It was raining. The sky was dyed gray, and the ground was stained red.
I was walking.
Where to?
I didn’t know.
I just kept walking, eyes fixed on what lay ahead.
How long had I walked?
Before I knew it, a street that felt strangely familiar came into view. At the same time, it was a sight that made my heart ache.
And yet I kept walking.
Then I stopped. My eyes widened, my mouth fell open, and I could only stare blankly at what was in front of me.
At my destination were the corpses of the family I had loved.
My pupils shook, and I gagged.
My family was staring at me with unfocused eyes.
Those eyes looked as if they were blaming me, or maybe they were just the eyes of corpses that happened to be facing my way.
"Why?"
Why were they looking at me like that?
But I felt as if they really were looking at me with resentment.
"Why? Why are you the only one who survived?"
I cried and ran.
It was a terrible scream, one that should never have come from a human mouth.
At some point, I stopped running and looked up at the sky.
The world had lost its color, and only the ground glowed red. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
To calm the tangled emotions inside me... Once I had settled down somewhat, I opened my eyes.
Then I found myself standing somewhere completely different from where I had been.
"Where is this?"
It looked like some old Western-style building.
It felt strangely familiar, and strangely nostalgic.
As I walked across the red carpet, I climbed the stairs in front of me.
There was a bookshelf packed with countless books, a desk for some kind of work, and on top of it, a few sheets of paper and a quill pen. Behind it was a door.
When I opened that door, I found myself outside. Snow was falling, and the wind was blowing.
And there was "him."
It was the place where "he" had undergone the "ritual" before carrying out an assassination.
I thought to myself that I must be dreaming.
"It’s a dream. But it’s also a distant memory."
For a moment, chills ran down my spine. What was this? Was it talking to me?
"There should be no one here but you. It seems you have not yet fully grasped your situation, young eagle."
The man spoke, and I, thinking I could actually talk to "him," blurted out the questions I had been holding inside.
"Who are you? Why are you appearing in front of me? Why do I have this [Sense]?"
"If you claim to know me without even knowing who you are, then the time is still too early. You are still too young to enter the Brotherhood. Well, that too is youth."
"Answer me!!"
I let my anger carry me and charged at "him." The moment I threw a punch, "he" deflected it with ease, twisted my arm behind my back, immobilized me, and clamped his left hand over my head.
"Youth is fine, but there are things you gain with age. If you move only with emotion and solve everything with strength alone, you will end up taking your own life."
With those words, "he" shoved me toward a cliff. I fell off the edge, and when I turned back, I glared at "him."
It is still too early. Brother, grow stronger and return to the "fortress." Then perhaps there will be things you can understand.
______________________________________
"Hah!!"
Waking from the dream, I threw off the clothes soaked in cold sweat and got out of bed. Then I went to the sink to wash up. After splashing my face with cold water and fully waking up, I thought about that dream.
"A dream and a distant memory... The Brotherhood..."
Without understanding what he had meant, I put on my school uniform and headed to school.
Classes were more ordinary than I had expected. First period was English, second period was modern literature, and so on with basic subjects. After lunch, he appeared in the afternoon class.
"I came through a normal door!"
"It’s really All Might!!"
"Amazing, his style is completely different!!"
"That’s his Silver Age costume."
The students in class reacted in all sorts of ways, and All Might held up a card to announce the next lesson.
"This is sudden, but today’s lesson is combat training. And these are the costumes you requested in advance!! Put them on and gather at Ground Beta!!"
______________________________________
"It’s important to have the right look from the start!! Be aware, you eggs!! From today on, you are all... Heroes!!"
The students gathered at Ground Beta were wearing their costumes. Some wore tight, form-fitting outfits, while others wore armor.
"Aren’t they all great? Fantastic!! Hm? I don’t see the Sorano boy anywhere."
"I’m here."
"Hm? Holy!!!!"
All Might was startled for a moment. Even though this was a school without Villains, he broke out in a cold sweat at having failed to notice my presence and having his back taken.
When did he get there?
______________________________________
The students began talking to each other about their costumes. Then a familiar voice called out to me.
"Yo! Taka, I’m a little late, but I’m glad we’re in the same class. And your costume looks cool."
She was wearing a boy’s-style outfit, but from her familiar voice I could tell it was Jiro.
"Thank you. Your costume suits you too, Jiro."
"What?!! Hehe! Thanks."
She seemed a little embarrassed and answered while touching her earlobe with a finger.
I had made my costume to match "his" outfit exactly. Brown leather boots, a belt at my waist reinforced with iron plates over leather, and a red sash hanging from it. I wore iron armor on my left arm and open-finger gloves on both hands. A white robe covered my body, though I had removed the hood for now. At my waist was a longsword, on my back a dagger, and on the leather shoulder guards attached to my belt were throwing daggers. Finally, a Hidden Blade was mounted on the inside of my left wrist.
"Um... Taka, there’s something I want to tell you..."
"To me?"
"It’s just that..."
I was focusing on what Jiro was saying, but then Iida asked a question about the lesson, and the students’ attention, mine included, shifted there. Jiro looked disappointed, but she turned her focus to the lesson. All Might answered Iida’s question and began explaining the training. It seemed we would be divided into Villains and Heroes for a two-on-two indoor battle. The Villains were to either protect the nuclear weapon from the Heroes or subdue them, while the Heroes would win by securing the nuclear weapon or capturing the Villains. The teams would be decided by lottery.
"Then there will be one person left over. What happens to the last person?"
A girl with her hair tied in a ponytail and a flashy red costume asked the question.
"Hmm, good point. The remaining person will draw a separate team and join them. Depending on the situation, having too many people can be an advantage or a disadvantage. But this is also experience. Being able to respond efficiently each time is a skill Heroes need, Yaoyorozu girl."
She understood All Might’s explanation and thanked him. Then we each began drawing teams.
Results
A Midoriya Izuku / Uraraka Ochaco
B Todoroki Shoto / Shoji Mezo
C Yaoyorozu Momo / Mineta Minoru / Sorano Taka
D Bakugo Katsuki / Iida Tenya
E Ashido Mina / Aoyama Yuga
F Sato Riki / Koda Koji
G Kaminari Denki / Jiro Kyoka
H Tokoyami Fumikage / Asui Tsuyu
I Ojiro Masahiro / Hagakure Toru
J Kirishima Eijiro / Sero Hanta
"Then let us draw the first match. The first match is Team A Heroes versus Team D Villains!!"
With that, the first match was decided, and All Might, the other students, and I moved to the monitor room where we could watch the match.
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