Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kai Monteago was just one of many ordinary Japanese high school students—or so he liked to think. He wasn’t actually Japanese, but having grown up in Japan, he was proud to say he’d mastered the language. Wait—why was he bringing that up?

Either way, today was his third day as a first-year. As a new student at Superpower High (officially named “Eden”—cheesy, right?), you couldn’t get in without a superpower. And yes, “superpower” here meant exactly what it sounded like. In this society, many people were born with abilities—some powerful, some useless—but the superpower high schools scattered across the country didn’t care. As long as you had a power, you were in.

“Monteago! Pass the ball!”

It was club activity time in the afternoon, and Kai was playing basketball with a few new friends he’d made. First-years hadn’t officially joined clubs yet—some students were still traveling back to school from out of town. But Kai was lucky; he’d always been able to make friends quickly wherever he went. Why? Ask his superpower.

That’s right—Kai’s power was 「Affinity」. To explain it in detail: he emitted tiny particles that made any living thing they touched unconsciously grow fond of him. This applied to animals and plants. So every morning on his way to school, he’d have a few sparrows fluttering around him, chirping away—they’d never been afraid of him.

“Got it!” Kai tiptoed slightly and passed the ball. He’d taken off his school blazer, wearing just his hoodie over his school shirt. It was the start of the semester, so the discipline committee hadn’t started cracking down on dress code violations yet.

While the boys joked and roughhoused on the court, a boy pulled up to the school gate with a school bag. He wore a black face mask, his expression making him look unapproachable. He glanced around, confirmed this was Eden, then walked inside.

Compared to Kai, his outfit was far more “proper.” Eden’s boys’ spring/autumn uniform was a white dress shirt paired with a dark green tie (trimmed with two gold stripes darker than sunflower yellow), plus a matching dark green blazer and slacks.

As he walked down the main path into the school, something unexpected happened on Kai’s end.

“Whoa, watch out!” One guy tried to show off with a three-pointer, but the ball bounced off the rim. His power seemed to be related to rebound—the basketball ricocheted off and flew straight toward Kai. There was no time to dodge; Kai stretched out his hands, ready to catch it—

“【Pause】.”

In an instant, the basketball froze mid-air, suspended like it was glued to the air. Kai stared at the ball, now less than ten centimeters from his nose, his heart still racing. He reached out, grabbed it, and set it on the ground. The other students swarmed over to check if he was okay.

“You good, Kai?”

“Ugh, it’s my fault—I can’t control my power yet…”

“Hey, it’s fine!” Kai waved them off. “See? I didn’t even get hit. By the way, whose power was that? It’s so cool—why didn’t you tell us?”

The group exchanged confused looks. Finally, the boy who’d almost hit Kai spoke up: “Uh… none of us have a power like that…”

“Then who…?” Kai scanned the area, and his eyes landed on the mysterious boy. The stranger had pulled down his mask for a second, and after confirming nothing was wrong here, he put it back on and kept walking.

But that figure was too familiar. He couldn’t be mistaken—and that power…

“Wait for me!” Kai kicked the ball to his friends, then turned to chase the stranger. “I’ll be right back!”

“Hey, where are you going?!”

“Just gotta say hi to a friend—” He yelled over his shoulder, hurrying to catch up. The boy walked fast, and the closer Kai got, the more sure he was: this was his old friend, his childhood neighbor he hadn’t seen in eight years—

“Damon!”

The figure stopped. Damon turned around. Even with the mask covering half his face, his furrowed brows and narrowed eyes made it clear he was thinking, “What do you want?”

“Uh… long time no see? When did you move back? Why didn’t you tell me or my mom?” Kai panted, catching his breath before straightening up. “Seriously, you scared me half to death… I mean, I heard you might come back, but if you’d told me earlier, I could’ve picked you up at the airport!”

Damon stared at him blankly, then pulled out his phone, opened his SNS app, and tapped on his chat with Kai. A flood of unread messages from Kai popped up. Damon frowned, skipped scrolling through the old ones, and typed directly.

Kai didn’t hesitate to pull out his own phone and open the chat to see what Damon had sent.

「I didn’t want to step off the plane and see you glowing, surrounded by a crowd.」

Damon Maitsu—his childhood friend, former neighbor, and playmate. How they’d met was a slightly awkward story, but they’d grown close over time. Damon’s power was 「Scared Sound」: any phrase he spoke with clear command would come true. Over time, he’d gotten into the habit of not speaking unless necessary, preferring to communicate through typing.

He was also the only person who seemed completely unaffected by Kai’s 「Affinity」 particles, always firing off snarky comments. Maybe that’s just how Damon showed he cared? Kai had never seen Damon interact with anyone else, so he couldn’t be sure.

“Hey, it’s not like I can control that!” Kai pouted. “Also—are you still living next door? Where are your parents? Still in America?”

「Yes. You didn’t sell my house, did you?」

“Of course not! I’m not that bad!”

「Suspicious.」

“Hey—”

Kai heard two quiet laughs muffled under Damon’s mask, and his irritation faded. He took a deep breath, then grabbed Damon’s hand. “Which class are you in? I’ll help you drop off your bag, and I’ll give you a school tour too.”

“…1-E.” Maybe typing was too much trouble for such a small thing—Damon spoke directly. His voice was a little hoarse, probably from his 「Scared Sound」 power.

“What a coincidence! I’m in Class E too! The seat behind me is empty—you can sit there, and it’s by the window!” Kai cheerfully pulled Damon toward the lobby’s shoe lockers, stopping at an empty one in the 1-E section. “See? This is probably yours. First, let’s go find our homeroom teacher.”

Beep. Kai’s phone vibrated. Damon put his phone back in his pocket and opened the locker to change shoes, while Kai checked the new message.

「Don’t you have class right now?」

“It’s club time—classes ended already.” He leaned against the locker, waiting for Damon to finish changing. “Since some students like you are still coming back from abroad, first-years haven’t started choosing clubs yet.”

“…Oh.”

Once Damon was done, he slung his black backpack over one shoulder and followed Kai into the first-floor lobby.

“This is the home economics classroom—it’s also where the cooking club meets. That’s the music room—choir and the school band practice there. This is the infirmary. And over there is the art room—we have a painting club too. If we go further and open that door, we’ll get to the courtyard leading to the gym.” He showed Damon the left hallway first, then turned to the right. “See? This is the teachers’ office, the restrooms, and the kendo and archery club rooms. Further ahead is the library. Eden has tons of clubs—you can even start your own if you want.”

「Have you decided which one you want to join?」

“Me?” Kai tapped his cheek, thinking as he led Damon toward the teachers’ office. “Hmm… I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not that into sports clubs, so maybe choir? Haha…”

「I’d sooner trust your drawing skills than your singing.」

This was a reference to the self-portrait Kai had drawn in kindergarten—he’d depicted himself as a horse-like creature, and the nickname “Horse Face” had stuck with him until second grade, when Damon moved away.

“Rude! Maybe I’ll just join the ‘Go Home Club’ then?” Kai knocked on the office door, then pulled it open. Several teachers were working inside; the rest were probably supervising club activities. He led Damon over to a figure whose face was hard to see, clearing his throat. “Uh, Mr. Tozu?”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Monteago—oh.” Tozu turned around, and his face made Damon jump. It was a face with only eyes visible; the rest was covered in what looked like goat bones, making him look terrifying.

“Don’t be scared.” Kai whispered in his ear, gently squeezing his hand. “Mr. Tozu looks scary, but he’s actually… really fun!”

“You must be Damon Maitsu, right?” Tozu pulled out a form, compared it to Damon, then handed over a black marker. “Here—please sign this.”

As Damon took the marker to sign, Tozu turned back to his computer but didn’t stop talking. “Also—does your power affect your daily life a lot? I read your file. 「Scared Sound」… I can see why you’ve been transferring schools so much.”

“It’s not that bad.” Damon carefully chose words that wouldn’t trigger his power. “I can handle simple conversations.”

“Good. I won’t restrict your phone use in class either. From your previous school records, you don’t seem like the type to get distracted by it.” He took the form back from Damon, glanced at it, and set it aside—then shot Kai a look. “But you, young man—if you catch him using his phone in class, make sure to keep an eye on him.”

“I will.” Damon nodded, also glancing at Kai. Kai’s eyes widened, and he whispered in protest: “Wait, what? Mr. Tozu, that’s so unfair!”

“Hehe… Finally, I won’t have to worry about Monteago slacking off in class anymore～” Tozu hummed, waving them away. “You can go check out the classroom now, kids. Let your old Tozu get some rest.”

“Tch, you’re the worst,” Kai huffed, and the 「Affinity」 particles floating around him multiplied. Damon frowned, swatting away the particles that tried to get close, then pulled down his mask and said: “【Don’t come near me】.”

In the next second, an invisible force pushed Kai back a meter.

“Really?! Do you hate me that much?”

「More like I hate your particles.」 Damon typed on his phone and showed it to him.

“…Fine.”

They went upstairs. The entire second floor was for first-years, and Class 1-E was at the far right. When they arrived, Kai pushed open the door. Inside was a traditional Japanese classroom layout; outside the windows, a beautiful cherry blossom tree cast pink shadows, making the whole room glow.

“I sit here.” He pointed to the second-to-last seat by the window. “Cool, right? Total main character lore.”

“…Yeah.” Damon grunted, hanging his backpack on the hook next to the seat behind Kai. He scanned the classroom—there were about 30 students, not too many, not too few.

“C’mon—we need to finish the tour before club time ends and school lets out.”

They kept going upstairs. The third floor was for second-years, the fourth for third-years. The fifth floor had a rooftop—a popular spot for students to eat lunch and relax. Kai pushed open the rooftop door. A cool spring breeze greeted Damon, along with a clear blue sky dotted with clouds. Everything was so different from his life in America.

Over there, he’d been an invisible kid. Because of his power, he’d never had a good relationship with anyone, let alone close friends. Even though he’d been a top student, he’d spent every lunch break sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. Those days made him miss the old neighborhood—when he’d still lived on that quiet street, and every noon, a certain noisy kid would drag him over to share lunch—

“Whew, this is nice.” Kai stretched, walking to the rooftop edge and leaning on the railing. The rooftop was planted with what looked like vegetables. Did someone grow them here? Noticing Damon’s confused look, he smiled and explained: “Oh, the upperclassmen planted these—it’s the gardening club’s project, I think. You interested?”

“…” Damon shook his head, typing on his phone.

「Never saw anything like this in America.」

“Yeah…” Kai leaned back against the railing, staring at the clouds drifting by. The tiny pink particles floating around him landed in the soil. Suddenly, the plants perked up, unfurling their green leaves one after another—some even bloomed flowers. Cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries… so many.

Damon stared, dumbfounded—until he looked up and met a pair of beautiful golden eyes.

Under the bright afternoon sky, the wind ruffled Kai’s pink hair, softening his features and making him look lively. Those golden eyes—unforgettable in Damon’s memories—were looking at him like they could see straight into his soul. (Though knowing Kai, he probably could.) Kai smiled brightly, like the eight years apart had never happened—like they were still best friends.

“Welcome back, Damon.”

He said the words he should have said earlier. The wind blew Kai’s loosely tied tie to the side, but it didn’t make him look messy or unkempt. Damon blinked, pulling down his mask.

“Yeah. I’m back.”

———

“Whoa, you’re the last student in our class? I heard you transferred from America—what’s it like there?”

「Not great.」

“Can’t you talk? Wow, Mr. Tozu really let you use your phone in class…?”

「Just for talking.」

“Okay, everyone—let’s give Maitsu-san some space, yeah?” A student who looked like the class president walked over and pulled the curious crowd away from Damon. It was already after school; everyone had come back to get their things, and just happened to run into Kai and Damon returning to the classroom. True to form, Kai—usually the center of attention—was pushed to the side for the first time. Damon, who’d never been the focus of anyone, was forced to deal with a group of overly curious students.

“Phew… Sorry for the trouble, Maitsu-san. I’m Wolfgang Akire—welcome to Eden.” Wolfgang held out his hand. Damon looked at it, then at Wolfgang’s smiling face, and finally took it hesitantly, shaking it briefly.

“Hey Wolfgang, can we save the introductions for tomorrow?” Kai slung his backpack over one shoulder, his blazer tucked under his arm. He stood at the classroom door, tapping his foot impatiently. “Damon still has to unpack, and I’m starving!”

…Damon pulled his hand back and rolled his eyes at Kai.

Who do you think I’m doing this for?! Kai clicked his tongue, looking away. Since when did Damon—who’d hated socializing—agree to talk to people? Was it going to rain frogs tomorrow?

“…Sorry. 【Move aside】.” Damon whispered to Wolfgang, unconsciously triggering his power. He clapped a hand over his mouth, mentally cursing himself for speaking.

Now everyone would know about his power. They’d think he was scary, and avoid him… Damon didn’t care about himself, but he was worried about ruining Kai’s reputation at school. Even though Kai naturally won everyone’s affection, it wouldn’t change the fact that his childhood friend was a “gloomy, scary-powered top student.”

“…Is this your power, Maitsu-san?” Wolfgang adjusted his tie, then grabbed Damon’s hand before he could duck his head and rush away.

“…【Let go】.” Damon tried to pull back, but Wolfgang’s grip was tight. In a panic, he activated 「Scared Sound」 again. To his surprise, Wolfgang didn’t let go. Damon stood there, stunned, not understanding what was happening.

“Heh, no need to panic—it’s my power.” Wolfgang let go, watching Damon step back and rub his wrist. “My power is 「Shielding」. I can absorb and block certain wavelengths of information—electromagnetic waves, sound waves, even brainwaves. After Mr. Tozu told me about your situation, I wondered if it would work on your 「Scared Sound」… looks like it does.”

“You’re pretty proud of yourself, huh?” Kai had clearly run out of patience. He strode over, grabbed the wrist Wolfgang had just held, and pulled Damon toward the classroom door. “Sorry, class president—but we really gotta go.”

Wolfgang watched them leave, wanting to say something but holding back. A pink-haired girl sitting on a desk, sucking on a lollipop, rolled her eyes at their retreating backs, then patted Wolfgang’s shoulder with a laugh. “What, finally met someone who doesn’t fall for your charm?”

“…I have a feeling Maitsu-san won’t like me much.” He sighed. “His brainwaves are just like Tsunaka-san’s—proud, likes to work alone.” He glanced at the middle seat in the back row. An archery practice bow was propped there, decorated with a crow feather—but its owner was nowhere to be seen.

“But I never expected Monteago-san to be so close to him.” Wolfgang took a deep breath, then turned to the crowd still hanging around. “Everyone, let’s head home. Don’t bother the students on duty.”

“Tch, another troublemaker.” The pink-haired girl—Grace—jumped off the desk and slung her sports bag over her shoulder. Eden’s girls’ uniform was a pale yellow sailor top with dark green accents (collar, cuffs, skirt, and neckerchief)—matching the boys’ blazers. Two gold stripes on the collar added a touch of energy. But Grace wasn’t wearing her uniform properly either; she had on a light blue athletic hoodie instead.

“…But at least it won’t be boring now.”

She bit down on her lollipop stick, humming as she left—sneaking a kick at her friend on the way out. The two laughed and chased each other out of the school.

———

「You didn’t have to stick up for me.」

“I know, but I really wanted to go home. Dude, I’m starving.” Kai scrolled through his phone. “You have no idea how badly I wanna lie on my bed and eat pudding…”

「…Thanks.」

“Told you—I just wanted to get home early.” Kai glanced at Damon. “But if you wanna thank me, hey, no problem. Wolfgang only became class president ‘cause he had good grades in middle school. I didn’t even vote for him.”

「You think you’d be a better class president?」

“Hell yeah—wait, no! I don’t wanna do it! Managing people is such a hassle—I definitely don’t want the job!”

「(Laughs)」

“Stop typing ‘laughs’ at me! Ugh, you’re so mean…”

They turned a corner, crossed an intersection, and finally stopped in front of a small, ordinary villa. The familiar Japanese-style house, the hyacinths planted by the door, the stray cat sunning itself—everything was exactly as Damon remembered. Even the people hadn’t changed.

“Ara, Damon’s here?” Kai’s mom greeted them at the door. She looked surprisingly young, and Damon couldn’t help but wonder if Kai’s youthful face came from her. “Come in! Have you finished cleaning your place yet?”

“Not yet.” Damon walked in easily, set his backpack on the couch, opened their fridge, grabbed a can of cola, and tossed it to Kai. Kai caught it, handed his backpack to his mom, then plopped down on the couch.

“Is that so… Well, you can eat dinner here, then take Kai with you to clean up!” She took the backpack upstairs, presumably to put it in his room.

“Sure!” Kai took a sip of soda, watching Damon sit awkwardly on the couch. He couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s with you? You get shy after a few years apart?”

“…Tch. 【Shut up】.”

Muffled sounds came from Kai—he’d been physically silenced.

Damon took a deep breath, looking around the second-most familiar house in his life. The warm-toned decor, the familiar rug, the photo hanging above the TV—so familiar it hurt: a picture of him and Kai at the park. Both had grown so much since then, changed so much.

The air smelled faintly of cherry blossoms. Like the late-night calls Kai had made to him from Japan. Damon would be doing homework, and Kai would be huddled under his covers, looking at the moon. His quiet laughter, the little stories about his day—they’d been the best background music for Damon’s homework.

When he’d stepped off the plane, he hadn’t felt like he was “back in Japan.”

But sitting on this couch, next to Kai, waiting for dinner—this was when he truly felt it: he was home.

Chapter Text

Alright, sorry for u to be happy about the update but well actually this is like a note for my next updating movements. I found that it's important to make u guys aware.

Well basically, I played Your Turn To Die this afternoon and, OHMYFUKINGOD, it was a masterpiece. Like seriously, the plot and the characters are like *chief's kiss*.

What did the game do with my updates is that, my loving dumbass couple(which you know then you know, hints: ch1 victim), as well as that hat man, hurt me every time when they pump into my screen (×_×) Like seriously game director? What the hell? Don't make me cry every thirty minutes!!!

And I'm literally covering from the ptsd from it, which is also the reason why I don't like angst. cuz I want all my little cinnamon rolls live happily (god YTTD done a such great job on traumatizing me on that（；_・）

So, what I try to imply is that I may stop updating for like, several days? When I'm ready to move on and get back to my beloved kaimon then you know what you'll get～

Also, the Supernova side-story about diava will post first than this, the outline is almost done and kaimon will show everywhere in this fanfic (like bro they can't get off my brain when I write anything abt p:eg), hope you stay tuned!!∩|*`・ρ・´|∩

Anyway, thank you guys for reading this. I wasn't using any translation tools when writing this so technically it may contain grammar issues. This chapter will be deleted as soon as the real chapter two is done!

Hope you having a wonderful day!