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Aizawa Shouta sits in the control room and watches the examinees in their practical test. Most of them are promising young aspiring heroes.
“Excited for your next batch of students?” Nezu asks.
“More like dreading it. Hinotori Kumi and her friends are in this year’s intake.”
“Ah, I do find that child quite fascinating.”
Shouta glances at one of the monitors and watches Kumi light up a few torches that she then hands out to the examiners around her. Contrary to Kumi’s usual boisterousness about her, the Kumi in the exam arena’s dark forest is quiet and focused. It makes him wonder about the kidnapping she’d told him about when she was little. Had she been like this since then already?
“I’m more interested in her friend,” Shouta says. “Minami Daichi. His quirk is registered as sandstorm, but he’s yet to use it.”
“Well, I can’t see a sandstorm being very helpful in the dark.”
“Remind me again what the purpose of this practical exam is,” Yagi Toshinori says. “What happened to the robots and capture the flag games we used to have?”
Shouta glances at the lanky former Pro Hero. “Without the League to hide behind, villains have been getting creative and far more secretive. They don’t go out in the open anymore. Those kids need to know how to handle themselves in the dark.”
“Okay, but how are you awarding points?”
Nezu smiles in a gleeful way that sends shivers down both men’s spines. “Mr Inaba Jin has been so kind as to offer us his quirk to duplicate our combat instructors to serve as pretend villains. The examinees will receive points based on how many enemies they subdue and how they subdue these enemies.”
“Rescue points?” Toshinori asks.
“Of course! Aizawa-sensei’s new favourite student just earned a few for her impeccable rescue of four other examinees.”
Shouta scowls. “You better put her in Class B.”
“I don’t think so,” Nezu says, a little too happily.
“It’s okay if you didn’t get in,” Keigo whispers.
Kumi glares at him. “I know I got in! I’m just nervous!”
“D’you want me to open it?” Shuichi asks.
Kumi scowls at him. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I work online most of the week. Himiko truly found me a job I’d enjoy.”
“Ugh.” She nibbles on her lower lip. “What if Daichan didn’t get in?”
Touya scoffs. “Of course, he got in. You two are an unstoppable team. If you’re in, he’s in.”
“Okay,” Kumi says.
“Neesan, can I open?”
Kumi smiles and hands Taiga the envelope. He tears into it excitedly and holds out the letter inside to her.
“Aww, Katsu said he got a hologram of All Might welcoming him to UA when he got accepted.”
Touya snorts. “All Might wasn’t a skeleton back then.”
Kumi sighs and unfolds the letter. Despite already being fully certain that she got in, Kumi still lets out a shriek of joy when she read the words. Her chair falls over when she jumps up, bouncing on her feet and shaking the acceptance letter.
“Neesan’s gonna be a hero!”
“Hell yeah, I am!” Kumi picks Taiga up and gives him a toss, laughing when he manages to hold himself in the air for a few seconds before she catches him. “And you’re getting stronger every day, Taichan.”
Touya stands and pulls Kumi into a loose hug, kissing the top of her head. “I’m proud of you, birdie.”
Kumi giggles. “Thank you, Papa.”
“You better do a good job,” Shuichi says. “Maybe one day I’ll run the security system for your own agency.”
Kumi’s eyes widen. “My own agency . . . ah! I can’t wait!”
“Hey, angel.”
“Hm?” Kumi catches the phone Keigo tosses at her. “What?”
“Call your boys.”
“Oh! Right!”
Kumi rushes off to her room, already calling her friends while she connects her headphones. They pick up within a second of each other. For a moment, the four of them stare at one another in silence.
Then, all at once — “I got in!”
Kumi screams with them as they celebrate their acceptance.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Daichi says. “Rei, did you get in for the Hero Course?”
Reiji shakes his head. “Nah, I withdrew my application. I’m going into the Support Course. Sana?”
“General Studies. I’m not particularly interested in heroes, but I do wanna keep goin’ to school with Kumi.”
Kumi beams. “We’re all going to UA!”
“I hope we’re in the same class, Micchan.”
Kumi frowns. “If we aren’t, I’ll complain to Eri and Eri will tell her dad to fix it. Eraserhead always listens to Eri.”
“Hey,” Reiji says, “I’ll come to Musutafu a week early. Let’s go out for lunch before the term starts.”
“Why just you? Bring your sisters too! Let’s all go out. Sana, ask Mori-Mori if she’ll come too. I know she has a crush on Maki.”
“I do not!” Moriko cries indignantly, popping her head in the frame. “Besides, Maki won’t be joining you. She and I already made plans with Eri. We’re going on a camping trip before Maki and I head to university as a treat for me getting in. Eri’s on leave that week.”
Reiji snickers. “Aw, do you have a crush on Eri, Mori-Mori?”
“NO!”
“You’re cute when you lie, Mori,” Kumi teases.
“Shut up!”
“I think she likes them both,” Sana whispers.
Kumi, Daichi and Reiji cackle when a textbook hits the back of Sana’s head.
“Neesan, what is wrong with you?!”
“Shut! Up!”
“Okay,” Reiji says. “I’ll ask the twins. Are you gonna ask Sya if he wants to join?”
“Oh, speak of the devil.” Kumi pouts. “I gotta go, Sya’s calling me.”
“Say hi from us!” Sana says.
Kumi smiles. “I will. And I’ll text you guys later about going out, okay?”
The three of them give her a nod and a wave as she disconnects and answers Syaoran’s phone call.
“Well?” Syaoran asks as soon as she picks up. “The letters got delivered today, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they did.”
“And?”
Kumi giggles. “I’ll see you on campus, senpai.”
“YOU GOT IN?!”
“Of course, I got in!” Kumi yells, frowning at her wallpaper. “Did you think I wouldn’t?!”
“Don’t be stupid. I knew you could do it. Hero Course?”
“Mhm!”
Syaoran laughs. “Oh, you’re going to make Aizawa-Sensei’s life hell, aren’t you?”
“Not on purpose,” Kumi whines, falling backwards on her bed.
“Better hope he doesn’t expel you on the first day. He almost expelled me on my first day.”
“Why, what did you do?”
“Fell asleep in homeroom.”
“Moron.”
“Oi!”
Kumi sighs. “I can’t believe it’s happening already. I’m going to UA. I’m gonna be a hero, Sya.”
“No one is surprised, Kumi. You know that, right? You’ve always been a hero.”
Kumi sits up and frowns. “Who are you and what have you done with my favourite asshole?”
Syaoran laughs. “Oh, wow. God forbid I be nice to you once in a while. You’re gonna do so much more good, kid.”
Kumi usually snaps at Syaoran about calling her a kid, but she’s too excited about going to UA to mind it much. “Thanks, Sya.”
“Are you dorks gonna go out before the semester starts?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Rei told me to invite you.”
“Oh, sure. Want me to ask Ei and Kao?”
“Yeah. Maki and Mori won’t come, though. They have plans with Eri.”
“Pity. They might not wanna come, though. They got invited to a sleepover at your cousin Atsuki’s place before school starts for them. Ei might go for that if your brother is going.”
“Oh, I don’t know, actually. I’ll ask him and text you.”
“Sure.”
“Well, I’ve had a very exciting day, so I’m going to take a nap and dream of all the ways I can annoy Eraserhead without getting expelled
Syaroan laughs. “Okay. And Kumi? Proud of you, kid.”
Kumi smiles widely. “Thanks, Sya.”
Syaoran hangs up and Kumi texts her friends to let them know that he’ll be tagging along. Then she flops back on her bed and stares at the ceiling. She can’t wait for her first day.
Kumi finds a seat in the classroom and waits patiently for her classmates to arrive. She’s no stranger to this. Kumi has always been early on the first day. She likes choosing her seat first.
Slowly, students begin to trickle into the room.
A boy with pink skin slams his hands on her desk. “Hi. You’re Hinotori Kumi. Be my friend.”
Kumi blinks at him. “H-hello.”
“Oh, I’m Kirishima Junpei.”
“How do you know me?”
“Are you kidding? You’re practically famous! You were on the news when I was, like, seven. Everyone was talking about the Hinotori family back then.”
“You mean everyone was talking about the League of Villains,” one of their classmates cut in with a sneer.
Kumi turns to the student and tilts her head. “What’s your name?”
“Takei,” he says and doesn’t tell Kumi his given name.
She doesn’t mind. She gives him an innocent smile. “Takei,” she says, lilting and sweet, “go fuck yourself.”
Takei and Kirishima — and a couple nearby students — stare at Kumi and her deceptive smile in stunned silence. Then Kirishima laughs. It’s loud and boisterous and it makes Kumi’s smile genuine.
“Anyway,” Kirishima says, “you’re so cool. Can you show me your quirk?”
“Uh uh. School rules dictate that we don’t use our quirks in class. I’m not trying to get kicked out on the first day.” She gestures for Kirishima to lean down and when he does, she adds in a whisper, “I’ll show you at the dorms.”
Kirishima beams. He takes the seat behind Kumi.
“MICCHAN!”
Kumi stands up. “Daichi! You’re in my class!”
“Yeah!”
Kumi grins and waves him over to the seat in front of her. “Saved you a seat.”
“You’re the best,” Daichi says.
“Oh, this is Kirishima Junpei.” Kumi gestures behind her. “We’re friends now, I think. Kirishima, this is my best friend, Minami Daichi.”
Daichi smiles. “Nice to meet you!”
Kirishima returns the smile. “Same here. You know each other?”
“Practically our whole lives,” Kumi says. “We met when we were three.”
“Aww,” Kirishima says. “That’s so cute.”
“Ugh, you’re so loud.”
“Takei,” Kumi says sweetly, leaning her head on her hand, “didn’t I tell you to go fuck yourself?”
“Kumi!” Daichi hisses.
“What? He started it!”
Takei rolls his eyes and slouches in his chair.
Outside the classroom, Shouta wishes the floor would just swallow him up.
Shouta looks down at his class list. “Okay, Minami, you’re up next.”
“Is there an order to this or is he just picking names off the list?” someone whispers.
“It’s out of order,” someone else whispers back. “My guess is he’s choosing at random.”
Daichi catches the ball Shouta tosses him. “So, it’s just as far as I can, not as high?”
Shouta nods.
“Okay.”
Daichi gives the ball a light underhand toss and Takei snickers as it nears the ground pretty close to the ring Daichi isn’t allowed to step out of, but before it can touch the field, the sand picks up and the ball goes flying forwards like it’s riding the grains of sand.
“Eight seventy-nine.”
Kumi shoots Takei a smug grin. “What did you get again? Six hundred and something?”
“Kirishima,” Shouta calls before Kumi and Takei can start bickering.
Kumi watches her new friend step up and take the ball. She wonders what his quirk is and if he’ll use it.
Kirishima gives the ball a pitcher’s throw and Kumi swears that there’s a sonic boom as the ball shoots off into the sky.
Shouta actually looks impressed by Kirishima. “Not bad. Nine twenty-five.”
“Yes!” Kirishima shouts.
“Iwata.”
Iwata has bat wings, which Kumi thinks is incredibly cool. She’s gonna call home as soon as they’re released for the day to tell Taiga all about her classmate. Iwata’s quirk doesn’t help him much in the ball toss, and he gets a hundred and fifty meters, which is still pretty good.
Finally, it’s Kumi’s turn.
“Hinotori.” Shouta gives her a warning glare as she steps into the circle. “Do not set the ball on fire.”
Kumi pouts.
“If the ball turns to ash, your score will be zero.”
“Fine.”
Kumi catches the ball and stares at it for a minute before copying Kirishima’s throw. She guesses it sails about eighty meters before it starts to fall — she wasn’t the best pitcher in middle school sports, but she was pretty decent. Kumi’s learned a lot about her quirk and she’s quick to breathe a steady stream of flames in the direction of the ball.
“What did I just say?!”
“It’s not on fire!” Kumi yells back frantically, pointing to the ball that took the surge of heat from the sudden flames and flew an extra couple of meters.
Shouta’s eye twitches. “Two-oh-three.”
Kumi sticks her tongue out at Takei when he snickers.
Kumi and Daichi both beat Takei in the fifty-meter dash and the distance run — not that Daichi was aware he was even competing — but Takei has better grip strength than them both. Kumi doesn’t feel too down about it, because Kirishima and at least three other students beat Takei’s score by far.
Kumi sticks her tongue out at Takei again when Shouta shows them their scores and she ranks three places higher than Takei.
“Why are you making enemies on your first day?” Daichi whispers to Kumi.
“He started it!” Kumi whispers back.
Shouta feels an oncoming headache as he dismisses them for the day. He’s not sure what’s going to happen later, but he’s pretty sure it’ll be Kumi’s fault.
“I know we already saw you using your quirk during Aizawa-Sensei’s test this morning,” Kirishima says when he finds Kumi waiting behind the 1-A dorm building, “but I’m pretty sure you were holding out on us.”
“Us?” Kumi asks.
“Guys, it’s fine!” Kirishima calls. “Hinotori’s not gonna bite.”
“Oh, you can call me Kumi. I like it better.”
Daichi nods from beside Kumi. “Micchan’s always liked being called Kumi better.”
“Oh! Okay!” Kirishima turns around and sighs. “Guys!”
Kumi counts three of her classmates peeping around the corner of the building. She smiles and waves. Gingerly, they shuffle up to Kirishima.
“Hi,” Kumi says.
“Kumi, Minami, this is Nishiya Itsuki. Y’know Kamui Woods? Nishiya’s his nephew.”
Nishiya waves. “Hi.”
Kumi and Daichi wave back to the boy who has patches of wood on his exposed arms.
“This is Hirano Ayumi.”
“Hello,” Kumi says first, smiling at the quiet girl with wide, pale eyes.
Hirano waves.
The third student bounces beside Kirishima. “Kumi! D’you recognise me? We met once! D’you remember?”
Kumi tilts her head, frowning slightly at the third student’s ocean blue hair. “You do look familiar, but I think you’re just reminding me of someone I know.”
Daichi tilts his head too. “He kinda looks like Inaban’s old manager.”
“Oh, from the store?”
“Yes! Yeah, that’s my mom! My name’s Tanaka Kaito.”
“I don’t remember meeting you, though. Are you sure we’ve met?”
Tanaka nods energetically. “You came to the store with Jin one day. My babysitter ditched, so Mom brought me to work with her. I helped you choose a shoe, remember?”
“Oh, yeah . . . you used the ladder and one of the other attendants scolded you about it.”
“Yeah! My mom got a job with GU’s social team after that article she wrote when the whole Commission thing was happening, so we moved away. I didn’t think I’d see you at high school!”
Kirishima glances between Kumi and Tanaka. “Tanaka, if you knew Kumi, why were you so nervous to come out here?”
“I don’t like breaking the rules,” Tanaka admits.
Kumi rolls her eyes. “This from the kid who used a big, scary ladder when he was seven?”
Tanaka pouts. “Not everyone is as brave as you, Kumi.”
“That’s right. I’m special.”
“A special nutcase,” Daichi mutters.
“Daichi!”
“Hm? What? I didn’t say anything.”
“So, what’s this super cool thing Kirishima’s been tapping on about for the last hour?” Nishiya asks.
“Hey, wait a second,” Kumi says. She frowns at Kirishima. “How do you know I wasn’t fully showing off today?”
“Oh, my dad’s best friends with Dynamight and Dynamight tells him lots of stuff about you. Show me the Phoenix thing!”
“Oh, absolutely not. That’s bright as hell and I do not need Sh- Aizawa-sensei telling my uncle about me breaking school rules.” Kumi thinks for a moment. “I have something small but cool I can show you instead.”
Kirishima nods eagerly.
Kumi takes a deep breath before breathing fire into her cupped hands. It creates a tiny little flame that flickers in the breeze. She gives it a little boost upwards and repeats about six or seven more times.
The four students stare in awe and wonder as the tiny flames float like tiny lanterns in the night sky. Daichi watches with a smile. He’s used to these. Whenever he and Kumi have sleepovers with their friends, they pretend to camp in the backyard or whoever’s house they’re sleeping at and Kumi puts little flames in the sky for them.
“They look like fireflies,” Hirano says softly.
“Fireflies,” Kumi says. “That’s cute. I think I’ll call them fireflies from now on.”
The six of them stay watching the flames move slightly on the breeze until Kumi yelps as a familiar scarf binds her arms to her body.
“What,” Shouta starts slowly, “are you doing out here?”
The flames go out. “Definitely not being out of the dorms after curfew or using our quirks,” Kumi says innocently.
“Get inside. Now.”
“Yes, sir,” Kumi says, dragging Daichi towards the doors as soon as Shouta releases her.
Shouta follows them inside and as he closes the doors after he gets in, he wonders if he still has any painkillers in his room. He has a feeling he’s going to need to stock up on a lot for this year.
Shouta’s eye twitches. Kumi grins apologetically. Daichi buries his face in a random textbook, looking like he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t know Kumi.
“What,” Shouta starts, unsure if he wants to continue the question, “are you doing?”
“Definitely not trying to break Sugino’s arm.”
“Release your classmate. Now.”
Kumi lets go and Sugino throws her a dirty glare as he rubs his wrist.
“Intentionally injuring a classmate is a serious offence,” Shouta says.
Kumi folds her arms. “Yeah, and so is slander. The bitch said my dad has Stockholm Syndrome and that I was probably kidnapped from my ‘real family’, whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean.”
Shouta pinches the bridge of his nose. “Stop swearing in class, Problem Child.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m not going to reprimand either of you, because attacking a classmate — physically or verbally — might be an issue, but you’re both at fault. I won’t be so lenient again.”
Kumi nods. “Sorry, sensei.”
Kumi raises her hand. Shouta sighs. It’s the first Monday of the term. He’s not in the mood. But he looks at her and raises his eyebrows.
“If you’re our homeroom teacher, what are you doing here?”
Shouta gestures to Toshinori. “This moron’s not a certified teacher. I’m supervising.”
“Aizawa,” Toshinori hisses, not unlike a petulant whine.
Kumi raises her hand again. Shouta sighs again.
“What?”
“Oh, it’s not for you.” She turns to Toshinori. “What are we supposed to call you? Since, y’know, you’re not All Might anymore.”
“Yagi-Sensei,” Toshinori says.
“Oh, okay. Cool.”
“Do you have any other questions, Problem Child?”
“Yeah, one more. Can I be on Dai’s team?”
“The purpose of this exercise is to determine how well you can work with a partner you are unfamiliar with,” Toshinori says. “So, no.”
“Damn. Okay.”
Shouta wants to go to his room and take a nap and wake up after Kumi’s already graduated.
“Hi,” Kumi tells her randomly assigned partner. “I’m Hinotori Kumi. I breathe fire and I can briefly control the flames I create.”
“I know. I’m Anzai Kisho. I can project images I want into your head. Kind of like forced hallucinations.”
“Wicked. So, do you want to take out the other team or just survive until time is up? It would be fun to just win, but it’ll be so much more satisfying to watch them get frantic as time goes on.”
Anzai narrows his eyes at Kumi. “Are you sure you’re not a villain?”
Kumi laughs. “I’m not, but I was raised by ex-villains, so there’s that.”
Anzai nods slowly. “Cool. Uh, let’s hold out until it’s time.”
Kumi grins. “I like you, Anzai Kisho.”
“And I’m mildly afraid of you, Hinotori Kumi.”
“Do you know much about our opponents?” Kumi asks, wandering into the fake city. “Takei Osamu has a telepathy quirk, so he’ll be able to locate us once he can hear our thoughts like a homing beacon. And we can’t get too close to Todo Azumi either. She uses her quirk to make you feel safe and lower your guard, which would give Takei a chance to take us out. I say we pick something with a good vantage point even if it leaves us visually exposed so we’ll see Azumi coming even if we don’t see Takei. Like the bell tower. What do you think?”
Anzai blinks a few times at Kumi. “No, seriously, are you a hero student for real? Are you sure you’re not just a really tiny Pro Hero undercover?”
Kumi laughs. “My one dad’s a Pro Hero and my other dad’s a great strategist. Plus, I did spend a lot of my childhood around Pro Heroes. Some of them let me read public records when they were on babysitting duty.”
“So, what I’m hearing is that no one should ever hurt you because you have an army of scary, capable folk who would probably commit crimes for you.”
“Yup!”
“Jesus. Sugino’s fucked.”
Kumi laughs. “Not if he behaves!”
“I wasn’t aware you knew Young Hinotori well, Aizawa.”
Shouta sighs as he watches Kumi animatedly talk to her partner, Anzai, as they make their way to wherever they plan to station themselves. “I got to know her during the Commission scandal.”
“Oh. Was that not also around the time the League of Villains received pardons?”
“Mhm.”
“You have something to do with that?”
Shouta nods. “I wanted to register my sidekick and I couldn’t do that if he had a criminal record and, like, eight wanted posters.”
“Sidekick? I didn’t know you had a sidekick.”
“Noxious is my sidekick.” Toshinori gets real quiet and Shouta squints at him. “What?”
“Nothing. I am just . . . I am glad that he is not a villain. I knew his grandmother well.”
“Hm. Maybe you should tell him that. Since he doesn’t hate you anymore and all. Who knows, maybe you can take him to her grave.”
“Oh!”
Shouta rolls his eyes. “It is genuinely a miracle you have any battle instincts, skeleton.”
“That hurts my feelings, Aizawa.”
The sound of an explosion grabs their attention and they look on screen to see Kumi flying across the arena, gliding towards the ground with a set of flame wings.
“Oh, so that’s what the Phoenix move is.”
“You look largely undisturbed,” Toshinori notes.
“Yeah, well, Kumi sets something on fire once every three months. I’m not surprised.”
“How’d she make a bomb?”
“I don’t know. No one got hurt. It was a distraction tactic. Therefore, I do not care.”
Shouta can feel a headache coming on. It’s all Kumi’s fault.
Shouta stares at the three students sitting across him in the teachers’ lounge. He stares at Kumi for a second before sighing. “Matsui, Kirishima, would you like to explain yourselves?”
Kirishima pointedly looks away.
Matsui fiddles with his shirt cuffs as he speaks. “We wanted to throw Kumi into the air to see how high she could go. I was the slingshot because I can stretch really far.”
Shouta glares at Kirishima. “You . . . Why do you have to be like your mother? Why can’t you be like your father? He did stupid things but he never broke the principal’s windows with another student’s head.”
Kumi rubs her head absently. “I guess our aim was a bit off.”
“A bit?! You broke his computer!”
“Do you have any tips, sensei?”
“Matsui, my only advice for you is to stay away from Kumi.”
Kumi grins. “Aw, come on. I’m a good influence!”
“You convinced your baby brother to fly out the window before his wings fully developed. You’re a horrible influence.”
“I was eleven at the time!”
“You are literally one of the smartest children I know, Kumi. Don’t try that with me.”
Kumi huffs and folds her arms. “Are you going to put us on house arrest?”
“No. You’ll just do something to end up wrecking the dorms. All of your teachers will be giving you an extra assignment each.”
“Schoolwork?” Matsui cries. “I suck at schoolwork!”
“Oh? Then maybe you shouldn’t go around throwing your classmates through windows.”
“Ugh,” Kumi says. She pats Matsui’s leg. “I’ll help you, Matsu. Since it was my idea and all.”
Shouta dismisses them and takes a painkiller as soon as the doors close.
Shouta feels like he’s having a heart attack. Or an aneurysm. Or just straight up dying. “She what?”
Toshinori hesitates on the phone. “Ah, uh, Young Hinotori may have . . . uh . . . set the forest sector of the USJ dome on fire.”
Shouta takes a deep breath. “Did she do it on purpose?”
“No.”
Shouta takes another deep breath. “I’ll speak to her parents.”
That evening, Shouta shows up to the Hinotori home with Kumi’s collar in his grasp. Keigo opens the door.
“Your child is going to drive me into an early retirement.”
Keigo blinks. “What? My angel?”
“Your demon.”
Kumi huffs. “Aww, don’t be like that, Uncle Shou.”
Shouta’s eye twitches. “Don’t get cute with me, Problem Child. You set school property on fire.”
“Kumi!” Keigo cries.
“Not on purpose! Sugino pushed me!”
“Did you push him back?” Touya asks, appearing behind Keigo.
Kumi grins while Shouta glares at Touya.
“That’s my girl,” Touya says.
“You’re keeping your child this Sunday. I’d like one peaceful day off. I’ll pick her up Monday morning before school starts.”
Kumi pouts. “What are you gonna tell Daichi?”
“To behave or I’ll send him home to his mother, who will undoubtedly not be as happy about this as your parents are.”
“Fine,” Kumi says. She waves cheerily. “I’ll see you Monday morning, Shou.”
Shouta leaves Kumi with her parents, muttering under his breath about stopping at a pharmacy for migraine medication.