BNHA: Force Within

The end of the first year at Mandoru Middle School brought warmer weather and final exams. Anakin sat by the window in Class 1-C, half-listening to their teacher explain the testing schedule. Instead, his focus was on using his quirk to keep his pencil perfectly still in the air - an exercise Dr. Nakamura gave him for fine control.

A crash from next door made him lose concentration. Through the wall, he heard Mirio's familiar laugh followed by, "Sorry, sensei! Activated my quirk by accident again!"

Anakin smiled. After eight months of friendship, he'd gotten used to the sound of Mirio falling through furniture.

"Skywalker-kun," his teacher called. "Please pay attention. And no quirk use during class."

The pencil dropped to his desk. A few students snickered, but he ignored them. He'd learned that trick from Mirio - it was harder for people to make you feel bad when you didn't react.

After class, he met Mirio in their usual lunch spot. His friend arrived with a fresh rip in his uniform pants.

"Phased through my chair again," Mirio explained, sitting down carefully. "Mom's getting tired of sewing my clothes back together."

"At least you're not falling through the floor as much."

"True! Only twice this week. That's progress!"

They ate lunch while reviewing for their final exams. Mirio had to hold his textbook extra tight - he'd lost three books this semester when his quirk activated unexpectedly.

"Hey," Mirio said suddenly. "Did you hear about UA? My dad says that's where all the top heroes went."

"Yeah. My great-grandmother works there. She won't tell me anything about it though."

"We should try to get in when we're done with middle school. Your quirk would be perfect for hero work."

Anakin moved his rice around with his chopsticks. "Maybe. If I can control it better by then."

"You're already better than you were at the start of the year."

"Says the guy who still falls through his desk daily."

They laughed, remembering their first few weeks of school. Back then, Anakin could barely maintain his mental shields around large groups, and Mirio couldn't sit in a chair for more than five minutes without phasing through it.

The afternoon classes dragged on. During math, Anakin practiced another of Dr. Nakamura's exercises - trying to sense individual emotions in a crowd without letting them overwhelm him. He picked up excitement from students thinking about summer break, stress about finals, and periodic bursts of surprise whenever Mirio's quirk acted up next door.

After school, they walked to the train station together. Mirio had to pause twice to fish his shoe out of the sidewalk when his quirk activated.

"My dad says I should try practicing at the beach," Mirio said, pulling his foot free. "Lots of space, and sand is softer than concrete when I fall."

"Better than your idea to practice in the park. Remember how you got stuck in that tree?"

"How was I supposed to know I'd phase through six branches before catching one?"

They reached the station just as Anakin's train arrived. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"If I don't fall through the earth's core before then!"

On the train ride home, Anakin thought about what Mirio said about UA. He pulled out his phone and opened the video he'd saved of All Might's latest rescue. The Number One Hero made it look so easy - controlling his power, saving people, always knowing exactly what to do.

His phone suddenly slipped through his fingers as someone bumped his arm. Without thinking, he caught it with his quirk before it could hit the floor. A woman nearby gasped and moved to a different seat.

At home, Megumi was still at work, but his grandfather had stopped by to make dinner.

"How was school?" Ben asked, stirring something that smelled like curry.

"Fine. Mirio only fell through his chair three times today."

"That kid's got a good attitude about his quirk troubles."

"Yeah." Anakin set the table using his quirk, carefully controlling each plate and cup. "He wants to go to UA."

"You thinking about it too?"

"I don't know. The Force isn't exactly a hero quirk."

Ben put down his spoon. "Any quirk can be a hero quirk. It's how you use it that matters."

His phone buzzed with a message from Mirio: "Guess what? Made it through dinner without phasing through my chair once! Progress!"

Anakin smiled and typed back: "New record. Too bad about your pants in class though."

"Can't win them all! You practice today?"

"Yeah. Still working on that precision control thing."

"You'll get it!"

Later, Megumi came home from her hospital shift, still in her nurse's uniform. "How's the quirk practice going?"

"Okay. Dr. Nakamura says I'm getting better at the emotional shielding part."

"That's good. Any more incidents?"

"No." He didn't mention the woman on the train moving seats. "Mirio's having a good quirk day too. Only phased through stuff four times."

His mom smiled. "That boy has a bright outlook on life."

Anakin started thinking about UA, about being a hero. Mirio made it sound so simple - like having a difficult quirk was just another challenge to overcome with a smile.