Ch. 5

.o0o.

I woke up in the same position as I had fallen asleep in. I never really tossed or turned in my sleep, and neither did my dad, but the fact still kind of shocked me.

I carefully reached over for my phone on the stand next to us, sure not to disturb or hurt him at all.

I checked the news. Nothing new since yesterday besides something about some kind of 'scandal' with Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady, but what else was new? 'ALL MIGHT' was literally everywhere on my phone screen, but once again, nothing new.

I like the guy and all, but he did seem kind of overrated to me.

I looked at my texts. I got one from Hizashi and my school-oh yeah that was a thing-that I had been excused for the day.

Well, I guess it wasn't a thing.

Anywho, I scrolled through my latest book, waiting for my dad to wake up.

His breathing eventually shifted, being a bit quieter and a little quicker. I knew he was awake.

Did I plan on moving? No. Why should I? He was warm and I was still tired.

"What're you doing up, kiddo?" he asked groggily, his arm tightening around my shoulders.

"I could ask you the same thing," I responded in a roundabout way.

He sighed. "What time is it?"

"9:28 A.M. Wednesday the sixteenth, XXXX. Clear weather, lots of sunshine-"

"Okay, I get it…" he sighed again, deeper this time.

Before he could say that he needed to get up and go to school, I spoke up. "U.A.'s school is canceled for today because of U.S.J….What happened?" I asked him.

He carefully adjusted himself in the bed and I winced for him. "Remember," he said gently, "how I told you that the reporters got in the other day?"

"Yeah?" I prodded.

"Well, it had something to do with that. They ended up being villains infiltrating the School Grounds. They somehow were able to dismantle the security system at USJ and get in."

"So...was that it?"

"Well, your dad did kick some serious Villain ass."

Oh. Now Hizashi has entered the chat.

"Mic…" Dad warned drowsily.

"Oh, was it the cursing?" he leaned down to me. "Sorry."

I rolled my eyes. "'T's fine."

"Sooo...Shotaaa~" he said, "Recovery Girl said that school's canceled 'cuz of USJ. Sami-chan has also been excused for the day so she can spend it with you."

"Hmmph…"

I was never going to say it to his face, but he really sounded like Mr. Scrooge on a Christmas Carol.

"So, you guys just take it easy for a while. Sami, wanna come with me to get some breakfast? I already fed the cats-"

"Only half a cup of food, right?" I clarified.

"Only half a cup of food," he repeated in affirmation.

I got up from the bed with a nod, squeezing my dad's hand one last time.

"I'll be right back," I whispered.

"'Kay."

I walked with Hizashi. Just before we exited the room, he put a hand to his child, looking up as if in thought.

"Or was it half a bag?"

.o0o.

The day went by pretty quickly. My dad got scolded by Recovery Girl for being so troublesome (something I wasn't), we kept up on news, and overall, it was a pretty quiet day.

Then came the talk about school.

"How are your grades looking?" He asked me.

"Pretty good," I told him confidently. "I have over 100% in every class except for one."

"Which class is that?"

"History. The teacher doesn't offer extra credit, and the tests are 60% of the grade overall. I got 92% on the test last I took it, so my grade is 98.89%."

"Huh… That's pretty good, though," he said, just the smallest bit confused.

"Yeah, but there's this...guy who's ego is bigger than his brain with a straight 100% in all classes. There's too much at-"

"Samiko."

"Yes?"

"What are your grades in your other five classes?"

"103.62%, 101.90%, 102.35%, 100.98%, and 105.83%."

"For those five classes, what is your average grade?"

It took me a second, but I was able to get the answer with mental math. Not my strong suit, but it was definitely something my dad made me work on daily.

"102.9…...4%, ish ."

"Now, what's the average with your History grade?"

It took me longer this time, but I got it.

"102 point…..3% ish."

"102.262%, actually," my father corrected, "but close enough."

I mentally scolded myself. Dangit.

"Samiko," he said again, "if that kid has 100% in every class, then his average, even in History class, would only be 100%. You have 2.262% higher grades than him, simply put."

"That's not enough," I grumbled.

"And," he cut me off, "that's giving him the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't assume that just because someone boasts about having good grades that you shouldn't believe them. You don't boast and you have over 100% in every class."

I sat there, just thinking about what he was saying.

"It's not rational," he continued, "to beat yourself up over missing one test. In a year, you won't even remember what it was about. It won't matter."

"It's not just the test," I confessed. "It's that he won't shut up about being better than everyone else when he's obviously not. How blind do you have to be?!" I didn't shout, but I was pretty enthusiastic. "I'm the one that can't see, and I'm more enlightened than anyone!"

I heard my father chuckle behind his bandages as I went through my crisis.

"Sami-chan," he said endearingly, "Are you doing your best?"

I went quiet. Because I wasn't. If I was, I would have passed my seventh year a month ago.

"Sami?" his voice was stern, but understanding.

"Overall….it's pick and choose."

"..."

The air went still.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"Everything is easy for me. When I try my hardest, I get bored. I finish everything too quickly."

"Which is why you as for extra credit and extra homework?"

"Yes. In case I missed something, and extra practice-"

"Let me guess. Your highest grade is in math?"

"No, it's English. Math is the next highest."

"Hm. Those sessions with Hizashi helped you, huh?"

"Yeah… a lot."

Things went quiet. It was a fairly comfortable silence. Thoughtful. I scanned through my latest notifications-as well as my dad's. I had his email on my phone to make sure his email is pretty organized for when he does check it.

I got an email on both accounts for me about…

Oh yeah. I forgot to tell him about that. And it turns out that the subject was perfect.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"You got an email from my principal…"

"Read it to me."

"Hello, Mr. Aizawa. This email is concerning your daughter, Samiko. I've taken note of her excellence in all of her classes and gotten some good words from her teachers about her success. They fear that it may be going too slow for her learning capabilities.

"With that being said, I would be delighted if you could find some time to meet with me, and perhaps discuss her being moved into the next school level…"

I trailed off, thinking about it in my own way.

I picked back up, "Please get back to me by the end of the week so we may discuss this matter further."

The rest of the email was 'we hope to hear from you soon' and 'yours truly's' from the principal, so I stopped reading.

"Is that all?"

"Yes." He meant the important stuff.

"Well...what do you think about it?"

That was a great question.

What did I think about it?

"Well...I mean...it would...probably be more of a challenge for me…but that might not be a bad thing."

"Hm..." Dad hummed. He was quiet for a second, shifting in the bed ever so slightly.

"It's not just the grades and the guy….is it?" he inquired.

No. It wasn't. I wanted him to be proud of me. I wanted to do my best, but sometimes, it's hard to do your best. Sometimes it's too easy that it becomes monotonous and tiring. I wanted to make him proud and show him I could be better than anyone without needing to do my best.

"I just wanted to show you that I could do it," I admitted. "That I could make you proud on my own."

"You do make me proud, Sami. This just proves it. I want you to do your best, but to know that you're getting recommendations to move a grade higher in your school when you're not trying is...fairly astonishing. I'm very proud of you."

That made me feel a lot better about myself and my circumstance.

"And I could tell you now, you're probably one of the smartest kids that I know. Even some of the smarter ones-their ego is pretty big too...but you're better than them all."

I scoffed. Yeah right. I was just barely five feet tall and couldn't lift weights to save my life.

As long as they were over 30 pounds. Anything under that was fine.

"But that does bring up something else." He snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What is it?" I asked, just a little bit concerned.

"Well, with U.A. being targeted, and the villains are on the rise, I'm not sure I can keep a close enough eye on you when you walk to and from school. You've been keeping up on texting me, and that's good, but it can't be a permanent solution."

I stiffened. The last time he said something like that, he sent me away to live with Nana and Uncle Milo. It ended with me running away.

"Which is why," he continued and I braced, "I'm thinking of pulling you out of school as a whole. I'll teach you. At the school, even."

That surprised me. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Quietly.

"That's not to say I'm not proud of your accomplishments, because I am, nor am I saying that I don't think you can't defend yourself, because you can, but you are my daughter, and my responsibility, and I can't let anything happen to you, and I need to keep you closer to me to keep you safe."

I nodded along with him. It made sense. He had been targeted in the past, then he laid low again and the hype faded. Now with USJ and the villains that did escape, the news of a Pro Hero that can erase quirks among villains was a risky business. And even riskier for a could-be ransom trade-as in me. It's happened before. Not very fun.

"When do we start?" I asked.

He chuckled humorlessly. "We have to discuss this with your principal first. Inform her of the situation. She is sure to understand."

"Of course."

"Then, we'll work it out from there. How's that sound?"

"Works for me," I said with a light chuckle.

"And that way, I can monitor how you're singing and tap-dancing has been improving."

My face dropped. To be completely honest, I hadn't been improving. I hadn't done a ton of practicing with the dancing, and singing wasn't really my favorite, but it was an innate talent of mine, surprisingly.

"Your nervous silence is more telling than if you started talking, you know," my father said deadly.

I hung my head in defeat. "I know…"

"You'd better get practicing."

I sighed. He was right. As always.

.o0o.