"I surrender..."

I stated falling down the sand, back first. Waves hugged my body then left after a few seconds. I felt so tired and frustrated that I want to drown myself. I heard his chuckle. It was more of a giggle, really. And it made me more upset. I grabbed the nearest wet sand my hand could reach, clutching it and throw it at him.

He dodged it naturally with no effort.

"Ugggh!" I grumbled, as the waves came back to hug me again, only leaving me with this black-haired jerk.

He sat beside me, relaxing his back while his hands supporting his weight, and listened to the sound of the waves. His wet hair danced along the wind and he was shirtless. He was fairer that Shouto-kun and taller, and I found no scars. He also had toned muscles, but it didn't make him look huge or hunky. However, nothing went into slow motion. Everything was alright.

We were playing at the ocean. If Shouto-kun was a difficult to beat with the splashing game, Shin was insane. He dodged every splash. Sometimes---no---Often times, I can't even cover my face when he goes offense. I tried to pull him underwater but he dodged every move. He even caught me and pushed me so deep underwater that I got so scared (but he pulled me up again when he noticed). It seems like he knows everything. Scratch that, he does know. It's because he's a mind-reader. Shouto-kun only freezes the sea water if he could no longer go offense, but this guy? Nah, This guy is brutal.

Our game didn't only make me feel helpless; it made me feel like I was a child being played like a toy by some sadistic baby sitter, which made me feel worse. The worst of all: is the fact that both of them bested me because of their Quirk. They both have Quirks while me... I couldn't even remember mine.

"Awe~ don't sulk," Shin stated, looking at me pouting like a baby. I glared at him but he kept pouting. I sat up to slap his shoulder but he held my arm.

I pulled it away, grumbling again. "Could you stop using your Quirk on me? It's unfair."

"I can't. It can't be turned off." He smiled cheerfully. I helplessly hugged my legs and buried my face on my knees. Then he wiped the sand off of my hair gently.

"It's so unfair. I don't know my Quirk. Maybe I forgot how to use it. Maybe it's gone. I don't know my past. Villains were after me. Why? Why is it like this?" I turned my head to him. "Why, Shin?"

He didn't give a sadistic remark. Instead, he continued brushing my hair with his fingers to get rid of the sand. His silver eyes looked like pale gold as the sun started setting down. They stared at me, deep into my soul. I got used to that stare. At first it made me uncomfortable, but now, it felt like he was doing that to understand me. When he got rid of the sand in my hair, he spoke.

"The world is always unfair, Aoi. There are people who deserved far better than what they had now but are suffering."

I stared at him, listening.

"But those sufferings made them stronger and once they get passed through it, they'll reach what they want. They get stronger."

"But I feel weak, right now. I have no Quirk."

"You're not Quirkless, Aoi. At least you're not born Quirkless. But Quirkless people can also be heroes. There's a hero who was once Quirkless but got a Quirk that changed his life."

"I'm not that person, though."

"Nope, you're not." He smiled. "But he had more hurdles than you."

"Was he chased by villains?"

"Yep," I narrowed my eyes at his answer.

What he said made sense. I shouldn't feel down because someone had worse problems than me. But what he said made me feel like I shouldn't be happy because someone had it better blessings than me.

"But that's not want you want to hear, right?"

I looked at him again. The color of sunset orange reflected from his eyes.

"You want your past. You want your Quirk. You don't want to feel helpless." He stated, "Right?"

I slowly nodded.

"I can tell you about your past. However, someone doesn't want me to tell you." He glanced to the side. I turned my head, seeing Shouto-kun observing us.

Why can't I know about my past?

"But I can tell you something about your quirk."

I looked back at Shin, to see if he's giving some bad joke again, but he's not. He's eyes were sincere. I could feel it.

"Tell me." I stated firmly, not hiding the eagerness within.

He moved closer. I could feel his warm breath.

The waves came and went again, and the wind sang for them.

"Your Quirk is so strong." His voice whispered softly. "It made me suffer a lot of injuries to defeat you."

My eyes narrowed as my mind went blank. I couldn't understand what he told me. I wanted him to repeat what he said. But he stood up before I could say anything.

"The sun is already setting let's go inside." He smiled and left me.

My Quirk is so strong? I injured him? How? How could I do that when he could read every movement beforehand? He dodges so quickly and naturally. How could I possibly land a single blow?

"Did Kuroiwa say something weird to you?" My thoughts stopped when I heard a familiar gentle voice. I looked up and saw Shouto-kun.

"Not really, I was just asking him some things." He sat down beside me, where Shin sat. The waves came to greet him as well, soaking his legs.

"What was it?"

Should I tell him? He might get mad at Shin, but I was the one who asked for it after all. And Shouto-kun is my fiancé. Hiding things from him makes me guilty. The waves came and went again.

"I asked him about my Quirk..." I stated nervously. "And my past"

I saw surprise in his heterochromatic eyes, then it turned serious, but kindness stayed as well. The kindness in his eyes gave me courage to continue.

"He said that my Quirk is strong, but he can't tell me about my past...Because you don't want to."

That was when I saw pain again. The sky started turned zenith as the sun retained its dark golden color as it sets down the horizon.

"Aoi, your past, is not something worth remembering." He stated gently, trying to cover the pain even though I already saw it through his eyes.

"How am I supposed to continue to the future when I don't even know who I was in the past?"

"You're perfect this way. You don't have to remember." His words were gentle yet somehow it pulled my heart down and heavy to meet my gut.

He must have seen it through my eyes when he held my cheek. "Your past was something better off forgotten."

"Why?" I felt like I was out of breath. A huge lump tightened my throat.

He clenched his teeth, just like he did when he told me the truth yesterday. Was my past so heavy and painful that speaking about it is so painfully difficult?

"You were suffering back then, Aoi. You suffered too much that you had to wear a mask to be strong. I can't bear to see you suffer like that again."

He caressed my cheek.

"It sounds selfish but I just want you to stay like this, innocent and safe. I want you to be away from all of our problems in the past."

I bit my lip. I didn't know what to say... Was it wrong to wish to know about your past? Does forgetting everything really helps?

Shouto-kun held each side of my face gently

"I can protect you, Aoi. I'll protect you as long as it takes. Just please..." He whispered softly that I felt like his voice was going to break any moment, along with his tears. "Just stay like this."

Stay like this.

If I stay like this, I'll stay innocent, stay safe and away from harm.

If I stay like this, I'll be away from all the problems. I could stay in this home. I could stay in this paradise.

Shouto-kun moved his face closer to mine

If I stay like this, I could go to the beach all day long and play. If I stay like this, I could be with my fiancé. If I stay like this, we could get married and have kids.

If I stay like this

"Just stay like this." He whispered again.

I closed my eyes.

If I stay like this....It wouldn't be so bad, right?

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6-29-2018

Hello Guys! I hope you're doing okay. I just found out that one of Shou-kun's brother is Natsuo XD I'm gonna edit this story if I have time (but only on the character's name)