Corn syrup.
Hitomi followed the smell of fake blood, skating along until she came across an abandoned car.
"Help! Please help me!" The voice cried from underneath.
Hitomi retracted her wheels, hurrying over.
"Hang on! I'm…"
Hitomi trailed off, looking toward the other voice— the gruff and impatient one —that jinxed with hers.
Narrow eyes above a see-through purple mask locked with her wide fuchsia ones.
She blinked. "Fujimi?"
The Isami student's face reddened until it practically glowed.
"S-Saito?"
Hitomi smiled faintly, waving. "Hey. I go by Ōkami during stuff like this."
"R-right!" Fujimi stammered, pointing at himself. "I, uh, I'm Outbreak."
"Help, somebody!"
The two of them jumped.
Ah, right. The test.
"I'll lift it, you get the civilian." Hitomi quickly went to the side of the vehicle.
"But, how? It's gotta weigh a ton." He frowned at the big, family-sized model.
Hitomi gripped the bottom of the metal body, taking a slow breath in preparation, then heaving it upward. Her eyes shut tight, and a grunt of effort left her throat.
Fujimi squawked something behind her, but Hitomi was too focused on her job that she didn't catch it.
And there, again, was that odd tingling sensation in her hands. But this time, it grew, and grew, and somehow the weight of the car seemed to lessen.
"I got the kid!"
She hadn't even noticed him swoop in, and let go with a sigh of relief.
Panting, she leaned forward and put her hands on the side of the car, taking a moment to catch her breath.
"Whoa, I had no idea you could do that." Fujimi marveled at her side.
Hitomi absently nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm pretty strong."
"No, I mean your hands. I didn't know you could make them do that."
"Hm? What're y—"
When Hitomi opened her eyes, she froze.
Her hands were bigger, with snowy white fur covering them all the way from her wrist down. Her nails were replaced by long, talon-like claws. The pads of her fingers now sported pink beans, as well as her palms beneath her gloves.
"Holy shit."
She was shaking— she realized somewhere in the back of her head —she was close to falling to her knees and either laughing or crying. Maybe both.
Like Mama… I'm like Mama.
After a second, that fact fully hit her.
I'm like Mama!
"Ha…" Hitomi finally croaked a weak cackle, tears welling up. "All this time, and I never…"
"Saito?" Fujimi softly called to her with concern.
"I'm— I'm okay." Hitomi assured him, still marveling at her hands.
She was using her Quirk. She was isolating it to a certain part of her body. Just like Naomi's. Had she always been able to do this? Was this how it was supposed to work? Was her full Akita form just pushing the limits? Was that why she would get sick, and pass out if she pushed it too far? Could she change other parts of her body? How did she never do this before? Was this because of Kamino in some way? Because she tried using Akita Inu when it was physically impossible?
The longer her thoughts spiraled, the smaller her hands got, until they were fully back to normal, furless, padless, and clawless.
For a second she panicked, not knowing how it was that she did it in the first place. What if she couldn't ever get them to do it again?
"Minus points! It's as if you forgot I was here!"
Hitomi and Fujimi jumped, looking at the angry "child" in his arms.
"Ah— right!"
…
"Damnit! Where the hell are all the Villains!?"
Kirishima sighed deeply. "Dude, calm down. They're probably being held back on the outskirts of the city."
"Tch."
"I wonder how Hitomi's doing." Kaminari mused, scratching the back of his head.
"Knowing her, I bet she's wrangling up the last of the bystanders." Kirishima chuckled.
Katsuki scowled. He had no way of knowing if she'd used her Quirk yet, and he likely wouldn't until after the exam was already over. Maybe he should have told her about the secret test…
"Hey guys!"
Katsuki stopped.
"Wha— Hey, Hitomi!" Kaminari waved eagerly, grinning up at her where she stood atop a mountain of rubble.
She returned the grin— (wait…) —and leapt down. Once on even footing, she sauntered— (this isn't…) —over to them.
"I've been looking everywhere for you! Come on, there are Villains getting into the city."
"Really?" Kirishima frowned. "Where?"
Saito's grin sharpened, and her tail twitched once before falling limp again.
Katsuki's stomach knotted.
"I was looking for people when some of the—"
Marching past Kirishima and Kaminari, Katsuki clenched his jaw, and raised his right hand.
The other two gasped as he aimed his gauntlet point-blank in her face.
Saito's grin finally faltered.
Her brow twitched. "Hey, what gives, Bakugou?"
Katsuki snarled, and set off his Quirk.
"Dude!"
"Bakugou!"
Kirishima and Kaminari continued to rage behind him, coughing on the smoke left after the blast. But Katsuki paid them no mind, his eyes narrowed as the air cleared.
Saito was standing about ten feet back, crouched in a defensive position. Her face was settled in an expression of cold curiosity.
Finally, he silenced his teammates with one question.
"Who the fuck are you?"
The imposter smirked, sly and conniving, and all sorts of wrong on Saito's face.
"How'd you figure it out? I would've thought you of all people wouldn't notice." She slowly stood, her movements and posture fluid, but clunky at the same time. Like she wasn't used to a body with as many curves and muscles as Saito's.
"Uh, what the actual hell is going on?" Kaminari sputtered.
"What gave it away?" The imposter ignored the other two, focusing on Katsuki. "I barely said anything at all. You must keep a pretty close eye on her to notice something was wrong." Her eyes suddenly lit up, her face flushing as she cupped her cheeks in delight. "Wait a second! Don't tell me! Could it actually be that you like—"
Katsuki sent a round of AP Shots at her.
The imposter slinked away from each one, bobbing and rolling out of the way.
"What do you want?" Kirishima demanded once Katsuki stopped firing, knowing now that the girl in front of them couldn't possibly be their Saito. "Why are you impersonating our friend?"
The imposter giggled, sounding much more unhinged than Saito's. "I was wondering if anyone had seen her face yet."
Katsuki stood rigid, his mind racing and flashing back to that night. The glint of a blade, Saito's sharp cry of pain, crimson red splattering, and a deranged smile—
No way. No way.
"I was just so curious, you know! It's a long time to wear a bandage."
Suddenly, Kaminari inhaled a gasp.
"The Shiketsu girl."
"What?" Kirishima turned to him.
Katsuki relaxed a fraction.
Kaminari nodded surely. "The blonde chick. She was acting super weird toward Hitomi earlier. Going for her bandage and everything."
The imposter shrugged breezily. "I wanted to see it."
Then, she reached up, and gripped the edge of the copied bandage on her face.
"Help! Someone!"
The distant cry of a bystander drew everyone's attention.
The imposter pouted, dropping her hand. "Oh yeah, the stupid test." Then the pout was gone, replaced by an excited grin. "I'm gonna go try to find him again before it ends. Bye!"
"Hey— wait!" Kirishima called as she turned on her heel and darted off, in the opposite direction of the bystander's shout.
She didn't listen, running away— slower than the real Saito could.
"Do we stop her?" Kaminari cluelessly asked.
Katsuki pursed his lips. Whatever that freak did was her own business, but he didn't like that she was doing weird shit while wearing Saito's face.
"We should find the bystander." Kirishima proposed, leading the charge.
For once Katsuki didn't put up a fuss, trailing behind them, all while trying to banish the cold, familiar dread that imposter brought on.
…
"He said what?!"
Hitomi waved her hands with an awkward smile. "It's okay, really! I probably needed to hear it."
They had already dropped off the bystander at the refuge shelter— which had been moved further back into the city after the Villains came back, and were searching for the last of the HUC members hiding in the collapsed zones.
Fujimi scoffed, fists clenching at his sides. "Bakagou… who gave him the right to talk to you like that…"
Hitomi shrugged. "Well, he's my friend. And friends look out for each other."
"You're trying to tell me that him saying you don't deserve to be here, is looking out for you?"
Hitomi flinched, her ears drooping.
Fujimi tensed upon seeing the reaction, clearing his throat hastily. "A-anyway, what's the big deal? Why does he care whether or not you use your Quirk?"
"Well, Katsuki is very prideful. And he takes offense when someone doesn't do their absolute best. Like when he won the sports festival. Shouto didn't give it his all, so he feels like it wasn't a real win. Maybe he just thinks it's insulting if I don't."
Fujimi scowled. "Who cares what he thinks."
Hitomi frowned at her feet. "I do…"
Fujimi paused, studying her, before sighing. "Okay, so use your Quirk."
"…That's the thing. I… can't."
"At all? What about the paws?"
"Those are totally new. I didn't even know I could do that. But that's not it. I haven't been able to transform into my Akita Inu state since Kamino."
Fujimi frowned deeply. "When you were kidnapped."
"Mm."
"And when you got hurt." He looked at the bandage.
Hitomi stiffened, but nodded again. "Mm. It just… won't work."
"Damn." Fujimi huffed.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Fujimi broke it.
"Maybe he's worried about you."
Hitomi stopped.
Fujimi scowled, mouth pinched in a sour expression, as if it pained him to get the words out. "Maybe… maybe it's not that he's insulted. He might just be worried. You went through something traumatic, after all. If he's really your friend, his anger could be coming from a place of concern."
Hitomi stared at his back, lips parting, and eyes widening.
Fujimi shrugged stiffly, glancing back at her. "But that's just me. Maybe I'm just projecting. I still think the guy's an absolute tool."
After a beat, Hitomi ducked her head.
"Fujimi…"
"Er, yeah?" He stammered, face flushing at her soft tone.
Her bangs overshadowed her eyes, but her growing smile was visible.
"You're right. I'm such an idiot."
"Eh?" Fujimi lamely croaked, before watching in shock as she charged ahead, her hair whipping wildly behind her.
Hitomi ran with everything she had. How could she be so stupid? How could she not have noticed? Her other friends showed how they felt much more obviously, but Katsuki was never that easy to read.
She and him were friends. They had been for a while— since the internships. And friends care about one another. Even people as aloof as Katsuki. Proven so by things like when they got Izuku's text, and bumped into each other in the hall. Or at the I-Expo, when he called out to her in warning, pulled her away from danger, helped her walk after she electrocuted herself, and gave her his vest to cover up. And then, Kamino, how he failed to mask his fear for her, and prioritized getting her free before simply escaping.
Katsuki hadn't hesitated to grab onto her, and hold tight when Eijirou called out to them. He saved her. He looked out for her.
Katsuki cared about her.
As she ran, Hitomi lifted her head.
Her eyes shimmered warmly.
…
The building— or the half of it that was left —cracked, and crumbled, threatening to teeter and collapse on anyone unfortunate enough to be near it.
Such as one of the last remaining bystanders. Who was trapped beneath some rubble. Right in the danger-zone of the unstable building.
Katsuki and Kirishima took their eyes off of Kaminari for one second, and the moron ran headlong onto the scene.
Anyone else's Quirk would be more suited for it. Uraraka's especially. But Kaminari's failed to do anything to help him, not to remove the debris pinning the civilian, not to carry them away from the site, and definitely not when the earth trembled and the building's foundation proved too weak, groaning and splintering again, splitting apart and falling.
Kirishima shouted a warning.
Katsuki remembered a similar scene that happened only days ago.
"Hey, watch out!"
A massive blur charged past them.
…
"This way!" Hitomi called over her shoulder, continuing on into the city. She could smell the sweetness of Katsuki's Quirk growing stronger, and knew they were getting close.
Fujimi sighed, struggling to keep pace with her in the littered and upended streets. "Why are we even looking for that clod?"
"I need to talk to him." Hitomi chirped, unfazed by the persistent name-calling Fujimi rolled with. Then she came to a halt, closing her eyes and sniffing the air deeper. "I think… I think they found a civilian."
"There can't be many of those left." Fujimi muttered, looking around at the totally desolate area.
"Yeah. It could be the last one. All the more reason to get to them!"
Fujimi didn't put up a fight, and the two followed her nose to one of the more wrecked parts of the city, with shambles of concrete and rebar where towering buildings once stood. The whole place felt so fragile, as if one wrong breath would make the last of it all come crashing down.
They were close, Hitomi could tell. Eagerly rounding a street corner, she lit up upon spotting a head of spiky red hair, standing out starkly against the largely grey surroundings. And beside Eijirou, was Katsuki.
But where was—
The ground shook, emanating from an aftershock from the outskirts of the city— the fight with the faux Villains.
Cold, potent, fear filled the air with its nauseating scent. Accompanied by the sounds of thick concrete splitting apart.
What was left of an office building was now falling. And below it, in the shadow of the approaching jagged chunks of debris, was Denki and a HUC actor.
Eijirou cried out something in a panic.
Katsuki was blasting himself toward them, then pointed his gauntlets up at the falling debris. But it seemed futile with Denki and the actor still crouched where they were.
Denki looked up, then covered the HUC actor's body with his own, though it wouldn't do much in the face of what was seconds away from crushing them both.
Hitomi stared, her fur and hair all standing on end. Her hands tingled again. Her canines grew. Her senses sharpened. Time slowed. And before Hitomi even knew what was happening…
Her body just moved all on its own.
…
Denki kept his eyes clenched shut, his heart racing and breath stuttering. He knew he had no chance of outrunning the building's falling debris— even as Bakugou blasted them into smaller pieces, and unrealistically hoped he could at least save the HUC person by shielding them.
But then, the sunlight coming through his eyelids dimmed, and the sound of something hard and heavy, hitting something soft and sturdy made his eyes shoot open.
A shadow shrouded him and the actor completely, and Denki jolted when he heard a strange gust. Similar to a wheezy exhale—
He gasped softly, and peered up.
…
The pieces of debris and rubble finally stopped raining down. Thick dust and smoke lingered in the air, kicked up by the destruction, and Katsuki's Quirk. Once it started to clear, it revealed something unprecedented.
All Katsuki could do, was stare.
"That's…" Kirishima trailed off, running to stand by the blonde, gaping along with him.
Standing above Kaminari and the bystander, covering them from the debris by taking the hits— was a giant Akita Inu.
But not giant in Saito's sense. Giant as in, twelve and a half feet tall. There was a noticeable new bulk in her muscles as well, pronounced as they coiled underneath her fur with the effort of holding up the hundreds of pounds of concrete.
(Katsuki very distantly remembered an old video game he played as a kid, about training and battling monsters. Specifically the mechanic of evolving them into something usually bigger, and stronger.)
The Akita growled— loud and rumbling, stiffly stepping away from Kaminari, with huge pieces of concrete still sitting on her back.
She hadn't even hesitated to shield them, taking the surely painful hits, because at least she could survive them.
But since when?
She groaned animalistically, carefully shrugging off the debris, then shaking her whole body like a wet dog to fling off the dust coating her fur.
Kaminari blinked up at her, dumbfounded. "Hi… Hitomi."
Saito huffed, and tipped up her nose in greeting.
And Katsuki and Kirishima broke from their stuper.
"Hey! Are you okay?!" Kirishima ran to Kaminari and the actor's side, checking on them.
"Yeah man, I'm fine."
Katsuki slowly walked up to her from behind, having to crane his neck to look around where her eyes were. Though he didn't meet them, her head kept turned away from the three of them, and the HUC actor.
She sat stiff for a beat, before slowly shrinking back down. In the process, her body lingered on her previous Akita size, before continuing on until a girl was left sitting exhausted on the ground.
Her shoulders were heaving, and her back was scuffed and dirty. Her midriff— where her costume exposed her bare skin —was raw and already oozing trickles of blood. It thankfully wasn't as bad as it would've been, if her fur hadn't acted as a buffer.
"Wow, two reveals in one day." Saito murmured seemingly to herself, shakily getting to her feet.
Finally, she turned to face them.
She swept her hair from her face, and offered a closed-eye smile. She was disheveled, and sweaty, but at the same time, she stood taller. Prouder. There was tangible confidence in her stance now, giving off an air of power. The sunlight shined off of the metallic accents of her costume, making her almost appear to glow.
Katsuki's eyes stayed glued on her, unable to look away. Until they landed on the right side of her face.
Kaminari hissed. "Ah— Hitomi! Your cheek!"
She blinked, touching the skin, then tensing.
Her transformation must've knocked the bandage off.
But… Katsuki pursed his lips. With it healed, and no blood covering her pale face, it actually didn't look that bad. In fact, there was a childish part of him that could even describe it as badass.
"It's…" Saito took a deep breath, then dropped her hand. "…I-it's okay." Her expression steeled, and she stood taller once more. "It's okay." She repeated one last time, her voice strong and unwavering.
But he couldn't relax yet.
Katsuki split from Kirishima and Kaminari, marching right up to her with a pinched expression. In the next second, he held his right gauntlet up to her face.
He had to make sure.
The two behind him audibly gasped.
Saito blankly looked at the hand and his hard glower, then blinked.
She was completely at ease.
"Katsuki?"
Katsuki would forever deny the amount of relief he felt then, with just hearing the utterance of his given name.
He dropped his hand, exhaling a subtle sigh from his nose.
Then, the worst possible thing happened.
"Oi, Saito! You alright?"
…
"Yeah, I'm okay." Hitomi assured Fujimi as he came running over. She hadn't even noticed how she left him behind.
He crossed his arms, flushing and glaring at the ground. "Good. I mean— not like I care or anythin—"
"The hell are you doing here?!" Katsuki raged, pointing accusingly at Fujimi.
The Isami student sneered at him. "I've been helping Saito with evac. Because someone decided to be a douche and ran her off!"
Hitomi put her hands up in a placating gesture, smiling tensely. "Boys—"
"What do you know about it, Bald-Brows!"
"Hah! Bald-Brows? Couldn't come up with something more clever, Bakagou?"
The already weak smile twitched and waned. "Boys—"
"Fine then! How about Corpse-Fucker?"
"Did— Did you just fucking call me a necrophi—"
With two hands fisting in both heads of hair, then slamming their foreheads together, Hitomi shut them up like last time.
"Enough!" She snapped, glaring fiercely enough to render them speechless. "We still have a bystander to tend to, so put aside your bickering and help me! Now!"
They twitched and nodded robotically, and in Fujimi's case, got a minor nosebleed.
(Once Saito's focus went to the bystander, Katsuki snarled lowly at Bald-Brows.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you."
Because he didn't miss the blood running from the guy's nose, and Katsuki wasn't a fucking idiot. Dealing with Grape-Shit was bad enough, but somehow this asshole pissed him off even more.
Bald-Brows gave him two middle-fingers.
This motherf—)
"Boys!"
After some more unavoidable arguing— two guesses as to who they were between —they secured the "elderly" bystander to Eijirou's back, and started to make their way to the shelter.
"I had no clue you could do that, Hitomi." Denki spoke up before Katsuki and Fujimi could get back into it.
Hitomi looked down at her hands. "I didn't either."
Suddenly, Katsuki stiffened for half a second, his eyes widening in realization, before he relaxed fully. A weighty sigh puffed through his lips.
"You used it. Your Quirk." He spoke quietly, in his subdued tone. There was a note of relief there, too.
Hitomi paused, looking back at him, and whipping out one of her batons.
It extended, and whacked him over the top of his head.
Eijirou and Denki snorted, while Fujimi pointed and cackled. The bystander was unbothered by the immature violence and laughter, perhaps because of the close-call save just moments ago, they were all getting a pass.
Katsuki reared back, staring at her in unmasked shock. "Wha— The hell—"
Hitomi glared, hands settling on her hips. "That's for yelling at me and saying all those mean things!"
"It worked, didn't it?" Katsuki irritably rubbed the stricken spot.
Hitomi's glare sharpened. "It had nothing to do with what you said! I used my Quirk of my own volition. Besides, there were other ways to go about it, you know. I'm sensitive, and it hurt my feelings!"
The plain honesty gave Katsuki pause, before he glowered to the side. His ears— oddly enough —turned red.
"…You're fine now, though."
His tone almost sounded questioning.
Hitomi softened, loosening her stance and putting away the baton. "Mm. I'm okay. Be better if I got an apology though."
Katsuki rounded on her, mouth opening to yell something, surely.
But Hitomi cut him off by sticking out her tongue, and winking. "Kidding!"
Verbal apologies weren't Katsuki's thing. He was very much an actions-speak-louder type person. She'd probably get her apology in the form of food, or help with her homework. And she would accept it gladly when it came.
Katsuki froze at the sight of her playful expression, and spat out a mumbled and indiscernible retort, his ears flushing deeper, along with the tops of his cheekbones.
Hitomi reeled herself in. She was obviously making him too angry if he was physically turning red from it.
…But for some odd reason, he smelled content.
(Mid-rescue of Shindo, Izuku sneezed hard, making the Ketsubutsu student scowl in disgust.)
Soon, Eijirou was setting the bystander down, safely in the evacuation shelter.
A horn blared.
"Um, yeah, so, at this time, all of the HUC members who were deployed have been rescued from the disaster zone."
"Huh? Really? We did it?!" Denki asked in amazement, arms shooting up in victory.
"We were the last ones?" Eijirou's brows raised.
"Well, we didn't run into anyone else, so I guess we were." Fujimi crossed his arms.
Katsuki glared at him for the crime of talking. "Don't make it sound like you did anything, damnit! We did all the work!"
Fujimi smirked patronizingly at him. "Right, and what'd you do? Locate the civilian, block them from the debris with your body, carry them to the shelter— Oh wait! You did none of those—"
Hitomi snagged Katsuki's belt-loop and held him back from attacking Fujimi. "How many times do I have to—"
"It may seem anticlimactic, but with this, the provisional licensing exam has officially been completed!" Mera announced with finality.
Hitomi gasped, letting the blonde go. But he thankfully seemed as invested as she was.
It was over.
A weight lifted from her shoulders, only for her chest to feel tight.
But did she do it?
Mera continued. "After we tally the scores, we'll announce the results here in the arena. Anyone injured should go to the infirmary. The rest of you are free to change clothes and wait wherever you like."
"Does anyone need to go to the infirmary?" Hitomi asked right away, giving them each once-overs.
"I think you're the only one, Hitomi." Eijirou grimaced. "Your back's pretty roughed up."
Hitomi waved him off, crossing her arms behind her back to help hide some of the damage. "It's no big deal, I'm—"
A firm hand grabbed at the hem of her costume on the back of her neck, pulling her backwards. She choked a yelp, but let herself be dragged along like she had multiple times before.
"Wh— What are you doing?!" Fujimi sputtered indignantly.
Katsuki didn't bother to answer him, stomping toward the infirmary, lugging Hitomi behind him.
…
Hitomi and her class stood in a loose cluster in the crowd, dressed in their school uniforms once more. Not many of them needed medical attention, which was impressive all on its own.
"Okay, everyone. Thanks for your hard work in today's exam. Now, before I announce the results, I should probably explain the way we evaluated you. Between HUC, and those of us at the Heroes Public Safety Commission, we had a two-fold demerit system that we used to determine your total scores. In other words, we were evaluating you based on how few mistakes you made in a crisis situation. Anyway, the names of those who passed are listed here in alphabetical order." The massive monitor behind Mera's podium changed, showing seven long brackets of names. "Keep my words in mind as you search the screen for your name."
The first thing Hitomi did was search for Sa. And—
Hitomi's legs went weak. Her eyes quickly welled with tears.
Right there— her name. Saito. Hitomi Saito.
"I did it." She whispered, a wide and overjoyed smile spreading across her face.
She wasn't even bothered by her scar being pulled tight by it.
Sniffling, she quickly wiped her eyes and scanned the rest of the board.
Izuku passed. Mineta passed. Kyoka passed. Tenya passed. Mezou passed. Ochako passed. Sero passed. Tokoyami passed. Ojirou passed. Aoyama passed. Sato passed. Mina passed. Kouji passed. Momo passed. Tsuyu passed. Denki passed. Eijirou passed. And—
Hitomi blinked, rubbing her eyes again, and reread all the names. Double and triple checking under Ba, and To.
But nothing.
She whirled around, brows furrowed, and looked at her friend in concern.
"Right on! But, uh…" Eijirou trailed off, noticing what she had.
"No…" Katsuki gritted through his teeth.
Upon hearing a distant "Hah?!" from another part of the crowd, Hitomi checked again, and saw Fujimi's name wasn't up there either.
"Todoroki!" The tall Shiketsu guy— Yoarashi, marched right up to Shouto, towering over him with a scowl. Then, he bowed like he did before the exam, slamming his head into the ground and all. "I'm sorry! It's my fault you didn't pass the licensing exam. My focus was too narrow minded. Forgive me!"
Shouto waved a hand. "You're fine. I was the one who got us off to a bad start."
"But, still…!"
"And thanks to the things you said to me, I have a lot to think about."
Hitomi watched on, wholly confused by what was happening. Did Shouto seriously pick a fight in the middle of the test? That was beyond stupid— and that was coming from her.
"Holy crap, did he really fail?" Mina gawked.
"How did our top classmates not pass the exam?" Sero wondered aloud, brows raised.
Denki grinned at Katsuki with a wink. "Shoulda been more careful what you said. Words are important, you know."
Katsuki leveled him with a molten glare, the aura around him blazing hot with fury.
"Shut your mouth before I murder you."
…But Hitomi could smell the emotions roiling behind the burning anger.
Denki yelped as she delivered a sound slap to the back of his head.
"Ack! Hitomi! What gives?!" Denki looked at her, and wilted under her cold stare.
"Knock it off."
"Yes ma'am!"
"So, next we'll give you the printouts of your results. They include a breakdown of your scores, so you'll know exactly what areas you need to improve going forward."
Staff approached the crowd, handing out papers to each person, no matter if they passed or not.
"Hand it over. I wanna see." Katsuki growled lowly at Eijirou, after receiving his own.
"Uh…" Eijirou hesitated.
Hitomi sighed, holding out hers. But she didn't let go when he took it, looking at him sternly.
"Promise you won't get angry reading it?" Hitomi's voice was firm.
Katsuki rolled his jaw, then gave one stiff nod.
She released her grip on the paper.
"We lopped off points when you did something wrong. Fall below fifty, and you were done. These demerits are itemized on your result forms as you'll see, so I'd look at them."
"Sixty-one points? I barely made it." Ojirou sighed.
"Whoa, I got eighty-four! Look at that, guys, it turns out I'm actually kind of great at this stuff!" Sero brandished his paper proudly.
"Wait, Yaomomo, you got ninety-four points?!" Kyoka marveled over the ravenette's score.
"How'd you do, Hitomi?" Eijirou asked with a smile.
Hitomi shrugged, turning to Katsuki. "I dunno. What's it say?"
Katsuki stared harshly at the paper, silently combing it over. Then, he answered in his subdued tone.
"You got ninety-five points."
Hitomi blinked. "Eh?"
"Nice work!" Eijirou slapped her on the shoulder.
After another moment of blank staring, she gasped and got in Katsuki's face.
"Say that again! That can't be right! What's it actually say?! Don't mess with me like this—"
"Idiot, it says it right here!" He thrusted the paper at her, showing off the very score he'd said. "You got deductions for getting distracted, and that's pretty much it."
Hitomi took the paper with weak hands, mouth hanging open.
That couldn't be right. They must've meant to write fifty-nine points instead. But… it was true, there were only five deductions given to her, total.
"I…" Hitomi stood taller, eyes sparkling in amazement. "I… I beat Momo at a test!"
"That's what you're taking away from this?!" Eijirou sputtered.
Hitomi bounced in place, hugging the paper and giggling giddily. "I got a higher score than Momo! I did it!" She squealed, her tail blurring behind her.
"Anyway, moving forward, those of you who passed can exercise the same authority as Pro Heroes, but only during emergency situations." Meta added.
"Er…" Ojirou side-eyed Hitomi and her bouncing. "I'm starting to wonder if they made the right choice.
"In other words, fighting Villains, saving the victims of criminal acts or accidents. You may act using your best judgment with no direct orders. Keep in mind that your every action from now on carries with it a deep responsibility toward bettering our society, and that the world is watching you. I'm sure you're aware that All Might, our greatest Hero, no longer has his incredible power."
Hitomi's bouncing abruptly stopped.
"One of the reasons crime in this country has been so low is due to his presence. With that deterrent gone, criminals are sure to become bolder and more widespread. Expect the balance we currently have in our world to be destroyed, and for things to change quickly. You young people will be the hope for our future. It's imperative that you become exemplary Heroes. That your reputations grow to suppress crime as did his. Remember, the license you earned today is provisional, and you still have much to do. I would like for you to think of yourselves as fledglings, and be even more diligent in your studies. And as for those who fell short and did not pass… We don't have time for you to feel bitter about your loss. Instead, we offer you a chance to redeem yourselves."
Hitomi's head shot up, and snapped to look at Katsuki.
"After you attend a three-month-long special course and pass an individual test, we plan to issue a provisional license to those of you who failed as well."
Much of the crowd cheered, and Hitomi beamed with relief at her friend.
Katsuki's scowl fell, and he stood a little straighter.
"In order for us to reach the idyllic future that I just spoke of, we're going to need as many good Heroes on the streets as we can get. The first round was one to weed people out. But we would like to grow the 100 selected in that test as much as possible. That's why we watched you all until the end. So we could see for ourselves that you each have promise. That once your shortcomings are corrected, you have the potential to be as great as your fellow classmates. This special course will keep you busy as it will run concurrently with your normal studies. You're welcome to retake the exam in April if you prefer to wait." Mera's voice took on a mocking tone in the final part.
"Oh, like hell!" Katsuki roared, eyes bright with determination.
Hitomi watched him with a smile, her cheeks flushing slightly.
She had no doubt in her mind, he was going to blow them all away next time.
…
His phone chimed, and when he saw who was texting him, he smiled softly.
Hitoshi's smile only grew when he read what it said.
(Future Wife)
(FW) I did it!
—
(He really needed to change her contact name back, after Hagakure decided to snatch his phone and mess with him.)
A picture of a Hero license was sent after, one that belonged to none other than Hitomi Saito.
There was no jealousy simmering within him. He couldn't be bitter if he tried.
She deserved this. He was proud of her.
Before he could respond, she texted again.
(Future Wife)
(FW) I did it!
(FW) You're gonna ace this next year!
—
Hitoshi's smile turned undeniably dopey, and he threw an arm over his flushed face. After taking a second to reel himself in, he texted her back.
(Future Wife)
(FW) I did it!
(FW) You're gonna ace this next year!
(HS) Can't wait. We'll go out to celebrate.
—
Hitoshi smushed his face into his pillow, fighting to keep his heart from jumping through his chest.
Fuck. That was stupid. Fuck I shouldn't have—
Ting!
He read her reply with trepidation.
…Then deflated, because he forgot the kind of girl he was dealing with.
(Future Wife)
(FW) I did it!
(FW) You're gonna ace this next year!
(HS) Can't wait. We'll go out to celebrate.
(FW) Great idea! Class bonding!
—
Hitoshi took a measured breath, and finally changed her contact name.
(Contact successfully saved under: Daffodil)