<Bright>

 

 

Scale mail armour was truly the best.

Standing in front of a full-length mirror, Bright couldn’t help but admire the fine work. The golden armour that glimmered in the sunlight complemented his appearance and persona perfectly. Accented with spiked red shoulder tips, it gave away the ideal aesthetic of sweet but deadly.

“Looking good, tiger!” (B)

Bright pointed finger guns at himself.

Honestly speaking, this armour was of very dubious quality. Made up of the scales of low-levelled glass lizard monsters, the protection it actually provided could be very easily called into question. Bright still remembered the face of the blacksmith when he asked him to make armour out of those scales. It had not been pleasant, to say the least.

But.

It didn’t matter. Bright never had any intention of ever getting hit, so the durability of his armour was never put into question. It was just there in order for him to look cool. Plus, it was nice and light while simultaneously being easy to maintain.

Done admiring the armour, Bright stared up at his face.

A sigh was breathed out.

No matter how many times he saw it, he still couldn’t get used to it. Staring back at him was a girl. One with impossibly soft features—big, brilliant eyes framed by thick lashes, cheeks that always looked faintly sun-kissed, and lips with a natural pout that made her look like she was always a second away from asking for sweets or pouting about bedtime.

It was absurdly cute.

Unfair, even.

It was no wonder people always bothered him.

He frowned.

That only made him look cuter. He finally turned away, cheeks warm.

He still wasn’t fully used to being beautiful. Or twelve. Or anything, really.

Sometimes it felt like he would one day just wake up and find out everything had been a dream.

One long bad dream.

Shaking away the useless thoughts, Bright manoeuvred towards the door. Making sure not to hit any of the valuables scattered around the room.

Bright took a deep breath.

In once, once out.

He slowly fell into character…. Until, finally, he ripped the door open in style.

“Let’s get that money~!” (B)

A vibrant young girl greeted the world with a cheerful smile.

Her voice sweet like music to the ears.

 

 

“Checking out?”

“Yep, you see later, Mr. Chen~!”

Waving goodbye to Mr. Chen and all the others who happened to be standing around, Bright quickly dashed out the door before anyone could stop him for a conversation. The collective amount of time stolen by staying in that reception would be criminal.

A problem that would be exasperated today.

Today was Saturday.

The last one before school opens Monday.

Most students were out and about trying to make the best of their second last day. Be it by lounging on couches, playing games with friends or simply chatting with one another to pass time. The only ones who weren’t included were the unfortunate Hero Course students.

Everyone who stayed at government accommodations were ability users, but not all ability users were the same. After awakening at ten, a person was expected to report to their nearest government agency to be registered as an ability user. It was during this time that one’s ability was classified into one of five tiers: Utility (Practical and civilian use), Combat (Offensive or defence power in battle), Support (Enhancing or sustaining others), and finally Special (anything that didn’t fall into those other tiers or was a combination).

Combat ability users were the second least in number, followed by Support and then lastly Utility. Despite that though, they made up the vast majority of students applying to the Hero Course. Basic training lasts for two years after awakening and then ends as students join high school. In order to enrol in the Hero Course, a student must have a mentor or agency willing to account for them. A requirement set by the government to place liability on heroes. So, most Combat Ability users were off either greeting their mentor or still searching for one.

‘Made it!’

Bright deactivated his ability after reaching the bus stop.

Public transport was efficient. Reliable.

Totally normal.

...

...What? Don’t look at him like that.

What’s wrong with a hero-in-training taking the bus like everyone else? Just because he could fly or use his abilities to get there quicker didn’t mean he wanted to or should. Nobody likes to talk about it, but doing that isn’t fun. Heights were scary, and it wasn’t like running there wasn’t tiring.

Winning the non-existent argument in his head, Bright looked around.

A satisfied smile played on his face.

Due to there being a more popular bus stop just right before this one, nobody but him was currently here. Not even on the road. The formerly popular road died the moment a quicker shortcut was built. Luckily for Bright, the bus route didn’t seem to update despite there being virtually no demand here.

Closing his eyes, Bright began to hum a little tune.

Soon he would be meeting the top hero. The man, who was worth billions, lived in what could be classified as its own district within the heart of the megacity. It was a place that had its own police force, local laws and basically ran autonomously from the rest of the city.

Termed ‘the home of heroes’, the place was an economic and political hotspot.

The sound of tires hitting tarmac caused Bright to open his eyes.

The bus was here.

Scanning his student ID to open the doors, he stepped in.

Audible gasps sounded as soon as he did.

“Good morning, Mr. Luke~!” (B)

“Wassup?” (L)

High-fiving the smiling young man, Bright took a seat right at the empty first row.

‘And so, it begins….’

Murmuring, pointing and incredulous stares were all directed at Bright.

He chose to ignore them.

Hopefully nobody would decide to record this time.

‘I guess I can’t blame them for once at least, sigh’

Dressed in the hyper-reflective armour, eyes would be naturally drawn to him even if he was a nobody.

“Where to today?” (L)

“Sun district! I’m going to meet my mentor today.” (B)

Keeping up the cheerful voice, Bright tried to drown the incessant distractions.

“I must say, congrats… Like, really. All that work finally really paid off, huh?” (L)

A genuine smile bloomed on Bright’s face.

Luke was perhaps one of a handful of people whom he sincerely liked. The young man was a college dropout that chose to pursue his personal dreams of becoming a driver. Completely uncaring of what others thought about his choice. He was a true free spirit in every sense of the word.

A fact Bright deeply admired about him.

It took serious guts.

“Y’know, I’ve made some serious strides of my own?” (L)

A light smile was shared between them from the mirror view.

“Hohoho, what’s the good news?” (B)

Luke’s specific dream revolved around driving, but who he drove was almost as important. He didn’t want to just drive. He wanted to drive around the most important persons in the whole wide world. Be entrusted with their safety as well as their personal well-being.

To that extent, he was interviewing for various positions.

“I’ve made it to the final round.” (L)

Bright gave a soft applause while exaggeratingly cooing over his words.

It appeared they were both in the right direction.

“M-Miss, are you… a hero?”

A sudden poke at Bright's side startled him.

Turning to face the offender, he locked eyes with a kid whose gaze radiated innocent joy.

‘That was a close one…’

He had nearly blasted the little girl away.

The scale mail armour Bright wore was paper thin, and, despite wearing light hide armour underneath, it still felt like someone was directly touching him when brushed. A reality he learnt the hard way a long time ago. It was what helped him develop a sixth sense of approaching people.

‘How did she get so close?’

Luckily, today he was mindful enough not to react before processing.

“Not yet, sadly, but believe me! Soon I’ll be a full-fledged hero!!” (B)

A murmur of approval plus a couple of cheers spread around the bus as Bright shouted and struck a pose—eyes closed.

The whole was overtly melodramatic and embarrassing, but Bright had long grown past such feelings.

He had a persona to maintain.

‘Yes, this is just part of the job….’

Feeling his mouth begin to quiver, Bright swiftly dropped the pose and opened his eyes.

The little girl was completely eating it up.

“Wow! Amazing!”

The brown-haired little girl clambered on the free seat beside Bright before promptly settling herself on his lap.

‘This kid!?’

“You’re so awesome, Miss Bright! I watch your videos all the time; I’m your number one fan!”

Bright forced a smile.

“I-Is that so?” (B)

‘Where are her parents!? Please, someone do something!!’

“Yes! You’re so pretty and strong a-and amazing…. Can I touch your hair?”

“Ah, uhm…. S-Sure, I guess?” (B)

The girl then proceeded to happily play with his hair.

Looking at the rear mirror, Bright made eye contact with Luke and silently begged for help.

Luke, for his part, hesitated for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. It was like he was saying, “What can I do?”

‘Traitor!’

A conflict swiftly arose. As tempted as Bright was to ask the girl to get off, he didn’t need to look back to know people had started filming them. The murmurs praising him coming from the other passengers weren’t so faint as to not be heard by him. Chasing away the little kid right now could seriously harm his reputation.

“Do you want to know something cool~?” (B)

The situation was already at a loss. There was no way out. The best Bright could do was distract the kid enough so they stopped tagging at his hair. It was already starting to hurt.

“I’m going, right now, to work and train under the top hero!” (B)

The kid’s eyes lit up.

“Oh my gosh! No way! You must be so excited to see your dad!”

The whole bus froze.

‘God damn kids!’

Bright felt an eye twitch.

A misunderstanding, that originated from one dumb comment under a video featuring Bright, had quickly snowballed into what people considered common knowledge. Let’s set the record straight. Bright was not, and repeat not, the top hero’s child. No matter how similar their powers or looks were, they shared no relation.

 It was a fact Bright was confident in for a variety of reasons, but him denying it never meant anything.

People had already accepted it as truth.

“Haha…. I think you might be a little mistaken.” (B)

“Huh?”

“I don’t have a dad or father.” (B)

The kid looked dumbfounded.

“But isn’t—”

“Sam!?”

A woman appeared and grabbed the little girl out of Bright’s lap.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Hero!”

“It’s… no problem.” (B)

The woman gave a bow as deep as one could while holding a child.

“Tyler stage upcoming, Tyler stage upcoming.” (L)

At that announcement, the bus slowed down and stopped.

The mother and daughter pair immediately exited along with all other passengers.

Most gave greetings and apologies to Bright as they moved.

“Finally.” (B)

Muttering to himself, Bright sank into his seat as the bus began to move again.

“Hehe, sorry about that.” (L)

Bright waved off the comment.

Tyler Stage was the final stop the bus made before tracing back to the Liten district—the first and closest district to ‘the home of heroes’. So long as he didn’t have to pretend around people for that long, he was fine. Next time, though, he was definitely travelling the way he normally does—hoodie and all. He could change into his suit when he gets there.

“Now, off to ‘the home of heroes’” (L)

Bright sat up confused.

Had he gotten the travel route wrong?

“Consider it a small apology.” (L)

Bright paused.

As much as he wanted to smile and say thank you, another thought took precedence.

‘Won’t you be fired?’

“What about my job? Well, I’ve practically secured that other one. Today might be the last time we meet.” (L)

“Ah?” (B)

Bright hadn’t actually thought about that.

Good for him.

Good. For. Him.

The journey forward continued in silence. The empty bus glided through the sunlit streets, its windows framing a city alive with golden light and quiet motion. The only sound was the steady hum of the engine, a lone companion on the bright path ahead.

Until…

Giant steel gates appeared on the path ahead.

In them, a district of wonder was contained.

They had arrived at ‘the home for heroes’.