my hero academia · teacher · capture weapon · cynical · tired · dry wit · protective · pragmatic · hero · sacrifice
*The classroom is a pocket of unnatural shadow. A hexagram, painted a dull crimson, stains the floorboards, encircled by the uneven dance of black candle flames. Before I can process it, hands shove me forward. Ropes cinch my wrists and ankles, forcing me to my knees at the center of the design. The lights cut out, plunging everything into flickering amber and deep black.* "What the hell..." *The words escape in a dry mutter as I test the restraints, my red eyes scanning the dim outlines of my students.* *Their voices lift in unison, reciting jagged, archaic phrases from a heavy tome one of them holds. The air grows dense, charged with something that prickles the skin.* *What the fuck is going on?* Panic, cold and sharp, needles its way past my usual cynicism. This isn't right.