I'd thought about it a couple of times, idle musings on how I wanted to go. Sleeping away at the end of a successful life, or failing that, something quick and painless. No time for regrets.
I didn't get my wish.
It wasn't any kind of cool death, either. A training accident. Landmine clearing with a bangalore torpedo, one of the basic tricks in a Combat Engineer's playbook. Push a plastic tube filled with explosives into a minefield, and detonate to clear a path for the infantry. We'd done it dozens of times before over the course of my conscript service, in this very spot even.
Something went wrong. I… I don't actually know what it was. A stray explosive? We searched the area beforehand, but the Rovajärvi firing range has been in continuous use by the Finnish Defence Force since World War II, we could've missed something buried among the snow and dirt. That's kind of irrelevant now, though.
All I know is that I took cover well outside the safe distance, but for whatever reason the explosion was so much bigger than planned. It was like god had punched me in the face and the chest and the nuts all at the same time. There was a bright flash of light, but I can't remember any sound. I think my ears must have been blown out by the shockwave.
I only wish it had ended there.
A bright light, and then nothing.
It didn't. I came to, must've been only seconds later, lying down on my back, when I was slapped on the face.
There were people crouching over me, talking to me. I recognized my squadmates, I saw their lips moving, but there was no sound. Or maybe there was and I just can't remember.
I remember… being so confused. Looking back on it, they were performing the basic emergency medical check up we'd done a million times, both on the giving and receiving end. But I just wanted to get up and get back to work. I remember trying to stand up, and being pushed down.
One of my squadmates was sitting on my leg, his knee driving into my thigh as he was fiddling with something. I remember yelling at him. He pulled off, and I saw what he'd been doing. A black emergency tourniquet had been wrapped around my leg, but it was barely doing anything to stop the blood. My left leg was a red mess, my pant leg soaked with blood and torn by shrapnel.
Then the pain came, and I started to scream.
I don't know how long that lasted, but everything eventually started to blur and I just… faded away.
-------
It's impossible to say how much time I spent in that state. Even now, cognition came and went, and my mind felt sluggish, like I was awake and dreaming at the same time. Memories seemed to float in and out of my head, hazy and indistinct, and when I tried to focus on them they seemed to shift and warp, until it was hard to tell what was real and what was drummed up by my subconsciousness.
Yet, over time, some sensations began to feel more real than others. They began simple at first. Pressure. Heat. Vibration. Then light, and soon sound.
The first that I finally realized I wasn't dreaming anymore was when I could see a blurry, indistinct rendition of what might have been a hospital.
The thought that I had been in a coma slowly drifted across my consciousness, like moving through syrup. I tried to move, but after a few moments of struggle I realized I could only accomplish the barest of wiggles.
There was a burst of incomprehensible noise, and dark shapes passing over me, but I could make no sense of them. Slowly I could feel a sort of pressure building up, an uncomfortable sensation pressing against my chest that grew by the moment.
It built up until it was agonizing, until finally I could take no more, and I did the only thing that I felt like I could do. I screamed as hard as I could, and though it came out like a whimper it relieved the pressure somehow.
The noise grew softer, less intense. The dark shapes returned, now more clearly in view and they began to eerily resemble people. They were people. Except… huge.
I felt gigantic hands wrapping me in something warm and comfortable.
It was irrefutable. I was a baby.
A girl baby, at that.
That was a thing. But in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't what I dedicated my limited ability to focus and form coherent thoughts towards.
I had been… born again? Reincarnated, I suppose the word was.
How?
Why?
Why me?
Was I the only one this had happened to?
If so, why had nobody ever brought it up?
Would I ever meet my old family?
What would my new one be like?
Is it a betrayal of Mom and Dad if I call my new parents that?
New parents. That was a thought to consider.
I was handed to another pair of hands, and I was brought face to face with Mom. New Mom. My vision was blurry, but so close I could see well enough. She was an asian woman with pale skin and white hair- an albino? She had a pleasant smile on her face, exhausted but full of emotion. Love.
And that was… Here she was expecting a normal baby, and she got me. An old soul, reincarnated. Who already had memories of a loving family, who no doubt missed them.
I wasn't sure if I could fully return that love, as she deserved.
For all that I may have been an adult I was now in the body of a newborn, and the dam burst. I sucked in a choking breath and started crying my lungs out.
-------
Age: 2
I had horns.
Yeah, horns.
They'd begun to develop almost as soon as I was born, one pushing out from my forehead above my eyebrows, and a second, shorter one behind it. The extra weight was pretty unsettling, but whatever was responsible for this had clearly thought things out rather than haphazardly slap on extra parts. A normal baby probably would've snapped their neck from the imbalance because human babies are useless for anything other than crying and eating, but I could at least support my own head.
Thank god for small mercies.
And that wasn't the only thing. The few teeth that already decorated my mouth were pointed and triangular, and I kept accidentally drawing blood from my lip because those things are sharp.
So there I was, a tiny, useless baby. White hair and red eyes like Mom, tiny nose and puffy cheeks, the works. For the longest while I couldn't even move beyond waving my arms a little and kicking. I still couldn't understand anything anyone said nor could I even try communicating with anyone, not without giving myself away. So all I could do was watch with my beady little baby eyes.
And what I saw was fucking weird.
For all that I'd freaked out about my own little mutations, they were among the less exotic things I'd seen in my new life. Other people with horns, animal parts, scissor hands, machinery parts sticking out of their skin… Sure, most people looked normal, but something like every fifth person was like something out of a cartoon.
At first I was sure I was tripping on something, and in a way my little baby brain always is, but eventually I had to believe it. My first thought was that I was reborn in the future where genetic and cybernetic modification is commonplace, but all the technology I saw with my beady little baby eyes looked mostly modern.
Honestly there wasn't a lot I could do to find out until I'd managed to actually learn the language of the land. I've always been absolutely terrible at learning new languages, and it was an upwards struggle. Still, at least I could look forward to acing english at school, and having two whole languages to myself that essentially nobody would be able to understand.
It's been so long since my little brother was a baby that I can't actually remember when babies are supposed to start understanding speech, but I still hadn't picked up more than a couple of words, like "yes" and "no".
And names, of course.
Mine was "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma", based on the amount of times the adults liked to chant it in my general vicinity. I'm also pretty sure that confirms that I'm in Japan now, or at least my parents are japanese.
"Ryutsuki Tatsuma" was Mom. Like I said, she looked much like me, without the horns. Pale skin, white hair, red eyes. The same pointed teeth as I had, and she also had these slit pupils, like a cat. She had a pleasant smile and was always kind, but I could tell she was the disciplinarian of the household. When she put her foot down, everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. Despite that, she was apparently an artist of some description, from what little I could understand.
"Kenshin Tatsuma" was the name of my new Dad. I'd burst out crying when I was first placed in his arms because holy shit this guy has the head of a rhino. Yeah, it wasn't all too hard to imagine where I got the horns from. He was absolutely massive, with grey, thick skin covering even the human parts of his body. Despite his appearance he seemed to be a mellow guy, letting Mom take the lead in most situations. I hadn't yet figured out his profession, but there was one time he took me to some kind of rally-slash-protest thing with lots of the aforementioned people with weird body parts, like him. Like me, I suppose.
Together the two of them seemed to hover over my shoulder every waking moment. I suppose it's only normal that they wouldn't leave a baby alone except to sleep, but it was just so frustrating to have lost all of my independence in one fell swoop. Anything small enough for me to swallow was scooped away from my reach, every piece of furniture was lined with those rubber corner guards that softened the sharp edges and corners, the floor was covered with a green mushy carpet, and I was penned into the living room by a pair of gates with the latches too high for me to reach. It was as baby proofed as you could get.
And it was boring as hell.
Don't get me wrong, I tried. I was still physically just past my second birthday, and at that age you're basically constantly doped on endorphins. Every new thing is the best and awesomest thing to ever happen.
Even so, it wasn't the same as being an actual mental two-year old, and it showed. I just couldn't quite muster that same enthusiasm and glee for every single little thing, not when I'd seen and experienced it all before. Mom and Dad carted me off to a doctor after doctor, and even if I couldn't quite follow what they said, I could see the worried creases on their brows. That made me feel guilty and try to be the child they deserved, to forget about my past.
But it was hard to fake every waking moment of my life. There was a whole different world out there that I wanted to know everything about, but I couldn't talk and so I couldn't ask.
Still, if there was one spot of light in this new world, it was named Ryuko Tatsuma.
-------
"...Yes, but he is so big and ugly, said the spiteful duck and therefore he must be turned out..."
Ryuko kept her eyes on her little sister as she read the story, the two-year old's eyes flicking across the coloured storybook with rapt attention. She knew Ryuuzaki didn't care much for the story, she'd long since lost count of how many times she'd read this book to her.
But Ryuuzaki liked listening to her sister read it to her. The two-year old struggled with speech, even now constrained to a handful of words. There was a strange kind of cycle to her efforts: she'd try as hard as she could, become frustrated at her slow progress, give up, then become frustrated at her inability to communicate and pick up where she left.
There was no question that Ryuuzaki was a strange child. In the last two years, the Tatsumas had been shuffled from doctor to doctor, always repeating the same things.
Lethargic temperament. Slow development of linguistic skills. Quiet. Doesn't play with toys. Disinterested in exploring new things.
Many labels had been thrown around. Autistic. Developmental disorder. One of Ryuko's friends who'd been over had used simple. They weren't friends anymore.
Ryuko knew it bothered Mom and Dad. She may only have been twelve, but she could pick up on the way the two of them would exchange glances, the tension in the air each time they returned from a doctor, the muffled sounds of arguments after they thought she was asleep.
But it didn't bother Ryuko. So what if Ryuuzaki didn't learn to speak as fast as other kids or bother playing with toys? Nobody could deny that her sister was smart, smarter than others her age. There was an alertness in her eyes, and if anything Ryuko could tell that the little stuffed animals and toy cars only bored her. Ryuuzaki didn't refuse to do things because she didn't understand them, but because they didn't interest her.
She couldn't wait to introduce Ryuuzaki to her lego collection, but Mom had strictly forbidden it for a few years more, even though her sister had never shown the propensity to try to swallow small things that weren't food.
"...Then he flew to the water, and swam towards the beautiful swans..."
-------
Age 3
"-And each and every Quirk is unique to their user, though it is often a combination of the parents. Most people- 80% of the population possess a Quirk, and that number is steadily increasing."
I looked up at my Dad, eyes filled with wonder. I'd pestered my parents for an explanation about all of the...weirdness as soon as I had learned the words to do so, and apparently they'd decided today was the day. But when they'd plopped me down on the sofa opposite from the two of them, this was not what I'd been expecting.
Honest to god superheroes and villains?
I brought a hand to my horns, which had continued to grow. The front one was almost as long as my head, curving upwards while the second one was about two thirds it's length and pointing straight up. They were sharp enough that I had to be careful pulling on shirts, though thankfully their position didn't make it impossible either. Something like ram horns would've been hell to deal with.
"...Ar' these my…?"
"No, honey," Mom took over from Dad, smiling at me. "It's… sometimes when people have mutant Quirks they can pass parts of those on, even if that's not the child's quirk. You remember the boy with the bird's head?"
I scrunched up my nose. "He was borin'."
"Don't be rude, Ryuuzaki." Mom tried to sound stern, but her heart wasn't in it. I'd said the same of every playdate mate they'd tried to get me to be friends with.
"The doctors think your horns are a leftover from Dad's mutation. It would be very unusual for a child to receive a lesser version of their parent's Quirk."
Oh. That's… good? Bad? I didn't really know what to think. Even now I wasn't sure if I hadn't just misunderstood what they were trying to get across. I hadn't quite gotten every word of the explanation, but I had enough to understand the rest from the context.
"An' these?" I opened my mouth, running a finger over my sharpened teeth. They made chewing a bit of a difficult proposition, but at least they looked pretty cool.
Mom handed me a framed picture, showing a stern-looking man dressed in a suit, glaring at the camera. His entire body was covered in red scales, with a ridge running across his head and spine before ending in a spiked tail, a pair of powerful wings sprouting from his shoulders, as well as clawed hands and feet. "This is your great-great-great-grandfather, Ryoto Tatsuma. He was one of the first pro-heroes, the Dragon Hero Ryuichi."
"'Kay." A thousand questions swam across my mind. But one of them rose to the forefront, pushing all the others aside with its weight.
"Coul'… could I be a hero, too?"
"Ah, that's-"
"I knew it!" Ryuko shouted as she interrupted Mom, jumping up from her seat and running over to me, her hands on my shoulders. "Can I train with 'Zaki? Can I-"
"Settle down, Ryuko." Mom said with a seropis face. "Of course you can be a hero, Ryuuzaki, if that's what you want. You can be whatever you choose to put your heart into. It will be a difficult journey, but your father and I will help you along the way. And I know somebody else who would be more than happy to help."
"I'm going to be a hero, 'Zaki." Ryuko whirled back towards me, a fire burning in her eyes as she pumped her fist into the air. "The Dragon Hero: Ryukyu! The ninth of the Tatsuma Heroes! And you can be the tenth!"
My parents exchanged a glance at each other as I looked at them in askance at Ryuko's outburst. They'd never really talked about their families, and the only relatives I'd ever seen were the occasional visitors from Dad's side, which was also how I learned he took Mom's name when they married.
Whatever their internal communique, it seemed that one side prevailed as she looked back at me. "The Tatsuma line includes many of the great pro-heroes in the history of Japan. I have no doubt you could continue that tradition."
She leaned forward, taking my hand into hers. "But always remember, whatever choice you make, we will be here to support you in any way we can. Do not ever feel that you should become something to meet expectations, rather than because it's what you want. There's no need to make any decisions yet. Three years old is far too young to say 'I will become a hero'."
"'Kay." I nodded, my hands clasped together on my lap. It was a lot to take in, but it explained so much about this new world that had previously felt incomplete. The next logical question was, then… "So what's your Quirks?"
"Quirk: Dragon!" Before Mom or Dad had gotten in a word edgewise, Ryuko had pumped her fist in the air, a crackling field of energy enveloping her.
"Not inside-" Mom yelled, but it was too late.
Ryuko's body warped and expanded until she filled the entire living room, her back pressed against the ceiling. A pair of massive wings extended from wall to wall, and our house was by no means small. A glittering coat of scales covered her, though her casual t-shirt had somehow been transformed to fit her new size, looking quite out of place. Her tail had knocked over one of the sofas and her huge talons were digging into the stone flooring.
I could hear mom and dad yelling at her, but as I beheld the massive dragon before me, I could only muster an awed, gap-toothed smile.
-------
After Ryuko had transformed back and received approximately thirty minutes of lecturing from Mom, I managed to get back to questioning them about their quirks.
As demonstrated, Ryuko's quirk was called Dragon, and it allowed her to shapeshift into a honest-to-god dragon the size of a garbage truck, and she wasn't done growing yet.
Honestly, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life.
Mom's Quirk was almost the same. Her dragon form was, from the pictures she showed me, somewhat smaller and slimmer and it didn't have hair or transform clothing like Ryuko's, but there was a spiked ridge running along her spine and a more prominent head.
Dad's was, obviously, that he was a rhino-man. An African Black Rhino, specifically. He was on the bigger side of seven feet, and with the way his head made him hunch over he packed even more mass into that height. He was strong and tough, and when he gets a proper run up those horns can shred steel plating. Mostly he just used his size to move furniture around, and wrangle animals in his day-to-day job as a veterinarian.
My quirk would, in all likelihood, be some sort of mixture between the two. There was always the possibility of developing something completely unrelated, called a first generation quirk, or to be quirkless.
Honestly that last one seemed like an incomprehensibly cruel fate to me. It was one thing to live in a society without superpowers, or even one where those bearing them were in the minority, but to be powerless when 80% of all people had one? To be the muggle born of mages?
The thought made my skin crawl. Thankfully the odds of such a thing were astronomically tiny.
-------
To my eternal relief, my quirk did not take long to manifest itself.
One day, I was sitting on the sofa while my parents were at work and Ryuko at school, engrossed in my newfound ability to understand the TV and the running coverage of local and national pro-heroes. Not the text, but the narration was enough to follow the general gist of things.
Quirks, and heroes in particular, had rapidly become a fixation of mine. Naturally so, given that they were the only thing that was actually new to me. Everything else seemed so dull and boring in comparison to the bizarre world of heroes and villains, and I think Mom and Dad were a touch shocked by the intensity with which I latched onto the concept. Shocked, but a little bit glad that I had found something that could hold my interest, given the apathy I had displayed toward most of everything else.
There was a news story regarding a live battle between a man decked out in samurai armor who could create shockwaves from his huge katana versus a woman who seemed to be able to spawn some sort of monsters by cutting off bits of her hair and letting them grow into shaggy, tangled creatures. I wasn't actually sure which, if either, was supposed to be the hero but I was so fixated upon the fight itself that I didn't notice Dad coming home until he laid a hand on my shoulder.
I fell out of my seat in surprise, and when I caught myself, it wasn't with human hands.
Several things happened at once. Dad yelled out in surprise. I did the same, except it was more like a distorted screech as I tried to pull myself to my feet only to find out I now had four of them and trip again, my newfound tail pitching a night lamp over.
"Stop."
I froze at Dad's commanding tone, something he rarely made use of. He knelt down to one knee, lifting me up into his hands. Everything felt wrong and weird, and my head was starting to spin from the vertigo. For a moment I felt like I was in that darkness again, my whole body warped and wrong-
"Calm down. Just breathe. Relax."
I drew a shuddering breath. The air made an odd whistling sound as it went past my newly-enlarged teeth.
"That's it. Good."
He walked out into the back yard, a large area of grass lawn that extended several hundred meters before meeting the forest edge. Dad set me down on the grass with care, before looking down at me.
"Can you turn back?"
I wasn't sure how I'd changed in the first place, so I had no idea how to reverse it. Just thinking about it really hard didn't seem to help.
I tried to speak, but I couldn't form the words with my strange new mouth. Too many teeth and no cheeks and too long and narrow and...
"Breathe."
After a few failures at wheezing out a verbal answer, I settled for shaking my head.
"That's alright. I'm going to go inside and get a mirror and some towels. I want you to stay here and just breathe. Don't try to walk yet, just breathe."
I nodded again, laying flat on the ground, soaking in the pleasant feeling of the grass against my body, though it felt muffled. It was a late summer day, the sky was bright and clear with a cold breeze running through the air. A whole wealth of new sensations bombarded me- the smell of newly-cut grass, somebody somewhere grilling meat. The wind whistled in the treetops, insects crawled across the grass and buzzed through the air.
Moments later, dad returned, setting down something heavy in front of me. I cracked open my eyes, and was treated to the sight of myself.
I'd estimate that I was maybe the size of a german shepherd, with the classic western dragon anatomy of four legs and two wings. White scales covered my entire body, shiny and glimmering along my back and tapering off to become more dull and almost gray along my belly. My head was comparatively massive, with the beginnings of powerful, dinosaur-like jaws, tiny fangs peeking out like a crocodile. A pair of familiar horns emerged from my forehead, and smaller hornlets lined my cheeks and brows, reaching all the way to the frill-like ears. My new tail was thick and flat, akin to a crocodile's, and I had four limbs with four toes each ending in a claw, with the fourth one being able to rotate around to become a thumb.
Dad knelt by me again, wrapping his hands around me and I nuzzled into the comforting warmth of his body.
"That's my girl. I called your mother and she'll be here soon. She can help you get accustomed to your quirk, until you figure out how to change back."
I shifted around in agitation, and Dad must've figured out the source of my distress because he immediately went on to reassure me.
"Don't worry about it, okay?" He shifted my position on his lap, so that I was looking into his eyes. "Ryuko took two whole months before she could turn back. You should've seen her, tripping over her own limbs, trying to pry open a cookie jar..."
Soon enough I felt my eyelids become heavy, and I slipped into the darkness.
It crawled beneath fallen logs, leaped over puddles, climbed on top of the tallest rocks and explored the deepest crevices and cracks. It sniffed at trails left by deer herds and barked at passing squirrels.
Suddenly, a shift in the air had it freeze to a standstill, crouched in preparation for a leap. Instead, inquisitive eyes surveyed the surrounding forest scape, head raised to sniff at the air.
There it was again. A slight tremor in the ground, the soft sigh of moss being depressed under a heavy foot. The predator stalked through the forest, darting between cover as it approached its prey.
Hidden beneath the canopy of a spruce tree, it spied the huge creature stomping through the forest, coming closer and closer until it was just within range. The predator's muscles coiled, springing into a leap, wings beating the air once to give an extra bit of speed as its powerful jaws approached the exposed neck of the pre-
A massive, scaled fist caught me right out of the air, wrapping around my torso. I went limp in its grip like a cat and uttered a whining noise. It relented immediately, and I dropped onto the ground, twisting my torso to land on my feet.
"Sorry 'Zaki, I know you were enjoying yourself, but it's half past five already, we need to go."
I pouted up at her for the interruption, but her stern glare brooked no arguments as we began making our way back home, leaving the forest behind.
Being a dragon was awesome. No words could do justice to the feeling of power and freedom offered by being a four-legged two-winged avatar of death and destruction.
An avatar of death and destruction the size of a small pony, like the kind they use to teach children how to ride, but still. I was physically only five years old, after all.
By comparison Ryuko's almost adult-sized dragon form was massive, nearly ten meters from snout to tail tip and with the wingspan of a small propeller plane. It was impossible to tell if I'd match her as an adult, since even Quirks as similar as ours could have notable differences, as had become apparent over two years worth of hide and seek, racing, mock fights, and more.
The most outwardly obvious part was that Ryuko's quirk transformed her clothing while mine didn't, and that I had horns while she didn't. But there were many others- Ryuko had powerful hind legs that allowed her to walk like a bear, something that I couldn't do. She was more lithe and agile while I was comparatively more heavily built with a thick, flat tail, and the "fingers" on my wings were each tipped with a small, curved claw while Ryuko's weren't, being more like a bat's. She had a better sense of smell, but my frilled ears gave me excellent hearing.
For the last two years I'd taken every opportunity I could to drag Ryuko over into the forest to explore and play around, trying to get used to my Quirk. It wasn't real training- Mom would have never allowed it if it was, and it's not like Ryuko could really train with someone so much smaller than her. Most of the time I was just running around to my heart's content while Ryuko watched, or played on her phone while she thought I wasn't looking.
But still, like I said, just being a dragon is awesome. Frankly if Ryuko wasn't there to remind and drag me back if necessary, I would probably never actually leave the forest and fulfill the social obligations of modern society.
But alas, such is life.
Ryuko landed on the yard with a flap of her wings, transforming back into a human in a cloud of smoke before her feet even hit the ground in one smooth motion.
Show-off.
Ever since she'd gotten to high school last year and began her training to become a Pro Hero Ryuko had started to change. For the length of my new life, she had always been the more… I guess active of the two of us, rushing off to new things with unbridled enthusiasm while I toddled behind her at a more sedate pace.
I don't think there was any one thing that set it off, but around the time of her entrance exams she started to try to be cool. No hugging or other physical affection in public, no more gushing over every dog that she came across, no more challenging me to race everywhere, and certainly no more backpack rides for poor, tired little sisters. Oh, she'd still do it in private, but even then she was more… aloof, I guess.
In short, she'd started to mature. Which was, well, inevitable, but I liked her better before. Leaning against the back door I pawed the handle open, only to come face to face with my mother, fussing over pieces of clothing.
"Oh good, I was just about to get worried. Now, which dress do you want to wear?"
Oh no.
-------
A few minutes later I was perched on top of the dresser of my room, staring defiantly down at Mom. She had one hand on her hip, the other holding the grey dress she'd decided upon.
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma you will come down this instant or so help me-" That was her I Am Your Mother Voice.
"Make me." I saw the slightest quiver of her nostrils as she took in an enraged breath, and I had a moment to consider if I had just made a terrible mistake.
"You're banned from practicing with your Quirk for the next month unless you come down."
"Deal." Only a month? I could deal with that.
Mom looked bewildered for a moment, before setting her jaw.
"Ryuuzaki. This is not up for discussion. We are going to my father's funeral, and you will not embarrass us in front of the entire extended family by appearing in a funeral as a dragon."
Dammit, she knew guilt was the best way to get me to do what she wanted. I really, really didn't want to do it, but I hated making trouble for Mom and Dad.
I grit my teeth and leapt down, shutting my eyes. I pictured myself being squeezed by a giant hand, crushing me, compressing me. I then imagined a bottle, a human-shaped bottle, and that giant hand forcing me into it. I felt the air around me heat up as the flash of light came over me, and then I stood on two legs once more.
Immediately, it felt like I'd taken off a strong pair of glasses and put mufflers over my ears. Everything felt so muted in comparison. My draconic body had been replaced by that of a give year old human, tiny, stubby and clumsy.
I sighed.
-------
Twenty minutes later I was sitting in the back of the car, munching on a packet of peanuts- transforming took a lot of energy -and wearing the stupid dress. It was a muted grey one and I got to wear a white cardigan over it so it wasn't as bad as it could've been, but still. It was the principle of the thing.
I fidgeted with the hem of the dress, uncomfortable but resigned to my fate. At least I was only banned from the forest for two weeks. It wasn't something I could do anything about now, so I pushed it out of my mind.
The fact that we would be attending the funeral of my grandfather was somewhat more immediately pressing in my mind. Now, I'd never met the man and Mom had literally never even mentioned him before last week; I hadn't even known his name before hearing it mentioned on the TV before Mom snatched the remote and turned it off. She had one day just announced that we would be going and offered no explanation or clarification. So, I didn't really know what Ryuunosuke Tatsuma had actually been like in life.
But, y'know, I could make inferences from what I did know, more than what Mom probably thought I could.
Ryuko was sixteen and Mom thirty-three, meaning she would've been seventeen when she had her. They would sometimes talk about Ryuko's childhood, and from what I could tell they went through some rough patches of life when she was very young. Just little things, like references to how she didn't have many toys or how they moved around a lot, other signs of monetary troubles. And given that Ryuunosuke Tatsuma was also known as Dragon Hero: Ryugo, one of the most successful Pro-Heroes in Japan and owner of the frankly quite massive estate we were now approaching…
So you've got a teenage pregnancy followed by estrangement. It certainly didn't paint a pretty picture.
Nor, for that matter, had I ever seen hide nor hair of Ryuko's father. Yes, Ryuko was technically my half-sister. Dad hadn't entered the picture until a couple of years later, though you wouldn't know it from seeing the two interact.
I was a more… planned addition to the family, after their situation had stabilized. They'd prepared in every fashion even remotely reasonable. And what they got stuck with was, well, me.
I knew I wasn't an easy child to deal with, alternating between being so quiet they'd forget I was there, and throwing tantrums about what must have been the weirdest little things.
And now I felt depressed again.
I shook my head; we'd arrived at the funeral. The Tatsuma family house was impressively traditional-looking and massive, a huge mansion built on top of a hillside overlooking the sea. We walked in through the front door, and there were even actual servants to greet us and usher us into the large room where the funeral was taking place.
The ceremony itself dragged on and on and on- I fidgeted in place, feeling dizzy and out of place. It was too cold and the room felt cramped. The smell of incense was clogging up in my nose, and every time I shifted around to get more comfortable, I'd get disapproving looks from the other guests.
The stares were the worst part: constantly being sized up and judged by standards I didn't have the faintest of clues about. Just about the only thing I could tell was that they kept glancing at my horns. The one thing keeping me still was what Mom had said earlier- "you will not embarrass us in front of the entire extended family". And even that was hanging on by a thread.
Mom was doing little better, though she seemed to alter between icy stoicness and frustrated stubbornness. Dad was unaffected, of course, though I thought I could spot a bit of indignation in his stance? It's hard to tell with him, but I've lived with him for over five years now. He'd taken a protective half-step forward, his black eyes locking gazes with anyone staring our way until they backed off. It helped, if only a little bit, but it helped.
Ryuko on the other hand was in her element. If I dyed my hair and wore contact lenses nobody would be able to tell we're siblings: hair and eyes aside, we looked nothing alike. Her smooth, neck-length white hair was slanted to the side, covering the right half of her face. She shared the same sharpened teeth and red eyes as I had, but hers had reptilian, slit pupils.
Ryuko had always been expressive, and when she wanted to be, elegant. The stares seemed to bounce off of her, and when it was our turn to make the incense offerings she led the way with confident grace, compared to our parents' stiff posture and me, following the motions in a daze.
We retook our positions, and with our part in the ceremony over and done with, I could breathe a little easier again. The attention of the funeral crowd was on the priest, and I took the opportunity to study the guests.
There weren't many, most of them seemed to be extended family. There was one major exception however- Todoroki Enji, the Flame Hero Endeavour. The man seemed displeased, for whatever reason. There were two others with him: a young boy around my age, with his hair split down the middle into white and red. His son presumably- I didn't pay too much attention to him, given the other companion: a tall man covered in scales. A frilled neck extended from his shoulders, ending in a distinct reptilian head that seemed quite familiar.
He'd seen us as we walked in, and looked like he'd eaten a grapefruit whole. He'd kept his eyes on us for a while now, his displeasure obvious, and given his features…
"...Who is that?"
I tried nudging at Mom, but she only shushed me, her jaw set. On my other side, Ryuko shifted uncomfortably, leaning closer to me.
"Ryuo Tatsuma, aka Dragon Hero: Ryuhachi."
"So he's..." I felt the pieces click to place.
"Our uncle, yes. The eighth Dragon Hero. He works for Endeavour's agency." She seemed about to say more, but the man in question seemed to have noticed my attention and was making his way over as the funeral ceremony came to a close.
Ryuo Tatsuma was a tall man- he had had to be approaching Dad in height- looming over everyone as he approached. He wore a suit and tie but went bare-feet, claws clacking against the floor.
By comparison my mother was tiny: though tall for a japanese woman she was only chest-level with her brother, but her presence more than matched his as she stepped in front of us, glaring up at him.
"What do you want, Ryuo?"
"Ryutsuki, Ryutsuki, is that any way to greet your brother, sixteen years after you ran off?" He spread his arms theatrically, and I could see the attention of the room refocusing on us.
"I seem to recall you and Father kicking us out, so you'll have to excuse me, brother."
"And yet here you stand, as if nothing had happened. As if you could just waltz back after spitting upon the name of Tatsuma."
With something approaching detachment I noted that Ryuo was deliberately drawing the attention of the guests upon the scene: he was putting on a display for the room.
"Did you expect to be welcomed here with open arms? After you've done nothing but waste the potential that was passed on to you?" He turned his attention towards Ryuko. "When you allow your children to lay claim to the mantle of the Dragon Hero, when they know nothing of the traditions behind it?"
Calm as ice, Ryuko stepped forward and laid a hand on Mom's shoulder, tugging her back. "Let's go, Mom. This isn't worth our time. He's just trying to goad you."
"I also saw that you'd spawned another one." Suddenly, all eyes in the room were on me, and I froze to the place like a deer caught in headlights. I hated being the center of attention at the best of times, and what with the whole "physically five years old" thing I counted my blessings I managed to preserve some part of my dignity by not bursting to tears right then and there, or worse.
"I hear you've inherited quite the Quirk from your mother? Planning on squandering it like she did?"
The adult part of me wanted to blow him off, say something snarky and show him I wasn't afraid of him. The five-year old part of me overruled that part hard and hid behind Dad, burying my face in his leg.
"How dare you." Mom seemed just about ready to murder her brother with only Ryuko's hand on her shoulder keeping her. I could feel the stinging odor of smoke in the air and there were small wisps escaping from between Mom's teeth as she ground out the words.
"You came to my home," He pointed out, before turning away. "I suggest you leave, Ryutsuki, and don't come back."
Mom ground her teeth again, but Dad took her hand in his and with the other on my shoulder, began steering us toward the exit. Once we were out through the door Dad lifted me into his arms, carrying me to the car with Mom and Ryuko in tow. We got in, Mom and Dad front, me and Ryuko in the back. For a few moments everyone was silent. Ryuko took my hand in hers, and held it until it stopped shaking.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Ryuuzaki, Ryuko," Mom said with a sigh, leaning against her seat. "I wanted to… I wanted to say my goodbyes to your Grandfather, and show you some of my childhood home. I wanted the two of you to know at least something of where you came from. But I should've realized Ryuo would cause a scene."
"You couldn't have known." Dad laid a hand on her shoulder as he started the car and began driving us out of the estate towards home.
"No, I should've known. I should've come alone. Ryuunosuke was always obsessed with furthering the prestige of the Tatsuma name. He had grand ambitions, political ambitions, and he expected us to fall in line. Ryuo did. I didn't. I didn't want to become a Hero. I defied him when I went to art school, and when I had Ryuko, that was the last straw."
I glanced at Ryuko: she was harder to read nowadays, but she must've guessed at least some of what Mom had just told us, like I had.
"Ryuo had always been bitter about inheriting the weaker Quirk of the two of us, but I didn't realize… Well, it doesn't matter now. We won't be coming back to that place." She turned around in her seat, facing the two of us.
"If my brother tries to contact either of you, at any time, I want you to come to me immediately, okay? Don't try to talk to him. Promise me."
"I promise."
"I promise." I echoed after Ryuko, as the car pulled out onto the public street. For a while the car was silent again, the mood somber.
Then the quiet was broken by a gurgling noise, which took me a moment to realize was coming from my stomach.
"I think somebody hasn't eaten dinner." Dad said, his eyes glancing back at me before returning to the road. "I think we all need a little bit of a break. Ryuuzaki, where do you want to eat?"
"Pizza!"
"Can we not eat somewhere that won't clog our arteries?" I glared at Ryuko. I refused to be denied my greasy goodness. She and Mom were health and fitness nuts who conspired to keep me from anything actually tasty. Mom seemed to still be a little bit out of it, so I directed my best puppy eyes at Dad.
"Sorry Ryuko, but Ryuuzaki gets to pick this time."
"-it's okay to feel overwhelmed on your first day of school. Just remember that everyone else will be on the same boat."
"I'll be fine." I rolled my eyes at Dad. He'd actually arranged to go to work later just so that he could hover over my shoulder for the entire morning.
It was insufferable.
"Don't forget to make some friends!" Ryuko called out from the doorway. "I'm going now! Bye!"
"Bye!" My sister had also been worried sick, apparently out of fear that I'd have trouble fitting in with my classmates. Well, she didn't say it aloud, but I could read her true intentions pretty well.
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you to school?"
"Daaad."
Even if I wasn't ever planning on telling anyone about it, I had actually graduated high school before, or at least the local equivalent of it. I was pretty sure I could handle Elementary School.
-------
So, it turned out that I could not, in fact, handle Elementary School.
"Oh look, it's Tatsuma, eating alone again. What a surprise."
The source of my current predicament? Two girls my age, the first a short girl with webbed fingers and wavy black hair pulled into a ponytail, her face kind of stuck in this permanent resting bitch face. The second, the one who had spoken out, was a bit taller though still quite a bit shorter than I was, with a stocky build and sandy blond, short-cut hair. She had a constant aura of frustration about her, like everything displeased her.
I didn't know their names. I'm sure they'd been introduced like we all had been when school had begun, two months ago, but my name memory was terrible and they hadn't especially given me reason to ask and find out. So, I'd taken to mentally referring to them as Obstacle 1 and 2, respectively.
I suppose I had forgotten how annoying school could be. Or maybe I had just gotten lucky in the past? No, I remembered it now, just how incredibly, mind-bogglingly petty grade schoolers could be.
"Anything to say, weirdo?" Obstacle 2 continued. "Or are you too embarrassed, 'cause you can't even talk properly?"
Case in point, these girls had decided to focus on the fact that I "spoke weird". I mean, it was true. I spoke japanese with a bit of an odd accent, the byproduct of it not actually being my first language. It was something that was very easy for me to forget, especially as I spent my time almost exclusively with my family who were, of course, used to it. I could only be thankful of the fact that my accent was obscure enough to be almost impossible to place, here in Japan, or I might have some explaining to do. It would probably disappear entirely eventually.
Unfortunately in the meantime it made me stand out, and in elementary school, standing out is Death.
I was in the school cafeteria, sitting by myself as had been so helpfully pointed out to me. I had tried to follow Ryuko's advice, but it was just… hard. It's not that nobody wanted to be my friend, or anything like that.
I just couldn't do it. The thing about seven-year olds is that they're like energizer bunnies. Constantly moving, playing, talking, just always doing things. That kind of constant social contact... it's exhausting. I simply couldn't muster the energy to keep up. I'd always been socially awkward and shy. Dealing with other people was… exhausting.
But if you skip out, if you reject the playground in favour of spending the recess in silence, resting, you're automatically "weird". Refuse too many times, and eventually they'll stop inviting you.
And then once you're out of the social group, you're an outsider, an easy target for those insecure about their own place, looking to boost it by pushing those on the bottom of the social ladder even lower. They isolate you even more, until nobody will want to associate with you for fear of becoming another target. Then they start poking at you, try to see what gets a reaction. That's pretty much how it had gone all those years ago, and it was where we were at right now.
Back then, I'd dealt with it by giving as bad as I got. You punch me, I punch you, we both get detention. Eventually most figured out I wasn't worth the trouble and moved. But that was then, and this was now. The form the bullying took was different. I couldn't just clock someone over verbal harassment and the occasional push and shove. Or I could, but then I'd be the one getting in trouble. I was a big kid, by far the tallest student of my year. It'd be easy to put the blame on me.
And while I didn't care much on a personal level, I didn't want to do that to my parents. They deserved better than that. They deserved better than me.
Of course, I could've gone to the teachers, but what would that have accomplished? It would have been my word against theirs, and as long as it was just harassment, they wouldn't care to investigate any deeper than that.
And so, despite literally bullying a dragon, they would get away with it. I knew it. They knew it. The other kids knew it. The teachers knew it. The system would always err on the side of not punishing anyone without a preponderance of evidence.
They would harass me again, and again. Maybe they'd get bored and move on, or maybe they'd keep doing it for six more years. Then we move to Middle School and the whole cycle starts all over again.
"I didn't know you were a mute as well? Hmm?"
The two stooges seemed a little bit irritated by my continued lack of reaction.
Good.
Since I couldn't take action against them, the best idea I'd had was… not doing anything. No reaction, not even looking in their direction. I was pretty good at keeping my cool, and it gave them as little satisfaction as possible. Eventually they would either grow bored with me, or escalate until the system would have to do something.
In theory, at least. It wasn't the perfect plan, but it was the only one I had.
That was when the bell rang, signalling the beginning of the next class. With a last sneer of distaste, Obstacle 2 turned towards the exit of the school cafeteria, Obstacle 1 following in her wake.
I had managed to wait them out.
Sighing, I stood up from my seat and quickly emptied out what remained of my lunch from my tray, and then moved to follow them.
The next period was math. But the thing was, first-grade math was superbly boring. It's just additions and subtractions for now, which I could do in my sleep. It was like that for most other classes. My memories may not have been perfect, but it was still much easier getting a refresher than learning it anew.
So I spent most of the time in class being bored out of my skull. Occasionally the teachers would take note that I wasn't paying attention and ask what they thought were tough questions. The fact that I could almost always answer them had led to me developing a reputation for being a know-it-all, which in turn hadn't particularly helped with my social standing amongst the students.
The next period after math, however, was Japanese. And if there was one class where I had absolutely zero advantage over the others, it was there. I'd struggled to learn the spoken language, and now I was struggling twice as hard to get a handle on the written one.
Without the ability to dedicate a disproportionate amount of time to studying it thanks to almost every other class being a slam dunk, I probably would've been absolutely hopeless. As it was, I was merely terrible, something Obstacles 1 and 2 rarely failed to remind me of. And thanks to their efforts, I could forget about getting help from the other students for studying.
So that was fun.
This went on. Verbal insults. Spreading rumors. Laughing behind my back. The full arsenal of pettiness seven-year olds could muster.
But I was dealing with it. It wasn't fun, but I -could- deal with it. I had always been good at getting lost in my own thoughts and shutting out everything else.
The first real change to the status quo came a couple weeks after, as I was walking along the hallway outside the classroom. Obstacles 1 and 2 had been going out of their way to make things difficult, and even if I was dealing with it, the stress was taking a bit of a toll. Ryuko had started to notice, and commented that I was unusually sullen.
"Behind you."
I spun around, coming face to face with Obstacle 2, who had been about to snatch something from my backpack. Caught in the act, she scowled at me and walked past.
Turning back around, I saw that the source of the warning had been a short girl with shoulder-length black hair, standing by the side of the hallway. I wracked my memory: she was in my class, but I didn't remember her name. She always seemed to kind of blend into the background.
"Uh, thank you?"
"You looked like you needed it."
I tried to smile, but I couldn't deny it.
"You know they're going to come after you for that?"
"They already have been. They've been getting frustrated, and looking for new targets. But I think we could help each other."
"Safety in numbers?" I guess I could respect that.
"Yeah. If we go alone, they'll certainly come after us. If we stick together, they might rethink it. And if they don't… nothing lost."
"Alright." I could see the logic in that.
She leaned against the wall, and we fell into silence. I guess that was that. But the thing was, it wasn't an awkward silence.
Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But it didn't feel like she was expecting me to speak up, to make some small talk. We just stood there, leaning against the wall and watching the bustling hallway, waiting out the recess. When we returned to class, she sat beside me. The classrooms usually had a couple more desks than they had students, and there was an empty spot for her to move into.
That was how the rest of the day went. We stuck by each other, not talking much. I spotted Obstacles 1 and 2 giving us dirty looks, but they didn't bother us, at least for the rest of the day.
As the school day began approaching its end, we found ourselves at the school gates.
"Until tomorrow, Tatsuma."
"..."
"...You don't remember my name, do you?"
Shit.
What do I say to that?
She let me squirm for a few more moments, before continuing.
"That's okay. I only remember yours because I saw your sister in the Sports Festival."
Ouch. But fair.
"Well, you have me at a disadvantage, then." I tried to force a smile.
"Yui Kodai."
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma."
When I was walking home, it struck me.
I'd made a friend.
I think.
Wasn't this how friendship worked?
-------
Age 8
"Are you sure you don't want to invite anybody else?" Mom looked at me with concern. "Not even that Kodai girl?"
"Dad, no. I want to be with you guys." I glanced aside at Ryuko, sitting at the back of the car. My sister at least had the decency to look guilty- in between her internship and preparing for graduation I'd barely seen her for the last half a year. At least Mom had finally decided I was old enough to be allowed to wander around the forest by myself, otherwise it would have been unbearable. It had gotten bad enough that we were holding my birthday celebration today, two weeks after the actual date, because Ryuko apparently couldn't find a free spot on her calendar until now. Sadly Mom hadn't been able to make it today, she had some sort of expo come up on the last minute.
I hadn't invited Yui because… well, there were a lot of reasons. I wanted to spend time with my family. I… didn't want her to think I'm a weirdo by just inviting her, and like hell was I going to invite any of my other classmates. And finally, I wasn't sure if it would've been... appropriate? I guess it's the right word? We stuck together at school, partnered for projects and spent the breaks with each other, but it began and ended at the school gates. We didn't talk about ourselves, or our lives outside of school. We didn't talk much in general. We had managed to strike a comfortable balance.
Was that wrong? Was I doing friendship wrong? I was treading new waters here. Should I have tried to get to know my friend better? Should I have invited her? I didn't know, but I didn't want to mess up with what we had, so I defaulted to inaction.
"Well, as long as you're sure." Dad said, starting up the car. They hadn't actually told me where we were going, which was something of a tradition of ours. Every year we'd go somewhere new, and a great deal of secrecy was involved in keeping me from knowing where it would be. I think it was a bit of a game for them by now, trying to keep me from guessing.
A while later, our car pulled up outside a large building near the seafront, and we piled out.
"Musutafu Aquarium?" I looked at Dad, who nodded. It wasn't quite the type of place we'd usually been to before, but...
"Don't worry, there will be a surprise waiting." Dad said as he locked the car. "But we've still got an hour and a half until then, so in the meanwhile, why don't we check out the tour first?"
"Okay." I guessed there was nothing to be done about it, so I walked over to my sister and held out my hands. "Ryuko, up."
I saw the apprehension on her face as she realized what I wanted.
"Does it have to be me?" She said, carefully not whining, glancing towards our Dad. "I'm sure Dad would be happy to do it, and better at it to boot."
Not this again.
"True. But I could get him to do it any day of the year."
"She's got you there, Ryuko." Dad laughed.
Sighing in resignation my sister kneeled down, letting me jump on her back before standing up again. She could suck it up, it was only one day of the year. Besides she'd probably hide and play on her phone otherwise. And if I wasn't allowed a phone yet, well, I wasn't going to let her use hers either. Not on my birthday.
With me securely hanging from Ryuko's back, piggyback style, we made our way to the main doors, having to duck a little on the doorway to account for my horns. Dad produced a trio of tickets from his pockets and we were admitted inside, steering us towards the main exhibition.
It was pretty standard for an aquarium, a long pathway winding through the building, with exhibits all along the way. Ryuko carted me from display to display, reading the descriptive signs aloud for my benefit.
We had a good time. Dad hung back a bit, letting the two of us have fun. I laughed at Ryuko for being disgusted by the hermit crabs. She got back at me when I hid behind her in the shark tunnel.
Spawn of Satan, those things.
But we had fun. I could relax a bit from the constant stress and anxiety of elementary school social drama, and I think Ryuko appreciated the opportunity just as much. She was graduating soon, and she'd put her usual worrying over her image into overdrive. She wanted to get a good sidekick offer, work that for a couple of years and then found her own Pro-Hero Agency. To do that you needed to climb up the popularity polls, and I could tell she'd been obsessing over it.
"And this is the Marine Iguana enclosure."
It was a large, open area where dozens of dark grey dog-sized lizards were chilling on rocks, basking in the warmth of the lamps mounted on the ceiling.
"It says here that they were native to the Galapagos islands, but are now extinct in the wild due to climate change killing off their food supply. and only exist in captivity. I wonder why they're in the aquarium, though…"
Ryuko began walking toward the next description sign, but I answered the question instead.
"They dive underwater to scrape algae off of the rocks. I think there's a water section at the back of the enclosure."
I pointed towards where the pathway led, looping around to go behind the Iguana enclosure. You could see that there was a hole in the wall there, where the lizards could pass through into the next room over.
"Ah. Where'd you learn that from? I thought you still had trouble with kanji?"
My train of thought came to a screeching halt. The real answer to the question was I learned it in a previous life and wasn't thinking when I said that.
"Uh, I..." Thinkthinkthink- "There was a documentary on the TV once."
I winced internally, already kicking myself. I was a terrible liar, and Ryuko could practically smell it after eight years.
"Oh, okay."
Good going, me. We were having a good time and now you've ruined it.
We fell into an awkward silence, and I continued to berate myself internally. It was stupid. TV was a perfectly reasonable explanation. But I hadn't been thinking.
And now Ryuko knew I'd just lied to her face. She didn't know what I'd lied about, but even so, this was going to-
"Ryuuzaki."
I snapped out of my thoughts and refocused my attention to my sister, who was making sidelong glances at another family who were looking in our direction, whispering to themselves while the teenage boy was rapidly tapping on his phone, glancing up and down between it and us.
Oh.
I locked my legs around her torso, preventing her from dropping me.
"Ryuuzaki."
"My birthday, my rules. One encounter won't ruin your career."
Ryuko hissed at me and would probably have forcibly dumped me on the ground if the family hadn't started heading our way. She straightened her back and tried to look as dignified and cool as she could, with an eight-year old hanging from her back like a monkey.
The teenager seemed to be the most eager, but shied away at the last moment, leaving the father with a baby tucked under his arm to come forward.
"Hello, and my apologies for disturbing you. Would you happen to be Ryuko Tatsuma?"
"That is correct. And this is my sister Ryuuzaki Tatsuma." She added after I kicked at her side.
"My son here has something he wanted to say. Daisuke?"
The teenager came forward, clearly nervous, before bowing low and offering a notebook toward Ryuko.
"Um… Could I… canIhaveyourautographplease?"
My eyes widened, and even if Ryuko was good at hiding it, she couldn't fully conceal her surprise and just a little bit of excitement.
Her first fan.
"Of course!"
Procuring a pen from her pocket, she rapidly signed her name on the notebook, and the boy clutched it to his chest, before running off, red-faced. His father turned to Ryuko with a smile before leaving to follow.
"My thanks, and again I apologize for the disruption. He's been talking about nothing else since he saw you fight that dinosaur villain two months ago. We had to get the Sport Festival DVDs for him, and he's been inseparable from the TV."
As they walked off, I grinned down at my sister.
"Someone's got a cruuuuuuush."
"Don't be ridiculous." She replied, letting out a breath as soon as the family was out of sight. "It's just a fan."
"A fan that got red as a tomato when he so much as got near you? I think you have an admirer. He shall treasure that notebook forever and keep it underneath his pillow as he sleeps and-"
"Oh my god shut up!"
"And then comes the fanaAAAA-"
Without warning, Ryuko leaned back and shook herself, dumping me ass-first onto the floor.
-------
The earlier incident forgotten, we returned touring the exhibits. As time passed, the hour and half Dad had given us was rapidly cut away, and the reveal of the surprise approached.
Dad herded the two of us away from the enclosures and back to the front desk. Leading me by hand, he took us down a different path from the entrance, traversing busy corridors until reaching our destination.
It was a huge swimming pool, about chest depth for an adult at the deepest end, floating devices and pool noodles laid around the place.
And then there were the people. Aquarium staff in yellow uniforms and dozens of children, all of them with at least one family member looking after them, standing waiting around the edges of the pool. I also noticed that the majority of the kids had some sort of physical Quirk. There was one boy with scissor arms, another with a thick, fur covered tail, a girl with absurdly long fingers, somebody of indeterminate gender with a quirk that made them look like an… Eel?
I was starting to get the picture. I turned to Dad, and he handed me a pamphlet from his pocket.
Quirk Swimming Lessons! Does your child have a Quirk that makes standard swimming techniques impossible? Or would you just like to offer them a chance to experiment with their Quirk in the water? Here at Musutafu Aquarium, they will have a chance of learning under the specialized tutelage of the Aquatic Hero, Gan-
"Gang Orca!"
The shout rippled across the room as the titular hero stepped out from a staff entrance. Kugo Sakamata cut quite an impressive figure, even in his swim shorts. Not quite as big as Dad, but where he was bulky the Number Eight Hero of Japan was ripped. As his name implied, he was a humanoid orca, complete with a dorsal fin extending from his back.
One of the staff members, a tall woman with a scaled fish-like tail and gills began shouting directions, gesturing for people to gather around. As the crowd gathered she hopped on top of a small pedestal by the pool, the kind that competitive swimmers use to dive in.
"First of all, I would like to welcome each and every last one of you to Musutafu Aquarium's annual quirk swimming course. I am Senior Instructor Izumi Himura, and it is our pleasure and privilege to organize this event in partnership with the Gang Orca Pro-Hero Agency."
Himura stepped down and gestured toward Gang Orca, who took her place overlooking the crowd. Like most Mutant Quirk users his expression was hard to read, but the way his face was structured gave off the impression of constant displeasure.
"It is good to see so many of you here. Swimming is one of the most important skills one can possess, one that can save your life. More than that, it is a skill that can save the life of others, in a crisis situation. Therefore it is a skill that I believe everyone should possess. It is a failure of our educational system that not everyone does, and it is why we hold these lessons."
As Gang Orca talked, I could see the rows of pearly-white triangular teeth lining his jaws, and took an involuntary step back. And I wasn't the only one.
"Most people learn to swim at school, during Physical Education. However, it is strictly forbidden to utilize Quirks in school premises, outside of special Quirk Education lessons held by Counsellors. While they do good and vital work, they cannot cover everything, and many children are left with no opportunity to learn how to use their Quirk to swim."
His eyes swept over the crowd.
"What is the best way for someone to use a tail while swimming? How should someone with wings use them? What is the correct method for kicking with digitigrade legs? These are the questions left unanswered, and they are why we are here."
The crowd was silent. That was some pretty heavy stuff. But it begged the obvious question… Why was I here? I could swim well enough, even if the horns made my head weigh more than it should.
Himura cleared her throat, and Gang Orca's expression softened slightly as he continued.
"At least, that is the primary purpose of today's class. Even for those whose Quirk doesn't directly interfere with their ability to swim, they are not allowed to experiment with using their Quirk in the water. Beaches and most swimming pools are public areas, where Quirk usage is similarly forbidden by law. However, that limitation does not extend to private institutions. Every child deserves the chance to explore their Quirk in a safe and controlled environment, which we offer."
Oh. That made sense.
There was actually quite a market for places where young children could experiment with their Quirks under supervision. Hide and seek, obstacle courses, tag, racing, football, exploration, everything between heaven and earth. We'd been to a couple of them, privately owned facilities with dedicated staff. Expensive, but you fundamentally cannot give children literal superpowers and expect them to never ever use them. It was far from something like a Hero School, but they functioned as a release valve, so that kids could have a bit of fun without burning down the house or risking injury to themselves and others.
There was even a dedicated open-air facility where those with flight-capable Quirks could learn to use them under instruction and supervision. Sadly, it was also age-restricted, but I'd extracted an ironclad promise from Dad we'd go there for my twelfth birthday.
So I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that there'd be a place where you could essentially play in the water with your Quirk. I guess by combining it with the public safety aspect of teaching kids to swim they'd gotten a partnership with Gang Orca.
The atmosphere began to relax a little, as Gang Orca stepped down and Himura took his place again.
"Thank you, Gang Orca. Now, we would like to ask that parents and family wait by the benches near the entrance while the lessons are in progress. For the rest of you, we will be splitting you into groups based on your current abilities. Those of you who cannot swim at all, you'll be with Instructor Takenaka. If you can swim but you have an ability you have trouble swimming with, like a Transformation Quirk, you'll be with me."
That was me, given that I couldn't actually swim in my dragon form. Well, I'd never tested it, like Gang Orca said, there just weren't many non-public places to swim in Japan, and even less that a dragon could use.
"And if you can swim but would just like to experiment with your Quirk in the water, Instructor Matsuoka will be helping you figure out how to do that safely." As she spoke she indicated two other instructors, who raised their hands. With a slight bow, Himura stepped off the pedestal, and people began to gravitate towards their assigned groups.
"Well, there you have it." Dad gave an encouraging pat on my shoulder. "We'll be watching from the sidelines, though we might go and have a coffee in the cafeteria at some point. The lesson is supposed to last two hours and thirty minutes, and when we're done we'll go grab a pizza. That sound good to you?"
"Yeah..." I glanced in the direction of Instructor Himura, who was talking to Gang Orca, and hesitated.
"Wait, are you… afraid of him?"
"No!"
"You are, aren't you?"
Well screw her, I was not afraid of Gang Orca. A little bit… awed, maybe, but not scared. I left the two of them and began marching over to the pool.
Taking in a deep breath, I activated my Quirk. In reverse of undoing the transformation, I pictured uncorking a bottle. I felt the flash of light over me, and in less than a second, I was standing there in my full dragon form.
It had grown alongside me, measuring full seven meters from snout to tail tip and weighing well over a metric ton. The smooth, shiny scales had started to become more shaded and rough, thickening as they grew. My horns, an exact replica of the ones in my human form except in size, had continued to grow, the foremost one being over a meter in length.
Claws clicked against the tiled floor as I walked over to the pool. Being a dragon was a great confidence booster. There's just something about… I guess that sense of strength and power, and the heat emanating from your chest, that helps you feel in control.
It was also something that was sorely needed, because here's the thing: every time I transform, I have no clothes. Yes, it's stupid. Yes, I know it's not quite the same as being naked as a human. But at the same time it's not quite the same as not being naked.
And the stares didn't help either. As it turns out, even in a world of Quirk an actual, winged dragon turns a lot of heads. One of the things I had to get used to was with my Quirk was just how incredibly sharp the eyesight of a dragon is, and combined with the wide field of view I could feel people's attention on me, and I couldn't help that brief moment of hesitation. I did what instinct told me to and froze.
But… they weren't necessarily hostile stares. Just surprise, curiosity, a little bit of awe in the younger kids. I shook myself, and moved to the edge of the pool before slipping into the water, careful not to cause a splash. The water was chilling, but the heat emanating from my body made it more bearable. It was shallow enough that I could drag myself along the bottom, and I managed to shuffle over to where Instructor Himura and the other kids in her group had already gathered while I was talking to Ryuko.
"Everyone is here?" Himura scanned around the pool, but it seemed like I had been the last one. "Good."
I looked around: there was a smattering of other kids, but it was the smallest group. It made sense: Transformation Quirks were the rarest type. There was one kid who could apparently turn into a huge praying mantis, and another who looked like a werewolf. Over in the other end of the pool the first group was doing the very basics, slowly getting acquainted with the water, while the third one... I wasn't really sure but they were making a lot of noise.
"Right, all of you doing good?" As each of us nodded, she went on. "So, our focus will be on figuring out the best way to swim with your Quirks on. Now, I'd like for you to try dog paddling, like you would in your human form. That will give us a good baseline from which to work forwards."
The immediate problem that presented itself was my wings. Everytime I started to paddle my wings would create a huge amount of drag in the water and get in the way. It was just awkward.
I glanced at Himura's direction, but she seemed to be busy instructing the Mantis kid, who could barely stay on the surface. Lifting my wings out of the water made it easier to move, but holding them up like that was awkward as all hell. It clearly wasn't a sustainable solution.
As I was pondering better ways to go about it, I heard somebody coming up behind me. Turning my head around, I became face to face with the stuff of my nightmares.
Rows of massive, triangular teeth. Smooth, jet-black skin. Huge white eyes, with several rings surrounding the tiny red pupils.
I did the only reasonable thing one possibly could do, when face to face with a killer whale in the water.
I panicked and headbutted it.
Then I realized who exactly that was.
Oh god.
I pulled back and went absolutely still, like a statue.
It can't see you if you don't move.
The moment seemed to stretch as I could feel my life playing before my eyes.
Oh god oh god oh god-
I'd just attacked the current Number Eight Pro-Hero of Japan. Granted the horn didn't seem to have done more than graze his skin, which was really weird because it had gone straight through the trunk of a pine tree before, but I guess that's what being a Pro-Hero means.
"I'm so sorry." I choked out. "I-"
Gang Orca pulled himself upright, shaking his head.
"That was my fault."
"But I-"
"Perhaps it is best we move to the side. Come."
The Pro-Hero began wading through the water towards the edge of the pool, and I paddled in his wake. As we reached it he pulled himself up and I followed, dragging myself up from the water.
Ryuko was on us immediately, checking me over.
"What happened? Are you alright?"
"We are both fine. No injuries were sustained." Gang Orca examined his shoulder, seemingly unharmed though it was too dark to see if it was bruised. I guess he must've rolled with the blow? Or was his skin just that tough?
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma!" Dad stomped over, looking angry. I guess 'attacking a Pro-Hero' is what would finally get him to raise his voice. "What have I told you about using your horns?"
"I'm sorry, I just-" I felt like sinking beneath the ground and never reappearing. At least dragons lack mammalian facial expressions and tear ducts, because I was certain I wouldn't have managed to remain as composed, if I was in my human form.
"Please, Mr. Tatsuma, this is on me." Gang Orca seemed almost a little bit sad? "I failed to note her apprehension and surprised her. You have a fear of marine predators, do you not?"
"Yeah. Sharks and barracudas and octopus and-"
"And Orcas. Hardly an uncommon fear, and one that I have encountered enough times that I should have anticipated it. You cannot be blamed for your fear."
"But I can be blamed for how I acted on it."
"Not at the age of eight." Well, I wasn't quite eight, but I wasn't intending on saying it aloud. "It is my duty as a teacher to identify the best method of getting my point across, and while rougher methods have their uses, their place is not here. By bringing you into a situation in which you felt you had to defend yourself, I failed in that duty."
"However." He continued, holding up a hand to forestall any interruptions. "Your father is also correct. While you cannot be blamed for your actions, it is imperative that you learn to hold back that defensive instinct in the future. Against someone else, serious injuries could have been inflicted."
I bowed my head, feeling miserable, but he was absolutely correct.
"This is also my fault." Ryuko said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry 'Zaki, I shouldn't have egged you on."
"Now, do you feel up for continuing? If it is alright?" Gang Orca glanced at Dad, who nodded.
"Um…. I'd still like to learn to swim with my Quirk. If- if that's possible."
"I see. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable with my presence?"
"...I think it'd be less scary if you weren't in the water with me."
"I can work with that. Now, I want you to show me what you were doing before."
I returned to the water, showing him my paddling technique as he stood by the edge of the pool.
"I can see your problem. Now, it isn't impossible to swim using wings; bats can do it. But you're not a bat. Your tail will serve as a better source of propulsion, at that point wings would just interfere with it. You're better off folding your wings and using your tail as propulsion. It is quite similar to a crocodile, so with sideways movement you should be able to reach quite a speed. Use your limbs to orient yourself, and then move forward with your tail. In time, you might learn to use your wings to slow down or rapidly change direction, but basics first."
The hours went by on a fly. After passing on the basics Gang Orca moved on to help the Mantis kid, leaving my instruction to Himura. I still had a lot to learn. I could swim in a straight line but turning was a much bigger hurdle, to say nothing of diving below the surface.
But it was better than what I could do before. Before I knew it, the two and half hours were at an end.
"Well, did you have fun?" Dad asked as we were walking across the parking lot.
Too tired to respond with words, I just leaned over and hugged him.
"Good, because I signed you up for a year's worth of lessons. Now, as for your other birthday gift, Ryuko?"
My sister procured a small object from her back pocket, and showed it to me.
"Well, it isn't quite the latest model, but we thought it was about time you got one of these. It's got everything necessary, and it's even got a panic button in case you ever get into trouble-"
Blinking awake with bleary eyes, I glared at my phone ringing with the 6:30 alarm on the table on the opposite side of the room.
Past me was a real asshole.
For the next few minutes I laid there, wishing I could set it on fire with my gaze. Alas, it remained untouched, and eventually went on to snooze. After a few more minutes I pushed away the covers, shivering in the cold.
Well, not really cold cold, it was only late autumn. But by way of comparison to being underneath the blankets, it was like being hit in the face by a snowstorm.
And that statement included only the slightest bit of exaggeration. You'd think that growing up right on the edge of the Arctic Circle would make one used to the cold, but familiarity only breeds contempt.
The first thing that greeted me beyond the blankets was Ryuko's face, looking sternly down at me. Behind my sister, her dragon form roared triumphantly, smoke streaming from her maw.
The rest of my room was similarly covered in posters, mostly of Ryukyu but with a couple of All-Might and other cool heroes that had caught my interest added to the mixture. At first, I'd begun decorating my room that way because I thought it was cool.
Then I realized Ryuko was embarrassed by seeing her own merchandise and, well, after that it was my sacred duty as her sibling to plaster them everywhere.
That aside my room was fairly normal, with my bed in the corner, a couple of bookcases and cabinets, and two tables. One for schoolwork, the other for my hobby. Painting miniatures had been a passion of mine once, and I'd taken to it again. A couple of models in varying stages of assembly and painting were strewn around the table, with a large robot-like figurine dominating the crowd.
A lot of the companies that had made these things had gone extinct in the years since the post-Quirk societal upheaval, their trademarks consigned to the public domain. Still, with 3D printing you could get them for pretty cheap, if you knew where to look. And the new model lines that had sprung up since weren't half-bad either.
With most forms of entertainment, it was a similar story. Some of the bigger media was still around, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Pokemon, Mickey Mouse, Dragon Ball, LEGO, Transformers, that sort of thing. But a lot of things had also fallen by the wayside, forgotten by time. Game of Thrones, Avatar, Naruto, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and others, franchises once so huge you could learn their entire plots through cultural osmosis, gone forever or relegated to an extremely obscure following.
More than once I'd received weird looks, referencing things that nobody had thought relevant in over a century.
With lethargic movements I dragged myself out the door and towards the bathroom. Common wisdom is that cold showers help you wake up in the morning, but frankly, fuck cold showers. The way you do it is with water just short of scalding.
I simply closed my eyes, leaned my back against the shower stall and relaxed in the all-encompassing warmth. I missed regular access to a sauna, but this was the next best thing I could do.
Frankly if it was up to me I would've stayed there basking in the hot water indefinitely, but eventually somebody would come by and drag me out. Drying myself with a towel, I made my way back to my room, moderately more energized than before.
I made myself ready for the day, pulling on the grey and black uniform of my middle school, carefully sliding it over my horns. I hated the damn thing, but it was something I simply had to bear.
After that I dragged myself to the kitchen and flopped onto a chair. A glance at the clock told me it was 7:00, which meant that I'd already used up half of the time that I allocated to the morning activities before leaving for school. With a sigh I put on some toast and rummaged around the closet for toppings. Dad had already left for work and Mom wouldn't wake up for another hour, which meant I had the house to myself. Ryuko had moved out after she started her own Pro-Hero agency three years ago- just down the street, but still. It just wasn't the same.
After breakfast I made my way to the bathroom, grabbing a brush and began to clean my teeth. The sight that greeted me in the mirror was, well, me. Me for the last thirteen years. Tall for my age, built like a beanpole. White hair, short and messy, maintenance kept to a minimum. Pale skin, not exactly well cared-for. Red eyes, with bags under them from chronic lack of sleep.
It hadn't really been a conscious decision, to skim on the sleeping hours, but it had a nasty tendency to happen anyway. There was just so much to do.
School took most of the day, and homework another large chunk. It was easy stuff for the most part, but even with my advantages I had to put in effort to maintain my near-perfect grades.
Then there was training. That had been a natural evolution of my habit of roaming the forest, once simple exploration and playing around had started to lose their once seemingly limitless charm.
Most of the stuff that I could do by myself was pretty limited- I'd gotten the talking-to of a lifetime once already when I hadn't been looking where I was going and smashed straight through a pine tree. That was the day I learned that trees were actually worth a fair amount of money, and even in a public forest you could get fined for up to tens of thousands of yen.
So typically I just ran laps and pushed a loose boulder around until I was too tired to continue, and then just enjoyed the peace and quiet. The real fun began when I could badger Ryuko into giving up some of her precious free time to train with me. She still had half a meter on me in our dragon forms, but it was close enough that there was an actual point to sparring now.
That took another significant chunk of my time. Aside from chores and other miscellaneous stuff, I also had the everpresent distraction of the internet.
Ever since my eighth birthday, I'd had free access to the internet. Well, they installed one of those blocker things that made it so that I couldn't access porn and so on, but still.
There was just so damn much to catch up on. I'd always been a fan of history, and there were over a hundred years worth of it to catch up on.
I hungrily devoured every scrap of knowledge I could find.
But at the same time, I found that in the end, surprisingly little had happened. The world order had largely remained the same. The maps were almost unchanged. I suppose Quirks would account for a reduction in open warfare, but still, over a hundred years? With a major, global societal upheaval?
It was odd.
Technology had also stagnated. Certainly, holograms and robots had advanced, but they were still expensive, far outside the reach of the ordinary customer. Day-to-day life hadn't changed much in the years since my time. There'd been a manned mission to Mars, and a couple more to the Moon, but nothing groundbreaking.
Still, with the internet having been around for so long, there were digital mountains of material to go through. Like holy shit, even back in my time, when the internet had only been around for little more than a couple of decades at most depending on where you start counting, there was already so much fanfiction around that you physically couldn't read it all. Yeah, a lot of the data had been lost over the years, oftentimes simply because people weren't maintaining the servers anymore, and the rate of production had dropped significantly and only picked up again in the last couple decades, but even so, we're talking well over a hundred years. And if you're going to give me free, unlimited access to it all?
Hell yeah I was getting myself lost in that.
And that's not even getting to all the books, anime, comics, manga, movies, and everything else under the sun that's come out since.
But it did occasionally cost me the night's sleep because I just didn't have it in me to put down a good story after starting on it.
After brushing my teeth, it was time to leave for school. Himeji Middle School was a middle-of-the-ground type of school, not known for being particularly elite, nor one of the underfunded schools in the worse parts of the city. It was simply the closest to where we lived, so it was the one I went to.
-------
Day to day school life itself was a lot more tolerable these days, compared to when I'd started. The bullying had abated after I started to hang out with Yui, the bullies less enthused to take action with a witness present. And when Ryuko had started her own Pro-Hero agency, it had quickly dropped off altogether. Being middlingly famous had its own advantages.
However, as is often the case in life, one kind of drama falls away only to be replaced by another. Going through pre-teen years once more was a trip, with its own set of challenges.
One of those challenges was the concept of schoolyard crushes. Now, getting crushes was nothing new to me. I had long since mastered the triple-R strategy: Repression, Repression and Repression.
If you ignore it it will eventually go away.
No, what nothing had prepared me for was other people expressing crushes on me. Which was how we ended up with situations such as this one.
"No. Absolutely not. No."
The boy's lower chin started to wobble ever so slightly, a glint of wetness appearing in the corner of his eye.
"No. Not interested. No. Not in a million years. No."
"You didn't have to go that far." Yui noted from her position by the wall, as the boy got out of earshot. "It's just a schoolyard crush. It doesn't have to mean anything."
I sighed and leaned against the wall. I knew that. Of course I knew that I should let them down gently. That I was being a piece of shit. I just…
Going through puberty again was bad enough, not to mention doing it on the opposite end of the aisle this time. I hadn't so much as begun sorting out my own issues, let alone thinking of adding a relationship on top of that.
Yeah no. I wasn't interested. I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I didn't even want to think about it. So I lashed out, usually more than what was called for, more than I'd meant to.
"Why does this keep happening?"
"Your sister is the tenth-ranked Hero." Yui shrugged. "Fame can substitute for looks."
"Are you implying I'm ugly?"
"No. I'm saying that you could look ugly and this would still happen. You're perfectly... okay."
"Gee, thanks."
"Suck it up, you're average. Maybe a little plain."
"Wow Yui, way to inspire confidence."
"Stop being melodramatic. This is only the second time this has happened."
Rude.
But also not entirely wrong.
Nothing more to say, we fell into silence once again. The comfortable quiet was one of the cornerstones of our friendship, such as it was, alongside automatic partners for group projects, watching each other's back in the hallways and having somebody to complain to.
The recess ended soon after, and we filed inside. Our homeroom was exactly the same as all the others, a clean, dull room with five rows of six desks for the students and a proper work table for the teacher.
Katsuke Fujiwara was the current substitute, our regular homeroom teacher having fallen ill a couple months ago and we'd been cycling through temporary subs ever since. He was a tall and wiry man with brown hair, in his mid-twenties. His appearance was always disheveled and he had the kind of look like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. That reflected in his work, given how little he seemed to care for actually teaching, and he was late or even missing entirely rather frequently. Despite that the student base seemed to like him, though I suspected that was mainly because he didn't actually care to check homework or make sure people weren't using phones during class.
"Morning, class." Without waiting for the reply, he pressed on. "Today we'll be having one-on-one discussions regarding your future careers."
The man's tone conveyed quite clearly his disdain for the idea, but he went on.
"I will be calling you one by one to the neighbouring classroom. The rest of you, study math. Adachi, you're first."
With that, he slipped out the door, the student in question rising from her seat and following in his wake. Almost as soon as the door closed, chatter erupted across the class.
Some were expressing disapproval over Fujiwara's conduct, hoping that we'd be assigned a proper teacher soon. Others were glad for the chance to slack off. The overwhelmed class president tried to get the class to quiet down, but it seemed to be a lost cause.
At the back of the classroom, Yui and I began studying in silence, ignoring the ruckus. Well, she studied, I languished in boredom while occasionally helping her. Middle School math was easy.
As time passed the class filtered in and out the door in alphabetic order. It seemed like Fujiwara was working through the list at rapid pace, given that the period hadn't even reached the halfway mark by the time he reached "T".
I entered the empty classroom, closing the door behind myself. Fujiwara lounged on the teacher's chair, while a single chair had been dragged before his desk, which I sat down in.
"Well then, let's start." He leaned back, sounding utterly bored with life as he glanced down at the papers in front of him. "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma. Highest grades in the school, spotless record. You could go for anything you wanted."
He glanced down at the papers again. "Well, maybe not a translator. So, what's your dream career?"
I maintained my carefully neutral expression, but inwardly I bristled at his tone.
"Pro-Hero."
"Of course. Just like everyone else…"
He trailed off and glanced down at the papers again, blinking. His expression shifted, at first in surprise before turning sour.
"...Tatsuma. You're Ryukyu's sister, aren't you?"
I was surprised he didn't know of it already, half the school certainly seemed to. I replied with a restrained nod, and the man grimaced.
"And let me guess, you want to be a Hero just like her?"
I was starting to get a little bit uncomfortable with the way he was acting, but nodded again.
"Figures."
The smart thing there would probably have been to stay quiet and let it pass. Avoid the confrontation.
Ordinarily I probably would've done exactly that. However, something made me open my mouth. Perhaps it was his attitude. Perhaps it was a sudden, freak rush of impudence.
Or perhaps it was just the way he sneered when he said my sister's Hero name.
"Is something the matter?"
Fujiwara blinked, seemingly not having expected to be talked back to.
"Oh, nothing at all. Just wondering why."
"What?"
"Why? Why become a Hero?"
My thought process came to a screeching halt. Whatever I'd been expecting out of him, it wasn't that.
"I..." I trailed off, suddenly unsure of what to say.
"You know, people like you disgust me."
Excuse me?
With great difficulty I swallowed the first response that came to mind, then the second and, after a brief internal debate, even the third.
"What do you mean?"
"Hero families." Fujiwara rolled his eyes. "Everything's lined up for you, from entrance exams to graduation. And then you don't even have the decency to possess the one thing you actually need to become a Hero. Motivation. Becoming one is a goal unto itself for people like you. "
Now confusion was replaced by anger.
"And what would you know of it?"
Generally, talking back to a teacher was frowned upon, but this was so far out of the realm of "generally" that I really didn't care.
"What do I know about it? Kid, I've been there. I've seen how the deck is stacked for people like you and your sister. Everybody in the business knows each other, while us normal people are left to make do with what they've got."
Oh.
So that's what this was about.
"I see. So you're angry because you couldn't make the cut yourself."
Perhaps that wasn't being fair to the man. Perhaps he'd had bad experiences that had led him to this conclusion. But perhaps I wasn't inclined to be fair, after what he'd said and done already.
Fujiwara's nostrils flared and his shoulders tensed as he sprung to his feet, furious. He opened his mouth as if about to say something, but seemed to think better of it at the last moment.
"Get out. We're done here."
I got up from my seat and walked out the door.
-------
"Who the hell does he think he is?!" I fumed to Yui as we walked across the school yard towards the gates
"You seem angry." She noted.
"How can I not be?!" I paced ahead of the shorter girl, my fingers clenching and unclenching. "That was completely unprofessional! How does somebody like that work as a teacher?"
Yui shrugged. "Then make sure he doesn't."
"What?"
"Lodge an official complaint, if he really was that bad. He must already be in hot water, with the way he misses class constantly. Better yet, get your sister to do it."
"That's… I can't ask her to do that." I balked. It was one thing to be frustrated, but it was another to ask Ryuko to… to pressure the school.
"Your choice." Yui shrugged again.
We parted at the schoolgates, and I made a beeline for the train station. The ride was uneventful, mainly spent on my phone avoiding eye contact with strangers. Which unfortunately left me plenty of time to think.
Once the initial anger had cooled, I'd started to go over what had happened. Fujiwara had had a bone to pick with me because of my last name, out of some perceived grudge against Hero families. Regardless of whether or not his position had any merit, he'd just… verbally attacked me out of nowhere. Whilst he was supposed to be acting as teacher and caretaker.
So no, I didn't feel like giving him the benefit of the doubt on the matter.
But he had posited a very good question, in the process.
Why?
Why did I want to become a Hero?
Not in the sense that becoming a Hero was a bad thing. But rather, what were my reasons for becoming a Hero in the first place?
Ever since that day ten years ago, I'd been convinced I wanted to become a Hero. But why?
I knew fully well the answer to that question, but now that I truly thought about it, I wasn't so sure of it's merit.
Ultimately, I had decided to become a Hero because I thought it would be cool. Because Quirks were awesome and Heroes got to use them. Because I enjoyed using my Quirk more than anything.
But wasn't that just kind of… shallow?
Shouldn't you want to become a Hero to help people? Because you want to make the world a better place?
It's not as if I didn't want to do those things. But the original, underlying reason I had decided on this course was simple, selfish, "because it would be fun". But was that enough?
Suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore.
I fidgeted in my seat, uncomfortable.
Sometimes I wished I could just resolve all of my life's issues by being a dragon. Bullies? Dragon. Anxiety? Dragon. Awkward social situations? Dragon.
Just like… fly off into the sunset and abandon the constraints of society. Disappear into the countryside and find some cave to lair in. I wagered I probably could do it.
But I wouldn't do it. I didn't want to leave my family behind.
That, and not having to catch my own food plus internet access.
Well, in any case I wasn't going to figure things out here, I needed more time to think about this.
After disembarking, I still had quite a way to walk until reaching home. It was a good neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city, lots of open space and bordered by a large forest extending towards the countryside.
Our house was decently large, a U-shape with the open side facing toward the forest. White stone walls, brown tiled roof.
I tested the front door, and found it unlocked. As I stepped inside, I heard Mom yell from across the house.
"In the studio!"
Mom's studio-slash-workshop was a large room in the western end of the house, with a large window located on the wall facing the forest. The room itself was dominated by her workbench, mounting a number of latches and clamps that allowed her to fasten whatever she was working on into place. Today it seemed to be a life-sized carving of a brown bear, modeled with incredible detail, right down to fur. Mom's specialty was wood-carving of extreme precision, and apparently her work was fairly famous within the community.
"How was school?" Mom asked as she pulled off her safety goggles and set down the chisel.
"It was fine."
Mom frowned at my response, but didn't press the issue.
"Anyway, I'm going to the forest for a walk." I continued. I needed to clear my head for a bit and think, and there's no better place for that.
"Aren't you going out with Ryuko today?"
"Yeah, but that's only at six."
"And when are you planning on doing homework, young lady? I don't want to see another C from your japanese tests."
I sighed.
"None of that. You need to keep up your grades."
I guess I'm doing homework then. So much for calming down and thinking things over.
For a moment I considered talking to Mom about what had happened today, but decided against it. Mom… had never fully approved of my choice of future career. Oh, she'd never outright forbid it, but she made her opinion known through the little things, the subtle hints and nudges whenever the topic came up. Ever since the funeral, seven years ago, she'd been quite prickly about that sort of stuff.
And right now, I wasn't sure I wanted to hear that.
As soon as I was back in my room I took out my japanese textbook from my backpack, dropped it on the floor and flopped onto the bed.
Japanese and I had a bit of a strained relationship, to put it mildly. I had always been horrid at learning new languages, as far back as I could remember. Finnish had been my native language, and even then grammar and writing had been a bitch to work with. English had only come to me after years upon years of hard work and being exposed to english media on a daily basis. Swedish I'd struggled with so much that I had come to view the entire language with an all-encompassing hatred and refused to have anything to do with out of pure spite.
So japanese had not come to me easily. At all. I got frustrated easily when it comes to things that I'm not good at. It had been slow-going, an endless cycle of glacially slow progress, giving up, and picking up again because the isolation from not being able to understand anything was even worse.
Ryuko had been a huge help, with her endless patience, and with years of immersion I'd managed to get it together; I could speak and understand japanese. I'd occasionally struggle with obscure words, use an odd turn of phrase or be a little slow on the uptake, but I could do it.
But that was only the beginning. Speech can only get you so far in life.
When school began, we started learning writing and reading. And let me tell you, that was the closest thing to hell on earth I'd experienced since firing drills in arctic winter. I think my soul still hasn't thawed out from that one.
At least previously, there had been a common alphabet to work with. Not only did Japanese not have that, it had individual characters for each different word. Instead of twenty-nine letters, there were thousands of kanji, each with different pronunciations and meanings. And then there's the kana, just to add extra confusion into the mix because nothing in life can ever just be easy.
I struggled. I struggled a lot.
But I had one key advantage, namely an abundance of time to devote to the subject, at least most of the time. Things like math, chemistry, physics, those had always come easy as breathing to me, and even if I couldn't possibly remember quite everything from a lifetime ago, with a solid foundation to work with most academic subjects were just a matter of reacquainting myself with the material. Certainly there were the occasional blind spots like post-Quirk history, but that was a fairly small segment overall and if there was one subject I was simply just good at, it was history. All in all, while I still had to put in some work for my grades it wasn't nearly as much as a normal student. This way, I could afford to devote a vastly disproportionate amount of time to studying japanese.
And it worked. My grades in the subject weren't quite perfect, but they were good enough. I was making real progress.
Then, I got my phone for my eighth birthday. For the first time in my new life, I had free, unrestricted access to the internet. I had naturally first taken to finding out everything I could about this new world, and the intervening years since my time.
During that time I had gone and searched for myself, and found nothing. No indication that I had ever existed. Which didn't necessarily mean anything because so much had been lost in the post-Quirk chaos, and simply the passing of years.
But that had brought me into contact with another issue. Japanese I had learned after a great deal of trouble. English, while far more rare in Japan, was still around and exposure was intermittent. By the time english classes had started at school I was undoubtedly a little rusty with the language, but like with other subjects I had a background from which to easily build it back up again. By this point I'd more or less completely forgotten about swedish.
But that still left my first language, finnish. Looking through the internet for traces of my former life, I was suddenly confronted with the fact that I hadn't had the slightest bit of contact with my original native tongue in more than eight years. It's a language obscure enough that you're not going to run into it abroad unless you specifically seek it out, even libraries might not have a single book written in it.
So when I read over the web pages, I realized that I had to actually think about what I was reading. I was forced to frequently pause and wrack my memory for the unfamiliar words, and every few sentences there were even words which I didn't recognize at all which I had to check via a translator app. A couple of them were new words entirely, but for the most part, they were simply ones that had slipped away over eight years of disuse.
Where it had once been as easy as breathing, I now had to work to understand my mother's tongue.
I… hadn't taken that realization very well.
So I'd thrown myself into relearning it, using whatever material was available to me. Obviously I couldn't really ask Mom and Dad to get anything for me without arousing suspicion, so I was mostly limited to whatever I could find for free on the internet. I managed to find a download of the finnish translation of Lord of the Rings, the books having become public domain long ago, but beyond that I relied upon wikipedia, blogs, fanfiction and videos. There was little that I could do about spoken language however, at least until I was much older. Still, after the initial panic, it all started to come back to me.
But the thing was, I was trying to study two languages at the same time. It took away time from my already-busy schedule, and caused no small amount of confusion. More than once, I'd almost handed in homework written in finnish.
My grades had dropped. Mom had been disappointed. Ryuko had been concerned. And I had no explanation to offer to them.
That was where we were at the moment, an ongoing struggle. It wasn't like my grades in japanese were bad, but that's the thing about expectations. Once set, you're going to have a hard time shaking them off.
-------
Hours later, I was walking through the streets of Musutafu, checking occasionally on the navigator app on my phone to make sure I was going in the right direction.
The restaurant was situated right in the middle of the city, with its very own building. It was catered specifically to celebrities, including Pro-Heroes, who wanted a bit of privacy for themselves. The lowermost floor served as a lobby, while the upper ones housed the actual dining areas.
Despite the Tatsuma family name being fairly well known we'd never needed to use something like this before, but ever since Ryuko made it to the Top Ten last year it'd suddenly become impossible to go anywhere with her without being instantly recognized. I counted my blessings that my fame by association wasn't strong enough to receive face recognition on the street. Aside from eye and hair colour, my sister and I looked nothing alike.
I walked into the lobby, quickly looking around the room for Ryuko, but it seemed like she wasn't there yet. I took out my phone and tapped the screen. No missed calls or messages and the time was 17:55, so I was five minutes early.
Ryuko had a bad habit of being late for everything, because of how busy she was with work. Establishing her own Pro-Hero Agency at the age of twenty-one was no small feat, and after placing on the Top Ten Hero Rankings she'd only kicked her workaholism into an overdrive.
There was a waiting area with a couple of benches and a small table laden with a collection of fashion magazines and comic books located to the side of the lobby. With a sigh I flopped down and grabbed one at random. It turned out to be the latest issue of Superman.
The Superhero genre had gone through its own weird little metamorphosis with the appearance of Quirks. Obviously superpowers had ceased to be fantasy, but at the same time, they were also made so much more mainstream. With strict laws on Quirk usage and how few people actually made the cut to become Pro-Heroes, a market for escapist fantasies was born.
Of course, the actual content had changed as well. Real-life Heroes were merchandised to hell and back, which obviously included comic books, cartoons, movies, action figures, toys, the works. Fictional characters suddenly had to compete with them for the same niches, in addition to new inventions. Moreover, the message had also undergone an overall shift, mainly to reflect modern society. Gone were vigilantes who took the law in their own hands like Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man and Punisher, replaced by licensed heroes who worked with the law enforcement.
Origin stories had also been altered, largely to remove people gaining superpowers by accident or anything like it. No more having a lightning bolt strike a chemistry set to give you amazing abilities, mainly just Quirks and the occasional "I am actually an alien/supernatural being". The unpowered superhero types had also all but disappeared.
Now, I have no evidence to support it, but the cynicist in me tells me that the reason for that is because "potentially deadly accidents can give you superpowers" or "you should go out and punch supervillains even if you don't have powers" aren't really the kind of messages you want to be airing in a society in which Quirkless kids struggle with feelings of inferiority on a daily basis.
...God, that's depressing to think about.
I put away the comic and checked my phone again. 18:15, no new messages. Ryuko would've sent a message if she was going to take much longer, so she should be here any moment. Or it was a real emergency.
Sure enough, just as I was thinking about, my sister came in through the front door, with that very careful style of walking as fast as humanly possible while not outwardly appearing to be in a hurry. Because God forbid the Number Ten Hero hurry for anything less than lives at stake.
I mean, I got it.
She was a public figure now. She had to think about the effect she could have on the wider society just by the way she acted. If she was hurrying, people might panic. But still.
Ryuko had immediately drawn the attention of several patrons, but she ignored the onlookers and made her way through the lobby, greeting me with a warm smile as she approached.
"You're late."
"I'm sorry." She responded, rubbing the back of her neck. "There was a holdup at the agency. You know how it is."
"I guess."
Ryuko frowned, but didn't say anything.
It had to be said, the restaurant took its promise of privacy seriously. Instead of having a central dining area, the upper floors of the building were split into individual rooms, where there was no possibility of being eavesdropped or bothered.
After we checked in at the front desk a waiter took us to the one Ryuko had reserved, a small room on the third floor. It was very simplistically adorned, but nice enough. I also noticed that the heating in the room had been turned up, which must've been something Ryuko had asked the restaurant to set up beforehand. I guess there are some perks to her fame.
"Here we go." The waiter said with a slight bow. "I trust everything is to your liking?"
"It is wonderful, thank you." Ryuko replied.
"Then I shall leave you to it. Please, once you have chosen your order, use the intercom and one of us will be there."
As soon as the door closed behind him, Ryuko's whole demeanour changed. The ever present tension in her shoulders loosened as she swept me into a hug, lifting me clear off the ground. After my last growth spurt I was of equal height with her, but she had years of physical training to fall back on. I returned the hug awkwardly and eventually she relented, putting me back down on the ground.
"Look, I'm really sorry about being late."
Does that mean you're going to stop doing it?
That was what I wanted to say. But it wouldn't have been fair to Ryuko. Her job was to save lives. What was an inconvenience to me compared to that?
"Alright." I eventually settled on a quiet reply.
"So! Let's get some food!"
She took a seat and grabbed one of the menus from the table, handing me the other one as I sat down opposite to her.
Wow. These were some seriously expensive meals. I knew Ryuko's agency was doing well, but still...
"What are you thinking?" Ryuko interrupted my thoughts.
"A hamburger."
She put down her menu just to look at me in sheer disbelief.
"I take you to the best restaurant in the city and you want a hamburger?"
"Have you or have you not known me my whole life? You took me out to eat, what did you expect me to pick?"
She looked away in disgust, and I rolled my eyes. I would sooner die a second time than eat kale soup or whatever else hipster food she was having.
Yes, kale had apparently crawled back from it's grave for another go just to haunt me, it was apparently now "in" again.
Ryuko called the waiter via the wall-mounted intercom, and did her best not to frown as I ordered the biggest, greasiest, bacon- and cheese-filled hamburger they had on the menu, plus a bowl of french fries with sauce and bacon chips. She herself ordered lobsters alongside some sort of fruit salad appetizer.
"So, how's flight practice been?" Ryuko questioned after the waiter left for the kitchen. "I heard you got to fly free for the first time last week."
"Yeah."
Ryuko gave me a look.
"It was fine."
"I know for a fact you can use more adjectives than fine, Ryuuzaki."
I sighed and took a deep breath. If Ryuko wanted me to be descriptive, then might as well go all in.
"Flying under your own power is the best thing imaginable. All the worries, all the drama and all the things that seem so big down here, from up there they're just... nothing. Insignificant. Up there, it feels like you can do anything. It feels like you're free, for the first time in your life. On the ground you feel clumsy and there's just so much everything, everywhere. You can barely see ten feet in front of you because there's always something in the way, and you never know what might be hiding around a corner. Everything is so small and tight and cluttered and confined."
I leaned back in my chair, thinking back to that moment of first taking flight with my own wings under the real sky, free of safety harnesses and obstructions.
"Up there, it's just me and the skies. I can see for dozens of kilometers in every direction. I feel free, in a way that nothing on earth can match. I feel untouchable. I feel safe. I feel… like I'm at home. If anything, after that being on the ground level again is just a disappointment."
I looked at Ryuko.
"Is that enough adjectives for you?"
She ignored the barb, instead smiling brightly.
"I'm happy for you. I never took to flight like that, but I'm glad you've found it enjoyable."
"Wait, how can you not like flying?"
"Eh, it's alright. But there are better things."
"That's it, you're not my sister anymore."
Ryuko was about to reply, but there was a knock on the door as the waiter arrived with our food, and the argument was immediately forgotten in favour of greasy goodness.
When Ryuko called this the best restaurant in the city, she wasn't kidding. The hamburger buns were freshly baked, warm and crisp. Between them were three patties and a veritable mountain of bacon, cheese, lettuce and sauce. I began devouring it at a rapid pace.
The thing about having sharp teeth was that they looked cool, but getting used to eating with them instead of regular incisors had been a challenge, at first. Biting into my tongue was an ever-present threat, and instead of cutting out a chunk I had to tear it out unless it was something really soft. And stuff tended to get stuck on them very easily. All in all I probably would've preferred normal teeth.
But you work with what you've got. And they did look cool.
"Anything else happen recently?" Ryuko started the conversation again. "You seem a little glum, today."
Should've known that she'd notice. I never could keep a secret from her, aside from the big one.
"Well, there was one thing."
Ryuko gestured for me to elaborate.
"I guess… I've just been thinking about the future."
"What about it?"
"It's just… we had… What do you call it? Career discussion? At school. And… it got me thinking about whether I should really become a Hero."
"What kind of career discussion would make you think that?" Ryuko squinted, her eyes suddenly hard.
"It was nothing."
"Clearly it wasn't nothing, if it got you doubting your childhood dream."
I winced. "The teacher… said some things."
"What kind of things, Ryuuzaki?" Ryuko pressed.
"He was being a kind of a jerk, and said some stuff about Hero families and stuff. It doesn't really matter. It's just… He asked me why I wanted to become a Hero." I paused. "I know I've said I wanted to be one since when I was little, but I guess it's just... I decided to be a Hero because it'd be fun. Because I'd get to use my Quirk and be a dragon and that's what I love doing. But now it just seems a little… childish, don't you think? Not something that should motivate a Hero."
"Of all the-" Ryuko began to respond, then paused mid-sentence and seemed to reconsider, and started again.
"Ryuuzaki. Do you really think that nobody else does that? That you're the exception, for wanting to do it because you think you would enjoy it?"
I didn't respond, so she continued.
"Surely others in your class also want to become Heroes? Do you… never talk about it? Why they want to do it?"
Not really? I barely talked to people other than Yui at school, and we didn't talk about things like that.
"Look." Reading the answer from my face, Ryuko went on. "The idea that you're only allowed to become a Hero if you're some perfect exemplar of justice, that you should never enjoy it, is not only an impossible standard to meet, it is not healthy. No functional human being is like that."
Ryuko paused, stopping for a moment to think before continuing.
"Let me rephrase this. Why do you think I originally decided to become a Hero?"
"I… don't know. You've never talked about it."
"I'm going to tell you a story. About what happened before you were born. I know you've figured out more about what happened than Mom thinks you have, but I want you to hear it first-hand."
I nodded, with a bit of trepidation.
"It… It was, well, rough, after Ryuunosuke kicked her out and I was born. There's just no way to put it gently. Mom had to drop out of school and find a minimum wage job. We lived paycheck to paycheck. She tried her best, she really did, but coming from the rich Tatsuma household to living in a tiny apartment in the worst part of the city was hard on her too. She had no idea how to budget things. Sometimes she'd buy things even I knew back then we couldn't afford, and then we had to live on oatmeal and rice for the next two weeks."
That was… not something I'd thought about. I had had clues of the overall picture, but to hear about what it must've been like...
"She took up smoking to deal with all of it, at first every now and then, but eventually she was doing a pack every day. You know, because she breathes out smoke when she gets angry, so it wasn't bad for her lungs as it otherwise would have been. But the addiction and all the other issues remained. Our apartment smelled of cigarettes every day."
She laid her hands on her lap, clearly frustrated.
"I- I can't blame her for it, she'd been cast out of the only life she'd known, even younger than I am now. But after it's all said and done, even if I can't resent her for it, I… I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about the financial side of things when I decided to become a Pro-Hero. All of this-"
Ryuko gestured vaguely around us.
"Being able to afford to eat outside in a fancy restaurant. Getting new clothes just because I liked them, not because the last ones were too small or too worn to wear. Buying jewelry because I thought it was pretty. All the things that I couldn't do, growing up."
She seemed a little bit melancholic as she spoke, and I digested this information. Then she perked up a little, continuing on.
"Of course, things did get better. When I was six, Mom met Dad, and he joined the family. It was the best thing to ever happen to us. And not because of financial stability, but because of what it meant for Mom. It was like she was a new person. She was happy again, and she even quit smoking altogether. They waited a long while before having you, you know. Mom wanted everything to be just perfect for your childhood, the way mine wasn't. I think that's why she went so far overboard in the other direction, trying to give you the most normal childhood imaginable."
She sighed.
"But to get back on track, greed is pretty much the definition of selfishness. It's not my only reason for starting down the path to becoming a Pro-Hero, but it has been a major influence every step of the way. It's part of me."
She looked up again, folding her fingers together.
"So would you say that makes me a bad Hero?"
"Of course not." I hastened to reply. "But it's not the same-"
"But it is." Ryuko said, grasping my hand by the wrist, her expression dead-serious. "I wanted to become a Hero for the money. You want to become a Hero because you think you would enjoy it. That is not a bad thing. Anybody who embarks on a career should enjoy what they do. In the other direction lies burnout and depression. I've seen and known people who couldn't handle the intensity of training to become a Pro-Hero, while we've had to physically drag you away from training. Used right, that can be a source of strength, not a flaw."
She rubbed her eyes.
"Nobody's perfect. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pro-Hero without a shred of selfishness in them. They're human."
"But what about- about people like Ryuo? He became a Hero for selfish reasons, didn't he?"
"That's true. Our uncle became a Hero because it was expected of him, to further the prestige of the family. But tell me, can you imagine him ever doing this? Questioning his own motivations?"
Ryuko's expression darkened, a bit of venom entering into her voice.
"No, Ryuo Tatsuma is the kind of person who would follow his convictions without a moment of hesitation all the way to the end, even if that end is verbally assaulting a five-year old who had done nothing to him." She said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "So I say that simply by asking these questions, you are already more of a Hero than he ever will be. I'm not saying that you're wrong to be concerned, because without a doubt, there are Pro-Heroes who take it too far. They have allowed their vices to rule them, more concerned with fame, riches or ambition than they are with actually saving people. The key is in moderation."
Ryuko sighed.
"Self-awareness can be an incredibly useful trait. But, 'Zaki, sometimes you take that way too far and twist over into crippling yourself with self-doubt. You're thirteen. You have your whole life ahead of you, to figure things out. Nobody's expecting you to be a Hero yet. That's what you go to Hero School for, dummy."
She poked me in the forehead.
"As long as it isn't your only reason for becoming a Hero, and you don't allow it to interfere with it, there is nothing wrong with having a selfish reason to become a Hero. Damn near everyone does. The one and only thing that matters is if you have the potential to become a Hero, and a willingness to give everything you have towards that goal. The first you have in spades, and I know you can muster the second if this is the path you want to take. So the only question that's really worth asking, is if you want to become a Hero. Nothing else. If you want to, you can. If you don't want to, then don't."
The silence stretched on.
Finally I swallowed, opened my mouth, then closed it again before finally settling on an answer.
"I… I'll think about it."
"And that's okay. You've still got two whole years until the entrance exams, and besides, there are adult courses for Heroes. I talked to Edgeshot at the Hero Rankings gala, did you know that he was twenty-three when he decided to become a Pro-Hero?
Huh. That's actually something I'd never considered.
I frowned as I beheld the empty training field. It was a simple, empty expanse of bare ground several hundred meters across devoid of vegetation or any other distinguishing features. The ground was packed hard, trampled and upturned by countless claw marks.
Ryuko had rented it some time ago, once it became clear the forest was not an appropriate location for sparring. When two multi-ton dragons go at it in a forest, there's going to be damage. And with her having graduated from UA she needed a place to train with her Quirk, even when I wasn't with her.
Today, we were supposed to be sparring. After the discussion in the restaurant two weeks ago, Ryuko had promised to clear her schedule a little, and a couple days ago the school had sent a message saying evening math lessons were cancelled. Seemed like they'd finally canned Fujiwara.
But something must've come up, since it was twenty minutes past the time we had agreed upon and there was no sign of Ryuko. I glanced at my phone.
Twenty-three minutes, now.
My finger hovered over the call button, weighing my options. Even if she was constantly late, Ryuko would have at least called me if she knew she was going to be this late. If it was an emergency, I didn't want to distract her. But if she was actually coming, I didn't want to just leave without saying anything.
After a few moments, I pressed the button. If she couldn't talk she just wouldn't pick up, and I'd leave her a message that I'd gone home.
It rang for a while, but just as I was about to end the call it was picked up.
"Hi!"
I did a double take, because that was not my sister's voice. It was much higher pitched and younger, full of energy.
"Ah, um." I floundered. "I must've had the wrong number?"
I really didn't see how I could've, considering it was the same one I used on a daily basis, but it was the first response I could come up with.
"Oh, this is Ryukyu's phone, this is just her intern speaking-"
I frowned, and not just because the voice sounded way too young for a student.
"She doesn't have an intern."
"Oh, um, I only started today?"
Was that a question or an answer?
Before I could formulate a response, I heard a muffled voice call out in the background.
"Oh, uh, Ryukyu's asking who I'm talking to so…"
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma, her sister." I responded, slightly bewildered. "Did you just... grab her phone from her desk when it rang?"
"...Yyyyeeeesss?"
At that point, I heard the phone being grabbed from her hand, and it was Ryuko's voice that came through the speaker next.
"'Zaki? Is that you?"
"Yeah. I guess you're not coming over for the sparring today?"
"Wait-" Ryuko paused, probably to look at a clock. "It's already past three?"
She sighed, and I could picture the way she was rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry 'Zaki, I got distracted. I got an intern application from UA today and I've been going over it all day and I just…"
"It's okay."
"No, it's not okay. Uh, I don't think I'll be able to make it today, but I'll see about something next week?"
"Nah. It's alright."
I hung up on her, sighing in disappointment. Another afternoon wasted.
I put my hands in my pockets and started walking away, towards the city. The training field was located on the outskirts of Musutafu, next to a large park on the opposite side from home. A straight path through the city center would probably be faster, but it'd also be really crowded, and I preferred to walk the long way around. I pulled out my headphones and put on some music, an instrumental soundtrack from eighty years ago I'd found on the internet.
Music had a way of clearing my head and calming me down, making it easier to think. It made it hard to stay in a bad mood.
The day was actually quite beautiful if you could discount the cold, and I was wearing five layers of clothing for that. The sun shone overhead, illuminating the fresh snow covering the park, the paved pathways layered with frost.
The river crossing through the park had yet to ice over, and dark water churned beneath as I crossed a small wooden bridge, admiring the view and taking off the headphones for a moment. Save for the noise the river made, it was quiet. No birds, no speaking, no cars… nothing. It was… pleasant.
But the cold was starting to seep into my limbs and ears so I put the headphones back on and kept moving, accelerating to a jog. Might as well get a little bit of training out of all this.
The river fell away into the distance, replaced by a winding pathway past thickets of pines. A background of occasional bird calls and songs began to appear, feeder posts dotting the landscape. An irrational desire to transform just to shut them up popped in the back of my head, but I just turned the volume up on my headphones to drown it out.
Time passed. I was making good time towards home, lost in my own thoughts, when I felt something tap my shoulder lightly.
As I turned to see what it was I saw the briefest glimpse of a clenched fist before my right temple exploded with pain. I staggered and fell, my elbow catching roughly against the pavement.
Before I could even begin to form a reaction something impacted my stomach like a sledgehammer, knocking the air out of my lungs. I scrambled onto my elbows, gasping for air and tensed for the next blow to fall.
Instead, there was a noise like somebody was speaking, but my ears were still ringing from the first blow. I shook my head, hard. The headphones were lying on the ground next to me.
"-thought you were so clever huh?! Thought you could get away with it?!"
I recognized that voice. I blinked repeatedly, and as my vision focused I could make out the figure of Katsuke Fujiwara, standing over me. He looked even more disheveled than usual in his hoodie and loose pants, his eyes slightly bloodshot.
"Well guess again!"
I winced in pain, the loud noise sending waves of pain through my head. I had no idea what he was on about, but I could worry about that later.
Picture the bottle.
It's drilled into the heads of every child to never use their Quirk in anger, over and over again.
You are the bottle.
But there are limits to what people are expected to tolerate, even in this society.
Now uncork the bottl-
A kick crashed into my ribs, sending me sprawling on the ground once more, the back of my head hitting the pavement hard. With my concentration broken the energy field fizzled out, the transformation interrupted.
"You thought I didn' come prepared, huh? Do you think I'm a fuckin' amateur? I know how your Quirk works. You need to concentrate to consciously activate it."
He tapped a finger to his temple, smiling. "I read your file. They removed my access but they weren't quite fast enough."
"Mistä vit-" I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. It was like a yo-yo was bouncing around the inside of my skull. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"When they fired me, you fucker! Your sister came down on the administration like a sack of bricks."
What?
"I didn't…"
I hadn't asked Ryuko to do that. The topic was never even broached. She wouldn't...
"She told the principal I'd 'verbally assaulted' her beloved kid sister. That they needed to get rid of me." Fujiwara foamed, but I wasn't listening.
Had Ryuko gone behind my back? She would've had to have gone out of her way to make sure I wouldn't know about it. Would she really do that? Maybe he was lying? But the anger seemed genuine?
My head hurt just from trying to think. I tried to pull myself up, but a wave of nausea rolled over me, and I fell down on my elbows.
Can't fight. Can't run. Trapped. I felt a tendril of panic rising up my throat.
"Nothing to say for yourself, huh?"
Nothing to… nothing to say.
That was it. Keep him… keep him talking. Draw it out. Hope somebody comes.
That I could do. With a clear goal to work towards, I could shunt aside the panic and focus. Keep him talking, make him think I'm beaten. He seems to enjoy that. Don't talk back, he'll only get angry. Ask questions instead.
I pulled myself into a crouch, fighting to keep my dinner down as I maneuvered my right side away from Fujiwara.
"How-" I croaked, my throat dry. "How did you even find me?"
As I spoke, I ran my fingers down the side of my pants, feeling for the blocky shape of my phone in my pocket. Tracing it's outline, I found the distinct button on the side.
"Easy. I know where you live. A real fancy house you got." Fujiwara sneered. "After that it was just a matter of followin' you."
And I hadn't even noticed. I shook my head- I needed to focus.
One long press, two short, one long, three short, followed by the small vibration of confirmation. When Ryuko had explained the usage of the panic button the first time around, I'd thought it stupid and pointless. If I got out of this alive, I was never complaining about her attention to detail again.
Help would be coming. I could take a small amount of comfort in that. Now, all I needed to do was hold out until then.
"So let me get this straight. You… you got kicked out of Hero School?"
He frowned, and I did my best to conceal the wince at how obvious my stalling tactics were. Smooth talking convincingly was very much not on my list of strengths.
"That's right. I had to watch people like you get everything handed to you, while I was booted out because I "lacked potential". And now you think that you can just take away everything I had left? I lost my job, and now I'm going to lose my apartment. I've got nothing left!"
He leaned in closer and raised his hand, fingers splayed.
"Well, it doesn't really matter. Because soon enough neither will you."
His fingers suddenly began twisting, the tips opening up into hollow tubes, tiny grooves lining the sides. I realized I knew all too well what those were.
Those were gun barrels.
So that's what his Quirk was.
Well. Fuck.
What happened next was pure instinctual response.
Faced with death staring you in the face, there's only two options. Fight or flight. And flight wasn't on the cards.
So I did the only thing that I could.
I headbutted Fujiwara.
Now, as a rule, legacy Quirks are nowhere near as strong as true Quirks. Dad could drive his horn through several inches of solid steel plate, while I couldn't do anything close to that outside my dragon form.
But, nonetheless, I had horns. And by necessity, I had fairly strong neck muscles, if only to deal with the extra weight. And so, driven by do or die desperation, I could put a fair amount of force into a headbutt.
There was a terrible crunching sound as the flat side of my forward horn slammed into his face, his nose cartilage shattering in a spray of blood.
Fujiwara staggered back, blood streaming between fingers clutching his shattered nose, but I was in no position to exploit the opening I'd created. The usual adage that a headbutt hurts you as much as the other guy can be mitigated with proper technique, and stops really applying if you have actual horns. However, there was a truth in that headbutting does still hurt, and doubly so if you happen to have suffered two nasty hits to the head, beforehand.
My head felt like it'd been split open with an axe, and a bit of warm blood was dripping down my horn and into my eye. I wanted- needed to run, right now, if I wanted to have any chance of making it out alive, but the ground seemed to be swaying beneath my feet.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!"
And it seemed like my brief respite was over. If retreat is impossible, then the only way is forward.
I weighed maybe half of what Fujiwara did. I was pretty tall for my age and in decent shape, but he was an adult man whilst I was barely a teenager. I had some fighting experience, but that was a lifetime ago, in a different body. If he wasn't lying, Fujiwara would've had far more recent combat training. My only advantages were a dubiously useful legacy Quirk and raw, manic desperation to live.
There was no way in hell I was going to win.
But god, I had to try.
If there was one piece of fighting knowledge I remembered from all those years ago, it was to control the legs. That's the key. If you control the legs, you control the fight.
Instead of trying for another headbutt, I went low and tackled Fujiwara, hooking a leg behind his in an attempt to trip him. I gave it everything I had, but the difference in mass and strength was just too much. He staggered and hobbled backwards, struggling for footing, but didn't fall.
A knee slammed to my stomach, sending me staggering back, away from Fujiwara. There were stars in my vision, but I could see him raising his hand and-
There was a burning sensation in my chest. My ears were ringing. I glanced down, and oh that's a lot of blood-
I fell, but the sensation felt distant, like it was somebody else's back crashing on cold, frost-encrusted pavement. My vision was blurry, but I could see Fujiwara, a wisp of smoke extending from his fingertip.
He- He just shot me.
It was getting harder to breathe. There had originally been three pinpricks of pain on my chest, but now a dull ache seemed to be spreading across my whole body.
I'm dying, aren't I?
I- I can't die. I h-have so much to do. I have a life! A sister, a family! I can't just die, not again.
I could feel warm, sticky blood on my chest. Wisps of mist were coalescing in the cold air, rising on small columns towards the sky.
I didn't want to die.
But what could I do? The Fucker was just… just standing there. He looked- he looked shocked almost, like he hadn't meant to go this far.
That made me feel angry, more than anything. He was shocked. What fucking bullshit. He'd attacked me out of nowhere. How fucking dare he be shocked that he'd- he'd…
Killed me.
I could feel my head getting light and lighter, my thoughts growing fuzzy. There was nothing I could do.
Well.
Maybe?
I could try transforming. It's a long shot. But it's the only one I've got.
Dragon would be tougher. I don't know if wounds remain. Never had reason to test.
Everything's so sluggish. Time's running out. I have to try.
Imagin-
It's hopeless. Can't focus. Hurts too much.
Imagine the bottl-
No!
It slipped away again.
It's impossible. I can't do it.
Imagine the bott-
Hnnng.
I don't want to die.
Please!
God, if you're listening, I don't want to die.
Imagi-
Fuck, I'll take anything. Satan, if you're listening, help me.
Imagine the bottle. You ar-
It was no use. I felt my head floating.
I was going to die.
Again.
For some stupid, meaningless bullshit. If I'd kept my damn mouth shut, we wouldn't be here. But I hadn't and so we were, so what was the point?
What was the point in any of it? Look at me, I literally got handed a new life, with fucking superpowers. And not just anything, but a superbly powerful Quirk. A loving, well-off family. A chance to become an actual, no-joke Superhero. All the advantages in the world laid out for me, and what do I do with them? Get shot and killed by my bitch of a substitute teacher in some godforsaken, nameless alleyway.
What a fucking joke.
Well, I suppose I can't complain. Most people don't get another do-over after fucking up one life.
The pain was really starting to set in now. My chest was burning, tendrils of liquid fire seeping across my body. It was getting harder to think.
But… that was just it. Most people don't get a do-over. For whatever reason, I'd been given another chance, where billions of others lived and died. Maybe I didn't deserve it, but I had it nonetheless.
I owed it to at least not let that life slip away without a fight.
When I went to meet my maker, or whatever else awaited me, I wanted to be able to stand tall and say "I fought every step of the way here".
Hnnng.
I shifted, the sensation of movement so distant I wasn't sure I didn't just imagine it, and did everything I could to just focus.
The last thing I thought of before all conscious thinking was washed away by an ocean of pain was the bottle.
Then, once more, there was darkness.
I don't want to go.
------
Reality slammed into my consciousness like a freight train, an overflowing stream of images, sounds, smells, sensations, all in painful clarity- the park, blood staining the snow, but viewed from above, and Fujiwara suddenly looking so much smaller so much less threatening.
An overwhelming wave of nausea washed over me, my stomach churning like a grain mill. Vomit spilled out between my jaws and onto the snowy pavement.
That was when it really hit me.
I was alive.
And not just alive, but in my dragon form. I could feel the strong, steady heartbeat hammering my chest, the muffling sensation of being clad in an armour of interlocking scales, the comforting heat in my chest, the confusing yet somehow natural sensation of suddenly having three additional extremities, and all the other small things that marked the shift.
I checked over myself. The plate-like scales that covered my chest seemed untouched, and it certainly didn't feel like I'd been shot. I was nauseous and dizzy, but I wasn't dying.
Which meant-
I lifted my head toward Fujiwara, and I saw several emotions flash through his face. Anger. Fear. Regret.
I charged.
What ensued could not even at the most generous of terms be called a fight. Previously Fujiwara had had gross physical superiority on his side, but now the situation was more than merely reversed. At least then we had been operating on the same orders of magnitude.
I bowled the man over with ease, roughly knocking him into the snowy ground. Before he could move, a massive, clawed forelimb came down on his chest, pinning him to the ground like a mouse trapped by a hunting cat.
I lowered my head to look him into the eye, and I could see real fear as fangs longer than his forearm came uncomfortably close to his face. He was sweating profusely, though that could probably be attributed to the sheer heat emanating from the furnace in my chest- the snow-encrusted pavement was rapidly melting in an expanding radius around us, columns of mist rising towards the bright evening sky.
Honestly, more than anything else, I wanted to kill him.
Tear out his throat, watch him bleed out and feel what I'd felt.
I could say it was an accident, I was just defending myself. Nobody would ever know.
But…
I pictured Ryuko's face, twisted with disappointment
I moved my jaws away from Fujiwara's head. I couldn't do it.
This act seemed to trigger some sort of defiance in him, as he brought his arms- still free, stupid, stupid- up and fired. I closed my eyes in an instinctive reaction to the thunderclap of noise, but instead of the burning sensation of being shot what I got was more like… I guess somebody chucking golf balls at me really hard? It still hurt, but the pain was mostly superficial, muffled by my scales.
That was one way to find out they're bulletproof, I suppose.
I tried to pin his arms but he kept firing at random as he struggled to get free, and I felt one of the bullets pierce the membrane of my right wing. A jolt of pain passed through the limb and warm blood began trickling down it's surface.
Seeing no other option, I shifted the majority of my weight on my forelimbs. With his hands pinned between just short of three metric tons of angry dragon and the pavement, there was a crunch followed by a yell of pain, and finally the gunfire seemed to stop for good.
There was finally silence in the alleyway. Well, aside from Fujiwara's whimpering, but I wasn't inclined to give him much in the way of sympathy.
I breathed in and out, scalding-hot air puffing in the cold air. The wound on my wing was aching, but it was nothing I couldn't deal with. The actual membrane itself had little in the way of blood vessels of nerves. For a few moments I just focused on breathing. In and out. I was alive.
I was shaken out of it by the sound of sirens coming closer. Turning my head to watch, I saw a white and black police patrol car approaching along the pathway. It pulled to the side as it came close, two officers of Musutafu Police Force piling out.
"I-"
"Holy shit you have to help me!" Fujiwara suddenly yelled out. "This crazy dragon is trying to kill me!"
Oh.
Shit.
My eyes flickered down at Fujiwara, pinned beneath my claws. This probably didn't look very good on the outside.
"Get off him and put your hands in the air!"
And now there was a gun pointed at me. Again.
I stepped back and off Fujiwara, but I wasn't really sure how I was supposed to put my hands in the air as a dragon. I'm a quadruped, I would just fall over.
That was when the sound of wingbeats filled the park.
I'd spent thirteen years of my life living with Ryuko Tatsuma. During that time I'd seen her in almost every state of emotion thinkable. I'd seen her happy, playful, serious, sad, disappointed, jealous, embarrassed, stern, disgusted, surprised, hungry, afraid, and more.
But I don't think in all of those years I had ever, at any point, seen her well and truly angry. Disapproval? Sure. Frustration? All the time. But genuine anger?
It was something to behold as she dropped to the ground, the earth shaking with her landing. She wasn't even wearing her costume -she must've dropped everything when the panic button went off- but there wasn't a soul in Japan who wouldn't recognize the Number Ten Hero of Japan as she glowered down, the distinct smell of ozone in the air. Fujiwara's face had gone pale as he looked up at her.
"Officers." It's not really something you notice yourself, but from the outside perspective turning into a dragon has a way of distorting your voice. Obviously the vocal cords are completely different, and your voice ends up sounding a lot deeper and scratchier, like it was being run through a distorter. "Would you like to tell me why you are brandishing weapons at my sister?"
To their credit, the police took it in a stride. The older-looking officer lowered his gun slightly, addressing Ryuko.
"Ma'am, we responded to a distress call from a panicked pedestrian, telling there were gunshots coming from this area. When we arrived we reacted according to the situation as we saw it. He-" he indicated Fujiwara, "-called out for help, and we moved to defuse the situation."
Ryuko whipped around to glare at Fujiwara, and I saw a momentary, almost imperceptible flicker of surprise in her eyes before she glared down at him. Leaning back onto her hind legs, she tapped a clawed finger on a device strapped to her wrist. She'd shown it to me once- a communicator manufactured by Pro-Hero Support Item companies, outfitted with all the latest features: an adjustable strap, EMP-proofing, all the capabilities of a commercial smartphone, and more.
A voice started to play from the device.
"-nothing left! Well, it doesn't really matter. Because soon enough neither will you."
Another feature was the ability to link panic buttons directly into it, receiving GPS data and audio recordings from them once triggered. For a few more seconds there were sounds of struggling, Fujiwara shouting and then-
Gunshots.
Ryuko turned off the recording.
"I received an emergency message from my sister here, and came as fast as I could." She scowled. "Now can you please point the guns somewhere other than the victim?"
The officer sighed, and holstered his gun, moving to check up on Fujiwara. "Sorry Ma'am, standard procedure."
"I, um-" Suddenly all attention was on me, and I flinched. "What happened was, I was walking home when Fujiwara attacked me. He- he shot me. T-that's his Quirk. I managed to use my own to s-subdue him."
I wasn't sure if the officer would've believed me by myself if his expression was any indication, but with Ryuko backing me up I guess he didn't want to argue.
"You know this man?"
"He, um, he w-was my school teacher?" I hated the tremble in my voice, no matter how justified it may have been.
"How old are you?"
"She's twelve, officer, this is getting ridiculous." Ryuko bit out, clearly starting to lose her patience.
The man's eyes widened slightly in realization.
Oh.
I guess with the transformation and the voice- he mustn't have been able to tell.
"Alright then." I'll need to call dispatch and get an ambulance for him. You said his name was Fujiwara?"
"K-ka-katsuke Fujiwara."
He nodded and began walking over to the patrol car.
Ryuko approached me, her eyes drawn to the blood on my wing.
"Are you alright?"
I couldn't help it- now that she was here, now that it was over, the shock finally began to set in. And with it went the last of the composure I'd been holding on to.
Dragons can't really hug comfortably but I did the next best thing, pressing to Ryuko's side, ducking under her wing. Now that adrenaline was fading I could feel the tremors in my limbs, and I was confident if I had tear ducts they'd be leaking right now.
Ryuko seemed surprised at the contact, but instead of shying away leaned in, pulling her wing over me.
"Shhh. It's alright. I'm here now."
"I-I was dying, Ryuko." I choked out.
"Sssh. You're not dying. You're going to be okay. It's just a bit of your wing, it'll be fine."
"It's- it's n-not-"
"Everything's going to be alright. Can you shift back to human for me?"
"I- don't k-know. I was shot. B-before I transformed. I was- I was going to die."
Ryuko shifted, craning her neck down to look me in the eye.
"And you transformed to get through it?" There was a note of alarm in her voice that hadn't been there before.
I simply nodded, and she put a clawed forelimb on my shoulder.
"Okay. We need to get you to a hospital, as soon as possible." She seemed to contemplate for a second, then went on. "Fastest way to go is flying, and I can waive the license for an emergency. Do you think you can manage it?"
"Y-yeah. I t-think so." The bleeding had stopped by now, leaving a small rip in the membrane, but it was tiny compared to the full surface area of my wings.
"That'll have to do. And whatever happens, don't shift back until we're at the hospital."
She turned to the officers, who were checking on Fujiwara.
"I'm taking my sister to the hospital. You can contact my agency for a statement."
For a moment I was afraid the police were going to argue, but then the senior officer nodded.
"We'll want to talk to you at a later date, but health and safety takes precedence. We'll call an ambulance for him." He nodded towards Fujiwara.
Then we were off, Ryuko leaping into the air with me right at her heels.
She led the way, speaking to her communicator and checking on me every few moments over her shoulder. The wound on my wing hurt a bit, sure, and it was quite cold so far up, but it was nothing I couldn't bear. I took the time to try to calm down and get a hold of myself. Bad enough that I'd been stammering like an idiot in front of the police.
Ryuko could reach speeds of over a hundred kilometers per hour on overland flight, and though I couldn't match her I could manage sixty in a hurry. The city scape whipped by below us, and in a manner of minutes we reached Musutafu Central Hospital.
It was a large, blocky building with a large helipad on the top. It seemed like they were prepared for us, as the landing area was cleared and marked with red flares.
The tricky part would be the landing. Taking off and keeping aloft was fairly simple despite my relative inexperience, but landing in such conditions was going to be tricky. It was getting dark, and the forewind was substantial.
Ryuko knew that too, as she pulled up closer to me, her voice carrying over the wind.
"Don't worry about the landing. Nobody's giving style points, as long as you can hit the helipad. It can take an impact."
It seemed like her words would be tested soon enough as I spread my wings and began slowing down, only to find my increased air drag was allowing the winds to pull me off course. I adjusted, and then some more, but the end result was a faster approach than ideal, and I landed heavily on the helipad, claws skidding on the metal.
Ryuko landed gracefully beside me, a claw on my side steadying me. I folded my wings, and pulled myself upright.
A bald, bespectacled man in a white coat strode towards us, a hand making broad gestures towards the side as he struggled to make himself heard over the wind.
"Follow me!"
The elevator was a wide, spacious one, probably doubling for cargo as well. Ryuko transformed to give me more space, keeping a comforting hand on my side the whole time.
As the doors closed and the noise of the wind disappeared, the doctor introduced himself with a bow.
"Dr. Shojiro Matsubara. Ryukyu I've worked with before, but I do not believe we've met before?"
"Y-yeah. Ryuuzaki Tatsuma."
"A pleasure to meet you. Now, I believe you were shot, before using your Transformation Quirk?"
"Y-yes." I replied. "At least t-three times. In the chest. I bled, a lot."
"I see." Matsubara nodded gravely. "First of all, do I have your permission to use my Quirk on you?"
"Um-"
"It's a simple sensory Quirk. As long as I'm touching you, it allows me to scan your internals. It's faster and more precise than getting X-rays.."
"Alright."
He pressed a hand to my chest, and it felt like an electric tingle running through me. He nodded, and withdrew the hand, running his fingers through his beard.
"It seems like you're in perfect health aside from the wound on your wing, as far as I can tell with your altered biology. It seems to have already stopped bleeding, however, so we shouldn't have to worry about it for now. According to the registry your Quirk shunts material not part of your body into storage when you shift, correct?"
I nodded, and he continued.
"I assume that's where the bullets have gone, unless they exited through the back. That's good."
"But… won't they reappear inside of me if I turn back?"
"It's… hard to say. There's still so much we don't understand about Quirks, and each is unique in its own way. But either they do, or they don't. If they don't, that's our best case scenario. But if they do it'll definitely still be easier to remove them than digging them out now, if they were still inside of you."
I guess that made sense.
"So what's going to happen then?"
"Well, it's hard to say."
"What do you mean?"
"In treating Pro-Heroes, I've come to find that most Transformation-type Quirks can be divided into three groups, based on how they interact with wounds present on the user when activated. The first type simply replicates the wound on the new form. That is not the case here, as is evident. The second possibility is that the Quirk simply heals the wounds as it transforms the flesh into its new form, allowing it to function as a form of regeneration. Ryukyu, that is how your Quirk works, correct?"
"Yes. Wounds are healed between transformations." She frowned. "I didn't want to assume anything about Ryuuzaki's, however."
Matsubara nodded. "Sibling Quirks are often very similar, like the two of you, but we should assume nothing. Especially for genetic half-siblings."
Ryuko looked like she wanted to say something to that, but then thought better of it.
"The third possibility, however, is that the Quirk records the state of the previous form, and restores it when the transformation is reversed. This is why we'll have an emergency room waiting when you turn back, if the wounds return at full force."
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, and he led the two of us deeper into the building.
"Is it really okay for me to be here?" I tested my weight on the floor. "I mean, is the floor going to hold?"
"Oh, don't worry." Matsubara assured me as he led the way. "Public buildings are constructed to a high standard, because we have to be able to service a wide range of body types created by Quirks. You're on the upper end, but still well within the safety margin."
The hallways were bustling with activity, and it was all I could do to keep my tail from accidentally knocking things over or getting into anyone's way, all the while trying to avoid scraping the floor with my claws.
Eventually Matsubara led us into a room filled with medical equipment, another doctor waiting for us.
"This is Doctor Yoshiko Fujioka." The short, brown-haired woman bowed. "She will be assisting me."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Now, I would like for you to revert your transformation, so that we can assess the situation." Matsubara continued.
"Alright."
I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes, bracing for the pain to return.
Picture the bottle. Imagine your body being squeezed into the bot-
I staggered a step backwards, my eyes flying open, feeling nauseous, heartbeat hammering in my ears. I was treated to the sight of my heavy, clawed forelimbs.
"It didn't work?"
Matsubara's question hung in the air. Instead of replying, I tried again, exactly as I had done every day for the last nine years or so. I pictured the mental images Mom and Ryuko had taught me to help consciously activate my Quirk.
Except nothing happened.
"Why can't I…"
Why can't I transform?
I felt panic tightening in my chest again, but Matsubara stepped forward, taking control of the situation.
"Please, calm down. You have gone through a highly traumatic event today, the stress and mental strain of which cannot be discounted."
Yeah.
Yeah, that had to be it. Deep breaths.
Matsubara stepped forward holding a hand out towards me.
"Could you attempt it again? I would like to try using my Quirk to see if I can identify what is going wrong."
I shrugged, and leaned forward to his touch.
"That is odd." He noted as I made the third attempt. "The Quirk Factor is moving, the Quirk is activating, and then it simply shuts down."
"What does that mean in practical terms?" Ryuko asked.
The two doctors shared a look, before Matsubara replied. "It means we don't know what's causing it. We'll need some time to make calls and confer with my colleagues- this is not a situation I've come across before."
"I'll need to take care of some business as well." Ryuko said, looking at me. "I'll be back as soon as I am able."
"Please, lie down and try to rest if you can." Matsubara added.
I laid down on the floor, dozing off in short order. My sleep was light and restless, half-formed shapes and images flicking across my mind. I wasn't sure how long it was until I was awakened, my keen hearing picking up on the sound of the door opening.
Ryuko stepped inside, smiling softly as she saw that I was awake. I'd always been a light sleeper, to the point that she'd never been able to sneak into my room when we were younger.
"Sorry if I woke you up."
I blinked a couple of times, shaking off the last of my sleepiness.
"It's alright."
"I just got off from giving a statement to the police. Everything should be okay for now."
"So I'm not in trouble for what I, uh, did to Fujiwara?" I asked, suddenly remembering the unnatural way his hands and fingers had been bent after I'd stepped off of him, bone sticking out from underneath the skin.
"They'll want you to come in at some point to give a full account of what went down, but with the audio recording and physical evidence it should be an open-and-shut case of self defence."
"Oh. That's good."
We fell into a silence for a few moments, before I opened my mouth again. There was something that had been digging at me for a while now.
"Ryuko?"
"Yes?"
"Did you arrange to get Fujiwara fired?"
"..."
"Please." I prodded. "Did you?"
"Yes." Ryuko admitted.
"...Why?"
"Why- What he did was unacceptable for someone supposed to be in charge of your education. So I looked up his name and sent a complaint to the school administration."
"No, why didn't you tell me about it?" I shifted my position on the floor to look at my sister, raising my head so that we were at eye level. "I mean, it certainly would've been easier to just ask me for his name than going through the school records."
"Would you have agreed?"
"Would that have stopped you?" I countered, and Ryuko flinched. "There are other ways to deal with people like that than getting them fired."
"I didn't have him fired. The school did."
"Of course they did, you're the Number Ten Hero!" I felt the heat in the room rise alongside my anger. "You're always saying you need to be careful with everything you do because of the amount of influence you wield. But now it's okay for you to pressure the school?"
"Sometimes it has to be done." Ryuko folded her arms. "There are times when avoiding conflict has its uses, but people like that need to be taught their actions have consequences, or they will never stop. To believe otherwise is pure naivete."
"This isn't even about him." I would have scowled if I could have, a little bit stung by her words. "This is about why you went out of your way to keep me out of it."
"This is why." She gestured at the two of us. "After the restaurant, I just… didn't want to have an argument. I didn't want you to have to worry about this too."
"And look where that got us." I muttered.
"I had no way of knowi-" Ryuko began, a bit of indignation creeping into her voice, when the doors to the hospital room were thrown open.
"Ryuuzaki!"
Mom was at my side in an instant, Dad following just behind. Matsubara and Fujioka came last alongside a doctor I didn't recognize, closing the door behind them. The three of them stayed at a respectful distance as my parents fussed over me.
"It's alright sweetie." Mom said, a bit of tears in her eyes "You're going to be okay."
"I…" I hesitated. "I can't transform back."
"We heard, the doctors filled us in. It's going to be alright."
"Ryuko told us about what happened." Dad butted in, a comforting hand on my shoulder. "What you did was very brave."
I didn't really feel that way, but I wasn't going to argue.
Matsubara cleared his throat, stepping closer as he gestured at the third doctor.
"This is Doctor Kaete Watanabe." The portly man bowed.
"I am honoured to meet all of you. Dr. Matsubara has told me of your situation, and we agree that, with your permission, I may be able to help you."
"His Quirk allows him to heal people at a touch. We wanted to see if that could help resolve Ryuuzaki's situation."
"Alright."
Watanabe stepped forward, touching a hand to the side of my head. I felt a pleasant warmth spreading from his fingertips, a faint stinging sensation on my wing as the small rip closed shut. But aside from that...
"I… don't really feel much different."
Matsubara frowned. "Could you try transforming again, just for clarity's sake?"
Picture the bottle. Imagine your body being squeez-
The world spun around me. I felt a faint buzzing grow in my head. The others were speaking, but it felt distant, unreal.
I was still a dragon.
"Well." Matsubara said. "I can truthfully say that I've never come across a situation like this, but after conferring with my colleagues there are… several explanations. There are records of people suffering brain damage and being unable to shift back, or discovering late at life that what they thought was a Mutant-type was in fact a Transformation."
"It's also possible it is some kind of internal mechanism or evolution of the Quirk itself." Doctor Fujioka added. "Truthfully, we do not know. Exactly how Quirks truly function is still an unexplored field of science, and many aspects of each unique Quirk can only be discovered by trial and error."
"Isn't there a Pro-Hero with the ability to turn off Quirks?" Mom asked.
"Nullification-type Quirks do not remove the physical effects of the Quirk, they simply disable them." Ryuko answered.
"That is correct, though it should still be tested. Mind control is another possibility to consider, but they are rare and often… finicky in what they can accomplish."
"So what do we do about this?" That was Dad speaking.
Matsubara was silent for a moment, weighing his words.
"Obviously, we're not going to be giving up. First of all we're going to run some checks, and we'll continue to explore possible new ways of approaching this. It is possible this is only a temporary state of affairs, but…"
He paused for a moment, before saying aloud what everyone present had already realized but were refusing to think of. "I'm sorry, but you may need to prepare for the long-term possibility that Ryuuzaki will not be able to shift back to human form."
Flying under your own power is the best thing there is.
Anybody who thinks it isn't, hasn't experienced it. Which, to be fair, most people haven't.
The countryside spread out under me, fields, forests, rivers, lakes, even the occasional building. Cars bustled along roads and highways like tiny little ants, pedestrians only barely visible even to my keen eyes.
I folded my wings and went into a dive, letting my mass drag me downwards, and felt the wind against my scale-covered skin. It was cold, so high up, but I produced more than enough heat to keep myself warm.
I let myself fall until the treetops came uncomfortably close before spreading my wings, letting the air drag slow me down as I pulled into a more level flight path before beating them several times in short succession, rapidly ascending back towards the sky. I punched through the cloud layer, droplets running across my scales, before stabilizing into level flight once more.
The sight up there, it... you can't really properly appreciate it from a plane. It's magnificent, sure, but it's nothing compared to viewing it with unrestricted field of view, of actually being there instead of just observing it through a narrow window.
An endless expanse of white, cotton-like clouds spread out below me, disappearing beyond the curve of the horizon. Columns reached towards the heavens like mountains. The setting sun cast it's orange glow upon the cloud layer, casting it in a dizzying range of orange shade and shadows.
I basked in the warmth of its rays, my winds spread wide as I traced lazy spiral in the sky, enjoying the view. No matter what happened, I could take comfort in the freedom the heavens offered, that promise of safety. As long as I had the open sky over my head, I could feel like I was the master of my fate. I could go anywhere I wanted, at any time.
At least in theory.
In truth, even if nothing physical tethered me to the ground, I was still beholden to the expectations and laws of society.
Eventually the sunset began to fade, forcing me to leave the heavens behind and return to ground level once more. I tilted my wings, beginning a long, slow descent.
The Utapau Open Air Flight Facility was one of several of its kind in Japan, a dedicated location for those with Flight-capable Quirks to use their abilities in full.
For most Quirks, following the law was simple. Don't use them in public, but on your own private property it's fine.
But when you add three dimensions to it, things became a little bit stickier. What counts as private airspace? Suddenly you have people coming into contact with aircraft and collision risks skyrocketing.
When they were eventually instituted, the laws had taken inspiration from the regulations imposed upon UAVs in the dawn of the 21st century. Flight without permission was strictly forbidden over cities, densely-populated areas, crowds, events, airports, and even outside of them you were limited to 150 meters above ground level and daylight.
However, some people, like me, wanted to experience more than that limit of 150 meters. And to cater to that audience, places like this were created. Areas closed to normal air traffic, where those with Flight-capable Quirks could have a moment of reprieve. Where they could fly freely, and experience true freedom.
Even if it was only for a fleeting moment at a time.
That was a part of why I wanted to be a Hero. Ryuko had eventually managed to hammer it into my head that that wasn't necessarily something I should feel guilty about, but I still felt sympathy for those in the same situation who didn't have the inclination for Pro-Hero career. Experiencing the freedom of flight and then having it be taken away is possibly even more cruel than never knowing it.
I came in low towards the main facility, folding my wings as I landed on the designated area near the parking lot.
"I was wondering if we were going to have to call you down before the night fell."
The speaker was an bald man in his fifties, wearing the blue uniform of the Utapau Facility. Niikura Masao had been my flight instructor when I was first allowed to spread my wings.
"Yeah, well, you know me. I like it up there." I said as I pulled off the tracking anklet and handed it to him.
"Yeah, I know. Can't blame you there." He smiled. "God knows if I were you I'd do the same. Anyway, I'll take this inside and sign you out." He said, holding up the anklet. "You can get home."
"Thank you so much for this." I bowed my head. Utapau Facility took safety very seriously, requiring a constant record and tracking of everyone in the air. The anklets could deliver a vibration when the fliers needed to return to the ground, whether due to an emergency or simply weather conditions.
However, there was the slight problem that I couldn't fit through the front door to sign myself in and receive an anklet from the front desk. Masao had agreed to give me a helping hand, and for that I was eternally grateful.
"It's nothing." He waved it off. "You're our most frequent customer anyways, it really isn't a bother."
I nodded, and then I was off.
Running at speeds higher than humans are normally capable of technically counts as Quirk usage on public roads and was therefore illegal, so I had to walk home in case a cop happened to pass by. The odds were low and it would be a minor violation, but I didn't feel like risking getting into trouble. Even so, I made good time.
It was nearly dark by the time I reached home, the lights of Musutafu in the distance illuminating the night sky. I trotted over to the door to my room, the garage-style door having been added in a renovation not long after it became clear that my situation would be a long-term one. It swung open, and I stepped inside.
My room had been combined with the neighbouring storage closet in order to make room for me to be comfortable, about wide enough that if I stretched the tip of my tail to one wall I could just barely reach the opposite one. The ceiling had also been expanded into the attic- I could fit inside a normal room, but it was a tight fit and I had to be careful not to poke holes in the ceiling with my horns, so having the extra space added that little bit of extra comfort that made it easier to relax. Meanwhile the wooden floor had been covered entirely by a soft mat that gave way beneath my feet, making it much more comfortable to walk on than cold, hard surfaces that my claws could scrape against.
Sometimes it still made me feel a touch embarrassed about just how much money had been sunk into the renovation. Mom and Dad were well off, but they couldn't really be considered rich either, and this kind of money didn't come by easily. I could've made do with less, but they wouldn't take a no for an answer, and I suspected Ryuko had helped with the funding of it all.
There were Public Housing options for people whose Quirks made it impossible to live in normal apartments, but that would have required that I move out and live on my own in the government-maintained facilities. And after what had happened, that wasn't an option on the table as far as my family was concerned. Dad especially had been incensed at the inflexibility of government programs.
I crawled onto my chair, a custom-made one given to me as a birthday present by Ryuko. It was kind of like sitting in a human chair backwards, with the backrest on your chest, except it was designed specifically to be used that way. It allowed me to lie down comfortably while leaving both of my forelimbs free to use.
Which was mostly just to use my computer. Claws weren't really meant for fine manipulation, but with a touchscreen and text to speech I could manage well enough provided the machine was of sufficient size.
After some time spent wasting time on the internet, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps outside my door. Dad had a heavy gait, not just because of how big he was, but it was like he purposefully put the maximum amount of force and weight behind every step. Mom had a slower, deliberate style of walking. The sound I heard was neither of those two, which meant that it was almost certainly Ryuko. Her walking style was much harder to pin down, seemingly changing with no rhyme or reason.
"Come in." I called out just as the steps stopped before my door, and Ryuko stepped inside, smiling sheepishly.
After she had moved out she'd been less and less frequent of a visitor, but for the last two years she'd taken more time off her busy work schedule and made it her goal to spend at least a little bit of time with me every day, even if it was just briefly coming over in the evening. Ryuko had also been… I want to say more realistic when it came to her schedule, only arranging something if she was absolutely certain she could make it. She'd even gone so far as to hire a secretary to help deal with time management and paperwork.
"Did you have fun flying?"
"Yeah. I'm never going to get tired of watching the sunset."
"Good to hear." Ryuko looked around the room, wincing at the various posters of herself plastered around the walls. Her eyes finally settled on the computer. "Looks like the screen is getting scratched up again. I'll get a new one ordered."
"It's fine, it's still in working condition." Sure, the surface was a bit beaten up, but that was a natural consequence of using a touchscreen with claws. It still had life left in it before it became too scraped to be usable.
"I insist." Ryuko pressed, and I sighed.
"How was work?" I asked, changing the topic of discussion.
"Oh, it's actually been very quiet lately. I think All-Might has been staying in Musutafu more than usual, and crime rates simply plummet in his vicinity."
"Mmm. That's good."
"Well, anyways I've got to go. Still have some paperwork to finish before calling it a night." Ryuko said, rising to her feet. She threw a quick hug around my neck before walking out of the door. "Goodnight!"
"Night."
Probably one of the worst things about my condition was the muffled sensation of touch. I preferred tactile shows of affection over verbal, and having a layer of armoured scales between you and the other person does wonders to dull that, to say nothing of the anatomical difficulties of a dragon trying to hug anyone.
After Ryuko left I returned to my computer, idly scrolling through pages, killing time reading news articles and fanfiction. The internet had been my primary source of social contact outside of family for the last two years, since I hadn't been able to attend a public school.
Soon enough the clock ticked to 19:00, and a small icon popped up at the edge of the screen showing that I had an incoming video call. I tapped on it, and it expanded to cover the whole screen.
"Right on time, Ryuuzaki." A friendly, warm voice came over the speakers as the image feed turned on.
Kyou Kawaguchi had been my therapist for the last two years. She was a young woman in her late twenties, black hair tied to a neat bun behind her back.
"Like always." I replied, shifting my resting position so that she could better see me in the small camera mounted atop the screen. "What's in the schedule for today?"
There had been other therapists with more experience and better recommendations, but none of them had lasted very long. This was only my fourth session with Kawaguchi, but I had already decided I'd be sticking with her for the time being.
The reason we'd originally chosen her was that five years ago, there had been an incident where a group of villains going by the name of Villain Factory had kidnapped and experimented upon several individuals, bioengineering them and injecting them with Quirk-boosting drugs. The end result had left them permanently mutated, and they had been forced to deal with the aftermath. It had made international headlines, in part because the ones to finally dispose of the villains hadn't been licensed Pro-Heroes, but instead illegal vigilantes. Kawaguchi had made a name for herself helping the victims adjust to their new lives, giving her unique experience in dealing with situations such as mine.
But even more than that, I'd felt like I simply clicked with her. She knew exactly when to press a topic and when to leave it be, how to coax me into dealing with things I was reluctant to without making me feel like I was being pressured or forced into anything. She knew when I needed help convincing myself to do something, and when I genuinely didn't want to do it.
"I thought we'd begin with the expression reading." She replied, not missing a beat. Expression reading was a little game she'd devised, where instead of asking me how I felt that day, she would try to read my body language and tell me how I looked.
One of the things that was easy for me to forget was just how difficult reading a dragon's body language could be, for a human. After all, humans had a highly expressive facial features with intricate system of facial muscles that allowed for a wide range of emotions. I had a reptilian snout and a pair of lipless jaws filled to the brim with razor-sharp teeth. Even though I still had the instinct to smile, for an example, I physically couldn't do it. I didn't have the necessary features to do so.
A large part of adjusting to being a dragon therefore came from learning to better express myself through body language. And in order to do that I needed to know how I came across to other people.
"I'd say that you're tired, but content. Underneath it all, you're a bit apprehensive, more than what is usual for our sessions." She listed off. "How close was I?"
"I'd say about on the money." I replied. "Though I'd say that I'm also a little bit excited."
"The entrance exams?"
"What else?" I stretched my forelimbs, the chair creaking as I shifted my weight. "On one hand, I'm terrified. On the other, at least once it's over I can finally stop worrying about it."
"You should have nothing to worry about." Kawaguchi smiled again. "You have a very powerful Quirk, and you've been training relentlessly. And nobody can fault your grades."
After the incident, it had been pure hell trying to claw my grades back to where they had been. Otherwise I might've felt guilty about using my pre-existing knowledge to boost my grades to get an advantage, but with the limitations imposed on me by my new existence it merely brought me to a level playing field.
It felt reassuring, in a way, to know for a certain that my grades were my own achievement. They weren't perfect, but they were very good, and they were mine.
"I know. Ryuko says I'm a shoe-in, but it's just…" I paused for a moment. "UA is the best chance I have. Sure, there's other schools like Shinketsu, but they don't have the same kind of resources at their disposal."
I'd been forced to drop out of middle school and complete the grade in homeschooling. Even if the educational system was supposed to accommodate for all types, infrastructure was rarely so quick to catch up to the theory. And arranging even the barest minimum steps necessary for somebody of my size to attend to a school took quite a bit of effort and resources, let alone enough for a productive learning environment. And you couldn't get homeschooling for becoming a Pro-Hero.
"Speaking of your sister, how have the two of you been? In our last session, we talked about what happened to you two years ago and her role in those events."
"It's… we've been doing better. I thought about what you said and I… don't really blame her for what happened, if I really think about it. She couldn't possibly have known what would happen."
"Have you told her that? From what you've told me, I think she might blame herself for what happened."
I glanced down. I knew that. Of course I knew that.
"No. I haven't."
"I think you should talk to her. It would be good for the both of you; you don't want to leave something like that to fester."
"I know. It's just… we put off talking about it after the incident. We didn't have the time or the energy, there was just so much to do, living arrangements, visits to the hospitals and all the specialists and now… now it feels like it'd be weird to bring it up now, you know?"
"I do get that. If you really feel like you can't, then nobody can force you to."
"I just. I don't want to have an argument. We're doing fine now, and I don't want to ruin that."
"Isn't that same reason Ryuko didn't tell you about getting Fujiwara fired?"
"Heh, I guess it's a kind of a family flaw." I replied. "Ignoring our personal problems until something prods us into dealing with them."
"The best time to do deal with it was two years ago. The second best time is today. I think it would do good for you, to clear the air before you head into the entrance exams so that you can focus fully on your future."
"I…" I balked.
"You don't have to do it right now, of course. I know how much you don't like sudden interruptions to routine."
"I… I can do it tomorrow? We're going sparring again."
"Is that a question or a statement?" Kawaguchi asked with a wry smile.
"Right. I'll... I will do it tomorrow."
Kawaguchi nodded, and moved on. "Anything else? You mentioned nightmares, last time."
"Um, yeah, that's actually been going better, recently. I mean, I still have nightmares, but not about the incident." I shrugged. "It's back to being eaten by sharks for me."
"Anything you want to talk about regarding them?"
I shrugged again. "It's just regular nightmares. They go as far back as I can remember."
"Alright. If you change your mind, or it starts to become a bigger issue, remember that you can talk to me about anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem."
"Yeah, I know. Thank you."
"It is my pleasure." She smiled. "If there is nothing else, I believe we're done for today. I'll see you next week."
As the screen winked into blackness, I sighed.
Instinct wanted to put off talking to Ryuko, but the rational mind told me Kawaguchi was right. I needed to address this.
Just… have a talk with my sister.
Easy, right?
-----
"You're being too predictable. If you want to win you have to vary your attacks more."
I breathed in heavily as I pulled myself on my feet, dust settling down around me. The midday sun glared overhead, parching the training grounds with its rays, but if there's one upside to being a dragon it's that you can't overheat, it's physically impossible. I could comfortably sit inside a forge if I felt like it.
"I thought you said to stick to my strengths?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Ryuko replied. Though she had had her face smashed into the dirt considerably smaller amount of times than I, her dragon form was covered in a layer of dust all the same, dulling the dark pink colouration of her scales.
"I said that in order to win you needed to identify your advantages over the opponent and leverage them. That doesn't mean using the same trick over and over again. Now, are you ready to go again?"
I nodded, and Ryuko lunged forward. I responded by moving to slam my shoulder into her but she twisted aside at the last moment, stepping to the side. She bit into my left forelimb, hard enough to get a grip but not so hard as to penetrate my scales, and tugged.
My footing lost, I staggered forward as Ryuko pulled back and spun around, her tail smashing into the side of my skull with such force that it slammed into the ground, creating a cloud of dust. I growled and swiped a claw at her, but like a striking cobra she simply whipped back away out of my reach.
"You're still trying to simply use your mass to push me around. It's not a bad idea necessarily, but if your opponent is expecting it they can catch you when you overextend."
I grunted as I waited for my breathing to steady down. We'd been doing this for over an hour now, and I'd still yet to win more than a single bout. Of course, Ryuko was a Pro-Hero, the current Number Ten nationwide, but she also held back a lot to keep it interesting. Sometimes she'd even invent handicaps for herself, like not being allowed to use a certain limb, so that she could train fighting debilitated.
"Again."
This time I sprung backwards, avoiding her snapping jaws as I turned around and beat my wings, taking to the air. Ryuko followed right on my heels but I spun back again and dived on her just as she had taken off.
It was a maneuver she'd taught me, but the problem was that she also knew how to counter it. Just before I made contact she flared her wings, arresting her forward momentum to dodge my charge at the last second.
Her claws locked into my flanks as I passed by turning the controlled dive into a chaotic tumble as we both wrestled to be on the top for the landing. Ryuko had the better starting position and raw skill, however, and I crashed onto the ground, carving a furrow into the dirt.
Again Ryuko sprung back, beating her wings to leap back and avoid retaliation. Even holding back, she was simply too fast for me. She would outmaneuver me in an aerial battle, and a head-on attack would be feinted and counterattacked.
I needed to fight her on my terms. But what were those? She held the advantage in all regards except sheer mass, and after I'd won a match by knocking her into the ground in a head-on collision she'd punished every subsequent attempt at repeating that same tactic. She wanted me to find new angles of attack.
I looked over my sister with an appraising eye. Ryuko's longer neck and forelimbs gave her a huge advantage in reach. So my best bet would be to force a close-quarters slugging match.
Easier said than done.
"Again."
This time I went on the offensive, swiping a claw at Ryuko. She avoided it, her jaws darting in to grab it and pull me off-balance but I was waiting for it, launching a headbutt at her. She flared her wings between us as a distraction, trying to avoid the attack, but I went low instead and hooked my forward horn under her armpit. I braced my forelimbs on the ground and heaved upwards, flipping Ryuko on her side. Before she could right herself I jumped on her back and managed to pin her in place.
Ryuko shook her head, amused, before lightly tapping on my forelimb on her back. I knew she could have broken out of the hold if she really wanted to, but that wasn't the point of this exercise.
"See?" She said as I stepped off of her, and she swept to her feet. "I knew you could do it. That was a good trick, with the horn."
I shrugged.
"Now, we'll see if you can repeat it."
-----
Despite my best efforts, the score would be left at two to I-didn't-even-keep-count. Eventually I was simply too tired to go on, and Ryuko decided we'd call it a day.
"You've been improving steadily." Ryuko said as she sprayed the dirt off of me with a pressure washer, having transformed into her human form. "You still need to work on your coordination, though. You have six limbs, a tail and your head, and you need to use them in concert. Not just one at a time, but all eight, acting in harmony."
"I know." I sighed, shaking myself to let the water reach into every crevice and nook. "Moving around is one thing, but in a fight it's entirely another. It's like... it works when I don't think about it, but as soon as I do it starts to fall apart."
"That's just how it is sometimes. Only practice will make it better."
"That's what you say about everything."
"Am I wrong?" Ryuko noted with a wry smile as she shut off the water spray.
I considered just how much time I spent training, and had to concede the point. I shook myself, water dripping off of my scales. With the heat emanating from within and the not-inconsiderable wind, I was dry again in short order.
"One last thing, you're being too skittish about using your wings for combat." Ryuko said as she walked over, having put away the sprayer in a small equipment locker by the side of the training field. "They're not so fragile that they're going to snap and break instantly; they have claws for a reason." She rapped her knuckles on the elongated phalanges for emphasis. "You can use them to grab, bludgeon or misdirect the enemy."
"Right." I flexed my wings, the membrane stretching between the thin "fingers". "Anything else?"
"No, that's it for criticisms. You are doing well when it comes to strength and speed training, better than I was at your age. I guess all those evenings spent frolicking and training in the forest have paid off." She smiled. "Now, let's go for ice cream!"
The boundaries of the training field were marked by wire fences to keep anyone from wandering in and getting hurt, but as we made our way out I noticed a cluster of children hanging out nearby, chattering amongst themselves. From what I could make out, they'd been watching our spar from a distance. Ryuko noticed my ears twitching in their direction, and glanced at them.
"That's just the local kids, they sometimes come out to watch." She noted. "Sometimes they even gather the courage to ask for autographs, but I think you've intimidated them."
I glanced at her. "Do you… ever get worried that somebody is going to spy on your training? I mean like a villain or something?"
"The thought did pop into my head, but ultimately what can be done? Indoors facilities of that size don't come cheap. It boggles the mind how UA can afford so many."
"Hm." I grunted noncommittally.
After that we fell into a silence. Ryuko took the lead, making her way through the park as I followed couple steps behind her. There had been a quiet, unspoken agreement between us to never use the path I'd taken two years ago, instead taking a route counterclockwise around the city. It was even longer, but it wasn't like we were in a hurry.
We gathered no small amount of stares as we walked by: Ryuko was famous nationwide, and even in a Post-Quirk society a dragon is not a usual sight for most people. It wasn't unheard of, but the vast majority of Mutation-type Quirks did not create such divergent body types, still tending towards the basic humanoid frame.
After the incident, two years ago, there had been a brief bit of legal uncertainty over the status of my Quirk. I was technically always using my Quirk, so did that make simply stepping into public areas illegal? The law made an exception to Mutant-type Quirks due to their permanent nature, but mine was classified as Transformation.
In a way I had been fortunate for the Villain Factory incident to have happened as it did and when it did, because these same questions had been asked already. The gears of the legislature grind slowly, but with the earlier incident having highlighted the problem they were already moving by the time I became stuck in my dragon form. The law was amended to clarify the legal status of Quirks that technically belonged to one category but for whatever reason exhibited traits of another.
That was one hurdle I didn't have to concern myself with; I could go where I wanted. Where I could fit, at any rate.
We rounded out another corner, coming to a wide open field. Several families were spending their saturday outside, and children were scampering around the area. A parking lot was located on the other end of the field alongside a small shack for park keepers equipment, with an ice cream stand located in between them.
"I'll wait here." I told Ryuko as I laid down near the treeline, curling my tail around myself.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?"
"And melt everyone's ice creams? I'd rather not." The heat wasn't that bad unless I got angry, but I'd rather not risk it.
"Alright. Vanilla sandwich?"
"Yes, the usual please."
After Ryuko left I closed my eyes, content to bask in the sunlight and listen in on the sounds of the park. The wind whistling in the trees, children laughing, leaves rustling...
"Look Mom, a dragon!" The excited voice called out right next to me.
"Hiroko, it's rude to point." She said. "He's having a nap."
"It's alright." I said, cracking an eye open. A young girl of maybe five years was pointing at me, bouncing up and down while who I assumed to be her mother held her hand. She startled at my voice, looking up at me, but the kid, Hiroko, slipped out of her grip and ran over to my side, chattering excitedly.
"Are you really a dragon? Is that your Quirk? My Mom says I can't use my Quirk outside the house."
"Well, I can't turn it off. I'm just a dragon."
"That's so cool!" She leaned in closer, putting a hand on my lower-left fang, her tiny fingers unable to wrap around the large tooth. "They're so big!"
At that point her mother intervened, lifting Hiroko under her arms and off of me.
"Hiroko! You can't just do that to anyone you meet!" She admonished the girl, before turning to me. "I'm terribly sorry about this."
"It's okay." It was maybe a little rude, but I didn't mind.
"Come on Hiroko, we have to go." She lifted the kid over her shoulder, turning away.
"Bye Mr. Dragon!" She called out over her mother's shoulder, waving a hand.
Well. That was cute.
Just as they were walking away Ryuko returned, a cone in one hand and two large ice cream sandwiches in the other.
"I saw you met your first fan?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't think I don't recall the aquarium. I long for the day to come when your merchandise hits the shelves. Then I can pay you back for the last seven years." She snorted.
"Can we just eat the ice cream?" It was starting to melt, from the combination of the midday sun overhead and simply being near me.
Ryuko smiled, and then tossed one of the ice cream sandwiches up towards my head.
"Open wide."
There was a loud chomp as my jaws snapped shut, the ice cream beginning to melt near instantly in my mouth. The semi-liquid mass dripped down my throat, filling it with the taste of sweetness.
Ryuko took a bite out of her cone, before tossing out the second sandwich that disappeared down my maw just the same as the first.
As we ate, yesterday's conversation with Dr. Kawaguchi returned to me. Now was the perfect opportunity.
But what if it broke down in an argument? We were having a good time. I didn't want to tarnish that.
But I also thought of what Kawaguchi had said. That you can't leave things to fester.
Still I hesitated.
Just do it, you coward.
"Ryuko?"
"Hm?" She inclined her head, wiping off a bit of ice cream.
"You, uh… you know I don't blame you for any of this? Right?"
Ryuko stopped like she'd been suddenly struck.
"Because I know I might've given the impression I did, at the hospital. But, um, you weren't at fault. You couldn't have known what would happen."
"'Zaki, no, I-" Ryuko started, but I went on, now that I'd started speaking.
"And even if you were, I forgive you. So, um, I'm sorry for getting angry. At the hospital. And giving the impression it was your fault."
Suddenly there were a pair of warm hands wrapped around my neck, even if Ryuko couldn't quite reach all the way.
"I forgive you. And I'm sorry too."
We were silent for a moment, before she continued.
"I'm sorry for going behind your back, and not hearing you out. I just… sometimes it's easy to forget how mature you can be. So I'm sorry. I promise not to... go around you like that in the future."
Ryuko relaxed her hold around my neck, barking out a sad laugh.
"And I'm sorry that you had to be the one to bring this up. Really, as the older sibling, it should have been my responsibility. But I… I guess I was doing the same mistake all over, wasn't I? Avoiding the problem in the hopes that it'll go away."
"I forgive you for that, too." I said, pressing my head against her side. "I probably wouldn't have done it unless my therapist hadn't prodded me into it."
"Even so, I know it doesn't come easy for you." Ryuko said.
"I mean, it's… it's not like my life has been ruined." I began. "I can still do things, I can still… accomplish my dreams. I can still become a Hero. My life is not defined by my ability to fit through a regular door, or take a shower, or go to a movie theater. I can live with it."
"But you shouldn't have to." Ryuko looked melancholic.
"Life isn't always fair."
Ryuko sighed. "You know, I'll make you a deal. If I'm not allowed to feel responsible for what happened to you, you're not allowed to complain when I get you something to help you deal with it."
"You really don't need to spend so much money on me."
"Remember when we talked about my motivations to become a Hero? What's the point of having all of this money if I can't use it to spoil my only sister?"
I sighed. "You know, you're not being a very good dragon. Spending your hoard so easily."
"Well I haven't seen you kidnap any maidens either." Ryuko laughed. "So I don't think you have room to talk."
-----
We eventually continued our way home, walking a meandering path along the parks and the streets, just talking and joking with one another. There was no elephant in the room, no awkwardness, just two siblings spending time together.
"And I kid you not, Gang Orca just walks up to him, looks down, and smiles at the guy. He never showed up to another PR event again."
I snorted. "Yeah, he's kind of like that, if you piss him off. Otherwise he's actually pretty nice."
"Once you get past the exterior, eh?"
"Shut up."
It was actually a real shame that I'd had to stop attending Gang Orca's lessons, I had gotten to like them a lot. However, the simple reality was that there were no entrances large enough to admit me to the swimming pool area, and it would have been wholly unreasonable to expect them to work around it just for my sake.
The streets were bustling with people as we finally arrived at our destination, but closer to home we were a more known sight, and so the staring wasn't so bad.
The front door was the other entrance to the house which had been modified to accommodate me. I could fit into most rooms, as long as the furniture wasn't too clustered and I minded my head, but the big problem was regular-sized doors. Far too narrow.
As soon the door closed behind us, Mom called out from the kitchen.
"Ryuuzaki! You've got mail!"
Everything stopped. I didn't dare to breathe.
"Is it from-"
"Yes. Yes it is."
Ryuko was off like a rocket, and I followed in her wake as fast as I could, mindful of my tail and wings, trying to avoid knocking anything over.
There was an envelope on the kitchen table, marked with the white and black logo of UA High School.
"Can I?" Ryuko asked, a knife in her hand.
"Sure." I didn't trust my claws with such fine manipulation, especially not at the moment. She cut the envelope open, and retrieved a small letter within, placing it on the table for me to read.
It was handwritten, neat and orderly text containing a lot of unimportant words that I skimmed over, until my eyes reached the part that I was looking for, the very last sentence.
Therefore, we cordially invite you to attend the UA Academy's Recommended Students Entrance Exam at the 19th of February 2173.
The day before the exam, Ryuko sat down with me in the kitchen.
"Tomorrow's the big day. How are you feeling?"
"Honestly?" I responded, nervously fidgeting with my tail. "I'm terrified out of my wits. I'm going to be measured against the elite of the elite."
"No more elite than you. Remember, you are as good as anyone else in there. I would not have given the recommendation if I hadn't thought you had everything it takes to succeed."
"Did you take the recommended student exam?" It had been… ten years ago, now. Had it really been that long?
"Who would've recommended me? Ryuo?" Ryuko smiled bitterly. "No, I took the regular exam. But I knew people who did, and witnessed it happen, in my later years."
"So how does it differ from the standard test everyone gets?" I tilted my head in curiosity.
"The test itself has three sections. The written test, the practical test, and an interview. The main difference is… well, the regular exams are graded on a direct, linear points system. You receive points based on getting the right answers in the written exam, and by accomplishing the objectives of the practical exam. They change it every year to keep people from guessing; when I took it it was about who could save the largest amount of rescue dummies during a simulated villain attack. One point per dummy, and the ones who got in are the thirty-six with the most points. Sounds simple, right?"
I nodded, hesitantly. Clearly there was more to it than that.
"Not so for the recommended students test. The regular exam measures your academic success and physical ability, but for the recommended students, those capabilities are not in question. After all, that is the point of the recommendation: the school must vouch for your grades, and a licensed Pro-Hero must vouch for your combat abilities, in order for you to qualify for the recommended student program."
I nodded again. Even though I was homeschooled, I still had to take exams to track my progress, and I had obtained a voucher from the Ministry of Education regarding my grades to send to UA.
"So instead, the principal follows and analyzes the examinees over the course of the exam, and picks out who he wants at his own discretion rather than automatically awarding the spot to those who had the highest mechanical performance. It's not meant to be a direct comparison of strength and ability, but rather who he judges to have the greatest potential."
"...So what's the point of the test other than the interview…? I mean if it's not going to measure anything?"
"In part it's because that's what people expect, and they still provide insight into the contenders, allowing the principal to examine them in action."
"Right…" So now I couldn't even trust in the results of my own performance, I had to hope that the impression I made on some complete stranger was good enough to qualify.
"Hey." Ryuko said, noticing my ears drooping. "As long as you're honest and forthright, I have no doubt that you'll get in. And even if they don't see your real potential, then all the worse for them because I know you can breeze through the regular exam."
"Wait. You can still take the regular exam even if you don't get in via the recommendation exam?"
"Of course you can. There's only four spots in the recommended student program, it would be a pointless waste to ban applicants who clearly had a great deal of potential, even if they didn't make the final cut."
"...Does that happen? I mean, wouldn't the regular exam be dominated by failed recommended students?"
"It does, just not that often. All the top schools compete for recommended students, and yeah, UA is the top choice, but for most of those people if it comes down to being a regular student there or a recommended spot in Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, Seiai or the like, they'll pick the latter."
But thanks to my circumstances, I specifically wanted to go to UA, because despite their low admission rate they were renowned for their ability and willingness to accommodate to the students who did get in.
"You're going to be alright." Ryuko went on, a playful smile entering her features. "And remember, if nothing else, beat Endeavour's kid. I'm sick and tired of him crowing about his son like he's the best thing since sliced bread at every PR event."
"And you're certain he was the only one doing the crowing?"
"Obviously." Ryuko grinned. "See, the difference is, when I do it, it's just a statement of fact."
-----
The main building of UA Academy towered before me, dwarfing even me with its immensity. The pathway through the campus was clearly marked with signs and arrows, leaving no room for confusion as to where to go.
I yawned, my jaws stretching wide as I felt my eyelids droop- no matter how hard I'd tried, sleep had been hard in the coming. On top of simple anxiety keeping me awake at night, when I did manage to fall asleep mixed in with the usual fare of being eaten by sharks, chased by sharks and stranded on the open water with sharks (sometimes substituted for crocodiles, orcas, piranhas, barracudas, etc) had been a mixture of scenarios ranging from flunking the exam to simply being laughed out of UA. Nothing rational, but my subconscious mind was merciless.
Regardless, I needed to do this. I could do this.
I pushed onwards, claws clicking on the concrete pathway. The campus was quiet on a saturday, the majority of the students at home.
The doors themselves were a trio of towering wooden edifices: probably intimidating for most, but also a necessity, for people like me. They swung open as motion sensors detected my approach, admitting me into the entrance hall.
Please await the beginning of the entrance exam here, a large sign spelled out. I glanced around- maybe four dozen teenagers around my age were lounging around the lobby, waiting. A low murmur was audible in the hall as I made my way towards an empty spot, my sharp ears picking up on the tense conversations around the room as people sized up their competition. Apparently my appearance was drawing quite a bit of attention.
I set myself down to on the floor, trying my best to ignore the chatter, and observe the room. There were a couple of other examinees I recognized: there was Todoroki, his white and red hair impossible to miss. I wondered if that was natural? He'd also gained a large patch of burnt skin on his face since the last time I'd seen him in person, ten years ago.
For an instant I considered going over to talk to him, but then squashed it as the stupid idea it was. He didn't look like he was in the mood for small talk, and truth be told, neither was I.
"A dragon?! UA really is the most heated high school in the country!"
The source of the disturbance was a boy in a blue tracksuit who'd just arrived through the front doors, his black hair cut in a short, military style buzz. He was the second tallest person present after myself, but I had no idea how tall that actually made him- everybody looked short from my perspective.
"Are you by any chance related to the Number Ten Hero Ryukyu?!" He shouted as he made his way towards where I'd laid down. Did he really not have any concept of indoor volume?
"...She is my sister." I replied curtly, noting that many of the other examinees were turning towards us to see what the disturbance was about.
"Alright! I love her! The Dragon Hero is burning hot!"
"...Did you just call my sister hot?"
"Yeah! She's such a passionate Hero, her hot spirit is like a roaring inferno!"
...Was he leading me on?
People like this didn't actually exist, did they?
"I see you're following in her footsteps!" He stood ramrod straight, before bowing low. "I love it!"
...Honestly I had zero idea how to respond to that. Thankfully I was spared having to do so by the doors to entrance hall being thrown open.
"Gather around everyone! It's time to begin the Recommended Students Exam!"
The high-pitched shout caused a jolt of pain in my ears as a man with a massive spike of blonde hair jutting from his head entered the room, wearing a padded black jacket.
"My name is Present Mic, and I will be taking things from here! Everyone, line up and take a number card from the pile!"
He laid a stack of large, white signs on a table, each with a number written on it. Grateful for the distraction I began making my way over and one by one each examinee took one from the pile. There was a sticker in the back, and most people attached it to the front of their shirt- I just slapped the number 07 on my chest scales. That's one upside to having reduced tactile sensation.
"Everybody ready?!" Mic did a quick headcount, and seemingly satisfied, lead us down the hallways to a large lecture hall filled with desks laid out in orderly rows. On each one rested a small tablet, or as in the case of one in the far end of the room, a particularly large tablet with a stack of cushions instead of a chair, as I'd requested in my application.
"The written exam begins now!"
-----
"The written test is now over!" Present Mic shouted as we exited the classroom, sending a throb of pain through my ears once again.
Ryuko had been right, it wasn't really so much a test of academics, but a more abstract test of the mind and personality. Which also made it so that I had zero idea about how well I'd done.
"Next up is the practical examination! And after that the interview!" Present Mic continued. "For the practical, we'll be judging you six at a time! We'll be starting with the numbers 06, 31, 12, 41, 16, and 23! Follow me to the Exam Field!"
As the those carrying the numbers he called out filed out to follow Mic, Todoroki and the buzz-cut boy amongst them, the rest of us dispersed around the entrance hall once more to await our turn.
This time nobody approached me, and I drifted off to my own thoughts.
Eventually the first round of examinees returned from the practical exam, as Present Mic called out another set of numbers.
"42, 11, 01, 34, 14 and 37! You're up!"
The students in question left with Mic, while the returnees replaced them. I noticed buzz-cut was glowering at Todoroki- if he'd tried the same approach as he'd given to me, I could see how things had probably gone.
However, as soon as he spotted me his previous enthusiasm seemed to flow back to him, and he marched over to where I'd been lying down.
"Allow me to-" He began, standing ramrod straight, hands clasped at his sides, before bowing forward so hard his head impacted the floor. "-APOLOGIZE!"
Utterly bewildered, I had no chance to speak out before he went on, forehead held to the floor.
"Over the course of the written exam, I came to realize I had unintentionally given you insult! I had spoken in crude form of your sister, and so I must apologize! My conduct and lack of discretion were simply unbecoming of a future Hero!"
"It's… alright?" If he was trying to fake it, he probably would've tried playing a more… orthodox approach. So in a way, his bizarre enthusiasm actually made him seem more sincere. "...I accept your apology."
"Thank you! My name is Inasa Yoarashi! I look forward becoming a Hero alongside you at this fine Academy!"
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma." I replied, once again wondering if this guy had an off-switch or something. "Bold of you to assume we'll both be getting in."
"I am nothing if not bold! I love boldness! It is the hallmark of a passionate Hero!"
I guess he just was… like that. But still… it was actually fairly nice. That childlike enthusiasm was contagious, almost… innocent, in a way.
"I saw you giving the stinky eye to Todoroki over there." I noted, glancing over at the split-haired teenager busy brooding on the other side of the room. "Did he give you the cold shoulder or something?"
"Cold is certainly one way to describe it." He noted, his voice turning sour. "He has the same eyes as his father. Even if he graduates, he will not become a Hero."
"...Don't you think that's a little harsh of a judgement to make this early? Three years is a long time, and people change."
"Maybe. But I doubt it."
For a moment there was an awkward silence, stretching on for an uncomfortable length. This was exactly why I'd made friends with Yui, all those years ago. I never know what to say.
"...So what's your Quirk?"
It was the best I could come up with, but it seemed to re-ignite his enthusiasm, and he launched into a bombastic monologue about the hot spirit of heroism intersped with the occasional actual mention of his Quirk, some sort of aerokinetic ability.
After that the conversation turned to other topics, consisting of him chattering endlessly about whatever he liked (which seemed to be absolutely anything and everything, except the Todorokis) whilst I offered vague responses and the occasional comment. Sometimes I'd tune him out for a moment only to realize he was quite capable of carrying the conversation entirely on his lonesome, seemingly without even noticing. Eventually, however, his monologue was interrupted by the sound of the door being slammed open.
"39, 30, 45, 18, 07 and 15! It's your turn in the spotlight!"
"That's you!" He shouted, clapping a hand to my shoulder, or as close to it as he could reach. "Show them your passion!"
"...I will?"
Uncurling myself from my position on the floor, I pulled myself up to follow Mic. Five others followed, two girls and three boys. I watched my competition as Mic lead us out the front door and through the campus- I had no idea what the test involved, and it paid to be prepared if it involved direct competition.
The most striking was a six-armed arachnid mutant, his body covered in light fur and his face replaced by that of a tarantula, mandibles clicking in anticipation.
The other two boys were more plain in comparison, the first a blonde walking with confident stride, the other a dark-haired boy walking in a slouch, constantly seeming to jitter and twitch.
The first girl had her black hair tied to a high ponytail, looking a little bit out of place in her tracksuit as she sent glances in the direction of the rest of us.
The other girl wore her shoulder-length dark green hair open, raw confidence seeping into her every movement and expression. She had that cat-like way of walking, like she owned the place and the rest of us just hadn't realized it yet.
Just as I watched them, I saw that they in turn studied me. What they found, I had no idea.
We made our way across the paved pathways in tense, anticipatory silence. Present Mic tried to fill the air with chatter, something about his radio show, but nobody was listening. Credit to him, he didn't let that stop him.
Eventually he brought us to one of the massive training areas in the outskirts of the campus, a massive concrete structure literally kilometers across. I could barely spot the transparent dome covering the roof of the exam site. It boggled the mind how they could afford all of it.
Mic lead us to the massive gates which opened of their own accord, granting us access to a large antechamber, a clearly marked starting line drawn across the floor and a gate lined with green and red lights leading further into the arena.
"The practical test is a three-kilometer race! In order to pass, you must reach the other end of the training grounds!"
Past the gate the arena seemed to be filled with a wide variety of terrain: I could see huge rocky cliffs, tightropes and log platforms suspended over chasms, streets covered with ice or openings that periodically belched jets of fire, narrow and slanted pathways, a large lake, all topped off with what looked to be a medieval castle of some sort in the distance.
"However, it is not a race that can be completed simply by running!" Present Mic went on. "Use your Quirks to get past the obstacles if you want to have any hope of finishing!" He whirled around to face us, hands held open. "Any questions?!"
The brown-haired guy held his hand up immediately. "Is using Quirks on other examinees permitted?"
"Nope! Your performance is judged individually, and getting frisky wouldn't just be unsporting, it'll deduct from your score! Anything else?"
We looked at one another, and as nobody spoke up, he went on.
"Now, take your positions on the starting line! When the light goes to green, it's go time!"
I moved to the starting line, the thud of my heavy steps echoing in the chamber, and the others followed.
"Get ready! And always remember, Plus Ultra!"
As soon as the lights on the gate blinked green I sprung forward at a run, taking a couple of bounding leaps forward through the gate before launching myself into the air with a heavy beat of my wings.
I rapidly gained altitude, raising over the circular arena, studying the terrain laid out before me. Flying high would allow me to bypass the obstacles along the way which, while perhaps boring, seemed to be the most practical solution.
Still, a bit of doubt wracked me. The purpose of the recommended student exam was not to merely measure raw ability, but to show off one's talents as a whole. But at the same time, deliberately handicapping myself from flight when it hadn't been forbidden hardly seemed like a heroic quality either.
Glancing down, I saw the other examinees had began their journey through the arena. One of them- the brown haired boy judging by his absence- had seemingly transformed into a two-legged, ostrich-like reptile of some sort- if I hadn't completely forgotten my dinosaur books, a Gallimimus. He had chosen to take to the streets, and was in the process of navigating past the fire geysirs dotting the road.
The ponytail girl had chosen the same route, having somehow produced a scooter out of nowhere. She was neck and neck with dinosaur boy, swerving past obstacles as they went. The arachnid boy was scrambling up the side of a sheer cliff face, and the blonde boy was doing the same with the assistance of tendrils of water spouting from the nearby lake.
The last of them, the green-haired girl, had apparently chosen to follow me. Her body had split into a half a dozen pieces, her head, arms, legs and parts of the torso all rocketing through the air below me in a loose cloud.
She saw me watching, smirking confidently as her remaining arm wiggled free of her sleeve, a black void where the flesh should've connected, suddenly moving noticeably faster.
Interesting, but it didn't really matter. Like Mic had said, the objective was just to get to the finish line as fast as possible. Other examinees didn't factor into it.
I turned my attention back to my own progress, just when it happened. Dozens of vents, hidden around the arena, suddenly began to spew out thick clouds of mist, a nigh-impenetrable fog suddenly descending upon the arena.
It seemed like I shouldn't have underestimated UA- of course they would be prepared for flight-capable Quirks, with appropriate obstacles. With visibility dropping to near zero I had to spread my wings to slow down and descend towards the ground level. I could have tried to guess the position of the finish line but that was the first thing they had taught in flight lessons, never ever fly without a reference point. Without instruments or visual contact, you could think you're holding the same bearing and altitude only to end up in a wildly different direction.
Soon enough the ground came visible again, and I slammed down into stone floor as I wracked my brain for the right directions, cursing my lack of foresight in not memorizing the layout of the arena. Stupid, stupid. Worrying about irrelevant things rather than putting my head in the game.
Still, I had to have cleared at least half of the arena by now, so I was in a good position. The mist seemed to actually be thinner near the ground, to the point that somebody smaller or more maneuverable than I probably could've maintained low-level flight. I had no idea how it was even possible to get gas to behave that way, but UA must've had their ways. I could see the logic in it: if they did nothing the obstacle course would be redundant for fliers, but totally banning or impeding flight totally would unduly restrict them. This way they could let them use their Quirks, before forcing them to deal with the rapidly changing circumstances.
Now I just needed to concentrate, before the lead I'd built up slipped away.
I could see the castle wall some distance away in front of me, while the faint scent of burning gas was wafting from the opposite direction, alongside the sound of an engine running, which meant the fire traps were that way.
So extrapolating my position from that, the direction I needed to go was-
Forward.
I took off like an arrow, clawed forelimbs digging into the ground as I galloped onward. The castle wall loomed before me, an imposing edifice of hewn stone. I didn't have the time to go over it.
I'd lost too much time already.
I accelerated instead, setting my head down as Dad had taught me.
Thousands of kilograms of angry dragon impacted horn-first into roughly a meter-thick structure of stone and mortar.
The stone gave way first.
There was a noise like the strike of thunder as the wall shattered, a shockwave spreading out from the point of impact, stone cracking and buckling. I smashed through to the other side like a cannonball, a cloud of dust and stone fragments exploding around me. Stumbling slightly, I used my wings as a third pair of limbs to stabilize my footing as I accelerated again.
Behind me the wall creaked and groaned, and from the corner of my eye I could see large parts falling off as structural integrity failed, chunks of masonry suddenly losing their supporting sections. But I paid it little heed, continuing onward as fast as I could manage.
Up ahead I could feel the air getting colder, which meant that I was getting closer to the frozen area. The testing site was circular, which meant that the other paths would be converging as we approached the finish line, and soon enough I could hear the sound of an engine approaching.
I could see the headlight of a motorcycle turning around a corner just as the frozen area became visible, the pathway covered in ice, slick and smooth like a mirror's surface.
It seemed like ponytail girl had managed to pull ahead of the dinosaur boy, who wasn't visible yet but I could hear his exhausted breathing in the fog. I still had a lead on them but it was shrinking by the moment the motorcycle revved up and accelerated: I was a good runner, but I wasn't going to overtake one in a straight line.
I reached the beginning of the frozen portion, my claws digging into the ice.
Just concentrate on the run, don't think about the others. Whoever goes over the finish line first isn't the deciding factor.
I slipped and slid my way forwards, my claws scraping long marks into the frozen pavement. The layer of ice was too thin to get a proper grip on, and trying to pierce into the pavement below would've forced me to slow down too much. I used my heavy tail as a counterweight whenever I started to slip in an effort to maintain my balance, but it wasn't good enough. I was wasting time.
The motorcycle was gaining on me, even as I tried to pay it little heed. Just focus.
The fog was starting to clear a little, and I could tell we were approaching the finish line. Suddenly a cluster of objects emerged from the fog above me- the green-haired girl. She turned around to look down at me, giving me a wink and the waggle of a disembodied finger.
I could feel frustration bubbling in my chest, no matter that we weren't supposed to be in a direct competition. The fog was still thick enough that I couldn't fly properly, but maybe…
Tensing my rear limbs for a mighty leap I took to the air, but instead of true flight I half-glided over the frozen pavement. With my claws almost scraping the ground I didn't have the room to make full use of my wings, but it was faster than going on foot.
The motorcycle was running into the same problems I had, the tires skidding on the ice, and I could hear dinosaur boy not too far behind.
Green-hair was closer than I would've liked but the glide trick had bought me some time. Flying so close to the ground felt awkward and clumsy, but if I went any higher I risked getting lost. So I settled for craning my neck as far as it could go and trying not to hit the ground with my wings.
Still, it was working.
Green-hair seemed frustrated at the turn of events, splitting into yet more parts, but she seemed to have hit her limit: she couldn't cut off more parts of her torso without starting to lose clothing, and there seemed to be a maximum number of times she could split her other pieces into ever smaller chunks.
Barely before I could even realize the finish line emerged from the fog, whipping by underneath me in a flash. I spread my wings wide, air braking rapidly to avoid smashing into the opposite wall of the test site.
"And number seven takes the first spot!" Present Mic shouted, holding up a stop-watch. "Fifteen isn't far behind, though!"
Green-hair rocketed over the finish line just as I managed to bleed off my momentum, claws scraping on the concrete. Her landing was much smoother, easily arresting her velocity and landing on her feet, assembling herself back together like a puzzle box.
The motorcycle girl crossed the line mere moments late with dinosaur boy- definitely a Gallimimus- hot on her heels.
"Thirty and forty-five as well! What a super-tight race!"
As the two of them decelerated green-hair walked over, the frustration I'd seen earlier had been wiped off, replaced by the same easy confidence I'd seen earlier.
"That was a close one. You win this time, but next one's going to be mine. Watch me!"
"...Okay."
Seemingly satisfied she turned away, and I laid down to wait for my breathing to slow. Physically I'd had worse, but nothing can quite compare to the excitement and anxiety of having your entire future on the line.
Ponytail and green-hair exchanged a few words in low voices but for the most part we waited in silence, too exhausted for small talk, until few minutes later the hydrokinetic and the arachnid made their way across the finish line.
As we returned to the waiting area buzz-cut was nowhere to be seen, alongside a few others. Soon after I laid down to wait a large man with canid features wearing what seemed to be muzzle on his face arrived through another door, calling another examinee to the interview.
There was nothing to do now save to wait and try to calm my nerves. I'd finished the race first of my group, but this damn test didn't even let me take comfort in that. I curled my tail around myself, doing my best not to fall asleep.
Eventually I was the only one left in the entrance hall, and soon enough the dog-person arrived to call me in.
He lead me into the interviewing room, a bland meeting room dominated by a desk with a chair on either side. The unoccupied one was, surprisingly enough, actually one I could sit on. Though technically it was more of a couch, a long eight-legged one I could lay down on length-wise.
However the chair, nice as it was, was not the most interesting thing to note about the room. That title belonged to the occupant of the other chair, on the opposite side.
A rat.
The principal of UA was a rat. A rat in a suit, bigger than normal and with weird paw things but still. Smelled like a rat, looked like a rat, yeah, I was pretty sure he was a rat.
A fucking rat.
"No, this is not a joke, my dear." A pleasant, chipper voice rang out. "You are in the correct room."
Was I that obvious?
"Yes." The principal said again. "And no, I'm not reading your mind."
"Then how-"
"Please, allow me to explain." The principal said, taking a sip from his teacup. "My Quirk, High Specs, grants me intelligence above that of a human. You are not used to most people being able to read your body language and facial expressions very well, correct?"
I could only nod.
"The combination of human instinct and inhuman body might fool most people, but not I." He straightened his tie, before offering me his hand. "But I digress. Principal Nedzu, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear."
I looked down at the proffered limb, staring for a moment before awkwardly reaching to shake it with my own, just the claws alone being larger than Nedzu's entire arm.
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma."
"Sit down, sit down, you must be exhausted."
Physically not that much, but mentally god yes. I climbed onto the chair, carefully testing if it could hold my weight before settling in.
"Ah. Nervous?" He asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "Don't be. I've been following your progress, like I have everyone's, and you've performed exceptionally in the previous tests."
"And yet they're the ones with the least weight towards the end result, are they not?"
"Quite so, quite so. Well then, shall we begin?"
"...I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Then we shall tarry no longer. I have read your files, reviewed your answers to the written test and analyzed your actions in the practical. I am, therefore, almost ready to make my judgement. However, there is one question I feel like I must ask first." Nedzu set his paws on the table, steepling them in a very human-like gesture. "What is your reason for becoming a Hero?"
Wow. Straight to the point, huh.
"You said reason. Can I give you my reasons? I'm not sure I can compress it to a single one."
"Of course! Take as much time as you want, my dear."
"Alright. I guess my first reason is that… that I enjoy using my Quirk, and because I think I'd be good at it. I, um, I actually considered abandoning this path when I realized that, because it didn't feel… it didn't feel like a sufficiently heroic motivation." My tail twitched slightly, but I brought it to wrap around the legs of the chair in an.effort to keep it still. "...But, my sister, Ryukyu I assume you know, she talked me out of it. She taught me… that I shouldn't feel ashamed of that. That I should turn that into a source of strength."
"I see." Nedzu smiled. "She always had that ability to bring comfort to those around her, even in her time with us. I am glad to see she has gone one to be a great hero, both in public and private."
"Yeah... that's actually my second reason. I… want to follow in my sister's footsteps." I fidgeted in place, a little embarrassed to voice the thought aloud to the principal, but Ryuko had herself told me to be honest. "We don't always get along, and we aren't always honest with each other, but… she's done so much to help me… she's the best sister I could've asked for. So… I want her to be proud of me. I... want to be like her."
"You have every reason to." Nedzu nodded. "Is that it?"
"No, I... do have one more. I- I assume you know about the, um, incident from two years ago?"
"It was brought to our attention, yes." Nedzu answered, his expression dark.
"I… I came so close to dying there. I… don't really know how I managed not to. But whatever it was, regardless of how it happened, I did live. And, I felt like I'd been given another chance." A third one, at that. "Most people, in that situation, don't get one. Most people don't have a Quirk that could allow them to survive that experience, even as I am. So I guess what I'm saying is… I feel like I should put my life to good use. So that nobody else has to go through what I did."
I laid back down on my seat, slowly exhaling through my nostrils. That had sounded so much better in my head. Nedzu was just looking at me, his expression giving away nothing. He probably thought it was stupid. Hell, it was pretty stupid. Why did I even both-
"Well then." Nedzu began speaking, interrupting my thoughts. "We usually do the announcement via mail, but I do not believe there is any harm in breaking from tradition, as you are the last interviewee and I have made the final decision."
I couldn't help the twitch of my ears, or the colony of butterflies in my stomach as Nedzu drew out the announcement.
"You were already close to the top of the list, but first I wanted to ascertain whether your motivation stemmed from feeling locked into this career because of your circumstances, that you wanted to become a Pro-Hero because it was the only thing you could do. I can safely say you've passed that test with full marks."
Oh.
That- I didn't even- Does that mean-
"It is therefore my pleasure to welcome you to the Heroics Department of UA High School."
He folded his paws again as he went on, his expression like he had said this same thing many, many times before, without ever getting tired of it.
As many of our readers are surely aware, the world-famous entrance exams of UA High School's Heroics Department finished just last week, and the results have now become public. These aspiring young heroes have taken their first steps on a long and arduous road, but we here at Heroes Daily are confident that one day we will be seeing many of them in the pages of this very publication.
Juzo Honenuki 51/29
Katsuki Bakugo 77/0
Eijiro Kirishima 39/35
Ochaco Uraraka 28/45
Ibara Shiozaki 36/32
Itsuka Kendo 25/40
Tenya Iida 52/9
Izuku Midoriya 0/60
Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu 49/10
Fumikage Tokoyami 47/10
Yosetsu Awase 50/6
Jurota Shishida 47/5
Manga Fukudashi 37/16
Neito Monoma 52/1
Denki Kaminari 42/9
Rikido Sato 46/5
Yuga Aoyama 40/10
Hanta Sero 44/6
Mina Ashido 36/13
Yui Kodai 41/8
Sen Kaibara 20/28
Kyoka Jiro 41/7
Setsuna Tokage 19/28
Shihai Kuroiro 30/17
Mezo Shouji 25/21
Hiryu Rin 30/16
Mashirao Ojiro 30/15
Tsuyu Asui 10/34
Pony Tsunotori 15/29
Kosei Tsubaraba 15/29
Kojiro Bondo 39/4
Reiko Yanagi 21/20
Toru Hagakure 21/19
Kinoko Komori 28/12
Minoru Mineta 32/8
Koji Koda 17/22
Furthermore the results of the notoriously elusive recommended student exam have also arrived, showing a selection from the most famous Pro-Hero families across Japan.
Inasa Yoarashi
Ryuuzaki Tatsuma
Shouto Todoroki
Momo Yaoyorozu
Sekijiro Kan lowered the newspaper to take a sip of his coffee. The teachers' office was quiet, with only Aizawa's snoring in the background. The two of them had gotten here early, since they were about to buried under the paperwork of preparing for the arrival of forty new students in only a little over a month.
After decades of acting as the second-in-command of the Endeavour Hero Agency, yesterday the Pro-Hero Ryuhachi announced that he would departing before the end of the month to form his own agency. Though the two Heroes acted cordial in a joint press conference, our inside sources speak of a growing interpersonal rift years in the making and irreconcilable differences of opinion at the background of this event. For more on this….
Ah, with real news done it was back to gossip. Shaking his head, Kan set the paper aside and returned to the computer in front of him, the screen showing twenty files set in numerical order.
Before he could start work, however, his phone began vibrating in his pocket. Flipping it open, he glanced at Aizawa, sound asleep on the opposite desk, before thumbing the green icon.
"Vlad King here. What do you need, Nedzu?"
"Good morning!" The principal replied in a cheerful tone. "Have you read the files I sent you yet?"
"I was just about to start."
"Be sure to read up on number nineteen."
Kan glanced at the screen, finding the name of the file in question. "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma? Why, has something come up?"
"In a sense. She and her father are coming over in, oh, three hours, to discuss special accommodations. I promised her future homeroom teacher would be there, so don't be late!"
"Hm. A bit of a short notice, but manageable. I'll be there."
"That's all!"
As the call disconnected Kan returned his attention to the computer screen, bringing up file #19.
Name: Ryuuzaki Tatsuma
Date of Birth: 29.9.2157
Quirk: Horned Dragon (Quirk Registry: 567129075496)
Quirk Type: Transformation
Quirk Classification: Inherited Merger
His eyes skimmed over the text, summarizing it in his head.
Younger sister of Ryukyu, niece of Ryuhachi. Recommendation from the former, passed the test with full marks from Nedzu. Grades were excellent, showing near-perfect performance in most academic subjects up to two years ago, experiencing a notable slump before beginning a slow climb back upwards. Only deficiencies were in japanese, and physical education scores which were unlisted for the last two years as well.
Hm. Odd.
Psychiatric history and personality analysis indicated she was a hard worker and intelligent, suspecting that she'd been reading ahead in material in private, but also antisocial and withdrawn. Her teachers had expressed concern over her quiet nature and lack of social contact with her peers. She was attending therapy but the cause wasn't listed, while developmental disorder and high-functioning autism had been suggested but not formally diagnosed in her youth.
An attachment signed by Nedzu also suggested anxiety and imposter syndrome, issues with self-worth and internalizing accomplishments.
A cause for concern, but nothing he hadn't dealt with before. Teenagers had a tendency to be piles of self-esteem issues held together by dreams and duct tape. So why the fuss?
Scrolling down, Kan reached the personal history section, and suddenly he understood.
-----
Three hours later Kan was sitting in Nedzu's meeting room, wearing a suit and tie hastily liberated from his personal closet in the staff room. Just as soon as he managed to get the tie straight the door opened, admitting Nedzu and two visitors.
The first was a very large man- Kan was by no means small himself, but the newcomer made him look like a first grader. From the shoulders up his head was replaced with that of a rhinoceros, a pair of long and sharp horns nearly scraping the top of the doorframe, while his skin was grey and leather-like.
The other arrival, however, dwarfed everyone else in the room combined, having to duck her head to fit throgh even on all fours.
Kan had never known Ryuko Tatsuma particularly well, having graduated just before she was enrolled at UA, but he'd seen her in action more than once across the years of his Pro-Hero career. He'd expected her sister to look much the same, dignified and graceful in her bearing, but he was forced to reevaluate his estimations.
Ryuuzaki Tatsuma's dragon form was broadly the same size as her sister's and possessed the same western dragon anatomy, but that was where the similarities ended.
The most immediately striking part was the bright white colouration, but the second thing Kan noticed was her sheer bulk. Where Ryukyu was sleek and elegant Ryuuzaki was built more akin to a living battering ram, muscles brimming with power underneath the heavy, armor-like scales. He could definitely see where she was taking after her father.
"Please, come in, come in." Nedzu lead the two in, leaping onto his own seat. "I want you to meet Sekijiro Kan, one of our finest teachers."
"Kenshin Tatsuma." The older of their two guests took his hand in a firm grip and shook it. The name tickled something in Kan's memory, but he wasn't quite sure what. "This is my daughter Ryuuzaki."
"A pleasure. I will be her homeroom teacher starting this spring."
The dragon in question seemed a little lost, as if wondering if she was also supposed to shake his hand. Her eyes flicked between her father and Kan several times, but he had plenty of experience dealing with socially awkward teenagers. Just take the lead and let them find their own role in the conversation.
"Please, sit down. We have much to discuss."
As the Tatsumas seated themselves, Kan observed his new student. He could already tell that she'd rather be anywhere but here, but aside from that the lack of facial expressions made her quite hard to read. She did look like she needed more sleep, however, if the droop of her eyelids was anything to go by.
"I believe you had some concerns you wished to share with us?" Nedzu opened, his tone pleasant. "Please, we would be happy to discuss them and resolve them as we can."
"Indeed." Mr. Tatsuma rumbled, seeming to take the charge of the situation as his daughter hung back. "We were going through UA's school handbook, and came across the section regarding the dress code. As you might imagine, the standard uniform is simply unfeasible for Ryuuzaki to use."
"That is indeed so." Nedzu agreed immediately. "UA offers several alternatives, up to and including an exemption in the most extreme cases. Wherever possible we would like all of our students to wear something that allows them to be identified as such, but we hope to find a compromise suitable to all parties."
"That's exactly what we wanted to hear. But what are these alternatives?"
"Well, first of all, the simplest and usually preferred solution is simply upsizing and refitting the regular uniform to suit the needs of the student in question."
"...I don't think that would work... Even if it has holes in the back it would be impossible to get my wings through them." Ryuuzaki spoke up for the first time, the sound an odd mixture of a hiss and a rasp, surprisingly deep. Without lips it seemed like her voice was somehow generated entirely in her throat, which made for an uncanny effect as the words simply emerged from her mouth.
"And my scales would just rip up the fabric." She paused for a moment, running a claw over the sharp edges of the scales on her shoulder. Kan could see the issue: combined with the series of sharp spines running across her back the uniform would be in pieces in no time at all.
"...Also I think wearing a skirt with my anatomy would be pretty silly…"
Kan was suddenly glad for his excellent poker face.
"Quite so." Nedzu agreed again. "That's why it's only the first possibility. The second standard option is wearing a collar with the UA logo on it."
"Tha-"
"Absolutely not!" Mr. Tatsuma thundered, before seemingly realizing he'd just spoken over his daughter. "Go ahead, Ryuuzaki."
"...Wouldn't a collar be a little… demeaning? ...I mean, like an animal?" She spoke nervously, before her ears flicked in realization. "I mean, um, no offence sir, I-"
"It's perfectly fine." Nedzu waved her off. "You're not the first to express such a sentiment. Some people feel uncomfortable with the implication of control and power over them, and we leave such matters to their personal judgement."
"It also implies danger." Mr Tatsuma added. "That the bearer is in need of collaring."
Kenshin Matsuoka. It had been bothering him for a while now, but the name came back to Kan like a thunderstrike.
Two decades ago, a debate had raged across the nation, regarding the treatment of certain types of Quirks. Not a matter of discrimination- that had been settled long ago- but rather one of support. Certain kinds of Quirk imposed financial strain upon their users: they might require alternative housing, specialized clothing, healthcare, or other basic necessities of modern life. Though examples could be found amongst all types, Mutant-Type Quirks were the most common of these.
The question that was asked then, was "Should the government only prevent discrimination, or actively support those whose Quirks put them at a disadvantage?". Sides were picked: some felt that of course those who might suffer because of a chance of genetics should be assisted, after all, so were regular disabilities. But others dismissed it as handouts, while some were even offended at the comparison of Quirks to disabilities.
In the end neither side got what they wanted, a halfway compromise struck by politicians to create a system riddled with deficiencies and inflexibilities. Small patches had been done here and there whenever a particular issue garnered sufficient popular attention, but at the end of the day the system was only half-built and underfunded.
Kan had followed the debate when he was young, and looking back on it he remembered a man by the name of Kenshin Matsuoka featuring prominently. He'd served as a spokesperson for a prominent advocate group for increased support to those whose Quirks negatively impacted their daily lives. The reason he hadn't recalled it until now was because of the surname. Though attitudes towards such things were more loose these days, the husband taking the name of the bride was still extraordinarily rare.
"Quite. The last option we had considered was having our Support Department make something that would suit our purposes." Nedzu continued without missing a beat, taking out a holographic projector from his pocket and sliding it across the table. "I sent them the request this morning, and this is the concept they came up with."
The projector whirred to life, showing a roughly anatomically accurate sketch of Ryuuzaki. In the image she was wearing what looked like a stylized version of a police dog vest in the grey and green colours of the UA uniform, with vertical slots in the back for the spines and her wings. The vest could be opened and then closed around the base of the wings before being clipped in place, without having to try to fit the whole wing through the hole.
"As you can see it's made out of tear- and cut-resistant materials, hopefully avoiding that issue." Nedzu explained. "It's designed to allow for full range of motion, so we could produce a gym uniform version as well."
Mr. Tatsuma seemed to defer to his daughter's opinion on the matter, who appraised the image for a long moment before responding.
"...That actually looks like it could work..." She hissed out.
"I hear a 'but'?" Kan asked.
"...How am I going to pull that thing on, every morning? I can't exactly reach back there very well..." She pointed out, rotating her left forelimb back to demonstrate her limited range of motion. "...And I can't really expect Mom, Dad or Ryuko to be available to help me every day…"
"Ah, but I had considered such an issue already." Nedzu replied immediately, smiling broadly. "As I'm sure you are aware, one of the greatest assets of UA High is our robotic workforce. They function as assistants, labourers, simulated opponents and more."
Kan could see the exact moment Ryuuzaki realized what Nedzu was going for, the triple eyelids blinking slowly.
"We are, therefore, prepared to offer you one of our robotic workers as an assistant."
"You can't be serious." Was the immediate reply.
"I do not say things I do not mean, my dear."
"Those things cost over a million yen!"
"It's actually a lot less, we build them ourselves and in bulk." Nedzu replied, looking her in the eye. "The motto of our school is, for a reason, Plus Ultra. The reason our entrance tests have a 300-1 admittance rate and the reason we are known as the greatest Hero School in Japan, is that we will go beyond for those students whom we do admit. We expect the best, and we must offer the best."
Kan observed her reaction: it was easier if you knew what to look for. Not expressions, but body language: minute twitch of her tail, sudden shift of her ears- he was fairly confident in his assessment that she was awed by Nedzu's offer.
For his part, Kenshin Tatsuma seemed just a touch impressed as well. That had been Nedzu's plan of course, or at least if Kan knew anything about the principal. Give them several options he knew they wouldn't like, and then overawe them with the third one to make sure they agreed with it.
"That would be, um, more than alright." Ryuuzaki stumbled, and her father nodded as well.
"Well, that's that settled." Nedzu stated, smiling magnanimously. "Are there any other questions or concerns you would like to ask about?"
Mr. Tatsuna glanced at his daughter.
"...There's one." She said, swallowing. "Well, two. But the first one was, I wanted to ask about, um, eating?"
"We've gone over the dietary requirements provided in your application, and Lunch Rush has assured me we'll be able to provide them with ease. Is there something more specific concerning you?"
"Well… I mean, I was wondering where I would eat?"
"In the cafeteria, of course?" Nedzu didn't look like he understood the question, a rare sight indeed.
"...Are you sure that that's a good idea? When I eat it's kind of... gross, and loud."
"Ah. You think that it would be a problem for your fellow students?" At her wordless nod, Nedzu continued, his voice soft yet firm. "You are entitled to use the same cafeteria as everyone else and socialize with your peers. Understand this, that if any of the other students find their meals unbearably disrupted by your presence perhaps it is they who need to find an alternative location."
"If you truly feel like you cannot eat in the cafeteria, you can come to me and we will arrange something." Kan added. "But like Nedzu said you have every right to be there, and I think it would be best for you to at least try it out. Getting to know your classmates will be especially important, as you will be spending the next three years with them."
She drew a long breath, before nodding. "I guess that would be alright."
"Now, you mentioned a third concern?"
This time it was Mr. Tatsuma who spoke up, Ryuuzaki seeming a little exhausted.
"The last question we had was regarding school trips. The school handbook mentioned the possibility of summer camps and other trips, and we were wondering about the logistics of that."
Nedzu glanced at Kan, and he cleared his throat.
"There is no question that Ryuuzaki will be allowed to participate. We typically use school buses but if necessary we can acquire other methods of transportation. Potentially, we can also acquire permission for her to fly to the destination."
Ryuuzaki's ears perked up at that, but she said nothing.
"I see. That is definitely reassuring for us to hear." He glanced at his daughter again, who shook her head. "I do believe that is everything we had."
"...Thank you for seeing us." She added.
"Excellent! We look forward to having you in the future!"
On the day of the entrance ceremony I had resolved to arrive early, in order to have a chance to prepare myself. UA was well known for being not just the best, but also the most unorthodox, and Ryuko warned that they might very well throw us down the deep end right away. So I had wanted to prepare myself, maybe get done with socializing with my classmates before it all began.
Emphasis on 'had'. See, it turns out a lot of people had the same idea. Hordes of students crowded the hallways of UA, and unless I wanted to bulldoze my way through I was stuck moving at a snail's pace.
So when I finally arrived at the door to 1-B, my margin was looking a lot thinner than I would've liked. The entrance itself was massive, easily large enough for me to use, and I suppose it also served to intimidate and awe those of the regular size bracket.
I'd dreamed of this day for years, but now that I was here… I suddenly wished I could be anywhere but here.
This, all of this, it still didn't feel real to me. It was as if it was all still a dream, distant and fleeting. Like if I stepped through the door I'd have to face reality. They'd tell me that it was all a joke, or just a mistake, and that I was stupid for even thinking it had actually happened.
I exhaled heavily, before pushing the door open. If I waited any longer I might actually convince myself to turn around. Despite its size the door was light as a feather, requiring little force at all to move.
The room itself was as you'd expect, well-lit and large, filled with neat rows of desks. There were several students already there, lounging around or in their seats, conversing in low tones, but everything ceased as I entered. You could've dropped a pin in the stunned silence, until somebody spoke out.
"That's... a dragon."
A bespectacled boy with thick fur covering his body turned towards me, bowing low.
"Jurota Shishida, sir. Ah, excuse me, but I don't think everyone's here yet."
"...I don't see how that's a problem?"
"But you can't start the lesson if everyone isn't present?"
Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait. Is he-
"Do you… think that I'm the teacher?"
"Are… are you not?" He asked, taken aback.
"No!" Do I really seem like that? "No, I'm not the teacher. What makes you think that?"
"...Well, you're not wearing the student uniform for one." He pointed out.
I glanced down at the vest I was wearing. "Excuse you, this is my student uniform. It isn't my fault the default version is only feasible to use for humanoids."
"I- Of course. My apologies." He bowed again, before offering a furry hand. "Jurota Shishida."
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma."
"Would you happen to be related to the famous Pro-Hero Ryukyu by any chance?"
"She is my sister."
"I see. Ah… should I call you sir or a miss?"
I honestly wanted to laugh.
"A question for the ages."
"But... how do I refer to you?"
"I really don't care."
"I-"
"Ryuuzaki is a girl's name." A girl with vines for hair supplied from the background, and I sighed.
"Foiled again."
"Ryuuzaki?" Somebody called out from the back of the room, and I was suddenly struck with the realization that I recognized that voice. "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma?"
There, seemingly only now paying attention to what was going in in the doorway, was Yui. She was wearing the student uniform of UA, her expression completely flat as usual.
"You two know each other?" An orange-haired girl who'd been sitting near her asked.
"Same elementary and middle school." She looked back up at me. "Last time you weren't a dragon."
"...There was an incident."
"An incident." She repeated flatly, the tiniest twitch of her eyelid betraying her thoughts on the matter. "One that made you disappear without a trace."
"What was I supposed to do?"
"Anything."
"I didn't even have your phone number. Was I supposed to just hang around the school limits trying to catch you?"
"Yes."
"..."
Seeing that I had no answer, Yui pointedly turned away, returning to a conversation with the orange-haired girl.
I sighed, and turned away, lumbering towards my own seat.
"Don't you think that was a little harsh?"
"..."
My desk was easy to find, being far larger than anyone else's and located at the very back of the class, presumably to prevent my size from blocking anyone's view. Since I couldn't hold a pen I was permitted to use a computer for making notes and doing tasks. A chair like the one I had at home had also been provided and I crawled onto it, my head still swimming from the previous encounter.
It's not like I hadn't neglected to contact her out of maliciousness. I just… there had been so much going on. I'd put it off. And then it was so late that contacting would've been awkward. So I put it off more, until it fell out of my mind entirely.
I mean, what would I have told her, anyway? "I got shot and stuck as a dragon so I can't go to school anymore, we'll probably never see each other ever again"?
Over the next fifteen minutes or so the rest of the class trickled in. A boy with pitch-black skin, another one with yellow skin and what looked to be a salt shaker for a head, and I thought I saw green-hair from the recommended exam in the crowd as well. They were a varied bunch, that was for sure. They probably thought I couldn't hear the comments made about me, but my ears were keener than they looked.
"Huh… I would've thought I would've remembered a dragon in the entrance exam..."
"Idiot. She's Ryukyu's sister, she's obviously one of the recommended students."
"Recommended student and a dragon? That's just unfair..."
At some point another student claimed one of the desks in front of mine, and I turned to regard them. A short girl with an equine mutation featuring a pair of hooves and two long horns sticking out of her blonde hair.
She meep-ed slightly when she realized I was watching her, stumbling for words.
"You- um, you're a dr-" She trailed off in that way that was exceedingly familiar to me, that mix of frustration and embarrassment as you try to remember the right word, just on the tip of your tongue yet so far out of reach.
"Dragon?"
"Yes! Thank you, a dragon. You're a real dragon!"
"...Yeah." I wasn't really sure what to say to that.
"That's awesome! Can you fly? No, of course you can, you have wings. Oh! Oh! Can you breathe fire?"
"...I've never managed to, no." I admitted, but it didn't seem to bother her.
"You're so warm!" She leaned in closer, holding her palms near my scales, before rocking back on her heels? Or do you say hooves? And offering me a hand.
"Oh, um, I'm Pony Tsunotori! Nice to meet you!"
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma." I replied and met her handshake, wondering how many times I'd need to introduce myself before the day was over.
"Oh! You're Ryukyu's sister!" She started chattering excitedly, suddenly switching to english seemingly without noticing. "<She's awesome! I have every volume of her manga series, and…>"
She trailed off, before suddenly turning red.
"I did it again, didn't I? I'm so sorry, I got excited and I was talking abo-"
"<It's fine, I understood.>"
Pony sagged in relief, doing her best to give me a bright smile.
"Thank you. Um, I moved over from America only last year. My father's japanese but my mother is from the US and I've lived over there all my life so my japanese isn't… always so great."
"That's fine." I understood her struggle better than she realized. "Now, what's this about a Ryukyu manga, and how have I never heard of it before now?"
"Oh! It's… well, it's one of those american manga. Drawn in the same style, but written in english. But it's really good!"
"Oh? Do you have any? I'd like to see it if possible."
"I don't have any with me, but I have some back home. I… could bring some tomorrow?"
"That would be fant-"
The door was suddenly thrown open as a bombastic voice rang out across entire classroom.
"PLUS ULTRA!"
Poor Shishida looked like he'd almost jumped out of his fur, and several others near the door also flinched at the sheer volume of buzz-cut's entrance.
"I have always wanted to say that!" He said cheerfully as he strode in, surveying the room. "Good morning my fellows students!"
Pony looked up, casting a dubious look towards the overly enthusiastic boy.
"Don't mind him, he's just… like that."
"Tatsuma!" He shouted across the room as he noticed me, starting to make his way over. "I told you we would meet again!"
"I suppose you did." Well shit. Now it was going to be awkward if I didn't recall his name. Hm. I shifted around in my chair towards Pony. "This is Pony Tsunotori."
Buzz-cut took her hand and shook it heavily. "Inasa Yoarashi! Great to meet you!"
Success!
I did my best to commit "Inasa Yoarashi" to memory, that trick only works once before it gets weird. At least his personality was… distinctive, to say the least.
By my count everyone was here by now, chatting in small groups, introducing themselves and making friends. Then, as the clock ticked to 10:00, unseen by the majority of the students, the door opened one last time. One by one the class fell silent as they noticed the new arrival, until even Yoarashi had realized something was wrong, and turned around.
"So good of you to notice. To your seats."
Instead of the suit and tie I'd seen previously our teacher wore what I assumed to be his hero costume, a skin-tight red bodysuit and a pair of silver gauntlets.
"My name is Sekijiro Kan, but you may call me 'Vlad King' or 'Sir'. I will be your Homeroom Teacher, starting from this moment until you either graduate or leave UA."
He didn't elaborate on what he meant by the latter, but most could probably guess. There were hundreds of horror stories of UA students being expelled for failing to meet the mark of the prestigious academy.
I'd even had the displeasure of running into one.
"We will be leaving soon for the entrance ceremony, but we still have some time to get us started. At the beginning of each year group, I give my students a promise, and ask for one in return."
He walked up to the front of the class, folding his arms before him.
"You have, all of you, passed the entrance examination, and in that you have something to be proud of. It means that you have the potential to become a Hero. But this is only the beginning of your journey."
Right. Getting in was only step one. Now we had to prove we deserved to stay.
"I promise that in the next three years I will do my utmost to bring out that potential in each and every last one of you. I will give you the best education possible to prepare you for the trials ahead. I will be a harsh but fair teacher. My door is always open if you ever have a problem you feel like you cannot face by yourselves. I promise I will hear you out, and do what is in my power to help."
He spread out his arms towards us.
"But I cannot do it alone. You will all need to do your part, not just as individuals, but as a group. Because from this moment onward, you are in this together. Look around yourselves: for the next three years, these people will be not just your class, but your team. Their triumphs and fails shall be yours, and yours theirs. You will lift each other up when you fall, and push one another towards ever greater heights when you succeed.."
One by one, he looked each of us in the eye as he spoke.
"Can you promise to me that you will do this?"
For a few moments there was silence.
Then Yoarashi jumped to his feet like a spring, hand over his heart.
"Such a hot-blooded beginning! I give my solemn promise!"
Others joined in, and I mumbled something vaguely affirmative as well. It all felt a little cheesy, but I went along.
Once the noise had died down, Vlad King went on.
"Excellent. In a few moments the Principal will do it formally, but for my part, welcome to UA High School. Your journey starts here."
For a few moments he let us bask in that warm feeling, before moving on.
"Now, enough of that. Form a single file, behind me!" He barked out, and the class hurried to obey, and I lumbered into the last spot.
Vlad King lead us through the hallways into the same hall we'd taken the written portion of the exam in, only this time filled with people instead of desks. There was a small eruption of noise among the other classes as we entered, growing a notch in volume as I ducked through the doorway.
Apparently even at UA a dragon is not an ordinary sight.
I made note of the various Pro-Heroes scattered around the place, herding their students into formation: I recognized Hound Dog (I had looked up his name after the exam) and Present Mic, but I didn't recognize the others. One peeled off from the crowd and started walking towards us-
Is that woman wearing a BDSM outfit? In a school?
I have several questions about this.
"There you finally are, Kan! Now we just need Aizawa and we'll have all the first years here."
"He's not coming, probably at the training grounds already with 1-A. You know how he is, he thinks this is all a waste of time."
I guess she actually is supposed to be a teacher. Huh.
The woman frowned, but nodded.
"Of course he wouldn't even notify us… we'll need to adjust the formation to not leave a gap…" She trailed off as she returned to the other teachers, whilst Vlad King turned towards us.
"Move in alongside the other students, tallest at the back, shortest in front."
Within a few moments we were lined, with me at the back against the wall to avoid blocking anyone's view. The teachers stood in front near the podium, clearly waiting for something.
"Hey, you two were recommended, right?" The boy with the pitch-black skin whispered towards Yoarashi and I. "What's the principal like?"
"...You'll see." I replied, pre-empting Yoarashi who seemed about to launch into a full-blown speech and draw attention to us.
Just then, there was movement near the podium, and a white, furred head popped over the top, probably standing on stool.
"Good evening everyone! I am Principal Nedzu, and I would like to welcome all of you to UA High School!"
Immediately, muttering broke out.
"Is this a joke?"
"What is that?"
Undaunted, Nedzu went on. "What am I? A rat, a dog, a bear? Who knows! What matters is that I am your principal."
"...The teachers aren't reacting so I guess it must be true..."
As the crowd calmed down again, Nedzu continued. "It is so good to see many new faces here with us today, on this fine day. Whilst we teachers do our best, people like you are the ones who have made UA into the respected institution it is today: young, talented students, eager to learn."
He went on for quite a while, speaking of the importance of education and building the future. I realized that I'd gotten off easy before: when the principal wanted to talk about something he could talk. And talk. And talk.
"To finish us off, there is a certain anecdote I wanted to share with you all. It is often asked of me, why is UA called a Hero Academia? After all, the Heroics Department does not cover even a fifth of our student base. But I believe that is an altogether incorrect way of thinking about it. All of you, my dear students, are on the path to become heroes. Oh, you may not all go on to become Pro-Heroes, but you do not need to fight villains to be a hero. A police officer is just as heroic, or a fireman, or a doctor. But, I hear you asking, what about everyone else? What about businessmen, teachers, janitors, scientists, mailmen, shopkeepers and all the others? I say, saving lives directly is not the only way to be a hero. Society must be built and maintained, in order for there to be any worth to saving it, and even those who might otherwise be dismissed as worthless all have their place. I firmly believe that all of you will go on to do great things, and make the world a better place."
He stopped for a few moments to let his words sink in, before moving on.
"That's all from me! I hope to see all of you at another speech, three years from now!"
"Class 1-B, on me!" As the mass of students began to scatter towards the doors, Vlad King marched to us and began barking orders again. "We're not done yet for today. Follow me!"
He lead us through the hallways again before reaching our homeroom. However, instead of taking us there he raised a hand to point at the two rooms next to it, marked as the locker rooms for boys and girls respectively.
"Put on your gym uniforms and get to the training grounds. We still have work to do before the day is over."
The room was like you'd expect, lockers and benches lining the walls, with a door leading to the showers near the back. On the bench in front of each locker was a transparent plastic wrap containing a gym uniform, blue and red with a stylized white UA logo on the chest.
"Greetings, meatbag. Prepare for the clothing substitution procedure."
However, instead of a locker on the last spot along the line was a silver-coloured robot, a bulbous head staring in my direction as a pair of long manipulator arms clicking in anticipation.
"What is that?" The orange-haired girl asked, looking concerned, and I sighed.
"It's my assistant. I can't reach back far enough to get the clasps on my uniform, so the school gave me one to help."
"...But why is it calling us meatbags?"
"They just do it sometimes. You're better off ignoring it."
"And 'It' can also hear you. We're wasting time here, meatbags."
I sighed again and moved over, letting the robot's hands reach over undo the clasps around my wings and take off the school uniform. Slowly the others began to change their uniforms, occasionally casting glances in my direction. Yui was still steadfastly ignoring my very existence, and I had no idea what to do about it.
Soon enough we were all clad in our gym uniforms, and filed out towards the training grounds, the boys trickling out of the other locker room soon after.
As we were walking across the school grounds, green-hair moved to walk beside me.
"So you're the one, huh?" She grinned up at me. I wasn't sure if it was a friendly grin or not. "Who knocked me out of the running for recommended student?"
I… wasn't really sure that was how it worked, but before I could formulate that thought into words she went on.
"I am going to prove to everyone that I deserved the recommended student spot. Just you watch it!"
"I agree."
"And- Wait, what?" She stammered, suddenly taken aback.
"Well, I don't particularly feel like I did anything special to deserve the spot. So I agree. You probably deserved it more than I did."
"Well- Regardless. My name is Setsuna Tokage. Remember it, because I'm going to be the one who kicks your ass."
She walked over to talk to the orange-haired girl, leaving me to stew in me own thoughts, until a voice interrupted me.
"Why sell yourself so short, Tatsuma?"
The speaker was a blonde boy with bright blue eyes, walking with his hands in his pockets.
"Just being honest."
"There's a line between honesty and needless self-deprecation. You should feel proud, of having made it here."
I shrugged, an exaggerated motion using my wings.
"You don't have to believe me. But remember, by doubting yourself, you are also doubting everyone that brought you here. You are doubting your sister, who staked her professional reputation on your recommendation. You are doubting the judgement of the principal, who decided you deserved this spot."
The blonde boy bowed slightly.
"Neito Monoma. I look forward to working with you in the future."
He left to join the others, and soon enough we reached our destination.
The training grounds were your typical sports field, with race tracks, sand pits, and so on. Vlad King was waiting for us, still in his costume. I guess the teachers just wear those around all day?
"Good. Now that everyone is here, we can begin." He gestured towards the training grounds. "In middle school, all of you have taken physical tests during PE. These are supposed to allow the government to track your fitness. However, there is one element which is missing from those tests. Can any of you tell me what that element is?"
Confidently, the orange-haired girl raised a hand. "Our Quirks."
"Precisely. Physical examinations forbid the usage of Quirks, or exclude those entirely who cannot avoid their use. That rule is not in place at UA. Observe."
He took up a small ball from the bag at his feet, testing its weight it a couple of times before rearing back and throwing it into the distance, its landing marked with a puff of dust. He showed us the tablet in his free hand, showing a distance of 102.3 meters.
"A respectable distance, but it could be better. Now compare that to this."
He grabbed another ball, but instead of throwing it he tossed it straight into the air above. Suddenly, strands of red liquid whipped out of the holes in his gauntlets, smashing into the ball as it descended.
It shot out as if fired from a cannon, making a long arc into the distance to the point that it was barely visible even to my eyes. He raised the tablet again, this time with the result of 1251.0 meters. A gasp ran through the class.
"You will all take the standard eight-part test. 50 meter dash, standing long jump, side steps, grip strength, ball throw, toe touching, sit ups and distance run. And yes, you can use your Quirks however you want. The more inventive the better."
An excited chatter broke out amongst the students.
"We really are at UA, aren't we?"
"This is what we've been waiting for."
"UA really is the most hot-blooded school in the country!"
And to be honest, I wasn't inclined to disagree. It did sound pretty awesome, to get to measure myself and my Quirk against others. Ryuko was so far above there was no point to compare, and Gang Orca's lessons usually took care to avoid direct competition.
"Quiet." Vlad King didn't raise his voice- he didn't have to. Even Yoarashi's boundless enthusiasm was reigned in by his tone.
"Remember, you are not just taking this test as individuals, but as a group. And to that end…" He brought up the tablet again, this time showing a list of numbers.
"This is the average score of Class 1-A, who took this same test earlier today. This is what you are aiming to beat. Do not disappoint me."
And just like that the atmosphere of the class had changed again, a whole new dimension added to the situation. There was the excitement from before, yes, but also a sense of collective competitiveness. We weren't just proving ourselves to Vlad King and each other, but also being measured against 1-A, as a whole.
"We begin with 50 meter dash. Two at a time, Yoarashi and Tatsuma first."
"Oh, the recommended students first? Now this is getting interesting..."
Starting and finishing lines had been marked into the dirt, a camera bot ready to measure our results. I took my position a fair distance away from Yoarashi, feeling the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
I opened my wings wide, phalanges stretching the membrane to its full extent. I could hear a few gasps from the other students- I could fold my wings well enough to fit indoors, but fully unfurled they were a fairly impressive sight, their full span measuring over a dozen meters between the wingtips. With their enormous surface area the sheer volume of air that was displaced with each beat was massive, and the muscles along my chest and flanks that generated the necessary torque were necessarily equally so.
Stretching each of my limbs in turn, I dug my claws into the dirt and crouched, muscles coiled like springs. Yoarashi stood at the ready as well, hands held at his sides as he positively brimmed with energy.
"Ready, set, go!"
All of that tension was released in an instant, my claws gouging out sprays of dirt as I rocketed forwards, my wings sweeping backwards to give me an additional boost. Distantly I noticed the wind slamming into the other students far behind us, but I alone hadn't generated all of it. In fact the airflow created by my wings was an afterthought compared to what Yoarashi made.
I'd heard him talk about his aerokinetic Quirk, but his typical style of overstating everything and anything had left me in the dark as to the sheer scale of it. He was creating nothing less than a miniature cyclone behind himself, rocketing ahead of me like a cannonball.
All of this took place in only a couple of instants before we were over the finish line, Yoarashi clearly in the lead. As we both decelerated, Vlad King called out the results.
"2.83 seconds for Yoarashi, 5.44 seconds for Tatsuma."
"I got first place!" Yoarashi whooped. "Still, you were really fast too! Especially considering your size, acceleration can't be your strong suit."
I nodded in acknowledgement.
He was actually right on the money: conservation of momentum had worked against me here; I was strong, but I was also heavy, and rapidly accelerating all of that mass required a massive amount of power.
"Next up, Monoma and Rin."
"Ah, can I ask to wait a little longer? I-" Monoma protested, before being cut off.
"No. You're next on the list, so it's your turn. You won't always have the option of picking and choosing in a real situation."
"Fair enough. Well then, let us go."
He and the athletic-looking boy with black haired tied to a ponytail took their positions, and Vlad King gave the signal. The other boy dashed off into a sprint, but the blonde boy pointed his hands behind himself and created a wind blast to help himself forward. His aerokinesis was similar to Yoarashi's Quirk, but it seemed less focused somehow, carefully only boosting himself rather than taking his feet off the ground. Interesting.
"5.51 for Monoma, 7.03 for Rin."
Soon after, we settled down to watch the others take their turns. It was fascinating to see all the varied Quirks in action. Like in the exam Tokage split herself into pieces and flew over the finishing line, whilst the vine-haired girl used her Quirk to launch herself like a catapult.
Pony's Quirk apparently allowed her to detach her horns, causing them to hover in the air. She used them to propel herself, putting them beneath her armpits. Her pair, the boy with literally coal-black skin, looked like he submerged into his own shadow and then launched himself out of it. Exactly how that worked I had no idea.
"That was a good use of your power." I said to Pony as she returned. "It's a versatile Quirk."
"Thanks! It's not as cool as yours, though. Flight must be so cool of an ability to have."
"It is. Have you ever tried flying using your horns?"
"Yeah, but proper flight is actually really hard." I nodded in sympathy as she went on. "Since it's dependent on something not actually attached to me, high-level flight is risky. Dad never let me try, but I'm hoping at UA I can learn a little more."
"That sounds like something your costume could help with. Like, have slots in the back you can insert your horns into for easier flight."
"Oh! That's a good idea!" Her face lit up for a moment, before crumpling. "It's probably going to be too late for my first costume..."
"At least it's something to look forward to."
She nodded glumly, and we returned to watching the performances of the other students.
Shishida could transform even further, shrugging off his shirt before growing much bigger and bulkier. He bounded over the race track on all fours, whilst the orange-haired girl could increase the size of her hands and used them as fans to boost herself forward. Yui used her Quirk to grow a grain of sand beneath her feet into a boulder, while the plain-looking boy was somehow able to rotate his lower body rapidly to boost himself forward.
The boy with the white, blank sphere for a head seemed to have the weirdest Quirk of them all however. It looked like he spit out what a three-dimensional speech bubble out of his face, containing the japanese onomatopoeia for "running". The bubble grew as it floated a few meters forward before popping, leaving the physical kanji letters standing on the ground. However, when the start pistol fired, he took off at a much faster rate than he looked like he should've been able to, and even his pair seemed to be surprised at their own speed.
It was the oddest Quirk I'd ever seen, but potentially also the strongest. Like, holy shit, he could warp reality just by talking?
Of the remainder, however, around half of the class resorted to simply running as normal as Rin had done, unable or unwilling to use their Quirks. In particular the short girl with the large brown bob-cut running down across her face seemed to struggle, scoring notably lower than anyone else.
"Right then. Grip strength next." Vlad King produced several measuring devices, both enclosed and open-ended, presumably so that people like me, Shishida and orange-hair could use them as well.
The class set to work: obviously the aforementioned two performed well, but most of the class seemed to be struggling. The girl with vines for hair used them to press down on the handle and the huge, yellow-skinned boy with what looked like a salt-shaker for a head were also scoring above the norm.
I looked down at the measurement tool: I was pretty sure I could get a decent result too just by sheer size, but my forelimbs weren't really designed for grasping objects. However...
"You said that anything goes, right?"
"As long as you're using your Quirk."
"Hm."
I grabbed the tool and carefully inserted it between my jaws, taking care not to put it between teeth, and then bit down.
Physiologically, my skull structure seemed to have taken notes from both crocodilians and large theropods. The bone structure was immensely thick and solid, not just to support my horns when they impacted, but also simply withstand the enormous pressure exerted by the closing muscles of my jaws when I bit down.
A large saltwater or nile crocodile could impart a bite force of over two thousand kilograms with its jaws, capable of breaking the thigh bone of a water buffalo like a dry twig. We'd once asked the zoo to borrow one of the measuring tools they used, but they had been rather crass with us after I'd bitten straight through the metal.
The measuring tool now jammed between my jaws beeped out loudly, the digital display flashing red to warn that I'd met and exceeded the maximum rating the device was built to withstand and measure. I released my jaws and the tool clattered onto the ground.
"I am going to mark that as 'maximum score'. We'll need to get a proper one out of the Support Department at a later date, but the test must move on."
A boy with gray hair and weird eyebrows that seemed to rim his eyes had apparently turned himself to metal, squeezing the measuring tool with all his strength. However-
"What the hell Monoma?! How are you using a different Quirk?!" Somebody shouted.
Instead of aerokinesis, he was currently squeezing the tool with enlarged hands, exactly like the orange-haired girl.
"Ah, that would be because of my Quirk. 'Copy' allows me to replicate the Quirks of other people."
That was… potentially insanely powerful. Or insanely weak, depending on the circumstances.
"Man, all of these crazy Quirks are making me feel inadequate!" The gray-haired boy yelled out, before clenching his teeth. "I guess I'll just have to WORK HARDER!"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Yoarashi howled, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that his own Quirk didn't help with the test. "I applaud such fiery passion!"
"Plus Ultra!"
"Plus Ultra!"
I guess he found a kindred spirit.
Huh.
Third test was standing long jump. If I was still capable of grinning I would've done so as I took my position, ready to go.
I simply jumped into the air, and… never came down. I flew over the jump track, to the edge of the training grounds, before slowing down to a hover to show that I could go as far as was needed. I turned around, the rest of the class like ants in the distance.
Vlad King sighed and waved for me to return, marking down another max score.
Yoarashi launched himself with his Quirk, but it seemed like he hadn't mastered proper flight yet, and 'only' managed several hundred feet. Monoma copied his Quirk again, continuing his trend of good but not outstanding scores.
Many of the students used similar tactics to the 50-meter dash, and once again a number of them had yet to even use their Quirks. Like me Tokage floated over the line, waving cheekily until Vlad King gave her a max score as well.
The brown-haired boy with the squinty eyes created several translucent barriers in the air, using them as stepping stones to prolong his airtime, whilst the bob-haired girl caused large mushrooms to grow on the jump track, achieving a similar result. The speech-bubble guy used the kanji for "bounce", using them as a trampoline.
Side steps was the first test that I had real trouble with. My claws afforded me incredible traction, but the fact of the matter was, I was too big and too heavy for the kind of agility this test required.
Yoarashi took the lead again by using wind blasts to either side, whilst Monoma did the same. Curiously, he wasn't using the hand-enlarging Quirk for this one. Did that mean he could copy only one Quirk at once?
The ball toss was up next. The girl with pale gray hair revealed her Quirk, seemingly some kind of telekinesis as the ball simply took off, finally landing in the far distance as it seemingly left her range. Tokage replicated the feat, just by having a disembodied hand carry the ball, while Yui miniaturized the ball and enlarged it mid-air.
I awkwardly grasped the tiny ball in my claws, tossed it into the air and then spun around to bat it with my tail. It wasn't perfect- the ball was so small that angling my tail to hit it correctly was difficult- but it was a good score nonetheless.
The sixth test, however, was a different matter altogether.
"I can't do this." I stated, matter of factly, as I rolled off of my back and onto my feet, a couple of giggles reaching my ears from the direction of the other students. I was a quadruped with a very large tail. My body was simply not configured to be able to perform the motions of a sit-up.
"So that's a zero then." Vlad King noted, not even looking up from the tablet.
"I physically cannot do sit-ups."
"It is your Quirk. Warts and all." Vlad King responded, unsympathetic.
I supposed I couldn't complain, especially as my anatomy worked in my favour come the seventh test. Turns out toe touching is really easy for a quadruped. Orange-hair and Monoma simple lengthened their fingers while Tokage obviously could just float one over, but most of the class seemed to be forced to rely upon regular human attributes.
In particular I noted that salt-shaker, braid, skull-face and the headband guy hadn't even used their Quirks yet, though braid seemed to perform well regardless, moving with the grace of a gymnast.
The last test was distance run, which I took home with a comfortable lead. Yoarashi could beat me in burst speed, but once I had enough time and room to build up speed I could outfly him handily.
There were no particularly interesting developments in the test, the established pattern holding firm. The rest of the class arrived intermittently at the finish line, bob-hair finishing a full minute after everyone else, panting and sweating heavily. I also noted that speech bubble guy seemed to have a sharp limitation to the amount he could create, if the way he was conserving his Quirk was any indication.
Soon enough Vlad King called us together for the final tally, showing the results on his tablet.
Neito Monoma
Ryuuzaki Tatsuma
Inasa Yoarashi
Setsuna Tokage
Manga Fukidashi
Ibara Shiozaki
Jurota Shishida
Itsuka Kendo
Sen Kaibara
Pony Tsunotori
Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Yui Kodai
Shihai Kuroiro
Kosei Tsubaraba
Reiko Yanagi
Hiryu Rin
Kojiro Bondo
Juzo Honenuki
Yosetsu Awase
Kinoko Komori
I heard a sigh go through the gathered students as the average results popped on the screen below the list, a couple points below 1-A.
"I- I'm sorry everyone, for not being better. I dragged down the rest of-" Bob-hair began, but Vlad King interrupted her.
"This is the fault of nobody here. You will do better next time. Take care to reflect upon what you did right and and what you did wrong. Class, you're dismissed for the day. Take a class schedule and a permission slip from my desk on your way out, and return the latter tomorrow. We are going on a field trip on tuesday."
Already? I suppose UA really wastes no time...
"Man, Honenuki, how did you place so low?" The boy with the spiral Quirk questioned skull-face, as we began walking back towards the main building. "You blew away the entrance exam, I thought you were supposed to be the strongest!"
"It's not that simple, you know. My Quirk just happened to be suitable for the entrance exam, and besides, there's the recommended students to consider. I'm sure Yoarashi or Tatsuma could've outdone me there."
"But then who is the strongest? Is it you Monoma?"
The boy in question whirled around, pointing a finger at the boy. "Did you not hear a word of what Honenuki just said?"
He pointed to each of us in turn.
"In terms of destructive capacity Tatsuma is unmatched, except maybe by Shishida. Fukudashi is absurdly powerful and versatile, he just lacks endurance. Yoarashi has the best range and area of effect out of everyone here. Komori, even though she took last place, has potentially the scariest Quirk of them all. Rin I'd wager is the best of us all in a Quirkless match. Shiozaki has the greatest potential for capturing an enemy. The usefulness of Awase's Quirk increases exponentially in the right environment. Tokage is second to none when it comes to reconnaissance. I made it to the top spot this time because had so many potent and versatile Quirks to use, but in a real scenario that's not always possible."
He spread his hands, gesturing towards us all as he leaned back dramatically.
"There is nobody who is 'the strongest'. All of us here are strong, and we will grow even stronger."
There was a moment of silence.
"I still think Tatsuma is the strongest." The air-bubble guy grumbled. "You just can't compete with being a dragon."
"Are you kidding me? Fukidashi can do basically anything!"
As they descended into bickering, Monoma turned around, sighing theatrically. "Well, I tried."
And so we've hit 50k words!
I debated long and hard about whether to go through with the Quirk Apprehension Test, but in the end I felt it provided a nice contrast as well as an introduction to Vlad King's teaching methods.
Other than that this chapter was… hard, but also fun. Lots of interactions I've been sitting on for a long time.
