I finished up getting a solid 40 points in the combat exam. I was pleased with this. It had been an intense exam but once I got in the swing of it I was able to take down the robots effectively. There had even been some dangerously close encounters with other students who were getting overwhelmed by the robots. I'd gladly taken out the robots on their behalf. Nothing wrong with profiting off saving people right? That's the whole point of being a hero I guess. Now all I could do was pray it'd be enough to get in.
Yuta and I anxiously checked the mail each day. Our father always left early so there was little risk of him picking it up first. It was now approximately a week following the combat exam. Yuta grabbed out mail from the front just before we sat down to eat lunch.
"Yume! I-It's here," he cried, crashing into our dining room. I looked at him wide eyes. In his hands he held a letter closed with the UA seal.
"Give it to me!" I squeaked. We knelt on the floor together, abandoning our meals. I tore open the envelope. Outside dropped a letter and a small disc that activated upon touching the floor. Upon us appears a holographic message featuring none other than All Might.
"It is I, All Might! Presented to you via video message. You may be wondering why you're seeing me. It is but because next year I will be taking a teaching position at the esteemed institution of UA. Young Kazama, you did fine on both the written exam and even more so the combat exam," All Mights voice booms. My heart feels like it's stopped. I let go of a breath I'd been holding as I start to feel moisture on my cheeks. I turn to Yuta who is similarly teary eyed.
"Congratulations Young Kazama. You've been accepted into UA's hero course. Now step forward and embrace your Hero Academia!" The final part of the message plays. Yuta throws his arms around me.
"Yume, you did it! I knew you would!" He said. We hug each other tightly on the dining room floor. Eventually I withdraw, wiping my eyes as I do.
"We better eat lunch before it gets cold," I say with a teary laugh. We stand up. I gather the holographic message and disc. We eat, excitedly chatting about my acceptance. I read my letter that explains that I've been accepted into UA class 1A. I can't shake the smile off my face.
There is, however, still one more challenge that looms over us. Yuta seems to be thinking the same thing.
"How are we gonna tell Oto-san?" Yuta asks. I rub my chin thoughtfully. It is a confrontation I am resenting. Even with my acceptance, our father could still over rule and force me to drop out. I needed a plan.
"I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but I think my best option will be to see him at work," I say. Yuta looks at me nervously.
"He'd be really angry if you did that," Yuta said. I nod. He definitely would be unhappy about it.
"Yeah, but if I tell him I've been given an offer in front of his colleagues he won't really have an opportunity to make me reject it without losing face," I say. Our father was a prideful man. The last thing he'd want is to impact the Endeavour agency's view of him. Yuta laughs nervously.
"You're kind of a schemer aren't you?" He says. I smirk at this suggestion.
"I think of myself as more of a strategist," I reply. Yuta chuckles in response to this.
"Are you gonna tell him this afternoon?" he asks.
"Yeah. I don't want to waste time," I reply.
"Okay, I'll come too," Yuta says. I was surprised to hear it. Yuta was soft by nature. He didn't do well with confrontation. I had been expecting him to sit this one out.
"Sure," I say. I send him a warm smile.
We finish our lunch. I fold the letter back into its envelope before we stand up. The trip to the Endeavour Agency isn't too far, only about half an hour by train. Yuta gets progressively more nervous as we approach. I watch him open and close his mouth as we get closer. As if he's trying to say something.
"Are you sure you wanna come in, Yuta?" I ask. He clenches his fists but nods.
"Yeah, I want to," he says, nodding meekly. He wants to power through it.
We arrive at the agency. We walk up to the entrance which is embellished with the letter E above. It's grand building, worthy of the number two hero. The doors open for us and we step into the reception area. We're met by the office lady at the counter.
"My goodness! Is that little Yume and Yuta that's just come in?!" She says standing up from her desk. She's a small brown haired woman with a large smile. I rack my brain for her name. It's been a long time since I've come here.
"Yes it is, it's lovely to see you again Segawa-san," Yuta says warmly, saving me. He stands up straight, trying to hide his nerves. Segawa reaches out and hugs us both.
"Little Yuta, you've gotten so tall!" She exclaimed. Yuta and I laugh.
"Yes, that's still a recent development. I swear six months ago I was still at least a little bit taller than him," I say grinning. We make a polite facade, chatting with Segawa. Internally my stomach was doing back flips as our impending confrontation neared.
"Are you here to see your father?" she asks. I nod. I can do this.
"That's right. We've got a surprise for him so he's not expecting us," Yuta says. I lean in close to her.
"I've just been accepted into UA," I whisper. Segawa claps her hand over her mouth with an excited gasp. This is it. I've begun setting the foundation to force our father to acknowledge my acceptance to UA.
"My little Yume! What wonderful news. I'm sure he'll be so excited to hear it!" She says. She trods back over to her desk. She picks up the phone, dialing a number to reach our father.
"Good afternoon Knightfire. Little Yume and Yuta have dropped by to tell you some very exciting news. I'm going to send them up to see you, okay?" She says, winking at us as she speaks to him. She listens to his reply before hanging up.
"Okay, he's free to see you. Do you remember how to get to his office?" She asks.
"Yes. Thank you Segawa-san!" I say. We bow politely to her before heading to the lifts. We select the up button and enter.
Yuta lets out a exasperated breath as we begin to ascend. I look to him, his eyebrows are knitted tightly. He has his arms wrapped around his front like he's feeling unwell. I reach out and pat him on the shoulder.
"Yuta it'll be fine," I say. He swallows nervously.
"Yeah I know. It doesn't stop me from being nervous," he says lowly. We exit the lift, taking a left down the hallway. I can see our fathers office up ahead on the right. Before we reach there, a door on our left opens. Yuta tenses up when out steps Endeavour himself. We hadn't excepted to run into him. After all, the Endeavour Agency is a large building and he's most often out on missions. He looks to us, his expression stern. In spite of my nerves I smile and wave at him.
"Endeavour! How are you?" I ask politely, keeping up the façade. He looks at us frowning. It's been a few years since I'd seen him. I'd forgotten the intensity of his presence. I walk over to him, Yuta trailing behind me.
"What brings you to my agency?" he asks gruffly, looking between the two of us. I open my mouth to reply but am interrupted when the door to our fathers office opens. Out comes Knightfire. He possesses similarly stern expression. The four of us now stand uncomfortably in the hallway.
"I was surprised to hear Segawa-san say my children had come to visit. Sorry for the intrusion Endeavour. I hope they have a good reason for it," he says coldly. He's clearly unimpressed with us being here.
I admit, I can be petty though. I bravely return his displeased expression with a glowing smile. Yuta in the meantime recoils even further.
"Spit it out. What's this exciting news you needed to tell me so badly you'd interrupt my work?" he growls. Between Endeavour and Knightfire the air sure was thick. I don't let it affect me. I pull out from my pocket the letter, handing it too my father. He takes it roughly from my hand.
"I uh... kind of kept this a secret because I wanted to surprise you. I've been training really hard so I can follow in yours and Oka-sans footsteps," I explain. I'm acting like this will be a happy surprise.
What I really want is for our father to acknowledge me again, to be included again. I've spent years listening to him and Yuta train. Maybe with this he'll be forced to let me join them. I watch my father read the letter. His expression remains unchanged. Endeavour also watches my father face, analysing his reaction.
"So I applied at UA. Today I received the letter to say I've been accepted! I'm in class 1A," I say. Endeavour looks at me, mildly surprised. After all, I'm sure Yuta alone has been highlighted as the golden child of the Kazama family. I'm sure he's heard limited information about my abilities. To think of it, it's unlikely that even my father has any idea of how much technique I've acquired on my own.
"I suppose you'll be studying with Shouto," Endeavour says. I beam at him.
"That's right. I hope we both get to do our fathers proud!" I say. Endeavour nods. My father looks at me stoically. He's clearly not happy but he's not exactly letting his anger freely show either.
"I hope so," he says. His tone is flat. From that I can tell he's definitely pissed. He hands back the letter. I bow at him and Endeavour. Yuta clumsily follows.
"Anyway, I won't hold you up. I know the work of Heroes is busy. Thanks for seeing me!" I say cheerfully. Endeavour and my father say goodbye. I walk away, pulling Yuta along with me. Once we are in the lift Yuta takes a moment to compose himself.
"Yume that was probably the scariest few minutes of my life," he says, running his hands through his hair. I laugh.
"I know right! I thought he might explode any moment," I said, also exhaling deeply. I hadn't even realised I'd been holding my breath. We stand in silence for a few moments. I look at my brother. He looks clammy but he's calming down. I feel my heart pound in my chest. I think our plan was successful.
"You know, I'm kind of really excited," I admit. Yuta looks at me unamused.
"Let's first wait until he confronts you at later," Yuta says.
Yuta was right to be concerned. The ensuing conversation with our father at home that evening was rough. He was furious with me. While our father regularly injures Yuta in their training sessions, he's not typically abusive out of anger. He's an intimidating, frightening man but he's also not one to hit us for punishment.
It's for this reason I was admittedly surprised, fearfully so, when he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, shoving me against the wall.
"What the hell are you thinking Yume?! You're not strong enough to go to UA," he growls. My chest aches. After the initial surprise I begin to feel anger well up within me. I glare at him. Yuta watches us helplessly.
"I am, Oto-san. I might not be able to make my own fire but I'm not weak," I shout back, trying to convince myself more than anything. His eyes are wide. It's rare that I actively oppose him. His knuckles dig into my chest.
"You're not like Yuta. You are limited," he asserts. His golden eyes pierce my matching ones. I feel my rage start to bubble over.
"Maybe I wouldn't be so limited if you'd taken the time to let me train with you all these years! I'm fed up with being left out. I might not be Yuta but I have inherited a form of yours and Oka-sans quirk whether you like it or not," I snap back. I can feel my chest starting to bruise. He freezes when I mention my mother. I know, even with all his aggression, he had cared for her deeply. He's not unaffected when I mention her.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Yume," he says lowly. His grip begins to loosen.
"I'm not scared," I reply. His expression drops from his anger. I can't tell what his thinking though. It's certainly not his usual disinterest. If anything he looks uncomfortable.
"Fine. Go to the damn school but don't come crying to me when you realise you can't compete. And I forbid you to rely on Todoroki Shouto for support. I don't need you humiliating me any further by bringing down Endeavour's son," he shouts. I furrow my eyebrows. So that's a problem as well, huh? He's worried I'll humiliate him by leaning on Shouto.
"Like I'd ever need to. You're acting like I'm some pathetic, incapable little girl but I'm going to succeed you and when I do you'll regret you ever cast me aside," I shout. He lets go of me. I push past him, heading towards my bedroom.
"Yume!" Yuta calls after me.
"Don't follow her," our father growls.
I shut myself in my room. I feel moisture on my cheeks. I wipe my eyes. He's such an asshole. Why can't he just let me show him what I can do?
I collapse into my bed. I won't let him see me like this. I feel like if I show any weakness it'll destroy any slither of chance I have.