"Sotaro!" The incoming of steps made the boy halt from his pained hisses, his guilty eyes looking up to where his sister came from.

"And what did I say about fighting those boys again? I thought they're your friends?" The now seventeen year old Sakura laid a hand on her hip, making a demanding stance as she questioned her brother yet again with a busted lip on his face.

"...they're not my friends…" Sotaro grumbled as he continued to heal his bruise. His palm lightened up in a light green color before his scars slowly closed, leaving only dried blood on his lips.

Sakura sighed as she got a damp cloth and gently wiped the blood from her brother's face. "You know, even if you have a healing quirk it doesn't mean that you have to abuse its use...or make it your safety net and agree on fights because you know you can heal yourself."

"..." her brother only looked down but she knew he had something he wasn't sharing. So she waited patiently and only looked ahead as she knew her brother would cave in.

"They were insulting you again, okay!?" Sotaro exclaimed, his fists tightening as he recalled the scene. "They were insulting us! That we don't have a family! That you don't have a quirk and that my quirk is just useless-"

"Shhh don't say that, they're wrong!" Quickly, she enveloped her brother into her arms, calming him as her hand started gently patting his back comfortingly. "They are so wrong, Sochan." She leaned back to meet the eyes of her brother. "You have one of the amazing quirks in history, isn't that what we said?"

"Look, look Saachan!" The recently turned four Sotaro said as he ran towards his sister's room. It was a week ago when Sotaro had his birthday and it seemed right now is the time that his quirk would make itself known.

"What's the matter, Sochan?" Sleepily Sakura muttered as she opened her door, but one looked down onto her brother's face and to his hands made her kneel excitedly, her previous grogginess left her. "Oh my god…"

There, her brother's little hands glowed a faint green color, like the calm and cool color of mint. The same color as their mother's.

"...you have Okaa-chan's quirk…" Sakura felt her heart squeeze at the thought of their late mother, but that was soon replaced by the blossoming warmth she felt from the happiness she saw on her little brother's eyes.

"Then if this is Okaa-chan's quirk then this is the most amazing quirk in the world!" Sochan yelled, jumping excitedly as his hands glowed brighter. Sakura chuckled at the scene, she suddenly brought her brother up in her arms and twirled them around in glee. Sochan's laughter was infectious as soon his sister followed suit.

"I'm so proud of you, Sochan…" Sakura tightened her embraced to her little brother. She would do anything just to see that bright smile everyday. Today, Sakura let herself sincerely smile, the first one she let out after a year of sorrow from their parents' passing away.

"Let's go?" She placed her brother back to the ground and offered a hand. "Let's tell the news to Obachan!"

"Let's!"

"Don't you remember what we said…?" Sakura desperately muttered as she searched the dimmed eyes of her brother. This is becoming a regular occurrence nowadays. She and their grandma would see the youngest come home full of bruises and it was becoming a cycle. And as Sotaro aged, so was his stubbornness and fiery attitude. 

"Saachan...this quirk…" his hand glowed the same soft green glow. They both watched it until it faded back into Sotaro's palm. "This quirk only helps those who are already hurt. I want something that can protect us, that can defend us...because I don't want us to feel hurt anymore."

"...but I guess, even heroes can't do that…" Sotaro whispered. "...protecting...defending…"

"Life always just takes and takes everything from us…" her brother clutched her hand. "I just want...to live."

But Sotaro's ire was stopped as he felt a soft hand petting his hair. He looked up to reprimand his sister when he stopped as he watched how Sakura's brown orbs looked so soft at the moment. "There, there...our Sochan is really growing into a fine young man, isn't he?"

She smiled at her little brother, her eyes lightened up as pride was shining in her eyes. "I'm so lucky to have Sochan by my side...Obachan agrees too…"

"But Otouto," She kneeled to be on eye level with Sotaro. "You can rest now...you don't need to protect your Onee-chan anymore."

Sakura playfully showed off her 'guns'. "You see these?" She flexed her arms but coincidentally, no muscles were seen. "I've been working out, just so you know!"

They shared a laugh.

Slowly, Sakura placed down her arms, her eyes now got their certain look that said something akin of concern. "But Sochan, if you keep on protecting me...then who's going to protect Sochan in return…?"

"-I can protect myself-" she cut off her little brother before he could bitterly let out that sentence. 

"No Sotaro," she sighed, shaking her head. "Everyone needs protecting. Everyone should have someone to watch their back because they can't do that on their own…"

"And it's okay, you don't need to worry…" Sakura smiled. "I can watch your back from now on. Saachan will be Sochan's hero…"

"But Oneechan...heroes are…" he looked so defeated, and that look wasn't right for Sakura.

"Hey, don't feel dismayed with the heroes…" Sakura said. "I know...we had our rough times, we've been there, done that. I know it's really hard, I miss them everyday too…"

"...but don't give up on the heroes, Sochan…" Sakura gingerly patted his head once again. "They're fighting for the greater good...and that's all it matters."

Sakura vowed from this day, she was going to be the back her brother could lean on. She was going to be his hero, maybe not that type of hero one must've thought of, but a hero that her brother can look up to. As her life now only revolved around her two persons, she'll protect them from any harm...even if that could cost her life.

~▪︎~

"As you all know, you're all graduating students!" The teacher exclaimed, prompting the whole class to erupt into cheers. "And I bet you're all planning to be heroes, am I correct?"

"YES!!!" 

The graduating class of Daegu National High School, class of 3-1, celebrated as the students showed off their quirks. Some were extraordinary, and can be classified as 'hero's quirk', while some were not so extravagant and can be seen as a normal quirk for a superhuman society they have. One girl at the sidelines was only looking down and quietly packing up her bag as the bell was about to ring to indicate that their classes were finished, but it turned out that her silence was rather so loud that several of her classmates turned towards her and began to snicker. One girl was the first one to point it out, chuckling loudly.

"But teacher, I think you're rather wrong, this class actually has Sa-ku-ra, you know? The resident quirkless student."

The girl in question, Sakura, only continued to arrange her books, was brought in a thin line from the forward insult she heard. But it wasn't new to her, this had been happening since she transferred here and was known as the quirkless girl. 

Laughter was heard and the teacher hadn't uttered a single thing to defend his student. Soon, the bell finally rang.

Sakura slowly got off from her seat and proceeded to carry her backpack. While looking down, she hurriedly walked towards the door but was suddenly slammed on a wall after she got outside her classroom.

Snickers filled the hallway as the students already knew what to expect.

"Another day, another way Miyawaki." A rather tall and buff guy intercepted her path and Sakura was trapped between the wall and the guy. The guy in question was leaning dangerously to her face, making her pressed herself against the wall and turning her face on the side, her look was clearly uncomfortable. 

"So…" the guy muttered as he looked around. "Running away from someone? You looked like you're in a hurry…"

But the guy suddenly laughed as he grabbed her chin harshly making her look up. "Are you perhaps running away from me? Huh, Miyawaki?"

"...N-No...I wouldn't d-do that…" Sakura submissively replied, her whole figure was shaking.

"I know I wouldn't do that, if I were you…" the guy that was also a graduating student but from a different class haughtingly said as he pushed his face close to her ear, making her balled up her fist.

"Say, just go out with me, got it?" He whispered. "So your quirkless and reputation will turn into a better place."

She was breathing deeply, she felt like she was suffocating. Her knuckles were going white from how hard she balled up her fists, her heart was beating erratically, she felt like she was soon to explode.

And explode she did.

"...F-Forgive me, Kim Mingyu-ssi...but I will have to...d-decline…"

Kim Mingyu slowly leaned back and from his stance it seemed like he was watching Sakura. Like a hawk, he was observing her with sharp eyes.

"You know," he started. "You will really regret that…"

"You will regret all the rejections you made to me," he darkly murmured. "When I become a hero and become the no. 1...you will come crawling, begging me to take you..."

There was a loud bang as people stopped what they were doing. Kim Mingyu just punched the wall near Sakura's face. His hand was suddenly turned into metal and the wall suffered the force as it made a huge impact as the cement cracked.

"Tsk," Kim Mingyu completely leaned back and walked away, followed by his large posey of friends and desperate girls.

There stood Sakura still heavily shaking, holding her bag as if it was a shield against someone like Mingyu. She then heard the sound of thunder and the incoming news of rain. She sighed as she firstly controlled her breathing back to normal then proceeded to grab a hold of her umbrella inside her bag.

It was now raining when she walked towards the front doors of her school. She opened her pink umbrella and silently started to walk towards home.

~▪︎~

"Oi, oi, oi!" Sotaro ignored the taunting behind his back and continued to read his book. He was currently in their neighborhood's park, just right at the corner from his home. He was always here after school as in the afternoon their grandma was away because of work, and Sotaro doesn't want to stay inside an empty house. He reasoned that it was too silent, and it was deafening.

"What do you got there, nurse boy?" Suddenly, the book he was previously reading was now snatched from his grasp. Sotaro took a deep breath and turned around to see two boys the same to his age, casually scanning the book before the taller boy dropped it on the ground and stepped on it. The boy smirked as he proceeded to make a mess with his quirk to the book. A water ball came from his palm and he soaked the book to the ground.

The taller boy scowled at him, "That was a book two levels higher. You think you're some tough kid huh?"

The two boys got near in his personal space. "I ought to punch your face, that will teach you a lesson to not look down on others!"

Sotaro didn't back down. And he made a promise towards his sister. He wouldn't throw the first punch, he wouldn't provoke. But he would damn defend himself if the two would start a scuffle.

But their brewing fight was stopped as an eerily voice disturbed the tension in the air.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here…?" An airy voice said to the wind as the three boys stopped and stared ahead. Soon, they were staring right into a black figure walking slowly in front. 

"Little boys?" The mysterious figure giggled and it sent shive