「𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞」𝘮𝘩𝘢 𝘹 𝘰𝘤

02| Positive Charge

LEGACY

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One week, six days, and nine hours until the present

The train ride from Tokyo to Shizuoka wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

Normally I hated long train rides, but two and a half hours stuck on a train was nothing compared to the fifteen hours I had just spent on an airplane.

By the time we arrived at the station, it was only three in the afternoon, but I thought I was gonna pass out from jet lag at any moment. Apparently, my body was still functioning on Eastern Daylight Time.

Then it disconnected from my soul when the GPS of our white Range Rover announced we had arrived at our "house," if you could even call it that.

When the Hero Network first requested my parents to move to Japan, they offered to cover our expenses for everything: Food, clothing, living quarters, electricity—not that we'd ever need it—and probably every single luxury known to man.

Of course, my parents refused—as they always did—and I respected them for that.

Although there was nothing wrong with accepting offers and small gifts here and there since they didn't have side jobs to support our family, my parents vowed never to become reliant on their fame to get by, much preferring a "simple" life.

However, the Network wouldn't back down on finding us a place to stay, and we couldn't exactly argue with them since vacant residencies were hard to come by in Musutafu.

But when they contacted us a week ago with our new address included, I thought they had found us a nice apartment, not a fucking mansion.

The Hero Network knew damn well that our small family of three did not require a three-story, seven-bedroom, five-bathroom "house" with an interior design of "only" 5,000 square feet.

I could feel the static coming from my parents crackle in the air as the automated gate to our "new kingdom" unlocked, causing one of four motion-activated garages to rise. They insisted that I go inside and find my room—as if I could—while they had a private conversation in the car.

Throwing my solid-black backpack over my shoulder, I made an internal bet with myself about how long my parents would be able to last in this palace as I dragged my medium-sized suitcase up the marble steps of our grand foyer. I'd guess two or three days tops, if that.

All of this is such a waste, I thought to myself, suddenly annoyed.

What was the point of a million-dollar home if my parents were never around? What was the point of seven bedrooms when my parents shared a bed and I wouldn't occupy mine for more than twelve hours?

Tomorrow morning I started classes at U.A., meaning I would also dorm there for the rest of the school year. So why did the Hero Network spend so much money on us, money that could be dedicated to resources that could be used to help others?

"Would you like me to bring your luggage to your suite, Miss Williams?"

I snapped my head up to the voice coming from the top of the stairs. There awaited a young man with wavy, jet-black hair and jade-green eyes who looked like he was in his early twenties. He appeared to be tall, around 5'11, wearing some black dress pants and a fancy black coat over a white button-up shirt.

"Ummm... who are you?" I questioned, even though I had already guessed the answer.

"I'm Pierce," he replied casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world that he had been standing there for minutes, watching me wander from room to room.