#taiyuu

Of course, as Kayaki grew older, she became much more experienced with the game. Instead of shuffles behind trees and urges to keep quiet, the game was more serious. Stony eyed gazes focused on the black shoes that tap-tap-tapped against the slick concrete. Sidestepping out of the way of flashlights, bright and swishing like a bloodhound. It felt like more than a game; like, instead, life or death. Age tended to make things feel more weighted, that way. 

Long after cottony blue eyes became stormy grey in the cloudy light, Kayaki stood, 15 and holding an umbrella to her side. The forecast had never said anything about rain, but it never hurt to be careful, especially with how the sun itself was hiding in wait to see what the weather would bring. In the quiet residential neighborhood, big houses of pristine white walls were locked by big fences and keypads. It was one of the most secure in the city, maybe the country, and Kayaki felt small lingering by the gate. If someone was to walk down the street, if they were perceptive enough, she was easy to pick out. However, people were rarely perceptive enough for a girl like Kayaki. 

The gate swung open, and Kayaki straightened to attention, not unlike a dog awaiting orders. Kirai adjusted the bag on his arm, looking at her and raising an eyebrow. It wasn’t questioning as much as it was amused, in the way a child might be amused watching a flightless bird struggle in a puddle of water. 

“My, my, how long were you waiting, Kaya-chan? That eager to see me?” 

Kayaki had long since learned to translate her best friend’s passive aggressive jeers into more friendly, conversational Japanese. 

“It’s good to see you, too, Toto-chan.” She patted at her skirt, carefully smoothing out any creases. He looked her outfit up and down, shifting his weight and putting a hand on his hip. 

“Kaya-chan, don’t you think that outfit is a little impractical? You’re going to cry when you fall during the exam, and then I’m not going to stop to help you up. I can’t pull your weight forever.” 

Kayaki hummed, spinning her umbrella and following Kirai a step behind. “You’re worried for me?” She spoke in a soft, questioning tone. Kirai scoffed, crossing his arms.

“I am not worried for you.” 

“I’ll be okay, Toto-chan.” A ghost of a smile traced Kayaki’s lips. It was cute, when he worried about her like that. Of course, Kayaki wasn’t worried. To her, whether or not she passed wasn’t much of an issue. Whether or not Kirai passed felt much more important, all things considered. 

The walk to the train station was mostly silent. That was the thing about Kayaki and Kirai; they had never really been the type to pour their hearts out to one another. Instead, they took value in the ability to be comfortably quiet with one another. It was a level of understanding that was rare in any pair of people. 

Kirai abandoned her the second they found the small cluster of students waiting for the train.

Kayaki watched him stride up to the group, dazzling them with an introduction and a wink. She stayed back, folding her hands behind her and leaning against the wall. She had expected it, of course. Kayaki and Kirai always seemed closer to one another when they were alone. 

It was better this way, anyways, watching everyone excitedly chat with one another, avoiding her by just an inch. 

The train was comfortable, surprisingly so. She found a nice spot towards the corner of the bus, storing her umbrella under her and folding her hands in her lap. A part of her wanted to relax fully; it was a nice, closed space. 

The rational part of her knew otherwise. 

The train had been going for a few minutes when a weight on the seat beside her shifted. 

“You mind if I sit here?” 

Kayaki startled, looking up at the boy hovering by the seat. She nodded, taking a second to find her words. “Uhm—yeah, I don’t mind.” 

He sat down, rummaging in his bag. “What’s your name? I’m Sainochi Yurei.” 

This was more talking than Kayaki had been counting on. He was charming, though, and seemed harmless enough. “Ah… I’m Zuruko.” After a pause, she quickly added, “Kayaki.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Zuruko-san!” He smiled at her, taking out some kind of almost-machine Kayaki couldn’t identify. “Taiyuu, huh? It’s kinda scary, knowing we’re almost there.” 

Kayaki crossed and uncrossed her legs a few times. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt, scrunching the familiar fabric against her fingertips, struggling to find a way to carry the conversation without seeming rude. “Yeah, uhm… It’s weird. I wasn’t expecting it to come so soon.” 

Sainochi-san turns a small gear, nodding. “You know, once we get into her school… that’s it. We’re on the path for this forever. I don’t even know if… Well, I know I want to help people, but what if I’m not a good hero? What comes after that?” 

“...I’m not sure if being a hero is my thing, either.” The honesty of Kayaki’s words shocked even herself. “I don’t know… I’m not good at the whole combat thing?” Her face flushed. “I’m sure everyone here is super confident in what they wanna do. But I…” She stilled. 

“...I know what I want to do right now. And I know that that means walking through those doors and passing that exam.” 

Sainochi-san is silent for a moment. “...that’s a good way of thinking of it, Zuruko-san.” He fumbles with his things a bit more. “Uh—music always helps me calm my nerves. If you want…?”

Kayaki smiled appreciatively and took the earbud being offered to her. The music is something that sounds vaguely familiar, although she doesn’t recognize it. 

After a couple songs, Kayaki’s eyes are closed and she’s bobbing her head ever so faintly. 

“Hey—! Uh, uhm, Zu! Check it out!” 

Kayaki startled again, and her eyes opened. “Huh?” 

Sainochi-san pointed to the window, eyes wide. “Look! It’s a freaking—we’re underwater! Isn’t that cool? Imagine the kind of technology needed to do something like this! In order for the air pressure to—,”

Kayaki was not following whatever he was saying. That wasn’t what made her so curious; instead, she was focusing on something totally different, however small it was. Although she felt the telltale buzzing of her quirk right at the back of her neck, however difficult it was for him, Sainochi-san had remembered her name. 

She put the information in the back of her mind and continued to listen to him ramble. 

The rest of the ride went smoothly, but something felt… Off, to Kayaki. As if something was terribly, terribly wrong. She kept glancing around the train scanning the faces, but she couldn’t pick out any particular threat. Eventually, she casted it aside as nothing. 

Getting off the train, Kayaki dusted off her skirt, trailing behind the crowd of kids. They all seemed to be joking about one thing or another; Kayaki herself preferred to hang towards the back. It was easier to get by that way, not being noticed. 

The school was less of a highschool and more of a college campus to Kayaki. The group was led down into the big auditorium building in a poor attempt at a single file line. 

The auditorium was big, and smelled the particular clean, pine-y smell that Kayaki had always associated with newly built places. The floor was lined with carpet, not yet dirtied by the shoes of teenagers or their messy habits. It was well lit, with different teachers set up at the entrance and in the aisles. There was a banner above the stage that read Welcome to Taiyuu High!, big in Japanese and smaller in English at the bottom. Each chair had a little desk that could be slid over, and each chair had a piece of paper with a name on it. 

The seats were randomly assigned. Kayaki was seated at the very back, tucked away in a corner. Kirai, on the other hand, had been sat towards the middle. He was currently turned around in his chair, hand on his chin and chatting with one of the other participants. Kayaki shifted, and he glanced up, raising an eyebrow in a clear question. What are you waiting for? 

Kayaki looked down at the little nametag that designated her seat. She printed out name was the only thing stopping her from changing seats, and for a moment, she considered letting it go. It wasn’t until she saw the empty seat beside him, not yet taken by it’s participant, that she had decided what to do. It was going to be quick. Switch the nametags, sit besides Kirai, easy.

It was not that easy.

“What are you doing?” 

A fellow examinee hovered in the aisle, watching her with muted confusion as she grabbed the other person’s name tag off of the desired chair. They looked plain, even more so than her, shifting a backpack on their shoulder. Kayaki eeped. 

“Sorry! Uhm—is this yours?” She held up the nametag. 

They nodded. “What are you doing with it?” 

Kayaki opened her mouth to come up with some kind of excuse, glancing towards the bag. “We aren’t allowed to have personal items,” She told them, raising her voice a little. They frowned, holding it to their chest. 

“Who has a personal item?” One of the teachers, a young woman with grey hair and a nametag that read Aurora, skips over. “Whoa! We were supposed to leave all belongings at the front.” 

They blink a few times. “But… what am I supposed to use during the exam?” 

“Your own wits and strength! That’s what we’re testing!” She patted them on the shoulder, leading them away as they protested. Out of their sight, Kayaki could feel the buzzing of her quirk as she swapped the nametags. 

By the time the kid had come back, they went straight to find their seat, not even glancing at Kayaki as she nestled in besides Kirai. She almost felt bad for them, now item-less; but she figured that, if she hadn’t used it as a diversion, their bag would have just been taken up later. It wasn’t her fault that she had been the one to point it out, and if she happened to benefit from the diversion, that wasn’t anyone’s business.

Kirai glanced over, having been bickering with one of the other students. “Well,” he sighed, “The exam is about to start. Took you long enough.” 

Kayaki smiled a bit. “I missed you, too, Toto-chan.”

He huffed, rolling his eyes. “I did not miss you. Try not to fail, alright? I know it’ll be hard without my luck.” 

“Thank you, Toto-chan. I hope you pass too.” 

The exam was largely uneventful. The questions all felt repetitive to her, and she had spent more time bubbling in the answers then mulling over the questions. She might have been one of the first to finish, but she had waited, carefully counting out half of the participants before raising her hand. 

Her first event came soon after. Kayaki and the other students were lead to a small clearing, the dewy grass clinging to their shoes and crunching under their feet. The other kids had a cocktail of different emotions; some shifted side to side and glanced around. Others picked at their nails, hand on their hip. Others were standing so straight and alert they might as well have been taking notes. 

Wolfsboon stood at the front of the crowd, arms crossed and looking very unhappy about being in the situation. “The goal is simple,” he called out. “You’re all getting five minutes—and only five minutes—to go hide anywhere in the arena. There’s a ring of tape to stop you from going out of bounds, do it and you’re disqualified. Hurt any of your fellow examinees or the wolves, and you’re disqualified. Sabotage, and you’re disqualified.” 

Someone in the crowd raised their hand. 

“What if I’m caught petting the dogs?” 

Wolf looked confused for a moment, before it was overtaken with annoyance. “You’d be disqualified if the wolf touched you.” 

There was a series of disappointed grumbles in the crowd. Kayaki shifted around antsily, anticipating the start. 

“Is that all?” 

There was a pause. 

“Then your time starts now.” 

The crowd dispersed quickly. Kayaki weaved her way through the trees, glancing around. She knew that the smart option would be to climb a tree. It was so obvious, in fact, she was almost certain there was a catch. She wasn’t one to overthink her situation, though. So she grabbed a branch and hoisted herself up. 

Kayaki had hidden in trees during a game of hide and seek many, many times. It wasn’t too different from this; the rough bark rubbing up against her palms. The way the leaves, ever friendly and rustling with the breeze, would brush up against her face, daring her to do a thing about it. Every creak was a warning of how the tree was feeling about the arrangement, and if it groaned the wrong way, it meant you were about to fall. 

Kayaki heard the whistle blow, and her breath grew quiet. She kept her eyes open, scanning the field, but her mind was somewhere else. 

Quiet. Quiet quiet quiet. Sometimes, people say that if you don’t move, people won’t see you. Those people were right, in Kayaki’s case. She had to control everything, to how her chest raised and fell to whether or not her foot was about to slide. She had been expecting her contestants to do the same thing. 

She saw a girl run just ten or so feet from the base of her tree, footsteps loud and her outfit even louder. She threw a small bomb, and when it exploded, a sticky substance covered the ground behind her. The wolf sprinting out of her slowed, tugging at it’s paws lodged in the goo and whining. She laughed, sticking her tongue out and throwing out a rude gesture. 

“Have fun with that, Puppy!”

She kept running past. Kayaki blinked a few times, listening to her yell out as she went along. 

...well. So much for being quiet. Suddenly, Kayaki became painfully aware that being unnoticed might go easier than she had thought. As time went on, the other kids only got more distracting. She heard screams of the other kids, and at once point, she could have sworn she saw an entire dome grow from the ground. By the time the alarm sounded, a voice came out from the speakers strung along the field. 

“Congratulations to Takeda Yukino, to make it all 15 minutes!” 

Kayaki sighed, annoyed, climbing down from the tree. “She’s not the only one,” she called out, waving her hand halfheartedly. There was a small pause, and a wolf bounded up, sniffing her. Trailing behind them, Wolfsboon walked into the area. 

He slowed to a stop, eyeing her up and down. The wolf trotted in front, sniffing at Kayaki and digging his snout into her side. She smiled, reaching out and petting him. He yipped at her in return.

“Where did you come from?” He asked, eyeing her up and down and cross referencing Kayaki to his clipboard. Kayaki shifted in her spot, frowning. “...I was hiding. In the tree? You never said it was against the rules, so I figured, uhm… it was okay?” 

“It’s fine.” 

Kayaki scratched just under the wolf’s ear. “So… I’m good?” 

“Do you have an ID?”

Silently, she pulled out her ID. He nodded, scanning it over. 

“...Good job, Zuruko-chan.” 

Kayaki, having also been signed up for the next event, only had ten minutes to switch out. She grabbed a drink of water, pulled up her hair, and followed the group of kids to what she was quickly realizing to be the exact same area as before, just a different section of woods. She wondered if the teacher would have nodded to her, if she was any other student. She wasn’t any other student, of course; and most likely, he had long since forgotten the interaction in the second event. 

The wolves were nowhere to be found. They might have all been dismissed; although they weren’t quiet living things in the way traditional animals were, the idea of a creature suddenly… not existing made her nervous. 

“The third event is straightforward.” 

In the crowd, one of the kids raised their hand. Their eyes sparkled with something mixed with curiosity and mischief. “Wolfsboon-sensei?” They bounced on their heels, tucking their hands behind their back. 

“Yes?” 

“What’s the name of this event?” 

“That’s unimportant.” 

“I feel like it’s kinda important, though!” They pressed, flitting their hands in the air. “How else are we supposed to be on an even playing field? As heroes, we need to know all of the information that’s available to us! That means knowing the name of the events! I’m just trying to make use of all my resources.” 

Wolfsboon sighed loudly, rubbing his hand over his face. 

“Dogcatcher.” 

Pleased, the student snickered, their smile still wide. “Thank you, Sensei.” 

“Any more questions before I start actually explaining the rules? I suppose you’d like to know the footsize of my wolves, or their favorite icecream flavor, since we’re going around asking stupid questions.” 

“That might be pretty helpful, actually,” The same kid mused, tapping their chin. Beside them, a taller girl nudged them, muttering something Kayaki couldn’t pick up. 

“Sorry.” 

Wolfsboon went on to explain the rules. They had thirty minutes to catch the wolves running in the woods, and bring them back from a safe zone. At the sound of the bell, Kayaki separated from the group, who had been mostly sticking together. It wasn’t like she’d be much help to them; and even worse, they wouldn’t be all that much help to her. Too loud. It’d give her right away. 

Finding a wolf was easy enough. He was sniffing the ground furiously, his tail wagging. Kayaki, silent as a mouse and with a quirk to cover up any lingering traces of her presence, pressed against a tree. She had done this many, many times. Be quiet. Don’t let them know you’re there. A wolf doesn’t take kindly to a sheep in their den, after all. 

She pounced, colliding with the wolf and the ground. It yelped, squirming and pawing to get out of her grasp. With effort, she held it down.After the struggle came to a standstill, Kayaki noticed a terrible problem with her plan. 

Kayaki was not strong enough to drag a squirming wolf back to the safezone. If she tried to move to hold him better, he would have definitely escaped. She cursed under her breath. 

Footsteps crunched behind her, and Kayaki tensed. She struggled to wiggle her way to see the kid standing by the treeline, eyebrow raised in a silent, judging manor. Well… it seemed judging. Instead of being a completely average person, they had heavily mutated features, like a boar. 

“Uhm. Hi.” Kayaki’s face heated up. They eyed her up and down, before nodding. Their hooves clicked a few times; at first, Kayaki had no idea what they were trying to do. But the tapping had a pattern, one that was… oddly familiar. 

Kayaki stands in pitch black room, cold and unforgiving. She’s crouched close to the ground, straining her ears to listen out. There are footsteps, before they stop, cold. The person’s foot taps on the ground in a pattern. 

.-- .... . .-. . / -.. .. -.. / - .... . -.-- / --. ---

Kayaki grabs her small utensil, hitting it on the ground lightly. 

- --- / --. . - / .- / ... .... .. .--. -- . -. -

Kayaki blinks, holding the wolf tighter. “Repeat that?” 

It takes a second, but Kayaki makes out the message, What are you doing? 

“Oh! Uhm, participating in the event? I mean, trying to. I can’t… Well, I can’t pick up the wolf.” 

How did you pin it down, then? 

“I snuck up on it. Quirk.” Kayaki shrugged. “Why, are you having trouble?” 

They keep hearing me coming.

Kayaki’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Well, uh. I can help with that? I mean—if you don’t mind. I just need you to carry them.” 

After a small consideration, they nodded once. They walked over, picking up the wolf and slinging it over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The wolf squirmed, but he wasn’t any match for the kid, who was strong.

“What’s your name?” Kayaki asked halfway to the safezone, trying to keep up with their pace. 

Kokoro.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kokoro-san.”

Kokoro-san handed the wolf back to her right before they got to the zone. Kayaki heaved it over the line, where it flopped over with it’s tail swishing. She looked around. 

“...that’s weird. Were we the first ones to bring a wolf over?” 

They shrugged. 

Does it matter?

“Good point. You got the next wolf, okay?”

They nodded. Not one for conversation, she guessed. They spent five minutes wandering around, looking for any wolves. There were… None. At all. 

“This is weird,” Kayaki muttered, following a trail of paw prints. They had found a few sets, and… They were all going to the same place? They were a lot more straightforward than wolves meant to run away from students should have been. 

Stop.

Kayaki stopped, looking around. Kokoro-san pointed to a small section of woods were the rest of the students gathered. The wolves were crowding around the same kid who had asked the question at the beginning, who was beaming and sprinkling sand over the wolves head. They urged the other kids to take wolves. 

Kayaki stiffened. “What are they doing?” 

Getting the wolves. 

“All of them? Doesn’t that feel a little greedy?” Kayaki kept her voice low, although the group looked preoccupied. “Even if they’re letting kids take the wolves, that defeats the point. No one would be able to show off their skills. It’s making the whole test useless, just so they can show off.” 

Kokoro-san huffed out through their nose, nodding. Annoying.

“Well,” Kayaki frowned, crossing her arms. “I’m not taking any pity wolves.” 

We can grab from the edges.

Kayaki nodded. “...yeah. We should.” She eyed the kid, laughing as they made a joke to the tall girl from earlier. Something made her feel off. She pushed down the annoyed cocktail of emotions, and nodded to Kokoro-san. “Let’s go.”

All in all, with all of the wolves being quickly put to sleep by the group, Kayaki and Kokoro-san only got three each. It was more than she had been expecting, though, and she was fairly pleased with herself. 

“We make a pretty good team, Kokoro-san.” 

They didn’t respond, and she smiled to herself. 

Kayaki was, thankfully, not participating in the next event. She settled in the waiting area, watching as the group of kids completing the 4th event gathered with one another. She spotted Kirai, talking to a taller boy with blue hair and—

Kayaki felt her entire body tense up. She didn’t know him; she didn’t think so, anyways. But something about him made her feel sick and uneasy, like a parasite that clung to its host. She narrowed her eyes, searching her mind. She would have remembered someone like that, she was sure. But nothing quite came to mind. It was like a bad dream, just out of her reach. 

It occurred to her that it might have been because of the way Kirai had a small half smile as he bragged about himself. It was subtle, but it… Well. It was a lot more friendly than Kirai ever was with most kids.

She looked away, clenching her hands and thinking it over. After the event, Kirai came over, sitting beside her and setting his arm on his knees. “Kaya-chan, Darling! It feels like I haven’t talked to you all day! How are—”

“Who is that?” Kayaki interrupted him, frowning. Kirai blinked a few times. “Pardon?” 

“That kid you were talking to earlier. Who is it?” She sounded impatient. Kirai looked back behind him.

“Merce-san?” 

The name didn’t settle right with her, either; it was completely unfamiliar. “Yes.” 

“One of the other applicants. Dumb as a brick. Why?” 

“Just curious.” Kayaki crossed her arms, hugging herself. “How’d your round go, Toto-chan?” 

“I did great, of course.” He smirked. “As if there were any doubts. What about you? It looks bad on me if you do poorly, you know.” 

“I know. I did okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.” 

Kirai nodded. There was a small stretch of silence between them. Kayaki fiddled with her things. “...hey, you wanna sleepover after this, Toto-chan?” He considered it, nodding. “If you’re so desperate to have me over.” Kayaki smiled to herself. “Always.” 

The last event was a run, plain and simple. There weren’t actually many kids competing in this round; none of them looked particularly flashy, either. Kayaki knew that, just running, she would have trouble keeping up with any of them. Her quirk wasn’t going to be of any help; for all intents and purposes, she was going quirkless. 

Or was she? 

Kayaki had an idea. A stupid one that could have gotten her disqualified, but an idea nonetheless. 

When the siren went off, they all started off running. Kayaki verged her way towards the right, eventually drifting into the treeline. Once she was covered, she started slowing down. And down. She spotted the others, trying to overtake one another and tripping over obstacles. 

If she was any one else, Kayaki would have definitely been called out for going out of the bounds. But Kayaki wasn’t one to be noticed for breaking small, tiny rules. 

It was a boring walk, and waiting in the treeline was even more boring. She let herself cool off, watching the teacher check off people as they came up to her and claimed their time. 

After roughly thirty minutes, Unbreakable went over their list. 

“...Zuruko-chan? Has anyone seen Zuruko-chan?” 

Kayaki sped walked out in the clearing. Once she was halfway, she raised her hand. 

“I was here the whole time, Unbreakable-sensei!” 

They squinted at her. “How come I didn’t notice you?” Their voice was suspicious; as it should have been, really. Kayaki shrugged. 

“My quirk probably made you forget? I told you a while ago.” 

They scanned their checklist again, looking confused. “Oh. I guess it does say that’s your quirk, doesn’t it? I’m sorry, Kiddo.” 

Kayaki waved her hand. “It happens all the time.” 

“What was your time again?”

“19 minutes,” She replied smoothly. Not crazy, distinctly in the middle of the times. They wrote it on their list, nodding to themselves. “Make sure to stay here so I remember to write it down. Good luck.” 

“Thank you!” Kayaki smiled. 

She was done. Kayaki took a deep breath, waiting for Kirai so she could head home. He told her he felt pretty good about the whole thing, too. Kayaki was proud of them both. Maybe, she thought, things might just turn out after all.

---

Across Japan, in Osaka, a girl holds up a flyer in her hands. It’s advertising a hero school just off of the coast of the ocean. 

“Hey, hey! Look at this!” 

She points. Her brother comes over, brushing his fingertips over it. “That’s great, but I don’t know what it’s for.” 

“I wanted to scout it out, right? I was thinking of applying—”

He cut her off. “You? To a hero school?” 

“Shush! I thought it might be fun. Anyways, I went to sign up, and guess who I saw! Just guess?” 

“Who,” He said, sounding largely uninterested. 

“Yakizu-chan.” 

The air grew much, much darker.