Young Writers Society

Darkness covered my vision as I lied in bed. My body rustled under the sheets with each shift. Then I heard a thunderous knock coming from my front door. The noise caused me to jump out of my bed.

“Tachi! It’s time to get up! We’re late for class!”

Grumbling as I got up off the floor, I looked at my alarm clock before staggering to the front door.

Standing in front of me was a girl about my age with pale skin, long black hair, and green eyes. She was dressed in a sailor uniform with a blue coat with a red tie, a plaid skirt, and a pair of slip on shoes over a pair of knee socks.

“What is it now, Misaki?” I asked. Rubbing my eyes, my vision started to become clear.

“Like I said before, we’re going to be late for class!” she repeated, furrowing her brow while having a stern expression.

I gave her a deadpanned glare before crushing the bridge between my eyes. I begrudgingly retort, “It’s 6:00AM in the morning. Class doesn’t start until 12:00PM.”

“Which is the perfect opportunity to get to class and spend those six hours studying before class starts!” Misaki asserted. She placed her hands on her hips as she stood firmly. Then she ordered, “Now, get dressed and put some pants on!”

“Why should I?” I protested.

Her face turned red as she pointed down. She said in an embarrassed tone, “Because the circus is in town and a tent is forming in your briefs!”

Looking down, my face also started turning red, especially from the fact that a girl had just looked down there also. I quickly apologized and closed the door as fast as I could. That was one of the reasons why I should stop sleeping in my underwear. Getting dress and with my backpack in hand, I was about to head out of my apartment when I noticed, in the other room, my mother was still sleeping on her futon.

“See you later, mom,” I said to her before heading out.

Misaki and I headed out of the Genji Apartment complex and started walking down the street. Ever since we were kids, Misaki would always wake me up early in the morning and drag me to school before it even starts, so that we could get a head start in our work.

“Hey! Wait up, you two!”

We both turned around and saw Yomi Ishikawa running towards us. Standing about an inch shorter than me, she had long violet hair, pale skin, and purple eyes. She was dressed in a black T-shirt with a purple long-sleeved undershirt, a black skirt with two large belts around the waist, and a pair of black and white striped stockings with a pair of boots with straps on the front.

“Yomi? What are you doing here?” I asked. This was the first time I had ever seen Yomi out this early in the morning.

Fidgeting her hair, Yomi avoided eye contact as I stared at her. She blushed and answered, “I-I just thought that I might want to join you guys! Usually, y-you guys always leave early in the morning and I don’t get to see you until class starts!”

Arching a brow, I just shrugged my shoulders and gestured a hand. Yomi smiled and began following us as we proceeded forward.

We were about three blocks closer to Tokyo University. I suggested, “Hey. How about we race to see who can get to class faster?”

Both Misaki and Yomi nodded their heads.

“That sounds like a good idea, Tachi,” Yomi said shyly.

“You’re on! Loser has to buy lunch!” declared Misaki.

I got into position, getting ready to dash ahead. Unfortunately, before I could have the opportunity to move, I watched my friends did the unexpected. Misaki sprinted with lightning speed, feeling a gust of wind hitting my face as a result. Yomi, however, seeped into the ground as a black hole made from her own shadow appeared under her feet. The hole then became serpentine and slithered at the same speed as Misaki. It was a good thing no one was around to see that. Or else, there will be trouble.

Holding my head low, I let out a somber sigh and started trudging over in a slow pace. I finally made it to the front entrance where I saw Misaki and Yomi standing next to the gate.

“I win! Now you and Tachi have to buy me lunch!” I heard Misaki gloating as I saw her with a large condescending grin on her face.

Yomi looked disgruntled. Scratching the back of her head, she sighed in abdication. Then she replied, “fine, Misaki. You won fair and square.”

Suddenly, their expressions changed when they turned their attention towards me.

“Oh my god. Tachi, we’re so sorry,” Misaki apologized. Her smile faded into a disheartened frown.

Yomi stated, “Yeah, we forgot about your…”

I held my hand up and interrupted the goth girl. Catching my breath, I lifted my head up and flashed a wide grin.

“It’s alright. It was my fault for making the suggestion to race. So, you don’t need to apologize,” I assured them. Despite my façade, I was still a little sad.

When you’re the son of two superheroes, you would think that I would have the most powerful superpower ever. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In my friend’s circle, I was the only one who didn’t have any superpowers.

Now, if you are curious as to why my friends have superpowers. Well, it all started 150 years ago, in the year 2018 when a new gene was discovered called the “Uber-gene” that granted anyone who had it powers and abilities you would once believed only existed in comic books. The first person to ever inherit such a gene was the first superhero, the Fortress, who is still alive to this day. Now, it’s the year 2168 and the whole world is filled with heroes.

“Shall we get going?” I inquired.

The awkward atmosphere finally faded as we proceeded through the iron gates and into the gray 2-story square building. All three of us sat on a bench that was position next door to the classroom with our papers scattered all over the floor. Pencils and pens in hand, we edited every grammar error and spellchecked every word. To me, the hours flew by like lightning as we’ all shared each other’s notes. Misaki was the only one of the group who was more organized in her notes; having written them outlined in detail and actually got much of the correct information down.

The time had already reached twelve and I was sitting at the front row of the class. Sitting on my left and on my right was Misaki and Yomi, staring at the front as our homeroom teacher waltzed up to the front with her heels clicking and her brunette hair waving in the air.

“Good afternoon, class. I hope you all had a nice weekend,” said Ms. Yamaguchi.

Half of the male classmates gingerly nodded in a love struck manner, much to the female classmates chagrin.

Flashing a gleeful smile, Ms. Yamaguchi continued, “Now, I hope you’ all finished Saturday’s assignment on the incident that occurred?”

When you’re taking Journalism class, you are always assigned to study any important current events that had happened. That way, it would improve on our observation skills.

One by one, we all turned in our papers, watching it pile on top of her desk until there was a paper mountain. Our teacher makes us turn them in the old-fashion way, so as to not deal with electronic assignments cluttering her email box. After everyone returned to their seats, the professor walked up and pressed a button on the side of her desk, causing a holographic projection to appear at the wall. Not much technological advancements have been made besides that in the last century.

“Now, for today’s lecture, we will be discussing Saturday’s assignment on what happened in Osaka,” she announced. Looking at her classroom, Ms. Yamaguchi continued in a professional tone, “On June 17th, the hero Mighty Wonder was up against the villain Dynodread in an attempt to stop him from robbing the city’s bank. Unfortunately, the villain wasn’t apprehended, but luckily the money was left behind and returned to the bank vault.”

I looked over at Misaki and saw her head down, not out of taking a nap, but out of sheer embarrassment as her glasses started to pinch against her face. During the time, I started writing down everything that was on the board. Even Misaki finally managed to find the strength to write. The time went by fast and the school day was finally over.

All three of us were in the cafeteria, sitting at the same table with the trays with our respective foods in front of us. It wasn’t really a cafeteria but more like a mall food court. It was massive in size, having two floors just to support thousands of students. At the front of the cafeteria, the tray lines were even modeled after a mall food court, each section designated to serving food from different parts of the world.

Misaki, Yomi, and I were enjoying a more traditional meal. However, it was hard to eat with Misaki having a gloating grin on her face.

“How’s the tempura udon, Misaki?” I asked with a hint of venom in my voice. Since half of my money was used to pay for it, of course I would be a little aggravated.

I looked to see Yomi sharing the same expression that I was making.

“Oh, it is delicious. Who knew that victory would be so yummy,” Misaki remarked. She took a bite and moaned in ecstasy. She was practically rubbing it in our faces.

Suddenly, Miskai gasped with her eyes open.

“I gotta go!” she exclaimed. She dashed out of the table with lightning speed, going off to save the day.

Turning my attention to Yomi, I arched a brow and questioned, “Aren’t you going to help her?”

Yomi stood up and ran out of the cafeteria. Pulling out my phone, I watched the news that was streaming live.

…Coming from downtown Tokyo, the energy plant is on the verge of critical meltdown! All citizens who live in a 100-mile radius have been informed to evacuate! Wait a minute; I have just been informed that the superheroes Silhouette and Mighty Wonder have just arrived on the scene!

Flying in front of the plant were two women in costumes. Mighty Wonder was dressed in a blue and white legless leotard with a V-neck that exposed her cleavage and a belt with large stars around her waist, a pair of red elbow-high fingerless gloves, a pair of red knee-high boots, and a blue domino mask with stars on the front. Silhouette was dressed in a pair of tight black latex pants, black boots with straps, a purple and black crop top that exposed her midriff, and a hooded cape that concealed her face. They immediately sprinted into the plant with quick speed. In the background, I could hear the crowd gasping while waiting for what will come next.

The smoke doesn’t seem to be dying down! I’m not sure if they have…

Finally, the steam that was festering was no more. Then the two superheroes exited the scene with Mighty Wonder flying into the air and Silhouette taking the form of a black raven.

…There you have it, folks! Like always, two of Tokyo’s greatest superheroes have saved the day and are leaving without saying a word!

Putting my phone back into my pocket, I waited for a couple of minutes until Misaki and Yomi returned, sitting back at the table while trying to regain their breaths.

“So, how did it go?” I asked.

Misaki answered, “It was very complicated!”

She wiped the sweat off of her brow with the back of her hand, making sure that nobody noticed while checking that her face powder wasn’t smudged.

“Who knew trying to cool down a nuclear reactor would be so complicated?” said Yomi in a tiresome tone of voice.

I think almost everyone on the planet earth knows. I chuckled at how exhausted they looked. However, they caught on and began to glare at me.

“What’s so funny, Tachi?” Misaki growled in a quizzical manner.

“N-nothing! I was just remembering something very funny, that’s all!” I lied in a stuttering tone. If I told her the truth, Misaki would hold me upside-down and smack me below the head.

The day finally came to an end. Walking up the street and turning to the apartment complex, I bid farewell to the girls and headed right through the front door.

“I’m home!”

I looked around and saw all the lights were on. I took off my shoes and closed the front door behind me. However, before I could walk through the kitchen, something grabbed into a massive bear hug.

“Tachi! I’m so glad you’re home!”

I looked down and saw my mother with her arms around me and her eyes watery with tears. I couldn’t breathe. Her restraint was too tight as the oxygen was cut off from my lungs.

I screamed in a painful screech, “Mom. I’m happy to see you, too, but can you please let me go!?”

Snapping out of her daze, my mother released her grip and apologized, bowing her head before letting out a whimper. Ever since dad died, mom has always been so clingy, which was becoming really disturbing at times. Especially, when she was once the greatest superhero in all of Japan.

I inhaled and exhaled, letting out a loud sigh while straightening out my back. Turning back to my mother, I said to her, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get dinner started.”

Her eyes lit up as she flashed a cheerful grin. She nodded and gave me a wink her right eye like a teenage girl.

After dinner was over, I headed straight for bed. It was already 21:15PM and I needed to get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow, or else, I’ll be too tired to endure Misaki’s rude awakening. Lying down in my bed, I felt my eyes fall heavily into the darkness as I drifted into dreamland. That’s when I had this unusual dream.

I was floating in a vast space that was filled with a kaleidoscope of colors. I was completely naked. Even my cock was exposed to the elements. Suddenly, I felt something crawling on my arm. It was a green energy that looked like a flame and it was growing until it consumed my whole body. I screamed in horror, feeling the agony of the seething burns immolating me like a live roast duck.

My eyes snapped open and my body leaned up, wheezing as beads of sweat fell across my face. I was happy it wasn’t really and I wanted to fall back to sleep. However, I observed my surroundings and my jaw dropped almost to the ground as all of my stuff started floating into the air while engulfed in the same green energy like the ones in my dream. Looking at my hands, I saw they were also covered in the same green energy. I screamed as loud as I could.

I heard my mother barged into my room with a worried look on her face. She shouted in inquiry, “Tachi! What is it?!” her face quickly fell into bewilderment s she saw what was going on.

Turning towards her, I asked in a scared tone, “Mom! What’s happening to me?!”