Discussion Thread: Click Me!
“Bayani Academy. The school that put the Philippines on the map in terms of heroics and academics, is now starting another year of classes. Coming from humble roots, it has blossomed into an international hotspot, especially with its unique student body and innovative style of learning, not to mention the advanced technology on campus. Someday, it might even rival U.A High, the top school in the world in this category!”
The television blared in the warehouse, but nobody was actually paying attention to the feature story. Except for the figure in the armchair, cloaked in shadow. They stared with immense curiosity, reaching for the remote on the table in front of them. The warehouse was pretty empty, aside from the crates nearby, and a pick-up truck that had seen many gunfights.
“How… interesting.” The mysterious figure muttered, before turning the TV off. Now the only thing that glowed in the dark warehouse were their pupils, jagged spirals that changed colors at random.
It was something to keep in mind indeed.
Ezra Ortega P. Valdez
“Hey sir, do you know where mom and dad are? Diba dapat nandito sila sa first day ko?” Ezra muttered at the back of the private car that was hired for him, the vehicle being driven by their personal chauffeur. He let out a soft yawn, his joints cracking as he stretched. He expected one of them to be too busy, but both?
That was a new low he didn’t think was possible.
“Pasensya na boss, your dad had to go attend some sort of political meeting, and your mom needs to watch your little brother.” The driver, whose facial hair looked like iron filings, said in a calm and soothing tone. While the explanation would suffice, it still rubbed them the wrong way. He was lucky that he was too lethargic to be in a bad mood right now.
He looked out the window, watching as the world passed him by. He could see the sunrise, rays of morning light shining upon the sidewalks and buildings that he’d seen many times before. Several sari-sari stores were opening prematurely, hoping to catch the early morning rush before work and school. Some people were already out and about, using their quirks on the street, since the Philippines had less strict regulations about it compared to Japan.
Cebu City, the city he was raised in, was waking up from its deep slumber, ready to face the new day.
But Ezra felt quite the opposite, his eyes flickering with an eerie teal glow. They were more of a night owl, and despised sleeping early with a fiery passion. As a result, his circadian rhythm was usually a mess, the eyebags on his face only adding to their skeletal appearance.
“I'm gonna take a quick nap, kuya. Gisingin mo na lang ako pagdating natin.” Ezra murmured cutely, his eyelids struggling to stay open. He propped his tail up on the empty space next to him, his joints clicking softly with every movement he made. He slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping to take a cat nap to revitalize their spirit.
—
He wasn’t getting that.
Ezra suddenly awoke in a cemetery, lying against a withered old fig tree whose leaves were brown and about to fall off. It was the dead of night, fog rolling in from all sides and limiting his field of view. They looked up and squinted at the moon, high in the starless sky.
This gloomy cemetery was familiar, since their parents had a mausoleum here, dedicated to his grandparents on his dad’s side. When they were younger, his older sisters would often drag him along to explore the whole graveyard, and
“Aw man, nagkakaroon na naman ako ng isa sa mga pangarap na iyon…” He sighed as he got to his feet, rubbing some of the dead leaves off his body. That’s when he looked into a puddle, revealing that they were wearing a marching band uniform, with the gold plume and buckles. It was the exact same one he had in middle school, back when he played trumpet.
“Okay, this is getting weird. Like, diretso sa isang horror movie.” He muttered as he walked forward, the only sounds being that of his skeletal joints clicking together. The glow in Ezra’s eyes dimmed a little before crackling back to life, as the fog parted around him, revealing more of the cemetery around him.
There were plenty of graves around him, but they were all unmarked. No names, no dates, no inspirational last messages, just cold unyielding headstones and ceramic plates. It was creeping him out, even if he looked like a Halloween decoration.
Ezra looked back at the fig tree, checking if there was anything he missed, before he heard a loud caw from above. He looked up to reveal a crow, snickering at him from its perch up in the branches.
“Ah… Valdez… Glad that you’re still kicking, you fragile mess.” It chuckled in an arrogant yet intellectual tone, its pitch black eyes devoid of empathy as it looked down at him. The crow’s voice sounded liek a chain smoker, and Ezra swore he heard the bird cough. The skeletal boy sighed, his teal eyes flickering in annoyance.
It took them a minute to figure out how to deal with the bothersome corvid. Ezra had never climbed a tree before, so that wasn’t an option. Instead, they quickly slammed their tail into the trunk, the tree letting out a sickening crack. It was pretty clever, he had to admit.
His thagomizer was wedged in the bark, so he grabbed his own tail and pulled hard. The sheer force caused the entire tree to lean forward, before it toppled over. The crow panicked and fled, landing on a nearby grave. The impact caused the trunk to split in half, freeing his tail and causing leaves to fall off in droves. Ezra turned to the crow, who now looked at him with curiosity, like it was just teasing him earlier.
“What do you want? This is a dream, so there has to be some meaning to what’s going on.” Ezra calmly stated, though his joints begged to differ. His tail swung from side to side with unease, each segment clicking together like plastic.
“I am here because your family doesn’t want to be. What a pity, no matter what you do, they just don’t care.” The crow lamented, its words hitting way too close to home. It flew solemnly into the fog, as Ezra gave chase.
“Jeez, ano ang may problema mo? I don’t get the moral of this story, and your back talking isn’t helping.” He replied as he trailed behind it, but the fog grew thicker and surrounded him. They didn’t want to open up old wounds, which was probably what this crow was trying to accomplish. Ezra couldn’t see the fig tree or the graves anymore, but the crow continued to caw, taunting him.
Ezra stumbled around in the haze, eventually tripping over a ceramic plaque and falling flat on his chest. The pain stung a little, but he quickly got back up. The fog parted, revealing six graves, all in a row, the tombstones bearing no inscriptions, just like the others.
The crow had landed on the one in the middle, which had a large rectangular hole in front of it, like someone was going to be buried here soon.
Him.
“The problem? You’re just putting on a show that nobody ever gets to see. Nobody wants to see.” The crow raised its wings, and flapped them ominously, almost as if giving a eulogy. Ezra would have said something, but he suddenly lost his footing and fell into the empty hole, onto his back. They whimpered in pain, leaning against the walls of the grave.
“Soon it’ll be your final curtain call, and there won’t be any noise at all. You’ll die the way you lived, alone and forgotten, buried in silence.” The crow finally stated, as Ezra looked up at the sky that was devoid of any stars. The dirt around him suddenly shifted, washing over him like waves, slowly burying him alive.
He cried for help, but they struggled to breathe under the rubble that was covering him. The crow flew down and gazed at him, no longer smug, but now appearing remorseful. Ezra continued to struggle, ghostly teal fire bursting from his eye sockets, but to no avail.
“So break a leg out there Valdez. You’re going to need it.” The crow cawed one last time, as it raised it’s wings. Dirt fell all around them, burying both Ezra and the crow alive. His struggle died down, as they succumbed to their fate.
—
“AH! Ang uwak ay masama at gusto akong patayin!” Ezra screamed as he woke up with a start, accidentally hitting his head on the ceiling of the car. He let out a soft whine, as the driver looked back to make sure Ezra was okay.
“Boss, are you and your… multo ng manok? Okay lang ba kayong dalawa?” He asked sternly, to which the boy responded with a weak thumbs up. He could feel the sweat on his face, clearly from the shock of being buried alive in his dreams. His tail was still shaking slightly, like a rattlesnake ready to pounce, a sign of his anxiety.
A ghostly Microraptor was by his side, with a visible skull, teal patterns on the skin, and translucent feathers, shrieked in concern before biting him on the cheek. It seems the nightmare was severe enough to activate his quirk, something he didn’t know could happen.
“I’m okay, gising na ako!” He reassured the chauffeur with a smile, which led to the apparition that his quirk summoned to let go of his cheek. The prehistoric ghost let out a soft squawk before climbing onto his shoulder, urging him to get up.
“Well okay boss, we are here na. Enjoy your first day at school.” The driver said with a gruff yet kind smile, as Ezra and his new companion shuffled out of the vehicle. This was a new frontier for him to explore, and he didn’t want to just sit around and wait for it.
Unlike its academic contemporaries, especially U.A, Bayani Academy wasn’t exactly close to the city. Sure, there was still the internet and other luxuries associated with urban areas, but its actual location was deep in the mountains at the heart of Cebu. So how were the students going to get to the campus?
“Bye kuya! Salamat sa pagdala sa akin dito!” Ezra called with a wave as the private car rolled off into the distance, leaving him standing outside a modern-looking building with a futuristic aesthetic. The design was clearly inspired by art deco architecture, with some classic Filipino elements thrown in to help the area remain somewhat cohesive. There were some trees and flowers on the edge of the sidewalk, and some cool graffiti on the older and more traditional buildings beside it, but what caught the attention of the skeletal boy was the sign above the entrance.
“Bayani Academy: Trainport”
This building was the answer to how students would reach the technologically advanced campus, but it also served to allow them to interact before they were roped into the orientation for the school. Basically, this station served as a place for the youth to chat and mingle, forming friendships before they even entered the school.
“Sige, gawin natin ang lahat para magtagumpay, okay? Let’s break a leg out there.” With a deep breath, Ezra stepped through the automatic sliding door with his teal suitcase in tow. The Microraptor on his shoulder chirped in agreement, as they inhaled the cold yet fresh air. There were already a couple students inside, doing all sorts of things to pass the time.
This was going to be an adventure, no matter what.
“Bayani Academy. The school that put the Philippines on the map in terms of heroics and academics, is now starting another year of classes. Coming from humble roots, it has blossomed into an international hotspot, especially with its unique student body and innovative style of learning, not to mention the advanced technology on campus. Someday, it might even rival U.A High, the top school in the world in this category!”
The television blared in the warehouse, but nobody was actually paying attention to the feature story. Except for the figure in the armchair, cloaked in shadow. They stared with immense curiosity, reaching for the remote on the table in front of them. The warehouse was pretty empty, aside from the crates nearby, and a pick-up truck that had seen many gunfights.
“How… interesting.” The mysterious figure muttered, before turning the TV off. Now the only thing that glowed in the dark warehouse were their pupils, jagged spirals that changed colors at random.
It was something to keep in mind indeed.
Ezra Ortega P. Valdez
“Hey sir, do you know where mom and dad are? Diba dapat nandito sila sa first day ko?” Ezra muttered at the back of the private car that was hired for him, the vehicle being driven by their personal chauffeur. He let out a soft yawn, his joints cracking as he stretched. He expected one of them to be too busy, but both?
That was a new low he didn’t think was possible.
“Pasensya na boss, your dad had to go attend some sort of political meeting, and your mom needs to watch your little brother.” The driver, whose facial hair looked like iron filings, said in a calm and soothing tone. While the explanation would suffice, it still rubbed them the wrong way. He was lucky that he was too lethargic to be in a bad mood right now.
He looked out the window, watching as the world passed him by. He could see the sunrise, rays of morning light shining upon the sidewalks and buildings that he’d seen many times before. Several sari-sari stores were opening prematurely, hoping to catch the early morning rush before work and school. Some people were already out and about, using their quirks on the street, since the Philippines had less strict regulations about it compared to Japan.
Cebu City, the city he was raised in, was waking up from its deep slumber, ready to face the new day.
But Ezra felt quite the opposite, his eyes flickering with an eerie teal glow. They were more of a night owl, and despised sleeping early with a fiery passion. As a result, his circadian rhythm was usually a mess, the eyebags on his face only adding to their skeletal appearance.
“I'm gonna take a quick nap, kuya. Gisingin mo na lang ako pagdating natin.” Ezra murmured cutely, his eyelids struggling to stay open. He propped his tail up on the empty space next to him, his joints clicking softly with every movement he made. He slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping to take a cat nap to revitalize their spirit.
—
He wasn’t getting that.
Ezra suddenly awoke in a cemetery, lying against a withered old fig tree whose leaves were brown and about to fall off. It was the dead of night, fog rolling in from all sides and limiting his field of view. They looked up and squinted at the moon, high in the starless sky.
This gloomy cemetery was familiar, since their parents had a mausoleum here, dedicated to his grandparents on his dad’s side. When they were younger, his older sisters would often drag him along to explore the whole graveyard, and
“Aw man, nagkakaroon na naman ako ng isa sa mga pangarap na iyon…” He sighed as he got to his feet, rubbing some of the dead leaves off his body. That’s when he looked into a puddle, revealing that they were wearing a marching band uniform, with the gold plume and buckles. It was the exact same one he had in middle school, back when he played trumpet.
“Okay, this is getting weird. Like, diretso sa isang horror movie.” He muttered as he walked forward, the only sounds being that of his skeletal joints clicking together. The glow in Ezra’s eyes dimmed a little before crackling back to life, as the fog parted around him, revealing more of the cemetery around him.
There were plenty of graves around him, but they were all unmarked. No names, no dates, no inspirational last messages, just cold unyielding headstones and ceramic plates. It was creeping him out, even if he looked like a Halloween decoration.
Ezra looked back at the fig tree, checking if there was anything he missed, before he heard a loud caw from above. He looked up to reveal a crow, snickering at him from its perch up in the branches.
“Ah… Valdez… Glad that you’re still kicking, you fragile mess.” It chuckled in an arrogant yet intellectual tone, its pitch black eyes devoid of empathy as it looked down at him. The crow’s voice sounded liek a chain smoker, and Ezra swore he heard the bird cough. The skeletal boy sighed, his teal eyes flickering in annoyance.
It took them a minute to figure out how to deal with the bothersome corvid. Ezra had never climbed a tree before, so that wasn’t an option. Instead, they quickly slammed their tail into the trunk, the tree letting out a sickening crack. It was pretty clever, he had to admit.
His thagomizer was wedged in the bark, so he grabbed his own tail and pulled hard. The sheer force caused the entire tree to lean forward, before it toppled over. The crow panicked and fled, landing on a nearby grave. The impact caused the trunk to split in half, freeing his tail and causing leaves to fall off in droves. Ezra turned to the crow, who now looked at him with curiosity, like it was just teasing him earlier.
“What do you want? This is a dream, so there has to be some meaning to what’s going on.” Ezra calmly stated, though his joints begged to differ. His tail swung from side to side with unease, each segment clicking together like plastic.
“I am here because your family doesn’t want to be. What a pity, no matter what you do, they just don’t care.” The crow lamented, its words hitting way too close to home. It flew solemnly into the fog, as Ezra gave chase.
“Jeez, ano ang may problema mo? I don’t get the moral of this story, and your back talking isn’t helping.” He replied as he trailed behind it, but the fog grew thicker and surrounded him. They didn’t want to open up old wounds, which was probably what this crow was trying to accomplish. Ezra couldn’t see the fig tree or the graves anymore, but the crow continued to caw, taunting him.
Ezra stumbled around in the haze, eventually tripping over a ceramic plaque and falling flat on his chest. The pain stung a little, but he quickly got back up. The fog parted, revealing six graves, all in a row, the tombstones bearing no inscriptions, just like the others.
The crow had landed on the one in the middle, which had a large rectangular hole in front of it, like someone was going to be buried here soon.
Him.
“The problem? You’re just putting on a show that nobody ever gets to see. Nobody wants to see.” The crow raised its wings, and flapped them ominously, almost as if giving a eulogy. Ezra would have said something, but he suddenly lost his footing and fell into the empty hole, onto his back. They whimpered in pain, leaning against the walls of the grave.
“Soon it’ll be your final curtain call, and there won’t be any noise at all. You’ll die the way you lived, alone and forgotten, buried in silence.” The crow finally stated, as Ezra looked up at the sky that was devoid of any stars. The dirt around him suddenly shifted, washing over him like waves, slowly burying him alive.
He cried for help, but they struggled to breathe under the rubble that was covering him. The crow flew down and gazed at him, no longer smug, but now appearing remorseful. Ezra continued to struggle, ghostly teal fire bursting from his eye sockets, but to no avail.
“So break a leg out there Valdez. You’re going to need it.” The crow cawed one last time, as it raised it’s wings. Dirt fell all around them, burying both Ezra and the crow alive. His struggle died down, as they succumbed to their fate.
—
“AH! Ang uwak ay masama at gusto akong patayin!” Ezra screamed as he woke up with a start, accidentally hitting his head on the ceiling of the car. He let out a soft whine, as the driver looked back to make sure Ezra was okay.
“Boss, are you and your… multo ng manok? Okay lang ba kayong dalawa?” He asked sternly, to which the boy responded with a weak thumbs up. He could feel the sweat on his face, clearly from the shock of being buried alive in his dreams. His tail was still shaking slightly, like a rattlesnake ready to pounce, a sign of his anxiety.
A ghostly Microraptor was by his side, with a visible skull, teal patterns on the skin, and translucent feathers, shrieked in concern before biting him on the cheek. It seems the nightmare was severe enough to activate his quirk, something he didn’t know could happen.
“I’m okay, gising na ako!” He reassured the chauffeur with a smile, which led to the apparition that his quirk summoned to let go of his cheek. The prehistoric ghost let out a soft squawk before climbing onto his shoulder, urging him to get up.
“Well okay boss, we are here na. Enjoy your first day at school.” The driver said with a gruff yet kind smile, as Ezra and his new companion shuffled out of the vehicle. This was a new frontier for him to explore, and he didn’t want to just sit around and wait for it.
Unlike its academic contemporaries, especially U.A, Bayani Academy wasn’t exactly close to the city. Sure, there was still the internet and other luxuries associated with urban areas, but its actual location was deep in the mountains at the heart of Cebu. So how were the students going to get to the campus?
“Bye kuya! Salamat sa pagdala sa akin dito!” Ezra called with a wave as the private car rolled off into the distance, leaving him standing outside a modern-looking building with a futuristic aesthetic. The design was clearly inspired by art deco architecture, with some classic Filipino elements thrown in to help the area remain somewhat cohesive. There were some trees and flowers on the edge of the sidewalk, and some cool graffiti on the older and more traditional buildings beside it, but what caught the attention of the skeletal boy was the sign above the entrance.
“Bayani Academy: Trainport”
This building was the answer to how students would reach the technologically advanced campus, but it also served to allow them to interact before they were roped into the orientation for the school. Basically, this station served as a place for the youth to chat and mingle, forming friendships before they even entered the school.
“Sige, gawin natin ang lahat para magtagumpay, okay? Let’s break a leg out there.” With a deep breath, Ezra stepped through the automatic sliding door with his teal suitcase in tow. The Microraptor on his shoulder chirped in agreement, as they inhaled the cold yet fresh air. There were already a couple students inside, doing all sorts of things to pass the time.
This was going to be an adventure, no matter what.
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