Over the Top

by papireaz

When I died, I expected a few manga volumes. Maybe to learn what the One Piece is. Instead, I found myself in a world that I recognised, a story I had read and what's worse was that it was a story I had no interest in wanting to involve myself in! Then and again, the offer to become a Hero is far too tempting...

7. Issue 7 REWRITTEN

EDIT:

An alternative song for this chapter is 'Reborn' by KIDS SEE GHOSTS aka Kanye West and Kid Cudi.

Anyway here is a reminder to join the discord for updates and idk just for a cool and chill community. We speak about a bunch of random things there, not just this story. And I'm sort of active there so…

Join!

The code is:

p6HcDQpxuk !

---

Oh yeah, it's hero time!

Time for a little hidden gem called One Piece. Have you heard of it? It's pretty niche.

Anyway Memories aka Ending 1 of One Piece is the song for today's chapter. Fun fact: This song will also be the main song for three other chapters in the future. Extra points for those who can guess where.

---

Summary:

Life moves on, and so do I. I'm so close to becoming a hero, finally, after all these years... only to hear about hero school. What utter bullshit, reminds me of the time my PlayBox Portable (PBP) buttons broke and I couldn't play Facade 4 Silver along with Facade 5 Kingly. Both are amazing games from the Facade series, which is a spin off from Shen Speed-line Tensei, a JRPG based on Iida Tensei, also known as Ingenium. Join Ingenium as you control demons and try to save society itself in the recent remaster of Shin Speed-line Tensei 3: Adagio

---

It was a nice and sunny day. The birds were chirping, the wind was humming pleasantly and the females in our school finally decided to take off their jumpers, now choosing to wear their t-shirts only.

I wasn't trying to make it weird.

It was just an observation.

Careful observation for the Summer of our final year in middle school, no matter how weird that truly sounded.

"Yo, Sora," An excited Shirou greeted me, holding his sisters' green fan on his face as he whispered to me, "Eyes up, three o'clock." We were sitting in the nearby park right after school as we waited for the rest of our friends to make an appearance.

I shook my head, a small grin forming on my face.

"Shut up, geez honestly you are such a perv-,"

I found my voice suddenly stopping as my eyes were transfixed on the girls of our friend group waving at us as they came over with the ice cream they had bought. Each and every one of them was good-looking, I could freely admit that and-, Hold on, was Shirou and Denji ogling at them?!

Wasn't his own sister a part of the group?

"Sora-kun!" Keiko yelled at me unexpectedly, causing me to jump slightly as she practically latched herself onto me. Jiro and Sakura thankfully dragged her off me as she sat down opposite us.

"...Yo," I greeted with a friendly wave. "You know, it sort of makes you look weird hugging a boy in the middle of the park."

"We're friends."

"I don't like hugs," I admitted. "Especially from people that aren't my family."

"Not even your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"But if you had one, wouldn't you let her hug you?" Jiro asked me as she threw the packaging away for her ice lolly. "Surely you would. You try not to make it seem like you're perverted, but I've seen you stare at some of our teachers. Not to mention the models you follow on social media."

"I follow any models on social media?" I asked in confusion. "I'm pretty sure I don't. I follow Ryukyu if that counts."

"Oh. Maybe I was thinking of someone else."

"Maybe."

A comfortable silence descended on our group as we ate our ice cream basking in the pleasant Summer Sun. Even if the heat was unbearable at points, at the very least our ice cream cooled us down a notch after our long day at school. It was just constant revision, cramming everything so that our exams in a few months wouldn't fuck up our future.

We needed the break, even if no one wanted to admit it.

"Jeez, how come we are so close to finishing middle school and I still haven't dated a girl yet," Shirou complained loudly, breaking the silence. I hummed in response as many voices from our group could be heard.

"You're such a loser!" Sakura yelled at him.

"I mean, it's not like you try to speak to girls," Saki replied.

"You just haven't found the one," Makoto told him honestly.

I too understood his pain, counting the previous life I never once had a proper girlfriend. I didn't count the small stint I had with a girl when I was seven for obvious reasons.

I was seven.

"Sora, you shouldn't frown like that. It makes you look like a villain," Keiko said, stretching my cheeks out in an effort to make me smile. It only caused me to be hurt instead, along with my wounded pride that someone had to force me to smile.

Ow.

"Tch, I don't need to smile," I replied, batting her hands away. "And I've never once frowned in my life." There was a snort from Jiro, who looked at me as if I had sprouted demonic wings or some shit.

"C'mon dude, lying isn't your strong suit." I frowned- Wait, fuck! "See, I bet you just realised how much you frown," Jiro said nodding her head, her earjacks following suit.

"...Hey Jiro, did anyone ever tell you that your earlobe jacks make you look like Medusa?" I cheekily asked her. I thought it was a pretty smart comeback considering Denji hi-fived me.

"Did anyone ever tell you not to say stupid things?" Jiro replied, her right lobe striking me on the arm. Ow! Whenever Jiro was angry, she always resorted to violence! Even if it never really hurt, it was still concerning!

"Hey, what the hell was that for you violent thug?" I shouted.

"Why'd you feel the need to compare me to Medusa off all things?"

"Well, who else was I going to say? It's not like someone with a Quirk similar to yours is famous enough for me to compare you to now is there?"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be comparing someone to me anyway!"

Our faces were close enough that I could smell her breath, it was a nice spearmint. Nah, maybe it was peppermint? Wait, weren't they the same thing? Anyway, that didn't matter as she realised how close she was to me, her face rapidly flushing red by the second.

"...Why are you so close to me?" She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"You're the one that got close to me."

Snap.

We both turned around to see Sakura grinning like an absolute witch, holding her phone out. Hell, everyone had basically taken a photo of us. I couldn't help but sigh at that, turning to look at Jiro whose embarrassment had quickly turned up another level.

How the hell was I going to explain this one?!

"That's going to the collection. Two star-crossed lovers, destined to become heroes together. Imagine how good the headlines will be in a few years when both of you graduate from U.A.?" Sakura swooned over the photos. "Just imagine your children?! I mean… they'll be short but-,"

"Lovers? What the hell are you on about, as if I'd ever date this idiot," Jiro said, her earlobes nodding along with her words. "We get along as friends, and that's about it. At least Shirou and Denji have redeeming qualities, the only redeeming quality Sora has is that he's at least a cute teddy bear with that height of his.

I too agreed with Jiro.

"Yeah, as if I'd date her. Honestly, the fact is she lacks a lot of necessary assets. And I've seen her mother, it can't get better with age," I added, shaking my head at them. "She's also just not that funny. Her attempts at humour leave me rolling around the floor with brain damage more than anything.

"Humour? Out of the both of us, I'm the one that has better humour," Jiro replied seriously. "Sora, you're the least funny person here. The only person that finds your jokes funny is you.

How dare she?!

"Oh yeah, well you wouldn't appreciate my jokes. Your brain isn't big enough for them."

"We're literally in the same set for basically everything," Jiro pointed out, but I vehemently disagreed. "Oh come on, you get better grades than me in a few subjects. But I get higher than you in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Politics."

"But I'm better than you at English, History, Maths and Economics," I replied. "Those are the only subjects we share. I don't do Music or Geography, and you don't do Computer Science or Religious Studies."

"Why did you pick Religious Studies?"

"Cause it's an easy nap session," I answered. "Seriously. I get the highest grades in the class and all I do is talk about Christianity and Islam for an essay or two. Piss easy subject, teachers that don't care and a very comfortable classroom where I sit next to the radiator."

"...How are you potentially going to be a Hero?"

"I don't know," I admitted while shrugging my shoulders. "Probably because I'm lucky."

"You aren't lucky," Jiro told me, edging a little closer. "You're luck is shit."

"Nuh-uh," I replied, moving forward slightly. "Take that back."

"You take back saying that you're smarter than me!"

"I refuse."

"Well, then I also refuse!"

Our faces were practically touching once more.

"Are you done with this stupid sexual tension? Honestly, you two are like a married couple. Constantly bickering. Just get hitched together already!" Keiko yelled angrily at us, causing Jiro and me to break apart even more embarrassed and angrier than before.

Fuck.

Why did she always have to get under my skin?!

Despite that, each and every one of us broke into laughter at the looks Jiro and I gave them. It was funny, to be honest. Another comfortable silence descended on our group as we simply enjoyed the weather.

"I'm gonna miss this."

Denji's words cut deep.

"You don't have to miss it!" Sakura replied. "I mean, we'll still be friends! Even after middle school. We can still hang out even though we'll all be in different schools!"

"It's not as simple as that," Denji told her, but it felt like he was speaking to all of us. "I mean some of you are going to a high school in the next city over. Sora and Jiro are going to U.A., I'm staying here in Musutafu but we'll all be going down our own paths. It's stupid to think we'll be able to laugh around like this as often."

Tch.

"So what if it'll be difficult?! Yeah, we'll find new friends. We won't see each other often, but that doesn't mean we still can't be friends," I said. "I… If any of you think you can just ghost me and get away with it, I will rock up to your school and kick the shit out of you. I don't care if I get in trouble or not."

Everyone stared at me in surprise.

"What?"

"That's really sweet," Makoto said. "Really sweet. I have to agree, if any of you idiots think you can just ignore any of us then watch out. I've been told my kicks are strong. I think, is that what you said, Sora?"

"I said your kicks are lethal for a man."

"Yeah! That!"

Another round of laughter erupted from our group.

"But… what if we can't make it work?"

…

No one had an answer to that. As soon as Jiro's question left her mouth, she immediately regretted it and everyone was able to see that. Shirou tried opening his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. Ultimately, silence once again swallowed our group as we were left with our thoughts.

"We'll try," I answered honestly. I tried my hardest to smile despite the atmosphere over our heads as each and every one of my friends snapped their heads to look at me in surprise. "Sometimes things don't work out, I have my own experiences with that. But we can try. And keep trying. I doubt it'll come to that though, I mean we've been friends for nearly two years now. That means something."

"Yeah!"

"Of course!"

"We're all really good friends!"

Even if everyone wasn't totally convinced, my words still had an effect on them all. It didn't take long for conversations to spring up again, and I could only smile as I watched everyone in my own silence - One day, this was going to end. Whether it was because we all drifted apart or because of something more I didn't exactly know.

I couldn't see the future.

Not really.

I couldn't help but think back to my old friends, the ones from my previous life. What were they doing now? I wondered if they had achieved their dreams and gone to university, or dated their crush at the time. Realistically, they would have been thirty-two by now which was quite old.

I never even reached my twenties.

Even if I somehow managed to speak to them now, the truth was that they had spent more years without me in their life than the years spent with me. Did they even remember me?

That was something that frightened me.

Being slowly forgotten.

Or, I guess, rewritten out of someone's life.

Like the memories we had once don't even mean anything, it was something I didn't want to happen with my friends here. Watching us grow apart and slowly forget about each other.

"Sora?" Jiro was the only one who nudged my shoulders slightly as everyone was stuck in a deep argument. "...You know, you're a pretty weird guy. Just look at you."

Huh?

"Sometimes you're fine, and other times you're sulking in the corner all alone. Deep in thought, unavailable to the outside world unless we need your help," Jiro told me. "That's why you're weird."

"...That's just how I am."

"Distant? I don't believe that. Even if everyone else fades away in the background, you don't have to worry about me doing all that," Jiro told me with a massive grin. "After all, we're gonna' be heroes together! I can't have my sidekick feeling like this."

"Why am I the sidekick? Shouldn't it be you?"

"Don't push your luck."

I snorted at that.

She was right, though.

Why did I feel like this?

I could just ignore it.

---

Chapter

Seven

'The Blueberry's Start'

---

"To summarise, while my middle school experience was a sort of hell, it's a hell I'd gladly go through again. I'd like to say I lived my life with no regrets, and now as I start to apply to high schools it feels like my journey has come full circle. The memories I made in this place, both beating the snot out of some bastards and hanging out with my friends will forever be ingrained into my brain. The memories here will propel me into the future, more so than that they will help me become a hero,"

Shimaya-sensei paused reading my essay as she coughed slightly to cover the grin on her face. Was that a good sign or a bad sign? I shifted nervously in my seat as she continued to read out my essay.

"After all, what kind of hero has nothing they want to protect? This is my Louis Lane or my Mary Jane Watson. The thing I was searching for all along, and the thing I'll protect with my last breath. My memories, of the friends I made along the way and the good times we had - Along with the good times we have ahead," Shiyama-sensei finished, placing my essay down on her mahogany desk.

It looked new.

I'm pretty sure it's new.

"So," I start, scratching my cheek nervously. "Do I pass?"

"What do you think? You are so lucky, honestly Sora, so damned lucky. Two weeks before the school year term? Doable. One week? Sure, I can put some crunch in but it'll be fine. But the day we break up? You are honestly lucky I have no partner, or else I'd have you phone them to explain why I'll be late tonight,"

I grumble at that.

"As if someone would want to date someone like you."

However, a sharp glare from her made me sit up straight, some sweat trickling down my face. Ah, shit. I forgot where I was and who I was dealing with here, and I really didn't want this homework to fail because then it would impact my overall grade.

And U.A. would see that.

Shit, why'd I have to act like a smartass now of all times?

"Well, well. You have certainly grown this past year, which feels like an adventure within itself. Anyway, yes, you've passed - With the highest grade in the class too. Everyone else spouted something generic, you, on the other hand, submitted something that I actually wanted to read for once. Something stimulating for the brain."

I blinked.

"So... let me get this straight," I said. "I did fine the first time, you just wanted me to redo mine to make you not as bored?"

Shimaya-sensei nodded.

Screw All For One, the real villain was right here all along.

"I-,"

Shiyama-sensei however cut me off as she grinned in my direction, throwing the paper back at me, but the look in her eyes was undeniable - She looked at me with pride.

"Hang it up in your room, or give it to one of your friends. Just don't get rid of it, hopefully, if you ever get into trying times as a Hero you'll read this and understand why you wanted to be a Hero in the first place," She told me. "Call it whatever you want but that half-assed essay you tried submitting a few months ago was bullshit. You didn't give two shits about it."

"I don't care about the essay I wrote now."

"But it's written more personally, something you'll remember and look back on," Shimaya-sensei replied. "Did I tell you about one of my old brilliant students?"

"The one that… killed herself?"

My teacher nodded at that.

"She struggled with this piece too. The pressure around her life kept building, and when she couldn't help her friends, she snapped. She felt like she failed and the idiot paid the ultimate price for it," Shimaya-sensei said sadly. "I don't know if that'll ever happen to you, but if you want to be a Hero we all know of the horror stories. Where a Hero fails to save someone and they just stop."

She just didn't want to see another one of her students fall down the same path.

"Hehe," I chuckled at that. "Don't worry, teach. I ain't gonna fail like that."

"You might-,"

"I won't. I promise," I cut her off as I took my essay from her. "I'll be a Hero you'll be sick of seeing, alright? Hell, when I make it big I promise I'll do a speech about you and Fujiwara-sensei. Something about the only two teachers to have ever supported me or something."

"Now that's a lie."

"Not like the public needs to know the truth," I said with a grin. "You know, it's gonna be weird when I leave this classroom for the last time. Only about five months away from that day."

Shimaya-sensei's eyes widened at that.

"That's going to fly by for you, Sora."

"I know," I replied. "It already feels like the days are getting faster and I can't keep up with its speed sometimes. I miss the days when I could just laze about with my friends, but now we're all getting to a point where revision is the only way we can hang out."

"That's growing up for you."

"Yeah, it sucks, when can I go back to being a kid?"

"You can't. Welcome to eventually being an adult, it doesn't really get better," Shimaya-sensei told me. "But it does get easier. And of course, your relationships with those around you evolve. You know, maybe you've heard this before, but if you weren't so deadset on being a Hero I think you'd make a pretty good teacher."

"I would?"

Shimaya-sensei nodded her head at that.

"Definitely. You just… You carry yourself differently for a fifteen-year-old, and you're entertaining to talk to. Anyone would want to listen to you, maybe it's the silly jokes or how over the top you are sometimes, but you'd entertain a lot of students," Shimaya explained to me. "Hell, after teaching you for a while, I think you'd probably impart them life lessons. I know you've done that to me."

"I have?"

"...You taught me to never give up on a student, no matter how stubborn they may be," Shimaya-sensei honestly told me. "When you first came into my class with a scowl, ignoring everyone including myself I was worried. But slowly, over time, you changed. I pushed you to be better, to get the highest grades you could, and you pushed me to be a better educator."

Huh.

"That's weird, it doesn't seem like you became a better teacher."

Shimaya-sensei chortled at that.

"There it is, your signature wit. You know, I think I'm going to miss teaching you when you leave soon. I hate to say it, but you've been one of the most annoying but charming students I've ever had the displeasure of teaching," Shimaya-sensei told me with a grin. "They say each generation is better than the last, and I think I'm starting to see that."

"Alright, you old hag-,"

"I'm not even thirty yet!"

"Who are you trying to fool?"

"Don't make me mark you down!"

We both laughed at our back-and-forths.

"You know, I think I'm gonna miss you too, teach. I'm gonna miss this place a lot when I go," I admitted to her. "You called it growing up, but I don't know. A part of me just doesn't want to leave. Like… I don't know, I just feel like my life would be better if I could just stay here with everyone else forever."

"Isn't that selfish?"

"Huh?"

"People grow up. What you want is to just never grow up, to be stuck in your youth forever," Shimaya-sensei explained to me. "Sora, if you had the option of staying here with everyone for another year or skipping to your life at twenty, what would you choose?"

"Stay here for another year."

"Curious."

"What's curious about it?"

"Nearly everyone your age would want to skip to live their life in their twenties for the perceived freedom. Being able to be an adult with no one to tell you to do anything, being allowed to smoke and drink, date anyone you want and be the person you want," Shimaya-sensei answered. "And you didn't pick that option, Sora. You decided to spend another year in your restrictive youth."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"True, but the only people who would pick your option are adults who want to relive the simple joy of their youth. Myself included," Shimaya-sensei answered. "The answer to that question depends on your maturity, and it's clear to see that you are mature, even if you act like a child at times."

I stuck my tongue out at her in protest.

Boo!

"Just… keep an eye over yourself. And Jiro as well," Shimaya said to me, concerned. "Everyone knows of the horror stories some Heroes go through. I'd hate to wake up one day and see you be hurt because a villain attacked you and you were foolish enough to try and fight back when you weren't strong enough to win."

"You really don't like heroes, do you?"

Shimaya-sensei shook her head at that.

"Truthfully? I hate them. Vain, selfish, the whole spectrum and more. Heroes cause so much damage to the public and our environment, and they just get away with it without any punishment," She told me. "It's why I do think that Heroes are the true villains of our current society. How can we progress and be better when we're still stuck in thinking in black and white? It's only when you look at both sides that you're able to see the truth."

I nodded at that.

"Fair enough. I can't promise I won't be stupid as a Hero, but, at the very least I'm trying to avoid getting hurt because I really don't like being hurt," I replied. "I hate hospitals, so, I'd rather just avoid them as much as I can. So don't worry about me, I don't think I'll be that bad."

"We'll see."

I grinned at her.

"Are you going to say to all the new students that you taught me in the future?"

Shimaya-sensei snorted at that.

"Yeah, I'll them what a pain in the arse you were to teach."

Ouch.

Teachers, I swear. They get paid too little, but sometimes they get paid way too much.

---

The school was quiet.

Too quiet.

October rolled into November, and November practically passed by in a flash.

Life simply moved on as I finished my application for U.A., and hopefully, they'd accept me and allow me to at least try and get into their Hero course. If I somehow managed to fuck that up, well… I had no plan B.

Perhaps that's why I spent a lot of my days now trying to think of ways to use my Quirk in creative and different ways. I did know how to pass the test to get into U.A., but I guess my problem was more so how I would get enough points to safely get within the zone needed.

Ping. Ping.

I groaned.

With the amount of pings my phone was giving, someone was trying to word vomit towards me digitally.

That's annoying.

I opened my phone and lamented that somehow technology hadn't surpassed basic biometrics and passcodes. How... primitive? I imagined with robots at U.A., and the advent of Quirks phone security would have at least been better than this. But nooo, it seems like society is still stuck on how to open our goddamned phones.

That frankly pisses me off, they spend all this time and resources on robots that get blown up but none at all on something as pressing as security online. It's like these people underestimate the possibility of someone having a Quirk to control things online, hacking away by pressing random keys.

Now that's a terrifying villain, someone who can remote control your microwave. Mwahaha, your spring rolls will be set five minutes before you put them in, enjoy your undercooked meal!

Honestly, did these people not take that threat seriously?!

I sighed, another thing wrong with society. What was that guy's name again, Splatter? Smudge? Shade? The Hero Killer pops up, and basically never seen again. I was in deep thought, desperately trying to figure out his name. Spoilers: It was not going well.

"Spot? No, The Hero Killer: Spot doesn't have a nice ring to it. Soil? Nah, makes him seem like a kid," I said out loud.

"Thinking of someone?" A voice asked me. I turned around to be greeted by a smirking Jiro.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm thinking of a word that is similar to Smudge, and also starts with an S," Jiro hummed lightly as I said that, lightly tapping her index finger against her chin.

I doubt she'd get it-,

"Stain?"

I cheered, that's his name. Stain! Oh, how could I forget? Honestly, old age and that-,

I'm not old. Why'd I say that?

"Yes, thank you, Kyoka."

If it wasn't for her blushing face, I never would have realised I called her by her first name. Kyoka. Kyoka. Kyoka? That has a nice ring to it. Kyoooooookaaaaa?!

"Stop thinking about my first name over and over again idiot," Jiro yelled at me while blushing heavily. I was grateful that for once, she didn't take her embarrassment out on me. "Dumbass! Do you even know what it means to call a girl by her first name?!"

"Uh… that we're friends?"

"I-, Ugh! How can you be born in the country, live here for so long, and still not know the unspoken rules of social interaction?! It's like you don't even give a flying fuck whether people think we're dating or not!"

"Uhm, I guess, sorry about that?" I apologised as sincerely as I could, which only served to frustrate Jiro even more.

"N-no, you can call me Kyoka. I don't mind just… don't make a big deal out of it," Jiro replied. "It's just annoying that you can break these social conventions with a sledgehammer without even trying. In fact, it sort of suits you. In a charming but also off-putting way."

"Oi. What are you trying to say?"

"You aren't a subtle person. You wear your heart on your sleeve and in this country? That sticks out like a sore thumb, no matter what any anime or manga want to tell you," Jiro told me. "Especially with that blue hair of yours. All it takes is one look at you and people already think you're a delinquent, you sort of speak like one and look like one too."

"Hey!"

"Your shirt is always untucked, your tie done loose and you never wear your blazer."

"I-it's too hot!"

"We're at the end of November. There's snow outside."

"Whatever, Kyoka-, That doesn't sound right, does it?"

Jiro shrugged her shoulders at that.

"I'm not a fan of my first name. My parents just mashed up their first names together and gave me it, which is why I prefer people using my family name," Jiro told me. "At least you have a good first name. Sora. The sky. Can't think of a better name for you considering your brain is empty like the sky."

"Hey! The sky has clouds!"

"Which are just gasses."

"They are?" I asked confused as I shook my head. It doesn't matter. "They are, and my Quirk controls a cloud. And I have blue hair, and the sky is blue! I have a great first name, and I much prefer people calling me Sora to Yamazaki. It makes me feel old."

"You're fifteen."

Two years off from the cut-off point of my first life.

Huh.

"Yeah, old."

"You know, most people do give nicknames to each other. I've heard some pretty wild ones in my time," Jiro told me. "I'm thankful no one has decided to give me an embarrassing nickname that managed to stick."

I snorted at that.

Embarrassing nicknames in this world?

I could think of a few shit ones.

And that was the underestimate of the century, I mean what kind of nickname is 'Kacchan'? That sounds like a disease. 'Oh I'm sorry sir, you have been diagnosed with Kaachan. You have three minutes left to live.' Not to mention it also sounds like the Japanese word for mother, which means Izuku as a child named Bakugou similar to a word like 'mother'.

Jeez, no wonder so many people shipped them.

"Yeah, I guess your right. Say, Jiro," I replied. "Do you want a nickname?" If it was possible to go even more redder than red, Jiro went above and beyond it right then as she glared furiously at me.

"Don't be stupid. Why'd I want a nickname, from you no less? Just... just stick to Jiro in public," I frowned.

"But I like calling you Ears! Oi, what about Jack-Girl? Nah, too complicated. Ah, I got it-,!" Jiro jabbed me on the arm using her Quirk out of embarrassment, even if we were alone in the corridor and likely the entire school.

"Shut up! You annoying…"

"Annoying what?"

"Annoying bastard! There, I said it. Are you happy now?"

"Positively beaming."

Jiro scowled at me.

"I wonder why I put up with you."

"Because you enjoy spending time with me?"

"Fuck no," Jiro snorted at that. "...But I suppose you make a decent ham and cheese panini. It could be worse. It could also be a lot better. In my opinion, you should learn how to brew a mean cup of coffee."

"Why?"

"Dude, I'm your wingwoman. Trust me on this."

"I don't need a wingwoman."

"You're single," Jiro pointed out.

"And so are you," I reminded her with a smirk. "Man, I don't think U.A.'s going to be ready for our brand of craziness."

"Your brand of craziness."

"Oh, just shut up. We're in the same boat."

"We really aren't."

I scoffed at her.

"C'mon. You're a massive music nerd."

"You spend your days watching Mafia movies, listening to rap, you watch footy during our lessons and you love to play single-player games late into the night. You're the definition of a nerd," Jiro retorted. "And a music nerd doesn't even exist!"

"Pretty sure it does."

"It doesn't!"

"Well if the term did exist, I bet when searched up a picture of you would show up."

"Oh, how original, Sora," Jiro rolled her eyes at me. "You're such an annoying prick sometimes. You know, maybe I should knock you down a peg or two. You think you're so smart."

"I'm smarter than you."

Jiro raised her brow at that.

"Wanna bet?"

I grinned at her.

"I do love betting."

---

"So did you know that the flute is different from the recorder?"

I shook my head at that. I could have sworn they were the same thing...?

"Tell me, Jiro, what is the groundbreaking difference between a flute and a recorder?" I asked her sarcastically as I fiddled around with the instruments. She hit me in response, very hard might I add, all without the use of her Quirk.

"Prat. I was trying to be nice but someone like you wouldn't understand it even if I blasted it five metres away from you on a microphone," I winked at her as I pointed to my ears in response.

"Jiro, I'm tone-deaf."

She hit me again.

"Thats not what tone deaf means, idiot," Jiro told me angrily. "You don't know shit. This is the easiest bet of my life. And no, you accepted the challenge so I get to decide what the tests are. Maybe I'll be lenient and move on from the music section to musicals."

"Great. Woo."

Jiro rolled her eyes at me once again.

"Fine, what does it mean? Being tone-deaf, I mean."

"It means that your ear for music is terrible, to put it bluntly. Music will be the one thing you will never be good at."

I shrugged my shoulders at that.

"It's just music anyway, who gives a shit."

Jiro pointed towards herself with a huff, her earlobes looking to strike me down any minute. Ah. Right. I forgot who I was currently out with, and I immediately regretted my words.

"Uhm, I don't know, Sora. You know, the only person present who studies music? Honestly, I wonder how you are going to pass the U.A. exams, you can barely remember your friend's interests."

I blinked at her.

"...I thought you wanted to be a hero? Not a musician?"

"Honestly, are you sure your brain isn't as tiny as your body?" I growled. Sure, make fun of the guy's height.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm now five foot four. One hundred and sixty-two centimetres, that's the same height as Hawks. He's pretty badass too!" Jiro rolled her eyes at me, even though I was a little taller than her.

My chin reached her nose.

"Yes, please do compare yourself to a top hero. What a great comparison, what's next, are you going to tell me All Might is wearing a padded muscle costume, and that he's just skin and bones?"

Er, did she want a truthful answer?

I guess not.

I hope not.

"You know for a fifteen-year-old, I'm not that short," I complained. Jiro stared at me, studying my face as she burst out into laughter.

"Oh man, you really have no idea."

I scowled at her.

"What the hell are you on about, crazy woman?!" She just laughed harder this time, leaning on me for support. "Jiro? Jiro? Oh for fucks sake, what's the inside joke you silly bitc-,"

---

Christmas Parties.

They weren't anything special, and for me, it was just a small family thing. Miwa was jumping up and down the house like a little spastic gremlin as she put up all the decorations. From the Christmas Tree, the LED lights stuck on the wall and even pictures of our family throughout the years.

One family picture since I was adopted to now.

And, the worst part of them all, I was forced to wear a Christmas jumper.

"Stop frowning!" Miwa ordered me.

"Uua?" I looked at her in confusion as I had half of my sandwich in my mouth. Frowning? I was just eating my sandwich while watching movies with Gekko on the couch. Miwa growled as she stormed up to me and forced me to smile. It was slightly autistic, in the best sense of the word.

"You're frowning!"

"Miwa, you're fifteen. Get a grip, lad."

"Grrrr! You took off your Grinch Christmas jumper!" Miwa yelled at me. "How are we going to take this year's family photo now?!"

"...Without me wearing the jumper, preferably."

"Get back in it!"

"No! Why do I have to wear the Grinch jumper?! Why don't you wear it?!"

"Because I'm a girl!"

"Well, I guess that means I'm a girl too!"

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

We both growled as she kicked me in the shins and I punched her in the shoulder. Eventually, we began to wrestle each other on the floor, with Miwa using every trick in her arsenal to try and beat me.

But I wasn't going down so easily.

"Aha!" I yelled, using my Quirk to coat my arms as it gave me the strength I needed to pick her up and throw her on the couch. Sadly, I used a little too much force as it broke the couch entirely. "Ah~! Oh, shit-,"

Crash.

I looked up to see Hinata drop the plates right as she was about to set the table.

Gulping, I looked down at Miwa who was grinning.

"Now you know why you have to wear the Grinch jumper. You ruined Christmas."

"Stole. It's the Grinch who stole Christmas, dipshit."

---

I yawned. It was way too early in the evening for this.

A young boy with green hair and freckles running around in the rain, A lanky, long-haired man standing behind him, baggy clothes and sunken blue eyes and all. It was Izuku Midoriya, and Toshinori... Toshinori... It was All Might! I watched them from the position of an outsider (Which I totally was), Izuku wearing a backpack with weights inside from what it looked like.

I shuddered at the thought of doing something similar. I would never be muscular, nor did I want to be muscular. No, I'd rather just be lean thank you very much. However, a small part of me did feel motivated to go to the gym and hit the weights, but that was quickly vetoed by the item currently inside the shopping bag I was holding. The Odyssey of Heroes: Chains of Cold Platinum Four.

It was the final game of the series I had been playing for years.

I was stoked for it, years of waiting and now it was finally out.

Not to mention inside the same bag was the newest issue of Jump Shounen, a manga version of the entire game series was being drawn by the famous mangaka Kohei Fujimoto, known for his worldwide revered series about a girl with the powers to speak to dead people called Shirokuro.

It was a pretty good series, and since I collected the entire series beforehand I thanked my lucky stars that it wasn't spoiled for me. Still, I couldn't help but stare at Midoriya and All Might.

Watching the odd pair train made me inwardly smirk.

While dear Deku was training, I would be experiencing a high-quality game.

There were levels to this.

Levels.

---

"Kyaaaaaah! Kapow! It is I, the mighty warrior known assssssss, Kintoki!" Yelled Shirou from the stage, he was wearing a bright green yakuta, and holding a wooden sword painted silver.

Inwardly, I was groaning.

The cursed culture festival happens each year, and this year he decided to make his homeroom do a play. As the homeroom leader of sorts, they all followed him like blind dogs.

Leading to the reenactment of DragonPiece Shippuden, the world's best-selling manga!

At first, I was ecstatic, I mean Shirou's homeroom had many talented drama students in it, instead, I was thoroughly disappointed. These actors went full-on method acting as they tried to become the character.

Key word being tried.

It was a mess.

Allen B Naruto was thoroughly off-putting, sounding like a deranged psycho rather than the hero of the story who saved so many of the villains and people in need from the villain.

Zolo, instead of being the main character's best friend was obsessed with girls rather than his goals.

Orihime, the bright-eyed heroine looking for adventure instead became thirsty for the man that killed her grandfather - Despite it never happening in the original source material!

It was... unforgettable.

I guess it proved that not even the Japanese can make a good live-action or stage play.

---

It was late in the afternoon, I had stayed at school for a few hours of reading up on some subjects. It was hard to concentrate fully at home, midterms were coming up and I needed to do well. Yawning, I tilted my head slightly, hearing the satisfying crack that came with it. My neck was too stiff, and reading and taking notes for an hour or two was annoying.

Still, it was quite a cool day.

Especially since it was supposed to be summer.

The breeze was nice, however.

"Oh, you're still here?" A voice asked me. I turned around to see Jiro walk up to me, holding her bag on one shoulder as she was holding an instrument of sorts. A violin? Maybe, or was it a foldable piano? Hm...

"Where else would I be?" I replied.

"I don't know, Sora, maybe somewhere not here, like playing some games all alone in your room? Or working at your job? Or pretending to train your Quirk, when in actuality you're just looking at porn?" Jiro sneered at the last one.

For one, I totally do not do that. I voiced my concerns, but she very much shrugged them off.

"All boys your age are perverts. The other day I caught a little hole in the girls' changing rooms. How do I know that it wasn't you that did it?"

Uhm, firstly I needn't look at girls changing. Not to mention, the girls in my school weren't... developed enough for my tastes, personality-wise that is. Secondly, I wasn't a pervert, (Not to mention most of my friends were girls, they'd kill me if I did such a thing). And thirdly, uhm... what was my third point again?

Oh right, it was just fucking weird and creepy.

Anyway, I simply waved her off.

"Simply put, that wasn't me nor do I know anyone who would do such a horrific act," She jabbed me on the arm. Fucking hell, jab this! Jab that! Every time she gets even a little annoyed, she lashes out. What kind of hero does that?! I thought it was sweet or something, I vaguely remember her poking some dumb blond kid. But like...

Why does it have to hurt?

Even though I was being over-dramatic, Jiro continued to roll with my performance.

"I'll stop poking you when you stop being stupid. Spill. Now."

I rubbed my arm, shaking my head at her.

"I don't know, and why do I even want to look at some shitty panties? I literally don't care about the girls in this school in any sexual way!"

She flushed red as she pointed her finger in my face. "Well, you are the only boy I speak to on a regular basis along with Shirou, Denji, Sui and Renji. Friendly enough to ask whether or not you would know about this issue, it's been making us girls uncomfortable anytime one of you boys leers at us during PE. And who said anything about panties?" Jiro shouted at me.

At that moment, I didn't know if it was my fate; or a sign from God himself. What I did know was that a gust of wind came flying towards us, and Jiro's, erm, skirt went flying. High enough that for a brief second, I caught a glimpse of her panties. Naturally, my face went red as I tried to cover my eyes, hoping to hide myself from this embarrassing moment for the both of us.

"Cute little Teddie bears, huh?" I found myself thinking. Wait, I said that out loud, didn't I?!

I opened my eyes to see Jiro as red as a tomato, turning more and more rapidly annoyed as she looked at me, probably with murder on her mind. I did just make a remark on panties... Just when I was trying to convince her I wasn't a pervert.

This was seriously not funny. It felt like a forced moment between the two of us, I mean what in the world did I do to deserve this? Why did God had to intervene at that moment, this wasn't even that funny anymore.

I just wanted to forget this whole skit.

I don't want to live, don't take me out to sea with you.

"Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jab!Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbb!"

---

I closed my eyes in my room.

Training.

As I opened my eyes, my Quirk was floating in the shape of its usual cloud right in front of me. Changing the floating cloud into a smooth bat, a sharp sword or a spikey mace didn't take much effort.

That's how much control I have over changing the shape of my Nimbus.

Even as I reshaped my Nimbus back to its original cloud form, floating in the air, I jumped from my bed to the Nimbus and it still held its weight. It didn't take much for the Nimbus, carrying me, to jerk left and right, move forward and backwards as well as descend to the ground and ascend up to my ceiling… Even if I accidentally banged the top of my head against the ceiling.

I hopped off my Nimbus.

They were the skills I had completely refined over years of training and usage.

Another skill I had picked up recently was reinforcement, coating my body with my Nimbus allowed me to move faster first. That was because I was forcing my Nimbus to move in a certain direction, pushing my body along with it which did allow me to be much more flexible than normal, but along with that I could increase the density of the reinforcements thus making me far more stronger too.

It was something that randomly came to me, and now I couldn't believe it took me so long to realise that I could coat myself with my Nimbus. But, it wasn't something I could hold for long.

If I got distracted - either by my pain or something else - all of my Nimbus constructs would disappear. Not only that, but the one cloud I summoned was all of it. If I coated my body and tried to make a mace, the mace would be left incomplete unless I diverted some of the Nimbus coating my body to finish the mace construct - When then made me defensively vulnerable.

Another attack I tried was a ranged attack.

At first, I tried constructing arrows and making them fly dangerously fast towards a stationary target. That was easy, even if I had some trouble with controlling the arrows.

Aiming at my TV, I made myself five arrows and flung them right at it… And with my control over my Nimbus, I was able to stop all five arrows from impacting my TV, thankfully. But as I willed them to turn around to face me, that was another issue ultimately lied - I couldn't control their directions well.

Even if the target was moving around, my ranged attack would be pointless and in a fight there would be no stationary targets. Tch. It was something I had to work on, since the arrows themselves caused it.

I just had no idea what shape to change the arrows to that would allow me greater direction.

And finally - My proudest attack.

I closed my eyes as I opened my right hand and concentrated as hard as I could. I could feel my Nimbus dissipate before forming together again right on top of the palm of my hand. I opened my eyes to see a small ball of Nimbus floating over my palm.

It looked like a small blue ball.

And then, I willed it to rotate.

And rotate even faster.

Within seconds a spinning ball of destruction was at my finger-tips, and all I needed to do was walk over to my old and broken bookcase, one filled with many perfect holes as I drilled another hole into it. It was clean. It wasn't just a drill, the ball of Nimbus was rotating so fast that ultimately, it completely destroyed the backboard of my old bookcase.

"Rasengan."

The Spiralling Sphere.

Was I copying someone's attack?

Yeah.

I was.

But, it's not like Naruto was going to burst into my room and sue me for copyright infringement. And I was working on a helluva lot more similar attacks, one's that would also help me.

Unlike Izuku Midoriya I didn't need to lift weights.

I just needed to be creative in order to get stronger.

---

Sneeze.

It was now February, which meant that being sick was more of an occurrence. More people being sick meant that the general mood was lower than usual, with students having to stop coming to school for days at a time due to their unwellness. It was surprising how many children faked being sick these days, personally, I was off the crowd that thought pretending to be sick was rather silly.

I mean if a new game or volume came out then sure, by all means. Or if the day in school is going to be spent doing something else rather than our normal scheduled lessons, like having an outside group come in and talk about the dangers of narcotics in the streets, then of course that would be a perfect day to not go in.

But to not go in, when the school year was about to end is rather silly.

Especially so since they would go out with their friends, to a cafe or to each other's houses.

Which is exactly what happened to me. Somehow, Keiko and Sakura convinced me to take the day off and bunk with them to go on a girl's day out, and when I asked what was my position as a boy, they said I was 'Help.'

Naturally, I didn't understand what that meant at the time. I do know, carrying multiple bags of clothes and shopping for them, all the while trying not to sneeze so they don't fall down.

Not to self: Never go shopping with those two.

Ever again.

We were at a shrine, or rather I hung back while Miwa said her prayers and whatnot.

I wasn't a religious guy, not at all. After all, being reincarnated in another world which I read and watched in my previous life shattered any hope I had of there being a higher being, a God. I wasn't going to pray, hell I wasn't even wearing a Yakuta. Just some jeans and a hoodie, and judging by the looks some passersby were giving me, I probably secretly offended them.

They had a right to be angry of course, but my special Yakuta wasn't ready yet. I specifically designed one that looked like Gintoki's, only for the infinite possibilities of cosplay that it would give me. And with my naturally wavy blue hair and cool persona?

I could definitely rock it, all I was waiting for was the packet from Best Jeanist's clothes company in the mail, saying here is your order, we hope you enjoy it.

But designing it did make me think of my Hero costume, which was difficult to think of.

Either way, the exams were in less than a month now. This meant that my U.A. exam was on the Fourteenth of February, and on Twenty-First that same month, a week later, I'd be getting the results. Time flew by, it honestly did.

Looking back at everything, it was scary. I was close to sixteen, and in five months I was turning a big number. One year shy of seventeen, the age at which I died in my previous life.

Seventeen plus sixteen would mean that mentally, I'd be thirty-four. Old enough to have possibly married, and started a family with at least a child in my previous life. Old enough to have lived a fulfilled life, graduated from University and gotten a job, travelled around the world and met new people and cultures, and saw how One Piece could have ended.

I was old enough to be friends with Gekko and Hinata, old enough to have gone on a date with Shiyama-sensei and possibly marry her. Old enough to have seen a new generation rise up. I wasn't blind, being older mentally than everyone my age was hurting me. I couldn't help but look at everyone as if they were a child because to me they were.

But if I had to choose, between my old life and now.

I'd continue to be Sora Yamazaki. Continue to live this life.

Because looking at Miwa, concentrating while giving a prayer. It made me smile.

---

"Do you have your phone? Call us immediately when the exam is finished. Oh and make sure to bring a chocolate bar with you, Gekko brought these sweets yesterday for you. Your favourite flavour, Cherry. Oh, and here is the money for your train ticket, it's still in Musutafu, so don't get lost," Hinata said, wiping her eyes a little bit.

This was it, the day of my exam.

Either I make it, or I break it.

Nah, that sounded too villainous.

Get in, or get lost? No, that sounded even worse.

"Don't worry, Mum," I replied with a smile. I was now level with her in height. "I got this. I've been waiting for this day forever, and now I'm ready to ace this shitty test to the fuckin' ground. Oh, uh, sorry for the language."

Hinata nodded at that as she hugged me one more time, saying that I was going to be fine, and wishing me good luck. Next was Gekko, holding the morning news as he adjusted his glasses.

"You got this. Show them what a Yamazaki can do! We already know you can be an amazing Hero, so show U.A. just exactly what you're made of. And we'll excuse the language, for today of course."

"Aye, aye, Sir!"

I mock-saluted my father, making him chuckle.

Finally, I turned to Miwa. She was wearing her pyjamas, having woken up early for this, but she seemed enthusiastic compared to me. I was only a little bit taller than her, but nonetheless, she wrapped me around in a big hug.

"Good luck, my hero," Miwa whispered in my air, breath tickling me slightly. It was that I realised she had just eaten something garlicy on purpose as I began to cough loudly, but she didn't let go. "Haha. That's another win to me."

"Today? Seriously?"

Miwa rolled her eyes at me.

"You'll be fine, you big baby. Just hurry up and pass the test."

I mean…

Fair enough.

I waved goodbye to them as I closed the door, walking down the steps of the building. This was my start to the journey of becoming a hero... Once I reached the train station.

And my train was in five minutes.

How lame.

Once I got seated down, next to Jiro of course, who looked much more nervous than I did.

"Are you even nervous? You damned monster?" Jiro asked me, tapping away at her desk. I shrugged, scouring the auditorium for familiar faces. Two rows in front of us were the infamous duo, Izuku Midoriya and Kacchan Bakugou, wait, it was Kacchan wasn't it...?

Eh, who cares?

Engine leg boy sat three rows behind us, snapping at everyone who was talking. Such a stickler for the rules, honestly, that stick must be shoved so far up his ass that it must control him like a puppet.

"Silence you heathens, I will not have you disregard the school's authority, or tarnish their prestige! Get off your phone right now!" I could hear him lecturing some random girl.

I sighed.

Didn't he realise he was the one talking as well? Suddenly, the room went quiet as a familiar hero walked on stage. Present Mic, the resident loud hero. I never was a big fan of his podcasts, it was mostly boring shit like tips and tricks to making music production or some shit.

Jiro however was squealing in delight, and you could clearly tell she was a fan.

A massive fangirl.

And wasn't that cute?

"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE!" Present Mic began, capturing the audience with a bang. Or a loud shout, same thing really. "Everybody say 'HEY'!" He added that, unfortunately, he was met with silence.

I mean realistically, who would say welcome to him? I looked around, and even more people than myself were just unimpressed. I mean why couldn't Midnight welcome us, with her... Damn, my hormones.

"Well that's cool, my examinee LISTENERS!" Present Mic said, pointing at all of us. "I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are YOU ready?!"

I was tempted to shout 'no', for the comedic effect of course. But I don't think anyone here would appreciate my humour, lest Engine Boy who was glaring murder at poor Midoriya for muttering quietly. But to give credit to Engines, it kinda was distracting.

"This is how the test will go, my listeners! You'll be experiencing a ten-minute long 'Mock Cityscape Manoeuvre'!" He explained, a picture appearing on the screen behind him. It showed our current location, with six lines coming off it. A, B, C, D, E and F. The different blocks I presume. "Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location!" I see, so I was correct as always.

"Each site is filled with three kinds of faux villains," Present Mic shouted, a new picture being displayed behind him. I sucked in a breath of air. It was Mario. Literally Mario. "Points are awarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels!" He said, pointing at the one-pointer, two-pointer and three-pointer.

"Use your Quirks to disable these faux villains..." He was now shouting at us again. "AND EARN POINTS! THAT'S YOUR GOAL, LISTENERS!"

…

No one really replied as everyone was stunned at the simplicity of the test.

"Of course, playing the antihero and attacking other examinees is prohibited!" Present Mic added, causing me to sigh in relief. I didn't want to be ganged up upon, I didn't like unfair odds. Fighting a group of people when they aren't using their Quirks is one thing, I can easily do that and have done that. But fighting a group of people with unknown Quirks?

That would be uncomfortable.

"May I ask a question?!" Engine boy asked, standing up with his arm stretched so high I thought he'd grab the moon. God damn tall people. I tuned him out as he said exactly what I'd thought he say.

Blah blah, four villains, where is it?

Aren't we supposed to be apprising heroes?

And curly-haired Midoriya, shut up cause you're not taking it seriously.

If I wasn't who I was, I'd probably feel threatened by engines just like poor Midoriya because of how annoying he was. Either way, I knew this all already so I simply nodded at Jiro, helping her calm down.

She was very nervous.

For no reason.

Jiro would be fine.

I closed my eyes for a short nap, even if it was five minutes, I'd take it.

"Plus Ultra!" Present Mic eventually said, causing Jiro to elbow me awake.

"It's over, come on. But we are sadly in separate blocks, so good luck to you," Jiro said to me with a small smile. "But, knowing you, I doubt you'll really need it. Lucky bastard."

"We'll be fine. Just remember that music sucks, and you'll pass with flying colours."

Jiro jabbed me for that comment.

"Ow, there she is. Make sure to do that to the robots, and you'll get a thousand points on the basis that you'll kill them," I smirked at her, Bakugou having looked around the room when he heard the word 'kill'. Honestly, that was funny.

"Make sure not to fight anyone," Jiro said to me, patting my head. "You are like a dog in a constant measuring contest, just try to get in without causing much trouble."

I frowned.

I had never caused trouble before in my life.

Judging by the look on her face, she didn't believe me.

How sad.

---

I walked over to my exam site, F, it was judging from the massive 'F' painted in front. Midoriya or Bakugou weren't on my exam site sadly, I had already checked. That was a shame. I would have liked to have met them, but oh well.

If everything went to plan, I wouldn't just meet them.

As all of the site F candidates were lined up outside the gate, I took a few glances at those whom I would consider to be my rivals for our test. There was some blonde guy who looked sort of smug going around to ask everyone a question and standing right next to me was some tall guy holding some baked cupcakes.

I couldn't help but look at him curiously.

Seriously, cupcakes?

"Oh hey man," The tall guy greeted me with a friendly smile. "My name is Rikudo Sato."

"Sora Yamazaki. Nice to meet ya'."

"Heh, you're probably wondering why I brought all these cupcakes, right?" Sato asked me. I didn't even reply with 'no' as he explained anyway. "It's because of my Quirk, if I eat something sugary my muscles grow and I become stronger. Pretty cool right?"

Mmh, along with the potential to become severely diabetic before the age of twenty, it was so strong. What was gonna be his hero name, Captain Sugar? Along with his fish-like lips, I just couldn't take him seriously.

Imagine this guy sitting next to you for a whole year?! That sounds like hell, constant crumbs over the floor as he eats cupcakes. Cakes weren't even nice, how'd this guy be able to eat them without getting sick?

Despite that, he did seem really nice.

Good luck, Cake-Man-,

"Uhm, excuse me!" A voice intervened. He was blonde, a little taller than me, probably five foot seven with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked nervous as he asked us, "Could I please borrow your Quirks?"

Ah! I remember him slightly, the guy who can copy quirks who's in Class B! The one in which the orange big-fisted girl, Kendo, was constantly beating him up and dragging him away in canon. Damn is he lucky, I'd let any hot girl punch me. Wait no, that sounds wrong.

"Sure," I replied, holding out my hand. "I don't know if you'll be able to use it correctly, but if it'll help you I don't mind. Sora Yamazaki, it's nice ta' meet ya'!"

He grinned at me, clasping my hand as he shook it.

"Neito Monoma. Thanks, you wouldn't believe the looks some people gave me."

"I don't have to believe it, I saw it. Just ignore those idiots."

Neito gratefully thanked me as he turned to Sato, who quickly did the same as me, Sato even handed him a cupcake to eat if he wanted to use Sato's Quirk during the test.

Huh.

What a nice guy.

"My Quirk is pretty easy to use too," I told Monoma. "It's… like another arm. Or, that's what it feels like. You get the hang of it pretty quickly because it's not that good of a Quirk. My Quirk really just tests your creativity and what you can really shape with a limited amount of materials if that makes sense."

Monoma nodded as he smiled at Sato and I.

"Man, thanks so much. Really."

"It's fine," I replied, waving him off. "Anyway, wanna' come stand here? We're not that far off from the game." Monoma nodded as he stood next to me, the three of us chatting about whatever came to mind as we patiently waited for our exam to finally start.

"Well well, if it isn't the copycat," Some guy shouted. He was tall, with red dreadlocks and a sneer on his face. He looked like a typical gangster, or someone trying to emulate one, but just came across as quite juvenile. "Still asking people for their Quirks? Man, you haven't changed since elementary school."

Judging from Monoma's face, this was one of the people who gave him shit for the Quirk. Tch. The guy was a bully, and that did sort of piss me off. I stood in front of him and Monoma, putting my middle finger up at that guy.

"Huh? What do you want, shortie? This is between Monoma and me-,"

"Fuck off dreadlocks, you look like a two-bit gangster that hits their own sister on the weekend. And that's only because your mother is out getting fucked by five different guys on the weekend," I replied. "That or you look like a cunt that can't brush his own hair properly. What is that, a wig? Let me guess, your poor grandmother made it for you using her wrinkly old pubes-,"

"The fuck did ya' say to me?!"

I smirked.

"Maybe you should clean your ears? Your shitty haircut's filling them up with your greasy hair. I guess it also means you need to clean your hair, not that wig you stitched on to hide your receding hairline."

He lunged at me, causing Sato to get physically involved.

I could only smirk as Monoma looked at me with wonder in his eyes.

"You never dealt with a bully?" I asked him.

"I-, Well, it's not like I'm tall or strong," Monoma told me shyly. "And my Quirk doesn't really allow me to fight properly. So, I just put my head down and deal with it. He's not the worst, but he is kinda loud."

"Yeah, like a bitch," I said a little too loudly, causing the guy to start screaming at me as Sato held him back with ease. "Woof, woof. Woof, woof. Do you know who else is a bitch? Your mother. And she loves doing doggy with crusty old men-,"

"I'M GONNA KICK YOUR TEETH IN!"

"You ain't gonna do shit to me or Monoma. Listen, fuckface, you so much as look at him in a bad way, and all Monoma has to do is message me or this tall guy over here and we will fuck you up. Understand?"

As Sato let the bully go, he predictably came rushing toward me.

Summoning my Nimbus, all I did was create a massive fist, pummelling him away.

"See?" I turned to look at Monoma, who couldn't believe what he had just seen. "Problem solved. And that's a sort of crash course on how to use my Quirk, alright?"

"T-thanks…"

I turned to Sato who grinned at me.

"Hey Sato, nice going-,"

Trip.

It was funny how one of the bullies' friends came from behind Sato and pushed him. The shove wasn't very hard, it was just unexpected as Sato fell on the floor, the food and snacks he had prepared dropping everywhere.

"Tch," One of the bullies said, stepping on Sato's remaining edible food with glee. "Piss off freak. I'd like to see you get in now without using your Quirk."

By all accounts, Sato should have backed off, but he got up from the floor and smiled at them.

"Thank you for your kind words."

That took strength.

To stand up to bullies and tell them that their taunts didn't work.

Even as the bullies disappeared, I could see the worry on Sato's face. I felt a little guilty, after all if I hadn't mouthed off towards the bully, Sato's sugary foods wouldn't have fallen on the floor. And as we looked at the countdown, there were now two minutes remaining until the test started, meaning there was no way Sato could get any more sugar for his Quirk.

I had essentially made him fail.

That wasn't heroic.

Damnit.

Monoma followed my sentiment, as he offered to give the cupcake back.

"No, you have it. It's fine, a Hero always has to make sacrifices! And those guys seemed nasty, so I'd rather you prove them wrong than me," Sato said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anyways, I'll just try to get into Shiketsu. It's closer to home too. Funny how fate works sometimes. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is good luck!"

We watched as Sato walked away, and all I could think about was-,

"Agh," I yelled, clutching my head in pain. It was like... that time with Jiro...

---

Sato was smiling in Class 1A, no he wasn't smiling anymore.

His U.A. uniform was replaced entirely.

No, he was being replaced - He was faded out for someone else?!

He was being replaced…

---

By me?!

I woke up to Monoma trying to get me to breathe, concerned as he shook my body.

"Hey, dude? Are you alright?"

I nodded weakly, thanking him as I got up from the ground. I just ensured that Sato would never get into Class-1A, or rather I replaced him. Everything came back, from his banana-inspired costume to his room in the dorm. All the memories I had of him in cannon came back to me because they were now void.

I changed the timeline again, which meant that Sato not being in 1A changed things.

Apparently, I was now going to take his place.

Tch.

That Jiro vision made me more nervous now, whatever happened at the USJ meant that someone was going to die. Without Sato, it means that I fail to do the role that he does, or perhaps my existence made things worse. I felt sick, like burying my head in the sand and running away. Monoma grabbed my shoulder as he smiled at me.

"Don't worry man, you gave me your Quirk so you're not a bad guy. Just do your best to make Sato proud, that's what I'm gonna do! And I'm also gonna make you proud too, I'll use your Quirk properly!"

If only, if only it was that simple. I shook my head, I shouldn't be worrying about 1A now when I hadn't even passed the practical exam, that was a prerequisite. I smiled back at Monoma, wishing him luck.

The exam was starting soon.

I summoned Nimbus, sitting on top of it patiently, getting some weird looks from the other candidates, Monoma's eyes opened comically as I grinned. Yeah, I'm a badass. I was going to get into 1A, and I was going to save the person who's supposed to die in the USJ, Sato might not be a part of 1A.

But I was now.

And there was no greater defence than that!

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"GO!"

As soon as the doors opened, I soared into the sky, determined to get as many points as possible. My hair was flowing in the air due to my speed, my eyes also hurt from the pressure. Note to self: have goggles next time I go flying. I blinked, wiping the tears already being formed as I slowed down a little.

It felt good to fly around the city with ease.

But more importantly, I felt free. Like a bird as I flew around the fake city, looking for robots to fight. Ah, a three-pointer on my left. I flew toward it as I jumped off my cloud, forming a Rasengan in my hands.

It felt heavy, but it also felt comfortable.

It felt... right.

I launched myself at the three-pointer, my right arm with the Rasengan drilling into it with ease. Gears and wires of the robot flew past me as I tore into the three-pointer and completely decimated it.

I laughed, three points down.

Some more to go.

Summoning my Quirk once more, I sat back on top of my Nimbus, as I looked for more points across the city. One-pointer, two-pointer, three-pointer. They were being torn as I went through them using a combination of my different attacks and weapons used from my Nimbus.

As I saw a one-pointer heading toward me, I decided to test an attack.

"Cloud Cloud…" I yelled as I jumped off my Nimbus and fell toward the robot. I wrapped the Nimbus around my arm, clocking it back before I launched it forward, my arm seemingly stretching even if it was just made of my Quirk. "JET PISTOL!"

The one-pointer didn't just break apart.

It was flung back to another robot, destroying them both at the same time.

Hah.

I did it.

Grinning, I didn't waste any more time as I flew around the city - Being at a major advantage. Not only was I flying fast, but my altitude gave me an advantage over everyone else. I could see and reach the opponents before anyone else could, and that was why ultimately this was an easy test for me.

Perhaps, I had over-prepared for it.

By the time the proctor said there was a minute remaining, I had managed to earn fifty-one points. I felt very tired, breathing heavily as I leaned on Nimbus for support while flying across the city.

There was another weakness I had, one I hadn't realised I had.

I hadn't ever used my Quirk like this, not for prolonged periods of time or in rapid succession. My stamina was pitiful, something that desperately needed to be improved on. The Earth beneath shook as the massive Zero-Pointer was unleashed, many of the candidates choosing to run away or chase other remaining robots before time ran out.

I couldn't help but feel a smirk forming on my face.

I was going to be a hero, I was going to save 1A, and no one would die.

That was my promise-,

"Help! HELP!" A familiar voice said it was Monoma. He was on the floor, stuck beneath a small piece of concrete. Someone with super-human strength could easily have broken it, someone like Sato would have saved him. Unfortunately, Monoma was completely stuck as the Zero-Pointer slowly made its way to crushing the poor boy.

Tch.

I swooped down to where he was, reforming my Nimbus into a sledgehammer as I broke the rubble resting on Monoma's legs. Before the boy could even say anything, I grabbed him by the arm and jumped on my Nimbus as we luckily flew away in time.

That was close

"Dude," Monoma managed to get out as he was out of breath. "You saved my life back there. If it wasn't for you-, I-, I-,"

"Don't worry about it," I told him with a grin. "That's just what Heroes do."

---

Shota Aizawa POV

"Interesting batch of candidates, ey Aizawa?" Nezu asked him. Shouta Aizawa blinked at the principal in confusion, despite the dark room he was sure that the principal could see him clearly.

"Interesting? The whole lot of them look problematic, even worse than last year's candidates," Shota replied, pointing at the screen where a green-haired candidate was having his broken arm mended. He then pointed towards the screen with an angry blonde, explosions coming out of his hands as he stood upon a mountain of robots. "There are many issues that need to be sorted out with these students."

"And I trust you'll be the one to sort them out as a homeroom tutor?"

Shota grunted in response.

If that was his job, that was his job.

The Principal of UA was sitting down on his seat, watching all the screens at once.

'He's probably deciding what the classes should be, what Quirks would work well together,' Shota thought to himself. Next to Nezu was the rest of the U.A. staff, each looking more and more impressed with the fresh batch of applicants.

Vlad King looked hungrily at a few students as Midnight squealed in delight at a few students, whispering to President Mic which ones she wanted to collect. Even All Might seemed particularly invested in one screen.

"You aren't wrong, Shota," Nezu replied. "They do need work, in some cases a lot of it. But I have no doubt your methods will iron them out," Nezu replied, sipping his tea. Shota could only snort at that.

Only if they met his standard, which was already high enough.

They had the potential to be great, yes, but they each came with a whole heap of problems and responsibilities from both the student and the teacher. Judging from All Might's proud face directed at one screen, it was more trouble than he was paid for.

"Do none of the students interest you?"

"Not particularly," Shota honestly replied.

"Oh? And what about him?" Nezu asked, pointing towards the screen on the far left. It made Shota transfixed solely on the boy front and centre of the screen, flying around on a Cloud. His Blue hair flowed in the wind as he tore robots apart with a mixture of short-ranged attacks, along with helping out a blonde boy trapped underneath some rubble.

'He reminds me off...' Shota cut his thoughts off. Those were dangerous, dredging back old memories of three boys in the same school he currently taught at. 'No, that's impossible. It just can't be him.'

It was a lifetime ago for Shota, which is why he glared at the boy for personally insulting Shota with his appearance and Quirk. The way he grinned even reminded him of Oboro.

"That boy seems like he'd be a massive problem child. Irrational, flashy and considering he was flying at a slow pace, most likely a show-off," Shota explained as he criticised the boy he didn't even know the name of. "I would hate it if he squandered his potential, choosing to go the lazy route of not training rather than continuing. Judging by the fact that he looks severely tired and it's barely been five minutes, he must not have a lot of practice with his Quirk. And that is the height of irrationality."

Perhaps Shota was being too harsh on the boy he knew nothing about.

After all, Oboro Shirakumo died years ago. And judging from the looks Present Mic, and Midnight gave him they were all thinking along the same lines, or at least they were on similar wavelengths.

Who was Sora Yamazaki?

Why did he look and act exactly like Oboro?

More importantly, why were their Quirks eerily similar?!

---

I yawned.

It had been a day since the UA exam, and I was still very sore. Luckily, my school was off for the entire week to give students enough time to do their exams. That was nice. My phone was buzzing as practically everyone I knew was messaging me about my exams, from Odd Jobs Dai to Shoichi.

My email was even pinged by Shinso, the guy I worked with for like two days during the work experience nearly two years ago now.

I sighed as Miwa was playing in my room, she had bought a new game and judging by her growing expression and volume, she was getting angrier by the minute. I had to put down my new manga volume, jeez, couldn't she just relax?!

"Ayo Miwa, chill out," I said calmly, causing her to glare at me. "Don't fucking glare at me. It's my PS, in my room, on my TV. I'll kick your stupid arse out myself if you break anything."

"But it's an important game. It's recommended by professional doctors who helped to supervise it." I blinked. I was now confused. Miwa was playing... an educational game?

On my PS?

In my room?

On my TV?

"And here I thought I was supposed to be stressed about my results, yet here you are getting angry over a game."

"What's your point?"

"I can't believe I call you my sister."

"You just can't admit it, can you?"

"Admit what?"

"You're nervous of your results."

…Huh?

I laughed openly at Miwa, astounded by her judgement. Miwa frowned as she paused her game to stare at me, but that only made me laugh louder at how stupid she could have been.

Me?

Nervous?

"I'm not nervous, I know I've passed."

"How are you so sure of that?"

"I just am," I replied. "The tests were easy, and even the practical I know aced with flying colours because I got the highest result in my block. I mean, being able to fly around was an unfair advantage, but still. I just know I've done well. I ain't got any other way of showing it to you, so you can believe me or not, but when that result says I've passed in six days, you'll understand."

Miwa grinned at me.

"I'm glad you're not moping then. So, what's on your mind then?"

"...Nothing-,"

"Don't give me that," Miwa cut me off. "I'm your sister. I know when something is off with you, I've seen it happen so many times before. You can lie to yourself all you'd like, but you can't lie to me. And, well, you are a horrible liar. Really."

"I… It feels weird. You know. Being finally here," I said to her, exhaling loudly. "Feels like it's the end of a chapter in life I can't ever get back. I'm not nervous, I know what awaits me, I'm just cautious. I know if I try my hardest I won't fail, but maybe my hardest isn't enough. So I need to try even harder, I need to be better."

"Why do you speak so cryptically?"

"Maybe I'm a cryptic kinda guy."

Miwa snorted at that.

"You? Please, you hate the idea of fate. The only thing 'cryptic' about you is how much of a pain in my arse you're going to be, and even then it varies from day to day," Miwa replied. "...All jokes aside, you'll be fine. You're a strong guy, stronger than you think. Plus, you're my brother. You wouldn't give up on anything even if it killed you."

"Especially if it killed me," I replied while chuckling. "And thanks. You're the world's greatest sister."

"Really?"

"Absolutely not," I told her as I laughed at her expression. It turned to a scowl anyway as she dashed my controller at me, and I managed to duck in time as it smashed against my wall. "Oh, for fucks sake-,!"

---

"Sora! It's here!" I heard Hinata shout.

Well, my Gintoki Yakuta came a few weeks ago, which meant that...

The U.A. results had finally arrived.

Finding out if I had made it, or if I didn't. I felt pretty strongly, I remember Midoriya only got in with like forty or fifty points, which meant that I had to have gotten in. No way that I wouldn't.

"Coming now, Mum," I yelled as I wore a nice hoodie. Gekko was sipping some coffee as he laid the package on the table, turning off the TV. Miwa looked towards it in excitement as she told me to hurry up. "I'm walking fast, man. I'm walking!"

I walked over to the table and saw the package was in a small envelope. It was brown, with the U.A. red stamp holding it together, below it were the words 'U.A, High School'. I opened it and a small circular thing made of metal dropped out, falling onto the table with a clang.

I sat down on the couch, with Gekko and Hinata on my left and Miwa on my right.

Here goes nothing I guess.

Suddenly, a recording went on. It was a blue hologram, of a taller man standing there.

He looked tired, more of a hobo than a hero, but I instantly recognised him.

Shota Aizawa, Eraser or Eraserhead.

It seemed like his eyes bored into mine, studying curiously.

"This is a projection," Aizawa eventually started. "There were a few things to sort out before this was sent out, apologies for the delay. Sora Yamazaki, your written results were excellent. Particularly in your maths portion of the written exam, we also thoroughly enjoyed your philosophical look on the entertainment industry and how heroics has over-saturated it, especially in Japan."

My ears turned red at the praise.

Ah yes, I forgot about that essay. I had to write something in a short amount of time for a chosen topic, and of course I had to choose manga. But, if they enjoyed it, they enjoyed it I guess.

"Your practical portion of the exam was also good. Fifty-one villain points was an impressive showcase, and despite the noticeable flaws in your performance, you did enough to get into U.A." The world around me stopped for a second.

I got in...

I mean, yeah! I got in!

"YES!" Miwa yelled excitedly before Hinata and Gekko quietened her down as Aizawa's projection continued to speak.

"The practical exam also had another component, which you might have figured out judging by your actions. Being a hero means saving people, which you did participate in after saving Neito Monoma near the end of your exam, these were aptly named rescue points. Combined with your fifty-one villain points, and your fifteen rescue points you got sixty-six points in total."

I grinned at that.

Even still, I couldn't help but feel like Aizawa was still studying me.

As if I were an enigma to him.

"Welcome to U.A. Sora Yamazaki. Welcome to your hero academia."

The projection shut off.

"Ha," I began. "So, do you guys want to celebrate?" I asked with a grin.

Both Miwa and Hinata were crying as they hugged me tightly, and Gekko ruffled my hair despite my protests. I knew I was going to get in, so I guess it didn't even really clock that I actually had gotten in.

"You've made us so proud," Hinata said with tears streaming down her face, causing a smile to form on my face. Gekko nodded as even a few tears rolled down his cheeks, which caused my eyes to water up.

I did it.

"Well done, son. You deserve it."

Finally, Miwa was jumping up and down on our couch as she couldn't help but scream and sing her lungs out. Ultimately, I wiped my tears away because this wasn't just my achievement - Yeah, I had worked hard.

But so did everyone around me.

Pushing me to be better.

So, I guess this was it.

The start of My Hero Academia.

I would become a hero, save everyone and soar higher in the sky than anyone could have dreamed! Screw reading manga, I'd finally be in one. I was already in one, I was going to become a legend. An icon, a Hero.

And wasn't that a dream come true?

---

The final day of school arrived.

And it… went by fast.

Homeroom was the final thing of the day, and I couldn't help but stare at the clock until I finally graduated from the Hell known as middle school, even if by the end of it all I enjoyed my time there. Jiro sat next to me as the bell rang for my final day there, and while everyone rushed to leave the classroom, I stayed in my seat.

"Sora?" Fujiwara-sen-, No, Fujiwara asked me. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I just… I want to say thanks," I said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. "I don't say it often, but you did change my life. Weirdly enough, I owe it all to you, Sir."

"I'm not your teacher anymore."

"I know, but you taught me a valuable lesson. To change and grow, even if it's hard," I replied. "We're all moving on. Your students I mean. And you'll get new ones, and I'll get new teachers. But ultimately, cheers. For everything."

Fujiwara simply grinned at me.

"Go out there and show the world what Sora Yamazaki can do."

"I will. Thanks again."

I left a bottle of wine my parents had picked out for the man on my desk as I left the classroom and went to the exit, it was weird knowing these were the last times I was seeing these halls. This was why I kept my head low and met up with my friends right away, all of them grinning as they looked at me.

"Said your goodbyes?" Denji asked me.

But I shook my head.

"Nah. I'm not good at goodbyes. Anyway, are we going back to yours?"

"Yeah, Grandpa's hosting a party!"

"Sweet!"

---

It was a nice morning, not hot but not too cold. Perfect weather for the new school year to start, despite the fact that my hair was still in a mess as always. Naturally, wavy hair in the morning was a hassle, and considering my hair was light blue and silver, it was even worse to comb in the morning cause it was hard to see. I yawned. I'd be a few minutes early, but at least I wouldn't be late.

Nah, I had to make good first impressions. Earn their trust and whatnot, and establish alliances to get me through the year. Take control of the class one by one. That made me giggle slightly, sometimes I did sound like a genuine villain. But I was excited, excited to see what the future would hold. I got off the train, touching up my hair slightly. I didn't want it to get in my eyes.

From the looks of it, Jiro was already inside.

But I didn't mind, ascending the stairs to get out of the train station I was greeted by it. My shirt was untucked, my tie slightly loose and the sleeves of my blazer were rolled up slightly. And it was heavy, either it was my bag or the weight that was put on me by the building itself. The prestige it carries, the people who have graduated from it, the people who currently attend.

The people who will go there.

UA High School, in all its glory. The school in which I was going to attend for the next three years, was the school to help me become a hero.

"Bring it on," I whispered, as I took the first step towards it.

This was my start.

---

Part 1, Begin

---

EDIT:

Proper edits are done, yay!

And now Part 2 is going to start later this day!

Also yay!

---

So here we are everyone, Sora has finally reached UA High School.

This was the longest chapter I had to write, so sorry for the delays. Not only was this longer than I thought, but the day I was supposed to post it was my great aunt's birthday, so I had to go to the party and all.

But here it is, a day late.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Part 1 has officially started, up and until now we were in the prologue of sorts.

Next week will be an extra chapter, just talking about the prologue in total and why I chose certain things, along with hopefully detailing some important things for the future of the fic. It's mainly for those who want to know why I did what I did, in more detail of course. So if you wish to have a small peek into my mind, you'll get it next week. Normal chapters are still scheduled for every two weeks on Saturdays, so don't worry it won't impact anything

Please do let me know what you think, of this chapter and the story so far, along with theories for the future! They always bring a smile to my face, and make me happy to write even more of this.

Ja ne!

Next time on Over The Top:

Class is... strange?! Different personalities all clash to create a fusion of heroes and a cruel teacher. Am I in U.A., or am I in hell?