(A/N) We. Are. Back.
Big props to those who voted for this story in the poll on my profile (which is still open, btw). I apologize for the delay. I went on a mini hiatus for all my stories for a second there, but now I'm back.
To reiterate a point from last time: all extras from this point on are part of the story. I'll be using them to fill in Shirou's backstory one snippet at a time.
Thanks for sticking with me for this long, y'all. Hope you enjoy!
P.s.
If you want to see the first chapter of Emiya-sensei? with 2 custom illustrations, hop on over to Archive of Our Own. Not sure if I'll stick with AO3 for future illustrated chapters tho. I'll probably move over to Spacebattles or Questionable Questing (where you can already read illustrated versions of Fear the Superhero up to chapter 4 under the same pen name). I'll keep y'all posted if I make the jump.
X
"You know, when we shipped you off halfway across the world to be imprisoned in Tartarus, it was with the intention that they'd have the facilities to keep you there permanently. If we knew that you'd just break out, then we probably wouldn't have bothered. Having someone like you moved on such short notice wasn't easy then, and it certainly isn't any easier nowadays, either."
Black Knight gave no verbal response. Through the numerous chains and straps anchoring him to the steel chair, all that could be seen was his long, frazzled purple hair and soulless husks for eyes.
"Geez… I wasn't planning on doing anything strenuous today, and yet here we are anyway, I suppose," lamented his interrogator, not minding his silence. "You don't seem to be in a chatty mood at the moment, so I'll do most of the talking for now, if it's all the same to you."
The white-haired woman matched his absent gaze squarely. Her own expression was unreadable.
"Someone helped you escape, of course, but what's bothersome is that you somehow got your paws on Arondight– which, mind you, was definitely locked down here pretty tightly the day before your little incident. Do you know how hard Arthur's been riding me about that? Do you?"
She coughed into her first and composed herself.
"Erm… anyway. I'm thinking there're three obvious possibilities here: either someone infiltrated our head office, a villain has been playing the 'double agent' game with us for years, or…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"…maybe there's a villain out there with a quirk that'd let them steal one of England's most venerated technologies instantly out from under our noses?"
Her shoulders drooped.
"Hah. Obviously, there'd be more to it than that. Regardless, I guess I should probably be thanking that guy for keeping you in check. Rusty or not, you could have been a problem. My problem if you had actually managed to kill off one of those hero school kids. Seriously, I know you've become a bit of a nutcase, but wasn't that a little over the top, even for you?"
"…"
"…"
She closed her eyes and wordlessly stepped away from the prisoner.
"Never mind, silly question. Look… you've been pretty useless today; try to be more forthcoming when Arthur pays you a visit later, okay? He still has to pack for his trip and everything, so he's probably in a busy-body mood. If you annoy him, he'll be more likely to give me chores while he's away."
The woman yawned as she left the cell. Black Knight's eyes stared fixedly at her back, but she paid it no mind.
X
Shirou pushed the door open and was met with a novel sight: each student of class 1-A was quiet and appropriately seated. Even the more rambunctious kids patiently awaited his arrival.
A small grin crossed his lips.
"Good morning, everyone."
He was met with a unified response. Some were louder, some were more excited, and some stayed quiet altogether. Regardless, he'd take what he could get.
"Good morning, Sensei!"
The man walked to the front of the classroom and cleared his throat.
"Right. To start off, I'm glad that everyone made it out okay. As you've all probably heard by now, the villain attack wasn't limited to just the practice facility; UA itself was breached. Thankfully, the teaching staff was able to shut them down before any of your fellow students got seriously hurt."
His words were met with conflicted expressions and uncomfortable shuffling. He supposed that it would be a little strange to hear that such a significant series of events had transpired when you weren't around. More unsettling still, considering that not a thing seemed out of place, was that it would have been easy to assume that nothing had happened at all.
He closed his eyes.
"With that said… you should all know that the UA Sports Festival is coming up soon."
Whatever calm and structure had existed was quickly done away with. His students were all voicing their worries at the same time, so it was impossible for him to make out any one thing in particular.
Iida Tenya, diligent as always, had his arm raised ramrod straight. Rather than add to the commotion, he chose to wait to be called upon.
Thanks, Iida.
"Yes, Iida."
The class quieted after he spoke.
"Sensei!" started the boy stiffly, "Is it really wise to allow such a high-profile event to take place so soon after villains attacked the school?"
"No, it's not," Shirou answered easily, "but it's still something that needs to happen. You've all heard the news surrounding this whole thing, haven't you?"
The question was rhetorical. It simply wasn't possible for them to have not heard what the media was saying. There were still reporters camped outside the school.
The teacher raised a fist to his chin, deep in thought.
"We'll discuss this further in class later today, but now's as good a time as any to bring it up. The public's confidence in UA is at an all-time low because of how the events have been reported to the masses; this is very bad. Can anyone tell me why it's bad?"
Many hands shot up at once, which didn't surprise him too much. It wasn't too difficult a question, after all.
"Hagakure?"
He saw the sleeve of her uniform do a quick pump in the air. With a quirk like hers, it was probably rare for her to be picked out from a group.
"We're the next generation of heroes?" she asked more than she answered. "So, like, if people can't trust our school, then they probably won't trust us to come out all that great, right?"
Shirou nodded.
"Right– and it's not only UA that will suffer the consequences either. The school's accreditation as one of the best Japan has to offer isn't just strong, it's unquestionable. For instance, Shiketsu High, considered to be on even ground with UA, wouldn't be able to pull ahead if we fall: its reputation would be dragged through the mud along with ours. After all, if UA of all places can't handle a villain attack, then there isn't any other school that can be expected to do any better."
Bakugo slammed the top of his desk loudly. Though no explosion was made, a wisp of smoke escaped from the crevice between his palm and the wooden surface.
"But it's all bull!" he yelled. "Sure, it's good to be careful and all, but those losers weren't able to do a damn thing to us or the school."
"Right again, which is why we're running the UA Sports Festival this year despite the obvious security risks. We need to show the world that we aren't bothered in the slightest. I'd love to say 'just go out there and have fun', but instead I need to ask all of you to give this everything you have."
He was expecting them to take the news badly –a new, undesirable weight had been placed on their shoulders, after all– but if anything, most of them seemed fired up. UA students really were something else.
Shirou glanced at the clock on the far wall.
That was just about all the time that he had for homeroom. He left them with a final message before he left.
"People need to think that Hero Schools are untouchable because our society is dependent on heroes being untouchable. Preserving UA's reputation isn't about saving face; it's about making sure that there isn't even a sliver of a chance that the public order of Japan might fall into chaos."
"…"
None of them seemed to have anything they wanted to say, but none seemed to have any gripes with what he had said, either.
"Good," he finished with a short nod. "I'll see you all in Hero Ideologies this afternoon.
Shirou's hand froze as it reached the door handle.
"Ah. Yaoyorozu, would you mind stepping outside for a moment?"
A buzz instantly broke out.
"Yaoyorozu?"
"Is Yaomomo in trouble?"
"Of course not. It's probably just some class rep stuff."
"Then why isn't Bakubaku going too?"
"Uh, well…"
"It's Bakugo, ya know?"
"Yeah…"
"What was that!?"
"Scary…"
All the while, Yaoyorozu looked distinctly uncomfortable with all the attention; she made for the doorway as quickly as possible.
The teacher winced. Maybe there was a subtler way to have done that?
The door closed behind them quietly. There were still technically a few minutes left before the first period, so the school hallway was empty besides themselves.
Yaoyorozu glanced nervously from side to side, only relaxing when she realized this for herself.
"Yao–"
"I'm sorry!" she all but shouted. She threw her head down into a bow so quickly that her ponytail flipped up and over her face. "I didn't mean to… I… I mean…"
For reasons that Shirou couldn't decipher, she wasn't able to finish her sentence. He knew that something was wrong after she ran off the other day, but it must have been worse than he thought.
"Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, getting straight to the point. If she was feeling unwell, then as her teacher, he wanted to do anything in his power to help her work through her difficulties. That's why he called her out here in the first place. "I'm your Teacher, Yaoyorozu. After yesterday–"
"N-no! It's just…" her face was beet-red. "I shouldn't have interrupted you and Miss Miruko. I'm just a student, so it was presumptuous of me to have…"
She trailed off again. Shirou took it upon himself to take charge of the conversation. Maybe it would make it a little bit easier for her.
He chuckled, thinking back to how he and Rumi were getting into each other's faces before his student knocked on his door. "I suppose we were getting a little passionate–"
"Eurk–"
"–but it's fine. Please don't feel bad about that. Another teacher gave you my address, right?"
Hesitantly, she nodded. "Mhm. Thirteen-sensei gave it to me."
The man hummed. "She wouldn't have given it to you if she thought that it would bother me, right? But more than that, she must have given it to you for a reason. If there's anything on your mind, please don't think for a second that I wouldn't hear you out. It's my job– both as a teacher and as a hero."
She squinted and was visibly trying not to look away. Yaoyorozu was deep in thought about something.
Shirou didn't interject; he didn't say anything else at all. He was content to let her find her voice.
"…If it's all right with you, Sensei, I was thinking about this a lot yesterday, and I… I want to think it through a little more. On my own, I mean. Before I come to you or anyone else for help, I want to try to come to my own conclusions– I want to find my own answers."
"Okay."
"I know it's– wait really?"
She blinked owlishly at her teacher's gentle, understanding smile.
"Really," he insisted. "I didn't call you out here to corner you, you know? You're a bright kid, and you're the representative for UA's class 1-A for a reason. I just don't want you to feel bogged down by anything weighing on you this early in your formative years as a hero. If you feel like it's best for you to sort things out by yourself for now, then I'll trust your judgment."
The black-haired girl opened her mouth, but no noise came from it. She tried a few more times before she was able to squeak out a quiet, "Thank you."
Shirou chuckled.
"There's nothing to thank me for. I didn't do anything."
"…Mhm."
"I believe in you, Yaoyorozu. Go for it."
Her smile pulled her cheeks taught.
X
Toshinori sighed as he loosened his tie. His muscles began to deflate; slowly, he stopped the flow of One For All in his body once the teacher's lounge was close enough for him to do so without getting caught.
He was absolutely beat. Totally wrecked. Wasted. Though he didn't take any serious damage against that villain, that didn't mean that there weren't any adverse effects on his body at all. It was clear as day: since the villain attack, his health –or more importantly, his ability to use his quirk– had taken a nosedive.
Maybe it was too soon for him to return to teaching after all…
The door was pushed open. Finally, sweet release–
He was back into his muscled form in an instant.
"Emiya-san! Good afternoon!"
The Number Two Hero took a quick sip of his coffee before answering back. "Good afternoon."
Damn! He was so worried about making it through the lesson that it had completely slipped his mind that the man would be on break too!
"Hm? Oh. Hi," was the half-hearted greeting from the rabbit-eared woman seated across from Emiya.
And what the hell are you doing here again!?
"Miruko-san! He exclaimed in what he hoped to be a cheerful voice. Was that sweat that he felt trickling down his brow? "What a… surprise!"
"Don't mind me," she mumbled, her face still buried in a neat, colour-coded binder. "I just stopped by during his break to go over some lesson plans."
"…Lesson plans?"
"Yeah. This whole 'teaching' thing isn't half bad, ya know?"
Since when were you a teacher!?
The two younger heroes exchanged looks. Miruko grumbled and pushed herself to her feet.
"Anyway, I'll catch you around."
She snapped the binder shut and walked out of the room with a parting wave.
…How abrupt.
As the door clicked behind her, Toshinori noticed an awkward silence starting to take shape between him and the only other person nearby.
"…So–"
"All Might. Can I ask you a question?"
The Top Hero steadied his expression. Emiya seemed oddly contemplative about something or other.
…Could he…?
"Of course. Ask away."
"About Midoriya…"
All Might resisted the urge to swallow an imaginary lump forming in his throat.
X
"He has your quirk, doesn't he?"
The taller man's face tightened up. That was all the confirmation that Shirou needed.
"Emiya-san–"
"No," the younger man cut him off quickly. "It's fine. If you don't feel like explaining your familial relationship, I'll respect your privacy."
The symbol of peace's eyes widened in surprise before returning to a more relaxed state.
"Thank you, Young Emiya."
Shirou noticed the way that the man's form of address had slipped, but he didn't mention it.
"But please, help him. I don't expect you to tell me how your quirks work, but show him how to control it. He can't go on like this. He'll ruin his body."
The blonde raised his hands placatingly. "It's not that easy; mine and Young Midoriya's quirk is incredibly fickle. If nothing else, please trust that I am doing my best to help him. Just give it time."
"He doesn't have time," stressed the Wrought Iron Hero. "Every time that he uses his powers, he shatters his limbs. He's going to get himself killed. My quirk has some drawbacks too, and I've learned tricks to lessen them. Maybe if I spent some time with Midoriya–"
"No," All Might denied him, much to his surprise. "It would be best if you leave him to me. I can't go into any details, but the situation is delicate."
Shirou couldn't believe it.
Not telling him everything was one thing, but was any "delicate" situation ever so delicate that it was worth risking a kid's whole future?
All Might asked him to "leave Midoriya to him", but so far there was nothing to show for their efforts. Whether the Top Hero's methods were ineffective or simply took a long time to show results, it did not matter. The boy's time horizon did not match his rate of progress. If there was something –anything– that he could offer; that could help Mirdoriya help himself just a little bit better… why shouldn't he?
Normally, he was fine trusting All Might's judgment. He was the perfect hero, after all, and a true hero always acted in the best interest of others. He grew up with the mantra that was so common among kids his age at the time, "All Might is Always Right".
But right now, he was wrong.
No, he didn't have all the details, but at a certain point, enough was enough. If there was something amiss occurring before his very eyes, then how was he expected to look away and "wait until he had the whole picture"?
All Might was a hero, but so was he.
It was a Hero's duty to take action in another's time of need.
Shirou's eyes hardened. "I can't accept things continuing as they are, All Might. I hope that you can sort things out with Midoriya quickly."
"Emiya-san–"
He walked past the stunned older man and stepped out of the teacher's lounge. Before the door was closed behind him, he added a parting message.
"If you can't, I will confront him. I respect your privacy –I really do– but I want to keep his pro career from meeting a premature end just a little bit more."
The last he saw of the taller man before the door closed completely was a conflicted frown.
X
During a quiet evening, the only noise heard in his apartment was the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board.
Shirou stopped cutting carrots for a moment to rub his eyes with the inside of his elbow. His kitchen lights were starting to flicker recently… maybe it was time to get new ones?
The preheat timer on his stove went off, and as such he was barely able to hear his cellphone's ringtone coming from its place on the dining room coffee table.
Leaving his meal-in-progress for now, he picked up the device and checked the caller ID.
He blinked.
The number itself was unfamiliar, but it was prefaced by a United Kingdom area code.
"…Hello? You've reached Emiya Shirou."
"Hello, Shirou. I do hope I'm not calling at an inopportune moment. It's later in the day for you right now in Japan, isn't it?"
…He recognized that voice.
"Arthur?"
"Ah. Sorry, this is a new number. Yes, it's me. I'm calling you ahead of my flight to Japan. I was wondering if there would be a time this week that you'd be available to meet.
"You're coming to Japan?" was the first question that had crossed the eastern hero's mind.
"Yes. UA's principal approached me, asking for any available heroes at my agency that would be willing to act as the aegis for their sports festival. I accepted the role myself.
Nezu had mentioned something about bolstering security ahead of the event. Was this what he meant? Admittedly, having international heroes standing guard would be as good a display of strength as any.
But still…
"I'm surprised. I didn't think you had spare time for something like this."
Arthur was the Chief Executive Officer of Camelot: one of the largest hero agencies in the world. Rather than interns, he had multiple heroes corralled under the same banner. For such a large-scale operation to be functional meant that nearly all of his time outside of regular hero work was likely dedicated to running the organization itself.
"I don't, but I think it should be fine– for a little while, at least. I'm leaving my Chief Operating Officer in charge until my return."
Wait, his COO? Wasn't that…
"Is it really okay to put her in charge for an extended period of time?"
"Probably not, no," answered the British hero easily. He didn't even need to think the question through. "Although she is the most qualified to lead the agency in case of an emergency… supposedly."
"…"
"…"
"I see. With all of this said, was there a particular reason for you to come yourself instead of sending someone else?"
Not that he minded, of course. He considered the man a friend, and they hadn't had the opportunity to meet face to face in a few years. Skepticism was mostly for the other man's sake.
"Of course. I have a personal mission that requires my presence in Japan, but I'd rather that it does not become public knowledge. This was the perfect opportunity for me to come without raising suspicions. It's why I wanted to speak with you in person, actually: if you have the time, I'd like your help ."
Shirou frowned.
"My help?"
For a foreign country's perennial top-five hero to ask for his assistance, then it must be a serious matter indeed.
"Yes. Black Knight was my problem, Shirou, but a problem that I thought I'd been able to bury. I want your help tracking down the people who set him free."
X
Extra! Rumi-san is being difficult.
As Shirou handed out the last assignment outline to his fellow student, class 1-A's teacher cleared her throat.
"Right. This will be a group project with two people per group; don't try to find your friends, though. I've already preassigned the teams."
Most kids groaned, but like any good teacher, she was able to ignore the cries without batting an eye.
Shirou returned to his seat wordlessly, though he was admittedly curious about who he'd end up with. Though he wasn't particularly close with anyone yet this early into his first year, he still liked to believe that he got along with his classmates well enough that it would end up a positive experience no matter who he ended up with. As long as it wasn't–
"Group D: Emiya and Usagiyama."
He nearly slammed his head onto his desk. Of all the luck– he was paired with the one person who seemed to make it her life's purpose to be confrontational whenever possible.
This would suck.
"The rest of class is a work period," the teacher told them. "Take advantage of the time I give you now so that you won't have to scramble as much later."
Slowly, he turned his head towards his partner's desk at the back of the class. Her legs were tossed up, and she had already pulled out her cellphone. Judging by the rhythmic tapping of her fingers, she was probably playing some sort of mobile game.
They would be scrambling a lot. He could already tell.
"Usagiyama-san," he called out to her.
She didn't look up from her phone.
"Usagiyama-san," he tried again, a little louder this time.
She sighed and dropped the object of her attention onto her lap.
"Mm?"
The boy did everything in his power to stop any and all parts of his body from twitching.
"We have a project to work on," he reminded her.
"Oh… that. Yeah, I'm kind of busy. We can work on it some other time."
Shirou didn't want to start an argument. "Okay. When would be a better time for you?"
"Like, next week or something?"
"It's due this Friday."
"Then Friday, I guess."
"Earlier."
"Thursday?"
"Aren't you kind of underestimating how long this is going to take!?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose and calmed himself. Usagiyama grumbled something inaudible under her breath.
"Look," she said in an agonized tone, "If this is such a big deal to you, just stop by my house after school or something, and we can work on it then. Just don't bug me right now. I'm on a roll."
The phone was picked back up and the rabbit girl tuned out the world around her once more.
…She knew that she hadn't given him her home address, right?
Fine. He'd get her to write it down for him later.
Needless to say, Shirou got a head start on the project during class time while his partner was goofing off.
X
He rang the doorbell. Not five seconds later, he was met at the entrance by a hulking white-haired man with a pair of fluffy bunny ears atop his head.
"Can I help you, kid?" he asked gruffly.
"Hello, sir. My name is Emiya Shirou. I'm here to see Usagiyama Rumi-san."
The man's stern expression shattered like glass. He looked like he was kicked in the groin.
"R..Rumi?"
Shirou frowned. He had expected his classmate to tell her parents that he'd be coming ahead of time, but he shouldn't have put it past her to not have done that.
"That's right."
The large man, presumably Usagiyama's father, had a hard time finding his words. His jaw was swinging about uselessly.
"Honey, who's at the door?"
A dainty woman with tanned skin and silky black hair walked into sight from within the house.
"This is… Emiya Shirou-kun," the father repeated slowly. "He's here to see Rumi, apparently."
Slowly, the woman's eyes widened. "…Oh? Oh. I see. Well… she's not home yet, but please step inside. If she asked you to come, I doubt that she'll be away for much longer."
Before he knew it, Shirou was pulled inside and made to sit at their dining room table. A cup of tea was placed in front of him and was soon joined by the older man and woman.
"I'm sorry, I should have asked beforehand. Do you like oolong?" posed the woman.
Strange. Both of them seemed… nervous? Antsy? He couldn't place it, really.
The woman coughed.
"So… tell me, how did you meet Rumi?"
The boy tilted his head. It should be obvious, right? "I'm her classmate."
The lady cleared her throat and took a quick sip of her own tea.
"Ah. Yes. Of course."
"…"
There was an uncomfortable silence. Should he say something?
"Thank you for having me–"
"Thank you," the man stressed, "for putting up with our daughter. We know how she can be at times, so I honestly didn't think I'd see the day when something like this would happen."
Obviously, Shirou had no clue what they were talking about. Usagiyama couldn't be that bad at doing school work, could she?
A noise came from the front of the house.
"I'm home!"
Usagiyama walked into the dining room with her school back held underarm. Something looked different about her, but he couldn't quite place what it was.
She noticed him.
"Oh! You're already here. Grab your stuff; let's go to my room."
She didn't wait for an answer. His classmate walked up the stairs fully expecting him to follow.
Shirou sighed.
"Thank you both for your– is he all right?"
He stopped mid-thought. Usagiyama's father looked borderline catatonic, and his wife was rubbing his shoulder soothingly.
"Don't mind us, dear. Go on ahead," she told him with a smile. "Feel free to take your teacup upstairs with you. Rumi's door is the first to the left."
Uh… right.
"Thank you again," he bowed before making his way to the staircase.
"Oh! One last thing!" mentioned Usagiyama's mother. He stopped to listen to her request. "Just don't be too adventurous right away, okay? Take things slowly at first."
It took him a second to understand what she was trying to say. After some thought, he realized that she was warning him about Usagiyama's prickly personality. She was telling him to ease his way into their conversation slowly so as not to set her off.
He smiled.
"I will!"
X
The pair was quiet. Textbooks on hand, both kids sat at a low table placed in the center of a bedroom that looked like it belonged to a fifteen-year-old boy: posters of heroes and famous athletes lined the walls, wrestling and fitness magazines were thrown haphazardly on the floor, and miscellaneous training equipment was pushed up against the side of furniture. The only thing remotely feminine about the room was the collection of fancy shoes that could be seen peeking out from the walk-in closet's open door.
"So… where were you?" he eventually found within himself to ask some thirty-odd minutes into their task. Surprisingly, she was able to focus on what they had to do for longer than a few seconds at a time.
For the most part.
"Hm? Can't you tell?"
No. He could not.
She puffed out her chest and flicked her hair. She gave him a toothy grin.
"I got a haircut."
She was late because… she decided to get a haircut? It was the same length. Did… whatever she did really count as a "haircut"?
"…Why?" was all that he could ask.
The rabbit-eared girl huffed. "When I get a cut, I'm top five."
…Top five. Top five in the school? Top five in the class? Surely not. That would involve getting half-decent grades.
"Top five what?"
"Top five," she repeated uselessly.
He exhaled.
"I see." He didn't. "Let's make one last push."
Usagiyama crossed her arms. "Nope! We're done here. That's enough for one day."
"What's with you!" he snapped. "You won't work in class… you don't want to work after class… do you have any intention of becoming a hero at all!?"
The white-haired girl snarled and rose to her feet.
"You don't know jack about me, buddy."
He got up too and poked her in the chest.
"I do know that you aren't putting any effort into this project at all. Is UA a joke to you? How did you even get in?"
"I got in by busting my ass off!" she yelled. He wouldn't be surprised if her parents came to check in on them to make sure that everything was going okay. "I will be a hero. I will be number one. I will kick the ass of any villain unlucky enough to run into me, and if someone in front of me needs to be saved, I will not fail to do so.
"I don't need to learn how to get along with others. I don't need to learn how to measure triangles and shit. All I need is to grow stronger as fast as I can, and the sooner that people like you stop tryna get in my way, the faster I'll be able to leave all of you in the dust!"
Shirou was only shocked by her bold statement for an instant.
"You're wrong to think that way," he shot back evenly.
She punched him square in the face. His head whipped to the side, and he crashed onto her bed.
"And what right do you have to be telling me that!?"
He held his cheek in a daze. He didn't answer because he didn't have one.
The door swung open. Usagiyama's father came in with a worried expression on his stern-looking face.
"I heard a loud noise. Are–"
He paused, noticing Shirou lying in his back on his daughter's bed, and the aforementioned daughter looming over him.
"Never mind."
He left and closed the door behind him as if he never showed up to begin with. The two teenagers could hear the muffled sounds of him frantically calling for his wife.
The previous tension between them was replaced by an abrupt muteness. Despite their argument, they had at that point agreed that it would be best to meet up another day.
When he left her house, Shirou still didn't have a doubt in his mind that she was a useless partner and that he'd have to carry them to a good grade. For reasons he couldn't quite pin down, however, he could feel his respect growing for Usagiyama Rumi's resolve as both a person and as a hero. Unwillingly, of course.
Just a little.