Starting Line 1.1

"What's your quirk Kuraka-kun?"

Kenshi stopped reading his book, which was quite surprising seeing as how he had a white set of bandages wrapped around the middle part of his face.

"Come again?" He asked, noting that three of his classmates stood at his desk in a half circle.

He also took into account that most of the others in the classroom were also listening closely, wanting to know more about their mysterious classmate who has spoken no less than a hundred words since school started.

Well, most everyone, as there was an exception for a certain two people. One green haired male was frantically scribbling in a notebook with the number seven on it while in his own little world. And the other was a blonde wild haired explosion boy was spouting nonsense to three of his already devoted followers.

Two weeks had passed since the first year of junior high started, and for the most part everyone was seemingly normal but those too.

A quirkless shy kid who mumbled constantly, and an arrogant asshole who thought the world revolved around him and him alone.

Polar opposites, and thankfully on the other side of the classroom were Kenshi never had to interact with them. He much preferred the silence, or at least close enough to it, over having to listen to them any day.

He also loved a good book, some baby carrots he always had packed in a zippy bag in his pocket, and not a single person who had an inkling of an interest in him.

Well, until now though, which was a rather big annoyance.

"Yeah, you look all mysterious and cool with the bandages, is that because of your quirk or what?" The scrawny guy with rock hair asked.

"Oh, maybe a crazy villain attack hurt you or something, my cousin has a missing arm because of one." The blonde girl with whiskers leaned over Kenshi's desk to look closer at him. "But it's been weeks and you never took a day off, so it must be your quirk."

Kenshi, a little taken aback by their brashness, spoke softly, "Yes, my quirk deals with my eyesight."

"Woah," the last bulky kid who was built like a linebacker spoke with a goofy smile. "So can you like, see through walls?"

Kenshi shook his head, "No, I just..."

He paused, wondering how he should explain his quirk, a quirk that took and took. An ability that affected him just as much as it affected others. A power that most would call a curse.

[Senseless: A quirk that allows one to take away any of the five senses from someone, also losing theirs in the process.]

It had firstly been vision, but throughout his childhood he slowly was able to do the same with others.

Taking away his grandma's hearing to sneak snacks late at night while she slept, taking away smell when he would pass people smoking cigarettes, stopping his taste when he was forced to eat wasabi by his grandma for cursing, and stealing others sense of touch as he brushed by them in the hallways.

However, he would only ever take them for a second or two since it was all he needed to use, but there was also the fact that any longer and others would notice.

They would start to hyperventilate as they could no longer understand why they felt weightlessness because of their lack of touch, fall over after realizing how important hearing was to balance, frightened that things they should be smelling weren't there, confused on why the food they ate was tasteless, or startled by what a sudden lack of vision can cause to the mind because once blind you do not see black, you simply see...nothing.

An example was to shut one eye, then in your mind try to see through the one that is closed.

Simple answer, you can't.

Kenshi was accustomed to it by now, but others had very bad reactions, and such was the reason why many had dubbed his quirk as nothing more than a curse.

So, what could he say so that they did not shun him for the next three years like his previous classmates did before he thankfully graduated to attend junior high.

He was alone most of the time anyways, so did it even really matter if they painted him an outcast, nothing would change either way.

However, deep down, he knew he made a decision already.

"Good eyesight, it makes my eyes sensitive so I keep these on."

A lie.

It was all he could make up on the spot, and it seemed to work.

The trio's interest sharply declined, and they no longer wanted to socialize because of the fact he would likely never become a hero.

It was naive thinking, but Kenshi had come to understand the reasoning. He had witnessed the brunt of what the ugly side of society had to offer, drowning in its hatred for years, but such was life.

He would not force others to see and understand what he suffered.

Kenshi would be a hero, simple as that, he cared not for people's pity and scorn. Although, he was still confused on why he had lied about his quirk, but the troubling thought was shelved for another time.

"Ah, cool, so how far can you see?" The rock haired kid asked, mostly just trying to be somewhat polite.

"Not far, but far enough to be abnormal." Kenshi placated as he knew what came next.

"Better than being quirkless." The cat girl said as most everyone in the classroom turned to see the green hair boy continue to mumble softly to himself.

Kenshi frowned, but ultimately decided to give no opinion, he was used to it anyways.

And so, with a little more meaningless conversation, he was left alone. Time marched on quickly, and Kenshi found himself walking out of Aldera Junior High alone like usual. He was focused on getting home to help his grandma clean as she was getting on in her years, plus he felt bad leaving her all alone in the house.

Being retired was nice, but only when you did not sit in a vacant house for most of the day with nothing to do.

He would never understand how his grandma did it.

So, he was content to do just that, but his ears twitched as he heard familiar footsteps. Kenshi had long memorized everyone's cadence and walking sounds by now, so he wondered what this particular boy wanted with him.

"Ah um...hello Kuraka-san."

Kenshi stopped and turned, speaking curtly.

"Midoriya."

The bundle of awkwardness dressed up as a boy took an excruciating long moment to find his next words as he could not meet Kenshi's eyes, even if they weren't visible.

"I think your quirk is awesome, perfect for hero work. Does it give better sight at night? Is it an adjustable sight or is it set in stone? Can you see more frames a second? Can you-"

He rattled on, not even noticing the shocked face of Kenshi who could only stand in awe for the next three minutes.

"Oh!" Midoriya suddenly began to bow repeatedly to the point he created after images. "I'm sorry! I-I got carried away, I apologize if any of my questions made you u-uncomfortable."

Kenshi closed his agape mouth, exhaling heavily to gain some semblance of his poise back before nodding, "It's fine, but I prefer you do not ask such personal questions."

"Ah, of course... sorry Kuraka, I truly am."

Kenshi turned and left, glad that whatever the previous conversation had been was now officially over. He did not want to socialize, he did not need friends, he just had to focus on his goal.

He would be a hero, and then he would show everyone how great his quirk was whether they liked it or not.

Although, as he walked he could not help but replay his one sided conversation with Midoriya, the questions he asked having some merit if enhanced eyesight was indeed his quirk.

Still though, he prayed that because they were both loners of the class they would not be stuck together.

Oh, how he wished he hadn't produced that last thought.

The next time he encountered the broccoli boy was when Kenshi had noticed they both lived in the same general direction, so as respectfully as possible, Kenshi asked Midoriya to not talk to him ever again.

Upon saying this, the green haired boy would keep a respectable twelve feet distance as they went home.

However, day by day, and inch by inch Midoriya grew closer.

Kenshi noticed of course, and he sorely wanted nothing more to to tell him to fuck off for good, but that gut feeling inside of him somehow would keep him from doing it.

He even started to anticipate the day they walked side by side, a glee that did not fit Kenshi's reserved image and caused countless restless thoughts to spiral each day that passed.

And then, two months later, Midoriya finally spoke from beside Kenshi.

"Hi Kuraka, it's nice to see you."

Kenshi frowned, staring forward and contemplating his next actions. An entire minute passed in this silence before he had made up his mind, maybe having someone to talk to wasn't the worst.

"Hello Midoriya, nice to see you too, you live around here?"

Midoriya's smile was almost as bright as the sun, his head nodding so fast he had two of them, "Yes! I'm just down the street from you."

There was a drawn out silence, which gave Midoriya plenty of time to realize what he said.

"Ah, I didn't follow you or anything, I just happen to notice-"

"It's fine, I don't really care." Kenshi said as he stopped at a crosswalk as a car zipped by, a few bikers crossed over, and a businessman on his phone almost bumped into him as he rushed forward.

"How do you do it?" Midoriya blurted out as they began to cross the street together.

Kenshi raised a brow at his walk-mate's question, "How do I do what?"

"I'm not dumb you know. You have bandages on yet you have sensitive eyes, that makes no logical sense?" He put a hand up to his chin and squinted his eyes. "Sunglasses would be better, or goggles so you never have to worry about having to put on clean bandages every day. I'm sure you take them off because you always keep your desk neat and backpack organized. Unless, the bandages are not regular cloth, which is unlikely. Plus, your quirk is supposedly heightened eyesight and it's been thoroughly confirmed by a Quirkist that the body will change to accommodate the quirk over time, so maybe at the beginning bandages could help but not now..."

Kenshi stepped off the street and onto the sidewalk, listening closely and realizing he may have made an obvious mistake with his lie. Most people probably cared little about the details of others, but Kenshi always caught bits and pieces of Midoriya's mumbling during class. The fact he had everyone's quirk written down, how smart he was, how he wanted to be a hero, his then horrible hero names, and even his fear of Bakugou.

It made sense that he would catch on, so Kenshi exhaled and cut off the machine gun that fired words with no end in sight.

"Are you suggesting I am a liar Midoriya?"

That got him to falter, literally so as he almost tripped, quickly putting his hands up in protest.

"No never! I just noticed how odd it was."

"You're right." Kenshi smiled weakly. "I lied because most people are afraid of what I can do. They take what I tell them and run with it, concocting ideas of how villainous it can be or how worthless it is to hero work. They slowly move farther and farther, eyes wary as they watch me. I didn't want to go through that again."

This was the most he said at one time in years, making Kenshi realize how much of an outcast he really was.

"If-if you don't mind me asking Kuraka, can you tell me what it is, I won't judge you."

Midoriya smiled his signature heart throbber, but the soulless bandages of Kenshi looked at it without flinching.

He couldn't see it anyways.

"No."

He then continued to walk, noticing but not reacting to Midoriya who stayed standing where he previously was, clearly hurt by the rejection.

Kenshi could care less, and he held that sentiment five minutes later as he opened the familiar red door to the simple one story house situated on the street corner.

As he entered, he heard his grandma in her room snoring loudly, a comforting sound as Kenshi made his way down a small hallway and into the bathroom.

Firstly, he removed his bandages, looking into the mirror to see his starling deep blue eyes. They stood out amongst his pale skin and white hair, beautiful and enchanting as ever. He ignored them after a few seconds, throwing the bandages away in a small bin, and next lighting a candle resting on a stool.

Next, he gripped both sides of the sink, staring at his reflection again before continuing to prepare himself.

Every day after school he did this ritual, training his quirk so he could become a hero. He would never stop to reach that goal, no matter how frustrating it felt to pursue it.

Steeling his resolve, he turned on the sink, and popped in a strip of mint gum to complete all preparation before he began.

Finally, as he looked at himself one last time, he spoke softly.

"-BLACKOUT-"

Everything went dark...no, that wasn't right, everything was just simply gone.

He had become blind, but the feeling of the porcelain sink's edge and its coldness as his fingers gripped it kept him grounded. The sound of the running water was as soothing as a mother's hug, the scent of pine from the lit candle made his heart beat settle, and the gum in his mouth also helped calm him tremendously.

Next up, was his sense of smell.

"-SCENT EXTRACTION-"

This was one the easiest, and Kenshi had long been accustomed to it.

"-PALATE PURGE-"

He spit out the gum as it lost all flavor, smiling wearily as he only had two more to go.

"-ABSOLUTE SILENCE-"

The sound of running water vanished, and a sinking in his gut came not long after. His sense of touch skyrocketed in sensitivity since it was all Kenshi had left.

Suddenly, the rapid beating of his heart hit him like a truck, the once faded vibrations of his blood flowing through his veins felt like ants were crawling up his entire body, the intake of air so much more pronounced he felt like his lungs would explode, and the cloth that hugged his body like a coffin that slowly constrained him.

One more. One more and he would do it, the thing that no human should ever feel.

Alone, stuck with your thoughts and nothing else.

No stimulus to guide the mind, just like having no light to illuminate the darkness of a forest your consciousness always traversed.

Time would likely slip away if you did not notice, and the mind could simply... break.

Truly, if he did it, there would be nothing.

Kenshi gripped the sink tighter, grit his teeth so hard one would have heard them clench, and finally made his decision.

One by one, his senses came back to him.

Then, Kenshi moved to the toilet and emptied his lunch, gagging and blinking through teary eyes as he released it all.

He failed, his will had been weak once again.

"Damnit." Kenshi spat along with the dregs of his sandwich.

Sitting down and catching his breath, he said it again, "Dammit all."

While he sat there, marinating in his failure, he promised himself he would do it before he attended UA.

No matter what lay before him, he would do it, he WILL become the hero he wanted to be.