Zero Hero || MHA ||

0. Onishi Rin: Origins

If there's one thing I've realized from all the years I've been alive, it's that people with strong Quirks are privileged. I don't mean to get preachy, but I'm just saying that people often abuse their power and probably can't live without them. They take their incredible powers for granted. They think that just because they were gifted with superhuman abilities that they can go around wreaking havoc and do as they please. Don't they know that some people want to live a normal life?

        My face was on the ground. I smelled fire and smoke in the air. It rushed up my nose and down my throat, tightening my lungs. Every breath I took made me gag. My eyes burned yet tears didn't help one bit; it made things worse, actually. As I blindly lied in the open, cries of civilians screaming for help and their footsteps rattled my body. There was a high-pitched ringing in my ears, muffling the voices zooming past me.

        "Call the heroes!"

        "Run!"

        "It's a villain!"

        A villain attack? Oh, yeah... That's right. I remember now. I was on my way home from school after buying comics for Hiro...

»»————-　　————-««

"Hey, Coconut Head! Come 'ere."

        I turned around to see that I was face-to-face with Bakugo, an egotistic classmate of mine who liked teasing kids with weak Quirks, or anyone weak in general. Behind him were his two friends who equally took part in his antics. They looked pretty suspicious since they were hiding in the dark alley. Add on the snarky grin on their faces, and they looked like they just committed arson or some other crimes teenagers do.

        "Coconut Head...?" I muttered to myself while his friends chuckled. That was a new name. Usually he'll call me nerd. He tried to bully me but gave up after a month, since I kept ignoring him. In the end, it felt like I was the one bullying him because of how offended he'd get. That said, he never passed an opportunity to be a jerk to me.

        "I know you were listenin' to our conversation," he accused, his face in my near mine.

        I leaned away to put some distance between us. "...You mean when you were in the classroom after school with the Quirkless kid?"

        "Obviously. What else would I be talkin' about?" he said, getting even closer to me. I could smell his breath on me and surprisingly, it smelled like fresh mint and not like dingy eggs.

        As all bullies do, Bakugo has a favorite victim that he likes to tease: Midoriya. He's a nice guy who's berated by Bakugo and outcasted by his classmates all the time. Last year, he lent me his history notes because I forgot to study before the test. His notes were very thorough and specific; he even created a table of contents and labeled the page numbers. I still failed the exam, but it was the thought that counted, right?

        The reason why he's spat on all the time is because he's Quirkless. In a world full of superpowers, he's a part of the unfortunate 20% that didn't manifest one. Even so, I heard that he wants to be a hero. I guess that annoys Bakugo for some reason, so that's why he's always picking on him.

        I peered up at Bakugo's fiery pupils, seeing no point in lying. "Yep. I was. And uh, you wanted to be a hero? Threatening the Quirkless kid isn't very heroi--"

        An ignition from his left hand exploded, interrupting my sentence. Smoke spiked up my nose, and I sneezed out a line of snot. It flew and latched on his chest. It was stringy and wet, the type of booger that'll be impossible to pick out.