Yes, this is a book within a book. Shut.

Also sorry if these names mean something bad in another language. I honestly did no research beforehand.
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     "Chishi! Where...are you going?!" A little girl with bright pink hair called to her friend. A small squad of little kids were sat at a homemade picnic, one of their old warn blankets used as the quilt, everyone bringing what their parents had packed for them for the occasion. All were around age seven or eight by the looks of it, not often given such opportunities as getting to picnic without their parents' supervision.

     The boy with plain, black hair turned back and smiled to his friends. "I already ate! I'm going to go explore the forest!" He waved to the ones already further down the hill than he. Large boulders were seen jutting up from the ground the higher up the hill they were, promising to be a fun but challenging climb. It wasn't a very big hill, but it was enough to make Chishi's friends nervous.

     "He-hey, wait-wait for me!" The boy a tad chubbier than the rest, also with plain black hair, pushed himself up from the picnic. He discarded the remains of his sandwich to follow his friend. Next followed the pink haired girl. Then another girl with blond hair. And, finally followed a tall for his age boy with darker skin and a thick head of frilly black hair. They all, in the end, followed Chishi up the hill.

     "Right this way, kadets!" Chishi called over his shoulder to the rest, who were all struggling to follow so quickly behind. The boy was fit for his age, not much muscle but plenty of stamina. Everyone puffed and panted behind.

     "Shi, can we...have a break?" The pink haired girl asked for the rest. Their leader sighed, but stopped in the end.

     "Oh, alright.. But it can't be long!..." Climbing up onto a boulder, he had a fine look at his woody surroundings, then struck a pose. "We march at dawn! Yhaa!" Using the twig in his hand, Chishi swiped it around some, his friends just watching. The tall one smirked, plucking a branch from the tree as well and cleaned it of leaves so he could do the same. Soon, the two were dueling atop the rock, all while the rest watched as if the boulder were a stage.

     "Go! Shi!"
     "Go, Gabe!"

     The others cheered until Gabe stumbled atop the uneven rock. Shi took this as his chance, swishing the stick in front of the other boy's face so he would stumble further back. The other kids cheered, until.. Gabe stumbled so far back, he dropped the stick entirely and flapped his arms to regain his balance. The children gasped as the tall one tipped over the edge of the boulder. That is, until Shi's hand gripped his shirt and seamlessly yanked him back. "Wooo!" The audience cheered. Shi then helped his friend up, whose knees were a little scuffed but was otherwise alright.

     "You were like a real hero, Shi!!" The pink haired girl exclaimed.

     "Are you alright, Gabe??" The rounder one asked, worried.

     "Yeah, Qin, yeah.." Gabe assured, standing after brushing off his knees. Qin's mouth widened into a smile. Meanwhile, Shi was still a little flustered about the compliment pink hair just gave him.

     He rubbed the back of his neck. "Heheh, thanks, Sara." A faint blush on his cheeks. "Are you guys ready to go again yet??" He jumped in excitement. Rejuvenated, the rest scurried after him up the rocky hill. Less and less trees could grow the further up they went. At last, the hill balded at the very top, only a rough, rocky terrain on top. "Watch out for snakes!" Shi reminded his friends. That had all of them on their toes, worriedly peeking down every crack large enough to hide such a creature. They passed over a lot of such cracks, but thankfully none of them were harmed.

     At last at the top, Shi placed his hands on his hips and breathed in a slow, victorious breath. "Ahh, isn't it just wonderful to see the world from up here?" The boy smiled. Everyone else's eyes scanned over the endless trees and small hometown nearby. Chishi broke the moment of silence by placing his hands together, then, drawing them apart, created a dozen or so silver threads. He detached his left hand and with the right held the threads together like a whip. Everyone's heads turned to him as the young boy flung out the silver threads. They all stuck to one another to form one rope, which extended as it was tossed. The threads came against one of the many rocks, chopping it in half like it was nothing.

     "WOAHH!" The other children were amazed. Shi smiled, turning back to them happily. "You could be such a cool hero, Shi!!" Qin beamed.

     "Yeah, Shi, you could be FAMOUS!" Sara added.

     Shi chuckled. "We can ALL be heroes! All of us! Let's make a hero team and fight villains together!" He beamed.

     All: "YEAH!"

     "But, wait..." Qin's bright mood lessened as he looked down at his hands. "I don't have a very good quirk for that. I can only open and close doors with my mind." He sulked.

     "And I don't even have a quirk!" The pink haired one added.

     "Yeah...same." said Gabe. The only one who didn't join in was the blondie, who everyone knew didn't have a very powerful quirk either. Before the team was even formed, it was trashed.

     "Well-well..." Shi walked up to his friends in an attempt to comfort them. "I'm sure there are ways you can become heroes, guys! He patted both Qin and Gabe on the shoulders at the same time. They looked up at him again. "Gabe, you are super strong! You can be the muscle!"

     "Heh, not as strong as you."

     "And, Qin, you're super smart! You can be the guy who makes techy stuff for us to use!"

     "I'm not that smart, but maybe.."

     "And Sara! You can-" He froze up when she looked up to stare him dead in the eyes with a somewhat depressed look. "Yu-you are super fast! And you know kung-fu!!" The girl chuckled awkwardly.

     "I...only know a little, and I'm not as fast as you." ... "But.. I want to become a hero too, so why not!?" Hearing that, the others smiled.

     "Yeah, I bet you'll all be really strong by the time we become heroes!!" Shi added while everyone's hopes steadily rose around him.

     "Yeah!"

     "Now everyone come here! You brought your camera, right, Sara?"

     "Yep!" Everyone gathered into a mass and faced Sara's camera. They all smiled and cheered in unison,

     "FUTURE HEROES!!"

Click.
            .
              .

     Seeing that photo on screen really struck Qin in the heart. The still image held its place for a while, letting the bright and happy atmosphere of the picture to really soak in, contrasting the grey, dreary atmosphere of the old church. Curious now, Qin turned his head around, eyeing the several dozen people seated in the pews. A sort of sad/happy melody played from stage as the slideshow continued. Qin's eyes at last landed on the darkest member of the crowd he presumed to be Gabe. Must have been. His hair was even longer now, forming an almost afro, and he had that somewhat recognizable face from his youth. He looked even skinnier now than before, though; uncannily so. Though Qin searched for more recognizable faces from that image, none were seen. Qin turned back around, eyes rising to the projected slideshow once again. Most of the pictures were with people he didn't recognize, the only connecting character being Chishi himself. He had grown into a fine young man. A very successful hero who saved countless lives until he...

     It was shameful to think that he wouldn't have even known about it had their moms not remained close friends. What a great friend he turned out to be...

     After the slideshow was over and a few close friends and family members said their peace, mostly talking about his drive, love for others, and excellent hero work, the event came to a swift close. Everyone mumbled lowly as they stood slowly. Qin, along with many others, made his way over to Shi's close family and fiancé to offer a few kind words. When Qin reached them, though, he couldn't find the right words to say. All of their eyes were foggy with tears; his old friend's parents and two younger brothers, but there was nothing he could offer. Nothing he could say. Nothing worth adding.

     He gave them all a little hug instead. He was especially good at that, having never lost that extra weight he kept vowing to himself he eventually would. He settled for just shaking the hand of his old friend's fiancé, since she obviously wasn't in the mood for a hug.

     After he had done all he could, Qin walked down the isle to leave, extending his hand to prematurely open the door for those in front of him as he went. Once outside of the building, Qin hovered for a little bit around the buffet to pick some crackers from. The sky was dreary and hidden with clouds.

     "Qin?"

     "Huh?" He spun around, surprised to see Gabe standing there beside him. Gabe was now scarily tall, probably 6'6 or something! To make up for it, he was also incredibly skinny and frail looking. His voice was super deep and smooth, which shocked Qin since he wasn't there when his friend was going through puberty. "Woah! Gabe!"

     "Heh.." Gabe smiled and grabbed a couple cookies from the buffet, which Qin was desperately trying to avoid even looking at. "Yeah, I guess that reaction makes sense... It has been a while, hasn't it?"

     "Yeah.." Qin sighed. His strength failed, and the young man gave in to pick up a cookie or two as well. "You can probably tell I haven't changed much!" He joked.

     "Mm, different haircut." The other teased. Qin swatted at his side. "Ay!"

     "So what's been going on with you lately? It's been, what, ten years since we last saw each other?!"

     "...Eh. Not much. My parents got deported back to America a few years back, so I've been working double time saving up for their return, but.. eh. Other than work life's been pretty bland for me."

     "Ouff, dang, that must suck.. What about your little sister?"

     "Oh, she...died from a birth defect..."

     "...o..."

     "I'm doing alright, though."

     "That's good to hear."

     "-Qin and Gabe??" A new voice entered the chat. A short man rounded the buffett table. Oddly enough, he had short, bright pink hair that really caught the two off guard.

     "Wait, how do you know us?" Qin's eyes narrowed curiously. Then, "Wait, you look like.. Sara??"

     "It's Saro now."

     "What??! How did..this come to be?" Qin gestured in confusion to his friend, who was now apparently a guy.

     Saro's feet kicked at dust under the table. "Long story short, my parents wanted a girl but got me instead. Heheh... Took me a while to find out taking hormones like they were vitamins wasn't such a normal thing.." He chuckled again, obviously out of his comfort zone. Both I and Gabe tried not to stare, but we had no idea what else to do.

     "Well." I started to chuckle. "Looks like you guys have really had your hands full these last few years!"

     "Really? What's been going on with you, Gabe?"

     Gabe then briefly explained his story to the other. The three all finally together and caught up, they knew it was about time to leave, yet none of them exactly felt like it.

     It had been so long since they had seen each other. Almost ten whole years! Would they ever even see each other again after this??

     "Tell you what. I've got some extra cash. How about we go get some ramen?"

     "I'm down!" Gabe jumped.

     "You sure you want to spend all that on us?" Saro leaned forwards with clasped hands behind his back.

     "It has been ten or so years since we last saw each other. Come on! It won't even be that big of a deal; I know the owners!" He offered them both a warm smile, one which neither of them could say no to in the end.

     Since Gabe took the train, Qin drove him there. Saro apparently had his own car. They all walked up to the shop and Qin extended his hand before Gabe could reach it. The door opened on its own.

     "Ah!!- ..Hhh, I keep forgetting you can do that.."

     "HaHA!"

     Once Saro had joined them at the table and placed his order, the three got to catching up again.

     "So, last I remember, neither of you guys ever found out what your quirks were. Has that changed?" Qin asked while breaking apart his chopsticks in preparation. Saro sat with his elbows on the table, chin resting on his palms. Gabe meanwhile had a hard time figuring out what to do with his long legs.

     "Ooh! Yeah, after I got off hormones..around 15, and I started to settle mentally, my quirk appeared!"

     "Oh? What is it??"

     "It's..kinda strange. All I can do is make jokes appear out of nowhere. Might sound cool, but it's like a bottomless pit in there!" To demonstrate, Saro twirled his pointer finger until a tiny dark hole appeared in the desk, except it didn't go through the desk. Instead, it dove into some strange little pocket dimension of sorts. Saro grabbed the straw wrapper from his drink, rolled it up, and dropped it in. All three leaned in closer so try to see and hear... No sound. It vanished completely from sight and into the dark was within seconds.

     "...Creepy..."

     "I know.." Saro cowered back, the joke vanishing. "Which is why I only use it as a trash can. Don't want to experiment with it and end up sending someone else to the shadow realm!"

     "Mmf, yeah. Good idea." Qin and Gabe both gulped. "So, what about you, Gabe?"

     "Sometimes I feel like someone's nearby me even when I'm alone, but that's not really a quirk now is it?"

     "Nope.." Qin reserved another moment of silence for his two old friends. He couldn't help but let out a groan. "Not saying I envy you guys but at least you both have had interesting stuff happen to you guys since we were kids! All I can recall from the past years is binge watching Naruto five times!..or six."

     "Do you have a job at least, right?" Saro's blue eyes lazily glanced at him, face squished between his hands.

     "Well, yeah, I guess there's that. I work in a school cafeteria not far from here."

     "Ever had a girlfriend?" Gabe asked.

     "..Well...no. Have you?" He asked both of them. Gabe and Saro glanced at each other awkwardly.

     "No.."
       "No.."

     At last, the ramen arrived to break up the awkward stares between the three as they all realized in unison that the one thing they had in common was being a bunch of nobodies with no one to look after but themselves.

     And now they were in their twenties, practically wasting away.

     They ate in silence with this realization, each one at a loss for words.

     Qin finished first and set his dish down after drinking the broth. "You guys want to become heroes with me?" He then wiped his face with napkin. Both Saro and Gabe's eyes widened, turning to him.

     "Are you serious??!" Gabe started. "We are the ones least likely to become heroes!"

     "I know, but Chishi always seemed to believe in us.."

     "We were all children then!" Gabe wasn't as angry as he was simply confused. "One, kids are stupid! Two, even if we ever did have any potential...we've long outgrown it by now..." Gabe returned to eating. All three sat in silence, sending occasional knowing glances back and forth.

     Then, Saro's voice spoke up softly. "...I guess it would be worth it to try..." The other two looked up at the short pink haired one. "I mean... I know it would be hard, maybe even impossible..but... I mean.. what else have we done? Seems we haven't done much but keep ourselves alive."

     "It doesn't have to be an actual, literal hero, though." Qin spoke up. "We can, just... I dunno. Volunteer somewhere. Feed the homeless, -or even become emergency medics or something! We don't have to fight to be heroes." After a quiet moment reserved for thought, Gabe was the first to smile.

     "That actually doesn't sound like such a bad idea."

     "Yeah, I think I get it.." Qin jumped in his seat when he felt Saro's hand land on his shoulder. "As long as we're in on it together doing something worth while, that's all that matters, right?" Qin met Saro's eyes and smiled back.

     "Yeah, guess that's what I was really trying to say. I've...missed having friends to talk to.." Gabe laughed, long arm easily reaching across the table to land on Qin's other shoulder.

     "Maybe we should all move into one place then, because I'm having a hard time paying for rent as it is!!" Smiling widely. The other two laughed along.

     Qin saw beyond his friend someone with a large load of food in their hands headed toward the door. He was accustomed to helping open the door for people in these cases, so he quickly stretched his hand out.

     The door opened to a world full of bright, swirling colors. The person with full arms tripped backwards and fell over, marveling at the sight, so he wasn't just seeing things.

     "He-hey, guys, turn around?" Both took their hands off his shoulder and did so, but the colors behind the door vanished once they did. The stranger, very slowly stuck their hand through the door, then leapt through and ran off with their groceries. Strange... It was the same as normal once their hands were off of him.

     "Did that person steal something..?" Gabe asked.

     "Guys, touch me again!"

     "Woahh, take us out to dinner first at lea-ea... Oh wait you already did." Saro laughed then suddenly want blank faced.

     "No-no, there was something WEIRD about that door when your hands were on me! Here, try it again. I'll open another door." Qin stood up and faced the bathroom door. Despite their hesitation, the other two stood up as well and places their hands on his shoulders again. Qin extended his hand and opened the men's bathroom door. As before, a mix of milky white, gold, and hot pink swirls formed a portal within the doorframe.

     "No way..." Gabe's jaw dropped. Saro's hand got jittery and he pulled it off. Just as quickly, the portal closed up.

     "Interesting... I'm not doing anything different, so it must be our joint power or something."

     "Wait, so quirks can merge?? That's..." Gabe.

     "Awesome.." Saro placed his hand on Qin's shoulder again. "Try it again." Qin closed and opened the door again, only for nothing to happen. The two peered over at Gabe, smiling faintly.

     "Looks like we need you, too, big guy."

     Gabe rolled his eyes. "I don't even have a quirk." Once he placed his hand on Qin's shoulder, the young man closed and opened it a third time, the same portal as before appearing.

     "Apparently you do.." Staring forwards, Qin's smile widened. "You guys want to...check it out?" Gabe shrugged and Saro's limbs locked up.

     "I g-guess so.." Saro.

     "I mean... May as well." Gabe.

     Qin took in another deep breath. "Alright then...

                Let's do this."