Top pic credit: ezramine

Ari's unconscious flashback:

~ Ari, age eleven. Keigo, age fifteen (hm, what? They ran into each other again as children? Oo) ~

A bead of sweat dropped down my face, my heart beat racked all the way into my ear drums from the anticipation. As much as I tried to steady my breathing, I was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Relax, Ari. Your heart rate is rising. See the problem in front of you. Solve it calmly." The man from the hero commission said emotionlessly. I didn't know his name.

"H-How am I supposed to see the problem in front of me, when I'm blindfolded?" I asked meekly, trying to grip onto my hospital gown for some type of self comfort-

The man slapped my hands away from my body in an instant, causing me to jump since I couldn't see it coming.

Three days. I've been blindfolded for three days straight. Three days without the use of my eyes, being forced to complete all of my everyday tasks with this blindfold firmly planted on my face. I was told it's to help me rely on my other senses, when the times get tough for me in the hero world.

Being forced to learn my schoolwork, and cook my food, and walk around the hero commission training center without the use of my eyes.

They're doing it because they're unhappy with me. They're trying to make me toughen up. I'm not performing as well as they thought I would. They're having second thoughts about bringing me into this program.

I know, because they keep telling me.

Get it together, Ari. You want to be a hero, don't you?

Forcing myself to calm down, I took a deep breath, hearing the beeps of the heart rate monitor gradually decreasing.

"Yes, slow your heart rate. That's what I asked of you, and you did it. Well done." The man said, before placing a piece of, what I assumed to be, chocolate into my clammy hands. It was always chocolate.

I simply held the candy in my trembling hand, not wanting to eat it. I already felt nauseous from being overworked.

"Do you see what happens when you do what I ask you, Ari? You get rewarded with things. I asked you to slow your heart rate down, and you did. So, you got this piece of chocolate in return. Chocolate is your favorite, isn't it?" The man said blankly, trying to find some type of softness in his tone that was unachievable for someone of his nature.

Rewards. Rewards. Yes, they keep telling me.

I get rewarded if I listen to them.

I must listen to them if I want to be rewarded.

Nodding softly, I placed the piece of chocolate in my mouth, too stressed to even enjoy and absorb the taste. It was already partially melted, due to the hot sweat from my hands.

"Okay, Ari. You will do what I ask you again, right? If you listen to me, I will give you another reward. Understand?" The man said in mock cheerfulness.

Listen. Get rewarded.

Listen to them and do what they say. This is the way of the hero commission.

I meekly nodded my head in approval, feeling the beads of sweat starting to drip down my face at a steady rate.

"Good girl. I'm going to throw the stones at you now. Remember, focus." The man said in a tone much more stern than a few seconds ago.

Forcing my ears to work over time, so I could make up for my lack of sight...I immediately listened for anything I could. Breathing, rustlings, footsteps, whooshes of air.

Focus. Make your reflexes faster, Ari. That's the whole point of this exercise-

WHOOSH!

I inhaled sharply, immediately outstretching my hand to the right as I heard the stone being thrown at my body.

Bracing myself for the hit that never came, I realized I must have stopped it-

WHOOSH!

Another one. Immobilize to my left.

"Good work, Ari. You can only immobilize two things at once right now, for five seconds each. Try and make it ten seconds now. Hold up the stones. Hold them up." The man commanded, causing me to grit my teeth as I tensed my muscles to prolong the use of my quirk.

I whimpered slightly in pain, attempting to move out of the way. My quirk can only stop things. It can't control the direction yet. I don't know if that's something I can even do. Once my quirk deactivates, these stones will continue flying at me-

"Don't move yet. If you can hold the stones for fifteen seconds, total, I will allow you to move."

Fifteen?! I thought it was ten!!

Forcing my feet to stay grounded, my entire body began trembling in pure exhaustion as I worked with every possible strength in my little body to hold these stones.

Oh no.

"I-I c-can't." I choked out in exhaustion, as an excruciating pain shot up my arms.

"Ow!" I yelled out, powering down my quirk and grabbing my arms in pain.

I bit down on my lip as the stones continued flying full force at me now, knocking me in my stomach and my shoulder.

I hissed at their heat, realizing the stones thrown at me this time were also heated up.

Collapsing to my knees, I grabbed my tummy..hunching forward as I felt a stinging burn from the hot stone.

I felt defeated. I am so weak.

My lip started to quiver, as I heard the pure sigh of disappointment come from the hero commission man.

"The pain's your own fault. Fine. You're done for the day. But, because you couldn't hold your quirk for fifteen seconds, that blindfold is to stay on." The man muttered to me uninterestedly, before his footsteps made their way towards the door.

I continued lying on the floor for a moment, just needing to take a breather. I don't care if I get punished for it, I am so tired.

"Oi, Diane. She's done for the day. I need you to sign off on her time sheet." The man called out from the, now open, door.

Oh no. Diane's coming.

Forcing my body to stand up, I stumbled slightly from my lack of sight.

The familiar clack of heels entered the room, as I realized Diane was now here.

"How did she do?" Diane asked coldly, making a cold chill run up my spine.

"The same. How did he do?" The man said in deflated annoyance.

"Eh. That bird's back is still bleeding whenever he shoots out too many. Something we're working on. We're doing the blindfold punishment with him right now, too. It always works, huh?" Diane chuckled softly in amusement with the man, before someone else came in.

"Diane. The bird hit all of his marks. He's been working so long, that we ran out of targets for him to shoot at. Should we call it a day?" Someone said from the doorway.

Woah, someone hit ALL of their target marks?! Wonder who that is.

"No. He's fifteen, already. He'll be out in the hero world, on his own, in three years. That's in no time. Grab more targets from the storage room, so he can keep working." Diane commanded casually.

"Okay, I'll get more, but I need assistance carrying them out to his training cage. Those targets weigh like seventy pounds each." The guy whined.

"Do it yourself." Diane scoffed slightly.

"I have no problem doing it myself, but the kid's completely exhausted. If we want to keep his momentum going, it's better to have more hands to set things up quicker." The hero commission man said, probably just too lazy to do things himself.

It was quiet for a moment, before Diane groaned.

"Fine. You, stay here. We'll be right back." Diane groaned at me, before the man in the hallway spoke again.

"Yeah, you too. Stay here, Keig-"

"You brought him with you?! Why didn't you leave him in his training cage?" Diane reprimanded.

Someone else was in the hallway?? They were so quiet, I never would have known.

"Well, because he was falling asleep! I didn't want him to fall asleep, so I figured he'd come with. Plus, he's blindfolded. It will help with his sense training, too-" The man justified, trying not to get himself in trouble with Diane.

"Yes, but look! His back is bleeding everywhere!! We have heroes and police officers walking around this facility, you can't just drag this boy around like that! What if someone sees him like this?? They'll think we're abusing him or something." Diane hissed before the sounds of shuffling were heard.

"Get in here, before someone sees you." Diane mumbled to someone.

I heard footsteps slowly walk into the room now, not recognizing their sound.

"Both of you, stay in this room. We'll be right back. And do NOT speak to each other. Understand?" Diane stated authoritatively.

"Yes, I understand." I said mechanically, slightly surprised when I heard another voice answer right along with me. His tone and his words completely mirrored my own.

The fifteen year old boy must be here with me, too. He's so quiet. I would never have been able to tell.

Diane's heels, and the dress shoes of the other two men quickly walked away....making me realize it was just me and this boy now.

It was pure silence between us for a moment. Even though our breathing was even, it was also slightly heavier as we were both clearly exhausted from the day.

He probably didn't want to talk. I don't blame him. He also seemed harmless.

Finding relief in the fact that the adults were gone, I quickly plopped back down on the cement floor, needing another break.

I jumped slightly at the small, unexpected chuckle that sounded from next to me.

"Heh, you do that too, huh? Take a breather when those old guys leave, right?" The boy said, before I heard him shuffle around.

I heard him sit down, feeling his warmth radiate from next to me.

I wasn't expecting him to engage with me, since Diane told us not to speak to each other. I felt myself becoming a little shy now.

Pulling my knees into my chest, I rested my chin atop them, not being brave enough to answer.

He was fifteen, after all. He was one of the big kids! And he hit all of his marks! He's one of the COOL big kids-

My admiring thoughts were cut off, as I felt something gently tap my head. It was soft. Softer than a hand. Kind of...fluffy, too? Wonder what it was.

"Yoo-hoo! Knock, knock. Is anyone in there?" The boy said in amusement, perking up slightly now.

My cheeks heated up, as I hugged my knees tighter into my chest. Even so, his tone was so sweet. So friendly. Almost familiar.

I haven't encountered someone this warm, since I've been at the commission.

"I-I..." I babbled out, realizing I still felt too shy to speak. Now, I was just embarrassed.

I expected the boy to judge me for being so socially awkward. However...

"Ah, not much of a talker, ey? Well, hey, no worries. Who needs talking, right? I mean, personally, I could sit somewhere for hours in silence. Who needs people when you have yourself? I'm more of a thinker, anyways. Y'know, my motto's always been something like, 'the best company is yourself.' Least, I think that's how ya say it. I'm not really sure, to be honest. I'm just kind of babbling nonsense to make you more comfortable. So, is it workin' yet? Are you more comfortable?" The boy rambled on, talking my ear off.

Wow. That was a lot of words.

Very unexpected and different from how quiet and serious he was a moment ago, when the adults were here.

It was silent again, before I felt a smile starting to spread across my face.

I surprised myself at the small giggle that came out of my throat, immediately covering my mouth with my hands.

The boy laughed softly at my sound, seeming pleasantly surprised that he was able to make me laugh.

"Hm? What's so funny? Do I have something on my face?" The boy asked again, making both of us laugh happily, considering the fact that neither of us could see anything to know the answer to that question.

"You're....very funny." I said shyly, feeling a little bit more comfortable now.

I felt the boy's shoulder brush against mine, as he readjusted his sitting position.

"Well, I hope so. That's how I was trained." He chirped out happily, seeming even more perked up than before, considering I was attempting to actually speak to him now.

"T-They trained you to be funny?" I asked, slowly releasing the tight hold I had around my knees.

"Eh, nah. They trained me to be charming and flirty. But, it's not somethin' I really take seriously, so I kinda turn everything into a joke. Man, they really hate me for it." He said to me, the smirk on his face being evident through the tone of his voice.

Flirty?!

I nodded softly even though he couldn't see. I wanted to engage more with the boy. But, I didn't know how-

"Anyways, what about you? How ya holding up?" He asked casually.

"Huh? How am I holding up? What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"Ah, well I heard you outside the hallway, using my quirk. You yelled 'ow' like you were in pain. Are you alright?" The boy said, his tone coming out a little softer.

His quirk?

"Really, you could hear me from all the way out there? What's your quirk? How did you hear me?" I questioned eagerly, finding myself wanting to know more about this boy.

"Well I can sense....." He started, before he slowly trailed off his sentence.

I sat in silence, patiently waiting for him to gather his thoughts.

"Hey, you know what? It doesn't really matter. Personally, I don't really want to talk about quirks. Do you? Aren't you so tired of talking and hearing about your quirk by now?" He stated softly, coughing slightly from his exhaustion.

He makes a very good point.

Clearing my throat, I finally released my vulnerable hold on my knees, lowering my legs to the floor and leaning back on my hands.

"Yeah, I'm.....I'm very tired." I uttered quietly, realizing those words held more meaning.

I felt a gentle, comforting tap on my head again, realizing it was the same soft object as before. It felt nice.

"I know you are. So then...tell me about you. Anything you'd like, little bird. Your favorite snacks, or maybe your favorite color." He asked, as I heard something dripping onto the floor. It sounded like it was coming from his back.

That's right, he's bleeding.

I was about to bring it up, when I remembered why he's asking me these questions. He wants to distract me from this life for a moment.

He probably wants to distract himself, too.

So, I want to give that moment to him.

Forcing myself to be brave and outgoing with this cool, big kid...I began talking.

"W-Well, um....I love cookies." I said casually, hearing him gasp in encouraging excitement.

"What? No way, I love cookies, too! Maybe we could make some cookies together, some time." He said in enthusiasm.

We both knew the sad reality that we'd probably never be able to make cookies together. But, the boy was just trying to make me happy. And I could tell he wanted to make himself happy with these silly day dreams, too.

Feeling a smile gracing my face, as I thought about the impossible possibility of making cookies with this faceless boy, I began getting more talkative.

"Oh yeah! That would be great! What are your favorite cookies? I love chocolate chip." I asked confidently, hearing him laugh in amusement at my new tone of excitement.

"Hm, I don't really know! I wasn't really ever allowed to have cookies. But, I'd let you make some chocolate chip ones for me any day." He chirped out, the sound of his dripping blood falling steadily onto the cement floor.

My jaw dropped in pure disbelief at his words. Didn't he just say he loved cookies?!

"What?! Your parents never let you have cookies?! Well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" I said in over dramatic shock, hearing the pure smile flash across his face.

He could tell I was comfortable with him now. I could tell it made him happy. It made me happy, too.

"I dunno. I didn't really spend a lot of time with my parents. I came here when I was six. That was nine years ago." The boy shrugged, not sounding necessarily unhappy about this, but not ecstatic either.

I furrowed my brows in focus at his words, feeling that same soft object tapping my head again. Except, this time it remained draped over my head.

The action calmed me. I wonder if this object came from the boy. I wonder if this action was something that calmed him, and that's why he did it to me.

"So, you don't get to see your parents? Or your brother?" I asked curiously.

"No, ma'am. No parents. Also, no brother. Or sister. It's just me." He explained, his cheerful voice coming out a little bit flat at his words.

"Well, then who do you go visit on the holidays? Or when you get a day off?" I said softly, wanting nothing more than to take this blind fold off so I could see him.

The room was silent for a moment, making me surprised, considering the fact that this boy has been so talkative with me.

"No one. I don't get days off. I'm set to be a big shot hero, soon. I'm training every chance I get." He simply said, as I felt my hair being ruffled gently by this soft object atop my head.

I pursed my lips in thought, trying to figure out how this boy was able to get some time to himself. How is he able to get a break?

"What about friends?"

"Don't have any. Heroes don't have friends, they only have acquaintances and allies." He stated, his voice coming out mechanic and rehearsed.

He doesn't even have friends? Isn't he lonely? At least, I have my family. What does this boy have? Who does this boy have?

I pursed my lips in thought, taking in his words.

Being blind folded, I had to focus more on the tone and sound of his voice, since I couldn't see his face.

I had to pay more attention to his behaviors.

So, I could already tell that he didn't mean those words.

His voice came out unhappy. Even if he was obviously trying to hide it.

"Well....I don't....I don't believe that's true. I-I think heroes can...have friends." I stated softly, worried my disagreement might upset him.

Of course, I was worried over nothing.

"Oh yeah?" He asked curiously. He sounded genuinely curious, not like he was mocking me or being sarcastic about it.

"Ye-Yeah. I mean....heroes are friendly and happy.....you can't be friendly and happy if you don't have friends, right?" I asked.

He was quiet for a moment, the only sounds in the room coming from our breathing and his dripping bloody back.

"Y-Yeah. Of course, little bird. Heroes are happy and friendly. So, don't YOU forget it, alright? Don't forget to keep yourself happy. This training doesn't last forever. You'll be out before ya know it. Then you'll be free. I think. Yeah, then you'll be free." He uttered out, the tone of his voice filled with unsure hope.

I smiled softly at the thought, taking in the boy's words. He's very nice. Very friendly-

Hey...I have an idea.

I blindly reached my hand next to me, feeling it land on the boy's chest. Before he could react, I began feeling my hand around his arm, trying to find his own hand.

I found it resting on the floor a few seconds later, boldly grabbing it in mine. It was rough, calloused...an obvious tribute to his hard training.

His hand remained limp in my hold, as he let me play with it. He didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"Heroes are happy and friendly. And you can't be happy without a friend, right?" I asked shyly, forcing myself to continue a moment later.

"So....I will be your friend. I-If you want." I stated quietly, already regretting my statement.

He said he doesn't want friends. Why am I trying to force this boy to be my friend-

"I would absolutely love to be your friend, little bird." He whispered, before I felt him chastely grab my hand in his.

I smiled softly, proud of myself at the fact that he sounded a little bit touched by my suggestion.

The silence was comfortable as we sat there, innocently holding each other's hands.

After a few moments, we both heard it. We heard the sound of footsteps coming back to the room. The air between us became silently somber, as we both had an unspoken understanding that our short time together was coming to an end.

"So, it's settled then. I'll be your friend." I whispered to him, giving his hand a light squeeze of reassurance.

He returned it gently, keeping the soft object draped on top of my head.

"Yes, ma'am. My very first friend." He whispered in sweet kindness, as they came for us. His tone of voice was already filled with a soft goodbye.

"Alright, Kei-what are you doing?! I said not to talk to each other, and now you're holding her hand and draping your wing-" Diane started saying, before someone spoke over her.

"Get up, kid. This little girl needs to go to bed. And you've got more training to do." A man said coldly, snapping his fingers at the boy.

The boy reluctantly released my hand, before I felt the soft object slide off my head. I missed its warmth immediately.

"Oh yeah? And what's my reward if I listen to you?" The boy joked boldly, as I heard him stand up. His tone of voice was much different than when it was just the two of us. Now he sounded cocky. Even a little cold.

The hero commission man laughed, clearly trying to butter up the boy.

"We've talked about this. Fame, money, women, success. The important things in life, I'll give them all to you. You know the drill, listen to me...and I'll provide you everything you want." The man said, causing this poor boy to let out a fake laugh.

"Mhm. Everything I want. Let's go, then." The boy stated blankly, before his footsteps headed towards the door.

He didn't say goodbye to me. He couldn't. Not that it mattered. We both knew we would probably never see each other again. We didn't even know each other's names or faces.

But, even so...

I'm glad I could be his first friend.