２話 // THE ARTIFICE OF POWER

For a world so vast, why did Sanada Kei force herself to stare at her well-worn loafers instead? And while eyes do rarely convey enough emotion nor information, (contrary to how they often do so in novels), Kei's eyes were nearly indistinguishable from stones falling deep into the river of her skull.

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雄 英 高 等 学 校
Ｕ.Ａ. ＨＩＧＨ ＳＣＨＯＯＬ
Department of Heroes
Self-Reccomendation Result

ＦＡＩＬ

          U.A. High School and its board of directors have received your application for the Department of Heroes. In response to your application, we are very sorry to inform you that your application has been rejected.

          We have went through your application thoroughly and also evaluated your other supporting documents while making this decision. Although we were impressed with your qualifications, we have decided not to move your application forward. If you have any queries regarding this decision, you may contact us through E-mail.

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The crisp sheet of paper should not feel so heavy in her hands, but her wrists shake as her eyes cross over the words again, and again, and again. It somehow weighs the same as her future—it hurts to think that, at this very moment, this paper is all that she amounts to. (Ever will amount to.)

"Hey, Kei-kei, what was your result?" A fellow student asked, wearing the issued gakuran of her school as he waved his own opened envelope. "I passed, ya know. Totally lucky, right? It ain't U.A. but Shiketsu is pretty damn good, too. Like, totally cool. And, like, the girl's uniform is totally, totally hot. Hey, hey, you think the hat will look good on me? Damn, this totally hypes me up! Hey, what was your resu—"

"Ah," In a single exasperated breath, she sighed and sneered. "Y'know what, you are totally pissing me off. Just shove that envelope up your ass, idiot." It was easier to weigh her choices compared to weighing her own pride against the shame that had razed her.

"Wha—Tsk, whatever. Not my fault you didn't pass, no need to be so bitchy about it," The young boy scowled, sauntering away bitterly with a mutter under his breath. "Totally don't get why you're so surprised, your quirk probably just wasn't up to U.A.'s standards."

Though she glowered at the boy's retreating back with an intensity of a hundred suns, her lips were sealed to a fine line. He wasn't wrong; he really, really, really wasn't. He was right, despite all of his cavalier bullshit. A glitch, a failed recommendation, and a legacy on her shoulders—that's all she was. So, honestly, what else can she do but be defeated?

Shit, what the fuck do I tell mom...