1 Beginning

I am sleeping...Or at least, that's what I had wanted to say.

"...-gami..." A faint, young feminine voice tried to knock me out from dreamland, albeit such an attempt was nothing in front of my laziness.

"Ishigami..." The voice called out to me again, to which I responded by clutching even more tightly to my bedsheets. Until suddenly...

"Ishigami Kurayama!" The once peaceful voice had suddenly turned into a shout that immediately yanked me out of my dream. Quite literally if I say so, since it made me fall out from the bed and hit my head on the wooden floor

"Ouch..." I hissed due to the pain while rubbing my aching head. As I did so, I lifted up my gaze in order to lock eyes with the culprit.

She's a beautiful teenage girl dressed in a dark blue sailor uniform. She seemed disappointed, yet her caring emerald green eyes sternly stared at my own, forcing me to lower my gaze in shame.

"If you continue with this lazy behavior, Ishigami, you'll never become a hero!" Her silky brown hair that is tied into a ponytail, followed her movements as she approached me with steady steps. The one responsible for my downfall, the one who is currently turning her head away in a cold manner while drilling her accusatory gaze onto me, is none other than my older sister, Aiko Kurayama.

"Yeah, yeah, you've kept saying this every day for the last two months," I said as I stood up from the floor yawning in the process.

"Hmpf. Anyhow, you'd better get out of this bed and hurry downstairs, Katsu might end up leaving you with nothing again." Seemingly bothered by my answer, Aiko ended up remarking this with a smug expression on her face.

"Oh no...OH GOD NO!" My sleepy eyes immediately widened in panic as I quickly moved on to change my clothes. Aiko, after seeing my reaction, ended up smiling with satisfaction glued on her face.

Wasting no time, I started to take off my clothes while also taking a quick look at the mirror. I can see an average, pale-skinned thirteen-year-old boy with messy black hair. Other than my pale skin, the only thing that made me stand out from the average masses was my pair of deep blue eyes, with some people even saying they could hypnotize due to the profoundness found in them.

After putting on my simple school uniform and a comfortable pair of socks, I quickly dashed out of my room and proceeded to go downstairs. Amidst the stairs that I'm hurriedly trying to climb down, I ended up bumping my head on a muscular chest.

Lifting up my gaze, I locked eyes with my older brother, Katsu Kurayama. As anyone can obviously get it by seeing his ripped frame, he's the most muscular and also the tallest person in our family. He graduated high school last year and is now studying in the college of art and design. Despite loving to annoy everyone, he's still regarded, including by me, as the cheerful heart of our family. Really. It is simply impossible to hate this guy due to his overwhelming charisma, the complete opposite of someone like me.

"Woah there!" Katsu lowered his head, locking his dark brown eyes with mine. Strangely enough, I can somehow see a tint of worry in his gaze.

"Katsu. For the love of God, please tell me that you didn't eat my limited edition pudding?" I ended up immediately spouting my worries on him. But, I couldn't afford to hold back since I'm certain that I emptied my luck reserves when finding that pudding.

"Oh, you mean that one you hid in the back of the fridge? The one that has a message written on it clearly saying 'DO NOT TOUCH'? The one which you spent months trying to find?" With a perpetual smile stamped on his face, Katsu answered in a way that already gave me a bad feeling.

"I don't like where this is going..." I mumbled under my breath. Yet, there's still a bit of hope. Maybe he didn't eat it at all.

"No worries! I only ate a few hundred spoons worth of pudding!" Katsu laughed at the end of his phrase while scratching the back of his head.

"Why? Just why?!" I gasped those words with difficulty.

"Ishigami, you should've known that a true hero must endure tragedies like this one." I can see that Katsu is doing his best to hold back his laughter by seeing the tremble on his stiff smile.

"I swear when I become a hero... I'll kick your ass!"

"Hahaha, that's the spirit. Now go and eat breakfast leftovers." Katsu said as he patted my back while releasing a cheerful laugh.

"God, I hate you so much..." I said in a quiet whisper before I continued my way downstairs.

As I continued my way downstairs, depressed, and completely broken from this great tragedy that has befallen on me, I heard a voice behind me. The voice of an adorable little angel that brought back joy into my mind and soul.

"Big brother! Big brother!" The adorable and cute voice of my little sister startled me, clearing my previously depressed mood and filling it with her cheerfulness.

I looked back only to come across her innocent honey-brown eyes. Her pure smile immediately filled my heart with warmth as I couldn't stop myself from patting her silky chestnut brown hair, which she responded by giving me her giddy laughter. She was also carrying her signature white fluffy rabbit plushie that is as white as snow. She's none other than the world's best little sister, Hina Kurayama.

"Big brother, I drew you again." She said in a lively voice as her eyes sparkled with confidence before she gave me her new masterpiece.

It was a drawing of me wearing a generic hero costume while standing on top of a man wearing a black outfit, doing a very bizarre pose in the process. She even drew small red arrows that indicated which is which.

"This is amazing, Hina! You're an amazing artist! You should definitely become a mangaka!" I said as I patted her head with a genuinely happy smile plastered on my face.

"Never! I will become big brother's sidekick, and then kick ass and take names!" Hina said in a confident voice while shadowboxing.

I nervously smiled, trying to hide my worried expression after hearing my sister, who is still in grade school, start cursing at such a young age.

"Well then, do you want to have your first mission?" I said, trying my best to imitate the voice of a grown adult.

"Really?!" Hina asked after instantly changing her focus onto me with a look of disbelief.

"Yes! I want you to go and annoy the evil villain known as 'Big brother Katsu'. Are you ready for your mission?" I said, still trying to keep that voice while raising my eyebrow.

"Aye, aye, sir!" Hina said as she saluted me and ran off upstairs.

I continued my way towards the kitchen, trying to suppress my laughter after imitating that stupid voice.

After stepping inside, the first thing that caught my eye was the long, silky black hair of a woman. She turned her head, with affection within the gaze she was directing at me. Her jade green eyes radiated motherly care while her simple yet loveable smile was already enough to brighten the entire room. This woman... Is my mother, Sumiko Kurayama

"Ishigami, you're late again! Are you serious about becoming a hero?" My mother asked in a soft and worried voice after looking at me with concern in her eyes.

"I am. So don't worry, mother. Also, sleep is something that every hero needs." I said after I grabbed a bowl of rice and started digging into it.

"Yes, by sleeping early and waking up early. You stayed up until 3 AM watching anime. I am sure that heroes don't do that." My mother said, trying to scold me for such behavior.

"You'd be surprised, mother..." I said after releasing a somewhat quiet chuckle.

As I was trying my best to eat breakfast as fast as I can, I heard the sound of a battle raging upstairs.

"Seems like you finally lost, Ms.Rabbit woman!" Katsu spoke, trying his best to imitate a generic and overdramatic bad guy.

"As long as I have the power of my family with me, I will never lose to you!" Hina replied in an equally overdramatic voice. The only difference between the two was that Hina was not acting.

"Hina? Hina, no! Not the weights! Hina stop!" Katsu said in a genuinely horrified voice, completely breaking character.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy dumbbells hitting the upstairs floor, almost breaking it, made me nearly choke to death on a rice ball. Right before Aiko came to my rescue with a glass of water.

After chugging down the glass of water, I thanked Aiko with a stiff smile. Although I didn't even have the time to appreciate her response since my eyes immediately glued themselves to the clock.

"Damn! I'm late for school!"

Wasting no time, I quickly stood up and grabbed my school bag to rush towards the front door.

"Ishigami!" Aiko called out to me.

"You forgot your bento, Ishigami." My mother said as she gave me a warm smile that radiated her motherly care.

"So much for a forgetful and sleep-deprived hero, tsk!" Aiko said as she gave me a somewhat mocking grin before it changed into a heartwarming smile.

"My plan is perfectly working, you'll soon turn to the dark side, hahaha!" Katsu stated, trying to imitate a generic villain while rubbing his hands in an evil way. His hilarious act instantly turned into an optimistic smile that radiated joy.

"Don't worry, big brother. I will always have your back." Hina spoke in an adorable and happy voice as she gave me my bento, completely dropping the overly dramatic hero personality that she had just a few seconds ago.

I happily accepted Hina's help and took my bento as I waved them off with an equally happy smile that radiated my gratitude before I dashed towards school.

And for the last member of the family who is rarely present, Hiroto Kurayama, my father. He rarely comes home, sometimes even once a month. He was a very busy scientist that worked on evolution studies and experiments. When he came home, he always sat down with us and insisted on hearing the things we did while he was gone. He always had a smile plastered on his face, one that radiated comfort and safety. We love him the way he is.

Well, I guess there is still one more member of the family. That being me.

My name is Kurayama Ishigami, a 13 years old boy who doesn't have any superpowers or anything that can make him unique or stand out from the rest, and also a disappointment to my family of super-powered people. I don't even have any special characteristics or features. I was always described as "introverted and shy" by other people, and also a very lazy boy.

I always dreamt of becoming a hero when I grow up, but my family was very unsupportive of such an idea and didn't believe that I could accomplish it, and always tried to make me forget about such a dream. I am a disappointment, and someone with an impossible dream, yet my family always treated me kindly, and I always felt the most happiness when I was with them. I love my family more than anything in the world.

While I was sprinting down the road towards my school, I still didn't forget about my daily dose of staring at one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. On the other side of the river, a golden statue was standing 100 meters tall. Such a statue would have obviously been that of a historical figure that was praised in the entire world. Well...you are right.

The great statue was that of the first evolved human, the first hero, the greatest hero, the strongest hero, the best hero, and the most amazing hero that has ever existed in history. He was 'Gamma', the man that caused the great age of heroes and saved the world from its darkest times in history. And personally, the one who inspired me to become a hero.

Hero.

That's right, this is the age of Heroes!