September 30th, 2024. It was Monday, and the afternoon sun streamed through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the open textbooks and scattered papers. Rei sat at his desk, idly flipping through his notebook, the perfect grade on his recent test barely registering in his consciousness. Across the classroom, he caught Hinata's small, proud smile as she tucked her own A+ paper into her folder.

  Josuke slumped in his chair nearby, his face a mask of exaggerated suffering as he glared at his barely-passing grade. His uniform was as disheveled as always—shirt untucked, tie askew, hair sticking up in all directions from running his hands through it in frustration.

  "How do you do it?" Josuke groaned, tossing his test onto his desk with theatrical despair. "I studied with both of you, and you two aced it while I barely survived!"

  Before class was dismissed for lunch, their teacher—a stern woman in her fifties with salt-and-pepper hair pulled back in a tight bun—announced that since the Academy was now opening the trial to 16-year-olds, attendance would be taken for those planning to compete. "Submit your names by the end of the week," the teacher instructed, her voice carrying a subtle note of concern. "And please, consider carefully before you volunteer. This is not a decision to be made lightly." With that warning hanging in the air, class was dismissed.

  The cafeteria buzzed with excitement as students discussed the upcoming trial. Rei, Hinata, and Josuke found a table near the back, away from the noisiest groups.

  Josuke attacked his lunch with renewed vigor, talking between mouthfuls. "I'm definitely putting my name in. My family needs this—you know how tight money's been since Dad got hurt at the factory." His usual carefree demeanor slipped for just a moment, revealing something harder beneath.

  Hinata hesitated, picking at her lunch with downcast eyes. "I would compete, too... but I'm scared of battle." Her voice dropped as a memory flickered across her features—hiding behind Rei during the confrontation with Penguin, the acid smell, the screams still haunting her.

  Rei observed her quietly, noting how her shoulders hunched, how her fingertips trembled slightly against her chopsticks. "The weak should be protected by the strong," he stated, his tone matter-of-fact rather than comforting. "And you, Hinata... you're not ready for that kind of danger."

  Josuke nearly choked on his food. "Damn, Rei! You could at least pretend to be encouraging!" Despite his protest, there was amusement in his eyes. He turned to Hinata. "Don't listen to Mr. Sunshine here. You're plenty strong—just in different ways."

  Hinata's cheeks flushed pink, but surprisingly, she didn't seem offended by Rei's bluntness. There was something almost comforting in his honesty—no false encouragement, just simple truth.

  Walking through the bustling hallway toward their afternoon classes, Rei asked Josuke, "So, what's your concept?"

  Puffing up with pride, Josuke declared, "Temperature manipulation!" He demonstrated by touching the water fountain as they passed, making the metal frost over slightly. "I can change anything by exactly five degrees—hotter or colder, depending on what I want."

  Rei studied the frost with a critical eye. "And that's... useful?" His tone wasn't mocking, merely analytical, as if genuinely trying to understand the practical applications.

  Josuke deflated slightly. "Hey, it's more versatile than you think! I can freeze small water sources, cause distractions with temperature shifts, disable equipment... plus, I'm working on extending the range." He paused, enthusiasm returning. "Just wait—someday I'll be able to control the weather itself!"

  After lunch, Rei slipped out of school. The gates were unguarded, making it easy to leave unnoticed. As he strolled down a crowded street, his eyes caught a familiar figure—the hero from the Penguin incident, sprinting toward a cloud of thick smoke rising several blocks away. The hero's arm, which had been melted by acid just days ago, was now fully intact.

  Curiosity stirred in Rei's normally passive mind. It wasn't quite an emotion, more an echo of one—a primal instinct to pursue, to understand. He picked up his pace, easily catching up to the hero.

  "Who are you?" Rei demanded, his voice cutting through the ambient noise. "Where are you running, and what's your concept?"

  The hero's eyes widened in recognition beneath his half-mask, his jaw tightening with something between annoyance and unease. "Shinju," he replied curtly, his gaze flicking between Rei and the smoke ahead. "And I don't have time for civilians—there's an active villain attack ahead."

  Shinju didn't slow his pace. The look he gave Rei was sharp with memory—he hadn't forgotten how this seemingly ordinary teenager had handled Penguin. His metallic fingers flexed subtly, a nervous tell that betrayed the confidence his voice projected.

  "I said it's dangerous," he added, his tone hardening. "Go home, kid. Leave this to professionals." Despite his commanding words, something in his eyes flickered—uncertainty, perhaps even fear, quickly masked with professional indignation.

  Rei didn't respond, simply keeping pace with Shinju as they approached the chaotic scene. The street ahead had been transformed into a battlefield. Buildings were partially collapsed, cars overturned, with civilians fleeing in terror. The air was filled with dust and the acrid smell of destruction.

  At the frantic site, Shinju urgently ordered, "Now leave! The villain is here!"

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  From a distance, the villain unleashed a barrage of light beams toward them. The beams were brilliant, almost blinding—like concentrated sunlight warped into deadly weapons. They cut through the air with a high-pitched whine, leaving scorched paths in their wake.

  Shinju's body hardened into pure steel, his skin taking on a metallic sheen that reflected the sunlight in dazzling patterns. The transformation was complete in seconds—flesh becoming living metal.

  "State-shifting metal," Rei observed quietly, cataloging the information as Shinju charged toward the attacker.

  The villain's voice boomed across the battlefield, "The last hero who challenged me failed miserably—I will make quick work of everyone here!" The man was tall and gaunt, with skin that seemed to glow from within. His eyes emitted the same light as his attacks, and his hands were raised, directing the deadly beams with precise movements.

  The villain—Baku, a light projector with a 3-star threat rating—engulfed Shinju in a dome of shimmering light, then shattered it with a violent burst. For a heart-stopping moment, Rei feared Shinju was done for. But then, miraculously, Shinju's body melted into a liquid state and re-solidified into his normal shape.

  Before Shinju could launch another attack, Baku aimed a beam at Rei, which narrowly grazed his face. The heat was incredible, searing his skin even though it barely touched him.

  "Fool! Get out of here!" Shinju shouted, his voice strained between concentration and genuine concern. "He'll kill you without even trying!"

  Yet even as he warned Rei, Shinju's own movements betrayed a growing fatigue. His breathing was labored, the metal of his body rippling less smoothly with each transformation. His eyes darted desperately between Rei and Baku, calculating odds that seemed increasingly unfavorable.

  Baku laughed, taunting, "A close-range fighter like you won't stop me—my light requires no stamina! Eventually, your metal will fail, and I'll cook you from the inside out!" To emphasize his point, he summoned a barrage of light swords from the sky, raining them down on the gathered crowd.

  Shinju quickly moved among the people, sheltering as many as he could. With rapid determination, he melted his body and reconfigured himself into a protective shield.

  Taking advantage of the distraction, Rei dashed to a nearby stretch of pavement. With a powerful leap, he flipped a huge slab of concrete toward Baku. The makeshift projectile rotated through the air, casting shifting shadows as it approached the villain.

  Baku fired a concentrated beam at the slab, shattering it into countless pieces. "Petty tactics will not work on me," Baku sneered as the debris scattered, forming a temporary cloud of dust that obscured vision.

  As the rubble rained down, Baku redirected his light beam at Shinju, who was exposed while trying to safeguard the civilians. In that crucial moment, Rei executed a daring maneuver: he dove toward the street, using the broken slab as a diversion. With swift determination, he dug into the asphalt and, to everyone's shock, managed to drag Baku underground through a narrow fissure.

  Now face-to-face with the villain, Rei observed him closely. Baku's entire form seemed to pulse with contained light, but Rei noticed a pattern—when Baku fired a beam, his arm glowed red—and until that color faded back to normal, he was unable to shoot further beams. There was a cooling period, a weakness in his apparently unstoppable power.

  Shinju, grateful yet indignant, glared at Rei. "You have no license—why are you interfering? I should arrest you for this contempt!" His voice carried genuine authority, but there was something else beneath it—a wounded pride, a man who had been trained all his life to be a hero, now rescued by a teenager.

  Unfazed, Rei shot back in his cool, unyielding tone, "What is your concept, Shinju? How did you become a hero? And how did you fix your arm?"

  Before Shinju could respond, they were momentarily distracted by the rapid-fire questions from bystanders. The civilians surrounded them, curiosity temporarily overcoming their fear, phones raised to capture the aftermath of the battle.

  Hidden in the ground, with only his neck exposed, Baku seized the opportunity. His face contorted with rage as he attempted to shoot a beam of light from his mouth, aimed directly at Rei.

  In that split second, a sudden shift occurred in Rei—his dead-black eyes turned a sharp, piercing blue, just like when the stranger had visited him at home. The transformation was instantaneous and dramatic—not just his eyes, but his entire demeanor changed. He stood straighter, moved with greater precision, and an aura of power seemed to emanate from him.

  Shinju froze, metal rippling across his skin in response to the sudden pressure in the air. "What the hell?" he muttered, genuine fear flickering across his features for the first time. He took an instinctive step back, professional caution warring with primal self-preservation.

  Fueled by the unexpected transformation, Rei rushed toward Baku's head, determined to shut his mouth before the beam could escape. His hand clamped down on Baku's jaw with inhuman strength, forcing it closed.

  The beam exploded inside Baku's mouth, causing his head to burst in a violent flash of light and ending his threat permanently. The explosion sent a shock wave rippling outward, knocking back the gathered civilians and sending debris flying in all directions.

  Shinju, with a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes, remarked, "You've done it now, kid—using your concept in public is definitely worth arresting." Despite his words, there was unmistakable relief in his voice. He had been outmatched, and they both knew it. Yet beneath that relief lurked something darker—jealousy, perhaps, or fear of what this unlicensed youth could do so effortlessly.

  Almost immediately, a massive headache struck Rei. His brilliant blue eyes dimmed back to their usual, lifeless black as he tried to explain, "I... I saved your life..." but the pain overwhelmed him and he passed out. The world went dark as he collapsed onto the broken pavement, the sounds of approaching sirens the last thing he heard.

  When Rei awoke, he was in his modest apartment, dazed and confused. The familiar ceiling came into focus slowly, and he realized he was lying on his bed, still in his school uniform, now dirty and torn from the battle. On his desk lay a note:

  "Calm down. This is your one free pass from being arrested, but I like your quick thinking. I'll see you next week."

  Half in a daze, Rei concluded that the note must be from Mr. Haikito, though the handwriting didn't match the elegant script from the previous note. Glancing at his phone, he saw a text from Hinata stating he had after-school suspension tomorrow for not returning to class.

  Later that evening, Rei slumped onto his bed and switched on the TV. The small screen flickered to life, casting blue-white light across his darkened apartment. On the news, Shinju was being hailed as the sole hero who defeated Baku. The reporter stood at the scene of the battle, gesturing to the destruction behind her, praising Shinju's bravery and quick thinking. There was no mention of Rei's involvement, no acknowledgment of his role in saving countless lives.

  Rei fell back on his bed and muttered with bitter detachment, "He never answered my questions... what a loser." Despite his flat tone, something new had stirred within him—a flicker of indignation, perhaps the beginning of another emotion taking root in the vessel that had been empty for so long.