Chapter Text
The lights flickered around you as you breathed heavily, the crowd letting out many different sounds of cheer and admiration, a bouquet somehow making it out of the swarm of people and landing right next to your feet. You took a while to catch your breath after the choreography ended, letting your eyes run over the crowd.
Seeing all those people who adore you, who truly love your work, filled your heart with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Your lips lifted a little into a bigger smile as you scanned them all. Some were more alternative than others, some were preppy, there was one boy with purple balls on his head.. definitely a choice...? You really attracted all sorts of people. And that was definitely a good thing in your mind! After all, that only meant your songs were well-written enough for everyone to understand them. Or they just got a good instrumental. But you prefer the first option.
After swallowing your nerves, you gently adjusted the microphone before speaking up for all to hear.
"Musutafu! Thank you so much for tonight, you're all looking brilliant!" A bright smile etched itself into your face as the fans reacted with screams. You took a small stroll across the stage, continuing your speech. "I'm truly so grateful for having you with me. Not just tonight, but throughout my entire career." Your eyes met with the camera that was livestreaming the entire concert.
"..So, I believe I am obligated to tell you my true feelings." Your smile faded just a bit as you looked down, standing still in the centre of the stage. "I've got many aspirations. Many dreams I want to accomplish. And some of them just.. don't tie with my current career. Uhm-! I don't mean to say I'm quitting, of course not, please don't panic!" You chuckled nervously, letting out a small sigh of embarrassment afterwards. Gosh, this was nervewrecking.
"I've always admired people who go out of their way to save others. I have.. wished to be that person for a long time. And my chance to pursue that wish is now right in front of me. I won't abandon my love for music - ever - but I am not sure if I'll have time to write songs for the next years. I will surely try for you, but I cannot promise you anything except my own growth. I sincerely apologize!" You bowed deeply, your eyes set on the floor of the stage as everything went quiet for a while. The sobs and cries of your fans went right by your ear as you let out a quiet breath of relief. While this was extremely stressing, and you've been planning this speech for a long time, even repeating it over and over again in front of a mirror for hours on end, you were definitely relieved that you got it done. Though the adrenaline was still bumping in your veins. And your head hurt. Wait, could it be from the blood rushing to your brain?- You quickly straightened again, taking a step back at the sudden movement, before blinking and composing yourself with a warm smile.
"Thank you, for everything!"
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"Phewwwww!" You sighed as you lounged in the backseat of your parents' car, taking the water bottle your father handed you with a nervous look.
"Dear, are you sure this was a good idea?" He hummed softly, clearly worried.
"Hm?" You raised an eyebrow, already downing the water bottle.
"The hero thing. You were doing so great just.. dancing and singing around! Completely safe!"
"Dad!" You straightened in your seat, your brows furrowing slightly in playful frustration.
"..William, it's her choice." Your mothers weary voice cut through, before she sighed with a small smile, adjusting her glasses and shooting you a soft glance. "Even if it makes us worry out of our skin." Your fathers lips moved as he tried to say something, before you interrupted.
"See? Mom gets it. Besides, my quirk would go to waste if I didn't use it for others!" You argued with a proud smile, looking out the window as if the streetlights you were passing would congratulate you.
"You could have beautiful lightning on your concerts" He huffed.
You only sighed, rolling your eyes. "I saw that!" Your father pouted, causing you to snicker.
"Sorry not sorry!"
A couple minutes went by, your parents chattering it up about the upcoming football match as you were left with your own thoughts.
..Of course they were worried. It's not like UA is smooth as butter to get through. You've already been accepted, since you're filthy rich, - ah, capitalism at its greatest! - but you were already worrying about everything. Are your classmates gonna be nice? You've gotten used to molding in perfectly with other people to not have any drama surrounding you, but it would be nice to be yourself, this once. Are the teachers gonna be strict? Surely it won't be that bad.. it's not like they'll try to get you expelled on the first day! What's even the standard in grades for UA? What if your brain suddenly stops working and you won't be able to make it to the top 5 in class? You've always been high up on the rankings, but in UA there will be a lot people more ambitious than you..! God and what about-
"Hey." Your mother spoke up, eyeing you in the rearview mirror. "You look like you were forced to eat your fathers brownie, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong with my-"
"Ah-! Wha?- No, no, I'm a-okay!" You quickly stuttered your way through your sentence as the car came to a stop in front of your house. Your mom slowly turned to you, her eyes spelling out that you won't be able to escape from this. You blinked, forcing a nervous smile, but after a while of her not giving up, you sighed and looked down.
"I guess.. I just really am nervous about this. I never realized how much being a hero meant to me before finally getting an opening. Everyone there will have some.. great goals and reasons as to why they came there, but me? I just-" You stopped, looking over at your dad that was already tearing up, looking like a sad puppy. "-Stop looking at me like that, dad, jeez..! I just.. don't have any noble reason behind going there, is all! It's gonna be embarrassing when someone asks me for my motivation and I'll just say it was random urge I got!"
While your father blew his nose out into a tissue your mother handed him, she turned to gently take your hands, smiling at you - though somehow it felt lecturing...
"Silly. Your reasoning doesn't matter if you're still risking your life to save others. Besides, is your random urge - as you call it - not enough of a reason? It means a part of you wants to help everyone without needing anything in return. That's the true show of a hero. You'll do great."
"..." You sat silently for a second, trying to keep the tears in, before your voice broke.
"..Moooooooooooom!" You blasted yourself into her arms. A stream of tears left your eyes, and your father soon followed into the embrace. Your poor mother...
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"Hey, so.. about UA?" You spoke up after swallowing your bite of french toast that your mother made for you. Once she responded with a small 'hm?', and your father looked up from his newspaper, you continued. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I can't just barge in there as top 10 on Japan's celebrity list, not to brag.." you hummed, shrugging with a little bit of pride and a smirk. Your mother huffed with a smirk to mark yours, before throwing a banana at you. You let out a little noise of surprise before catching it and taking the peel off. "Obviously not. Too many boys would swarm you." Your father scoffed. "And girls!" Your mother added with a chuckle, wiping her hands off after washing them and taking seat next to your father. She gave him a small kiss on the cheek, before winking at you. "We've already made a plan for you, our future hero."
"Oh?" You replied sitting with your legs on each side of your chairs backrest, resting your arms on top of it.
"You'll just hide your entire face with this all-black mask over here." She raised the mask, wiggling it around.
"..."
"...oh. That's.. underwhelming. You guys are heroes, can't you find someone that will give me a magic disguise or something?" You huffed, looking away.
"Hey, little one, we're planning for you over here!" Your mother pointed at you in annoyance.
"Sorry!" You giggled, before leaning forward on the chair. "But how will we justify that?" You raised an eyebrow.
"You might not remember, but when you were little and just got your quirk, you were extremely sensitive to light." You looked up in thought at your fathers words, your eyes narrowing before you remembered the pain of getting 1st degree burns all over your body when you were 5. Your face scrunched up at the memory for a second, before you nodded.
"So, that's our excuse?" You blowed wind at a stray strand of your hair. Once your parents nodded, you sighed and got up. "I'll definitely be unable to breathe in this thing.. and I'll look dumb."
"It's either this or no UA" Your mom sighed, taking her phone out and scrolling through facebook with her pointer finger. You sent her a dirty look, before taking the mask from the seat next to her and heading to your room. "Thank you for the meal, goodnight!" you yelled, before closing the door.
You slowly slid down onto the floor, letting a shaky breath out. Your eyes closed, and suddenly everything felt lighter. Your hands moved to cover your eyes further, giving them even more comfort as you let out a satisfied hum. Who knew neon lights flashing in your face for two hours straight would cause this much weariness. Your eyes always have been more sensitive than the average ones due to your quirk, but you've still got a long way to go before you get used to it. You're so exhausted, you might as well just sit there for a few.. more seconds.
...
You ended up falling asleep right there.
..And immediately regretted it next morning.