I open my eyes to find the white ceiling of a hospital with a light flashing 'RIGHT IN THE EYE!!'
I quickly shut my eyes again to get away from the 3 million lumen light they decided to install right above the hospital bed. I turn my head away from the artificial sun and look to my right to find my mother and father shoulder to shoulder on their phones.. 'Ah good, at least I didn't die again' I won't lie, I didn't have much faith in that child being able to save me. After seeing the bright light, I thought I would have to take another three years of a language.
"Mom, Dad," I called out to them and a little bit of a tired voice. I don't know what my quirk does, but it sure does a number on my stamina. "Ah, son, you're awake." My father talks, and they both walk over to me. "How are you feeling, son?" my mother asks cautiously. Hmm, how I feel, "My head is killing me, can I get something for that?" I rub the back of my head, trying to ease the ever-persistent headache.
"Sure thing, sweety. I'm sure I can do that for you." My mom walked over to the phone and rang in. I turn my head to look at my dad, "Dad, how am I?" "Well, besides your head, you look alright. A few bruises and scratches, but I'm sure my boy can handle that, right?" He smiles at me and ruffles my hair, trying to be careful not to irritate my headache anymore. "Yeah, I'm strong." My mom gets off the phone and walks over to us. "Ok, someone will be here soon to get you some pain medicine. There are also a few people that would like to talk to you, Ota. Do you think you can do that?" "Yeah, I'm fine, mom." She smiles and goes outside to get someone. 'I think there was some pain in that smile.'
My mom comes back, followed by a dog-headed man. He wears a nice suit and has the head of a beagle. 'I'm pretty sure I've seen this guy before, and I think he's the police chief guy that Deku, Todoroki, and Lida encountered in season 2.'
"Today has been *Ruff*." The dog man speaks. *Pffft* I can't help but laugh at the cheesy pun. 'This is why I loved this guy in the anime, his jokes are great and they come at the right times, glad he hasn't changed.'
"Hello sir, do I know you?"
"My name is Tsuragamae Kenji, and I am a police lieutenant dealing in quirk related incidents in Nagano," The beagle-headed man says.
"It's nice to meet you, sir, I am Hachiro Ota. Did I do something wrong?" I give the puppy dog the puppy dog eyes. If I remember right, I can already guess how this conversation is going to go.
"You're 'barking' up the wrong tree little pup, but personally, I think you did something brave. However, as the lieutenant, I am here to give you a stern warning of the rules regarding the usage of quirks in public areas."
'Yup, the damn rules,' I give a mental sigh and listen intently for the BS that's coming.
"Four laws are governing the usage of quirks. Do you know what those are, young man?"
"Yes, sir, my parents told me about them."
"Good, then you should know why I'm here. Article 1 of the 'Hero Laws' states, 'Quirks cannot be used publicly by any non-licensed hero' there is more to this article, but this is the part that pertains to you. Sadly, my hands are tied on the matter, but I can give you two options."
"Okay, what are they?"
"The first one being that people will know what you did that day, but you will also have to go to a correctional facility for upwards of 6 months with this option. We must keep the peace, and to do so, the laws regarding heroes must be kept strict and upheld to the most extreme regard. I think this is the wrong choice for an up-and-coming hero, if that is what you choose to be. A stained record doesn't look nice for academias."
"And what's the second?"
"The second option is the hero, Rapid Red, takes full credit for the save, and no one will know of your involvement. I know it's a *ruff* choice to make, having done a good thing you are only presented with bad and half-baked options. But, no matter what you pick, I would still like to thank you for what you've done." He gives a bow and stands back up waiting for my answer.
'This Is Such BULLSHIT! What about good samaritan laws? (Good samaritan laws are laws in old America that offer protection to someone who attempts to help a person in distress. It encourages bystanders to get involved in emergencies and normally only applies to medical situations. Still, MC is after something like California has that deals with non-medical too.) I can already see this law garnering respite from wanna-be heroes. It's hard for me to remember, but I think Gentle Criminal turned into a villain because of a situation like this where he did the right thing but it turned sour..'
I breathe out a sigh of annoyance. 'Whatever, I can protest when I get older. It's not really a big deal anyways, I don't care about the fame that comes from being a hero. It might actually hurt me in the future if villains know the extent of my quirk, but that is for another day, for now, PUN TIME!'
"I understand, sir. I'll go with #2. And don't worry, I'll make sure not to terrier myself up about it" Literal crickets are heard…
"Really?" I call out in a little bit of disbelief, the silence is deafening, but then, "*Woofhoof*, *woofhoof*." 'YES, mission accomplished, make dog man laugh. Also, what a great laugh.'
"You're a bright young boy, I hope to see your career flourish in the future, and I look forward to working alongside you." Dogman offers me his hand, and I gladly shake it.
"Also, I heard this was your first time using your quirk, would you care to watch the surveillance camera to see what you did?" "You can do that? Yes, please," I respond. He pulls out his smartphone and shows me some surveillance video.
It's taken from a light pole with a security camera on it. It was behind me when I was facing the girl on the other side of the bridge. It shows the bomb blowing up and me and the girl being sent flying opposite directions. Skipping to the part on how I crossed 10 meters in an instant, I watch as I see myself run off the edge of the broken bridge and jump to catch the girl. And right as I leave the bridge, I instantly appear right in front of the girl, and the momentum carries us forward back onto a stable bridge. 'Holy crap, Teleportation! But it didn't feel like that. It wasn't making myself appear there, but closing the distance, GETTING RID OF THE SPACE! I don't know the full extent of my quirk but I can already feel myself getting fired up.'
"You have a unique quirk, I've seen a few people with warping quirks, but yours seems to be the most effective. You'll make a fine hero one day." After that and a short talk with my parents, the dog man leaves, and it's just my parents and me in the room.
"I'm proud of you, son. Even though others tried to dissuade you, you stuck with what you believed in, that's a true quality of a future man. Believe in what you want to believe in and strive to attain it." 'Wow, ain't that an inspirational quote of the day.' I thought about how suddenly the dad-talk came in, but it is a hero society so this is probably common. They don't even question how smart I am to remember the rules. "Dad's cool." "I know." My mom butts in at this, "Being humble is also important." and does a light slap on the back of my dad's head.
"Also, Ota, another person wanted to visit you. I texted his mom after you woke up, and he should be here by now," my mom tells me. "Okay," I'm guessing it's the kid that saved me. I don't think the girl has recovered faster than me.
I was right; the same boy with black hair and green half-awake eyes comes in. "Hey, glad to see you okay." The boy walks in and sits on a chair near to me. "How are you? You were really cool earlier." "I'm alright; you saved me back there, thank you." I give him a slight bow. He gets a little shy at this and blushes "You don't have to do that." "Okay, also, what's your quirk? I jumped pretty high." It was really cool. "Nothing special, just a strength en-hands-mint quirk." 'Hmm, he seems like he could be a good hero in the future. If he works hard, he should be able to get into UA.' "That's so cool. I wish I had an enhancer quirk." 'Not really, but gotta stay humble. Like, mom.' "No, your quirk is way better."
We continue talking for a bit, and I find out his name is Takao Sumi, a bit on the nose with this one, huh? Takao stands for prosperous individual, which is a well-fitting name for the hero I'm sure this kid will become. Sumi (炭) is his first name which is one kanji away from being charcoal; this fact and the fact that he already seems like a smart muscle head reminds me a lot about Cole. I still have my hopes for my best friend that I left behind. I don't know how long it's been since I left, but I'm sure if he hasn't already he'll get his football scholarship and be off in college getting his Degree in Dietetics or something. Anyways, 'What a fitting name for a kid with a physical enhancement quirk.' After that, we both paid a visit to the girl I saved. The doctor tells us that most of her injuries are superficial besides a small cut to an artery in the head. Still, even that was small and easily patched up with the advancements in Medicare made since I last saw it.
We talk with the girl and find out her name is Sakai Aiko. Aiko means childhood love, and Saikai means border or territory. With that first name and the eyes my new friend Takao is giving her, I can already see some development playing out in the future. ':)'
———————Author's note—————————
I know zero Japanese. If any native or bilingual readers see me butchering the language, comment what I did wrong and how to fix it and I will.
I'm trying to make my first novel nice and coherent. Besides that, hope y'all enjoyed the chapter.