I was pulling out my hair the day I got the deal /
Chemically calm / Was I meant to feel happy that my life
/ Was just about to change?

Are You Satisfied?, MARINA

8:00 AM - Optivus

ㅤㅤㅤ𝕿he tea kettle screeched ever so loudly. A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair sighed as she walked into the kitchen. It was kept and clean. The walls were porcelain with bouquets of seemingly poppies and daffodils. It alternated with ochre tiles; never failing to lighten the days of those that enter. The room also revealed an aroma of late work nights and heavy cologne. A scent many could attest to having regularly smelled but nonetheless nauseating.

The woman dusted off a pot holder—or at least a makeshift one. A thick piece of pearlescent satin, one of it's edges neatly hemmed with the initials 'W.L'.

She, with her pristine mat, brought the scalding hot kettle out of the kitchen and into the dining table. Uniformly, the room was kept, with table napkins garishly folded into swans. She began pouring water into her mug. In the same table sat a girl who bore a strikingly similar image to her, only with longer, flowing hair.

"Why do you look so sad, Athena, dear?" she asked.

The girl, Athena stirred alert, just stirring her now soggy cereal. "Sad? I'm not sad."

"I hope not." The woman sat beside her. "It's your big day after all," she continued, giving a light shrug and three taps on the mahogany table.

Athena sighed. Her breathe causing ripples to form in her now cold cup of cocoa. "I know—" she paused, putting a hand to her forehead. "Maybe that's why I'm nervous, mom. Obviously, you've never done this. Neither has Apollo." Another exasperated sigh.

The woman, revealed to be her mother, could only give a chuckle- meant to be a scoff. "You act quite like your father. I think that's a good thing." Her hand reached out, tucking a strand of Athena's golden hair behind her ear. "You'll do great, sweetheart."

Athena leaned against her mother's touch. A smile reminiscent of a sunset on the beach blooming on her rose pink cheeks.

"If you want, you can just stay at home. With me," her mother teased. Her gentle hand moving to Athena's hair, ruffling it. All Athena could do was whine.

"Mom. You know I can't do that."

"—Why not? I need some help around here."

"But, well—"

Her mother could only snicker. Pearly-whites showing beneath her pale pink lips.

"I'm just kidding, 'Thena. I know the world needs my little starlet." She went back to ruffle her daughter's hair; yet Athena took it positively this time, donning a sanguine expression.

"You best go now or you'll be late. There's no such thing as fashionably late when you're a Hero."

Her mother accompanied her to their Cadillac. Waiting by the driveway until it drove away.

☆

ㅤㅤㅤThe starlet, as her mother called her, could feel her heart seizing it's prison bars anatomically labelled the 'ribcage'. However, her mind could only ridicule it. She had no reason to feel the First Day jitters. She was a top student, earning high honors ever since she stepped into even the daycare. Never has she committed a crime, not even a harmless prank.

She was a Ludiére for crying out loud.

Which maybe— kind of, totally what Athena was worried about. It was always about upholding the legacy her loved ones left. An unspoken requisite which she says pushes her forward yet truly haunts her. She could not blame her parents though. She did not have the right to.

Instead, Athena leaned against the car window. Feeling the ups and downs the wheels traversed through as they passed a bridge. Morning sun-kissed waters dancing below. The sky and sunlight melding into the mirror-esque pool to cast back green hues. Downturned eyes watched as the scenery shift from all-natural, italianate architecture to the the technicolor wonderland that was Kinzaikushi.

Even in daylight, the street signs blinked their neon projections. Mascots dancing and spinning advertisements the size of surf boards on the sidewalk with such ease, capitalizing on the early morning rush that has already begun. White-collar workers—with their patterned ties, leather suitcases of varying hues, and slicked back hair—walk in and out of office buildings like eager bees. Though Athena couldn't hear them, the streets sang a symphony of haste and destination. An organized chaos that everyone was a member of, whether they aware of it or not.

ㅤㅤㅤYet what stood out the most was the heavenly white towers of Amatsukami Academy. Armored with crystalline windows which reflect the nation's glory for all to see. Three towers for three municipalities, each were six floors high.

Amatsukami became the first—and so far, only institute for aspiring Heroes just a few years ago. It was almost imperative for the academy to be built. Only the best Heroes are hired as mentors for the nation's hope. However, Athena had no idea who would be watching over them.

☆

ㅤㅤㅤThe car circled the baroque fountain that stated at the academy's entrance. It was adorned by baby angels standing oh-so daintily on their tippy toes. Water shot out of their clasped hands, matching the dramatics of their wings wide open. Though, the real star of the display was the grand statue of the man that paved the way. Also known as Athena's father. Albeit the younger version of him, his daughter could still recognize his features sculpted onto the marble. His noble, no nonsense gaze, stoic stance—chin up, facing whatever conflict comes his way—and the same gilded eyes Athena used to stare at the very marvel.

ㅤㅤㅤ"—Ms. Ludiére," the driver held the car door open.

Athena broke away from her thoughts, sifting through her champagne-like hair in an attempt to gain composure. "Oh, just call me Athena," her voice stable as the ocean.

The man cleared his throat. "Well, Ms. Athena—" He opened the car door further.

Athena hopped off the black Cadi. The heels of her Doc Martens clacked against the polished granite. She reached for her sable purse, clutching it's strap to her shoulders, and watched their family car drive away from the academy.

ㅤㅤㅤFinally—after another minute of taking in the scenery, Athena sauntered into the renowned halls of Amatsukami. It was a blend of the three cities, melding and proudly presenting Angheles' united cultures: Optivus' romance, Kinzaikushi's avant-garde, and Evgenís' neo-gothic beauty. The academy was held up by ivory pillars wrapped in ivy so intricately carved that one can see a leaf's vein with a magnifying glass. The sheeny ceilings were embraced with murals of Angheles' history, embellished with metallic turquoise and gold. This was only the school lobby, appropriately making a strong impression to whoever enters.

Overawed, Athena couldn't help the way her hands shook ever gently as she pushed the silver handle to the following room. It left her stunned. The corridor was filled with students-with their occupied attentions, fidgety hands, wearing pristine, ashen garments she herself wore.

Were they all her classmates?

All hundred of them?

She didn't know if she felt happy or not.

ㅤㅤㅤAthena found solace in a quaint corner by one of the pillars. She placed her purse on her lap, sitting prim and proper whilst carrying a storm within. Her gaze drifted from one student to another, seeing whether she knew someone in the sea of faces. It wouldn't be far-fetched. She couldn't have been the only child of a hero to enroll here.

After a while of uneasy detective work, her eyes landed on a girl with long jet black hair. All of a sudden, that girl caught her look- giving a soft smile. One that was confident. Not the awkward smile you give to strangers you make accidental eye contact to. Not that one the always polite Athena gave back. Just before slowly turning her head away. A weak attempt at looking calm, collected, and most importantly, normal.

9:00 AM - Amatsukami Academy

ㅤㅤㅤMinutes passed. The out of sight clock ticking away. Freshly manicured nails unwittingly scratched her leather purse. It was a habit no one knew but her easily trembled soul.

Unanticipatedly, four adults-assumedly teachers-strutted into the corridor. They wore smiles that rose up to their eyes. Eyes which scanned the crowd.

One of them spoke, glee bouncing to every corner of the room.

"Good morning, students! Line up here according to your course."

The same teacher clicked open her wrist watch, unveiling a projection that read:

"HERO COURSE"

Athena's eyes lit up, almost as bright as the projection.

She stood up, purse still held tightly, and walked to the teacher. To her surprise, another student cut in front of her. Their vivid red wine hair blocking her view making the person all the more obnoxious.

The blonde could hear more students line up behind her. Though, her eyes stayed on the teacher in front. Whether it was out of respect or tenseness, she couldn't tell. Other courses ordered themselves in front of the remaining teachers.

For the first time in the day, Athena let out a relaxed sigh.

The lines began to move. Up the stairs, through several hallways, passing all the offices before eventually reaching their respective rooms.

ㅤㅤㅤThe Hero Course students scattered as they sat, adapting to the room's off-white walls and grey chairs (previously silver and dulled by time). The room had two doors: one near the teacher's desk and another behind the students' seats, much narrower than the first door.

The teacher, who just stood by the first door, clapped, getting everyone's attention. "Thank you everyone. I hope you all have a great school year!"

They collectively tilted their heads.

"Aren't you our advisor, miss?" A boy peeped.

The woman chuckled, her smile still candied.
"Oh, no. Your teacher will arrive soon. He's just... a tad late."

If the class already knew one another, they would've looked at each other in disbelief.

"Now, I trust you all to behave yourself. Thank you again! Bye-bye!"

☆

ㅤㅤㅤThe students were left alone once more. Everyone felt the inherent awkwardness and expectation to connect yet no one made a move.

Athena did not dare to look around but even then, she sensed that they were not much in her class. Empty seats follow her side from the corner she chose to plant herself in. However, the students she could see were already an interesting bunch. One of them she was fairly familiar of.

She didn't know how she didn't recognize the young man in the crowd. Yet he did look average: dark chestnut hair, thick square-framed glasses, and a solemn expression. She could mistake him for an office worker if he didn't have his teenage features.
ㅤㅤㅤAthena didn't know his name. Neither has she interacted with him. All she remembers is seeing him in their residences—sweeping their yard, carrying paper bags of groceries, and often hanging Christmas decorations on their roof—concluding his relation to an existing Hero. But which one, she wondered.

☆

Their room's back door creaked loudly.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Why are you all here?" A man stormed into the room.

Everyone was stunned, head turning to and from the back as the man swiftly moved behind the teacher's desk. This time, the class did look at one another.

The room became speechless. The awkwardness becoming more tense.

"I asked a question," the man exhaustedly ordered his class.

"We're students here?" The girl from before, with her obnoxious red locks, retorted.

"Why?" The man asked again. His eyes were weary, carrying bags underneath. Yet they were still sharp— enough to cut like knife. He was unsettling as he was indisputable.

The redhead stuttered. "We chose this school. What do you want me to say?"

"Why did you choose this school?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"We want to be heroes."

Athena spilled without thinking. She looked aghast at her own impulsive decision. The other students, including the man, shifted their attention to her as if ordered to.

"Why do you want to be heroes?" he further questioned.

Instead of an intimidated silence, everyone became pensive.
It's a question always considered but never asked.

The man let out an exasperated sigh. "Sure. Everyone will answer the question."

He leaned back against his chair. "You," pointing at the redhead. Though he didn't make eye contact, let alone look at her. "Stand up. Name. Answer."

Yet again, the whole class was in a state of shock.

However, the girl called upon stood up without hesitation. Despite Athena sitting behind her, she could sense the smallest smirk sliding into their lips; radiating an aura of confidence not once defeated.

"I'm Shenzou Fei, daughter of the hero 'Levitathian'. I know, corny name- if you knew who he is that is. Anyways, that's only important because the reason I want to be a hero is to be better than him. Stronger, smarter, rank higher, and leave a bigger impression than he can ever leave. It's cocky but it's honest. That's all." The redhead, Shenzhou, sat back down looking high and mighty; shrugging away whatever reactions come her way.

Athena was irritated as she was impressed. To an extent, she could relate to Shenzhou yet she didn't appreciate her arrogance nonetheless. It was unkempt and not a trait a hero possesses.

The man in front could not care less however. His question was provided an answer and he was in search for another one. He squinted, scrutinizing each student in the surprisingly small batch.

His finger landed on the boy Athena found familiar just minutes ago, "You. Same thing."

The brunet's eyes grew out of his glasses. "Me?" He pointed at himself incredulously despite finding himself already up his seat. The boy cleared his throat, contrasting Shenzhou's pure confidence from before.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Vincent Takahashi. Or just 'Vince.' I want to be a hero because... I, uh, want to make my family proud." He immediately sat back down.

'Takahashi' was unfamiliar to Athena yet Vincent's mention of his family cemented her theory on his kinship with a hero. On the other hand, it did boggle her on how the boy acted so unprepared for someone who could be closely related to a Hero.

"Next," the man randomly picked another student.

His pointer finger landed on a girl with purple locks as bright as the nation's capital in the evening. A shaggy cut with raccoon tails painted on, Athena assumed she was a wildcard-possibly a force to be reckoned with.

The fluorescent adolescent basically jumped up and faced the entire class. Her smile just as luminous as her locks yet her teeth reminiscent of a vampire's.

"Hi! I'm Tatiana Vassilieva. I prefer Tati or Yana but either is good. Great to meet you all, by the way. My reason for becoming a Hero? Hm..." she swayed in her spot. A mauve nail daintily on the edge of her bottom lip whilst gazing at the ceiling. Eventually, Tatiana looked back at her classmates. "I guess I just want to fight some bad guys!" Her shoulders bounced before taking her seat.

Finally, a good enough motive, Athena thought. Though heroism wasn't all about defeating villainy, it was a core part of the job today. It was both unexpected yet realistic.

All of a sudden, another girl's voice echoed from the back of the class.

As Athena turned her head to the speaker, she realized it was the girl she made eye contact with in the lobby. She with her gentle smile and long raven locks.

"May I answer?" the girl asked with a hand raised halfway.

The man nodded, flicking his wrist in permission.

She rose up from the seat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I personally want to become a hero to make a name for myself. As someone people can trust, of course.. It's what's important these days." Another delicate smile graces her lips as she sits back down.

"...Your name, lady." The man rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Oh, it's Jiseung— Sorry."

Athena was starstruck at how someone can be so kindhearted and proud to be so. The two held the same beliefs which she considered a great connection already. Then it struck her.

She should volunteer as well. So Jiseung may know their likeness.

Unfortunately, a boy pitched in before Athena could even form the plan out. He had chocolate curls, dappled sunlight as freckles, and overenthusiastic gestures.

"Hey, everybody! Mornin'. The name's Santoso Kogoya. I, well, started dreaming of becoming a hero since I was a kid. I mean, I think it's cool. Yeah? And they save a lot of people- which is way cooler!" After a toothy grin and an electrifying spin that came out of nowhere, Santoso jumped back into his seat with his feet raised.

Athena wasted no time and let her hand up, reaching for the man's attention.

"I'd like to answer as well."

The man, with his stare that can haunt those in a mortuary, unexpectedly paused and held a suffocatingly long gaze at Athena. The clocked ticked away loudly. Another few seconds passed until it became a minute. The air felt tight, wringing her motor of a heart while the others watched. The scenario was all over the place given the man's previous haste.

"Hm, go ahead."

Finally.

"Uh. Good morning, everyone. I'm Athena, Athena Ludiére—"

Soft gasps and quiet murmurs erupted in the already wary room.

This threw Athena off, the then dwindling fear washing over her back as an ocean wave during a typhoon. She could hear the harsh beats drumming within her at their recognition.

She paused.

Taking a deep breath before returning to her introduction.

"...Yes. That Ludiére..." A shackled chuckle tumbling out. "...I'd be lying if I said this path was entirely up to me. It's pretty much pre-destined. But I'd say that even if I wasn't born into a family of Heroes, I'd still choose to be one. I... I want to help people with the gift I was born with. I... want to prove that this is my choice."

Athena then drops to her seat with damp eyes and quivering digits she tangled to conceal.

The people grow silent. Their attention going back and forth between the man in the front and to Ludiére girl.

"Hm," he hummed with undisclosed emotion. "Next."

☆

ㅤㅤㅤThe rest of the class recited. Delivering contrasting reasons and identities. Despite going on the same path, their journeys were fractured and varied. The characters they presented gave clear pictures of the Heroes they'll be. Though, it seemed that all were on the side of good.

Athena couldn't help but continue feel a pang of shame in her little corner. It's spindly leaves grasping at the soon tangles veins of her lungs. Though it barely touched her mind who ached for Athena to stop being so dramatic.

The chair in front dragged on the floor, scratching everyone's eardrums with a fork. The man himself now stood, leaning against the desk he once was behind.

"Now," he crossed his arms. "I'll tell you all my reason. To be fair," he said with faux understanding.

Everyone's eyes and ears moved to his direction.

"I never wanted to be a Hero."

What? Their internal monologue exclaimed.

"I chose this as a job. I was in need of cash when I was a teenager and found that I could use my powers to get that. The only reason I'm the 18th ranked Hero is because I'm good at my job. Not because of some noble cause.

You, on the other hand, all seem to have better reasons than me. Beit truly heroic or simply ambitious. So, for the rest of this school year, I'll hold you to your promises. I will say this though: if you're expecting a reward for having high morals, this isn't the place for you."

He let out a tired sigh.

"Anywho, I'm Sir. Mamoru Inoue. Your advisor and Heroics 101 professor for the rest of the year. Good luck, students." He then stormed off through the front door.

Leaving the class in the same stunned position they were in when he entered.

☆

ㅤㅤㅤBreak time hit Amatsukami. Athena saw the cafeteria get flooded with students she previously saw in the lobby. An array of snack stands lined in the entrance, welcoming students and staffs alike with freshly deep-fried potato wedges and buttered popcorn. Wandering the crowded hall, already established friend circles passed by Athena. Eating whilst chuckling about their first day with the warmth hers lacked.

ㅤㅤㅤSuddenly, Athena felt a soft tap on her shoulder. A shiver ran up her spine, turning around to catch the person in a hurry. "Who's that?!"

"Oh! Hi—" It was Jiseung, with her signature smile.

Athena felt guilty at once. Her own awkward, fallback smile creeping in.

"Ludiére, right?" Jiseung snapped her fingers.

"Athena." An instinctive correction.

"Well, 'Thena, do you want to sit together? I have some of our friends waiting." The noirette tilted her head, pointing at the table with their classmates-all waving willingly.

Athena peered at the table with a twinkle of realization in her eye.

She looked back at the tender-eyed girl.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

⭑ㅤi said i'd finish chapter 1 by january but, yeahhh. also 3k words⁉️ imposiblé. i can't believe i wrote 3 thousand!! words in 4 days? what quitting ig reels does to an mf. (next update: 2026)

⭑ㅤteehee so yeah welcome 6/15 of the Hero Course and their caffeine-addicted advisor! i made a little manip gif of them. the fcs aren't accurate at all but i need to make graphics!!! in order of the gifs: mamoru (yuri petrov, t&b), shenzhou (lucy maud montgomery, bsd), vincent (takehisa hinawa, fire force), tatianna (crona, soul eater), santoso (sero hanta, mha), & jiseung (sawako kuronuma, kimi ni todoke). the most accurate ones are zhou and jiji's ngl

⭑ㅤalso Evgenís mentionedd! to recap, Angheles' three cities are Optivus, Kinzaikushi, and Evgenís. more worldbuilding to comeee BELIEVEE the yappening has only begun.

⭑ㅤi have so much to say (especially about the newly introduced characters) buut i'll keep it to myself. For now. mweheheheehehe oki but i will say, trust there will be drama.. oh, the drama

⋆ㅤthank you so much for reading this! i'd superlove to read your thoughts- first impressions, silly theories, reactionss. every comment is appreciated as always 🥰 though, if you don't have any, do at least leave a vote! encourages me to keep on writingg

⋆ㅤto those reading during or near the new years: HAVE A WONDERFUL 2025! 🎉

with love, rafi(ilangbuwan)