"A person admired for their exceptional bravery, great achievements, or commendable qualities. That is what a hero is, or at least, should be. That's not what they are in this world."
The doors to a loud room slowly opened and everyone fell silent. A woman approached the front desk. It was the rogue hero, standing at the front of a classroom of teenagers.
"A hero is anyone who fights for their kind, regardless of the intentions of their foes. Humans call those who fight for them heroes. So do demons and monsters. Everyone dreams of being a hero and defeating their enemies... But what if your enemy, is the villain you created?"
...
"Akari!" A little girl called out to her friend in a school hallway. "Good morning."
"Morning. Your here early." They kept walking to class.
"I didn't finish my homework. Oh. That reminds me..."
"Absolutely not."
"Come on, please."
"You had a whole week, your child with loving parents, and you have older siblings. How did you not finish it?"
"Like you said, I'm a child."
"Exactly, so the teacher wouldn't even do anything to you."
"Your mean."
"Get used to it."
"What if I bribe you?"
"I'm not a politician. Besides, what could you possibly have to offer at your age?"
"Your talking like your older."
"I am."
"No your not."
"Mentally."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"My brain is more mature than yours."
"I wouldn't say that for certain... But something definitely is."
She blushed. "Stop looking at my chest!"
"Why are you so embarrassed? Your not old enough to have those thoughts yet. We're in middle school."
"Now you're just contradicting yourself. Look, its not a question about age. As long as I'm a girl, I can have those thoughts whenever."
They opened the door to their classroom. Lo and behold, a boy was sitting there. Now both of them were embarrassed.
"I didn't hear anything." He said.
"That just proves you did!" Akari shouted with a tomato face.
"Morning Taneki."
"Morning Fumiko and I told you to stop calling me that before it catches on."
"What? I altered its pronunciation so it doesn't mean what the original means. Also, its, catchy."
"Wait, Akari I understand, but what are you doing here at this hour? Are smuggling goods or something?"
"Why do the both of you just assume that I can't be here early?"
"Because its the truth... I can help you with your homework."
"Seriously? Your the best."
"All you gotta do is give me some of those 'goods'."
"Huh... I don't know why I expected something from you."
Akari looked at the bickering kids with silence. Then she looked at Taneki and smiled.
Class was over and the teacher was walking out while Fumiko followed.
"Come on teach. Don't be like that." She begged him even though he was clearly ignoring her.
Akari approached Taneki and asked if they could walk home together once school was over. He agreed and when the day ended, he was going to fulfil his promise.
"Akari. Lets walk home together." Until she showed. Luckily, she understood the assignment once she saw the two of them together. "Actually, I just remembered that I needed to buy some groceries. See you tomorrow." She ran of.
"I think your friend is a little too imaginative." He told Akari then she got all embarrassed.
"Please ignore her."
They walked together for a while, chatting about what they did for golden week and other stuff. Typical conversations between the young. At a certain point they realized that they were just doing laps around the neighborhood. But they still continued.
"Look. There it is." Taneki found a spot near a river with blooming cherry blossoms. A long raw of trees with beautiful pink flower petals covered the side of a river. And the sunset in the background made it picture perfect.
"But, its May. How are they still blooming?"
"It happens every once in a while. What do you think? Isn't it pretty?"
"Uh huh. It looks like the kind of place where you'd take someone on a date."
He didn't expect her to say that last part. But when he looked at her, she wasn't embarrassed in the slightest.
"How can you keep a straight face after saying that?" She didn't answer and held out her hand. After a slight hesitation, he grabbed it and walked hand in hand with her under the cherry blossoms.
The petals fell on them like pink snow. The sound of the wind going against the trees, and the water flowing was pretty calming. They stayed there for a long time admiring the beauty.
Akari suddenly jolted. "I almost forgot. I also have groceries I need to get. Wait here, I'll go to the convenient store real quick."
"Wait. I could come with you." She didn't listen and hurried off.
A little later, he got a text from her saying that they should meet at the playground instead since she had to go to another store that was further away.
After walking for a few minutes, he finally got to the playground and was about to enter when he heard kids of his age laughing. The obvious thought that struck his mind was that they were playing and got curious to know what game it was that made them laugh so hard.
So he snuck around the fence so as to not disturb them, then he peaked, expecting to see a fun game. Instead he was hit by a sudden shock and was terrified of the sight.
The kids kept laughing as if it was funny. They threw stones and mocked each other for missing. He clenched his fist in anger and disgust.
"Hmm? Where'd you find that?" Akari asked him.
"He was hiding under the bench. I was thinking about looking for his owners." Taneki was petting a scared cat on the ground.
"I can help you."
Together, they went door to door, looking for the cat's owners until sundown. But no one seemed to acknowledge it as their own.
Akari noticed how worried Taneki was about the cat and got an idea.
"Since we don't know the owners, why don't I keep him?"
"Are you sure? What about your parents?"
"They have been talking about getting a pet. I'm sure they'll agree."
"Wouldn't it make more sense for me to keep him? After all, I am the one who found him."
"It would, but I can tell that he's probably not going to be comfortable at your place. You put so much effort into finding his owners with hope that he won't end up with you.." Taneki wasn't sure. "The reason that I want him is because he will remind me of your cute face when you were petting him."
"So you plan to use him to flirt with me?"
"You didn't have to put it like that."
Eventually, they reached an agreement, and the cat was to stay with her. They spent their days like that. Like normal lives of middle schoolers. Until, the incident.
"It was my fault."
"Akari..."
"I'm the one who did that. I thought it'd be funny. I didn't know that something like that could happen, and that he'd save me."
After that day, Taneki didn't go back to school. And after a few days, his family moved. Akari was there to watch. And Taneki didn't leave without giving her one more look. An expressionless face and his right eye covered with an eye patch.
She was hurt, painfully. Since that day, she blamed herself for happened to him. She knew that his life would never be the same because of her. She cried on the spot, without hiding any tears, she screamed with regret.
An alarm clock rang and work up an older Akari. The sun wasn't even out yet. She went through her morning routine and was at the door, dressed in high school uniform wearing her shoes. The cat, which was much bigger, came and rubbed himself across her legs as she petted him gently.
"I'm off mum."
"At this hour?"
"Yeah."
"Okay then. Stay safe."
She walked out into the empty streets, not focusing on her surroundings. She seemed to be lost in thought.
The sun finally came out and she had arrived at school. But it wasn't open yet. So she stood outside the gate and waited.
"You never changed, huh?" It was Fumiko, in the same uniform as her.
"No way. Are we going to the same school?"
"Fate brought us together. Looks like I'm stuck with you for another three years."
She giggled. "After this coincidence, we're stuck together for a lifetime."
They stood out the gate for a few minutes, talking to each other until the school was opened. The entrance ceremony for new students was about to begin. Akari and Fumiko were amongst them.
They sat together during the speeches from teachers and older students. Once the student body president finished his speech, it was time for the first year who heard the highest score in the entrance exams.
Everyone wondered who it was. Whether it was a boy or girl, whether they was attractive or the opposite.
"Put your hands together for, Takumi Nakahara."
The audience clapped, but the girls were shocked. Then, by chance, the boy walked right passed them as he headed to the stage. Then he grabbed the mike and faced everyone. But they didn't take his appearance lightly.
They murmured about how normal his appearance was and how stupid he looks with the eye patch. But the girls didn't talk about that.
"Akari. Isn't that..."
"It's Taneki. We're going to the same school as Taneki."