Ch.23

That night I couldn't sleep at all, as I just stared up at the ceiling contemplating everything that happened to me. Not even realizing it, it was morning and the nurse brought in my breakfast. I just sat there staring at the ceiling, then several hours passed and I hear several familiar voices outside my room. Entering my room is my closest friends Shota, Hizashi, and Nemuri. I see their parents in the hallway talking with my Uncle, letting my friends enter the room to talk with me by ourselves. Nemuri jumped on my bed and hugged me, though I just patted her back half hearted. While Shota and Hizashi stood by my bed with complex looks of sadness.

"We saw what happened on the news, we saw your Uncle fighting that Masked man. Then we heard from your Uncle when he called us yesterday about what happened with you and... your family," Nemuri says to me with worry and her voice becomes very quiet at the end. Shota and Hizashi just nod their heads agreeing with Nemuri, still looking at me in sadness. I just sat there in silence as I didn't know what to say and I no longer felt anything except extreme anger for the man.

"How are you feeling?" Hizashi asks me after a few moments of silence and seeing me not talk. Though Shota and Nemuri wince at his question, while also shooting him glares too.

"You don't–" Hizashi is about to say seeing the looks from Shota and Hizashi.

"I'm fine..... I no longer feel anything, like my emotions have been suppressed. I only feel anger and contempt for the man.... I will make him suffer," I say to them cutting Hizashi off while saying the last part with utter hatred in my voice. They all look at me unsure of what to say or do.

"Your Uncle said you were badly hurt.... Are you sure you're ok?" Nemuri asks me now standing beside my bed with Shota and Hizashi.

Without saying anything, I pull down my hospital gown showing my upper body and the scar over my heart. Seeing the scar they all wince and Shota opens his mouth to say something but closes it soon after, not speaking. For the next few minutes, we sat there in silence as I fixed my hospital gown. Their parents enter the room and give me their condolences. After just nodding my head at them, they all stand in there awkwardly before saying goodbye to me as I did not feel like talking.

An hour after my friends and their parents left, my Uncle came back into my room. He was still favoring one side showing his injury is worse than he says it is. Walking over to my bed he grabs a chair nearby sitting at my bedside. We just sit there in silence looking out the window in my room for a few minutes.

"Young Akihiko..... The doctors say they will discharge you later today. I will be here for a few more days as... as they still have some tests to run on me. Your parents made me your legal guardian.... If you want you can live with me—" my Uncle begins to say with breaths in between his sentences as he looks to be in pain from his injury still.

"No... No, I want to remain in my home. I just want to be alone for a while. I need to think...think about what I want to do in the future," I say while looking out the window and cutting off my Uncle.

"I... I understand. Then I will have a friend take you to your home.... Though as your guardian I will be stopping by more frequently to check on you," my Uncle says with a deep sigh and then pats my shoulder once before leaving my room.

After another couple hours of the doctor and nurses asked me a few more questions. They then discharge me from the hospital, I then walked outside with clothes that Shota's mom brought for me to change into. There was a car there waiting for me and I see someone I recognized, my Uncle's old teacher from U.A. Gran Torino.

"Akihiko, it has been some time since I've last seen you. I'm sorry for your loss. Your Uncle told me what happened and asked me to take you home," Gran Torino says to me getting out of his car. I just nod my head silently as I enter the car, the rest of the drive we sat in silence until we arrived at my home.

"Your friend's parents cleaned up the place before you came back," Gran Torino says to me as I figured the home would be a mess from the police investigation and kidnappers. Surprisingly it was looking as normal as it could now. I just nod my head and get out of the car heading inside.

"I just want to tell you one more thing! They caught the woman who sold your family out….. She is going to jail for a long time.... I know what it is like to lose those you love…..if you ever need to talk, just call me," Gran Torino says to me after I get out of the car and hands me a card with his personal phone number on it. I nod my head at him and wave goodbye as he drives away, but on the inside, I feel so much anger after he mentioned Sensei Haga.

Walking inside my home I instantly feel the emptiness hit me, reminding me much of how I feel now. I walk upstairs looking at my parent's empty room and the room meant for my future little sister. I go to my room and lay on my bed, soon after all my emotions come flooding back as I cry myself to sleep. The only feeling of comfort was my wings wrapped around me and my golden fire feeling like a hug from my mother, who I will never see again. Waking up the next day I sit down in the kitchen having poured myself a bowl of cereal, seems my friend's parents restocked my house with food.

After eating I sit down on my couch and turn on the news, I see the story of my Uncle fighting the masked man. I feel an overwhelming amount of hatred flood me as I see the masked man on TV. I'm going to practice it now every day regardless of anyone's approval, but I would need equipment and a safe place to practice. I need to become as strong as I can if I'm going to get my revenge. If that man can even injure my Uncle or almost kill him from the looks of the fight, I need to surpass my Uncle in power. Turning the TV off, I pull out the number from Gran Torino and call it.

"Hello, this is Sorahiko Torino," I hear Gran Torino's voice answer the phone.

"It's me, Akihiko Yagi, can you help me?" I say with no emotion in my voice and get right to the point.

"Oh! Akihiko! What did you need?" Gran Torino says to me with surprise at me calling him the next day already.

"I heard you taught my Uncle when he was in U.A. I need help learning more about my quirk and testing its abilities. I need to become stronger, I was hoping you could help me," I say to him with conviction now in my voice. He goes silent for a few seconds before responding to me.

"Can I come over? I want to talk with you before I agree to this request," Gran Torino says to me.

"Sure, when can you be here?" I say with some impatience.

"I'll be there in an hour," Gran Torino says to me and I just say 'ok' before hanging up. I go upstairs to shower and get ready for hopefully some training.

Once I finished getting ready I had about twenty minutes before he would arrive if he got here exactly in an hour. Though I just sat down on the couch, now that my mind has cleared up slightly after gaining control over my emotions again. I can feel I've changed and I noticed that my body has changed too. Like something inside me was kick started before it was meant to start. I can feel a new sense of power in my body and I feel like I've grown maybe an inch or two too in the last few days. Making me maybe 6'(183cm) at fourteen years old and my muscles look more defined now too. Snapping me from my thoughts I hear a knock at the door.

"Akihiko, good to see you again. May I come in?" Gran Torino asks me after I answer the door and see him. I nod my head and gesture for him to enter.

"Did you want anything to eat or drink?" I ask him after he sits down on the couch and I remember mom always telling me to treat guests well.

"I'm fine, thank you. Though I assume you want to practice your quirk to get stronger and then revenge?" Gran Torino says to me after sitting down and getting right to the point. I knew lying wouldn't help me, plus even if he didn't help me I'd figure something else out.

"Yes, I need to get stronger.... I would like revenge very much, but since they are in prison I know revenge against them is impossible... right now," I say to him and grit my teeth at the end of my statement. He just nods his head listening to me and becomes silent for a few minutes after hearing me.

"I will help teach you, on one condition. You will not do anything to harm or kill another while being my student. After you graduate from U.A. then what you do next is no longer under my control," Gran Torino says to me with a look in his eye determined to teach me and I can tell he wants to guide me from vengeance. Though we both gain from this, I gain a teacher who can help me learn my quirk better and he can try to make me a hero. I nod my head agreeing with his terms, he then smiles at me.

"Good, then come with me. We are going to a friend's gym that lets heroes test, practice and improve their quirks. As my student I can get you in there, but only when I'm with you. No, practicing your quirk without my guidance, I don't want my first apprentice to get hurt," Gran Torino says to me as we get in his car. I turn to him slightly surprised to hear him.

"You talk like I'm getting into U.A. for certain and becoming a hero," I say as I look at him.

"I know for sure you will get into U.A., you have to determination and ability to get in. Plus after my guidance you will be a shoo-in," Gran Torino says to me with a smirk at the end. I just nod my head accepting what he said.

Arriving outside a local gym that seems older and slightly run down. We enter the gym and see a handful of people working out. There appears to be a middle-aged man around the same age as Gran Torino, at the counter by the gym entrance. Seeing Gran Torino the man perks up a bit, then sees me looking at us with a raised eyebrow.

"Thought the big guy was the last one you were gonna mentor," the man says as we enter the gym while eyeing me slightly.

"Guess not, this young man though is gonna be the last kid I help become a hero. I'm getting too old for this," Gran Torino says to the man who just chuckles and nods his head. I just silently watch their interaction waiting for Gran Torino to help teach me. Gran Torino then motions for me to follow him further into the gym, the man at the counter just goes back to reading his magazine.