Kotaro Shimura was a simple man.
He loved everything the average person did. His wife, and mother of his children, Nao. His aforementioned three children, Tenko, Hana, and his youngest son Hotaro. He loved his mother-in-law Mako, and his father-in-law Chizuo. He even loved their family dog, even if the mutt couldn't stop pissing on his office floor.
Kotaro Shimura laughed, loved, and cried just like everyone else. But more than anything else, anything else in the entire world, Kotaro hated. He hated Heroes. He hated Quirks. He hated the society he lived in, hated having to show respect to people who wouldn't help him if they weren't getting their pockets filled, and wouldn't allow his children to live in a world where they idolized those disgusting creatures.
So when he saw his eldest son pretending to be one of them, he couldn't control himself. He yelled and berated young Tenko for being stupid. For breaking his one rule that must be upheld in his house, never acknowledge the existence of heroes. He ignored the cries of his wife as she begged him to let the boy off easy, that he was just playing a game.
A swift glare is all she got in return, sticking the rest of her disagreement to her tongue like tar. She watched as Kotaro dragged the small boy outside, declaring he would receive no dinner for his actions.
From the corner of her eye she picked up her two other children watching from the darkness of the hallway. Her only girl, Hana, watched with spite in her black eyes. Her matching pigtails did nothing to hide how she felt about her father, the scorn rolling off of her in waves. Hana had a firm grip on the shoulder of Nao's youngest child Hotaro, and she seemed to have no intention of letting go.
Hotaro himself seemed confused. He tilted his head to the side, his spiky black hair falling between his dull eyes of matching color looking exactly like his older sister save the hair. Hotaro was definitely the kindest out of her three children, Hana being the most rebellious, and Tenko, who let himself get dragged around by his twin sister, felt the brunt of some of her misdeeds. Hotaro idolized his older sister and made it known. He followed her everywhere and looked up to her more than anyone else, even the few heroes she had shown him.
Nao sighed and shook her head at the mental mentioning of heroes. Her husband was a kind man, she swore it. But when heroes come up, he loses all sense of self and goes crazy. Now poor Tenko must go hungry. The little boy would need the energy, his allergies haven gotten worse.
Hotaro watched as his mother shook her head for a second time and set off towards the backyard, straight towards his older brother's hiding spot. He turned and let out a huff, tired of the commotion already.
"Where are you going?" Hotaro turned back around at the sound of his older sister's voice. Charcoal met charcoal as Hotaro shrugged his small shoulders.
"Don't know," The small boy kicked at the tiny baby blue blanket he always kept with him, "Bedtime?"
Hana scoffed and rolled her eyes, looking back towards her family. She grinned when she noticed her father stuck in conversation with her grandparents, quickly grabbing her little brother's arm and dragging him down the hall. "I have something better in mind."
Hotaro watched on curiously as he let himself get pulled. They wound through two hallways, quickly flying past decorations hung by their mother. Hotaro looked at the pictures hung on the wall well over head height. He looked at a smiling portrait of his mother and father in confusion. His father could smile? Well, of course he could smile, but Hotaro couldn't remember the last time he had seen it.
The four year old boy was pulled from his thoughts when he and his sister reached their father's office. It was a small room, fitting just a desk, chair, filing cabinet, and a comfortable recliner in the corner. He had never been in the room before, having only looked in from outside. Hana rushed over to the filing cabinet and opened it up, quickly looking through it while Hotaro gripped his blanket tighter.
"Come check this out," His sister said ahead of him. Hotaro walked up behind her apprehensively. He looked over her shoulder and his breath caught in his throat at what she held in her hand.
A single picture of a young boy and a woman. They both had matching black hair and eyes, the little boy looking almost exactly like Hana and Hotaro. Both of them were smiling and laughing, floating a mile above a huge city.
"This is grandma," Hana said. Hotaro looked over the woman and saw her wearing what seemed to be a superhero uniform. Hana looked at him with a smile. "She was a hero! Just like you and Tenko!"
Hotaro's eyes widened and a smile slowly spread across his face. A hero in his family. His own grandma at that! Hotaro's chest felt light and airy, his grip on his blanket tightening as he thought of being a hero just like her. His smile fell slightly and his eyebrows creased together when he felt a tingle go through his stomach.
Before he could get a look at it, the house groaned and creaked around them as if a weight had been pressed onto it. Hotaro looked over to his older sister, fear and confusion written across his face as the groaning and creaking evolved into cracking and snapping. His heart dropped into his chest when Hana ran out of the room as fast as she could, leaving him and calling for their mother. He quickly followed after her, shouting her name. He ran and ran through the house before coming to the living room door and tripping on his blanket. He heard shouting on the other side, his mom, then Hana and Tenko.
Strange, where was their dog Mon? He usually started barking as soon as anyone raised their voice. Suddenly, Hana's screaming stopped. Before he could question why, his mother's shouts got louder and louder, until they too stopped. Hotaro's heart hammered in his chest as he heard his older brother's shaky voice call out.
"H-Hello?" He heard. "H-Hotaro? Is that you? Please I don't know what happened! I was playing with Mon and t-then he just turned to dust! Hana came out and saw what happened and I tried to tell her but then it happened to her too! She's just gone! And mom! Oh no mommy please!"
Hotaro scrambled to his feet and looked through the crack in the door. As he peered into the room, his heart stopped beating for the second time that night. The view of the room was obscured by a tear-filled red eye. It was flanked by two strands of dull, dead, blue gray hair that sent shivers down his spine. The youngest Shimura fell back onto his butt and crawled as far back through the hallway as he possibly could. A dry, cracked hand pushed through the opening and grabbed at the door frame. It slowly turned to dust.
Blood pumped like a hammer on an anvil as the door slowly swung open. His older brother's silhouette stood in the doorway, his vermillion eyes the only thing standing out in the darkness. Hotaro shook and held his breath as his brother stepped towards him with his hand outstretched.
"Please!" Tenko begged his brother, "Please help me! I'm so scared I didn't mean to!"
Bile rose up in Hotaro's throat when the light finally filtered into the room behind his older brother. Two piles of dust lay beyond, one just before the sliding door, and the other just after. He heaved up whatever was left in his stomach after a long day and let it spill over his chest, his frail heart beating at the speed of sound.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind Tenko. Their father, with a pipe in his hands. The small child had no way of seeing the pipe fly through the air and was hit in the middle of the spine, flattening against the ground and screaming in agony.
"Stay away from my son you monster!" Kotaro screamed, quickly back away as Tenko grabbed at his face and stared at the ceiling with a blank look. Hotaro shared the thousand yard stare with his brother as his father gripped the pipe tightly once again and brought the weapon back to strike.
Then, Tenko snapped up and leapt at the man, gripping his face with five fingers and slamming him into the ground. The screams filled Hotaro's ears again that night and his young mind snapped. He joined the cacophony as he grabbed at his own face, his brother grinning widely as he pushed his fingers into their father and ground the man into nothing.
Hotaro emptied his stomach again at the sight of another pile of ashes. Another family member, turned to dust by the monster in front of him. He shook violently as a portion of the ceiling fell around him and watched as his brother smiled with pleasure, looking over. For what felt like the hundredth time that night, Hotaro's heart stopped beating.
"It's gone." Tenko said. Hotaro couldn't find his voice. "The itching is finally gone." Hotaro took a hesitant step back, his coal eyes wide with fear as he watched his brother slowly take steps towards him. Like prey in the sights of a predator, Hotaro fought back his base instinct to run.
Suddenly, his older brother scowled and started scratching at the irritating dry skin on his neck, looking away from him momentarily. Taking the opportunity, the youngest Shimura turned and dashed down the hall as fast as he could. He heard his brother shout after him and heard his feet padding against the ground in pursuit.
"Get back here Hotaro!" Tenko yelled, his voice filled with vitriolic hate. Hotaro felt tears sting at his eyes as the house around them screamed in pain and started to splinter. Shards flew off a support beam and buried itself into the small boy's bottom lip causing him to yell in pain and tumble to a rolling stop. Quickly getting onto his bottom and scurrying backwards until he was pressed flush against a wall, he watched in pure terror as his brother stalked closer to him.
"Please. Stop! Don't hurt me!" Hotaro screamed, putting both hands out in front of him as if to stop the death march. Tenko's blood red eyes pierced through the darkness, each step like a thousand as he made his way forward. Blood rushed through Hotaro's ears and his heart thundered like a jackhammer, those now dry and cracked fingers only inches from his face.
Then, his world froze. The color slowly drained from around him and his limbs went numb. Tenko's fingers stopped a fraction of an inch before meeting his jaw. He could see the cracked grin spread across his older brother's face. He could see his hot breath fogging the now cold interior of the broken house. The last thing he noticed before he felt a hard yank in his gut and his world went black was his brother's crimson eyes, now filled with tears.
Hotaro woke up in a hospital, days later. He had somehow survived whatever happened after he blacked out, but still came out wounded. A small bandage covered the wound below his lip, a large swath of bandage was wrapped around his head. More emotional than physical but those wounds often took longer to heal.
He awoke to the sound of his heart rate monitor. The slow, steady beeping was the only constant for what felt like hours. He didn't move, didn't think, didn't say a word, just stared at the ceiling as tears fell from the corners of his eyes. Everyone was gone. His father, mother, Hana, even the Tenko he knew, all gone and turned to dust. His small hands gripped at the sheets and twisted them.
He was freed somewhat from his torment as a doctor walked into the room, looking down at a clipboard. Hotaro let out a strangled noise, trying his best to form words with his parched throat. Luckily, the doctor had been waiting for this as his head snapped up and a happy, friendly grin stretched across his face.
"Well isn't this a nice surprise!" The doctor said, his large goatee barely moving as he spoke, "Happy to see our youngest patient open his eyes!"
Hotaro watched as the man walked over to his bedside and grabbed a cup of water barely out of the young boy's reach, handing it to him slowly. The man watched with a soft smile as Hotaro lifted the cup up with both hands, downing the cool liquid in seconds.
"Slow down there bud!" The doctor said with a good natured laugh, "It's all yours, you don't have to rush." The young boy swallowed thickly and set the cup down, not meeting the man's eyes.
"Now," The doctor started, "I know you might have some questions and I will do my best to answer them but I need you to help me a little first okay?" Hotaro nodded his head, still not meeting the man's eyes.
"What happened to you young man? We found you underneath an entire house!" The doctor asked with an incredulous tone.
Blood rushed through his head and his black hair covered his eyes as the memories rushed into his mind. The heart rate monitor's beeping turned incessant as the small boy's breathing picked up and he grabbed at his chest. The doctor hurried over and placed a large, warm hand on his small shoulder.
"It's alright, it's fine." The doctor said in a soothing voice, "You're safe now. No one can hurt you here."
At the calming words, Hotaro's heart rate slowly returned to its regular rhythm and his hands moved to his lap as the doctor patted him on the shoulder. The man stepped back and wrote something down on his clipboard before slipping the pen into his pocket and taking a seat next to the boy's bed.
"Tell me a little bit about yourself, Hotaro."
The boy flinched slightly at his name, but slowly looked up and met the mans soft brown eyes. He saw no hate or deceit in the man's eyes, given his limited time on the earth maybe he wasn't the best judge of character, but the warmth radiating off of the man was incredibly calming.
The doctor noticed his reaction and laughed softly, "I can see you're under the effects of my Quirk," When Hotaro sent him a confused look he happily moved to explain himself. "My quirk is called Radiating Warmth. All it does is give me the ability to make people feel safe and warm. Pretty good Quirk for a pediatrician, don't you think?"
Hotaro's head turned to the side and childish confusion crossed his features. "Predeatrishan?" He asked innocently. The doctor laughed softly and nodded his head, not bothering to correct the small boys pronunciation.
"A doctor specifically for kids." He explained, "I make sure kids feel happy and safe mentally while also keeping them happy and safe physically. What about you, little one? Have you found your Quirk yet?"
Hotaro, deciding he liked this man, found no issues answering the innocent question. He shook his head and looked down at his hands, "Hana was the only one with a Quirk. She could move water around with just her hands! Well, not a lot of it but I was still jealous." His heart skipped when he remembered his sister, the pile of dust on the ground. The doctor noticed his discomfort and quickly moved on, slowly easing his Quirk out to keep the child calm.
"Did you have any other siblings?"
The question made Hotaro nauseous. "Y-Yeah. An older brother." The doctor seemed oblivious to his discomfort, or ignored it.
"What was his Quirk like?"
Scenes flashed before his eyes and he stood stock still. He saw his sister and mother smiling. He saw his father sending him a stern look, and he saw his brother smiling meekly at him. Then, he saw Tenko turn it all to dust.
Unbeknownst to the struggling boy, the doctor watched in fascination as the small child slowly started floating. The wires and IV attached quickly came undone, spraying a small amount of blood from the hole and splattering on the doctor's white coat.
"Would you look at that! A flyer! It's not everyday you see a Quirk manifest you know. How fun!"
Those words pulled Hotaro out of his flashbacks as he looked to the doctor in confusion. Realizing he was suddenly taller than the man he looked down in surprise, the bed he was resting on not a minute before now was five feet below him. He laughed lightly in surprise and attempted to move forward, trying to fly through the air. When he moved only a centimeter through the air, he felt a hard yank in his gut and his limbs felt numb. He turned his Quirk off, yelling in surprise as he landed on his soft bed.
"Careful!" The doctor said, quickly moving forward to make sure the child was okay. "That was very impressive, Hotaro!" The man smiled as rubbed the boy's hair, causing the black spikes to stick up even more. The young boy's eyes light up happily at the praise. The look quickly disappeared as he thought about his predicament. The doctor took notice of this, but also waited to speak as he saw Hotaro struggling to find the right words.
When he finally spoke, the words shattered the kind doctor's heart. "So I'm all alone now, right?" The man moved to comfort Hotaro as quickly as he could.
"It may seem that way now, but you seem to be a nice kid with a pretty cool Quirk if I do say so myself." Hotaro's eyes went wide and he asked the man if he meant it. He laughed at the question. "Of course I do! Flying was something our ancestors dreamed of! You could even become a Hero with a Quirk like that."
The word Hero rang in Hotaro's ears like a gong. He felt a learned hatred for the thought but stopped himself from going down that path when he thought of what had happened to him. If there had been a Hero there his family might still be alive. Normally, that wouldn't be fair, but now that he had his Quirk he felt a resolution in his bones. If there had been a Hero, a Hero like him who could fly, maybe they would've gotten there in time to help.
In that moment, Hotaro made his first and most important decision of his life.
In that moment, he decided to ignore the teachings of his father and to embrace the legacy he had no idea he carried. In that moment, he decided he'd make sure no one went through what he went through. In that moment, he decided he was going to save everyone.
In that moment, Hotaro decided he was going to be a Hero.