World Of Heroes

I am sleeping. Or at least, that's what I had wanted to say.

But…

"...-gami…" A faint, young feminine voice tried to knock me out from dreamland, albeit such an attempt was nothing in front of my sleepiness.

"Ishigami…" It came again, with its flawed actions which I responded by clutching even more tightly my bedsheets. Until suddenly...

"Ishigami Kurayama!" The once peaceful voice had suddenly turned into a shout that immediately yanked me out of my dream. Quite literally if I say so, since it made me fall out from the bed and hit my head on the wooden floor

"Ouch…" I hissed due to the pain while rubbing my aching head, as I did so, I lifted up my gaze in order to lock eyes with the culprit. She's a beautiful teenage girl dressed in a dark blue sailor uniform. She seemed disappointed, yet her caring emerald green eyes sternly stared at my own, forcing me to lower my gaze in shame.

"*Sigh*… If you continue with this lazy behavior, Ishigami, you'll never become a hero!" Her silky brown hair that is tied into a ponytail, followed her movements as she approached me with steady steps. The one responsible for my downfall, the one who is currently turning her head away in a cold manner while drilling her accusatory gaze onto me, is none other than my older sister, Aiko Kurayama.

"Yeah, yeah, you've kept saying this every day for the last two months," I said as I stood up from the floor while scratching my back, I also couldn't stop a sleepy yawn from escaping through my mouth.

"Hmpf. Anyhow, you'd better get out of this bed and hurry downstairs, because your brother might end up leaving you with nothing again." Seemingly bothered by my answer, Aiko ended up remarking this with a smug expression on her face.

"Oh shit!" My sleepy eyes immediately widened in panic as I quickly moved on to change my clothes. Aiko, after seeing my reaction, ended up smiling with satisfaction glued on her face.

Wasting no time, I started to take off my clothes while also taking a quick look at the mirror. I can see an average, pale-skinned thirteen-year-old boy with messy black hair. Other than my pale skin, the only thing that made me stand out from the average masses was my pair of deep blue eyes, with some people even saying they could hypnotize due to the profoundness found in them.

After putting on my simple school uniform and a comfortable pair of socks, I quickly dashed out from my room and proceeded to go downstairs. Amidst the stairs that I'm hurriedly trying to cross, I ended up bumping my head on a muscular chest.

Lifting up my gaze, I locked eyes with my older brother, Katsu Kurayama. As anyone can obviously get it by seeing his ripped frame, he's the most muscular and also the tallest person in our family. He graduated high school last year and is now studying in the college of art and design. Despite loving to annoy everyone, he's still regarded, including by me, as the cheerful heart of our family. Really. It is simply impossible to hate this guy due to his overwhelming charisma, the complete opposite of someone useless like me.

"Woah there!" Katsu lowered his head, locking his dark brown eyes with mine, strangely enough, I can somehow see a tint of worry in his gaze.

"Katsu. For the love of God. Please, don't tell me you ate my limited edition pudding!" I ended up immediately spouting my worries on him. But I couldn't afford to hold back since I'm certain that I emptied my luck reserves when finding that pudding.

"Oh, you mean that one you hid in the back of the fridge? The one that has a message written on it clearly saying 'DO NOT TOUCH'?" With a perpetual smile stamped on his face, Katsu answered in a way that already gave me a bad feeling.

"I don't like where this is going…" I mumbled under my breath. Yet, there's still a bit of hope. Maybe he didn't eat it at all.

"No worries! I only ate fifty spoons of it. There's still a bit left for you, hehe…" Katsu laughed at the end of his phrase while scratching the back of his head.

"Why? Just why?!" I gasped those words with difficulty.

"Ishigami, you should've known that a true hero must endure tragedies like this one." I can see that Katsu is doing his best to hold back his laughter by seeing the tremble on his stiff smile.

"I swear when I become a hero… I'll kick your ass!"

"Hahaha, that's the spirit. Now go and eat breakfast leftovers." Katsu said as he patted my back while releasing a cheerful laugh.

"God, I hate you so much," I said in a quiet whisper before I continued my way downstairs.

As I continued my way downstairs, depressed, and completely broken from this great tragedy that has befallen on me, I heard a voice behind me. The voice of an adorable little angel that brought back joy into my mind and soul.

"Big brother! Big brother!" The adorable and cute voice of my little sister entered my ears, clearing my previously depressed mood and filling it with her cheerfulness. I looked back only to come across her innocent honey-brown eyes. Her pure smile immediately filled my heart with warmth as I couldn't stop myself from patting her silky chestnut brown hair, which she responded by giving me her giddy laughter. She was also carrying her signature white fluffy rabbit plushie that is as white as snow. She's none other than the world's best little sister, Hina Kurayama.

"Big brother, I drew you again." She said in a cheerful voice while her eyes sparkled with confidence as she gave me her new masterpiece.

It was a drawing of me wearing a generic hero costume while standing on top of a man wearing a black costume while doing a very bizarre pose. She even drew small red arrows that indicated which is which.

"This is amazing, Hina! You're an amazing artist! You should definitely become a mangaka!" I said as I patted her head with a genuinely happy smile plastered on my face.

"Never! I will become big brother's sidekick, and then kick ass and take names!" Hina said in a confident voice while shadowboxing.

I nervously smiled, trying to hide my worried expression after hearing my sister, who is still in grade school, start cursing at such a young age. "Well then, do you want to have your first mission?" I said, trying my best to imitate the voice of a grown adult.

"Really?!" Hina asked after instantly changing her focus onto me with a look of disbelief.

"Yes! I want you to go and annoy the evil villain known as 'Big brother Katsu'. Are you ready for your job?" I said, still trying to keep that voice while raising my eyebrow.

"Aye, aye, sir!" Hina said as she saluted me and ran off upstairs.

I continued my way towards the kitchen, trying to suppress my laughter after imitating that stupid voice.

After stepping inside, the first thing that caught my eye was the long, silky black hair of a woman. She turned her head, with affection within the gaze she was directing at me. Her jade green eyes radiated motherly care while her simple yet loveable smile was already enough to brighten the entire room. This woman... Is my mother, Sumiko Kurayama

"Ishigami, you're late again. Are you serious about becoming a hero?" My mother asked in a soft and worried voice after looking at me with concern in her eyes.

"I am. So don't worry, mother. Also, sleep is something that every hero needs." I said after I grabbed a bowl of rice and started digging into it.

"Yes, by sleeping early and waking up early. You stayed up until 3 AM watching anime. I am sure that heroes don't do that." My mother said, trying to scold me for such behavior.

"You'd be surprised, mother," I said after releasing a somewhat quiet chuckle.

As I was trying my best to eat breakfast as fast as I can, I heard the sound of a battle raging upstairs.

"Seems like you finally lost Ms.Rabbit woman!" Katsu smilingly said, trying his best to imitate a generic and overdramatic bad guy.

"As long as I have the power of my family with me, I will never lose to you!" Hina replied in an equally overdramatic voice. The only difference between the two was that Hina was not acting.

"Hina? Hina, no! Not the weights! Hina stop!" Katsu said in a genuinely terrified voice, completely breaking character.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy dumbbells hitting the upstairs floor, almost breaking it, made me nearly choke to death on a rice ball. Right before Aiko came into my rescue with a glass of water.

After chugging down the glass of water, I thanked Aiko with a stiff smile. Although I didn't even have the time to appreciate her response since my eyes immediately glued themselves on the clock.

"Oh shit! I'm late for school!"

Wasting no time, I quickly stood up and grabbed my school bag to rush towards the front door.

"Ishigami!" The voice of four people all said in sync.

I turned around to see my family standing behind me, all giving me different looks.

"You forgot your bento, Ishigami." My mother said as she gave me a warm smile that radiated her motherly care.

"So much for a forgetful and sleep-deprived hero," Aiko said as she gave me a somewhat mocking grin before it changed into a heartwarming smile.

"My plan is perfectly working, you'll soon turn to the dark side," Katsu said, trying to imitate a generic villain while rubbing his hands in an evil way. His hilarious act instantly turned into a cheerful smile that radiated joy.

"Don't worry, big brother. I will always have your back." Hina spoke in an adorable and happy voice as she gave me my bento, completely dropping the overly dramatic hero personality that she had just a few seconds ago.

I happily accepted Hina's help and took my bento as I waved them off with an equally happy smile that radiated my gratitude before I dashed towards school.

And for the last member of the family who is rarely present, Hiroto Kurayama, my father. He rarely comes home, sometimes even once a month. He was a very busy scientist that worked on evolution studies and experiments. When he came home, he always sat down with us and insisted on hearing the things we did while he was gone. He always had a smile plastered on his face, one that radiated comfort and safety. We love him the way he is.

Well, I guess there is still one more member of the family. That's being me.

My name is Kurayama Ishigami, a 13 years old boy who doesn't have any superpowers or anything that can make him unique or stand out from the rest, and also a disappointment to my family of super-powered people. I don't even have any special characteristics or features. My personality is always described as a "peaceful and wholesome person" by other people, and also a very lazy boy.

I always dreamt of becoming a hero when I grow up, but my family was very unsupportive of such an idea and didn't believe that I could accomplish it, and always tried to make me forget about such a dream. I am a disappointment, and someone with an impossible dream, yet my family always treated me kindly, and I always felt the most happiness when I was with them. I love my family more than anything in the world.

While I was sprinting down the road towards my school, I still didn't forget about my daily dose of staring at one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. On the other side of the river, a golden statue was standing 100 meters tall. Such a statue would have obviously been that of a historical figure that was praised in the entire world. Well...you are right.

The great statue was that of the first evolved human, the first hero, the greatest hero, the strongest hero, the best hero, and the most amazing hero that has ever existed in history. He was 'Gamma', the man that created and caused the great age of heroes and saved the world from its darkest times in history. And personally, the one who inspired me to become a hero.

Hero.

That's right, this is the age of Heroes

In the year 1950, after two neutron stars collided not far from our solar system, an explosion of a great scale was caused, creating a gamma-ray burst that struck the Earth directly. But instead of creating a great deal of damage that would have ended all life, the ray that lasted for a few minutes emitted gamma radiation that changed something in our DNA and made us evolve in a way we never expected.

The entire world had superpowers. The entire human species had all become a superhuman society. You'd think that famine, poverty, conquest, war, and everything that made us humans greedy and maliceful would disappear with these great powers. But unfortunately, the opposite happened.

The world was thrown into chaos, greater than any other time in human history. Wars, deaths, violence, and disorder became something that people had to live with after World War 3 started because of great political issues.

That's when Gamma and few of his allies stepped up to fix the greatest mess in human history. Their accomplishments were something that had people in awe as hope slightly started to return back to them. They were called 'Heroes', the true meaning of justice, safety, and hope to the entire world.

Twelve years ago, Gamma wanted to clean the world from superpowers, which are the cause of this great chaos. Thus, he used his power to try and absorb the radiation of the entire world, which, unfortunately, led to his ultimate death after absorbing 40% of all radiation on Earth. Leaving 60% of the world's population with superpowers. His death is something that people still mourn to this day in the year 2000.

Well, unfortunately, I was one of that 40 % of the world that didn't have any superpower. My inferiority complex and the disappointment towards myself are immeasurable. There isn't a single day where I don't ask "What did I do for this to happen to me?" Always digging my head into my pillow and having an existential crisis while thinking about anything I might have done wrong in my life. I would have taken the easier route in life and just ended it, but my family's support was something that made me completely forget about it. I am who I am because of them.

Which led to me having an average everything in life. Especially my school life.

My school day was like any other day, boring to the end. Classes, talking with friends, crushing on a girl that is out of my league, and most importantly, being yelled at by teachers while I sleep in the classroom. I wasn't a good student, but a smart one.

After a boring school day, I walked back home alone. My house was the farthest from school, so I had to walk alone quite a distance. Upon reaching my home that was located in a quiet area of the town where each house was far from the other, I saw a black sedan parked right in front of it. I was happy to see it because it was the car that my dad used to get back home with. I ran towards the house with a happy look on my face.

As soon as I walked up to the door and placed my hand on the door handle, I was paralyzed. An overwhelming feeling of fear that froze me in my spot. I felt like collapsing to the ground and vomiting my entire breakfast and lunch, but I regained my composure before I fell. I took a deep breath just for a strong stench of iron to assault my nose. I have never experienced something like this, what was going on?

I tried once again to regain my composure and used all of my might to open the front door.

Only to find that...

My older brother, Katsu had his back on the wall, his right arm was torn off and his chest had many bullet holes, he was pinned to the wall by a machete. My older sister, Aiko was in two pieces, her upper body was lying down on the floor in front of Katsu, while her lower body was lying down on the stairs, she was painted by her dry blood. My younger sister, Hina was lying down right in front of me in a pool of blood, she was carrying her rabbit plushie that was previously as white as snow while meanwhile, it's as red as blood. Each one of their faces had a look that haunted me, it was a look of pure hopelessness and despair.

At this time. My mind went blank as I shifted my gaze from the corpses of what had once been my family, to the one that's still alive. My father… His once silky black hair is now bathed in crimson blood...

His darkening eyes pleaded for my forgiveness, as his mutilated mouth struggled to produce any sounds. By moving my gaze down on his body, I saw his guts splattered on the ground while my father pointlessly tried to block the never-ending fountain of blood that continually spilled on the ground, painting it with blood. He gave me one last look before saying…

"F-Forgive me… So-" I couldn't even hear his last words before someone pulled the trigger of the gun that suddenly found itself on the back of his head. The bullet pierced his skull and revealed his brain matter… I could only lower my eyes, seeing the fallen dead body of my father. My entire vision went red, I don't know if it was from the blood I'm seeing everywhere, or if it is from the ultimate level of despair that assaulted my will, my soul, and my heart.

A man wearing a black coat suddenly came out from the kitchen, carrying my mother's decapitated head in his right hand. I couldn't see his face, but I'm certain he's giving me a simple smile.

Yes. A gut-wrenching grin that didn't hold anything out of the ordinary, yet… Just seeing his smile alone filled my spine with chills.

"That was an amazing fight. I'm sorry you missed such an exciting family feud. I wish it didn't end that quickly." He said as he threw my mother's severed head right in front of me, still holding the same smile on his face.

With tears coming down like a waterfall, I dashed right to him with all my might and anger just to get shot in my right side by another man wearing a blue bandana that covered his face while he was sitting in the living room...

"Calm down kid." He expressionlessly said while lowering his pistol.

"Alright, playtime is over. Fix him up, Akuishi." Spoke the man in the black coat.

That's when I felt someone walk right up to me, and suddenly, I felt my injury completely heal.

"He is all fixed up, Katsuri." The man wearing an expressionless, full white mask, seemingly Akuishi, confirmed after treating my wound.

"Alright, let's get going." Kasturi cheerfully replied after releasing an insane laugh.

The man with the black coat picked me up on his shoulders as I saw my family's last moments. All of them had a look of despair, rage, disbelief, and most importantly, a look of sadness as if they were pitying me who had a worse fate than all of them combined. My life… Has been ruined.

_

I woke up while being dragged by two people that were wearing black tactical uniforms and were carrying military rifles. They dragged me across a long hallway, and at the end of it was a large metallic door, they threw me inside and closed the door.

I was in a large room full of people, maybe 200 or 300 hundred people were in here, and they all looked distressed, shocked, terrified, hysteric, all were mentally damaged.

The large iron wall in front of me rose like a garage door, revealing a large platform that had three people in it. I recognized them all. They were the ones that killed my family.

The man in the middle was the one called Katsuri, he had black hair, black eyes, and a smile that never left his face. After staring into him better, I can see that he slightly resembles me.

The man standing to his right was the one called Akuishi, he had dark green hair, dark eyes, and an expressionless face that didn't show the tiniest of emotions.

The last man was the one wearing that blue bandana. He didn't talk or do anything as he glared at me, staring only at me.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to my fine establishment. I'm sorry for the rough welcoming but just bear with me for now. I can tell that all of you are now wondering where this place is and how you can get out. Well, we are in the middle of nowhere, so don't bother trying to escape or break out.

I only want one simple thing from you, and after that, you can go back to your daily lives." He said, trying his best to talk in a friendly voice.

"We only want you to try a newly made medical injection, don't worry since it's 100% safe." He said before breaking from his friendly character after a wide and bone-chilling grin formed on his face.

Five large doors opened. "Please enter slowly, and one by one," Katsuri said in a professional voice.

The same door I was thrown out from opened, and due to me being the closest to it, I entered first.

I walked through that long corridor until I reached what looked like a hospital room, only way darker, and in it was a man wearing a lab coat. At this point, my body was moving on its own. I was too shocked and traumatized to analyze anything. I just want to get out of here, so I did as they told me.

I walked to that room and sat on a metal chair as the man instructed me to do. He grabbed my arm and injected me with a light blue substance.

After that, he told me to go through a door that was in front of me that led to an equally large room as the previous one that I was inside in. It was a bit empty, but people started going in one by one until it was full again.

"Now everyone, we will play a game of waiting." Katsuri said, "I am sorry to bore you, but it is essential." He said as he kept staring at his watch while we kept waiting for a couple of minutes...then it hit.

My body was dying from the inside and outside. My veins were almost going to explode from whatever was going inside my body. I couldn't even scream because of how intense the pain was. I was just suffering in silence as everyone was going through the same thing.

Then, the bodies started dropping.

One by one, everyone dropped to the ground, dead. Some were horribly disfigured, some had their skin melted off from their bones, some had their mouths filled with blood, and were choking on their fluids, and some were just dead from the intensity of the pain.

The pain kept going until it suddenly stopped before I went back to normal, and so did four other people who looked my age.

"Perfect, just as expected. Now for those who survived, I owe you an explanation. You have been injected with a highly concentrated and a modified blood sample from the hero known as gamma."

Wait...the hero gamma? The first hero? The first man to have superpowers?

"And for those who don't know, gamma was the first human to be evolved and the one who was directly hit by the gamma-ray burst. And with that, he had a power that allowed him to control gamma radiation, which made him very powerful. As you know, 12 years ago, he tried to free the world from superpowers, so he tried to absorb all the radiation that was in the world.

He did absorb 40% but instantly died, hahaha pathetic. But anyway, we found his body and did some experiments on it so we could profit from him. As you can see, you are the only test subjects that survived this experiment. sorry to say, but you will stay here a little longer." Katsuri had a disturbing smile on his face as he said, "Welcome, to Laboratory 5."