A Common Enemy [Yoru]

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

The first day was easy enough. He had to meet and pair up with a few other students and train together, get to know each other, and he could imagine the tendency to continue for the rest of the week. But when he was approached by a teacher who requested his presence by the pool on the next morning, Yoru just barely resisted the urge to headbutt them.

The pool. Seriously???

What degraded idiot in his high dreams though that it would be completely sensible to bring a fire manipulator to the pool! He had to wonder if the school faculty was messing with him, or they just wanted him to learn and control his abilities in a handicapped state, such as the damp air and the possible water sprouts of the pool. He assumed they were all just idiots, but opted to consider this a training indeed, just to cool his temper and accept the assignment.

It was only cleaning. Nothing could go too wrong if he didn’t go near the edge of the water. He wasn’t exactly afraid of it. Hell, he could appreciate a good, hot bath. But water itself made him uneasy for the sole fact it weakened his flames, hence it always forced him to burn more energy than necessary. It was somewhat of a trap for him, really, but if he was careful, he would manage.

Problem was that he didn’t have the word “careful” in his dictionary.

He woke up that day earlier than usual as well, because the energy from the previous day was still fueling him more and more on. Even with the stupid job to start the day, he could say that the hero course seemed to be more fun than he originally thought it would. But it didn’t dim the fact he was more and more annoyed the closer he got to the pool’s building, and by the time he arrived, it took him everything to hold his flame crown back from bursting out.

“Why the pool?! Just WHY?! UGH!” He shouted as he glared daggers at the building, but his eyes widened and he comically closed his mouth when another student’s form appeared in his line of vision. He was told that his partner in cleaning the place would be a guy named Ryuusei Igarashi, someone he actually remembered from the day before. He stared for a moment, as if taking in the fact that indeed, he wasn’t actually alone this early in the morning at school. “Oh, you are already here. …you are the one that faceplanted at the gates yesterday, right?” That was the first thought that came to mind before he could even consider that reminding the boy of his failure might be a bad idea. But the honey-colored boy had to get through the first stumbles to get better and eventually forget about it. After that, Yoru would probably not mention it ever again. Especially because, now that he thought about it, he DID give the boy a precious bar of chocolate that day as a form of consolation. Well, that was something he would prefer not to be reminded of, so he shook his head and let his usual, grumpy attitude continue.

He pointed at the door, deadpan. “Too afraid to go in alone?”

words: 551 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● Thsi one is less sleepy!

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

It was good to see that bringing up the previous day’s failure was nothing too heartbreaking for the other student, but Yoru pretty much trapped himself when the dreaded chocolate was actually mentioned. He looked away, his mouth gaining the tiniest of a pout as if he was actually sulking when it was thanked. “Shut up, I h-had a lot of extras I wanted to get rid of anyway.” Curse that small break in his sentence, he was never good with appreciation. It is best to just forget about the chocolate and anything else altogether, at least Yoru swore he would never mention the first day of school ever again.

“’Fun’.” He deadpanned, and looked as disheartened as ever. “I am not sure what ‘fun’ means to you, but it definitely doesn’t involve cleaning a pool.” But despite what he said, he followed the other inside and saw what was much worse than the dark fantasy he came up with upon the word ”cleaning”. His face told the obvious discomfort and annoyance upon seeing the state of the room. “Whoever did this, wasn’t even human. It was a monster, I say.” He murmured, more to himself than to Ryuu, but it was audible enough for the other to hear, still.

"So, if they sent both of us it's because your Quirk is good for cleaning right? Because mine isn't.”

Yoru raised his head and looked at the boy with the kind of disgust that is reserved for those who said the most stupidest thing possible in a horror movie. As if Ryuu just told him to go to the moster’s lair to retrieve the golden dung, or something. Hell, he would rather do that, than this.

“Don’t tell me... you neither?” Upon getting an affirmation, Yoru would raise his face toward the ceiling, asking the gods themselves why they are so hellbent on punishing him with the stupidest things. “UGH! This is such a hassle!” He yelled, kicking the closes thing – which was a heavier ball, in this case – right into the water. He watched without any satisfaction as it floated further away toward the other end of the pool.

“How about I just burn down the place and be done with it?” He asked, glaring daggers at the ball and the dirty water it floated in, as if mocking him. For good measure, he kicked a used water bottle as well, and continued to kick it across the tiles, slowly gathering other pieces of trash it to kick around as well. Even though it all seemed he was just releasing his pent up annoyance, he was actually gathering the trash and slowly swiped it toward the trashcan.

He stopped for a moment and looked back once a small pile of empty bottles, rumpled packages and used tissues were gathered in front of him. “Come to think of it, what is your Quirk?”

words: 485 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● He isn't too excited to get that title!!!

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Yoru wouldn’t say that the situation was getting more and more annoying, but... Oh, scratch that, it was getting annoying, and even though they haven’t even started the cleaning itself, he was already fed up with the whole place. It wasn’t that Yoru generally disliked cleaning. Actually, he was used to it, because all of his previous schools had the regulations that the students were in charge of cleaning their own classroom and the hallways, so that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. But cleaning the pool, which was downright a complete weakness against his abilities, was just cruel. And he didn’t even know if there was a reason Ryuusei disliked water, or if it was only him so against the idea of being in the damp atmosphere of the place.

“If you have a follow up plan for us to not get caught, I fully support the burning the place down decision.”

Yoru tilted his head to the side. He actually wasn’t expecting an affirmative reaction. “I can run fast. I hope you do too.” Was the only thing he said, but the fact he started to instead grumpily kick the trash around made it obvious he wasn’t about to ignite the pool on fire. He wasn’t expecting the guy to be such an enabler. Rather, Yoru thought his head would be bitten down for the suggestion, but maybe that just showed how they shared a common hatred for this job.

As he reached the trash can, he turned to Ryuusei, waiting for his answer. It wasn’t exactly an interrogation from his part. The already touched upon the fact their quirks were unfitting for the job they were doing, so it made Yoru curious about the details. And who knows, maybe they just didn’t notice they did indeed have a way to work around that incredible mess.

He watched Ryuusei’s movements with interest. The taller boy was really quiet while walking, seemingly lost in thought. He seemed to be someone that rarely talked, tended to be in the background, quietly observing everyone instead of jumping forward. Despite that, he wasn’t against the idea of discussing his quirk with Yoru, so maybe his quietness was different. Maybe it was just general disinterest.

His thought process momentarily halted when, as a demonstration, Ryuusei disappeared from his eyes. Yoru took a half-step back and his mouth opened in a silent “whoa”. At first he just stared at the dot where the other student disappeared, but then quickly glanced around. What did he do? It didn’t seem like teleportation, so the next possible solution was...

Ryuusei appeared again, and Yoru let his readied posture straighten out.

...invisibility.

“Man! And for a moment I thought you could just make this whole mess disappear.” He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, continuing his death-stare at the pile of trash. “But hm, this is a clever one. Not really useful in a fight, but I guess we won’t be always fighting as heroes, huh.” While it barely showed outward, he was pretty impressed with the demonstrated quirk. He did see a few weird ones, and really, invisibility was almost a required ability in any cool superhero group. It was just a given.

He raised his head when the question was turned back at him, and Ryuusei asked for details on his own quirk. “Yeah, it is.” He raised his right arm away from his body and away from Ryuusei, making sure that it wouldn’t get close to anything that would be flammable, especially not another human body. He let his flames out, orange colored fire licked at his fingers and palm. The harmless flame was also lit on his head as a crown, like always, when he was calling his quirk to manifest. “I can ignite parts of my body in flames. But the weird thing about this is that...” he started to say and crouched down, taking a plastic bottle in his still flaming hand. “...that even though it is fire, it doesn’t have to hurt something all the time.” He was turning the bottle around in his hand, showing that not a part of it started to melt under the heat. Yoru already lowered its power enough to be completely harmless. He let the fire fizzle out, and lazily threw the empty bottle at Ryuusei for him to catch. The plastic was cold to the touch.

As it turned out, it was true that none of them had the power to quicken up their cleaning and make their job easier. With another last death stare at the pile, Yoru threw all the trash into the can. Looking around, he spotted a broom and a little ladle, and he decided those two will be his designated weapons for the upcoming hurdle. The pool still had three other sides that was littered with trash, and while Ryuusei would wash the floor, Yoru decided to clear the path for him.

Armed with the broom, he addressed Ryuusei again, as if talking was something that would make the time pass easier. “So what is Mr. Invisible hoping to learn in a hero school? Why are you here?” It was curiosity yet again. Not at all was the question aimed in a degrading way, to make Ryuusei feel bad for what he is doing here at all. Yoru was interested in his reasons, because he figured everyone had one. And so far, this boy was enabling his idea of burning the pool building as the first possible solution for their problem. That was already 10 points plus on his friend list.

He grabbed the broom and raised it up with one hand, pointing the fuzzy end toward Ryuusei, as if pointing a blade at a rival in a historical movie of medieval times. “Doth thou wish to save thyne World, Sir Igarahi?”

words: 976 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● That note was a clever pun, I didn’t even realize it at first!

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

He could see a soft surprise on Ryuusei as he caught the bottle thrown at him. Certainly, no one would expect a cold, undamaged plastic bottle after someone held it in flames for a few moments, and Yoru would never get enough of the shock that sometimes passed the face of the person he demonstrated his quirk to. Aside from being interesting, it was incredibly convenient he could downgrade the heat of his own flames, but even like that, controlling them proved to be harder than he usually showed. It went against the nature of fire to be cold. Yoru was going against nature itself with this feat, and often enough, he could feel the prize he has to pay for it. Not now though. He felt annoyed by the fact they had to clean the pool, but nothing else.

“Which is the right kind of flame when catching bad guys, I wonder.” He said out loud. If it was up to him, he would burn the bad guys, those who deserved it, to a crisp. But he realize he wouldn’t want to kill anyone, and probably wouldn’t be allowed to, as a hero anyway. So which one was the right one in this case? The one that would burn their skin and flesh and make them surrender in pain, or the one that would just scare them, but would not hurt. He shrugged in feigned nonchalance, as if he hadn’t been wondering about it for years now.

He saw a small flash of worry pass Ryuusei’s face as Yoru kept asking questions, but he paid it no mind. Questions had that effect usually, especially in a world where, for a few years back people suddenly developed powers, and the unusual started to become the usual. A simple question like why someone wanted to be a hero would bring mixed emotions, especially when they have yet to know exactly what it meant to be a hero at all.

Yoru held the broom high, and upon hearing the first few words, he had the urge to hit Ryuusei across the head with it. He wasn’t one to hold back his urges, so he did just that, attempting to bop the boy on top of the head, and then he raised the broom high to drop it back down and let it rest on his own shoulder lazily like a staff ready to hand out further punishment. “Rather than too much work, isn’t it the responsibility that is maddening?” He turned away, slowly walking to the still dirty part of the pool to swipe the trash into a neat pile, talking to the crumpled packages, but addressing Ryuusei. “People will expect us to help everyone and to always be there to be the one that saves the day. But what if we are not enough, and someone dies, and we are the one that, in their mind, are responsible?” He turned back again to get the ladle and swipe the trash onto it. His words seemed oddly specific, while his voice was casual, as if he just mentioned it all in passing.

“Heroes will turn into villains in the eyes of the masses if they aren’t careful, but you know what? If I can save someone, anyone; that is all that matters.” He stopped in his tracks, and leaned on the broom after he deposited the pile of trash into the trashcan. In a certain way, he answered Ryuusei, but in a certain, way, he didn’t. Part of the reason why he came to this place was carefully erased and hid, like the mirror he refused to look into in the morning. With his face scrunched up in a frown, he mostly stared at the water beside him, but definitely not at Ryuusei. “Ew, that was way too sappy. Excuse me while I drown myself in the pool.“ As opposed to his words, he didn’t leap into the water to proceed to suffocate, luckily. “Anyway, we are greenhorns, so pretty sure you can figure out what you want to do to seem less lame. Not like we are obligated to fight villains tomorrow, or something.”

To distract himself from all the unneeded, ugly feelings he had just shown, he crouched down at the edge of the water and reached out with the broom in an attempt to fish out the ball he himself kicked in there minutes ago cursing under his breath while doing so. “But if it will be three years of cleaning, color me disappointed, dang it.”

words: 757 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● That is okay, you are busy! and I wasn't quite fast with my reply either.

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

As he was crouching at the edge of the pool, Ryuusei gave a question that he himself was somewhat aware of. The world was difficult, and there were occasions when it was hard to save everyone, or save them completely. A mirror flashed in his mind and he wondered if he would be able to save a certain person who didn’t seem to wish to be rescued. He glanced back behind himself, to look at Ryuusei and indicate the seriousness behind his words. “I can still try. And if I try harder, maybe I’ll be able to save them. Otherwise, I would never know.”

The ball was a stubborn creature that was staying out of his reach, and Yoru just stared grumpily at it after a while to will the currents to bring it back to him instead. ‘…Together’, his mind echoed, and his hand stopped above the water as if frozen. It had been a long time since he was a part of a group, more than just himself. But it always felt better to belong with others rather than being alone, and that single word seemed to work like a charm. But by the time he actually registered it, and was about to turn back and question Ryuusei, the mop the other boy was holding was pushed against the back of his head. He had to grab onto the edge of the pool lest he fell forward right into the ugly depths of murk. “You little---“ He growled, even though the joking was obvious. “Ew, no way I am gonna drown myself in this dirty water. Have you seen the algae? Ugh!”

This felt natural. Bantering, joking around in a friendly manner, Yoru felt that this was at least going to be enjoyable and fun. He would definitely remember Ryuusei’s name and that he was someone without a clear goal as of now. If nothing else, Yoru would try to show him that he had a choice, and he could decide where to steer his own life from then on. As he looked back over his shoulder to watch him disappear into the locker room, Yoru swore that this friend, he would like to try and keep.

A few minutes later, with the prized ball out of the pool, he could hear a shriek that was so unfitting for the nonchalant face the blonde boy seemed to usually wear that he had to pause in his tracks. Yoru grinned, and asked loud enough for even Ryuusei to be able to hear from the other room: “Hey, Ryuu, how about I get the drop-out papers from the office?”

He would take about five more minutes loitering around the water, just enough time for Ryuusei to get desperate and possibly drop that stupidly expressionless face before he decided to have mercy on the poor soul and actually go help him clean the toilets.

words: 484 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● The end! Or rather, to be continued!.