Kimi was a quirkless college student living in Japan, and it was just like the rest of the world where superpowered individuals filled the streets, the news, and the dreams of nearly everyone. Growing up in a society so dazzled by spectacular abilities had not been easy for her. She admired heroes with bright, overwhelming powers, but living in such a society without a quirk of her own had often made her feel small and unseen. Even so, she believed her life had turned out well enough. She was on the verge of graduating as an engineer, top of her class, with a future she had earned through effort.
Kimi liked the idea of helping others. She admired heroes deeply, especially All Might, the greatest hero in the world and the pride of Japan. Yet being quirkless and born into a modest family placed clear limits on how much she could do, how closely she could resemble the figures she admired from afar. She had learned to accept those limits, even though it stung her.
Still, she found a way to make the world a little better. Near where she lived stood a small orphanage, home to children who had lost their parents for countless reasons. Whenever she had time, Kimi volunteered there, helping care for the children and playing with them. If she could not be a hero in the way the world celebrated, she would be one in her own quiet way. She wanted to be their superhero, as much as she could.
Among all the children, one drew her attention more than the rest. He was a little boy of five, with white hair like freshly fallen snow and pure blue eyes that seemed to mirror the sky. His appearance alone was striking, but it was his behavior that truly set him apart.
The boy was silent most of the time. He did not play with the others. He did not speak to anyone. He seemed to do only what was necessary to remain alive, eating when food was placed before him, sleeping when it was time, and sitting alone for hours on end. Even the other children appeared to ignore him, as though he were invisible.
After seeing him like that again and again, Kimi finally decided to ask the two caretakers about him today. They told her his mother had died shortly after giving birth, never having the chance to name him. And they couldn't identify the mother's name, let alone find the father or any relatives. With nowhere else to go, the child had been brought to the orphanage.
They had named him Junsei, a name Kimi found strangely fitting, given his unique features. What troubled her most, however, was what the caretakers said next. From the time he was a baby, Junsei had not behaved normally. He barely moved and cried only when left without food for too long. If he was fed on time, he made no sound at all.
As he grew older, the difference became more pronounced. When other babies began crawling and exploring their surroundings, Junsei remained where he was placed, refusing to move or react to anything around him. Eventually, the caretakers began to worry something was wrong, especially when he passed the age of two without speaking a single word.
They were deeply concerned, but the orphanage lacked the funds to bring in a doctor for a proper diagnosis. Then one day, after they accidentally missed one of his meals, something extraordinary happened. For the first time, Junsei spoke and he did so in a complete sentence.
"I need food to grow and live."
The caretakers had been stunned. The child who had never spoken had suddenly formed a clear sentence. When they asked him why he had never spoken before, he replied simply, "I prefer not to," and fell silent again. No amount of questioning afterward made him speak another word.
Kimi could hardly believe the story. It was too strange. And so her curiosity turned into a resolve. Why was the boy like this? What was truly wrong with him? She decided she would find the answers herself.
She stepped outside into the orphanage courtyard, where children were running and laughing in the afternoon light. Several of them waved and called out to her, and she waved back with a warm smile before turning toward the quiet corner of the yard.
Junsei sat on the ground in the shade of the orphanage wall, hugging his knees and staring with vacant eyes at the children playing nearby, a sight Kimi had grown accustomed to. She walked straight toward him, then crouched down in front of him. Smiling gently, she met his clear blue gaze and spoke.
"Hello. I'm Kimi."
Junsei continued to stare straight ahead, as though Kimi were not there at all. She waited, still smiling, giving him time, before finally speaking again.
"Your name is Junsei, right?"
There was no response.
Kimi tried once more, her voice softer. "Why won't you speak to me? Does something hurt you?"
Nothing changed. Junsei did not blink, did not shift. He simply stared. Kimi tilted her head, then carefully moved to sit beside him. "Mrs. Kagome and Mrs. Kikyo told me they're worried about you," she said gently. "Do you really want to keep making them feel bad?"
She glanced at him, a faint frown forming. She had never seen a child behave like this. If it were not for the occasional blink, she might have thought him a statue, so completely unmoving was he. After a moment of thought, she sighed lightly. "I guess you hate speaking too much. Fine. I'll do the speaking."
And so she did. She began talking about the one thing she loved most, heroes. She told him stories of their battles and rescues, of courage and sacrifice. She spoke at length about All Might, his strength, his smile, and the hope he gave people. Soon her words wandered to quirks, to her own wish of being a hero, of wanting to make the world a better place, and how she wished she had been born with an amazing quirk like those she admired.
She told him about heroes saving people from disasters, stopping villains, and even rescuing cats and dogs from the streets. She did not notice that at the mention of saving cats and dogs, Junsei glanced at her for the briefest moment before turning away again. She was far too absorbed in her own voice to see it.
More than an hour passed before Kimi finally stopped talking. She looked at Junsei with quiet disappointment and stood up. "It was nice talking with you," she said. "I'll come visit you next week. Is that okay?"
No answer came. He did not even look at her.
As she turned to leave, Kimi thought of how difficult it must be for the caretakers to look after him. He truly did not respond to anything. She gave him one last glance and froze. A redback spider was crawling along his shoulder. Without thinking, she moved quickly, slapping it away and stomping on it hard.
"Junsei!" she cried urgently. "Did it bite you? Do you feel any pain?"
For the first time, Junsei moved. He did not look at Kimi. Instead, his eyes fixed on the crushed spider on the ground.
"It didn't do anything to deserve getting killed," he said.
Kimi stared at him, shocked, then asked again "Are you okay?"
He did not answer, still staring at the spider. After a moment, Kimi spoke hesitantly. "The spider can bite, and its bite can cause a lot of pain. I didn't want you to feel pain."
"It wouldn't have bit me," Junsei replied calmly. "It doesn't attack or bite unprovoked. It was searching for a path to live, and you took that from it. You killed it."
Taken aback, Kimi shook her head slightly. "Spiders are scary. You're still… young, you don't understand that. And don't worry, it didn't feel any pain."
"It isn't scary," Junsei said. "It's friendly. And how do you know it didn't feel pain?"
Kimi shifted uncomfortably. "It's not a person. It's a spider, and…"
"It can feel pain," Junsei interrupted. "It experienced horrible pain from being stomped like that. And even if it doesn't feel like you say, it still didn't want to die like that."
Kimi was speechless. Junsei turned his gaze back to the children playing and spoke again. "Do you also enjoy burning ants with a magnifying lens? Do you think that is also fun?"
She hesitated, then said quietly, "I'm sorry… if what I did hurt you."
Junsei finally looked up at her. His face was blank.
"You said you wanted to make the world better," Junsei said.
He looked back at the crushed spider.
"That's what the others said."
"I was only trying to help," Kimi said quickly.
"They say that too."
He turned away again, hugging his knees, staring somewhere beyond the courtyard.
"You all sound the same."
Kimi froze.
She waited for him to explain. He didn't.
As the silence stretched, she understood he was finished with her.
Her chest tightened. She had meant to do something kind, and somehow it had gone wrong.
Unsure what else to do, she turned and walked away, leaving him alone in the shade.