Starting Line 1.3

When all of Kenshi's senses came back to him, he quickly lunged for the toilet and let loose all of the contents of his stomach.

His vision swam, his throat burned, his ears popped, and his nose stung as the putrid smell of thrown up Katsudon entered his nostrils.

He failed.

Again.

Kenshi had promised himself that before UA, he would do everything in his power to completely take away all five of his senses so he could prepare himself for when he needed to use it in a combat situation.

However, no matter how much he stood there with nothing more than his sense of touch, he could never pull the trigger and take it away. It felt like he would lose himself if he did, be drowned in nothingness and forever be mentally scarred.

Kenshi had no idea what would happen to him, but after being deftly aware of what missing four of your senses did to someone personally, he was afraid of what five can do.

A coward, he was just a coward.

"I will do it." He spoke to himself as he leaned against the bathtub while flushing away the lunch his grandma painstakingly made. It was a form of self punishment for not completing the task, and now he would have to either eat convenience store food or whip together something light from the ingredients in the fridge.

Although, he had never been good at cooking, so he was not looking forward to it.

Gaining back control of himself, he staggered to his feet and proceeded to brush his teeth thoroughly. Double checking the stench was gone, Kenshi trudged to his room, shutting the door softly since he heard his grandma soundly asleep on the couch.

It was a Sunday night, so he could not stay up too late. He made his way to his bed, plopping down and taking a moment to just look around his room.

The farside had a tall shelf of books, mostly ranging from self help, finance, and nutritional information. There were only a scant few fictional books, as Kenshi had never been a fan of fantasies or sci-fi.

A single poster hung to the left of the book shelf. The contents were a backdrop of yellow with a man swinging from a roof with a gray cloth while wearing his signature goggles. In a futuristic sharp edge font, there were the words "EraserHead".

It was the single hero merchandise he owned.

There was a globe on a small desk, a map on the opposite wall with places Kenshi would like to one day visit, his workout equipment of various weights, and a pile of clothes in the corner he would begrudgingly need to wash soon.

It was nothing special, but most of his time was spent in here, within his thoughts, perfecting his fighting stances, increasing his flexibility, and doing light weight training.

Kenshi was very much reserved, quiet, stoic, and hard working.

However, he was also currently bored out of his mind.

The house was quiet most times since it was just his grandma, and to no surprise he never really had any friends. He also had never found any attachment to online entertainment. He did have a smartphone, but there were only three contacts and a hero news app he checked weekly.

"A walk wouldn't hurt." He thought aloud to himself.

Although, the way Kenshi went about going for one was quite odd. The window opened as he perched on its sill to wrap his bandages around his eyes.

Not giving it much thought to his method of exit, he hopped out and shut the window behind him, hands in his black hoodie pockets as he walked into the dark streets of night.

While he went, he let his mind go without any reigns, some heartwarming memories while others were of his times at school. His grades were fine, his lunches were quiet as no one bothered to try and break the wall he put up, and all but the few squabbles from Bakugou and Midoriya it was safe to say his life was relatively mundane.

Although on some nights, ones like these, he would change up his boring routine.

Especially so as he boarded a train, his senses and a small peak from his bandages all but enough to notice the things around him.

Teenagers in his cart smoking in a corner as they joked and taunted one another, a man with deep blue skin drinking from a bottle that was clearly filled with something unsavory as he occasionally nodded off, and a man in a suit sporting a glare that could kill as he stared at his phone while saying stuff about 'getting his revenge' as his hands tightened into fist.

Kenshi made sure not to judge from appearances, but it just so happened to be late nights like these when the scum of the city would show themselves. They would come to vacant street corners for drug deals, stick to alleys to murder those unaware, and break windows to steal from the unsuspecting.

Musutafu was a place welcoming much of the latter when the sun settled, the only other places worse than the city were Hosu and Tokyo. Even then, this place had plenty to compete with them.

Kenshi was pulled from his thoughts as he could practically feel the gazes of the smoking teenagers linger on him, so in retaliation he rightfully stared back, causing them to nod and continue being obnoxiously loud.

The trip was not a long one as he simply wanted to go deeper into the city, his ears constantly on the lookout for anyone who might be following him or possible situations he would like to avoid as he got off the train.

Without much hesitation, he walked along the streets, passing by a district lit up by neon lights wherever they could fit them, entered rowdy areas where bars and twenty four hour restaurants resided, and sneakily danced around the homeless camps and the occasional people just looking for a reason to let loose.

He stopped in an inconspicuous dead end alleyway, not needing to even use his sight as he heard the rattling of uncared for metal belonging to the fire escape above him. Taking a few steps back, Kenshi ran forward, planted a firm step on the brick wall of the apartment complex, and leapt up just high enough to catch the edge of the railing.

He pulled himself up, making his way stealthily up to the top of the fire escape where he leapt again to let himself onto the roof. It was covered in gravel, and it crunched underneath his soles as he walked to the far side, hopping on the lip of the building and letting his legs dangle aimlessly.

Kenshi exhaled, knowing his breath would be visible from the full moon's light and the chilly night air that accompanied it.

He then honed his focus, listening in on the world around him as his senses heightened to their maximum.

Once they did, a frown graced Kenshi's face, and it took every ounce of his strength to not drop down from the third story and run to stop whatever was happening.

But he held firm, the screams for help, the laughter from rowdy bunches, the grunts and growls, the sounds of punches and kicks, the shattering of glass, rage field shrieks, and cries from victims who had lost all hope.

Kenshi soaked up every inch of it, and jtfelt like a cold splash to his face while being a stark reminder of how horrible the world truly was. There could not be heroes everywhere, and in the future he could not save everyone, so it came as a bitter pill that people were bound to suffer.

Kenshi knew what he was signing up for, and he also knew he could never become a hero who basked in the limelight.

No, he would be an underground hero, and he would make sure to save as many people as he could from hurting like the how people were now.

Kenshi was always a man of his word, so he swore, he swore to himself to change this city.

As he continued to listen to the happenings of Musutafu, he also faintly caught the sound of cloth moving rapidly, the sounds of almost eerily silent footsteps of someone stepping on the same roof behind him, and the steady breathing that came with it.

Kenshi would have turned, but he could feel the slight vibrations of the person's calm breathing, which was the opposite of someone who might be anticipating a kill. He could also gauge from how the wind slowly crept along that the person behind him's trajectory was four feet to his right.

So, he allowed them to grow closer, acting none the wiser but still ready to fight if it suddenly came down to it.

"Horrible isn't it." The voice was gruff and deep.

A man.

Kenshi showed no emotion on his face, still facing forward as he decided to entertain whoever had decided to grace him with their presence.

"I find it rather disgusting that these people have the capacity for such actions."

"Hmm." A grunt of confirmation. "Do you plan to do something about it then?"

Kenshi did not hesitate to answer, "Yes, one day I will do my best to rid this city of filth, save as many of them as possible, and make a worthwhile change that won't fade."

"Oh?" The man said in obvious amusement. "A lot of conviction for just some kid."

"It's all I have, so might as well have a lot of it no?" Kenshi asked, wondering why he was so talkative tonight.

"Plausible, but you can't let it consume you, because if you lose it what's left? Nothing, I can answer it for you."

"What are you suggesting then, I waste my time on friends and enjoying myself? Would I give up the hours I could help people to satisfy my desires?"

There was a long silence, and Kenshi noticed that the man decided to also take a seat from the sound he made by plopping down.

"Are you not people? You seem to describe yourself as some machine that's only purpose is to save people, is that truly what you want, or are you guilty of something, paying back a debt that eats away at you slowly?"

Kenshi scoffed, "I don't need therapy from a random stranger who stalked a kid all the way up to the roof, so as nicely as possible, don't even bother."

"Fair, but is it not the essence of a hero to meddle when they are not supposed to?"

Once again, a quietness settled in the air as Kenshi let his words soak into him, thinking about it carefully before he even decided to respond.

"I guess you are right…" Kenshi could feel his throat strain like he swallowed razors, and if not for the bandages he was sure his eyes would be watering. "I owe it to her to continue where she left off."

"Do you also owe living a soulless life of only saving people, and not dedicating anything for yourself to her also?"

Kenshi grit his teeth, anger he rarely ever let get to him bubbling in his throat as he practically hissed, "Shut up, you know nothing."

"True, my apologies."

Kenshi let the rage in him fade, exhaling the breath he was holding and swallowing the lump in his throat, "Apology accepted."

"Although you are just a kid, probably around fourteen or fifteen, you will have a lot to learn about this world, and by what you seem to want to do when you get older, you will indeed do so. Just don't sacrifice everything you have, live a little. I wish I spent more time with my friend, but now he is gone and it's too late."

Kenshi could feel regret with each word in the last sentence, his curiosity rising a little as he lifted the bandage to take a look at who he had been talking to the entire time.

Once he got a glimpse, he quickly pulled his bandages down and focused on the street below as he spoke, "Your words hold some merit, I will think about them."

There was a small beep, and the man clicked his tongue in obvious annoyance, "I got things to do, just be careful coming out at night, someone your age might get hurt."

"Understood." Kenshi said, not wanting to take up any more of the man's time.

After his words, there was the sound of cloth shifting in the air, and the presence to his right was gone, Kenshi now alone as he could not help but give a rare smile.

It was time to go home, but before he did, he made sure to thank the man no matter if he was here or not.

"Thank you," Kenshi got up to leave. "Thank you EraserHead."