<Bright>

 

 

 

They really weren’t his parents.

Bright was right!

…Well—Maybe kind of, right? Possible so, right? The word for it was missing, but Bright was the kind of right where you are not entirely sure. The kind of right that left you scratching your head, still looking for answers. Some might say such rightness was wrong, but Bright begged to differ. If you got 50% of an answer correct, that didn’t automatically make you wrong. It made you 50% correct!

‘…What am I thinking?’

Sinking deeper into the car seat, Bright felt defeat gnaw at his body.

The picture he found raised more questions than it answered.

Firstly, while the faces in the photo were definitely the ones from his memory, the people in the picture looked jarringly different. With their pitch-black hair and dark brown eyes, they looked nothing like the people he remembered and nothing like himself. How could his memory of them be so wrong?

Secondly, the place the photo was taken. It looked like they were in a hospital of sorts. Standing in the hallway while flashing a big piece of paper. Both of them were dressed in scrubs fit for nurses and doctors. What were they doing in a hospital, and why were they dressed as nurses or doctors?

And, lastly, the text that had been written underneath. Congratulations. This, along with the other pieces of evidence, was pointing in a direction Bright didn’t like. One that would undermine all the rants in his head about this matter.

He immediately shook his head as the thought entered his mind.

No, no, no.

No way did he confuse random nurses and doctors for his parents. In the sole memory he had of them, they didn’t look like healthcare workers. Not to mention, if they were random healthcare workers, Hero Sun wouldn’t have kept that photo where he did.

So, where did that leave Bright?

He was right about having the memory of his parents(?) but not about who his parents actually were.

Everything was so… needlessly messy.

Reaching over to his schoolbag, Bright pulled out a neatly wrapped package.

He needed something to distract his mind.

“…Young Miss, what is that?”

‘For crying out loud…’

Fiddling idly with the wrapper was enough to draw the attention of the lethargic soldier. Bright had no doubt he was about to be lectured on some newly invented rule—probably about why carrying packages was suddenly forbidden. Last Saturday’s incident was already coming back to haunt him. Ever since Hero Yuki learnt how Bright had softly threatened the soldier, he’d earned a new kind of status. One that gave the man direct access to Hero Yuki anytime Bright so much as breathed wrong. It was a consequence on par with losing access to his card for a week.

“…Nothing.” (B)

The lethargic soldier grimaced.

“Young Miss…. I don’t want to invade your privacy and do an inspection. Please, at least tell me it’s safe?”

‘Who does this guy think he is!’

“Maybe? Who knows?” (B)

It was hard not to have a negative view of the guy. Every time Bright tried to do anything, he was stopped. Going to the orphanage, leaving the house… this guy was there like a cat. Ready to pounce on the plan Bright made. Even a reasonable adult like Bright would struggle to keep their composure in the face of such tyranny.

The lethargic soldier sighed.

He looked down, reached into his pockets, pulled out a phone and proceeded to—

“It’s a gift! Alright? No need to do that….” (B)

‘Gods, this is so embarrassing!’

Since when did Bright cower over simple things? But, as much as he wanted to push back, the consequences were not worth the reward. He shivered alone thinking about the last incident. Hero Yuki hadn’t been one bit pleased the moment she heard about Bright’s day out. The lecture about how a hero should conduct themselves lasted forever.

Bright made a fist with his hand.

If that, combined with the loss of his card for a week, had been the only bad thing to arise from this situation, he could’ve weathered the storm. But, on top of receiving a harsh lecture, the hit to his reputation was profoundly terrible. The respected, pleasant and unapproachable image he carefully created was shattered overnight by that one video. That one video! School today had been abnormally hellish because of it!

A final tear revealed a slight image of the package.

Bright’s fingers trembled as he caught sight of what was underneath.

‘This couldn’t be—!’

But it could.

Quickly hiding the small tear, he peeked once more at it before smiling.

It was the phone he had tried to get.

‘That girl really is something, huh?’

Stuffing the package back in his bag, Bright laid in his chair content.

The girl in question was none other than the timid blackmailer. One of the two girls he charmed to keep his image intact. He hadn’t talked to her in school as of late on account of losing his… book, but it would seem he hadn’t needed to anyway. The universe had once again conspired to help Bright. Without his prompting, not only had the timid girl sorted him out, but she had actually gifted him something useful.

…It would seem she was much more infatuated with him than he thought.

Bright smiled wider.

An idea had just popped up in mind.

If he could make her a lackey, he could use her a bit more. Get his hands on a few more niceties. The girl wasn’t half bad for conversation, and with how timid she was, she would practically listen to whatever Bright told her to do. He could have her fetch food, chat with him, maybe even keep him company when the loneliness crept in—

Bright coughed.

Anyway, regardless of whatever plans he had for her, the first step was, of course, finally getting her to delete that video. Once that was sorted, the real fun would begin.

“Happy with the gift, Young Miss?”

Bright grinned.

“Maybe? Who knows?” (B)

The lethargic soldier sighed.

 

 

“Are you really trying?” (S)

“Y-Yes! Look… Look at me!” (B)

Compressing the ball of plasma into a sphere, Bright felt beads of sweat rolling down his face. The task that appeared simple at a glance was killing him. Tonnes of energy was leaving his body while simultaneously being replenished by the room. It was a strange feeling that made him want to throw up something fierce.

“I-It’s done!” (B)

“Not yet.” (S)

Hero Sun walked up to Bright and grinned.

He poked the ball with his bare finger.

“Ek!?” (B)

‘What the hell!?’

“Does that look solid to you?” (S)

His finger went through the ball, seemingly meeting no resistance.

Twice.

It was shortly after the second poke that it did explode.

Hero Sun cupped the ball in one hand, and an explosion that should’ve destroyed the whole room disappeared.

Bright collapsed to the ground, shaking and out of breath.

The Caelalux weapon technique was no joke. Even the first step to learning it felt like it was impossible. Shaping raw light into an object, a solid ball, wasn’t a job even the bravest and brightest would have taken on willingly. Not only was it extremely dangerous, but it was also extremely tasking. For someone like Bright, who had never tried to control the energy once it was out of his body, it was inconceivable.

“Looks like we’re done for the day!” (S)

Hero Sun scooped up Bright and waltzed out of the training room.

“Your technique was terrible, but at least you lasted 10 minutes longer!” (S)

What an annoyingly charming voice.

Who was he to talk like that anyway?

“~Ah, I see. Feedback noted. Though, you’ll have to forgive me—my technique suffers under the crushing weight of the worst teacher alive.~” (B)

“Worst teacher? Please. I’m literally the best teacher in the world. Ask anyone.” (S)

“The best teacher in the world wouldn’t have taught me something this tragic.” (B)

“Everything has limits! Even the best teacher in the world can’t save a student determined to fail this spectacularly.” (S)

“You are so… so annoying!” (B)

At a loss for words, Bright defaulted to petty name-calling.

Look.

If it were anyone but Hero Sun, he would’ve done the mature thing and let go.

Hero Sun was just so immature that acting mature with him made Bright feel like a fool.

“Ah, how could you say that? I am so hurt!” (S)

The fake hurt face combined with his mocking tone to make Bright look away.

“…Shut up.” (B)

‘Ugh, I should’ve just kept my mouth shut’

Reaching his room, Bright was unceremoniously flung on his bed.

“…Why?” (B)

“Make sure you wash up quick. We need to head up soon.” (S)

Sitting upright in his bed, Bright blankly stared at Hero Sun.

“Up?” (B)

“Yup!” (S)

He frowned.

“Up where?” (B)

“Haaa. You didn’t go to the third floor as requested?” (S)

Bright shook his head.

Hero Sun pinched the bridge of his nose.

“No wonder you went out and—Ah, never mind. You’ll see soon enough.” (S)

Hero Sun turned and started walking out of the room.

“Check you closet for a new outfit. You’ll need it.” (S)

“W-Wait!” (B)

The timid girl’s words flashed in Bright’s mind.

‘Though, if I really got curious, I would just ask them. I believe they would tell me the truth, given how close we are’

He had been avoiding this topic since meeting Hero Sun this afternoon.

For reasons he couldn’t comprehend himself.

Hero Sun raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, nothing?” (B)

“…Right.” (S)

Hero Sun turned and left.

‘What is wrong with me?’

 

 

“Are you seriously telling me you never bothered to check the elevator?” (S)

Sitting on the couch opposite Hero Sun, Bright held his tongue.

“So, what did you think I meant when I wrote, ‘Go to the third floor’?” (S)

“That you’re crazy.” (B)

“What?” (S)

“What?” (B)

Hero Sun briefly examined Bright before pushing the button beside him.

“FYI, if I’m crazy, then you are no doubt too. Birds of a feather and all that.” (S)

Bright rolled his eyes at that remark.

It was a great pity that this was the number one hero. If it weren’t for his good looks, likeable personality and stupidly overpowered abilities, nobody would like him. So, in short, if he wasn’t himself, nobody would like him.

…Ah.

The world was so unfair.

The journey up continued in silence until Bright posed a question.

“…What are we doing?” (B)

Seeing as they were both dressed in sets of matching black shorts and button-up short sleeves decorated with massive golden stars, it was an activity involving both of them.

“Filming an ad.” (S)

“An ad? An ad for what?” (B)

What on earth could be so important as to feature him?

What would he even need to sell?

“Curious?” (S)

“Maybe.” (B)

“Ah, that’s too bad. I had hoped you’d be more interested….” (S)

Hero Sun smiled.

‘Goddamn it’

Now he couldn’t ask without facing endless teasing.

Ding!

‘That new…’

It appears they have arrived.