Each Conclusion Will Decide The Lonely Heart
"All right, that's all for today. Don't forget that I will send more detailed reports on your performances later, along with your grades. I will be staying here to close everything, so if you have any questions about the exercise or the class in general, now is a good time. As for those who don't, this is the last period. Go home and be proud that you took your first steps into becoming pro heroes today!"
I breathe a sigh of relief as most of my classmates walk out, saying their goodbyes to our teacher. Thankfully, it seems I won't have to wait long to talk to him.
"You're staying, Imai-kun?"
Katsuragi asks from my side. Her body language is as muted as always, but I can detect the curiosity in her tone.
"Yeah. There's something crucial about his grading methods I need to ask."
From the corner of my vision, I can feel Maxine's gaze as she leaves the control station. I dodge it by glancing at the blue-haired girl.
"Are you staying too, Katsuragi?"
She looks away from me. I only noticed it after our match began, but she tends to avoid eye contact. Normally, I also try not to stare at others with my third eye, but there's no point in doing it now since she knows most of the truth.
It makes me wonder, does that behavior come from shyness or because of her quirk, like me?
"Ah... not really, I was just curious," She mumbles. "Well, maybe I'll check on Hiro at the infirmary..."
"In that case, can you give these back to him?"
I extend the drugs Hiro had been carrying in his costume. During our team's fight, I influenced Jugo to target his pocket and get his focus away from the sedative aimed at Kim. It was also a way to make them drop to the ground and avoid getting damaged when Hiro got shocked unconscious.
"I wanted to visit him too, but I don't know how long this will take..." I continue, scratching my hair.
Katsuragi nods after a pause, taking the flasks from me. "See you tomorrow," she says before walking away.
"See you," I respond, giving her an awkward wave.
During our quick talk, everyone else left. There's only me and the pro hero in the control station now.
I take a quick breath to steel myself and approach him.
"Majestic-sensei."
Majestic's lot different out of class. That small smile constantly on his face has been replaced by a look of boredom.
"Hm? Oh, it's you. Soujyuuro, wasn't it?"
I nod, then blank. I know what I want to ask, but how do I mention it?
It sounds dumb in hindsight. I'm about to ask this pro hero if he'll consider my quirk when grading the other team. He might think I'm underestimating him as a teacher.
"Well, what is it?"
"Umm, do you know what my quirk is?"
He raises an eyebrow at my question while I try not to physically react to my foolishness. If questioning his grading method wasn't belittling enough, asking if he knows his student's quirk will surely do the job. Brilliant, me.
"Yes. It's a subtle form of telepathy. What about it?"
"I was using it during my match to figure out the enemy team's plans... and to affect their decision-making. Is that going to impact their grades in this exercise?"
Majestic frowns. "Of course. Why wouldn't it?"
"... Shouldn't you take their plans into consideration instead of the ones I put into their heads?"
Mitsurugi will suffer the most from this. As her team's leader, she couldn't make a detailed strategy before going out because I would have seen through it. She was also the only one of her team to get captured.
I don't want to be the reason she couldn't do well in her first class.
"I see. You're feeling responsible for their bad results." He puts a hand on my shoulder and leans down, staring at me. "But your quirk isn't almighty, right? It works with suggestions. If they lost, it's because they weren't confident enough in their plans."
His words don't make me feel any better. What he's doing is just blaming the victim.
"I can't give points to students for things they could have done. If I grade them based on their 'real' plans, I would have to take off marks from you and your team. Do you want that?"
I shake my head, feeling it droop down in resignation.
The hand on my shoulder grips tighter, and I remember my manners, looking back at my teacher.
"Listen, kid. In competition, there's always a winner and a loser. Are you gonna feel bad for the villains when you beat 'em? I sure hope not! If you didn't want the other team to get bad grades, you shouldn't have used your quirk in the first place."
He releases me with a pat on the shoulder that feels more like a slap. "Anything else?"
"..."
Majestic turns around, leaving his words bouncing around my head.
He spoke about Winners and Losers, but earlier, he said my match was a tie. Where does that leave me? And the other team?
Something presses against all sides of my skull. My headache, the blowback from taking Hiro's drugs, which I had ignored all this time.
"Ah, one more thing. This is some extra advice from your Sensei."
Majestic glances at me with one hand on his hip and the other under his chin. "You really should learn how to stop leading on that girl."
Every single word he just spoke confuses me.
"... What?"
"That girl you were talking to. Katsushi."
"Katsuragi," I correct him.
"Yeah, her. Eventually, you're gonna have to let her down."
"... Sensei, what are you talking about?"
It's his turn to blink in confusion. "You... You don't even know? She was trying to walk out of school with you."
Was she? Katsuragi said she was just curious, though. She even told me she was going to visit the infirmary...
"To kill time while you're here," Majestic explains. My expression must have given me away. It's hard to keep a neutral face with the pounding in my skull.
I don't know if I can trust Majestic's advice on girls, but my own experience is painfully lacking, so I shouldn't discard it.
"Well... thanks, Sensei. I'm certain Katsuragi doesn't feel that way about me, but—"
'He looks kind of cute when he's not being stone-faced...'
The pro hero laughs at me, shaking his head. "Holy shit, kid. Pretty clueless for a mind reader, aren't ya?" He waves me off. "Now, shoo. Maybe you can still catch her if you leave now."
I nod and stride out of the room, head still spinning.
'He looks kind of cute when he's not being stone-faced...'
That was something I was not meant to know. When our match began, I focused my quirk on Katsuragi and Nyoro to keep track of their moves and coordinate better with them. I had forgotten to stop listening to her mind at that moment and overheard it.
'He looks kind of cute when he's not being stone-faced...'
But it shouldn't mean anything, right? Thinking someone is 'cute' doesn't necessarily mean you're interested in them. Faith Kang is beautiful to me, but I don't think I could get along with her, let alone develop a crush.
'He looks kind of cute when he's not being stone-faced...'
Did I even hear that correctly? Could it be she thought something else, and I was delusional enough to interpret it that way?
No, my self-esteem is too low for that.
'He looks kind of cute when—'
I press a few fingers against my temple to soothe the pain assaulting me, but it doesn't help. Katsuragi didn't seem to suffer under the aftereffects, so why am I feeling this bad?
Oh, right. It's because I took two drugs. One to boost my physical performance and another to help my concentration.
Neither Hiro nor Katsuragi are there when I pass by the infirmary, so I make my way to the locker room, which is also empty. I take off my costume and put back my uniform in silence. The hat bothers my third eye, but I've learned how to live with it for the sake of decorum.
I stumble through Shiketsu's gates a few minutes later, feeling my vision swim slightly.
Maybe I can still find Katsuragi on my way to the station...?
But what am I going to do when I see her? What do I even want?
"Hah..." I sigh, adjusting my backpack's strap.
Right now, what I want the most is to go back in time and re-do today's second match. I realize it now, but I was out of line back there.
I had too much fun. I smiled when I fought Jugo and almost laughed at Nguyen's face when she opened that flask. I want to blame the stimulant's influence, but Hiro said it'd lower my inhibitions, not make me act differently. So it's all on me.
But outside of enjoying myself, were my actions even wrong? Naturally, I try not to drag others down. There were moments when my quirk was necessary to prevent a loss for my team, so I used it.
... yet we didn't win, did we? I feel like that's the worst part of this entire ordeal. I started reading the enemy team's minds before the timers even began. I pushed my quirk to its limits for the first time in my life, took control of their members' bodies, and all my team got out of it was a draw.
I know it's arrogant, but I'm the kind of person who believes even someone like me can succeed if they try their hardest.
Maybe that's the issue? I wasn't doing it for my team and instead wanted to win for myself. My desire to prove even I can become a hero.
"If you didn't want the other team to get bad grades, you shouldn't have used your quirk in the first place."
What was the right course of action? Doing something different to win? Holding back and losing? Would using my quirk have been worth it if my team at least won? Would that somehow make up for messing with the other team's minds and grades?
My headspace is a sorry sight.
Only one thing can help me now.
I reach for my pockets, pulling out my music player and earbuds. Listening to songs will not help with the headache. It might make it worse, actually. But it will reduce my stress.
I hold onto a railing, wobbling on my feet. Beyond the drugs messing with my head, there's something else leaving my body sluggish.
"Life Taker..."
I'm having trouble thinking straight, and being drained by Mitsurugi earlier isn't making things easier. I... probably should have taken something while I was at the infirmary, but at the time, meeting with Katsuragi was the only thing on my mind.
"Imai-kun?"
Even while listening to music, her voice still seems to be ringing in my head...
"Are you ok?"
"No, I'm not," I mutter to myself. Something moves in my peripheral. Walking feels easier all of a sudden.
So the drugs weren't quite enough to make me delirious. The blue-haired girl has my arm over her shoulder, helping me move forward. Like me, she's back in the Shiketsu uniform.
How is she here? Considering my current pace, she should be way ahead of me.
"Thanks, Katsuragi," I say. "Sorry for not realizing you wanted to leave school together sooner." That part comes out without my permission.
"..." She doesn't reply to me for a few seconds. I'm rather good at making things awkward, huh? The beat in my ears goes on, its volume lowered so I can hear her properly.
"You seemed more than sorry when I saw you... do you need to go to the infirmary?"
I can't read her. Is she concerned? Upset? Using empathy, I guess I'd be more concerned than upset in her situation, but I don't want to project too much on her. Our quirks and demeanors share some similarities, but she's still her own person.
"More than sorry... that's accurate," I respond, smiling in self-deprecation. Once again, it's troublesome to keep a straight face when my head is trying to murder me. "Physically, I'm just exhausted. What you saw was me feeling bitter about our match."
Katsuragi's eyes widen, and her eyebrows raise. "Huh? Why? I-I thought we did pretty well... even though it was a draw, it's better than a loss..."
"A tie doesn't feel satisfying, considering the lengths I went for victory..." Ah. I've spoken too much again.
"The lengths you went...? What do you mean by that, Imai-kun?"
I pause the song, wondering if I should continue.
I... I like Katsuragi. She's a pleasant person to be around. I enjoyed working with her during the exercise, and my interactions with her before that weren't negative either. I feel like I can relate to her somehow, so I try to root for her during our training sessions.
Lying about my quirk was a mistake. At the time, I just wanted a few days of peace. A few days without most of my classmates looking at me with suspicion. I wanted them to know Imai Soujyuuro before knowing about Mindbreaker.
I know better now. That decision was not born from tiredness; it was plain cowardice. If I can only build friendships based on lies, then I'm not meant to have friends in the first place.
The saddest part is that I couldn't make it work anyway. Getting into a new school didn't magically give me the social skills to talk to my classmates, so I'm not on good terms with most of them.
But for some unknown reason, Katsuragi made an effort to spend time with me. If I am to receive her attention, then I want to be sincere with her.
I slip away from her and approach a bench, beckoning her to sit with me. It's afternoon in Kyoto, so having an open seat like this near a subway station is a lucky break. I ignore the hustle and bustle of people on their commutes to focus on the girl by my right. Then, I gaze at the cloudy sky.
"My quirk is called Mindbreaker."
An obnoxious name given by the doctor who discovered it. It's not a likable power already, and with a title like that, it's impossible to make a good impression. I asked my mom to visit the quirk registry to change it when I was in elementary school, but she refused. At the time, I didn't know why and kept pestering her, but after learning about my origins, I understood her reasons. Still dislike the name, however.
"As I explained before our match, I can read the minds of those around me. But that wasn't everything. The true nature of my quirk is subtle telepathy. Just as I can read the thoughts of others, I can also project mine inside their heads." I tap a finger on my temple to punctuate my last statement, sending more painful stabs to my nerves. "With minimal effort, I can inject a mental message so forcefully upon a person that it can dominate their actions. Their bodies will move according to my thoughts."
I check her reaction. Katsuragi's at the edge of the bench now, eyes wide in shock. She hasn't even realized she's moved away from me.
But she hasn't run away, so I'll keep going until I'm done.
"I used it most of the match to disrupt the enemy team. Making them doubt their own plans and suggesting worse strategies. Making them think my strikes were feints and my feints were strikes. Taking control of Nguyen's actions so she'd open that flask and whiff Hiro's sedative. I did awful things to our classmates, but the result was still a tie. That's why I'm bitter."
I must have spoken more now with her than with the rest of my class combined. Way to go, me.
Katsuragi seems... pensive? I don't know what's going through her head, which is bizarre on this occasion. My quirk is not morally gray enough for her to furrow her eyebrows that way.
... However, I have to acknowledge it's a very endearing expression.
"That's... wow." Finally, she speaks, returning to that general nervous look she has. It's... still endearing. I'm beginning to realize it's not the facial expressions; Katsuragi is just cute.
"Who else knows about this?"
"My mom and sis."
"I meant from school... wait, you have a sister?"
"Oh." I should have been clearer. "You're the only one in Shiketsu I told this to. The teachers also know because it's in my quirk registry."
Our conversation stops as I give Katsuragi time to contemplate what I've revealed. I wonder what time it is now... Mom might be unhappy with me if I arrive too late. But it'd be rude to check the time on my phone right now, so wonder is all I do.
I could have vented this with Mom instead of bothering Katsuragi, couldn't I? Then again, I'm pretty sure what her answer would be, and it wouldn't be uplifting.
"... I don't think you did anything wrong, Imai-kun. We were meant to use our quirks to fight during that class."
"Yes," I nod. "We all used our powers against each other. In the same match, Kim electrocuted Hiro into fainting, and he threw sedatives at her face. Atsushi-san and Sagara-san poisoned one of our classmates. Chang buried another under a bunch of furniture. All I did was perform to the best of my ability, like everyone else. As long as I don't abuse it outside of training, I'm still a hero hopeful like the rest of our class. That's what you're trying to say, right?"
"Well, yeah," She mutters, suddenly unsure.
"That was also my thought process going into it. Do your best. Don't drag your team down. You can be a hero."
"... What changed?"
"The results. Mitsurugi was amazing during that match, wasn't she? There was a point in the match when she faced us 1v3 and had the upper hand."
I had known her technique was superb during Ippon-sensei's class, but I hadn't expected it to surpass my mind reading.
Katsuragi makes a weird face at my non-sequitur.
"Yeah, she was pretty great..."
"But she couldn't do much for her team as a leader and got caught. The same goes for most of them. With the way the enemy team was acting—under my influence—do you think Majestic will give them good grades? "
"Ah... now that you mention it, no." Her eyes glint in realization. It's rather mesmerizing, with her cross-pupils and all. "Is that why you stayed behind? To ask him to reconsider?"
"Indeed. Majestic-sensei told me the same thing as you... he was cruder about it, though."
It was jarring, now that I think about it. Majestic was out of character, but I didn't notice it in my turmoil.
"Yeah, Majestic is a weirdo," She comments. "So, he didn't consider it, huh?"
"No. Now, say I wasn't in that match, but... let's see... Myoga-kun. If he was in that match and the teams were still tied." I raise my hands and make threes with them. "If a complete victory is a 5, then I'll be generous and assume a draw is a 3."
I lower a finger in one hand. "With me in the match, a tie does not mean both teams have the same performance. It's the same ending, but the villain team's grades would be worse since they didn't get to put their plans into motion. Their decision-making would cost them."
I clasp my fingers together. "It's different than Samson or Shinkan showing off by beating each other in the street or even Cain battling with Tanaka with his quirk. By doing my best, I stop my opponents from doing the same. My game plan revolves around taking away the agency of others."
I'm rambling a ton, but Katsuragi doesn't seem to mind. It's... cathartic. All these things that have been in my mind for years are spilling out, and now I can get a fresh perspective on them.
"I came to Shiketsu out of spite. Everyone has always believed my quirk was meant for villainy, and I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanna show that Mindbreaker can save people. That I can save people."
My hands clench. "That's why I'm so frustrated with today, Katsuragi. I don't want my dream to be a sham. But if I can't even train my quirk with my classmates without entering some inner dilemma, what future is there for me?"
"..."
"..."
The sound of people walking around us takes up our conversation's lull.
"..."
"..."
Oh, man. I really said all that to someone I barely know. What is wrong with me? Is a pretty face offering an ear all it takes for me to open up this much?
Katsuragi's still silent. I don't blame her. How do you answer when a classmate says these things to you? I was too wrapped up in my problems to remember her social graces aren't much better than mine.
I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you, Katsuragi. I should probably take my leave now.
"You're really cool, Imai-kun."
She says something as I'm about to rise from the bench.
Huh?
"Huh?"
My classmate is shocked at what she said, flushing and looking away from my direction. "Err, I mean... growing up, I also got a lot of ill will because of my quirk, so I can relate to what you said."
How nauseating. It's not like I ever believed I was the only case, but thinking of a younger Katsuragi going through something similar to what I did leaves me irrationally upset.
I put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Katsuragi.
"Ah... don't worry." I pull away when she starts to look awkward. "Y-You didn't have anything to do with it. But what I wanted to say is... you put a lot of thought into your quirk. The way you described using it is super meticulous. So I think you should trust yourself to wield it correctly because you have a great sense of responsibility."
It's my turn to look away from her. Getting praised for using my quirk... it's a rare occurrence. I don't know how to feel about it.
"Thanks..." I still have enough brain function to keep myself from stuttering. It's not like my power is weak or anything... it's just a matter of knowing how to apply it.
... I'm smiling again. My emotions are going haywire today.
"There's plenty of pros out there with mental abilities like ours, a-and they got through their school programs and enjoy careers as heroes. Even if a power takes away someone's agency... the person and intent behind it are more important."
She plays with a strand of her hair while saying kind words to me. "... We can be heroes, Imai-kun."
"..."
"..."
Hearing that... I don't know how to describe it.
This kind of support isn't something I ever had before, so I can't grasp it properly. I just know I want more of it.
I get up and face her. The pain in my head is gone, and even my stamina seems to have recovered. I don't know if I recuperated for real or if her pep talk was just that good.
I bow slightly to my classmate. "Thanks again, Katsuragi. For being a great teammate. For helping me sort my thoughts. And for your kind words. It's awkward to say this, but I wouldn't have done half as well during that exercise if you didn't have my back. You have a soothing presence, and I'm sure you'll become an amazing hero... because you were my hero today."
"..."
"..."
I have decided to never take anything from Hiro ever again. It's nothing against him, really. But I can see now that my inhibitions are a precious, essential, powerful part of me. I had no idea I would miss them this much after losing them.
Oh, wait, losing inhibitions was part of the drug's effect. I'm suffering from aftereffects. So that came from me naturally...?
"..."
"..."
Katsuragi is red in the face. I'm sure I am too. The shame must be overflowing from me and filling her with first-rate, second-hand embarrassment.
Well, I have lost my window to run away a long time ago.
I fake a cough to pretend these last seconds didn't happen, displaying my desperation using a move that only works on fiction.
"Anyway... Katsuragi, are you going to take the subway?"
She takes a few seconds to recover and respond. "N-No. My house is pretty close to Shiketsu. I'll go back walking."
"Do you... want me to walk you there?"
I'm not being too bold, am I? I'm fairly sure this is something normal between classmates. Or is it between friends? Are me and Katsuragi friends now, or close acquaintances?
I feel like I tasted enough embarrassment today, so I won't ask if we're friends. Instead, I'll patiently wait for her answer.
Katsuragi appears ready to accept my offer, then her face turns somber. "No need. It's a ten-minute walk. Plus, there'd be... people waiting for me at home, and s—they'd badger you and me with all sorts of questions if you did that, so, uh... see you tomorrow!"
She power walks away from me after giving me a quick wave.
Family teasing, huh. It seems like the kind of thing my sister would do, but I never had friends come over, so I can't be sure.
"See you tomorrow," I repeat, waving back to her.
Soon, my hero disappears from my vision. I put back my earbuds and walk to the subway. My mind is still flooded with thoughts, but most are hopeful, unlike a few minutes earlier.
"I'm home," I announce, stepping inside, then taking off my shoes.
Sans the soft sound of typing in the living room, my home is silent. I shrug off my backpack and sit on the couch. Mom's hands stop touching her notebook as she turns to me.
"You're late... and you look tired. Did something happen today?"
I take off my earbuds and the Shiketsu cap, walking toward my room. "Yeah. We had our first heroics training."
She blinks, frowns, then schools her expression. "How was it?"
I hum. "It's kind of a long story. Let me get out of the uniform first."
She nods, and I enter my bedroom. After shrugging off my backpack, I open my wardrobe and pick the first clothes I see, a purple T-shirt and white linen shorts. Back in the living room, Mom has turned off her notebook and sits on the couch.
I drop by her side, feeling comfortably numb.
"Today was supposed to be self-defense with Ippon-sensei, but we got battle training with Majestic instead. He spread us in quartets and made us fight each other in an urban simulation zone."
"My team played the heroes, trying to capture the villains. We were doing well and had incapacitated three of their members, but the last one could fly, so he escaped with two of them. We still got a draw because the villain team had to steal some prop items, and we took them before they could."
Huh. Now that I sum it up, it wasn't that long of a story. Back then, some moments felt like they lasted an eternity, but in hindsight, two of the three matches didn't even cross the five-minute mark.
"Did you use it?"
I nod. "Mind reading and suggestions through the entire thing. Four... no, five commands."
This is a promise I made to my mother. To always tell her when I use my quirk.
She purses her lips, tapping her fingers on the couch arm. "How do you feel about it? That was your first time using it on others without permission."
"For suggestions and commands, yeah. I employed mind reading during the entrance exam. And I was fine with it during the fight. Thought I should do it to not drag my classmates down."
I sigh. "After it ended, I started to feel bad for the other team. They looked incompetent in front of our teacher because of me. I also realized that doing it for the team was a lie I'd told myself."
An empty chuckle escapes from my lips. "I wanted to win so badly," I confess, scratching my hair. "You know, there was a guy on my team with a quirk to make drugs. Gave us custom steroids before the match."
She snorts. "Wow."
"Yeah. He was taken out at the start, but I took one of his creations. It was a sedative that I planned to throw at the enemy team, but it slipped from my pocket during the action. One of my opponents picked it up."
"I thought, 'Well, that plan's a bust.' But I was wrong. You see, the girl who picked it up happened to be curious about the quirk. Even beyond the confusion on whether it was a steroid or something to afflict her, she was interested in its effects."
"I ordered her to open the flask and..." I snap my fingers. "It worked."
Mom isn't smiling anymore.
"The human mind truly is fascinating. I forced a classmate to inhale drugs. Almost laughed while she did it because I didn't think it would work. And that was the first command. After that, I got more daring and did it four more times, all under the guise of helping my team, when actually I wanted to win for myself."
"You regret it."
"... Yeah."
She grabs my shoulder, filled with melancholy. "I warned you this would happen, didn't I? Wielding your power, even in a controlled space, isn't something you can do without feeling a burden. I raised you too self-conscious for that." She grimaces. "No, that's wrong. It wasn't just me. Everyone around you has conditioned you into fearing your quirk."
"You're giving me too much credit. The burden only came after it was all over."
"And it's only going to get heavier," She insists, making me look at her. "This was your first hero training, and you look about to collapse. There are still three years of this left to test you."
Mom and I have different opinions about me going to Shiketsu. She understands my desire to prove others wrong about my quirk, but she doesn't think I should become a pro hero to do that. Getting a regular job and not turning villain is enough for her. It's what she wanted for me.
I smile at her. "Actually, I'm tired because one of the people I was up against had a quirk to sap my energy. She was an amazing fighter, too. I couldn't see through her moves even with mind reading."
I hope I can face Mitsurugi again in another exercise. She's given me a lot to think about on how I apply martial arts with my power. I wonder if this is how Jugo feels all the time.
"My class has a lot of extraordinary people, and I got front-row seats to see them today. And after it all ended, I felt small and pathetic because I could only help my team into a draw by making my opponents' shine dimmer."
There are tears in the corners of her eyes. She's a mixture of sad and hopeful as she asks, "Then... are you ready to leave—"
"But Katsuragi helped me feel better about myself."
Mom blinks thrice.
Oh, right, I never mentioned any of my classmates by name to her.
"Katsuragi's a friend... I think..."
"You... you made a friend there?"
"... I'm not sure if I'm a friend to her, but I consider her one to me."
She goes quiet for a few seconds, her face blank.
"Mom?"
I know I said something lame now, but I can't be sure about our status. Making friends is hard for me, and she should know that. Why is she so stunned?
"H-Her?"
I tilt my head to the side. "Yeah? Ashleigh Katsuragi. We were on the same team today."
Mom sighs, shaking her head slightly. How odd.
"I see... so she helped you?"
I remember her by my side on the bench. "Mh-hm. She told me I have a great sense of responsibility. That I should trust myself to wield my power."
"And?"
"She told me we could become heroes."
"... That's it...?"
"It was the first time someone outside my family said something like that to me," I clarify. "I want to believe her. Rather than being motivated by spite, I can feel my inspiration grow in response to her trust."
My quirk is unkind. I understand that. But just like I haven't proved anyone wrong about me, I haven't proved them right either. Even if I doubt myself on my first day of heroics training... it's alright. I shouldn't be expected to be a perfect paragon in my first year of high school because of the implications around Mindbreaker.
"I won't quit. That's why I'm there, right? To learn how to become a hero."
A hand caresses my hair. "I'm glad... glad you're letting go of that spite. I never wanted you to take this path because you felt pushed by expectations."
My smile becomes lopsided. Sorry, Mom. I'm not letting go of the spite. There's just an extra thing pushing me forward now.
I want to become a hero with Katsuragi and Class 1-D.
"I'm going to tell them about my quirk."
"..." Like me, my mom doesn't react to things exaggeratedly, but I can tell she's speechless.
"Now that I think about it, most of them probably won't care, just like Katsuragi. They're nice."
I guess I overlooked the fact we're all in a hero school.
"... You told her already?"
"Yeah. We were walking out of school together, and things happened. It was a novel experience."
"Things happened... a novel experience...?" She mutters. "Imai, what exactly are your intentions with this girl?"
"Hm? I want to know more about her. To become close friends."
Mom sighs again. "Nevermind..."
"She also thought I was cute, so if it goes beyond friendship, I'd be more than fine with it."
"She thou—Y-You what?!"
Too much information, idiot. Now she'll think Shiketsu isn't good for me after all.
"Well, I'll get started on my afternoon workout," I say, retreating to my room.
"Oh no, you're not. Come back here this instant, young man!"
Interlude 1
In the Katsuragi residence, a sister tries to sneak into her room. She is not successful.
"Hey, Ash~! How was my dearest little sister's first hero training?"
Ashleigh knows the question is just a way to mock her. No matter how she answers, Mio will go through her head to 'make sure she didn't forget any details.'
"... We fought in quartets", She explains with a small voice. "I got put in the hero team and got a draw."
"Aww, a draw?" Mio whines then puts a finger on her lips with a pensive expression. "Well, maybe you guys could have won if your quirk activated at the right time when you first used it. That, or if you focused on the one guy who could fly. Just some stupid mistakes you guys will have plenty of training to fix."
Mio approaches her with a pleased smirk and pats her shoulder. "But cheer up. It was a tie, sure, but you were still a hero today! For Imai-kun, I mean."
There's a familiar glint in her eye. The shadow of evil coming from her sister overwhelms any positive reaction Ashleigh could have to the event she'd brought up.
When the boy said that, she felt fulfilled. As if she was one step closer to reaching her ideal self. The girl she wanted to become, the one she entered Shiketsu to transform into. But as soon as he mentioned walking her home, it all came crashing down. Because she knew her sister wouldn't let this little bit of contentment remain unspoiled.
Mio's grip feels like ice flooding her body. "What a revelation from him. Mindbreaker, huh... It has a lot of... potential. It makes me realize I've been slacking in getting to know your classmates! But you know how it is, right? It's the start of a new school year, and I've been swamped with my class rep work."
She pats her shoulder again. "Don't worry, Ash. Your big sis won't be slacking in her duties from now on."