I stand out in front of the gates of the monstrous school of UA. Around me I see various middle schoolers chatting as they enter. I take a deep breath and clap my cheeks. My nerves are getting to me but I have to pull it together. Okay... I can do this. I start walking into the school. I follow the signs to a huge hall.
Today was the UA combat entrance exams. I'd snuck out of home to come here in secret. If my hero father knew I had the intention to apply at UA he'd have shut down my plans in an instant. After all, I was weak right? In comparison to his quirk and that of my younger brother Yuta's, my fire manipulation quirk was subpar. I couldn't even make my own flames.
However, if there is anything I have going for me it's that I am good at studying. Already I had been able to pass the written exam with no problems. Now here I am at the school again. It was time for the combat exam. This would be the determining factor in whether or not I make it into the hero course.
I made my way up to the hall and took a seat. It's a busy place. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of middle school students in here. The hall buzzed with excitement.
The hero Present Mic came to the stage. He's an eccentric looking man with a boom box strapped to his neck. His blond hair is styled upwards. He's also wearing sunglasses inside which is amusing to me. He throws his hands to the air.
"Welcome to my live show! Everybody say 'Heeeeey!'" He shouted in an attempt to hype us up. He's subjected to our silence return. I raise my eyebrows at the awkwardness.
He pushes through. He explains we'll be split up into different arenas for the combat exam. We'll be fighting robots. There are four types. The easiest are worth one point, the next are worth two and then there are ones worth three points. There's also a large dangerous type that's worth zero points. The zero point one is more of an obstacle than anything.
We're bussed out to the different arenas, mock ups of city districts. The scale of this place is crazy. My nerves start to come back to me. I hope I can do okay. The only person I've ever sparred with is Yuta. To make things harder, since I can't make my own flames I'm going to have to find another person with a fire quirk who I can take some from.
We get off the bus. I loiter out the front of the arena with the rest of my group. A lot of the contenders look really amazing. I see in the group there's one guy with spiky blond hair who has a particularly fierce expression. I clap my cheeks and try to push my nerves out of mind.
"Come on, Yume. Be fierce, be effective, be strong," I mutter to myself. If I could just somehow emulate that guys confidence I'll be alright. An anxiety simmers within me though. I know that this time around, I can't just do my best. This test is looking for the most elite picking. I have to be more than my best.
In an attempt to calm myself, I use this time before the start of the test to stretch out. I'm quickly pulled out of my mind though when I hear Present Mic's voice echo around us.
"And start!" he announces. It catches me off guard. The gate to the arena opens and I sprint in, following the crowd of students. The scary looking boy from earlier sets off explosions from each hands. I thank my lucky stars and immediately manipulate the air, dragging a flame from his explosion towards me from his hands
"Oi, oi what the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He shouts. Initially I recoil from the confrontation. No, I can't afford to be meek right now. Not when I'm up against tenacity like this. I spin the fire in a sphere shape behind myself. I stand with my chest puffed out.
"I just used your spark. No harm done," I say flippantly, trying to diffuse his anger with confidence. It doesn't work. This guys still looks as explosive as his quirk. Honestly, he looks ready to attack me. I feel my insides quiver. What the hell is this guys problem?! He seriously looks like he wants to kill me! Quickly his attention is caught by one of the robots.
"I swear if this wasn't an exam I'd fucking end you right now," he growls. I murmur a soft, sardonic 'understood' as he fires off.
All around me students are defeating robots. I need to get started. I sprint left, trying to find a more secluded location where I can fight them. I run into my first robot down a side street. It's a two pointer. I take a deep breath, here goes nothing.
The robot rolls towards me. I shoot a stream of fire at it. It's not quite hot enough. I dodge as it nearly collided with me. Okay let's think of this differently. If I aim at its weak points like the hinges on its wheels and arms I should be able to take it out. I work on intensifying my flame. Generally speaking, the closer my flame is to me, the more control I have over the flame's heat and shape.
I draw in my flames, creating two dagger shaped fires extending from each arm. Next I focus on intensifying it. I increase the concentration of the alkane and oxygen with a careful balance. The flames burn hot. I take another deep breath. I shoot forward again at the robot. I lunge the flames over its joint. The robot begins to bend out of shape. I roundhouse kick and the joints fall off completely. I watch the robot shut down.
"2 points!" I murmur as I grin. I hear the rumble of more robots approaching. I get into an offensive stance.
If only Yuta could see me now! We'd spent years of training but never had we fought like I was now. To be honest, it was kind of hard to fight Yuta with the same vigour as these robots. Yuta was a kind and supportive brother. I found even with all his strength, which admittedly exceeded my own by some margin, his soft nature made him difficult to attack with a clear conscience. Even so he'd spent much of his time encouraging me. Without him I wouldn't have made it this far.
I only wish I could say the same for our father.
As it would happen, I come from a long line of fire quirk users. My father is Kazama Hanzo, better known as Knightfire. He's currently placed 42nd in the hero rankings and is a sidekick within the Endeavour Agency. Like Yuta and myself, his quirk is variant of fire manipulation. It's doesn't have the power of Endeavour's Hellflames but he is known for his excellent control and form. He's a stern man who admires Endeavour greatly as a mentor and boss.
My mother, Kazama Ai or better known as Firebird, was also a hero at the Endeavour Agency. She had possessed a quirk that allowed her to grow powerful flaming wings. I don't remember much of her. Hero work is dangerous. She was killed by a villain when Yuta and I were one and two years old respectively. She was allegedly a stunning woman in her time and a great hero.
My own fire quirk developed when I was three and a half years old. I'd been watching my father train. To this day the memories stuck with me strongly, particularity my feelings. I remember the excitement I felt when I'd tried to join in. Off his back I pulled some of his flames towards myself. I'd let them dance around me. Yuta, who would have been barely two years old, cheered gleefully at the display. My father turned to look at the fuss.
"Yume! You made fire!" My father had exclaimed. I'd looked at him curiously.
"No Papa, I just borrowed yours," I replied. He'd watched me as I'd clumsily copied his kata, the flames dissipating with one last uncoordinated punch. He'd sat cross legged in front of me, giving me a rare warm smile. I remember I'd felt such incredible happiness at that expression.
"Come on Yume, show me again," he said. I waited for him to make the fire but he didn't. He just watched me. "Can you not do it?"
"I need your fire first, Papa," I replied. He didn't seem to understand but he stood up.
"Okay lets do it together," he said. He stood up getting into his starting stance. I did my best to copy it, excited to join in. He rotated his arm, producing a flame off it, moving forward. I copied, pulling the flame off his arm to surround my own. I grinned happily at him but his expression had dropped.
"You took my flame. Why didn't you make your own?" He asks. He looked disappointed.
"I don't know how to, Papa," I say. I feel like I'm in trouble but I don't understand why. He crouches down and pats my head, seeing my concerned expression.
"Don't worry about it. You'll get there one day," he said, smiling softly.
Only I didn't. Approximately a year later Yuta developed his own quirk. It seemed identical to mine but with the extra ability of producing his own flames. He was able to do this immediately after developing his quirk. Having witnessed Yuta's fast development our fathers concern for me grew greatly. At Endeavour's recommendation he took me to a specialist doctor to assess my quirk. This started countless examinations to find out what was stopping me from making my own fire like Yuta and my father.
I still remember the day when we'd sat in the doctors office and given the news that would change my fathers opinion of me forever. I sat on my own chair next to my father. Yuta sat in his lap. The doctor swiveled in his chair to look at us. He's an old man with large round glasses. I had giggled quietly to myself, thinking he looks kind of funny.
"So I've analysed all three of your quirks and DNA. It appears that both young Yuta and young Yume inherited their mothers fire resistance so they will be a little bit less likely to suffer from burns. Young Yuta has also directly inherited your quirk. Young Yume on the other hand has experienced a mutation of sorts. You're a well established fire hero so I'm sure you understand the three pillars of combustion, correct?" The doctor asks my father. I turn to look up at my father who appears stern.
"Of course. To make a fire there are three requirements: fuel, heat and oxygen. What exactly are you getting at?" he asks. The doctor folds his hands together.
"The quirk that both you and young Yuta possess enables you to have control over all three of these. Yume-chan on the other hand can only control two: Oxygen and fuel. In this case her fuel is a complex alkane gas, it looks to be a variant of the fuel used in her mothers wings. But without an existing heat source she won't be able to produce her own fire. Technically speaking her quirk should be classified as an atmospheric control subclass rather than a fire quirk," the doctor explains.
"Understood," my father replies. His expression remains cold.
From that day onward I felt like a second rate child. Our father trained Yuta rigorously. Yuta hated it. At his core he was a gentle and nurturing personality type. He didn't have the disposition for heroics but our father insisted he'd grow out of this. For the first few years he allowed me to train with them as a way to motivate Yuta to participate. Honestly these years weren't so bad. Yuta and I were close and spending time with each other like this was enjoyable.
Our father gradually got fed up with this though. He didn't like how dependent Yuta was on me for training. In one particular session Yuta had accidentally let out a huge rush of fire, bigger than he could handle. Balancing heat, fuel and oxygen was a lot to manage for a young boy after all. He was still learning control all three pillars. He'd become upset and scared at his own fire, being unable to easily reign it in before I stepped in to help. I moved my hands in a circular motion dissipating the flames. Our father paced over to us, looking displeased.
"Yuta you're stronger than Yume. You need to stop relying on her," he says. He roughly grabs Yuta by the arm, dragging him away. I try to grab onto my fathers arm to follow but he pulls out of my grasp.
"Leave Yume, you're a hindrance to his progression," he asserted. I momentarily recoiled in response.
"But Papa..." I cried, chasing after them. I reach out my hand again to grab him but he knocks it away.
"Play in the other room," he ordered.
After that, despite my regular pleading I was never allowed to train with the two of them again. My relationship with our father became disconnected. I stopped calling him Papa. If I had to address him at all I'd call him Oto-san. I hated him. I hated that he'd cast me out. He acted like I was feeble and incapable but I wasn't! I couldn't understand why he found it such a big deal that I couldn't produce my own flames. Why did he have to act like I was a disappointment?
He spent nearly all his time with Yuta. Yuta and I remained close. Between his disinterest in me and his overloaded expectations of Yuta we felt like we were in a long battle against him. Even with Yuta's fire resistance, our father would still push him beyond what he was capable of. We spent many evenings in the bathroom together while I'd patch up Yuta burns from training.
In spite of him shutting me out from training, I did all the research I could on fire quirks, trying to absorb as much information as I could on handling flames. My top priority became helping Yuta survive his training with our father. I became enthralled with reading about the techniques. For hours on end I'd read and watch videos online about fire quirk users from all over the world. I'd never say it out loud but I yearned for our places to be switched. To be able to practice these techniques in real life must feel amazing.
"Yume, I hate him," Yuta revealed to me at the young age of 11 as he sat on the edge of the bath. I watched him wince as I pressed a damp cloth against a burn on his forearm. They were harsh words to hear from the normally gentle boy.
"I know, Yuta. Try to bear with it," I say.
"I don't even want to be a hero," he revealed. Our father wouldn't take well to knowing that. There had been heroes in our family for generations. I felt a twinge of resentment and jealousy which I kept to myself. He had this great opportunity, one that I desired greatly but it wasn't what he wanted.
"I understand, Yuta. But keep this between us though, okay?" I say, letting my resentment dissipate. He nods.
"The training's getting harder though. I can't control my flames, Yume," he said. I could feel him trembling. He was scared of his own quirk.
An idea came to the forefront of mind. Admittedly, it was one that I had considered several times but had never verbalised. I bit the inside of my cheek. Over the years I had described to Yuta all kinds of techniques I'd seen online. Sure, I'd never actually had an opportunity to practice them myself but I knew a lot of theory.
"Do you think... do you think maybe we could practice together? Maybe together we can learn to control it? It'll be a secret," I say. I wrapped his burns gently.
"You'd do that?" he said. I gave him a small nod.
"Of course," I said.
From then on, unbeknownst to our father we'd train together. It was rocky at first but eventually I got used to managing Yuta's flames. We learnt overtime that my quirk had functions I hadn't previously considered. Sure I couldn't produce flames but my 'atmospheric control' was superb. I could increase and decrease the intensity of the flames at will. Together we copied techniques of other fire quirk users online. After time I even realised I could effect the atmosphere without flames being present. I expanded my research to learn more. Eventually, I could manipulate the air, voiding it of oxygen to make a barrier Yuta's flames could not pass. This was particularly useful in maintaining our training environment.
Still, it wasn't without some guilt. I thought maybe training would satisfy the itch to burn but the effect was much the opposite. The feeling of the air igniting wasn't at all terrifying to me as it was to Yuta. For me, it was exhilarating.
I kept these feelings to myself. As much fun as I was having, the more I practiced the bigger the pit in my stomach grew. Although I never outwardly declared it, there was nothing I wanted more than to be a hero. The idea of it became intoxicating to me. I'd watch videos of fire heroes shining so brightly as they saved people... I was enchanted with imaginations of that being me. I imagined what my father would think or what he'd say if I was a hero like that. Yet, with my father's active exclusion I begun to question if that was possible for me to be strong enough.
After years of us training in secret Yuta caught me off guard with an idea. I had recently entered my final year of middle school. We'd been stretching out in the courtyard after finishing up our practice for that afternoon. Our father was due home in the next hour or so at which point he'd take Yuta away again for further training. Yuta told me what was on his mind.
"Hey Yume, why don't you apply for a heroes course for high school. If you get in Oto-san might let you join in on our proper training sessions," he suggested. My stomach backflipped.
"I don't know if I could do that though. Hero courses are for people with quirks like yours and Shouto-kun's," I said, referring to Endeavours son Todoroki Shouto. I'd heard he recently was accepted to UA through recommendations.
As Shouto was close in age to Yuta and I, we every so often would find ourselves at the Todoroki household growing up. The mother of their family, Todoroki Rei, was in hospital long term after scarring Shouto with scalding water. It was an unspoken tragedy in the household. This also effectively meant that both Endeavour and our father were single fathers. As my father worked for Endeavour, if a mission ran late the older sister Fuyumi along with Natsuo and their housemaid would often babysit us until our fathers return. It was just easier that way. This stopped once we got older and Yuta and I became more self sufficient.
Yuta reached out, taking my hands in his. His expression was warm.
"Don't be like that. You never say it but you really want to be a hero too, right? I can tell," he said. I stare at him wide eyed.
"But..." I start before he cuts me off.
"Besides, I think you'd make a really good hero," Yuta said warmly. I smiled at him. He'd always been a encouraging person.
Honestly, I didn't need much of a push. Yuta's support was enough. I started applying to hero courses in secret. I applied for many locations but getting a placement at UA would be the ideal outcome. UA was the school my father had gone to. Even All Might, the number one hero had gone to UA. There would be no better school if I wanted to make a real impact.
I take out another robot, refining my technique as I do. With some hard work I can do this. I'll get into UA. I have a point to prove and a goal to achieve. The first step will be passing these exams.
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A/N
Oh boy, have I got a big ol' authors note for you!
So... uhh... I'll give a heads up and say that I take a lot of creative liberties in this story, particularly with the science behind Yume's quirk. I don't really know a lot about combustion. I did do some googling to try to make her quirk make more sense but I fully expect there's inaccuracies. I'd appreciate if you can go along with it!
Also I really have tried to represent canon character's accurately but please appreciate that this story at it's core is complete, self serving trash. As such, as much as I try to avoid it, there may be OOC content, particularly with our lovably aloof Todoroki Shouto.
It's worth mentioning that for future chapters I do space out the events early in the school term timeline a little bit more than what's canon. This is to give myself space for character and relationship development. Otherwise it felt too squashed.
Finally, this insanity is entirely written on mobile so if you feel inclined, let me know if there's any dumb typos I missed during editing. In fact, any comments on my writing is welcome although keep in mind that this is just a bit of fun for me while I kill time in isolation.
I guess ultimately I'm just trying to set the expectation that this isn't going to be good writing but hope some people enjoy it regardless.
With love,
Re.