My Hero Academia - Under Pressure: Chapter 2: Birthday Wishes
In a park in Japan, Tonen Keitomo sat on a bench and sketched the surrounding area. The park was filled with people. Parents and kids playing, couples walking on the trails hand in hand, and everything was very calm and quiet in the grand scale.
"I'm always amazed by our world. Because if you think about it, with Quirks, with villains, and just the overall chaotic balance we've seen to have grown into having...we shouldn't be happy. We should be scared. We should be scared about what happens next, who is just around the corner and so on. But instead, we live happily, mainly because..."
As Tonen continued to sketch a light scream caught his ears and he turned to its source. A man covered in scales raced through the park, a bag slung over his shoulder. He didn't have a weapon, but Tonen tensed up nonetheless because he knew that that man's Quirk could be deadly. He quickly put down his art stuff and inhaled heavily to be ready to strike should something happen. But before he did, a blur of motion raced by him and out of nowhere a Pro Hero slammed into the scaled villain. The hero had spikes all over his body and used his fists and feet to subdue the villain and rid him of the loot.
The bag fell to the ground and a pile of money poured out. Tonen smiled at this.
"...a hero shows up more times than not. Oh, and don't worry, I wasn't going to go and attack that villain. Like I said last time, I can't. But...if I used it on the environment? Who would know?"
Knowing that the situation was at hand, Tonen went back to his sketchbook. This time though he turned the page and started a new image. One that focused on the hero before him. The Pro Hero, after ensuring the villain was secured, met with the nearby people who were in awe of his presence and skill.
"You see that? That's what I'm talking about in terms of heroes being more about the glory instead of the work. Yes, he stopped the bad guy, but the job isn't done. The people are still in danger if you think about it. But instead, he's glad-handing and building up his favor with the people. As others I knew have shown, there are ways to do that without being a glory hog."
As Tonnen sketches he closed his eyes and a Pro-Hero with a familiar look leaps through his mind in silhouette form. He smiled and got back to his sketching.
"I'm not saying that Pro Hero is a bad guy, far from it. He's a hero, no doubt. But our culture is one that focuses on the art if you will and not the work that goes into it at times. That's what I was hoping to change if I got my shot."
Tonen admired the art that he did and closed up his book and walked out of the park. As he walked through the nearby city he looked around at the various stores and houses that were there. Many were adorned with hero pictures, toys, items, and so on. Nearby TV stations all talked about heroes and their duties, discussing who was really No.1 and what the next generation of heroes had to offer.
A local program talked about U.A. Academy, and that got Tonen to stop and listen.
"In a short amount of time the next generation of potential heroes will go and register for schools to hone their skills. While there are many prestigious schools to learn from, the one most in Japan seek to go to is U.A. High School. It's here that many feel the best training, the best focus, and more is given to the students. Many apply, but only a few attend in the Hero Course. What's more, even those who pass aren't guaranteed a heroic life full of glamour. So that begs the question, which young people will step up and take the spotlight?" asked the reporter at the end.
After hearing this, Tonen chuckled and shook his head before walking away again. But as he continued down the sidewalk he couldn't help but become sad and concerned.
"That reporter is one of many who glamorize schools like UA for their ability to 'groom the next generation of heroes'. And that's what worried me as I considered applying to U.A. Academy. Yes, I wanted to be trained by the best if possible, and helped in regards to focusing my Quirk and being able to save lives. But would I be able to become the hero I wanted to be? Or would they train me to be the hero that society feels we should be? These were the questions that weighed heavy on my mind at that time. Especially as the days drew closer to the entrance exam. Thankfully, there was one thing that would keep me happy for a little while until that happened..."
Tonen returned home and sighed heavily as he entered through the front, "It's good to be-"
"Happy birthday, Tonen!" came a shout.
Tonen was floored when he looked inside and saw his mom and dad in regular clothes and underneath a big banner that read "Happy Birthday". On the table was a large cake and some gifts.
"What...?" asked Tonen, still stunned.
"It's your birthday, TK, did you forget?" asked his father with a laugh.
"No...it's just, you two were gone this morning and said you'd be out all day via that note."
His mother stepped forward with a sly smile, "Well yeah, we wanted you to leave the house so that we could setup things without your knowing. We wouldn't want to miss our son's big day."
"Mom...you've forgotten it before."
"That was a long time ago..."
"It was last year!" Tonen exclaimed loudly.
Both his parents reacted wildly to the callout and collapsed on the ground before bouncing back up. His dad was the first to regain composure, "Yeah, that was bad, and that's why we didn't want to forget it this year, ok? Now can we celebrate the birth of our dear child?"
Tonen looked at the tough and saw they really meant it so he laughed and nodded, "Yes, you're right, I'm sorry. I just would've understood you two forgetting because of your hero work and everything."
His mom rushed forward and grabbed his hands, "And we love you for understanding that. But something we reminded ourselves every day after what happened last year was that we're your parents first and heroes second. We love you, Tonen, and we're going to show that today more than ever before. Now come on, let's eat cake. It's your favorite..."
"...double chocolate with hot fudge?"
"Yep!"
Tonen took in a breath as if to go and say something, but just before speaking he rushed to the table, sat down and put a piece of silverware in each hand before slamming them onto the table, "Then what are we waiting for? LET'S EAT!"
His mom and dad laughed heartily at his exuberance for eating the cake and cut some slices and passed them out so they could dine on dessert.
Tonen did his best to both eat the cake in record time while also enjoying every bite. He enjoyed it so much it was as if he was going to cry tears of joy with every single taste of it.
"So...good..." he said through a vibrating body.
"Glad you like it, TK, just don't explode before you're done else you can't get a second piece," teased his dad.
"Don't mock me on my birthday! Or while I'm eating cake!"
His parents laughed again, but suddenly a knock came at the door. HIs mom hid a smile as she turned to look at it, "Oh, we must have a guest, Tonen, be a dear and get the door."
"I...am...EATING!"
"Get the door, or no more cake, or presents!"
Tonen begrudgingly put down his plate and cake and muttered angrily as he went to the door. His closed his eyes and sighed and opened it, "Welcome to the Keitomo residence, how may I-"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEPHEW!" bellowed a voice.
The loudness of the shout sent Tonen shooting back a bit in recoil. So much so he fell to the ground and slowly got up after the room stopped spinning. As he looked to the doorway, a man in a sharp black and orange outfit loomed mightily. He was of average height, but had a chiseled build. The man also had a long orange beard that nearly touched his chest. Speaking of his chest, it had a very stylized "B" on it.
The man chuckled near controllably as he saw Tonen on the ground.
"Sorry about that nephew! Didn't mean to startle you that badly, but you can't deny the results!"
A pause occurred, but the man against burst into laughter. Tonen slowly got up and shook his head, "Welcome to the party, Uncle Brazen."
"Higaza Gochu. Pro-Hero Name: Brazen. AKA my "Uncle Brazen". Quirk: Emotional Strength. I know that sounds weird, but when my Uncle feels a strong emotion it bolsters his power as long as he can focus on it. Doesn't matter if it's anger, sadness, joy, passion, rage, or as you're seeing now, a jokester mood. He's not really my Uncle if you're curious. But him and my mom go way back. He took her in as a sidekick right out of school and they got a kind of familial bond. My mom told me that when she was pregnant he worked night and day to make sure that our area was 100% free of crime so she wouldn't have to worry about anything. It worked, and thus he earned the honorary title of "Uncle Brazen". Love him or hate him, he's part of the family."
Containing his laughter as he entered, Brazen went to his nephew and pulled him in for a hug, though a little too strongly as Tonen groaned in pained and gasped for air. Though Brazen didn't notice this and thus monologued.
"Ah, the age of 15. The perfect age of YOUTH! The future looking so bright, the paths before you are limitless and I have no doubt that once you go forth you will-"
"Higaza! You're crushing my kid!" Soyuki laughed as she saw the hug he was giving him.
Brazen looked down and saw Tonen squirming, so he released the hug and again laughed, "Apologies, nephew! I got ahead of myself! Ha, ha, ha!"
Tonen tried to catch his breath and groaned as he again arose, "Yeah, this birthday is off to a great start... Can we just go back to eating cake before something else happens?"
"Cake? I'd love some!"
Not unlike Tonen, Brazen rushed to the table and got himself some cake before scoffing it down, also not unlike Tonen. Tonen saw this and realized he picked up more from his uncle than he realized. He rejoined the family and started to enjoy his cake once more.
After finishing the slice he looked once more upon his uncle, "So, you just get off a job, Uncle Brazen?"
Brazen put down his plate and gave a contemplative sound as he recalled it, "Yes, I did, nephew. Else I would've been here sooner. There was a fire a mile away and I helped rescue some people trapped inside. As sad as it may sound, situations like that are perfect for my Quirk because desperation is an emotion I can tap into easily when people are on the brink of death."
"And you got everyone?" asked Shitaka as he leaned in to hear the story.
"Of course! It was touch and go and I had to break a wall or two, but we got everyone out. Then I ditched the media and came right here. Because while those lives were important, my nephew is just as important."
"Way to layer it on thick, Uncle." groaned Tonen with a shake of the head.
"Mock me all you want, it's true. But enough about me, let's talk about you! You're 15 now, and the entrance exams for U.A. Academy are soon! Did you take the mock exam? I can't recall. And if not, are you ready for the full entrance exam when you go?"
At this, Tonen just looked down at his empty plate, an uncertain expression now upon him. His parents and uncle were surprised by this sudden emotional change. Tonen stayed quiet for a while before looking up and asking, "You all...won't be mad if I don't make it in to UA...right?"
"Why would we be mad, son?" asked Shitaka confused.
"Do you feel we've pressured you into trying to go there?" wondered Soyuki.
Realizing what he implied he frantically waved his arms to show they did nothing wrong, "No, no no no! I didn't mean it like that. It's just I know you made it into the Hero Course, mom. And dad, you went to Shiketsu and excelled there after U.A. turned you down."
"I missed them by one point, their loss!" said Shitaka with a fake boast.
"It's just...I hear everyone...they all want to go to UA if they can. And then there was this...news report...boasting about U.A. High and asking about "who will take the spotlight in the next generation?" and it just got me wondering about what it all means, you know? I know my Quirk could get me in, but what if I get in and they try and change my thoughts on being a hero? Or what if for some reason they just find a way to say "I'm not good enough" or I don't "fit their mold"...I just hate these questions...and they just keep piling up. You know how I get when something makes me paranoid."
"Crazy," joked his dad.
"Over the top," teased his uncle.
"Thinking fairly!" overrode his mother with a stern look to the other adults. She got up and knelt before her son and cupped his face, "Honey, I told you today was when we would show how much we love you. This wasn't what we had in mind, but it's perfect nonetheless. Wherever you land, whether it's UA, Shiketsu, or somewhere else, we will support you, give you all the help you need when you ask, and we'll love you all the way. Ok? So put your fear out of your mind. It has no place on your birthday."
Tonen teared up a little but quickly dried them off before smiling again, "Thanks mom. Can I have another slice of cake?"
"Oh course, my darling boy. Coming up."
After getting the next slice of his cake the family talked for some time about various events both past and present. Tonen's attitude and mood improved as the talks went on and he no longer dwelt on his fears.
After food was done, his parents and uncle each pushed a series of wrapped gifts in front of him.
"Gift time!" they all shouted in earnest.
At the sudden rush, Tonen recoiled in his chair while having a somewhat forced smile on his face, "Glad you all are...eager about this..."
"We're just excited to see you open them and enjoy them," said Soyuki with a smile. "Open that smaller one first."
Tonen reached for a small rectangular box and held it up to make sure he got the right one. When he opened it he was a bit surprised, "It's an art pen?"
"A special art pen. You see that dispenser? It'll let you fill up the pen with whatever ink you want. That way it's an easy swap and you know you'll always have a pen full of ink and not have to worry about carrying all those pencils or pens around. You just need one and your dispenser!"
"That's so cool, mom. Thanks. Oh, I recognize this box art, that's from Quick Quill's line, right?"
"Yep," acknowledged his father with a smile before going into a more thoughtful state, "it's one of his new line. It's funny, people make fun of his artistic Quirk and yet he's one of the richest people in Japan."
"Just goes to show that you can't judge a Quirk by its 'initial use'," said Brazen sagely.
Tonen admired the art pen and dispenser for a while before setting it down by his chair, "That's really great, thanks guys. What next?"
Soyuki pointed to a second box, it was a bit larger and square in shape, "That one."
Quick as a flash, Tonen ripped into it and laughed as he found himself looking at a massive stack of sketchbooks, "Expecting me to draw a lot soon?"
Shitaka shrugged, "Well, regardless of where you go for school you'll be in a dorm. Depending on how much free time you have at night, and how much you socialize, it'd seemed fair that you'd be drawing a lot. We're just trying to plan ahead."
"And I'm grateful, I'll be sure to test these with my new pen. This other one is yours, right?"
"Yep, it's a bit fragile so be careful, ok?"
With a nod Tonen reached over and grabbed the final gift. It was more vertical in shape and yet had a small size. As he opened it his face grew more and more confused until he pulled it out and saw himself looking at a shining crystal statue of a woman contained with a plastic dome. At the bottom with a mechanical base with a dial.
"Turn it, go on," urged Soyuki.
Hesitant as to what to expect, but sure it wasn't anything bad, Tonen turned the dial and let it go once it was fully primed. The crystal statue began to turn and dance within the space, and a light and calming song began to play. As it went on, Tonen welled up once again, "It's...your lullaby. I haven't...I haven't heard that in so long... How did you...?"
"Custom order. I made a recording of me singing it and they converted it into note form. I figured you could play that if you missed us, and in case you have trouble sleeping."
Tonen's eyes continued to water as the song played. A memory flashed in his mind, a much younger Tonen in his bed, his mom right next to him, singing to try and calm him down.
"Yeah, I know, someone crying because of a song? But that song meant a lot to me. When I was younger and still understanding my Quirk I had a hard time sleeping every night. I could never get comfortable. My mom decided one night to sing a "family lullaby" that her parents had used on her. It worked, and every night for years she would sing me to sleep with that song. She only stopped because I learned to channel my Quirk better and she got more busy with hero work. But I missed it, even if I didn't tell her that until that moment."
Back in the present, Tonen listened to the lullaby until it was fully done. After which he dried his eyes and smiled brightly to his mom, "Thank you, mom. I missed that lullaby."
"Now you'll never have to miss it again," added his mom through tear-soaked eyes herself.
"The dancing crystal though, that's different...yet familiar."
"Oh, that was my idea," chimed in Shitaka. "I thought it would be good to have a crystal made in your mother's likeness but they said that would take some extra time and we didn't find this present out until recently. They suggested some kind of movement and I remembered how you liked how that one lady on TV danced when you were a kid. Found a clip of that and had them recreate that."
Tonen thought about what he meant and lit up when another memory flashed forward of him wastching television, "Oh yeah! I remember now. That was a commercial for a dance academy. I think she was the lead teacher, very graceful. You remembered that?"
"We're your parents, we remember more than you think."
"Thanks, both of you. This is perfect."
Soyuki and Shitaka beamed at the praise from their son, but it was cut off when the sound of sniffing came forth. They all turned to see Brazen with clenched fists, tearful eyes and a quivering demeanor. A blue aura permeated around his body.
"Such...beautiful emotion...it's almost too much!" he said very dramatically.
"Careful, Uncle!" warned Tonnen a motion of his hand to calm down him down as the glow intensified. "Please don't break anything."
Brazen gave a thumbs up and took some deep breaths. The glow subsided and a big smile returned to his face, "Much better! Thank you, nephew!"
"Don't mention it. Uh...shall we get to your gift?"
"You shall! I think you'll love this gift, I put a lot of effort into it."
Brazen shoved the package in question even more into Tonnen's space and face. It was a somewhat large square box and it had a color scheme that was very similar to Brazen's Pro-Hero outfit.
Tonen strummed it a bit with his fingers, "Uncle Brazen, you know I love you, but if it's another 1st Edition figure of you...I'm not really going to like it."
"Nephew, please, that was one time, ancient history!"
"That was last year! Why do all of you think that one year is a long time?"
Brazen moped at this and pressed his fingers against one another, "Well for a Pro-Hero...you do a lot in a year... It's not a toy, or anything associated with me...ok?"
"Ok, ok..." relented Tonen.
He opened up the present and was even more confused than with the last gift. Because before him was a set of clothes and shoes. Ones that were exact match to the usual outfit he wore. Including his jacket, orange shoes, and so on.
"Clothes? Not sure I see the effort there, Uncle."
"Come now, nephew! Have some faith in me! Actually feel the clothes. Touch yours if you need to compare them."
Curious, Tonen touched his jacket and shirt and then touched the ones in the box. They looked the same, but felt different.
Brazen laughed as he saw the reaction from Tonen, "See? Told you. They're different. Not unlike your statue music box, this was a custom order. Your Quirk is incredible, but as you know all too well, if you're not careful with where you aim your air blasts it'll rip your clothes."
A nervous laugh came from Tonen at this, "Yeah...I remember...almost went full commando one time after an incident. Not fun."
"Exactly. You've shown incredible discipline in being able to send out your bursts from your exposed parts of your body. But with these clothes, they're specifically designed to let air go through it without fear of ripping or blowing off your body. They'll move a little, that's just natural, but as long as you're out in these clothes...they'll stay on as you use your Quirk."
"That honestly is pretty cool, Uncle Brazen. Thank you. I'll try them on and test them a bit later."
"I look forward to your report," replied Brazen happily.
Soyuki stood up and looked at them all, "Now that this is done, let's clean and watch a movie to relax. Sound good, birthday boy?"
Tonen laughed, "That sounds wonderful. Been a while since we watched a movie as a family."
"How about your favorite sci-fi flick, TK?" suggested Shitaka, "It's your B-day after all."
"Sure, I'll go grab it as you clean up!"
He rushed out of the dining room and right into his room and slammed the door as he did. Brazen was a bit befuddled by this until a realization dawned, "I believe your son just got us to do all the work, Soyuki."
She shrugged, "Eh, I'll let it slide, it's his birthday. Come on, grab the dishes. Honey, get a bag and put the boxes and paper in it."
"I'm on it," Shitaka answered as he stood up.
As the adults cleaned up, Tonen emerged with a movie. After they were all done, they went to the living room and watched it all together. They rarely got to rest together as a family with all of them having their jobs and studies to do. But for those few hours, they were just regular people enjoying a film.
When the movie got done, Soyuki and Shitaka went to the kitchen to start prepping for dinner. As Tonen put the movie back in its case a news report came on, and once again a reporter was talking about U.A. Academy. Tonen's face soured at this as his emotions about the upcoming exam bounced around his mind.
A hand gripped his shoulder, and he turned to see Brazen looking at him with a knowing expression, "What happened to not letting fear emerge on your birthday?
"Sorry Uncle, some things are just hard to let go off," Tonen said with a sigh.
"I recall seeing an ice cream cart some blocks away. Why don't we go for a walk and get some, another gift from your dear uncle."
"You know me, I'm always hungry."
They let Tonen's parents know they were going for a walk and a few minutes later they grabbed some ice cream from a vendor and sat on a nearby bench to eat it.
Though Brazen happily ate the ice cream, his real focus was on his nephew, who had a blank face that he knew was hiding fear and pain.
"Tonen," said Brazen, shocking his nephew from his state as he rarely used his first name, "you do realize that I didn't go to U.A High either, right?"
Tonen was more shocked than before at this revelation, "Wait, what? Yeah you did! Mom talked about you taking the entrance exam!"
"Yes, I TOOK the entrance exam, but I failed...I failed miserably."
"Huh? How? You're...you're you! You Quirk is incredible."
Brazen laughed lightly at the praise, "Ah, my Quirk. Yes, well, not unlike you, I had to learn to master my Quirk to unleash its true potential. My exam at UA was...hard...on me both physically and mentally..."
He stared into his ice cream and his mind went back to his exam days. A very skinny and meek Higaza Gochu ran around the training area. Explosions and Quirk abilities going on all around him as he tried to pass the test.
"I won't tell you what my exam was, but my Quirk at the time wasn't as...functional...as it is now. My power that I get from my emotions was very limited back then. I had only seconds to use my newfound strength before it vanished or my focus waned from it. By the end...I placed last in the entire group that participated in my group."
The young Higaza Gochu sat alone in an alley, arms wrapped around his legs and trying hard to get a grip mentally.
"I was afraid of going home because MY parents did have high expectations of me. You never met them but they were...let's just say I had a "legacy to uphold" in their eyes and failing the exams was definitely not what they had in mind for me. They were...not pleased when I told them."
"So the opposite of my parents?" posed Tonen
"Very much so, that's why you should be grateful for what you have. That's also part of the reason I had my emotional outburst earlier, but I digress. Anyway..."
Back in the past, Higaza went to the mailbox near his own home and got the mail, his expression depressed and unfazed as he cycled through the mail and didn't see anything for him until the very last later. HIs eyes went wide and he opened it up as quick as he could.
"I applied for so many schools, some of the best around for one purpose or another. All rejected me, except one."
As the young HIgaza read through the letter his eyes welled up, and he roared in joy, his aura slightly showing as he did.
"Ketsubutsu. They don't get enough praise for raising good heroes. But they accepted me."
"I had no idea, Uncle," admitted Tonen still in shock.
Brazen wagged his finger at his nephew while smiling, "That's not the end of the story. Because while I got accepted, my Quirk was still...unrefined. It stayed that way for my first month at the school. Until one day I met a teacher who took a liking to me. She helped me in so many ways, and it was her that helped me realize the true ins and outs of my Quirk, including the true emotional variety I had access to in order to get my strength."
He clenched his fist and focused on the pride that was now in his heart and he glowed as orange as his hair and beard.
"It was through her that I grew, and became one of the higher-ranking students at Ketsubutsu in my class. I was never the top student. But I got to be the hero I WANTED to be, that I felt I could be. I called myself "Brazen" as a hero name because I wanted to use my powers without shame, even if it made me the fool and a punchline at times. Which...is why I'll never be a top-ranking hero. So, No. 105 will just have to do for me!"
At his own just he bellowed in laughter and his aura changed colors. Tonen rolled his eyes and shook his head before joining him in laughter, "Very nice, Uncle Brazen."
"My point, dear nephew, is this. You fear UA changing you in some way to "fit their mold", but even if that tries to happen, you can find your own path. Like I did. You might even find a teacher who embodies your vision of a hero. Or a fellow student that feels the same way. Don't go into the exams with fear of what might happen after, it'll do you no good. Focus on your personal hopes and dreams, and be confident in your Quirk and skills. Do you understand?"
He looked Tonen with a kind smile, Tonen matched it and nodded, "I do, thanks Uncle. I feel better now."
"I'm glad."
"Because I do want to be a hero, and my birthday wish is that whether I land at UA, or Ketsubutsu, Shiketsu or wherever else...I just want to leave there knowing that I have what it takes to be the hero for those people on their worst day ever. The person who will be there to save them, to extend my hand in help and show them that everything will be alright. Not for the glory, but because they need me, and I want to help them."
Tonen's own mind flashed back to an earlier point in his life. A time when he was in a building and surrounded by fire. He was so stricken by fear he couldn't move, until a shadow burst through a window and rolled toward him, and a silhouetted man extended his hand to him.
Back in the present, Tonen just looks at his uncle, conflict still in his expression, "Is it wrong to feel that way?"
Brazen put his hand on Tonen's shoulder and smiled proudly, "Not at all."
*credits*
