"C'mon class, you're third-years now," The middle-aged junior high teacher said to his class. "It's time to start thinking seriously about your futures!" He said this as his hand had reached toward the top of a paper pile; the pompous part of his receding, blonde hair moves stiffly as he slams his hands on his podium. "I would hand out these future career forms but…" He paused in the middle of his sentence for a few seconds, then he said, "I assume you all want to be heroes!"
Every student, but 2, had activated their quirks and cheered. One of the boys was sitting semi-properly, and looking out the window with a hand lazily raised. The other boy had his feet on the desk, slumped in his chair, tilting the chair back as he looked up to the ceiling.
"Yes you all have wonderful quirks, but it's against the rules to use them in school." The teacher stated. A wide smile on his face.
Our protagonist, Mikumo Akatani, put his hand down after keeping it raised for so long. He kept his scarlet eyes looking out the window so as to not draw attention to himself.
A shout of "Sensei don't lump me in with these losers," from Katsuki Bakugo, looking out towards the teacher, a cocky grin on display. "As if my quirk is like their crappy quirks. Heh," bragging about himself much to the displeasure of his classmates.
"Get over yourself, Katsuki!" shouted the stones-for-hair classmate, standing up and looking over to Bakugo.
Bakugo shouted loudly, "Shut up! Extras should act like extras!" as his eyes widen more from thinking that they're more of idiots than they usually are.
"Ah, Bakugo… you of course… must be aiming for Yuuei High School," stated the teacher as he looked down at the paper again, reading what other students wanted to go to.
"That National School?! The cutoff score this year is 79, right!" said a random classmate.
"I hear that it is hyper competitive and barely anyone gets in," said another random classmate to the other random classmate.
"You're done running your mouths, peons!" exclaimed Bakugo. "I aced the mock-test! I'm the only one in this school who's got a chance for Yuuei!" Bakugo exclaimed in a cocky manner as he hopped onto his desk, which startled the girl with glasses that sits in front of him. "I'm even gonna surpass All Might! And I'll be one of the richest people, carving my name on the top ranks!" Expressed a very arrogant Bakugo.
"Oh. Now that you mention it, Akatani, aren't you going for Yuuei as well?!" Questioned the teacher as he was wondering what Akatani was gonna do since he was quirkless, dreaming of being a hero.
This made Bakugo stop in his place at this information. He thought he had gotten the nerd (Akatani) to quit his dream of being a hero from his persistent bullying. Though he did grin that seeing as Yamikumo did have guts after all.
Yamikumo looked towards the front of the room, staring in his teacher's eyes with a displeasured look. He sighed to himself as he saw everyone stare in his direction.
All of the kids laugh at this revelation that Yamikumo still wanted to be a hero despite having no "individuality." They started to say mean comments as most kept laughing.
"Akatani?! No way! Good grades alone won't get you into Yuuei's hero course!" Exclaimed a few students as they kept laughing at him.
"Well nothing says that I can't be in the Yuuei hero course. It isn't a precedent but.." Yamikumo trailed off into a mutter storm as he talked about the hero course and all that. The only one that seemed to catch what Yamikumo was saying was Bakugo, seeing as he was used to this.
Bakugo laughed as he caught something that Yamikumo said, making the other kids stare at him. Bakugo's laugh even surprised the teacher, seeing as they're usually at each other's throats.
"It's funny that you say that, Yamikumo, I think I can agree with it to a point," Bakugo says in a proud tone. "Yamikumo, he just said he'd rather be quirkless than have any shitty quirk like most of our class. That they'd be more of a hindrance than not having one!" This made Bakugo happy as he saw the death stares that both him and Yamikumo were gaining.
Their classmates shouted in an uproar and said vulgar things to Yamikumo. They told him how he's more useless than their quirks, to the point that they'd rather kill themselves than be quirkless.
"And what the hell can you all do?" Asked Yamikumo. "Nothing, only 1/3rd of this class actually have quirks that are useful for fighting and rescue. I can probably beat the muscle-head besides me, and he has a strength enhancement quirk," stated Yamikumo.
The class went silent when Yamikumo said this. They didn't believe him at all, not even sure if he'd win against any of them. He (Yamikumo) looked like a twig compared to most of them.
"Yeah right!" said a random classmate.
"Then take me on, tough guy! I want to see what you got!" yelled out another classmate.
"Cut it out!" Screamed the teacher, as his right hand had detached from his forearm, only being held by 2 thick cords of flesh.
Bakugou just snickers as Akatani gets scolded. Holding his laugh in as he keeps his right hand over his mouth. Using his left hand, he points it to Yamikumo, holding the bird up as he basically says with his actions. "Fuck you, Yamikumo."
Yamikumo is strolling down the street going his usual route, hearing about the new cat cafe a few days ago.
On his way to the cafe he is recalling what Kacchan had told him at the end of the school day, "Pray for a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of a building." is what is going through Yamikumo's thoughts as he contemplates the idea.
As he goes into an underpass he crosses a manhole covering, hearing a rattling as he almost exits the pass. A villain of sludge erupts from the manhole, scanning the area for an escape from someone; his eyes rest on Yamikumo. He grins from non-existent ear to another non-existent ear, being so wide that it'd break the flesh of a normal human's face, as his laugh pierces the silent air with a horrid low screech.
Yamikumo surveys his area for a second before dashing off as he notices a spasm in the grimy villain's body movement, as if he's a predator ready to strike their victim. As soon as he bolted, so did the man of sludge— being wrapped up in a cocoon of sludge with his arms and legs kicking in the air he tried to grip the eye of the monster on him as the villain went down his throat, choking him to unconsciousness. Feeling something solid, Yamikumo jerks his grip onto it, trying to tear it away, causing him to get some breathing room as he sees All Might come up from the sewers.
All Might speed blitzed them both as all Yamikumo could hear him say, "– Smash!". Pulling Yamikumo as his fist connected with the grimy villain.
Yamikumo felt his body jolt with the pull from All Might causing him to cough, spitting up air from his lungs as he tried to breathe from the whiplash of movement. The burning of his lungs was the feeling he needed to know that he wasn't daydreaming.
Feeling like he was rammed by a brick wall from his body from his body flailing from the shockwave of the impact. He groaned, squinted at All Might— his idol— through shut eyes.
"A-All Might?" He muttered with his hand on his chest as he heard a boisterous voice.
"Yes, I am here!" He had exclaimed in a hushed shout. His boisterous voice softly booming in the dead silence as he held 2 bottles filled with the sludge villain.
The light of the sun reflected off of his eyes in a dulled tone, making it shimmer and glisten. Unshed tears pricked in his eyes with a bright smile on his face.
"Do I, the bottom of the genetic lottery for a quirk, have what it takes to be a hero?" He had lampooned, cynical thoughts ran through his mind.
All Might's scrutinizing gaze roamed over Yamikumo for a moment. The air had stilled as he nodded to himself. His heavy gaze lightened on Yamikumo's body, as a smile spread on his lips.
"You have what it takes?"
Yamikumo had heard those words directed towards him. His lips quivered as he nodded, the smile spread wide.
"Then show me." All Might had said, putting Yamikumo to the test.
Yamikumo had been released from the hospital 2 hours after the sludge incident. Tiredness rolled off his shoulders as he leaned against his mother.
His mother, Inko Akatani, had dried her tears after crying for an hour and a half after hearing her baby had been administered to the hospital. She was shaking, quaking in her spot as she clinged to her son. She was so close to losing him due to the recent incident from 2 hours ago, causing her to fret over him.
All Might had gone to the police station— after dropping Yamikumo off at the hospital— to administer the grimy villain to the police, and make a report about the incident.