Pro hero's without the shell

Prologue

 The sun let off a nice yellow light that streamed through her window, perfectly illuminating the papers that are in front of Umeko Suzuki. The precalculus problems gave her a headache but she pushes through it nonetheless with no other choice but to finish the homework in front of her before she goes to sleep. The thought of her comfortable bed with its soft and warm blankets, a comfy mattress that sinks when she lays down, and the pillow that now has the perfect indent to make her fall asleep in an instant constantly playing pushing her to give up and just ask a friend for the answers in the morning and pretend she was busy doing something much more important. She was stronger than that though and continued on.

The sound of her parents talking can be heard down the hall. No doubt talking about how her grades have slipped just the littlest bit and how she never comes out of her room anymore. She wasn't fond of her parents. She couldn't bring herself to say she hated them but she knew that she didn't like their company the way many did. She should be happy. She has two parents that care for her in the slightest bit, but all she could think of was how she felt empty and annoyed when she was forced to talk to them or be in their company.

The precalculus finally made sense and she finished her homework with a sigh of relief. She was finally able to lay down in her bed and let the sweet release of sleep consume her. She slowly closed her eyes wishing for the feeling of weightlessness to take over but nothing happened. Instead, her mind was full of activity, and could not calm down. She was stuck laying there with no relief in sight.

She let her mind wander. Wonder about the fictional worlds and characters she read and watched throughout her life. She remembered one show in particular that she recently watched. The show was about a world in which people had superhuman powers. Everyone had a different one and some didn't have one at all. The show made her happy. It gave her something to think about other than the boring and grueling life that she lived. Going to school, studying, coming home, studying, eating in between.

She wished she could leave the world she lived in for a different one. Perhaps the very world that had caught her fascination tonight. Maybe she wanted to have a reason to live and not just this never-ending war between trying to be happy and keep other people happy. Or maybe she wanted to escape the needs of the current world and trade them for one that she had no ties in and could live completely free to do what she wanted.

As she thought about the fictional world that she longed for, her mind slowly started to shut down and become exhausted. She felt the weight start to lift from her and the blankets seemed to get more inviting. She yawned and slowly was transported to the world of dreams that made her content because there too she had no responsibilities to withhold. It seemed though, that the world of dreams was not the only place she was transported to.