Akito's POV
The cafeteria buzzed with its usual chaos of clattering trays, overlapping conversations, and the occasional burst of someone accidentally activating their quirk. I sat at my usual spot near the windows, methodically eating my lunch while watching other students laugh and chat in their groups. Three weeks had passed since Tsu and I finished our family tree project, and while our friendship had grown stronger, I still found myself gravitating toward quieter spaces during the social hurricane of lunch period.
Tsu was meeting with some classmates about an upcoming science presentation, leaving me to my own company today. I didn't mind—I'd grown used to solitude over the years, and the peaceful moments gave me time to think without the constant buzz of social interaction.
"Well, well, look what we have here."
The voice cut through my calm, sharp and mocking. I looked up to see three third-year students approaching my table, their postures radiating the kind of casual confidence that came from knowing they were bigger, older, and more popular than their target. My stomach immediately twisted into knots.
Kenji Nakamura led the group, his perfectly styled hair catching the light as he smirked down at me. His quirk, "Spotlight," could create brilliant beams of light from his hands—flashy and cool, everything mine wasn't. Behind him stood Yuki Tanaka, whose "Ice Sculpture" quirk could create beautiful crystalline structures, and Ryo Sato, whose "Sound Blast" could amplify his voice comparable to a stadium speaker.
(On MC's perspective) All three of them had quirks that were impressive, useful, and most importantly, not disturbing to look at.
"Eating alone again, Amano?" Kenji's voice dripped with false sympathy. "That's so sad. Maybe people would sit with you if you didn't have such a creepy quirk."
Heat flooded my cheeks, spreading down my neck and across my chest. The familiar shame crashed over me in waves, making my hands tremble slightly. I pressed them flat against the table, trying to hide the small indentations that marked where my void mouths rested beneath the skin.
"I'm just... I'm just eating lunch," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Just eating lunch," Ryo repeated in a high-pitched mockery of my voice, his quirk adding an unnaturally loud echo that made several nearby students turn to look. "With those disgusting mouth hands. Tell me, freak, do you actually eat with those things? Do you shove food into your palms?"
"That's not how it works," I said quietly, my heart hammering against my ribs. The attention from other students felt like spotlights burning into my skin.
"Then what do you do with them?" Yuki demanded, her voice cold as winter air. Ice crystals began forming around her fingers, delicate and beautiful and everything my quirk wasn't. "Come on, demon boy. Those mouth things in your hands—that's exactly what a monster would have."
"It's not—I'm not—" My voice cracked, and I could feel tears threatening to spill over. The shame was overwhelming, crushing down on me until I could barely breathe.
"Look at him shake," Ryo laughed, his amplified voice carrying across half the cafeteria. "The little monster is about to cry. What's wrong, freak? Afraid someone might see what you really are?"
The noise level in the cafeteria had dropped significantly. I could feel dozens of eyes on us now, students turning away from their lunches to watch the spectacle. Some looked curious, others uncomfortable, but none moved to help. Why would they? I was the weird kid with the disturbing quirk, and these were popular third-years with beautiful, heroic abilities.
"Please just leave me alone," I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself protectively.
"Leave you alone?" Kenji leaned closer, his voice dropping to a mock whisper that was still loud enough for everyone to hear. "Why would we do that? We're just trying to help everyone understand what they're dealing with. Hero students should know what villain quirks look like."
"My quirk isn't villainous," I said, desperation creeping into my voice.
"Sure it isn't," Yuki's laugh was sharp as breaking glass. "You have mouths in your hands. Mouths that could eat people, surely... That's not heroic, is it? If anything, that's monstrous. What hero has mouths for hands?"
Each word hit me like a physical blow. The tears I'd been fighting finally spilled over, hot tracks down my burning cheeks. My hands were shaking so badly now that I had to clench them into fists to try to stop it, but that only made the void mouths more apparent as they pressed against my palms.
"Look, he's crying now," Ryo announced to the entire cafeteria, his quirk making sure everyone could hear. "The little monster is having his little breakdown~."
"Stop—," I choked out, but my voice was lost in their laughter.
"Aw, what's wrong?" Kenji taunted, reaching out to poke at my shoulder. "Don't like hearing the truth about your disgusting—"
"Get your hands off him."
The voice cut through the noise sharp and clear, carrying an authority that made everyone freeze. I looked up through my tears to see Tsu standing behind the three bullies, her large eyes blazing with a fury I'd never seen before. Her small frame was rigid with tension, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"Oh, it's the frog girl," Yuki said with a dismissive wave. "Mind your own business, first-year. This doesn't concern you."
"Actually, it does concern me, kero," Tsu said, her voice deadly calm. "Since you're harassing my friend."
"Friend?" Kenji laughed. "You're friends with the monster? That explains a lot. Freaks stick together, I guess."
The change in Tsu's expression was instant and terrifying. The calm facade cracked, revealing a rage so pure and focused it made the air around her seem to vibrate.
Tsu's POV
The moment Kenji called Akito a monster, something snapped inside me. All the protective instincts I'd developed caring for my siblings, all the fierce loyalty I felt toward the few people I truly cared about, all of it crystallized into a white-hot fury that made my vision blur around the edges.
Akito was crying. My gentle, kind, thoughtful friend was sitting there with tears streaming down his face while these oversized bullies tormented him. The sight of his pain hit me harder than any physical blow ever could.
"What did you just call him?" I asked, taking a step closer to the much larger third-year.
"I called him what he is," Kenji said, puffing up his chest. "A freak. A monster. And if you're defending him, that makes you just as pathetic."
Without breaking eye contact, I reached over to an empty table and picked up a metal lunch tray. The aluminum gleamed dully under the cafeteria lights, solid and unforgiving in my hands.
"You know what's pathetic, kero?" I said, my voice low and dangerous.
Then I gripped the tray with both hands and slowly, deliberately, began to fold it in half. The metal groaned and buckled under the pressure from my quirk-enhanced grip, the sound cutting through the cafeteria noise like a knife. Students nearby gasped and stepped back as I continued folding, the tray becoming smaller and more compressed with each twist of my wrists.
The three bullies' eyes widened as they watched me compress what had been a full-sized lunch tray into something the size of a book, my expression never changing from that cold, focused fury.
"What's pathetic," I continued, crushing the folded metal even further between my palms, "is three older students ganging up on someone half their size."
I dropped the mangled piece of metal onto the floor where it hit with a loud clang that echoed through the now-silent cafeteria.
"What's pathetic is calling someone a monster when you're the ones acting like animals, kero."
Kenji had gone pale, his earlier bravado evaporating as he stared at the twisted remains of the tray. Yuki's ice crystals had stopped growing, and Ryo's mouth had fallen open.
"Now," I said, stepping even closer to Kenji until I was right in front of him, "you're going to apologize to my friend. And then you're going to leave. And if I ever see you bothering him again..." I gestured to the crumpled metal at our feet. "Well, kero. I'm sure you can use your imagination."
The threat hung in the air between us. Kenji was bigger than me, older than me, probably stronger than me under normal circumstances, but there was nothing normal about the fury radiating from every inch of my small frame.
"This isn't over," he said finally, but his voice shook slightly.
"Yes, it is, kero," I replied with absolute certainty. I picked up another tray from a nearby table and held it casually in one hand. "Unless you'd like another demonstration?"
The three bullies exchanged nervous glances. The crowd of watching students had grown larger, and several teachers were now making their way over to investigate the commotion. More importantly, every person in the cafeteria had just watched a small first-year girl compress a metal tray with her bare hands while staring down three third-year students.
"Whatever," Yuki said with forced casualness, but she was already backing away. "Come on, guys. Let's get away from the psycho frog."
"Smart choice," I said pleasantly, setting the second tray down gently. "Have a horrible rest of your day."
They left quickly, pushing through the crowd of onlookers who moved aside with newfound respect. As they disappeared through the cafeteria doors, the normal noise level gradually began to return, but I could feel the lingering attention of dozens of students.
I didn't care about them. All my attention was focused on Akito, who was staring at me with an expression of wonder and gratitude that made my chest tight with emotion.
"Tsu," he whispered, his voice thick with tears. "You... you stood up for me."
"Of course I did, kero," I said, dropping into the chair across from him. "That's what friends do."
"Nobody's ever..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I can't believe you just... that tray..."
"They needed to understand that actions have consequences." I reached across the table and placed my hand over his. "They were wrong to treat you that way. Completely wrong. And I couldn't just stand there and let them hurt you."
"But now they might target you too," he said, worry creeping into his voice. "What if they try to get revenge?"
I glanced down at the twisted metal on the floor, then back at his concerned face. "Let them try, kero. I'm not afraid of bullies."
"How are you so brave?" he asked, looking at me with something close to awe.
"I'm not brave," I replied honestly. "I was furious. But sometimes being angry about injustice is more important than being scared of the consequences."
"I don't think I could have done what you did."
"You would have, kero," I said with absolute certainty. "If someone was hurting me, you would have found a way to help. I know you would."
He considered this, wiping the last of the tears from his cheeks. "Yeah," he said finally. "I would."
"See? That's what real friendship looks like, kero."
We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the normal cafeteria chaos flowing around us as students returned to their lunches and conversations. But I could feel that something had changed between us. The bond of friendship we'd been building had been tested and strengthened.
"Tsu," Akito said eventually.
"Yeah, kero?"
"Thank you. For defending me. For..." He gestured helplessly, giving me a small smile. "For being my friend."
"Thank you for being worth defending, kero," I replied simply.
And as we finished our lunch together, surrounded by the ordinary chaos of middle school life, I felt a deep satisfaction settle in my chest. I'd protected someone I cared about. I'd stood up to cruelty. I'd been the kind of person I wanted to be.
It was a good feeling.
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AN: HOWDY! Smoll chapter, but always smoller than this stories length (chps)
So, just letting ya'll know our kero-girl will be a little stronger than her canon counterpart, since I want her to show off a little bit more... so yeah, lets just say I'm using the thing of adversity brings change. 👍
Also, I don't really know how to write these scenes of bullies so bear with me. I do promise showing growth for both parts so dw...