Their Hero Academia – Chapter 73: Summer Shorts Part 2
Mika Mineta in A Breath of Fresh Air
Mika was in a good mood. Of course, she was usually in a good mood, but today was cause for an extra good mood. There were multiple reasons for this. The first reason was the string of texts she'd gotten yesterday, from Chihiro and Shiro. Apparently things had gotten very threat-mantic when the two of them had met at the playground near their houses and Shiro had ended up asking Chihiro out on a date, after passionately kissing her (Whether this was on purpose or on accident depended upon who was telling the story.). Or possibly tricked Chihiro into asking him out. The two accounts conflicted and she wasn't sure which one of them she believed.
Okay, that was a lie. She believed Chihiro. Shiro was honest, but would absolutely take the opportunity to spin any interpretation to his advantage, given half a chance. But he was well intentioned no matter what he did, even if he was occasionally misguided.
She'd spent the better part of yesterday dealing with competing texts between the two. She'd come dangerously close to responding to the "wrong" person a couple of times as she offered advice. That would have been a total disaster. Funny, but also a total disaster.
And she truly was happy for the two of them. Shiro was finally snapping back from his crisis of faith and for all his other faults, Shiro was a master at supporting his friends, something that Chihiro desperately needed after the Final Exam. It would probably loosen them both of up. Chi was a lot of fun and she could usually be roped into Mika's plans, but both of them dipped into "why are you like this?" territory.
Lots of people around here did, truth be told. Weird.
Of course, it wasn't the only reason she was happy. As glad as she was to see two of her friends maybe getting together, it paled in comparison to the advancement of her own love life. After two months, Shinji was finally ungrounded! And he was coming to see her! They'd texted plenty, talked on the phone a bunch, and even video-chatted a little (and she'd sent him several scandalous pictures of her in her bikini from the island trip), but none of that compared to actually getting to see him in person again!
She never thought she'd be the long distance relationship type, but she'd found she really, truly liked Shinji. He was boisterous and had pecs you could crack a walnut on, and genuinely fun to be around. Plus he was nearly as into everyone as she was, so he made for great people watching. But he was also thoughtful and funny and one of the few guys who weren't put off by how aggressive she was. And sure, she flirted with people like there was no tomorrow. But almost no one ever flirted back. She got cat-called sometimes, which was a confidence booster, sure, but Shinji actually acknowledged her hotness while also respecting the smart and sophisticated lady she was! He liked who she was and didn't try to tell her to tone it down.
It was really a shame he went to school all the way on the other side of Japan, with the grounding on top of that.
Now she just needed to get out of the apartment.
Carefully, and mindful of her horns, Mika poked her head out her bedroom door. She looked left and right down the hall, before finally looking down. Looking down was an important part of scouting around. Daddy was short and could easily hide in blind spots, not to mention he was deceptively sneaky when he wanted to be.
Mika let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the hallway was empty. Mom and Daddy were both home, so she needed to be careful. Mom was taking a midday shift at her Agency and Daddy had a rare day off. Since his Agency with Uncle Denki was a small one, they put in a lot of hours collectively, but traded off on every other weekend.
Fortunately, the only occupant of the hallway was Hot Dog, the family dachshund. He gave her a doggy-grin from his basket, tail wagging. Mika pressed a finger to her lips. He seemed to get the hint.
Hooves weren't made for silence, and Mika was deadly aware of the sound of hers on their wood floors as she stepped into the hallway. Carefully and oh so slowly, she started to make her way to the door.
"And just where you are going, young lady?"
Shit!
"Oh!" she said, looking to where he was standing in the living room, arms crossed. "Hi, Daddy."
"Don't "Hi Daddy," me," Daddy said. "Where do you think you're going, dressed like that? Don't you know you're going to give people the wrong idea?!"
Honestly, her white and blue t-shirt with SUGOI DEKAI stretched across the chest was one of the more conservative things in her closet. Not that Daddy knew about that. No, all the really exciting stuff was hidden on the top shelf, where he could neither see nor reach. She'd somehow managed to avoid having him see her in her Hero costume, which was probably going to be a problem one day, but that was a future-Mika problem. It wasn't significantly worse than Granny's first costume, so maybe she could argue her case that way…
"What's wrong with how I'm dressed?" she asked, giving him her best innocent look. It had taken a lot of practice to get it exactly right. He was the only person that look actually worked on, but he was also the only person it actually needed to work on, so that was all right.
"Aw, Princess," Daddy said, his resolve already starting to crack. He smiled a wobbly smile. "I'm just worried about you! All those nasty, perverted boys out there, they see that and they're just going to think…"
"Yes, Daddy?" she asked, as though she had no idea what the slogan on her shirt was referring to or how it was supposed to draw the eye. She batted her own eyelashes at him. "What're they going to think?"
Daddy's resolve was cracking even further. "They're going to think…" He made vague gestures in the air. "And I know you're not like that, but they're still going to just think they can…" His hand dropped to his side. "Aw, don't make me say it, Princess! I'm just worried about you! Boys are awful! They'll do anything if they think they have half a chance with a girl! It's a nasty world out there for my little girl!"
"I'm taller than you, Daddy," she told him, her voice all sing-song. It was an old refrain, long practiced and useful for disarming him.
"Aw, you know what I mean…"
Mika giggled and smiled. Sometimes, Daddy was just too easy to manipulate. He just couldn't help but still see her as this innocent little girl. She wasn't exactly sure how anyone could possibly be that blind, but as long as she could keep using it to get away with things, she wasn't exactly going to complain about it.
"Where are you going, though?" came a voice from the kitchen. Mom gave her a "don't take advantage of Dad like that" look as she entered the room and Mika instantly stood up a little straighter. Mom was a lot sharper than Daddy when it came to her shenanigans. She was going to have to be careful here.
She looked between Mom and Daddy. Both were expectantly looking at her, waiting for an answer. Nope, there was no getting out of this one. "I was going downtown," she said. "To meet a friend." There wasn't a lie in there. She was still on safe footing.
"Oh?" Daddy asked, seeming to relax a little. As far as he knew, Shinji was still grounded. "Chihiro again?"
Mika could start to feel herself sweating nervously. She really didn't want to outright lie to Daddy… "Oh, well, you see…"
Mom seemed to pick up on her nervousness, fortunately. Her expression changed quickly, passing through surprise to understanding very quickly. "Oh!" she said, "would you look at the time!" She gave Daddy a wink. "You know, Minny, I bet we've got just enough time before I have to leave for work…"
People always thought Mom was so innocent, but she certainly had her wilder side.
Daddy's eyes went a little wide and then he smiled. "Have a good day, Princess! Say hi to Chihiro!" And then he grabbed Mom's hand and the both of them were sprinting to the back of the house."
Mika just laughed to herself as she headed out the door.
"Shinji!" Before Mika could blink, Shinji scooped her up into a big hug, spinning her around. It was an impressive feat, given that between horns, hooves, and denser than average musculature, she was actually a good bit heavier than she looked (Chihiro would probably roll her eyes at that and make a sarcastic comment about most of her weight being in her bra). For at least a moment, they both ignored the stares of everyone around them, including an old woman who sniffed disdainfully at the public display of affection.
"Oh, I've missed you, Mika!" Shinji said, laughing as he set her down. She really wanted just to hug him again, to be pressed up against his muscular chest. Maybe they'd moved a bit quickly, but they had a lot of fun. And if people had a problem with the PDAs, well, that was their issue, not hers. She was who she was, completely unapologetically.
"Missed you too," she told him, stretching up to give him a peck on the cheek. It was rare for guys to be taller than her, even if you discounted the horns, but Shiji managed it almost as gloriously as Shoji did. "You get even more hunky while you were grounded? Or is this just one of those spouses in prison things?"
Shinji laughed again. Even in his casual clothing, he still wore his Shiketsu cap. She did love a man in uniform. "I don't know about that, but I know you are even hotter than the last time I saw you!"
Mika was used to compliments. But she was also sure that Shinji genuinely meant them. There wasn't an ounce of duplicity in his big, beautiful body.
"I still can't believe your mom grounded you for two months," she said, as they walked down the street. He held her hand and it made her giddier than the entirety of the stack of magazines that definitely weren't hidden under her mattress. "I thought I was never going to see you again! Do you know how awful that was?!"
Shinji looked away awkwardly. "Yeah, well, she was kind of right. I really could have gotten in a lot more trouble! I left school, used my Quirk in action without a license, if there hadn't been everything going on, who knows what could have happened!"
Definitely not fair! Shinji had just been worried about her and his other friends, like Shinso, Todoroki, and Kirishima-Bakugo. Sure, he'd been incredibly lucky to have found Kirishima-Bakugo by flying around randomly. And sure, the Nomu possibly could have killed him if he'd engaged it directly… But his heart had been in the right place! And he'd helped Kirishima-Bakugo save Uravity!
What good were the rules if a guy got in trouble for that?
He looked back over and threw his head back and laughed. It was a huge, booming sound. "I actually got off easy! She wanted to ground me for a year, but Dad talked her out of it!"
Mika felt her heart drop. "A year?!" She shook her head. "I've have waited for you, Babe. I mean, I'd probably also have seen other people, but I'd also have waited for you." Their relationship didn't have many rules. But the biggest one was that if they saw an opportunity, they should take it. Both of them were far too much for any one person.
She was far more than a snack. She was a party platter that served six to eight.
"Aw, that's so sweet!" Shinji's expression shifted rapidly though, back to awkward again. "Speaking of Mom…"
"What?" she asked.
"She would like to meet you," Shinji said. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sooner rather than later, actually."
Wait, what? Mika lost her footing, her hoof hitting the ground awkwardly and nearly sending her tumbling to the ground. Fortunately, Shinji still had her hand, and he used his grip to pull her close to him, putting his other arm around her in the process.
"Mika!" Shinji shouted worriedly. "Are you all right?"
"F…fine," she told him. She looked up into his eyes and felt herself blush. How was it that this guy could make her heart melt like that? She looked down for a moment. "And not that I mind, but your hand is really close to my…"
"Holy hurricanes!" he said, quickly moving the offending appendage. He stared at his hand like it had betrayed him. "Babe, I am so sorry, I would never…"
"You would and you know it," she teased. "You'd just ask me first."
Still, her boyfriend's mom wanting to meet her was worrisome. She'd already met Shinji's dad, back at the Sports Festival, and he seemed to like her well enough, but dads… dads were easy. It was moms where things got complicated. They were usually a lot more on the ball. If Shinji's mom wanted to meet her… was that a good sign?
Her own parents seemed to like Shinji. Mom found both him and his dad delightful. And Daddy had tried to put the fear of him into Shinji. Shinji had been a perfect gentleman and insisted that he wouldn't do anything she wasn't comfortable with. It wasn't her fault if Daddy thought she was more innocent than she was.
But what if Shinji's mom didn't like her? What if she thought she was a trollop after her only son?! What if she made a bad impression and she couldn't see Shinji anymore?! The only other mom she'd ever had to impress was Shiro's, and there probably wasn't anyone out there Tsukushi didn't like! This was entirely too much pressure!
"Why's your mom want to meet me?" she asked. "Didn't your dad give a glowing report after the Sports Festival?"
Shinji looked uncomfortable again. "Yes, well," he said, rubbing the buzzed side of his head, "even though Dad likes you, she really just, ah, wants to see what kind of person you are. You were going pretty full out during the Sports Festival and all and she just wants to see how much of that was all psychological tactics…" He frowned. "There's more… but I'm really not allowed to say. I am so sorry, Babe!"
"Oh," she said. She'd made considerable in-roads during the Sports Festival by running her mouth non-stop and basically being herself. As Shiro always liked to say, her real talent was provocation. She couldn't help it if people found her natural personality irritating! On the other hand, openly flirting with just about everything that moved probably didn't exactly engrain you to your boyfriend's mom either…
The "not allowed to say" bit was also concerning.
"I know she'll love you!" Shinji said, smiling again. A small amount of the optimism appeared forced, but it largely looked like it was genuine.
"You're not afraid she's going to think I'm too much?" she asked. Mika had almost never worried about what other people thought of her before, other than in the broadest sense when she was hitting on somebody and hoping they're reciprocate. But she absolutely, one hundred percent, desperately wanted Shinji's mom to like her.
"Even if she somehow doesn't," he said, "even if I have to sneak out every time I want to see you, even if she forbids me from every laying eyes upon your heavenly hotness, I will find a way! I'll… I'll even learn to lie, if I have to!" He had let go of her hand and his hands were on his hips now, posing dramatically. She was pretty sure the small wind that had kicked up was also him.
Mika's jaw dropped open. "Babe, you are so hot right now."
Shinji just grinned at that. "I mean it. Every word!"
Damn, if she didn't just want to do all kinds of things to him…
As they continued to walk, again holding hands, Shinji spoke up once more. "You know, with all the craziness, you never did get to tell me how flirting with Flash-Step worked out."
Mika rolled her eyes, thinking back on her Internship with Ingenium and his plethora of lesser Heroes, Sidekicks, and Work Study participants. "Not good. She called me kid. Even though she's only two years older than me!"
"Suffering Cyclones!" Shinji wailed. "That's terrible!"
"Turns out she's dating Nejire Togata anyway," Mika went on. "And as much as I'd love to be in the middle of that hotness sandwich, it doesn't look like they're interested in sharing."
"Aw, man!" he said. "I'm so sorry, Babe!"
She waved it off. "Hey, you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Sooner or later, it works out."
She went on. "Speaking of working out… how'd your Sports Festival work out?" Shiketsu did theirs later in the first term than U.A. did, nearly right before their final exams, and like most other Hero Schools, it wasn't broadcast. Mika didn't really get why that was, but she wasn't going to question it.
Shinji let go to pose again. There was definitely a dramatic wind. "Second Place! I would have gotten first, but Tatsuma's dragon power was simply too much to overcome! I may as well have been trying to blow down a mountain!"
Mika clapped happily. "That is awesome, Shinji! We're both second placers! It's kismet, I know." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, then bounced up to kiss him again.
"You know, you never did tell me where we were going."
Shinji laughed again. "We're actually already there!" He pointed in front of them. A large arch stood there, with a sign that read Pasaana Air Park. As she looked up, she could see all sorts of people flying through the air via all kinds of Quirks.
"Huh?" she asked.
"It's a place where people with Quirks that let them fly can practice or play!" Shinji explained. Mika knew there were special "air lanes" used by civilians in bigger cities, for commuting via flight, and they could file a flight path for special occasions, but she hadn't realized there were recreational facilities too.
"Mika," Shinji said, with an expansive gesture, "how would you like to fly?"
Best boyfriend ever.
Koharu Kocho in Perilous Partying
"Mom, I'm back!" Koharu called out, as she opened the door to her apartment. She swung her wings forward so they wouldn't get caught in the door as it shut behind her. "I got the fruit juices!" Mom had insisted they needed more fruit juices in the house and had dispatched her on an errand to the corner store to go get some. They did go through a lot of it, truthfully, considering that she, her mom, and little brother, Hiroto, all required either a liquid or semi-liquid diet. Dad and her older sister, Okimi, did not.
"Thanks, sweetie," Mom called out from the living room. "Can you put them away and then come in here please?" That was... suspicious. That was the same tone of voice she used whenever she was going to spring a new chore on her.
After stashing the juices in the fridge, Koharu headed into the living room.
"SURPRISE!" a chorus of voices rang out, startling her. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked around the room. There were her parents and siblings, her uncle who worked for Deku and aunt, her grandfather, and even Mogura and Tokuda. There were drinks laid out and a cake and a banner on the wall reading "Congratulations, Hero!"
"What?" she said. "What's all this?"
Mom smiled, her large compound eyes glittering, smallish wings carefully folded behind her. "You didn't think we were going to let you go off to Hero training without a party, did you?"
"But we already did that," she protested. Her antennae flipped up in confusion, trying to sense if anything else was hidden somewhere. "Back before I did my Internship."
Dad laughed at that. He was extremely normal looking, the Moth Quirks all coming from Mom's side of the family. His own Quirk was a simple one that made him immune to all toxins and poisons. Useful in a house full of people that sometimes shed paralytic, soporific, or poisonous scales. "You're right, we did. But that was just our little family. And with the term over and you having passed your exams…"
"We had to have a party!" Hiroto declared, flapping his own wings hard and fluttering around head height. His Quirk was basically identical to hers. And ever since she'd made it into the Hero Course, he'd been talking non-stop about being a Hero himself someday. She'd had to remind him he was only six and had plenty of time to decide what he wanted to be. But if he did choose that path, she'd support him however she could.
"Down, kiddo," Okimi said, grabbing his ankle and pulling their brother back down to floor level. She had the same kind of multicolored hair that Koharu did, but other than her own set of feathery antennae, had no other moth-like features or abilities. "He is right though," she said. "We're all proud of you, Fluters."
Koharu smiled, despite the childish nickname. Becoming a Hero had been her dream ever since she was a little girl. She remembered how devastated she'd felt when she gotten knocked out during the Entrance Exam and how proud she'd felt when she'd taken Third Place during the Sports Festival. Then there'd been the Internship (With Deku and the Voice, no less! What was her life?), even if that had ended pretty scarily, and getting to observe Class 1-A's Final Exam. She'd moved all her things out of her General Education dorm and they'd just finished shopping for her supply list for the Training Camp just a couple of days ago. She'd be leaving for the Training Camp on Monday.
It was all so close she could practically taste it. And yet it still also had an unreal quality to it, as though it could all fade back into the mist of just being a dream at any moment.
Yet having her family and friends here also made in strangely real. There were real people who believed her. It was both sobering and buoying at the same time.
"Thank you," she said. "All of you."
"Koharu," Grandfather said, his voice wispy and wheezy, "I am very proud of you."
She looked up from her smoothie, which had been made with the same flavors as the cake, slowly retracting her proboscis. Her grandfather had a number of moth-like mutations, with very little human about his appearance at all; he looked more like a giant-sized moth that had learned to walk upright. His body and fuzz were dark black, his eyes blazing red.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're going to make a fine Hero," he said. He'd said that once before, and she believed him. Despite the numerous and significant inherited mutations, Granfather's actual Quirk was called Prophesy, which let him see unspecified distances into the future at random intervals. He always complained that it was more trouble than it was worth, though he tried to report what he could to the authorities when he thought it necessary.
"Is this one of your visions?" she asked. She knew he didn't have control over his visions or what or who they showed him, but it was still possible he'd seen something about her.
Grandfather chuckled at that, shaking his large head. "Nothing quite so spectacular," he said. "No, this Quirk of mine rarely shows me good things. But you're a strong, determined young woman. I'd expect nothing less of you."
His face wasn't really built for expressions, but there was a certain degree of sadness to his body language now. "You're very lucky, you know," he went on. "When I was a young man, Mutant-type Quirks weren't looked on as kindly as they are now. Groups like the Creature Rejection Clan were everywhere. I had many friends who were struck down far too young, simply for appearing "monstrous" to others' eyes." She knew his early life had been hard. He'd already been an adult by the time All Might had made his debut. Every history book she'd ever read had suggested those had been dark and often lawless times. Grandfather's body sagged for a moment before his head snapped up. "To know that one of my family is going to prove all those bastards wrong… It does bring joy to this old man's heart."
She nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best. I hope I can be worthy of your pride."
Grandfather's large eyes seemed to shine brightly for a moment and he reached out to gently brush her cheek with his forelimb. "I know you will."
"Your grandfather's right," Tokuda said, her large, singular eye blinking slowly. She brushed a strand of purple hair back. "We're all super-proud of you!
Mogura frowned, pushing her glasses back up her mole-like snout. "It's really happening, isn't it? You're leaving us." She tapped her clawed fingers against each other. "I knew it was going to happen but... I'm going to miss you so much!"
Mogura and Tokuda were her best friends in her class, but she cared for all of her 1-F classmates. She'd miss seeing them regularly. There was the way Uzaki was constantly teasing Sakurai over his loner tendencies, how Asai was constantly "shipping" everyone (Koharu made a mental note to introduce her to Ojiro sometime), and the way Tomoatsu was constantly looking out for everyone's health by trying to get them to exercise more. She'd miss Miku's anime obsession. She'd even miss Kurusu's accident-proneness and how he somehow missed getting injured due to his regenerative Quirk. And yeah, if forced to admit it, she would miss their overly cautious Class Representative, Satome.
"Tell you what," she said, "I'll be moving into the 1-A dorm a couple days before the new term starts. Why don't both of you come by and help me unpack and get stuff set up? I'll introduce you to everybody. I think you'll like them. Pretty sure they'll like you too."
She gave that a little thought. "Well, maybe not Kirishima-Bakugo. But I'm not sure she likes that many people to begin with." The explosive girl seemed to like Todoroki and Midoriya, but only seemed to tolerate the rest of 1-A.
"You mean it?" Mogura asked, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "The Hero Courses don't usually mix with Gen Ed."
Koharu nodded firmly. "They're over with the Support Course kids all the time. And they start meeting with the Business and Management Course in their second year. It's about damn time they started hanging out with us too. Not just the ones who transfer."
"You said "us,'" Tokuda said. "You're a Hero student now. You're a 'them.'"
Koharu shook her head, setting her antennae swaying. She brought a hand up to steady them before she made herself dizzy. How could Tokuda say something like that? She wasn't just going to give up on her friends like that! "I'm not," she insisted. "I'm still one of us. I'm still your friend."
"We wouldn't be here if you weren't," Tokuda said. She'd been enthusiastic before, hearing that Koharu had gotten to work with Deku and the Voice. But she seemed more depressed about the whole thing now that it was so close and a little more real. "But your life is going to change, in a big way. Hero Course students train more and work harder than any of the other courses. We all know that. You'll be around them all the time, whatever free time you have left. I'm happy for you, we all are, but you know it's true."
Mogura looked between the two of them anxiously. "But…"
"I'm not going anywhere," Koharu said again. "I mean, yes, I'm moving dorms and classes. But we've got friends in the other classes and courses already, right? Like Magatsuchi over in the Business Course, or Nishino over in the Support Course? Well, I'm going to be your friend in the Hero Course, and you're going make to make more too! We've still got the same lunch and everything still too. I'll find you. Lunchroom's not that big."
Her promise, at least, got a smile out of Mogura. "You mean it?"
"Absolutely."
Even Tokuda started to smile. Koharu could see her large pupil widening. "Okay," she said. "I believe you. You passed."
"That was a test?" Koharu snapped, annoyance rising up. Tokuda was supposed to be one of her friends. And she was pushing her like that? Doubting her friendship? "What the hell, Tokuda?"
"My mom was in the same General Education class as the Voice," Tokuda explained. She held up her hands. "She always said he wasn't especially close with any of them to start with. And training with Eraserhead ate up a lot of his time. Then when he did join the Hero Course, he barely had any time to see them again. And sure, some of that was because he got caught up in everything that happened to that class, but not all of it. You're a lot friendlier than he was… but things happen."
Tokuda sighed. "I just wanted to be sure that wasn't going to happen with you."
She frowned at that. It made sense. She'd had plenty of meetings with Vice-Principal Midnight and All Might, outlining the expectations of her, and a few with Mister Aizawa as well. She knew it was going to be though, that much was asked of Heroes and Hero-trainees. But this also wasn't the old days. Standards were still high, but the fact that Heroes were people too, and allowed to have lives, was acknowledged. It could be done. But that chasm was still going to be stretching out, diving one course to the other.
It was a good thing she could fly.
"I'm not going to forget you," she repeated. "And you better believe it. And if I do, you have my permission to come find me and smack me upside the head."
"Oh," Mogura said, "I could never do that…"
"Yeah, well, I can," Tokuda replied. "I'm going to hold you to that, Kocho."
"You better," Koharu said. Both of her friends got up to hug her, and the happily slung her arms around them, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. It was going to be tricky, but she'd figure it out. Friends like this were too good to let go.
Sometimes, Koharu liked to just come up to the roof of her apartment building and watch the night sky. True, the light pollution from the city meant that it was harder to see the stars, but it was late and a clear night besides, so there was less than there would have been earlier in the evening. Some mothy part of her saw some of the distant city lights and demanded that she fly towards them, but that was an instinct that was easy enough to push down. She liked the nighttime regardless and her Moth-powers meant that her night vision was surprisingly good.
Absently, she switched on her phone. She'd turned it off for the party and never bothered to turn it back on afterwards. Her dark eyes went wide as she saw how many texts she had. There were quite a few from her General Education classmates and then…
Kimiko Ojiro: Can't wait to see you again! Camp besties!
Takuma Sero: Big day's almost here! Don't be surprised if Aizawa pulls some kind of logical ruse on the trip up though…
Kenta Sato: Congrats again on getting in! See you on Monday!
Toshi Midoriya: Training Camp is on Monday! Bus leaves at 0700. Better get there early. Mister Aizawa REALLY likes to be punctual! Welcome to the class!
Asuka Tokoyami: I am sure Toshi has already reminded you of this, but the bus leaves early on Monday. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Isamu Haimawari: Hey, Internship-buddy! Hope your summer's going good! Mine's been pretty crazy. Tell you all about it on Monday!
Shiro Monoma: As much as I dislike that you're joining 1-A, I do wish you all the success.
She shouldn't have been surprised (though she'd forgotten she'd exchanged numbers with Monoma after beating him during the Sports Festival). Haimawari and Midoriya had been nothing but friendly and welcoming to her during the Internship, and she'd already become friends with Ojiro, Sero, and Sato by the time the Sports Festival was over. In fact, everyone in her new class had been very welcoming.
She was an outsider, both in that most of them had pre-existing bonds and in that they'd already been a class together for several months. She'd come into their space and they'd welcomed her with open arms. It would still take her time to learn their rhythms and personalities, both in and out of training, but it all meant she was off to a good start.
But the rest of the texts made her gasp.
Deku: Training Camp in a couple of days! You're going to be amazing, Kocho. Don't let Aizawa pull any "logical ruses" on you! Really looking forward to seeing you become a great Hero!
Lemillion: Congrats again, Kocho! Rock that Training Camp!
Shinso: Tried to get Aizawa's plans for the Training Camp. He told me to "mind my own business." I'm afraid you're on your own. Good luck. You'll need it. Also, Camie says to say "Have a mad lit time, yo." If you know what that actually means, you're smarter than I am.
Koharu smiled as she put her phone away. She had texts from the Number One and Number Two Heroes on her phone! She'd seen it in interviews, but it was amazing how normal and friendly Deku and Lemillion really were. And she treasured the text from the Voice even more. Shinso was and remained a Hero to everyone in the General Education classes with Hero-aspirations.
She spread her wings out to their fullest and flapped hard, lifting straight up into the air. It didn't take long for her to rise up high, where she could feel the wind whipping around her body. She had to concentrate not to get knocked around like an insect in a hurricane. Below, she saw the city spread out before her. It was a truly amazing view, one that few were privileged enough to share. She liked to imagine that every one of the pinpricks of light was a person, someone with their own hopes and dreams and wishes, someone she might one day be called upon to protect.
It was both sobering and awe-inspiring at the same time.
Carefully, Koharu began her decent. Down was always harder than up, a bit of controlled falling really. She wasn't sure what to expect the future to bring, not the Training Camp in the immediate future or the Hero Course in general, but she felt good about it. It would be challenging, she knew. It would likely push her to the breaking point and then ask her to go beyond. But this was what she had dreamed of since she was a little girl.
It was a dream that had very nearly been crushed. Hard work and a little bit of luck had gotten her a second chance.
It was time to make that dream a reality.