Chapter Text
Sometimes... I wonder what it would be like to be All Might. I mean, he's basically the entire world's favorite #1 hero. He saves everyone with a smile. I couldn't imagine taking out powerful villains left and right like that, even if I do fight sometimes. That guy is just a beam of hope everywhere he goes. But at the same time, being at the top takes a lot of effort, doesn't it? I wonder if he ever feels burned out.
And then, we have me. In case you haven't figured it out already, I'm Taiyo. Taiyo Kudakeru. I'm kind of different, and no, that's not because I'm probably one of the only dark people you'll see in China. I have DID; Disassociative Identity Disorder. I have two other people living in my brain rent-free, and it's pretty annoying at times. One is an egomaniac, and the other is a psychopath. You'll probably get to see them later too; from what I remember, their names are Shin and Hitoshi. Not that I'm looking forward to it at all. My dad was a well-known Chinese hero, but my mom was just quirkless; not that she wasn't a good person too. My dad's hero name was "Martial God", and for good reason. I learned about 5 forms of martial arts from him to defend myself, since we never knew if I had a quirk or not. And I also play piano if that matters at all. Other than that, and probably the most important part, I wanted to be a hero. To protect people and see the smiles on people's faces. I'd constantly go out of my way to cheer my classmates up and be supportive when I was little, and learning to fight so I could take care of my friends. I didn't care if I was quirkless or not, I knew that I was driven enough to help anyone. And maybe, before, I was. But things change.
I changed.
"TAIYO! STOP ROTTING IN THE ROOM AND COME DOWN FOR DINNER!!"
Jolting out of his slumber for around the 5th time that weekend, he rubbed his eyes, looking around. It was near the end of summer; no normal teen would even clean their room at this time. Despite this, he was meticulously thorough with his room. All his clothes were folded and in drawers or a hamper beside his table. His bed was made, and nothing was strewn across the floor. Though, he did drool on his notebook a little.
'I should probably get that cleaned up.'
As he got wipes from his closet and cleaned his notebook, he thought about the past few days. It had been a long time since he got adopted by his friend's parents, and he wasn't mad. Jay was like a brother to him, despite how they met. And his parents, despite not being as well known as Taiyo's parents used to be, were still nice. In fact, that was his step-mom calling him earlier, Mrs. Hoshi. After wiping his face, attempting to wake up after the sudden intrusion to his relaxing evening, he threw on a T-shirt and ran down the steps to go get some food.
As he descended the stairs and looked over at the table, he was greeted with the usual sight of Jay gorging everything that was given to him, not expecting anything different. Jay Hoshi was his step-brother turned best friend, having been taken in by his family. He wasn't the most amazing guy, but he was genuine and driven when it came to music. They had been a duet online for a while with the rise of the internet, and now performed in person. Mr. and Mrs. Hoshi were talking in the other room, seeming slightly amused by Jay's consumption of the mountains of food he had amassed, using his quirk to enlarge some of the things on his plate for a bigger meal.
"Hey... Taiyo... You gotta come... and eat this!" Jay managed to say between bites. Despite his stuffed cheeks, he somehow managed to hold a casual conversation. "This is seriously... amazing!"
Half-amused and half-exasperated, Taiyo made his way to the table, sitting beside him as he began to eat. He wasn't really hungry but did his best to try and clean off his plate anyway. Jay looked over at the boy, seemingly perplexed as he swallowed what was left of his food.
"You gonna eat that?" Jay asked, his mouth slightly watering at the food Taiyo had gotten.
"Probably not."
Without further hesitation, Jay slid his plate over, munching on the pork and rice Taiyo had been eating for dinner. As he began finishing up once more, he looked over at Taiyo, noting his distant gaze as he sat with his head in one hand, drumming the other on the table. Swallowing what was left, he put the food aside, catching on to Taiyo's demeanor.
"...It's about school, right? You haven't gone for a year. We can't afford to get you tested for a quirk now that you're older too, so applying to a hero school is risky."
Taiyo nodded in response, not taking his eyes off of the table cloth, making a soft hummed melody with the drumming of his fingers and his voice before responding.
"I don't really know if I want to either way."
With this, Taiyo got Jay's full attention. Who in their right mind didn't want to be a hero? Especially given the chance to do so.
"But why not?!" Jay questioned a bit louder, seemingly befuddled by Taiyo's dismissive attitude towards the thought of hero school. "I don't care how humble you want to be, you could knock a lot of those guys down a peg or two with how well you've been fighting. I mean, you've been training for years now, I don't think I've seen a better fighter when it comes down to hands in ages! You literally lifted our car to free a cat without a quirk! Do you know how crazy that is?!?"
Taiyo simply gave contemplative silence as an answer, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
"It's not like I hauled it up with one arm. Still took a lot of effort on my part. And I just don't think I can compete. After all, I still haven't finished making the martial arts style I wanted to do around a year and a half ago," he responded, keeping his tone down, unlike the bewildered brunette.
"Like, that Yin-Yang thing? It suits you anyways, I could tell you made it just by looking at you," Jay retorted, as he pointed at Taiyo's face smugly, noting his heterochromatic eyes. They were black and white, matching his black and white hair, the color of his braids split down the middle naturally; a gift from his parents.
Taiyo rolled his eyes, unamused, though confirming his query. "Yes, Yin-Yang. Shin and Hitoshi only know so much about martial arts, so asking them to write in my notebook usually lands me with no real helpful pointers. Not to mention I don't really trust Hitoshi out in public at all."
Jay listened, seeming to start understanding what Taiyo was explaining. "Well, are you making it for yourself? Or as a principle? Most fighting styles are supposed to be disciplines too, right? I mean, you're pretty consistent on that, but shouldn't that reflect in the actual fighting too?"
Taiyo paused for a moment, considering his words. It was true he was practicing disciplines, but he wasn't really reflecting that in his martial art.
"That's fair. But still, I don't think I should go. What if I end up switching mid-exam or something? I don't want people to see anything they don't understand. Especially not when I just moved here less than a few years ago."
Jay seemed disappointed at his views, though he tried to reason with him a bit more, still confused at his point of view.
"Shin and Hitoshi aren't going to take over unless you get too emotional over something. And knowing you, you won't. But you need to open up sooner or later, man. I remember you calling me and telling me that you wanted to help others; the less fortunate; and make a world where everyone accepts everyone. You can't make that step if you aren't going to at least try to be a hero. I started music with you just for the sake of it, and look at how far Indra and Asura came. Quirkless or not, just try. For us," Jay retorted, trying to get Taiyo to understand.
After hearing his reasoning, despite not showing it visually, Taiyo seemed to flinch a little at the reminder. After some debate, looking down at his hand, he muttered his response, getting up to grab a coat and shoes.
"Fine. I'm In."