Tree

"speech" 'thoughts'

7 - Tree

'It's official name is Yaoyorozu Incorporated.'

Tsuko's words echoed throughout my mind, a clear discrepancy between the silence that filled my room.

After that talk I had with Tsuko 40 minutes ago, I went back into my room and started working out once again.

I had found out a few important things during our talk, the first being that the party at the Yaoyorozu's will take place in a week, and that Kio will return in a few days from now, which aligns with the second thing I learned,

When Kio returns from the business trip, all of us will go shopping and get new suits and dresses tailored to prepare for the party.

It is then when Tsuko will take me to the owner of the jewelry store–where they bought the necklace– and where I should hopefully be able to find out more about the necklace.

Beyond that, there is the party to discuss the collaboration with Yaoyorozu Incorporated.

When Tsuko bought me and Nejire a computer, which was currently in a secluded corner of my room, I did some research on it, searching for any clues to find out how many years I had left until the main plot of My Hero Academia started.

After reading through a few articles, I found that All Might and All for One had their battle about 4 years ago. In the anime, it was stated that All Might and All for One fought their seemingly decisive battle 6 years from the start of the series, which means that everything apart from myself should be in line with the timeline in the anime.

Considering those facts, both me and Nejire are 2 years older than every one of the main cast in Class 1-A, all of them should still be mere infants right now, which also means that I will possibly be seeing a 1 year old Momo Yaoyorozu during that party.

Momo Yaoyorozu, a very popular character amongst the My Hero Academia community, though it is partly due to her beautiful and graceful looks, she is also one of the most important characters to the plot, her presence seen throughout most of the story arcs in the series.

Although she was never one of my favorite characters, I admired how she wasn't arrogant and egotistic like how you'd expect other children with her background to be, but I guess the same could be said for Nejire as well. My bias against nobles– ahem, rich people is still rooted deep within me it seems, the aftermath of a situation in my previous life.

Back to the matter at hand, I was interested in seeing what kind of people Momo's parents are like, most likely decent people considering Momo's kind mannerisms, but there can be exceptions.

With all of that said, these events will take place at least a few days from now, and there is nothing I can do at this time except to further nurture and train my body in preparation for when I awaken my power.

And train I did.

Just like that, 4 days passed by quietly like the falling of a snowflake, a gift from the cold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I sat on a couch residing in the living room of this opulent and extravagant mansion, I took in its sheer grandiose and size, marveling at the sight of the towering structure, embellished in fancy decor.

I turned my head to look outside a sizable window, the grey clouds in the sky alluding to an icy and snowy future, witnessed in the graceful, and almost mystical descension of snowflakes. It was winter. The season I was was the most familiar with, for one reason or another.

Turning my head back to the living room, I saw Nejire sitting right next to me on the couch, her eyes sparkling in excitement, she was playing with a small cylindrical glass object that held a perpetually spinning spiral inside it, Tsuko said it involved one of their new inventions at HypeTech, but I doubt that's all there is to it.

I turned my head to face upward, and saw two figures just across from me and Nejire.

Tsuko sat there along with Kio, who had just returned from the business trip a few hours ago, talking about the party which was gonna be held at the Yaoyorozu's place of residence.

"Hey Hyrus! Come with me for a minute." He got up from the couch.

I nodded and followed him out the room, leaving Nejire who was fascinated by the cylinder and Tsuko humming the sound of a song only she knew.

I slowly trailed behind Kio, walking through the extensive hallways of the mansion, silence walking with us.

As we turned the left corner at the end of the hallway and entered another one, Kio started slowing down.

'This should be the halls leading to the garden.' I thought to myself, observing the increase of biodiversity in the vegetation outside through the windows.

Eventually, we reached a doorless exit, the light from outside shrouding the wondrous and mystical diverse greenery that lay beyond, away from our sight.

The moment we walked through the doorway, we were greeted by a view that could only be found in stories, yet here it was in front of us, so much more than mere ink written on the skin of the things they want to portray.

In reality, the only piece that should be written here are poems, for the lesser by the greats.

It was a huge clearing. Trees, fruits, vegetables shrubs, herbs, grasses and flowers of all kinds lay all around, planted, potted, or hanged, they were all there. The sun's rays touched upon countless leaves, the shade welcoming those who waited for their turn to be shined upon, the ambiance was simply ethereal, even more so than some of the forests that I've witnessed in my previous magical world.

To contrast the overwhelming nature, white bricks were laid in paths, branching out in various directions, each one promising a different marvelous adventure, the path in front of us leading to an even more grand fountain, the water that spouted from it balanced the atmosphere in the small forest we call a garden.

However, even with all the incredible vegetation and nature around me, something especially caught my eye. A tree.

A tree that stood out in this extraordinary view, a giant among it's seedlings, a cherry blossom tree.

Visually, it looked to be an ordinary sakura tree, but for an unknown reason it drew my gaze more than anything else, Kio's as well. Something was special about this tree, but I don't think I'll ever know why.

An unknown amount of time passed, both Kio and I lost in the scenery, leaning on the fence of the porch.

"Hyrus.." Kio started, pulling me out of my stupor.

"This garden, what do you think made it possible?"

"What do you mean?" I asked back, confused by the sudden inquiry.

Kio chuckled, confusing me even further. "What season do you think it was outside?" He asked with a smile.

My eyes widened as I comprehended his words. "It was winter..." I looked back at the sun dipped garden, not a single trace of snow within it.

"That's right, it was winter, and it still is, only outside. Why do you think it's sunny in our garden?" He asked again.

After thinking for a few seconds, I responded. "I think it has something to do with your research on energy in HypeTech."

"Smart boy. You are right, it involves our energy research in HypeTech, which you will learn, if you decide to someday work at HypeTech as well, we couldn't ask for a better successor to take over the company, but that's for you to decide."

"I know it might be too soon for me to tell you about these things, but you are smart, smarter than you let on."

"I've had a feeling you were special, and you are. I know, Tsuko told me."

'So she did tell him, I wonder what he thinks about it.' I thought to myself.

"You even already have secrets you can't tell your parents, going through your rebellion phase so soon are we?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

"Anyways, like I was saying, your future depends entirely on the answer to my question. Come with me." He started walking through the path until we reached the fountain.

Admiring it's form for a few moments, we went around it and we were faced with numerous branching brick paths.

Just like I had suspected, Kio took the path in the middle. Walking down it until we reached the end, the tree that I found to be special stood in front of both of us, towering over us like we were mere ants.

The falling petals from the cherry blossom tree only made the garden more beautiful, the ones already laid on the ground enhanced the welcoming aura that it provided with the embrace of shade.

Kio took a step forward, placing a hand on the bark of the tree.

"This tree here was planted just ten years ago, the same day HypeTech began to flourish. The seed was taken from my father—your grandfather's—tree. The reason for its rapid growth, this unique cherry blossom, remains a mystery to us and every generation before." He paused, observing the delicate petals.

"You see, life is much like a tree. At birth, you are a mere seed planted in the earth. As you grow older, the seed becomes a sapling, and so on."

"Your tree right now is but a sapling, at the stage where you begin to grow branches. With each lesson learned, each experience lived, branches form. These branches might represent hobbies, interests, even fleeting moments. Some branches may bear fruit, while others may only grow leaves, offering no fruit but clarity instead."

"So the question is, what tree do you aspire to be?" He continued thoughtfully.

"My father's tree was a steadfast pine, offering leaves and pines to nurture the next generation. Mine, evidently, is a Sakura tree, beautiful, fruitful yet the fruit is never eaten."

"I am Kio Hado, CEO of HypeTech, partner of Tsuko Hado, and most importantly, the father of two children. That is me. That is the fruits that I bore. That is my tree. What will yours be?"

"What do you want to be Hyrus Hado?"

His final words rang in my head, a compelling speech he delivered. It was something alot of people fail to answer, yet in my case, there was no need for extended contemplation.

My tree was already fully grown, my branches have already beared countless fruits, and my leaves have already planted many seeds to assist the development of the future generation, my 2nd death didn't change that, it only picked me apart from it, yet my roots remained the same. The only mystery to me, the name of my tree, it didn't look like any other tree, it was cold, using the frost to protect it's warmth.

I wanted to be what I wished to be and something I already have been. Though my perception of it has changed through the years, I never stopped being it.

"I want to be...."

"A hero."

A few seconds of silence passed before Kio chuckled with a gentle smile. "You got it."

He walked past me and patted my shoulder.

"Come on, let's go Hyrus. We have to go get some suits made."