“Oh yeah! I forgot that we didn’t really talk about quirks and what everyone can do!” Kodai facepalmed at his own stupidity. But then he decided to showcase his quirk. Without warning, Kodai shifted into a microraptor. A cute dinosaur about the same size as a crow. It had brilliant and vibrant colored feathers, and deep gold eyes. After a couple of seconds, Kodai shifted back into his human form. “My quirk lets me transform into almost any prehistoric animal, no matter the size of the beast! So I can easily give kids rides or shift into whatever they wanted. Though, I will need a couple of minutes to rest after multiple transformations…”

He smiled as he spoke. A bit proud that they seemed to like his idea. But, Kodai couldn’t help but notice Enma’s change in demeanor when Rahul made his request. I wonder what that is about, he thought. In an effort to show some support, Kodai decided that he would give Enma a pat on the back, disguising it as excitement rather than a comforting effort.

“Those permits will come in handy! Do you want me to go with you to help convince your dad?” Kodai asked. “Hell yeah I am on board! What should we do first?”

Tokyo– a bustling city filled to the brim with food carts, bright neon lights, and a horrendous amount of people. Seriously, there were a lot of people here. Like an endless amount of people. Honestly, I couldn’t understand how so many people could live in this city. It was ridiculous, absolutely, ridiculous. But, I shouldn’t complain much. When my family was kicked out of the United States, due to some questionable figures, Tokyo welcomed us with open arms. So, despite its ridiculous amount of people, I couldn’t help but call it home. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck wandering the streets of Tokyo running errands that I may or may not have waited for the last minute to complete. And to make matters worse, I decided to go out and do my errands during the middle of rush hour–it was hell. Absolute hell.

I felt like a huge cargo ship wading through the Antarctic– if I weren’t too careful, I’d end up veering off into a nearby glacier. Is this how those expedition ships felt?

Fortunately for me, my ordeal was almost over. If it wasn’t for my stomach audibly growling like some ravaged animal– it would be over. But, seeing that I haven’t eaten anything for the past half hour or more, I decided to stop and get myself something to eat. Luckily, my quest for food did not take long–as my eyes fell upon an old style food cart with a hand written “Yatta” sign. I quickly made a B-line for the cart, but I was intercepted by a group of men.

I frowned a little, my stomach growling louder, but I didn’t say anything about their rudeness. Instead, I merely approached behind them and waited for them to order. Unfortunately, it seems that the group of men had other plans in mind as they started to give the lady behind the counter–a cute redhead– a hard time.

Damn. It was made apparent that they were Yakuza. I quickly looked around to see if there were any police officers, and sighed when I saw there were none. I couldn’t just let her be treated like crap by a group of thugs–anxiously chewing on my lip I decided to say something. Hopefully, this won’t get me in trouble with U.A.U.

Setting my bags down, I cleared my throat.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” I said weakly. Trying my best to sound like a hero or something. I even puffed my chest out and held my hands on my hips to make myself more intimidating. “I don’t believe she has to pay you anything, last time I check, the Bureau of Business or whatever doesn’t hustle people on the side of the street. So. Move alone please”

Great. I sound stupid.

This all felt so unreal!

Growing up, I used to watch the U.A.U’s Sports Festival with my dad. He’d throw a huge party, inviting everyone and anyone that he knew to it. Hell! My dad would even purchase plane tickets for my grandparents so that they could come! Then all of us–with popcorn and drinks in tow–would sit on that small red couch in the living room and just chill while watching the festival. My dad specifically liked the one v. one fights–having participated when he attended U.A.U before becoming a Pro Hero. Those were good times. In fact, I had my first drink with dad while watching the Sports Festival–that was last year actually, for my twenty-first birthday. It was kinda a bummer that I wouldn’t be with them today. But I couldn’t think about that, right now, after all, they’re rooting for me to come out on top this year.

You know. Never in a million years did I imagine this happening, honestly, it almost didn’t happen. Between social anxiety and low self confidence, I almost didn’t sign up for the sports festival this year, but fortunately or unfortunately, Sensei-Mar convinced me otherwise. So now, here I am, standing at the edge of the arena tunnel waiting for the announcer to call my name. God this felt like a dream or a nightmare. Everyone is watching me. Everyone. Both of my grandparents came down this year for the party! Both of them! Which is a rare sight to behold, seeing that my two grandparents hated each other–especially after the Christmas battle royal that occurred three years ago. But, here they are, at home, in that small red couch, rooting for me.

Hopefully I won’t disappoint them.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I anxiously shadow boxed in the shadows. Trying to pump myself up, I nearly had a heart attack when the announcers called me and my opponent’s name.

Kodai Ryu Marcus the Dino-might! And his opponent Kikurage the Deathcap!

My mouth immediately went dry as I walked out of the tunnel. Kikurage the Deathcap? God, that sounded like such an intimidating name. Shit. She’s going to have a quirk that’ll put me in the grave, that much I know…shit. Despite the anxiety that swelled within my stomach like a belly ache, I tried to walk out calmly, smoothly, and with a gentle smile. I waved. Heroes did that right? Yeah, I’ll just wave.

I stopped in the middle of the arena, as instructed, and offered my opponent a handshake.

“Let’s try to have some fun? Yeah?”

Yes, go up.

Kodai thought triumphantly–or well, not really triumphantly. Admittedly, the young student was just a little too happy that his plan to keep her from the ocean floor was working. For some reason, Kodai was simply thrilled that one of his plans actually worked. Usually his plans, whether in battle or not, bellied up due to his own incompetence. Or perceived incompetence. If he could smile, he would, but well, having a long snout made it difficult.

But it seemed his plan backfired.

Mar jetted upward with significant speed and power. Kodai braced himself for some sort of impact, he expected her to leap into the sky and then charge him. But. She didn’t. Kodai for got that the name of the game was to catch her. This wasn’t a fight. This was a game of tag.

Damn it, I’m dumb.

He cursed at himself.

Taking advantage of his size, Mar stayed out of his line of sight. She used her small size and his vastness to her advantage, darting to his blindspots and staying out of his view.

Damn it.

Hoping to knock her back or simply to give him some space, Kodai started to flail and spin around, with the intention of pulling the water with him to create a miniature whirlpool. He wanted to knock her back, to push her away, so that he could hopefully stun her.

“Killer Bunnies ... .that's actually kinda cool,” And a bit cute, but I did not say that outloud. I had a feeling that if I did call his bunnies “cute,” then Rahul might have something to say about that. Plus. That would be rude. Honestly, if I was explaining my quirk to someone and they called it “cute,” I might just die on the spot. “What do the bunnies do exactly? Besides the obvious usage in recon, do they bite, explode, shock?”

Should I be asking all these questions? Am I annoying him?

Honestly, I couldn’t talk with Rahul. He was an odd figure. For the most part, he acted like he carried some sort of chip on his shoulder–granted he was nice–but there was something off about him. There was like this hidden shadow underneath those deep ocean blue eyes, and honestly, I didn’t know what it was about. Admittedly, I was curious about asking him, but, again, I didn’t know how he would take it. Would it lead to a punch in the face? A stern talking too? Making enemies wouldn’t be a good thing to do, at least, not as a freshman.

Also, it didn’t help that I didn’t know the guy that well. Should I make an attempt to be more friendly? Damn it. Why are people so complicated?

Oh shit, I just zoned out. Hopefully, he didn’t realize I was staring at him like some sort of puzzle that needed to be solved. Damn it.

“Sorry for the pause. I was trying to think of an easy way to sum up my quirk.” I averted my gaze, casting it down onto the ground. “I was trying to brainstorm ideas about your quirk, and what we could practice…..didn’t realize I zoned out. But yeah, so basically, with my quirk I can turn into dinosaurs, alongside some prehistoric animals that walked with them.”

I paused, not really knowing how to answer his final question. “Honestly, I just need help understanding and pushing the boundaries of my quirk. What about you? What are you attempting to do?”

Truth be told, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Rahul was talking about creating some sort of supermove in class, and well, wanting something to do after school, I made a comment expressing some interest. So, now here I am. Honestly, I didn’t expect this to happen, nor did I expect Rahul to take me seriously. It’s kind of hard reading Rahul, and seeing that I’ve been clinging to him like a lost pup, I’m admittedly surprised that he even sat this up. Hopefully, I won’t be too much of a disappointment or too much of a burden.

Not wanting to flash Rahul, I decided to wear my supersuit, or well, part of it. Instead of wearing the full outfit, I simply wore the sleeveless full-body jumpsuit, the black combat boots, the Hojo Thought-to-Speech Box, and the Hojo-Dino-Eye. The outfit would mold itself to my transformations, and well, leave me clothed for when I exit a transformation–I didn’t need Rahul seeing me nude. God. That would be embarrassing. If that happened I would simply drop out of class, that is if Rahul didn’t turn me over facility for “indecent behavior.”

That’s the last thing I need, a scandal.

Arriving at the U.A.U training grounds, my eyes searched for Rahul. After finding him, I would approach the fashionable man and smile softly. “Sorry if I was keeping you waiting, I forgot how long it took to get me into this suit, hopefully, I did not keep you waiting for long?”

It was odd. Usually I was the first one to arrive, but it seems Rahul had me beat. “I must admit, I was surprise that you agreed to do this Rahul-Senpai.” I rubbed the back of neck, “Honestly, I thought you found me annoying….anyway, how should we start? What do I need to do?”