Metempsychosis || Mha

Hizashi

When I was younger, I used to hate my quirk. Every time I talked, it would activate to full volume, and anyone within my general vicinity would have their ears bleed. And because I couldn't control it, the only way to stop myself from hurting the people I care about was to stop talking. So, I did.

For the first few years of my life, I never spoke. Instead, I was taught sign language by my parents. My father had the same quirk, but it was less amplified than mine. Although when I tried to use it with other people, no one understood. So I carried a notebook around with me everywhere I went.

My first years of elementary school weren't too difficult. My parents told the school the situation that I was in, and thankfully, they took that information in stride and didn't make me do any activities that required me to speak.

It was really hard to make friends. I forget how much kids can be such brats at that age. It's not like I was deaf. But a lot of my classmates thought I was. They would talk about me behind my back. Made fun of the clothes I was wearing. Wrote things on my desk that I would rather not repeat out loud. I told my parents about it after a few weeks, and they went straight to the principal. Everyone was swiftly punished.

But it's not like it stopped there.

It fell more to whispers, and everyone began to avoid me. Except this one kid. Kazuto Satoz. At first, he befriended me, and we would have conversations back and forth in the notebook I had. We would eat lunch, hang out, and help with each other's homework. But then, something happened.

I don't know what I did, or what he did, but he just suddenly changed. He told me he hated my guts. Told me how I would never grow up to be anything. And told me lots of other things that made me almost...

That's when my parents had enough. They transferred me to a different school, and I finished the remainder of my junior high school elsewhere. I got braces my last year and glasses before that.

I wanted to prove everyone wrong. That I could become something. What more better way to prove someone wrong than to become a hero?

The entrance written exam for U.A. wasn't hard. Luckily, the school that I transferred to was pretty advanced for its curriculum, so I seemed ahead of the game more than most. So, on came to the practical exams. I used my voice to maximum output.

I was the fourth in the whole practical test.

Some months later, I entered U.A. in the Hero Course; Class 1-A. I said that I chose to join the Hero Course was to become a hero, but the main reason was to find a way to get my quirk under control. For so many years, I was silent, but not anymore. With the help of the teachers and staff, I could finally become, in the definition of judgemental people, normal. I was hoping to find some friends.

But those thoughts quickly went down the drain when I saw Kazuto and his lackeys sitting in the front row of the class. He instantly recognized me, and he laughed when he saw the braces and glasses. I could feel myself regressing back to my elementary school self, and any confidence I had quickly shut down. I quickly walked to the back and sat down, putting on my earphones to ignore the cruelty of everyone else.

The students in my class looked at Kazuto in annoyance and distaste, but none of them made a move to do anything. Then the teacher came in, causing everyone to become silent. I didn't think it was possible for those dimwits to be obedient.

A few minutes went by as the teacher explained what we were doing today. Just as we were about to leave for orientation, two students came rushing in, out of breath. One of them was a girl. She was really tall compared to the other girls in the class, and she had white hair tied into a pony tail. The boy next to her had light blue hair and a pair of goggles that sat on his head. He was panting on the ground as the girl leaned against the door frame.

"S-sorry we-," she wheezed, "we're la-ate."

"Too traf-fic," the boy next to her coughed.

The teacher shook his head at the two and sighed. "Since it's the first day, I won't punish you. But you two were fifteen minutes late!"

They both apologized, and as everyone walked out, they were the last ones to leave the classroom. As the days went on, I began to notice the two even more. After a short while, they were known as the 'troublemakers' of the class. Almost every day they were nearly late, and the teacher would yell at them for it. They would constantly mess with each other during work time and would usually stick together for class projects.

On the other hand, I was still on my own. Sure, the hero course began to help with my quirk little by little, and by the end of the first two weeks, I could finally talk without bursting the eardrums of my classmates. But for some reason, I still couldn't break out of the habit of keeping to myself. I tried telling myself that it wasn't like junior high anymore. That I would be okay. But it was a lot harder to break out of when Kazuto was there.

Somehow, he would find me after school even with the different routes I took, and would pick on me. He wouldn't dare try at school. I guess he wasn't ready to get expelled. Unlike before, I would tell him to stop and leave me alone, but it seemed to fuel his unknown anger for me even more. So whenever I got the chance, I would try to avoid him at school. The library was my safe haven.

Nobody usually went there, so it would mostly just be me and this other staff member. Her name was Kanzaki, and she was so nice to me. She appreciated that I would come to the library and borrow some of the books. She said that it was nice knowing that some people were still interested in words on a page.

One of the days I went there, I brought my headphones and put them on. I was reading some manga that I forgot the title of, and weirdly enough, I didn't realize I was signing the lyrics when someone tapped my shoulder.

I jumped. I turned to the person who touched me. It was the tall girl from my class. Hinata Sanomi. She had on red earrings that dangled from her ears, and they matched with her joyous red eyes as she gave me a small smile.

"Is that...are you translating ONE OK ROCK in sign language?"

I quickly took off my headphones and laughed in embarrassment. I didn't even realize. But then, I noticed something.

"You...know sign language?" I asked hesitantly in a whisper.

She nodded with a grin. Hinata then began to talk, but this time with her hands.

"(I learned it when I was younger. My mother taught me how)," she motioned.

I couldn't help but feel a smile growing on my face.

"(Seiously?! That's so cool. No one was able to understand me except for my parents!)" I signed.

"(Really? That must suck)."

"(Yeah, it gets really tiring having to write everything down whenever I talk to someone)."

She hummed. "You were speaking fine to me just a few seconds ago. Why do you have to write?"

"(I can't control my quirk really well, so I either have to whisper, write, or sign. It's so that I don't hurt anybody)."

"Oh, really?" She asked surprised, "I thought you were just shy."

I laughed sheepishly, putting the book in front of my face as I avoided her gaze.

"That's...one way of putting it I guess," I whispered.

We didn't say anything for a little bit. It felt a little awkward, but I guess that was just me. Slowly, the book lowered from my face, and I could see Hinata giving me a soft smile.

"Why don't you eat lunch with me and Oboro tomorrow? We'd love to hang out!"

My face began to burn at her statement, and with no hesitation, I nodded.