REFRACT || bnha oc

🪞choke

choke by i don't know how but they found me

. . . . .

THERE WERE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE.

Generally, the max amount of students that were allowed in any Hero Course class was no more or less than twenty. Eighteen admitted from the standard Entrance Exam, and two recommended students who passed their practical and displayed heroic potential in their interviews.

But in rare cases, they would admit an extra one. There had been two admissions in the past forty years, and always on tenuous circumstances.

The first had been Toshinori Yagi, who had mysteriously manifested a powerful Quirk and was personally vouched for by two pro heroes: Gran Torino and the former Number One, Themis. This was a well-kept secret within the pro hero community -- that their own Symbol of Peace was created by a breaking of the rules. Tobi only knew because Knuckleduster knew, back in the days when he was the pro hero, Overclock.

And the second, of course, was Tobi himself. Inserted into the class not because they believed he'd make a great hero, but because they needed to ensure that he wasn't messing up the public's view of them. As he stepped out to the field with his twenty other classmates, he finally managed to grasp the situation.

He still wasn't anywhere close to living a normal life. Yuuei was more of an H-shaped glass cage than anything. His teachers were security cameras. Tobi rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the vertebrae of his spine as he thought about it.

Perhaps this was the modern-day version of the Truman Show, with extra servings of violence and moral complexity. Who could say for sure?

For the first time in a long time, the Monday morning sky wasn't polluted by smoke stacks or clouds rolling in from the coast. It was a cerulean blue, dotted with clouds like an afterthought, and a cool breeze made its way across the trampled ground, spotting his navy trousers with orange dust.

This was the side of the world that Yuuei students would always see. Eventually, they'd get used to blue skies. Tobi swore that he never would. He swore that he'd never let the smell of smoke and death leave his nose, the taste of blood from his mouth, the blinding flames from his eyes and the sounds of destruction from his ears.

And he'd never ever let go of how blood would stick to his hands like glue in the moment, and linger with its bitter aftertaste for years to come.

For now, however, he could sit beneath the sun and pretend to indulge in his new heroic fantasy. He wasn't sure how long it would last, but that didn't make the air any less warm.

He could hear Aizawa explaining a list of physical trials for some sort of surprise Quirk test, and he tuned in just for the end of it, still not quite paying attention as his 'teacher' spoke. "The country still hasn't gotten around to standardizing Quirk-barred test records or keeping track of your performance levels. Though, that's just negligence on the part of MEXT."

Tobi didn't register the softball flying his way until it was almost too late. He managed to jerk his hand up towards his face, the ball bouncing off his knuckles as he flailed to catch it before it hit the ground. He managed to capture it with both hands like it was a rogue bird, and Bakugou snickered behind him.

Aizawa fixed him with an expectant expression. "Hanasa, how far could you pitch in middle school?"

"Euh..." Tobi looked around. "Forty meters, give or take?"

He could see Bakugou sneering in his peripheral vision, before turning to Aizawa. "I should be the example, teach! I'm top of the goddamn class, unless you count these recommended cheaters!"