Start Down The Path

     It had almost been like a dream, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe his eyes when, upon retrieving the mail later that night after a late night of hanging out with his friends, he finally saw his name stamped onto the envelope embellished with UA’s symbol. Snatching it up quickly and stuffing it into his pocket, he had run inside, yelling a quick greeting to his parents, tossing his rain soaked umbrella, still wet from the storm raging outside, in the bin beside the door, before locking himself away in his room and tossing his phone onto his desk. His hands had trembled, shaking worse than he had ever thought they could. Nerves all over the place, he didn’t even know if he could open it. What if he hadn’t passed? What if he had failed the entrance exam and hadn’t made it into UA after all? Of course, nothing would really change, would it? Becoming a hero wouldn’t be his path. He’d go to a normal high school. He’d be a normal person. 

     That’s what his parents wanted for him, after all. 

     Quirkless themselves and of the mind that quirks in general were inherently abominations and that heroes and villains were nothing but trouble. Looking upon them with disgust and a great deal of dislike. It had taken them a great deal of time to get over the fact that a single child of theirs, the oldest, the first, out of their three, in a family that had always been quirkless, to have one. Hiding it. Forbidding him from using it. Trying to drill into him, and his little siblings, how they saw the world and how they should see it too. That his quirk was something bad and left alone. But those thoughts had never stuck to him, nor his little sister or brother. In secret, he trained it, he showed his siblings, he showed his friends, and finding places abandoned, would learn more how to use it. 

     The more he trained it, the more he looked at the heroes displayed on TV or taking down villains in the street, he had felt his own passions grow. Looking at his little siblings, who showed such awe, fascination, and pride in his abilities, made him think of their safety. Despite anything and everything he had been told or taught, he wanted nothing more than to protect people with the ability he was given. 

     He wanted nothing more than to be a hero. 

     This had been his only chance to do it, the only school he would accept to take his path to heroism. All of the heroes he had admired since he was a child, up until now at the age of 15, had attended UA in their youth. He would follow their path. He would be a hero. Or, at least, that’s what he hoped for, still holding that unopened letter. If rejected, he could accept it. He could accept the world was truly telling him there was no place for him to be a hero. The fear of such a rejection, however, kept the tremble in his hands and formed the lump in his throat, his silver eyes glued to his name and the UA symbol on the letter. A few silent minutes passed before he finally took a shaky breath and ripped the envelope open at the end, a small device falling from the inside and clattering to his desk before lighting up and revealing its message for him.

     The video message had only taken a few minutes to convey the answer to his entrance exam, congratulating the young man for his excellent marks, relaying that he would be attending UA in the following months, and that they would see him soon, before the device shut off and left him in the silence of his room again. Koji sat still, the shaking no longer in his hands, and his eyes glued to the device before a smile bigger than any he ever had before appeared on his face. “YES! I did it! I made it!” His body moved so fast it knocked back the chair he had been sitting on, his hands thrown happily up into the air, and excited laughter pouring from his lips. Excitement and happiness he had never felt before coursed through him. He had done it, his dream was within his grasp. He was going to be a hero. 

     The happiness was cut short when the voice of his mother called for him from down the stairs of their home, asking him to keep it down and reminding him dinner was almost ready. A wave of reality washed over him and the smile on his disappeared, his eyes moving again back down to the envelope on the desk. He took in the UA symbol in the top right corner, the letters glimmering in gold and looking grander than any word or lettering he had ever seen before. And yet, in that moment, it almost made him sick, as he remembered his parents just a few feet below him. In his excitement he had almost forgotten that now would come the hard part. Now, he would have to tell his parents of the path he wanted to take. His blood ran cold at the thought of actually approaching them, admitting to them he had taken the test, that he had been thinking about this. Could he do that? Should he? What would they do? What would they say? He could feel his stomach twist into knots at the thought. 

     But he stopped. He stopped and stared at that letter, at the device, remembering the hard work and effort he had put into that test. Physically and mentally. How hard he had worked, all on his own, to train his quirk. No, if he wanted to be a hero, he couldn't be afraid. Not to do this. Not if this was what he really wanted. 

     Again, Koji took a moment before taking a deep breath and, following a rush of adrenaline, snatched up the envelope and made his way out of his room. As he passed the door to his little sister’s room, he didn’t notice it creak open and her popping her head out to watch her older brother make his way down the stairs. His stride was strong but from the glimpse she got of his face, she could see the nervousness and fear. She could hear his excitement, she had known what for, and now knew what he was about to do. Sneaking out carefully, she waited for him to descend fully before hiding herself at the top of the stairs to listen in. 

     “There you are Koji. You were in such a rush coming in we didnt even see you. Come help set the table, dinner is almost ready.” His mother said, glancing at him for merely a second before focusing back on the food while his father was already seated at the table, scrolling through his phone. The young teen didn't move, clutching at the envelope in his hand and trying to swallow the lump in his throat that had only seemed to get bigger. His father, noticing he hadn’t responded, looked over at his son and raised an eyebrow. 

     “Didn’t you hear your mother? Help set the table.” 

     Still Koji didn’t move, instead finally parting his lips though it still took a moment for words to form. “Before...before that...I need to talk to you two.” 

     Sharing a confused glance, his mother and father looked back to their son with concern and confusion. His mother came around the table to stand next to his father, who remained in his seat. “Okay? What’s wrong son?” 

     The words almost felt like a poison settled in his stomach, the longer he held to them, the worse it hurt. He was terrified. His heart was beating a mile a minute, almost sure it was about to burst through his chest or explode all together. His guts were tied into knots and that piece in his throat didn't get any smaller. How could he do this? How could he approach them? Why didn’t he wait? Why should he have to wait? Why did this have to be such a huge deal? All he wanted was for them to be proud of him. After a few minutes of silence again, he looked up at them, trying to be calm and rational enough to get him and them through this. 

     “Guys I….I want to be a hero...I want to attend UA.” 

     The words finally left him, drifting out into the open air, feeling somewhat better now that it had finally been said. But while he would have preferred for it to be met with some kind of understanding, questioning, even maybe confusion, it instead was greeted by a coldness from both of his parents. A look in their eyes and a language of their bodies he had seen before, when they were presented with conversations of Quirks and heroes and were about to begin their tirades of their opinions. 

     “Absolutely not. I forbid it.” His father started, looking back to his phone, while his mother turned her back to Koji and went back to prepare dinner. 

     “But-But you guys, I HAVE a quirk! I can do such great things! I want to be able to help others!” He argued, walking closer to his dad, as if that would get him to understand him better somehow. 

     His father’s eyes tore away from his phone again, glaring at his son as he continued to try and make his case. “You may have one but you don't know how to use it and you won’t ever learn. You don’t need it and shouldn't even have it in the first place. It’s abhorrent. Even if we did approve, you’d never get in.”

     “But that’s the thing dad! I…..I did.” 

     There was silence again, his father’s face falling in shock and his mother turning around quickly to face him. In a movement that actually scared Koji with how fast he had been, his father’s hands slammed onto the table and he stood, towering over the young boy with a harsh look cast at him. “What was that?”

     ‘I...I passed the entrance exam. I made it in.” 

     “I don’t believe you. You took the exam behind our backs? How the hell did you get in? How the HELL could you have passed?” His father asking, looking over at him again, teeth clenched and eyebrows furrowed. The look sent a shock of fear down his spine. Never had his seen his father this infuriated, and never would he think such a look would ever be directed at him. Beside him, his mother had joined him, wearing a glare of her own. 

     “Even if you did, we still refuse to allow you. That’s no place and no life for our son. You’re not going to do that stupid job of being a “hero”.”

     Despite the fear, nervousness, everything screaming at him to stop, he kept going. This is what he wanted...this was his path, his life, and he had to be prepared for it. 

     “I-It’s true I made it! Look!” His shaking hands presented the letters envelope, his name and the UA symbol in bold, official lettering, that drew his parents eyes directly to it. “Guys you have to believe me, I made it in! I could do so many amazing things, I could protect so many people, be a hero! I….I’ve been practicing with my quirk and I’m not that bad at it, I’ve been training, and I know I’ve got so much-!” 

     It took him a second to realize what happened as suddenly the envelope was no longer in his hands and his gaze was suddenly to the left of the room. It wasn’t until the hot, searing pain in his cheek flared up that he realized that his mother had struck him. His hand gently cupped his cheek, almost able to feel the imprint of her hand forming in red on his pale skin. The shock of it had him immobile for a moment, before he finally was able to turn back to them, wide eyed in shock of what she had just done. However, he was only met with even more angry glares from his parents. 

     “You’ve been using that damn thing?! You’ve been sneaking behind our back, taking these tests, and using that abomination, despite everything?!” His mother shouted at him, with him unable to respond still. Shaking her head, she began to viciously rip apart the envelope. “No son of mine, no son of ours, is going to have anything to do with that damn hero business!” She glared at him again. “Not you, not while you live under this roof! And if you don’t like it, if you want to go to UA so damn badly, you can leave!” 

     The tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating, adding onto the pain that throbbed in his face. The shock was still settled within him, weighing down his words and thoughts in that moment. He watched the bits and pieces from the envelope he had so excitedly opened not long before flutter to the ground as his mother ripped it to shreds. That letter, that acceptance, proved he was good enough to be a hero. He had made it, others who barely knew him saw potential in him. They saw a hero in him. While his parents looked on him and saw….what? A failure? A problem child? A mistake? Whatever it was, they made it apparent just now and it snapped him finally back to reality. The weight was off his words and the shock was gone, replaced with his own anger. 

     His face warped into a glare that mirrored their own, his breath deepening before finally letting loose. “Fine then, I will! I’m going to become a hero, I’m going to help people! I’m going to be the best me I can and if you won’t support me, then I’ll find people who will!” 

     “Fine, and don’t ever come back!” 

     There was no response he had for him, instead making his way to the front door of his home, putting his shoes on and throwing the door open, making his way out into the storm outside and slamming the oak wood hard behind him.

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     The path he walked was dead at that time of night, void of people completely, and a path he could walk on autopilot, which he was doing now. He didn’t know how long he had been walking, but he knew it had been long enough for the heavy rain to soak him to the bone. His long blond hair clung to his face and body, his clothes sagging and sticking to him just as closely. In his race to leave, in his anger, he had forgotten not only his umbrella, but his phone as well. He was alone, it was dark, it was cold, but anything was going back there. Somehow his body had found its way to one of the places he found the most comfort in; the city’s observatory.

     For a moment, he stared up at it in silence, sad that the night was so cloudy and rainy that he couldn’t see the stars. He would’ve given anything to see them, maybe give him a little hope, but alas the dark clouds hid them from view. At that time of night, the observatory was closed to the public, but he found his way to one of the benches just outside and took a seat. Koji took in the sounds of the world around him. The rain hitting the pavement around him, the distance sounds of cars in the distance, soft rumbles of thunder far away, his own breathing that caused a soft mist of white in the cold. He grounded himself, he took the time to come back to his own mind, before heaving a heavy sigh and holding his head in his hands. 

     What was he going to do now? He had no way to contact anyone, and he couldn't just show up on door steps. He had nowhere to go. No one to lean on. And he couldn’t do this on his own...maybe he should just go back. After all, he was only 15. He couldn’t survive out here. There was no way….maybe he would go back. He would apologize. He would...he would change his mind about UA. He would- 

     “Koji?” 

     Surprised at the familiar voice, his head shot up quickly, interrupting his thoughts, to see the figure of his 11 year old sister standing in front of him, holding her large pink umbrella over the two of them. 

     “I knew you’d come here…”

     “Hana? Hana what the hell are you doing out here all by yourself?! Do mom and dad know you’re out here?” He asked, both surprised to see her and upset that she had walked all this way on her own. 

     “No but...you forgot this.” Hana proceeded to pull out Koji’s phone from her pocket before handing it to him. He took it lightly from her, staring down into its dark screen with a grimace. 

     “Are you going to tell me to come back home?”

     “No, never…...I believe in you, you’re going to be the best hero ever! But they won’t see that….”

     Koji stared at his younger sibling for a moment before looking again at his phone, tapping the side button to illuminate the screen and see a text from his best friend light up. Silence stretched between them before he spoke again. “Will you…be mad? You and Ryo? Will you two hate me for leaving you?” 

     “How can we hate our favorite hero?” She said, giving him a bright smile as he looked up at her again. 

     The smile was infectious as his own gentle one came to his lips. He finally stood from the park bench and took the umbrella from her, holding it above the two of them. “C’mon, let’s get you home.” 

     The siblings walked side by side, talking amongst themselves and ignoring the world around them. He enjoyed the moment with her, as he knew just how difficult his parents would make it for him to see them in the future. They had meant what they said and that meant pretty much an exiling of the family. He was, in fact, a mistake in their eyes now. Their problem child. Or, rather, a child they would no longer have to deal with. Not their problem anymore, they would probably tell others, he left of his own accord. And he had, and he would make damn well sure he did great enough to be able to throw it back in their faces one day. 

     The two arrived at the door and as his sister began her way inside, Koji began to close the umbrella to hand back. “Keep it.” she said, giving him another smile. “You need it tonight, right? Just….keep it, okay?” He smiled again, giving her a nod and watching her disappear behind the door quietly into his old home. He could feel it in his eyes, the tears beginning to swell as he realized just how much his future had changed for him in just a few moments. He no longer had his childhood home, the support or love of his parents, and even his little siblings, who he adored and loved with everything he had, would be a rare thing in his life. The hand on the umbrella gripped it tightly as a pain tightened in his heart. 

     He couldn’t stay there, he had to move, turning on his heel and walking quickly away from the house. While his parents didn’t support him, his little siblings always had. They and the friends in his life were the ones who encouraged him for this path. And he couldn’t give it up. He couldn’t give up his dreams that those that loved him encouraged, for the people he was supposed to be able to trust who wanted to tear him down. With his phone slid out of his pocket, he quickly went to his first favorite in his contacts and waited for the call to connect. Before his friend could even speak, Koji beat him to it.

     “Taishiro, hey...I need a place to stay….I told ‘em…”

     “Shit man, really? Well, come on over! I’ll let mom and dad know. We’ve kind of been prepping. But hey, guess that means you made it right?! Congrats dude, I knew you would! We’ll celebrate once you get here!” 

     The kind, excited words from the other end of the line struck Koji hard and, despite himself and the exhaustion of what had taken place that night, another smile finally formed and the tears escaped his eyes. “Thanks man. I’ll be there soon.” 

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     Jordyn had been standing there staring at Koji for a few moments, watching him as he stared off into space. Sitting on the couch, his face cradled in his palm, and eyes fixated on the old pink umbrella that she had always noticed sitting in the umbrella bin at his place. She could tell he was extremely lost in thought, his mind somewhere very far away, and even though she wasn’t touching him, she could tell there was some….crazy amount of emotions going on with him. It was hard to tell what, exactly, but while his eyes were distant, there was something lurking beneath their silver depths. 

     Finally, she cleared her throat to get his attention. His head shot up quickly and looked over to her. Whatever had been in his eyes and mind before had vanished completely upon seeing her, grinning brightly and standing up from the couch. “Hey little star! Sorry, kinda got carried away in thought.” He laughed as he approached her. She returned a gentle smile and shook her head. 

     “No no, that’s alright. Just worried you might have forgotten I existed for a minute.” She teased. “What were you thinking about?” She asked.

     That small bit of something crossed his eyes again before it was gone and his bright smile kept on. “Nothing, just some old memories. Nothing to worry about~” He said, reaching over and grasping her hand gently, intertwining his fingers with hers. “Besides, we don’t have time to talk about it. I think I made us late, and I’ll never hear the end of it in teasing from the little portal bug if we keep them. Especially after we offered lunch to them today.”

     “You. You mean, you, offered them lunch.” 

     “Yeah yeah, don’t tease me. I get enough of that from others.” He joked, leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek. “You look lovely by the way. Alright, let’s go!” He announced, beginning to lead the two of them out. Jordyn took the few seconds of Koji locking the door to his place to take him in. Her silver eyed, long blond haired hero who was the love of her life. A man who tried to encourage everyone in everything. To be there for anyone when they needed it. A bright smile or a laugh for others. And yet there was something behind all that. A part of this man that she knew her future laid with that she had yet to see, that he had yet to show her. She had caught it in soft fleeting emotions and while he wasn’t good at hiding other parts of his emotions around her, those ones he somehow hid better than others. Something had happened far back in his past. What could it have been? 

     With a click and a tug of the door to make sure it was locked, Koji turned to her, a loving smile on his face as he offered his arm to her. “Ready darling?” 

     Jordyn returned his smile and slipped her arm into his, feeling the emotions of his love, his caring, and overall the bright nature that made up the man at her side. Whatever it had been, whoever he had been, he would tell her in time. And she would make sure to be right there for him when it happened. “Yes, I am. Let’s go~”