Chapter Text
Another boring day passed by fairly quickly for Deimos. The young man, freshly out of high school, had been debating which hero school to join.
There was, of course, no doubt he would become a hero, it was just a matter of where he wanted to go. America had about five high profile schools, but he couldn’t really decide. X Academy was known for its acceptance rate, but the principal was known to be a right bastard. Durance was better, though perhaps a bit costly. Money was always the issue, because America.
With such contemplations in his mind, he had decided to visit his childhood friend, Gawain. Graduation had been the last time they spoke, so it was also something of a reunion, despite having only been a few months. Life had been… complicated, to say the least.
Deimos, thanks to his quirk, was incredibly fit, with a preference for muscle shirts and jeans. His blue hair was a mess, giving him something of a delinquent appearance, though it was not exactly at odds with his bold and direct attitude. He was slowly growing a goatee, though it was clear he’d kept shaving the rest of his face to prevent a full beard. He was fairly average in terms of height, only reaching about five foot nine inches.
Deimos, one hand in his pocket, knocked on the door to Gawain’s house. “Oi, you home?” He called out, fully expecting his old friend to answer the door almost immediately. They were both fairly impatient, after all.
"Just a moment." A voice spoke, Demois knew the tone to be Gawain's father, Russel Heulwen.
Unlike Deimos, who lived alone now, Gawain still lived with his parents. Granted, when one parent was a famous hero, that was understandable. Deimos would be lying if he said he wasn’t a fan, too, despite his quirk being vastly different.
Deimos was blessed with a simple but incredible quirk. Limitless. While most humans had limits on their bodies, Deimos did not. He had no upper limits to what his strength, speed, or durability could reach. Anything he could train to be better, he could train endlessly. Given he’d become slightly addicted to exercising and fighting when he was still a kid, he was fairly strong now. Still, Gawain was stronger at the height of his power.
Gawain’s quirk relied on sunlight, so he had a limited amount of power he could use, but his power output was considerably higher than Deimos, when his stockpile was full. The main difference was that Deimos could fight near endlessly, and Gawain had some kind of heat/fire generation. That was the power of Solar Charge.
As he thought about his own quirk and Gawain's, he did not realize the door had been open, revealing Gawain's father. He was a gentle giant both in terms of personality and stature.
"Ah Deimos! Haven't seen you since the school graduation, are you doing well?" The kind man asked.
It still amazed Deimos that Gawain's dad was not the number one hero in America considering his capabilities, mainly that, like his son, he could absorb sunlight, only he had three decades of training and dedication. He was one of the very few people that could rival Stars and Stripes in power alone.
“Not bad. Still deciding where to go, which is what I wanted to talk to Gawain about. He here?” Deimos grinned. He was always informal, so while he definitely respected Russel, he never showed it just with words. It was actions he used to speak, after all.
"Yeah, we just got done with some father and son training an hour ago, he's in his room getting some comfort clothes on."
“Ah, good timing then. Wanted to talk to him about where he plans to go.” Deimos shrugged. He wasn’t too sure if Gawain even wanted to be a hero, honestly. He certainly had the power for it.
"Well don't stay out here, come in, come in." The kind man said, beckoning Deimos inside.
As Deimos entered and sat on the living room couch to wait for his friend. The house was nothing special in terms of design or decoration, though if he had a word to describe the inside he would use, warm. It was a cozy little home, clearly meant for a close knit family. Very much not what one would expect from such a highly ranked hero.
"Want anything while you wait? Drink or a snack?" Russel asked Deimos.
“Nah, I’m good. Already ate after my morning workout.” Deimos shook his head. “Thanks, though. You been busy lately too?” Deimos had mostly been settling his dues with his landlord, knowing he’d have to move regardless of what school he chose.
"Indeed, finally got some time off to spend with my son." Russel answered. "Speaking of, Gawain! Deimos is here!"
"COMING!" replied Gawain.
The sound of thumping was quickly heard as Deimos saw his friend swiftly go down the stairs, wearing a simple yellow shirt and basic pants. Compared to his father he looked frail At a glance, almost fitting the typical nerd stereotype in drama shows, glasses included, with his main uniqueness of appearance being his sunflower colored hair. A property he got from his mother.
"Good to see you D. Been awhile huh?"
“Yeah, thought you’d been avoiding me.” Deimos chuckled, teasingly. “What you been up to?”
"Sorry about that, been busy trying to handle solar charge better and I guess I got tunneled on that." Gawain replied, placing his left hand on the back of his hand as he nervously sighed.
"I'll leave you two youngsters to chat without this old man hovering over." Russel said. Getting a laugh from the youths as he went to the backyard.
“Eh, fair enough. I’ve been training like usual.” Deimos shook his head. “You decided on a school yet? I can’t decide myself.”
"Honestly I'm stuck as well." Gawain sighed. "At the moment I'm down to two options."
“Yeah? Which ones? I hope it’s not X Academy.” Deimos huffed, wondering what his friend was considering.
"Nah, I heard there was some scandal with one of the teachers and students recently there. So I'm down to Avengers Academy or U.A."
Deimos blinked in surprise. “U.A.? Going to Japan? I mean, we’d have a good four months before we’d need to be there, so we could probably learn Japanese before then, but… why there?”
Gawain chuckled. "Well for one, I think it would be a good idea to learn how heroics is taught outside of America to be honest. Dad is a world class hero so he has experience in helping other nations, you know?"
“Hm. Could be fun. Gives me a reason to learn another language, and get away from my family.” Deimos shrugged. He’d never gotten along with his family, and after his mom died, he had no connection to any of them. Now, they were little more than people he preferred to avoid at all costs. The less said about them, the better. “Still, you think you can learn Japanese that fast? I don’t have problems with language, but don’t you?”
"Yeah…" Gawain moped. "Been trying some of those easy and fast sites but nothing clicks for me. As for my second reason. It is the number one ranked school worldwide, albeit barely beating Avengers Academy by a few points."
“Hm… well, we have a bit of time to think on it. Hey, tell ya what, why don’t we go to that carnaval today? Get our minds off of things, see if we can think clearer about it afterwards? “ Deimos suggested. “Besides, you might finally see a girl you like.” He grinned, all too glad to tease his friend, as he had done so often before.
"Oh don't you start that again!" His friend bemoaned. "And yeah, I think your idea sounds great! I'll pay for both of us, the least I can do for not talking to you for months."
“Ah, you know ya aint gotta do that. But I guess. Let’s head out then, try and have some fun before we gotta start studying.” Deimos shook his head. “On the bright side, I can probably help you with Japanese once we get started.”
"Thanks. I'll need all the help I can get at this point."
Hours had come and gone as the two enjoyed themselves with rides and fried food. Just having exited the latest ride, the Typhoon Tornado. With Gawain barely having held on to his recent meal from the chaotic turns of the ride.
"Never again…" groaned Gawain.
“Hah! Lightweight.” Deimos laughed, patting his friend on the back. “Gotta learn to enjoy this kinda stuff. Safest way to get your adrenaline pumping.” Perhaps Deimos did have a bit of a problem, being an adrenaline junkie…
"Heh, easy to say when you got used to such things thanks to limitless. I still wonder how dad got the hang of jumping across the sky and not getting woozy."
The two continued to banter, not noticing what was in front of them until Deimos bumped into someone.
"Sorry, I should've paid attention." Deimos apologized, looking at the person he stumbled Into.
It was a woman who seemed to wear an attire similar to a fortune teller he saw in movies. He noticed that her stance was odd and her eyes seemed almost glazed over. Before he could say another word the woman grabbed his hand and held it strongly.
"The Hands of Fate guide the world!
Hope and Hate interweave, and twirl!
Hope will fall. Hate will rise.
Unless the boundless and blazing lion can stop the rising tide!
It begins in the east, where the sun shall rise, the start of one who has emerald eyes.
Only with self acceptance may Hope prevail. With bonds and friendships stronger than steel.”
"What in the hell are you-" Deimos tried to question, before the women fell onto the ground.
As Deimos tried his best to help the unconscious women, his ears slowly deafen, barely hearing his friend yelling for aid, not knowing the strange women had already passed.
It was quiet for the two of them as they sat inside Deimos apartment. He stared outside the window thoughtlessly, the words of the women still fresh on his mind. Not even noticing Gawain walking to his side.
"Just got done talking to dad on the phone, how are you holding up?"
“Still processing everything.” Deimos took a deep breath. “I saw what she was talking about. It was… extreme. But it makes me confident we need to go to U.A. at least.”
"You believe what you saw was real?" His friend questioned.
"Too much detail. Mental projection quirks tend to be easier to see through, the more detailed they are.” Deimos shook his head tiredly. “I saw entire cities turn to dust, fights with people on par with Star and Stripe. There was just too much for me to not believe.” He shrugged, before grinning, though the worry and exhaustion was still prominent in his expression. “Besides, if I can get involved in that kinda shit, I’ll take the chance that what I saw was wrong.”
Gawain sighed at his claim, but he could tell from years of being with him that he was on board.
"Well, guess you are gonna have to teach me Japanese after all my feral friend, though shouldn't we at least tell my dad? He could help with this."
“Even if he believed me fully, what could he do? He has no jurisdiction over Japan. Us going over there would be the best bet. Besides, according to that woman’s prophecy, we are the ones who have to get involved. I’m not one to believe in fate or any such nonsense, but my instincts are screaming at me this time.” Deimos shook his head.
"That is true, just feel bad for keeping such a thing from him, then again if he did believe it, he would try his best to make sure we don't throw our lives away." Gawain noted. "Alright, let's do it."
The two strongly shook their hands together, an old tradition for them when they plan to uphold a promise to each other.
"Hope you're ready my friend."
“Hah! I hope you’re ready. I’m gonna be upping my training, but you’ll have to start learning Japanese.” Deimos grinned. “Sounds like a fun time.”
Gawain nervously laughed at the remark. "I hope it's easier to write it than to speak it at least."
Deimos only laughed harder.