Koji Koda

My name was Koji Koda. I looked a little strange, with hard lumps protruding from my face that made me look like a humanoid rhinoceros, so I didn't have many friends.

I liked talking to people, and whenever I heard others talking, I wanted to join in. But I didn't have the courage to speak to them, and when some people came to talk to me, I was too shy to say anything. All I could do was watch as my classmates' impression of me grew strange, until I became the kind of invisible person nobody would miss.

Maybe it was because I always turned to animals whenever I felt sad, but my ability was Anivoice. I could communicate with animals and command and control them within a certain range.

My father said my Quirk was powerful, and I longed to be part of the world of Pro Heroes. Could I make human friends if I became a hero?

So I took the U.A. High School entrance exam.

It wasn't really worth mentioning, but I was pretty strong. With the birds' help, I found lots of one-point robots and destroyed them with the iron rod I'd brought. Even though they were only worth one point each, I earned quite a few points.

I was sure I could pass and study at U.A. High School, and before I knew it, I'd made my way deep into the town.

I saw it—a giant robot, slowly emerging from a factory dozens of meters tall. Its eyes fixed on me as if they had a soul.

Run! I have to run!

I threw everything aside and turned, scrambling away on my hands and feet, but when I looked back, the robot was still following me!

I fled into a building with an open door and hid in a corner of a room, closing my eyes and holding my head. Fear had taken over my heart, and my brain could no longer think. All I could do was pray that someone would save me!

Can someone save me? Can anyone defeat that monster?

My Quirk was still active, and a crow kept reporting back to me—the robot hadn't left. It was still nearby!

I longed and prayed and hoped that a hero would come save me!

Perhaps heaven had heard my prayers. With the sound of glass shattering, a figure tumbled across the floor twice and staggered to his feet.

I slowly opened my eyes. A boy stood before me, the very same attendant I'd met at the movie theater, a seemingly ever-present languor in his eyes.

He watched me with a somewhat cold gaze and said, "You're the one with the Quirk that controls animals, right?"

I nodded timidly, a little doubtful. Was this person really here to save me?

"Good, that makes things easy. Gather every animal within your range right now."

"I..." I was about to ask why, but his expression frightened me, and I didn't dare say another word. I gathered the animals around me that I could reach.

Although he'd said every animal, I'd been using my ability for a long time, and only two crows and a colony of ants answered the call.

I saw a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes and asked timidly, "Isn't that enough?"

"No, it's enough." He reached out and grabbed the two crows. Golden lightning flashed across his hands, and to my surprise, I found I could no longer communicate with them, as though they'd lost their souls.

My ability let me communicate with animals, and even I couldn't keep controlling them when they were in danger. But the person in front of me seemed to have wiped out their souls with his own will, turning them into puppets!

"Oh, right, you can leave now. Someone's holding that robot back." Holding the two crows with his back to me, he paused. "Besides, it'll be scrap soon."

I had no desire to resist, so I left him behind and ran outside. I'd barely made it through the entrance when the robot's enormous shadow fell over me!

The sudden shock sent me falling on my backside. I looked up in fear and saw the robot behind the building in front of me, its square steel head staring at me.

Once I steadied myself, I realized it wasn't looking at me, but at a group of people wreaking havoc beneath it. I didn't know why, but I understood that I seemed to be out of danger.

I took a long detour to the town's main gate. A group of people had gathered there too, roughly as many as were fighting the robot.

I didn't ask what had happened. I just walked silently to a corner and glanced at the teacher on the lighthouse. Teacher Mic looked at his watch and announced loudly, "Two minutes left in the exam!"

I crouched down and waited for time to pass, holding my head and blaming myself. Why had I only known to run when I encountered that big guy? Why hadn't I had the courage to charge in and fight him? Why could I only hide and wait to be saved?

Someone like me could never become a hero anyway, right? It'd be so much better to run an ordinary shop with Dad. Why did I want to be a hero...?

"Guys, we probably can't take this thing down in just a few minutes, can we?"

"Someone's hurt... This is bad! It wants to bury us all here!"

My eyes flew open. The faces of the people who had been fighting bravely just moments ago were filled with fear. It was an emotion I knew well, an expression that often appeared when facing an opponent you couldn't possibly defeat.

After failing to hit anyone with several attacks, the super robot chose to ignore the people below. As though it had a mind of its own, it turned its arm, shaped its hand like a blade, and chopped at a building beside it.

Perhaps the building hadn't been made with high-strength materials because it had been built in a hurry. It quickly gave way under the strain and was brutally chopped in half!

The people who had been attacking without restraint were suddenly at a disadvantage. They scrambled to dodge irregular chunks of building material raining down from above. Dust filled the air, turning the area into a disaster zone in an instant!

The people standing beside me were just as bewildered as I was. Those who had been planning to wait for time to run out were growing restless. Should I do something now?

Without much hesitation, a frog-like girl charged into the disaster zone on all fours. Her tongue shot out like a whip and pulled an injured person from beneath a piece of reinforced concrete. A pink-skinned girl cried, "How did it come to this?!" and followed in desperation. She brought her hands together and sprayed something like corrosive liquid from them, allowing someone trapped beneath a large rock to get up. A plain-looking man shot tape from his elbow, making a simple fixed pulley to lift a heavy object...

What should I do? Is there anything I can do?

"I don't want to be unable to do anything." A line from Alien vs. Predator, a movie I'd seen a few days ago, suddenly came to mind. When he was young, the Pro Hero Predator, who had no Quirk at all, was scolded after helping someone. Smiling through his tears, he said to his childhood friend Alien, who had stood up for him, "Even if I don't have any power, I still want to do something."

"Aaaah, I want to be a hero for once too!" I ran toward the disaster zone with tears streaming down my face. It was true that I'd always been saved by others, but that was no reason for me not to help anyone else!

I stimulated the nerves in my brain and called out to the animals nearby that I could reach-mantises, rats, sparrows, and others-sending them out to search separately for the injured and anyone who needed help. Then I ran to them myself and used my considerable strength to help them out of danger.

Yes, maybe I really was good for nothing, but surely there was still something I could do.

This was my small contribution, from me, Koji Koda. Please accept it.