My Hero Academia: Yoshikage Kira's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 10: Koji Koda

My name is Koji Koda. Because of my unusual appearance—the hard protrusions on my face make me look like a humanoid rhinoceros—I've never had many friends.

I love talking with people. Whenever I hear others chatting, I always want to join in, but I never have the courage to start a conversation. When people do try to talk to me, I get too shy to say anything. I can only watch as my reputation in class becomes strange, and I fade into the background, becoming an invisible person.

Perhaps it's because I always turn to animals to vent my sadness, but my Quirk is "Voice." I can communicate with animals and, within a certain range, command and control them.

My father told me my Quirk was very powerful, and I've always admired the world of Pro Heroes. I wondered—if I became a hero, could I finally make human friends?

And so, I took the entrance exam for U.A. High.

It's not much to brag about, but I'm pretty strong. With the help of my bird friends, I successfully found many of the one-point robots and destroyed them with an iron pipe I brought. Even though they were only one point each, I managed to rack up a decent score.

I was confident that I could pass and get into U.A. Lost in my thoughts, I wandered deep into the city.

That's when I saw it—a giant robot, slowly rolling out of a factory that was dozens of meters tall. Its eyes seemed to have a soul as they fixed squarely on me.

Run! I have to run!

I turned and fled without a second thought, scrambling on all fours. But when I glanced back, the robot was still right behind me!

I ducked into a building with an open door and hid in a corner, shutting my eyes and hugging my head. Fear had completely taken over. My mind went blank, with only one thought remaining: a prayer that someone would save me.

Can anyone save me? Can anyone defeat that monster?

My Quirk was still active, and a crow was feeding me information—the robot hadn't left. It was still circling nearby.

I yearned, I prayed, I hoped for a hero to come and save me.

Perhaps the heavens heard my prayer. With the sound of shattering glass, a figure rolled across the floor twice before wobbling to their feet.

I slowly opened my eyes. A boy—the same attendant I'd seen at the movie theater—was standing before me, a look of unshakable weariness in his eyes.

He stared at me with a somewhat cold gaze and spoke. "You're the one, then. The one with the animal-controlling Quirk."

I nodded timidly, a seed of doubt planting itself in my heart. Was this person really here to save me?

"That makes things easier. Gather all the animals you can within your current range."

"I..." I was about to ask him why, but the look on his face frightened me into silence. I did as he asked, calling out to all the animals I could reach.

I said "all," but I'd been using my Quirk for a long time. Only two crows and a swarm of ants answered my summons.

I saw a flash of dissatisfaction in his eyes. I asked meekly, "Is it not enough?"

"No, it's enough." He reached out and grabbed the two crows. A flash of golden lightning sparked from his hands, and to my astonishment, I found I could no longer communicate with them. It was as if they had lost their very souls.

My Quirk was about communicating with animals. If they were in danger, even I couldn't continue to control them. But this person before me... it was as if he had erased their souls with his own will, turning them into puppets!

"Alright, you can leave now. The robot is being held back," he said, holding the two crows, his back turned to me. He paused. "And besides, it'll be out of commission soon."

I had no desire to resist. I left him there and ran. The moment I was out the door, before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, the robot's giant shadow fell over me.

The sudden shock made me fall back onto the ground. I looked up in terror and saw the robot right behind the building I had just left, its square, steel head staring down at me.

After a moment, I steadied myself and realized it wasn't looking at me, but at the group of people causing a ruckus at its feet. I didn't know why, but I understood that I was out of danger.

I took a long detour and made my way to the main entrance of the town. Another group of students had gathered here, about the same number as those fighting the robot.

I didn't ask what was happening. I just quietly went to a corner and glanced up at the teacher in the tower. Present Mic was looking at his watch. He announced loudly, "Two minutes remaining until the end of the exam!"

I crouched down, waiting for time to pass, hugging my head and condemning myself. Why did I only know how to run when I saw that thing? Why didn't I have the courage to charge in and fight? Why could I only hide and wait to be saved?

Someone like me could never become a hero, right? It would have been better to just become a regular shop owner like my dad. Why did I ever want to be a hero...?

"Guys, I don't think we can take this thing down in just a few minutes!"

"Some of us are injured... Oh no! It's trying to bury us all here!"

My eyes snapped open. The students who had been fighting so bravely were now filled with fear—an emotion I knew all too well. It was the look you get when you face an opponent you know you can't beat.

After several failed attempts to hit the nimble students, the giant robot changed its tactics. Ignoring the people below, it seemed to act with intelligence, turning its arm into a blade and chopping at the building beside it.

The building, perhaps hastily constructed for the exam, couldn't withstand the force and was sliced in two.

The students who had been attacking with abandon were suddenly on the defensive, frantically dodging the irregularly shaped chunks of building material raining down from the sky. Dust filled the air, instantly turning the area into a disaster zone.

The people standing next to me were just as helpless as I was. Those who had been waiting for the time to end were now fidgeting restlessly. Should I be doing something right now?

Without hesitation, a frog-like girl charged into the disaster zone on all fours. Her tongue shot out like a whip, pulling an injured student out from under a piece of rebar-laced concrete. The pink-skinned girl cried out, "How did this happen?!" and followed her in, seemingly on pure impulse. She put her hands together and sprayed a corrosive liquid, allowing someone pinned under a large rock to crawl free. A normal-looking boy shot tape from his elbows, creating a simple pulley to lift a heavy object...

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

"I don't want to be useless." A line from the movie I had seen a few days ago, Primal Rivals, suddenly surfaced in my mind. The Pro Hero, who had no Quirk as a child, was being scolded for trying to help someone. He had turned to his childhood friend, the one who stood up for him, and said with a tearful smile, "Even if I don't have power, I still want to do something."

"Aaargh! I want to be a hero, just once!" I cried, tears streaming down my face as I ran toward the disaster zone. It was true that I had always been the one who needed saving, but that wasn't a reason not to help others!

I pushed my mind, calling out to the mantises, the rats, the sparrows—all the animals I could reach in the area. I had them split up and search for the injured, for anyone who needed help. Then I would run over myself and use my considerable strength to pull them from the rubble.

Yes, maybe I was useless on my own, but I could still do something.

This is the small power of Koji Koda. Please, let it be enough.