That Funny Feeling [MHA]

Happy Birthday Kenzo [#006]

Taro knows he's disposable, it was something a lot of kids without parents find out at one point or another. It doesn't help that they are shoved around like a pet that can be bought or sold. At first it was a disgusting feeling, but it quickly changes to numbness and the practice of pretending you're hearing nothing but static when something bad happens becomes a little funny after a while.

Or maybe that was just Taro.

Taro had heard of people like the Nakao's from the older kids, or at least he thought he had. People, rich ones, would sometimes adopt children. Most of the time it's because they were getting paid to do it, but sometimes it's because of a quirk marriage. They'll get married and find out one of them was infertal to late, that or they've got so many 'disappointing' children that they'll simply attempt to buy one with their desired quirk in mind.

At first Taro had thought that the Nakao's were simply being paid to have him, but then a year and a few months passed and everything they bought him revolved around heroes. Taro didn't know the exact reason of why his 'parents' were so wealthy, all he knew was that they worked for the hero commission and that he was apparently special. That was when it got confusing for Taro, they never trained him to be a hero, in fact they adopted him before he even got his quirk so it couldn't be anything like that.

And then Taro met Kenzo. His first friend, and then Taro stopped caring about all that. It was strange, the shift between being friendless to having a single one, and honestly Taro didn't know what he'd do if he went back to having nobody.

Kenzo had stopped coming to school for over a week.

One day, perhaps on the dawn of a sunny one, Nakao Taro disappeared.

Disappeared from school

From his house

From his room he spent hours talking back and forth with a girl he knew was one of the 'disappointments'

Taros' parents know exactly where he is. They don't care though.

They just wanted to get paid after all.

Did you know 20% of the world's population was quirkless people? It's a known fact, and yet people always seemed to forget how much 20% was. Nineteen people out of every hundred are quirkless. Why, some people would ask, why are there so few quirkless people seen today then, and why are they so discriminated against as different?

Well back when quirks were first appearing, many people with quirks were killed and slaughtered by the quirkless. Of course, because of this many grudges were made and passed on to children, so even in the era where the ones of power were in control, children with quirks carried the hatred of their predecessors, even if they didn't know where the hatred was founded.

As for why many don't see quirkless people today even though in a school of around 200 children, theoretically 38 should be quirkless? Many children, when they're parents find out their child is quirkless, many children find themselves in the foster system, cruler people kicking them to the street to die. Nobody really wants to adopt a child without a quirk, and upon reaching 18 (If they make it that far) many have to fend for themselves and find a job, and nobody wants to hire a quirkless person, leaving the quirkless to become criminals to survive or to simply starve on the street if not beaten for their status of homlessness.

Cleaver ones say they had a quirk all along, no matter how weak or useless. Others don't have any of those things happen to them at all, and instead face a cruel fate surrounded by bright white lights.

It was Kenzo's birthday today, she was now 6 years old. She hadn't gone to school in weeks, hadn't seen Taro in weeks. Her mother was ill, the pregnancy and whatever father had done to her practically a year ago left her legs shaky and with spouts of fainting. Her father was busy, Kenzo's mother said, He's working hard, she said, be a dear and check on Yoshio for me? Will you not?

Kenzo had begun to read the books Kenzos mother had used to read to her so long ago to Yoshio. The nursery was moved next to Kenzos room.

"What do you want for your birthday?" Kenzos mother would ask a week after her birthday had passed.

"Can I go to the library?" Kenzo had never been to a library before.

Kenzos parents never picked her back up, Kenzo had stayed inside the library for as long as she could before she was forced to leave. Sitting on the concrete steps of the library as it slowly ticked to midnight, a mist of pink that smelled so strongly of cinnamon wafted to Kenzos nose.

She had passed out.

Kenzo was smiling before she did.