The day comes for the entrance exam. Rising from my bed, I wander over to the mirror in my room and look into it. But the oddest thing is this weird buzzing feeling in my body, almost like lightning. It crackles over me like a crashing wave. Looking in the mirror there's a haze of red in my eyes, the sclera aren't bloodshot, it's almost like it was my natural color. Nothing like my father who becomes a hulking mass of muscles and wooden branches. But me?

My eyes are colored differently. My muscles were the same, my skin color too. Everything was normal. Other than the burning red eyes. Father comes in with a bright, almost serene grin.

"G'mornin' love." he says, kissing me on the forehead, "Today's the day, aye?" I can't help but force a nod.

"Yes it is, Father."

He smiles, "Remember, you're stronger than you think y'are, don't let anyone tell ye any different."

I have a sinking suspicion that he's right.

Grinding metal fills my ears and my hands crush the metal like papier mache. The wheel grinds into the pavement as my vines lash through it, sparks and fire scathing the area. They thicken and the thorns grow.

The burning in my chest spreads from my chest to my arms and legs, to the top of my head to the tips of my feet. Oil rains down like blood, eyes wide and breath coming out in steam. But as fast as it comes it goes away. Like it was never there, in moments I realize…

I was stronger than anyone could ever dream of. That was a three pointer, a whole battalion of them! What kind of power is this?! What sort of mad science is this?! My vines dull, my steps quicken as I dig my hands into my arms, nails gently pressing into them as my hair goes limp and I run away from the other robots and students, panting and breath coming out of my mouth so fast I can't even breathe back in.

Even though I saved many another examinee, caught a lot of rubble, this scared me.

What happened? What happened? What's happening to me?! After the exam, I take off almost running back home, my strength still increased but I keep running back home to my father's rectory.

He's preparing for the evening service, lit candles whistling out the minute I toss the doors aside and rush towards him, slamming into him with a strangled cry. He skids backward, stopping gently and closing his arms around me.

"Ibara? What happened, darlin'?"

Tears sting my eyes, "Something... something awful, father..." My muscles tense but he stays solid, stays unyielding, "What's happening to me?"

"Ibara, little flower... you're just *scared*." he sighs, "It's perfectly natural..."

"Scared?! Fear doesn't cause a... a BATALLION of Exam Robots to be crushed in one blow like Papier Mache!" I yell, "If you're just going to lie to me again, I'll go to someone who won't!"

I pull away from him and he scowls, his lips downturning, "Ibara, trust me..."

"How can I when you can't even tell me what's going on?!" I snarl, whirling and marching out the open doors, out into the night, not even hearing the crackling and him resetting them into the frame.

He never did that before. My only other place to go was down the street, turning into a small gate with clumsy kanji written by the shaky hand of my boyfriend. Kaenshita was written there like a soft little fire itself.

A small four seater sedan is parked in the carport, weathered and taped up with bumper stickers on the back. Father and I don't even have a car. But considering Mrs. Kaenshita goes away into Tokyo every few months after training she needed one. A new one is lopsided, raised with slight folding and bubbling. 'Proud Mother of a UA Hero Student!' I find it irritatingly cute. But I get to the door and ring the doorbell, it rings, slightly buzzing because of how old it is.

Mrs. Kaenshita comes to the door with an overly frustrated, "For the last time, Enji, I'm not-" she opens the door and there she stands, red and orange hair pulled back from her face, her eyes a little red and cheeks puffy from crying.

The minute she sees me, her expression softens to a warm smile, "Oh! Ibara, what's up sweetie?" she stands aside and I whisk my way into the inside of Renaru's house. Of course I've been here before, but the upkeep is a little worse.

"I didn't know where to go." I answer, "My father keeps lying to me and I cannot stand it." My heart aches a little thinking about Renaru and how he might be doing.

"Oogh, I feel you, kiddo." she sighs, "Sit down a while, talk to me. I got more time on my hands nowadays than I know what to do with." she moves off towards the kitchen.

"I got soda, you drink soda, right?"

"No, thank you, Miss Tekka."

She flinches a little at that and nods, "Yeah, don't mention it." she returns to the cozy living room smelling like fire and sugary vanilla. She likes that smell and I can't blame her. Settling across from me, I see her looking down at her hands.

"You miss him." I observe, "Renaru, I mean."

"Of course I do, Ibara. I'm his mother." she chuckles, "Fifteen years ago, both of you were little. Your dad used to come by and ask me questions about raising you."

"Really?" I ask.

"Oh sure! He was clueless." she grins, "But... I can't believe he'd do that to you." her voice gains a little growl to it, as if she's about to storm into his sanctuary and deck him.

"Well, Father always kept his secrets."

"Which isn't right." she snaps, "Sure, I don't tell Renaru everything, but he's got a right to know if somethin's up with his mom like anger induced superstrength." her expression darkens as she reaches across and grabs my hand. It's rough, calloused, but assuring.

"Renaru adores you, Ibara. I know it's a hard adjustment."

There's a shaky breath ghosting out of my lips, tears stinging my eyes. I miss him, he makes sense, he anchored me when Father couldn't.

"But honey, listen. And listen good, I've been boy crazy before. I've built my entire life around guys before." she traces the back of my hand, "I've changed and sacrificed myself to them over and over."

She continues, steady bright orange eyes reminding me so much of his. But with experience, "Your dad is the dumbest guy I've ever met. Thinking he's gotta protect you."

"He's so... what's the word?" she tilts her head a little.

"Stubborn?"

"Yeah, that. Your dad's the most stubborn, angry, clingy fucker this side of Japan." she scoffs, "Never have I ever seen a more bullheaded man."

I can't help but let out a laugh, she's right. Father's usually so affable and accomadating, but when it comes to me it's like trying to convince a horse to drink water.

"But the thing here, Ibara, is that Renaru and your dad will always chase their own dreams."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I mean that they're going to have lives outside of you," she sighs, looking a little sad; "I get why you're all gung-ho to be with my son at the end of the day but who's to say hearts and minds won't change?"

"I don't want it to change..." I admit, "Renaru's been a dear friend of mine for years."

"And I'm not saying you can't still be friends, but consider that you both are still young." she takes a sip of her drink, "When I was you two's age I didn't have what you got."

I nod, "I see, I just hope that doesn't come to pass."

"And if it does, then you'll have something to fall back on," she smiles but the mere thought of not being with Renaru is making me a little scared. Mrs. Kaenshita smiles.

"Do you feel safe enough back home?"

"Not tonight, Mrs. Kaenshita." I know I shouldn't stay but something tells me that Father wouldn't like me being around for now. Just to not rock the boat more than it's already been.

"I'll get the futon then." she stands up but not before gently setting her hand on my shoulder, "Give it some thought, Ibara." she moves towards the kitchen and all I can feel with that is trying to puzzle out what to do next.

Waking up on my own is a weird feeling. Normally, Mom would come in and yank off my sheets and try to wake me up for something. But… I sit up with my sheets and blankets falling off my body, crisscrossing scars and splotchy burns.

Muscles, all too skinny and stitched together working to keep me moving. My body's different, it always is. Okay, arm test. Lift it slowly… slowly… Sudden quick jabbing hits it like a wrecking ball. My eyes screw shut and I cut back on the scream with my teeth digging into my lower lip. GAH! Ow. Slowly… slowly…

Hand meets the soft cloth of my arm bands, meshy and solid all at once. There's a moment where I don't want to get out of bed. No one's familiar here and no one knows what's really wrong with me. I might be burning out, I might be at the end of my rope because some days are harder than others, and it hurts all the same.

My shaking hand reaches for the rail on the side of my bed, pulling myself out of it and onto the step down. Gripping my arm band, wiggling it on until it squeezes down just below my shoulder, the grayed-out livery beginning to pulse. That's when my free arm stabs liquid flame through me like jet fuel. Biting the inside of my cheek, my other hand sliding on my other band before it could really start doing some damage. The band tightens, the gray becomes orange, and the pulsing soothes the pain.

Do the same with my legs, ending at the end of my thighs, wrapping around my feet like socks, and pulsing orange glow still soothing as always. Letting out the sigh I knew was coming but trying to summon the strength to stand.

They strain, they ache a little, but now I'm up, the dull throbbing beat, the bruised muscles need these things. Not like there was anything new or different about them. When I get out of my dorm, the sun's not up.

Checking the time… ooh, 12:00. Midnight. Step… step… gently now. Steady now. Easy. Easy now. That's when the air hits me fast, knocking my feet out from under me and slamming me to the floor like I had a death wish. But I hit it and there's that familiar ache, that new snap of pain through the crash. No bones broken, but my cheeks burn knowing that SOMEBODY heard my fall. So I scramble to my feet and try to find something or someone to blame.

"Come on, Renaru. You fell on your own…" I growl at myself, "Fucking brilliant." Dusting myself off, there's a moment when I realize that I woke up in the middle of the night. Dead center even. Normally, I'd wander into Mom's room and get into her bed and just lay down and talk at her.

Not to her, at her. She'd be dead asleep and I'd just talk about anything. Then she'd roll over and mumble at me. Or maybe if Ibara was over I'd wake her up with me asking her random questions. The feeling of her vines, or the strong feeling of my mother's arms are a comfort only I could know. That's probably why I'm up so early. They'd always been with me. This is the first real time I'm without them.

Every bit of me missed them. So I lace up my boxing shoes, fill up my water bottle, and get on my sweatshirt. Not even getting on my gloves but I didn't need them where I was going. Taking my keycard, I head out the front, I could run the track around the dorms. Beating my own record of five minutes. See if I could get four or three? I begin my warmup once I get outside, feeling my punished muscles get warm.

Then I start to run, throwing jabs as the lights sweep by above me. All I could think about were the days where Mom and I would face the type of people that didn't like the fact I competed at all. Still running at a good clip, the timer ticking away on my phone as I round the bend and when I see the front of the school again I check the time. Five minutes. Took too long, dammit.

The flames still eat at me, still try to drag me down to char me. But I still keep running no matter how much it hurts. Shadowboxing them all, flames dancing along with my shots of my fists. Dancing through imaginary opponents. Kuroda, Tetsutetsu, but that was all. I wasn't some kind of professional and I never tried to be. I just wanted to be stronger than them, even if my condition was common and you could run into a handful of us...

The life without any help was hell. Taping up my arms and legs with some kind of boxing tape, maybe even binding up with vines from Ibara. She gave more to me than I ever gave to her.

I continue my run, turning round the bend over and over. My fists still pumping out jabs and hooks, a song in my chest. Hopping from foot to foot as I try to practice my kicking. All I could imagine hitting were those guys that kept telling my Mom wasn't shit. Flames burst out around me, even though I keep hitting the ground with a lopsided bump, I still keep trying.

"Tss! Tss!" I breathe out, "HAH!" My flames boost my kick, sending me spinning through the air before imagining the one man I hated more than anyone else... turquoise eyes, spiky red hair, orange flames...

He abandoned my mother, and even if he paid for my bands I hated him. My foot connects with the stone, force and flame blasting stone chips into the air. It's a good start.

Why do I want to be a hero? Out of all the professions I could take, why this one? I think it's because this world is so unfair to people like me. Stares, constant questions, inaccessible places where I have to grin and bear the impossibilities. I lie on my back, the night air cooling me down as the singed, divoted rock smolders. Reaching for my water bottle, dousing myself and drinking it slowly. Whew! But it's not good enough. Never good enough.

I stand to my feet, snap into my stance, "Tsssssss..." I hiss, my gaze tensing and everything focusing down to the wire. Flames burst out of every other hit, trying my best to keep it all up because I can't stop and won't ever stop.

"He'll never be a hero."

"Not with that condition."

My heat grows, thinking of those naysayers and those assholes that kept trying to knock me down. The ones that always looked down on me without saying anything. I knew.

Anger, sadness, it's unfair. I can't go for more than five seconds without being reminded how useless I am. How my accomplishments always cycle back to not being good enough because of x, y, or z. How I'm 'inspiring' just by being alive! I know my answer now! I know it clear as day and black and white! I want to be a hero because I want to be that guy people can rely on!

I want them to look at me and count on me, look at what I do and not what I have. I want to stand side by side with them instead of above them based on my condition. To give others like me the strength to push, to strive for more.

I want to live in this world. Not exist.

My muscles seize up, and I stop. Panting, gently pawing for my water and taking a long drink. By now it's two something and I amble my way back towards the dorms. Getting back in wasn't hard, and heading to my dorm was easier than not.

Just as I was about to get to my room, there's Mr. Kan up and working on lesson plans for the school year. He glances at me in the shadows, my firelit hair casting a soft glow on the walls.

"What's the matter, kid?" His voice is warm, and he doesn't seem to be mad at all that I headed out to train a while.

"I can't sleep. So I trained." I say, wobbly steps sending me towards him. Sitting down and looking towards the big windows, "It's just... a lot."

He smiles a little, "I get it. You're homesick."

Nodding, he continues, "You're so used to your mom bein' around, right?" he guesses and I nod again.

"It's just... my mom's so strong." looking down at my aching hands, I clasp them together, "She's faced all this before and she didn't want me to go." A bitter laugh bubbles out of my throat.

"To tell ya the truth, Mr. Kan? I never thought I'd see my mom cry that hard ever in my life." I admit, "There's also the fact that my girlfriend isn't here either."

"I'm kinda scared." there's more of a laugh, a little bit of tears rush down my cheeks, "I've gone my whole life pretty much with 'em by my side, and I'm worried that I'm their entire lives."

It's broken me down more often than not. The fact that Mom fought every day for my future, that and Ibara was also somehow involved in it. The fact that the two people I love the most probably won't get to see me become this new impressive hero is just hard to swallow.

Call me selfish all you want but Mr. Kan brings me out of my weird doldrums with a pearl of wisdom, one that I live by to this day.

"Everyone has people they love, Renaru. Your mom and girlfriend love you, so to them you're not a burden. You're you. The thing you gotta decide is what that means for you."

I never really thought about it myself. In the end I'm my own person and people fighting for myself to live just wasn't going to be in the cards. In the end though, heading to bed again, I had one thought. I'm gonna call Ibara and explore the city tomorrow with my classmates. That's it. Just two goals. I can do that, right? Yeah... I can. I lay down and grab my cracked screened phone, hesitating dialing for just a moment.

I call her, hearing it dial tone on the end before...

"Mm? Renaru...? It's early, dear." she groans, "What's the matter?"

"Can you just... talk to me?" I ask, "Not about anything specific I just..."

"I miss you, Ibara." I admit, "So just talk about anything. Read a Bible story or count the sheep carved into the ceiling of your room, or... or maybe just stay on until I fall asleep."

Ibara lets out a soft, shaky breath, "Renaru, I miss you *so* much." she almost sounds like she's got tears in her eyes, "My father lied to me about that burning sensation again, and today was the exams, so... so I took out a bunch of robots like they were made of paper."

"Damn! That's gre- I mean... how?" Nice save, Renaru! She continues with a little bit of a sigh, and I roll over to lay down a little better, curled up under the blankets with my bands cooling and my skin gratefully cooling in the night air.

"Well, my quirk and body got stronger and I took all of them out." she explains.

"So you'll be here?" I ask, a little more excited than I thought I'd be, "I can't wait!" she lets out a laugh and I wilt.

"God willing, dear! God willing!"

I smile and listen to her keep going on and on and well, soon enough I'm dozing off. I hope she gets to be in my class and alongside me, but either way... I need to find my own path.