Sorry for the long wait! Before I knew it, it's been 8 months since I've updated T.T

Mom,

I forgot to mention when I came to visit you, but Class-A still ended up "winning" by being victorious for the final two matches, making the final score 3 victories, 1 defeat, and 1 loss. It wasn't at the top of my mind when my team only finished with a tie. I also didn't really understand the competition aspect at first until it became my turn. Even Vlad-sensei got into it by giving commentary throughout.

Bakugou was in the match after me and had the cleanest victory of all the matches. His team included Sero, Jirou, and Sato. Sero's the only one that I can call a friend of Bakugou's, but all of them still followed his instructions faithfully and worked in unison perfectly. While that was one of the objectives for the joint training, I'm only mentioning it because Class-B were all shocked that Bakugou could coordinate with others. Since they don't see him everyday, it's understandable that they would be surprised at his progress.

Midoriya was scheduled for the final match. Shinso was assigned to his team, along with Uraraka, Ashido, and Mineta. Things got dicey when he let loose a power that he's never shown before. The teachers became concerned about whether they should interfere. It ultimately worked out as no one got hurt. I asked him about that quirk afterwards and he said that he also never experienced that power before the joint training. It sounded rough, so I told him he can come to me if he needs help as we're both trying to get a handle on our quirks.

I wanted to ask Midoriya and Bakugou if they wanted to join me in my work study as both of their previous mentors sound preoccupied, but maybe I'll wait until I finally get my provisional license just to be sure. Gang Orca said that this week's class should be the last one as long as everything goes well.

Shouto

…

Dear Shouto,

Competition can be an effective motivator. I've seen it firsthand. As you well know, All Might was your father's standard. While it didn't work out and he went astray eventually, it was admirable how he focused on improving himself to be the best hero he could be. In doing so, he could save more and more people and rose to #2 at just 20 years old. I remember admiring the fact that someone my age was constantly making headlines with his heroic acts. And then this already famous rising hero appeared at my home to give me and my family his proposal.

I know this is probably obvious to you, but a little healthy competition can take you to new heights, no matter what you're trying to do. It's a little embarrassing to write about the past like this, but I want to help you any way I can.

Good luck! I know you can do it.

Love,

Mom

1 week later

Rei smiles when she looks at the latest open letter from Shouto sitting on her table. It is by far the shortest letter that either of them have written, but the content still makes her happy nonetheless.

Mom,

I earned my license today. I'll see you soon.

Shouto

Mom,

I pre-wrote the other letter so that I could send it to you as soon as I passed.

The final class was more or less a do-over of the final part of the provisional license exam. I will never forget that Yoarashi and I clashed then for extremely petty reasons and failed as a result then. Working together predictably had the opposite effect. I won't say it would have been easy, but if we had cooperated like this back then we may both have gotten the top marks.

Since it's inevitable that the letter would take time to reach you, I couldn't think of a way to make you the first one to know. I was thinking about heading straight to you after earning it, but that would be unfair to All Might-sensei who was escorting Bakugou and I.

As promised, I invited both Midoriya and Bakugou to come with me to Father's agency for work studies as their previous mentors still have their hands full with something. I'm a little surprised that Bakugou accepted to be honest. Maybe that's a sign that we've become closer?

Yaoyorozu didn't have a great experience at her internship, so I was thinking of inviting her too if she didn't like her work study either. Fortunately, she seems to be having a much better experience at her current one.

Shouto

…

Dear Shouto,

I appreciate you even thinking of me immediately after you earned your license, that's more than enough! And please treat All Might-sensei well, especially now that he's in his current condition. He's always treated me nicely in the few times I've met him at events with your father.

In truth… I knew you passed before receiving your letter. I saw that you were featured on television on the night you earned your license. But again, I'm happy that you thought of me!

The reporters said that not even 30 minutes after receiving it, you immediately apprehended the criminals on your way back. They even said that the results were on par with even the top pros. I know that fame isn't something everyone is fond of, but it is important for heroes- for better or worse. Having your name spread like this should only help you.

Congratulations! I'm proud of you.

Love,

Mom

...

Mom,

The class asked us to update them about our results as soon as we knew. If I didn't do it, I knew Bakugou wouldn't as he said he couldn't be bothered with such small things. I decided texting Yaoyorozu would be fastest. She would make sure everyone knew. And she also seemed the most concerned about whether we would pass.

Rei has to pause here to grin to herself for a minute.

The class would have found out when they watched the news later even if I didn't tell them. Of course, we had no way of knowing that we would run into villains a few minutes later and even featured on television. As for our success, the media always exaggerates these things. The villains seemed to not have any experience fighting against heroes. That they were so sloppy made me wonder why they hadn't been caught sooner while they went on their crime spree, but I guess they got lucky until now.

Both Bakugou and I did an interview afterwards. Maybe the media was thinking the same thing as you in regards to fame. I'm not sure how well the interview really went since everyone in the class ended up having to participate in a media training class almost immediately after the interview was released.

I received a few more interview requests. I'm not sure if I'll accept them, but if I do I'll let you know how it goes.

Shouto

"How did this interview he's talking about go?" Rei asks Fuyumi, who's stopped by for another visit.

"Er-" Fuyumi nervously scratches her head, "it really didn't go so well... It's closer to call it a catastrophe because it blew up for all the wrong reasons. The silver lining is Shouto's not really the problem with it, though he also didn't help much. Do you still want to see?"

"Fuyumi, it can't be as bad as you're saying."

"...Not 30 minutes after receiving your provisional license, you went to work with some heroics that put pros to shame! You must have become good friends throughout all the training you've done, right?"

"**** ******" It looks like Bakugou's mouth might be moving to Rei, but the camera is panned away from him and there is no sound. It's been 5 minutes since the start of the video and Rei hasn't even heard his voice.

"Yes, we are friends." Shouto says.

"Why is Shouto the only one talking?"

"I asked Shouto after I watched it. He said the media had to cut all of his friend's parts because he wouldn't stop shouting profanities."

"...I see." Rei sighs.

"Do you want me to stop it now?" Fuyumi asks, already placing her finger on top of the pause button on her phone.

"It's alright. You can keep playing it. I'm happy just to see Shouto's face and listen to his voice." Rei smiles. "Looks like another learning experience for him."

Not sure if I'll be able to finish the last 3 chapters before the 2 year mark for this fic (March 21), but I'll do my best!