[Heroes are the pride of a country and its people. There isn't a single person on this planet who would not dream of becoming a hero.]
[Regardless of the fame, popularity, or accolades a person would receive after becoming a hero, I believe the latter.]
[The latter, I believe, is the reason why people want to be heroes…]
[To help those in need!]
[My name is Light Lawman, and tomorrow, I'll get the exam scores I took to get into the prestigious Hero High School in my area!]
[They have a less than 5% acceptance rate! Only those with a particular aptitude could get in, and I'm praying to God that, hopefully, I'm one of them!]
"So, please! As I pray! Please let me pass!" Light exclaims while on his knees.
And not a moment later, his younger brother barges into his room. "Yo, chill out. You're being too loud."
"My bad, Dawn… ahaha…" Light nervously chuckles.
"It's just… I can't wait to see my results, and at the same time, I don't want to see them, you know?!"
"I bet it'll be fine. Just chill, alright. I'm trying to study…" He says exasperated.
"Sorry…" Light calms down for the night.
The next morning…
[AH! I COULDN'T SLEEP!]
Light rushed out of bed, grabbed the nearest pair of shorts by his cluttered bedside, and then the light jacket on his chair.
After, he ran out of his room, down the hallway, to the front door, sped to the mailbox, and slowly opened it while anxiously peering in…
[IT'S HERE!!!]
He couldn't wait any longer so he grabbed the letter and opened it immediately.
"Light of the Lawman household, we'd like to inform you that we would love to see your attendance here at Heartwright Academy. You've passed our examination with full passing marks. Remarkable. Your aptitude, talent, and virtuous nature are what our school highly values. So we'll welcome you with open arms, young one. Sincerely, Principal Heartwright."
After reading the letter, Light stood utterly still. As if he was still trying to process what he had just read.
Meanwhile, Dawn came walking up to the front door, yawning.
"You… haaaa… left the front door open."
Light turned his head towards him.
"I PASSED!" Light yelled and jumped for joy.
"Hot damn, congratulations, man!" Dawn groggily smiled, and after all the studying during the night, he couldn't help but yawn again.
Dawn then gestured for Light to head back inside the house.
"Anyways, let's go eat. I made breakfast."
However, suddenly, Light couldn't even take a step forward.
In a single blink, before Dawn could even process what just happened, his brother was gone…
Light's foot didn't even reach the walkway as it floppily fell to the ground.
The rest of Light's body, excluding the singular foot, vanished, not even a trace of blood, guts, or limbs.
And it wasn't only Light that was gone. A majority of the neighborhood was razed to the ground.
Leaving just a trail of a crater extending for what seemed like miles.
"..." Dawn couldn't muster a single word.
Only tears ran down his face at that moment.
—
Two years later.
Inside the auditorium were many students. They were all seated to face the stage. On the stage was a podium being illuminated by a single light fixture.
And at the side was a woman elegantly walking up to the podium.
Principal Heartwright was a slender, tall woman. She had jet-black hair and eyes sharper than a dagger. The words beautiful and ferocious were the sentiment among the many who had seen her.
She then placed herself at the podium.
"My name is Harmonia Heartwright. Welcome to my academy. Even standing in this auditorium today was a challenge for all of you, but this is only the beginning. The challenges you will all face will be harsher and more rigorous than expected. However, the students that face these obstacles head-on, even with fear, shall be crowned as strong, brave, and a hero."
That short speech was just enough for everyone to become enamored by her.
The student council president then appeared on the stage. He gave a thoughtful speech on the current affairs of the school, his goals as president, and then the rules the students had to follow.
He released the students to the dorms at the end of his speech.
Heartwright Academy wasn't any typical high school. All the students lived on campus. The dormitory had a student store, training areas, a cafeteria, a common area, and a small library. For how fancy everything was, the dorm rooms were rather ordinary.
[Room C-15…] Dawn reads on his phone while he rides the elevator to the third floor.
Once he reaches the floor, he gets out and walks along the narrow hallway. Looking at the room numbers along the way.
[Ah… Here's my room.]
He takes out his key fob and opens the door.
In the room, a student of short stature, wearing a perm and tea shades, leaned forward to Dawn with his hands on his waist. "Sooooo, you're the roommate."
"Um… yeah, hi." Dawn sat on the opposite bed and placed his bag and suitcase down.
"Not much of a talker, are ya? Anyways, we should introduce ourselves!"
"Yeah, uh, the name is Dawn Lawman."
"Dawn, huh. Well, the name is Kyle Koncord! Nice to meetcha!" He widely smiled.
"Well, where are you from, Dawn?" Kyle sat down on his bed.
"Me… I… um… District A." Dawn begrudgingly answered.
Kyle's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. "Holy… shit. I'm sorry..."
Dawn begins to open up his belongings and softly says. "It's fine; it's been two years since it happened."
"I just didn't expect to see a… survivor… ya know? Sorry again." Kyle nervously smiled.
"A survivor huh… " Dawn replied.
Then, an awkward silence filled the room.
The two later went on to their own devices. Unpacking and organizing everything they had. After a few hours, Kyle left the room to grab dinner from the cafeteria.
Dawn looked out the window. He hadn't noticed that the sun went down.
[I packed more than I thought.]
He left the room, locked the door behind him, and followed Kyle's footsteps into the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was massive. Chandeliers ran across the ceilings, and the walls were painted with murals. The interior looked reminiscent of a gothic church more than it did a cafeteria.
As for the food, everything was lined up as if it was a buffet.
After grabbing himself a plate, Dawn sat down at an empty table.
Kyle, who sat at a different table, stood up to grab more food, and as he walked, he noticed Dawn sitting alone.
He tapped Dawn on the shoulder. "Yo, Dawn… Uh, you wanna sit with us?" He pointed at the table that he sat at.
"Sure…"
Three others sat at the table. Kyle sat across from him.
"Well, I'll introduce ya; the one sitting next to you is Cami."
Cami was a slender girl with a blond, wavy bob cut. Her skin was fair, with almond-like eyes and pupils colored velvet.
"Nice to meet you!" She smiled. "All my friends call me Cakey!"
"She has a vicious appetite towards anythin' sweet, so I'd keep any sugar on ya' hidden." Kyle interrupted.
"Anyway, these two. The twins." The twins were the shortest of this group. Their hair was black, and they both had tanned skin. They sat to Kyle's left, and they both waved.
The nearest twin said, "Hello." His voice was coarse.
"My name is Remi, and this is my brother Demi! He doesn't talk too much."
The other twin nodded.
"...Nice to meet you all." Dawn softly spoke.
—
The following day, Kyle's snoring woke Dawn up.
[My alarm hasn't even gone off yet…] Slightly annoyed.
Dawn sluggishly got out of bed.
The sun was slowly peeking through the blinds of the window. The room was gradually brightening up.
[Should I wake him…] Dawn looked at Kyle.
Kyle was comfortably rolled into a ball, hugging his pillow and blanket.
Dawn didn't wake him up, thinking he shouldn't disrupt his "beauty sleep." In actuality, he was just being petty.
Kyle woke up an hour later, only to find that Dawn was already in uniform, preparing to leave for classes.
"OH SHIT!" Kyle yelled.
Dawn left the room and started steadily walking to campus.
The main campus was huge. There was a massive courtyard at the center filled with benches and trees. It looked more like a park than it did a courtyard.
Encircling the courtyard were 4 main buildings placed in the 4 cardinal directions.
The building in the south was a gymnasium. However, unlike your typical gym, it was the size of a football stadium.
On the east side were the students who enrolled in the school for the arts or business departments.
The west side housed the first and second years at the school. This building accommodated all the hero courses.
On the north side were the third years. Their building was extravagant, as if only royalty had the right to enter. It was practically emanating "superiority."
Dawn entered the building on the west side.
The halls were clean, the walls were white, and the floors had a checkered pattern. Bulletin boards were also everywhere, with posters and fliers stuck onto them. All of them were promoting for the various clubs scattered around the school.
Dawn memorized his homeroom, so he went straight to the building's top floor, the third floor.
Not everyone had made it to the class yet; the professor hadn't. Only a handful of students were there early in the class.
At the back was a student just casually staring out the window, looking at the clouds passing by in the sky.
[If I remember, isn't she the girl from last night?]
Dawn sat next to her.
She turned her head to look at Dawn. "Good morning!"
Dawn greeted her back as well.
Students gradually came pouring into the class, with the professor being one of them.
The professor looked young; he was tall, wore circular-rimmed glasses, and had a very light skin tone.
As for Kyle, he got to class just a minute before the bell rang. He sighed in relief as he sat down.
"Good morning everyone." The professor had a soothing voice.
Everyone replied back with a similar greeting.
"This is Hero Course 101 - Fundamentals. I'm your professor, Dr. Schritt." He telekinetically writes on the board with a stick of chalk.
"If you believe you've been placed in the wrong class, please raise your hand now." No one had raised their hand.
"Okay, good. Hopefully, you all have made an account on Chalkboard, joined the class, and seen the syllabus. However, if you haven't, I advised you to do so after class."
Dr. Schritt writes the agenda on the board. "As it says on the syllabus, I will be your professor for all the main subjects, including your math, English, science, history, and the hero fundamentals. Excluding your physical training, which will be conducted by your P.E. professor. Any questions so far?" Again, no one raised a hand.
"Okay, now that's settled, let's get started." A few hours go by of hellish studying and learning. It's gruesomely boring. Everyone seemed on the verge of falling asleep, and it didn't help that the professor's voice was really calming.
A few hours go by, and they get to their last subject.
"Hero Fundamentals." Dr. Schritt writes on the board.
"As you all may know, everyone gets their powers from the most dominant gene in the family. We have defined this 'gene' as the Alpha Gene."
Dawn flips a page in his notebook and continues writing notes.
Dr. Schritt walks to his computer and opens a PowerPoint presentation on this 'Alpha Gene.'
"There are still many unknowns of how this evolution came to be, but because of this, many have garnered strange and powerful powers; but before we move on, does anyone know the power types?"
A student at the front with blue highlights in his hair raised his hand to answer.
"The power types are known as Bringer(s). They can all be counted from Single-Double-Triple, and so on and so forth, depending on the number of powers they wield, sir."
"Yes, good job Wasser. Exactly." The professor clicks to the next slide.
"At least 95% of the world's population are Single-Bringers. Having more than one power is extremely rare, and those who do don't know themselves. However, these extra powers often awaken during or after puberty."
A girl with black hair at Dawn's right raised her hand. "Sir, what type are you?"
"I'm a Single-Bringer, and as you can see, I have the power of telekinesis." He makes the chalk stick casually float in the air.
The rest of the period went over the intricacies of "heroes" and how they "function" in terms of society, their differing powers, their training, and a bit of history. However, the biggest highlight that caught Dawn's attention the most was the dangers.
"Now let's talk about the dangers of having a 'hero-saturated' society." Dr. Schritt had a slight change in tone.
"Two years ago…"
Dawn lowered his pencil to attentively listen.
"As you all may know, it's regarded as one of the worst disasters in our lifetime. District A was virtually wiped off the map, disregarding a few houses on the outermost edge of the city. Needless to say, encountering any and all survivors from that incident is vastly low."
Dr. Schritt began writing on the board about the dangers and usage of powers. "We've all been gifted with extraordinary strength, but..." Dr. Schritt showed a picture of what remains of District A, a crater. "It doesn't matter if you're a hero, a villain, or even a regular citizen, but having power means responsibility. If not managed properly, disasters like this can strike."
Dr. Schritt then clicked out of the presentation and shut down his computer. He stared at the class. "So be wary, my students; these powers are not just gifts but can also be curses. I hope you remember this as you train to be a hero." He sat down.
"That's the end of our class. I believe all of you should now have lunch and then later P.E. However, if you would like to stay and ask questions, feel free to do so, as I'll be here reading my book."
Dawn left the class and headed for the cafeteria in this building, with Cakey following suit.
"At the end, he was kind of scary, wasn't he?" Cakey asked.
"Yeah… He kinda was."
Upon reaching the cafeteria, compared to the one in the dorms, this one was rather normal; they saw Kyle already seated at a table.
They sat with Kyle after grabbing a plate of food.
"Why didn't you wake me up, man…" Kyle looked at Dawn.
"Sorry…" Dawn chuckled a bit.
"Anyway, are you all ready for our P.E. class…" Kyle looked up at the both of them.
"Isn't the P.E. teacher really harsh or something…" Cakey was filled with worry.
"I think it'll be fine," Dawn reassured them.
"Oh, Kyle, have you seen the twins?" Cakey asked.
"The twins got sent to supplementary lessons for being late to their homeroom. HAHAHA!" He laughed.
"Oh lord, and it's the first day of school."
Dawn kept eating while the other two had a full-blown conversation about the twins.
After lunch, the three walked over to the gymnasium.
"You sure this is a gym…" Kyle slowly spun around to get a good look. "This place looks more like an arena than a gym…"
Dawn looked around, too.
Cakey asked Kyle, "Isn't this where they hold the tournament?"
Kyle's eyes widened, "Damn, you're right!"
The professor then came walking right behind them with a trail of students.
"Looks like everyone is here!"
"Woah…" Kyle whispered.
The professor was beautiful, to say the least. She was tall and slim, with blue eyes and blond hair. Practically looked like a fashion model in every sense of the word. She wore robes over herself, a sports bra, and sweats.
At first glance, she looked rather carefree, but underneath that sweet tone, anyone could tell she was a fearsome fighter.
"My name is Professor Hera, but you all can call me coach." She smirked.
She then explained that everyone needed their powers examined before class could officially start. She called everyone up one by one.
A few of the students stood out.
"Like I said earlier, walk up if I call your name. Miyuki, are you here?"
A girl with glistening white hair came walking forth among the crowd of students. Her aura was chilling, her eyes intense, and her skin paler than winter snow.
"Here… coach."
Even Hera could feel that the air around her was colder than usual. "Could you demonstrate your powers for me, please?"
In just a few seconds, the ground beneath the young girl froze.
"Interesting…" Hera was fascinated. "Good, you may go."
Then Kyle was called upon.
"Demonstrate your powers for me."
"It's… uh, not really something I can show. It's more of my eyes, ya' see."
"Hmm… your eyes?"
"Yeah, I have really good eyes."
"So, how far can you read?"
"Uh… far?" Kyle was confused a bit.
Hera then pointed at a sign in the stadium at least a hundred meters away.
"Read that."
The sign read the rules of how to act in the stadium; it showed the exits, the directions to the bathroom, and the seats, along with their corresponding row and number.
Kyle read it word for word.
"Astounding." Hera smiled. She then called up Cakey.
"You, demonstrate, now."
"Um, okay…"
She pulled out a blade from her pocket and then sliced away at her arm. The minor cut then started repairing itself.
"Regenerative healing, impressive! But, any weapons are not permitted in person unless given permission. Do you understand?"
"Yes…"
Hera dismissed Cakey back towards the crowd and finally called up Dawn.
"Dawn, if you could come up."
Dawn walked past the crowd.
"Would you care to demonstrate?"
Everyone could feel the air slowly growing more intense. The students felt the heat emanating from Dawn with each passing second. Sweat filled the students' necks, dripping down their uniforms.
Dawn then engrossed himself in flames without even singing a speck of his clothes.
"Beautiful flames…" She approached Dawn.
Dawn lowered the veil of fire.
"However, it seems a bit off."
She laid her hand upon Dawn's head. "Boy, I don't know your past, but at least you'll be okay here."
Dawn couldn't say a word. He was then dismissed back into the crowd as well.
Hera then explained the reasoning for her examination. Her exam was just to gauge how everyone fared with their own powers. She also discussed the possibility of a student awakening a dormant power. However, that possibility wouldn't ever come unless one was brought to the brink through training.
So, she explained her regimen.
"Today, for P.E., as a warm-up, I want everyone to run 10 laps around the field in this stadium. Then, afterward, we'll get started on repeatedly using your powers. Remember, not having the proper stamina to wield your strength in our line of work can be grave." She loudly exclaimed.
"However, Cami, I'd like to personally train you."
Cakey was not happy in the slightest. She whispered, "Help me…" back to Dawn and Kyle. However, the two couldn't do anything and began running.
Once the hellish class finished, everyone was dismissed back to their dormitory. The three, Dawn, Cakey, and Kyle, walked together.
However, it took everything in their power to even walk a single step. They were like zombies, just grunting along the entire way.
"Oh my god… my legs, I can't feel em'." Kyle moaned.
"I can hardly walk…" Dawn struggled.
"I don't even want to move…" Cakey coarsely yelled.
As the trio approached the dormitory.
Kyle turned to Cakey. "Did ya' always carry that knife around ya?"
Dawn glanced over.
"This?" Cakey showed. "Yeah, I guess it's been on me for a while." She chuckled.
"Really? Guess I never noticed." Kyle walked inside the building. Dawn stood at the entrance for a bit longer with Cakey.
"For how long?" Dawn asked.
Cakey was surprised. "How long…? What?"
"Nevermind… I shouldn't ask, but I can understand." Dawn followed after Kyle.
Cakey looked at his back.
She had a simple thought for a moment.
Then she followed the two into the building, eventually going their separate ways.