Chapter Text
A swarm of students pour out of the building of Aldera Junior High. The sky is clear and blue, with the sun shining brightly, casting a warm glow over the schoolyard. Trees lining the yard sway gently in the breeze, their leaves rustling softly. The distant hum of traffic blends with the sounds of after-school excitement. The scene is lively yet peaceful, capturing the essence of a carefree Friday afternoon.
"Excuse me, coming through!"
In a crowd of chipper students who are ready to spend the weekend, a girl with [H/C] hair is significantly way more ecstatic to get home now as she dashed past students walking.
People were left in astonishment, your speed seems to have knocked people off in the process. You bump into multiple people who reacted in displeasure.
A polite "Sorry!" left out of your lips.
Your route from school to your house didn't take you long as you spot a parcel sitting on your front porch and your [E/C] eyes glimmer. You clutch the plastic bag in anticipation, which contains a pack of your favorite drink of strawberry milk when making a quick stop to a local convenience store.
To: Miss [Name] [L/N]
Product type: Video Game.
"It's finally here!" You grimace, nuzzling the package onto your face as if it's your own baby.
That's right, that's exactly what you came home for.
Your mind was already racing ahead to the moment you would unbox your new video game. The day's worries and schoolwork seemed to fade away, replaced by the thrill of the adventures waiting for you as you're eager to dive into the world awaiting you on the other side of the screen.
Your whole reason for living is practically right on your hands.
And as if your day couldn't get any better, your Great Pyrenees greets you with a happy tackle to its owner upon opening the door.
"Who's a good boy, hmm? I know you are, Shiro!" You ruffle your dog's fur, your pet barked in delight.
Growing up, you spent your childhood playing video games with boys instead of joining girls your age who were fixated on romance. That word barely registered in your vocabulary. While others were preoccupied with crushes and flirting, you were busy defeating video game bosses.
There was no time for romance anyway—especially with the looming question of which high school to attend after graduation. Though video games were your primary focus, your real passion was to become a hero. Between gaming marathons, strawberry milk, and cuddling your adorable dog, one goal stood tall: being a hero, like All Might.
You're relieved to be standing at the edge of your final middle school year. You wouldn't have to wear their black uniform anymore, determined to take the next step.
U.A., the prestigious hero academy with the lowest acceptance rate, was your goal.
Kicking ass in video games was one thing, but doing it in real life? There's a reason why your infatuation with video games was deeply intertwined with your Quirk.
Wasting no time going to your room, you want to get comfy after a busy school week. "No homework for the weekend, so time to get the grind started!"
Plugging your console on, you unwrap the contents of your parcel and put the game on for it to play. You pay no mind to the loading screen first as you reach out for a snack and a grab of a strawberry milk from your bought groceries. But your eyes dart back to it and you squint your eyes in confusion.
On the screen, shows a weird opening. "Huh? What's this.." You mutter, but not before clicking 'Start Game' as the scene plays out with a typical shoujo scenario:
A school girl with bread in her mouth, running late when she makes a turn on a corner and bumps into a hot guy. But this isn't even close to what the game is about. What you were expecting was an opening of some cool fighting scenes with nice graphics and strong-looking character designs.
Had you been scammed?
You gape in disbelief. It's going to be a real pain in the neck having to return a game you didn't even want and issue a refund.
Suddenly, the screen starts to glitch and the electronic glow of it became brighter as a small, round, yellow-skinned entity wearing a purple witch hat, holding a wand in the shape of a star, pops and wiggles itself out of the screen.
["A fanfare please!"] It cheered, the illusion effect of confetti decorating your room. ["You've been selected as the first test subject! Congratulations!"]
This freaked you out as you let out a startled scream. But it's not done talking, ["I'm Riri, a wizard that can make wishes and dreams come true!"]
... What?
At first, you say nothing. Had you passed out after-school unknowingly so now you're dreaming? Needless to say, it is a weird dream.
"This isn't real." You say, as a matter-of-factly. Riri, the supposedly wizard grinned at your remark.
["Oh but it is very real, [Name]! It's difficult to explain, so please read this carefully!"]
Riri shows a very long descriptive text on the TV screen, similar to a legal contract of terms and conditions. You squint your eyes like you've lost your glasses but the text is so small that it just hurts too much to read.
"I am not reading all that!" you shriek, completely freaked out by whatever this.. thing is in your bedroom with you.
And shouldn't it be explained in just a paragraph at least? And why does this flying potato know your name, too—how does it know your name?
["Well, to put it simply, I've come all the way here from a Magic World to help out people like you who are total romance noobs!"]
You felt mildly offended by its comment as you comment sarcastically, "Oh, really." Riri smacked you on the head with its star wand, making you yelp out an ow. ["When was the last time you felt attraction from the opposite sex?"]
With an irritated pout, you answer truthfully, "I don't know, uhm... probably with Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen."
["That's just a fictional character, silly! You're about to go to high school, you need to dream bigger and get real."] You felt a tic mark grow on your forehead, because didn't this little shit just say that they can make wishes and dreams come true? ["That's why I'm here: To grant you a life that's like an otome game!"]
You felt like you wanted to cry and burst out laughing at the same time hearing that. If you weren't dreaming then.. is this someone's Quirk in action, to play jokes on you?
"Very funny," a hint of sarcasm in your voice. "Real funny Quirk you've got there, huh. Alright, cut the cameras now. You got me!"
Riri laughed out loud. Instead of you who should've been laughing at the joke, it felt like you are the joke.
["I forgot humans in this world have something similar to ours! You could affiliate our Magic with your so-called Quirk, but they're not the same thing. You see,"] Riri starts to elaborate, ["without my wand here, I can't do anything! Whereas humans with variation of Quirks—depending on the circumstances, whether it's an emitter, transformation or a mutant type Quirk; you guys are practically born to do superhuman stuff!"]
"So in terms of our world, you're telling me that your Quirk is basically just your wand that lets you grant stuff remotely? And without it, you're Quirkless?—Wait, hold on, am I still being pranked upon?! I'm not playing around anymore, seriously!"
The wizard nodded at your analogical deduction. ["Uh-huh. Oh, and I'm not joking or anything. Nobody's playing a prank on you! Anyways, no backing out now! From now on, you'll experience every girl wants!"]
"Experience.. every girl wants?.. Seriously?" you parrot.
Like actually get a boyfriend, that kind of stuff? Well, you're not entirely sure since you've never even experienced romance at its peak. This whole time, you're used to having crushes on fictional characters that your level of attraction to actual people are almost nonexistent?
Again, not entirely sure—you've never had genuine crushes before.
Chocolates every Valentine's day, hold hands wherever you go, have your first kiss.. Oddly enough, you feel your cheeks get warm at the idea of actually being in a relationship for some reason, somehow.
Riri saw the way how your cheeks flushed before egging you on towards their proposal. ["See, you'll like this! I'm starting to seem more and more like a guardian angel to you, right?"]
You out-batted ignored the wizard, whatever their saying leaving you unfazed. "But I have my beloved Shiro with me!" You turn your head to find your dog snuggling next to you—
.. Or not, showing a dotted outline instead, because your dog doesn't seem to be beside you no more. You frantically broke in a panic, "Wait, where's Shiro! Hey! Where's Shiro?!"
Riri stifled a fake cough before making their grand declaration. ["To make sure you focus entirely on romance, your three greatest desires in life: video games, strawberry milks and your dog, I have confiscated!"]
The word confiscated echoed in your head like a cruel joke. "Hah?!" You were completely baffled. "You can't do that! I don't just focus on playing video games or something, y'know! Like, I have other stuff on my plate!"
You weren't exactly lying, but you weren't telling the full truth either. Riri saw right through you, though, and laid it all out. ["Spare me the excuses! Instead of going out with friends or letting them hook you up with guys, you'd rather stay home playing video games,"] they stated bluntly. ["To comfort yourself, you drink strawberry milk like a hungry baby. And when you need affection, who do you cuddle? Your dog, not some potential romantic interest!"]
So? At least I sleep better knowing some sorry person is getting cheated on when I'm just chilling like that.
You mused at the thought. I'm not like those people in sappy romantic dramas, you told yourself. You had everything you needed—your dog, your video games—it's suffice to your happiness. You didn't need someone to swoop in and complete you like some cliché love story.
...Right?
However, your smile faded when you see that your console and video game CD's are gone. The carton of strawberry milks are drained without a single drop, and Shiro is nowhere to be found.
The realization hitting that whatever illogical nonsense this wizard was spouting on about might actually true. Things don't just.. disappear.
Magic World? Otome game? Nothing makes sense.
Desperation clawed at you as you spun around the room, hoping to find something that disproved this bizarre reality. But it was all gone.
To you, it's a nightmare comparable to the feeling of a person's money gone from their bank account.
"Hey, what did you do?!"
["Don't worry, girl. They're just temporarily confiscated! As for your Quirk, to prohibit it is strictly illegal use of our magic! And besides, your Quirk isn't exactly a hindrance to our program. So at any rate,"] Riri poses confidently, ["I will do everything in my power to find you romance!"]
Your eyebrow arches in puzzlement, "Program?" Another smack from the yellow M&M magician only adds to your irritation, as well as bringing a sting to your cheek.
["That's why I told you to read it over!"] It retorts.
"Well, you didn't have to fucking hit me!"
["Ha! Regardless, we've come here to solve Japan's dwindling population problem. All for the sake of love, for Japan's future and mostly, for my salary!"] A hint of mischief betraying the entity's voice at the last part, making you more annoyed than ever.
"I could've done without that last bit, you idiot!" You aim to voice your protest, but the magician seemed impervious to your words. ["My! Looks like I remembered the pot boiling on my stove, I gotta get back to my Magic World! Bye!"]
With a poof, Riri vanished, leaving you still trying to process the surreal occurrence.
What just happened?
You dash out of your room, hurriedly searching for Shiro. In the living room, you find your mom relaxing on the couch, who is unprepared for her daughter's upcoming outburst.
"Mom, where's Shiro?!"
"Dad took him out on a walk." Mrs. [L/N] replied casually, just as you hear the front door opening. Your dad walks in, leash in hand, with Shiro happily trotting alongside. You rush to greet your pet like a dog greeting its owner ironically.
"Hun, great news. I know that this is really sudden but I've been transferred to the US for work." Mr. [L/N] announces, his tone filled with excitement. Their daughter had come to an abrupt stop and stiffly twisted her body around to face them, hearing a new flood of information.
Huh. What.
"And naturally, you'll accompany me, darling!" He continued, a loving smile directed towards your mother.
"Awe, I've always wanted to travel abroad, sweetheart!"
.. Since when were my parents so openly lovey-dovey with each other?
You really can't take this nonsense all in one day. "Mom, Dad! What about me?!" Your desperations palpable as you look between your parents.
They laugh as if it's nothing, "We'll only be gone for two years! Oh, and we'll take Shiro, too. You'll remain here for school. It's time for you to experience independence, especially if you want to attend U.A, right, dear? Okay, good. We know you're a big girl now!" Your parents' voices blended into a reassurance that felt both daunting and comforting. "We'll need to start packing soon."
In a span of two days, your parents are ready for departure. You didn't understand how your parents could pack for something like that flexibly, and the way how they could force their daughter to live alone.
They bid their goodbyes and reminded you of to-do's and not-to-do's. You don't seem to be too sad of your parents leaving, nor are you really happy about it. With a final wave, your parents stepped out the door, leaving the house feeling suddenly too quiet and too empty. The reality of their absence settled over you, but you took a deep breath and reminded yourself that it was only temporary.
Feeling defeated, you dramatically collapse on your knees and slam your fists onto your floor. "If this is supposed to be a dream, then I want to wake up!"
Riri pops up around the corner again, ["You'll keep dreaming and you'll thank me later for it!"]
Feeling incredibly pissed, you glare at the wizard and begin cracking your knuckles as you look at the only figure who's responsible for creating this chaotic mess. "You.." Your voice tainted with fury, "Turn everything back to normal now!"
You caught the tiny yellow figure and pummeled it onto the ground, causing for it to bounce off the walls. You add, "Say your last words, crazy!" Heat flushing your face from anger.
Riri lays on your floor like a defeated hero, weakly speaking, ["As expected, you're perfectly suited to be the anti-heroine."]
"Oh but I'm perfectly fine with that!" You snap before grabbing Riri again and shaking the little shit violently, demanding it to turn things back the way they were.
["It's futile!"] Riri manages to escape your grasp and darts out the door.
Fine then, if I really have to participate, bring them out then—I just simply won't fall in love when I see one!
Determined to escape the ridiculous situation the wizard had put you in, you strictly refuse to be a pawn in its dumb game. Frustrated, you chase after the wizard, not noticing your surroundings until it's too late. Just as you turn around a corner, you collide with something—or rather, someone—and you both go tumbling to the ground.
Groaning, you sit up and find yourself staring at the person you just bumped into. For a moment, you're frozen, taking in every detail of his face.
Oh... wow.
Your [E/C] eyes meets his intense heterochromia pair.
They're a striking shade of blue and grey. The turquoise on the left side and the dark grey on the right. His hair, an unusual mix of red and white, falls effortlessly into place, making him look like he walked straight out of a manga.
Despite his flawless skin, you notice a scar on the left side of his face, but still pretty nonetheless. As your eyes travel down, you take note of his sharp jawline, strong and defined. His presence is almost overwhelming, a strange mix of warmth and cool detachment that makes your heart skip a beat.
Stay strong, [Name]. You're not going to fall for this.