt hår=Fiery Hair
NEXT TIME ON PURPOSE OF A HERO!
Chapter 11: The Man Called Spitfire