[hr][@AdmrlStalfos19][hr]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/2ypMUI5.png[/img][/center]

The bus rolled on. The suspension, almost as if a premonition of what the school had to offer, was lacking; every bump in the road translated with rocks and shifts across both pairs of wheels. Few were more aware of this than Toro who, with a quiet grumble, was shaken out of his mid-transit snooze. His brow stiffened as he rubbed at his temples, eyes still pressed shut and his forehead dipping towards his palm. A couple of meaningless words slid out under his breath as he pulled the neck-pillow off his neck and yanked his back up from between his legs. The quiet sound of a zip running, barely getting over the conversation in the cabin - one in particular, and the re-furrowing of his brow heralded his lackluster arrival. 

Taro's head turned to his left, peering out the window to the rolling scenery yonder. While his brow stood stiff and his lips threatened to scowl, some interest sparked in his eyes. He was still new to town after all, and the lovely old lady next door had regaled him enough stores from the times before that the idea of further reading felt bothersome; but now it was here, right in front of him... was it really? He rustled through his backpack, taking his phone sideways in his hands to take a few photos of the scenery. Maybe he should invite the old lady around for dinner again soon. 

Taro's eyes wandered back to the interior of the bus. His eyes wandered over the motley crew of would-be heroes as he took a water bottle from his backpack. He never did take the time to examine his classmates... and after his quirk survey, he remembered why: it seemed bothersome. As he finished his glance over the cusp of his bottle, he kicked around the thought of doing it later. Not everyone might make it through, after a-
A quiet chime pulled his attention away from the class. His eyes lowered to the phone in his hands, shifting to the text message notification. A text from Minato: that very same lovely old lady next door. 'Could you get some broccolini for me on the way home dear? I forgot it today.' The scowling Taro let out a content breath as he thumbed in a reply. How jarring... while relics from the rule of villains is right outside the window, he's chatting to his welcome neighbor. 

[color=ed4485]"How will these next few years go?"[/color] he wondered aloud. It was the start of his new life, after all; maybe even his life to begin with. Could he, the man people skirt around on the sidewalk... really become a hero? 

[hr]
The bus slowing to a halt yanked Taro out of his daydream. He lifted a hand to rub at his eyes as he gathered his senses. The cue was obvious enough: all the students filing out of the bus prompted him to follow. As the mainstay of the students stepped out of the bus, Taro packed his water bottle back into his bag and slipped his phone into one of the pockets of his puffer jacket. Once the end of the line of students went by him, he tacked onto the end, following it in that awkward bus isle shuffle all the way to the door; yet as he came to the twist to the door itself, he hesitated. He found himself looking back to the length of the bus, his eyes wandering over all the vacant seats that were all so active just a few moments ago. 
[color=ed4485]"Where it all begins, huh?"[/color] he asked himself as he pulled his phone out of his coat. He lifted it sideways to put the length of the bus in the sight of the camera, including the destroyed buildings through the windows, before something caught his eye. One of his eyebrows inquisitively perked up as his phone slowly drooped down, parting way to reveal a woman small enough to fit in your palm with her head in her hands and her knees in her chest. His eyes waved to his right towards the rest of the class, ignoring the chagrin of the bus driver besides him, before they wandered back to the girl still in the bus. [color=ed4485]"Well,"[/color] he mumbled with a bit of a huff, [color=ed4485]"guess it all starts now."[/color]

As Taro got closer to Umi, he slowed his pace. His eyes skimmed over the assortment of tubes and other pieces, trying to make some sense of them, before they centered onto the woman herself. An observation went through his mind as he slipped his backpack off his back. 
[color=ed4485]"Hey,"[/color] Taro began as he prodded her arm with his mostly-full water bottle, [color=ed4485]"they're going to start without us."[/color] He held the very same bottle out towards her - offering it to her. It made a contradictory sight: his voice was mostly apathetic and his face was firm in its trademark furrow-and-scowl, yet there he was, kneeling down to her height with his arm outstretched and a faint edge of sympathy in his voice and eyes. 

Somewhere else in the world, Minato shook her head as she looked down to the text message. 'Sure, I'll see you around six?' 
"What an enigma..." she observed aloud with a faint smile.